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#and i was living very far away from home in a country where i didn't speak the language and alone
tbh-entp · 10 months
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Hi I really need ur help. I’m an entp and I already suffer from overthinking and shit (I don’t know if it’s normal for us entp to do that but yeah:)” anyways since the summer of 2020 I went through emotional abuse because I was stupid enough to stay in a toxic relationship for too long with my ex he gaslighted the shit out of me and betrayed me (it was an 8 year long friendship before it happened) . I went through a depression and I think that I was traumatized because I’ve never been this low in my life. Long story short I literally doubt every single choice I do, I feel like disorganized you know I don’t know how to come back to my normal mindset you know the confident one who don’t overthink and just has good ideas. I literally overthink everything like every single thing actions I do and thoughts I get and I don’t even know why I think I’m starting to fall into a depression again and losing myself again because of this. From a fellow entp to another If u know anything about how we work or anything about a loop or anything what dows it sound like because I don’t know shit right now I’m anywhere but in the moment and It frightenes me but I can’t do much about it. I literally overanalyze every single thing and can’t get rid of it. Every anxious thought I get is creating another to a chain where I don’t even know what the problem is. Thank u If you’ve read this far :( xxx
Hi! I'm sorry you're going through this. And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to answer! My inbox always has stuff in it and I don't answer nearly enough of them.
No one deserves to go through emotional abuse, and I'm happy for you that you're out of this relationship! It can be such a destabilizing thing as well to be out of a relationship as well, especially given how long it lasted.
I haven't dealt necessarily with what you did, but I have had a nice share of depression and trauma during the covid years. (I became very scared all of the time essentially... and I'm still unlearning this) I've learned some things from my experiences, though I'm certain that there are more and maybe some more fitting ones for you.
The main thing is just to be kind to yourself.
Now when I'm sad or struggling to do things, I'm just like ok, treat-yoself, it's a sleeping day. And I let it be without forcing myself to act like I'm doing better and also trying not to feel worse for not being at 100% (or even 50%) every day. Forgive yourself.
I try to give myself high-fives for even the smallest things that I accomplish. (I drove recently, and I rarely drive these days (esp in the country I live in) and I was scared, and I did it, and I'm proud!) (I sent an email that was freaking me out, and I'm proud!)
Find someone to talk to also maybe-- feel free to message me if you want. But when I was alone during covid, I got into the habit of leaving voice messages. So even talking to yourself could be helpful. Or writing also!
Pay attention to what you like and enjoy for when you're really feeling down. I have a list that I keep on my phone--sometimes I'm really blurred up and I don't remember to look at it. But sometimes I do remember to check the list, and it reminds me to put on the Great British Baking Show or Taskmaster, or maybe take care of my plants-- this really helps reground me to myself and what i enjoy purely.
If you can afford it, therapy is the thing these days. (But as someone who couldn't afford it for so long (especially because it can be hard to find the right therapist), it's very doable to make changes without it)
Also taking some time to breathe and pause and smell the air is great too. I'm crap at meditation but I do some stretches sometimes and it's good for the brain.
This is what I got! But you deserve love from both yourself and other people.
Sending all of my love xx
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yuri-is-online · 5 months
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Why So Rude? (Or Yuu's BF Asks Crewel for their Hand in Marriage and What Happens Next Will Shock You)
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For legal reasons, this is a joke. I have been dealing with a health issue of sorts (i am not dying so no worrying ok? just v annoyed) so writing longer stuff is escaping me at the moment, enjoy some crack while I take a breather. More can be found on my masterlist here.
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NO (FLOYD, Rook, and Malleus)
Crewel has been in denial about this "relationship" since it started. Not that his disapproval is really going to stop Floyd, but Crewel 100% refers to him as "Yuu's ex boyfriend" much to the confusion of... everyone who hears that. They do find some common ground in their shared interest in fashion, but Crewel has never forgiven him for his behavior in his class OR his "stealing" Yuu's heart.
Rook on the other hand he didn't have too much of an issue with until he realized just how familiar he seemed to be with his home for someone who had supposedly only been there to visit you. The twenty page letter he wrote to confess his feelings to you didn't help either once he saw the few lines where Rook wrote about the beauty of your finger prints, but he knows his disapproval means very little to someone as obsessed with romance as Rook.
Malleus... is the King of a country genuinely hostile to humans and Crewel thinks he is a little too obsessed with Yuu for his own good. He is also not a fan of how condescending Malleus is towards his disapproval, but it's an issue that will be worked out eventually. They are fighting out of love for the same person, your safety and happiness is all they really care about at the end of the day.
No, but as a joke (Sebek and Jack)
I don't think he has anything against him really, he just wants to see how important tradition and the opinion of his elders actually is to him. When Sebek begins to plead his case because he does not wish to put a wedge between Yuu and their father figure, but cannot deny his feelings for Yuu Crewel's more than happy to "change his mind." He knows you will be happy and well looked after.
Jack is a solid partner, and he is a wolf beastman who speaks of Yuu as his soulmate, his one and only, his eternal life partner and- well. Crewel just can't resist a bit of teasing, he's always been so serious and easy to fluster about these sort of things. The sheepish look on his face when he realizes Crewel has been teasing him makes it very worth it.
I can't stop you can I... (Leona, Kalim, and Rollo)
While Crewel has faith that Leona has what it takes to save his home- he lives in the Sunset Savannah. That is really far away from the Queendom of Roses ( ; ω ; ) have some pity on your poor father he can't travel that far all the time it's bad for his skin. The pressures of being the partner of royalty is something he worries over, but a smug promise from Leona to protect you soothes his worries somewhat.
The flippant way Kalim talks about the assassination attempts is not the way Crewel wants to hear about attempts on your life or heaven forbid your death. Kalim is very sympathetic to this, he has no real argument against how ignorant he was in the past, but he isn't a child anymore. Just filled with a childlike love for the world and determination to make it better. It is hard to say no to that.
Rollo is too much like Trein. His request for your hand in marriage feels like something that the old man would cry tears of genuine joy over, so of course he hates it. Unfortunately he also knows how much this teen grandfather matters to you or whatever so the answer will be yes. At least he has an excuse to visit Fleur City more now.
Give me one good reason. (Azul, Jade, Idia, and Lilia)
Azul was such a good student that he should have zero complaints that you started dating. But he also isn't blind and dislikes being pandered to, which is very much what Azul is doing here. He does wonder briefly if this is a cultural thing and he is being insensitive, but he is still exasperated enough to not immediately say yes. The strange twinkle that comes to Azul's eyes at the prospect of negotiations makes him wish he had though.
Speaking of not being blind, what does the Leech family do and is it legal? Survey says probably yes, but Crewel remembers dealing with Jade's parents while he was in school and has no desire to feed his child to the shar- err eels. Jade immediately begins to sniffle, oh how could Crewel say such bad things about him? A poor innocent eel and blah blah blah. If Jade wasn't such a good partner he'd be cooked.
Crewel understands and appreciates the effort Idia has put in to his personal growth and he has no desire to shit on that... but S.T.Y.X. and the secrecy around it is no joke. He wants to continue having a relationship with Yuu and as soon as Idia reassures him of that he has no more objections.
Lilia is an old man, a war criminal, and a father. Of course Crewel has seen how he was able to live as a student while at NRC but his own credit as a father would be under fire if he didn't object mildly. Lilia has some fun with it and has a bit more respect for him for objecting. So long as the eventual answer is yes.
Yes (Riddle, Trey, Cater, Ruggie, Jamil, and Epel)
While Crewel does have some red flag concerns concerning Riddle's mother, he has no real objections to Riddle himself. He is a perfect gentlemen and the correct amount of nervous to be asking the question. He gets full marks, as if there would ever be any other outcome.
Trey is that sort of solid option that parents really love, but he also has that tight personal relationship with Crewel from his Science Club days. He lives in the Queendom and is tight with his own family there are few better places for Yuu to be.
While Cater isn't Crewel's favorite student, he doesn't hate him or the Shaftlands. He is also not entirely unconvinced that him asking is for a magicam trend but! He has no real major objections. He is more than ready to have two kids, as soon as Cater is willing to admit he could use a stable father figure.
I don't think that Ruggie would even suggest marrige unless he's obtained that stable, high paying job he so baldy wants and has moved his Granny out of the slums. It's the perfect time to ask for permission to propose, and while the Savannah is still super far away (r.i.p. Crewel's skin) he is much more supportive of the two of you and how far you've come.
Similarly to Ruggie, I don't think Jamil would propose to Yuu unless his personal issues with Kalim and his position with the Asim's had been sorted. He wants to actually travel on his honeymoon, and Crewel is very willing to suggest the Queendom of Roses. Jamil's ego is absolutely stroked by how Crewel had zero objections but your adoptive dad doesn't get to see how smug it makes him, Jamil saves the smirks for when you say yes.
I think that Crewel seems to like all of the first years, and Epel is no exception. Sure, his request starts out well put together and polite but devolves into a dialect that leaves Crewel with no idea of what he's saying, but he has a general idea. Of course Epel has his blessing, Harveston sounds like a lovely place for Yuu to live their life in Twisted Wonderland and Epel a perfect person to keep them safe and happy.
He already planned the wedding (Ace, Deuce, Silver and Vil)
I know what you're saying. Crewel approving of Ace? Of course he does! He was in his homeroom class, and Crewel has a soft spot for trouble makers from the Queendom, he was one after all! Sure he might have had some problems with him when you first started dating, but now, when he is deathly serious saying he wants to spend the rest of his life with you? Crewel has been waiting for this since he fist saw carrot head yanking your chain.
Deuce is a much easier sell, Crewel was always a bit harsh on his intelligence, but only because he ran a tight ship and wanted him to reach for the stars. Well he has, and he has you to support him through it, Crewel is so proud of both. He and Dilla have absolutely been hypothetically planning this for years.
While Silver's curse did not endear him to Crewel for his first two years of schooling, he really grew on him when you started going out. He's glad that you've found someone who loves you as much as Silver does, really he is. Unfortunately this means he has to plan a wedding with Lilia, something they both have been doing since you started going out and never talked about. Don't worry! They only intend to fight a lot little bit.
The instant you started dating Vil Crewel entered his mother of the bride era. The permission asking was less Vil wanting to be polite and more him coming up with a way to distract him and convince him to focus on designing the clothes. Thankfully it works and no one other than his dogs have to know just how insane the prospect of his two favorite students marrying made him.
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irishmammonagenda · 1 month
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Hi! Can i request MC with older brothers (i have four older brothers 😂) who are very protective of their little sister, and reaction of demon brothers, when MC wants to introduce them to her siblings?
hiya! ofc u can, im so sorry this is so late i saw it in my askbox like a week a week ago then forgot about it 😭😭 and then went away for easter and forgot abt it again😭😭
grma for the ask <3 fic dividers by @cafekitsune
MC With Older Brothers-Obey Me Brothers x Reader
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When you had first been transferred to the Devildom, the inital shock of the new environment, the fact that demons and angels were actually real, the fact the fact that magic was actually real had made you forget about the reactions of your family back home upon realising yoou had just disappeared without a trace. It took you around a month to even remember, after the shock had worn off, and you had stopped living in survival mode. You hastily travelled to the Demon Lord´s Castle, and requested a formal visit to your family.
They were livid. Relieved but livid. Your parents, who were workaholics hadn´t noticed until around halfway through the second week. Your older brothers however, noticed the first day. And oh boy, did they want answers.
Going through Barbatos' portal was never a truly pleasant experience, although it wasn't unpleasant either. It was like that feeling in the pit of your abdomen when you're pushed too high on a swingset, but to a lesser extent. It almost looked like stars as the insides of the vortex falshed before your eyes before fading to reveal the park that you grew up near.
The reds and oranges of the leaves shone sparkling against the reddening sky with the morning dew. The early birds chirped, diving for worms, leaves fell gently down to the ground. You made your way home.
The familiar white door stood out like the gates of the Celestial Realm, your own personal paradise, everything you knew before the rug was pulled under you. You tried the doorhandle. Locked. Sighing, you looked under the entrance mat for the spare key and unlocked the door, walking into the hall. You had entered the kitchen and saw Evan, your second eldest brother making a sandwhich.
"Hiya!" You greet him. "Whatcha makin', Evs?"
Evan, who had just picked up his plate turned around and dropped it, his jaw slacked open, eyes wide. He stared at you, not even caring that his sandwich had fallen. "Y-you…where the fuck have you been?!"
"Uh...I-"
"Y'know what? Don't answer that yet." He steps away from you, moving out of the kitchen to the base of the stairs. "Sammie! Ben!" Evan shouts a few times, before hearing a pair of 'what?!'s back. "Get your asses down here now!"
Soon enough, reluctant thuds sound from the top of the stairs, getting louder as two of your brothers thunder down the stairs, you gulp. Lord Diavolo, you were in for it now.
Samuel appears downstairs first, the baggy MCR shirt he always wears to lounge around half hidden by his stained jacket. Ben follows soon after, phone in hand, no doubt open on the game he had been testing out. They both stall when they see you, Ben trips, and starts to fall, taking Samuel down with him.
“I-…MC..” Samuel swallows thickly. “W-where have you been…”
Ben parrots this.
You gulp. Adam—your oldest brother—would no doubt be the worst. And he wasn’t even home yet!
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When Adam, your oldest brother did return from his date with his girlfriend (as you found out), he had demanded answers, and a hug. You try to explain it away, saying you found a scholarship at a college in another country, you must've just forgot to mention it! Silly you! Atleast that's what you were telling your older brothers, they didn't need to know you were taken to hell and the scholarship wasn't too far from the truth!
"Why didn't you visit? Or call? Or anything?" Was a question you heard parroted back to you multiple times.
"I...uh...it was just the craziness of it all....I forgot to call..." You rub the back of your neck. "I had to get a new phone anyway..." You say, giving them your number. It was a reasonable excuse. They couldn't exactly argue with it.
Samuel grabs your hand, the rough callouses of his fingers comforting. Permanent dents from his mastery of the guitar, he swings your arm back and forth, reminding himself that you're not in a ditch somewhere. "As long as you're safe...."
Evan huffs, Adam stares at you, eyes following your every move, he grumbles, "You're coming home every holiday you can. And calling us regularly. No more dropping off the face of the earth."
"Haha alright!" You laugh nervously, he didn't need to know that you technically did fall off the face of the earth.
"And I want to visit this College." Adam adds, Evan nods in agreement, as do the two younger of the brothers.
Shit.
Ben stretches, before sitting forward. "So tell us all about your dorm. Got any roommates?"
And boy, did that cause a few heated discussions. Though in the end you got away pretty much scott free. Though you had to visit bi-monthly, and call atleast bi-weekly.
On one of these bi-monthly visits, you'd decided to bring one of your 'roommates' along with you....
Just how would that go?....
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LUCIFER
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"Oh?~ Care to repeat that, MC?"
It had been a busy day in the Devildom for the Avatar of Pride. He was finishing up on paperwork when you came into his office asking him to come to the next visit to your brothers with you.
He acts a bit cocky over it, with his signature smirk and all, but agrees almost instantly.
Despite the fact that you asked HIM to meet your family, and that he was feeling quite flustered, he still somehow managed to make your cheeks burn and make you feel much more flustered about the situation.
"Hi everyone, this is Lucif-Lucius...! He's one of my roommates!"
"Lucius?"
"...My parents were Greek."
"Yeah, Ben, his parents were Greek don't be racist."
Lucifer relates to Adam on the sole basis that they're both the eldest, though he does feel second hand embarrassment anytime said brother would do anything a little too like him.
Overall its a pleasant time, your brothers were quite charmed by the Avatar of Pride, and it makes your pact mark buzz.
Lucifer fights the urge to place his palms over his face and re-contemplate his entire life and every single action he'd ever taken as he watches Adam, your eldest brother, lecture Samuel, the youngest of your elder brothers. The older man is glaring exasperatedly, Samuel hides his hands in his pocket, clearly uninterested. You watch on and feel a sort of deja vu, so does Lucifer. Does he seriously look like that when he gives out lectures? No wonder his brothers are so unruly! You pat his back from where you both sit on the sofa, he glares at you, though there's no bite to it. The second hand embarrassment is very strong.
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MAMMON
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"WHA- ehem...I-i mean of course ye'd want te intreduce yer b-brothers to the great M-mammon...!"
If Mams has a tail it'd be wagging like a helicopter propeller thingy.
You want HIM to visit your family?!
He's super tempted to go back and buy the engagement ring he'd saw in a jewellery shop window when shopping now!
He had been too nervous at the time....was he moving too fast...?
He's a nervous wreck, all the way there he's muttering things you can't understand in irish (gaeilgeoir mams agenda)
You can pick up the word 'focáil' (fuck) being thrown about a lot.
What de ye mean MC? He IS calm! Calmer than the sea on a stormy day...but thats still sort of calm!
The name Mammon isn't really known to anyone outside of the occult, so he doesn't change it.
"Mammon?" Evan says raising a brow, "What kind of a name is that?"
"He's Irish Evs don't be racist."
"Oh."
The dinner is quite awkward, but in the end, he somehow manages to win over your brothers.
and hey, if Ben gets more donations from people when he streams, Adam gets more costumers for his personal training, and Samuel and Evan get promotions at their jobs, well he didn't mean to! Honest!
Mammon sits at the dinner table with about as much nervousness as a schoolboy waiting outside the principal's office, he answers every question with a stutter, and tries his best to remember his table manners, your brothers are eyeing him suspiciously, until a clang sounds through the small kitchen, you had dropped your fork. Mammon perks up, happy to be 'useful' to you, "I'll get it!" and he practically dives down to get the utensil before washing it off and giving it to you. Your brothers relax slightly, deeming him too whipped for you to truly be a scumbag.
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LEVIATHAN
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"You want ME to WHAT?!"
bros panicking more than mammon☠️
Are you sure you want a stinky smelly otaku like me to-😰😰😰😰😰
It takes ages to calm him down enough, then he just feels flustered.
This reminds him of an anime with an insanely long name!
When you arrive at your house, he's so fidgety and nervous someone give this man a hug (dont he'll scream)
You introduce him as Levi, no one bats an eye to that one, hooray!
the atmosphere is very awkward until he notices the sticker on Ben's phonecase.
He finds out that your brother is a streamer, MC how could you never tell him?!
its a lot less awkward a lot more nerdy now.
"O-oh well I see where you're coming from, the mechanics and graphics on the game were great, but the lore needed work!" Levi says, stuttering far less than you'd expect him to. Ben nods, "I mean, I just kind of stayed for the boss fights, but yeah the lore was a bit..." He makes a face. Leviathan leans over, eyes sparkling, you admire them freely, normally he'd notice by now and be too flustered to continue talking. "Yeah! It had so much potential! But it just seemed so rushed!" You look around the room, Adam and Evan are conversing amongst eachother quietly, whilst Sam is trying his best to follow the conversation that Levi and Ben are having.
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SATAN
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"Oh? I'd be honoured..."
He's giddy, you wanted him of all of his brothers to come with you? Take that Lucifer!
This reminds him of when the love interest brings the protagonist to meet their family!
He reads up on the scenes as a sort of revision, though his natural charm is going to win them over anyway...or maybe not...
"Hello my name's Satan." He reaches out to shake Adam's hand.
Adam swallows, "Satan?"
Satan chuckles, having made a rookie mistake in his nervousness, "My parents were...devout satanists...I've had a hard life..."
Samuel pats his shoulders, "Oh you poor thing..."
He's honestly quite the gentleman, your brothers quite like him, despite his 'unfortunate' name.
"So S-satan..." Adam begins, "What was it like growing up with Satanist parents?" Satan sets his for down, "Oh, not as bad as one would think..." he quickly bullshits, "I did grow up in a very gothic style house though.." Your brothers nod, Evan intterupts, "So did you ever sacrifice any cats?" Satan grips his knife tightly, you feel rage bubble up in his pact mark. "No, satanists--atleast sane satanists--don't do that..." "Oh right..." Evan raises his hands in defense, "Just curious." "Oh no you're fine..." He says smoothly.
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ASMODEUS
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"Oh my Devil!~ I'd love to!"
Posts about it to his devilgram.
He's geniunely honoured, and sososososo excited.
"Hey guys, this is Asmodeus!"
"..Asmodeus?"
"...His parents are french..."
"Poor thing..."
ofc he wins them over, who do you think he is?
Adam loves him now, and Asmo is his goto for relationship advice.
Adam growns, looking at his phone, you give him a knowing look, "Trouble in Paradise?" "I forgot about our anniversary coming up! It's tomorrow!" He looks geniunely stressed. "There's no way I can get a restaurant reservation in time!" He says, stressing about his upcoming anniversary, it was his turn to do something. He didn't want to disappoint his girlfriend. Asmo shrugs, "So don't." Adam looks at him incredulously. "Excuse me?" "Don't go to a restaurant...the weather forecast says it'll be nice tomorrow, do a picnic or something." Adam gapes his mouth, breathlessly replying, "Yeah that could work...that could work..." A day later, Adam rings you, the picnic was a success! He demands Asmo's number.
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BEELZEBUB
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"Oh? Yeah MC I'd love to." :D
He's a little bit nervous, but happy that you asked him to go
Plus there's food involved.
Things that are important to you + you + food? He's in heaven (figuratively, last time he was in heaven he got thrown out, literally thrown)
Overall he's really sweet, has to eat a lot before he gets there so he doesn't accidentally eat one of your brothers.
"Hi I'm Beel."
"Beel?"
"He's Russian Evan, don't be racist." You bullshit, Beel looks at you, then smiles because he's looking at you :D
Your brothers love him, he's such a gentle giant.
Beel smiled happily, "This food is amazing." He says, closed eyed smile. "Thanks!" Evan grinned, "Cooked it myself!" Samuel scoffs, "No you didn't you microwaved it." Evan hits him over the head, "Shut up." He grumbles. Beel smiles again, they remind him so much of his own brothers.
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BELPHEGOR
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"No."
"What do you mean no?" :(
"I'm not going."
"Please."
"No."
"Pleaseee."
"Still no." He groans, putting his pillow over his face.
"I'll just have to ask Lucifer then..."
He jumps up. "Like fuck you will...c'mon, we have a family dinner to attend."
As per usual he is a bastard.
The waling talking definition of a bastard.
Your brothers hate him at first, but as the night goes on, they find out he's actually kind of funny.
"This is Belphie!"
"Belphie?"
"He's Russian don't be racist." You lie.
"Poor thing."
Belphie glares at you.
Belphie groans into his pillow, finally home, he drags you and pulls you onto the bed. Holding you in a vice like grip. "I'm never doing that again." He says tiredly, using you as a teddy bear to go to sleep. Bastard.
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im experimenting with post designs :D
'gaeilgeoir' means irish speaker, i've seen it spelt other ways tho
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cheriladycl01 · 2 months
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Request
Max Verstappen x American Fem Red Bull Driver
Max is in love with her and wants a chance to make her happy, but she can't forget her ex-boyfriend, with whom she has an on-and-off relationship. Her ex-boyfriend is not a total stranger. Joe Burrow, one of the main players of the current generation of American football, in which he plays as quarterback for the Cincinatti Bengals, has known Y/N since childhood, as they are both from the state of Ohio, he is also very passionate about her and tries to make the relationship continue at a distance, as she lives in Monaco. Y/N needs to make a decision about who will occupy the space in her heart. P.S: I don't know anything about American football, but one day a Joe Burrow edit appeared on TikTok and I fell in love with it. This is not to mention anything related to American football, just to mention that Burrow also wants to fight Max for her heart.
Take my heart and do as you want - Max Verstappen x RedBullDriver! Reader x Joe Burrow
Plot: You are a RedBull driver with one of the most notable relationships on the grid due to it's on and off nature. After a really rocky patch, they are currently broken up and she starts to see her team-mate in a different light.
Credit to a-moment-captured for the GIF
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You'd had the best season of your life after being promoted to RedBull. But that came with it being an insanely busy season, more exhausting and more duties to attend to. When you were in the beta RB team it hadn't really mattered as you weren't as admired as a driver on the grid but now being in a top performing team there was definitely more media attention on you.
This really affected your relationship with your now ex-boyfriend Joe Burrow, you'd dated him when you were both in high school and continued that relationship on into your adult lives.
At first when you didn't have the money to move out of state because all your money, and all your parents money went on racing, which wasn't as cheap or easy a career path as it was for Joe getting into Football and being given scholarships for college.
You had to work tooth and nail for your place in the sport. But you and Joe recently had been struggling with, well just being together in general. You'd made the decision to move to Monaco it made sense as a lot of your colleagues and friends resided there and now that you were earning more from being in Red Bull, it meant that you benefited from the tax regime there.
But that move put a massive strain on your relationship with Joe, you'd know each other for years and were childhood sweethearts, so of course you tried long distance.
It was hard because it wasn't just long distance, you both had such busy schedules that finding just time to call each other was unlikely.
Eventually Joe called it quits over the phone, the very next day you crashed out when Charles Leclerc's brakes disconnected and he cut you off going into a turn.
Joe had text you straight away that he was flying out to come and see you and make sure you were okay.
Thus was the start of the post-relationship era into the weird era where nobody not even yourselves knew if you were together or not. You loved each other so much, you were each others first in everything and this is the man you thought you'd end up marrying one day.
To the media, you were in this weird on and off relationship. When your schedules linked up, you were seen together for days on end be that in a random country where you race was, a football stadium in America where you were cheering him on, or in your new home of Monaco. But when you weren't together or close to having to separate you'd be seen arguing and fighting. You'd once even gone as far as to an-add each other on socials when a video came out of Joe in a club where he looked pretty close and cosy with a girl.
You obviously knew you couldn't stop him from seeing other people, that would be insane but you would have liked confirmation that you guys were seeing other people. As that would have been your final straw to cut emotional tie's with Joe.
Joe was special to you, and you thought he always would be. There was part of you that would always love him, and there was part of him that would always love you. But it was hard to ever let go of that which is where this vicious back and forth cycle came from.
However, the most recent time you'd been in one of your off periods your team-mate Max who you'd known also from childhood, not as early on as Joe but from about age 13 when you were doing Karting had started acting differently towards you.
"Hey Y/N, I saw these and remembered you like them" he said on the first occasion handing you a box of chocolates that you only really would treat yourself to around Christmas.
"Hey Y/N, I brought you this last weekend because you won!" he exclaimed handing you a little Monaco flag on a keychain because you won your race there.
"Hey Y/N! Marko said you needed a drink, so i brought you that Gauva juice your trainer makes for you" he smiled handing you the glass while you were sat in the Red Bull hospitality watching your on board from FP1.
And it continued, random little acts and gifts. Max had always been rather affectionate to you even before you were team-mates, sending you small compliments and making extra efforts when he pulled your name out for secret Santa.
You also started to notice his sourness whenever Joe was around particularly when you guys were racing on home turf where all of your friends came from.
"Joe baby, can you grab my helmet for me?" you asked him politely as you struggled getting all your wispy bits of hair tucked fully into your balaclava. However, he was scrolling on his phone, not listening to the request at hand.
"Here you go, at least I listen... unlike some of us" Max frowned looking directly at Joe to see even if that would get a reaction form him, which it did.
"Oh I'm sorry love. It's so loud in these garages! Here let me put it on for you. You know I like doing that!" he smiles at you placing his phone in his pocket and looking towards you.
"Thank you for grabbing it Max!" you smile at your team-mate before handing it to Joe. He makes sure your braid is in the best position before slipping it onto your head and kissing the top of you helmet. He kept looking over at Max the whole time.
He'd always been a little suspicious of Max's intentions towards his girlfriend, even before the move to become his team-mate and now that they shared a garage it was ten times worse.
He was constantly worried he was loosing you and the more you focused on your sport the more you would be prey to Max's advances and he'd win you over which Joe didn't want at all.
Joe loved you and he always would which is what hurt so much about the distance created between you two.
"Good luck in the race baby. i love you so much and your gonna do great!" he smiles down at you.
You give him a hug before running off to the garage where they would roll your car out onto track ahead of the formation lap.
You won that race, you and Max had a tense race constantly taking over one another while defending together from Lando who was in P3 until the last two laps where you got the upper hand and pushed in front despite being on the older tires.
Come the next race weekend you and Joe had probably had one of your most spiteful arguments to date.
"No, because why is it always me making the travel?" he had asked you.
"Because you play in just America baby. I drive round the world and it fucks me up with all the time difference changes espeically if I'm doing the Middle East back to you or Australia back to you" you try to explain but you could tell he was getting more frustrated with everything yoy said.
"Look, I love you, and you know I do. But right now I feel like I'm the only one making the effort!" he sighs rubbing his head.
"How can you say that?" you gasped in horror thinking of all the things you had sacrificed to try and make this work.
"It's always me coming to see you, you're never home anymore. I see your parents more than you do. All our friends miss you but your out here playing happy driver?" he chides throwing his hands up in exasperation.
"You know The States haven't been my home in a while Joe. How dare you fucking say this when you're the one who gave up on us first! I fought for us but YOU said you couldn't do this distance. Then when it got to much you came crawling back begging for my forgiveness..." you said raising your voice.
"It's just not fair when I'm making all these sacrifices for you and I see nothing in return!" he exclaims looking at you as you stood up to go get a glass of water.
"How is it just you making sacrifices! I declined my first shot in a RedBull seat for you and they gave it to Checo! I'm lucky they asked me a second time to replace him! Not many other people would have had that offer. I send you money to help pay for the house because I chose to move out! I've left the race track without doing media duties so i can catch a 15 hour direct flight just to come see you, yet I don't do enough?" you yell at him.
"Y/N please let's not argue. You know I love you and I'd do anything for you, for us please!" he cries looking at you his eyes a little glassy from the argument.
"No! I've been so stressed these path months and you keep telling me, it's fine, its going to be fine, we're going to be fine, this bad patch will pass soon, when all i wanted was you to comfort me and hug me and tell me it's okay to feel that way not try and dismiss my feelings!" you scream at him and he looks at you in shock.
After that it was like something possessed both of you to say what you both hated about the other which when you looked at it after they were actually all the things you loved about him because they were what made him, well him the man you fell in love with.
However, it was such a bad breakup that Joe was once again spotted in a night club. He'd text you the next morning apologizing saying he didn't mean any of it and it was just all a really big mistake.
You'd spent the day crying in your drivers room before the start of FP1. You felt so alone and like you couldn't talk to anyone.
"Y/N?" you heard the soft Dutch accent ask from the other side of the door. You held your sobs in and waited until it sounded like Max had left before you let a jagged breath out.
"Y/N, let me come in" you hear Max as making you get up and unlock the little bolt on the door.
"Are you-" he asks before he can fully look at you. You go back to the sofa and curl up into the ball you were in before he got there.
"Oh Schat, come here" he says as he takes a seat next to you with his arms open.
"I don't know what to do!" you cried into him while he played with your hair and rubbed your back comfortingly.
"Why do you keep doing this to yourself" he sighs pulling your chin up and looking you in the eyes.
"What do you mean?" you ask cocking your head to the side.
"This on and off toxic, viscous circle with Joe. It's not healthy and you only ever make yourself upset" he sighs, pulling some hair behind your ear.
"I don't know..." you sigh, thinking about all of it.
"Maybe I can help" he smiles. In Max's mind this may be the only chance he gets to admit his feeling for you, to you. And he wasn't going to waste that opportunity no matter the potential out come.
He leaned in and pulled you in for a kiss, you kissed back shocked what was going on. And eventually molded into it until a voice in the back of you head reminded you of how much you loved Joe even if you were broken up.
"Max no s-stop!" you mumble as you push him back and when you look over your team-mate he looks heartbroken.
You sit there for a second, kissing Max was so different to kissing Joe. Kissing Joe was familiar and comforting and full of love and the kindness that was Joe Burrow. But kissing Max was passionate, impulsive and a different kind of affection. Something new. And you couldn't put your finger on why Max made you feel like that from something as simple as a kiss.
You wanted to try it again.
So you leaned in, pulling his jaw closer to you until your lips met and the kiss was aggressive and both of you were fighting for more power. Just like you did on track.
But again, you pulled away a little voice at the back of your mind telling you this isn't something you should be pursuing as Joe will come back and apologize for the argument. Just like he always did.
"I-I'm confused ..." you say tears welling in your eyes. As you look over at Max.
"You need to leave!" you say immediately pushing him out the room and locking the door.
You stood there, not knowing what you were feeling or what to even think.
The only thing on your mind is that you were hopelessly stuck in between two boys and your stuck feeling for one of them, whilst growing feeling for the other.
Taglist:
@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @stupidandunnecessary @clayra-g @daemyratwst @honey-belden @moonypixel @lauralarsen @vader-is-hot @ironcowboycopnickel @itsjustkhaos @the-untamed-soul @beebo86 @happylittlereader @ziejustme @lou-larcher5 @thewulf @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @chillyleclerc @chanthereader @annoyingmoonballoon @summissss @evieepepi08 @havaneseoger08 @celesteblack08 @gulphulp @fandom1ruined2me @celebstories @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhh @georgeparisole @dakotatankbig @youcannotcancelquidditch @zzonsbeek @tallbrownhairsarcastic @mellowarcadefun @ourteenagetragedy @otako5811 @countingstacksandpanicattacks @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @hopexcroc @mirrorball-6 @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @bigsimperika @blueberry64857959 @eiraethh @lilypadlover @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @the-fem1n1ne-urge @21stcenturytaegi @dark-night-sky-99 @spideybv28 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @kapsylia @laneyspaulding19 @lazybot @malynn @cassielikereading @viennakarma @teamnovalak @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @jlb20416 @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @seomako @urdad-hot @formula1mount @tinydeskwriter @butterfly-lover @ironmaiden1313
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olivyh · 1 year
Note
Fluff/crack hc
Dorm leaders get Kabedon by an S/O who didn't know they kabedon'd the Dorm leaders cus Yuu wanted to get their attention and say something they deemed important
A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Studying in another country is taking a lot more out of me than I thought it would, and I've been pretty drained of motivation ;;;;. Hopefully it gets better once I get more used to living here and used to being so far from my friends and family, but I'll see where it takes me! I do see all the requests and I'm very grateful for all your support and kind comments- they're all getting be through these times <<3333 I couldn't thank you all enough for your support and I'll get back into my groove soon I hope!
Riddle:
"-and as of right now, there are currently fifteen students who have told me that they will be unable to complete their tasks necessary for the upcoming unbirthday party which, unfortunately, means-" He rambled, shuffling the impressive amount of papers he was currently holding in his arms- all annotated and marked appropriately and according by date and subject. He was walking through the main hallway with the prefect after classes and was currently incredibly stressed about the events that had unfolded since he woke up. 
First, he had gotten several messages about things that had gone wrong yesterday due to a brutal storm that had run its way through his dorm overnight; consisting of ripped-up bushes, frightened animals, and overturned tables (not to mention the countless roses that had been plucked from their homes and thrown about the area). That was followed by multiple complaints about food being stolen from the kitchen (he was confident that the culprit was a certain red-headed card soldier who had been getting on his nerves day in and day out since his arrival at NRC). Following that, many students had told him that they were sick and unable to perform their duties for the day. 
Riddle felt as though his head was going to explode from stress, and he found himself rambling to the one person on campus who he felt was sane enough to understand his inner turmoil. 
"Riddle!" He gasped when his back met the cold stone wall and a hand was placed beside his head. All his worries seemed to be ripped away from him as his brain as the only thing he could focus on was the rapid thrumming of his heart beneath his uniform and how close his friend was. His mouth opened and closed for a moment as he felt his face heat up. He felt as though he couldn't breathe from the close proximity. 
"Finally," They sigh, leaning back and giving him some room to catch some much-needed air. "I was telling you that we passed the cafeteria. You mentioned that you didn't eat lunch."
"Right..." He mumbles, his voice much too small for his liking. They back away and, for a moment, Riddle wishes that those few moments of suffocation would last just a little bit longer. The more he reflects on it, the quicker his heart beats. His hands begin to tremble and he barely notices when more and a few papers slip from his grasp and fall to the floor. His face heats up once more and his breathing becomes erratic the more he looks at the prefect, the sensation becoming too intense before he finds himself stammering something about a text from Trey and running off, leaving the poor prefect in a confused daze behind him with only the echo of his heels clicking behind him.  
Leona:
He was currently trying to nap beneath the large canopy of a tree nestled deep within the botanical garden. The warmth of the sun seeped in through the vast windows that were cut in a way that decorated small patches of the ground around in the shades of the rainbow, highlighting the bright hues of the tropical flowers that he was surrounded by. He was skipping class again, as per usual, after having been victim to a three-hour-long call from his family. All he wanted to do was to rest in the small patch of grass that he'd claimed as his own and sleep until it was dinner- which wouldn't be for another five hours from then. 
He had found the most perfect spot- just hidden away from any prying eyes and surrounded by the scent of the nearby flowers, but not close enough to get sprayed by the water that would rain down when the sprinklers went off. He had just closed his eyes when he caught a familiar smell lurking in the bushes. 
"What do you want, herbivore?" He groans, peeking an eye open and squinting against the bright light. The human stands over him, hands on their hips as they cast a shadow over his form. 
"Ruggie sent me!" The beastman rolls his eyes and allows the opened one to slip closed once more. "Come on, Leona! You can't miss another class..."
"Why not?" He scoffs, rolling onto his side so he was facing away from them. He feels their hand land on his shoulder and tug lightly in an attempt to get him to look at them once more which, of course, fails. He can admire their determination in most situations, but in this kind of scenario, he can't help but feel annoyed at their insistence. 
"You have to graduate at some point!" Leona sighs and rolls over, making the human slip with a yelp that makes his eyes shoot wide open as he finds himself directly under the prefect. He smirks and tries to ignore the way his stomach flutters at their proximity. 
"Is this how you want to wake me up?" Leona chuckles. "You're awfully brave, stomping into the lion's den." He basks in their flustered expression before flipping the roles, successfully pushing them onto the dirt and laughing loudly at the way their face morphs into something much more intense than it was previously. 
"Leona..." Their quiet, flustered voice reaches his ears and he tilts his head, sitting back on his heels and allowing them to sit up, barely catching their embarrassed stammers and excuses before they run back into the gardens, disappearing between the bushes. 
He chuckles and leans back into the grass, finally able to take the nap he so desperately wished for. 
Azul:
He was currently hunched over his desk, well past the hours when he should have been showered and in bed. The rest of the Mostro Lounge was dead silent aside from the soft sounds of bubbles that emanated from the hallway and the occasional clink as he bumped into his glass of water, which bumped into the inkwell of his bonefish pen. The only other sounds that echoed throughout the room was the scratching of his pen and the occasional drawn-out sigh from the merman as he slaved away at his desk. 
His entire body ached and his eyes felt as though they were being weighed down with lead, but he had to finish the final budgeting for the lounge before dawn. If not, then he would be behind on all the other work that he had to get done- such as ordering supplies and creating menus for the next month and a half, as well as filing any reports for damages caused by rowdy guests or the notorious eel that would throw things when he had gotten into one of his moods or would draw on plates when he felt like it. 
He didn't even feel when he had dozed off, only knowing that he had blinked for a little too long before he was spun around and roughly jostled out of his dazed state. He blinks widely up at the person who currently had their hands on either side of his desk, effectively trapping him between them and the piece of furniture. Their proximity alone was enough to wake him up, leaving the mer feeling as though he'd just been plunged into the water of the Coral Sea. 
For a moment his mind was racing with thoughts about how he currently looked- he was sure that his glasses were askew (and likely smudged due to his slow, sleepy movements), his hair was probably a mess; sticking up out of his head in each and every direction, and his uniform was comprised of nothing more than his loosely buttoned white shirt and his untied bowtie that hung loosely over his shoulders. 
On the other hand, he couldn't focus on anything more than the little details he could never really see of the prefect- the way their lip juts out when they're nervous, the little lines in the corners of their eyes from when they smiled, and even the way their hair framed the face that he would watch day in and day out. 
Once his brain clicked, he scrambled for some sort of purchase, effectively tipping his chair back and making his head hit the desk with a thud as pain shot down his spine from the impact. He hit the ground with a groan before the prefect helped him up, walking with him back to his room to nurse his injury. He couldn't tell if his face was burning and his heart was constricting from embarrassment or affection, but he decided that he couldn't care either way. 
Kalim:
"But then we could find some new animals to add to the dorm! It would be fun, right?" The heir was currently trying to brainstorm ideas on how to make his dormmates seem less... drained. For the past couple of weeks, due to finals, he noticed how exhausted many of them were. His concern arose when some of them even turned down dinner in favor of studying or sleep. He wasn't exactly sure how he could help them, considering that the most he's been able to offer thus far was a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on, as well as festivals and parties (that many of the students also declined). He was at a loss for what to do until he decided to do some research, which lead him on a tangent in his room, late into the hours of the night. The windows were wide open, which allowed some moonlight to creep in and join the warm light of the magically-lit lanterns and the quiet music that played off his phone- now cast onto his bed and long forgotten in his whirlwind of planning. 
"I really don't think that animals would help much," The prefect sighed. That makes him stand still for a moment, sighing and casting a sad glance over to the former. He continues to pace, mumbling different ideas out loud and hoping that they would pick up on at least a little bit of what he was saying. Before he knows it, he's yelling excitedly and practically skipping around his spacious room, hands flailing as he jabbers about possible plans to improve his dormmates' wellbeing. He doesn't even notice when the prefect begins to call his name. 
"But if it doesn't work, then what?" He finishes, taking a deep breath to look over at them. He takes notice of the concerned look on their face, his energy instantly dissipating as he rushes to their side. "What's wrong? You look sad..." 
"I'm not sad, Kali. I'm just a little worried. You're not responsible for everyone's happiness," They explain and Kalim feels his heart shatter as confusion clouds his brain. 
"I'm..." He pauses and smiles, letting out a short, silent laugh. "I'm a dorm leader! I have to!" 
He gasps when he feels himself trapped suddenly against his wardrobe, cutting off his train of thought roughly as he sucks in a deep breath. 
"What are you...?"
"So you'll finally listen to what I'm saying!" 
He nods and tries to ignore the feeling in the back of his mind that begs him to squirm. He has been close to the prefect before, yes, but never for a long enough period of time. He'd only done it to help them learn how to do the dances of his hometown, or when he would clean up with them (or attempt to, at least). But this felt completely different from all those times before...
"I'm... listening," He breathes softly after a long pause, making his friend back away for a moment. In that split second, he desperately wishes that he could be as smooth as the princes in all the fairytales he'd grown up reading and pull them back, fighting back the urge to get closer to them once more. 
Vil:
"In just a moment," Vil murmured, leaning in closer to the mirror that sat at his desk. The lights would have been blinding if thy hadn't reflected off his light violet eyes so brightly and highlighted each and every product that he layered on his perfect skin. He had a meeting in just an hour, and he was already running behind schedule. His dearest friend, the prefect, was currently lounging on his bed, sprawled out and scrolling on their phone while he focused on perfecting his makeup for the undoubtedly long and boring few hours he had ahead of him. 
"Vil-" They whined loudly and, in the corner of his eye, he could watch them dramatically throw their arms in the air and flopping them beside their head as they look into his eyes from the background. 
"It won't be long, I promise!"
"Nonsense," He sighs. He couldn't deny that he was hungry and, normally, he was practical about his eating schedule. He ate three square meals, and carried around a healthy snack for if he felt as though he needed something extra to get him through the day. Today, however, he had skipped lunch due to rehearsal, and he was certainly feeling the effects now. He could always ignore this and opt to eat at a later time, perhaps once the meeting was over and he could grab something quick from a nearby restaurant. 
He turned to face them, only to notice that they were hovering over him and had slammed their hands on his desk loudly, startling him slightly as he jolted. He was surprised, if he was being honest- he wasn't expecting this type of reaction to come from the sweet, sweet prefect. 
He sighs, looking up at them with an eyebrow quirked and a small smile on his face as he observes their annoyed expression, before watching as that expression shifts from annoyance to realization to embarrassment. 
"Are these the lengths you're truly willing to go to?" He chuckles, determined to turn the tables. He leans in, enjoying the way the prefect seems caught like a deer in headlights. He leans back and goes back to his makeup, making eye contact with them in the mirror and smiling once more. "Nevertheless, you'll have to wait."
He can barely catch their groan filled with disbelief and annoyance before he continues on his work. 
Idia:
"But if I log in for the rest of the week, I should still be at the top of the charts, right? But then, my next problem would be that I hadn't grinded for enough lucky stars yet!" Idia was currently pacing in his room, ranting to his newfound friend as they sat on his bed, listening to his problems eagerly as he carried on. "If I log in, I'll be caught up, but not caught up enough to get the new SSR+ that everyone else probably already has!" He throws his hands up in the air, noticing how, out of the corner of his eye, his firey hair lit up the room in shades of amber as he got more and more worked up. "I mean, how unfair is that? I have to go to school! They prob don't even have to do that or dorm leader stuff, so that's exactly how they got ahead of me! Which sucks!" 
"Idia..."
"I mean, I've been playing this game since the release and suddenly all these Magicam normies suddenly get the sneak on me because they just joined? I'm glad the fanbase is growing but I mean come on!"
"Idia!"
"And then they're completely mischaracterizing them! Like, absolutely butchering the characters! Shadow isn't all gloomy all the time- he actually has a soft spot for his teammates which is so cool and also such a big thing for them to ignore!"
"Idia Shroud!"
"And I saw on Magicam that they were completely ignoring the plot and the character development- like, in Blade's SSR+ that was released last year, she clearly mentions the main plot and how much it changed her as a person! And people still have the audacity to ignore her!" He was pacing more quickly now, rambling so quickly that he already felt his mouth going dry. The headphones around his neck blasted the ambient music from the paused game on his PC, but he could care less after seeing one particular post that got him worked up. 
He felt himself getting pushed to the wall as he stared down at the prefect in shock, his hair turning a bright crimson as his face went a similar shade. He stammered for a moment before biting his lip to shut himself up, feeling the way his heart hammered in his chest and made his head dizzy as the world around him spun. 
He was being kabedon-ed. 
Just like in all his shows. 
"Th-this-"
"I asked if you wanted something to eat," He could only muster a nod before he gulps, biting his lip once more as he gasps for air and his knees go weak. "Idia."
"How did I-," He murmurs, suddenly feeling faint. "-get this route?" Idia whispered the last word as he felt his entire body go limp as he passed out. 
Malleus:
He had been more than fortunate to have made such a close friend- one he can call his first in his very long life thus far. As of recently, however, he'd noticed that his affections had become more than simple friendship- the seeds have been planted within the cold thorn walls of his heart and had begun to blossom into fragrant roses that constricted his chest and dominated his every waking thought. More often than not, he had been able to surpass this feeling that had consumed him, placing on his mask of contentedness whenever they would look his way wearing the smile that would make his heart melt and the fireflies that would often surround him fly a little faster in bright yellow streaks against his pale skin and ivory hair that framed his narrow face. 
Now had been one of those moments. They were currently exploring the forest around campus, and Malleus finally had the opportunity to show the prefect a small meadow hidden just outside of the sports field- a bustling meadow, filled with wildflowers that sprouted out of the ground and painted the scenery in all the colors of the rainbow and insects buzzing from flower to flower contentedly. He cast a longing glance over to the human, smiling softly at their awed expression- mouth hanging open as their eyes were so wide he could practically see the entire meadow reflected against their irises. 
He had wished so desperately to capture this moment in a little bubble, to place it upon a pedestal in his treasure room and gaze at it whenever the nights seem to be too long. Oh, how he wished he could hold their face in his own hands and that the chill of his skin wouldn't give them a shock. He longed to live with them in this meadow- perhaps run far away from his life of nobility to do just that. 
He could practically feel it- the warmth of the sun against his face and the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders as they forage for berries- perhaps they would even take a small nap among the flower fae living in the area, only to wake at sunset and move to make a warm meal together in the small kitchen of their cottage. 
Suddenly, he's trapped between a small tree with the human in question practically pinning him against it. His eyes widen for a moment as his mind freezes, struggling to understand the sudden proximity. 
"Mal-" Before they could finish their sentence, he had vanished in a cloud of fireflies, leaving the concerned human dazed and alone in the middle of the field. 
From that point onwards, Malleus was forced to endure Lilia's incessant teasing about his reaction.
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noroi1000 · 11 months
Note
can i order something satosugu with a girlfriend who is very air-headed and incredibly strong, as if she is a special grade sorceress, but despite her strength, she is very affectionate with her boyfriends
Strength is not everything
SatoSugu x reader
Summary: You are not strong without them. Despite being a special grade sorcerer. You are weak without them. Without them, your strength is meaningless.
"What are you doing there?"
You looked at your boyfriends who were standing in the bedroom doorway staring at you.
"You were supposed to leave... Did something happen?" Suguru asked you, watching your face.
You were going abroad.
Because according to the superiors, it doesn't make sense that three special grade sorcerers are in Japan, in the same place in Tokyo.
While Okkotsu and Tsukumo were traveling around the world, you were in Japan. And sometimes you just went on missions abroad. But then you went home.
However, you were to leave for Europe forever. To take over missions there. So that there are not so many powerful sorcerers in Japan.
You were supposed to fly there today.
They took you on the last stationary date before you left.
Because once you leave, you'll never live with them again. The only contact you will have with them is the Internet.
Nothing more...
That's why you were sad...
You were a very confident person. Your superiors didn't like you because you were too brazen with your strength.
You thought they wanted to get rid of you.
And it hurt you that they hate you so much that they want you to leave the country.
Once you're gone, the only time you'll be able to meet them live is when you're in Europe, and so are they.
However, neither they nor you can take a long leave of absence. Because they can't do it without you...
That's why your life was bad in that sense.
You didn't have much free time. The Missions and Teaching of Students...
If you were to leave, you'd lose a part of you...
You couldn't smile without them.
You're really attached to them... You can't live without them.
Would you just go away and leave them?
You don't want to live a life where you have them far away from you.
It would be the most painful time for you and them.
You've been with them all day. All night. To give them one last evening with you.
Without them, it doesn't matter how strong you are...
You cried in the night knowing it was the last time you could cuddle with them for so long.
You cried when you didn't want to let them go at the airport.
You cried when you knew what you had with them would never happen again. Because you'll have to have a different life.
But how were you supposed to give up loving them? How could you stop wanting to live without them? How
How?
You couldn't. You're too used to their presence.
You're too used to them being there all the time.
You loved them too much.
You couldn't live without them in another country. On another continent. It pained you to know that you would be alone in your new home. And they won't come home from work to lie down next to you.
You will never live in Japan again. You will never live the way you used to live.
Since your home will be in another country...
Maybe you were brazen with your strength... But when it came to them, you were so weak with them...
They were stronger than you. It is obvious. But you were still strong.
And their presence made you even stronger...
How could you just give up your happiness because others told you to...?
Would you rather have them than this strength...
You preferred to have their love forever ... And not to sit in another country and see them only via the Internet.
You want skin to skin contact. With them. You don't want to sleep alone in bed.
You want to sleep in your big bed where the three of you sleep.
Because of this bond with them. Because of this attachment. You wouldn't be able to live normally without them.
Before you got on the plane, you ran out of there.
You escaped and returned home on your own.
So that later when they come home they see you on your bed with tears on your cheeks.
You pulled them both to you, not caring that they both fell on top of you, crushing you on the bed.
You cried holding their bodies.
"Baby-." Satoru started. But before he could finish, you started sobbing the words into their bodies.
"I do not want! I do not want to leave! I want to stay with you!" you moaned.
You were so strong. But they're so weak. So weak without them.
You couldn't be strong when you were taken from them.
You could never be powerful when you were separated from them.
It was such a cruel and horrible feeling... But it was real.
Every strong man has his weakness.
They are your weakness.
Because without them you can't be strong...
"You don't have to leave if you don't want to..." said the White Haired Man as they climbed off of you, laying on either side of you.
They wiped your tears.
"You never have to leave us. You know very well that we love you."
You smiled slightly at their words.
So nice and comforting.
You are so strong. But without them you can't use your strength.
You've become too attached to them to leave now. Nothing would be the same without them.
That's why you want to stay forever with the two men you love so much.
"If I was without you, my strength doesn't matter."
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itsmealaiah · 3 months
Note
Running away to another country w older Tom !!
yes!!
Pack my bags and run away
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tags/ warnings: running away, mentions of anxiousness, i think thats all?
pairing: tom x afab
Your POV:
I'm not sure why I decided to pack an extra pair of socks, but as I stuffed the last of my belongings into my backpack, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of calm wash over me. It was like my body knew what it was doing, even if my mind was still in disbelief. My parents would be furious, of course they would be. They had been against Tom from the very beginning. They called him a "bad influence," a "loser," and even went as far as to forbid me from seeing him anymore. But I didn't care. I was in love, and I was going to follow my heart, no matter where it took me.
I glanced at Tom, who was pacing the length of my room, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Even in the dim light, I could see the worry etched across his features. He kept shooting nervous glances out the window, as if he was expecting someone to barge through the door and drag us back home. I wished I could reassure him, but I didn't want to jinx anything. We'd been planning this for months, ever since my parents had forbidden me from seeing him anymore.
We'd found a cheap flight to Paris, and had enough money saved up to live off of for a few weeks. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Tom had found us a small, run-down apartment in a quiet neighborhood, and had even gone as far as to get us fake IDs so we could work under the table. He was determined to make sure we could be together, no matter what it took.
As I finished tying up my backpack, I took one last look around my childhood bedroom, trying to commit the familiar details to memory. The faded posters on the walls, the worn-out area rug, the bookshelf filled with my favorite stories. It was all so bittersweet. A part of me knew that I'd never see this room again, and another part of me wondered if I'd ever find a place where I truly belonged.
I turned to Tom, who had finally stopped pacing and was now staring at me with a mixture of worry and hope in his eyes. Without a word, he reached out and took my hand in his, squeezing it gently. It was a small gesture, but it felt like the most intimate thing in the world.
We crept out of my room, careful not to wake my parents, and made our way downstairs. The house was silent, the only sound being the ticking of the grandfather clock in the living room. Tom carefully opened the front door, and we slipped out into the cool night air. The air smelled like rain, and the sky was streaked with dark clouds. It was as if nature itself was conspiring against us, but we didn't care. We were together, and that's all that mattered.
We hurried to his car, which was parked a few blocks away. It was an audi R8, the same one from years ago. Tom had been saving up for years to buy it, and somehow it still worked. As we climbed into the car, the familiar scent of leather and gasoline surrounded us. Tom started the engine, and we pulled out of the driveway, the headlights illuminating the dark street.
I looked over at Tom, his face lit up by the glow of the dashboard. There was a spark in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time, a spark that told me he was just as excited and nervous as I was. He reached out and brushed a stray hair from my face, his fingers grazing my cheek. It was a small gesture, but it made me feel safe and protected.
As he pulled away from my parents' house, I couldn't help but glance back one last time. The lights were already off, and I couldn't see any movement in the windows. It was as if they had already forgotten about us. But I knew they'd be searching for us, trying to find us and bring us back home. Tom must have sensed my apprehension, because he glanced at me with a reassuring smile and squeezed my hand again.
The road stretched out before us, dark and mysterious, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like anything was possible. We drove in silence for a while, the only sound the soft hum of the engine and the patter of the rain on the windshield. I closed my eyes, taking in the sensation of the warm air blowing through my hair and the vibration of the road beneath us. It felt good to be moving, to be in motion, to be headed somewhere new.
Tom glanced over at me and smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "You doing okay baby?" he asked.
I nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, I'm good." But even as I said the words, I couldn't help but feel the weight of everything that was happening pressing down on my chest. I glanced out the window, watching the world blur by as we sped down the highway. We were heading south, toward the border, and from there, who knows where we'd end up. It was both exhilarating and terrifying all at once.
Tom reached over and took my hand in his again, squeezing it gently. "Hey, you know we'll figure this out together, right? No matter what happens, we'll find a way to be happy." His words were soft and reassuring, and for a brief moment, they managed to ease some of the anxiety that had been building up inside me.
We drove for several more hours, the dark landscape outside the car slowly starting to give way to the first hints of dawn. The airport loomed ahead of us, a massive, modern structure that seemed to stretch on forever. It was both imposing and awe-inspiring, a testament to human ingenuity and ambition. As we neared the terminal, I felt a mixture of anticipation and fear coursing through my veins.
"Okay," Tom said, his voice steady, "here we are. Just follow my lead, and we'll get through this together." He parked the car in the long-term lot and turned to face me, reaching out to brush a stray lock of hair from my forehead. His touch was gentle, reassuring.
We made our way through security, Tom leading the way with confidence, as he'd done this a thousand times before. We walked side by side, our hands clasped together, our footsteps echoing through the sterile, white hallways. The airport was bustling with activity, with people from all walks of life hurrying to and fro, each with their own stories and destinations.
We found our gate and sat down on a nearby bench, our shoulders pressed together. Tom pulled out his phone and began to type, his fingers flying across the keyboard. I watched him intently, wondering what he was doing. After a few minutes, he put the phone away and took my hand in his again.
"Okay, so here's the plan. We're going to wait for our flight, then get on the plane, and then we're going to fly away from here. Once we land, we'll find a place to live and start a new life together." He smiled at me, trying to reassure me, but I could see the uncertainty in his eyes.
I nodded, swallowing hard. "Okay," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
Time seemed to slow down as we waited for our flight to be called. I couldn't help but glance around, taking in the sights and sounds of the airport, trying to memorize every detail. The bright lights, the echoing announcements, the people hurrying past us, all seemingly oblivious to the enormity of our situation. It felt like we were living in a bubble, a strange, surreal world apart from everyone else.
As we finally made our way down the jetway and onto the plane, I couldn't help but marvel at the sheer size of the aircraft. The rows of cramped seats, the soft hum of the engines, the gentle rocking motion as we taxied down the runway. It all felt so normal, so routine, that for a fleeting moment, I almost forgot why we were here.
But then, as the flight attendant buckled us in and began to go through the safety demonstration, I felt a sharp pang of guilt in my chest. We were running away, leaving everything we'd ever known behind. Our families, our friends, our entire lives. It was both exhilarating and terrifying all at once.
As the plane lifted off, I leaned into Tom, burying my face in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly, and for a moment, I felt safe. Safe from the world, safe from the past, safe from the future. I closed my eyes, listening to the drone of the engines, and tried to convince myself that everything was going to be okay. That we were going to find a way to make a new life together, no matter where we ended up.
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romanoffsbish · 1 year
Text
Do I Know You?
Natasha Romanoff x Fem!R
Request: lil anon.
Natasha loved you, that much she knew, but the closer your binding nuptials came the more she felt a need to run. So, that’s exactly what she does, but when she returns a year later nothing was the same. You were made to forget her, and in turn your once blooming love that she’s desperate to reignite.
Warnings: Alluded to Violence/Brainwashing. Heartbreak. Feigned Amnesia. (Happy Ending)
Alluded to Smut | 18+ | Minors DNI
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"Another one?" Natasha nodded with a wince, she could already feel a headache drawing on from the excess amount of liquor she's downed thus far, but she deemed it her underwhelming punishment for what she did to you today.
For breaking your heart, time and time again she chose the life of superhero over you, even when she didn't need to. It's not like you didn't understand the mission here or there, you too were an Avenger who understood that duty calls, a few missed dates caused little harm.
There's got to be a line drawn though, and you expected that she knew your wedding was one of those times, but she practically begged Fury to let her onto a mission, in front of your face like your feelings didn't matter; she refused to believe you when you said it was the last straw.
——
So, she very well placated you, lying with too much ease about turning it back down after all, and for a few short days it was back to bliss. Natasha held you so close, cherishing you because she knew she'd have to fight to get you back when she returned, but she needed time.
It all went swimmingly until you were standing alone at the altar, all your mutual friends were sat in shock at the sight of a gap where your blushing bride should've been, but wasn't. 
So now she's drowning her sorrows in a bottle of whiskey in some foreign country because she  likely ruined the one good thing she's ever had.
——
Natasha's foot tapped against the bottom of the Quinjet anxiously, it'd been a year since she left, every time she pleaded with Fury to stop extending the mission it's like he doubled it.
She had a plan: take the three months to fix herself while doing what she's best at, then come home and make it all right with you.
However plans never seem to work out in her favor, and she is drowning in self deprecating thoughts as she ponders if you've forgiven her.
Did you meet someone else? Are they taking up the right side of the bed in your shared room?
Natasha bit her lip at the painful thought.
Will she be able to undo the pain she caused? Can she convince you to forgive her just this additional time, and promise it'll be different?
She will beg down on her knees if she has to.
Will she be different? Or will she just pretend until she can't anymore, and fall back into running away whenever she began to feel like she couldn't possibly live without you.
She's never needed anyone before, it terrifies her to need you, but she can't fight it anymore.
No, that much she knew was over. Because in the year she was forced to be without you it became rather apparent that she was correct. Living without you was a miserable experience; not hearing your giggles in the middle of the night when you should both be sleeping, or to not have you tucked into her, safe and sound.
Natasha realized that everything she was running from was everything she ever wanted. Loving you wasn't a burdening thing like her past tried to convince her it was, she was not about to be tied down and have her will taken. No, she was just signing up for a life with you by her side, and she realizes now that she has to fix this because now she can't imagine her life any other way then with you as her wife.
As soon as the jet landed she was racing off to find you, and once she reached the kitchen her search was over. There you stood with a mug in hand talking to Wanda in your Stitch pajamas. Natasha moved on impulse, her body needed to feel yours, so she catapulted into you without a second thought on as to if she was allowed to.
"Y/N, I'm so sorry, please forgive me," she sobbed into your shirt, and you froze upon feeling her tears seep through to your chest.
"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Natasha froze, entire body tensing as you spoke, because the tone you used was one of innocence, and not one full of malice or contempt. You were asking her an honest question, and it terrified her.
"I'm your fiancée?"
"Were," Wanda softly corrected with a glare fixated upon the absolute mess of a woman.
"I'm so confused..." you whispered, and the woman pulled away from your hold, the one you graciously allowed her to remain in with a deep frown, and eyes glistening with tears.
"You don't remember me?" Natasha shakily asked, her arms now wrapping around her body as she took tentative steps backwards.
"I know who you are," you admitted, "Just not how you're supposed to be important to me."
Natasha nodded, then before you could break her heart any further she was taking off to her old room so that she could be sick.
"Y/N?"
"Yes?"
"I thought all your memories came back?"
"They did," you replied with a saddened smile, "But I don't know if I want to remember her."
After crying herself into a restless nap Natasha woke up with a start, hand flying out to grasp you to pull you close but she was reminded for the umpteenth time that you weren't there.
Nothing made sense before without you, but after seeing you it makes even less sense, and in order to get answers Natasha jumped up and ran to Fury for them, and as she drove closer to Shields headquarters she fears her continued mission extensions were intermixed with why.
"Agent Romanoff, welcome home," the stoic man greets without even looking up, he didn't need to with the way she slammed his door into the wall without a shred of remorse.
"What happened to Y/N?"
"And here I thought you were here with completed mission reports, and detailed ones at that since I heard you sustained an injury."
"Stop giving me the fucking run around Nick."
"You broke her heart, and that trickled into a long winded year of saving the poor girl."
"From what?"
"Hydra."
Natasha's knees gave out, causing her body to fall into the mans couch with a tightness in her chest. "Nick, what are you saying? I-I don't understand, what happened? If she was in danger why didn't anyone tell me? Is this why my fucking mission was pointlessly extended?"
"I haven't the time to offer you explanations, I'm needed elsewhere, but to make a long story short—yes, we didn't need you in the way in a fit of remorseful hysteria as we found her," the man revealed as he dropped a huge file on the table then looked her straight in the eye, "Not to mention she told everyone before she was ever taken captive that if you were to ask about her no one was ever allowed to indulge you."
Fury left as soon as the words left him, and the redhead shakily reached for the thick files. Knots formed in the pit of her stomach the more she read, the papers were thorough, not a single bit of information was spared. Starting with your failed nuptials that led to you going on the honeymoon alone and being kidnapped.
Natasha left you in a vulnerable headspace, costing you six months of your life, she basically led Hydra right to you, and she felt sick to her stomach at the notion. Love isn't mean to cause pain, and yet that's all she's done to you; therefore your lost memories of her love was her burden to carry going forward.
——
It'd been a week since Natasha had been back, nobody would even spare her a glance, so she hid out on the unused floor of the compound. Until one morning when she was informed by Friday that the team had left the compound. Something about an impromptu mission that she was to sit out of due to her recent injury.
The same injury you heard about through the grapevine, and you honestly felt responsible. Had they let her come home on time she would have avoided her last forced sparring session. Then her torn calf wouldn't be on your conscience, and you wouldn't be watching the poor woman struggle to make her sandwich.
"Need some help?"
Natasha jumped, making the pain in her leg worse as it shot through her body and sent her tumbling backwards, but fortunately you were there to catch her, "Falling for me are we?"
Mentally you slapped yourself for saying that, her lip wobbled ever so slightly, most people would've missed it, but you never could. No matter what happened, you'd always be in tune with the woman who still held your heart captive after all this time and the heartbreak.
"I'm okay, thanks though," she politely declined, then with as much strength as she could muster she stood upright again, and shifted to face the counter to hide her tears.
"Natasha, I know what happened, Wanda told me," you told a partial truth, it was the witch that restored your memories months ago, but you wouldn't be letting Natasha know yet, if you were ever going to trust her again, she needed to prove to you she was really sorry.
"Oh," she whispered, the knife clattering on the counter drowning her voice out, "I'm sorry."
The tone of her voice wasn't something you'd grown used to, even after three years together she had yet to ever be this vulnerable with you.
"Hey, it's okay Nat, I'm sure you had a reason."
Natasha stilled when your hand settled on her lower back, she didn't deserve your sympathy.
"Y/N, please, you don't have to forgive me, if it wasn't for my cowardice you wouldn't be in the mess that you're in," Natasha shakily stated, her inability to reel her emotions in truly did shock you, and it was clear to you how broken up over the entire situation she is—as she should be, but it also pains you to see how she blames herself for what happened to you, even if the team agreed, you never once blamed her.
You've had a long time to think the whole situation over, and if you could go back in time you would, in a heartbeat. You'd have slowed down, caught on to her fight or flight response slowly building up and gave her the space she needed, hell you would've even postponed the wedding if she would have only asked. It was the secrets and blatant lying that did you in.
"That's the thing Natasha, I already did," you whispered as you pulled her in for a hug, one that you craved just as much as she did, but the desperation was only visualized from her end. Natasha clung to you like you were still her lifeline, because deep down you always will be.
"I'm sorry," you spoke, and she pulled away with a deep frown full of defiance, "No, you've got nothing to apologize for Y/N, not at all!"
"It's my fault you're hurt Natasha, they told me they wouldn't let you come home," your voice wavered with a concern she didn't expect,  but nonetheless she appreciated, "and now that you're back you've being unfairly isolated."
"Hey, hey," Natasha cupped your cheeks when she saw you losing hold of your composure, an all too familiar intimacy that you leaned into within an instant, making the redheads heart flicker with a bit of hope, "They had every right to keep me away, and to keep their distance. I didn't just steal Thor's poptarts krasivaya, I broke your heart, and that's worthy of all this."
You chuckled, "Thor does love his poptarts."
"Yeah, and the team, me included, love you."
An awkward silence fell over the both of you as you remained connected in a loose embrace. Only to be broken when Natasha gazed at your lips with a hunger you recognized as futile. Though you wanted to kiss her just as bad, you couldn't let her back in just yet, so you gently let her go, and nudged her out of your way.
"Sit, I'll make you a proper lunch."
Natasha went to refute your offer, but the way you looked at her made her back down, and at the sound of her relieved sigh as she settled on the stool you smiled in triumph. Natasha never let you take care of her like this before, most of the time she'd glare at you for even insinuating she wasn't capable of doing so; she'd cook eggs on the stove while bleeding out just to prove a point. Literally, once Bruce had to stitch her up as she passive-aggressively fixed dinner.
This wasn't much, but it was a start, and you were hopeful this wasn't a temporary thing. That her injury isn't the reason she's allowing you in like this, and that it's who she became while she was away. It made you think, that maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for you.
The mission the team went on ended up turning into quite the doozy. What was meant to be an overnight became a three month long undercover mission. So in that time you were left to either your solitude or Nat's company.
For the first month she herself kept a bit of distance between the two of you. After she was so close to pouncing on you in the kitchen she felt it was the best option. It wasn't fair for her to look at you like you belonged to her, when you didn't even know who she was anymore outside of the rumors, and the harsh truths.
It wasn't until you purposefully set your alarm for four in the morning so you could corner her in the kitchen that she was given no choice but to spend time with you. Neither of you said much, you gently nodded to the mugs on the counter and she graciously accepted the offer.
"Thank you," she hummed, her distinct rasp you'd grown to love in the mornings much smoother as the warm drink coated her throat.
"Don't thank me yet, you have yet to try my omelette," You watched in amusement as the redhead's eyes widened and her head instinctively shook in the negatory. "Um, I'm not hungry, but thank you, really it's kind."
You deadpanned, "Your stomach growled."
Natasha sighed in defeat, begrudgingly she accepted the extended plate, tentatively she cut off an edge, then she moaned at the flavor.
"No fucking way, Y/N, that's delicious!"
"You seem shocked," you gasped with a hand on your chest in feigned offense.
"It's just, my Y/N couldn't even crack an egg."
It's true, Natasha used to do all the cooking after she rescued you from Hydra the first time, but in her absence you had to learn.
"Well consider me the superior Y/N then."
You watched regretfully as your words struck the redhead far deeper than you'd intended.
"Natasha, I—," she cut you off with a warm, albeit hurt smile, "I'm actually in a rush, I have physical therapy today, I'll catch you later."
As the redhead ran away, again, you found your heart was aching at the distance you just reaffirmed with your careless attempt to joke. It wasn't a lie, ever since your failed attempt to wed you were forced to become a more well rounded person, but that didn't need to be a new point of guilt for the redhead to bare.
You finished off her omelette, then retreated back to your room, you'd try again tomorrow.
The following day you saw Natasha on the couch, her injured leg was on an ottoman, while the other was curled beneath her as she read a book: Girl in Pieces, it was one you got her for her birthday when she mentioned she needed more to read, it was also your not so subtle way of trying to get her to see your pain.
It warmed your heart to see her actually read it, but really what caught your eye was the hoodie she wore as she flipped the pages. The light grey that swallowed the petite woman was one of yours, it was rather new actually, and even if you were meant to be upset that she stole from a Y/N who didn't know her, you just weren't.
Knowing that on some level she still needed you kept that burning hope that never died alive. Natasha always looked beautiful wearing your clothes, whether it be your hoodie with sweats or an oversized tee paired with her lacy panties. There was nothing she couldn't pull off, but in most scenarios you did, discarding the fabrics on your bedroom floor to feel her.
It was easy to admire her really, the way the sun filled the nearly empty room and reflected off of her was nothing short of angelic. She wore a pensive expression, brows furrowed with lips pursed, and eyes focused as if the words were inspiring her to think critically.
"So, why is it you're not on the mission?"
Natasha giggled when you jumped, of course she knew you were there, she slipped her bookmark between the crisp pages, then gave all of her attention to you with a soft smile.
"Um, I am not exactly cleared to go out yet," you quietly replied as you sat on the couch across from hers, "Not since I got powers."
Natasha's face fell when your hand raised to show the materialization of blue sparks, you were never supposed to be in this situation. Natasha remembers the day she saved you from the fate you eventually still endured.
You'd been so scared when she stumbled upon you in a high tech cage with glass for walls. Hydra had only had you for a few weeks, it was enough time to start their trials, but they only succeeded in altering your physical strength. Now though, they'd given you the powers you never wanted, and now she wanted to cry.
"Oh Y/N," she couldn't bare to see you like this, knowing it was her fault only made it worse. The guilt swimming behind her eyes made you frown just the same, "It's not your fault Nat."
"It kinda is," she replies instantly, "If I wasn't a coward, had I not ran, you would've never been alone for them to take. We'd be truly happy, but more importantly you would be safe."
"Why did you?" Natasha's frown only deepened as you asked the looming question, "Why run?"
"I-It wasn't exactly a choice," she starts, her hands reflexively clenched, before she tightly clasped them together, "It was fight or flight."
The vague answer she gave honestly upset you, you know she was scared, but for her to have such a fearful biological response to you hurt.
"What did I do wrong?"
Natasha shook her head, her brimming tears falling as she did, "Nothing, you were perfect."
"I don't understand."
Natasha's knuckles cracked as she reflexively tightened her grasp, the idea of being this honest scared her, but you also deserved to know, even if you weren't truly you anymore.
"I'm not a good person Y/N," now it was your turn to clench your fists, this undeserved self loathing mantra of hers always infuriated you.
"That's simply not true Natasha, we've all made choices we weren't proud of, I know you're not a bad person, my heart knows that much."
"I broke that heart, it should despise me."
"Well it doesn't, so stop willing it to."
"Why?" her voice cracked, she looked unsure of what she was asking, but she asked anyway.
"I'm destined to love you, I don't have it in me to hate you Natasha, trust me, I already tried."
A wave of clarity washed over her, there was a storm behind her green eyes, and the way you could see her heart breaking devastated you.
"Natasha—"
"I can't believe you lied to me like this..."
Even with an injured leg she was still able to evade your grasp, and escape on the elevator.
"You left me at the altar, but I'm the bad guy?" You huffed to yourself like a petulant child, and  stormed off to your room via the many stairs.
A loud knock on your door woke you up, you groaned, all you wanted to do after earlier's fight was sleep the rest of the day away, but it appears the redhead wasn't done berating you.
With a scowl to rival her expected one you opened the door, but all you found was a box with your name on it signed from Natasha.
"I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me for earlier's blow out, you've got every right not to, but I hope you do understand I felt blindsided. If you don't, I hold no grudges, and I promise I will leave the compound as soon as possible so you can be comfortable. But if you do, please meet me in the training room at 8."
With the note read you untied the ribbon, then you opened the box to find a customized suit, it was primarily black, but there were these gorgeous waves of varying shades of blue going down the sides of the breathable latex material.
A soft smile graced your face as you ran your hands over the piece, it made you feel special, but more importantly it gave you a feeling of belonging again. For months now they've been too afraid to utilize you in combat, they were worried about the unknown capabilities of course, but you also knew they just didn't want to put you in danger, but that wasn't exactly their choice to keep making. Nat understood.
After less than a minute deliberating you were slipping into the suit you know she spent the last few hours making in Tony's lab for you. Then you made your way down to the gym just in time to find her perching herself atop of a miniature board in a carnival-esque dunk tank.
"Natasha, what is all of this?"
"Well, I see that you are either hesitant to use your powers, or the team is benching you, and in either scenario I want to help you undo it."
"You're injured, are you sure this is safe?"
Natasha rolled her eyes, "Y/N, it is a tiny pool of water, what could you possibly do to me?"
"I could drown you."
"Don't threaten me with a good time," she winked and smirked at you in that dopey way that usually has you crumbling to your knees.
Now it was you rolling your eyes, "Romanoff, what am I even expected to do with this?"
"Whatever your heart desires Y/N: use the water beneath me to pull me in, freeze the water as it exits your hands and throw the ice blocks at the target, or use a water stream."
All was going well, before you began to dunk Natasha in the tank you focused more on your breathing, and the overall serenity one needs to feel to remain under control. Once you felt at peace, something you knew deep down came when Natasha smiled at you, and encouraged you with praises, you began to formulate tiny balls of water, then you upped the ante and focused on chilling them until you had ice.
However, after you dunked her for the tenth time you could see something was wrong, she stayed under the water longer than normal, and judging by the influx of bubbles you knew she was screaming in pain. Something she felt she needed to keep from you as she rose out of the water with a tight lipped smile as she reset the seat and clambered back on with a struggle.
“Timeout,” you shouted while running over to the redhead who was failing to hide her pain, which meant it was likely a drastic feeling.
"Oh come on Y/N, we were just getting warmed up," the redhead frowned, "Or cooled down?"
“Nat, I saw you screaming in pain,” you admit, but she shrugged, “What is life if not painful?”
“I’m fine,” she tried again, but the truth was she was the furthest thing from it, but she didn’t want to present as incapable, or or weak, and she just didn’t want to let you down again.
"Natasha, please just be honest with me," you sighed, hand falling over hers as it sits over her calf, "If we're going to fix us, you have to be."
Natasha met your worried gaze with a tearful one of her very own, "W-we can fix this?"
It shocked you to see her so unsure, telling you that she was helping you without expectations. Letting you train with her because she knew you better than anyone else, and she knew you were scared of what you have become. It was endearing, and reminded you of the Natasha that you fell in love with all those years ago.
"It won't be the way it was overnight Natasha, but if you're here, as in no more running when scared, and you're honest, we can get us back."
"Okay," she timidly whispered with a nod, followed up by a shaky exhale, "The therapist said I need surgery, but I'm terrified Y/N/N."
"Oh love," you lifted her hand up to your lips to deposit a gentle kiss, "I am so sorry it's not getting better on its own, I know you hate the hospital, and being put under even more so."
"I can't do it, I don't want to—I won't."
You gently lifted her off the platform of the dunk tank so you could hold her in your arms, "Yes you will baby, because you are one of the strongest people I've ever known, and if it'll help you, I'll be right there the whole time."
"Really?" her hands gripped you over the suit in an attempt to garner a semblance of reason, and you smiled at the way she used you to ground herself like this, "Of course, you're not ever going to be alone if you don't want to be."
"Never again," she whispered the promise, "This is where I want to be for the rest of time."
"Funny," you smirked down at her, your right hand cupped her cheek, "I was thinking the same thing," you pulled her in for a kiss, her parted lips swallowed your sudden giggle as she eagerly moved to deepen the reunion kiss.
"However, the bed might be more comfortable, what do you think?" Natasha whimpered hotly as you bit into her lower lip, "Please detka..."
“I told you it’d work,” Tony boasts, and the little witch rolls her eyes while filling her duffle bag up with a discernible quickness, “No, you said ‘why does it matter’ and ‘this isn’t my problem’ when Clint and I suggested this.”
“Well, initially, yeah, but I changed my tune.”
“Yeah, like five minutes ago when Natasha fell into the water with a cry and Y/N ran to her,” Steve bemoaned while starting up the jet so they could ‘return a month and a half early because they were just so incredibly efficient.’
———
4,572 Words
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ellaphnt · 17 days
Note
Saw ur Toshiro post, and I absolutely agree that Toshiro's outburst will be a stepping stone for both um an Laios to grow and that the buildup was because Shuro didn't want to ruin situation he was still trying to figure out. But the funniest thing is, afaik, Laios and Falin are *also Foreigners* for quite far away. Their country is simply Scandinavian/northern Europe themed. I don't think we see any long-lived races in their flash backs (baring the dead man buying a ring of elves?). And both Falin and Laois definitly are the equivalent of nobility/Local chiefs kids. But instead of being send out with all their assistants and guards, Laios ran away and suffered in the army and then on his own in a caravan , and Falin was send to a Magial School full of other races and people. They both had time to 'adjust' to the wider world (and still carry a bit of home-grown uh...prejudice (mountain people)). So when they met Shuro both of them were well used to meeting people not from their Country. Toshiro not being either from the tiny Island or the nearby lands simply didn't mesh with how they had adapted to behave. Plus, obviously, Laios textual Autism. But I feel like Laios could totally have figured it out if he had met people from Shuros island before who would have told him, he does after all know how to behave around Dwarves and such, who also have quite diffrent culturual norms. Sorry for the ramble xD Good Toshiro post!
Hi hi! I’m really glad you’re adding onto my silly brain thoughts hehe - I’m super happy to hear yours, especially since they make me think more! Warning this is going to be long, talking about dungeon meshi is just a lot of fun.
When I said foreigner, I should have clarified that that I meant he’s a stranger to the CULTURE. A good chunk of the people in the island are not native to it! But culturally, they have the social background to fit in. They didn’t all come from the same place, yes, but they grew up in European-esque cultures and interacted to some extent with other races. Even Kabru and Rin are not foreign to this type of culture because they grew up with Western/European socialization.
Gonna elaborate bc I think it’s fascinating: From what we know about the Eastern islands, the worldview is very very different. In the Adventurer’s Bible where Kabru talks to Hien, they talk about how the East defines “humans” as “tallmen”, and oni/ogres were the only “other”. In the post-canon snippet where Toshiro talks to Falin, he even refers to Eastern thinking as “backward” due to the lack of long-lived races. Because of his delayed exposure to other races, and because the worldview is far more different than the one the Toudens experienced, that’s where I make the statement that he had more to adjust to.
I’ll also note, the fact that the Toudens are subjectively more adjusted to seeing and accommodating other races makes Laios’ statement that Toshiro “had an odd appearance” an even more bizarre thing to say. And although we can assume Toshiro also has his biases, we don’t see them highlighted like other characters have had (to my knowledge). So it makes it seem like he was more thoughtful/careful towards other races from the get-go, despite his lack of knowledge. His main issues were always with other tallmen, just like Laios.
It’s good to point out that the Toudens are outcasts in their own right. Both of them went through a really hard time, and it changed them. Laios’ cycle of failures and giving up and being bullied are especially important to characterizing his relationship with his sister and his disinterest in humanity and lack of close friends. Falin at least had Marcille. Both Laios and Toshiro have reasons they’re inexperienced in friendship, but one of them stated it in the story and the other didn’t. There’s more misconception about Toshiro’s character than Laios’. So my post was to talk about that one a bit.
ALSO OOO I COMPLETELY FORGOT but I WAS going to mention how both the Toudens and Toshiro came from families of influence! Thank you for bringing it up! Laios and Toshiro diverge from that upbringing, while making Toshiro and Falin a little more similar. This goes into another whole thing where Laios and Toshiro parallel (and foils?) each other but that’s too long of a discussion. Just as long is how this divergence distinguishes the Touden siblings (too many people have said their only difference is gender..)
Lastly, yes, Laios does need more exposure to Eastern people and Eastern culture to get a grasp on it. He really wants to learn! It’s just that Shuro isn’t his encyclopedia and until he gets that chance, he will make ignorant takes. I can think of two more that will occur in the main narrative alone. (but like Toshiro said, Laios has no malicious intent, that’s what makes it all the more complicated)
While there’s good conversation to be had about the fight from a ND vs NT POV, I’ve seen SO much discussion about Toshiro possibly being read as autistic too, and neurodivergent individuals who can relate to his experience. Often it comes as an intersection between both being autistic and being a poc. I think it brings even more nuance to the narrative. Plus I’m just glad there’s people who can relate to him. He’s meant to be relatable! His problem with Laios is just as much a character flaw as it is human.
Hope this post was a thoughtful response to yours, I tried to tackle everything you mentioned! Thank you sm for the ask :D
Edit: for the sake of context, here’s the og post that’s being referred to!
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katz-chow · 6 months
Note
This is so Phillip Graves coded....thoughts? Also love your work♡^^
bang bang
a/n: STOP NO I LOVE THIS SONG. you're so right babyboo this is so graves coded. how much of life passed by him because of how much time he dedicated to his work. let me show you. angst, good ending, gn! reader, not how i normally write graves, him being an ass, slight suicidal themes, one religious bit, ignoring mw3
Phillip hadn't meant to leave you all alone all those years ago. Memories of weeping willows and tall grass in the scorching summer heat before school started to flood his mind as he drove through sun-bleached roads in the Hill Country. He was finally going home, back to the place where he could finally retire. Sure, he hasn't been back here in 5 years, but he was working and doing important missions within the military, you knew that.
He made sure you knew that when he left for the cold plains of Colorado to start up the Shadow Company. "It's dangerous work, Sweetheart." He said as he held your hand close to his chest. You were crying, begging to come with him, the shiny new ring on her your finger gleamed in the airport lighting.
"No. it's too dangerous, I don't want them coming after you..." He said when you called him a few weeks later after he informed you that he was going overseas. Again, you begged to be able to call him, to have any grasp of him and who he belonged to. And again, he denied it.
You suggested letters on a call a few months later, after he had gotten back from that first mission. He seemed more on edge, hardened...not your Phillip. He cursed and groaned, "When will you understand how dangerous everything is?! Use your brain and think will you? If I send back letters, they'll know where to find you. If you send back letters, they'll know where to find me. Hell, they can probably trace this call right back to you at this very moment and I can't do shit about that!"
You ended the call, frustrated tears rolling down your cheeks. You threw the sheets off of you and screamed into the pillows. You missed him and, of course, he just wanted you to be safe.
Soon, his signal got weaker and weaker. Letters were out of the option except for a rare one-pager or a post card sent from him. Mexico...seemed like a nice place to be, while you're stuck here in Texas, without your husband.
One month turned into two, and then 4 years, and then...he was dead. One of his old military buddies showed up to your door along with a shadow you've never seen before, a flag in hand.
You didn't cry during the funeral, there was no body. You didn't cry when you were handed the flag. You didn't cry on the drive home. You didn't cry until the sun went down and the normally empty house seemed colder, the last smoldering coal cooling down. That was when you couldn't take it anymore. Your knees sank down and hit the hardwood in your living room, framed pictures of the two of you hiking in California glimmered with the faint kitchen light that seemed so, so far away.
You felt the surge of guilt roll over you he was right, he was only keeping you safe from the mess of the world while you got to stay at home. But instead of admiring him and his care, you screamed and cursed and kicked and...cried. You cried out to him and he had no choice but to swallow the stinging in his chest whenever you asked when he was coming home. You couldn't see it at the time. Funny how these things work, it takes death to make you see it.
“If God teaches in this way, by weakening you into a vulnerable thing in order to beg for mercy, he is not a kind god. If this is the case, kill me too. If it’s cowardly than I accept being a coward, if it means I can be with him again.”
His death wrecks you. You don’t come out of the house anymore, not even to get groceries. You order things at your doorstep. You only open the door for people to send their condolences, but never allow them to go in nor do you want to go out. The house is no longer pristine and ready for him to come home at any minute anymore, because you know he won’t.
So imagine the sound of an engine cutting off in front of your house. Then the sound of a large car door closing. And then the keys turning the lock open. You don’t move from your nest of a bed, you figure you had forgotten to eat and the hallucinations are coming in. So you stare at the window blinds, bright sun outside causing a slight glow in your bedroom. You sigh. A lovely day gone to waste again, shame…
“Honey? I know you’re here, your car’s parked out…” His voice chirps as you hear heavy footsteps make its way around the small house. Then the sound of the door opening, your back facing it. You keep your eyes ahead, preparing for the part where everything fades to black and you fall asleep. You start to see the familiar figure in your peripheral and then his face knelt down to meet yours on the bed. You look at him, tiredly and sadden, dismissing the vision as you closed your eyes.
“I’m sorry, Baby…” His knuckles brush against your cheekbones and your eyes dart open and wide, looking up at him.
“Phillip…?”
His hand caress your face as yours reach out to him, fingers pinching and pulling at his face. He smiled softly. “It’s just me, again…Hi..”
Tears formed in your eyes as you sat up in bed, scrambling into his arms as you both sit on the floor. You screamed and sobbed and hit him as he held you close. “I thought you were fucking dead for almost a year, a whole fucking year, you asshole!”
Phillip didn’t seem fazed with your words nor your fists weakly hitting his back as you buried your face into him. “I know I’m sorry…I’m here now. I’m real, it’s okay, we’re okay.”
Your Phillip was home, safe and in your arms. He knew you would react in some way, but somehow he didn’t know it equate to you physically hitting him. He held you as tight in his arms as you would let him as you cried and screamed.
You succeeded in pulling away from him, tears turning into sniffles and a furrowed brown.
"I miss you."
A harsh pain whipped onto the side of his face, hard enough to pull his gaze from you to the bookshelf in the back against the wall.
"Don't do that again." You stared at him, tears silently rolling down your flushed cheeks as sniffled, lip quivering.
"I'll be here."
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blank-slate-jay · 1 year
Text
Shared Warmth
Joel Miller x Male!Reader
Word Count: 6.8k
Summary: Joel brings reader to an abandon home, that he wants to call home for the two of you. Something erotic in Joel ensues seeing you in just your underwear.
Tags: Smut (18+), Anal, Fingering, Dirty Talk, Pet Names, Dom!Joel, Fluff, Established Relationship, no use of (y/n)
A/N: Longest fic I've ever written so far. I don't know how I managed to conjure this! Could've split this into two parts, but decided this is better as one post to make this more cohesive. Enjoy!
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AO3! | Reposts are much appreciated!
——————————————————
"You'll see," is what you had received.
A response with very little context, a saying with many different meanings.
You didn't know what to make of this, sitting behind him on the horse with your arms around his waist, you genuinely felt left in the dark. It was very much like Joel to leave you questioning the tones under his voice. Most of the time it was just Joel being Joel, being the closed off man that he was. But the man was in a very good mood, deliberately mocking your naivety with a chuckle.
You sighed, "where are you taking me", saying it more toward yourself than to Joel. Being nearly a day away from Jackson, the question was a reasonable one. After all, what purpose was there to go beyond Jackson for? A gated community was a blessing in times like these, and yet strangely for you, something felt off. Living there has made you feel out of place, made your relationship with Ellie and Joel seemly less meaningful. Perhaps being in a safe haven, with so many people, wasn't truly what you sought.
Bizarre for sure that if you say it out loud, you knew people would call you crazy. You yourself felt you might’ve lost your mind. However, you can’t deny your feelings. Those days, weeks, and months traveling with Joel and Ellie across the country - those were some of the best times you've had even with the looming danger around every corner.
Regardless of what was going through your head, you weren't complaining, being back out into the world. The orange glow of the sun only served to emphasize this notion, piercing through the branches just above your head. It created this relaxing setting, one you can bask in for an unhealthy amount of hours.
"Do you have an idea of where we might be goin'," Joel asked.
Cruel. Just damn cruel, asking you a question you knew he'd leave open ended. Still, you played along.
"I’m assuming it’s pretty big,” after relaying that the man hums finally providing you with a clue, even if its unspecified. “…and that you aren’t playing some trick on me. So, a mall?”
“Try again.”
“A museum?”
“Nope…”
You let out a frustrated grunt, wishing the ladder were true. “Lake?”
Joel took longer to respond, “Mmm,” the man thought about it. “Not quite, it’s close by, but not important.”
You scoffed, placing your head on his shoulder, unsure of what he has disclosed so far is true or not, "Should I already know what it is?" Maybe that'll give you the upper hand.
"I doubt you'd guess this," Joel responses.
"So I'm guessing that a no then?"
The older man nods, turning his head to you before replying with a, 'Yeah'. There was no use in trying by that point. The constant persistence wasn't doing you both any favors. Joel probably had a reason to keep it secretive, so why spoil it? Knowing ahead would've made the trip less intriguing, if not boring. And on the bright side, what'll come will actually be a surprise.
Rather than playing into Joel's trickery you let it go, lifting your head back up, "Alright you won, I forfeit."
"Finally givin' up."
You reply, “I think I have too. I’ve ran out of ideas,” you lied just exhausted by the mind tricks, “Unless you want me to keep going?”
Joel partly wanted you to continue, to get back at you for all the times you fucked with him. He was starting to understand the fun in it now and why you did it to him. He settled for one more jab at you, “Will you get it a right this time?”
"Shut it" you giggle, bumping the man's thighs with your legs. Your comment did do the trick, as Joel fell silent after your remark. You could tell the man was smiling though; his rising cheek gave it away. Some of you was certainly rubbing off onto him, to know the man was now more comfortable with you was flattering.
Joel then reaches down for your leg, placing his hand right over your kneecap, caressing it like it was precious. “Don’t worry now, sugar. We’ll be there shortly.”
His considerate touch, that softness in his voice. Those two components together were enough to send a warm feeling throughout your body. How easy Joel could just captivate you by his touch alone, you guessed that was just how love worked.
You nodded your head as if he could see you, humming to acknowledge his words. Again you laid your head against him, face now between the back of his bare neck and the collar of his blue shirt. Closing your eyes, you let yourself listen to the sounds of nature around you to pass the time.
---
Sometime later, you found yourself opening your eyes to the sound of Joel's voice. Your vision, well adjusted to the growing darkness of dusk, focused on the dirt path some feet away.
"We're here," Joel says, spiking your interest enough to get your full attention. You lean back from the man's frame, hands rubbing the bags under your eyes.
Taking a look at the dirt path, you gaze in both direction. One leading deeper into the forest and the other extended out into a clearing. You confusingly study the area, unable to spot anything of interest. No water, no structure, not even a tree with any unique properties. You couldn't help feeling a bit bewildered, some of that feeling escaping through your lips with a quick 'Umm'. Stealing a glance at Joel's side profile, you tried reading what little you could see of his face.
He nods, "Good. You're awake. It's just this way," he explains, spurring the horse to get them moving in the direction of the dirt path.
Huffing in relief you spoke, "Phew, not gonna lie you almost got me there," thinking Joel might've been toying with you still. He turns his head to you, claiming that he wasn't going to bring you out there for nothing. If the man had told you that some time ago, you would have a hard time believing him.
Trotting forward, the horse comes into close proximity of the tree lines. Just on the other side you could barely see something faint between the leaves; a building of sorts. By what you could see the distance made it difficult to tell with the addition of nature covering your view. The universe really made things difficult for you. For what what it was worth, you were sure Joel didn't want you to see it until you stepped out into the open field. Still, the suspense was killing you.
This wasn't going to last any longer as Joel turns the horse right into the clearing. The tree's now finally out of view, you were hit with the red beam from the sun, blinded by your curiosity and in exchange being blinded by the sun in return.
You squint some, grunting as your gaze trailed around the perimeter. There was lots of tall grass, a noticeable transition compared to the on's just behind them. It stretched far beyond what your eyes could already see. Of course your mind was then caught up by the building some distance away.
There was a house. Someone's house. A house, that looked to be in good conditions. Surprisingly the lone tree just beside it has yet to infect the home with any vines. It made you believe that someone had to have lived here not too long ago. That person was one lucky bastard to have that home to themselves, you thought, imagining how nice the interior had looked.
"Ain't that something", Joel spoke, pretending as if it was his first time being there.
You comment, "Looks lively." A good point compared to everything the two of you had seen on the way there.
But Joel corrected you, "It's empty actually, has been for awhile". You let out a quick 'Huh', taking in his words, further scanning the house. The sidings are a tinted white, slightly scrapped on some parts of the wall. The dark colored roof, contrasting with the siding, made the home brighter than it already seemed. The house stood tall, two stories at most based off the windows, with the first floor being linked with the porch.
It was both funny and disheartening how attached you felt to this home already compared to the one you, Joel, and Ellie shared in Jackson. You kill to live in a home like this, not that you hated your existing home, just this one felt...right to you. Exterior alone, it reminded you of your old house pre-outbreak.
"Can we go in," you asked. A silly question, like you needed Joel's permission to enter the desolate property.
Joel responded sarcastically, dragging out the phrase "Nooo", with his gruffy voice. You knew he was only kidding and was now becoming intrigued by what was inside. Even so, the invasive feeling creeping up your stomach didn't go away yet. You looked around, taking in a full scope of the area. You trusted Joel of course, something that had improved since you first met. But your vigilant, alert mind hadn't shifted in the slightest; only improved thanks to being with Joel.
You turn your head around, looking behind you and at the edges of the tree lines to ensure that no one was following or coming. Like it even mattered, Joel had already assured your safety. You guessed it was better safe than sorry.
With your head now facing to the left, you gaze over to the far side of the field. So far that walking there would be ineffective. The field, a tad bit sloped, dragged on into the distance stretching too far for you to even consider. The sun made the entire sight something you'd see only from a painting or photograph. Sure enough, Joel wasn't lying from earlier when he confirmed there was a lake, just far off at the ends of the slope.
Joel steady the horse, grabbing the reins tightly to slow her down to a halt. "Alright," the man sighed. You let go of his waist as he began to move, his boots shaking the stirrups while he steps down from the horse. He then reaches his hand up to you. You gladly took it, allowing the man to pull you down.
You thanked him, a small smile stretching across the side of your face as you looked at the older man. He reciprocated your gesture with a smile of his own, one that made the wrinkles near his eyes stand out. He didn't have to mutter a word for you to know that he heeds your words.
The man turned his attention then to the horse, letting go of your hand in the process. He grabbed the reins and moved the horse over to tie it up to on of the porch's pillars. While he does so, you made your way up the few stairs, the wood creaking beneath your shoes.
Your hands trailed along the rails, rough and also smooth against your skin. Your eyes darting up and down the walls. Closely the walls looked more worn down, not too badly but could use some improvement.
You turned to look back at Joel who was slinging his bag over his shoulder. The man brushes his hand by your arm and passes by you. He walked up to the door before pushing it open. He moves his back agains the open frame, "Come".
Peaking inside for a moment, there was no way the house was empty like Joel had inferred. "Empty, huh. Doesn't look the way to me.", you look at the man with a snarky look on your face.
He looked unfazed by your humor, the man's face falling a bit flat. It reminded you of the times he'd looked at you after having to endure some of your playful banter. Those times were fun back when you traveled the country together with Ellie.
"Get in" he insisted, sounding annoyed but also seconds away from chuckling.
You don't push your luck and brush by the man still with that look on your face as you pass by him. To wipe that look off your face, Joel smacks your backside causing you to yelp; biting his lips in sync. It was a bastard move, but you weren't complaining. Looking back at him was either rewarding or a mistake cause he was making the face you familiarizes yourself with, best described as hunger. God. Choosing your next action carefully was smart cause anything that insight him to grab and kiss you, would lead to something more...erotic.
Not giving into temptation, you turn your attention to the living space ahead, balling your hand into a fist and squeezing it with the other hand. "This is...quite the place," you stated, stepping further into the home. You weren't kidding. The place had an aura very reminiscent of a cabin, the amount of woodwork around the living room alone gave you that impression. However, the house looked and felt homey all the same.
You walked up to a small craved out sculpture, shaped like a bull, placed above the small fire place. While inspecting it's form you brought up a question, "How'd you find all this?"
"Me and Tommy we're riding out", he started as the man trailed over to the wall to place his bag down, "And I wanted to do some more exploring but Tommy wanted to go back. So I let him and luck would have you..," the man finishes by raising his arms up some like he was revealing something grand, "...got my hands on this."
You nod, looking away from him to fiddle with the small bull, "Cool, it's like a comfy outpost. I like it". You then used the bull like a pointer, motioning it in the man's direction, "You weren't gonna hold out on us were you?"
Joel shook his head, making his way over to you. "Firstly this isn't a toy," he says, grabbing the small figure out of your hand. He places it back into its original spot before resuming, "And secondly, I was going to tell you, specifically just you about this place."
He was? You raised an eyebrow in question, wondering what significance a place like this would even have. It wasn't somewhere you'd visited with Joel before, nor was it a house that held any meaning to you prior to arriving. So what gives? "Just me", you muttered.
The man smirked some, finding it adorable how dumbfounded you appeared. He stepped closer to you, close enough to where you could feel the warm heat from his nostrils flaring against your face. “Yeah, just you”, he repeated, his voice now closer to a whisper. 
You could feel his hand grasping at yours as you kept your eyes locked with his. “I’m sorry, I feel I’m missing something here”. The man, obviously still listening, lifts your hand up to his own face, gently rubbing it against his cheek. His scruffy beard, pricked your palm as you cupped the man’s face. 
The man wondered if he should even answer. Your palm, tender against his rough skin nearly made him forget how to speak. Made him almost forget what you had even asked. He had held it longer than he should've, feeling slightly guilty for holding something like this off from you. He felt you inquired more than enough today. 
With your palm, slowly being squished between the man's hand and cheek he explains, "I got this for us. At Tommy's...I know things have been different between us since we got there. We, spend a lot of time outside of town, sometimes don't even spend time with each other much anymore. I thought it'd be nice to have our own space again, you know away from...everything. When I found this it just clicked for me. Felt like we could call this place home."
Your face was at ease, hearing him say what had been on your mind, spiked your attraction to the man further than you thought was possible. Every word, every sentence hit the mark for you. For a moment, you could swear he had to have read your mind at some-point. Either that or being with you had made it easy to determine what was bothering you. Regardless, having a place faraway for yourselves sounded too good to deny, especially when it was exactly what you wanted.
You couldn't quite put your thoughts into words, simply letting out a confused giggle, unsure of how to follow up on Joel's reveal.
Joel takes notice of this, captivated once more by your expression. He then breaks the silence, "You've asked a whole of questions. Now let me ask you this, how do you feel about living here with me, sunshine."
You nodded immediately, maybe a bit too quickly and possibly too eagerly. "I'd...love to," the words finally falling out of your mouth.
The man response, turning his head some to kiss your palm between an utter, "Good." His lips softly trailed down, like he was following the curved lines on your hand. Each kiss felt delicate, purposeful, each with some kind of meaning supposedly. That was just within Joel's transcended mind, he couldn't help himself, he got lost quickly whenever he'd feel your touch.
You leaned yourself forward, pulling your hand away from his mouth to wrap it around the back of his neck. Tugging him forward you embrace him, finding his hips as a comfortable spot to rest your free hand. No surprise, Joel indulged, pulling you into his arms too.
The two of you stood for some time, merely appreciating and savoring the moment of intimacy. You didn't think any words could pinpoint how much you loved Joel. Not even the word ‘loved’ felt like it was doing him justice. It was beyond that.
“What did I do to deserve you," he mutters above your ear.
“Luck," you say.
He hums, knowing it to be true but hating the notion of life without you, fighting for you made it all worth something, made it mean something. He made small circles around your back, just being grateful he had you now, thankful that you made it to this point to be there in his arms.
"I'm making dinner," Joel says, catching you off guard for a moment. "Got the ingredients for your favorite."
You knew what he was talking about, it was meal you'd two shared before and you couldn't keep quiet about your enjoyment of the dish, even while eating the damn thing.
Luck would have you, again, you were about to experience that meal again.
---
You turned the running faucet of the soothing shower off, grabbing the towel just off the shower's hinges to wrap yourself in its warmth. Stepping out the tub, you began to dry yourself, wiping away all the sweat you'd built up after leaving Jackson. Once knowing this new place had running water, you were quick to jump for the shower, never skipping the opportunity to get yourself clean.
Joel was just downstairs prepping dinner for the two of you. You wondered if it was already finished since you spent way too long wandering the upstairs plane; checking the available rooms before finding the shower. You were sure it wasn't even done yet since Joel would've called out for your name by that point.
Wiping away the last remnants of water, you threw on some spare clothing, a shirt and just your underwear, from your backpack before stepping out the restroom. The cooler air hit your body, nothing you wouldn't accept since the season was a lot warmer; spring.
You made your way into the master bedroom. In this case, your shared room with Joel. Not much was in it. Compared to the other bedroom, which hosted nothing at all, this one at least had a bed and a few dressers. You weren't complaining since the room felt less compacted and more freeing.
Walking into the room you toss your towel onto the bed, taking in the open space, a stark contrast to your room back in Jackson. The thought of what you could implement to this room had your mind racing momentarily. Like what you could put within the corners or whether you should put any entertaining devices in the room. Maybe not the last part probably cause Joel would advise keeping those contained to the living room.
It got you pretty thrilled thinking about what you could do in general now that you weren't limited to a communities resources. This of course meant you didn't have as much to work with, but everything you gathered would or could be used to further improve your new home.
You started comparing your home back in Jackson to the one you have here. Down to it's interior, format, and spacing. You thought about the kitchen, dinning area, your shared room, Ellie's room. Ellie. Again you thought about her, a realization hitting you in the process. 'Fuck' you sighed under your breath. So caught up and enthralled by a nice change of environment, you hadn't even thought about her wellbeing.
At the moment, she was at Tommy and Maria's place, likely giving them a hard time as you'd expect. The usual for Ellie. But being so far away from her, not being there for her made you somewhat fazed; a pinch of disgrace too. That girl was tough and she needed to grow up around people to understand what it's like to live. But on the other hand, she'd follow you and Joel to the ends of the earth, she said it herself.
Throughout the wave of thoughts, washing within your head, you were by the window now. Hands perched up on the dresser just below the glass's border. The spot made for a great place to reflect. Perhaps this would be a good position to do it, overlooking the grassy plains, it gave your head a hub place to ponder.
If it weren't for you being lost in your thoughts, you would've been aware of the man standing by the door frame watching you; completely out of eyesight. Joel, leaning up on the frame with his arm, exhales an exaggerated sigh to catch your attention.
You turn, startled by the sudden noise. Realizing it was just Joel you relaxed. "You almost gave me a heart attack," you joked.
His presence definitely lightened you up, giving you something to distract yourself from any thoughts running in your head. You'd talk out how to settle Ellie's situation with Joel, it'll work out; you knew it would with Joel by your side.
"Sorry" he started, his eyes gazing upon your exposed legs. "Dinner's ready."
You nod, "Alright. I'll be down in a bit."
You thought after relaying this to Joel, that he'd leave and wait for you downstairs. But he didn't move, his figure remaining still as his eyes stayed focus on you. He nods too, but it seemed more that he did it subconsciously since his eyes weren't locked with yours.
The look was back and more prominent than ever. The dark look that you avoided earlier, was calling out for you to let him have you. Mixed with the half smile across his face made for a deadly combo.
You tried being clever, looking about the room to see if your bag was in sight. It wasn't, but you were sure it was still in the restroom after changing out your clothes. "I'm gonna grab my pants, really quick-"
"You don't have to" Joel says, his fingers playing with his nails. "I think you look fine already."
Failed, you tried getting to see if the man would hold off, tried keeping him at bay at least until you both were in bed. But no, you only drew more attention to your undergarments. To make matters even worse, Joel's gruff voice had caused a twitch between your legs. A slight growth a hardness, noticeable by both of you.
Joel bit his lips, taking his weight off of the door, "You're not too hungry, right?"
This was the one time where choosing your words carefully would be wise at the moment. However, you felt there was no turning back now. He wanted you, now. And you wanted him more. You sheepishly shook your head, "Not really", finally falling for the man's glare.
While you spoke, Joel already had closed the gap between you too, looking into your eyes for a moment. He hooks the front of your trousers with his finger, pulling you closer to him until his lips were locked with yours. You inhaled deeply, feeling a tingle shake your spine.
He cups the sides of your face, passionately parting his lips to slide his tongue inside. Fast as Joel was to get things going, you accepted. The warmth elevated by the mixing of each others taste made the tightness in your underwear uncomfortable.
Joel's huffs deeply into the kiss, his grip, grew stronger with each passing second. His weight started to shift your stance, causing you to back up until you hit the dresser behind you. You grunted against his mouth, not letting the movement stop you from continuing to brush your tongue against his.
Both moaning and breathing heavily, you grab at his collar shirt, playing with one of the buttons to get it open. You tried getting him to undress, a chance taken from you when he grabs your wrist tightly. The man wanted nothing but to feel your skin against his own. He wanted to savior the moment. He liked the build up, he loved the anticipation.
His hands were free from your face, but they soon started invading your shirt. He rampaged through it, running them around your shirt before sticking them in by your sides. You tremble at his touch. His hand created a warm sensation on your skin, reminding you of the times he’d draw circles on your back whenever you’d lay in bed together.
For you, gripping his jawline pulled you two closer, crotches colliding too. It peaked Joel’s interest, his eyebrows raising between the groans against your lips. Joel’s jeans made it difficult to tell, but it was clear you were hard, just as hard as he was. That got him to smile into the kiss, proud he could get you really erect quickly.
You parted your lips from his, only a few inches apart. You used the moment to catch some air, something you knew you wouldn't be granted later the further you proceed.
You questioned his smile, "What?" "Nothing," he says, his accent rolling off the tip of his tongue. "Just you". He waits a moment before throwing himself back into the fray, wanting your lips to be sealed with his.
Aggressive, he pushes you harder against the dresser, unintentionally crushing you moments before dipping down to grab your legs and halting you onto the wooded surface. The dresser creaked, not adapted to a person being onto but that didn't concern either of you. The man caress your thigh, slow and aimlessly, while his other hand yanked at the front of your underwear once more.
He wanted you to take them off so badly and you didn't waste a moment. You shook yourself, getting enough room under you to slip them off. Joel helped, his steaming breath hitting your slowly exposing skin made you pick the pace up. He help fully get them off, letting the cloth hit the ground. His gaze fixed on your now exposed erection made him forget to breathe.
“Now your turn”, you said.
Rubbing his hands down your legs, he reaches down for his zipper to unbuckled his pants. His belt clicked and his pants loosened, dropping everything done to the floor with a thud. He swiftly took his underwear off too, slipping it fully off and sliding everything off to the side with his feet.
You let out a shaky exhale, your eyes so baffled by how hard his cock was; rock solid and strictly standing upward. Your started pondering if you could even take it. Under these conditions you would have to take him raw. There had to be something to use, you thought something to make it easier for him.
“Hey”, Joel’s voice soft on your ears. He tilts your head up to hold your gaze, “Eyes on me.” He slowly caresses the features on your face, adoring just how amazing your eyes looked and how kissable your lips were. Those lips, looking at them intently he slips his thump across the bottom half. He wanted to nibble on them, gently bite to leave a mark on them; to leave evidence of his pass doings.
He used his other hand to play with your cock, making sure you were staying hard for him. You assisted him with your palm overlapping his; working in unison. It was subtle and worked to keep you both pleasured while focusing on the man.
Joel dipped his finger between your lips, “Open your mouth, baby”. Your lips separated and he slid his finger in. A bitter taste hit the roof of your mouth as he swirled his finger around. “Get it nice and wet for me. Gonna need it for the hole of yours.”
So this was the alternative. Normally you and Joel would talk about using some sort of cream for sex. With seemingly none around to use, your mouth would have to do. You started sucking on his finger for a bit, his thick finger, took up a good portion of your mouth. Not enough to suffocate like his cock, but enough to make you think about how to manage your tongue’s movement. After the first finger he switched it out for another, a small line of saliva leaking out every time he’d pull out.
Three finger were soaked now, three fingers you were sure would break you, more than his cock would. You shiver, trying to estimate the width of his fingers with that of his cock. It served no purpose other than question your capabilities. What good did that do you, especially now?
Joel releases your cock, and trails his hands down to your balls. You knew where he was headed, this wasn’t your first rodeo with Joel. You lifted your leg up, leaning back onto one elbow to keep yourself upright. Joel effortlessly threw your hovering leg over his shoulder, getting a view of what he’d been dying to see. Your hole, albeit at an angle was still visible and accessible which was the only thing that mattered to Joel.
The man, looked to your eyes for conformation, he wanted to make sure you were ready. There wasn't a hint of denial in your face, Joel loved that look.
Coming into close contact, he circles around your entrance. His rough fingers toyed with your hole, allowing the sensations to prepare you for his soon to come entry. God the feeling alone was making you wish he just put himself inside you, knowing it might hurt but still wanting him to push deep in.
No longer waiting, Joel pushes a finger inside, slowly. You narrowed your brows, the walls of your ass being breached caused a slight spark in your stomach. His finger slid relatively easily, getting your breathing to become shakier than before. It was nothing you couldn't take and his finger was satisfying, it might've been enough to make you cum. His second finger though, made itself known too, pushing in with the first.
You winced, wishing Joel had warned you. Two thick fingers inside was about right, it felt about the size of Joel's cock at it's hardest. Staying with this rhythmic push and pull inside your hole made you believe you were ready for him to fuck you. But one other finger remained, one still damp and set to go.
A yelp escaped your lips feeling the third join the other two. It hurt for sure, causing you to throw your head back as a jolt reaction. You bump the glass pane behind you, the light outside barely shining onto the side of your face. You reached up to grab at Joel's collar, the fabric bringing some level of comfort with it's pure softness.
"Relax..." the man groans.
Fuck you wanted to, but how could you when the man was expanding your ass with every thrust. It made you grip his collar tightly as you kept your eyes tight to prevent it a tear from falling. The feeling was both painful and enjoyable, the tingles running up your stomach never ceased and neither did the sting in your hole.
You started to tell, no, insist that he fuck you. It escaped your mouth through a whine, a part of you wanting him to just remove a finger or two to let you relax. You knew it had purpose, you knew why he was pushing your limits. The longer you held, the easier it would be for him to push himself inside of you. Still you begged, "Please...Joel...take me, just fuck me."
Through your closed eyelids you couldn't see the man, shamelessly smirking, "Oh yeah? Tell me how bad you want it, sugar pie."
You gasp, "Bad".
He groans, "Yeah?". He licks his lips, "Want me to go really deep in there, want to me fuck you real good."
"Uh...huh"
He pushes fingers deeper than usual "How badly?"
You gasped, "Really fucking bad. FUCK".
Joel groans, acknowledging your plead. If you wanted it that badly, he wish you told him sooner. He pulls his fingers out, the sounds of your hole getting him excited. It was wet now, just the way he liked it. In one swift motion, Joel flings your other, idle leg over his shoulder and yanks you forward until your backside was against his crotch. His cock, bumping into your balls got another sound out of you.
You relax into the dresser the best you could, letting your elbows rest and leaning your head back until it was laying against the glass again. It wasn't the most comfortable positions for your neck, you didn't pay much mind to this though as Joel began running his hands up your thighs. With your legs so close to his face, he also started leaving kisses and bite marks you knew would be visible the next day. He wasn't about to let you off without at least some marking, whether it'd be visible later or hidden by your clothes didn't concern him.
Breathing hard against your skin, his gaze turns back to his hard-on. He reaches for it, while overlooking your body. He lines it up to your hole pushing, not inside of you yet, but rather around the exterior.
Again with the teasing, you thought, wanting to roll your eyes but refusing to try. Did the man not tire of his own nonsense? You shifted your hip toward his cock, physically telling him to knock it off and shove it in you.
He locks eyes with you then, seeing your desperate and longing expression. You chewed down on your lips, seeing how the man's eyes had darken since last you laid upon them. He just smirked, looking down between your legs before pushing himself in.
It hurt but not as much as his fingers. The aftermath of those three invaders acted as a testament to how well you could still take the man in strides. For what it was worth, they did make it easier for him to slide into you.
He slipped in and out easily, smooth like butter. His thrust started methodically, getting familiar with your hole's interior again. He groaned, his cock pulsating against the edges, trying to find your sweet spot.
He wasn't able too, it wasn't that easy. You had laid there making hush moans that could only be audible for anyone within the room. It was striking and incredibly hot to Joel hearing you try to conceal your voice. It came off is if you were going to burst, like you were going to scream out his name, that was something else entirely.
Thinking about it gave him a surge, a rush that rapidly increases his pace. His hips smacking up against your ass, created a sound that vibrated your body. Each smack, was music to the man's ears, meld together now with your rising grunts. It probably was the best thing he'd ever heard.
You were losing it on the other hand. Your body trembled, your eyes became hazy, your mind completely in shambles; a mess best described it all. So much so that you had no idea what was even happening, questioning what was even real.
Were you becoming stupid with each thrust or did you completely lose your mind to him. His strides were beginning to make you see stars, more pleasing than the ones you'd see in the sky. A sudden overwhelming feeling rushes from your stomach all the way to your head, the strongest sensation you've felt all day. It made you feel light, like you had been consumed by the clouds.
This strange halt in your mind lasted for a minute before coming back from being on autopilot. You were semi-confused as your body was on a softer surface now. Your body lays flat, Joel's entire weight on top of you. Your senses were coming back to you.
The dresser was no longer your resting place but rather it was now the bed. Joel had lifted you up moments ago, still inside you, and crashed you both onto the mattress. Surprisingly that didn't snap you out of it, but what was even more confusing was the wetness near your stomach, just in between your stomach and Joel's. It was quite sticky. Wait, you stopped your mind from racing, ignoring Joel's rough groans in your ears for a second. You already came, you totally did. Your cock didn't feel restrained nor was it in any desire need to let loose any longer.
Shit, you thought, not realizing the man had satisfied you. You got lost in thought due to him hitting your sweet spot, it explained why your mind went into a frenzy. The feeling sent you over the edge again, jolting you back to reality this time; he hit it again.
You cry out as a response.
"Fuck, I'm gonna blow, I'm gonna fucking blow". Joel groaned.
You couldn't speak a word, it was too much, too much to bear. You dug your nails into the back of his shirt and pulled him closer with your legs around his waist. Your strength was dwindling, and you didn't have the voice to tell him to finish. If he kept it up any longer you were surely gonna cum again.
Joel's voice was deafening against your ears, his rhythm completely erratic and harsh against your hole. He went all out, posting himself up onto his elbows and thrusting into you like it was his last. He could feel the sharpness on his back, a deep sting from you nails pushing further into his skin. He watched as tears rolled down your face, wanting nothing but to wipe them away. He was right there, he could feel it rising up.
A few more rough thrusts did the trick. Joel grunted, holding his breath for a second as his cock convulsed before blowing. It came out fast, faster than he expected, squirting strings of cum in succession against your interior. He squinted his eyes, as he came quickly back down to your neck.
Joel's cock had settled, just as the two of you were. Exhausted beyond belief, you felt weak, one of your slipping off the man's back. You both relish in each other's touch, your breaths becoming steady at last.
The man's body shifts, causing you discomfort from still being inside of you. He reaches down to pull out, a quiet groan breaking free from your sealed lips. He used his other hand to cup and rub your cheek, his way of showing his gentleness after the affair. The man's cum oozed out, running down onto the mattress. You could feel how wet and loose it had become. Compared to the last time Joel had fucked you, you weren't as messy as you were now.
He then looked over to the side, seeing the towel you had used from earlier. He grabs it and wipes away the stains on your stomach.
You let out a sigh followed by locking eyes with Joel. They looked a lot more calmer, vibrant even just by his soothing demeanor.
As he finished wiping you clean the corner of his lips rose, "We should go eat."
Just like that, he had nothing left to say, acting as if nothing just happened. You scoffed at how quick the man could go from wanting to devour you to being a sensual man who wanted to give you the world. You weren't ready to rise from your position, not yet. You yank the towel out of his grasp before pulling him back down onto you.
Dinner can wait, just a bit longer.
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roxygen22 · 1 month
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Still Here
Chapter 1
Summary: After the life and home you built falls apart, you serendipitously bump into your old high school sweetheart, Timothée.
C/W: Divorce, mention of complicated pregnancy (nothing graphic)
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"I thought you were too good for this place, [Y/N]."
You spun around in the grocery store aisle to see your high school sweetheart, Timothée, holding a box of cereal in one hand, a shopping basket in the other, and a smirk on his face. His still very handsome face. He seemed to take great pleasure in the look of shock on yours.
"Timmy," you breathed.
"You came back."
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<three weeks earlier>
The road ahead of you seemed to go on and on and on. You hadn't seen another car in at least an hour as you drove across the plains of Kansas. Your nine year old daughter, Madison, was asleep in the back seat, leaving you alone with your thoughts. Alone. That word didn't sit well with you.
A nasty divorce left you with nothing but what you could pack in your car. You had nowhere to go except back to your tiny hometown across the country in rural Tennessee to move back in with your parents. You hadn't been back since you graduated from high school 12 years ago.
You were valedictorian and had your pick of schools. Much to your parents' chagrin, you were itching to get as far away from the "sticks" as possible, so you applied to universities all along the West Coast. You were over the moon when you received a full ride to UCLA to study biomedical engineering, where you met...him. Your now ex-husband. The two of you met during convocation festivities your freshman, his junior year. You had just left your friends behind in Tennessee and had not yet built a local support network, so you latched onto this cute, kind man who picked up the book you dropped.
The kind man who later left you and your daughter to live with a younger woman who "gets" him better.
You and he dated for a little over a year before he asked you to marry him. Not one for big productions, you decided for a courthouse ceremony a few days later because you just couldn't wait to be joined with the love of your life in marriage forever. You were soon pregnant. Unfortunately, the pregnancy was not an easy one. Severe morning (more like morning, noon, and night) sickness led to multiple hospitalizations, forcing you to miss classes. You eventually reached a point of no return and had to drop out.
Your husband was still able to finish university, though, and was luckily able to quickly secure stable employment, which allowed you to stay home to care for your newborn baby. As the years passed, he became increasingly distant, staying late at work or making excuses to leave again once he was home. You weren't surprised when, after ten years of marriage, he told you he wanted a divorce, because you did, too. But you had no way to support yourself and a child. You hadn't held down a job since before Madison was born. Your work history prior to that was limited because you were so young. You had no collateral or credit history, either. Everything had been in his name.
You had to start over. You had to go back to the beginning.
Tennessee.
<present>
"You came back."
"Yes, I just recently moved back in with my parents. I-"
"Mom, can we get some chips? Nana doesn't have any good snacks," Madison complained behind you as she came back to the same aisle. Timothée went wide-eyed as he looked at the girl and then back at you. She leaned around you to stare back at him. "Who's he?"
"This is my- uh- friend from high school, Timothée. Timothée, this is my daughter, Madison."
"Whoa. She looks just like you did at that age." He shook his head as if to clear a fog. "Where are my manners?" he quipped as he stepped around you and held out his hand to her. "It's nice to meet you, Madison. Your mother and I go way back."
"You knew my mom when she was my age?"
"Before that, even. We went to school together all the way from kindergarten to senior year until she moved to California for college," Timothée replied before locking eyes with you. "She was very eager to get out of here, so I am rather surprised to run into her today."
"It's a long story." You cleared the lump forming in your throat and looked down at Madison. "We should get going. We need to get these groceries home and refrigerated again."
"Right, well, maybe I'll see you around again now that you are back in town." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I'm sure we will bump into each other." Hopefully, you thought to yourself. "It's a small town - that's practically inevitable."
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Chapter 2
MASTERLIST
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Tag List: @croatianprincess
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AITA for telling my brother his wife is using him?
This may be long but I want to make sure there is enough info for you to give an accurate judgment. TLDR at the end but I encourage reading the full post
I (25f) have an older brother, J (28m). I also have a younger brother (22m), L. J and I were always close when we were younger then grew apart as we got older, the boys always were close. The year J graduated high school we became close again.
J met his gf A (29-31f, I dont even know how old she is but she's older then J) during college. I remember the first time A came home with him, and she was very sweet but very nervous. We clicked and had a good conversation that lasted hours (we all were at our parents house and us girls had to share a room and the boys did too). Anytime there were holidays we stayed at our parents and did this (big holidays that colleges had off like Christmas and Thanksgiving)
We met up a couple of times and all was fine. It was hard as they lived far away from where we grew up (2-4 hours depending on traffic and routes). Then I moved to the country, about 20 minutes away from them. We met up more often, but only maybe about once every 3 months. No big deal, I was busy working. Then J and A got engaged and it felt like everything changed.
I would invite them to hang out or get dinner, but J and A would make excuses. J would be like "A can't come so we won't make it" even when I said "okay but what if only you came? You're my brother?" He would make excuses. The days they agreed to meet up, suddenly day of couldn't go. He was tired after work, she wasn't feeling good, the car wasn't working. Anything and everything you could think of. I did notice whenever L came to visit me and stay, J and A would always be available to meet up, even if it was last minute.
So I figured...it somehow must be me? And then they got married. And it was beautiful.
Or so im told as it was a private ceremony and I wasn't invited :) I actually was originally told the date, which I asked off of work for, but then I got a text a week prior saying "guess what happened tonight" and then was told they got married. L was there. Our parents and myself were not. A did tell me she didn't feel right inviting our parents if her parents weren't there...but why not me? I was told it was a private ceremony and only L was there as a witness, but one of their friend's posted pictures and it had over 5 different people in them
I tried to let it go but honestly it hurt me and pissed me off and everything kept adding onto it. I have zero clue what the hell i did. I have texted J and asked him point blank if he is mad at me, he would deny. I asked for A's number cause he mentioned she was lonely and had lost friends, I said we could go get our nails done since that's something she likes (I dont but I figured I'd extend an olive branch) he refused to give it to me. It seems its me but again I have zero clue why.
It worsened after me and J got into an argument. They canceled again, and I do know A was having a bought of depression at this time. I understood, as someone diagnosed with depression and anxiety. But J told me I never would understand (A was still going out to places and hanging out with friends, meanwhile there were days I couldn't get out of bed and called into work sick. I know we shouldn't compare mental illness but it seemed like an excuse to me. A also would do things that she has said makes her mental health worse, like reading and watching things that triggers her). The whole reason I wanted to hang out is because I had Christmas gifts from our parents and a few of our childhood friends for them (L was out of the country at this time and had mailed a gift to them). They kept bailing and I tried for TWO MONTHS, I finally delivered the items the week after Valentines.
One of our friends was a baker and TOLD THEM she baked them a cake, special for them because A has dietary restrictions due to a chronic disease. They knew this and it spoiled. So I was upset for my friend, and I lied and said they got it to save her the hurt.
But when J finally told me to drop off the items I blew up at him. We stood outside his house and yelled at each other. He flat out told me to stop being so emotional and that I was letting hormones get in the way of thinking, and that I should understand A being depressed. I did! I yelled at him he should get his head out of his ass and that he is letting down not just me but our friends, especially the baker who has a waitlist and made stuff SPECIAL for them. He didn't thank me for my gift, but texted each individual person for theirs.
That was in 2022. A month after I apologized and he said he forgave me. But nothing has changed. Since then they didn't wish me happy birthday (they called L on his, he is now living with me temporarily, but when I pointed out I didn't get a happy birthday from anyone *literally only one friend wished me a happy birthday and L, even my own parents forgot* A told me I needed to get over myself and that birthdays weren't that important to them so I shouldn't take any offense. I didnt expect them to wish me a happy birthday this year because of that, but my true friends and my parents did remember this year),. They didn't come to my college graduation. I stopped texting J and I hadn't heard a response since. We did see each other this past Christmas coincidentally, not planned as they didn't come to our parents. J was pleasant, A said nothing but watched me the whole time, and I made excuses to leave this Christmas party as I didnt even know they knew the person throwing the party.
I came home early from work this past week and J was visiting L (something J claims he can't do during weekdays cause he works 9-5 during the week...allegedly). J gave me a hug and we all chatted for about an hour, it felt like old times, but then his wife called. It was a smooth conversation then I got brought up, and suddenly A needed J back home immediately. He bailed on dinner plans he and L had (L had spent all day cooking a roast, it was delicious btw and yes L was upset J didn't stay).
I had enough. I called J during his "work hours" on his cell. J answered and I chewed him out. I said our brother was hurt and whatever the issue with me is HAS to stop. If he doesn't tell me whats wrong, I CANT fix it. J told me there was nothing wrong with me and I was reading too into it. I pointed out some of the same instances I listed and he told me I was reading into it. He then accidentally let slip that A didn't want us talking. Which I figured. I blew up and told him A was using him. A was turning him against me and our parents *i am too lazy to go back but he stopped talking to our parents the same time he stopped talking to me but he always talked to L*. I mentioned how she is an adult and if she has an issue with me she needs to tell me, but instead she's a fucking coward. J yelled at me that she has anxiety and I yelled back "bitch I do too! I'm on fucking meds for it" which i know she isnt. J hung up on me.
Not only is everything above an issue, A also: doesn't have a job and only J has the income. Claims its because of her illness, the one that causes dietary restrictions, yet EATS said things even though she knows makes her sick. She won't let J meet up with our childhood friends. A also has stsrted getting J to take edibles with her. If J is tested, it will get him fired from his job. But then she complains he's being a loser if he doesn't do edibles with her.
The kicker is this: A solely used to date women. J is NOT a woman, nor does he want to identify as one. J knows A used to date women, and again tells me I should be more considerate seeing as how I am openly bisexual. However, and I havent told J this, one of the conversations I did have with A after they got married, she told me TO MY FACE "yeah, I never imagined marrying a guy yet here I am." Laughed and I kind of was like oh haha, isnt it crazy how things work out, to which she said "I dont even like men!" Slapped my thigh laughing and continued laughing. I was bewildered and when J had returned and asked what we were talking about we both changed the subject.
I did tell L when that happened and he thought it was weird but we couldn't change anything as they were married. I dont know if I should tell J.
But really I do feel as though A is using J, but now im wondering if I should lay it out more clearly WHY. Or if I should stay out of it. They already seem to hate me, so part of me is like why not go for it. But L is talking me off that bridge (my therapist is also testing me for something that isnt solely anxiety and depression) . I know J is hurt as he told L such, and part of me feels bad I yelled, but also the rest of me wants to key his fucking car and tell him to shove it up his ass and ban him from seeing L at my house as it is MY house even though L is living there
AITA?
TLDR: I yelled at my brother his wife is using him as she doesn't have a job, always falls back on her mental and physical illness yet does things to make them worse, and has also told me she doesn't like men (she used to exclusively date women prior to my brother).
What are these acronyms?
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sanctus-ingenium · 7 months
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What are some of the other countries in the alt-history your Inver stories are set in? Is Armorica roughly where modern day Brittany would be? :0
Because our concept of countries is very modern & constructed it's not quite that Armorica or Hibernia were Countries as we might understand them. They were mostly made up of smaller fractured kingdoms and cultures which were always fighting one another. Armorica was a region which was roughly here (map and history ramble under the cut SORRY i basically didn't answer your question i got carried away)
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(this map is from the 1860s! not Finbarr's time.. I still need to make a map of that)
but it was never a country, just a region alternatively ascribed to Inver or Aquitan. It fell on the northern side of the Inver border with Aquitan whenever it was established but the border was put there rather arbitrarily and cut across the region without consideration for the people who lived there.
So there IS in fact a whole other history which doesn't even concern Inver at all. There is a small city-state on the southern coast of Aquitan called Suzette, which was founded by the pseudo-Catholics of this world and used as their main base of operations. It's basically just the Vatican, but an early actually-Catholic historical figure called (Saint) Alexandre led a schism with the church and was successful. The schism dealt with the legality of using magic to advance the church's position, Alexandre argued that it was a moral imperative to preserve the ability to use magic within the ranks of their holy knights. Alexandre became a very polarising figure but his most famous follower was military leader called Renzo who, in the renaissance period, basically upturned and reshaped the entirety of the Mediterranean region.
At the time, Aquitan was a kingdom with an absolute monarchy and the same werewolf-based religion as the nobility of Inver (the winners of Finbarr's war were the Aquitanian werewolves and it became the dominant religion in Inver as well). Renzo led a religious crusade against the monarchy of Aquitan, to wipe out all that pagan werewolf stuff. He blindsided the queen of Aquitan, who had been running her own campaign of expansion against the king of Notte [placeholder name], on the far-western coastline of Iberia. When Renzo began winning substantial victories in the southern countryside of Aquitan, the queen immediately turned around and ""allied"" with the king of Notte, by mounting an invasion against the city of Notte and forcing him to surrender and play nice. She sent him off on an enforced holiday under house arrest, aware that her play relied on not martyring this king while she ruled his country in all but name. With the combined might of these two kingdoms she was certain she could crush Renzo, and this began a decades-long war.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, the king of Notte was killed by bandits who didn't even know who he was, before he ever reached his holiday home. The nondescript carriage was ambushed and there were no survivors. The queen, in a panic, chose not to publicise his death.
Well guess what Renzo was doing with his holy knights' blood magic. With each victory his army grew, because he raised the dead to serve him. Resurrection and immortality were key themes of Saint Alexandre's teachings and although Renzo's war crimes would result in his own religion banning the practice of this type of magic, it was kind of a-ok back then (the Church of Suzette would later go on to be pioneers of medical innovations such as antibiotics, germ theory, and safe anaesthesia). And you'll never guess whose dead body Renzo's knights found one day, dumped on the side of the road. Renzo alone recognised what had just come into his possession, and he formulated a counter-play against the queen by using the dead king as his own pawn. Using the king, he got the entire Iberian peninsula to turn on the Aquitanian monarchy, so instead of it being 2-on-1 against Renzo, it was suddenly the queen who was dangerously outnumbered and deeply unpopular.
The monarchy of Aquitan was finally defeated by its own people sixty years after the war began, and a theocracy based on the teachings of Saint Alexandre was founded there, along with the city-state of Suzette. The final execution of the monarchists had severe ripple-effects that reached Inver, which had been pretty insulated from the war by virtue of being a kinda pointless place to invade and housing a population of faeries outnumbering humans 10 to 1. The monarchy of Inver took pride in its links to the Aquitanian nobility and now that was gone. The result was a death spiral for the Kingdom of Inver, as the werewolf monarchists, fearing their imminent extinction, began to fight one another to grab as much power and wealth as possible before the Suzettes reached them, too. They banned the church at the border, only allowing the harmless priests of Suzette's poor Austerity sect to build their hospitals, though they were forbidden from holding religious services and actively converting the public, you have to willingly join.
The final Hibernian families who bought into the monarchy of Inver included the descendants of Finbarr, who had largely betrayed everything he would have stood for by assimilating into their enemies' ranks. And, as anyone might have predicted, their assimilation did not protect them when the nobles of Inver chose to prune their own ranks to concentrate power. One of these families was the noble and now extinct Mercier family, the family of one of our protagonists of Said the Black Horse (bowman lol). The other two protagonists are a second-gen immigrant Hibernian and a war orphan originally from Notte.
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pepsiboyy · 3 months
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starboy part 2
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P1 P2
pairing: y/n x chris sturniolo
summary: y/n, born and raised in los angeles, moves across the country to boston. when she feels like she has nobody, she makes some new friends at her new job. she grows particularly close with the sturniolo triplets, where she finds a lot in common with one of them.
warnings: just cursing
lowercase intentional!!!
author's note: hi guys! PLEASE send feedback on the story so far! part one is already doing so much better than i thought it would?? yippee???
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3:37pm.
honestly, the travel from moving caused me to lose a lot of sleep. and of course, last night was the night it decided to catch up to me. expecting my body to naturally wake up somewhere between ten and noon, i didn't set an alarm and here i was, quickly changing to make it to work within the next twenty-three minutes.
i slid on my pants and stumbled as i buttoned them, putting on a belt and cursing under my breath as i struggled. with a quick glance in the mirror, i sighed and looked through a few bags to find my last essentials. some earrings, my chapstick, my earbuds and sunglasses. i slid on some socks and some dunks, quickly springing to my feet and booking it out of the door.
"are you just getting out of bed?" my mom called from the living room, where she was sipping a coffee. i scoffed and nodded, reaching into the refrigerator and grabbing a water bottle. "yeah, i think the lack of sleep finally caught up to me," i mumbled, plugging in my earbuds and sticking one into my ear. "i need to go now, though. love you mom, i'll be home later." i smiled and waved, quickly heading to the door as i placed my other earbud in my ear.
-
i walked through the doors at work at 4:02, a deep sigh leaving me. i ran to the back and quickly clocked in before grasping my chest to catch my breath. the last thirty to forty-five minutes really woke me up yet tired me out at the same time.
"are you coming or what?" i heard a voice call from the customer service desk, causing me to whip my head over. "ah, yeah-! i'm sorry," i breathed, looking towards the doorway. i slipped out my earbuds and shoved them into my pocket before quickly making my way out while putting my nametag in its place.
i helped kill the line down, and when a moment finally came, i looked to the girl who had spoken to me when i clocked in. "i'm so sorry for being late. genuinely, i think the tiredness from the travel caught up to me and i woke up late." i chuckled and held out my hand. "my name's y/n, it's nice to meet you."
the girl looked down at my hand. as i was talking to her, she looked me up and down while re-applying her lip gloss. she's really pretty, i thought to myself at first. she had stick straight blonde hair and deep brown eyes.
"maeve." she stated quickly before rubbing in her lip gloss with her lips and turning away from me. i looked at her, a bit puzzled as she began collecting her things.
she was wearing a skirt. a very short one, at that. was that allowed? i remembered being told to only wear pants and none with holes. i was ripped away from my thoughts as she began walking towards the back. was she clocking out. "wait- are you.. are you already done for the day?" i stuttered, blinking a few times as i followed her and stopped at the doorway.
"i mean i'm out at 8, but i have somewhere to be," she told me, and i tilted my head. "you can do that?" i questioned, confusion plastered across my face.
"i can. you can't," she stated as she pressed the clock out button while staring directly at me. she then carefully shoved past me and began to leave.
"but i don't even know how to close," i started, but it was no use. she was already walking away and swaying her hips in a way that made my face crinkle. "excuse me?" i whipped my head over to the counter and smiled softly at the customer standing there. "sorry for the wait, how can i help you?"
-
the last two hours truly went by way too fast, but my body was beginning to ache. i had asked for help countless times, and i felt terrible. what was i supposed to do? this was literally my second day on the job and i was left alone at customer service. where people as questions and expect an answer. i had maybe three answers in total today, and a lot more angry people.
i finally managed to get somebody to cover me as i made my way into the breakroom, pushing into the door and letting out a deep sigh. i looked up and was greeted with a familiar boy and a pepsi can attached to his lips, bottom of the car facing upward as he chugged.
"hey," i breathed, and he jumped so hard that it almost scared me. "shit, did i scare you? sorry." i chuckled and moved to sit beside him, making sure to leave a chair between us for respect.
chris set down the pepsi and grasped his chest, chuckling between each deep breath he took. "jesus. hi, y/n." he smiled and carefully turned to face me more. "how's it going?"
i shrugged. "i mean... it's going? i'm alone at customer service on my second day. how good can it get?" i questioned, rubbing the back of my head before looking down in my lap.
"yeah, i hear you nonstop asking for help over the walkie," he joked, and i felt my face light up. "listen, i'm trying okay?" i smiled softly and he quickly waved his hands. "no worries. there's a reason i just do inventory. you're a trooper out there." he mumbled, and i smiled to myself. that made me feel a little better, knowing i was doing something that was harder for others. and getting through it, at that.
we sat in silence for a few moments and i scrolled through my phone. putting in my earbuds as i nodded my head softly to the music. i closed my eyes softly as i allowed the music to sink into my mind, feeling myself relax.
"whbhjf lisdfnnk tgjo?"
i ripped out my earbud and stared at chris. "sorry?"
"whatcha listenin' to?" he repeated, and i chuckled.
"ah, sorry. i literally had no idea what you said." i hummed and glanced at my phone. "can u feel your face by landon cube and lil gnar." i smiled softly, and his eyes lit up. "i love that song," he replied, visibly relaxing a bit more.
i smiled softly at him as he sat beside me. i blinked a few times before moving to sit in the chair closer to him, and offered him an earbud after careful investigation to make sure it was clean.
chris smiled warmly at me and we listened to music together until our break slowly came to an end.
-
i deep sigh left me as i looked over customer service. there was stuff everywhere, and i had no idea where any of it went. i felt a wave of stress run over me as i looked at the time. we closed three minutes ago, and i still had to take out the trash, wipe the counters, and go through returns and papers all over the counters and the floor.
"need some help?" i heard chris from the other side of the counter, and i smiled softly. "ah, i should be... fine..." my voice audibly sank lower with each word. chris shook his head and hopped the counter to come to the other side.
that may or may not have been the most attractive thing i had ever seen.
"i'll help you. i may not work up here but i know where things go." he mumbled and began picking some things up, making me smile softly at him. i wiped down the counters and took out the trash while chris organized the returned items and loose objects in the area.
with his help, we finished within fifteen minutes. "i really appreciate you," i breathed and smiled softly. "no problem," he started, before he paused and blinked a few times, looking over to me. "wait.. don't tell me."
i looked at him with a bit of confusion before fully turning my body to face him.
"did you walk to work again?"
i bit my lip and chuckled. "yeah, i don't really.. have any other way here." she smiled.
chris smiled and let out a soft laugh. "i can walk you home if you want?" he offered, and i blinked a few times.
"no no, please don't waste your time." i chuckled and looked down, rubbing the back of my head.
"i wouldn't be. you live right there, and i can't drive, so... i have to walk too." he chuckled, and i smiled with him.
after clocking out and collecting our things, chris and i began to walk. i held a hand against my stomach as i winced slightly. i was starving.
"you okay?"
chris's voice pulled me away from my thoughts as i turned to him and smiled shyly. "i um... haven't really eaten yet today." chris's face dropped. "y/n! we need to get food now." he scoffed as he blinked at me a few times, very clearly shocked.
"no no, please, i can get something at home. i really don't want to waste your time." i bit my lip as i looked up at him, but he shook his head fairly quickly. "y/n, i'm hungry too, so no, you aren't wasting my time... in fact, that won't ever be the case," he reassured, and i blushed slightly. "right," i nodded.
"there's a mcdonald's across the street. wanna get that?" he offered, and i smiled softly. "sure."
as we walked, he took out his airpods and handed me one of them. i smiled to myself as the music kicked on. way back by travis scott.
we reached the mcdonald's and he carefully opened the door for me. i entered and chuckled softly. "thank you, mister gentleman?" i joked, and he smirked. "don't even start," he replied, causing me to smile to myself.
"what do you get here?" i asked, looking at the large screen on the kiosk in front of us. "umm.. i don't know, it usually changes depending on what they got going on. can't fail with a ten piece though, right?" he asked, reaching over to press the button on the screen to add a ten piece chicken nugget to the order.
i smiled and nodded, pressing the same button. chris added a large fry and two medium drinks before taking out his phone and pressing it to the pinpad, apple pay visible on his phone screen. i blinked a few times.
"chris- i can pay for myself," i started, looking at him with a crinkled face. i absolutely hated when people paid for me.
"don't worry about it, i dragged you out to mcdonald's after insisting that i was hungry too," he smiled at me as his phone beeped, indicating the payment went through. i scoffed slightly. i guess he was right. "and you just got the job, so no paycheck yet," he added with a sheepish smile. i lightly smacked his arm. "shut up," i chuckled, and he laughed as we went to sit at a table and wait for our food.
my mind wandered as we sat and listened to the music playing lowly in each airpod. but then my mind landed on one thought.
"hey, you know maeve?" i questioned, blinking a few times.
chris seemed to throw his eyebrows up. "maeve, like at our work maeve?" he questioned, and i rolled my eyes. "no, the other one."
"don't be like that," he quickly responded with a soft chuckle, and i smiled. "yeah, that one."
"yeah, what about her?" he asked, and i bit my lip. "schedule said she was supposed to leave at 8, but she left at 4, right when i came in. i had no idea what i was doing for my entire shift." i mumbled and looked down. chris nodded and scoffed. "weird. she knows she shouldn't be leaving like that. pretty sure she got a warning for that a few weeks ago." he mumbled, and i nodded.
"she was kind of rude to me too, so.. i don't know, i'm probably overthinking it. sorry. i don't want to cause drama in the workplace. just wondering if she's normally like that." i mumbled, looking at my hands on the table.
chris nodded, listening closely to me. "i haven't seen her act that way before. i mean, maybe she's just upset that there's a new girl that's really pretty and she's jealous?" he stated nonchalantly, and i blushed darkly as i looked away with a soft smile.
it seemed to kick in, what chris had just said, because his face grew pink. "i mean- not that she's not pretty, even though you're prettier... but i mean not in a weird way," he rambled, and i chuckled, quickly causing him to hush.
"i appreciate it, chris." i smiled warmly, my face still red. chris chuckled shyly as he looked away.
"order 272!"
we both whipped our heads over, and before i knew it, chris was already grabbing the bag and thanking the lady who looked like she loved her job.
"ten piece for you, and ten piece for me," he stated as he pulled the items out with a bright smile. he spread out some napkins on the table and poured out the large fry before smiling proudly. "help yourself."
i chuckled. "wow, thank you," i responded and hummed, beginning to eat. i gasped as i remembered our drinks and stood up. "what do you want to drink?" i asked, standing up. he hummed softly, seemingly in deep thought.
"they only have coke products, so... i guess dr pepper will make do."
i smiled to myself. that was what i was going to get, too.
i nodded and made my way to the drink machine, deep in thought.
i had known this guy for two days and he was already making me feel nervous around him, and i didn't know how to feel about it. i swallowed and placed lids on the drinks, biting my lip. did i like chris? okay, let's be realistic. yes. i did like chris. we listened to the same music, he was cute, and a really nice guy... i guess i would see how things play out between us.
by the time i finished my thought, i was setting the drinks against the table and sitting back down across from him. "thanks, y/n/n." he mumbled, and i blinked a few times.
he looked at me mid-bite, blinking a few times. "sorry, is it okay if i call you that? i should have asked." he mumbled. he didn't seem to think of it as a big deal, but i blushed softly. i thought it was cute that he came up with a nickname for me so quickly. "i don't mind at all," i replied, smiling gently. he hummed in content.
the rest of the night was simple enough. we finished our food, talked about music, and he walked me home. it was chilly out, but i lived so close that i didn't bring anything up. when we reached my house, i sighed and turned to him. "thanks for tonight, the food and stuff.. i had a great time," i mumbled, and he smiled.
"me too. we should hang out more often. i like our vibe?" he said, a hint of confusion at the end as if he were trying not to come off as weird. i scoffed and nodded. "yeah, i agree." i hummed and began to step back towards my house. "you work tomorrow?" i asked, and he shook his head. "i'm off tomorrow. but i'd like to chat still?"
i stopped in my tracks and cocked my head to the side. "can i get your number?" he asked, and i blushed slightly. "oh, right, yeah sure..!" i stumbled over my words, and he handed me his phone.
i couldn't believe i was putting my number in this guy's phone. but i was happy i was. i smiled like a dork as i took his phone in my hands and began typing in my number. after finishing, i typed in my name with a little star emoji before handing it back to him. he furrowed his eyebrows.
"why a star?" he questioned, and i scoffed. "you know... star market?"
"i don't want to know you just for being my coworker," he muttered and smiled softly, blinking a few times. "but i'll leave it. it fits next to your name, anyways." he smiled as me and hummed. "okay, get some sleep. do you work tomorrow?" he asked, and i shook my head. "no, i'm off tomorrow."
chris smiled brightly. "same. i think nick works, but matt and i plan to hang out if you wanna tag along? i can text you about it later." he smiled, and i smiled back. "i don't want to intrude on your brother time. let me know." i replied, and he chuckled and nodded.
"text me when you get home?" i asked, and he nodded, smiling warmly at me. "i will." he hummed and stepped back. "have a good night!"
i waved and began to walk up to my porch and into my house, shutting the door.
i sighed deeply and looked up to see my mom staring at me. "who was that?"
i practically choked. "mom, why are you up?" i breathed, gripping my crewneck. "who was that? he's cute." she mumbled and i blushed darkly. "mom, he's just a guy from my work," i defended, trying to walk past her to the kitchen, but she followed quickly behind me.
"just a guy from work? y/n, you got off at midnight and it's almost two.." she smiled cheekily at me.
"he just.. offered to walk me home and we got food on the way." i mumbled, my cheeks pink. "his name's chris. he's a triplet." i smiled softly.
she throw her eyebrows up and hummed. "a triplet, huh? you don't see that every day."
"that's what i said!" i scoffed and hummed as i took a sip of my dr pepper. "anyways, i'm exhausted. i'm gonna try and get some sleep." i mumbled, and hugged my mom softly. "sleep well," she breathed, and i nodded before heading up the stairs.
-
after getting cozy and laying in bed, i made sure to set an alarm for 11am. no way i was sleeping through the day again. my phone buzzed and i turned to check it before smiling at the unknown number. i quickly changed his contact name before reading the message.
from: chris⭐ got home 🫡
i smiled softly to myself and reacted to the message with a heart, before beginning to type.
from: me glad to hear you didn't get kidnapped. going to bed?
i hummed and laid in bed, staring at my phone as it lit up my face in the darkness of my room.
from: chris⭐ nah, gonna run up some fortnite w matt
i scoffed, but that sounded about right.
from: me get that dub
i smiled softly as he reacted with a heart, and he began typing again.
from: chris⭐ i will bc u said that from: chris⭐ sleep well
i bit my lip. no way i was smiling like a little kid who just got what they had always wanted for christmas. i reacted with a heart and shut off my phone, setting it on the table beside my bed.
what have i gotten myself into?
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HEYYYY heyyyy heyyyy ........ I HOPE THIS IS AWESOME SAUCE????? DEVELOPMENT FOR CHRIS AND Y/N!>"?>k@juof anyways i love u guysssss let me know what u think so far and what u guys want from this series !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love u all
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trulybetty · 5 months
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dec' 03 x hot chocolate
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Prompt: hot chocolate Pairing: joel miller x f!Reader Word Count: 3,196 Warnings: barely beta'd, all mistakes my own, this is au and way off the plot of anything to do with TLOU, mentions of coffee and festive fluff and introductions to our characters ☕ Summary: maplewood, a small town nestled in northern bc where people flock to see the festive decorations of main street and enjoy the festive traditions. finding yourself back home and working for the family business, you strike up a friendship with the town's local contractor. AO3: Linked
x. masterlist
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The Little Coffee Shop Around the Corner - Part I
Joel Miller was the type who didn’t believe in buying coffee from a coffee shop. He had a perfectly good coffee maker at home that he’d had for a quarter century now. One that had moved countries and still worked just as well as it had done the first day he’d bought it. 
Well, that was until that very morning. 
With a sputter and a final wheeze, the machine gave up the ghost, leaving Joel staring in disbelief at his kitchen counter. Grudgingly accepting defeat, he grabbed his coat and ventured out to his truck on the brisk Maplewood morning.
He’d moved to the small Canadian town a handful of years ago with his daughter Sarah from Austin Texas. Many had questioned his decision to move not just to another country, but to a town that was drastically different and far removed from Austin.
He hadn’t answered with much more than a shrug.
His contracting business had been doing well enough to live an easy life, step back and enjoy someone else taking the reigns. 
That was until he became a widow at the age of thirty-six and all he’d wanted to do was get out of dodge. Everywhere he turned, there were reminders of her, making it too difficult for him to stay.
Sarah's arrival came after both of his parents had passed away. His brother Tommy had already moved to Wyoming in pursuit of joining a community that he insisted wasn't a commune, and he had settled down and started a family. This left him alone with Sarah, so when they were presented with the opportunity for her to receive a scholarship from a prestigious Canadian school with full access to their renowned soccer program, they eagerly took it as a chance for a new beginning. Despite its remote location in British Columbia, they saw it as a fresh start.
The transition had been challenging, no doubt about it. Neither of them possessed any winter clothing, and they both had to adapt to a new currency (Joel still struggled with the difference between a Loonie and a Toonie) while navigating unfamiliar locations. However, the warmth of the town's reception overshadowed all of those challenges. No one prodded for information or tried to uncover gossip; instead, they were embraced with open arms and quickly became just another part of the Maplewood community.
Sarah had quickly adapted to her new school, which didn't come as a surprise. Meanwhile, Joel had discovered that the town was in desperate need of a handyman, and soon enough Miller Contracting was back in business. 
Pulling into a parking space on the main street outside of the bookstore Sarah often frequented, Joel rubbed his hands together cursing leaving his gloves at home. Despite his years in Maplewood, winter still felt like a shock every time it rolled around.
After taking a moment to orient himself, he recalled that the coffee shop was located to the left around the corner. With this in mind, he began his journey to the end of the street. Luckily, his workload for the day was relatively light, so this unexpected diversion wouldn't cause too much delay
The stores had wasted no time in getting out their Christmas decorations, he looked across the street as he walked to the bakery - its window frames draped in holly and ivy, punctuated by glittering baubles were no exception. Merry Tree Trek, a Christmas tree scavenger hunt put on by the town's businesses was due to start the following day. One of the many traditions Maplewood had for the festive season. 
As Joel entered 'True North Brews,' the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans and the gentle hum of conversation welcomed him. The shop was packed with locals, all happily chatting away as they waited for their orders to be ready. Standing in line, he scanned the menu, feeling out of his depth. This was Sarah’s territory - he usually was just there to provide payment before they headed on to whatever errand needed to be completed next.
He took in the festive decor as he waited in line. Christmas lights had been strung along the edges of the bar, while fake holly adorned every pillar in sight. Paper snowflakes hung from the ceiling and garlands of green and red festooned the fireplace. Which crackled merrily at one end of the room, and he smiled to himself as he watched an elderly couple sitting close together on one of the sofas near it - no doubt soaking up every minute of extra warmth they could get before trudging back out into the cold night air.
That’s when he noticed you behind the counter. You were relatively new, he knew your name and that you were the owner's daughter – Sarah had regaled your appearance in Maplewood several months back when you'd stopped by the bakery. Right now you were serving the town’s newest member of the tourism board, he couldn’t remember her name but knew he’d seen her with Marcus from the bakery here and there. Your eyes met briefly, and a hint of a smile danced on your lips.
Finally, it was his turn to order, “Hey Joel,” you said, recognizing him from his numerous visits with his daughter, “No Sarah today?”
He shook his head, “Just me.”
“In that case, what can I make for you?” you asked, your voice cheery in light of Joel’s look of utmost confusion.
“Just coffee, please,” he said, in a tone that suggested this was an everyday request.
You raised an eyebrow playfully. “Coffee? Coffee means a lot of different things around here. What kind of coffee would you like?”
Joel scratched his head, looking a bit lost. “Uh, just your regular coffee, you know? Nothing fancy,” he replied, his Texas drawl more pronounced.
You leaned against the counter with a friendly grin. “How about trying something a bit festive? A peppermint mocha, perhaps? It's like a holiday in a cup!”
Joel's eyebrows rose in surprise, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “That's far too fancy for my tastes.” he laughed, “Just a regular black coffee will do.”
You nodded understandingly but with a twinkle in your eye. “Tell you what, how about an Americano? It's close to black coffee but with a bit more character. It's on the house, and if you don't like it, you can come back, and I'll make you a straight-up black coffee. But, I have a hunch you might enjoy the Americano.”
Joel looked surprised but intrigued. “Well, when you put it that way... sure, I'll give it a try.”
As you began preparing his order, Joel glanced around, noticing the line behind him starting to grow. “Looks like you've got a busy day ahead,” he remarked.
You smiled, handing him the Americano. “Maplewood wakes up early during the holiday season. Enjoy your coffee, and remember, if it's not to your liking, come back up for that black coffee.”
Joel opened his mouth to respond, but the bustling line behind him urged him forward, cutting short the chance for a proper response. He settled for a quick, “Thanks,” and moved aside.
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Later that day as you were wiping down the counters, your mother Jean and the current owner of the coffee shop, joined you out front. “I've been thinking,” she began, her voice laced with a blend of both excitement and seriousness. 
“That’s dangerous,” you quipped, ignoring the scowl she sent you as she made her way around the counter to the front of the store.
“I was thinking,” she said ignoring you, “that now might be a good time for me to step back with you back in town.”
You paused, cloth in hand. Coming back to Maplewood hadn't been your first choice, especially after things ended with Max. Your ex-boyfriend who had suddenly gotten too tied up in climbing the corporate ladder, after a business trip across seas, to notice the relationship unravelling. 
“I really don’t know how long I’m going to be here,” you replied, having already been in town a month longer than your original plan of just six weeks.
The statement was not an exaggeration; the apartment had been in Max's name, and the two of you had always planned to add your own on the deed. But procrastination got in the way. With rental prices on the rise and a sabbatical from work, coming home was your only option until you could figure out your next move.
She shrugged, “Doesn’t matter, as long as it’s long enough for me to do some travelling, get a taste of what an early retirement could look like.”
You sighed, “What’s the angle here, Mom?”
“What angle?” she responded as she fussed with the tree you’d both decorated with coffee-themed decor the night before for the Merry Tree Trek.
Your mother had a knack for mixing business with motherly concern in a way that only she could. She glanced at you over the rim of her glasses, a half-smile playing on her lips.
“No angle,” She said, adjusting a tiny coffee bean ornament. “I've been running True North Brews since before you were born, and it's been a dream. But, I'm not getting any younger, and the world's a big place. I'd like to see some of it while I still can.”
You couldn't help but smile at her adventurous spirit, something you had undoubtedly inherited. “You want to travel? Since when?”
“Since always,” she replied with a twinkle in her eye. “The shop has been in our family for two generations now. I'd hate to see it end up in different hands, or worse, closed down.”
The weight of her words hung in the air. Taking over the coffee shop wasn't something you had considered seriously. You had other dreams, didn't you? But then again, the shop was more than just a business; it was a piece of Maplewood's heart, and undeniably, a big part of your family's legacy.
Your mother continued, “I know you're figuring things out, and I'm not asking you to decide right this second. But think about it. This place could use your touch and your ideas. You've always had a knack for making people feel welcome, just like your grandmother did when she opened this place.”
You leaned against the counter, absorbing her words. The coffee shop had been a staple in your life for as long as you could remember. Your earliest memories were of playing behind the counter, the smell of coffee always in the air.
Perhaps this unexpected turn of events was not just a setback but an opportunity, a chance to add your chapter to the story of Maple Brews.
“I'll think about it,” you said finally, a mix of apprehension and excitement bubbling inside you. But you still threw her a pointed look, “just thinking about it, okay?”
“That's all I'm asking,” she replied, her eyes softening. “Now, help me with this stubborn string of lights, will you? This tree needs to look perfect for when the scavenger hunt starts this afternoon.”
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It was nearing closing when the ring of the bell at the front door rang signalling a customer. Looking up you saw Marcus, the owner of Maple Delights standing at the door, stamping his feet to rid his boots of the snow that had started the fall that afternoon.
“Hey Marcus,” you greeted, “can I get you anything?” you asked as you accepted a stack of pink cake boxes from him. Maple Delights had a long-standing business deal with True North Brews to sell their baked goods in their displays - one that extended beyond Marcus' tenure as owner.
He gave you a wide smile, “Actually, it’s what you can do for me?”
You raised an eyebrow, “Well, I’m intrigued.”
“So, the Jingle Bell Movie night later this month,” he said, posing the event as a question. It was an annual tradition of the town, with everyone coming together for an evening of festivities and movie-watching in the community centre. “I was thinking, what if Maple Delights and True North Brews tag-teamed the event?”
Your interest was piqued. “Go on,” you encouraged.
Marcus's eyes lit up. “I'll supply the treats—cookies, pastries, you name it—and you guys could handle the hot drinks? Hot chocolate, spiced cider, maybe some festive coffee concoctions?”
You nodded, already visualizing the bustling event. “Sounds like a perfect match to me. Maple Delights' treats and our drinks? The town will love it!”
“Hey, speaking of the bakery, question for you about the renovations you did when you bought the place. You restored it to its original façade, right?” you asked, as Marcus leant against the counter.
He smiled, a hint of pride in his voice. “Yeah, I did. Wanted to preserve a piece of Maplewood’s history. The building has such character, it felt right to bring it back to its former glory.”
“Well, it certainly is stunning. It must've been quite a project,” you remarked.
Marcus nodded. “It was a labour of love, but totally worth it in the end.”
Your mind was buzzing with ideas and your mother's earlier conversation replaying over in your head, “Who did you get in to do the work?” you asked, knowing that Maplewood wasn't exactly crawling with talented contractors and designers.
“Actually it was Joel Miller, he did the renovation.”
“Really?” you asked, surprised.
Marcus chuckled. “Joel really did some great work on the bakery. He's got a really good eye for detail. Took my vision and made it even better than I could have imagined.”
You were impressed. “Wow, well he did an amazing job. It was one of the first things I noticed when I came back. It adds so much charm to the street.”
“Thanks,” Marcus said, a warm smile on his face. “Joel's a really talented guy. He's a great addition to the community, both him and Sarah.”
“Well, if he did such a great job with the bakery, maybe he could help us with the coffee shop,” you said, half-jokingly.
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “You're thinking of doing a reno?”
You hesitated, feeling a bit exposed not having intended to speak out loud your internal thoughts, “It's something my mom and I have discussed in the past, but she's the type if it ain't broke don't fix it.”
Marcus laughed, “I can testify to that, I mentioned I was looking to scale back serving coffee in the bakery, and asked if she had any interest in the espresso machine,” you rolled your eyes knowing what was coming, you'd been begging her to replace the old machine for years, “told me that this one,” he jerked his thumb in the direction of the tired looking machine, “worked just fine.”
You shook your head, “One of these days she's going to realize giving it a good thud is probably doing more damage than fixing it.”
Marcus glanced at his watch. “I should get going. Got to make sure we have enough gingerbread dough for tomorrow. Those gingerbread men won't bake themselves!”
“Thanks for stopping by. Let's touch base early next week to finalize those plans for the movie night.”
With a nod and a wave, you watched Marcus leave, but now the seed of an idea was planted in your mind. A reno could be just what True North Brews needed to give it a fresh look and make it stand out. But you weren't taking over, you reminded yourself, no -- it was just you helping out with the family business, nothing more, right?
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The next morning, Joel’s kitchen still lacked a new coffee maker. The old one sat forlornly on the counter, a reminder of a morning routine disrupted. With a resigned sigh, Joel grabbed his coat and headed out to his truck. The town was slowly waking up, the street sprinkled with early risers and the promise of a busy day ahead.
As he pushed open the door of the coffee shop, the familiar jingle of the bell greeted him, along with the rich aroma of brewing coffee. You looked up from the espresso machine, a smile spreading across your face as you recognized him.
“Morning, Joel,” you greeted. “Americano?” you asked with a hopeful smile since he'd never returned for that black coffee.
Joel nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but I think I actually like it a bit more than my usual.”
You laughed as you prepared his coffee. “Glad to hear that. We might make a coffee aficionado out of you yet.”
“Let's not get too ahead of ourselves.” he laughed as he watched you prepare his drink.
Handing him his coffee, you hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Actually Joel, can I ask you something about your contracting work?”
He looked surprised but nodded. “Sure, what about it?”
“I heard from Marcus that you did the renovation work on the bakery. It looks incredible. Said you kept the original design when you worked on it?”
Joel’s expression softened, a hint of pride in his eyes. “Yeah, I did. Marcus wanted to retain the historical look of the building. It was a great project to work on, restoring it to its original state while giving it all the modern requirements.”
You were genuinely interested. “That’s impressive. It’s such an integral part of the town’s charm. I’ve been thinking, True North Brews could use a bit of sprucing up. Would you perhaps be up for discussing a quote any time soon?”
Joel looked around the coffee shop, considering. “Sure, I’d be happy to. What did you have in mind?”
“I'm not too sure, mostly starting fixing what needs fixing and going from there, just keeping the cozy vibe but maybe adding a little Maplewood flair to it.”
He nodded, sipping at his coffee thoughtfully. “Sounds like a good project. Why don’t we sit down sometime next week and go over what you’re thinking? I can put together some ideas and a quote for you.”
“That would be great,” you replied, feeling a surge of excitement at the prospect of giving the coffee shop a fresh, new look.
Placing his coffee on the counter, Joel handed you his business card from his wallet, giving you a quick glimpse of a family portrait tucked inside. 
“Here,” he said pocketing his wallet and handing you his business card, “why don't you give me a call and we can arrange something?”
You smiled as you traced the logo of Miller Contracting, “Sure, sounds like a plan!”
As Joel left, coffee in hand, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation. Not only at the idea of possible renovations but for the growing sense of community you had quickly settled into while only being back for a short period in Maplewood. But before you could think any further about it, the bell above the door rang and a group of tourists trekked in, Merry Tree Trek maps in hand.
You gave them a wide smile as you welcomed them in, “Welcome to True North Brews, what can I get started for you?”
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