#erin ponders | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

quickandsilvers · 8 months

Text

Unresolved Tension

Colin zabel x fem!reader

Summary: The murder case assigned to you and Colin seemed to be getting the best of both of you, resulting in a lot of stress and anger directed at one another. This ends up with you on his front doorstep at 2am in the morning. Don’t ask how.

A/N: Ive said it once and ill say it again, Colin is so fucking underrated!! I love this man so much it actually hurts.

Warnings: angst, arguments, fluff, Colin being adorable.

Taglist: None as of now. Please ask if you want to be added! :)

After finally finishing your shift at the station, you roll back from your desk, closing the binder full of paperwork shut with an exasperated sigh. A long day of gruelling work and yet, you felt like you had gotten nowhere in your newest assignment.

It had been a week since the murder of Erin McMenamin in Sharp’s Woods, and the case was close to becoming cold. The persistence of the townspeople was getting too much for you, after being heckled in the town you live in and being jeered at right outside your home.

You knew the townspeople were getting restless, so the urgency in discovering the culprit was beneficial if you wished to maintain a friendly relationship with any of the civilians.

You thought you would’ve had this in the bag, reassured by the fact your co-worker and long-term friend Mare Sheehan would be helping you, alongside with the new county detective, Colin Zabel, of whom was brought in by the chief. You protested at first, but you found the detective to be very helpful for your work, and not to mention, so fucking attractive. Although, you would never dare to tell him that.

You grab your half-drunk coffee and throw on your coat before making your way out of your office and down the corridor. Most of your colleagues have left by now, the rest chatting idly and grasping piles of paperwork from the day. You clutch onto your own, deciding to drop your binder off at detective Zabel’s office if he wished to review your notes the following day.

Turning the corner into Colin’s office, you are surprised to see him still sat by his desk, hunched over scattered papers that littered the office. He seemed frustrated, presumably with the case that you, him and Mare combined couldn’t solve. You immediately feel bad, knowing the stress the three of you are under is affecting him more than his happy, go-lucky self would like to admit.

You open the door with one hand whilst clutching the binder in another. The door creaks open as you walk in, but Colin doesn’t pay you any mind, as he continues to study his paper.

“Hey..” you say as you walk over to his desk, placing the binder on a filing cabinet nearby. You didn’t want to stress him out with even more work, especially at the end of his shift.

No response. Colin stays in his spot, eyes gliding over the paper as he rests his chin onto his clasped hands. His sleeves are rolled up to the elbow as he relaxes them on the desk, trying to stop his head from drooping down due to his exhaustion.

“Colin,” You stepped towards him, placing your hand gently on his shoulder.

He sighs, shifting his gaze off of his paper. You immediately notice the bags under his eyes, showing his tired state. His expression was annoyed. It seemed as if he was in a bad mood. Something you’ve seen a lot lately.

“Are you.. Ok?” You say, mentally cursing yourself at the stupid question. You never were great at being comforting, which is shown by the awkward grasp you have on his shoulder and the unnerving tension in the room.

Colin stays silent, pondering on his thoughts for a few moments before looking down at his paper, less motivated than before.

Not knowing what else to do, you snake your hand around his desk chair to his other shoulder, lightly embracing him in a hug. He leans somewhat closer to you in acceptance, adorning a small, half-hearted smile back at you. After a few moments, you let go, placing your palms on the desk and leaning forward so you could see him better.

“Do you want to.. Talk about it?”

“..No, i’m good.” He sighed a bit, his smile faded back to a frown as he once more looked down towards his paper.

“Are you sure?” You persist, “it might help.”

He didnt look towards you, more focused on his work rather than acknowledging you. “I’m fine, just.. Had an argument… thats all.”

“With who, mare?” You asked, knowing the two didn’t exactly get off on the right foot.

“Yea.” Colin said shortly, his eyes showing annoyance at the mention of her.

“Was it about the case?”

Colin nods “she just doesn’t respect me when it comes to working on cases.. She just acts like i’m stupid… like i dont know what im doing!” He spoke bitterly. Clearly he was more heated than he thought.

You lean back slightly as his voice rises, startled. He seemed to notice this.

“Sorry! Sorry.. Just… the case and mare’s just really getting to me right now.” He chuckled a tiny bit. “Shes a pain,,”

You laugh shortly, knowing mare prefers to work independently. She has yet to warm up to colin since they were both assigned to the case, which results in a lot of tension on both sides.

“I’m sorry about that, you know how mare is. Ill try to talk to her about it tomorrow.” You look towards the cups of coffee littering his desk, “and go easy on the coffee.” You tease.

He smirked slightly “Yeah.. ill try..” he chuckled before looking back to his paper. “Night..”

You look concerned, taking his paper from his grasp and out of his reach.

“Hey!” he said, surprised. He tried getting his paper back but you turned your body, clutching it close to you.

“This case is making you so stressed, Colin. Its clear that you are too pent up about Mare, it isnt helping you or this case. Get some rest, please. Its not heathy!” you look at him desperately.

“Hey-” he tried to reach for his paper again, but you didnt give up. “Please.. I need to get it done.” He sounded a lot more defeated than before.

You start to get frustrated “Please, Col. Just drop it! Come back in the morning and we will try again, together, okay?”

Colin stayed silent for a moment before sighing.

“Just.. whatever. Leave me alone, okay? Youre the one not helping right now.”

You step back in shock as you registered what he said. You scoff, moving around the room as you grab your coffee and coat.

“I know youre stressed colin.. But this is fucking unbelievable, and rather unprofessional. This case is hard, thats why chief assigned the three of us. If youre not mature enough to work together and let me help you, then i dont see the point of you on this case anyway.” you slam the paperwork he was previously studying back onto the desk.

Colin seems taken aback by your outburst. He opens his mouth in an attempt to speak, but closes it promptly, avoiding your sharp gaze.

“Ill let myself out.” you say shortly, making swift movements to the door. You pause for a moment, a small part of you hoping he would try to talk it out with you. You look back to see him hunched over his desk once more. You shake your head in disbelief and exit the room, leaving the station to go back home.

As soon as he heard the door slam, Colin turned his head, watching you walk down the corridor and out of sight. He sat up straight, the urge to follow you prominent, but he stopped himself, knowing he needs to let you and himself cool down. Instead he let out a small sigh and rubbed his face.

Looking down at his paperwork, he knew he wasnt in the right mind to keep going, so he grabs his coat and bag, locking his office door on the way out.

——————————————————————————

The morning came and you arrived a few minutes early to the station with Mare. You immediately beeline towards the coffee room, knowing you couldn’t function properly without it. After making your coffee, you take a few sips of the bitter liquid before someone walks in.

Colin.

He makes eye contact with you as he nears the coffee pot, pouring himself a cup.

The tension is thick between Mare and Colin, you can feel it. You swallow down the lump in your throat, sitting down at a nearby table where Mare was already sitting.

Colin just poured himself a big cup of coffee, coming over to another rounded table with a binder upon it. He sits down, opening it as he reaches into his pocket to pull out a pen, idly holding it between two fingers.

You look over briefly and see colin working again. Is that all he does? Work, work, work. No time for anything else. Not family, not coworkers.. Not.. you. Did he even care to start with?

You drowned out Mare’s idle ramblings as you gaze at the man only a few feet away from you. Your thoughts began to wander and you got into your own head. Colin didn’t really seem like the type to never have time for those around him. Though he had been more tense and distant after that last argument with Mare… maybe you should talk to him again? You didn’t like the tension between you two, and you didn’t want him mad at you either.

The coffee you were sipping was doing it’s thing, helping you become slightly relaxed again… and it made you feel a bit braver. At least brave enough to approach Colin about last night.

“Col?” you call out before hesitating. Too late, he heard you. Maybe it was time to talk.

Mare shuffles behind you, and you turn around to see her making her way out of the room. She gives you a knowing look, and you smile at her, mouthing a “thank you”. she nods and leaves the room. You turn your attention back to colin, clearing your throat.

He waited patiently for you to speak, he figured he knew exactly why you wanted to talk to him but he didnt want to make any assumptions.

“I’m worried about you col.” you say sincerely.

He seemed confused by your statement. “Why? Did mare say something to you?”

You hesitate telling him, not wanting to rile him up again. “No.. i just. Ive been noticing things about you and.. You know what? Forget it.” you say, hesistating as you back down.

“..well that just makes me want to know more.” Colin says, his expression begging you to continue. He puts his pen on the table, folding his arms upon it.

You take in a breath, deciding to get it over with. “Its work, colin. All day. I know its your job, its mine and mares job too. But youre overdoing it, its draining you and it shows. You barely notice anyone here anymore. You dont talk to mare, you ignore all our colleagues, and..me. You act like i dont even exist.” you say with a pained expression, “is your job so goddamn important that you have to abandon your life?” you breathe in once more, trying to calm yourself down as tears begon to stream down your face. God, get it together!

He stayed silent for a moment. He felt his eyes go wide as he listened to you. it was obvious he hadn't realized that he's been doing this as he was so focused working on the murder case.

"Woah... I never meant to, you know that right? I didn't think.....” He began to get defensive, whilst trying to not snap at you.

“Of course you didnt fucking think, Colin!” Well, so much for being calm. Bye bye, rational thoughts. “In these past couple of weeks, when did you ever take the time to give a single fuck what anyone thinks around here?” You started to sob, the urge to walk away making you stand up abruptly and pace around the room.

"So you're mad because I'm not spending enough time with you...and the others... that's it?!" He sounded offended at your remarks, the stress of the case making his anger rise again.

"I have no time to be...hanging around and chatting with people who are only disrupting me from my job. I have work to do!” He scoffs.

You turn to face him in a flurry of rage, and walk up to him with an accusatory finger pointed at his chest. “So thats all you have to say huh? Is that all i am to you?” You shout. “well im sorry im such an inconvenience to you Colin, i really am! im sorry that im trying to help you through all this stress you have, and look at this! Youre just fucking throwing it back in my face. Youre not the same person you were before, Colin. Youre really not.”

"I-I'm not trying to-....I'm sorry, okay?! What else do you want me to say?!" he was becoming more frustrated and even more angry by the second now. “Ive just been busy!”

You sigh in exasperation “you dont get it, do you? thats why im trying to help! I know your busy, everyone in the goddamn workplace is! Thats why we are here, we help eachother. But no, you just have to push everyone who cares about you away!”

Colin just let you yell at him. He didn't say anything else as he tries to avoid your gaze.

You looked at him, pained, before walking straight past him, out of the door and into your own office, locking the door. You couldn’t see him right now.

Colin just stared at the door for a moment, not knowing what to do now. Maybe it was for the best though...

——————————————————————————

A few hours later, it was the end of your shift, you were considerably calmer now as you made your way home, hanging up your jacket and closing the door.

That night, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get any sleep. Thats how you ended up at Colin’s front door at 2am in the morning. One moment you were staring blankly up at your ceiling, the next you were pulling up into his driveway, in disbelief of your own actions.

You sat in your car, pondering on what the fuck you were doing for a moment, before getting out and knocking on the door quickly. Feeling a cold, uncomfortable sensation in your feet, you looked down, realising you were wearing your fluffy slippers, that were now soaked, and a pair of silk pajamas. Yeah, You dont seem remotely insane right now.

Before you could turn to go back to your car, you hear the unlocking of the door as it creaked open, revealing a very disgruntled and tired Colin. He was clad in a navy sweatshirt and pajama bottoms, his hair ruffled up and eyes half open. What an epic fucking slumber party this is about to be, eh?

“..Hi..” you say slowly, every thing you had thought about in those few hours of staring at your ceiling flying out of the window as you stared blankly at Colin, your brain wracking for something, anything to say.

“Can i come in? I think we left things on a bad note.”

Colin stood silent for a few moments, trying to comprehend what was going on before nodding, then opening the door wider for you to come inside.

"Of course, come in.”

You walk into his living room, thinking of what to say as Colin busied himself with closing and locking the door. He reached you, staring expectantly into your eyes.

“I’m sorry..” you let out, knowing your burst of anger was quite harsh on him, although accurate. You cringe at the thick awkward tension in the air, and you mentally curse yourself for not saying anything else. Maybe it was due to the early hours of the morning, or the fact that Colin looked mighty fine right now, but your brain was fogging to the extent you couldn’t even think properly.

"Look, I- you know I don't want to be mad at you either... i-i care about you a lot. More than i let on…” He trailed off, still not really sure on what to say, despite crafting a script in his head for the last couple of hours.

“And i care about you too, more than anything, Col.” You finally say, choosing your words carefully. “I’m just so worried about you. You need to stop with this workload and let me help you.”

"Thank you... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have...just...I don't know." He couldn't think straight right now. All Colin knew was that he didn’t want to argue anymore.

Thinking about your awkward hug in his office, you outstretched your arms, feebly smiling at him as his tired eyes lit up ever so slightly.

“I-I'm not used to someone caring this much about me...I'm confused...I don't know what to say or do." He says, taking in a deep breath.

As you reached out your arms, he just stood there, not moving. He wanted to hug you, God, nothing felt better than your arms wrapped around him, but he felt bad for how he made you feel, and the fact you were the one to come to him to apologise first.

“Col.. why is me caring about you so hard to believe?” You ask, pained that he thought of himself as someone unlovable. You knew about his break up with his fiancé, but you didn’t know it was this bad.

He looked at you then walked promptly towards you, accepting your hug as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders.

You breathed in his scent, a mix of sandalwood and citrus head notes infiltrating your nostrils. Your muscles relaxed around him as you hummed in content, resting your head on his chest and basking in his warmth.

"I'm... I just..."

Colin was trying to gather his thoughts now, but the feeling of your frame enveloped in his embrace making it even harder to think, let alone speak.

“I know. Im sorry. Were really shit at this, aren’t we? You joked, trying to cheer him up as best you could.

Colin laughed a bit, sounding more relaxed after hugging you. You were comforting him and making him forget completely about the stress eating away at him.

"Yeah, for sure. I'm sorry for everything I've been doing, I don't really know how to express myself like i want to. But i’ll try, for you.” He smiled warmly as he looked down at you. You returned the gesture as you hesitantly left his grasp, his warmth replaced by the bitter, sharp breeze of the night.

Observing his facial features, you stared into his eyes, so dark yet so comforting, making you feel so safe and secure.

Colin stared back for a few seconds, before deciding to step back, but he made sure to keep his hand on your hip. He didn't wanted you to drift away yet, not if he had a choice. He cleared his throat as you said nothing more.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?"

During the hug, you finally realised why you got so riled up about Colin, and why his presence alone made any stressful situation turn comforting for you. Beaming at him, you stepped closer.

“Colin, Im in love with you.”

His entire body froze in shock as you said that, he didn't know how to react, as always. All he could do after that was look at you in be wonderment.

“Colin, i love you.” You repeated, grinning at the pleasant feeling it left within you. It felt good to finally say it, wether he returned the feelings or not.

He blushed heavily as you said that. Colin always knew he was in love with you from the start, which was probably the reason why you clicked so fast. To hear you say those words made his heart pump in rapid succession as his stomach fluttered uncontrollably.

“You are, you really are?” He confirms, watching your gleeful expression, “Shit. I love you too.” Colin watched as your smile got even wider, if that were possible, and all the frustrations and stress of the previous day completely disappeared. “You love me back?”

He could barely believe that everything ended up this way. After all the arguments and stress it ended like this...the two of you finally getting together.

“I do love you. I have for a while now."

His expression was just a big smile. It was surreal for him, you telling him that you loved him and him saying the same to you. It was something he didn't really think would happen, like, ever.

You slapped him arm jokingly, laughing. “Why didnt you say anything!”

He put his hands in his pockets and looked away slightly, unable to contain the grin on his face. His dimples appeared, the reality of what was happening coming to terms with him.

“I don't know! I just thought- i thought you'd never feel the same way, I never thought that you'd want me too."

You shook your head, placing your hands around his face and observing it like it was the last time you would ever see it. Colin froze, he was blushing so much it was actually embarrassing. He’d never felt this nervous in his life.

“What are you doing?..." he laughed through the nerves.

“Can i kiss you?” You said abruptly.

For the first time in his life, Colin was sure of something. Hearing you say those words was enough for him.

He moved his hand from your chin and wrapped both his arms around your waist, pulling you close to him. Colin pressed himself up close to you, both your chests rising and falling in Synchronisation.

He slowly nodded, his eyes closing a little as he smiled. The moment his eyes closed, he went in for the kiss, meeting you halfway.

You closed your eyes, kissing him slowly as you moved your hands into his messy hair, gently pulling it and smiling at the gentle whimpers eliciting from his mouth.

His lips were soft and tender, he was slowly growing more passionate in the kiss, yearning to get as close as he could.

His hands feebly rubbed up and down your waist, careful not to go too low down in order to stay respectful to you. Not like you cared where he touched you, but you appreciated the gesture anyway.

Stumbling over to the couch, refusing to let go of one another, you laid yourself down, with Colin positioned over you, before connecting your lips again with a new feeling: passion.

He felt his cheeks blushing even more now. The sudden new feeling of lust radiating off the both of you. He presses deeper into the kiss, the heat from the passion he felt building between you two. It was so...enticing.

“Can i stay here tonight?” You mumbled through the kiss, your heart beating rapidly fast.

Colin pulled away from the kiss for a second...his cheeks were blushing as he tried to answer you through the kiss, failing miserably.

“Yes...yes you can."

His voice was a little bit shakey as his body was trying to catch up with everything that had just happened.

He gently kissed you once more, before he stopped, your lips chasing his. He was enjoying it, oh fuck was he enjoying it, but he wanted to make that part special.

You switch position, laying on top of his chest as Colin gently strokes your hair, using his other hand to slide underneath your pajama shirt and gently rub your back. Looking up at him, you smiled at him one last time before you closed your eyes, falling asleep to the rhythmic beating of his heart.

Colin grinned, the giddy feeling not leaving him as he stared at the ceiling once more, thinking about what he could do for your first date, that he had yet to even ask you out on.

He carefully moved his arms just a little bit to make sure you were resting comfortably. He didn't move much now, just making sure he didn't wake your sleeping figure.

After a few minutes, he too drifted off, the both of you snoozing with smiles plastered onto your faces.

——————————————————————————

A/N: Im ngl this might be my favourite fic I’ve ever done, i love Colin so fucking much!! <3 I really want to make this a series, but i honestly have no idea how.

#evan peters #evan peters masterlist #james patrick march #peter maximoff #peter maximoff fluff #peter maximoff x y/n #peter maximoff smut #quicksilver #peter maximoff x you #xmen #colin zabel #mare of easttown #detective #colin zabel fluff #evan peters fluff

116 notes · View notes

gowns · 11 months

Note

Hiiiii I hope ur well! I have a clothes question that may or may not fall within ur sustainable wardrobe wheelhouse. The question largely amounts to: cleaning????

I can reattach a button, patch a hole, mend a tear - this I can deal with. But any top I have for more than 2 years inevitably develops some stubborn stain. Do u know where I can go for stain removal advice? Minimally ecologically destructive stain removal advice?

hi! i love peeking inside the mind of erin boyle for ponderings like this

outside of the products she recommends (and minus the laundress products 💀) i myself rarely get stains on my things!! this is what i do

the moment i get a stain, i immediately rinse and dab the fabric.

if it's really bad and i'm at home i just take it off and dunk it liberally and change!

washing machine: always wash w/ cold water

oxyclean works well for bad stains; you can also try baking soda or vinegar depending on the kind of stain & fabric dye (or dishwashing soap! esp for tomato or oil based stains)

if something still has a stain after you wash in the washing machine, DO NOT DRY IT in the drying machine!

line dry!!!

then either wear it again OR if the stain is unbearable rinse and dab the stain again, then put in washing machine again

line dry after every wash until the stain disappears (it usually will)

the sun can do wonders, if you have outdoor space and sunshine and a fabric you don't mind sun-bleaching a bit

for any clothes that you are not line drying and want to use the drier, dry on low heat

i'm pretty rigid with this cold water and line drying routine and it's been going pretty good for me so far! i eat pasta with red sauce while wearing white shirts pretty regularly lol

if there's a big gnarly stain you can also experiment with dying it ;)

182 notes · View notes

mashbrainrot · 1 year

Text

Do you ever think about the fact that BJ went for some out-of-camp self care and came back all handsome and Charles teased him saying he hoped Hawkeye had a chance to see him like that and that was how BJ found out that Hawkeye had been sent to the Aid Station instead of him and he was filled with a special kind of guilt and worry because not only is Hawk in more danger there but he is literally in more danger because of BJ and he spends the whole episode worrying about him and the worry is so bad he can barely do his job without making his worry everybody else’s problem and then he hears that a doctor at the aid station died and his grief over it potentially being Hawkeye is palpable until he recognises the exact way Hawkeye stitches on a patient that comes into the 4077 so he knows at least for now Hawkeye is still alive and meanwhile Hawkeye is having a Bad Time at the Aid Station to the extent that he writes a will and he leaves most of it to his dad except for a few sentimental items that he lovingly bestows to the most important people in his life to symbolise what they mean to him but when it gets to BJ he stalls and cannot think of what to leave him because nothing feels adequate and then he gets to go back to the 4077 and he is exhausted and rattled but alive and he walks into the swamp in the dark and instead of going to bed he goes to sit beside BJ who is asleep and BJ senses that Hawk is near so he wakes up and in his joy at seeing Hawkeye there alive he asks Hawkeye when he wakes up to remind him to give him a kiss and Hawkeye tells him to go back to sleep because he must be dreaming and then as BJ lays his head back down to sleep Hawkeye turns the photo that BJ has on his side table that is a still from the special anniversary video of his wife and daughter that Hawkeye put together for him and Hawkeye ponders it for a moment and realises that the most meaningful gift he could possibly give BJ in his will would be a list of all the patients BJ helped in Korea that BJ could give to his daughter to help explain to her why he missed the first years of her life and so despite being half dead on his feet he starts compiling that list right then and presumably maintained this list throughout the war adding to it every time BJ helped a patient and left it to little Erin Hunnicutt who he has never met because to love BJ is to love his daughter and to love his love for his daughter and he probably never knew how panicked BJ was at the thought of losing him and BJ probably never found out about Hawkeye’s will and what was in it and Hawkeye never did get to see BJ all handsome????

#or are you doing alright mentally #hunnihawk #hawkeye x bj #beejhawk #helen speaks #m*a*s*h #mashposting #4077 mash #idk what other tags i should use whatever

497 notes · View notes

remyfire · 9 months

Note

ooooohhhh Remy!!!!!!!! 🎲 for beejhawk, if the spirit so moves you???

AAAAA bless you, I was starting to wonder if just no one wanted this meme!! You get! A kiss in greeting!!

Kiss Roulette

It turns out that you can actually get used to anything in ways that you never expected could possibly be true. Hawk got used to the loudness of Boston as a resident. He got used to sleeping through bickering roommates in a little tent in Korea. He's even gotten used to the rhythm of running a medical practice again—family, something that lets him sleep easier through the night with every month that ticks by.

Honestly, the most unexpected thing that's finally become comfortable is how he feels in those rare weekends when he's in close proximity to Beej.

He never thought that could be possible. There was something about living on top of that man at the 4077th that kept Hawk an almost constant live wire. He's pretty sure that two years ago, if scientists sat them down, hooked them up to machines, and asked for Hawk to grab BJ's shirt, the frenetic energy burning his veins and making his heart pound could've probably powered the whole Boston subway system. But the distance, being on opposite sides of the country, it's...it's helped. Really. It's better for them.

Well. It's better for the sanctity of BJ's marriage, at least. Not that Hawk would've ever...not that he...

Listen, dreams need to stay in silent nights where they belong, okay? That's what really matters.

But letters are easier, thick envelopes that contain nothing but the most brotherly of affections. Phone calls, for the past year or so, have been calm, not tinged with a manic rush to fill every piece of silence, their voices sometimes completely overlapping and still somehow managing to understand everything the other was saying. And surprisingly, they've had opportunity to meet up at two separate medical conferences, and it's been fine! Better than fine! They can get dinner together and sit shoulder-to-shoulder during lectures and play poker for pennies, and Hawk can sometimes even sleep at night, knowing that BJ is only a floor or five away from him.

He cherishes this. There's...something unfathomably lovely in knowing that they have a lifelong friendship, the kind that's gonna last for the rest of their lives. One day, Hawk'll find time to date again. Maybe he'll be able to have kids after...after some more time to... Well, anyway, maybe he'll be able to go to California sometime and meet Erin for real and give Peg a nice kiss on the cheek, and maybe he'll have someone he can bring with him too, right? And it'll be nice. Better than nice.

Hawkeye is pondering all of this as he buttons his shirt after his shower at their third shared medical conference since they got back from the years he has ground down into a powder and blown out the window. He checks his chin to make sure that where he nicked himself shaving has finally stopped bleeding and isn't visibly irritated. The color of his shirt is nice on him. He's finally used to the silver in his hair, and as he flicks a lock away from his forehead, he wonders if BJ's finally succumbed to Peg's teasing and shaved his mustache, or if he's kept the dashing—

Anyway, Hawk's shirt looks good. Better than good.

There's a knock at the door and Hawkeye takes a deep breath, brushes his sleeve off, and wanders toward the door, cool as a cucumber. The moment he opens it, he grins, instantly caught in the warm rays of BJ Hunnicutt's smile. He's in about as loud of a shirt as he could get away with here as a professional, a sunny madras plaid mixed with pink and golden beams that make him think of what a sunset over California's beaches must feel like. Hawk is so overwhelmed by that platonic fondness that he laughs and reaches to pull him in for a hug.

"Hey!" Hawk exclaims just before he presses a kiss to BJ's soft mouth.

And then his heart explodes in his chest.

Hawkeye immediately pulls back with huge eyes. Stops. Breathes.

It turns out that BJ's cheeks can turn pinker than the lines on his shirt.

"Hi," BJ says very, very softly, his mouth hanging open after the word slips out.

Oh god shit fuck you've gotta be fucking kidding me.

Okay, he can fix this, actually. He's just gotta...

Hawk forces another laugh, and it might've even worked if Beej hadn't spent so many years hearing the real thing. "Wow! God, have you ever been so happy to see a pal, you just—"

BJ shoves Hawk back hard with one hand on his chest, slams the door behind him, then whips Hawkeye around by the wrist to slam back into the wall. Like a hurricane, Beej breaks forward and buries his fingers in Hawk's wet hair just before he kisses him with smoldering intent.

It turns out that you can actually get used to anything. Like the taste of your best friend's tongue. Like the sting in your scalp that makes you groan. Like the heat of tears rushing down your face from something that can only be described as bone-shaking relief.

#anyway i'm emo #thank you for the meme aaaa #beejhawk #hunnihawk #hawkeye pierce #bj hunnicutt #m*a*s*h #my writing #ask meme answers

37 notes · View notes

blackroseguzzi · 1 year

Text

FATE PART 4 💙

Summery: With Mare of the case, someone has to help her get some information to help her out- and that someone has to be you.

Ps I wrote this in the wrong POV because it’s been a while since I wrote for this series but I will fix it next chapter!!

@lili-tate 💙

You pushed around the peas on your plate, trying your very hardest to drown out the sound of your family arguing over something so ridiculous as what brand makes the best crackers for a cheese board.

“Y/n, are you going to converse with us this evening or stare at your plate and not take a bite!,” your mothers shrill voice bounced you back into reality.

“I’m sorry, just thinking about work.” It wasn’t a lie, Erin’s case was fresh on your mind. It felt so silly to be sharing dinner with your family knowing that someone that had killed a teenage mother was out there.

Then there was also the fact that you had ran into Colin. Colin, as in your ex fiancé who you now had to work with for the next week.

Your mother scoffs, not realizing the severity of the case you’re covering. She had always assumed you write sex columns like Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in the City. “You and your job, are you ever going to find more?”

“I like to refer to my work as a career mom, but yes I plan…” you bit the inside of your cheek, holding back anger for brief moment “ to find more.”

“Good and Gather!” Janice’s husband suddenly called out from the other end of the table “they have those amazing cheddar and red pepper crisps that are to die for.”

You let out a small laugh, your eyes reverted back to your plate and you found yourself about to fork a load of mash potatoes into your mouth when a knock rang out through the home.

“My goodness, I hope it’s not Liz from next door needing help finding her damn mutt again,” Your mother rose from the table and slammed her napkin down on the chair before sprinting to the door. Your father sat silently across the table and everything inside of you wanted so bad to have him say anything, but he just sat there watching the kids and quietly eat his food. Your mother appeared in the dining room again a few moments later.

“Someone is here to see you, Y/n. She says it’s urgent..”

You looked around the table, all eyes on you. Excusing yourself, you exited the cold room to seek out whoever had showed up at your family’s door- it’s not like many people knew that you were here.

As you rounded the corner, you couldn’t help but be taken a back by Detective Sheehan’s figure in the doorway.

“How did you?”

“I’m a cop, I looked up your parents address. Now put on your coat I need to speak with you.” Mare clearly wasn’t in the mood to waste time. She was tapping her foot on the pavement as she watched you grab your coat and sling it over your body. You exited the home and Mare took a deep breath.

“I mean I’m genuinely surprised to see you here Detective, is everything okay is someone in custody?” You dug your hands into your coat pocket to protect them from the harsh air around you. Mare looked like she hadn’t slept much, and she shook her head angrily like everything you spoke hit her in the nerves.

“I need you to do me a favor,” her voice was low and she refused to look anywhere but her feet.

Narrowing your eyes at her request you pondered a moment, wondering what on earth this woman would need from you.

“It depends, what’s in it for me?” You decided to play your cards in favor of your story for work, knowing Mare was going to do the same thing if given the chance.

“I was forced to take a leave. I can’t get access to anything pertaining to Erin’s case….and I..”

“Wait why, what happened?”

“Let me finish!” Mare’s eyes suddenly shot up to look at you. she was anxious, and scared and you could tell that something had happened in the last 24 hours since you had seen her that had changed something important in her life.

“I got kicked off the case. I need you to help me get confidential information so I can do my own investigating in the time being.”

You let out a laugh, making Mare’s anger rise.

“You’re nuts. That’s extremely illegal.”

“You realize I’m basically giving you access to every bit of info you want for your stupid article, right?” Mare watched you as your mind started to wonder. Was she seriously asking you to investigate for her?

“So how exactly am I going to get information for you?” Questioning her, you were surprised when she actually gave you a slight smile.

“Zabel. I need you to work alongside Zabel to get every piece of evidence he knows back to me.”

Shaking your head you squeezed your eyes shut, because the thought of being around Colin gave your stomach a jump, but now the thought of being alone with him made your insides feel like you were on a roller coaster.

“You know, Zabel told me about you. I know that you still care about him or you wouldn’t be still be interested in taking on this work just for your article.”

As the heat rose to your cheeks, you knew that Mare had a lot of truth to her words.

“Well if you know who I am, why the hell do you think Colin would even want to give me any information or talk to me at all?” “Because I think he still cares about you too.”

The next day you decided to pick up two coffee’s at the spot that you and Colin used to frequent when visiting your parents. You wondered if he took his coffee the same or if he would refuse to drink it out of spite.

You parked your car at the station, slowly walking to the bench outside as you waited for Colin. Around 5 minutes of pure anxiety coursing through your veins you reached into your pocket- A message from Mare scrolled onto the screen.

‘Don’t fuck this up.’

You rolled your eyes and shoved your phone back into your coat pocket. Beside you the door swung open to the station and Colin strode out, dressed in the sexiest long coat that had you basically drooling. His eyes landed on you and his expression twisted in surprise.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to you popping up at my work,” He sighed and looked between your smile to the coffee in your hands.

“I got you a coffee, same as you always take it. It’s from Joe’s near my parents house. That one where we..”

“Yeah I know the place,” He forced a smile as you held out the warm cup of piping hot liquid. “Thank you, I uh I appreciate it.”

You couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear as you two stood awkwardly outside the station. You knew he had work to do, but Mare had specific instructions you knew you had to follow through with.

“Look, I know you hate me being here-” Colin put up one of his hands to stop you, shaking his head slowly.

“I don’t hate you being here, I’m just surprised okay? Can you blame me?” Colin’s voice was soft and his brown eyes were like looking into a time capsule of your youth spent with him. You missed his familiar face, his warmth, his everything.

“I just want to maybe make things less awkward, maybe we could grab dinner tomorrow and catch up or something?” You sucked in a breath, waiting for him to think over your proposal.

“You’re asking me to dinner?” Colin’s eyebrows raised at your words, and taking another sip of coffee he just watched you nod quickly, eager for him to answer.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, y/n.” Colin watched your face fall. You stared at your coffee, realizing you were going to have to pull out your plan B.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you around Detective Zabel.” You gave him a small smile before turning back to your vehicle.

“You know who I ran into the other day?” Judy Zabel called out from the kitchen. “Sharen Foster. We hadn’t seen each other in a few months. She said she read the article about you!” Judy brought Colin and herself a plate of food and sat down at the dinner table.

“Oh yeah?” Colin replied as he put a glass of water down next to his mothers plate for her. He knew where this conversation was going.

“Her oldest daughter lives over in Easttown now. I told her that you had just been sent in to work on that case with the poor girl. She’s a beautiful woman, Colin. Sharon said she’s been looking for Mr. Right and I bet you two would-”

“Y/n, is back in town Ma,” Colin didn’t dare look at his mothers face as he spoke those words.

“Colin its the holidays, you need to stop letting it bother you. It’s been nearly two years.” Judy sighed, looking into her sons eyes as she spoke.

“No, no. She’s working on an article about the case I’m working on.” Colin took a sip of beer, “I saw her, I mean I have to see her until she gets all the information she needs.” Colin felt relief to tell someone who understood how much that shook his world seeing her.

“Oh Colin, I’m sure that’s very hard for you.” Judy was sympathetic. She was the one to help her poor son pick up all the broken pieces after you left. She knew there were still some open cracks, and now you had come back to make sure those wounds never healed.

“Yeah, but I can get through it. It’s fine.” He felt his words hit his heart, but he knew they were just comforting words for his mother and not for himself.

Judy only smiled politely at her son, gathering her hands together and bowing her head before praying, Colin swung off his beer before joining her.

The pray was cut short when a knock sounded at the front door. Colin decided he would retrieve the door while his mother waited to see who had come this late at night to their home.

Colin swung open the door, and speak of the devil herself, y/n was standing in front of him bundled in warm winter gear. “uh, hi,” Zabel blinked a few times to see if he might have been imagining her, but when she responded with a hi back he knew the imagery was real.

“What are you doing here?” He asked politely, but with a hint of confusion mixed in.

“I saw the news and I have some information you might want.” You watched as Colin opened up the door to invite you in. Taking a deep breath you made it over the threshold into the familiar space of his mothers cozy home that they had shared so many wonderful moments in. Judy was nothing short of amazing, and you had always felt comfort in her presence, much more than you ever had with your own mother.

“Judy, it’s nice to see you,” You spoke quietly, trying to avoid her harsh gaze that you were expecting the second you walked up the steps of the Zabel household. She just nodded, looking between Colin and you.

“Colin was just telling me he ran into you.”

“Yeah, it was a pleasant surprise,” You responded, sending a small smile to Colin, who surprisingly smiled back at you. Judy was not as kind, she huffed lightly at your words.

“Pleasant for one of you at least,” She mumbled.

Colin cleared his throat, embarrassed at his mothers sudden hostility. You knew she was just protecting Colin, and you decided to just hang your head and nod, ending the interaction between the two of you. Colin cleared his throat, mentioning that he would run to the kitchen to grab the two of you beer before getting to work. Judy and you stood there awkwardly as Colin left the room.

“Please, don’t hurt him again. I’m begging you,” Judy whispered, as she looked into your eyes. You saw the pain and sadness that she harbored for her son’s heartbreak.

“I’m not looking to do that, I promise Mrs. Zabel,” You spoke quietly. You were telling the truth, you wanted nothing more than to heal whatever would you had given to Colin in the first place.

Judy walked closer to you, letting her hostility subside momentarily and looked you up and down.

“You look good, honey. Take care of yourself,” She patted your shoulder before walking towards the living room, leaving you and Colin to get to work.

#Colin Zabel x y/n #colin zabel #Colin Zabel x reader #colin zabel mare of easttown #Colin Zabel fan fiction #Colin Zabel imagine #colin zabel x reader #mare of easttown #Colin mare of east town #evan peters x y/n #Evan peters #evan peters imagine #Evan Peters smut #evan peters imagine

62 notes · View notes

leggerefiore · 1 year

Text

▲Subway Boss Masterlist II▽

🛑 = Yandere or Darker Content

🔞 = NSFW

Other list was literally glitching out as I tried to edit it. I write too much about these two.

Fics:

Invisible (cw: angst with happy ending)

Closeness (cw: twin wardens AU)

🔞Lesser (cw: fem reader, egg preg)

Bugtler Twins Fluff (cw: poly, em reader)

Times Gone (cw: blood, violence, dragon au, poly)

🔞Express Train (emmet/reader)

🔞Milk Drink (cw: reader with breasts, lactation, past-pregnancy)

Kyurem Emin Fluff (cw: eggpreg mentions)

🛑Night Train (cw: blood, attempted assault, vampires)

🔞Love Bu(gtler) (cw: fem reader, eggpreg)

🛑Used To Be King (cw: unhealthy relationships, god emmet)

Truth And Lies (cw: PLA Ingo)

🚫Fox God AU Angst

Those Words (cw: jealousy)

🔞Emmet x Galvantula Reader (cw: egg mentions)

🔞Love Fools (emmet x reader)

🔞D.N.A (cw: alien au)

Resort

🔞Tentacles (cw: alien au, breeding kink, tentacles)

Alternate Pathway (cw: alien au)

Feeling, Sweet Feelings (cw: alien au)

Dimmed Light (cw: angel au)

PLA Chandelure Hybrid Ingo Piece

Folklore (cw: fox god au)

Part I

🔞Part II (cw: breeding kink)

Linked (cw: aware au)

🔞Eelektross Emmet Smut (cw: egg preg)

Maid Cafe

Blood Bond (cw: vampire au)

Creepy-Crawly (cw: coraline au related)

Hot And Cold (cw: dragon au, eggpreg, breeding kink)

🔞Deuses Vulpes (cw: fox god au)

Entomophobia (cw: galvantula emmet)

Scotophobia (cw: chandelure ingo)

Vampirism (cw: vampire au)

Vampire Halloween Piece (cw: vampire au)

🛑Animatronic (cw: horror, reader death, animatronic au)

🛑Mould (cw: horror, monster ingo, based off RE7)

Fox God Emmet Transformed In Public

Suspicions (cw: Irida POV, pregnancy implications)

🔞Heated Cold (cw: egg preg, bug rut, frosmoth ingo)

PLA Ingo Winter Fluff

Post-Ingo Disappearance Comforting Emmet

🔞Tarachoptera (cw: Slither Wing Emmet, egg preg)

🔞Teasing, Teasing (cw: Domming PLA Ingo)

Deceit (ingo/reader)

🔞Antlers (cw: sawsbuck au)

🔞Lovely D(ee)ream (cw: sawsbuck au, breeding kink)

Comforting Insecure Emmet

Arranged Marriage

🔞Using An Ovipositor Toy On Moth Ingo (anal sex, bottom ingo)

HCs:

Train Twins Dating S/O With Big Tiddies

Train Twins Helping S/O With Their Period

Train Twins Swooping In On A Crush Post Break-Up

🛑🔞Yandere Chandelure Ingo (cw: kidnapping, implied injuries, noncon, AFAB reader)

Klinklang Emin

S/O Having A Nightmare About Train Twins Cheating (cw: cheating, sex mentions)

Fox God AU Assorted Ideas

Angel Train Twin HCs

🔞NSFW Alpha Silver Fox Emmet HCs

Train Twins With A Hybrid S/O

Train Twins With Lipstick Marks On Them

Train Twins Getting Angry For S/O's Sake

🔞Alien Invader Twins With Magical Girl S/O

Dragon Twins PMD HCs

Train Twins Catching Their Crush In A Suggestive Position

Train Twins Comforting S/O Down From A Panic Attack

Frosslass Ingo HCs

🔞Train Twins Dealing With A High Libido S/O

Train Twins Reacting To S/O Crying Over Joltiks

🔞Train Twins Sexual Fantasies About S/O

🛑Yandere Emin HCs

Dragon Twins Hibernating HCs

Noble Bug Hybrid Twins HCs (cw: reverse bugtler au)

Various Pokemon Characters Being Taken Rollerskating

Emin Christmas HCs

Assorted PokeHybrid Winter Cuddlings

Train Twins Helping S/O Deal With A Neckbeard (cw: unwanted flirting, uncomfortable situation)

Nonromantic:

Erin Getting A Skitty (cw: ingo's son oc)

Changes (cw: Dragon Emin)

PLA Ingo Failing To Remember Erin

Lost (cw: Ingo being a dad)

Drabbles:

Assorted Silver Fox Emmet Things (cw: AFAB reader, pregnancy)

PLA Ingo Angst (cw: ingo is a dad)

Domestic Ingo Fluff

🔞Ingo Gets Head

🔞Emmet Gets Head

🔞Fox AU Ingo Smut

Emmet Tries To Cook

Reverse Aware AU

🔞Ingo Gives Head (cw: AFAB reader)

Ingo Love Letter

Emmet Love Letter

Emin Love Letter

Dragon Emin Love Letter

Emin Writing Love Letters Through The Years

Ingo Comforting S/O From A Panic Attack

Galvantula Emmet Pondering His S/O's Body

Sexting PLA Ingo Using Unowns

Gifting Emmet The EleFish Square Cap

Slither Wing Twins Meeting S/O

Slither Larvesta Erin Hatching

Christmas One-Shots

🔞Sawsbuck Ingo Eating S/O Out

🔞Horny Alien AU Drabble

#fi maestro

146 notes · View notes

the-owl-tree · 5 months

Note

Oh my, Sunny-B, it's quite intriguing to ponder why your ex-girlfriend is so upset with you. Could it be because you left her for your not-so-pleasant boyfriend, who ironically did the same to you in the previous book, Sunbeam? The curiosity is simply overwhelming.

Anyway, I understand it's not wise to have expectations for Warrior cat books, considering the writing skills of the Erins. However, I truly hope that in "Wind" or in the last book of the arc, Lightleap confronts Sunny-B about this situation or perhaps Sunbeam herself realizes the parallels between her actions and what Nightheart did to her. If not, well, I might just have to pen a fanfic to finally find some satisfaction.

I'd just be happy if they mended their friendship. With the one of the themes (allegedly) centering around xenophobia and the consequences of it, Sunbeam coming to realize she's hurt someone and be the one to reach out feels like a nice way to end her arc, letting their relationship remain across borders. It would be nice but I'm kind of worried the authors think Lightleap actually did something unforgivable.

#asc spoilers

9 notes · View notes

dipppy-fressh · 1 month

Text

I'm an anime only dungeon meshi watcher (so far, I'll read it someday) and yall weren't lying about Falin and Marcille huh

#erin ponders #erin watches #dungeon meshi #falin touden #marcille donato

25 notes · View notes

asimfamilystory · 5 months

Text

The Baby Arrives!

The beautiful start of a new day over Sunset Valley. A new day, new experiences for the Weglein family.

Erin being off on maternity leave allows her to get some things around the house done. The baby would be coming soon and Erin wants everything to be perfect, and while Don was off at work it was only fair that Erin would take this time to take care of domestic things, and when that was done she could work on improving her skills that she is permitted to do while pregnant as she doesn't want to stress the baby out. Erin is still finding it hard to believe that she is going to be a mother soon!

After a morning of straightening up the house Erin settled down to a nice meal that Don had prepared for them and there were plenty of leftovers without either of them having to worry about cooking for some time. While over breakfast she found herself pondering about the gender of her future baby and imagining the life that they would have as they grew up. It's during these moments of planning the future where Erin feels herself grow in excitement for the future.

Before heading off to work Don stop's to wish his wife a good day and talk to their growing bundle of joy.

After the end of a good day of work Don decides to go for an evening jog and enjoy the beautiful sights of the town. Don loves living up on a high hill that allows him to look down and enjoy the entire view of the town. The evening is a warm night and Don is left with his own thoughts, excited about his coming child and how he was working hard to earn a promotion so he could be another step closer to achieving his dream of being an astronaut one day and being able to make enough simoleon's to support his family even after he passes on one day though that day was WAY into the future so Don knows he has time to prepare.

In the morning hours of the next day Erin finally went into labor. After a moment of panicking Don was able to quickly get dress and helped Erin get dress as they made their way down to the car and rush towards the hospital. Don was trying his best to remain calm but Erin would tease him that his military training has completely failed him here as keeping calm under a period of stress was the last thing Don did here.

And the baby has arrived! Introducing the 2nd generation, a little baby boy named Oakes. Erin is surprised how much her baby boy looks like her father and Don is over the moon with having a brand new son!

At first Don would admit he was nervous holding Oakes for the first time, but he wants to spend as much time as possible with his baby boy and he wants to make sure that Oakes has a much better childhood than Don himself had.

Nothing is more exciting for Don than seeing Oakes' big and bright smile. He is such a happy baby and Don is just completely dedicated to his wife and son and he spends whatever free moments he has with Oakes, wanting his son to grow into a happy, healthy child who knows how much his dad loves him.

#sims 3 story #sims 3 screenshots #sims 3 gameplay #sims 3 simblr #sims 3 family #sims 3 blog #sims 3 #Don Weglein #gen 1 #generation 1 #sunset valley #the second generation has arrived #the little baby looks so much like his mom right now #will there be a second baby?#gonna have to wait to see

11 notes · View notes

not-bobo · 1 month

Text

Guys I wrote tragic sapphics.

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Warriors - Erin Hunter

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Leafpool/Mothwing (Warriors)

Characters: Leafpool (Warriors), Mothwing (Warriors)

Additional Tags: Mentioned Jayfeather, Mentioned Squirrelflight (not by name), Mentioned Mudfur, Possibly OOC, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, Love Confessions, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Religious Trauma - (some redundant tags not included)

Summary:

‘“Oh- if you don’t want to ponder so be it… but I think in my eyes your coat color is prettiest. It reminds me of the trees back home- well- you get my sentiment - something about it always just felt comforting. And it was so beautiful, like you.” The words came smoothly from Mothwing’s tongue. She was slightly startled that such a deep compliment had escaped her. Mothwing had a handful of times stared at her friend and admitted she was pretty, but straight up saying that out loud? She didn’t want to give the she-cat the wrong idea.

Any anger Leafpaw had with her moments ago, however, had ceased its presence.

“Ah, I mean-“

“Gold is one of the prettiest colors to me.”’

OR…

The two times Leafpool looked at her fellow medicine cat with a flare of desire, the two times Mothwing realized she looked at her best friend with a different kind of fondness than other cats, and the one time they realized they were in love when it was already too late.

#I finally am just doing the format so sorry #warrior cats #warriors #mothpool #mothwing #leafpool #warriors fanfiction

5 notes · View notes

abeinginsand · 1 year

Text

A New Beginning Hell Garden AU Part 1 Hell Garden AU Part 2 (here, story continues below)

---- Nicky tucks his hood over his head and tightens the strap on his bag. Then, he kneels down into the dirty floor of the abandoned house. The man takes in a big breath and places his hands on the nearby wall. He recites the spell he's practiced over ten times at this point and feels the pulse of magic running down his arms.

His palms and eyes glow a mix of blue and purple as a small hole opens under his hands. It quickly grows--becoming a portal about his size. Nicky stands up and looks around for a moment, to make sure he was still alone and to just...settle his nerves. His heart was thumping in his chest, images flashing in his mind of the past few months. Of a too still figure wrapped in quilts and a family--he and his two other parents huddled around the bed. He really needed this to work. Nicky forces a smile and jumps through the portal, the hole quickly sealing behind him as he falls into a pile of daffodils surrounded in green flames. Flames that seemed to sway to and fro like grass in the wind. As he sits in the field of the flowers and takes in the area, he feels oddly calm compared to a few minutes ago. Like calm enough that he could lean back in the dirt and close his eyes for a bit. He hadn't slept much in weeks. When he does lean back, he suddenly smells the scent of burning fabric...burning fabric!? He sits up and pulls his bag off his back. Nicky bites his lip to cover his cursing as he sees one of the daffodils...covered in that green flame chewing on his bag! He shakes his bag until the flower screeches and falls back to the ground. Nicky gets up, heart back to its steady rhythm and heads away from the feisty daffodils. There's two other areas he can see up-ahead. On the left is a bridge made of tightly wrapped vegetation, hanging above a river of lava. The lava is steaming and keeping that path brightly lit in hues of red and orange. On the right is a tunnel, again seeming to be made of flower, bark, and vines. The tunnel's entry way is obscured, only pitch darkness and eerie murmurs can be heard coming from it. As Nicky walks closer, he can hear the murmuring more clearly. "Its dangerous to head off alone. You don't even know if that place even exists!" "What if Glenn wakes up and finds out you went missing, huh? Do you think that would make him happy?" A chill runs down Nicky's spine as steps right in front the tunnel. Those were words from his last few conversations with Erin and Jodie. He gripped the strap of his bag in frustration and confusion. Nicky glances over to the lava bridge and back to the daffodils and pondered his options. He lightly tapped one foot instead of taking a deep, calming breath this time. Takes his hand off the strap of his bag and strokes his chin in thought. He didn't like the options but hopefully one of these paths would get him to that plant Erin needed. Well at least the place was interesting and pretty? ...Yeah, pretty dangerous. ---- Continued from Hell Garden AU Part 1

Flower Language Notes: Daffodils can sometimes stand for 'new beginnings'. Some other meanings are resilience, creativity, and forgiveness.

12 notes · View notes

hotchnerxo · 2 years

Text

The chances you take: Chapter 14

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x single mom!reader

Summary: An annual celebration of the Bureau and you are invited.

Words: 2.7k

Warnings: Food and alcohol. A lot of cliches.

A/N: *internal screaming*

Join my taglist Series masterlist

Chapter 14: You’re invited

For the past week, you’ve been kicking yourself for not saying anything to him during that night. You had every opportunity to tell him how much you like having him around and how you appreciate everything he does for you and how much you’ve come to care about him. He had even taken the opportunity to walk you to your door that night after offering you a ride home.

Who does that? No one has ever walked you to your door, just to make sure you get home safe.

You’ve been thinking of that moment, over and over again. Him standing so close to you, his beautiful smile shining on his lips. So handsome and captivating. And you do nothing, but wish him goodnight. And the moment those words leave your tongue, you’ve been screaming ‘Coward!’ in your head.

But, he had every opportunity to do the same and he did nothing. Maybe he was just being nice and you read too much into it because you have a small crush on the man. And he sees so much of the bad in the world, can you blame him for taking an extra step to make sure you’re getting home safe.

Instead of dwelling in the thought, you’re getting quite the distraction. You hold a thick paper on your hands, rereading the words on it for the millionth time.

‘YOU’RE INVITED’ it says on the top with big bold letters. And continues on telling you about a big annual celebration hosted by the Bureau. It’s a formal event and it takes place on the new year's eve, that is tonight. Apparently a lot of people are invited, although you are a bit confused why you are one of them.

But instead of pondering over the reasons, you start to get ready. Thanks to Ella’s and your mom’s help, you’ve settled on an outfit that would fill the requirements. Although Ella’s upset you didn’t get to buy a princess dress for the occasion, she seemed pretty happy with the second best. You’ve never been to a formal event before, especially not on this level of formal, and it makes you nervous and having trouble staying still until everything’s perfect.

Little over an hour later, you show your invitation to the doorman at a hotel where the celebration is hosted. He opens the door for you and gestures left from the entrance. You see another man in a black tux standing by the door. Even the security is dressed fancy for this. To this man, you hand the invitation and he wishes you a great night.

Feeling totally out of place, you look around the big event hall. There is a sea of men in black and white tuxedos and women in mostly natural colored dresses and skirts. A waitress hands you a glass of champagne and you accept it with a smile and a polite nod. The environment and the dryness of the champagne make you even more uncomfortable and you hold the glass in your hands, not sure what to do with it anymore; drinking it doesn’t seem tempting anymore.

In the sea of people, you see a blonde woman with a black pencil skirt and a blue blouse. She’s talking with a small group of people, a wide smile on her lips. You don’t think you’ve ever seen Erin Strauss smile before. Sure, you’re familiar with the polite, office smile, but it often seems forced. Here, she looks like a totally different woman. And it certainly helps to have the charismatic italian right beside her.

But right as you notice Rossi’s presence, you realize who else is in the same group. Hotchner’s listening carefully as Strauss speaks. There are a few other men around him, but you’re too focused on him to notice. He’s wearing a dark suit just as the men around him and he should blend in rather easily. But to you, he stands out.

He wears a suit pretty much everyday to work, you’ve only seen him in casual clothes a handful of times during this half a year you’ve worked with him. And two of those times were when you spent the night in his guest room. But now, that he wears a suit like this, he looks even more handsome – although you’re not sure how that’s possible when he looks good every day.

His posture is straight and your eyes are fixated on his strong jawline. You find yourself thinking how you would love to see your lipstick leave a mark there. His dark blue suit fits him perfectly and you notice a vest underneath the buttoned jacket. White shirt underneath it all and a maroon tie around his neck. A white pocket square is neatly folded against his heart. It’s all almost picture perfect.

He’s shaking hands with a man older than him. He says something to Hotch that makes his body language change. He smiles and nods, as if thanking the man in front of him; he’s never been one to take compliments well. You smile at his shyness.

You hear a woman’s voice boom through the speakers and it makes your attention turn towards the stage at the back. “Thank you to everyone who could make it tonight!” she chirps and goes over the agenda for the evening. There’s a dinner and awards and some live music later on. Your attention is focused on her until you feel a hand press against your arm.

“Hey” Aaron says quietly enough to not disturb anyone around you. You turn towards him and he can’t stop himself from looking you up and down “You look amazing” he says before he can bite his tongue and then clears his throat. “I mean..”

“Thank you” your cheeks are hurting from smiling so wide “You look really handsome, too”. You know you can never get tired of how flustered he gets at compliments, especially yours. He’s always so stoic and strong, but with a slightest compliment on him you can basically see the man’s brain malfunction. “And honestly, I’m so glad to see you” you admit, fidgeting with the strap of your purse “I have no clue why I’m here and I don’t know anyone here”.

“The bureau hosts an event like this one pretty much every year. And every year they want to invite the new hires of that year to it, too” he explains and looks between you and the event’s host, who's still speaking on the stage. “It’s a way to socialize and get to know different sections and team leaders, I suppose. Let me show you around” he offers and without thinking it more, your arm wraps around his and holds his forearm.

“Lead the way, Hotchner”.

And that he does. He walks you around and introduces you to people. Even the director is in a good mood and chatty and he and Hotchner seem to be on good terms, even if he gives the BAU a lot of pressure. People are eager to talk with Hotch, say hello and so on. You feel a sense of pride bubble in your chest as you see how well known he is inside the bureau for his great work. But most importantly because you’re with him and when he’s with you, he’s Aaron. He’s able to let his SSA Hotchner fall to the background and be himself. You even made him laugh by commenting on what a strange couple Rossi and Strauss are. It made him laugh out and it’s still one of your proudest moments in life.

Unfortunately during the dinner, you and him were seated on different tables. He was with the director, Rossi and Strauss and some others you still can’t remember by name, although you were just recently introduced to them. You’re a couple of tables over with other new hires. But, for your luck, you can still see each other. And like magnets drawn towards each other, your eyes meet multiple times during the dinner.

But even when he’s not looking, you find yourself looking over at him. Most of the time he’s deep in conversation with the people around him. You’re drawn to the handsome smile on him as he speaks and his manners. He’s intriguing and certainly easy on the eye.

You force yourself to follow the conversation in your own table. The group around you is starting to loosen up, now that the nerves for the evening have calmed down mostly. Everyone talks about what it’s been like to join their new teams and it’s fascinating to listen to how many different units there are that you hadn’t even heard of before. The people seem nice and it encourages you to open up about your experiences too and even laugh about some mishaps that have happened inside the office.

“As always, the night has exceeded all of our expectations and it’s my pleasure to thank each and every one of you for your exemplary work and effort for the bureau and for our country” the same woman announces a couple of hours later and it sparks a wave of applause from the crowd. “And on that note, it is our time to say good night, enjoy your new years eve and see you next year!” you fight the urge to roll your eyes for the comment you saw coming from miles away and instead begin to make sure you have everything with you in order to go home.

Once you’re all set to go, you look around the room one more time, in an attempt to find the man you wish to see before you leave. You hope to wish him goodnight before you go. But to your disappointment, you don’t see him anywhere anymore. You head towards the door and you notice yourself feeling sad from not getting to see him again tonight.

But once you make it outside, you see him by the stairs, speaking casually with Rossi. And as you make it out the door, he sees you at the same time and greets you with a warm smile, even though he is in the middle of a sentence. You feel butterflies in your stomach taking flight again and the sadness is lifted from your heart at that instant.

“Yeah, see you then. Good night Dave” you hear him say before he takes a step towards you as you walk down the stairs. “Hey, I was hoping to see you before you go” he tells you.

You’re just about to open your mouth to answer, when a piece of gravel finds its way under your heel and makes you stumble. You hear yourself yelp as you try to steady yourself. Aaron’s arms have flown to reach you and offer you support, which you have instinctively accepted by grasping his arms for balance.

“Thank you” you feel your cheeks burning once you’re again on the steady ground. “Stupid stone” you mutter jokingly after you’ve assured him that you’re alright.

“Need a ride home?” he then asks, taking his place beside you.

“You’re starting to become my personal driver”, He briefly looks down to the ground and scratches the back of his head. He looks even more adorable when he’s flustered in the dark evening lighting.

“There are worse destanies in the world than that, I’m sure” he laughs and leads the way to his car. He opens the door for you and says it’s just to make sure you’re safe from any other stones that might be a threat to your ankles.

For that you slap him jokingly to his chest “I’m sure I can handle myself against them. Although having a big, mean Agent Hotchner to protect me isn’t half bad” you grin over the open car door and seat yourself to the passenger seat you’ve found yourself sitting on many times before.

“I’ve seen you take down unsubs, so I don’t doubt it for a moment” he smiles and closes the door once you’re comfortably inside. “Although” he continues, once he’s made it to the other side “Agent Hotchner will forever be at your service, miss”.

He starts the car and drives smoothly towards your apartment. During the ride home, you update him on all the funny things you’ve found out during the evening. “And if I felt like I was misplaced at the event, trust me, everyone at my table was even worse. I swear, Ryan – I think he works with Agent Wilsonn in organized crime – he looked like a lost puppy the whole evening” you laugh “It would have been kind of sad if it wasn’t so funny at the same time”.

“Sounds like you had a good time then” he turns to you once he pulls into your driveway and turns off his car.

You nod “I had a great time. Thank you for taking your time with him and introducing me to everyone”.

“The pleasure was all mine,” he answers quietly.

You’re not sure how to answer, so you go to push your door open. But before you can fully make it out of the car, Aaron’s already stepped out himself and made his way to you. You wouldn’t have expected anything else. He walks you to your door “Do you have anything else planned for tonight?”

“No, not really. I think tonight was more than plenty for one night” you admit, stepping up your doorsteps. But before you reach for your keys, you turn around to face him. “Thank you for your service, Agent Hotchner. You have successfully protected me from the rest of the conniving rocks on my path”.

“Glad to hear one of my duties of tonight has been fulfilled” his voice is so smooth and sweet as honey. It’s all beyond what you had expected from tonight and having him here by your door steps for the second time within a week seems too good to be true.

“One of them?” you’re curious for what he means by that. You can almost hear him thinking. But it’s only a second until he steps in, closing the distance between you and you look up to meet his eyes. They’re captivating and so warm. You feel his hand raising to your waist and pulling you in closer.

Your nose brushes against his as your lips come together. His lips are soft against yours and his body against yours is warm. You’ve let your eyes close and let yourself sink into the sensation. His other hand raises to your neck, thumb softly brushing against your cheek. Without you realizing it yourself, your hands have raised against his firm chest.

What feels like an eternity later, he pulls back, just slightly enough for the kiss to break. You try to remember how to breathe and you open your eyes again. The night is dark, but you feel like the two of you aren’t a part of that world anymore. This moment is something so much more.

You both know that more time is needed to process what happened for both parties. So, you take a step back.

“Goodnight, (y/n)” he whispers and takes a step back himself as well, which lowers him down on your doorsteps.

“Goodnight Aaron” you say, still breathless and blown away by the night’s event. You share a look with him before you turn towards your door and turn the key on the lock. The door opens and you step inside. But before you let the door close, you look at him once more and the smile on your lips feels now permanent. Aaron nods silently and steps back down further and heads back towards his car once the door closes.

You stare at the closed door and press your head against the door frame. You feel like a schoolgirl, all giggly and excited from her first kiss with her crush. But at the same time, your head spins with everything that’s to come. Would it all be a mistake? Have you just screwed up one of your closest friendships? Would it jeopardize your career? He is your boss after all.

But you decide to let yourself think of those thoughts later and let yourself enjoy the excitement and happiness tonight.

Taglist: @ahouseforhermitcrab@sinamew@lukeclvez@thebaileybugle @louderfortheback @skyler666 @lejlapvlc @14buddy22@anlin2058 @pandorasdreamings @newlydevouthotchgirl @whoreslovehotch @mrslizzyolsen @wheelsupkels @ssamorganhotchner @lilozg-123 @uraverage-virgowh0re@sarahfortin6201 @chaoticconnoisseurgiver @scargarcia-magshotchner @rousethemouse @sweetstrangermldadsblog@no-1martinipolice @marauderssimpcuzwhytfnott @mochamori @Ruler_Of_The_Awesome

#aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner #criminal minds #aaron hotchner x single mom!reader #the chances you take fic #hotchnerxo fic #aaron hotchner fluff #slowburn #eventual romance

81 notes · View notes