#i can’t transport couches and fridges and beds by myself

[cunninghamchrissie]

how…… does one bring furniture up to their apartment if they’re alone

#text #why is everything so hard #i can’t transport couches and fridges and beds by myself #and no i can’t call a friend or family im alone in this

[purplesurveys]

1090

survey by --ranboweyes--

1.] What age is your youngest aunt? I have a relative who’s technically my aunt since she’s a cousin of my mom, but she’s like 3 years younger which makes her 18-19ish, I think. 

2.] Do you miss someone right now? The only thing I’m missing is the weekend which is quickly ending lol.

3.] What can you see to the Northwest to you? I can see our living room couch.

4.] Do you like bowling? I love bowling. I wish I could do it all the time, only if a session wasn’t so expensive.

5.] Can you pronounce Italian words? I mean I can try saying the words but I know I’m definitely not pronouncing them in the native accent. @justsurveys​ definitely can though, heh.

6.] Do you prefer black or beige colored jackets? I have more black ones, but I’m not opposed to trying out beige.

7.] Do you own a hoodie? Yes, I’m wearing one right now because it’s pretty chilly tonight.

8.] Do you like roasting marshmallows on a bonfire? I’ve only done this once, which was in like Grade 3 when we had an overnight thingy in school and our teacher planned a bonfire for us. But I’m not a fan of marshmallows at all so the answer to this is no.

9.] Do you like cheesy puffs? No. I prefer other snacks.

10.] What's your name without vowels? Rbyn or Rbn, if we’re counting out the letter y.

11.] How many layers of clothing are you wearing? Just two, which is always the case if I do have to wear more than one layer; I have a shirt under my zipped-up hoodie. I’ve only ever had to wear multiple layers once; it was when we were in Sagada and I had to wear 4 or 5 layers if I didn’t want to shiver to death.

12.] When was the last time you got a takeaway? What did you have? I usually dine in the restaurant altogether or go to the drive-thru, but never takeout. Today, though, I did order a chicken barbecue at Starbucks originally meant to be for dine-in; but I got sad in the middle of my time there so I only had a few bites and brought the rest home. Which I guess technically counts as takeout.

13.] If you could climb any mountain or range which would you chose? Mount Pulag because I’ve heard so much about it and it’d be nice to experience it for myself.

14.] Do you alphabetically arrange anything in your room? What? Nope.

15.] Have you ever visited fat-pie.com? No.

16.] Do you prefer sweet or sour fruits? Sweet.

17.] Do you like Flo Rida? Which song of his? I mean, not really. There are a few songs he’s featured in that I find catchy, like Right Round, but I don’t like like them.

18.] How's your dancing skills? There aren’t any to speak of. 

19.] What is your favorite number? I don’t have any. The idea of favorite numbers personally never made sense to me, but I do recognize that they can mean a lot to some people.

20.] Describe your best friend to me? She’s incredibly smart and creative, very motherly and responsible, and always knows the right questions to ask when her friends are troubled and what advice to give.

21.] What is your favorite alcoholic drink? Peach soju, Long Island Iced Tea, Zombie, and tequila are some of my favorites. I’m generally a fan of cocktails though, and I love it whenever bars have their own lineup because it lets me see how creative they get and because it also allows me to try their own spin on mixed drinks.

22.] Do you do any sports or have you done any sport professionally? I play table tennis, but I never played professionally or had formal training. It was a club I joined in middle school just because Angela dragged me but I ended up enjoying it, so I played and played until I unconsciously got better.

23.] What is your ringtone? Just the default Apple ringtones; I never changed them.

24.] Do you like chili flavored chips/crisps? Sure! Chili peanuts are great, too.

25.] Do you curl or straighten your hair? I don’t do either with my hair unless I’m headed to a special/fancy occasion.

26.] What's the nicest smell of shampoo? We used to have this brand that housed black shampoo and it smelled super elegant and nice, but I have no idea how to describe the scent.

27.] What smell turns you on? How about turns you off? It’s generally a turn-on when people make an effort to smell nice, e.g. applying perfume several times a day. BO and the smell of the sun are my main turn-offs.

28.] Whose your favorite comedian? I’ve only been able to watch a couple of her skits but Sindhu Vee is pretty high up on my list. I’m not really too big on comedians, though.

29.] RnB or Reggae? R&B, by a mile.

30.] What brand of batteries do you usually get? I/We haven’t had to use batteries in such a long time.

31.] Are any of your friends pregnant or have kids? A good number of people from my high school now have kids, but I don’t consider any of them friends.

32.] What is in your medicine cabinet? We don’t have one since no one in the family needs to regularly take meds. We do have a jar in the kitchen for multivitamins that my parents take every night.

33.] What's your favorite aspect of the natural world? The ocean. < I’d say so too. Mountain ranges are also beautiful.

34.] What's your favorite man made thing? Probs the internet.

35.] Can you whistle properly? Yasss.

36.] What song do you think is the most widely heard in the world? Happy Birthday or some Christmas jingle.

37.] Where's the strangest place a fast food restaurant was located? I mean...I think fast food restaurants are ubiquitous by nature, so I’ve never seen one and went, “That’s not supposed to be there,” lol. Whenever I spot a fast food restaurant, I’m usually able to make out the reasoning behind positioning it wherever it happens to be.

38.] What countries surround your country? Or are you not land locked? We’re an archipelago, so. Not land-locked. But the nearest countries are Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

39.] Do you own binoculars or nonoculars? What do you use them for? I don’t own either.

40.] Do you ever wish you had a telescope on the roof or attic to stargaze? I have always wanted one, yeah. I’ve always dreamed of placing it in my future living room, though.

41.] What's your favorite chocolate bar? Not a bar, but I like Reese’s peanut butter cups the most.

42.] Do you fall asleep easy in cars? How about planes, trains and boats? Unless I am extremely tired, it’s usually hard for me to fall asleep while in transport.

43.] Would you rather live a year of your life in every major country or stay in the same place you live forever without vacations? The latter sounds like an unfulfilling life to me, to be honest. Like I can’t even take vacations??? As much as I like routine, I do enjoy a bit of spontaneity and I think moving to a new country every year can do that for me.

44.] What will you not tolerate in a person? Someone who will make you feel stupid for asking a question. Also those who always have something mean to say about everyone.

45.] Do you forgive others easier or yourself? Why is this? Forgiving isn’t really in my vocabulary to be honest. Hahaha. I’ve always been more at peace this way.

46.] How was God made, if he exists? Key word here is if, so I’m skipping this question because it’s irrelevant to me.

47.] Have you ever done aqua aerobics or polo? Yeah we had to do a bit of water polo in swimming classes in high school.

48.] What age were you when you learned how to swim? I guess around 2? I have baby photos from when I was that age wherein I was having fun in our old inflatable pool. Swimming came naturally to me and I don’t think I ever had trouble with the water.

49.] What shows or characters scared you as a child? You know how older cartoons only featured the legs of some characters, like the housemaid in Tom & Jerry or the lady from Powerpuff Girls? The uncertainty of those characters always made me feel unsettled as a kid.

50.] Do you stay up all night on New Years Eve/Day or go to bed after 12am? I always go to bed well after 12 AM since my family usually holds a get-together for it.

51.] What's currently in your fridge? Some leftovers, some vegetables, essentials like bread and eggs, some condiments that need to be kept refrigerated.

52.] How about your freezer? Frozen goods like hotdogs and ham.

53.] What could you be doing now that is more productive? I should be working out but I’m skipping it for tonight because I hate Sundays, and I don’t want to make myself more tired than I already am.

54.] Give me some lyrics from the song that's stuck in your head? “Red lights, stop signs, I still see your face in the white cars, front yards...”

55.] What's your favorite type of firework? The grander the design the better for me, tbh.

#survey #surveys

[alilpunkrock]

Home for the holidays

Ryan Sitkowski x reader

Not requested

A/n: wow I am hella late for a Christmas fic but honestly, who cares? I’m definitely making a part 2 with smut so don’t you worry. I hope you enjoy!! This is my last fic of 2019. Happy New Years! 🖤

Tag list: @chriscrosscerulli @myanaconda-will-consider1t @thisplace-ishaunted @ryansitkowskiswifey @musicsexandpizza69 @whyisgmora

••••••••••

“Ryan, please! I need you to do this for me!” I pleaded. He was standing on the other side of the counter with his arms crossed.

“Why? You can easily go out and find an actual boyfriend, why do I have to be your fake one?” He asked. I sighed in frustration.

“Because I don’t want an actual boyfriend! I just need you to pretend so my mom will get off my back! I swear her and my aunt think I’m going to die a spinster.” I leaned against the counter and put my head in my hands. There was silence for a moment before Ryan sighed.

“Okay, fine. I’ll do it. But,” Ryan started, my head shot up. “You have to clean my apartment, spotless. And cook me dinner for a whole week.” Ryan listed his conditions.

I squealed in excitement and relief.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I ran around the counter and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him, jumping up and down. “Seriously, I’ll literally do whatever you want! Okay! I got to go, I’ll be over tomorrow to let you know what’s going to happen.” I put my sweatshirt on and grabbed my keys and purse running out the door.

Ryan shook his head and wondered what he had gotten himself into.

The next day I arrived at Ryan’s apartment earlier than I knew he’d appreciate. He opened the door at 9am in his underwear and a t shirt.

“Why so early?” He asked, moving to the side and letting me in. Snow covered the ground outside and Ryan shivered at the thought of being outside right now.

“Sorry, I forgot you like to sleep till the evening.” Ryan rolled his eyes.

“I’m going to put pants on, please make a pot of coffee.” He said walking down the hallway to his room. I took my shoes off by the couch and made my way into the kitchen. I started Ryan’s Keurig, pulling two coffee mugs from the cupboard above my head. Ryan came back in wearing sweats and a sweatshirt.

He looked cozy. And warm. And like you wanted to cuddle him.

Wait, what? No. Fake boyfriend. Remember Y/N?

I cleared your throat and put Ryan’s cup under the spout to pour the coffee, mine next. I turned and handed Ryan his cup.

“Creamer?” I asked walking to his fridge. He shook his head and took a drink of the black coffee in his cup. I grabbed the vanilla creamer for mine.

“So, what’s happening?” Ryan asked, clearly in a better mood after a few drinks of coffee. I took a drink of my own.

“Well, in order to miss the crazy holiday rush, my mom bought us tickets to fly out next Friday. We’ll get there Friday night and will be there till the 30th. I told her it’s a little long, but if you need to fly back before then that’s totally fine.” I explained. He nodded.

“The 30th should be fine. The guys and I don’t start tour until a few weeks into January.” He agreed. I nodded and it got quiet.

“I really can’t thank you enough Ry. You’re seriously the best person ever.” He chuckled and shook his head.

“What are friends for. Are you doing anything else today?” Ryan asked me.

“Hmm no, it’s Sunday so I’m off of work. I have an early day tomorrow so I was going to stop by the store after I got off work. Why?” I asked sipping from my cup.

“Because I’m not doing anything either and there’s a stack of Christmas movies next to my tv that, now, need to be watched before next week. And, since you said you’d do whatever I wanted, you’re stuck watching them with me.” I rolled my eyes, smiling.

“Ugh if you’re forcing me.”

We walked in to the living room, I immediately sat on the couch, pulling my legs underneath me. Ryan was picking through movies trying to find one to watch. I admired Ryan a lot. He’s very talented at everything he does. When he gets passionate about something he gives it his all. He’s taught me a lot about myself over the 6 years I’ve known him. He’s seen me through terrible break ups, he’s taken care of me through some of the worst sicknesses I’ve ever had. He’s a genuinely good guy. The girl who ends up with him better know how lucky she is.

“Y/N?” Ryan’s voice broke my train of thought.

“Huh?” He smirked.

“See something you like?” He asked making me roll my eyes.

“You wish, what do you want?”

“Elf?” He asked putting it in the DVD player. I nodded.

We settled on the couch for the rest of the night watching movies.

—————

By the end of the week, Ryan and I were packed for the next couple weeks. I had to remind Ryan not to pack all his Blackcraft shirts and give my grandma a heart attack.

“Okay so do you remember what I told you about our backstory?” I asked in the car in the way to the airport.

“Yes, Y/N. It’s the same as always we’re just a couple now. I’m a great actor I promise we can sell it. Now, what should we avoid doing to make sure it’s not awkward when we get home?” He asked me. I hadn’t thought of that.

“Kissing maybe, like cheeks are fine, forehead yes, but avoid lips. That’s too intimate.” I said. “We might be sharing a room too, so if you’d like I’ll sleep on the floor and you can have the bed.”

“Oh don’t be ridiculous. We’ve shared a twin sized bed before, I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Ryan assured me.

The flight to my home town felt like it was over too soon. I huffed when I saw the seatbelt light come on.

“You okay?” Ryan asked. “You’re not backing out now are you?” I shook my head.

“I just dread coming home every year. My family always has something to say about how I live my life. Not to mention how guilty my mom makes me feel about moving so far away.” I word vomited before I could stop myself. “Sorry, didn’t mean to lay that on you.” I sighed.

“Hey,” Ryan grabbed my hand. “You got me this time. I will rant and rave about you the whole time if I have to if that’s what it takes to get your family off your back.”

I smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. His eyes were wide when I pulled back.

“Just practicing.”

—————

“Y/N!!” I heard my name being called across the airport.

“Oh god, they’re all here.” I said looking up at Ryan. He chuckled and grabbed my hand his back pack on his back and duffle in the other. I had my rolling suitcase and small duffle sitting on top in my free hand.

“Oh you’re so skinny! Do you ever eat?” My mom all but yelled in my ear as she hugged me. Her, my two aunts, my sister and my cousin were gathered around Ryan and I.

“Hello to you too mom.” I said hugging her back. She pulled away and looked at Ryan.

“Hello! You must be Ryan! Y/N talks about you all the time!” She hugged him.

“Mom!” My face burned up. Ryan chuckled and hugged my mom.

“It’s nice to meet you.” He said.

“Well we got a full house of people who are dying to see you!”

The drive to my childhood home was almost the same as torture. Everyone was bombarding Ryan with questions and, bless his heart, he answered them all in stride. Arriving at my moms house, Ryan and I were again attacked by more family. After the over all introductions, Ryan and I were sitting on the couch in the family room with everyone else, my legs across his lap and his thumb drawing shapes on my knee.

“So, when did you and Ryan happen?” My sister asked. All attention turned to Ryan and I.

“Uh-“ I started. “I asked Y/N out a couple months ago. We’ve been friends forever and I just decided to go for it.” Ryan took over. Everyone seemed to buy it. I smiled and nodded.

“Well you’re certainly adorable! I can’t wait for grand babies!” My mother clapped.

“Oh my god mom! That’s not even on the table!” I exclaimed. Ryan laughed beside me. He honestly has the best laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, Y/n. Cmon, it’s late. Let’s get you to bed.” Ryan said to me after he had to shake me awake.

We were still in the living room, tv playing a Christmas movie and the tree was lit up. No one else was down here though. I removed my legs from where they were still on his lap and rubbed my eyes. The clock next to the tv said it was after midnight. Ryan stood up and grabbed the remote turning everything off, I followed behind his half asleep.

“Lead the way,” Ryan motioned for me to walk up the stairs first. “I’ll make sure you don’t fall down the stairs, zombie.”

My room was the last door down the hall as soon as you got to the stairs, as soon as we got outside I stopped.

“Look, I don’t really remember how I left this room when I moved to Pennsylvania, so don’t make fun of me for the rest of my life if there’s anything embarrassing I here.” I warned Ryan. He smiled sweetly at me

“Sweetheart, I’m going to make fun of you for the rest of your life no matter what.” My face fell as I turned and opened the door.

I honestly didn’t remember how I left it. As I looked around I was instantly transported to high school. I left home at 18 and haven’t been home in four years. All my band posters were still up on the wall and pictures of old friends still taped to my mirror. I was almost overwhelmed by the emotion that came over me. I turned and saw Ryan looking around as well, he seemed to be focused on something specific though.

“You were a fan before we met?” Ryan asked. I walked over to were he was at and saw a small tour poster from them Motionless in White first started out. Oh.

“Uh yeah, I saw a few shows when you guys were in town a long time ago.” I said awkwardly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He looked down at me. It was then that I realized how close we were standing. I moved to sit on my bed, taking my hair down from the bun I had it in.

“Because it’d be weird. After I met Bryce and Jaime and then became friends with you guys and the crew I didn’t want to be that weird fan that became a friend.” I shrugged. He nodded.

“Well, I’m glad I have something to tell the guys when we go back home.” I rolled my eyes and got the bed ready.

Ryan moved around the other side and looked between the bed and the floor.

“I can sleep on the floor if you’d like?” He offered.

“Don’t worry about it just get in bed and sleep. I’m exhausted.” I yawned and laid down in bed.

“Okay.”

We laid in silence for a few minutes before I rolled over and spoke.

“Thank you for helping me. I feel bad for lying to my family though.” He rolled over and faced me.

“Hey, it’ll all be fine. I promise I’ll be the best fake boyfriend you’ve ever had.” He made me laugh.

“Well if it’s any consolation, so far you’re better than actual boyfriends I’ve had.”

“Good night.” He chuckled.

“Night.” I said rolling over to my other side.

~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up the next morning to an empty bed. There was noise downstairs which led be to believe Ryan was probably part of that. I groaned and rubbed my eyes as I sat up and slowly got out of bed. When I got downstairs the smell of pancakes and bacon filled my nose. In the kitchen, my mom was making coffee for everyone and Ryan was making bacon while my dad was flipping pancakes. Without thinking, I walked over to Ryan at the stove.

“Morning sunshine!” Ryan said leaning down and kissing the top of my head.

“Morning,” I mumbled. “Smells good.”

“Good morning sweetheart!” My mom said cheerfully. “How’d you two sleep?” She asked.

“Uh, fine?” I said confused. She smirked at me a little. Did my mom think Ryan and I had sex in my childhood bedroom? Gross! Well, not gross because just look at him but still, no! But then again my mom doesn’t know we’re not actually together so... moving on.

“So are you guys not big on PDA?” My sister asked as I sat down next to Ryan at the table.

“What do you mean?” I asked grabbing a piece of toast from the plate.

“Well, none of us have seen you kiss, or do anything remotely couply the whole time you’ve been here.” She was starting to get suspicious.

“Um,” I looked at Ryan asking him to save me and instead of saying anything he leaned in and kissed my cheek, like half a millimeter away from my lips. That’s the first time we’ve ever kissed.

“I just didn’t want to be disrespectful in your mothers home.” Ryan came back. I smiled and tried to hide my shock from everyone around the table.

“Well that’s very sweet Ryan, but it’s the holidays and that means mistletoe!” My mom squealed before dangling the plant above Ryan and I’s heads.

I froze in my place making eye contact with the hazel eyes in front of me. The look Ryan gave me was almost asking for permission, I gave him a silent okay before I saw him lean in slowly. Holy shit this is happening. I braced myself, closing my eyes as I felt his lips brush mine. I closed the gap, feeling Ryan’s hand rest on my cheek. I don’t know how long the kiss lasted. All I know is I heard my sister clear her throat and Ryan and pulled away. I made brief eye contact with everyone at the table, my face turning bright red.

Well, that was awkward. Looking at Ryan out of the corner of my eye, I saw him blushing as well and avoiding looking at my mom. Thank god my dad wasn’t here right now.

“Well, you two certainly like each other.” My mom smirked taking a bite of her breakfast.

“Excuse me.” I saw pushing away from the table and leaving the dining room. I ran back up the stairs to my room and decided to get dressed.

“Y/n are you-.” I was only in jeans and a bra when Ryan opened the door. I jumped and grabbed my sweater, quickly putting it on. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to- I didn’t.” Ryan stuttered.

“It’s fine. What’s up?” I asked slightly irritated that he followed me.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. That kiss wasn’t too much was it?” He asked, concerned.

It wasn’t enough.

“Um, no not too much. They bought it.” I forced a chuckle.

“Yeah they definitely bought it.” He scratched the back of his head.

God, I wanna do it again.

“Ya know, we should maybe practice for next time. Maybe it won’t seem so awkward.” He suggested. I froze.

What?

“What?”

“Yeah, why not? Ya know.” Silence.

“Uh, practicing might help.” I said, playing with the hem of my sweater.

Ryan smiled and walked closer to me; making me look up at him because of the height difference. His hands found home on my waist as they squeezed my hips pulling me against his body. My eyes were closed before I even felt his lips on mine, but as soon as we connected, it was like we needed each other’s lips to survive. His tongue glided along my lower lip until I granted him entrance, he dominated the kiss quite easily. My hand found themselves threading into his longer that usual hair and tugging slightly. He walked me backwards until my knees hit the bed and slowly lowered me onto my back. Was I going to let him take it this far? I might honestly. Just as I was about to wrap my legs around his waist and pull his hips flush to mine, a knock at my door startled us.

“Y/n, Ryan, we’re heading out to the square to watch the Christmas parade. Mom wants you to join!” My sister yelled.

I looked at Ryan, biting my lip. “Okay! We’ll be there in a second.” I yelled back.

“Damn it.” Ryan huffed, resting his head on my shoulder. I pat the top of his telling him to get up.

I walked over to my mirror to readjust my self before turning to Ryan.

“Ready?” He asked. I nodded, following him downstairs.

God, I’m so screwed.

#miw imagines #ryan sitkowski fic #ryan sitkowski x reader #ryan sitkowski #motionless in white imagines #motionless in white #ryan sitkowski imagine

[fairyscribbles]

Cupcakes and Fangs - Setting Arrangements. (SUHO, pt. 4) [Chronicles of the Wolf series]

Hello darlings! We’re starting off this week with our handsome leader! If you want to refresh your memory, last chapter is here!

-

Even now, a few hours after your meeting with Junmyeon, butterflies fluttered in your belly and a blush stayed on your cheeks. With a dreamy sigh, you continued washing your skin.

Junmyeon was so...he was so...

You couldn't even find the right word. You never felt something so strong to someone you’ve just met. From here, the place in front of your mirror, you could see the giant teddy Junmyeon won for you, sitting so peacefully on the couch in your bedroom. It was your first win. Actually, it was a first thing something won for you. All your other dates were just simple walks, nothing fancy.

But with Junmyeon...

There was a great sense of care there that you couldn't quite explain. Yes, he seemed to want to impress you - if his little performance to win the bear for you was any indication - but besides all that... You could feel how much he just enjoyed your company.

And that was the best feeling...

You brushed your hair carefully before slipping into bed with a frown. Hopefully the thoughts of Junmyeon - those eyes, that smile - could ward away the nightmares tonight...

You seriously hoped they would- they grew quite aggressive, coming to you every night for the past week. Even if you were relatively used to it, the night terrors seemed to add on their intensity and there wasn't a night which you went through without waking up, screaming.

You hoped that Junmyeon's smile, gentle way of saying your name, and the imagination of how perfectly his strong arms would feel wrapped around you, holding you would ward the bad dreams away.

-

But they didn't.

And it showed the other morning, when you opened shop with constant yawning and big bags under your eyes.

"My, my, ___. Did your date keep you up all night?" You heard Junmi's teasing voice behind you and you squeaked, turning around with a blush.

"W-what do you mean?!"

"Whoa, whoa. Okay, sensitive!" Junmi giggled. "You just look like you were up all night."

You rubbed at your face consciously. "Oh... I just didn't sleep well that's all."

Junmi frowned. "Nightmares again? You should've asked your date to keep them away."

You sighed heavily. You would've liked to do that, but you weren't even sure how to go about asking him at this point. 'Hey, Junmyeon, how about you spend the night and sleep next to me, so I don't have nightmares again?'

Oh yeah, that would keep him around.

"Never mind me," you muttered. "What about you? How did your date go?"

And to your biggest shock, you found Junmi blushing.

You did a double take, just to be completely sure. Junmi never blushed. How is this possible?

"It was..."

"Oh my god, who are you and what have you done to my unnie?" Your shocked look didn't stay on your face for long, as Junmi smacked your back with an increasing blush.

"Shut up, nightmare girl. Subin unnie hit a bullseye with this one, alright?" You laughed, shaking your head.

"His name is Baekhyun."

"Ooh~" you cooed, setting out more milk on display. When Junmi's silence increased, you turned to look at her and with an inquisitive look, you gripped her chin and tilted her head, as you inspected you neck. And as you expected, you found a small circular bruise right below her ear. And then another, on the other side.

You gasped. "J-Junmi! I never thought-!"

She clamped a hand over your slack-jawed response, shaking her head. "Hey! Don't assume!"

You shook your head, moving her hand from your face. "It's just that... you said... you never do that on the first date..."

Her blush deepened, and you had to prop yourself on the table to keep from keeling over.

"I... don't..." she whispered.

This time, your gasp was louder. "Then... you've dated him before?"

She shook her head vigorously. "Oh, god no! No! I just... I've known him, okay? I know him from before..."

You raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"From a long time ago, actually."

"And… you never told me about him?" you muttered sadly, mouth turning downwards.

Junmi sighed, hugging you gently. "No, it's just because... I haven't seen him in so long. It's not like I even thought to tell anyone about him..."

Something about the airy quality of her voice told you she was lying, but you didn't press the issue. "Okay... I'll buy it. I'm glad you had a good time."

She beamed. Positively glowed with contentment. "Now you! Tell me about yours!"

"He was...no, he is..." you sighed in bliss, propping your chin against your hand.

"Perfect?" Junmi supplied with a curious grin and you shook your head.

"Even better...so gallant, so kind...aah~..." Junmi grinned, taking a seat next to you.

"What's his name?"

"Junmyeon." Junmi's eyes popped open.

"J-Junmyeon?!" You looked at him with risen eyebrows.

"Yes...why?"

"That Subin..."

"Wh-what? Do you know him too?"

She shrugged, smiling. "You could say that. So, tell me more about Mr. Perfect. What did he do that won you over so quickly?"

You sighed. "You don't think it's too quickly, do you?"

Her eyebrows knitted together. "What? I didn't say that. Just... stop worrying over it and tell me."

Again, you sighed. "Nothing. We went and had coffee... then we went to that carnival in town... And... he won me something..."

You looked up from the piece of plastic you were playing with, and the look on Junmi's face made you falter. "What..?"

"You... really like him..." she whispered in amazement.

"Yeah... Is that bad..?" You frowned.

"Of course not!" Junmi beamed, hugging you happily.

"I was just afraid that you wouldn't. And that would be a shame because Junmyeon is a really good guy and he'd take care of you well."

"H-hold up, unnie..." your cheeks blushed a pretty red as the plastic was crushed in your hand.

"We're just going to go on a second date...I wouldn't want to...get ahead of myself." Junmi shook her head.

"There's nothing wrong with fantasizing a little, ___. Believe me."

"Yeah, but..." you didn't want to sound this way but honestly, it was one of the fears you were harboring at the moment.

"It builds expectation and... yeah..." Junmi sighed.

"___. Believe me, I know where Junmyeon comes from. He won't let you down."

"You can't know that for sure..." you sighed. "Anyway, I'm just... trying not to hope for too much too soon. I do that, and it doesn't turn out well. So... I'll just wait and see."

Junmi shrugged. "It's just gonna keep getting better. He's great."

You raised an eyebrow at her. "How can you sound so convinced? You didn't even wanna admit you knew him earlier."

"I didn't say that. I just didn't elaborate. I don't want you holding back your opinions just because you know I know him." She brushed off your frown. "So, when are you going out again?"

You tossed the plastic into the trash, shrugging. "Friday..."

"Ugh, why did you wait so long?"

A blush lit up your face. "Wh-what, why? When do you see Baekhyun again?"

Junmi let out a long breath of disappointment.  "I'm not really sure. He... had some things to take care of first, so we didn't make plans."

"B-but... how are you gonna see him again?"

She grinned. "Bug Subin-unnie, of course."

The clarity of an idea flashed over her features, as she patted your arm to get your attention.

"Ooh! Oh! You can ask her to ask about Junmyeon! I'm sure you two can go out before then!" You stared at Junmi with a dull look.

"No way, ___. I can't force myself on him. That would just seem pathetic."

She groaned. "No, it means you want to see him. So, it would be the truth. Besides, I'm sure he wants to see you too. Just ask Subin unnie."

You scowled at her. "Stop it... I told you, you don't know if he wants that or not."

She rolled her eyes. "Except I do. I just... have a knack for these things, okay?"

"Says the girl who set me up too many times to count. And failed."

"Hey." She swatted at your shoulder halfheartedly. "It's only because I didn't even think of Junmyeon at the time. Besides, we were out of touch for a while."

You just sighed. "Then you can't possibly know what he would want now."

"___, will you quit being so negative? I'm gonna go see if I can find Subin unnie. I'll ask for you."

She walked around towards the door, and you gaped at her. "Seriously?"

"Yep," she waved. "You're welcome. Bye~"

Junmi held the door open for your first customer of the day, and as she saw your defeated look, she stuck out her tongue out at you before disappearing into the crowd. You had to bite back a groan.

Shit.

-

Shit.

Did you really want to see him so soon? Junmyeon looked at Kyungsoo's mate with shock, as Subin smiled up at him gently.

"That's what Junminie said. That ___ was really unhappy that she'll see you on Friday. She wants to see you sooner, oppa."

Kyungsoo smirked towards his alpha, tucking his mate against his side when she went to him. "Are you okay with that, hyung? Do you want to see her?"

Junmyeon scowled at him, making Kyungsoo snicker. "Of course I do. I just... didn't expect her to want to see me so soon."

"Well... I can tell her you're busy," Subin offered.

"N-no, don't do that." Junmyeon sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want to see you. He just wasn't sure if he could handle seeing you again and not doing anything. Easing into things when with your mate is just... not the easiest thing for a wolf to do.

"Should I... tell her yes then?"

Junmyeon nodded. "Yeah... yeah, of course."

"Hyung? You gonna be okay?"

Junmyeon glared at Kyungsoo. Little shit. It's not as if he didn't know. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

-

"He said he'd love to."

You nearly dropped the bottle of milk you were transporting to the fridge. Cradling the bottle to your chest, you turned to Subin, trying to ignore the smirking Junmi behind her. "R-really?"

"Why do you sound like you're surprised?" Subin asked you with a small glare, which Junmi copied.

"And if you give me the 'guys usually don't want to have second dates with me', I'll hit you with a spoon." Once the milk was safely in the fridge, away from your shaky, excited hands, you returned the glare at Junmi.

"Don't you have a better place you could be at? Maybe somewhere to get more hickeys?" You waved over the general spot on your neck where Junmi's red nips were. The blush that erupted over her cheeks told you hit a spot.

"Look what we have here, the sass master herself. Shouldn't you be worrying about some smelly cheese or something?" Before you could retort, Subin was groaning out loud, her face buried in her hands.

"God, I'm too old for this. All I wanted to do was invite you over to my place to have dinner with Junmyeon, not to see some sort of diss battle between the two of you."

"Dinner?"

"Wait, you're not that much older than us, right unnie?"

Subin just flashed Junmi a look. "I kind of felt like I was, just now. Anyway, yes, ___-ie. Dinner. What do you think?"

"J-just the two of us?"

"Well, if you want. I was kind of thinking with me, and Kyungsoo... maybe even Junminie and Baekhyun oppa... But I can make the arrangements, if you want privacy."

"N-no! That's okay!" you squeaked, trying not to sound too excited. "I'd... That would be perfect to have all of you there... When?"

"Tomorrow night," Subin shrugged. "Unless some other time would work better for you..?"

"N-no, that's fine..."

"Even if I had other appointments, I'm sure taking them off the list now." Junmi imitated your voice with an annoying expression, making you glare at her.

"Look who's talking, someone is meeting their date today and thinks she has a right to tease others." Subin turned around and gave Junmi a small look that made the other girl shrug with a small blush over her face.

"Yeah, unnie, just try to keep away from the vacuum cleaner, alright?" You teased right back, your hand flying over your neck, right over the spots where Junmi previously had hickeys.

"It was pretty bad last time." Junmi looked at you with a small glare.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing you after tomorrow. Let's see who'll have more marks."

Your mouth fell open, but Subin and Junmi exchanged high-fives for that one, and you knew it was a lost cause.

"Fine. Now... just please, try not to make a bigger deal out of this than it is. It's... dinner."

"No one said otherwise, ___-ie," Subin laughed.

All you could do was turn bright pink. "Get out! You two are banned from here!" you squealed, chasing out the two women out by tossing pieces of bread at them. "Out!"

"Oi, that's disrespect of the bakers hard work!" Junmi screamed with laughter, quickly following Subin as she escaped from your gluten ammunition. You were proud of yourself when you were able to hit Junmi over the head, cheering happily when you heard her yelp.

After the hurricane of noises and girl laughter, your shop sounded too quiet. It was so quiet, you heard your own erratic heartbeat against your chest.

Junmyeon...wanted to see you? Even before the date?

You scrunched the material at your chest, sliding down behind the counter and folding your knees to your chin with an incredulous exhale. "Oh my god..."

He said he wanted to see you. Granted, you weren't sure what Subin and Junmi could've told him, but the fact that you were going to see him again so soon made all of that irrelevant.

You had to figure out what to wear! How to fix your hair, how to fix your face!

You almost scowled when you heard the bell on the door ring, signaling another customer. Gathering your composure, you popped back up. Only a few more hours of work, then you could think about all the details.

"Hello, ma'am. Welcome!"

#suho #suho story #suho scenario #exo #exo story #exo scenario #suho exo #suho exo story #suho exo scenario #exo suho #exo suho story #exo suho scenario #junmyeon #exo junmyeon #junmyeon scenario #junmyeon story #joonmyun #exo joonmyun #joonmyun scenario #joonmyun story #series: Chronicles of the Wolf #werewolf #werewolf au #werewolf story #werewolf scenario #exo werewolf #exo werewolf scenario #exo werewolf au #exo werewolf story

[mearcatsreturns]

Hope for Dummies, ch. 3

There's not a guidebook to hope, but they could sure use one.

In which Christmas is a gift and it gets more difficult to stay away from each other.

On ao3 as well (I’ll link in a bit), and about 4.6k words. Earns that M rating.

Abby has no idea what to get Luka for Christmas. She’s still doing the gift swap this year, even though med students aren’t required to, but she’s still going to get something special for him. She knows he’s getting her something.

The problem is, he can afford to buy what he needs and he just does, so that only leaves what he wants. The only things she can think of to get him that he definitely wants are incredibly inappropriate and beyond the scope of their current...understanding.

She has to remind herself that graduation really isn’t that far away, in the grand scheme of things.  

Shaking her head, she lets herself into her apartment. It’s decorated for the holiday, and she even has a tree. She wasn’t planning on a tree, but Luka had come over to help out and he’d insisted she needed one.

Abby is fairly sure they’re spending Christmas together. They’re working together on Christmas Eve—she’s taking a few nursing shifts over her break for some extra cash. For once, though, she has Christmas Day off. She hasn’t spent it with anyone in years, not since she was still married to Richard.

Her eyes fall onto the knickknack on top of her coffee table, and she gets an idea. Smiling, makes a note on her to-do list for the next few days.

&&&

Luka stares down at the jewelry counter, now aware of the difference between emerald and princess cut, but no closer to finding the perfect Christmas gift for Abby.

He’s out of his depths. What do you get for your ex-girlfriend/best friend/not-quite-girlfriend-again, the person who means the most to you in the world, that you lo—care for more than you can say, but that you can’t date?

Jewelry is probably too much, too overwhelming. Engagement rings are right out.

But a practical gift like replacing her spark plugs or coffee machine is underwhelming, not enough to subtly show her everything he feels, even if they can’t act on it at present.

He makes his excuses to the salesman and wanders out of the shop, still at a loss. Then he sees a group of teens walking past, their vests giving him an idea. He smiles and leaves the mall, knowing just where he needs to go.

&&&

It’s Christmas Eve, and Abby is grumpy. She’s late to the nursing shift, and her feet are soaked. Who thought Chicago was a good idea in the winter anyway?

Kerry tries to hurry her along before she starts her shift, but Luka tells her to go ahead and change. She gives him a grateful look as she runs over to the lounge.

When she gets back in a fresh pair of scrubs and the spare pair of shoes she keeps in her locker, Frank is prattling on about the box of gifts that arrived from Carter. He shoves hers at her, his comments offensive as usual.

She hasn’t heard from Carter since they talked on the phone about getting Luka stateside again, and frankly she’s a little miffed. She knows a lot happened between them, but she...well, she thought their friendship was strong enough to weather it.

Instead, he sent her a box. Then again, he sent Luka a mask, and the last thing Luka needs is to cover his face, so maybe gift-giving isn’t really Carter’s strong suit.

Abby catches Luka looking over at her as she holds the wooden box, concern in his eyes. She smiles at him and shrugs, setting the box down. “Well, I’ll grab it before I leave, but we’ve got work to do.”

The tension in Luka’s shoulders dissipates and he grins back. “This should be fun, Christmas Eve is always a blast.”

And it’s not bad. They make it through their shift with minimal fuss, even with their smaller crew. When they clock out, Luka follows Abby to the L platform to go to her place.

They’re spending Christmas together, and it doesn’t make sense for him to go back to his place now only to have to struggle to find transportation over tomorrow morning. Instead, he’ll sleep on her couch.

As they slide into their seats next to each other on the train, she’s tempted to offer to share her bed again, but it’s probably not the best idea. He’s not weak from malaria, they know how they feel about each other, and she has no doubt that exhaustion would not win out over desire.

Luka rests his arm on the back of the seat behind her, and she leans in. He places a tentative hand on her shoulder, then smiles down at her. “Are you ready?”

“Yup. What about you?”

“Well, my gift for you isn’t as good as the one I’m giving myself, but I think it’ll still be okay.”

She snorts. “Yeah, I’d question things if you were going to get me a new car.”

“I’m tired of not having the option. Taking a train when I’m grocery shopping is annoying.”

“Fair enough. Do you know what you’re getting?”

“Probably an SUV with good safety ratings.”

“No more fancy sports cars, huh?” Abby snickers.

He sighs. “No, I think those days are behind me with my midlife crisis. That was expensive to insure, anyway.”

“If you’re talking about insurance premiums, then yeah, you’re probably past the days of questionable car choices.”

“Hopefully past most questionable choices in general,” he says, mouth twisted in a self-deprecating smile.

She reaches and places a hand on his thigh, trying to provide wordless comfort. He seems to understand, and he leans his head against hers. They pass the rest of the ride in silence, the peaceful kind Abby savors.

They get off the train with their bags and make their way to her apartment. Along the way, Luka asks, “Were...did Carter’s gift upset you?”

“Not really,” she says, “I just...I don’t know, it’s not a very personal gift, and I thought Carter and I would be still be friends after everything. It just doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen.”

“Don’t sell him short or give up hope yet. I think he might be coming back soon, and maybe it’ll be easier then.”

She just shrugs noncommittally. “It’s okay, I have you, and even Neela’s starting to become a good friend.”

“She seems nice.”

“She is. And smart. We’re studying for our boards together.”

“Ah, so that’s why you haven’t asked for my help very much,” he says with a grin as they walk up the stairs to her building’s entrance.

She gives him a quelling look. “I can do it myself.”

“Of course you can,” he says, holding his hands up as much as possible given the bags of food and gifts he’s carrying, “but isn’t it nice that you have friends to work with on it?”

“Yeah,” Abby agrees, softening. She lets them into her apartment and turns on the light, directing him to the kitchen with their food.

They put the food in the fridge and place the presents under the tree. Finally, she sees him glance at the couch, outfitted with sheets and blankets before she left for her shift. It gives her an odd thrill to see a brief flicker of disappointment in his eyes before he schools his expression.

“I, uh, I made the couch up before work. In case you want to crash immediately.”

He smiles, “Thanks. I’m still feeling a little wired, so I might put on the TV for now, but I can keep it quiet if you’re ready to sleep.”

“Nah, I’ll join you, if you’re okay with that. We could find something Christmassy.”

“Sure, though I may change into my pajamas first.”

“Good plan,” she says with a nod.

She decides to take a quick shower, and when she comes out in her own pajamas, she finds Luka sitting in the middle of the couch watching a rerun of It’s A Wonderful Life. She settles in next to him and waffles for a moment before giving in to the overwhelming temptation to lean her head against his broad chest.

He inhales sharply before relaxing. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her close, almost onto his lap.

Clarence still doesn’t have his wings when Abby drifts off, lulled into slumber by Luka’s steady and sure heartbeat.

&&&

When Luka wakes up, it’s still dark. He glances at the clock. 4:30. His back hurts, but he’s warm, delightfully so.

Abby is curled up in his arms, sleeping on top of him as they lie on the couch. The television is playing who knows what, and he’ll have to turn that off at some point. For a few minutes, he just basks in the simple joy of holding her, tightening his arms around her. She stirs, but doesn’t wake up, and he brushes his lips across her forehead.

Finally, he stands to his feet as smoothly as he can with her in his arms. Carefully, quietly, he carries her into her bedroom and sets her down on her bed. Tucking the blankets around her, he smiles when she does nothing more than snuffle and roll over. Abby is out, she must be exhausted.

It’s fine, they have more time to rest. Before he goes back out to the living room, he takes hold of her hand and presses a kiss to her palm.

&&&

He’s making breakfast for them when Abby wanders out of her bedroom around nine. She’s rubbing her eyes and has that “don’t even try to speak to me yet, it’s morning” look he loves. Wordlessly, Luka pours a cup of coffee for her and hands it over.

She grunts her thanks and sits at the table, nursing her coffee slowly. After a few minutes, she finally speaks, “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“For coffee, breakfast, and I guess for putting me to bed last night?”

He smiles. “You were very tired.”

“I guess so. I don’t even remember you taking me in there,” she says. “You could have stayed with me, you know.”

Giving her a look, he crosses the small room in a step and kisses the top of her head. “I think we both know why I couldn’t do that.”

She sighs. “You’re probably right.”

“Hey, after we eat breakfast, we have presents to open, yeah?”

“We do. And a movie to watch and another meal to make,” she says, brightening.

They make quick work of their simple breakfast before moving to Abby’s living room. Luka can’t help but smile at her enthusiasm, and he hopes his gift lives up to her excitement. His heart clenches when he realizes it’s been three years since he spent Christmas with his family, and it’s been even longer since Abby spent the day with someone in any sort of intentional way.

She’s almost shy as she hands him the wrapped box under the tree. “I hope you like it. Did you know how hard you are to shop for?”

He waves her teasing remonstration away. “Whatever it is will be great.” He tears at the wrapping paper and ribbon and opens the box, pulling out a snow globe. It has the familiar Chicago skyline, but there’s a couple in the foreground staring up at the buildings.

“Turn it over, it plays a song,” she says.

And then he knows. He knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that she knows he got her that snow globe last year. He’d wondered; he hadn’t been subtle, flipping it over to play the music as he had. Besides, from the second he’d drawn her name last year, he’d known he didn’t want to go the “funny sexual gag gift” route. For one, given their history and that she’d been dating Carter at the time, it felt wrong. And besides that, it had been a way he could show her even a fraction of how he still felt for her.

He knew, had known since they dated that she, for all her rebellious facade, she loved kitschy knickknacks. He’d loved the snow globe, and then when the shop clerk had shown him that it played “What Child Is This”—he’d had to. The melody was the same as that for “Greensleeves,” and if that song didn’t encapsulate how he’d felt about Abby at the time…

But Luka just looks at her in wonder and says, “You know.”

“Yeah,” Abby says with a shrug. “It didn’t take much to figure out, once I thought about it. Especially with everything else going on.”

“I—I’m sorry. I wasn’t my best that night or...really at all around then.”

“And I’m tell you again that you don’t need to apologize to me for that. I get it, and it was kind of a wake-up call.”

“Still.”

“Everything was a mess then. And you know what? I love that snow globe, Luka.”

If his smile is a little watery at her words (that are like a benediction, blessing and forgiveness all in one), he knows she won’t hold it against him. “And I love this one.”

“Good,” she says, her eyes fiery like they get when she’s passionate about something, and he takes the warmth of that—knowing that she’s feels so strongly about this, about them—and tucks away that knowledge to enjoy later.

“Okay, it’s time for you to open yours,” he says, handing her the thin, rectangular box.

She shakes her head at his obvious deflection, but goes ahead and tears at the seams of the wrapping paper. Once that’s off and she’s opened the flimsy cardboard box, she stares down at its contents. “Oh,” she finally says thickly, taking the lab coat out of the box.

It’s not the short coat students wear, but the full one for doctors. Best of all is the left side of the chest, where A. Lockhart, M.D., is embroidered in a beautiful dark blue.

“I know you can’t wear it yet, but I thought it would be good to have ready for as soon as you start your internship,” he explains.

Then he can’t speak at all, but he just lets out a quiet “Oof” as Abby launches herself into his arms, her new lab coat scrunched between them. His arms envelop her instinctively.

After a few minutes, she pulls back but stays in his lap, running her fingers over the curving, not-quite-cursive script. “I—it’s beautiful and I love it, thank you.”

“It’s no problem. And you’ll get lots of use out of it.”

She lowers her head, lashes dark against her rosy cheeks. “Just...you’ve always believed in me. I don’t say it much, how much that means to me, but...yeah. Thank you.”

Luka doesn’t have a reply for her, doesn’t know how to explain that she gives him at least as much hope as he apparently gives her. Instead, he cradles her head in one hand and slants his mouth over hers, claiming her lips in a demanding but reverent kiss, trying to pour everything he feels for her into it.

When they pull back a few minutes later, both of them are breathing heavily. His body is very on board for continuing this, especially if they relocate to her bedroom. Abby’s is too, if the way she was arching against him is an indication.

Still, she laughs ruefully. “We should probably stop.”

He clears his throat. “Yeah. We, ah, we could get started on lunch.”

“Sounds good. Just as long as we can put on Die Hard in the background.”

Even though he doesn’t understand how it’s a Christmas movie, he agrees. “Whatever you want.”

Reluctantly, they disentangle.

&&&

New Year’s Eve works better for their holiday party this year, though it’s nowhere near as wild as last year’s.

Abby smiles at the activity in Susan’s and Chuck’s living room. Gifts have already been exchanged (she got a jumbo box of condoms, a Croatian-English dictionary, and knowing look from Jing-Mei), and now there’s music playing and people are chatting and starting to dance.

She’s so caught up watching Chuck twirl Susan—he’s so gentle, it’s just a matter of time until they announce that they’re expecting—that she doesn’t notice Luka approaching her.

“You look beautiful,” he says, mouth around her ear.

She jumps, then brushes her hair back. “Ahh! And…thank you. I may consider believing you if you tell me again.”

“I’ll tell you as many times as you want if you dance with me,” Luka says, grinning broadly and offering her his hand.

“What happened to ‘Luka don’t dance’?”

“I’m a new man, what can I say.”

Abby purses her lips, but then slips her hand in his. He pulls her close, and they begin swaying to the slow rhythm of the song playing. She wraps her arms around his neck while he rests his cheek atop her head.

She doesn’t need champagne, not with as heady as this is. Heady and...safe, in the best way. “Crazy party, huh,” she says.

His laughter is a low rumble she can feel, and she smiles against him. “Very wild. I will say, Chuck’s gift for me was tamer than I would have expected from him.”

“Well, he isn’t drinking, in solidarity with Susan, so…”

“My best pranks are planned sober, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Luka, the craziest prank you’ve pulled was putting those tube things in my purse.”

He pouts at her, though his eyes twinkle with mirth. “Hey, I was rusty. I did have you convinced that you would have to sleep with me to stay at my place.”

“For like ten seconds, you weirdo,” she says with a grin, “and I wouldn’t say ‘have to’ like it was some kind of chore. ‘Get to’ would have been more accurate.”

Abby giggles at the dumbfounded look on his face

Luka recovers quickly, though. “Would have been? Past tense? I’m hurt.”

She rolls her eyes, still smiling. The song ends and switches to something more upbeat, and they wordlessly decide to make their way outside to the back porch.

She has to fight the urge to reach for cigarettes, but she’s stopped carrying them. She’s trying to be healthier, and that’s somewhere she can start.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, the muted sounds of revelry echoing faintly from inside. Finally, Luka speaks, “So, Carter comes back to work in a few days.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Nervous?”

She mulls this over. Abby hopes Luka knows that any nerves would have nothing to do with questioning her feelings for either him or Carter—she chooses Luka, and Carter has nothing to do with that anymore. That said, Carter did hurt her, and she wonders how things will be between them once they’re back at work. “Not really. Curious, and I know there’s some unresolved stuff between us, but we’re over. And if you and I could manage to work together and be professional after our breakup, I think Carter and I probably can too.”

“Mmhmm. Though he’s not nearly as charming as I am.”

“Of course not.”

“But maybe that’s for the best. Too much charm might overwhelm you,” he says with a questioning, sidelong glance.

Silly man. Apparently he does need some reassurance. Smiling, she shakes her head, “Well, one of you is charming enough. Any more charm and I’d have a hard time getting work done.”

Stepping closer to her, he presses up against her side. “Work is overrated.”

“Especially during the holidays,” she agrees, her insides heating in spite of the fact she forgot to put on her jacket before coming out.

“Exactly.”

She needs to try to focus on something that isn’t how good he looks or how charming he is. “I mean, you seem to be keeping it calm. I understand why Chuck and Susan aren’t drinking, and you know why I’m not, but you aren’t either.”

“Well, as you may know, I over-indulged a little last year. I have work tomorrow and I just...I don’t want that again,” he says, continuing, “and this may be corny, but I want to remember this time.”

Abby hears the unspoken “with you” at the end of it and melts. God, she adores him. To hell with not focusing on them and everything between them right now. “That’s how I feel too,” she says, reaching out and placing her hand over his on the railing.

Pulling his hand from under hers, he takes her hand in his larger one. He’s on the verge of speaking when they hear the yelling inside as the countdown to midnight begins.

Her heart pounds in her chest, and he swallows, looking down at her and raising an eyebrow. At her nod, he pulls her close to him, lowering his head to hers in a kiss just as the clock strikes midnight.

It begins gently and tentatively, but as she snakes her arms around his neck, he deepens it immediately. She gasps against his mouth, and her knees go weak. In fact, she’s not sure she’s standing so much as Luka is holding her up.

She doesn’t know how long they stand there kissing, but she doesn’t want to stop. Luka clearly doesn’t either, if what she can feel against her stomach through their layers of clothes is any indicator.

When they finally pull apart, Luka looks as wrecked as she feels. Abby licks her lips, and thrills when Luka’s eyes follow the motion. He’s obviously ready to start kissing her again, but she puts her hand against his lips.

His disappointment vanishes as soon as she tells him, “So, um, it’s Christmas break and I’ve been taking nursing shifts, so really, I’m not a med student right now, am I?”

He catches her drift and latches onto the loophole she offers with astounding speed. “No, I guess not. Do you, ah, would you like a ride home?”

“Oh, sure.”

They make their way inside and Abby grabs her coat before they find Susan and Chuck to make their excuses and thank them for hosting the evening.

Abby hugs Susan while Luka hangs back behind her. “This was a great party, guys. Thanks for having us over, but I’m feeling pretty wiped. Luka’s giving me a ride home, so…”

She’s pretty sure Susan mutters “I bet he is” under her breath, but she resolutely ignores it, and Chuck coughs to cover a laugh.

“Have a good night, you two,” Chuck says.

Susan snorts. “And be safe!”

Abby strongly considers flipping Susan off, but instead just follows Luka to his car.

&&&

Luka shifts in his seat, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and bobbing his head along to the music. He doesn’t dare reach across the console to hold Abby’s hand—if he touches her at all, even as innocently that, there’s no way he won’t just pull over and haul her into the back seat to have his way with her. Or let her have her way with him.

The silence stretches between them until Abby breaks it. “So, liking the new car?”

“Yeah. It runs well. Practical.”

“Very nice.”

“Yeah.”

There’s tension in the quiet, but it’s not awkward—it’s fraught from the knowledge of what’s going to happen as soon as they set foot into her apartment. And the anticipation is killing him. Her too, judging by the way she’s biting her lip and glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

It takes longer than either of them would like to get back to her place, given the New Year’s Eve traffic.

He manages to get streetside parking not too far from her building. Trying not to hover too much as he waits for her to unlock her building’s entrance, he figures he can chance resting his hand on the small of her back.

Abby gasps and fumbles with her keys, then giggles as she looks up at him. Luka can’t hlep but laugh along with her.

This is ridiculous; they’re not teenagers, but it’s just as fun and intoxicating as it was back then. He wraps his other hand around her waist, and she finally succeeds in unlocking the door. They hurry to her apartment, and as soon as they make it inside and close the door, Luka pounces.

With one hand he hauls her to him and with the other he tries pushing off her jacket. Abby pulls herself up into his arms and kisses him back with a ferocity that leaves him breathless and overjoyed, and he’s not sure if she’s trying to help him get her clothes off or get a better hold on him. Either is fine with him.

They lose their coats, and Abby wraps her legs around his hips. He fights the urge to just fall to the ground and give in here—she deserves everything, so the least he can do is make sure this happens in a bed.

He walks them back into her bedroom, groaning as she trails her lips down his jawline so that she can suck a mark behind his ear.

When his legs bump up against the bed, he falls forward on top of her with a grunt, catching himself on his elbows so as not to crush her.

He manages to divest them of the rest of their clothing though he’s slowed down by Abby’s mouth on his, the way she kisses down his neck, and—god, he’s hard already, even after the little bit of foreplay they’ve engaged in.

Finally they’re both naked, and he relishes in the feel of her skin against his, the way she gasps his name as he kisses every inch of her he can reach. When he finally reaches her center and finds her wet and ready for him, it’s all he can do not to lose it.

“Oh god, Luka, feels so good,” she pants as he works his fingers over her and inside her.

Then she reaches for him, wraps her hand around him where he’s pressed against her thigh. He remembers with sudden, startling clarity how good and overwhelming it can be to be with someone who knows your body as well as Abby knows his, before he’s no longer capable of rational thought.

Part of him wants to protest, but she looks so pleased at how consumed he is, so instead he thrusts into her hand and tries to keep giving her pleasure too.

An embarrassingly short time later, everything goes white. He’s fairly sure he’s made a mess of both of them, but as soon as he comes back to himself, he focuses on getting her to make more of those lovely sounds while he recovers his strength for another round.

Apparently she’s closer than he realizes, because it’s only a few minutes later before she keens and clenches around his fingers. He continues working her through her orgasm, until she shudders again and slumps back onto the bed.

Luka pulls away with some regret, but he tells her he’s just getting something to clean up and then some water for them both.

Abby’s only response is a nod and a muffled, “Mmmkay.”

She stares at him through hooded, sleepy eyes as he cleans them up, and he can’t resist kissing her swollen lips before he goes to get their water.

When he returns, he sets their cups on the nightstand. Climbing under the covers, he turns to reach for her only to find that she’s fallen asleep.

Luka smiles and wraps himself around her and lets himself drift off as well, something beyond contentment welling in his chest at holding her in his arms.

#luby #luby ff #er #er ff #luka x abby #otp: love each other and persevere #hope for dummies #amber writes

[colonel-insomniac]

The Other Planet: Chapter One

You know how sometimes you have to remind yourself that you are human? That you have a name, a body, flesh wrapped around bones and muscles? Yeah, well, that’s what I was doing when this whole mess of wherever it is that I am now began.

I remember what the day was like. It was late October, and a pleasantly chilly day. The sun shined gold, and broken through the leaves of the trees, it held an air of mystery about it. I had just been telling myself, talking aloud in an area where only the trees would hear me: “Your name is Ezra Watts, you have brown eyes, brown hair, your skin is tan, and it’s wrapped around muscles, which are wrapped around your bones.”

So yeah, I was just thinking about the stuff that my body is composed of when my stomach starts feeling queasy and my thoughts turn to this war. Now, I don’t know how much you know, but the way this transporting happens, according to the little information my parents were able to give me, is a void opens underneath you so violently you black out. It’s not supposed to hurt and it should completely knock you out so that you aren’t aware of how long it may take.

Back to my daily walk, I was just humming along to my favorite song as it softly whispered its lyrics to me when suddenly, I felt dizzy. I remember blacking out, the sensation of falling and hitting soft, cool dirt, before everything is lost in time.

My eyes open up to a dimly lit beige ceiling, and when I look around, I find the same boring beige color on my surrounding four walls. There are three things that offer a break in color: two doors, one of a wood so black it looks like stone, and the other a plain white one. There’s one window in the room, big enough to be able to see a pretty large field of vision for, but way too small to squeeze through.

Before I situate myself with my surroundings in the room, I take a look outside. The ground is a very pale yellow, dusty and in the far off distance, blanketed with what looks like tall grass. The sky is as though it’s night, a deep purple, scattered with glittering stars and a sea foam, shiny moon. I suppose maybe it is actually night time.

Right, I think to myself as I turn away from the window. Now it’s time to check out the rest of the room. It’s a fairly small room, one bed, one square table against a wall with two chairs. Then there are the doors. My fingers just barely brush against the brass knob when it suddenly twists, rattling like it’s old. I jump back, startled, and stare at the handle, eyes wide. I tell myself not to panic as a voice in the back of my head whispers that I’m on The Planet, meaning I’m going to have to kill people or die.

I gag at the thought of blood on my hands, crouching over. Tears sting my eyes, from the feeling of being about to throw up, panic, fear, and homesickness. I listen as the door creaks. It’s probably swinging open, but I can’t bring myself to look and I’m still trying to calm myself down.

A gasp from behind me seems to convey all the shock and concern that not even my own parents can muster. I raise a hand to signal that everything’s fine and to just give me a moment. I force myself to stand up after a couple breaths, shoving all my current problems to the back of my mind. I’ll just have to deal with that later, then.

I stand to my full height, and have to look down because the person in front of me is actually shorter than I imagined. He seems young, his face set with big green eyes, and dark brown hair, tied up in a bun, wisps framing his face. “My name is Kai, and I am here to serve you through the duration of the war here on Azurelle.” His voice is monotone but his eyes are focused on me with an intense curiosity, probably watching for any crack in my resolve.

Well, he just saw me nearly vomit. That’s all he’ll get from me. “Ezra.” I reply, “But you probably already know that.” I keep my hands tucked in the front pockets of my jeans. I debated maybe shaking his hand, he seems kind enough, but that’s when I immediately changed my mind. He seems kind enough. Yeah, ‘course he does, he’s probably trying to get information on weaknesses.

That’s harsh to say, I know, but in the position I’ve unwillingly been thrown into, I have to be guarded. And I do feel bad about not being kinder towards Kai, but I don’t want to die either. “So,” he begins, his voice conveying that he’s perceptive enough to essentially read my thoughts through whatever facial reactions I might be giving off. “Beyond this door,” He lays his hand on the dark wood behind him, “is a hallway with rooms exactly like this one. At the very end of the hallway on the right, is a bigger room that contains the kitchen, as well as a lounge area. You, along with the other people from your planet, will gather there to eat for an hour—or in here if you choose—and a half and then sit and entertain yourselves for another hour and a half.” I notice halfway through his description that Kai isn’t even looking at me, he’s looking somewhere above my head, as though there might be a screen there with what he’s telling me.

“There will be guards posted at all windows and doors, so your chance of escaping is very slim, and if you try, there will be consequences that even I am not aware of.” and suddenly something gives me the impression that last part was more of a warning than a standard welcome, and that helps to slightly put me at ease. Maybe he isn’t as devoted to this place as I thought he might have been. I feel like that’s fair though, there’s flaws with every government.

“To your right is this white door, which leads to the bathroom, if you have not already seen it.” When I begin to shake my head to indicate that I haven’t, he smiles slightly. He grabs the bathroom’s doorknob and gently flings it open.

The ground is covered with white marble that shines under the lights on the ceiling. The shower is completely glass with two doors, which confuses me. The sinks are what I can only compare to being as black and shiny as onyx. The toilet just seems like a normal toilet, which is a relief. Next to a window and its windowsill is a white clawfoot tub with gold feet supporting it. By far it has to be the most luxurious thing I’ve ever seen in my eighteen years of life. And again, that voice at the back of my head whispers how strange it is that the bathroom is so much more luxurious than the bedroom.

“Now that you are aware of your surroundings, I must go to prepare your food for dinner. Please do not try to leave this room until I come back to get you.” With that, he pivots and walks out, the door swinging again, closing.

But then, come to think of it, there wasn’t that tell-tale click of a door shutting. I wait a minute or so to see if he recognized his mistake, but when nothing happens, I quietly creep over, and pull it towards me. It opens, which is surprising, but also confirmed my suspicions that it wasn’t fully closed. The hallway is painted a bright white, with the same wood flooring that’s in my room. On the left, the hallway extends for a little and then is rounded off with a wall; and on the right, the hallway opens up to a bigger room, just like Kai said. From the layout of this hallway, I can make two assumptions: the first being that my room is situated almost exactly in the center, and the second is that there has to be more hallways, because there can’t just be roughly one hundred of us.

I shouldn’t sneak out of my room; I know I should just stay put. But, I’m here against my will, and I run the risk of dying, so, maybe compared to all that, this isn’t so bad. So, I tiptoe out of my room and down the hallway towards the opening. A flip has switched within me; I’m alert, keeping my breathing as quiet as possible and calculating where each foot ought to go before I actually move it. My back’s pressed against the wall and yeah, it’s uncomfortable, but it means I keep my visibility range as wide as I can. I remember I forgot to close the door behind me, but I can’t just turn back now. I’m almost where the hallway opens up, and turning back would practically be tantamount to surrendering to whatever fate has been decided for me. I don’t want to die, okay? I’ll be honest, dying at eighteen isn’t optimal. Killing people at eighteen isn’t what I want either. But if I have to die, if this place is where my life comes to an end, then I don’t want to die complacent. I want to die knowing I did something I shouldn’t have done. That’s that, there’s nothing else anymore. It’s just me, and my own survival that moves to the top of my list.

They want to turn us into monsters, and why? What’s the point of waging a war and ending innocent lives? What is their vendetta with Earth that is so large that they do this every twenty years? I have to know. I need to know whether my death will actually lend to something that is of importance, or if it’s something stupid.

The room opens up and looks as though it could be a living room from one of those Home Decor magazines. Soft looking leather couches, the same brown wood flooring, a TV mounted on the wall, shelves behind the couches with fake flower pots on them. It’s insanely fancy compared to what they’re going to make us do. It’s almost as though it’s a laugh to our faces, like see how fancy we can be while you’re killing life.

The kitchen is similarly designed, dark cabinets, dark stools tucked under the island, a sink, a stove, an oven. The cabinets are stocked full of typical looking snacks, things you might see in your house. The fridge is the exact same way.

So I’m poking around the cabinets to see what they’re filled with when an intercom crackles to life above me: “Soldier Ezra Watts is missing, I repeat soldier Ezra Watts is missing. He may be armed and dangerous, approach with caution.” The intercom then dies out, and I can practically feel the adrenaline seeping into my blood while I panic about what to do. On the one hand I can try to sneak back, but how successful might I be? How’d they know I’d gone missing? Did Kai tell them or do they have cameras in my room? There’s no time for that now, now I have to get to my room, stay safe. Pretend nothing happened, pretend I didn’t leave at all.

This is my time to go back. Before they swarm. I look to my right, where there’s yet another door, this one, I suspect leads outside, and bolt towards the hallway. I’ve just crossed the threshold into the hallway when I hear my name, and turn around. It’s Kai, standing where the kitchen meets the lounge area. His cheeks are flushed and more hair roams free.

Somewhere below, there’s the soft thundering of probably hundreds of boots moving in sync, breathing as one, the metronome that steadies the music of this requiem my life has become. “Ezra what were you thinking leaving the room like that?!”

“It wasn’t locked. I wanted to explore, I thought…I thought since I’m going to be doing this whole war thing against my will, I might as well take a few risks.”

Sympathy seeps into his eyes, battling with fear, and I can tell he’s going to disobey his orders and help me. “Fine, go, go now, enter the room and close the door. Fully. Close it fully and do not try to open it.” He’s backing away, motioning for me to go, and the thundering grows louder.

“What about you?” I ask, not wanting him to lose his life for my mistake.

“Do not worry about me, I will be fine.”

Both paranoia and dread twist my insides, but I can’t just throw away this gift Kai has given me of another chance. I turn around and open the door of my room, looking back one last time before I close the door and leave this mess in Kai’s hands. As my head turns to glance back, Kai is still watching me, still backing up. I step into the room and let the door swing shut, closing the outside world to me.

I pull one of the chairs out from the small table in my room and sit in it. But, of course, that's before I get queasy at the thought of what Kai might face thanks to my actions, so I stand and walk over to the window. The darkness outside doesn’t let up, so I assume this is a world with no sunlight; a dark world. I watch absentmindedly as what seems to be sand is picked up off the ground and carried through the air, before settling again.

Maybe that could serve to be some sort of metaphor about life and adaptation or whatever. If I were in my English class, my teacher wouldn’t hesitate to comment that the sand being carried in the air and then dropped alludes to how people can’t stay in a stasis sort of state, and we have to be open to change and ever-adapting. But I’m not in English class, and this isn’t some metaphor, or some book. This is real life and the unfairness of this situation just proves why so many people are right in being cautious towards change.

Voices float down the hallway, but one dominates the exchange. I don’t bother turning around when the door to my room swings open; I keep my eyes trained out into the blackness of space. “See? He is in his room, like I said.” That must be Kai.

“Well, on the security camera for the kitchen it shows him in there. How can he be in two places at once?” That’s the voice that was dominating the conversation in the hallway.

“Well, I do not know, because he could not have been, but I know what I am doing and I know that he has been here the whole time, to my knowledge.” His voice balances on the edge of anger and fear, but he’s smart for including up to his knowledge because that means they won’t be able to hold him accountable. That’s good, I think.

“Look, I want to believe you, and honestly that would mean less paperwork for me to have to write and file later, but I just cannot take that risk. You said to your knowledge, Watts has been in his room, right?” It goes silent, but I can feel the frustration radiating off of Kai.

“Right, and your point is?”

“My point is since you do not know for sure, because it is to your knowledge that Watts has been here the whole time, that still allows the possibility for him to have been outside his room. You know how our government is run, and you know that equality is everything. If Watts has had the opportunity to see the rest of the building, that means he is unequal to his peers. And that is unacceptable. You know what we have to do.”

My body goes cold at that, and I finally turn around. “That is not fair.” Kai states, quickly glancing at me before turning away.

“Yes it is because that will reset the equality between every one of the soldiers. Escort Watts to the office, you know where it is, right?” He says, already out the door.

“Yes.” It’s Kai’s only response to whoever that was.

Once he’s gone, Kai covers his face with his hands and breathes for a couple of seconds. “What’s the consequence he was talking about?” I feel bad for breaking the silence, but I don’t want him to get in more trouble than he may already be in.

“They are going to wipe your memory of everything that has happened since you woke up here. You will not have any recollection of me, or the layout of the building, or anything else that you might have seen or encountered.” He looks away, his face stormy.

“I’m sorry, I know this is my fault, but it isn’t right to wage this war? What’s it even for?” I can’t help asking.

“I’ll tell you when you wake up again. We need to go before they decide to do something worse.” I wonder what could be worse than getting part of your memory wiped, but I follow Kai as he walks out the door.

We make our way through the kitchen and out that door I saw when I was running back to my room. Down a flight of stairs and into another set of doors is presumably the office they were talking about. In the center is a chair you’d probably see at the dentist’s office, and there are a bunch of monitors and wires attached.

Kai stands in the doorway, and motions to the chair, so I sit in it and lie back, arms crossed over my torso. The guy who Kai was arguing with walks back in, and asks Kai whether he’d prefer to leave. Kai declines.

This guy, who I’ve decided to refer to as Officer P, attaches something clear with a green wire coming out of it onto my forehead, and a couple more at various places on my head. Kai walks towards me and grabs my hand. I didn’t know I needed support until that moment. “I am going to flip the switch that will wipe your memory in three…two…one….” There’s a small click, and I manage to catch Kai’s face before I black out, taking in his features before I forget. There’s no saving me now, there’s only the after.

#the other planet #my writing

[adifferentworldtwo-blog]

1: Coming Home

Ron

The sound of my doorbell rang and I was excited. My best friend and his family were finally moving back to Virginia, six years after being in Tokyo. We didn't have much time to catch up on the phone because of those international charges. All I know is he needed a place to stay until he finds a new house to buy, so I got him.

I got up and opened my front door.

Immediately my two godchildren came running towards me. “Uncle Ron!” They said in unison.

I laughed, giving them both hugs.

“Can I play your Nintendo 64?” DJ looked up at me.

I chuckled, “Yea. You get into the living room and I'll set it up for you.”

Both of the kids run past.

Dwayne welcomes me with a big hug, which we rarely ever do, but I can't help but to hug him back.

“Finally, man,” I smiled.

He smiled back, “Yeah, we back out here, man.”

I noticed Whitley from the corner of my eye. She looked a little distraught.

“Whit?” I smiled with open arms.

She immediately changed her expression into a big smile, “Ronaldus!” She made her way to hug me, “I hope the basement is already set up for us because I'm a little exhausted from that plane ride.”

“Everything's set up perfectly. Come on in.”

They walked in with their suitcases. Dwayne looked around, as if he was reminiscing.

“What you thinking about there, Dwayne?”

“How simple things were when I lived here,” he sighed.

That's right. I took over the house after Dwayne and Whitley moved. Ironically, now that they're temporarily staying here, they have the basement.

“What does that mean?”

“I'll catch you up to speed a little later. I see you got all of our boxes,” he chuckled.

They started sending me boxes full of the things that they wanted to keep from their apartment in Tokyo before officially moving out.

“Uncle Ron, you don't have the new Nintendo 64, yet?!” DJ exclaimed.

“The new one? There's a new one?” I looked at Dwayne, confused and shocked.

“Oh yea, Japan’s a little more advanced, my brother,” Dwayne smirked, “But don't worry. America will release the new one in a few weeks, though, you good.”

I sucked my teeth, “Whatever. Are you sure all four of you can sleep in that queen sized bed?”

“We can't,” Whitley forced a smile, “So, I’ll be taking the bed in the basement with the kids, and Dwayne will be on the couch, if you don't mind.”

“Whitley…” Dwayne looked at her.

She glared at him, warning him to keep his mouth shut.

Dwayne let out a frustrated sigh, letting it go. Something's definitely going on between them.

Whitley grabbed as many bags as she could before making her way to the basement.

Little Aiko ran after her, “Wait, Mama!”

I smiled at Aiko’s need to follow her mother around. I turned to Dwayne, “You in the doghouse, huh? What for?”

Dwayne sighs, “I messed up, man,” he looked down at DJ, then looked back up at me.

“Let's catch up in the kitchen,” I made the way as I walked to the kitchen, Dwayne behind me.

He sat in a chair, “Got anything to drink?”

“I got you,” I went in the fridge to get a pitcher of iced tea, “So what'd you do?”

Dwayne looked to floor and sighed.

Whitley

I dropped my bags to the floor and ran for the phone. I could feel myself ready to explode. I quickly dialed Kimberly’s number.

After only a few rings, someone answered. It was Spencer.

“Hello?”

“Hi, It's Whitley. Is Kim there?”

“Yes, she is. Kim!” He called for her.

Seconds later she was at the phone, “Hello?”

“Kim?”

“Oh my god, Whitley! You're back?!”

“For good,” I frowned, looking around Ron’s basement.

“What? Why?”

“It's such a long story, Kimmy, I-” my voice began to crack. I felt myself ready to cry but I shook my head, trying to stop the feeling.

“Whitley, is everything okay? Where are you?”

“I'm at Ron’s. We're staying here till we find a place.”

My daughter sat on the bed next to me and cuddled up to me. I put my arm around her.

“Do you want me to come?”

“Um, no, I’ll come to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm positive. I need to talk. So much has happened, Kim, I don't know what to do.”

Kim sighed, “Okay, well, get your butt over here. I'll be waiting.”

“Okay, I'll see you,” I hung up. I looked down at Aiko, “You wanna come with me to Auntie Kimmy’s house?”

Aiko gasps, “Yes!” She smiles, excitedly.

I giggled at her, picking her up. She reminds me so much of myself when I was younger, so happy and energetic. I made my way up the stairs back to the main floor. I walked into the living room, to see DJ stuck to that dang video game.

“I'm going to Auntie Kimmy’s house and I’m bringing Aiko, do you wanna come?”

DJ kept his eyes on the TV, moving his fingers on the game’s controller, “I'll stay with Uncle Ron. His games are fun.”

“Okay. Where's your daddy?”

“In the kitchen.”

I nodded. I walked to the kitchen, knocking on the door. I seemed to have interrupted a conversation because it all got quiet.

I opened the kitchen door, “I'm leaving to go to Kim's. Aiko wants to go with me,” I looked blankly at Dwayne.

“Are you.. are you coming back tonight?”

“Do you see any bags in my hand? Yes, I'll be back tonight, not that you deserve it,” I rolled my eyes before walking out.

-

By the time I got to Kim’s, Aiko was knocked out. I paid the cab driver, before coming out the car, holding my baby. We're still waiting on our car to get transported from Tokyo.

I rang the doorbell and Kim excitedly opened the door. She was about to give me a hug until she realized an asleep Aiko on my arm.

“Oops. She's sleeping already?” Kim opened the door wider for me to walk in.

“Yes, it was a long, long plane ride. An exhausting one too,” I walked inside.

She smiled, “Well, at least your here. Here you can lay her in the guest room,” she walked me to another room in her apartment. She owned a two bedroom.

“This room is adorable. I'd change the drapes, though,” I walk in, laying Aiko down.

Kim shook her head with a smile, “You're always ready to renovate a house that's not yours.”

I giggled, covering my daughter with the blanket, “I can't help it.”

“Yea, I know. I learned that years ago.”

I turned to her and excitedly ran to hug her, finally, “I haven't seen you since your wedding!”

She hugged back tightly, “I know, I know! And look at you,” she let go of the hug to observe me, “Your body’s still tight as ever. There's no way in hell Dwayne could look elsewhere, huh?”

That struck a nerve. I inhaled sharply, and looked down.

She shook her head no, “Oh, no. That can't be what you needed to talk about. Dwayne didn't--”

“He did, Kim,” I felt a lump in my throat. My eyes filled with tears.

“Oh, no, come on,” Kim lead me out of the room, “How about I pour you a cup of coffee and you can tell me all about it,” she gestured for me to sit in the couch.

I sat down, trying my hardest not to let any tears fall and ruin my make up. I hated that Dwayne did this to me. I hated that he made me feel this way. This was my biggest fear as a married woman and he made it come true.

Kim disappeared into the kitchen.

I looked around Kim’s living room before looking down at my fingers. I was so happy. A successful black woman working in one of the most famous art galleries in Tokyo, married to a man who works for an engineering company. A man who made it his job to marry me. A man who fought for me for years, even when I wasn't convinced that he was he man for me. A man who gave me two beautiful children and now all of that is broken. What has become of me?

I felt a tear roll down my face, but I quickly wiped it away.

Kim came back in with two cups of coffee. She handed me one. She sat next to me, with the most concerned and sympathetic face.

I cleared my throat, “So where's Spencer?”

“The hospital actually needed him and called right after you did. He'll be out for the night. But enough of that. What happened?”

Flashback

I woke up from my nap. It was my day off and earlier this morning I had made a big breakfast for my Pookie and my babies, before kissing my husband goodbye and dropping the kids off to school. I came back home and went straight to my bed.

I looked at the clock. 12:42. Dwayne’s lunch break was in 45 minutes, and if I hurry up, I could make it.

I brushed my teeth again, to freshen up. I let my curly, dark locks loose, to frame my face.

Dwayne and I have been so busy between working and the kids that sometimes making time for each other is hard. But after an argument, I realized it was time to try a little harder to give my Pookie some attention. And I know just how to spice up his lunch break.

I called his favorite take out Japanese food spot in Tokyo, and asked if I could make an order for pick up. Then I put on Dwayne’s favorite lingerie of mine. A red bustier corset, a red thong, garters, and tights. And of course, my red pumps.

I went back into the bathroom, and powdered my face a little so my face doesn't shine. I put on a little mascara, lined my waterline with a black pencil liner, and a bold, red lip.

I made sure to drench myself in Dwayne’s favorite perfume on me, Chanel No. 9, before putting on my black mink coat, wrapping it around, and making sure that it doesn't show a thing. I grabbed my purse and made my way for the door.

After picking up Dwayne’s food, I was right where I needed to be. Kinishewa Enterprises. I got stares, but I didn't sweat it. When you're anything but Japanese, living in Japan? You're gonna get crazy looks no matter what.

The receptionist smiled, “Mrs. Wayne.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m just dropping off a little something for my husband for him to eat.”

“No problem, go on ahead,” the receptionist kept her grin.

My heels clicked against the floor as my body got to the elevator. Just in time, it dinged and the elevator doors opened. I let the two business-men walk out, and I stepped right in. I pressed the number 4, as Dwayne works on the fourth floor.

I smiled to myself just thinking what I'm gonna do to that man in his office. It'll be short and sweet but it'll leave him wanting more once he gets home. And I'll be waiting.

The elevator got to the fourth floor and I stepped out. As I made my way to his office, people waved and greeted me. Dwayne being the only African American who works in Kinishewa’s Japan headquarters, everyone noticed and knew us.

As I got in front of my baby’s office, I wanted to make a slow entrance and catch him off guard. I twisted the knob gently and opened the door just a peek, just so I can see how adorable my man looks while concentrated on work…. but that's not what I saw at all.

Some… woman. On my Dwayne. His hands groping her behind while she tongues him down. Immediately, my face turned to a frown. My eyes swelled with tears but I couldn't cry. I couldn't be embarrassed.

I didn't know to react so I just… I closed the door gently. As if I was never there. I’ve never rushed out of a place so quickly in my life.

Tears poured down my face as I drove home. All that was going through my head was I hated him. I hated him so much.

I'm an angry eater, so when I got home all the food that I got for Dwayne was mine. I stuffed my face with food one second, was crying my eyes out the next. What did I do wrong?

End of Flashback

“Oh, my god, Whitley, I’m so sorry,” Kim comforted me as I cried into her chest, “Dwayne is such an asshole.”

I sniffled before looking at her, “And when he got home, he knew. He knew that I knew. And he wanted to talk but I was just so uninterested at the time.”

“So you two haven't talked about it since it happened?”

I shook my head, “No. I've only asked if he's been having sex with her. He said yes, and I was over it. I didn't wanna talk to him. The only other thing I've said regarding this was I'm going back to Virginia. I didn't come to Tokyo for what he decided to put me through, and I'm taking Aiko and DJ. And he said fine. But he's not letting me go alone. So we made the decision to move.”

“And leave Kinishewa?”

“Well, to be honest Dwayne’s been missing teaching for a while now. And DJ comes home crying at least once a week from Kindergarten about something that some little brat wanted to say about his skin. You know I gave Aiko her name to try to help her fit in, but the second I brought her into a daycare to try and register her, they were giving Aiko such funny looks that I just changed my mind. There's so much that contributed to this move but Dwayne’s infidelity is just the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“I'm so sorry, Whitley. Do you know how long… it… was going on?”

“I don't wanna know,” I stared blankly at the floor, “at least not yet. I'm not ready to know. It's too much, Kim.”

“I understand. And I didn't know those things were happening to DJ and Aiko.”

“Yea,” I sniffled, “And you know Dwayne can help DJ. Black man to black boy. DJ has somebody who understands him. Aiko doesn't have that. I can't relate to my baby,” tears start to fall again. I couldn't help it.

“Oh, Whitley-”

“You know, one day, Dwayne and the kids came to visit me at the art gallery. I was so happy to introduce my boss to my family. My bosses five year old daughter was there. She took one look at Aiko and said, ‘Ew. Her skin looks like dirt,’” I sniffled, “and my boss, she… she tried to pull her daughter away from us. But Aiko understood her. And Aiko started to cry. And I tried to comfort her and she looked at me and said ‘Your skin and hair is pretty, mama. Mine is not,’” I scoffed, “My heart broke, Kimberly.”

Kim eyes looked watery. She shook her head, “Whenever you need me to, I’ll talk to her, okay?”

“Will you?” I wiped my eyes, “She looks up to you so much.”

Kim nodded, “I know what it's like to be that dark little girl that everyone makes fun of. I'll always be able to talk to her. Come,” Kim opened her arms for another hug.

Dwayne

Ron looked at me furiously, “You can't be serious.”

I sighed, “I know. I fucked up, man,” I clenched my jaw, “I'm such an idiot.”

“Na, you're more than that. Whitley's grown to be like my sister, she didn't deserve that, Dwayne,” he turned his head to the side, observing me. It was almost like he didn't know who I was anymore. I don't know who I am anymore, either.

“I know, I know. She's been so distant since, man. I don't even know if I can get her back.”

“I mean, is it a surprise that she's distant? What woman you know is gonna drop everything she knows and loves to follow a man to Tokyo?”

I looked down. I didn't know what to say. I had no way to defend myself.

“You fucked up with the most loyal and understanding woman I know, Dwayne. You know how many brothers wanted that? And still want that? Are you out of your damn mind? What were you thinking?”

“When it started, I was lonely. She was busy all the time and didn't even have time to talk so I could tell her how I was feeling,” I still kept my eyes on the floor.

“So you go and cheat?”

“Fuck,” I made a fist out of anger, “I know it was stupid, alright? And it's not even like I did the shit one time, this went on for months, Ron. She was all I had when I first moved out there, man. How could I do this to her?” My eyes didn't leave the ground.

I was searching within myself for answers, angry with myself. I felt selfish. I felt stupid. I felt so many things at once. She’s my wife. Why didn't I just find a way to talk to her?

Ron sighed, “What lead up to the first time?”

Flashback

“Dwayne, not tonight,” Whitley fanned me away with her hand as she closed her eyes.

It's been a long week, I've barely seen my wife. Between both our jobs and the kids, it's like we barely have time to say five words to each other.

“Come on, baby,” I kissed her hand, “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, but I'm tired,” she looked at me.

“Too tired for your Pookie?” I tucked her hair behind her ear.

She sighed, “Dwayne. Please?”

I sucked my teeth, “We haven't been intimate in over a month. That's not an issue to you?”

“Not when I have a job.”

“Oh, look at you. Finally getting a job and now it's all you worry about. Just forget your husband's needs, right?”

“Excuse me? Don't be ridiculous. We have things to pay for.”

“No, I have things to pay for. I pay the rent and bills, all you do is go shopping with that money of yours.”

“Oh, so you buy all the kids clothes?”

“I would if you weren't so adamant on spending money on designer clothes for our children.”

“Why can't they have nice things, Dwayne?” She sat up, slightly raising her voice.

“They do have nice things. A roof over their head, food, clothes, and two loving parents. I don't need them turning out bourgie and spoiled like you.”

“Ohhh, okay. So is this about sex or is this about ragging on me? Cause you have a lot of mean things to say, tonight.”

“I'm just frustrated, Whitley! I haven't made love to you in a month. I miss you. I miss my Bunny, and it feels like you're not concerned at all, baby.”

“Because I feel like this is a childish conversation, that's why. You're upset because I don't want to have sex.”

“Not just sex. When's the last time we laid down together and just talked? When's the last time we went out to dinner? When's the last time we went to the movies? When's the last time we sat down as a family and ate dinner? It's been a minute, Whitley.”

“Well, what do you want me to do about that, Dwayne?”

I sighed. She wasn't listening to me. She wasn't listening to my needs or my wants. She wasn't listening to the fact that I missed her. She wasn't listening to anything.

“Nothing, Whitley. Do nothing. It's not like you do anything for me, anyways,” I sighed and got up.

She gasped and threw a pillow at me, “You're sleeping on the couch, tonight!”

“Trust me,” I made my way towards the door, “That's where I was headed, anyway.”

End of Flashback

“Oh, wow,” Ron looked at me, “I'm not saying what you did was right but-”

“You understand how I was feeling at the time, right? You know me. I can never just wake up one morning and decide to hurt my woman. I fought for her too hard to do that. It just… happened.”

“I understand. You felt ignored.”

“I did. And then the next morning, her eyes looked red and puffy. Like she had been crying. I tried to talk to her then, too, but she wasn't hearing it. So I went off to work and…”

“That's when it happened the first time?”

“Yea. And you know what the worst part was? After it happened, I came home. Whitley had dinner cooked up and had put the kids to bed early. And I wanted to talk to her about it. I did. But she just started apologizing to me. Apologizing and saying how right I was, and how she wasn't making time for me. So, she had dinner ready and wanted to spend all night with me. I couldn't tell her, anymore. I felt so guilty.”

Ron shook his head, “This is crazy.”

“It is. We had sex that night. It was the greatest I felt in months. And she was smiling at me, after. I miss that smile, man,” I looked down at my hands, “She hasn't smiled at me since she found out.”

#adifferentworld #adw #adifferentworldfanfic #dwayneandwhitley #whitleyanddwayne #bunnyandpookie

[str-spangled-banner]

Friendly Neighbor - Steve Rogers X Reader

TAKING REQUESTS

MASTERLIST

Summary: You encounter some struggle whilst moving and end up getting some help from Captain America himself, who also happens to be your new neighbor.

Warnings: None.

Words: 1 721

A/N: Woah okay so Phantom has gotten 350+ notes in about 24 hours and so much positive feedback and kind comments?? Thank you so much??????

Either way, here’s a stupid Steve thing I had in mind that is in no way original.

She got out of the truck, thanking the guy from the moving firm for the ride. He blew her off and walked to the back instead and began unloading her boxes and the little furniture she had brought such as a couch and a table with two chairs. She asked if she could help and the middle aged man bitterly spat that she would only be in his way.

When all of her things were blocking the sidewalk, he began heading for the driver’s seat and her eyebrows furrowed. “Hey, hey? I need help carrying them up!”

“You only paid for transport, darling. Bringing it inside costs fifty bucks extra.”

“Fifty bucks to carry a few boxes and some furniture up?” She crossed her arms, wondering how the man had the nerve to rip her off like that.

“I’ll do it for ten if you show a little lovin’…” He said after a few moments with a disgusting grin and she could practically feel her body gravitating towards him to punch him in the junk, but someone intervened.

“Hey!” A man who had exited the building of her new apartment called out. He was a head taller than the truck guy with three times the muscles on top of that. “Go rip off someone else.”

The truck guy rolled his eyes but scurried into the truck as the man took a few quick and intimidating strides forward. The truck drove away and the stranger turned towards Y/N. “Some people, huh?”

“Yeah… Thanks, by the way, for that. He was a jerk.” She sighed hopelessly and looked at all of her stuff which surrounded her. “I’m Y/N.”

“Steve.” He shook her hand with a warm smile. “Are you moving in? Apartment 4B?”

“That would be me.”

“Then meet your neighbor.” He chuckled and showed his pearl white teeth. “You have the apartment next to mine.”

“Well well, seems my luck today is turning around.” She pursed her lips into a sly smile and Steve laughed lightly, liking her confidence. His eyes looked down and scanned over the many boxes and furniture.

“Let me help you with all of this.” He said and motioned for her stuff. She shook her head, crossing her hands back and forth to tell him no further.

“I can’t ask that of you.”

“You’re not asking anything, I volunteered.” He smirked and she rolled her eyes as he picked up one of the heavy boxes effortlessly. His muscles strained under his tight shirt yet he was unfazed by the weight of the box he carried which contained all of her plates and cutlery by the sound of it. “You stay here and guard your stuff whilst I get these up.”

She narrowed her eyes and he looked back at her in confusion, not being able to read her expression. “I feel like you’re being too nice… Guys these days aren’t this kind to a stranger like me.”

Steve wasn’t a guy from those days however. Also, Y/N was gorgeous. It was the first thing he had noticed about her. She was absolutely stunning. If he had any chance to get on her good side, he would.

“I’m just helping the damsel in distress.” He joked as she seemed to like it and also be mature enough to handle it.

“Well…” She took a seat in one of the chaos placed on the pavement and held the back of her hand against her forehead like she was giant. “I do feel a bit… Distressed.”

He laughed, shaking his head before proceeding to head inside and walk up the stairs. He got to his own floor, which had also become Y/N’s, and put her box down before hurrying back downstairs.

When he got out again, she wasn’t sitting in the chair but was gathering he boxes to clear the sidewalk for the pedestrians. She noticed Steve was back and her smile returned.

“My knight in shining armor.” She teased as he grabbed another box. He went on like that, grabbing box after box and eventually her small table and the two stairs. Lastly, there was the couch which was the only thing left by the street.

The sun had begun to set and Steve was starting to get tired of carrying all of her things up four floors.

“Let’s do this, yeah? Team work.” She said and put her hands underneath the sofa on one end.

“Are you sure you can-”

“Yes, Steve. Let’s go.” She said in a hurry as she had already began to lift the couch. Steve rushed to grab a hold of his end and they began to move it inside carefully. He tried to make it easier for her by moving his hands further in and therefor taking more of the weight, but she still struggled.

After taking a break on the second floor and continuous struggle, they finally managed to get it up to their floor. Y/N opened up the door to her apartment and moving everything from the hallway and inside was nothing compared to what they had done already, or at least what Steve had.

“Thank you so much, Steve.” She confessed as Steve put down the last box in her empty living room. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“You’d be struggling with the second box.” He joked and laughed as she nudged his upper arm with her shoulder as they stood next to one another. He looked across her small apartment, which was still the same size as his own, when something hit him. “Where are you going to sleep?”

She had seen that being an issue but had postponed it as far as she could. “I guess the couch. I’ll have to go looking for a bed this week.”

“Hey, you can borrow a mattress. No offense, but that thing doesn’t look very comfortable.” He nudged his head at the brown leather couch.

“You’ve done enough.”

“I insist.” He made it final. He didn’t allow her to say anything else but he walked out of the open door to her apartment and went down to his own.

Y/N began to unpack, moved the table and chairs close to the kitchen. She wondered what she had done to get lucky enough to run into Steve. The gods must have been on her side to send such a handsome and kind man to her rescue. She almost didn’t dare to believe it had actually happened. It felt too good to be true.

Steve returned with a thick mattress already clad in bedsheets. He carried it into the bedroom as he knew exactly where it was and put it down on the floor. “Do you have pillows and covers?”

“Yeah they’re in one of the boxes.” She assured and looked up at Steve as his eyes slowly moved to hers. She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned up to his face, pressing her lips to his cheek and feeling him rest his hand on her arm for the moment. “Thank you, again.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He promised but it wasn’t enough for her.

“Do you prefer whiskey or whine? Actually, don’t answer that. I’m buying you both to show that I’m thankful for your help.” She crossed off an imaginary list in the air.

He rolled his eyes again but it warmed his heart how nice she was. “You’ve already thanked me twice. I think that suffices.”

“Well I don’t.” She wandered into the kitchen where she had opened up the box of the little foods that she could bring with her. There was pasta, a bag of chips, some cookies, baking ingredients and a six pack of warm beer. “Want a beer that’s spent five hours in a warm truck?”

Steve laughed, allowing himself to take a seat in her sofa. “I’m alright, thanks.”

She shrugged, taking the pack and putting it in the fridge instead before she made her way over the the couch and took a seat at the other end. “So Steve, if that’s even your real name…” She made her voice comedically darker and earned yet another chuckle from Steve’s part. “Who are you? I mean, apart from being a box-carrying gentleman.”

He huffed, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly at her compliment. “Well, I’m Steve Rogers. I’ve lived here for about three years now, originally from Brooklyn.”

She kicked her shoes off and curled her legs up to her chest. “What do you do?”

He cleared his throat. He would have hoped she wouldn’t have asked, but he had asked for too much. Of course she was going to ask, no matter how much he hoped and prayed she wouldn’t. He wanted to be honest. He liked her a lot already and lying was definitely not something he wanted to do merely an hour after first meeting her.

“Okay, I actually have to be honest with you. I don’t want to lie.” Y/N practically stole the words from Steve’s mouth. He stared at her anxiously, waiting for her to continue. “I might recognize you… Actually, I recognize you a lot. I didn’t want to say anything cause I bet you moved here to get away from all of, that.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m glad you do…” He interrupted her. “And I’m glad you came clean first cause I was just about to come up with some weird excuse for a job that wouldn’t have been very believable, if I know myself.”

She chuckled this time. She had began to realize who he was when she felt like she had seen her before but also noticed how strong he was, even for a guy his size. It didn’t matter to her, though. Captain America or not, he was still nice Steve from next-door who helped her get her stuff into her apartment.

She laid in bed, or on the mattress that Steve had lent her. It smelled vaguely of cologne but it smelled heavily of him in general. Little did she know, that only a thin wall away, Steve’s bedroom had only an empty bed frame in the center. Steve laid with his legs dangling off the edge of his couch with a big smile on his face as he couldn’t have possibly imagined a better neighbor than Y/N.

#steve rogers fluff #reader x steve #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers fanfiction #steve x reader #steve rogers #marvel fluff #marvel drabble #steve rogers drabble #marvel fanfiction #marvel #avengers imagine #avengers drabble #avengers fluff #avengers fanfiction #avengers fic #avengers #avengers assemble #bucky #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #tony stark #spiderman #peter parker #spiderman homecoming #thor #thor ragnarok #avengers infinity war

[hollywoodx4]

Sticking With the Schuylers (41)

The answer to your question is yes, we’ll get back to the fluff. Eventually. For now, let’s catch up with Alex.

(I’m waking up in like 5 hours to go to the gym why do I do this to myself)

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Tagging: @linsnavi 

The steps from his-Eliza’s-apartment to the one he had shared with his friends are familiar. It doesn’t take too long to get from one to the other, as long as one’s timing with the subway is right. Alex doesn’t even bother with the subway; he has too many bags, anyway. And then he’d walked so far with his head in a fog that he’d missed the station completely, and hadn’t noticed until a few blocks had passed. Now, he’s stranded. Alexander stands ankle-deep in snow that bites with cold, in grey and frayed sweatpants torn from well-wear and only meant for home. His street-worn Converse are shoes he threw on in his hurry, and regret seeps into his skin just as the moisture of snow melts into his socks. Dampness consumes him as he stares at the streets ahead.

               His breath comes out in quickly dispersing streams of fog, the night becoming much too bitter to be hanging around with work-weakened arms. They hold the belongings he’d toted the other way not so long before. Six weeks hadn’t seemed like a long time, in the grand scheme of things. They say that it takes even longer to create a habit of something, but Alexander had made his home in only 42 days. In those days he’d gotten used to a lot of things. He’d gotten used to Eliza’s company.

               Coming home to her had become something of a treasure; the one thing he longed for from the moment she left the warmth of their bed. Working longer hours was both arduous and easy-he loved his work but he loved the feeling of her weight on his lap and her legs dangled over his more. She’d always make sure he wasn’t working past capacity. Then, there was their routine; carefully crafted upon unspoken words and that habit that had built in much shorter a time than normal.

               Eliza was always the first out of bed-stretched out to meet and sometimes even beat the rising sun. She always showered in the morning, and she always sang. Even when she thought he was still sleeping (he rarely slept past the time he felt her leave the bed), she hummed quietly, moving around in a sort of unintentional dance of contagious optimism. It always took him a little longer to leave the warmth of the bed and the dream-like light of gold seeping through soft curtains, but the humming and dancing always drew him out much sooner than he’d been accustomed to. Then he’d brew the coffee while Eliza made breakfast and they’d sit together at the island, happy in each other’s company. When it was their apartment, an almost whimsical feeling of warmth hung in the air. The walls were dusted with hues of gold and shining with a sun that existed only in Eliza’s gentle smile.

               When her apartment was theirs, Alexander lived in a constant state not of bliss, but of peace. His feelings lingered on a limb between settled and secure and relaxed, something he had not felt in years to come. Happiness snuck up on him slowly and wrapped its copper-dusted vines around him, climbing and enveloping and taking him over until he had been consumed with nothing but his own smile and warmth and light. And that vine reached so far, past his gut and his heart and his head, that often it transported Alexander. When he slept, that happiness extended to a place of consistent sunlight and ocean waves and small village shacks and marbles played on sand-dusted grounds. That copper vine took that sunlight and transferred its warmth to his heart, where often he felt his mother’s soft gaze or her hand through his hair or her voice, echoed in gentle song with his name over and over again. With Eliza-with this happiness-the good memories came easily.

               He’s not sure what he’s going to do without her.

               Maybe it’s dramatic, the way leaving her had feels like the end of a chapter. Somewhere within his mind is a voice which sounds its harrowing echo, teasing and taunting and creeping its way back in. And the further he gets away from his sun, with his snow-soaked shoes and the cold biting at his exposed skin, the worse the voices get.

               When he finally makes it to the old apartment his feet refuse to carry him any farther. Alex stands on the sidewalk, looking up at the place that had once felt like home. Before, this slightly run-down building had been a beacon. He’d known each crack in the sidewalk, each piece of dried-up gum stuck there. There was the old woman, still sat on the bench feeding birds that come dutifully to her side even though the January air chills their tiny feet. There’s the florist, who is treasured despite the fact that his flowers are almost always on the brink of death. And then there’s the door, that front door to the apartment building, with its little call box secured on the brick wall beside it.

               This is where Alex deposits his bags on the only dry patch of concrete he can find, in a haphazard pile. His shoulders ache. He stretches his arms to the sky. This exercise becomes a piece of the process that he prolongs quite generously, as his mind is still foggy and unable to fit together exactly what is happening. His finger hovers over the button for 403, and drops back to his side. The only other time he had had to call to be let in, he’d left his keys in the library at Columbia during finals his sophomore year. He’d been young, exhausted, and eager to find success at every turn back then. Not much has changed. He’d come all the way back to the apartment practically dragging his feet before remembering his mistake, and by then it had been too late to go back and retrieve his keys from the stack of books he’d thrown in the return. He’d gotten teased mercilessly that night, especially after waking everyone up so early in the morning. Then, Alex had been welcomed back with open arms and midnight snacks. But now…

               Now, he’s unsure of what to do. Now he has no key, no real tie to this place after he’d shoved it in John’s hands six weeks ago. He’s not even sure if his room is still in-tact. He’d been too ashamed to ask. He’d still come over for game nights every Friday, but so had Eliza and Angelica and even Peggy. Their dynamic hadn’t seemed to change other than the fact that when the consoles were shut off and the drinks gone, Alex would walk out the door instead of crawling to his bedroom. He still spent his allotted half hour between classes with John at Starbucks, joking and laughing as if things were still normal. Hercules still joined him in the library, sitting across from Alex and Eliza as she tutored them in language-which often meant teaching them how to say phrases meant more for the bedroom than every day conversation. He’d even made them a host of new pillow covers when she’d mentioned how their decorations weren’t quite coming together yet.

               Lafayette has been a different story.

               Alex hasn’t seen him since the night he’d moved. For six Fridays, he’s been too busy to come to game night, claiming study sessions or work or Skype calls to his family overseas. Bullshit, he hates them. He thinks-he knows-that there isn’t a stitch of truth within these excuses. He’d been too polite to say anything with Eliza present but more than anything he’d wanted to call his friend out, ask him why he was choosing to ostracize Alex instead of confronting whatever made him hate Eliza with such an unjustified passion.

               He supposes, as he raises his finger to the call button, that there’s no such time as the present.

                “Hey, it’s Alex. Can you let me up?” No answer. He waits a moment for the familiar click of the stairwell unlocking, but it does not come. So he presses the button again, repeating his message louder and with more certainty. It takes a minute for the lock to click open. He treads the familiar path with his feet weighing heavily on old wooden stairs, each creak familiar. They stab at his feet as the memories-good memories-come flying back. It’s not the end. It feels like the end.

               When he reaches the door it’s already open, with John on the other side. He takes one look at Alex, snow-soaked and miserable, and pulls half of the bags from his hands before leading him inside. He says nothing; John has a gift for knowing his best friend’s expressions, and this one is dark and consuming. This expression reads nothing more than ‘don’t ask.’ So he doesn’t. Instead, he moves the bags into Alex’s old bedroom, which to his relief has gone generally untouched in the past six weeks. It’s almost as if they’d expected him to fail. He can’t say he’s surprised that he did.

               Hercules comes out a while later, seeking a snack but finding Alex’s sunken frame on the couch instead. He moves to the fridge, rooting around before pulling out two beers. John is sat at the counter, nursing a glass of water with downturned lips and a shaking head.

               “He’s been like this for an hour.” John won’t turn his gaze from Alex, even though neither of the two have moved an inch since he’s walked in. Herc turns the two glass bottles in his hands, considering the situation at hand.

               “What happened?”

               “I haven’t asked.” When Herc’s eyebrows raise, and his mouth drops slightly, John sits up in his chair. “He came with bags, all of his stuff just dropped in his room. He walked here. I don’t think he wants to talk about why he suddenly has to be back here so fuck off, Herc.”

               “John, chill. I wasn’t saying you’re not a good friend. We all know how Alex gets. I’ll try and get something out of him.”

               Hercules Mulligan has a way about himself that is often completely unexpected, and yet Alex knows when he feels the shift of weight on the couch just what is about to happen. His mind has shut off. He refuses to acknowledge the cold condensation of the beer bottle on his arm, pricking against his fingers in an attempt to breathe life into him. Life will not come. Herc sighs, staring over at John who simply shrugs his shoulders in response. I told you so. But the larger, overly gentle figure of a friend is not done yet. He places both beers on the coffee table and puts his hands in his lap, looking over at Alexander without a break in contact between his eyes and Alex’s turned face.

               “Alex.” He calls his name softly, at first, an attempt to break the exterior his friend has put up. Alexander keeps his eyes trained on the droplets of water that have begun to slink their way slowly down the neck of the glass bottles, gathering in a puddle on the wood of the coffee table. Eliza would have used a coaster. “Alex, what happened? Why are all your things back here?”

               He figures it’s the nicest way anybody could have asked the question without actually asking it, and Alex appreciates the effort although it still stings. Did she break up with you? The words linger unspoken in the air between the three friends, especially from John’s quiet hideout at the kitchen island. He almost wishes they would ask outright-that the situation would be solved with one answer and the ability to hide in his room. He lets them sit and wonder for a while, exhausted and unwilling to speak. Herc takes a long pull of his beer before clearing his throat, drumming his fingertips on his leg.

               “There’ll be other girls,”

               “Alex.” Three heads turn to face the hallway, where a slightly disheveled Lafayette stands staring at the scene in front of him. He runs a hand over his poufy, full head of hair, which has been slightly disrupted by sleep. His dark eyes are covered by squinting eyelids, the light in the living room an immediate offense. John rises from his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Alex remains silent; his name drips from Lafayette’s lips, deadpan.

               “What are you doing here?” He doesn’t move, not to walk away from Alex nor to get closer. He leans against the wall of the hallway, looking simultaneously disinterested and frustrated.

“He lives here.”

               “No, he doesn’t.”

               “Cool it.” Herc stands too, positioning himself in the middle of his roommates although nobody has moved to make a physical threat. He takes in a deep breath of air in hopes that they will do the same, but the only person responsive to this tactic is John. Alex has not done so much as blink, letting the beginnings of the argument crash around him. He has had enough today.

               “He’s moving back in with us.”

               “When did we decide this?”

               “Alex has lived here just as long as any of us. If he wants his room back he can have it.”

               “Who was the one that left us in the first place? And for what, a girl who wanted him for half a second then left him out to dry?”

               “Laff,”

               “-I’m not the one who chose upper society over my friends! I’m not the one who left them hanging with his portion of the rent!”

               “You know Alex is still paying his share, you’re full of shit.” John’s usually pacified, lopsided grin has turned into a crooked sort of smirk painted with tensed muscles and narrowed eyes. A bubbling of anger boils inside of him, like the slow cooking of a lobster screaming from the tension of the rolling heat. Alex’s sadness-his foggy, muted state-pains John more than he’d thought it would. He won’t even let his eyes near his friend again for fear of feeling too much at one time. In his mind, he’s gathering an extensive list of curses aimed toward both Lafayette and Eliza. And Alex just sits.

               “All I know is that for almost three years Alex was here, and one day he was just gone. How do we know he’s not going to leave again in a week when Eliza decides she wants her toy back?”

               “If you were able to see anything past your own mind then you’d know to shut the fuck up right now.” It’s the first time Alex has spoken since he entered the apartment-since he left Eliza’s. Lafayette’s pompous voice, dripping with arrogance and a nasally sort of pride, has been digging into him since he decided to join the conversation. He hadn’t expected this piece of the conversation to go well, truthfully, but he’d thought his friend would have the decency to sit and listen to him before deciding his fate. Alexander had tried sitting idly by when he was a child. It hadn’t worked. Now, he feels the immediate urgency to protect and to defend more than ever. His tone is dark and grumbling and his syllables laced with biting diction, so much so that he’s practically spitting out his words. Lafayette staggers backward in defense.

               “You want me to see past my own mind? What about you? What about you never even considering us when you went ahead and decided your life would be all about Eliza? What about the fact that that decision was pointless because all those girls want is a quick fuck before they get bored anyway?”

               “-You leave her out of this.” John is the first to notice the changes in Alex, the way his body increasingly tenses and his posture leans forward. At the mention of Eliza’s name he’s seen enough to launch himself forward the millisecond it happens. He catches Alex just as his hand, accompanied by a tightly closed fist, is just inches away from the Frenchman’s face. The two stagger forward, toppling to the carpet while their friends watch. Hercules holds a hand poised and ready to stop his twiggish friend, but Lafayette does not make any moves to continue the instigated fight.  Alex, still held back by John, stand and brushes himself off. His physical gusto has retired, but the verbal fire still burns bright and crackling with a new intensity set off by the embarrassment of missing his punch.

               “You have no idea what’s going on, you never could. You’re always going on and on about how wrong Manhattan and high society and people like them are but you’re worse than them. You’re a fucking hypocrite. I’m sorry that your own family sucked but here’s a newsflash-you’re not the only one suffering here. You’re not the only one who’s been through deep shit. And you’re not allowed to walk around here like you own the place just because some high society French girl decided that you weren’t good enough for her, or because your family is full of piece-of-shit people who don’t know how to use their money.”

               “-Don’t you dare,”

               “-I’m not done. I’m so sick and tired of you deciding you know everything about someone before giving them half a second to explain. You know what? This separation sucks. And no, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been essentially kicked out. I know it’s hard for you to understand, but in an adult relationship, when you’re done screwing anything with its legs open, you have to make sacrifices you don’t really want to make sometimes. And it’s hard, and it’s painful, but you do it. And you can be upset with me for it but I’m doing this for Eliza, not for you. I could give two shits what you have to say to me right now because I’m trying to keep someone I love safe and happy and if that means moving out I’d move a fucking ocean away from her. That’s how love works. We’re not going to be stupid college kids forever.”

               “Va te faire mettre! You’ve always been a dramatic piece of shit and you know it.  You say I’m going after you because of my own life? I know my life was shit. But I never threw it away for some girl and that’s why I’m here right now. What about you? What happens when she doesn’t love you anymore? What happens then, when you’re used and thrown out and she’s got some other guy doing her dirty work for her?”

               “Shut up.”

               “-And we’re not going to be in college forever, you’re right. But at least I have the decency to treat the friends I’ve had since I moved here with respect. John was your first friend-when was the last time you thanked him for being there?”

               “You’re not throwing him into this too.” At this point, Alexander has closed the distance between himself and Lafayette. Although the French man is much taller than he is, he makes up for his lack of height with the biting acidity of his voice. The more Lafayette pushes, the louder Alex gets. “I’ve had enough of you-your attitude, your ego...”

               “Casse toi, va te faire cuire le cui!”

               “Fuck you too, Laff. And you know what, I still pay rent so if you need me I’ll be in my room. My room. In our apartment. If you have a problem with that, maybe you can find the door.”  

               The door slams violently behind Alexander, who has used so much force that the sound knocks at his head and lingers there. The sight he is met with turns his stomach to knots, his heartbeat continuing its rapid pace while sinking to his stomach. Piles of bags are cast haphazardly on the floor. His bed is still made. His calendar is still turned to December, dashes of important events written in his chicken-scratch with black pen coating its once clear surface.

               It is quiet here, but not in the way he had remembered.  As he moves to unzip the first bag he can hear murmured voices-John and Herc, cleaning up a dinner mess he hadn’t even known was there. He can hear the sound of the bathroom door clicking shut, the shower running at full blast. The clattering of dishes joins it, and then the TV starting up on the other side of his wall, in the living room. These are the sounds of home, of living and of being, but they are silent compared to what he had gotten used to. He longs for the sound of her bell-toned voice, laughing and singing and talking to her sisters on the phone. The commotion that had once lulled him to sleep now keeps him awake. Herc’s deep-toned voice echoes even when he is whispering. John’s bed, on the other side of the opposite wall, creaks with each movement he makes. His own bed is hard, and cold without her in it.

               And in this silence, he is consumed with a sudden and overwhelming pressure in his gut. It twists itself to his throat, where a lump forms and refuses to leave. In the silence, he is privy to his own thoughts. In his thoughts, there is nothing but guilt.

               He had yelled at Lafayette-at one of his oldest friends. One mention of Eliza’s name had driven him to the verbal destruction of someone who had welcomed him so openly to Columbia, and to America as a whole. Hell, they’d both went through the ringer and back together, two immigrants with imperfect families who’d just had to get away. America had been their fresh start, their second chance to get things right. Here, he was meant to make a name for himself. He’d never intended that name to be sewn between strings of French curses that felt truthful in the silence.

               It had always been John and Alexander, Herc and Lafayette. Even from the beginning, when they’d decided to move out of campus housing together, they’d been split into two pairs of friends looking to split rent and drink together. Alex and Laff were their common bond, sharing a class in mathematics neither really paid attention in. They’d bonded over their status as immigrants, shared stories through their notes as they pretended to pay attention. And then, when freshman year was over, they’d found this apartment. It was cheap enough, and in good distance to the subway, and they liked each other well enough to share a kitchen and a living room. They hadn’t known this apartment and this agreement would be the catalyst that they’d built their friendship upon. They hadn’t known how close they’d grow.

               They were the glue that brought this group together. This apartment was the common ground they’d grown in, and Alexander had just spoken about it as if it were nothing. The conversation plays over in his mind, unwillingly as his own behavior makes him wince. This time around, he is not focused on the insults thrown Eliza’s way. Instead, he listens to his own terse, flaming voice shooting fire at Lafayette. His stomach turns again, a reminder of what he has done. Eliza hadn’t deserved the words his friend had said about her, but he’d been just as bad. He’d lowered to a version of himself he hadn’t seen in a long time. He’d done it for Eliza, but at what cost?

               The realization of his actions send him across the hall, to the door with the French flag hung crooked-It’s not crooked, your eyes are-across its width. He knocks fervently, not caring who he’ll disrupt. He’d already stirred up the night, one more disturbance would just be commonplace. Necessary-this is necessary.

               Alexander watches Lafayette’s eyes darken the second he opens the door. He speaks in a voice much more gruff than his own, arms crossed over his chest in a preemptive act of defense.

               “What do you want now?”

               “I’m sorry.” The words come out in a slightly cracked tenor; admitting his fault has never been his strong suit, but although his attempt is feeble and the weakness almost laughable, Lafayette keeps his door open. He pokes his head out a bit further. He listens. “I just-there’s so much going on right now. So much. With myself, and with Eliza,”

               The name makes the French man roll his eyes again, which sets a spark to the defense in Alexander’s heart. But this isn’t about her honor-he repeats this mantra as he bites back the insults fresh on his tongue. This is about his friendship.

               “I know that I’ve been spending a lot of time with her. Most of my time, actually. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t aware of that. But there’s something going on there, with her, that’s bigger than anything I’ve ever faced before. And I know I need to be spending more time with you guys, and I know moving out was shitty on my part. This apartment does mean a lot to me, our friendship means a lot to me. But Eliza….Eliza’s it. I know she is. And what’s going on with her isn’t a joke. It’s sucked so much from our relationship, and from herself, and from me. I know I’m acting different. I know I need to come back to you guys. But this is getting serious and I just don’t know what to do.”

               It takes a moment for Lafayette to let the words sink in; one last plea from the guy from Nevis, the fellow immigrant with flyaway hair and bag-adorned eyes. His friend is wrapped in good intentions, always good. But the shift in focus from himself to Eliza hadn’t gone unnoticed, and it hurt to hear the softness of his words and the love he poured from his heart and his shining eyes into each syllable he spoke about her. Alexander is a mirror of a time remembered well by Lafayette, one he’d almost rather forget. It hits him with such force that he sighs, holding his hand behind his neck.

               “You know, it’s been five years since I left France-since Marie.”

               “Five years?”

               “Sometimes, it feels like less. Sometimes it feels like I’ve been here forever. But there are days I see a girl with blonde hair, or a jean jacket like she always used to wear, and I,” He pauses for a moment, his once stormy eyes lightening with a distant memory Alexander wishes he could see. He can feel it, the way Lafayette draws in a long and shaky breath. He clasps his hands together, fingers bumping against each other as he stays in his far-off world. “I miss her. And then, I wish that things had been different. Seeing you with Eliza…I don’t want you to live what I’m living. We’re un dans le meme, cursed with our hearts and our stubbornness and our love for things that shouldn’t belong to us. I never wanted you to get hurt.”

               “Okay.”

               “I shouldn’t have judged her so harshly, even based on my own account. I’m sorry, Alex.”

               “Just-just don’t treat her like shit, alright? She’s a good person, better than anybody I’ve ever known.”

               “I won’t, you have my word. And if you need help with any of this, any time…”

               “I know.” Alexander smiles then, light and airy as exhaustion finally consumes him. He nods once, slowly, before turning on his heel. When he gets to his door across the hall he turns, one last thought seeping from his lips as his hand connects with the doorknob. “If you need to talk-about her,”

               Lafayette shakes his head, a solemn smile playing at the corners of his lips. There is a hopelessness within his eyes that is sent across the hallway, in the air around them, as a remnant of what could have been. Just when Alexander thinks he’s about to share his thoughts Lafayette waves, a foot back in his own doorway.

               “Goodnight, Alex.”

               “Goodnight, Laff.”

#hamliza #hamilton #mine: swts #things that are hard to write: conflict and drama and Alex #things in this chapter: conflict and drama and Alex #so just bare with me I'm much better at writing Eliza #sorry everyone I try #things I love: backstory #so sorry bout that too

[almostafantasia]

apartment wars

Clexa Week Day 1 - Enemies To Lovers

Summary: When Lexa ends up snatching the apartment that Clarke wants from right under her nose, she becomes Clarke’s sworn archenemy. Not that Lexa is actually aware of this, but Clarke’s decided that things have to be that way. The last thing that Clarke expects is the series of events that lead up to her being asked to move into that very same apartment months later.

Read on AO3.

The news that Clarke gets upon arrival at the real estate office, while probably not as disastrously tragic as she makes it out to be, feels like she’s just had her heart ripped out from her chest by the clawed hand of Satan himself.

“We lost the apartment,” Clarke announces to Raven mournfully, as if Raven hadn’t been standing right beside her when the real estate agent gave them the bad news. “Some other bitch signed it earlier today.”

Raven’s eyes flicker up briefly, giving Clarke a look, then her gaze returns to the phone in her hands, her thumbs dancing with effortless ease across the screen as she taps out a message.

“There are other apartments,” Raven replies indifferently.

“But this was my dream apartment,” whines Clarke.

“Half an hour ago you were telling me how you weren’t sure if we should take it or not,” Raven scoffs, finally slipping her phone back into the pocket of her jacket and leaning on the polished marble counter of the reception desk with her elbows.

“It was within our budget and only a little bit shitty,” Clarke reminds her, while her insides make an unsettling dip at the realisation that they’re going to have to start viewing some more apartments as they hunt for the perfect place for when they graduate collage in just a few weeks’ time.

The receptionist stares wide-eyed at their polar opposite reactions to the news that the two bedroom apartment they’ve had their eye on has been snatched from their grasp by another person.

“We’ll find somewhere else,” Raven tells Clarke. “Somewhere even less shitty and maybe only a tiny bit out of our budget.”

“I can find some information about other apartments similar to that one if you like,” suggests the receptionist.

As Raven nods and enters a discussion with the woman behind the desk, Clarke’s attention is drawn to the previously unnoticed girl standing to her left, a thick pile of official looking paperwork on the counter in front of her and a pen in her hand.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get the apartment,” she says to Clarke, lifting a hand up to tuck her sweeping brown hair behind her ear so that it tumbles over her shoulder instead of obstructing the side of her face.

“Wait, who are you?” Clarke frowns across at her.

“I’m ‘some other bitch’,” she tells Clarke, an amused expression on her face as she parrots Clarke’s earlier words right back at her. “But you can call me Lexa.”

Clarke only lets herself blush for a couple of seconds at the realisation that Lexa has been eavesdropping on her complaints about the loss of the apartment, her frustration quickly taking over to dispel all other emotions as she becomes aware of just how small of a margin they missed out on this apartment.

“You’re the one who stole our apartment,” she gasps, a bitter contempt starting to bubble up deep inside her, the tiniest hint of jealousy at what this girl has that Clarke so desperately wants.

“Stole?” scoffs Lexa. She gestures to the paperwork in her hand and continues, “I think it’s more accurate to say that I simply signed the contract first.”

Scowling, Clarke reaches across to one of the paper specifications that Raven has been given by the receptionist and says, “Are you sure you can’t be persuaded to change your mind? Look, there’s plenty of other places to live. How about this two-bed in…” Clarke pauses and frowns as she glances down at the paper in the hand, skimming the information about that particular apartment. “No, you probably shouldn’t live in that part of town. No wonder the rent on this place is so cheap.”

“Hey,” says Lexa, reaching out and resting one of her hands over Clarke’s in a gesture that would perhaps be comforting, had Clarke not decided thirty seconds ago that this girl is her new mortal enemy. “I’m genuinely sorry for getting to this apartment first. But it really is the most cost-effective option with the best transport links to get into the city centre for work.”

“I know,” Clarke pouts like a small child who has just been denied a new toy. “That’s why we wanted it.”

“Come on, Clarke,” says Raven, grabbing Clarke by the hand not holding the newly acquired information papers. “We didn’t get the apartment. There are plenty of others here for us to consider.”

As she leaves the real estate office, Clarke calls back over her shoulder at the girl who has shattered all of her apartment-hunting dreams.

“Thanks for ruining my weekend!”

They do find another apartment, but only after two and a half months of searching and a few weeks of crashing on Octavia’s living room floor after the lease runs out on their old student accommodation. And as much as Clarke is happy that they’ve finally found somewhere to live (her life as a new graduate isn’t a complete disaster now that she actually has her own bed), she can’t help but compare it to the apartment that so nearly became hers.

Because the rent on the new place is just a little bit higher, the bedrooms just a little bit smaller, the journey into the city centre just that little bit longer. And the difference might only be small, but it all adds up to a lot of resentment.

A lot of resentment directed at the girl that Clarke bumps into in the hallway outside Octavia and Lincoln’s apartment.

“Oh my god, it’s you.”

Lexa startles when she hears Clarke’s exclamation that is full of contempt, and there are a good five or so seconds of her just frowning at Clarke, until the recognition washes over her face when she realises who she’s bumped into.

“Oh, hello! You’re the one whose weekend I ruined a while back, right?”

Her forehead knitting into a tight frown, Clarke’s scowl only intensifies with the light tone of Lexa’s voice, as if it is all nothing more than a joke to her.

“You’re the one who stole my apartment,” Clarke grumbles bitterly.

“I signed the contract first,” comes Lexa’s response, her answer reminiscent of their first conversation back in the real estate office a couple of months earlier. “What are you doing in this building?”

“My old college roommate lives here,” Clarke says, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb at Octavia’s front door just a few feet behind her. “One of the many reasons I wanted to move into this building was the proximity to her boyfriend’s impressive collection of liquor.”

Lexa smiles softly in amusement, then reaches out to lightly touch Clarke’s forearm with her hand.

“Speaking of alcohol, we’re throwing a party this weekend,” she tells Clarke. “A celebration of finally unpacking the last box. You should come.”

Clarke’s eyes widen and the unexpected invitation from a girl that she doesn’t even know, and she stumbles over her answer, “What? Is this so you can, like, rub it in my face that you got the apartment that I wanted?”

“No!” Lexa is quick to protest. “No, I didn’t mean it like that! I was just trying to be friendly. An olive branch. My sister is the one hosting the party. She’s invited a whole load of her friends because she wants the party to be “banging”.” Lexa accompanies this last word with air quotes and a roll of her eyes, then continues, “Her words, not mine. There’s going to be a lot of people there and I don’t know many of them but the invitation is open to you too. Bring your old roommate and her boyfriend, and the girl you were with when we met. The more the merrier.”

Clarke takes a couple of steps back towards Octavia’s front door.

“I’ll think about it.”

“I wouldn’t have put a couch there.”

Clarke yelps in pain as the knuckles of Raven’s right fist collide with her upper arm with far more force than necessary.

“This is weird enough without you commenting on their placement of furniture,” Raven complains, her voice barely audible over the thumping music that reverberates off every wall. “Why did we get invited to this party again? We don’t even know them.”

“A peace offering after stealing our apartment,” Clarke shrugs, staring around at the room of complete strangers crammed in the small living space.

“I think it was just a gesture, I’m not sure we were actually supposed to accept the invitation.”

Clarke spots a familiar flash of curly brunette hair in the crowd and lets her eyes linger on Lexa, who is talking to two other girls over by the far wall with a drink in her hand.

“She’s my nemesis, Raven,” Clarke says, her forehead furrowing into a frown. “I’m here to find out more about her so that I know how to take her out.”

“Or maybe you want to take her out,” Raven grins mischievously, nudging Clarke with her elbow, “because you’ve got a huge ladyboner for her. Speaking of ladyboners, I’m going to introduce myself to the hottie by the fridge. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

And with that, Raven gently pushes her way through the crowds of people in the direction of the kitchen, leaving Clarke alone and feeling rather stupid about the fact that she decided to come to this party at all.

That is, until company arrives in the form of the only other person that Clarke knows in this room, her sworn archenemy, and Clarke doesn’t know whether to be relieved that she’s no longer alone, or frustrated that Lexa is here to rub her new living situation into Clarke’s face.

“You made it,” says Lexa, seeming genuinely surprised at Clarke’s presence, though she wears a smile on her face as she speaks.

“I did,” nods Clarke. “And I’m not at all impressed with the layout.” Cocking her head to the side, Clarke gestures to the other side of the room and asks, “Why would you put the couch against that wall?”

“It’s temporary. We wanted more space in the middle of the room for the party. The couch normally goes over there.”

With the hand not curled around a bottle of beer, Lexa gestures with her hand to show where the couch usually sits.

“Oh,” Clarke says a little stupidly. “Yeah. That’s where I’d put it too.”

Smirking, Lexa crosses her legs at the ankles as she leans against the wall just to Clarke’s left and mockingly asks, “Do you want a tour of the place? Maybe you can critique the furniture in the other rooms too.”

“Nah I’m good.”

“Then can I at least get you a drink?”

Lexa’s offer is genuine this time, eyes wide in anticipation of Clarke’s answer.

“Sure,” Clarke nods. Pointing at the bottle in Lexa’s hand, she elaborates, “Beer is good.”

Lexa is gone for just a minute, effortlessly navigating her way through the room to where a giant bucket of ice houses a selection of bottles and cans. She returns with one in her empty hand, an identical one to the one that she is drinking herself, and passes it across to Clarke who accept the chilled bottle with a mumble of thanks.

“So, Clarke,” Lexa starts, her eyes bright with intrigue. “Tell me something about yourself so that I have more to go on than the fact that you hold insane grudges for things that aren’t even that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?” Clarke parrots back with a snort. “I …”

Upon seeing the little smirk of amusement written on Lexa’s face, Clarke realises that she’s being mocked and trails off. She takes a long swig of the beer in her hand and then folds her arms across her chest indignantly

“Fine. I’m twenty-two, I’ve just graduated college, and I’m an artist. Which, by the way, means that I am both unemployed and unemployable.”

“Impressive,” Lexa teases.

“What about you?” Clarke bounces the question back to the girl in front of her, adding drily, “Besides your passion for destroying dreams.”

“Let’s think. I’m Lexa, though you already know that, I’m twenty-three, I live here with my sister – she’s the one that your friend is shamelessly flirting with over there. And besides snatching apartments, my passions include scented candles, yoga, and eating sushi.”

“Yoga?” Clarke screws her face up in disgust. “I should have known you were one of those.”

“What’s the supposed to mean?” Lexa exclaims, half-laughing and half confused.

“One of those people who does yoga and drinks green smoothies and goes for morning runs,” Clarke elaborates. “Tell me I’m not wrong about any of those assumptions.”

“You’ve got me!” Lexa shrugs, a little smile crossing her face as she raises the hand not holding her drink in a mock surrender. She looks up at Clarke, a mischievous glint flashing across her green eyes, then says, “Oh, and one other thing - I’ve got a bit of a thing for pretty blondes who get this cute little crinkle in their forehead when they get mad about the stupidest of things. See you later, Clarke.”

She takes a couple of steps backward with a smirk on her face, then turns away to walk into the crowd, leaving Clarke with a dumfounded expression on her face as she tries to wrap her brain around Lexa’s parting words.

And when it hits her, it properly hits her, like she’s been standing on a railway track and a cargo train has just collided into her at high speed.

“Oh, shit.”

Clarke realises that maybe, despite it all, she has a little bit of a thing for infuriating brunettes who steal apartments and do yoga in their free time.

“What was it you were saying earlier about how celebrating every month anniversary is pointless?”

Lexa’s voice is a little husky but there’s a hint of satisfaction in her gloat. She crawls up Clarke’s body, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand and pressing kisses up the planes of Clarke’s stomach and across the curves of her breasts until she can settle her head against Clarke’s shoulder, one of her legs slung lazily over Clarke’s hips.

It might have been six months since Lexa asked her out, but Clarke doesn’t think she’s ever going to tire of the things that Lexa does with her mouth. Each time they have sex feels like the first time all over again, except now Lexa knows her well enough to know just how to frustrate her to the point where she’s begging for release. And each time Lexa indulges her, the reward is just that little bit sweeter when it courses through her body and leaves her a writhing mess on the mattress.

Or on the couch.

Or up against the wall next to the front door of the apartment that Clarke is still adamant that Lexa stole from her.

“I take it back, I take it all back,” Clarke says breathlessly, her chest rising and falling rapidly, even under Lexa’s weight, as she tries to catch her breath back. Nudging Lexa with her hand, she adds suggestively, “Hey, tomorrow is our six months and one day anniversary, can we celebrate that in the same way?”

Clarke feels Lexa’s mouth turn up into a smile against the skin of her shoulder as she replies, “Sure.”

They fall into a momentary silence, basking in the afterglow that can only come from consecutive orgasms. Clarke’s fingers trace delicate patterns across Lexa’s tattooed back, and she breathes in the scent of Lexa’s shampoo – a mixed berry flavour that Clarke loves to borrow whenever she’s over at Lexa’s for the sole reason that it reminds her of her girlfriend whenever she gets a waft of it from her own hair later in the day.

“I’ve got something serious to say,” Lexa mumbles, lifting her head and propping herself up on one elbow.

The view is tantalising, her body still half draped over Clarke’s but now in a way so that the arch of her back emphasises the curve of her butt. It takes all of Clarke’s willpower to let Lexa continue instead of rolling her onto her back and taking her again.

“So this all happened because I signed the contract on this apartment before you did,” Lexa says.

“You stole my apartment,” Clarke teases, deliberately letting her fingers brush across the sensitive spot on Lexa’s side that she just knows drives her girlfriend mad. “When are you just going to admit that?”

“Never,” Lexa grins back. “Because I want it to become our apartment.”

The comment is so off-handed, so completely out of the blue that Clarke almost misses it completely. And before Clarke has time to fully understand the intention behind Lexa’s words herself, Lexa launches into an elaborate monologue to explain what she means.

“Yes, this place is a little crappy,” Lexa gestures at the bedroom around them. “And you’ve got some commissions coming in and I’m about to be promoted so pretty soon we’ll be able to afford the rent on somewhere a little less crappy. But on account of today being six months since you agreed to be my girlfriend and eight months and twenty four days – yes, I counted – since you threw a tantrum in a real estate office while I signed the papers for this place, I want to ask you to move in with me.” Lexa pauses, her green eyes wide and looking up at Clarke with absolute honesty, before she concludes, “To move in here, for a little bit, and then to somewhere better that we can call ours.”

Tilting her head to the side and trying her best not to combust from pure delight at Lexa’s offer, Clarke teases, “Moving in together at six months? Are we not moving a little fast?”

“I’m a lesbian, Clarke,” Lexa grins. “You have no idea how much self-restraint it has taken to wait this long. I nearly rented a U-Haul to take us home from the real estate office.”

“Idiot,” Clarke shakes her head, even as she leans in for a kiss to meet Lexa’s smiling lips with her own. “Of course I’ll move in with you.”

#clexaweek2017 #clexa #clexa fanfic #clarke griffin #commander lexa #not my best work i know #i'm trying to write shorter fics #so the quality is probably lacking

[thiswreckageivebecome]

The Winter Soldier is Still Here (”Temporary Fix”-Part Twelve) (Bucky Barnes x reader) (Winter Soldier x reader)

Description: You’re working at the local farmers market when you meet Bucky and catch his eye, not only because you’re the only one who sells plums, but because you treat him like a normal person. As a friendship begins to bloom, it quickly grows into a relationship and you learn that life with Bucky isn’t as easy it originally seemed. I SUCK AT DESCRIPTIONS!

Word Count: 4905

Warning: Language. Angst. Sexual tension. Hints at smut. Mostly fluffy.

Author’s Note: Not every aspect matches with the Marvel films or comics. I chose to include and ignore some of the choices Marvel made for various reasons. Just know going in that not everything lines up with the storyline Marvel created and that is done on purpose.

Yes....One Direction may have had just a touch of inspiration for this chapter. ;)

After the holidays, I traveled back home to Lynchburg and was there only long enough to do laundry and get a few hours of sleep, before I was headed to the airport. Tony had been the one to supply the tickets, first class might I add, and transport services to the tower. I met the famous Mauve (a second progression of Jarvis, post-Ultron) in this process which was unreal.

"Hello, Ms. (y/l/n), I'm Mauve, here to assist you with anything you might need. I will be traveling back with you to Stark Tower. Is there any location in which you need to stop first?"

"Ahh, no, I don't think so."

"Then we'll be there shortly, miss. In the compartments to your left and right, you'll find any beverage or snack of choice."

"I'm fine, thank you, Mauve...by the way, it's nice to meet you."

"It's lovely to meet you as well."

The ride to the tower was quiet as I took in the city as we rode by. Mauve didn't bother me, nor did I have much to say to him, but as I saw the tower ahead of us through the windshield, my nervous system kicked into overdrive. My hands began to get clammy, despite the 22-degree weather outside. All of the senses in my body seemed to be on high alert as my body began to tingle like when a part of it falls asleep. My stomach began to churn. I didn't know why I was so nervous.

"Mauve..."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"How are things at the tower? How is Bucky doing? Is everyone okay with me visiting?"

"Ma'am, I'm not sure I have the right to answer those questions."

"Not you too, Mauve! Can no one tell me anything?"

"I can tell you that Mr. Barnes is happy to be seeing you."

"Well, I guess that beats bad news...." I muttered to myself. Once we stopped, the door to the vehicle opened, seemingly of its own volition. I stepped out, dragging my bag behind me.

Sam appeared at my side, taking my bag.

"Hey, (y/n). Let's get inside, I'll show the way."

He didn't give me a chance to reply. He all but pushed me forward and into the building. Once we were in an elevator, I dared to speak.

"So hello to you too? What's the hushed rush about?"

"Brrr, it's cold outside. Can't you tell?" He was a terrible liar. I looked at him in the eyes, but he immediately looked away and to the LED screen telling us which floor we were on.

"Sam, what's wrong? Where's Bucky? What's going on? What about Steve?" I flew into a mountain of loaded questions. Why didn't Bucky meet me? Something clearly had to be wrong.

"Ahh, Bucky and Steve are a little preoccupied right now is all. I'll help you get settled. That's all."

"Sam. Steve and Bucky don't just become preoccupied unless something is wrong. Has Bucky had an episode? Dammit Sam, just tell me!" I half-yelled this at him, fed up with the secrecy, as the doors of the elevator opened. I continued to glare at him instead of out the doors until I heard Bucky's voice.

"I told them you wouldn't like this plan."

My head swished so quickly to see a healthy and happy looking Bucky. He grinned at me, eyes skimming down my body, taking in the sight of me. I couldn't help but stare at him. The elevator doors began to close, but I didn't notice until they were almost shut. I jumped forward, yelling "no!" while Sam's voice cut through the fog "calm down, woman, damn," as he pressed the door open button for me. Once the doors opened again, I jumped into Bucky's open arms. He held me tight and picked me up off the ground, but not far. My eyes squished tight, relishing in the moment and the feel of being in Bucky's arms again. He put me down after a few seconds but didn't let go. I looked around him and saw Steve smirking in our direction. I also saw party decorations spread across the massive...I assumed, living space. I also saw many of the Avengers sitting on the couches, staring at the exchange.

"Ahh, Bucky, what the hell..." I whispered to him.

"We're here to meet you," Peter Parker called.

I couldn't even acknowledge what was happening. I did feel my face heating up, however. Bucky leaned down slightly to give me a peck on the cheek and took my left hand, leading me over to where everyone else was sitting. Sam had joined them, but Steve had continued to the fridge and was pouring himself a glass of water.

"Everyone, this is (y/n)."

"So we finally get to meet the infamous (y/n). You're the only thing he knows how to talk about." Nat spoke boldly, almost seemingly annoyed. I wasn't sure why, but I immediately knew she was not going to be my biggest fan. Steve must have shot her a look from behind me because she quickly scoffed, rolled her eyes, and looked out the glass wall into the courtyard.

"So you're from that mountain town Lynchburg, right?" Wanda Maximoff asked, standing to greet me. She reached out her hand to shake mine.

"Ah, well it's where I live now, yes. It's nice to meet you.."

"I'm Wanda, it's a pleasure to meet you, (y/n)."

"Mr. Barnes, I have to argue with you about the color of Ms. (Y/n) eyes. It seems that instead of being the color of emeralds, they appear to be more of a sea foam variety."

"Well, Vision, I suppose that's one reason they call you that? Nice to meet you." I piped up, slightly offended (but still flattered) that Vision wanted to argue against Bucky, but I let it go. Vision smiled and nodded in my direction as an acknowledgment of what I had said. He must have sensed my dislike of his arguing as he didn't have anything else to say. I didn't mean to offend him, but I felt my protective instincts kicking into high gear, instincts to protect both Bucky and myself.

"We have some snacks and cake over here, (y/n), if you'd like something?" Steve was attempting to help the situation.

"Ahh, yeh, why don't you guys go ahead?"

"We've been waiting on you. You're the guest. You're supposed to go first," Natasha's words cut into me.

My face was heating, in anger, at this point. What the hell had I done to her? I turned my head quickly in her direction and dropped my hand from Buckys.

"I'm sorry, but what the h-"

"Nat, can I see you down the hall, please?" Steve cut me off, knowing this would not end well.

She huffed, but stood up and led the way down the hall. I turned to Bucky, partly embarrassed that I had almost shown my ass in front of people I didn't know...superheroes at that, but I didn't appreciate her attitude. Super assassin or not, I hadn't done anything for her to be hateful towards me.

Clint Barton stepped up to me, extending his hand. "Please excuse her, she was already upset before you got here. I'm Clint. It's nice to finally meet you."

I smiled at his kindness. "Lovely to meet you as well. If y'all are really waiting on me, please go ahead, I actually need to use the restroom."

"Here, I'll show you to your room. There's a bathroom there."

Bucky picked up my bags and motioned for me to walk ahead of him as he placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me where to go. Once the door to the elevator shut, I immediately looked at the floor, shaking my head.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper with your friend. I just...I don't understand why she was being so rude when we had just met."

"You don't have to apologize. She was being rude...and don't get me wrong, these people haven't treated me poorly, but they're more Steve's friends than mine. I thought your reaction was funny, actually. I'm glad you stood up to her. I should have stepped in, honestly, but like I said, they're more Steve's friends than mine." The elevator doors opened and we stepped out into a different looking floor that was full of doors, presumably bedrooms.

"No, it wasn't your place either. Don't worry about it. If you're not worried about it, I'm not going to worry about it either."

"This one here on the right. If it's not okay, we can arrange something else. My room is four doors down on the left if you need anything. I'll give you a few minutes to let you get settled if you'd like. You have an ensuite bathroom," he said as he stepped in, placing my bags on the bed.

"Yeh, that'll be great. I'd like to change into something a little nicer anyway."

"Okay, you don't have to, though, just so you know." He reached around my waist and pulled me in close. "You look beautiful just as you are." I stood on my tiptoes to meet his lips that were approaching mine. At the moment our lips touched it was as if all was right in the world. Things were normal, nothing was weird. Bucky was Bucky, I was myself, and we were the only two people that mattered in the universe. I'm unsure how I had fell so quickly, but I loved this man, and while I knew it wasn't going to be easy, I didn't want to ever let him go.

Our lips parted and he grabbed my hand to kiss the back of it, gripping it tightly in this thick and rough hand. He gave it a squeeze before letting go and throwing "I'll be in my room if you want to come get me whenever you're ready," over his shoulder as he walked out, closing the door quietly behind him.

I went into the bathroom to throw cold water on my face. I needed to calm down. I was on edge after the rough and awkward situation with Natasha. Bucky helped calm me, but not completely. I looked at myself in the mirror, taking deep breaths and stilling myself and my determination to make nice with everyone. If I was being honest, while I found it important to get along with these people considering they were around Bucky more than I was at this point, seeing Bucky happy and healthy was my main goal, it's what I cared about most. I changed into clothes that were still comfortable, but looked nicer, and put on some makeup for extra effect. I still threw my hair into a loose bun on top of my head before taking a deep breath and walking out of my room and down the hallway.

"...how many doors did he say..." I wondered quietly to myself. "Crap." I stepped to the third door and tried to speak only loud enough that someone on the other side might possibly hear me, "Bucky???" I waited but heard nothing. I repeated the action at the next door. I still heard no answer. "Maybe it was the fifth?" I whispered to myself. I stopped at the next door and repeated my actions. I heard someone approaching the door so I smiled, thankful to have found the right room. To my surprise the door swung open, "this isn't Bucky's room. What the fuck do you want?" Natasha's icy voice met my smile, quickly turning my smile into a grimace.

"Well, clearly you know damn well what I want---ugh. This is fucking ridic-"

"There isn't anything ridiculous but as to why you're at my door. I didn't ask you to come here. If you're looking for Bucky, don't come to my door. He sure as hell isn't in here." Her voice had risen in volume. "He's too fucking hung up on y-" the door on my left swung open.

"(Y/n), I'm the fourth door down." He stepped out of his room and moved quickly to your side protectively. "Sorry, Natasha, it was an honest mistake. She didn't mean to bother you." He began to guide me away from the door as I glared at her for her attitude and words.

"Yeh, don't worry, it won't happen again." I spat back at her as Bucky practically pushed me into his room, closing the door before Natasha could return any words of her own. We heard her door slam and Bucky cringed before looking at the ceiling and rolling his eyes.

"Sorry about that...again."

"Bucky, you don't have anything to apologize about. She's being a bitch." I didn't bother with quieting my voice. I didn't know if the walls were soundproof or not, nor did I care. She could surely kill me in a second if she wanted, but at this point, I was beyond pissed and I didn't care. I normally wasn't a confrontational person, but something about Natasha put me on edge and made me crave violence.

I plopped onto the bed, head swimming with anger. Bucky got down on his knees in front of me, taking hold of my hands, enveloping them in his own.

"I think she's heading out on a mission in a few days. Let's just try and stay clear of her for now. I don't want anything to ruin my time with you, okay?"

I took a deep breath and let my eyes find his before smiling and saying: "Okay."

"Do you want to go downstairs now for what's left of your little welcoming party?"

"Sure, I don't want to be rude...well, rude to anyone else," I finished with laughter. He stood from the floor, pulling me up with him. We went back downstairs to find most of the goodies gone, which was fine considering Bucky didn't eat much and I wasn't really hungry as I had eaten a big breakfast before leaving Lynchburg. We hung around with everyone, except Natasha, who had seemingly barricaded herself in her room, having a lovely time. The crowd was full of jokers who loved having the others at the expense of their jokes. I continually caught Bucky looking at me with a grin on his face, Sam didn't miss it either because he kept calling Bucky out for it, causing us both to blush and the group to laugh. After a few hours and things were cleaned up, we went different ways. Some went to train, some to prepare for an upcoming mission, and some to relax.

"Want to sneak out of here? Go see the city," Bucky leaned in and whispered, even though we were seemingly alone.

I turned to him, a grin appearing. "Really?" I whispered back. "Yes, that'd be awesome. Let me grab some warmer clothes."

"I'll race you," he said as he was already making a mad dash for the stairs.

"Not fair!" I exclaimed, jumping up and running after him. He, of course, beat me but turned around at his door to wait for me to reach my own. He winked at me, causing me to roll my eyes and step into my room. I grabbed my coat and some warm accessories-head/ear wrap, gloves, and a big fluffy scarf.

When I stepped outside of my room, I wasn't expecting to see Bucky standing against the wall waiting, making me jump slightly, but of course, he noticed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." He snuck his arm around my hips as we walked to the elevator. We headed down and out into the cold, winter air. He pulled me closer for warmth. We walked happily along, catching up and discussing how things had been since we had parted in October. We walked around the city, taking in the tourist spots. Afterward, we went to Brooklyn. He wanted to show me where he and Steve used to live. I knew this was something he didn't share with a lot of people, so I was pleased he wanted to share it with me. Apparently, Steve had arranged to purchase the properties when he came out of the ice and got back on his feet. Bucky pulled out keys to open the door and once I stepped in, it was like stepping back in time.

"Yeh, Steve, with Tony's resources, fixed his place like it was when we were living here. He felt like it would be a nice place to get away for himself and then when he found out I was alive, he fixed this place up to try and help me remember."

"It's lovely, Bucky." I walked around inspecting all of the things from the past, afraid to touch anything, but looking at everything closely. He sat on the couch and watched me looking at everything before he realized how cold it was when he saw a chill run over my body. "Here, I'll make us some coffee." He stood and moved to the kitchen as I continued to look after thanking him.

He brought me a cup shortly and I followed him to the couch and sat beside him. I removed my shoes and pulled my feet up beside me, leaning into his side slightly.

"Do you remember anything about living here?"

"A few things. I'm remembering more, the more that Tony runs his little experiments...which has its benefits, but I'm also remembering bad things too...which sucks, but for now it's what I've got to deal with."

His face lost some of its color, his eyes losing a dash of life and his smile was no longer there, his face seemed to go blank.

I placed my head on his shoulder, nuzzling into his neck just a little to hopefully distract him. "Would you mind telling me some of the things you remember about living here?" I asked this as quietly and as gently as I could, so as not to set him off in any way.

I sensed him smiling beside me. He began to tell me everything he could remember, mostly good memories, but there were a few sad ones. He told me about the good memories he had with his family before they passed away. He told me about some good times he had with Steve, including wrestling matches and cartoon marathons when they were able to pull their money together to afford a small television set. He also explained the differences that occurred in their lives here when their parents and siblings had passed away. He shared how things had changed for them and around them, how it had brought them closer together.

"And so far, that's all I can remember....but I guess it's quite a bit considering it's 6 p.m..."

By the time he finished speaking, I had fallen even more in love with him, but I tried not to let it show. I looked at him fondly, almost in a daze, "is it really? I could care less. Can't we just stay like this forever?"

He smiled at me, putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me as close as he could. "I'm surprised they haven't come looking for us yet, to be honest."

"I guess that's a hint we should probably be heading back?"

"Yeh," he sighed, "probably so," he said, taking the coffee cups to the sink to wash. As he ran the water to wash the cups, I stepped up behind him, wrapping my arms around his tiny waist and placing my head on his back. I couldn't muster words in the moment, I just wanted to pour out all of the love and affection I held for this man from the pores of my skin into his. He finished washing the mugs quickly but didn't attempt to turn around, instead he placed his hands and arms on mine, and simply stood like that for a moment. He slowly turned around and I looked into his face, but not for long because there was a link between us that looked and felt like the cord from Back to the Future that had just sent Marty McFly back to his own time. Before my thoughts caught up with my actions, my body was pressed into his, mouths meeting and parting quickly. His hands reached to the back of my thighs, picking me up so that I could wrap my legs around him. In the process, I kicked the counter causing us to laugh between kisses as he stepped away from the counter. He walked towards the couch, bumping into tables and chairs on the way, causing me to giggle more, breaking apart our lips. He laid me on the couch and laid down on me, holding himself up slightly with his right arm. My arms still hung around his neck before a shrill ring broke us apart. His phone, probably the loudest phone ringtone I've ever heard, was going off.

"Shit." He breathed into my face. He stood up and pulled the phone out of his pocket. "What do you want, Steve?"

"Buck, where the hell are you? We've been looking all over. Is (y/n) with you? What's going on?" I heard Steve practically shouting through the phone.

"Oops," I whispered before busting into a giggling fit, causing Bucky to lose the anger in his face and begin to smirk at me.

"Everything is fine. (Y/n) and I wanted to get out in the city. We're in Brooklyn, at the house. Can I let you go, please? We'll be back later."

"Buck, first off, you could have just told someone. Second off, I kinda need you back here."

"Why? What's going on?"

"Just need you back. We can discuss it when you get here."

Bucky sighed deeply. "Fine." He heard a returning sigh on Steve's end. "And don't sigh at me, acting like I'm interrupting your plans."

"See you soon, jerk."

"Whatever, punk."

He hung up the phone and shoved it in his pocket, looking down at me still sprawled on the couch.

"So we have to go back, huh?"

"Yeh, I guess so."

It was now my turn to sigh as I sat up, "alright, let's do this then." We grabbed everything we had brought and stepped outside, Bucky locking the door behind us. As we stepped to the curb, he began to hail a cab. I stuck my hands in his coat pocket, pulling him closer to me. He started giggling and I raised myself on my tip toes and began to stroke the inside of his neck with my nose before gradually adding butterfly kisses along the way. As he continued to attempt to get a cab to stop, the affections increased with the longer amount of time I had to wait in the cold. He began to chuckle as I tickled his neck with my tongue. A cab pulled up as he had just pulled me closer. He opened the door to the cab for me. As I climbed in I practically pulled him along behind me as I still had my hand in his coat pocket. He slid in beside me and barely got out "50th and Broadway," to the driver before I pulled his face to mine. He started to pull me closer as we kissed, but it wasn't close enough. I broke away just barely enough so that I could straddle him in the backseat, an audience of a taxi driver completely forgotten. We couldn't get enough of each other. This was something we had both felt, but not acted on. It was as if this was the last opportunity we had, last we would ever have. We wanted to completely devour each other and use each other up until there was nothing left, then come back for more. His hands grasped my back, lowering and raising depending on the moment. To have been what he had been through, for the amount of time, he hadn't forgotten how to kiss...how to touch...how to feel a woman in all of the right ways. My skin was crawling with exhilaration and my spirits soared. Before we knew it, the cab had stopped and the taxi driver had to cough loudly four times to get our attention. I was the one who finally heard him as I dislocated myself from Bucky's lips, leaning down into his shoulder and started laughing.

"Shit. Sorry, sir." I muttered loud enough for the cabbie to hear, trying to keep from laughing. Bucky brushed the inside of my thigh on accident as he reached into his pocket to get his wallet with cash and tip for the cab, causing both of our cheeks to turn scarlet. He handed the money to the driver, staring deeply into my eyes the entire time. I slid off of his lap and out of the cab first, grabbing his hand on my way out. Once the door shut, I pulled him in again, not caring who saw or who was around.

After a few moments, he pulled away, gasping, voice husky, "okay, okay, we've got to...let's just slow down," he had pulled his lips away, but he placed his forehead on mine, eyes hazy in the heat of the moment.

Breathlessly I replied, grinning, "okay. Slow down. I can do that."

He looked at me, chuckling. "Something to eat?"

"Other than you, you mean?" I replied seductively, but at seeing his eyes triple in size and his jaw drop, I stepped back to avoid crashing my head into his chest as I had to drop and grab my side in laughter.

"I was thinking more like....a burger..."

His response made tears come to my eyes from laughter and he shortly joined me.

"I guess that'll work too. Let's go." I grabbed his hand and we headed for a food truck I saw down the street. After getting our food, I saw the tower a few blocks away so we headed in that direction as we ate.

"So what do you think is going on? Why Steve needed you back?"

"Honestly....there's probably nothing going on. They probably just don't want me to be away from the tower and go off the reservation."

I stared thoughtfully ahead, contemplating how to respond to this information.

"....Bucky....is it really that bad? I mean...is the treatment and tests they're doing helping at all? Is it making things worse?"

"It's just....there's a lot to be undone. It takes time....I'm just hoping it'll work...."

"I hope, for your sake, it does too."

"....and what if it doesn't?"

"What do you mean?" His question worried me. What was he thinking? I hope he didn't mean something like he'd harm himself (the story of Jimmy wouldn't leave my mind) or go back into cryo. I don't think I could easily live without him anymore. I realize this seemed silly, but the idea of him not existing on this earth anymore completely broke everything inside of me.

"....I guess what I mean is....if it doesn't work.....what are we going to do....about us....I can't let what happened, happen again....I just can't." His argument was so reminiscent of the story Roger had told me about Jimmy.

We had reached the tower. I stopped walking and stared at Bucky, tears forming in my eyes. He stopped and turned around to look at me.

"Buc- ...I ca-...I won-....Bucky, jus-" I wanted so badly to assure him, but I was cut off by Steve stepping out and pulling us both inside.

"You guys, it's been an hour and a half. Where have you been?"

"What the hell is wrong, Steve? What is the rush? Can't Bucky live, please?" I began to yell. I was over emotional honestly, but it was called for.

"(Y/n), can you please go back to your room," Steve said, Vision appearing out of nowhere. "I need to borrow Bucky for a little while. Vision will show you where to go."

"Steve, wh-"

"(Y/n), please, it's important."

"Fine," I bit the word at him, thoroughly frustrated. I followed Vision, arms crossed in anger. Once Vision left me at my room, I decided that I wasn't going to put up with this. What the hell was so important? I snuck out of my room and went to Bucky's room first, but he wasn't there. I began to explore. I wandered around seemingly aimless for a while before I heard shouts from down a hallway I'd found on a different floor.

"Nat-calm down. Nat- listen to me! He's here, okay. He's okay. He's here." I recognized Steve's voice. Even in intense situations, his voice always remained calm and one of reason.

I stepped slowly closer and around the corner, a glass wall was revealed. This must be their training room. I peeked around the corner, not wanting to be seen, but wanting to see everything. Bucky slowly walked across the room, cautiously towards Natasha. She stopped fighting and struggling against Clint and Wanda. When she saw Bucky, understood it was him and that he was okay, her face changed completely. Clint and Wanda released her as she ran to Bucky and forced herself into his arms. He held them out, instead of enclosing them around her. His face revealed confusion, but Steve simply looked at him and gave him an "it's okay, just go with it" hand signal. It was at that moment I realized why Natasha hated me.

She was in love with Bucky.

@damnjackyyy @flibertigibbet23 @smilexcaptainx @jade-cheshire@wolfgamzee@ff-exotic12 @i-had-a-life-once@bunchofandoms@nutmeg2080@sebsugartits@angela-fangirl101@awinterloveuniverse@inkeddreamers @puezzy@haso0osah101 @mrshopkirk @heir-of-light-33@wickeddreamer21@xuaniexuan@myearthguardian@jpthrough@yurikochan@heyreadthis@gabby913@peterjackson143 @fuckoffbroseph@giggles2107 @islandpeeps@klf1999@midnightsinger @dracodormiensnunquamtitillandush@crystalrose1218@civilwarkilledme@the-renaissance @mitra-k-w@justaroundthecorn-er @omgpokelove@welcometothecity@nopevilleluas@ironicallyinspired@riskymorris@taliacorona @mmxiibalpreet @sophiewyszkowski@idiosyncratic-mortals @titaniumurie @isle-of-flightless-birdz@im-screaming-because-of-fanfics @cami25393 @sebbystanlover-vk@queenofthe-bitches  @wowthatstasty

Part One           Part Two            Part Three           Part Four

Part Five              Part Six           Part Seven          Part Eight

Part Nine           Part Ten            Part Eleven

#the winter soldier is still here #bucky barnes #winter soldier #fanfiction #my fic #wattpad #marvel #mcu #mcu au #Bucky Barnes x reader #winter soldier x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky x reader #bucky imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fic #lynchburg va #nyc #stark tower #winter soldier fanfiction #winter soldier imagines #winter soldier fanfic #winter soldier oneshot #captain america #falcon #black widow #scarlet witch #vision #hawkeye #spiderman

[writingdumpster-o]

it all starts with me having an explosive fight with my family and going to work against their wishes

then at 8pm everyone's going home (I noticed irl that Douaïb tends to be last in his floor to leave) and I'm going to the bottom floor (just below Douaïb's) to grab my lunch box. And I'm kind of dragging my feet cause I've already resolved myself to not go home and I'm too proud to ask Maria (who lives alone with her brother) to crash at her place

so the bottom floor is the cafeteria and stuff and I'm like "huh maybe I could do with a cigarette before leaving" so I stay outside and light one and smoke it with a hot chocolate from the coffee machine

and he comes down and we have a conversation, it's 20:45 by now everyone's gone even the work transportation, and he's surprised to find me (as much as I'm surprised to find him) and we have an easy conversation that's of the normal type

he asks what I'm still doing there and I say my ride isn't here yet, hoping he'd leave and let me fend for myself on my damn own. I'm already planning on staying in the nap room for the night (there's a nap room that has plugs and a TV and ottomans you can press together to make a bed)

so the first night I spend in the nap room, normal, I somehow manage to avoid guards and maids but one thing i wasn't able to avoid was security cameras, so next morning HR tell me that they won't sanction it but they'll need me to find a place other than work to sleep. I hide the event from everyone and go pick up my bag (I brought my backpack and a duffel bag that's supposed to be for my workout gear but I put other outfits in it to not do a walk of shame every morning)

I see Chakib in the early morning cause he always comes to work first, which I love, and we have a lil talk about... not my homelessness cause I keep hiding it from the people who could help me cause I don't wanna feel indebted even though they'd do it for me like... out of kindness and their appreciation towards me. But you feel me, I don't wanna burden them even this I were in their shoes it wouldn't be like a burden at all. So then Douaïb gets to work and we talk until it's time for all of us to start working

so the day ends, and we get the news: Forced quarantine. Whoever's at work needs to get home STAT.

And since I didn't tell anyone about my predicament, I can't get a hold of them to ask to crash at their place. Chakib takes his car and leaves, Maria's already at the transportation, and I'm over there with a duffel bag and a backpack and nowhere to go.

I resolve myself to go to my dad's when I feel a hand on my arm.

I turn around and it's Douaïb handing me my charger.

"I thought you had headphones on, but you just weren't listening."

so I apologise and take the charger and start walking aimlessly, and from an outsider's perspective I am searching for a path I've never walked. I stop at intersections and look around, try to gauge where to go, start on a way and then cross the street for no reason. It's a poor sight to see.

so then a car pulls up next to me and I close my hand around my Swiss knife (I irl have a fakely Swiss knife that wouldn't hurt a fly) ready to defend myself. But then a familiar voice tells me to get in; Douaïb's. I do a double-take cause it doesn't make much sense since... he looks so homeless— then again I'm actually homeless so maybe appearances aren't everything. I frown and try to act independent, but he half-shrugs "If you wanna get arrested, that's your funeral, I only tried to help."

He's about to drive off when I open the back door to drop in my bags. It's a surprisingly nice car, it's a Peugeot but I wouldn't be able to tell you its ref, I'm bad at those.

So he turns up some music (he has great taste in music, the best of every genre) and I say I'm going to El Golf at first. But he asks "don't you live in Ouled Fayet?" And I shrug and am like "I moved"

He's sceptical but keeps driving.

And the closer we get to that destination, the more I realise I don't wanna go there. Maybe I should've just said Maria's place, it's not late yet. She lives in Sacré Cœur, we're not so close as to necessitate a change of paths.

"Actually, can you head for Sacré Cœur? I'm not staying at El Golf."

"Can I ask you something?"

"... yes?"

"Why are you lying to me?"

Crap. "I'm not ly— what would I lie about anyway?"

He throws a smirk at me with those intense eyes of his before gluing them to the surprisingly busy road.

"You said I was observant when you were trying to guess my star sign. And you were right. You slept at work last night, but you didn't tell anyone. Not even Maria knows."

I know it's a lost cause, but I still try. "I didn't sleep at work"

At that point he parallel parks his car pretty damn swiftly. I remember being out-of-place impressed with it before realising I was being put on the spot.

He locks eyes with me and just stays silent. And... slowly but surely I start realising my current situation. I don't have 20 things to call my own. I have nowhere to go. I'm in this (as of four weeks ago) stranger's car, and he's the only one who can save me from a potentially deadly virus and homelessness.

And I characteristically burst into tears.So he lets me cry until I calm down. He offers a tissue (those Cotex tissue boxes that every car has for some reason) and tries not to invade my personal space.

After I calm down and slump into my seat in the closest thing to a foetal position, he takes off again. I stay quiet for a while, letting the music fill up the silence that is surprisingly peaceful.

That is, until I notice we're not going to Sacré Cœur. I sit up straight and look around. Algiers is emptier than I ever remember it being, it's eerie at just 5pm.

"Where are we going?"

"You're staying at my place."

"No, I was going to crash at Maria's."

"Not to rain on your parade, but I don't think she can sustain more than her brother and herself."

He's got a point. She's the only one who works at home and even then maybe her brother will give her trouble cause... he wouldn't trust my health like she would...

"What will your family say?"

He frowns, amusement softening his features. "How would they know? I live alone."

Interesting. "And you wouldn't mind having an impromptu guest for this quarantine? It could last months."

He makes a compromise gesture. "We'll keep ourselves busy, I guess. Got any books in that bag of yours?"

I smirk. "Why'd you think it's so heavy?"

Skip to when we get to his SURPRISINGLY TIDY AND CUTE apartment, where a whole-ass wall is a giant bookshelf. It's not full but it's patiently waiting to be full of literature. As soon as I drop my duffel bag and he locks his door, there's a brief silence in which none of us moves.

I'm aware of his presence.

He's aware of my presence.

We can hear each other breathing.

It's at that moment that tension begins. Because we're acutely aware of the fact we'll be spending the quarantine together, when we've never even been alone together save for the cigarette and hot cocoa of yesterday.

He breaks the silence by clearing his throat, which sounds eerily like a cough, making me whip around to exchange a malicious glance.

Out of nowhere, he announces, "Alright shower time, down the hall."

"Wait what?"

"We've been outside all day, they announced quarantine today, that means we're fucking filthy right now. Go shower, quickly so I can go too and get dinner started."

I face him, trying to find a flaw in his argument that's weighed down by his ownership of me refuge and his willingness to have me in it.

"Alright, d'you have PJs I can borrow?"

He frowns, "You don't have PJs in there?"

I roll my eyes slightly, "I didn't know I wouldn't be able to go home in months."

He gives an exasperated sigh and a shake of his head as he disappears into the hallway. I get the urge to go to the bookshelf but I remember the virus and stay put. I try to read titles from afar... There it is. The Van Gogh book that started my interest in him.

He comes back almost immediately with sweatpants and a Silmiya T-shirt. I grimace at the latter and he gives me a condescending glance.

"Don't forget to wash your hair, it's a great environment for the virus."

I mean to object, but since we're going to be in each other's constant presence for a good amount of time, now wouldn't be the time to be snippy about him seeing my post-shower hair.

I go shower quickly, noting that the clothes he gave me smelled like cleanliness and... something I couldn't quite recognise but appreciated.

After the shower, I dry my hair as much as I can before braiding it in boxer braids and wearing his clothes. The pants are a tight fit, but I don't mind. The T-shirt is large enough to hide strategic places that would've otherwise made our stay together uncomfortable at first.

I exit the bathroom after making sure I left everything clean, and then go grab my bags and place them next to the couch, which I'll claim as my bed. I finally tiptoe to the bookshelf and explore titles, grab them individually and look at the pages. Not reading them, but feeling them. Feeling for the worn pages or the smooth, new ones. I vaguely hear him saying he's going to shower, but I only realise it when I hear the water running. At that moment, I try to find the kitchen, cause he said something about making dinner. What if he'd started making something but I didn't hear him when he said it was cooking? Did I have a mission I hadn't heard?

Arriving to the quiet and dark kitchen, I realise that he hadn't started making anything. I'm relieved but also stressed. I feel an urge to open the fridge, but what if he's territorial? He hasn't said "help yourself", like what most people do when you penetrate their space. But I want to start making dinner, first as thanks, and second because I haven't had time to have lunch with the quarantine news being delivered at 1pm and my lunch usually being at 2pm. And I don't really feel like grabbing my lunch— I still have enough spaghetti for two people in my lunch box (I'd packed days' worth of pasta before leaving home).

So as I went back to the living room to get my lunch box, our paths crossed. He wasn't in just a towel... but he wasn't completely dry, either. Tips of his hair were still wet, and he radiated a hamam-like glow. How was that possible in so quick a shower?

[ecoamerica]

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[mickwritesfics]

Never Was An Ordinary Life Chap. 1 - Hell of a Night

Summary:  Rose was transported to a new realm which leads her to the biggest adventure of her life. It also leads her to find out who she really is while meeting her heroes that she never imagined being able to meet.

Pairing: to be determined x oc

Word Count: 2363

Warnings throughout book: angst, humor, heartbreak, eventual smut, rape (not in detail), fluff, violence, language, crossover universe

"Come on! These dishes should have been given to the customers already!", my boss, Jeff, yelled as I scrambled to keep up with the dinner rush. I rushed over to the two said plates and quickly delivered them.

"Sorry for the delay. Can I get you anything else?", I asked while trying to keep my breath steady. The two women shook their heads and went back to talk about the latest fashion trends. It was like I wasn't even there, just like always. I let out a small sigh as I walked back into the kitchen. I hated working in this uptight five star restaurant, but the pay was good and last time I checked you needed money to pay bills.

I also hated the uniform. It is just too tight around my bust. Like come on don't they have at least one shirt size up for people like me? Even if they did I doubt they would let me have the shirt. All because of my boss, the guy hates me all because I turned him down. Only another reason to be happy my shift ends in ten minutes. I will be able to go home and take a relaxing bath.

I have been running nonstop like a chicken with their head cut off all because I was one of four waitresses here.

Everyone just had to call in sick today.. ugh!

"Quit daydreaming and get these dishes out there Rose!", Jeff yelled at me with hate in his eyes.

I almost couldn't hold back my eye roll as I picked up the plates and made my way back out to the dining area. I quickly made my way to the table and set the dishes down. "Will you need anything else tonight?", I asked the men in suits. Many business dinners happen here and this one is no exception.

"Yeah, you.", a man with blond hair and blue eyes said causing the other men to laugh.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm not on the menu and neither am I on the dessert menu either.", I said before walking away. I heard a chair move back and felt a hand grab my wrist.

"I always have other ways to get you.", the man said in my ear low enough no one else heard. He let go and walked back to the table. I stood frozen for a minute before making my way to the employee locker room to get my jacket and go home.

"Where are you going? I need you to work another shift!", Jeff said as I was walking past him to get to the door.

"I've been working since 8 am to now, which is 10 pm. I should've been home by now Jeff.", I said as I slipped on my jacket.

"But there are only going to be three workers left to wait on tables!"

"That sounds like your problem. I've already clocked more hours today than I was supposed to.", at that I walked out the back door of the restaurant and towards the employee parking. I sighed as I got in my beat up 1964 Chevy truck long bed. It was my dream vehicle and I was luckily able to save it from being turned into scrap metal. It still needed a lot of work, but I'd spend every dime to fix her up!

I started the engine and looked out my windshield at the full moon that was starting to be covered by clouds. The sight of the moon surprised me as it seemed larger than any other full moon I've seen. I loved watching the night sky when trying to relax.

I sighed as I'd have to focus on the road and not the sky, at least until I got home. I turned my headlights on and began my drive home.

The drive didn't seem as long as it usually was, though it was probably because my thoughts were filled with what the man had said. He seemed so sure that he was going to get me one way or another. In what way I don't know and I prayed I would never find out.

I was shocked when I came out of my daze to find myself unlocking my apartment door. I looked back at my truck in the drive to see it was shut down and locked up.

God I need to focus more on what's happening now and not my thoughts...

I sighed as I opened the door then closed it and flipped on my living room lights as I kicked my shoes off by my door. I turn around to look at my one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and living room.

I can't wait until I can afford a bigger place.

I shrugged off my jacket and laid it across my blue couch as I walked over to the kitchen. I turned the kitchen lights on and make my way to the refrigerator to grab the things I will need to cook my favorite dinner with.

Screw the bath I took one last night right now I'm just tired and want food!

I began making my bacon cheeseburger with a side of small fries. I smiled as I cooked since it is another way for me to cope with stress.

After I finish cooking I grab a soda from the fridge and then go to my room with my food and drink in hand. I set them on my side table as I go to put on my black tank top and black shorts for bed. I put my hair into a ponytail to keep it from getting in my face while eating. I walk over to my bathroom and rinse the makeup off of my arms that hide my scars from the eyes of people I work with. I stared at them ashamed of myself and make sure they were clean of makeup then went back in my room and finally sit on my bed.

I let out a small sigh as I lean my back against the headboard and turn on the tv. I go to my recorded shows and start to rewatch Supernatural. My friends were the ones who told me I should watch it. I didn't think it would be as good as they said it was, but I fell in love with the show! Needless to say I was addicted to it and would watch it as much as I could.

I watched as it began to play, but something was different. Something felt different. Just as I catch a glimpse of the title my whole world goes black.

***Dean's POV***

"Hurry up Sam! I want to get back to the motel", I yelled at Sam as I climbed into the driver seat and shut the door. I heard the trunk close and Sam sit in the passenger seat.

"Alright I'm in let's go.", he said as he pushed his hair back from his face.

I swear give me a pair of scissors and five minutes with his hair...

I felt my lips twitch up as I started up the Impala and turned on the lights. I sighed out as we drove away from the body we just finished burning. I was looking forward to taking a much needed shower at the motel. Not only that, but I also needed to bandage a few bad cuts I earned when distracting the ghost from Sam.

We were only a few miles away from the motel now and I could practically hear the shower calling my name.

"Dean I said pull over!", Sam yelled at me while snapping me out of my thoughts. I pulled over quickly only to have Sam quickly jump out and run to something a few feet ahead of the Impala. I stepped out of the car and went over to Sam. As I got closer I was able to see it was a body. She had long brown hair up in a ponytail, black rimmed glasses, and was wearing a black tank top and shorts. She didn't even have shoes on. Now I couldn't help but think of why she would be out here. "Dean we have to take her with us.", Sam said breaking me out of my thoughts.

"We can't take her with us Sam! Why don't we drop her some where else?", I asked as I ran a hand through my hair looking at this girl. She looked like she was in her late teens or early twenties. She was cute, but I shouldn't be thinking that right now. I should be thinking of a way to convince Sam to just drop her off some where else.

"Well we can't just leave her here or with some stranger! She'd be better off with us until we can figure out what to do.", he said as he leaned forward and began to shake her shoulder.

"Miss? Hey miss!", he said while shaking her. She didn't even flinch. "She is passed out Dean and she's freezing out here.", he said as he pulled his coat closer to him to keep him warm against the fall winds. He pressed two fingers to her neck to make sure she was alive and gave a small nod that she was.

"Alight fine. She can come with, but you are the one carrying her to the car.", I said as I began walking back to open the back door for Sam.

He slid in with her in his arms and shut the door while I walked around and got back in.

I better not end up regretting bringing her with..

I sighed as I began driving to the motel. "Why do you think she was out there? If she went out there alone what was she thinking? Anything could have happened to her.", Sam said as he shook his head.

"Well why don't we ask when she wakes up?", I said as I pulled into a parking spot in front of our motel room. I heard Sam sigh as I shut off the car and opened the door for him. I walked ahead of him and opened the door up for him then turned on the lights and let him in first. He walked in and laid the girl down on his bed.

"Now what?", Sam asked while he stared down at the girl. Now that I finally get to see her in better lighting she was a lot cuter than I thought she was. Her brown hair looked like milk chocolate and she had a pink tint on her cheeks from the cold wind. She was curvy, but not overly so. She looked perfect, but I'd never admit that to anyone. Especially since I just met her and she's passed out.

"Why don't you make a food run while I babysit and clean up a bit. I'm starving and I'm sure you are and I'm also pretty sure she'll be hungry when she wakes up as well.", I said as I sat down on my bed and began to take off my shoes.

"Sounds good. Are hamburgers from the place we ate at yesterday okay?", Sam asked as he held out his hand for the keys to the Impala. I gave him the keys while nodding. "Alright be back in a few.", Sam said as he walked out the door then shut it.

As soon as the door closed I stretched and grabbed some clothes from my bag then walked to the bathroom to take the shower I've been wanting.

As I showered I couldn't help but wonder about the girl in the other room. Why was she even out this late at night? It was almost one in the morning and she was only out in a tank top and shorts! I finished washing my hair and dried off then got dressed in my black shirt and boxers.

I walked out of the bathroom and went over to my bag to grab the first aid kit in it. Once I had it I sat back on my bed and started to clean up my cuts. I looked over to the girl when I was done and noticed something on her wrist that looked like a scratch. I set the first aid down and walked over to the girl. I waved my hand in front of her to see if she was up but got no response. I turned her wrist some more to see scars on her right wrist. It saddened me even though I didn't know this girl. It also raised more questions for me. I shook my head and put away the kit as Sam walked into the room with three bags of food.

"She still out?", he asked as he set the bags on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah but I think I may have a clue of why she was out there.", I said as I lifted her wrist to show Sam the scars.

"Well... we'll just have to ask when she wakes up. Now come on let's eat. We can take turns keeping an eye on her after.", Sam said as he walked over to the bags and took our food out then setting down at the little dinning table.

I grabbed two beers for us out of our cooler by Sam's bed then sat down at the table with Sam. We started eating in silence until I was almost finished eating.

"What do you think will happen when she wakes up?", Sam asked while I finished the last of my beer.

I wiped my mouth with my hand and gave the girl a look before answering. "I don't know but I'm pretty sure she is going to be scared.", Sam gave me a confused look as to why she would be. "We are two guys with her in a motel room Sam. Know what I mean now?", I asked as I glanced at the girl again.

I thought I saw her move for a second...

I shook the thought out of my head only for Sam and I to both hear a small moan of disturbance.

#supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #gabriel #lucifer #bobby #crowley #avengers #tony stark #bruce banner #loki laufeyson #fanfic #fanfiction

[mickwritesficsfr]

Never Was An Ordinary Life Chap. 1 - Hell of a Night

Summary: Rose was transported to a new realm which leads her to the biggest adventure of her life. It also leads her to find out who she really is while meeting her heroes. 

Pairing: to be determined

Word Count: 2363

Warnings through whole book: angst, humor, heartbreak, eventual smut, rape in a scene (not in detail), fluff, crossovers later on.

"Come on! These dishes should have been given to the customers already!", my boss, Jeff, yelled as I scrambled to keep up with the dinner rush. I rushed over to the two said plates and quickly delivered them.

"Sorry for the delay. Can I get you anything else?", I asked while trying to keep my breath steady. The two women shook their heads and went back to talk about the latest fashion trends. It was like I wasn't even there, just like always. I let out a small sigh as I walked back into the kitchen. I hated working in this uptight five star restaurant, but the pay was good and last time I checked you needed money to pay bills.

I also hated the uniform. It is just too tight around my bust. Like come on don't they have at least one shirt size up for people like me? Even if they did I doubt they would let me have the shirt. All because of my boss, the guy hates me all because I turned him down. Only another reason to be happy my shift ends in ten minutes. I will be able to go home and take a relaxing bath.

I have been running nonstop like a chicken with their head cut off all because I was one of four waitresses here.

Everyone just had to call in sick today.. ugh!

"Quit daydreaming and get these dishes out there Rose!", Jeff yelled at me with hate in his eyes.

I almost couldn't hold back my eye roll as I picked up the plates and made my way back out to the dining area. I quickly made my way to the table and set the dishes down. "Will you need anything else tonight?", I asked the men in suits. Many business dinners happen here and this one is no exception.

"Yeah, you.", a man with blond hair and blue eyes said causing the other men to laugh.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm not on the menu and neither am I on the dessert menu either.", I said before walking away. I heard a chair move back and felt a hand grab my wrist.

"I always have other ways to get you.", the man said in my ear low enough no one else heard. He let go and walked back to the table. I stood frozen for a minute before making my way to the employee locker room to get my jacket and go home.

"Where are you going? I need you to work another shift!", Jeff said as I was walking past him to get to the door.

"I've been working since 8 am to now, which is 10 pm. I should've been home by now Jeff.", I said as I slipped on my jacket.

"But there are only going to be three workers left to wait on tables!"

"That sounds like your problem. I've already clocked more hours today than I was supposed to.", at that I walked out the back door of the restaurant and towards the employee parking. I sighed as I got in my beat up 1964 Chevy truck long bed. It was my dream vehicle and I was luckily able to save it from being turned into scrap metal. It still needed a lot of work, but I'd spend every dime to fix her up!

I started the engine and looked out my windshield at the full moon that was starting to be covered by clouds. The sight of the moon surprised me as it seemed larger than any other full moon I've seen. I loved watching the night sky when trying to relax.

I sighed as I'd have to focus on the road and not the sky, at least until I got home. I turned my headlights on and began my drive home.

The drive didn't seem as long as it usually was, though it was probably because my thoughts were filled with what the man had said. He seemed so sure that he was going to get me one way or another. In what way I don't know and I prayed I would never find out.

I was shocked when I came out of my daze to find myself unlocking my apartment door. I looked back at my truck in the drive to see it was shut down and locked up.

God I need to focus more on what's happening now and not my thoughts...

I sighed as I opened the door then closed it and flipped on my living room lights as I kicked my shoes off by my door. I turn around to look at my one bedroom apartment with a small kitchen and living room.

I can't wait until I can afford a bigger place.

I shrugged off my jacket and laid it across my blue couch as I walked over to the kitchen. I turned the kitchen lights on and make my way to the refrigerator to grab the things I will need to cook my favorite dinner with.

Screw the bath I took one last night right now I'm just tired and want food!

I began making my bacon cheeseburger with a side of small fries. I smiled as I cooked since it is another way for me to cope with stress.

After I finish cooking I grab a soda from the fridge and then go to my room with my food and drink in hand. I set them on my side table as I go to put on my black tank top and black shorts for bed. I put my hair into a ponytail to keep it from getting in my face while eating. I walk over to my bathroom and rinse the makeup off of my arms that hide my scars from the eyes of people I work with. I stared at them ashamed of myself and make sure they were clean of makeup then went back in my room and finally sit on my bed.

I let out a small sigh as I lean my back against the headboard and turn on the tv. I go to my recorded shows and start to rewatch Supernatural. My friends were the ones who told me I should watch it. I didn't think it would be as good as they said it was, but I fell in love with the show! Needless to say I was addicted to it and would watch it as much as I could.

I watched as it began to play, but something was different. Something felt different. Just as I catch a glimpse of the title my whole world goes black.

***Dean's POV***

"Hurry up Sam! I want to get back to the motel", I yelled at Sam as I climbed into the driver seat and shut the door. I heard the trunk close and Sam sit in the passenger seat.

"Alright I'm in let's go.", he said as he pushed his hair back from his face.

I swear give me a pair of scissors and five minutes with his hair...

I felt my lips twitch up as I started up the Impala and turned on the lights. I sighed out as we drove away from the body we just finished burning. I was looking forward to taking a much needed shower at the motel. Not only that, but I also needed to bandage a few bad cuts I earned when distracting the ghost from Sam.

We were only a few miles away from the motel now and I could practically hear the shower calling my name.

"Dean I said pull over!", Sam yelled at me while snapping me out of my thoughts. I pulled over quickly only to have Sam quickly jump out and run to something a few feet ahead of the Impala. I stepped out of the car and went over to Sam. As I got closer I was able to see it was a body. She had long brown hair up in a ponytail, black rimmed glasses, and was wearing a black tank top and shorts. She didn't even have shoes on. Now I couldn't help but think of why she would be out here. "Dean we have to take her with us.", Sam said breaking me out of my thoughts.

"We can't take her with us Sam! Why don't we drop her some where else?", I asked as I ran a hand through my hair looking at this girl. She looked like she was in her late teens or early twenties. She was cute, but I shouldn't be thinking that right now. I should be thinking of a way to convince Sam to just drop her off some where else.

"Well we can't just leave her here or with some stranger! She'd be better off with us until we can figure out what to do.", he said as he leaned forward and began to shake her shoulder.

"Miss? Hey miss!", he said while shaking her. She didn't even flinch. "She is passed out Dean and she's freezing out here.", he said as he pulled his coat closer to him to keep him warm against the fall winds. He pressed two fingers to her neck to make sure she was alive and gave a small nod that she was.

"Alight fine. She can come with, but you are the one carrying her to the car.", I said as I began walking back to open the back door for Sam.

He slid in with her in his arms and shut the door while I walked around and got back in.

I better not end up regretting bringing her with..

I sighed as I began driving to the motel. "Why do you think she was out there? If she went out there alone what was she thinking? Anything could have happened to her.", Sam said as he shook his head.

"Well why don't we ask when she wakes up?", I said as I pulled into a parking spot in front of our motel room. I heard Sam sigh as I shut off the car and opened the door for him. I walked ahead of him and opened the door up for him then turned on the lights and let him in first. He walked in and laid the girl down on his bed.

"Now what?", Sam asked while he stared down at the girl. Now that I finally get to see her in better lighting she was a lot cuter than I thought she was. Her brown hair looked like milk chocolate and she had a pink tint on her cheeks from the cold wind. She was curvy, but not overly so. She looked perfect, but I'd never admit that to anyone. Especially since I just met her and she's passed out.

"Why don't you make a food run while I babysit and clean up a bit. I'm starving and I'm sure you are and I'm also pretty sure she'll be hungry when she wakes up as well.", I said as I sat down on my bed and began to take off my shoes.

"Sounds good. Are hamburgers from the place we ate at yesterday okay?", Sam asked as he held out his hand for the keys to the Impala. I gave him the keys while nodding. "Alright be back in a few.", Sam said as he walked out the door then shut it.

As soon as the door closed I stretched and grabbed some clothes from my bag then walked to the bathroom to take the shower I've been wanting.

As I showered I couldn't help but wonder about the girl in the other room. Why was she even out this late at night? It was almost one in the morning and she was only out in a tank top and shorts! I finished washing my hair and dried off then got dressed in my black shirt and boxers.

I walked out of the bathroom and went over to my bag to grab the first aid kit in it. Once I had it I sat back on my bed and started to clean up my cuts. I looked over to the girl when I was done and noticed something on her wrist that looked like a scratch. I set the first aid down and walked over to the girl. I waved my hand in front of her to see if she was up but got no response. I turned her wrist some more to see scars on her right wrist. It saddened me even though I didn't know this girl. It also raised more questions for me. I shook my head and put away the kit as Sam walked into the room with three bags of food.

"She still out?", he asked as he set the bags on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah but I think I may have a clue of why she was out there.", I said as I lifted her wrist to show Sam the scars.

"Well... we'll just have to ask when she wakes up. Now come on let's eat. We can take turns keeping an eye on her after.", Sam said as he walked over to the bags and took our food out then setting down at the little dinning table.

I grabbed two beers for us out of our cooler by Sam's bed then sat down at the table with Sam. We started eating in silence until I was almost finished eating.

"What do you think will happen when she wakes up?", Sam asked while I finished the last of my beer.

I wiped my mouth with my hand and gave the girl a look before answering. "I don't know but I'm pretty sure she is going to be scared.", Sam gave me a confused look as to why she would be. "We are two guys with her in a motel room Sam. Know what I mean now?", I asked as I glanced at the girl again.

I thought I saw her move for a second...

I shook the thought out of my head only for Sam and I to both hear a small moan of disturbance.

#supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #gabriel #crowley #bobby #avengers #lucifer #tony stark #bruce banner #loki #fanfic #fanfiction