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azulpitlane · 5 months

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i wish you would I ln4

pairings: lando norris x reader, exbf! mason mount x reader summary: part two of got love struck notes: kinda dragged making this but finals are finally over so send me some requests pls🤸‍♀️ this ones kinda angsty and there's lots of miscommunication sorry hehe part three, masterlist

yourusername posted a story 2h ago

The night was full of partying, drinking and dancing as you celebrated your best friend's 23rd birthday. The night quickly turned into a mess when you went to the bar to get everyone more drinks. When you came back your friends were nowhere to be seen, you assumed they were in the dance floor but when you went to check, they weren't there either. To make matters worse, you had put your phone in your friend's purse for safe keeping so you had no way to contact them. The panic quickly sobered you up as you looked everywhere for them but instead you found different a familiar face.

"Mason?"

"Y/n! Hey, I didn't realize you were here."

Your ex-boyfriend went for a hug as he greeted you. You and Mason ended your relationship over a year ago, and though you felt no animosity towards the football player, the breakup had been hard as everybody on the internet seemed to have an opinion on it. It was mutual breakup, you both were in different stages in your life and it just seemed like it wasn't your time.

"Yeah, I was celebrating y/bff/n's birthday with a few other girls, but I have no idea where they are and they have my cell." You were starting to get frustrated as you felt like they left without you.

"Oh no, I would help you look but I'm about to head out. Let me give you a ride home, I would hate for you to be here by yourself."

You knew if somebody saw you and Mason alone it would cause chaos all over again, but you had no other choice at the moment and you just wanted to go to bed. You agreed and as you left you both were oblivious to the cameras taking pictures of you leaving through the back door together.

As you pulled up to your hotel you smiled at Mason and thanked him.

"You're a lifesaver Mase seriously, I don't know what I would've done if I never found them or you."

"You don't have to thank me y/n. I will always look out for you even if we're broken up. I still care for you."

"You're a great friend, I'll always look out for you too."

"And um I have to ask,"

You could tell he was nervous as he scratched the back of his neck and his cheeks flushed slightly.

"What is it Mase?"

"Do you love him?"

You were surprised by the question, not expecting him to bring up Lando.

"Um yeah-yes. I love him so much, I can't even find the words to describe it to be honest. I don't think any song I write can even measure to how strong my love is for him."

"That's good, yeah, that's great. I just, I'm happy you found your person y/n. You know, I thought that person would be me, but if you're happy, than I am too. I guess we just weren't meant to be."

"Mase, you're one of the most amazing people I've met, seriously. I don't think it was ever in the cards for us, but you've taught me so much and you'll always have a special place in my heart. You will find your person one day, I promise."

You smiled at Mason as you spoke, not realizing you had given him the closure he had been needing for a year.

Lando was freaking out.

He had been sent the article of you and Mason over 5 times already and you hadn't answered your phone in over 2 hours. His mind was reeling as he was thinking about what you could possibly be doing right now. Even though he trusted you more than anything, he couldn't help but let it get to him. Why aren't you answering?

He knew your phone was charged and turned on considering he can still see your location. As he checked it again, he realized you were no longer at the club. You were at someone's apartment. Why weren't you at your hotel? Who's apartment was this?

Before he let himself jump to conclusions, he called y/bff/n knowing you two went out together.

"LANDOOOO! HI."

"Y/bff/n, hey is y/n with you?"

"Y/n? Oh nooooo. Aw I miss her Lan, is she with you?"

"What? No, how could she be with me? I'm in Monaco right now."

"Oh. Then I'm not so sure."

Lando could feel himself getting frustrated as he spoke with the clearly intoxicated girl.

"Okay, did she go home with you? With anyone else?"

"I don't know, you should probably call her or something."

"I did, over 10 times in the past hour."

"Oh maybe she's busy! Let me know how it goes, bye!"

"Wait-"

She hung up. Lando was going to throw up. He was never considered himself as an insecure guy, but he couldn't help but feel there was something going on. He's seen those tweets and comments saying how much everyone loved you and Mason together. What if those comments made you realize they were right? What if you were with Mason right now? Lando wanted to cry, scream and throw up all at once.

Three loud knocks woke you up from your beauty sleep. You were still in last night's clothes as you were too tired to even change after the nights disaster. You opened the door and your best friend ran in and hugged you.

"Y/N! I'm so so sorry for leaving you all by yourself. I was completely blacked out and I guess I was acting sloppy because y/f/n said we got kicked out of the club! I was acting too drunk and they got mad im so so sorry, this is all my fault and we tried to tell security to get you but they were so mean and-"

"Y/bff/n stop. It's fine, it was your birthday, you deserved to act a little crazy."

"Still babe, I'm sorry. Now that article is being spread like crazy and it's all because of me."

"What are you talking about? What article?"

"Shit. I forgot, here's your phone. But I have to warn you, people saw you leaving the club with Mason last night and the rumors have already begun. Im sorry hun."

Oh god.

Lando🧡 15 missed calls 5 unread messages

YourPublicist 2 missed calls 1 unread message

Danny Ric🤠 2 unread messages

Y/f/n 8 unread messages

The notifications were endless as you scrolled through your phone but there was only one that you really cared about. You immediately called Lando, afraid he was angry at you for this mess.

"Lan, baby, I'm so sorry for worrying you. I just opened your messages, y/bff/n had my phone all night." You immediately gave him a run down of the night as you knew what it was like to be in his position. The media has circulated so many rumors about your relationship overnight and you knew how hard that was. You had dealt with it all throughout your career and you were heartbroken it was happening to Lando because of you.

"That's weird because I actually called y/bff/n last night and she did not mention she had your phone."

"She was so out of it last night, she probably forgot she even had it. Oh god, she was downing shots I'm honestly not even surprised she got kicked out, she was so crazy-"

"Y/n, you don't understand, I have not slept all night. I was worried and everyone is talking about this. I look like an idiot in this situation."

You knew Lando was going to be upset but after your explanation, you didn't expect for him to still be angry at you.

"I know, the night was a mess, but nothing happened with Mason. He just dropped me off and I'm grateful it was him and not some random taxi."

"You're grateful it was him? You're grateful these pictures are all over the internet?"

"That's not what I meant! I meant he was the safest option at that moment, I had nobody else."

"Yeah. Half of the internet is happy it was him. People are actually celebrating thinking you guys are back together."

"Don't listen to them Lan, me and Mase are never getting back together. People will accept it over time and this will blow over."

"Why are you being so casual about this? Do you even know how I felt last night when you weren't answering. I was going to be sick thinking what you could possibly be doing with him."

"Lan, I told you nothing happened. Why aren't you believing me?"

"This is just all too much." Lando knew he was overreacting a bit. Your story made sense and it all lined up, but he had spent the entire night overthinking and reading the rumors about you two that he couldn't get them out of his mind. He loved you so much and last night made him realize how easily he can lose you and that thought terrified him. You were everything to him, but did you really feel the same way?

"Are you breaking up with me? Seriously? Over a stupid tabloid, I can't believe this." You felt betrayed. Did he not trust you?

"I dont know, it's just hard for me wrap my head around this right now."

"Lan, my flight to Monaco leaves in a few hours, how about we just talk about this in person when our heads are clear?"

Lando was getting angrier as the call went on. He knew his insecurities were getting the best of him right now but he felt like you weren't listening to him. You were trying to brush this off when the whole world was going against you two right now.

"Wow Y/n. My heads pretty fucking clear right now. You know what? Maybe it's best if you don't come, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay."

one week later

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yourusername life atm. p.s all new music released from now on is coming from the comfort of my own bed <3

comments on this post have been limited

yourbff love u. coming over rn🏃‍♀️

yourusername pls dont forget snacks

taylorswift need this new album right now

danielricciardo ❤️‍🩹

liked by user1, user2 and 231,583 others

dailymail Singer Y/n Y/l/n spotted once again with Manchester United star, Mason Mount, leaving a restaurant with a few other football players. Are the two officially back together? Rumors of her breakup with Formula One driver, Lando Norris have been circulating for over a week now after Y/l/n and Mount were seen leaving a club together. Read more on this new love triangle in our article linked in our bio.

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user1 im so excited for this album HAHAHA

user2 team mason idc

user3 funny how the last song she dropped was titled slut, if the shoe fits :)

user4 slut shaming in 2023? disgusting.

user5 i refuse to believe her and lando broke up sorry

user6 delulu is the solulu atp😁

notes: another cliffhanger!!!🤸‍♀️also this isn't proofread at all my bad heh

tags: @jayrami3 @whoselly @roseseraj @saturnbloom77 @landowecanbewc

#lando norris #lando norris x reader #lando norris x y/n #lando norris imagine #lando norris fanfic #ln4 #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #lando norris x you #lando norris smau #mason mount x reader

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holllandtrash · 6 months

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thinking about 6to1 lando and yn going to the chapel to scare charles and make him freak out but tell him its a prank later and then when the two are alone lando would deffo say something like i will marry you one day you. know that right?

another 6 to 1 blurb

"Don't even think about it."

Charles saw the post you were looking at, completely by accident because he just so happened to be standing right behind you when you came across the photo. He hadn't meant to snoop but thank god he did.

"Excuse me?" You locked your phone, placing it on the bar top in front of you.

"The chapel," Charles glanced at the phone screen and back at his younger sister, his baby sister. "Don't even think about it."

It was almost perfect timing, Lando walking into the hotel bar at that very second, wearing all black which now that Charles looked at him, noticed it contrasted well with your all white attire. Almost like you planned this.

"Oh mon Dieu," Charles breathed out, his face turning sickeningly white.

Lando helped you off the stool before reaching for your glass that had about a sip left of whatever cocktail you ordered. He twirled it, mixing the ice around before finishing off the drink, not even paying attention to all 5 stages of distress Charles was currently experiencing until you laughed, telling Charles to calm down.

"What's going on?" Lando asked, clearly having missed something. He slid his arm around your waist and that's when he noticed that Charles was about 6 seconds away from throwing up.

You opened your phone screen and showed Lando the photo of the F1 themed Wedding Chapel. Lando wanted to laugh, but he had walked into a perfect situation- he was always looking for ways to fuck with Charles.

You wearing white and him wearing all black, that was just an added bonus and Lando was going to run with it.

He handed the phone back to you and looked at Charles with the most serious expression he could muster, "Well, why do we think we came to Vegas early, mate?"

"Don't even joke about that," Charles warned.

Lando scoffed, "It's not a joke. You're welcome to come, but we were just going to elope."

You put your hand on his chest, tongue clicking against the back of your teeth in attempt to scold him but he only tightened his grip on your side and flashed you a smile.

Charles, truthfully, couldn't tell if Lando was being sincere. He wanted to call him out on his bluff but respectfully, he couldn't take any chances with the McLaren driver.

He turned to you instead, "You're not getting married without maman present."

"No but she knows," Lando interjected, a master of thinking on his feet. "Of course I asked permission first. And Enzo, asked him too and Arthur."

"But not me?"

"You'd say no."

"Of course I'd say no."

"That's why I didn't ask you," Lando chuckled. "Honestly, we asked Pascal if she wanted to fly out for this but she said as long we do another vow ceremony in Monaco she's fine to miss this Vegas wedding."

Charles hated that Lando had an answer to seemingly everything. You didn't hate it, but you were worried this was going to go on for far too long.

"Okay," you stepped in, a timid smile on your lips. "Lando's lets' just-"

"Eager, are we?" Lando's grin grew. "Come on then."

And then he took your hand and practically sprinted out of the hotel, leaving Charles wondering what the hell was going on. With his fingers squeezing yours tightly, he took a sharp right outside the doors and led you further and further into the Vegas nightlife.

He just wanted to give Charles a heart attack, Lando didn't even know where the chapel was.

"He's going to murder you," you told him once you'd finally slowed down.

"He'll calm down when he realizes I'm joking."

"He'll realize it after being arrested for murder."

Lando dropped your hand and draped his arm over your shoulders instead, pulling you closer as you walked side my side. He kissed the top of your head as your raised your hand up, reconnecting your fingers because let's face it, you always wanted to be holding his hand.

The usual magic of Vegas wasn't the same thanks to the construction of the paddock and grand stands, but you could still appreciate the energy that came with this lively city.

You had no idea where Lando was leading you. It wouldn't shock you to know that Lando also had no idea where he was going. You were happy to just be walking with him, pointing out the sights and fascinating characters you wouldn't see anywhere else.

You stepped into casinos, checked out a few different hotels, really just being typical tourists for a while, and purposely ignoring all of Charles' calls until Lando eventually took your phone before you let it go to voicemail for the eighth time.

"Mate we're just about to exchange rings, can this wait?" And then he hung up, sliding your phone into his pocket so you didn't have to deal with it anymore.

"You're insane, Norris," you told him.

"You love it."

"I do."

Lando stopped walking, eyebrows raised at your words and it took a few seconds to you to realize exactly what you had said. His stupid smirk made you blush and you pushed on his chest, giving him one of your typical eye rolls because what else could you do in this situation.

"You do?" Lando repeated. "I do, too, I mean. I do- I would, you know? Like- I do."

You laughed at his stammering, "What are you even saying?"

"I'm saying I'd marry you," Lando blurted out and even though his words were followed with the most infectious laughter, there was no doubt in your mind- you knew he meant it with his whole heart.

In the middle of Las Vegas, under the bright lights and suffocating sounds, there was Lando. Holding your hand and looking at you like he was getting a glimpse into his future. Maybe he was.

"I'd marry you," Lando repeated, no laughter this time. He glanced at your hand, your left hand, finger tracing over the spot where he sort of wished he was sliding a ring onto. "I don't- this isn't a proposal, Y/N, I don't have a ring, I wouldn't-" he chuckled at the insanity of all of this. "I wouldn't propose to you in Vegas, I know better. But I would marry you."

And what could you say to that? This wasn't a proposal, but it seemed to be a promise and you were good with that. A promise was all you needed.

You cupped his cheeks with your hands and pulled his face down to yours. He smiled as he kissed you, thinking about the day he would propose, the day he'd get to see you walk down the aisle. And not some cheap Vegas alter.

"I love you," you told him, lips brushing against his. "So much, Lando. I love you."

"Love me enough to marry me one day?" He asked, fingers resting below your chin.

Your lips curled back over your smile. Your faint nod was all Lando needed but you added a few more words, just to reassure him you were all his.

"All you have to do is ask."

landonorris

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tagged: ynleclerc

landonorris something about who's most likely to get married in vegas

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carlossainz55 😮😮 no way

charles_leclerc oh mon dieu

landonorris we're brothers now charles_leclerc we are not

danielricciardo i feel like this is fake

danielricciardo but i would not be surprised if it was real

mclaren is this why you were late to the track walk on thursday?

oscarpiastri i owe logan $500 if this is in fact real

ynleclerc i love you but delete this before maman sees and thinks we got married in vegas

#6 to 1 series #6 to 1 #lando norris au #lando norris x reader #lando x reader #ln4 #lando norris x y/n

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owliellder · 9 months

Text

The Finer Details

Post DI! Leon Kennedy x Painter f! Reader

MDNI 18+

(Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5, The Reveal)

Description: Leon realizes that retirement is in his best interest now that he's getting older. All of his accomplishments as an agent mean he's truly earned a painting to commemorate..

Warnings: Not Proofread, Age gap! (reader is anywhere between mid-late 20's and Leon is 40), Porn w/ Plot, Use of she/her pronouns, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Alcoholism, mentions of trauma/PTSD/depression, P in V smut (wrap it NEOW), Leon cries during sex 💔

Tags: Older Leon Kennedy, Younger afab!Reader, Leon is SAD but he is your muse, Crying, mentions of Leon masturbating, starts off with Dom! Leon and Sub! Reader, falls into switch territory because that man needs some serious TLC, Praise kink, Hickeys, Handjob, Nipple play, Oral sex (m! and f! receiving), and a heavy dose of Aftercare

Author Note: You know how each president of the U.S. gets a painting at the end of their term? I'm thinking like that. Plus, my favorite hobby is recreating renaissance art, so I figured this was a good fit (hopefully).

Cross posted onto AO3

Session 1: The Sketches

It was late at night when Leon made his decision to retire fully.

He had gotten home over an hour ago from reviewing mountains of paperwork, most of which pertained to missions that other agents have gone on or will be going on.

Younger agents. More energized agents.

The fact that he hadn't gone on a full mission since San Francisco was driving him up the wall. But that's what he wanted. He requested to hang back the last two years.

Both Chris and Claire had fully retired themselves right after San Fran, Claire being the first to retire to focus on her growing family with Chris following suit only a few months later. Jill was still around, but she was doing similar work that Leon was, only she was in a completely different department which was states away.

Of course Leon still talked with them all as regularly as possible, he'd go insane if he didn't, especially with Claire having a couple kids now. He wasn't the greatest with children, but it was refreshing seeing his friends achieve such normalcy. He wanted them to have the best life they could away from everything.

Having turned 40 a few some months ago, Leon was having a bit of a mid-life crisis. The mission to San Francisco a couple years ago had made him realize just how much toll the job itself had taken on his body. After being assessed and allowed home a few nights after returning from the mission, his body ached; joints creaking, back nearly thrown, just... tired.

Don't get him wrong, he was always tired after missions, but this was different. This wasn't just the regular aches and pains he dealt with after being tossed around like a rag doll, this was age.

Deep in his mind, Leon was still that 21 year old boy in Raccoon City. He never got the chance to properly grieve and move on, his mind forever changed by that event. Mentally, he was stuck there and had been this entire time.

It had taken the man this long to truly recognize the fact that he's older now. He's not that boy from Raccoon City anymore. He hadn't been in a long time.

What was he do to now? Leon had wanted so badly to serve and protect the people, but not like this. Not like he has for the past 29 years.

He spent his most formative years fighting unimaginable horrors, watching people suffer, watching people die. You don't just come back from something like that.

And unlike the friends he's managed to keep close, Leon didn't have someone he trusted. Hell, he barely trusted himself most days.

So now here he was, sitting drunk in his shower with his legs pulled up to his chest, his arms resting atop his knees while the water pelted down on him, silently mulling over everything he's ever seen and done during his time as an agent.

The water had grown cold at this point, Leon having quickly lost track of how long he was sitting spaced out like that for. Thankfully, he'd already cleaned himself before he ended up sitting down, so the hardest part now was just standing back up to get himself back out.

It took him a couple more minutes before he finally hoisted himself up with a tired groan, both his knees popping from being stuck in position for such a lengthy amount of time.

Once out of the shower, towel loosely wrapped around his waist, Leon stared at himself in the mirror; busy studying the crow's feet on both outer corners of his eyes as well as the prominent bags sitting under them, the smile line around his mouth, his now brown hair, the stubble on his face and neck that's he's neglected to shave, and just how exhausted he looked.

How has he never noticed any of this before? Why's he look so different now?

Settling into bed after this brutal realization was a tough task. The man followed his nightly routine of taking four Tylenol and two of his prescription sleep meds before setting his a/c 65 degrees Fahrenheit. He learned quickly many years ago that tossing and turning at night would make him overheat and sweat.

But tonight, nothing Leon did could ease that sinking feeling in his chest, that feeling of unfulfillmemt and shame weighing on him more than ever before.

The poor man barely slept at all last night, hangover evident by the way he was still slightly uneven on his feet as he leaned over the center island in his kitchen, head between his forearms while his hands sat clasped together.

Leon knew what he had to do. He's been feeling it ever since Chris and Claire made their departure, but it was so easy to deny. How was he suppose to give up the one thing that made him important? Sure the stress of his work was heavily tasking on the mind and body, but it's what gave him purpose. He felt useful doing what he did.

The man showed up for work late that day, barely having managed to dress himself. He didn't know exactly who to go to in this scenario, but everyone seemed surprised that the Leon Kennedy would show up for work in some ratty t-shirt and grey sweatpants. The stares were making him incredibly uncomfortable and he was quickly regretting showing up at all.

After sitting in his own office for awhile to avoid the looks and whispers, Leon eventually sauntered over to his superior's office, an almost solemn look on his face as he let himself in after knocking.

Needless to say, Leon was relieved his superior knew this was coming. Slightly offended, but relieved nonetheless.

It had been a long time coming, and it was only a matter of time before Leon threw in the towel, especially since he was now just working behind the scenes instead of on the frontline.

He was allowed to return home for the rest of the day if he wanted to, which Leon quickly took. He really didn't want to be in that building for much longer.

As soon as he returned home he went right back to drinking. And as ashamed as he is to admit, he even cried a little, half empty whiskey bottle in one hand while the other was clenched tightly into a fist as he gripped the pant leg of his sweats.

There wasn't anyone Leon could talk to about this. Chris and Claire had their own respective partners to come home to after retirement, but Leon? Leon had nothing besides a dingy and cold two bedroom house with only the basics inside, including his alcohol cabinet.

The man didn't even give himself time to date, only the occasional one night stand with randoms from the bar. He was too afraid that he would endanger anyone he allowed into his life like that, not to mention he'd been betrayed one too many times to trust in someone that way again. It was his way of keeping himself and everyone else safe.

The therapists he was assigned throughout the years all had the same concern regarding his love life, and deep down Leon was just as concerned, but he rationalized it with that hero complex he developed.

But he just couldn't rationalize it anymore. Leon was alone. He was alone, sad, and afraid.

About a month after Leon's retirement was processed and announced, word spread quickly throughout numerous government branches. There was a celebration set up at the White House to honor his service as a field agent.

The President had separated him and Leon from the party to slowly walk through the many hallways in the building. The old man could tell just how bothered the now ex-agent was by his retirement, so he figured now would be the best time to talk to him about his final task.

"You know," The President spoke up after a couple minutes of the two walking in silence, prompting Leon to slowly turn his head to listen. "I'm sure you've heard it so many times tonight, but you truly were one of the best agents I've ever seen."

Leon chuckled quietly, shaking his head a bit at the compliment. He had heard it a lot tonight, but obviously it was different coming from him.

"I'm serious. This county, probably the entire world, would've been in shambles if not for your hours spent." The President continued, slowing his walking to a stop.

"It means more than you know." Leon responded simply, voice a bit gravelly from the few drinks he's had. He took a couple steps more before stopping as well, turning around to face the prominent old man.

The President sighed, giving him a sympathetic smile while nodding. They stood in silence for a brief moment before the old man spoke up again, pointing lazily down the hall. "Follow me, I've got something I want to show you."

From there, the two wandered further down the halls until eventually reaching one hall that had lights more centered towards the walls, highlighting the picture frames that sat evenly spaced out amongst them.

Leon seemed a tad confused until he was able to focus on the first painting they walked by. He knew each president got a portrait painted after their full term was served, but the man in this painting wasn't a past president.

He stopped walking to stand in front of the painting, admiring the details it had before glancing down at the bottom of the elegant frame, a placard reading a name he didn't recognize. What he did recognize, though, was the word Agent that sat in front of the man's name.

While zoned into the placard, Leon didn't register the gentle hand that had been clasped on his shoulder, the President's voice breaking through his trance. "For as long as there's been bioweapons, we've had agents fighting to stop them. But only a few agents have truly outdone themselves. Agents like you."

Leon blinked a couple times before turning his head to look at the hand on his shoulder, eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't quite understanding what he was saying.

The President took his silence as a cue to continue, his sympathetic smile turning into a happier one as he gently tugged Leon's shoulder to get him to start walking again. "The D.S.O. has produced some of the greatest agents since Benford created it back in 2011. You were amazing before, but you've outdone yourself time and time again."

Leon still wasn't quite understanding, really only half listening as he kept his eyes trained to the numerous portraits of agents as he slowly passed them.

The two stopped in front of the last painting in the hallway, only a few spots away from leading into another hallway. It was Chris and Claire in this painting. Chris was sitting down in a chair while Claire stood next to him, hand resting on back of it, both of them smiling.

He studied the painting for a minute longer before whipping his head around to face the President, who was still smiling, as the realization slowly settling in.

"I-" Leon struggling to speak, glancing back at the painting before quickly looking back at the old man standing next to him.

The President simply nodded his head, smile widening with a gentle laugh. "Right. The painting process takes a bit of time, but I think you've more than earned this."

The ex-agent had so many questions. Firstly, why hadn't Chris or Claire mentioned this? But more importantly, he gets to have his own portrait painted?

"The painter knows all about you. She's excited to meet you." The President started down the hall again, Leon not far behind, still stuttering out nonsense as he attempted to form even a sentence. "I'll give you the information you need to get started with her. I have it written down back in my office."

A painting?

A painting. A painting for him. A painting to honor him. What?

Leon was once again sat on his couch, blankly staring at the small business card with a date and time written on it in pen. He'd read the info on the card so many times already, wanting to make sure he got absolutely nothing wrong.

Apparently he didn't have to call and confirm, all he had to do was show up to this random address at a specific date and time, which was soon. In a couple days kind of soon. Also, he thought he was reading the time wrong, but no, it was four in the morning, not four in the afternoon. What an odd and rather inconvenient time.

Even after memorizing the business card front to back, Leon would be lying if he said he didn't forget about meeting up with this mystery painter. He'd been rather aloof the past couple months, it was hard to pull himself out of that funk. He'd been staying up late and sleeping in even later, so hitting snooze on his alarm a good few times was just muscle memory at this point.

It was almost 5am when he realized where he was suppose to be, eyes shooting open as he yanked himself out of bed, desperately trying to clean himself up enough to be at least presentable.

The man was mentally chastising himself the entire drive. It was a short drive, which he was surprised by, and the building seemed quaint; red brick with large windows that sat on what looked like either a second or third floor.

He parked his bike right near what he assumed was the main door, pulling off his motorcycle helmet before knocking and waiting.

The last thing Leon was expecting was you to unlock and open that door; young and pretty, so pretty...

"Mr. Kennedy?" You asked, eyebrows raised slightly with a small smile. He nodded, just barely noticeable, reaching a gloved hand up to wipe at his eyes as he caught himself staring.

Your smile only widened at his nod, stepping aside to allow him into walk in. It took him a minute to realize you were still talking, shaking his head out to refocus himself.

"-again, really, no need to worry about being late. I was trying to work with your schedule but I should've known it's changed up a bit by now, right?" You lead him up a set of narrow stairs, though he was mostly following the smell of your perfume. It was such a light smell but he definitely picked up on it.

You opened a door immediately to the left of the stairs, letting Leon follow you inside. The sun was just starting to rise, shining through the large windows in the open room.

The place was cluttered, yet organized. Crowded, but that just made it all the cozier to Leon. His house was bare and lacked any sort of personality, but this... this place was covered in you.

"I'm glad you like it in here." You said in a quiet voice, looking up at him as he took in your workspace. He was smiling ever so slightly, which you mimicked with a smile of your own. "I try to make it welcoming in here, my apartment is the same way.."

Your voice trailed off as you walked over to a mostly put together set up near the back of the room where the only wall without windows sat. There was a chair sitting close to the wall, the same chair Chris was sitting in for his portrait with Claire, along with your easel sitting empty a few feet away.

Leon stood frozen, only moving his head around as he took everything in. He followed you with his eyes as you fumbled around with something, eventually producing a blank 24" x 36" canvas that was still wrapped in thin plastic.

His mouth made an 'o' shape as he pulled himself from his small trance once again, beginning to slowly make his way over to the set up you've made. He placed his helmet down on the floor beside the chair.

After placing the canvas on the easel, you walked back over to where you'd gotten the canvas from before grabbing a heavily used sketchbook. It was a large one, the paper a light brown instead of white.

Leon had only just realized that there was a faint sound of some form of classical music playing from somewhere in the room, glancing around for speakers before looking back over at you.

"I'm not getting started today, we're a couple steps away from that, so don't worry about appearance just yet." You said softly with a breathy laugh, quickly making your way back over to where he stood next to the plush chair in your setup, his hand feeling over the worn maroon fabric.

Leon nodded silently, moving to sit down once you requested he did, furrowing his eyebrows as he watched you drag over a small table. You worked fast, that's for sure.

Eventually, you'd set up a little tabletop easel to sit on the table you'd dragged in front of him, grabbing your swivel chair to sit in as you placed your sketchbook on the easel, open to a blank page.

"I just need to get some basic ideas of your facial structure since that's most important when it comes to these kinds of paintings. You're gonna be wearing a nice tuxedo when I do the second- no, third sketch for the final painting, but this is just for me to get a feel for you and vise versa." You rambled quickly, pulling out a pencil from one of your pockets before fully sitting down on the chair, bringing your legs up to sit criss cross.

"Uh.. Alright..." Leon responded, clearing his throat a bit. He didn't really understand what you'd said, you spoke a little too fast for his tired brain to keep up, but it seemed like whatever you were doing was necessary so he just rolled with it.

He was left a little speechless again at how you just began sketching, glancing up to his face and down to the page you were working on over and over. "...do you need me to, I don't know, pose or something?"

The way you kept looking at him was making feel a little uneasy. Granted he's never been in this sort of situation before, this whole process was very unfamiliar to him.

"No, no. You can move your head around and stuff. Get comfortable." You waved off, eyes wrinkling as you smiled at him. Leon nodded again, deciding to take the opportunity to look around your workspace again.

It really was a cozy space. Full of color and life, even the curtains you had lining the windows offered so much pattern and detail to the room. The back of the room where the two of you sat was more cluttered with less decor, but the front of the room was a whole different story with those massive floor pillows, blankets of all sorts strewn about, that big fluffy looking area rug, it was all so... homey. It was even inspiring him to decorate his own house a bit.

The sound of your pencil scribbling on paper and the faint sound of the classical music playing was all Leon could hear for awhile, eventually letting out an anxious sigh before beginning to talk. "So... a painter, huh..?"

"Oh yeah, I've been doing this since I was little. Obviously I wasn't that good back then, but I really improved after high school." You immediately responded, voice a little louder than his. Clearly the topic excites you. "If you want, I can hand you one of my other sketchbooks to look at while I do my thing over here?"

Leon patted his hands against the arms of the chair before nodding to the side, pursing his lips slightly. "Mm, sure. Let's see what ya got.."

As soon as he agreed, you stood up and shuffled over to the corner of the room where some desks sat arranged in a makeshift cubicle. You opened a drawer and pulled out a couple sketchbooks, still as raggedy as the one you were using now.

Walking back over, you carefully handed them to him, which he slowly took after meeting your eyes for a brief moment.

Once you made your way back to your chair, he placed both sketchbooks into his lap, opening up the one on top first. The man flipped through them silently as you began to sketch him out again.

You'd zoned into your work, adding just a bit of shading to your sketches to help emphasis some features when Leon cleared his throat again. You leaned to the side to look at him, your smile quickly returning when you saw his baffled expression.

"These are... wow, okay, how old are you?" Leon asked, head jerking upwards to meet your gaze once more. You just giggled in response, using the pencil as a fidget before returning to sketching.

"Sorry-uh, I don't mean to come off as rude or anything, but to be honest, I was expecting you to be some old lady when I saw the portraits you've done." Leon was quick to try and explain, probably misinterpreting your lack of response for unease.

Your giggle turned to a small laugh, leaning to the side once more to look at the man. "Well, I'm glad I could surprise you a bit. Hopefully I don't look old."

Leon groaned and wiped his hand down his face. "Again, sorry. Didn't mean to imply." He shook his head and looked back down at the two sketchbooks sitting in his lap, continuing to flip through them.

It was only a couple hours until you decided you got a good enough feel for drawing his face. Grabbing the sketchbook, you stood up, pencil still in hand, looking down at the sketches you made as you slowly walked over to him.

The man noticed you standing up, quickly moving to close the sketchbooks you'd given him in favor of seeing your new sketches.

"I... I think this'll be enough today. I don't want to keep you too long." You said, handing him the sketchbook. Leon took it from you, careful not to smudge anything as he finally got to see what you've been doing for the past two hours.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he studied the sketches you'd made of his face, seeing all the different angles, even the smile, how'd you get his smile?

You seemed to grow nervous the longer he stared at your sketchbook in silence, his intense look making it seem as if he didn't really like them. "Are they... Are they okay?"

Leon jostled the sketchbook a bit in his hands before standing up, now towering over you as he kept his eyes on the paper. "Just okay? These are beyond amazing."

You let out a small breath you didn't notice you were holding, heat rushing to your cheeks as you smiled at his compliment. "Oh, thank you.. I'm sorry, normally sketches don't take this long but it was stressed to me that your portrait was very important so I wanted to get everything as perfect as I could.."

"Seriously, you're a mad woman if you think these wouldn't be good." Leon chuckled, handing the sketchbook back to you. He kept his eyes trained on you, even after you turned to look down and close the sketchbook. Only a fool would miss that blush on your cheeks, it looked good on you.

"Anyways, when should I come back for the next.. uh..." Leon paused, crossing his arms loosely as he struggled to think of the word.

Luckily, you finished the sentence for him. "Session. Again, this painting's importance was stressed to me a lot, so probably the next time you're available?" You talked while you shifted the small table back to where it had originally sat under one of the numerous windows, tossing the sketchbook down on the chair cushion.

"Alright, since it's importance has now been stressed to me as well, I can probably clear up some stuff in my schedule. How's tomorrow sound?" Obviously, Leon had a completely free schedule, but you didn't need to know that.

"Tomorrow works great! The sooner the better!" You laughed, placing a gentle hand on his bicep as you walked past him to grab a sticky note. "I'll give you my personal number, just let me know when you're thinking of coming over and I'll meet you here, okay?"

Leon looked at your number before pocketing the note, nodding his head with a smile of his own. "Sounds good. Same way out?" He pointed to the door that you brought him in through, bending down to pick up his motorcycle helmet right after.

You confirmed with a thumbs up, now drinking water from your water bottle as you'd forgotten too while focused on drawing. You felt bad for not offering him any water while he was here, but you won't forget next time.

The man gave you a curt wave before leaving the room, quietly shutting the door behind himself.

You had to admit, you've worked with a very small handful of agents since it takes a lot for them to earn their own portrait, but Leon Kennedy had to be the one of the most handsome men you've ever worked with. Maybe even one of the most handsome men you've ever seen.

Lucky you pay attention to detail, cause you definitely didn't see a ring on his finger.

1K notes · View notes

zeroeightzeroone · 5 months

Text

lover of mine - bang chan

genre: angst, hurt eventual comfort

pairings: idol!bang chan x female reader

warnings: none

notes: if this looks familiar, it was originally posted to my secondary blog @zerothreetwentyfive so i'm republishing everything here on my main blog.

wc ~3k|moodboard

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ｡｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:

"i'll never give you away, 'cause i've already made that mistake,

if my name never fell off your lips again, i know it'd be such a shame.

when i take a look at my life, and all of my crimes, you're the only thing that I think I got right."

lover of mine - 5 seconds of summer

you always thought that the next time chan would be making you cry would be at your wedding ceremony.

initially, you would try to hold in your tears, just enough so that you weren't full-on sobbing and ruining your makeup. eventually failing as the tears flow freely listening to the man tell you the moment he fell in love with you, the moment he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you and the promises he vows to keep forever. chan's eyes would never leave yours as you exchanged vows; in that moment, only you and chan existed, the proclamation and celebration of your love were the only things that mattered.

instead, here you are crying over chan. sitting in the driver's seat of your car, sobbing over the man who once said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you, now not wanting to fight for that future anymore.

…

"you're doing it again."

the sound of your best friend's voice snaps you out of your thoughts, attention now on the girl sitting across from you, "huh?"

she reaches over and places her hand on yours with a sympathetic smile on her face. no words are needed from her to make you realize what you were doing whilst zoning out; fiddling around with your ring finger. a habit you picked up after chan proposed, and a habit that hadn't changed even without the band on your finger; your fingers instinctively moving to spin and twist a non-existent ring.

"right," you clear your throat awkwardly.

your hands slipping out from under hers, sliding them under your thighs hoping that maybe sitting on your hands would work against the habit.

"how are you?"

the word 'lost' feels like an understatement. the word couldn't encapsulate even a quarter of your feelings.

you felt directionless, overwhelmed by the constant switch between emotions: anger, frustration, sadness, and denial, it left you exhausted. day by day, you only grew more emotionally drained, the desire to feel nothing only intensifying.

the mere thought of the dimpled man gave you whiplash, your heart and your head conflicting with each other and your feelings pulling you from one end to the other. you couldn't pinpoint exactly how you felt about him.

god, you wished that you didn't even think about him.

you wished that you weren't plagued by the thought of him at every waking moment. everything reminded you of him, everything brought you back to the memory of how easy it was for him to let you, the person he proclaimed to want to spend the rest of his life with, to watch them walk out the door, to just give up without a fight.

why couldn't it have been easy for you too? why couldn't you just let him go the way he did you? forget him like he meant absolutely nothing?

as much as you wished it was, you knew it wouldn't be easy to move on from chan.

your early adulthood started with chan, moving in with him almost a year and a half after you started dating. he became a part of your routine and you became part of his; there was a time when your day didn't feel complete without hearing a goodnight from him or getting that goodnight kiss. your lives were intertwined, and your future plans were intertwined.

you believed chan was your future. he made you believe that you would write the next chapters of your lives together, that you two would be side by side on the road to forever. you envisioned your future with chan, without him you've hit a crossroads, struggling to navigate where to go from here. you were scared.

scared to learn what the future holds for you, scared to take a step towards a future without him.

on top of all that came public attention.

the news about your breakup hadn't been confirmed by chan or jyp entertainment. regardless that didn't stop the speculations and rumours that came with the lack of seeing you and chan in public together, seeing you without your ring, and other proofs fans would dig up. the algorithm also working against you as whenever you refreshed social media, the first couple of posts would be news articles, headlines and what have you, discussing the speculations.

'did stray kids' bang chan and his long term girlfriend call it quits?'

'fans of stray kids speculate bang chan and his partner have called off the engagement'

'netizens react to alleged proofs that bang chan and long term girlfriend have split up'

'breaking: did stray kids' bang chan and girlfriend split up? here's why fans are wondering about the status of the long-term couple'

your comments were flooded with questions regarding the rumours, mourning fans hoping that they were baseless and haters congratulating you on setting the man free. you wondered why the news hadn't been spoken about by chan or any official representatives but the speculations drove you to log out of social media. the realization that one day the articles and headlines will change from 'speculations' to 'confirmations' the anticipation and anxiety driving you insane.

you look back up to your friend, your lips pursed together in a small smile as you reply:

"i'm fine."

…

"chan hyung!"

the boy pulls the pillow up and over his head, trying to block out the noises from outside the door. hoping that the longer he ignored, the realization that he wanted to be alone would sink in and everyone would leave him be. that hope was short-lived as the door swung open.

"chan hyung!" changbin calls from his spot at the door, "you need to eat something."

from where he's standing, changbin watches chan groan out a response from under the pillow, making no effort to get up and go eat something. changbin's eyes drift to the older boy's bedside table, a picture frame is lying face down (probably a photo of you), and sitting on top of the frame is a gold band with a large diamond: your engagement ring. the sight of the band sitting on chan's bedside table and not on your finger has a small frown adorning changbin's lips.

"hyung, i know it's hard but please. you need to take care of yourself too," the younger boy sighs, "locking yourself in your room won't do anyone good."

of course, it wasn't easy for them to see chan in such a state.

chan had always been the one putting up a strong front, walking around with his head up no matter the circumstances as the leader. but these past couple of weeks, whenever chan was out of the public eye he'd walk with his head down, dragging his feet, no words leaving him. almost like he's being forced to be anywhere outside of his bedroom.

the members in the other dorm were curious about their leader, wondering how he'd been holding up but chan stopped replying to the group chat. it got to the point where the members made a chat without chan, using that to ask jisung, changbin and hyunjin how the older one was doing.

for as long as you were in chan's life, you were also in the member's lives. the news of the breakup came as a shock to them as well. they were all curious as to how you were doing too, but were hesitant to ask you directly for fear of making things harder for you. you met all of them through chan, and seeing their names pop up on your phone may just be another reminder of your ex.

changbin's eyes are on chan as the older boy takes the pillow off his head, slowly sitting up on the bed, feet hitting the floor but making no move to stand up. instead he's slouched over, head in his hands and sighing.

"do you, uh…" chan's voice barely above a whisper, "do you think i made a mistake?"

changbin shuts the door behind him hearing chan's question, realizing right now his friend needed someone to talk to before, maybe, going to eat something.

leaning against the door, he replies, "what do you mean?"

"w– was proposing… a mistake?"

"do you feel like it was a mistake?"

chan shakes his head, "no."

"did you mean everything you said when you proposed?"

"yes."

"then it wasn't a mistake."

chan lifts his head out of his hands, head turning to the younger boy leaning at the door. even in the dim purple lighting of chan's room, changbin can see how glossy his eyes are, how the bags under his eyes have gotten more prominent since yesterday.

"was… was letting her go," chan's voice shaky, "a mistake?"

changbin pushes himself off the door, making his way to sit next to his hyung on the bed. a comforting hand moving to chan's back.

"that's a question only you can answer," changbin's lips are pursed to one side, a sympathetic look in his eyes as he continues, "did it feel like a mistake at the time?"

"i- i thought i was doing the right… thing," chan's voice pitches higher at the end, questioning his own answer, "when i came home, an–and saw the dinner table, full of food she made for us. when she told me everything she was feeling, the look i-in her eyes."

chan loves your eyes, it's by far his favourite thing about you.

looking into your eyes had him falling in love with you before he even knew it. looking into them made it feel as if he was looking into your soul, almost like your eyes could tell him what your words couldn't. chan's day would immediately be flipped upside down just at the sight of your eyes, a shitty day becoming the best day when he caught a glimpse of those radiant, warm pools of life, your eyes sparkling with a zest and excitement for life that sent a wave of comfort over him. whenever he looked at you, that glimmer of hope in your eyes made him feel like everything would be okay.

but that night, the look in your eyes that night is seared into chan's memory. haunting him whenever he closes his eyes, whenever his eyes fall on your ring sitting on his bedside table.

that night when you told him just how lonely you'd been feeling, how you felt like he was treating you like the help and not as his fiancé; those words knocked some sense into chan. the harsh reality glaring him down: he had been falling short in your relationship. he had been so blind to that fact for who knows how long, listening to you had chan wallowing in guilt.

at one point chan felt like he was a third person watching everything go down, but it felt like he was watching you and a whole different person. he wondered why he wasn't saying anything, why he couldn't move, why he couldn't feel anything other than guilt eating him alive.

when he looked into your eyes, that's when everything came crashing down.

the eyes that once gleamed up at him, washing a wave of comfort and reassurance through his body were boring into his own. the contrast had his blood running cold. the sight of your hollow and dull orbs gazing up at him, even the sources of light around you did nothing to bring back that sparkle. the way your eyes looked incredibly sunken in, tired, swimming with distress as they searched his. he wondered how he hadn't seen the change before.

a change that happened because of him. the light in your eyes is gone all thanks to him. he wanted to be the one to preserve and make sure your eyes light up for the rest of your life, but instead he's the reason you look defeated. he couldn't handle the guilt eating him up at the sight.

"i-i broke her," chan whispers, "you could see it in her eyes how my shortcomings, the ones i was too blind and stupid to notice… that broke her. i broke her."

changbin doesn't say anything.

"i thought it would be better for me to let her go… get her away from me who was sucking the life out of her," chan's hands run through his hair, "she deserves so much more than me."

the older boy cries. his thoughts, feelings, everything just clouded with you.

"hyung," changbin's tone is soft, feeling out the atmosphere, "don't you think that it's sucking the life out of her even more, to be away from you?"

this time chan is the one who doesn't say anything.

"she wanted you to stay, she wanted you to convince her to stay."

"convince me to stay… please."

"i'm sorry."

"yes. from what you told us the day after you broke up, she does deserve better."

changbin's words send a dagger to chan's heart.

"but don't you want to be the one she deserves?"

chan's head turns to look at changbin.

"you need to work to be better, to be the one y/n deserves. that's what she wants, she wants you hyung."

"… m-me?"

"she wouldn't have said yes to marrying you if she didn't want you for the rest of her life."

…

your plan for the day was to wake up around noon, order some takeout or ransack your best friend's freezer for some food (and ice cream), chill on the couch and watch some netflix. instead you're jolted awake, at ten in the morning, by pounding at the front door.

rolling your eyes in annoyance, stretching your arm out, feeling around before grasping a pillow and clutching it over your head, trying your hardest to block out the noises and fall asleep. hoping the longer you hold out, it will give off the illusion that no one's home and come back later. a couple moments pass, a sigh of relief falls from your lips when the knocking stops, allowing you to loosen your grip on the pillow around your head.

maybe the neighbours got annoyed and kicked whoever that was out.

at the silence, you roll onto your side and shift your body around to get comfortable in the mattress. another long breath leaving your lips once that optimal position to fall asleep in is found, closing your eyes and getting ready to be lulled back into dreamland.

now you think someone is fucking with you.

the knocking starts up again, for a second you thought you'd fallen asleep and the knocking was continuing in your dreams but no. sadly, you weren't lulled back into dreamland like you hoped, the pounding in your head making it apparent that this was indeed, reality.

on top of all the things happening in your life lately, being woken up by a stranger relentlessly hammering the life out of their fist on your– actually, your best friend's– door is the kicker to a great day. a whine leaving your lips as you roll out of bed, pouting as you trudge to the door of the guest bedroom and continue your trek down the hall, towards the front door.

sure, you wouldn't have minded if your best friend, the person who lives in this unit, was actually home to answer the door. alas, she's at work whilst you're here; straightening out your pyjamas and plastering the fakest smile on your lips whilst you undo the locks, twisting the doorknob and swinging the door open.

"hello, mis—"

your jaw drops. posture immediately straightening due to the wave of tension that rushes through your veins, your mind comes up with two options: hide behind the door or run. your heart begins to race in your chest, tears threatening to spill at any moment but your feet are cemented to the ground. any urge you had to run away and hide quickly depleting at the sight of the man in front of you, a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"chan… wh-what are you doing here?"

there he is: the man of the hour.

in front of you, in the flesh. standing a couple inches away from you clad in his usual all-black attire. you're avoiding his gaze but can't seem to pry your eyes off the bouquet in the man's hold.

a medley of red and white roses, baby's breath peeking throughout the arrangement.

"i- i needed to see you," chan's voice comes out husky.

shifting awkwardly on your feet, you sigh, "how did you know i was here?"

"multiple calls to your best friend and a long speech," he uses his free hand to scratch at the back of his neck, a nervous smile on his lips.

'she's getting a long speech from me too.'

"okay, well…" you clear your throat, "you saw me so bye."

you go to shut the door but chan stumbles forward, holding it open as he stands in the doorframe. the gush of air from his sudden movements gives you a whiff of his cologne. that along with the closer proximity has a lump forming in your throat.

"w-wait, i wanted to talk too."

"y-you spoke and so did i so, bye," you choke out, trying to close the door again but to no avail as his body blocks your way, "please chan, what more do you want from me? don't make this harder for me."

chan reaches forward at the sight of a tear falling, wanting to wipe it away but you flinch away from his touch. your reaction has chan recoiling, he shifts awkwardly on his feet. you go to turn away from him.

"i made a mistake," he states, his words coming out rushed.

you gulp, angling your body towards the man again. this time your arms crossed over your chest, your gaze still falling away from his face. chan's throat clears when he realizes that you're not going to speak.

"that night, i shouldn't have let you go," he continues, "i should've told you, said something, said anything to convince you to stay… but… fuck. i- i was scared."

your eyes glance up at his face, only to look away just as quickly.

"you're probably thinking, of what?" chan runs a hand through his hair, "but listening to everything you said, everything that i was stupid, ignorant enough not to notice, all those things that i did– or, uh didn't do… that hurt you. it scared me to tell you i wanted you to stay."

your eyebrows furrow in frustration, this time your gaze stays on his face, making no move to wipe the tears running down your cheeks.

"listening to you, hearing how much i hurt you. i- i thought it would've been selfish of me to tell you to stay," chan's voice cracks, tears falling from his eyes as well, "i thought i would hurt you more if you stayed… that you didn't deserve that, y-you deserved so much more than me."

"god, chan.…" a bitter smile on your lips, "you saying nothing, letting me leave… a-and not fighting for me, for us! fuck… that hurt more than anything."

the memories of that night have your heart aching. whimpering as the tears continue to fall, the sight has chan's gradually getting heavier in his chest. he wants nothing but to pull you into his arms and to never let go.

"i know… i know. baby, i'm so sorry," chan's cheeks are soaked with tears but he makes no effort to wipe them away, "i'm so fucking sorry. i thought i was doing what was best for you, but i fucked up, i fucked up big time."

your eyes lock with chan's. glossy, tear-filled orbs gazing into each other, at that moment the tears only build until the both of you are crying a river in the hallway.

chan quite literally launches himself at you. throwing his arms around your body and pulling you into his chest. instinctively, your arms wrap around his torso, nuzzling your head into his shirt. bodies trembling and shaking as the both of you cry in each other's arms.

chan soaks up every single thing about this moment; the warmth of your body radiating onto him, your face nuzzled into his chest, the smell of your hair, the way your hands grip the back of his shirt, the feeling of your body pressed up against his. he isn't even sure that you'll take him back. regardless, he knows he wants to work his hardest to ensure he'll have you in his arms every day for the rest of his life.

in his arms, he holds the person who has been with him every step of the way and supported him day in and day out. the biggest mistakes chan ever made took place on that day: not convincing you to stay, not telling you how he loves you with his entire heart, and holding your engagement ring in his hand while he watched you walk out.

chan wants you to be so much more than just his past and present, he wants you to be his future, his forever. he's always wanted that but he failed at showing you, instead hurting you in ways he was completely ignorant of.

"i love you," chan cries, you can hear his heart racing in his chest, "i love you so much. if you let me, i'll work every single moment of every day to show you that. when i told you i wanted you for the rest of my life, i meant it. i mean it with my whole heart. i fucked up–majorly, but i swear to you! i swear i'll show you that i'm the one you deserve, that i can give you that life you deserve."

chan looks down at you, enveloped in his arms as your gaze naturally lifts to meet his eyes.

chan's heart skips a beat.

there it is.

that sparkle.

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557 notes · View notes

abbysbunny · 6 months

Text

MODERN!ELLIE HCS

warnings: none! bit of cursing:)

word count: 0.6k

notes: hai guys:3 here's some ellie hc's! kinda proofread !!

-used an iphone 6 till it completely died and then she couldn't decide what phone to get because she didn't want to get a "fancy" one. you had to drag her to Mediaworld because she was basically refusing even though she hadn't used a phone in almost a week😭 (she'd been having to use your phone)

-has about a thousand hoodies and wears three of them, she buys them everytime she goes to the mall but then she uses the ones she bought when she was a teen. she doesn't even notice if you're wearing one of her hoodies because she didn't even know she had it

-she has a clear phone case and the only thing in it is a polaroid of you guys on your first date:') she hasn't changed it since that day

-still wears the same converse she's had for god knows how long, and when you asked her if she wants a new pair for her birthday she looked at you with the nastiest side eye ever. she couldn't even think about changing the pair

-has a private Instagram where only friends follow because she's scared of other people commenting on her post, like what if they say something mean? or what if they flirt with her? so she keeps it private and post a story maybe once a month

-even through she's not on Instagram that much she is always on tiktok, like you'll wake up at four in the morning for some water, turn over and her phone is inches away from her face the screen lighting up her face.

'ellie go to bed!' you mumbled as you got up and rubbed your eyes

'babe look at this borzoi' she tapped your arm and you rolled your eyes

-expending on her interest with borzois, after they become a meme she's just completely obsessed over them, if you're out with her and you see one you bet she's running up to it and awkwardly asking if she could pet it and then pets and plays with it for 5 straight minutes making you stand by her apologizing to the owner for her taking so long

-popeyes lover !!!! if you don't know what to have for dinner she'll order pop eyes (without) your permission, and suddenly the bell will ring and she's speeding down the stairs and running back up with a huge bag and the cutest smile on her face

-okay so if u have a fyp like mine then you know about mulch, so I think her fyp is full of mulch and lobotomy videos, and sometimes while your having a nice moment she'll say

'ugh I am so full of joy and sandy loam'

you'll look at her with the most judgemental look ever and lightly punch her shoulder

-loves I mean LOVES dried apples, will munch on them for hours !! she sneaks them into movie theaters and basically annoys everyone in the room because she's so fucking loud. also loves dr.pepper ! if you'd give her a bag of dried apples and a can of dr.pepper she'd be the happiest girl on earth

-can't cook for shit, like it's actually scary, somehow she'll burn everything she puts on the stove or in the over, she either puts the heat too high or just forgets she has something cooking at all. but will put the most amount of effort in a date night dinner !

-sometimes if you're lucky she'll get sappy and serious, like you'll lay down on her and fall asleep and she'll whisper something like 'I'm gonna marry you one day' then she realized what she said and cringed at herself

#modern!ellie williams #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams headcanons #ellie williams fanfic #ellie x reader #ellie the last of us #ellie williams #ellie williams x y/n #ellie williams x female reader #ellie williams x you #ellie x fem reader #ellie williams x fem!reader

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lemon-world1 · 1 year

Text

You're everything I never knew I needed. │Frank Castle x Fem!Reader

I’m fully aware of the inconsistency in my writing/posting. I’m even more aware that there are many similar fics, but... It’s never enough. I just had to. I’m a sucker for our boy Frankie taking care of his girl. Hope you’ll enjoy it!

pairing: frank castle x fem!reader

word count: 2k

warnings: swearing, mentions of blood, period pain

summary: Your period came unexpectedly just as Frank comes to see you after being away from NYC. It's pure fluff.

Not everyone can say they're friends with the most badass vigilante in New York City. You and Frank have forged an unbreakable bond over countless nights spent stitching up his bullet-ridden body. He'd crawl to your balcony like a wounded animal seeking shelter, and you'd nurse him back to health.

Your friendship was simple, you took care of him, and he took care of you. He'd fix things around your apartment, like the water heater that blew up or carry your groceries to your apartment. But it wasn't just his actions that spoke volumes. You could see something in his eyes when he looked at you - a hidden feeling.

Sometimes, Frank's PTSD would get the best of him, and he'd lash out at you. But you knew it wasn't his fault. You stood by him, no matter what because you knew what he went through. You were always there for him, no matter the cost.

You never told Frank how you felt about him, but you didn't need to. He knew, just like he knew, how much you meant to him.

...

It's been a while since you last saw Frank. He had told you he would be out of town for a bit, which left you stuck in your apartment with nothing but your thoughts and the TV. You'd become accustomed to being on call in case he needed you, causing you to lose touch with most of your so-called "friends." But you never gave a damn about them. Frank was the only one who mattered in the big apple.

You had expected tonight to be just another dull evening spent munching on chips and binge-watching another crime docu-series on Netflix. You had passed out in bed, cuddled under the blanket you used to cover Frank with after a long stitching-up session.

But at two a.m., you jolted awake to a familiar pain stabbing your gut. You didn't bother tracking your period calendar because you hadn't been with anyone for so long that you stopped caring about when it would come.

Shit. You cursed as you realized your bed was stained with blood.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuck. This can't be happening. Today was the day you had to pitch your new designs to your most critical client, and the last thing you wanted was to deal with the aftermath of a messy period. You had no time to wash your sheets, deal with the cramps, or even shower at this godforsaken hour.

You needed relief fast, but when you reached for your painkillers, you remembered giving them all to Frank when you stitched him up a few weeks ago. You searched through your first aid kit for anything to alleviate the pain, but in haste, you knocked the whole thing over, spilling everything onto the tiles.

Arrghhh. You were furious at this point, knowing the nightmare was just about to begin. Over the years, you had become used to being dependent on painkillers; otherwise, your period would kill you. Your ob-gyn had tried everything to ease the agony, but nothing worked, and contraception was out of the question. You always kept your prescription pills close by for emergencies, but not this time.

Forty-three minutes had passed, and you were already showered and dressed in fresh pyjamas. The sheets were washing, and a hot cup of chamomile tea sat on your nightstand. But the pain was creeping in, gnawing at you with every passing moment. All you wanted to do was wrap yourself in a fluffy blanket and forget about the world. You tossed and turned on the bed, but the pain persisted. At the realization that you probably wouldn't be fit to get up at 5 and get to work at all, you started panicking. How were you going to cancel the pitch?

My boss is going to fucking kill me.

Well, she might if your period doesn't kill you first. After another 20 minutes, your silent sobs turned into horrific cries from pain. And just when you thought things couldn't get worse, the familiar knock came.

Knock. Knock. You looked up and saw a hulking figure peeking through the curtains on your balcony. It was him.

You got up slowly, your feet planted on the ground as you made your way to the balcony door.

Frank knew something was wrong the moment he saw you. He could see the pain etched all over your face. Your puffy red eyes, thick, comforting blanket hugging your shoulders, and forearm holding your belly as if it offered support told him everything.

"Hey, baby girl," he said, his voice breaking as he saw you in such agony. "Is everything alright?"

You said nothing, still gazing at him, unable to process that he was really standing in front of you. His hand reached out, gently wiping away a tear from your cheek.

"Hi Frankie, uh... is something wrong? Are you hurt?" He couldn't believe your words. You were in obvious pain and still asked if he was okay. Another piece of his shattered heart glued together at the thought of your kindness.

His hand still on your cheek, he spoke again. "Nah, I just got back to the city. I drove by your buildin' and saw you were up. I figured I'd check up on ya," he said, his voice full of concern.

You cracked a smile, knowing that Frank was always looking out for you. He was the one person you could count on, no matter what.

A visible frown formed between his brows as he realized you were barely standing on your feet. Without warning, you wrapped your arms around his waist, burying your head in his chest. You were so small compared to him. He gently stroked your hair and held you tightly, feeling the heat radiating from your body. He knew something was wrong because you were never hot. He had felt your icy cold skin whenever he touched you, even during the hottest summer days. Without question, he lifted you in his arms and carried you across the room to your bed.

"Frankie, I'm cold," you said, your voice trembling.

"Shit. You might have a fever," he said, his face creased with worry. "Why you ain't wearin' no socks, baby girl?"

Usually, you would melt under his sweet nicknames, but you couldn't even blush right now. He reached for your sock drawer, pulling out the thickest and fluffiest pair of socks he could find. He gently put them on your feet, making sure they were snug.

"You take any painkillers yet?" he asked, his eyes scanning your face for any signs of relief.

You shook your head; you could barely speak at this point. Your body felt like it was being ripped apart, but you refused to give in. "I ran out of meds. Nothing I have is strong enough," you managed to say, gritting your teeth.

A loud scream left your mouth, making Frank sit beside you on the bed and instantly wrap his arms around you. He hugged you from behind, letting you weigh into him. One of his palms rested on your forehead, wiping your cold sweat from the burning skin, and the other squeezed your hand placed on your belly.

Frank's eyes narrowed as he watched you writhe in agony. "I gotcha," he said, his voice low. "Just tell me what you need."

You shook your head again, unable to focus. "Just stay," you pleaded.

"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered in your ear. "I'll take care of you."

Another hour passed. You still lay there, your body racked with pain. Frank did what he could to ease your suffering, but he knew it wasn't enough. You started to fall asleep but remembered you couldn't be late for work.

"Frankie?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you please set my alarm for 5:30 am? I can't be late; I'm pitching a new proposal to a client."

"Is that the big one you was tellin' me about last time?"

"Yeah, it's important," you mumbled again.

"I will." No, he won't. There's no chance you're going to work in such a state. When you finally fell asleep, he knew he couldn't let you go to work in the morning. He took your phone and dialled your boss's number.

You had her saved as "Your Highness," which always made Frank chuckle when you called her that.

Your boss picked up on the first ring. "Hi, it's good you're callin', the-" She started, but Frank interrupted her immediately.

"Mornin', ma'am. It's, ugh, Pete, actually. Sorry to bother you so early, but my girl won't be in today. She's, uh... under the weather," Frank said in a gruff voice.

"Oh dear, I hope she feels better soon. I was about to text her and tell her the client postponed last minute. She can take two days off; she hasn't used any sick days yet. Please give her my regards," the boss replied with concern.

"I will. She needs some rest. She'll call ya back when she can."

"Of course. Thank you for letting me know, Pete. She mentioned you a bunch of times. It's good she has someone to take care of her."

"'Course, ma'am."

Frank made one more quick phone call before he heard you moving. He rushed to you only to find you frantically searching for work clothes.

"Easy there, darlin'. Your presentation got postponed. You got two days off now."

"What? How?"

"I called your boss. Told her you were sick."

"You did what?!" You were surprised and angry.

"Relax. She said you could take your sick days. You go back to bed and get some rest."

"Really?" A huge weight just dropped off your shoulders. "Thank you, Frankie." You were relieved and grateful.

Ding. Dong.

"Who the hell is that?" you wondered aloud.

"Lemme get that. You go back to bed," Frank said, already halfway to the front door.

You were feeling better, but still in pain, so you crawled back to bed and waited for Frank.

"Who was it?" you asked, curious.

"Just a friend of mine," Frank replied as he handed you a package of pain meds. "A combat medic. He knows his way around this stuff."

"I thought you took care of the drug dealers, not became friends with them," you quipped, the first hint of humour in your voice all day.

Frank chuckled. "Anythin' for you, sweetheart."

You smiled at Frank, feeling grateful for his presence in your life.

You looked at him, trying to read his expression. "Frank, what does that mean? Anything for me?"

He hesitated for a moment as if weighing his words carefully. "It means I'll always be there for you, no matter what. I'll protect you, take care of you, and never let anythin' happen to you. You're important to me, more than you know."

You felt a warm sensation spread through your chest, and you couldn't help but smile. "You mean a lot to me too."

Your heart swelled with emotion as he leaned in and kissed you gently. "I'm not good with words, but I hope you understand," he whispered.

As Frank pulled away from the kiss, he looked at you with a tenderness that melted your heart. "You should rest," he said softly.

But you didn't want to be alone. "Will you stay with me?" you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course, darlin'," he replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

You shifted over in bed, making room for Frank to join you. As he settled in next to you, you snuggled up against his chest, feeling safe and protected.

"You know," you said after a few moments of silence, "I never expected to find someone like you."

Frank tightened his arm around you. "What do you mean?"

"I mean someone willing to go to such great lengths to take care of me and protect me. Someone so kind and gentle but also so strong and fierce. You're everything I never knew I needed."

Frank's lips curved into a soft smile. "I feel the same way, darlin'. You're the one thing that makes everything worth fighting for."

You sighed contentedly, feeling more at peace than you had in a long time. As you drifted off to sleep, wrapped in Frank's arms, you knew that no matter what the future held, you and Frank would face it together.

For years, Frank had been haunted by nightmares, unable to find solace in anything. But with you by his side, he felt a glimmer of hope that he hadn't felt in ages.

#frank castle x reader #frank castle fic #frank castle fluff #the punisher x you #the punisher #frank castle #frank castle imagine #jon bernthal #frank castle x f!reader #frank castle x you #marvels punisher

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punkshort · 9 months

Text

Chapter warnings: graphic depictions of violence, death, language

Chapter Twelve

Pairing: Joel x F!Reader, pre-outbreak and post outbreak

AU (the only thing I kept was the outbreak, Joel, and Tommy's characters. Joel's backstory is different, and the way he finds Jackson is different. I may include Ellie one day, I just haven't planned that far)

Fic Summary: You worked for Joel and Tommy a few months before the outbreak. The outbreak happens, and you and Joel get stuck traveling the country and keeping each other safe. Neither of you spoke about the feelings you had for one another pre-outbreak, and in a post-apocalyptic world, it seems like survival should be your only focus. But feelings can't be ignored forever.

Fic tags: Explicit Smut (18+ MDNI), Smut, Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use, Age Difference (Reader is 10 years younger than Joel), slow burn, mutual pining, angst, trauma, SA referencing later but I will put a big warning on those chapters

February 2004

Des Moines, IA

You gripped your knife tightly in your fist, the blade pointed towards the ground as you crouched silently forward, choosing your steps very carefully. About 5 feet away from the runner, you stupidly stepped on a piece of glass you didn't notice embedded on the thin carpet. The runner whipped around with a scream, lunging towards you snapping its teeth in the air. You sidestepped it at the last minute, kicking and making it fall face first onto the ground. You jumped on its back and jammed your knife deep into its skull, blood dripping down to absorb into the floor as you panted heavily.

"What the hell was that?!" Joel yelled, whipping the back door open. You felt the cold blast of air hit you, even from all the way across the restaurant. You tugged on your knife, removing it from the runner's head and wiped it on the back of its shirt before putting the knife back on your hip.

"There was one left, must've missed it," you called back to him, brushing yourself off and walking towards the back of the room.

"Shit, I swore I got 'em all. You good?" He said, looking you over with his flashlight as you approached. You held up your hand to your eyes to block the beam of light.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I fucked up," you said, lowering your hand when he aimed his light down, satisfied you were not harmed. "I stepped on some glass, had to get creative. You think we can stay here the night? I think these cushions come off the booths. Not sure we can find any extra blankets here, though."

"We can put on layers, we've been through worse," Joel said, already yanking on some of the booth cushions, pulling a few out on the floor to sleep on.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom, then check the kitchen. I'll be right back," you dropped your pack on the ground and strolled off towards the women’s room in the corner. Once you were done, you stared at yourself in the mirror over the bathroom sink, shocked to see how different you looked. You hadn't seen a mirror in several weeks. Your face looked more hollow, you definitely had lost some weight. You pulled your hair out of the ponytail you typically kept, realizing that it was the longest you’ve seen it since you were little. You tried running your fingers through it to manage it a bit, but it seemed hopeless. You gathered your hair back behind your head and slid the hair-tie over it once again.

You didn't find much left in the restaurant kitchen, which was a huge disappointment. You were running low on food, having walked through thick forests and then open prairies for the past two weeks, not coming across any shelters to raid. Joel had purposely redirected you to this city in the hopes of restocking your food supplies and taking a short break from sleeping in the freezing cold wilderness. Luckily, your bow and arrows proved very useful, and kept the two of you fed when you had barely anything else to survive. Joel had never used a bow before yours, so you had taught him the basics from what you could remember. He seemed to have a knack for survival. He caught on very quickly and soon became better with it than you.

You sighed as you opened the last cupboard door, finding it just as empty as the rest. You were about to close it when a colorful wrapper caught your eye, shoved all the way in the back behind some pots. You reached your arm in as far as it could go, your fingertips barely grazing the item before you managed to pull it forward a smidge and grab it. You could have cried you were so happy with what you found.

“Joel!” you called out as you walked back into the dining room, heading towards the small lit up area he made for the two of you and your sleeping bag already rolled out on your cushion. “You’ll never believe what I found!”

He turned around from adjusting his own sleeping bag. He immediately spotted the jar in your hand and groaned. “Peanut butter!” he exclaimed with relief, “Fuck yes.” He sat down on his cushion to dig out the spoons from your packs. You both ate in silence, enjoying eating something other than rabbit or squirrel for the first time in weeks. You still had some provisions in your packs that lasted you about a week after you left Chicago, but as you traveled more out west, the options became limited, and the weather slowed you down significantly, causing you to eat through a lot of your food. You had become dependent on the wildlife for sustenance, and you got lucky, but it was getting old.

Joel had been kind enough to bury your parents before you moved on. He didn’t want you to have to help carry their bodies, so he had to make do with burying them where they were killed. He found a broken shovel about half a mile down the road in an abandoned mechanic’s shop, and it took him the rest of the day, but he made sure they were taken care of. He even found some large rocks to mark their graves. He was worried about you for a long time after that. You were distant and didn’t speak much. He didn't know what to do, other than giving you space and time to process your grief, while taking on as many of the responsibilities he could to keep you both alive. He insisted on being the one to hunt as often as possible. He sought out as many safe places indoors to set up camp as he could, even if it meant wasting half the day’s sunlight, he would sacrifice it so you would be more comfortable. He stayed in those places a day or two longer than he wanted, just so you could possibly sleep a little more soundly. It hardly mattered anyway: he wasn’t convinced he would ever find Tommy, or even if he was still alive. There didn’t seem to be much rush to your journey anymore, but it gave you something to fight for, so he kept pushing forward.

Then, one day, he did something to make you laugh. He couldn't even remember what it was, but hearing the sound made him desperate to make you do it again. So, the next day, he tried telling you a shitty joke, and you laughed again. Every time he heard it, he felt his chest loosen and his breathing eased. You seemed like yourself again, but he could tell the deaths of your parents changed you. You became more hardened, more focused, and angrier at the world around you. He noticed the way you took down infected with such ferocity, such disdain. It used to bother you, but now you could kill one without blinking an eye. He knew it was foolish to expect your innocence to remain intact, but every night he still wished he could somehow shield you from it all.

Somewhat full, you laid down on your cushion and wrapped yourself in your sleeping bag, exhaling softly and closing your eyes. Joel gazed at you a little longer than he should have before he leaned over to turn the lanterns off. Tomorrow, he knew you would have to venture back out into the cold and find some more food. He had hoped this restaurant would have had more than enough, but someone before him must have thought the same thing. He turned his head to glance over at you again in the darkness, listening to your steady breathing. He still ached for you, desperately. He hoped he didn't read the signals wrong that morning in your bedroom - there was no way he could have - but the more time that passed, the more unsure of himself he became. He was so close. So close to tasting you again, holding you in his arms, protecting you from the evil surrounding you.

He stared up at the ceiling and focused on falling asleep. He needed to be alert and well rested so you could finally find some food and get back on the road.

The two of you were walking down the street the next morning after having eaten the rest of the peanut butter and not much else. This part of town seemed to be abandoned by people, but you did come across a few infected. Most of the time, you heard them clamoring about in a closed up building you passed, but a few did cross your path that you had to take down. Joel had a theory that the infected slowed down in the colder months, that maybe they went dormant, or it was just harder for them to move. Whatever the reason, he seemed to be right. Even when you did come across one, they seemed a lot slower, making your job much easier.

As you made your way towards the end of the road, the houses and trees cleared and you could see further ahead, smiling when you saw a familiar logo. You turned to Joel, who seemed to notice it, too.

"I don't think I've ever been so excited to see a Walmart before," you said, smiling in his direction. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"It's a big store, we gotta be real careful. Ain't no way we can clear the whole place by ourselves," he told you as you entered the parking lot. "Gotta stay close together and be silent. No guns. Let's just stick to the grocery section, take what we need, and get the hell out." You nodded, looking at the building as you approached it from the outside, trying to listen for any noise coming from within. Joel put his hand out on your arm to stop you, making you twist around and giving him a confused look.

"I mean it," he said, looking serious. "Could be a whole hoard in there. And it'll be dark. It's risky."

"I know, I'll be careful, I promise," you gave him a look just as serious to prove you were paying attention. His eyes shifted back and forth between yours before nodding his head in the direction of the store.

You both stepped quietly inside the store through the broken sliding door, clicking on your flashlights and looking at your surroundings before making a move. Your attention went up to the signs hanging above the aisles, spotting the grocery section was straight ahead past the cash registers. The two of you crept forward, careful not to step on anything that would give away your position. You walked through the bakery, surrounded by moldy bread. So far, the place seemed quiet, but that didn't necessarily mean it was empty.

The store was reasonably picked over but there were a few things left on the shelves you could use. You packed your bag with rice, chicken broth, a few cans of dented soup, and a jar of pasta sauce. For the sake of being extra quiet, you motioned with your finger for Joel to step forward, and you stretched to whisper in his ear.

"We should check out the stock room," you said quietly, your breath tickling his neck. It wasn't the sexiest thing anyone had ever said to him, but that didn't matter. He nodded and suppressed the urge to shudder. He picked up his bag and led you to the end of the aisle, looking both ways before leading you to the swinging doors on the wall. Joel held out a hand for you to stay put while he pushed the door open a crack, sweeping his flashlight across the room. It had aisles, just like the store, but it wasn't as neatly organized. Once he confirmed it was safe, you both entered, scanning the shelves to pinpoint where the groceries were stocked. Your flashlight landed on a corner of the room where you recognized boxes of crackers and cans of vegetables. You nudged him with your elbow, and you both made your way over, checking down every aisle before advancing.

Your jaw dropped at the amount of food that was left. Someone had the same idea as you, it wasn't fully stocked, but it was much more well stocked than the shelves out front. You hurriedly packed your bags with as many useful items as you could carry. You were so hungry, but you had to resist the urge to rip into anything right then and there, afraid the noise of a wrapper would possibly draw attention.

You were just finishing up when Joel wandered towards the end of the aisle, his flashlight settling on something shiny the next aisle over. He squinted and bent down to get a closer look through the shelves. By the time he realized he was looking at blood pooling around a dead clicker, it was too late. A pair of arms reached out behind him, yanking him backwards. A hand covered his mouth and an arm squeezed around his neck, making his vision go fuzzy. His eyes shot over to you in a panic. You were still crouching over your backpacks, facing away from him, and zipping them closed. He brought his hands up and laced them together before driving his elbow behind him, hitting the man right in the diaphragm. The grip on his throat instantly loosened and the man doubled over coughing. You whipped around now, your knife already in your hand. You watched as Joel brought his knee up to the man's face twice, blood bursting from his mouth and nose, staining Joel's pants. Joel drove his knife into the man's eye, his body twitching before slumping on the floor at his feet.

Joel looked up just in time to see you dodging the knife of a second man, kicking him in the groin before shoving your knife between his ribs. He ran down the aisle to you, hearing the man's raspy breaths as blood filled his lungs. You pulled your knife out and stabbed him again, this time closer to the heart. The raspy breathing stopped, and his body relaxed against the linoleum floor. Joel sighed in relief, slowing his pace, his heart pounding.

Then he felt something hard hit the back of his head, causing him to fall forward, his vision narrowing as he fought the urge to pass out. Joel felt the heavy boot of his attacker sticking to his back as he tried to push himself up, but his head was swimming, and he couldn't find the strength. He collapsed back on the floor with a grunt, blinking his eyes frantically trying to clear his vision. He was struggling to breathe with the weight of the man's foot pressed on his back, and once again raised himself up to try and roll over when the pressure on his back was suddenly gone. He gasped for breath, pulling himself into a seated position and shaking his head wildly, his vision finally clearing.

You had tackled and pinned Joel's attacker on the ground, sitting on his chest as you struggled with his knife between the two of you, the blade pointed downwards towards his throat as you gritted your teeth and pushed down with everything you had. His feet kicked wildly underneath you, trying to roll you off, but you weren't budging, your eyes burning into his as the blade scratched at his throat. Joel stumbled to his feet, still dizzy, as he struggled to make his way towards you. With a loud grunt, you put all your weight onto the hilt of the knife, lifting off his chest and finally piercing through his skin until you could feel the tip of the knife make contact with the linoleum. He laid underneath you gurgling as blood poured from his neck, his eyes wild with fear. You panted heavily, letting your muscles relax after the strenuous fight. With your weight off his chest, the man was able to grab a second knife you hadn't noticed from his belt and stabbed frantically at your side, which you tried to swat away before his arm grew weak and he stopped breathing.

Joel's arms wrapped around you and lifted you off the dead man, turning you around to look at you closer with his flashlight. Your face was splattered with blood, your hair wild, covered with sweat and still gasping for air. He aimed his flashlight lower and noticed a big red circle of blood staining the side of your t-shirt. His breath caught in his throat and the adrenaline sharpened his vision as he lifted your shirt up gingerly. You winced when the fabric peeled away from your skin, not realizing you had been hurt until that moment.

"Oh, fuck," Joel whispered and his breathing picked up as he glanced around for something to stop the bleeding. You had been stabbed along your ribs and down your side. He couldn't tell how deep the wound was in the dark, but it was enough to cause you to bleed heavily. He grabbed a used rag from his jeans pocket, pressing on your wound firmly, making you cry out in pain. He wrapped your hands over the rag and instructed you to press as hard as you could. He ran back to grab your packs, slinging both backpacks, the rifle and the bow over his shoulder. When you saw him trying to pull everything onto his back, you held your hand out to him.

"Give me my pack," you rasped. He shook his head, still trying to find a way to carry it all. "Give it to me!" you raised your voice in a harsh whisper now, giving him a look that meant were serious. He relented, gently putting the straps over your shoulders, then pulling out a new rag to wedge between your side wound and the strap of your backpack.

You leaned on Joel as he led you out of the back room, pausing briefly to make sure there weren’t any others, then headed back towards the front door. It began snowing while you were inside, and the wind was picking up, making it difficult to see. He looked around, desperately trying to find a safe place to take you.

Across the street he could make out a strip mall, and one of the buildings looked like it was a dentist's office. It was a long walk across the big parking lot, but he moved as fast as he could while you leaned on him for support. He propped you up against the building to catch your breath as he used his knife to work the lock of the office open.

"Stay here," he instructed. You nodded weakly; your eyes half closed. He pushed the door open and checked to make sure the small office was empty of threats before taking you inside. He helped you sit down in one of the exam chairs, pushing it back so it reclined. You stared up at the ceiling and at the lamp dangling over your face. Joel pushed the curtains open in the room and looked down at the wound on your ribs, noticing the amount of blood increased due to the walk across the street: it was now trailing down past your hips and nearly touching your mid-thigh. He took the soiled rag from your hand and replaced it with a fresh one while he went to work ripping open drawers and cabinets. He finally found a needle and thread and a stack of stainless-steel bowls. He set the needle aside and picked up some of the bowls.

"You keep pressin' as hard as you can, you hear me?" he said, and you nodded as you draped your other arm across your eyes. "I gotta go out and get some snow, I'll be back in a minute. You holler if you need anythin'."

Joel stepped out the door with the bowls in his hand, glancing around to make sure no one had followed you. He scooped up snow into the bowls, grateful it had begun to storm since it would hide your tracks and keep any raiders away.

He came back into the room and saw you had nearly bled through another rag. He set a couple bowls aside to melt into drinkable water and took a handful from another, pressing it against your wound. You hissed at the contact, but after a minute the numbness from the cold made your muscles relax.

Joel dug around in his pack to find some rubbing alcohol he had taken from your apartment months ago. He found another clean rag to drench the alcohol in and removed the snow from your side.

“I ain’t gonna lie to you, this is gonna hurt. You need to hold onto somethin’?” he asked you, trying to hide the tremor in his hand. You shook your head, turning your face away from him and gripped the arm of the chair anyway. He pressed the alcohol-soaked rag onto the stab wound, finally cleaning some of the blood away to get a better look at what he was dealing with. You groaned and your body tensed, but you remained as still as possible while he cleaned you up. He could see a stab wound between two of your ribs. It didn’t look very deep, but it was wide. He made his way down your side, cleaning the blood up as he went with the snow and then the rag, refreshing it with alcohol when he needed to. There was a longer gash down the length of your side, maybe about five inches long. It was wide, but it was shallow. There were a few other scratches as well, but those would be fine to heal on their own. He gauged the main problem would be the wound between your ribs, and the long gash.

He turned around to prep the needle, filling a bowl with some rubbing alcohol and pulled out more rags. Turning back to you, he was startled to find you looking at him. He swallowed, bringing the needle and black thread towards you.

“Are you ready?” he asked you, and you nodded steadily, but he could see the fear in your eyes. He laid a hand on top of one of yours reassuringly. “I got this, I got you,” he said. You turned away from him then, staring at the wall opposite you as you braced for the pain. The first few times he pierced you with the needle hurt the most, then as you got used to the pain and knew what to expect, it got a little easier to handle. He took his time with the stab wound, he wanted to make sure he didn’t have to redo that later, then let you have a break before starting on the long gash. He told you it would only need a few stitches, just where the wound was the widest so it wouldn’t scar too badly. That part ended up hurting the most since it was closer to the bones of your ribs and there was less fat to cushion the pain.

Once the stitches were done, he rinsed everything with the rubbing alcohol from the bowl, his hands and needle included. He made a mental note to keep that needle in his pack in case one of you got hurt again.

“You hungry?” Joel asked you, and you nodded eagerly but then winced at the pain the movement caused. He dug around in his pack for some of the food you had grabbed from Walmart and set you up with a few things to eat, then went to explore the rest of the office in hopes of finding some medicine. He got lucky in the dentist’s actual office, finding a few bottles of antibiotics and some pain killers in his desk drawer. He made sure you took two antibiotics with your food before finding something to eat for himself. He sat hunched over against the wall in the room, looking down at his food and avoiding eye contact. You adjusted yourself in the chair so you could look at him and let out a whimper when the movement was too much. He shot up to help you, but you waved him off.

“What’s going on?” you asked him directly, staring him down. He looked up at you, his eyes filled with grief and anger.

“This was my fault,” he said bluntly, a clipped tone to his voice. “I wasn’t payin’ attention, I should’ve seen that guy comin’, and it got you hurt. If somethin’ worse woulda happened, I never would’ve forgiven myself,” his voice broke at the end of his sentence, looking away from you so you couldn’t see the emotion in his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault. We got jumped, don't beat yourself up about it. Please," you told him, trying to catch his eye again but failing. "Joel?" you said, but he turned away, rubbing his hands up and down his face like he always does when he's frustrated. "Joel!" you called out again, this time more firmly. He stilled, and slowly turned to face you, dropping his hands to his sides.

"Us or them," you said, staring intently at him, desperately trying to communicate the words you couldn't say.

He let out a shaky sigh, and nodded, breaking eye contact with you and gazed out the window at the snow fall. "Shoulda been me," he said quietly.

"Yeah, well," you grunted as you struggled to sit up in the chair, "I'm glad it wasn't because I couldn't carry all our stuff and you out of there," he turned his head to look back at you, then giving him a smirk, added, "I would've left you for dead."

His lips twitched as he tried to hold back his grin at your joke, not ready to forgive himself yet. He cleared his throat and leaned over to sling your backpacks over his shoulders.

"The dentist had a couch in his office. C'mon, grab my shoulder, lean on me," he said, bending forward so you could get yourself into a standing position. It took a few tries; the pain was worse than you had expected now that you were moving. You slowly ambled down the hall with Joel, and he got you stretched out on the couch before he unzipped your sleeping bag and rested it on top of you like a blanket.

He rolled his own sleeping bag out on the floor next to you, grateful the couch came with two pillows. It had been a long time since either of you slept on one. It was still daylight out, but the blizzard made it darker outside. Joel let you rest while he went around the office to see if there was anything else of use now that he wasn't so frantic. He had completely missed the small break room towards the back of the building. He found some unopened bottles of water, snacks, a couple cans of soup and crackers. He spread all the usable food out on the table but brought the crackers back with him to check on you. You were still laying stiffly on the couch and staring at a stock photo of a beach on the wall, looking uncomfortable.

"Are you in pain? I got some pills from the drawer," Joel dug out the bottle and read the warning label. "They sound pretty strong." You shook your head, not wanting to dull your senses in case of another attack, but now that the stiffness was setting in, the pain was getting worse. You glanced out the window, seeing the storm outside. Deciding it was unlikely anyone would be out in the snow and find you, you changed your mind and stuck your hand out to him. He dropped two pills into your hand and gave you a water bottle.

"Here, have a little somethin’ more to eat with those, don't need you gettin' sick," he said, offering the crackers in your direction. You took the sleeve from him and munched on one slowly as you waited for the pills to kick in. Joel walked around to the desk and collapsed into the leather chair, kicking his feet up on the desktop and mindlessly flipped through open patient charts left on the desk. You shoved another cracker in your mouth and watched the snow coming down outside. You sat up a little more on the couch. The movement made you feel dizzy from the pills, but you hardly felt a thing at your side when you moved. Your eyes drifted lazily to Joel’s broad figure sitting behind the wooden desk. It brought back memories you hadn’t thought about in months. Memories of a different time, when you would sit on the other side of his desk all flustered and nervous.

He looked up and caught you staring at him. “What?” he asked, a bemused expression on his face. You shook your head but couldn’t stop the stupid smile from spreading across your face. Goddamn pills.

“Nothing, it’s just funny…” you started, trailing off and then giggled, causing Joel to raise his eyebrows and grin.

“Those pills must be workin’, huh?” he asked, his grin widening. You nodded, stifling your giggles and took a deep breath.

“I was just thinking, everyone used to be so scared of you in the office, they would warn me to steer clear of you, that you had a horrible temper. And look at us now,” you let out another giggle before continuing. “What the hell happened?”

He smiled at you again and tipped his head back on the top of the leather chair to look up towards the ceiling, remembering life the way it was before.

“Yeah, I was an asshole, wasn’t I?” he said, making you laugh harder now, then you clutched your side with a small wince. “Hey, take it easy, you might not feel anythin’ but you can still pop a stitch.” You quieted your laughter now, knowing he was right, and chewed the inside of your cheek thoughtfully, reminiscing about those days just 6 short months ago. Joel rolled his head to the side to look at you. “I didn’t scare you, though,” he said quietly, not sure why he was encouraging you while you were in this state.

You glanced back at him and shook your head, then held up one finger. “Only once,” you said definitively.

He stared at you and held his breath. He knew exactly what you were referring to: the argument the two of you had that was never brought up again. The day he called you a whore and ruined everything. He was the first to look away, casting his gaze back down on the desk before him. He should have apologized by now, he should have explained himself, but he always found an excuse to avoid it. Today’s excuse was you were too loopy on the pain pills and that conversation needed to happen when you both had a clear head. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers as you waited for him to say something. Anything to take back what he said.

“I think you should get some sleep,” he finally told you, dropping his hand and looking up at you. You knew he was going to avoid talking about it, but you were still disappointed. The pills had really taken effect now as you felt your eyelids grow heavy. You sighed, scooting down to lay flat on the couch and pulling your sleeping bag over you. You closed your eyes but couldn’t resist saying one more thing.

“I would do anything for you,” you whispered before nodding off. Joel’s breath caught in his throat and his eyes fluttered shut as he tried to hold back the tears that unexpectedly sprung to his eyes.

“Me too, sweetheart,” he whispered back, but you were already asleep.

The storm let up after another day, which was just as well since it allowed you more time to heal. Joel didn’t want to stay long at this place, worried that the attackers had a larger group and would come looking for you. Once the snow stopped and you had replenished your backpacks with more rags, first aid, and the food from the break room, you were off at first light. You both realized quickly that you were making terrible time since the snow was knee deep and you were already struggling to stay balanced due to your injury. After a very slow mile, Joel had found a sturdy fallen branch for you that he broke down into a more manageable size, allowing you to use it like a cane in the snow. You had to admit that it made traveling a lot easier, but you were still fighting to hide the throbbing pain at your side. After another hour, Joel agreed to let you rest. He made sure you took your antibiotic and ate some more crackers. Your feet felt numb, even though you had 3 pairs of socks and thick hiking boots.

"Joel," you whined, looking up at him standing guard as he surveyed the thick forest around you. "How much longer are we going to walk? This snow is so deep, and my side is killing me."

"I gotta find us somewhere safe, then we can stay there til you're all healed up and we'll wait out the rest of winter, I promise," he said, looking down at you now and meeting your gaze, "I'm gonna take care of you."

You sighed and regretted complaining almost immediately. You could tell he was still beating himself up over how you got injured and you didn't want to keep reminding him of it. He was shouldering too many responsibilities and you could see the worry and anxiety behind his eyes.

"Alright, let's get moving, I'm good," you said, using your stick to pull yourself back up into a standing position. Joel glanced over you once more to make sure you were, in fact, 'good' like you claimed. Satisfied, he turned and led you through the woods. The trees were thick, mostly pine trees that kept all their needles in the winter. It was good to keep you hidden but it was also bad because it could keep someone else hidden, too.

After another few miles, Joel paused a moment to examine his map. He had a general idea where you were, but he didn’t exactly have a destination in mind. He just figured he would know it when he saw it, and it turned out, he was right.

His head was down examining the map in his hands as he walked through the forest and approaching a clearing. Now he wasn’t sure he knew where you were, since the location on the map still showed greenery up ahead. He was mumbling to himself about getting turned around when you gasped, and his head shot up.

You had stumbled across a small neighborhood of about ten or twelve houses, all surrounded by the lush forest you had just hiked through. He had to blink a few times, feeling like he was looking at an oasis in the desert. As you approached the neighborhood, you passed a sign that read 'Hidden Springs - lots starting at $200,000'.

"Man, they really knew what they were doing when they named this place," you joked as you walked side by side down the abandoned street. The houses were all finished except for three which were partially constructed, forever frozen in time.

"This must be a new neighborhood, that's why it ain't showing up on the map," Joel said excitedly as he spun around to make sure you were still alone. "I haven't seen any tracks or smoke or nothin', this place is off the grid," he turned to smile at you. "We can work with this."

You grinned happily, so relieved to finally have found a place where you could rest for more than a couple nights.

"Well, which house d'you want?" Joel asked, looking at all the houses up and down. They were mostly two-story houses, but there were a couple of small ranch homes interspersed. You spotted one in the middle of the neighborhood on your right-hand side and pointed to it. it was a white two-story house with blue shutters and a red door.

"I've always wanted a wraparound porch," you said. "What do you think?" He couldn't keep the smile off his face, the whole place seemed too good to be true and best of all, you would be happy and safe.

He made his way up the front porch to peer inside the windows. He didn't see any movement, and fortunately it looked like the previous owners had a chance to move in, spotting the fully furnished living room. He had insisted on making you wait outside until he could be certain the place was abandoned before letting you in. The house was beautiful and practically brand new. You drifted from room to room to get a feel for the layout: the stairs and a hallway leading to the kitchen faced you right as you walked in the front door, a living room to your right and a den to your left, and a half bath attached to the hallway. The kitchen had a small mudroom attached, which led to the backyard. Upstairs there were three bedrooms and a bathroom. The master bedroom was the only room that had windows facing the front of the house, so you chose to stay in that room, both of you slipping into the king size bed without even questioning if you should sleep apart.

Chapter Thirteen

Taglist: @chiogarza, @sparklejumpropequeen-777

#joel miller fanfiction #joel miller #joel miller smut #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller fic #joel the last of us #tlou hbo #the last of us hbo #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller series #joel x reader #joel x reader smut #joel miller angst #joel miller fluff #the last of us fanfiction #the last of us game #the way we were joel miller fic

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hopplessilse · 9 months

Text

Instagram search

Insta!Joel x Fem! reader

Serie Masterlist

Summary: Your life is so routine that there is nothing that makes you want to continue. The universe is with you and illuminates you with a profile that catches your eye. Just press the follow button and your life takes a turn. (no outbreak, no use of y/n).

Rating: 18+explicit (minors dni)

Words count: 2.8k

Warnings: age difference (Joel in late 40's, reader in early 20's), reader is virgin, flirting, f! masturbation, lonely/jelousy thoughts, need for attention/validation masculine, divorced parents.

You were lying on your bed, after a shower you felt calm and clean. There was background music in your room, through a small speaker that was on your dresser, you were on your cell phone scrolling through Instagram posts. Normally you spent your time reading on some social network or sometimes you gave yourself the chance to read the books that rest on your furniture.

Your life had become so routine, you felt it simple, there was no spark of emotion, there was nothing that made you want to be another day, you lived the days without any change, the only thing that made your routine different was doing activities that you liked , like your hobbies, that you stopped doing for a while until you felt motivated to do them.

You had started to write, something you had wanted to do since you started reading since you were 12 years old, but like everything, you only wrote when you had the inspiration to do it, you didn't like writing for the sake of writing, you wanted a story that was good, that could transmit something like those you've read before, that make your skin crawl, your body tense by the character's words, shed the occasional tear of happiness, sadness or anguish.

You kept scrolling until you found a photo that seemed to be a landscape, you clicked on the publication and smiled when you saw the photo, it was a landscape in the forest, the pines and trees outlined the banks of the river, rocks in the middle of it where small waves formed and passed over them, the sun with the morning light, so warm and golden that it reflected so beautifully in the river. You scrolled to the second photo where the same landscape was there, but this time a man was in the photo, he was sitting on a rock in front of the river, his back was to the camera. It was a very beautiful photo.

You decided to enter the profile, Joel Miller, read in his biography and under it it read 'contractor'and under this 'proud dad', looking at the profile you realized that he did not have many photos, there were only 5 publications, one of them referring to his work , another one was made of carved wood, another of a guitar and there was another one that caught your attention more, a polaroid, where you could see a young girl kissing on the cheek who you thought was the same man of the photo of the river, when you read the description it had the caption 'I love you girl' you smiled when you read that, you assumed at that moment that that girl was his daughter, if not more.

He looked old, you guessed he was about thirty or forty-something. You found it attractive, the photo didn't look great but you could see that it was, he had a beard, a bit, short hair, you didn't know what color it was since the photo had a purple color, one eye was half open while the other was closed . You didn't think much and hit the follow button, you weren't planning to do anything, you just found it interesting, you hadn't seen anyone his age have an Instagram, not even your favorite actors had, curiosity won you over. You just left Instagram and left your cell phone on your nightstand, a long sigh left your lips.

You woke up when you heard noise on the ground floor, when you opened your eyes you closed them with a slam since the sun was hitting your face directly, you turned around and saw the time on the clock that rested on your nightstand next to your cell phone, it was 11:14 in the morning, you sighed and got up.

You knew that your mom was going to blame you for that

You showered and got ready, you couldn't stop thinking that tomorrow you would go back to university. All vacations you had a terrible schedule that you did not know how the hell you were going to wake up at 5:00 am, although you do not regret it, those nights reading helped you survive the boring summer you had.

When you went downstairs you saw your mom at the kitchen table drinking coffee.

"Until you wake up" she said looking at you out of the corner of his eye while drinking his coffee

"sorry" you looked at her resting your hands on the edges of the chair "is there something for breakfast?"

"No, I'm waiting for you to accompany me to the market to buy"

"Mom" you complained while you were going to put on your shoes

“you know how this is”

"Why doesn't Louis come with you?" your voice sounded at the bottom of the stairs while you were already going down with your shoes on "he never accompanies you"

"Because he doesn't like it" she got up and put her cup in the sink "let me go for the money" she disappeared up the stairs.

We were in the meat section, my mom was going to buy some wings, ground beef and ribs, to have at home. What my mom said was true, I like coming to the supermarket, I honestly enjoy doing things for ladies, it relaxes me a lot and I enjoy it and even more if it's with my mom.

"Have you already told your father to pay the re-enrollment fee for the university?" my mom told me while looking at tomato sauces

"Yeah, I told you a few days ago"

"You'd better remember him, since he forgets everything"

"yep, when I get home I'll send him a message"

You turned around just to look at the section in front and you noticed that a man was looking at you, and not in the best way, honestly it disgusted you.

"You already have everything for school" your mom told you, leaving a sauce in the cart

"I'm just missing the folder"

"let's choose one then"

.............

"Wash your hands so you can help me with the food!" your mom screamed from the ground floor

“yes mom!” you yelled back walking into your room

You were already used to wearing socks at home, or failing that, wearing flip-flops or slippers. You took off your shoes, throwing them somewhere in your room, you looked at your cell phone on your nightstand and suddenly you remembered….

Shit!

You quickly grabbed your phone and sat on your bed unlocking it, you saw that you had messages and notifications from various applications, but you saw you had only 1 from Instagram.

Joel Miller has followed you back

"Aaah!!!" you couldn't help but scream with emotion covering your mouth at the end to silence your screams

"OMG, don't fuck with me" you whispered to yourself

Your door opened suddenly, in the frame holding the door lock was your brother.

"why are you screaming?"

"For nothing that interests you" you said raising your eyebrows at the pair

You saw him disappear without letting out a snort on his part, you just looked at your cell phone smiling at the notification, you didn't know why a random man was making you smile so much... well, he was very attractive, older and when you saw the ones he was following, you knew that He was not the type to follow anyone he saw, you assumed that you were an exception, an exception that perhaps caught his attention like he did to you.

You went down with your cell phone in hand and a smile from ear to ear, you had your day made with just that notification and knowing that he would see all the things you upload from now on.

You helped your mother to prepare the food, you made a pasta with ground beef and cheddar cheese, take your cell phone and take a photo to upload it to the story, your mother called your brother to come down to eat. While you were at the table, your mom and your brother were talking about college and their plans after graduation, you just listened to the conversation and said a few things to give your opinion.

You couldn't believe that he was already going to graduate, after so many years studying, and you...entering your third year of university, you still had a long way to go since your degree was 9 semesters, 4 and a half years of degree,you could not wait for the time to graduate, but you had no idea what path you would take in your professional life.

When you finished, you left your plate in the sink and went to your room to prepare your supplies for the university, which consisted of a folder, your case, a small bag where you had feminine hygiene items, disinfectant gel, your balm, some garters for hair and a mirror.

At the end you couldn't help but take your cell phone and look at the views of your story. Some of your followers gave it a heart, but the person you were waiting for had only seen it, no reaction or response.

What did you expect, you moron, he was going to answer a story about a pasta! (you said to yourself mentally)

"I need a soda" you said to yourself

You went back down to the kitchen, poured yourself a glass of coke, and the front door rang.

"I'm going" you went to the door, when you opened it you found your dad smiling

"daughter" he greet you while hugging you

"dad" you hugged him back

"and your mom" came in and sat in the living room

Every time someone invokes her, it doesn't take long for her to appear

"What happened" your mom came out of the hallway to sit across from your dad in the living room

"I have to talk to you"

"Don't tell me you won't be able to pay your daughter's tuition" my mom said angrily

"No" he said irritated "it's something else your children should know too" he looked at your mother more seriously

it couldn't be anything good, every time they talk they always end up fighting, whatever you know won't end well

"speak" she sighed and your brother appeared on the stairs standing still

I'll spare you the details.

Basically in short, my dad will have a child… yes, with someone else. what a fuck

My parents have been separated since I was 8 years old, for as long as I can remember and as far as I can remember, they have always fought, they have not been able to have a calm conversation, only long after they divorced. The arguments always had another person involved, or they complained about how they were with each other and their attitudes. I honestly don't remember a time when my dad was affectionate with my mom or she with him.

They have always put us first, they separated because theirs was no longer working and they were not going to drag their children into it, although I was left with some traumas. It took a long time to know what my dad was like, I always had a good image of him, I love him because he is a good dad, maybe like a husband never was.

Anyway, the obvious news didn't sit well with me, or with my brother. My mom just limited herself to giving him advice, obviously she didn't care how much he did in his private life but they knew they could count on each other.

He stayed until it started to get dark, we spent the afternoon talking, many topics came up.

When I finished dinner my dad left, I got ready to go to my room and take a bath.

Whenever I took a bath I put on music, relaxed and had a good time in the shower. When I left I did my daily skin care routine, I put on combing cream, I put on cream and brushed my teeth. For this it was already 9:25 pm I wasn't sleepy at all, so I only watched videos to make me sleepy.

You won't believe me but… I can't sleep

It was already 11 o'clock and I couldn't fall asleep, and above all this I couldn't stop thinking that my dad would be a dad again, with another woman. A woman I knew a long time ago, but that's another story.

I couldn't stop thinking that i would no longer be his little daughter, the one who was always attached to him, now there would be another person who would take up space in his heart, I'm jealous that's the truth, jealous of someone who hasn't even been born. My dad is the only masculine energy that gives me attention, the only man I like to hug, the only one I laugh with non-stop.

Fuck this.

You grabbed your phone and went to Instagram, you didn't think twice and looked up Joel's profile, you hit the message button and without hesitation you started writing.

Hi :)

You hit send and your heart began to jump with nerves, it's done, you've sent a message to the beautiful man who could probably make your days different.

Your cell phone vibrated in your hand, you quickly saw the message

Hey

The truth is that you thought he was not going to answer you.

How are you?

You bit your lip from nerves, what the fuck am i supposed to talk to him. You saw the bubble appear and then the message appeared

Not so bad, how' s your night darlin?

It's a joke! He call me darlin.

You felt your cheeks burn and you couldn't help but smile

Not as good as I'd like, but I'm better now

Problems with boys?

No, rather the correct word would be dad

Oh sorry honey I guess dads ain't easy

Not at all, hey..

What's up

I really liked your photo of the river, it looks like a beautiful place

Thank you, if it is

where are you from, sweetheart?

from austin

And you've never gone further?

It's too bad, you should go, someone should take you

Was it being offered?

Could you be the one to take me, I mean, since you've already been to that place

how old are you sweetheart?

Shit you're so young

Can't you with that?

A little laugh left your lips

HA you don't know what you're saying honey

You bit your lip as you felt a chill run down your legs, you were thinking about what to write until another message appeared on the screen

I'm too old for you

Shit! Shit! Shit! As much as I like to hear that, the memory of being a virgin invades me more and more frustrating me. But…he shouldn't know, not for now

How old?

27 years older, do you think you can handle that?

Yes, you can teach me some things

Your hand went to the edge of your pajama shorts, slowly inserting your hand.

Yeah…what kind of things honey

You were going to answer when your door suddenly opened making you jump and take your hands out of your shorts. again it was your brother

"you scared me idiot" you put both hands on your chest and the cell phone under them

"what are you doing?" he said as he entered the room and looked at himself in the mirror

"nothing" you stared at him

"you know there's a mirror in the bathroom, right?"

“your room has better light, and the mirror is bigger”

He always did that, he always entered your room as if it were his, without warning, without asking, nothing. But when you entered his he would question you and get angry.

You threw a stuffed animal at him and he turned around with a frown

"Can you leave please" you said through your teeth

"How heavy you are" was the last thing he said before leaving and closing your door

You looked at the last message Joel had sent you, you didn't know what to reply, you didn't know whether to say daring things, act submissive, be more shy or just change the subject.

Hey, I have to go to sleep, tomorrow I'm going to the university

You were afraid for some reason for his answer

Sure darlin, don't worry, rest

Good night

You waited for him to send you another message but he didn't. I knew it wasn't a good idea to cut it like that.

You were in need of male attention, the little he gave you made you put your hands in your panties, you touched yourself again and oh surprise, you were wet.

You didn't like having to suffer, you didn't like being left wanting, so you did what you do best, you touch yourself. You tried to stay as quiet as possible since your brother's room was next to yours, you started soft but you couldn't stop thinking about Joel, how handsome he looked in the photo, you imagined how good he would be to you, telling you sweetheart, you thought if he would make you cum faster than you did yourself.

His hands around your hips, your breasts, your neck, your mouth silencing your moans. How would his fingers be, thin, long or thick. How his arms would feel around you, his hair around them, how strong they were, his veins….

"Shit," you breathed out, closing your lip tight.

You let out little whimpers, some of them stuck in your throat so as not to make so much noise, you were so close, just imagining it finished you, you threw your head back, squeezing the pillows under it while your hips arched from friction.

I need him to fuck me urgently.

I think in the end, they were right, we virgins are dirtier.

#fanfic #joel miller #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #joel miller smut #joel miller x reader #joel tlou #pedro pascal characters #smut #x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x female reader

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hobiebrownbrowser · 10 months

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🔞Introduction🔞

❤️My name is citrus, I'm 19 and I write mostly SMUT. I have no problem writing SFW but NSFW is mostly my thing. ❤️

Rules and things about me:

🔞I indeed take requests! I've done quite a lot of them already ❤️ Mostly SMUT so. 18+ DNI if your a Minor!🔞

The thing that usually clouds my mind is 'Hobie'❤️. I've had an odd obsession over him for a few weeks now and it's extremely not healthy.

🔞If you are a minor stay clear of my page! I tried to be nice and let you all come through but NO. THAT DEEMED TO MUCH TO ASK. I don't need my posts getting reported any longer. I'm tired of it.🔞

I really only made this account for Hobie Brown but I do others too. It's not common though. ❌❤️ Do not ask me to do a character that is depicted to be a minor you will be ❌BLOCKED.❌

I WILL NOT do anything I am uncomfortable with, let's say for example, selfscest, Extreme violence, Extreme sexual assault, Etc. You get the get go of what I'm saying. ❤️

I LOVE punk. You will never take that away from me even if I died. If I did I'd say I completely fucked myself out. Probably why Hobie was my number 1 reason on here

I got this introduction idea from @quintessencewrites I realized I never really introduced myself.

╰──Hobie Brown smut

Mating Season↓

Summary: Y/N didn't come to the HQ today. Of course Hobie was gonna worry. She'd never miss a day to come see her favorite guitarist. It wasn't like her to disappear on him.

Attention Seeker ↓

Summary: A rainy day on a Friday night.

Aftercare↓

Summary: Hobie secretly loved the way you'd take care of him. Massages a constant get go everytime you're together. ❤️

Waiting Room Quickie↓

Summary: Before a concert Hobie wants to do just more than admire his favorite lady.

Shower sex↓

Summary: You both decided to try something new for a change.

Ride me↓

Summary: Hobie wanted you to ride him.

Sing for me↓

Summary: It was the first time Hobie heard you sing, He wanted to hear more.

Take it slow↓

Summary: After a long discussion, Y/N finally felt the courage to trust Hobie with everything.

Let me take care of you↓

Summary: After a long night all Hobie wanted was you.

Date night↓

Summary: Hobie takes you out on a date, A small skating ring tucked away in the crevice of a tall building inside a pub.

Different Flavors↓

Summary: A small ice cream shop opened a few blocks away.

Trapped in my mind↓

Summary: A certain punk at a sex party caught your eyes. What a shameful excuse.

Don't get caught↓

Summary: Havin' Secretive sex in Miguel's office with Hobie was hella risky.

Make me↓

Summery: Hobie acted like a beat, so Y/N put him in his place.

A Devil In Disguise ↓

Incubus Hobie Brown x FEM!Reader. Do I have to explain?

Such A Tease↓

Summary: Y/N would always tease Hobie until he'd had enough.

Touch me↓

Summary: You wanted to feel more than just Hobie's delightful caresses.

Overstimulation↓

Summary: I mean...It's mild overstimulation.

I'm not jealous↓

Summary: You test Hobie's jealousy and paid the consequences.

Such a brat

Hobie Brown x Bratty F!Reader!🔞 summary → Reader being a bratty lil slut for Hobie❤️

My Princess

Hobie Brown x M!Reader! →🔞 Summary: Hobie picked up on a new nickname.🔞

Be Yourself

Hobie Brown x FTM Reader! → 🔞summary: You hadn't gotten your bottom surgery yet, but all Hobie wanted to do was show you how much he loves you for who you are. 🔞

╰──╮Miguel O'Hara Smut:

Breed me↓

Summary: Miguel had a long double shift tonight.

Midnight remedy ↓

Summary: Miguel fucks you in his favorite position.

Just one bite↓

Summary: The night was just as beautiful as you.

Trust Me↓

Summary: You were pulled into a random dimension, A big buff scary guy taking you to a private interrogation room for "Questioning"

Angst List

Cheating Hobie Brown x FEMReader

Summary: A spider has bit you, The spider was slowly absorbing your life, In a last feeble attempt to survive you harbor your life in a heartless android body.

Part 1 & Part 2

Part 3 & Part 4

Part 5 (END)

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pickinglilahs · 6 months

Text

Blackeclipse for the soul

Soulmate au

No idea how long this is

Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 6.5; Part 8

Remus/James/Regulus (Reggie isn't mentioned till Part 2)

I would make this a longer, more in-depth fic...but then I'd never finish it

Most people have their Soul Marks on their hands or arms. They are the lucky ones. You can usually see it appear as you shake their hand or whatever.

Even people who have them higher up on their biceps or chest from running into each other can usually see who they ran into, can feel the Mark rise to the surface.

Very few who have a Mark don't know who their Soulmate is. The people who were jostled in a crowd and didn't feel it forming. Those who met so many people at a time that it was impossible to identify the correct one.

Remus Lupin had never been lucky.

It was in his third year at Hogwarts that Madam Pomfrey brought up the Mark on his shoulder. She had asked him why he wasn't using their soul bond to help with the pain and recovery.

At his confusion, she had produced a mirror. Sure enough, on the back of his right shoulder, there was a moon inside of a sun. It looked as big as his palm and was very clearly a Soul Mark.

Poppy was surprised he didn't know it was there. Apparently, she had seen it the first Full he had spent in the castle and assumed he knew. It was rare that someone didn't know, so she hadn't thought to ask.

In a matter of seconds, Remus had resigned himself to the knowledge that he would never know his Soulmate.

There was no way to track your Soulmate until the bond was complete. So, short of posting a picture of his mark around the castle, there really wasn't anything he could do. And that was, of course, assuming they even went to Hogwarts.

It wasn't until two years later, almost to the day, that his luck changed.

~~~

He was roused by someone gently running their fingers through his hair. He was lying on his side and definitely in the Shrieking Shack.

"Hey, Moons." It was James. Remus didn't even need to open his eyes to see the tired smile on his friend's face. "Poppy will be here soon. We have to go, but we'll meet you in the hospital wing, okay?"

Remus nodded, or, at least, he tried to. He wasn't sure how successful he was considering his head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, then used as a bludger.

Still, James must have gotten the message because he heard the other boy stand and move away. There was a soft chorus of 'bye's and 'see you in a bit's as his friends left.

It had been a success, then. The Wolf hadn't attacked his friends while they held their animagi forms. Despite his best efforts, Remus felt tears rolling sideways down to his ear.

He couldn't remember last night, but the knowledge that he hadn't been alone was enough. And, as he slowly came further into consciousness, he realized that he wasn't torn and bloody.

He didn't know if this was because his friends had already healed him, or if they had stopped him from hurting himself in the first place.

Before he could start worrying about if he had hurt his friends instead, he heard Poppy coming up from the tunnel. Remus pushed himself upright and looked over his shoulder in time to see her step through the doorway.

She helped him dress, stand, and make his way back through the tunnel. By the time they reached the castle, he almost felt better. Poppy clearly noticed the change, but she kept her comments—and suspicions—to herself.

He hadn't been settled into the hospital wing for more than five minutes when James came in with a plate of food. At this, an alarm bell went off in Remus' brain, and it took him a moment to realize why.

James was alone.

And he looked nervous.

Panic gripped Remus' heart and it must have shown on his face because James ran the last few steps to his bed.

He set the food aside and took Remus' face in both hands. "Hey, hey. Everyone's fine. No one's hurt. It was a success! We're all okay! I promise!" James' words were hushed but adamant.

Remus searched his face for any sign of a lie. Upon finding none, he slowly let out a breath. "But- Then...Why..." Remus wasn't sure how to phrase his question. He wasn't used to being at a loss for words, but his heart was still thumping painfully in his chest.

James, sitting on his bed now, stoked his thumbs over Remus' cheekbones. He smiled shyly at Remus for a moment before, "Because... I have something to tell you." At the renewed fear in Remus' eyes and the way he brought his own hands up to hold James' forearms, he hurried on. "It's not bad! It's nothing bad, just... Strange? No, not strange. Um... Unexpected?"

Remus' fear almost completely dissolved into confusion as James struggled. "James, if it's not bad, why are you nervous? And why did you have to come alone to tell me?" His voice was rough and weak, but he really couldn't take much more suspense.

James paused, took a deep breath—hands still on Remus' face—looked him in the eyes, and blurted, "We'reSoulmatesandIdidn'tknowhowtotellyoubecauseyouneversaidanythingandIdidn'tknowhowyou'dreact"

Remus froze.

He stopped breathing.

His brain short-circuited.

His heart stopped beating.

Well, that may be an exaggeration, but everything after 'We're Soulmates' was lost on him.

They were roommates. They had been roommates for YEARS now! How did they not know? How had none of them ever noticed? How did James know now? What changed? Had James really never seen his Mark before?

An eternity passed before James quietly whispered, "Remus?"

He startled, eyes focusing back on James. "Where?"

He didn't need to elaborate; James was already moving. He stood and unbuttoned his trousers. Out of habit, Remus looked away.

And then it hit him. Of course! Remus looked back and, sure enough, there was the matching Mark. James was holding his pants in such a way that the Mark was visible, but his crotch wasn't. Because there it was. On James' right hip bone, low enough to be covered by his pants and close enough to his crotch that Remus had always averted his eyes.

He had heard James and Sirius talking about it in first year, but Remus didn't know he had one then. And by the time Poppy had brought up his Mark, he had all but forgotten about James'. His immediate resignation to never finding his soulmate had kept him from telling his friends at all. He also assumed, like Poppy had with him, that they already knew it was there.

They both jumped when Remus' fingers brushed the Mark. He hadn't meant to reach out, but he was a moth to a flame. His fingers tingled as they brushed James' skin; the Mark turning silver under his touch.

Poppy cleared her throat and they both jumped again. James quickly pulled his trousers back up and Remus firmly set his hands in his lap. But she was smiling at them.

Well, she was frowning, but the arch of her eyebrow and the look in her eye showed clear amusement. "Please keep your trousers on Mr. Potter. This is not the lavatory."

James nodded quickly, but both boys smiled at her as she came over. She had James join Remus on the bed so she could show them how to use their bond to heal each other.

Because their marks were in such odd places, she had them put their hands over each other's Marks; on top of their clothes. So really, James just put his arm around him, and Remus laid on his side, hand on James' hip.

By the time they were settled and Poppy was done explaining, Remus was fast asleep.

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freyyzu · 11 months

Text

FIVE

a kiss for every part of you i adore. the problem is, i adore every part of you.

a/n; i'm struggling so bad with the wedding fanfic. my best friend is just watching me descend into insanity rewriting the prologue for the fourth time. i just needed to make something short and cute to fix that o(╥﹏╥)o mild (??? bland???) nsfw on number 3. i've never written nsfw before, please go easy on me. post step 4.

update after finishing; this was not as short as i intended it to be.

5. EYES.

Black and white were considered Baxter's staple colors. From his clothes, to his phone case, to his car, you could list countless more items off the top of your head that all shared those monotone hues.

Really, it'd be easier to list the items he owned that weren't greyscale.

In particular, one comes to mind—two, to be more precise. Would saying he owned them be correct? You assume so. They were a part of his person, after all.

A dark brown—they shine as bright as embers from a fire burning too hot. If you stared at them long enough you would burn, but that was a risk you were willing to take. Anything, if it meant being able to get lost within them for even a moment longer.

"Good morning," you whisper, sweeping your hand across his bangs. The strands of hair fall back into place defiantly over his eyes, much to your dismay.

They're not in their signature side-swept look; they never are in the mornings. Locks of ashy grey stick out from all corners. It splays over the pillow in some sort of abstract art, a few of the longer pieces jutting outwards to tickle your cheek.

Baxter groans, rubbing at his eyes, though only one manages to beat the morning bleariness in order to look at you. Even through the dim glow of sunlight that sneaks through the cracks of the curtains, it shines.

"Good morning," he mumbles, barely audible and coherent.

You chuckle at the sound of his voice. He might be awake now, but he wasn't quite awake just yet. The clock had yet to even strike nine.

Once more, you reach up to his hair. Instead of sweeping away his bangs, this time you push it up past his forehead.

He hums at the feeling of your hand on his skin and smiles, opting to close the one eye he'd manage to pry open before.

Such a baby, you idly think before leaning forward to press your lips onto his eyelid. His hand on your waist tightens at the contact, and you move to give the other the same treatment.

This time, both pools of endless brown open to gaze directly at you. His smile grows wider by the second, and you think that maybe, just maybe, you've found a new, sure-fire method to waking him up.

4. EARS.

There's a quirk you've noticed about Baxter that you hadn't realized before.

No, that's not exactly right. You've noticed it. The problem is it just hadn't happen enough for your suspicions to be confirmed.

You recall seeing it once. The most notable occasion being the day of Jude and Scott's wedding; when the two of you had finally reunited, made your amends, and cleared the air of five years worth of regrets.

He was so happy then his cheeks flushed a vibrant shade of coral pink all the way to the tips of his ears. And as he couldn't believe what he was hearing, his ears had twitched. It reminded you much of a kitten.

For a long while, you wondered if you'd ever see that again, and by some form of pure luck, today you did.

It was still early in the morning, or at least what Baxter would consider early. Even though he didn't need to go to the office today for work, he still had some business to take care of. The sounds of his fingers tapping against the keys of his laptop were the only noise to break through the silence of your shared apartment for the last half an hour.

In the meantime, you busied yourself in the kitchen to make breakfast (brunch is more accurate), having that morning free of any other duties.

"Baxter, breakfast is ready," you call, setting the last plate on the table.

The tapping continues.

You huff amusedly. It was one of those days again—where he got too caught up with his work and blocked out all other distractions. Usually you'd let him finish and bring the occasional cup of coffee or tea and snacks to get him through the load, but having a proper meal to start the day was important.

Cleaning your hands on a towel you amble your way over behind him on the couch, catching a peek of some e-mail exchanges. That wasn't what you were here for, though.

Wrapping your arms loosely around his neck you lean in and manage to push yourself forward enough to peck his ear.

The action apparently catches him completely off-guard, and you feel him straighten in your hold, face going completely red—it continues to travel up past his cheeks. You barely have enough time to catch the tweak of his ears before he shoots up a hand to cover the one you kissed and spins around to face you, eyes wide.

"Ah—" You raise both of your arms up in surrender, suppressing a giggle at his flustered reaction. "I'm sorry. I called you for breakfast, but you were too concentrated on your laptop to hear me."

"Oh," he breathes. At least he didn't seem angry.

Far from it.

You offer him an apologetic smile anyways. "Shall we eat?"

"Yeah," he answers, a little too quickly. His eyes dart away from yours to close his laptop. You get the feeling he didn't need to look away to do that, but just wanted an excuse not meet your eyes right now. "Let's eat."

3. NECK.

Its a cool night this evening in SoCal, but you felt as if you were sitting right next to an open flame.

Lithe arms wrap around your bare waist, pulling you in close. Without the restrictive fabric of clothing separating you from each other, you could feel Baxter's heartbeat more distinctly than ever.

It's steady, if not a little fast.

The gentle motions of your fingers massaging his scalp help it from becoming erratic, but you can feel the spike every time you tug on his hair—feel the way his breath hitches against your exposed shoulders as you pull a little harder the next time. And again on the next, and the time after that.

Lips that you're used to tracing with your own press open-mouth kisses against the side of your neck, and you tilt your head to give him more access.

"Baxter," his name leaves your mouth as a breathless whisper. You can barely stifle the moan that threatens to escape as his fingers tighten their hold on you.

When your grip on his hair tightens, you hear his groan right beside your ear. Unlike you, he doesn't try to suppress it—you're not sure if you're thankful for that or not.

When he begins to press his thigh deeper between your legs you can't restrain your voice anymore.

"Baxter," you say inbetween gulps of air. Your hands move from his head to his shoulders, gently pushing him back to lean against the couch. "Wait."

"Is there something wrong?" His eyebrows crease in worry.

You shake your head with an unsteady laugh and use this time to catch your breath. "No, nothing's wrong. It's— it felt nice, really nice. I was just wondering if I could...?"

Your hands begin to roam again, finding their new homes against the nape of his neck and the flush of his cheeks. The end of your sentence doesn't hear the light of day, but Baxter knows exactly what you're trying to ask when your eyes dart to the mole decorating his neck.

"Oh?" He raises an eyebrow, frown morphing into a smirk. Even with his face bright red he would never miss a chance to tease you. Typical Baxter. "Please." He pulls you in by the shoulders until you can feel his breath once more against the lobe of your ear. His voice sends shivers down your spine. "Be my guest."

And so you oblige, pressing feather-light kisses first on his shoulder before trailing further up to his adam's apple and giving it the same treatment. You can feel it bob as he takes a large breath of air, followed by a pleased sigh. His fingers find purchase tangled in your hair, and you're acutely aware of how the roles have been reversed.

Finally, you make it to the area where his mole resides. Your hands follow your lips, one curling around his neck again to twirl strands of grey inbetween its fingers while the other traced the curve of his spine. He shudders beneath your touch.

In contrast to the gentle grazes you've given him thus far, your lips this time, nuzzle against his most sensitive spot with open mouth kisses, biting hard enough for a mark to form, but not to hurt.

"Mmn—!" he moans. His thigh jolts at the unexpected sensation, once more making contact between your legs. His hand pulls at your hair reactively, and you understand then, why he likes it so much.

"Payback for teasing me." You back away, thoroughly admiring your work, drinking in the sight of him beneath you.

Cheeks and ears flushed red, hair in disarray, a cheeky grin that for sure spelt your doom, and a faint rim of crimson that accentuates his already eye-catching mole.

Thinking back on it, you're sure this mole was the only reason you recognized him that summer of 2016. With his growth-spurt and new look, and not to mention you only having the chance to meet once beforehand, you're not sure if you would've been able to tell who he was otherwise. Not that you had to, he recognized you first.

Mindlessly, your thumb brushes against the bloom that darkens with every second passed. It doesn't hurt, you're sure of it, but Baxter appreciates the gesture all the same. Though, apparently not enough to let you linger.

Familiar fingers dip underneath your shorts, rubbing wide archs against your thighs. "Shall we continue?"

Ah, right.

You had a long night ahead of you.

2. LIPS.

"If you're feeling up for it we could take a stroll down the shore after dinner. The beach is usually empty by that time, and I'd love nothing more than to soak in the sights of a beautiful evening with you." He adds after a pause, "If you're alright with that, of course."

"I'd love to, Baxter," you answer instantly, batting away any of his worries.

For how confident your boyfriend made himself out to be to the public, you knew he still had a new dilemmas to sort through that takes time. Making sure you were happy and not feeling insecure about his choices being one of them.

"Really?" His expression lights right back up at your quick response, lips curving up into a genuinely pleased smile. "That's wonderful. I'll have to remember to bring a towel so we can dry our feet once we get back to the car. It wouldn't do well for us to drag sand back into the apartment."

Cove Holden would vehemently disagree with that statement if he were around to hear it, and you were almost inclined to bring it up yourself—being a person of the sea and whatnot.

But you don't.

The only thing on your mind is how you love hearing him so happy, love listening to the sound of his voice as he animatedly talks about even the most mundane things. You love the way the corners of his lips quirk up into a shy smile every time you compliment him and you love the way they stretch into a knowing-grin whenever he finds something new to tease you about—the way he makes it up to you with a kiss that always lasts longer than intended, and the way he says sorry without meaning an ounce of it.

Before long, those idle listings that you're so fond of hearing him talk about no longer register.

Without much thought, your hands are reaching out to cup his cheeks. Your thumb tenderly traces the outline of his jaw. No words were needed to tell him exactly what you were thinking. You were already staring at him as if you were holding the entire world in your hands.

"I'm going to kiss you now," you warn.

He chuckles amusedly, his own hand coming up to map the outline of your bottom lip, as if trying to commit the shape to memory. "What are you waiting for then?"

Nothing, really.

You waste no time leaning in, your lips fitting like puzzle pieces that were carved just to lock with each other.

It starts out slow, wanting, as if afraid you would scare one another off if you went for something more. Eventually, thoses brief pecks spiral out of your reach into something more, it's no longer a want but a need.

Despite you taking initiative, Baxter takes the lead, pulling you closer until you're practically stradling him. Your hands have moved from his cheeks to his neck, securing your place on his lap.

When you finally pull away, you're both gasping for air, eyes lidded and lungs breathless. Had your need for oxygen not won out you would have been content to kiss him all day.

Something about the look in his eyes tells you he thought the same.

1. HANDS.

One, two, three.

Spin, pull, and—dip.

The music player clicks, and the sounds of string instruments abruptly stops. The silence that follows signals the end of another song.

"You did amazing." Baxter doesn't hesitate to compliment you as soon as the dance ends. He pulls you up into a standing position, but makes no effort to let go of your clasped hands.

Even if there was no reason to hold you anymore, that didn't mean anything. You were his partner—in more ways than one—so unless you wished for him to let you go, he wasn't planning on doing so any time soon.

"It's because I have such an amazing teacher leading me," you quip back.

He narrows his eyes, smiling widely. "I don't think I can call myself your teacher anymore. At this point you've far outgrown my lessons, don't you think?"

"Not at all. There's always more to learn from a former professional. Maybe you're just holding back on me."

If it was a compliment battle you wanted, it was a compliment battle you were going to get. For the next however long, the two of you spend your downtime exchanging complimentary remarks inbetween gulps of water.

The whole time, Baxter doesn't once let go of your hand, even if it meant awkwardly untwisting the cap of his bottle between his legs. He got it eventually.

"I'm so glad my misfortune brings you joy," he jokes, setting the container down by his side.

"I offered to help," you remind him. "You're the one who denied it."

"It was a battle of pride." He pouts at you, and for a second you almost thought he was serious.

Rolling your eyes, you laugh at his childish attitude. No matter how profession he tries to make himself out to be, you knew better. Underneath all those stiff suits and fancy words he was—as Xavier once described—squishy.

You hold on tighter to his hand; they were squishy too. Or maybe soft would be a more apt description.

"Is something on your mind?" he asks, no doubt curious about the sudden pressure.

You hum, lifting your arm up until the limb was right in front of your—and his—face. Your fingers wriggle out of Baxter's grasp before entertwining with his own. He lets you do it, gladly. Your palms are both clammy from holding each other for so long, but neither of you seem to mind.

And then, as if you had done this a million times before, you bring his hand to your lips in gentle kiss, and there it remains.

The same hand that had been offered to you all those years ago at the Summer Soiree was the same hand that you're holding now.

The one that holds you close in the early mornings and refuses to let go. The one that tucks your hair behind your ear and rubs delicate circles along every part of your body. The one that cradles your cheek with so much warmth you fear that one day you're going to heat up and burn into ash all at the same time.

"I was thinking about how much I love you. All of you." Your lips brush against his skin with every word, as if hoping to physically convey the full brunt of your emotions through that one simple gesture.

"Oh."

In the time you've spent dating Baxter, there were very few instances in which you were able to catch him off-guard. This just so happen to be one of those moments.

He's at a loss for words.

Unfortunately, you don't get the opportunity to bask in it for long, and soon enough, with the same care as you gave him, Baxter kisses the back of your hand. His lips glide down to your pinkie before giving it the same treatment, and then doing the same for your other four fingers, giving them each the individual attention they deserve.

Finally, he switches his grasp to your wrist and presses one final kiss to the inside of your palm.

It tickles.

"It's funny, we were thinking of the same thing." He catches your eye, features glimmering with affection. "About how I love you. All of you."

#Our Life #Our Life: Beginnings and Always #Our Life: Beginnings & Always #Baxter Ward #Baxter Ward x MC #Baxter Ward x Reader #my eyes hurt after finishing this #not proof read im so tired #please enjoy the ramblings of someone head over heels

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startrekfangirl2233-writes · 9 months

Text

I Vow

Part 5 of You Play Stupid Games, You Win Stupid Prizes

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x Reader, Past! Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x Reader

Description: A year long engagement wasn't in the cards for you at all. But when the US Navy calls, your fiancé had to answer the call. So for most of your engagement, you've been planning the wedding with Jake signing off on the wedding via video calls and phone calls snuck in moments between hops. It's draining on you. Even with your mom and Maria Seresin taking the reins, all you want is Jake by your side at the end of the day. When Jake suggests eloping the day after he gets back, you get a fantastic idea. Having a wedding in Maverick's hangar with all of your favorite people there. The only trick? Making it a surprise for Jake.

Disclaimer: Female!Reader

Warnings: None! This chapter is sweet and fluffy!

The content presented in this story is for audiences age 18 and over only. MINORS DNI. I will not be accepting taglist requests from Blank or Ageless Blogs for this story.I do my best to portray adult relationships in this fic. Please do not interact with this story if you feel you are not ready to read about these themes.

Word Count: 4815

A/N: I can't believe it, but this is the last official chapter of YPSGYWSP! My first series, almost over! You'll excuse me if you hear some sobbing in the background as you read this chapter, right? We'll have an epilogue for Jake and Bitsie, so look out for that in the upcoming weeks! The bold and italicized parts are lyrics from the song Steal The Show by Lauv. Kudos to @mayhemmanaged for introducing the song to me! I love you all, and thanks so much for reading this story as I write it! - XOXO Star

AO3: Cross-posted here!

My Masterlist

Previous Part | Series Masterlist | Next Part

"Bitsie, can you hear me?" Just the sound of Jake's voice makes you smile, grainy and choppy as it is. He's been deployed for nearly a year and you miss him so much that it feels like you're walking around with a missing limb.

"Yeah, Jakey. I can hear you. How are you, my darling? I miss you so much." You're so happy to hear from him that just hearing his voice soothes fears you only just seem to uncover every time you hear his voice.

"I'm alright, my Bitsie-girl. Tired all the time because apparently I can't sleep anymore unless you're in my bed. And I miss you too, sweetheart. So much. I'm sorry I left you to the mercy of my mom and sister while you're planning this wedding." He really does sound exhausted, his voice raspy in a way that makes you feel so fond.

"Don't apologize, Jakey! Your mom and Brianna have been amazing. Honestly, they've taken all of the planning out of my hands once I told them what I - what we - wanted. When my mom joined in, I really didn't have to do anything at all, other than stamp my seal of approval over everything." His love warms you from head to toe and is so apparent even just over the phone.

"Mmmm… God, I miss being able to see your pretty smile, baby girl." You can see the smile on his face and the look in his green eyes with every word he speaks.

"I miss you too, Jake. Home doesn't feel like home without you in it."

It really doesn't. Your life feels empty without him in it.

"I really wish I hadn't been selected for this mission so soon after we got engaged. But, it's the Navy."

"It's the Navy." You blurt out in unison with him, gasping the minute you realized what you said. His quiet laughter sets you off until you're giggling giddily while lying in bed.

"I know our families have been making all of these plans, but I have a suggestion." You're intrigued despite yourself, because while you'd made plans for your wedding, all you really need for it to be the best day is Jake by your side.

"What if we get married the day after I land? You grab Mara, I'll grab Javy and Mickey and his family and we run off to City Hall and get hitched. Cause Bitsie, baby, I can't wait another minute longer to call you my wife."

The more you think about it, the more you adore this idea. Jake is all you need.

"But won't you miss having your Mama there, Jakey?"

"Of course I will, sweetheart. She raised Brie and me all by herself while running a farm. But I don't want to wait a single minute longer. I just want to marry you, Bitsie baby." Just as you open your mouth to respond, you hear the beep indicating that your time is up.

"I love you, Jake."

"I love you, Bitsie. Goodnight, baby doll. Sleep tight."

When you hear the dial tone, you hang up, letting your phone drop down onto the sheets beside you. For all of the rumors about Jake, you know he loves his mom and sister. It doesn’t feel fair that you’ll be robbing the chance to celebrate with his family from him. Your own parents aren’t likely to be thrilled either. They love Jake and how happy he makes you. What if you plan to have the ceremony on the beach? Invite only your immediate family and your closest friends and have one of the admirals officiate?

You never thought your parents or Jake’s mom would latch onto the idea as well as they have, but they adore the idea. Before you can blink, it’s the day before Jake’s due to come home and you’re scrambling to make sure everything’s ready. You’ve called all of his squadron and Javy and made sure they all know the plan for the day after they get back. You’ve also found hotel rooms for your parents and Jake’s mom and Brianna. Everything is ready. All you’re missing for your wedding is your groom.

You wake up on the morning Jake’s due to come back to a voicemail. “Hey beautiful. I’m sorry, but it looks like we’ll be coming home a bit later than expected. There are storms which are slowing our progress. Everything’s alright. I miss you so much, baby and I’ll see you soon. I love you, my Bitsie-girl. Next time I see you, I’m marrying you.”

It’s with a heavy heart that you call your family and Jake’s informing them of the unforeseen delay. You head into work that day, vowing to keep your days off for your honeymoon, something else that you’ve planned extensively with flexible rescheduling policies. Everybody is more than a little surprised to see you, especially since it seems like everyone on base knows what you and Jake have planned. Admiral Simpson even pulls you aside, asking if everything is okay and that he is pulling all the strings to make sure Jake gets home to you as soon as possible.

His gruff concern makes you feel weepy, sad, and sorry for yourself, so much so that you’re brushing away tears as you join Mara in your lab on base. Thankfully she keeps the conversation light and about the work you’re doing rather than focusing on Jake’s absence from your life. That’s how your day goes. It feels like time is passing by in a trickle and the worry deep in your gut feels more and more like a tempest in your gut. But somehow you managed to push the thoughts away, immersing yourself in your work. The day passes in a haze and you’re startled out of your meditative state to the feeling of someone patting your arm to get your attention. You push away from your desk and stretch, relishing in the pull of tight muscles that have been locked in the same position for far too long.

“Yeah, Mar?” Your voice is garbled around a yawn as you turn around.

Mara hasn’t been shaking your arm at all. It’s Jake!

“Jake?” Your eyes widen in surprise, disbelief coloring your tone at the sight of him standing in your lab when you were least expecting him.

“Yeah, sweetheart. It’s me. Even a storm couldn’t keep me away from you.” You launch yourself into his arms before he even finishes speaking, kissing his smiling lips and sobbing into his shoulder.

“Jake! I missed you so much. How are you?” You’re babbling even as you’re examining everything about him. Other than the exhaustion on his face, and a few new lines he looks just like you remember him.

“I’m fine, Bitsie. Breathe.” His eyes twinkle in the waning sunlight as he tugs you close and kisses you, sweet and slow. Your arms rise to wrap around his neck unbidden even as your fingers grasp his curls tenderly. You’re breathless and weak-kneed when he pulls away and he knows it too, if the smirk on his gorgeous golden face is any indicator.

“Take me home, beautiful.” You’re only too eager to comply, shoving your files and laptop into your bag in such a hurry that Mara is laughing at you the entire time. Jake’s hand feels so good in yours that you feel like you’re dreaming the entire walk to the parking lot. You’re so thankful you have Jake’s truck on base because you can chuck his bag into the backseat and kiss him until your lips are spit slicked and red and all you can smell are the faded notes of his cologne and jet fuel.

“Home, baby. I want to feel you on my skin after so long without you.” You’re surprised you don’t break any speed limits on the way home, what with Jake’s hand on your thigh and the way it brushes closer and closer to the seam of your leg. You’re keyed up and nearly panting when you get home. It’s a huge deal that you manage to text Brianna and your mom to tell them Jake’s home, because that’s all the contact you have with your family and Jake’s until the next morning.

Jake wakes you up the following morning with a cup of coffee and a huge smile on his face.

“Wake up, Bitsie baby.” You love that he’s a morning person, truly you do, but you maybe love it a little more when he hasn’t kept you up until 3 AM the night before.

“We’re getting married today!” Your eyes jolt open at his words, because for this, you’re just as excited as he is. Your wide smile matches his even as you snuggle into his side with your coffee in hand.

“I can’t wait, Jake.” Your voice is sleep-rough and soft, as you sip on the hot liquid, prepared how you like it. “M’gonna be yours forever soon. Sorry, there’s no return policy here.”

“I could never return you. I love you too much to do that.” Jake kisses your forehead before pulling away. “Javy’s picking me up soon, baby. I know I’m technically not supposed to see you until we actually get married, but I needed to kiss you good morning before I left and to tell you I love you.”

Your smile is soft as you take in the soft henley and shorts he’s wearing. You hadn’t even noticed he was dressed for the day.

“I love you, Jakey. I’ll see you when we get married.” His grin is as bright as the sun as you shuffle downstairs and wave goodbye to Jake and Javy as they leave.

You don’t get much time to yourself however, as Mara and Brianna pull into the driveway not long after. You have no idea what they have planned, especially since you aren't having a bachelorette party, but wanted to spend some time with your friends the day of your wedding as well.

"Where are we going?” When neither Brie nor Mara respond, you buckle in for the ride, content in the knowledge that Jake is alright and in the feeling of the sun on your face. You must fall asleep in the backseat because you wake up to Mara and Brie both grinning wickedly at you.

“Damn, Bitsie! Jake really must’ve worn you out last night!” Mara’s got a shit-eating grin on her face even as Brie gags behind her.

“I can neither confirm nor deny, Mar. Especially since his little sister is right there.” Your voice is wry as you get out of the car and take in the beautiful desert view.

Brie just cackles before wrapping you up in a hug. “I know he fucks, Bits! He’s never hid that from me. I just like you too much to think about you and my brother like that. You’re too good for him, you know that?” Her voice is soft as she takes your hands in her own. “You make him so happy. I love seeing him like that. You keep him that happy and we’ll never have problems. And he’d better keep you that happy too. Or I’ll be having problems with him. He knows that, Bits.”

Your eyes are misty as you hug your soon-to-be sister-in-law for several long moments before wiping at your eyes and gesturing to the colossal building in front of you.

“So what are we doing here, you two?”

“We’re having a spa day! So we’re going to get you all pampered and ready for Jake to sweep you off of your feet!” Where Brie leaves off, Mara continues. “We’ve got bottomless champagne, massages, mani-pedis, face masks, mud baths and more planned.”

When you just blink at them, because you’re sure you’re hearing things, they both just drag you into the facility after them.

Six hours later, you walk out of the spa with your hair and makeup done and feeling more relaxed than you’ve ever been in your whole life. Every knot in your body has been pounded into submission and you’re so excited you think you’re likely to start crying if you think about Jake waiting for you in his service whites. You’re that happy that he’s home, that he’s safe, and that you’re finally going to be tied together for every struggle that life brings. The mood is light between Mara, Brianna and you as the three of you scream lyrics out the open car windows on your way further into the desert.

The midday sun is just beginning to set when the three of you pull into the parking lot near Mav’s colossal desert hangar. It’s here that you and Jake will be getting married, officiated by Mav, with all the Daggers in attendance, as well as your immediate family, Jake’s mom, and Brianna. But you don’t get to see the magic Penny and both your moms have wrought on the hangar, as you’re immediately led by Mara into the trailer Mav has behind the hangar the minute the car stops. Your mom’s waiting there, to help you into your dress and Brianna and Mara into their bridesmaid dresses.

Your dress is simple, knee length with lace all over and a flared silhouette. It’s not a conventional wedding dress by any means, but you feel like the most beautiful woman in the world when you look at yourself in the mirror. As a final touch, you wear the heirloom emerald necklace and earring set that Maria Seresin wore on her wedding day as well as the shoes that match. Your mom is misty-eyed as she draws the veil over your head.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart. Jake’s not going to be able to take his eyes off of you.” She wipes the tears from under her eyes. “Your dad’s waiting to walk you down the aisle, darling. He’s already made Jake promise to take care of you when he called to ask us permission to marry you. So this moment, it’s just about you and the man you love. We’re so proud of you. And we love you, so much.” Her voice cracks for the last few words and that’s when your own tears spill over.

You thank everything you know that the ladies at the spa used waterproof makeup on your face, because without it, you’d look a mess. You hug your mom tight and watch her go with the oddest feeling in your chest. You feel like you’re on the precipice of something unknown, and while you’re filled with the deepest joy you’ve ever felt, you can’t help feeling melancholic. You want to marry Jake, you love Jake, but marrying him feels like you’re shutting the doors to the life you lead before. It’s a challenge you’re willing to undertake, but it feels awfully final, taking this step.

“You look beautiful, honey. Are you ready? You can tell me, you know?” Your dad sounds so sad to give you away.

“Tell you what, dad?” You wrap your arms around your dad’s frail form and wonder when he started to grow old. This is the man who held your hand when you were learning to walk, the man who taught you how to ride a bike and drive a car.

“If this boy isn’t who you want to marry, just tell me and I’ll help you run away, okay?”

You have to laugh at his words, though your giggles are choked with tears. “I’m sure, dad. Jake’s the man I love, the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“I had to try, honey. I’m so proud of you, of everything you’ve accomplished as a woman, and I look forward to everything you accomplish as a wife.” You’re nearly sobbing again at the soft kiss your dad presses to your forehead. You brush the tears away and ready yourself to walk down the aisle towards the man who will be the rest of your life.

You cradle the bouquet of pale pink roses and baby’s breath in your right hand while you loop your other arm through your dad’s.

“I won’t let you fall, honey. I didn’t when you were learning to walk, I won’t now.” You kiss your dad’s cheek softly, hearing the hitch in his breath as the first swells of music float through the open hangar doors.

It’s a song you’d mentioned on the off chance to Jake and your heart swells hearing the tones as Mara slips through the open doors on Mickey’s arm. Then Brianna and Javy. You can hear Jake’s gasp of surprise at the sight of his sister from where you are. Then your mom and Maria walk through the doors arm-in-arm. Standing in front of those open doors on your dad’s arm, a sudden fear halts your steps. Can you be a good wife to the beautiful man on the other side of those doors? Can you take care of him through everything else that you’ll face in your lives? You pray you can, because you’re not sure you could live another day without him by your side.

Your steps are perhaps too fast as you walk through the doors, but the minute your eyes meet Jake’s all your fear and hesitation fly away. He’s looking at you with so much love that everything else fades to the background. With each step you take, he mouths the words, “I love you” to you, and you can’t help the giddy smile on your face as you look at him.

His smile is brilliant as he takes your hands in his after lifting your veil. You’re consumed with the urge to kiss Jake, and you can’t help how you peck his lips, chastely just once.

“Alright, alright, kids. Settle down.” It’s Mav whose words separate the two of you, even as Mara, Mickey and Javy heckle you.

“We’re gathered here today to celebrate the union of this young couple before me. I never thought I’d see Lieutenant Commander Seresin get married. In my time as his superior officer, I’m sorry to say that for much of it, I saw his reputation rather than the man he is. Until he met the beautiful woman he’s marrying, the woman he calls Bitsie. Their relationship has been far from easy. For Jake, it was love at first sight. For Bitsie, it took heartbreak to see his love. But whatever their journeys may have been to get here to this very moment, I’m honored to marry these two today. Our couple thank you for taking this time to witness their union, as do I.” He looks so proud to see Jake standing there in front of you.

“I believe our couple have prepared some vows. Lieutenant Commander Seresin, if you would please?”

Your gasp of surprise is gentle and soft. You never discussed writing vows for one another.

“My Bitsie-girl. I know, you’re surprised that I prepared something, but in truth, I couldn’t see myself marrying you without telling you how much I love you. What Mav said earlier is right. I never saw myself marrying. It takes a special woman to withstand the stress and distance that the Navy can create in a relationship. I never thought I’d find that woman. At least, that is, until the day I saw you walk through the hangar doors in Miramar. You were breathtaking to me even then. It didn’t matter that you saw somebody else before me. I’m good, I’m very good and I had you in my target sights the minute I learned your name.”

Your giggle is watery at his words.

“It took another six months for you to see me, and Bitsie-darling, I would have given anything to change that day. I never wanted you to get hurt. I thought he was the right man for you, I truly thought he loved you as much as you loved him. So when I found you crying in the middle of the worst storm I’ve ever spent at sea, I took it upon myself to see your beautiful smile again. I don’t know when I changed in your eyes, but that day? That was the day when you changed in my eyes. I saw your strength, even when you cried in my arms. I saw the core of you. I saw how even when you were wounded you kept moving on. It never once affected your work, sweetheart. Your heartbreak never once kept you from excelling.”

“I’ve fallen in love with you more and more every minute of every day since then. Every day that I wake up to you in my arms, I’ll consider myself the luckiest man in the world. You mean so much to me, Bitsie-baby. I vow I’ll spend the rest of my life keeping you happy. I vow you’ll never want for anything. I know I’m only a man, I know I’m not perfect. But I vow I’ll do my best to make sure you’ll be loved everyday and every night. I love you, baby. It was the best day of my life when I asked you to marry me and you said yes.”

You’re sniffling when he stops speaking, your tears welling over as he pulls a packet of tissues out of his pocket and hands you one. There aren’t very many dry eyes in the audience when you look out at your friends and family assembled before you. You pat your tears away before taking Jake’s hands in yours.

“Jake,” Your voice breaks just saying his name. “I can’t believe there was ever a time when I didn’t love you. I can clearly see the line in the sand of life, clearly marked before Jake and with Jake. It shames me to think of those months before we met, those months where I didn’t like you, where I treated you terribly, and thought the worst of you. Then he cheated on me, and fell from the pedestal I’d put him on, and I saw the truth. That rainy night was the first time I’d ever seen you as a friend, Jake, and I wish I’d accepted your overtures of friendship before then. You felt like home when I was far away from everything I’d ever known and when my heart was bruised, battered, and broken.”

It’s Jake’s turn to sniffle as you gather your errant thoughts and put them into words.

“Those first three months on the carrier were the happiest I’ve been in a long time. And that’s all because of you, Jake. You helped me find friends in people I’d only thought could be colleagues. You’re a better friend than anyone ever gave you credit for being, Jake. I’m still not sure when I fell in love with you, but I did love you. I loved you that day when I nearly lost you before I ever told you how I felt. I thought I loved my ex, truly I did. But the love I felt for you that day, Jake? It exceeded every milestone I thought love could ever possibly reach.”

At this moment, all you care about is Jake. You have tunnel vision, focusing on his face and only his face.

“So this is what I promise you. I vow to love you, through every earthquake and flash flood life throws at our feet. I vow that I will never again disregard your presence or its importance in my life. I vow that even when we’re gray and old you’ll still be my best friend. I vow that you’ll always be my partner in crime and my reason when all else is lost. I love you, Jake.”

Even Mav sounds choked up when you both turn to him. He takes the ring box from Javy and finally speaks the words it feels like you’ve been waiting your whole life for.

“This ring is an unbroken circle, with ends that have been joined together, and it represents your union. It is a symbol of infinity, and of your infinite love. When you look at these rings on your hands, be reminded of this moment, your commitment, and the love you now feel for each other.”

Jake’s green eyes are just as teary as yours are.

“Jake, place the ring on Bitsie's finger and repeat after me: I give you this ring as a symbol of my love with the pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, always, and forever.”

Tears drip down your cheek as Jake utters the words before winking at you.

“And now… Bitsie, place the ring on Jake's finger and repeat after me: Jake, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love with the pledge: to love you today, tomorrow, always, and forever.”

Mav’s voice wobbles at those last words, and you don’t sound any better as you repeat them.

“Before these witnesses, you have pledged to be joined in marriage. You have now sealed this pledge with your wedding rings. By the authority vested in me by the great State of California, I now pronounce you married! You may kiss your bride!”

Jake’s eyes glint mischievously as he tugs you in and kisses you, slow and sweet. He tastes like cinnamon and you kiss for several long moments before the cheering of everyone you love separates you.

Waiting for you as you turn to face your family and friends is a sword arch. Flower petals cascade over your head with each step as you walk towards the entrance of the hangar. You’re smiling from ear-to-ear as you walk down the steps with Jake’s hand securely in yours. You know exactly what you’re getting into when two swords bar the way.

“We challenge you, Lieutenant Commander Seresin. One kiss to pass.” It’s Mickey saying those words, and it’s a request you’re only too eager to comply with.

When you and your husband, your husband, walk through the doors, you see a fairy tale scene. There are string lights festooned all over the place, shining merrily as Mav announces you and Jake as Lieutenant Commander and Mrs. Seresin. You spend several long moments hugging your friends and family before a familiar song has you turning in your tracks. It’s Jake, still wearing his Navy whites holding his hand out for you. You take his hand easily, gasping and laughing when he spins you out onto the dance floor.

Started out on a one-way train

Always knew where I was gonna go next

Didn't know until I saw your face

I was missin' out on every moment

You’re tearing up again, even as Jake spins you around on the dance floor.

So if it's real

Then, darlin', let me know

I wouldn't mind

If you steal the show

You had no idea that Jake could dance like this. He takes your breath away, even as the lights make his eyes glint mischievously and his hair shines golden. Your golden boy, your husband. You get lost, staring into his gorgeous green eyes, coming back to yourself only when your chest is heaving and applause peppers the night air. That’s how the remainder of your night goes, dancing with your friends, dancing with your family, dancing with Jake again, and again, and again. The sun is rising on the horizon when the party finally breaks up. Jake and you settle into the backseat of Javy’s convertible exhausted but ecstatic.

“Was today everything you hoped for and more, my Bitsie-girl?” Jake’s voice is slurring in exhaustion, his Texan twang blurring each rough syllable.

“Our wedding was everything I wanted and more, Jake. Honestly, I was ready to marry you in City Hall. But having our friends and family there made it even better. I know how important it was for you to have your mom and Brianna there for your wedding. I would’ve done anything to make sure your family was there.”

The wonder in his eyes still makes your breath catch in your throat.

“Why, Bitsie, baby?”

“Because I love you. And this?” You point to the ring on your left hand. “This is for forever. Your family is mine. And I love how much they love you. Your mom, and Brianna love you as much as I do. There was nobody else I’d rather have standing for you during our wedding.”

The rest of your words get muffled by the kiss Jake presses to your lips. This? You’re ready to kiss Jake and be kissed by him for the rest of your life. It’s a price you’ll readily pay. If only you could go back in time and tell yourself when you were hurting after Bradley cheated that something better is waiting for you, if only you open your eyes to it. It’s something you’re so glad you did. Jake’s the love of your life. You know that now.

Taglist:

✈️ @greenbaby12 ✈️ @mayhemmanaged ✈️ @desert-fern ✈️ @cassiemitchell ✈️ @eli2447 ✈️ @the-romanian-is-bae ✈️ @luckyladycreator2 ✈️ @lunamoonbby ✈️ @daphne-turner ✈️ @angeliccks ✈️ @dakotakazansky ✈️ @daisydaisygoose ✈️ @inky-sun ✈️ @fighterpilothoe ✈️ @pulisvertz ✈️ @wildxwidow ✈️ @angelbabyange ✈️ @chaoticassidy ✈️ @kmc1989 ✈️ @sarahsmi13s ✈️ @roosterforme ✈️ @lavenderbradshaw ✈️ @bobby-r2d2-floyd ✈️ @lovinglyeternal ✈️@bradleybeachbabe ✈️ @thedroneranger ✈️ @cherrycola27 ✈️ @roosterforme ✈️ @beccaanne814

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#star writes #you play stupid games you win stupid prizes #top gun fanfic #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick fanfic #top gun maverick fanfiction #hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake seresin x reader #past rooster x reader #past bradley bradshaw x reader #past bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #rooster is a dick #he's not the greatest in this #top gun imagine #top gun angst #Spotify

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vee-beeee · 7 months

Text

(Part one) Robo Road Trip

HIIII

This is PART ONE BABY (edit I FINISHED COOKING right here)

Okay the last dbh post was KINDAA giving depression so heres a FLUFFY fluffy one thats been bouncing around my brain for a couple days, part one as im going to make a continuation that shows what camping is like with the boys.

Premise: Road Trip to the West coast with Conner, Nines and Sixty

Imagine those roads with trees surrounding them, thats the vibe

Also first time writing for SIXTY whoooo hope im not trash, he acts like a smug dramatic guy so idk

Conner, Nines and Sixty x reader

I believeee this is around 3k lol i went ham

Warnings: maybe a bad word because sixty, fluff with a capitol F, part one

I also recommended listening to ANY Lord Huron song while reading this, that is basically the road trip music

(Hey sidenote, I know some of the ecosystem is TRASHED in dbh but lets pretend thats not happening LOL)

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You were so happy to get out of the city.

And into the car for a 35 hour drive.

You really wanted to show your boys the mountain you would always camp at when you were on the West Coast. They all hadn't been outside of Detroit, being made to do one job IN Detroit, but now they were all deviant.

And you wanted to show them a taste of the outside world.

It took a while for you all to get packed, the droids really wanted to try experimenting with their wardrobes on this trip. They sought to explore their inner human as much as possible.

You all needed the appropriate gear, so you guys went on a little shopping spree to find a tent and basic camping stuff. Hank had actually tagged along to coach you guys on what to get, having gone camping a couple times himself. (he mostly talked with you and Conner while sending glares to Sixty and Nines)

You ended up getting a pretty fancy tent that was big enough for all of you, and some essential equipment for cooking and cleaning. You also snuck in some board and card games, even though you knew they would beat you. But you could probably win ONE time...

Right??

After buying the gear, you guys got planning. You could only stay camping for 5 days, as the station didn't necessarily enjoy losing 4 cops. Especially 3 of the 4 being advanced detective androids. But it had worked out, (the boys having saved an astronomical amount of sick days) and you planned on going sometime in the fall. You decided on a week and you remember hurriedly running to your calendar and circling the date and also drawing a bunch of small doodles around it. The boys had all watched you fondly, getting excited themselves.

It all lead up to this moment, where Conner sitting next to you in the driver seat and was setting the location in his new GPS, Nines and Sixty where packing the car, and you were making a road trip playlist. (Hey that's very important!)

"Hey Conner?" He hummed in response and didn't look at you, too busy trying to figure out a new gadget he got for his car.

"Do you like Lord Huron?" You were trying to decide what the perfect music to play was and realized that Lord Huron existed. You weren't really sure how androids experienced music so you thought of asking. He huffed out a sigh directed at the troublesome device and turned to look at your phone, where you also had your eyes glued.

"I don't really listen to music as such, but Hank has introduced me to heavy metal. Is it like that?" You giggled remembering Hanks music taste

"No its more gentle, relaxing. It reminds me of walking in the woods." Out of the corner of your eye Conner looked away, LED blinking amber and blue. He looked back at you with a soft smile and this time you met his gaze.

"That sounds delightful, my dear. Perfect for this occasion" You flushed at the nickname, and he chuckled seeing your reaction. He leaned in and kissed your cheek before exiting the car, hearing Sixty's call that they were almost done. You sat in the vehicle, skin heating, and raising a hand to graze the place he kissed you. You loved when he did that. A steady knock at the window startled you and you whipped around to see a familiar face (sixty) smirking at you, seeing that you were flushed. You stuck your tongue out at him and he reciprocated, sticking his tongue back at you.

"If you two would stop behaving like children, we would be done much sooner." A booming voice cut through your contest with sixty, and you watched him roll his eyes and face an annoyed Nines. You got out of the car to go help the RK900 with what he was carrying. He was still grumpy so you smiled softly at him and mouthed an apology. He relaxed slightly, but still shot a glare at sixty, who chuckled and went back into the apartment and get more bags. You then took the time to appreciate Conner's awesome Bat Mobile car. It had a huge trunk that managed to fit all of your stuff, tent included. It was truly a miracle machine.

You walked over to the car and gave the suitcase to Conner who situated it nicely in a perfect space. You were also lucky to have android boyfriends who were amazing at managing tight spaces and fitting things into them.

After a couple of minutes, Sixty emerged with the last of the bags. He informed you all that he locked the house up and engaged the security systems. The final step. You were really going.

You all piled into the car, both Nines and Sixty insisting you take the front seat. You accepted, but promised to swap with them when you got to the next stop. Most rest stops would be for you, needing to get food or use a restroom. The droids didn't need anything but told you they needed to get up and stretch their legs once in a while ( but you think that was just their excuse so they could follow you around and make sure you were safe at suspicious gas stations.)

After a while of driving through the city, Conner was getting on the highway when you announced that you would be playing a Lord Huron song and see how everyone liked it. You turned on "Meet Me in the Woods" and leaned back to look out the window.

"I took a little journey to the unknown,

And I've come back changed I can feel it in my bones

I messed with the forces our eyes cant see

Now the darkness got a hold on me

Oh, the darkness got a hold on me"

You had closed your eyes and started to quietly sing along, and realized you should see what the others thought about it. You turned your head slightly to Conner staring out at the road ahead, his LED blinking yellow and blue. He had a soft, lingering smile on his face and his posture was relaxed.

Sixty had his eyes closed, leaning his head all the way back on the seat and seemed to be absorbing the music.

Nines was also leaning back, arms crossed. He was staring out the window with his LED a soft, stable amber. He turned slightly to just catch the end of your gaze and his lips twitched in a cute, endearing way. It was a Nines smile. You smiled back at him and turned around to look out the front windshield. It was raining slightly, and you were just leaving the city and into the unknown. It was perfect.

After the song had finished, you tore your eyes away from the road

"Did you all like it?" you hopefully gazed at each individual and noticed they all looked at peace. Conner spoke first

"Do you have more music of that energy? I think I enjoyed it."

"I agree. More please"

"Indeed"

You looked around to see everyone nodding their heads and you beamed. And so, your playlist made it past the android enjoyment test. You settled in as it started the next song, feeling content. You could totally do 35 hours.

(4 hours in)

Update: why would you do this to yourself. 35 hours? Were you crazy? You loved road trips as much as the next guy, but you were dying. You guys were currently stuck in traffic, and the boys had gotten involved in a pretty intense "dad stuck in traffic" fight.

"Nines, going on I90 would have taken us to the heart of Chicago, do you want more traffic?"

"No it wouldn't if we took the round about. Whose the more advanced android here Conner."

"Woah, low blow"

"Be quiet Sixty"

This started as Nines getting mad at Conner for taking them down a road that had high traffic at that hour, and Conner defending himself. Sixty had no argument, he just liked being included.

"I took 294 because I knew it would keep us out of the worst of the traffic. No matter what, traffic is inevitable."

"It could have been avoidable had you followed my instructions"

You were sitting in the passenger seat, eyes squeezed shut listening to them argue. It was infuriating.

So you did something.

"Guys I'm going to jump out of the car and sprint down the street like a crazy person if you don't stop arguing. I'm dead serious" You snapped and stared them down. Or a least you tried, because your face betrayed you and you broke out into a smile giggle.

Conner looked guilty at first, but saw your grin and started chuckling, envisioning you running down the street like a madman. Nines bristled, still annoyed. Even if your giggle made his lips quirk. You made eye contact with Sixty and he was smirking at you, taking out his coin to mess around with.

You eventually sighed, a couple minutes having passed. You turned around to address Nines.

"Traffic was inevitable" then you turned to Conner "No arguing". You took Conner's hand in yours and held it. Another smile broke out onto his face and he turned to look out on the road. You felt a hand graze your neck and you twisted around to see Nines reaching out. He moved forward to peck your temple and then quietly apologized to Conner.

Mission Successful.

But that was mission one. Mission two was figuring out how to go to use the bathroom. Because you were currently stuck in traffic. That wasn't great. After a couple minutes of fidgeting your legs, Conner took his hand away from holding yours and looked toward you. His gaze was steady, as his LED blinked and you knew in the back of your head that he was scanning you.

"Do you have to use the lavatory?" You gasped and shoved his shoulder, watching him bite back a laugh, and then started sinking in to your seat.

"Conner! That's so embarrassing."

"Did maybe someone tell you to go before we left? Oh wait, that sounds like something I would say" Sixty spoke up from the back of the car. You turned around to gape at him, and he just sat there looking smug. You could hear Conner and Nines subdued chuckling behind the music that was playing.

You ended up holding out, absolutely refusing to go in the woods by the road, insisting that someone would see you. Conner pulled over at a gas station and you all but flew out of the car and bolted through the store until skidding to a stop right outside the bathroom.

When you got out, Sixty was buying your favorite snack and you saw Conner and Nines fueling up the car out the window. They were seriously so thoughtful.

After Sixty was done paying, you came up behind him and hugged his middle. He laughed and held your hands still on his middle, and spun you. You squeaked and he laughed harder. He stopped and unwrapped you to kiss your head and hand you your prized snack. You pecked his lips and left, both of you saying good day to the amused employee working there.

(17 hours in)

It started getting really late so you guys stayed at a motel for the night. You guys all relaxed on a fluffy bed, all party's included were happy to stretch their legs. You and Nines had been switching front seat and back seat, and Sixty had repeatedly old you he was fine where he was. Nines had revealed to you later that Sixty just wanted to sit next to you.

You got up from the bed first, eager to get ready and sleep. When you came out 30 minutes later, Conner was laying still under the blankets, staring at the celling. Nines was also under, and had rolled over to face the window. And Sixty had apparently, at some point while you were in the bathroom, been knocked off the bed. He was currently face down on the floor. You giggled and nudged his side. He rolled over, clutching his heart.

"They, (fake coughing) their so mean. They shoved me off the bed" you shook your head and leaned down on your knees to kiss his cheek. He accepted and rolled back over on his face. Conner then spoke up from the bed

"I wouldn't kiss his face, this floor is filthy." You stood up and laughed, making your way to the bed and crawling over him to slip between him and Nines. Nines stiffened until he got comfortable, and Conner wrapped his arms around you to spoon you.

"Just say your jealous she kissed me Conny" came a voice from the floor. Conner scoffed and replied with another rhetorical comment hidden in a nice tone. Nines joined in just when you started slipping into sleep, and the last thing you heard before you left to dream world was Conner whispering goodnight into your ear.

In the morning you woke up covered in androids. Very snugly droids. You all then got packed up and set off. During the drive, You found out Sixty had crawled into bed after you and shoved Nines off when he was in rest mode. Nines woke up very alarmed, and decided to continue his rest in one the the chairs in the room the motel provided. You had felt so bad afterwards, but he insisted it was fine.

You guys were driving through North Dakota today, and you were currently knitting. The boys were discussing a case that was giving them a hard time. You would have joined in but you believed in not talking about work on your precious vacation time. You were sitting in the back seat now, Sixty at your side, and it was very domestic. You felt a hand wrap itself around your knee and you smiled, continuing your stitch.

(30 hours in)

You were totally knocked out. The boys wanted to continue driving to beat traffic, and were currently talking through their android Verizon service (using their minds) as to not wake you up.

But you still accidently woke up with a start when Sixty had rolled his shoulder, unintentionally dropping your head off him. You had apparently drifted off resting your face on his soft puffy jacket.

To which he did NOT mind.

You squeaked awake, being surprisingly shoved off your pillow. Sixty immediately said a quiet apology, but it was too late. 2 angry droids turned there seats around to glare down the accused RK800.

"We told you to stay still" they said that almost in synch

"I was reaching for a blanket! I didn't know a small movement would wake her!"

You sleepily giggled at their little argument and passed out against him once again.

When you woke up for real, you were informed that you guys were almost three hours away. You breathed a sigh of relief, but still begged to pull over so you could get some air. You were in a beautiful parts of the woods and you desperately needed a stretch after sleeping on Sixty. No offence, but snuggling with androids is like snuggling with a very sturdy pillow. Your happy for it, but its not very squishy.

Nines had chuckled at how desperate you looked and obliged. You popped out and basically ran halfway down the road and back. You were huffing when you came back to the car. Conner rolled his window down, eyebrow raised. You wheezed

"Sorry, needed to run" He nodded in understanding, and actually got out himself to stretch his android joints and put on his cute little beanie. Sixty got out and straightened his tie, and Nines choose to stay in the car and work on coordinates. Sixty walked around the car to join you and Conner, and looped his arms around your waist. You yelped as he picked you up slightly to sling you back in forth.

"How are you enjoying the road trip?" He punctuated each word with a swing of your body. You were laughing when you responded "Good, but I'm excited to get there" Conner had been watching you fondly when he stated

"Nines says its 3 more hours, but we might get delayed depending on traffic." you nodded and Sixty set you down. You then went up to go hug Conner, making sure he wasn't missing any affection.

After more standing and stretching, you got in the front seat with Nines next to you, setting the car to auto drive. Conner and Sixty were sitting in the back, playing one of the card games you brought and starting to get very competitive with each other. You beamed and turned back to look at Nines. His eyes weren't on the road, however. He was staring at you with an expression of absolute love. You both sat and stared at each other until he leaned over and grabbed the back of your head, threaded his fingers into your hair, and kissed your temple. You shivered as his fingers rubbed your scalp and he grinned against your temple.

(5 minutes away from campsite)

You were bouncing off the walls excited. It had been years since you visited this spot, having been to far away after moving to Detroit. The boys had been enjoying the scenery outside the city, but now the were enthralled. The woods were huge, and the air was fresh. Moss hung from the arms of the trees and you could see your mountain peeking over the top of the forest. You guys were waiting in line at the entrance of the campsite to check in, and you were gushing about how pretty your spot was. It was nestled in the corner of the campsite, leading into a trail into your own personal forest. Complete with a little stream.

The androids were amused watching you talk about the park, but they were almost as excited as you. When you were sleeping, all they talked about was this new experience, and how happy they were to share it with you. It was interesting seeing all the new environments and experiencing what its like outside of the city. Detroit was so advanced, and they had never really been deep in the woods.

After patiently waiting, you finally got all checked in and remembered to buy some firewood.

Then, you were off.

Starting your very first camping trip with your wonderful android boyfriends

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PART ONE YALL

Hope its okay, had to really crack at this one to fit all my ideas in. Its also hard to write the dynamic between 4 people LOL

Hope I managed to capture their personalities okay

Part 2 is all about them camping so stay tuned

It might take a bit so hang on and let me cook 🔥

Sorry for plot holes or if this has been done beforee

#dbh connor #dbh connor x reader #dbh rk800 #detroit become human #dbh nines #dbh rk900 #dbh rk900 x reader #dbh sixty #dbh sixty x reader #road trip

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owliellder · 9 months

Text

The Finer Details

Post DI! Leon Kennedy x f! Painter Reader

MDNI 18+

(Session 1, Session 2, Session 3, Session 4, Session 5, The Reveal)

Description: Leon realizes that retirement is in his best interest now that he's getting older. All of his accomplishments as an agent mean he's truly earned a painting to commemorate..

Author Note: I wanna say there's some pretty descriptive talk about depression in this chapter, just as a heads up. Anyways, it's my weekend and I'm going to be absolutely zooted every single day so the next chapter will most likely be out Monday morning PST lol.

Cross-posted on AO3

Session 3: Blocking In Color

It was nearly three weeks until you saw Leon again.

You tried to call him a couple days after he'd left that day, a few more times over the following week, but to no avail. The man was unreachable.

Even though you did your best to convince yourself that you just wanted to get his painting started, "It was an important one", you knew that you were really just worried about him.

You've seen this kind of dismay with the other retired agents that've had a portrait painted in the past, but they at least recognized what they'd been through.

Leon hasn't. You could just tell.

Looking over the sketches you made of his face, you couldn't help but wonder what exactly he'd been thinking about the last time he was here. He seemed so bothered, acting like he was hiding it so well, too.

Then again, you did drop a rather large bombshell on the guy while he was in a pretty vulnerable state, but you thought he knew what the portrait he was going to receive was suppose to mean. Again, most of the retired agents you'd seen were similar to Leon in that regard and even they at least had a basic grasp on the finality of it all. So why didn't he?

You nursed your bottom lip, still staring at the sketches laying in front of you while you sat at one of your desks in the corner. You normally don't come to your workspace unless you're actively painting, yet you'd shown up everyday in hopes Leon would randomly pop in. He seemed like the kind of guy to just kind of show up, anyways...

If you had just gotten a picture that day you've could've at least started working out the positioning for his portrait. Unfortunately, he wasn't in any position mentally to put up with anymore of your shenanigans at the time, it seemed.

You really did try your best to get ahold of Leon, eventually giving up a few days ago. You'd already emailed the President, who had been the one to personally commission you unlike with previous ex-agents, letting him know that it's going to be longer than expected. Thankfully he was understanding, knowing rather well how much the whole retirement thing was weighing on Leon.

You'll come back tomorrow and try again. Even the next day, and the day after that if you have to, and so on and so forth.

Guilty. That's all Leon felt right now.

He's been shelled up in his house since the moment he got home after leaving your building, withering away by the minute.

He hadn't showered, barely eaten, only ever really pulling himself from what little comfort his room offered to grab whatever bottle he touched first in the cabinet. Leon didn't care, just as long as it was something.

Chris had been over a couple times after he stopped responding to his messages, doing his best to get him out of the house. Claire had been over a few times more than her brother had, bringing groceries once she'd heard about the sad state Leon was keeping himself in.

It broke both their hearts, but they could only do so much for him. Leon was stubborn, head strong, he wasn't the kind to sway to many forces. He had somehow gaslit himself into thinking he was doing well. "Just peachy", even.

Clearly that wasn't the case, both Chris and Claire could see that. They'd have to be blind not to.

Having been in contact with Leon's government-assigned therapist, Chris tried to set up an at-home meeting for him one day. That turned out to be a disaster seeing as Leon was bordering on blackout drunk and could barely keep his eyes open. Not to mention the vomiting.

Claire even tried to bathe Leon. She only got far enough to wash his hair in his kitchen sink, using his vomit-covered mouth as an excuse to keep him over the sink long enough to shampoo his greasy, stringy hair.

All of it was weighing on him too much. He felt so guilty for making his friends feel like they had to babysit him, ignoring everyone's calls and messages, your calls and messages. That kind of thought process quickly spiraled into him reliving the worst days of his life, having to through suffer so many flashbacks and nightmares, not sleeping because of it. He rarely ever felt safe enough to get under the covers on his bed.

None of this is what he wanted. If it were up to him, he'd start all over; be twenty-one again, work as a cop, maybe get promoted a few times, find a girlfriend, start a family, have a normal life. Why couldn't he have that?

Staying awake night after night, Leon would stare at the ceiling in his bedroom and fantasize about the wonderful life he could've had, the happy memories he could've made. It would make him weep, longing for something that never could've been.

Instead, Leon was stuck with endless images of horror, death, and gore every time he blinked, and oh was he bitter about it all. So bitter, so angry, so...

Feeling sorry for himself was all he could do now. Sure, he killed all those monsters and zombies, saved all those people, not once did he think about himself through the years. Now he had all the time in the world to question and wonder, and having to think about himself and what he wanted most made him feel like a needy, greedy bastard.

But wasn't he allowed to be greedy, if only just a little? He had wants, needs, and though he wanted so desperately to change his past, he knew he couldn't. So, what did he want now? That, he didn't know.

Guilty for feeling this way, guilty for wanting different, guilty for wanting anything good for himself.

It took the better part of those two weeks for Leon to finally muster up some form of energy to stumble into his bathroom and shower one afternoon, dizzy and nauseous. The light emanating from the rest of his house was blinding, not having even bothered to close the shades he had on any of his windows. His room was kept a cave and that's where he stayed.

Leon now found himself sitting down in the shower just like before he'd decided to retire, only this time it was mostly to keep from slipping and dying. The last thing he needed anyone to see was him naked and dead in the shower. Embarrassing.

His thoughts at the moment were shallow, still pretty drunk from his bender, head lulling back and forth a bit as his vision spun. He was finally hungry again, the heat from the shower making that all the more obvious as he grew lightheaded, but he didn't know what he wanted.

After managing to actually crawl his way out of the shower, he dug through the pile of dirty laundry at the end of his bed, finding a pair of boxers that didn't smell too terrible to put on.

Leon used the wall heavily for support to walk out into his kitchen, muttering curses under his breath at just how bright it was. Opening his freezer, he stared at the meal prep containers left by Claire, grabbing one to attempt and read what she'd wrote on the sticky note attached to the lid.

That's right... She made him little meals, even putting them in the freezer so they didn't go bad as fast. All he had to do was put it in the microwave.

Simple enough, he could do that.

The one he chose was meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Just the sound of it had his stomach rumbling and his mind craving the comforting taste of a home cooked meal.

The first few bites in made Leon feel nauseous again, but once those bites hit his stomach the feeling immediately gave way to just how hungry he actually was.

He tried to pace himself, he really did try, yet he managed to devour the food in front of him in a matter of minutes, only pausing every few seconds to breathe. It felt so good, something warm in his stomach. Filling in all the right ways. Once he finished, he pushed the empty container away and just laid his head down sideways on the cool countertop, closing his eyes as he let the food settle.

As much as he wanted to degrade himself for acting this way, reducing himself to such a weird and pathetic state, Leon didn't have the mind to. All he knew right now was that the warmth that the meal Claire made him. Not to sound cliche, but he genuinely believed he could taste the love cooked into it.

For the first time in what was now two and a half weeks, Leon was awake and alert when Chris and Claire came over again. He'd eaten everything Claire made, holding all the now cleaned containers out to her. It was a silent plea for more, and lucky for Leon, she had just made another grocery trip for him.

Unbeknownst to him, Claire had been cooking here at his house. This entire time he thought she'd been bringing the meals over, assumed to be leftovers from cooking for her family. She did confess to hoping the smell of the food cooking would pull him from his room. It didn't, much to her dismay, but now she was just glad he was up and eating again.

As soon as Leon tried to apologize for dragging her away from her family, she was quick to shut him down with that mom stare she'd developed after having her kids. It worked, especially on him.

Chris was busy chatting up Leon while Claire cooked him another set of meals for the next week. It was hard to converse, but Leon did manage to nod and him as the other man talked about some random encounter he had the other day while out driving.

It was strange to feel so lively again. Those thoughts still clung to the back of his mind, though all he could focus on were his friends taking care of him like one of their own. Leon feels like he's been a terrible friend lately, seems as though the siblings standing in his kitchen didn't feel the same. He wasn't showing it, but Leon was definitely holding back a smile.

A couple hours had past, Chris opting to stay with Leon and eat lunch since Claire had to head back and help her husband with something.

The hug Claire gave Leon was phenomenal. After the hug he shared with you he's been craving that physical contact more than ever, so finally getting another good squeeze from a friend was boosting his mood.

Chris and him sat, ate, and talked about whatever came to mind, eventually asking about you.

"How's the painting coming along? Do you like the painter?" He smiled, looking at Leon with wide, curious eyes. That man always had a smile gracing his features.

Leon shrugged, taking a sip from the water he poured himself not too long ago. He was pretty dehydrated after solely drinking alcohol for the past couple weeks. "She's alright. Haven't started the painting yet."

Chris raised an eyebrow, placing his arms on the counter and crossed them as he leaned forward slightly. "Just 'alright'?" he emphasized the word "alright" with air quotes, which caused Leon to scoff.

"What else do you want me to say? I've seen her twice so far and its been fine." Leon lifted his hands up in confusion, palms facing the ceiling as he watched the man sitting next to him rolled his eyes dramatically. "C'mon, she was amazing for Claire and I- Okay, how about this..."

Chris repositioned himself so his entire upper body was facing him now, leaning in a little closer to ask another question. "Do you like the room she works in? Cause I thought it was pretty comfy. When she was focusing on Claire's part of the portrait, I took a nap over on that rug she had. All those pillows mixed with the classical music knocked me the fuck out."

He laughed, shaking his head at memory before looking over at Leon again. "So...? And don't lie to me, I saw that pillow on your couch."

Leon sucked on his teeth and hummed, glancing over his shoulder at his couch. "It's cozy, yeah." He brought his head back forward, patting his hands gently against the counter.

The two chatted for awhile longer before Chris eventually had to leave, giving Leon a firm pat on the shoulder while shaking him a bit. After he left, Leon was left to sit alone and think again, only difference now is he felt better. He was crazy tired, his social battery quickly drained from having his friends around, but he felt good nonetheless.

He wasn't ready at the time, yet after a sober night with solid sleep, Leon woke up the next morning and decided to just text you, hoping you weren't mad at him. Calling would've been too much at that moment, not even have listened to the voicemails you left, or anyone's, for that matter.

His chest felt tight after sending the text, but it was quickly eased about ten minutes later when you responded with nothing but enthusiasm. The smiley face you added at the end of your message made him smile, quickly wiping it away with his hand.

Your next session was arranged two days ahead of time in the late afternoon. Leon wanted to give himself enough time to recollect since he needed to look his best the following weeks. You told him it was time to start with the main painting, which you still needed a picture for.

During that time he finally shaved his stubble, went out and got his hair trimmed, tackled all the laundry he'd neglected, and got his best suit dry cleaned. All thoughts aside, he felt good and wanted to stay this way.

Needless to say, Leon was jittery when he pulled up to your workplace again. He was finally letting himself feel excited again about this painting. If it's anything close to what Chris and Claire's portrait is, then that excitement will only continue to grow the further along you get.

You were already there waiting for him at the door, a gentle smile on your face. That wonderful soft perfume that he missed reaching his nose once more as you lead him up the stairs and through the other door. Chris was right, if he had the opportunity, he'd take a nap on your rug. It looked mighty comfy.

Leon was thankful you didn't ask any questions on his whereabouts, he wasn't ready to talk. You were just as excited as he was about getting the painting started, if not more. Watching you eagerly move back and forth between the larger easel and your desks was a refreshing sight to the man.

You stood at your easel for a couple minutes, just silently looking from the blank canvas to where he was sat. You told him to get into a comfortable position, prompting him rest his right leg on his left knee, leaning back and to the side so he was sitting at a slight angle, arms resting on the chair's armrests.

You stared at him for a few seconds, tilting your head side to side with your eyes squinted. "Let me just-" you spoke in a hushed voice, walking over to Leon before cautiously reaching out to rest one hand on the underside on his chin while the other hovered over the side of his face.

You weren't an idiot, you knew what his absence was from. So you made sure to be careful with him, knowing he was probably still pretty fragile. Only gentle and cautious touches for Mr. Kennedy.

So close yet so far. His skin tingled in your hands wake, and god he hoped you couldn't notice his blush.

You could, but you wouldn't say anything. Besides, you weren't faring well yourself, hands a little shaky as you touched his face.

Leon just let you move his head to whatever position you wanted, his eyes now half-lidded as you had walked back a couple times to get just the right angle. You pulled away for a final time with a small "aha!" and he wished you would hold his head for just a little longer.

The floor where your easel sat was marked with an 'X' made with painter's tape, making it easy for you to stay in the right spot for the photo once you pushed the easel out of the way.

"Don't move." You held your hands up after analyzing his position, quickly hurrying over the corner opposite of your desks to grab a bulky camera that sat atop a tall tripod. You worked as fast as you could, knowing as long as you had a picture with him in this position then this whole process would go so much smoother.

You didn't even have to ask Leon to smile or look up at the camera since he was sitting there with a rather dopey smile, his eyes remaining trained right on yours. Nice and natural. He looked relaxed which is exactly what you wanted.

Just as a precaution, you took multiple pictures, giving him a thumbs up once you figured you'd gotten enough. His head back to rest on the chair at the okay, listening to the sound of you walk over to your laptop after untwisting the camera from the tripod. You printed out 3 copies of the photograph and taped one to a stand you had brought over to sit next to the easel, making sure it sat eye level to you.

The ball was finally rolling, now having what you needed to start with the main sketch. When Leon lifted his head up, he noticed that you were ready, sucking in a sharp breath through his nose while he shifted a little to get back in just the right position.

You twirled your pencil between your fingers before beginning to roughly sketch out the chair, eyebrows furrowing as you focused. Leon could see your expression, how intensely you zoned into your work. It was incredibly admirable and he found himself fully content in just watching you do your thing.

It didn't take long before you had sketched out his general shapes, now walking over to take the sketches you made of his face out of your sketchbook to clip up right next to the reference photo. The more finer details would be added later, but you wanted to get just the basic shapes of his face.

That didn't take long either, because before Leon knew it, you were telling him it was okay to talk. He was pretty animated with his hands when he talked, so you kept him quiet until now.

"Am I easy to draw?" Leon spoke with an almost sultry tone after a few seconds of you telling him he could speak. It threw you off only a bit, carding your fingers through your hair as you took one step back to look at what you had so far.

"I wanna say yes and no." You responded, catching his questioning look from the corner of your eye. "You're easy to sketch out, yes, but your hair is giving me trouble." You could hear a low chuckle rumble from his chest as you stepped back forward. "Hey, you asked." You laughed back.

"I know, I know." He shook his head with a poorly hidden grin, tilting his head down to try and hide it a little better. You immediately pointed your pencil at him, not taking your eyes off the canvas. "I said you could talk, not move." Your sarcastic tone made him chuckle again, slowly lifting his head back up with a sigh.

"Yes, ma'am." You could just hear the smirk in his words, causing you to let out a sigh of your own.

By the time the sun had started to set, you had blocked out all the simple colors for the painting. Right now, it just looked like a very bland and abstract painting. It'll come together, slowly but surely. Trust the process, as people say.

Leon was in awe already, having stood up to look at your progress as you washed your hands over in the small bathroom. Oil paints smeared something fierce and as much as you loved your job, you did not want feel oily at home.

"It already looks stunning." You heard the man say from where he stood in front of the easel. It wasn't quite registering in his brain that it was him on that canvas just yet, but hopefully soon it would.

He wanted to recognize himself in something as wonderful as your art.

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