#i still have a chance to find those missing 10 but i have to wait until im almost out and get an additional rx from my dr

[bigmammallama5]

Speaking of a previous fandom post I just shared: I have Not stepped away from fandom this fall, I’m just dealing with some health stuff and I’ve been pretty short on the energy I usually have. I’m doing okay and should be all the way better soon! But energy has been going to real job and pottery (which is also real gig job with taxable $ involved but pottery is the art form I have consistently fallen back on for comfort the past decade). I still have so much interest in unfinished fics and art I hope to return to in the new year. And I’m still hoping to noodle out some drawpiles with @sango-blep as my body and energy level allow. But yeah, still here just working to keep my nose above the water.

#arting #stupid rant is stupid #i miss u supercorp i think about u all the time #also the few minutes i usually nab writing during work jobs has been nuked with lots of product photography #so then when i get home im sore and exhausted #also new worry unlocked #the adhd drug shortage has finally hit me and i could only get 20 of my 30 pillss this month #i still have a chance to find those missing 10 but i have to wait until im almost out and get an additional rx from my dr #which is not stressful at all and eating into my energy reserves #anyways

[tokkiwrites]

┈─ 𖧷 Dirty Diana 🍷

ㅡㅡㅡ in which you want to surprise your dad with his favorite band tickets. you're really lucky when you stumble upon the lead guitarist, Joel Miller, at your local grocery store. things escalate- but you do get those tickets.

★ ͘rockstar!joel miller, fem!reader, dom joel, sub reader, afab reader, p in v sex unprotected, rough joel, age gap, dumbification of reader, hair pulling, slapping, head m and f receiving, creampie, kind of size kink if u tilt your head, joel has tattoos and a piercings (yummy), sir kink, almost pet play, lots of pet names. drinking, mentions of cheating. lmk if i missed any!!!! (pic in the banner doesn't describe readers body!! there for the aesthetics) not proofread

you've never been a rock fan. sure, you'd enjoy listening to the songs your dad played on your 3 hour long car rides, the ones he always sets as his ring-tone...

but you were in a dilemma nowㅡ there's a giveaway of sorts with tickets to your dad's most favorite band from the early 90's, but to even have a chance at those tickets you need to submit a video of yourself singing one of their songs.

now you would ask your dad, but the first thing that made you this set on getting those tickets was surprising him with them on his upcoming birthday. you'd buy them, but they're either sold out or 200 bucks on shady sitesㅡ and you're a broke college student on winter break.

you sigh, closing your laptop and throwing it on the other side of the bed. you stare up at the ceiling, counting the little neon stars you've had there since you were 10. they always calmed youㅡ made your brain less foggy, even for just a few seconds.

groaning, you throw your legs around, frustrated and disappointed in yourself. this would've really made his worries slip away, for a bit, after what happened with your mom. you still can't wrap your head around why your mom chose her exceeding in nothing, 2 palms of receding hairline co-worker. i mean, he was richㅡ super fucking rich, but was it worth it? your dad didn't deserve it.

you wipe the tears you've just now realized were dripping down your face. "i need something to drink." sniffling, you put on your plush jacket, get some slippers , and spray on some perfume. "at least need to smell presentable if i look likeㅡ" you stare into the mirror, laughing to yourself, "that."

you stroll out of your house and down the street. you were lucky for the grocery store just about 7 minutes away, give or take. it wasn't that small but it wasn't big either, at least not big enough so that you learned form a young age where all of your favorite iles were.

"Hi, Miss Sammy!" you greet the cashier, an old friend of the family and sort of an aunt to youㅡ you remember when she'd let you stay after school in the back of the store up until 5 pm, when your dad came to pick you up. "Hi, honey! How's winter break treating you?"

"'s fine... I'm glad to be back home with dad." you smile and her gaze softened. "Well if you ever need anythin', you let me know sugar, mkay?" you nod, walking to the furthest part of the store, where all of the drinks were. you look around, trying to find the cheapest thing that can get you dizzy the fastest. really deep in your mind you failed to notice someone coming up to your side, breaking the silence.

"Rough day?" you jump, taking one step back before you turn around to see who it was.

"Yeah, you could say thaㅡ wait." you pause. holy shit. you couldn't believe your eyes. "I know you! You're thㅡ" he presses his fingers agains your lips, and oh, it sends a shiver down your back. "quiet down, darlin'."

you nod, whispers-yelling, "You're Joel Miller, right?" he sighs, smiling at your question, and your eyes light up. this is perfect, so, so perfect. "My dad loves you guysㅡ you and your band."

"that so?" your arms flare up, smiling so big. "you've no idea! 's why i was so excited to hear about you coming to town. Wanted to surprise him."

"wanted?" Joel quirks his eyebrows up, his voice dropping an octave. "Yeah, well, i found out pretty late about it and - well, they're super expensive now, as you'd imagine.." You sigh, turning back to look at the bottles catching the white light of the room. "jus' wanted to give him something to be happy about, you know?" You reach out to grab a 16$ bottle of wine you know is too sweet, but it'll do. trying to lift the mood, you try your hand at a joke. "guess my only option is to fuck somebody who has those tickets." you look at him and his brows are furrowed. stupid, stupid, stupid joke, stupid you.

"so-rry, didn't mean toㅡ"

"that so, pretty girl?" Those words go straight to your core, causing you to nip at your bottom lip, stiff like a stone. "Now, you can't just say somethin' like thatㅡ" Joel leans in closer "'n not answer me."

you look up at him, and you finally get a better look. there aren't many pictures of him close up on the internet, mostly grainy ones where you can barely make out his tattoos. you gulp, eyes traveling across his face: a brow piercing, a full beard with patches of gray, a neck tattoo with a ravenㅡ he looked surreal.

"y'gonna answer me, angel-face? or do i need to pull out those words myself?" god, you were practically dripping on the linoleum of the store, cheeks ablaze and words tangled in your throat.

"I'm ㅡ" he traces his inked fingers across the exposed part of your neck, chuckling at your demeanor. "I live 5 minutes away." you blurt out, causing his eyes to widen. "maybeㅡ come over?" god, what were you doing? you sure hope not to regret your words later. but right now, two things you knew for certain: you were way too turned on, and he was way too hot for his age.

Joel smirks, his fingers lingering on your skin. "Well, darlin', seems like fate's on your side today." He grabs the bottle of wine you were holding, examining it. "I ain't lettin' you drink that, girl." he scoffs, picking up a bottle of Giulio Ferrari from 1992, not even looking at the price. "Let me spoil you a bit, yeah." you can't even say a word, you pathetically whine, as your knees wobble like jelly.

Joel puts the hoodie over his head and looks down at you, his firey stare making your cheeks burn up all over again. "y'know the lady?" he asks, motioning his head towards Sammy who was busy playing Rummy on her phone. "I do, old familyㅡ well, like family." He nods, patting your shoulder, "you go ahead, wait f'me in front of the store by that coffee machine. I'mma pay real quick, yeah?" you nod so fast, way too excited with those butterflies tying knots in your stomach, you head to the door.

"Bye, Miss Sammy!" you wave, and she just hums and gives half of a wave back "buh-bye, sugar." too fixed on her phone. As Joel pays for the bottle of wine, he glances back at you exiting the store.

"Lead the way, darlin'. Let's see if we can work something out." and oh, the way those words make you drip in anticipation. the way you were so eager to have his hands all over your body- those tickets were the last thing on your mind right now. You both head towards your house, the cold air adding a sense of urgency to the situation. You couldn't believe how needy he made you with just a few words. Small talk fills the short journey, with Joel sharing stories from the road and you nervously responding.

Once inside your home, Joel looks around appreciatively. "Cozy place you got here." you nod, leading him to the kitchen. "your daddy home?"

"no.." you fumble your steps as you hurriedly put two glasses on the counter for Joel to fill up with wine. Joel smirks, sensing the tension in the air. "Just us, then," he says, pouring the wine into the glasses. The rich aroma of the aged wine fills the room as he hands you a glass. "Cheers to unexpected encounters," he toasts, clinking glasses with you. The wine is exquisite, but the real intoxication is the electrifying presence of Joel. Tattoos adorned his body, his fluffy hair laid perfectly, strands of gray standing out; the way his muscles bulged through his shirtㅡ you could see it all better now.

"feels like you're about to eat me, baby. way you're starin' me down." joel chuckles. "sorry I'mㅡ sorry." you nervously sip from you glass trying to put out the fire in your core, his voice making it ten times harder for you. "now, how you gonna get what you want if you get so shy on me, hm?"

joel steps closer to you, and your chest burns, heaving up and down as his arms snake around your waist and settle onto your tummy. "ain't you a big girl? thought you were- how you so eagerly invited such an old man into your home when your daddy ain't around." he rubs through you, a squeaky whimper slipping past your lips as you felt his bulge against you. "oh, she likes that, don't she?" you breathe out "god.."

"not god, baby..jus' me." he chuckles murkily.

"please..." you plead, palms now on top of his as you slowly turn your head to expose your neck further. "please what, babygirl?"

"please, sir..t-touch me." you back your body further, prompting joel to groan and tighten his grasp on you. "jesus, girl." he laughs "dirty little thing." his rough hands make their way under your lace trimmed long-sleeve, grasping at you breasts.

"no bra, baby?" he asks, swirling his thumbs across your sprung up nipples, and you moan a quiet 'no'. "what if your daddy walks through that door right now, huh?"

"dont care..." you lean more into his touch, intoxicated from it and his scent, a hint of smoky wood, and a touch of muskㅡ he smelled delicious. you couldn't wait to have him on your tongue.

"'course you don't. needy little whore wants an old man to fuck her senselessㅡ need me to fill ya up with this cock til you're dumb and can't think no more." you moan, so eagerly shaking your head as you press your ass onto his hard-on, getting joel to wrap his thick fingers around your throat and spin you around to face him. "not so fast, girl. wanna see ya beg, can you do that f'me angel?" his graps grow rougher, and you mewl out a string of yes, yes, yes, whilst dropping to your knees, as he instructs

"eyes up, babyㅡ there she is." joel strokes your face before delivering a harsh slap onto your already red cheek. moaning, you rub your thighs together as to evade just a bit of pressure in your cunt. "pretty little slut. so pretty like this." he growls, taking a handful of your hair "go on now. beg. tell sir how bad you need his cock."

and you do. you beg and plead, press your face against his thigh like a little puppy. you don't take you eyes off of his, prompting yourself with his boot under your clothed cunt. "please, sir.. v'been so good..." and you start moving slowly, cheek now flush against his crotch. you moan and rut against him, heat washing over your whole body. you wanted to make him proud, you dont know what came over youㅡ you were so drunken and you didn't know if it was because of the wine or because of joel.

the way he stared down at you, his pupils almost like an eclipse to his hazel eyes, lips half hidden behind his mustache. The way his piercing gaze holds yours, unwavering and commanding; he was rough and enticing, mean in just the right wayㅡ his voice dripped like honey and you couldn't hold but lick it up and let it poison you through and through.

"atta girl." you looked so vulnerable. so innocent. so raw and ready for him to taint and infect you with his all. he unbuckled his pants, leaving them a bit open at the top, perfectly for you to see the strain his thick cock put onto his briefs. "c'mon. don't make me wait, baby..." you didn't need to hear more, eagerly pulling out his erect length, letting it slap onto his clothed belly. you could drool at the sight, all though you're pretty sure you already were. he was bigㅡ huge even, the biggest you've ever seen. it was girthy and had veins running down it, tip red, dripping with precum. "too b-big-" you manage to let out. "you'll make it fit, puppy. for me, yeah? c'mon, let me fuck that pretty mouth." and you softly reply with 'yes, sir' before he yanks at your hair and directs his dick right between your lips. "open. widee openㅡ there you go." he encourages you as you try your best to fit that monster into your mouth. it hurts and your chin stings as joel slowly stars to thrust his length into you mouth- or at list what fits of it.

"pretty slut. look so good with her mouth full of cock." joel hums as you whine around him. "like this cock, baby?" he knows you can't answer, mouth too full and brain to fuzzy. "so cock stupid, can't even speak." he laughs. you've never felt like this, god, not even imagined something like this. yet there you were with someone who's twice your age fucking your mouth. "what would your daddy say?" you whine and squeeze around nothing, nails digging into the back of his knees. joel can only laugh as he puls out, rubbing his tip over your lips to collect the drool that mixed with his precum, and smear it all over your rosy cheeks.

you felt so dirty. but it felt rightㅡ for a good cause, right?

he slaps your face with his length before pulling you up by your hair, bending you over the kitchen counter. "gonna let me fuck you, babygirl?"

"yes-" you wriggle into his hold. "yes, what?" hes prying "yes, sir." you obediently reply. "good fuckin' pup." he doesn't even haltㅡ joel pulls down your pants at once with your panties. he delivers a harsh slap before trailing his digits right between your legs. "poor lil' cunt. look at 'er." he coos. "crying for this cock."

"please, sirㅡ mmhg.." whining, you try to rub yourself onto his fingers, but he quickly slaps you again, this time on the side of your thigh. "don't be a greedy bitch. you take what i give you, understand?"

"y-yes, sir, pleaseㅡ" he clicks his tongue before kneeling, spreading your pussy lips as he does, leaning in and blowing onto your sensitive clit. you jump and moan in frustration. "i know, baby, i know." he spreads your legs further, finally landing a soft and teasing lick between your folds. it doesn't take long for joel to go at it, sucking and licking at your cunt like theres no tomorrow, your desperate pleads to come only fueling him. "not yet, angel-baby." he gorans, picking himself up. "want you to come 'round my cock. want you to come while i stuff you up nice 'n good." you nod, not even half sure what you heard, you were too dizzy and the sudden lack of stimulation drove you mad.

joel positions himself behind you, lifting your leg up so one of your knees rests onto the counter. he teases your entrance with the tip of his cock, wanting to pull more from you, to get you even needful. you couldn't barely muster to hold yourself up, letting all of your weight on Joel, deprived pleads rolling of your tongue.

when he's content with the teasing, he starts to ease into you. it's like you're awakened from a trance, fully aware of everything, and every fiber of your body. it all vibrates as a sting spreads through your body, and you squeeze around Joel. "fuckkㅡ so fuckin' tight, baby- I'd think were a virgin if i didn't know what a cock slut you actually are." he laughs somberly before plunging straight into you. your tongue luls out, tears on the brink of your eyes as you cand only squeal out pathetic moans and incoherent blathers. "shitㅡ ! squeezing me so good, baby"

and he goes at you, diving deeper and deeper with each hit of his hips, one palm holding your leg up and one pressing you face flush on the cold surface of the counter. "like that? like it when an old man has his way with ya, huh?" you can't hear him, you barely make out his words; your eyes roll back and spine arched as he plummets into your cunt. "fucked you stupid, huh? dirty girl." joel snickers, feeling your walls squeeze around him as he takes one of your palms and places it right on top of your belly. "feel." and, fuck, you feel. his cock reaches so far into you it bulges through your pelvis; you feel it and you're jelly all over again.

he takes both his arms and hold you by your shoulders, hit after hit after hit sending you deeper into oblivionㅡ and you can only moan and cry as you feel your orgasm approaching. desperately, you clench around his cock, sending joel into a frenzy. "wanna come, pup? tell me." he's stern and rough with his request. "hhhaㅡ y-yes, plea-se..." you don't know if you're crying because you feel too good or because of how desperately you need to come.

"come then, make me proud, baby." you writhe as the knots in your core begin to untie, shaking under joel whilst it hits you like a wave of warmth and frost at once. it doesn't take long for him to reach his limit, digging his nails through your thighs, gritting his teeth as he leaves bruises onto you, you wish would never go away.

"need'a come babyㅡ shit! where, tell me where baby." you feel him so deep, you're drunk on him, vision blurry and mind fogged up. you usually don't say this. "in-side- inside, sir, please.." you beg, and you don't wait more than two more seconds as joel spills his warm seed into you, causing you to lick your lips as if you could taste it. Joel holds himself over you, panting as he trails soft kisses onto your back. "did so good, babygirl." you smile stupidly, rolling your hips against his.

"soㅡ" he makes a pause. "you still want those tickets?"

⏜⃞♡⠀⠀🐰 hoohououiuoooio hi guys im kind of pretty obsessed with joel rn so i gotta quench my thirst. this has 3.1k words. hope u like it!! muahhhh thank u again for 150!!!! if u see any grammatical errors no u didn't.

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

[occatorcreator]

Second Chances

Links - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

1 - Family Lost

Purple and his mother receive a grim diagnosis, and Purple struggles to find a cure to save his only living family member.

Content Warnings: Disease and Major Character Death

Tick tock. Tick tock.

Purple stared up at the clock that punctuated the silent waiting room with its ticking. 

10:15 am. His morning elective class was close to wrapping up. He distantly thought that he should care about what he’ll miss at school, but he couldn’t focus on anything other than the hammering of the clock and how long he waited for a response.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

He looked from the clock to the door, waiting for a nurse to come and summon him. Right now, he had been in the hospital for over two hours and there hadn’t been any updates on his mother’s current condition.

If I had slept in, Purple thought, tapping his foot with anxious energy in time with the clock, would she not have made it?

The thing was, he almost had. He had almost shut his blaring alarm off and gone back to sleep. He really hadn’t been in the mood to go to school this morning; he was sure there was a test in math, and he wasn’t ready for it. School was… well, it had become more unpleasant since the divorce. Despite it being a year since Navy left, thoughts of the divorce sent his mind into a negative tailspin. All those times Navy ragged on him to wake up “bright and early” every day for routine exercise, and all those times he got annoyed by Purple’s fussing made him resent the idea of getting up at all.

He debated sleeping in to spite Navy, but what was the point of that? Not like Navy would show up to witness the spite. All that would come of sleeping in would be the omelets mom prepared growing cold. She was the only parent he had left now; he couldn’t let her down by being a brat about school.

And now he faced the possibility of having no parents… he found his mother fallen to the kitchen floor, unconscious, with the omelets burning.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

Every second not knowing if Orchid was alright or dead drove Purple mad. He had driven as quickly as he could to the hospital and made enough of a scene in the emergency room to get her wheeled in right away. The doctors had escorted him to a nearby waiting room after they took Orchid to treatment, offering reassurance and describing some procedure they’re doing.

Knowing that barely worked to calm him down. Purple was no longer actively panicking, but he was fretting. He hated sitting. It was the inability to do anything but wait, unsure what the response would be, unable to take his mind off of anything but his prayers that things will be alright.

Tick tock. Tick- creak.

The door grabbed Purple’s attention. He stood up preemptively, ready to meet the nurse, only to blanch back as a giant orange stick figure ducked his way through the door frame. Clutching at his massive hand was a golden child, about four or five years old. He looked nervously around the room, sticking close to the orange stick’s leg.

“Just have a seat, Mr. Tango,” the nurse said. “We’ll call you when they’re done.”

The stick figure nodded at the nurse with a sour expression.

“Will Second be okay?” the child asked the nurse.

“Your older sibling will be fixed up,” the nurse said, smiling softly. “It’s just a minor fracture.”

And what about my mother? Purple wanted to ask. Is she going to be okay? 

The question died on his tongue as Mr. Tango passed by him to take a seat. Purple instantly stepped back from the towering figure. By the time he and his child found a place to sit, the nurse had already left, shutting the door.

Great, still nothing, Purple thought, returning to his seat. He missed the prior solitude of the waiting room. With other stick figures around, he felt self conscious of his worrying. Not to mention, one of them was a small child. Purple wasn’t ready for the annoyance that would follow when that small child inevitably got bored and started wandering around, looking for things to do.

“Hello,” the child waved at Purple.

Purple took a deep breath, counted mentally to two, and looked at the child standing before him with what he hoped was a neutral expression.

“Hi,” he greeted half-heartedly.

The child tapped his hands together nervously, eyes looking down at Purple’s feet upon the less-than warm response. Somehow his sour mood didn’t send the kid crawling to his parent, which made Purple raise an eyebrow.

“What do you want?” Purple asked, baring his teeth in a false grin.

“Um, can I have that?” The child asked, pointing at the table filled with magazines.

Purple waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not using it, and you don’t need to ask. Just take it.”

The child brightened and grabbed a magazine. He retreated back to sit by his father, who’s cold gaze regarded Purple in a way that made Purple’s skin crawl. The giant’s gaze reminded him of Navy’s.

Specifically, the day Navy left. He could never forget that cold and guarded stare despite Orchid’s best attempts to shield them from him.

“I guess this is it, then,” Navy said, “I’m leaving.”

Don’t think about him, Purple mentally scolded, closing his eyes to refocus on the present.

With nothing else to get his mind off of the past and present situation, he watched as the child flipped through the magazine. It didn’t take long for the child to realize that magazines were mostly advertisements and boring articles he couldn’t read before he placed it to the side. He caught that Purple was looking at him, and Purple failed to look away in time.

“My sibby broke their thumb.”

Sibby? Purple didn’t know how to comment on that odd shorthand for sibling. 

“Ah…How did that happen?” It took Purple a full second before he found his voice. He got the feeling the kid was a bit of a chatterbox, how unfortunate. Purple had no desire to talk, but he felt like he couldn’t stay silent either.

Maybe this could get his mind off of things...

“My dad had a day off, took me and Second in the park,” the child said, “We did lots of fun stuff and it was really nice out. We were playing truth or dare, and I dared Second to punch a tree!”

He looked expectantly, waiting for Purple to supply a question. Yet when Purple only bothered with a raised eyebrow, Mr. Tango cleared his throat. 

“You two didn’t answer why you did that in the first place, Gold,” Mr. Tango said.

The child — Gold — looked down at his dangling legs, ashamed. “It’s cuz Sec’s as strong as you, dad.” Gold said, “I wanted to see if they could punch a hole in the tree.”

Punch a hole in a tree? Ridiculous. Purple scoffed.

“Still. Punching things without the proper technique can be dangerous,” Mr. Tango said. “I hope you two don’t do that again in the future.”

“We won’t, dad,” Gold said.

Again, Mr. Tango reminded Purple of Navy. That comment was a straight-out warning he said during sparring lessons. His father drilled in many basics on keeping yourself from breaking your arm while fighting. Having that reminder of his father again, combined with the ludicrousness of the child’s story, and the fact they were in the hospital over something so stupid made Purple surly. 

“Let me guess,” Purple said, “your sibling was dumb enough to tuck their thumb in their fist while punching?” 

That was harsh. Now both father and son were glaring at Purple. Purple could feel his heart hammering, desire to cower and apologize strong, but not strong enough to overcome anger brought on from constant fatigue and stress.

“Second’s not dumb!” Gold snapped. “They just didn’t know they needed to do that.”

Purple shrugged. “Sounds like the definition of dumb to me,” Purple said, “I mean tucking your thumb in is unnatural and uncomfortable, so why do that?”

“Not everyone comes into the world knowing everything there is to know,” Mr. Tango warned, “and I don’t care much for you insulting someone you hardly know.”

Mr. Tango said it with a threatening, low tone that made Purple reconsider and apologize for his meanness. 

Almost. He might have, had Gold kept his mouth shut.

“They managed to knock the tree down in one hit even when doing it wrong!” Gold bragged. “I bet you can’t do that!”

Inadvertently, Gold managed to hit a sore point for Purple. Orchid and Navy both were prolific fighters in their prime, strong and agile enough to break wood and cinder blocks with a well placed hit. Purple knew it could be done, but he was never strong enough, never fast enough to do it. All he got was painful bruising and a sprain so awful he gave up trying.

And given today, Purple’s fuse was short.

“You little liar,” Purple snapped, “no one can do that.”

“I’m not!” Gold balked, and he tugged on Mr. Tango’s arm. “Dad, you saw it too! Tell him! Second did punch a tree down!”

But there was a split second of hesitation in Mr. Tango’s gaze, that moment of doubt and skepticism. Before he had the chance to defend his son, Purple pounced.

“If your dad claims that, then he’s helping a liar,” Purple said, “I thought preschool taught you better than to make up stories for attention.”

“I’m not! I’m not! I’m not!” Gold yelled, and Purple saw that the child was so worked up that tears were forming in his eyes. “I’m not a liar!”

“What is your problem?” Mr. Tango snapped, standing up tall to get between Gold and Purple. He didn’t yell like Purple did, but clearly didn’t hide his anger. “You have no right to talk to my son like that.”

“Maybe if you didn’t want me to yell at your liar of a kid,” Purple snapped, standing back up, “then you should have parented better.”

“Excuse me?”

Purple stood up. He was a pipsqueak to the massive stick figure before him, his limbs shaking from fear and rage both. 

“I’m just saying, a kid who broke his wrist punching trees and one that makes up tall tales to strangers reflects poorly on you.” Purple said, “My parents wouldn’t hear me spouting such nonsense.”

“Where are they?” Mr. Tango asked, grinning without any joy. “I would like to talk with them about their parenting skills if they could raise someone who’d yell at children for little reason.”

To that Purple had no response.

Oh creator, what would mom think of me right now? Purple thought, visibly deflating and stared at the ground in shame.

Now the only sound there was the clocks ticking and Gold crying. Seeing no fight left in Purple, Mr. Tango sat down and started to console his child. Gold buried his head in his father’s chest, weeping and insisting he wasn’t a liar.

Creak

“Purple?” A nurse came in with a clipboard. 

“Yes?” Purple straightened himself up. “Is she ready?”

“She is,” the nurse nodded, his expression appearing grim despite his smile. “She wants to talk to you.”

Oh, good she’s awake, Purple thought, but still… the dread in his stomach grew. Why is the nurse looking at me like that if she’s awake?

“Okay. Take me to her.”

He followed the nurse out, ignoring the pressing glares of Mr. Tango and Gold following him out.

=

“Rapid aging syndrome?”

Purple sat by Orchid’s beside, holding her hand. Orchid was looking rather pale and frail, but she was alive. The doctors managed to stabilize her.

But only stabilize;  there was no cure for this condition.

“Yes,” Orchid said, “Explains a lot of things, like why I didn’t have the same stamina as your father even though we’re the same age.”

She said it with light airiness that nearly made Purple cry.

“But, this is a glitch in your programming, right?” Purple said, clearing his throat, “couldn’t they patch you?”

To that Orchid let out a shaky sigh and patted Purple’s hand. Purple noticed the faint tremor in her hands.

“They found out that they can’t,” Orchid said, plainly.

“Why not,” Purple asked, voice rising. “They’re doctors! Expert coders! They have to fix you! What sort of doctors would they be if they couldn’t?”

“It’s not that simple, honey,” Orchid hushed, “They discovered that my code’s corrupted. The fact they could stabilize me without losing my memories was a miracle in it of itself.”

“Surely, there’s a way around corruption,” Purple begged, “You mean to tell me they can’t stop you from just… aging to death?”

Orchid didn’t say anything at first. She looked up at the ceiling with an inscrutable expression. In that moment, Purple wondered how well she was taking the news that she was given a terrible death sentence, aging at an insanely rapid rate until she shriveled up to a husk. Looking at her now, all the marks Purple blamed on exhaustion or loss of appetite were the tell-tale signs of becoming an elder.

“The doctors gave me two choices,” Orchid said after a moment, “Either I would have 5 months left to live, or they would reset me.” She then turned to Purple. “And reset means full reset. My age, all of my memories… I would be as I was created, as my 18 year old self. I wouldn’t even recognize you as my son anymore. Even with that, I could still be… lost to a reset. There is no guarantee to save me.” Her expression turned pained. “You know which one I had to choose.”

“That’s so f-messed up,” Purple caught himself. But he wished he could swear. How could anyone sugarcoat that?

“The doctors will want to discuss care options in light of my condition,” Orchid said, “having nurses to care for me at home, or placing me in hospice care.”

“But we don’t have the money for a live-in nurse,” Purple pointed out quietly. 

Orchid hummed in agreement. “And I don’t want to be moved to hospice care if I can still stand and walk.” 

“I could care for you,” Purple offered. “Take off school for a bit-“

“I don’t want to place you in that position,” Orchid waved her hand, “and your education would suffer for it.“

“Mom, I’ll be blunt, my education has already suffered from… Navy leaving.” Purple couldn’t even say the divorce to her, “I won’t be able to focus on shoring up what’s left of my education knowing that your… that you're going to…”

He couldn’t say that either. He shan’t say it, or else he made it true. He didn’t want it to be true.

“Fair point…” Orchid muttered. She placed her hand on her chin and hummed. “There is always my creator,” Orchid paused, “I still have her email address, and I occasionally send her updates. We could stay with her for a while.”

“An actual human? With a desktop?” Purple asked. “Is it even possible for us to go there?”

Orchid nodded. “I’m certain something can be arranged once I reach out to my lawyer and get my affairs in order.”

“Don’t say that, mom,” Purple shook his head.

“I’m afraid we don’t have many options,” Orchid said, “Plus, it would be nice to take you to our childhood home.”

Our?  Purple thought, You mean, dad also grew up on that computer?

Purple wasn’t sure about going on a human’s computer with all the risks, but like Orchid said, it wasn’t like there was any better options they could take.

I’ll find something to save you from this fate, mom, he thought, I promise.

Purple kept this vow deep in his heart as the doctors returned.

=

Her name was Alana, and, despite his mom promising to take him to her childhood home, she clearly owned the latest Apple Macintosh. Alana was nice, nicer than what Purple expected of a human from his history class, and she welcomed Orchid and Purple upon their arrival through her email. They had to write out words on the email in order to communicate with her, but Purple learned he didn’t need to talk with Alana often. She was present for the first two days to ensure they settled on the desktop, before just disappearing and leaving them to their own devices for days on end.

Orchid explained most of the situation to Alana. She wasn’t fully candid about her diagnosis, but she shared that Purple was her and Navy’s son, and that they needed a place to stay in the meantime.

Alana asked only one question. “What happened to Navy?”

The awkward silence and body language from both Orchid and Purple told enough for Alana to discern something happened, but she didn’t feel the need to press.

Living on a desktop was a new experience, one Orchid was happy to guide Purple on.

“Ah, they updated so many things!” Orchid said in awe, “You’re getting a better experience than I did. The desktop is so lovely!”

She leaned down to press a button. It was the finder, and it opened up a series of apps. However, she let out a groan of pain as she struggled to stand back up.

“Careful!” Purple said, lifting her up, “you know you can’t move like you used to.”

Orchid looked forlornly at what she opened, rubbing her back. Stacks of icons stretched above her without any easy way to traverse them.

“Right. Climbing would be your strong suit, you have to do that a lot on a desktop,” she said, half muttering as the advice she gave came with a realization of her condition. That her body was too old to navigate something that she had done in her youth.

Purple had to watch her as that condition worsened overtime.

Not that Purple was idle during this time. He set to work making the desktop space more accommodating for an elder. He found Flash and constructed a crude house with the pencil tool. The linework wasn’t the neatest, but it was convenient, light enough for him to pick up the house and set it down, but sturdy enough that a punch wouldn’t knock it down.

He tried looking around for Orchid and Navy’s files. After all, if they were made, then that means there had to be backup copies somewhere around. Surely, Alana transferred their files to the new computer, there had to be something to counter the apparent corruption.

“Purple, please don’t be going into Alana’s files,” Orchid warned.

Purple nearly fell off the top of the directory, not expecting to hear her voice. It started to croak with age, a tremor of strain she didn’t use to have. She leaned on a crude cane Purple drew to help support herself. He hastily went down so she didn’t have to call him.

“I’m not doing anything shady,” Purple insisted, “I was hoping to find… something.”

Orchid gave him a look. A look he knew too well when she suspected Purple was up to one of his antics. He received that look a lot whenever the school called about his moments of less-than-stellar behavior. 

But as quickly as it appeared, it fell. “Look, I’m just warning you, if you poke around in her files and break it, she will be incredibly upset and hurt by that,” she chuckled lightly, “I’m speaking from experience here. Navy and I regretted how we clowned around back in the day.”

You? A trouble maker? Purple couldn’t help but smirk at the idea of Orchid, roughly around his age, causing trouble for her creator. But the smirk faded when that image contrasted the frail stick figure before him. 

“Why did Alana… make the both of you?” Purple asked.

Orchid blinked, not expecting the question. She fiddled with her cane, nails gently scraping against its side.

“I don’t know. Flash animation was new and there was a genre of animation that featured fighting stick figures beginning to form. I supposed Alana wanted to add a battle couple, but I couldn’t be certain.” 

Purple’s face curled at the thought. “Like she made you two to be a couple?”

“Not like that, she made us to be a team,” Orchid’s smile looked forlorn and she looked elsewhere, “the love came later.”

Purple shuffled awkwardly, knowing how that “love” ended for them all. “Why did you two leave the computer?”

“Stick City was new, and we both wanted to strike it on our own,” Orchid explained, “we wanted to be famous, and we didn’t feel like we could if we stayed on a desktop.” She let out a huff. “How funny that I ended up back here after all this time.”

“It’s not.”

“Well, Purple, I’d rather you not go poking around and getting into trouble.” Orchid placed her hand on Purple’s shoulder. “Come. I can show you some games on the Mac you can play in the meantime.”

“Games?”

“Yes, I know I can’t play the ones that are more active, but I don’t want that to stop you from experiencing the fun you can have on a desktop,” she said, “it’s way more immersive.”

Purple opened his mouth to argue something, before closing it and nodding.

I really can’t go against her wishes now, Purple thought, besides, there are healing items in games, maybe I can find something to fix her?

“What do you recommend I try, mom?” he asked.

Time moved too quickly for Purple’s liking. He did as much as he could in his investigation of the games on Alana’s computer. Some of the games were fun, but ultimately useless to his main goal. Others had healing items he had to buy from a vendor or could collect in chests. He gave these to Orchid, yet the most they did was ease her aching joints.

He found Minecraft through his investigation and it, too, had healing items that didn’t work. Yet, the game was fun, intriguing enough for even Orchid to join in on the fun. He found himself simply just building things with Orchid out of the simple blocks provided in creative mode. They began to build a foundation of a castle, but in time, only Purple was able to build the castle. When that happened, he abandoned construction to refocus his efforts in finding a cure.

Orchid was visibly getting older and weaker every passing day. She walked slower, leaned on her cane more often, and complained of pain in her bones. Vision and hearing were going, and Purple had to draw her glasses and hearing aides to help her.

Nothing was working. He tried experimenting with healing items he found: mixing it into her food, combining it with other mechanics, and even breaking into a game’s code to see if there was anything he could pull. All his efforts did was ease the burdens of aging. He could not cure nor save Orchid from her fate.

Eventually, Orchid became too weak to even leave her bed. Purple was torn between wanting to stay by her side and care for her or leaving to find something he possibly overlooked. He settled for spawning a villager from an egg to be her nurse while he stepped away. But walking away was difficult; he felt every hour he was away was the hour he came back to find her…

He came crawling back with nothing to show for it.

“Is there anything in your game that can stop this?” Purple asked the villager, one night after he returned. “To stop her from dying?”

The villager looked around, unsure if Purple was genuinely engaging with them or speaking out loud to himself. When Purple remained silent, the villager felt like they needed to respond.

 “I don’t know,” they admitted, “I haven’t heard of anything like that.”

“You do realize you don’t age, right?” Purple continued. “You and every video game character are just frozen, as you are. You don’t have to worry about growing old, leaving your kids and loved ones behind...”

“That’s not…” the villager trailed off when he met Purple’s cold stare. “It’s not that simple..”

“Seems pretty simple to me. You, a computer program, live on, while us stick figures, also computer programs, grow old and die. How unfair is that?” Purple muttered. “I ask again. Is there anything in this stupid game that can make her ageless like you?”

The villager shook his head and took a step back. Something was in Purple’s voice that deeply frightened the sniveling NPC. And for a moment, Purple thought of pulling out his sword and stabbing the villager for his unhelpfulness. 

After all they were only ageless, not immortal. Weak.

He walked away from the villager, but those horrid thoughts followed him. 

=

“What’s happening to Orchid?”

Alana logged on to find her desktop disheveled: a half finished castle from Minecraft, a crude house with a crude bed where Orchid lay in it. She must look so bad that even a human could see it on the screen.

Purple stayed by her side, unable to sleep, and stared blankly at the writing above him. He dared not grab the pen he used to write, he didn’t want to get up and leave his mother’s side.

It had been five months. Her time was almost up, and all his efforts to stop it amounted to nothing. 

The cursor moved down and Purple placed himself between it and his mother.

“Don’t!” he said, splaying his hand out. He knew Alana couldn’t hear, but he spoke anyway. “She’s very fragile.”

“Is that Alana?” Orchid croaked.

Her feeble, weak voice broke Purple’s heart to hear. Her glasses were off to the side, but she didn’t reach for them. 

“Yes, it’s her.” 

“Ah, I'm glad,” Orchid said, “I worried… I wouldn’t be able to say goodbye.”

“No, no mom, you don’t have to,” Purple said, clinging to her hands. “There- I’m still searching for a cure- I can-“

“Shh,” Orchid placed her hand on his cheek, stilling him. “No, Purple, honey. My time is up. And I don’t want to see you wasting your time searching for a cure that doesn’t exist.”

“But I can’t give up, not now,” Purple shook his head. Her face began to blur and hot tears streaked down his face. “I don’t want you to leave me. Stay here. Please.”

“I don’t want to go, either,” Orchid coughed, “I want to be with you… but I don’t want you to suffer for my sake.”

She wiped his tears with her shaking, wrinkled hands. A pointless endeavor, for Purple could not stop sobbing.

“I’m sorry, mom,” Purple choked, holding her hand.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Purple,” Orchid said. Her hand slackened to her side and eyes closed. “Promise me something, Purple?”

“What?” Purple leaned in. “What do you need me to do?”

There was a beat of silence, just the raspy rise and fall of her chest.

“Promise me that you'll…” Orchid whispered so faintly, every word laborious. “Promise me you’ll… take good care of yourself… that you’ll find someone-” She broke off into coughing.

“Hush, hush. Of course, of course I will.” Purple said and hugged Orchid. “I promise.”

Orchid didn’t return the hug, too weak to do so.

“I love you,” she wheezed.

Then, she let out a shuddering gasp and fell limp within his arms. 

“Mom?” Purple pried away, staring at her gaunt face, eyes closed. He saw that she was becoming translucent, fading away like a spirit.

 “Mom? Please…”

Then there was nothing, just him clinging to the blankets. All that Orchid was became nothing now. Not a trace of her was left, except her scent and his memories.

And with that he wept openly into the empty bed while Alana wordlessly hovered above.

#occatorart #alan becker #animator vs animation #animator vs minecraft #second family au #cw death #ava purple #ava orchid #ava king #ava gold #cw disease #existential dread

[dancingtotuyo]

4. walk with me, i think we’ll find a way

Woman | Joel Miller

Series Rating: Mature/Explicit

Chapter Summary: It is time to rest.

Tags: Joel Miller X Female Reader. Age Gap (Reader is 42, Joel is 56). HBO Characters. Mostly cannon compliant for show & game. Timeline is changed.

Chapter Warnings: swearing, talks of & references to grief, death (child and spouse), and suicide. Anxiety. Reader has a minor panic attack. Angst. Hurt. Comfort. SMUT. Explicit sex (P in V). Unprotected sex. Oral Sex (M receiving). Let me know if I missed anything.

Note: THANK YOU TO MY BEAUTIFUL BETA READER @fhatbhabie

Words: 4840

Series Masterlist | Author Masterlist | Playlist

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINED EXPLICIT CONTENT AND IS INTENDED FOR THOSE OVER THE AGE OF 18. MINORS PLEASE DO NOT READ OR INTERACT

You’re not sure what to expect. Joel made it clear he would be waiting for you, but the voice in your mind buzzes with doubt, especially after the way you acted last night. You hesitate briefly before squaring your shoulders and stepping outside.

Joel is at the bottom of your steps, waiting with his warm smile and open posture. It catches you off guard for a split second before your limbs fill with warmth like you’ve been sitting on a sun-soaked beach all day. Then you see it stirring inside him, the simmering heat bubbling under the surface. He looks at you like someone who’s seen you naked, like someone he fully intends to see naked again. If you look in a mirror, you think your eyes would show the same story.

You should run from it. You know better, but the trap you’re on your way to accepting that tugs you deeper. His damn smile only gets brighter as you draw near. You can’t fight the upward tug of your own lips.

“Hi”

Joel chuckles slow and sweet like honey chasing away all the anxieties of the day. “Hi”

“You come here often?” You lean against the short banister, sliding in closer to Joel like two magnets drawn to one another.

Joel shrugs his shoulders leaning closer. You can feel his body heat spread across you. The scent of pine floods your nose. His lips lower to your ear. “Hoping to come around more often.”

A shiver sprints down your spine. You have half a mind to pull him inside right away and forgo the night’s walk, and you know that any chance you stand trying to resist Joel Miller has crumbled to shreds. He’s here and you’ll let him have you.

“I think that could be arranged.”

“Good.” Joel takes your hand in his, pulling you out toward your beaten path. Out in front of the whole town, he never drops your hand.

Neither of you brings up last night, but the tension is there, the good kind. It’s the kind that sits up under the surface, growing in anticipation as the conversation takes innocent turns. As you complete the first lap, you stare at your front door, your footsteps slow, but Joel drags you onward. He doesn’t say a word about it, but he knows.

Joel is going on about something he saw on Patrol when you complete the second lap, but you’re determined this time having made up your mind 10 minutes ago. There will be no third lap tonight. You tug him off the course. His eyebrows raise in question. You knock your head toward your door.

“We still have another lap, Sweetheart,” Joel says, but his feet put up no resistance.

“Not tonight.” The desire that’s simmered all night boils to the surface in the fading daylight.

Joel’s eyes darken as he lets it take over, his full form crowding yours. His touch burns across your skin. You fumble with the door knob distracted by Joel’s calloused hands that seem to be everywhere at once, clouding every sensible thought and motor skill.

The door finally gives way. Joel’s front warms your back up the stairs and into the safety of your bedroom. Joel’s shirt is off, his lips on yours before you’re turned around. He overwhelms your senses, teeth gnashing against yours, hands running over your sternum, your breasts filling his palms.

Clothes fly in rapid succession until you’re both free of clothes. Joel presses into your back, fingers slipping through your slick folds. Your head drops back to his shoulder as a loud moan leaves your mouth, arm hooking around his neck.

His movements are quick and precise, flicking over just the right place. He buries his head in your shoulder, lips sucking at the dip just above your collarbone. He mumbles deep encouragement into your flesh with each moan and catch of your breath. Calloused fingers drag up your bare skin, resting at the base of your throat. He doesn’t restrict your breathing, but keeps pressure just below your neck, pressing you against him. The hairs on your arm stand on end prickling with goosebumps and heat washes through your torso. Your mind is a blur in the best of ways. Joel’s name is the only coherent word that tumbles out of your lips.

His fingers keep pace, back and forth with each catch of your breath, back and forth with each hitch of your hips. His lips work up your neck, his heavy breaths ricocheting off your neck. His cock presses against your back.

His own smooth words start to drift through the fog in your mind.

Yes, Sweetheart

Just like that.

Your hips buck against his hand and he chuckles. “I know you like that.”

All too soon, it becomes too much, your breathing shortens, hiking in pitch. Joel ups the tempo of his motions and it all feels like a little too much just as he sends you shooting you over the mountain peak.

Before you can come down, you’re chest to chest with Joel, lips pressed to his. It’s like he’s thirsty in the desert and last night was only just a sip, doing nothing to quench his thirst, growing the need to be sated.

Your hands tangle in his hair matching his greedy thirst with your own. His hand roams down your naked body, squeezing your ass and caressing your thighs.

Slowly, your hand drifts down his hair-covered chest, lips following behind. The muscles shiver behind each motion, and it hits you that maybe you have the same effect on him that he has on you. You glance up at him, meeting his gaze. You see it flickering in his eyes behind the desire. He looks at you with awe as if he can’t believe you’re real. Before you let the implications of that thought take over, you sink to your knees, keeping eye contact with him as you drag your hands over the v of his hips. His muscles twitch again bringing a smile to your lips.

Joel continues to watch you with the same wonderment and curiosity. There are no expectations in his eyes. It eases something deep within you, giving the impression that he would find satisfaction with whatever you’re willing to give him. Then, you take his cock into your mouth.

Joel’s eyes roll back in his head. His hands tangle in your hair. He’s not holding you in place or restraining you. You’re anchoring him. You can’t take it all in your mouth and soon switch to licking it from base to tip. Joel’s words are the ones that aren incoherent now, spilling in a slur of swears and encouragements. When you look up, your eyes land on a single bead of sweat that drips from the top of his forehead. You follow it as it slips down the slope of his nose until it hangs on the tip, teasing you, its grip slipping with each heavy breath. You wonder when it will slip. Until it finally does, dropping onto your forehead.

Joel seems to see it too because the moment it lands, he’s pulling you up to your feet. The back of your knees hit the bed and Joel is carefully cradling you beneath him as you collide with the fresh sheets. Your laugh tangles with his and he’s smiling down at you. It all feels so much like-

“What romcom did you learn that move from?” You tease.

Joel shakes his head. “I haven’t seen a damn romcom in 30 years, Sweetheart.”

There’s the nickname again, making you squeeze your thighs together reminding you how empty you are and how full Joel made you feel last night.

“Get on your back.” You say. It sounds almost like a challenge coming.

Joel crosses his eyes. “Whatcha got in that head of yours?”

You push on his shoulders. Joel follows suit rolling to his back. You straddle him, stretching your arms above your head. Joel’s eyes roam your body, his hands shooting out to your thighs. You wink at him before positioning yourself over his cock and sinking down. You take your time, adjusting to the stretch again and taking in every twitch of his face and catch of his breath. You could watch it on a fucking loop.

Once you’ve taken him in fully, you wait. It’s almost like a game. Are you going to give him what he wants? Or are you doing to make him take it? Before you can decide, his hips stutter up, making you gasp. He quirks an eyebrow and does it again, hitting the place that makes your toes curl. When he goes to do it again, you pull yourself off of him, immediately missing him. “I’m supposed to be riding you.”

A wicked smirk crosses his face. You feel his voice in his chest. “Then ride me, Sweetheart.”

You sink back onto him, but this time you don’t waste any time. He matches your pace, one hand on your thigh the other slipping into your folds. The moment you clench around his cock he knows he’s found your clit. You lean into it and before you know it, he’s pulling you down toward his lips continuing to flick your sensitive bundle of nerves. In the heat of it all, you end up on your back. The slide of him against your walls and his finger on your clit is overriding everything else. You can ride him another day. The pressure builds and your second orgasm is knocking at the door.

“I’m almost there.”

“I’ve got you, baby. Let go.”

The spasms start in your abdomen and ripple down. You clench around him but he keeps going, working you through your release while chasing his own. You ride the high, fingers tangling in his sweat soaked curls. He’s not far behind you, pulling out before he finishes.

It’s like you get frozen in the high. He’s hovering above you as pleasure wracks his body and yours hums beneath feeding off of him. Your eyes meet hanging onto whatever floats between you. His lips meet yours, not sparking with desire as you’ve come to know the past two nights, but simmering with something else. Something that comes out of nowhere and catches you off guard. He presses another kiss to your forehead before he rolls out of bed.

Your mind is reeling, trying to decipher that kiss and stay in the post-sex haze at the same time. Then, Joel’s back with the warm washcloth, cleaning you up.

He expects you to shut down again, but tonight is different. You smile. You laugh with him and the two of you stay in that moment, naked and in bed it’s the only thing that matters. There’s a growing desire to keep him here and wake up to him in the morning, but instincts push it away. Joel seems to catch the fight behind your eyes. You wonder how he’s so good at seeing right through you.

He kisses your head. “I should head out.”

You force the smile to stay because you are happy. “I’ll walk you out.”

Joel looks almost surprised and tries to hide his smile as he collects his clothes from around the room. You slide on your pajamas, the matching ones, and when Joel is fully dressed, you slide your fingers into his, walking him to the door. He kisses you before the front door opens, a kiss that promises more if you want it, and you do.

The smile on Joel’s face makes him look like the Joel you knew in Texas. The world is cruel and funny. You never thought that 20 years and a pandemic that wiped out most of humanity later, Joel Miller would still live across the street from you.

Joel opens the front door, but before he’s across the threshold you grab his collar, pressing a solid kiss to his lips for all of Jackson to see in case they missed you pulling him into your home an hour ago.

His crow’s eyes crinkle and his chuckle is a melody you never want to forget. “Same time tomorrow?”

You shake your head, making Joel’s brow wrinkle in confusion. “Last I checked, Maria invited you to family dinner tomorrow night. Best not be late.”

“That’s right.” Joel cocks his head to the side, almost as if he’s memorizing you. “But I’m taking you for a walk after.”

“A walk? Or to bed?” A single eyebrow quirks.

Joel smirks. “Guess we’ll find out.”

He pauses. For a second, you think he might come across your threshold and take you back upstairs. You wouldn’t protest, but instead, he waits a minute and then nods.

“Goodnight, Sweetheart,” He says.

“Goodnight, Joel.”

And then he leaves your porch, crossing back to his home, but not before you catch him looking back over his shoulder.

You beat Joel to Maria and Tommy’s the next evening. You knew you would, going over early to help Maria with dinner. You have been trying to get her to let you make dinner as her pregnancy progresses, but she refuses.

To your surprise, Maria doesn’t say a word about Joel, and she doesn’t try to continue your conversation from earlier in the week. Oddly, it puts you more on edge than if she just asked. She has to know. She keeps an ear out for Carter until you get home. You overheard two separate sets of whispers about you and Joel today.

Nothing says you can’t open the conversation. It’s your sex life. You should be the one to do it, but Maria always opens these conversations. She pushed you toward Gabe. She approached you about Joel.

You glance over your shoulder for the fifth time in two minutes. Maria sits at the table, feet propped up as she sips on her tea seemingly unbothered and uninterested. Carter giggles from the living room saying something incoherent to “Uncle Tommy” because that’s what they’ll always be- Uncle Tommy and Aunt Maria. Your best friends. You glance toward the clock. It’s ten til six. Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes. Joel should be here in ten.

“I know you’re dying to talk about it.”

Your head snaps toward Maria who wears the all-knowing grin.

“You haven’t asked.”

“Figured you would tell me when you’re ready.”

“When have I ever done that?” You throw an old dish towel over your shoulder as you set to work on the pile of dirty dishes.

“I thought we were growing in our old age.” Maria sips on her tea.

You narrow your eyes at her before returning your attention to the soapy water. “Is that what Wednesday was?”

“No, that was the kick in the ass you needed.” Maria smiles, hand traveling over her swollen stomach, love shimmering in her eyes. “And it worked.”

“Maria Miller!” The soapy plate clatters back into the sink.

She laughs and you can’t help the subtle tip of your lips as you shake your head. “I’m not the one dragging someone across my threshold for the whole town to see.”

You open your mouth, but words fail you. There’s no witty comeback or rational reasoning for your actions, and the mere mention of your recent shenanigans has your body thrumming with electricity. Joel may have promised you a walk, but you would prefer a ride.

“When are he and Ellie getting here?” Maria asks.

“Whatever time you told ‘em.” She rolls her eyes. “I told him to be on time though.”

Maria grins over her mug. “Did he meet expectations?”

Once again she has you fumbling for words. You’re not sure where it comes from. You and Maria are like sisters. You’ve never held back the dirty details from her and vice versa, but this thing with Joel has you like a giddy schoolgirl, but there’s also a piece of you that wants to keep it to yourself. If you keep it to yourself, maybe you can protect it. Maybe the universe won’t take it away.

You inhale deeply. “Yes, and that’s all I’m going to say.”

Maria’s eyes shoot up in surprise. “You’re choosing now to go all conservative on me?”

You laugh, a smirk falling across your features. “Maria, I promise there’s nothing conservative about what happened… I just want to keep this to myself for now.”

She accepts the boundary and a comfortable silence falls between you. The soft sounds of Tommy and Carter filter through coupled with dishes clinking against each other. You savor these moments when things feel almost normal. They’re the moments you feel closest to Gabe surrounded by your son and closest friends.

The front door swings wide, welcoming Joel and Ellie into the family unit. You hear them before you see them, Tommy welcoming them in. You and Maria move into the front room. Your typically quiet and reserved son rushes toward Ellie, quickly grabbing her hand, pulling her toward the coffee table where his favorite book about space sits. The book he insisted on bringing in a cacophony of unidentifiable sounds and the few words he knew when he found out Ellie would be there. Mostly “space” and the closest he’s gotten to saying Ellie’s name yet. He’s been working on it. Asking to see her again

Ellie allows him to drag her over. He points to the book sitting on the coffee table and Ellie’s eyes go wide. “No way! That’s so cool, bud!”

Ellie grabs the book crashing on the couch. Carter eagerly climbs up, nestling in beside her. As they go through the pages, he rambles on incoherently about everything he knows. It makes you smile to see him come out of his shell. Tommy and Maria both take in the scene with the same awe as you. While the picture of Ellie and Carter warms Joel’s heart, he can’t keep his eyes off of you, smiling and relaxed in a way he hasn’t experienced yet.

It hits him that this is it. This is your family just as much, if not more than it is his. The people in this room are the few you’ve allowed within the gates of your heart and he just hopes there’s room for him within it.

The timer goes off in the kitchen pulling you away from the scene. Tommy says something to Joel but his eyes follow you. You pull dinner out of the oven and Joel excuses himself from his brother heading toward the kitchen without a second thought. Maria and Tommy share a knowing look.

Warm hands slip around your waist, seeping through your bones and you can’t help but lean back in the stolen moment. His breath is warm against your ear and there’s almost a sway in your movements. It comes so naturally that you don’t even think about it. “You look beautiful.” It’s sacred, intimate, domestic, and then Joel kisses your cheek and steps away.

You’re warm and hazy. You miss him immediately and once again you ignore the implications of that instinct. You look back at him and he’s smiling, grabbing the plates off the counter to set the table. You take a moment to admire his backside, knowing full well what’s concealed under those worn jeans. “You too.”

Joel chuckles. “Gotta look pretty for my admirer.”

Tommy clears his throat as he walks in, shit eating grin on his face. You flip him off before he can say a word.

He chuckles, hands up in mock surrender. “I didn’t say anything.”

“But you were going to.”

“Would it be dinner without me teasing you about something?”

“The world fucking ended and you’re still a gnat in my ear, Miller.”

“Gotta keep you smiling. I have promises to keep.” Tommy takes the ready dishes to the table. “But I think Joel is doing a fine job of keeping that smile on your face these days.” He waggles his eyebrows.

You smack him with the dish towel and he howls. Joel chuckles, shaking his head. “You deserved that.”

Tommy narrows his eyes toward Joel. “I’m not done giving you shit for this. Glad our chat helped, brother.”

“Chat?” You look between them.

“Ellie! Carter! Time for dinner!” Tommy calls.

You look over at Joel and he mouths, later. It’ll have to suffice for now, but clues you into the fact that you and Joel were definitely the talk of the town long before he crossed your threshold.

Ellie enters the kitchen pulled behind Carter. His babbling runs on a continuous loop as he clues Ellie in to his entire life story. Your jaw almost hits the ground at his outgoingness with her. He crawls onto the long bench patting next to him in signal for Ellie to sit beside him.

“You don’t have to bend to his every command. Let me know if it gets to be too much.” You smile toward Ellie, selfishly hoping that it never becomes too much for her.

“Nah, it’s cool. We’re friends. Right, Bud?”

Carter nods rapidly as Ellie offers up a fist bump which he obliges, making an explosion sound.

Smiling, you set a premade plate in front of him. He says something that vaguely resembles “Thank you, Mommy” and digs in. As you slide into your established seat, you encourage Carter to rest on his knees instead of standing on the chair, but with little success.

“It’s too bad phone books don’t exist anymore,” Joel chuckles, sitting down next to you.

“He probably wouldn’t use it.”

“Kid’s got the full sum of yours and Gabe’s stubbornness,” Tommy chuckles, passing the bowl of green beans to Maria. “And then some.”

Carter looks over at his Uncle Tommy like he fully comprehends the statement, and then gets distracted by the food in front of him.

Joel passes you the dinner rolls, fingertips brushing over yours in the process. You catch his eye. He winks at you. It’s all so- perfect- peaceful even. A slice of everything you ever imagined life would be before the world ended. The table feels so much bigger with two extra bodies, but it’s nice. Sometimes dinner feels cold and haunted by ghosts. Tonight it doesn’t. Tonight feels warm and full. For once, you dare to lean into it. Let hope seep in that maybe it won’t be taken from you this time.

And it works. Until you’re halfway through your meal and hits you with Joel’s warm palm on your thigh. He’s in Gabe’s spot, talking to Tommy how brother’s do, like Gabe and Tommy did. You’re eating dinner with your couple friends who likely conspired to talk the two of you into whatever it is you’re pretending you are just as you and Gabe had done to Maria and Tommy.

Who is next?

The thought shoots a chill down your spine. Your fork clatters onto the plate in front of you. Several concerned pairs of eyes land on you. You’re sure your face has gone pale as you struggle to keep the tight ache in your chest at bay..

Maria says your name, but you shove back from the table.

“I need some air.” You don’t wait for a response, making a B line to the front porch. You focus on your breathing, long slow breathes in and out. Your knuckles are white from gripping the railing. Even as your heart rate drops. You can’t quiet your mind. It’s never quiet.

You can’t do this. You can’t risk it. Your body can’t live in peace. So used to living in survival mode, it won’t allow you to come out of it. You’ve spent most of your life in this world. You’ve lost everyone from before. Everyone except the two men inside. You never really struggled to connect to Tommy. Things were just like before, light and playful. You know it goes deeper than that now, but Joel. He represents everything you have sworn off. Tommy and Maria are grandfathered into that oath, but Joel isn’t.

There is a warm hand on your shoulder. You spin around with blotchy cheeks, breathing barely evened out. Maria. You’re relieved, but your heart still calls out for Joel.

“It made me think of Gabe tonight.” She speaks. “Seeing him next to you. Seeing you smile like that.”

“I can’t do it.” You head shakes. “That’s all I’ve said this whole time. I told you that.”

Maria lets out a deep breath, her dark eyes search yours. “I told myself I could never mother another child.”

The quiver in your chest eases a little bit. She’s never told you this before.

“Losing Kevin was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. It was like losing a physical part of me.” You nod along. You’ve both known tremendous loss in this lifetime, but if you lost Carter, you wouldn’t be able to go on. It would kill you. “And bringing a child into this world, even here, it feels selfish, wrong.”

Again, you understand it. You and Gabe had talked about having a family so many times. The pull was there for both of you, but this world seemed unfit. Nature or providence or something else had made the decision for you, but that hardly eased your conscience over it.

“Yet here I am, and…” A smile slowly overtakes her face. “And I’m excited and I’m happy.” She takes your hands in hers. “And I’m living. You’re living doesn’t have to look like mine, but I think your heart wants him.”

The tears start again. “It’s like there’s this war inside me, Maria. I’m afraid it’s going to rip me in two, and I’m just so tired all the time- but these past few weeks, I’ve felt..” You search for the right words. The weariness is still there, but it’s different. It’s bearable. “Fresh.”

She nods in understanding. “I know it’s a scary thought, but it’s time to rest.”

“I don’t know if I can anymore. Not really.”

“Let us help you.”

“Maria… I,” You choke on the words. “I feel safe with him. I feel myself opening up and then it just shuts back down. I can’t control it.

With the same understanding that Maria always has, the same calming presence, she says, “I’m sorry if I pushed you into this too fast.”

You cough on a laugh. A smile threatens your lips through the tears. “I’m a grown-ass woman. You don’t push me into anything.”

Maria raises an eyebrow. “Mhmm, keep telling yourself that.”

You roll your eyes, wiping the tears from your cheeks and drying your hands on your jeans. You take a single deep breath, letting the fresh air clear your mind. “How do I look?”

She smiles. “Like you just had a minor panic attack.”

You smack her shoulder, but you’re sure it’s true. It’s what happened. She laughs and then you’re following her slow waddle back inside.

Joel’s eyes are the first you meet, laced with care and concern. When you retake your place next to him, you press a soft kiss to his cheek, catching him off guard. Ellie’s smile grows wide. Tommy’s smirks, no doubt wracking his brain for something quippy. Maria acts like nothing happened, and Carter is blissfully unaware.

You and Joel walk all three laps after dinner. The urge to pull him inside is less pressing tonight, though it still lingers. He doesn’t hold your hand like he did last night. He’s pulled back from last night’s affection, giving you space. Space you despise, but admittedly need. On the third lap, you take his hand.

“I’m sorry if I pushed things too much,” Joel says. “We never said it was anything more than sex.”

“And walking.” You crack a smile making him chuckle beside you. “But I like it. I enjoy spending time with you.”

Joel smiles. “Me too.”

“I’ve been determined for years not to let anyone else in.”

“I know.” Joel squeezes your hand. It’s a small gesture but reassuring nonetheless.

“I can’t make you any promises, Joel. I can’t make any commitments to anything.”

Joel pulls you to a stop, tugging you in front of him. “I’m not asking you too.”

“I mean it. I don’t think I can even let you stay the night.”

“I’m perfectly capable of walking my ass across the street. I’ve got a perfectly fine bed there.”

You inhale shakily. Joel’s hands move to your shoulders and then your cheeks. “I’ll take whatever you can give. If it’s just these walks, I’m good. If it’s more, great. If you need an evenin to yourself, just let me know, Sweetheart. I’m no good at this stuff either.”

Your heart swells more than you want to admit. “Okay.”

“Good,” Joel kisses your forehead. His eyes flicker to your front door and back down to you. “What do you want tonight?”

Your eyes glimmer with mischief. “You wanna come to my place, Joel Miller?”

A grin overtakes his face and a chuckle settles deep in his chest. “I’d like that.”

#woman (joel miller) #woman (joel's version) #pedro pascal #joel miller #the last of us #tlou #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction

[bangtanflirt]

Hello! No rush but any updates on revisiting the ruin me pretty please characters? I miss them a lot (but also take your time)

I come bearing gifts for you and any other RMPP enthusiasts! Enjoy! 💜😘

Punishment

Pairings: Jungkook x Reader x Jimin

NSFW CONTENT (18+ ONLY)

Main Story: Part 1 > Part 2 > Part 3 > Part 4 > Part 5 > Part 6 > Part 7 > Part 8 >  Part 9 >  Part 10 > Part 11 > Part 12 > Part 13 >  Part 14 > Part 15 (FINAL)

Warnings: dom/sub dynamics, female domination, slight jealousy, mxm smut, men needing permission to cum, hickeys, mentions of sub-drop and panic attacks, lying/hiding info, riding crop, cock ring, butt plug, punishment session with aftercare

____

Jimin traces little circles on Jungkook’s wrist, one leg tossed over the younger man’s lap and kisses planted along his jawline. The blonde presses his body as close as humanly possible, as if he’s trying to nestle himself perfectly around Jungkook’s form—leaving no inch of sofa between the two bodies. Jungkook has no objections, grabbing his lover by the waist to assist him. Small whimpers fill the room as Jimin begins kissing up on the most sensitive parts of Jungkook’s neck, sucking and biting the skin until he’s sure a hickey will bloom.

“Everyone will see” Jungkook pouts.

“Good, let them know you’re being taken care of. Tired of all those girls constantly around you.”

“You and me both.”

Jungkook pulls Jimin onto his lap as he continues, “Wish I could tell the whole world I’m taken.” The longing in his eyes is clear as day.

“Y/n’s making a lot of progress, especially after she told Minhyuk about us. Don’t worry baby, I don’t think this will be a secret for that much longer.”

The rest of the conversation is detoured by how hungrily Jimin explores Jungkook’s mouth. Making out turns into heavy petting and heavy petting turns into carnal desire. Clothes are tossed on the ground, giving way for skin-to-skin, uninterrupted love.

That is until Jungkook interrupts it.

“W-wait…we don’t have permission.”

Jimin pulls away, face flushed and pupils dilated. He mumbles a frustrated “fuck” under his breath.

There’s a stillness in the air—the men tense as they guage what’s going on in the other’s mind. Guage if they’re on the same page.

Jungkook breaks the silence first, “Just once isn’t that bad right?”

So they are on the same page.

Jimin shakes his head in agreement.

“Just this once.”

And that’s how Jungkook finds himself holding the couch for dear life, trembling as Jimin fucks into him from behind, lips chanting the man’s name like it’s his religion. The atmosphere’s more sinful than usual, with the fact that they shouldn’t be doing this hanging in the air. There’s shame, guilt, and arousal all creating a monsoon of emotions, ready to drown them at any time.

Maybe that’s why Jungkook cums so hard. And why Jimin follows, pulling out and painting Jungkook’s back with white hot strings.

___

The vibe is off when you arrive at Jimin’s that night. Your boyfriends are avoiding your gaze, and Jungkook’s more jittery than usual.

“Is everything alright guys?”

Jungkook’s doe eyes go wide for a second, before he consciously adjusts his expression. “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” He nervously chuckles.

You raise a brow, “Because you’re acting weird. Both of you, but especially you.”

Luckily for the youngest, Jimin takes control of the conversation.

“Everything’s perfectly fine y/n! You’re probably just tired, let’s get you in the shower so you can unwind.” He punctuates with a peck to your lips, hands already guiding your shoulders to the bathroom before you have a chance to question any further. The men only start talking once they hear the water running.

“We need to tell her. I can’t do this.”

“But hyung…she made it very clear that we aren’t allowed to do anything without her permission anymore. What if she’s disappointed in us?”

The rule is indeed one you’re most strict about, made after an ill-fated night where Jungkook sub-dropped hard and Jimin had no experience bringing him out of it—sending both boys into an anxiety attack. They were lucky you were in a position to drop everything and come home at that time, but it would be naïve to think that would always be the case.

Jimin holds Jungkook’s hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“If you’re that worried then I’ll tell her it was my idea. She’ll go easier on you.”

Jungkook adamantly shakes his head.

“No, if we’re telling the truth we should tell the entire truth.”

___

“You guys did what?”

Jungkook’s eyes are practically glued to the ground as Jimin explains the situation.

“We’re so sorry.”’

“Was it a scene?”

“No! Just sex. Neither of us went into subspace.”

Your face has the slightest show of relief on it, a tiny exhale from your frowning mouth.

“But there was a chance one of you could have?”

Jungkook nods, looking like a schoolboy getting scolded by a teacher, eyes still trained on a wine stain immortalized in the carpet. He was feeling a bit hazy throughout, if he has to admit.

“For fuck’s sake guys, you know better than that.”

“so sorry” it’s quiet and low, but it’s the only thing Jungkook has said throughout the conversation.

“I’m just glad both of you are safe. Still frustrated though.”

“We won’t do it again!”

“Oh I know you won’t—not after your punishments, at least.”

Jungkook finally looks up, eyes pleading you to reconsider. Jimin’s shifting in his seat, not sure if he can handle one of your harsher punishments at the moment.

“Don’t worry Minnie, it’ll be after your dance performance.” Your voice is laced with honeysuckle sweetness, making the statement all the more fear-invoking.

“T-thank you.” He gulps.

“Of course. You won’t be able to dance for a while after I’m done with you. And baseball season’s over, right Jungkook?”

Jungkook freezes. Oh god, they were in for it.

___

“Fuck!”

“That’s not a number Minnie.”

You deliver another hit from the riding crop, further reddening the globes of Jimin’s ass.

“Ssorry! Three!”

“That’s better.”

Jungkook flinches with each strike, as if it’s his skin the crop is making contact with. He watches his hyung jump with every blow, fat tears rolling down his blushing cheeks. He doesn’t know if he’s more or less lucky with his punishment. He’s not getting the riding crop tonight, which he thanks the heavens for…but the vibrating cock ring + butt plug combo is making him cry just the same.

The initial plan was to dish out the same punishment for both boys, but that was altered the minute you saw Jungkook’s reaction to you holding up the crop. It was one of pure fear and no pleasure, and that’s not how you do punishments. Jimin, on the other hand, was salivating at the sight of it—in true painslut fashion.

“Don’t slow down Kook, or I’ll be even meaner.”

The youngest gets back to stroking himself at a decent pace, frustration building as he’s kept to edge with no release.

___

“My boys did so well” you coo, perched on the edge of the bathtub the men were soaking in. You drop a warm vanilla bathbomb in there, knowing how much Jungkook likes the scent. And rose petals for your Jiminnie. They do no more than hum in response, all energy drained from the scene. Aftercare is different after punishments like these, because you have to be even gentler when coaxing them out of subspace—no post-orgasm happy feelings to ease the process.

“How are we feeling? Use your words for me.”

“I’m good, it hurts to sit in this position for long though.”

“I’ll massage you after your bath baby. How ‘bout you Kook?”

“Still wanna cum” he whines, making you toss your head back laughing.

“Sorry Kookie, you have to learn your lesson.”

“But we learned it already, promise! Please let me cum! Let hyung come too!”

You reach over to stroke his hair, “Tomorrow baby. No more whining for the rest of the night and you’ll both get to cum as much as you want tomorrow. Okay?”

He nods, fighting back the urge to whine more. He wants to be extra good for you, show you that the punishment got all the bad out of him. So he focuses on the calm scents of the bathbomb and the way the petals float around Jimin’s torso, focuses everywhere but on his and Jimin’s painfully hard cocks.

“Remember this feeling. This is what boys who touch each other without permission get. Especially if they try to hide it afterwards. Are we clear?”

They nod yes on autopilot, and you know this lesson will be vivid in their heads for a while.

____

Tag list: @ttaekooks @bandaged-despair @laylasbunbunny @sweeneyblue1 @madygswich @namjooncrabs @akshstudios @severely-mentally-ill @everythangggoes @xoxostrawberrymilkxoxo @nikkiordonez12 @channiespup @dreamamubarak @shadowmoon21 @bts-trash-blog @sonje78 @lathraios

#jikook x reader #jikook smut #sub jikook #jungkook smut #jimin smut #bts smut #rmpp ask

[rorywritesjunk]

I can’t tell where the journey will end But I know where to start

Prequel to my Kid Buggy fic, set about 11-ish years before that story.

Buggy meets you by chance when he needs his buttons sewn back onto his jacket. He’s young, up and coming, and he thinks everyone should cower before him wherever he goes, but all you do is smile at him.

Rating: PG-13ish just for some swearing. Warning: Buggy’s in his early 20s. He’s an asshole. He just is because I wanted to write him loud, demanding, everything. A known swordsman makes a brief appearance in this. Buggy is jealous and a bit insecure in this chapter. A/N: I have no idea when Buggy became a Captain, so he’s a fresh faced captain in this. No clue how long this fic will be. Also I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reads, reblogs, and replies on this story. I love everyone of you and it makes my day brighter knowing there are people enjoying this! So thank you thank you thank you! <3

Title comes from “Wake Me Up” by Avicii.

TAGLIST: @lostfirefly @ane5e @kingofthemfingpirates @the-angriest-angel @tiredemomama @valen-yamyam16 @i-reblog-fics-i-like @plethora-of-fickleness @uhnanix Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6 + Chapter 7 + Chapter 8 + Chapter 9 + Chapter 10 + Chapter 11 + Chapter 12 + Chapter 13 + Chapter 14 + Chapter 15 + Chapter 16 + Chapter 17 + Chapter 18 + Epilogue

Chapter 7

Buggy woke up to a bucket beside his bed, a glass of water on the nightstand, and a note telling him you were in the kitchen. He was confused as to why you left him a note because he didn’t know why you were there at first. He had fuzzy memories from the previous night: going to the shop, walking back to the ship, a drink, a marriage proposal, sharing his bed-

Oh shit. He fell out of bed, horrified by how he acted towards you. That was the last thing he wanted and he scrambled to find some clothes to put on. He found his shirt from the previous night and threw it on, ignoring the stains and smell of beer coming off it. Maybe you were still on the ship and he could explain everything, unless you left and never wanted to see him again. That was entirely possible.

You were in the kitchen when he came crashing in, eating a banana as you looked at the photos he showed you last night. He froze when he saw them and you looked up with a smile.

“Good morning, Buggy.”

“Where did you get those?!”

“You showed them to me last night.” You chuckled before taking a sip of your tea. “After you asked me to marry you.”

His hand shot off to grab them but you were quicker, moving them out of his way. You then pointed to the floating hand.

“Also, can you explain this?” You asked. “Miss Pins mentioned something about Devil Fruits but I didn't get it. and last night your body… was a part for a moment and it was…interesting to see.”

How were you talking so casually about all this? It was like discussing the weather, you were asking if it was cloudy outside. Others would have been horrified, thinking he was some kind of freak for what his body could do, but you were just eating a banana as you waited for an answer.

“I… have Devil Fruit powers.” He mumbled as he sat himself in a chair across from you. “I ate the Chop Chop fruit, so my body can split apart.” He scratched his head and looked at you. “Well? Aren't you disgusted or scared of me now?”

“Am I supposed to be?” You frowned as you finished your banana. “It's not like you bleed everywhere when it happens, right? If anything it's probably useful. You took your bottle back from me last night when we were walking, which was, admittedly, a little weird, but I had already seen it before. Just after you laid down last night I realized I wanted to ask you.”

“So…you're not disgusted that my body does this?”

“Buggy, I don't find your body disgusting.” You assured him as you sipped your tea. “Okay?”

He blushed and looked away. “Really? Even my nose?”

“I think it's cute.” You smiled. 

“Sh-shut up! Don't lie to me!” He shot back as he glared at you. 

“I'm not, promise.” You assured him as you looked back at the photos. “You were so cute as a kid.”

Buggy sat back in his seat, still glaring at you as you set the pictures down and got up to pour him some tea. Did you really think his nose was cute or were you just saying that? So far you'd never been mean to him, only occasionally teasing him, but he still was wary when it came to his nose. 

When his tea was ready you brought the cup back to him and pushed the plate of fruit over to him. “I figured fruit would be a good post-birthday hangover meal. You need to hydrate.”

He crossed his arms and eyed the plate before looking back at you. “Why are you still here? I figured you would have left.”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” You told him as you picked up an apple and cut into it, separating it into slices. “You said stuff about me making you happy if I married you, and… I got worried.”

“I'm fine.” He grumbled as he looked down at his lap. “I was drunk, ignore what I was saying.”

You put the apple slices down on the plate before getting back up to find something with protein for him. He picked up one of the slices and shoved it in his mouth as he turned to watch you. He acted like a damn idiot last night but you stuck around to make sure he was okay. Did you want something from him or did you genuinely care about him? This wasn’t something he was used to or expected, so it was a little hard for him to understand. You found a jar of peanut butter in a cupboard and grabbed it.

“Here, have this.” You opened it, noting that it still seemed edible before finding a spoon to scoop some out for him onto the plate. He watched you suspiciously before he helped himself to the peanut butter. 

“You don't have to stay.” He said with his mouth full of food. “Your boss is gonna come looking for you.”

You shrugged as you sat back down in your chair. “I'll leave in a bit, but only if you walk me back.”

He glanced up at you with a frown, but you said nothing as you grabbed a towel and wiped his face for him. He grumbled and tried to pull away from you but you didn't let him, making sure his face was clean before you sat back down. He glared at you, face flushed as he finished his plate.

“Ignore everything I said last night.” He said again as he looked down at the plate. “I was drunk.”

“So you don't think I'm nice?” You asked with wide eyes, feigning surprise. “Or soft? You don't want to marry me then?”

“I-I do!” He said before slapping his hand over his mouth. You grinned at him and leaned back in your chair. He glared at you. “You're cruel.”

“I thought I was nice.” You teased as you sipped your tea. He crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance as you grinned at him. “Let's finish up, I need to head back. I have a customer returning today and I need to make sure he gets his order.”

He just grumbled as he drank his own tea. You got up and tidied up the kitchen, making sure to wash the dishes and dry them. He watched you as you moved about, enjoying how you already felt comfortable on the ship, that you seemed to know where everything was already in the kitchen. It was a sight he could get used to, he decided, but he didn't know if it was something you'd want.

“Let's head out, okay?” You said with a smile.

Buggy just nodded, but instead of leaving the ship you led him back to his room to put the pictures back while he pulled his boots back on. You found him a clean(er) shirt to wear and held it out to him, turning you back so he could change. He didn't know why, you obviously saw him shirtless (and he had a brief flashback to what he thought was going to happen last night and he momentarily died of embarrassment before straightening back up), but once he was ready he reached to put his bandana back on when you stopped him.

“Can you leave it down?” You asked, your own cheeks pink as you reached out to touch a lock of his hair. “It's um, just so pretty. I’d like to see it.”

He stared at you, wondering if you were teasing him again, but you weren't. A lock of his hair was entwined in your fingers as you ran your thumb over it, and when you realized what you were doing you let go and put your hands behind your back. 

“Sorry.” 

“No, it's…fine.” Buggy said as he tossed the bandana aside. He always put his hair up, finding it to be a nuisance as it got longer. His Devil Fruit made it difficult to get a haircut, it just reattached itself whenever he tried to cut it, so he gave up and let it get long. He didn't think it was a feature someone would care about, like his nose.

You smiled at him, he felt his face heating up and he looked away as he held his arm out to you. When you linked your arm with his he straightened up before he marched out of his room with you on his arm, thinking today would be a good day.

~

When he saw your customer he was horrified by how handsome he was. Dark hair, cheekbones, sharp, yellow eyes. And you were nice, helping your customer into his coat, explaining what you did with his request, and when you touched his shoulders Buggy couldn't help but feel jealous because you did that for him too, you always made sure his coat fit him, but it was obvious now that you did it for everyone. Buggy had no reason to feel special. 

When you finished up, your customer kissed your hand before leaving. Buggy was seething. You just shook your head before grabbing Buggy by the hand and leading him to the backroom.

“I have a present for you, Buggy.”

He tried to ignore Benji saying how cool that guy looked or Miss Pins commenting how that customer was so handsome because he knew they wouldn't think that way about him, so why would you? He said nothing as you let go of his hand and retrieved a small white box from a pile of other ones. He crossed his arms, glaring at his feet as you walked back over to him and held it out.

“Happy birthday.” You said, but he wouldn't take it from you. “Buggy?”

“You didn't know it was my birthday until last night.” He mumbled. “How do you have a gift for me already?”

You shrugged as you opened the box for him. He still wouldn't look at you. “I thought of it this morning. I did some hand stitching on this for a customer who never came back for it, but thankfully he prepaid for it.” You pulled out a square of silk, a light purple color, and held it out to him. He finally looked up, reaching out to touch it with his fingers carefully. “I thought it would look better on you than in some box.”

He hesitated and pulled his hand back. He didn't deserve a gift like this from you, especially considering on your own birthday he was an asshole to you. You said nothing as you rolled the fabric loosely before draping it over his neck. You pulled his hair out from under it before you looped it into a knot and tightened it just a bit. 

You smiled as you tugged on the front of it gently. “It looks good on you, Buggy.”

Buggy swallowed heavily and nodded. You were so close to him right then. His heart was pounding and his palms were sweaty. If he didn't do what he wanted to do right then he would regret it. You'd get romanced by someone else, some more handsome pirate, and he had to make it up to you for what he did on your birthday.

Without a word he leaned forward, pressing his lips to yours, nose bumping and-

Honk!

Buggy froze and pulled back from you, a look of horror on his face at what just happened. You stared at him, but before he could bolt you grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him back, tilting your head just enough to avoid bumping his nose. He kept his arms at his sides, unsure where to put them. 

It felt like it went by too quickly when you pulled back from him, smiling brightly as you pecked him on the cheek.

“Is this a belated birthday gift, Buggy?” You teased as you let go of his shirt. He was red in the face but he grinned, shrugging his shoulders as he tried to be smooth.

“D’you want it to be?” He asked. You touched the silk around his neck and leaned into him, but he leaned back, expecting some kind of surface to support him, but instead he fell backwards and crashed onto the floor. 

You immediately knelt down and helped him sit up, checking him for injury. He seemed fine, just embarrassed, so you kissed him on the cheek.

“It could be, but I wouldn't say no to flowers.”

#buggy the clown #buggy the clown x reader #buggy x reader #buggy x you #buggy the clown x you #opla buggy the clown #opla buggy the clown x reader #opla buggy x reader #opla buggy the clown x you #opla buggy x you #buggy the clown x oc #buggy x oc #opla buggy the clown x oc #opla buggy x oc #sunny x buggy #one piece #one piece oc #one piece fanfiction

[oohnotvery]

Edges of the Night (Chapter 10)

Read here on AO3.

Someone’s gone missing in Glacier National Park, Scully tells herself. That’s why the helicopters are out. It’s the only possible explanation.

It couldn’t be—there’s no way—it can’t be that those helicopters are for them. No one’s tracking them anymore. Mulder ditched the ring back in Utah. It flew out of his hands and landed in six feet of snow. Right? Right?

“We can’t stay in this house,” Mulder mutters, dragging her by the shoulders to the front door.

She stumbles in the dark, her brain spinning. “Wait, wait, stop,” she says, laying a hand on his chest. His heart is racing. “Mulder, stop a minute.” She draws in a long breath, trying to collect her thoughts. “Why can’t we stay here? We won’t fare much better if we try to take the car out. They know what vehicle we’re driving. They’ll spot us the minute we get on the roads.”

Even though it’s dark, she can sense the moment Mulder pauses to consider it. For a time, everything goes still and silent. Even the beat of the helicopter blades grows quieter.

And then he starts pacing.

“We’re sitting ducks in this damn house, Scully,” he grumbles angrily. “No weapons, nowhere to run. They’ll find us. It might take a few days, but if they were able to track us to this area, they’re eventually going to figure out we’re in this cabin.”

She swallows hard, nodding in agreement. As he walks by her, he reaches out to squeeze her waist.

“So,” she says after a long minute, “I guess the ring wasn’t tracking us after all.” She rubs subconsciously at her empty ring finger.

Mulder doesn’t respond.

When she contemplates the fact that her engagement ring is gone forever because of Mulder’s mistaken assumptions, she feels a pang of regret. But other thoughts and feelings quickly overshadow the pain of that particular loss. Finding out that Alan was planted in her life; questioning whether his feelings for her were real; wondering what things will look like when she gets back to that life.  

A keen sense of self-pity ripples through her as she recalls her life in California, how she believed she was happy, how she believed in her feelings for Alan. But as usual, being around Mulder has thoroughly disrupted her belief system.

She shakes her head to clear her mind. Now isn’t the time to think about these things.

As the minutes pass by, their tentative decision to stand their ground and hunker down in the house starts to seem less and less appealing. If they don’t run, they’ll almost certainly be found here. But if they do run, there’s a chance they’ll be caught sooner. Right?  

“Can you please stop pacing?” she finally barks. “You’re making me nervous.”

He ignores her and she scowls irritably. He’s a caged lion, a ticking time bomb.

“Do you have any idea how they’ve found us again?” she asks after a few minutes, wringing her hands.

He grumbles a no.

She’s hesitant to even speak again, but she has to give voice to her thoughts. “Do you think—is it possible—” He glances at her through the darkness. “Did someone we know give us away?”

The caged lion goes deathly still.

“Frohike would die before doing that,” he breathes with conviction, and he sounds so sure of it, she nods too.

“Skinner?” she whispers hesitantly, hating herself even for the suggestion. But her logical mind demands she consider all the possibilities—no matter how unlikely.

“I don’t—” he sighs, his shoulders crumpling. “I don’t think he would give us up either.”

She purses her lips and nods. There’s a dark, chilling thought niggling at the back of her mind. It’s been there on and off during this entire escapade of theirs, but she’s vehemently refused to consider it, has continually denied it access to her conscious mind. Because if she takes it out and examines it, the results will feel devastating. Horrific. Life-altering.

With the distant beat of helicopter blades nearby, though, she really has no other choice but to face the unthinkable. She licks her lips unsteadily.

“Mulder,” she murmurs, and she feels his body turn to face hers. He must be able to hear the panic in her voice because he takes two steps into her, his hands falling to her waist. She tips her forehead to his chest and his hands travel up her spine to cup the back of her neck. She huffs a painful laugh. It’s like he already knows what she’s going to say. “Mulder, the chip . . . the chip in my neck.”

He swipes a tender finger across the raised bump above her spine. “It’s not that,” he says decidedly, and she instantly knows he’s already considered it too.

She scoffs, pulling away. “And how do you know that? They found us without the ring. Clearly it wasn’t that, so this is the next most logical explanation we have.”

He shakes his head vehemently. “It’s not your chip, Scully. It can’t be—”

“But what if it is?” she exclaims, pushing against his chest. “Mulder, we could be running forever and they’d still always find us!” She sucks in a lungful of air. “We need—we need to split up. You need to get away from me. If they catch me, so—so what? They’ll dangle me as bait for you, they wouldn’t hurt me as long as you’re still running—”

He grabs her wrists so hard she flinches. “No,” he growls. “That’s not happening. I’m not leaving you.”

“Then we cut the chip out of me,” she says confidently.

His hands dig more painfully into her skin and she cries out. “Mulder—”

He releases her with an apology on his tongue, crushing her head to his chest. “That is not an option, Scully. We’re not even sure if they’re using the chip to track us. Get that out of your mind, because I’m sure as hell not removing that chip from you. It saved your life.” She grabs at his shirt, bunching it up in her fists. “We can fight this, Scully. We can—we can keep running. We just have to stay one step ahead of them.”

She huffs exasperatedly. “We can’t run forever, Mulder. It’s only been a few days and we’re already—we’re exhausted, emotionally wrecked. We—this running—this isn’t a life. It’s barely even survival.”

“Bullshit,” he says, and she glances up from his chest. His eyes blaze with conviction through the darkness. “I’ve learned a lot these past nine months. Most importantly, that what I’ve been living isn’t a life. Not without you. It’s only a life if I get to spend it with you, Scully.”

Her mouth falls open, but before she can respond, he’s dipping his head down to press his lips to hers. She moans into his mouth and pushes her hands beneath his shirt. All her earlier uncertainty slips away. With time pressing in on them at every angle, she’s realizing that this may be her last chance to experience anything good. Forget Alan, forget fidelity, forget her life back in California. Those don’t exist, not in this space, not when there’s helicopters hunting them down and a chip in her neck and Mulder’s desperate confessions whispered against her lips.

He peels off her shirt and she yanks his off too, stretching on tiptoes to reach above his head. Her hands tremble as they touch smooth skin and firm muscle, and she wishes they could turn the lights on so she could look and feast.

His hands don’t hesitate to roam to her pants, releasing the zipper and shoving them down her legs. She shivers in the cold air and he draws her in, slipping his hands over her ass to pull her close. And then he’s hooking his hands under her thighs and lifting her off the ground, and she scrambles to link her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.

He tilts his mouth to trail down her jaw and neck as he stumbles in the dark to find the couch. She laughs in surprise when they tumble onto the cushions together, her hands flying out to brace herself against his chest. In his lap, she lifts her hips and fumbles inelegantly at his jeans, breathless when he finally swats her hands away and does it himself. They shimmy his pants off together and then she’s sitting half-naked on his boxers, which leave no room for imagination. She can feel everything, and it’s delicious. She wraps her arms around his neck and grinds down into him, enjoying the way his head falls back against the couch at her movements.

She’s about to drag his head back up for another kiss when she feels it.

Right there, along the top of his spine.

A rough line of raised skin. It’s thin and small. Very small. Blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-small.

Small, thin, raised . . .

It’s a scar.

For the second time today, she freezes in his lap. And for the second time today, Mulder begs her not to stop.

“Please,” he whispers, and it’s so desperate that she can almost convince herself to keep going. Just put it out of your mind until you’ve done this one thing, she thinks. Just wait a little bit longer to unravel the true horrors of tonight. Let yourself enjoy him for just these next few moments.

“Mulder, stop,” her higher logic demands, and it’s authoritative enough that he immediately retracts his hands from her thighs.

“You okay?” he asks nervously, running his fingertips across her biceps. She still has her arms around his neck.

His featherlight touches distract her momentarily, and she again convinces herself that she could just keep going right now. With unwavering self-control, she drags her focus back to the more pressing issue.

“There’s something in your neck,” she says, and he too goes still.

“What?” he whispers incredulously. Slowly, his hand rises to meet hers, which is poking and prodding the top of his spine. Gently, she guides his finger over the place where she feels it, the very slight, very unremarkable protrusion right under his skin. An incision scar, just like hers.

He flies off the couch, sending her lurching to her feet. He grabs her hand and drags her towards the bathroom, where he shuts the door, turns on the lamp, and stuffs a towel in the door crack to block out the light.

They blink at each other for a long second, two sets of eyes dragging lustfully across half-naked bodies. God, he looks gorgeous. Tousled, muscular, clearly aroused.

They snap out of it and she motions for him to turn around. He stoops low and she stretches to her toes, fingers quickly finding the place on his neck.

Sure enough, there it is. A very small incision, just like hers.

“Oh my god,” she breathes, her hands falling away.

He turns around slowly, eyeing her meaningfully. “You’ve got to cut it out of me.”

She starts to nod, because that is the next logical step. Take out the tracker in his neck, then flee.

“Scully?” he says urgently, motioning for her to leave the room, probably to get her medical bag.

She shakes her head. “No, Mulder.”

His eyes widen. “What do you mean no? This is obviously what’s been tracking us this whole time—”

She holds up a hand to interrupt him. “Would you let me take it out of my neck?”

He scoffs. “Are you kidding? If it was just a—a tracking device? Of course I would. It’s tracking us, for Christ’s sake—”

“How do you know removing it won’t kill you? How do we know what it really is?” she says softly. “How do we know it’s not like mine?”

His expression falters. “It’s just a tracking device,” he repeats, but he sounds less sure of himself.

She shrugs. “We don’t know that. For all we know, it could—it could release some toxin into your body the moment you remove it. It could—it could be a slower-acting agent, like cancer, like what I was given—”

“We’re taking it out,” he says decisively, pushing past her to shove open the door.

Apparently, all thoughts of keeping the place dark have gone out the window. He rushes to the bedroom and grabs her medical kit, yanking it open and rifling through it until he produces a sharp tool. It’s the wrong one for this job, but she doesn’t bother correcting him.

He turns on her with a madman’s eyes. “You’re taking it out of me, Scully.”

“Let’s just think—”

“Stop,” he yells, thrusting the tool into her hands.

Her hand trembles in a way she’s not used to while holding surgical instruments, and she can see the conviction in his eyes.

“You’re taking that goddamn chip out of me or so help me God, Scully, I’ll—” he pauses, unable to continue his toothless threat.

She almost laughs at the absurdity of it. “It might kill you,” she argues quietly.

He reaches forward and squeezes her shoulders, his eyes burning into hers. “If that thing doesn’t kill me, they will, someway or somehow. Either way, I very well may die. But there’s another possibility, Scully, don’t you see?” His eyes crease wistfully. “There’s a chance it’s just a stupid tracking device, nothing more. And that gives us the chance to run, to get away from here.”

“But where do we go? The car—”  

He shrugs. “Into the woods. Get lost in that national park.”

“But the bears,” she protests weakly.

He laughs and she sees hope rising in his gaze. This is really it, she realizes. This truly is their biggest chance for survival.

“I can’t lose you,” she whispers, not stopping to marvel at how quickly he’s once again become the only person she can’t live without.

He grimaces. “Take out the fucking chip, Scully.”

**

Mulder doesn’t burst into flames or ooze green jelly or die from a fast-releasing toxin. In fact, the chip removal is relatively unremarkable. He flinches at the initial cut and Scully hides her nerves by teasing him about his pain intolerance. And then she removes the little fucker from his neck.

“How long do you think you’ve had this in?” she asks as she cleans the wound.

He grits his teeth. “I was conscious the whole time I was in San Diego, even after they found me at the airport,” he muses. “So it must have been before that. I would have known they put something in me, right?”

She nods. “This incision is well-healed. I’d say it’s been months at least.”

He turns to face her and she tosses a cotton pad into the trash. His eyebrows crease. “At the hospital, then. When I was in the psych ward.”

She swallows, dropping his gaze. “They must have known, then,” she says.

He hums a question.

“They must have known that they wanted to continue using you. Destroying the files was never enough, not even from the very beginning. What they’ve always wanted—”

“Was me,” he interrupts, smoothing his hand across her waist. Her lips part at the warmth of his palm against her bare skin. He squeezes her hipbone and briefly, she remembers what they were about to do right before she discovered the tracker. She shivers. “They always planned for me to die in disgrace. So they stuck a chip in my neck in case I ever did anything they didn’t like, like follow you to San Diego, or run away with you to Utah. That way, they could always drag me back and bend me to their will.”

“And me?” she asks, cupping his elbow and drawing him closer. “Just a pawn to get you to cooperate?”

His eyes darken. “I’ve said it before. You’re my Achilles heel, Scully. Everyone knows it.”

She bites her lip, flushing. “Do you think they were ever really planning to ship me off to run more experiments? Or was that all bluff?”

He eyes her carefully but doesn’t answer.

“I haven’t forgotten, Mulder,” she says meaningfully. “You still owe me the contents of that letter.”

His eyes close briefly, and then he steps forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “Later,” he promises.

After dressing, they gather their modest supplies in a bag and then start arguing about the car. Mulder insists they risk driving; Scully fears it will be the death of them.

In the end, Mulder wins again, convincing her that if they don’t take the car, they’ll just inevitably end up lost, starving, and exposed to the elements smack-dab in the middle of grizzly territory. It’s the threat of bears that eventually convinces her.

It takes Mulder five tries before he manages to get the car up the hill without headlights on. The vehicle bump-bump-bumps over terrain it was never meant to climb and Scully clings to the dashboard with a dizzying lack of optimism.

Once they reach the road, though, they both heave a sigh of relief. They’ve agreed to avoid driving into the park—it will be manned by park rangers, who may or may not be keeping watch for two FBI agents on the run. Instead, they head west towards another set of mountains, the plan being to bunker down in northern Washington’s remote Cascade Range until they’ve determined whether they’re still being tracked. They still haven’t worked out a plan for getting basic supplies or accommodations; by now, their faces are probably plastered over every news outlet in every town. They can’t just walk right into a gas station or motel.

On the road, they are completely silent as they fly through dense forest, headlights still off. The driving is treacherous—a mixture of snow and ice still covers the roads and without light for guidance, Mulder is barely keeping them on the asphalt. Scully keeps looking in the rearview, waiting for the inevitable moment when a car flies up behind them, or a helicopter drops out of the sky. But nothing happens. Eventually, they pass a sign for a national forest and without hesitation, they pull off the main road to head deeper into the wilderness. It is nearing dawn when they decide to stop and hunker down in a vacant campground.

Mulder mumbles something about needing to get gas and Scully shoves that concern to the back of her brain. They’ll worry about filling the car later. Right now, they need rest.

She climbs into the back while Mulder reclines his seat as far as it’ll go. They make eye contact as the sun starts to rise, flooding their car with light.

He reaches back to take her hand and she loops her fingers loosely with his.

“If anything happens,” he tells her solemnly, “you run. Leave me. Get as far away from me as you can.”

She frowns. “Not gonna happen, Mulder.”

He cracks a wistful smile, squeezes her fingers, and leans back in his seat. She shuts her eyes, listens for the sound of helicopters. But the forest is silent, save for the singsong of birds and the hum of insects.

She sleeps.

**

Scully wakes with an unbelievable urge to pee. Groggy, disoriented, and crick-necked, she rises from the backseat. Mulder is sleeping peacefully, his arms crossed over his chest. She smiles fondly. He looks for all the world like the version of Mulder who spent every night falling asleep on his couch in front of the T.V. She resists the urge to reach over and push his hair off his forehead.

Instead, as quietly as she can, she opens the car door and sneaks outside, silently cursing the fierce chill in the air. She hunkers down behind a tree to relieve herself, eyes scanning the quiet morning for signs of trouble.

Sensing nothing out of the ordinary, she rises to her feet. Ten feet away, she sees Mulder stirring in the front seat. He glances in the backseat and startles at her absence, then flings open the door.

“Mulder!” she calls quietly, and his eyes race to find hers across the forest. She smiles as relief crosses his face.

Sunlight warms her skin and she is suddenly filled with an incredible sense of optimism. The tracking device is gone. They escaped the cabin without notice. They seem to have reconciled, mostly.

And perhaps most thrillingly, Mulder wants to get her naked.

She takes a step towards him.

There’s a pop, a distant echo.

Something strikes her shoulder so hard she falls backward, the breath forced from her lungs.

She opens her mouth to call for Mulder’s help, but the pain hits her. Fire—raging, burning, roaring fire—races down her body and she screams in agony.

She hears Mulder shout, distantly notices the sound of footsteps approaching, but all she really knows is extreme, acute, blinding pain.

Against her will, her eyes flutter closed, and she realizes she’s losing consciousness. Her screams turn weak, then faint, and then she can barely open her mouth at all.

Someone’s hands reach roughly under her armpits and she is momentarily comforted by the thought that Mulder is saving her. He knows how to treat gunshot wounds. This is a gunshot wound, right?

Wait—why the hell was she shot?

As she’s lifted to her feet, her eyes blink slowly open, and in that brief moment, she realizes that the arms around her don’t belong to Mulder.  

Because he is writhing on the ground in front of her, two men wrestling to keep him pinned to the earth. His eyes are glued frantically to hers and she realizes, even through the agony, that this is it. They’ve been caught.

A sob escapes her throat and the person holding her tosses her violently over his shoulder. She cries weakly at the renewed pain, her eyes tearing away from Mulder’s.

She strains to hear his shouts, but her hearing is starting to fade. Her vision goes in and out. Her attacker jostles her on his shoulder and another wave of pain jolts down her body.

She faints.

#mulder x scully #the x files #dana scully #x files fanfic #msr fanfic #x files #fox mulder #msr #txf #xfiles fanfic

[dira333]

Passing Peonies - Post War Touya Todoroki - Part X

When the war ended, Midoriya Izuku had proven one thing: That Villains did not need to be killed to be defeated. That you could make friends from enemies.

Touya Todoroki, formerly known as Dabi, had been one of those taken into the rehabilitation program. After one year of intense physical and psychological therapy, he's got the chance to prove himself. To prove that he can be a part of this world.

Complete fic length: 30.600 words - Masterlist

Warnings: poor mental health and resentment against past actions is mentioned, burn scars etc. as well. There is angst but this is mostly soft Touya coming back to his family...

Part 10: (2,2k words)

“Do you ever…” He stops and looks at his mother, at the calmness of her face and the warmth that hasn’t left her eyes ever since he’s come back. “Are you scared of fire? I mean, now, after what happened?”

She halts in her movements of preparing tea for the two of them.

“I guess,” she says with uncertainty coating her voice. “I haven’t been around it since… you know.”

“Me either, until today.”

“Oh? What happened?”

“Nothing big.” He admits haltingly. “We just have this new coworker who smokes and when I saw the flame of her lighter, I got all weird and… tingly?”

His mother ponders that for a moment before she leaves the room without a word.

He waits, confused until she comes back with a candle and a box of matches. 

“Finding the matches took me the longest.” She explains. “We rarely need those. Do you… do you wanna light the candle? I’m a little afraid of the matches.”

So is he, he realizes, as he fumbles around with them. He can’t remember ever using those, not when he could produce his own fire by age four.

His hands are sweaty as he works and he breaks two matchsticks before he can even light them.

When the third ignites, he drops it on the table in a mix of surprise and shock and they stare at it as it burns out on the glass surface.

The fourth match makes it to the candle but by now cold sweat is running down his back.

His mother is looking positively green in the face and they take turns staring quietly at the candle or each other for about a minute before he uses the plate of Takoyaki to smother the flame.

“What do you think?” His mother asks, her voice thick.

“I’d rather not do that again. But… how can I be afraid of my own quirk?”

“Do you miss it?” She asks, her small hand on his now.

“I remember how it felt to burn the first time.” He tells her, voice low, “It wasn’t just about achieving something, it was about the thing itself. Fire has always been kinda cathartic for me. So yes, I think… I think I miss it, even if I’m afraid of it. What if I can never use it again?”

“What if you can use something else instead?”

He furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

“Your hair turned white.” She points out, twirling a strand between her fingers. “What if other things have changed too?”

-

His father finds him later that day, still in his room, too restless to sleep and too tired to do much but flip through his books. He’s allowed internet access now but hasn’t used it much, preferring the calmness of printed books at the moment.

“You’re mother tells me you’re not feeling well.” He says, arms crossed, an enormous bandage sticking out from his left upper arm.

“What happened to your arm?” Touya asks, sitting up.

“Just an unfortunate meeting with someone wielding a knife, it looks worse than it is.”

“You got stabbed at work?”

“Yeah. Kinda comes with the job.”

Touya stares at the bandage, his stomach churning.

“What’s on your mind, son?” His father sits down on his bed as well, the mattress dipping under his weight.

“Would you freak out if I got a piercing?” He asks, blurting out the first thing that comes to his mind which isn’t what he really wanted to say anyway.

“A piercing?” Enji’s eyebrows rise on his forehead as he speaks. “What kind of piercing?”

“I used to have one, well, multiple, on my ear. Four rings. I met someone who copied it and it reminded me of them and now I kinda want them back.”

His hand moves to his ear on instinct, and feels the new skin that has been grafted over, the new bone that has been grown beneath it. He knows, at least from what he’s been told, that his body had been destroyed to a point where there was almost no hope left.

But he somehow made it out alive, even if heavily scarred.

“What did they mean to you?” Enji asks, which is a way better question than the one he’d feared.

“We’re four kids.” He says simply and his father nods, slowly, as if he’d only just realized it himself.

The front door slams shut and Rei calls out a greeting from somewhere in the living room, but her “Welcome back Shouto.” stays unanswered.

Touya feels, rather than knows, that his youngest brother might have had a not-so-nice meeting with his girlfriend. Well, ex-girlfriend now.

Even Enji rises, eyebrows furrowed as if he senses it too.

And maybe it’s their history, that he asks right then and there, or something else, but the words fall out of his mouth like ripe tomatoes, splitting on his bedroom floor and leaving a mess like words are wont to do.

“Do you think I’ll ever be able to use my fire again?”

His father looks absolutely stricken at the question, torn between what he wants to say and his absolute lack of talent in lying. 

“I don’t think you should.” He offers and it looks like the words hurt him, like they’re razor sharp and soaked in lemon juice.

“But the fire…”

“Your life,” his father’s voice trembles, “Is more important than any fire in the world. I’d give up my quirk this second if it meant keeping you alive.”

“Wow,” he jokes, the emotion in his father’s eyes so deep they threaten to choke him too, “That’s nice.”

Enji’s arms tighten and loosen, as if in tune with his heartbeat, until he steps forward and clears his throat.

“Can I, uh, can I hug you?”

And it’s nice, in a way, to be hugged like this. To be lifted up from the ground and swallowed up in arms the size of your ribcage, wrapped around you like the world doesn’t matter anymore.

If only he could turn off his head too, the flickering of a flame behind his eyelids.

-

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Shouto only comes out of his room after everyone has settled for the night. 

Rei had knocked on his door once, as well as Enji, but both times he’d asked to be left alone and his siblings knew to respect a wish like that.

Touya blinks into the sudden light when Shouto appears at his door, flicking on the light.

“I was sleeping-” He starts but stops when he realizes that Shouto’s eyes are red-rimmed and glassy.

“You wanna talk about it?” He says instead, mildly surprised when Shouto not only steps into his room but takes a seat on his bed as well.

“You’re in love with your boss, right?” Shouto asks, with the directness Touya has learned to accept from him. Doesn’t mean he likes it all the time.

“What makes you think that?”

“Momo told me.”

“Momo says a lot of things, that doesn’t make them true.”

“But you are in love with her.” His brother insists. “Right?”

“I might be.” He offers, the admission churning in his stomach. “But that doesn’t matter because love always involves two people.”

“But she loves you too.”

“Did she say that?” The words are out of his mouth before he can take them back, rushed and a bit too eager.

Shouto blinks in surprise and Touya bites his tongue. “Never mind. What gave you that impression?”

“She looks at you like Deku looks at Ochako. Or Jirou looks at Kaminari. Or Tenya looks at Tsuyu when he thinks nobody’s looking.” 

“I get it, I get it, all your classmates are in relationships.”

“I tried replicating that kind of look.” Shouto admits. “But Momo just asks me if I have constipation when I do.”

“You can’t replicate that look, dumbass.” Touya rolls his eyes at him. “It’s when your feelings are visible on the outside.”

“Does that mean I don’t love Momo? I really do like her. It’s so easy to talk to her and she gets that my family is complicated.”

“How do you feel about her getting hurt?”

“She wouldn’t get hurt. She’s too capable.”

Touya rolls his eyes again. “Yes, I know she’s capable. But, think back to the past. Or the present. There might be fights she won’t get out so easily. How’d you feel about her getting hurt?”

Shouto looks, to put it simply, as if he’d just punched him in the gut.

“You okay?”

He doesn’t answer, but instead moves until he sits with his head between his knees.

“You okay?” Touya asks again, hands hovering over his head. “Are you going to be sick?”

“It would be my fault.” Shouto pushes out. “If she got hurt it would be my fault.”

“Okay, Shouto, look at me. She’s not hurt and it’s not your fault. I can tell you care about her, but maybe… maybe you should look into some therapy?”

“I did go to therapy.” His brother insists, head still locked between his knees. “Remember? I was there with you.”

“Yeah, when it was about family. But what about relationships? You didn’t have the best role model in that, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to someone about it, would it?”

Eventually, Shouto pulls his head back out and stares at him, his mismatched eyes eerie in their quietness.

“How’d you feel about her getting hurt?” He asks.

“It’s not just the hurt.” Touya admits. “Even though that thought fucks me up the most. It’s the fact that she doesn’t know how to cook so I learned it in case she’ll let me do it for her one day. So that she can stay healthy. It’s the fact that she wears threadbare gloves in winter and I haven’t figured out yet how to gift her better ones. It’s taking care of every plant because I know if the plant is hurt, she’s hurt about it. That’s… Well, that’s what I feel, I’ll let you decide what that is.”

“Do you think I’ll ever feel that about a person?”

Touya shrugs. “You’re what, eight years old? You still have more than enough time to find someone for you. Don’t rush into things. And who knows, maybe it will be good for you and Momo to have some time apart.”

Shouto huffs but says nothing, instead he turns and slips under the covers as if this is his bed and not his brother’s.

“What are you doing?”

“Sleeping. Can you turn off the light? Thank you.”

Touya doesn’t really know why he does it. Maybe he’s too tired to fight about it, or he is actually a bit worried about Shouto, or maybe there’s something else entirely, but he gets out of bed, shuts off the light, and slips back under the covers, resigning himself to half a blanket.

At least Shouto’s warm.

-

When Touya comes home the next day, Enji stops him at the front door.

“We’re leaving.” He tells him in a hushed voice.

“Where to?”

“There’s a piercing shop downtown. Hawks referred me to it.”

Touya blinks. 

“I’m not… I haven’t thought about…”

“You don’t have to do it tonight if you don’t feel like it. You can just make fun of me getting antsy about the needles or whatever because I’ll be getting one.”

“Me too.” Natsuo pops up behind him, as if summoned by the term ‘making fun’.

“Oh, count me in.” Fuyumi slips her shoes on. “I told Mom we’re getting ice cream, so keep up the lie.”

“Ice cream?” Shouto appears in the kitchen door. “I heard they have one with Zaru Soba flavor, can we try that?”

-

Natsuo is the one with his phone poised, and Touya’s glad for it because he would never want to forget this moment, his father squirming anxiously in the too-small chair, while the piercer preps everything he needs.

He doesn’t know how they did it, or when they talked it through, but they’ve all thought about it in detail.

His father’s getting five rings, one silver and four gold, at the same place where Touya had his own. It’s not hard to gather what they stand for.

His siblings have decided on something similar. They choose the same placement - Fuyumi chooses gold rings because she prefers gold - but ask to leave a little gap each at whatever position they stand in their family tree.

It looks ridiculous but it has meaning and when they all grin back at him with varying shades of pain visible on his face - his father really is horrible around needles - he can’t say no.

“Alright, put them back in.” He orders and takes a seat as well.

He doesn’t know what you’ll think of it, but from what he knows about you, he knows you’d always push him to be himself in whatever save way he can.

It doesn’t make coming home easier, though,j when his mother awaits them with her arms crossed.

“As if I’d fall for something like that.” She tells them sternly. “You could have taken me with you. Enji, dear, did you make sure it’s not the ‘gay ear’? Hawks told me about that kind of thing.”

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#my writing #Passing Peonies #Touya Todoroki #Dabi #Touya x reader #Dabi x reader #Todoroki family #Happy Todoroki #soft Touya #Soft Dabi #Dabi fluff #Touya fluff #angst to happy end

[bby-blu-swirll]

hairdressing | hawks x reader

little short where a long term customer recommends her stylist (you) to a coworker of hers <3

(HELP IDK WHERE THIS CAME FROM LOL)

soft rock filled the small space as you swept across the salon floor, making a small pile of your last client's blue hair. you smiled to nobody in particular, taking a deep breath. you really did love your job. it was an art to you, and every person who passed under your hands for a cut or dye felt like a small masterpiece.

you worked out of a small salon in downtown kyushu, on the cutest street corner across from a bakery. it had three stylist chairs in their respective stations, each decorated to their owners' liking. yours had small (f/c) prints along the wall, little butterflies scattered around, and your mirror was lined with some miscellaneous polaroids and string lights. at first they were just for the vibes, but you quickly noticed the majority of your clients finding a significant amount of joy in taking their instagram photos with it.

the other stations had been filled with personality of their own, belonging to your salon co-owners, two lovely people you became quick friends with in cosmetology school. however, one had clocked out for the day hours earlier and the other had no appointments, so the shop was yours to enjoy while you waited out the clock. of the three of you, you were the only one who didn't leave after the last client. you hardly made appointments before 10 am, so if you had some extra time before 6 pm, you would tidy the salon and see if you got any walk ins. if not, you closed at your 8 hour mark. every once in a while though, someone would wander in asking for a quick cut and you were always more than happy to comply.

so now was one of those evenings. your last client, coming in for a fresh trim, had walked out at 5:20. and here you were, just humming along with the music and bobbing your head.

a soft buzzing from the counter tore your attention away from the pile of blue hair you were sweeping and brought it to your phone, with an incoming call. you smiled softly at the icon, a picture of you and rumi from the last time you two had been able to go out together. at this point, it must have been months ago. she was always so busy with hero work now, which you completely understood, it just made you miss the days before she was number 5.

you had gone to the same middle school and stayed connected since. of course she went to a high school to get her hero license, (before you, too, since you met in her last year, and your first) but you wouldn't let that stop you from seeing her on weekends, or stop her from forcing you to help with the classes she didn't understand. in exchange, she let you practice on her hair to help your chances of getting into a better cosmetology school. hell, she even let you dye it once or twice. ever since, you were the only person who's cut her hair, ever.

you put the phone to your ear with a smile. "heyy, hunny bun! what's goin on?"

you heard her playfully scoff through the phone, as if you haven't been calling her that since you were 15.

"hey babes, just had a question for ya." her cheerful tone was unwavering as usual, you could practically hear her confident smile through the phone.

"mkay, shoot."

"are you with a client right now?"

you tucked your phone under your ear with your shoulder, picking up your broom and starting to sweep the pile towards the automatic vacuum in the corner. "mmm, no, my last one left just a few minutes ago, actually." you heard her say something you didn't quite catch, like she was talking to someone she was with. "why? what's up?"

"do you still take walk-ins until 6??" her tone was more eager now. you smiled a bit, wondering what for.

"yyeeaaahh?"

"oooo! okay perfect, then i have someone who desperately needs your help." you could hear annoyed and offended protests come from her line and you couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "oh shut up, you've let it grow too long and you know it! stop acting like a stubborn child." she chuckled slightly before turning her attention back to you. "think you've got time for a quick trim for my friend?"

with a small smile, you turned to the clock on the wall. "yeah, plenty actually. how far away are you guys? should i put up the closed sign in the window in case someone else comes in?"

"nah, don't worry about that. we just got off patrol like four blocks from you. should be five minutes, tops."

you stopped your sweeping and froze, just a bit. "patrol? you mean i'm doing one of your pro hero friends' hair?"

"well you've been doing mine since we were 13, i figured it wouldn't be a big deal." she sounded so casual, which was in character for her, yet still astonishing to you, considering the circumstances.

"i mean yeah, but i know how to do your iconic haircut because i've been doing it for, i don't know, almost 10 years?? not to brag, but i'm probably the only one who can do it just the way you like. but if you bring me some big shot hero and i screw up his 'do, then it's all my fault." you chuckled slightly.

"ahh, don't sweat it y/n. i know you'll do a great job. besides, it's not like i'm bringing you chris hemsworth or something, it's just someone i work with every once in a while. feel free to screw up his 'do as much as you like." her end of the call was suddenly filled with miscellaneous protests and insistent "NO, DON'T DO THAT-"'s, followed by her cackling furiously.

you couldn't help but laugh yourself. "alright, well i'm gonna finish cleaning up from my last appointment. i'll see you in a few, yeah?"

"alright see you then babes."

"buh-bye hunny bun." you hung up, smiling softly, a bit excited for whatever was coming your way.

when the golden bell above your door rang just a few minutes earlier, you were reorganizing your hair colors. as soon as you turned around, you smiled and threw yourself at rumi in a big hug, laughing as she scooped you up and spun you around. it's a habit she'd picked up way back when she first started heavy lifting.

she squealed as she squeezed you, finally setting you down. "agh, i feel like it's been so long since i've seen you!"

you chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of your neck. "yeah, it's almost like that's because it has."

your smile changed into a curious look as you remembered why she was here, looking behind her at the eye-catching scarlet pair of wings on her friend. realization dawned upon you as your eyes met his, golden and piercing, even through his tinted glasses. you huffed a laugh and smirked, cocking your head to the side. he held out a gloved hand for a shake before stopping.

"oh-" he chuckled and bit the middle finger, pulling out his hand and offering it again, flesh and bone this time, for a friendly shake. "hey, i'm-"

"hawks. i'm familiar." you smiled and laughed softly. "call me y/n."

"pleasure to meet you, y/n." the way your name rolled off his tongue made you hesitate for just a moment, biting the inside of your cheek in thought.

"likewise... hey rumi?"

"mhmm?"

"remember when you called me earlier?"

she smiled playfully. "yeah, i think so."

"yeah, and you said, 'iT's nOt LiKe i'M bRiNgiNg ChRiS hEmSwOrTh'?"

"mhm mhm i think i remember that."

"so.. wanna tell me what the number two hero is doing in my salon, oh my God?"

she laughed loudly and patted you on the back. "y/n don't worry, i promise you have nothing to stress about. now i'm gonna pop into the bakey across the street and see if i can get anything before they close, why don't you go ahead and get started?" without waiting for an answer, she was already back in your doorway. "screw him up, yeah?" she winked playfully before closing the door and making her way to the crosswalk outside.

a moment of silence passed as you watched her make her way across the street before hawks spoke up.

"sooo.... please don't screw me up, too badly."

you laughed as you prepped the rinse station for him. "oh no don't worry, you're in perfectly adequate hands."

he let out an amused hum. "i don't know, adequate has to be an understatement, if you're the one doing rumi's hair. she told me you were the one who did her hair and makeup for that magazine she was in a few months back, said you style her for every event too." he shrugged off his jacket and slipped off his glasses, dropping them in one of your lounge chairs.

his easy going tone and relaxed smile had already made you feel more at ease. "yeah... well i mean, i guess i just know her, what looks good and what she likes, you know? we go pretty far back." you chuckled, motioning for him to come take a seat.

"well whatever you end up doing to me, i'm sure it'll look great." his relaxed, almost cocky smirk rested on his face comfortably. though you thought you saw it falter for just a moment when you pressed a hand to his chest to guide him back, neck resting on the edge of the bowl, head leaning into the sink.

"well let's hope so..." you smiled softly as you lowered your voice just a bit. "let me know if the water's too hot..."

he hummed as the warm water poured over his scalp, visibly relaxing. as easy going as he always seemed, it must have been exhausting to always be on guard, looking for trouble. "mm... 's perfect."

you bit the inside of your cheek again, smiling still. he exhaled softly as you massaged the shampoo into his scalp, looking like he was sinking into the chair even more.

"hawks..?"

he opened one eye, looking up at you. "hm?"

"you okay?"

"oh, yeah... sorry," he chuckles faintly. "just, feels good... sorry if that's weird."

"oh! no, ha, not at all."

as you go along with the rest of the wash, conditioning and rinsing, you couldn't help but wonder if he ever got attention like this. as far as the media could tell, he didn't have many personal relationships, and he reacted so easily to your touch, it was like he hadn't relaxed, had personal attention like this in a while.

you moved him to the chair without many words. as you comb through his hair, you look up for just a moment and catch his eyes on yours in the mirror. you continued what you were doing, holding his gaze.

"...what?"

his smile returned with an amused exhale. "nothing, just watching you work."

you returned the expression before turning your attention back to his hair. "okay.. so rumi said you needed a trim, how much exactly am i lopping off?"

"ah, probably an inch, hardly more. it's been getting in my eyes when i'm fighting, which is like skating on thin ice, so..."

you nodded, picking up your sheers. "okay, i get you."

"i usually get it cut every few weeks to keep it manageable, but the guy who was doing that before quit on me."

you tilted your head curiously as you began trimming around his neck. "really? why's that?"

"ah, i ended up having to see him pretty often, guess he kinda got fed up." he laughed lightly.

"every few weeks is already pretty often, why would you need to see him more often than that?"

"i solve issues before they can happen. but i also assist other heroes pretty often, walking into battles that have already started. and sometimes my own situations can still get out of hand. if i get banged up, chances are so does my hair. it's been burnt, ripped out, shaved around head injuries, pretty much anything you can think of."

as he talked, you pulled strands of hair to snip. every once in a while, you would notice small-ish scars buried under his overlapping layers.

"yeah, i think i see what you mean..." you gently run your fingers over one of them, watching carefully as his eyebrows quirk up slightly.

"yeah... anyway, guess the old stylist got tired of fixing me, and ended up quitting a few weeks ago. of course, i'm basically the commission's 'golden boy'," you didn't even have to look up to know his eyes were rolling. "so i guess he was the best in the area. that's why they're looking for someone new now, and why i've been looking just a bit overgrown." he chuckled lightly.

his eyes followed as you picked out your sheers and comb, making your way in front of him. his classic smirk stayed on his face as you leaned in closer.

your voice was low as you bent over just slightly, raising his chair. "sorry, just need to do your front parts quickly..."

"no worries..."

"so... if your image is such an important part of the job, why'd they higherups trust you to someone like me?" you smiled faintly. his eyes fluttered closed as you began to trim the hair falling around them.

"actually, that was mirko's idea. she speaks pretty highly of you, ya know. besides, she thought maybe, if you did a good job, she could convince the commission to hire you to take care of me." he winked playfully. though it was perfectly in line with his personality and was likely a regular habit for him, it still made your stomach drop for a moment. "if you're interested that is. she thought you might be. no pressure, of course."

you moved back behind him as you felt your cheeks heat up, putting down your tools before facing away. "uh huh..."

"wooow, i can see why she's got so much faith in you." his smile was obvious in his voice. when you turned back to face the mirror, you saw him admiring his reflection, hair still slightly damp and falling into his eyes. "i look sexy~"

you laughed and put your hands on his shoulders. "yeah yeah, i haven't even styled it yet."

he chuckled softly turning his head from side to side with a sly grin. "i'm not even sure you need to, sweetheart. you do know best, though."

it was hard to miss the flirty tone in his voice, and harder to ignore now that he was throwing in nicknames, but you were sure it was just his personality. he was a reputation charmer, after all. his ever-lingering smile made you grip your hairdryer just a bit tighter every time you caught his gaze on yours in the mirror.

as you were adjusting his fluffy hair, you noticed the texture was slightly lacking. "hey, your hair is kinda dry..."

he quirked up an eyebrow. "really? that's weird, i take great care of my hair."

"i mean it's not too strange, high winds will definitely do that." you looked around your shelf for a moment before picking up a few products. "i can fix it though."

he watched curiously as you pumped some leave-in conditioner into your palm, rubbing your hands together. as your fingers found their way into his hair, you first saw him relax before you felt him slightly lean into your touch. he sighed contently as you took your time massaging the product into his scalp, not wanting to interrupt how relaxed he looked.

"okay..." you spoke softly, voice low. "you're all done."

you smiled and unbuttoned the cape, watching as his smile grew. "honestly? bang up job, princess. i see why you get such glowing reviews."

you laughed lightly and shrugged. "thank you, but it's really not a big deal." you turned your attention to the shelf of product again. "oh, before i forget-" you picked up a small pink tub and handed it to him. "just use this in place of your conditioner and leave it for like 5 minutes, whenever you shower. should help with the dryness a ton."

he picked up his coat and took the container from you, his fingers lingering on top of yours for just a moment. "thanks... i owe you one." he winked again, and again you felt your stomach drop.

in a matter of perfect timing, rumi finally pushed open the door of your salon again, three little bags and a coffee in hand. "hey, sorry i took so long! i ended up getting something for both of you though!"

she handed you a small bag with your favorite pastry inside, still warm. you thanked her with a warm smile, turning to hawks, who looked less amused.

"poppy seed muffin?" he scoffed, his playful smirk returning. "you're hilarious."

"ahh, i know i am." rumi laughed lightly and threw her arm around you, still looking at hawks. "nice cut, by the way. told you she could restore your sight." the three of you shared a laugh as she took a swig of her coffee. "anyway, why don't you get out of here? i'll walk y/n home and catch you later, yeah?"

he nodded. "sounds good. hey, y/n, what do i owe you for the fresh cut?"

"oh, don't worry about it. it was just a trim and last month you totally saved my block from getting blown sky high, so we'll call it even." you smiled softly as he pulled out his phone.

"aww c'mon, at lease let me tip you."

you rolled your eyes playfully, deciding to not fight him. "i have a venmo qr code on my mirror if you really feel so inclined, but really, don't worry about it."

he sauntered over to your mirror and scanned it, tapping on his phone as he made his way to your door. "thanks again! i'll get your number from rumi so i can call you up next time i need your help." his flashed his pearly whites one last time as he closed the door behind him.

you turned back to rumi, who had begun to tell you all about everything that's happened since you last sat down together, when a knock sounded from your front window. you looked out to see hawks motioning to his phone and winking one last time before he finally took off.

you smiled and knit your brows in playful confusion until you felt your phone buzz. it was a venmo from hawks, with nothing but a small heart as the note. rumi almost spit out her coffee when she saw it, and your jaw was already on the floor.

this man had just tipped you $200.

***

as it turns out, the next time hawks would "need your help" was sooner rather than later. it was hardly 5 days later when you were walking from the coffee shop across the street to your own salon when your phone rang with an unknown number. you picked it up, expecting one of your clients maybe calling to reschedule or cancel. instead, you were met with the whistling of wind and a familiar smooth talking voice.

"heyyy y/n! it's hawks, i went ahead and got your number from rumi."

"oh-" you almost stopped in the middle of the crosswalk due to your surprise. "hey, what's up? did something come up?"

"nothing bad, no. are you at work yet?"

you smirked as you pulled out the keys from your pocket, trying to find the right one as you got to your door. "just arrived, actually. why?" no response. "hawks?"

as you slipped the key into the slot, you looked down at your phone and saw the call had disconnected. "okay.."

when a sudden rush of scarlet filled your vision, you yelped and almost dropped your coffee. hawks had practically fallen from the sky and landed right next to you, standing close, his cocky grin unwavering.

"oh my God, you scared the hell out of me!" you clutched your chest, laughing and waiting for your soul to come back to your body at the same time.

he chuckled and pulled something from under his coat. "sorry 'bout that sweetheart... would these make up for it?"

he held out a small bouquet of flowers in your favorite color.

"wh- what? why..."

"when you did my hair, i noticed the ones you had on your front counter were dying. i saw these on my way in this morning and they reminded me of you and your shop, thought they would look nice in the place." he smiled as you took them gingerly. "consider it a thank you!"

you opened the salon door with an exasperated smile, feeling it grow wider when he followed you in. "well they're beautiful and i appreciate them, but believe me, the VERY generous tip was more than enough."

you put the flowers in the now empty vase, adjusting them when he got close behind you. your eyes widened as his hand found your lower back, pressing slightly, his breath close to your neck.

"c'mon princess, just let me express my gratitude~"

you didn't realize you were holding your breath until he stepped back and you suddenly let it go. when you turned to face him again, his playful fun smile was back and he looked so casual, you almost wondered if you had imagined whatever the hell that just was.

"anyway, i've gotta be in soon, and i imagine you've gotta get your shop opened up, yeah?"

"ah...yeah.."

"then i'll catch you later. have a good one!" he left with a signature wink before taking off.

whatever that morning was, became a regular thing. every few days he would drop by for a visit for whatever reason- replacing your flowers, bringing you a pastry in the morning, offering to walk you home after work, even though you only lived a half a dozen blocks away.

and with every little reason to see you, came some "harmless" flirting that made your stomach do somersaults.

finally after almost three weeks he had actually come to you for the smallest clean up. while you lightly snipped his ends, he asked if you had considered the position of being his personal groomer. you told him you wanted to think about it more and he told you not to worry about it, but he did have a favor to ask.

in a few days time, he needed to be at an important event. just a hero dinner of sorts, it was meant to be all over the media though, so he needed to dress to impress. after seeing your work with rumi, the commission approved of you making hawks camera ready (upon his request, of course). it just standard hair and makeup, but it was an important job nonetheless.

against the better judgement you'd gained over the last few weeks of dealing with him, you agreed swiftly.

so here you were, outside his door with your cosmetology bag, ready to make up him and rumi.

rumi would take longer for both hair and makeup, so you decided to start with hawks. so she would be coming over later, which left just you. and him. alone. in his penthouse apartment. what could possibly go wrong.

aside front that he answered the door shirtless in sweatpants, nothing. so far.

he stood with one hand on the doorframe, the other on the door itself, towering over you with a sly grin. you had to force your eyes to stay on his face instead of wandering down to his incredibly cut core. you felt your stomach flood with butterflies as the softest flush covered your face, and he didn't take long to notice.

"you've got some good eye contact, sweetheart, i'll give you that."

his smile relaxed a bit as he stepped out of your way, opening the doorway of his apartment to you. you stepped in without mentioning any of whatever the hell just happened, biting the inside of your cheek with a soft smile.

you held up your bag, looking around. "where should i..?"

"ah," he began to move towards his living area, just a couple couches with a chair gathered around a coffee table. he plopped himself down on the soft rug of all places, in front of the table. "figured this might be a good place since, you know, you've got plenty of natural light to work with."

he was right, the entire wall across from his front door was basically made entirely of glass. it left a beautiful view of kyushu outside, with a terrace you imagined would be perfect to watch the sunrise from.

you smiled as you sat across from him, both of you cross-legged. "yeah, it's perfect actually..."

"perfect..." he mumbled to himself. his gaze lingered on you as you pulled out your makeup bag.

"so." you turned to him and scooted a bit closer, reaching a hand towards his face. "do you mind if i..." you hesitated, halting your hand just before your fingers grazed his skin.

he gulped and nodded, confident smirk faded as his pulse picked up. you lightly cradled his jaw and carefully turned his head from side to side.

"well you've got great skin... smooth, not oily, i doubt i'll have to do any base..." your voice was low as you spoke, talking more to yourself than him. he just hardly nodded as you inspected him closely. "i'll give you some highlight and contour though, just for the camera... your eyelashes are stunning..."

he cracked a small smile. "thanks.."

you returned the look and met his eyes. "you're welcome..."

time seemed to still between you for a moment. his eyes flicked to your lips for the shortest instant, you almost missed it. he inhaled deeply before clearing his throat and looking to the side. you sucked in a quick breath as you turned your attention back to your makeup bag, digging out a brush and a couple of small product bottles. you handed him a headband, still not looking at him.

"ah, so..." you took a deep breath before finally facing him. "here, i'll just go in with a thin base just in case. flash photography isn't the most flattering lighting,"

he chuckled softly, deep in his chest, and your heart skipped a beat.

the next few minutes went by with minimal conversation, mostly just you letting him know what you were doing now, and him nodding along or making small sounds of approval. silence otherwise filled the room as you tried to focus on your work, though his eyes constantly wandering over all of you made it slightly difficult.

when you finally made it to his classic eyeliner, you accidentally let your gaze wander to his lips. you pushed aside all your thoughts and impulses and channeled your inner makeup artist.

"hey hawks..."

he opened his eyes as you moved the eyeliner pen away. "hmm?"

"your lips are kinda pale, would it be okay if i put a little stain on them?"

"oh," he bit his lip and furrowed his brow. "yeah for sure, i'm probably a bit dehydrated." his smirk was back, resting on his lips comfortably.

"yeah.." you took another deep breath, trying to keep your face from getting too pink. "the lipstick i've got now should actually work fine, its somewhere in my purse..." you picked up your highlight stick and put your fingers under his chin to turn his head to the side. "i'll get it in a second..."

he hums softly in response. you carefully applied the highlights to all the right places, emphasizing his cheekbones and the tip of his already curved nose. you heard his breath falter, just slightly, when you cupped his face in your hand, using your thumb to blend it out on his cheek. to your surprise, he closed his eyes and leaning into your touch. it was your turn to have trouble breathing, even more so when he placed his hand over your own and looked at you with a piercing gaze. you stopped what you had been doing all together, frozen as he turned his head. he pressed a small kiss to your wrist, then another, his lips lingering for just a second longer this time.

at this point your heart was in your throat trying to process what was happening. when he turned his gaze back to you, everything stopped. his friendly smile was gone, replaced with a fierce look, demanding and intense. neither of you moved for a moment, just stared. your stomach jumped as his eyes moved to take a long look at your lips. the second his gaze met yours again, he pulled on your wrist, practically yanking you into his lap. his hands moved quickly, one pressing against your lower back (a touch you'd actually grown used to form him) and the other cradling the base of your neck.

you could feel his breath on your lips. all you had to do was tilt your chin and you would feel them against yours. his hand on your neck moved up into your hair, looking at you through half lidded eyes.

"can i kiss you?" he practically breathed out his words, softer than a whisper.

you took a deep inhale and closed your eyes. "yes."

you'd hardly gotten the word out before he pressed his lips against yours forcefully, hungrily. his kiss was demanding, like he had been waiting for the longest time to finally get this from you. you tangled your hands in his hair, smirking just a bit. it was soft.

he finally pulled away, keeping close to you. both your faces were flushed deeply, and yours only got worse when you remembered he wasn't wearing a top.

"y/n..." the way your name rolled off his tongue made you shiver. or maybe it was his hand on your back, creeping beneath your shirt.

"hawks-"

"kiego."

your eyes widened as he pressed his lips to your jaw, feathering kisses all the way down towards your neck.

"you... i want you call me kiego."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

lil extra &lt;3

rumi showed up just after you had finally started on kiego's hair. as expected, her makeover ended up taking significantly longer, but the three of you didn't mind. by the time you finished curling her gorgeous (but VERY long) hair, it was time for them to go. they both looked spectacular in their dresswear, and you had to struggle to keep your composure helping kiego with his tie. his sly little grin never left his face as you messed with the fabric, trying to remember how, instead of thinking about his lips.

when you had packed up all your stuff and started to get ready to leave, kiego stopped you.

"its already dark out! why don't you just kick back and stay here for a while, yeah? i'll only be gone a few hours. make yourself at home." he had leaned close to your ear, his breath tickling your neck. "besides, we've gotta... talk more, when i get back~"

you agreed quickly, not wanting to seem suspicious in front of rumi. as much as you wanted to tell her, and knew you would soon, you needed to get a few things settled first.

so here you were, sitting in his apartment. even though he was insistent on you making yourself at home, the most you had really done was play some music, use one of his water glasses, and kick back on his couch.

you checked the time again. as far as you could tell, the event had ended just a bit ago. you had checked a few news outlets, seeing some clips already uploaded from the beginning of the evening. almost every one of hawks was him refusing to shut up about the new stylist who had gotten him looking so nice, and furthermore insisting whoever it was, was a secret (for now).

those were your favorites.

in the middle of a clip you were watching of rumi going over her latest fight, you heard keys in the door. you sat up on the couch and watched hawks walk in, a tired smile decorating his face. his jacket was thrown over his arm and his tie was undone, hanging around his neck loosely. the sleeves of his shirt had been rolled up his forearms, exposing a few cord bracelets.

"hey, sweetheart." he kept his gaze on yours as he tossed his jacket to the side, along with his tie. he slowly sauntered towards the couch, unbuttoning the first few buttons on his shirt. "glad you stuck around~"

his tone was flirty, but tired, and it was so attractive.

he settled on the couch almost on top of you, one of his legs between yours as a hand on your chest guided you to lie back.

"hey kiego..." you blushed and smiled as one of his hands found your waist. "how was the dinner?"

he pressed his body against yours, sighing as he relaxed into you. "exhausting... let's talk about it tomorrow."

you chuckled and tangled your hand in his hair, playing with it and massaging his scalp. he pressed lazy kisses to your neck, making you blush harder.

"be my girlfriend... stay over tonight... stay forever..." he said between kisses.

you closed your eyes and took a deep breath, melting into his gentle touch.

"okay.. <3"

DAMN BRO THAT ENDED UP BEING A LOT LONGER THAN I MEANT IT TO BE- "little short" YEAH OKAY SHORTY,

5619 words, which is almost 13 full pages in google docs omg-

sorry and you're welcome <33

idk if any of my future writing will be this long but ig we'll see ! at least i can say i'm starting out strong lol

i haven't the foggiest where this idea came from and as of rn i have scarcely any others, so if anybody wants me to write something short or long or whatever to any specific idea my inbox is open for requests !!

sm love 💗💗

#bnha #bnha hawks #my hero academia #my hero fanfic #kiego takami #keigo x reader #hawks x reader #hawks mha #hawks fluff #bnha x reader #takami keigo #x reader #my hero #hawks fic #rumi #mirko #bnha mirko

[skyfallslayer]

The Darkness In Me || Story 2: Auld Acquaintances

-Kingpin!Matt Murdock x Vigilante!Reader-

Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist

🖤 Series Summary: You were shocked to find out your childhood friend turned out to be the Kingpin of the underworld, but you had to put those thoughts aside to bring him down. You were Hell’s Kitchen vigilante, its protector. There's no valid reason not to stop him. However, when your hidden feelings for him start to surface once more, how will you be able to even think about bringing him down?

🖤 Story Summary: Deciding you have no choice anymore, especially how your new partner scared you half to death, and the police in this city seemed not to care, your hundred percent committed to becoming a vigilante. But before you could do this, you run into an old childhood friend and his business partner. But unknowingly to you, he’s not the same little boy you remembered hanging out with. He’s… something else entirely.

🖤 Date: 10/08

🖤 Rating: Mature

🖤 Word Count: 7,962

🖤 Warning: Alcohol Consumption; Small Reference to Past Abuse/Child Abuse; Small Reference to PTSD; Small Reference to Past Non-Con/Rape; Heavy Language; Talks of Murder(ing); Talks of Death/Dying; Disability Talk; Nightmares. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

🖤 A/N: Let me know if I missed anything above. Any who, this is where all the fun begins! Plus, Matt's finally here! Along with a few other familiar faces. I don't have much else to say, except enjoy!

You felt like your head was going to split with each memory. But… this was normal for you, believe or not. I guess it comes with the job. Or… did it just naturally come to you with your life?

You suppose so. Could you blame yourself for having these? Could you point fingers at yourself for causing these obstacles? You shouldn’t. It’s not like any of it was your fault, but there was no one here to tell you to not take the blame. No one to coddle you and tell you that everything will be alright.

.

You could still smell the smoke and feel the glass in your skin. Your whole world was sideways as you stared in shock and denial as the victims never moved.

“MOM! DAD!” You screamed, your lungs burning with fear as they never would be able to call back to you; To tell you that they’re okay and everything will be fine.

.

.

“No! Stop! IT HURTS!!” Your pleading sobs were on death’s ears as your Aunt continued pushing your head face down onto the table; Detest in her eyes. 

“After the stunt you pulled, there’s no way I want another mutant in this household.” She spat, letting the people she hired do their work as they started making an incision in the base of your neck.

You tried wiggling out their grasp but to no avail. “Please! It was an accident! I didn’t mean to!!”

.

.

You felt his hand touch your thigh after he kicked you in the dirt; His companions howling with laughter in the background. Like this situation you were brought into was the highlight of their week.

“Awe, baby girl. You’ve got to know your place or you ain’t going to be moving up.” One cooed, cupping your face with his hands, giving you enough view of the stars on his uniform. Certainly more than you have right now. 

You tried to crawl back, but the two other people present had blocked you from behind, busting a gut again. The other man’s hands were back on your face again, and he was chuckling too.

“Awe. Don’t worry, sweetheart. Just a little taste is all I need.” He slimed before smacking his lips over yours, ruining you.

.

.

It was stupid mistake.

You should have waited for your partner instead of running off on your own. 

You’re an idiot. You’re an idiot. You should have waited. You should have waited. You–

You honestly thought the universe would grant you this. To grant you a chance to catch the man you’ve been hunting for weeks, but…

No.

No. Now you’re laying on the ground, your spine feeling funny as you feel the pool of blood grow around your head.  

Damn it. You thought. You really thought you had this one in the bag as you started to fade to black just as your partner’s voice broke out into a scream.

.

.

“Pl-Please. Y-You have to let me go. I-I have to…” You croaked as your veins felt hot and bubbly, your mind started to buzz, and your eyes started to lose their natural color.

You kept begging and pleading but they wouldn’t listen. You know their criminals, and you know they deserve any kind of punishment but…

You don’t want a repeat of what happened in your childhood. You actually want to avoid hurting anyone again with your abilities, you–

But they started grabbing you and beating you, they started pulling at your limbs and clothes, spewing slurs and hate ‘cause you were the one with the shiny gold badge, you were the one that was supposed to bring them in. And they weren’t having it.

You continued to try to reason with them, feeling the buzzing getting louder and louder, and your fingertips started to glow red and–

They pulled you one last time, which was enough for everything to go haywire, which was enough for you scream an apology and you realize you were–

.

“NOOOO!!” You gasp awake, your hands frantically attacking the air. It took you always a couple seconds to realize where you were and that everything was just a dream a nightmare. Your adrenaline died down with your heart beat, your shaky breaths were cooling too. 

“A dream…” You pants, and lick your chapped lips. “Always a dream…”

Subconsciously, you touched the back of your neck feeling the scar. You were surprised you could still feel how prominent it is after all these years. Especially since maybe you deserved it being there.

You sighed with your eyes closing, taking a deep breath before deciding to look at the clock; Unfortunately realizing it was time to go to work.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

You finished getting ready, packing up your bag while you waited for your toast to pop. You groaned at your appearance, you took note of the dark circles under your eyes when you passed by the cheap mirror you bought for yourself, and quickly strolled to your bathroom for some concealer. You did the best you could to look somewhat normal, washing your hands afterwards, and nearly dried off your hands on the costume you wore the other night.

You paused as you remember randomly putting it on before deciding you were going to kick your neighbour’s ass for hurting his wife. A stupid hoodie with cargo pants and a bandana you didn’t even realize you had. Not to mention that you did have some old mittens on that had to be tossed when you couldn’t get the blood off them (And trust me, you’ve tried every remedy out there).

To be honest, you were debating going out there after that night. Even though it felt… good… you weren’t sure how people in the public would feel if suddenly a vigilante decided to show up out of the blue. 

You frown, and almost left it.

Almost.

A split step outside the bathroom, and you had already made your mind up. “Oh, fuck it.” You mumbled and snagged it off your hook, rolling it up and stuffing it into your bag (along with the boots you wore that night). 

You grabbed your piece of toast and were ready for whatever work throws at you today.

And not that you were ready for any of this today.

When you finally entered the police department you immediately felt everyone’s surprised stare towards you. Every. Single. Person. They were all staring at you, not even trying to hide it. However, they weren’t surprised by the fact that you finally decided to come into work several days later, but by the fact that you were actually at work. You could tell that they were surprised that you were still… well…

Alive.

I guess they really thought that this ‘Kingpin’ was going to get you.

Cowards. You were scared of nothing. You kept a straight face as you walked past everyone who was still gawking at you like a zoo animal. You somehow managed to keep your cool even when Grimm came running up next to you.

“L-Lieutenant! You’re okay!” He spewed out, looking and sounding like was actually worried (Was he?). “We were wondering if you–”

You throw up the bird and give him a cold glare. “Fuck off, Grimm.” You reply, and exited the area for the locker rooms in the back. But as you were passing by, a man next to the water fountain caught your attention.

“Lieutenant, huh?” His voice raspy and low, almost like he was giving up and fighting at the same time. “You wouldn’t happen to be the new girl, are you?”

You pause your movement to get a good look at him. A man, who you assumed was just a bit older than you, stood about five-eleven with dark hair with the sides shaved, and had a nasty looking scar over his right eye. You took notice of the pack of cigarettes in his hand and how wrinkled his clothes were. 

Interesting.

“That would be.” You said, keeping your guard up in case this was another asshole. You watched him as he checked you out head-to-toe before chuckling quietly.

“Huh. So that would make you my new partner.” He said, with a bit of amusement.

Now it was your turn to act surprised. “Wait… you’re Castle?”

“That’ll be me.” He shifts his stance towards you and holds his calloused hand out. “Captain Frank Castle.”

You shook it. “Detective Y/N L/N.” 

“You introduce yourself as Detective?”

“I like it that way. Gives me… a more mysterious vibe.”

He snorts, his lips quirking up into a smile. “I like you already. See, I prefer Captain. Gives me… a sense of dominance when I’m out in the field.”

You tilt your head, playing coy. “Well, I can certainly see that.”

“Hmm. Sassy. You remind me of someone I know.” His smile fades a little before standing straighter, shoving the pack of cigarettes into his pocket.

“Hopefully that’s a good thing.” You reply, smirking.

“Maybe…”

“Yo! Castle!” A cop said from down the hall. “Boss wants a word with you. Now!”

Frank sighs, throwing his head back. “Ah, our bastard Commander needs a word. Fun.” He said, blowing one last puff of air before putting out the bud on the water fountain, littering. “We’ll catch up later, kid.”

Kid? You raised an eyebrow at him as he watched him walk away. The man that was officially your partner. The man that’ll have to be your mentor for a while. The man that…

.

.

.

Seemed just as messed up as you are.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

You weren’t even at the station for an hour when Grimm suddenly appeared next to you, scaring the living hell out of you. “Jesus, man.” You reply, nearly spilling your coffee. “What?”

“So what did he make you do?” He asked, a mixture of worriedness and curiosity (a very odd but seemingly dangerous mix you do say so yourself).

“What?”

“What did he make you do?” He repeated, making you bat your eyes at him, puzzled. 

“Who? Our Commander? Or Castle?” You asked, because you were not following. “Frankly, I haven’t really spoke much to any of them, except–”

“No, no, not them. Him.”

“Who’s ‘him’?”

“You know… the big boss.” Grimm subtly looked around before whispering, “The Kingpin.”

You scoffed immediately. “What made you think he made me do something?” You asked, watching him get taken back by your answer.

“W-Well, you’re… alive, So I thought–”

You sigh, and start walking back towards your desk with him on your heels. “What makes you think I wasn’t alive?”

“Well, we didn’t see you for a couple days. So we thought–”

“I wasn’t feeling it. And besides, I told you, I ain’t following this… ‘program’ unless he comes face-to-face and tells me himself. I don’t want any of his goons coming and telling me to do something.”

“B-But–” Grimm speeds up so he’s slightly ahead of you. “That’s how he does business. He rarely makes an actual appearance. He–”

“Then I ain’t doing anything that’s not an order from my Commander.” You said, picking up the speed as well, hoping to get away from him and end the discussion (or at least see if he takes the hint). You start taking a sip of your drink, but unexpectedly, he knocks it out of your hands, letting it fall to the floor. You looked at him in disbelief just as he grabbed you by the shoulders.

“Lieutenant, listen to me. If you don’t accept the program, bad things are going to happen. And since, it sounds like you’re all alone in your life, there will be no blackmail, only death.” Grimm explained, and his hands started trembling at the thoughts he was thinking. “I-I could, or a-anyone here, could reach out to him; We can ask him to give you an assignment instead of accepting and waiting for an invitation. We can just–”

You threw his hands off of you, giving him the cold glare from earlier. “I’m going across the street for a new coffee. I’ll be back.” You start walking away once more. “Or maybe I should just bring a whole case of booze for myself, seeing how this day’s already turning out.”

You felt everyone’s eyes on you again as you started leaving the precinct. And of course, the little leech that had attached itself to you was still following you, even to the outside world.

He stops on top of the stairs, shouting, “You have to accept the program, L/N! It’s the only guarantee that everything will be alright here!”

You growled under your breath as you turned around. “Will you shut the fuck up already?! I ain’t accepting shit unless he tells me himself!” You watched as he shuttered, and everyone passing by looked at you like a madman. “What are you all looking at?! Do your own fucking jobs and stop worrying about mine!”

That seemed to do the trick, as they all disbanded, heading back inside to mind their own business. You groaned and closed your eyes while running a hand through your hair, just thinking. You can’t believe this shit was still going on. I mean, you should have expected it, but you were holding onto a slimmer of hope that everything was going to be a-okay.

Jesus, Why can’t they leave me–

“You changed your name.” A voice creeped up from behind you, feeling the air get knocked out of you. Trying to not look so startled as your head whips around, looking down the stairs. That voice sounded… what exactly?

You were met with, in your opinion, a very handsome looking man, probably around your age; Nicely combed chestnut colored hair with a pair of red shades, complementing the slick black, neatly pressed suit he had on. He looked like a man ready for business.

Even though he was kind of captivating to look at, you just continued to stare as your brain processed everything that he just said. 

And It did take you a minute to finally understand why he sounded familiar, a memory buried just beneath the surface of your delegate mind.

You blinked, slowly putting it together, finally stringing the courage to say–

“...Matthew… Matthew Murdock?” You asked, still unsure. 

He chuckles softly, flashing those pearly whites. “That would be me.”

Your eyes widened with shock as you took a step down towards him. “Oh my… oh my god. I didn’t think… I didn’t think I’d see you again. Your–” You trail off when you finally notice the cane he was holding. Though, it was not just any regular cane that anyone could have. 

Cane and shades. Oh my god, he’s–

He strangely sensed what you were looking at, and gave you a bittersweet look. “I know I look different since the last time we’ve seen each other.” 

Your face flushed with embarrassment. “Oh, I-I didn’t mean–”

“No, no. I know. I get it. Um…” He shifts his weight around, copying with your own feelings. “Are you… free to get some coffee?”

“Coffee? Um…” You shake your head when you even give your job another thought, and smile. “Sure. I’d love to.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“So…” You were trying to figure out how to start this conversation as you both leave the cafe, drinks in hand. “How… How’ve you been? Since it’s been, um…”

“So…” You were trying to figure out how to start this conversation as you both leave the cafe, drinks in hand. “How… How’ve you been? Since it’s been, um…”

Wait. How long has it been? You thought, racking your brain which he seemed to have read.

“Twenty years? Give or take.” He said, with a small smile.

You gasp under your breath. “Jesus, it’s really been that long?”

“It sure has.” He said, a sadness in his undertone. “Um… I’ve been good. I can’t complain.”

You smile softly. “Well, that’s good to hear, Matt–” You shake your head again. “Uh, Matthew. Not, Matt, I uh–”

He chuckles. “You can call me Matt, Y/N. No need to be formal.”

“I can?” You asked, and he nodded. You sigh. “I’m sorry, I’m just… trying to get used to this feeling again. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I get it.” He grins just like you remember from your childhood. “When you do get used to it, should I… call you ‘Peaches’ again?”

“Don’t you fucking dare!” You teased immediately, and pointed. “That name’s embarrassing.” 

“Why? I think it’s adorable.”

“Not in the way I got it!”

“So you confused it for another fruit, I think it should still hold up.”

“I was four! You big tease.” You both had arrived at a crosswalk, and subconsciously you grabbed onto his arm for him to stop. You quickly realized what you did, completely embarrassed.

Way to make it awkward, Y/N!! 

“Shit, sorry! I-I shouldn’t have grabbed onto you like that!” You said, as you try to iron out the wrinkle on his sleeve you made.

“It’s okay, Y/N. I’m used to people grabbing me like that.” He says, truthfully. “My friend Foggy helps string me along all the time.”

You raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry… Foggy? Please tell me that’s–”

He holds his hand up. “It’s a nickname. He’s my old college roommate who snores like a foghorn.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I was about to say. Who names their kid that?”

He laughs. “Foggy probably would.”

“What’s his real name?”

“Franklin. Nelson.” Matt says as they start crossing the street.

“Franklin ‘Foggy’ Nelson.” You tilt your head at him. “So an old roommate?”

“Roommate, friend, and partner. We’re attorneys.” He clears up after feeling your confused stare on him. “We started our own law firm.”

You looked at him in awe. “Really? You’re a lawyer?”

“Yep.”

“Wow. That’s amazing. Just like your Mother.” You missed how his face fell as you thought of the beautiful brunette woman, always dressed like a goddess in your young eyes (She also made the best pie you’ve ever eaten). You smile at the memory, as the two of you get to the other side. “How is Maggie, by the way?”

“She’s…” You could feel how tense the air had become. “Passed away.”

You nearly stopped in your tracks, the wind getting knocked out of you. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry I didn’t know.” You sigh. “Jeez, I am really fucking up today, aren’t I?”

“You didn’t know though.” He points out as you shake your head.

“I know, I know, but still.” 

Times like this I wish I had telepathy as a power. 

You took a moment to process this before deciding to carefully test the waters. “Do you mind me… asking how it happened?”

“Not at all.” He replies, sadly. “Uh, car accident. Same one that blinded me.”

“Jesus. I’m so sorry, Matt.”

“It’s okay. She had a good life. I can dwell too much on what happened.” He stops and points with his stick. “Uh, here it is.”

You look up at the office building, a few signs lingering in the front to show what’s there. Of course your eyes beeline to the one you were looking for. “Nelson and Murdock: Attorneys at Law.” You read aloud, not hiding your smile. “Not bad, Mr. Attorney.”

“Please, Attorney’s fine.” He joked, sensing your happiness.

“Wow.” You look back at it and then back at him again, wondering, “Can I see?”

He seems taken back by it, but happily obliges. “Uh, of course.” He gestures to the door. “Head up the stairs, second on the left.”

You curiously head inside as he follows you, letting you lead until he has to unlock the door. Once you are inside, color yourself impressed by it. Now, it’s not the fanciest law office you’ve ever seen or been in, but it was definitely something you could rant about.

You whistle slowly, nodding in excitement. “Whoa. Sweet place.” You said, spinning back around to him.

“I don’t think it’s that luxurious.” Matt said, letting you walk around.

“Why not? I mean, sure, it’s small, but not a lot of people who start their own business would get something like this. It’s amazing.” 

He quirks a smile. “I guess. Still could’ve got something better.”

“And how would you do that?” You raise an eyebrow with a teasing look. “You won the lottery and haven’t told Foggy yet?”

“Something like that…” He shifts his weight over, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.” You reply, tossing your empty cup away, listening.

“Why did you change your name?”

You paused. “Hmm?”

“What’s with L/N?” He asked, confused. “What happened to Maximoff?”

Your heart sank. You didn’t expect him to realize so soon. “Uh…”

Suddenly the door opens to a bubbly blond man. “Matt, you’re here. We have a client who’s urgently coming over here– or is that her?” He looks puzzled, holding his head. “I swear it was a man on the phone…”

“Oh, I’m not a client.” You said, shaking your head. 

“Foggy, this is Y/N. I ran into her this morning.” Matt replies, gesturing towards you with his walking stick.

“Y/N?” His hazel eyes widened. “Wait, like… Y/N? As in your childhood friend?” Foggy asked, with a grin.

“You… talked about me?” You said, looking over at Matt who seemed almost embarrassed by that.

“Oh, Matty here wouldn’t shut up about you.” Foggy steps closer holding out his hand that you take. “Foggy Nelson.”

“Y/N L/N.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss. So what brings you here? I remember Matt saying something like, ‘you moved many years ago’.”

“Yeah, actually. Why are you back here?” Matt asked, curiously. “‘Cause I’m pretty sure you’re not here on a vacation.”

“Uh…” You cleared your throat, nervously. “You would be correct. I… I was on a job, I’m a detective, and I kind of… messed a very tiny thing up that my superior lost his shit on; Instead of demoting me, my punishment was to relocate back here.”

Foggy whistles slowly. “Damn. What did you do?”

“I’m… still not hundred percent sure about that myself.” You shrugged. “I still think it wasn’t a big deal.”

A laugh. “Well, Thank you for being honest, Miss L/N.”

“Please, Y/N’s fine, Mr. Nelson.”

“And please call me, Foggy. Mr. Nelson was my father.”

You snort, and lightly elbow Matt in the arm. “Oh, I like him. I can see why you attached yourself to him.”

“Are you kidding?” Foggy scoffed playfully. “I’m the one who attached myself to him.”

Matt grins, following along. “Well, I can’t exactly see what got attached to me.” 

“Oh, you’ve got blind jokes now, too?” You asked, not surprised. 

“Of course, what else would I do?”

“Was he a smartass like this when you were kids?” Foggy asked, making you nod eagerly. 

“Oh, yeah. You have no idea.” You reply, honestly. You remember Matt always being a bit of smart ass, even at a young age. A quick look at your watch told you it was time. “I know you have a client coming, so I should probably take my leave.”

“You sure?” Foggy asked, sounding disappointed. “You could pretend to be our secretary.”

You laugh. “I would love to play pretend, but I’m technically still on the clock. So…”

“Awe. I just met you and I want you to stay.”

“It’s not like she’s disappearing again, Foggy.” Matt says, before shifting in your direction. “Right?”

“I promise I won’t disappear again.” You smile. “Uh, well… you know where I work. Come by anytime.”

“Will do.” 

You take your leave, and as soon as they don’t hear your footsteps, Foggy faces his friend with the biggest, cartoonish look on his face.

“I can practically hear you grinning.” Matt said, hearing him skip towards him like a kid.

“Oh, come on!” Foggy says, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I don’t need super hearing like you to see she was flustered. I think you might be leaning away from the childhood friend zone, Matt.”

“Foggy, I haven’t seen her since I was nine. Maybe she was just happy to see me too.

“Okay, again, don’t need super hearing to tell you’re lying. Besides, you’re Matthew Murdock; The guy who somehow picks out all the pretty women wherever he goes.”

“And… how would I know if Y/N’s beautiful?”

“I don’t know. You describe her as being cute.”

“Yeah, and I was saying that from a nine year old’s point of view.” Matt points out, hearing him sigh. Although, the quietness didn’t last long when he admits that his curiosity has peaked. “What does she look like now?”

Foggy grins again, slinging his arm over his shoulder. “Okay! She’s gotten taller, Obviously. She was wearing a white blouse with a black blazer and pants, very professional looking.” He explains as his friend listens along. “Uh, she still had (Y/H/C) colored hair, which was tied up in a messy bun, and had a few strands in her face, probably from this weather. Uh, you know, (Y/E/C) eyes, uh, some makeup, but not too much. Just the right amount. Uh–”

Matt chuckles. “You’re really going into this one.” He tilts his head playfully. “Shall I set up a date?”

Foggy lightly swats him in the arm. “Can it.” He says, before looking quite prideful of himself. “I, my dear friend, am a happily married man. I think Marci might throw me off the roof If I did.”

“And probably stage it like an accident.”

“Exactly.” He points and sits down in one of the chairs. “I love her too much to do that. But you, on the other hand, don’t have to hesitate.” Foggy points out as his friend sighs. “Come on, Matt. What’s the harm in it? What are you afraid of? Your disability? Your heightened senses? ‘Cause I don’t think she’s going to care about either of those.”

“She’s going to care about something…” Matt mumbles, making the blond perk up.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Foggy hums and straightens up. “Well, if it’s not going to be a date, you can at least invite her out to the bar on Thursday with us. Because I deserve to know about your childhood.”

Matt raises an eyebrow. “I’ve told you about my childhood.” 

“Yeah, but I want it from her point of view. You know–” He shrugs. “Maybe you left out some embarrassing details?”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Okay, let’s get that paperwork ready for our client, alright?” 

Foggy sighs, playfully. “Fine. Party pooper.” He whines, and then smiles. “But seriously, drinks with her, por favor?”

“I guess I can.” Matt said, admitting defeat as his friend shoots his hands in the air, standing up from his chair towards the printer.

“Thank you!” He sings, getting a laugh…

And a very subtle…

Frown.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

You shut the locker you were using loudly before carefully making sure everything was still inside (You still weren’t sure who could even trust in this place). Once you saw everything is, you slung your bag over your shoulder and exited the room, surprised to find your new partner just outside like on repeat.

“Captain?” You said, confused (You wondered if he needed something, or maybe you two finally had a case together).

“Detective.” Frank said, after a puff from his cigarette. “Where’d you run off to this evening?”

“Just some fresh air.” You reply, shocked that he didn’t even sound mad. “Plus, I… ran into someone I knew. Decided to catch up.”

“Hmm. I get it. It can get suffocating here.” His dark eyes trailed down from your face, looking deep in thought (It was starting to make you nervous).

“Captain?” 

“Your badge is all twisted in your collar.” 

You didn’t even get the chance to look at it yourself before he was leaning in close and started fixing it himself. You stood stiff and confused, not sure what to even say or do. And you really weren’t sure what to do when you suddenly felt his lips by your earlobe.

What is he–

“The walls have ears.” He whispers, making you quietly gasp. You watch him pull away with a smile, and then loudly say, “Want to come with me to the vending machine?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

You trained yourself to relax, realizing that you officially know now that someone in the building was watching and eavesdropping on you. You had to act like you were completely unaware of anything, just like you have been since you started here. You stood next to Frank as he was acting like he was trying to decide what he wanted as he started speaking quietly to you.

“I can tell you’re not in the program.” Was the first thing he said, surprising you once again.

“How can you tell?” You asked, also looking preoccupied.

“‘Cause you don’t look scared to death when someone starts talking to you.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

“Well…” His frown comes and goes on his face. “Hate to break it to you, but I am.”

You let the shock hit your face before washing it away. “You accepted it?” You asked, as he nodded. You couldn’t even believe it. “Why? And what did they make you do?”

“I had to.” Frank admitted. “I needed to prove myself to the… cause.”

“What did you do?”

He glances at you for a second. “I killed the cop that went against the program’s orders.” He must have seen the way you paled because he apologized. “Sorry. But I didn’t enjoy it if that’s what you’re wondering. I’m just trying to stop all this bullshit.”

“Stop?” You asked, intrigued. 

“Yeah. Like it should have all those years ago.” 

“What do you mean?”

“There was a different Kingpin who ran the city years ago. His name was Wilson Fisk, and unlike the new one, he showed the world who he was; He wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone. Until… something or someone slipped up, and he was finally charged for all his crimes.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah. The public thought it was all over, and they still do. They don’t even realize that another person has claimed the throne of the underworld. Except us on the task force.”

You inhale sharply. “Jesus.”

“Yeah.” He mutters, not even hiding his frown. “Listen, Detective. I’ve read your file and color me impressed; Like, really fucking impressed. You’ve done some amazing things in your career.”

Your heart flutters at the compliment. “Thanks.” However you couldn’t help but wonder what if he was aiming at something else. “But…?”

“But… there will be consequences if you don’t expect the program.”

You scoffed quietly. “So I’ve been told.”

“And you should take it to heart, Kid.” He said, sincerely. “Look, I admire your… hard headedness, and I’ll try to support your decision as much as I can, ‘cause you’re my partner. But you’re going to face the worst of the worse. You’re going to have verbal and physical threats, your job’s going to get tougher, and you’re probably going to have people try to kill you.”

“So I’ve been told.” You said again, making him grow quiet. 

Very quiet. You could almost sense the–

“I might have to kill you.” 

And then your eyes widened again, this time, your fear really showed. You saw that Frank seemed uncomfortable by what he said (and could you even blame him?).

“I’m your partner, I’m going to be the closest person to you while you’re working here, so it’s highly likely. And I really don’t want to.” Frank meets your gaze, guilt inside his orbs. “But I have a family, Kid. If it comes down to a choice, I’m going to have to choose them over you. You understand?”

You nod slowly. “I understand.”

“Good.” He decides to finally pick what he wanted out of the machine, finishing with, “Just consider everything I said. Because I want to work with you, you seemed like a good fit for me; And I want you to be by my side if we take this guy down.” He reaches down to grab the candy, handing it over to you with a smile. “I’ll see you around.”

You take it in your grasp, watching him leave the room with his work façade on and airtight. Now you were left with all your emotions swirling, leaving you to think everything over rapidly.

I wonder how many people are like Frank. Would I be the same way if I still had my family? It hurts you think about it, but who wouldn’t in a situation like this?

You glanced down at your bag.

.

.

.

That once glance is what you needed to make your choice.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Dawning the all black attire once more, you walked along the dark parts of the city, keeping your eyes peeled and ears open for anything useful. But after a few hours out into the night, you almost headed home in defeat until you caught wind of something.

You carefully walked down the steps of the fire escape, looking down at what was the backdoor of a bodega, open, and two people having a tense conversation. You say the shop owner, a guy your age, talking to someone who you deemed shady. 

“Where’s the rest?” The shady man asked after rummaging through a duffle back that he handed. 

“T-That’s all of it.” The shop keeper said.

“That can’t be all of it. You’re low this month.”

“W-Well profits have been down, so–”

“That’s no excuse.” The shady man grabs him by the collar (which was the last straw in your eyes). “My boss ain’t going to like that.”

“I-I don’t know what you want me to do! I don’t have any–”

You finally dropped to the ground, startling them. The shady man tries to hide his fear by putting up a tough look. “Who the fuck are you?” He sneered, right before you blasted him into the door.

“Get inside.” You told the shopkeeper, which he wastes no time to do. You walked closer and kneeled before the man who was groaning in pain. “So you like to steal money from the innocent. Why?”

He peaked his eyes open, gritting through his teeth. “Who–” Then he sighs. “Oh, you’re a masked… woman? I’m letting a woman beat me?”

“You sure are, buddy.” You snagged his hand just as he started reaching for his gun, and used your strength to apply pressure. “I’ll leave you be if you just answer my question.” You squeezed more getting a peep out of him. “Why are you taking his money?”

“Ugh, c-cause my Boss owns this block, he gets half of the businesses to pay for their protection.”

“So they pay you so you can protect them?”

“Yes!”

“Do you?”

“I don’t know, I’m just the messenger– Ah!!”

You twisted in the opposite direction, making him wiggle under your grasp. “Who’s your Boss? The Kingpin?”

“The Kingpin? Fuck no! I-I mean, we partner with him, but we don’t directly talk to him unless it’s something serious– Ow!”

Interesting. So they’re independent? Or, they believe they’re independent? You have put that information on the backburner for now.

“So who’s your Boss?” You asked, as he shakes his head.

“I ain’t telling you that!”

“Alright then, who’s the Kingpin?”

“He’s–” Then he froze which got you interested.

“Oh, so you know stuff about him? Well that’s perfect.” You use your other hand to pin him to the door. “Tell me everything.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

With just a few pieces of information, it was enough to get you going. Enough to start doing what you thought was necessary. Over the next few weeks, your little night job caught the eyes of the public. What started off with just one newspaper flooded into more. Soon you saw the silhouette picture of you everywhere you go (Might seem a little narcissistic, but you kind of felt a rush from it). But… not everyone felt great about your appearance. What started off with a phone call from one of his men, pleading him to turn on the tv, soon fueled his rage. 

The Kingpin, The God of the Underworld, The Western Sun of The Hand, listened intensely to everything the news reporter is saying.

[More Vigilantes? Looks like Queens isn’t the only one having a masked hero, looks like one decided to spawn in our neck of the woods. Nicknamed ‘The Masked Man’ has been helping out our rougher parts, and bringing rightful criminals to justice. This week alone, ten wanted men from a local gang have been placed on the steps of a few police stations. Although authorities are grateful that they’ve been brought in, just like what happened with Queens’ Ghost-Spider, they’re still hesitant against this new helper. But of course, the public have a different opinion, and are praising this new hero with gratitude. Up next, we have–]

The Kingpin clenches his fists with bitterness, and grits through his teeth with, “Those fucking idiots.”

Why didn’t any of them tell him that this was happening frequently? Or that this was happening at all? Why did he have to find out through a goddamn news station? 

He could tell his men on the other side of the phone was doing his best not to tremble as he spoke,

[‘Do you want us to see if we can draw him out, Sir?]

“Not yet. I have somewhere to be, and I want to meet this person myself. So, wait for my orders.”

[‘Yes, Sir. Enjoy your night.’]

He hung up the phone, tossing it onto his desk as he let out a heavy sigh. One that was loud enough to make his friend crack a joke as he waltzed in.

“Whoa. What did the desk do to you?” Foggy jokes, getting a snort as a reply.

“Oh, I could make a list.” Matt quips back with a smile.

“Well, if you’re caught up with the news, our last client just left. Which means, we can finally go get drinks!” Foggy starts spinning on his heels for the exit. “Come on! She’s supposed to meet us there! You can’t keep a lady waiting.”

“Of course.” Matt calls out, turning the tv off. The next words could be chilling to anyone that wasn’t his friend. And that was…

.

.

.

“What kind of gentleman would I be?”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

The three of you clink your glasses and yell, “Cheers!”

“Y/N, I’m glad you could finally make it to our weekly outing.” Foggy replies, chirpy as usual (You could see now how he attached himself to Matt).

“Thank you for the invitation, again. I’m sorry I’m…” You chuckled. “Week’s late. Work’s been pinning me down like crazy.”

“Have you had any cases?” Matt asked, curiously.

“Uh… not really. It’s more like stopping a few robbers, and just going over cold cases. But then we got short staff last week, and somehow I got stuck being a traffic cop. I haven’t been one of those since the academy.”

“Do you miss San Francisco?” Foggy asked, as you shrugged.

“Eh, sometimes. I mean, I liked the people I work with; I miss my old partner Max the most. But my new one, Frank, he’s pretty good, a little lazy sometimes, but still good.”

“So what made you want to be a detective?”

“Is this twenty questions now?” Matt asked, tongue and cheek.

“What?” Foggy said, looking between the two. “I’m just curious. You can’t tell me you’re not.”

“Well, uh—”

“Yeah, he’s curious. Please tell us, Y/N.”

You laugh at their shenanigans, reminding you of your youth. “Uh, let’s see.” You start racking your brain on the reason why. “Honestly… it kind of just happened. I saw it on one of those career guides in my last year of high school and I just went with it. Part of me just thought it sounded cool, and the other part of me just likes the idea of helping someone.”

“Huh.” Foggy takes her answer in dearly. “That’s interesting.”

Another laugh. “I guess.”

“One more question.”

“Shoot.”

“Being in the law enforcement, you know, as someone who has to… uphold the law. How do you feel about these vigilantes in New York? Because–” He points to himself. “I think they’re doing the right thing, despite… ‘breaking’ the law so to speak. Now, Matt on the other hand–” He points to the blind man. “Slightly disagrees with me.”

“Oh, really?” You asked, intrigued. 

“I…” Matt begins, shifting in his seat. “Just want to make sure the right guy pays.”

“Huh.” You take that in, storing it away. “Well, it doesn’t really bother me. As long as they’re helping and not hurting the right people, I can side with them.”

“See?” Foggy said, looking in his friend’s direction and slapped him on the shoulder.  “I’m not crazy. And this is coming from a detective of all people.” He sighs blissfully. “Although, my only criticism is, the media needs a better name for this person. Masked Man ain’t cutting it.”

“And what would you call this person? Ghost-Spider 2.0?” Matt asked, interested now (And so were you).

“No, no. This person isn’t a copycat. They need something cool, something, maybe sinister? I mean, have you read one of the reports that say that the person had glowing red eyes? Or that another report said that they swear they fly? So it has to be kind of the nose here. Like… Red Angel, no! Red Devil! Or… Devil Man! Or… uh…”

“Like… Daredevil.” You said, the word clicking in your head. That seemed to get him really excited as he looked like a child in a toy store.

“That’s it! Daredevil! That’s perfect.” He gasps. “Maybe I should have that idea sent somewhere.”

“Daredevil.” You tested, almost getting butterflies from in. “I like it.”

“Oh, I know. It’s perfect.”

You hummed happily. “Alright, enough about a complete stranger. How about the two of you? How did you guys decide to become lawyers?”

Matt hums, thinking. “I guess… mine was kind of just heritage.” He admits, implying his mother’s legacy.

“Well, my mom wanted me to be a butcher, but I told her ‘no’.” Foggy replies, making you tilt your head, confused.

“A butcher?” You asked, as Matt groans.

“Oh, you just opened a can of worms, Y/N.” He says, confusing you more.

“Why?”

Then Foggy claps his hands together, startling you a bit. “Oh, my deary, this is a tale I must tell everyone. But first, I’m hungry. I’m going to buy nachos for the table. Be right back.”

And then he left, and it wasn’t even a second later when the suspense was broken. “You know, if he’s too much, I can make an excuse for you to leave.” Matt half heartedly jokes.

“No, no, I like Foggy.” You smile his way. “I’m glad you both have each other. He seems good for you.”

“You sound almost jealous.”

Yeah, well… maybe?

“Well, let’s be real, Matt, I’m not exactly the same kid I was when I left.” You say, honestly.

“Oh come on, you can’t have changed that much.”

“You have no idea.”

He hums again, leaning closer. “Well, I guess that could imply me as well.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

You scoot closer too. “Well… we can just try starting over?”

“Oh, yeah?” He tilts his head. “What about picking up where we left off? Slowly figuring out the missing pieces, Peaches?”

“Oh,yeah? Mr… Bratty-Matty?”

“Oh… Bratty-Matty? You really were a sly kid–” His fingers brush over your. “Weren’t you?”

You chuckle, your heart fluttering. “Maybe…”

“Maybe?” He repeats, then his blank gaze looks away from you. “I can hear Foggy coming back.”

You look up to confirm it. “Yeah, he is.” Which you were kind of sad about.

Seemingly reading your mind, he said, “Hey? If you’re free in the next few days, do you want to catch up? Just you and me?”

You smile, cheeks feeling red. “Yeah. I’d love that.”

“Perfect.”

He removes his hand just as Foggy came back, only for you to grab it under the table. You felt him squeeze back, and start listening to the blond man’s tale about how he became a lawyer.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“Sure you don’t want us to walk you home?” Foggy asked, as they all stood outside on the curb, a cab pulling in front of them.

“I’m like one block this way. I’ll be okay.” You said, smiling. “But thanks anyway.”

“Nice seeing, Y/N.” Matt said, as he started folding up his walking stick.

“You too.” You watch them start getting in before blurting out, “Hey, Matt?” You get his attention. “Call me.” That makes him smile, and Foggy cheers on.

“Ooooh.” 

“Alright, get in the cab, Nelson.” Matt said, getting in himself.

“Bye, Y/N.”

You wave them goodbye before walking away. Hands in your pocket, and a new pep in your step, you strolled the sidewalk without a care in the world.

I can’t wait to meet him again. You felt like a teenager again with your little highschool crushes. 

I wonder what Matt looked like as a teenager? It still saddens you that you lost touch with him all those years back. You always wonder happened to him and why he stopped writing.

Was it because of the accident? Or was it something else? You shake your head.

I’ll just have to ask him next time. Hmm? You stopped your movements in front of a store that you haven’t yet explored, and read the sign before getting an idea.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

You plopped the stuff you grabbed onto the counter, everything between some new fabric scraps to some spray paint. You look around nonchalantly as the cashier, who looks like he’s done with this place, starts ringing everything up. You occasionally tuned in on the beeping and the sound of the plastic bag opening before he decided to strike up a conversation.

“You going to comic con or something?”

“Hmm?”

“You going to comic con?” He repeats, and you shake your head.

“No.” You raise an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“The materials you’re buying suggest that you’re making something. A costume?”

You smile, prideful. “Something like that.”

And you could already picture that you weren’t going to be sleeping tonight.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

The trembling, beat up goon, kneeled with his head on the floor in front of the man dressed in a blood red suit, a cane shielding the blade everyone saw him use.

“Speak.” Matt hissed, everyone holding their breaths when he spoke.

“I-I swear, this person literally looked like the devil! I-It had horns and c-could fly!” The man shook with every word, biting his lip as he awaited an answer.

“A devil?”

“Y-Yes! A devil! I-It took out the whole truck! Beat up all our guys! Pushed the weapons into the Hudson!”

Matt furrows his brows. “Pushed them into the Hudson? How? Those crates are almost a ton. How is that possible?”

“It’s got some kind of superpower! The whole truck was engulfed in red before being pushed in with a wave of its hand! I s-swear! I’m telling you the truth, my King!”

With a wave of the hand? Matt clenched his can, and anyone could see how angry he was now.

“Sir? What do you want us to do?” Someone behind him asked, and it was no brainer what he wants to do; He’s thought about time and time again.

“Do we still have some of those hallucination vials on hand?” Matt asked, hearing him nod.

“Yes, Sir. We should have a case of them lying around.”

“Good. Get ready.”

“Sir?”

.

.

.

“Because I’ve just declared war on this Devil.”

*Decided to draw what the reader's costume looks like so you can get an Idea.* Ignore the resolution. Idk why it came it out that way. lol.

-Taglist Is Open-

@utterlynuts @etanordoesbullsh1t @mattmurdocksstarlight @l3xiluve @lunaticgurly @margoo0 @swift-enchanted @athenniene

@up-in-space-reading @itwasthereaminuteago @lazyxsquirrel @yeonalie @scoliobean @kayden666

@nkmblackhyuuga

#skyfallwrites #my fanfic writing #marvel fanfiction #mcu daredevil #daredevil #kingpin #kingpin matt murdock #matt murderdock #dark matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock x vigilante reader #matt murdock smut #matt murdock x female reader #dark fic #marvel smut #mike murdock #earth 65 #spider-gwen comics #maximoff reader #matt murdock x maximoff reader #enhanced reader #Matt Murdock x enhanced reader

[alovesreading]

Constant Repeat | Part 6

Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.

Word Count: 28.5k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.

A/N: The last one ended in quite an intriguing note, didn't it? Hope this one answers some questions but I can't promise there's not gonna be more to rise by the end of it lol. Very much excited to see how you lot react to this one, I absolutely adore reading you reactions every time! It's a little roller coaster from now on I'd say... Enjoy!

Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 |

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

(27/07/2012 16:10) Holy shit Alex! The Olympics opening ceremony?! Congratulations!! You and the guys did amazing!!!

Alex was on a high, his hands had been shaking ever since they had been told they were due on stage at the Olympic Stadium in fifteen minutes, his heartbeat thud in his ears even after having come back to the box they had been assigned to watch the rest of the ceremony; so when his phone buzzed and he saw Ella's name on his screen, he thought it was all a figment of his imagination.

But ten minutes later, when he ended the call with Andy Nicholson who had called to congratulate them, Alex had seen her name still swimming between the mass of messages he had gotten. He paused for a few seconds, his finger hovering over her name while he asked himself if he was actually seeing correctly.

When he went on her chat, he was met with the multiple texts he had sent back in February and she ignored, a bitterness came up his throat as it was still lingering even after it being months since it had happened, but just below those forgotten texts was the one she had sent him over twenty minutes before.

It was the first text he'd gotten from her after a little more than five months of no contact, no calls, no texts, no 'just watched this movie and you are gonna love it!', no 'the guitars in this song are something out of this world', not even a text when the 'R U Mine?' music video had come out just a week after she had run off set.

He missed her and he had thought of texting her every day for the first month but he was a coward and had no idea what would've been the best way to approach her since he really had no proper clue of what had happened and, if he was being honest, the blatant avoidance from her part had hurt his ego and a part of him was waiting to see if she'd be the one to reach out.

So, as his attention was taken over by Arielle, he let the days go by and waited for a chance in which they could talk again and maybe take the opportunity to clear the air. But one month turned into two and there was no effort from her side.

Arielle was a constant in his life by then, but the presence of the girl hadn't completely diminished the thought of Ella, not when he still wanted answers because the lack of clarity behind her complete switch of behavior was eating him up inside.

He had given Matt's comments that night a thought but in his mind it really didn't make sense, because to him it all had been just innocent banter with Arielle and, having experienced Ella's honesty the more they opened up to each other during that week-long tour, he knew Ella would've told him if it was that which had upset her.

Yet Ella hadn't and that led Alex to come to the conclusion that it must've just been too much for her. He had been too eager when showing his interest in her and, whilst she had been accepting of it at first, it must've built up until she just couldn't take it and reciprocate it.

There also was how she had dialed down her behavior towards him when his coworkers were there and, in a desperate attempt to think of answers on his own, Alex thought that maybe someone had commented something that just completely threw her off and made her cut it all off suddenly.

And as the weeks passed, and he gave his hypothesis a thought, he also reckoned it must've been something to save herself any heartache. Because, after all, they both knew Alex was going to leave and maybe cutting him off completely and ignoring whatever it was she felt towards him would be the best option in order to not get hurt by time and distance. Not everyone could take it and he knew just how cruel that could be.

So he didn't blame her for making that selfish decision, but he couldn't help feeling a bit disheartened about the sudden change of it all with no hint of a heads up, with no explanation at all. And there it went again, the pang in his chest when he thought of just how many things they had spoken about and how it felt so weird that she wouldn't speak to him about it.

In those months of radio silence, Alex had heard about her from the rest of the band, who got texts from her or would call her from time to time but it was not the same. So he wasted no more time, typing a response as fast as his shaky fingers could and ignoring the calls of his girlfriend to get in a picture with the lads.

(27/07/2012 16:22) Ellie! Thank you! xxxx How have you been?

(27/07/2012 16:23) Wonderful, Alex :) Say hi to the guys for me!

(27/07/2012 16:23) Will do xx They're pushing me over to get pictures, talk to you later alright? x

(27/07/2012 16:24) Sure! Talk to you soon.

He pocketed his phone as he walked towards his friends, everyone cheering as he stepped beside Matt.

Flashes had blinded him all night, the combination from the lights and the alcohol had made his head dizzy so as soon as he got home, he showered and fell right asleep. He'd had a busy night, he felt on cloud nine with his best mates and his parents beside him, his girlfriend there as well to witness one of their biggest accomplishments.

He was still elated the morning after, meaning that, after he kissed Arielle goodbye as she went to meet up with some of her friends, he remembered how he had gotten the chance to talk with Ella after so long so he took his free time to ring her up.

Of course, he was so distracted that he forgot it would be much earlier for her than for him. Her phone rang on her night table, waking her up. She only managed to grab it with her left arm, extended as far as she could and when she saw it was five in the morning, she slowly woke up from the fear that something might have happened.

Her eyes hadn't opened to see who it was before she picked up, "Hello?" her voice was groggy from sleep, and she cleared her throat right after the greeting left her lips.

"Bloody hell," Alex cursed quickly, wincing at his mistake. "I forgot it's still very early for you Ellie. Sorry." He whispered like that would help in any way.

Ella chuckled, amused at how mortified he sounded, "S'Alright. How are you? How crazy was yesterday?" A yawn escaped her lips at the end, so suddenly she didn't have time to conceal the sound of it.

A smile broke out on his face, he was eager to tell her all about it and stay on the phone with her for hours on end if she let him but just as he was going to start narrating how the night had gone, a deep groan from the other side of the call made the words get stuck in his throat.

Right after the groan came the shuffling of sheets and a question from someone he didn't know who it was that had him frozen in his place, "Who is it, babe?" Said the man who was with her, the pet name had felt like a slap across the face for Alex.

She had snorted, the way Alex had gotten used to hearing daily months before, and she replied playfully, "Just a friend who forgot about time zones, baby. Go back to sleep." Right after that, there was a faint sigh and a second or two of the sheets ruffling around before she talked back to the singer this time, "Are you still there?"

Alex could only clear his throat as he gathered his thoughts, "Yeah, erm, yes." He pinched himself to snap out of it, and to start his recount of the previous night's events, forcing himself to sound chipper. "It was mental! The stadium was packed and, bloody hell Ella, I swear I had come to terms with it and was not nervous about it when we were rehearsing but you should've seen me fifteen minutes before it was our time to perform, I was fucking shaking."

She cooed, "Oh Alex," She pouted to herself as she scratched her boyfriend's hair, smiling when the man resting on her chest hummed in satisfaction. "But you did amazing, I promise! We were just watching the ceremony, and when you guys were announced I was fully shocked. Bre told me she was in London but she never told me you were performing on the fucking Olympics!" She whisper-shouted the last part, making Alex chuckle.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We sort of couldn't tell anyone we were actually performing, Bre was surprised when Matt told her an hour before we got to the stadium."

She hummed, "Well I can forgive her then. You did The Beatles great justice as well, that cover was amazing and the whole show with the cyclists was just stunning."

"It was," Alex agreed, "Was shitting it because imagine if we butchered a Beatles song in the UK, in front of the Queen and the millions of people watching everywhere."

Ella laughed too loud, making her boyfriend flinch, "Sorry" she whispered to him and then continued, "Well, thankfully that didn't happen. You'd be exiled from your country." She continued giggling softly, "That would be just as bad as actual treason."

They both laughed for a little bit until the giggles died down to sighs. She wouldn't deny that she had missed talking to him, and she didn't like admitting it to herself but she was just very glad his voice wasn't making her feel like at the start of the year. It gave her the hope that maybe this time they could just be friends, now that she had finally let go of whatever she felt for him.

"We're going to LA next month," Alex broke the silence, his voice had a hint of doubt as if he was scared of what she would answer. "We're staying until mid-september 'cause we're gonna record the next album over there."

"Oh really?" Came from her, with just the right amount of excitement, "You're gonna start recording already?"

"We are. I have some stuff written down already and some chord progressions, I wanna see how we can complement it with the lads." He held his breath, not really knowing how it was that she'd continue to react.

Ella cooed and let out a small "Yay!" Even if at first it had been hard hearing their music after everything that had happened back in February, she hadn't been able to avoid it for that long. So she was actually excited to hear whatever they would come up with, knowing how good 'R U Mine?' already was.

"Well, Turner, you're gonna have to let me know when y'all get here so we can all catch up, I know just the place to take y'all." She warned, her voice teasing him as if he'd get in trouble if he didn't let her know like she was asking.

"Fair enough, I will let you know," the singer promised. "I'll let you go back to sleep now, sorry I woke you up so early, Ellie."

She just let out a faint giggle, just a polite one so he wouldn't feel bad about it, "It's all good, Alex, don't you worry."

"I'll talk to you later then, darling." Alex's breath caught in his throat instantly, upon realizing he had just called her by the pet name he hadn't used in so long.

But Ella didn't flinch, it was like it had flown right past her head, "Bye Alex, talk to you later." and with that she ended the call.

Ella blew air out in relief when her insides didn't flip at him calling her darling so, she dropped her phone back on the night table and turned to cuddle closer to her boyfriend, fully at peace knowing the singer's effect on her seemed to be long gone.

Alex, on the other hand, felt something bubbling inside of him because it all kept playing on his mind. He kept hearing the man calling her 'babe' and her calling him 'baby' and just the faint notion of her having a boyfriend made him feel uneasy.

The mystery man got a face when Arielle came back to his flat. Alex had mentioned to her how he had gotten to chat with Ella on the phone, throwing in his new discovery subtly to see if his girlfriend had any information about it.

He was taken aback when Arielle dropped her bag on the settee and turned around with a knowing smile. "Oh yeah, they are so cute! I thought you had her on Instagram?" she had a slight frown while pulling up Ella's page to show Alex.

He shook his head, "No, erm, I only got it a few months ago remember? You helped me open it."

She let out an elongated "Ohhhh," as she clicked on Ella's page, "Well you should've asked me for her page silly, I thought you already had her there since she's your and the guys' friend."

He pulled out his phone and handed it to her, Arielle gave him her phone so he could see Ella and her boyfriend together. But his eyes were met with a very different Ella, one he almost didn't recognize, and he felt goosebumps break on his skin at the same time his body lit up on fire.

On the bottom of her page he could see her typical analog shots, of bits and pieces of cities and artsy photoshoots with models taken by her, but as he slowly scrolled up her page there were tons of picture of her in motorcycles, wearing leather and, in a particular one, not much more than a bikini and her cowboy boots.

That picture was the first one that caught his eye but he wasn't going to start ogling Ella's Instagram and get all flustered about it in front of his girlfriend so he scrolled further up until he stumbled upon a picture of her and her boyfriend.

He knew what he felt was jealousy because how could he not? When she stood there with her back to the camera but her face turned to the side, and the man's hand was in the back pocket of her jeans as he kissed her cheek, which had ended with her scrunching up her nose in response. He missed that face much more than he'd ever let on.

Alex could feel Arielle's eyes on him so he forced himself to smile fondly, "Yeah, they're cute."

Arielle grabbed her phone back from him as she slid his phone towards him, "I know right? Have you told Ella we're coming next month?"

He nodded, locking his phone right after hitting 'follow' and then he walked towards the balcony that was in his room—he needed a cigarette. "I did," he nodded as he grabbed his Marlboro reds from the coffee table in his living room, "She said to let her know when we're there, she wants to take us to this cool pub she found."

A bright grin appeared on Arielle's face, "Oh I'm so excited to see her again, she's so lovely isn't she? You know she got me that big Coke campaign? The one that got me invited to that event that got me an agent?"

He paused in the middle of the hallway, "Oh really? Well, that's very nice of her."

"I have to buy her a few drinks as a thank you for it." Arielle finished while she turned on the TV, Alex took it as a sign to leave her to it.

Once he got to his room and out to the balcony, he wasted no time to unlock his phone and scroll through Ella's pictures.

Her hair was darker now, she'd dyed it fully black and she looked amazing with it. Her ears looked like they were now adorned with multiple piercings but it wasn't just her ears that had jewelry, she had a septum piercing now. The thin gold piece of jewelry subtly poking from the bottom of her nose. She looked so different but still as stunning as ever.

In about five minutes of scrolling he had also found out that she'd gotten a bike, and both she and her boyfriend seemed to drive around California in their free time. There were pictures of her driving in the back of her boyfriend's bike surrounded by a large group of bikers and she'd captioned it 'nothing better than driving down the coast with your biker friends and the sunset in the background.'

There were pictures of her and her boyfriend in Tennessee, one in particular that made him take the longest drag out of his cigarette. Her boyfriend was sitting on the grass by a wooden fence, his legs spread as she sat in between them. Her brown cowboy boots on and a little white dress, her boyfriend had a cowboy hat that was hiding them kissing in the picture. The caption read, 'he's a cowboy like me.'

Another picture that made his blood boil was one that had captured her ass being groped by one of her boyfriend's hands. She was wearing some really small high waisted shorts that hugged her bottom perfectly and he wanted nothing more than to be in the place of that man. He let out a long sigh when he read 'he says i'm a handful'.

But then he scrolled further up and he lost his breath again at the picture of her in a bikini he hadn't really gotten to properly see before. She was wearing a silver bikini and her black cowboy boots as she sat on her bike, one of her legs was up as she rested her heel on the seat. She had her hands set a little behind her ass so she was leaning backwards with her head slightly thrown back, her face was half covered by a cowboy hat but it couldn't fully hide her closed eyes and her open mouth. It looked like she was moaning and Alex was losing it.

Fuck.

He went to the bathroom then, his pants too tight after he'd seen the picture and he didn't know what to do. It was either a cold shower or a guilty wank.

He was quick to jump in the shower, the water cold as it hit his chest and his face, but as he closed his eyes he found the picture engraved in his mind, meaning he wasn't finding a solution in the cold shower.

He came rather fast, a few minutes it took him as he imagined the noises she would make. Replaying her voice saying 'baby' and imagining how she'd sound moaning that in his ear. But afterwards, as his consciousness came back to him, he started to feel bad. His girlfriend was right outside, while he fucked his fist to the thought of someone else.

This is the first and last time, he promised himself.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Ella had gotten a call from Matt's phone about a week before the band was due back in California, they had started it by yelling out her name and she'd chuckled at their volume. The lads had told her that they were landing in Los Angeles on Saturday the 18th, meaning she had to wait a week to see them all again.

She had missed them quite a lot so it hadn't been a hardship to know she had little time to prepare herself for their arrival. She was mostly excited, getting to see them all again, as well as Breana who she hadn't seen in a month—and she was missing her best friend a lot—, and to see Arielle again too.

As soon as they had landed, Bre had given her a call and they had settled on meeting at the pub Ella had been talking about at around seven in the evening.

So there she was, shoving her boyfriend's bike keys in her purse before locking her fingers with his and walking through the establishment's doors. She was surprised to see them there already, as she was only five minutes late to their agreed time, but the excitement multiplied then.

It was a fairly loud place, but the ambience was spectacular. They always played the best music and the walls were filled with band posters, tour memorabilia and little trinkets that were framed on the walls to commemorate different big artists in history. She loved coming to the place, especially on karaoke nights, which unfortunately wasn't happening that day.

"Well, well, well, fancy seeing y'all here." Ella greeted as she approached the large booth and they all jumped to their feet, her name being cheered by them all.

The difference from her right then to the start of the year struck Alex harder in person. The gold on her ears and poking out the bottom of her nose contrasted beautifully against her tan skin, and her leather jacket was a fine new addition to her look. He was glad to see she was wearing a pair of cowboy boots, one he hadn't seen before but it made him smile seeing she hadn't left that behind.

She let go of her boyfriend's hand to go hug everyone. She went from Nick to Jamie, Alex, Arielle, Matt and finished with Breana who she clutched a tad tighter as she claimed, "I missed you so much!"

Breana replied, "Missed you more," before she went to Ella's boyfriend and gave him a friendly hug, "How have you been, Jules?" the nickname for him falling easily from her lips as she'd met him a handful of times before.

The man had smiled, hugging her back, "Amazing, Bre. How was your trip?"

"It was fucking lovely, you two have to come with me next." the model winked at Ella, making her roll her eyes as she blushed.

She hummed, "Maybe... We'll see." and before she could sit down beside Breana, she introduced her boyfriend to everyone. "Guys, this is Julian, my boyfriend. Julian, this is Nick, Jamie, Alex, Arielle, and Matt."

Of course his name is Julian, Alex though. Not being able to shit on his name because he shared it with one of his favorite musicians.

Julian had gone to shake everyone's hands as Ella sat down beside her best friend. Her cheeks hurt already at everyone being so nice to her boyfriend. Alex took a good look at him when he shook his hand: he was tall—about six feet he could say—, his shoulders were broad, and even if he didn't look extremely bulky, he seemed like he made it a habit to work out, his skin was tan and it complimented his wavy dirty blonde hair but it was Julian's green eyes, though, what made him want to roll his eyes. The man was good looking, and it made Alex want to punch him even more.

"Saw you guys playing at the Olympics opening ceremony, that's massive! Congratulations." He smiled at the musicians as he took a seat beside Ella, his arm snaking around her waist and she scooted the tiniest bit closer to him with a loopy smile on her face.

And he's nice too? Fucks sake. "Thanks man," said Alex with a tight lip smile, tilting his half empty glass towards him before gulping it down.

Matt wasted no time before he started teasing Ella, "So Ellie, been pretty busy then?"

She rolled her eyes playfully, "I actually have been. Focus Creeps have been doing lots of productions for artists and bands since your videos were posted and now we have another PA. I'm kind of mentoring her, which is still surreal to me that I am but yes."

Matt pouted in fake pity then, "Poor girl, she must be tired of you."

Ella scoffed and everyone laughed, including Julian. She turned to pinch her boyfriend's waist, "Why are you laughing?!" She scolded him and then turned back to call out the menace Matt was, "You are a bully, Helders." She shook her head with a frown on her face, which dissipated when Julian left a kiss on her cheek. Her face melted into one of pure bliss with a big tight lip smile.

Alex wanted to gag.

"You love me Ellie." The drummer stated with a shrug.

Ella ignored him and turned to Breana, "I really wonder how you can stand him."

"You and every one of us, Ellie." added Nick with a snort, making everyone laugh.

Ella asked them all what drinks they wanted, seeing as most of their glasses were almost empty on the table, the ice watering down whatever alcohol they were drinking. Julian and Breana had gone with her to get everyone's drinks and when they came back, it wasn't long before they fell back into conversation.

They had been including Julian, which made Ella very happy, and an hour later they had found out lots about him. He was Californian born and raised, a photographer that worked for a well acclaimed magazine, sometimes writing pieces for them as well. He also worked as a freelance photographer and videographer, he had been hired for a bunch of different jobs: from weddings that had made him travel to many places, to filming documentaries on crab fishing in Alaska.

Everyone was so entranced by that last story, that it made Ella all hot and bothered. Every time he would tell it, she always grew hypnotized by him and the way he would explain it all, especially by the way he would use his hands. So when he was done and the conversation had moved onto another topic, she leaned into his ear to have him subtly follow her to the bathroom.

Julian smirked, knowing exactly what she meant and what she wanted to happen. The girl stood up, excusing herself and made her way to the bathroom, and Julian stood up a few minutes after her.

They had been rather quickly, or at least that's what she thought as she walked back to the table with Julian following a few steps behind her. She had gone ahead and sat back on the booth whilst her boyfriend had gone to get her another drink, and that's when she was met with the fact that they hadn't been subtle at all.

The first and most obvious clue was that her red lipstick was gone and her lips were puffy. Matt had elbowed Breana softly, pointing his chin towards Ella and smirked.

"Had fun Ella?" Matt asked vaguely with a very suggestive tone.

She frowned and felt her cheeks heating up but tried to play dumb as she downed whatever was left of the vodka and sprite she'd left on the table. "Huh?"

Jamie had caught up exactly onto what Matt was saying so wanting her to just fully admit it, he pushed, "Oh c'mon Ella, your lipstick is gone."

She knew her cheeks were pink but she couldn't care that she'd been caught so she shrugged it off, "The heart wants what it wants."

"And it wanted to give a blowjob?" inquired Arielle this time with a knowing smirk on her face.

Ella nodded at her with a smug expression, "It did." She admitted, no longer giving a shit.

They all hollered and that made Ella laugh. Julian came back to the table right then, a smirk on his face as he sat down and put her drink in front of her. He didn't know what the ruckus was about but he didn't really care when he was on cloud nine and very satisfied in every meaning of the word.

"Thanks babe." Ella said to him and took a sip of her beverage, thankful that she had asked for a double vodka and sprite this time. "Oh they know, by the way." She let him know with a sheepish smile.

Julian laughed then, throwing his arm around her shoulder, "Told you to put your lipstick back on, didn't I honey?" They all laughed as Ella shook her head but found comfort in her boyfriend's hold and her drink.

Breana couldn't help but ask, "So did he return the favor?"

She took another sip of her drink, basking in the coolness of the liquid running down her throat. "We'll resume things when we get home." She winked at Breana who responded with a shriek and Julian squeezed her thigh under the table.

What the fuck? Who is this and where is Ella? Alex kept thinking. She didn't seem like her usual self, it was all so out of character that he wondered what had happened for her to be so blunt and open like this.

Jamie interrupted Alex's thoughts when he said, "Right let's change topics then, before they start shagging on top of the table."

They erupted in laughter, Alex faking it to not be obvious about his distaste on what was unfolding before him. And then a song came on that actually worked perfectly to change the subject. "Oh I love this place, their music is always on point." Julian commented.

'New York City Cops' by The Strokes was coming through the speakers, Julian Casablancas' voice mixing with the chatter around the place and the clinking of glasses.

Jamie smiled then, glad to see they were finding more things in common with the lad, "You like The Strokes?"

He nodded, "No band like The Strokes... no offense guys."

He has a good taste in music too? Alex had to try his hardest not to roll his eyes.

"None taken. There truly isn't any like them." Nick waved him off.

Ella tapped the table frantically with the pads of her fingers when she remembered something they had told her. "Oh my god! Tell him how you met them!"

"Wait, you have met them?!" Julian inquired with his eyes wide open.

Alex nodded, "Yeah man, they're amazing. We met them after the NME awards in 2006, they took pictures with us after we won Best British Band and Best New Band. I still can't believe we've met them, they were the reason we started this band—or well, the reason I wanted to start a band."

"That's fucking amazing! I'm jealous now, damn." He added with a chuckle, making everyone smile back at him.

Yeah well, not as jealous as I'm of you and whatever happened in the bathroom with your girlfriend, mate.

About thirty more minutes went by before Julian turned to whisper something in Ella's ear. She smiled fondly, gave him a kiss and whispered something back to him before giving him his keys. He stood up, saying he sadly had to go but he'd had the best time meeting them all, and telling Ella to phone him when she wanted him to pick her up right before he left the table.

Ella was all heart eyes as her eyes followed his steps towards the entrance, and when Julian turned back around to blow her a kiss and wave her goodbye, she mirrored his actions.

Breana cooed at them, "Aren't you two cute?'' She hugged Ella to her side and squished her cheeks with her free hand.

"Stop it." The PA whined with her eyes almost closed, her words barely audible as her cheeks were still being pressed by Bre's hand.

Nick settled his drink down before starting a conversation up, "Now that he's gone we can properly gossip."

That made Ella chuckle, "What do you want to know?" She rubbed her face as she was now free from her best friend's hold but still felt her fingers on her skin.

Arielle was quick to ask the first and most important question, "First of all, how did you two meet?" which everyone was really dying to ask.

Ella sighed, "Well that's half cute, half embarrassing." She finished her drink before narrating. "So it happened at this country pub I had driven past one day, I decided to just go alone one night to check it out. I was drinking some whiskey the bartender had told me was really good and wasting my time watching some college football they had on, when he sat down beside me and started talking to me. He's lucky he's cute or else I would've told him to fuck off because I just wanted to be alone." She chuckled as she reminisced.

"I was sad that day, I don't remember why though." She was lying, she remembered exactly why, as it had only been a week after whatever happened with Alex. "We must've been talking for about half an hour when they put on some music and people started swing dancing. He stood up and grabbed my hand saying we should dance too. I told him I had no idea how to and he said to just follow his lead."

She shook her head and her smile got brighter as she continued, "Fast forward five minutes later he had me in his arms, and told me to kick one of my legs up. Of course I did it wrong but he was so cute correcting me. Next thing I know he had thrown me up slightly and somehow my leg was around his neck and that's how he got me to completely turn to the other side, still in his arms."

Ella tilted her head for a second to point at Breana as she said, "The next half of the story involves her, and I'm still mortified about it."

Breana snorted at the memory, and the PA kept going, "So later that night, I was texting him and Bre at the same time. I had just gotten around telling Bre the bit with the leg when I accidentally sent him what I was going to send her..." Ella blushed hard and she paused, too embarrassed at the memory to even say it out loud.

At the cliffhanger, Jamie pushed her to continue, "Go on then, what did you say?"

"I don't even wanna say it out loud." Ella hid behind her hands, but Breana was quick to respond for her.

"She said 'One of my legs has been on his shoulders already, wouldn't mind having both legs up on them.' You're welcome Ella, now continue."

Ella gasped, letting her hands fall from her face, "I actually hate you."

Arielle had her hand covering her mouth, every single one of the lads were shocked as well. Matt was the first one to talk though, "Bloody hell, Ella! What did he say?!"

Her cheeks were red as she looked up to everyone, "He just said 'Well I wouldn't mind that either' and the rest is history. We went on a lot of dates, called each other every day if we were not hanging out together until one day we decided we already were acting like a couple so we might as well make it official."

Nick was the next one to go, "How long have you been together then?"

"It's been a little over four months." She replied quickly, knowing exactly the day off the top of her head.

Alex let his thoughts leave him before he could process them, "Not long after we left then?"

Ella avoided his gaze, playing with the straw in her empty glass, "Nope, not long after."

Alex nodded, taking the information in. It all seemed so unlike her, especially after what she'd told him about her relationships; she wasn't one for starting something with someone she'd just met and that's exactly what she was doing here.

Everyone at the table had felt the air shift around them at that last question and answer, but thankfully for everyone, Alex's girlfriend was none the wiser to the whole situation and she was a romantic so she felt like she had to know something else, "Have you said the L word yet?"

That loopy smile was brought back to Ella's face at the question, "Yes," she said shyly.

Breana gasped then and hit her arm, "What the fuck?! You haven't told me this!"

Ella turned to her, grabbing her best friend's hands, "I know, I know. It only happened a week ago so I was waiting for you to come back to tell you."

"Do tell then." Breana insisted, not really having the patience to wait until they left and she could call her so that Ella could finally tell her in private.

"Fucks sake." She cursed under her breath, seeing all eyes on her. "We were at his parents house and I had just met his sister, who has the cutest little baby. They had gone to buy dessert and left me and Julian with the baby. I was holding her and she kept blabbering on and on, and I kept acting as if I was talking with her when he just leaned into me and kissed my cheek and told me 'I love you so much'."

Breana shrieked, "Oh my god!!! Are you joking?!"

"I'm not," Ella's cheeks hurt from how big her smile was and Arielle was cooing at the story too, "I thank everything out there that we were sitting or else I swear I would've dropped the baby out of shock."

"Did you say it back?" asked Alex, sipping on his whiskey.

And curiosity killed the cat.

Ella nodded enthusiastically, "'Course I did, I adore that man." It was so easy for her to admit, and she would scream it out loud as many times as she could if she had the opportunity to.

Alex nodded in response, he was having an internal debate: he was happy that she was happy but he didn't like that it was someone else that got to be like that with her. And for that he felt so selfish.

Breana and Arielle let out long 'awh's in unison, Nick scrunching his nose at Ella before saying, "Look at you in love, it's disgusting." a fake tone of endearment on his voice.

"Right?" added Jamie in the same tone.

"You are about to get married," she pointed at the bassist first and then to the guitarist, "And you just got engaged, so don't talk shit when you're the same."

"Well I didn't just suck my boyfriend off in the bathroom, so I can definitely talk shit." Jamie was quick to reply back, making her roll her eyes.

"Can't you just let a girl have some fun? Jeez." She exclaimed before she got back up, "Anyone want a refill?" They took a fair few seconds to reply to her, she was much more straight forward now and it was leaving them stunned.

She went off with Breana again, this time Matt following right behind. But right when they got to the bar and she was waiting for the bartender to finish serving the three ladies beside her, Matt told her some news that almost made her heart stop.

"Have Ben and Aaron told you we're having you record a little documentary for us?"

She turned to the drummer faster than she realized she could, "What?" Her frown was deep, her eyes searching his to find any clue that he was just joking.

But Matt wasn't joking, "Yeah, you're gonna be at the studio with us for a few weeks during this month we're staying. I think we're coming back after the holidays to continue recording so you're joining us then as well." He explained the best he could with the little confirmed information he had.

Her mouth opened to talk but the words got stuck in her throat, "I–, erm. They hadn't told me anything, but um, yeah I'm gonna ask them on Monday."

"Brilliant!" The drummer replied before letting the bartender know what drinks they wanted.

Once they got back to the table and they had given everyone their respective drinks, their conversations resumed. They had pinballed from the Olympics to Nick's upcoming wedding planned for exactly a year from then, to some celebrity gossip they had heard around at the Olympics to the pictures taken that day and that's how Ella had ended up saying:

"You two are actually adorable," her gaze stuck on Alex and Arielle, the couple just smiled at her. "I've seen so many pictures of you everywhere, I'm so happy for you guys."

Arielle brought her hand to her chest and cooed, "Awh thank you, Ella."

Ella took a sip of her drink, really needing the liquid courage to ask her first question, "How long have you been together then?" Her tone made it seem lighthearted and like she was just making small talk but this was it for her, the last thing she wanted to know before fully putting the matter to rest.

Arielle turned to Alex, looking directly into his eyes for a few seconds like the answer was right there and then turned back to Ella, "So it started that night when we filmed 'R U Mine?' remember?" She asked Ella, and the PA could only fake a tender knowing smile as if that night hadn't been awful for her for that same thing.

"He left right after, but I was going to the UK with a friend a couple of weeks later so we met up over there and," She blushed slightly and grabbed the singer's hand on top of the table, rested her head on his shoulder and shrugged, "It all just happened, I suppose. So it's been about three months hasn't it?"

He hummed, squeezing her hand. "I reckon three, yes."

"Awh, adorable." Ella replied with a sweet smile, she felt relieved by the sense of closure. Yes it did sting a bit how fast he had changed her, not even 48 hours after they had gone on a date back then and how he had decided to make the girl he'd switched her for his girlfriend; but the hurt lasted for a few seconds, she felt free then. The whole situation had somehow brought her Julian, and she was very much grateful for that.

"You didn't tell me how that talent recruitment event went, Arielle. Was it good?"

Arielle gasped then, "Ellie, you're a godsend for that! After the Coke campaign I got the invitation for it and I'm signed now!"

Ella clapped her hands, "That's fucking amazing! Congratulations!"

And that's how they spent the next three hours, talking about everything that they'd missed in the past months they hadn't seen each other. Until Julian had called Ella to check up on her and tell her he was already done at his parents' house, and he could come by picking her up in the next twenty minutes.

She accepted her boyfriend's proposal, it was nearing midnight and she was spent. She promised to see them all soon again when she got a text from Julian saying he was outside, grabbing her purse from beside her and pocketing her phone before hugging everyone goodbye.

From the table they had the perfect view of the street, meaning they got to see how Ella basically threw herself onto Julian's arms, him catching her and clutching her tight as they swayed for a few seconds. He pulled back to shower her face in kisses, and ended it all with a chaste kiss on her lips. When Ella pulled back she grabbed the helmet from his hand and put it on to leave on his bike.

"Ugh, I love them." Bre was the first one to talk, making everyone nod in agreement as they watched them drive away.

"They're like one of those hot biker couples you see in movies." Arielle added and Breana hummed.

Nick nodded, "They are."

Alex rolled his eyes automatically because they actually were, and he hated it. But then his girlfriend's voice brought him back to where they were and after that, all he could recall was drinking the night away.

What he hadn't seen was that Bre caught his annoyed face and that only made the model want to fight the singer in the very spot. She was aware of what had happened, after she had managed to scoop it out of Ella many weeks after that eventful week in February, and she couldn't blame her for keeping her distance from the man. He had been an absolute asshole, so for him to be acting all bratty over Ella being happy and in love with someone else, like he didn't have his very own girlfriend sitting beside him, had Breana fuming.

The audacity this dickhead has, she thought.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

It had been true, what Matt said. Ben told her she'd be spending the following fortnight at the studio recording the band like she'd done twice before. Only this time, she'd have to permanently try to get footage of their time in the studio—whether it was them fucking about or actually making music.

She'd let out a big sigh when Ben left her sitting at her desk, emails to respond looking at her face as she made peace with what was coming. It's just gonna be like hanging out with them and having fun, she told herself to ease her nerves. There was something about being alone with them again—with Alex—that was making her feel uneasy, slightly scared of how awkward it may be or how uncomfortable it could feel.

Just breathe.

That's what she told herself as her boots scrunched on the dirt, her steps firmly taking her up to the front door and she knocked. A lovely man with a long gray beard, called David, let her in, showing her the way and she thanked him with a smile.

She was rather surprised by the look of it all, the studio seemed so laid back and much like a little southern cabin in the middle of the desert. It was a stark contrast to the studios she had visited before but the place being so casual made her feel more comfortable.

In her left hand, she was carrying a cup holder in which she had five cups of coffee. She was hoping the gesture would serve as a good sign that all was good by her and she planned to keep it that way. She would try her hardest not to make it awkward.

She took a deep breath before she opened the door and was greeted by the band and their confused expressions which only lasted a few seconds. When they realized it was Ella they erupted in cheer as if they hadn't seen her just last week.

She giggled, "Good morning guys, you're very energetic today." She let her bag drop from her shoulder onto a settee that was set next to the door. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought you coffee."

Nick sighed and went over to hug her, "No, you're actually a lifesaver. Planning a wedding through the phone is a nightmare."

Ella cooed but a chuckle cut it short, "Awh Nick," and after they hugged, she lifted the cup holder to read which one was Nick's. "Here you go." She handed the bassist his coffee and then turned to the rest of the band.

"I got them as I remembered you liked them. Hope your orders haven't changed much since February."

Maybe mentioning February hadn't been the best idea because the room fell silent for a few seconds, but they had felt like an eternity.

Fuck.

Thankfully, Matt decided to be the menace he always was and made the tension lift up from her shoulders by chatting back, "Not the best PA, are you?"

She rolled her eyes, "I haven't been here for five minutes yet and I already wanna strangle you."

He winced, "Sorry Ellie, not really into getting choked myself but nice try."

Her sigh was loud and it made them laugh. She just decided to hand Jamie and Alex their coffees, to which they thanked her for, before grabbing hers and taking a gulp of her now warm beverage.

"Well," she started, setting her cup down on a coffee table in the middle of the room, "Get on with what you were doing, act like I'm not here."

Matt was quick to tease her, "Brilliant, just what I wanted to do."

She scoffed, not impressed by his antics. She was regretting asking superior powers for a brother when she was a kid because Matt was definitely like an older brother to her now and he was more annoying than she'd expected one to actually be.

"I will actually fight you Matthew, so shut up."

Matt cackled, "Would love to see you try." And before she could bite back, he started playing a beat on the drums that drowned everyone else's voice.

She kept to doing her own thing, turning the camera on and recording them. It was interesting seeing it unfold before her eyes. The way Matt kept coming up with different drum patterns to which Nick jumped in with his bass.

There was a moment in which Nick came up with the start of quite a catchy bass line and Jamie was quick to tell him to keep going whilst he grabbed a guitar to add to it. Soon enough it felt like the instruments were playing with the other as if chasing each other's chords and melting into one lovely melody that had them all nodding like that was it.

Matt started forming a beat around them and Alex stood up to grab his guitar and tried with different chord combinations to jump into it. Alex kept writing down the bass tabs and the guitar chords they were using in a journal he had, which seemed to have songs he'd written as well because he was quick to flip through the pages and sing a few lines to see how they would fit in the song.

Ella could see him scribbling around the pages as he kept singing whatever came to mind and building up the song.

When the zeros line up on the 24-hour clock

When you know who's calling even though the number is blocked

When you walked around your house wearing my sky blue Lacoste

And your knee socks

They stopped for a few minutes, Alex still sitting in his chair bopping his head to what they had just created, still playing in his head. She kept the camera on him and his concentrated face, the way he would quickly write around the pages on his journal had her intrigued.

This was a moment that she knew she'd feel glad she caught on tape in a few years, just because she had a feeling that whatever they were starting in the studio was going to be bigger than they'd ever anticipate.

The band had grown somewhat infatuated by the origins of the song, stuck on different ways they could take the main melody. They had settled already that it sounded like a perfect chorus so they'd build the song around that.

When James Ford got to the studio, it was like he had stepped into a vortex since he got sucked into the process so quickly that he had barely been able to properly say hello to Ella.

After an hour and a half of non-stop brainstorming that Ella had been hearing as background noise while she read through some emails and scheduled calls with clients, they decided to take a break. Everyone left, or that's what she thought as she typed away, until she was startled by a sneeze.

"Jesus, fuck!" She lowered her macbook screen, her eyes wide from the scare. "Oh– Bless you, Alex."

He smiled at her, a shy one that seemed a little tense. "Thanks Ella."

Alex watched her as she nodded with a shy smile on her face as well, lifting her screen back up to continue working. He wasn't doing much more than sorting through his journal and making mental notes of which of the songs he'd written he wanted to try and bring alive in this record, but he was distracted now.

He was very aware of her presence and she was too. She could feel his gaze burning on her but she was too nervous to even look up, she knew she didn't know what to say or how to act so she'd rather avoid it.

But the tension grew thicker and he hated it, the only solution he could find for it was to try to make small talk.

"So... How was your week, Ellie?" The singer asked slowly, as if treading an unknown path.

Her fingers froze hovering over the keyboard, "It was good, erm, a little busy but good."

He felt the way she was starting quiet and close away and maybe staying quiet would've been better but the words just came out of his mouth to try and make the old days come back, when they could talk about everything and anything for hours.

"Bre told us she was doing a shoot with you on Wednesday, hope that went well."

She gave him a genuine smile then, because the shoot had actually been lovely and it had gone better than she had planned it. "It was perfect, the sun worked amazingly with us. I have to get them printed soon though, so I can send the scans to Bre and she can add them to her portfolio."

"Was it on film?" Alex asked before he could process, he just wanted to keep the conversation flowing but what a stupid question that was because he knew she only ever shot on film.

She let out a giggle to hide her disbelief. Had he really forgotten she only shot on film? "Yes, I only shoot on film, remember?" It came out sassy and she hadn't meant it but she couldn't take it back now.

He laughed nervously, "Yeah, I know. Sorry, very stupid question."

Ella only smiled reassuringly, "It's okay."

The beats of silence were almost as loud as their heartbeats. Alex felt his pumping heart sounding in his ears and Ella did too, both hoping the other couldn't hear it too.

He started fiddling with his pen, "Was it themed?"

She shook her head, "Not really, we just played with how well the sun was positioned and did some shadow photography."

Alex hummed, not really knowing what to say next. Ella bit her lip, seeing through the corner of her eye how he looked to be fighting within himself. She felt bad for not trying to make things better.

"Has the past week been too hectic?" Her question sounded shy, both of them were acting so sheepish and whereas Ella's behavior had always been that way, it was weird seeing Alex anything other than confident.

He hesitated before responding, "Not really? I mean we had to go 'round quite a lot but it's the typical occurrence when we come to the States. The second week and on is much easier."

"Well, thankfully that's over and done with. I suppose you're relieved to be in the studio, finally." She decided to just close her laptop and give him her full attention.

Her actions made him breathe in relief as it felt like she wasn't trying to hide behind the screen anymore.

"Yes, to be fair. Feel like it's been too long since we've made something new, properly. When we recorded 'R U Mine?' it went by so quickly 'cause it took us so little to get it done—so, erm, yes. We were itching to be back recording."

She smiled sweetly at him then, "You guys look very in your element here, I was keeping it cool for the sake of the process but I was blown away by how easily you just– well, the way you can just do all that."

Alex laughed softly. She's so cute, was all he thought and it only made his smile grow. "Thanks Ellie, it's a thing that just happens because of how long we've been making music together. We bounce off each other now."

She had run out of things to say, her eyes focused on him but her brain struggling to find anything else to talk about.

Why is this so hard now? She hated it.

Luckily, she was saved by the bell—or rather by the rest of the band and James coming back from the kitchen, their loud chatter filling the hallways as they walked back to the room.

"Ellie, you have to see what I've found in the other room by the keyboards." Matt pointed at her and she was slightly afraid. One was never safe when it came to his spontaneous ideas.

She stared at him unsure of what to do, "Erm..."

The drummer started making his way back out of the room, waving at her to join him. "C'mon! Bring the camera." He added from the hallway.

She had to quickly grab the camcorder, her steps fast to catch up with him. The screen flashed a red 'rec' on the corner right as she walked through the threshold of a room she was seeing for the first time.

He walked in first and then stopped in the corner where most of the keyboards met and pointed towards what he'd found.

She deflated as she saw a little vintage coin machine that read 'Check your sex appeal'. On the bottom it instructed one to put one's finger on the sensor, deposit a quarter and then they'd give the score. With an eye roll she turned to Matt, "I thought you were gonna show me a spider or something." She had seen multiple lying around the place, unbothered.

"If it was a spider, I would've caught it and thrown it over your head." Matt replied with a cynical smile on his face.

Ella scoffed, "Sometimes I think you hate me."

He chuckled, opening his arms and approaching the girl to hug her. "You know I love you, Ellie."

"Yeah, sure, sure." He was holding her tight on purpose, to bother her some more. He really was like her older brother. The camera shook in her hands as she struggled in his hold.

He let go of her with a kiss on the cheek, "Have you got 25 cents?" He asked, seeing that it was needed to make the machine work.

"Yeah, in my purse." The drummer didn't even waste a second before he quickly went back to the main room to retrieve it. He was back in about ten seconds and she fished for her wallet when he opened her purse for her. "Does it even work?" she asked, seeing as the machine looked old—the red light on the 'sensor' was very dim, it was hard to read the 00 on the corner.

He shrugged, holding up a quarter in his fingers. "Let's try."

"Yeah, we need everyone to be here though. This cannot go without witnesses." She was recording it all but she wanted everyone to be there just so they could all have a laugh.

"Oh yes, go ahead. I want everyone to see how you lose."

"We shall see about that Matthew." She walked back to where the rest of the group was and called them over.

When Matt saw everyone enter the room behind Ella, he smirked. "Yous ready?"

They all nodded, Jamie rolled his eyes at his friend's excitement over such a dumb thing but he wasn't expecting any less from the idiot that Matt Helders was.

For some reason, he paused before slotting the coin in. "No, actually..." he offered the coin to Ella, "Ellie please do us the honor."

The PA sighed, wanting to do anything but go first in the stupid thing but she wanted to get it over with sooner rather than later. She grabbed the quarter from him and he took the camera from her, making sure to catch what she was going to do.

She pressed her pointer finger on the supposed sensor, and slid the coin in. "If this thing doesn't work, I'm gonna laugh in your face, Helders."

It took a few seconds for the red light to glow, the drummer smirking at Ella as if to rub it in her face that it actually worked. Everyone was watching them amused, the bickering was quite entertaining to them all and they were happy to be around Ella again.

Another few seconds passed before the machine beeped, startling the girl. "Jesus!" She dropped her hand and when she saw the 62, she shrugged not even caring to see what that meant on the list below the sensor.

Matt cackled, getting another quarter from her wallet and giving her the camera back to walk up to the machine as well. "Okay Ellie, are you ready to lose?"

"Get on with it Matt." She made sure to capture him perfectly even though she wasn't sure they'd use that footage on the documentary.

Repeating the process, Matt waited for the beep to reveal his score and when he got 134, he cheered. His arms up in the air like he had just won the championship to something.

He walked over to Ella teasing her about her brutal loss when Jamie wandered over to the coin machine and burst out laughing.

Everyone turned as the guitarist laughed and Nick went over curious to see what was so funny. When he read the list below the sensor, he joined Jamie in laughter.

"Helders, mate, I'm not sure you won at all there." Nick managed between chuckles.

Ella quickly walked over to read the list, making sure the camera caught it too and she cackled. "134 you got, didn't you? Mr. Total couch potato."

That only made Nick laugh harder, Alex and James started chuckling at Matt's face. The drummer walked over to see the list and he scoffed. "What the fuck? That score system doesn't make fucking sense."

Total couch potato - over 130

Semi sexy couch potato - 115-129

Sexy couch potato - 100-114

Sexy but firm up your good body - 85-99

Great body and sexy - 70-84

Super body and sexy - 60-69

Fantastic body and sexy - below 60

"I got 62 by the way. Just in case you forgot." Ella made sure to rub it in and Helders waved his hand dismissing her.

He shook his head in disbelief, and went over to her wallet to get another quarter. "We're doing this again."

"But–" She went to argue but was cut by Matt grabbing her right hand and pressing her pointer finger on the sensor and dropping the coin in. "For fucks sake, Matt." She cursed, moving the camera to face Matt's annoyed facial expression and when the machine beeped, showing her a glorious 60, she burst out laughing.

"Now's my turn." He pressed his finger on the sensor and inserted the coin.

Everyone quieted down as they waited for the beep and when it rang in their ears, showing a 129, Jamie read "A slight glow up, semi sexy couch potato." making everyone erupt in laughter again.

"Okay, whatever." Matt said loudly and defeated in between everyone else's noise, "It's broken, obviously."

Ella sighed, after her fit of laughter, focusing the camera back on the drummer. "Told you Bre was doing charity work with you." Nick snorted at that, nodding his head just to add to the fire.

Matt gasped, throwing his hand over his heart, faking being wounded by her very words. "Bitch." He said as if he had just been betrayed.

She chuckled as he left the room, still shaking his head, "Oh I'm so glad I caught all that on camera."

Nick threw his arm over her shoulders and kissed her temple, "You are brilliant, Ellie."

She smiled so bright, her eyes closed, and leaned her head on the bassist's shoulder in contentment.

When she opened her eyes, she was instantly met by Alex grinning at her and she smiled back at him.

The two weeks she'd have to stay there would be long but she hoped they'd get easier. She could only hope for that.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

All of her hopes had drowned a week later. She thought she had made progress in that first week since when she left that Sunday, it felt like the tension was wearing thin. They could now joke around like everyone else and it wasn't met with brief silences that felt like cuts to their throats.

That was until the Monday of the second week arrived, and she was dropped off at the studio by Julian. As they got closer to the place, she was praying that whoever was standing outside wasn't Alex but the universe loved laughing at her face so Alex was exactly who was outside, smoking calmly with his eyes firmly on Ella.

She sighed under her helmet before she took it off and got off the bike. She gave Alex a tight lip smile, "Good morning, Alex." She could feel the awkwardness rising once again.

"Good morning, Ellie." He replied, grateful for how the cigarette was helping him relax even in the slightest.

Julian took his helmet off then, shaking his head to fix his hair, with a bright smile. "Hey Alex, good morning."

Alex lifted his hand up to greet him, "Morning, man."

Ella sighed and turned to her boyfriend, fixing his hair before she said bye. "You'll pick me up later yeah?" Her hand was cupping his jaw and Alex hated seeing the look of adoration in her eyes.

"'Course." Julian said with a smile, his right hand coming up to grab Ella's hand that was on his face and kissed the palm of it. "Love you, have fun okay?"

Ella smiled even harder and nodded as she leaned down to peck his lips. "Love you, see you later."

Ella turned to start walking towards the studio when she heard Julian calling out to Alex, "Turner! Take care of my girl, yeah?" His question was up in the air as he put his helmet back on.

She blushed as she turned back around to laugh at her boyfriend. Alex let out the smoke from his lungs and nodded, "Always."

Ella felt like someone had gut punched her then, Why does this have to happen to me?

Julian nodded and revved the engine, blowing Ella a kiss before driving away—leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

They both watched as the bike got smaller in the horizon and once it disappeared from their sight, she cleared her throat. "You going in yet?"

He nodded, "I'm almost done." taking one last drag of his cigarette before tossing it to the ground.

As they walked up to the place, he couldn't hold his tongue back, "So is he gonna drop you off everyday now?"

There was a subtle tone in his voice that didn't settle well with her, "Just today." She answered quickly with a forced smile on her face, letting her feet take her faster up the steps and towards the door. She didn't wanna overthink about the way he'd ask but it was already planning to play on loop in her mind.

Maybe she was making it worse in her mind but the awkwardness was palpable at the moment, and she just couldn't brush it off and ignore it.

When she opened the door everyone was there at the kitchen by the entrance making breakfast, when they saw her they greeted her sweetly. She was so grateful for them all being there already, just so she didn't have to spend time alone with Alex after that.

Surprisingly though, after they had all had breakfast together, the day rolled off smoothly and she'd only interacted directly with Alex a handful of times. The band had gone fully back into finishing a song they'd named 'You're So Dark' and slowly rolled into the making of another one that they hadn't titled yet but the chorus kept on with the phrase 'i want it all' so she'd refer to it as such.

She ignored the way Alex sang the words 'space age country girl, stone cold miracle' and the not-so-subtle looks he took at her every time it rolled off his tongue.

By three in the afternoon, she'd excused herself to take a skype call with Ben, Aaron and a new client. She'd gone to the room furthest away from them and even though she knew the walls could keep her voice from getting to them and ruining any recording, she'd still tried to be as quiet as she could.

That's why she was surprised to see everyone gone when she left the call. She wandered around the place, really taking time to admire every corner of the one-of-a-kind recording studio. She could see Queens of the Stone Age memorabilia, a portrait of PJ Harvey smoking a cigarette perched on one of the sofas in the studio hanging on the wall.

The array of different kinds and brands of guitars drew her in like a magnet. She had no idea how to play one but they all looked stunning and she wished at that moment she knew how to play at least one simple song.

"I never asked you if you knew how to play." The sudden appearance of Alex's voice scared her. She jumped in her place, turning slowly with a hand over her heart.

"Alex, for fucks sake." She cursed through her teeth.

He smiled softly, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

She sighed, "Where is everyone? I thought you'd all left."

He shrugged, "They said something about getting food. Left before I could put down the guitar."

"Oh that was probably Matt's idea." Leaving Alex behind had to be his brilliant idea, she rolled her eyes at how he'd completely missed how that would turn out for her.

Alex nodded, "Most likely, yeah."

They stood there quietly—Alex resting against the door frame, Ella's fingers dancing over the guitars' necks.

"Did they leave long ago?" She crossed her fingers mentally, hoping they'd be back soon.

He only shook his head and with that she deflated, "They left about fifteen minutes ago."

Ella let out a humorless chuckle, "Great."

It looked like he was trying not to open his mouth, and she almost just told him to spill it all but she truly didn't want it to happen. Whatever would come out of his mouth would only make the situation ten times worse and she was still feeling unsettled by the question he'd made before coming into the studio in the morning.

She decided to sit in one of the chairs, slumping forward as she cradled her head in her hands. A headache already bubbling in the back of her skull, she rubbed her temples with her fingers. In the background she heard as Alex took a seat on the big settee by the door, one that faced her directly.

Alex cracked his knuckles and cleared his throat, he was getting the courage to ask everything he wanted to know. "So how has it been then?" His question was so vague she hummed in confusion—she had been with them for a week straight, what could he mean by that?

And then he shuffled in his seat and tried again, "With him, I mean. How's everything been with, erm, Julian?" He said his name with a struggle, like it hurt his throat to let it out.

"Very good, thanks. We're doing great." She fake coughed, straightening in her seat uncomfortably.

Alex nodded his head continuously, "He seems like a good guy... Interesting lad."

"He is. Wonderful, very interesting too, yeah." Her smile was so forced and it pained him to see.

"He really likes traveling doesn't he?" At that point he didn't even know what he was doing, he was just talking out of his ass.

"Oh yes, a lot. He has the best stories from traveling around for work."

He hummed, "Do you ever travel together?"

Ella chewed on her bottom lip before answering. "Sometimes. We tend to stay in California for work but there's times we travel together whenever I have to go somewhere with Focus Creeps and he's free or we're both able to go on a little weekend holiday."

"Really? Where have you been?" Curiosity killed the cat, he reminded himself. He was very aware of that but his mouth was going faster than his brain.

"We went to Mexico for our first month. We've been to Alaska and New York, but most of the time we take trips around the west coast." She recounted her drives with Julian to the different states along the coast they called home. "He's actually gone to Tennessee with me quite a few times." She added quickly.

"Oh yeah, I sa—. I, erm, suppose that was nice." His tongue tangled when he realized he was about to expose himself, but she hummed.

She knew he had seen, his secret instagram account handle was very not subtle and she'd gotten surprised when he followed her right after that call about the Olympics. "It was. Lovely to see him in my hometown and with my family, really. He fits right in."

He hated how she said that, like it was something that was written in stone. "Right, yes."

She didn't know why, but her brain just wanted her to scream a little detail that knew would ruin things even more. It was probably the thought of it hurting him, the way it had all hurt her back at the start of the year and she felt weirdly in need of some revenge. "We actually go to Belmont Park quite often."

A surprised "Oh." escaped his lips. That fact stung him like alcohol on a fresh cut wound, and that's when Alex noticed the situation hadn't hurt him as much before as it had in that very moment. The fact that she went to a place that so vividly was him and her with someone else felt like the biggest type of betrayal.

"Do you?" The question sat bitterly on his tongue.

It had been a mistake even mentioning it. A double edged knife as it all came like an avalanche over her. "Yeah, it's a lovely place during summertime." It reminded her why she never did revenge, it would always hurt her right back like she was doomed with automatic karma.

He sighed, sorting through his memories. "I remember that place quite fondly."

Ella panicked then, the need to remind him where he stood was strong inside her just to keep him from saying anything stupid that might make her spiral. "How's Arielle?" She spat the question like the words were burning her tongue.

He froze in his place for a second, his brain stopping the reel of Ella and his time in the coastal amusement park to replace it for the American model who was his girlfriend. "She's alright." He shrugged, not really caring to think much for detail. "Busy with casting calls and modeling gigs, but good."

She hated how the first thing her brain did was compare herself to Arielle, making her chuckle dryly. "Good thing she's a model right? Can travel around the world with you." She wanted to slap herself then for exposing her very biggest insecurity when it had come to her and Alex back then.

But Alex was too distracted by the new batch of questions flooding his mind to even notice what she'd just said. "I guess, yes."

"Of course it is, you're always in the presence of your muse." She was trying her hardest to push him to plainly tell her how much he adored Arielle just so she'd kill the shadow of hurt creeping back onto her but he didn't.

His gaze stayed fixated on her for a long few seconds, her breath caught in her throat seeing him zoned out with his eyes firmly on her. Ella cleared her throat and that's when he came back to reality. "Sure, my muse, yes. Lucky to have her always by my side." His reply was so meek it made her want to scream at him.

What do you want from me? She wanted to ask, over and over, until he gave her a fully honest answer.

"I'm just curious..." He started again, after half a minute of silence with eyes fixed on the floor. "Isn't it weird?"

Again he went with the vague inquiries, she frowned looking at him. "What?"

Alex looked up, feeling her burning gaze on him. "I dunno, just how fast you started it all with Julian." His words were weak, almost like he knew it was a mistake to have even said that out loud.

She was ready to start getting defensive but she'd give him another opportunity to explain himself before she could explode if it was needed. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, trying to word his thoughts in the best way possible, "Well, you know, I remember you telling me about how falling for someone you'd just met wasn't your thing."

"I said and did lots of things then, didn't I?" Her words came out heated, Ella was growing tired and she kept wondering what the hell was he trying to get from her.

"Do you regret them?" He was quick to ask, like that sentence had been a direct attack towards him. The question was looking for a deeper answer.

"Maybe." She tried to sound determined but it came out more like a question. She truly didn't regret anything that had happened or that she'd said because it all ended in the growth of herself as a person but, fuck, she just wanted him to hurt so he could drop the subject and whatever he was trying to achieve.

He only hummed in acknowledgment, making her feel like she had to further prove herself.

"He changed everything I had ever thought in a matter of weeks, I just know I love him and he loves me so that's more than enough for me. Time doesn't mean much to me anymore."

"Right." Alex nodded, his gaze staying on her for just a fleeting moment before it dropped down to the floor.

Ella continued then, finding more things she wanted to say, "No matter how long you've known people for, they always turn out to be someone you don't expect so I wasn't gonna lose an amazing person because of my fear of getting hurt." She was trying to find his eyes, just so he knew she meant every word that left her lips but he wasn't brave enough to make eye contact as she said all that. He felt like he was getting poked in his chest with a sharp and pointy knife. "I mean, you said it, didn't you?"

That's what got him to look up instantly, "What?" the singer asked, confused.

Alex's voice as they walked around Las Vegas came back to her very clearly, like the moment was happening at that very second: 'That's true, but don't close yourself off to the chances. Someday you'll meet that one person who'll change your mind about that and they will sweep you off your feet. Often heartbreak is necessary along the way, it shows you what's the right way you deserve to be loved.'

"That someday I'd meet a person who'd change my mind about all that time bullshit I used to swear by, and how they'd sweep me off my feet. That's exactly what he did." Ella recited his words back to him.

And the very moment came back to him like an ice cold water bucket being poured over his head. His words had come back to bite him on the ass. "I guess I did." His voice sounded defeated. "Yeah, erm, that's good. Good." Alex had no idea what he had tried to achieve with all that but, fucking hell, he felt like he had ruined everything.

They stayed quiet for what felt like a century but it had only been a minute. Their breathing sounded too loud and the beating of their heavy hearts was very present in their ears.

When her phone rang, she couldn't help but sigh in relief but her shoulders slumped when the name 'Jules <3' shone bright on her screen.

"Guess we summoned him." The PA joked, trying to lighten up the mood but he gave her the most humorless laugh that made her internally cringe. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? She asked herself, as if the whole situation had been her fault and not Alex's.

She stood up and pointed at the door to tell him she'd pick up and talk by the kitchen, he nodded dully and watched her go in the reflection of the window. He had fucked it all up and he knew it.

He could hear her in the distance and he hated the isolated zone the studio was in because the lack of city bustle meant he could hear everything she said.

"Hi babe!" Her greeting was chipper, she sounded relieved. "Not yet, the guys have gone out to get some lunch and then I guess they'll stay a few more hours until they're done." She paused for a few seconds but he couldn't make out whatever her boyfriend was saying on the other side of the line. "Yeah, they're great. You'd love to see them recording, it truly is magical." Alex smiled, as he could hear the sincerity in her voice.

"Oh?" Ella sounded surprised and he wondered what Julian could've told her. "Jules, are you fucking kidding?" She sounded breathless and elated. "No baby, not nice to hear when we're more than an hour away." Alex hated hearing her calling someone else that pet name. "Well I cannot wait to be home then." There was a small pause before she let out a sweet little giggle that melted Alex's insides. "What did I do to deserve you huh?" Alex rolled his eyes thinking about how Julian didn't deserve her but he couldn't say much, because he didn't deserve Ella either.

"Something new to try?" Her voice had turned suggestive then, and he hated that his brain started going through the endless possibilities of what that could mean. "Fuck, Julian." That had come out like a choked up whimper and Alex had had to shut his eyes close hard to focus on his thoughts not going there but then she said, "Yes, you fucking tease." almost out of breath and just that made the singer's thoughts start going in a forbidden direction. "Well if you had a car maybe we could move it forward but unfortunately you don't, so..." That made him freeze though, as he instantly imagined them two together in the back of a car and it was a visual he absolutely loathed.

"I fucking love you, you know that?" Her words were determined and they hit him like a truck. "Okay babe, cannot fucking wait to be home already." Another giggle that made Alex want to die echoed through the place and just as he was about to start plugging his ears to not listen anymore, she ended the call with a "See you soon then, love you."

He had to hurriedly grab his journal, scribbling around a new page when he heard her steps coming back in his direction.

When Ella entered the room again, she gave him a side smile. She went straight to her purse and grabbed her lighter and cigarettes, "I'm gonna go for a smoke, be right back."

"Alright." Alex nodded as he kept his eyes frozen on the white page that was slowly filling up with words that seemed to be just flooding out of him. The sound of her boots mixing with the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway replaying in his mind as the ink ruined the paper.

I wanna grab both your shoulders and shake

Snap out of it

Under a spell you're hypnotized

Darling, how could you be so blind?

If that watch don't continue to swing

Or the fat lady fancies having a sing

I'll be here, waiting ever so patiently for you to

Snap out of it

I've heard that you fell in love

Or near enough

It sounds like settling down or giving up

But it don't sound much like you

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

After that extremely awkward Monday, when she'd felt Alex's gaze burning on her back as she left the place in the back of Julian's bike, the week had gone by extremely slowly. She loved the band but she felt like she was suffocating under the heavy tension between her and Alex.

So when it reached Friday, the last day that she'd be recording them for the rest of the year, she felt like she could breathe more easily.

Matt had been an absolute nightmare though, ringing her at six in the morning so that she could be at the studio by half past seven.

"Matt, I will castrate you when I see you later," was the first thing she said when she picked up.

The man on the other line snorted, "Oh I'm so afraid." The heavy sarcasm in his voice only made her roll her eyes. "You have to be here early today, sweetheart. Last day and all." He sounded like he was hiding something but she was too tired to care.

She groaned, "Sure, I'll leave in a few. Bye." She didn't even give him time to reply because she instantly hung up the phone and sighed.

Her hair was damp when she'd gotten on her bike forty minutes after she'd ended the call, but it was dry from the wind by the time she got to the studio. She took off her helmet and brushed her hair with her fingers to then ruffle it. She checked on one of the mirrors of her bike and she shrugged, her lipstick still perfectly on and her hair just tamed enough.

She walked through the doors and made her way to the room they were always at. When she got there she didn't even look up before she dropped her bag and helmet on a chair. "Last day I have to see you idiots all day, thank fuck!" She joked but when she was met with an unusual silence, she turned around confused and that's when her jaw dropped.

Josh Homme was sitting right there in the middle of the room and everyone else was trying to hold in their laughs. Her cheeks tinted bright red, like her lipstick, and she wanted to disappear.

But the musician chuckled, making her feel slightly better. "Lucky." Josh started, continuing the joke, "This is my first day, have another week to go with them." He stood up with his hand out to greet Ella, "Lovely to meet you..."

She cleared her throat, blinking fast to try and come back down to reality but she was shocked. "Ella." She barely managed to say and Josh nodded, shaking her hand.

"Lovely to meet you Ella." He said again and her eyes went to all of the lads in search of answers.

When none of them gave her anything other than amused smiles, she looked back to the legendary musician in front of her and smiled brightly. "Very lovely to meet you, Mr. Homme."

The man waved her off, dropping her hand, "Oh please hun, just call me Josh. We're all friends here, no formalities."

She giggled, "Right, yes."

Ella tried to remain cool as she fell back into her usual routine, taking the camera out and capturing everything she could without disturbing their process. Matt sat next to her in the big settee twenty minutes later, watching Alex and Josh talking about 'Knee Socks' which was apparently the song Josh was gonna be in, and he elbowed her to tease her.

"Big fan of Queens of the Stone Age then?" The drummer whispered.

She turned to face him with an expression that screamed it was obvious, "Who isn't?"

Matt nodded, "Well, I did tell you to come early."

She scoffed, "Yes but you didn't mention Josh fucking Homme coming here today, idiot!" She whispered aggressively and she was grateful for Alex having started to play the guitar so the chords were louder than her voice.

"Details, details." Matt replied like it was nothing and she rolled her eyes.

"I cannot believe I'm actually gonna miss seeing y'all every day again." She admitted, fake defeated to keep up her act.

He clicked his tongue, "Of course you will, you love us."

"As I always say, unfortunately." She added in the same way, with a tight lip smile.

He opened his mouth to reply but Alex called him over and he could only get up quickly on his feet to see what they were gonna do then.

She had grown mesmerized by the creative process they had as they saw them work with Josh. James got there an hour later and it felt surreal, she truly felt like she was seeing actual magic happen and it hit her when she heard the brand new bridge for the song. It sounded heavenly and bold at the same time.

She knew when the album would come out, she'd have a different perspective on it for the sole reason that she was witnessing all those turning points in the making of it. And she was sure that just from the fact that she was experiencing all of it first hand, it would become her favorite album of theirs.

When they had all gotten hungry at around ten in the morning, Ella had ordered something for everyone and when the food had arrived, they all gathered around the wooden dinner table in the kitchen to chat shit and eat before resuming their work.

Josh was so easy to be around and Ella loved that one of the people she'd always admired as a musician was also a lovely person in real life. He had thanked her for the food and given her a side hug before they all cleaned up and went back to the recording room.

Ella made sure to record as much as she could but when the battery died and she had to wait for it to charge, she put her earphones on and started listening to some music.

Matt and Jamie sat chatting in a corner of a room while Alex, Nick and Josh hovered over Alex's journal to work through some lyrics. Ten minutes passed as she sorted through her emails when Alex sat beside her and she barely noticed.

He poked at her arm to not scare her again and she turned slowly to him, "Hey," she greeted timidly.

"Was Josh Homme a nice surprise?" He asked like her reaction hadn't been enough of an answer.

Her eyebrows rose on her face as she nodded enthusiastically, "Of course, yes. I still can't believe he's just–" she paused to find the perfect word but she failed so she just subtly pointed at him and finished by saying, "There."

Alex chuckled, "What are you listening to?" He had seen her bopping her head as she typed and he was curious to know.

"Black Sabbath." She showed him her phone screen, "War Pigs. Stunning guitar riff." She added, like it was one of those texts she used to send him of the songs she was obsessing over whoever week or day and which detail was her favorite of it.

He'd heard it before, of course, so he nodded but she took off one of her earphones so he could put it in and listen with her. Once the bud was in his ear, she played the song back from the beginning and he found himself trying to think of the chords in his head.

A song like it was one that he'd love to have on this album, it was the vibe he was going for when he pictured what the record would sound like in his head.

When the song finished he took off the earbud and handed it back to her. "Brilliant guitar riff. I wanna try and play it."

She thought he meant to play it maybe later but no, he got up immediately and grabbed his Gretsch duo jet, placed a pick between his teeth as he pulled the guitar strap over his shoulders and started playing with the chords until he started getting closer and closer to it.

Josh was quick to recognize the song, "War Pigs, classic."

Alex nodded as he stopped and then started it back up again. "I wanna use it in this record, I think."

"Domino won't hate you for having to get the licenses for it?" Asked the American singer, amused.

"Nah, I'll get it somehow even if they don't want to." Alex replied very confidently.

"Atta boy." Celebrated Josh, "You'll have to give it an Arctic Monkeys twist though, make it fresh." He advised, not only so that the song would be good but for the sake of the credits of the song he was trying to make.

Alex called to his bandmates then, "Oi, Nick, Jump in this one with me. Jamie, let's play it together first and then we can start changing the chords each at a time."

A few hours later, they had a wonderful take on the War Pigs guitar riff and the band seemed to be in love with it. They recorded it and labeled it the first demo, Ella had managed to catch that recording process and she was beaming as she saw it happen.

She'd felt like she had contributed there, it made her heart swell in a strange new way. She was about to scold herself for feeling so proud about it when it was so insignificant, when Alex went up to her and gave her a brief hug.

"Thanks for that Ellie. Good thing we have you here at the studio with us, isn't it?" His hand dropped after squeezing her right arm, her left side pressed against him.

She smiled brightly then, shrugging it off because she had only played him a song he already knew, it wasn't a massive contribution. "It literally was nothing Alex."

Alex clicked his tongue, "Yeah, don't really think so." disagreeing with her, making her smile bigger.

Right there and then, it felt like it was all falling back into place at least for a few seconds and they could both take a breath of fresh air.

"Would it help you feel better if I just said you're welcome?" Her smile could be heard in her voice and it made him unbelievably happy.

He nodded, "Definitely."

"You're welcome, Al." She replied easily and he beamed at her, it was the first time she called him Al in a long while, it made his stomach flip.

"Right," The singer started, still grinning. "It's your last day with us here until next year so just leave the camera, enjoy it."

Her brows furrowed, "But the documentary—"

He waved it off, "It would be a maximum of forty five minutes, Ellie and we still have January through June to record so don't worry. There'd be plenty of footage in the future."

She hummed, "Okay boss, whatever you say." She joked and he chuckled.

The day ended far quicker than she expected it and soon enough she was saying goodbye to the band, James and Josh. They all watched her drive away on her bike as the sun set in the horizon, the ends of her long black hair waving in the air.

In the third and last week that the band had spent in the studio, which Ella hadn't been there to record, the 'War Pigs' inspired song had been born and fully developed.

It only made sense that if the song had seen its creation because of Ella, it had to be the one to home all those lines Alex had written about her.

Alex sang into the microphone as the red light on top of the booth indicated it was recording. His eyes closed as he pictured her and himself walking around LA, Las Vegas and San Diego—all the pictures and the conversations, the drinks and the fleeting touches shared.

Arabella's got some interstellar-gator skin boots

And a Helter Skelter 'round her little finger

And I ride it endlessly

She's got a Barbarella silver swimsuit

And when she needs to shelter from reality

She takes a dip in my daydreams

My days end best when the sunset gets itself behind

That little lady sitting on the passenger side

It's much less picturesque without her catching the light

The horizon tries but it's just not as kind on the eyes

As Arabella, oh

As Arabella

Just might've tapped into your mind and soul

You can't be sure

Arabella's got a '70s head

But she's a modern lover

It's an exploration, she's made of outer space

And her lips are like the galaxy's edge

And her kiss the colour of a constellation

Falling into place

My days end best when the sunset gets itself behind

That little lady sitting on the passenger side

It's much less picturesque without her catching the light

The horizon tries but it's just not as kind on the eyes

As Arabella, oh

As Arabella

Just might've tapped into your mind and soul

You can't be sure

That's magic, in a cheetah print coat

Just a slip, underneath it, I hope

Asking if, I can have one of those

Organic, cigarettes that she smokes

Wraps her lips, 'round a Mexican Coke

Makes you wish, that you were the bottle

Takes a sip of your soul, and it sounds like...

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

The band's stay at the golden state had reached its end. The three weeks they had planned on staying were up but before it was time for them to leave Ella and Breana had planned a little farewell dinner. Breana would be staying in LA this time, so when she told Ella to help her organize it for the lads before they left, she just couldn't say no to her best friend.

It didn't take much organization, just a phone call to the restaurant to make a reservation and a text in the group chat to make sure the band knew where to be on Sunday the 9th at seven in the evening.

Ella was there ten minutes before the clock announced it was seven, she stood by the mural to the left side of the restaurant's door smoking a cigarette. She had just lit it, and absentmindedly took a drag out of it seeing as Julian took a few steps to stand in front of her and take the stick from her fingers.

The filter was stained with the red of her lipstick and it made her boyfriend groan, she laughed as she let the smoke out upwards, taking a peek at the moon. Julian left a trail of kisses up her throat all the way up to her chin, his lips hovered over hers but he left her breathless when he lifted the cigarette to take a drag of it and then place it back on her lips.

"Tease," she muttered with the burning stick between her lips.

The scruff of a car's brakes made them turn around, a yellow cab stopped a few feet right beside them. They were about to get back to what they were doing when one of the back doors opened and out came none other than Alex Turner.

He looked amazing under the dim street lights, the cream button up he was wearing contrasted perfectly with his black trousers and blazer. The small heels of his chelsea boots hit the pavement and composed the perfect background noise to his entrance.

Alex cleared his throat, hoping his frown wasn't as hard as it had been a minute earlier when he had seen from afar the show Ella and Julian were putting for everyone walking around the block.

Julian stepped aside to let Ella greet Alex first. "Hello Ella," he hugged her briefly but tight, she reciprocated one handed as she kept the hand she was holding her cigarette with away from him. Alex shook Julian's hand, firmly. "Nice to see you again, Julian."

Julian nodded, "Nice to see you too, Alex. How was your time in LA? Everything sweet, everything nice?"

Alex gave him a forced side smile, Ella turned to rest against the mural again and continued smoking—she tried to relax but she was internally panicking, begging to any high power that the rest of their friends showed up soon so the three wouldn't have to wait too long alone.

"Everything was great, already can't wait to be back to keep recording." From his voice she could tell he was distracted, and Ella kept her eyes closed but she felt him staring.

But why wouldn't he? She looked dashing dressed in all black. A little black slip dress on with high heeled stilettos, a leather jacket on and a small prada purse hanging off her shoulder. The dress had a slit, showing off her 'Divine Feminine' tattoo perfectly.

He was too caught up to even notice Julian had caught him staring.

"She's stunning, isn't she?" Her boyfriend had asked proudly, and Alex had gone cold.

He tried to play it cool though, nodding as he took his cigarettes out and picked one to light up. "She's always been."

If Julian had gotten jealous from that, he didn't show it as he nonchalantly then proceeded to walk towards Ella. He dove his hand into Ella's jacket pockets and fished a cigarette for himself, placing it between his teeth and staring at his girlfriend silently asking her to light him up.

She did, her movements graceful and experienced and Alex caught the small 'thank you' Julian gave her before he started smoking.

The American man had waved him over, "C'mere man, we're not gonna bite."

Alex let out a bland chuckle that made a puff of smoke leave his mouth. His steps were slow as he moved closer to them, and he wished Arielle could've canceled that late night shoot so she'd be there with him. He didn't want to be a third wheel, much less to Ella and her fucking boyfriend.

It had been a painful eight minutes he had to endure of small talk that ended with Ella narrating how it had been to spend a whole day with Josh Homme and Julian watching her talk mesmerized. Their fingers were interlocked and Alex had had to watch Julian play with Ella's fingers as he listened to her.

Just as Alex was contemplating fishing his pockets for a third smoke, ruckus broke out behind him and he recognized it instantly. He could breathe now that Breana and Matt had arrived, and when Alex fully turned, he saw Jamie and Nick exiting the cab as well.

Everyone greeted each other and once that was done, Ella walked ahead of the group into Craig's. She'd chosen the place not only because it was gorgeous and the food was delicious but because loads of famous people tended to go there so they truly wouldn't be bothered if anyone recognized them.

It wasn't long before they were seated and, to Ella's incredible fortune, she ended up seated in the middle of Alex and Julian.

Before they ordered any food, they were asked for their drinks to which they'd all agreed on a nice bottle of cabernet. Their waiter had uncorked the bottle effortlessly and served everyone a perfect amount to start with.

Chatter rolled easily as they drank more wine, their orders then taken and underway in the fancy kitchen of the place.

Their flight was taking off at noon, meaning they had to be at LAX at around nine in the morning. The band was promising to be the most sober ones just to make their next morning easy for themselves.

When their plates got to their table, they all dove in. The variety of dishes was astounding and it impressed them even more how regardless of how different each one was, they all were remarkably delicious.

Alex watched through the corner of his eye as Julian gathered a forkful of his salmon dish to feed Ella.

"Babe, you gotta try this." He'd said after a blissful hum he let out when he got the first bite of it. His hand a few inches under the fork to avoid spilling anything.

Ella was quick to open her mouth to accept the food and once it reached her tongue, she let her red lips wrap around the fork. Julian pulled back the piece of silverware as he stared attentively at her reaction and when her eyes closed in delight at the taste, he smiled bright.

She waited until she was finished with her bite to speak, "That's really fucking good."

Alex wanted to roll his eyes, how was it that even surrounded by other four people he still felt like a third wheel. His fork screeched as he gathered his rigatoni alla vodka.

Conversations continued as everyone slowly worked through their food, not really minding it going cold because they were all just basking in each other's presence.

"Helders, you're giving me my best friend back, finally. Thank you very much." Ella teased as she remembered that Breana was planning on staying in LA the whole time they'd be gone.

The drummer sighed, squeezing his girlfriend's hand under the table. "Yeah, not really my choice to be honest. She'd always be by my side if it was for me."

"Awh look at you, maybe you are romantic after all." The PA cooed, a little pout on her face at the sight of them.

Matt let out a small giggle, "Of course I am, idiot."

"Well it's hard to picture with the stories I hear." Ella trailed off, making Jamie and Nick look at her curiously.

Matt smirked, "Like what you're told?"

"Pretty vanilla to me, honestly." She played, making Matt laugh a little too loud.

"Okay, kinky bastard." The teasing made Ella sit straighter as she flushed, Julian smiled proudly next to her. Alex just wanted to disappear, he would beg to hear anything else but what she got up to with Julian in the bedroom.

To Alex's relief, she wasn't in the mood to share any stories. "Guess your hand is gonna have to do for the next few months." The faux pity in her voice was so heavy it had Matt glaring at her.

"It will, and those scans you're meant to send me." He made sure to remind her as she'd promised him and he had really liked those previews she'd shown him on her phone.

Nick sighed, exasperated at the turn the conversation had taken. He really didn't want to think about his mate wanking to pictures of his girlfriend while he was eating the best scallops he'd ever had. "Can yous fucking stop? I'm trying to eat."

Ella laughed, "So very sorry, Nick."

The bassist huffed in exaggerated annoyance, "You better be."

Once everyone finished their food, the waiter had been fast to pick the plates up and ask if they fancied anything else. Soon enough, a new bottle of wine was on its way and, just as fast as it had arrived, they were finishing it.

They each had been drinking more red then than at the start of the night so the bottle didn't last more than twenty minutes.

Ella hummed then, seeing as most of their glasses were empty—Alex being the only one to have a sip of it left. "Anyone fancy a bottle of champers?" Her question was thrown in the air and they all slowly agreed.

She turned to Julian, mumbling something that only Alex got to properly hear. "Don't have any rings on me though..."

Alex's right hand reached over for his wine glass and just as his fingers rounded it, he heard Julian say something to him.

"That ring's sick man, mind if I have a look at it?"

Alex was confused but he nodded nonetheless, putting his glass back on the table to take the ring off and hand it to the videographer. He only took a look at it for a quick two seconds before he put it on his own pinky finger.

"Looks great doesn't it?" He lifted his hand up to show Ella and she nodded. Alex frowned, what the fuck is he doing putting my ring on?

Julian made him snap back to reality when he took it off and mumbled a quick, "Would look better on you though." And before Alex could even have time to process that, he got up and walked around his chair to kneel in front of Ella.

The singer's eyes almost popped out of his head and Breana's gasp was loud enough to grab the attention of not only their whole table but the ones around them. Suddenly, the restaurant started to quiet down as everyone's attention turned to the dirty blonde down on one knee in front of his girlfriend.

"Ella, honey, you are by far the sweetest most wonderful thing that has happened to me." His voice was so sweet as it reached her ears and she knew it was only the start but she was already swooning. "I wish time had been kinder to me and let me meet you before but the fact that you even are in my life now is enough to feel like life didn't cheat me. You take my breath away with everything you do, everything you say and everything you are. My heart bursts at its seams just by thinking of you and every time I get to see you." Her heart definitely felt like it was failing her from how much she loved the man kneeling in front of her.

"You are my perfect accomplice, I cannot imagine doing life with anybody else. Every night, I wish upon every star I'm able to see in this polluted city that I'll be able to be yours forever. And I can only hope I'm lucky enough to have you feel the same, to know that you want me to be yours until the end of times." A small sob escaped her, tears pooling in her eyes threatening to spill at any moment. "And I think about asking you to marry me every night when we go to sleep and I see that sweet little pout next to me, the way you cling to me is a feeling I don't ever wanna lose. I don't ever wanna lose you." The tears were falling, wetting her lips which were stuck in a beaming smile. "I want to witness you and what you become, worship every single bit of you and all you do. In this life and the next, if you'll have me. Ella, my love, would you marry me?" He finally asked and the giggles escaped her as more tears ran down her cheeks.

"Yes!" She exclaimed breathlessly, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes." She chanted as she cupped his face. Julian kissed the inside of her palm and then grabbed her left hand to put the ring on. It fit perfectly. Once it was on, they sealed the moment with a long kiss, Ella holding Julian's face with both her hands like she was afraid he'd disappear if she didn't have her hold on him.

Alex was so fucking confused, he felt like he was gonna puke everything he'd had that night. He felt himself sweating cold, and he was sure he was as pale as a white sheet of paper. Everyone around them was hollering, Nick and Jamie wolf whistling as Breana cried while she clapped and Matt had the brightest smile.

Their table neighbors cooed and clapped as Julian rose to sit back down, his lips red from Ella's lipstick. Alex looked around in shock but the only one who caught him was Matt, his smile faltered slightly at the sight of his friend but then he chuckled. The whole thing had fucked him over.

Soon their waiter came back, but with a bucket filled with ice homing a massive bottle of Champagne. Champagne flutes being carried by a waitress right behind him.

The young man smiled at the couple who'd just stolen the show and set the bottle in the middle of the table. "We're beyond happy to have witnessed this new step in your beautiful relationship so we wanted to give you this to celebrate." The lady behind him set the seven tall glasses on the table before they both proceeded to serve the beverage. "The chef wanted to congratulate you as well with some lovely dessert which I'll be bringing out in just a moment."

Ella cooed, her hand on her chest. "Thank you so much! You are all so sweet."

The pair nodded with a smile before they left and once everyone in the restaurant settled back again, Ella and Julian shared another quick kiss. She wiped on his bottom lip when she broke the kiss, leaning back slightly with the brightest smile on her face.

Alex was still malfunctioning so Matt took it upon himself to get an explanation out of the couple.

"So, what was that?" His question seemed amused, not really believing in the veracity of the proposal as they had literally used Alex's 'death ramps' ring. That detail only made him want to laugh harder.

Ella shrugged, whispering her answer. "Well y'all did say you wanted some champagne so mission accomplished."

Jamie cackled, "You cheeky bitch."

"That's me." Ella replied, winking at him. But then she sighed, absolutely elated. "We have done this many times before, must've gotten engaged at least half a dozen times in loads of places around the country but, oh my god, he went off with this one." She turned to Julian and scrunched up her nose to him. "I fucking adore you."

Alex's confusion then turned into anger. What the fuck? All he could think was how easy it was for them to make up such a deceiving situation but the thing that had him seething was the fact that they had just decided to do that with his ring. What the fuck are they on about? He kept asking himself over and over.

Julian stole a few pecks from her, tinting his lips redder than they already were. "Adore you even more."

Alex was about to lose it, he could only think about going for a smoke or two but he'd have to wait it out a little longer or he'd be way too obvious.

The champagne was heavenly, the bubbles running down their throats perfectly. They resumed their conversation like nothing had happened but then some nosey people started coming over to the table as they made their ways to leave the restaurant. Most of them were sweet, telling them 'congratulations' before they told them some cringe joke about the honeymoon and they'd leave with a wink; but the young couple that had just approached their table had asked to see the ring.

Ella had tried not to laugh, covering it up with a cough. She showed off her left hand, the 'death ramps' ring snuggled around her slender finger and matching perfectly with her red nails.

The unknown girl had frowned, confused at the ring choice and Ella giggled. "That's his most special ring. A family thing really, so it's very special he's proposed with it."

The strangers only nodded with a forced smile that had everyone at the table biting their tongues not to laugh—everyone except for Alex, who was growing angrier, because apparently it was Julian's family ring now.

He had to hold back a scoff, choosing to just down the champagne he had left and excuse himself to go to the bathroom.

No one really noticed the haste in which he left the table except for Matt, who followed his path with an attentive gaze. Everyone else at the table was too busy listening to the bullshit details of Ella's very much fake upcoming wedding.

"Bright pink flowers and a purple dress? You are insane." Nick shook his head at the deranged shit she was saying.

"Wait until you hear about our rainbow triple layer wedding cake." Ella added and the thought of it made everyone laugh harder. She only hoped no one was eavesdropping and taking what she was saying seriously because then they'd think she was insane.

Alex threw cold water on his face to get him to calm down. It was fake, they're not engaged, they did not get engaged with your ring. You have a stunning girlfriend that you love very much, you told her you loved her only two days ago. Ella is happy with someone else, you're just friends—that's all you'll ever be. He kept telling himself all that like he was a religious man reciting his favorite holy book verses.

Once Alex got back to the table, he found everyone taking bites of a big apple crumble with vanilla ice cream on top.

Ella waved him over excitedly, "Al, come here! You need to try this."

His ring on her finger flashed under the lights in the restaurant. How he wished he'd been the one to give it to her.

He sat down on his seat on her right side, and instantly was surprised by Ella feeding him a spoonful of dessert. He didn't know what he was expecting but she didn't take the spoon away for him, making Alex have to do the rest for himself. He set the utensil on top of his cloth napkin that was still on the table where he'd left it before running off.

He nodded, relishing in the sweetness of the dish. His brain took him back to the day they shared funnel cakes at Belmont Park and he smiled fondly. He remembered the excited smile on her face as she waited for his reaction to the food and he couldn't help but compare it to how she was looking at him at the moment.

"S'really good." Alex agreed and she nodded back.

"Right?!" She turned back to grab another bite with her own spoon, "You're very welcome guys, I will be expecting an award later."

Jamie smirked then, taking the opportunity to tease Ella. "We'll leave it to Julian to give you your prize, Ellie."

Her breath hitched making her cough and Julian laughed beside her, he brought a hand to her back to rub it soothingly whilst she kept coughing with a hand over her mouth. Alex wanted to die right there, why were his friends like that?

"Oh she will. Whatever she wants tonight, she gets it." Julian agreed, "Shall we try that leather thing you ordered the other day?" He suggested, making Ella's eyes widen. Next to her, Alex was staring at his lap with the same expression.

She pinched Julian's waist, "Fucks sake, shut up!" She shouted in a whisper, the last thing she needed was the lads finding out how she was in bed when she knew they'd just tease her endlessly about it.

Matt was quick to try and pry for more information, "Oh Julian, do tell us what that leather thing is."

Alex wanted to interfere before anything else was said, Please do not tell us, Julian.

He opened his mouth to start explaining but Ella's hand flew over his mouth to avoid anyone getting an explanation.

"Yeah, you're not getting anything from him," she started with a threatening voice, her eyes swimming around the table and then she turned to her boyfriend to finish her ultimatum, "If he wants to use it tonight."

Julian nodded obediently but licked the palm of her hand that was still covering his mouth just to get on her nerves. Ella scoffed and then used her napkin to clean her hand, Alex stole a glance at her and she looked so happy regardless of the teasing that it made him want to leave already.

Breana smirked at her best friend who was sitting right in front of her, "You're really hot Ellie, has anyone told you that?" Ella smirked back at her, if there was anyone who was her loyal cheerleader, it was Bre.

"Only you all the time, my love." She blew the model a kiss which she reciprocated.

Matt hugged Breana by the waist, bringing her to his side possessively and pointed a finger at Julian. "Oi, get your girlfriend to stop flirting with mine."

Everyone started laughing, the giggles filling the air around their table. Ella winked at Breana and then turned to Matt to bother him a bit more.

"You just know I could steal her from you easily."

Matt scoffed but when Breana agreed with a "She could." He rolled his eyes.

It was his turn to mortify Ella, "Can we get another round of applause for the soon-to-be married?" The drummer asked loudly to the rest of the restaurant and when the place erupted in claps and cheers, Ella hid in Julian's neck.

Her and Julian had to look around mouthing 'thank you's to the people around them. Minutes passed and when finally no one had their eyes on them, she glared at Matt. "You're a fucking menace, let's just get the check already."

Ten minutes later, they had paid and were outside waiting for their taxis. The head chef had gone out to personally congratulate Julian and Ella and she had started to feel bad for deceiving everyone at the restaurant like that. The champagne and dessert had been worth it though, but the guilt set in when before they left, one of the waitresses gave her a lovely bouquet of roses.

Once outside, Ella had felt like she could breathe again. She took one rose out of the arrangement she was holding in her right hand and gave it to Breana. She thanked her with a loud kiss on her cheek which made Matt get in the middle of them to keep Ella away from her, as he'd said.

The lads were all leaving in the same cab back to the hotel, meaning Bre would share the taxi with Julian and Ella.

"Are you staying over?" Julian asked his girlfriend's best friend, knowing he was gonna stay at Ella's.

Breana let out a sarcastic laugh, ""Yeah, absolutely not. I'd like to get a good night's sleep, thank you very much."

Ella rolled her eyes, "We're not that loud."

Bre disagreed instantly, "Yes you are. Don't even try to fight me on this one unless you want me to record a voice note of it next time as proof."

Alex was grateful he'd decided to light up a cigarette the second they stepped outside, he was lost in the nicotine filling his system and texting Arielle to avoid listening further into the conversation his friends were having.

He could hear the commotion behind him after Ella had finally whispered to Breana in her ear what it was that she'd ordered. Alex ignored the gasp the model let out, and how loud Matt had gotten as he was trying to find out too, to read whatever Arielle was saying about the video she was shooting.

Soon enough the cab that was taking the guys arrived and they all started hugging around. Bre wouldn't let go of Matt as Ella walked around hugging everyone goodbye. The PA was feeling weirdly nostalgic even if she knew they'd be back in LA in no time.

Jamie and Nick both squished her in a hug, she was gonna miss them so much. "Gonna wish on every star the months go by fast, I'm gonna miss you so much." They reciprocated her words, promising they'd be back as soon as the holidays were over.

Alex dropped his cigarette on the floor and stepped on it before opening his arms to her. They swayed with their holds tight on each other. "Gonna miss you." He said, kissing the top of her head.

"Me too." Ella replied and let go of him. She took his ring off her finger and gave it back to him, "Sorry for stealing it for so long, hope you enjoyed the champagne at least."

He chuckled, putting the ring back on his little finger. "I did, thanks Ellie." What he hadn't enjoyed was the way his heart dropped at the proposal, and the way his brain seemed to hold onto Julian's every word despite every try at forcing himself to think about anything else.

He was going to go insane.

Smiling brightly, "You're welcome," she said lastly before she left to walk towards Matt and Breana. When she got to them, she poked Bre on the ribs. "As much as I hate him, I wanna say goodbye." She joked.

The model left her boyfriend with a loud peck on his lips and proceeded to hug everyone else goodbye, following after Julian who was now saying bye to Nick with a typical bro hug.

Ella hugged Matt, "Don't take too long to come back yeah? She's gonna be insufferable if you're not back the second it turns 2013."

He laughed in her ear, giving her a squeeze before they both let go of each other. "I will, I promise."

They'd had to basically push Matt into the cab after that, because he could not stop kissing Breana goodbye. They could see the exasperated look on the driver's face but Alex promised him they'd give him a big tip for the inconvenience.

Julian, Ella and Breana waved them goodbye as the car left and then they sighed when it went out of their view.

Ella snaked her arm around Bre's waist and she started walking, "Let's go, my love."

Julian followed after them, chuckling. "I love how the second I'm alone with you two, I end up being the third wheel."

Bre giggled, "Get used to it Jules, she was mine first."

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Alex thought being back in the UK would be the cure for it all. Being away from LA, surrounded by his family and friends and walking through the familiar streets around the city of London would whisk away the thought of Ella.

How wrong had he been.

It had been almost two months since they'd left Los Angeles, the month of November just starting, the weather getting colder and colder on the way to the holiday season. But not cold enough for him to endure the actual madness the Halloween week had caused him.

He'd gone to a Halloween party he'd been invited to with his friends and his girlfriend but nothing interesting had happened there, everything that had gone wrong was purely Ella's fault.

Despite Halloween being on a Thursday, Ella had partied from Wednesday to Friday and Alex only knew because she'd posted pictures to her Instagram that had left him gasping for air.

On Wednesday she had posted multiple pictures of a photoshoot she seemed to have done with Breana. They were both dressed as witches only they only had lacey lingerie bodysuits under a black velvet cloak that barely covered them. They had pointy witch hats on their heads in some pictures and their fingers were halfway covered in some kind of black ink that tied it all together.

The pictures looked stunning, there was no denying Ella's amazing photography skills and creativity when it came to setting a perfect shoot, but the one that had fucked with him the most was one where Ella seemed to have Bre's hand around her neck.

In the picture Ella was laying on the grass, surrounded by black candles lit alive and pages that displayed weird imagery. She was staring at the camera whilst Breana's arm seemed to rest between her boobs so her hand came to wrap around Ella's neck—her pointer finger was lifted and pressing on Ella's bottom lip. The red lighting setting the mood even more.

When Alex saw that as he unlocked his phone and scrolled through instagram, he choked on his coffee. The liquid splattered all over the kitchen counter as he struggled to set the mug down before finding a napkin to clean everything up.

It was like something ignited inside of him, something that he'd tried so hard not to let catch a single spark after coming back from California.

He'd spent a good fifteen minutes staring at the pictures, his eyes stuck on Ella, making him wonder why she wasn't in front of the camera more often. She was meant to be the focus of the frames. He could prove it with that singular picture.

His mind obsessed over how much he wanted to take Breana's place in the pictures, especially that one. He wanted to have her underneath him like that, at his mercy with his hand around her throat—completely surrendered to him.

It was Nick's knock on his door that startled him back to reality, he quickly dropped his empty mug in the sink and locked his phone before opening the door and letting the bassist in. He told him he'd go for a quick piss before they left.

When he got to the bathroom he could only think of the pictures, he had to splash his face multiple times to get the thoughts out of his head. Get a fucking grip mate! He told himself as he tapped his cheeks repeatedly. He sighed, he was going to go mad.

Later that day, when he was too many tequila shots in after a football game they'd been watching had finished in a tense round of penalties, Alex found himself unconsciously scrolling through Instagram and looking for Ella's page.

He found a new picture posted: Breana and Ella dressed in the witch costumes and with cocktails in hand. Bre was helping Ella light up her cigarette with her own that was sticking out from between her teeth.

Alex groaned as he scrolled back down to find the picture he couldn't stop thinking about, only the alcohol loosening his senses up enough to feel his dick twitch in his pants the second he laid his eyes on it.

Fucking hell...

The next night, he remembered being in the kitchen making some popcorn for him and Arielle to snack on while watching movies when he stumbled across yet another picture of her halloween celebrations.

It was a mirror picture this time, taken by Breana who seemed to be dressed as the opposite to her best friend—a regular angel, dressed in all white. In comparison, Ella was wearing nothing but a black corset and a garter belt underneath holding up her sheer thigh high stockings, on her back were a pair of black angel wings that completed her costume. Her long black hair fell in waves over her shoulders but not hiding the swell of her breasts that were on full show thanks to the tightness of her corset.

He cursed under his breath feeling incredibly flustered at the sight, the insistent beeping of the microwave was disrupting his efforts to gather himself. He poured the popcorn in a bowl and hastily made his way back to his room. The movie wasn't even fifteen minutes in when he had pounced on his girlfriend in search of some relief, and he was glad to feel her reciprocation. He'd sighed when he had finished, relishing in the dissipation of his pent up frustration.

That only lasted for a day because he was once again drowning in filthy thoughts about Ella. He was tipsy, dressed as a bloody washing machine to match his girlfriend's costume as Florence—it had been his idea to make the pun work as a costume, Florence and the (washing) Machine—, when he'd gone out for a cigarette and scrolled through social media without even being focused on it. He'd just wanted to distract himself from the noise of the party he was in but the picture Ella had posted only ten minutes before shook his ground.

He hated it because Julian was in it dressed as Hugh Hefner, holding Ella's waist tightly and smiling brightly, yet he fucking loved it because she looked stunning. Playboy bunny, of course she had to dress up as one.

Her legs on full show, only covered by sheer black stockings, the bodice she was wearing hugged her curves perfectly, cuffs on her wrist, a tuxedo collar with a bow tie around her neck, and the bunny ears perched on top of her head. But what made him gasp for air was the fluffy tail on her ass, she just looked so fucking irresistible he almost ran to the bathroom to alleviate himself.

He'd left the party relatively early with Arielle, after she just couldn't wait any longer to get home from all the things he was whispering in her ear. He'd been eager to start it all the second they walked through the front door of his flat, hands working as fast as they could because he could feel the thought of Ella chasing him as he got off with Arielle.

It was like she was haunting his every thought.

Not even after their activities had he been able to catch sleep. Arielle was spent, softly snoring beside him but he just couldn't rest. He got up and hid in the bathroom, his phone clutched in his hand to succumb to temptation, to the thought of her.

He had taken a screenshot of the picture, cropping Julian fast before he could do anything else. He'd tried his hardest to stay as quiet as possible as his fist pumped his hard cock, shaky breaths leaving him with each stroke to the sight of Ella in that damn costume.

He thought how he'd not be able to wait much to fuck her in it, he was sure that if he was with her that night he'd have her bent over the kitchen counter the second they got home. His hand print would certainly be marked on her ass by the end of the night and her neck littered with love bites because there was nothing he wanted to do more than to mark that pretty neck up as he pounded into her from behind.

The thought of his hips rocking against hers was more than enough to tip him over the end, imagining he was letting his cum drip all over her ass and her lower back. What a sight that would be.

He felt calmer after that, but as he cleaned up he started to grow restless. What the fuck are you doing? He asked himself, looking at his reflection in the mirror, he was disappointed in himself for having just wanked to a picture of Ella for the second time, but mostly because the satisfaction was stronger than his disappointment. He made sure to delete the screenshot from his phone before he exited the bathroom, the last thing he needed was his girlfriend finding out he was cumming to the thought of somebody else.

He thought then, when Halloween week was over and November claimed its very first week, it would be back to normal for him, as normal as it could be. She had been posting her usual pictures: shots of different parts of the city of Los Angeles, candids of strangers around her, pictures from her usual photoshoots which mostly caught Breana front and center of the camera. His innocent scrolls through Instagram were just that, innocent and appreciating of her talent, but a fateful afternoon in the very middle of the month had him cursing into the air.

She looked drenched, head to toe, but only wearing a two-piece lingerie set that made his eyes roll back into his head. He groaned as he started getting hard in his sweatpants. She had suspenders that clasped on the top of her knickers and those thigh high stockings that looked marvelous on her. Her legs looked longer with the stilettos she had on and the oversized blazer that was hanging off her shoulders somehow made her look hotter. She had him in shambles.

'He says I'm his muse' she'd captioned it and Alex wished he could tell her she was his too. Despite wanting to punch Julian for having Ella, he mentally thanked him for such a stunning picture of her.

That had been the third time he'd made a mess in the bathroom to the thought of her, this time in the shower just like the first time and letting himself make as much noise as he wanted to since he was home alone. He was afraid of letting himself moan Ella's name, wary of the things that would unravel but when it fell from his lips as he came, he'd never felt something sound more right in his life.

He should've really listened to himself back then and stopped himself from moaning her name because by the last month of the year, he'd lost count of how many times he'd come undone while chanting her name. The walls echoing her name back to him every time he needed relief, which was almost every time she posted.

To a picture of her naked silhouette on the beach against the golden light casted by the dying sun. A picture Julian had taken of her naked in bed, the sheets barely covering her body. A picture Breana had taken of her sucking her middle finger staring at the camera, her hollowed cheeks on perfect show. A picture just centered on her tits which were barely covered by the two glasses of vodka cranberry she had, one on each hand and over her nipples.

He had lost count of how many times he had screenshotted and deleted pictures from his phone to not get caught. He found himself looking through her instagram more times than not. It was bad, he was down bad.

It had been Matt who had caught onto him, it only had taken him a few times to catch up onto his pattern.

The first time had been when they had all been over at Alex's to watch an American football match they had been anticipating, that's why it had been so weird to Matt when Alex stood up and left in the middle of a play that was gonna end up in a definite touchdown for the team they were rooting for.

Alex had gotten a notification on his phone, opened Instagram only to find a picture that had made him choke on the sip of beer he'd taken. He tried to put his phone down and watch the game but his eyes were almost glued to the picture Ella had just posted.

It was her in front of the camera with her boyfriend behind her, holding her bare tits for her. His hands covered her breasts from the camera as she glared at it with a threatening stare. Her red lips were enticing with a lit up cigarette hanging from them. 'Bras are overrated'. He was embarrassed of how fast he'd liked the picture, considering unliking it to maintain his reputation intact but it was too late, Ella probably had already gotten the notification about it.

He was quick to just up and leave, hearing the commentator's talk in the background about how that play was decisive for the future of the team in the season on the road to the Superbowl. He couldn't be arsed about the fucking game anymore, not when his jeans grew painfully constricting by the second, the longer that he stared at the picture.

He made sure to close both his bedroom door and his ensuite door, groaning in pleasure as his fingers closed around his cock. He thought about himself holding her that way, the way he would pinch her nipples, play with them, twist them around, knead her tits and mark them up until she was cuming underneath him. His thoughts only focused on how much he'd love to make her lose herself entirely just by him playing with her breasts.

His movements were fast, trying to picture her moaning—just like he always did. 'What a privilege must it be to hear those pretty sounds' that was a thought that permanently stayed in his head and that time it wasn't the exception. He'd want to explore every inch of her skin, see which spot in her neck would have her squirming around and whining for him not to stop.

He could almost hear her begging him to suck harder, to not stop.

"Fuck– Ella–" his words sounded strangled as he came.

Five minutes was the time he'd taken and the time it had taken the game to almost finish. There were only thirty seconds on the clock and it was the last quarter of the game. It was good that his team was winning by seven points or else he'd actually be disappointed to see them leave.

Matt frowned at him, "Where'd you go?"

"Had to use the toilet." The singer replied way too quickly and aggressively.

The drummer knew instantly he was lying, Nick and Jamie noticed too but they were too invested in the game to care. But Matt was nosey so he kept his gaze on his best mate as if that would give him the truth, but it didn't.

Alex ignored him completely, keeping his eyes on the television screen and not once reciprocating the stare. Matt hummed, intrigued. He was sure he'd find out what had happened eventually.

Matt's eyes went back to the end of the game and when it was over they celebrated their team's victory by four points. Alex offered to bring them all new bottles of beer and once he was gone, the drummer pulled out his phone to pass the time.

He had a few notifications piled up, the one about Ella's new picture having been posted only 7 minutes before was there below a few new texts he'd gotten from Breana. He was quick to answer to his girlfriend, not being able to connect the dots about Alex's behavior.

A few days later, when they were all at Nick's, Matt had caught Alex being weird again. Only this time he had a certain idea of what could be happening.

Kelly and Katie had been going on about the wedding planning and how they had found a lovely florist and now they needed to start looking for the bridesmaids dresses and Kelly's wedding dress. Matt had joked about how Nick would be getting a quick day to shop for his tux and then they'd put all of their focus on the stag party.

The sizzle of the wood burning on the fireplace was loud but not enough to overpower their laughter, Alex almost missed the buzzing in his pocket.

He had been talking to his girlfriend, as she was coming back to London to spend the holidays with him and his family. He was nervous but excited, mostly excited—to have her back and see if she could cure his fogged up brain which had been claimed by Ella in the past three months.

Not even their raunchy phone calls would take the multiple images of Ella he had in his head and he was starting to feel bad. He could only hope that being able to have Arielle back beside him would sweep the thoughts away.

She had been texting him her flight information, going on and on about how nervous she was to spend the holidays with Penny and David, to which he had been telling her it would be alright. His parents had always loved having his girlfriends over when it was holiday season, and they both really liked her. It would be alright.

He had expected another 'won't I be bothering you all?' or maybe a 'how many presents should I take?' when he pulled out his phone from his pocket but he'd gotten that notification, the one that was his doom and blessing at the same time.

'Ella Hayes just posted a picture'

He sighed, bringing the brightness down on his phone so no one around him could catch what he was seeing. It wasn't like they could, he was sitting in a chair in the corner of the living room, barely interacting with anyone other than the moments he'd join them all in laughter. They knew he was texting his girlfriend so they weren't asking about it, Matt had already teased the information out of him earlier.

Alex stood up and absentmindedly asked anyone if they wanted a refill, to which only Jamie and Matt asked for another bottle of beer.

He nodded before scurrying away to the hallway that would take him to the kitchen. When he was halfway through it, he opened the app and found himself at a loss of words at the sight.

He set his empty bottle on top of the kitchen island and looked up at the ceiling almost like asking someone up there for help. He rubbed his face with his left hand, knowing what was going to happen. There was not even time for him to double think it, or feel too embarrassed about it because with another look at what she had posted, he was gone down the rabbit hole she sent him to.

It was Ella's car—he could see the mirrorball with the cowboy hat hanging from the rearview mirror—and it had the door open. Ella was seated on the passenger seat, her long legs stretched so that her stiletto-clad feet were resting on the windowsill of the door.

All he could see was her legs, her long tan legs and he was gone. He couldn't not do it.

He didn't even hesitate to exit the kitchen and walk further down the hallway into the guest bathroom.

He cussed under his breath staring at the picture like it could come alive. He could see how the leather skirt she was wearing was barely covering her so the bottom of her ass was on show and pressed over the seat.

Feral. He felt like he was going feral.

He had thought about kissing up her legs, marking them up from her ankles all the way up to her inner thighs. If he thought hard enough, he could hear her panting as he got closer to her heat. He came so fast just thinking about the ways he'd edge her and how good she could sound begging him to help her like she needed to. She'd taste so sweet, he was sure and his mouth found itself dry at the thought of tasting her.

He'd had to bite his lip to not make noise, his insides hurt at the fact that he couldn't call out her name, but he'd rather not be caught. He didn't care if he had taken too long to make his friends wonder what he was doing, he could only think about how good that had felt.

He made sure to check himself so it wasn't obvious, the flush on his cheeks could be given to his drinking so he didn't think much about it.

The people in the living room finally heard the opening of the fridge and the clinking of the bottles as Alex made his way back to them.

"Took you long enough," joked Jamie as he was handed his bottle. "Cheers mate."

Matt was handed his and he couldn't help but interrogate his friend who had a pretty elated look on his face. "Where did you go?"

Alex panicked, shrugging his shoulders. "Erm... Arielle. I was talking to Arielle."

The singer's voice was trying to sound firm but he knew him like the back of his hand. So Matt just nodded, his brows still furrowed in confusion, "Arielle... Right." He knew that face, he had it himself every time after he'd call Breana late at night and she'd dirty talk him into orgasm. Alex had just gotten off. Dirty fucker, thought Matt.

A few minutes went by, when Matt's phone pinged. He unlocked it and cussed, "Jesus fucking Christ."

"What?" Nick asked with a chuckle.

Matt looked flustered and brought his beer bottle to his face for his cheeks to cool down. "Remind me to thank Ella tomorrow. Holy fuck."

Alex tensed, there was no way he was talking like that about Ella's picture surely.

His questions were answered when Kelly asked him further, "Why?"

The drummer stood up and handed her his phone, "She takes the best pictures of Bre, I swear."

Alex let go of the breath he had been holding, Fuck, that was close.

Kelly whistled lowly, "Lucky man, Helders. She's fucking fit."

Matt smiled proudly, "I know, I know."

The phone was passed around and Katie gasped, "When am I meeting Ella? I want my pictures taken like that, fucking hell."

When the phone reached Alex's hand, he nodded agreeing with everyone else. Bre was leaning back on a windowsill, her head thrown back so it wasn't captured on the frame; the room completely dark but the golden hour lighting bathing her body which was covered only by a white lingerie set. "You should go to LA with us next year, Ella takes the best pictures."

The rest of the lads agreed, and Jamie further suggested Katie joining them in LA as Alex handed Matt back his phone.

The singer's peace was interrupted when Matt, a few seconds later, coughed as he'd choked on the mouthful of beer he'd taken.

Everyone asked him if he was okay as he continued to cough, "Fucks sake." He cursed, trying to get oxygen back into his lungs. "I cannot believe it's the Ella we know that keeps posting these pictures."

Kelly had heard loads about Ella so she was intrigued to see, she asked to grab Matt's phone and he handed it to her easily. He looked at Alex, who caught his gaze but averted it quickly—Matt had clearly seen his like on the picture, a picture which had only been posted some minutes before when he was 'talking to Arielle'.

"That's hot," Kelly said quickly, making Nick laugh at her bluntness, "What? She is!" She then turned the phone to show Katie and Jamie, "Are you gonna tell me that's not hot?"

"Fuck yes, it is." Agreed Katie instantly.

Matt encouraged them to look at the rest of her pictures then, remembering she had posted some that had left him wondering if it was really the Ellie he knew. "You should look at some of her other pictures, they are insane considering how shy she used to always be."

And that's how Kelly and Katie had started scrolling through her pictures and marveling over them.

"This is Ella? The one that went to Vegas with yous and Bre?" Had asked Kelly, completely at loss for words.

She remembered how coy she had been when they talked on the phone during that trip, after the boys had found out about her and Nick's engagement.

Matt nodded with a smirk, "Yep, that's her."

Jamie quickly added, "She's gotten with this lad, and now she's just her filthy self in the open. Good for her actually, he's fit, nice lad."

"Oooo," wondered Katie, "Are there pictures of him?"

Matt cackled, "Yeah, he makes a few appearances on her page."

When they found one they gasped, "Fucking hell!" Katie grabbed Jamie's arm for him to see, he didn't have social media so she was sure he hadn't seen any of the pictures.

It was a picture of them on a bike by the beach, she was in a bikini and he was shirtless. They looked incredibly good together, like the protagonists of a movie. Jamie smiled at it, they looked so happy. He was so happy for Ella.

"They look good together, don't they?" the guitarist asked his girlfriend, who was almost drooling.

"They're both fucking fit! Are you joking?" Katie exclaimed.

Alex wanted to leave the room, he didn't want to start thinking about those two together once again. Not when he had just done that to her latest picture a few minutes before.

"Right, Al?" He only managed to hear from Matt.

He had gotten lost in the thought of Ella, again. "Sorry, what?"

"I said that they make a great couple." Matt wanted to push his buttons, just to see if he'd break.

Alex smiled, it was so forced that Katie and Kelly looked at Matt searching for answers about his distaste for them. The drummer only smirked harder and then turned back to stare at his friend, wanting to hear him say it.

"They are. Very good couple." The singer agreed, painfully.

And right then, Matt started narrating the fake proposal to Kelly and Katie. Alex rolled his eyes, letting his head hang, staring at his 'death ramps' ring as Matt's voice filled his ears.

But the moment that had fully confirmed Matt's suspicions was when they were over at Alex's a few days before New Year's Eve.

The lads were all sat in the living room, chatting about how Christmas had been. Everyone was really interrogating Alex about how it had gone for Arielle to spend Christmas over with him and his parents. The conversation had turned after about ten minutes, Jamie and Nick chatting loudly as Matt and Alex were caught up by their phones.

Alex was just distracted, his girlfriend was texting him from time to time as she'd gone out for the day with her friends. Matt was talking to Ella and Breana though, in the groupchat the three of them had.

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:22) I have some scans that I just found and I've decided this will be my Christmas gift for you Matt.

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:24) You know where to send them, Ellie xx

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:25) Please tell me you're not in public, i don't want to get blamed for your indecency.

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:25) I'm at Alex's. send them over x

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:26) He's gonna wank in his guest bathroom, how much do you wanna bet, Ellie?

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:26) Not even gonna bet, he will do it. I'm 100% sure.

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:27) Am I really gonna be kept waiting? You've already talked Miss Hayes, email them.

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:28) Someone's eager...

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:28) Babe I miss you and Ella takes the best pictures of you, of course I am xxxx

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:29) Miss you more, honey. You're gonna love these, everything is red ;) xxxx

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:31) Aw cute. Don't start sexting here please, I will like to not be traumatized x

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:32) Shut up, you're dirtier than me and Bre combined x

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:34) And proud of it! (Just sent them, enjoy idiot xx)

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:34) Matt, don't leave yet, I'm trying to convince Ella to post at least one of the ones I took of her that day.

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:35) What are the options?

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:35) Just sent them to you.

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:37) Ellie, these are fucking amazing. At least post them to brag about Bre's photography skills. You're teaching her well xx

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:37) See!!!! That one where she's doing the strap of her heel is my favorite.

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:38) But it's just been Christmas, maybe I should post something more festive?

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:38) Babe if you don't post it, I will go into your account and do it for you.

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:39) It'll be a christmas gift for people's wank banks. I'm sure julian will greatly appreciate it xx

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:39) Wank banks?! Stop it.

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:39) Yeah your boyfriend's for a start. And I'm sure there's a long list after him.

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:40) Honey, I said convince her not keep her from it.

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:42) Matt you're such an idiot, but okay I will post it only for you Bre. Any excuse to brag about my girl xxxxxx

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:42) Yay! love youuuu xxxxxxx

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:43) And for Julian???? Also stop trying to steal MY girlfriend.

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:43) Hahaha sure for Julian too. And I will never xx

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:45) Okay Matt, you can go enjoy those pictures now xxxxx

Matt - (28/12/2012 09:45) Thanks hot stuff, talk to you later? xxxx

Bre - (28/12/2012 09:45) Definitely ;) xxx

Ellie - (28/12/2012 09:46) Disgusting, bye. Enjoy your wank.

Matt chuckled, he wanted to do nothing more than to leave and enjoy the scans Ella had sent him but he wanted to confirm his suspicions first.

He had joined Jamie and Nick's chat to appear distracted but he truly had all of his attention on Alex.

Five minutes later when both of their phones vibrated to the notification, Matt had to force himself to act as if he hadn't noticed.

Alex had frozen in his seat, his finger clicking on it and he sat up straighter when he opened the picture. He felt like Ella was purposely torturing him. A groan was stuck in his throat when the picture loaded.

Ella was leaning on the wall, wearing a red sheer robe. She was slightly bent down with her leg lifted upwards so she could do the strap of the heels she was wearing. Her hair was covering up her face, so her body was the main focus of the frame. The robe fell open on her legs so her 'Divine Feminine' tattoo was on full show and over it there was a garter band holding a dagger to her thigh.

'Femme fatale, taken by my favorite girl @breanamcdow xxxx'

He was trying to play it cool, Matt would give him that. But he only held up for two minutes before he excused himself saying, "Erm, I'm gonna go phone Arielle." He pointed behind him in the direction of his room as he stood up, he looked absolutely flustered.

The drummer wanted to laugh, and his other two friends noticed. They asked him what was happening, and he just dismissed them saying it was nothing. Internally he was laughing his ass off, Alex was still so fucked up over Ella—he found it comical.

He couldn't even let it go for the time being until Arielle would come back, because she was staying over at her friend's.

He was cursing as he moved around, locking both doors he'd gone through. It was like a routine by then, but it didn't feel like it. Lately, cumming to Ella's pictures felt more rewarding than fucking his girlfriend and it was killing him inside.

The fact that he couldn't even find pleasure in someone else, someone he should be, haunted him.

It was hard to recall ever being this bent out of shape by someone. He had never been this bewitched by a person he hadn't even gotten to properly kiss. He had loved before but whatever he was feeling now burnt.

He was branded by the thought of her.

When he'd come back, fifteen minutes later, Matt was elated. He knew it, he fucking knew it. The look on Alex's face was almost screaming it out loud for everyone to know.

Matt was intrigued, the question of how many times had he done that popping into the forefront of his brain. And if he wanted to know the answer, it was too many times. So many that Alex had lost count, so many that when he fucked his girlfriend saying her name felt utterly wrong—as if every bit of him belonged to Ella instead of Arielle.

He was frustrated to say the least. In not finding any comfort in the person he was supposed to, and he used to find it in Arielle but that was before he had seen Ella again.

She had come back into his life with a curse. He was sure she unknowingly had put him under a spell.

As the days passed, he had forced himself to try. To try really hard.

Try being the key word.

After New Year's day, when he'd woken up to a text from Ella wishing him a lovely new year and telling him she couldn't wait to have them all back, he had almost folded. Almost. And he was relieved by the fact that he could feel he could hold back a little bit longer, if he focused enough on not being affected by her.

But then as the first week of the year came to an end, and they only had a week left to go back to LA, Ella posted something that completely unleashed him.

She had gotten a new tattoo, a hand tattoo. 'Pure Desire' it read in big cursive letters in the middle of the top of her right hand.

The picture was what had made him let out a rough groan from the deepest pit of his chest.

She had her freshly tattooed hand around Julian's neck, her fingers tight around his throat and the tattoo on perfect focus in the middle of the frame.

'What a pretty little necklace'

Alex absolutely lost himself that night.

When Arielle came back, only twenty minutes later, he kissed her passionately. Arielle had moaned into his mouth filled with joy at the pleasant surprise. She'd dropped her bags on the floor and worked quickly on the buttons of his shirt, leaving his chest on show for her when the fabric dropped next to her purse.

They had moved fast to the bedroom, Alex kissing and bruising every bit of her neck and chest after they got on the bed. Arielle brought his face back up to kiss him fiercely before they could go on further, his hands worked on freeing her from her clothes trying his hardest to not interrupt the kiss, which was barely a proper one as their teeth clashed and their mouths hung open to let out their shaky breaths caused by the friction of their hips rocking against each others'.

Alex worked on automatic pilot, quickly undressing himself and putting a condom on. He grabbed his dick and teased her entrance, Arielle clung to his shoulders with her nails digging on his back while she moaned into his ear. He cursed, as he wasn't able to hold back any longer.

He filled her up completely in one swift motion, Arielle's head thrown back in pleasure as he bottomed out. He used to love seeing her falling apart under him from the very first moment he slid inside of her but now the view wasn't doing much for him. His brain kept asking for one person, one who was an ocean away.

He felt so disappointed that he gave into his thoughts so easily, letting his brain become clouded by the fantasy of it being Ella in his bed. He swore he opened his eyes back up and it was her. Ella, under him, cupping his jaw and begging him to go faster.

And who was he to deny her of anything?

Alex picked up the pace, grabbing one of Ella's thighs to lift her leg over his shoulder, and he felt himself grow harder inside her when a loud whine came out of her mouth.

She sounded so sweet, just like she always had. He left a trail of open mouth kisses from her chin down to the valley of her breasts, he used his tongue to tease her nipples. Sucking bruises around them, softly biting them to make her moan louder.

Ella lifted her hand to his mouth and made him suck her fingers, his saliva slowly dripping down her digits which were then quickly pressed to her clit. She started rubbing it in soft motions but when he brought his own hand up to make her rub harder on it, she started feeling herself nearing over the edge of her orgasm.

He felt her clenching harder as his pace sped up and to the sound of their skin slapping, their curses, their moans, joined the thud of the headboard hitting the wall. He groaned into her ear as he felt himself being milked by the tightness of her walls.

It only took his "Cum for me, darling." for Ella to give into the heavy pleasure and come undone. Her fingers tangled in his hair as her back arched and she trembled under him in a powerful orgasm, he felt himself spilling into the condom—his thrusts faltered and lost rhythm as he came.

He cursed into her ear, "Fucking hell," groaning as he rode out their orgasms. He sighed completely overcome in pleasure, "Ell–," he started but as he opened his eyes and saw Arielle looking completely blissed out under him, he felt himself wanting to be sick. "Arielle," he was quick to change and she giggled.

She fucking giggled under him, way too distracted by the euphoria of her orgasm to even catch his mortified expression.

Arielle opened her eyes, holding his face and pressing multiple kisses to his lips. "I love you," she said, and he felt his heart dropping. He only hummed and stood up.

He didn't feel anything at all when he pulled out of her. Not when he went to the bathroom and discarded the condom. He looked at himself in the mirror and wanted to scream. He could not do this to Arielle any longer, she deserved better than whatever the fuck the situation had turned into.

He grabbed a cloth to clean her up, at least he would be nice to her before letting her go. There was no way he could continue the relationship if he knew his heart was set on someone else. He just couldn't.

He let her cuddle into him, as if he wasn't dying inside from disappointment in himself. She was on cloud nine, that had been the best sex they'd had in a while. She'd thought, what a wonderful way to start the new year.

If she had only known.

The next morning he had felt compelled to make some breakfast, he wanted to let her down easy—as if it had been a one night stand and not a relationship that had gone on for seven months.

She was eating the omelet he'd made, sipping on her coffee happily when he'd turned back from the stove, and he'd looked at her with a frown. It was the second time he'd actually looked at her that whole morning.

"Arielle, I, erm–," he started, not even having the correct words to say what he wanted to say, "I don't think this is working anymore."

She had snorted, waiting for the punchline of his joke but when she was met with absolute silence, her eyes jumped back on him. "What?"

"I, erm, I don't think we should be together anymore."

A loud scoff came from her, what the fuck? "I don't get it..."

He frowned even harder, was there another way to interpret what he had just said? There was no way he couldn't have been clearer.

"I don't think we should keep this relationship going." Alex repeated and he felt so heartless, he could see the more he repeated it, the more her heart was taking a hit.

"Stop," Arielle pleaded. "I fucking get what you said, but why?" She sounded so desperate to find sense in what was happening. It all felt like a fever dream.

He had no clue what to say, "It's me." He plainly added, not wanting to use the cringe phrase that worked oh so perfectly well for the situation.

Arielle let out a humorless laugh, "What the fuck was last night then? Did you know you were doing this? You wanted to get one last fuck out of me?" Her words were poisonous, trying to cause him at least half of the hurt he was causing her.

But despite her pushing to get something out of him, the singer could only let his face fall. "No, I didn't. I–" He felt bad for her, it truly was entirely his fault but if he admitted what was truly happening, he knew Arielle could blame Ella and he couldn't have that happen. Not when Ella hadn't done anything wrong. "I'm so sorry, Arielle. I really am."

She groaned frustrated, the fork dropping on the middle of the plate made him wince, just as the screeching of the chair she was sitting on did.

She'd rushed to get dressed, pack all of her shit up and leave his place. She tried her hardest to do it all quickly but to not forget a thing, she didn't want to see him for a while.

When she was done, about an hour later, Alex was nowhere to be seen.

"Coward." The model muttered as she walked through the door.

When Arielle got outside, leaving the building in which he lived that she planned to never see again, she waited for a taxi she'd called. What she hadn't noticed was Alex walking back to his place, a couple blocks away, seeing her there standing under the gloomy sky.

He felt like such a shitty person, even more so when she dropped her case in the boot of the cab and got into the backseat with a haste. He saw her wiping her cheeks before closing the door. The car drove by and he didn't even look at it, he just walked back home with his gaze on the pavement and a cigarette in between his lips.

When Alex made it through his front door again, it felt like something in the air had changed. He felt free for a change, like his heart could leap in his chest without a trace of guilt.

But later that day, when Breana posted a picture of Julian and Ella to her own page, he felt the sharpness of a needle poke his chest. Seeing them happily dancing under the streetlights had his heart twisting with hurt.

The heartache he got from seeing her happy with somebody else was only stronger now that he was alone.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

A/N: Oh Alex... He's such an idiot. I hope you enjoyed, I'm really excited to share all that's coming next! Cannot believe we're already in Part 6 though, time goes by too fast. Thank you so much for reading everyone, I still pinch myself when I see people interacting with my stories and you all saying you enjoy them means the absolute world to me. See you soon for the next one xx

Taglist:  @imagine-that-100​ @red---moon​ @kennedy-brooke​ @faveficz​ @indierockgirrl​ @ladydraculasthings @moonvr​ @unwantedlovergirl​ @eaglestar31 @nikisfwn​ @funniestpersoninnyc​ @andrearroe​ 

#alex turner #alex turner x reader #alex #turner #arctic monkeys #alex turner arctic monkeys #alex turner fanfiction #alex turner fanfic #alex turner fluff #alex turner one shot #alex turner drabble #alex turner blurb #alex turner imagine #alex turner fic #alex turner x you #alex turner x y/n #matt helders #nick omalley #jamie cook

[majesticwren]

this now exist. it's a silly little drabble to put my heart at ease. it had been rattling in my brain ever since WM thanks to @hirunoka and now here we are - it was ofc supposed to come out like weeks ago but I'm a busy bitch lmaooo. I leave and breathe for the shield, always have, always will. they are the reason why I got back into wrestling the first time 10 years ago and why I got back into it again almost 2 years ago now. I will always be grateful to everything they gave me and everything they always meant to me, so I needed to write this. please, enjoy. also, for anyone interested, I wrote this thinking about this song in particular, which to me will always represent the shield shipping party

masterlist

It had been a hot minute since Dean stepped foot in WWE. He was done. He had been done a long time. For more reasons than he could ever explain, the fight got finally taken out of him five years ago and he hanged his boots for good.

Fighting had been his life for so long that he had to learn to exist without it. He had to rewire himself to be mundane and to deal with emotions in healthy ways. And it had been mostly difficult. Hell even. Dean had never felt as out of place as he did in those past five years. Even now, he couldn’t consider himself quite settled.

But it wasn’t enough for him to come back. There were monsters, waiting for him in those fights he craved that he never wanted to meet again. 

He couldn’t say he didn’t miss it. Some things he missed every day. Some people he missed like he would with parts of himself. But, no matter how much the melancholy gnawed on his bones or the old habits whispered in the back of his mind, he was certain he would never come back to WWE.

Until Seth called.

It wasn’t the first time that someone from inside the company tried to get him to come back. Not that Dean spoke with many people from that old life anymore. Only Seth remained a constant in his life. And even though he had desperately tried to push him away multiple times, it always seemed like Dean could never entirely banish him. He wasn’t allowed to forget his past life.

“You need to be there,” Seth’s words still echoed in Dean’s mind, “I don’t care how. Leave that out to me, I’ll get you through. You can kick and cry about it, but you need to be there.”

For once, Dean hadn’t tried to fight him and simply agreed. He didn’t try to compromise or have things go his way. His defeated “Okay,” came as a surprise for him too, but he knew Seth spoke the truth. He needed to be there.

Something was pulling in his chest, a feeling not even he could ignore. It was something old, something almost forgotten, yet real. It tasted sour, like tears and sweat; hard, like heartbreak; but it was also encouraging and soft, like brotherhood. Dean had never been able to find his place in that world again because he had already found it before, and nothing would have ever compared to it. No one stood a chance to understand him, to love him, to deserve his trust, just as much as his brothers did.

And so, even though his biggest fight ever was to keep away from that world that almost ate him alive, Dean was set to be there tonight. For Seth. And, especially, for Roman.

Like never before in his career, Roman stood a good chance to lose everything tonight. His title, his empire, his sanity. And Dean wasn’t about to let him slip away. Both he and Seth knew what was at stake. And, even though they both hadn’t agreed to anything Roman did in the past few years and hardly recognised the man they considered a brother under that mask Roman liked to wear, leaving him alone as his world crumbled was out of the question.

It was needed. Roman had embarked on a dark road and it was time to stop him, but hell if Dean was going to leave him alone.

Now, Dean was watching it happening live in front of his eyes. 

From backstage he could hear the crowd roar in response to everything happening in the ring. He remembered what it felt to hear them chant for him when he was their hero. He remembered how dangerously tempting it was to be on top of their world. But he had never liked the glory. Not truly. Not deep down. He wasn’t born to be a champion. His glory was born from the ashes of the biggest heartbreak of his life. It was still such a dark place he didn’t want to drift away to.

Dean fidgeted, switching his weight from one foot to the other, impatient and nervous. He didn’t feel at ease. He wasn’t supposed to be there. His past and present kept mixing in his thoughts and emotions, rattling his nerves. Even his clothes had started to itch on his skin. 

Especially when Dean saw Seth going out in his S.H.I.E.L.D. attire; so much of their past just flooded through him, cancelling out the past ten years and mixing all his memories. Their first WrestleMania. Seth’s betrayal. Dean clinging for his life to their fight, spilling sweat and blood for it, unable to let go. Roman never left his side. The three of them disagreed but never lost each other completely for all the years to come; it was all there, still burning in his chest.

They exchanged a long look and a silent nod, acknowledging that they both were feeling the same things, as they crossed paths before Seth proceeded to go help Rhodes.

Seth had to do what he had to do. The right thing was to help Cody. Dean had no doubt about it and he wasn’t about to hold a grudge. In this match, in this feud, Cody Rhodes was the better man and he was the only one able to bring an end to Roman’s empire. 

But just because Dean was aware of what was going on and supported Seth’s decision, knowing he would be distraction enough to Roman to give Cody a chance, it didn’t mean that it was any easier to watch Roman fall. 

One. Two. Three. 

Roman Reigns was defeated. His empire was over.

The crowd went wild. The American Nightmare song exploded into the stadium. The Lincoln Financial Field foundations shook.

Dean watched it as it happened but had nothing to celebrate for. If anything, he was ready to mourn, because Roman had just lost everything.

He then waited for what it felt like a lifetime. Seconds mixed with hours, it felt all the same and it didn’t matter, Dean’s heart was still about to explode.

No one was backstage waiting for Roman with him. None of his closest people. No friends. He had no one, but a ghost right out of his past there for him. That was probably the saddest thing of it all.

When Roman emerged from the curtains, he looked like hell. He looked exhausted. He had fought, Dean had no doubt he tried to defend his empire with everything he had in him and he was to be praised for that. He may have been wrong on many things recently, but he was still a gladiator. 

However, it wasn’t how worn out Roman looked that moved Dean enough to take a step forward even before he could think about it. It was the fact that he was crying. Emotions streamed clear down his face, scarring his handsome features and crossing his face with pure pain. His mask was gone. He was only a man, now.

Roman gasped, looking at him in the eye. He was clearly surprised to see him. He was probably the last person Roman would expect to find there. Dean couldn’t blame him. After all, they haven’t spoken in years by now. But he wondered whether or not Roman hoped to find someone else. 

If that was the case, Dean felt his fragile heart already creaking under the pressure. But again, he wasn’t there for himself. If Roman hoped for someone else to be there, then tough shit because he had only him left. And Seth. In the end, it kept coming back to the three of them.

There was a pause as the air stood still between them. 

Roman and Dean only looked at each other for a few moments, studying the men they became in the long time that divided the brothers they once were. 

Dean saw something break inside Roman. It was like it fell right out of Roman’s chest and into his. And he was ready to catch it. He was ready to catch him.

Without anyone needing to speak one word, they both moved, attracted by a silent, invisible magnetism and embraced each other. Dean grabbed solidly on Roman’s big frame as the man let himself go against him, releasing a tired, broken sigh.

“I got you,” Dean whispered, and then said again, louder, over and over as he cradled Roman gently. 

Roman cried into his shoulder. It took him a minute to react, but when he wrapped his arms around Dean, his hold was so strong he was almost squeezing the breath out of his chest. Roman’s fingers clawed on the material of his t-shirt, grasping at him like he was his only lifeline. So, he proceeded to squeeze him more, just to make him feel he was there.

“I got you. You are not alone.”

Later that night Dean and Roman sat on a couple of bleachers on one of the higher rings, from where they had a pretty good view of the empty stadium. It was still completely lit by the powerful white lights, making it look melancholic and uncanny.

Roman was calmer now. He was still defeated, losing took everything out of him. Dean suspected he had cried all his tears out and had nothing else to give, now. He looked heartbroken; his pain still followed like a heavy shadow. He was empty now. Which was a good thing, Dean thought, at least Roman wouldn’t have been consumed by his own anger or gone into self-destruction mode. Not just yet, at least.

They sat quietly, shoulder to shoulder, sharing a pack of non-alcoholic beer as they looked at the stage and the ring being dismantled.

“You know,” Roman started, he had been quiet for so long that suddenly hearing his thunderous voice startled Dean, “for a moment, out there, when I saw Seth, I didn’t know what year it was anymore. I wasn’t sure what had happened and what had been a dream.”

“I know,” Dean nodded, thinking long and hard about his words, “I am afraid all of it happened. Not much was a dream.”

“I am sorry,”

“Don’t be. We all make mistakes.”

“I gave everything to that championship. I fought like hell. I-”

Dean shook his head, willingly interrupting Roman before he’d spiral into his own darkest place. “You did. And you had one of the longest reigns in history. No matter what, you can always be proud of that,”

“It was just so easy to lose, you know?”

“I know,” Dean released a sigh, still remembering so well how hard it was to have it taken away, “That’s how things go though. Championships are meant to be won and to be lost.”

Roman didn’t reply. He just looked in the distance, releasing a tired, sad sigh. 

“Now, we rebuild,” Dean dared, still trying his best to pull Roman away from throwing himself off the edge of some dark thoughts and spiral in his own head.

Roman paused, hanging onto Dean’s words. “Do you want to know something?”

“Tell me,”

“I feel free,” the timid smile that popped on Roman’s lips was a surprise that made Dean release a relieved sigh.

“I bet you do, big boy,” he patted heavily the man’s shoulder and then left his hanging on Roman’s shoulders, “I bet you do.”

“You couldn’t have picked a better place to reach for a motherfucker with a shattered knee,” Seth’s sudden snigger surprised both Dean and Roman. Especially Roman, who froze in his seat and simply glared at him.

Dean ignored Roman and stood up, welcoming Seth with a hug. “How are you feeling?”

“All things considered alright, thanks,” he explained looking down at his now wrapped-up leg. He was leaning on a crutch, underlining how bad his condition really was. Despite the possible pain involved and an injury that would have taken Seth out, he didn’t seem to have any resentment. 

Roman, on the other hand, was still frozen and the more seconds passed, the more Dean thought he could feel him getting lost in his own demons. 

Seth costed him everything, after all. 

Not only he had decided to go out there and fight for Cody, quite literally shielding him from Roman’s wrath. But he did it in the only way he knew would take Roman’s attention off Cody for long enough to grant him the win, using the SHIELD attire wasn’t only theatrics, it was a tactic and it worked. 

“Are the celebrations still going?” Dean wondered quietly. There was a reason why they had decided to come hang out up there and it was to get Roman as far as possible from everyone welcoming Cody. 

Protecting Roman had become Dean’s only priority.

Seth nodded. “People are starting to leave though; we could be in the clear soon.”

“We?” Roman wondered coldly, breaking through their conversation. 

Both Seth and Dean looked back, only to find the big Samoan looking back into the middle of the stadium where the stripped rind still stood. 

“Yes, we.” Seth started, he seemed too tired to pick a fight and yet he was ready to confront Roman, fearlessly raising his chin. “You know why I was fighting with Cody, we talked about this countless of times. But hell, if I’m gonna turn my back on you again.” The three of them all looked like they went through enough shit to just hold a grudge anymore. “If you don’t like it, tough, that’s what you get,”

Dean rolled his eyes, hoping he wouldn’t find himself in the middle of another pointless fight. He wasn’t there to fight, after all. And he had no intention to get stuck in the middle between the two. 

Roman sealed his lips and simply released a sigh, emptying his large chest of any emotion. After a long pause, he finally leaned in and grabbed a can of beer passing it over to Seth. He didn’t look at him, but that was enough of a peace offering.

Both Seth and Dean sat back down, next to Roman and they all just looked down to the ring.

“Thank you, boys.” Roman said after some time, “I appreciate you being here.” He still wasn’t looking at them and fell into another long silence right after, but both Dean and Seth were just as grateful, both welcoming his words with soft smiles and nods. They got into that world together. They fought so many battles together. And now, it was time for the curtain to fall. But they were still together.

#dean ambrose #seth rollins #roman reigns #the shield #the shield wwe

[caffeinewitchcraft]

Hi, big fan. I remember a while back you said something about maybe forming a writing group in February and wanted to know if that was still in development?

Yes it is! Prepare for my rambling lol

Right now I’m formatting the first “season” of sessions. Writing groups require a bigger level of commitment than some might expect and I don’t want anyone to be blindsided by the length!

I’m going back and forth right now between “every week” and “every other week.” I think it will be every week (it just makes more sense for only letting each session be two hours) so that if people need to miss one week they aren’t waiting a full month for feedback.

I do want the group to be accessible to people who haven’t been in a writing group so I’m also working on a primer of sorts to help! The only thing is that I have very strong opinions (emphasis on opinions!) about how these sort of things should go and I am incredibly biased so the primer is getting lengthy

I need to request a specific day off work for it and create a Discord and then a Google application since it will be a limited group.

My goal is to find writers who have a very clear idea of what type of feedback they’re looking for (it can be several different types! I’m just asking for an awareness of what feedback you’re looking for) and a desire to practice/learn new technical skills.

I know that this isn’t what this ask is about, but I hope you don’t mind me hijacking it to answer some general questions?

- This writing group will be free and will launch towards the end of February

- at this point it will only have 8-12 members as it will be my first time running a group

- admittance will not be based on writing ability, only on someone’s ability to commit to 10 sessions and the mindset around receiving feedback

- I am not a teacher and won’t be instructing the group, only guiding it. I’ll share tips that have worked for me (as I hope everyone in group will) but I am not the final authority on what is good writing or what is bad writing

- the group will be 18+ for the first season

- I understand that some times don’t work for everyone and that’s okay! The first season of the writing group will be 10 sessions long at one time and then the next season will be at a completely different time. So there will br more chances that your schedule will line up later this year if the times don’t work for you this season

Those are some general answers at this point! I’ll release more details towards the end of the month and then I expect applications to open by February 1st

Thanks for asking!

#caffeine answers #caffeine chatter #long post #caffeine writing group #writing groups

[dreamsofminnie]

[Luke Pearce x Reader] Series

Ch. 5-10 [Luke]

Previous | Masterlist | Next

—His Escape | Word Count: 2,590

—March 16th, 12:23 AM

[[Recent message: I can’t help but peek into your room to see if you came back secretly.]]

Unbeknownst, the 100th sigh has now erupted from your lips as you fiddled with your lunch half eaten.

Peanut perched beside your plate occasionally pecking the dried figs you set for him.

“Peanut, you must miss your dad right? I miss Luke very much too.” Your pointer finger strokes the birb somberly as he peeps quietly.

“How many days has it been since he was gone? hmn, 4 days.” Laying your arms and head across the marble countertop your phone opened up to Luke’s one sided conversation.

Groaning you release your phone and bury your head between your outstretched arms.

“What to dooo, Fridays were our game and movie nights… ughhh! Luke you jerk! Maing me wait for you to come back like some military wife!! Give you a good scolding when you get back!”

Straightening your body and your resolve, you reach your finger out for Peanut to perch on and head upstairs.

“Apologizes Lukey, but I’m rummaging through your stuff.” Throwing his door open you find his usual messy desks and bookshelves that line the wall. His bed look haggard like he has been living here, in which, he really hasn't.

“Haizz, as always. Super messy Luke” Your sigh was so fond, one might’ve mistaken you as a wife whose waiting for their husband on an abroad trip across the world.

—March 16, 12:27 AM

[[Sent: Do you mind if i clean up a bit]]

[[Sent: I wont touch your important papers]]

Stuffing your phone in the back pocket, you roll up your sleeves to get to work. “Luke admires Sherlock Holmes to such an extent that he even matches Sherlock’s messy workplace.” Despite the grin on your face, the heavy document lifting will be a huge workout.

“If only you had arms to help me Peanut.” He tilted his head at your call while staying out of your way on the far window sill, his favorite sunbathing spot.

Piles upon piles were stacked against a corner you cleaned beforehand. Moved out of the path so access to other areas was easily accessible. Many of the papers were covered, with a label tag—simple to comprehend for the correct file in any case.

They stood tall so thickly that they rivaled your throat width solely in how many pages they contained.

How Luke actually managed to write up and read that is beyond you. The real hassle in detective work is the paperwork that research brings.

Even just a smidge, do you understand all of Luke’s sleepless nights you have caught him with his room light still shining bright. You had scolded him once while he apologized profusely. You were pretty sure he still managed to find a loophole and kept up with his late-night work hours. And you couldn’t say anything then, since you were studying up till sunrise.

One unfortunate chance was when Luke and you thought of sneaking into the kitchen for a quick snack and perhaps some caffeinated tea. Catching each other on tip-toes in pajamas, you making tea, and Luke getting snacks, was a fun core memory. Both of you ended up sitting in the living room working side-by-side. Till one of you would fall asleep on the other then eventually night passes then you and Luke wake up snuggled close.

Warmth had spread to you from cherished memories of a family you held dear. Wherever Luke may be, you just hoped he comes back in one piece, breathing and smiling bright.

Papers all stacked and on the side,you get to sweeping some of the discarded trash. Crumpled papers that— if unraveled, were rushed thought processes of a detective onto an exciting new lead.

His favorite juice boxes littered around his small trash can, as if his aim was terrible and he missed the trash with every new juice box.

Leftover craft materials were present only beside his bedside, which seemed like wood shavings, a dull carving knife, and cut-out paper. It seems you needed a vacuum for all those.

Floor now all clean and vacuumed, you reach Luke’s desk and bookshelf behind it. Many spaces on the shelves were free so packing the documents away in them was alright to do. You can just sort them for him and label each shelf with the contents. You had done this for Luke once in his other office. It wasn't as messy as his room is now, but Luke really enjoys your neat and tidy file sorting. He’s called it, “Name’s personal file service! Luke only V.I.P service, right?~”

You giggle to yourself as you hear his voice through those words.

Unable to reach the higher shelves, you decided to save those for after every other thing that needed to be cleaned. His desk was just for area mapping, entry and exit routes to suspected buildings. Shifting them in a pile to the side of the table you hesitate if you wanted to peer through his desk cabinets. Personal or not, you would prefer if you had his permission first-hand.

Though i guess you were already invading his chambers without consent.

“I’m so sorry Luke. I will confess all my sins to your punishments when you get back, let me indulge in your personal affairs just this once.”

Shutting your eyes tight, you feel Peanut flap his wings and perch on your shoulder, eyes intently locked on the cabinet handle you were clutching. Opening one eye to watch Peanut you open the first drawer and crouch down to look closer.

The bottom is lined with thin files, scribbled notes, unopened letters, and craft utensils like the carving knife you found earlier. Not at all work-related, you could tell by the decorative ornaments that littered the box. Some were beads, pieces of jewelry, and preserved rose petals. Nothing matched Luke in this cabinet.

These were for you.

Luke has made many of things for gifts in the years spent together, you can recognize his crafts anywhere. And these were meant for you. This cabinet was all of you.

“..maybe I really shouldn’t have.” Peanut seemed to notice your surprise, shame and guilt. He chirped and flew down into the drawer hopping on the beads and letters as if finding something in that stack. “Peanut??! Hey hey, get out of there.”

His chirping grew persistent when spotting something in the far back of the cabinet. Dragging the item out with struggle, Peanut chips for you to help, so you worridly comply. Peanut would only do things on his own accord if, it was benefiting Luke, or, to embarrass Luke. You can’t tell which this is just yet.

Taking the wood block that Peanut dragged out to show you, you gap at the wood block.

It was a carving. A blooming rose so beautifully detailed and outlined down to the thinnest carve marks. A bird just like Peanut was the centerpiece in the rose, it sat at the middle in an angled side view as its wings raised to fly. You could tell it was unfinished because these types of carvings needed a thick coat of paint, and this was not at all painted just yet.

Dragging your hand across the carefully detailed and hard carve marks, you felt marks on the other side of the block when your hand moved. Stunned, you turn it around and freeze even further. Peanut tweeted and sat on your knee awaiting your final reaction. The back of the block was empty besides the small word carving on the bottom corner.

“Congratulations on your Graduation!!” A small sticky note wrote, “I always knew my Watson could push forth through the intense studying to earning your degree!! I’m really proud of you.” A small heart that was drawn in the corner of the sticky note was very light, as if he was hesitant to include it.

A bubble of sad inducing emotions threatened the peace and tranquility in your facade these past days. It prodded in your throat as your mouth was in a trembling frown, tears near slipping.

Peanut could feel the anguish radiating off you and chirped worridly, hopping closer to your face and rubbing his body against your skin. Fingers hardening against the wood, careful not to ruin it, you swallow the despair down and hold yourself.

“Luke…you silly boy….my graduation isn’t till about month from now.. You didn’t have to prepare so hard. Thank me in person if you’re so proud of me. That’s all I want..” The repeated words as if you were in a trance, were on the tip of your tongue but you didn’t dare speak those 3 words ‘I miss you.’

Inhaling deeply and exhaling you sniffle the rest of the sadness away and get up off the floor ready to finish the late-spring cleaning you started.

Peanut who still sat on your shoulder tilted his body at you. Patting his head and cooing at how good Peanut was in revealing Luke’s secrets, you hide the wood carving back in the drawer with your name basically plastered in it.

“Cleaning really helps cure some sadness.” Because a distraction was what you needed.

Getting that stepladder for dusting the bookshelf that you put off before, you reached the top shelf and make your way down. Pushing aside books so every corner was dirt-free, you notice Luke has a lot of thick detective books.

You snicker when you spot one light novel that you lent Luke because you thought he could brush up on modern romance stories. Luke said he lost the book in his bag, turns out that the book actually sat dust-free on his top shelf. ‘If you liked that light novel so much I would have gotten you the whole series Luke!’

Somehow you found that the second level of the bookshelf was dust-free, while even the bottom first shelf was super dusty. Strange. You didn’t find any of the books or locked files to be much interesting so you let that go. It might’ve been the case Luke is pursuing at the moment.

Sadly finished with the whole spring cleaning in Luke’s room, you watch the room as you exit and close the door in front of you slowly. It was high-time you study instead of reminiscing memories in your roommate/childhood friend/best friend’s room.

🔐[TimeSkip]🔍

—April 13

A hefty sigh rumbles through your throat into a groan.

“A new bestie is in order. What kind of person doesn’t even attend their best friend’s graduation ceremony? Peanut! Your father is absurd.” Same as normal, you sat in your room sighing and complaining to the Myna bird.

Peanut could never exactly escape this weekly routine every time your studying was complete and you had time to relax but that time was spent going crazy with the bird.

Though you had a reason to do so. Peanut hasn't been responsive as of these weeks, only when Luke was mentioned he would chirp quietly and stomp around to show aggravation. He has also gotten slimmer, without Luke who indulged Peanut in snacks way too much, Peanut ate only a necessary amount. No matter how much packs of dried figs—his absolute favorite snack—you bought, Peanut would eat four max then just sit on top of the bag.

Holding in another incoming sigh, you got up and stretched your arms above your head. “Come on Peanut, let’s go out today. Fresh air will free our shackles.” Swiftly slipping into your shoes at your front door, you call to the bird.

Peanut flew up and settled on your head, cozying up to your fluffy hair.

You both exit the apartment and out onto the lively streets. The bustling of people and chatter felt so distant. Only when a person is walking around and talking to another do you not notice how odd it is when you lose that company and instead walk alone hearing just the idle chats of random lives.

Perhaps Luke was feeling the same thing at this moment. You wish you could be connected to him like this.

The goal of movement was… unknown at the moment. You didn’t really know where to go when you suggested a walk.

“Parks are normally where people take strolls, right? Aghh…I’m talking as if I’m not normal and trying to BE normal..” I guess talking to yourself—and talking to a pet bird– isn’t very ordinary in the first place.

After arriving at the park and down a path towards the large constructed lake, you found a bench to rest on while Peanut happily ventures somewhere close by.

Sounds of the breeze and paces of people either jogging or walking past calms your mind of the occasional fog it gets on days like this with nothing to do but worry.

A guy riding a bicycle passes by but he doesn’t even leave your line of sight yet before the guy tumbles off the bike. You jolt up and rush over to help him up.

“Are you okay sir?!?? That was quite a tumble.” Holding a hand out as he sheepishly takes it and thanks you.

“Ah yes! Probably just a minor scratch on my knees, thank you for helping. I was in too much of a hurry to deliver these.” He rubs his neck then points towards the folded papers in his bicycle’s basket that have now spilled all over the grass.

“Oh, let me help!” You bent down to gather the papers and your hand freezes.

“I’m really sorry for having you help me twice like this! I’m grateful that you are so nice!!” He rambles on while grabbing the papers and stacking them back in the bicycle’s basket. “...and like–today was really busy so—work’s been piling up on me—...” Your ears couldn’t focus on the words and blocked out what he said. Your heart thumped loudly in your ears instead, the ringing of your mind engulfed your senses.

You were too fixated. On the front page of the newspaper.

“DETECTIVE LUKE PEARCE SOLVES A 15 YEAR ONGOING CASE IN LESS THAN 5 DAYS!”

“...what. What is this news report from.”

The stare you gave the guy was so intense that he falters for a moment. “Uhm, I work at the North Stellis newsletter station. Ah well, as a newspaper boy, so not really AT the news station ahha..” He sweats under the intensity of your shock but a question floated to his head.

“Oh? Do you know Mr. Pearce?! I heard of his work. Think he’s been at North Stellis for a month now.” You bit your lips hiding at the ecstatic smile and feelings that was bubbling up.

“I actually do! Can I take one of these newspapers home? I want to read it closely.” A relieved and joyous expression overcame your form as you held the paper close to your body.

The newspaper guy nodded with a smile, “Of course! Not much of a thanks for helping me, but if you need it then you're welcome to take it.”

“Ah! I need to get going now though. Thank you for helping me!” He hopped on his bike, waved a farewell then peddled away just as Peanut got back from his grandeur adventure.

Perching on your shoulder while you giggled in glee, Peanut chirped—albeit a chirp with much life unlike his usual quiet chirps—questionably

“Peanut! We’re going to see Luke!!!”

Peanut’s bewildered chirp was the last thing you heard before you went prancing home.

Synopsis-> Luke the one who has always been by your side throughout school years. The one who wouldn’t hesitate to run back home to get you something you forgot and really needed. Luke who smiles so-so fondly at you when your smiles pierce through his bad days. The same Luke who thought running away from you would be beneficial for you.

It however, only served to push you out of your way to find him. Seeing your surroundings in an entire different city, you are in search of Luke by tracing his detective trails. His name plastered on the newspaper one day by accident, served you to find him quite quickly. Now by his side, the works of detectives and secret agents left you both to conquer swiftly.

Joining his line of work after thorough debating and arguing, he reluctantly let you invade his dangerous lifestyle. Of course–only with him by your side at all times.

aUgh,, this took awhile to finish🙇‍♀️

Lukey-boy, you will be in for a surprise😌😌

YAH. The next chap will take another decade since we will now officially start this series💀

Tags. @neigesprincess @crucnhice @backintomykpopphaseagain @kazedaka @little-aruma

#astronetwrk #tears of themis #tears of themis imagines #tears of themis x you #tears of themis fanfic #tears of themis luke #tears of themis x reader #tears of themis x y/n #luke pearce x reader #luke pearce #xia yan #tot xia yan #xia yan x reader #tot x reader #tot x you #tot luke #tot x y/n

[potahun]

AU of mysterious lotus casebook where lxy is not poisoned by bicha 👀

!!!!!!!

thanks for this!!!!

one thing about an AU where there is not bicha poisoning is that the outcome of the donghai battle could have been completely different and the changes could have started as early as 10 years ago :O

i wonder if w/o the Bicha acting up, Li Xiangyi would have been so desperate to have Di Feisheng cough up Shan Gudao’s location right there and then? Would he have tried to stop the battle when he realised that something odd was happening at the same time as he was fighting, with the simultaneous ‘bombing’ of the Sigu Sect members and Jingyuan Alliance members? Would he press on and win? Would Di Feisheng LET him stop the battle?

The reason LXY fights DFS is also due to a ruse that frames the Jingyuan Alliance as SGD’s murderer. The reason DFS doesn't clear up that misunderstanding is because he doesn't care about being the Bad Guy, and this is making LXY fight him at full power. He only has to shut up for LXY to come at him! Great!

But if DFS might be okay with losing Jingyuan Alliance members to finish his fight with LXY, I doubt LXY would be fine with Sigu Sect being collateral for this fight. It's not huge, but I think there is a chance that, w/o the poison acting up when it did, LXY might be able to stop the fight and force DFS into a temporary truce. Alternatively, they could also fight to exhaustion without death, and at the very end, when they both wake up on the beach, LXY gains some sanity and thinks "wait a minute. something wasn't right with this fight. there is something I missed".

Either way, for the sake of this AU, let's presume such a truce happened. So here come the five facts of the AU!

1. LI Xiangyi doesn't die. Even when he still loathes himself for the losses the Sigu Sect incurred because of him, he doesn't die. And Di Feisheng is there the entire time to see that he sticks to it.

2. For DFS too, there is a question mark. We know he used the Jingyuan Alliance and power ultimately to achieve more personal goals, and 10 years ago, those goals weren't achieved yet. At that stage, he would not accept the possibility of traitors in his ranks, or members with personal agendas. DFS is also very, very capable of lying and acting to cover up his intentions. I think there is a good chance for DFS and LXY working together semi-covertly in investigations to (i) find what happened with SGD (for LXY) and (ii) clean up the Jingyuan situation (for DFS).

3. There is a huge mess to clean up in terms of violation of the Peace Treaty and a lot of agendas to hide...but with LXY alive, the Sigu Sect still stands. No one, however, understands why LXY suddenly wants to let the Jingyuan Alliance off the hook for now. What about SGD?? There are awkward meetings where DFS is caught in LXY's quarters and everyone is just "??????????" about it. A LOVE AFFAIR? (cue Sigu Sect becoming more and more unstable in terms of internal politics, but also, LXY prefers this if it means he gets to investigate without alerting the enemy)

4. Some years after the Donghai battle, teen Fang Xiaobao starts showing up to Sigu Sect to train and LXY himself receives a ton of hate mail from He Xiaohui and her husband threatening him to tear the sect apart if they accept her son. There is a huge amount of FXB camping in front of the Sigu Sect gates, shenanigans with a younger FXB failing to bribe LXY with candies even though LXY postpones training him simply because he wants to solve the SGD business and other episodes.

5. Fang Xiaobao gets to know Li Xiangyi as Li Xiangyi, but their prolonged contact humanizes him into a Li Lianhua-style of Li Xiangyi. This would be the story exploring how, w/o the bicha poisoning, Li Xiangyi could combine Li Xiangyi and Li Lianhua and whatever comes after Li Lianhua, into himself, and live.

#thanks a lot for this!! this was super fun to think about #di feisheng #li lianhua #li xiangyi #mysterious lotus casebook #fanghua #feihua #fang duobing #replies #redemption-revenge #ask games

[yorukimura]

Little Fighter (Albert Shaw/ The Grabber X Reader) One Shot.

Summary: You had accompanied your best friend to the grocery shop to prepare lunch, however, a violent event will cause you to find that person.

Words: 4484

Warnings: This one shot contains a slight domestic violence, fight, slightly racy scene.

Tag: sweet sex scene, actually sweet little things for the grabber :D

MasterList (๑•ᴗ•๑)♡

I think you might like this: Blue Notes (The Grabber x Reader) є(•⌔•)э

◆══════════●★●═══════════◆

—I really don't understand why you're like this.

2 a.m. and they were both still wandering the dark streets of Denver. Silence sat between the two people, footsteps could be heard perfectly against the hard asphalt of the street they were on.

—What am I supposed to do? I couldn't keep still, they were beating up a kid.

You said timidly towards your companion, not wanting to look at him for fear of an even stronger scolding. Just 10 minutes ago I had taken you out of the police station after having a fierce dispute with a parent.

—I understand that you want to help others, but you can't get into fights every five minutes.

Crossing your arms against your chest, defeated and embarrassed by the situation, you sighed heavily.

—We're talking about a man in his 30s or 40s, and you go and beat the shit out of him.

—I know that, Tristan, but understand me.

You stopped dead in your tracks, your anger building up in your body again at the memory of the situation.

You would never allow domestic abuse in front of your eyes again.

—I know it was wrong of me to get into that fight, let alone hit a man, but I can't bear to see a child being beaten by his parents.

You turned in his direction and looked at him, Tristan, your friend, was looking serious and cold.

—What would have happened if Aneko had been beaten by a man.

—That man was disappearing.

You both laughed at the scenario, Tristan wrapping one of his long, strong arms around your shoulders, pulling you close and starting to walk.

—Are you staying the night?

You thought for a moment, your younger brother wasn't going to be home due to a school camp.

—There's no one waiting for me at home, there's not a single problem with that.

Starting to laugh, you both headed for the house where Aneko, Tristan's wife, was waiting for you.

◆══════════●★●═══════════◆

The next morning.

—¡(y/n)!— A beautiful and pleasant red-haired woman appeared in the hall, showing a pleasant smile to her visitor. Her long hair waved at the movement of her walk. She approached you cheerfully, as she sat down next to you on the sofa.

—Do you have anything to do today?

-No, I don't— you replied, turning your gaze into his deep, attentive green eyes. At your words, he smiled happily.

—Would you like to come with me to the convenience store to buy a few things? I'd like to cook something special for the three of us.

You nodded with a small smile, Aneko returned the gesture, and you both got up from the nice sofa to get dressed and head towards the convenience store.

—I missed you so much.

Aneko started the conversation as you both headed towards the shop.

—Me too, we hadn't seen each other for a long time.

And it was true, it's only been a month since you and your best friends had a chance to see each other, Tristan due to his work at the office and Aneko resting due to an accident at the clothing shop where he worked.

You have known each other for more than 16 years, in fact, you grew up together, went to the same school, high school and later to the same university. And after all these years, you were still best friends.

—It's funny how the years go by, just a couple of years ago we were three teenagers trying not to burn down a school.

Aneko laughed softly, remembering the time when the science room almost exploded because of her husband and her best friend.

—Those were good times, I can't deny it.

Aneko replied, a few seconds of silence between the two of them.

—Did you see your father again?— asked Aneko, a little afraid of her friend's answer, (y/n) she looked at Aneko in surprise, it had been a long time since that topic had been mentioned.

—I don't know, I don't care what that man does.

An awkward silence ensued, both of them, trying not to look each other in the face, continued walking. Aneko started the conversation again.

—What do you think about the wave of kidnappings?

—It's pretty strange, the late 1970s and Denver is being terrorised by a child abductor in the middle of October.

—Aren't you worried about what might happen to your brother?

—He's 17, he can take care of himself, besides, this kidnapper grabs pre-teen boys, according to the paper.

—I find it curious that he kidnaps kids with medium-length hair.

—You're right, if I remember correctly, the latest abductee is a 14 or 15 year old boy called Robin.

—His parents are devastated, the kid was nice enough, but he looked like a fighter, just like you.

You smile as you grab Aneko's arm. —You also taught the little boy a few punches or tricks, didn't you?—, Aneko asks you, you nod energetically. —It was hard times back then, father didn't have the best composure with us, it lowers your morale when a 13 year old punches you in the stomach—. Aneko laughed at the mention of the funniest moment he could find in his mind. —When I feel depressed, my brain repeatedly plays that memory, your brother, you crashing into the tree, it's wonderful—. Aneko smiled at you, you smiled back a pleasant smile at the redhead.

—If we don't hurry, the shop will close—, Aneko nodded and started walking faster, a couple of streets down and you had arrived at a nice and pretty grocery shop.

—Do you mind getting these ingredients? I have to leave the shop for a moment— Aneko said worriedly, —Sure, give me the list— you replied grabbing the list from her hands, Aneko gave a warm smile before leaving the shop.

You started looking for the ingredients on the list, with a small basket in hand, you headed to the first shelf, glimpsing the many different spices. You kept looking, until you stopped when you heard a shout outside. "Aneko?" you thought, it was identical to his voice.

You looked out the window to your left, it had definitely been the scream of your friend, being harassed by a scruffy looking man.

—Wouldn't you like to play a little game with me?— you managed to hear through the hard glass of the tent, your blood started to boil, as the nerves inside you built up and the anger in your head was about to explode. You saw Aneko trying to get away from the boy and failing to do so.

You quickly sprang into action.

You stormed out of the shop, leaving the basket and the ingredients on the floor, and started to head towards the man harassing your friend.

—Aneko, duck— you demanded in a firm voice behind her, the confused boy looked in your direction. When the redhead ducked, your fist had managed to meet the boy's face. —Fucking bitch— he howled as he held his bloody nose. —What the fuck do you think you are to even try to touch her—, the seriousness remained in your voice. —The doll looked needy—, the boy replied, glaring at your friend. Aneko clung to your arm, cowering fearfully behind you, and with that sentence, your patience ran out.

◆══════════●★●═══════════◆

Tristan entered, exhausted, in the comfort of his own home, not a sound to be heard, a quietness that rarely occurred with his noisy wife at home. He smiled patiently as he set his jacket and mate in front of the coat rack. He made his way to the living room, on the table he saw a mysterious piece of paper. He frowned as he grabbed and read the paper carefully, "We went to buy some things for lunch, we'll be back in a few moments <3" he read, he recognised his beloved wife's handwriting. He pocketed the paper and headed for the kitchen. He sat down in one of the chairs as he pulled out a newspaper to read.

Minutes later, the unexpected happened.

The kitchen phone rang.

The black-haired man looked up from his newspaper, who was calling at this hour? He got up from his comfortable chair to walk lazily to the phone and answered it.

—May I ask who it is?

—Tristan, darling— he heard his beloved wife's nervous voice through the phone. 

—Anekora, is everything alright?—asked Tristan, extremely worried, something was wrong and he could feel it.

—It's not good at all, it's (y/n), it's hard to explain.

—Where are you?—Instead of asking, Tristan demanded.

 —We're at the grocery shop, the one next to the hardware store.

Tristan frowned as he heard a couple of shouts from the other line.

—Come quickly, please, my love.

—Tristan? Darling?

Aneko's voice could be heard through the dangling telephone on the wall in the kitchen. Tristan hurried down the street, leaving his keys behind, dropping everything to get to the place. He didn't care about anything right now.

◆══════════●★●═══════════◆

Blow after blow, your knuckles were deteriorating as they got stronger and stronger. —(y/n)! Please! Stop it, you'll kill him!— You heard Aneko scream, and a small crowd of teenagers came to watch the scene.

—You bastard.

Punch.

—You bastard.

Punch.

—You bastard!

You were surprised to feel strong, muscular arms grabbing your waist. Pulling your small body away from the boy you were hitting, firmly gripping your waist.

—Who are you?! Let go of me!

You squirmed in the man's arms, before digging your elbow into his stomach to get away from him. He let go, clutching his stomach on impact, leaving you free to continue punching the boy underneath you.

—(y/n)!—You heard Tristan's voice calling out to you, felt his hands grab you, and managed to stop you. The boy lay dying on the ground, trying to breathe and process the information of the situation.

—(y/n) (y/l/n) what the hell are you thinking getting into this kind of situation like this—, Tristan scolded you, grabbing your men, you looked down, unwilling to face your friend's fury.

A middle-aged woman approached, apparently the owner of the shop. —Excuse me, sorry to butt in, but the girls were just defending themselves against harassment, it's not the girl's fault —.Tristan let go of (y/n), they both stood up, Tristan went over to the shop assistant to further inform himself of what had happened.

Meanwhile, Aneko nervously turned to the man who had tried to stop her friend's attack.

—Sir, are you alright?—asked Aneko, embarrassed. The man tried to pull himself together, (y/n) looked at him, watching his hand run through his long blonde locks. —Yes, don't worry, miss, it was a pretty hard blow— he replied.

Aneko kept apologizing repeatedly, as (y/n) kept watching him, your gaze traced his wonderful arms, through his work shirt you could see a toned muscle, your eyes went upwards, no doubt he was taller than you, glimpsing a sharp jaw. In the end, you ended up looking directly into his blue eyes. The man noticed your steady gaze, looked in your direction, and you shyly moved closer to Aneko, not taking your eyes off him.

—I owe you an apology— you managed to speak with difficulty, Aneko turned in your direction, somewhat surprised at your apology. A hand rested on your right arm, it was Tristan who this time had approached the small group of three that had formed. —That's right, and a big thank you, without you that madwoman—he looked minutely in your direction, and you felt the back of your neck burn under Tristan's gaze. —She would have ended up killing someone—, Tristan finished the sentence, and he extended his free arm in a handshake, firmly, the sturdy stranger returned the friendly greeting.

—Wow, that's a lot of apologies in one day— he joked, letting out a small laugh. Tristan and Aneko returned the joke, but you decided to keep quiet.

—I hope you're not hurt, and I apologise for the great inconvenience we've caused you—,Tristan apologised for the last time. Aneko animatedly pulled a small card from her purse and held it out to the man, the card contained a phone number and Aneko's home address. 

—Feel free to stop by and say hello if you live nearby. I would be very grateful if you would accept my proposal to come to our house for dinner. It's a thank you for controlling a fierce woman—.This time, it was Aneko who joked, the gentleman let out a slight smile.

—I have to go, but it's been a pleasure to help— he said goodbye, Aneko and Tristan said goodbye in return and turned and headed for home.

You, however, were still standing there, staring at the man in front of you at that moment. —I never thought such a frail body could strike like that—the deep voice brought you out of your thoughts, you looked at him again carefully, smiled slightly at him. —Thank you for helping, Sir— you realised, he hadn't even said his name or introduced himself, a blush appeared on your cheeks. —Shaw, Al Shaw— Al replied.

—Thank you, Mr. Shaw for helping me— saying goodbye, you turned around trying to catch up with your friends in the opposite direction.

◆══════════●★●═══════════◆

Days after...

—You've been acting weird for days, something's going on in that head of yours—. Aneko put your plate on the table, you had returned from work just in time for lunch, and found Aneko inside your house preparing lunch. —I wonder how the hell you got into my house again—, Aneko laughed lightly at your verdict.

—You always leave the copy key under the third potted plant on the left—,  she turned around to continue preparing another dish.

—This is breaking and entering, and you know it— you huffed exhaustedly. Aneko nodded cheerfully.

 —Tell me the truth—, demanded Aneko, thus beginning the curious conversation.

—What truth am I supposed to tell?— you asked, slightly apprehensive.

—You've been very absent-minded for a couple of days, it's as if your mind decided to go somewhere else—,she paused slightly, —or maybe... On someone else—.

And Aneko was right. For days, from the moment you met Al, you hadn't stopped thinking about him, something made you curious, his mysterious countenance, his large body size, or even his deep blue eyes, looking straight into your soul. And that, no doubt, Aneko could read him.

—It's the man from the other day—said Aneko, it didn't really sound like a question.

—I think yes, there's something about it... It doesn't add up.

—The one that definitely doesn't add up is you— Aneko turned around, somewhat indignant at the situation, whipped the damp cloth lightly against you, instilling a sense of annoyance.

—This is your chance. Think about it, your brother will have to go to university in a few months and you'll be alone at home, it's been years since you've been with someone.

—Try to give him a chance, I've seen the way he looks at you, you're definitely his interest.

—How can you be so sure of that? Maybe he's married or has children... Or something like that.

-—Because he told me so—answered Aneko, you were stunned by his answer.

—Do you want to know or would you rather have flies coming in through your mouth—Aneko raised his hand to gently close his jaw, as he sat down in the chair next to you, with his own plate. You nodded energetically.

—Well, then…

◆══════════●★●═══════════◆

Two days ago...

Aneko had decided that day to go to the grocery shop again.

While she was looking for the ingredients, she bumped into the body of another person, turning around, she saw a man with a top hat, a white face and a pair of dark glasses. Aneko quickly realised who it was.

—How nice! You're the man who helped us—Aneko greeted the man warmly. Albert was surprised, it was very unlikely that he would recognise him from the way he looked. Very nervous, he replied, —Well, what a nice surprise to meet you—.  

—I see that this time she's not accompanied by her friend—mentioned Albert, Aneko proposed to help him with the shopping, and although he refused, he couldn't with Aneko's insistent fierceness.

—She'll be on her afternoon shift right now, are you curious about her?

—I just wanted to know if she was all right—Aneko glanced sideways at her current companion. —Are you married or do you have children?—The woman changed the topic of conversation drastically, puzzling the man, who, very surprised, replied.

-—What? Why do you ask?— Aneko looked at him again with a pleasant smile.

-You seem very interested in (y/n).

Albert was silent for a few moments, Aneko wasn't lying. Ever since that day he'd stopped the girl, he hadn't stopped thinking about her for a second of the day, hoping to find her again, a strange feeling he hadn't felt in many years. Of course, he has had a couple of relationships, but never the feeling he had when he saw her.

—Are you still going to the thank you dinner?

Aneko's eyes lit up, excitedly nodding happily, with the knowledge that the proposal was directed exclusively towards her best friend, (y/n).

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—And he's coming to our house this evening, for dinner— Aneko finished the story, taking a sip of her lemonade. Looking carefully at the blushing face of her friend who had reached the 100 types of red possible on a human face.

Of course you wanted to see him, you haven't stopped thinking about him since that day and you had a great magnetic feeling inside you that you wanted to get closer to him, to get to know him, to be interested in him.

—The dress is in your room, you're coming too— Aneko got up from the table as she picked up the empty plates from both of them. Turning to the sink, she began to clear the dishes. —And it's an order, not a question—.

You sighed exhaustedly.

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You looked in the mirror a little resentful of the dress Aneko gave you, it was a wine colour that highlighted your face and the colour of your skin, with a plunging V neckline showing your collarbone, the skirt, six toes above the knee highlighted your legs along with the black boots you wore. The outfit highlighted every curve, every softness in your body, without a doubt, you looked wonderful.

You had tied your hair up in a simple ponytail, nothing about your outfit was really fancy or sophisticated, a simple, casual dress that brought out the perfect in you.

Aneko certainly made the best choice.

You went to grab a bag where you put your house keys and went out. The slight cold breeze whipped your face, it was already dark, but the streetlights illuminate the streets well. You started walking towards your two friend´s house, a couple of blocks down the street from your house. It didn't take you more than 10 minutes to get there.

You spotted a car, right in front of the house. "Tristan's car is in the garage, is it...", you realised that this car must belong to the new dinner companion.

You moved closer to what appeared to be the van. "Abracadabra, entertainment and supplies," you read inwardly, turning around, you headed towards the door of the house, and before you could knock on the door, it opened.

Aneko greeted you with a mischievous smile.

—Hi sweetie— she greeted you lovingly, letting you pass, and you stepped carefully in, returning the greeting. You heard a couple of chuckles coming from the living room.

—Come, we're in the living room, we've been waiting for you.

—Am I too late?—Aneko shook her head as you headed for the living room. —Not at all, you're on time, make yourself at home as usual—.

You walked in, your gaze automatically shifted to the sturdy man sitting on one of the sofas, and you looked at him carefully for a few seconds.

He wore a red jumper, over it a black shirt, with trousers and shoes of the same colour, his rings made his hands look bigger and more dominant.

He looked up at you, stopping directly in your eyes, creating a tense eye contact between the two of you.

He observed every curve, relief, detail of you, the shape of your dress, how good it looked on you, your hair cascading down your shoulders further accentuating your jaw and neck. Your bright eyes looking up at him, your skin glowing in the dim light of the lamp beside you, wondering if your skin is as smooth as it looks.

Aneko and Tristan watched the scene in front of them in amusement, Aneko made a heart shape with his hands while Tristan held back a small laugh. — Let's leave the couple talking— Aneko whispered in Tristan's ear, and seconds later they both decided to retire to the dining room to prepare the table.

Albert stood up from the sofa, facing you, the difference in height between the two of you was considerably noticeable, you shyly broke eye contact by looking slightly down at the floor.—I-I didn't think you'd be here tonight— you began, still feeling his bluish gaze on you, making your nerves and your insides start to get very hot.

—Neither do I —he replied, and you looked up again, revealing your slight blush. For a few seconds you were silent, until you decided to start the conversation.

— I'm sorry, I punched you in the stomach, I... I was very angry at the time...— you said shyly, a little afraid of the answer. He offered you a small smile, — Don't worry about it, it's forgotten—  he replied, you nodded momentarily. Albert offered to sit down, a little awkwardly, you agreed very shyly. 

Meanwhile, in the dining room, Aneko put a glass on the wall so she could listen to the conversation on the other side of the door. —Where was the right to privacy?—Tristan asked as he set a couple of plates on the table, Aneko motioned for him to come over and listen to the conversation on the other side as well. Tristan looked at her and, leaving what he was doing, hurried to his wife's side with another glass.

You and Albert laughed, you seemed to have matched each other perfectly, him with his shyness and you with your new confidence towards him, unafraid to start getting to know him and opening up.

—I should have known, you were the man who works in the hardware store next to the shop— you pointed out, looking closely at his one arm.

—I've been here for quite a few years, but I've never seen you until now.

—I know, everyone in Denver is supposed to know everyone, I moved in with my younger brother a few months ago.

Undoubtedly, the conversation flowed between the two, feeling a strange familiarity, a magnetism between the bodies, an inordinate attraction.

Aneko had finished preparing the dining room and called the couple from the living room to dinner.

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—It has been a pleasure meeting you Albert! See you tomorrow (y/n)!— Aneko said goodbye happily with her hand, next to Tristán. 

When she closed the door, again, Albert and you were left alone. You were silent for a few moments, dinner had gone wonderfully, but your nervousness was still persistent, nervous to be alone with him.

He looked at you, you looked back at him. —I'll accompany you home? Do you live far away?—He asked.

—Don't worry, I live 5 minutes away, I can go alone— you responded shyly, —I insist, I would not like to discover that you have been kidnapped for going alone in the middle of the night— you laughed slightly at his insistence, you sweetly accepted his proposal and you began to walk in the direction of your house.

—It's been a nice dinner—you started the conversation. 

—Yes, it's nice with you.

You smiled slightly at his answer, god, you liked that sweetness so much. You kept talking about trivial things, the words and gestures flowed naturally.

You arrived home, accompanied by Albert, kindly he even walked you to the front door.

 —Thanks for coming with me…— you said as you opened the door, stopping to turn towards him. He gave you a sweet smile.

 —I hope that the next dinner you have is with me— you were a little surprised at the question, "is… is he proposing a date?" you blushed at the thought, until now, no one had dared to ask you out on a date. 

—Don't doubt that.

You looked into each other's eyes, your eyes shining in the light while you got lost in that wonderful blue sea of ​​his, slowly you stood on tiptoe, Albert brought his body closer to yours.

You felt his lips brush against yours while breathing became irregular and bodies reached their maximum temperature. Passing his hands around your waist, holding you firmly, he did it, he kissed you slowly.

You felt the sweetness in a kiss, the passion that he felt towards aunt and that he was trying to hide since dinner, he couldn't contain himself anymore, much less you. You put your arms around his neck deepening the kiss, while you caressed his long hair, after a few seconds you separated due to lack of air. 

You looked into each other's eyes again, exhaling for lack of air.

Never come to feel those feelings with a person, only with you.

You both melted that same night, feeling the warmth of the other united, listening to the wonderful music that your mouths produced at the contact of the skin of both rubbing against each other, making you his, and you, making him yours that night.

And he didn't want it to end, neither of them wanted to feel the end of that nocturnal meeting between them.

He didn't want you to know that he was The Grabber.

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SO SORRY I've had a horrible week and haven't had time to finish this, but it's long :D 

Again, I apologize for the horrible English grammar I use, my language is not English :'( 

This time I wanted to try something fluffy, before getting into the horror of being kidnapped by sexy Grabber(?)

Do not hesitate to leave a heart and a comment, or even a request, they are open ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭

 I hope you have liked everything I have created, thank you very much for reading little grasshopper <3

#the grabber x reader #the grabber x y/n #the grabber #albert shaw #albert shaw x reader #fluff #the black phone x reader #ethan hawke x reader