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#i will make sure she gets one while were all in quarantine
ronwestbreeze · 8 months
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you’re gonna go far | 1
pairing: jake sully x neytiri x tsu'tey x fem!human!reader summary: a scientist arrives on pandora (unwillingly) a year after the exile of the rda. now she must deal with the likes of a clan leader, a great warrior, and a thanator rider. . . word count: 7.k
read on AO3
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15 October 2146
Dear Joan Reeds,
Hi Mom.
I know we’ve been sending video diaries to each other since you went to Pandora a year ago and this might be a little strange, but I thought writing this to you would be a lot less impersonal than sending a video. I don’t know, watching myself emote on camera has always made me uncomfortable—so when I respond to your video diaries, know that I’m actually excited to see them and not incredibly bored as I appear.
If that’s why you’ve stopped sending videos, because you think I’m bored of them, I promise you I’m not. And I miss your videos…
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Year 2150
“—Unfortunately, your mother, along with the rest of the twelve other scientists had died before we were able to get them into quarantine.” One out of the three in military uniforms said.
You don’t quite remember how you got here.
Last you checked, your mother, Joan, was leaving for a huge project located on a discovered moon in the Alpha Centauri System. Pandora. An inhabited planet that the human population hoped to relocate. To find a newer home. Instead of the dying planet they created.
Joan had been accepted into the Avatar Program, a branch of the big project that had less to do with taking and more so giving. She, an esteemed scientist herself, would get to work with others like her. To explore a planet you only saw in dreams.
Dreams that would remain that way for a while.
You were only an apprentice at the time, ten years before 2150. Therefore, unqualified to accompany your mother on this new adventure. All you could do was be happy for her, even if she would be gone for a long, long time. But it was hard to be angry at that fact, remembering vividly how your mother looked before she left.
Identical eyes staring lovingly and worriedly back at you. Manic worry if anything.
“I want you to watch over the forest while I’m gone.” Joan laughed at your stunned expression. “You’ve been studying under me for years now, don’t be so shocked! You’ve followed me like a loyal shadow. My little shadow. You are the Head of the Amazon Division now. I trust you’ll continue my work.”
“Mom—I—are you sure?” A younger version of you asked. Ten years earlier you. “What if—how do you know? That I’m even ready? Surely there are more qualified scientists—”
Joan grinned, another identical trait you shared with her. “You have as much love for the Earth as I do. You have this determination, unlike any, to save it. To save what is left of this dying world, our home. Some might find it naïve. Others might discover a whole new planet to live on.” You smiled as she chuckled at that. “Yes, you will work with my second-in-command, he will show you the ropes—not like you already don’t know it—but he will be by your side until you are old enough to officially take over. But I have no doubt you can do it. And I need you to believe it too.”
There was a certain glow in your eye that matched your alight and determined face. This childlike wonder. This unyielding ball of hope that was you.
You nodded surely, holding her hand tightly, “I’ll do it. I’ll keep it safe for you.”
“Promise?”
You pressed your lips into a line, “Do you wanna pinky swear on it?”
Joan gasped, her face lighting up instantly. “I thought you’d never ask!”
Rolling your eyes at her excitement, you locked your pinky with hers. Tight and sure.
“I haven’t done this with you since I was five.”
“You’re never too old to make a promise!”
Joan then pulled you into a tight hug. Small drops of wetness fell onto your shoulder.
Neither of you said anything for a while.
She finally pulled away and pressed a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll come back for you. My little shadow.” That was her promise.
Then she walked out of the door. And all you could do was smile for her. You couldn’t even be sad.
The woman in uniform spoke up next. “Dr. Reeds? I know this is difficult information to process—"
You still didn’t remember how you got here.
Last you checked, Joan had been on Pandora for nearly five years now.
During those years, you managed to keep your promise in the beginning.
There were more trees planted, the water was becoming cleaner as the days rolled by, and you managed to gain some military protection for the forest—along with more researchers joining the cause.
During the first year of her in Pandora, your mother would send you video diaries of her time on Pandora, which prompted you to send videos back in reply. Showing your progress so far and everything you have accomplished.
One time she sent a video of her crying dramatically while holding up a picture of you as a toddler.
“Look what I found in my suitcase—sniffles—you were so small and cute back then—sniffles—guys look how cute my baby is!”
You remembered cringing and smacking your head against the table. Some of your colleagues also enjoyed a chuckle or two.
Tell me about the creatures and the plants. Take me on one of your treks through the forest in your avatar body. I enjoyed those videos the most. I always looked forward to them, even if you think I thought it was boring or too much of a lecture. I promise you it wasn’t.
I wasn’t mad about the baby picture by the way. Yes, maybe embarrassed—I was fourteen, Mom—but it’s nice that you took something with you to remember me by.
Also don’t worry about the forest, everything’s fine here. I saw all your emails asking about it. And I don’t want you to worry too much, not so much that it would ruin your experience up there. I have everything under control, Mom…
Sometimes the videos had nothing to do with talking. Joan one time sent a video of her sleepily talking to you about anything until she eventually fell asleep. The rest of the video would be of her sleeping.
You told her she didn’t have to send videos when she should be resting.
“I just want to see you, honey.” She would respond back. “Plus, talking to you is always a perfect end to my day.”
So you didn’t complain. Talking to her, seeing a new video arrive in your inbox always made your worst days just a bit brighter.
After the first year, Joan stopped sending videos. You didn’t think anything of it at first. All you assumed was that she was buried in her work. Which meant that whatever she was doing, must’ve been important. Life-changing even. And you weren’t going to interrupt that.
One year turned into two.
Two turned into three.
Four.
Four years of radio silence.
Scarily, you allowed yourself to wonder if she forgot about you.
And before you knew it, that thought abruptly left your mind in place of another.
The forest was on fire.
You remember rushing around the lab, grabbing every research hard drive, journal—anything important and belonging to your mother’s long hardworking years of work before it could be destroyed by the fire.
But. But none of it mattered.
The forest burned to the ground. Everything your mother worked for. Gone.
Gone. Gone. Gone.
“Dr. Reeds?”
Your hands were covered in ash and blisters.
She was dead. Her forest burned down a day ago.
Now the three in uniform stood with you in what was left of the forest. The grey daylight haunting in the smoke.
The mask you wore protected your facial expressions. “When did she…?”
One of the men cleared his throat. Two men and one woman. “Four years ago. A few months after she first arrived on the planet. Their lab was compromised with a deadly toxin—”
“You said that already.” You pointed out impassively.
The male nodded, “Right—We were sent straight after, unfortunately, the journey from Pandora to Earth takes…”
You turned away from them. You wanted to throw up. You want to scream and call them liars.
But you were older now. Emotions controlled. Face restrained.
There was a certain dullness in your eyes that matched your worn and solemn face. This beaten and bruised resolve. This unyielding wave of resentment that was you.
Your mother had been dead for four years.
Without you knowing about it until now.
Everything you had thought. Had assumed. It meant nothing.
You thought she had abandoned you. You thought you were alone.
Turns out she was already gone.
And you were still alone.
Blinking away ash—tears maybe, you couldn’t tell—and looked back at the three in uniform. “Alright. You told me. Thank you for coming.”
With that, you begin to walk away and continue cleaning the spot you’d been working on before the uniforms had approached. Dumping the burnt bark and ash of what used to be trees into a plastic bag.
“There’s one other thing, Dr. Reeds.” The woman spoke next. You tried not to scowl in irritation and reluctantly turned back to them. “Before your mother passed, she asked that you take her place.”
Your heart lurched and your body grew stiff.
“The late Dr. Reeds had made a lot of progress on some research that could’ve been beneficial for our organization and project.” The woman tucked her hands behind her back, back straight as she continued in a matter-of-fact tone. “We need someone like you who can continue the work without fail and who knows Dr. Reeds…particular work ethic.” You frowned at the wording. The woman—she seemed to be leading this small crusade. “We have an avatar waiting for you. All you need to do is come with us to Pandora.”
And there it was. Anyone would’ve seen this as a second chance. Another opportunity to fix your mother’s legacy. To keep your promise.
But all you saw was something else you could screw up. Something else for you to destroy by fire. Another way to fail her. The forest was gone. You had killed the forest. Now they wanted you to take your mother’s place—possibly to work on something shady that they have full control over. When was it enough?
When would people stop expecting you to be Joan Reeds? When would they see that you were nothing like her? That you weren’t their savior, that you weren’t someone to turn to whenever the original goal didn’t work? You were nothing. Everything you touched ended up destroyed. So why?
Why would your mother want you to take over her perfectly structured sculpture? When all you were was the hammer that shattered it down to pieces.
You tightened your jaw, “I’m good here. Again, thank you for coming.”
Once more, you tried walking away.
“Unfortunately, Dr. Reeds, it is not a request.” Now you were scowling at the woman, not bothering to hide the expression this time. “We’re in dire need of your mother’s expertise. She can identify resources that the RDA has collected—better than anyone. And we could use these sources to put those…our enemies in place. Heal poisons we have little information about. Your mother—”
“My mother, it seems, had no idea what she was getting into when she accepted that job for the Avatar Program.” You sized all three of them up with a quick resolve. “You’re RDA, correct? Hmm, my mother may not have seen it but I do. I see right through you all.” With that, you raised your chin and steeled your back. “So, for the last time. Thank you for coming. Now if you’ll excuse me, I just learned my own mother’s fucking dead. I’d like to take the time to grieve if you don’t mind.”
As you turned to leave again, your mind wandered. Your eyes stared bleakly at what used to be a beautiful forest. It used to be so life-like. So, so beautiful.
Your mother was gone. And so was her forest.
Maybe you should’ve seen it as a sign.
Mother dead. Forest gone.
And where were your tears?
You stopped walking suddenly when something sharp hit the back of your neck.
Instantly, without warning, your body crumbled to the ground with a thud.
Breathing was difficult. Your body couldn’t move. Black shoes filled your vision.
“Apologies, Doc. But I did say it wasn’t a request.”
Slipping from your control, everything went dark.
If you must know, your forest is making amazing progress. We planted exactly thirty more trees in the past two months and they’ve grown healthily! I’ll send you pictures of them once I’ve sent this letter.
But as I said before, there’s nothing for you to worry about here. If I wanted your help, I would’ve asked and you know this. You should be focusing on making life-changing discoveries on Pandora. Also, have you met Dr. Grace Augustine yet? I’ve just finished her book and I have many questions! Can you, possibly, maybe relay my questions to Dr. Augustine? If you’re not busy of course…
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Year 2155
It had been a good day for Jake Sully.
A long and grueling hunt had ended with many other warriors succeeding in their finds, just enough to feed their families, enough to feed the entire clan.
His pride only swelled more when his mate and the current Olo’eyktan grinned proudly at him as they started their way back home.
“You’ve gotten better, ma’tiyawn.” Tsu’tey had said with a smirk.
Jake’s heart warmed, “Well, I had an amazing teacher.” Tsu’tey looked even more smug then until Jake added. “Tell Neytiri I said thanks.”
A huff left his mate's mouth and Jake laughed at his reaction. “Tell her yourself, skxawng!”
When they both returned to their new home—a new location after the Hometree was destroyed last year—it wasn’t long before their third mate, Neytiri made her way back from a hunt as well. And Jake was right. She had to be one of the best hunters of the clan as she came carrying back a rather large sturmbeest at her tail. Large enough for tonight’s celebration. She yipped loudly, raising her bow up in a cheer as she returned to the clan.
Jake and Tsu’tey couldn’t take their eyes off their mate.
Once she managed to get to them, Tsu’tey was the first to meet her in a warm and tight hug—careful to watch for the baby carrier strapped to her chest.
“And how was our boy’s first hunt?” Tsu’tey smiled down at the one-month-old child, their firstborn, Neteyam, who smiled at the sight of his papa. His smaller hands grabbed onto one of Tsu’tey’s fingers.
“He will make a great hunter.” Neytiri smiled down at him, grabbing Tsu’tey’s other hand. “And you? Did you find anything?”
Jake chuckled, looking back at the sturmbeest a few warriors carried by. “Not as good as you, babe. Let’s just say if we had made it a bet, you would’ve won easily.”
“What’s a bet?” Tsu’tey questioned, with a furrow in his brow.
“I’ll tell you later.”
When they made it back to their hut—Jake did a quick look around to find that it was empty. Sending a silent prayer to Eywa, which he found himself doing a lot more recently, he was relieved to find that Tsu’tey’s mother was nowhere in sight.
Artsut, who had been a frequent visitor to their home ever since Neteyam was born. Before then she had steered clear of their hut—not wanting to go anywhere near Jake. He was a demon, a false body, the stain on their clan. Jake was fine with her being away from the hut—that was when he could tolerate her the most.
But after Neteyam was born, after the perfect Na’vi baby had come out of Neytiri, Artsut came around more to care for her grandson. Which meant Jake had to deal with more of her comments and sneers—and he would. For his son.
Forcing Artsut to not see her grandson would’ve been too cruel—not just for his son but for Tsu’tey as well. Tsu’tey—who wanted to keep the peace between his mates and his mother. Tsu’tey, the only male in his family who is able to stand up to her and not take any of her shit.
So, Jake wasn’t worried for the most part. Artsut would play nice for Tsu’tey—her favorite son. Omatikaya’s rightful Olo’eyktan. And Jake would ignore her presence. A fair compromise.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry about seeing her now. Otherwise, his very good mood would be ruined.
“I went to see my mother today,” Neytiri said as she took Neteyam out of the carrier and gave him to Tsu’tey who was standing right next to her.
“For more training or something else?” Jake questioned, analyzing her body in a quick scan for any injuries he might’ve missed. “Are you okay?”
She smiled softly and pressed her hand to her stomach, “She told me that Eywa has blessed us with another child.”
Tsu’tey’s eyes widened and Jake’s mouth hung open. Neteyam watched them all quietly.
Neytiri looked down shyly, her ears fluttering, “I wanted to tell you at the celebration for a surprise but I couldn’t wait so—”
She didn’t get to finish as Tsu’tey launched himself at her, wrapping her in a tight hug, earning a joyous laugh from her. A large smile Jake hadn’t seen for a minute. Not since they first discovered Neteyam was coming.
Jake rushed over after placing his hunting equipment down, “You’re pregnant?” Neytiri nodded as Tsu’tey pulled away with a smile of his own. A grin broke out on his face as he pulled her in for a loving kiss, “Oh baby, I love you so much.”
All three of them joined together then—including Neteyam who giggled at their smiles. Sharing kisses, long hugs, and large smiles that they couldn’t contain.
Happiness was simple. That was what Jake believed.
He never thought he could achieve something like that. Not on Earth. Hell, no even on Pandora. Not after everything—but he worked hard for it. He kept going, wanting to prove to himself and his mates that he belonged there. That he was one of the People. That he would be a good mate. A good father.
And not something that destroys everything by a single touch.
Happiness was as simple as it was rare.
Whenever it came, Jake grasped onto it as tightly as he could. Because he never knew when he’d ever have it again.
He held on tight when Tsu’tey survived the battle against the Sky People. Nurtured it when Tsu’tey soon joined him and Neytiri in their union as mates. Loved it when Neteyam was born with his eyes and Neytiri’s markings.
But even then, even if he had a well-adjusted life a year into being on Pandora, Jake still had a long way to go. A long path to make up for all the strife he had caused.
For now, he would enjoy this night. He would enjoy being with his mates. He would enjoy this joyous celebration of the sturmbeest and the new life that would be here in nine months’ time.
It had been a good day for Jake Sully.
That night, Neytiri laid between Tsu’tey and him. That night he watched Tsu’tey’s body carefully as he usually did during the other nights. That night he couldn’t shake the warmth in his chest.
Happiness is simple.
At some point, Jake turned onto his back. His eyes trailing up to the sky. Stars. There were always stars here. And every night, Jake counted them until he fell asleep. Every night he had one arm around Neytiri. Every night he reached his hand out just enough until his fingers brushed against Tsu’tey’s bicep. Every night he would be the last out of the three of them—or four if he counted the heavy sleeper that was his son—to fall asleep.
Only this time there was a moving star in the sky. For a moment, Jake thought he was dreaming.
But the star kept moving. Closer and closer toward Pandora. Until Jake knew that it wasn’t a star anymore.
A body shifted, Jake instantly got up and placed gentle hands on Tsu’tey’s shaking body, trying his best to calm his mate down from the nightmares. Not knowing what he would do if he had to tell him—to tell Neytiri—that they were about to wake up in one.
It had been a good day.
Until it wasn’t.
Do you think I’ll like Pandora? I still dream about it. Being there with you. Do you still want me to come one day?
You woke up on a ship.
“Hold her down boys.”
At the moment, you hadn’t realized your body jerked roughly or that you were now being held down in your seat by a bunch of hands, far stronger and firmer than you. Never mind the tight seatbelt across your lap, no, they wanted to make sure you couldn’t escape.
So, you screamed. A horror-filled cry that sucked in all sound in the ship. Leaving the rest of the passengers with nothing but silence and your scream.
“Calm down, Doc.” The woman sat across from you spoke. The very same woman that approached you in your mother’s forest. “We wouldn’t want you harming yourself before we even get to the planet.”
With as much strength as you could muster, you tried pulling away from the two men sitting on either side of you, whose grips were practically steel. “What did you do?! Where the hell am I?!”
“I already told you five years ago, it wasn’t a request.”
You didn’t need to ask what she meant by five years. Your mother had told you about the process that got her to Pandora in one of her video diaries. You didn’t have to figure it out in your hazy state without getting pissed.
“You stole five years off me! What the fuck is wrong with you people!?” You seethed.
The woman looked unconcerned toward your outburst. “Your mother’s work is too important to give up, Doc. She and her group of scientists were close to probably giving us the one edge we needed against the Na’vi. The inhabitants of Pandora. With your mother gone along with the rest of her group, we were desperate for a replacement. Which is why we needed you. Which is why we wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Why the hell would I help you?!” You snapped, still fighting against the two male’s hold on you. “Get off me!”
“Boys.” The woman gestured for them to let go. After a pause, the hands were gone from your arms. And that was when you began to notice your surroundings.
Yes, you were on some type of ship with a few other soldiers. All of you strapped down to seats. And instead of your ash-covered clothes, you were now in a simple grey tank top, borrowed camouflage pants, and black combat shoes.
Slight groans and whines along the walls told you that the ship was still flying.
So you couldn’t escape even if you wanted to. You had been practically kidnapped by the military—the RDA.
And you were trapped.
That is, until you reach Pandora.
“Now if you’re done throwing a fit,” The woman brought out a tablet and held it toward you. “I’m Captain DeVoe, by the way. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Doc.”
You didn’t take the tablet.
Captain DeVoe sighed before pulling the tablet away and began typing on the screen. “Your mother had been close to finding a way to create an antidote for the neurotoxin those savages use on the tip of their arrows. It’s dangerous for us humans. And our goal is to get this small obstacle out of the way in order to proceed with our mission.”
You let out a short laugh, your body still tense and trapped. “Like I said. Why the hell would I help you? What my mother does has nothing to do with me.”
“Oh, but it does, honey,” DeVoe smirked while you scowled. The captain had to have been in her mid to late twenties. Her hair was cut short into a blonde buzzcut. Toned muscles underneath her long-sleeved shirt. She looked like she could break you in two without even breaking a sweat. So there was no point in trying to fight her. At least not in this confined space.
She held out the tablet to you. And again, you didn’t reach for it. Instead, you pressed your back against the wall behind you. DeVoe didn’t lower the tablet. From your spot, you could see on the screen a light blue rectangle and a digital lock above it.
“She’s kept everything we need behind a lock. Her last words were for you to unlock it and finish her work.”
You raised a brow and crossed your arms, “Those were her last words?” Another brittle laugh left your lips. “Wow, you all must be very desperate.” You continued to laugh, unafraid of the glare the captain sent you. “Fuck you. Fuck everyone on the ship and fuck the RDA! I haven’t even gotten to see her body yet—did you even bury her? Or did you toss her aside when you didn’t find any use for her anymore?”
DeVoe blinked and frowned. She then sighed, “I am sorry for your loss, Dr. Reeds. Really, I am. And I know emotions are quite high right now—”
“Fuck you.” You snorted humorlessly before leaning back against the wall again. The two men on either side of you shifted. You ignored them.
“Yes, you’ve said that already.” DeVoe tucked the tablet down next to her right thigh. You glanced at it briefly before directing your scowl back to the woman.
A speaker suddenly came to life above all of you. “We’ve entered the atmosphere. Landing in twenty.”
You sat up straighter as everyone suddenly began placing what looked like advanced oxygen masks on their faces.
Through all your righteous anger, you hadn’t truly realized it until right then. You were on Pandora. You were going to land in the place of your dreams.
And you refused to be happy about it.
DeVoe handed you a mask as she grabbed bags from under her seat. “Quaritch was always good at being persuasive. He’ll convince you. He always—"
A loud boom rattled your ears.
The ship suddenly flipped—if not for the seatbelts, you would’ve flipped too—and then it felt as if you were falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
You put on the mask in hopes of helping bring the air back into your lungs.
Falling.
Falling.
Thud!
Do you remember your second-in-command? JJ? Well, he retired recently. We threw him a really big party. Plus, he just had a baby too. I think it’s a girl last I checked, I’m going to have to ask Cheryl about that—you know her. Always being in the know with her coworkers…
There was no light. Heat closed in all around you, suffocating you and fogging your mask—or was that your quick breaths? No, that was the smoke.
Your ears rang terribly. People were moving but you couldn’t see who. Someone suddenly grabbed your arm, cut the seatbelt from your lap, and practically hauled your body from the seats and through the smoke.
You weren’t walking. A striking pain in your thigh prevented you from doing so.
Suddenly there was light. Lots of it. Your vision was somewhat clear enough to see that you were now outside. Enough for you to see that the one dragging you was a feral-looking DeVoe.
“Shoot them all down now!” She screamed. There was a long gash along her toned arm. “Contact base! We need backup ASAP!”
Finally, you realized what was happening.
There was fire—why was there always fire?
The large, winged creatures flew above the damage with people riding them. There were yips and hollers from the people on the creatures mixed with the explosions and shouts from DeVoe.
As your senses began coming back, as the world began to set around you, your instincts finally kicked in.
While DeVoe was distracted giving orders, you searched the ground until your eyes landed on a nearby rock. Quickly, you lunged for it, grasped it, and smacked it in the back of her head without wasting another second.
And the impact was hard too. You were sure you heard a loud crack from it.
When DeVoe ducked and stumbled, her grip on you loosened, giving you the chance to run. Or rather, limp through the wreckage and away from the fight happening around you.
But because of your leg, you didn’t make it too far.
A sudden weight knocked you down, a cry leaving your lips as you hit the ground. Wincing in pain from the burning in your left leg. When you tried getting up, the weight kept you pinned down. Whatever landed on top of you made sure you wouldn’t be able to move.
“I already told you!” Roughly, you were turned onto your back. DeVoe was on top of you, snarling. “You have no choice! Not when it comes to saving your race!”
“Get off me!” You cried out, trying to push her off. But DeVoe remained as firm as iron.
“That was a cute little stun you pulled back there. But make sure to remember this.” Instantly, she yanked your mask off.
Your eyes were wide and a loud gasp left your lips,
DeVoe grinned, a mad glint in her eye. “Your life is in my hands! That means I protect it or take it just like that! Don’t be stupid, Doc. Don’t make this more difficult than it has to be. Pick! I protect you or you die!”
You held your breath. More booms sounded around you. More winged creatures flew above you. More yips. More hollers.
Briefly, you glanced at the mask in her hand and considered everything leading up to now. Because you didn’t have much of a choice.
None but one.
Finally, you stopped fighting. Your limbs fell loose against her.
DeVoe nodded with a smirk, “Good choice.” She gave you back your mask and stood up. You kept holding your breath. “Back up should be here soon. We’ll have enough numbers to take down these savages—”
She abruptly cut herself off when you slammed the mask down on your good knee, shattering it.
You then started breathing in the air.
“What are you doing?!” DeVoe screeched, grabbing you by the front of your shirt.
You grinned now, struggling to breathe, “You need me. I don’t need you.”
To them, you were valuable. DeVoe knew this. Which was why you knew she wouldn’t go through with killing you herself. It was like they said on the ship. You were too valuable. And they were desperate.
And that value would be lost once you’re dead.
“Damn you brat!” DeVoe growled as she took off her mask. “Selfish bitch—”
Blood splattered across your face when an arrow found its way through DeVoe’s head.
She slumped against you, the mask falling from her hand and skittering onto the ground a few feet away from you.
Your mind had not realized that DeVoe was killed. Was dead now. All you cared about now was grabbing the mask.
So once you got the dead weight off of you, you began crawling toward the mask. Your breathing becoming a struggle with every passing second.
You hadn’t realized—just like with DeVoe—that someone was watching you. Curiously and quietly following you as you crawled. You didn’t realize you weren’t alone until blue feet appeared in your line of vision. Until four fingers took the mask off the ground and away from your grasp.
A whimper left your lips through hollow breaths as you looked up to find a tall, blue alien woman standing over you. With guarded, yet silently curious yellow eyes.
A Na’vi. You had seen them in your mother’s videos. You had seen her avatar.
“Mom.” You rasped, lying on your back. You didn’t know how much time you had. Might as well stick to the original plan then.
Become invaluable.
But Mom…
“I-I just want my Mom.”
The Na’vi woman just stared at you. Her fierce gaze turned into something somewhat contemplative. You weren’t even sure if she understood you.
Black spots covered your vision.
There was barely any oxygen left to grasp for.
“Demon.”
The Na’vi woman hissed just as you lost consciousness.
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This had to be the second time you’ve woken up from passing out.
Only instead of a ship greeting you, it was a white ceiling. And somehow instead of lying dead in the ship wreckage, you were instead lying on a cot. With a bandage wrapped around your injured thigh.
It was slow—slower than before—but everything came back to you. You were on Pandora. DeVoe was dead. At least that’s what you remembered happening. The arrow through her head certainly wasn’t a hallucination.
But why weren’t you dead?
For a while, you just say on the cot. Trying to figure out what exactly happened.
The Na’vi woman. Did she…Did she give you the mask?
No. She’d have no reason to. Something must’ve happened while you were passed out.
You were in some type of cell—perfect—no bars but no doubt some type of impenetrable glass in front of you.
A groan left your lips, dropping your head into your hands.
How the hell did it get so much worse?
A door opened further away from your cell. A thin-looking man stepped through it. A human man.
You watched him carefully and silently. The human male nodded to you. “You must be Dr. Reeds.”
Instantly, you tensed and the words tumbled out of your mouth, “I already told DeVoe I’m not helping the RDA. So torture me all you want but you’re not getting shit from me.”
He raised his brows both curiously and observantly. “The RDA hasn’t been allowed back on Pandora for a year now. Not after the war.”
War? You carefully stood from your cot, “Then why am I here?”
“Because you were on an RDA ship—” You move to protest, “Before you say anything or curse me, I already know about Joan Reeds and your supposed arrival. But unfortunately, you arrived at a pretty bad time. The People are skittish. They think it’s best to keep you here for now—”
“What the fuck?!” You screamed. The resolve was broken. There was no composing anything anymore. Your face was heated. Your muscles ached. Your throat hurting. “I didn’t even want to come here! Those fuckers kidnapped me and now I have to be imprisoned in a cell because of them?! I’m not RDA! I have nothing to do with this! All I want to do is see my mother who I couldn’t even bury!”
Toward the end of your rageful sentence, your voice quivered.
“Is she even buried yet?” You asked him, your voice now quieter.
After a pause, the male nodded. “She was buried. She…She was one of the few humans the Na’vi got along with. They gave her a burial years before. She—I’m sorry for your loss.
Everything was so—heavy. You were just exhausted.
You hadn’t even been able to grieve for her. Cry for her.
“I didn’t even know she was dead.” You sunk back down on the cot. “Not for four years. I didn’t she was dead for four fucking years. And now I’m here. On a planet I’ve been dreaming about since I was young. But now it’s just some fucked up nightmare.”
There was a long silence between the both of you. The male rubbed the back of his neck before saying cautiously, “Yeah, this isn’t ideal—um, I’m Norm, by the way. Norm Spellman. I work in the Avatar Program. I—well, I didn’t know or meet your mother personally but she was an amazing and intelligent scientist. Her work here and on Earth is very admirable.”
You almost scoffed at that but said nothing.
Norm moved to say more but stopped instantly, pressing a hand to his ear. For a beat, you watched him bleakly, as if he were listening to something.
He then turned to you, “Hold that thought.” And as soon as you blinked, he was gone out of the room.
For a moment, it was silent.
And then you cried.
And cried.
And cried.
And cried.
And cried.
Until your eyes offered no more tears left to give.
Do you remember your second-in-command? JJ? Well, he retired recently. We threw him a really big party. Plus, he just had a baby too. I think it’s a girl last I checked, I’m going to have to ask Cheryl about that—you know her. Always being in the know with her coworkers.
I had to clean up cow shit yesterday. And I’m definitely smiling when I tell you this. It’s progress but you probably get to see and interact with creatures we don’t even have here. So, at least you’re up there…
Norm came back a little later after that. He approached your cell, typing something against the wall. A second later, the glass came down.
You straightened.
“They want to talk to you.” He said.
“Who?” You frowned tiredly as you slowly got to your feet, wincing at your thigh.
Norm thought for a bit, “Some representatives of the clan nearby.”
Reluctantly, you followed Norm out of the cell. He led you through a hallway until you approached a door where Norm grabbed a mask for himself and you.
“They’re right out there.”
When you walked out the door, you were startled to find three winged creatures and tall—really tall—Na’vi waiting at the landing strip where you were sure ships would’ve been. But instead, it looked a bit abandoned.
“Dr. Reeds this is the chief of the Omatikaya Clan, Tsu’tey, that’s Neytiri, and the last one is the clan’s Toruk Makto, Jake Sully.”
You analyzed all three of them. The Na’vi woman—Neytiri—you recognized from the crash. The one that had been standing over you before you passed out. Long braids, warrior paint on her face—matching her body posture she instantly took as soon as you came out of the building, and a bow clutched in one hand with a fierce expression. She was sizing you up. Same as you did.
The next one—Tsu’tey—watched your movements carefully. Out of the three he looked like the one in charge, a leader, someone that of importance. His snarl was severe, even making Norm shift uncomfortably despite it not being directed at him. He gripped a spear tightly in his hands, his eyes following every slight movement you made. As if readying himself to take you down the moment you step out of line. Dangerous beast.
Then there was Jake Sully. If you hadn’t learned his name, you could instantly tell that he stood out somewhat among the three. Compared to Neytiri and Tsu’tey, Jake’s stance was different. More human-like. Like a Marine—which you had been around back on Earth. They were mostly the ones hired as military protection, so you were around them often. Jake was exactly that. But it didn’t make him any less fierce or severe.
Then of course there was the gun that he held—another huge thing that stood out among the three of them.
“And this is Dr. Reeds. She was supposed to replace the late Dr. Joan Reeds, a friend of Grace—”
“Why is she here now?” The leader, Tsu’tey interrupted with a scowl. “We need no more demons here.”
You chewed the inside of your cheek but didn’t say anything. Norm, fortunately, continued talking so you didn’t have to. “The timing’s off, I know, but it’s on record that she was supposed to arrive here upon Dr. Reeds' last request. And confirmed by Dr. Augustine herself. She’s only a scientist, that’s all. We even have an unused avatar waiting for her.”
Tsu’tey didn’t look convinced, not surprising. Neytiri’s eyes never wavered from you. Jake’s tail swished behind him, but his expression was unreadable.
Norm cleared his throat, “If Grace approved of it—”
“Where’s my mother buried?” You asked. All four eyes snapped to you. Norm gave you a look that you ignored. “Spellman told me she had a burial here. I just want to see her. That’s all.”
“And then what?” Jake questioned, eyes narrowed. His face was still guarded.
You didn’t care for it. “I don’t know. Maybe then I’ll go back to Earth and die with the rest of the planet. Does that suffice?”
Tsu’tey frowned, clearly not liking your response while Jake lowered the gun slightly. Neytiri slowly eased out of her defensive stance.
Norm chuckled nervously—attempting to save your sardonic response, “You hear that? She said she’ll leave.”
You breathed out a sigh. God, you were so tired. “I just want my Mom. Please, that’s all I ask.”
Another beat went by before Jake, spoke first but in another language. Tsu’tey didn’t look happy at whatever Jake was saying, his ears were pinned to the sides of his head. Neytiri, on the other hand, looked contemplative.
Eventually, Jake turned back to you with a stern frown, “We’ll have a few warriors take you to your mother’s burial.”
“And after you do not return.” Tsu’tey hissed, his violent eyes pinning you in place. If I see you on my grounds again, I will kill you, demon.”
Jake breathed out through his nose, closing his eyes. He then looked at you, “Understood?”
You huffed, “Loud and clear.”
You’re far away from this mess and I think that’s good. Not that there is a mess, I’m just saying metaphorically….You know what never mind. I hope you’re having fun, Mom.
Please respond. I miss your videos. And it’s getting pretty lonely down here.
I still want you to have fun so don’t put too much energy into trying to respond.
I’ll leave you now.
Love,
your little shadow.
PS.
Remember how you said I accomplish more stuff than you could ever imagine? I kind of get the feeling you were only saying that to make me feel better. It’s pretty clear by now that out of the two of us, you’re gonna go far. Farther than I can reach.
Okay, bye now.
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yes, another series! this time i'm going full force with the poly than i do with my other fics. and you guys have this beautiful fanart to thank! also i listened to you're gonna go far by noah kahan the whole time i wrote this chapter so it's probably obvious i was inspired by that song. anyway, i hope you guys enjoy this new mini series of mine for anyone that's still out there in the fandom lol. i hope you guys will give this a chance--and tell me your thoughts when you're done! i love hearing from y'all. full rants and everything!
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superhaught · 12 days
Text
To Be Another Notch... (Chapter Two)
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Pairing: Leighton Murray x Reader
Warnings: sick reader, reference to the chapter 1 smut
Word Count: 1100, Part 2/?
Part 1
Just a little follow up to "To Be Another Notch in Your Bedpost." Might keep it going, might not. I don't really have any specific ideas for where this one could go, though!
Also, Anonymous Asked: All I can think about now is like what if Leighton x reader are snowed in at Essex and the reader is deliriously ill and Leighton goes into protector mode and her roommates don’t know how to react since they’ve never seen this side of her with anyone before
I don't know if I did a super excellent job addressing this ask but I hope y'all like it! I'm in a bit of a writer's block rn so I'm doing me best. <3
Reader wakes up very sick and Leighton takes care of her. (Reader is explicitly she/her in this one).
You had slept over with Leighton after your night together. You awoke, bundled warmly in her deluxe comforter.
Well, technically, you didn’t wake up of your own accord. Leighton jostled you in an attempt to wake you and it wasn’t until she had to begin shouting your name that you actually came to. And furthermore, you weren’t exactly comfortably warm. You felt freezing cold but your skin was covered in sweat and you were approaching a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit. 
To make matters even worse, Essex had been the victim of a massive snowstorm overnight. Leighton had only been trying to gently wake you to let you know that classes had been canceled and you were welcome to stay, but then she felt how your skin was burning.
You opened your eyes blearily and were met with Leighton’s panicked expression and the back of her hand pressed against your forehead. 
“Oh my god, you’re burning up.”
“What? Like the Jonas Brothers?” 
“Jesus Christ, no! Not like the Jonas Brothers! You have a fever.” 
“Ohhh… that makes more sense.” You coughed painfully and Leighton quickly handed you a bottle of water from her mini fridge. 
“I will be right back, Stay. Here.” Leighton ordered before rushing out of the room.
You let your head collapse into the pillow and you were asleep again before you even knew it. An unknown amount of time later, Leighton came back into the room wearing a N95 mask, which she removed once the door was closed. Her arms were full of cold and flu supplies that she certainly could not have gone out and purchased due to the storm. 
Leighton sat everything down next to the bed and started going through the pile, setting a fresh box of tissues with lotion next to you along with a bottle of electrolyte drink. Then, she sifted through the variety of medications and ultimately decided that just some straight up tylenol and cough medicine would be best. 
Leighton was waking you up again and she helped you sit up while you took the medicines and drank a bunch of the electrolyte solution.
“Kimberly’s mom sent her all of this medicine and first aid stuff, it was honestly really impressive. My mom just sent me a Louis Vuitton weekender bag.”
You chuckled lightly, even though it hurt a little to do so, then spoke in a scratchy voice, “both things have their uses.”
Leighton felt your forehead again and then made you lie back down, “I’m quarantining you in here for now, at least until the storm clears. I’ll take care of you here.”
“You’re gonna get sick…” you pointed out.
“Then, you’ll take care of me.”
You furrowed your brows, “well, of course I will, but are you sure? I can just go home,” you made an attempt to sit up but Leighton pushed you right back down.
“Absolutely not. You’re in no state to walk across campus even if it wasn’t a blizzard outside. You’re staying here. End of discussion.”
“But I don’t-”
“Shut up, would you? You’re making me tired just looking at you,” she teased. 
Leighton surprised you, then. She was no longer feeling the fever on your forehead for sheer monitoring purposes, but just softly caressing her thumb over your skin and wiping your sweaty hair aside as she did so. It was comforting. 
You smiled, “you’re really sweet, thank you.”
Leighton leaned down and kissed your forehead gently and stayed by your side until you were too tired to keep your eyes open any longer and you fell asleep again. 
Leighton put her mask back on to protect her roommates from your germs as best as she could then went out into the main area of the suite to let you sleep in peace. 
Leighton sat down on the plaid couch in their common room and exhaled a deep breath. She had never really seen herself as a caretaker type, but for some reason, it had come naturally to her when she saw how sick you were.
Bela decided to go hang out in Jocelyn’s room to gossip the snow day away (with the help of cinnamon whiskey and apple cider… but mostly cinnamon whiskey), while Kimberly and Whitney hunkered down in their room. 
Leighton scrolled mindlessly through her phone when Whitney came out to grab some food from the shared fridge.
“How’s your guest doing?” Whitney asked. 
“Okay, I think.” Leighton answered simply. 
“Is this someone we’ve met before?”
“No,” Leighton said, “she’s new as of last night…”
“Wow. You must be really into her, then.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, you let her sleep over and now you’re taking care of her while she’s sick? The Leighton Murray of a few weeks ago would never, storm or no storm…” Whitney smiled at the blonde and sat down on the couch opposite her. 
Leighton’s cheeks flushed, “I don’t know… she’s cute. Really cute. And being around her has been really easy so far. Plus…”
Whitney raised an eyebrow, “plus…?”
Leighton rolled her eyes and then lowered her voice to a near-whisper, “Plus… she made me come like four times last night… maybe more. I honestly lost count.”
“Oh. My. God.” 
“I know.”
“That’s just not fair.”
Leighton smirked and shrugged. 
“So you’re taking care of her because the sex was amazing?” Whitney clarified. 
“No, not just that. Maybe I do really like her. But like…” Leighton groaned, “I’m so fucking stressed about Tatum and Alicia still… Do I really want to jump right into another relationship?” 
Now, Whitney shrugged, “do what makes your heart happy, Leight. If you like her, I say go for it. You never know when someone might be your person.”
Leighton looked over her shoulder at her bedroom door, “huh… yeah, maybe you’re right. I’m gonna go check on her.”
Leighton stood up and Whitney smiled, “I also think you should do whatever you can to bring this nurturing side of you out more often. It’s nice.”
Leighton flashed a glare in Whitney’s direction, “yeah yeah, whatever.”
The blonde slipped back into her room and took a moment to watch you before she climbed into the bed beside you and draped her arm over you. 
You were fast asleep and didn’t feel her join you in the bed, but you unconsciously shifted and hugged her arms close to you. 
Snow continued to drench the campus and it seemed to muffle all sound.
Leighton fell asleep holding you, lulled only by the steady rise and fall of your breathing.
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lime1991 · 3 months
Text
those mlp infection aus on tiktok have been alright but heres my idea to consider:
the main characters of the au are the cmc. theyre not the lone survivors, and heres why: the infection almost entirely affects adults. this is just like a book i read in 5th grade, thats where im stealing this from.
Applebloom is the self appointed leader, shes best at foraging for food and growing it as well as building re-enforcements for the shelter (which is the clubhouse. it's higher up so they dont have to worry about most infected ponies reaching them.)
Scootaloo is the defender of the base as well as the group in general. shes the one who handles the weapons and is first to sacrifice herself for her friends to get to safety. She says its because he doesnt want to hold them back due to her disability, they tell her she doesnt have to think like that. but its hard not to.
Sweetie Belle is... not all there. sometimes she forgets the apocalypse has happened and that most of her loved ones are dead. Scootaloo and Applebloom take turns sleeping during the night to make sure someone is always lookout. that, and they can't risk Sweetie Belle unknowingly walking into the dark trying to get home.
Partially inspired by one of the best animes ive ever seen: School Live, Scootaloo and Applebloom sometimes, when Sweetie is having an episode, pretend everything is normal. Is the most they can do for their friend, who is clearly so traumatized that her brain blocks out the reality of their situation. Sometimes, Applebloom wishes that could happen to her.
When the infection started, it slowly took over the elderly first. Granny Smith got sick, fast. Big Mac and Applejack took care of her, but only a few days later she would turn into some kid of monstrous creature. Big Mac did the unspeakable act of putting her out of her misery.
Sweetie Bell was sent to go live with Rarity while her mother was sick. Her father began to feel ill too, and didn't want her to get herself and her friends at school sick as well. She could hear over the phone the conversations her sister and father had. How mom was getting worse, how dad was getting worse. How they stopped calling altogether.
A couple days into the widespread sickness, Scootaloo's aunts took a trip to the store to stock up on groceries just incase a quarantine was issued. They were gone for hours. They were gone for days. They never came back. Eventually, Scootaloo traveled outside of her home by herself, and could never return.
Once Big Mac and Applejack started showing signs of illness, Applejack spoke to cousins in other places wondering if they would be able to let Applebloom stay with them a while. But just like everyone in Ponyville, they were experiencing the same issue. At one point, Fluttershy agreed to watch Applebloom until AJ and Big Mac started to feel better.
After hearing that Fluttershy graciously took in Applebloom, Rarity sent Sweetie Belle off to her the moment she started to cough. She didn't want Sweetie to see her like that. She didn't want her to get sick either, and in fact, she probably transported it from their parents house and into Rarity's. That made Rarity angry. Her last words to Sweetie were about how upset she was that she'd brought the illness to her.
Scootaloo went to Fluttershy herself. She couldn't find Rainbow Dash, so she settled for the next best pony. She was shocked to see her friends had been there themselves the past few days. Scootaloo only managed to stay a few hours, because during the night the crusaders awoke to a crash in another room. Upon investigation they saw Fluttershy hunched over a broken glass. There was blood on the floor.
They went to comfort her, but she wasn't herself any longer. When she turned to face them it already looked like she'd been ravened by the infection. She was so hungry. Why couldn't the jar just open? She was so... hungry. Before she could even stand back up, the crusaders grabbed their things and fled to the only place they knew they'd be safe. The clubhouse.
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Note
wibta if i straight up told my s/o they can’t bring their dog when they move in with me?
i (early 20s ftm) and my partner (late 20s nb) are moving in together next year. we’ve been planning this for a couple of years now, but it’s been taking a while to plan out because we live on different continents and we needed to sort out visas, travel, work situation, and getting an apartment for us for when they arrive.
importantly to this story, my s/o has a dog. this dog is large and VERY loud - barking 24/7 at everything, crashing into furniture, loud whining, pushing people over, and growling at people who get too close to s/o.; this has included me whenever i visit.
the apartment we got has a one pet policy and all of our neighbours are elderly people as the building used to be assisted living (basically housing for the elderly where they have direct lines to nurses and disability accommodations). it’s a pretty small block, it’ll just be us, one guy across the hall, one woman directly below us, and one across the hall from her.
because of this, as soon as we got the apartment we realised we wouldn’t be able to feasibly take s/o’s dog. she’s too big for the apartment, she’s loud enough that all of the neighbours will be hearing her at all hours, and there is nowhere nearby she’ll get enough exercise for her size. on top of that, she’d have to be in quarantine for 6 months once she’s here as is my country’s policy for pets travelling which doesn’t seem fair to her, and this is AFTER a 15 hour long plane ride where she’ll be alone.
i will admit that i have kind of selfish reasons for this as well. i’m autistic and i have both anxiety and c-ptsd on top of that, and all of those things are set off by loud noise, especially loud noise that is constant or repeated. even when i’m on the phone with them, their dog is always barking and hurting my ears and sending me into sensory overload, as is how loud they have to speak over her and when they shout at her to quiet down etc. when i visit i have to make excuses to leave or go somewhere else for a breather because within minutes i’m so drained and overwhelmed and upset just because of the dog’s insanely loud barking. i was also attacked by a large dog when i was very little and ever since then i’ve been wary around Big dogs, so although i want to work on it and i’ve been trying to (i love dogs), having one so big and jumpy be aggressive and growling at me makes me incredibly on edge.
s/o was sad because they really love their dog but ultimately agreed, on the condition we can get a cat instead as they’ve always wanted one but were never allowed. i agreed to that, i’m much more of a dog person and i’m a little sad we won’t be able to get one but a cat seems a fair compromise for them having to leave their dog and i don’t mind cats either, it will be easier to care for and hopefully just as cuddly!
so i thought that was all agreed on and done with
months later i mention looking into cats and they go “but wait! that means i cant bring my dog!” like this was the first time it had occurred to them. i was kind of caught off guard and was just like “…yeah, but we can get you your cat instead!” and the conversation kind of died out and moved on quickly
but ever since then they’ve been making little comments about bringing their dog and what we’ll do with her when we live together and it just… doesn’t seem to be sinking in that they cannot bring their dog.
i feel awful because like. i can’t emphasise enough how much they love this dog. they cuddle up together in bed, they’re always calling for her, always talking about her, always taking pictures of her. when they visit me they talk about missing her.
i know when it comes down to it they’ll choose to move in with me over staying to keep her, but i worry that i’m being selfish by making them choose in the first place. i feel like i need to make it clear once and for all that the dog absolutely cannot come with them and make sure it sticks, but i honestly don’t know how to do it in a way that will make them realise while not hurting their feelings because we’ve already gone over the reasons and they initially agreed.
AITA for making my s/o give up their beloved dog?
What are these acronyms?
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sturniololoco · 3 months
Note
I KNOW YOURE CLEANING OUT YOUR INBOX BUT I WAS THINKING AFTER THE TRIPLETS NEW VID TODAY
SLS where reader and chris are the only two who dont test positive for covid, so they have to hunker down in chris’ room together. except, her and chris arent as close as her and nick and her and matt, so they disagree and argue a bit before they make up and bond <33
Covid
Sturniolo Little sister (SLS) x The Sturniolo Triplets
Warnings: Sick, language, fighting, etc.
SLS/N's POV
Nick got covid right after last week's Friday video, then passed it on to Matt, so they both have to quarantine by themselves. Chris and I were still standing though, but now we had to quarantine together in his room, in the hope of avoiding the sickness.
"Hey, guys. As you know Nick got covid and now Matt has it now. So I'm stuck with this goofball until they all feel better," Chris said to the vlog.
I rolled my eyes and stuck my AirPods in my ears, not wanting to put up with his shit at the moment.
Chris and I aren't as close as I am with Matt and Nick. I'm not sure why though, I guess I just drift to people who aren't annoying little grimlins every time you try and talk to them.
-
It was finally dark outside and it was time for bed. after a day of hearing Chris talk and talk and talk into a camera has made my head began to throb.
But I wasn't going to bed anytime soon.
Chris was playing fortnight with Matt right now, and being extremely loud while doing it, banging on the table and screaming our strings of cuss words.
I walk over to his closet, yawning, pulling out one of his fresh Love hoodies and throwing it on, leaving the hood on. I snuggle under Chris's covers, getting warm, and being so tired that I fell fast asleep in the middle of my brothers bed, even with him screaming in the background.
Chris's POV
"Alright man, I'm tired as fuck. I'm signing off." I heard Matt say through my headset. I told him I loved him, then turned off my PC.
After throwing on some sweats and a sleep shirt, I walk over to my bed, ready to crash.
But I stop once I see SLS/N laying in the middle, snuggled up in one of my hoodies that was too big for her.
I couldn't help but thinking how adorable she looked, snapping a picture then sending it to Matt and Nick.
I eventually came to the conclusion that I was just gonna lift her really fast. I snaked my arms up under her and picked her up bridal style before laying down with her in my lap.
As I pulled the blankets up, I hear her mumble something incoherent in her sleep, snuggling close into my chest. I wrap my arms around her, drifting to sleep myself.
SLS/N's POV
I woke up this morning to the pounding headache that hadn't gone away over night like I hoped. I opened my back pack full of things I brought from my room and pulled out my emergency bottle of Tylenol, I climbed back into bed, popping two in my mouth.
Chris was still asleep, but I really wanted to snuggle up into his warmth like last night. I don't know why, but it felt so good getting cuddles from him. Probably because we don't hang out enough for me to ever get some on the regular.
I ever so gently lifted his arm, crawling under it before letting it go. I felt him stir as his hand hit the mattress and look up just in time to see him blink the sleep from his eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean too wake you up." I mumbled, kind of embarrassed.
"Its fine, I promise. Are you okay?" He asked, probably seeing the squint my face was making due to the throbbing in my head.
I shrugged and told him my head still hurt like a bitch.
"Well why don't you do your covid test then hop in the shower while you wait, The hot water will probably help your head." He said, reaching over to his night stand to grab a new test.
-
I hop out of the shower and change into some sweats and one of Chris's big t-shirts, then immediately go and check my test.
I reads negative, as does the one next to it which I assume is Chris's. I sigh in relief, not wanting to get sick at all.
-
I walk into Chris’s bedroom to see him scrolling on his phone in his bed. l’m surprised when I see him put his phone down and open his arms for a cuddle. I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his torso, the awkwardness only lasting half a second.
“hey sissy?” I hear him mumble quietly into my hair. I hum in response. He clears his throat thickly and I can hear the emotion in his throat.
“I just wanted to say that I’m glad we got to spend this time with you. I love you so so much and that will never change.”
I look up to see a tear fall from his eye, but he quickly whipes it away. I feel my own tears coming and I snuggle up close into his chest.
“That was cringey.” I say, laughing out a sob. He chuckles and wraps his arms around me, squeezing me tight.
@idkwhosnyla @babypat08 @eyelessdemon00 @christopherowensturniolo @sturnsxx @freshloveforthefit @matty443355 @sleepysturnss @emeraldgreenbeautiesstu @sunsetsturniolos @hoesturniolo @x4nd3rsukz @chr1sgirl4life @sstvrnioloo @sturns-posts @chrisstopherfilmed @kylasrealityx @zoeysturnioloooooo @comet235 @islaasblog @sturnioloblogs
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rebelwrites · 2 years
Text
I Didn’t See It Coming
Charles Leclerc x Gasly Twin Reader
Charles Leclerc Masterlist
Summary: Being brothers with Pierre was hard enough with everyone comparing your success to his but keeping the fact you were dating his best friend a secret from him was harder than you ever imagined.
Warnings: none
A/N Rebel still hasn’t watched the race and don’t know if o can bring myself to now, I don’t want to see a heartbroken Charles. So instead have some fluff Leclerc / Gasly fluff I think we all need it today ❤️
Requested by anon: Hellooo can you write something with reader being bestfriends with a driver or relative of a driver and dating charles? Maybe she is not a driver and everybody knows her from the drivers life she is close with and then suprizee she is dating charles?? Idk i watched too many quarantine twich videos of the grid now i wanna live with all of them 🥲😂😂
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As always reblogs and feedback is highly appreciated ❤️ if you want tagging in future parts let me know ❤️
“Où penses-tu aller? Where do you think you're going?.” Pierre asked tilting his head backwards so it was leaning against the back of the sofa.
“Merde. Fuck.” You hissed, pinching the bridge of your nose, you thought you’d manage to sneak out without him realising, looking down at your outfit you cursed yourself for not suggesting to Charles you would get ready at his place. “Just out with the girls.”
“Looking very fancy.” He hummed, raising his brow at you.
“Can’t a girl look nice when going out?” You questioned, rolling your eyes at your brother. “Now I’m going to be late so I will see you later, assface.” Before he couldn’t say anything you swiped your keys off the small table by the door. “Don’t bother waiting up.” You shouted over your shoulder as you let the door slam behind you.
Your heart was racing as you walked down the corridor of the apartment building, things were getting harder and harder to hide from your brother. Normally you wouldn’t bother hiding your relationship from him but you were dating his best friend and you didn’t know how he would react.
So you kept it hidden from the world.
Every chance you got you and Charles would have stolen kisses, quick embraces and just sweet moments but things were getting harder with each race.
Just like tonight was risky, you had told Charles that you didn’t need anything fancy but he insisted that it was time that he took you on a proper date. He even went to the point of booking the whole restaurant out to try and minimize the chance of getting caught.
As you walked out of the apartment building you spotted the matte black Ferrari parked across the street, the sight of Charles leaning against the bonnet made your heart lurch. Charles had completely flipped your world upside down but you wouldn’t change anything for the world. He treated you like a Queen, always made sure you were happy and had everything you could want. He was the perfect boyfriend.
“You look breathtaking.” He breathed, taking your hands in his as he pulled you close to him. “Red is really your colour.”
“You don’t look too bad yourself.” You giggled, resting your hand on his cheek, letting yourself get lost in his eyes.
The pair of you stood like that for a little while before he helped you into the car, you felt like a teenager again, sneaking around making sure you didn’t get caught.
“Let’s see where this night takes us.” He grinned, planting his hand on your thigh as he pulled off from the curbside, driving with one hand. “And tonight you are staying with me, no ifs or buts.”
-
The sun creeping into the room caused you to stir from your slumber, the feeling of Charles’ arm wrapped securely around your waist brought a smile to your face. This was your favourite time of day, when you woke up in his arms.
There was always a sense of security with him, nothing felt forced, like it was meant to be.
You found yourself gently running your fingers across his skin, starting from his elbow moving down to his wrist, fiddling with his bracelets.
The sound of his alarm echoing around the room caused him to groan against the back of your neck, neither of you ever wanted the mornings to end but unfortunately it had to.
“Morning,” you hummed, playing with his fingers.
“Morning, Babygirl.” He whispered against your skin before pressing soft kisses along your shoulder. “Je ne veux pas quitter ce lit. I don't want to leave this bed.”
“J'ai peur que nous n'ayons pas le choix. A moins que vous ne vouliez que Pierre ou Carlos nous tombent dessus pour avoir manqué les essais libres. I'm afraid we have no choice. Unless you want Pierre or Carlos to come down on us for missing free practice.” You whispered, rolling onto your back, resting your hand on his bare chest.
“I guess you are right.” He sighed.
“I’m always right.” You chuckled, “one day we won’t have to sneak around, I promise.” You said, keeping your voice low. You felt slightly guilty for making him keep the relationship secret, but you were already under so much pressure from your parents comparing your success to your twin.
“You know I understand why you want to keep things on the down low.” Charles hummed, pressing a kiss against the top of your head. “Nothing changes how I feel about you.”
-
Nothing could wipe the smile off your face as you stood in the back of the Alpha Tauri garage, your arms folded against your chest, watching as everyone buzzed around the area making sure everything was ready for the first practice session.
“Je pense que vous avez besoin de ça. Think you need this.” Pierre said, appearing with a fresh coffee, holding it out to you.
“Cheers bro.” You nodded, thankfully taking the mug off him.
“Did you even sleep last night? Tu ressembles à de la merde. You look like shit.” He laughed, wrapping his arm around you.
“I slept, but didn’t get much to be honest.” You shrugged, a smirk forming on your face as you let your mind drift back to last night.
“I assume that answers my next question,” he said, raising his brow at you before tugging on the neck of Charles’ hoodie revealing the hickey that was forming on your skin. “So who was the unlucky guy then?”
“Personne que vous connaissez. No one you know.” You shrugged, lying to his face causing a guilty feel to settle deep in your stomach. You and Pierre had always been close, especially because you were twins. So this felt like a huge betrayal.
Staring out onto the pit Lane you saw Charles walk into the garage with a huge smile plastered on his face. The moment you locked eyes you felt your skin heat up, you needed to get out of this confined space before you did something stupid.
“I’m going to go for a wander.” You hummed, wiggling out of Pierre’s grip and nodding at Charles before you made a swift exit.
As soon as you got out of the garage you felt like you could finally breathe again. It wasn’t long before Carlos spotted you making a dash towards you.
“Sup,” you grinned as he pulled you into a hug.
“You keeping out of trouble?” He chuckled, pulling away from the hug.
“Always.” You winked, taking a sip of your coffee.
“Now that I don’t believe.” He hummed, raising a brow at you. “Who’s hoodie is that?” He asked, tugging at the garment.
Shaking your head at the Spaniard, rolling your eyes at him. “Why does everyone want to poke their way into my love life?” You asked, pulling the material of your hoodie over your face you inhaled Charles aftershave letting it calm you. “It’s just a hoodie. I like buying from the mens section okay.”
“Hmmm,” Carlos smirked, raising his brow at you again. “I’m pretty sure I saw Charles wearing the exact same hoodie the other day after Quali.”
“Must have brought it from the same shop.” You shrugged, wishing everyone would stop asking your questions. “I best make sure Pierre and Char aren’t burning down the garage.”
You quickly excused yourself from Carlos’ presence, heading back to the Alpha Tauri garage.
As you got close you saw the flash of red amongst the white and blue. Mentally you cursed yourself for wearing Charles hoodie not thinking anyone would work out it was his. Running your hand over your face you sulked back into the garage earning a questioning look from your twin brother.
“Ne commencez pas. Do not start.” You scolded, walking past him towards his driver's room hoping to get a bit of peace.
“What’s wrong with her?” Pierre asked his best friend.
“No idea.” Charles shrugged, letting his eyes drift to the large clock on the wall. He still had time to see what was wrong. “I will go speak to her, she might actually speak to me.”
Charles fist bumped Pierre before he disappeared.
He earned a few questioning looks as he walked through the Alpha Tauri area but he didn’t care, something was off with you this morning and he wanted to find out what was going on.
He knew you would be in Pierre’s room so he lightly knocked on the door before letting himself in. The sight of you sitting on the sofa with your head in his hands made his heart ache.
“Parle-moi, chéri. Talk to me, darling.” He asked, crouching down, placing his hands on your knees.
“Ça devient si difficile, Char. It's getting so difficult, Char.” You mumbled as tears started to cloud your vision. “I feel horrible for lying to Pierre, we’ve been together for nearly a year now but he is going to catch us out soon.”
“I’ve always said it’s your call on when we tell him.” Charles whispered, brushing his thumb against your jeans. “If you want to come clean then we will do it together.”
“He was asking questions this morning and I think Carlos is on to us.” You said, looking up at Charles.
“I need to be honest with you Babygirl,” Charles chuckled, taking your hand in his. “Carlos knows.”
“What?” You gasped, feeling your eyes go wide. “When?”
“He found out yesterday, he was bugging me non stop about going out for the night so I had to come clean.” Charles said softly. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“It’s fine,” you nodded, taking a deep breath. “I think we need to tell Pierre.”
“Tell Pierre what?” Your brother's voice boomed through the small room.
Looking up you saw him frozen in place, his gaze flicking between you at Charles. The guilt you were feeling this morning was back but this time it was stronger.
“P,” you said, your voice barely a whisper. “Je peux vous expliquer. I can explain.”
“For what? The fact that I’ve never seen you as happy as you have been over the last god knows how long? For the fact that you have always had a crush on Char?” He said, finally breaking out into a grin.
“So you aren’t mad?” You breathed, feeling your heart pounding against your chest waiting for his response.
“How could I be mad? I just wish you told me sooner, you little shit.” He chuckled, pulling you into a tight hug, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “I didn’t see this coming, that’s all. But looking back all the signs were there, you always arrive on track smelling of aftershave. Whenever he was around, your smile was brighter, you were more giggly.”
Pushing yourself off the sofa you walked over to your twin who was holding his arms out wide for you. Walking into his arms he engulfed you in a tight hug.
“I’m sorry for hiding this from you, for nearly a year now.” You whispered.
“A year.” He said, pulling away from you, cocking his brow. “That’s impressive, you're normally shit at keeping secrets.” He laughed before pressing a kiss to the top of your head.
He pulled away from the hug walking over to Charles.
“Meilleur ami ou pas, si tu brises le coeur de ma soeur, je te brise le visage. Best friend or not, if you break my sister's heart, I'll break your face. ” He said, staring Charles out.
“Je n'en rêverais pas. I wouldn't dream of it.” Charles nodded as they did the hug that all guys did.
Finally you felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off your shoulders as you didn’t have to hide anything from the two most important people in your life.
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dwobbitfromtheshire · 2 months
Text
The Fixed Cup
He thought for sure things had settled down between him and Eddie after Vecna. He thought maybe he and Eddie could finally be friends, but how could he be friends with someone so annoying? Steve hoped that once their bat bites healed, they would stop bitching at each other. . . Boy, was he wrong. It's like everything about Eddie set him on edge, and it didn't help that they were stuck in this quarantine that the government had set up for them. Luckily, it was in their own houses, and Eddie was lucky enough to get stuck in his.
"I swear to God, Robin, I'm going to kill him," Steve complained into the receiver. "I mean it this time, and it will be self-defense too because I think he's also trying to kill me. If I trip over his shoes one more time. . ."
"Hmm, well, like I said before, I'm not helping you bury the body," Robin said casually.
"Aw, come on, big boy, it's so much fun watching you clean up after me," Eddie taunted from the other line.
"Get off the other line, Eddie! Goddamnit!" Steve cursed.
"Well, then, how else will I find out what you and Robbie say about me?" Eddie said.
"Well, I think you're a lovely person, Eddie," Robin said.
"Well, I'm glad someone thinks so," Eddie replied.
"Robin!" Steve whined.
"Just keeping you on your toes, Steve," Robin said. "Well, as much fun as this is. . .I'm going to call Vickie."
The line went dead, and Steve scowled before slamming the phone back on the hook. He ran down into the kitchen to find Eddie giggling at the island.
"Munson! You're such an asshole! You know I only have a certain amount of time to talk to her! Why the fuck do you have to do that?" Steve asked.
"The more you keep letting me know it bothers you. . .the more I'm going to do it," Eddie cackled. "It's fun riling you up."
Steve let out a holler and started chasing him around the kitchen. Eddie ran out laughing.
"Dick!"
Of course, it was mostly Eddie who enjoyed taunting him, but there were times that Eddie would get as annoyed with him as Steve did with Eddie himself.
"I told you I don't want to watch some dumb laundry basket game!" Eddie yelled as he grabbed for the remote.
"And I don't want to watch some stupid nerdy cartoon!" Steve yelled as he yanked back the remote.
"You're a douchebag!" He screamed.
"Oh, like you're one to talk!" Steve screamed back.
Eddie shrieked and dove on top of him. Of course, they would wrestle around with it for a while until their wounds gave them no choice but to collapse on the floor in exhaustion. They were mostly healed but still not healed enough. Steve’s not sure what it was. Maybe it was the fact that they were stuck here together with no one else. Maybe they missed their friends, Eddie missing his uncle, or maybe it was the fact that neither one of them could stop the nightmares that came every night. They were on edge all the time, whenever they were around each other. Sometimes, they just crossed the line.
"Eddie!" Steve exclaimed. "That's not a cup you drink out of! There's a sign!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, is the peasant living in King Steve’s house supposed to drink out of the poor cups?!" Eddie exclaimed as he slammed the cup down.
Of course, slamming it down on the table caused it to shatter.
"It's my grandmother's!" Steve said through gritted teeth.
"I'm sure your mommy and daddy can buy your granny another one," Eddie rolled his eyes.
"She hand-made that," Steve said, his eyes glittering with tears.
"And she can't make another one?" Eddie asked.
"It's kind of hard to do anything when you're dead," Steve snapped.
"Shit, man, I'm so - ," Eddie started to say but was startled when Steve slammed him against the wall like Eddie did that day in the boat house.
"I wish I never - " and Steve stopped himself.
"What? Saved my life?" Eddie asked, bristling.
Steve stared at him, gripping the collar of his shirt, and for once, he didn't know what to say. Eddie pushed him off of him and stormed upstairs. They didn't speak to each other for days after that. Steve thought it would be a blessing, but he found that he missed the sound of Eddie's voice. Steve had woken up in the middle of the night, after struggling to go to sleep, and walked into the kitchen to find Eddie gluing the cup back together.
"Almost as good as new," Eddie said, and Steve found himself smiling. "I mean, I wouldn't drink out of it. . ."
"Maybe I can use it as a pencil holder," Steve said and paused. "Thanks. . .and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. . ."
"I know. I'm sorry, too, man," Eddie said softly.
"I know that it doesn't seem like it, but I'm glad I'm stuck here with you," Steve said.
"Yeah?" Eddie asked and he nodded. "Back at ya."
And for a little bit, it seemed like they were almost getting along until. . .
"I didn't ask you to clean my room, Harrington. You're not my goddamn mommy," Eddie snapped.
"It was driving me crazy!" Steve exclaimed. "Just like you do! I'm sorry if I didn't want you to trip in the middle of the night!"
"You don't have to worry about me, Harrington! I can look after myself, thanks!" Eddie growled.
"It's hard to tell! You couldn't even follow simple instructions! All you had to do was follow the plan. Instead, I find you almost dying in Dustin's goddamn arms!" Steve yelled.
Eddie screamed and pushed Steve up against the wall, pressing his body up against his. They were so close that their noses were almost touching. Eddie pinned Steve’s hand above his head.
"Shut up!"
"Fucking make me."
Eddie growled again before slamming his lips to Steve’s. His eyes widened before he melted into the kiss, moaning into Eddie's mouth. He nibbled on Eddie's lip before swiping his tongue over it and slipping into his mouth. Steve felt his body move on his own and freed himself from Eddie's grasp. He pushed Eddie back onto the bed before ripping off his shirt in a quick single motion, dropping it onto the floor. Eddie was propped up on his elbows, waiting for him. The realization hit him in that moment. . .Holy shit, he just made out with a guy! It wasn't long before Eddie made that same realization, and he looked just as startled as Steve felt. Leaving his shirt behind, Steve quickly ran out of the room. They quickly avoided each other, and not talking seemed to last longer than the cup incident.
"Robin - ," Steve croaked on the phone when he picked up.
"Jesus. You sound like shit," Robin said. "Did you and Eddie get into it?"
"Something like that," Steve said. "I wish I could tell you, but it's not just my place to say."
"I swear to God, I'm willing to risk breaking quarantine. Do I need to come over there?" Robin asked. "Did Eddie do something that requires me to kick his ass? Because as much as I like him, I'll kick his ass if he actually hurt you."
"Eddie didn't do anything wrong. I think I just realized something is all," Steve said and paused. "I kind of wished we were on the floor of the bathroom for this. . .Do you think that it's possible to like girls and also like guys?"
"Oh, dingus," Robin said softly, her voice full of love. "Anything is possible. Especially that. So, you don't actually hate Eddie?"
"Turns out. . . Not so much. . .not at all, actually. I don't think I ever hated him," Steve admitted. "What do I do?"
"I don't know. What do you want to do? Do you want to do something about it, or do you want to fill out the rest of your life full of regrets? You told me to go for Vickie, and you were right. Sometimes, things do work out for the best," Robin said.
"I want to do something about it," Steve said.
"Go get your man, Steve," Robin said with a grin.
Of course, actually doing something about it was harder than he thought. Steve had chickened out a couple of times. His house made it easy for them to avoid each other, and when they did come together, it was completely awkward silence. They didn't even fight over the remote anymore. Steve missed the sound of his voice even more now. What was it going to be like when the quarantine was over? Nothing happened until Steve woke up from a nightmare, went downstairs, and broke down crying in the kitchen. The kitchen light flickered on.
"Steve?" Eddie asked, and Steve jumped.
"I'm fine," Steve sniffled.
"You don't sound fine, man," Eddie said. "Nightmare?"
As soon as Eddie touched his shoulder, Steve burst into tears again and hugged Eddie around the waist.
"You were dead. You were dead and I was alone in this house again," Steve sobbed.
"Oh, sweetheart," Eddie said, running his hand through his hair. "You've got me no matter what. I'm here."
"Would you still be here if I told you that I'm starting to fall in love with you?" Steve asked and pulled back, his hands on Eddie's hips.
"Even more so, big boy," Eddie said, cupping his face.
He stepped in between Steve’s legs and leaned down to kiss him, falling into Steve’s lap. The kiss was short and sweet. . .getting its point across perfectly.
"I'm starting to fall for you too."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"You want to come to bed with me? Keep the nightmares away?" Steve asked.
"Absolutely."
Eddie took his hand, and together, they walked upstairs. When the quarantine finally ended, Robin was the first one through the door. Steve was at the stove, making breakfast.
"Please, tell me you settled things with Eddie," Robin said.
"Nope! Still hate the guy! Thought for a moment that there was something else, but I was wrong! The man is just so goddamn annoying - " Steve ranted.
"Steve! Are you fucking serious?" Robin asked.
Suddenly, Eddie pounced into the room wearing Steve’s yellow sweater and one sock.
"No, but he is fucking me. We worked things out, Robbie," Eddie said, kissing Steve.
Steve giggled against Eddie's lips as Robin yelled in frustration.
"Assholes!" Robin exclaimed and plopped down at the island. "So, tell me everything."
"Hm, everything? You want all the gory details of Steve railing me so hard into his mattress that he nearly breaks his back?" Eddie asked.
"Eddie, don't scar my best friend!"
"What can I tell her? Oooh! He likes holding hands during sex," Eddie said.
"Aww."
"Eddie!"
Steve rolled his before smiling fondly and kissing Eddie.
"Aww, what happened to your grandma's cup, Steve?" Robin asked.
"Don't worry about it, Robin, it's all fixed now. . ."
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Text
Breaking Up Slowly: Chapter One
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pairing: joel miller x f!reader
rating: M (breakups, angst, mentions of death/loss, love triangle sort of (tess is dead in this but still), closed off!joel)
word count: 2.8k
series masterlist
Relationships are hard.
Breakups are harder.
Especially in an apocalypse.
Especially when you’re still traveling with your ex-boyfriend and his newfound teenage ward.
You and Joel had been through hell and back together in Boston over the last five or so years, and you credited yourself for getting him out of the hunter life and into the less violent, though nowhere near wholesome, life of smuggling.
You spent five years beside him, a couple of them as a distant acquaintance, one of them as a good friend, but the last two were spent in a far more complicated relationship.
Everyone in the quarantine zone knew that you and Joel had something going on, however vaguely defined it was. He was yours and you were his, and for a while that was all that mattered. But over time, his ever-growing closeness to Tess had started to get to you. Both of them swore that nothing had gone down between them, but no one could deny their unspoken connection, including you.
Not wanting to lose him and not wanting to be betrayed by him, you offered him the freedom and space to pursue her, secretly praying that he would decline your offer and finally tell you those three words that you had practically been begging to hear from him for the last year, but to your shock and horror, he agreed to the break.
So, here you found yourself a couple months later, caught up in Joel and Tess’s mess, smuggling an allegedly immune fourteen-year old out of the city with your ex-boyfriend mourning the very recent loss of the woman he left you for.
Sound like a good time, right?
“It’s dead ‘round here. Might as well sleep here tonight,” Joel announced artlessly as the three of you entered an abandoned motel on the side of the highway.
The three of you carefully inspected the tiny motel for infected or spores, most of the rooms too destroyed to sleep soundly in, but no trace of anything dangerous.
“Alright, kid,” Joel pointed at the inside of the casino themed room he’d just cleared. “You can stay there tonight. Looks like you might even have some pillows and blankets.”
“Hell yeah.” She smiled as she ran past you and into the room, her approval loud enough to hear from outside in the parking lot where you stood kicking rocks.
“Hey.” Joel’s voice was both a balm and a dagger to your heart.
“Yeah?” You turned your head to look at him. His head was tilted, brows creased with concern, thumbs tucked into his backpack straps, looking at you as though he was disappointed. “What, Joel?”
“I just…just wanted to check on ya,” his eyes dropped to the pavement beneath his feet, a clear tell of his deceit. “Make sure you’re okay.”
“Joel,” you sighed, your entire body filled with an emotion that felt closest to hatred, though you longed for him too much to hate him. “We don’t have to be friends. It doesn’t…take away from whatever it was we used to be.” He lifted his eyes to meet yours, the crease between his brows deepening. “It’s not about us anymore, it’s about Ellie. So…let’s just do what we have to do to keep her safe and not worry about whatever—“
“You keep sayin’ that damn word. Whatever. Nothin’ you and I have been through has been whatever.” You were shocked by his outrage and your face didn’t shy away from showing it. You weren’t sure you’d ever seen him visibly emote this way before—that had also been a major point of contention on your relationship.
“Okay…I’m just saying we don’t have to try and force this—“
“Right, you wanna talk about forcin’ people into things…that’s rich.” You narrowed your eyes at his scoff, wondering what on earth he was talking about. “You’re right. I won’t force you to talk to me anymore. You do what you want.”
Leaving you stunned, Joel walked off into his own room, slamming the door behind him. You had no idea what had gotten into him to make him act this way. He’d always been so level headed in your relationship, rarely giving into the little fights you liked to pick, but here he was throwing a tantrum because you didn’t want to talk to him?
Whatever was going on with him didn’t matter to you any longer. He’d made his choice the day he agreed to end your relationship so that he could pursue one with someone else.
Walking into the only half-decent room left, you let out a chuckle at the sheer irony of landing on the motel’s honeymoon suite.
The bed was shaped into a heart, the red satin sheets now tattered and dusty but still in decent enough condition to look like a paradise compared to what you’d been sleeping on before. Setting your bag down by the door, you kept your pistol in hand as you double and then triple checked the room for any signs of spores, the room clean as far as your thorough eyes could tell. Allowing yourself a moment to catch your breath, you laid down on the dusty mattress and let out a sigh.
It had been a hasty decision, deciding to join Joel and Tess’s mission. You’d bumped into them on accident while trying to find Robert for yourself, the man having owed you a hefty amount of supplies. It was an awkward meeting, your eyes unable to meet either of theirs knowing that everything you ever wanted was right in front of you but you couldn’t have him because he wanted someone else more.
Getting roped into their business was a complete misstep by you, the allure of some of their guns and ammo in return for your help too good to pass up. It wasn’t until the three of you discovered Ellie’s secret that you really started to panic, the stakes now higher than you could’ve ever prepared yourself for. But then everything at the capitol happened, and as much as you didn’t want to stay here with the man you loved who didn’t love you back, you felt an obligation to both the little girl he was tasked with protecting and the woman that gave her life for Ellie’s cause.
“Hey,” the fourteen year old interrupted your thinking, knocking on your door. “We’re heating up some beans if you want any.”
“Yeah,” you cleared your throat, sitting up and rubbing your palms over your face in an attempt to rid yourself of the stress brought on by that beautiful man a few doors down. “I’ll be right out.”
With one last moment to sulk over the yearning in your heart mixed with the resentment you held for the choice he had made, you stood up and tucked your pistol into the back of your jeans, rolling your neck before opening your door.
Ellie was leaning up against the outside of the motel, spooning a can of warmed up pinto beans into her mouth while Joel sat on a curb, hunched over an open flame heating up another can. You swallowed your feelings and approached him, sitting down on the opposite side of the fire.
“I can make my own,” you offered, hoping that the gesture would be seen as one of kindness, but the scowl on his face as he looked at you proved otherwise.
“Don’t wanna talk, don’t want me to cook your damn food…” He mumbled to himself, your eyes rolling at the sound of his gruff tone—the same one that used to part your legs and make you drip with need.
“Joel,” you sighed, rubbing your temples. “I was just trying to be polite.”
“Polite?” He snapped, as though it was the most offensive thing in the world.
“Yes! Polite. Something you could strive to be every now and again.” You snapped back, instantly transported to your relationship, the constant bickering and back and forth. You suddenly felt dizzy, your mind and body split into two different moments in time and leaving you nauseous. Standing up, you decided you’d starve before continuing to put yourself through this sort of cruelty, his mere existence too much for your fragile heart to handle.
“Damn it, hold on now,” Joel stood up and left the fire, following you into your room before you had the chance to tell him to fuck off. “Why are you bein’ like this?”
“Why am I being like this? Are you kidding me?” You turned around and shouted, the door wide open with Ellie right outside listening in on the drama. “Joel, why do you think I’m being like this? I was in love with you and you left me for someone else!”
“You told me to leave!” He shouted back, his voice booming. “You were so goddamned convinced that I didn’t want you. You never even gave me the choice to stay, not when you were already pushin’ me away.”
“You…you didn’t love Tess?” You asked, your voice closer to a whisper. Joel rolled his eyes and sighed at your question.
“What the hell does that matter?” You scoffed, waving your hand at him. You could understand his loving two people at the same time, but his refusal to admit that Tess meant a lot to him was insulting to not only her, but you too.
Would he be so cavalier if you were to die in front of him? Would he struggle to admit that he loved you like he struggles to admit he loved her?
“Joel, it’s late. We’ve been running all fucking day. Can we please just try and get some rest?” You pled, knowing the chance of sleep coming easily to you tonight was slim but needing a bit of reprieve from his presence.
“Sure. Whatever you want. Always whatever you want.” He huffed, waving his hand at you as he turned to walk out of your room, Ellie not subtle in her eavesdropping. “Come on, Ellie. Go get some rest. The queen demands it.”
You rolled your eyes and shut the door, not that it offered an insane amount of privacy given the shattered windows, but still, you needed a fucking moment. Just one.
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One moment of necessary seclusion turned into a few hours of good rest, your body and mind more exhausted than you realized.
You woke up in the middle of the heart shaped bed, the moon high in the sky, the night peaceful until a soft rustle outside forced your body into fight or flight, your heart racing as you reached for your pistol. You cocked the gun, holding it out as you pressed your back against the wall by the broken window, carefully turning your head to scan the dark scene around you.
Seeing nothing but a lit campfire and your ex sitting down in front of it, you allowed yourself to breathe out your panic, the safety of your pistol being switched back on before you tucked it into the back of your jeans. You took in a slow inhale as you debated whether or not to go back to bed or to join him, the quietness of the night promising a less hostile interaction. With a bit of necessary courage, you opened your door and watched as his head whipped over in the direction of the scraping sound, his hand gripping his shotgun instinctively until he locked his eyes on yours.
“Didn’t know you were awake,” he mumbled, his eyes returning to the burning orange of the fire. You said nothing as you approached it, sitting down beside him, giving the two of you a foot of space between your bodies.
A few minutes of silence washed over the two of you, the only sounds being the crackling of the fire and some faint cricket chirping in the distance. It almost felt peaceful, but one glance over to Joel’s profile reminded you that things couldn’t be further from.
You wanted to reach out, stroke his jaw like you used to, maybe rest your head on his shoulder and ask him to distract you with a song, but he wasn’t that man anymore—not to you, at least. This man…this body of ice and chill and anger…you didn’t know him. You had no right to act as though you did.
“You were the first person I ever let myself forget myself with,” he confessed as though he could read your mind. Your lips parted as you watched him clench his jaw, his head shaking and eyes pointed at the flames as though they were his enemy. “Let myself forget too much about this world when I was with you.”
“That was the part I liked best,” you added, voice small like a child. Joel turned his pointed glare to you, his eyes softening as he took in the way the shadows played upon your face.
“I did love Tess. Wanted to love her more than I loved you. She…didn’t want me soft. It was easier.” You felt your eyes welling with tears as he continued looking deep into them, as though he was trying to speak directly to your soul. “You needed me to be the kind of soft that gets people killed out here. And for a while, I let it happen. I guess I started pullin’ away because I knew how it would all end. I’ve seen it a thousand times over. People get comfortable and people die. But sometimes I think…if I could do it all over again…I think I woulda never left you. Woulda fought for you, woulda…woulda been soft like you needed me to be. Because losing Tess…that hurt ain’t nothin’ compared to sittin’ here havin’ you look at me like I’m a stranger.”
“I only look at you like that because I don’t recognize…the way you look at me. I don’t recognize it.” You gestured to him. “I was used to something so much…more tender, I guess.”
“I know,” he sighed and nodded his head, finally taking his eyes off you. “I don’t…don’t feel any different about you than I used to, but…it ain’t smart to do this all over again. Especially now that we got Ellie to look out for. I can’t—I won’t risk all our lives over me and you.”
“You’ve always been better at shutting off your feelings than me,” you let out a breathy chuckle, not amused in the slightest but needing to hide the fact that you actually wanted to sob until you couldn’t breathe anymore.
With a sharp inhale and a sigh, you stood up, swallowing the lump in your throat at you mumbled a “good night”. Before you could leave the warmth surrounding the fire, Joel stood up and grabbed your wrist with just enough force to stop you, your eyes locked on the contact before slowly lifting to his. You could see the need in them, the desire to fuck his feelings away, but it only made you sadder.
“Joel, I can’t…” Your strong exterior crumbled a bit under his dark, needy gaze. “You may be able to separate everything…to shut your feelings off, but I…” You choked on your emotions, your throat swelling so much that your voice grew deeper, raspier. “I love you.”
He froze for a moment, his hazel eyes studying the sincerity in yours until it became to much for him to take.
“Alright,” he pulled his hand away swiftly, his eyes dropping to the gravel beneath your feet. “I’ll, uh, see you in the mornin’.”
Your chest ached with the desire to have him fight for you, to rewire his brain into loving you the way you needed him to.
“Just…you don’t have to say it, you don’t need to become soft for me and risk your fucking survival, Joel, but just, please…I need to know that I’m not crazy. That I didn’t fucking make this all up in my head. I need to know that you loved me.” You pled in a broken whisper, tears streaming down your face regardless of how hard you tried to will them not to. Joel lifted his eyes back up to yours, taking a moment before parting his lips.
You could see the old Joel somewhere in the soft green of his irises, the affection he used to freely pour over you distant, but not absent. You allowed yourself to imagine things from his perspective, to lose so much so long ago, for survival to be the only thing he’s known, to have someone come along and threaten to disrupt that. For a split second, not even long enough to be considered a moment in time, you no longer ached. You understood him, understood why he couldn’t love you like you wanted him to—like you needed him to. You didn’t hate him anymore, you weren’t jealous or yearning, you simply understood.
“Course I loved you,” he finally confessed, almost angry with you. “I love you everyday. I love you…right now. But…love will only get us killed out here.”
Joel walked back to his fire after that, not bothering to offer something soft to help cushion the blow of his harsh truths. You bit your quivering lip and nodded, your eyes flickering up to the moon hanging up in the sky.
You almost felt embarrassed that it had to witness your rejection, but something about that white ball in the sky looking down at you offered you a comfort nothing else in this world could. You wished it a goodnight instead of Joel out of spite before retiring to your room, determined to get at least a few more hours of rest before the sun rose and you had to face reality again, this time in brutal daylight.
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close to home | chapter fifteen
close to home | chapter fifteen
plot: when the reader falls ill, Daryl leaves to get medicine. Meanwhile, things worsen at the prison, and Daryl nearly doesn't make it back in time.
series masterlist
Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 1,704 Warnings: violence, blood, sickness A/N: thanks for reading!
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You didn’t hear that Sasha had fallen ill until later that day. You’d overheard someone talking about her when you stumbled into the bathroom to splash your face with water. You were boiling, despite the relatively cool indoor space. You were also shivering and achy on your feet. 
After the craziness with Tyreese, you went to wash up and get something to eat, but by the time you returned to the cell, you were so dizzy you had to lie down. And when you woke up a couple of hours later in the afternoon, you felt like this. 
You heard another rumor of a council meeting taking place and wondered why nobody came and got you while you went to the prison section where you met. You were only halfway there when you had to start using the wall to help you walk, and sweaty handprints left a trail behind you. 
“She wasn’t in her cell when I went to get her. I’m not sure where she is,” You heard Carol saying as you approached the door. You started coughing as you slowly walked in. Everyone turned to look at you, but it was Daryl your eyes landed on. 
“Daryl… something’s wrong,” 
***
When Daryl saw you enter the room, he was on his feet and approaching you in a second. He’d managed to get to you as your knees gave out, and all your weight was put on him. 
“Son uh bitch,” He cursed, looking at your sweaty face. Your eyes were rimmed red, and you looked like hell. 
“Oh my God, (Y/N),” Carol said, hesitating to come over to you. 
Daryl looked around the room, “Don’ everybod’ help at once!” He yelled. 
“I don’t feel good,” You muttered, and he looked down at you again before looking at Hershel. 
“What can we do?” He asked, “We ain’ lettin’ her die like this.”
“The illness won’t kill me,” You said as he helped you into one of the chairs. 
Daryl looked up at Hershel, “Come on, old man, tell me what we gotta do,”
Your uncle looked at you sorrowfully and then at Daryl, “That veterinary college at West Peachtree College, that’s one place people might not have thought to look for medicine. We need to treat the symptoms. It's those that... that'll kill her.”
“That’s fifty miles from here,” Michonne said. She looked down at you and tried to control her panic.
“I’m goin’,” Daryl said, “As soon as we get ‘er to bed, I’m goin’,”
***
Getting you to the quarantine cell block was the longest walk of Daryl’s life. You seemed heavier in his arms, and your breathing wasn’t even. Every time he looked down at your face and saw how pale you were, he thought he was going to throw up. His heart was beating wildly, and his stomach sat like a rock. 
The thought of leaving you behind in the cell block almost made him pause outside the doors, but for the safety of everyone else, he knew you had to be in there. So he pushed on through, breathing through a bandana. 
Sasha sighed loudly when she saw him carrying you in, and she helped him find an open cell and get you settled. When someone yelled her name, she told Daryl she would look after you and then she was gone. 
Daryl carefully laid you on the bed. Your face was sweaty, and you were shivering at the same time. He checked your forehead; you were burning up. Some part of him wanted to put a hole through the wall, but it was concrete walls, and he wouldn’t be able to help you with a broken hand. 
“Daryl,” You mumbled.
“Imma go out and get you some meds,” He said, looking down at your pale face. “It’ll be all right, promise,”
He didn’t stick around to hear anything else. 
***
You weren’t sure how long you slept, but it was dark when you woke up. You still felt as sick as you did earlier but a little clearer-minded. And your uncle’s voice from a few cells down forced you onto your feet. 
The cell block was full of people coughing and groaning in pain. You wanted to lie down and join them, but that wasn’t who you were. So you slowly made your way to your uncle, who shook his head when he saw you. 
“You should be resting,” Hershel said, closing one of the cell doors. 
“I can help,” You said, following his actions and closing the doors. You couldn’t tell if people were dead or just sleeping, and you didn’t have the energy to check. But you forced yourself to keep moving. You closed another two cells before you started coughing again, and you leaned against the wall for support. 
A hot metallic sensation filled your mouth, and you started coughing up blood. You tried to yell for your uncle, but you couldn’t make a sound. You could barely hear the sound of Lizzie yelling and then gunshots. 
You glanced around the room and saw a few walkers roaming around. Above you, Lizzie was leading a walker down the hallway. You cursed loudly and grabbed your machete, aiming for the nearest walker. It took everything out of you, and you collapsed beside the dead body. Your body was too heavy to move, and you couldn’t respond when you heard your uncle yelling for you. 
But you watched him lead the other walkers up the stairs and the following gunshots. You coughed up more blood and managed to get to your knees. 
“(Y/N!)” 
You looked up at Maggie as she ran toward you. “Stop, stop, I’m fine! Uncle Hershel… needs you…I think it’s Glenn….” 
She nodded and went to find him, leaving you alone. 
***
“What the hell….” Michonne said as they approached the prison. 
Daryl stared at the section of the prison fence that had been pushed down, and thoughts of the prison being overrun filled his mind. Tyreese sped up and quickly reached the courtyard, where Carl and Rick were waiting. 
“What happened?” Michonne asked as they all got out of the car. Daryl listened to Rick’s story as they grabbed the medical supply bags.
“Gunshots were coming from A,” Carl said. 
Daryl didn’t need to hear anything more as he and Tyreese quickly ran toward the cell block. The two of them got into the block quickly, and the smell of sickness and death was heavy. Tyreese went off to find Sasha while Daryl looked around for you. 
The sound of someone struggling to breathe caught his attention, and he ran towards the back of the block, finally finding you. Crimson blood covered your mouth as you choked on the liquid in your lungs, and your body was shaking as you were asphyxiating.
“Hershel! (Y/N)!” Daryl screamed, dropping to his knees next to you. Your face was blue, and your eyes were closed as you struggled to breathe. 
“Get her on her side. She’s choking to death,” Hershel yelled from the second level. 
Daryl carefully moved you so you were on your right side, and blood poured from your mouth as your body shook. 
“Did you get another valve mask?” Hershel said. 
“In the bag!”
Your uncle was quick as he dug through the bag. He momentarily glanced at you in fear before finding the mask and pulling it out. “On her back, careful now,” 
“She’s dyin’!” Daryl yelled, grabbing the side of your face as more blood spilled from your mouth. Your chokes were getting harder, and your body was shaking furiously. 
“Hold her down!” Hershel yelled. 
Daryl pinned your arms down and used his body to hold your legs while watching in horror as your uncle started shoving a pipe down your throat. Your body struggled against the intrusion, and Daryl had to look away, trying to block out the painful gasps as you continued to choke. Your body was thrashing uncontrollably, and Daryl tried his hardest to pin you down. 
“Come on (Y/N)!” Your uncle yelled. 
Finally, the pipe set in, and air-filled your lungs. Your body stilled, and Daryl looked at your blood-covered face. He blinked away hot tears and sat back, watching your chest rise and fall with each pump. 
“Maggie’s up there keeping Glenn breathing. You need to do the same for her. I have to get the medication ready with Bob,” Hershel said. 
Daryl hadn’t even noticed Bob had shown up, and his anger towards the man dissipated when he remembered that Bob and Hershel would be saving your life. 
“Slow and steady, every few seconds,” Hershel said, quickly showing Daryl how to pump the air into your lungs. After a second, he passed the pump to Daryl. 
He blocked the sound of Hershel and Bob’s conversation and stared at your face. There was blood everywhere, and it still had a tinge of blue. Your hair was coated in blood, spit, and bile. Your skin was pale and sticky with sweat. But your chest was moving in rhythm, and he couldn’t be more thankful for showing up when he did. 
He couldn’t stop tears from falling this time and allowed himself a few seconds to grieve what had happened. You had nearly died before him; he almost didn’t make it. And the idea of you not being around anymore would’ve been enough to bring him to his knees if he wasn’t already on them. 
He wanted to hold you against his chest, feel your heartbeat, and hear your laugh. He wanted to roll his eyes at your stupid sarcastic comments and watch your eyes light up when you spotted a trail using the tracking skills he’d taught you. He wanted to see you frown when you took down an animal and then shake your head in agreement when he told you it was for the best. He wanted to cry at the idea of you almost dying and wrap himself around you to keep you there.
But he didn't do any of that. Instead, he sat there and kept a steady rhythm and brought life back into your body. 
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amywritesthings · 1 year
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SEEING YOU, SEEING ME. (1/7)
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Pairing: Joel Miller x Reader
Word Count: 1.8K
Summary: After handling a life-or-death favor for Tess, you're in deep shit. Until she can make things right, she suggests you lay low at her place for the week. The issue? It's also Joel Miller's place, and you're pretty sure he hates you.
Warnings: Mentions of death and violence, Age gap/difference, Slow burn, Angry!Joel, Eventual Smut, Enemies to Fuckers, Before the events of TLOU 1.01
( Read on AO3 )
Next Chapter / Masterlist
CHAPTER ONE: THERE, EVERYWHERE
“Where are we going?”
The scoff from the woman stalking ahead tells you it's a stupid question to ask, if not already one too many.
Head down, hood up — in the cover of night, you have managed to slide in and out of alleyways unscathed and unseen. With every darkened hour, curfew gets that much more dangerous. Risky; the gallows are a recent addition to the zone to make an example out of deserters, rule breakers, and degenerates alike.
One false move, and it'll be two additional necks tomorrow morning.
None of this running around, however, is by your own doing: Tess Servopoulos is the thing that goes bump in the night. The smuggler that knows her way around the quarantine zone with little error.
The person that gets shit done around here.
You’re only by her side because you happened to be at the wrong place, wrong time — or, in her instance, the exact spot she needed in order for Tess herself to avoid that miniscule margin of error from increasing.
A lucky fuck-up, she calls it, except the concept of luck is all for her.
For you? It’s a matter of life and death — Fedra, the gallows, are only a drop in the bucket compared to having your fate at the hands of one Robert's underlings in a domino chain of petty fights and turf wars.
Tess swears on an eye for an eye: if she can clear your name and settle a deal, then no blood will have to be shed.
(A luck fuck-up, indeed.)
“You want to live?” she asks under her breath, a pace ahead. The hallway is empty at this time of night, wrapped tightly in militant fear. “Then you stay here.”
You shove your freezing hands in your pockets. “And where is here?”
“Just a place.”
“Yours?”
The woman finally halts at a door, glancing once at you as she fishes for her keys with an irritated boredom; a Tess classic. 
“Did I say you could ask so many fucking questions?”
Bingo.
You were right: one too many.
With one quick shove of her shoulder, you’re met with a sea of earth tone pinks engulfed a low light hue. Sun-stained curtains billow against the open air. The dilapidated floral wallpaper brings an uncomfortable Deja vu of a not-so distant world that's still rapidly decaying. The furniture seems well kept, sturdy, with a dining table set and a half-sunken couch. Eerie is the sound of a soft seventies ballad crooning Looks Like We Made It by Barry Manilow from a static-filtered FM radio between the windows.
But someone is already there.
Hunched over the small, square table for two sits a broad-shouldered man with salt and pepper hair. His shoulders lurch protectively over what seems to be paper and pen. The back of the jean-clad torso tightens at the sound of Tess's boisterous entrance, and their chin turns at break-neck speed to assess the intrusion. The person's eyes do not meet yours, but your certainly meet his face.
Shit.
You know that scowl.
It never leaves his damn face.
Here, Tess has conveniently left unconfirmed, is not only her place but Joel Miller’s place. Joel Miller — the guy who will take any hardened zone job no one wants so long as no one speaks or looks his way. The person who, at the end of the day, wants to be handed what he’s owed and to be left the fuck alone.
It's the guy you have spent dozens of shifts working alongside, desperate to make rationed ends meet, without so much as an introduction or a hello.
And you're fairly certain he hates you.
While it's rumor that Joel hates everyone, it's the way he hits your shoulder as he passes by to pick up the next dead body that's festered a full-blown fabricated story like a virus in your mind. You swear his gaze hardens every time he shows up at six a.m. sharp, only to find you waiting at the dig site.
With intimidating urgency he stands, slamming the notepad closed with an open palm. 
“What’s all this?” the southern drawl is unamused. Gruff.
Angry.
Tess doesn’t look at you when Joel steps once, twice, meeting her in the middle. “A favor.”
Joel’s eyes narrow a fraction of an inch. “We don’t do favors.”
“No, we don’t,” Tess confirms with an air of aloofness, “but she did one for me.” 
“And that’s my problem, how?”
Tess looks him dead in the eye, unblinking. Joel stares back with the same intensity, nostrils flaring. Mentally they continue to argue while you stand at the mouth of the apartment. An unspoken language, fit for the two of them and leaving you clear out in the cold.
Regardless, you’re no fool. You're not a face he wants to see.
(Goddamnit, Tess.)
Joel relents, shifting his weight from one leg to another as he places his hands on his hips. The movement is followed by a hefty, exhausted sigh.
“So then what’s your plan? Since you're suddenly feeling all sorts of generous today, Tess."
Not an outright refusal. Not a threat to turn you in.
Just like that, your not-so-lucky day has turned around.
Tess nods her chin once in appreciation of this acceptance, only to gesture to you.
“Let her lay low.”
His fiery eyes flicker to you, finally, and your fingers instinctually tighten against the strap of your pack slung loosely over your shoulder.
“I assume you mean lay low here.”
“Yes.” Tess tenses, if only a little, as if to brace for the oncoming storm. “For a few days.”
His expression shifts instantly, brows knit tight to blink back at Tess. Joel starts with a bite, louder than before. 
“A few—?”
“Days. Until I can sort shit out and make everything even.”
Joel pauses for a moment, taking a much needed breath to level the rage rolling off of him in waves. You shift your bag, attempting to make no noise. Prey meet predator; God forbid you provoke him.
Then he speaks between gritted teeth.
“That’s a big fucking ask, Tess.”
Tess nods, though it's a contrast softer this time around.
“You know I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important. I gotta make it right before shit hits the fan. You know how Robert gets.”
And he does know, it seems, by the way he backs off with a miniscule step. His shoe scuffs at the floor, creaking the wooden boards. 
Joel lands his eyes on you for a second time. It's lessened in intensity, but it's unforgiving all the same.
You nervously shrug one shoulder, turning into a counterpoint. “If this… is an issue, I can just—”
“Go back out there until someone kills you?” Tess interrupts, craning her chin to watch you, too. “No. It’s just a few days. We can make this work.”
“And where will you be, during all this?” Joel asks, but it’s gentler this time. Worried, even if it’s laced with sarcasm. 
Tess keeps her eyes on you as she fixes her coat. “Out, but safe. It’s better to do this shit at night sometimes, as stupid as that sounds.”
"You're right, it does sound mighty fucking stupid," Joel gripes in the midst of Tess crossing the threshold between the two of you towards the door.
You almost want to beg her to stay, just for the night, but you know it'll be for nothing.
"Besides," when Tess reaches the door, she turns her head and smirks at the older man, "you could use a friend that isn’t me every once in a while.”
Joel's face drops in time with the boot taking one step ahead.
“But we don’t—”
Tess doesn't wait.
The door closes behind her faster than Joel can finish his statement.
(We don’t do friends.)
Now it’s just you, the white noise from the radio, and Joel Miller in his apartment.
Great.
Dropping his chin to his chest, Joel emits a drawn out groan and shuts his eyes. Yours wander, uncomfortable with staring, until they land on a half-full glass of amber liquid on the table with two white circular tablets.
Oxy.
Oh.
When you blink back to him, however, he notices you noticing all of this — the room, what he’s been up to, what his vices are. No explanation is read on the tip of his tongue.
Instinctually your head shakes, gentle and non-threatening.
“We all cope with whatever we have, right?” you ask despite yourself. “Not gonna… try to steal your shit or anything.”
“Good,” Joel responds, gruff yet almost uncertain. After a beat passes, the man clears his throat and gestures to the emerald couch in the corner. “I’ll, uh… I only got one bed.”
The statement makes you squint, confused, before it hits you:
“Oh.”
“It’s a small apartment,” he reasons more like a hotheaded apology than anything else, but you wave your hands in front of you.
“No, no, it’s fine. I can take the couch. I don’t even mind the floor. I really don't care.”
“I don't give a shit either, but Tess’d have my head if she found out I was good with letting you sleep on the goddamn floor,” Joel laments, sulking back over to the kitchen table to pick up his whiskey glass. You remain standing where you are in the middle of this makeshift living room as he flops down on the couch, denim-covered knees spread apart. “You take the bed. Got mostly fresh sheets put on yesterday.”
You want to ask — are you sure — but decide it’s best not to make more waves in the tsunami you’ve brought to his doorstep this late Tuesday night. You nod wordlessly, not even sure if he’s looking, before shuffling towards the open floor bedroom.
A mattress sits stacked on top of cement blocks in a makeshift frame. At first you reach out towards the pale salmon-colored sheets, gingerly pressing down on the mattress to test its give.
The bed doesn’t move.
Safe, for now.
From here you cannot see him, but you can feel him. There is a very suffocating air about this apartment; a sense of displacement. This is not home, but neither is this quarantine zone. Some people could make it as such, but it appears Joel Miller is about as unwilling to get comfortable as you are.
“Goodnight,” he chimes out of the blue from the other room. 
Your eyes widen, following the creaks of the couch as Joel situates himself on the other side of the wall — until the room goes silent.
You don’t say it back. Instead you slowly lower to the mattress that isn’t yours, afraid to contaminate his safe space with your germs. You sit with your back against the wall, fearful to touch the pillows that smell too much like a man you barely know.
For twenty minutes you wait at the left side edge, stirring in the silence, until incoherent mumbles fill the apartment.
It’s Joel, gone from the lull of an alcohol-induced slumber.
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Author's Note: It's officially begun! Thank you so much for reading. This series is tied to my one shot reckless. Chapter Two is quickly on the horizon, so never you fret on the wait. As most of my works are, this is a slow burn. This will also not be the most lovey-dovey Joel, so I warn you all ahead of time. As always, comments and reblogs mean the world to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and enthusiasm over my first fic of 2023.
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thinemoonshine · 2 months
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𝒶 𝒷𝓊𝒹 𓂃 ࣪˖ ཐིཋྀ
cha hyun su x female reader genre: romance, tiny fluff, angst, slowburn type: series (but can also be read as a oneshot) word count: 1,785
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ part 2 of series
Cha Hyun Su never really stands out in Green Home Apartment- both literally and figuratively. One, because he rarely comes out of his room, and the other is simply because he never bothers to socialize. So when he suddenly becomes this sort of 'saviour' for the residents when the mysterious monster outbreak started, naturally, he gathered attention- both good and bad.
Because he is in fact, abnormal. A paradox. He's an infected; a monster, the humans' common enemy and yet he's also a hero. And humans fear those that are unusual— even when they themselves have seen the goodness in his capabilities. Because as people tend to go, they prefer to see the cup as half empty, especially during these dire times.
So they use him— telling him to go on missions and retrieve items for themselves, ordering him here and there only to keep him isolated in the quarantine room right after. All this, just to make sure they're the ones who have the upper hand, they're the ones who have authority over this monster.
(y/n) is no different. She too sees the benefit of using Hyun Su to fulfill their needs and wants because after all, he's part-monster. If the other residents were to go instead, there'd be higher possibility they'd wind up killed or injured. But Hyun Su? He heals, dies less easily and has his monstrous quirks so what's the harm?
Is what (y/n) thinks as she stands in front of the isolation room with an energy bar in hand and a bottle of water filling just a quarter of it.
"...10 minutes. That's all you get," Eunhyuk says as he leans beside the door with arms crossed— looking down at (y/n) who nods at his words. His cryptic gaze flicker between her eyes before sighing and massaging his temple. "I'll be out here."
He unlocks the door and (y/n) slips right in, wanting to use the best she can get from the limited time but as soon as the door closes, her steps slow- surveying the dreary room that mimics the doleful dispositions of its members; which in this case is Hyun Su and the dour old man lying asleep on the lone couch at the far side of the room.
"Hyun Su," (y/n) starts and the said male lifts his head from his knees, shocked to see a healthy human inside this 'infected' room.
"(y/n)..." He mumbles and she feels a slight tug in her heart at the sound of his soft, seemingly withdrawn whisper. A strong urge to empty her already vacant stomach drowns her and she swallows. A sickening, bubbling feeling climbs up her throat as she stares down at his diffident form- round, doe eyes gazing up at her like a lost soul.
‘Guilty?’ Her own voice echoes but manages to pull a smile onto her face.
"I should've visited you earlier. I'm sorry," she apologizes sincerely and approaches- causing him to flinch before falling into a silent fluster. He scrambles left and right, not knowing whether he's allowed to be close to her. He's a threat, they all treat him like a virus and he can't help but admit that he might just be exactly that.
That is, until (y/n) captures his wrist before he can stand and he freezes entirely with widened eyes staring at her with horror.
"Don't—"
"Come. Let's have you eat something," (y/n) casually says and parks herself right beside him. "Here."
Hyun Su accepts the energy bar and drink on his open palms (graciously spread by (y/n)) while he stares at her curiously, almost scrutinizingly, and (y/n) would be lying if she says she isn't affected.
Those kind, gentle eyes and that unmistakably beautiful visage— she's melting. But she doesn't deserve to, he's much too good for selfish her.
"Thank you," he mumbles and that similar, painful strain occurs inside her again- but much more excruciating, disgusting, that her mien subconsciously twists and brows meet. He notices. "Are you okay?"
"What?" (y/n) croaks out and immediately purses her lips together. She can't. The guilt and loathe festering and rotting away her insides are catching up to her— devouring her whole being.
'What's the harm?? How could I ever think that? This... He's a human too,' she mourns in her head and is pulled out of it at the feeling of a warm sleeve pressing on her cheek. But the moment she looks at him, he retracts his hand and stumbles backward with his arm holding him upright on his seat- seemingly shocked at himself.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry... Sorry, I just, I— I won't... do it again," he hastily apologizes- no, pleads, for forgiveness almost, as he brings his eyes to the ground between them.
(y/n) furrows and touches her cheek- feeling the fresh tears before focusing back at his curled figure. "Why are you apologizing?"
He takes a moment to reply- taking his time staring at the cold floor before his fingers curl to a fist against it. "...You don't have to come here anymore."
"What?"
Is he... kicking her out? Forbidding her from coming here? It baffles her.
"You were forced to come here, weren't you? To... to accompany me or something, so that I'll keep doing the missions. But, you don't have to. I'll do whatever I'm told so you don't have to act nice for me. So please... don't be afraid," he requests politely- too politely for someone who thinks that he's being played with.
(y/n) shakes her head, puzzled, and sees him glancing at Eunhyuk from the corner of his eye- noticing him who's standing by the door. ‘Oh...’
"No, that's not it! I wanted to come here on my own accord. I'm not acting nice or—" 'Am I not?' Her thoughts intrude once more and her chest tightens- breaths shortening. "Listen, I actually here for my own selfish reasons. No one ordered me to and neither is it to get you on your good side or anything. Fact is, I felt guilty. "All this time, I did nothing but agree to let you go off on those dangerous missions on your own. I thought that it was better you than anybody else but that was selfish of me. None of us, even myself, we didn't even bother to stop and think how you must be feeling. How scared you may be. It's not like you chose this for yourself. We didn't even thank you for saving us. We never did because... we saw you as a tool, not as a person and I— Hyun Su, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry," (y/n)'s voice turns weaker and fainter towards the end— shattering and squeaking like a creaky door.
Maybe it's his overwhelming goodness that suffocated her when she entered the room, or the pure, earnest gaze he wears but at the moment, she felt like an entire villain. And it feel so, so revolting. It makes her wonder how Hyun Su must've felt when he discovered he was infected; to accept his fate that he is a monster.
A series of apology leaves her as her eyes brim with tears- although refusing to face him, she can feel his burning gaze on him.
Cha Hyun Su was, to be honest, conflicted. He's upset because of course, he's noticed how he's only being used by them and he also knows that he's being treated as less than human but at the same time, he's upset that he can't really do anything about it even if he wanted to because truth is, he doesn't have the heart to hurt them.
Yet despite that, he is also... glad. Glad that someone is being entirely honest with him. Relieved that there's someone he can potentially trust, someone he can confide in just like how she's confided in him. He's happy that... he too might just have someone to rely on.
Someone who's brave enough to approach him, hold him, sit right next to him, and pour their heart out to him who is a monster. And this... this means much more to him than anything.
"...Thank you," he mumbles and he's oh so grateful when she finally turns to look at him. At her confused hum, he says louder, "Thank you."
Her face of pure befuddlement that seems to scream, 'Are you crazy? I poured my heart out and admitted I saw you less as human and you say thank you???' almost makes him chuckle. Almost- so instead, he smiles.
It's enough to knock the air out of her- but in a nicer way now. Not like before how she felt squeezed and suffocated from the burdening benevolence that emanated from him and amplified her guilt- but a nice breathtaking moment that belatedly alerts her that she's been staring far too long.
"You have a nice smile," is all she says before clearing her throat and whipping her face away- a gesture Hyun Su is thankful for because a second later, she would've noticed the redness blooming on his cheeks and ears.
Before he can respond however, the door swings open and in comes a strict Eunhyuk who casts his firm stare on both of them before halting at (y/n).
"10 minutes is up," is all he says and (y/n) scrambles up, embarrassed, and hurries to Hyuk's side.
The two make their way to the door, with (y/n) walking in front and Hyun Su watches intently- feeling a tug in his heart.
"(y/n)," he suddenly calls and she stops to turn- once again feeling her insides churn and yet again, a much better, positive feeling than before when she sees his blinding eyesmile.
It's the first time she's seen it- his eyes shaped into crescents, sparkling like the stars in the night sky as his face glows despite the dust and dirt painting his skin in streaks of grey.
His pale, plump lips part to speak. "Come again... soon."
(y/n)'s heart skips a beat. He's inviting her to visit him. A personal request, a choice and that makes her feel somewhat special.
Her own smile graces her face. "I will, Hyun Su."
And the door shuts between them.
note: and that's a wrap on my first ff here on tumblr!! it's a lengthy slowburn because i wanted to show that wall between them first- i mean, they are strangers at first. but anyways, i'm thinking of making more parts to this sometime soon but until then, happy reading!! ઇ♡ଓ
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storiesforallfandoms · 6 months
Text
look at me ~ bo burnham
word count: 2323
request?: yes!
“so you already know that inside: the outtakes has gotten so many people back into their bo thing. me included. sooooo i was thinking, he’s a big guy, ya know👀 so my lil brain was doin some thinkin (not at all while horny) and it came up with this: bo fucking you in front of a mirror!! he’s holding you up, fucking you from behind, saying things like ‘look at how much of a pretty little whore you are for my cock’. just, please please please do your thing and make this something great🥹”
description: after a long day of filming his special, he finds himself pent up and wanting to release his aggressive sexual energy, so he decides to take his girlfriend in the first place he finds her: in the bathroom in front of the mirror
pairing: bo burnham x female!reader
warnings: swearing, smut
masterlist (one, two, three)
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Bo had a lot of feelings surrounding the filming of his quarantine special. At first he was upset over having to cancel his plans of returning to live performances, but then the idea of filming, editing, directing, lighting, etc., his own special seemed exciting. And getting back into writing comedy felt almost therapeutic. The longer quarantine went on, though, the more his mental health struggled. He was enjoying creating, but he hated that this was how he had to create. And he hated how much he struggled to make everything perfect.
But more than anything, he was unbearably horny. To a point where he was writing extremely horny bits into the special.
It was his own doing really. Bo would spend every day - from the moment he woke up to the moment he fell asleep - working on the special. Most nights, that was late enough that his girlfriend, (Y/N), would be fast asleep. Other nights, he felt too mentally exhausted to try and initiate sex.
He felt guilty for the quality time he was losing with her by working all day, but (Y/N) was incredibly supportive. She would check on him every day to make sure he was doing okay, occasionally bringing him food so he would eat. She’d get him to take little break every now and then before going back to long hours of working on the special. Bo felt extremely grateful to have her in his life. But man, did he ever miss being intimate with her.
He was sat in this guest house one evening, editing his most recent bit, which was a song about sexting. His mind was on (Y/N) as his own voice played through the speakers. He thought about how badly he wanted to hold her, feel her body against his, her warm walls around him. His horniness was definitely trickling into his work and it was something he needed to fix soon or else he felt like he might explode.
Bo stood and looked out the window that faced towards his house. He could see a light on in the room that belonged to him and (Y/N), signaling that she was still awake. He quickly rushed out of his guest house, leaving the unedited song running.
(Y/N) was in the ensuite bathroom getting ready for bed. She had peaked out to the guest house to check on Bo. The lights were off besides a dull blue light that she assumed was Bo editing another bit. She had sighed to herself before going to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. As proud as she was of Bo for working on this special all on his own, she really did miss getting to spend time with him. Their bed felt too empty without him.
She was leaned over the sink, washing her face, when she suddenly felt two arms wrap around her. She let out a yelp and stood up quickly to see Bo’s towering figure behind her in the mirror. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, lightly kissing the area, causing her heart to flutter for a different reason.
“Hey,” she said. “You finished up early tonight.”
“I can’t standing being away from you anymore,” he responded. “It’s getting too hard to not have you in my arms.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s hard,” she teased.
Bo chuckled and grinded his hard, clothed dick against her. “You got me there.”
He continued to kiss her neck as he pressed himself against her. She lulled her head to the side, giving him more access to her neck. She closed her eyes and sighed. His hands moved from around her waist, one going upwards to cup one of her breasts and the other moving down between her legs. Her breath hitched as he teased the waistband of her pajama pants.
“Is this okay?” he asked, his hot breath fanning over her ear in a way that sent a shiver down her spine. She nodded in response. “I need to hear you say it, baby.”
“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, please Bo.”
Bo grinned and nibbled on her ear as his hand dipped under her waistband. He ran a finger through her folds, teasing her clit with a feather-light touch.
“You’re already so wet,” he whispered. “Desperate for me to you, baby?”
“Yes,” (Y/N) whimpered. “I’ve missed your touch so much.”
“I’ve missed touching you. You don’t understand how much I’ve missed having you. I think about being inside of you practically every waking moment, and when I’m sleeping too.”
She moaned as he finally applied pressure to her clit. He rubbed slow circles into the bundle of nerves as he continued to kiss over her neck. He nipped at the sensitive skin, leaving red marks in his wake that he really hoped would turn into hickies. There was something so hot to him about marking (Y/N) in a way that other people would see and know she was his. He slipped his hand under her shirt to cup and knead at her breasts, one at a time, making her nipples pop out underneath his fingers.
(Y/N) was a moaning mess; putty in Bo’s hands. He was essentially holding her up at that point as she was leaning back against him, her legs wobbling to a point where she wasn’t sure she could stay up much longer.
“Are you close already?” Bo asked. “I can feel you trembling.”
“I-I’m s-so close,” she said.
“Open your eyes, baby. I want you to look at me while you cum.”
She pried her eyes open to look into the mirror. Bo’s eyes were staring back at her, dark with lust. It was hard to keep them open as her orgasm washed over her. Her legs just about gave out from under her as she cried out. Bo held her, smirking to himself as she trembled in his arms. He whispered praises into her ear as she came down from her high.
“I need you,” he whispered. “Right here, baby, please.”
“The bed is just a few steps away,” she teased.
“I can’t wait. I’m a slight breeze away from cumming in my pants.”
She giggled and turned her head to kiss him. She reached back to run her hands through his long hair. At first, she wasn’t a fan of the idea of Bo growing out his hair and facial hair, but now, with his beard leaving a tickling sensation in its wake and his long hair giving her something to hold on to, she suddenly loved it.
Bo broke away from the kiss to shove (Y/N) down over the bathroom counter. He pulled her pants and underwear down around her ankles, helping her to step out of them and kicking them off to the side. He let his own pants fall to the floor as well, his hard dick springing free from his pants. He took it in one hand and ran it through (Y/N)’s drenched folds, collecting her slick to use as his own lube. (Y/N) bit down on her lip as she whimpered, but couldn’t contain her moans once Bo pushed the head of his dick against her entrance. He easily slid his cock into her, slowly moving inwards until he was buried at the hilt inside of her. He dropped his head against her back, groaning at the sensation. It was a feeling he had been longing for, and now that he had it he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to last.
He slowly pulled himself out halfway before slowly thrusting back into her again. The head of his dick so easily nudged her g-spot that it made her already shaky legs even more wobbly every time he thrust inwards. She held on to the counter, digging her nails into it with such a grip that she thought she was going to break the counter.
Bo kissed over (Y/N)’s neck and what he could reach of her face again. “Can I start fucking you, princess?”
She nodded, unable to speak. Bo took that as enough of an answer for him this time and started thrusting into her at a quicker speed. He held on to her hips as he slammed into her, the sound of their skin slapping together filling the room. (Y/N)’s mind went blank, the only thing she could think of being Bo, Bo, Bo! She cried out his name, a sound more beautiful than any song Bo had ever heard.
“I might not last long,” he told her. “Do you think you can give me one more before I shoot this hot load inside you, baby?”
“Yes!” she cried. “Yes, yes, yes.”
It became a chant, like that was the only word she knew.
Bo smiled and put his hand around her throat, pulling her up so that she was flush against his chest. He continued thrusting at his brutal pace while reaching his other hand between her legs to rub her clit again.
“Look at how much of a pretty little whore you are for my cock,” he said. “God, you look so fucking hot, falling apart for me like this.”
Her eyes were rolling in the back of her head, which clearly was not what Bo wanted. He squeezed her throat slightly, just enough to block her airways and make her lightheaded.
“I said look at me,” he growled into her ear. She opened her eyes and looked into the mirror. He smiled at her. “Good girl. Look how fucking good you look, all cock drunk for me like this.”
Her eyes were hooded, threatening to close again, and her mouth was in a permanent “O” shape as her body bounced with every thrust. Bo looked like a man on a mission, watching her face intently as he rubbed ruthlessly at her clit and thrusted hard into her. He took his bottom lip between his teeth, a sight which just drove her further over the edge.
She didn’t have to tell him this time that she was close. Actually, she didn’t even have time to tell him. Her second orgasm hit her quickly and intensely. Her vision clouded for a moment and her entire body felt heavy. Bo wrapped an arm around her lower stomach, keeping her up for his last few thrusts before he also hit his own climax. He buried his head in her neck again, muffled groans tumbling from his lips as he gave a few more shallow thrusts.
They were both panting and sticky with sweat once they finally started coming down from their highs. Bo was reluctant to pull out, but he could feel himself becoming soft and slipping from between her legs. (Y/N) gasped as she felt the hot trail of cum running down her legs.
“Let me clean you up so you can finally lay down,” Bo said.
He reached past her to grab the face cloth she had been using early and ran warm water over it again. Turned her so she was facing him and knelt down in front of her to wipe her legs and between them. He planted a kiss on both of her inner thighs, causing her to twitch a little from overstimulation. When he stood again, he discarded the cloth onto the floor and took (Y/N) into his arms. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her to bed.
He laid her down first before crawling into bed next to her. He took her into his arms, reveling in the feeling of her warm body against his. It had been so long since they had been able to fall asleep together. He rarely tried to cuddle her when he came into bed after she had fallen asleep in fear that he would wake her.
“Are you done working for the night then?” (Y/N) asked, her voice soft and sheepish.
“Definitely,” he decided. “This takes so much more precipitant than working on that stupid special.”
“Hey, it’s not stupid. I think it’s going to be really good.”
Bo chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “You haven’t even seen any of it.”
“I saw that one that was a parody of Drake’s music.”
“Eh, I’m thinking of cutting that one. I don’t even like it all that much.”
“Don’t do that! It’s my favorite one!”
He squeezed her slightly and kissed her again. “Okay, no promises, but I’ll try my best to put it in.”
“Thank you.”
They laid in silence for a while. It was quite comforting. Bo never wanted to leave the bed. He just wanted to hold (Y/N) and lay here in the dark and silence.
“I miss this,” (Y/N) whispered into the silence.
Bo sighed. “Me too. I promise I’ll try not to work too late so that we can have these moments more often. And I promise I’ll try to finish the special soon so that I’m not working on it at all anymore.”
“You don’t have to finish it soon if you don’t feel it’s ready, but I would prefer it if you were here in bed with me when I fell asleep at night. It’s not the same to fall asleep in a lonely bed all by myself.”
“I promise. Now get some sleep. I can tell you’re fighting off the unconsciousness.”
(Y/N) shook her head and smiled to herself. Of course he was right, she felt exhausted now after their bathroom activities. Being curled in his warm embrace didn’t help that matter either. She settled herself next to him and closed her eyes, letting the sleep take hold of her. Bo wasn’t too far behind, placing one last kiss on the top of her head before closing his eyes and letting himself drift off to sleep.
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1mmeee2 · 1 year
Text
Flu Confession (Daryl Dixon x Reader) 
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Summary: This is in season 4 of the Walking dead when the flu spread. You and a few other people got sick out of the blue confusing everyone. While you were quarantined Daryl, the one of the few people who is close to you, came see and take care of you. ---------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2 of being locked in a police sheriff office. This time everything hurts, your throat, your eyes, your body, your head, everything. You felt extremely weak and lonely, you kinda was waiting to die at this point. As you sat in the room alone you heard a knock on the door making your head move up to see a shadow on the door tinted window. "Yes?" You asked with a dry, sore throat. "Y/n? Are you okay?" You heard Daryl's voice from the other side. "Yeah... I'm okay." You said as you crawled your way to the door and leaned on the door sitting on the cold floor. "The group right now is looking for antibiotics... Just hold on tight." Daryl said as he slowly rests his back on the door before sinking down to the floor like Y/n as she coughs more. "How does it feel to look like shit?" Daryl asked making me chuckle. "Amazing, never felt prettier in my life." I said sarcastically as I heard Daryl chuckle as well. "Hershel right now is handing out his whatever tea... He'll come over soon." Daryl said reassuring me as I played with my figures. "Y/n... I wanted to ask you something..." Daryl asked but Y/n didn't say anything back. "Y/n?" Daryl called but still no answer from them. "Y/n!?" Daryl asked again now this time extremely worried. Y/n though got knocked out from the pain and coughing and soon started coughing out blood which was the next symptom. Daryl without wasting another second started opening the door but it was locked. "Y/n!" Daryl said this time yelling, trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly Daryl broke the door knob leaving the door with a hole unlocking it. Soon Daryl opens the door and saw Y/n covered in her own blood from her mouth, pale skin, and suffocating from all the blood in her lungs. "Hershel! Hershel!" Daryl yelled as he picked Y/n up running to the cell rooms with all the other sick people. "What's wrong?" Hershel asked as he saw Y/n. "She's chocking!" Daryl said worriedly as he laid Y/n on the bed in one of the cell room while Hershel started inserting a tube down her throat making Y/n start shaking from more pain. "Y/n, I'm sorry." Hershel said as Daryl holds her down from shaking as he watched Hershel twist in the tube a air bag and started pumping air into her lungs to help her breath.
"I got other people to help, pump every 5 seconds." Hershel said to Daryl and handed the air bag to him. "Thanks." Daryl said to Hershel who look at Y/n then Daryl. "Take care of her." He said before leaving the two together making Daryl look at Y/n in sadness in seeing her in this much pain. "I'm sorry..." Daryl said softly as he continued pumping air in her lungs. "I love you... I get it, I'm a coward for not telling you up front. But... I will tell you soon. I want you to know..." Daryl said as he wasn't so sure if she'll make it or not... so might as well tell her while she's somewhat aware. - After a long wait, Y/n finally woke up to see herself in her cell room cleaned up and feeling a bit better. She soon sat up and saw Daryl resting on a chair next to her bed. "Daryl?" Y/n asked before tapping his arm making Daryl jump up and saw Y/n looking at him. "Y/n... Are you okay?" Daryl asked worriedly. "I feel a lot better. Are you okay?" Y/n asked worried as Daryl also didn't look too good. "Just tired... Hershel gave you the antibiotics and you got better." Daryl explained making Y/n get up from her bed. "Lay down, I can see your eye bags." You said helping him lay down on the bed without him fighting or being stubborn. "Thanks." Daryl said weakly making you chuckle a bit. "I love you too." You said making Daryl's eye widen in shock. "What?" Daryl asked confused. "Hey, I was in pain, not dead." You said sitting on the chair as Daryl was still trying to understand what's going on. "I'll let you figure that out bud." You said smirking at Daryl before kissing his cheek and slowly walked out of the cell room to go see the others but then you felt a hand on your arm.
Suddenly you felt the arm pull you in and felt Daryl's lips on yours. You soon slowly melted in his kiss and wrapped your arms around his neck. "I love you." Daryl said again in his kiss. "I love you too." You said smiling in the kiss.
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pascallatte · 1 year
Text
It's just Us
Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Actress!reader
Summary: Love in Lockdown Part 2, basically a lot more sweet things that happened during quarantine.
Date: May & June 2020
Warnings: none
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May
Being put on live on the spot isn’t a thing you’re great at doing. Even if you’re being confronted by friends, you tend to sort of standstill in shock for a few moments before whatever had happened sinks in.
Why is this being talked about? It’s because it is currently what the people who are watching Sarah’s Instagram live with Pedro are seeing right now. You have just entered the car, with a bag and coffee cups in either hand. Dressed up in your most frequent get-up, a shirt and sweats, as well as a mask adorning your face. 
The live was also something Pedro was not ready for but if a friend of yours is on live and you haven’t seen each other since quarantine had started, one can only think of acting before thinking of the outcome.
So here you were, holding the phone and chatting with Sarah while Pedro’s driving the two of you home after deciding to buy from the nearest and only opened coffee shop rather than having it delivered.
“So as I was saying, Olivia a while ago talked about wanting to adopt a pet. How about you? You guys ever think of adopting?” Sarah had asked you again after being interrupted by the car’s horn.
Agreeing with her, “Uh, yeah we have thought of adopting one but never really had the chance to cause y’know, covid happened.” Sipping from the straw before offering some for your Pedro since he kept asking you what you got.
“I see that you guys went on your frequent coffee runs, what are you guys up to ne-” Asking a question again, making you chuckle as you thought that it seems like she was interviewing you two.
“-What’s funny, y/n?” She asked when she saw you chuckle. Only responding with a shake of the head, you composed yourself before answering.
“Nothing’s funny, I'm sorry. I just thought that we look like we’re having an interview with all the questions you’ve asked us already. Um, to answer that too, we don’t really have anything planned nex- well I don’t have anything else to do. Not sure about him though.” You explained before turning the camera to let them see Pedro who was humming a song to himself while waiting for the stoplight to turn green.
Tapping his thigh, he turned to you expectingly. Humming a sound of confusion he looks at you before to the camera.
“Sarah’s asking what you have planned next,” telling him, to let him know what’s up with the live.
Confused, “Next? What do you mean next?” He asked, making Sarah laugh at his expression that was telling everyone he was lost, literally.
“By next, I mean, what do you have planned when you get home, silly,” Sarah said, bursting out laughing, making you laugh as well. A sound of understanding escaped Pedro as he turned to drive again.
Still waiting for an answer from him, you leaned across the armrest between you two to lean on his shoulder. Nudging him a bit making him release a hum.
“I don’t have anything planned to do later so we’ll probably just sleep or watch a movie, like always. Nothing new.” He told Sarah, or rather the whole live as if it was just a normal call with a friend. And in doing so, he takes your free hand in his out of habit before kissing the top of it. This makes you look at him with a smile, before turning the live once again.
“What about you? What’re your plans for the evening?” you asked her wanting to talk more. The back-and-forth questioning continued for about half an hour, before having to leave it due to you arriving at your place.
June
Pedro is known to be a huge Instagram user, and ever since being stuck at home his stories and occasional posts have been dedicated to his muse, you. It’s now become a thing that he and your fans await his so-called three-part story every week because of the amount of fun content he has of you or himself.
It varies from the regular shenanigans you guys do or the more calm ones that he has come to appreciate as time passed by. But in this case, the latter is being posted.
Just like how his videos regularly start, this one started with a close-up of his face. From the looks of it, he looks freshly showered and in bed. Your voice was heard in the background but was faint to be heard clearly.
Glancing in your direction for a second, he gets himself comfortable on the bed before deciding to speak 30 seconds in.
“AHHHH Yeah!” His sudden outburst made you yelp and throw a pillow at him. Pedro smiles before greeting everyone, “Good morning, as you know it’s a Sunday. meaning we can all stay in bed and chill and lounge and sleep and do whatever the fu-oww”. You cut off his cussing with a soft, to you, hit on his bare shoulder.
“No cussing,” you softly said, still out of frame, before continuing whatever you were doing.
“Fine fine, so again it’s a sunday and I don’t have anything to do so come prepared, see you later.”
A few hours later he posted his second story just before afternoon hits. Sitting on the couch has played with some filters you’ve saved on his phone for a bit, still, you weren’t seen but you were heard singing something fans were familiar with but can’t seem to think of what it’s called.
“Hello again, it’s me, Pedro. We’re just about to have lunch, my dearest,” he shows you, finally, who’s behind him preparing in the kitchen, “had prepared a simple comfort food of ours, and I can’t wait.”
He raises the phone and zooms in on you moving around the kitchen, your singing seemed to grow louder as it progresses, unfortunately, you were still unaware of the phone recording you.
“I feel badly, about you, feeling badly about me,” your voice was heard throughout the room making Pedro let out a silent gasp in excitement, but at the same time hinting about something not many would know at that time.
“Y/n…” he whisper shouts at you making your singing slowly end. Now seeing the camera you gawked at it, turning to Pedro who was still sitting on the couch.
Releasing a breath, “yeah?” You asked him, before motioning him to come to the table.
He gives you an all knowing look making you laugh and shake your head, before sitting down on the table.
“I know, I know, now come on or else I’ll finish this shit up.”
“Ooo okay bye,” he quickly says ending the second part.
And since it’s a Sunday, something that had became part of your routine is doing self-care on Sundays. This consisted of having a long bath, cleaning out your things, and the most common one and what you’re currently doing, skincare.
Pedro isn’t the kind of guy who would turn down being soothed, so when you first brought up the thought months ago he agreed immediately. Fast forward to now, and here he was again in your shared bathroom phone angled lower than usual, your hand is seen spreading a mask on his face.
“Okay… it’s nighttime, my next favourite part of our Sunday aside from being able to wake up next to her every morning,” he smoothly says with a smirk. Standing up from where he was sitting, he angles the phone higher to show you in a robe now applying the mask on your face.
“ Y/n’s currently applying this green spread-thing on her face like how she did on mine and I think you’re supposed to leave it on for 15 to 20 minutes or so, before rinsing it off,” he explains after he flips the camera and zooms in on your reflection in the mirror.
“ and while we leave this thing on our faces she often does those things to her hair and occasionally on mine- but I don’t really know why she does it to me but she says it’s to keep my hair “shiny and silky and curly”... Her words not mine,” he teases you pushing the side of your hips with his, making you turn to him, hands on your waist.
“Back to the face spread,” he goes back to explaining, now looking at you directly as you slowly let out a smile as he says all the things you’ve repeatedly told him in the past about the product that you’ve used. Your fond look is clearly seen by the camera and will soon make your fans go wild because of the softness (as they normally say) of the moment.
“ Yeah so that’s about it, here’s to a well-spent Sunday to everyone and remember to take care of yourself,” he flips the camera to himself for the last time and pulls you to his chest making you say goodnight as well.
Taglist: @benonlinear @t-stark355 @heyitsme-2 @elleeeee21 @holmesstrange @tagakalat @flyestvenustrap @oldermenaremyreligion @cherryred444 @hobiismyhopeu @ilovehotdadsandshit @djarinsstuff @guacala @avengersheart @pukka-latte @lilvampirina
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littlepinksapphire · 9 months
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Question for older Critters: Were people this skeptical of long-game ships in previous campaigns?
I started watching campaign 2 during quarantine and didn’t really join the community till campaign 3 started. While Imodna and Dorym are probably the most popular ships of this campaign, they get backlash too. Mostly from people who think there’s no way that it could happen. Even when cast members allude to it both in and out of the game, people will either put their heads in the sand or say it seems forced.
Were fans like this about Fjord and Jester? Jester flirted with Fjord from the beginning and we didn’t know Fjord’s feelings till the end of the campaign. They talked about it on Talks Machina as well, but did people call it forced then?
Prior to recent events, I saw a lot of people saying they felt Laudna seemed uncomfortable with Imogen’s crush on her (ngl, I think they were projecting their own feelings about the ship on to Laudna). Did people say that about Fjord?
I’m sure all the major ships have their haters, and idk what Imodna haters are saying right now (I am quite literally on cloud nine and cannot hear them), but I can’t help but notice this particular brand of criticism directed at two queer ships.
It reminds me of Korrasami back when season 4 of the Legend of Korra aired. Obviously there was studio pushback to keep that relationship censored, but people still refused to read the subtext that was there. And here, we have bafta award winning actor Laura Bailey making subtle, intentional choices to make it clear she’s playing the long game, looking forlornly in the distance with every gay thought she has, as well as king of angst Liam O’Brien pining into a walkie talkie rock about once a month and people are just like “I love strong, same sex friendships”. I just really think if Imodna was a straight ship, way less people would have been skeptical about it.
And on the meta side of things, do people really not think the players talk about this stuff outside of the game? Like do they really think Marisha hadn’t long since given Laura the go ahead to attempt a romance? These are things that have to be communicated about as both players and actors. Making sure everyone is comfortable first is of the upmost importance, and these people are close friends and long time coworkers. They trust one another and are professionals at their craft. Idk, I just feel like this part never gets taken into account on either side.
Ok, I think I’m done ranting. These were just some thoughts and questions that’ve been brewing well before we had a huge sapphic win, I just needed to purge them from my system. Anyways, I fucking love this show, petty ship squabbles aside. Let me know what you guys think.
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sshbpodcast · 4 months
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Character Spotlight: Katherine Pulaski
By Ames
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We may have only had Dr. Pulaski for one season of The Next Generation, but that didn’t stop her from leaving an impression. Your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By are big fans of her character and also of Diana Muldaur’s performance of the cantankerous and brilliant doctor who graced the Enterprise-D’s sickbay during Dr. Crusher’s time away from the ship (more on her next week!). She even made a couple of our top characters lists from TNG!
There’s a lot of negative feelings about the McCoy knockoff in the Star Trek community, and we’ll cover some of those below, but overall we have to give credit to the good doctor for how much she grew in only the twenty episodes we had her. By the end of season two, she was viewing Data as a peer, saving lives left and right, and fighting for the rights of other species. There’s no telling how much better she’d get if she stuck around. So raise a cup of Klingon tea to the best CMO of the Enterprise (I said it!) with our highlights below and elaborated upon in this week’s podcast episode (timestamp for this one is 58:29). Fight us, haters.
[Images © CBS/Paramount]
Best moments
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Crammed full of crumpets We’ve made a running gag on the podcast about how Professor Moriarty stuffed the doctor full of crumpets in “Elementary, Dear Data” but there’s more to this episode than crude jokes and blue humor. Pulaski ran with the Holmesian scenario in the holodeck, proved to be stalwart and brave in a hostage situation, and totally rocked the period attire!
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At least someone still remembers quarantine procedures While the whole thing did backfire on her, Pulaski’s actions in “Unnatural Selection” kept the rest of the crew safe. She was willing to risk her own health on her hunch that the augmented children weren’t carrying any pathogens, but let’s give her credit for taking the child and Data out in a shuttle so that, if (and when) things went wrong, things were contained.
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Knives and bearskins! When the biobeds are on the fritz due to the contagion in “Contagion” and her staff is whining that the bone knitter isn’t working, Pulaski pulls some tried and true methods out of her back pocket – make a splint! It may be archaic medical technology, but it’ll do in a pinch and having that kind of medical knowledge saves the day (or saves someone’s leg at least).
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Generous doses of PCS I just really love the sweet little moment during “The Icarus Factor” when Dr. Pulaski is tending to some crewmember suffering from the flu and says part of her prescription is PCS – Pulaski’s Chicken Soup. It shows how much she cares about her patients and gives the audience that warm feeling of having someone care for you when you’re home sick from school.
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Jettison the emotional baggage you’re still carrying around Also I have to give my girl some props later in “The Icarus Factor” when she’s flirting with Kyle Riker right in front of Will. We find it a nice character inclusion that she and Kyle used to be down to clown, and even that she would have married him in a heartbeat, and she tells his son off in the most “oh no she didn’t!” way and then proceeds to drop like fifty mics all over Ten Forward.
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Take your Prime Directive and shove it up your hatch! We on this podcast (who am I kidding; it’s mostly Chris) have a certain skepticism about the Prime Directive sometimes, and it’s usually the CMOs of their respective shows that get to question it most blatantly. Pulaski sure does in “Pen Pals” because screw the prime directive in this case! When a whole planet is on the line, Pulaski is the conscience that we all need!
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Forget me, forget me not This is one that could have gone in either the Top Moments or the Worst Moments list because, face it, mind wipes are horrifying. But I’m gonna give Pulaski the win for erasing Sarjenka’s memories in “Pen Pals” because it’s impressive as hell. And she uses it to kinda-sorta stay within the Prime Directive that we just shat on. Plus she let Sarjenka keep the singing rock!
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You’re still the Captain. Invincible. I’m still not certain what Chris was getting at about Pulaski’s letting Picard avoid the heart treatment he’s been neglecting out of sheer vanity in “Samaritan Snare,” but I’ll do you one better: she winds up fixing his stupid ticker for him in the end anyway! And is the grouchy little man thankful afterwards? Not even a little bit! Pulaski gets no respect, I tells ya!
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Quote me a little of that poetry While you’ll see in just a moment that Pulaski’s views on Klingons were initially unkind, by “Up the Long Ladder,” she’d bonded with Worf enough that she was willing to engage in some Klingon rituals. She goes out of her way to concoct an antidote so she can take part in a poisonous tea ceremony with him, which is above and beyond (and also fuels some shipping), and she also keeps Worf’s measles a secret!
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Bust him up, Data! In “Peak Performance,” it’s Pulaski who sets up the Strategema match between Data and Sirna Kolrami, and she ends up feeling really bad for goading him when he loses to that smug Zakdorn prick. So it’s that much sweeter that she’s there cheering him on when Data thinks outside the box causes the stalemate, telling him that in that way, he did indeed beat him!
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Feelings of warmth and friendship What a shame that the last episode we got with this amazing character was one of the most infamously bad. But none of that is on Pulaski because she’s actually on full display in “Shades of Grey,” partly because she’s one of few characters in the non-clipshow scenes. But she (and Troi, as I brought up last week) pulled out all the stops to save Riker’s brain from certain doom.
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Pull your head out of your ass! Okay, this last one’s not canon, but I just couldn’t help including this plug to go read Caitlin’s fanfic “The Pulaski Maneuver”!!! Or listen to it on the podcast back when we wrapped TNG with our episode “Tales from the Holodeck.” Pulaski finally telling Geordi everything that he’s deserved to hear might be my favorite moment, and it’s so in her character that I say it counts!
Worst moments
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The cold hand of technology Most of Pulaski’s negative personality traits are going to circle around her treatment of Data as a piece of equipment and not an individual. In her introduction episode, “The Child,” one of her early interactions with Data is to tell him he’s not wanted in the delivery room because he lacks the human touch. Lucky for us, Troi sticks up for him and he gets to watch her whelp an alien baby.
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One is my name; the other is not Shortly afterwards, still in “The Child,” we get one of the fandom’s most hated moments from Pulaski when she not only mispronounces Data’s name, but doesn’t seem to understand that doing so is rude and problematic, instead deciding to put the onus on him for being capable of offense. It’s a tough moment for fans to accept, and if that were the level of bigotry her character stayed at, I’d understand why so many Trekkies dislike the character.
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I’m not accustomed to working with non-living devices More growing pains come from Pulaski in “Where Silence Has Lease,” in which she refers to Data as “it” and Picard has to gently correct her. We’re two episodes into the season at this point, and Pulaski is still finding it difficult to accept the personhood of this fan-favorite character, something viewers pretty much got on board with in episode one. At least she apologized.
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The mystery of the lack of any mystery Here we are, three episodes in when we reach “Elementary, Dear Data” and we see more of Pulaski judging Data for being incapable of thinking creatively when he solves Holmesian riddles. We may have blamed Geordi for accidentally creating Moriarty when we covered his character spotlight, but it was definitely Pulaski who goaded them on in the first place.
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Medical research is sometimes a risky business While we may have praised her above for not putting everyone else at risk when she released the augmented child from his wrapper in “Unnatural Selection,” Pulaski was still dead wrong about the experiment being at all safe. She still got contaminated by the fast-aging disease and was resigned to her fate until Picard and O’Brien were able to transport her back. Speaking of which…
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I’m a doctor, not an original character One rather understandable complaint we can see in the Pulaski character is that she’s just Dr. McCoy in a skirt. Which may not be a bad thing, per se, but when we see her racism against the outsider character, her Bones-like irascibility, and even her specific fear of transporters in “Unnatural Selection,” we start to wonder if the writers couldn’t have been a little more original.
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I’m just glad that humans have progressed beyond the need for barbaric display We get a couple glimpses that Pulaski is a little repulsed by Klingon culture throughout the show. First, in “A Matter of Honor,” she’s grossed out by Klingon cuisine and calls Klingons barbaric, and not in the way Klingons would probably like. And she also gets a little smug after watching Worf’s Age of Ascension ceremony in “The Icarus Factor,” which she seemed pretty judgey about (but hey, at least she went!).
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Quit cloning around! We gave Riker some guff for this as well in his character spotlight, and there’s enough guff to go around to give to Pulaski as well for their actions in “Up the Long Ladder.” Sure, the clones were made of them without their consent, but to take matters into their own hands and murder these people without discussion is not the Starfleet way.
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Never to be heard from again… Obviously the worst character moment for us is Pulaski leaving the show after just one season. Notice how most of the bad moments come from earlier and the good moments are mostly from the latter half of the season. That shows how much the character was getting better, even in the rough first couple seasons of the show (you’ve heard our coverage of Chaos on the Bridge, right?). And while many celebrate the return of Crusher, we still have to wonder what the show would be like with more Dr. Pulaski.
And just like that, she’s gone and so is this blogpost. Keep following along because we’ve got another doctor of the Enterprise-D to discuss next week, and it’s not Selar! We also hope you’re making the schlep through Enterprise with us as we cover the whole thing over on SoundCloud or your podcast platform of choice. Wave your medical tricorders over our Facebook and Twitter pages, and get the pronunciation right: It’s Data, not Data!
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