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sp0o0kylights · 4 months

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Eddie led a weird life.

This was something he welcomed, given half the things people thought were “weird” was just his fashion sense or preference for table top games.

Small potatoes to the larger things in life, really.

Of course, this was before he found out there was an evil version of Hawkins underneath him.

Now Eddie did things that would previously sent his old self into a fucking coma.

His friendship with Steve Harrington for example.

Dude saved his life and bridal-style carried him out of literal hell.

It’d have been rude not to be friendly with the guy after that, even if they weren’t both members of a very exclusive and bloody club, with trauma and secrets that really only a select few people would ever understand.

Sleeping over at Harrington’s half the week also made perfect sense, and Eddie will argue that to his very grave.

It turns out nightmares suck, and waking up screaming all the time sucks even more.

Something everyone involved in this entire escapade (and all the ones prior) knew.

Because more bodies means more eyes to look out for you, and feeling safe means you might actually sleep for an hour, they all got used to showing up at each other's houses at odd hours of the night.

Pulled one another out of nightmares and got comfortable with the fact that they slept better, together.

Steve’s house in particular is typically void of both adults and annoying freshmen, which meant it's the most comfortable place for a lot of people to crash together.

(Sometimes the annoying freshmen do show up and maybe Eddie is also a little weirdly overprotective of the whole Party now, and alright fine, he enjoys all their company, even Erica's--but who's keeping track?

He isn’t.

He’s busy arguing all this is perfectly normal.)

Sleeping in Steve’s bed is where things get a little tricky.

See, when it was more than just Robin and Eddie crashing at Casa De Harrington, they all sleep in the living room.

Steve drags out some fancy blow up mattress (an air mattress what the fuck) and changes the couches around and long story short his fucking living room is more comfortable than Eddie’s own bed has ever been.

But when it's just Eddie and Robin, they retire to Steve’s stupid huge bed, so large the damn thing takes up most of his equally massive room.

(“This isn’t weird right?” He’d asked Robin once, hanging his head over the edge of the bed while Steve did--whatever it was he was doing to his hair in the bathroom.

Robin, who was busy rifling through Steve’s drawers for a shirt to steal, stopped and looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

“Not unless you make it weird, Munson.” She’d told him, and well, that was all the permission he needed.

They slept together in tight groups, where it was easiest to defend each other in case of Upside Down fucking monster attack.

Case closed.)

Sleeping in Steve Harrington’s bed, without the buffer that was Robin Buckley, is where the lies started.

Because it was weird.

It was incredibly weird, and did guys even do this solo?

Eddie hadn’t. If one of Hellfire or the band stayed over, it was a strictly floor/bed/couch situation unless there were more than three of them, and that was within Eddie’s small ass trailer.

Sure they piled up if they had to, but it wasn't like it was with Steve. All tangled limbs and being right up in each others space, no pillow or blanket or anything as a buffer.

Hell, Eddie had woken up getting spooned or doing the spooning more than once, and no one said shit.

How Steve made it sound so genuinely normal was beyond him.

Not that Eddie argued about it.

Not the first time of the fifth or the twenty-fifth, and not even after Robin pointed out he was rooming with Harrington more than she was.

Because he just slept better, next to Steve.

(Steve apparently, felt the same.

Or must have given it kept happening.)

It wasn’t like Steve didn’t crash at Eddie’s trailer either--his parents had come right home upon hearing about the earthquake, and had been a bit more present after running into the joint forces of Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers in the hospital lobby.

Add in Wayne’s own Disapproving Stare (TM) and the town being up each other’s ass to try and keep it together, and suddenly Mr. and Mrs. Harrington were hanging out in Hawkins that much more.

(Steve seemed to think it was more to save face rather than because they actually gave a shit, which Eddie felt was obvious but he wasn’t gonna say it.

“They’re trying I think. They just--they’ve never encountered anything like this.” He’d said, a little frown line pinching his eyebrows together.

“Stevie, no one has faced anything like what we have. Your parents, on the other hand, are only dealing with what they think is the aftermath of an earthquake and plenty of people have seen those.”

Steve had sighed. Stared a little helplessly, like he knew he was making excuses but couldn’t help himself.

“I know, Eds. I know.”)

Them being home more meant Steve was at Eddie’s more--on grounds that Robin’s parents were fine with him hanging out but drew some kind of weird not--very--hippy line at him sleeping over.

Which was fine.

Great even, the Eddie and Steve had never slept better! Sucks to be Robin, who had to call up Nancy Wheeler if she wanted to share.

All this was, was trauma buddies being guy pals who were very comfortable with each other due to said fucking trauma.

Steve used to help Eddie take a piss for fucks sake, and according to literally everyone else involved in the Vecna related mess, this was their fourth go round with supernatural shit.

Chances of it all happening a fifth time seemed kinda high, even if the gate was supposedly closed and the psychotic meat puppet madman six feet underground.

Sharing was caring, and caring was not letting your new buddy you saved fight off monsters alone if they popped back up.

Plus he and Steve spent a huge amount of time together, almost as much time as Steve did with Robin.They were all in each other’s back pockets to the point that Eddie’s band was used to it, with Gareth even starting to make secret lover jokes about it all.

(The dick.)

They were just really good friends dealing with the shit life had dealt them. That was it, that was the whole ass story.

Eddie’s growing gay crisis aside.

So no. It wasn't all the time with Harrington that sent Eddie over the edge. Nor was it the bed sharing, rapidly dropping boundaries, or even the fact that Steve knew where Eddie kept his condoms (An accident Eddie wouldn't ever live down, holy shit.)

No, what sent him into an absolute, hair tearin' meltdown, was the day Steve woke up, rolled over, kissed Eddie right on the lips and then went to make breakfast.

No good morning, no how ya doin.

Steve just left Eddie there, clutching onto the sheets for dear life and mildly terrified he’d just hallucinated the entire encounter.

(Hell, maybe the whole thing was hallucinated.

Maybe he died in the Upside Down and this was some sort of sick version of the afterlife.

Eddie pinched himself, and when that wasn’t enough, bit his own knuckle. Both hurt, which was unfortunate, because death seemed preferable to dealing with life right then.)

Unfortunately for him, Steve did not run back into the room with a myriad of excuses, which meant Eddie had to experience the horrifying ordeal of getting out of bed, putting his clothes on and going into the trailer’s kitchen--because Steve hadn’t even had the decency to wreck Eddie’s life at his own house.

‘What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck--’

Heart galloping, Eddie put on his big boy pants--metaphorically and physically--before stepping out into the kitchen and confront his friend.

Who was cooking shirtless, without a care in the world.

It still took him a full thirty seconds to get his mouth to work.

“Hey Stevie? Do you want to tell me what that was about?”

"Hmm?” Steve replied. His eyes were hooded, hair mussed in a way Eddie knew only a few select people had ever seen it.

He looked half asleep, and proved it a second later when he reached twice for the one of the two mugs on the counter and missed entirely.

Eddie swung in, grabbing one and offering it out for Steve to pour coffee into, before swapping it out for the other mug once Steve was done.

Stayed in Steve’s space even as the former jock fussed with adding in milk and sugar and whatever else he was feeling, working up the courage to say something.

Anything.

“Uh, the--just now?” Eddie squeaked. He coughed to clear his voice, trying desperately to act normal.

Look normal.

Like he hadn't just been kissed by the guy he had absolute worst crush on.

Steve, bless him, didn’t tease him. Just shoved one of the mugs into Eddie’s hands and kept the other for himself.

Took a nice, slow sip, adam's apple bobbing and Eddie quickly averted his gaze, staring firmly into his coffee.

“What happened?” Steve asked a second later, sounding a touch more clear, and not at all like he was experiencing deep regret, or dodging the question, or even aware of what had happened.

Eddie had two seconds to realize that hell, maybe Steve really didn’t know, before his mouth once betrayed him.

“When you kissed me?” And motherfucker, for once, Eddie wished he would think before he fucking spoke.

(Wayne had always told him he'd come to regret it. He just hadn't thought it'd be like this!)

“Oh.” Steve said, very anticlimatically. “I didn’t realize I did that, sorry.”

Eddie's entire body twitched.

One long shudder, like it was rejecting the very words coming out of Steve's mouth.

“You didn’t,” He tried, voice dry and cracking. He realized his hands were shaking and promptly put his mug down before he dropped it. “You just--what, did that on instinct?”

“...Kinda, yeah.” Steve said and why the hell did he sound entirely unphased!?

Was this some kind of weird jock thing? Did the basketball team all wake up together and kiss each other on the mouth?! Did they think it was some sort of straight--guy haha joke, or fucking--Eddie didn’t even know what, because Eddie was too busy spiraling.

“Steve I’m gay.” He blurted out, mouth now firmly ahead of his brain.

He instantly wanted to take it back.

Grab the words with his hands, and cram it into his mouth.

Maybe Steve was only cool with it if he thought Eddie was straight.

Hell, maybe he fucking did it while sleep walking or something and Eddie was the one being weird about it, or he--fuck, really did imagine it and, and--!

“I know.” Steve told him, interrupting Eddie’s catastrophizing entirely.

“You know?” Eddie stared at him, feeling like the world had fallen out from underneath his feet. “How do you know!?”

He actually had a pretty good idea of how Steve knew, considering they were both friends with Robin, but while Robin was comfortably out to both of them, Eddie was not.

Had not in fact, even confirmed that he was queer to Robin herself, though he’d hinted at it plenty and shared more than one inside joke.

Didn’t think Robin had outed him or anything, but more that, well…

Steve was smarter than the kids made him sound, that’s for damn sure.

“Honestly dude? You’re not subtle.” Steve told him and at least he finally sounded serious.

Like this was a much needed conversation and not some weird tangent Eddie was on.

“The handkerchief, that triangle pin that you and Robin both have, the fact that you once jumped in my pool to get away from Dustin asking about you're dating life."

He rolled one hand in an etc. all gesture, before adding; “Also there was that time you and Robin got absolutely smashed on my dad’s whiskey and argued about who the hottest Rocky Horror actor was.”

Eddie’s mouth sprang open to defend himself, but absolutely nothing came out.

When had they even watched Rocky Horror together!?

“You kept insisting the guy who played Brad was hotter than the one who played Rocky, remember? I thought Robin was going to strangle you because she like, adores Susan Sarandon.” Steve continued, like they were having one of their playful little spats and not--not discussing Steve kissing him!

“You guys asked me to tie-break,” He added slowly, like he was trying to jog Eddie’s memory. “and I told you guys I thought both were hot.”

Which--oh.

Oh.

“Okay so you’re…?”

Not going to kill me is what Eddie intended to say, but Steve took it as another question entirely, and answered with a nod and a hum.

Which--okay.

Steve Harrington was bisexual, and also already thought he’d come out to Eddie.

He could roll with that.

That was not the problem, at all.

The problem was; “That doesn’t explain the kiss though?!”

Steve finally put his coffee down, huffing out exasperatedly. “I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t realize I did it, man. We share a bed a lot and I guess I wasn’t--I must have--”

And now, finally, Steve was getting embarrassed. A red flush spread across his cheeks and down his neck, vivid even on his tan skin.

He ran a hand through his hair, and Eddie knew purely from the sheer amount of time they spent together that it was a self-soothing action.

“I guess I’m sorry?”

It came out less as a question and more as an accusation-- which Steve himself seemed to hear because he immediately corrected it with a far less sassy and much more sincere; “No I am--I’m sorry.”

None of which answered why Steve had kissed him.

“You didn’t think I was Nance, did you?” Eddie asked, because apparently he just couldn't stop while he was ahead.

Maybe he should have died. It'd be better for both of them, considering he was doing about as good as kicking Steve while he was down.

Steve, the guy who had saved Eddie's life and was now one of his best friends and here Eddie was, dragging this out of him like a moron.

“No.” Steve said immediately. Reflexively, almost, firm and sure. “I am very aware you’re not Nancy.”

‘Let it go Eddie. Don’t make it weird Eddie. Just laugh it off and say okay--’

“Then who did you think it was? I mean you said it was instincts and like, I'm not stupid. I know I can be confused for Nance in the low light, it's happened before but--"

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“I didn’t think. I knew it was you." Steve interrupted. "I knew I was kissing you, Eddie."

Oh god, just kill him now.

Hell he'd even take a Vecna death! With all the gross gore and the shitty villain monologue!

"This morning I was tired, and I was sleepy, and I apparently skipped the part in my head were I asked you out and we were dating.” Steve deadpanned at him.

Eddie gaped, mind shattered and rapidly reforming.

It was like the universe was recreating itself, only this time all the stars had aligned and his wish had come true and some Disney director had taken control of his life--

“But I get it if I’m not your type." Steve was saying, because Steve was perfect.

And Kind.

And wanted to date Eddie.

"I’m sorry if I made things uncomf-mmphhh!”

‘Mmmph’ because Eddie had flung himself at Steve, face first, the second "I asked you out and we were dating" had finished processing.

(Which was alarming fast, considering he'd been struggling all morning.)

‘D--ff--ing?”

Steve laughed in his mouth as Eddie tried to talk while kissing, pulling away slightly and holding his chest back with a hand when Eddie tried to chase him anyway.

“Yes, dating. As in, would you, Eddie Munson, like to go on a date with me, Steve Harrington?”

“Yes.” Eddie’s mouth said.

At least this time it and his brain were on the same wavelength.

“Yes I very much would.” He put some weight into his lean, making it harder for Steve to hold him back. “I think you can tell, by the way I'm trying to kiss you. Which you are not doing."

He pouted, and refused to be embarrassed about his behavior.

Steve laughed, and he might have said something like “God you changed up fast” except he had given in and let Eddie close again, and his words were now being swallowed down.

Eddie's life was weird alright, and now it was weird even by his own standards, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

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uranometrias · 13 days

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✮ꜜ : ❛ long time coming : aaron hotchner x fem! reader

pairing: aaron hotchner x bau! reader

summary: after getting hurt out in the field, you're on leave for a month. coming back felt long overdue, that is until your plans with the team lead you to a situation that feels a bit too close for comfort after such a traumatic time. what's worse, your feelings you've harbored for your boss have no choice but to come to light when he makes the odd choice to address you as 'agent' rather than your name after one month of being apart, and years and years of back and forth will-they-wont-they.

content warnings: making out. allusions to sexual assault + r4pe (but only in the context of the case). reader has slight signs of PTSD. anxiety/panic attacks. reader runs into a few pushy men while out at the club. drinking / drunk confessions. reader has a crush on her boss, it is also implied that reader finds derek attractive, and he reciprocates these feelings. hotch is very good at calming reader down. no usage of y/n. reader is described as having shoulder length hair (can be read as a wig/weave) angry/disappointed hotch! reader has been hiding her anxiety / nightmares / memory issues from the team. mentions of vomiting. kissing. mentions of elle & the events of the fisher king. no distinct timeline, but can be read as s7 with the iconic team (hotch, emily, derek, jj, penelope, rossi, & spencer)

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"Okay, I didn't know we were going all out. I would've prepared better." you smile shyly as Jennifer pulls you into a tight hug. When Penelope had called you early that morning with an excited decree that you'd been cleared to return to work you hadn't been sure how to feel. You hadn't bothered to ask how Garcia of all people was privy to information you hadn't received from your bosses yet, there was no getting a straight answer when it came to the Technical Analyst.

It had been her idea for the entire team to get together. You'd been out of the office for a full month, and in that time you'd tried your hand at maintaining your bonds with the rest of the group. It of course wasn't the same, but you knew that you'd needed the time. The last time you'd joined them on a case things had gone horribly wrong. You shudder at the thought, you had been doing so good at forgetting about it all, but seeing them again made it all come back.

The unsub had been your run-of-the-mill anger excitation rapist, a creep that had been using an elaborate ruse to entice and entrap women. It had been Emily's idea for the two of you to go undercover, the unsub had been killing two women every week, women who in many ways were polar opposites of one another, a trait that you and Emily shared. Long story short, in the midst of your plan to lure and trap the Unsub, you'd been separated from Emily and cornered.

You’d been carted off by the creep who kept you stuck for three hours before the team used his mistake to find you. By then though, the damage had been done. You remember the look on Rossi's face when he and Hotch came busting in, and found you looking bruised up with a bloody face, and a gun barrel to the side of your head. You'd never seen Hotch quite as scared, at least not since everything with Foyet nearly three years ago when he lost Haley and almost Jack.

You'd been too out-of-sorts to hear the way they'd tried to reason with the Unsub. And you hadn't realized your abdomen was losing blood until a gunshot rang out, bullets whizzing past your head as the unsub curled into himself before falling to the ground. You didn't know much, you thought maybe your eardrums had exploded with the way they were ringing, and you'd half expected to smack your head against the ground and end up with an annoying concussion.

Instead, you'd been met with the sight of your boss. He'd yelled something you weren't privy to, mouth moving as he seemingly forced the rest of the team out of their stupor long enough to get a medic inside to look you over. It was like you said, the details were fuzzy, but nothing had managed to wipe Hotch's worried expression as he fussed over your safety, out of your mind. However, if you were honest with yourself for one measly second, that was nothing new.

Nothing seemed to fill up your mind the way your boss did, and it was stupid, and deplorable all things considered. But it's not like it had even been something you'd asked for. It just happened one day. You shake these thoughts of your near paralyzing emotions away, pulling yourself back to the present as you took in JJ, who despite her perceived candor looked great. "Oh come on Jaige." you huff, and you appraise her more openly. "You look amazing, as usual."

She grins, albeit shyly, and she's waiting, maybe for your approval maybe for something else. She's trying to be discreet as she sweeps your for obvious reminders of what happened, and you feel nervous. Most of your injuries had healed up well enough, and the scratches that littered your face had been covered in a smattering of makeup. You felt comfortable in your pretty girl cocoon, all done up with a bright smile on your face that was surprisingly believable.

"Can I hug you?" she asks, and you can tell she's been holding it in, waiting to ask. You nod your head, a quiet chuckle escaping you as the blonde seems to scoop you into her arms. She's careful not to squeeze too tight, but the love is felt all the same. "God, it's been so weird without you around." she hums, and while the rest of the team is already huddled inside, probably in a booth Penelope picked, you're so happy she's the one here telling you this now.

"Now you know how we all felt when they sent you to the Pentagon." you whisper back, and you hear her bemused giggle as she steps back, and she takes you in again. Your red minidress was a stark contrast to the usual business-casual attire you wore everyday to work. Your hair was curled, pinned back with a gold claw clip, hair just barely ghosting over the divots of your collarbones. You'd opted for a shorter do' following everything with the unsub.

"Never leave us again." she pleads, and you feel this warmth blossoming in your chest at the way she's staring at you, almost like she really means it. You'd joined the team back when Elle and Gideon had still been around. At one point you'd been the rookie, the new girl nobody knew what to expect from. JJ had been right there beside you, even back then. She had been sweet, assertive, your first real friend on the team. She'd welcomed you before anyone else.

In time of course, things had changed, JJ had a husband, kids, a hoard of other units that were plotting on her skills at all times, but she was still JJ. Still that same first friend that helped you to see the Behavioral Analysis Unit was the only place for you. "I'll do my best." you promise, and she grins. She links arms with you before you both head inside the bar. There was music playing, some alternative indie song that wasn't half bad.

"Here's the girl of the hour now." Emily exclaims, and it's clear they've already started tossing back shots. JJ's head is instantly shaking in mortification. So it was going to be one of those nights. Penelope meets you both, pulling JJ from your arms and leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek sweetly, before she's turning to you. She's got tears already brimming in her eyes, and you can't help but giggle at the dramatics of it all.

"I'm so happy to see you." she squeals, and you find yourself hugging back despite the sting of your abdomen. "You look so beautiful." she adds a second afterwards. "What are you looking to get lucky?" she asks, as she uses her hands to push you away slightly, hands resting gently on both of your shoulders. You feel your face growing hot at the implication, and you see the way she's looking at your facial expressions for a signal of your lies. Curse her proximity to profilers.

"I just wanted to look nice." you reply and Penelope lets you off the hook. She leads you to the table, and you're just in time to hear the group finish up their hellos to JJ. She's sitting next to Morgan, who's bright-eyed as he looks up at you. You find yourself fussing with your hair, playing it cool as you press your lips together, re-smearing your lipstick as you waved your hand.

You weren't sure why you felt like the new kid all over again.

"It's good to see you, pretty girl." he croons, and you grin. Morgan was flirty, had been since you met him, and if you weren't so disastrously into Hotch, you think he'd be all on your mind. Well, you know... more than he was. There had been times where you'd been partnered together, and it almost felt like the tension was going to cut you in half. Sexual tension aside though, Derek was your friend.

They all were, and despite what your mind tried to tell you as you sobbed yourself through nightmares during your break from work, they were genuinely happy to see you. "I'm glad you're okay." your eyes flit over to the youngest member of the team. Spence is looking relieved as he too looks up at you with eyes full of relief. He's next to Emily, and she's already downing another drink. She'd be complaining about a migraine the next day, you could hear her now.

"Thanks, Spence." you coo, and you offer him a wink as your eyes fall on the only present member of the team that hadn't addressed you. Rossi had made a point to send his hellos, but due to a previous standing appointment, he wouldn't be joining tonight. You couldn't hold it against him, Rossi was scoping the prairie for wife number four. He offers you a faint smile, the group instantly falling into chatter.

"H-Hey Hotch." you mumble, and he's closest to you, sitting on the outside of the booth as the rest of the team tried their hardest to pretend they weren't expecting this. He doesn't say anything for a moment, instead he takes you in. He wasn't blind, he'd seen you before, you'd always been beautiful, but there was something about you done up like this. Red dress, red lip, bold makeup, and heels that showed off your legs, and accented your model-esque posture.

It was obvious that you were still a bit nervous about being out and about, and you were out of practice with being around the team. He imagined after a bit though you'd be back to yourself. You, and the rest of the girls would be falling into a rhythm in no time. He stands to his feet, much taller than you, as you take a small step back to give him space. "It's good to see you up and about, Agent." and his voice is low, clearly as a courtesy to the bustling of conversation behind you.

"Agent?" you repeat, and the word is so foreign. It makes you take another step back, the bottoms of your Louboutin's clacking against the ground. You looked a bit hurt, but you played it off quickly. "Come on, Hotch. I think we're a little past those formalities." you chuckle awkwardly, and you find yourself looking towards the bar. Yeah, you were definitely going to need a drink. He seems to curse under his breath, but you're not sure if that's due to you, or some internal conflict you weren't privy to. You don't wait to figure it out either.

He doesn't have the opportunity to reply to your correction, because you're looking to Emily, JJ, and Garcia. "Wanna get some shots?" you ask, and you sidestep Aaron, making sure you don't look his way again, as the girls immediately exclaim their agreements. Penelope's sliding out of the booth first, Emily and JJ following her example as they head straight towards the bar. JJ's shooting you a knowing glance as she looks between Hotch and yourself.

"You coming boys?" you extend the invite to Derek and Spencer, who are quick to nod along, both men trailing after the others as they head to the counter to order more drinks. You prepare to follow after them, ready for the welcome respite from your mind swimming in circles.

"I didn't mean to offend you." you stop short, spinning on your heel to meet the gaze of your Unit Chief.

"Well you did." you reply, and your voice is small. "I've known you for almost seven years, and here you are treating me like a stranger." you mumble, and you find yourself tugging at your dress. "I mean, I know it's been a while, but geez Hotch, it's still me." you say and he winces. You're not sure what the last month has been like for the others, but you know what they've been like for you. Torturous. It's been Hell.

"I know." he says, and your eyebrow raises, unmoved by his words. "And again, I didn't mean to offend you." he promises, and he clenches and unclenches his fists by his side. "After everything that happened, I guess I just assumed you'd prefer a more professional approach." he mutters, and you scoff quietly. Classic Aaron Hotchner, running away from interpersonal conflict with his tail tucked between his legs. "You don't even seem comfortable with us tonight."

You blink. Okay well he had a point there, but you were trying.

"It's not that I'm not comfortable." you mutter, and you look over your shoulder at the rest of the team. "I guess I just didn't expect to feel so out of place being out and about." you shrug your shoulders bashfully. "Everyone's normal, everything seems the same." you continue, and you notice the way that Hotch's lips have pressed into a hard line. "And it's like no time has passed at all for anyone else, but for me it's like I never moved." you blink, shivering at the thought.

Hotch's eyebrows furrow inwardly as he takes in your words. "I still feel like I'm-" you trail off, feeling a wide lump growing in your throat. "It's like I never left." you course correct, eyes shutting briefly, lashes brushing against your cheekbones. "Like no matter how much time passes, it still feels like I'm there with him and I'm-"

"I understand." he cuts you off, you think maybe to salvage your pride or to keep you from having a panic attack at the thought. "And you're certain you're ready to come back to work? You know you can take all the time you need." he reminds you, and you are immediately nodding your head as you wave a tired hand his way.

"I can't stay cooped up in my house anymore." you mumble. "It's becoming counterproductive." you huff. "I'm ready." you add a second later. "Apart from this awkwardness, I'm also perfectly fine." and it's a lie, you'd been having nightmares every night. Restless, sleepless evenings full of dread, and jump scares of your own creation. "I mean, I'm here aren't I?" you offer a tight smile as you reach out and tap Hotch's shoulders twice, a tense little conversation ender.

You don't want to stay huddled up with him anymore, not while he was looking at you like he was trying to see into your soul. You turn on your heel, dress swishing side to side as you head for the group. You find yourself in between Emily and Penelope, the blonde to your left immediately sliding a drink in front of you. You down it in a second, the intense burn as the alcohol rested in your chest was a welcome reprieve from the anguish and anxiety you'd been feeling.

You forget about Hotch, and all your heavy feelings by the time you're on your third drink. Your heels feel much too heavy under your feet as you stumble into Emily, the brunette chuckling vibrantly as you hang off each other, the music playing overhead lulling you into a false sense of security. It was nice being like this again after so long, laughing at the dramatic banter between Derek and Penelope. You wondered if they'd remain purely platonic forever.

Trading gossip back and forth with Emily and JJ was always a treat, especially as Spencer tried to keep up with eyes wide as saucers while Emily finally cracked the secrets of her coveted Sin-To-Win weekends. You weren't sure what was funnier, the peeks into Emily's life outside the unit, or the horrified looks that crossed Spence's face with every new tidbit of knowledge he learned about his coworkers. You found your eyes flickering over to Hotch again.

He was stoic as ever, but looser than he would be in the office. He seemed to enjoy being a quiet observer much more than he preferred to be in the mix. He leisurely swirled his glass of scotch, and you felt that familiar buzz of warmth in your chest when you managed to catch him smiling as he quietly passed conversation back and forth with a newly drunk Penelope, and Derek, who looked exasperated.

"Are you just gonna stare at him all night?" you jump a bit, turning to face Emily with surprise swirling in your irises. "If you keep it up, he's gonna catch you." she adds a second afterwards and you tense, head nodding as you scold yourself. You peel away from the bar, drink clutched in your hand. You had to get away from the bar for a second, maybe the cluttered dance floor would be the best distraction.

"Sorry." you mutter, and Emily offers a airy laugh. "He's just usually so serious." you lean into Emily, who nods along. She'd met Hotch after you, but still she'd managed to become so close to him it was almost surreal. She seemed to always know what he was thinking, they were in sync. Unlike you, who seemed to always be on the other end of a hard stare from the man. For a while you just began to assume he hated your guts. Or better put, he was indifferent to your existence.

That was why his look, that look he'd given you as he cradled your head while he waited for backup had been burned into your skull. All that went out of the window the second he'd labeled you 'Agent' though. God, how stupid were you? Emily's amusement makes your eyes roll. "Can I be honest?" she asks, and you nod. Penelope and JJ have migrated to the dance floor, JJ grabbing the good doctor and bringing him along with them. He looks incredibly uncomfortable.

"Sure, Em. If you think it will help." you reply audibly.

"I haven't seen him this relaxed since everything went down." she admits, and you're surprised. As if somehow your presence had been enough to set the stone-serious man at ease. "The first few days after your accident he was a mess." she adds, and she's got a surprising about of stability to her tone to be as inebriated as she was. She lowers her voice some as she leans into you, "He showed up late." she mutters this like it's some sworn secret just meant for the both of you.

"I'm sure Strauss was just riding him about another mishap in the unit." you try, and Emily looks unconvinced and unimpressed with you. "He's our boss, it's kind of his job to worry about us." you finish.

"Yeah, I guess so." Emily concedes, and she looks like she's done talking about it, so you find yourself relaxing. "Still. I've never seen him go that hard against an unsub, maybe you're not the only person that's feeling something." she leaves you with that, trying to keep from tipping as she marched towards the group. You chuckle quietly to yourself, ignoring Emily's words as you focus on finishing your drink. It seemed you'd inadvertently been trying to be alone all along.

You felt some of the tension melt from your shoulders now that you were standing at the bar, away from those prying eyes you couldn't lie to. There's this sound of heavy footsteps, and then the clearing of a throat, as you turn to be met with the sight of a man. He looked to be about your age, cheeks and nose covered in a little smattering of freckles. He's got a head full of shaggy hair that hangs in his face. He takes a quick step, sliding up against the bar beside you.

Way too close.

"Hey." he mumbles, and you appraise him boredly. It's not like he was ugly or anything, but despite Penelope's words you were not looking to get lucky tonight.

"Hi." you offer a dry greeting, shuffling your weight from one foot to the other as the bar seemingly became a beacon for thirsty men. Just as you were politely stepping away from the freckled man, you found yourself bumping into another man who'd slithered up to the bar, your ass pressing against his crotch as his hands wound around your waist. A sleazy chuckle escapes the man's mouth as you gasp. "I'm so sorry." you exclaim, and you're quick to peel away.

You feel trapped though, there were at least four guys, they all seemed to be friends, they all seemed to be in kahoots.

There's a third and fourth man joining the fray, they all looked to be about the same age, height, and weight class. This was probably their routine: approach and overwhelm whatever drunk girl they might have happened upon. It looked like you were tonight's target. "Hey, what's the rush?" the guy closest to you drawls, and you wonder where all your years of training have gone. His arm raises, and it feels like he might hit you so you flinch way too violently.

"Stick around, we'll order the next round." the next demands, and his breath smells like booze. It stinks, and it's hot as it puffs across your face. You almost break your heels backing away from them, suddenly feeling self conscious a`nd way too vulnerable in your short dress.

"No, it's alright, really." you try, and you stumble again. "My friends are right over there." and you point in their general vicinity. "Have a great night though." you offer politely, and you're trying to make your grand escape. One guy, a shaggy blonde haired man is quick to grab you by your forearm, and it's like you're back to that day. Your bureau appointed therapist had been talking to you about your anxiety, how a range of things could become triggers and transport you mentally.

"That wasn't a question. Stay a while." You're stuck, absolutely frozen in place as your entire body tenses up. Some Special Agent you were, the bureau would be so disappointed in you. Your team would be so disappointed in you. All it took to turn you into a pile of nothing was a bit of confrontation. You could remember a stronger version of you, that girl would've had these men on their knees for even thinking of laying hands on you. God, you missed that girl.

His grip on your arm tightens, fingers digging into you harshly as you find yourself surrounded on every side.

"L-Let me go." you huff under your breath, and you crane your neck. You spot JJ, the blonde's eyes locked on yours as the reality of what's going on forces her to sober up. "I just-" and you jerk away, stumbling back completely. You're surprised you don't scream as your glass drops to the ground shattering as glass sprays in every which direction. You feel like your ankle's twisted as you fall back on your ass. You expect to feel the embarrassing thud that came with smacking your ass on the hard floor of a bar, but it never comes.

Instead you feel cocooned by a familiar scent. Strong arms are looped around you, but you suppose your lack of disgust at the action is just a testament of your comfortability. "Are you alright?" it's mumbled against your ear, and the low tone of his voice makes you shiver. All you can really offer is a tight nod as Aaron's guiding you behind him. You don't get to see Hotch in action, not when JJ, Penelope, and Emily are flocking you like Charlie's Angels.

You feel the first signs of the need to barf pricking at you, and you know that you need to get some air. You needed to breathe.

"God, are you okay?" Penelope asks, and you're not sure if you are being dramatic. I mean, it wasn't like they'd done anything really. Now you were gonna look like the freak that ruined a fun night.

"I'm sorry." you chirp, and you miss the way Jennifer and Emily share a hard glance. It's not until you're feeling brisk air whipping around your face that you realize they've taken you outside, and you haven't stopped apologizing. I'm so sorry. Penelope's got wide eyes, quickly brimming with tears as you find yourself crumbling to the ground. Your hand's quick to clutch around your chest as you try to inhale. The dramatics of it all made you even more nauseous.

You should've stayed at home.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Emily's cooing, and it seems being out like this has sliced through her tipsy stupor. She's focused just like she would be on any regular sort of day. "I need you to breathe." she instructs, and JJ's crouching down in front of you, brown eyebrows draw inwardly as she takes in your clearly frantic state. Every puff of air that escapes you is tight and sounds like it hurts. You can just barely hear the sound of a commotion taking place inside.

You do hear JJ's quiet exclamation of "I'll stay with her, go check on Hotch and Derek!" before Penelope and Emily are heading back into the packed building. She calls your name, and it takes a while for you to regain your voice. She's devoid of pity, which you appreciate. JJ knew more than anyone how much you hated being seen as a burden, or someone to be sorry for. Pride was a killer. "Can you try and take a deep breath for me?" and it's then you realize your choppy little intakes of air weren't doing you any favors.

It takes a great deal of effort for your vision to be less blurry. Your ears were full of cotton, and your head was swimming. You feel bile again in the back of your throat, and you jerk away from JJ's reach. You feel like you're suffocating, transported away from the random bar in the middle of Virginia, and back to a place you'd fought so hard to escape. You were certain you'd remember that unsub forever. His evil eyes, the way he tried to use your entrails like paint.

You remember how Elle had changed after she'd been attacked by Garner. How she had changed so much that she had no choice but to step away from the Unit. Would that be your life? You didn't want that life, but it was clear you needed something, you needed help. You couldn't focus on anything else, but what had happened. You'd ruined a night out because the act of being cornered was enough to transport you back.

JJ's still peering at you as if she's waiting for you to start panicking, and maybe you were. "I'm sorry." you huff again, and JJ's shaking her head at you.

There's a deep frown etched into her face as she sighs herself. "Stop apologizing." she insists, and your lashes are wet with unshed tears. "You didn't do anything wrong. Those assholes should've never put their hands on you." she proceeds. "You know that don't you?" she continues, and you don't know how to respond, so you don't. JJ reads you like an open book, and she smacks her teeth. "Well now you do." she says this firmly. "And I'm sure Hotch and Morgan are teaching them that lesson right now." you tense up again.

"I didn't mean to ruin the-" JJ's offering you a hard glare that shuts you up. Another bad habit you'd picked up since the incident. You were working on it, trying not to blame yourself for things you didn't cause. "I'm sorry." and this time it's not because of tonight. "I was so nervous about tonight.-" you take in a hiccupped breath. "I just wanted to prove that I could bounce back." you explain, and it's the first insight you've allowed anyone. "I figured if I pretend everything's normal, soon enough it would be, but it's too much." you huff.

"And that's okay." she promises. "What you went through isn't something anyone's expecting you to forget about in a month, alright? It's gonna take time, and there will be days where it'll hurt a lot more, and there will be days where you're feeling like your old self again." she promises. "What you need to understand is that we-" she pauses as you take it in. "are your family." she finishes, and your lips start to twitch, you're not sure if you'll smile or cry.

"I know-" you proceed, and she holds a hand up in front of you.

"Let me finish." she pleads, and you inhale before nodding. "I don't- none of us want a repeat of what happened with Elle." she says quietly. "None of us want to show up to the unit one day and see your badge and gun sitting on your desk." JJ sighs. "So if you ever start feeling anxious, or terrible, or just like you're back... there." and you wince at the mention. "I want you to call me, call one of us. Don't deal with this alone, alright? Not when you don't have to."

JJ hugs you before you have time to respond, but her words sink deep and make you feel warm inside. "Thanks, Jaige." you mumble against her hair. She squeezes you tighter, and you believe it's to make up for her shyer hug earlier.

"You're welcome." she mumbles back, and then she's pulling back. You don't have much respite, Penelope practically tackling you in a hug of her own. You hadn't even realized the rest of the team has left the bar, you were sure the mood of the night was much lower.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Penelope exhales, and you do too, breathing fine again, save for a few hiccups that escaped you every so often. She lets you go after a beat, and you're quick to take a small step back, suddenly feeling anxious once more.

"Yeah, I'm fine now." your eyes meet Derek and Emily's. "Thank you." and you're chuckling quietly as Derek pulls you into his side. He plants a kiss on the top of your head, and you warm inwardly. Spencer does hug you, and it's a shock. One of those hugs that you never take for granted, because it could be a while before you get another. Once he's pulled away you find yourself still hovering, listening quietly as they all decide the night's not over.

You respectfully bow out, you'd had enough for one day. It's then you notice that Hotch is all by himself. You quietly excuse yourself, but you find that they're not really listening now that you were safer. "Are you alright?" you ask, and your voice is very quiet. Hotch looks up from his phone as if he's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. You take in his face, and it's clear he's been in some sort of scuffle. Most notable due to the fact he's got blood smeared under his nose.

"I should be asking you that." he retorts, and your eyebrows furrow in.

"Y-You already did." you remind him, eyes darting away. "Why are you over here by yourself?" you shoot off a round of questions, the wind whipping around, and making you crave the comfort of your bed. You maintain a respectful balance, you weren't in any rush to be all up in someone's space.

"I think I've had enough of crowds for the night." he retorts. You don't realize until it's happened though, your hand reaching up to swipe at the blood that's slowly drying on his upper lip.

"Get into a bar fight?" you ask, and you hold your breath for the answer. Hotch looks down at you, and there's this unreadable expression on his face. You realize that this is nothing new. Hotch had never been easy to read, he was one of the greatest profilers you'd ever met, one of the greatest people. But he'd always been an enigma. His emotions were an Alcatraz all on their own.

"You should see the other guy." the classic rebuttal to a question like yours. It doesn't make you smile, mostly because he's not smiling either. "Are you okay?" and he's got you by your wrist, eyes zoned in on the harsh mark the guy from the bar had left behind. "He never should've touched you." his voice lowers, and there's an annoyance attached to his tone. "I'm so sorry." you find yourself huffing.

"You shouldn't have fought him." you say matter-of-factly. Your fists fold up at your sides, your lips pulling down into a frown. "It'll give everyone the wrong idea." you say, and you wrench your hand away from his grasp.

"Everyone?" he repeats, and he looks confused, classic Hotch.

"Me." you correct, "I'll get the wrong idea." you whisper. "I might actually think you like me." you admit quietly.

"We wouldn't want that." he replies, and his tone is far from mocking. You hate that it makes you crack a smile. You hate that he's always the one that manages to get that reaction out of you.

"Hey, are you two coming? We're all heading to Mo's." Emily calls, and you snort at the fact that their alcohol riddled mind had caused them to forget you'd already declined. You take a step away from Hotch, and you hate that you stumble. You were hating a lot of things tonight. Maybe you weren't as sober as you'd thought.

Aaron looks to you as if he's waiting to see your answer before giving his own, and maybe he was. The second you're politely explaining that you're ready to head home, Aaron is offering to drive you. Derek is whistling, Emily and JJ offering you smug little smirks. Penelope is trying to keep herself secured to Earth. "He's gonna take her home." he whispers to no one in particular, and it's a horrid attempt.

"We all heard, babygirl." Derek replies to her, and you find yourself a bit stuck. The thought of spending the eighteen minute car ride with your boss make you want to scream, but you'd taken a cab. Your own car was parked in the driveway of your place. And he doesn't look like he' taking any goodbyes either way. Rounds of goodbye and see you laters are soon offered. "Take care of our girl, Hotch." Derek calls, and you hear Spencer as he starts to rant about Derek's turn-of-phrase.

Our girl. Hotch finds that the words repeat in his head like an obnoxious echo. "Why are you doing this?" you question quietly. "If you're just trying to make up for the whole Agent thing, there's no need." you proceed, and you take a small step back.

"I'm not trying to make up for that." he replies quickly. "But, you're drunk, and you've been through a lot tonight." he reminds you as if you're ditsy or something. "It wouldn't be smart to leave you by yourself." he continues, and he inhales deeply. He watches the way you watch him, like you're unsure, like you're suspicious. "That isn't a testament of whether or not I think you can handle yourself... and neither was fighting that man at the bar." he promises, and you blink.

"No?" you ask, and your tongue feels extra dry. Like you've licked a stripe of sandpaper.

"No." he reaffirms. "You mean a lot to the team. We wouldn't be the same without you." he says this bit like he means it, and you can't find any trace of a lie residing in his face. He does mean it.

"Thank you, Sir." you reply under your breath, exhaling the word. The chill of the night finally gets to you, and you shiver.

"Can I take you home?" he asks, and you know you're reading into it more than you should. You know what he means, what he's really asking, but delusion was healthy every now and again, right?

"Y-Yeah." your head nods, voice wavering slightly as you take hold of the bottom of your dress. "Yes." you say more firmly.

"Okay." you stand there for a few moments more, passing charged glances back and forth. "You never answered my question earlier." is what he says to break the moment. "About how you were doing..." he proceeds. "I've asked you twice, and both times you-"

"Deflected?" you offer, and his head nods. "I guess I'm just scared you'll see right through whatever my answer is." you admit, and you cross your arms, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. "Emily and JJ will at least humor me." you explain. "Penelope won't ask... mostly because she's scared of the answer." you chuckle awkwardly. "Derek and Spence, well I guess they're like you too... but you're here, and they're not... so here we are."

Hotch appraises you for a second, but he doesn't say much else. You're grateful for that, but equal parts annoyed that he wasn't leaping to tell you that you were harder to read than you thought. No such luck. Still, you're surprised when Hotch grabs you by your arm, much gentler than earlier, and he's slowing his stride to be in step with yours. You don't realize you've leaned fully into his side until you feel him tense up. He doesn't say anything though.

A win is a win.

You didn't know much about the inner workings of Aaron Hotchner's mind, but you did know that if he was uncomfortable with your proximity, he would have said so. The walk back to Hotch's car is silent. At least outwardly, inside you were panicking. He opens the passenger side for you, and you imagine a world where this was normal. Where it didn't take you being hit on by sleazy men at a bar to be having these moments with Hotch. But it was impossible.

"Did it hurt?" you ask, once the car is moving. He's adjusted the temperature, a soothing warm pooling from the vents. You're surprised at how quickly he drives, you'd half expected him to be one of those slow as molasses drivers. Hotch looks over at you incredulously, his eyebrows raise, but he doesn't look agitated nor annoyed with you breaking the silence again.

"You'll have to be more specific." he replies, and you hum. You pause for a second, trying to find the right words. At the last second you decide saying it straight would be just as good as anything else.

"Punching that guy?" you ask, and Hotch's lips quirk upwards, he was amused with you. In truth, he had no idea what he was thinking. As soon as the girls had ushered you away, he'd found himself swinging before he could think of the repercussions. All he knew was that you'd sounded scared, you'd sounded unlike yourself in a way that made him angry. Everyone saw how you had changed, the elephant in the room was hard to ignore. But you were trying, he could give you that.

"No." he mumbles, and that likely has a lot to do with the fact that he hasn't come down. He's still on edge, still watching you like you might at any moment start spiraling. "Besides, it was worth it." and he says this a bit under his breath, you hear it all the same. "I doubt he'll try it again." he admits, and you feel liberated. It was nice to have someone fighting for you, fighting the fights you weren't capable of.

"Thanks, Hotch." you hum, and it triggers a yawn.

"Back to Hotch?" he asks, and you look over at him confused. You kick your feet back and forth, careful not to dig your heels into the plush of the car's floor.

"Would you prefer I call you sir?" you ask, and he is tapping on the brake, the car slowly peeling to a stop as you come up on a red light.

"No." he answers sternly. "It's not like you." he admits, and the light is turning green again. He steps lightly on the gas, the car surging forward "Especially if you're only calling me Sir, as payback for me calling you Agent." he says, and even though you had tried your hand at pretending the greeting hadn't bothered you, it was obvious he had read right through you.

"Why'd you do that?" you question and your tone is a lot more clipped than you had intended.

"So it did offend you?" he retorts, and you feel anger flaring up. You swallow this feeling, hands balling up by your side.

"Hotch." you snap, and he smirks fully, eyes back on the road. "Can you be serious, please?" you ask, and you probably sound pitiful.

"The last month I've just been..." he trails off momentarily, and you wonder if he's emotional, or just being dramatic. "I should have known better." he expresses. "I should've been there to make sure that what happened didn't." he says, and you tense up. "He never should have gotten the chance to get close enough to cart you off." he completes his thought, and you're shocked. You never would have guessed Hotch blames himself for what happened to you.

"That wasn't your fault." you promise, and you mean it. You'd never once thought of blaming Hotch for what went down. "You were confident in the plan, you were putting your faith in the team."

"There is a very thin line between confidence and arrogance." He rebuttals instantly. "We got cocky, and you suffered because of it." he looks so destroyed as he says this. "And then you showed up tonight, and tried to pretend everything was fine." he notes as you remain silent. "It just reminded me that we're too close." he tightens his grip on the steering wheel. "The longer you stay in the unit, the more you become numb to the things we see. You start to ignore the signs that you're not alright." he says, and you'd never thought of it that way.

"Hotch..." you exhale.

"I called you Agent to set up a boundary, or at least I tried." he says this like he's beating himself up. "But then I saw the way it hurt you." and he looks ashamed. "And I never want to be someone who does that to you." you're warring with your heart then. "So I wont do it again." he promises, and he looks to you briefly. "I'll call you by your name, I won't deflect." he adds as your mouth drops open just briefly.

"But, it's not right for someone your age to be so closed off. It's not right for you to pretend to be okay just to keep up with the people around you. If you weren't up to being out, you should've stayed home, our opinions don't outweigh your safety." he lectures you. "They never will." he adds a second after, and he's so sure as he says this. He's slowing down, coming up on your place.

Your leg is shaking slightly, that pesky feeling of anxiety creeping back up on you. "We're here." he says under his breath as if you weren't aware. You don't budge, you can't. You have so much to say, but where do you start. Hotch has shut his car off, almost like he too has a lot sitting on the tip of his tongue.

"I just wanted to prove I could handle it." you admit, and you're crying. "I didn't want to be another Gideon or Elle... or Spence." you cringe at the memories. "I didn't want you guys to handle with me with kid gloves. I didn't want you to see me as the girl who needs the kid gloves." you express honestly, and now your tears are falling in quick precession. "I'm sorry..." you swipe at your face. "I don't know why I'm crying, this is so stupid." you hiss at yourself.

"No, it isn't." the response earns him a surprised glance. "It's good... this is good." Hotch is quick to use a hand to swipe at your tears. He hates the sight of them, but loves what they mean. Your heart's still soft, pliable. You haven't fully succumb to the horrors of the job. "Consider this me atoning." he prompts. "You have my ear, say whatever you need to say." he looks over at you again, and seems to mentally backtrack. "If it'll help you." he adds.

You sniffle audibly, hands clenching and unclenching as the car suddenly feels much too hot. "It's not your fault, okay?" you repeat, and you say it with more certainty. "I just need you to know that." you sniffle again, but your tears keep falling, even as you try to blink them away. "Hotch, you're our leader for a reason, and you were there to save me that night, and you were here to save me tonight." you remind him. "I don't want you to pull back, not when I'm finally making some progress with cracking that hard exterior of yours."

Hotch's lips quirk at your words, and he looks down at his lap. "I've never meant to pull back from you." the inflection with the last words sticks. "I thought I was doing right by you... pulling the band aid off before you got in too deep." he says. "But that was wrong of me, I can admit to that. I'm sorry." and his apologies are like kisses. They wash over you, and force you to believe him.

"Don't apologize to me." you plead, "Just promise not to leave me behind, treat me like an outsider again." you continue as his head nods, and you can trust that he's listening.

"I can do that." he promises.

That seems to be the key to unlocking the dam of your emotions. You choke on the feelings, a quiet sob escaping you as you clasp a hand over your mouth. How dramatic, and pathetic, and God awful were all these feelings. But they'd been years in the making, right?

"Are you alright?." he asks under his breath, worry palpable.

"Do you know that the only thing that kept me from losing it that day was you?" you ask, and your boldness won't leave you, clearly it was now or never. "You told me to 'keep breathing'... you said it over and over and over, and I listened." you explain, and he remembers the day too well. "Even though everything hurt like hell, and there was so much blood." you reminisce. "And I don't know, maybe I'm just crazy, but there was this look." you exhale sadly. "This look you had on your face that made me think... 'maybe it's not just me'"

It isn't. He knows that instantly. You've plagued his mind so severely for so long that he can just barely remember a time where you weren't one of the only things he thought about, worried about, cared about. But he had his post to think about, he was the Unit Chief, your boss, your superior. What would the team think? What would Strauss think? Did it matter? In the grand scheme of things, did those worries outweigh his need, his innate desire to see you safe and protected from harm? Absolutely not. So what was the real problem?

"Hotch..." you inhale deeply, voice cracking distractingly as he gives you his full attention. Something you'd dreamed of, wanted more than anything since the first time you'd ever laid eyes on him. "Aaron." you correct, and you breathe again. "I've been thinking of how to say this... i've been rehearsing it over and over again, because I wanted to get it right, and I just knew tonight would be the night I'd have to have the balls to either say it or let it go forever." you admit.

"Say it..." and he's rushing you, but you suppose that's deserved. You were still stalling, dragging this out way more than you needed to.

"I'm in love with you." and it was out there, and you couldn't take it back. You stare him down, worried about his reaction, about how he would respond. "And it took me getting hurt, and being sent home, away from the team for me to realize." you inhale shakily. "I kept having these-these dreams about that night. All these different scenarios about how things could've turned out different, how I could've died had one thing been out of place." you process.

"You're the reason I'm still here, you're the reason why this team can function, and you're the reason why I- why I came tonight even though my anxiety told me it wasn't safe. Because, somehow I knew that as long as you were here... I'd be okay, and I am." you say, and it's a lot, too much maybe. His reaction is hard to read at first, face just as stoic as most times, but his eyes.... his eyes hold the truth. They melt, pools of warm honey dancing in the darkness residing there.

"And it's inappropriate... and wrong... and silly... but- I couldn't go another day without you knowing, without you hearing from me." you explain. "When you came up to the bar tonight I just... I've never felt this way before... lucky, protected, safe.... and-and I'm not asking for anything from you... I'm not expecting something in return, I just wanted to get it out there... I think we both know it's been a long time coming..." and your words are being swallowed as Aaron leans forward. The middle console is a bridge, a roadblock.

It doesn't deter him though, not from using a hand to gently cup your face, mouth slotting against yours as if it belonged there. You're dizzy, shocked, surprised, but you don't let this mess you up. You can't possibly allow anything to mess up this moment. Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two... the seconds tick by with neither of you moving to break the kiss, hands and tongues and breaths fanning over one another as you get acquainted in the most perfect way.

Still, life dealt lots, and yours consisted of a need for oxygen. It's the only reason why you break apart with heady gasps, eyes dilated and fogged with emotions much too heavy to really explain. "Oh, you can't do that." you explain, and Hotch's bemused, eyebrows raising upwards, as his thumb brushes over your cheekbones.

"I can't?" he asks, and he sounds so much lighter now.

"No, you can't. I'll get the wrong idea, you know." you explain, and he smiles brazenly at your callback to earlier. "I'll actually believe you're in love with me or something." you say, and Hotch is slow as he leans back in, a peck being placed right on your lips as your eyelashes flutter, and your heart beats out of control.

"We can't have that, can we?" he's following your lead with the callback, and your cheek presses into his palm.

"I don't know." you answer, and your voice is faint. "I'm scared this'll be a dream." you proceed as Hotch's eyes scan over your frantic face. "I'll wake up and find out that this was all in my head, and the only memories I get to hold on to are from that night." Hotch's lips purse, head shaking in denial as you inhale shakily.

"No, not this time. an ambitious remark. "This time it's real." he promises. "This time I'm here with you to make sure that all those things you felt that night, and earlier by the bar, are how you keep feeling about me." he answers truly. "I'm here to love you back for as long as you'll have me. Is it alright for me to feel that way?" he asks, and your hand jumps up to keep his squished in place against your face.

"You can feel however you want." you reply, and he laughs, a full blown chuckle escaping him as his face seems to light up like a thousand suns. His eyes glisten, twinkling as he looks down at you, like everything was right in the world. And to him it was. Nothing and nobody could hurt you here.

"Good. Then I choose whatever this between you and I leads to, I choose the feelings that come with that." You smile grows to an almost blinding brightness as you reach across the console to hug him, and pull him into your arms. He's quick as he presses a peck to the top of your head, eyes still dancing over you as if he was seeing you for the first time. And maybe he was, that part wasn't your business, all you knew was that loving Aaron was easy, it could be.

A long time coming, but a wait well worth it. Lucky you.

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streamingcolors-gvf · 7 months

Text

Skin Deep - Part 10.1

Pairing: Josh Kiszka x f!reader x Jake Kiszka, Josh Kiszka x f!reader x male OC

Word Count: 8.6k

A/N: This chapter is going to be broken into three separate parts for the sake of keeping it from being too long and to have consistent updates.

**While this part doesn’t have explicit queer sex scenes, it does set up for it for following parts. If this is something that does not interest you, this is your warning for the entirely of chapter 10. **

I’m quite anxious about this one you guys. I love this OC so much and I’m stoked to share and introduce him to this universe. It’s not perfectly edited so be gentle for that.

As always, I appreciate all the love, support and feedback yall give me ❤️

Warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, tobacco use, LGBTQ dynamic between characters/themes

Masterpost, Part 9 2/2

It’s late evening — way past the regular business hours, so you have to use the spare key the boys made for you and enter through the back door of the shop. You clumsily shuffle through the hallway due to your hands being full from the bags of carry-out you picked up on the way over.

Sam must’ve already cleaned up and headed out based on the strong odor of glass cleaner assaulting your nose as soon as you walk through the curtains. Music is playing upstairs, which is something you’ve come to expect whenever there’s a human presence in this place. What takes you by surprise is the amount of boisterous laughter cutting through it.

You wrestle, adjust your loot, and begin making your ascent on the staircase. Jake is in his usual spot when he’s not with a client, hunched over at his desk working on a design, leaving Josh and the man he is tattooing as the culprits for all the noise. Normally, you wouldn’t bat an eye at whoever happens to be in the chair after the last incident, but something about him seems different.

What you can pick up on during the short walk from the stairs toward Jake’s desk is Josh’s comfort with him. He’s not putting on the customer service mask, laughing at bad jokes, and pretending to be interested in dull stories. He’s engaging in everything the man has to say, maybe borderline flirtatious from what you can already see.

You step behind Jake, but he doesn’t hear you approach. You lean over and spot the white wireless earbuds he’s wearing and gently tap him on the shoulder, making him jolt a little. He stops drawing to pluck the left one from his ear and turns to face you.

“Hey,” he mumbles softly with a detectable exhaustion weighing on his voice.

“Hey,” you greet back, hoping that your upbeat tone will help spark some energy in him. After setting the heavy bags of carry-out on the empty space on his desk to free your hands, you begin to massage his shoulders. He doesn’t put up a fight, and instantly drops his pen on the table to lean back into your touch.

“Fuck that feels good,” he groans and rolls his head as you knead the tight knots tangled within his sore muscles.

“Long day?”

He releases a heavy sigh as you work out the tension in his upper back. “Yeah, and of course my last appointment was a fucking nightmare.”

He sucks in a sharp breath of pain as your thumbs roll over him. He’s stiff from his bad posture, but you don’t mean to cause him more discomfort. You relax your pressure and start rubbing the nape of his neck while you ask, “What happened?”

“Just the typical asshole that wants to micromanage the entire thing gets pissy about the price claiming he can get it cheaper somewhere else, and then whines and cries during the entire thing.”

You slip your hands down his chest as you lower yourself into an embrace and bring your lips to his cheek. “I’m sorry, babe. Sounds like you could use a drink and a hot shower.”

He huffs a dry laugh but leans into you while rubbing his fingers along your forearm. “I’m okay.” He gestures to Josh and his client as he continues, “Been trying to unwind for the past hour but with these fucking dickheads it’s almost impossible.”

“Who is that by the way?”

“Oh, that’s Kai, one of Josh’s friends with ben—“ He quickly catches himself and clears his throat, “Uhh… I mean he’s a good friend of Josh.”

You try to not take anything he says seriously given the source, but what he’s blurted out takes you by surprise. Your mind isn’t playing tricks because you know you heard him correctly, but you ask anyway, “A friend with what?”

He breaks from your hold and pushes away from the desk while turning to face you in his chair. You’ve caught him and now all he can do is deflect. He shakes his head and waves a hand at you. “No, no, no. Just because you bring me food doesn’t mean you get to pull gossip from me.” Your smile and crossed arms threaten him but he stands his ground. “Go find shit out for yourself. Go on. Shoo!”

You scoff, “Are you fucking serious?”

He takes his food from the bag and starts to set up a spot to open it. “Yes. Now leave me to eat in peace, woman.”

You give him a heavy roll of your eyes even though he’s no longer looking at you and take Josh’s food with you on your short walk over to his area of the shop. He immediately senses your presence and finishes the line before lifting his head in your direction.

“Hey, baby.” He breaks away from his conversation and looks at you with an infectious smile, and without control, you can’t help but smile back.

As you step closer, you’re able to get a better look at his friend stretched out along the table. When you first walked in, you could see from a distance that he was covered in tattoos, but now you’re even more surprised that Josh was able to find a free space for another one.

“She gets to be called baby and I don’t?” The suspected Kai scoffs as he combs his inked fingers through his loose, raven-black curls that sit right at the nape of his neck. The calm cadence paired with the crackle of his raspy voice puts off an energy you can’t place.

Josh giggles as he pulls another line across Kai’s stomach. “Well, for one, when you do the things she does with me, you earn being called baby.”

He chuckles as if completely unphased by the needle penetrating his skin. “Where can I sign up for that?”

So they are flirting.

You set Josh’s food down on a table and look over his shoulder to see the piece he’s working on. It’s a hand-sized pair of traditional-style, black, and gray scorpions on each side of Kai’s lower stomach between his hips. With the left side finished and wiped down, the right side is nearly complete. You note the bald spot on Kai’s stomach and imagine the process of Josh having to shave him with a careful hand.

“How much does something like this cost? With all the detail and everything?”

Josh answers without a second thought, “For him? No charge.”

“Really?” You hum.

You flick your eyes up from Josh’s moving hand to catch Kai staring directly at you. His are unwavering, holding a rare intensity from the striking shade of green of his irises — like polished stones of jade framed by dark lashes. They draw you in, locking you away in their gaze. A part of you feels compelled to break away, as if suddenly too embarrassed to look at him. You don’t, however. You allow your eyes to wander across the many body modifications of his face; the little tattoo on his right cheek, the silver septum ring beneath his nose, the pair of dimple piercings, and the two rings through each side of his bottom lip.

As he studies you, his lips begin to slowly curl up over his teeth, revealing a perfectly devious smile that does nothing but make you weak and flustered. It’s emphasized but the barbells in his cheeks. Charming in the same way as Josh’s, although, with a certain feral quality that causes your thoughts to wander. With eyes staying focused on you, he directs his words to Josh, “How many times do I have to keep telling you that I don’t need free work? Let me pay you this time.”

It gives you enough of a chance to break your focus from him to finally look away. Josh mutters under his breath as he stretches to dip the needle into the ink, “No chance.”

“I’m Kai, by the way,” he introduces himself with an outstretched hand, ignoring Josh’s remark completely. You stumble forward to take it, feeling his soft, yet chilled fingers wrap around yours. You give your name, making his smile grow even larger. “How do you know Josh?”

You try to convince yourself that he’s simply making light conversation and being polite. That the burning look in his eyes, the tight hold he has on your hand, even down to the drawl of his voice doesn’t mean that there are deeper intentions behind his interest in you.

You’re the one to make the first move in pulling a hand away, breaking free from his grasp. You shift, straightening to stand with heat prickling the back of your neck and forehead. “Oh…well, I met Josh when I came here to get my thigh piece done by Jake.”

Kai pries his eyes away from you to shoot Josh a judgemental stare. Josh returns the glare and huffs with a defensive raise of his hands, “What?!”

He chuckles as he slips his hand beneath his head to prop himself up on the table.“So that’s why I haven’t heard from you.” He teases with a lilt in his voice and winks at you before adding, “Josh, you sly dog.”

Josh responds by smacking Kai across the arm and you have to hold back the laugh that tries to escape your mouth.

“Ouch! What did I say?!” He cries out while rubbing his arm dramatically despite the cheeky smile plastered across his face.

You jump in intending to change the subject, even if your curiosity serves as the driving force to your question. “So how do you guys know each other?”

“Oh, Josh and I go way back,” Kai answers with an exaggerated sigh. “I ‘ve been getting work done for years now…just can’t stay away from all the great prices and wonderful customer service.”

As they stare at each other for a few beats of time, you watch the blush pinken Josh’s cheeks before he forces himself to refocus on his work. “He just keeps coming back no matter how many times we kick him out.”

Kai quips back, “I’m a stray. I’ll hang around if you keep feeding me.” Josh laughs as he works, wiping away the excess ink from his skin after each skillfully placed line. It’s starting to feel like you're interrupting their moment at this point, so you turn to leave until he stops you. “So what’s your Twitter handle?”

Before you have a chance to respond, Josh cuts in with an aggressive shake of his head, “Oh no, she doesn’t do that, Kai.”

Confusion twists the features of his face, matching the expression you’re wearing. “Do what?”

While a mischievous glimmer flashes in Kai’s eyes, Josh slowly lifts his head to you, showing a look of worry.

Kai adjusts as if he’s preparing to tell you the biggest piece of gossip, answering in a demeanor that borders on too relaxed, “Create content.”

While the words process in your brain, Josh’s face drops in disappointment. If his hands weren’t gloved, he would’ve smacked his hand to his face for added effect.

Josh’s reaction causes everything to click into place, making you understand the implication. He means adult content. Your face prickles with heat from your mind running with the thought of it. “Oh...oh.”

Josh braces for your discomfort while Kai continues the small talk as if nothing happened. “So what do you do?”

The question is innocent enough, but the look behind it says otherwise. You laugh nervously, glancing down at Josh to save you.“Nothing that interesting I’m afraid. I’m a barista down at the coffee shop.”

“Good money there?”

“Kai…” Josh scolds softly. “Don’t listen to him, baby.”

He glances up, giving you an expression as if to communicate with you telepathically. Despite the warning, you decide to answer anyway, “Enough to pay my bills I guess. Why?”

Kai flashes another smile and shrugs. “Just curious.”

Before the conversation has a chance of taking another turn, Josh butts in, “Oh would you look at that! You’re all done.”

Disappointment flashes across his face before he looks down at the new additions on his stomach. “Already?”

Taking the cue, you grab your food and get comfortable on the couch while Josh starts the cleanup process and takes pictures of his work. You do your best to mind your business, keeping your focus on the takeout container balanced on your lap, but you see Kai carefully stand to his feet and walk past you in your periphery. He stops in front of the full-length mirror where you have stood many times before. He’s kept his shirt lifted away from the fresh tattoo with his pants riding so low you can faintly see the patch of his pubic hair peeking above the band of pants. You’re gawking now, staring at how he twists his body and flexes his toned stomach in the mirror. You’re quick to note how his build is similar to Josh’s. He’s lean but with a bit more muscle and a few inches added to his height.

“These look fucking sick, Josh,” Kai calls over his shoulder as he admires the finished pair of scorpions. “Good choice on the placement.”

Josh chuckles, tearing the cling wrap away from the table. “I’m glad you like it.”

You check on Jake to see that he’s still at his desk, munching away on his food with his earpods nestled inside his ears. He glances up and shoots Kai an annoyed look, followed by a heavy roll of his eyes before taking another bite of his food.

Josh pulls your attention away with a dramatic huff, “Are you done staring at yourself or can I bandage you up already?”

Kai turns, revealing an exceptionally cocky grin, “Why? Do you wanna stare instead?”

“No, you idiot. I’m fucking starving and my food is getting cold.”

Amused, he takes his time making his way back to Josh, but you forget to look away, letting him catch you red-handed. He smiles, biting into his bottom lip with a wink sent only to you. You’d normally be irritated by a man with an ego too big for this room. But this one feels different. With a level of confidence that borders on arrogance, you believe it suits him — sex appeal radiating from every part of him. And with a single look, you find your heart racing.

Standing behind Josh while he preps the bandages, Kai ruffles his hair, teasing him, “You’re so cute when you’re mad.”

“Cut it out,” Josh grumbles, but you can see the smile spreading as he half-spins in his chair, reaching back for him. “Get over here.”

Kai steps around to face him, placing a leg between Josh’s open ones. A position where if he were to sit, he would be balanced right on his thigh. He looks down, watching as Josh peels the backing of the Saniderm and carefully places it on his skin. You recognize the gentle touch he’s using — the same one he’s used on you. His focus on Kai’s lower stomach is locked, brows furrowed in concentration while being mindful of his soreness as he presses the clear bandage down, even having to pull Kai’s waistband slightly to get the bottom edge to stick properly. Their proximity makes you blush — a closeness blurring the line of professionalism.

Kai extends a hand to slip his fingers through Josh’s curls again, but it’s far from taunting. He rests it there on the crown of his head, tugging his attention upward by the roots of his hair. You’ve seen that look in his eyes before — you know that look. You just can’t be sure who you’re more envious of, him or Kai. But seeing Josh cast under the same spell excites you, and makes that aching feeling throb between your legs.

You see the harsh swallow in Josh’s throat before Kai lets his hand fall to his side. Josh's eyes quickly dart away and find yours. Realizing you caught the moment, guilt twists his features until you give him a raised wiggle of your brows.

He tries his best to bite back the bashful smile, but you can see that he’s visibly flustered. After clearing his throat, he rushes to clean up the leftover trash from the bandages to keep busy. The tension between them is palpable, thicker than the humid mid-summer air outside. Satisfied with himself, Kai drops his shirt and pulls his phone out of his pocket.

Josh rambles about the aftercare, telling him when he can remove his bandages and how to properly wash as if this was the man’s first tattoo. Kai nods along anyway, walking in your direction toward the center of the room. Josh stands from his chair to follow but quickly pulls at his pants to readjust himself. At first, you think your eyes are deceiving you, but there’s no mistaking the significant bulge he’s desperately trying to hide.

“Oh shit!” Josh calls out, tossing the gloves that he’s peeled off his hands into the trash can. “Before I forget again, would you guys like to come out and see us next weekend?”

Kai answers immediately, “Absolutely.”

However, you don’t answer with nearly the same amount of certainty, asking a question of your own, “Both of us?”

You can feel Kai’s eyes on you in an instant. He’s observant of you — you’ll give him that. It makes you highly aware of yourself, mindful to not give away too much. It’s not that you don’t want to see Josh, it’s the thought of seeing Kai again. The dynamic between them has been a massive curveball, and you’re scrambling to catch up on processing it all.

“Yeah of course!” Josh doesn’t seem to catch it, sliding onto the arm of the leather couch. He’s distracted, beaming with excitement while trying to act casual. “We finally booked another gig. You’ll come, right?”

There’s that smile of his that you sell you on anything. He’s put you right on the spot. He could’ve just asked you directly if you wanted to come, or even waited until the day knowing full well that you’d show up that evening regardless. “Yeah, I can make it.”

Kai walks around the other side of the couch and picks up a tote you didn’t realize was sitting there. “Same place?”

Josh’s smile grows even bigger. “Hell yeah.”

“Perfect. Just text me the details. Unfortunately, I gotta run. I’m already late for a meeting.” You sense him step behind you to get to Josh and reach in for a hug. As he wraps his arms around him, he kisses him on the cheek. “Thanks for the awesome tat. Always a pleasure.”

“Of course, anytime,” Josh sighs from the praise, holding onto the embrace until Kai pulls away.

The weight of his hand on your shoulder surprises you, making you jump slightly. He squeezes you through your shirt as he leans down over the back of the couch. Your consciousness dives, swimming in his cologne that must be placed perfectly on his pulse points. It’s crisp, cool to the nose with its fresh floral notes that finish off with a comforting woodsy scent — like the summer rainstorms you’ve been romanticizing lately.

He keeps his voice low, so close to your ear that you swear you can feel his lips move against it, “It was definitely a pleasure meeting you.” His chilled touch sends a shiver down your spine as his fingers slide up the soft curve of your neck. “Can’t wait to see you again.”

Your body reacts before your mind can, making your breath feel heavy in your chest. The distant sound of a throat clearing disrupts him, making you both look up to see Jake staring directly at you.

Kai gives you a final squeeze before pushing away from you. “Jake! How could I forget you?”

The ghost of his fingers on your neck haunts you as he crosses the room. You replay the touch, and the words spoken in your ear while your eyes follow him and the unbothered swagger of his stride. Jake is just finishing the last of his meal, keeping his head down like a dog guarding a prized bone. “Leaving so soon?”

Josh, still sitting beside you on the arm of the couch, gives you a worried look, but you both watch as the interaction unfolds together. Kai continues his stroll behind him, daring to walk right into the cage of the beast. Metaphorically poking as if the blatant sarcasm was fuel to his antics. “Aww. You don’t have to put on such a brave face. It’s okay to miss me.”

Jake grumbles, letting his distaste coat the words between his teeth as he gives him a second warning, “The day I never see you again can’t come soon enough.”

Kai stops behind him and sticks out a dramatic bottom lip while slapping his hands to his heart. With Jake’s back to him, it’s a theatrical display meant for Josh and you to see. “Such sweet words coming from you.” The fake pout forms into a mischievous grin as he wraps his arms around Jake’s rigid shoulders. “Bring it in, big guy.”

You watch him take in a heavy breath through flared nostrils to calm himself. “Kai…I swear to god, if you don’t get your fucking hands off me I’ll drag you out of here myself.”

Kai takes the threat as a challenge, nestling his cheek against Jake’s even tighter in an effort to taunt him. “Now you’re getting me excited.” Without a word, Jake’s lip hooks into a snarl just as he tries to grab him, making him jump back out of reach. “I’m going! I’m going!”

Kai, successful at annoying him, skips back with his hands raised in defense, filling the room with a ringing cackle. Once he reaches the top of the stairs, he spins, giving a final goodbye wave before leaving. “It was lovely seeing you again.”

You both give him a nod and wave in return, listening as the echoes of footsteps fade out down the steps, leaving you to sit in the hushed silence between the three of you. Jake’s foul mood becomes more evident than ever as he angrily shoves his earbuds back in without saying a word to either of you.

“Alright, I gotta finish cleaning up and then we can head out of here,” Josh groans as he slides off the couch, paying no mind to his twin. His back must be aching from being hunched over for hours but you swear you can see the lively skip in his step as he makes his way back to his station.

If that fluttery, “butterflies in your stomach” feeling was written in the dictionary, Josh’s picture would be right next to it. He can barely control the smile on his face wanting to break free or the blush pinkening the apples of his cheeks. Wanting to feel the energy up close, you lean down and wrap your arms around his shoulders, interrupting his cleaning. He welcomes it, holding you close with his hands on your arms while he melts into the embrace. You kiss him, feeling the warmth of his flushed skin against your lips. “I can see why you like him.”

Like a hormonal teenager confessing who they’ve been secretly pining over, a bashful smile spreads on his face. “I do not. He’s just a friend,” he defends weakly before the words break apart into laughter.

“Oh please!” you huff, letting your own smile show. You break away, allowing him to spin on his chair so he can face you. “That’s the biggest crush I’ve ever seen with my own eyeballs, Josh.”

Your eyes finally meet as you sit on the cleared-off tattoo table. There’s a glimmer in them as they search the thoughts behind yours. You can’t deny that this is new for both of you, but he’s still cautious about how to approach it. He scooches toward you, bringing himself between your bent knees. He rubs his thumb across your kneecap and starts to trace patterns across the denim.“Yeah…well, a crush that doesn’t really mean anything.”

You don’t need to ask to know what his apprehension is about. He doesn’t want to spark the same jealousy in you again after what happened that one day with the blonde. As much as you can admittedly say it wasn’t your proudest moment, there’s more security in whatever this is between you now than there was at that time. The attraction between them seems genuine, and you’d be lying if you didn’t feel it with Kai yourself.

He settles in closer, sliding your ass to the edge so he can fold his arms around your waist. It’s the reassurance you both need. He buries his face into your chest, giving you the attention you’ve been craving all day. If you didn’t have the audience, you’d fall off the table onto his lap and fuck him senseless.

That was another thing.

Jake.

Regardless of the fact he never explicitly had a conversation about being exclusive with only you in a non-hypothetical sense, he is far from approachable about it now. You haven’t been completely oblivious the past few weeks. Women’s names have come across his phone screen and interactions on his social media would hint that he had other situations going on. You didn’t dig, and for good reason.

With your fingers weaved into Josh’s curls, you tip his head back for a kiss. It feels good, sweet, and vulnerable with the bite of his mint hitting your tongue. As soon as you pull away, he lets out a dreamy sigh, “Besides, I’m perfectly happy with you.’

“Is that so?” You hum. His response only comes out as a groan from you lightly scratching his scalp, causing him to practically purr in your hands. “I dunno…He is pretty cute.”

His eyes flutter open from your words, and he bites into the flesh of his bottom lip. “Sounds like you’re the one with a crush, baby.”

The Twisted Cherry is everything one could expect from a local dive bar. Tucked away at a corner on the east side of downtown, the popular spot is unrecognizable in the daylight hours. Hidden in plain sight until the sun starts to set and its neon lights buzz to life. Tonight, it’s bustling with activity — humming with drunken chatter and young adults pouring in and weaving their way through the tiny entrance. After paying a small cover fee to the doorman, you meander your way through the small crowd that’s starting to form. A combination of sweat, a hundred different perfumes, and the mustiness of the historic building hangs in the dense air.

It’s difficult to see clearly in the dark with the hazy red bulbs acting as the only lighting throughout the place, but you’re able to find the bar easily. The music playing over the speakers is a relief knowing that the live show hasn’t started yet. You glance at your phone to check the time and slide it back into your purse while you wait for a bartender to notice you. With a secured hand on the waxed, wooden surface grounding you, you scan over the heads and spot the small stage near the back. You keep an eye out for Josh but quickly recognize Danny checking the equipment on stage.

You feel a set of fingers brush against the back of your arm, and before you can scold the stranger grabbing you from behind, a voice greets you, “Hey there. It’s nice to see you again.”

Kai steps into your view and stands before you. It’s not that you’re surprised that he’s here because he was also invited, it’s that you’re not sure how to feel about him being here. You’re attracted to him, thinking about him more than you ever should. An attraction that had you searching for his content on the internet one lonely night this past week.

That smile of his — a perfectly white set of teeth with a pair of canines just a bit sharper than the average person. You imagine how it would feel to have them sink into your skin before a sloppy kiss. That fluttery feeling of excitement and throbbing need for more comes with a wash of guilt. You’re here for Josh, not him.

“Oh, hi,” you respond in a much softer voice than you intend, and it gets drowned out by the music so much you wonder if he heard you at all. Your movements are stiff and awkward while that nagging bead of sweat drips lower down your back.

You feel his looming eyes on you as he leans an elbow into the bar and takes a sip of his drink. He’s reading you, studying every little mannerism and nervous glance of your eyes trying to look at anything else but him.

From what you noticed so far, he looks good. He’s swapped the t-shirt he wore the last time you saw him for a solid black, long-sleeve button-down that’s rolled just below the elbows. It’s oversized, with linen-like fabric draping loosely from his slender frame that’s tucked into his dark-wash baggy jeans. Since you can’t hold eye contact to save your life, your gaze has drifted down to the massive rips in the denim on both of his knees.

“What are you doing here?” The question comes out cold, dry, and sharp. It’s accusatory, and you’re not exactly why it came out that way.

He forces out a dry laugh, and stands a step closer into your personal space, pulling your line of sight that has been fused to black leather boots up to the layered necklaces wrapped around his throat. One has a thin silver chain with a small heart-shaped locket. The other is a thicker chain of the same metal with prongs to resemble barbs on a wire fence. He pulls in a breath and releases a deep sigh, “Well, I’m here to see Josh. But what about you? Why are you here?”

He knows why. He’s playing — dangling that little toy mouse in front of you until you finally decide to snatch it. He’s done a wonderful job at leaving that trail of breadcrumbs to see if you’re curious enough about his intentions to follow them. Deep down you know if you were to take him by the hand and lead him to the bathroom, he’d be more than happy to fuck your brains out in one of the filthy stalls.

If not— if he was truly here for Josh only — he’s the biggest tease you’ve ever met. You’re smart enough to know that if he wanted Josh for himself, he wouldn’t have bothered approaching you at all.

You still shift on your feet to balance the uneasiness as the conflicting feelings stir inside you. It’s like he’s ripped the wires out of your brain and crossed them. “Yeah, me too.”

He reaches out and pops the bubble you’ve tried to form around yourself by touching your arm once more — another gentle graze of his cool fingers. “You okay? You’re kind of making me anxious.”

The touch is innocent enough, meant purely as a physical check-in, but it doesn’t fail to send a shock of electricity through you. You try to hold back your body’s physical reaction, but there’s no doubt he caught it. It’s enough to make you look up and meet his gaze. “Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry.”

Even in the crowded, dark bar, his smile reaches his light eyes, stealing every bit of your attention. “Don’t be. Want a drink?”

“Sure, but I can get—” He interrupts you with a raise of his hand to the bartender, gesturing that he’d like two more of the same drink that’s currently in his hand.

“You didn’t have to…” you trail off.

He lifts his dark brow at you. “Would you like someone else to buy you drinks tonight? Josh seems a little busy.”

You stare at him, shooting him a stubborn glare. “…No.”

He huffs a laugh, stirring the ice melting away in the bottom of his glass. “Okay, then don’t be like that.”

“Like what?”

A smirk plays on his lips before he says, “A people pleaser.”

“I am not,” you scoff, offended by his attempt to psychoanalyze you. You could lay into him, give him an ear-full, and storm your way out of here — maybe even throw what’s left of his drink in his face for dramatic effect. But you both know that’s not what you want.

He props an elbow back on the bar again and tongues the silver rings pierced through each side of his bottom lip — a similar oral fixation to Josh’s tongue piercing. “You’re too worried about what I think.”

“What if I didn’t want you to assume anything?” You’re quick to fire back, but your confidence is shaky at best, and he can see right through your stubbornness.

Those intense green eyes scan down the length of you while the chewed cocktail straw dances across his bottom lip. If you really were a dove — a helpless bird with fluttering wings upon the ground — he was the black cat lurking in the brush ready to pounce.

The bartender comes up from behind him and slides two cocktails across the bar between you. He takes one and offers it to you. “So you’re accusing me of being presumptuous?”

You take the drink from his hand, watching as he grabs the lone cherry half-buried in the ice from his glass and pops it into his mouth before taking the new drink waiting for him.

You let his question hang in the air by taking a sip of your drink. Based on the distinct, nutty almond flavor and tartness of lemon, you guess it’s the bar’s spin on an amaretto sour. A thought crosses your mind, making you laugh, “Why do I feel like you’re the type that can tie a knot in a cherry stem?”

He chuckles, amused by your sudden change of subject, “Isn’t that a bit cliche?”

“If you can’t do it, just say that,” you challenge, sucking down another large sip of your drink.

He plays along, taking the bright maraschino cherry sitting pretty next to the orange slice garnish on the rim. He plucks the syrup-marinated fruit, savoring the saccharine juice before laying the bare stem across his outstretched tongue. For a moment, you forget the fact you’re not alone, while also realizing that he’s showing off now. Keeping his eyes fixed on yours, he rolls it around in his closed mouth for about thirty seconds until the end of the stem pops out from his lips. They spread into that same cocky grin you’ve seen from him before. With it wedged between his teeth, he reaches up and tightens the loose knot with a pull of his inked fingers.

Checkmate.

You’re stunned into silence — no other moves left in your arsenal. He seals your fate, kicking your queen off the board with the gift of the perfect knot as he leans in close. Drunk off the victory, he croons softly against your ear, “Any more tests for me?”

If you had more alcohol in your system, you might’ve thrown yourself at him, but he steps away from you, disappearing into the crowd centered around the tiny stage. The preset music that’s been fades out, signaling the round of cheers and clapping from everyone around you. You look around to find the reason for the commotion and see Josh, Jake, and Sam step out onto the platform.

You shuffle through to get closer, eventually spotting Kai standing by himself. He gives you a smile when you approach, but Josh’s muffled voice coming through the microphone cuts in before either of you has the chance to say anything.

“Hello, hello,” he mumbles, tapping the top of the microphone as he paces the front of the stage. You’re not sure what you expected from him, but the last thing on your mind was the pair of black leather pants he’s wearing, riding so low on his hips that you can see the tip of the leaf of his tattooed cherries poking above the waistband. They’re incredibly tight to his body in all the right places — leaving nothing to the collective imagination. The black, short-sleeved blouse is not any more conservative, left completely unbuttoned to reveal the collection of tattoos covering his torso. You can’t lie that seeing him up there, being the focus of everyone’s attention feels surreal.

He downs the rest of his drink to shake off the remaining nerves and places it somewhere out of sight. “Hope everyone is having a lovely night.”

It earns a few shouts and whistles, but your gaze follows Jake, dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a t-shirt. He’s busy fiddling with the guitar hanging from his shoulders. You’ve noticed the cherry-finish SG propped up in the corner of his room but had yet to see him with it until now. He plays a few notes, doing any last-minute tuning while the rest of the guys get into position.

While Danny gets ready behind the drum kit, Josh continues, whipping the microphone cord in his hand as goes, “Make sure to get your necessary refreshments. You all know the drill by now. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em…and uh…get ready for some rock n’ roll.”

Josh’s face lights up the second he spots you standing next to Kai, smiling so wide it stretches from ear to ear. You wave at him, getting a wink in return. Jake on the other hand, only gives you a single nod before dropping his line of sight back to the guitar in his hands. Sam, with a bass hanging from the thick strap around his back, has been busy chatting with a few girls in the front row. Danny sets the count, and within seconds, the cramped space erupts on his mark.

Josh’s vocals rip through the dense air of the dive bar. You know your mouth has dropped open and your eyes have widened in shock. It takes far longer than you’d like to admit, but you’re able to recognize the cover as “White Room” by Cream.

In the white room with black curtains near the station

Black roof country, no gold pavements, tired sterlings

His voice is gritty, raw and powerful. There’s a certain whine to it that lives in your chest with every breath you take — so loud it rings in your ears and makes the hairs on your arms stand on end. He possesses the modest stage with a charisma that’s completely new to you. He’s far more confident than you’ll ever be, existing through the music and letting it course through his body with the sways of his head to the rhythmic bounce of his foot. Within minutes, his body starts to glisten with a sheen of sweat, causing your eye to catch the exposed golden bar pierced through his navel.

For a moment, you forget that you’re sleeping with him, that every part of his gyrating body has been explored by you — by your tongue. He seems like an entirely new man, dripping with unadulterated eroticism and ego.

Never wanting his brother to take all the attention, Jake steps in to deliver his solo. His nimble fingers move across the frets with lightning speed, showcasing another level of talent and dexterity that you didn’t know he had. Josh is more than happy to let him take the limelight, moving aside to gladly accept a shot of clear liquor being offered to him by someone in the crowd.

When you pictured what this might be in your head, you imagined something akin to a local karaoke night. You hadn’t expected them to actually be this good.

As the first song fades out, they roll into the next one without stopping. Some songs you can pick out, some you don’t. You’re simply captivated by the performance, absorbing all of their forty-five-minute set without moving from your spot once.

One thing you couldn’t help but notice was Jake actively trying to ignore you. Other than a few fleeting glances in your direction, his attention stayed on his guitar or the women shouting at him in the first row. Instead of giving you those smiles, he gave them away, even stripping from his drenched t-shirt to show off the tattoos on his chest and back. If you were here alone, his behavior might’ve bothered you more than it does. Kai’s presence smothers it, even if it might be the reason it sparked it in the first place.

After the guys finish up their last song, Kai nudges you with an elbow and leads the way, clearing a path through the crowd back to the bar with you in tow. The short walk feels like a blur like you’re the one running on adrenaline. Your body buzzes with so much excitement that you hardly notice the fact he’s already ordered another round.

“Wow,” you breathe.

He reaches out and holds your wrist, grounding you to him as he leans back against the bar. “First time seeing them play?”

“Yeah.” You nod, setting your empty glass on the polished bar top.

He’s looking past you, right at Josh still talking to a few people near the stage. “It’s definitely an experience.”

You note the way he looks at him, studying all the same things you did minutes ago. Since it's been eating away at you for almost two weeks, you feel compelled to ask yourself, “So are you and Josh friends with benefits?”

He shakes his head and smirks in response to the question, making you feel as though it was a stupid one to ask. “Who told you that?”

“Jake,” you confess.

“Hmm…and do you always take Jake’s word on everything?” His striking eyes pierce right through you. Now inches away, you’re able to see all the details up close. The tattoo on his right cheek that says “lover”, the faint freckles that paint his nose, and the little scar that goes through his left brow.

“Do I have a reason not to?”

His stare softens and shifts to Josh before flicking his eyes back over to you. “I guess that’s for you to find out. But no, Josh and I aren’t friends with benefits.”

You wonder how Jake would get the idea because you don’t think of him as the type to lie about something like that. “You haven’t done anything at all?”

His fingers skate across your forearms resting on the edge of the bar. “You’re a curious one,” he laughs, meeting your gaze, searching both of your eyes until he drops his own to your lips, letting them linger there. You’re hypnotized by his eyes, caught up in the lustful thoughts that have invaded your mind. “Aside from a few drunken makeouts that I’m sure he doesn’t even remember now, no.”

You try to bring his words to life in your head, imagining what that might have looked like — what it would be like to kiss him yourself. “Oh…okay.”

“Look.” He squeezes your hand before letting go to grab the drinks sitting on the bar. “I hope you know that you have him so tightly wrapped around your finger, and from what I see, he’d do anything to make you happy.” He lifts a shot you didn’t order, gesturing for you to take it. “You’re the one calling the shots here, so start acting like it.”

Before you can even think about what he said, he clinks his shot glass against yours, pressuring you to throw back the clear liquor into your mouth. You can tell its vodka right away by how it burns all the way down your throat.

You cough through that pain, “What, are you trying to get drunk?”

He laughs at your expense, chasing his shot with another sip of his new drink. Your judgment is becoming clouded, all inhibitions dissolving away by the second in his presence. You look over to Josh to see him slowly making his way over to you with each conversation he’s getting pulled into.

“What are you so worried about, kitten?” The added feline quality of his voice rasps against your ear, making you tremble in his loose hold. “How badly you want to fuck me or is it how much he wants to?”

You’re fully pressed against him now, smelling the scent of his aftershave and feeling the warmth of his skin through his shirt. He’s good at leaving you speechless, as a suitable answer for him evades you. The temptation to touch him, to kiss him becomes unbearable — your self-control reduced to a mere thread. Something makes his body tense up for the first time, and he pulls away enough to look down at you. “Is there a reason why Jake is looking at me like he wants to murder me?”

You turn, breaking away from him to look behind you. You search the groups, spotting Jake standing next to Danny and Sam as he nurses a glass of amber liquid, presumably whiskey. The set brows and jaw clench are visible even at this distance. He’s avoiding eye-contact with you, giving away that he’s angry with you. “Oh…uhm,” you stammer over yourself, struggling to find a place to start. “Well…”

Kai’s brows shoot up but his shoulders fall in disbelief now that the pieces start to fit together. “You’re fucking kidding me,” he breathes, taking another sip of his drink. Something shifts as the gears turn in his head, and a devilish grin reveals itself over the lip of his glass. What would scare away more people only seems to make him double down, as if he thrives off the pure chaos. “Let’s get messy then.”

“Fucking finally.” You hear Josh heavy groan beside you. “I never thought I would escape.” He takes a second to collect himself now that he’s made it to the bar. “Fuck, I’m so glad you both could come.”

“You didn’t tell me you could sing like that,” you gush, giving him a playful shove to his shoulder, which only makes him propel himself closer to you.

“Maybe I wanted it to be a surprise.” He kisses you — heavy, hot and brimming with lust. He’s impatient, beyond pent up, licking into your mouth while he ruts his hardening length against your hip. “Being on that stage gets me so fucking horny, baby. I don’t think I can wait to fuck you later.” His sinful confessions being mumbled into your skin is enough to drive you feral.

If the state of your underwear was any indication of how you’re feeling — you need him more than anything you’ve needed before.

He shows enough restraint to acknowledge Kai standing beside you. “Looks like you’re making a new friend though.”

You glance up at him to see that he’s more than content sipping away at his cocktail while the two of you go at it, giving you a side-eye peek. A heat radiates in your chest and blooms up to your face thinking about the things he had said to you minutes ago, making you admit, “We’ve gotten to know each other a little.”

Josh’s curious eyes bounce between you before landing on Kai. “You’re not making me a stranger, are you?”

Kai sets his glass down and signals for another round. Those siren eyes of his find Josh’s while he lures him in with a silken voice, “I don’t think it would take much to get reacquainted.”

The sexual tension between them reaches its threshold, breaking apart from a single look. Acting on a surge of bravery, Josh takes the leap of faith you’ve yet to make. He leans forward and crashes his lips into Kai’s before he’s given the chance to react. It takes him a second to catch up with Josh’s unrestricted fervor, but quickly regains his footing. After bringing a hand to cradle the side of his face, Kai successfully suppresses that hunger enough to slow him down to be present. You watch as their lips part, seeing the glint of Josh’s piercing as his tongue slips into Kai’s mouth.

His ringed fingers dive into Josh’s sweaty hair, tugging him by the roots to make him whimper. To witness him being turned into a moaning mess makes you ache terribly. He’s teasing Josh with a taste to remember, and is now pulling away to keep him chasing for it.

Josh licks at his swelling bottom lip to savor what was left there. He suddenly plummets back to Earth, remembering where he is and that you’re still standing here beside him. “Oh shit… I’m sorry—“

“Don’t be,” you giggle, interrupting his frantic apology. “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”

It was supposed to be a light-hearted joke to add levity to the moment. But the next thing you feel is Kai’s hand wrapping around your neck. “Let’s make it even, then.”

You have thought about this very moment over and over again after that night at the shop. The way his lips would feel, how they would taste, how he would touch you. It’s a forbidden desire, more so than Jake has ever felt. You’re not supposed to have another man make you feel like this.

His lips connect with a controlled grace, the pad of his thumb grazing along your jawline to ease you in. You relinquish control, clutching onto the fabric of his shirt while you memorize the cold sensation of the silver rings slipping across your lip as the kiss deepens. He baits you with a teasing flick of his tongue, making you chase it back into the sweetness of his mouth.

Before you know it, it’s all over.

“Oh my fucking god, that was so hot,” Josh groans. His restlessness breaks the moment for you to see him tossing back one of the shots that was ordered.

You’ve been blushing so hard that your face has started to break out in a sweat, but Kai is still holding you by the chin, peering down at you through obsidian lashes. He bites down on his bottom lip, creating little impressions in the wet flesh. “What do you think? Should we get outta here, kitten?”

All three of you stumble out of the bar onto the sidewalk after paying the tap, realizing you’ve had a bit more to drink than you expected to. Your chest feels tight, but in that way when you know something is about to happen. Josh, on the other hand, is vibrating with nervous energy so much his hands have started to shake as he pulls out the pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

“Uber will be here in 5 minutes,” Kai announces, noticing Josh drunkenly struggle to light the end of his cigarette. You try to find another lighter from the depths of your purse, but Kai digs his own from his pocket to help him. It’s sensual — the way he watches him pull in a slow drag so he can pluck the burning cigarette from between his fingers.

Before Josh can exhale, Kai captures his lips in a smokey kiss. He nips at his bottom lip, thriving on the way he’s left Josh breathless and confused as he takes in a drag of his own. He then looks at you with a raised brow, silently asking you if you want one as well. You nod, eagerly closing the distance, stepping into his arms so he can hold your chin steady. You open your lips for him, allowing him to blow a gentle stream of smoke past them before sealing it with a kiss.

You hear Josh giggle in the background, humming with energy he can no longer contain, “You two are trying to fucking kill me.”

TAGLIST:

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puddle-nerd · 2 months

Text

Our Little Family

Summary: The three of you were anticipating the birth of the newest member of the Rongloa family, though you might just have to reassure Spider just a bit.

Prompt #14 for my final submission for #𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐬𝟏𝟒𝐃𝐎𝐋𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Story Tags: No use of Y/N, Female Reader, Recombinant Reader, Omatikaya | Blue Flute Clan, Na’vi Culture, Na’vi Biology, Na’vi Language, Na’vi & Human Interactions, Pregnancy, Childbirth, Fluff and Angst, Spider is worried about the new baby, Spider needs a hug

Author’s Note: Originally, when I had first written this, I made it about Lo’ak’s future progeny with the reader but having to have some of these prompts be re-written after having my portable hard drive smashed during my move, well, Tsu’tey was determined to get more love this holiday season when I sat down to re-writes so we now have a part 3 for our Tsu’tey/Reader pairing for 14 Days of Love. This part’s not as explicit as the last chapter (Eternity) but it does involve details about Na’vi pregnancy, and it is my take on one of the deleted scenes we could have gotten from ATWOW had it not gotten cut. And since we only have the scripts to go off of, I got a little creative.

Na’vi Translation: Kuru – neural queue Muntxatan – husband | male spouse Nga yawne lu oer, oeyä’itan – You are beloved to me (I love you), my son Sa’nu – mum | mom | mommy Sempu – dad | daddy Syor – relax Tsaheylu – neural bond made through the connection of two neural queues

AO3 Link

Part 2

A nearly six-year-old Spider nestled himself into your side and kissed the side of your rounded belly tenderly, beaming up at you as you gently ran your blue fingers through his short braids that he had insisted on having to look like his adopted father, red beads, and all. (Tsu’tey had remained stoic when Spider had initially asked for his long blonde curls to be braided until the Na’vi male had had his son in his lap and then you had noticed a telltale wetness in the corner of one of his golden eyes as he carefully, gently, braided his human son’s blonde locks to match his own.) Your little family had settled into a routine after you and Tsu’tey had been married, Spider sleeping in the shack you and your muntxatan had had built to keep him close to you both. The three of you all ate in there as well as you would have your meals as a family should and you did not want Spider to suffer when the Pandoran air was toxic to him. The metal cabin was situated just outside your and Tsu’tey’s wooden kelku so that there would be no more middle of the night comm calls and rampaging through the forests if Spider was having a really bad nightmare or suddenly fell ill. Or that one very small period of time where he might have wet the bed once or twice. Now, you both could get to your human son in a matter of seconds if he needed you during eclipse. Especially as you had made the permanent switch to your Avatar body just a fortnight before the official wedding.

You enjoyed these moments you had, when it was just you and your little boy; you cherished them very much. You knew it would come to an end too quick and there would come a time when he wouldn’t want to do this as much if at all anymore, so you pulled him tighter against your body and sighed in contentment, until a small cramp made you wince.

“Sa’nu?” Spider suddenly whispered, and by his tone, you knew he wanted to ask a question, one he wasn’t sure you or he would like the answer to.

You looked down at your boy with a warm and loving smile upon your sapphire-colored lips and took a quick breath of air from the little mask hanging around your neck while you cuddled with your son within his oxygen-rich shack. “~Yeah, baby?~” you asked in English as you were a bilingual family and were determined to make sure your son understood both languages. And, you had been playing around with the idea that when your son got a little older, you wanted him to maybe start learning Portuguese in order to honor his birth mother – Paz Socorro’s – heritage, the same way you all made sure to continue to honor Sylwanin’s memory. “~What’s up, buttercup?~”

The five-year-old (almost six, he’d remind you as his birthday drew closer (it was currently forty-three days away and counting)) smiled slightly at the nickname you had given him because of his blonde hair before the grin disappeared once more, his brows creasing somewhat as he pondered how to ask. He spoke in the Na’vi language in response, asking, “When the baby comes… will you love it more than me? Because the baby will be your real child.”

You immediately stiffened, your whip-like tail lashing out in a surge of surprised rage at that innocent query and snapped your head down to look at him so abruptly you might have given yourself whiplash had you still been in your human body. “Miles te Socorro-Rongloa Tsu’tey’itan, why ~the hell~would you ask such a thing?!” You easily manhandled him into your palms, gripping his bare torso and easily holding his small body up in front of you so you could hold him up to eye-level and continue this conversation face to face. “You are most certainly my son! You are most certainly your father’s son! I might not have given birth to you in this body or my human one that I left behind, but you are and always will be ours! Do you not remember the official adoption ceremony we performed in front of the whole clan on your fifth birthday? You are ours by blood!” You referred to the small scar on the palm of his hand that had been placed there by Mo’at before she cut both yours and Tsu’tey’s palms to perform the rite that would officially make Spider theirs in the eyes of the People. Ignoring another cramp, you demanded, “Now, who ~the hell~ put such a terrible thought inside your head?!”

By the way that Spider wouldn’t meet your gaze and the way he fidgeted with the beaded bracelet he had woven for you, you immediately put two and two together and realized he had been eavesdropping on Neytiri or Ateyo, Tsu’tey’s father’s acidic words against all Sky People. Again.

You would have words with either of them one day about their attitude. And while you realized they had reason to hate most Sky People like Spider’s biological parents, your son was not one of them!

“Sa’nu, I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad,” Spider immediately pleaded, brown eyes tearing up.

You immediately pulled the boy close, murmuring words of love and reassurance that you were not angry with him, that you loved him unconditionally, and that everything would be alright. With practiced ease, he spread his little legs, his loincloth folding beneath him as he rested his bottom on the top curve of your pregnant belly and you hugged him tight, smothering him in kisses. You were noisily kissing his jaw, his cheek, his forehead, his scalp when the airlock beeped. You didn’t stop laying smooches on the boy as your mate ducked his head as he entered the shack and spotted his family upon the couch. He raised a hairless brow, the corner of his mouth lifting at your overenthusiastic display of affection.

“Your son needs some sempu-love, right now,” you declared just as Spider noticed his father, your face immediately turning into a scowl above the blonde head of beaded braids. “Someone has been putting a nasty bug into his ear that we will love the baby more than him because it will be our ‘real’ baby, Tey.”

The unvoiced threat was clear in your voice.

Tsu’tey plucked Spider up and off of you and tucked the child against his chest and immediately rubbed his cheek all over Spider’s scalp, scenting his son as he sometimes did with you. “What nonsense,” he muttered softly, coming to sit upon the couch beside you, careful of his tail and yours. “You might not remember this as you were about a year and a half old – just after the Great War and before your sa’nu and I were officially courting. Well, someone decided to put one of my braids within his mouth.” You immediately cackled, your happy mood beginning to get restored as you remembered this particular scene. Your muntxatan shot you a look but continued with the story. “And this little boy ate two of my beads.” You snorted, remembering the absolute terror Tsu’tey had experienced, thinking Spider would choke and die

Years afterwards, it was at least a little funny.

Back then, you had been just as frightened for his health.

“Your sempu commanded the scientists to perform an internal exam to make sure you wouldn’t be hurt,” you added, laying your cheek upon Tsu’tey’s shoulder and pulling at a loose thread on Spider’s loincloth. “Luckily, the beads were small enough that you were only a little uncomfortable until you pooped them out.”

You suddenly winced again, as you felt another cramp within your middle, causing your face to twist in discomfort.

“Sa’nu? Are you alright?” Spider asked. You tried to smile in reassurance but another cramp, even harsher than the one before made itself known and you groaned slightly, shifting in discomfort. Your mate frowned at you for a moment before his golden eyes widened and he sat up straight with a widening smile upon his features as you continued to scowl in pain. “Sempu?”

“Your mother will be alright in a little bit,” Tsu’tey declared, “but first, your sibling is coming.” He pressed his comm microphone button and called out, “Suli, do you hear me?”

“~Yeah, brother, what’s up~?” Jake’s voice came back half a minute later, his use of English a surprise as he had been dedicated to speaking the Na’vi language more and more.

With a proud grin upon his lips, Tsu’tey declared, “Spider’s younger sibling has decided to arrive. We need you to watch our eldest, please, while we make our way to the birthing pools.” There was a rude English curse on the other end of the comm unit before Jake agreed and said he would meet the three of them on their way to deliver the baby and that Neytiri was going to grab her mother. With a word of thanks, Spider was placed upon the ground and your muntxatan helped you to your feet, his eagerness and nervousness palpable within the air, his tail flicking back and forth swiftly.

Waddling out of the shack after securing Spider’s mask to his face, Tsu’tey guided you through the village towards the pools where you would deliver your baby’s chrysalis under the guidance of Mo’at, everyone recognizing the pinched look of pain upon your features and offering their congratulations.

Jake and Neytiri met you when you almost arrived, his mother-in-law in tow, the two Sullys looking both harried and excited for the upcoming birth while Mo’at was as calm and collected as she always did. “~C’mere, kid,~” Jake called, scooping up the human child while the baby sling on both his front and his back were laden with wide eyed toddlers, Neytiri’s sling pressing her infant baby to her chest. “You are going to be with us while your mother gives birth to your new sibling – or at least the chrysalis.”

“~I’ll see ya soon, baby boy~,” you told your son in English before reminding him in the Na’vi language once more, “Nga yawne lu oer, oeyä’itan. Understand?”

The little boy nodded and watched as your mate and Mo’at helped you away.

The water was warm upon your skin after your mate helped you out of your clothing before lowering you to sit upon his lap within the spring. Mo’at hummed a song-like prayer to Eywa as you groaned once more, hovering her fingers over the large curve of your belly. Tsu’tey took his kuru and made tsaheylu intertwining the pink tendrils of both black braids together so he could take some of your pain from you. You groaned as a sharper cramp hit you and you reached back, intertwined your fingers with your mate’s. Mo’at helped to ease your legs apart and began to sing her prayer a little louder while Tsu’tey rubbed his cheek against your own in a show of love and an offering of his strength for you. You smiled up at your mate as best as you could and tried to even out your breathing as a wave of pain washed over your senses and made you groan out loud.

“That is it, child. It is time to start pushing,” Mo’at hummed, her fingers still hovering over your belly. “Tsu’tey, help her up into a crouch. It will help ease her pain a little more.”

Your mate did as he had been instructed and he supported your body as you felt the need to push. “Oh, it hurts, Tey,” you whined, clinging to him as you felt your body trying to expel your baby’s chrysalis naturally. He grunted as he felt your pain coming through the bond but grit his teeth and continued to support your weight while you began to push, feeling the imago containing your fetus starting to ease towards your lower slit. He held you as you cried out and worked your inner muscles to force your unborn babe out of your body, the golden cocoon slowly but surely inching its way from your body while your mate took your pain as best as he could and Mo’at prayed to Eywa while making sure you didn’t run into any issues. “I think I want to wait to have another one,” you whined through gritted teeth as you pushed once more and felt your baby finally slide free of your body and into the water below.

Tsu’tey helped to ease you back down into the water and onto his lap. Mo’at gently scooped up the chrysalis and pulled the embryotic chord free of your body along with the afterbirth.

The older woman whispered, “Behold, your baby…” You and your muntxatan gazed upon the amber cocoon containing your unborn child in awe. She presented the fetus to the pair of you, murmuring, “One of you must make Tsaheylu now, to feed and nourish your baby in the last cycle before its birth.” Tsutey and you unconnected your kurus and he carefully took your braid and attached the pink tendrils to your baby’s embryotic chord, the fetus twitching within its casing for a moment before settling once again. You cooed, feeling yourself connecting with your child before glancing up at Tsu’tey to see tears trickling from his own eyes. “~Look at what we did, baby~,” you commented, feeling tears dribbling down your own cheeks. Later that night, when you were able to be brought back to your kelku and your son was brought back to your side, you hugged him tight, kissing his scalp as he beheld his baby sibling. “Is it a boy or a girl?” Spider asked, peering closely at the golden chrysalis. Tsu’tey shrugged and cuddled into his son’s back, replying, “We will find out in a couple of moon cycles when your sibling is ready to break free of this shell. Until then, you will have us to yourself for just a little while longer.”

𖥸 · ─────── · 𖥸 · ─────── · 𖥸

Originally Posted: 14 February 2024 Word Count: 2,342

@crybabies-heart, @cryingwhilereading, @ikeyniofthetayrangi, @erenjaegerwifee , @bambithewriter, @lloreya

AO3 Link

Part 2

#𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐬𝟏𝟒𝐃𝐎𝐋𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 #avatar #female reader #recombinant reader #tsu'tey #tsu'tey avatar #tsu'tey te rongloa ateyitan #tsu'tey x reader #adopted spider socorro

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loneduet · 6 months

Text

Secrets - Part 1

Summary: You love Sokka and it scares you. You don't know what he'll do if he finds out. (Your a firebender)

A/N - ngl I wrote this for myself because of my recurring obsession with this lovable boy.

warnings: kissing, kinda short sorry

Hope you enjoy!

__________________

It all started when I met aang.

I ran way from my home not too long before i met them. Growing up in the fire nation was rough, especially being the emperors daughter. After zuko left to search for the airebender, i soon followed suit and left my status behind. All I ever was to my father was a dissapointment and I couldn't deal with Azula alone.

I was left with few options of where to go. I ended up living undercover in ba sing se where I soon met three kids my age. They were strangers at first, but now I don't know how I lived life without them. They have become my friends. My family.

While I know they are the exact people my brother is hunting down, I couldn't help but join them on their journey. I don't know what I'll do if I have to face my brother, but I know that I will never betray them.

Each of them showed me a kindness I have never known or deserved. Katara immediately accepted me, she loved having another girl be on the conquest and she insisted on braiding my hair everyday. Aang was kind and understanding. Deep down I know that he is aware of the secrets I keep, but he respects my boundaries and he shows me the fun to be had of everyday things. And than theres sokka. He is a completely different story.

When I met him my whole world was changed. At first he was wary of me and my additional presence to the group, but we soon started to get along. Really get along. He was protective and caring. At first glance, i immediantly respected the way that he treated his sister. While they fought like all siblings do, it's obvious that they truly love each other and I know that sokka will take care of her until the end.

I can see that all sokka wants to accomplish is to be a good leader and brother. He doesn't have bending abilities and he has admitted to me that this is one of his greatest insecurities, but it is far from a flaw. He hides a lot of his fear through his stupid jokes and ridiculous attitude, but I have learned to see through his disguise.

I have fallen so incredibly fast for this water tribe boy and he is completely unaware. Knowing his story, I can't let him find out about my past. He will never love me especially if he knows that im fire nation scum.

__________________

"Y/N, do you want to share with me?"

I looked over to see Sokka and his adorable puppy dog eyes looking at me.

"Of course." I giggle, helping him set up the tent.

Due to our constant travels and relocations, we had very few supplies which resulted in only three tents between the four of us. I wasn't complaining though.

"Goodnight Y/N." Aang said, giving me a friendly kiss on the cheek before heading to his tent.

"Yeah, goodnight!" Katara said with a wink. To her, it was obvious that I liked her older brother. She immediantly approved when she found out about it. If only she knew who I was.

I climbed into our shared tent and zipped it up behind me. Sokka was already laying down opening up the covers for me.

It was a normal thing for sokka and I to fall asleep in each other's embrace. Ever since we accidently fell asleep during one of aangs stories we have been inseparable. Sokka claims that he sleeps better because of how warm I naturally am and frankly he helps me keep the nightmares of my dad at bay.

From an outside perspective, our relationship is definitely weird. It's not normal for 'just friends' to cuddle up to each other every night. Deep down though, we both knew that their are feelings, but neither of us wanted to ruin what we have. What we could have.

I slipped under the covers next to him, his water nation blankets being especially fluffy and comfortable. Naturally his arms wrapped around my smaller frame and I tucked my head against his chest. His slow heart beat helped lull me to sleep.

"Y/N?" Sokka asked right before I dozed off.

"Yea?" I softly replied.

He than looks me straight in the eye. "I'm really glad I met you."

The statement takes me aback and I look maintain his eye contact, sitting up.

"Can I kiss you?" I whisper, not being able to help myself any longer.

He doesn't reply but leans forward and captures my lips with his. His body radiates warmth as he scoops me into his lap. I slide my hands into his soft hair that is let out of his usual ponytail. He grunts softly and let's go of my lips and puts his forehead against mine.

"Y/N, I think I love you."

Before he could return to kissing me my entire body freezes. He notices when I tense and looks at me questionably.

"I cant." I reply, leaving the tent in haste. The boy of my dreams watches my figure go, wondering what he did wrong. I cant do this to him. It has to stop.

#sokka atla #sokka #atla #fanfic #avatar the last airbender #sokka x reader #fluff #oneshot #firebender #Sokka x firebender #Firebenderreader

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zelphin124 · 4 months

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DreamTale Short Story

This is the prize for the honorable mention, @cakesmelons from the SeasonTale Creative Challenge! Apologies it took so long to get to.

My writing commissions are still open! (If you can, please commission. I'm digging into emergency funds right now.)

Enjoy!

___________________________________

"He's not getting any better."

Killer paced outside the big black door, his hands squeezing his skull together. He was panicking, and he didn't know what to do.

Dust came out with a list of things the boss would need, but none of them were obtainable anytime soon.

Horror did his best to slave in the kitchen, but the boss would barely eat anything.

In fact, he had been sick for weeks. Nightmare couldn't get out of his bed without throwing a heap of coughs. The gang had never seen him like this before, and it worried them. It was so bad that all missions and plans were cancelled week after week. Even Killer started to get bored. But all of them were concerned for their boss.

"What are we going to do?" Horror was the most concerned about Nightmare out of the three. He barely ate and slept just like the boss, all to make sure he was okay.

"Nothing we have is working," Dust flipped through his list again. "Everything that we would need is out of stock in the AUs we've been to... we've stolen it all."

"So then we go to more AUs and get more medicine!" Killer hissed, stopping his pacing. "We find more of it, and give it to boss..."

"It's not working!" Horror cried. "He's just gotten worse..."

"We need blue bone fiber," Dust said. "But... no one has it."

"The last time I saw it was when we were fighting the Star Sanses," Killer sighed. "There's no way they would give some to us..."

There was a moment of silence as Nightmare hauled a dozen or so coughs that echoed inside his room. Each cough hurt the trio's souls worse and worse. Although Nightmare could sometimes be cruel and unnerving, he was still their boss... and he took them in and cared for them.

"What if they did give it to us?" Horror proposed.

Dust's face looked like he just got hit by a baseball bat. "The heck you mean, 'what if'? They would never!"

"They might," Horror argued. "This is Nightmare we are talking about... didn't Dream have some sort of attachment to him?"

"Duh, they're brothers," Killer rolled his eyes as his soul flickered. Black tears started to drip down his skull. "But that was like, 500 years ago-"

"But what if he still cared for Nightmare?" Horror continued. "Surely, we could convince him to give us some medicine to help his sick brother."

"And give away the info that he's deathly ill to our enemies? Are you out of your mind?!" Dust hissed, throwing his clipboard on the ground. "Think with your brain for once!"

Killer pulled on Dust's shoulder, holding him back. "Actually..." he put his phalanges to his chin. "We could... manipulate Dream."

"We've tried that before and it didn't work," Horror shook his head. "I say we tell him upfront we need his help."

"You two are insane," Dust pushed Killer away from him. "They. Would. Not. Help. Us."

"Dream tends to be more deceivable when Swap and Ink aren't with him..." Killer smirked. "And he goes to visit that weird stump often."

"Maybe we could catch him there..." Horror added. "And we should be honest with what we need."

"Eh, who needs honesty when we have knives?" Killer smirked, pulling one out of his pocket and twirling it before walking away. "Come on, I'm sure he'll be there tonight!"

Dust's head bellowed with smoke coming out of it before he shouted in frustration, following after Killer. He seemed to be in an argument with himself again, despite him claiming it was his brother.

Horror sighed, hoping beyond hope that this would work. He creaked open the door to his boss' chambers.

Nightmare's eyes were glazed over as he stared at the ceiling. His hands were properly folded across his chest, and he looked unnaturally gray. He didn't have enough energy to sit up when he coughed, which slowly suffocated him. Thankfully, Killer sat him up earlier when he was asleep, but it only helped a little.

Horror mouthed some comforting words to his boss and to himself before he closed the door and bounded after the others. This has to work... his chest ached with anxiety. I don't know what I would do if it doesn't...

* * *

The gentle ray of sunshine looked so dim in the dark clouds. His light wasn't as bright when he stared at the stump in a forgotten land. Oftentimes, he would mutter words unbeknownst to anyone else. Sometimes, onlookers could catch him crying.

Dust had difficulty keeping Killer quiet as they sneaked up to Dream. It took everything in Killer to not giggle from excitement. The grin on his face was one of a girl getting to buy her favorite doll.

Dust hated it.

Horror thought it was amusing.

The more Killer smiled and laughed, the most Dust threatened to push him out in the open, away from the bushes. Horror encouraged Dust not to. They were close to sneaking up on Dream. One wrong move, and their plans might be screwed.

"I'm sorry, mother," The voice of Dream stopped them in their tracks. Expect for Killer's giggling. Apparently, everything was funny to him.

"I am doing my best to protect the balance, but it's hard..." Dream sighed. "People don't have hope anymore, and it weakens me..."

Before Horror could stop Dust, he pushed the laughing Sans out into the open, cursing at him.

Dream spun around, wiping his face as he observed Killer. His eyes widened, and he summoned his bow.

"Woah woah woah," Killer glared at Dust in the bushes before slowly approaching the ray of sunshine. "No need to shoot that, I'm not here to fight."

"Then what are you here to do, Killer?" Dream glared, extending his bow with each step Killer took.

"Hey can we not just talk? Not everything's gotta be about fighting ya know?" Killer bowed playfully, one of his hands gripping a knife behind him. "It's not like I'm going-"

"What do you want, Killer?"

Killer shrugged and sighed like a kid before standing up straight. "I know you still care about your brother."

Dream's grip on his bow loosened. He seemed taken aback. "W-What do you mean?"

"Come on now, I know you still spare him in battles. I see how you fight him; I see how you hold back."

"He's taking too long..." Dust whispered. "We need that blue bone fiber fast... Nightmare skipped his other medicine."

Horror shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he should go up and be honest, unlike Killer's stalling.

"It doesn't matter if I hold back or not," Dream sighed. "I still will stop you!"

"If you wanted to stop us, you would have already," Killer shrugged. "Now, I've come to make an offer. One that... I don't think you can refuse."

"What offer is he talking about?" Dust hissed.

Horror shrugged. He too, had no idea.

Dream glanced over at the bushes where Dust and Horror were hiding. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he lowered his bow. "What... offer?"

"Tell you what, Dreamy," Killer took another step up the hill. "How about we end this lil war of ours? Let's make a deal, and neither of us have to suffer."

"What's the catch?" Dream asked.

Horror couldn't wait any longer, Killer was taking too long. He sprang up from the bush and ran over to where Killer was. "We need blue bone fiber!"

Dream took a step back in surprise, before narrowing his eyes at the two. "Let me guess, Dust is with you too?"

"Idiots," Dust hissed as he casually trailed behind.

Dream shook his head and backed away. "Nuh uh, I ain't getting ambushed by you three-"

"We are not here to fight, Dream," Horror sighed. "Nightmare is sick... very sick... it's why you haven't seen us."

"We need the blue bone fiber to heal him, stat." Dust added.

Horror watched the conflicting emotions swirl in the sunshine's eyes. So he does still care, huh.

"That... makes sense," Dream whispered.

"I was getting there, guys!" Killer rolled his eyes. "I was striking a deal!"

"Nightmare wouldn't agree to a deal without his permission!" Dust barked.

"To save his life, he might!"

"That's not-"

"Boys," Dream interrupted them. "Look, I understand the dire of your situation. I can give Nightmare the blue bone fiber that I have... on one condition."

"Anything," Horror answered before the others could speak.

"I will go give him the fiber."

"Ain't no way," Dust shook his head. "Boss would not be happy about that."

Killer laughed. "So, you can kill him with your positivity?"

"I wouldn't kill him," Dream sighed. "I just... wish to see him again. If he's not so busy trying to kill me... maybe he will just hear me out..."

"You can give it to him," Horror answered. "Anything to save his life."

Dream stared at Horror for a long time before he smiled softly. "I'm glad he has you guys. You care about him... You risked coming to me to save him, it shows a lot. Thank you for... taking care of him all this time."

"Oh whatever," Dust sighed. "Can you give him the blue bone fiber already?"

"I will go grab it, and I'll meet you at the castle." Dream replied.

"Well hurry up," Dust hissed as he dragged Killer by the arm. "Your brother doesn't have long."

* * *

"He's in there."

Dream nodded softly before following Horror into Nightmare's room. The sunshine winced as he came in direct contact with negativity. It didn't slow his pace, however. He had a mission to save his brother, regardless if the murder trio liked it or not.

Nightmare's hands shook as Dream got closer. "What... are you... doing here..."

Horror found it intriguing that Dream remained silent as he crushed the blue bone fiber in the bowl. He sat on the edge of the bed and slowly fed it to Nightmare, the negative unable to resist.

"What did you... do..."

"Blue bone fiber," Dream answered his brother. "It will heal you within the next two days or so."

Boss seemed bewildered, and his eyes barely opened as he glanced at Dream. "W... why?"

"I..." Dream paused, wiping his teary eyes again. "I don't want to fight anymore. I miss my brother... I just want to have peace with you..."

Nightmare's breath was shaky as he tried to swallow the remaining fiber. "You... missed me?"

"I've always missed you," Dream sighed. "I never liked fighting you. I just did so you would stop killing people..."

"I..."

"But that doesn't matter right now," Dream continued. "I want you to get better, and I want you to recover and be okay. I care about you..."

Horror watched as Nightmare's weak hand barely touched Dream's.

"... I... care about you... too..."

Dream had to hold in his positive feelings of reassurance and resolution as he grasped Nightmare's hand. "I'll be here for you, brother."

Nightmare coughed again. "Go... now..."

Dream nodded and squeezed his brother's hand one more time before stepping towards the door, Horror following close behind. He couldn't help but notice a small smile on his boss' face before shutting the door. He sighed softly as he glanced at Dream. "Thank you, I don't know how to repay you."

The widest smile covered Dream's face as he brushed his arms and cried happy tears for the first time in a while.

"No, thank you."

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kissagii · 1 year

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Yo! I have a doozy of a request >:)

Okay mha, aizawa, with an adult son/daughter (idk the gender neutral term. Child?? I think it's child?) Who is a hero overseas and one day DIES.

Aizawa hears it some how, goes into grieving, and then...

Reader just shows up... in his house... raiding his fridge (but make it funny)

It turns out reader had to fake their death to go undercover to kick some villans butt and they needed to lay low for a while so they came back home.

Comfort angst-turned Crack!

got it! i loved this concept, it's so amazing <3 <3 <3

i don't think i went crazy enough with the comedy because for some reason i felt like a more wholesome route would work better

safe and sound

aizawa x child!reader ; wc. 0.9k

cw: cursing, reader is presumed dead, it's a lil graphic, not proofread

There were times when Aizawa Shota regretted becoming a father. This was one of them. He knew that his profession put his child in danger of losing a parent at any moment, but he promised himself every day that he would return home safely for their sake. It was what kept him going. But what he had never expected was that he would be the one to lose someone so dear to his heart in a hero mission.

Aizawa was in the middle of a nap when Kaminari shouted the news. “OH MY GOD, THE X-TEAM VANISHED!”

Aizawa knew that team all too well: it was your team.

“Give me that,” He muttered, taking Kaminari’s phone from his hand and skimming through the article.

X-Team… heroes sent abroad… villain ambush… notorious killers… location unknown… heroes vanished… presumed dead. He reread those last few words. “All heroes presumed dead.” It couldn’t be - it just couldn’t. You had to be alive… you had to.

In that moment, as he sobbed on the floor of his classroom, Aizawa Shota wished he had never encouraged you to be a hero, never let you join the agency known for taking on the most brutal internatonal missions, never taken in a child with such immense potential only for that potential to be cut short in such a terrible accident.

Weeks of searching were to no avail. Try as they might, international heroes could find nothing regarding the X-Team’s location, not a piece of clothing, or a message, or a villain that might spill. Until they found the bodies. Three of them, young adults, disfigured beyond identifiability. But one of them lined up with you - same height, build, gender, age… and clearly the victim of the villains you were chasing. For all Aizawa knew, it was you.

Aizawa Shota is a tired man. He always has been. But weeks of sleepless nights, long days of worrying, and the nightmares… it took a toll on him. He was barely functioning as a teacher and as a hero. Only pure exhaustion would make him sleep, and what little rest he got would never last. So it was no surprise when he, having not slept in days, hallucinated a person in his house.

Illuminated only by the light of the fridge (which, he noticed, had been largely emptied of its contents), the imaginary person turned to him and waved, mouth full of food.

“‘Ello!” They said, grinning. Aizawa knew that voice. That was your voice.

“Oh god… I’m losing it,” He muttered to himself, “I’m fucking hallucinating.”

“But you’re not though? Waittt are there two of me? Or a shadow demon in the corner? HI SHADOW DEMON!!”

Perhaps it really was you - his child, the little creature he raised from nothing, his reason for living and the most amazing person in his life.

“Ah, shit, you probably think I’m dead, don’t you? Long story short it was a whole scheme, our cover got blown so we had to hide for a while, the villains wanted to make it look like they killed us, we got in undercover with some reinforcements and they took forever to get to us, then all of a sudden we get out of our hidey hole and everyone thinks we’re dead? I dunno, it was pretty wild though. Sorry for spookin’ you… but we got the job done so it’s fine, right?”

Your father collapsed into your arms. Your very solid, very real, very alive arms. For weeks it had seemed hopeless, like he’d truly lost you. But all that time… all that time you were working diligently, making the best of your situation, the dedicated child he loved so much. Home at last, safe.

“Dad? Daaaaad. There’s really no need to cry, I’m fine! Yeah it was messy, but hey, it all turned out fine! It always does, doesn’t it?” Though you complained, you missed your father. Two months away from home, one of which was spent cut off from most of the world, took a toll on you too.

“Kiddo… you can’t just scare me like that,” Whatever strength he had left was put entirely into the rib-cracking embrace he gave you, tears soaking into your shirt, “I thought you were dead. I thought I lost you.”

“Hey dad, do you remember what you told me when I was little?” He nodded. “How I wasn’t allowed to worry about you when you went on missions because you’d always find a way back to me? Well, now that I’ve gone pro, I think it’s time that bargain went both ways. Because our silly little family - Auntie Kamaya, Uncle Yamada, those other kids you adopted from UA, you, and me - we’ll stick together.”

Aizawa let go of you, placing his hands firmly on your shoulders and looking into your eyes, “Yeah… I’ll try not to worry. Now I’m going to sleep… and you’d better have the fridge reorganized by the time I wake up.”

“Reorganized, restocked, and breakfast on the table. For all the stress I caused you,” You promised as he trudged to his room. Now, there was only one issue between you and seet, sweet sleep - how the hell were you going to get groceries to make breakfast if the whole country thought you were dead???

©king-of-dreamers 2022

#imagine ⋆｡°✩#aizawa x reader #aizawa x child reader #aizawa #shota aizawa #shota aizawa x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #mha aizawa #bnha aizawa

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two-white-butterflies · 5 months

Text

parallel lines | d. targaryen | part three

Description: An ordinary middle school teacher moves to a desolate town with her fiancee. After suffering episodes of vivid nightmares, she realizes that his uncle looks exactly like the man in her dreams.

Pairings: daemon targaryen/reader, aemond targaryen/reader

Trope: Reincarnation

series masterlist |

<previous chapter

"The centre of every poem is this: I have loved you. I have had to deal with that." - Salma Deera.

(HARRENHALL'S CASTLE. 130AC.)

When Alys Rivers was born, there wasn't a word that could properly describe her power. She could coax rain out of clouds, and foresee a million different outcomes - you were the opposite. Yes, you were different than the men of these lands but your powers were scarce it couldn't even promise your own safety.

Alys Rivers was a real witch, more powerful than any mage that has walked this earth. She had the power to destroy everything, but she never lifted a finger against you. You figured that you'd be safe as long as she loved you - she was your sister after all.

The woman that you trail behind.

"I was worried about you - I thought that you'd follow after your husband. I couldn't let you die." she whispered, staring deep into the fire - taking leisurely sips of her wine. "I wanted to die, Alys." you glared at her - memories of last night flooding through your mind.

"You don't really believe that," she says with absolute certainty. What use was living without the man that you loved? "- rain came and we prepared barrels to catch water. Rain is gone and you move on." she turned her head towards you, hidden wisdom in her tone.

"What do you think your husband would've done? If you died last night, and he lived." she mused, already having an answer in mind. "Silence," you gritted your teeth - but it only provoked her.

"He would've married another maiden - perhaps Rhaenyra Targaryen? I've heard stories about his love for her." she antagonized, and you retreated into your bed. "You don't know him, Alys." you breathed, praying that death would come sooner than men.

"I know men like him. My beautiful sister - seduced by that-"

"If you have nothing good to say, you may leave." you placed the blanket over your body. Ignoring her discontent.

yourname_: yeah he's pretty cool, but he's not as cool as me 😎

liked by RhaeTargaryen and 283 others

>comments

aemond_hxghtower: 😨 my reaction to that information 😨

Aegspert: Short 🤣 - yourname_: Says the 5'10 asshole ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? - - Aegspert: @yourname_ it's 5'11*

(ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER'S SCHOOL IN DRAGONSTONE. JANUARY 6, 2023)

"Aemond please please please!" Joffrey pleaded while hanging onto his uncle's hoodie. "Please attend my birthday!" he requested showing the older man his 'puppy eyes'.

"He's not going to stop unless he gets what he wants." Harwin crosses his arms, smiling at the boy who was jumping up and down. Aemond wanted to roll his eyes, Joffrey keeps doing this because he knows that he'll get what he wants, once he does. "Your brother only turns five once," you agreed with his family.

His glare softens - he hated you in his past life, was only interested in you in this life because he enjoyed to torment you. But somehow, along the lines of being your boyfriend - and living with each other, he's found himself falling. He's grown to care for you.

"I don't know how we'll have fun, there'll be other kids there -"

"And there will also be adults." you responded and everyone stared at him for a reply. With a shaky breath, he relents.

"Of course we'll come. We have a lot of time." he smiled down at his nephew, mayhaps it was finally time to put his grievances aside.

Daemon's eyes narrowed hearing his phone ping. He never figured out how to put the thing on silent mode. "Take a left over there, much faster." he commented while pointing the right direction to the Uber Driver. "Apologies, it's my first time in this neighborhood." the driver chuckled and he hums. "There's always a first time for everything," he mumbled - staring at his phone.

yourname_ has requested to follow you.

He closes his eyes - should he accept it? Would you be turned off by the types of things he posted in Instagram? There were a couple selfies and charity foundation posts - the only people who followed him were his closest friends, family and students.

He presses the 'confirm' button.

yourname_ 10:28am i hope that you don't mind the follow request I couldn't find your facebook, I don't have an Iphone for imessage 😰

DaemonTargaryen.phd 10:29am I don't have a facebook. Rhaenyra's kids set up this account ,,, something about me being a luddite 🤣

yourname_ 10:29am ohh i totally get those kids life is lonely without socmed i wanted to thank you for paying for dinner last night rhaenyra returned my share

DaemonTargaryen.phd 10:30am It's nothing, I typically pay for the team dinners. It's not part of the bonus or anything Just my way of saying thanks 👍🏻

yourname_ 10:30am well...thank you anyways !

The driver stops his car in front of Rhaenyra's Bali-Themed Mansion. "We're here," he announces and Daemon silently gives his thanks, exiting the car before another round of conversation was started.

(STRONG-TARGARYEN RESIDENCE'S KITCHEN)

Rhaenyra's Bali-Themed Mansion slowly turned into a forest - there were beautiful balloons scattered around the doors, it looked exactly out of a fairytale. "Rhaenyra's husband, Harwin, owns this restaurant chain in the USA. I had no faith in him - but gods did he pull it off." Aemond mumbled, leading you towards the kitchen.

As expected with rich people - their kitchen wasn't exactly the main kitchen. It was a kitchen for decoration purposes, everything looked beautiful in this house. "When you told me that you had a trust fund, I didn't expect that you'd be this -" you stuttered, eyes gazing around the wonderful interior. "Oh no, this is all Harwin." Aemond lied.

He couldn't have you thinking that he could've provided you a better life. There were things that couldn't be bought by money - his happiness was one of those things. "Rhaenyra's husband is cool, he's the kind of person I want to be when I grow up." you whispered and he replied with a small chuckle.

Some things never change.

"Maybe you'll finally start to read that cookbook that my mum bought you?" he teased, hand trailing towards the small of your back. "Or you can cook, and I can keep eating." you responded, he pulls your body closer. "Whatever you say, boss." he agreed.

A man clears his throat from behind the both of you.

"No sex on the countertops, I can't believe that we're having this talk again." Criston Cole rolls his eyes playfully, Aemond smiles. "Criston, it's been a while." he welcomed his father-figure with a warm embrace. Rhaenyra's house used to belong to their father, when Viserys died and Alicent married Criston - they briefly lived in this house. "Too much of a while," the man pats his back.

"Is this her?" he pointed in your direction. "In the flesh," you responded - hugging him tightly.

You've never met the man in person - but via video-call and Aemond's stories, he was a vital figure in his childhood. "You are taller in person." he complimented and you giggled. That was the first time someone called you taller. "You know, the last time I saw Aemond - he was boning his ex-girlfriend on these countertops." Criston chuckled with cadence and Aemond rolled his eyes.

"I do not want to talk about that witch again," Aemond shook his head, his hands finding its place back on your waist. "If you say so," Criston poured himself a glass of seltzer.

"I didn't expect you to be here, I thought that you were teaching that dojo in Manila?" you tilted your head and the man nods. "It's not everyday that Joffrey celebrates his birthday, plus, I thought I'd come to visit -" he winked at Aemond. "It's nice to haunt your mother once in a while." he joked.

"I still can't understand why you agreed on a divorce. You loved her - she adored you. You know how conditional mum's love is." Aemond turned serious for a second. His grip on your waist tightened. "You know what. You should catch up with Helaena, I have to talk to Criston." your boyfriend whispered and you nod.

There were some aspects of his life that didn't require an explaination.

(STRONG-TARGARYEN RESIDENCE'S FOYER)

You saw him again.

Daemon Targaryen - his name brought shivers down your spine. You stalked him a few hours ago - and to your surprise he was on that same train-ride in Italy. It is certainly a small world.

"Oh hey," he greeted with a smile. He held a large gift with both of his hands. "Where do you put this?" he inquired, searching the foyer for a table. "I-I don't know, I didn't bring a gift." you breathed, suddenly conscious of your simple mistake. "Oh no, it's okay - I'm the uncle that brings big gifts. It's my family title," he chuckled, verbally thanking the maid that came to retrieve his gift.

"I normally bring gifts to birthday parties but we were here on short notice," you smiled - leading him towards the living room.

Why did he make you feel electrified?

You stared deep into his eyes, unaware of the jazz music that began to play in the background.

'All roads lead to you, even the ones I took to forget you' - Mahmoud Darwish

"I don't recommend bringing these kids gifts. I detest spoiled brats - these kids are far from it but they have everything. Bring them to a park or buy them ice cream, they'll like it more." he advised.

Your eyebrows merged into each other.

"In that case, what did you buy them?" you inquired, and he smiled. "30 kilos of kinetic sand ... they requested it." his voice brought shivers down your spine. There was something alluring about his voice, he spoke like a great commander - he knows what to say. He tells you what you should do.

Who was this ethereal wisp of a man? Why did he bring so much emotions?

(STRONG-TARGARYEN RESIDENCE'S LIVING ROOM)

A small giggle escaped your mouth.

"What do you think? Should people think with their hearts or their brains?" Rhaenyra inquired, piquing everyone's interest with her simple question. "Everyone should always think with their hearts," Rhaenys begins and Corlys rolls his eyes. "The words of a tender hearted woman." he teased earning a glare from his wife.

He presses a kiss to her hand. "I'm kidding, my love." he whispered.

"I mean as women - we think with our hearts first, then our brains - after that we make a logical decision." Rhaenys adds and Laenor shakes his head. "That would mean that you think with your brain, mother." Laenor argued and Rhaenys shook her head.

"My brain only made a decision between what my heart believed." Rhaenys raised her finger. "I think we should think with our brains. The question itself is the answer. Should people think with their hearts or their brains? What do we use to think? Our brains - is it not?" Daemon questioned the question.

Rhaenyra rolls her eyes.

"You know what I mean, uncle."

"What about you, (Your Name). What do you think?" Corlys turned his head and all of their attention crashed towards you. "Shouldn't you give an opinion first, sir?" you smiled, pouring yourself a glass of soda. "Oh, I don't think I'll have much of an opinion. I agree with whatever my wife thinks about." Corlys chuckles.

"Well - our hypothalamus is the part of the brain that deals with love. When we say 'I love you with all of my heart' we don't actually mean that. What we mean is - I love you with all of the neurons in my hypothalamus. So - we do think with our brains. Daemon is right." you smiled and he patted your back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the verdict has been handed." Daemon teased the others and the table erupts into laughter. "Nerd," Rhaenys rolls her eyes before you both erupt into laughter.

(STRONG-TARGARYEN RESIDENCE'S KITCHEN)

"On the screen, she looked like Alys. I thought that you found her again, but I know that girl - the comeliest woman in Harrenhal. All the knights used to travel all the way there - just to see her." Criston chuckled, reminiscing the past that he had.

He was much more handsome then, he had muscles, his body was toned - but now he was suffering hypertension and all other human deceases that didn't exist in the past.

"She's still very beautiful."

"I thought that if she and her sister would be reincarnated into this world again - they'd be models or something. Whatever did happen to Alys? I thought you loved her?" Criston inquired, Aemond's heart breaks a little. He's spent 25 years trying to forget Alys Rivers. He tried to forget those cold hands that have ensnared him.

In night, he sees her face in his dreams - eyes with kohl and plum red lips. He misses the woman that he used to love. All that he's loved in Alys, he tries to find inside of you - though your faces were similar, your personalities were as different as sun and moon.

He's grown to love you, yes.

You can never find the same person twice, yes.

But if he were to meet Alys - and she was suddenly different in this life. He'd still love her. He'd still love the different ways he'd fall in love with her. His Green Witch.

"or did you not love her?" Criston's eyes narrowed.

"I did - I do." he corrected himself.

"- but she won't come back. She told me that she'll never have a new body again." he shrugged, walking away from the kitchen - pretending that he wasn't affected at all.

next chapter>>

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nicoline1998enilocin · 1 month

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Dreaming Of You

PAIRING | Husband!Dad!Robert Downey Jr. x Wife!Mom!Fem!Reader

WORD COUNT | 2.9K

SUMMARY | Life with your husband, Robert, and your three-month-old son, Joseph, has been nothing short of a dream, and you are grateful you get to live this life with him. When you find out you're having another baby after almost a year and a half later, you get a surprise of a lifetime, and the love between you and your husband only grows stronger because of it.

RATING | Explicit (E)

WARNINGS/TAGS | RPF, established relationship, age gap, use of nicknames (Gorgeous, Bubba), referenced pregnancy, breastfeeding.

SMUT | Dirty talk, hair pulling, praising, breeding kink, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it!), cream pie.

A/N | @ccbsrmsf1 gifted me this idea after she had a fantastic dream, and it is an honor to turn it into a full story for you! This idea kept melting my heart while at the same time making it beat faster with every passing second, and I am incredibly proud of the result. I hope you love it as much as I did when writing it, and I thank you so much for sharing this! I love you 3000 💙

A/N 2.0 | This one-shot is proofread by @late-to-the-party-81, for which I'm very grateful! Thank you for all your support on my blog and your feedback because it took this story to a whole different level! 💙

Banners: Yours truly | Divider: @firefly-graphics | GIF: @ccbsrmsf1

Main Masterlist | Robert Downey Jr. Masterlist

You have heard many stories about having a baby—many good, some not. However, despite all that, you've been living on a blue cloud since your little boy, Joseph, was born a just over three months ago. Ever since he came into your life, he has brightened every second, and seeing the expressions softening on your husband's face is priceless. Every time he steps through your front door, you can see him visibly relax at the sight of his precious son, which warms your heart.

Robert has been under quite a bit of stress lately due to his busier-than-normal work schedule, but he will always make time for you two, for which you'll always be grateful. Family has always been very important to Robert, and since your son was born, he's been trying to be home more and more, much to your delight.

Right now, you're sitting on the couch breastfeeding Joseph—or Joe, for short—while watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, one of your favorite movies to watch all year round. While Joe happily suckles away, you hear Robert's keys turn the lock on the front door, notifying you that your husband is home again.

"Daddy's home, Bubba. Are you excited to see him again?" you ask Joe. He smiles with your nipple still in his mouth, which makes your heart melt a little bit.

"Oh, look at the two of you! Are my two favorite people having fun on the couch together without me?!" Robert asks with faux surprise, and it makes you chuckle. You look at him with a love-filled look, and he gives one in return as he sits beside you.

Before you got pregnant, you two were already very close and very in love, but your love has only increased tenfold since the birth of your son. He leans in to give you a soft peck on your lips, and the small gesture makes you feel very loved.

"We are. He got hungry a little sooner than usual, so I figured I'd feed him now so he wouldn't have to wait too long. How was your day today?" you ask with a soft smile, but his soft expression gives way to one filled with worry.

"I have to go to New York for two weeks tomorrow. I tried to get out of it, but sadly, I cannot, for which I'm very sorry, Gorgeous," Robert sighs, his brows knitted together as he looks at you with a regret-filled expression.

"Hey, it's okay. Maybe we can join you in the second week. I have to finish my manuscript for my new book this week, but once I send it to my editor, I have all the time to visit you with him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind seeing his Daddy again either," you say as you reposition him slightly to be more comfortable.

"That would be amazing, Gorgeous, but only if you're sure. If you'd rather stay home-" is all he can say before you cut him off with another kiss. You can feel him melt a little into your gesture, his shoulders losing some of the tension he held onto this entire time.

"I'm sure, Robert. I want to be by your side, and I cannot stay away from you for too long; you should know that by now," you say with a mischievous twinkle in your eyes. He lets himself be comfortable by your side while looking at his son. He looks exactly like you, from the facial features to the hair and skin color, although you both suspect he will end up with Robert’s eye color. It's abundantly clear he combines your shared love, and Robert couldn't be happier.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" you whisper, and Robert nods softly before letting his finger glide over Joe's cheek, feeling its softness against his skin. He already looked forward to coming home to you every day, but now that you have a baby, he definitely can’t stay away anymore.

"I love you both so much," Robert whispers in turn, and you give him a soft kiss on the top of his head. All three of you stay like that until Joe is done feeding; Robert takes him out of your arms to get burped and gives him a clean diaper. You decide to take a much-needed shower and take care of yourself for a bit.

"Thank you so much for taking over; I'll go take a shower and start dinner so you can have some much-needed baby time," you tell him, and Robert nods with a big smile. He wants to soak up every second he can now that his son is still small, especially since he's often gone due to his hectic schedule.

"I'd love nothing more, Gorgeous," he tells you, and you retreat to the shower for some personal time. Taking care of a baby and finishing your manuscript for your latest book is a challenge, and even though you love doing both with all your heart, you also know you wouldn't have been able to do it without his help.

When you walk down the stairs 30 minutes later, feeling refreshed and wearing a nice set of comfortable PJs—which consist of not much more than a pair of booty shorts and one of his shirts -Robert is sitting on the couch with his knees pulled up and Joe on his lap while playing peek-a-boo. Your heart skips a beat or two at the sight of your son's laughter.

As you listen to them bonding, you start on dinner, and it doesn't take long to finish cooking, seeing how you opted for a simple pasta dish today. As you do that, Joe is starting to get sleepy, so Robert decides to put him down for a nap.

"I'll be right back, Gorgeous. He just let out the biggest yawn I've ever seen him do, so I have a feeling he might benefit from a little nap. You were also feeding him early, so I think he's just being a sleepy little boy today," you look over at your husband and son, a warmth flooding through you at the sight and a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth.

"He didn't sleep much during his afternoon nap, so I am not surprised he's this sleepy already," you say, and Robert nods in understanding. Even though Joe usually sleeps like a champ, he's having an off day today and will benefit from having another nap now.

"Sleep well, Bubba," you whisper to Joe before giving a soft peck on his cheek, to which he gives a sleepy smile in return. While Robert puts him down for his nap, you finish dinner, and both finish eating soon after. The conversation flows naturally and is light, but it's the perfect way to destress for a little while.

"What do you think of having a cuddle session on the couch? He'll be out like a light for the foreseeable future, and I have missed you way too much today," Robert says as you put the last plate away after the dishes, his chest plastered against your back.

"Depends on the kind of cuddle session you're thinking of," you say as you turn in his hold, giving him a raised brow as you look up at him. He's quite a bit taller than you are, so you have to crane your neck a little, making Robert chuckle.

"I think you know exactly what kind I'm talking about, Gorgeous," Robert says, his voice dropping slightly as he does. He leads the two of you to the couch before sitting down and pulling you with him, and you cannot suppress a little shriek that comes out.

As he gets comfortable on the couch, you move to straddle his lap, and your mouths quickly find each other in a heated, passionate kiss. His fingers are digging into your hips as he grinds you over his growing erection, and soft whimpers are swallowed in your kisses.

"Missed you so fucking much, Gorgeous, you make me so happy, and I want another baby with you," he tells you, and your eyes go wide at his confession. Did he say what you think he did? You take a short moment to let it sink in, and your bottom lip is pulled between your teeth as you do so.

"I would love nothing more, Robert; I want at least three babies with you!" you tell him, and the smile on his face is indescribable. Lust quickly seems to take over his body as he pulls you closer, your hips grinding over his clothed member again while more soft whimpers escape, leaving you needing more, needing him.

"Robert, please," you say, and he knows exactly what you want. You scoot back far enough to free his cock; the tip flushed red as a bead of pre-cum is gathered at the slit. The veins running along have your mouth watering as you desire to run your tongue over them, and your pussy clenches around nothing.

Your shorts are pulled to the side quickly, allowing you to sink onto his cock as you take it inch by inch. Your walls envelop him completely and deliciously, making both of you moan in unison.

"You're so sexy when you sit on my cock, Gorgeous," he whispers with a lopsided grin as his fingers softly squeeze your hips, and you look into his deep, dark brown eyes when you bottom out. Your lip is pulled between your teeth to suppress a groan, being mindful that you won't wake up your sleeping son.

Once you've adjusted to his cock inside you, you lift yourself before bottoming out again, setting a slow pace for the two of you to enjoy while your fingers tangle into his hair, messing it up as you catch his mouth with yours in a slow, passionate kiss.

Robert's fingers are digging into the soft flesh of your hips to ground himself, not wanting to shoot his load right away. Even though you two had a lazy session of morning sex that very same day, you two will never get enough of each other, and this moment is evidence of just that.

"G-Gorgeous, please," Robert stammers out as his gaze locks onto yours, your eyes half-lidded as the pleasure courses through your body, his plea settling into the butterflies going wild in your body.

"Please, let me fuck a baby into you. You know I love it when you ride me, but for the love of God, let me fuck a baby into you," he begs, and the words are slowly sinking in as the pleasure builds rapidly.

As soon as you give him the go-ahead, your back hits the soft fabric of the couch, and your thighs spread of their own accord to welcome him back. Before he lines up with your entrance, he teases your clit a little with the tip of his cock, making your back arch as he does.

"That's it, Gorgeous, doin' so well for me right now. 'M gonna give you all the babies you want when you're this good for me," he says as he nuzzles into your neck, the scent of your apple-scented shower gel still lingering on your skin.

He stays still for a moment after bottoming out, reveling in the pleasure of your warm, tight pussy wrapped around his cock before he starts moving slowly, taking his time before sliding back in as if he's savoring every stroke of his cock inside you. It's as if he's committing every inch of you to memory.

"So tight, so perfect, Gorgeous. I'm so lucky you want to give me all your babies. Allowing me to stuff you full with my cum until it drips out and you're pregnant," he groans as he keeps thrusting in and out of you slowly, taking his sweet time as he makes love to you.

"You're so beautiful, and I truly got lucky when I met you," he says as he looks into your eyes, and you can see his love grow with every passing second. Your arms are slung loosely around his neck, your fingers softly gripping the hair on the nape of his neck as he speeds up his thrusts every so often, the pleasure in both your bodies building quickly.

"R-Robert, 'm close," you moan softly, and he lets you know he's close too, based on the soft groans tumbling from his lips. Your legs wrap around his hips to pull him even closer - his cock hitting your sweet spot with every thrust has your eyes rolling back as the pleasure comes to a high.

"M almost there, Gorgeous, I'm close too," he pants out as he picks up the pace even more, his moans muffled by your shoulder as he cums. You both fall over the edge at the same time, and Robert takes his time to ride out both your orgasms before slipping out and pulling you on top of him on the couch.

When Robert takes a deep breath before saying something, you can hear little Joe over the baby monitor, and with a satisfied smile, you look at your husband.

"You go get cleaned up, and I'll go take care of him, okay?" you say, and he nods. You climb off of him, readjusting your shorts and shirt while he gets off the couch, carefully tucking himself away before going to get himself cleaned up, too.

"You're the best wife and mother we could have asked for, you know that? And I cannot wait to add another baby to our family to make your dreams come true," he says as he cups your cheeks and leans in to capture your lips with a sweet, soft kiss. Another flood of warmth and love swoops through your stomach.

"I love you, Robert, and I cannot wait either!" you tell him as you walk to the nursery, leaving Robert with a content smile. You're lucky to have met him, and building a life with him is the cherry on top of it all.

It has been almost a year since you and Robert decided to try and conceive again, and it took about six months before you got a positive test result. A few weeks later, you discover your baby is healthy and growing rapidly. But today is the day you will find out the gender of the little Nugget growing in your belly.

"Everything is looking good,” the sonographer says. “Are you excited to find out-" she cuts off suddenly and turns completely silent, except for the whirring of machines. A sense of dread fills you, and you squeeze Robert's hand. As you look at the baby monitor, your brows knit together, trying to understand what the sonographer sees. Your heart feels like it's sinking through the floor.

"Is everything okay with the baby?" Robert is the first to speak up, and you can feel a lump forming in your throat. For a moment, you're afraid your worst nightmare is becoming reality, but the sonographers next words confirm that nothing could be further from the truth.

"Well, yes. Everything is okay with the baby, but we read the ultrasound wrong the last time because you are pregnant with twins!" she says before profusely apologizing. All this time, you were growing two babies, and one of them is quite a lot smaller, so they have been hiding. You were growing a 'secret twin' of sorts.

"Can you tell their gender?" you ask, the relief evident in your voice. Your eyes are again trained on the monitor when she tells you the fantastic news, a flutter of excitement going through your chest and stomach as the words slowly sink in.

"You'll be having two wonderful, identical baby girls!" she says, and a huge relief washes over you. With these words, every ounce of worry washes away, and you look at Robert with tears. Not only will you have two more babies with him, but to have two girls at once is truly the cherry on top.

"I can't believe we'll be having twins! And two little girls; I think Joe will be happy to have two baby sisters to play with when they're older," you tell your husband, who has a huge smile. He's thrilled now, and you're happily sitting on a large, pink cloud.

Life couldn't be more perfect if you'd tried. With Robert getting another major movie role, your new book being published in a few weeks, and two babies on the way, you're going to have a busy life, but one you're looking forward to more and more every day.

"This is better than I could have ever dreamed of, Gorgeous," Robert tells you as you walk out of the doctor's office, your fingers interlaced with his as you do. Your free hand rubs your round belly, and a smile is stretched wide on your face.

"It's everything I ever dreamed of and more. Life finally feels perfect with an amazing husband like you, a beautiful son, and two more miracles on the way. Like I am exactly where I am supposed to be," you tell him as you're standing outside the doctor's office, the rays of sun shining down on both of you.

"I almost forgot how sappy you get when you're pregnant, but by God, do I love it. I'm lucky to have an amazing wife like you," he says with a broad smile before leaning in and capturing your lips with his. The rest of your life starts here, and you're looking forward to the day you'll be bringing your daughters home because that will be the day your lifelong dream has officially come true.

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aviteirs · 9 months

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✩ ‧₊˚ ✩ loving gojo satoru is cruel

note: hello dazzling you, you who by some miracle (algorithm) ended up here reading my little story, but I’m grateful, grateful that you took your time to even read this. This is my first time writing something like this so, crossing my fingers like Ken, hopefully you will like it.

“sadly too many of us stay together far longer than we should because it’s easier to say I love you than it is to say I don’t” - Beau Taplin

pairing: Gojo Satoru x fem!reader

synopsis: you understand your relationship has become toxic but after so many years with Gojo, you still love him and can’t let go.

warnings: pure angst, mention of cheating, sorcerer!Gojo x non-sorcerer!reader, hurt, did I tell you it’s angsty?, toxic established relationship

The room is dark and quiet, you’re on your bed staring at the glow in the dark star stickers scattered across the ceiling. Those stars a beautiful surprise he had given you some time ago right after you confessed you were having trouble sleeping due to recurring nightmares.

“Now you,” he points to the ceiling and you giggle, “my loyal star soldiers are in charge of keeping my precious princess safe when I’m not here,” he says giving you that grin you have come to adore and you laugh thankfully, cause maybe it is childish or sappy, no, maybe he is childish and sappy but you don’t care, you’re just so happy, he makes you just so happy.

You keep staring.

The stars don’t glow as much anymore, you notice, just a dim light remains and for a moment you think that maybe they are like you, they keep fighting cause they’re hopeful that things can go back to normal and that they can go back to glowing just as bright as they did before. A stupid thought you push aside.

You keep on staring for what feels like an eternity until the sound of the apartment door opening snaps you back to reality.

Turning your head, you glance at the clock sitting on the bedside table beside you.

2:35 a.m

There was a time, not too long ago, where you would’ve excitedly jumped out of your bed to welcome home the beautiful man of your dreams after days of not seeing him, courtesy of the long missions he’s always getting. And he would happily throw his things on the floor and remove his mask, just so he could open his arms for you to melt in, immediately kissing you with the same hunger and need and love as you.

You pretend you’re asleep.

A few minutes later you hear the bedroom door open. Keeping your eyes shut, you hear him call out your name. Your heart clenches. You ignore him. He waits for a few second then you hear him getting into the bathroom and re-emerging again, plopping down beside you. He must be really tired cause he immediately falls asleep.

He’s so close, you can feel the heat radiating from his body, so you try your best to even out your breathing in an effort to calm and stop yourself from shaking him awake and demand lies answers from him.

Thanks to his sorcerer friend you know he arrived four days ago.

He has been here for four days and didn’t tell you

As a non-sorcerer you are prohibited from knowing details of the missions they are given, being strictly confidential and all. Fortunately, your boyfriend never was the one to respect or follow rules so you always knew everything, and this time was no exception, so naturally you knew there was another sorcerer, one you’d met before, accompanying him. Safe to say it was a very awkward meeting when three days ago you bumped into him at the supermarket.

“Nanami?” You blurt out, stupidly staring at the blond tall man as if he has grown another head. He gives you a confused look before he greets you as politely as ever.

“Sorry for sounding weird,” you immediately try to explain yourself, “I thought you were also going with Satoru to that trip but I must’ve heard him wrong or something.” You try not to show any hint of emotion when he gives you another confused look and says, “I did go, the mission was cut short so we arrived yesterday. I thought you knew.”

For a very foolish, or maybe hopeful, moment you wanted to believe your boyfriend was just busy giving his report to those annoying higher ups he’s always whining about.

Unfortunately, you knew him better than to allow yourself to believe that.

So you decide to wait, that’s all you seem to be doing lately anyway, for him to choose to come home. To come home to you. While also doing the impossible of not giving in, grabbing your phone and reaching out to him and ask stupid questions like where is he, who is he with, why he still hasn’t come home.

Stupid questions because you know their answers, of course you do, it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. Sudden disappearances with no explanations, the once long texts and calls reduced to just the occasional hello, forgetting dates you both had already planned, his credit card purchases showing one too many gifts that you never received, lipstick stains on his shirts that could never be yours, you have never worn those shades of lipstick after all. But love is blind, love is stupid, love is forgiving that person over and over again because you don’t know what’s worse, them hurting you or the thought of never seeing them again. So you stay, despite the obvious lies that it’s all in your head cause he would never do that to you and the continuos heartbreaks, you stay.

Love is cruel.

Loving Gojo Satoru is cruel.

Life is cruel as well cause you are painfully well aware that you can’t bring yourself to hate him because, even as much as you want to, you can’t solely blame him for how toxic this has become. You have to admit it is also your fault, yours and your stupid stubborn heart that prefers the crumbs of a dead love you refuse to let go than learning to live a life without him in it.

After all, you open your eyes and turn your body to face him. Strands of that beautiful white hair of his fall to his face, his long eyelashes flutter softly and he snores softly, he is so cruelly and painfully beautiful, you lift your hand to caress him but you stop yourself just in time.

No matter how many times you tell yourself to let go and be over with this, you still love him, you love him so much it hurts.

And it will continue to hurt, cause maybe you’re just too weak to let him go or maybe he’s too much of a coward and a selfish bastard to not tell you the truth, he doesn’t love you, not anymore, not how he used to. Or maybe it’s both, but either way you won’t can’t let each other go.

#jjk x fem!reader #jjk x reader #jjk x you #gojou satoru x reader #gojo x reader #toxic love #gojo satoru #nanami kento #jjk angst #angst #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen angst #gojo angst

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upsidedownwithsteve · 2 years

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Steve Harrington x fem!reader [1.5K] prompt: "Let me do this for you, please." A little angst, some hurt/comfort with soft Steve, late night drives and promises of something better.

Steve knew, deep down, that if you asked him to pack a bag and run away with you, he’d say yes.

He loved his house, his bed, his parents who were hardly there, the mismatched group of friends who filled the rooms instead and made it home. He loved them all.

Steve just loved you more.

You didn’t ask him to do that though, you couldn’t, you wouldn’t. But when everything got a little too much, when Hawkins cracked back open and creatures roamed the forests and undergrowth, you asked him just one thing.

When the world got too loud, when the nights didn’t seem safe anymore and you hated your empty bed and you hated the dark, you asked the boy to roll into your street, engine idling, headlights off. He’d sit in the front seat of his car, hair mussed from sleep ‘cause the crackle and static of the walkie talkie would only buzz long after everyone was asleep, when the town had gone to bed.

But he’d do anything you asked, always.

So Steve waited in the warmth of the BMW, watching careful as you slipped out of your front door, hands catching the weight of it before it slammed and you tiptoed down the drive, bare feet and avoiding stones and pebbles, pyjama shorts rolled at your hips, a too big shirt that used to belong to the boy hanging from your frame. He felt himself ache just looking at you, chest too tight, brown eyes all soft and when you climbed in the car beside him, you knelt first, knees pressing into the chair and leaning in to kiss him sweet, a silent thank you for your late night pick up.

The clock on the dash told him it was just about to turn three and the skies were inky, navy clouds on a black canvas, the stars and moon hiding behind the shadows because even they knew the terror that lived down below.

There was always a bat in the back seat, tucked behind the driver's side, ready to pull out if needed, if you happened to run into trouble, if the monsters and nightmares followed you. But they never seemed to.

Steve drove you both out of town, past the Hawkins sign, the one that told you both to come back soon! It stung, it hurt and it took away your sleep. ‘Cause there was an ache there that lived in your head, a steady pulse that told you to run, to grab your loved ones and leave because holy shit, monsters were real and they didn’t just live under your bed, they couldn’t be banished with a bedtime story and a goodnight kiss.

Not anymore.

So the boy drove you both along the highway, past the forests, past the wheat fields and the water tower, driving until the dark skies were tinted with pink and peach, tangerine clouds rising from below the earth, turning the front of the car and your faces golden.

Steve tucked a hand between your bare legs as he drove, secure between your thighs and you dropped your fingers on top, winding them with his as if it were the only thing keeping you going. And when Steve looked at you, with your red rimmed eyes and sleepy pout on your lips, he sometimes wondered if that was true. So he let you hold onto him, he drove you away from Hawkins, away from the dark, away from danger until he found the edge of the next city, buildings a little taller, rivers a little bigger, lights a little brighter.

He’d park up on the outskirts, a clifftop somewhere, a pretty little spot where you could watch the sun come up, light from beaming between a clock tower and some high rises. It was busier there, louder already, even though it seemed like the world was still asleep. He realised that you liked the noise, the static buzz of life and traffic and people that weren’t scared to leave their homes after seven o’clock.

So he’d flick on the radio, let a song crackle soft through the speakers until he watched your shoulders relax, until you sunk a little further into your seat and he knew his job was done when you lifted his hand to your face, pressing your lips into his palm in a quiet thank you that Steve never needed.

The first time you’d asked him to do this, you’d gotten yourself upset, words tumbling out over hiccups and soft sighs, tears brimming at your lashes and he’d taken your face in his hands, thumbs smoothing over the apples of your cheeks and quietened you with a kiss.

“Let me do this, please,” he’d whispered and he remembered the relief he’d felt when you gasped and nodded.

You didn’t need it every night, sometimes months would pass without a call, a soft question crackling from the device that he kept near his bed at all times, balancing on the nightstand, switch always flicked to on and he kept his car keys near.

He was never able to say no to you, even if he wanted to. He never did, never could.

There were times he’d hear from you several times in the week, when things were really bad and you couldn’t close your eyes without seeing wide, gaping mouths, rows of teeth and people who weren’t here anymore.

Those were the times he’d see the light from your bedroom from the end of the street, the only bright beacon in a mile radius, the rest of Hawkins blissfully unaware of the girl in her room, quiet tears rolling down her cheeks until the boy she loved the most in the world came to save her.

He always did.

Steve always would.

And he’d stay there with you until the tears stopped, until you didn’t feel like the world was as heavy anymore. Sometimes you were quiet, just asking to hold his hand, his thumb stroking over yours, keeping you warm and grounded with him.

Sometimes you asked for a story, just to hear his voice, and he’d tell you the myths he remembered from Mr. Kennedy’s freshman history class. Steve would regale you with tales of gods and goddesses, creatures that were never real but always defeated, stories about people who carried the weight of the world on their shoulders, kids who flew too close to the sun.

Other times, when you were too pent up, too on edge, Steve would catch you as you clambered over the centre console, hands grabbing at him, thighs spread on top of his and you’d kiss and kiss and kiss him until he’d bruise up your lips, your neck a pretty pattern of lilac and lavender, and it didn’t hurt to close your eyes when you pressed you mouth to his.

The boy would let you rock over him, make a mess of your little pyjama shorts and his sweatpants, tension and frustration spilling out of both of you in the best way. Steve would always guide you through it, hands wide and warm up the sides of your shirt, fingers roaming lazy over your skin, a flick over a nipple, a bite at your shoulder, a groan pressed into your throat, a raspy ‘that’s my fucking girl’ when he made you come.

He’d always drive you home the same way, body like jelly, eyes sleepy and soft and his hand still in yours, not letting go even when he needed to shift gears and it always made you smile so he never, ever stopped.

The sun would be lighting up the town when you returned, no longer bathed in the shadows, no longer dark and holding secrets. The street lights would be flickering off and the sun would paint the new day pink, the smell of fresh dew on the grass, the sound of sprinklers hissing to life in the yards.

Steve would press kiss after kiss onto your lips before he let you leave, affection pressed to your cheeks, your temples, the tip of your nose, the line of your jaw, the corner of your mouth. He’d tell you he loved you, he’d beam bright when you said it back, voice soft and sleepy but so fucking full of adoration for him.

He would always silence you with another kiss if you tried to say thank you. Brushing it away with promises of running away with you one day, when this was all over and everyone was safe. He painted a picture of a pretty house with a big yard, a dog and a swing set, somewhere far away from Hawkins and the memories it held.

And when you called the next night, the nightmare still making your throat raw and your fingers twisting a white hot grip into your sheets and on the walkie talkie, he’d hear you whisper his name and he’d get back into his car to do it all again.

Steve would do it every night, for you.

#steve harrington #stranger things #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #stranger things fic #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington stranger things

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illicitlimerence-writes · 1 year

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the 1 | c. leclerc

pairing: charles leclerc x ex!reader word count: 4k words (how the hell did that happen?) request: yes, by anon: “hi, can i request a story with charles and reader based on driver’s license by olivia rodrigo? maybe high school sweethearts that broke up because they couldn’t handle long distance (for charles ascending career). fluffy ending with them maybe getting back together years later and him being proud because reader is actually a really nice driver” prompt: character a and character b broke up, but now they meet at a christmas party. from this prompt list. not my prompts, credits to the person who created it!warnings: language, flashbacks, a ton of references to taylor swift and olivia rodrigo. THE AGES AND YEARS MIGHT NOT MAKE SENSE BUT I TRIED MY BEST lol a/n: day 6! i really didn’t plan this to be so long. what can i say… i have no self control. REMINDER THAT MY REQUESTS ARE CLOSED, EVEN IF IT’S FOR THE SPECIAL. pls, i don’t want to close my askbox but if i keep getting i’ll have to turn it off.

my masterlist / 25 days of christmas masterlist

there was a time when sneaking around was fun, exciting. when their worlds revolved only around each other and the only worry in their minds was keeping their relationship a secret.

their friend group was a close knit one, they knew each other since they were kids and had grown up together, and when they’d reached the age of first boyfriends, girlfriends, and other partners, they’d all made a pact to never date someone from the group.

the fact that it was forbidden only made things more interesting for them.

what fools they’d been, hoping for a forever at such a young age, thinking their love would be eternal and nothing could ever come between them.

they thought they were in the clear, for so long their friends were unaware of the relationship between the two of them, they would reach an age where they would never care that they’d been hiding the truth for so many years.

six years together was enough to know they’d never feel a love like theirs.

but he was a passionate person, and whilst she loved when that passion was directed to her, on other occasions it felt as if she were the second option. the other thing to occupy his mind when he got tired of racing.

teenage daydreams turned into nightmares. their young age meant they felt everything. and everything was intense and fiery and red.

how ironic it was, that the color that had best described their secret relationship turned into a color that would chase him around wherever he went. that right when his career seemed to go the up, when his future looked gold, his personal life had hit an all time low, when the scarlet fire that burned between them had turned into ashes.

she always knew he was destined for greatness. and he was so determined and focused and so in love with racing that it was only natural, only obvious that he’d climb his way to the top teams of his sport in a short time. his talent was one that she’d neverseen in anyone, and he loved showing it off, not in a braggy way, but he knew what he was capable of, and he wasn’t afraid to show it, he saw no reason to hide it.

age 18.

“slow down!” she yelled as she laughed, holding onto the side of the car door. all the windows were down, as was the top, they were finally putting to good use charles’ convertible car.

“don’t listen to her, charles, speed up!” one of their friends, nate, added from the back of the car. the five of them were celebrating charles’ birthday, he was the first in their group to turn 18 and he’d just gotten his driver’s license, finally free to drive around wherever he wanted.

charles laughed, speeding a little before settling for a constant speed that wasn’t too fast or too slow.

“it’s a great thing your parents gave you a car, now we have a personal chauffeur,” she said, throwing a teasing smile his way. they were seating in the front, with their three friends in the back, but somehow it felt as if they were the only ones there.

“no, none of that. you have to learn how to drive, too, otherwise what are you going to do when i’m gone?”

“go with you, duh,” she rolled her eyes.

“hey, that is true, because at least we all know how to drive, we’re ready. but you don’t… why don’t you?” another one of their friends, elise, asked.

“i don’t know,” she shrugged, “i’ve never had the need to. and to be honest, i don’t know how good of a driver i’ll be if i ever sit behind the wheel.” she admitted.

“yeah, we’ve all seen you play mario kart, you always seem to find the wall.” charles laughed, making her hit his shoulder with a fist.

“shut up. keep that up and i won’t learn how to drive just to spite you.”

they laughed, enjoying the moment of freedom, just the five of them, five friends since birth, friends til death. five friends, two lovers.

it had been years since the five of them were all back home for the holidays, sometimes either only one of them was gone, or they were all away, but after three years, they were all back home at the same time. and that was something to be celebrated. they’d all seen each other throughout the years, but never the five of them at once.

charles arrived first, the christmas dinner was taking place at elise’s apartment, she’d just moved into her new place, so this worked both as a reunion and a housewarming. he’d decided to walk there, since it was on the same street as his building. he took the elevator and knocked on the door, he heard shuffling of feet approach and wrapped his fingers a little tighter around the neck of the wine bottle he’d bought.

“hey, charles, i wasn’t expecting anyone to be punctual,” elise laughed, moving aside to let him in.

“i’m the first one here?” he asked, raising the bottle, “this is for you, by the way. congrats on the new place,” he smiled.

“thank you! welcome, make yourself at home, but do take your shoes off because that white rug is new,” she smiled, walking to the kitchen, “and yeah, but nate called like two minutres ago, he and marie are on their way.”

“oh, and…” he didn’t finish, and it was finally hitting him that he’d be seeing her again.

“(y/n) is going to be a bit late, she had to go to the museum in nice so she’s probably going to be stuck in a little bit of traffic,”

“she’s- she didn’t take the train?” he asked.

“no, she drove there.”

“she drives?” he asked, sounding completely surprised by that. she was always so apprehensive whenever that topic arose in conversation.

“yeah! you didn’t know? she’s… you remember how we always used to joke around with her always crashing once she learned how to drive?” charles nodded, prompting her to continue, “she actually aced her driving test, both the technical and the written tests.”

“oh, i… i didn’t know that,”

“what happened with you two? you used to be inseperable. like, yeah, all five of us were close, but it was always charles and (y/n), and then us.”

“i- i’m not sure. i guess… distance and responsibilities was just a lot for our friendship.”

“well maybe you can rekindle that friendship now. it’ll do you both good.”

“yeah,” charles said, and right then the doorbell rang.

he felt like he needed some peace and quiet to think, but with his two friends arriving just then, that seemed impossible to get.

if he was honest, he hadn’t given himself much time to think about her. at first, of course, she was the only thing in his mind, they’d spent six years together, and he couldn’t believe how it was all slipping from his fingers so easily.

age 21.

she sighed as she heard the automatic voicemail message, she had been trying to call charles for the past five minutes and all she was met with was his pre-recorded message.

“charles, you better pick up this damn phone. i can’t believe you, how could you miss this? i asked you time and time again, even moved this three times for you. and where are you? not here. i- i don’t know if i can keep doing this. you always promise that i’m your priority, but that’s just not true. if you don’t want to be with me then just say it, i’m a big girl and i can handle it. but i don’t deserve this. i don’t deserve to be someone’s second choice. and i know that your career is important, trust me i know that better than anyone. all i asked of you was one night, one night for you to actually be there for me. you know what? forget it, don’t even bother coming. not to the museum, or to my apartment. and don’t worry about me, i’ll find my way home. i don’t need you to drive me around anymore.”

she hung up, staring out to the city of nice. it was the opening of a new exhibit in the museum of modern and contemporary art, an exhibit that she’d been a big part of, probably her proudest achievement, considering she was still a student in university. everyone was there for her. her parents, friends, classmates and workers from the museum. well, almost everyone.

charles hadn’t replied since earlier that morning. he didn’t wish her good luck, or even acknowledged the opening of the exhibit. he just said ‘see you tonight’. and that was it. he was in italy, had been for the past week. ever since the announcement that he was making the switch from sauber to ferrari she’d been seeing him even less than when he started racing in f1. she understood, of course, that there were certain responsibilities that came when being a ferrari driver. she knew that, she was his biggest supporter, but she wished that he was as passionate about her achievements as she was of his. or even acknowledge them and congratulate her.

many times she’d told herself that she was being selfish, of course things were going to change once charles made it to the big leagues, but things were changing too fast. he spent more time away from home than with her, and when he was home he was practicing on his simulator, or preparing for an interview, a ferrari event.

this was the last straw. it was a long time coming, and him not showing up, not even bothering to text back, this was enough.

she walked back inside, but stumbled into a waiter passing by, causing him to drop his tray on top of her. her dress now sported a wine-colored stain right in the middle. it was a dress charles had gifted her on one of their anniversaries. it was poetic, how the dress was now ruined, as was their relationship. she ran to the coat room, wrapping her black coat around her. she wasn’t going to let anything else ruin this night.

the next morning, she signed up for driving lessons.

two weeks later, she was getting perfect marks on both tests.

she once said she wouldn’t learn to drive just to spite him, but this was better. to show him that she didn’t need him anymore.

the four friends were having a nice time, drinking wine and eating chips and other snacks as dinner was cooking.

“elise, i swear, next time we’re hanging out at my place because finding a parking spot is impossible around here,” a new voice said, walking in through the front door.

there she was.

wearing a tan, long coat, a briefcase-style bag hanging from her shoulder, all black turtleneck sweater, leggings and boots on. makeup done to perfection, a deep shade of red on her lips.

“hello everyone,” she smiled, tossing her bag on the floor and walking to the dining area. “what did i miss?” she asked, and everyone started filling her in on their previous conversation topics.

she hadn’t even glanced at him. not once.

charles didn’t even know if she knew he was coming, if he was there at all.

it wasn’t until later, when everyone’s cheeks were flushed from the wine, when the leftover food was growing cold in the forgotten plates, and they were all sitting around the living room, sharing stories and memories of years’ past, that they talked to each other.

“... and the museum is doing a really cool charity event in late january, so that’s where all of our focus is right now,” she finished catching everyone up to speed about her job in the museum. ever since college that place had become her home. “you’re all invited, of course, we need all the help we can get.”

“when is it?” charles asked, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was impressed by everything she was handling in the museum, she did a little bit of everything, but those little bits eventually turned into big, great things. he was impressed, however, not surprised. he always knew she could do it, she’d fallen in love with art in her teenage years, the first time they visited a contemporary museum. they’d gone together, of course, and charles couldn’t forget the way her eyes widened, the way she clearly understood what the artist wanted to say, it was love at first sight.

“the 21st,” she turned to him. charles had expected a reaction from her, but she looked at him like he was just her friend.

“we’ll be there,” nate said.

“you’re not busy, superstar?” marie joked, looking at charles.

“i don’t think so. and if i am i’ll just move whatever to a different day.”

“you don’t have to do that,” she said, and this time charles caught something. her voice sounded a little harsher.

“i want to, we haven’t seen each other in so long, and you’ve done a lot for me, it’s only fair that i return the favor,” he smiled, wanting to get something more out of her, he got nothing, only a nod.

age 19.

“come on, you’ve been, quite possibly, the best person i ever could’ve asked for. it’s only fair i return the favor.” charles said, keeping his hand over her eyes as he led her to the surprise he’d prepared for her.

“you know i don’t need anything,” she chuckled, and he could feel her smile, the apples of her cheeks rising.

“well, this is more something for me, but it’s going to be good for you, eventually,”

“what do you mean?” she asked, still up for whatever he was planning. he removed his hand from her eyes. “what-”

“it’s your very own private driving lesson,” charles explained, making her laugh.

“charles, i don’t need to learn how to drive,”

“of course you do! you have to at least know the basics,”

“gas, brake, turn to the right, turn to the left, lights… i think i got it.”

“come on,” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her, “why don’t you want to learn?”

“i don’t know. i guess… i enjoy having you to drive me around, i like singing in the car with you, with the wind blowing in my hair, or just sitting in silence and watching the landscapes outside. i like doing that with you. plus… i’m afraid of having control of a car, because what if i lose control? what if the brakes fail, or someone crashes into me… it’s a lot to think about all the time. i think i’m just not made for driving.”

“well, lucky for you i was made for driving, and i like having you as my co-pilot, there’s no one else i’d rather have by my side.”

“it’s gifts time!” nate said loudly. “i’ll start,” he declared, standing up and picking a bag off the floor. “for you,” he started, handing a white envelope to (y/n), “and you,” he said, giving charles a small box, “and you,” he gave elise a wrapped gift that resembled a mug in shape, “and finally, you,” he said, giving marie a thin, long box.

they all opened theirs, marie got a hand-made friendship bracelet. elise got a new mug, charles got a pair of boxers with lightning mcqueen all over them, and (y/n) got a ticket to an exhibit in a parisian museum.

elise was next, then marie. as marie sat down, after handing everyone their gifts, charles pulled out his phone, sending a few pdf files to their groupchat.

“merry christmas, guys.” he said as all their phones rang. they all opened the files, each named after one of them, they were confirmations to a hotel booking, as well as a scanned picture of what would be their vip passes for the italian grand prix in monza.

“charles!”

“no way!”

“italia, mio home, here i come,” nate said, pinching his fingers together.

she gave him a small smile, muttering a ‘thanks’ as she stood up.

“well, now i wish i hadn’t been last, nothing can top that off,” she said, “but i hope you all like these. merry christmas, i hope we get to spend many more years as friends, and more evenings like this.” she said, handing them all their gifts and sitting down to watch their expressions. she loved giving gifts.

nate received a new gaming headset, eloise got a tea set, marie got a sweater, and charles got a replica of an f1 car, he inspected it closely.

“it’s made out of carrara marble,” she explained.

“wow, it’s… beautiful, thank you.”

“you’re welcome, i’ve… nevermind,” she said, charles was about to ask her what she wanted to say but was interrupted with nate announcing he was leaving. marie left with him, and not long after she was saying her goodbyes too.

“i guess that’s my cue to leave, too.”

“i didn’t see your car,” she said, she would’ve remembered seeing his car parked somewhere.

“i walked here, i didn’t see the point in driving,”

“huh,” she said, grabbing her bag and hanging it from her shoulder. charles frowned as she walked to elise, hugging her. “well, i’ll give you a lift if you want.”

yes, yes, yes, please. yes. go with her.

everything inside of him lit up at her offer, part of him couldn’t believe she was even offering in the first place. he said goodbye to elise quickly, rushing after her.

“wait up,” he said, jogging to catch up.

they didn’t speak as the elevator went down, she could feel his eyes on her, shifting away to try and be subtle. as they exited the building he had to follow her, he didn’t even know what car she drove.

“you’re shitting me,” he said, looking at the silver logo in front of the car.

“what? not all of us can afford a ferrari,” she said, “what? you can’t be seen inside a mercedes?” she smirked. out of instinct, charles walked to the driver’s side, but stopped in his tracks as she unlocked the door and watched him standing there. “i know this is usually your side, but you’re a passenger for these next minutes,”

charles was left speechless as he walked to the passenger side, it felt so foreign. especially when she was the one behind the wheel. he closed the door as he got in, and waited for her to turn on the car. he turned to her when she didn’t.

“seatbelt,” she reminded him.

charles couldn’t stop the small chuckle that left his lips.

“you’re a really responsible driver,” he said.

“of course i am. no one knows what might happen.”

“i- i have to say, it’s really weird seeing you like this,”

“i know. but… turns out i’m a damn great driver. it helps me relax, and it’s… thrilling, to work in sync with the right machine to get from point a to point b…”

“now you get what i feel with my cars.”

“i always got that,” she clarified. “i always knew how important driving is to you. it just hurt to know that it was more important than me.”

“it wasn’t- it-”

“oh, please,” she chuckled humorlessly, turning on the car, she checked the mirrors before leaving the parked space. “i’ve made my peace with that a long time ago, it’s okay to admit it. i’m but hurt. not anymore.”

“but it wasn’t i-”

“listen, i don’t… i don’t want to discuss this, racing was your number one priority and that’s completely fine, i get it. it’s normal to get so caught up in it that you forget about everything else. i’m sure i used to do that too, with the museum and all,”

“you did, but not like i did. and i… i’m sorry, for… making you feel like that.”

“like i said, i made my peace with that long ago, i don’t need an apology.”

“well, i still feel like i owe you one.”

“it’s fine, you don’t have to feel guilty. we were young, dumb, still feeling like we were teenagers, pretending to even know what future was like. we were each other’s first love, it’s normal to still have feelings.”

“do you?”

“what?”

“have feelings? for me?”

“i feel a lot of things, charles, and six years, plus so many more as friends, are not easy to forget. it would’ve been nice, you know.”

“what?”

“if you would’ve been the one. it’s a story just straight from a movie. do you think-” she cut herself off.

“what?” charles asked, and he remembered the other thought she’d stopped herself from saying out loud back at elise’s.

“do you think that… if one thing had been different… everything would be different? today? now?”

charles stayed quiet, thinking about every little thing he would’ve done differently.

“maybe. yeah.”

“yeah,” she repeated.

she’d been driving around in circles, they’d reached charles’ building about five minutes ago, but she hadn’t stopped driving. she kept doing the same four turns over and over again.

“what were you going to say… when you gave me the car?” he asked.

“oh, that. it’s… nothing, really. just… that i’ve had that for a long time.”

“since we…”

“it was going to be your birthday present.”

“and you never threw that away.”

“it’s made from the same material as ‘david’, i wasn’t just going to throw that away. or give it to someone who wouldn’t cherish it.”

“well… thank you. and congratulations on being a great driver, though… i don’t think the cameras will agree after seeing you pass here for the seventh time,” he said as she was making a right turn.

“thanks. and i guess… i have to thank you, too. if we… if we’d never broken up i… i never would’ve become me.”

“that… hurt,” he admitted. “but i get it. i should also thank you. you… did so much for me, gave up so much that i… i guess i took you for granted. and it only took having you away from me to really know how much you did for me without me even noticing. so… thank you. and i like this new you. you seem… happy.”

“i am. but still… i can’t shake the feeling that i’m missing something.”

“what?”

“you. even though you made me grow up, i still feel like i need to have my teenage side, and… there’s so much i want to do, but new me is responsible, she’s proper, she’s professional. and sometimes, i get tired of all of it. you always made me feel like a kid, in the best way possible, you made me feel like everything was possible, that it’s okay to let loose and have an adventurous side. i need that, i miss that.”

“well, i’m staying here all month. and i’m more than happy to help you rediscover your wild side.”

“don’t say it like that,” she laughed.

“no, no, i didn’t mean it like that, but-” he chuckled, “i guess that offer stands, too.”

“not happening. not now, at least.”

“so there’s a chance?”

“i don’t know. we’ll have to see.”

“i know. here’s adventure number one: drive to the harbor.”

“the- why?” she asked, driving there, anyway.

“we’re about to take a midnight stroll,” he explained.

“okay, but… why the harbor?”

“it’s not your typical stroll, we’re not the ones doing the walking.”

“then?”

“have you ever seen ‘sedici’?” he asked.

“what’s that?”

“my yacht.”

“a midnight boat ride?” she asked, a smile on her face.

“what do you say?”

“you better be a damn good captain as i am a driver,”

“you’d be surprised.”

“i’m ready to be surprised.”

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suuuupernovaaa · 1 year

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kxuke - part 2

kxuke [ˈk’u.kɛ] adj. safe

Request from @myrealmstuff: Part 2 for Kxuke please, it's so beautiful.

Request from @hyunjinoak: Can I request Neteyam x reader story where the reader is pregnant and going through a really tough pregnancy complications and Neteyam is helping it? Nnd when the reader has difficult delivery (heavy bleeding / too long contraction or something like that) Neteyam helps reader and in the end have a healthy baby?

Part 1 [Summary: A Marine avatar, part of Quartich's team, is held captive by the Sullys. She is tough but damaged from an abusive upbringing on earth. Slowly, she and Neteyam fall for each other, and she is granted new life in her avatar body by Eywa. Neteyam's family is not pleased, but Neteyam asks her to be his mate. You should probably read Part 1 before reading Part 2.]

TW: blood, pregnancy

Watching the last remaining ship leave is surreal for me. Everyone I knew in my previous life now gone, suspended in sleep for six years, back to the planet I once called home.

It doesn't feel like home now, when I think it about it. It sort of feels like a nightmare; the abuse I suffered at the hands of my parents, multiple partners; the relief I felt when joining the marines, only to realize I had become the oppressor and abuser.

Never once have I regretted my decision to turn my back on my people. Maybe I should... but they never did a damn thing for me but use and abuse me, my entire life.

Though my new family was hard-won, they have never hurt me, or yelled at me, or made me feel little and stupid.

Tuk and Kiri were the quickest to accept me, with Lo'ak soon after. Then came Jake, because as it turned out, we had quite a lot in common. Rough upbringing. Marine background. Abandoning our race for a new one. You don't often meet other people in that situation. Our mutual understanding turned to friendship, and then a familial like relationship.

Neytiri was the hardest, but it was her mother's heart that got her in the end. It just came out, on a hunt, a story about my own mother, and something she'd done to me when I was barely out of diapers.

Something in Neytiri changed towards me in that moment, and she held me in her arms as I cried, and told me she would try to be a better mother to me.

Now I stand with my family, my mate Neteyam, and I place my hand over my swollen stomach as the cheering erupts around me at the joy and relief everyone feels. The baby is kicking again; he must be able to feel my happiness.

We are finally free.

The pregnancy has not been easy on me. I try every day to feel joyful about the new life I'm bringing into the world, and grateful to be staring my own family with Neteyam, but I am so tired, all of the time.

The simplest tasks have become exhausting, especially as the pregnancy has gotten to its final stages. Tsahik tells me I need to rest, and that she thinks the birth will be difficult... so that's something to look forward to.

Neteyam practically carries me in his arms everywhere we go, and dotes on me so aggressively that it sends me to tears at least three times a day.

Everything makes me cry. Neytiri tells me it's normal, but it feels embarrassing nonetheless. I burst into tears when Tuk squeezes my hand as we walk, or when I see another mother with a small child, and nearly every time Neteyam does anything nice for me.

Which is almost constantly. Neteyam is thoughtful, caring, and constantly going the extra mile to make me comfortable. I thought I loved him before, but I know now that every day, I will love him a little bit more - even when it feels like I couldn't possibly love him more, he does something so small but so meaningful, like bringing me home a flower for my hair, and my love for him explodes.

Just a few short weeks after the humans have returned to earth, I wake up in a searing hot pain, all around my abdomen, and shooting through my lower back.

"Oh my god!" I scream in English. "Neteyam! Something's wrong! Or, it's happening, maybe!"

Neteyam leaps up next to me, squatting beside me, grabbing my arm to support me.

"Happening?" he asks, also in English. It's so hard to speak in a second language when I'm in so much pain, even if I would consider myself fluent.

"Get Tsahik. And your mom!" I holler, but there are already footsteps approaching.

"I am here!" Neytiri says, running through the door. I guess that's a benefit to having your in-laws just steps away. "Jake is bringing Ronal. What do you feel?"

"Pain," I reply, switching back to Na'vi. "Here, and here," I gesture all around my waist, and my back.

Neytiri tsks. "Bah, back labor. It will be painful. Ronal will bring medicine to help."

I lean onto Neteyam, wondering what the Na'vi equivalent of an epidural is.

It is not until two days later that I hold my son in my arms. Looking into his eyes here, the pain of the past hours is already fading away in my mind.

The screaming, the blood, the pushing and tearing; the throbbing pain I feel even now... it doesn't matter.

He is beautiful. Four fingers like Neteyam, eyebrows like me, and his hair seems to almost have a reddish shine to it, but it could just be the sunrise. His cheeks are round and when he opens his eyes, they're a beautiful amber color. He has been attached to my breast since the moment he came into the world, but now, he is sleeping peacefully. Ronal has sewn me up and left medicine behind for me to take, and Neteyam's family waits outside until they're given the go-ahead to come in. Only Neytiri has met her grandson; I demanded she be there for the entire birth, and she did not leave my side.

It was the first time in my life that I truly felt a mother's love.

"Take him, Neteyam," I say. "Hold your son."

There are tears in his eyes as he reaches out and takes the swaddled baby.

"Remove his blanket, put him right on your chest. It's good for them, to be skin to skin." I don't know how much of my limited earth knowledge of babies will apply here, but surely that's correct.

"He's so beautiful, and warm," Neteyam says, holding his naked son to his chest. I lay the blanket over him, and Neteyam strokes his tiny back. "I love him so much. I love you so much." He looks at me, the tears falling freely now for both of us.

"You saved my life, Neteyam. I never imagined I would have any of this. I am so grateful to you."

Neteyam leans over gently, and presses a soft kiss to my forehead. "Thank you for this gift, Y/N. You are my treasure."

#neteyam #neteyam x reader #neteyam fic #avatar 2 #avatar twow #daddy neteyam

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drmaddict · 1 year

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Exhausted Bug

Summary: Sy's girl (autistic!reader) is near a breakdown. Luckly, he knows what is coming and what to do.

Warnings: autistic burnout symptoms, use of (y/n)

Word count: 557

Author's note: I describe here how I feel when I am exhausted. This is not a general behavior of all autistic people, if of anyone else at all. Everyone is different. I am not officially diagnosed, but have shamelessly self-diagnosed myself until I can get my hands on the oficial diagnosis.

Please be gentle.

The moment as they sat in the car, Sy realized what was up. (y/n) was silent. No comments about the evening. She said nothing and looked out the window, exhausted. Her eyes seemed almost dull. He hated it when she was like that.

They were invited to a family birthday party. Often she handled these pretty fine, but lately she'd been under a lot of stress at work, hadn't slept much, and somehow one social gathering followed another. Long story short. She was near a breakdown.

He watched her scratch the little bit of callus on her middle finger over and over again with the fingernail of her thumb. He turned off the radio and drove on.

Tomorrow, despite her exhaustion, she would get up as early as her body would allow. She would prepare her food for the week. She would exercise and do the things around the house that she hadn't gotten done during the week. She would make a quick lunch and then lie down on the sofa to sleep for half an hour. From that point on, her body would catch up with her.

Her power nap usually went on for at least 2 hours, often longer. When she woke up, it would take her at least 30 minutes to even peel herself off the sofa, but often it would take almost a full hour.

From then on, she would get nervous. She wanted to have time for her hobbies and now she didn't think it was worth starting anything at all.

Sy knew the procedure. He had already made sure that they would not have visitors tomorrow, nor would anyone call. He would take Aika to dog training and then go to his brother's gym, although he had his little home studio in the basement so she would have the house to herself. He had left food in the fridge to warm up and checked to make sure her headphones were charged as well. By the time he would return from his workout, she would be long asleep.

He would put water and snacks next to the sofa to make it easier for her to wake up. He knew her current projects to direct her attention to one that wouldn't overwhelm her, to help her relax.

Sy was a planner and a doer. He wasn't the biggest romantic in the world, but he knew what (y/n) needed. He didn't judge her for her quirks, just as she didn't judge him.

He didn't comment on the fact that right when they would arrive home, she would go to a separate room to walk in circles while listening to music. He knew it relaxed her. He knew she would never say anything when he woke up in the middle of the night again and locked himself in his workout room until the images of his nightmare blurred and he was tired enough to sleep again. Or that he had to check the house's security system at least three times in the evening before he could go to bed.

They were an unlikely pair, but they worked together. He wanted his little bug to be happy. No matter what it took to make that happen. Diamond jewelry, or as in her case, an oversized sweater of his and a few rounds in her daydream room.

#captain syverson #captain syverson x reader #captain syverson x you #captain syverson x y/n #henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill characters #henry cavil x reader #henry cavil x y/n #fluff #snippet #autistic reader #captain syverson x autistic!reader

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collegeishardbutwritingisharder · 1 year

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When the little brother gets intimidated or hurt: Riddle, Leona, and Azul edition. Short stories(?)

@asillylitteseabunnyay had another wonderful idea and I got permission to write it!! I hope once again that I can do this justice. I tried to make all of the part equal but Azul's fell a tad short. Apologies. Also sorry for taking so long for not posting. I'm just trying to make sure that my writing is the highest quality it can be for people to read.

Warning: Yandere, death (Minor characters), injuries, infantilization (Maybe? Ashengrotto does get spanked), other things that I don't know how to tag.

Riddle Rosehearts

I felt a shiver crawl up my spine. That same Savanaclaw student is staring at me again. He's been staring at me ever since I started attending class with Riddle. It was only the second day of my punishment from exploring the forest.

He wants something from me but he hasn't said a word. It's honestly quite unnerving. I felt myself shake slightly. Riddle was too absorbed with the lesson to notice my discomfort. Not surprising because normally stuff like that doesn't get under my skin.

I slightly turned my head to look the Savanaclaw student in the eye. His eyes were just blank. Somehow that's worse to me than a glare full of emotions.

The bell rang which signaled that class was over. I started to help Riddle with his belongings and we quickly left the room to head back to the dorm.

"Come along, (Y/N). We have to start making preparations for the next unbirthday party."

"Yes, my Queen."

Next thing that I knew, someone stuck out their leg and tripped me. The books that I was holding went flying across the hallway. Thankfully, my reflex training kicked in and I caught myself before I completely fell onto the floor.

"(Y/N)!"

I turned my head to see who tripped me. It was the same Savanaclaw student from earlier. His eyes were still as dull as they were in class.

"Heh, so the rumors are true. A dumb little boy with strength. You'll be a perfect punching bag."

I turned my head towards Riddle to see him frozen with shock. It seems that this guy's words shocked Riddle to his core. The next thing that I knew was that my neck was grabbed and lifted far above the ground. My windpipe was being slightly crushed by his hand.

"Since your body is stronger, that means you can take more punches."

I started flailing my legs around, hoping for one of three things to happen. Either my leg would hit him and get him to release my throat, or I would stall long enough for either Riddle or a faculty to get this man to stop. Sadly, none of my preferred situations came true.

The guy punched me right in the middle of my chest, knocking the air out of my lungs and I think that I even heard one of my ribs crack a tiny bit. I opened my mouth to let out a scream but because of how tight his hand was around my throat, it couldn't escape.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!"

Thank you, Riddle!

I started trying to regain air in my lungs with the fact that my windpipe has been allowed to reopen. I lifted my head to watch what was happening. With the Savanaclaw student now dazed, Riddle was just launching spell after spell at him. It was getting really messy. Riddle was only stopped after other Heartslabyul students restrained him.

I let out an audible gasp. I was finally able to regain the air in my lungs. I stood up and went over to Riddle and just gave him a hug. This was one of the few things that I knew that I could do to calm him down.

"Calm down, Riddle! I'm not too harmed!"

Riddle calmed down but I could tell that he was still glaring at the guy who punched me.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!"

Professor Crewel came stomping down the hallway towards the injured student and both of us. He didn't seem very pleased with us.

"I mildly expected this type of behavior from Savanaclaw students but from you, Mr. Rosehearts? Not even in my worst nightmares."

"My deepest apologies, Professor Crewel. But you know that I wouldn't act out in such a way unless a rule was broken."

"And which rule was broken?"

"NRC has a rule that says that there will be no fights on campus. That student attacked my brother unprovoked and broke one of his ribs. The only way that I knew to dissuade him from causing more harm to my brother was to make him unable to."

"Hmmmm. I can understand the reasoning. Although I will still be having a talk with you later, Mr. Rosehearts. For now, take your brother to the infirmary to get him checked up on. I'll handle this trouble maker for now."

"Thank you, Professor Crewel. Come along, (Y/N)."

"Yes, my Queen."

I wrapped my hand around my broken rib and started walking with Riddle towards the nurse's office. I felt the anger flowing off of Riddle. I don't think that that Savanaclaw student is free from Riddle's rage just yet.

"Hey, Riddle?"

"Hmm?"

"You don't need to be angry anymore. You did quite the number on him and I'm pretty certain that Professor Crewel isn't going to let him off of the hook that easily."

"..."

Silence was not what I was hoping to hear. Silence meant that Riddle was thinking deeply and with what just happened, I really didn't want him thinking that deep.

We eventually made it to the nurse's office. The nurse gave me an ice pack and told me to stay on the bed for a while. I looked over at Riddle for permission. He gave me a nod before speaking.

"(Y/N). Your punishment is over. Now, since you're injured, you are relieved of your usual duties."

I opened my mouth to get Riddle to stay but he walked out in a rush before I could say anything. A bad feeling sunk into my stomach. The events of today caught up to my body and I fell asleep.

I don't know how long I was out for but when I reopened my eyes, I saw Deuce asleep with his head on the side of my bed.

"Deuce? What are you doing here?"

My voice sounded so rough for the fact that I had just woken up from what seemed to be about a six hour nap.

"Huh?! Oh! (Y/N)! You're up! I was tasked by Dorm Leader Riddle to keep watch over you while you slept. He also told me to bring you back to Heartslabyul when you woke up."

"Hmmmmmm. Did he tell you why he couldn't be here himself?"

Deuce stayed silent for a minute, looking up at the ceiling. It seemed that he was trying to remember if Riddle gave him a reason or if he was just happy to be able to watch over me.

"I'm not certain anymore. I sort of walked as fast as I could away from Riddle after he gave me my task."

Deuce then gave me a sheepish smile. I return a knowing smile. I don't make fun of Deuce for trying to be an honor student which gets me brownie points with him.

"Oh! We need to be on our way! I nearly forgot to take you back to Heartslabyul."

"Right. Let's see if my body is willing to let me move."

I swung my legs to the side of the bed and stood up. I felt a sharp pain in the left rib cage area but after the initial movement, I could move easier. I still had Deuce assist me with walking in case the pain decided to spike up once again.

A lovely conversation broke out between the two of us. Hearing the antics of Yuu, Deuce, Ace and Grim plus others is always enjoyable to hear. Sometimes I wish that I would be able to join them on one of their crazy events but Riddle would never allow me to.

We made it back to Heartslabyul where there seemed to be mild chaos stirring about. I don't think that I've ever seen Heartslabyul so disorganized since Riddle's overblot incident.

"Excuse us but what's happening?"

"Riddle and Leona are having a fight in the Rose Maze!"

"WHAT?!"

Deuce and I picked up the pace to the middle of the Rose Maze to see Riddle basically pick Leona up with his magic and send him flying into a thorny rose bush. The thorns were clearly sharper than the normal ones for the fact that he was bleeding quite a bit.

"GRRRR! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"

"Are you going to discipline your dorm members finally?"

"NO!"

"Then we're not done yet."

Despite Leona already being badly injured and with thorns now stuck in his body, Riddle showed no mercy and shot multiple spells at him. He even got Cater to use Split Card to send more spells Leona's way. They're going to kill him!

"Leona-Senpai!"

Deuce was obviously freaked out as well. It's not everyday that you see people nearly destroy someone for no reason. Whipping out my own magical pen, I quickly casted a spell around Leona's foot to swing him out of the way. Of course, it worked but I didn't really think about where I was swinging him. Leona was launched straight into Deuce and myself, creating a sort of dog pile.

"AHH!"

"UGH!"

"OOF!"

I need to start thinking past stage one of my plans. Leona put a lot of pressure on my recently broken rib which got me crying out in pain.

"Well, maybe if you weren't trying to play hero, you wouldn't be in more pain now."

"Oh please, if (Y/N) didn't just launch you halfway across the world, Riddle and Cater's spells would completely fried you alive."

"(Y/N)!"

Riddle's voice broke us out of our fantasy world and triggered what seemed to be a flight response in Leona. He booked it out of there before any more spells got fired. Riddle rushed over to where Deuce and I were laying on the ground and let out a huff in anger.

"Great, he got away. He needs to be more firm with his dorm members or else, we get stuck with more scenarios like today."

"It's not Leona's fault that one of his dorm members punched me and broke my rib."

"It wouldn't have happened if Leona just actually stepped up as a dorm leader and had his members under control."

Riddle's tone was icy cold. I could tell that changing his mind once again was going to be difficult.

"How about we forget Leona for now and help me inside? I think that the Leona impact accidently reversed all of the healing that my rib got."

Riddle looked down at me and his eyes softened a bit. He kneeled down and helped me to my feet. He steadied me and we trekked back to our shared room.

I laid down on the bed, ready to go to sleep. I was expecting Riddle to join me but instead, he went to the door before telling me that he'll be back in a short while. I nodded my head. I was originally planning to stay up until Riddle came back but my body decided that it had taken enough abuse and that it wanted to sleep the pain off.

*Riddle's POV*

As much as I wanted to join my brother in sleep, I still had a job to finish. Since Leona won't take it upon himself to discipline his dorm members, I'll do it myself.

"Cater."

"Huh? Oh, hey Riddle."

Cater seemed nervous when talking with me. Might be because of what I made him do earlier. Well, I need a similar favor now.

"You're more connected with other dorm students. What can you tell me about..."

Cater and I had a long, extensive talk about this Savanaclaw student. Cater was able to find him on the internet and get even deeper with some older accounts that he had. I was grateful for the new information on this guy. Makes what I'm about to do more justified.

"Thank you, Cater. You've been of great help to me."

"Not a problem, Dorm Leader Riddle! Umm, just to make sure, you're not going to do anything brash, right?"

Cater let out a small nervous laugh and I only turned my head to look at him from the corner of my eye. He stopped quietly laughing when he saw the look in my eye. That man hurt my younger brother, tomorrow, there will be a price to pay for what he has done.

I quickly made it back to my room and fell asleep next to (Y/N). I'm glad that he was able to sleep with his injury. I'll make sure that the members from the other dorm will treat him with the respect that he deserves.

*(Y/N)'s POV*

Today is so much worse. So, so much worse. Riddle somehow got the Malleus Draconia to attack the Savanaclaw student that hurt me yesterday. My brain is still trying to make sense of the fact that Malleus came and turned the student into stone.

"Thank you, Malleus. I appreciate the fact that you were willing to help me. I will see to it myself that you get an invitation to the next unbirthday party."

"Not a problem, Riddle. When Silver told me that you requested my help with something, I wasn't expecting this. But it would be my greatest pleasure to be invited to an unbirthday party at Heartslabyul."

Malleus then left the two of us alone with the student turned stone. My brain feels more and more fried. Riddle then came over to me and put a hand on my shoulder, snapping me back to reality.

"Riddle. Why would you do something like this?"

"Because. You're my little brother. Since you're my protector, I'll be yours as well."

Leona Kingscholar

Brother A:

"Holy crap, hurry up, Epel!"

"Sorry, (Y/N)! Ah should hav warned yawl thet yawl wuz walkin' straight into Rook's shootin' range."

Epel was trying to wrap the bandages tight enough to create a blood clot. Stupid Rook and his stupid shooting. I got an arrow straight in the leg because of him! I was this close to ripping off the Hunter's head! Thankfully, Epel calmed me down and is now healing my injuries.

"Is yawl okay, (Y/N)? Chur breathin' gist got heavier."

"Yeah, I'm just... trying to figure out what to tell Leona. He banned me from A: going to other dorms and B: Seeing you guys. He can be such a stick in the mud sometimes."

"Naw way! Leona don't hav thet type uh control ovur yawl! Yore not actually gunna gist leave us behind, raht?"

"Of course not! Leona may be my older brother but that doesn't mean that I'm going to listen to him. He doesn't listen to rules anyway. Why should I listen to his?"

"Thet's uh relief. Thayure yawl go! All patched up!"

"Perfect! Now, is it okay if I hung out in Pomefiore for today? Just to lay low. Leona won't step in here willingly and I was lucky enough to have lost Ruggie on my way here."

"Uh course, yawl can stay hare! Way gist hav tuh make shore thet Vil don't say yawl. Plus Ah can finally teach yawl how tuh apple carve!"

"Lead the way, my southern friend!"

I followed Epel to a T just to avoid Vil's line of sight. I don't want to know what will happen if Vil sees me. Sadly, it did seem that my luck wasn't running high today.

"EPEL!"

"Dagnabbit it."

"What exactly is (Y/N) doing here? And more importantly looking like that?!"

My clothes are not the problem here! They be comfy and I wear them anyway!

"Well, I thought that..."

"You thought what? Speak up, Epel! How many times have I told you to not mutter!"

"I just thought that it would be okay if (Y/N) stayed here for a short while!"

Epel and Vil appeared to be in a stare off. Neither really willing to let this slide from the other. Amazingly, the saving grace here was Rook.

"Roi du Poison! Please forgive my interruption but Monsieur Brute's stay is partly my own fault! One of my arrows accidently found its mark in his leg, injuring him and ruining his beauty! Please allow him to stay here until his beauty returns back to its full glory!"

Did he just say that I have beauty? I guess that's actually not surprising from Rook. I remember when I was just talking with Jack and Rook appeared out of nowhere, fawning over Jack's dedication to his work out. Jack was creeped out while I found it funny and started joining Rook in the fawning. I think I made an accidental friend that day.

"Hmmmm, considering the fact that (Y/N) was injured on Pomefiore grounds, I believe that it's fair for him to stay. But! He must act and look like a member of Pomefiore until he can go back."

"What."

"For starters, your wardrobe. Second, your makeup and finally, your manners! Rook, please go take (Y/N) to the sewing room to get him fully fitted!"

"Of course, Roi du Poison!"

"W-wait a minute. Hold it!"

My words did nothing to stop Rook from pulling me into a random room. Next thing that I knew, I was put into an official Pomefiore uniform and was getting my hair and make up done by random Pomefiore students.

"Ouch! Either you start pulling less on my hair or I'll start pulling on your limbs!"

"Sorry! I've just never had to deal with such tangles before."

My threat got through because the student stopped tugging on my hair whenever he came across a tangle. Although during the make over, a certain smell reached my nose. The smell of blood. More importantly, my blood.

I looked down at my bandaged leg to see the entire lower leg of my outfit was drenched in blood. I needed to go see the nurse badly.

"Oh my goodness, what is that smell?!"

And now the other students have noticed it as well.

"Calm down, that's just my leg. I need to go to the nurse's office."

"Do you want some help getting there?"

"Nah, I'll be just fine getting there. Thanks for the offer though."

I started trudging my way out of Pomefiore. The last thing that I really needed was to make more of a mess for the students to clean up. I'm used to bleeding out and making my way to health and safety. This will be no different.

"Monsieur Brute!"

Okay, maybe a tad different.

"What do you want, Rook?"

"I overheard what was happening. Please allow me to assist you!"

"You really don't need to."

"Non-non, Monsieur! It's my fault that you ended up like this in the first place!"

"What?"

My ears twitched at the new voice. Ruggie. I quickly turned my head towards Ruggie to see him just standing there with a weird look on his face.

"Leona's not going to like this."

"Ruggie, don't-!"

Before I could even get my sentence out, Ruggie ran off to Leona. Crap.

"Rook. Run and hide."

"Pardon?"

"Just trust me on this."

Rook, thankfully, didn't take my advice lightly before running back into Pomefiore. I quickly turned in the direction that Ruggie went before running as fast as I can to try and catch him. My injury is very limiting right now for trying to catch people.

"(Y/N)? What ARE you doing?"

Oh boy.

"Hiya, Jack."

"Is there a reason as to why you're bleeding from your leg?"

"I got shot."

"And that's all that I needed to hear."

"Wh-what are you doing?!"

Jack picked me up and put me on his shoulders. He took off to Savanaclaw.

"Where are you taking me?!"

"Where do you think? To Savanaclaw so that you can relax while healing!"

I let out a groan before laying my head on top of Jack's. My leg started to ache so bad that I felt tears starting to form in my eyes. I felt my hand clench around Jack's arm with my nails digging into his flesh.

"Uuuuggghhhh. This is painful."

"Not used to pain?"

"Normally, I can dodge fast enough or I have adrenaline coursing through my veins that prevents the pain from coming through. This is the first time that I've actually let a wound of mine sit long enough for it to ache. I'm not used to it."

"Hmmmm."

We finally reached Savanaclaw only to run into Leona standing right in front of the mirror, looking quite cross.

"Crap."

"Drop my brother."

"He's injured."

"I said drop him."

Jack cast an apologetic look before just dropping me on my butt. It upset my leg quite a lot.

"Rgh!"

"You deserved that for not listening to me. Didn't I tell you not to go around to other dorms anymore?"

"Well, in all honesty, you're a jerk. Second of all: you don't listen to authority yourself. What gives you any right to dictate over what I do with my life?"

"Because I'm your dorm leader and your older brother. That gives me twice the power that I have over you."

"Yet, how many times have I defeated you and Falena in a fight?"

"You wouldn't win in a fight in your condition now."

"Want to test that?"

Leona and I were having a stare down, neither of us really willing to back down from what we said.

"Found him!"

I turned my head to see Ruggie, running with two other Savanaclaw students who seemed to be dragging a certain blonde hunter by his arms behind him.

"Oh no..."

"Well done."

"This took too long! He put up a really good fight but he wasn't able to fight off all three of us!"

Rook did look worse for wear. His clothes were all ripped up and there were plenty of scratches littering his body. Ruggie and the two Savanaclaw students weren't in great shape either. They all seemed to have small scrapes, most likely from Rook's arrows, and just overall, really dirty. Pomefiore's forest wasn't as clean as Vil tried to make it appear.

"You've got a lot of nerve, hunting my own brother, Hunter."

"S'il vous plaît! Roi des Lions, I would never try to hurt (Y/N)'s raw beauty on purpose! It would bring shame to the message that I try to spread!"

"Stop your gibberish. It's giving me a headache."

I started to stand up before Leona just kicked my bad leg to keep me down.

"If you know what's good for you, you would stay curled up there."

Leona then grabbed his staff before walking over to Rook.

"Leona! Seriously, this wasn't his fault!"

"Don't care."

Leona stabbed his staff deep into Rook's leg. The same leg that I got shot in.

Rook's screams pierced the air, causing my ear to flick down to try and prevent the awful noise from coming into my head. Sadly, it didn't work. It seemed that one stab wasn't enough for Leona to get his frustration out. He stabbed the same leg multiple times in different spots.

I quickly stood up before tackling one of the Savanaclaw students, who happened to be standing in line with Leona. He slammed into Leona, catching him off balance and sent him tumbling. I was quick to get the staff out of Rook's leg before pulling out my pen to heal him.

Rook, somehow staying conscious of all of this, pulled out his own pen and started firing spells to prevent any of them getting close to us.

"I apologize deeply for this, Rook."

"Non. Once again, this isn't your fault, Monsieur Brute. I can only hope that Vil has gotten the message that I sent him."

"What message?"

My question got answered real fast when I saw more spells being sent from elsewhere. Vil stepped through the mirror and quickly made his way to Rook.

"Are you alright, Rook?"

"Roi du Poison! I could be doing better but I'll be just fine, now that you've graced me with your beauty one last time!"

"Stop being a drama queen. You're going to live. Thank you, (Y/N) for defending Rook until we were able to arrive. You'll always be welcomed to Pomefiore for a retreat if you need one."

"How about a transfer? I might need one soon."

Vil only gave me a slight smile before rushing Rook off. I felt a smile creep onto my own face as well. It's really weird to make friends. My joy didn't last though for the fact that I was quickly tackled to the ground by a Savanaclaw student. I tried to get out from underneath him but he put all of his weight onto my injury.

"Stop it, you idiot! Are you trying to make me lose my leg completely?!"

"Take him to his dorm room. It's quite obvious that he hasn't learned his lesson yet."

I was picked up and rushed off to my dorm room. After I got dropped to the floor, the door slammed and locked within a matter of seconds.

"Yeah, yeah. LOVE YOU TOO GUYS!"

I struggled to stand up and sit down on my bunk. They're really trying to break me, aren't they? Well, that doesn't mean I'll let them. Come at me with your worst, Leona. I'll always come out on top.

Brother B:

That guy keeps staring at me. I don't understand what's so interesting about me? I'm just waiting tables! Maybe I could get Jade to talk to him for me? No (Y/N)! Just as Leona has always told you! Be more assertive! You can take care of him!

I took a deep breath before scanning my surroundings once again. The Mostro Lounge always looked really pretty during the evenings, which is a major reason as to why I prefer these shifts over morning or afternoon ones. Finally, I looked over to the table with the Diasomnia student and we made eye contact. I flinched at the visible perk that the guy did when I finally gave him attention. I swear if that guy was staring at me because Floyd didn't take his order again.

I took long strides over to the Diasomnia student before stopping by his table. I gave him a closed eye smile before speaking.

"Good evening, sir! Do you happen to need something from me?"

"I would appreciate it if I could have your number."

My eyes popped open at his request. It freaked me out to say the least. I've never gotten that type of attention before. I mean, I have but those were princes who were requesting for my hand in marriage, thinking that I was a girl. I gave it a few seconds to mull in my brain before shaking my head no.

"Sorry, sir. But I'm not comfortable enough to give just anybody my number."

"Well, then, what if we did something to no longer be just anybody to each other?"

"Well, I appreciate the offer, sir but I'd rather not though."

"Come on, please."

"No, sir."

I turned on my heel to walk away but he grabbed my wrist in a bruising grip.

"Ow! Ow! Let go, sir!"

"No. I'm not going to just take no from a spoiled little prince. You're not going to have anybody who will be willing to give you the time of day ever yet you have the guts to reject me!"

"Sir, please let go! I don't want to have to call in Floyd to remove you from the establishment!"

"What? You're not strong enough to get me out yourself? What a weakling! How did you even get into NRC?"

I felt my resolve melting away. I'm always willing to give people more and more time to redeem themselves before I take matters into my own hands. But this time, I had a feeling that I needed to get my point across.

"Eh~~~~ What's goi-"

"I'm the captor of hearts, I'm the collector of heads. My words are absolute. OBEY ME!"

The man let me go and I felt my anger flare up.

"HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK OF PUTTING YOUR HANDS ON SOMEONE YOU IS ONLY TRYING TO ASSIST YOU?! LEAVE THE LOUNGE AND DON'T EVEN THINK OF COMING BACK!"

I quickly dispelled my magic to avoid consequence towards my body. The Diasomnia student's body, obviously affected by my magic, left the Mostro Lounge. I quickly got my pulse back to a normal pace when I realized that the entire lounge was dead silent. I quickly spun my head around to realize that people were staring at me in shock, including Floyd, Jade and Azul.

I felt myself becoming more bashful before running over to Azul.

"Azul?"

I was whispering to avoid creating more of a scene.

"Is there any chance that I could go to Savanaclaw to visit my brother right now?"

Azul, still stunned speechless apparently, only nodded his head. I took that and ran. I quickly changed out of my uniform and back into my flowy clothes before making my way over to Savanaclaw. That was so embarrassing.

I made my way to the main Savanaclaw area where I saw a bunch of the dorm members just chilling or playing around. I ran over to one of them.

"Excuse me?"

"Huh?! Oh, it's just you, Prince (Y/N). If you're wondering where Leona is, he's actually at the stadium right now. Something about how we all were making too much noise."

"Thank you!"

I turned away from the Savanaclaw student when I heard a gasp from him. I turned back around and caught him staring at my wrist. I looked at it as well when I noticed a dark purple bruise circling my entire wrist. I knew that his grip was much too tight.

"Oh, I knew that was going to bruise."

"WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"Oh, nothing important. Just a rough customer. Don't you worry about it. Thank you for showing concern though!"

"NO, WA-!"

I ran off without hearing the rest of what he had to say. I only had limited time before I was expected back at Octavinelle and I still wanted to see Leona!

I saw my brother and rushed towards him. He was just watching the moon which was weird but I knew Leona felt a connection with the moon in some way.

"Leona!"

I hugged him from behind which actually got a chuckle out of him.

"Heya, (Y/N). What brought you here at this time?"

"I... had a really rough time at the lounge. There was this guy who was being a creep to me and I... completely overreacted."

Leona was quiet for sometime before reacting to my last sentence.

"What exactly happened?"

"Well, the guy who was from Diasomnia decided to be a real creep to me. He grabbed my wrist, see! Here's a bruise that he gave me! I lost my patience for a quick second because he was staring at me earlier. It really freaked me out so I used Obey Me on him and basically banned him from the Mostro Lounge."

Leona stared angrily at the bruise on my wrist before standing up. He grabbed me and started to carry me on his back.

"Leona?! What are you doing?!"

"We're going to have a little talk with Azul."

Leona rushed over to the Mostro Lounge before kicking the doors open, gaining the entire lounge's attention.

"Uh, welcome to the Mostro Lou-"

Leona grabbed Azul by his collar before dragging him into the V.I.P. room. He threw Azul over his desk before carefully placing me on one of the comfortable chairs.

"Listen up, cephalopunk! Is your little trashy business not a safe enough place for my little brother?"

"W-w-w-wait a minute! I try to make sure that the Mostro Lounge is safe for all of my employees!"

"Then how do you explain the fact that (Y/N) has a bruise on his wrist from one of your customers?!"

"We were taking care of it!"

"Obviously you weren't taking care of it as efficiently as you thought! Someone is going to pay for this. You have a decision here, cephalopunk."

"Oh really?"

"Either you tell me the name of the student who hurt my little brother or I'll drag the entirety of Savanaclaw to the Mostro Lounge to ruin it every night."

For the second time in the same night, Azul was stunned speechless by a Kingscholar. Azul quickly tried to regain his confidence and gave a smirk to Leona.

"There's no way that you would do that."

Leona only returned Azul's smirk with his own before walking out of the V.I.P. room. Oh boy, did Azul look like he was going to ink himself more than ever?

"Azul, you might want to reconsider Leona's offer."

Azul looked at me before plastering a smile back on his face. It was threatening to fall off at any minute.

"I'm not threatened by Leona's threat at all. I'm certain that he won't do anything. It takes effort to actually do what he's threatening. Also to make up for the fact that you did get injured on the job, I'm giving you the next three days off from work."

"You're going to need extra muscle to stop the entirety of Savanaclaw from entering the Mostro Lounge."

"Once again, (Y/N), you have too much faith in your brother."

Azul should have listened to me. I walked out of my dorm to go get some food from the kitchen to see the Mostro Lounge completely trashed with Savanaclaw students just making a mess of the lounge. I saw Leona laying on top of one of the tables, his eyes closed giving off the impression that he was sleeping. I also took note of the fact that Jade and Floyd, along with the rest of the employees, were tied up with a bunch of table cloths.

I let out a sigh before walking over to Leona. The rest of the Savanaclaw students gave me a lot of space to walk. They did not want to invoke Leona's wrath by hurting me either.

"Leona."

Leona didn't move but I knew that he heard me so I just continued on.

"Don't you think that you've done enough damage yet?"

I heard a door break before a lot of hollers followed shortly after. I saw Azul get dragged out of the V.I.P. room and throw over to where Jade and Floyd were to just get tied up as well.

"Now, I say that we've done enough damage. ALRIGHT BOYS! PACK IT UP AND LET'S GO HOME!"

All of the Savanaclaw students just started shouting more and rushing out of the Mostro Lounge, destroying more things in their wake. Leona only gave off a triumph smirk and air while he sauntered out of the lounge. A faint smile appeared on my face, it's been a while since I've seen Leona proud of something that he has done.

I quickly rushed over to where the tied up members of Octavinelle were and got to work untying them. The knots were quite tight so it took me longer than I truly wished for it to take.

The first person that I got undone was Jade. He was quick to stand up and help with untying the others.

"This was completely uncalled for."

"Well, it depends on how you look at it. Leona did give Azul the choice of either telling him a name or face this."

"(Y/N). I understand how important it is to love a brother, faults and all."

"Heeeyyyy!"

"But you shouldn't defend actions like those of anybody."

"Guess you can say that I'm programmed to defend Leona at every aspect of his life."

After about twenty minutes of untying, we got everyone untied and started cleaning up.

"Oh, we're going to be at such a deficit because of these damages."

"Well, if you don't want to have to spend all of that money again tomorrow, you should give Leona what he asked for. I have a good feeling that Leona will hold through with his threat still. Doesn't matter if you have nothing, he'll figure out what to take after that."

Azul appeared to be thinking over what I said before walking to his office. He came back out with his cane and snapped his fingers.

"Jade. Floyd. Come with me. We have business with Mr. Leona Kingscholar."

"Woo! No more cleaning!"

Floyd threw his broom which caused it to knock into the already broken plates and broke them even more.

"FLOYD!!"

"Hehehehe~ Whoops~"

I watched as the trio left. Maybe tomorrow will be an easier day. The bruise on my wrist started to fade a bit today which made it a tiny bit easier to clean and use it.

Today was not easier. Easier on the body yes but not for the sight in the main courtyard. The man who harassed me was strung up above one of the entrances to the main building. He appeared to be alive but he kept on coughing up sand. It seems as if Leona has gotten his way in the end.

Azul Ashengrotto

"Please, Azul! We don't even have to leave the Mostro Lounge, just anywhere out of this room!"

I was desperate to be let out of Azul's room. It had nearly been the two week long break that Azul wanted but I knew that I couldn't stand any longer. He kept coddling me, acting as if I was the three year old that he originally met.

"Now why exactly would I do that? We're having such a lovely time with just the two of us! You should be grateful that we get to bond at all. I feel bad for all of the little brothers who can't bond with their older ones."

I felt myself tense up with anger. Azul could be such a hypocrite when he wanted to be. That situation was literally us seven years ago! How could he have forgotten the pain that he inflicted on me so easily?!

"Yes, I apologize, Azul. I should have been more grateful."

I can't fight him at every turn anymore. I just don't have the willpower to do so.

"I'm glad that you finally recognized that you were acting like a toddler. Now, come here. I think that you need some cuddles to calm down."

Azul had a victorious grin on his face while spreading his arms wide open for me to set myself in. Another cage that he loved to put me in. I started to fidget with my fingers before walking over to him. I heaved myself onto the bed that he was sitting on before climbing into his lap. Azul gained a softer smile on his face before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me lightly into his body.

I felt his face burrow slightly into hair. He was letting out little giggles. He always did that when he was very happy. For example, he's been giggling for the entirety of these past two weeks.

There was a knock at the door, which made Azul stop giggling and let out a slight growl. Ha, that's what you get for imprisoning me. He lifted me out of his lap before setting me down on the bed. He nearly ripped the door off the hinges. I felt scared for the door.

"What exactly is so IMPORTANT that you have to interrupt the time that I've dedicated to my brother?"

If the person isn't a tweel, they are going to be in so much trouble tomorrow.

"Sorry, Azul. But we're having a bit of an issue. It seems that Yuu and their little posse are starting a fight in the common area."

It's Jade. I don't think that Azul could ever be mad at him. Even if he somehow killed me, I think that Azul and Jade would be on good terms.

Azul was looking worried at this fact and started looking between Jade and I.

"Alright, I'll be there in a few seconds."

Azul turned around, grabbed his cane and picked me up with one arm.

"I don't want you to feel cheated of time with me so, I think that this small excursion won't be such a bad idea. Although as soon as I get this fight sorted out, you and I are going right back into this room for a good cuddle session, okay?"

I only nodded my head, excited to see other people than Azul. It feels like it has been years since I've seen the Mostro Lounge. The lights in there felt like the stars that I would gaze at during my late night trips to the surface. If I was lucky enough to still have energy after finishing my homework that is.

"WHO IS YAWL CALLIN' UH GIRL?! AHL SHOW YAWL!"

I turned my head to a very feminine boy who appeared to be trying to fight a Heartslabyul student. He was being held back by a giant wolf guy and a mint green haired fae.

"Epel, drop it!"

"EPEL! STOP THIS UNRULY BEHAVIOR AT ONCE!"

"MAKE MAY!"

"Excuse me!"

Azul set me on the ground before running over to the fight and started to yell at both parties. I just watched in amusement at all of the fighting. It sort of reminded me of my best friends back at... middle school.

I miss those guys. (B/F/N) and (F/N) were some of the best people that I got to spend time with. They weren't jealous over what I had or what I could do. They just loved to spend time with me. I wonder what they're doing now though.

While I was deep in thought, I didn't notice the leaf shot that was coming my direction until it hit me straight in the face.

"OUCH!"

My eyes were in so much pain! The leaves that were swirling around got a clear hit at my eyes. I think that a blade did actually hit my retinas.

"(Y/N)!"

I heard Azul rush over to me and started to push my hands away to get a good look at my eyes. He forced my eyes open to quickly assess the damage. It seems as if the fighting had stopped since I was injured.

After about two minutes, Azul left out a sigh. Based on his facial expressions, it was most likely a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, no actual damage has been done to your eyes. But..."

Azul then stood up, having a death grip on his cane, and shot a spell towards the group suspending them all in the air.

"THE MOSTRO LOUNGE IS NOT THE PLACE FOR YOUR PETTY ARGUMENTS! THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR RECKLESSNESS, MY LITTLE BROTHER HAS BEEN INJURED! YOU ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED INTO THE MOSTRO LOUNGE! NOW, GET OUT!"

At the end of his little speech, Azul used the same magic to send the group of six first years and the offending Heartslabyul student and his group flying out of the Mostro Lounge's doors. Quickly regaining his composure, Azul looked over the rest of the guests who fell silent at the fight that was happening in the lounge. He quickly cleared his throat before talking.

"Apologies, loyal customers! Hopefully, we won't have another outburst again today but please do remember! The Mostro Lounge is a safe café for students to relax, not a risky bar for people to have fights in!"

Everyone seemed to go back to their own business after Azul had said that. Azul then quickly turned back to me and picked me back up once again.

"Let's get you back to the room so that I can patch you up, (Y/N)."

We ran back to the room and he took me into the small bathroom. He set me down on the sink counter before pulling out his magic pen.

"Oh, I should have known that taking my fragile little brother out into what could have been a war zone was a bad idea. You've gotten little cuts, haven't you?"

"I'm not completely defenseless anymore Azul."

My tongue moved before I could think.

"What was that?"

Azul's soft tone is gone now, I have no chance of that getting back soon. His gaze turned into a cold glare. I was in for it this time.

"Nothing, Azul! I said nothing!"

"Oh no! I'm nipping this in the bud before it gets out of hand."

Azul lifted me up before taking me back to the bedroom. He laid me, stomach down, over his legs before swatting my behind.

"If I seriously need to whack this into you, I will, (Y/N)! You are my baby brother! You will stop with the back talk and this rebellious behavior!"

I let out a cry of pain. This really hurts!

"Sorry! Sorry! I promise I won't do it again! Just stop please!"

"Hmmmmm, since you've already gotten hurt already, I think I can ease up on this punishment."

That's a relief. I hate punishments like these. They're so embarrassing and painful for me. Azul resituated me so that we were both lying down and that I was trapped in a perma-hug next to Azul's heart beat.

"I think it's a good time for you to take a nap. Doesn't that sound just refreshing, (Y/N)?"

"Uh huh."

I nodded my head as well. I felt a kiss be pressed to the top of my head before Azul's heart beat actually started to lull me to sleep. A perfect tempo to calm my racing thoughts.

*Azul's POV*

(Y/N)'s breathing has finally steadied out, which means that I could grab my phone for a quick text. I opened up the group chat between me, Jade and Floyd. I sent a quick text explaining exactly what I wanted to happen. It was one of those dim Heartslabyul students who sent the leaf shot (Y/N)'s way. I made it clear that I want him to be punctured like a pin cushion and a rose put into each of the holes. That was Jade's task. I told Floyd to give the Yuu first year group a good scare with a few scars to let them know what happens if you mess in the Mostro Lounge.

After I sent out my texts, I switched my phone to silent and set it down face first on my nightstand. I looked down to see (Y/N) just snoozing away. He was so adorable! How on earth could I not recognize his cuteness before?

"I was such a fool when I was younger. I'm going to make it up to you now."

That was a promise that I was going to keep to him.

#yandere #tw yandere #yandere x reader #platonic yandere #yandere twst #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere x child reader #child reader #ooc #yandere riddle rosehearts #yandere leona kingscholar #yandere azul ashengrotto

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