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training4theapocalypse · 9 months

Text

Never Been Kissed (Adrian Chase x fem!reader)

Rating: Explicit - 18+ only

Word Count: 7.3k

Warnings: SMUT, Second chance romance, Canon typical descriptions of murder and violence, Oral (fem receiving), P in V, Safe sex (male condom), Multiple orgasms

Summary: You're a PI who joins the 11th Street Kids after a chance meeting with John Economos on the dark web. Unfortunately for you, your ex-friend-with-benefits Vigilante is here too. (Based on this ask by anon)

A/N: This took a hot minute. The M&Ms were originally cigarettes but these days I'm a healthy queen free of nicotine -purr.

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Chapter text:

The dim fire exit sign outside the back of the abandoned video store flickers as you suck a peanut M&M between your tongue and the roof of your mouth anxiously. You hope your contact hurries the fuck up - if he makes you wait any longer you’ll finish an entire party bag from nervousness.

It was stupid, really, even reckless, to meet a stranger from the dark web. But when some guy called TechConomos_11 had responded to you in a chat room where you were discussing the intel you had on some sinister goings-on in Evergreen, you knew you had to meet him and his team.

Because you’ll be damned if anyone catches the escaped gorilla before you.

There’s a clink of a padlock and chain falling to the floor, the sound of a heavy emergency exit bar being pushed down and when the door opens you’re face to face with a large, bearded man wearing glasses.

“Are you the PI?”

If you had to draw a sketch of what you thought a guy you met on the dark web would look like, he would be it. Not a neckbeard, exactly, just someone with the distinct aura of having too much time spent in front of a screen.

You nod. “TechConomos?”

“Call me John. Come inside - the team’s all here.”

You shove the half-empty pack of M&Ms into your bag and he leads you through to the back office.

“This is Murn, Harcourt and Adebayo.” He gestures to his three associates sitting in the office who each acknowledge you in turn. “And these guys-”

“Fuck it! Fuck, fuck fuck!”

The yelling draws your attention to the window separating the office from the rest of the video store and it’s like a knife in your gut when you see him.

Vigilante.

“Ugh, fuck! It hurts to walk!” Vigilante whines as he limps around. He turns to pace some more but stops in his tracks in alarm when he sees you. He immediately dives to the floor, launching himself behind a desk in a futile attempt to hide.

Vigilante is the last person you expected to - or wanted to - see here. It’s not his usual MO - normally he’d be out hunting thugs and drug dealers. What was he doing caught up in this operation with some tech guy and a team who you suspected were either current or former soldiers?

There’s a roaring laugh and your eyes find Peacemaker, doubled over in his chair, laughing like an idiot at Vigilante sprawled on the ground.

That explains Vigilante’s involvement. Looks like his idol, Peacemaker, is finally out of prison and the first thing he does is rope Vigilante into whatever this is. The whole thing stinks. Why is there an entire team with two capes looking for an escaped zoo animal? Any why did one of those capes have to be Vigilante?

You close your eyes and groan. “You didn’t tell me you were working with them.”

“You know each other?” asks Harcourt.

“Just Vigilante.” You sigh and follow them into the video store.

“Hey, asshole,” you say, peering over the desk Vigilante is hidden behind. He looks up at you and props his masked head up on his arm casually as if you didn’t just see him throw himself there a second ago.

“Oh, hey!” he says, feigning pleasant surprise.

“Why are you on the floor?”

“I hurt my pinky toe.”

“Yeah? Which one?” You walk around the desk and stand at his feet to get a better look.

“Nononono! Wait!”

You clock the way his visor-covered eyes dart down to his right foot in panic.

“Woah, did you think I was gonna kick you or something?” Sure, you have beef but you’re kind of offended he’d think that you’d harm him on purpose.

“No…” he mumbles sheepishly.

“Asshole.” You roll your eyes and sit on the hard wooden surface, turning away from him to face the team.

“Who the fuck is this?” Peacemaker asks Murn before looking between you and Vigilante. “Do you two know each other or something?”

You don’t deign to reply.

There’s a squeak of a chair being dragged on linoleum as Vigilante pulls himself up onto a seat next to Peacemaker with a wince.

“Economos says you want to join the team,” says Murn.

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“I know everything that goes on in Evergreen.”

“And?”

“I have information and skills that I want money for. Obviously.”

“How much?”

You were talking about splitting the reward for the gorilla but Murn’s expectant look makes it clear this is a contract. What’s that saying again? A contract in the hand is worth a gorilla in the bush? … Something like that.

“Well, what are you paying him?” You cast your eyes at Vigilante who shrugs. Unbelievable. “They’re not paying you? Idiot.”

Murn and Harcourt glance at each other awkwardly. “This is strictly off the books,” says Murn.

“So you were just going to take advantage of him? No way. I want my pay backdated for all the intell I’ve found for you. And his too for whatever it is he’s doing for you.”

“How do you guys know each other?” asks John, pulling up a chair behind his laptop.

You look at Vigilante warningly and answer before he can open his fat mouth. “I’ve sent some work his way once or twice. And compensated him fairly for it,” you add pointedly.

“Oh, they’ve definitely fucked,” laughs Peacemaker.

“Shouldn’t you be in Belle Reve?” You glare at him.

Peacemaker ignores the question. “Did he keep the mask on with you too?” He pouts faux-sympathetically.

This catches you off-guard. Not Vigilante and Peacemaker fucking - Vigilante is so obsessed with him that you guessed it was only a matter of time.

But he did keep his mask on.

Vigilante groans and leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees and staring determinedly at his injured foot.

“Ha! I knew it!”

“Enough!” Murn gives Peacemaker a severe look before turning his attention back to you. “John says you know the location of what we’re looking for.”

“I’m not telling you until you get me up to speed with what you’ve got so far. John wouldn’t tell me shit online. Call it a show of good faith.”

“And we’re supposed to just take your word that you actually have useful information?” asks Adebayo.

John opens his mouth to reply but Vigilante beats him to the punch.

“She knows,” says Vigilante, finally looking up. “She’s… she’s a good PI. If she says she knows, she knows.”

“Well, we can’t divulge state secrets just because Vigilante vouches for you. Tell us the ‘where’ and if it checks out - you’re in,” says Harcourt.

You look around at this unlikely group. If you want to catch the gorilla you need their help. You need their weapons. You need their money.

“It’s at the Glan Tai bottling plant. You heard of it?”

“Pulling it up now…” John types on his keyboard. “It makes sense, Murn. They’ve got the production, the distribution channels… This is probably it.”

Distribution channels? What’s the gorilla at Glan Tai got to do with distribution?

You keep your face neutral - if there’s one thing you’ve learned from this job, it’s when to sit back, shut up and listen.

You try to piece things together as Murn talks about ‘butterflies’ and their ‘food source’. Economos checks highway CCTV footage and confirms that your intel is correct. This is extremely lucky for you because you’re clearly talking about two entirely different things. You wonder if these ‘butterflies’ are some kind of parasite-induced sleeper agent. And maybe the food source is a drug to release them from their fugue state?

“...And the gorilla?” you ask eventually.

“What about the gorilla?” asks Harcourt.

“The gorilla is at Glan Tai.”

“There’s a Butterfly gorilla?” asks Vigilante excitedly. “That is so cool!”

“Is that even possible?” Harcourt asks Murn who nods.

You’ve seen some shit but a gorilla sleeper agent takes the fucking cake. They all seem totally unfazed so you pretend to be too.

“So, what’s our next move? When do we start killing these aliens?” asks Peacemaker.

Aliens.

You discreetly scan the others. Nobody else bats an eyelid at Peacemaker’s use of that word.

What the hell have you gotten yourself into?

“You two get some rest, come back tonight,” says Murn to Peacemaker and Vigilante. “And you - you’ve got evidence of what we’re doing here?” There’s no point in lying so you nod. “Bring it back here so we can destroy it. All of it.”

You, Peacemaker and Vigilante, leave the video store. You cross the street to get to your car but Vigilante calls your name. You turn around to see him hurriedly limping over while Peacemaker climbs into the Vigilantemobile.

“Hey, I’m glad you’re part of the team now.”

“I can’t return the sentiment.” You scowl at him. Peacemaker beeps the horn of Vigilante’s car. “You’d better hurry up - you don’t want to keep your boyfriend waiting.”

“We’re not in a relationship. You know I only wanted to be with-”

“Don’t you dare.”

“C’mon, can’t you at least tell me why you stopped answering my calls?”

“I already told you - I’m not going to wait around my entire life for a guy who won’t even show me his face. Or tell me his real name.”

“I can’t -”

“Save your excuses for someone who gives a shit.” Peacemaker blasts the horn again. “At least I know you keep the mask on when you fuck him too. It’s not like he’s seen your face.”

Vigilante’s visor-covered eyes avoid contact with yours. His hesitation is like a punch in the gut.

“He’s seen your face?” You don’t mean to whisper it. The words just spill from your lips like you’ve been winded.

“Not like that. That was just a meaningless threesome-”

“But he’s seen it?”

He nods.

You push him aside to throw your car door open and get in. “Fuck you, V.” You slam it shut and drive away, not even bothering to glance at him standing haplessly in your rearview mirror.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, you and John cross-check your intel. It’s becoming clear that this is way out of your fucking league. But if Vigilante can do it, you can too.

Right?

“You want some peanut M&Ms?”.

He accepts a handful gladly. “Why is so much of this about the fucking gorilla?” John asks with his mouth full, looking over your shoulder at your laptop screen.

The necessity of any quick thinking on your part is interrupted when you hear Murn’s voice ringing from the back office.

“You told Vigilante to kill Peacemaker's father?!”

You and John drop what you’re doing and peer tentatively around the door of the office where Murn is berating Adebayo.

“I didn't tell him to… I just kinda put the idea in his head,” she explains.

“That Peacemaker would be better off without his father?”

Oh no.

“Where’s Vigilante?” you ask suspiciously, joining Murn as he stands with his arms crossed. He looks furious.

“He’s in jail,” mumbles Adebayo. “I might have suggested that if someone were to go in and kill Peacemaker’s dad, all our problems would go away.”

You run your hands through your hair.

“How could you manipulate him like that?” Your combat boots squeak on the floor as you pace across it, catastrophising aloud. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Vigilante is very fucking easy to manipulate. And he has a record. What if he kills someone in prison and gets locked up for life? Or what if he gets himself killed trying?”

“Peacemaker’s gonna see right through this. He’ll know exactly what you tried to do,” says Murn to Adebyo sternly.

They’re fucking crazy.

“Who gives a shit about Peacemaker? Vigilante is locked in jail with the White Dragon!” You plead urgently. Vigilante is in real danger and all they care about is Peacemaker’s feelings.

“Economos, can you get Vigilante out of the system before he screws us worse than we're already screwed?”

John sighs. “I don’t even know this guy’s name.”

The four of them look at you.

You cross your arms. “I can’t tell you his name.”

“Guess he’s gonna die in prison then -”

“Last name Chase. First name Adrian.” You blurt out his secret that you’ve been holding deep in your chest. “But you can’t tell him I told you. He doesn’t know I know.”

You crowd around John’s laptop as he pulls up Adrian’s file.

“We shouldn’t be looking at this,” you say as you stare intently at his mugshot - the mugshot you’re so well acquainted with. You’d rather die than admit how many hours you’ve spent sitting at your desk late at night, looking at his police record on your laptop.

And suddenly, it’s like you’re back in bed with him, as he stares breathlessly at the ceiling and you lie there naked on top of his bare chest, looking into his masked face, picturing that very same mugshot underneath it.

“Guess again,” Vigilante says. You can tell even under the mask that he’s grinning, enjoying your questioning.

“Hmm… are you a doctor? You’ve stitched yourself up a lot.”

“You think I’m a doctor and live here?”

Vigilante watches as you make a show of pursing your lips thoughtfully. The warm afternoon sun streaks through the gaps in his blinds onto his bed. It makes it look like there’s a golden halo around your messy bed hair. He tucks a small strand behind your ear as you walk your index and middle fingers along his chest and down his shoulder.

“Maybe a fireman with these big strong arms?”

He likes you when you let your walls down like this. You’re almost downright playful when he’s satisfied you - a personality trait he still hasn’t extricated from you outside these four walls.

“Man, I am so good at this secret identity thing if I can keep it a secret from a PI.”

You laugh. “I guess so.”

He didn’t know that you had long known his real job. And his real name. Or that you’d trace your fingers over his face on your laptop screen as you tried to reconcile it with the masked killer who was content to let you into his bed but never his real life.

“Wasn’t he our busboy at Fennel Fields?” Adebayo’s question snaps you back to the present.

“Can you pull him out?” You ask John.

“It’s… done.” He says, with a final click of his keyboard. “Let’s just hope he hasn’t done anything stupid. Yet.”

Harcourt shrugs her leather jacket on. “I’ll pick him up.”

Great - first he reveals to Peacemaker who he is and now Harcourt who he’s known for a hot minute is about to see his face too.

You frown. “He’s gonna be really upset we know his identity.”

“You wanna come and soften the blow?”

“I’ll drive.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harcourt sits in the passenger seat of your car outside of the Evergreen Police Department. You’ve been sitting here quietly in the dark, staring at the front doors for almost an hour.

“So what’s your deal with Vigilante?” She asks, finally breaking the silence.

“I told you - I threw some contract work his way. Used him as a bodyguard from time to time when I needed the extra muscle.”

“And then what? Why did you call him an asshole?”

“Because he can be an asshole.”

“That doesn’t sound right. A psychopath maybe. But an asshole? I don’t buy it.”

You keep your eyes focused on the police station door to hide your face. “He doesn’t mean to be an asshole.” You swallow with difficulty. “He just has a code. Lots of quirky little rules he has to follow that makes it difficult for someone ordinary like me to be - I mean, to work with him.”

“Like not revealing his secret identity.”

It’s not a question but you nod all the same.

“So this is your first time seeing him without his mask?”

“That he knows of.” Your forehead touches the cool glass window. It’s like if you stare hard enough at the door he’ll appear in one piece. “I had to do my background checks.”

The doors open and you see Adrian Chase in his cardigan and jeans walking out into the dark night, illuminated by the fluorescent streetlights.

He’s alive.

You roll down your window and he stops dead. He stares at you in shock with his lips parted slightly - unsure whether you recognise him or not.

Harcourt stretches across your seat and calls to Adrian. “We’re here to take you home. Get in.”

When he climbs into the back seat of your car you both turn in your seats. You breathe a sigh of relief seeing him up close - physically he’s unscathed.

“He’s still alive…” He says. “I’m Adrian.”

“Okay,” Harcourt says simply.

“I’m glad you’re not hurt,” you tell him.

He looks up at both of you sadly over his wire-rimmed glasses. “I think I might have made things worse.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After you drop Harcourt off at her motel, Adrian gets into the passenger seat. You let him give directions to his apartment, even though you already know where he lives.

“This is me,” he says when you pull up to his building and park in the spot you’ve parked in on countless occasions.

“I know.”

“Right. Yeah, you’ve been here.”

“A couple of times, yeah…”

His stupid code. You could know where he lives but never see his face. And now you can’t stop yourself from drinking him in - his slightly stubbly chin from his day spent in prison, the way his curly hair is all messed up. He groans heavily and leans his head back against the headrest. “I’m sorry,” he says quietly.

“The guys know how you ended up in jail - they don’t blame you.” He doesn’t say anything. You search his face as he stares gloomily ahead. “What happened in there, V?” you ask.

“I tried to provoke Peacemaker’s dad into a fight. It worked at first - the Aryans took the bait but his dad saw right through it. I think I’ve fucked up the whole mission.”

So Vigilante went into a viper pit unarmed and provoked a bunch of nazis into fighting him.

Deep down, you know it’s fucked up to be attracted to someone capable of such violence but if you’re honest with yourself, it’s what drew you to him in the first place. You knew about the headlines before you met him. And the idea of him taking on a dangerous prison gang really shouldn’t make your heart pound the way it is right now.

You take a deep, steadying breath. “You don’t have to be sorry about that.”

You’ve never touched his hair before but you want to stroke it and comfort him. Tell him that it wasn’t his fault and it’ll all be okay. But he interrupts your train of thought before you can reach your hand out.

“I meant I’m sorry about us.”

Why is your first instinct to tell him that it’s no big deal that he broke your heart? Stupidly, you want to protect him from it - from the hurt he caused you. Comfort him, put his feelings before your own just because you can tell that right now he needs it.

But it is a big deal.

As soon as you remind yourself he couldn’t trust you enough to let you in, it feels like your heart is shattering all over again, mourning what you could have had.

Trust.

“I told the team your name so they could bail you out,” you admit, desperate to get the fact that you betrayed him off your chest. “I was worried about you locked up in there.”

He turns his head to look at you properly for the first time all night. The streetlights are reflected in his dorky little glasses.

“You knew my name?” He doesn’t look betrayed - he just looks surprised. “How…?”

You lift your finger from the steering wheel to point at his apartment. “Anyone with your address could find out who you are. And your full name appears on my checking account when you cash the checks I write you.”

“So you know… everything?”

“Yup.”

His eyebrows knit together in a plea. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I wanted you to tell me. I wanted you to want me to know.”

“Knowing my secret identity would put you at risk.”

“That bullshit and you know it, V. I don’t need you to protect me.”

“Yeah you do - that’s why you had me come with you on jobs.”

“I can handle myself.”

“Then why did you hire me?”

“I was curious about the man behind the headlines, I guess. Then I nearly went broke trying to spend time with you. Do you honestly think I wanted to give you a cut of my contracts for months? ”

He presses his palms into his eyes, pushing his glasses up out of the way and trying to make sense of it all.

“So those jobs were just you finding a reason to hang out?” He drags his hands down his face.

“Well, not at first. But then we started sleeping together after jobs and I wanted to keep doing that.”

“I would’ve wanted to be with you even without those jobs.”

“Oh yeah? You’d have taken me out on a date as Vigilante?” He opens his mouth to speak but closes it again - as if reconsidering whatever he was about to say. “After all that time you still didn’t trust me enough to take off your mask. The last time we saw each other I practically begged you to show me who you are. Then Peacemaker comes back in town and you - what? Just rip off your mask and spill the beans without a second thought?”

“I was being tortured by Goff-”

“The senator tortured you?”

“Well, the Butterfly who had taken over his body. But yeah. He - I mean she - ripped off my mask and tried to cut off my pinky toe. Peacemaker was just there.”

You feel sick thinking about him being tortured. Then you feel sick about feeling sick. It’s not just normal empathy. You want revenge. But you know you shouldn’t care this much. Not when you’ve been broken up for so long.

“Shit, V. That’s horrible.”

“Besides, if I was gonna show someone my face it would have been you. Not Peacemaker.” He looks at you sadly. “I wish you hadn’t left.”

“And I wish you had given me a reason to stay, V. I deserved someone who could trust me. And you… you deserved someone you could be yourself with. We couldn’t be that for each other.”

The hurt on your face is plain for him to see - there’s no point trying to hide it.

“I do trust you. It’s just…” He hesitates. “You’re the only person I know who thought I was cool.”

“Adrian… that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Adrian.

It’s the first time you’ve ever called him that and it makes Adrian’s heart leap. Like the two sides of him have finally met you. After all this time.

“It’s not. Everyone else who knows me as Adrian knows I’m a loser. And I thought if I told you I was a busboy with no friends, you’d think that too.”

“You have friends.”

“Yeah, right.”

“The guys in the video store? They were so worried about you in jail. They like you a lot.” He allows himself a small smile like he doesn’t really believe it. “And I…” You pause. How do you feel about Adrian? “I still think you’re cool.”

“You do?”

He looks at you like he can’t believe you’re actually saying the words he was afraid you’d never say.

“Of course I do. You’re still the masked Vigilante of Evergreen. And I’m just… ordinary.”

He scoffs in amazement. “You’re not ordinary - you’re like the smartest person I know. And you don’t need to hide behind a mask to do your job.

“I’m not that smart.”

“I mean, you found out more about the butterflies than the US government.”

You bite your lip, trying not to smile. “Can I tell you something? And you won’t tell the rest of the team?”

“You can tell me anything.”

“I didn’t know what butterflies were until today.” He looks extremely confused so you press on. “I met John in a dark web chatroom when I was researching the missing gorilla. And I thought you guys were looking for it too.”

He laughs. A merciless side-splitting laugh that doesn’t take your embarrassment into consideration at all. But it shows off his beautiful smile. And when you see it you can’t stop yourself from joining in too. It’s so ridiculous. You wanted to find the gorilla, and maybe get your PI business mentioned again in the local paper. Now you’ve been roped into saving the world with a black ops team and Vigilante.

You both try to regain your composure and stare at each other, catching your breath. He shakes his head, grinning.

Christ, look at him.

“I sometimes wondered if you wouldn’t remove your mask because you were just a bad kisser. I mean, I saw your mugshot so I already knew you were pretty.” You can’t help but tell him. You know the grainy photo on his record like the back of your hand but in person, he’s frankly gorgeous.

“Thanks, I know.”

You laugh again. “And modest.”

“You think I fund being Vigilante on a busboy salary? I get a lot of tips.”

“It all makes sense now. The only thing that doesn’t make sense is why you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Because she didn’t want to wait around for an idiot who wouldn’t even kiss her.”

You stare at each other in the shadowy silence for a few moments.

“It’s late, we should both get some rest.”

“Wait, don’t go.” His hand touches your thigh and it feels like there’s an electric current buzzing between his hand and the fabric of your jeans. The atmosphere almost crackles, like lighting about to strike in the middle of a storm. It’s the first time he’s touched you since you walked out on him six months ago and never went back. “It’s super late, you should crash at mine.”

“If I come upstairs we both know what’s going to happen.”

He tilts his head and you watch dimples form as the corners of his mouth turn into a mischievous smile. “That’s kind of the idea.”

“A bad one. We need to work together.”

“When has fucking ever stopped us from completing a job?”

“It hasn’t. But when we stopped seeing each other… I was really cut up. I couldn’t concentrate on work for a while. It’s why I needed the reward for the gorilla so badly.”

“Then we just won’t stop this time.”

“Adrian… I’ve only just pulled myself together again. I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do.”

He removes his hand from your leg to unclip his seatbelt.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Adrian gives you an apologetic look.

You stare at his lips. They’re just there. His whole face is out in the open. And now his lips, and the rest of him, are about to leave your car and you never know when you’ll see him unmasked again. He opens the car door.

“Wait -”

He turns back around in his seat.

“Let me find out if you’re a bad kisser. At least I can tell myself I’m not missing out on anything if you are.”

“You’re gonna be so mad…” He cups your face and brushes your cheekbone with his thumb. “I’m a really good kisser.”

You smile and his lips meet yours.

It’s nothing like you imagined.

When you had sex it always felt urgent, even dangerous, getting into bed with a masked cape who was wanted for murder. More often than not he fucked you from behind, tugged fistfuls of your hair and slapped your ass.

But his kisses… his kisses are soft and slow. And good.

You’re totally screwed.

He sucks your lip gently and then his tongue traces across yours. You urge yourself forward in the driver’s seat closer to him, bringing your hand up to cradle the nape of his neck and lace your hand in his soft hair.

Warmth spreads in your chest when he deepens the kiss. You secretly hoped he’d be like this when he was unmasked. Your hot and rough encounters were always fun but in your heart you always wanted him to want you like this. Deeply. Reverently.

You break apart and press your forehead against his with your eyes closed, feeling your heart hammering against your chest.

“What’s the verdict?” he asks.

You open your eyes to see his green ones searching yours from behind his glasses. He lets out a long, happy exhale when he hears your seatbelt unclick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adrian’s bedroom is neat, clean, with framed vintage comic books on his walls and illuminated by a lava lamp on his bedside table. Details you remember from previous visits but barely register this time as you both burst through his bedroom door while he kisses you. Refusing to take his hands from your body, he kicks the door shut behind him forgetting about his injured foot. He regrets it immediately.

“Fuck!” He pulls away and winces.

“Careful,” you soothe, shrugging your jacket off onto the floor and he lifts your shirt off. As soon as your skin is uncovered his mouth finds it. He drags his tongue across your collarbones and between your breasts, nudging the cup of your bra aside so he can find your nipple.

His warm mouth feels almost too good to be true as he sucks on the hard, pebbled skin and moves on to taste every inch of your exposed chest, his deft hands unhooking your bra and tossing it aside quickly.

The entire day could have been a crazy fever dream. You’ve gone from your heart sinking at the very sight of him to it fluttering like crazy as you lie back on his mattress so he can pull your jeans and underwear off.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful,” he says, sinking to his knees between your legs at the edge of the bed.

Even though you’re completely naked on his bed while he’s still dressed, you somehow feel less on display than he is right now without his mask. It feels taboo watching his jaw muscles tighten as he works his mouth all over your inner thighs. There’s something so controlled about the way he meticulously kisses the sensitive skin at the crux of your thigh that makes your lip quiver.

You’ve spent enough time around his quick reflexes to know Vigilante is going to be skilled at eating you out but sometimes, especially in the depths of your despair during your breakup, there was a niggling inkling at the back of your mind that the mask might just be a convenient excuse not to.

You had suspected, or maybe even hoped, when you hooked up that he had come really, really close to rolling up the bottom half of his mask and tasting you. More than once, you had caught a fleeting glimpse of him at odds with himself, his eyes behind his visor staring at your pussy and his neck muscles contracting as he swallowed thickly, strengthening his resolve and deciding to protect his own identity instead.

But tonight - finally - his tongue slides between your folds and you let out a low whine when the furnace-hot heat of his mouth besets itself over your clit.

Adrian groans when he tastes your arousal flooding his mouth. His hands cup under your ass as he pulls himself closer. You dare yourself to run your hand through his hair again, your fingernails lightly scratching his scalp. It still feels like it shouldn’t be allowed but he doesn’t seem to mind at all as his lips suck on your swollen clit.

“Fuck, Adrian…” His real name still sounds foreign on your lips, like you have to make a conscious effort to say it.

Adrian looks up at you over his glasses, his pupils wide in the dim violet light of the lava-lamp-lit room. He takes in your glowing face and chest as you lie propped up on your elbows, enjoying the sight of him on the floor between your legs.

His fingers knead the soft, pillowy flesh of your ass like he doesn’t want to let you go anywhere ever again. And you don’t want to. Fuck the mission. Can’t you just stay here forever? In Adrian’s bedroom, panting while his tongue runs firm circles over your clit.

When you roll your hips in encouragement, he lets out a soft little moan sending vibrations over the bundle of nerves - it almost makes you dissolve right there and then.

“I can’t believe I let you… fuck - let you get away with not doing this before,” you whimper. “So - s’fucking good, V.”

“Adrian,” he says and the tiniest absence of friction when his tongue leaves your clit makes your fingers tighten in his hair, urging him to return to your aching pussy.

“Adrianadrianadrian,” you babble, scared that his lips will leave you again. No more V. No more Vigilante. Just Adrian. Here. Eating your pussy like it’s you who’d been depriving him of this for months on end. Pleasure rises deep in your core like the tide getting ready to crash against the cliff face.

Your brain becomes fuzzy as increasingly desperate noises escape your throat - something strangled between a whine and his name. You squirm against his tongue as he relentlessly continues, determined to draw from you the orgasm that you’ve been desperate for since he kissed you in the car and you realised his mouth would feel like heaven.

The pressure of his tongue against your soaking wet pussy makes you writhe in exhilaration. You barely notice his fingers digging harder into your skin as you arch your spine and throw your head back.

Your thigh muscles tense and relax, trembling on either side of his face. “Adrian, I’m gonna - gonna cum…”

Instead of responding, he sinks two fingers deep inside your cunt, giving you something to squeeze around as every muscle in your pelvis tightens. He curls his fingers slightly and it’s just enough to push you over the fucking edge.

The purplish glow of the room turns blinding white as waves, hot and wet, break over you and your body floods with ecstasy. Your whole lower body stiffens as your walls clench around his fingers and you grind your pussy against his mouth.

Fuck, you’ve been missing out. You haven’t been with anyone else the entire time you’ve been apart and it’s like your body has been crying for exactly this moment without you realising how much you needed it. Needed his mouth on you.

The room comes into focus again gradually as Adrian gives you a last few slow, gentle kisses before sliding his fingers out of your still-twitching centre.

You breathe heavily and look at him kneeling on the floor.

He looks stupidly pleased with himself, the corner of his wet, glistening mouth upturned in a self-congratulatory smile at the way he’s taken you apart piece by piece. You can’t help but giggle from endorphins buzzing through your body. It makes your abdomen hurt from all the tensing you were doing.

Adrian slaps the side of your ass and gets to his feet, undoing his belt buckle. “C’mon, bend over,” he grins.

You sit up, shake your head and smile. “Nuh-uh, I wanna see your pretty face when you cum.” He blinks a couple of times dazedly. “Did you forget about your mask for a second?”

Adrian clears his throat. “Uh...No?”

He so did.

“C’mere.” You hook your fingers through his belt loops and pull him closer. You kiss the light trail of hair covering his hard abdomen while your fingers work to undo his jeans and pull them down to release him from the confines of his boxers.

God, you missed it. He has a pretty face alright but his cock is fucking perfect.

Your cheeks grow hot feeling him so close. You grip his hard length and draw your tongue across the tip, tasting the salty bead of precum.

“Take your top off,” you say, looking up at him before running your tongue along his shaft, keeping eye contact.

He grips the hem of his t-shirt and pulls it off over his head. Seeing him in the purple glow, every contour of his sculpted abdomen illuminated sends burning heat to your pelvis. You never thought you were into muscular guys, not until you saw Vigilante take his suit off for the first time. Now you’re not sure if you could go back to anything else. Anyone else.

You swirl your tongue around the head of his cock but he interrupts you.

“I need to fuck you. Please.”

At this point, you’re so turned on it’s an offer you can’t refuse. You release him and scoot back on the bed. He goes to crawl on top of you but flinches when his injured foot meets the mattress.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I just need to - ah fuck.”

“It’s okay. Here, lie down. Let me go on top.”

He does so with relief and you swing your leg over his thighs.

“Better?”

“Fuck yeah,” he says, looking at your naked figure sitting on top of him.

You reach into his bedside drawer where you know he keeps his condoms. Your fingers skirt over what you suspect are bags of candy until you find the corrugated square shape you’re looking for. You take it out and roll the condom on him.

“Okay, easy,” you say, positioning the head of his cock at your entrance. He throbs under the grip of your hand in anticipation. “Don’t overexert yourself.”

“You were totally cool with me over-exerting myself on the floor a second ago.”

“I was talking to myself,” you smirk. “It’s been a while.”

You ease yourself down onto his cock, feeling the beautiful stretch as you adjust to his size.

“Shit…” he breathes, clamping his hands down hard on your hips, forcing you to bottom out. His eyebrows knit together and he sighs through parted lips, feeling the way your walls stretch around him. He looks so beautiful - you can’t stop looking at his lips.

You lean forward, planting your hands on either side of his head so you can lean down and kiss him. The taste of your juices registers on your tongue as his enters your mouth. You deepen the kiss and Adrian responds by jerking his hips up needily, pressing into your g-spot.

You moan and suck on his bottom lip, gently rolling it between your teeth as he pushes into the most sensitive part of your centre. Searing heat burns low in your belly, spreading to your thighs. You push yourself back up to ride him and grab his wrists, dragging them from your waist to grope at your chest.

“Fuck, you look so hot riding my dick.”

“Yeah? Rose-tinted visor isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?”

You’re teasing him but it seems to spur him on, as he squeezes your tits and jerks up into your bouncing hips. Every wet slap that meets your ears only increases your neediness for him. It burns brightly in your core, making you wetter and even more desperate for your next orgasm.

Every roll of your body sends his cock plunging into you, pushing against you at the perfect angle. God, he feels incredible. Your walls start to convulse around him, clamping down and gripping his cock as your second climax rears its head.

“Adrian, fuck, I’m close…” you plead, frantically chasing your high, wildly gyrating and bouncing in time with his thrusts.

“Say it again.”

“Fuck, I’m gonna-”

“No, say my name,” he says, through gritted teeth, his neck muscles tightening in the soft light.

His neck.

“Fuck, Adrian.” You lunge forward and bite on his neck. He grabs handfuls of your ass, anchoring himself into you as he thrusts savagely upwards sending pleasure rocketing through you. Fuck he’s deep. So fucking deep.

His name leaves your lips over and over, broken and ragged as every jerk of his hip knocks the air out of your lungs. Bliss ignites and your cry of pleasure is muffled as you moan and run your tongue over his neck, smelling his aftershave mixed with his musky sweat. An explosion, more fierce than any grenade blast bursts through your centre as he pummels his cock with unparalleled force and precision, even as you squirm and shake, unable to keep moving your own hips in time with his.

With every ounce of strength you have you lean up on your arms to look at his face. His eyes are squeezed shut and his facial muscles contort as he sucks through his teeth.

“Cum for me, Adrian,” you murmur sweetly in his ear and he opens his eyes, giving you a terminally helpless look as he slams his hips into your hot, wet cunt and you squeeze around him as tight as you can. With a final thrust, you feel his thighs tighten and his cock pulsing inside you as he cums.

You flatten your body back on top of his - the warm, damp sweat between your chests feels strangely pleasant. His fingers trace circles up your spine, gently tickling your back. Adrian turns his head to kiss you and you both lie for a moment, enjoying the feeling of his lips on yours.

After what feels like a long time of lying in quiet elation, you make yourself climb carefully off of him and roll over, resting back on his pillows.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he says and you lie back watching him dispose of the condom, taking care not to put any pressure on his bandaged toe. He launches himself back on the bed with a thud making you bounce on the mattress. “Good, you’re still here,” he says, leaning on his elbow and looking down at you.

“Where else would I be?” you laugh.

“Well… you usually leave right after. Except that one time I accidentally bought peanut M&Ms.”

You look at him apologetically. In fairness, the mask was hardly an invitation to spend the night - what was he going to do? Sleep in it? “Do you have peanut M&Ms?”

He nods to his bedside drawer and you open it to see that it’s stuffed with the little yellow bags.

“You like peanut M&Ms now?”

He pulls a face. “No way dude, they’re so gross.”

“Then why…?”

“I guess I always hoped you might change your mind and come back. So I bought them whenever I thought about you.”

You look at the drawer - there’s practically enough that Adrian could have made a trail of peanut M&Ms from your apartment across town to his. “You would have made a really sweet boyfriend,” you sigh.

“Well, I mean… I still could,” he says in a would-be nonchalant type of way, pushing up his glasses with his finger and avoiding your gaze.

“Yeah?” You weren’t sure if he’d be open to picking up where you left off. But it feels right when it didn’t before. Now you know him. Really know him.

He pulls his eyes up and meets your gaze with a smile. “If you want me to?”

“I’d like that. A lot.”

“Sweet,” he says with a wide smile, not bothering to hide how giddy he is.

You open the packet. “For the record, I’m not just staying because of the M&Ms this time.”

“I know.”

“And I’m glad you’re on the team.”

He nods happily, watching you pop a few into your mouth. “Hashtag me too.”

#adrian chase x reader #adrian chase #vigilante #vigilante peacemaker #vigilante x reader #adrian chase x female reader #adrian chase x you #vigilante x you #vigilante x female reader #smut #adrian chase smut #vigilante smut #fanfiction #freddie stroma #fanfic #peacemaker

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yelena-bellova · 7 months

Text

Heartfirst: A Ted Lasso Story - Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen: Break My Heart

Plot: With Y/n and Jamie not speaking to one another, a trip to Manchester brings about opportunity and heartache.

Word Count: 8k

Warnings: f!reader, language, insinuated smut, mention of abusive parents

A/N: THIS is the chapter I’ve been looking forward to the most. Even though this isn’t the conclusion, I think it’s what the whole thing’s been building to. Well, this is part one of it, at least. I’m gonna shut up now and just let you read. Enjoy!!

—————

Sam Obisanya: Remember that movie we were looking forward to? It’s coming out on Friday. Want to catch it this weekend?

Colin Hughes: Haven’t seen you around lately. Everything alright?

Dani Rojas: We missed you at Isaac’s birthday dinner! Come visit us next time you are free!

Rebecca Welton: Your tea’s cold. Keeley’s confirmed you’re not dead. Several questions.

Ted Lasso: What’s shaking, Abe Lincoln? Don’t be a stranger next time you’re meeting with the boss.

There had been an onslaught of texts in the three weeks since Y/n had moved out of the Dogtrack. She hadn’t expected people to not notice she was gone, but she hadn’t thought so many of them would care.

She’d ignored every single one.

She wasn’t the only one who’d chosen to stick with Keeley. Barbara had stayed on as well. With Rebecca’s generous financing, the three of them were keeping their ship afloat all by themselves. Jack be damned.

True to her word, Y/n handled all Richmond business from afar, only popping in with Keeley for an occasional meeting with Rebecca and Higgins. She sorted press conferences and post-match interviews without ever stepping foot in the building. If it weren’t so unhealthy, it would have been impressive.

In her makeshift office, actually the conference room, Y/n paced around her computer. She eyed the screen each time she passed by. Roy had a presser scheduled for the afternoon. Sam and…another player were meant to join him. Sam she could handle seeing, though Lord knows she felt guilty for ghosting him. The other one…

“Oh,” Y/n waved herself off, feeling ridiculous. She was a grown woman. She could handle it, she thought, as she turned on the video feed.

Springing to life on her screen, Roy sat between Sam and Jamie, fielding questions.

Y/n’s insides locked up. Jamie.

They hadn’t spoken since the night he’d shown up at her apartment. Not a single text or run-in. It was no longer just Y/n avoiding him, Jamie was actively not speaking to her.

Y/n tried to focus on Sam’s answers, he spoke humbly about Richmond’s 15-game win streak. The last three had been unbelievable you-had-to-be-there kind of matches. Hiding in her apartment with a Sky Sports broadcast hadn’t compared to the real thing. Y/n missed the energy of the stadium and the joy of watching the boys.

Her eyes kept floating back to Jamie. He was hunched over the table, biting his nails, not making eye contact with anyone. He didn’t look like he wanted to be there at all.

Marcus Adebayo, though he answered to Roy’s nickname of ‘better Trent,’ stood and addressed Jamie. “On the heels of making your England debut, how does it feel to be named Premier League Player of the Month?”

“Eh, um, yeah. Yeah, it feels good, I guess,” Jamie answered hesitantly, “But it’s really the team making me look good. So, I should be doing a better job of making them look good, really.”

If Y/n had been in the room, Sam, Roy and her would have all shared the same puzzled look.

“So, yeah. Makes me feel bad,” Jamie finished with a pursed frown.

Roy leaned forward, “Uh, Jamie also led the league in assists this month so he’s done plenty to make his teammates look good.”

“Yeah, but they’re the ones who took all the shots,” Jamie corrected softly.

“He also scored a goal,” Sam interjected.

“T-that was meant to be a pass,” Jamie pointed out, his voice high with anxiety, “You shouldn’t count that. That goal is a lie. It should be retracted from the records.”

Y/n shook her head in confusion, whispering to the empty room, “What are you doing?”

“I apologize to everyone,” Jamie continued, “Especially to the kids.”

“Right, let’s call it there, everyone,” Roy decided at the exact second Y/n was internally stepping forward, “That was great. Thanks very much.”

Y/n stared at the screen, her gaze following Jamie until he was off camera. Whoever had been speaking wasn’t any variation of the Jamie Tartt she knew. He was so out of character it was concerning.

She glanced at her phone, the device silently begging her to type a message. Ask him. Talk to him. Find out what’s wrong. Help him.

Instead, Y/n took a deep breath, closed out the browser, opened her email and got back to work. No good could come from her reaching out. Jamie would be absolutely fine without her, better even. And she would be fine without him.

—————————

Y/n wasn’t a woman who ever thought a man’s presence added anything to a situation she couldn’t. But as she heaved the water jug onto the cooler, she wished that she hadn’t sent the delivery guy away under the assumption she could do it herself.

She returned to the main room to find Keeley in conversation with Roy, both of them turning to face her.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Roy asked.

Y/n motioned to the space around them, “I work here.”

“No, you don’t,” he replied matter-of-factly, “You work at Richmond.”

“Y/n has been here the last few weeks,” Keeley answered, “Just to get things back up and running while we’re short staffed.”

Roy took deep pride in not interjecting himself into anyone else’s business. Sure, he’d helped Isaac through whatever the fuck had caused his meltdown last month. Yes, he offered Ted advice from time to time. But the other 99% of the time, he didn’t particularly care what choices the people around him made. Their lives were theirs and his was his.

But Jamie and Y/n were another fucking deal.

He wouldn’t have invited Y/n along to their 4AM training sessions if he hadn’t known she helped keep Jamie’s spirits up. He’d caught the two of them leaving the parking lot together more than a dozen times. He’d noticed Jamie be the first one on the pitch whenever Y/n was observing training and the first one off when she was waiting on him for lunch. He was well aware the two of them were attached at the fucking hip. Y/n’s disappearance had thrown everything off-balance. Maybe it wasn’t the reason for Jamie breaking down in Roy’s arms earlier, but it certainly couldn’t be helping.

“Oh,” Roy humored the answer, smiling at Y/n. “That’s very kind of her.”

Y/n grinned back nervously, Roy could see through everyone’s bullshit but his own.

“She could help too,” Keeley suggested.

“Help with what?” Y/n asked.

Keeley gestured to Roy for an explanation. “Jamie’s going through some shit. I asked Keeley to talk to him, but since you two are close, maybe you could too.”

Big fat flashing red sirens went off in Y/n’s head. “Oh, I really don’t think I’d help anything,” she struggled, “I-I think Keeley’s much more suited.”

“Not necessarily,” Keeley disagreed as Roy continued to stare Y/n down, “I mean, you two are really good friends.”

“We’re not that close,” Y/n lied, “I mean, we’ve hung out a couple of times but really,” she extended a hand toward her boss, “You definitely know him better.”

Unlike her ex, Keeley had no problem inserting herself in other people’s business. She hadn’t yet approached Y/n about the headlines she and Jamie had made after the England match or the fact that she didn’t want to go near Nelson Road. Since coming back from London, Y/n had pulled away from everyone and everything, Keeley included.

Roy was taking some sick joy in egging Y/n on, “Oh, no, I think-“

“I’ll take care of it,” Keeley jumped to say, ending whatever confrontation was about to take place. “Promise.”

Y/n and Roy held eye contact, challenging one another to break first. Eventually, Roy’s desire to look at Keeley won out and he turned away.

“Thanks,” he glanced back over at Y/n, “I’ll leave you two to your work.”

Stealing one more fleeting gaze at his ex-girlfriend, Roy left the way he’d come, leaving Y/n with a whole new bunch of unresolved feelings.

“He’s quite handsome.”

Y/n startled, she hadn’t even realized Barbara was seated at her desk for the whole exchange. She headed for the conference room, eager to get away from every part of the conversation.

Keeley hung back a moment before following her and gently knocking on the door. “Hi,” she entered slowly, “Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Y/n answered with faux cheeriness, seated once more at her desk/table, “Fine.”

“It’s just back there…you seemed a bit on edge when Roy mentioned Jamie,” Keeley broached the topic with care.

Y/n’s muscles involuntarily clenched, she tried to keep an even expression. “No, I’m fine.”

Keeley hesitated, nearly turning around and leaving before deciding to just go for it. “You know, if this is about the pictures of you two, I don’t think anyone thinks-“

Y/n sighed, “Keeley, I’m fine. I just think Roy should do his fucking job and take care of his players instead of pawning them off on one of us.”

“I’m not talking about Roy,” Keeley replied, “I’m talking about-“

“Jamie and I are not close,” Y/n said, her tone harsher than intended, “We are not friends. There’s nothing wrong with him, we’re just not as chummy as everyone seems to think we are. End of story.”

Keeley knew Y/n’s edges were sharp, but she hadn’t ever seen her snap so quickly. It only told her there was more to the issue than she’d guessed.

“Got it,” she gave a single nod, “I’m sorry I asked.”

Y/n regretted her words the moment she’d said them. Keeley hadn’t deserved her misplaced frustration. But the mere mention of that night triggered Y/n’s fight-or-flight response. Mixed with the knowledge that something was wrong with Jamie and that Roy clearly knew something, it was all too much.

She stared out the conference room window, landing on Keeley and Barbara’s desks they’d pushed together. She could have been with them, working together as a team. Instead, she was hiding away, once again deciding that the isolation could keep her safe from everything.

Everything except the gnawing fear that she was responsible for Jamie’s behavior.

—————————

Finally, the long awaited weekend arrived.

Man City versus Richmond.

Y/n left no stone unturned when searching for a new excuse not to attend the match. She’d had her period the first week of her three week absence, sick and exhausted the next two. If she’d had any family in the country, there would have been some fake emergency involving them.

She knew she couldn’t get away with a full month’s nonattendance. She had to go to Manchester.

Packing an overnight bag at 6AM and getting on the road by 7 had been her self-ruled terms. The last thing Y/n wanted was to be stuffed on a bus with everyone she was trying to avoid for four hours. Driving herself allowed not only space, but an escape route, if she needed it.

She was barely out of London when Keeley rang her. “Hi.”

“Hi,” the Bluetooth speakers of the car projected Keeley’s voice, “We’re loading the bus up. Just wanted to see where you were.”

Y/n sighed, she’d forgotten to tell someone she wasn’t coming with the team. “Actually, I’m already on the road. I couldn’t sleep so I figured I’d get an early start.”

“Oh,” Keeley sounded a bit disappointed, but not entirely surprised, “That makes sense. Smart choice.”

“Yeah,” Y/n replied, feeling the familiar burn in her gut that came with each lie she told, “I’m a bit ahead of you guys so I’ll see you when you get there.”

“Alright. Drive safe, yeah?”

“You too,” she said before disconnecting the call.

Y/n tried to listen to music, tried to play a podcast, but she found that anything other than silence just didn’t feel right. Every song seemed to trace back to her situation and every spoken word seemed to be speaking directly to her, telling her everything she was doing was wrong.

The silence was no more comforting, it only gave her more room to ruminate about the weekend. How was she supposed to avoid Jamie in such close quarters? How was she supposed to keep away from Ted, Rebecca, Keeley, the rest of the team? It felt like a mistake to come and an equally massive one to stay behind.

A long four hours later, Y/n pulled up to the Hacienda Hotel. The Greyhound bus had yet to arrive. She actually stood a chance at getting up to her room and dodging company till the match.

Y/n gave her car to the valet and dragged her single suitcase through the lobby. She headed straight for the front desk.

“Hi,” she greeted the concierge, “I have a reservation under Y/l/n.”

“Let me just check,” the man replied, typing the last name into his computer. He frowned, “I’m sorry, ma’am, we don’t seem to have that reservation.”

“No, that can’t be right,” Y/n calmly replied, “I called yesterday about transferring one room under the Richmond block to my name.”

The man scrolled through his list a second time, “Unfortunately, that request doesn’t seem to have been entered into our system. All the Richmond rooms are reserved under the name ‘Lasso.’”

Y/n sighed, she’d gone to extreme lengths to separate herself before even stepping foot in the city. So much so that she’d been willing to pay her own overpriced hotel rate.

“Fine,” she relented, “It doesn’t matter. Checking in to one room under the name ‘Lasso.’”

“Unfortunately, ma’am,” the employee grimaced, “Under hotel policy, we can’t check in individual guests if the reservation is under a different name. You’ll have to wait until the main guest has arrived.”

Y/n’s plan crumbled further, Ted had to check her in? Worse, she’d have to wait with the whole fucking team?

Just as she’d connected the dots, the hiss of a Coach could be heard outside. Y/n whipped her head around to see the AFC Richmond logo and the moving silhouettes of the boys through the dark windows.

“There,” Y/n pointed to the bus, “The main guest’s there. Check me in.”

The man hesitated, “I’m sorry, ma’am. I have to wait to confirm-“

“How many people named ‘Lasso’ do you think there are in this country?” Y/n whispered in a panic, “He’s right in there, he’s making shitty puns,” her hand bounced against the desk, “Check me in.”

Arguing would have been hard considering Ted was an anomaly in England. The concierge conceded to Y/n’s demand and began the process.

Y/n nervously drummed her fingers against the counter, glancing back to see Will emerging from the bus. Behind him were Isaac, Richard and Jan.

“You’ll be in room #601, ma’am,” the concierge reported and handed her a room key.

Y/n yanked the card out of his palm before he could tell her the bellboy would be happy to take her suitcase. “Thank you.”

She hurried across the lobby to the elevator, praying she could make a getaway without anyone see-

“Hey, Y/n!”

She stopped in her tracks, so close…

Y/n turned around and spotted Ted, hurrying across the lobby as one would after a long drive. She managed a smile and a wave, pressing the elevator’s button repeatedly with her other hand.

“Don’t forget,” Ted called as he made a beeline for the bathrooms. “Team movie, 7:30. I’ll give ya a hint; if you love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, you ain’t gonna wanna miss this one!”

In three weeks, Y/n had dodged a lot of invitations. A lot. Another declination and she was convinced she’d develop an ulcer.

“Sounds good,” she shouted just as the elevator doors opened. She jumped inside and pressed her floor number before anyone else spot her.

Just before the doors closed, she caught the first of the boys entering the lobby. Just past Sam, Y/n glimpsed the sharp edges of Jamie’s face. Her heart caught in her throat, the mere sight of him was enough to startle her.

She wondered how long she could pretend everything was fine before she proved herself wrong.

—————————

Y/n hid in her room the rest of the day. She didn’t dare leave to get ice or see the city, sure that with her luck, she’d run into someone the second she stepped out.

Half-way through the afternoon, a knock at the door surprised her. She peeked through the peephole to see Keeley. Out of anyone, she was the one that Y/n couldn’t totally avoid.

The door swung open and Y/n put on a smile, “Hey.”

“Hi,” Keeley greeted, “You beat us here.”

“Yeah,” Y/n chuckled, “Trust me, I’d have rather gotten the sleep.”

“Right,” Keeley chortled, “Can I come in?”

Y/n opened the door wider and allowed it. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to steal your pillow chocolates,” her boss cheekily smirked but didn’t move to grab the candy.“And…to ask if you might reconsider talking to Jamie?”

“Keeley,” Y/n sighed in frustration, rubbing at her face, “I told you-“

“I know,” Keeley held up her hands, “But I just talked to him and…he’s really in his head. It’s bad, Y/n. I’ve never seen him like this.”

While she could pretend all she wanted that Jamie meant little to her, Y/n was growing more and more worried. Every one of his dreams were coming true, and the ones that hadn’t were on the horizon. He should have been on top of the world and instead, he was spiraling. She wanted nothing more than to bang on his door, wrap him in her arms and fix it all. Put him back together until he was his glorious self.

“Look,” Y/n pushed on one of her eyes, “Keeley, whatever you think I’m capable of doing for Jamie, I’m not. I’m not a footballer, I’m not his coach, I’m not his girlfriend,” she found the last words uncomfortably difficult to get out, “I’m half his publicity team. That’s it.”

“You’re more than that,” Keeley replied, she had the kindest way of arguing. “You two have been glued to each other’s sides since you got to Richmond. Jamie trusts you. If you just talk to him-“

Y/n pressed her hands against her lips as Keeley spoke. The panic was beginning to swirl inside her again.

“Keeley,” she cut her off and enunciated her words, “I can’t help him.”

After a whole season of working together, Keeley could easily tell when Y/n was lying, both to others and herself. She didn’t need to know what her and Jamie meant to one another, all that mattered was they did. If Y/n wasn’t ready to acknowledge it, there wasn’t anything Keeley could do.

“Okay,” she replied, once again resigned in her failed quest, “I’ll leave you be.”

Y/n didn’t move as Keeley’s furry jacket brushed past her, shutting her eyes to hide the tears. Only when she was alone once more did she let them streak her cheeks. Somewhere down the hall, Jamie was hurting, and that meant she was hurting as well.

—————————

At exactly 7:30, Y/n made her way down the hotel hall. Different conference rooms lined the walls and she followed their numbers till she found the one Ted had texted her. She slipped through the back door, the lights were dimmed and everyone had already taken their seats. Her version of perfect timing.

From her vantage point, Y/n had a perfect layout of the seating arrangement. The team were gathered in the first few rows. Keeley and Roy were at one end of the back row, with Ted, Beard, Rebecca and Higgins following. Y/n couldn’t help but let her eyes run over the players’ heads, spotting Jamie’s mop of hair in the front row.

After evaluating her options, Y/n chose the safest one at the nearest end of the back row, next to Trent Crimm.

“Just in time,” he whispered as she took the seat beside him.

“Yeah,” she replied, “Got lost.”

Trent nodded, waiting a few seconds before speaking up again, “You know, I’m sure anyone would be happy to switch. In case you wanted to sit with your friends.”

Y/n peered over at Trent, whose eyes gleamed suspiciously with knowledge.

“I’m fine,” she readjusted in her chair to prove the point.

Trent nodded, trying and failing not to smirk, “I’m honored to rank so high on your priority list.”

Y/n’s glance turned into a stare, the former journalist was smiling as if she were made of glass. Were her actions so obvious that even he had noticed?

Trent settled back into his chair, shifting his attention to the opening credits. Y/n did the same and focused just as the main title popped up.

You’ve Got Mail.

She groaned internally, if the universe was out to get her, choosing one of the most romantic comedies of all time was the greatest insult it could hurl.

For an hour and fifty-nine minutes, Y/n squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. She couldn’t go more than thirty seconds without sneaking a peek at Jamie, who hadn’t moved at all since the start. He was a fidgeting mess every waking minute of the day. Something was terribly off.

After Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks kissed in the New York garden and his golden retriever leaped to embrace them, the lights came back on. Y/n distractedly clapped along with the rest of the room, already eyeing her exit.

“All right. Listen up, you big softies,” Ted announced, “10PM, lights out. Then get yourselves some beauty sleep for tomorrow’s big meet-cute with Man City. You hear? Alright, Ephron on three. One, two, three-“

A few people, Beard being the loudest, chanted the filmmaker’s name.

“Lovely to see you again,” Trent said, a tease to his tone, as Y/n got up and out of her seat.

She hesitated, catching his knowing expression once more, and debated saying something. She decided it wasted energy and turned on her heel, making it only two steps before Keeley grabbed hold of her arm.

“Come on,” she ordered, pulling Y/n behind her.

“What?” Y/n asked, “Where the-“

Keeley didn’t answer, tugging her across the room towards the door Roy was holding open.

“Keeley, what-“

“Shh,” Keeley hushed, finally letting go of Y/n’s arm.

Y/n followed alongside her boss and Roy, unsure of where they were leading her. When they got to the lobby and she caught Jamie’s silhouette ahead of them, she came to a halt.

“No.”

“Y/n-“ Keeley began.

“No,” Y/n slashed a hand through the air, “I told you no.”

“Fuck your no,” Roy snapped, “I don’t care what the fuck’s going on wth you two, but your job is to make the club look good,” Roy pointed to Jamie’s fleeting figure, “And he makes us look good. So you’re gonna do your fucking job and you’re gonna help us fucking fix this.”

Y/n chuckled with deep annoyance, “You know what? Fuck you, Kent. I’m not one of your footballers you can boss around any time you’re in a shit mood,” she stuck a finger out at Roy, “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“Oi!” Keeley exclaimed, her heels slapping against the floor as she marched back, “Both of you, stop it. Come on!”

Roy and Y/n broke their stare, Jamie was rounding the corner and heading out the hotel’s doors. Sparing each other one more hardened glare, they followed Keeley.

The three of them exited the hotel, Keeley spotting Jamie passing the Richmond bus, and they traced his path. Against all she told herself, Y/n went on her own free will, chasing him through the Manchester evening.

Keeley’s stalking technique involved scurrying behind cars and lampposts, while Y/n clung to building walls. Ever the least subtle of any group, Roy simply walked the street, not using much caution to mask his presence.

They followed Jamie through neighborhoods and into the inner part of the city. They crossed bridges, climbed stairs and finally ended up on one side of a florescent lit tunnel. On their descent down the steps, they lost sight of him.

“The fuck is he?” Roy asked.

“I don’t know,” Keeley answered, “You’ve lost him.”

Roy glanced around them, “You said he went down here.”

“I did not,” Keeley argued, “You said that.”

“No, I said he’s in a tunnel,” Roy corrected as the three of them marched down the way, “I didn’t say he was in this tunnel. She’s the one who thought it was this one.”

“He did come down this one,” Y/n said sternly.

“Well, there’s no other tunnel, is there?” Keeley reprimanded them, “I don’t believe it. You’ve lost Jamie Tartt.”

“We didn’t lose him,” Y/n argued, silently worried. The second she’d lost eyes on Jamie was the second their surroundings suddenly became unsettling.

“You can’t lose Jamie Tartt,” Roy replied.

“Well, you have,” Keeley fired back.

“OI!”

Roy, Keeley and Y/n jumped at the exclaim, spinning around and shouting various expletives.

“Fucking hell!”

“What the fuck?!”

Jamie stood, hood over his head and hands in his pockets. “Why are you following me?”

“Just wanted to make sure you’re okay, you prick,” Roy spoke kind words with contrasting anger.

“What’s going on, Jamie?” Keeley asked, “Are you buying drugs?”

Jamie’s confused stare turned to Y/n, he locked up. The three weeks of not seeing her made her sudden presence feel like a hallucination.

Any face Y/n had been wearing dropped the second her eyes met Jamie’s. This was the closest they’d been since that night outside her apartment.

They came back to themselves quickly, hiding whatever they were feeling for the sake of Keeley and Roy being present.

Jamie nodded towards the path ahead of them, “Come on.”

Roy, Keeley and Y/n followed without question as Jamie guided them through the tunnel. It led up to a crowded neighborhood, a council estate that looked like it had seen better days.

Y/n made an effort to follow Roy, keeping as much distance as she could between her and Jamie. Her presence would probably mess with his head even more so than her absence might have. She was starting to wonder if the choice to come had been a selfish one.

They passed a group of kids kicking a football against a brick wall.

“Oi,” one of them called, “Are you Jamie Tartt?”

Jamie pushed back his hood, “Yeah.”

“More like Jamie Fart,” the youngest taunted.

“Screw you, dickhead,” the tallest one shouted, “Prick!”

“Yeah, who are you?”

“City’s gonna fuck you up tomorrow!”

Through the haranguing of insults, Jamie smiled, glancing over to Keeley, and sneaking one at Y/n. He led them away towards the row of houses.

Roy stuck around, turning to stare down the kids, who’d gone dead silent. Y/n readied herself to drag Roy away kicking and screaming from unloading on them.

Instead, he held up his hands in an ‘ok’ sign, “Good lads.”

While the kids were clearly thrilled at having been complimented by the Roy Kent, Y/n slapped his arm as hard as she could. Roy grasped it and silently protested before Y/n pointed to where Jamie and Keeley had gone off to.

They arrived on the doorsteps of one of the houses. Jamie rang the doorbell and they waited till a pair of eyes popped through one of the door’s glass bits.

“Hey,” the man exclaimed before opening the door, greeting them with a wide grin, “Jamie!”

“How you doing, Simon?” Jamie smiled and pointed to the group, “This is Keeley, that’s Roy, and that’s Y/n.”

“Come on in, come on in,” Simon waved them into the home.

Jamie entered first, shaking Simon’s hand, “How are you, mate? Good seeing you, man.”

“Yeah, great,” Simon replied as he ushered his guests in.

Keeley, Roy and Y/n all gave various greetings as they crossed the threshold. None of them knew quite where they were.

“Georgie,” Simon called up the stairs, “We’ve got visitors!”

A female voice called back down, “What was that, love? Someone at the door?”

Jamie made a beeline for the bottom of the staircase, just as a woman stopped at the top, frozen by what lay in front of her.

“Hello, Mommy.”

Y/n’s eyes widened.

Georgie screamed as she ran down the steps, leaping into her son’s arms. “Jamie!”

“Mommy, I’d like to introduce you to Keeley,” Jamie turned to face his friends, “And this hairy prick’s Roy,” his smile dropped an imperceptible inch, “And that’s Y/n over there.”

“Hi,” Keeley greeted in her normal bubbly tone.

“Hi,” Y/n managed to eek out, holding up a nervous hand.

“Hey, you,” Roy said smoothly.

“Hi,” Georgie greeted them all while hugging Jamie once more, “It’s lovely to finally meet you all. I’d come and give you a hug,” she squeezed the sides of her son’s face, “But I’m not letting go of this one!”

Jamie lifted his mom into the air and spun her around.

“There they go,” Simon observed, “Right, who wants some sweet treats?”

Simon slipped off deeper into the house while Georgie and Jamie stayed in their embrace.

“Look at your gorgeous face,” she exclaimed as Jamie carried them both down the hallway, “I love it. How have you been? Look at you.”

Run. All of Y/n’s instincts told her to run right back out that door and take her chances with being abducted in the sketchy tunnel. Roy and Keeley must have sensed her unease because Keeley reached back for Y/n’s hand and Roy kept behind her, forcing her inside.

Georgie and Jamie had managed to separate long enough for Jamie to snuggle up against his mom on the living room couch. Keeley, Y/n and Roy stood at the entrance to the room, unsure of where to go.

“Oh, come and sit down,” Georgie gestured to the rest of the room.

Keeley and Roy entered less hesitatingly than Y/n, who took up a seat on the arm of the couch. To say she was uncomfortable was an understatement of epic proportions. Here she’d gone to every effort to avoid Jamie, and she’d ended up in what was clearly his childhood home with his mother.

She glanced over at the shrine to Jamie on the far wall, various pictures of him from different stages of life proudly displayed. Baby pictures all the way to league headshots. Y/n wanted to evaporate into thin air.

Simon popped back into the room with a plate of baked goods, dishing one out to each of his guests as Georgie and Jamie talked.

“It was just poopy,” Jamie quietly vented to his mom, his thick accent changing the word entirely, “You know, it really upset me. This guy on Twitter, he kept saying that it was blonde, but I’m like, ‘It’s fucking walnut mist, mate.’”

Y/n nearly spit out the bite of scone she was chewing. If this whole debacle was about his vanity, she’d march out the door. They’d argued several times over the exact shade of the highlights.

“Yeah, obviously,” Georgie agreed, stroking her son’s hair, “He’s done a lovely job, it’s dead natural.”

Simon finished pouring the tea, looking up expectantly at the party. “What do you think?”

Keeley smiled, “It’s really yummy.”

“Yeah, it’s wonderful,” Y/n managed to find her voice.

Keeley elbowed Roy, who was lost staring at the sight of his former nemesis cuddled up with his mother like a lost child. “It’s fucking delicious,” he said distractedly before returning.

“Well, it’s a Paul Hollywood recipe, but I’ve gone a little bit rogue on it,” Simon explained.

Allowing herself to slip back into a world where Jamie was damn near the center, Y/n wondered who Simon was. He clearly wasn’t Jamie’s biological father, he was the complete antithesis of the man she’d heard horror stories about. Jamie had never mentioned having a step-dad.

“Babes,” Georgie said softly, “Do you wanna give Roy, Keeley and Y/n the grand tour? Show them around a bit?”

“Yes,” Simon agreed, catching the signals his wife was throwing at him. “Good idea. Thank—“ he stood and hit his head on the overhead light, “Oops! Right, follow me. We will start in the kitchen, aka my laboratory.”

Y/n was the first to stand, but fell behind Keeley, making her a buffer. When Roy hesitated to leave, she tugged him harshly out the room.

“Fuckin’ grip you’ve got,” he complained as they walked to the kitchen.

“Oh, bite me,” Y/n retorted. Keeley had good intentions, but she was ready to kick Roy for dragging her into this.

Simon took them on a full tour of the house, showcasing his kitchen and its appliances off as if they were his most prized possessions. All along the walls of the house were pictures of him and Georgie on various trips and holidays. Scattered between them were childhood pictures of Jamie.

Eventually, Simon led them up the stairs and down a short hall. “And here is the main attraction,” he announced, opening a door and flipping on a light, “Jamie’s room.”

“Oh, sweet Lord,” Y/n muttered under her breath. This was way too deep in.

The room seemed untouched since the day Jamie had left it. Both childhood toys and teen paraphernalia were stacked on shelves and dressers. The bedding had a football pattern to it and there were various trophies for the sport nearby. On the walls, there were school certificates and diplomas and-

“Fucking hell.”

Y/n turned to see a poster of Roy, sporting a Chelsea kit and a very shaggy haircut tacked to Jamie’s wall.

“Ah, yes,” Simon looked to the footballer, “Many posters have come and gone over the years. Henry, Gerrard, Ronaldo…but Roy Kent, always remains.”

Y/n slapped a hand over her mouth and snorted, ignoring the daggers Roy was sending her way.

An phone alarm went off and Simon pulled the device out of his pocket. “Oh! Meat pies are done,” he said, “Excuse me.”

As he shut the door, another poster was revealed. This one of Keeley during her more risqué modeling days, holding two footballs against her breasts.

“Fucking hell,” she grunted.

“Yep, no, can’t do it,” Y/n finally found her voice and the doorknob. She wasn’t sure she could spend another second in Jamieland without her head exploding. “Simon!”

Their friendly host had barely made it down one of the stairs, “Yeah?”

“Let me help you with the pies,” Y/n jogged down the hall.

“Oh, no, you go ahead and look around,” he said kindly.

“No, really,” Y/n followed him down the staircase, “You’re kind enough to deal with three strangers barging into your house. It’s the least I can do.”

Simon scoffed lightheartedly as he led them into the kitchen, “No friend of Jamie’s is a stranger in this house,” he slipped on a pair of oven mitts, “Right, if you want to place these on the cooling rack.”

Simon pulled out the tray of pies and set them on the stove. Y/n went about setting them on the racks, wondering if she’d made the better choice. Now, instead of sitting in Jamie’s bedroom, she was cooking with his step-dad.

“So,” Simon spoke as he moved about the kitchen, “I can gather what brought Jamie here, but what made you three tag along?”

“Oh,” Y/n searched for an explanation, “He’s been a bit…off…lately and we were just worried about him.”

“Ah, that makes sense,” he replied, “Coming home’s a big deal, especially in this case.”

Y/n furrowed her brows, “How do you figure?”

“Well, if you were playing against your hometown in your hometown,” Simon wiped his hands on his apron, “Might stir up some feelings.”

Said out in the open, it all sounded so obvious. Of course Jamie was struggling with playing Man City. Not only that, he hadn’t spoken to his dad in ages and it was almost guaranteed the bastard would show up to cheer against his own son.

Y/n sighed, she felt like an idiot.

“Speaking of home,” Simon broke her out of her head, “Your accent doesn’t suggest you’re from around here.”

“No,” Y/n returned to their conversation, “I, uh, moved here for school and never left.”

“Oh, fascinating. What made you stay?”

Y/n shrugged and placed the last of the pies on the cooling rack. “I was just settled and didn’t want to leave.”

“That must’ve been awful for your parents,” Simon said, “When Jamie moved to London, Georgie was devastated, and that’s only a half day’s drive. I can’t imagine a whole ocean’s worth of distance.”

If Y/n thought the night couldn’t get any more uncomfortable, the mention of her parents proved her wrong. Between the location, a vulnerable Jamie in the next room, and her family being brought up, she thought she might burst into tears.

“They’re okay with it,” she answered.

“Gosh,” Simon commented, stood at the island, “That can’t be true.”

“It is,” Y/n replied quickly and spun around, attempting a smile, “But I’ve got a lovely life here.”

“Of course,” he grinned, “Working for a football club’s got to be exciting. Jamie’s mentioned you plenty.”

Y/n wasn’t moving, but she could feel everything inside her stop. “Jamie’s…mentioned me?”

“Loads,” Simon nodded, “He calls round every once in a while. Obviously he keeps busy, but the name Y/n has come up nearly every conversation. I thought I might break into hives when Georgie told me about the Christmas dinner you two cooked.”

Simon began to recount all the memories shared between Jamie and Y/n that he and Georgie had become privy to. It wasn’t just the more notable moments like their chaotic Christmas or helping Y/n move to Richmond, but the little ones too. Sneaking into the stadium for lunch breaks in the seats. Post-match interviews Y/n oversaw and how Jamie would try and make her laugh with his answers. Y/n making Jamie decorate his house because the bareness of it drove her crazy. Jamie showing up on Y/n’s doorstep on her birthday right at midnight. Trying to learn how to cook together after the disastrous Christmas dinner and kind of, almost, sort of succeeding. Picking one another’s songs at team karaoke nights. Conversations in the hallways of Nelson Road. Movies and shows suggested to one another and the reactions that followed.

The whole of Jamie and Y/n’s relationship was played back for her in his parent’s kitchen.

She was speechless.

“I, uh,” she managed, her eyes beginning to glisten, “I didn’t know Jamie talked that much about his friends.”

“His friends?” Simon looked to Y/n before ducking his eyes away when he saw she was serious, “Oh, yes…his friends.”

The small slip was enough to confirm what Y/n already suspected.

“Um,” she said, her throat suddenly thick, “It’s getting late. Would you mimd telling Roy and Keeley I took a cab back to the hotel?”

“Of course,” Simon smiled, “Can I send you home with a pie?”

“Oh, no, that’s alright,” Y/n was already crossing the kitchen, “But thank you so much for the scones. Please tell Georgie thank you for letting us interrupt your night.”

Simon waved her off, “Nonsense. Get back safe.”

Y/n speed walked down the hall, not sparing so much as a glance in the living room’s direction. She threw the front door open and hurried down the way. With shaking hands, she pulled out her phone and ordered an Uber.

Her breath came in quick puffs, the anxiety creating quite a home in her chest. She was on the verge of having the worst anxiety attack of her life, all because she’d come to the conclusion that she was cared for. No, this wasn’t care. This was something else entirely.

Little did she know, the second he’d heard her brush through the hall, Jamie was on high alert. He’d looked up from his mom, jumping to a seated position as the door slammed shut.

“Was that Y/n?” He asked Simon as he passed by the living room.

“Yes, she said she had to get back to the hotel,” Simon answered, grabbing the plate of half eaten scones from the coffee table.

Jamie was up and off the couch in an instant, hurrying down the hall and out the front door. Y/n was stood on the sidewalk, her hand pressed to her chest as if she was on the verge of collapsing.

“Hey.”

Y/n’s head whipped around, Jamie was jogging down the steps to her. He kept a fair bit of distance between them at first, unsure of how she felt about his presence. All she could do was attempt another breath.

“Hey,” Jamie crossed the space, deciding to reach for Y/n’s arms, “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she shook her head and avoided meeting Jamie’s concerned eyes.

“No, what’s wrong?” Jamie’s thumbs stroked over her sweater.

For all her fight, Y/n couldn’t bring herself to battle the warm grip Jamie had on her. She’d missed it.

“I’m fine, Jamie,” she lied once more, “I just want to go back to the hotel.”

Jamie scanned her face, finding the tears in her red eyes before she could hide them. Just as much as there was something wrong with him, there was something eating away at Y/n.

In the three weeks they’d stayed away from one another, Jamie had found life to be unbearable. The anxiety about playing Man City and the possibility of seeing his father once more had manifested in his playing. He’d struggled through training more and more, slowly becoming paralyzed by the lack of his usual fire. Without Y/n there to go and vent all his fears to, someone who understood without him ever having to explain a thing, it had all snowballed. Breaking down in the boot room and sobbing into Roy’s shoulder could have been avoided. His panic attack when Keeley had come to his room to check on him would have never happened.

But it wasn’t just that. Jamie found himself missing Y/n in the dullest of moments. Making dinner for himself, searching for something on television, driving home from work. Sleep was nearly impossible now that he’d gotten to fade out with her in his arms. The vacancy she’d left in his life was overwhelming. Jamie had never wanted to share such insignificant moments with someone in his life. He’d never felt as unsettled without someone.

This wasn’t some infatuation. He couldn’t live without her.

“Look,” Jamie tilted her head up, her eyes finally meeting his, “I know everything’s wrecked a-and we fucked it all up but…” his breath came out trembling, “But I love you.”

Y/n cries began to shake her chest.

“And I know this is the worst fucking time to say it,” Jamie bit back a laugh, but he felt ten tons lighter with the words finally spoken, “But I don’t regret what happened. If I could go back and do it a hundred times over, I would.”

A single cry escaped Y/n.

“And I need you,” Jamie spoke urgently, dragging a hand to Y/n’s cheek, brushing a thumb over the wet skin, “I need you with me ‘cause I don’t know what the fuck I’m doin’ without you. I don’t. You’ve fucking ruined me.”

Y/n was caught somewhere between a frown and a smile. Her worst fear and her greatest wish.

“Don’t leave, please,” Jamie pleaded, slipping his free hand around Y/n’s waist when she didn’t recoil at his touch. “I wanna be with you.”

Y/n’s sobs caused her whole body to shudder, which only made Jamie to pull her closer. She ended up enveloped in his arms, the only place she’d truly desired to be since the moment she’d left them.

Jamie pressed a kiss to Y/n’s forehead, trying to ease whatever pain and pour out his sentiments. The relief of holding her again was all-consuming and he reveled in it.

For a moment, they both realized what they could have. They could put the whole horrid separation behind them and let themselves be happy. They could come home to one another. They could hold nothing back from each other. They could build a life together and give each other all the love they’d ever been deprived of.

Where Jamie felt hope, cradling the girl he loved, Y/n felt panic, fearing the risk more than the loss.

“Jamie,” she whispered, “No.”

Jamie pulled back, fearfully gazing into her bloodshot eyes. “What do you mean?”

“No,” Y/n repeated, “We can’t.”

“Wh-“ he stammered, she was slipping away from him, “What are you talking about? We can.”

Y/n whined, “I can’t, Jamie. I can’t.”

“You can, you can,” Jamie insisted, holding Y/n’s cheek with purpose. He caught the headlights of the Uber coming down his street, “Why? Why can’t we have this?”

“Tell me,” Jamie softly begged, “Tell me why. Why can’t we have this?”

Finally, Y/n’s emotions burst, everything flooding out in a mess of terror.

“Because I don’t want this,” she exclaimed tearfully, “I don’t want this, Jamie. I don’t want y-“

She caught herself before she could finish it, but it was still too late. The damage had been done, and the wreckage spread across Jamie’s face. His lips parted in shock and his touch lost its urgency.

In her blind panic, Y/n hadn’t expected such a lie to come out of her mouth. But there was no taking it back, and the fear of all Jamie was ready to give was possessing her. This was the only way to keep herself safe.

Behind them, the Uber driver had pulled up to the house. “Oi, one of you Y/n?”

Y/n blinked up at Jamie, who was searching her eyes for the dishonesty in what she’d said. He found it so easily, but her determination to run was visibly clearer.

“Please let me go,” Y/n asked, her voice barely audible. She couldn’t even look him in the eyes as she spoke.

Jamie knew there was no more fight to give. He’d poured the contents of his heart out to her fruitlessly. He couldn’t force her to face the truth, that she might love him back, or that she even cared that he loved her. He was out of plays to make, all he could do was let her walk away.

He dropped his hands as slow as he could, savoring the last feel of her he’d get. Y/n trembled as his fingers left her face, committing his touch to her memory. This was the end before they even reached the beginning.

“In or out, love,” the driver interrupted.

Summoning the last of her strength, Y/n sought out Jamie’s eyes, glistening with tears now. She’d dealt the ultimate blow to an already wounded soldier. Slowly, she backed away from him, fighting every urge to run back into his arms and take it all back. If he took one step towards her, she knew she’d do it.

Jamie obeyed her wishes and didn’t move.

With one final gaze, Y/n turned away, climbing into the backseat of the Uber. He didn’t wait to drive, pulling the car away from as soon as she’d shut the door.

Y/n watched Jamie in the rear view mirror before it became too much. She dissolved to silent wracking sobs, caving in on herself. Not only had she walked away from the man she knew she surely loved, but she’d broken his heart doing so. The self-destruction was no longer only affecting her, she was destroying those around her.

Jamie wiped a shaking hand over his face as he watched the car carry Y/n away. He struggled to comprehend all that had just happened. He’d lost her.

Somehow, he carried himself back inside. He shuffled robotically back into the living room. His mum and Simon were seated on the couch, speaking in hushed tones.

Georgie looked expectantly to her son. Jamie had never needed to talk about him and Y/n in so many words. She knew exactly what he felt. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Jamie stared ahead at the carpet.

“Did you talk to her?” Georgie asked, asking something far deeper.

Jamie nodded.

“Does she feel the same?”

There was the true answer, and there was the easy answer. Jamie chose the latter.

“No.”

——————

Heartfirst Taglist: @lalla-04p @optimisticsandwichgladiator @makingmunson94 @taytaylala12 @storysimp @sokkigarden @lightninginab0ttle @poohkie90 @alipap3 @verra-nerevarine @shineforever19 @spaceagechimera @burnafter-reading @qardasngan @cyberpvnk-enthusiast @sogoodtoheritsvicious @buckybarnex @angelsunflxwer @blueanfield @thewildestwonderland @sablecities @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @strawberryacethingz @mentalistfan @tortilla-maria1 @katdahlali @for-fuck-sake-im-alive @glitterquadricorn @jamieolivia27 @imvibin69 @katlizada @lil-tracys @fanaticalfantasist @heyitz-julia @cactajuice @peachyy-tea @notalxx @rockchickrebel @anxiety-prime-max @loveforaugust @jellycolors @actuallybarb @heletsmelovehim @lovinnscarletknight @imfalling-inlove @leslieiscrying @meg-ro @littlemisssunshine192 @beboldbebravethings @maydayfigment @spencerreidsbookclub @dream-alittlebiggerdarling @lemoonandlestars @im-a-weirdo-for-life @mindless-rock (tags cont. in comments ❤️)

#ted lasso fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction #ted lasso fic #ted lasso imagine #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt imagine #keeley jones x reader #roy kent x reader #heartfirst

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ichorai · 1 year

Text

dinner & diatribes ; adrian chase. (m)

track eleven of WASTELAND, BABY!

pairing ; adrian chase x gn!reader

synopsis ; the two of you only brought the worst out of each other, but you just couldn’t stay away.

words ; 1.8k

themes ; comedy, mild smut (?)

warnings / includes ; arguing, lots of swearing, they fuck against a desk but it's not too graphic and pretty glossed over, reader punches adrian and breaks his nose, chris is the embodiment of e_e

main masterlist.

“I had him!” you snarled, striding up to Adrian until the two of you were practically nose-to-nose. He had ripped his mask off earlier, seeing no point in keeping it on when everybody on the team was already very well aware of his not-so-secret secret identity. “He was the only shot we had at getting information and you just fucking—Argh! You ruined everything, you dumb fucking piece of motherfucking—!”

Raising his hands in a condescendingly placating manner, Adrian retorted, “Woah! Watch it, potty mouth!”

Frustration crawled through your skin and wove beneath your muscles, nestling within your bones. “God, I hate you. This was my mission. You had no right interfering—!”

“Well, excuse me, first of all, this was our mission. Second, I’m sorry for saving your ass!” he interrupted. “If it hadn’t been for me, you would be out there, bleeding out of multiple gunshot wounds, thinking to yourself, ‘Oh, I wish Vigilante was here to come rescue me! He’s so handsome and I wish I could have sex with him just one more time and tell him how sorry I am for being a dick and ignoring him and pretending like it had never fucking happened!’”

You clenched your jaw, eye twitching. Sure, the two of you had slept together once—it was the heat of the moment and the adrenaline after a bloody fight, really—sodden clothes were hastily torn away or pulled to the side, bleeding lips were roughly slanted against each other, and he had fucked you on top of Chris’ messy desk with wild abandon. So fucking what?

“I was more than capable of handling the situation on my own.”

“Oh, were you, really?” Adrian rolled his eyes. “Don’t kid yourself. Honestly, sometimes it feels like you wouldn’t even care if you died—!”

With a growl rumbling within your throat, you wound your arm back, clenched your hand into a tight fist, and struck Adrian squarely in the face. A bilious crack echoed throughout the dingy room. He reared backwards, clutching his most-likely broken nose, groaning loudly.

You were well aware of the fact that the rest of the team was awkwardly watching the two of you hash it out. Tentative, Adebayo started saying, “Guys, I think we—”

“No!” you cut her off. “Fuck you, Adrian.”

With that, you stormed out of the room, ripping off the rest of your tactical gear along the way and cold fury wrapping its dark hands around your neck.

“Fuck,” Adrian said, all stuffy from his bleeding nose. “That made me so hard.”

Chris smacked him on the back of his head, which made him squawk with pain.

“I don’t know, man,” said Chris, sticking his tongue out the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on scribbling a dove of peace on another one of his weapons that Harcourt hadn’t bothered emblazing, despite his repeated insistence. “Maybe you should apologize to Y/N. They seemed really pissed.”

Blowing a raspberry, Adrian waved his most best friend’s advice away. “Pfft—no, if anything, they should be the one apologizing to me. Did you see how my nose was all bloody and crooked?”

Chris momentarily turned his attention away from the crude drawing of the dove of peace (which, unsurprisingly, looked like a ghost), and scowled at the spectacled, borderline psychotic man-child across from him. “Jeez, stop overreacting. Harcourt set your nose back right after, don’t be such a baby.”

“But it hurt!” Adrian whined. “You know that a person’s sense of smell is probably, like, the most important sense out of all the senses?”

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“Uh huh—scented candle businesses would go bankrupt if none of us could smell!”

Narrowing his eyes, Chris replied, “Yeah, but how the fuck would that make it the most important—ugh, you know what? Just go apologize to them. We have another mission tomorrow morning and I don’t want their panties in a twist because of you.”

Adrian chortled. “Heh, wouldn’t be the first time I twisted their pa—” At Chris’ sharp glare, he immediately cut himself short. “Fine! I’ll go, I’ll go. If I die, please play an episode of Friends at my funeral—specifically the episode where they hire Danny Devito as a stripper. I really liked that episode. I liked it a lot. You got that?”

“Yeah, Danny Devito, stripper, funeral, got it!” retorted Chris, clearly not listening anymore as he waved Adrian away.

Squaring his shoulders, Adrian marched away from his trusted friend and headed to the room down the hall, pushing the door open and peeking his head through. He saw you buried behind a pile of paperwork on your desk, muttering incoherently beneath your breath.

When you noticed him come in, he pursed his lips and waved awkwardly, shutting the door behind him.

“Hey,” he called out from the other side of the room, a bit too loudly. You winced at his volume, and he moved closer before parroting himself, this time much quieter. “Hey.”

“Hey,” came your tentative, stiff reply. “What do you want?”

The man in front of your desk cleared his throat, rocking himself back onto his heels as he swung his arms awkwardly. “I, uh, just wanted to apologize.”

“Oh, yeah?” You crossed your arms, cocking one of your eyebrows expectantly. “Go on, then.”

“I’m…” Adrian doubled over groaning, stomping his feet like a petulant child, before righting himself and huffing in an overexaggerated manner. “Ugh, I hate this. Fuck—I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have said those things to you. It was unprofessional.”

Humming, the beginnings of a smirk began to play with the corner of your lips. “Great, thanks. You can go now.”

Adrian stayed rooted to the spot, staring at you blankly.

“What?” you asked him.

He scowled, gesturing to his slightly-crooked nose.

Rolling your eyes to the ceiling, you sighed. “Fine. I’m sorry for punching you. Happy?”

“Yeah, pfft, whatever—doesn’t even hurt,” he bluffed, leaning his weight onto your desk in an effort to appear nonchalant.

You scoffed. “With how you were groaning, you made it sound like I nearly killed you.”

“You’ve got a strong punch, okay?” he heatedly rebutted, before haughtily sticking his sore chin up in the air. After another second of tense silence, he glanced at you from the corner of his eyes, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his fucked-up nose. He coughed into his fist, before muttering, “Honestly, though… it was really fucking hot.”

The dull wooden edge of your desk dug into your lower back as Adrian leaned over you, mouth rough on yours, glasses knocked askew amidst his vigor. One of his hands were buried in your roots at the back of your head, anchoring you close to him, and the other pinned your thighs apart so he could slot between them. Your hands were tightly curled up in the gap between his sweltering skin and his suit’s dark armor, yanking him to bridge the gap between you. His nose brushed your cheekbone every time he surged forward to kiss you—and it sent a mild jolt of pain spidering down his spine, but he didn’t seem to mind it too much, rather preoccupied with other sensations.

Clothes were hastily pulled to the side, sweat beaded both of your foreheads, and strained gasps fell through your lips as he began to move against you.

Neither punching Adrian nor fucking him afterwards were on your agenda for today, but you certainly weren’t complaining. And judging by how loudly he was moaning into the brutal kiss, he wasn’t going to complain, either.

With one final roll of his hips into yours, he bucked forward with a strangled, choking noise as his climax washed over him just when you were pushed off the edge as well, sinking his teeth into the flesh of your shoulder, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

“God, you’re loud,” you panted, snaking your hands to his hair to gently pull him away from the crevice of your neck.

He stared at you with full-blown pupils, delighting in the fact that you were quivering against him ever so slightly. “And you’re so fucking hot.”

“Alright, buddy, we’re done here,” you said, patting his chest, before pushing away and straightening out your wrinkled clothes. “This is the last time this is ever happening, by the way.”

Adrian scoffed, righting his glasses up his nose. “Uh huh, yeah right. Admit it, you just can’t resist me. I’m like the peanut butter to your jelly! The… the chocolate to your pizza!”

Nose wrinkling, you shook your head incredulously. “What? Who the fuck eats chocolate with pizza?”

“Uh, duh, I do,” he replied, as if it were obvious. “It’s amazing—you should really try it. I don’t know, maybe you could come over to my place one day and have some. Nothing beats the perfect ratio of greasy-crispy Hawaiian pizza and Nutella straight from the jar.”

Kiss-swollen lips parting, you leaned against your desk out of interest once again. Adrian was fidgeting with his hands awkwardly and began looking everywhere but you, like he hadn’t just fucked you silly literally a minute ago.

“Are you asking me out?”

“No!” he said. “Maybe.”

You regarded him with a strange look.

“Ugh, yes, fine, I’m asking you out. Well, technically in—I’m asking you into my house. Preferably into my bed—”

“Alright!” you interrupted, holding your hands out. “Fine. Only this one time. But just because you’ve come in me twice by now doesn’t mean you can go on falling in love with me, okay?”

Brightening, Adrian sidled closer to you, the green of his eyes glimmering beneath the flickering lights hanging over your desk. “Don’t worry, that won’t be a problem. If anything, you should watch out for falling in love with me. I’m quite the catch, you know?”

It was hard to suppress the growing grin forming over your lips. “You’ve got the Barbie Girl song as your ringtone.”

“Yeah, and? It’s a good song—super catchy. It’s practically a chick magnet,” he defended, beaming like an idiot.

You rolled your eyes, patting his chest twice, before striding away from both him and your desk, off to go to the bathroom to clean up the sticky mess between your thighs. Adrian watched you go, before repeatedly punching the air with excitement and breaking out into a dance—not to music, but to the buzz of the office’s artificial lights, and the lethargic whir of the semi-broken air conditioner.

From outside, he could hear Chris greet you, and he momentarily paused in his little victory jig.

“Oh, hi, Y/N! Hah, your hair’s all messed up, why do you look like you just had your brains fucked—oh. Oh. God damn it, you guys better not have done it on my desk again!”

#adrian chase x reader #vigilante x reader #peacemaker fanfiction #adrian chase fanfiction #adrian chase smut #adrian chase fluff #adrian chase imagines #peacemaker x reader #adrian chase drabbles #adrian chase x you #vigilante x you #vigilante smut #vigilante peacemaker #vigilante fanfiction #vigilante imagines #vigilante drabbles #peacemaker fluff #peacemaker smut

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multifandomfanficss · 11 months

Text

Why Is This So Surprising?

Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader

(With cameos from all of the 11th Street Kids)

Adrian Chase Masterlist

Prompt: The team sees a softer side to Adrian when his partner gets upset.

Warnings: Descriptions of something similar to a panic attack or autistic meltdown

A/N: So funny story this has actually been in my drafts for almost year and I forgot about it because I broke my phone the week I wrote it and got a new phone, but I’m thinking of maybe ending my hiatus and coming back soon. In the meantime I have some old fics I never posted. College and my mental health got in the way and I never got to finish some old WIPs, but I think I might finally be ready to pick them back up again! Hope you enjoy! ❤️🧜‍♂️❤️

You felt your breath catch in your throat as your lungs expand and contract trying to get air in. You were trying to forget about the mission you had just been on and you were having little success. You were able to push down your emotions on the car ride back to the old video store and you were currently staring at the piano, avoiding eye contact, in an effort to block out what Harcourt was saying. If you didn’t hear the debriefing it couldn’t be real, right? If you didn’t hear how terrible the mission went, it just simply didn’t happen. Sadly that wasn’t true. You found it getting harder for you to breathe. You pushed yourself up from your chair, getting ready to walk upstairs to be by yourself for a minute when you’re stopped by Harcourt.

“Where do you think you’re going? I didn’t say you could leave. This is important.” She starts.

“I don’t need a recap of this. Thanks.” You say, continuing upstairs, your voice cracking.

“Hey, (L/N), we all did things we aren’t proud of today-“

“You didn’t do what I did!” You yell at her. Suddenly the room starts spinning. It all just feels too real. You can feel everything and it’s too much. You hear a clock ticking, water rushing through pipes, feet slapping on the pavement outside, the click click clicking of heels, the electricity in the lights, the lights that just won’t stop flickering. You back up into a wall and slide down it, tears blocking your vision. You let a sob come out.

“What are we supposed to do?” Chris asks quietly, standing up and walking closer.

“I don’t fucking know! I’ve never seen them like this!” Harcourt whisper yells. Adebayo stands up and walks over to you, the rest of the team crowding around. They’re making it harder to breathe until you start hyperventilating.

“What can we do for you?” She asks.

“You guys can move the fuck over. Give them some space.” Adrian says, pushing his way through the crowd. “Somebody go get them some water.” He commands and John leaves the room to grab you a glass. “Are you pro touch or anti touch right now?” He asks, but you feel like you’re underwater. You feel like speaking is like moving through quicksand and you just can’t manage it. Adrian slowly puts his hand out towards you, like a wounded animal. He tries to take your hand in his and at first a little jumpy, you let him. He puts your hand over his chest and takes deep exaggerated breaths. “Follow my breathing, okay? In and out.” He instructs you and you breathe together. “You’re doing such a good job.” He praises. When your breathing becomes somewhat regulated Adrian moves so he’s sitting against the wall and you’re leaning against his chest. He’s giving you the pressure you so desperately need, as he sways with you. He brings you back to this planet. Slowly, gravity starts to feel normal again. Now that you can breathe a steady stream of tears starts to flow. He wipes them occasionally as you lay with your ear to his chest, listening to his heartbeat drown out the other noises that were too loud. “It wasn’t your fault. You did your best. You’re okay. Everything is okay.” He reminds you. John hands him the glass of water. “Here, (Y/N), drink this. You need to stay hydrated.” Adrian reminds you, as you take the glass of water. It feels cool against your throat which had previously felt like fire. “Thank you.” Adrian says to John.

“You’re welcome.” John responds. The rest of the team just stares. They’ve been staring the whole time. You don’t even notice the stares and neither does Adrian. Your minds are on more important matters. You completely forget they’re there until they start to speak up.

“How did you know what to do?” Harcourt asks.

“What do you mean?” Adrian answers her question with another question.

“Well we didn’t even know what to do and you say you don’t have emotions.” John comments.

“I say I don’t have emotions like other people. That doesn’t mean I don’t have emotions. I just have them differently.” He clarifies.

“Well you clearly don’t know what to do when I’m crying.” Chris starts. He then clears his throat. “I mean if I had cried you wouldn’t know what to do. Because I never cry! Crying is for babies!” He adds. Adebayo gives him a look and Harcourt slaps him on the arm.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Harcourt whisper yells. You don’t take offense to his comment. You know he has masculinity issues.

“First of all crying is healthy. It’s a fundamental part of human nature. Second of all they’re my partner. We’ve slept in the same bed for over a year. I’d think I’d know how to take care of them. Why is this so surprising?” Adrian roles his eyes at the others while they shrug. Everyone has something to say, but they just decide to keep their mouths shut. As the tears start to slow, you shift in his arms, getting more comfortable. You don’t realize how tired you are until your eyes start to get heavy after you’ve made it to a comfortable position. You look up at him with pleading eyes.

“Can we go home now?” You ask.

“Of course, Babe.” He says, planting a kiss on the top of your head. Adrian moves you off of his lap, stands, and reaches out a hand for you to lift yourself up with. The others wish you well as you collect your things to go home.

“(Y/N), you don’t have to come in tomorrow. Get some rest…and Chase…I’m sorry we underestimated you.” Harcourt tells the both of you. You can’t see your boyfriend’s goofy smile in the dark of the night outside the video store, but you can hear it in his voice as he thanks Harcourt and bids his goodbye. When you get home Adrian puts you in his softest t-shirt and you climb into bed. He pulls you to lay on him and you don’t object. You enjoy the feeling of his chest rising and falling and the sound of his heartbeat. You like that you can hear it better now that his suit is off. It’s comforting. He’s comforting.

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vigilante-fangirl · 11 months

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Heroes Guide to Parenting

Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader Prompt: Surprise you're pregnant! What will you tell the team? What are you going to tell Adrian?!

Warnings: Reader is AFAB, Pregnancy, Cursing and Spoilers for season 1 finale of peacemaker in later chapters

The early morning at the headquarters of the office record store was shrouded in a quiet atmosphere. While everyone else busied themselves with typing on their computers or fine-tuning their weapons after a grueling mission, you found yourself slumped on the office couch, clad in your hero costume, feeling utterly miserable. "Ughhh! Kill meee!" you whined, the intensity of your complaint earning you a pen thrown by Harcourt, which ended up hitting your nose.

"Fucking shut UP!" Harcourt snapped, her patience wearing thin. "You've been complaining nonstop since we got back from the mission! Either go home or sit up and keep quiet." She punctuated her reprimand with a piercing glare. Before you could retort to her harsh words, an overwhelming wave of nausea surged through your body. The sensation hit you like a freight train, and you sprinted out of the room in a desperate bid to reach the bathroom, where you found yourself violently vomiting. Confusion spread among your teammates as they exchanged perplexed glances, unsure of what had just transpired.

"She's been sick for the last couple of weeks," Adebayo voiced her concern, closing her laptop and cringing at the distressing sounds emanating from the bathroom.

"Yeah, but only in the mornings?" Vigilante chimed in absentmindedly, engrossed in the task of polishing his throwing knives. "She's usually back to normal by the afternoon, so no big deal."

"Speak for yourself, dude!" Economos snapped at Vigilante, seated uncomfortably in a shirt that was a size too small. "Your girlfriend friggin' threw up on me while we were in the van! Now I have to wear this!" He grumbled, spinning around in his chair to point at a shopping bag filled with vomit-stained clothes. His now shirt being the only thing from the lost and found.

"She's not my girlfriend! Did... did she say she was my girlfriend?" Adrian questioned with an awkward grin, finally lifting his gaze from his previous preoccupation. However, his smile quickly faded as he registered the disappointed expressions on his teammates' faces.

"I don't know, man. Maybe we should check on her? This isn't normal for her to be this sick," Adebayo suggested sympathetically, her gaze fixed on the closed bathroom door, brimming with concern

"Listen, I've known (Y/L/N) for years. She's fine. She gets sick all the time, but she toughs it out. Now let's get back to work," Harcourt declared, gesturing towards the cluttered desks and piles of paperwork. However, her words fell on deaf ears as the team members continued their discussion about what could be wrong with you.

"Well, she has been moodier lately," Vigilante chimed in, his mind wandering as he recalled recent events.

Economos, leaning back in his chair and clicking his pen, sneered. "Like how she suplexed Peacemaker the other day just for asking if her costume got tighter."

Peacemaker, who glared at Economos for his comment, couldn't resist adding a quip. "Whatever, baby tee! She got lucky! She's so little I didn't see her coming. Like an angry lil Oompa Loompa."

Economos pulled down the small shirt, silenced by Peacemaker's remark. Peacemaker then turned to Vigilante.

"Nah, bro, but (Y/L/N) has been aggro lately. Remember that patrol we had a week ago?"

The scene shifted to a vivid flashback.

You stood atop a dog walker, mercilessly curb stomping the guy into the ground. Vigilante and Peacemaker watched, torn between concern and awe. While Peacemaker wondered when to intervene, Vigilante's gaze remained fixed on you, as if you had stolen his heart.

"I think you got him, bro?" Peacemaker offered tentatively. "Plus, I don't think he did anything illegal—"

"He yanked the poor puppy and then didn't pick up its poop! Animal abuse and littering?!" You interjected, halting your assault momentarily to pull the guy up by his hair.

"I didn't see the shit!" he sobbed, hoping for some leniency as you dropped him and resumed your relentless attack.

"Too baddd!" you yelled, your voice filled with a mixture of anger and satisfaction.

The flashback ended abruptly, and the team returned to the present, the memory of your intense outburst lingering in the air.

"Yeah! That was so hot!" Vigilante chuckled, lost in his thoughts as he reminisced about that night. His comment earned a groan from the team, prompting him to quickly clarify, "I meant it in a friend way, guys!" He course-corrected, fully aware that you would have his head if the group discovered the true nature of both of your late-night shenanigans.

Harcourt wished she could drown out the team's conversation, but a sudden realization struck her like a truck. "Wait? Nausea only in the morning? Constant mood swings? Is she... tired all the time?" she asked Vigilante, who looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Yeah? She sleeps a lot after patrols! It's kind of cute as she—" Vigilante's words were cut off by Harcourt's interruption.

"Shut it!" she snapped, then turned to Adebayo, her eyes wide with hope to confirm her suspicions. Adebayo looked at her, initially perplexed, before her eyes widened in realization, her hand covering her mouth in surprise. Economos and Peacemaker were the last two to connect the dots, apart from Vigilante, who stood there utterly confused. They all knew there was something between you and Vigilante, some kind of relationship, but they were not aware the extent to it’s intimate nature. From the way you wore his clothes after missions to how he constantly hovered near you like a lost puppy, it was evident that there was more to your connection.

A heavy silence fell upon the office until it was shattered by the loud, sickening sound of your vomiting from the bathroom. Peacemaker burst into laughter, collapsing onto the table, while Economos joined in, unable to contain his amusement as he looked at Vigilante.Harcourt and Adebayo sighed in exasperation at the team's reactions.

"I can't believe that idiot, and by you of all people," Harcourt muttered, rubbing her temples in annoyance as she pointed at Adrian.

"Didn't you guys, you know... use protection?" Adebayo asked sheepishly, prompting Peacemaker to laugh even louder.

Vigilante looked rather confused for a moment before attempting to recall the details.

Another Flashback

You had convinced Adrian to accompany you to Walmart to run errands, despite his initial reluctance. After all, you believed it was something a proper boyfriend should do. As you pushed the shopping cart, Adrian's attention seemed to drift away, his gaze fixed on you as you playfully brushed the hair from your face while cracking a joke. Little by little, he started noticing the subtle things you did, like how you loved wearing his hoodies, which he intentionally bought extra baggy just so you would swim in them. Adrian couldn't help but smile as you continued talking, occasionally lifting the hoodie to hide the various hickeys that adorned your neck. His eyes wandered down, noticing the tight yoga shorts hugging your hips, and the way they accentuated your curves. Lost in a daze, his thoughts converged on that very moment when the shorts rode up, revealing the curve of your ass.

"Condoms!" Adrian suddenly blurted out, his voice echoing through the aisle as he remembered what he needed. You spun around, desperately trying to shush him as disapproving glances from nearby moms were cast in your direction.

"W-what, Adr?" you asked, looking around in confusion."Condoms! That's what I was trying to remember!" Adrian grinned, his usual goofiness on full display as he guided the cart towards the family planning section. He was about to grab a box when you smacked his hand, causing it to drop.

"Ow! (Y/n), what the hell?" he protested, rubbing his hand and looking at you as if you were insane.

"Look at that price, babe! $11.99 for a box? That's too expensive!" you argued, placing the box back on the shelf.

"But you have some shower stuff that costs, like, $79 in the cart," he pointed out, reaching for the box again, only to receive another slap. This back-and-forth continued, with Adrian growing increasingly frustrated after each slap.

"(Y/N)!" he finally exclaimed, his annoyance evident in his voice, but you stood your ground, crossing your arms.

"I refuse to pay that amount, Adrian! Besides, we don't even need those! God's got me!" you declared confidently, catching sight of a shelf displaying the new squishmallows. Adrian had intended to argue further, but as you ran over to the shelf, his attention was once again diverted by your hoodie riding up, revealing more of your enchanting figure.

The flashback came to an end, and the team returned to the present.

Adrian's eyes widened in shock as he finally pieced everything together. Peacemaker, still laughing almost breathlessly, couldn't contain himself upon hearing the story.

"God... got me?" Harcourt and Adebayo both yelled in disbelief, their exasperation evident. "Both of you are idiots," Harcourt muttered, shooting glares at the closed bathroom door. She had expected this kind of behavior from Vigilante, but not from you.

Peacemaker attempted to catch his breath, jokingly remarking, "Aw, looks like thimble's little soldiers can still hit their target!" However, the gravity of the situation quickly sank in for Vigilante.

"Dude! This is serious! N-no way, right? She would have told me!" he exclaimed, grappling with the reality that if you were indeed pregnant, you hadn't been dating for that long. The question of what he would do next weighed heavily on his mind as he turned towards the bathroom door, calling out your name with urgency.

The scene shifted to an hour ago, with you trembling inside the bathroom. You had pretended to be sick, using it as an opportunity to test the waters. From your cloak, you produced a box of pregnancy tests, investing a hefty $17.99 in ensuring the accuracy of the results.

With a feverish haste, you tore open the box, causing the tests to clatter onto the floor. Hastily unzipping your costume and discarding the cloak, you sat on the toilet seat, nervously fumbling for one of the tests and scanning the torn instructions.As you peed on the blue stick, you placed it on the counter, praying fervently for the next three minutes. Your pleas to the heavens mirrored those of a sinner seeking redemption in church, as you shut your eyes tightly. The moment arrived, and you cautiously retrieved the test, squinting to discern the results. Two bright blue lines stared back at you.

"Like hell I am!" you exclaimed defiantly, discarding the test and grabbing another one. Once again, after three minutes had passed, two blue lines appeared before your eyes.

“....fuck.” is all you could say before a wave of nausea hit you causing you to actually vomit.

#vigilante peacemaker #peacemaker #vigilante x reader #vigilante #adrian chase x reader #adrian chase #Chapter 1

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training4theapocalypse-backup · 1 year

Text

On Her Majesty’s Supersonic Service (Adrian Chase x Reader)

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 7K

Warnings: SMUT, Descriptions of murder, Descriptions of violence, Verbal Humiliation, Light bondage, Duct tape, Tent sex, Accidental voyeurism, Bodily fluids, Dubious consent, Characters mistakenly assume non-consent

Summary: Immediately after the attack on the Glan Tai bottling plant, Task Force X sets up camp overnight to rest before the road trip home. Vigilante offers to help you, an MI6 agent working under Amanda Waller, find creative ways to navigate drawbacks of your new superpowers.

A/N: Not a fan of Y/N so there's an original character with powers sort of similar to the DC comics Black Canary

Masterlist

Chapter 1: For Your Ears Only

“Pretty please do it again?”

Vigilante is cross-legged opposite you on the other side of the bonfire. He eagerly lines up empty beer bottles and looks at you expectantly. You don’t hate him exactly but you do find literally every single aspect of his personality annoying. He is so irritatingly enthusiastic and let's face it, a psychopath. Your poor eyes have never rolled so much or so often when you spend time with Vigilante.

He’s like a golden retriever puppy personified- if puppies were armed to the hilt and trained to kill with zero regard for human life. And despite your alias, you’re more like a black cat than a Blackbird. Cautious, quiet, sometimes deadly- you possess a distinct lack of tolerance for dogs like Vigilante.

Tonight though… tonight you have a little more patience for him than usual. Perhaps it’s the fact that he saved your life just hours earlier. Or maybe it’s just the beer you’ve been sinking since your very close brush with death. Normally you’d turn your nose up at American beer, but you definitely needed a drink after today’s mission.

He is waiting expectantly and even though you’ve never seen his face before, you can tell that he has a goofy grin under his mask.

“Will you leave her alone for five minutes?” Harcourt finishes the bottle she’s been sipping and tosses it into the rubbish pile. But she’s less stern than usual, the massacre today brought your team closer together and the mood is still light.

“Yeah, Blackbird, if you need me to kick his ass just yell,” says Adebayo

You smile and raise your eyebrows.

“Uhhh, right. The supersonic scream thing. Well, come bang on the side of my tent if you need me.”

She strains as she tries to stand up with difficulty. Adebayo had had a narrow escape inside Glan Tai - a giant gorilla had knocked her aside and she severely sprained her ankle.

“You won’t be kicking any ass tonight Adebayo, not with that injury.” says Economos, pulling her up. She wraps one arm around Economos’ shoulders and her other around Harcourt’s. “G’night you three,” he says. You lift your hand to give them a short wave in return. They help her limp to her tent before retiring to their own respective ones.

You hope she’s okay. Out of this team of Americans that Waller has ordered you to team up with, you find Adebayo to be the least grating.

You, Vigilante and Chris remain by the campfire. Vigilante rests his face on his cupped hands and looks at you. Like a psychopathic masked cherub.

“C’mon Birdie, just these three bottles? Please?”

You roll your eyes again- you’re going to pull an eye muscle if you spend any more time around Vigilante- his incessant chatting makes you grind your teeth. Mostly because it’s extremely irritating but also because you’re a little bit jealous. Your fellow MI6 agents used to complain that you talked too much and gave each other significant looks whenever you went on and on.

But of course, that was before your accident. Who would have guessed that stealing a prototype supersonic jet on behalf of Her Majesty’s Secret Service would end up with you being royally fucked? You woke up weeks later with the world’s most deadly sonic vocal cords. The icing on the cake was MI6 ordering you to join Amanda Waller’s investigation into the butterflies, probably as punishment for failing your previous mission.

You take a deep breath and quietly murmur a gentle, low note. The ground vibrates and the first empty bottle of Budweiser shatters. You concentrate hard and hum a second note and the next bottle cracks in a perfect straight line down the middle, the two halves fall apart. Another inhale and you let out a soft whisper- the third beer bottle is blasted backwards into the air by a sonic wave.

Vigilante leans back to rest on his elbows and looks at you appreciatively. “Never gets old.”

There is a moment’s pause as the three of you stare into the fire. “I never asked anyone at Corto Maltese but what does it feel like, having… abilities?” asks Chris “My sonic boom helmet is pretty cool but it must be scary as fuck having it inside your head.”

You shrug. You preferred life before your powers. Before MI6 had sent you here as punishment for failing to retrieve that jet and nearly getting yourself killed. You miss when you could sing Natasha Bedingfield on karaoke and laugh ‘til you cried without shattering every window in your flat.

“She misses not being able to talk. I get it Birdie, it feels good to open up and get your feelings out.”

“Vij, stop making shit up. You don’t know that she misses talking.”

“Uh- I think I know how my second best friend forever is feeling. I can read her body language.”

Second best friend forever? Is that sarcasm? As far as you could tell, Vigilante doesn’t really understand sarcasm, nevermind make sarcastic quips himself. So does he actually think you’re friends?

He may be a borderline stalker that follows you around like a little puppy but the fact that he is super observant comes in handy. It’s probably why you work so well together- even if you don’t like to admit it. In combat, he watches your every move and responds and adapts so quickly that it feels like you’re in sync.

“Tell me he’s talking out his ass,” says Chris

You give a small shake of your head and Chris still looks confused. You pull out your phone and open the notes app.

‘He’s right.’ You type and hold up your screen reluctantly.

“See!” Vigilante points at you enthusiastically. “I can but she hates to admit it! I’m a mind-reader, baby. No wait, better than a mind-reader, a body-reader! And damn, I love to read that body.”

You exhale through your nose, scoffing silently but you take a much longer swig of beer. You really do hate admitting that he’s right. What does it say about you that the only person in the team who can’t pick up on most normal social cues can read you like a book? You remind yourself that his body-reading really did save your backside when you were fighting the butterflies earlier.

One of them had snuck up on you from behind and clamped his hand over your mouth, stopping you from emitting your sonic scream. He had a blade against your throat, ready to sever your vocal cords to stop you from killing any more of his comrades. But Vigilante threw a knife at his head with precision, the blade inches from your face, leaving you soaked in blood, breathless and lying on your back staring up at him, blinking in disbelief, adrenaline coursing through your veins. His towering figure hoisted you back up to your feet with such ease… it actually looked kind of hot. Not that you could ever tell him that.

“Hey Birdie,” you look up at Vigilante and can tell by his sing-song voice that he’s still smirking under his mask “Have you ever been fucked so hard that you brought down an apartment building?”

“Jesus Christ, Vij!” scolds Chris

This time you don’t make a sour face or give him an eye roll. You flush involuntarily and end up looking down at your crossed legs, praying that neither Vigilante nor Chris can read your expression. Your domino mask only covers part of your face so you hope the bonfire makes the heat rising in your cheeks less noticeable.

He’s touched a nerve. Yes, you miss laughing and singing but there’s something you miss even more. You haven’t even touched yourself in over a year, nevermind had sex, just in case you make any noise. You’ve had sex dreams that turn into nightmares, always ending the same way- a moan of pleasure that becomes a horrified scream as your sonic waves blow the brains out of the faceless lover in your dreams.

You look up and they’re still staring at you expectantly. You shake your head.

“Shit,” exhales Chris “I thought I had it bad in prison but a vow of silence and abstinence? You’re for sure getting into heaven.”

You smirk. You’ve killed way too many people to get into heaven.

“Say the word and I’ll help you out, Birdie,” says Vigilante.

“Come on Vij, I said cut it out,” Chris interjects.

Your eyes don’t leave Vigilante, your heart dropping into the pit of your stomach. But you wait for him to finish.

“I saw how that butterfly left you defenceless earlier when he had his hand over your mouth. Just blink twice and I’ll do the same thing, babe. One hand over your mouth and the other deep in your-”

“Okay - that’s enough!” Chris gets up and hoists Vigilante to his feet by the scruff of his suit. “Blackbird is just trying to fuckin’ have a beer and you think you can harass her?”

You sit in stunned silence, momentarily distracted by Chris’ profound moment of self-growth. It was only last week that he was sexually harassing your waitress in Fennel Fields, and according to Harcourt, harassing her in a bar just days ago. You bite your lip, your gaze returning to Vigilante and you can feel the flush on your face spreading down your neck and to your chest. You’re grateful that your leather suit doesn’t leave any skin below your neck exposed.

“I’ll take first shift. I’m supposed to be watching for butterflies,” says Chris and he roughly lets go of Vigilante. He points two fingers at his eyes and points them at Vigilante. “But I’ll be watching you too.”

“Aww come on! I’m not a creep.” Vigilante holds up his hands in protest and you find yourself noticing how large his hands actually are. “But I do have duct tape,” he adds, glancing over at you. You’re glad when he turns 180 degrees and positively skips off towards his tent so he doesn’t notice your chest heaving as you try to steady your breath. Calm down.

You continue to watch him on his way to the far side of the camp as you finish your drink. You throw the empty bottle in with the others in the bin. You nod to Chris and point your thumb at your tent.

“Sleep tight Birdie. I’ll keep an eye on Vij for you.”

You smile and wave your hand away, It’s fine don’t worry about me, but Chris totally misreads your body language.

“Yeah, I’ll push him away like that-“ he mimics your hand wave “Read you loud and clear.”

You thought your signing and expressions were obvious but Chris reminds you again that Vigilante is the only person you’ve met who can read your movements like he’s reading your mind.

In your tent, you begin to peel off your skintight black leather suit. The dried blood from earlier cracks and flakes as you peel it off. You’re thankfully uninjured. Just a few aches and bruises, and a small scratch where the butterfly held his blade against your neck but you’re grateful you got off lightly. You strip to your plain black cotton underwear and sports bra and use a bottle of water and washcloth to get rid of the remaining blood and sweat from your body, trying your best to get it out of your hair. You need a real shower but this will do for now.

You crawl into your sleeping bag and as you had expected, you can’t get comfortable. Almost immediately you start to toss and turn. It’s unreasonably hot in here, despite the cool night air outside. Your skin feels like it’s on fire and when you lie still you can hear your heartbeat.

You unzip your sleeping back, exposing your skin to the cool air and lie on your back, hands resting on your tummy. You trace your hand upwards, imagining Vigilante’s much bigger hand moving up past your throat to cover your mouth. You press your knees shut, trying to ignore the low hum of frequency buzzing between them. Your other hand seems to have a mind of its own and reaches down to lightly graze your swollen clit over the fabric of your underwear. You accidentally let out a single agonising groan. The hard ground vibrates and the fabric of the tent whooshes. Pausing, you hold your breath to see if anyone is stirring.

Nope.

You sit bolt upright. Fuck, it is so fucking frustrating being worked up with no release- ever.

Breathe.

Come on, you think, you can do this. You’ve gone over a year without this. Self-preservation. World preservation. You’ve taken down a group of five butterflies with a single, ear-splitting scream- who knows what sonic shockwaves would occur if you orgasmed?

And yet.

Could Vigilante be right? The butterfly had rendered you helpless with one hand. Could the solution to your frustration be as simple as a strong hand over your mouth?

“I do have duct tape.”

Heat sears between your legs. You kneel in front of the canvas entrance of your tent. You reach out tentatively to unzip your tent. Your hand hesitates. What if Chris or one of the others sees you?

On second thoughts, you sit back onto your heels, acutely aware of the way your underwear has felt increasingly hot and sticky since Vigilante skipped off to his tent. You place one hand over your mouth and slide the other one into your underwear.

When you close your eyes, the memory of Vigilante standing over you to retrieve his knife from the butterfly's skull enters your mind. The way his strong arms practically scooped you up and out of your stupor. How he firmly placed his hands on each of your shoulders and looked you over to make sure you were uninjured.

“I’ll do the same thing babe. One hand over your mouth and the other deep in your-”

Oh for God’s sake. You’re furious with your own lack of self-control as you decide you need to find out how that sentence ends. You unzip the door slowly, quietly and poke your head out into the dark night air. To your left, Chris is still beside the fire, looking out towards the horizon, his back facing the small group of tents. You look towards the right- at Vigilante’s tent. It’s the furthest away from the rest of the group- about thirty or so metres away from yours.

You’ve never moved so quickly and so cat-like in your life. You tiptoe barefoot and half-naked out of your tent and creep silently towards Vigilante’s. You unzip his tent door and hastily climb in.

“Fuck!” Vigilante scrambles around and sits up in his sleeping bag, he shines both a torch and a gun in your face, blinding you. You furiously press a finger to your lips to try and get him to shush. “What the-?” He blurts. Looking at the torch, you make a barely audible “Shh” and the bulb cracks. Everything in the tent goes dark.

“Birdie?” he whispers “I nearly shot you- I thought you were a butterfly.” You both look at the tent opening with bated breath, waiting to see if anyone has noticed the commotion. They don’t. The only sound is the canvas door moving gently in the cool night breeze.

With each blink, bright spots appear in front of your eyelids as your sight adjusts after being hit with the torch light. The dim moonlight barely penetrates the green canvas of the tent. You turn and see that Vigilante is only wearing a pair of teal boxer briefs- he is unsuited and unmasked. He’s no longer faceless and your eyes widen with the realisation that he is the busboy from Fennel Fields. Chris’ friend's brother- Adrian Chase. Adrian’s mouth opens in realisation as he brings a hand to feel his face, reading the recognition crossing yours.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he whispers and tries to jam the mask back over his head but it gets caught on his glasses. “I can’t sleep with my mask on. I knew it would come back to bite me in the ass.” You reach out and grasp his arms firmly to stop his panicked movements. You let go and hold up your arms in an exaggerated shrug. He stops. “You’re right B bird. You were the only one left in the group who didn’t know my secret identity and you’ve seen me now.” And he tosses the mask aside.

Your stomach does a little flip as your still-adjusting eyes take him in. Wow- he’s handsome. Thank God. Thick wavy black hair, green eyes, glasses and a muscular, lean body littered with scars.

His glasses are askew and he adjusts them- you can’t help but look at the veins on his muscular forearms as he does it. He halts and looks back at you, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion “What are you doing here? Shit- did Chris spot something on his watch?”

Fuck.

You pause. He doesn’t know why you’re here. He was joking. Of course, he was- he never stops joking. He was probably just making fun of you.

You try to make your expression blank and unreadable and all sorts of wild excuses flash through your mind. You hold up a finger, signalling for him to wait and bring up the notes app on your phone.

‘I heard a wolf’ you type and show him the phone screen.

“And you came in here rather than deal with it yourself? Alright-” he cocks his gun and starts crawling towards the open tent door. You wave your hands, telling him to stop and you zip the tent door blocking his exit. You quickly type on your phone again

‘Gone now. Can I sleep here in case it comes back?’

He looks up from your phone screen. “Birdie? Scared of a wolf? Damn, I thought you weren’t scared of anything!” He laughs quietly and you scowl. “Okay, okay- I won’t tell the rest of them you’re scared of wolves. Pinky swear.” He extends his pinky and you grasp it with your own. You wonder if he knows that there aren’t any wolves in these woods.

“Make yourself at home- Casa de Vigilante.” He waves across the surprisingly tidy tent and you’re secretly pleased that he’s scrubbed himself clean of (most of) the blood and dirt from earlier. He looks around the tent and his eyes land back on you and for the first time, he realises you’re wearing underwear and a sports bra. It’s not your sexiest lingerie but you feel a jolt of satisfaction as his gaze lingers a fraction too long.

“Jeez, you must be freezing,” he says. Oh. Were his eyes just looking over your goosebump-covered skin? “You take the sleeping bag”

You can’t believe that after his comments earlier he is actually being a gentleman. This is not going to plan at all. He has no idea that his throwaway flirtatious remark momentarily shattered your worldview.

Maybe this is why you find him so maddening. He is everything you aren’t. Everything you can’t be. He’s loud, he’s openly flirtatious and he’s unserious. The quieter you are, the more you recede into your shell. You can’t flirt anymore because you need to suppress all your sexual desires. You can’t even let out a sigh of laughter without causing a serious injury so you feel like you’re gradually losing your sense of humour.

“Hey, Birdie? Are you okay?” He looks into your face, concerned.

That motherfucker. Of course, he’s caring too. You can’t stand it. You grasp his worried face and wrestle him into a kiss.

Take that, you think as you bite his bottom lip.

It takes him a beat to realise what is happening but when he does he surges forward hungrily, his hand curls a fistful of your hair. He smells like the 5th of November. The bonfire smoke lingers on his skin and underneath the burnt gunpowder scent, there’s something fresh and citrusy- like bergamot.

You taste his warm tongue as it enters your mouth and you trace your hand down his chest. He makes a noise low in his throat in response and using his hand to hold your jaw open he kisses you deeply, exploring your mouth with his tongue. You pull apart to get some air. Your masked eyes meet his bright green ones. His glasses are askew again and his cheeks are flushed.

“Holy fuck- I’ve thought about kissing you every day since the moment I first saw you Birdie but I thought you hated me?”

You shrug and he laughs.

“Aw, I get it. Poor B bird, you’re just mean to me because you’re all frustrated. But I know deep down you like me. ”

You scrunch your nose, mockingly and your fingers continue downwards to graze his cock. But- wait a minute. Your eyes widen as you get a better feel for what you’re dealing with. Your hand grips round his thick cock through the fabric of his underwear. You rip your gaze away from his green eyes to look down and almost do a double-take. You thought they called him ‘ Thimble ’.

“Oh,” he says “Chris gives everyone a dick-based nickname. He gave me mine when I was 12.”

You continue to look at him incredulously.

“It was in a locker room, it’s a lot less weird than it sounds. Alright… maybe it is as weird as it sounds.” He pauses “Fuck is it also weird that your surprised reaction to my dick is making me even harder? The ol’ bait and switch.”

You’re trying very, very hard to keep your eyes unrolled. Your hands travel back up to his pecs and he lets you push him back so that he’s lying on his sleeping bag. You swing your leg over his body to straddle his hips and pull your sports bra off in one swift movement.

“Holy fuck.” He groans like he can’t believe his eyes, grabbing your tits lecherously. “Your tits look even better than they do in that little black suit.”

Perv.

The scars on his body practically beg you to kiss them and so you start working your way down, slowly planting kisses on a healed shrapnel wound on his neck, a small scar on his sternum, following a trail of scratches down his abdomen and your lips meet the trail of dark hair below his belly button. You tug his boxers down, revealing his cock. You feel a rush of heat between your legs as you see it’s hard, leaking and desperate to be sucked.

He adjusts his glasses and looks down in anticipation. You slowly lick the underside of his cock and he lets out a quiet whimper as you circle your tongue over his head. You open your mouth ready to take him in when he sits up on his elbows. “Wait-”

You pause and look at him, eyes wide and mouth open, your tongue resting on his frenulum.

“Is it safe?” he asks. There’s a glint of something in his eye. Fear? Is Vigilante actually afraid of something- you? You nod reassuringly in answer to his question. “You’re sure you can do it without making any noise?” You nod again, your tongue still on him and his cock bobs with your head movement. “Okay” he acquiesces but he remains on his elbows, looking down at you as you open your jaw as wide as you can and try to take all of him in.

It’s been at least 18 months since you did this but you don’t remember it being this difficult. Your lips feel stretched as you take in as much of his length as you can. Your tongue slides up and down the underside of his penis and you feel his head hit the back of your throat but your lips aren’t even close to the base.

“Fuck, you were so mean before. And now you’re being such a good girl for me- what happened to you Birdie?”

Good girl. Ugh, why does that make you melt?

You concentrate hard and you desperately want to moan but you can’t make any noise with your vocal cords. The only sound is the obscenely wet slurping of your saliva as you swirl your tongue around his length.

You look up at him again and see he has the same glint in his eyes as before. And you realise it isn’t just fear, it’s excitement.

Sick fuck.

He’s excited at the danger - that you might accidentally blow him to smithereens while, well, blowing him.

“Wait… wait…” he groans and cups your chin. Oh no- maybe he’s realised the life-threatening position he’s in? “I’m gonna blow my load if you keep doing that.”

Yes! You think with satisfaction.

“Just looking at your pretty mouth- oh fuck- that dangerous little mouth that just killed an entire swarm of butterflies. Fuck- it makes me wanna cum.”

He’s deranged. But you’re desperate to please him, give him that release he deserves for saving your life earlier. You nod with your mouth still full, giving him permission to cum down your throat.

“I can’t,” he genuinely looks anguished “Because I still wanna fuck you. And I really wanna taste your pussy… will you let me?”

You reluctantly remove his cock from your mouth and purse your lips with worry. You shake your head.

“You don’t want me to go down on you? Isn’t that why you came in here B?” You crawl up towards him and lie on your side, facing him. Adrian turns on his side and looks into your eyes. Your eyes are wide, pleading that he understands.

“You think it’s too dangerous for me to go down on you?” You give a small embarrassed nod.

“Hey, what did I promise you?” He tilts your head up. “I promised you I’d put one hand over your mouth…” He covers your mouth with his left hand and you’re forced by the sudden weight of him onto your back “... and the other…” His right hand pulls your underwear off and he gently glides over your wet folds with his fingers. The pads of his fingers lightly graze your throbbing clit and you fight not to buck your hips greedily. He leans in to whisper, his lips touching your ear and his breath hot “...deep in your cunt.”

Adrian sucks two of his fingers and then sinks them deep into your aching pussy, curling up and hitting the spot you crave, his palm rubbing your clit. You arch your back as he presses his fingers inside you.

“Oh man, you are so fucking wet already. Is that just from sucking my cock? Or is it from when you were in your tent coming up with that wolf story?”

Fuck - he did know.

“Just look at you- squirming and totally fucking defenceless. I could do whatever I wanted to you and you couldn’t even stop me because my hand is stopping your one power.” Your eyes roll back in your head- for once not in exasperation but in pleasure.

Please, Adrian, do whatever you want with me.

You feel your pussy getting wetter thinking about how he’ll split you in half with his fat cock after this. Your head is already spinning and he’s only using two fingers.

“I never thought you’d be like this. I never thought you’d be a little slut that creeps into my tent in the middle of the night. I thought you were stuck up but here you are, getting off on being held down and finger fucked by the guy you hate.”

Fuck, he really can talk.

Adrian’s theory is put to the test as you feel a soft moan try to escape your throat. You’re worried that your own head might explode. But nothing happens. The sound is dampened against the palm of his hand. He feels the vibrations against his palm and realises that he was right. It spurs him on to go faster and he lowers his head to your pussy. You feel his hot tongue lick between your folds. He finds your clit and starts moving his tongue in quick firm circles. His fingers continue to curl and press upwards, tapping a beautiful rhythm as your muscles squeeze round his thick digits.

“Oh, Birdie I’m gonna make you cum all over my fingers then I’m going to fuck this tight, wet little pussy.” His mouth returns to your clit but you’re already past the point of no return. His words, God damn his words, sneak up on you and push you over the edge, your first orgasm in over a year and it arrives quicker than it ever has before. Blinding, searing heat rips you apart from inside out as you’re hurled headfirst into your release. The walls of your pussy flare and contract around his fingers, you see stars as your chest heaves and you give another muffled desperate moan into Adrian’s hand.

Fuck, you can’t believe you’re cumming for Vigilante.

He gives a few slow licks up the entire length of your slit, releases his hand from your mouth and crawls up towards you. His arms on either side of your head, he gives you another slow, deep kiss.

“Did you like that, B?” Even if you could use your vocal cords, you’re not sure you’d be able to speak. He laughs as you gaze at him through heavy lids. “You are so adorable when you’re satisfied” he gently pinches your cheek “But I’m not done with you yet.”

He clambers off you and rummages around in his duffel bag and your abdomen clenches with delight when you see he’s holding duct tape. “I need to warn you that this might hurt when you take it off.” He regularly kills people for doing graffiti but looks genuinely concerned at the idea of duct tape causing you discomfort. Maniac. You nod and point to your mouth, encouraging him to seal your lips.

He straddles you, peels a short length of duct tape and rips it off the roll with his teeth. “Ready?” Using his large, gentle hands he firmly presses the duct tape over your lips. Fuck, you feel constricted but it’s turning you on even more. A wicked idea flashes across your mind. You put your wrists together and eagerly extend your arms towards him.

He gasps in mock dismay, and then a wild smile crosses his face. “You are such a little slut for me, pretty Birdie. Are you normally this kinky?”

You flush bright pink. You’re not. But tonight you want to give Adrian total control, so you wait with your arms out, eyes pleading, and he obliges. He wraps the duct tape around your wrists and once again uses his teeth to detach the length from the roll of tape.

“Holy fucking shit” he tosses the roll back into his bag and looks at you hungrily. He takes your tied arms and moves them above your head to give him a better view of your tits. “All those times I’ve dreamed about you naked in my bed, I never thought you’d be gift-wrapped.”

You look up at him and feel truly helpless. Adrian’s head drops down to give the contour of your neck a long drag of his tongue, slow and hot and gentle. He trails kisses along your jaw and stops when his lips are almost touching your ear. “If there’s anything you don’t like, baby, just let me know. Hit me or something.” He whispers.

This brief shift in tenderness and his consideration for your enthusiastic consent simply leaves you in a puddle. You nod and hold your breath waiting for his next move.

He starts to work down, kissing your neck, your collarbone and then you feel your blood burning fire through your veins as his lips envelop your left nipple. He squeezes your tits, cupping them with both hands and his teeth gently graze your sensitive skin. Your back arches and he lifts his head up, watching you writhe. His calloused fingers pinch both of your nipples and he plants sloppy, wet kisses across your chest. Adrian’s kisses then land on your ribs and trail down your stomach.

You’re already soaking fucking wet again. You try to move your legs apart, eager to let him see how ready you are but his knees on either side of yours block the way. Your pussy is slick, swollen and desperate for him to fill you up again.

“Patience, Birdie.” He kisses just below your belly button and when his eyes close and he moves back up to suck your other nipple you let out a muffled whine.

“Fuck, your skin is so soft,” He buries his face into the nape of your neck, inhaling your scent “And how do you smell so good after kicking ass all day? Like leather…and lavender..”

You wriggle out from underneath him impatiently, pulling your legs up to your chest and wrapping your ankles behind his waist. He pulls his head away from your neck and looks at you with impish delight. You bring your tied wrists over his head and behind his neck so you can better leverage your body into his. He kisses the duct tape across your lips.

“So demanding.” His whisper chastises you with a cocky smile.

He moves back, untangling himself from you so he can get a better look at you lying flushed and naked on his sleeping bag. You draw your knees up to your chest so he can see how desperate and soaking your pussy is and he holds your legs above you by the calves. Adrian surveys the sight before him appraisingly and slaps the meat of your thigh with an open palm.

You whine into the sticky covering on your mouth and in response, he traces his fingers gently up and down your soaking-wet entrance.

“God, you have a beautiful pussy. It’s like it was fucking made for me to be in it.”

He puts two fingers inside your leaking cunt and slowly draws them back out. You look down and blush at how wet you are as he takes himself in his now wet hand and strokes his length with your slick.

Adrian lets go of your calves, catches the backs of your knees, and spreads your legs, pulling you towards him. He kneels in front of you and runs the blunt head of his cock through your folds. A jolt of panic sears through you when you feel his thick head at your entrance. You grab a fistful of Adrian’s wavy hair, and force him to look in your eyes. Be gentle, your eyes plead. It’s been a long time since you’ve had sex and you hope he has the sense not to fucking destroy you with his cock.

“I’ll go slow” Adrian presses his forehead against your head and stares deeply into your eyes as if reading your mind. He pulls back and tenderly brushes your hair away from your masked face then he returns his hand to guide himself into your pussy.

And then- pressure. Blunt and thick as he breaks you open over his cock.

Your hand grabs his hair as if by instinct and Adrian watches your face intently as you squeeze your eyes shut. Come on, you think to yourself, you’ve literally been stabbed multiple times- you can take a fucking cock.

“This okay B?” You nod determinedly as he pushes deeper. “Fuck, you’re so warm. And so… fucking…tight.” His words are as slow as the incredibly controlled way he pushes himself into you and you feel like your insides are being rearranged. Fuck, you’re know you’re going to ache for days after this.

You let out a deep exhale and at the same time, he groans as he fully sheathes himself into you. You’re grateful for the respite when he pauses and you can tell from his furrowed brow and shaking arms that he’s struggling not to cum already.

He’s only paused for seconds but his self-restraint sends waves of arousal washing over you. You wriggle again, this time moving your hips in tiny circles, feeling him throb as you squeeze around him as hard as you can.

“Such an impatient little Birdie,” he says, gritting his teeth as you squirm underneath him. “Trying to make me cum first.” Your wriggling has given him newfound determination to make you cum again- before he does.

He starts to ramp up his pace so in return you squeeze your muscles tightly and move your hips, attempting to fuck yourself back into him, even though the stretch of him feels searing.

“Is this what you needed? Needed the fucking you’ve dreamed of - since even before you got your powers?”

His words do something to you. You let out an involuntary whine into the duct tape and he laughs. “Yeah, this is what you needed baby.”

How does he switch like this? So sweet and then just so, so filthy, so degrading . You remind yourself again that Vigilante is probably a psychopath. But you can’t deny that the way he talks is really, really turning you on - and he knows it.

Adrian’s hands thread through your hair and his biceps are at either side of your face. For the first time, you wish your mouth wasn’t covered with duct tape so you could kiss his arms and feel his tongue in your mouth again. You plant your tape-covered mouth into his neck anyway, inhaling the scent of smoke and his bergamot fragrance.

“I’ve wanted to fuck you since I met you Birdie. The way you roll those pretty eyes at me. I knew I could make you like me. And I know you really, really like how my cock is filling you up. The others would never believe how much you fucking like me now.”

The sound of his thrusts become shamefully wetter in response to his words.

“Fuck, I felt that. Who knew you’d get so wet hearing me talk. You. Pretty. Little. Slut.”

Your toes curl as he punctuates the last four words with brutal thrusts. He takes your tied wrists and pins them above your head, they brush the zips on the tent door. The silhouette of his broad shoulders and outstretched arm makes you notice the size difference between you. His head drops down to your throat and he sucks on your neck as his fingers dig bruises into your forearms.

“Thank God your mouth is covered or the whole team would know that you’ll be spending tonight cumming all over my cock.”

He moves his other hand down between your bodies and you exhale pitifully at the canvas ceiling when the tip of his finger starts rubbing small firm circles on your clit. Oh fuck, this is it. The same flicker of warning from earlier as he continues to thrust inside you.

“Y’know I’d gladly let you fucking decimate my entire apartment building if it meant I could hear you cumming for me.”

From anyone else, this would be a joke but Vigilante is a fucking lunatic and you know he’s being sincere. Is there anyone you could be with who would honestly let you do that? You feel tears swimming in your eyes and you start to see stars. You’d be audibly sobbing with lust and relief if you could.

“Fuck yeah, come on, fucking cum on my cock,” He whispers in your ear, his tone becomes gentle. “Come on, pretty Birdie, do it again for me.”

Everything surges hot and molten while he keeps pounding himself into you. You cum and the moan that escapes you is so fierce that the masking tape on your face vibrates. Your fingers search wildly behind your head and grab onto the nearest thing- the tent zipper - as your walls convulse and squeeze around his cock in pleasure.

Adrians hips stutter “Holy shit you get so tight when you cum.” You give him another squeeze “Oh fuck, I’m gonna— I’m- wh-where? Do you want me to cum on your stomach?”

You don’t have time to grab your phone and tell him on your notes app about how your supersonic accident was permanent birth control. So instead you shake your head, wrap your legs even more tightly around his waist and lift your hips off the ground pressing yourself to him tightly.

Inside. Please cum inside me, Adrian.

He understands, like you knew he would, and the desperate pull of your legs makes him plow his hips deep into yours. His whispered moans jump up to a fortissimo as he buries his face into the juncture of your neck and shoulder and he empties his load inside you. “Fuckfuckfuck” his curses turn into an incomprehensible stream of consciousness. His hips shudder, he gives a final loud groan and you feel his cock throbbing as the hot ropes of his release coat your insides.

He’s heavy on top of you but comfortable. Like a muscular weighted blanket. You could lie here forever, he breathes heavily into the crook of your neck and his warm cum leaks out of you, making a mess of his sleeping bag.

Your masked face is damp- tears have been streaming down your cheeks. A build-up of emotions passes over you like a wave. You’re just honestly grateful that you met someone as reckless as Vigilante. How many people could say they had someone willing to risk their life just to please them?

Suddenly- footsteps. Fuck, Adrian had been loud.

“Blackbird? Fuck! Her tent is open and she’s not here!” Shit- that’s Chris’ voice.

“Peacemaker, over here!” yells Harcourt and you can hear her voice only feet from your head. Damn she was stealthy.

You and Adrian barely have time to look at each other before the tent door is wrenched open, and Agent Harcourt is pointing a gun inside.

Chris and Harcourt stare open mouthed in shock. Adrian on top of you, flushed, sweating, glasses askew. You with tears in your eyes, masking tape over your mouth and your hands bound and stretching for the tent door. You and Adrian come to the same realisation as you lock eyes.

You wave your hands at Chris and Harcourt wildly, in a ‘Stop!” motion. Chris, as usual, misreads your meaning entirely and seems to think your waving means ‘Help!’ .

“God damnit Vij!”

Adrian looks up, horrified “No, no, no, no. This is so not what it looks like!”

“I’m not gonna enjoy kicking your ass,” says Chris, putting his helmet on “But someone has to do it.”

Fuck.

You rip the duct tape off of your mouth- your eyes squeeze shut in pain as you feel your top lip split. “Chris, stop!” you whisper urgently and Chris is hit by the sonic wave, sending him flying into the air and landing on his back over ten feet away. You all watch as he sits up slowly, dazed but uninjured.

“Holy shit,” laughs Adrian in amazement “I didn’t know you had a British accent.”

Idiot.

Chapter 2: Bird After Reading

#adrian chase #Adrian Chase x reader #vigilante x you #vigilante x reader #Adrian Chase x you #peacemaker #freddie stroma #fanfic

333 notes · View notes

bippot · 5 months

Note

Hiiii I read on here that there are more chapters to savage

I'd love to read them here

I don't use AO3 but I will to finish this lol

Tumblr is my primary

I will post them as soon as 5 of them have been rewritten! There are quite a few chapters but I am getting through them. Here is the next batch.

Summary: A crime writer moves to Evergreen and Vigilante is more than willing to help her settle in. He's not sure why. Maybe it's because she's nice to him. Her family, on the other hand, aren't at all what they seem.

Entire Story Tags: Autism Spectrum, Dungeons & Dragons References, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Gun Violence, Idiots in Love, Eventual Smut, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Family Drama, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Children, Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Marriage Proposal, Married Life, Hospitals, Injury, Blood, Gore, Animal Attack, DC Comics References, Mutual Pining, Love Confessions, Bisexual Christopher Smith | Peacemaker, Fluff and Smut, Domestic Fluff, Organized Crime, Crime Fighting, Crime Scenes, Kidnapping, Mommy Issues

Peacemaker, Adrian Chase Masterlist - here

Previous Chapters 1-5

6. Little Baby Boy Bitch

Peacemaker had over-exaggerated the severity of the mission. It was a drug bust. They'd done a countless amount of those. Like, so many. And there obviously was going to be more in the future. If Vigilante had to guess, he'd guess over a hundred. Whether that was an exaggeration (it was), didn't matter cause Adrian was very annoyed and pouty that he'd rushed away from Y/N for... this?

Chris could've handled it by himself. He chose not to. He was bored and wanted to hang out with his buddy. Adebayo was busy, so not his best buddy. But Adrian was definitely a buddy.

And it was fucking raining, too! That was the cherry on top.

Multiple shots rang out in the laundromat as Adrian tried to get this shit done as fast as possible by shooting as many of these guys in the head as he could in the shortest time he could.

These criminals had committed a crime! As most criminals do. Drug laundering is seriously fucked. Imagine all the fallout just because some guys decided that they'd like some more money. That's why, in Vigilante's mind, these dealers deserved what they were going to get from him.

Yanking a washing machine open so the criminal would run full speed at the plastic and hit their head, Chris twirled his pistol on his pointer finger as he whistled a tune to himself.

A bullet slammed into the wall above Chris' head as he spun around to face the direction of his buddy because why the fuck did Adrian Chase just shoot in the general direction of his BFF. Obviously, it was far enough away that it never in a million years would've hit Peacemaker in any way shape or form, but the principle was there.

"You fucking prick!" Chris yelled, sounding the most offended he'd ever sounded. All focus on the mission had gone, had fully left his body. "What was that for, dickhead?!"

"Just shoot them."

"What's wrong with you today? Have some fucking fun!"

The criminal on the floor groaned and made an attempt to scramble away. "I'm unarmed! See? No gun! Don't shoo-'' they began but were interrupted when Vigilante, without a single ounce of mercy, placed the barrel of his gun against the back of the criminal's head and pulled the trigger. It was an execution, for lack of a better word.

"You could've done this by yourself

"I thought you'd enjoy this! What the fuck is wrong with you!"

Thanks to his most recent kill, Vigilante was covered in the contents of that guy's head. He tried to wipe away some grey matter from the pane of his visor but it just spread it around even more. It was a disgusting sight, or lack of it since the brain juice was smeared so much that he couldn't see through it, but Adrian wasn't phased. He even kneeled down and shoved his face into the dead guy's shirt, essentially motorboating the grime from the glass.

As soon as he was back up on his feet, Vigilante was complaining, "This seriously was a one man job, dude."

"Fuck you, Vee," Peacemaker shouted back, "Are we even sure that you can be considered a man? You're a boy. A little baby boy bitch."

Like a child, Vigilante's eyes narrowed at Peacemaker's words and he threw his arms up. "I'm thirty! I'm a man!"

Scoffing, Peacemaker let out a cruel chuckle. "Are you? Cause all I hear coming out of your mouth is 'Wa wa, I'm a little bitch! Look at how much of a little bitch I am!' It's pathetic, really."

"Am not."

"You are."

"I am not!"

"It's not my fault you're still prepubescent!"

They squabbled for far too long as if they'd completely forgotten that they were in a crime scene of their own making. Their departure was literally at the last possible moment. A cop, who - lucky for them - was rather heavy footed, was five seconds away from solving this case before the perpetrators left out the back entrance.

Wet, tired and covered in human remains, the duo got to Peacemaker's car without being caught by the pigs. And although it would make them stink even more like rotting meat, the car's heater was turned up to full blast so they were no longer freezing their balls off.

Glam rock filled their ears at volume that was way above what was comfortable as Chris drove Adrian home. Adrian forgot that Chris often came over to hang out when they were younger so he definitely knew where his house was, but always insisted that he was dropped off a street or two away.

At some point, Adrian took off his mask as it was beginning to get stuffy. He noticed some brain still on the side and wiped it against his thigh. Chris took his eyes off the road and watched in silent disgust.

Mere seconds after the car stopped, Adrian was darting out of his seat, throwing a salute to his buddy over his shoulder. He tried to leave without saying goodbye. He never did that. Especially not when Eagly was in the backseat.

"Vee, what the fuck is up?" Peacemaker asked, causing Vigilante to stop in place and turn around to face him. Chris had a look of confusion and annoyance on his face, and for a moment, it looked like he was going to say something comforting to his friend, but then he got a hold of himself.

"Nothing is up."

"You usually don't shut up and I have to force you out of my car."

Vigilante leant down and placed his arm on the car window with a sigh. A sigh that sounded far too much like something was going on with him. That coupled with his behaviour the past hour meant that Chris didn't believe it when Adrian said, "I'm fine. I'm super fine. Just totally totally fine."

"You're fine? You're always fine."

"I'm fine," he repeated. "Now, can I go?"

Hardly anyone who has said they are fine is fine. Even Peacemaker knows that.

"Dude, don't lie to me. I'm your best friend."

"You said Eagly was your best friend, not me!" Adrian retorted sassily. The moment he heard his name, Eagly squawked and moved from the backseat to where Vigilante had just been sitting. "And I respect that. I respect you, Eagly."

Eagly allowed Vigilante to reach out and pet him. Not for too long, though. Once his petting threshold had been hit, Eagle clamped down on Vigilante's glove. It wasn't a painful bite, just a warning nip that would get more intense if the petting didn't stop.

"Eagly is my best friend. I said that I was yours, dumbass. Besides, Eagly wouldn't lie to me," Chris explained as he began searching for the packet of Lays he kept in his glove compartment to feed his eagle with.

"Yeah, cause he's an eagle."

Adrian's face reddened in annoyance. Why was he being interrogated? Did Chris need to know everything about his life? Couldn't there be parts that he wanted to keep just for himself a little longer? Was he allowed to?

Sharing the mere mention of her name to his friend, well, it was like when he was a kid and his mother got him a new dinosaur toy that was totally sick as fuck, the moment he told Gut about it, Gut stole it. And his older brother was bigger than him by a lot. And meaner than him. And more normal than him. And if he'd gone whining to either of his parents, the punch Gut would've given him would've really hurt.

"You're such a bad liar."

He placed his mask back over his face to hide his expression and his voice got higher as he lied, "I'm not lying."

"Like fuck you're not. A cunt like Kant could lie better than you!"

So what if Chris had been reading up on philosophy since he got out of prison? Most of it was fucking bullshit, but yeah, maybe there were some good points about morals in there. Eat a dick, nerd!

That dinosaur was a toy. Y/N was a human person. She would make her own mind up. Fuck it! Why not spill his secret.

"Oh, fuck," Adrian breathed, "I was at my girls' house, okay?"

"You have a girl? Yeah, I call bullshit."

Could he call her 'his girl'? Was that the correct terminology? Technically, they weren't dating. It's not that he didn't want to date her. He did. Desperately.

"Fuck you, man! Fuck this!"

Never in his entire life did Chris even think it was possible for Adrian to like someone on a deeper level. Superficially, yeah. Of course. They frequently had conversations about which celebrities they would bang.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"I think I might be in love," Adrian confessed, "And I don't want to discuss it anymore."

Chris couldn't believe what he was hearing. This wasn't a thing. This fucking psycho was 'in love'? Peacemaker turned his car's ignition off and questioned, "Is that even possible?"

"Is what possible?"

"I thought you said you didn't have any emotions. How could you be in love if you don't have any emotions, jackass?"

"Dude, I said I don't have emotions like people do. As in, I have them but not like other people," Adrian clarified, his voice very whiny and defensive. "I have them, okay? They're just different from yours."

If Adrian truly had no feelings or sense of attachment, then why did he nearly blow himself up when fighting the White Dragon? Why would he have started following the other 11th Street Kids around in the first place? Why would he replace John's doritos with healthier pea snaps instead? Why would he remind Leota that her wedding anniversary was coming up so she should really get Keeya a gift sooner rather than later so it arrives in time.

Or, why did he make a whole powerpoint about why Emilia should swap out her heeled boots for something more all terrain because, not only was it more comfortable, but it was going to seriously make her life harder when she got older. Although, with Harcourt still in a wheelchair thanks to her injuries at the butterfly's barn, that probably could've been something he waited to present to her.

Processing all of that was hard. It was a lot to take in. To suddenly realise the guy you've been using as an emotional punching bag for all of his life actually feels something when you take it out on him? That's fucked up. Chris had fully believed that it was fine to say shit like that to Adrian simply because he didn't react to it in the way other people did. Adrian sometimes sounded offended, but that couldn't be the case. Right?

Wordlessly, Vigilante bid his goodbyes to Eagly and Peacemaker and retreated into his home. His family home. His empty family home.

"Honey, I'm home," he called out into the dead air, not expecting an answer and definitely not getting one either. He wanted one, though. This house was far too empty. And Y/N would be asleep by now so he wouldn't want to wake her up since she can get grouchy in the mornings.

All those years ago when his dad left, his mother had taken the family photos down. He often thought about putting them back up. It never happened. The desire was never strong enough for him to actually bother, but maybe one day it would. He hoped it would. For now, he settled for the photo album his mother kept in the little compartment in the coffee table.

Nothing about the house had changed since they died. Adrian looked around his childhood home for a moment and, despite living there for all of his life, he felt so uncomfortable. This place wasn't his home. It wasn't safe - hell, his entire family had been murdered in the kitchen not ten feet from where he was sitting - and it wasn't comfy.

He thumbed through the first few pages of the album and wished that something would spark. A memory. A feeling. A chance to remember their faces and say 'hey, I know you.' Yet, he didn't know these people anymore. Their deaths were sad, yes, but they were so long ago. He'd accepted it. They weren't coming back and that's okay. They were dead and he wasn't. That is how the world works. The way the cookie crumbles.

Stopping on a page, Adrian was greeted by a snapshot of him and Gut. Both of them were in their Sunday best and had clearly been bribed to stand together. He must've been fourteen, maybe fifteen at a push. He looked ten. Maybe Peacemaker was right. Maybe he was a little boy bitch.

Out of the corner of his eye, Adrian noticed his phone screen lighting up. It wasn't anything important, just an email from a streaming service about their prices going up, but it allowed him a glimpse of his background photo. It was of Y/N sat in one of the booths in Fennel Fields with his work hat squished on her head as she showed off a wide and gummy smile that, if he was being honest, made her look manic. Her laugh lines were so deep. And her eyes were twinkling directly at him.

Yeah, maybe it wasn't the most photogenic she'd ever looked in her life, but it had captured her spirit. It was fun. It was goofy. It was bright. And she was rocking his stupid hat. There was no question, it was his favourite picture he'd ever taken. Plus, the memory that went along with it was great too so that's, like, a double kill.

"It looks better on you!" She squashed it back on his head, making him laugh and attempt to duck away from her assault. It was no use, she got it over the crown of his head and tugged it over his hair.

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is."

"Uh, no. It is not."

"Would I lie to you?"

Her finger came up to brush his curls out of his face and tuck them into the hat. Adrian felt a jolt of electricity as her touch brushed against the skin of his temples.

"Y-you could...if you wanted to."

Then, her hand gently dragged down the side of his face and cupped his jaw as she watched its path with an analytical stare. "I don't want to," Y/N said plainly. She'd said it with such conviction that there was doubt in his mind that she was telling the truth, and 100% of the truth.

"You could though? You could lie to me?"

"I could." Her eyes flicked to his. "Do you want me to?"

"No."

"Then I won't. I promise."

The memory ended with Philip coming over and interrupting their moment like he usually did. Adrian pushed the memory aside and turned his attention to putting the album back in its rightful place and settling down for the night.

He'd left his phone directly over his heart as he shifted to get comfortable in his bed, which was just tempting him to roll over and crush it during the night. His screen was already cracked from hero shit so it was delicate. Okay, okay, okay... it was broken because he drops it all the time when he's not paying attention. You happy?

With the thought of Y/N firmly in the forefront of his mind, Adrian fell asleep with a small smile on his lips. Their relationship had changed - one half of it - and he couldn't wait to reap the rewards of his boldness. As he drifted off into a peaceful slumber, he couldn't help but wonder what the future would hold for him and Y/N. Greatness? Yeah, that had to be it.

7. Cherry Shampoo

Within the confines of her home on the other side of town, Y/N was not having a great time. In Vigilante's, or Adrian's if she wanted to be accurate, absence, she was left to stew in her feelings. She was sitting in her living room, staring blankly at the television as the anchor droned on about the latest news. She stayed in that exact same seat for so long, only moving to use the bathroom and answer the door when she ordered food. As the days passed, Y/N found herself spiralling deeper into her own head, lost and unable to shake off the feeling of emptiness that had taken over her.

Because why did she always surround herself with people who were secretive and, to put it politely, morally questionable? Why did she always feel like she was missing something, and the moment she found another piece of the puzzle that is life, he turns out to be a different shape than she first expected? It was a constant struggle to balance her own moral compass with the actions of the people around her, and it was getting harder to tell what was right and what was wrong.

Ignoring Adrian was something she never intended to do. Processing things can take a while. She never expected to take an entire week. It was a lot to figure out.

And the main debate she kept going back and forth about was would she tell him that she'd figured it, figured him out? He clearly wasn't comfortable with her knowing yet, but Y/N couldn't help but wonder if her reluctance to reveal the truth would cause distance between them. As the days passed, Y/N found herself growing more and more restless, unable to stand the feeling of uncertainty that had settled into her bones.

Adrian called her so much. Y/N didn't pick up a single one and she felt so fucking guilty because every time her phone lit up and showed his contact picture, she was reminded of the moment she took it.

They'd been at the local park for a Halloween pumpkin picking event and a beautiful golden retriever had slipped its leash and came up to sniff Adrian's shoe. He fully got to his knees on the cold pavement to ruffle the dog's fur, and Y/N had watched with a mix of amusement and concern that he would brand the dog as his own, resulting in him bringing the animal into her home and getting hair everywhere, as he playfully cooed at it. She'd taken the cute picture with a smile and then they began their search for the dog's owner. They missed the cut off point for the pumpkin patch but at least that dog was returned to its family.

Looking back, she wished she never took it. It made him look too normal. Too innocent. And it was the entire reason why she finally answered one of his calls. Her voice was quiet and strained as she said, "Hi Ade."

"H-hi Y/N."

From her yard, Adrian was hidden in the overgrown bush right by the back door. It was trespassing, he knew that. He was fully aware of how much of a creep he was being. Only perverts and guys who were really worried about their girl would do this kind of thing. He didn't want to upset Y/N with his presence, but he couldn't stop himself from seeing her.

"I just wanted to make sure everything was okay," Adrian said, his voice barely above a whisper. "That you are okay?"

Y/N hesitated for a moment before answering, "Just had a lot on my mind lately." He noticed how he hadn't answered his question but let it go for now.

"Are you doing anything?"

"No."

"Can I come over?"

"No."

His heart sank as he heard Y/N's response, but he knew he couldn't force her to see him. Instead, he took a deep breath and tried to find the right words to say. He'd never been good at comforting people, but he knew he had to try. That's what a friend would do.

"Is there anything I can do? Anything I can get you? To make you feel better?"

Why was he so nice? A serial murderer shouldn't be this thoughtful. Adrian's brows furrowed as soon as he witnessed Y/N lowering her head to the edge of her coffee table and bumped her head against the wood. She didn't respond to his question, and he could tell that something was bothering her. And there was a sneaking suspicion that he was the one who caused this bother.

"I don't know what I can do to make you feel better," he said softly, "But I'll do anything. Just say the word and I'll do it - even if it's illegal. Please, Y/N, just tell me how to make you happy."

As Y/N sat there, head in her hands, Adrian could see the pain in her eyes and the strain in her body language disappear all of a sudden. He was surprised to see the weight of his words finally hit her, and she let out a shaky laugh.

"I'd like it if you came over," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I think the Real Housewives is on soon, do you want to watch it with me?"

"Atlanta or Orange County?"

It flew from his mouth before he could stop it and his shoulders relaxed as he watched Y/N's face light up and laugh at him. It was a genuine question, sure, but if she'd interpreted it as a joke, it was now a joke

"I don't care, you can pick," Y/N said, her smile audible over the call. "Just come over."

"I'm on my way."

How long was it acceptable for him to wait in the bush pretending that he was not just spying on her? Adrian stood up from his hiding spot and, as quietly as he could, climbed over her fence so that he could wait in the alley and not in front of her windows. This would be a surveillance mission that he'd keep to himself. As he waited, he could feel his heart racing with excitement and nerves. He didn't know what he would do when he finally saw her again, but he knew that he had to find a way to make sure they never spent this much time apart ever again.

Like, this week had been fucking hell for him.

For ten whole minutes, Y/N sat with her head in her hands, no thoughts, just pure focus on breathing in and out. When she felt calm enough, she stood up, stretched, and realised that - holy shit - she was a little heavy on the BO. Rotting on the couch for seven days meant that she was definitely in need of a shower.

So, that's what she did. The warm water cascading down her body was like a soothing balm, and she let out a contented sigh as she washed away the dirt and sweat and stress that had plagued her. She closed her eyes, letting herself be engulfed in the feeling of being cleansed and refreshed, and let a song fall from her lips. It was a soft melody, one that she couldn't quite place, but it made her feel better just the same.

Adrian let himself into her home using the spare key kept in the butt of a garden gnome and stood awkwardly in the middle of her living room, doing nothing but just looking around and racking his brain for something to say. He had no idea what he'd done to upset her - well, he had one guess - and he was prepared to grovel, to plead, and to beg to get back in her good graces.

The tune coming from the bathroom was like a siren's song - a siren that was a little off-key - and Adrian was listening through the door as soon as he noticed it. His ear inched closer to the wood, but never pressed against it as she opened the door. She stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy white towel and was immediately nose to nose with him.

"Sorry. I heard, uh... you sound great," he mumbled out, trying to sound casual.

"I'm going to put some clothes on," Y/N said, looking down at the floor.

As Y/N walked towards her room, Adrian followed her on instinct and found himself standing in front of her, his eyes fixed on her form, totally not understanding that she was trying to gesture to him to stay exactly where he was standing. After a quick shove so that he wasn't in the way when she closed the door behind her, she did just that.

It took her no time to put some clothes on and even less return to him. Whatever she thought she was going to do went out the window as soon as she saw him. He looked like shit. His clothes were rumpled and his hair was messy from not having been combed for a while. The bags underneath his eyes were dark and heavy, and his face was pale from lack of sleep. She could see the exhaustion etched on his features, and it only made her want to hold him even more.

She walked towards him, her steps slow and measured, and wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him into a hug. He stiffened at first, but then relaxed into her embrace, burying his face in her neck as she held him tightly. He had been trembling, she realised, and it was taking everything she had just to keep him steady. But as she held him, she felt his body gradually relax, and she could feel the tension draining away from him.

Once he had stopped, she pulled back slightly and looked into his eyes, seeing the fear and uncertainty that she had been feeling herself. But there was also something else there - something that she couldn't quite place. It was a mix of vulnerability and something else that she couldn't quite identify. She wanted to say something, to make it all better, but she couldn't find the right words.

"When did you last sleep?"

"How long have you been ignoring me?"

With a whimper, she buried her face into his chest, feeling the steady beating of his heart against her cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I just needed some time alone. Time to quiet my brain. "Adrian's arms tightened around her, and he pulled her closer to him.

"I don't hug often, but this is nice," he said softly, his breath warm against the top of her head. It was quiet for a few moments. There were no words that could be spoken. It was a moment of physical contact that neither of them expected but both enjoyed.

"Are you hungry?" Y/N asked, pulling away from Adrian's embrace and looking up at him with a small smile. "I can make us something to eat if you'd like."

"I'd like that."

Taking his hand, she led him to the kitchen, instructed, "Sit. I'll heat up some pizza," and he was on it like motherfucking Sonic. He jumped far too enthusiastically and when his butt hit the counter, it wobbled so much that a pot of utensils spilled over and onto the floor.

Adrian immediately looked up at Y/N with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that," he said, jumping down, picking them up, then jumping back on the counter.

As their meal warmed up, Adrian held his hands out for Y/N to place her hands into. She did so without hesitation, and he guided her to stand between his man spreaded legs.

"I missed you," he said softly, his eyes locked onto hers.

"I know."

"Did you miss me?"

"I did."

A very wide smile overtook him that immediately changed into something far more dopey as one of her palms came to rest on his cheek. And since it felt so comforting to be cradled in such a way, he mirrored her and soon found out that the skin of cheek was incredibly soft.

Progressively, the distance between them got smaller and smaller until they were forehead to forehead, neither of them aware that they'd been unconsciously shifting forward until there was no space left to move into.

"Y/N?"

"Hmm...?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Instead of responding verbally, she pressed her lips against his, feeling the softness of his lips against hers. The kiss was soft and gentle and short, but it was also filled with a deep sense of longing. Sure, they'd kissed before. But this was different. It was more than just a kiss. It was a confession of feelings that neither of them had ever voiced out loud.

The second, no, the millisecond that Y/N had pulled back from their little peck, Adrian's free hand found the small of her back and was tugging her back in for another kiss. Their lips met again, and this time, it was a more intense and passionate one. It was as if they had been waiting for each other all this time, and they couldn't get enough.

Turns out that the only thing that stopped their make out session was the pizza alarm Y/N had set. Y/N broke away, wiping the trail saliva from the bottom of her lip as she cut the pizza and grabbed two plates. She handed one to Adrian, who eagerly accepted it and dug in as soon as possible.

He ate like a wild animal, tearing into the dough and toppings with reckless abandon. He ate like he hadn't in days, which was probably true. Y/N watched him with a smile, enjoying the way his hands were always in motion as he ate, as if he couldn't sit still despite the exhaustion he'd been swatting away at every turn was quickly rearing its head.

When the food was done, Y/N didn't bother loading the dishwasher because her one and only mission was to force him to get some rest. It wasn't a difficult task by any means. All Y/N had to do was offer to help him to his feet and coo, "Come on, pookie, let's get you to bed."

Who was he to refuse? She'd called him a sweet name and had offered to let him stay the night - frickin win win.

Within the confines of her room, he let himself be guided to undress as he lifted his arms, like a toddler, so she could take his shirt off. Even though he was almost falling asleep standing up, he flirted, "Like what you see?"

If you want the short answer, it's no. The long one was that his torso was littered with scars, most of which were jagged and clearly patched up unprofessionally. Not that they looked ugly, no part of him could. It was sad, really, to have physical evidence of how much he'd gone through and the toll it had taken on him.

They were badges of honour to him. To her, they were instances where she wasn't there to help him out, or at least comforted him afterwards. Presumably, he was alone when he stitched most of these up. With no one to help him. With no one to hold him. With no one to tell him that they were glad he was still alive.

She didn't answer his question, choosing to ask her own instead, "Do you want a sleep shirt?"

"I sleep naked."

"Not tonight." A huff came from his mouth as he dramatically let himself fall backwards onto her bed. "Do you need help with your jeans?"

Frankly, they both knew he didn't need help. Y/N was 100% when she offered that it would give him enough of an energy boost that he would make it through brushing his teeth without passing out. He was so smug as her fingers undid his belt and unbuttoned his jeans, the corners of her lips turning up in a grin because of the way he looked like he was on the verge of pouncing on her.

"Butt up please," she ordered, lightly tapping the top of his thigh so he'd lift it up and let her wiggle off his jeans.

Her hand pushed at his chest as he went to sit up and attack her with a smooch, but she stopped him, teasing, "Only after you brush your teeth," and laughing at how he whined. He rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the hint of a smile on his lips as he dragged her to the bathroom so they could brush their teeth side by side.

When everything was done and they were both under her duvet cover, Adrian inched his hand closer and closer and closer and closer until it finally rested on her forearm.

"Y/N?"

"Adrian?"

"Your arm feels cold, are you cold?"

"A little."

"I can warm you up." He leaned in and kissed her cheek sweetly. "Is that okay?"

Y/N guided his arm to wrap around her waist as she let herself melt into his chest. She let out a contented sigh, feeling his warmth, the steady beat of his heart against her cheek, and the ridges and bumps of his scars beneath her fingertips. It was a moment of peace, a moment of quiet, a moment to just be.

He could smell her shampoo. It was cherry-scented. He closed his eyes, taking it all in, and came to the conclusion that he loved everything about her. Every single thing.

"Tell me something," he asked. "Like a bedtime story or some shit."

For some reason, she told him about how she wanted to be a squirrel when she was six and jumped out of an oak tree into a pile of deceptively cushy looking leaves, causing her land directly onto her arm and breaking it in three places. Her godfather had let out a squeal, which was quite funny because he was a very intimidating guy, and rushed to her aid. He tripped over a stray branch and ended up falling onto his face.

It was the first thing that came to mind. It was silly and stupid, but she found herself telling him anyway, her fingers drawing out certain moments across his chest as she spoke. Adrian tried to listen to the best of his ability, but it was so comforting and warm to be snuggled up to someone that he couldn't help but drift off to sleep.

8. Tweedledum and Tweedledumber

Whoever blessed Adrian Chase with the goddamned angel that he woke up with in his arms, he was ready to thank them profusely. Cause she looked so peaceful and serene and like she belonged all cuddled up to him. Every single part of him was prepared to do anything to keep her safe and warm and completely away from alien butterflies or well-trained karate homunculi or just random thugs on the street. Literally any threat, no matter how small or large, he was prepared to take on.

In her sleep, Y/N shifted even closer into Adrian's embrace, her chest rising and falling with each breath as she snuggled into him. It was as if he was dreaming. But a dream that he could actually feel and touch and hold.

He had intended to lightly brush his hand through her hair, yet in his barely contained excitement, he moved far too quickly and smacked her in the forehead. Her eyes flew open and her hands automatically went up to her face as if to rub away the sting of his accidental collision. "Whaaat?" she asked, her sleepy tone full of confusion.

"Shit! I didn't mean to."

With a gentle swipe, he moved her hand away so he could place kiss upon kiss upon kiss against the point of contact, apologising after each peck. Y/N's face scrunched up at the affectionate contact then relaxed into a contented smile.

"What were you even trying to do?" she asked with a sleepy murmur.

"You looked so peaceful and I wanted to, y'know, touch your hair - not in a creepy way but in a cute admiring you in your sleep way. I fucked up, okay?"

Her sleepy eyes blinked up at him. "I've never been assaulted awake before," she teased, and it was very clear in her voice that she was trying to get a reaction from him.

"I didn't mean to. Honest."

"Mm-hmm. That's what they all say."

"....Y/N," he whined, swaying them from side to side as if he were rocking her to sleep. "Don't say that. That's, like, not me. You know that's not me. I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I didn't."

They were so close he could feel her breath on his face, the warmth of her nose against his own. Y/N propped herself up on her elbow, her eyes less heavy lidded and sleepy than they had been a minute ago, but still considerably more than his. "I know, Adrian," she told him, and he breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't seem to be angry with him. "I was messing with you."

"You asshole!"

Almost manic with happiness, he laughed at the way she squealed when he flipped them over all of a sudden so he was the one on top, his body pressing hers down into the mattress. "Think messing with me is fun, baby?" His tone was so obviously flirty and confident that it surprised him. He'd never heard himself sound like that before. He kinda liked it. And he definitely liked how it made her giggle.

"It's so, so fun."

"Yeah?"

He leaned down to nudge his nose into hers to taunt her into trying to kiss him. The plan was to dodge the smooch to get back at her but as soon as the opportunity to kiss her appeared, that went out of the window and he was pressing his lips to hers. It wasn't some half-assed quick peck either. It was a proper slow, sweet, lingering kiss. His hands were in her hair, his fingers tangling in the soft strands as he cupped the back of her head to deepen the kiss. Y/N responded by wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing herself closer to him, parting her lips slightly as if to invite more. He didn't want to break for air. Ever.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably no more than a few brief minutes, he reluctantly retreated to regain his breath and sanity. "Jesus," he muttered, setting his palm over his pounding heart. Could she hear how loud it was? Honestly, he wouldn't really care all that much if she could because it would say all the things he wished he could.

"That was..." she began, her voice so soft he could barely hear her, but he chose to focus on her words rather than his own ragged breathing. "...good."

"Uh huh." He could barely form words. "Good. That was good."

A long silence stretched between them as Y/N continued to look up at him, a coy smile on her face. He didn't know what to say and ended up blurting out, "What's a pookie?" totally from nowhere.

"Huh?"

"Last night you called me pookie. What even is that? Some weird European insult?"

Despite not remembering calling him that, she believed him. She probably did and didn't realise that the pet name had slipped past her lips, which meant that - fuck - she was falling hard and so fuckin fast.

"It's like sweetheart, or darling, or my love," She attempted to brush it off like it was nothing, "The lesbians from RENT call each other it. That's probably where I got it from."

"L-Lesbians?" He echoed, "Are we lesbians?"

Was that his way of asking if they were dating? If he had to guess, she'd say it was.

"We can be lesbians, if you want."

"Nice. I get to be the male lesbian, though."

"Aw, I wanted to be the male lesbian," she joked, but he could tell by the serious glint in her eye that she wasn't joking about the status of their relationship. They were 100% clear on what was going on there.

It was official.

"I do think I would make a great girl lesbian. My friend, Adebayo, is one of those, and she’s, like, really cool," he gushed, and he felt a bit silly for being so giddy, but he couldn't help himself. He literally had the girlfriend of his dreams bracketed between his forearms and was practically giddy with joy.

They lay there, bodies entangled, talking and saying whatever dumb shit popped into their minds. They moved from topic to topic seamlessly. Quickly, too. It was like their brains had absorbed a bunch of random thoughts and stored them up exactly for this moment, because it was mind blowing just how much stream of consciousness crap erupted from their mouths and was fully understood by their partner.

That was until Y/N inquired, "Where did you put your glasses?" This was probably the first time she had seen him without them on for an extended period of time. He looked a little like a mole, squinting from a lack of clear sight. It was adorable.

"I put my..." He glanced in the direction of the bedside table and, all of a sudden, his little mole eyes got so wide. "Fuck! I'm supposed to be at work!"

He inhaled sharply through his nose, let out a strangled noise, and quickly scrambled to jump off the bed. He overestimated the amount of space he needed to move and soon ended up falling to the floor, ass first. "You okay?" Y/N asked, laughing as she peered over the side of the bed to get a better look at him sprawled on the floor.

"My butt hurts."

"Oh, you poor baby."

She kneeled closer to the edge and extended her hands to help him up. He took them into his and rose to his feet, giving her a quick peck on the lips before hurrying his clothes on and preparing himself to leave. Once he'd gotten himself ready, he stood in her doorway in order to send one last wink at her and rushed back to kiss her cheek, mumbling, "See you later?" against her skin.

"You bet." He punched the air. "Go get em', tiger."

"Fuck yeah!" She laughed, watching him rush out the door and shut it behind him.

After she heard the front door shut, she flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling with the most disgustingly lovesick expression on her face. She'd had crushes in the past, sure, but this was different. This was on a whole other level. She had never thought that she would ever be capable of falling this hard for someone, and she couldn't help it, she was powerless to it.

What was it about him that drove her crazy? It wasn't just that he was gorgeous and a total sweetheart. Although, to be honest, those things did help. No, it was something much deeper. He had a way of making her feel completely understood. As if no matter what she said or did, he would still get it. Like they were on the same wavelength, or something.

Ring ding ding daa baa

Baa aramba baa bom baa barooumba

Wh-wha-what's going on-on?

Ding, ding

This is the Crazy Frog

Hey, it's a catchy song. It's a banger. The distinctive sound of the Crazy Frog blared from her phone's speaker and she knew who it was without having to look. "Hey Pa."

"Hiya Moo!" Her father's cheerful voice responded. "How's my girl?"

"I'm good, real good. You?"

"I'm better now I'm talking to you, sweetie. I miss you, though. I really do. Don't get me wrong, I know you're out there living your life and being a big shot author, but I miss my little girl," he sighed, and she could hear just how true it was in his voice.

Although the road to adulthood had been a little rocky, her father was always there for her when she needed him. She knew that she'd not been the easiest of kids to parent, but he always gave her the space she needed and the support she needed, and for that, she loved him more than anything.

"I miss you, too, Pop."

"I know you do, sweetie. I also know that you're going to have mixed feelings about what I'm about to say," he began very carefully. He was not one to beat around the bush to her.

They'd learnt very early on that it was best to be blunt as possible around each other, and while it sometimes sounded a little harsh on the outside, in the end, it made things a lot easier. On the other end of the line, he took a deep breath and announced, "We've booked tickets to come and see you."

We've. Booked. Tickets. We've.

"Your mother and I are on our way to see you, Moo. We've made reservations to fly out in a few months. I made sure to call early to give you enough time to prepare."

Y/N closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the headboard. She knew what was coming, and she was dreading it. "She's not busy?"

"She's retiring." Her father sighed. "I'm sorry, my lovely. I know it's a long time coming, but yeah, she's finally getting some time off."

Working as a police officer had often put roadblocks in the way of their mother-daughter relationship. Her mother being a workaholic, however, put far more. There was a reason Y/N had been so eager to leave home, to escape her family. She'd needed to be far away from them. She'd needed to have a fresh start. Yeah, there were multiple factors. Her mother being a neglectful asshole had been the main one.

"Are they discharging her?"

If Y/N had to guess, her mother's less than honourable extracurricular activities had finally caught up with her. She had been preoccupied with bribes and cover-ups rather than picking her children up from school or showing up to family game night.

"Nope, she chose to."

"...Right." The line went quiet as she took in the information and let it settle in. After a few minutes of internal freaking out, she spoke again. This time when she spoke, however, she completely changed the subject. "I have a boyfriend."

"Do you now?" he replied, his voice completely giving away the excitement he was trying to contain. "Is he nice? Does he make you laugh? Is it serious? How long have you been dating? How did you meet? Tell me everything!"

"Calm down, I haven't even told you his name yet."

"What's his name then?"

So, she answered his questions with an enthusiasm he'd never heard from her before. She told him about her new boyfriend, how they'd met, what he was like, everything - well, not everything. The more she talked, the better she felt, and once she was in the zone, she couldn't stop.

How in the hell was she going to explain that she was in love with a vigilante? The Vigilante, no less. And she had to do it without admitting that she knew he was Vigilante. Well, "When we play dungeons and dragons, he gets really into it. He's a paladin, Oath of Vengeance - " she started to explain but was promptly cut off.

"What the fuck is a paladin?"

"It's like a Knight that can do magic."

"Oh, that sounds cool."

Pretty good disguise. She felt very proud of her quick thinking. "Our PCs are together, but also not, and my character is a little confused about where she stands on all the bad things his character does," she said quickly, "It's in the name of justice. He's a hero and all, but he also, y'know, kind of got this reputation for doing some of the same things as the villains do."

"I don't know anything about this game," her dad said, knowing that she was using it as a basis for her real life problem, yet he was confused and concerned about how that problem would apply to her life.

Cause the implications that this new boyfriend of hers was anything other than a good guy was worrying her father. That was scary as hell.

"It's just a fantasy story," she said, sounding convincing even to herself. "It's for fun."

He thought about how to phrase his words for a beat. "Just because someone does bad things, it doesn't make them a bad guy. Hey, I often throw my rubbish bag over to the neighbour's drive so the bin men don't judge me for the amount of black bags we put out," he said. "It doesn't make me a bad person. Just a lazy one."

Y/N liked the sound of that. It made her feel a little better. Despite what Adrian might say, bad things might not always mean bad guy. There were a lot of grey areas in life. A lot.

"That's really smart."

"Yeah, I've wrestled with this before and I can’t wait to meet this Paladin boy," He told her, "I'll have to ask him all about this D&D shit that you always talk about."

"You could ask me?"

Frankly, her father's plan to connect with his daughter's new boyfriend was to talk about what he liked, and it would get the ball rolling. He hoped it would. Of course, he would never disclose this tactic.

"What's the fun in that?"

From the other line, she heard the door slam, which was a classic signifier that her mother was home. She could picture her, pissed as hell, brows furrowed and arms crossed in front of her chest. As soon as she spoke, her voice was always filled with such venom.

"I'll let you go now before she insists on speaking to you," he replied, knowing that any communication between the two without them being face to face was not ideal.

"Thank you. Love you."

"Love you more, Moo."

Oh shit. Her mother, who was a decorated member of the fuzz, was coming, and her boyfriend was a criminal. A criminal who is bad at lying. Like really bad.

9. Great Tits

Arriving 52 minutes late to work, Adrian burst through the Fennel Fields double doors. He avoided the patronising whoops and tuts of his coworkers and rushed to apologise to his manager, Julia, then immediately got to doing his job so he was as far under the radar as he possibly could be.

It had been a momentous day. His morning had been filled with so much excitement that the quiet and boring afternoon had seemed to go on and on for an eternity. Yet, nothing was going to dampen his mood. Not even when Chris arrived and started questioning him because Adrian (and Vigilante) had not been seen for around a week.

"Dude!" Chris yelled in his buddy's face. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"I've been busy."

"Busy enough to not reply to the memes I sent you on Twitter?"

Adrian shrugged, pretending to be entirely nonchalant about the whole thing but he really wanted to tell Chris every detail. He wanted to be a little coy, to play with Chris's expectations and let him whine for a bit. Yet, he didn't want to bore him with six days of depression and one day of mushy heartfelt feeling, so he said nothing and kept cleaning the table with a small smirk that wasn't going away any time soon.

"No, no, no... you don't get to do that. You started saying shit about having feelings and then you fucking disappeared for an entire week," Chris said, getting more and more irritated with his friend.

Any restraint that Adrian had crumbled and he spilled his guts, explaining everything that had happened. He even confessed to trespassing, which he thought Peacemaker would chastise him for because it's illegal, but Chris didn't give a shit. Yeah, he thought it was creepy but, hey, they'd done worse together. Much worse.

Peacemaker attempted to sit in the booth nearest to him, but was nudged out of the way. "That's Y/N's booth. Sit somewhere else," Adrian urged, sounding strangely firm. Weird. He never sounded like that.

"Are you for real?"

"Yes."

Begrudgingly, Chris moved to the next available booth. "Dude, if she doesn't know that you and him are the same, then it's cheating on her part," Chris explained, eating all the mozzarella that Francis just threw down in front of him and immediately hurried off.

Francis had been named 'George Costanza' by Chris when they were younger since his penis apparently was small and weird. The less time he was around the guy who caused him to hate his favourite show and feel incredibly self conscious about his manhood, the better.

Like a kid, Adrian retorted, "Nu-uh."

"Yea-uh."

"Have you told her?"

"No. It's, uh, it's complicated."

"Are you sure you aren't gay?"

"Very fucking funny, Chris," he sighed. "No, I haven't told her."

"Then it's your fault for being a pussy."

Obviously, Adrian was not sure how to take that. So, he responded simply with, "Thanks, man," and got back to work so he didn't have to continue with this conversation any longer.

Around ten minutes later when Adrian happened to look over his shoulder while he was on dishwasher duty, he noticed a familiar laptop bag being plopped down on the dining table just outside the kitchens. Y/N had arrived!

A mixture of elation and nerves washed over him. Would they be affectionate in public? What were the rules? He didn't want to make her uncomfortable in any way. Like, it would suck so hard if he failed and made her hate him on the literal first day of their romance. He turned off the tap and wiped his hands on his apron, completely leaving his station to lean against the doorway. He admired her as she unpacked her things, practically drooling over the low-cut dress she'd chosen to wear, his face lighting up like a Christmas tree with mostly red lights.

"I can feel you staring at me."

"Sorry. You look so pretty," he breathed.

Fuck. He needed to seem cooler in Chris' presence, and being absolutely whipped was not going to help that. He needed to seem more confident. Chris always commented on people's appearances, maybe that would work.

"Your tits look great.”

The waitress at the table opposite overheard his compliment and very audibly scoffed. Penny had a tendency for bitchy comments and he knew for a fact that she was going to go to the kitchens and spin a tale about him saying an inappropriate comment to a customer, which wasn't entirely untrue. Penny had no clue that this customer was his girlfriend.

But Y/N didn't seem to care. She let out a laugh and gave Penny a look that women often give each other to say, 'it's okay, I'm not offended by what he just said'. Cause men, y'know?

"Thanks, so do yours," she joked, patting her boyfriend directly on the pectoral. "How late were you this morning?"

"52 minutes. It's my new record."

"Congrats."

Once he gave the room a quick scan to see if anyone was watching them, Adrian was very slow and careful as he pressed his lips to her forehead so he didn't spook her with PDA that was too affectionate. He didn't notice Peacemaker's jaw dropping since Chris had hidden himself behind his side of the booth partition as soon as he saw the girl approach and not push away Vigilante's advances.

If he was honest, most - if not all - of his thoughts about Peace faded into the background when Y/N was around.

"Julia is on her way, get back to work before you get in trouble." Y/N nudged him further into the kitchen, giving him responding peck on the cheek before heading to her seat.

"Yes ma'am."

Phillip approached her table and took her order like he did every time she was there. Couldn't anyone else do it for once? He already didn't like the guy but now he was making moves on his girl in front of him. That's just despicable. However, his jealousy faded when he noticed how bored she looked in Phillip's presence.

At that moment, he knew that Philly boy had no chance. None at all. She never looked at Adrian that way.

When she was finally alone, Chris quickly slipped into the seat opposite her in the booth to inquire, "Mentally, what is wrong with you?"

"A learning disability."

"Fuck. Really?"

Breaking news - famed hero Peacemaker makes fun of a handicapped hot chick and instantly insults his partner in crime's girlfriend.

"Shit. Fuck. Fuck! Can I start over?"

Watching from the sink, Adrian thought that his luck was shit. How come when his best friend and girlfriend were finally in the same place and could meet, he had to leave them be and mindlessly wipe grimy food off grimy plates? He could be experiencing the biggest moment of his life: his two favourite people in the entire world meeting. But no! This moment had been ripped from his soapy hands.

"Go for it."

What should he say? Tapping his thick fingers on the table and thinking of how to introduce himself, Chris eventually said, "I'm Chris. I'm one of Adrian's buddies. He's probably mentioned me a few times."

"He has." Y/N tilted her head ever so slightly to the side, studying Chris like a bug. "I'm Y/N. I don't know if he has mentioned me. I hope he has."

"Maybe once or twice," he replied coolly, "I didn't think you existed until now."

"Why?"

He shrugged, "I would've bet 100 bucks that Adrian was making up his girl so I would stop calling him gay. Not that being gay is bad, I just thought he was lying."

Before she could answer, Philip arrived with her coffee and Chris noticed how the waiter looked straight down her dress like a perv. This random guy was leering at his buddy's girl. He had to back up his bro! He warned, "Hey man, her eyes are up there."

Philip was a big guy yet Chris was bigger. The waiter's eyes were laser focused on the cup in his hand, China clinging against the wood as he hurriedly set it down on the table, almost dropping it.

"Oh, sorry. I'll get out of your way."

"Please walk away," Y/N urged. It would be an exciting fight, for sure, but it would be quick and predictable. Chris would win, no question.

The pair's first real conversation consisted of bitching about Philip and comparing stories about Adrian for good measure, which was to the delight of the busboy, who caught a glimpse whenever he was left alone in the kitchen and turned around to watch.

There was a nagging in the back of Adrian's head. What if she liked Chris more than him? He couldn't win that. Chris was more muscly. He could play the piano. He was one and a half inches taller. There was no competition. Chris wouldn't do that, would he? Adrian tried to shake that thought from his head.

Eventually, Chris had to leave. He looked down at his phone, then mumbled something about banging some dude named Evan's wife and hurried away. Y/N was left in peace from Peace for five whole minutes before Adrian's break arrived and he slumped into the seat beside her.

"Chris is cool."

"I know."

Whenever he had mentioned Chris in their previous conversations, Adrian had been far more enthusiastic to tell her more than she'd ever asked to know. Why was his reply so short? He should be rambling right now.

"You okay?" Her gaze shifted from her laptop to him. "Do you want some of my coffee?"

"No thanks. Me + coffee is a bad idea. I'll be zonked out of my mind for the rest of my shift."

Weirdly, he hadn't discreetly - it never actually was as discreet as he thought it was - slid his arm around the back of her chair. He always did that. Something was up with him. That was obvious.

So, Y/N completely focused on Adrian. Her elbow rested on the back of his chair instead, her finger curling the ends of his hair around the tip, her body pointing in his direction so there would be no question where her attention was. She watched his eyes flicker to her lips, then to her eyes, then back to her lips, then they landed on his fidgeting hands and stayed there.

"It's okay for me to call you 'my girl', right? Cause I said you were to Chris and he had all these questions that I didn't know how to answer. And I don't me mean 'my' like I own you or anything - cause I don't and that would be super fucked up - I mean, like, I'm... I'm yours, y'know, I'm ya boi. I'm ya boi - I'm trying to say it seriously but I literally can't. I swear I tried both times I said it but my mouth has a life of its own," he let out in one breath. He said it so fast that she had to take a few seconds to process all the words that had just been thrown at her.

A few long seconds passed.

"We're lesbians, aren't we?" She asked and all the distress fell from his face. "I thought we agreed this morning that we're together?"

"Oh, thank god." His forehead made gentle contact with her shoulder and he let out a sigh of relief. "Chris got into my head, yeah, sorry about that. Chris is so cool - the coolest - but he can be a dick sometimes," he explained, sitting up straighter and fixing his glasses.

"He is cool but he's not as cool as you."

Someone thought Adrian Chase, the perpetual loser, was cooler than Chris Smith, the guy who was voted 'Most Likely to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse' in his yearbook?Yeah, Chris was a shoe in for that one because he'd been trained for combat whereas his peers had more loving and traditional upbringings, but it's still cool!

Adrian's brain malfunctioned. She knew all the right things to say to make him feel better.

"Marry me?"

"Bit early for that, isn't it?" she retorted, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Time is all wibbly wobbly."

"Your brain is all wibbly wobbly."

That was accurate. She could tell just by the goofy look on his face that he hadn't thought it through. He was quick to extremes when he was dealing with emotions that he had no idea what to do with. Apparently, whenever he felt particularly soft or tender, he went from 0 to 100 and asked her to marry him. He'd done it a few times when they were platonic, but now that they were romantically together, it had a different connotation.

Brushing that thought away, he brought her knuckles to his lips and pressed a sloppy kiss to her skin. A very sloppy kiss. One that made her ask, "Why is your mouth so wet?"

"I've been drooling over you all day."

"That's so cheesy."

"I like cheesy," he confessed while kissing her knuckle once more. "All of the best movies are cheesy. Or bad. Like High School Musical. Or High School Musical 2. Or 3."

"What about Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure?"

The conversation continued smoothly, their hands still conjoined until his break was over and he was forced to leave her side. He frequently caught glimpses of her through the door and got distracted watching her type her novel. And whenever Philip would walk up to take her order, she would be as polite as possible but immediately shut him down as soon as he tried to prolong their conversation. That's his girl! Of course she would try not to talk to his high school bully.

When he passed her table on his way to fix the coffee machine, he slowed down and leaned in close. "Since I was late, I've got to stay until closing time. If you want to wait around, I can walk you home," he murmured like it was a secret but quickly and quite loudly added, "Only if you want me to, of course."

Maybe she would want Vigilante to walk her home like he usually did.

"I would like you to."

Fuck yeah! Adrian 1 vs. Vigilante 0.

With the promise of escorting her home dressed as himself - which was huge - the final stretch of Adrian's shift seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. She waited outside as the locks were locked and the till was cashed up, leaning against the cool brick of the building while she watched the other workers leave.

Francis and Philip came out first, instantly lit up their cigarettes, and once they saw her leaning there, offered one to Y/N. She shook her head and, although they had been polite, stepped away so she wasn't inhaling their smoke.

Penny was next out. She didn't spend any extra time just milling around and got the fuck out of there as soon as possible.

Julia and Adrian were last out. It was obvious it was a casual 'hey I'm your boss and I understand that life happens sometimes but please be on time' chat that wasn't exactly unpleasant, but Adrian did break away from the moment he saw Y/N out of the corner of his eye.

Why were his colleagues looking at the couple so strangely? Maybe they couldn't believe that the pair hung out after hours. If so, that was stupid of them. Adrian spent every single minute of his breaks with her (and more if he snuck away, which he often did), why wouldn't he try and spend the rest of his time with her?

"You ready?"

Y/N watched that over Adrian's shoulder, he saw Philip's smug sneer and how he looked as if he was going to make a snide remark about Adrian. All the bullies from her past had also had that look.

"Pookie?" Adrian hummed his response. "Kiss me?"

Your partner tells you to kiss them, what do you do? Decline? Absolutely not! There was no question, no debating. His mind was made up. He didn't need to be asked twice. Eager was the only word to describe how he surged forward to kiss her, his hands wrapping around her back to pull her in close, and in an instant, Philip got the message.

"You cold?" He was taking his jacket off before she had even responded and draping it over her shoulders. Y/N didn't have the heart to tell him that she was actually quite warm and let him have his gentlemanly moment.

They began strolling to her house like they had done so many times before. And like all those times, he was having an internal debate whether he should reach for her hand or not. To test the waters, he inched his fingertips over hers just lightly enough that he could claim it was an accident.

"Are you trying to hold my hand?"

If she didn't explicitly say it, did that mean she didn't want him to hold her hand? He didn't want to be presumptuous and just do it; that worried him that he would come off as clingy. And clingy is not sexy.

"What? No! I mean yes, I wasn't..."

"Pussy."

She interlocked her fingers with his. He was far too happy to care that she'd insulted him.

10. Whore Panties

Y/N and Adrian took their time to get back to her house, their conjoined hands swinging between them like a pendulum as they took the long way home, the light slowly retreating from the streets and making it seem emptier with every block they passed.

"It's getting dark out," Adrian remarked, looking up into the sky and stating the obvious. "Let's get our butts a-movin' before it starts to get all creepy."

"I'll protect you from all the creeps, don't worry," Y/N reassured playfully. He was a crime fighting vigilante. He didn't need protection. And she knew that.

"You'll let me hide behind you if we come across any ghosts or witches or shit like that?"

For a moment, the meek nerd act seemed real. Y/N was no fool but if she had to guess, he wasn't as fearless when it came to the supernatural side of life. Killing a rapist? Very doable. Checking out a bump in the night? He would be like a scared little kid.

"Of course, pookie."

They got to her street and were greeted by her next door neighbour's house lit up in a multicoloured array of LED lights, all flashing and blipping along with a very loud mumble rap track. The Davenport teenager must be having a party. She was pretty sure that Mr. Davenport had mentioned that he was going away on a business trip that day since he asked if she could keep an eye on his teenage son. Oh. She understood. Kids always do the opposite of what they're supposed to.

Always. As long as nobody died of alcohol poisoning, Y/N didn't really give a shit about what they did. Kids will be kids, and kids will be stupid.

"Not to be a prick but disturbing the peace is a misdemeanour, and those children are annoying shits." Adrian stated, jumping face first on the couch as soon as she got her front door open.

Everything he said was factually correct.

"Not to be a prick but you are showing your age, grandpa. So grumpy," she teased with a smile, dropping down to sit on the edge of the sofa and run her fingers through his hair. "You're an old man these days."

"I am not."

Adrian flopped himself onto his back and stretched out his legs, groaning like an old man when his joints clicked and popped.

"They do say 30 is the new 45."

"Who says that?"

Just as Y/N was about to brush some of his curls off his forehead, he noticed her shit eating grin, knew that "You're fucking with me," and got a hold of her wrist. He tugged at her arm so she'd fall into him with his one hand as the other wrapped itself around her waist until Y/N was firmly trapped against Adrian's chest. Laughter filled the living room for the next few seconds as they wrestled playfully, although it seemed that Y/N's tactic was burying her face in the crook in his neck and giggling like a schoolgirl rather than doing any defensive manoeuvres.

Eventually, Y/N managed to lift herself up and rested her palms against his chest. That meant that not only her knees were straddling his waist, but she was also looming over him and giving him a direct view of her boobs. "My dad called me this morning..."

So, yeah, he wasn't listening to a thing she was saying. He made 'uh-huh' and general affirmative sounds but not a single word was actually comprehended. Cause boobies! You know? It took a full 60 seconds of his dopey, wide eyed leering for Y/N to notice. Once she did, however, it was obvious where his focus was. Her forefinger poked his chin upwards so he'd move his gaze from her chest to her face.

"What was I talking about?"

Fuck. He had no idea.

"You were talking about the new season of Fargo?"

"Wrong answer. Totally wrong."

Shit.

"Was I close?"

"Not at all." She purposely pulled at the fabric at her hips to expose herself even more. "Are my boobs hypnotising you?"

Some incomprehensible horny sound came from his mouth and couldn't keep himself from looking up at her cleavage. That noise only got louder when she guided his hands to her boobs, squidging his hand so it would squidge her. And although he was having such a good time, he wasn't showing it. His touch was as if he was afraid of hurting her, so unsure and cautious that Y/N felt the need to reassure him.

"Adrian," she cooed, causing him to sit up. "If you don't want to do this, we-"

"I want to do this." He paused to get the words right. "It's overwhelming cause I've been thinking about this for so long and I don't want to disappoint you - I'm great at sex, don't get me wrong. My head game is elite, you wait and see - it's just... sex has never been meaningful to me, y'know? And I want it to mean something with you. I want us to... I don't know."

This feeling stuff bullshit and being in love thing was hard.

"I think that any time I spend with you means something to me. Breathing the same air as you do is meaningful to me," she explained, placing a hand on his cheek and staring into his eyes. "If you want to wait, then we'll wait. (I will have to go into my room to finger myself in order to calm down because you've got me horny and I will have to sort that out.) Just say the word and we can -"

Interrupting her by sticking his tongue in her mouth, he hadn't even registered that she'd brought up masturbation because he'd been hung up on her sweet words rather than the raunchy ones. Every moment that they shared was meaningful to him too. There was no conceivable way that it could have more meaning than what they were experiencing right now. The way that he was feeling, what had happened between them, all of it was so natural that it had to be right, even if he didn't fully understand it yet.

Even if he didn't feel like he deserved her, Adrian knew that Y/N was the love of his life. He knew it. He had no idea how he knew it, but he knew it. For a motherfucking fact.

Y/N backed Adrian down until he was perched against the arm of the couch and being smothered in her lips. She'd found a particularly sensitive patch of skin just below the angle of his jaw and was fully abusing this new knowledge to get him to moan and beg for more. Due to how much affection he was receiving, Adrian was becoming more and more aware of how tight his trousers were getting. Frankly, they'd begun to get uncomfortable when she first straddled him and it had only increased since then. They needed to come off, he decided.

"Baby, please, I need to..." His mind was so fuzzy he could barely form words. She'd found his malfunction button so it took a lot of effort to blurt out, "We should take our clothes off!"

"Great idea."

In one fluid motion, Y/N pulled her dress off as he kicked his jeans off, almost kicking her off his couch in his haste. And, due to his eagerness, Adrian got his shirt stuck halfway over his face and flailed around for a few seconds before she helped him out of it, revealing his very scarred and muscled body. She traced her finger down his torso.

"You don't like them?"

He could tell just by the look on her face.

"No. I don't." Was that too blunt?

Instantly, he was scrambling to find his shirt, reaching and waving his hand across her carpet to grip onto the fabric. He hurried to offer, "I can put my shirt back on if you -" Whatever he was going to say or do halted as she shimmied back a bit to press gentle and loving kisses to his scars. The way she lingered on one in particular, the one on his stomach that was weirdly shaped like a five pointed star, had him taking in a deep breath. He was a little nervous to let her look at him in this light, to let her see all he had to offer, but she was so eager and her eyes were so bright that he didn't have a choice.

"I wish you had lived a life where this wasn't done to you, that's the part I don't like," Y/N confessed, letting her hands drift along his thighs. "There's no part of you that I don't want to see, okay? Gimme it all. I want all of you all of the time."

Well, that was a lot to internalise. Not yet though. He'd give himself time when she fell asleep later to relive that and tuck it away in his memories for a rainy day. Maybe he'd let himself shed a tear or two, but no more than that cause that wouldn't be cool and badass of him.

"Are we going to fuck now or what?" That definitely was the right amount of bluntness.

"Only if you want to," Y/N teased and leant down to place a kiss on his cock through his boxers, making a loud 'mwah' sound as she did so.

"If I ever say no, shoot me in the head."

She let out a snort that was not sexy in the slightest but it was the sexiest thing ever to him. That paired with the slow caress of her palms against his thighs meant that he was very ready to rock.

"Do you want to have sex here on the couch or on an actual bed?"

His response was so quick and excited and straightforward that only a real dum dum wouldn't be able to pick up on how horny he was. "I'm going to try to fuck you literally everywhere you'll let me so it doesn't really matter to me," he said, hooking his finger under her bra strap and fiddling with the elastic. "Bed, couch, floor, bathroom, kitchen, the backyard, astride a dragon. I'd really like to do it on a dragon."

"Hot."

Then they got back to smooching and he brought his hand to the clasp of her bra and waited for the go-ahead, which she gave him with no reservations. He unhooked it and pinged it somewhere in the room.

"Hachi machi!"

Like a moth to a flame, his tongue was immediately drawn to lick and swirl around her nipple, taking it into his mouth while drifting his hand down to move her underwear out of the way. The way she moaned and shifted against him, urged him to press a finger against her clit and massage in slow swipes.

"Can you do figure eights instead cause it feels bett- oh fuck - thank you," she muttered, arching her back and pushing her chest further into his mouth as he followed her instructions.

When he sensed that she was ready, he gently started curling his fingers inside her. The tight, aroused feeling of her wetness was enough to make him gasp and he had to stop moving his fingers for a moment so that he could remind himself that this was real. It wasn't one of his dreams.

Or one of those fantasies that he'd think up when he was bored at work, or at home, or when he was on patrol, or any time really. He thought about her a lot. In a lot of different positions. This was real. She was real. They were here. Together. He could literally feel how attracted she was to him. This wasn't a joke or a setup or an act. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. It was a mutual desire. Mutual affection. Mutual attraction. Mutual everything.

And it was fucking glorious.

Her hips rocked into his hand as he worked his magic with one hand while the other found hers and he pressed it into the sofa cushion. She was close. So close. He could feel it. He could hear it. Her moans soon turned into whines, which was the reason why he boasted, "I'm glad you approve."

"Are you going to fuck me or are you going to continue congratulating yourself?"

"Gonna fuck you."

So that's what he did. The whimper she let out as he removed himself for a moment almost made him spill his load right there, but he managed to keep his cool to yank his boxers down and lift her thighs to rest on his hips, the tip of his cock nudging at her entrance.

Once she'd given him a nod of approval, he pushed inside of her, the friction of her wet heat and the tightness of her muscles causing him to grit his teeth, breathe out, "Ohh-a-hoo, you feel good!" and squeeze his eyes shut to keep the embrace going for more than 5 seconds.

He picked up the pace far too quickly, his hands gripping her hips to keep her steady as he pistoned into her. She opened her mouth and made a noise that sounded something like "Uhhnnh," which he took as the cue to go faster.

"Baby... chill out. We have all the time in the world, slow down," she pleaded, her hands gripping his bicep with all her might so he'd listen to the words coming out of her mouth - which she knew was difficult for him when he was so turned on based on how this conversation started.

Abruptly, he stopped mid thrust. "You don't want to get pounded?"

"Not today. I would like to have slow, romantic sex with my boyfriend."

"How would you cum from that, though?" He asked with a level of curiosity that made it very clear that sex had always been a very straightforward thing for him.

"You just jackhammer into people until they cum?"

As cringe as it sounds, she realised as she said that out loud that he'd banged people before but he'd never made love to them. He'd had sex but never been intimate.

"Oh pookie," she cooed, pressing a reassuring kiss to his cheek. "Can I take over to show you?"

"Uh...yeah, I guess...?"

Y/N leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss, deepening it so he was completely compliant as she manoeuvred on top of him. Y/N rocked her hips teasingly slow,making him gasp and buck his hips up on instinct. She kept pressing smooches on his cheek so tenderly as she rode him that he was a submissive puddle below her.

She was being gentle, taking her time, and he was going to enjoy every second of it. "You feel good?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Mmm...so good." It was a struggle to keep his eyes open. He was on autopilot, in love with the feel of her, the scent of her, and it was taking all his concentration to stay in this moment and not let it slip through his fingers.

"I'm glad," she whispered, her mouth finding his earlobe to bite at it. "That you approve."

"I approve! I really really fucking approve!" he hummed. His hands found her hips as he moved them to pull her down to take him deeper. She was tight and hot, and he had the most amazing feeling in his chest that had nothing to do with his orgasm - although the orgasm felt amazing too. He was getting a little dizzy with happiness.

Or maybe Goff had done some lasting damage to him during the whole torture moment they had. Whatever the case, it didn't matter.

In the heat of the moment, his glasses began to fog up, which was quite a funny sight - or lack of it in his case - so he took them off, wiped them against the cloth of the sofa, and placed them back on so he could still see her. "You're beautiful," Adrian breathed, his eyes moving over every inch of her. "You are so fuckin' pretty."

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, her nails raked over his back as she parroted his words back to him. Because he looked so hot with his chest heaving, his eyes a little glassy, and his gaze so intense and so full of desire that she couldn't help but match it.

"You're my pretty boy, aren't you, pookie?" she asked, pressing a soft kiss to his lips as she gradually increased the speed of her movements.

"U-huh!" he stuttered out, his eyes widening and his hands grabbing her hips harder as he fought to hold on. His voice cracked. "I'm your... I'm your... I'm your... I'm your pretty boy."

"Yes you are, baby."

He pushed himself up, his hips rolling upwards to meet hers, and she was right there with him. Their mouths met in a clash of tongues and teeth as they moved in perfect unison, him pushing into her and her rocking back to meet him. She rode his thrusts and grinds, her eyes fluttering shut as the friction caused a firestorm of sensation to race through her.

Her hand moved to circle her clit but was slapped away so he could take over, using the exact technique she'd told him to before. He was panting her name in between grunts and groans of pleasure, each sound driving her closer to the edge.

Then, as she was teetering on the edge of oblivion, she gripped onto his hair and gave a firm tug. He cried out with a bunch of very loud expletives and let go of his own climax, pulling her down to take him deep and hard, forcing her to come down with him. The intense orgasm made her hug him tightly, burying her face into his neck as it washed over her. He stayed inside her, twitching as he fought to recover.

"Hey, we should-" he started, but Y/N placed a finger to his lips.

"Sh, just hold me."

They stayed like that. He did as she asked, basking in the warm afterglow of their lovemaking. They were wrapped up in each other's arms until their breathing had slowed and their hearts had calmed. When she had caught her breath, she chuckled when she noticed that his specs were lopsided and filthy, and reached out to clean them for him. She asked, "Are you okay?" as her hand trailed up his spine.

"I'm good," he mumbled, his eyes barely open. "A bit dizzy. But, like, sooooo good."

"How dizzy? How many fingers am I holding up?" She placed her middle finger in front of his face and was rewarded with a bite to her shoulder. "Ow! You freak!"

Adrian rolled his eyes. He'd been called a freak so many times but never so lovingly before. He leaned in and gave Y/N a quick peck on the temple, murmuring, "I'm a freak? I'm not the one with my panties full of cum. You're a freak with a capital fuh. Those, babe, are what I call whore panties," right on her hairline.

"Gross!" Y/N's face was flushed. It was the most adorable sight in the world and Adrian's entire world, as he smiled from ear to ear. "And if you think about it, it would be easier for whore to not wear underwear. It is literally their job to be cooch out."

"You're weird."

"Yeah, so are you."

With a playful nip to his ear, Y/N stood up and helped Adrian to his feet. "Let's shower," she said, dragging him out towards the bathroom. They'd only taken three steps before he was picking her up by the waist and carrying her there. She didn't protest. If anything, she found it charming. Giggling in his arms just felt right.

Next Chapters: 11-15

#adrian chase #vigilante #vigilante x reader #adrian chase x female reader #peacemaker #adrian chase x reader

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lysenfeu · 1 year

Text

Pair of Aces - Chapter 1. Day One

Pair of Aces

Chapter: 1. Day One

Rating: M

Word Count: 2.6k~

Summary: After Peacemaker nearly blows the mission at the Goff mansion, Waller sends in a new team member to pick up the slack and assist Task Force X with Project Butterfly.

Content Warning: Mentions of Violence, Gratuitous Swearing, Verbal Insults

A/N: This is the intro chapter to a fairly long series I have planned, set directly after the Goff mansion mission but before Peacemaker finds out his dad's in jail. Intended as a reader-insert in 3rd POV, afab!she/her main character but nameless/description neutral, no Y/N. Vigilante x reader pairing.

[Read on AO3]

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If there was one thing Amanda Waller hated above all else, it was failure. While the Task Force X mission to the Goff mansion wasn't a complete and utter failure, it was still too close for Waller's comfort. Project Butterfly needed to proceed according to plan and if Peacemaker couldn't be relied on to do the job, then someone else would have to pick up the slack.

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Sensible heels clicked against the worn-down Evergreen sidewalk as a woman walked along the deserted street. She finally arrived at the correct address, double-checking her notes to be sure, before she pushed open the door to the deserted storefront. The inside of the building was a mess, with random shelves and boxes scattered everywhere. A few desks and chairs sat near the back, piled with equipment and files. Five heads turned towards her at once, following the sound of the door closing. Three men and two women were staring back at her. As she looked around, she only recognized one particular face. Her gaze settled on the stern-looking blonde woman at the front of the room and a small smile crept onto her face.

Now there's a sight for sore eyes. God, this shithole better be worth it.

She stood in silence patiently and the unfamiliar woman addressed her first.

"Hi! You must be the new girl!" A warm smile accompanied the greeting. "It's so nice to meet you. I thought I was going to be the only new girl but now you're here so that makes you the new new girl! I'm Leota Adebayo, welcome to the team."

The woman smiled back and shook the hand Adebayo extended. "Nice to meet you, hopefully, us new girls can stick together." She glanced around the room at the others. John stood up and also introduced himself quickly, shaking her hand and saying welcome.

Peacemaker remained sitting, unimpressed by the new addition. "As if this team needs more girls. What is she here for anyways? We don't need any extra help."

"Is he always this rude?" She looked around and questioned the others.

"As far as we can tell, yeah." Adebayo sighed, offering her a sympathetic look.

She rolled her eyes in response. "Delightful. Clearly Big Red has some major anger issues."

"His name isn't Big Red." A male voice replied from behind her. "It's Peacemaker."

She turned around and took a closer look at the last person in the room. She didn't recognize him at all.

Lean build, black armour, are those ... teal accent stripes? That's ... a choice. Plenty of weapons and a pretty cool sword. The full on ski mask is bold. I guess the whole outfit together is kind of intimidating in a certain way, but why teal? Man, capes are always so fucking weird.

She shook her head and finally responded to his correction. "I know but I'm definitely not

calling him that."

"Why not?" The man cocked his head to the side in confusion.

Can he even see out of that visor? That can't be comfortable.

She pulled a face. "Because it's a dumb fucking name."

"Hey! You take that back!" He jumped up suddenly and shouted at her.

She startled but held her ground, squaring up. "No way man, it's a terrible name. It doesn't even make sense."

"Are you the name police? Do you get to just randomly decide what names are cool or not?" He was becoming overly animated and louder at her antagonization.

"Yes. I've been authorized by the National Committee Of Name Judgment and they've deemed Peacemaker to be such a stupid fucking name, it's been made illegal." She deadpanned, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

"Wait, seriously? That's really fucked up." The man in teal seemed to genuinely believe her.

"I'm just fucking with you, dude." She shook her head in disbelief at his gullibility. "Though if N.C.O.N.J was real, they'd definitely make that name a crime."

"Well I bet your name is also so terrible and that's why you're being so mean!"

The woman chuckled. "You don't need to worry about my name, buddy."

"What is it? What should we call you?" Adebayo asked politely.

She shrugged. "Whatever you want."

"Your name should be Dumb Bitch then." Peacemaker laughed at his own terrible joke.

Adebayo quickly turned on him. "What the fuck Chris!"

"She said it could be whatever I wanted!" He shot back, trying to defend himself.

Harcourt glared daggers at him from across the room. "Are you fucking five?"

"She started it! My name makes perfect sense and is fucking awesome. It's kinda my whole thing!" Chris yelled out. "I cherish peace with all my heart, I don't care how many men, women, and children I need to kill to get it. I make peace, ergo Peacemaker! Come on!"

"Ergo?" Harcourt looked at Peacemaker with a strange expression on her face.

"Yeah, it means the same as 'thus' or whatever." Chris crossed his arms defensively.

"I know that, I just didn't know you knew that." Emilia paused. "Honestly I didn't think you knew 'thus' either."

"For the record," The new arrival cut in, "That motto is the stupidest thing I have ever heard and I once interrogated the Riddler."

"Wait, really?" Economos seemed genuinely interested in that tidbit.

"Well, I say interrogated but it was more like he wouldn't shut up and I kicked him a couple times before the GCPD banned me from the room."

Gordon was pissed off, but Nygma was so annoying he deserved it. 'Where does an 800-pound gorilla sleep?' What a dumbass.

It was Adebayo's turn to join in the conversation. "You've been to Gotham?"

"Yeah, sure." The woman shrugged. "Metropolis too. I go wherever there's weird shit happening and things to shoot."

"Which is exactly why you're here." Harcourt interjected, trying to get back on track. "Welcome to Waller's worst assignment. You're lucky I saw your name on the transfer list, your only other option was the Arctic." She levelled a serious look at the woman. "No idea what you did to get on her shit list but Waller must hate you even more than us right now."

Subtle as always, glad to see not much has changed.

"Nice to see you too, Blondie." She grinned at the stern blonde, easily ignoring the pointed comments about Amanda Waller.

Harcourt scowled in return. "No one has called me that in years, quit it."

"Do you two know each other?" Economos was even more interested in what was happening now.

"Oh, we go way back. Has Blondie ever told you guys about the old CIA days?" She deliberately ignored the death glare being shot at her from across the room and continued. "We were in the same rookie class at the Farm and worked together until she ran off to the DEO."

"Woah! Did you know younger Harcourt? Tell us everything!" Adebayo is thrilled at the chance to find out more about her new coworker.

Harcourt flinched and hissed at her old friend. "Don't you fucking dare."

She once again ignored the other woman's serious tone. "You should have seen her in first year! A dead ringer for Debbie Harry, feathered hair and all."

"That is the hottest thing I've ever heard." Peacemaker mumbled, way too loudly.

"Tell me, Emmy, can you still do an absolutely killer 'Call Me' at karaoke nights?" She grinned mischievously.

Emilia turned bright red while Economos burst out laughing. "Please tell me you have footage of this somewhere!"

Harcourt tensed and shot John the same patented death glare. "Under no circumstances will you ever see any evidence of these outrageous lies."

Well, that was a yes to karaoke. Same old Blondie.

"Come on Harcourt, lighten up! You're no fun" John whined back.

"Shut up Dye-beard! Leave her alone." Peacemaker jumped to Harcourt's defence.

Dye-beard?

The new girl looked closer at John and noticed his mismatched beard.

Oh, wow. He really does dye his beard.

"The half and half isn't a great look, man. Just strip the colour or put the time in to do your roots, it'll look a lot better." She offered up in an attempt to help the poor guy.

Peacemaker snorted, "Doesn't matter what he does, his beard will still look dumb."

"Well, I doubt he wants fashion advice from a guy wearing rubber dish gloves." She smirked at him.

Chris started yelling again until Harcourt whistled loudly and interrupted the commotion. "Quit it! Both of you."

"Oh come on." The woman groaned in frustration. "How can I not make fun of him? He dresses like a first-grade colour wheel and is built like a knock-off Ratchet from Transformers."

The flippant remark earned a loud laugh from Economos and a confused look from Adebayo.

"It doesn't matter, you're part of the team now. I expect everyone to keep it professional. Shut the fuck up and play nice!" Harcourt snapped at her.

Peacemaker snickered a bit at the admonishment and Harcourt turned on him, an accusatory finger outstretched. "When I said everyone, I meant it!"

Peacemaker stopped laughing and instead glared unhappily at the rest of the room.

"You know, you really should be nicer to him." The costumed man at the back interjected.

She snorted dismissively. "I'm not taking any feedback from a grown man in a costume with teal accents."

"Hey! Teal is an awesome colour!"

"For a kitchen backsplash maybe." She taunted.

"Wow, okay. It's good this kind of thing doesn't really hurt my feelings or I'd be very upset right now. You're very mean." He shook his head at her in disappointment.

She stared at him, visibly confused. "What the fuck does that even mean?"

Emilia clapped her hands loudly to interrupt them. "Seriously guys! I just told you to play nice!"

She spun around to face Harcourt. "You throw me in with a bunch of goddamn capes and just expect me to be cool with it? What the hell Em!"

"Hey I did you a favour! Would you rather be fucking around with polar bears right now? No? Then deal with it." The blonde snapped back.

Maybe the Arctic would have been a better choice than Buttfuck Nowhere, Washington. Polar bears might be easier to deal with than these costumed idiots.

She cursed under her breath in frustration and looked back at Harcourt.

Oh well. Too late for that.

She sighed in resignation. "Fine. Just tell me I'm not working directly with chrome dome over there. According to the latest report, he nearly blew the entire mission at Goff's mansion last week."

This giant oaf's incompetence is the only reason I'm stuck in this hellhole to begin with. A

killer who can't kill, fucking pathetic.

Peacemaker leapt out of his chair. "Fuck you! Nobody was prepared for that little freak Judomaster, come on! He came out of nowhere!"

"Okay, fair. The footage of that guy was insane. No one could have predicted that 'kiai' shit." She then fixed Peacemaker with a smug look. "But I was actually talking about when you bitched out behind the rifle and couldn't fire a single shot."

Chris clenched his jaw before he sat back down and muttered angrily about doves of peace under his breath.

She smirked again and continued on. "The mission report was a super fun read by the way. If that second gunman hadn't come in and cleaned up after you, the whole operation would've been a bust. That was some ace shooting too, I'd love to work with that guy instead."

Harcourt cleared her throat, redirecting the attention to her. "That's good to hear actually because you will be. Vigilante, meet your new field partner."

Vigilante? Christ, that name is almost as bad as Peacemaker.

"Who the fuck is Vigilante?"

"That's me!" The same annoying voice from behind her answered.

She froze at the sound and turned around towards him slowly.

"Oh hell no. Not you."

"What? Why not! You're the one who just said you wanted to work with me!" Vigilante was confused again.

"...what?" She was also confused by this exchange.

"You said, and I quote, 'That was some ace shooting. I'd love to work with that guy instead." He repeated back to her.

Her mouth dropped open in surprise. "...you're the second shooter from the Goff mission?"

"Yes."

She studied him further, looking him up and down. "You're the guy who hit three clean headshots at over 900m in under 2 minutes with a partially obscured view?"

"Yeah!"

"...No way." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Uh, yes way! That was totally me!" He started to get openly frustrated with her dismissal.

"Absolutely not."

"Oh it absolutely was him." Harcourt confirmed with a nod. "We didn't even ask, he just kind of showed up. But now he's officially on the team, same as you. You two are going to need to get along, you'll be spending a lot of time together in the field. I need to send you both out asap."

"Already? I just got here!" She whined at the news. "I haven't even unpacked yet."

"Is it just me and her? Why can't Peacemaker come?" Vigilante seemed upset at the new directive.

"Waller's orders, for the time being, Peacemaker needs eyes on him at all times." Harcourt looked a little antsy, anticipating that info might not land well.

As if on cue, Peacemaker jumped up and started yelling again. "What the fuck! I don't need a goddamn babysitter!"

"Well, it could be good for you to stay." Adebayo offered. "You can take the time to ... put those dove thingys on ... all the weapons?" It's an obvious attempt to gently redirect Peacemaker's attention.

Chris smacked his hands down on the table in front of him. "Yes! Good. That's a good idea. That was the problem, none of you assholes put the dove on the gun. It's always gotta have a dove! That's what fucked me up. I gotta get like, a stencil or something. I'm gonna make so many goddamn doves."

Harcourt shot Adebayo a grateful smile as Chris settled back down before turning back to Vigilante and the newcomer.

"Here's the deal. I need you two out for recon on a suspected butterfly cluster. It's just outside of town, you'll be out for about a week. In case shit goes south, you may need to clean up so bring enough gear with you."

"Seriously, a week? I just got into town and now I need to run off for a week with this guy?"

"You're the one who said you'd like to work with him." Harcourt replied with a smirk.

Vigilante shifted nervously. "A whole week out of town? I'm getting paid for this right?"

Harcourt rolled her eyes. "Yes Vigilante, you're officially on the payroll. Field pay and mileage reimbursement."

He nodded. "Okay cool. I'll have to rearrange some stuff but as long as I'm getting comped it'll be fine."

"Can you at least tell me what we're going after here? What the fuck is a butterfly?" She had read every report and file she could find associated with this project and virtually nothing in the documents explained anything.

Harcourt sighed and avoided the questioning look. "Murn will fully debrief everyone later on. For now, all I can say is they're dangerous. Monitor them, take them out if you can, and don't underestimate them."

"...Clemson Murn?"

"Yes, he's the team lead. I'm just handling things today while he's meeting with a contact."

Huh. Interesting.

"Alright. Let's just get this over with." She sighed in acceptance.

Harcourt was visibly relieved. "Great. Vig is driving, you leave at 8 pm tomorrow and check-in at the Sunset Motel."

She nodded and grabbed the file Emilia was waving at her. She said some quick goodbyes to Leota and John, pointedly ignoring Peacemaker and Vigilante on the way out. As she made her way through the streets of Evergreen on the way back to the bare-bones rental apartment that had been arranged for her, she deeply regretted her choice in employment.

Fantastic. I uproot everything, move to a new town, and immediately get stuck for a week with a cape who likes teal. I really should have picked the polar bears.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A/N: This is the first thing I've written that isn't a script, essay, or professional document in over a decade. Comments, kudos/likes, and shares feed my soul. More chapters to come with some action, slow burn/eventual smut, and more banter.

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#peacemaker #peacemaker fanfiction #adrian chase x reader #vigilante x reader #lysenfeu fics #pair of aces fic #adrian chase #vigilante #adrian chase fanfiction #vigilante fanfiction #freddie stroma #peacemaker dcu #fanfiction

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exist4me · 1 year

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Hiii!🥰💜 Can I please request an Adrian Chase x fem!shy!nurse!reader where she’s a part of the team, but as a nurse. She doesn’t have any experience with weapons or fighting or anything, so the team are super protective of her.🥺 When Adrian inserts himself onto the team (I love him for that😂), he immediately takes a liking to her and makes it VERY clear/obvious to her and the whole team, in a very Vigilante way LOL, and Y/n is very obvious that she she likes him as well, but in a more shy, getting flustered and scurrying away type of thing 😂 They get together when he comes back to base days after he was expected back, she pretty much jumps in his arms crying and he kisses her, and she sits in his lap while treating his wounds🥺🥺

Author's Note: Hi this is my first request 🥳 I sincerely hope this is to your liking and that I did your request right. Let me know what you think. I love feedback❤️.

word count: 1.2k

VIGILANTE x FEM!SHY!NURSE!READER

You were a part of the 11th Street Kids on Project Butterfly, not as a fighter but as the team's nurse. The team was filled with big personalities and highly skilled badasses in weaponry and combat. You were more shy and reserved, you were skilled in medicine but not so much in fighting. Before you met everyone the idea of this small group against an alien invasion was a terrifying thought but as dysfunctional as the Task Force family was, you guys had each other's backs.

Most times you'd be taken on missions as a precaution in case someone gets seriously injured. The first time you noticed how protective the group was of you, was during the assassination of U.S. senator Royland Goff. You were never left alone, you were guarded and had hourly checkups from the team during the stakeout. This is where you first had an interest in Vigilante. You were listening to him and the others interact via the comms. You thought he was a bit weird and sadistic but he didn't rub you the wrong way. You believed he was a good guy but just seems to enjoy killing which should be a red flag but you ignored it because he only killed bad people. You thought it was cute how much he idolizes and loves Peacemaker even though he claims to not have normal emotions.

After the Goff mission, you had a lot of injuries that needed to be treated, Vigilante's included. He was brutally tortured by Goff leaving him with half a pinky toe that needed to be looked at.

He was holding his foot, groaning in pain, " I'm not sure I'm ever gonna walk again."

Economos turns around slightly in the front seat to ask why.

"Motherfucker cut half my pinky toe off. It's the most important toe there is," he whined.

"Vigilante I assure you that's not true." You said softly

" Yea that’s not true." Adebayo and Harcourt agree with you.

"Yea, it is! You can't walk without it!" Vigilante cried out.

"You can walk just fine without a pinky toe. Dont' worry" you said trying to calm him down.

Vigilante continues to believe he can't walk anymore, " You'll fall over all the time, look stupid, everyone will laugh at you."

"Who's gonna laugh at you?" Harcourt ask. Peacemaker starts laughing at the idea of Vigilante falling over. You whisper "stop" to him.

"You can't walk if you lose your metatarsal. That's like the knuckle of the pinky toe. But if you just lose your pinky, it's fine. I'll treat you and you'll be all good before you know it." You send him a small smile.

Back at HQ when you were treating Vigilante, he started gaining interest in you. He liked how soft-spoken you were, he liked the way you asked to touch him before treating him, and he liked how tender and delicate your touch was. He also liked you a bit more because of how Peacemaker would listen to you. He instantly trusted you. The reveal of who Vigilante was is when you realized your interest turned into a crush. You were the one who picked him up from jail, you thought he was absolutely beautiful, his gorgeous green eyes and curly hair you wanna run your hands through. You couldn't stop looking at him. He says he doesn't feel normal emotions but in the car, he was close to crying believing he messed everything up. You wanted to hug him but you were too shy so you gently patted his shoulders.

"It's going to be okay, Adrian"

After saying his name he looked at you in an emotion you weren't too sure of. But it felt warm and safe.

After that day, Adrian was positive he liked you and wanted you as his. He always found a way to be near you or work with you in HQ, the team slowly started putting the dots together. However, Adrian wanted it to be known to the group and to you he liked you. The next time the entire team was together for Economos' PowerPoint presentation he decided to do something.When everyone was getting up to leave and prepare for the upcoming mission Adrian decided to make an announcement.

"So guys, I just wanna say that I call dibs on y/n. I think we'll be amazing together you know, her being kinda soft and sweet and I, her badass crime-fighting boyfriend. Right? The whole opposites attract things. Anyway, y/n I like you and I think it'll be amazing if we get together after this mission because aliens wanna kill us so yea. What do you say?" He said in a rambly speech to everyone. All the attention is on you waiting for your response.

"um...uh, I-" You stutter trying to get words. You feel flustered as your face heats up, so you turn around and run back into the office you claimed as your own. You're excited that Adrian feels the same way as you but now you can't even be in the same room as him. You don't go on the next mission. Everyone returns safe and sound, although covered in blood (not theirs). Any time Adrian looks your way, you scurry off in the other direction holding your heated cheeks, hiding your small smile. This goes on for a while. The 11th Street Kids were given a big mission the team needed to be broken up into two. Peacemaker and Vigilante as one group and Harcourt and Adebayo as another. They split up to check out two potential sites that are used for the butterfly food source. You and Economos however stayed as tech backup. It should have taken 4 days max for everyone to come back. However, only Harcourt and Adebayo returned from their site visit. You weren't too worried on the 5th day, you know how Adrian and Peacemaker can get distracted but when the 8th day came you were on the verge of a breakdown.

"Should we go after them? I don't like this. What if they are getting tortured again or worse dead? You guys have been doing this longer than me, is this normal?" You paced around the main room of HQ talking to the rest of the gang about this. You were biting your nails with tears in your eyes.

Harcourt was about to respond when you heard the door open. You turn around to see Adrian limbing inside injured with his suit ripped up with Peacemaker covered in blood behind him.

"Honey, we're home" Adrian yelled.

You run towards him, leaping into his arms as tears run down your face. He groans slightly from the impact on his wounds.

"Missed me?" He said, smirking. You nod letting out a small giggle. Adrian wipes your tears with his thumb before gently kissing you. You pour all your feelings and emotions into your kiss with Adrian, telling him the things you wished you had the courage to say. You wrap your arms around his neck to deepen the kiss when he groans in pain. You pull away immediately.

"I'm sorry, let's go fix you up." You lead him into your office.

"Yes nurse," He said, smiling brightly.

You sit on his lap as you treat the injuries on his upper body.

#adrian chase x reader #adrian chase x female reader #vigilante x reader #vigilante peacemaker #peacemaker fanfiction #peacemaker

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starsofmilos · 2 years

Text

Mood (Adrian Chase x reader)

Request: Hiii agaaiin! How bout something with reader who is part of the 11th streets kids and since they are always saying that Adrian doesn't have emotions one day she gives him one of those rings that changes colors and from then on he doesn't take it off?? Not even when John and Chris said to him its stupid and for kids. He don't care bc it was a gift from heeer. Confession?-🦁

Warnings: cursing, mentions of violence, light making out, and a confession

MaStErLiSt

Your first time meeting Adrian. You didn’t know what to think of him. He was different that was for sure. You weren’t sure if you liked it or not, that was until he brought you a ladybug because he said it reminded him of you. You liked it.

The man can hold a ladybug so gently while also using a sniper rifle so skillfully. Yeah he was a keeper. He wasn’t yours though. As much as you wanted him to be. There was one thing that confused you though. It was whenever Adrian would say that he didn’t have emotions.

To you he was the most emotional person you’d ever met. He showed his emotions. Just differently. Everything about him was different. While he didn’t show anger or sadness much and he did have sociopathic tendencies, that didn’t mean he was a complete robot like he paints himself out to be.

Adrian just doesn’t really understand his emotions. That’s the conclusion you came too. Since joining the team, you and him have grown quite close to each other. You had seen him outside of the group and hung out with him at least four times out of the week.

He was special to you.

So you hated hearing him say he doesn’t feel anything like a regular person. You hated even more how everyone on the team agreed with him. Chris always said he was crazy. While John would say he was weird. Emilia and Adebayo never stood up for him. Everyone but you, thought Adrian Chase didn’t have emotions.

You were determined to prove them wrong and on a small shopping trip because the only times you seem to be able to relax is your once a month treat yourself day at the mall. You finally found what you were looking for. It had costed a good twenty bucks, but the quality wasn’t bad. Hopefully Adrian would like it too.

You walked in excitedly the next day with a huge grin on your face. “Adrian!” He had arrived before you with Chris. “Oh hey Y/N-” You grabbed his hand dragging him to one of the back rooms. Adrian gave you a small quizzical look, while everyone else looked at you confused.

“I got you a gift and wanted to give it to you in private.” You smiled a bit at him after closing the door handing him the small gift bag. “Oh..really?” You nodded. “I hope you like it. I saw it and thought of you.”

Adrian grinned tearing the bag opened. He looked confused seeing a small ring box. You smiled opening it for him sliding the ring on his finger. “I’m glad it fits!” “What is it?” His eyes widened seeing the ring turn a maroon pink.

“You’re flustered?” You chuckled a bit. “What?” Adrian glanced up at you. “No I am not-” “Yes you are!” “I don’t know what you’re talking about-” “It’s a mood ring.” “What?”

“A mood ring. It changes colors based on your emotions. Maroon is flustered, Red is angry, Blue is sad, Teal is neutral, Yellow is happy, Green is envy,Purple is horny and Pink is love.” You smiled as Adrian smiled looking down at it. “Thanks..”

“I got it to show you that you do feel things Adrian.” You kissed his cheek softly before walking out. Adrian grinned looking down at the ring. It was pink. He nodded at it. “Sounds about right.”

Adrian was just as obsessed with you as you were with him. No one had ever treated him as nice as you do and it was refreshing to have someone who cared enough to buy him an actual gift. You gave them this. You thought of him.

Instead of buying something for yourself. You went out of your way to get him something. He smiled seeing the ring turn yellow. “Cool...” He walked out keeping a grin on his face. You smiled seeing the ring yellow.

You didn’t think Adrian would like it as much as he did. He never took it off. Like never. Even in his Vigilante suit, he wore the ring under his gloves. It confused you a bit. You wouldn’t have thought he’d grow so attached with it, but whenever you tried to take it off. Adrian would push your hand away smiling before telling you no.

No one on the team had noticed, well Harcourt did, but she didn’t really care to mention it. One night at the bar though. Chris finally noticed. “Dude what the hell is that yellow thing on your hand?” John looked at it. “Dude when the hell did you get married? It’s on your ring finger.”

Adrian looked down. “It’s a mood ring! It says what my mood is. Right now it’s yellow because I am happy.” Chris laughed a bit. “What are you thirteen?” John asked him. “Only thirteen year old wear and believe those shits.” You looked down a bit sad by their reaction. He noticed.

“For your information, this was a gift from Y/N. And I absolutely love it. If that makes me a fucking kid then so be it. I don’t care if kids wear this shit because to me it means more than that.”

You smiled seeing the ring turn red. He was angry they made fun of something you got him. “I don’t care what you guys think anyways.” Chris nodded. “Alright dude chill.” Adrian smiled, “I am chill.” You snorted a bit as Adrian grabbed your hand under the table.

“I got it for him because you fuckers are always saying Adrian doesn’t feel things.” You chuckled a bit as they all shared a glance to Adrian who looked at you softly.

He loved you.

“Alright you were right then Y/N.” You smiled holding his hand back. “Damn right I was.”

The next day, you rose out of bed excited to spend your day off binging some horror movies and ordering a pizza for yourself. You decided to shower first wanting to wash the night before away. It was a fun night, but you wanted to feel refreshed.

After your shower, you scavenged your kitchen for food before jumping hearing a knock on your door. Humming you opened the door tilting your head seeing Adrian stand there. “Hey sunshine!” You smiled hearing him. “Hey what are you doing here?”

“I was in the neighborhood so I figured come by to see my favorite person.” “Come on in. What’s the box for?” Adrian grinned handing it to you. “I got you a gift.” “You did?” He nodded. “Really?..”

“Yup. Open it!” You sat with him on your couch. You gasped a bit seeing a small box. “You got me a mood ring so I wanted to get you something too.” It was a necklace with a small ring hanging from it.

“I figured you wouldn’t wanna wear an actual ring and it’s not the best necklace I know it’s not-” You jumped hugging Adrian. “This is the best gift I’ve ever received. Thank you Adrian..” He smiled hugging you back. This was new. He didn’t get many hugs. He loved this. He didn’t wanna let you go.

You smiled feeling his arms tighten around you. “You smell nice..” “I just showered..” You laughed a bit pulling away. Now would be the best time to say how you felt. You really wanted too..Maybe Adrian felt the same..

“I should get going. Peacemaker and I planned on going and blowing some stuff up..” “Oh. Okay thanks for the necklace.” You unlatched it putting it on around your neck. “Thank you Adrian. I really do like it.” Adrian smiled standing up. “Alright. I gotta head out.”

You smiled nodding. Adrian stopped by the door turning around to see you fondly staring at the necklace. “Fuck it.” Adrian went to you yanking you to his chest before bending down. “I’m gonna kiss you.” Your eyes widened at his words as he crashed his mouth against yours.

You gasped before moaning a bit as he pushed his tongue into your mouth. You wrapped your arms around his neck grabbing the back of his hair. Adrian groaned a bit pulling away with a smile as you both panted. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“So I like you...and was wondering if maybe sometime you’d like to go out?” Adrian asked apprehensively. He was nervous. His mood ring was maroon. He was flustered.

“Yeah I’d really like that. I’ve liked you for a long time Adrian.” Adrian kissed you again tightly holding you. You panted a bit as he moved his kisses to his neck. “I thought you’d take me to dinner first before trying to get in my pants.”

Adrian groaned. “I can’t help it. You’re so hot..” You smiled as Adrian kissed you again. You laughed seeing the ring on his finger a mixture of yellow and purple.

“Adrian I know you were gonna hang with Chris, but what if you stood here and I order a pizza and a movie along with some making out-“

“I don’t have to hang out with him. He’ll understand!” Adrian pushed you to the couch with a laugh.

#adrian chase #fanfiction #adrian chase x reader #adrian chase x you #vigilante fanfiction #vigilante peacemaker #vigilante x reader #fanfic #peacemaker #adrian chase peacemaker

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training4theapocalypse · 1 year

Text

On Her Majesty’s Supersonic Service (Adrian Chase x Reader) Ch. 4

Chapter 4 No Time to Cry

Rating: Explicit - 18+ only

Word Count: 9.9K

Warnings: SMUT (less than usual tho), Plot with a little bit of porn, Mostly fluff, Moving the plot along, Romance, Descriptions of murder, Descriptions of violence, Descriptions of injury, P in V, Praise, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: It’s time to kill the cow. Adebayo reveals two secrets. Adrian is being Adrian and having the best time mass-murdering butterflies.

A/N: IT'S EARLY!! This is mostly plot and I am obsessed with tying things into canon. There’s some pretty graphic injury description and some totally made-up medical bullshit that I hope you can get past. Thanks so much to @stealsteels for your encouragement to get me over the finish line.

Tagging because I think you might like it: @ladymacbeth1987 , @likeficsinthewnd

Masterlist

Chapter text:

The van is gone from the motel car park, and all signs of Peacemaker and Economos have gone with it.

“Go with the others. I’ll find Peacemaker.”

The sun still hasn’t risen but the orange glow of the streetlights is bright enough for Adrian to see you chewing your lip worriedly in the passenger seat of his car.

“Unless we hear different, stick to the plan. We’ll meet at the ranch.” His earnest green eyes meet yours. “I promise.”

You breathe deeply to calm your nerves. Usually, you’re exhilarated before a mission- ready to fight. But that was before you had something to lose.

“C’mon, it’ll be great! We’ll kill the cow, dish out the same ass-kicking as usual, and drive off into the sunset.”

You’re unconvinced.

“Like Thelma and Louise!”

Now you’re even less convinced. You pull out your phone and text him.

Blackbird: You know they kill themselves at the end of that movie, right? xx

His phone pings, and he reads your message. “What? No way!”

Blackbird: There’s a freeze frame as they drive their car into the Grand Canyon xx

“I don’t think so. I think their car took off and started flying away like at the end of Grease.”

You raise your eyebrows but don’t argue any further. Instead, you study every detail of his profile hungrily as he enthusiastically tells you how the movie’s ending can be perceived differently. His curly hair, still a little messy from spending the night in the sleeping bag, the dimples at the corners of his mouth when he smiles, the way he adjusts his wire rimmed glasses- you try to memorise it all.

You lean over to kiss him goodbye. You grip the chest plate of his suit, pulling him closer to you. You try and put a lot of meaning into the kiss- words left unspoken that you probably wouldn’t have the emotional capacity to vocalise even if you physically could. An assurance that you’ll meet later. A promise that you’ll both live long enough to see tomorrow.

You pull back before he does, preemptively avoiding the possibility of getting lost in the kiss. His face is lit up with excitement.

“We’re saving the world- it’s gonna be fun! Well, for me. I know this is, like, your day job.”

He points at a billboard across the street displaying an array of supercars- Evergreen Exotic Car Rentals. “And then that’ll be you and me tomorrow, cruising down the highway in a Corvette.”

You give him what you hope is an optimistic smile- even though your insides are squirming. Then, you climb out of his car and walk quickly towards your motel without looking back so you don’t have to watch his Sebring drive off into the dawn.

As you pass Adebayo’s room, you can distinctly hear the sound of her and Harcourt in a heated argument. Just what we need at 5 am on the day of the mission.

You knock on the door.

“Who is it?” comes Harcourt’s aggressive bark.

Slowly, you open the door and peer around the corner. Harcourt and Adebayo look relieved at your familiar face for a split second before turning on each other again.

“You were gonna lone-shooter the poor bastard?” Harcourt demands.

“He has a history of instability and conspiratorial beliefs. Couple that with violent outbursts- he was the best choice of the two options.”

Your eyes dart between the two of them. What the fuck is going on?

Harcourt sees your confusion. “Adebayo did it. She planted the diary in Peacemaker’s trailer.”

Adebayo?

“That’s why Peacemaker was chosen in the first place,” says Adebayo by way of explanation.

“And that’s it?” asks Harcourt. “Cut the shit and tell her who else was chosen expressly for this mission.”

No. Your stomach drops. Adrian was just a tag-along- he wasn’t even meant to be part of this team.

Adebayo tosses a book in your direction which you catch mid-air.

A black, leather-bound notebook with the UK Government coat of arms embossed on the front in silver.

Not Adrian.

Hands trembling, you open it up. There’s your name written on the inside cover in your handwriting.

You flick through, eyes skimming over pages upon pages of diary entries. Conspiracies about a secret society of aliens in America controlling Her Majesty’s Secret Service and how you’re going to eradicate them yourself. Paragraphs about how you’re not in control of your powers. All easily corroborated with dates and times of places you’ve been, emails you’ve sent and texts to your boss.

Your eyes sting as you read how they’ve described your loneliness since your accident. Some of it they got right. How much you hate having powers (even if they are useful), how you wish you could talk again and how, more than anything, all you want is someone to confide in. It seals the narrative of a very unwell, isolated woman who’d be desperate enough to commit mass murder.

They really did do the thing properly. You had always assumed MI6 had access to your messages, but you honestly have to applaud the handwriting expert- it’s uncanny.

But… Adebayo? You swallow the lump in your throat and look at her pleadingly. Tell me it isn’t true.

She shakes her head.

“You were the preferred choice. Win-win for MI6 and A.R.G.U.S. MI6 lets you take the blame for the murders; they stage an inquest into the actions of a single employee and get off lightly. Nobody needs to find out how close we came to being invaded by the butterflies. And in return, they get rid of a renegade agent.”

Get rid of? Wait… renegade? You look up and try to catch her eye. What does she mean by that?

“Waller, on the other hand…” Adebayo continues to look away uncomfortably. “Waller keeps A.R.G.U.S out of it completely and gets herself a new member of the Suicide Squad.”

This was never a mission to win the favour of MI6 again. You were their scapegoat. And to Amanda Waller - a new weapon.

You lower yourself onto Adebayo’s sofa in shock.

“They were your fucking friends.” Harcourt’s tone is the coldest you’ve ever heard her. “How did you choose? How could you possibly manage to choose which soldier to sell to Waller?”

“It wasn’t a choice- it could only be Peacemaker because Blackbird’s story didn’t make any fucking sense anymore!”

Adebayo looks between you, like it’s obvious.

“Everyone’s seen the way she’s been skipping around with Vigilante. Everyone in this team has seen you guys literallyscrewing around. The texts don’t match the diary anymore.” She looks at you sadly. “Before you met Vigilante, the last message you sent that wasn’t about work was over a month ago. And it was your fucking landlord!”

Before you can hide it, a single tear runs down your cheek as you stare at her in disbelief.

Of course. Now your messages are filled with flirting and two little x’s. And there’s fun and laughter in the 11th Street Kids group chat. No evidence that would hold up at an inquest.

Adrian… Adrian inadvertently stopped you from being thrown into jail with a nano bomb implanted in the base of your neck. And Harcourt made it all possible by adding you to that group.

Air. You need to leave.

You gesture to Harcourt, excusing yourself. Then, you open the door and are face-to-face with Murn.

“Guess what? Adebayo planted Peacemaker’s diary and had another ready for Blackbird to take the fall,” Harcourt calls over your shoulder.

“Only because my mother made me!”

What the…?

“Holy fuck! Your mother is Amanda Waller?”

“Yes, I figured her mother had her do it,” says Murn.

You give Murn a curt nod and blow past him, not waiting to hear the rest of the conversation. You can’t process this right now. You need to call your boss and have her tell you straight.

Your boss.

As you descend the motel stairs, it dawns on you that she hasn’t messaged you once since you landed in Washington. She doesn’t want the paper trail to show she knows you’re here.

What a cunt.

You let out a small groan of frustration, setting off a car alarm. You head around the back of the motel and video-call her. It rings out.

Blackbird: You were going to Suicide Squad me?!

The message is marked as read. She doesn’t respond.

Blackbird: Fuck you.

You grip your phone and consider throwing it against the wall but then-

BANG. BANG. BANG.

The unmistakable sound of gunshots coming from the motel startles you.

You pull your gun out and tiptoe back around the corner. Police cars- three of them. Silently you watch as half a dozen butterflies in police officers’ bodies exit Adebayo’s room.

Not good.

Your finger hovers over the trigger. You’re reasonably confident you could take them all on your own… but you heard three gunshots - you have no idea if Murn, Adebayo and Harcourt are even alive. As far as you know, you could be the last one left to take down the cow.

Then you see her. Detective Song. The queen who used to be Goff. The one who brutally tortured Adrian. Blinding rage vibrates through your very being as you leap out from your hiding spot and scream at the top of your lungs.

A sonic shockwave is sent across the car park- several butterflies are sent flying backwards. Song manages to sprint out of reach and yells for the others to cover her.

“You tried to cut off my boyfriend’s toe, you bitch!”

You’re going to torture her, you decide. And you’re going to enjoy it.

The shockwave sends debris flying across the car park, and you hear the sound of the windows on the ground floor of the motel shattering. The fear in Song’s eyes as she watches you walking towards them spurs you on. The atmosphere above shifts as you breathe in and let out another ear-splitting scream.

The heads of the three nearest butterflies explode into bloody pulps. Parked cars are blasted into the air and come down violently onto the concrete, narrowly missing the remaining butterflies.

Song turns and runs for her life. You’re quick on her heels but are thwarted when you need to duck and cover behind an overturned car as her associates start firing at you. The three of them run towards a police car in the distance, shooting over their shoulders.

Fuck.

You jump out from behind the car and chase after them, as fast as possible. But it’s too late. The engine of the police car starts, and rubber squeals on the road as they speed off into the distance.

“Oh my god, my car...” says Adebayo.

“And mine...” echoes Harcourt sounding shell-shocked.

They’re alive. You whip round to face them. They don’t look good- Adebayo has a gash on her forehead, Harcourt’s nose is bloody, and her face is streaked with tears.

“We heard you screaming but our hands were tied with Judomaster. And Murn…” She chokes and blinks up at the sky. “Murn’s dead.”

Your hand flies to your mouth, and you point at the motel room. Judomaster killed Murn?

“It was Goff. I mean, Song,” says Adebayo.

Harcourt takes a moment to compose herself and straighten her jacket. “We need to find the others. None of them are answering their phones. But what are we gonna do?” She looks at the overturned cars. “Get some Uber driver to go around aimlessly looking for them?”

The three of you look around the parking lot despairingly until your eyes fall on a billboard in the distance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The road stretches out ahead as the three of you speed your way towards Peacemaker’s trailer- the guys still aren’t picking up, but you’ve got to start looking somewhere.

Your phone is connected to the Corvette’s sound system and you blast Stop by the Spice Girls through the speakers. This is the best thing you’ve ever used your MI6 expenses account for.

The car’s roof is down, and the wind whips your hair as you weave in and out between other cars on the road.

“Slow down! Some of us don’t have a seatbelt back here!”

Adebayo sits in the back hatch behind the two front seats. You’re perfectly happy for her to be uncomfortable, considering she conspired to have you thrown in jail. Maybe fearing for her life will do her some good.

Harcourt grabs your phone. “I’m gonna call Vigilante. Maybe he won’t ignore your calls.”

The ringing stops your music and comes through the speakers.

“Birdie?” comes Adrian’s voice. He’s still alive.

“She’s driving. Why haven’t you been answering my calls, asshole?” says Harcourt.

“Did somebody tell her we drive on the right here?”

Harcourt looks at you in exasperation.

“I hope for your sake he’s better at fucking than using his last two brain cells,” mutters Adebayo.

“Why haven’t any of you been picking up your phones? And where the hell are you?”

“Well, we’ve been kind of busy murdering Peacemaker’s dad, and now we’re on the way to the vet with Eagly. We should- ow!” You hear him wince in pain, and you look at Harcourt in alarm.

“Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah, we just went over a speed bump.” Economos answers now. “Peacemaker is just going through some stuff with his dad, and Eagly’s injured. Vigilante was hit by a grenade-“

A what?! Harcourt notices your knuckles turning white as you grip the steering wheel.

“...Who threw the grenade?” Harcourt sighs pointedly.

There’s a pause at the other end.

“Vigilante-“

“It was intentional!” Adrian cuts across him. “And it was fucking badass- ow! Watch the speedbumps, Economos!”

“Listen, I’m dropping you the location of the vet. We’re almost there,” says Economos. Your phone pings and the satnav automatically updates.

“10-4,” says Harcourt, as you do a U-turn and speed off in the opposite direction.

“Y’know, we could have just got a four-seater like I suggested,” complains Adebayo when you arrive and open the back hatch. You begrudgingly help her climb out.

Harcourt marches ahead inside the vet,, and Adebayo seizes the opportunity to speak to you privately.

“Blackbird, I…” She chooses her words carefully. “I’m sorry. But I thought I was doing the right thing.”

You whip out your phone and start typing furiously. She watches your screen.

“Okay, okay! Stop with the expletives. And cut the bullshit! It’s fine if you want the others to think you’re the victim here, but I’ve read your file. I know what you’ve done.”

You raise your eyebrow, calling her bluff. Nobody knows. Not even MI6.

“You thought MI6 wouldn't find out that you were gonna double-cross them and sell that jet to a private buyer?”

You freeze. How…?

“And don’t even pretend you didn’t know who the buyer was.”

Now you’re perplexed. Clearly, Adebayo is too straight-laced to understand. So you shake your head and type a new message on your phone.

Blackbird: It’s always better not to know who the buyer is

She kisses her teeth in disapproval. “Wow… and I thought you worked in intelligence? Haven’t you figured out that the buyer was Goff? Who else would need something that big, fast and powerful? Something big enough to transport a giant cow?”

Bloody hell.

“You might be a traitor but lucky for us, you suck at stealing jets. The cow’s been stuck in that barn for over a year while they build their teleporter."

You’re not naive- you knew you weren’t selling a stolen jet to good guys. You thought terrorists or maybe the KGB or, like, Elon Musk. Not a race of aliens trying to take over planet Earth. She watches the regretful realisation dawn on your face.

“Look, B bird, a lot of what they said about you and Peacemaker in those files is true, and when I read them, I thought you both deserved to be in jail… but I think Peacemaker’s changed. And I think there’s a lot of good stuff about you they left out.”

She smiles at you tentatively.

“I actually believe you didn’t know you were stealing that jet for Goff. If we make it out alive, I promise I’ll make it right.”

Honestly, you don’t blame her- you’re sure that your file paints a grim picture. And to top it off, your previous actions would have fucked up the entire mission if you’d been successful.

You extend your hand to shake hers. Adebayo grips it and looks at you with mutual understanding.

“We good?”

You nod.

The sound of a fist pounding on glass makes you both whip around.

Adrian is banging on the window from inside the veterinarian’s office with a goofy grin on his face. He points at the car, and you smile and jingle the keys at him in response.

“Fuck yeah!” You see his lips moving from behind the glass. He turns back around, and you can see he’s pointing an assault rifle at something inside. Shit.

“Thank God you guys are here. Dr Hurwitz kindly stitched up Eagly, and Vigilante's being a total freak,” says Economos when you and Adebayo burst in.

Adrian is pointing a gun at three people in scrubs. There’s a streak of blood down his face, and his suit is badly damaged from the explosion. It gives him an entirely unhinged appearance.

“Dude, they saw us. Peacemaker and I are wanted.” Adrian turns to look at you. “Blackbird’s not wearing her mask, and MI6 will probably fire her if civilians see her.”

You rush over to Adrian and the vet staff and put a finger to your lips urgently. Stop talking!

“Well, now they know someone called Blackbird from MI6 was here,” Economos sighs.

“Oh, great! Thanks, Economos- now we definitely have to kill them,” says Adrian aiming his gun around you.

“Do we really have to kill these people?” pleads Economos.

Everyone looks at Harcourt. She groans.

“...No. We'll tie them up, and by the time the morning staff comes in, we'll be long gone.”

“They've seen our faces,” says Adrian, still aiming.

“If we can't stop the butterflies today, it won't matter,” she says with finality.

“Okay. But we can't use duct tape. That'll hurt their skin when they try to pull it off. Right Birdie?”

You touch your almost healed lip but then blush deeply when you realise everyone is staring at you. Thanks, Adrian.

“So, you're compassionate about tape but not brutally murdering people?” asks Economos

“...Yes.”

He lowers the gun and grins at you. God, as you come closer, you realise the full extent of his injuries from the grenade blast. Your eyes linger on his suit- the hard exterior chest plate is scratched pretty severely, and his suit has ripped in places, revealing burned bloody tissue across his abdomen and thighs.

You try to get a better look at the damage, but he wraps an arm around you, pulling you into a hug. He winces in pain. You try to pull back but he just hugs you tighter.

“Worth it,” he groans and kisses the top of your head.

You pat the countertop, gesturing for him to sit on it, and grab some cotton pads and antiseptic. When you dab the wet cotton pad on the burned skin on his abdomen, the muscles there twitch involuntarily.

He stifles a moan of pain and it makes you stop what you’re doing to look up at his face. This only causes you to blush again. What’s wrong with me? You bite your lip and try to concentrate on cleaning the debris from his cuts and burns.

“Hey,” he whispers so only you can hear him. “Are you turned on right now?”

You try to give him a defensive look but it falters when you see the longing in his eyes behind his wire-rimmed glasses.

We need to make sure you're okay first. You tilt your head sympathetically. His wounds will probably need further attention later so this’ll have to do for now.

When you’re done, you hop up on the counter beside him and type on your phone, letting him read over your shoulder.

Blackbird: It WAS kind of romantic that you were gonna kill those vets for me xx

“Romantic?...Really? You’re more twisted than I thought.” His gloved hand tucks your hair behind your ear. “I can still kill them for you if you want?”

The vets overhear this and look at each other in alarm. You shake your head.

“Hey, what do you say we find an empty exam room and we-“

“Hey, we should get a move on killing this cow,” Adebayo cuts him off as she and Peacemaker return to the room.

“Okay, how do we do this without Murn?” asks Economos.

You all automatically turn to Harcourt. Adrian nods his head towards her in encouragement. She takes a deep breath and dives into an explanation of the plan to get to the barn to kill the cow before the teleportation device is ready.

“…Hopefully, we can make it in there before they make their move,” she finishes.

“I’m in,” says Peacemaker

“Hashtag me too,” says Adrian

You nod fervently

“I guess,” says Economos

“Yeah,” adds Adebayo

“Fuck yeah!” says the vet, and one of the nurses cocks a rifle.

“No, I think you need to calm down,” Peacemaker replies. “You’d just die.”

“But we are gonna need to sequester your vehicle out there because somebody rented a sports car with only two seats.” Adebayo looks at you.

“Me and B call the Corvette!” says Adrian as he hops off the counter.

“Fine. But keep up. We’re in a hurry.” Harcourt looks at you directly. “No screwing around.”

As you’re in the middle of typing, ‘We’re not teenagers - we can keep our hands to ourselves’, Adrian blurts “Well, it’s on your conscience that I might die today without ever having sex in a Corvette.”

You delete the message and put your phone away resignedly, rolling your eyes at Adrian.

“Gross dude, that’s a rental,” says Economos as you file out of the veterinarian’s surgery and into the van.

“Surprisingly nice people considering,” says the vet.

“Expect the guy in blue and his girlfriend,” adds one of the nurses.

“Yeah… they’re both a fucking mess.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, after an unsuccessful attempt to get Eagly to drop Peacemaker’s sonic boom helmet onto the roof of the barn, you all watch from the bushes in the dark night as Economos goes undercover to place the helmet inside. He’s the only one who Goff wouldn’t recognise.

“Blackbird, when did Goff see you?” asks Peacemaker, confused.

“You should have seen her this morning when she sonic-screamed the butterflies at the hotel. She nearly got Goff,” laughs Adebayo. “You cut off my boyfriend’s toe, you bitch!”

“Boyfriend? I thought you guys just hooked up!” He turns to Adrian. “I thought you were supposed to share these things with your BFF!”

Pretending to fix your holster, you try hard to avert Adrian’s gaze. You haven’t seen any point in labelling your situationship. But he doesn’t seem phased.

“You tried to kill Goff for me?” Your eyes meet Adrian’s from behind his red visor. “Woah, you were right- that isromantic!”

Just when Economos seems to be in the clear, you hear one of the butterflies on the walkie-talkie yell. There’s sudden chaos outside the barn.

Oh shit.

You watch as the butterflies swarm him. Adebayo fumbles with her walkie-talkie.

“Activate sonic boom!”

You hear the first explosion, and the barn starts tumbling down. The butterflies leave Economos and start running towards the barn.

“Activate sonic boom,” she says again. Another sonic wave decimates the barn- the blast radius sends dozens of butterflies flying back.

There’s one more blast as Adebayo triggers the sonic boom again, and you wait, but the barn doesn’t crash into the depths below, where you know the cow is hidden.

“Yep, that's it for the charges.” Peacemaker pulls on his other helmet.

“We need you to stay here, Ads. If something happens to us, you're the only hope,” says Harcourt.

“The fuck am I?” mutters Economos, offended.

“What's the plan, man?” Adrian asks.

“We’re gonna get into the barn-” Peacemaker gestures to himself and you “- Blackbird’s gonna scream at the cow, then we’re gonna try and find a way out.”

“That’s suicide,” says Adebayo

You type a message on your phone and show Adrian, who reads it out loud.

“She says she and Peacemaker will probably end up in the Suicide Squad anyway. They’ll do it,” he says, mildly confused.

You and Peacemaker exchange meaningful looks.

“Let's go kill a cow,” he says.

You, Peacemaker, Harcourt and Adrian hop over the fence and start running towards the barn.

The atmosphere cracks as you inhale deeply and scream. It bursts the heads of a small group of butterflies running at you.

The four of you start firing, and it draws the attention of even more butterflies towards you.

Adrian laughs as he unleashes a massacre on your opponents. He’s in his element. Sometimes he’s such a goofball you forget how fucking good he is in combat.

“On your right, Birdie!” Shit. You take cover from the bullets behind a haystack.

Adrian brings out a machete and cuts down foe after foe. A group of butterflies round on him, and you leap over the haystack and yell, sending them flying back from him He gives you a quick nod before stomping on a butterfly crawling out of one of their heads.

“Blackbird, Chris- go! We’ll hold them off here!” yells Harcourt.

You and Peacemaker make a break for it.

“Fuck, yeah!” You hear Adrian shout behind you- he’s genuinely having fun wielding a machete in one hand and a handgun in the other.

As you reach the barn stairs, one of the butterflies almost catches Peacemaker. Adrian plants the machete directly in his skull.

“Don’t fuck with my BFF!” yells Adrian as Peacemaker jumps down the staircase as fast as he can.

Suddenly a hand covers your mouth, and your eyes bulge as you realise a butterfly is attacking you from behind. Not again, fucker. You elbow them in the ribs and struggle until the cool metal of a gun barrel pressed against your temple makes you freeze.

“Stop fucking squirming.”

The words make Adrian whip around. You’re about to wave at him, to tell him not to do anything rash, but his reflexes are too quick. Before either you or the butterfly realise what he’s doing, he shoots the butterfly in the head. A warm blood splatter hits your body, and you feel the thud of him dropping to the floor behind you.

“The only person who says that shit to my girlfriend is me.”

You check there’s no butterfly crawling out of the dead body behind you, and as you turn back around to smile at Adrian, you see it- a tiny gleam of silver flying towards you.

Instinctively you whip your hand up to block it. A gasp of pain and shock escapes you, as you see a steel throwing knife protruding through your extended palm.

Another gleam of sliver. Sudden pain. You choke. Your other hand comes up to touch your throat. Dazed, you feel a knife stuck deep in your neck.

“Fuck!” Adrian turns around and shoots the butterfly before they can throw a third knife.

The ground seems to come up from nowhere to hit your side. You gasp, trying to stem the bleeding from your neck with your left hand. The smell of grass and the blood pooling out in front of you makes you feel faint.

There’s the distinct sound of a bullet finding a soft target, then a thud as Adrian drops to his knees beside you. Momentarily distracted by your injuries, he was shot in the back. He falls flat on his front, masked face turned towards you.

You cough more blood. The pain searing through your neck is almost beyond endurance. Adrian fades in and out of focus.

“Birdie,” he groans. “Stay awake… We’re still gonna… drive off into the sunset.” He lifts himself onto his elbows to crawl towards you.

Every breath of air you take hurts- each tiny inhale slightly moves the knife in your neck.

You feel Adrian’s fingers remove your left hand, so he can put pressure on the wound. Even now, you feel comforted by his touch.

Hazily, you think that you’re glad to be dying knowing what it feels like to be loved.

There’s another strange cold sensation in your neck- a rush of air. But before you have time to wonder what’s happening, everything fades to black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

You open your eyes blearily- it’s bright. Daylight. Your throat is raw. You’re in pain. But wait… you can feel pain- that’s a good sign, right? The smell of antiseptic is suffocating.

Looking down at yourself, your eyes try to focus on your heavily bandaged right hand. Your hands fly up to your throat, and you feel more bandages around your neck. There’s a pulse monitor attached to your finger.

“Hey, it’s me. You’re okay.” It’s Adebayo’s voice. As your vision becomes clearer, you see she looks different, as she sits beside you on a blue plastic chair. She’s wearing a white shirt, vest and a blazer. Sort of like she’s dressed for a funeral.

A funeral.

Where’s Adrian? You sit up and take in the rest of the bland room. You need your phone. Where’s my phone? So many questions fly through your mind.

“Hey, hey, hey- sit back down. Adrian’s alive.” You sigh in relief and lie back. “Everyone’s alive. We did it. We killed the cow.”

She tosses you your phone.

“Adrian’s in surgery. The bullet didn’t go too deep, but they need to get the fragments out. He’ll be out soon.”

Blackbird: And the others? x

Her phone pings as your message arrives. She reads it.

“Let’s see… Harcourt was shot right after Adrian- she’s in a coma, but she’ll survive. Chris is fine- he’s waiting with her in case she wakes up. Economos broke his leg. I was human-torpedoed through the cow and didn’t even sprain my neck.” she grins.

Blackbird: I don’t understand how I’m still alive x

“It was Adrian he-”

“Good, you’re awake.” Adebayo is interrupted by a doctor coming into the room. She introduces herself and picks up the chart at the end of your bed.

“The wound to your neck was deep… fortunately, it didn’t hit your spine. Patients with this kind of injury usually die from blood loss. But your boyfriend extracted the knife and stopped blood flow with duct tape.” She shakes her head in disbelief. “Removing a knife from a wound like that is normally very dangerous. But on this occasion, it saved your life.”

Adrian’s impulsivity has somehow paid off.

“Your throat, however-” she hesitates “-we had to do an endoscopy to check for trauma to the larynx, and we’d never seen anything like it. There were strange lesions all along the membrane of your vocal cords.”

You nod, absently fidgeting with the bandages on your injured hand. This is old news.

“We were able to remove the majority of them.” Your eyes dart up to meet hers. “But there are a few tiny ones left that were so embedded they couldn’t be removed without damaging the healthy tissue.”

Her words fly over your head as you and Adebayo exchange glances, clearly thinking the same thing.

“Your powers…” whispers Adebayo. Your heart thumps in your chest. You refuse to let yourself believe what you think might be happening. “Can she use her voice?” she addresses the doctor.

“Sure,” the doctor replies indifferently as she puts the chart back. “Just try not to speak too much or too loudly over the next few days. Otherwise, you’re good to be discharged.”

“I mean her superpowers. Her supersonic scream?”

“Her what?”

You’re unsurprised by her scepticism; this is classified information and unlikely to be on your medical records.

“Uh, never mind. Thank you,” says Adebayo as the doctor leaves the room. She turns back to face you. “...Can you?”

The last thing you want to do is cause an accident. You shake your head.

“C’mon- try and break that old-ass TV.” She jerks her head over her shoulder.

You concentrate and let out a small hum. It hurts. But nothing happens.

“Break,” you whisper- still nothing. Your throat is too raw to try yelling.

“It’s okay, B bird.” Adebayo notices tears forming in your eyes and moves over to sit on the edge of the hospital bed. She touches your shoulder, and the tears spill down your face.

“Happy tears.” Your voice is hoarse and incredibly sore. “There’s no way they’ll want me for the Suicide Squad now.”

She beams at you. “About that… I’m on my way to a press conference exposing Project Butterfly. Nobody’s joining the Suicide Squad. I made a deal with MI6 behind my mom’s back-”

“Bad idea-”

“Well, after this, I’m basically untouchable. I told MI6 I’d keep their name out of the press conference if they fired you. They still keep their hands clean, and if you check your email, you should be getting a pretty sweet severance package on Monday.”

“Kind of sounds like blackmail,” you whisper as you pull up your emails on your phone.

From: HM Government Secret Intelligence Service MI6

Subject: Agent Blackbird - Notification of redundancy

“Eh, I call it negotiation.”

“Thank you, Ads,” you say softly but sincerely.

She gets up from your bed and goes to leave but pauses at the door and laughs.

“What is it?”

“Adrian told the doctors he wanted to see you before his surgery. He was asking- asking for-“

She snorts and has to stop speaking. She begins laughing so hard that she’s struggling to breathe.

“What is it?” you ask hoarsely, waiting for the punchline.

She composes herself, “He was asking for someone called Blackbird. He said it was one name. Like Cher.” She cracks up again.

You bite your lip, trying not to laugh. It’s kind of sweet, but Christ…

“Did you even tell him your real name?”

You shake your head, and the ridiculousness of the situation hits you both simultaneously, and you can't help but burst out laughing. Adebayo doubles over, clutching her stomach, and you dab tears of laughter from your eyes with the hospital bedsheet.

“It never- “ you choke with laughter “- it never came up.”

You both collapse into hysterics. Ouch. Your good hand runs over the bandages on your neck.

“Damn, and I thought Adrian took his secret identity seriously.”

God, poor Adrian. You make a mental note to give him your real name when he wakes up from surgery.

“Hey, I almost forgot.” She tosses you a set of car keys which you catch with your uninjured left hand. “Think you have a few days before you need to return this.”

Once you’re dressed and discharged, you go to the car park for fresh air while you wait for Adrian to wake up from the effects of anaesthesia.

Blackbird: I’m alive. Text me when you’re awake xx

You find the Corvette and sit in it with the top down, the sun on your face. You listen to the radio and hum along gently. It’s raw on your throat, but the vibrations of the tune seem to come from your very soul. It feels… good.

Your phone pings twenty minutes later.

Vigilante: DUDE are you watching the news? xx

You flick through the radio channels on the car's sound system until you hear Adebayo’s voice.

“Peacemaker never wrote any diary. He was part of a team working in a deep-cover operation for the U.S. Government called "Project Butterfly."

Blackbird: She’s actually doing it… xx

“This is all part of a black-ops program known as ‘Task Force X’, where convicted criminals are undertaking dangerous missions in exchange for time off their sentences. It's been running for years, under the command of a woman named Amanda Waller…”

Vigilante: Which room are you in? xx

“Who happens to be my mother. Now, I'm calling for an immediate investigation into these inhumane conditions-“

You turn off the radio and breathe a sigh of relief. No mention of MI6, as promised.

Blackbird: I’m outside in the Corvette- I’ll come back upstairs now xx

You look over at the hospital and clap your hands over your mouth when a man in a gown jumps out of a window on the second story. He lands inelegantly in a flower bed and gets up.

It’s Adrian.

Of course, it’s Adrian.

He waves as he jogs towards you and hoists himself into the open-topped car without opening the door.

He twists his whole body to face you, clasps your face with both hands and kisses you passionately. It happens so quickly that it takes your brain a second to catch up.

He’s alive. We’re alive.

You return his embrace, and your hands wander down his back, trailing along the bare skin not covered by his hospital gown, resting on his waist where you feel the bandage wrap around his back.

Just feeling his warm skin beneath the medical coverings sends a wave of gratitude through you. Your heart races as Adrian kisses you deeply and tangles his fingers in your hair like he’s trying to feel every different texture of you. You’ve missed him so much, and the relief of being back in his arms is almost overwhelming.

You never want this moment to end.

He presses his forehead against yours. “God, I’m so happy you’re okay,” he murmurs “I thought. Fuck… I don’t wanna say what I thought.”

You know. You thought it too when you heard him collapse next to you in the field.

“I can’t believe you jumped out a window just after having surgery,” you whisper.

“I’m fine. I just-” He pulls back in surprise. “Wait…what the fuck!?”

“They removed some growths on my vocal cords,” you say, your hoarse voice barely audible.

Stupidly, you feel tears coming on, remembering your first FaceTime conversation.

‘Birdie, I fell for you the first time I saw you burst someone’s head open with your sonic scream.’

“I… I don’t think I have powers anymore.”

God, the lump in your ragged throat sears in pain. He gives you a concerned look. You don’t know how else to phrase what you’re about to say next, so you blurt it out.

“Do you still like me?”

You stare at him determinedly, refusing to let yourself cry.

He laughs. A loud, maniacal laugh that goes on way too long. You scowl.

“That’s hilarious, Birdie. I love this back and forth we get to have now you can speak.”

“Adrian, I’m serious,” you say sternly, but you think your heart might burst with joy. “I'm not the same person anymore. And I know you… I know you liked that I had powers.” You emphasise the word ‘like’ - you both know you mean ‘turned on’.

“Oh no,” he says mockingly. “I’m so sad that my girlfriend is going to moan all over my dick and scream my name.”

Even after all you’ve been through, your stomach twists in excitement when you hear him say girlfriend again.

“That… that was actually really good sarcasm, Adrian.”

“Uh, yeah, I learned from the best. The most sarcastic, second-best marksman in the team.”

“I’ll be the best marksman again soon. I was getting lazy when I had my powers.” You stretch your injured hand.

“Well…” He tries to sound upbeat. “We could squeeze in some more target practice before you go?”

“That can wait til we’re both healed…I have a bit more time than I thought.”

“How long?”

“MI6 has basically fired me. So I suppose until I find a new job.”

Grabbing your uninjured hand, he turns to look you in the eyes.

“Stay,” he says simply.

“Adrian, I…” you hesitate.

What’s waiting for you back home? Conversations with nobody except your landlord?

“Birdie, this feels right. Me and you. Tell me I’m wrong and I’ll drop it.”

“Adrian, you hardly know me… If you knew half of the things I’ve done… I mean, Adebayo read my file and wanted to send me to Belle Reve.”

“Oh, come on! I was in jail like last week.”

You chew your lip.

“Don’t go back to London. Not yet, anyway. Crash at my place… or if you decide you never want to leave, that’s cool too.”

You grip the wheel as excitement courses through your veins. “Okay.”

“Okay?” He looks at you like he doesn’t quite believe you. “Wait… really?”

“Were you not serious?” You raise an eyebrow.

“No, I was! I just thought you’d take more convincing.”

“I’m never getting rid of you, Adrian. Just like you said, remember?”

He lunges forward again and kisses you again with unbridled enthusiasm. His glasses push against your face. Butterflies - the good kind, not the alien kind- flutter in your stomach. You’ve fallen for him. Adrian. Vigilante. All of him.

You unbuckle your seatbelt. “Can you drive a manual?”

“What?!”

“A… a stick shift?”

“I know what it is. I just can’t believe you don’t think I can drive one.”

You hop out of the car and round to the passenger side. “You can drive us to your flat then.”

“You sure?” He launches himself into the drivers seat and turns on the engine, not waiting for your reply.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first few days, you hadn’t had the strength to do much more than just lie in Adrian’s bed. You ordered food. Watched TV. Changed each other’s bandages. You’re grateful to have been able to rest during the day because your sleep has been interrupted by vivid nightmares.

Tonight, you wake up in another fit of sweat, hand clutching your neck. You dreamt that a butterfly had snuck up on you again from behind. Adrian wasn’t there to save you. And so they opened your throat with a silver throwing knife.

“Birdie?” Adrian says blearily, as he wakes up, and his eyes make out your hunched-over silhouette in the dark. He finds his glasses on the bedside table. “Did you have a nightmare again?”

You nod, heart still pounding in your chest.

“You can use your voice,” he reminds you again gently. Sometimes you forget you can talk after spending so long suppressing it. “Same as last time?”

“Same as last time,” you echo.

The light-up display on his alarm clock shows that it’s two o’clock in the morning. Adrenaline from your night terror pumps through you. You’re wide awake.

“We’ll work on disarming someone from behind as soon as you’re feeling better,” he says in an effort to reassure you.

Adrian stretches his arm out, giving you the perfect space on his chest to nestle into. You lie back down on his burgundy sheets and breathe deeply as you rest your head on him. He smells so good. Like home. Your shoulders become less tense, and your heart rate starts coming back down as you relax into his warm embrace.

“Can you put on a film for us to fall asleep to? Preferably something long and boring.”

“Have you ever seen Titanic? It’s like 3 hours long.”

Before you know it, you’re both engrossed and eating popcorn in bed.

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen this,” he says, absent-mindedly stroking your hair.

“I never understood the point. I mean, we already know what happens at the end.”

You both sit quietly as Jack and Rose kiss passionately in the back seat of an old car.

You roll your eyes. “We need more popcorn.” You get up from his bed and walk down the hall into the kitchen.

“I can skip this scene if it’s getting you too worked up?” He grins as he calls after you.

You hold up a middle finger behind you as you walk away. “Shut up.”

“Aha! You’re being a big meanie, which means you’re horny.”

You scoff and call back towards the bedroom. “It does not! I’m rude to you all the time.”

“You’re giving me the same look you gave me the first time we had sex. Like you’re so annoyed with me that you want to shut me up by kissing me.”

“I am not. I just find it boring watching people pretend to have sex.” Especially when we’re supposed to be taking it easy right now.

“Fine. I’ll find something else to watch.”

You run back to the bed and grab the remote control before he can. “No! I want to know how this ends!”

“I thought you knew how it ended?”

“And I thought you said it was boring!”

“Sit back down and watch it with me then if you’re so interested,” he challenges.

You forget about making more popcorn and sit beside him on the bed defiantly - much more upright than before. Both of you remain silent, eyes fixed on the TV. You watch as they grope each other in the back seat of the car. You clench your jaw, trying to ignore the heat between your legs. You discreetly push your thighs together, but the seam of his borrowed boxers that you’re wearing to bed rubs up against you dangerously.

“Stop looking at me, Adrian. I’m fine,” you say, feeling his gaze linger on you from the corner of your eye.

He moves closer to you. “I don’t think you are.”

“Ugh, please. Do you honestly think I’m horny for softcore nineties romance?” You keep your eyes fixed ahead, trying to look disinterested.

“I know what you look like when you’re turned on.”

“You’re projecting. But if you can’t wait a few more days and need to take care of yourself, then...”

“Yeah? Maybe I will. I’ll even let you watch.”

“Oh my god, Adrian,” you scoff, trying to ignore the hot, sticky feeling in your underwear. “If I need to wait, then so do you.”

“I don’t think you can, B.”

“I can wait longer than you.”

“Well, you don’t have to look at you all day. And you’re always wearing my stuff - it’s killing me!”

“Yeah, well, I have to look at you all day too.” You turned to face him. “You and your stupidly pretty face and your fucking abs. I mean, Christ, who actually has abs?”

He looks pleasantly surprised that you’re finding it difficult to be around him.

“Now I know you’re all riled up because even your compliments are super aggressive.”

You cross your arms. “We’re supposed to be resting.”

On-screen, Rose presses her hand against the car’s fogged-up glass, and you close your eyes involuntarily.

Your weight on the mattress shifts suddenly as Adrian leans in, and his lips meet that sensitive spot a few centimetres behind your earlobe, making you softly sigh. You tilt your head, exposing more of your neck to him, your body leaning into his mouth on you. He plants kisses across your sensitive skin, avoiding your fresh scar.

“Adrian…” you say warningly but it falls on deaf ears as you feel his warm tongue trail over your neck. His hand cups your pussy through the fabric of the boxers, and your body responds automatically, hips tilting towards him.

“You might be able to use your words now, but I can still read your body language like a book.” His firm hand squeezes and puts pressure between your legs. “I think you’re done waiting.”

Of course, you are. It’s been torture being stuck in this apartment with him for days. You want to fuck him, obviously. But more than that, you want to please him, thank him for saving your life yet again, and show him how much he means to you with your body. To fulfil his every desire and fantasy-

Fantasy.

You sit upright suddenly.

“Oh.” He withdraws his hand, surprised. “Is everything okay, B? I was just teasing, sorry, we can just-”

“I don’t believe the window would steam up like that if you had sex in a car.” You cut across him and walk over to the bedroom door. You turn back with a smirk. “Would you like to find out if it does?”

He doesn’t need to be asked twice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You don’t even make it out of his apartment complex’s underground car park.

Adrian sits in the driver’s seat of the Corvette with you straddling him. In a state of semi-undress, you’ve ended up in just his t-shirt that you were sleeping in- everything else you were wearing lies forgotten on the passenger seat beside you.

His hands grip your hips as you grind yourself on him, rubbing your wet pussy along the length of his shaft. Your thighs are soaked. The friction feels so, so good, and your chest heaves as you feel his hips rocking, desperate to be inside you.

His hands leave your sides and lift your shirt up. “You are so fucking hot.” His tongue swirls over your nipples sloppily, and you grab the back of his head, pushing his face into your chest. He lets out a muffled moan with pleasure.

You help him pull his T-shirt off and toss it in the seat next to you. You drag your hands down his lean chest, avoiding the newly healed scars from the grenade blast a few days ago.

“You look so beautiful like this,” he says, watching your flushed face as you grind back and forwards in the constricted space of the Corvette, feeling the sensation of his hard cock against your clit.

The space in the car is limited- his legs take up most of the room on the seat. You lean back in the tight space between him and the steering wheel to give him a better view and feel the cold wheel against your shoulder blades.

“Hey, careful you don’t lean on the horn.” He steadies you with one hand on your lower back, and gripping his cock with the other. You lick your palm and move his hand away, replacing it with your own. His thick cock is warm as you grip the shaft and move your hand up and down.

“Fuck, how are you so soft?” His hips jerk upwards into your clenched fist. “We have the same fucking job.”

He loves the softness of you as much as you love the sculpted, sharp edges of him. Your grip of him falters when his hand moves between your legs, fingers sliding through your folds, making direct contact with your clit. His fingers are broader and rougher than yours, and a small whine escapes your lips when he begins rubbing circles onto the bundle of nerves there.

Your fist keeps pumping up and down the length of him, and you feel pleasure begin to wash over you as his fingers deftly tease your pussy. He traces the entrance of your wet cunt, and your walls clench desperately over nothing.

“Tell me what you want, baby.”

You eagerly adjust your hips over his, and position the head of his cock so it’s pressing up against your lips. He grips both of his hands under your thighs and stops you from lowering yourself onto him.

“Use your words.”

Oh.

“I… I want you to fuck me. Please,” you whisper. For some reason, it makes you shy. You’re out of practice when it comes to dirty talk.

“That’s my girl.”

Adrian’s green eyes meet yours, and it makes your skin feel red hot. His hands return to your hips, helping you down slowly, and you feel the familiar pressure as his length disappears into you.

“Holy shit,” he murmurs, leaning his head back. You get a glimpse of his Adam's apple moving up and down as he swallows.

You pause at the base, getting used to the intrusion. Rocking your hips slowly, the sensation forces you to take a sharp inhale of breath- even though your pussy is sopping wet for him, you still need time to adjust to how thick he is.

“C’mon, nice and easy. You’ve got this.”

His praise spurs you on. You grip the headrest, giving yourself leverage to ride him.

You lean in and suck on his bottom lip, realising that this is the first time you’ve ever been able to kiss him while his cock has been inside you. You allow yourself a soft moan into his mouth. It feels alien to be able to express yourself like this while sliding up and down on him.

The realisation seems to hit him too when he hears you moaning. It makes him hungry for you- his tongue enters your mouth and rolls over your own.

He bucks his hips, and his hands move to your ass so he can control the pace of your movement on his cock. The obscenely slick sound of his achingly hard cock driving in and out of you is only amplified in the constricted space. You bury your face into the crook of his neck, tasting the slightly salty sweat of his skin on your tongue.

“Fuck, you’re taking it like such a good girl,” he says through gritted teeth.

A searing heat ebbs through you, and you feel it creep up to your neck at his words. His words. You remind yourself you don’t have to stay silent either.

“Your cock feels so good,” you say, lips moving to press against his ear. You hear Adrian’s breath hitch in his throat.

You pull apart so he can watch your still-exposed tits bounce as he guides you up and down, fucking you open. The swell inside you begins as you watch his brow furrow in concentration, looking from your tits to the desperate look on your face as you grapple the headrest behind him helplessly.

“Is this what you needed, baby?”

You nod, feeling the heat in your lower abdomen tighten.

“C’mon, say it,” he instructs.

You hear the wet sounds of your pussy and thighs slapping into him. You’re on the brink as he rocks up into something heavenly inside of you, hitting your g-spot. It feels so good- you can’t stop yourself from babbling what comes out next.

“Yes… Needed you. Wanted to - to make you feel so good. For saving me. Again.”

He pushes down on your hips, fucking you with newfound ferocity, and continues hitting that one spot that makes your whole body sing for him. Your fingers move to grip his shoulders, and you lock eyes with him.

“Fuck, tell me… Tell me,” he says urgently.

“Always- fuck- always fucking saving my ass... My fucking hero.”

You clench around him, holding on for dear life as he quickens his pace, working you higher and higher. Your ass slaps against the front of his thighs, faster and faster in rhythm with your panting.

“Don’t- I’m gonna cum if you say that,” he warns.

“That you’re my hero?” you whisper, staring into his eyes, his pupils dilated and swimming with lust. He leans his head back and groans in response. “You are, Adrian. My- my hero. My Vigilante.”

You suck the skin of his neck, squeezing your eyes shut, squeezing everything below your waist as you tumble into sheer ecstasy. You bear down on him as he jerks his hips up, fucking into you like a starved man. The force of his thrusts makes you bounce so hard that you need to lift your arm to stop yourself from hitting your head on the roof of the car.

“Shit,” he gasps. “You can’t say that. I’m gonna cum- oh, fuck I am. I’m cumming. Fuuuck.”

His rambling doesn’t even register clearly in your head- you’re too busy burying your face into his neck again, and with a muffled moan, you cum with him- hard. Your teeth graze his neck, and your walls contract around his cock, as you feel him coat your insides.

You slump into him, your dead weight on top of him. Every inch of your sweat soaked body in contact with his. He wraps his arms around you as you both catch your breath, endorphins lighting up your insides like fireworks. You nuzzle into his neck as his cock still pulses inside you, and cum leaks out of your pussy.

The windows of the Corvette are, in fact, steamed up. His glasses are too. You both silently enjoy the post-orgasmic bliss for several moments. From this position, his heart is pressed against yours, and you can feel them both beating loudly against your ribcages as you begin to resume normal breathing.

“So that was like…That was like my kryptonite,” he says, breaking the silence.

“Being called a hero?” you ask hoarsely. Your throat feels scratchy again.

“Yeah…” And for the first time ever, you think, he sounds embarrassed. “I guess it’s something I always wanted to hear.”

“You’ve saved my life at least three times in the past month.” You trace your fingers across his chest. “And you literally saved the world from an alien invasion five days ago.”

He cups your face, and you lean into his hand, kissing his palm softly.

“Do you think we’re the good guys?”

You hesitate. “I don’t think it matters. We’re good enough for each other.”

“But what about, like, Superman?”

“You don’t wanna be a hero like Superman.”

“What?! Why not?”

“He’s an idiot. Peacemaker told me that Wonderwoman says he can’t find the clit.”

“Well… at least I can do that.” He pauses. “Wait, I can, right?”

“Are you serious?”

“No, I'm totally joking… I think.”

“You can.”

“Thank god.”

You laugh and clamber off of him into the passenger seat.

“He didn’t even offer to fly you and Harcourt to the hospital either,” he adds in disbelief.

“Superman? When was this?”

“Right, I forgot to tell you that Adebayo’s mom did send the Justice League to the barn after all! They turned up super late. The cow was already dead.”

You laugh. Ouch, your throat feels raw. You lean back and massage your neck, swallowing thickly.

“Is your voice sore from using it too much?

You nod.

“Well, we probably should be resting.”

You give him a stern look, and he grins.

“There it is! You’ve still got it!” He pulls his jeans and boxers back up and switches on the engine. “Do you wanna go and get ice cream for your throat?”

That does sound good, you think and hastily pull your clothes on. When you’re both decent, he puts the car in first gear, and it starts moving.

“Ooh, okay, I’m gonna guess your favourite flavour, and you tap the dash one for yes and twice for no.”

You smile at him fondly, secretly pleased that he’s finally mastered the art of yes-or-no questions.

Chapter 5: From Gotham with Love

#adrian chase #adrian chase imagines #vigilante #vigilante peacemaker #vigilante x original character #adrian chase x reader #vigilante x reader #vigilante x you #peacemaker #adrian chase smut #fanfic #vigilante smut #smut

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powerfultenderness · 2 years

Text

Dare

Rated: T+

Pairing: gn!Reader/Adrian Chase

Summary: Inspired by [this post ]: “What would you do if your fave was dared to kiss the prettiest person in the room and without missing a beat they came to you?”

Warnings: Some smooching.

Word Count: 2553

A/N: Big shout out and thanks to @pretendfan for helping bounce ideas around and for encouraging me after I got critically hit with impostor syndrome while writing this. ❤

[Masterlist]

[Line Divider]

“Well, Harcourt thinks I’m pretty!” Chris bragged with a smug look on his face winking at said blonde.

She rolled her eyes, “that’s not what I said.”

“Pretty, handsome, same thing. And that makes me the prettiest person here!”

Everyone protested his assessment. You can’t even remember why Peacemaker started this conversation, but everyone was bored and tired of work and a little fun conversational break was good for morale.

“Why don’t we just vote?” Leota suggested over everyone telling Chris to shut up.

You shrugged, “it would prove Chris wrong.”

Economos agreed for the same reason as you, and Harcourt , admitting only to herself that she didn’t want to be left out, made a show of rolling her eyes, “whatever.” And Chris was confident he’d win, so he readily agreed.

Leota tore off pieces of scrap paper for everyone to vote and place in a hastily dried coffee mug.

Once all the votes were cast, she spread them on her desk and attempted to count the votes but…

“Well, that was a stupid idea.” Economos was the first to reply after seeing the names.

“Hey!” Leota sent a weak glare his way.

“Did everyone vote for themselves?” Honestly, why was Harcourt even surprised?

“Hey guys! What’s up?” Adrian just happened to walk in at that moment, still clad in his civilian clothes but no doubt his Vigilante gear was in the duffle he carried.

Peacemaker grinned and pointed at Adrian. “Tiebreaker!”

Everyone groaned again, knowing Adrian would just pick Peacemaker.

“He’s not really an impartial tiebreaker.” Economos started an argument with Chris.

“Uh…what’s going on?” Adrian sidled up to your other side, as you were currently leaning against the desk where Chris had taken a seat.

You rolled your eyes at Chris before turning to Adrian with a smile. “Oh nothing. Chris is just being stupid again.” “But Peacemaker’s one of the smartest guys here.”

“See! Not impartial!”

You shook your head at the argument Economos, Chris and Leota were still heavily involved in then looked at Adrian again. “Go gear up. Harcourt doesn’t look like she has the patience to wait much longer.” He smiled and thanked you before quickly scampering upstairs to change.

“Alright! Drop it, Smith.” “But-”

“And if you ask Vig when he gets back I’m leaving you off of this mission!” “What? You can’t do that! You need me!” “Me and Vig can pick up your slack.” You smirked, especially because Harcourt nodded in agreement. “Exactly.”

“Fine! I won’t ask him!” “Ask what?”

“Nothing!”

You felt a little bad, Adrian did not deserve to be yelled at by everyone. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll fill you in later.”

Adrian smiled at you again, and not for the first time just seeing him smile warmed your face and made your heart flutter. Yea, you might have had a little crush on the local vigilante, but thankfully no one on the team noticed, or cared enough to comment. For his part, you were pretty sure Adrian thought that you were just a nice person, which wasn’t entirely untrue, it’s just that you were especially nice to him because of that crush.

“Hey, Vig! Truth or dare?” “Smith!” “Dare!”

“What? I said I wouldn’t ask! I knew he’d pick dare, he always picks dare!”

Harcourt, Economos and Adebayo were all yelling at Chris as he turned to Adrian, “I dare you to pick the prettiest or most handsome person in the room!”

Adrian didn’t know why the others were yelling at Chris over such a simple little dare, but kiss the prettiest person in the room? That was easy! Always one to follow through with a dare, he crossed the room, ignoring the argument that seemed to get more heated the closer he got to you. He stopped in front of you, and since you also thought he was going to pick Chris, you leaned back out of the way as you had been expecting Adrian to tap Chris or something.

Adrian meant to simply give you a small peck on the cheek, but when you leaned back, he had to lean forward and over adjusted, resulting in his lips pressing against yours.

You both immediately froze, your eyes shooting wide open. For some reason he also seemed surprised by his actions and his eyes were just as wide as yours as he, and you, stood perfectly still.

Although technically a kiss, it wasn’t much of one. The two of you remained locked in place, staring at each other, lips touching but no movement, no anything really. Not that the lack of passion did anything to still your racing heart, or the butterflies in your stomach, or the blush that burned its way from your face to your chest.

The whole room fell into an awkward silence that stretched on for far too long, until Economos broke that silence with a confused, “what the fuck?”

His question was quickly followed by Chris. “Dude, what are you doing?”

It was at this point that Adrian seemed to realize that you were already leaning back as far as you could without falling over. He quickly pulled away from you, panic flashing across his face as he looked at Chris, “you said kiss the prettiest person in the room!”

“I said pick the prettiest person!”

“How’d you even hear ‘kiss’?” Economos questioned.

“Well, everyone was yelling!”

You quietly cleared your throat, “You think I’m pretty?”

“No!”

Oh! Of course not. You knew he’d made a mistake when he chose you over Chris.

“I think you’re the prettiest. Not just in the room, but in the world. Even though I haven't seen everyone in the world, I don't think there can be anyone prettier than you!"

Adrian couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as he answered. From the moment he first saw you he thought you were attractive, sure, but then you giggled at one of his jokes that no one else thought was funny and from then on he made it a personal mission to make you laugh. To him, you had the most stunning smile and quite the contagious laugh. And when finally you were paired up on a mission, he got to see how incredibly well you handled your weapons, how easy you made it look to fight hand to hand with someone twice your size. He was hooked the moment you threw an uppercut that had a butterfly seeing stars!

Oh.

As if you weren't blushing hard enough! Hearing him just casually admit that he thought you were the prettiest person in the world had your stomach flipping and heart pounding in your ears.

"Really? I just, everyone just thought you'd pick Chris."

Adrian tilted his head and smiled softly, "yea, really. You're-" Whatever else he was about to say was cut off.

“Ha, that means that Chris lost!” Economos pointed at Chris and started chuckling, prompting the others to join. Even you and Adrian, though the laughter from you two was more nervous laughter than anything else.

Chris, not one used to being bullied, quickly attempted to shift attention back to Adrian. “Yea but did you see how bad that kiss was! Dude! Have you ever kissed anyone before?”

Adrian's face heated up as he frantically looked between you and Chris. “That’s not! I mean! I wasn’t trying to-”

“Hahahaha! Fucking Thimble! What’re you a virgin too?”

“What! No! You know I’m not!” Then he looked at you again, eyes still wide as can be, “I’m NOT a virgin!”

“O-k...” You squeaked out, unsure how to take the information he just desperately supplied, or what to do with it.

Chris was still laughing at Adrian though and Adrian apparently couldn’t take that. “Dude! You know I’m not a virgin! We had a threesome! You saw me-”

“Ok! That’s enough! We don’t need to hear the rest of that story!” Harcourt stopped his rambling.

“But!”

It took a lot of yelling and glares from Harcourt for the incident to be forgotten, mostly. Adrian kept looking over at you, and you just knew it had to be because of that little kiss.

Once all the gear was packed and everyone loaded in the van, Adrian had sat directly to your left, things finally seemed to be back to normal. Until, while the others were caught up in an argument about the music, Adrian leaned over to you and whispered, “I really do know how to kiss. And I’m not a virgin!!”

You nearly choked on air! At least he had the decency to be quiet about it this time! The way he was so close to you, the way his body heat radiated off of him and the way he lowered his voice to whisper in your ear, had your face ignited in another blush. Still, you plastered on a polite smile, “ok, Adrian.”

He pouted, “I’m not!” Well now he had everyone’s attention.

“Let’s just focus on the mission.”

Chris once again started laughing at him, but thankfully before another argument could break out, Economos parked the van and Harcourt started to remind everyone of their roles.

Things never go according to plan though, and the next thing you knew, you were trapped in a supply closet hoping that the mess of butterflies you managed to escape didn’t find you.

Harcourt’s voice over comms nearly sent you jumping, but luckily you were able to keep quiet.

“Trapped. No ammo. At least ten butterflies. Northwest corridor.” You tried to give as much information as you could in as few words as possible.

“Oh! I’m close! Be right there!” Vigilante sounded way too eager to run into what may very well could be an ambush.

Harcourt had the same thought and warned him to be careful.

In just a few minutes you heard gunshots and running from outside of your hiding spot. A few more shots and Vig was calling your name over comms, “where are you?” You peeked out of the closet and sure enough, every single butterfly was distracted by Vigilante. At this point they were starting to surround him, though he managed to keep them at bay long enough for you to leap out and run to his side. “Cover me!” He shouted once you were near enough for him to toss his gun to you, quickly drawing his sword in one swift motion.

You stayed back and behind him, firing at butterflies out of reach of his sword, and he kept any from reaching you.

The two of you worked so seamlessly together that he chanced a pause while there were still a few butterflies left, these staying back and under cover, presumably waiting for backup.

“I’m actually a really good kisser!”

You rolled your eyes and sighed, for whatever reason he just couldn’t drop the subject. “Ok, sure, I believe you.”

Maybe you rolled your eyes a little too obviously, because he seemed to think you didn’t believe him. “I swear, I’m not a virgin!”

“Whatever, Vig! Now’s not the time!”

Again, he didn’t seem to believe that you believed him. “But-”

“Just kill those guys!” You finally snapped as you fired on the group, forcing them out of cover and into Vigilante’s blade.

You and Vig were surprisingly the first two to make it back to the van. Adrian decided that since there was no immediate threat that it was a good time to talk. He pulled you to the side of the van before you could even open the door.

Normally you would have crossed your arms and given him a deadpan stare to let him know that he was acting a little inappropriately. But you so suddenly found yourself pushed up against the side of the van that you were a little lost for words. He leaned in closer, his right arm propped by your head while his left hand ghosted against your hip.

He'd taken off his Vigilante mask and stuffed it in his waistband but hadn't put his glasses on, so you found yourself staring into his bright green eyes with no barrier blocking the intensity of his gaze.

"I never got to finish what I was going to say back at HQ."

You swallowed thickly, trying your best to calm your rapid pulse. Still, no matter how close he was, or how warm and fuzzy he made you feel, you couldn’t help the mischievous smile that flitted across your face. “Let me guess, you’re not a virgin?”

He actually pouted at you, eyebrows scrunched down and nose scrunched up, lips drawn in a tight line. “No,” he started, but frowned as soon as he answered, mostly because of the little laugh that escaped you.

A rosy blush spread across his face before he dropped his head onto your shoulder, “stop it! I fuck!” He whined into your neck, sending your heart racing and quieting your little giggle with a silent gasp, at least, you hoped he hadn’t heard how much he affected you.

He pushed closer to you, nudging one of his legs between yours so that his hips were pressed against yours. It was only the padding of his Vigilante gear that kept you from feeling his chest against yours. After a few silent moments, in which you swore the entire world must have stopped just so he could take off his gloves and drop them to the ground, he looked up at you, face covered in an even darker blush.

He brought a hand up and gently caressed your jaw, slowly bringing your face close to his. “I didn’t get to tell you, that you’re all I ever think about.”

“W-what?”

He moved his left hand firmly against your hip, his thumb caressing up and down as if attempting to get under your shirt. “I think about you when I’m at work, I imagine how you’d laugh at all my jokes.”

You hadn’t even realized your mouth was parted just slightly until his thumb softly brushed against your lower lip.

“When we’re on missions, I think about how hot you are when you fight.”

You could feel his breath against your lips as he spoke in a low gravelly tone that had you holding your breath. “I think about you,” he paused and licked his lips, voice dropping to a whisper, “when I’m alone.”

His eyes drifted down to your lips before sliding shut as he slowly pulled you in for a kiss. It was gentle at first, hardly more than a tentative peck before he pulled away to stare into your eyes once again.

He wanted to know if you were ok with this. You were more than ok with it. As if a line snapped, the slow deliberate atmosphere turned nearly frantic. His mouth on yours, teeth nipping at your bottom lip as you pulled him impossibly closer with one hand clutching at his chest piece and the other tangled in his hair.

Soon you were both panting but though you pulled away, his mouth continued to seek contact with you anywhere, your mouth, your jaw, your neck.

“Alright. You’re a good kisser." You gasped quietly, "but that doesn’t exactly prove that you’re good at sex.”

He grinned and once again inched his face close to yours. “Well then maybe I should prove that too!”

#vigilante x reader #adrian chase x reader #writing prompt

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multifandomfanficss · 9 months

Text

More Than I’m Willing To Lose Part 1

Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader

Featuring platonic!11th Street Kids

Adrian Chase Masterlist

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Prompt: After Project Butterfly, ARGUS decided to make some new additions to the team. You and Adrian have been secretly, hopelessly in love with each other for a year now, but are unaware of the other person’s feelings. Tired of waiting for Adrian, you decide to go on a date with someone else that doesn’t end very well. This is Adrian x GN!Reader.

Warnings: Reader injury, mentions of vomit, gun violence, panic, hospitals, cannon typical Peacemaker violence and language

A/N: So funny story…I’ve actually had the first two chapters of this in my drafts since last August because I was afraid if I posted them I would never finish the fic. A year later I actually wrote two more chapters, even though this was originally only supposed to be three parts. The chapters are done, but are still going through some proofreading and light changes. I’m gonna post a chapter once a week. The original concept for this story was to write what I called at the time “the ultimate hurt/comfort”. The concept I started with was based on an episode of Criminal Minds, but it expanded overtime. I hope you guys enjoy!! ❤️🧜‍♂️❤️

You were happily kicking your feet back and fourth at the table waiting to be let go from the debriefing. After everything went down with the butterflies, ARGUS decided it would be best to expand their small Evergreen team. You were the first addition. They had planned on adding more, but after a year you were still waiting on a big enough mission to present itself for you to be assigned more muscle. Truth be told Harcourt, Adebayo, Vigilante, and Peacemaker could handle themselves. You were great help in the van when Economos needed it. An extra hand was always needed on computers and medical needs. You weren’t a fighter, but you still found your place on the team.

“What are you so happy about?” Adebayo asked in a chipper tone.

“I have a date tonight.” You say blushing. You hadn’t been on a date in a long time. Truth be told, you were holding out for a certain team member of yours, but you feared Adrian would never get the hint and ask you out, let alone even have feelings for you, so you were doing your best to move on. He sat up a little straighter in his chair and stayed uncharacteristically quite, but you didn’t really notice. You were preoccupied by thoughts about your date and questions from your teammates.

“You got a date? Who would wanna date you?” Chris laughs. You roll your eyes.

“A really hot guy! Who’s much cooler and better look than you!” You laugh back at him. You know he’s just teasing, but you can’t help, but feel just a little hurt. You push down the feeling.

“Where did you two meet?” Leota asks.

“At a bar. He walked up to me and we started talking. It was mostly about work, but I didn’t mind listening to him. His job sounded super interesting.” You tell them.

“What do you mean you talked about work? Your job is a secret.” Adrian finally spoke up.

“Well he actually did most of the talking. He doesn’t actually know anything about computers so I just rambled on about coding. He thinks I work as a computer specialist at Best Buy.” You laugh. Adrian’s face stays deadpan.

“What does he do for work?” He asks.

“He’s a lawyer, I think. I don’t know. I can’t really remember what kind of law he specializes in.” You say, hoping to end the conversation. His eyes bore into you.

“Well that’s very exciting and I hope you have fun, but not too much fun. We have to all have to be here at 9am tomorrow.” Harcourt reminds the team. Everybody groans. The meeting ends and you start walking to your car, but Adrian stops you.

“I don’t think you should go on that date.” Adrian starts.

“And why not?” You ask.

“I just have a bad feeling. I don’t think this guy is who he says he is. You barely know anything about him! What if he’s some sort of criminal?!” Adrian begs you to not go on the date. You can’t help, but begin to bubble with anger. This is the first date you’ve gone on in over a year thanks to Adrian and he doesn’t want you to go on this one and the only reason he can pull out of his ass is his stupid intuition? No. You’re going on that fucking date.

“I’m not who I say either. Does that make me dangerous? I appreciate your concern, but I’m going on the date, Adrian.” You say, before leaving him in the parking lot.

Maybe you should have listened to him. The date was nice, but if you were being honest you did feel like he was hiding something. You pushed down the feeling though because you knew you were hiding something too.

Your date Jack was nice enough. He paid for the date and walked you home. It wasn’t until you got home that you felt not just uneasy, but scared. You were walking up the stairs to your door when you heard a clicking noise. You worked around guns enough to know exactly what that sound was. You slowly turned around to confirm your suspicions.

“What are you doing?” You ask.

“Shut up. I’m the one asking the questions.” Jack says. You nod, feeling your breath catch in your throat. It isn’t often you’ve found yourself in trouble like this, but on the rare occasion this did happen your team was always there to keep you safe. Adrian was always there to keep you safe. A tear slipped down your cheek at the thought of Adrian. He told you not to go on this date and you didn’t listen to him. Now you were never going to see him again. “Where is the Task Force X headquarters?” He asks.

“What?” You ask.

“Come on, dumbass! I know you’re on their team. You’re going to tell me everything you know, including who Vigilante is and what you’re currently working on and you’re going to tell me quickly or else you’ll never see your team again.” He rambled, stepping closer, gun pointed at you.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” You cry and play dumb.

“You should really get better security on your home computers. Your computers at work are fine, but the second you got home and pulled out your little laptop, you were mine.” That’s when you stop dead in your tracks. You always do your work from headquarters. Always. Except for the day you worked from home sick.

“I don’t really need you. I could just take your laptop. I just thought this would be more fun. After all, the thrill came entirely from stringing you along. Burglary isn’t really my style and I didn’t really feel like taking the time to hack into your laptop. You were so eager to go out with me too. I barley had to ask.” He laughs before pulling the trigger. You feel a sharp pain in your shoulder and you fall to the ground with a scream, at least you think you screamed. You can’t hear anything over the ringing in your ears. You can’t move. All you can do is cry. You feel hands all over you, searching your pockets. Your keys are taken from you as you watch Jack break into your house. As quickly as he’s in, he’s out, laptop in hand. He’s got what he needs and now he’s going to leave you to die. The ringing starts to go down and you start to feel hands on your body again. You try to move, but cry out in pain. You clench your eyes shut in both fear and pain.

“Please don’t touch me. Please. Please get away from me. Please don’t hurt me anymore” You beg. You don’t know who is above you, but you just hope it isn’t Jack or whoever he may be working with.

“Shhh it’s gonna be okay. I’m here. It’s me. It’s Adrian.” You hear his calming voice and you open your tear stained eyes to see him above you in his Vigilante suit. Your steady stream of tears turns into sobs. You hear footsteps approaching quickly and you start to hyperventilate.

“Peacemaker!” Adrian calls over his shoulder. When you realize it’s just Chris you calm down a little. “We need to get them help.” Adrian says, voice quivering.

“What happened?” Chris asks in shock.

“You were right.” You cry out, taking a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have gone on the date. You were both right. Who would want to go on a date with me? I should have known.” You hiccup through your cries. Chris stiffens.

“Hey, don’t talk like that! We need to go get them help.” Adrian says. You let go of any tears you were previously holding back.

“Please don’t leave me!” You cry. Adrian weaves one hand through your hair and the other holds your cheek as he lightly brushes his thumb across your skin.

“I promise I’ll never leave you. Peacemaker’s gonna go get my car.” Adrian promises.

“I am?” Chris asks.

“Yes, you are dude.” Adrian says, tossing him his keys. Chris runs a couple blocks to the car.

“I’m sorry.” You whine after your sobs subside a little.

“Why are you sorry?” Adrian asks.

“I didn’t listen to you. I should have listened to-“

“No, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.” Adrian cuts you off. Your eyes start to feel heavy.

“Hey, stay with me. Stay awake.” He shakes you lightly.

“I’m so tired. Adrian, I’m so scared. Am I going to die?” You ask him. You think you might faintly hear the car pulling up.

“No, I’m not going to let that happen. Peacemaker’s here. We’re going to take you to the hospital. This is going to hurt, okay?” Adrian asks. You nod and brace yourself, but when he picks you up you don’t think you could have prepared yourself for that kind of pain. You scream and grip his arms, chest, neck- anything you can hold onto.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Adrian rambles out a spew of apologies. Chris hits the gas pedal as soon as you are in the back seat with Adrian.

“I feel like I’m gonna be sick.” You whine.

“It’s okay. You can get sick if you need to. I won’t be upset with you.” Adrian secretly cringes at the thought of you throwing up in his car, but he knows you can’t help it.

“Actually can you try to hold it in because if you get sick, I’ll get sick and I can’t drive and throw up.” Chris requests. Adrian gives him a death glare from the rear view mirror. The two speed to the only hospital they know they can go to, the hospital they all went to after the final fight with the butterflies. The staff is less than happy to see Vigilante and Peacemaker walk back in, but they already know what the two men look like under the mask and the helmet, so it was the safest place to go. When you arrive you’re immediately placed on a bed and rolled away.

“No, I need him! Please!” You scream as you’re hauled away from Adrian. You don’t know wether to call him Adrian or Vigilante because your consciousness is slipping and you can’t remember what he’s dressed as, you just know you need him by your side. The nurses hold you down.

“Don’t move. You’re going to make things worse. He’ll be in the waiting room until you’re out of surgery.” The nurse promised. It broke Adrian’s heart to hear you cry for him and not be able to run to you, but he knew if he interfered that it would only take them longer to help you. The truth was he was scared too. He had never been this scared before. He had never felt like this in his life. He realized he was now also on the verge of throwing up.

“They’re gonna be fine.” Chris promised, placing a had on Adrian’s shoulder. He wasn’t 100% confident, but Adrian didn’t need to know that.

By the time you woke up, the whole team was there and Adrian was in his street clothes again. You saw everyone standing outside the waiting room talking while Adrian slept in a chair with his head against your mattress. You couldn’t really understand what they were saying so you just tuned them out. Instead you focused on Adrian’s breathing and his soft messy curls. You traced each curl with your eyes to calm yourself.

Outside your room the team was talking about you and, little did you know, Adrian.

“I’ve never seen him like this before. I’ve never seen him care so much about someone.” Chris starts.

“I thought he didn’t have emotions.” Economos questions.

“Everyone has emotions, even Adrian.” Adebayo added.

“It’s true. I’ve seen him cry before.” Harcourt added her two cents. They all give her a look.

“But can we at least agree he’s being MORE emotional than usual?” Economos asks. They all nod.

Back in the room you decide to start playing with Adrian’s hair. He jolts awake, only to realize it’s just you and he relaxes into your fingers. He then fully realizes it’s you again and practically jumps out of his seat.

“You’re awake! I’m so thankful that Peacemaker and I were patrolling that area and heard the gun shot. Never do anything like that to me ever again!” Adrian exclaims.

“I’m sorry.” You apologize.

“Don’t be sorry. Just don’t do it again.” Adrian sighs, taking your hand in his. The rest of the team must have heard your conversation because they start to shuffle in.

“Hey, kid.” Chris says softly. You always hated that nickname when you started to work with the team, but you had grown to love it. It was given to you because you were the youngest on the team. You were a few years younger than Adrian making you over 10 years younger than Chris.

“How are you feeling?” Adebayo asks.

“Not so hot.” You make an effort at a laugh. You grip Adrian’s hand a little tighter unintentionally and he gives your hand back a squeeze to remind you he’s there. It’s hard to feel all of the spotlight on you. You can’t help, but feel like you’ve fucked up badly. John shifts uncomfortably where he stands.

“I’m gonna head back the van. I’ll be on coms when you get what you need.” Economos starts to head out.

“What do you need?” You ask.

“Could you give us some privacy?” Harcourt asks for the room. Chris and Adebayo leave to stand outside the door. Adrian reluctantly stands up, but you don’t let go of his hand. It’s embarrassing how you hear your heart monitor increase at the thought of him leaving you again. Harcourt must sense or literally hear your panic, despite trying to keep it down.

“Chase can stay if you want.” She says. You nod and he sits back down. Your heartbeat falls into a steady pace when he starts to rub his thumb against your hand.

“I need to ask you a few questions. They might be kind of hard to answer, but it‘s very important you answer them to keep yourself and the rest of us safe. You can take a break at any time.” She tells you and you nod. The first questions she asked were about Jack’s appearance. It was easy to describe hair color, but when you had to go more into detail it almost felt like you were back there with him. Your heart monitor increased again. You felt a tear slip down your cheek. You avoided looking at Adrian. You should have listened to him when he told you not to go on the date. You then went into detail on what he was looking for and what he asked you. By the end you were crying so hard you could barely get out the words.

“I think they should take a break.” Adrian told Harcourt.

“No, I have to keep going.” You told him.

“No, you don’t (Y/N). You can take a break.” She tells you.

“I have to keep going. It was my fault. First I didn’t check to make sure my connection was secure on my laptop and then I went on a date with him even though you said I shouldn’t. I should have believed you and Chris. Why would a guy like me? It’s my fault. He said I made it easy.” You cry.

“It’s not your fault. Chris was just being an asshole. You are worthy of attention from guys. It’s not your fault you try to see the best in people. Hell, I wonder what you see in me and why you’re my friend everyday.” Adrian says. Truth be told you see much more in Adrian than you’ve ever told him. You think you might love him, but you know you can’t say that. You can’t handle the rejection right now.

“I’m going to go out to the van. I think John’s got something.” She informs you. You forgot they were wearing coms and you weren’t. It was odd to not have their voices in your ear.

After everyone is gone you look back to Adrian.

“Hey Adrian, can I ask you a favor?” You ask.

“I’ll do literally anything for you.” You smile at him.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to…” You trail off, embarrassed by your request.

“What is it? Whatever it is, I’ll do it.” Adrian says, very adamant on helping you.

“Can you lay in bed with me and hold me?” You ask quietly. He smiles.

“Move over.” He instructs you as he helps you settle into the other side of the bed. He takes off his shoes and slowly climbs in, sliding his arms around you. You place your head on his chest so you can hear his heartbeat. You start to drift off to sleep to the sound of his heartbeat and the feeling of his chest rising and falling with his breath.

“I promise I’m never going to let anything like this happen again. I’m going to keep you safe. I’ll make this right. I love you.” He says as you fade away. He must have thought you were already sleeping. You would respond if you didn’t feel so heavy. You’re not even sure if you heard him right. You could just be high on pain meds. You probably just imagined it.

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