#so I just did two songs every hour or two to keep the bar from being full | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sporadicbeans82 · 12 days

Text

Pain || Alexia Putellas x Reader

Requested here

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of fighting, gross men doing gross things, blood and injury, unedited

Word count: 3.8k words

Throughout the years that you’d been with Alexia Putellas, you’d given up the vast majority of your nightlife. As you sat next to your girlfriend of three years, her hand warm against the top of your thigh, you remembered just why.

It was late, almost so late that one would probably consider it to be “early morning”. Anyway, it was way past your bedtime, and you found yourself having to fight back yawns every few minutes.

It probably didn’t help that you’d played a full 90 minutes of football a few hours earlier. Each movement you made was met with a protest from your muscles, and you feared that something would cramp if you moved too much.

The deep base of whatever fast-paced Spanish song played so loudly around you that you could barely keep up with the very people who had brought you there. Claudia, Pina, and Cata, the three although mostly Patri, had convinced you and Alexia to come for a night out with them, to celebrate your win for the day.

After a lot of whining and pleading, and a promise from Jana to introduce you to Fletcher at the concert she planned on going to, you and Alexia had agreed.

And so, that was how you found yourself at a bar in Barcelona, slightly intoxicated and more-than-slightly ready to go home.

It wasn’t as though you were a “party pooper”, you and your girlfriend simply preferred a calm night in rather than a rambunctious night out. The both of you were very passionate about football, and about your careers, which meant the two of you were often going to bed early and avoiding distractions to your goals. It made you a good couple, deemed a “power couple” by most of the womens’ football community, as you’d seen on Twitter. However, it also meant that the team could rarely drag the two of you out.

Someone stumbled into the table you and several of your teammates sat at, and you recognized the figure as a very, very drunk Pina. The brunette used both of her hands to grip onto the table and regain her balance, and Alexia leaned over to pull the girl down into a seat.

“Hola. You will sit here now. Estás bien?” Your girlfriend spoke softly to her younger teammate, stroking some of her hair back from her sweaty face. Claudia fixed her brown eyes on you and Alexia and gave the both of you a huge, mindless grin, one which had you smirking to yourself.

“Hola Ale,” Claudia slurred. “Estoy muy bien.”

The younger girl giggled, leaning on Alexia, and Alexia turned her gaze towards you to give you a measured look. Leaning in so that you could hear her, Alexia spoke.

“I will go get la idiota water. You stay here, con ella.” The mix of spanglish which left Alexia’s mouth had, at the beginning of your relationship, been hard to decipher. Now that you’d been together for so long, you were able to understand her much better, making sense of the faster-paced Spanish and the random slew of English, Catalan, and Spanish that the girl used to communicate.

At first, Alexia had clearly had a preference for Spanish. For you, she’d changed that, out of her yearning to communicate and to find common ground, which you’d appreciated. In return, you had learned Spanish and Catalan.

And so, you nodded at Alexia, allowing her to slip out of the booth and for Pina to slip in further, leaning onto your shoulder. Her body was warm against yours, uncomfortably so, but you could say you were used to it, given your occupation as a footballer.

As Claudia babbled incoherently in your ear, you kept an eye out for your girlfriend as she strode up to the bar. You were watching out of a mix of protectiveness and interest. You couldn’t deny the little flutter in your chest as Alexia leaned against the counter of the bar, waiting for someone to address her. As she did so, she caught your eye and smiled shyly at you, a look which made your fluttering chest explode.

You smiled back, and Claudia poked your cheek with a giggle of her own.

“You are in loveeee.” Claudia said, the alcohol in her system making her thick Spanish accent ever-thicker. You smiled gently, keeping your eyes on Alexia even as you spoke to the younger woman.

“Si. I am very in love.” You confessed. They were words that you’d said a million times, but they never failed to make you blush whenever they left your lips. Even now, your smile grew and the warmth in your chest persevered.

Your smile fell just a second later as a tall, blonde man strode up to your girlfriend. He was sweating, which you could see from where you sat as his hair stuck to his forehead, and the way at which he stumbled told you that he was heavily intoxicated. He leaned up against the counter, entirely too close to your girlfriend for either of you to be okay with, and slanted over towards Alexia in order to speak into her ear. Immediately, you could tell that his presence wasn’t welcomed.

Alexia tensed, her smile turning downward into an annoyed frown as she looked at the man. She’d shaken her head at him, a motion to decline whatever he had offered her. She’d turned sideways, trying to put a little bit of room between the two, and you saw the way her shoulders seemed to turn inward.

You watched, brows furrowed, as the man continued to try to talk to Alexia. The girl continued to try to lean away from the man and to create space, but the man continued to push forward. You nearly lost your cool when the man put his hand on her lower back.

You tried not to be overprotective of Alexia, as you knew the other girl was an incredibly independent person. You both were, in fact, which sometimes caused arguments between the two of you. You knew that Alexia could handle whatever came at her, and you knew that she prided herself on being able to handle anything and everything.

And so, you were slower to get up, hoping that Alexia did, in fact, have it handled. You did, however, gently move Claudia so that she was no longer leaning on you. Then, you got up, your eyes still carefully surveying Alexia and her facial expressions.

You began to make your way over to them, and that was when you noticed the mans’ hand, which was still firmly planted on your girlfriends’ lower back. It was then that the man made his move, sliding the appendage lower to grope her ass.

You swore you saw red, and any ounce of control that you had over yourself was gone in a flash. One second, you were making your way over, and the next had you grabbing a fistful of the mans’ shirt, pulling him away from Alexia harshly.

You tried to put as much space between Alexia and the man as you could, angling yourself so that you were in between the two as you confronted the man. The man was shouting, his voice drunkenly thick and agitated, a spattering of words which you couldn’t have understood even if they were spoken in your mother tongue.

You shoved the man backward, your own shouts meeting him in a clash of loud voices. You weren’t nearly as drunk, but you were pissed off and the alcohol was making you bolder than usual.

“Fuck off, you douchebag. Can’t you see that she’s uncomfortable?” The man simply continued to shout, making a rude gesture at you. “Even if she weren’t, why would she wanna go home with someone looking like their ballsack hasn’t seen soap and water in a month? Wash up, buddy, you’re disgusting.”

Your words were lewd, and some of your teammates around you shared looks– Paños chortled at your insult, as did Patri, Mapi, and a few of the other girls. The more responsible ones, such as Ingrid and Alexia, were sure that this was going to end badly.

Alexia reached forward to try to grab your shoulder, attempting to pull you back as she saw the man step towards you. The movement was probably what saved you, altering the point of contact between the mans’ fist and your face.

It was a glancing blow, the mans’ knuckles smashing into your cheekbone. It sent you into the corner of the bar all the same, your forehead connecting with the wooden countertop. Your vision blackened as your body connected with the floor, the last thing you were able to make out being several pairs of shoes moving around.

Alexia, however, was out of her mind. One moment, you were standing and angry, and the next you were on the ground, limp and bleeding from God knew where.

Before she knew it, security was restraining the man, leading him out of the bar. They were going to grab Alexia and some of the other girls, but the bartender who had witnessed the entire situation stopped him.

Alexia didn’t really see any of that. As soon as the man had been escorted out, she’d crouched down next to your fallen body. To her relief, you’d already awoken and were trying to get up.

As you tried to sit up, however, your entire body seemed to sway. Everything around you was spinning, and you didn’t know whether it was the intense pain in your head or the alcohol in your system which had you leaning to the side, trying not to vomit.

“Ale-” You whined, sure that your girlfriend was near. You felt someones’ hands on your shoulders, but you couldn’t hear anything over the loud music. Speaking of, the bass of the song which was playing in the bar was cacophonous and painful to what you would have considered to be an intolerable degree. It was, quite frankly, the worst nightmare of someone with a concussion.

Your pain was only doubled as lights flashed within the bar, and you tried to close your eyes tightly to block out the sight. Your face hurt, and so did your shoulder, where you had slammed against the floor after hitting the counter after… being hit in the face.

As soon as you began to remember what happened, your anger and concern returned in full force. Was Alexia okay? Was the rest of the team okay? Was the man still there? Your eyes opened as you tried to check, but immediately closed as the lights in the bar assaulted you. You groaned out in pain, and heard someone try to hush you.

Alexia wasn’t sure what to do to help you, afraid that you’d somehow broken your neck, or suffered a brain bleed during your fall, or that you had broken a bone. Her mind had jumped to all of the worst possible things, and she couldn’t help but worry over each of them.

Alexia couldn’t remember ever being so worried before. Sure, she’d watched her teammates get injured and had been concerned, but she couldn’t remember ever being scared like she was right now. Perhaps it was because she couldn’t control the environment, couldn’t control the fact that you had gotten hurt– that you had gotten hurt because of her. She felt terrible, and her stomach seemed to flip upside down as she watched you try to take in your surroundings, as your nose and eyes scrunched in pain.

Blood was everywhere– were you supposed to be bleeding this much? It was coming from the cut on your forehead, a cut so small that it shouldn’t have been bleeding this much. Why were you bleeding so much? Alexia could feel her panic taking over, unable to do anything to control it as she knelt by your side, helpless to do anything but watch. She felt like she was having an out of body experience– this couldn’t be her, and that couldn’t be you.

She’d never seen you so still before, so pale and small. She’d never been so panicked before, she was supposed to be stronger than this. However, in the face of uncontrollably scary circumstances, Alexia was doomed to do nothing else but freeze.

It was Ingrid who came to your aid, kneeling down beside you and your girlfriend. Her hand was soft as she grabbed your chin, taking note of the small cut on your forehead and the bruising which had already begun to form below your eye.

“Alexia,” Ingrid tried not to shout, but she had to get her captains’ attention somehow. “We need to get her out of here. It’s too loud and too bright, and I think that she has a concussion.”

“No, I’m okay, I don’t want to ruin your fun!” You argued, clearly more than a little bit out of it. Despite that, the two were glad to know that you could understand them and speak in response.

Alexia nodded, pursing her lips as she took you in. She wanted to take you to get you checked out, as you clearly had been injured. However, she knew that they needed to get you out of here first.

As gently as she could, Alexia put her hand under your arm and waited for Ingrid to do the same on your other side. Together, the two stood up with you carefully supported between them.

Slowly, the two brought you through the bar, surrounded by the rest of your teammates. Other people made room for you all to get to the door, as you had caused quite the scene.

Alexia was concerned by just how much of your weight was being carried by herself and Ingrid. You seemed almost slumped over and still out of it, you seemed to become more aware of yourself as they carried on. Slowly, you began to walk by yourself, taking more of your weight on shaky legs. Even still, Ingrid and Alexia stayed by your side, mostly to ensure that aforementioned shaky legs didn’t fail on you and cause you to fall back to the ground.

Your teammates began to drift away, to their own vehicles, as Alexia and Ingrid carried you towards Alexia’s car. They whispered quiet goodnights to each other, and to you, and many told Alexia to call them if they needed anything.

Finally, it was just you, Alexia, Ingrid, and Mapi. They stood in front of Alexia’s car, with you buckled into the back seat while the other three stood talking amongst themselves. Alexia had positioned herself so that she could keep you within eyesight, her eyes never once straying from your form, and the way that your head had slumped against the window.

They knew that you had to go to the hospital, to at the very least check that you hadn’t hurt anything else in your fall.

“Ale, estás segura de que estás bien para conducir? Are you ok to drive?” Mapi questioned Alexia, sounding pensive. Between the couple, Alexia seemed to be a shaky mess. Her hands quaked as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Noticing this, Ingrid slowly brought her hand up to Alexia’s shoulder, rubbing it softly in order to try to comfort the clearly distressed woman.

“Sí. Estoy bien. I can drive.” Alexia nodded, almost seeming to be speaking more to herself than to the other two.

Ingrid didn’t seem quite as convinced, however, and shook her head.

“No, I will drive. Hop in the backseat with your girlfriend, Ale. We’ll help you, okay? YOu do not have to do this alone.” Her voice dripped with sweetness, portraying a calm that seemed to seep into Alexia’s very being.

Slowly, Alexia nodded, clearly relieved over not having to do this alone. Mapi opened the back door for her, closing it behind Alexia once the captain had gotten into the backseat beside you. Mapi and Ingrid climbed into the front, with Ingrid driving due to the fact that Mapi was still recovering from injury.

As the two started the car and made sure the radio had been turned off, Alexia gently checked on you.

“Ay, mi amor. Mantente despierto por mí. There you go, stay awake, good.” The girl allowed you to rest your head on her shoulder, making sure that your eyes stayed open. They continued to droop, and it was obvious that you were exhausted.

Alexia leaned her head over and gently placed a kiss on your forehead, making sure not to jostle you as she did so.

“Ale,” you groaned, as the car drove over a bump. You winced in pain, and Alexia hushed you gently.

“I know, mi alma. It is okay, it will be okay.” You’d never heard Alexia speak so gently to you, her fear and concern seeping into every word that left her lips. She’d managed to calm the tremors in her hand and used her free hand to wrap it around your upper body. Her hand pressed gently into the side of your head, making sure that you weren’t jostled any more than you already had been. The pressure on your face had you whimpering in pain, and Alexia apologized ever-so-quietly, pressing another soft kiss to your forehead.

“Almost there, just a little bit longer.” Ingrid promised from the front seat, and Alexia whispered a thank you to the dark haired woman.

Alexia’s cool palm against your injured cheek was calming you down. So much so that you felt yourself being lulled to sleep. As your eyes closed and opened repeatedly, you felt them becoming heavier and heavier. Every part of you yearned for sleep, for rest, and for a break from the intense, splintering pain in your head.

You could feel yourself losing your battle to sleep, but you couldn’t find it within yourself to care. As your eyes closed one final time, you heard Alexia trying to urge you to stay awake, but it quickly turned to begging.

Your last cognisant thought before you fell into a dark, fitful rest was that Alexia smelled really, really pretty.

-----

Four hours later found you being discharged from the hospital with nothing more serious than a concussion.

Alexia had been beside herself with fear when you’d been wheeled to a room just a few minutes after you’d arrived. She’d been forced to sit in a waiting room, with nothing but the company of Ingrid, Mapi, and her panicked thoughts.

Alexia had been incredibly relieved when the doctors had come to get her just an hour later, telling her that you were fine, save for your concussion and a few stitches that you’d needed for your forehead.

She’d been allowed to see you, to sit by your side as the doctors did some last minute check-ins with you. By then, you had been more lucid and had been able to have quiet conversations with your girlfriend.

Ingrid and Mapi had joined you a short time later, and had stayed by your side as Alexia had wheeled you out. They’d helped you back into the car, and had driven the two of you back to Alexia’s.

The couple had tried to leave, but Alexia had ushered them inside her home. She’d made them sleep in her guest room, stating that it was entirely too late for them to be driving home, and that she had more than enough space for them.

As Mapi and Ingrid had settled in, Alexia had left them to go check on you. She’d placed you in your shared bedroom, with the lights off and a small ice pack on your forehead to deal with the swelling from the cut. You already looked awful, with the mark below your eye darkening and the white gauze on your forehead sticking out starkly against your skin.

Still, with your eyes closed and your lips open, making little snoring noises, Alexia couldn’t help but think that you were still beautiful. At one point during that night, she had considered what would happen if she had lost you, and she couldn’t bring it upon herself to consider a life without you.

You were the light in a gloomy day to her. When Alexia called you her love, her heart, her soul, she wasn’t kidding. You were everything and more to her. If she didn’t have football, if she didn’t have a house, a car, a respectable career, she would still have you, and that was enough to make her happy.

She would have given up everything she had and more to make sure that you were safe.

Slowly, Alexia made her way over to you and sat down on the other side of the bed. Gently, she stroked your hair back from where it stuck out against your forehead. Again, she found her pressing a gentle kiss against the skin there, her lips lingering as she fought back the emotions which threatened to break from her.

“Ale?” Your voice broke her from her thoughts, the dreadful “what-if’s” which had crossed her mind more times than she could count throughout this entire experience.

“Yes, mi amor?” Alexia asked, voice so quiet that you could barely hear her. Her breaths brushed against your skin, lips still close to you.

“Are you okay?” You asked, and you heard Alexia chuckle a little bit at that.

“Should it not be me who asks that?” Alexia questioned, but you could hear the humor breaking through her voice.

“No. Are you okay?” You repeated your question, stubborn as ever. You needed an answer, always one to look out for your girlfriend, even when you could barely “look out” of one eye.

“Yes, I am okay. You are okay. It will be okay,” Alexia’s answer confused you, and it would only be later, when you were able to look back on the events of that night, that you would understand her. “Go back to sleep, mi alma.”

You didn’t need any more convincing as your eyes fluttered back closed, sleep coming back to claim you once more.

Alexia laid down beside you, pressing her nose against your neck and taking a deep breath. As your familiar scent flooded through her, she felt herself calming further. She had doubted that she would be able to sleep that night.

However, your skin against hers, in combination with the sound of your soft breaths, managed to calm her down enough to lull her back to a sleep as deep as your own.

-----

You were given the week off by Jona, and Alexia had also taken off so that she could care for you. Throughout the rest of your week, you also had a number of visitors– from Claudia, Patri, and Cata to Ingrid and Mapi, to many, many more of your teammates.

They all showered you with gifts, although Pina, Patri, and Cata had been kicked out when Alexia had caught them obsessing over how “cool you had looked” when you had punched the “gross looking man”.

For the rest of the week, Alexia treated you like glass. It only took a few days for you to grow tired of the treatment. However, knowing how scared Alexia had been, you never once complained.

Despite the pain in your head and the ache in your bones, you knew that you would have done it all again an infinite number of times for the girl that you loved.

#woso imagine #woso one shot #woso x reader #alexia putellas x reader #woso fanfics #harper writes

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the-au-thor · 3 months

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Hi!! I have a request for a Spencer Reid x fem reader!!

Can you do something like reader also works at the BAU and they both are in love with each other but have never said anything, and Spencer goes on a date or flirts with a girl when the team is out at a bar or something and reader gets sad and jealous. She like leaves cause she’s annoyed and angry. And Spencer is confused why she’s upset? And eventually confronts her and this leads to feelings being revealed and it ends in cute fluff??

Hey hun, hope you're having a great time! I am a sucker for friends-to-lovers and jealous friends motifs. Thanks for the request. I wrote something, I hope you like it, I wrote it last night cause I couldn't sleep.

The Secret Game and the shy Girl | Spencer reid x fem!Reader

Word: 1.6 k

Warning: Typical cm topics. Nothing gore

Caliope's Bar was bustling. It was surprisingly calm for a bar; usually, it was packed, but people calmly occupied the tables, enjoying dinner with a couple of beers or fancier drinks. The karaoke didn't start until around 10, and the dance floor opened at midnight. Spencer didn't stay until that late hour; he usually left with you when you stepped down from the small stage, carefully placing your electroacoustic guitar on its stand.

In Quantico, it was no secret that you loved music. While your father was a retired cop, your mother had been a talented backup singer in Las Vegas before becoming a nurse. They inevitably passed on their interests to you, ensuring you couldn't escape the excitement whenever you had the chance to sing and let others listen. Although the fact that you sang at that bar had been a secret for a while.

Today was a special day, not just because it was the day of the week you came here and had the courage to play the guitar and sing a couple of songs for half an hour, but also because it was the celebration of your adoption. When you first arrived at the BAU, you were so shy that you could barely speak more than two words. You usually approached Hotchner and whispered your thoughts on each case, avoiding verbalizing them in front of the entire team. After a while, you recognized that Hotch had shown you a lot of patience, as had the rest of your colleagues and friends. The truth was that Hotch had identified in you resilience, talent, and a strong sense of ethics; he just needed you to believe you could do more than the office work you were used to in your previous job in the cybercrime department. That's why he asked Spencer to help you; both had a lot in common, being young and somewhat socially awkward, but Spencer had been in Quantico much longer, and Hotchner knew he could help you break out of your shell. To be honest, Spencer would have helped you even if Hotchner hadn't asked; he had observed how challenging it was for you to adapt to the team and the enormous effort it took for you to go out into the field and chase psychopaths. As their friendship grew, so did Spencer's admiration for you, discovering new facets of your personality that you struggled to reveal. It took a year for Spencer to learn about your adoption, and another year for the team to find out and want to be part of that celebration. By the third and fourth years in the BAU, that tradition had become much more organic and easier for you, someone whose sociometer didn't allow too many social commitments.

There was a night in your first year as a BAU member when Spencer followed you out of childlike curiosity from the offices to Caliope's bar. He didn't expect to find you singing a song by The Carpenters under a dim spotlight, but there you were. After your performance, with flushed cheeks and trembling like jelly, you introduced Caliope, the owner of the place and your best friend, and made him swear to keep the secret. Spencer respected that; every time you decided to open up to the team, it was on your own terms, and Spencer knew you would be comfortable when the time came to share those little details in your life that made you special.

Both remembered that conversation after you stepped down from the stage that night.

"Hey, hey," Caliope stopped you from the counter. "The Carpenters?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she handed you a chamomile tea in a recyclable mug.

You accepted it nodding.

"Uh, yeah. It's my parents' favorite band. Does it sound bad?"

Caliope vehemently denied.

"Not at all."

Taking your second sip of tea, you raised it with a smile.

"Thanks for the free tea. You do know I don't play here for free food, right?" you asked.

Caliope raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, no queenie" she denied using the nickname she had given you since she met you "Not today. This is an invitation from the curious not ugly man who's been watching you since you arrived"

You turned, surprised, following Caliope's gaze, and found — not just eyes — but Spencer Reid's eyes surrounded by a purple scarf around his neck, sitting elegantly and eccentrically at the farthest table in the bar. Then, you sent him a serious look that Caliope immediately caught.

"Should I call the police?" she hesitated clumsily.

You shook your head.

"No, it's the police" then you smiled to reassure her " I know him."

You walked towards Spencer, seeing him somewhat nervous, as if guilty of eating the last cookie from the bag.

"Good performance up there" he greeted." I didn't know you could sing"

You observed him in silence and shook your head slowly.

"I hadn't told anyone at work. It's just a hobby..." you stammered "...What are you doing here?"

Spencer looked a bit more nervous, then fiddled with one of the laces of his converse while looking at the ground.

"I..." then his voice almost disappeared "... I followed you because I was going to suggest we could take the subway together since we both go the same But then I got curious about where you were going. I promise when I saw you enter the cafe, I thought, 'Okay. She's in a safe place. This is when I leave'" he looked at you honestly "And then I liked the place, and I thought it would probably be good to run into you and say it was just a coincidence."

That caught you by surprise. That didn't sound like Spencer at all. Not knowing what to say, you looked at your chamomile tea and heard Spencer clear his throat.

"Yeah. Since it's late, I thought something caffeine and theine-free would be much better"

You nodded at Spencer's explanation and silently sipped the infusion.

"It's true. It is"

You saw him press his lips with discomfort, and something seemed to bother him.

"Please don't be bothered by this. I never do this, really. I understand we are also colleagues. And now I feel like I intruded into your private life"

You interrupted.

" First, no. Except for Callie over there, I have no friends. And second, please, don't keep justifying it because it somehow makes it worse" you paused and smiled, not really feeling the smile, but trying to be friendly " I have to go home. Don't worry about this"

You said your goodbyes and left the place with your hands buried in the pockets of your jacket.

"Wait. I'm really sorry" you heard him behind you.

"You've already said that!" you replied without turning to him, while you continued walking.You heard his steps behind you diminish until he reached your side.

"Seriously. I didn't mean to intrude — he said, gently wrapping his arm around yours.Both stopped, and you recoiled, almost as a natural reaction, making Spencer take a step back and let go of you. That obviously surprised him, but he didn't say anything.

"It doesn't matter now. It's not a state secret. Just, what? did you discover that I play the guitar and sing decently? That's it. Seriously" you kept walking, and Spencer decided to accompany your steps.

"I'm your friend"

That statement stopped you in your tracks. You looked directly into his eyes with a surprised look.

"What?"

"Yeah. You're my friend. That's how I see you," he clarified almost shyly. "Although friends don't keep secrets, but we can work on that," he said with so much confidence that you could feel the walls around you crumbling.

After that, Spencer suggested the plan of revealing a secret from time to time, even if it was tiny and of little importance. He never pressured you, though, and that made you feel safe. A couple of months ago, you had managed to tell your team about your hobby when you announced that Caliope had offered you a table with free snacks and drinks for the anniversary of your adoption, and everyone was invited.

You had been adopted at the age of 12, which meant you had spent much of your life in foster home and temporary homes with guardians who had accepted you more for government benefits than out of a kind and giving heart. You knew that was the main reason why your shyness was a huge personal enemy. When your parents adopted you, you came to your new home with many reservations. What kind of people adopt an almost teenager when they could easily adopt a baby and raise it without all the traumas and problems you carried? You had been in therapy because you couldn't speak more than two words in a sentence, and you brought with you a bunch of deeply ingrained habits that you no longer had to carry out; your parents genuinely loved you and wouldn't send you back to the orphanage for breaking a plate or not making your bed perfectly. Although you had created a connection with them and felt comfortable around them, it was still difficult for you to interact with the world. Your parents made an effort to plan barbecues with your father's entire police department and instill in you the confidence to earn your own money and step out of your comfort zone. That helped you take risks; you went to college in a place far from New York at Caltech, then joined the FBI, and suddenly you found yourself in a job interview at Hotchner's office. You had been alone, and the weight of the sudden responsibility that your job required hit your shoulders hard; you had no idea, however, that Spencer Reid would be right by your side all the time to make that weight lighter.

Obviously, you would fall in love with him.

Due to your history, it was difficult for you to give your heart a chance to risk feeling something for a guy, and because of your personality, it was difficult for a guy to even get close to you and decide to be your friend. Spencer broke those walls and also built a bridge for the rest of the team to cross and get to know you.

You had let him in; he helped you with your little aversion to kids. You went from feeling terribly uncomfortable with them to not knowing how you could live without Henry and Mike. He knew about your fascination with compost and Californian worms without thinking for a minute that it was disgusting and that you were a weirdo. He had even entered your kitchen and followed every instruction from the recipe book your mother had given you but that you had never used because you were very bad at cooking.In retrospect, you opened the doors of your life, your mind, and practically let him into your heart with a welcoming committee.

And it was so damn painful. Especially because he was beautiful, brilliant in more ways than intellectual, and an excellent match, and even if he didn't realize it, other girls did. And the frustrating part was that you were all too aware of the female attention he received.

"Listen; no talking about work tonight," Penelope threatened from her seat while urgently drinking a piña colada through a straw.

You had stepped down from the stage a few minutes ago and sat at the table with your friends. You had mare your own version of "Child Of Mine," the anthem your parents had decided to dedicate to you and the song that had become your favorite since then.

"Olivia, Deacon," Will drew your parents' attention as he hugged J.J from his neck. "A couple of days ago, we celebrated Henry's birthday. Do you know what he asked for as a gift?"

"From your expression, I'm going to guess it wasn't a scale model train," Derek, Who couldn't attend to the party replied with a curious expression.

Will raised a half-smile and shook his head.

"It wasn't a scale model train or an animatronic dinosaur, no."

"It was a gardening and composting kit," J.J answered, making your parents laugh.

"He spent half an hour lecturing us on the structure of a cocoon," Emily drank from her drink and looked at the ceiling. "Ah, I just wanted to eat cake," she recalled, also reminiscing about her frustration, making you laugh.

"I think we owe that to our dear girl here," Rossi pointed to you with his glass and proceeded to make his traditional toast.

Spencer watched your cheeks change color to a nervous pink and lower your gaze, causing your lashes to brush your cheekbones.

He knew why those little bugs fascinated you so much; daily they did essential work for the ecosystem that no one saw and laid thousands of tiny eggs protected by a cocoon that enveloped them until they were ready to hatch. Those characteristics made you unconsciously identify with them.

His eyes studied you from top to bottom, enjoying the microscopic reactions that only he, because he knew you so well, could see, and he felt somewhat overwhelmed. Lately, this happened to him frequently; he even considered getting medical exams again to check that everything was fine. Maybe he just needed to lift himself a bit.

"Pizza and strawberry juice?" He offered, knowing that under no circumstances would you drink alcohol.You looked up at him as the rest listened to your father tell a story from his years in the police.

"I can go, don't worry," Spencer said.

"Spencer, I can do it, it's not a problem" you replied.

Spencer raised a small smile and unconsciously, for a brief moment, placed his hand on yours.

"No problem as well, I'll go order and be back in a minute," he promised and quickly walked to the counter where your friend was talking to a few clients.

You watched his back with a somewhat lost look. You repeated to yourself over and over that you had to try to see yourself as he did: his friend, nothing more.

Of course, your emotions had decided something completely different.

You averted your gaze from Spencer and decided to make an effort to engage in the conversation at the table to distract yourself for a while. The "minute" turned into half an hour, and then you realized Spencer still hadn't returned with the juice and slice of pizza he had promised you. You searched for him throughout the bar until you found him at Caliope's counter, confidently pulling a coin from the ear of a fascinated girl sitting there.

The elegantly shaped woman, sporting heels that only accentuated her already lengthy legs, held a martini in one hand and had Spencer's full attention in the other. He animatedly spoke to her, occasionally touching a strand of her hair while asking her questions about something that seemed to greatly excite him.

You observed yourself, feeling overly aware of all your flaws and the fact that, of course, Spencer wasn't by your side at the moment. He was too busy performing his coin trick again with the unknown woman.

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, feeling a tight knot in your stomach, pulling your guts, remembering the scene you just wanted to escape from. Spencer was charming, and when he talked about something that interested him, his eyes shone and magnetized the area, so much that there was no other option but to gravitate around him, unable to deny him attention. This time was no exception; Spencer's charisma stealing the attention of the captivating woman with a perfect impeccable smile.

Jealousy, like an unexpected storm, seized your veins, pulling at them and tensing your body. Involuntary glances towards Spencer and the captivating brunette revealed your internal turmoil. Spencer's subtle flirting gestures turned into a vivid picture, leaving an indelible mark on you.

Panic surged through you; you were at a table full of profilers, your parents being the best in the field, even though they had never studied it, but they would analyze you perfectly because they just knew you that good. They would read you; you had to leave there quickly before they noticed, and could only feel pity for you.

"I'll get some fresh air," you whispered confidently to your mom.

She knew that social situations easily drained you, so she wouldn't suspect. You stood up, trying to appear natural, and walked away from the scene that systematically broke your heart, making you want to confront Spencer even though he owed you nothing. He was single, and you were just his best friend.

You took a deep breath once outside, running your fingers through your hair, trying not to lose your composure. You had to leave, right? Invent an excuse; a stomach virus or something. You could pretend something like that without them realizing you were faking. You just had to seem convinced.

Outside, the air was cold in contrast to the boiling emotions within you. You tried to calm yourself, and when you thought you had succeeded, you turned to re-enter the bar, only to collide with Spencer, who was hurrying out with a concerned look that didn't relax until his eyes met yours.

"Are you okay? You left in a hurry, and I got worried," he said.

You bit the inside of your cheek, but that didn't stop you from responding with too much harshness, "I'm fine. I just needed some air. I'm surprised you noticed me leave; you seemed very comfortable."

Spencer looked surprised. You had never spoken to him like that, and he couldn't find a logical reason for it.

"Comfortable? What are you talking about?"

You lowered your gaze. Of course, Spencer Reid wouldn't be aware of his own flirting.

"With the girl at the bar. You left for a slice of pizza and didn't come back" That seemed to make Spencer piece together part of the puzzle, and he genuinely looked embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I just got distracted."

You wanted to yell at him and drag him away from the bar, but instead, you muttered an almost emotionless "ah."

"I'm sorry for lingering at the bar."

"You know? I think the fresh air hasn't done anything. I must have caught a virus or something. I'll get my things," you excused yourself, knowing you couldn't have acted less convincingly.

"Maybe it's just fatigue. Let's go for your pizza, and you'll see that you'll feel better," he said with a repentant tone.

You shook your head without looking at him.

"No, no. It's not that. Seriously, don't worry. Go back to the girl, and I..." you took a difficult breath, searching for air, "You go back to the girl, and I'll get my things."

Concerned, he might have sworn he saw tears starting to well up in your eyes, triggering alarms inside him. What was happening?

"What? No! I'll take you home. I'm done with her anyway."

That made you feel nauseous. What did that mean? He had finished talking because they had exchanged numbers, and he no longer needed to keep charming her, treating her like a human ATM. He could charm her on their upcoming date, or...?You furrowed your brow.

"You're done with her?"

"Yes. She's a friend of Caliope. She joked about adding a magic show to the bar nights, and her friend asked me to teach her the coin trick to use it to get a date."

You blinked, stunned by that revelation, and looked up at Spencer, who wore the most innocent expression a man of his age could have. That made you forget your distress for a few seconds.

"Spencer..." you called him, "she was just flirting with you."

He blinked quickly, confused. "No, she..."

"She asked you to teach her a trick to flirt because she was flirting with you," you clarified, realizing that all this time Spencer was genuinely teaching a trick to an unknown girl while she genuinely thought she was doing a good job of flirting with him.

That simple explanation seemed to have a clarifying effect on Spencer. His cheeks turned slightly pink. Surely, he felt like a fool.

But here, the only fool was you. You had fallen in love with your best friend and had made a scene of jealousy without justification. What's worse, even though Spencer wasn't interested in the stranger this time, someday, someone who capture his attention would appear, someone he would want to be with. You would have to step back and watch as your best friend, the love of your life, was happy with someone else. You would lose him before even have him for a stranger who he would love dearly. You didn't know if you could bear it.

Spencer observed your face, almost able to imagine all the gears turning inside you. You looked upset and embarrassed. He wondered what you could possibly be thinking. He knew you well and had never seen you so distressed. You didn't want to look him in the eyes, and you weren't sure if you could handle that.No. He needed to fix whatever he had ruined so that you would look at him again with your precious eyes. He saw your guilty expression and accusatory gaze, and then something suddenly clicked. Spencer's heart took a sudden leap.

"Don't tell me I missed the story of your adoption. It's my favorite."

You shook your head, grateful that Spencer changed the subject, but your masochistic side wanted him to keep investigating. That would be the only way Spencer would know how you truly felt.

"No, Dad was telling eberybody the story when he discovered a drug cartel operating in an abandoned gym.

"Spencer nodded in silence, genuinely relieved. "Great. I love the story of your adoption, especially because your dad always adds a new detail."

You shook your head. "I'm sure he makes them up," you replied with a half-smile.

Spencer chuckled. "Whatever. He's good at telling stories," he said, seeing you sigh and nod slowly.

"Yeah, he is. Let's go inside," you said gently. "Maybe we're still in time to hear some of his new creative liberties."

You made a smooth move, but Spencer didn't release his grip on your arm. Instead, he held you with a little more firmness, earning one of your confused looks.

"Hey. A secret of mine for one of yours," he used the phrase he always used to get you to open up and confide something you wanted to tell him but couldn't find a way to.

You furrowed your brow."I... have nothing to—"

"Okay, how about this? I'll tell you my secret first."

You furrowed your brow with curiosity, still confused about what Spencer wanted to achieve with all this. So you nodded to understand.

Spencer looked directly at you. "I think you don't have a virus, and instead, you felt jealous."

Your cheeks turned red, and mortified, you just wanted to disappear.

"Spencer," you pleaded, closing your eyes in embarrassment, "please, let's go inside."

Spencer pressed his lips with excitement, feeling his heartbeats so strongly he could almost hear them in his ear. His hand traveled to your chin, touching your soft skin and directing your face towards him.

You resisted opening your eyes, and you seemed genuinely affected.

"Wait, I haven't finished telling you my secret," you moved away from him almost abruptly, trying to escape from that situation with the least possible damage. He called your name, trying to stop you.

You turned towards him, the tip of your nose beginning to blush; the first symptom that you might soon cry, and he wanted to clarify the situation before it got worse.

"No, Spencer. I won't stay here to hear something I don't need you to say."

He sighed. "Please, angel, just... trust me."

For some reason, that request broke your heart, and the irrational fear that you would leave there with his feelings hurt tore you apart inside. But he looked at you pleadingly, and the gentleness of his request broke down your protective barrier. You didn't say anything, but you didn't leave, so Spencer took it as a green light to keep talking.

"I wasn't flirting with her. Seriously. And I'll tell you why; here's the secret," he took a step towards you but still wasn't close enough. He seemed nervous but didn't hesitate for a second when the next words left his mouth, "I can't flirt with anyone else because the only person I want to do it with is you."

That revelation left you completely stunned. Your lips parted in surprise, and nothing came out of your mouth for a couple of long seconds.

"I... you," you murmured, unable to believe that he had actually said that, "don't joke with me," you pleaded in a thin voice.

He shook his head seriously, and it seemed like he hadn't finished telling you the secret because he kept talking.

"And I want to flirt with you because the truth and the secret are that I love you."

And yes, that's how a person falls apart, piece by piece. Your chest felt too small for your heart, which seemed to be growing inevitably inside you.

It wasn't possible that he had actually said that. He watched you at the same safe distance and raised his eyebrows, hoping you would say something, hope filtering through his gaze.

"Do you have any secrets to tell me?"You looked down at the pavement, not sure if you could move. Your feet were anchored to the ground, and finally, you nodded, trying to find the strength to speak.

"Yes," you admitted, adjusting your hair and clearing your throat as you tried to maintain a pose and say more than one word, "yes, I have a secret," you clarified, looking directly into his eyes with a burst of courage, "I also want you to flirt with me, and-and flirt with you," you blinked rapidly, "because I've been in love with you for a long time now, and I really don't know what to do with that."

Spencer watched you slowly with studious slowness, and finally, a satisfied little smile appeared on his face, slowly rising and with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He approached you, circling your lower back, and his breath collided with you.

"I do know what to do," he replied confidently, and then closed the remaining centimeters that separated you to give you a kiss that both had waited a long time to happen.

The kiss carried a quiet intensity, as if time stood still for both of them. Spencer's tenderness was a silent promise that he was willing to navigate through your complexities with patience and care. His touch, a soothing balm, erased the doubts that had persisted in the shadows of your mind for the past few years.

Upon parting, the street seemed to exhale a collective sigh. Spencer's gaze radiated a newly discovered warmth, and you, with your heart echoing the unspoken feelings, realized that sometimes, in the simplicity of a kiss, truths could be expressed more eloquently than words. The night air carried the weight of that shared revelation, and under the embrace of the lamppost light, Spencer and you looked at each other breathlessly.

"I think we're really missing my father's story right now," you whispered, raising your hand to Spencer's face at last, satisfying your eternal hunger to touch him.

He smiled, taking your hand and kissing your palm affectionately.

"With all due respect; right now, I'm writing one just as good as his," he said, making you laugh, "you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

You felt your cheeks warming.

"Oh, stop," you asked, but he made no promises as he took your hand and began to walk towards the bar "Now let's go for your pizza, I guess your virus left as quickly as it came."

You sighed.

"How brave" you replied, but you moved closer to his side and nestled into him as he wrapped his arm around you.

He would keep you by his side, keep you by his side for the rest of his life.

#criminal minds #spencer reid #dr spencer reid #friends to lovers #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds fanfic #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid x jealous! reader #criminal minds au #spencer reid au

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vax-merstappen · 3 months

Text

keep coming back (mv1)

hi y'all, my first attempt at writing angst!! i feel like max verstappen angst hits different so i wanted to give writing some a try. lmk if you enjoy this and feel free to send fic ideas to my inbox!

summary: you forced max out of your life a few months ago. but when he keeps coming back into it, why can't you get him out of your head?

warning: swearing, alcohol, breakup, angst

Max Verstappen. 3 time world champion. One of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. Red Bull Racing's star. Your ex boyfriend.

With his fame, you found that Max was becoming more and more insufferable to be around. Everything about his life focused at becoming a better driver, fine tuning himself to be even greater than great, a legend in the making. That usually meant that he wouldn't have time for you. Between long hours at the factory, various press appearances around the globe, and spending every spare moment on a simulator, you were in his life but not really in it.

The final straw was when he forgot about your birthday dinner and instead went out with the CEO of one of his sponsors, getting wasted on the company money. You had called him in tears, shouting that you never wanted to see his face again.

You had woken up the next morning to 32 missed calls from Max and a long string of drunken text messages telling you that he would do better. You responded by telling him that you were blocking his number and to stop trying to contact you.

You were done with Max Verstappen.

---

But of course life never goes to plan.

You had a life to live and you weren't going to let the breakup stop you from moving forward. You gathered all your girls to go out to the clubs in Monaco and forget about everything bad that had happened in your lives. You picked out a stunning, sparkly dress and a matching pair of heels, knowing that looking your best would help you feel your best.

Your best friend got an Uber to take you to her favorite club, the one where you all had spent her last birthday dancing until the manager kicked you out. The second you walked through the door, the loud music rushed through you like a breath of fresh air. This was what you needed to forget him.

After a round of shots, you and your friends rushed onto the dance floor. You swayed to the beat, your hands in the air. You screamed the lyrics to the song at your best friend and she screamed them back at you. Eventually, you two were holding hands and spinning in circles laughing, as if nobody could see you.

When the song ended, the group walked back over to the bar to get more drinks. Before you could order, one of your friends suggested you try another one of the other Monaco clubs that she heard celebrities liked to frequent. You happily agreed. What better way to rub it in to your ex than to meet up with a different celebrity?

It was a short trip to the next club and your friend got you in the door so quick that you didn't even bother to see which one it was. The music was just as good as the last one, and you quickly found your best friend whisking you out onto the dance floor again. Your heels were starting to hurt, but that didn't stop you from moving your hips to the rhythm and continuing to scream along to the songs with your best friend.

It was only when the DJ transitioned to a song you didn't know, that you excused yourself from the dance floor and went to grab another drink at the bar. You were having a good time, but you knew more alcohol would make it better.

That was when you saw him.

Of course Max would show up to the same club that you did. You averted your gaze and started trying to blend in with the crowd, but it was too late. He had seen you and was making his way over to where you were standing. You made a move to try to bolt away, but you felt a hand grab your arm.

"Fuck off, Max!" you shouted, trying to push away his arm.

"You're the one who came to my favorite club," he responded. You looked down at the napkin in your hand and mentally cursed when you saw his cat's name on it.

"Didn't mean I wanted to find you here."

You thought you could see him sigh, but the music was too loud for you to know for sure. "Look, when you told me you wanted me out of your life..."

"I meant it," you said, interrupting him before he could get any further. "So go away and let's act like I never saw you here."

The look in his eyes saddened and he let go of your arm. "If that's what you really want."

You peeled away from him before you could change your mind and you beelined for where your friends were standing.

"Let's go. He's here so I don't want to be. here"

Getting the message, your best friend began to lead the group back out of the club. As you walked, you couldn't help but look over your shoulder. He was still standing at the bar staring into an empty glass, the typical confident look that he always had seemingly gone. He looked as handsome as ever, though you wouldn't accept that your thoughts had wandered in that direction.

Fuck him for being so hard to forget.

---

A week later, you had decided to go on a date with a guy who you had met on a dating app. Your heart wasn't really in it, and maybe that wasn't fair to the guy you were meeting, but you needed to get Max out of your head.

Marcel was nice enough, but he had a tendency to ramble on about things you weren't interested in. And worse, he was a Formula 1 fan. You had been pretty private about your relationship with Max, so you knew he wasn't on a date with you to get with Max Verstappen's ex-girlfriend, but it was awkward to hear him go on about how if Charles Leclerc was given a great car, he could rival Max.

The fancy restaurant was the only thing keeping you there. Marcel had told you he would pay and there was no way you were passing up on dessert. Just as your Creme Brulee came out to the table, you happened to see the absolute last person you wanted to see walk into the restaurant and towards the private room at the back.

How did Max keep appearing? Monaco was a small country, sure, but not small enough that you should keep running into him like this.

But as Marcel began to talk about what DRS meant and how it could impact a race, you realized anything would be better than hearing him mansplain a sport you had watched for most of your life. You had deleted his contact from your phone, but his number was still in your call history. You excused yourself from the table and pressed tne call button.

"Hello?"

"I'm in the same restaurant as you. Would you take me home?

"I thought you never wanted to see my face again."

"Maybe that was a bit extreme. I need to get out of here and you're the only one I knew would say yes."

"Who says I am going to say yes?"

"Look, I know you. I know I hurt you when I broke up with you that night. And I know you aren't over it yet."

There was a moment of silence.

"Alright."

You went back to the table and told Marcel it had been great but that you didn't think this was going to go anywhere and that you needed to leave. He began to spew a long string of angry words at you, but halfway through he sputtered to a stop and his eyes went wide.

You felt an arm around your shoulders and you turned to see Max standing there. You couldn't help but smirk at the way he had silenced Marcel.

"Let's go," Max stated, pulling you towards the door. You waved at Marcel and followed your ex out of the restaurant.

"Thank you," you whispered.

"He was so bad that you called me?"

"If I had to listen to him talk about how Lewis Hamilton was robbed of his eighth world championship for much longer, I was going to lose it."

Max snorted. "I must have really surprised him then."

"He didn't know what to do with himself."

You spent the rest of the walk to his car in silence. There were no words that could repair what you had said to Max and what he had done to you. You still were mad at him, but you couldn't help but feel drawn back to him. After all, he was still the only person you knew would answer every time you called and would drop everything to make sure you were safe.

When you sat down in the passenger's seat, you took a deep breath. "Look, about what I said..."

"Don't."

"I just want you to know..."

"I said don't. I've been a dead man since you left. Don't give me hope of living now."

"Just let me at least apologize. It was too harsh."

"And I should have been there for you. I was so focused on myself that I forgot about you. I'm sorry."

A moment of silence passed as he pulled into the parking space for his apartment.

"You can't apologize, Max. I'm supposed to hate you."

"And you're supposed to be the one that got away."

You held back a sob that you had been keeping in ever since you broke up. "I don't want to get away."

"And I don't want to be the one you hate."

You pulled yourself together and opened the door to the car, grabbing your purse and stepping onto the street.

"Goodnight, Max."

"Goodnight."

---

Another week went by and you couldn't help but keep thinking about what had happened that night. He regretted not making more time for you. And he had felt dead ever since you had left his life. It was hard to hate him when he said things like that.

In one final effort to get Max out of your mind, you decided to get out of Monaco altogether, take a trip to London to visit some family who lived there. You booked a ticket on the first flight out, eager to get out of the place that reminded you of Max as quick as possible.

But fate wouldn't let you go.

Engine issues on the plane was what the woman at the counter told you when you saw your flight was cancelled. No other flights for London were leaving that day and so you were stranded at the airport, unable to get to your destination.

Annoyed at the situation, you posted on your close friends story about what was happening. You got a message from your best friend, commiserating with you about the situation. You saw a text message from an unknown number and you clicked on it.

Max.

Of course you had forgotten to remove him from your close friends. And of course he was flying to London today for some meetings at Red Bull's headquarters. And why wouldn't he have had room on his private jet for you if you wanted it.

It was either wait until the next day to fly out in a cramped economy seat or get on your ex-boyfriend's private jet. The choice was easy.

He had someone escort you to the private terminal of the airport and you soon boarded his jet. As you walked through the plane, he was nowhere in sight. The man who had brought you here had told you to take whatever seat you wanted, and so you picked one that looked unoccupied near the back. You put on your headphones and looked out the window.

A minute later, you felt a tap on your shoulder and looked over to see none other than Max. You knew he would be here because of course it was his jet, but you hadn't expected him to appear so suddenly. You took off your headphones to hear him.

"I was sitting in this one," he said, a look of slight embarrassment on his face.

You mentally screamed. Of course you would accidentally take the seat he was sitting in.

"I'm sorry, I'll just move..." you mumbled, grabbing your bag and starting to walk towards the exact opposite end of the plane.

"Wait!" Max exclaimed. You turned around. "Would you sit across from me? I would like that a lot."

You almost blurted out no, but something in your mind stopped you. This was Max, the man who would drive you home, who missed you, and who cared about you whether he showed it or not.

"Sure," you whispered and slid into the seat across from him. You put your headphones back on and watched as the plane took off and the city grew smaller and smaller beneath you.

The flight was awkward. He was avoiding eye contact with you and you were avoiding it with him. Every once in a while, you both would glance at the person across from you at the same time and lock eyes before immediately looking the other way.

Eventually, you couldn't take it anymore. You pulled off your headphones for the second time. "Max, we need to talk about it. I can't take not having closure anymore. Not after that night a few weeks ago."

"I haven't stopped thinking about it," Max admitted. "The truth is, I want you back so bad. I can't take seeing you live your life without me because of what I did. I fucked it up so bad and I hate myself for it every moment."

"Max..."

"Watching you pull away from me at the club, seeing you on a date with another guy, that killed me. You always used to call me baby and now you just call me Max. I've never hated hearing my own name so much. The fact that you are doing fine without me is so hard to accept."

"Max, I haven't been doing fine without you. I can't get you out of my head no matter how hard I try. I was going to leave the fucking country to get away from you and somehow I end up on your damn plane. Why are you so hard to leave behind? And why does it feel like I don't really want to leave you behind?"

He leaned closer and dropped his voice. "For the record, I hated every time I had to leave you behind for work. It might have seemed like I wanted to go, but I promise it hurt every time."

Tears began to prick your eyes. "You can't tell me that. Then I can't hate you anymore."

"Do you really want to hate me?"

"No," you whispered. "I don't want to hate you, Max."

"I still love you, if you still have anything left in your heart for me."

"I do. But I can't just get back together with you like nothing happened. Like our relationship wasn't falling apart."

Max nodded. "I understand. But I'll be here if you want to try again. I'll always be here for you, even if you don't want to try again."

"Thank you, Max."

And just like that, the man who you wanted nothing to do with ever again had made his way back into your life. And you knew he would keep coming back as long as you would let him do so.

#f1 imagine #f1 x reader #f1 x you #f1 fanfic #max verstappen x you #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen fic #max verstappen imagine #max verstappen fanfic #max verstappen angst #mv1 x reader #mv1 imagine #mv1 fic

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wileys-russo · 9 months

Note

Blurb idea: surprising lessi with multiple cheek kisses at a time (I just can’t resist that face)

co-dependancy II a.russo

"i'm back!" alessia sung out as she stepped inside and kicked the door closed behind her, almost losing her footing and falling in the process but just catching herself as she let out a shaky exhale of relief.

making a beeline for the kitchen and dumping the bag of shopping on the counter, the blonde frowned as she called out for you again but you still didn't reply.

jogging upstairs alessia smiled as she heard the shower running in your shared en-suite, followed shortly by you belting out a very off tune rendition of young hearts run free.

singing aloud was something you did very commonly, very passionately and very badly, a combination which really worked to balance things out in your favor.

the two of you had first met in a karaoke bar, alessia on a night out with some of her younger national team mates she'd grown up with, and you having stumbled in with your friends on either arm around an hour later (mostly to help keep you stood straight with a belly full of shots)

alessia had been singing her heart out in a private room, but after a particularly painful performance of islands in the stream by tooney and roebuck she excused herself to get another drink, georgia stepping out with her but disappearing to use the toilet.

your head spinning from screaming along to taylor swifts latest offering coupled with the copious amounts of alcohol pumping through you, meant you stepped away from your friends to grab a water, much to their groaning and displeasure at the decision which you simply waved off with an unbothered laugh.

after alessia had ordered she stood back to let you do the same, not paying much attention as she glanced over your shoulder to watch out for georgia.

"so girls, whats our go to songs tonight then?" the barkeep asked you both with a charming grin, handing you a bottle of water and placing alessias drinks on the counter as she politely reached around you to grab them.

"young hearts run free" you'd both answered with a smile, heads whipping toward one another at the shared answer. in that moment she'd blamed it on dehydration, but alessia's mouth had gone dry at the sight of you, piercing green eyes bore into hers as you let out a surprised laugh at the odd coincidence.

your laugh was a melodic sound which would soon become one of alessia's favorite things in the whole entire world, and from then on the story of your love would be one you'd hope to fondly recount to your grandkids one day.

alessia grabbed out her phone and began to record the audio of your shower performance, putting it on her close friends story with a chuckle and making her way back downstairs to put away the shopping.

once that was done she sank deep into the sofa with a tired sigh, her body aching from a long week of training. flicking on the tv and pushing a pillow under her head she clicked from channel to channel with a bored stare.

though before she could settle on anything to watch she heard your footsteps thud gently downstairs, and within a few seconds you'd practically dived on top of her, tucking your head in her neck.

"hi." alessia grinned, arms wrapping tightly around you. "hi, i missed you." you mumbled into the soft tanned skin, feeling the blondes body vibrate softly with laughter underneath you. "i was gone for like thirty minutes!"

"and it was the longest thirty minutes of my life!" you pushed yourself up and stared seriously down at her. "you could have just come with me." alessia chuckled as you tangled your hands in her hair, the girls eyes fluttering closed as your nails scratched softly at her scalp.

"you know i'm beginning to think maybe this is why all our friends take the mick out of us for our codependency issues." you bit down on your bottom lip with a sheepish smile. "i personally don't know what they mean, i only want to be around you every second, every minute, every day of every month." alessia shrugged it off sarcastically as you mockingly nodded along.

a beat of comfortable silence passed between you, both staring adoringly at the other.

alessia let out squeal followed by a loud chime of laughter as you began to attack her face with kisses. "i love you." you paused to grin before peppering each inch of her face with your lips, moving from her forehead to her nose to each of her cheeks before the older blonde's hand came to rest on the back of your head, gently guiding them to meet with her own.

#woso #woso x reader #alessia russo #alessia russo x reader #woso imagine #woso fanfics #engwnt #woso blurbs

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sherlockig · 4 months

Text

Hello my little grieving friends (aka my CREW!)

I just want to talk about how much our flag means death has given me. I have not had internet friends since i were a teenager. They all kind of disapeared over time in the same way as high school classmates went away. I have been on this blog on tumblr since 2010 and i have never experienced what ofmd has given me. Not even in my very derranged ca 5 year long sherlock-era did i get to befriend and know this many amazing people who live in my phone. Some of you have come and gone and that is life, but some of you are still here and I hope I get to keep you here for a very long time. Max can not stop us and I want to be here with you until tumblr is put down like the beloved rabid pet it is.

I think we are all taking the news very hard and I think it's important to remember what it is all about really. It's about love and family and above all else the crew so i just want to show some love for my beloved mutuals. And i hope maybe some of you will be inspired to do the same because its what we need in these dark times. We need to be a lighthouse guiding each other to shore.

First of all @gentlebeard - Ella💕 my beloved honey 🍯 I can not explain properly or even believe how lucky I am that I found you and that I get a little good morning from you every day. We have been talking every single day since the first message over a year ago and I don't remember or want to remember how i survived before that. I will treasure the time i spent drinking pina coladas on your balcony in the sun forever and i hope i will get some more time on that balcony this summer. I have found a pirate bar in Sweden so we can continue our expensive pirate drinks theme that we started in Berlin. There is no one else i want to spend 6-8 hours talking to over the phone.💕My partner in crime, lasagna partner and floor person or whatever nicknames we have come up with during this time. You are not just the perfect friend to have, you are also funny, sweet, smart and a expert at making fanvideos that make me cry my heart out and laugh my lungs up - sometimes at the same time 💕💕

@blakbonnet - Meow my darling💕 you were the first one i really started to talk to in the fandom and i am so glad i did. You brighten my days and i love talking to you you brilliant humanbeing (i often find myself thinking i have listened to much to cabin pressure because i struggle to use any other word than brilliant to explain things.. the Arthur runs deep in me) also thank you for being my personal skincare guide in life!! Your fics, your art, your edits, your gifs, your meta the whole you make my dash a better place and we are all happy to have you! There is nothing you are not good at and i am both a bit jealus and impressed by you. Its Meows fandom we all just live in it 💕💕

@youshouldseemeinadeerstalker - Nes my dear💕 We may not be talking very often but I know I always have you there. I loved our vacation together and we had so much to talk about that we didn't even realize that the same song kept playing in my car so long that it messed up my spotify wrapped. It was amazing taking naps with you outside ruins of castles and in botanical gardens and living together in the worlds smallest hotel room. I hope we can get lost together in more cities than Hamburg and Copenhagen. (preferably without rain and sickness and maybe with a map) 💕💕

@darkinerry - Marlena 💕 its a pleasure getting weather and work updates from you and i am always interested in knowing what you have been up to and what you have to say. It brightens my day, please never stop!! Your videos and gifsets can make any day better and you are always kind and funny which are two things i appreciate hugely in my friends!! 💕💕 + You have the coolest haircut out of all my mutuals 😌

@aha-my-villainous-thoughts - Ash my wife💕 my love💕Nothing can make me scream, blush and giggle as much as your fanart. You have this style of everything you make from fanart to dolls to interior design that is so special and breathtaking. One day we will drink so many lattes in a cosy cafe and then sniff lush products for the rest of the day. 💕 You are always there for me - as a online shoulder to cry on or to motivate me with the smuttiest wips ever. I am happy to be mutual married to you 💕💕

@bizarrelittlemew - Ida 💕- my thirsting for rhys brother in arms. I can not imagine tumblr without your gifs or your posts. I love screaming with you over a picture of rhys darbys bicep. I am so happy i got to meet you this summer and i really hope it will happen again. We are not that far from each other, just some miles and a stupid bridge; we can make it. You are always a sweetheart and an incredible friend who write the hottest fanfiction ever💕💕

@dickfuckk - josh 💕 (who I also thought for a long time was called tyler) I dont know where the fandom would be without your bts blog! its a international treasure and a service to humanity. i don't know how you do it. 💕You always have everything i have ever been looking for and as a bonus you are witty and funny like no one else. I am so happy i got to meet you and spend a whole day in your company! 💕

@izzy-b-hands - Holden my absolute darling!💕 I am so glad I got the chance to get to know you! You are smart, funny and kind and my izzy mutual tm. You are always there for me with kind words and I am still forever shipping izzy and the third badminton brother which I think is the best headcanon I have ever helped coming up with. 💕

@funforahermit - Kristina 💕 Your love for Rhys and your gifs are a staple on tumblr and my dash. I know where to go when i need someone to understand how hot Steve is (even if we have agreed that he is yours and Murray is mine which i still think is a fine deal). I very often make or see a picture of Rhys and my first thought is "I NEED TO SHOW KRISTINA THIS" so you live rentfree in my brain 💕

@rainbowcrowley - Addi 💕If i ever start playing wow again you bet i am gonna be talking your ear off about my little frost mages progress but in the meantime i am happy to have you on my dash and even if we don't talk that much are you a beloved part of my dash and brighten it daily.💕💕

@fandomsmeantheworldtome - Maria💕 You were one of the very first people i found in this fandom and your gifs might have helped my rhys obession taking form. You might be into many things I have never heard of but its a pleasure seeing your excitement over everything. You are always a ray of sunshine and i love that so much💕💕

@tabbystardust - Tabby dear💕 You are the kindest person I know who I always get the strongest need to hug and hold close. Your fanart is beyond this world and i adore it like nothing else. Its always both hot and soft in the best way ever💕 I am always excited to get kitty updates and to hear about your ramen receipts. I hope we can still meet at the con next year! I am game if you are!! 💕💕

@hummingbee-o0o - Humming 💕 (i dont know your name sorry) I am always excited to hear your thoughts and metas about everything ofmd related as well as your beautiful art. 💕 it was a pleasure to scream about season 2 after every watched episode!💕

@xoxoemynn - Emy 💕💕 i am so happy to be mutual with you! 💕You always bring joy to the people who get to be around you and fill my dash with the same. We might not talk often but i know you got my back! That is the kind of person you are!💕

@saltpepperbeard - Jodi💕 No one write tags on tumblr dot com like you. There is nothing that can cheer me up more than see that one of my posts has gotten a whole ass novel written in the tags and then i instinctively know that its you who have left your wonderful mark. You are always excited and such a lovely human to be mutual with. 💕 And on top of that you make incredible gifs that make my heart stop!!! 💕💕

@autumnbois - Kai 💕💕 I hope you are doing okay. We might not talk much right now but you were there for me when i needed it most and you are a good friend to have living in my phone.💕💕 I will think of you whenever i see something related to scream and your love for piccrew always make me smile💕

@edsbacktattoo - Jams, jams jams! 💕 We are never online at the same time because of the damn time differences *shakes fist* but you are a staple in this fandom. Your art is incredible and you are the sweetest cookie in the jar. You are funny and always spread good energy to everyone around you and I love that with my whole heart💕💕

@kiwistede - Sam 💕 Your love for stede and rhys is unmet and i love you for that. You are always a good source for some rhys darby insanity and we all know that is what i treausure most here in life! 💕💕

@stedesearring - Kaitlin💕 You are the sweetest and kindest soul out here always spreading joy and love like the sun of my dash. 💕 I always love seeing you and i am happy to have the pleasure to have you as a friend in my phone! 💕💕

@stedebonnets - Ara 💕 Where would we be without your gifs?? without your joy?? without your blog?? without you?? No one knows! I am so happy to call you a mutual and friend and you always bring a smile to my face. Always!!💕💕

@appleteeth - Liz 💕 No one is quite as normal about rhys darby as you and it a pleasure to watch! Speaking of pleasure.. your fic the slightest touch is an all time favorite of mine and i would be embarrassed to tell you how many times i have read it... you are one of my mutuals that i am baffled that they want to follow me. Its a privilege! 💕

@as-a-creww - Caroline dear 💕 You are a beloved mutual and your blog are a permanent part of my dash and i want to keep it like that! you are the friendliest of the friendliest and what is more important than that?? 💕💕

@nandorisms - Ed dear💕 Your shameless reblogs makes the world go around. You are always sweet and a much needed wwdits addition to my life. I count you as a dear friend living in my heart!💕

@londonlock - Londie! 💕💕 The only sherlock mutual i have left and i am very happy to have kept you! 💕 I might have left those days behind me but you know as well as i that sherlock lives in my soul and seeing some sherlock and john love on a daily basis keep me grounded and on top of that are you such a romantic and beautiful human being! 💕💕

@follovver - Tanya 💕 My fellow Swedish ofmd fan! I am very happy to have found you! its nice to be able do discuss it in my mother tongue and i hope we one day can do it live! its to bad we never met when we went to the same uni (or maybe we did but didn't know) Du är fantastisk!! 💕

@wastingyourgum - Al💕(which i always read in my head as artificial intelligence and giggle because it make me feel like you are a robot) My fellow rhys friend. You bring me doses of darby when its most needed and your blog is always on fleek 💕💕

@xray-vex - Xray 💕 100 % one of my funniest mutuals!💕💕 You make hilarious posts that no one else could even dream of coming up with! Always top tier blog content and what more can a girl ask for??💕

@jellybeanium124 - Nina💕 I can not imagine my blog without you! Your posts are always a delight and you are so nice and sweet and funny and incredible (even when you make math mistakes kisses kisses) You bring a honest joy into the fandom that we could not live without! 💕💕

@thunderwingdoomslayer - Nellie 💕 My official rhys darby gif provider who I come to as if i needed a new hit of an illegal substance. I salute you and thank you for your service!💕💕

@forestofsprites - Green my dear 💕You might have gone from ofmd to be the supernatural provider of my dash but that does not stop you from being the kindest forest spirit i know. Your presence is calming in a way i can not explain and i am glad to have you and your love for meg here.💕💕

@cheersmequeers - Kate💕💕 A big puzzle piece to bring my dash together. Always filling it with my favorite gay pirates and i love having you here. Always friendly and full of love.💕💕

@sugashook - Sugaaa💕💕 You know i am in love with your art! Your art is always on top and it bring me back to life every time. I keep the dress i bought from you on the outside of my closet so every morning its the first thing i see and it sets the day right!💕💕 I wear your art on my tshirt to the gym as often as i can hoping to lure in a ofmd fan between the weights but that has not happened yet sadly!! Never stop making your art!! The world would be at loss if that happened 💕💕

@lacefuneral - Jay 💕(should be called YAY because that is what i say when i see a new selfie or fashion post from you) You are a fantastic friend and i love your love for stede and you are always kind and patient in a way that makes me comfortable to ask you questions about something i might not be familiar with. You are forever my moth mutual in my mind 💕💕

@meanmisscharles - Charles 💕 In my head i call you charles but i don't think that is your name but i hope its okay with you! Always friendly and sweet but ready to fight the bullshit the other spread! and such a source for good music recommendations!! 💕💕

@forpiratereasons - Darcy 💕literary no one does it like Darcy! Aways bringing the best ofmd posts to my dash and ensuring i don't miss anything! You are incredible! 💕💕

@blackbeardskneebrace - Miles my dear 💕 You make incredible art both the cute and amazing ofmd art but also the gorgeous historical art you post. Its a pleasure to see you talk about history but also about our beloved gay pirates. Your snoopy ofmd art will live in my heart forever and i think it might be healing me a bit. Maybe even watering my crops and clearing my skin! And those valentine ofmd arts from last year. I am 100 % gonna bring them back this February like beloved decorations you store in the attic. 💕💕💕

@awkward-fallen-angel - Heather 💕 You are one of the sweetest people i have had the pleasure to come across. You bring a big excitement and attention to the things you like and it moves along to everyone near. I mean i have watched long critical role videos just because you spoke so warmly about them and i wanted to know what it meant. I love having you here. 💕💕

@mxmollusca - Mx 💕 (dont know your name so i am just calling you that) I mean you are an incredible writer. I have only managed to read ifwts once because i cried so much that i am scared to open it again because i might just never stop crying. You are creative and funny and absolutely totally normal about rhys darby which in my book is a very good thing to be. And besides that you are a very friendly and nice mutual who is always a pleasure to interact with. 💕💕

@poisonintopositivity - Lilias💕 We have not talked much but we have been mutuals for a very long time and i hope you know that i appreciate you greatly as a mutual and you always but the best posts on my dash!💕💕

@glam-hutchence - Birb 💕💕my dear bird lover! You are a sweet potatoe and i love reading about your love for music and the concerts you go to.💕 Its so nice to take a little part of your life. You are always there for me and i always get happy when i talk to you. You are like a little happy pill! 💕💕

@turtles-on-turts - Turts 💕 Whenever i see a turtle i think about you. Its your brand! You make amazing art! and the ones on canvas always blow me away. 💕💕 Its incredible. You are also so very pretty and i have that picture of you in your depression robe with all the pigeons imprinted in my mind because it such a cute one. You are always very friendly and i love reading your personal posts as well. 💕💕

@vonlipwig - Franky 💕 You bring me lots of normality about rhys darby but these days also a huge bunch of normality about david tennant which i appreciate a lot. You are very nice and i stand by my assesment that you have a very cool aura!💕💕

@haeva - Mar my beloved💕 You bring me my wifes emily and valkyrie and a bunch of amazing posts about everything i can imagine. You are loving and sweet and good at maths which i am always very impressed by. I love being your mutual and doing ask games with you is a pleasure!💕💕

@mykonossalome - Myko💕 When i see moomin i think of you because i know how much you love it. We dont talk as much as i would like but the interactions we have had has meant a lot to me and i love seeing you posting about the things you love! 💕💕

@cottoncandiescupcakes - Cupcake 💕 I love that you are always so excited over our boy the swede and its a pleasure to compare language with you. We can continue fighting if the swede belong to the dutch or the swedes but that is a pleasure!💕💕

@mister-brightside - Andrea my dear💕. Your art is always perfect and whenever i see a picture of izzy giving the middle finger i think about you! Its your brand and its your picture now and no one can change that. You are sweet and caring and a lovely mutual to have. thank you!💕💕

@merryfinches - Kylie 💕 What can i say more than that i ADORE your fanart. The colours the style the softness of it all is exactly what we all need in these times. Every single time it shows up on my dash it makes my heart grows softer and my love grow stronger! I love it so so much. 💕

@ofmd-ann - Ann 💕 You glorious glorious gifmaker! Your gifs are always beautiful and these last days you have saved me with your wrecked edits. As a supplier of rhys darby gifs i love you forever. You are a hero love. 💕💕

@usersukuna - Bia 💕You are a gif magician. Your gifs are perfect and you are also very kind and sweet and i am so glad i can call you a mutual! You light up tumblr like no one else and i am always happy to see you on my dash.💕💕

If you are not in this list it does not mean that i dont love you or have forgotten about you it means that tumblr has put a limit to how many people you can tag which sucks. But if i follow you then it means i love and appreciate you. 💕💕💕 And you know what? We will make it through this hard and trying times of greedy streaming services putting an end to our gay pirates show. I love you all and you know what??

We will make it through as A CREW!

#i might have spent half my work day on this because i am sad and can not concentrate so please dont tell my boss #personal #my beloved mutuals #renew as a crew #i am just very filled with love for you all #for this fandom #💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

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munsonhoneybaby · 7 months

Note

i’d love to see a drabble or a blurb with eddie and the fishnets👀

yet again this one got away from me lol so it's a little long for a drabble but i hope you enjoy !!

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: 18+ mdni, smut, grinding, oral (f receiving), fingering

A/N: takes place in the too much in common realm but isn't a part of the main series !! song is witchy woman by the eagles <3

In a town like Hawkins, there weren’t many occasions that fishnets were suitable for. So, by the time you did eventually wear them again, you had pretty much forgotten about the ‘promise’ you’d made Eddie. He hadn’t, of course.

“Are you sure we have to go, baby?” His fingers clawed at your hips through the thin black dress you wore. “C’mon, let’s just stay in tonight.”

“I didn’t just spend two hours getting ready to ‘stay in’. Plus, I’m excited. I like getting out of town and doing things every now and then, and Steve said this place is supposed to be really cool.” You eyed him in the mirror as you swiped on some lip gloss. The red of his button-up was so deep it was almost black, tucked into his black jeans with the top three buttons undone. Silver chains hung from his belt loops, matching his rings and the barbell in his tongue that had just recently finished healing. Another silver chain sat around his wrist which was soon joined by a hair tie, his boots thudding heavily– even on the carpet– when he grabbed it from your nightstand.

“I don’t know how much of a club person I’m gonna be,” He warned you. “I don’t really dance.”

“Just because you don’t doesn’t mean you can’t,” You pointed out. “And you don’t really have to dance, I’m not expecting you to waltz. You just have to grind on me, and that I know you can do.”

He gave a conceding sigh. “Fine, I guess if it’s an excuse to dry hump you in public we can go.”

“Ever the romantic, Munson.”

The others were already ordering the first round when you got there, the bartender passing out shots until you reached the bar and Steve pushed two more toward you. “Took you guys long enough!” He called over the music.

“Can’t rush perfection, Harrington.” Grabbing the small glass, you passed the other one to Eddie. Knocking it back, you determined it was vodka and not tequila with a grateful nod to Robin. “Are we getting a table?”

“You two grab one, I wanna get another round!” Robin shouted back with enthusiasm.

Flashing her a thumbs up, you grabbed a hold of Eddie’s hand and ushered him toward a big, dimly lit corner booth. “There’s a lot ‘a people here,” He observed as you set your purse on the table.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Drawing him in with your arms around his neck, you hummed, “Just you ‘n me, as far as I’m concerned.”

He palmed at your ass through the silky black satin of your dress as he countered, “The things I’d do to you if it were just you ‘n me would get us arrested if I did them here, babe.”

“Alright, you guys can play grab-ass in a minute, we’re doing more shots!” Steve called as the three of them approached the table, all of them carrying at least one.

“No more for me, I’ve gotta take her home after all this.” Leaning over your shoulder, he prepared to push it back across the table to Steve but was stopped by your hand over his.

“Uh, excuse you. I can drink for two, thank you.” Holding his hands up in surrender, he raised his eyebrows, making a smile crack through your falsely offended expression. He didn’t blink as he watched you swallow down one shot after the other. A clear droplet escaped your mouth, rolling down your neck to disappear between the valley of your breasts and into your dress. He could so vividly imagine how it would taste to follow the intoxicating trail with his tongue.

His gaze was ripped from your chest by the snap of Steve’s fingers, who was giving him a knowing, playfully chastising look. “Could you keep it in your pants a little while longer, Munson?”

You were too engrossed in a conversation with Nancy to pay them any mind as he responded. “Shh, you’re gonna get me in trouble. And I’ll have you know, I have the patience of a saint,” He added unconvincingly.

That finally got your attention, making you let out a little snort. “Oh-kay, babe, if you say so.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just c’mon, I’m ready to dance!”

“You mean you’ve drank enough to now?” He scoffed as you dragged him away from the table.

“Yep!” The music vibrated through the floors as you led him through the half-crowded dance floor. You weaved through the various friends, couples, and parties until you found a comfortable gap. Your boyfriend just chuckled and shook his head.

Turning to face him, you let your arms settle loosely around his neck once again as you moved to the music. His hands squeezed at your waist before moving lower to knead at the small of your back. The two of you eyed each other lovingly, with you brushing a few unruly strands of hair back from his face as he admired the hazy halo the lights cast around you. Before you could think of something to say to excuse your silent drooling, the sound of the next song beginning distracted you. The soft, deep thrum of guitars and bass had the faintest excited gasp escaping your lips. “I love this song!”

raven hair and ruby lips

sparks fly from her fingertips

echoed voices in the night

she’s a restless spirit on an endless flight

His hands held you steady as you bowed back ever so slightly, head tilting as you swayed in his arms. You slowly began to wind your hips in time with the music, silently mumbling the chorus. Eddie smiled softly, humming along as he watched your eyes fall closed.

woo-hoo, witchy woman

see how high she flies

woo-hoo, witchy woman

she got the moon in her eye

He caught you by surprise when he took both of your hands, spinning you and bringing his arms over your head to cross around your waist. You giggled and squealed quietly, tilting your head to look over your shoulder at him as your back pressed to his chest. “See, Munson, you’ve got moves!”

“As long as I still don’t have t’a dust off my waltz, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve,” He promised.

she held me spellbound in the night

dancin’ shadows and firelight

crazy laughter in another room

and she drove herself to madness with a silver spoon

You could already feel him half-hard against you as you wound your hips more intently. Eddie’s fingers dragged up your fishnet-covered thighs, lifting the skirt of your dress dangerously high before moving to grab at your waist again. “Driving me fuckin’ crazy, baby. Know I love you so much, right?”

Head falling back against his chest, you gazed up at him with glossy eyes and a tipsy grin. “I love you too, Eds. Love you so much.” His hands wandered, rubbing over your sides and your stomach as his hips ground into you. Your own hand reached back to wind into his hair, curls growing frizzier in the warmth of the club. Goosebumps began to raise on your skin when he mouthed sloppily at your neck, teeth grazing a sensitive spot before lifting to tug at your earlobe. With the way the blood was rushing in his veins and his head was starting to swim, he may as well have been as drunk as you. The sweet smell of your perfume and the taste of your skin was still enough to make the room spin.

woo-hoo, witchy woman

see how high she flies

woo-hoo, witchy woman

she got the moon in her eye

Far be it from him to complain when you grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him in the direction of the bathroom before the song could even reach its instrumental break. You had never been so grateful for a single-person restroom in your life. Eddie hissed and laughed when you let the door slam shut, fingers clawing at the buttons of his shirt as he reached around you to lock it.

You only managed to get two of the buttons undone before his hand covered yours, pressing it against his chest to stop you as he chuckled softly. “Baby, baby– not here.”

Huffing, you pouted up at him. “Then why’d you let me bring you in here?”

“Well, it wasn’t to strip naked in a public bathroom,” He confirmed. Urging you backward, he didn’t stop until your lower back met the sink counter. “I do seem to remember a promise a certain someone made me a couple months ago, though.”

“Eddie,” You whine. Clutching at his shirt, you tried to draw his body to yours completely as he stood between your legs. “I don’t remember, just touch me. I’ll do whatever you want me to later, but–”

“Oh, I’m gonna need that in writing, babe. Right now, though, you just have to lean back and spread your legs f’me. Okay, sweet girl?”

Nodding, you were already sighing in relief when his hands guided your thighs back toward your chest. He peeled your panties to the side from underneath your fishnets, and it wasn’t until you felt his tongue drag through the wetness he found there that you finally remembered the oh-so-important promise you’d made.

well, i know you want a lover; let me tell you, brother

she’s been sleepin’ in the devil’s bed

and there’s some rumors going ‘round, someone’s underground

she can rock you in the nighttime ‘til your skin turns red

You were already a mess, your dress bunched around your waist and straps falling off your shoulders. Your disheveled hair wouldn’t be so easy to fix, but it was clear to see you had little concern for what your fellow patrons would think. No, you were too focused on the feeling of Eddie sliding two fingers into you as his tongue ring massaged your clit.

If he were a responsible boyfriend, he would remind you to quiet down, but he just couldn’t help himself. He loved when you got drunk– loved when he could see the tension in your shoulders melt away and you got warm, and giggly, and loud– loved when you’d moan and gasp his name without even realizing you were doing it because the first and only thing you were thinking about was how good he made you feel.

So, when you cried out that you were gonna come, he didn’t stop. He didn’t hush you, or cover your mouth with his hand. He just crooked his fingers to the spot he knew always made your insides melt and hummed encouragingly against the wet warmth of your cunt, mesmerized by the sight of you writhing on the counter before him.

Hips still twitching with the aftershocks of your orgasm, you pulled him to you for a sloppy kiss that had him panting like a dog in heat. The doe-eyed look you gave him when you finally spoke was almost enough to make him drop to his knees for you a second time. “Take me home, Eds.”

woo-hoo, witchy woman

see how high she flies

woo-hoo, witchy woman

she got the moon in her eye

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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

#too much in common #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader smut #eddie munson x henderson!reader #eddie munson x henderson!reader smut #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x f!reader #eddie munson x f!reader smut #18+ mdni #asks

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eimids · 6 months

Text

No that we don’t talk

(Taylor’s version)

Leah x Reader and (Lucy x alexia x reader)

Based on this absolute BANGER of a song.

warnings: angst, asshole leah

Leah was once again going to a party with her teammates at arsenal. She’d been doing that a lot after cutting contact with you. You just saw the photos on her and some other teammates instagram. It hurt to see those. Maybe it was better that you just unfollowed her and her teammates.

Maybe she got anxious on the way home. Just like she used to when she was with you. But back then you were there to kiss away her worries. You were there to talk her through the long hours of night that pained her.

“I really shouldn’t have drank so much, now the media is going to have a field day tomorrow” She stressed in the car.

“You are an adult and allowed to drink. If the media posts something about you then let them. I love you and you are an amazing footballer, some stupid videos won’t change that”

But you didn’t bother to care anymore. Now that you didn’t talk.

You were at Barca and she was at Arsenal. You didn’t know why you thought it would ever work but still there was that piece of hope you held onto all those years. She would make you feel so special. First it was all platonic but during a drunken conversation she’d revealed to you that she liked you more than a friend.

“I really like you” Leah confessed to you as you were driving her back home from a bar.

“Like, I like like you. Not just as a friend” She continued quickly as she saw the confused look on your face.

“I think I like you too Lee” You simply answered.

Now she had grown her hair much longer. Even put a fringe on it. It looked good but for some reason you didn’t want her to change. You wanted her to stay just like you remember her. You wanted her to stay the same girl you fell in love with.

She looked like she was enjoying life. She looked like she wasn’t never bothered about your downfall. It made you angry. Why was she able to live and enjoy life normally and you were paying the price.

But you didn’t have a say anymore in her life. Now that you didn’t talk.

You even called your Alexia about the situation. She thought that it was for the best. She reminded you that whatever you did, Leah wouldn’t give the same back. She was never on the same page and didn’t give as much to the relationship. You were just her secret. For her eyes only.

“Lee baby I just want to be able to hold your hand in public, to kiss you without caring what others think”

“I know but it’s easier this way. Making us publicly would only make things more complicated” She tried to reason.

The more you gave of yourself, the less she cared. Now you had to pay the price of losing her. The price of letting yourself fall in love with her. The price of staying together although it drove you your falling point.

Now that you didn’t talk.

You to this day still don’t know what she told her friends about those long weekends she spent in Barcelona with you. You couldn’t pretend it’s platonic anymore so you just were suffering in the relationship. Leah had a strict rule about keeping the relationship a secret. You couldn’t tell quite literally anyone other than your parents and couple of friends.

“Yeah we haven’t seen in a while so I just visited her in Barca” Leah told her friends when they asked about her trip.

“Are you sure that there’s nothing else going on?” They would ask but Leah denied it.

Although you told couple of your friends, she didn’t tell anyone, like she was embarrassed of you. You were just her dear friend, nothing more nothing less. But in secret, she loved you more than anyone has ever before. She made you feel things you didn’t know you could feel. But only when it was just the two of you because you were just a friend.

You couldn’t be just a friend tho. Every time she introduced you as a friend, it was like a knife straight to your heart.

“Oh this is my best friend y/n” She would tell others as you gave a polite smile, heart breaking inside of your chest.

You called Lucia who listened when you cried to her. She told you to get it all of your chest. It hurt but your Lucy was always there for you. Being one of the only people who knew about the clandestine relationship. She reminded you of the way that Leah just faded away from yo more and more until there wasn’t a relationship anymore.

You couldn’t do it anymore. You were always the one to call her and make plans so when you didn’t, it was all over. There never was an official break up but things just froze between you. You didn’t want to be the only one who tried to keep the relationship alive.

“Leah I don’t know if I can do this anymore. We’ve being doing this for two years.” You sent her but got no answer.

Now that you didn’t talk.

You didn’t have to pretend you liked the country music she was always making you listen. Dragging you to conserts you didn’t really enjoy but went to just to spend time with her. You didn’t have to pretend it was in any way okay that she kept you as a secret. You didn’t have to accept the excuses she gave you for being a shitty girlfriend. You didn’t have to pretend that you were only her friend because now you weren’t anything to her.

Guess maybe you were better off.

The only way back to your dignity was to bring your next relationship into daylight. The two women who loved you more than Leah had ever were the lights of your life. They treated you better and weren’t scared of showing it. They were happy to show you off to the world for everyone to see.

“I’m in love with y/f/n” Lucy had one night yelled from a hotel window while Alexia was cuddling you

Guess this is how it was meant to be.

—

i feel bad for making leah an asshole

#leah williamson #woso x reader #wlw post #woso fanfics #lucy bronze #alexia putellas #woso community #angst #taylor swift #now that we don't talk #i <3 taylor swift

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adoregojo · 3 months

Text

1967 ➡︎ isagi.y x reader

IM ALIVE!! YAHOOOOO!! btw i have an exam in a few hours, and here where my sudden passion for writing comes back. anyone enjoy this isagi x reader fic here. btw readers gender is unmentioned.

something was always missing from isagi yoichi's life.

the symbolizes dull blue man remains in his place, examining the disgustingly rich guests passing him with the priceless cologne reeking to his lungs and everywhere making it impossible to ignore and trying to not block his nose holes was a challenge itself.

it was in the fact that he didn't want to be here, the urge to isolate himself eventually loses against his duty. being a man, a soldier who was protecting nothing but the greediest class poor excuse of a human beings.

Isagi would've like to say he was one of hundreds who excepted this job, but he wasn't unfortunately. more like he was pushed into it so his so called comrades could take a free ride out of their job.

he let out a breath, it was just to guard the gate until the show ends, right? he'll just go with the flow for now. like he always does.

half of the shows were ridiculous if you ask him, what was so funny about a man beaming his loathing into dark jokes, isagi could never get the rich humor, not like he ever wanted to. he was sure half of these laughs were focused on and he couldn't find it in himself to even spare a smile.

the other display was a musical performance, a tribute by a group of people spreading imitation melody his ears were abhorrent by. this song was so dusty he couldn't believe that some actually clapped for that. affluent were easy to impress, he guessed.

and for the end and final play was about to begin, and finally he'll be done with this crap and leave this stump of a place. go to the bar and have a drink or two will do that,,

there he could see a somone who was he could guess in is age on the stag peeking nervously behind the curtain, clung to it for your dear life. he couldn't get a good picture out of you nor your face before the show started,,

you took a deep breath in and out, something you do every time to keep yourself at bare minimum of sanity. peeping through wouldn't hurt, but it hits so hard how countless of people were there caused you sudden stomach aches.

the worst part that all of them came out obviously disinterested! not even paring down a glance to the stag you were gonna stand up at in the next six minutes. you were in you twenties and feeling this anxious should've been in the past, well guess old habits die hard.

you told yourself that your were here to give off a show that non of these cheap moneybags that'll never escape one's mind.

even if you felt your soul leaving your body as you step out to everyone's eyes judging from your body to your face and appearance whole, fighting the urge to melt out of humiliation was strong yet you were far capable.

it was now or never.

a dose of confidence washed over you as the music played, it was meant to be a soothing melody that made the audience feel the pure emotion out of every movement you made.

this was your life, to dance. not for others, but for yourself. humans were nothing but just the witnesses to your purpose of existence. this is where you felt alive, closing your eyes to the endless void that grasped you tightly than any other creature could.

guiding the tips of your feet in it meant placement of the dance, where the gravity is losing against you and floating was viable. where no one could tell you what to do with the occult place you rot into.

let them see since that'll be the only thing they can do.

this wasn't like anything isagi saw.

it was not about the music, the audience, it was about the person who managed to take his heart and soul to their performances. every movement made his heart swirling in endless fondness.

he couldn't take his overset eyes off, he couldn't find it in his heart to even blink 'cause if he did so he'll miss it and it'll end before he knows. the depths of his obscure soul felt pure something you only feel when you watch people on the big screen yet it lifted your heart to it.

isagi's mind doesn't process the fact that the melody was long gone and echoing sounds of clapping and cheering were unheard, this is where the world, the universe itself were at a halt.

you raised up from your bowed state. something called, it was begging you to turn around and spare it a glance. and you did unintentionally, there you were meet by the most beautiful set of an eyes adoring you ceaselessly.

you were sweaty and definitely had a few flying out of place locks, but that man tenderly gaze embracing you says otherwise. out of all those people, out of them all he outshined them.

yet the locked eye contact doesn't last, it had to end before you had any chance to talk to him. to even approach him before being dragged out.

well, isagi did end up at the bar he wanted to be in. and it didn't feel this empty before. caressing the glass of hallway wine with his thumb, until he sees his sad reflection on then persuades to hide his face in his arm's elbow. he looked like an old man grieving over his youth. and most of all he felt hopeless.

isagi was mostly selfless, putting others needs over his. but this one time he felt like this is what he needed the most, what his heart yearns for and you were taken away from him in a brief second.

maybe if he wasn't so damn busy memorized he would've managed to move his legs instead of rotting in his place while watching you go.

and what the worst of this all was the so little chance of meeting you again was making him go insane! and above all you were gifted and so, so dazzling and isagi was just.. him. a guy that was way beyond where you stood, just watching you should be a blessing itself.

but that wasn't it, this feeling of deep despair all he wanted was to run back to the stage and look for you. this weirdly strange passionate about someone he just saw was foreign.

all this thinking was making him a madman, ruffling his hair in frustration.

"need a company? looking a bit lonely."

a bit taken aback, isagi's shifted towards the voice. oh, oh. oh fuck, it was you.

he could faint right here and now.

you could faint right here and now.

shit- you couldn't get a grip on approaching the guy, the same guy that you kept thinking about all day living in your head rent free. you were real smooth with your words, weren't?

to be surprise, the man was quite popular. being one of the famous men in his squad, and basically a man of a noble while you were just you, a dancer who travels around the world to achieve your dream.

you figured his name was isagi, isagi yoichi. you burned that name over your head. trying not to call him by his name, to try it out sliding down your mouth. but he would definitely see you as a creep, especially for looking around asking about him.

meeting him again had to be a miracle itself, at first you didn't even want to take a step towards his path. but seeing his drink his sadness away, and deep down you felt if you don't take a step he'll float away forever.

and now he was was sitting there while staring at you aimlessly, did you say something? a bit seconds before he finally spoke. "oh- yeah, i mean sure if y'know, you wanted to. no pressure." isagi stuttered.

you sent him a pleasant smile before taking a seat beside him, as you asked for a cocktail. the heavy feelings of the isagi's eyes pouring on you like he could believe you were actually there. you were glad that the man wasn't drunk yet.

"drinking a lot tonight, huh?" you said, dragging him back out of whatever dreamy place he was in. just then he quickly fixed his posture, it was cute, you thought. he looked like a dork as he cleared his throat.

"i think this is my last one." isagi says, pushing away the glass to get potty over you instead. "um, your performance. it was.. amazing."

"glad you like it, you also did a good job in guarding me." you laughed a bit, it a nervous one since this man words held so much more of a meaning in them you just couldn't handle such words as a little of red creeped into your cheeks.

"psh, it was nothing worth mentioning. i was just standing there while you were, just so breathtaking."

"really?"

"really, really. I couldn't stop staring." isagi cooed, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. his eyes remained away from you as he said these words, he really hoped they sounded genuine as he felt and not come out as a creep. to his surprise he heard you chuckling, and if it wasn't the loveliest thing his ears are hearing.

"you're just so charming aren't you, isagi?" you didn't even realise the name slipping out, it felt so natural like you were the innate one to chime it.

isagi eyes widen, your rhythmical voice flow which captivate his emphasis of a soul over you. this spark swirling around his entrails making his breaths at halt. when did he become such a nervous wreck? yesterday it was isagi history of spurning the slightest hints of getting in a relationship, due for him finding it difficult to let his feelings flow freely. and the missing flicker was now found by someone who spoke his name once, and he couldn't find his heart to stop pounding so rapidly.

"you know my name?" he somehow managed to let out despite the regarding fact the air ran out from his lungs, yet it came out breathlessly.

you rolled your eyes playfully, "you're kind of popular around here so it wasn't so difficult to find out." said you, twirling the straw of your decayed cocktail, you glance back to see the man huffing a small laugh. he utterly and completely handsome with that carefree smile that you felt like a teenager girl with her silly crush.

"and it's, yn. if you were interested." you added.

if he was interested? like hell he is, the man was down on his knees if that meant getting to know you. fuck, he was so interested that he could drain his soul for you to tell him everything you please. but truthfully, putting a name to such a pretty face felt like a piece of puzzle was getting connected to it perfect place.

"interested? i am honoured i must say, miss yn." isagi had no idea he had this kind of sappy side within him, especially when he made you giggle coyly, and all he can feel is his heart racing. what was he? a teenage boy going all giddy with his crush? he blamed you for making him feel this young again, and damn if it didn't feel good to feel this bloom once again.

and before you even realise it, it was time to end this bright moment. peeking at the clock, you had another show tomorrow and it hits you like a rock. isagi had his own magic to make time go by the blue. standing up slowly you faced the face of a confused man, "i must take my leave. i have a show tomorrow night, and it was lovely talking to you isagi yoichi."

part of you felt dumb, the man was probably just lonely and he'll soon forget about by the day. as much as loving you felt next to him, you were no mind reader to see how he truly felt. you wished you weren't so bad with these things, especially when the wave was telling you that the man ahead of you was a man of a name. how could all your confidence wash away with a small tear of thought.

you could feel the disappointment taking over the soldier's face, as if his face was begging you to stay longer even for a brief second. you were gonna give in, but honestly, would he have approached you if the roles were reversed?

you didn't even let the man finish his sentence before walking fast out of the bar, suddenly the air was suffocating and you took a deep breath. and here it was again, the black void sky hinted by the stars with the moon outshining it. a wave of air hits you making you shrivel, perhaps it was the cold, perhaps it was the shallow you felt.

you wished would turn around and see him, running after you. but what did you expect from this, were your standards truly that high? you were a traveler, you shouldn't connect your heart with anyone's. soon you'll be leaving and be left heartbroken just like every other person did.

what now? you were just standing in the middle of a bar, cold and shivering. that was stupid, you should just go home and get drunk to sleep.

"wait! lady yn!"

you falter at the voice of isagi, did he actually came? were you imagining this? turning around, and in fact you weren't imagining a thing. it was actually isagi huffing and puffing for air, he actually ran all the way here, he ran after you. with his hands on his knees. a last breath before he met your eyes, and all you could think was how his eyes could take over the sky itself.

for a while he just stood there awkwardly, like he doesn't even know why he ran here. before he took off his black coat, taking a hesitation steps towards you. gently warping it around your body, the man handled you so steadily like a you were made of glass he could break by any wrong move.

you grip on the warm fabric, it was slightly bigger than you and so, so balmy. it felt like a hug. you glance back at the man who was staring instantly at you, you felt hot under his strange gaze, like he was eating you whole. you couldn't help but shrinking yourself. quickly he jolted back to his usual self, coughing there and there trying to hide his embarrassment.

"it's cold outside, take this to keep you warm." said isagi, avoiding your face with all costs. you nodded your head. trying to calm your raging heart.

you watch as isagi take a final breath, like he finally decided to what to say next. "um, if you like. i could be your guardian at your next show. whatever it is, I'll be there by your side." he spoke firmly, this time he stood bravely. like a boy confessing his feelings.

you don't know why but you found yourself laughing, laughing so hard you had to cover your mouth. this is what you wished for, the one you waited to follow you whatever you go is standing right in there. a one that'll held on to you for the everlasting. your wish to perform with your most loved one by your side was no longer a beyond reach dream but a meant destiny.

"you have to take me out to dinner first, mister isagi yoichi."

you see as a beam draw it way to isagi's face, you spoke the words he couldn't. he took your hand in his gloved once, it was a perception fit, the missing piece of puzzle, pressing his lips lovingly against your cold knuckles, "only if you wouldn't run away this time, miss yn ln." he chuckled.

and here where your life was completed

have a nice day everyone! wish me luck for my exam ;)

#blue lock x reader #bllk x reader #blue lock #isagi x reader #isagi yoichi x reader #yoichi x reader #isagi x you #isagi x y/n #isagi yoichi x you

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corpsebasil · 1 year

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Second in Command Part 2 18+

part 1

The entire crew had gone off to a tavern when you docked, the workers at the pier saying that the upkeep to the ship would only take a couple of hours. So you found yourself slightly drunk, watching Tolya and the Sun Summoner’s tracker friend as they linked arms and danced around, laughing and singing along to the rather raunchy bar song the occupants sang.

“How do you think he managed to get that hat?” Nikolai asked against the shell of your ear, eyeing the pirate hat that sat on the prized Grisha’s friend’s head.

“Beats me. At least it covers his lack of hair from my sight.” You shivered comically and Nikolai let out a boyish laugh, tightening his hold on you.

Your captain and you leaned together against the wall, your back to his chest, and you would be lying if you said the way his fingers ran softly back and forth against the slip of skin revealed by your shirt, his hand running across your midriff, was unpleasant. You almost jumped when his hand slipped completely under your shirt, palm resting flat against your lower stomach and tugging you closer to him.

“People are going to stare.” You whispered, but blushed when he propped his chin on your head, his eyes closing blissfully at the feel of you. He’d wanted this for weeks, had wanted to hold you since you’d shamelessly put him in his place days after you met, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to bask in every second of touching you that you allowed.

“Let them stare.” He said, and his other arm wrapped around your middle, holding you tight.

“You two,” a female voice said, and his eyes opened to see Tamar approaching with a glass of red wine in her hand. The rest of the crew had been drinking piss poor ale, but somehow you and Tamar had been mainlining vodka sodas and wine like it was your job. “are fucking adorable.”

“Don’t fuel his ego,” you quipped, and his smile grew when your hands came up to hold his arm, settling even closer into his chest. “it’s big enough as it is.”

Tamar’s head shook and she raised her glass in a gesture that meant cheers, before she tossed you a wink and moved to hunt down her brother and stop him from embarrassing her more than he already had.

“Want to get out of here?” Nikolai asked, removing his hand from your stomach and turning you in his arms, pulling your chest flush against his.

“And do what, Captain?” You teased. Saints, the drinks must’ve gone straight to your head. Just last night you had been adamant about keeping the two of you a secret, and now you were draped against him in front of the entire crew.

He grinned lazily, leaning in to brush a chaste kiss against your mouth.

“If I recall,” he said, reaching up to tuck your hair behind your ear. “you owe me a lingerie viewing.”

“A fashion show, perhaps? Try on my favorite sets and parade them in front of you?”

“It’s been my fantasy for months, darling.”

You giggled stupidly as he smiled, his gorgeous, gorgeous face only a few inches from yours, then yelped when he scooped you up bridal style and bid a loud, careless Goodnight to the crew. Your face turned red when someone wished him luck, riotous laugher echoing around the tavern, but your embarrassment faded the moment you two moved into the night and he set you on your feet.

“Ignore them.” He said, rolling his eyes at the tavern door, and then kissed you, your skin burning as you forgot to be ashamed at being so obviously on your way to his bed.

To Nikolai’s dismay, the lingerie fashion show did not end up happening. Instead, he watched from his bed, expression twisted in embarrassment as you snooped around his room, lingering by his bookshelf.

“Oh my god, you’re nasty.” You cackled, picking up a novel that he’d finished only a week ago. “‘Edmund’s mouth moved down her neck, licking and sucking her unblemished skin before his lips closed around her ni—‘”

“That’s enough, thank you.” Nikolai sighed, face red. You’d been reading bits from his rather interesting book collection for over five minutes now, your smile growing wider and wider as you scanned the pages, somehow managing to find the filthiest chapters and completely ignoring the very romantic parts. “It’s a love story. They’re in love.”

“You’re just as dirty as I am, Captain.” You laughed, wiggling your eyebrows suggestively. “Oh wait, I think I’ve read this one.” You picked up another book and cleared your throat, ignoring him when he climbed out of bed and strode over to you. “‘Meredith let out a loud moan when the prince—‘”

“End it. Please.” He groaned, yanking the novel out of your hands and pulling you towards his bed.

“I think she says those exact words about a paragraph down.”

“If you don’t stop, I’m not fucking you. I’m going to make Tamar my second, and you can swim with the fishes.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“I would dare. Try me, sweetheart.”

You grinned as you shoved him down and straddled him, pushing his coat off his shoulders. He shrugged it off, tossing it carelessly aside, then tugged your mouth down to his. He let out a soft groan when your fingers slipped into his hair, your nails scratching lightly.

“Shirt.” He mumbled, reaching for your hem. “Off.”

Your head spun as you obliged, letting him run his hands up your smooth back and waist. He looked down at you admiringly before removing his own shirt, and you almost choked at the sight of him bare in front of you.

“Saints, how many push-ups do you do a day?” You grumbled, one brow raised, and he let out a soft laugh.

“Would you believe me if I said I’m naturally this stunning?”

“Yeah. Sure.” You lied, then squeaked when he rolled you over, pinning you under him as one hand moved to your pant buttons. Your heartbeat quickened, faster and faster as he slid your trousers off and tossed them to the floor. But when his fingers hooked into the sides of your underwear you shot up, grabbing his wrist. “Wait, um—” You swallowed. “Before we do anything, I haven’t..” You looked away, embarrassed, and cringed a bit when Nikolai moved off the bed.

“Y/N,” he said, voice soft, as he slipped his own pants off and turned the lights out, climbing under the covers. “get in bed with me. It’s fine.”

“I’m nervous.” You admitted, cheeks heating at the gentle expression on his face. Why did he have to look so sweet when you were confessing something so lame. But you moved under the blankets, allowing him to kiss your mouth, then your forehead.

Then he moved your back against his broad chest, both arms around your waist as you settled up close to him, your head resting against the curve of his shoulder. His lips brushed your hair when he spoke, the sensation making you shiver.

“I’m going to go slow.” He murmured, and your stomach twisted at the roughness of his voice. You swallowed and nodded wordlessly, feeling him adjust enough to slide yours, then his, underwear off the two of you. “I need you to curve into me a bit more.” He said, running a hand over your bare hip, and you gasped a bit when you felt him against your entrance.

He made no move to push inside you, only massaged the skin at your hip and upper thigh, turning his head so that he could place soft kisses onto your neck. And when his hand wrapped around your front and gently stroked you, you almost whined.

“It might be uncomfortable. At first.” He told you, gathering your wetness onto his fingers as he gently worked them inside, getting you adjusted to the feel of it. You’d done this to yourself before, but his hands were bigger, and the stretch made you gasp and press your face against his arm. “You feel fantastic.” He sighed, curling his fingers deeper, and you let out a soft moan of pleasure.

Nikolai gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more than to slam up into you, but took his time like he’d promised, working you closer and closer until you were trembling, grinding against him, mumbling his name against his skin. He circled his fingers against the most sensitive part of you, closing his eyes and biting back a groan when you came, your face pressed against his shoulder as you gasped his name.

When you’d gotten your breath back he kissed your neck again, his hand still rubbing that spot. You whined and wriggled away, letting out a noise of complaint, and he huffed a laugh.

“Nikolai,” you mumbled, turning your head to kiss his arm. “I want you.”

Those words might’ve been the best things you’d ever said to him. So he looped his arm under your thigh, keeping your back to his chest as you curved against him, and slowly pushed the head of him inside. You gasped and squeezed your eyes shut, practically panting as his other hand continued to rub slow, soft circles against your skin, and he pushed forward inch by inch, letting you adjust.

Once he was fully inside, hips flush against your back, you slowly gasped for air, the feeling of complete and utter fullness making breathing difficult. He kissed your neck and ran his thumb over your leg, whispering to you as he pulled out and slowly, so slowly, moved back in.

“You okay?” He asked, voice sleepy and soft as he moved. You could only sigh, rocking back against him as he kept up a languid, gentle pace, every stroke making his head spin and his chest tighten. “Saints, you feel—” he groaned and pressed his forehead against your neck, increasing his pace by a degree, earning a noise from you that made his blood pressure rise.

“Nik,” you breathed, gripping his arm. “want you…on top of me.” Your voice was strained as he pulled away and moved over you, thrusting back in with enough force to make you gasp, your nails digging into his back. “Nik.”

“Y/N.” Was his weak response, and you took his face into your hands, kissing him sweetly. It took every ounce of composure to hold back but, when he felt you tremble underneath him, your grip tightening on a whimper, he broke, biting back a groan as his mouth sucked on the skin of your neck.

You laid there in the silence, both catching your breath, before you finally calmed, running your hands through his hair and over his neck and back.

“That was—” Nikolai swallowed and pulled away, rolling over and closing his eyes for a moment. “Good gods, Y/N.”

“Mhmm.” You mumbled sleepily, turning on your side to wrap around him. He was so warm, and his body was perfect, and you felt yourself slipping into a dream filled trance as his lips kissed the top of your head.

“My love.” You heard him sigh, and your heart warmed as you finally fell asleep.

The next morning, after showering and washing up, you slipped on one of Nikolai’s oversized shirts and headed down to breakfast, running a hand over your tired face as you went. He was already seated at the table, boot propped up on the chair beside him, and you smiled shyly when he moved his leg at your approach.

“Good morning, darling.” He said, eyes sparkling with mischief as you walked over to him. “And whose shirt might that be? He must be devilishly handsome to win your heart.”

“Yours.” You murmured, still feeling half asleep, and didn’t truly consider what you were doing before you gave him a soft kiss and sat down, propping your head against his shoulder. Lord he smelled good. You made a mental note to make sure his cologne was constantly stocked from now on.

He looped an arm around your waist immediately, going back to his conversation with Tolya, but the man could only gape at his captain and friend in surprise.

“When did that happen?” He asked, pointing to the both of you, and your face warmed.

“I’ve been telling you this for weeks.” Tamar argued, shooting you a grin. “Idiot. For a hopeless romantic you sure can’t recognize it when its under your nose.”

“I find romance to be more noticeable when it’s under you.” Nikolai teased, earning a pinch from you in response. “Woman, don’t injure me. I’m fragile.”

“Sure you are.” You grinned, allowing him to pull you closer into his side, and your heart softened further when he pushed his plate towards you and offered you some of his own breakfast.

Hello hellllllooooo ladies and gentlemen I hope you liked this one! Make sure to send me the nastiest filthiest most horrendous requests you possibly can because I am up for it!

Also if anyone has some comedic plot lines I’d love to flex my skills at humor thank you and goodnight <3

#shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #shadow and bone imagine #nikolai x reader #fluff #smut #nikolai lantsov smut

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imaginesheaven · 7 months

Text

National Anthem – F!Reader x Price (x little bit Valeria)

Summary: After Graves’ betrayal another villain appears on the screen for the Task Force. They are nothing like all the others before.

This is kind of inspired by the song National Anthem by Lana Del Rey. I wrote all of this down, but I’m actually not sure what to do with it, so enjoy this little piece of pure braindump. I’m also not sure if I like this at all, so I would really appreciate to know what you think about it :)

Warnings: MDNI – sexual talk; swearing; angst; mentions of death

Length: 2.7 k

“Laswell, you look like you could use a drink”, Price sits down at the bar handing her a glass full of the best whiskey. “Thank you, John, but alcohol isn’t going to get rid our problems this time”, Kate takes a sip of her drink.

Her words make the whole Task Force kind of uncomfortable. Laswell is usually convinced that they can manage everything that the world throws at them, but this time she does have her doubts.

“At first, I thought we only have a usual Russian problem, but it turns out to be way bigger and more than just that”, she gets out two pictures from her jacket pocket to put them upside down onto the table, “There is no room to fail this time.” John exchanges a brief glance with his team, “Hit us, Kate.” As if there would be ever room to fail in their field of work.

“Alejandro contacted me a few hours ago fuming. Valeria got bailed out of jail with an amount of money we all only can dream about. I did a lot of digging to find out what the hell is going on. A woman paid the money to get Valeria back to her El Sin Nombre cartel. It was the same person, who overtook the Shadow Company after Graves’ got killed. This woman is going to be a big problem gathering herself the best army”, Laswell pushes one of the pictures towards John.

The Captain can feel his heart stop for a second as he turns the picture around just to find a very familiar face looking back at him. A thick coldness starts to spread in his chest; doom setting slowly in.

“Price?”, Gaz asks quite concerned about John’s silence. The Captain keeps staring as the seconds tick by. “Fuck”, it’s the only thing he says and hands the picture to Gaz. John literally prayed years ago to never see your oh so beautiful face ever again. His heart can’t get over the fact that you are still looking the same. The way you glance at the camera with a winning smirk makes his knees weak. You know that you were observed from afar and you did not give a single fuck about it.

“You know her?”, Kate can’t explain otherwise his reaction. Price nods his head in agreement, “(Y/F/N) (Y/L/N). Met her once years ago. We had a mission together, but never saw her again after that.” He really hopes none of them can see through his lie. It was way more than just a mission. It was way more complicated than that.

Even after all this time John feels everything like it has been just yesterday. The way your hands have been roaming over his chest. So fucking close to him. Skin on skin. The way you felt amazing underneath him. As well as the way you broke his heart into thousand pieces. If there would be ever a regret he has to live through, it would be you.

Price doesn’t tell them a single thing about it. He will not go through every detail of his biggest mistake with his entire team. That’s something only between you and him for the rest of his life.

“So, she is military?”, Gaz asks as Soap hands the picture to Ghost. Neither of them can’t deny that you are absolutely breathtaking as much as you are deadly probably.

“Yes, (Y/N) worked for a special forces team in the American military. There is nothing much to know since almost everything is classified. Only a handful or so have the security rank to gather that information. The team included five members with the call signs X-1 to X-5, which sounds very nice, right? X-1 means Executer-1, so they called them actually Killer-1 to Killer-5. She is one of the best”, Laswell answers and pulls another picture out of her jacket.

John already knows that the picture will be you in your impressive completely black Executer-gear. He hates and loves this one so much. “No, Kate. (Y/N) is the best”, Price doesn’t say those words very lightly, but they are the truth. If you are going to be their enemy, it will be a fucking war.

“She took over the Shadow Company and the El Sin Nombre cartel? For what? What is her goal?”, Gaz can’t make the connections yet. Kate let’s out a deep sigh and turns around the last picture, “I think she is going for this man.”

The Captain shakes his head, “Makarov? (Y/N) is going for the big kill. If she can gather Russians, the Shadow Company and the El Sin Nombre cartel around her, we are all doomed. With that (Y/N) can take over every army and if that happens, she will go back to America getting her final revenge.”

“What do you know, John?”, Kate is almost kind of mad that she isn’t fully in the picture apparently like Price himself. “(Y/N) made a decision the military didn’t want to see. X-2 to X-5 were supposed to execute her. The members were named after their ranks, so (Y/N) was Executer 1 – the best of them. She killed every single one of her former teammates. The American Government classified everything to keep people from talking. (Y/N) escaped in the end, but all of that were rumors years ago. Everyone who told them got silenced. The military didn’t want to acknowledge her existence anymore. So, who really knows if that’s real or not”, Price knows exactly that everything he just told was real.

Neither of them dares to interrupt the silence thinking about the worst that could happen. Someone as power-driven and skilled as you will bring hell over those who did you wrong. What they don’t know is that you are halfway through your plan to conquer the world like you want it to.

A few hours earlier…

“Ah, Valeria. Nice to meet you in person finally. (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N). At your service”, you give the soldier your best smile to greet her properly. She raises one of her eyebrows still unsure about your intentions, “Why did you pay for my freedom?”

You mention towards the waiting car, “Let’s talk in the car. It’s way cooler in their and it would be only fair to bring you back to your cartel.” Valeria follows your invitation, “If you try to do something stupid I will kill you.” You can’t help yourself but laugh as you get in the car after her, “I really don’t doubt that for a second.”

“So, what’s the deal, hermosa?”, Valeria asks after taking a sip of the cool drink you gave her. You lean forward smiling knowing exactly how to expose your cleavage and use your body to get what you want. Valeria’s eyes follow just like you planned.

“Mi vida, I want your El Sin Nombre cartel to work with my Shadow Company. I am working towards a goal that is very important to me”, you explain to her leaving out a few important details. Valeria doesn’t ask but you could see the question in her eyes.

“Graves got … detained by me. His former soldiers are under my wings now. And well, there is no nice way to tell you this, but your people are also mine”, you keep on smiling knowing exactly she will understand the hidden threat.

“So, the rumors are true that you are gathering an army. They warned me about you, hermosa. Take my men if you need to. You paid for my freedom”, Valeria knows when she is in a situation without options. She is in your hands without any chance of an escape, better playing along for now.

“I’m really glad you took that so well. Graves wasn’t really cooperating”, you lean back taking a sip of your own drink. Valeria knows how to pick her fights and you are much more powerful than she thought.

“Well, the Gringo didn’t know how to handle dangerous women. Especially when they are as breathtaking as you are, mi vida”, Valeria holds up her glass to clink hers with yours. She can’t help herself but be enchanted by you.

You have already wrapped Graves around your little finger with your sex appeal until you took what was his. Now Valeria, next one will be Makarov. And you are pretty sure he will not resist you just like the others. Your plan is going wonderful. Now comes the fun part…

The ringing of his phone snaps Price out of his deep focus on working out a plan to bring you down before you can raise hell. No matter how many options his brain goes through it will never be good enough to keep up with your next steps.

“Captain Price”, he is only paying half attention to the caller on the other side of the line. “Hi, John”, your sweet voice rings in his ears over and over again. Price is not a man to get shocked easily, but right now his mind is absolutely blank. There are literally not words to form a proper sentence.

“Oh, I wish I could see your face right now. Happy to hear that I’m still alive?”, you can’t help yourself to let a heartfelt laugh, which brings John’s heartrate into a very dangerous zone. “Why are you calling?”, he tries to keep calm, but everything in him turns slowly into panic mode. It’s unusual for him. Only you can make him feel this way.

“Oi, don’t you know anymore how small talk works, muppet? How are you doing? What have you been up to the last decade? We really need to work on your manners, handsome”, you didn’t mean to sound it seductively, still you are not mad about it. You don’t have to be in the same room with John to know that you are still going under his skin with so much ease.

“John, humor me for a second. How have you been? Tell me a bit about your little Task Force”, your voice could play on repeat for eternity and John would still not get enough of it. In this moment he hated you so much for all the love he still has for you in his heart. But the two of you are a shadow of the past.

“You haven’t changed, so I’m pretty sure you know already everything about my team”, John will not give in. Not this time. “Yeah, but it would have been nice to hear it from you. Do you really think your Task Force is good enough to keep up with me? Are they ready to do whatever it needs to take down the devil herself?”, you have been watching him and his team for a while now; tracking their success as a team and still they will never be as good as you are.

“What happened to you? This isn’t you, (Y/N)”, John’s voice is only a whisper over the line. You don’t want to admit it, but you actually missed how sweet your name sounds when it comes over his lips. “Betrayal. So much betrayal that I finally found solace in power and revenge”, you reply replaying in your head what happened long ago.

“You killed innocent people… Children…”, John remembers how you stood right in front of him; trying to explain everything, but he wouldn’t hear a word about it. He knows now that you made the right decision back then. His younger self didn’t know it.

“You draw the line wherever you need it, Captain! Isn’t that something you like to tell your team? I did that, but what did I get for sacrificing so much? Nothing. The military sent my own team after me. You left me. I lost everything to save thousands of lives. But you know what? I will gain so much more for sacrificing those lives now. Revenge is best served cold”, once you get what you want, you will never have to defend yourself ever again, “John, we both know that villains are also human beings with a dramatic backstory. Just like the heroes.”

“You called just to tell me all of that?”, John can almost feel his heart bleeding; knowing he is part of the problem. He is one of the reasons you turned your back against humanity. “No, since we have quite the past together, I wanted to give you a change. I can be merciful, if I want to. You have 24 hours to find Makarov to stop me”, your voice transforms from being bitter to cheerful in a second.

“You already know where he is, eh?”, Price realizes that you are playing with him. You know exactly there would be no chance for him to win this battle. “Oh, of course. I would never go into a conversation like this without having plan beforehand, handsome. 24 hours, big boy. Time is ticking”, without a further word you end the call leaving John alone in a deafening silence. This is a fucking war neither John nor the Task Force can win.

Bonus:

“It’s over, (Y/N). Lay down your gun”, Price points his weapon at you as he makes his way towards you. A slight smile appears on your lips before you do what he says. Your little handgun compared to his gets put on the table right in front of you.

You can’t help yourself but admire how handsome he looks after all this time you have seen him. He is aging like a fine wine. For a moment you remember how young he had looked back when he still was a Lieutenant.

“Don’t worry, I’m not a sore loser”, you raise your hands so he can see them clearly. For once you are not a threat to him. Slowly you make your way around the table. He keeps his gun pointed at you, but still lets you come as close as possible. His eyes never leaving yours for a second.

“We all know it was your decision to lose. You had everything to bring hell upon us. So, why do you give up now?”, John’s finger ache to stroke your cheek softly; to feel your warmth against his skin once again. Your eyes bore into his; looking straight into his soul. “And we both know I can’t do anything against my weakness, John. You are still the only one I don’t want to hurt.”

Your words touch his soul; breathing back live into him. For a moment neither of you know what to say. Softly you push away his gun and he let it happen. The two of you are so damn close now almost breathing the same air.

“Do you still love me?”, John can hear the pain but also the hope in your voice. There is no need to deny the truth any longer. He can’t ignore anymore how his heart calls your name over and over again. How it has been doing that for the last few years.

“Yes, I always have and I always will…. I’m so sorry for everything”, he caresses your cheek with his hand and you lean into the touch; yearning for his attention for such a long time already. “It’s okay. I love you too, John…”, you reply letting your tears fall freely now.

“… But neither heroes nor villains get happy endings, handsome. Right person, wrong time. Maybe we will find each other in the next life again. Good bye, John”, you place a soft kiss on his lips. Both of you savoring this moment as long as possible.

A single shot rings through the silence, then a body hitting the ground. And that’s how this story ends.

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alisonwritesimagines · 1 year

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When I Was Your Man ~Simon "Ghost" Riley Imagine~

Summary: Ghost regrets breaking up with you after seeing you again.

Author’s Note: I saw a TikTok with this song with no audio and I thought, what if I wrote an angsty Ghost imagine.

Reader’s Pronouns: She/Her

Warnings: angst; a lot of angst

Side Note: This is a secondary blog. If you comment a question down below, I will not answer since this is not the main blog. Please send the question to my inbox if you want a response back!

Do not repost this anywhere!

Part Two

Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now Our song on the radio but it don't sound the same When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me down 'Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name

It had been a year since the two of you broke up. Yet it still hurts him everyday. Somehow, he's always so good at hiding his emotions. He knew that was one of things you tried to help him with. But as always, he pushed you away.

"Hey, Lt. Did you see Y/n walk in?" Soap asked him as he took a seat next to the masked man in the empty booth in the bar they were in.

Another successful mission meant a celebration in a bar nearby. However, they were back at one of the bases they were staying in. The same one you were working in.

Ghost looked over to see you sitting at a table with a few friends as you all chatted with one another.

The song on the modern jukebox played that one Taylor Swift song that you had loved and deemed it as your couple song when you both were together. Ghost felt his stomach drop a little as you made eye contact with him.

It all just sounds like ooh, ooh, ooh, hoo Mm, too young, too dumb to realize That I should have bought you flowers And held your hand Should have gave you all my hours When I had the chance Take you to every party 'cause all you wanted to do was dance

Ghost couldn't decide whether or not to go up to you as you waited at the bar with one of your friends for drinks.

"You going to go talk to her?" Soap asked his lieutenant.

"No," Ghost told him as he continued to stare at you.

You brought your drinks back to your table before taking the shots with you fellow girlfriends.

Now my baby's dancing But she's dancing with another man

Ghost watched as you and your friends sing along to the song currently playing. Not a moment later, a man walked over towards you before sitting next to you on an empty seat next to you. Ghost watched as the man wrapped his arms around your shoulders. You smiled up at the man before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Ghost frowned under his mask as he watched you kiss the man on the lips before walking over to the bar to get another drink.

My pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways Caused a good strong woman like you to walk out my life Now I never, never get to clean up the mess I made, oh And that haunts me every time I close my eyes

"Simon, please talk to me!" You begged.

"What is there to talk about?" Ghost asked you.

"You've been so distant ever since you came back. What happened?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I care for you! And shutting people out isn't good," you explained.

"You don't care about me," Ghost told you.

"Yes I do! Simon, please. Talk to me. I'm here for you," you tell him as you took a couple steps closer to him.

"You'll never understand what it's like out there. You're just a medic. You only get to see us hurt, patch us up, and send us our way to get hurt once more," Ghost told you.

"I hate seeing you hurt," you tell him. You let out a sigh before crossing your arms.

"I'm tired of this, Simon. You keep pushing me away and I don't know what to do anymore. I'm going to walk out that door and if you don't run after me in the next ten seconds, we're done," you said.

Ghost didn't say anything as you walked out the door. He debated whether or not he should run after you. But because he was too stubborn, he didn't bother to move. He could hear you sob from the other side of the door after the ten seconds.

Although it hurts I'll be the first to say that I was wrong Oh, I know I'm probably much too late To try and apologize for my mistakes But I just want you to know

"Hi, Simon," you greeted.

Ghost snapped out of his thoughts to see you standing by his booth.

"Hi, Y/n."

"Can I sit with you for a moment?" You asked.

"Of course."

You sat across from him before sliding over a glass of whiskey to him.

"How have you been?" You asked.

"Been better. How are you?" Ghost asked you.

"Good. I saw you earlier and wanted to say hi for a moment," you tell him.

"See that you got yourself someone new," Ghost said.

"Will? Yeah. He's a great guy," you tell him.

"Does he buy you flowers?" Ghost asked you.

"My favorite kind."

"Holds your hand?"

"Sometimes our hands cramp up a little from so much hand holding."

"Does he spend his free time with you?"

"Every chance he gets."

Ghost nodded as he leaned back against the booth. You stared at him, hoping that he would say more.

"I know I'm too late on this. But I want to apologize. I'm glad you found someone who will treat you better than I did," Ghost tells you.

"Do you have anyone at the moment?" You asked.

"No. Haven't been with anyone since you," Ghost told you. You nodded before looking over at your boyfriend. You looked back at Ghost with a small smile.

"I hope you find someone, Simon. You deserve it," you tell him before getting out from the booth and heading back to your group.

I hope he buys you flowers I hope he holds your hand Give you all his hours When he has the chance Take you to every party 'Cause I remember how much you loved to dance Do all the things I should have done When I was your man Do all the things I should have done When I was your man

Ghost watched as your boyfriend held your hand as he led you out of the bar. He watched as you looked back to see him one more time before walking out the door.

Ghost took out the small polaroid from his pocket to see the picture of you he had taken one time when you were both were out in the woods, talking about what you wanted in your futures.

If only he had chased after you that night. If only he told you how scared he felt to be in a relationship with you and how scared he was to lose you. If only he could've told you how much he loved you. But he wasn't yours anymore and you weren't his.

#simon riley #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley #simon ghost riley x reader #ghost #ghost x reader #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty mw2 #call of duty imagine #alisonwritesimagines

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vivalas-vega · 1 year

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Hey! Could I request a Hangman x Reader, where she is childhood best friends with hangman (they have feelings for each other) and also part of the dagger squad and she finds out her bf was cheating on her so her and Phenix (the readers bestie) get drunk and are on the bar singing Before He Cheats and the dagger squad and jake just think they are having fun and bob is like ‘oh no they actually did that to his car’? And Jake is just kinda proud and then they end up getting together?? Angst with Fluff? Sorry it is a long request!

this request actually made me lol - I am partial to a good Before He Cheats moment (I actually just a few days ago had my own moment in a bar with this song however it wasn't nearly as cool it was just drunk screaming at my friends who were not as invested in the song as I wanted them to be) I hope I did this request justice for you nonnie!!!

add yourself to my taglist

The air in the bar was balmy and doing nothing to help with the flush settling over your skin as alcohol coursed through your veins. As you sat off to the side nursing your beer you couldn’t help but let your mind wander and drift over the events of the past few hours… There’s no shock quite like walking in on your boyfriend and his assistant in your own bed but you weren’t shocked, you were actually kind of relieved... but the relief only lasted for a few moments before anger took over and soon you were calling Phoenix and doing something the two of you would probably have to take to your graves. Sitting here in the bar watching your friends and giving them reassuring smiles every time they fretted over you brought that feeling of calmness back, the feeling that you had dodged a bullet and been given a shiny get out of jail free card you’d honestly been hoping and praying for.

You didn’t want Thomas, he was merely a stopgap… someone to keep the other side of your bed warm and distract you from the crushing weight of affection you held for your best friend. The best friend you’d known since diapers, who grew up with you and talked you into following the same career path, the best friend who flirted with you endlessly but never let it go any further… the best friend who was sliding up to you and wrapping an arm around your waist as you sat perched on a bar stool near the pool table.

“How are you feeling, angel?” he asked, looking down at you like you were the only person in this bar and as he started absentmindedly drawing patterns into the exposed skin of your hip you really wished he would keep his hands to himself and take those stupid green eyes and intoxicating cologne to the other side of the bar. He had his own ideas about Thomas… ideas that consisted of thinking he shouldn’t exist, and he surely shouldn’t exist within a ten mile radius of you. He simply wasn’t good enough and he wasn’t alone in that notion though his opinion was certainly the strongest… however, it didn’t really matter who it was, no one was good enough for you as far as he was concerned.

“I’m good, Jake,” you responded just as Rooster approached and shoved a shot of whiskey into your hand.

“Come on, drink up,” he ordered, raising his own to cheers with you.

“This is called peer pressure, Roo, and Nancy Reagan taught me better,” you protested and chuckled as he shot you a glare.

“Shut up and drink,” he said and you sighed, clinking your glass to his and throwing it back. It burned your throat and you immediately felt the warmth radiate throughout your chest as Jake reached out to shove Rooster’s shoulder.

“Stop trying to get her drunk, man,” he sighed, “I’m going to go get you water,” he said and you wrapped your hand around his, keeping him in place.

“I’m fine, Jake. We’re not five years old on the playground anymore, you don’t have to take care of me.”

“I’m always going to take care of you.” he responded in the way he always did that told you that was that, no further discussion. “Don’t let Chicken brainwash you into thinking this is how you handle a breakup.”

“It is how you handle a breakup. Get so drunk you forget the pain, puke it all out tomorrow and then go about your life,” Rooster replied as if he was giving life altering advice. Jake shoved him away again, not stopping until he took the hint and busied himself elsewhere before returning his attention solely to you.

“Are you sure you’re good? You’re eerily calm considering what happened…” he said, and he wasn’t wrong. You’d strolled into the bar hand-in-hand with Phoenix and dropped the news of your cheating boyfriend like it was the weather report as you ordered from Penny… who tried to give it to you on the house before your glare had her ringing it up full price.

“I mean… was it an asshole move? Sure, but I’m fine, and he got what he deserved,” you said with a shrug, taking another sip of your beer.

“What does that mean?” he asked and you decided to play up how drunk you were, looking back to him with blank eyes.

“What does what mean?” you responded and he just chuckled, plucking the drink from your hands.

“Okay, you’re cut off for the moment.” he said, setting the drink at a nearby table. He wrapped an arm around you again and you leaned into him, enjoying the comfort as your eyes fluttered closed but they were open again in an instant and you were twisting in his grasp trying to lock eyes with Phoenix as the sound of Carrie Underwood filled the bar.

“Did you do this?” you called out to her, quickly jumping from your seat and meeting her halfway as she shook her head no and the two of you fell into each other in a fit of hysterics.

“I thought you did!” she said and you shook your head as she took your hands and started dancing and singing along… well, the best the two of you could around your laughter. Jake watched as Phoenix hoisted you onto the bar and clambered up after you and just as Penny turned around to yell at you he shot her a pleading look.

“Let them have it,” he said and Penny weighed her options before conceding, looking up at you making a dance floor out of her bar and deciding to let it go… you and Phoenix needed to let loose more often and if it meant disinfecting her bar the second you got down then so be it.

“I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,” you shouted at each other as you danced and Jake watched in admiration, wondering how the hell you managed to be so carefree in the face of something that would cripple most people.

“Well, at least she’s letting off some steam somehow,” he commented to the rest of the group who had gathered to watch their best friends.

Bob chuckled, “she’s already done plenty of that tonight.” he said and Jake whipped his head around to look at the wizzo.

“What does that mean?” Between this and your cryptic statement earlier he was now thoroughly convinced you’d done something but he didn’t know what and he hated feeling out of the loop when it came to your life.

“Oh, uh…” Bob stammered.

“Bob.”

“Uh, Phoenix may or may not have let me know they got up to some extracurriculars before they came here, potentially inspired by this song…” he answered and Jake looked back at you in awe, laughing as he imagined it and chest swelling with pride. Sure, he was a little jealous it was Phoenix you called to commit a crime with, but you needed her and she needed you. He’d had you his whole life and he might have been everything to you but so was Phoenix, she understood you in ways he couldn’t and if that meant she was your person for vandalism and destruction of property that was fine by him. He lifted his arms to grip your hips as the song ended and supported you as you jumped to the floor, keeping his arms in place as you looked up at him wide eyed and breathless.

“Heard about your pregaming activities,” he said and you smirked.

“Are you gonna lecture me?” you asked and he just shook his head, taking a step forward and pressing you against the bar.

“Nope. It’s a hell of a lot more tame than what I wanted to do to him,” he said and you just nodded. “Is it wrong that the visual of you in these little shorts destroying his car is a turn on?” You suddenly felt acutely aware of how close the two of you were, of the way he was looking down at you like you were responsible for hanging all the stars in the sky, and the way his fingertips were digging into your skin. “Because it is… I cannot imagine anything hotter,” he said, bringing a hand up to cup the side of your face.

“No, it isn’t wrong…” you said softly, losing the capacity to say anything else as his eyes bored into yours. “Question is, what are you going to do about it?” you asked, regaining your footing and he smirked as he pressed against you, pushing you further against the bartop and caging you into place.

“What do you want me to do about it?” he countered, enjoying how easily he was riling you up and that little voice in your head telling you to pull back, to stop this before it went too far, to preserve the friendship was ignored… it was Jake, at this point nothing could break your friendship and you saw a wide open opportunity to make your feelings known.

“I want you to kiss me,” you replied and he obliged instantly, leaning down and capturing you in a kiss that had you dizzy and falling against him. He pulled back and softly smiled as you looked up at him in a daze, fighting every urge to kiss you again and never stop.

“Come on, angel… let’s get you home,” he said just as Rooster appeared with another drink and Jake shoved it back in his direction. “Nuh uh, give it to Phoenix. And you,” he turned his attention back to you, “are not allowed to accept drinks from strange men anymore,” he said and you just giggled.

“Strange men?” Rooster protested but it was ignored.

“Is that so?” you asked, looping your fingers through his as he led you out of the bar. “And why is that?”

“I’m the only one buying your drinks from now on, sweetheart… and I’m the only one taking you home,” he said, and you leaned your head against his arm as you stepped into the cool night air.

“I think I’m good with that…” What you didn’t see was everyone rolling their eyes and slapping twenties into Phoenix’s outstretched hand, but you didn’t care… all you saw was Jake and that’s all that mattered.

#comet answers #jake hangman seresin #jake hangman seresin fan fiction #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin x you #jake seresin #jake seresin fan fiction #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin x you #hangman #hangman fanfiction #hangman x reader #hangman x you

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sweetandgentlecreature · 9 months

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Colder Weather

Author’s Note: Hey, y’all! This week has been crazy. Between work and getting the kiddo started off at the new daycare, I’ve barely had time to hop on here. My TBR is crammed full for this weekend though, and I can’t wait to read all the new works that have come out! This is Part 5 of Somethin’ Sweet, loosely based on the song Colder Weather by the Zac Brown Band. I’m in the process of moving all of the parts to AO3, so keep an eye out for me there as well. Thanks for reading!!

Summary: Sy learns the truth.

Pairing: Captain Syverson x Female OC

Warnings: Depictions of anxiety and PTSD triggers, talks of past relationships, adult language, and lots of angst. I am an adult, and due to the nature of this content, all works created by me will be rated for those 18 years and older. Minors, DNI.

Playlist

Sy was out of his comfort zone. He felt so out of place here, sitting alone, a thousand miles away from home. The lights were low; the music was loud. His shirt felt a little too tight, even after he’d loosened the button up top. It seemed to fit just fine when he’d put it on a couple of hours ago, but here, now, he was smothering. At least she didn’t make him wear a tie. Or worse, his dress blues. Fuck that.

Most people were drunk by now, stumbling around the dance floor and singing off-key while he nursed the same beer he’d had since cocktail hour. He would’ve loved to let loose, to throw back a couple more and let his two left feet lead him out to the dance floor. In another life, maybe he would have. Heavy bass thumped loudly from the speakers as sweaty bodies bumped and grinded to the beat. He was equal parts surprised and impressed by the sheer mass of rap lyrics his girlfriend knew. He didn’t even know she listened to rap.

They’d met her parents earlier that day, when they’d gone out to use their kitchen. Merrin had done as much prep work on the cake as she could beforehand, but that also meant that they had to drive the 16-hour trek north rather than fly. They seemed like nice enough people. Her father had a firm handshake when he welcomed them inside. For such a petite woman, her mother’s bear-hug nearly knocked the wind out of him. He could see her in their faces; her father’s eyes, her mothers nose and lips. That smile, though…that was all her own. The walls were lined with photos, framed milestones from every era of her life. Pigtails and wide eyes of childhood; shiny braces on the smiles of adolescence; awkwardly posed prom photos and graduation announcements; anything he wanted to know, anything he wanted to see displayed proudly on the walls of her childhood home. He liked seeing the little glimpses into her life before him, and made him curious about their future. Would their children have her eyes? Maybe they’d get that dimple in their chin, just like he has.

Merrin seemed very close with her father. Watching them together made his heart ache, just a bit. He wished he’d had that kind of relationship with his father. It felt childish to be jealous of that, considering his circumstances. Clayton Sr. had gone to serve overseas when Sy was just a kid. He’ll never forget the look on the officer’s face when he answered the door that day. He’ll never unhear the cries of anguish from his mama, crumpled to her knees on the front porch as they delivered the awful news. Sy didn’t cry that day, or any day since. He was the man of the house now. He had to be strong for her. Sitting here now, he ran a hand down his face and sat back heavily against his chair. He knew what he had to do, if he wanted that kind of bond with his own kids someday. Some things would have to change.

The tempo changed, as did the mood on the dance floor. Some people left for the bar to get a refill, some paired off to sway to the music. Sy groaned softly as he stretched his legs, when a delicate hand was placed on his shoulder. A soft, familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts. “Care to show an old lady to the dance floor, Captain?” When he met her eyes, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Pardon me, ma’am, but I don’t see an old lady anywhere. I’d be more than happy to dance with you, if you’ll have me.” Pushing himself to stand, he offered his hand to Merrin’s mother and let her lead him out to the floor. He let her guide him into proper form, taking his hand and placing it politely on her waist and letting the other fall into his open palm as they swayed. He was mindful not to step on her toes, and though she could feel the tension in his shoulder, she didn’t seem to mind his fumbling. She squeezed him gently, reassuring, and beamed up at him.

“You’re light on your feet. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” she teased. Sy chuckled and shook his head, the tips of his ears burning bashfully.

“Thank ya, ma’am. My mama taught me ta’-”

“Oh, please Clayton. Call me Lisa.”

He laughed again and relented. Mama Syverson would never stand for that, but be it as she was many, many miles from here, he felt safe enough to comply. “Right,” he grinned. “Thank ya, Lisa.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as they swayed together. Glimmers of light danced from the disco ball and painted the room in fleeting beams. Lisa’s gaze shifted to settle just past him as she spoke again, drawing his along with it.

“She seems good. We’ve been so worried about her since she left home.”

At the bar, Merrin was up next. She’d stopped off to grab them each a beer and hadn’t noticed them yet. Sweeping those beautiful mahogany locks over her shoulder, she leaned across the bar to place her order over the noise of the crowd. The dress she’d picked was perfect, a satin little number with delicate straps and a split up one thigh. It hugged every delicious curve perfectly, and she nearly knocked him on his ass when she’d first come out of the bathroom with it on. It took him a moment to pull his attention back to the woman who stood before him, and he nodded as she spoke.

“Yeah, things are good. She keeps busy with the shop. You should see the line that waits for her to open every mornin’.”

Lisa’s expression changed. Apparently, they weren’t on the same page. Was there more to be concerned about, besides her youngest child moving clear across the country? What was he missing?

“That’s…that’s good,” she said softly, then took a breath. “She hasn’t told you, has she?”

Told him what? Sy’s mind raced as he tried to gauge his girlfriend’s mother’s tone. Had Merrin been keeping something from him? Standing dumbly in front of Lisa, he waited for her to continue. They stopped moving altogether as she braced his shoulders.

“Oh, honey…I thought you knew. The reason Mer left the Springs was because of Travis. She’d been living down at Fort Carson with him when he got shipped out. They’d never been apart, not for a second, ever since high school. She’d call home every week just to read me the newest letter she’d gotten in the mail.”

Sy’s heart beat out of his chest as he urged her on. He swallowed thickly, but his mouth was too dry to soothe the sting from the bile that built up in the back of his throat. Lisa’s eyes shifted down to her feet for a moment, then back up again.

“Travis, he…he didn’t make it home. Mer was heartbroken. The day after the funeral, she packed up and left. Couldn’t stand to be here anymore. Reminded her too much of what could’ve been.” She squeezed his arms to get his attention again, but his mind was miles away. “You can’t do that to her, Clayton. We were shocked to hear about you. We thought she’d learned that lesson. You seem like a great guy, truly, but there’s still time. You have to let her go. If something happens to you, she won’t be able to recover.”

He could barely hear the rapid beating of his heart over the loud ringing in his ears. The room was closing in, and he couldn’t breathe. His hands trembled as they fell to his sides. He nearly ran right into her when he turned on his heels to book it out the door. Merrin stumbled a bit and spilled some beer down the side of her dress at the brief moment of impact. Confused, she watched him disappear, then turned to look at her mom for answers. “What happened?”

Lisa fiddled with the corsage on her wrist to avoid looking her daughter in the eye. She didn’t even have to say it, before Merrin gasped. “You didn’t.”

“I’m sorry, Merrin, but he deserved to know. You should have told him.”

Lisa had struck a nerve. Merrin’s nostrils flared as she shoved the amber bottles into her mothers open hands. “I didn’t have to tell him shit, mom, and neither did you!” She took her exit quickly, the loud clicks of her heels against the dance floor echoing in the lull between songs. Merrin ripped the door open and headed outside to the parking lot. A lingering drizzle of rain left misty drops in her curls as she rounded the corner of the venue to find him propped up against the brick wall. He fumbled with the lighter as he struggled to light the smoke pressed between his trembling lips. It fell to the ground unlit when he looked up again.

“Why? Why didn’t ya tell me?”

This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go. She’d thought that maybe they’d have a few drinks, dance a little, then maybe fool around a bit back at the hotel. She hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell him how good he looked in that button down. Now, he looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Merrin sighed, ran a hand through her hair and collected her thoughts.

“I tried. I tried to tell you, Clay, and I just didn’t know how to–”

“You knew exactly what you were doin’ with me. You tried to push me away.”

He wasn’t fighting fair.

“Yeah…I did, and look where that got me.”

She felt like a wounded animal, backed into a corner, trapped and lashing out. She hadn’t realized just how fresh the wounds still were. It felt like a lifetime ago when she’d gotten the call. If she listened hard enough, she could hear the crash of her favorite mug hitting the floor. He didn’t have any family. She was his emergency contact. Sy could see the pain in her eyes and watched as all traces of warmth drained from them.

“I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen. I tried to push you away, but you wouldn’t stay away. You didn’t want to hear it, so I didn’t tell you what really happened. It was none of your business, and it wasn’t her place to tell you. So…What happens now? You’ve got your out. Are you gonna take it?”

Had he been looking for an out? Sy wasn’t sure. Thinking back on their time together, he realized that she was right. She had been trying to tell him all along. It was hidden in the little things, the small details, the fine print, but it was there. “You’re not my boyfriend, Sy,” the night of the fair. “Don’t you dare tell me that life isn’t fair. I know life isn’t fair,” she’d lamented that day in the airport. “This is cruel.”

This is cruel. Asking her to do it all over again. To wait for him, to worry about him. To put her life on hold so that he could go out there and risk his own. It broke his heart to think back on it now. Maybe her mother was right. She’d be better off without him anyway.

“We should go,” was all he said, as he headed for the car. Merrin glanced back at the reception hall, then out to where he’d disappeared into the dark. He had the keys. She’d done enough damage for one night. No need to make it worse. Swallowing thickly, her hands trembled at her sides, but she didn’t move.

“Go ahead. I’m…I’m gonna stay.” She’d catch a ride back with a friend. Right now, they needed space, and she needed another drink.

Sy let his gaze linger only for a moment before he tore it away again. If he wanted a sign, this one was as clear as day. Clearing his throat, he gave a solemn nod, opened the door, and stepped inside. Merrin watched as he pulled out of the lot. She’d gotten her answer too, as tears of sorrow welled in her eyes and blurred her vision. She stood there until the glow of the taillights disappeared from sight.

He was gone by the time she made it back to the hotel that night. Not a trace of him was left, as if he’d been nothing but a ghost that breezed through her mind and left her haunted. The kind lady at the front desk let her know that he’d called a cab and headed for the airport. “I hope everything’s alright. Seemed pretty urgent.” Merrin didn’t blame him. She’d gotten what she’d asked for. They’d let each other go.

She’d decided to stay an extra night, but not in the same bed they’d shared only hours before. Instead, she headed for her brother’s place. They’d be leaving for their honeymoon the next day. He looked at her with pity in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Mer. You know mom. Couldn’t keep her mouth shut to save her life.”

She wanted to be angry with her mom. Though it really wasn’t her place to tell him about Travis, Merrin knew that she’d done it out of a mama-bear reflex to protect her daughter. Lisa had seen first hand how she’d handled the loss of her first love. Things got dark, and the only way to pull herself together again was to get some distance from this place. It was Travis who’d wanted to go to Houson, to get away from the snow and the cold. She did it for him. It was Merrin’s fault for not telling the truth sooner, and now she was right back to where she’d started. Alone.

When Merrin got in late the next day, she’d come home to find a box waiting for her on the front porch. She didn’t have to open it to know what was inside. Clothes neatly folded, toiletries and cosmetics she’d left behind. She wasn’t surprised to see that he hadn’t left a note. There was nothing left to say. She dumped the box into the corner of her room and left it there to collect dust. Everything inside could’ve been replaced. He was just too kind to get rid of it for her.

Time passed slowly. Three weeks of silence. Three weeks of going to work and coming home to sit and stare at the same four walls, only to do it over again the next day. Merrin could handle silence. It was what she wasn’t doing that drove her crazy. She wasn’t driving out to his place for pizza and beer on Thursday nights. She wasn’t dancing in his kitchen as they washed dishes together. She wasn’t calling him up to see how he was doing, just to hear his voice, though she’d almost done it more than once. She wasn’t in his life anymore, and she had no one to blame but herself. That’s what hurt the most.

The early morning rush was over. Merrin used the downtime to clean up a bit and replenish the bake case for the afternoon crowd. She was in the back, pleating the crust on top of a beautiful peach pie. The last of the season, when autumn would give way to winter and she’d be left with nothing but apples. Finishing off the last of the crimp around the edge, she slid the pie onto the rack and dusted off her hands on the back of her jeans, when the bell rang.

Merrin froze. Deep down, she already knew who it was. It couldn’t be…could it? Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself to go out and face the music. Brushing through the swinging doors, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes stung with the threat of tears to fall, and a slow, soft smile spread across her face. Hearing his voice again felt like heaven.

“Hello, Darlin’.”

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shady-tavern · 1 year

Text

Vampire’s Lullaby

Warnings ahead for a child getting injured and threatened with more bodily harm and death, blood and gore, though not overly descriptive. Please take care of yourselves.

This is part one of a dark vampire story folks. I hope I could do it at least some justice. If you are concerned about the contents, drop me a message and I’ll answer you.

***

'Never look them in the eye, child,' the priests always cautioned. 'You'll only find the loss of your mind and virtue there, if they don't take your life immediately.'

There was no love left in the creatures of the night, in those ever hungry for blood and flesh, in the terrors of the dark. The sunlit hours were spent scurrying about, getting work done before the sun set and the monsters crawled out of wherever they hid.

Annabelle had been taught early on to ignore the luring calls and songs of some of the night creature, to keep the curtains drawn and to stay inside, no matter how frightening or pleading something sounded outside. She and all others could flinch and cry all they liked, so long as they remained in their homes.

Those who could afford it kept their homes safe, buying all that was necessary to ward off any and all night creature, while professional hunters prowled along the property. Those less rich could still often enough convince a less reputable hunter to guard their home, by offering them food and lodging and a bit of a salary.

Young, inexperienced hunters or older ones with lasting injuries usually took those less well-paid guarding jobs. Those families who could bear to have a set of working hands missing sent one of their children to get a basic education in hunting, hoping it was enough to protect their home.

Annabelle knew people less fortunate considered her one of the reasonably lucky ones. She had three older brothers and her parents had reliable merchants buying their wares. Her mother sold iron tools she made in the smithy, while her father sold his weaving. Her two oldest brothers had learned the craft of their parents, while her third brother, the youngest of the three, had gone and become a hunter.

Dion was the one keeping their home safe and she hated it. She hated the howls and screams and snarls of the monsters that hunted. She loathed the crooning singing that wanted to lure her towards the barred windows, cruel in its sweetness. The shadows she could sometimes see creep past during a full moon frightened her, before Dion chased them off.

She hated that he was out there, fighting, coming home injured and bleeding. She knew, deep down, there would be a day when he wouldn't return. None of them were lucky enough to avoid that misfortune forever. Not when it had killed her grandfather and later her uncle, while guarding the house.

Sometimes, when she came back from work, she saw her brother standing outside, hand shaking as he held his weapons. But every time he hesitated, he would look at the house, through the windows where she knew her parents and older brothers sat, still either at work or taking care of the house.

Then he'd look at her, walking briskly towards him in the setting sun. He'd nod at her and remain where he was, unflinching and with a straight back. In front of the house, guarding it.

The thick wooden door would close behind her when she stepped inside, lined with iron and dusted with silver shavings, expensive protective measures that had cost her grandmother and grandfather all their savings when they settled down in the city.

Dion would lock it with a hard noise before his steps faded. Annabelle hated those noises, hated how final and grim they sounded. Hated that she didn't know if he'd come back at dawn to unlock the door again.

They weren't truly locked in, she knew where the spare key was after all, they all did, but her parents wanted him to be the one to unlock it every morning. They wanted to give him every reason to come back alive.

She wished she could tell Dion to just stay inside with them. To sit in front of the fire and cover his ears when some beast howled, like he had done as a little boy. Annabelle was barely a year younger than him and she remembered helping him, clapping her hands on top of his to muffle the sounds extra hard.

No matter how much the noise had scared her as well, she had put on a brave face. When her parents had decided he should go and apprentice with a hunter, she had fought with them, for the first time in her life actually shouting and screaming while her parents grew just as loud.

They had been just as desperate and scared and helpless in their arguments as she had been, but that hadn't gentled her fearful fury one bit.

When she had offered to go in Dion's stead, they had waved her off with scoffs. She wasn't big and sturdy enough, they had said. She wasn't strong enough, not fast enough, no hunter would teach her. She'd be dead within her first night outside.

She couldn't bring herself to say it to Dion's face, but she thought he shouldn't have become a hunter. Then again, none of her brothers were suited for the task. Rudi, the eldest, was currently courting a young woman, hoping to marry her and have a family of his own. He always got up at dawn along with Annabelle, peering out the windows to check if Dion was alright.

Gerard, her second-oldest brother, kept on weaving late into the night, the sound of the loom by now a welcome background noise as they all settled down. She knew the reason he stayed up late was so he could listen for his little brother, to try and hear if anything happened to him. Even if he couldn't help, he still stayed up.

Since the two oldest were meant to inherit the business, continuing the craft of their parents, the horrid task of protecting the house fell on Dion's shoulders.

Annabelle had gotten an apprenticeship with their neighbor Mr. Bell, an older scholar and bookbinder, who had taught her everything and then hired her at his printing and book selling store.

Mr. Bell had recently started talking about letting her take over when he retired, since he was most pleased with her work. He wouldn't hand the business to her entirely right away, but he spoke about working less over the next year or two and letting her handle things more in his stead.

It filled her with fierce hope, that once he let her take over, she could earn enough money to hire a hunter. So Dion could stop reaching for cold steel and second-hand armor made of leather and rusty iron. So he could allow his hands to do something soft and gentle.

She once or twice heard him have nightmares through the wall during her free day and he barely smiled anymore and his humor had grown dark. Sometimes he managed to make her laugh, startled and a little horrified all at once, when he joked about death with other hunters in the evening, while she stopped by them to wish them a good night.

Not every night was bad, thankfully, there were even a week or two where it was utterly quiet, but it always got rough around the new and full moon.

Her brother got injured at times, coming home with a limp or a bleeding arm that got tended to swiftly so he could return outside the next night. How her mother scrubbed blood from their worn floorboards with tears in her eyes.

One day, she had promised herself therefore, he could rest. Which was why she was working from sunrise til sunset and why she stayed sweet and polite, no matter how rude a client was. Why she made sure Mr. Bell wanted her to take over his business one day and not someone else.

Her family worried about her, since she often barely made it back home in time, the sun almost gone when she arrived. Dion always looked relieved whenever he saw her hurrying down the street, his hunter garb making him look dark and foreboding.

She left early every day ever since she had figured out at what minute the sun crested the city wall enough to shine a weak, pale light along the main road. The path of the sun was always unobstructed, for across from them, on the other side of the road, was nothing but a drop down to the lowest level of the city.

That part of the city was built at the bottom of the hill that bordered on being a mountain, made up of homesteads and farmland. Scholars still argued that the hill should be classified a mountain, while others said it only looked that big because of the ostentatious, large castle built at the very top.

The fancy castle was surrounded by high walls and equally fancy manors and smoothly cobbled streets that wound down steadily. Their part of the city was always lit and very, very well protected

Annabelle usually didn't pay the upper crust much mind, she was far too busy for that, but sometimes as she walked to work, she wondered what it must be like to live without fear. To know the night creatures could not touch her.

By the time she reached the big crossroads where Mr. Bell had his business, the sunlight touched the shop and she'd unlock the door. Slipping inside, she would set everything up for the day in peaceful, soft quiet. She got the books they were selling ready in the shop and got started on their orders, mixing inks and selecting the requested paper.

Mr. Bell certainly was delighted about that, arriving with a spring in his step and all he had to do was sit down and get started.

Of course, leaving this early meant there were still some night creatures around at this hour. The last stragglers who wanted to pick off early risers who either thought they could slip by unnoticed or who had to risk their life for their income.

The hunters were counting on that, however. They said the monsters still out and about when the sun rose were the really stupid or inexperienced ones and usually made for easy pickings.

Sometimes Annabelle heard the gurgling cries as something died in an alley and she made sure not to look when she passed by. Since the night creatures avoided the sun like the plague, Annabelle was safe enough so long as she stayed on the main road.

Besides, she wasn't the only one with early working hours, the baker down the street got to work even earlier, risking her life every day to earn just enough coin to pay an older, banged up hunter to guard her and her children.

Dion unlocked the door for her after the fifth bell of the clock tower struck and today she saw that his eyes were dark and there was tension all throughout his frame. It must've been a rough night, for he barely said anything to her. Even the other hunters she passed by were quiet and grim, curtly nodding at her in greeting.

She wrapped her shawl tighter around herself to ward off the chill of the morning hour, warily glancing around. It was quiet enough and she only realized she had walked too fast, that the sun hadn't risen far enough yet, until she turned around the corner, one street away from the crossroads and found it lying in dark shadows.

The surrounding houses stood empty as of last month, which usually meant there were no hunters immediately nearby. Only, the street lying in shadow wasn't empty, like she had expected.

A howling snarl was cut short into a high-pitched yowl by the echoing shot of a blunderbuss. She barely got a glimpse of something big and furred crumpling to the ground, before she was nearly bowled over by a hunter running past her.

The man dragged a screaming, crying child into the sun, where it hissed and tried to cringe back, only to get gripped tighter. The hunter held the kid by their curly hair and Annabelle was about to shout at him in alarm, when she saw movement in the lingering dark.

She saw a second hunter further down the shadowed street barely dodge a beast that leapt down from above. Leathery wings nearly knocked him over as the massively oversized bat scooped up what could only be a bleeding, panting werewolf.

Only the bat didn't quite look like a bat either, it was far uglier for one and had arms along with wings and a body that tended a bit more towards the humanoid, leaving it looking like it had jumped straight out of a nightmare.

The werewolf reached a clawed hand for the crying child with a pained groan, while the bat skittered up the side of the building, too fast for anyone to catch up, until it was safely out of range of the blunderbuss. Then both night creatures suddenly fell still, staring past Annabelle.

Annabelle turned around, only to become still and unmoving herself. The first hunter held a silver dagger to the child's throat, a thin trickle of red blood dripping down, while black veins started to slowly appear along its skin, caused by the blade's touch.

The child was whimpering softly, a horrible, helpless sound that cut straight through her heart. Tears fell out of big, dark eyes and the boy was breathing fast and shallow in panic and he looked frozen in place, not daring to move even the tiniest bit.

For a long, heavy second, all Annabelle saw was Dion as a little boy, curly haired and terrified as he hid beneath the table, hands clasped over his ears as he sniffled. How she had crawled under the table to join him, pressing her own hands over his and how he had curled into himself with relief.

The kid didn't look too much like him when she blinked the memory away, the hair was the wrong shade, the eyes far too dark. But it was similar enough, along with the small button nose and chubby cheeks, to remind her of her brother when he had been little. It left her reeling for a moment.

"Move on," the hunter growled at her. "This doesn't concern you."

It didn't. It really didn't concern her. Annabelle held no love for night creatures, not when Dion carried scars from their claws and teeth. Not when she had nightmares about them and her parents had cried themselves to sleep for weeks after sending her brother out to guard them. But she couldn't bring herself to move, feet feeling frozen to the floor.

The child's gaze met hers and it was painfully clear the he wasn't human. He had fangs and claws and pointy ears, but in that moment he just looked like a helpless kid. The boy, six years at most, looked terrified, trembling all over and trying his hardest to reign in his panicked little gasps to keep the blade from digging in deeper.

The werewolf keened, a desperate, pleading call and the massive bat, the vampire, hissed, low and threatening.

"What are you doing?" Annabelle's voice sounded strange to her own ears. "That's a child."

"It's a monster," the hunter snapped back, keeping his eyes on the two night creatures high up on the wall that stared back at him. His friend was pacing down below, clearly trying to figure out how to kill them while they were distracted. Considering his sharp, loud cussing, he wasn't successful.

"Stab it or something," the pacing hunter shouted. "Lure them down, I don't want them to run or the sun to take my kill!"

The hunter pulled the dagger away in a fast, smooth motion, flipping it and Annabelle was moving before she was fully aware of it – because this was a child, no matter the pointy teeth and tiny claws. This was a child looking scared for its life, crying and trembling and she felt sick down to her core.

Pain burned bright and intensely sharp as the dagger sliced past the back of her hand, stretched in front of the kid protectively. The fingers of her other hand gripped the boy's collar tight, wrenching him away from the hunter's grasp.

The hunter's eyes were wide in startled, baffled surprise as she pushed the boy behind her, her own eyes wide and her breathing harsh and fast. She had half a second to watch fury take over, before the sound of crunching, crushing stone broke through the air like a miniature thunderstorm.

The hunter whirled around and Annabelle felt a scream getting caught in her throat as a large chunk of wall came flying, too fast to dodge, slamming into him and leaving a smear of blood and broken bones behind.

Everything became a little fuzzy and blurry around the edges, as she turned to see the vampire rip out another chunk of wall, tossing it after the now fleeing hunter below it, crushing the man into a pulp of red, wet flesh, broken pieces of bone poking out.

She heaved in a breath to avoid throwing up, gaze darting back to land on the vampire and the still injured werewolf it carried beneath one arm, braced against its gray, fuzzy shoulder.

The boy's heaving, suddenly loud wail made her flinch, jolting back into her body. She took a step back until she could see him without losing sight of the monsters up on the wall.

"You're alright," she found herself whispering with a trembling voice. Hesitantly she reached out, fingers shaking as badly as the kid did and nausea was still roiling through her gut.

The moment she lightly touched his shoulder, he tipped forward, knees buckling. Annabelle just barely managed to catch him, awkwardly holding him for a second, before she took a deep breath and picked him up. He weighed as much as a regular kid did, largely looked like one too, if one discarded the obvious signs where he was not.

And yet, as she watched, the longer the sun shone on him, the more those signs faded. His ears became round and the fingers that curled into her shawl were now normal, his nails short and blunt.

The scrape of claws on stone made her flinch and when she looked up, the vampire was right there, standing where the dark ended and light began. It clearly couldn't cross over and Annabelle felt her breath caught in her lungs as she stared up.

For the first time in her life, she felt tiny and flimsy and utterly mortal. The werewolf was reaching out towards the boy, breathing labored and it clearly couldn't stand on its own two legs. The vampire's arm still around its middle was the only thing holding it up.

The boy lifted his head and sobbed, reaching back towards the werewolf. The cut on his throat wasn't bleeding anymore, but there were still black veins, even if they were slowly growing fainter. Silver poisoning, Annabelle thought faintly, remembering the books Dion had been given while training and that she had peeked at.

Annabelle carefully set the boy on his feet without looking away from the big vampire, its large ears flicking as it listened. The boy stumbled forward the moment she let him go and the second he crossed into the dark, the vampire swept him up too and after a last glance at her, took flight.

It clearly wasn't dumb enough to wing up into the sky, not with the rising sun, but it was still startling to see something so big move so swiftly and quietly down the street, maneuvering smoothly around the corner and then it was gone.

Annabelle stared after them, unmoving. She didn't dare look towards the crushed hunters, her heart racing painfully fast in her chest and her stomach still roiling. Her hand was bleeding, pulsing with pain and she reached up to numbly wrap the end of her shawl around it.

Two minutes later, the sun had risen far enough for her to walk on, stumbling away from the bodies. No one had been around to see her or what had happened, not that she had noticed at least. No one had come to check either, not when the houses along this part of the street were empty.

By the time she stood in front of the shop, she was still shaking and it took her two tries to get the door open. As soon as the door fell closed behind her with a click and the familiar scent of her workplace surrounded her, she broke down into tears.

Mr. Bell, when he arrived, made her sit down, cleaned and bandaged her hand properly and handed her a sip of brandy that burned going down.

"You will take it easy," he said in a voice that allowed no arguments and he muttered under his breath, "I should've known leaving home that early was too dangerous."

She didn't correct him, because then she didn't have to explain how she had gotten injured. Instead, she was quiet and worked as much as he let her, while trying to ignore any remarks their clients made regarding her subdued spirits.

She was sorely tempted to throw something, however, when a particularly arrogant man told her to smile, for it made her look prettier than her current, glum expression.

When the evening bell rang, the one warning everyone to get home now or it would be too late, she felt a fierce jolt of fear race down her spine.

She was suddenly terrified to go out there, to see the night creatures again or to run into someone who had known the dead hunters. Who asked around if anyone had seen anything. Or even someone who might have seen her after all, but had been too far away and preoccupied to do anything.

But she couldn't hide here, the crossroads were filled sorely with businesses and hunters didn't protect areas where people didn't live, at least they didn't if the owners weren't rich enough.

The rich and powerful were about the only ones who had stopped fearing the night. They had the coin to pay for all the protection they could ask for and sometimes, during particularly quiet, calm nights, Annabelle could faintly hear the music of their parties.

She knew she couldn't stay here unless she wanted to die. So she grabbed her things, wound the shawl around her neck and locked up the shop. Mr. Bell had left an hour ago after making sure she would be alright, making her promise that she would go straight home.

The spreading shadows looked darker and more frightening than ever before and her steps grew faster and faster until she was nearly running.

No one stopped her, no one even looked at her more than usual and no monsters appeared. Not yet.

Dion was chatting with another hunter, the woman's gear looking as banged up as his did, when Annabelle arrived at home. He glanced at her, only to pause and frown.

"Did something happen?" he asked and Annabelle plastered a smile on her face, hoping it looked convincing.

"Just a little accident at work," she answered, waving her bandaged hand around and tucking it against her side before he could get a proper look at it. "Nothing serious, but I'm tired."

His frown smoothed over a bit, even if he still looked worried. "I'll unlock the door."

He accompanied her to the front step and as she stepped inside, she couldn't help but turn around. "Please be careful."

"I always am," he answered, but she must've looked scared, as scared as she felt, because his face softened a bit. "I promise."

He never promised to come back in the morning, because they both knew there was a chance that he wouldn't. Annabelle suddenly felt fiercely angry and tired and there was a sting of self-loathing.

She had gotten two hunters killed and monsters had gotten away alive. What if those night creatures were the ones to murder her brother? What if that little boy grew up to become someone else's nightmare?

She couldn't bring herself to regret saving him, not when she remembered that gut-wrenching fear on his face. But she couldn't help wishing the hunters had remained unharmed, no matter how nonsensical it was. Someone had to die when night creatures and hunters clashed.

She never again wanted a hand in deciding whose fate it was to be killed.

Dion locked the door and Annabelle managed to wave off the concern of her parents and older brothers and retreated to her room. She wasn't hungry and when she sat down on her bed, she could see the sinking sun.

Her room felt stuffy, so she opened the window, knowing she still had a few minutes to air out the room. Iron bars protected her window and she could still see Dion from here, waving at a hunter further down the street.

The memories of this morning resurfaced once again and would not let go. Annabelle started to tug at the bandage on her hand until a sharp pain made her wince. Glancing down she saw a bit of blood bleeding through and she took a couple of deep breaths.

What was done, was done, she reminded herself. Short of walking to the city guard and getting arrested and executed for mingling with the night creatures, there was nothing she could do.

Glancing up, she noticed that the sun had disappeared behind the city walls and while the sky wasn't entirely dark yet, she saw something big fly past. Flinching back, her heart suddenly hammering, she fumbled to slam the window closed.

She yanked the curtains shut as well, almost ripping them off, her fingers trembling as she clung to the thick fabric. It wasn't the same massive vampire bat, she told herself, there were many night creatures after all. Surely it was something else.

But Dion was out there and if he died because she hadn't been able to harden her stupid, soft heart against the face of a crying, terrified child, she'd never forgive herself.

It took a few deep breaths for her to calm herself and after long minutes of standing there while nothing happened, she got ready for bed. Tonight seemed to be a quiet night tonight and she laid in bed, listening carefully for anything horrible. When she heard Dion's rough, muffled laughter drifting up, she finally let herself relax.

Her eyes started to slip closed when a scratching sound on stone made her jolt upright so fast she briefly got dizzy. Heart racing once again she felt froze in place as a large shadow covered her window. She couldn't see anything through the curtains, but this size let her know what exactly was outside.

She didn't dare make a noise. She heard a muffled clack a moment later and then the shadow vanished with another quiet scratch of claws.

Annabelle sat in the silent darkness of her room, her breathing a little funny and when, at last, she managed to make herself move, her heart finally calmed down a little.

Pulling the curtains apart just enough to peek through, she blinked in surprise when she saw a folded page of thick paper on her windowsill, weighed down with a rock. She stared at it for a moment, then let go of the curtains again.

Annabelle wasn't dumb enough to go and open the window right now. So she backed up and sat down and stared. She didn't think herself capable of falling asleep again that night, but between one blink and the next, the sun was rising and she was lying crookedly on her bed.

Getting up and groaning at the crick in her neck, she approached the window once again. The sun was just peeking over the wall when she opened it and plucked the paper from beneath the rock. It was slightly damp from being outside and the move sent the rock tumbling down to the ground.

Unfolding the page, she blinked in surprise when the clumsy handwriting of a child greeted her first. The letters were clearly written with great care and as she read, it felt like a big hand was squeezing her heart.

The kid was thanking her for saving his life and that of his mother and auntie. He said that he had been so scared, that he thought all humans were cruel and evil, but she clearly wasn't. He had added a sketch of her, childish and simple and cheerful.

Below that, in a neat and elegant hand, one of the night creatures had written that they owed her and she could ask for one favor. All she had to do was leave a note outside her window and if possible, it would be fulfilled.

Sitting down on the chair in front of her desk, Annabelle found herself reading the letter again. Then she slowly folded it and didn't know what to think or feel or do. In the end she hid the letter and got ready for work, mind still spinning in circles.

Dion looked tired but unharmed and he even smiled at her when he let her out of the house, going so far as to twirl the key around his finger. "Have fun," he called after her when she left with a little wave.

Nothing happened on her way to work and Mr. Bell looked happy to see that she was doing better today. He left halfway through the day, citing that he needed to take care of something, though Annabelle got the sneaking suspicion that he was looking for excuses to leave the shop in her hands for a while. To get her used to running it in his absence.

It was all going well and fine, until she heard the tinkle of the front door and when she stepped out of the backroom, she stilled mid-step. A curly haired kid with dark eyes was peeking over the counter, clearly on his very tip-toes.

A smile broke out over his face. "Hello," he said with a small lisp, as if it was entirely normal that a night creature was out and about in the middle of the day. Looking utterly human.

Oh. A cold realization washed over her. Of course night creatures looked human during the day. The hunters would have found a way to eradicate them all otherwise. There were only so many places they could hide before being found.

Then she frowned. Did that mean they could walk out into the sun too? Or only some of them?

"Did you get my letter?" the boy asked. "Mama said I shouldn't come here, but I wanted to make sure."

"Yes," she managed to answer. "I got it."

His face lit up. "Good." Then his face fell and he sank down a bit, eyes barely peeking over the counter. "Thank you. That was...that was really scary."

"I bet it was." In all honesty, his situation had probably been far scarier than having a large monster show up in front of her window for a second. She couldn't stop herself from adding, "You need to be more careful."

The kid shuffled a bit in place, looking chastised. "I wasn't supposed to go outside," he told her, fingertips tapping against the edge of the counter he clung to. "But Mama was gone longer than usual and I got worried."

"I bet she's worried now," Annabelle said and suddenly she couldn't get rid of the thought that another night creature was going to show up. A grown, dangerous one. "Unless you told her where you are?"

The kid looked caught. "Um..."

She couldn't help but huff and made a shooing motion. "Go home before she worries."

The kid was about to push away, when he suddenly looked worried. "You won't tell anyone, right?"

Annabelle knew the moment she gave a description of the kid to the hunters, they'd comb the surrounding area for him and his mother. It was forbidden to get tangled with the night creatures, always had been.

Though, now that she looked at the kid, she couldn't help but think that the hunters were just as ruthless. And they could be just as cruel as the monsters.

"I won't," she said at last. "Now off you go."

The kid stepped away with a relieved smile and hurried towards the door, only to pause. "If we can help you, we will," he said. "Mama says we owe you one."

With those words he slipped out, the bell tinkling merrily. Annabelle exhaled in a rush and leaned against the counter, watching the kid through the shop window as he left with quick steps. Rubbing a hand over her face, she shook her head and returned to work.

She didn't have time to think about the difference between monsters and hunters, not when it left her mind in a messy state. There was too much work to do.

Mr. Bell came back later than he had said, whistling when he saw how much she had gotten done. It helped keep her distracted and by the time she wrapped up the last order of the day and got a head start on the next one, the final bell was ringing.

To her misfortune, she found her usual way back home blocked by a tipped over carriage. Horses were panicking and people were shouting and crowding around, trying to fix the situation as quickly as possible.

There was no way to get past and a nervous glance at the sky told her she couldn't wait until the situation got resolved, even if taking any other path meant a detour. Already the frazzled travelers were shouting how late it was and that they needed to get going now.

Tugging her shawl more firmly around herself, she turned to eye the nearby alley. It laid in shadow, but there was nothing else she could do. Even if she now knew that night creatures could look like ordinary humans, she was willing to risk the alley rather than stay on the main road until the sun had disappeared entirely.

Still, her heart was racing a bit and she was nervously glancing around. It got quiet as she left the hectic road behind and soon the only sounds were her shoes on rough cobblestone and occasionally voices drifting out of still open windows.

Some of the houses back here stood empty, broken windows and destroyed doors showing where night creatures had gotten through. Claw marks were visible where the monsters had crawled in and she saw bloody drag marks in front of one door, where someone or something had been hauled away.

It was dark by the time she emerged from the alley and the sight of the sun beyond the city wall made her breath catch. Home wasn't too far, however, surely she'd be fine.

She was about to rush ahead, when she heard the sound of claws on stone. For a moment she was about to just blindly start running, heart pounding, before she made herself look up. There it was, the nightmarish bat, crouched at the corner of the roof, wings folded primly.

They stared at each other for a long moment, until one of the vampire's ears flicked and it slowly moved one arm to point down the street. Towards her home. When she didn't move right away, it made a shooing motion, wings twitching.

Slowly taking a step and then another while not looking away, Annabelle started walking. The vampire followed her slowly, not even needing to leap across the alley onto the next roof. It just needed to stretch in order to reach.

Forcing herself to look away when she stumbled and nearly fell, Annabelle found herself walking faster and faster. When Dion came into view, waiting outside, visibly tense and worried, she looked up again.

The vampire was nowhere to be seen, but she heard the faint scratch of claws and realized that the night creature wanted her to hear it. She hadn't heard a damn thing until it had crouched above her, after all. It allowed her to track it.

"You're late," Dion said in greeting, checking her over for injuries while ushering her towards the house. "Get in, now."

She was pushed through the door before she could say anything and the lock clicked into place. Annabelle found herself swarmed by her family, all worried and scolding.

She ate dinner while barely tasting anything and retreated to her room as quickly as possible. The curtains were still open and when she reached for them, she saw the vampire, a few roofs away, out of view of the hunters down below.

She saw its dark eyes glint in the moonlight when it turned its head towards her, large ears perked. She found herself staring for a long moment, before she startled, remembering the warnings about getting thralled and lured outside.

But she felt fine, she realized as she was about to yank the curtains closed. Her mind was still her own. Surely she'd notice if it wasn't? She didn't feel compelled to go towards it – quite the opposite in fact. If anything, she wanted to stay right where she was, thank you very much.

Then the vampire's ears flicked and it was gone between one moment and the next, moving far, far too fast for a creature that size. Annabelle closed the curtains and took a deep breath.

She really needed to get some rest and hope that tomorrow made more sense again.

.*.*.*.

Over the next couple of days things made no more sense than previously and Annabelle resolved to just not think about it anymore. She had ended up saving a night creature child, they were grateful, no one had killed her in the process and now she'd continue living as she always did.

Sometimes she spotted the vampire, flying by or peering across the roofs towards her window. At first it frightened her worse, until she realized that it must be checking for any notes she might leave. In case she wanted to cash in that favor she was now apparently owed.

This, too, she resolved to not think about. There was nothing a night creature could give her, after all.

Right up until she waited at the door in the morning and Dion didn't open it. Her worry grew and she fidgeted, exchanging a glance with Rudi, who was peering outside the windows anxiously.

"I don't see him," her oldest brother murmured, shifting restlessly in place. After another moment he decided, "I'll go get the key."

He left and returned just as swiftly and the moment she had the door unlocked, Annabelle rushed outside. "Dion?" she called out.

"Over here," the voice of one of the other hunters answered and she ran, Rudi right behind her. Skidding to a stop at the small alley three houses down, she sucked in a sharp gasp.

Dion was lying in a pool of blood, breathing shallowly and two hunters were kneeling grimly at his side, doing their best to staunch the bleeding.

"Get a doctor, now," one of the hunters snapped out and Annabelle was moving again, running past a worried Mr. Bell, who poked his head out of the window, looking sleep-ruffled.

Everyone knew where the nearest doctor was and how long it took to get to their clinic. Thankfully, the doctors all got up early, knowing the first thing they usually did was stitch up an injured hunter.

Dr. Under was a seasoned, experienced woman with incredibly steady hands and a cool composure and she was the doctor everyone on the street and the next ones went to. With her guidance they got Dion into her clinic and then all they could do was wait. Annabelle stared down at the blood on her hands and sleeves from where she had held Dion's legs beneath the knees.

Rudi had left reluctantly, promising to tell Mr. Bell that she wouldn't be in and to inform the rest of their family. Soon they all sat in the waiting room, silent and scared. Annabelle had to bite down on the accusations that crawled over her tongue like brambles. Her parents looked horrified and guilty enough as it was.

"He'll make it," Dr. Under said the moment she stepped out of the treatment room. "He's going to be out of commission for a couple of weeks, however. I'd recommend letting him rest and recover for a couple of months even, but he could work again sooner."

Meaning she knew their family didn't have the money to pay a hunter to replace him. Before Dion had protected them, her uncle had, who had died a few weeks before her brother had taken over.

They wouldn't be entirely unprotected, the other hunters looked out for the surrounding buildings since not everyone had a protector. Five hunters, Dion included, regularly protected the entirety of their street.

But if they had to choose between protecting their own home or Annabelle's, the hunters would choose their own families or employees. It was risky, not paying for or having someone guard the house.

Her parents did not have the funds to pay for help, they all knew it. They would have to risk having no one and then Dion would have to go out the moment he was well enough, instead of healing up fully.

As she found herself ushered outside, Dr. Under promising that Dion would remain safe here until he could go home, she stared at her cold hands, finger knotted into her bunched up shawl.

She returned home with her family, swallowing down anger and fear with nearly every step. She hated all of this. Hated that night creatures wanted them dead, hated that her brother had to suffer, hated that they were never, ever safe when it was dark.

She had heard that the countryside was less dangerous, that night creatures preferred to flock to cities. They liked the amount of humans that lived there. She had heard rumors that someone had angered night creatures so much once upon a time, that they still sought retribution to this day.

She just wanted it all to be over.

As soon as she was back in her room, blood cleaned off, she pulled out the letter the little boy had sent her. She hesitated for a long moment, then she pulled out a piece of paper and dipped her quill into her inkpot.

It took her a few tries to get it right, crossing out words and staring out the window to the spot where the vampire usually sat shortly before it left again. She wrangled with her thoughts, her distrust and fear.

Night creatures were dangerous, everyone knew that. They held no love for humans and most of the time not even for each other. It was foolish to trust one, to put her hopes in one.

And yet, as the sun set, she left a folded piece of paper on her windowsill, weighed down with the same rock the night creature had used previously. It had still lain where it had gotten dropped a couple of days ago.

She stared at it for a long while, then she took a deep breath and kept the window open, the curtains pulled back. If she was going to do this, she had to look the vampire in the eye. If she gave a night creature the information that their house would be unguarded, ready for reaping, she had to try to spot any possible deception before it got them all killed.

She saw the vampire appear a few minutes after sundown and how it paused, obviously spotting her and her note. It tipped its head a bit to the side and it remained still for a long moment. Then it moved.

It arrived far too fast, nearly making her flinch back, hanging upside down from her roof. Hands the size of her head braced themselves left and right of her window and Annabelle had to force herself to not look away.

She had made precautions of course in case the vampire tried to thrall her. Her room was locked and the key dropped behind her big, heavy dresser, which would make a racket if she tried to move it. The bars in front of the window held shavings of silver and even if the vampire hypnotized her, it wouldn't get to kill anyone but her.

If that was the grim price for foolishly hoping she could trust a night creature, she'd pay it. But the vampire didn't do anything. At last it shifted its weight and pulled the note free with its clawed fingertips, thumbing it open to read it.

"Can you do it?" Annabelle found herself whispering, voice cracking and throat dry.

The vampire pulled itself up out of view and she saw its shadow on the roof across from her window, the house not built as high. She saw it change, turning from hulking and winged to something that looked human, crouching above her. She saw long hair move in the strong night breeze.

"I accept," the voice of a woman answered. "Consider it done."

Her breath escaped her in a big exhale and she had to grip the windowsill, knees suddenly trembling. "Thank you." Her voice shook a little.

The vampire hummed, then it asked, "Why did you not tell your city guards about my godson when he visited you?"

Annabelle knew what her family would have done, what Mr. Bell would have done. What the entire city would have done. But she hadn't been able to and she didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

"He's just a kid," she found herself answering honestly, watching the vampire's shadow. "It didn't seem...fair. To hurt him just because he's not human. Or to rob him of his family."

Nothing about this was fair. Not little boys nearly getting their throats slit open or her brother, brave and bloody, lying on dirty cobblestone. After what she had seen the hunters do to the boy, she couldn't even say anymore that only the night creatures were cruel.

"I see. You're a brave one, you know," the vampire said. "I've yet to meet a human who dared to look me in the eye when they knew what I was, not even your hunters do it."

Annabelle pressed her lips together, then she lifted her chin. She was sick and tired of being scared. She was sick and tired of fearing for her life and begging a god who might or might not be listening for her brother's safety. If a monster could do the job instead, she'd gratefully accept the help.

"You're not all that scary," she made herself say with more confidence than she felt. "You actually look kind of fluffy as a bat." And very frightening.

The vampire laughed, sounding surprised and darkly amused. "I think I like you," she said, a grin audible in her voice. "Brave, smart and sweet, you are quite something, I believe."

The shadow shifted and it looked as though the vampire had sat down on the roof and Annabelle had no idea what to say.

"Sleep," the vampire told her, voice gentler than before. "I will not let anything happen to you and yours."

Annabelle walked away from the window on slightly unsteady legs, leaving it open. She wanted to hear it, if something happened. Even if she knew, rationally, that she couldn't do anything, she still wanted to know if the vampire would abuse her trust.

She dropped onto her bed, watching the bit of the vampire's shadow she could still see. Slowly, her pounding heart calmed down and she slipped beneath the covers, watching her curtains shift gently in the breeze.

That breeze actually felt pretty nice, even if every stray sound made her jerk upright. She only realized the vampire had started to sing softly when her eyes fell closed, lulled to sleep by a monster's soft voice.

.*.*.*.

Part Two and Three are up.

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volpe-kitsune-red · 10 days

Text

A taste of you～

Part 2

Lynx Andromeda (Yandere OC) x reader

tw. general yandere behavior, possessive behavior, reader is a bit socially awkward, alcohol, vampires, blood-drinking, slightly suggestive content

Someone in your college had organized a huge party and invited every student to join; you didn't know the guy but Lynx did. Your best friend knew practically more than half of the people who attended the school and reassured you that the man had a huge mansion and a pool in his backyard, meaning it wouldn't feel too crowded even if everyone showed up. But that wasn't your concern, this was going to be the biggest party you had been to and the fullest of strangers. You weren't exactly scared of people but not a social butterfly either so you couldn't help but feel nervous about how the night was gonna go. "Nervous? Oh come on love, I'll be right by your side the whooole time. If you feel overwhelmed I'll just make an excuse to take you away...somewhere private hehe～" You were used to her teasing and yet it still made a slight blush tint your cheeks. Of course, she was just joking, however, the way her eyes pierced into yours every time she said things like that was making you question her true intentions...and your feelings for her.

Lynx had insisted on wearing matching outfits, and you both decided (after a long debate) on black colors paired with something made of red leather. When she came to pick you up you saw that she had put on a black top with a short red leather skirt, she looked amazing and you were quick to let her know. "And you are outrageously stunning, I might have to keep a closer eye on you tonight or someone might steal you away from me～" You laughed in response "Aww stop it, you're making it sound like we're together or something!" "Hmm..not yet..." The rest of the ride was filled with you two casually catching up on what you did that day, she always avoided talking about her life at home so she resorted to telling you about a fun music series she found called 'Alien Stage', excitedly forcing you to listen to some of the songs.

You arrived an hour late to the party. It was already packed with people, not as many as you expected, but the night was still young so many others were yet to show up. You and Lynx began looking for your friends. It was hard to move more than 5 steps at a time, not because there was no space to do so, but because people kept approaching your friend to start some small talk or invite her to join them in whatever activity they were doing. Finally, you spotted the group of your mutual friends and joined them. Everything was going better than expected, you were having fun, and Lynx helped you shake off a couple of drunk men who were making you feel uncomfortable.

At some point in the night, one of your friends asked you if you could go grab him a cup of water. Poor guy had drunk a couple of shots too much so you told him to sit down as you left the group. Lynx was having fun at a karaoke battle with some random woman so you decided not to bother her by asking her to accompany you. You wouldn't want to ruin her night just because you needed some assistance to feel secure at a party. You went up to the bar and asked the man behind it, who was presumably the butler of the house but was doubling as a barista for the night if he could give you a cup of water. When the man turned around to take a cup and fill it, someone tapped you on the shoulder. You turned around and the woman behind you smiled. "Hi there sugar... my eyes have been wandering towards you the whole night, I have been waiting for the best moment to approach such a cutie, mind blessing me with a little company?" She gently took your hand and you were too stunned to react as she pressed her lips on the back of your palm. You blushed, a bit embarrassed by her boldness. She was undeniably a gorgeous woman, tall, with tan skin, white hair, and a cleanly styled wolf cut...but you had to go back to your friend. "I'm flattered, really. But I need to go back to my friend, he's not feeling well so I was supposed to bring him a cup of water." The woman appeared amused. "You're talking about Ron, right? He's fine, he's also a friend of mine, I asked him if he could do me a favor by securing me a minute alone with you." You thought Ron was such a traitor for selling you off to a stranger, just like that, without a warning even. But you would confront your friend and his behavior another time. Maybe it was the alcohol or the fact that it's been years since your last romantic interaction, but you had decided to give this random woman a shot. She was hot and had gone through all that trouble just to approach you, so why not, right?

You two sat on the bar stools and started chatting, she wasn't too bad, she was charming and a great listener. At one point she put a hand on your tight and leaned closer to you. You weren't sure if she was about to kiss you or whisper something in your ear, and you would never find out because before she could do anything a person forced themselves between you two, forcing her to retreat and put her hand away. It was Lynx, you couldn't see her face because she had her back turned toward you, and as soon as she turned around, her expression was blank. "Love, please come with me, immediately. I have something to tell you." You looked at her confused but she was serious, so you nodded, stood up, and tried to excuse yourself to your new acquaintance but Lynx interlocked her arm with yours and started pulling you away with her. Concerned and irritated by whatever was going on, you followed her silently into a quiet, empty room of the mansion and closed the door behind you. "Lynx can you explain what is going-" You weren't given the chance to finish the sentence as Lynx gently but swiftly pressed you against the wall, wrapped her arms around your waist, and smashed her lips against yours. You were shocked, incredibly confused...and her lips were soft, and her body was pressed against yours, making your mind and body feel fuzzy.

Her kiss lasted a couple of seconds, maybe three before her lips parted with yours. "I can't believe it, I take my eye off of you and you go wandering off to someone else, maybe I should put a leash on you so this won't happen again." What the hell was she saying? "L-Lynx, you're my best friend, we aren't a couple or anything... I asked you to look out for me tonight to help me out in case something was going wrong, that doesn't mean you can just tear me away from anyone I'm talking to without checking to see what's really going on! That woman wasn't-" "Do not mention her, she doesn't deserve to be on your mind, let alone your body. I saw how she was touching you, she wanted to steal you away- away from ME!" Her dark pupils started to swirl into a glowing red color, it was clear she was struggling to keep her voice steady. When she noticed the fearful stare you were giving her, the red disappeared and her features visibly relaxed. She raised one of her hands to put it on your cheek, her sweet tone masking her true emotions. "It's ok darling, I'll make sure something like this will never happen again. You know that I love you right? That I would never harm you?" You felt that your answer wasn't really needed but you replied either way, putting your hand on hers. "Yes Lynx, I know you love me. We've known each other since we were little kids and you've never done anything that hurt me. But what does this all mean? Y-you...uh, kissed me just now, are you trying to tell me something?" Her gaze softened. "My love, you are just too cute, it's just so hard to resist eating you up right away..." She buried her head in the crook of your neck. "...to sink my teeth into you and taste you." At this point, you were as red as a tomato. Did she just confess her feelings to you? If she did, that was definitely a weird way to word it. But then you felt something sharp poke at your neck. You look down to see your best friend's open mouth hovering over your skin. Two long sharp teeth sticking out, threatening to pierce into you at any moment. "...Lynx. What is this...what are you doing?" Her arm wrapped itself tighter around your waist while the hand on your cheek moved around the back of your head to steadily hold it in place. "I'm sorry dear but you left me with no choice...and you are just so irresistible." Your whole body stiffened at the realization of what was about to happen, you tried to wriggle away but it was too late. A sharp pain shot into your neck, blood started pouring out and you refused to watch as she proceeded to suck and drink it all.

You screamed but the party outside the door was too loud to hear you, your shouts of pain and your pleads were lost amongst the laughter and singing of the people outside. Eventually, you felt yourself going weak, and your vision faded to black.

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