#sorry for taking so long with your requests! I hit quite an editing's block the past month ;-; | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fific7 · 3 years

Text

Fake or Fortune

For @omgrachwrites 1K Follower Celebration - congratulations!

AU: Fake Relationship

Billy Russo x Reader

A/N: This does not follow canon, it takes place in my Alternative S1 Punisher Universe, with Arrogant!Billy in attendance.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content, slightly questionable consent, some dom/sub interaction, oral and unprotected* sex between consenting adults. Swearing and drinking.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My Photo Edit)

Karen put a large G&T down in front of you, accompanied by a sympathetic look. You picked it up and took a large sip, sighing as you put it back down again.

“I give up, Karen. No matter what I do, without fail I either pick the wrong guy or else think everything’s fine, and then boom - it isn’t.”

This was a commiseration drinking session, which Karen had suggested after she’d noticed you moping around the office. You both worked at the same big newspaper but in different departments, and became good friends after spending numerous lunchtimes together in the staff restaurant.

“What happened this time?” she asked, then winced as she realised maybe that wasn’t the most tactful way of putting things. “I mean, I thought you and David were getting on really well?” You took a larger gulp of your drink, “Well, that’s the thing - so did I. Until I got the “it’s not you, it’s me” talk on Saturday.” You’d been seeing this guy from your Digital News Content section for a few months, and you’d really thought everything had been on track.

Karen sighed, “Oh lord, not that old pile of bullshit.” You nodded, “Yeah, right. I tried to pin him down to exactly what the problem was, but I guess it was just me, when it all came down to it. In fact, I saw him chatting up a girl from Accounts yesterday so he’s already moved on to pastures new. That didn’t take long, did it? Or maybe he’d already moved on but didn’t have the balls to tell me.”

“Look, I’m meeting up with Frank on Friday night for a drink...” her cheeks pinked up, and you smiled at her obvious pleasure in that thought, “....so why don’t you come along? He mentioned one of his friends might tag along.” You held up a hand, “Oh no! No! I’m not being set up.” She shook her head, “It’s not a set-up, I swear. They’ve got a little....issue.... with Homeland and we’re going to talk about it.”

You knew she’d recently met this ex-Marine called Frank when - in her role as investigative reporter - she’d been digging into some big CIA scandal. When was there not a scandal about the CIA, you thought. You knew she’d met him several times over the past couple of weeks and had detected a more-than-just-business interest in him. “Oh, so.... strictly business, then?” you teased. She shifted in her seat, “Well, mainly.... we’ve also been talking about more personal stuff.” “Uh-huh,” you nodded, smirking, “Karen fancies Frank, Karen fancies Frank!” you sang, while she batted your arm and gave an embarrassed laugh.

“Oh shut up, you,” she said, “...are you coming along or not?”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

And that’s why you found yourself sitting in a neighbourhood bar with Karen on Friday night, feeling quite nervous for some reason. Probably because Karen was fidgeting like hell next to you, and you were picking up on her nervous energy. You smiled over at her, “So you really like this guy, huh?” “No!”she denied, then as you raised an eyebrow at her, “Well... okay, yes I do like him. He’s so sweet.” Her eyes widened as she spoke, catching sight of two approaching figures, “Oh! Here he comes.” A big bear of a man came up to your table, smiling broadly at Karen and then including you in the smile as he stopped beside you. “Hey, Karen,” he greeted her, and she beamed back at him. “Hey, Frank,” and then she introduced you to him. His friend, who’d been partially blocked from your sight by Frank’s bulk, moved out from behind him and said ‘Hi - I’m Billy Russo,’ and shook your hand as he did so. “Nice ta meet ya,” said Frank, also shaking your hand and sitting down in the booth next to Karen.

The man who’d just introduced himself as Billy slid in next to you, and you tried not to stare. He was hot. Like, really hot. Dressed in a smart suit and overcoat, he really didn’t look like an ex-Marine, but Karen had told you that both Frank and his friend were ex-service, and that the friend had opened up a security firm called Anvil when he left the Marines. His handsome face turned towards you, and two very dark eyes looked into yours, “So.... you’re a friend of Karen’s?” You nodded, “Yeah, we just worked together to start with but now we’re besties.” “You a reporter too?” “Nah, I’m a lowly sub-editor on the news desk.” A sudden thought occurred to you, “Oh... and just to reassure you, this isn’t a set-up... you and me, I mean.” He smirked, and you found yourself staring at his lush brushed-back hair and sculpted jaw with its light beard. “Would it have been a big problem if it had been?” he was saying to you, and you shook yourself out of your little trance.

“No, I guess not...” you replied, laughing nervously, “...but I just wanted to get it out there.” He looked you over appraisingly, “Well, I wouldn’t have been disappointed at all,” the smirk got bigger, “....so if you change your mind, just let me know.” This left you speechless but he was still looking at you, asking, “Whaddya want to drink? First round’s on me,” before turning his gaze to the others.

Several beers later, you were sitting listening to the other three talking about a lot of indecipherable nonsense (from your point of view), and you were beginning to get antsy. “Karen, I’m going to head off,” you said in a break in the conversation and she looked slightly guilty, “Oh sorry... we’ve been going on about this for ages.” You shrugged, “It’s fine, Karen, honestly. I’ll see you Monday, okay? Have a great weekend.” You turned to the guys, “You too, and thanks for the drinks,” and made to move out of the booth. But Billy didn’t move. “See you home?” he questioned you, and you saw small smiles on both Karen and Frank’s faces. “Yeah, okay,” you nodded, and then he moved, standing aside as you slid out of the booth. As you headed to the door through the crowd of people, you felt his arm snaking around your lower back. Oooh, very confident, you thought. You’d marked him out as a player as soon as you’d set eyes on him.

“Sorry about the boring shop talk,” he said as you both hit the street, “....me and Frankie’ve got some problems with Homeland right now.” “That doesn’t sound good,” you said as you found yourself being guided around the corner from the bar. “Oh, I was going to take the subway,” you protested, but he shook his head, “This time on a Friday night? Nah.” He pointed towards a rather flashy-looking car parked in the street, “Got the car with me so I’ll take you home. I only had one beer, case you didn’t notice.” “I didn’t,” you admitted, “I thought you were sinking beers like the rest of us.” He gave a low laugh, “I was a sniper in the service, so I like to be aware of my surroundings at all times.” A little frisson ran through you, this guy was quite dangerous, you could tell. As you reached the car, he held the passenger door open for you and you climbed in, trying to be as elegant as possible although you weren’t sure you quite achieved that.

As he started the engine and moved the car out into the flow of traffic, he asked, “So what made you come along tonight if it wasn’t a set-up?” “I was bored. I just split up with my boyfriend of a few months so...” you shrugged. You heard a chuckle, “His loss.” “I don’t think that’s what he thought,” you replied, with a self-deprecating laugh. “Well, it’s true,” said Billy, “...believe me. He must be mad to give you up.” “You silver-tongued charmer,” you said back to him, and again you heard his deep chuckle.

“Seriously, it’s my gain. Look, this might seem a bit of an odd request seein’ as how we’ve only just met...” he began, looking across at you as he pulled up outside your apartment block, “....but you’d be doin’ me a big favour. How ‘bout you come along to this charity event I gotta go to next week? As my ‘plus one’?” You hesitated, and he carried on, “No strings, I promise. Just come along as my girlfriend and be on my arm all night. Help me ward off the attentions of someone I’d rather avoid.” You scoffed, “Fake dating? Really?!”

Much to your surprise, you found yourself walking into your building a few minutes later having just agreed to go to this event with Billy. He’d looked pleased, thanking you for saying yes. And you’d also been on the receiving end of a surprise kiss from him. He’d suddenly leant in, slid his big hand around the back of your neck and pulled you in, his mouth finding yours as he did. The kiss had been short but very sexy and you were still tingling from the after-effects.

He’d laughed at your look of total surprise, and wished you sweet dreams. You’d better be careful, warned your internal guardian angel, he said ‘No Strings’.... remember? So don’t go getting all invested in this guy. He’s a player.... for sure.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy and you had swapped numbers, and the following morning you were pleasantly surprised to get a text asking if you could meet him later that day. Intrigued, you texted back saying you didn’t have any other plans but why did he need to meet up? He came back saying he’d had an idea to help out with the event next week, and said he could pick you up. Feeling like you could be making a big mistake, you agreed so he said he’d be at your place around two.

You made sure you dressed casually. Not having any idea where you were going, but sure it wouldn’t be a date as such, you just chose a shirt and jeans with some suede ankle boots. When Billy texted you to say he was parked outside, you left your apartment and locked up, feeling a spark of excitement run through you as you did. “This is not a date, this is not a date, this is not a date!” you chanted in your head as you went downstairs. Billy, you saw with relief, was also dressed casually in jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket and combat boots. He gave you a big grin as you got in the car, the luxurious leather aroma of the interior filling your nostrils. “What make of car is this?” you asked, being an “it’s a black one” kind of girl. He gave you what could only be described as a smug smile, “Rolls Royce Wraith, sweetheart,” he answered. “Oh, okay,” you said, “....expensive, I take it?” “Very.” “Surprised you park it on the street the way you do then,” you shrugged, and he burst out laughing. “Is it one of those so-called penis extensions?” you asked next, and Billy nearly choked he was laughing so hard.

“Firstly, I take it that means you aren’t particularly impressed,” he gasped, getting his breath back after his laughing fit, “...and secondly, no darlin’, it definitely isn’t one of those ‘penis extensions‘ as you put it. Got no need for one-a those.” You returned his smirk, “Really? Well, I don’t care what car a guy drives,” you said firmly, “...that’s got nothing to do with what he’s like.” He glanced across at you as he swung the car into one of the downtown underground car parks. “And what do you think I’m like?” You looked at his profile as he concentrated on parking the big car in a corner space, “Mmmm... I think you’ve had a hard upbringing and now you’re making up for it. Big time.”

Billy switched the engine off and turned to stare at you, the dark eyes drilling into yours with an intensity you hadn’t been expecting. “Wow,” said Billy, “....you sure you’re not one-a these psychoanalysts or somethin’?” “Definitely,” you replied. “Well, you sure sound like you’ve been analysing me, sweetheart,” he said. You didn’t know him well enough to gauge his mood, and he carried on, “I mean, you got all that from meetin’ me last night and just now?” You nodded, saying neutrally, “I’m just speculating of course... but the expensive suits, the car, and I bet a big flashy apartment too, it just says ‘I can afford this now and I’m gonna enjoy it’ to me.” You were relieved to hear a chuckle as you’d been worried you’d really offended him. “Spot on,” he said, “...yeah, you’re spot on. I think you’re maybe in the wrong business.” You decided to change the subject, “So... where are we going, Billy?” “You’ll see in a minute,” he grinned, “....c’mon, let’s go sweetheart.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Minutes later, you were standing outside one of the expensive and trendy boutiques in the area. Billy’s hand went under your elbow and he steered you inside. “Billy... what’s going on?” He nodded to one of the staff who started making her way over to the two of you. “Look, it was my bright idea to drag you along to this thing, so the least I can do is treat you to a new outfit.” You were shaking your head before he’d stopped speaking, “Oh no, no... I can’t let you do that!” He was nodding back at you - it must’ve looked quite comical to the store assistant, “Oh yes, you will - I insist.” He turned to the woman, “Please can you help my girlfriend pick out an outfit for a formal event?” And before you could say anything else, he’d wandered over to a seating area near the changing rooms and seated himself in a comfortable armchair. “I’ll be right here, sweets,” he said, beaming at you. Girlfriend indeed, you thought.

The store assistant looked expectantly at you and you nodded hesitantly at her, so she led you over to some rails filled with lots of beautiful dresses. “How nice of your boyfriend to buy you a whole new outfit,” she commented, beginning to slide the dresses back and forth along the rail looking for a selection for you, “He’s very charming,” she continued, admiringly. “Yes, isn’t he,” you said between gritted teeth. Truthfully, you were feeling as if you were out shopping with your sugar daddy. But you had to admit that your bank account would’ve been protesting loudly if you’d had to make the purchase yourself, and you definitely would’ve had to buy something new as nothing in your wardrobe was even remotely suitable for a formal event. And he was right, this was all his bright idea. So you’d just suck it up, you thought, however reluctantly.

Eventually the assistant had several dresses folded over her arm for you to try on, and you sailed past Billy to the changing rooms without as much as a glance at him. But you just knew he was staring at you as disappeared behind the curtain.

After twenty minutes of struggling in and out of the various dresses, you had to admit that the assistant had made some good choices. There were three that you really liked, and you finally chose a midnight blue silky sheath of mid-thigh length, an asymmetric one-shoulder-strap neckline and a swirl of sequins diagonally across it from neck to hem. It was tight-fitting but didn’t show off an excessive amount of skin - you didn’t want to have it all out there on show after all.

The assistant had also brought several pairs of shoes to you once you’d chosen your dress, and you picked out a pair of matching delicate strappy sandals. Pleased with your choices, you put your own clothes back on and went out to find Billy. He looked up from his phone as you exited the changing room, a disappointed look on his face, “What.... no catwalk show for your boyfriend?” You leant down and whispered, “Okay, you’re laying it on a bit thick, Russo,” to which he grinned, gently took hold of your chin and softly kissed you. “You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he smirked. Then a horrible thought occurred to you, “Billy!” you whispered forcefully. He looked a bit nervously at you, “What?” “There was no price tag on that dress or the shoes either!” He waved a hand at you, “Yeah? That’s okay, just leave it to me.” “No! That’s not on. I’m going to ask her what the price is.” He jumped up out of the armchair, “Nah, nah! Told ya, it was my idea you come along so just let me do this, okay?”

He set off without further delay to the cash desk, while you reluctantly waited in the seating area. Not particularly comfortable with the idea of him buying you an outfit, you decided that you’d offer to buy him dinner to kind of offset his no doubt hefty bill for the dress purchase. He came back over to you a few moments later carrying a large box in one of the boutique’s carrier bags which he handed to you with a grin. “She’d already boxed it before I could see it so it’s still gonna be a surprise when I see it on the night.” You smirked back, you were quite pleased about that. “Billy, let me buy you dinner as a thank you for the dress.” “Okay, I won’t say no to a free dinner,” he grinned, “...where d’ya wanna go?” You mentally reviewed your bank balance and named a mid-priced restaurant close by.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

After a pleasant couple of hours chatting over dinner, Billy drove you home. Debating how to end the night, you came up with what you felt was a decent plan. Not that you were trying to extend the evening of course. That would be just plain stupid as the ‘relationship’ was all a big fake. Remember? your brain asked you. “You know Billy, we haven’t prepared a back story yet, have we?” you said as he drew up outside your place. “A back story?” “Yeah. I mean, if this person you’re trying to avoid happens to ask us - together or separately - about our relationship, we need to be singing from the same songsheet, don’t we?” He looked thoughtful, “Uh yeah, you’ve got a point there.” “OK, well how about you come in for a glass of wine or a coffee and we can get that sorted now?” A devilish smirk appeared, “Plannin’ to ravish me, sweetheart?”

You felt your face heat up with a sudden blush, “No!! Purely to agree on the back story. But hey - we can just text about it if you’d prefer!” Embarrassed, you grabbed your bags, opened the car door and began to get out, but Billy grabbed your arm, “Hey, hey, sweetheart - I’m just kiddin’. Hold on an’ I’ll park up. We can walk up together.” You huffed slightly and closed the car door again, while Billy looked around for a parking space. Once parked, the two of you went up to your apartment and you unlocked the door, waving him inside and over to the sofa while you stashed the bags and headed to the kitchen area. “What would you like? Wine, beer or coffee?” “I’d better just have a coffee,” he said, “...don’t wanna get drunk and pass out in your apartment. Not a good look.” “I don’t see you as a ‘getting drunk’ kinda guy, Billy. You already told me you like to be aware of your surroundings.” He laughed, “You’re right, I don’t make a habit of gettin’ wasted.”

So you switched on your coffee machine and asked what kind of coffee he’d like, holding up a handful of different capsules. He strolled over to you, draping his leather jacket over the back of one of the high stools at your breakfast bar as he reached you. He leaned down slightly and looked at the selection you had in your hand, and you were suddenly very aware of the scent of his aftershave. “Whattya got there, then?” You took his hand and dumped them all in it, saying, “I’m just gonna fill up the water jug while you decide,” and moving swiftly away from him. You were finding it very difficult indeed to ignore the magnetic attraction he was exerting over you, but you really had to try harder as you were only going to end up getting hurt otherwise. He held out a capsule toward you, “Americano’s fine,” he said.

The two cups of coffee made a few moments later, you led him back over to the sofa and you both sat down at opposite ends. “Okayyyy,” said Billy, “....back story then?” You nodded, “Yeah. Nothing too fancy as the less details we have to remember the better.” “Good idea. We should probably add in some truth too. So.... we met through Karen & Frank?” “Yes, that’s a good start. Where did we meet and how long have we been seeing each other?” “Neighbourhood bar, and a coupla months?” “Okay, yeah. Actually is that about it? That was easier than I thought! Or...what else might they ask? Who is this person you’re avoiding - are they gonna be really nosy?” Billy snorted, “Oh yeah! Her name’s Caroline, a spoilt rich bitch. Her father owns a tech company and he supplies some of our equipment. She came along to one of the meetings recently and now she’s stalking me.” You grinned, “And that’s a problem for you? I would’ve thought you’d quite enjoy that, Billy.”

He grinned back, “Are you sayin’ I’m a player or somethin’?” “Well, aren’t you? I’m kinda getting that vibe.” Now he laughed out loud, “Maybe. But I like doin’ the chasing, sweetheart, not the other way round. If she ever got hold-a me, I’d never get outta her clutches.” “What - you wouldn’t? Not much of an ex-Marine then, are you?” He rolled his eyes, “Seriously, this woman’s so clingy she’d attach herself to me like a limpet mine. And I don’t like violence against women so I’d be in a difficult situation. Plus the main thing’s the business link with her daddy. His stuff’s good, I wouldn’t wanna have to replace him as a supplier. So you see, you’re doing me a solid here.” “When you say stalking you, do you mean literally?” “Well, like turning up at Anvil all the time to ‘check on the equipment’ and shit like that.” “So not outside the office then? I’m just thinking along the lines of her not seeing us around together before the event if she’s around you outside business hours. She might not buy it.” “As far as I know, only in office hours.”

“As far as you know? That’s not exactly reassuring if she’s as much of a stalker as you say she is.” He laughed, “No, I’m sure she’s not around apart from that.” “Okay, well is there anything else you can think of that she might ask?” He gave you a sly grin, “If we’ve slept together.” You got up and took your empty cup over to the kitchen sink, “Uh-huh.... well she can ask! We’ll just have to lie, won’t we?” You turned round only to find Billy invading your personal space again, and you moved back slightly in surprise. He followed, crowding you against the counter, dark eyes gazing into yours, “Uh... we don’t have to lie.” You leaned further back, your brain yelling ‘don’t give in to him!’ at you. “Billy... you suggested this whole thing and you also said ‘no strings’, remember? Well, if we did that... that would be strings, don’t you agree?” He reached round you and put his cup in the sink too, “Yeah, I guess so. Just thought we could make things look a little more.... authentic, y’know?” He turned and grabbed his jacket off the back of the stool, but then took you by surprise again by swooping in for a long kiss, pulling you against his body and his big hand sliding around the back of your neck. You pulled away, trying to catch your breath.

Those espresso-coloured eyes were gazing into yours, a lazy grin on his face. “Hey, you’ll need to get less jumpy when I do that else she’s definitely not gonna buy it.” He stood back from you, shrugging into his jacket, “Might need a bit more practice, sweetheart,” he smirked, “....so how about we meet up again tomorrow? We can learn a bit more about each other, as well as you getting more comfortable when I get physical with you,” and wiggled his eyebrows at you. Against your better judgement, you agreed and so he said he’d pick you up at four the next day.

Once he’d gone, you poured yourself a stiff brandy. You couldn’t deny you wanted to spend more time with him, much as you knew you were setting yourself up for a fall. Really... just what the hell did you think you were doing?

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy was thinking the very same thing to himself as he drove away. He was enjoying those kisses way too much. But he was the one who’d suggested this whole fake relationship thing, and definitely with ‘no strings’. Because that was the Russo Way.

He’d better get his head back on straight, and stop thinking about the gorgeous woman in the apartment back there as anything other than a way to ditch the very irritating Caroline.

He also got the distinct feeling she’d marked him out as a player and wouldn’t want to get involved with him anyhow. Well, he was a player and he couldn’t deny that. Wasn’t sure he could ever see himself as a one-woman man. Caroline was attractive enough and in the normal way of things, he’d’ve taken her out maybe a couple of times, fucked and then forgotten her. But her father and Billy’s business relationship complicated things somewhat.

So yeah, he’d make sure she saw him with a lovely woman on his arm at the gala, kiss (and maybe fuck if he got lucky) the lovely woman at the end of the night and move right along. Apart from anything else, the fact that she was Karen’s friend complicated things way beyond what he wanted to get involved in, because he couldn’t afford to upset either her or her friend, Frankie’d kill him if he did.

Definitely better stick with the Russo Way. It had never failed him before, had it?

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The next day, Billy glided the car to a stop outside her apartment block at 4 o’clock as promised, dropping her a quick text to announce his arrival. Soon, he saw her figure walking out of the main door and making her way towards him.

Damn! Mmm, she was looking good. Little pink sundress, short denim jacket, bare legs and low wedge pink sandals. Yeah, really cute. Smart and funny too. And sexy, of course. Very sexy. Totally fuckable. Completely and utterly fuckable. Woah - stop that Russo! Right now!

All these thoughts ran through his head in the 10 seconds it took her to reach the car.

He leant over and pushed open the passenger door for her, “Hi sweetheart.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You’d noticed Billy’s eyes running over you as you went up to the car, and then spotted his tongue making a swift trip over his bottom lip as he greeted you. You got the feeling he was looking at you like you were a snack to be consumed. Determined to resist how attracted you felt to him, you hopped into the car and said Hi back. Billy’s big hand landed on your thigh as you fastened your seat belt, his long fingers sliding upwards. Batting them away, you continued clipping yourself in and he laughed, leaning across and pulling you to him, kissing you long and slow. Breaking apart, he said, “Remember we gotta practice, sweetheart,” grinning at you. “Mmmhuh,” you nodded, “I remember you saying that.” “Just relax! Get comfortable with me touchin’ and kissin’ you. We’re boyfriend and girlfriend after all.” “Mmmhuh,” you said again, and once more his hand found its way onto your thigh and began stroking, eventually inching upwards again.

This time, you decided to stay still, thinking that yes, you had better get comfortable with this if this whole stupid fake relationship thing was going to work. But when his hand parted your legs and one long slim finger swiftly made its way inside your panties and - without further warning - actually inside you, you jumped like a startled deer and squirmed away from him. “Billy!” you protested loudly, but he merely smirked victoriously at you and pushed a second finger inside you to join its cousin. You shoved at his resistant arm, “Stop it!” His mouth found yours and he began kissing you as his fingers moved steadily in and out of you then his thumb was on your clit, and he began massaging firmly. “Sssshhh, sweetheart, we’re just messin’ around,” you heard his low voice in your ear, “...this is high school stuff.” “But I didn’t say you could do this to me!” you snarled, trying to ignore how good he was making you feel, and you felt his fingers leave you. He sat back in his car seat, taking a tissue out of his jacket pocket and slowly wiping his fingers, looking across at you all the while with a contemplative look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” he said, but not sounding regretful at all, “I didn’t think you’d mind. Thought it’d loosen you up a bit like we said.” He smirked at you, “You can’t deny I got you wet, and I know you’re attracted to me. Thought you’d enjoy it.” Your mouth dropped open, “You arrogant fucker!” you exclaimed, “You know what, you can take your fake dating shit and shove it where the sun doesn’t fucking shine!” You jumped out of the car, slamming the door with an almighty bang behind you. Stomping back up to your apartment, you opened your front door and slammed it behind you too, angrily throwing your bag onto the sofa as you passed on your way to the kitchen. You took off your jacket and threw it onto a high stool, furious enough to take a bottle of gin out of the cupboard and grab a clean glass from the dishwasher. You were just taking a bottle of tonic water out of the fridge when there was a knock at your door.

Okay, well that was either your annoying across-the-hall neighbour... who complained about anything and everything... here to moan about the door-slamming, or else it was Billy. Whoever was on the other side of the door was going to be greeted by your frowning face, and you really didn’t give a shit which one it was. You dramatically swung open the door, and it was in fact Billy Russo who was confronted by your unhappy visage. He immediately held up his hands in a placatory gesture. “Look, I am really, truly, sorry. I ... can I come in and explain?” You turned on your heel and walked back to the kitchen, leaving him to close the door behind him and follow in your footsteps. “Want a drink?” He nodded, “I’d love a beer if you’ve got one, please.” You took a bottle of beer out of the fridge and handed it to him, then got a bottle top remover for him out of one of your drawers.

He popped off the cap then took a long swig, as he watched you prepare a G&T for yourself. You also took a big sip then leant back against the counter and regarded him with a steely gaze. “You said you wanted to explain.” He took another gulp of beer and began, “I.... look, I’m so sorry okay? I totally misread the situation.” Sipping your gin, you said, “I’ll say you did, Billy! I get the distinct impression you mistook me for one of the easy lays you no doubt pick up in bars. Is that how you treat your one-and-done’s, huh? Well, don’t try that shit with me, okay?” He looked over at you shamefaced and shrugged, “Uhhh...I ..uhh.. yeah, I guess I did.... look, I really am sorry, sweetheart. I can’t apologise enough, and I really didn’t mean to upset you.” You took another big hit of your gin, slightly - but only very slightly - mollified. “And as for your comment that I’m attracted to you...!!!” Momentarily you were speechless, unsure what you wanted to say or how to put it. Mainly because it was the truth, you acknowledged to yourself.

Before you could say anything, Billy held up his hands again, “I’m incredibly embarrassed about saying that. Really crass. And arrogant, as you said.” You noticed that his face had pinked up somewhat. “In fact just forget I said it,” he carried on. “Bit late for that now isn’t it! Did you say it because you’re used to women falling at your feet, Billy?”

He looked down at the beer bottle in his hand, waggling it back and forward before saying, “Yeah. If I’m honest, I don’t usually haveta try too hard.” His eyes met yours, “And if I’m bein’ even more honest, gotta admit I’m attracted to you. Like, really attracted. So, yeah - I was hoping for something more than just going to the charity event with you.”

You drew in a big breath. What? What did he just say to you? No. You mentally shook your head, and then realised you were actually shaking it. “Billy.... you’re a player, that much is blatantly obvious. Would you know what a relationship is if it came up and bit you on the ass? Something tells me you wouldn’t.” He had the grace to look guilty. You continued, “So here’s what we’ll do. If you still need me to come along to the gala, then I’ll do that. And then we’ll go back to being strangers. Okay?”

He twirled his beer bottle between his long fingers, and shrugged, “Okay, sweetheart. M’happy you’re still gonna help me out. But can’t we at least be friends afterwards? Reckon Karen ‘n Frank’re gonna be seeing a lot of each other so we’ll probably keep bumping into each other.” Your face softened into a smile, “Yeah, they like each other don’t they? You’re right, we probably will be spending some time together because of those two. Okay... friends, then.”

He smiled at you, approaching warily and sliding his hand round to the back of your head and up into your hair, pulling you closer. “M’gonna kiss you, s’that okay?” but being Billy, didn’t wait for your reply. His lips met yours in a gentler kiss than earlier, his fingers stroking the back of your neck. He moved his hips against yours, and you knew he’d done this so you’d feel his erection against your body. You moved sideways and pulled away from him, why did he have to make you breathless when you just wanted to be cool, calm and collected around him? He looked a bit crestfallen, but recovered swiftly and asked, “How about we order in some food and just spend some quality time together?” You sighed, “Okay, Billy, let’s do that. But no more groping or anything, okay?” He nodded, looking serious and miming a cross over his heart, “Promise.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You pushed the pizza box away from you, “God, I’m stuffed.” Billy picked up his beer bottle and drank, giving a small delicate burp as he did so, “Me too.” Reaching over, he picked up the remote and began flicking through Netflix, “Whaddya wanna watch next?” he asked. “Mmmm, you pick a movie. But not one about war.” He laughed, “Oh don’t worry, I never watch war films, had enough-a that in real life.” Lying back and letting out a deep breath, you said apologetically, “I bet you did. Sorry.” Shrugging, he also lay back, his head turning towards you, “S’okay. We can talk about it sometime if you like. And about my less-than-perfect childhood. And some of my more recent fuck-ups.” He gave a bitter laugh, “I’m a fuckin’ train wreck, sweetheart - you’ve made the right decision, best you don’t get involved with me.” His eyes looked big and a bit glossy, and before you could help yourself you’d laid your hand on his shoulder, “I’m sure you’re not that bad, Billy.” He turned away from you, looking at the TV before selecting a sci-fi fantasy movie, “Oh believe me, I am,” he said in a low voice.

You shifted a bit closer to him on the sofa, “Don’t be so down on yourself, Billy. You’ve achieved a lot of things... got your own company, fancy car, fine suits, lots of money, prestige.” He grinned at you, “But all that doesn’t matter to you, does it?” You shook your head, “No, but they’re still achievements to be proud of.” His head dropped and some locks of hair fell over his forehead. “Thank you,” he mumbled, and you watched as your hand went of its own accord to his face and stroked the errant hair back off his forehead. His head swivelled towards you, dark eyes gazing into yours; he took hold of your arms and drew you against his chest. “Can we snuggle?” he asked you, then wrapped his arms right around you, before lying down and swinging his long legs up onto the sofa, pulling you with him. You snorted out a laugh, “Snuggle? That doesn’t exactly fit with your ex-soldier or current playboy personas!” “Aw, c’mon sweetheart, gimme a break - I’m tryin’ to be a well-behaved boy here!” You snuggled into his chest a bit, “Okay, but remember - no wandering hands!” He held up both hands, “Not wandering - look!” before placing them chastely on your arm and shoulder.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Your eyes opened, and you groggily looked around you, disorientated. Hearing soft little snores from beneath you, you raised your head to look at Billy’s sleeping face. Oh. You’d both obviously dozed off in front of the TV, the Netflix menu now on the screen. Moving slowly, you started to try and stand up but two hands went round your arms in a vice-like grip. “Where you off to?” said Billy’s deep voice. “Just...ummm... just...” you stuttered, but suddenly you were underneath him, his weight pressing you down as his mouth found yours in a hungry kiss. You knew you should resist but damn, he was a good kisser! Feeling yourself dissolve into the kiss, one of your hands moved up to his bristly jawline.

His kisses became more passionate and he pushed himself against you even more, his arousal very evident. You tried to ignore them but your feelings of desire for him were becoming overwhelming, and your arms went round his neck almost unbidden. He was smiling against your lips, and you heard, “Wanna sleep with me? D’you wanna?” Your treacherous mouth said “Yes!” in a breathy whisper, and that was all Billy needed to hear.

He picked you up in his arms, whispering “Where’s your bedroom?” You nodded towards its general direction and he carried you across the apartment and into your room. Setting you down, his fingers were immediately at the zip of your dress, pulling it down, pushing the fabric down then further down until your dress was round your ankles, before whipping it fully off and dropping it onto the floor. You watched him as his eyes roamed all over your body, taking in your lacy lingerie and moving the straps of your bra off your shoulders. “Mmmmm, sweetheart - wow - even better than I imagined,” he said hoarsely, his hands going round your back and unclipping your bra. He stripped it off you and dropped it, both hands immediately cupping your breasts and massaging firmly, thumbs running over your nipples as they peaked. Moving you backwards until your head hit the pillows, you felt his fingers pulling the fabric of your panties aside and suddenly the head of his cock was at your core and pushing inside you. “No time for foreplay, sorry,” you heard and you gave a deep groan when he kept going, feeling his balls brushing your pussy as he fully sheathed himself. His head went back and he gasped, “Fuck!” before he began to thrust. He lifted your legs and draped them over his hips, encouraging you to cross your ankles on his back to pull him even closer.

His mouth was everywhere on you, kissing you deeply one minute before his mouth went to one of your nipples, teasing it with his tongue while his thumb and fingers toyed with the other, then his mouth and teeth were on your neck and shoulders while he set a ferocious pace. A constant stream of low groans were leaving your lips as he moved on you, and you could hear him gasping and muttering words above you, not all of which you could catch, but you did hear “Uhhh, been wantin’ to do this to ya since the minute we met” between thrusts. You ran your hands over his chest and up around his neck, threading your fingers through his lush hair, and you felt him shiver as you pulled on it gently. His thumb was on your clit now, rubbing at you relentlessly and your orgasm washed over you like a wave. His teeth were fastened onto your shoulder and he bit down as you felt his body tense as he came. He lowered himself gently onto you before rolling off, lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling as he got his breath back. “Wow,” he said quietly, before moving onto his side and gazing at you, running a finger gently along your jaw. “Yes, wow,” you replied, putting your hand on his bristly cheek.

“Well, if Caroline does ask if we’ve slept together, now we don’t have to lie,” smirked Billy. This instantly ruined the mood and you sat up, prior to wrapping one of the covers round you and getting out of bed. He looked a bit surprised, but you began moving away from the bed towards the bathroom. Returning a few moments later, you hesitated for a moment before climbing back into bed beside Billy, who was still lying there in all his naked glory. He immediately moved next you, his hands on your arm, “Did I say something wrong earlier? You were up and off like a ballistic missile.” You looked over at him, “A girl doesn’t exactly like to hear another one’s name getting mentioned just seconds after lovemaking.” A guilty look passed over his face, “Awww, shit!... I didn’t think, I’m really sorry... I was just so happy you slept with me, sweetheart.” He stroked your hair away from your face, “Forgive me? And my big clumsy mouth?” You huffed a bit but eventually nodded, not least due to the soft kisses he was peppering over your face and neck.

He breathed a sigh of relief, “I seem to spend all my time apologising to you,” he chuckled, “I’m really making a mess of this fake dating.” “Can’t argue with you there, Billy,” you agreed. “Look, I’m gonna try a lot harder, okay?” he said, running a finger along your arm. You sighed, “Okay... well here’s hoping it’ll be alright on the night.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The rest of the week, you and Billy had traded phone calls and text messages but (to your secret disappointment) the two of you didn’t meet up. To your mind that could only mean that Billy, who’d admitted to you that he liked the thrill of the chase, had now already caught you so that was it as far as he was concerned. He’d said that his work had been crazy busy but you didn’t feel at all convinced by that.

Friday eventually rolled around, and you were glad you’d decided to take a half day off work to get ready. Karen had strolled up to your desk as you were packing up your stuff before leaving, and you recognised her ‘Serious Talk’ look on her face. She walked along to the elevator with you and followed you inside. “Y’know I hope you really enjoy your evening with Billy tonight, but....” she bit her lip before continuing, “...you know he’s a player, right?” She quickly put her hand on your arm as the elevator reached the ground floor, “I’m not trying to spoil your fun, honestly I’m not, but some of the things Frank’s let slip recently would make your toes curl. Billy’s totally ruthless when it comes to cutting women loose.” The elevator doors opened and you both walked out, with you saying, “Don’t worry Karen, I sussed that out the minute I saw him,” over your shoulder as you continued out into the main lobby. You stopped and turned to her, lowering your voice and continuing, “But I slept with him last weekend and just as expected, he’s avoided meeting up with me all during this week.” Her mouth tightened, and you knew you were in for a Page Lecture. “Gahhh! What were you thinking?! You’ve just reinforced his impression that he can pull any woman he wants and then disappear on her! I can’t believe you didn’t even wait for this gala thing tonight! You could at least have held off till then.”

“Yes, mom,” you sighed, then smiled at her. “But you know what Karen, he’s so hot I just couldn’t resist! And I knew exactly what his reaction would be, and he hasn’t disappointed. He’s been in touch obviously because we’ve got this thing tonight, but he’s been ‘too busy at work’ to meet up. I’m sure that in Russo-speak, that really means ‘too busy chasing tail’ but I’m cool with that. Like I said, it’s what I expected,” shrugging as you said this. “Hmmmm,” replied Karen, staring at you intensely as if trying to read your mind, “...well as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into.” “I do,” you reassured her, hugging her before walking away with a nonchalant wave.

Out on the street you exhaled a big breath. If only you truly believed that.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy pulled up outside her apartment block and, as before, texted her to say he was there.

He was disappointed that he hadn’t been able to meet up with her during the week, and was also aware she probably thought he was avoiding her now they’d slept together. But he’d truly been up to his ears in it at work, and he wasn’t yet established enough in the security market to turn down job offers. So he’d taken on probably a few more than he should have done, and both he and Frank had had to weigh in on a couple of them to make sure they were handled correctly.

So apart from calls and texts, he’d had to miss out on seeing her. In fact, all he’d been thinking of the entire week was the prolonged session they’d indulged in last weekend. Once he’d apologised for mentioning Caroline’s name after they’d first made love, (really smart move Russo, he thought to himself) there had been a whole night of energetic and very enjoyable sex. Then a shared shower late the next morning after she’d woken him up with a surprise and very welcome blow job. God, the things she could do with her mouth! He squirmed in his seat, starting to get hard just thinking about it. He couldn’t wait for another one of those, that was for sure. Tonight after the gala if he was lucky!

He saw the main door to her apartment block open and she started walking towards the car. Wish I could get a better idea of how she looked in her dress, he thought. Oh well, I’ll just need to wait till we actually get to the place.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You slid into Billy’s flashy car, tucking your feet in last in an effort to be elegant. He leaned over, grabbing the back of your neck and kissing you long and hard. You eventually shoved him away, exclaiming “Billy! My lipstick!” You peered at his face, “And you’re covered in it!”

He burst out laughing, “Well, hello sweetheart!”

You handed him a tissue whilst you began trying to repair the smudges around your lips. He dampened it on his tongue and then quickly rubbed the burgundy colour off his mouth. Once you’d fixed your face, you leant over towards him and his mouth headed to yours again but you pulled back. “I’m checking your shirt collar to make sure there’s none on there!” Chuckling, he started up the car, “I did wonder why you waited till you’d put your lipstick back on before kissin’ me again.” “You kissed me!” you protested. He just laughed and manoeuvred the car into the traffic stream.

His head then swung towards you, “If you say so, sweetheart! Hey, I’d say you look beautiful but I can’t get a proper look at you in the car. So wait a little while till we get there and then I can compliment you properly, okay?” You nodded, “Yeah, same. I can’t get a look at you either.” Another chuckle, “You can see as much of me as you want later tonight, sweetheart.” “You’re very sure of yourself, aren’t you?!” Billy’s hand stole onto your thigh and travelled higher. “Wearin’ panties?” You tolerated his wandering fingers, “Yes I am, Marine. Sorry to disappoint.” He shrugged, smirk firmly in place, “Fine by me. They’re not gonna stop me gettin’ to where I wanna be anyhow.” Somewhat surprisingly to you, his hand went back onto the steering wheel. “But I’m gonna wait till we’re alone later. See, sweetheart - I’ve learned my lesson!” “Glad to hear it!” you shot back at him, before looking out of the window at the passing streets.

After arriving and parking at the venue, one of the big downtown hotels, you and Billy made your way upstairs to the function room. Leaving your coats at the cloakroom, Billy twirled you round in front of him, looking you over slowly from top to toe. “You look gorgeous,” he said admiringly, “really beautiful.” “Thank you. Not so bad yourself, Russo.” He was in one of his bespoke suits and was looking edible. He mock-bowed then leant down and kissed you on the lips, and you reminded yourself to act naturally when he did that. You both began walking towards the sound of music and chatter, his hand straying down onto the top of your ass as you went. Karen’s voice rang in your ears about how much of a player he was, and once again you fought the instinct to swat his hand away. If you could just do your duty and get through tonight, then you could put yourself deep into protective mode over this handsome devil.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Several gin & tonics later, you were returning from the ladies’ room and heading back to where you’d left your ‘boyfriend’ at the bar, wondering how much more of this tedious event you could stand, when you heard a high-pitched voice trilling, “Oh Billy! There you are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Hahah! you thought, this must be the infamous Caroline! Well, at least this next part is going to inject some much-needed fun into the evening.

You could see a small brunette standing in front of Billy with her hands grasping his biceps and beginning to pull him towards her. He spotted you approaching over her shoulder and extricated himself from her clutches saying, “Caroline.... how nice to see you! Just in time for me to introduce you to my girlfriend...” “Girlfriend?!” She whirled round and met your eyes, her own narrowing as she looked you up and down in a flash. You continued walking towards the two of them, noting that she was pretty but was heavily made up; she really didn’t need to plaster it on like she had but - whatever, you thought. Billy moved past her to swiftly put his arm around your waist and draw you to him, introducing you at the same time. She nodded her head briefly at you, “Hi, I’m Caroline. A friend of Billy’s.” She emphasised the word ‘friend’. You beamed back a big smile at her, “Lovely to meet another of his friends,” you said, also emphasising the word. You felt Billy tense up a bit, but you thought that playing the jealous girlfriend might be a good way to go, especially when you noticed the little smirk on her face. You tugged on his arm, “C’mon Billy, you promised me a dance,” you said in a ‘little girl’ voice, which nearly made you heave quite frankly but you felt struck the right note.

Billy raised a hand vaguely towards Caroline as he said to you, “Yes I did, sweetheart. Let’s go. Bye, Caroline - good to see you,” and then gave you a long kiss as the two of you headed to the dance floor. Once Billy had you in his arms, you felt his lips next to your ear and he whispered, “So.... jealous girlfriend, huh?” You nodded, smiling up at him, “She’ll like the fact that I think she’s a threat. But as long as you keep up the PDA’s, I think she’ll buy it.” He immediately kissed you, the hand which had been on your waist surreptitiously sliding downwards at the same time. As you broke apart from the kiss, you caught sight of Caroline glaring at the two of you from a table near the edge of the dance floor. You ran your hand up onto Billy’s jaw before continuing to the back of his neck. You’d discovered during your night together that this was one of Billy’s weak spots, so you trailed your fingers over his skin and had him wrapped round your finger within seconds, just as had happened that other night. He pressed his body close against you, ensuring you felt how aroused he was. “When can we skip out of here?” he breathed to you, making you laugh. “I don’t know! It’s your event - when do you want to stay until?”

Before he could reply, you were aware of a figure next to you and a hand went onto Billy’s arm. “Mind if I cut in?” asked Caroline, giving you a nasty smirk. However it dropped off her face when Billy said hurriedly, “Sorry, Caroline - we’re just leaving,” and began leading you off the dance floor. “Oh, that’s such a shame,” you heard, and realised she was trailing after you and Billy as you left the dance floor. “I was so looking forward to hearing all about how you & Billy met.” You stole a quick glance at Billy before saying over your shoulder, “Through mutual friends.” Still following you both as you headed over to pick up your coats, she rattled out, “it’s just that I’m a bit surprised - it seems quite strange that Billy never mentioned a girlfriend before tonight.” Billy looked irritated but his face became blank as he turned slightly back towards her and replied, “Uh, I am right here y’know!.... well Caroline, we never spoke about our personal lives so it’s not that strange at all to be honest.” You’d reached the small counter by now and had handed over the tickets to the attendant, and while you’d hoped that Billy’s answer would have silenced her, Caroline continued, “So how long have you been dating?” You turned and stared at her, and found her already staring back at you, “Mmm, it’s about two months now, isn’t it Billy?” and moved your eyes to his. He glanced quickly behind him at her, “ Yes, sweetheart - a little over two months actually,” he turned back to you, smiling fondly, “and I gotta say, they’ve been two of the sweetest months of my life.” He leant down and kissed you full on the lips.

Caroline’s lip curled up at this and was still curling as you met her annoyed gaze once Billy’s lips left yours. “Well,” she began, but was then interrupted by a tall older man who came up to the three of you and placed a hand on Caroline’s shoulder. “Hello, Russo,” he said, shaking hands with Billy who greeted him with a “Hi, Mike,” as the older guy’s eyes wandered quizzically over to you. “And who’s this lovely young lady, then?” he asked but before either you or Billy could say anything, Caroline spat out, “His girlfriend, Daddy - imagine that!” However her father merely gave you a friendly grin while Billy introduced you. After a quick handshake, he commented that it was a real shame that you were both leaving before he could buy you a drink. But Billy said firmly, with a mischievous look at you, “Sorry, Mike.... we’re... uhhh... quite anxious to get home.” Mike laughed knowingly while you heard a loud ‘tut’ from his daughter. You smiled brightly at both of them, “Well.... lovely to meet you and hope you enjoy the rest of the evening. Bye!” Taking your coat from the attendant, Billy helped you into it before putting on his own and the two of you said final goodbyes to Mike and Caroline before making your escape.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

“Thank god that’s over!” you breathed out a sigh of relief as you settled back into your seat, while Billy switched on the car’s powerful engine and it purred into life. “You didn’t enjoy it?” he grinned, “...even with such a charming boyfriend attending to your every need all evening?!” You laughed, “Sorry Billy, no I didn’t. I hated every second of it! But I think we accomplished the mission, don’t you?” Turning your head and watching his profile as he reversed the car out of the parking space, you asked, “D’you want me to get the dress dry-cleaned and you can take it back to the store? I mean I’ve only had it on for a few hours and I managed not to spill anything down it.” He glanced over at you, a strange look in his eyes. “No, I don’t want you to clean it and return it. It’s yours to keep. And yes, we did achieve our goal.” He started driving away from the hotel, and you realised it was the wrong direction for your place. You’d never been to his apartment but had a feeling that’s where you were heading.

“Where are you going, Billy? I just want dropped off at home so I can get out of all of this and relax.” He laughed, and for some reason you thought he sounded a bit pissed off. “Ahh no, that’s not happenin’, sweetheart,” he said, looking across at you, eyes gleaming with something but you weren’t sure exactly what. Determination? Desire? “We’re headin’ to mine. And yeah, you’re gonna be gettin’ out of those clothes, don’t worry.” “Look, Billy,” you said, feeling a bit uneasy for some reason, “...we’re done here, okay? We’ve already slept together, you got what you wanted so now you move on, correct? That’s your usual M.O. isn’t it? You made that obvious this week. Don’t worry, I got the message loud and clear. I’m not some clingy desperate woman that’s gonna keep chasing after you. I knew what the deal was with you the minute I set eyes on you. So.... just turn around and take me home.” You’d been staring at the road ahead but were aware of him shaking his head, “No.” You looked across at him, “No? What, you’re kidnapping me now?” “You can think of it that way if you like, sweetheart. I knew you’d think I was avoidin’ you this week, but I wasn’t. I’m not ready to let you get away just yet. We’re gonna go to mine, and you’re gonna spend the night on your back - and in various other positions - cos I need another night of sex with you.”

“And what if that’s not what I want? What if I don’t want to be used like a fuck toy before you disappear over the horizon? Doesn’t it matter to you what I want?” He chuckled, and you felt a little shiver of fear run through you, “Not right now, no. Because this is all I’ve been thinkin’ about the whole week. And because you’re sayin’ one thing, but you mean another.” “Really?! That’s what you think?” you scoffed, shaking your head, “You’re unbelievable, you know that? The level of arrogance....!” He pulled the car over into the inside lane and then turned into an underground car park. He killed the engine, and in the sudden silence you heard him say in a low voice, “Call it arrogance if you like. I call it knowing what I want and makin’ sure I get it.” He released his seat belt and got out of the car, coming round and opening your door before taking hold of your arm and pulling you out of it. He locked the car with a bleep of the remote on his keychain, then dragged you - firmly but not roughly - over to an elevator which he unlocked with a key before calling it down. Once it arrived, he hustled you inside and once the doors closed, his mouth was instantly on yours. He kissed you roughly, open-mouthed with teeth and lips and tongue all involved. His hands were undoing the buttons on your coat and then were inside it, immediately going to your breasts.

You struggled with him, trying to push him off but he continued kissing you, and you heard his voice telling you to just admit you wanted it. The awful thing was, you did want him and it annoyed the hell out of you. However his current attitude was also annoying the hell out of you so you continued to push at his muscled, toned body to get him off you. But you were no match for the ex-Marine and you heard a ‘ting’ and the elevator doors opening as Billy continued to kiss and grope you. He pushed you firmly out of the lift, keeping hold of your arm and propelling you towards a door - the only door, you noticed - and then into the apartment after he unlocked the door. He slammed it behind him then was on you in a flash, grabbing your bag and throwing it onto the sofa before stripping off your coat and dropping it on the floor. You were aware of being in a large open-plan space with floor-to-ceiling windows and trendy furniture, before you were scooped up as easily as if you were a throw cushion and carried into an equally large bedroom. He kicked the door shut behind him and dumped you rather unceremoniously on the bed, stripping his clothes off in a matter of seconds and letting them fall where they may. Then he was back on you, flipping you over and unzipping your dress in one quick motion. He stripped it down off your shoulders, turned you back over and pulled it off you. You looked up at him, finally finding your voice, “Billy! Stop it.” He shook his head, “Nah, not happenin’ sweetheart. We’re gonna have sex now.” You opened your mouth but nothing would come out. Why couldn’t you say anything else?

Because you do want it, said a sly voice in your head. And whilst the caveman routine might not be the most appealing of Billy’s wooing techniques, he’d excited you beyond belief and you could feel how damp your panties were. You’d told yourself before the evening started that you weren’t going to have sex with him that night, but at the same time had perversely hoped that it would in fact happen. You were absolutely furious with yourself but at the same time, totally conflicted and unable to ignore the desire you felt for him.

You felt his fingers fumbling a bit at your back and then your bra was dramatically whipped off and thrown across the room. His mouth and hands were immediately on your breasts, fingers massaging and toying with one nipple while he licked the other, his tongue roughly raking over its peak and surrounding skin before he started to suck and bite at it, enough to make you squeal but not hard enough to cause you real pain. Then he swapped and your other breast came in for the same treatment. You felt his fingers sliding down your body and pulling at your panties, after a few seconds he then sat up and stripped them off you. They also joined your bra across the other side of the room. He lowered himself onto you, hands parting your legs and you knew he was guiding himself inside you. His hard length pushed into you and you felt the stretch much more than you had the first time you’d had sex with him. Of course he was in a more of a rush this time, seemingly desperate to have sex with you, judging by the way he’d thrown you down, ripped your clothes off and immediately got between your legs.

He slid his hands under your knees and lifted your legs up until your ankles were on his shoulders, deeply thrusting into you as he did so, and you heard yourself give a loud groan. He gave a long, low groan himself as he picked up his pace, and you heard his whispered words next to your ear, “You like that, sweetheart? Feel good?” “Yes!!!!!” you gasped, hating yourself for admitting it but it was the absolute truth. He kissed you passionately, hands running up and down your legs and onto your body as he thrust hard into you, mouth moving to your neck and collarbone, nipping at your skin then licking where he’d lightly bitten you. You climaxed first, Billy’s thumb having found its favourite place on your clit, and you’d dug your nails into his shoulders before running your hands up into his hair and pulling it. Hearing his answering chuckle, his hips cannoned into yours a final few times before you felt him release into you, and he sank down heavily on top of you, panting and trying to get his breath back. He moved off you and laid on his back, seemingly exhausted by his over-eager exertions. His head tilted towards you, “I’m not finished with you yet, sweetheart. Need more.”

You propped yourself up on an elbow, “Just what the fuck is all this neanderthal stuff about, Billy?” He sighed and looked back up at the ceiling. “Remember you said I wouldn’t know what a relationship was if it bit me on the ass?” “Yeah?” “You’re right. I’ve never experienced a loving relationship in my life. I dunno what love is, really.” Then out it all spilled.... his abandonment as a very young kid, the group homes, the abuse, the stigma. How he’d signed up for the Marines as soon as he was old enough, got a business degree before shipping out, how Frank had his back almost from day one. The dark eyes eventually looked into yours, “So just confirmin’ - I’m officially shit at relationships.” You nodded thoughtfully, “Well... now I understand things a little bit better, Billy. You discard women after a very short time as a self-defence measure, because you have a fear of being abandoned again. Ditch them before they can ditch you, right? Because you still have self-esteem issues, deep down underneath that confident exterior. It’s hard to overcome years of being looked down upon and sidelined.” You reached out and ran your fingers through his small patch of chest hair. He flinched slightly so you withdrew your hand, but his own hand went out and he laid it on top of yours for a brief moment.

Then he sat up a bit and stretched, laughing as he did so, “Told you, you’re in the wrong job, sweetheart.” He leaned back onto the pillows, carefully looking away from you, “Guess I didn’t do a very good job of lettin’ you know I want you to stay around and be with me?” You sat up, pulling one of the sheets over you, “What?” you asked. He looked over at you again, “All of this,” his hand waved vaguely between you and him, “This is me tryna let you know I really like you. I honestly missed bein’ with you during the week. An’ I was really busy, me and Frank, all week - I wasn’t tryna avoid you, okay? All I could think about was the night we spent together, how I want that to be a regular thing. Spend time with you.”

You started chuckling to yourself before it bubbled up into real laughter. He’d been looking down and fidgeting with the covers but now his head swung up and his eyebrows pulled into a frown. You calmed down a little and reached out to him, softly stroking his shoulder, “Billy... I’m not really laughing at you. Well, I suppose I am but only because I’m really surprised. That’s not how guys usually let girls know they’re interested! - kidnapping them and telling them that they will have sex with them.” Billy grunted, “Yeah, I realise that. It’s what I’m tryna tell you, sweetheart. I’m shit at this kinda stuff.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Sunday lunchtime, you met up with Karen who was gagging to know what had happened on Friday night. You dutifully recounted everything, even Billy’s metamorphosis into caveman as you left the hotel. Karen’s expression got more and more incredulous and as you drew to a close with his admission of being completely crap at all things relationship-related, she finally said, “Fuck! That’s unbelievable. So how did you leave things? You kick him to the curb?”

You took a sip of your G&T, and smiled back at her, “He wants me to teach him what a real relationship is all about.”

“And you’re prepared to take a chance on him and show him, are you?” You nodded, “Yeah I guess I am, Karen. I know it sounds crazy, but he wants to try. And I’d like to try. So we went from fake to genuine as of Friday night.”

She chuckled, shaking her head and sipping her drink before saying, “Well, you’re a glutton for punishment, I’ll say that for you. And I wish you the best of luck trying to tame that bad boy.” She lifted her glass and you clinked yours against hers, “Thanks, Karen. I’m just gonna take it one day at a time. If it doesn’t work out...” you shrugged, “...at least I gave it a shot.” She put her hand over yours, “Do you think he’ll keep it in his pants? He’s used to putting it about all over town,” squeezing your hand, “...sorry to have to say that honey, but it’s true.” You nodded, “Yeah I know, and all I can say is he’s promised he won’t be doing that from now on. But if I get even a whiff of another woman’s perfume off him, I will be kicking him to the curb faster than he can say ‘it’s not what you think, sweetheart’, believe me! And I’ve told him that too, in no uncertain terms.” She nodded, “Well, you’ve given him fair warning so if he fucks up, that’s definitely on him.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Frank threw his head back, giving a great belly laugh which went on for a lot longer than Billy Russo thought it should do. After a few moments, Frank’s face had gone beet red and tears were squeezing out of the corners of his eyes. Billy folded his arms across his chest, sitting back in the diner booth and scowling at Frank, “Okay, okay, Frankie - enough already,” he grumbled as Frank continued to laugh. Eventually Frank calmed down enough to speak, “Russo! I don’t believe it, I really don’t. Does that girl know what she’s letting herself in for?! She must be missing a few rounds out of her ammo clip.” Billy pulled a face, “Look... I like her, okay? She’s gonna teach me what a proper relationship’s like. She’s willin’ to give me a chance, so cut me some slack over here, will ya?” Frank took a big pull at his beer, “Oh Russo, how the fuck ya gonna keep it in your pants?” (unknowingly parroting Karen’s very same comment to her friend). Billy shrugged, “Look...I will, I tell ya. I mean it, I only want her. The sex is....” he made a chef’s kiss hand gesture, “....and she doesn’t take any of my shit, either. I really like her, Frankie. I think I’m ready to...” “Settle down? Really, Bill - are you? Cos if you fuck this up, you’ve got Karen to deal with as well as your girl.”

Billy took a hit of his beer, “You think I don’t know that? And I’d get a ton of crap from you too, cos Karen’d be upset. You like her, dontcha?” Frank’s cheeks went a slight shade of pink, “Well, yeah. I guess I do.” Now it was Billy’s turn to laugh, “You guess you do? Frankie, you’re like a teenager with a major crush every time your phone rings! ‘Ooh, it’s Karen!’” he said, the last bit in a high-pitched voice. “I do not talk like that!” Frank growled at him, “And you better spend your energy learning how to treat a woman properly, rather than ripping the shit outta me, Russo!”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Your phone dinged and you picked it up, seeing a text notification from Billy on the screen. Turning your phone briefly towards Karen to show her this, you clicked on it and then smiled as you read it. Showing the message to her, she also smiled, “Wow, seems like he’s definitely trying!” You agreed, “I do believe he is!” Maybe this crazy relationship thing you and Billy had agreed to embark on did have a chance of working out after all. You definitely still had your misgivings - does a leopard (or panther) really change its spots? - but you were willing to give it a try as long as Billy stuck to his end of the bargain. No other women, no lying, spending a lot of quality time together... let’s just see how all that goes, you thought. Re-reading the text, it made you smile once more.

Billy’s text said simply, “I’m missing you, sweetheart. Come over to mine, I’ll cook you dinner.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

(My photo edit)

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Tags: @blackbirddaredevil23 @galaxyjane @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @ourloveisforthelovely @swthxrry

(Using D&D’s taglist, if you’d prefer to be removed, just let me know!)

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

#ben barnes #billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfiction #billy russo imagine

200 notes · View notes

wheninitalyy · 3 years

Text

Jealous Benny Watts imagine

A/N - hiii ! I have been having a writer’s block with ,,France is no escape” so here’s a simple imagine. I got a (anonymous) request for a jealous Benny Watts story so I said, screw it even if I wasn't going to do requests, because this actually was refreshing to write. I’m not very satisfied with how this turned out because I felt like I couldn't get enough detail in- but I didn't want it to be too long.

A bit of context : the reader has known Benny for around a year and they have been rather close friends, there has never been any romance in their relationship. You can view this as either platonic or romantic.

(also this is gender neutral again because they didn't specify if they wanted the reader with any specific gender or pronouns)

Pairing : Benny Watts x reader

Word count : 2260

Warnings : swearing, that’s basically it :]

- - - - - - - - - - - -

I pulled my shirt over my head as I sat down in front of my vanity.

I’ve had a miserable morning.

My morning started off with the ringing sound of my smoke detector—which was wrongfully going off—so I had to stumble out of bed to run and turn it off.

After a bit of fidgeting and bothering the stupid ringing machine on my wall, I decided to try and cheer my morning up with some breakfast.

I hit my hip harshly against the corner of the counter while I was making myself eggs and then burnt my eggs on the stove.

No wonder I don’t wake up early.

The frown stuck on my face no matter what I looked at.

I pulled myself out of my chair, hissing from the pain that has seemed to spread farther than just my hip.

I walked over to the window and peeked through the curtains; it was barely light outside.

The scent of damp concrete from the New York rain was paired with the wet autumn leaves that scattered my little corner of this large city.

I was rudely awakened before sunrise with no reasoning to be up.

I am recently unemployed and can’t seem to find a job that uses my skills, I had the money to keep up my rent and bills for a couple months but after that I may as well be asking my parents for money... again.

I jumped at the sound of the phone, “Jesus Christ,” I mumbled as I put a hand on my chest stopping my ghost from jumping out of my body.

I grabbed the phone that sat on my withering nightstand, I cleared my throat and spoke.

“Hello?” I answered,

“You’re up early,” the man laughed,

“Yes, yes I am. What do you need Benny?” I asked him, I wasn’t exactly the friendliest this morning, but this was not new treatment for Benny.

“Fancy a morning walk?”

“Now?” I looked at the vanity mirror behind me, an irritated half-dressed zombie looked back at me.

“It is morning, isn’t it? Anyway, be ready in ten- I’m on my way out,” he hung up abruptly.

I pulled the phone away from my ear, “Fuckin’ Benny,” I growled dropping the phone back onto the stand.

A knocking came from the front door as I fumbled shoving my last-minute toast in my mouth and grabbing my coat.

I rushed to the door and unlocked it; Benny stood on the other side playing with his house keys.

The tall man in front of me looked up and smiled, Benny dressed himself in his multiple shades and fabrics of dark clothing. His leather hat sat on his dirty-blonde waves of hair; his trench coat ended at his knees.

“Woah... you look terrible,” he joked and slipped his keys into his pocket,

I mumbled an inaudible insult through the toast I was holding in my mouth, he sighed and pulled me outside.

Benny, slim yet strong, barely let me lock the door behind me before he tugged me down the stairs outside of my small apartment.

“You’re so pushy,” I told him and let out my first laugh of today.

He held my hand as he guided me down the stairs and down the sidewalk.

Benny always held my hand when we were together- when we were with friends, when we walked together, when he introduced me to chess reporters and interviewers.

His hands were always cold, always boney, and the metal of his rings always rubbed rather uncomfortably against my fingers, but I didn’t mind it so much anymore.

“So- you know how I was going to do that interview with Chess Review?” he asked me, glancing over. I let out a quiet ‘mhm’ and sped up my pace to keep up with his large steps, my hip was in pain, but I kept quiet and just tried to keep up.

“Well, we are going to the interview right now,” my eyes widened,

“We are what?”

It didn’t matter how much I protested Benny having me tag along to his interviews, because here I sat in a diner at 6:45 AM with Benny and an author for one of the most read Chess magazines.

I pulled my mind away from their conversation after a while of hearing the same average interviewing questions-

How are you feeling about this up-and-coming tournament?

Is there anyone you are nervous about playing?

Any new love interests in your life?

I watched the traffic out the diner’s window, the people walking past, the leaves and city trash carried by the weak wind.

“I think that’s all I’ll need for today… oh sorry, who’s this?” the reporter asked Benny.

I glanced over to Benny and then to the reporter.

“Uh, yeah- this is Y/N,” Benny introduced me, I felt weak, so I simply smiled.

“Not very talkative, huh?” the reporter joked, I looked the man dead in the eyes almost amused by his behavior.

“You want to talk? How about you ask better questions while you have a US Chess Champion in front of you?” I straightened out, “Like what’s your thoughts on what high school chess players are being taught? And do you plan to play in France next year against Borgov?” I turned to the man—who was dressed in a dull colored suit—and smiled, a bit proud of myself.

Benny held back a laugh as the reporter sat speechless for a moment… he reporter smiled and then burst into a laughter that caught the whole diner’s attention.

Unlike most interviews, we planned to meet for dinner with the reporter—who’s name I learned was Henry—due to what I said.

Benny agreed only because he got to choose the place and he seemed to be interested by the reporter and his ability to feel less like an obsessed interviewer and more of a ‘friend’ which I believe he took back those words later in the night.

“You ready?” Benny asked me, I had spent the rest of the morning and afternoon with him in his apartment.

I straightened my dress-shirt and sighed, I turned around and checked my back in the mirror for any imperfections in my outfit.

After we left the diner, Benny had me grab a new pair of clothes for the dinner on our way to his apartment. And thank goodness I grabbed new clothes since my jeans had been rubbing against my hip just a bit too roughly.

Benny opened the door to his room, where he offered me to get dressed in instead of his small bathroom.

“You look nice,” he complimented me, I whipped my head in his direction and smiled.

“You too, is that a new hat?” I teased him. He never changes, and I’ve never even seen him dress to impress once.

He snorted and walked up beside me, “This might be weird,” I paused and turned to face him. “Do you think I could get an editor position at Chess Review if I… charmed Henry?” I asked him.

He stared at me, he never seemed to be afraid of eye-contact.

“Charmed?” he questioned,

“Not like that- I mean,” I sighed as he smiled, “You’re the worst,” I straightened his coat as he stood in front of me.

“Let’s get going before Henry writes me out to be known to ditch dinners,” Benny joked and pulled me to the door.

Henry greeted us both with a hug when we arrived at the restaurant.

Benny picked a downtown restaurant, not too well-known, not too sketchy.

The place was lit up in strings of lights of all colors giving the place almost a festive feel, the place was Italian as far as I could tell.

60s pop music played quietly behind the laughter and chatter of the guests, everyone wore their coats indoors because of the random breezes that came from the open windows and doors.

I pushed a couple strands of hair behind my ear as I listened to Henry enthuse about some writing class he went to; he was quite the writer as well as a decent reporter.

“So, what does it take to get an editing job there?” I asked Henry,

“Oh? Looking, are we?” he laughed quietly, “You might be in luck, one of our editors is moving to our branch in California. Need a reference from a trusted, handsome, reporter?” he smiled and leaned back in his chair.

“I might,” I took a sip of my drink,

“Let’s say I get you an interview- could I ask you to dinner some time?” he flirted, I almost choked on my drink.

I whipped my mouth with my napkin and smiled nervously, I looked at Benny who rested his head on his hand. Benny was staring at me, his eyes told me to decline but if I declined, I wouldn’t be sure I would get this interview.

“Ask me when you get that interview,” I told Henry looking away from Benny’s judging gaze.

He chuckled, “That’s fair, you have your priorities,” he didn’t seem to take it as a no, but he didn’t flirt again.

I thought the night ended nicely, Henry said he would work on getting me an interview with Chess Review and he asked Benny a lot of more relevant questions that he should’ve asked this morning.

Benny took his chance to offer to walk me home before Henry could, Benny seemed tense and a bit upset after Henry flirted with me, but I wasn’t going to turn down a job to make him happy.

I shoved my hands in the pockets of my coat as I walked home, I glanced beside me at Benny who refused to let me walk home by myself at this hour even if it was a couple blocks away by now.

“Really, you can go home. I’m fine,” I told Benny, he scoffed and stopped.

“You shoulda’ turned him down, told him you weren’t interested,” Benny told me bluntly,

“Are you seriously upset about this?” I turned to him,

“Yes, yes I’m fuckin’ upset that a man tried to make a move on you while we were all at dinner,” he spat, he pulled his hat off and ran a hand through is hair.

“Benny! I turned him down!” I walked over to the stairs up to someone’s apartment, I went to sit down on the stairs and hissed in pain.

Benny’s eyes darted to me, “What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

“It’s nothing! I just hit my hip against the counter this morning, it’s just bruised,” I said, stress tangled in my voice.

Benny sighed and crouched down by me, he lifted my coat and pulled my shirt out from tucked in my pants. I held my coat and shirt out of his way, and he moved my pants to look at my hip,

“What were you doin’? Dancing around and shit?” he almost laughed as he ran his thumb over my bruise,

“Could you not do that?” I held back a squeal from the feeling of his cold fingers against my hip.

He exhaled heavily due to the cold weather and helped me pull my clothes back down, he pulled me up off the stairs.

“C’mon,” his fingers found their way in between mine—which he hadn’t done on our walk back previously—as he walked me back home.

Once we got to my door, Benny grabbed my keys from me and unlocked my door. He walked in, pulling me in after him.

Benny made himself at home as per usual as he took off his hat and coat on his way to my small kitchen.

I sat down on a stool in my kitchen as I watched him open my freezer and grab my ice-tray, he wrapped some ice in a cloth and put the tray back.

“Really?” I groaned as he handed me the cloth with ice, he nodded and gave me a look that said I didn’t want to test him.

“Fine,” I sighed.

I unzipped my coat and threw it on the counter behind me, I pulled my shirt up on the side just a bit and made my bruise visible. I hadn’t really looked at the bruise since I got it, it was all kinds of shades of purple and blue and it even looked like it hurt.

Benny suddenly pressed the cold rag against the side of my hip, “Ah!” I yelped.

Benny snickered and held the cloth against my hip as he leaned his side against the counter and faced me.

Silence filled my apartment quickly and all you could hear was distant cars and wind from outside.

“Thank you,” I filled the silence, Benny looked away from the window to me.

“You wouldn’t go to dinner with some self-absorbed asshole reporter, right?” he asked for reassurance of some kind,

“Not Henry… maybe one who wore a hat,” I paused, Benny raised an eyebrow. “He of course has to be blonde, and a trench coat would be a nice addition,” it took only seconds to see Benny realize what I was doing.

Benny pressed the ice against my hip harshly, “Ah! Okay! I’m sorry!” I laughed.

In all the time I’ve known Benny, this was one of the first times he had actually been openly jealous. Of course, it’s not every day I get asked for dinner while he is around, but it was strange. It was strange because it felt nice, I liked thinking he didn’t want me dating others, maybe it proved my suspicions.

#benny watts #benny watts x reader #benny watts imagines #The Queens Gambit #the queens gambit imagines

780 notes · View notes

passable-talent · 4 years

Text

| part 1 | part 2 |

this storyline might end up being long 👀 so in order for me to get to other requests I’m gonna not continue it until someone requests an extension again. thanks y’all 💕💕

edit: EIGHT MILLION PEOPLE HAVE ASKED FOR THIS TO BE CONTINUED IT WILL BE U ITS OKAY

Rice seemed to be the morning meal. There was an abundance of it, and it was filling, and you wouldn’t complain, as you had food at all. What was weird, though, was standing beside Zuko as you waited for Katara to scoop you your serving.

As soon as you got your portion you left his side, making a beeline to Toph, sitting down beside her on the edge of the fountain.

“I’ve been practicing my seismics,” you told her, and she didn’t much acknowledge you other than a quick nod. You weren’t wearing shoes, as you tended not to in the morning, and you pressed the flat of your foot into the floor.

“Watch this,” you said, and you closed your eyes as you put a scoop of rice to your mouth. At the same time, you dug your toe into the ground, sending a small stone up under Sokka.

He shot up from the floor and rubbed his behind, scowling. Toph, on the other hand, burst out laughing.

“Toph!” Sokka shouted, a slight waiver in his voice with the cracking of his throat.

“It wasn’t me!” She said back, still laughing. Sokka turned his gaze to you, almost glaring, and you gave him back a charming, innocent smile.

Despite yourself, your eyes flicked for a moment to Zuko, and you found him with a smile on his face.

You had missed that smile, and you hadn’t known it until now.

Aang and Zuko disappeared for a while to rediscover Zuko’s firebending, which you thought was hilarious. Of course he loses his firebending, right when you need him to be a firebender. You spend the few days they were gone practicing your earthbending and wrestling with your emotions, but you got no further than you’d gotten the night he came and talked to you.

You still cared for him. And that made you angry sometimes.

When he returned with Aang, once again capable of firebending, you were glad that Aang once again had his teacher. But you were also glad that Zuko was back. You, just like Katara, were slowly learning to laugh at him, or with him, depending on the day. You were letting your guard down, bit by bit, and allowing yourself to look at him more and more.

There was this... tension whenever the two of you were in the same room. It was like neither of you were quite willing to speak first, out of pride or awkwardness or something of the like. You couldn’t tell what he was feeling, but to you it felt like there was something just out of reach, blocking you from taking a step closer to forgiving him. It frustrated you, because you did miss the friendship you once had with him.

One night, while the rest of the group were sitting around a fire, you decided to take your anger out on some rocks. So you travelled up the cliff side, to where you could pitch stones around without worrying about destroying the temple. You began by practicing your forms, the strong stances that earthbending martial arts were known for, but with the adrenaline and anger you felt you soon moved to different techniques. Earthbending’s kicks were very contact based- as though you would hit the body and stop. But your lean stature made it easier for you to practice other types of kicks, those that spun or involved jumps. It made the rocks move differently, but you knew that if you could master the style of earthbending that fit your frame, you’d be more unpredictable in battle.

That was the logic. Sometimes, you just needed to spin and jump and land with an impact. Sometimes you just needed to stomp and pretend it was the fire lord’s face underneath your foot, or Azula you launched that boulder into instead of a tree. You tried to picture one of your boulders knocking Zuko down a few pegs, but you couldn’t. He was being so kind- he made tea for the group and tried to make you all laugh. He helped Aang learn firebending, and offered to light a fire in your bedroom to keep you warm on a particularly cold day.

You couldn’t hold a grudge against him. Your grip on your anger was wearing away, and leaving behind what you realized was the root of it all, leaving behind that wall that had blocked you from stepping closer to him.

Fear.

You were afraid of how close you had once been to him. You were afraid that it would be all too easy to fall into old habits, and you’d be left betrayed once again. You were afraid of how much he meant to you, all this time.

And fear made you lash out.

You spun and dug your knuckles into the ground to launch a few stones into the air, the thit as they impacted with a tree satisfying to your ears. The rumbling of the earth as you pulled it’s rock from the ground made you feel better, and the slight stinging pain in your joints reminded you of your power, because even if you couldn’t control Zuko and your emotions, you could control the earth.

“Y/N?” Zuko’s voice startled you so deeply that a hunk of rock was punched in his direction before you even registered it was him, at which point you pulled your fist back and threw it to the ground, reversing the stone headed right for Zuko and burying it back in the dirt.

“Sorry,” you said, breathing hard with eyes wide. You’d almost smacked him. With a boulder. That would’ve been bad. “You scared me.” He laughed worriedly, reaching up to scratch the back of his head.

“Well you got me back,” he said, looking for a moment at the stone you’d put back into the ground after almost flattening him with it. He turned his gaze back to you. “Can I tell you something that you can’t tell anyone else?” You furrowed your eyebrows, but nodded.

“I have a feeling Sokka is going to do something very stupid tonight, and I’m not going to let him go alone. So I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, and I didn’t want to go without saying goodbye.” All sorts of emotions came rushing up your throat, and you frowned.

“What’s he trying to do that you don’t know how long it’s going to be?” You asked, before you could stop yourself. Knowing that he may not answer that question, you followed it up with a few more. “Is it dangerous? Do you think you’ll be gone more than a day?”

“There’s no way to know,” he said, and looked to the side. “It might be a few days.” You swallowed hard, one hand coming up to squeeze your other bicep. There was silence, for a moment, other than the croaking of the badger frogs in the forest.

“I, uh,” you let slip out, and you swallowed hard. “Just stay safe and come back, okay?” Your eyes caught his, and you found vulnerability swimming in them. You knew he must’ve seen the same.

“Yeah,” he said, and turned to renter the temple. You watched him walk away for a moment, overwhelming worry and dread overtaking you and keeping you rooted to your spot.

“Zuko?” You finally forced out, and he turned back to you. You broke from your stance and ran forward, wrapping his torso in a hug before you thought enough to stop yourself. You closed your eyes tightly, as though if you didn’t see him, you wouldn’t know how he reacted.

His arms came around your shoulders and he held you tightly, resting his nose down and onto your shoulder.

“Thanks for telling me,” you said, and he nodded. You pulled away and let him go, your hand pressed to the dirt to sense him as he travelled back down to the temple.

He was gone the next morning, along with Sokka. You kept your mouth shut, knowing that it wasn’t a fishing trip at all, and waited, simmering with the knowledge he’d given you. Your curse was the worst of all, as you knew that they were doing something dangerous, but you didn’t know what. You could only hope that they’d come back. And when they did, they brought with them Hakoda and Suki. It was a great surprise, and you hugged him when he returned.

You were relieved to see him alive.

He hugged you back, tightly, as though he was struggling with something, and you watched him when he pulled away.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, not meeting your eyes.

“Okay, why?”

“I ran into Mai.”

-🦌 Roe

2K notes · View notes

incarnateirony · 3 years

Text

An anti dressed up as a shipper, an idiot, and a terf all walk into the same bar.

It’s the same picture person.

A lesson.

Warning: if the title doesn’t give it away, queerphobic content comes up in this from the other party being documented.

So, some of you may have watched a twitter exercise yesterday.

It started simple: concern trolling white knight “for the writers” comes in to angrily declare fans doing something tagged in support of them about Destiel was “out of line.” She claimed things like “Misha was gaslit into supporting Destiel”, and pulled all kinds of stunts.

She immediately got on a soap box yelling “I HAVE A LIT CRIT DEGREE, I KNOW AUTHOR INTENT” of course implying she knew better than EVERYONE around her how to read text. She then pulled, of all things, @chill-legilimens ‘ article about the network gods gutting the show out of the internet, and somehow misread it SO FUCKING BADLY -- SO FUCKING BADLY -- she thought it aligned with HER. She argued that fans influenced the writers, essentially, and basically pulled the exact opposite of the very clearly delivered message there out. When it was pointed out we know this author and even sometimes help edit their pieces, and she was, flat out misreading it while bragging about how good she is at deciphering text, it turned into a SHITSHOW.

I had watched her give a large group of queer people 2 days of runaround, while they tried to be polite, and similarly tried to prove everything while she proved nothing. Just preached. After 2 days of them exhausting themselves on her, I came in doing my blunt & savage thing, because fuck civility culture when it’s used by oppressors. Of course, she immediately started tone policing, while herself being an arrogant shitbrick the whole way.

She continued to preach author intent and talk down about “headcanons.” You see, she knew the authors very well. Berens’ name was mentioned in passing, and she came back with. “Who’s Berens? Is that the author of the article?” after Deirdre’s name had been directly cited in associated with it about 15 times.

(credit: @judgehangman )

But it gets better. She started pulling the “authors have said Dean is straight.” line. Now, at this point, we had already sourced her at least four pieces of information (quite formally too: SPN Official DVD Collection Season 8 episode 13 creative commentary, Edlund and Sgriccia; Dissent Magazine The Attack Queers Bob Berens review; the books in the office with screenshots, and more.) So we issued one simple request: Okay. Source.

For the next-- I shit you not-- 10 hours she bricked the thread to death, finding any and EVERY rabbit hole she could try to venture down. For the first hour or two a few of us tried to actually debate her newly raised points, but still gave reminder that we were waiting for her source. Every tweet was an opportunity for her to drop a 15 tweet thread trying to derail onto a new topic, and often clarifying she had no idea about any of it (Edlund, Sgriccia, Berens, Dabb--who she couldn’t spell the name of--and Deirdre all became an amorpheous blob in her retelling that she swore she looked at sources and wasn’t convinced, while she crossed all the data and comments about the sources). She tried to challenge that anyone could know all the writers and episodes just because she proved she couldn’t, even when multiple people expressed it to her extremely rapidly with not just author and director listings, but cross references on when they overlapped and major elements (like the 15.20 shot 19 tree being the Kim Manners memorial tree). She randomly babbled about Kripke once. Lied her way through and claimed those sources were vague. Etc.

But at some point, I decided, we’re not playing this distraction game. You wanted a debate, you claim you have a lit crit degree, and thus know the entire art is Argumentation. A source, if you’re declaring knowing author intent. One source. Any time she dropped a distraction tweet, I replied to her thread with things like a list of our sources vs her lack of any and a reminder. I installed a counter ticker. How many times had she been asked to either recant her point or give a single source?

Someone made a list of the logical fallacies she used in the argument. It was two tweets long and still missed several obvious ones. That didn’t stop her. Neither did the dozens of requests for a source or a recant. Onwards, she marched, derailing time and again. She brought in a buddy to try to distract, but he fell out real quick when he realized “the burden of proof lies on the arguer” shot him and her both in the feet in record time and he ducked out.

Other greatest hits came out like “Dubs (Dabb’s) fanfic books”, and calling the ability to list authors and episodes “headcanons.”

Over time, the dialogue shifted: see, she came in trying the snide “enjoy your headcanons” downtalk, but as time and time again she was pulverized on every point about the show, or the authors, or anything else while STILL never even giving a single source to even her FIRST POINT and running distractions, it became a reality-- she was told, “We’ll enjoy our canon and author intent. You can enjoy your headcanon of... Dabb’s fanfic books and Lord Barons and the writers being collective hallucinations and whatever else in your hot takes about the show content itself” and she FLIPPED SHIT.

As the ticker for sources approached 100, she started becoming flustered. Before that, even, she started repetitively misgendering Ezra (no tumblr to link in), and Ezra screenshot their bio of they/them and asked them to adjust. Ignored. Ezra linked this request and asked it to be addressed again, and again, and again. 13 times. Ezra linked it 13 times. She even replied to several of them. No avail. No change. Not until literally any and every tweet in her vicinity either had “source?” or “address gender?” for her to reply to did she flee there, and write some giant write-around of “oh, I didn’t see this, sorry” but still refused to actually use it. Or “I’ll use the right one now.” No, just completely strickened pronouns from her vocabulary with Ezra moving forward, after not one mistake, not two, not five, but 13 answers.

At this point, I notice a trend: throughout the entire conversation, she had flip flopped on my pronouns, clearly confused as to what to call me. As I generally don’t care (honestly I prefer he but meh), it didn’t ping me as something to react to while she switched religiously between “he” and “she”. But I realized now, despite all of that confusion: she never once thought to use “they.” Also earlier we found tweets of hers that, while now declaring herself bisexual, she used troublesome wording in the past to blur the line on if she was an ally or, as she phrased it “maybe less than 100% straight in the bell curve” in other conversations.

I mutter about this on the side to Ezra and some friends, but continue on towards the 100 ticker that was the goal to show people in this digital terrarium how disingenuous most people you argue with are -- an exhibit for the class. They know they’re lying and have been caught, but will not cede to admit “oops, I guess I was wrong.” but rather stick, unironically, to their own headcanons about things. After all, they vaguely sorta apologized even if suddenly just refusing to use any pronouns at all on Ezra after that. And she’s so quick to disappear into 15 tweet bombs of distraction trying to play victim for being held accountable at this point, we just didn’t jump to a conclusion on that, alarming as it is.

So. You know. Source.

At this point, she RANDOMLY starts evoking the fact that like, How Dare, She Watched Gay Men Die To AIDS, She Is A Great Philanthropist How Dare How Dare.

I’m sorry, did you just evoke the blood of our dead to run away from the most basic scrap of accountability in what is literally the first wave of a lit debate because for the last 10 hours you have refused to take the necessary steps to move on to the next point? Did you... just... evoke the ghosts of gay men that were genocided to, essentially, pull up a smokescreen and run away from being party to queer erasure? Or even just? Giving a source? or admitting you were wrong on one point in a debate? Wow, you really just did that.

Naturally, people involved got pissed. Her Sources ticker hit 100, but at this point, all that haunted her was how completely fucking vile and inappropriate that was in this discussion.

She got blocked. She then tried to glom onto anyone that hadn’t blocked or muted her and run the same argumentation points she had earlier been decimated in the argument with, while yelling “I ship Destiel too! I wanted them to have sex too! Why does this make me the bad guy?” around the block and hoping nobody actually read the thread. She tried to pitch the “headcanons” point of view again, hoping a new audience would lick her boots. She was, largely, ignored; given a few more comments about her leaving the conversation losing all points and only covered in the blood of our dead she was so proud of; blocked by a few more. (unsurprisingly, if you check her actual tweet history, she seems more invested in Megstiel but)

This is when CommaSameleon -- a professor with two lit degrees and a primary focus in teaching the art of Argumentation -- literally -- stepped in. She initially tried to engage the fact that, well, this woman not only can’t argue out of a paper sack but wasn’t even arguing, she was just running in circles and distracting from all the points and hadn’t addressed a single lit point directly while preaching down at people. But Sam, also, noticed something. This woman kept changing things like “queerphobia” to “homophobia.” Sam mentioned this kinda puts off TERF vibes (I think Sam picked up on the gendering thing herself too.)

Her response? Which she deleted since? But Discord’s embed helpfully saved?

Her inacted non-apologies remain weak, especially in any form of debate be it lit or now queer topics.

Oh I’m sorry, let’s recap her viewpoints: TERF is a slur. “They” is made up and should be avoided at all costs. The blood of dead gay men are a token to use in a lit debate you’re avoiding responsibility in. After this, “authors are headcanons” is suddenly not your worst take, but fascinating that you 13 times didn’t even read the blatant ass screenshot. And I mean, these weren’t subtle or easy to miss these 13 times.

100. She had 100 chances, literally, on a timer, to give a source or shut up with her platforming until she had one. Instead, she chose every rabbit hole she could manifest to disappear into, only to be met by another request for a source, and not moving on until we address the first points. We’ve given ours, now you give yours. Instead, you choose this. This is the hill you choose to die on, rather than admitting, “Sorry, I guess I was wrong” or “I guess I heard that somewhere, my bad.” 100 chances. 13 direct QT requests to address gender which she replied to but didn’t reply to until cornered (and still didn’t, truly, reply to), and “TERF is a slur.” Oh, and after waving around the dead men’s blood she also suddenly Can’t Be A Terf Because She Adopted Two Trans Kids. Lord help those children. Or, you know, the more realistic thing is she’s just manifesting all kinds of bullshit at this point to save face, which is probably why she deleted all the related tweets that show she’s a giant-ass TERF.

So anyway, this is very much a lesson on:

Paying attention to how people manipulate conversation to erase genuine discussion and debate.

Paying attention to WHY they do it. Motivation on methods and tactics will clear up a lot.

Figuring out HOW they try to sound woke about shit and when it’s entirely fucking vile and inappropriate to pull

And by all above points, figuring out that these people are among us, and how NOT to let them influence your conversations.

I don’t care if it’s about a discussion on a ship or show or anything else. People do this. A lot. Extremely dedicatedly, if the 100 asks doesn’t make that clear.

Stop letting people railroad your conversations with disingenuous bullshit.

So anyway in honor of this I made everyone a gif

Use at will. It’s tagged anti-terf if you want to use the search feature on it.

UPDATE:

Just went and checked. She went and deleted literally her entire side of the conversation, hundreds if not thousands of tweets. Luckily, Ezra mentioned repeatedly -- and I do trust them inherently -- that they were saving the entire conversation, so that zip file exists somewhere. How fascinating, after she accused us that we would want to delete tweets. Someone realized they had a bad look and giant failure all around.

Also, a related anon that links to an earlier part of this conversation I didn’t even document where she was crying about “cis erasure” [x] This shit went on so long I legit forgot about that.

#supernatural #spn #destiel #anti-terf #debate

170 notes · View notes

merakiaes · 4 years

Text

His World - Geralt Of Rivia

Pairing: Geralt of Rivia x reader

Requested: Yes

Prompts: None.

Warnings/notes: This isn’t proofread so I apologize in advance for any possible mistakes. I’m gonna come back and edit it later! I hope you like it even though I was completely writer’s blocked when I wrote it xx

Wordcount: 2393

Summary: Just when you’ve given up on the neverending dream of ever finding your soulmate, fate brings you together.

You lived in a world where you were born with words engraved into your skin; the words that would be the first spoken to you by your soulmate when you met them. If you ever met them, that is.

To some, said words were a curse, and to others, a blessing. Or well, up until the point where you actually met your soulmate, it was a curse for everyone, and not many were so lucky.

Whether you were just living in different parts of the world or if your other half was dead, you would never know. You could only sit by and stare as the words on your body faded away more and more for each passing year, until finally, only a faint, white scarring and a hole in your heart would be left behind.

The words on your arm were still very visible, although they had died down from a sharp black to a dark grey.

Like everyone else, you had once dreamt about the day when you would meet your soulmate, and woken up every day with a big smile on your lips, excited what the day would bring.

But as you grew up, you became much more aware of how dull and grey the world and the people living in it was, and you came to the realization of how truly rare it was to find your soulmate.

And you realized the chance of you doing so was even slimmer, as the words on your arm indicated that you would have to actually touch your soulmate to hear the destined words fall from his lips, and long story short, you were not a woman fond of social interaction and touching other people.

To put it simply, you didn’t think you’d ever find your soulmate. But then the day came, then that man came. That strange, peculiar man with the silvery-white hair and amber eyes, trotting into your village on the back of a big, proud stallion.

“Healer! We need a healer! Is there a healer here?”

You didn’t think you had ever heard the word ‘healer’ so many times in the same sentence before, and could only stare from your place at the outside fireplace where you were preparing the afternoon tea as the famous Witcher, drenched in blood and only God knows what, yelled at the top of his lungs after a healer with another man, much smaller in build, hanging limply under his arm.

Your uncle wasted no time in rushing over from his spot beside you, demanding to know what happened.

You left them to it briefly, missing the Witcher’s response as you put the chamomile tea back down on the table, taking your time before heading over to help in any way you could.

As you approached the trio, you noticed the rest of the villagers ogling at the Witcher from afar, keeping their distance. Your people had always been a scared one, and you guessed you should have been too, but you weren’t bothered with much these days.

You had heard the songs and tales about the mutant standing in your village. Why should you be amazed just from seeing him in the flesh when you already knew everything he had done and all he was capable of?

“I’ll take care of your friend and my niece will tend to your injuries meanwhile.” You heard your uncle tell the Witcher just as you reached him and you didn’t protest.

In fact, you said nothing as the Witcher’s amber eyes met your much duller ones, simply walking alongside him and your uncle as they carried the passed-out man to the infirmary hut.

Once in there, they placed the man down on a bed, and your uncle wasted no time in unbuttoning his shirt to get a better view of his wound.

“What’s his name?” Your uncle asked, turning to ready the herbs and bandages he would be needing for the healing process after a moment of inspecting the damage he would be working with.

“Jaskier.” The Witcher answered without missing a beat, his voice deep enough to send a rumble through your bones.

Your uncle nodded, looking up. “My niece will show you to the hut you will be staying in and help clean your wounds. I’ll make sure your friend heals alright, don’t worry.”

The Witcher, grumbled, and wordlessly, you turned on your heel and headed back out of the hut, expecting him to follow you. And he did, surprisingly without any protests, walking quietly behind you the entire time.

The only thing that could be heard was the clashing sounds of the hilt of his sword hitting his armor, his heavy footsteps and the whispers of your people as you passed them in the street.

In the corner of your eye you could see him watching them closely, but you couldn’t be bothered, your focus being solely on the obvious wound in his side that he had been clutching since he had let go of his friend, and the very reason he was currently limping his way forward.

What would have been able to damage a Witcher to the point where he could barely walk was a mystery to you, but whatever it was, it must have been big and dangerous.

After a minute of walking and taking a few left and right turns, you finally reached the hut next to yours - the one he would be staying in until his friend was ready to travel again - and walked inside.

As he let himself in and made himself comfortable in a chair in the middle of the small home, you wasted no time in going over to the shelf on which you stored the herbs and bandages, and gathered everything you would be needing for his injuries.

He groaned behind you, and by the sound of it, he was relieving himself of his weapons and clothes, getting himself ready to be tended to.

You quickly finished gathering everything you needed and turned around with the items in your hands and arms and for just a moment, you had to stop and stare at the magnificence of his muscles.

You had tended to many injured men in your life, but none of them had been half as strongly built as him, and at the end of the day, you were still simply a woman. A woman who could admit the beauty of the man in front of her.

Clearing your throat, you shook your head free of the distracted thoughts and set your feet into motion again, heading over to where he sat hunched over on the chair and putting the medical supplies down on a table beside him.

He must have been accustomed to the routine of getting taken care of by now because the second you came over to him he straightened himself up and put his wound on display for you, making it as easy for you to work as only possible.

He kept his hand on his knee for support, leaning slightly to the side to expose his bleeding side, and kept his eyes on the ground as you prepared the cleaning rag.

Once it was wet, you moved it to his side, but before you allowed the piece of fabric to make contact with the wound, you stopped yourself, glancing at him and hesitating.

“I’m sure you’re used to getting stitched up by now but if I hurt you, let me know and I’ll take it easy.” You told him softly, and the second the words left it was if he froze to ice in his seat.

You watched with confusion how his entire face turned cold, his eyes hard and his knuckles turned white where they were gripping his knee. But he said nothing, only staring into the ground and breathing heavily.

And you took the lack of protest as an okay to begin, simply letting your eyes leave his face to focus on the wound instead.

The rag made contact with his wound and he didn’t even flinch. On the contrary, he seemed to relax his entire body, and you couldn’t quite figure out how someone could relax at the feeling of a harsh rag brushing against their torn up skin.

But then again, no one had ever been able to figure out a Witcher, had they?

You took your time to clean his wound, making sure all of the dirt and dried blood disappeared with the rag before putting said rag down on the table.

The wound was now fully on display, and you couldn’t help but flinch at the sight of the depth of it, knowing you were the one who would have to stitch it up.

You prepared the needle and thread and got to work and the Witcher didn’t flinch a single time you pushed the needle through his skin. You seemed to be more uneasy than he was, despite having stitched countless wounds before.

“It will make a pretty impressive scar.” You spoke, your voice breaking through the eerily quiet air in an attempt to break the thick and awkward blanket of silence hanging over you.

But he only nodded, not saying a word.

Not so talkative, then, you thought, but still took what you could get, continuing to mend his broken skin.

Once you were done with the stitches, you picked up a salve, taking some of the lotion on your fingers and rubbing it around in your hands before carefully tarting to rub it around his now fully stitched wound.

Surprising you, he hummed when your hands made contact with his skin, and in fright and concern, you hurriedly brought your hand away, taking a step back.

“I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?” You asked quickly, but he only hummed again, his eyes shut and his body relaxed where he sat, not moving a muscle.

“Your hands… they’re soft.” He replied simply without opening his eyes, looking as if he was in some kind of trance.

And this time it’s your turn to freeze, your hand automatically flying to your arm on which your words were tattooed, your eyes widening as realization came over you.

Oh.

Oh no.

You took another step back, your eyes widening even further and your breath getting caught in your throat. “What-“ You took a deep breath, feeling your entire body starting to shake. “What did you say?”

He didn’t answer with words, simply standing up from the chair and looking into your eyes while bringing his hands down to the hem of his pants, pushing them down slightly to reveal his own words tattooed into the skin of his hipbone.

I’m sure you’re used to getting stitched up by now but if I hurt you, let me know and I’ll take it easy.

You stared at the black letters, barely even noticing when he brought his pants back up over them again, only snapping out of your trance when his low voice cut through the air, his body now standing right in front of you.

“Are you scared?” He asked, looking down at you with amber eyes.

You held his gaze, your breathing still heavy and ragged with shock, your entire body shaking and forcing you to lean back onto the table behind you, your hands grabbing ahold of the edge of the wood in order to keep your body upright.

But you shook your head still, answering quietly. “Of course not.” You took a shaky breath. “Everyone knows one is physically unable to hurt their soulmate.”

He nodded, taking yet another step closer to you, and you could feel your heart thumbing violently inside your chest.

“Are you... disappointed?” He asked then, his eyes searching yours.

“I- …” You hesitated, but once again shook your head. “No. No, I’m not. I’m just… surprised. Confused.” You confessed.

Swallowing, you pushed yourself off the table with a shaky breath, finally regaining the strength in your legs after the shock.

Your eyes watched him closely. “I was under the impression that Witchers were incapable of feeling human emotions.” You said, and he said nothing as you slowly approached him again.

Testing the waters, you came to a stop right before him, your chests grazing each other’s, and raised a shaky hand up to his face. You flinched back briefly when the tips of your fingers made contact with his stubbly cheek, but you quickly composed yourself and pressed your entire palm against it.

You let out a short breath at the feeling, tears slowly starting to prickle your eyes. “I never thought I’d find you…” You admitted, letting your thumb caress the corner of his lip.

He leaned into your touch, his eyes never leaving yours. He was silent for a moment before his hand slowly came up to rest on top of yours, his eyes showing nothing but utmost honesty and sincerity as he spoke, “You’re my world now.”

He hesitated, his eyes fluttering closed for a moment before looking back into yours. “You always have been but now…” He shook his head slowly, bringing your hand down from his face and squeezing it. “I’ll never let you go.”

You breathed in shakily, your heart fluttering in your chest at the feeling of his warm hand swallowing yours. You had only just met him and still, you had never felt as safe and at home as you did at that moment.

You carefully brought your hand out to grab his other one, taking another step closer to him, making you as close as you possibly could be.

Looking up at him, your eyebrows knitted together in deep thought, your eyes flickered down for a moment before looking back up into his.

“I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else than by your side.” You confessed, squeezing his hands.

His head fell down to yours, your foreheads pressing together, and you watched his eyes falling shut in contentment as you continued. “I’ve waited my entire life to meet you and now that I have, I wouldn’t have wished for anyone else.”

You shook your head, letting go of his hands and bringing yours up to grab a hold of his face, causing his eyes to open again. “You’re my world, too.” You admitted, and then pressed your lips to his without another word.

#geralt x reader #geralt of rivia #geralt imagine #geralt fanfic #geralt oneshot #the witcher #the witcher imagine #the witcher x reader #henry cavill #henry cavill x reader

959 notes · View notes

fangirlings-things · 4 years

Text

BLACK SAILS PREFERENCE: THE MOMENT THEY REALIZE THEY ARE IN LOVE WITH YOU

• requested by anon → this took me quite a while because I've had a writer's block with Black Sails, I kept on editing this until I finally got the expected result and liked it. I'm sorry for the delay, love, I really hope you like it and again, forgive me!

James Flint → He realized he was in love with you when you comforted him, after he having opened up his heart to you about his past. Who he used to be and who he used to love. You didn’t judge him, didn’t look at him differently when he finished the story of his own life. No, you just opened up your arms and pulled him into a hug you knew he needed. And trapped between your arms, caught in your tight embrace, he felt good. He felt loved, like he hadn’t in a long time. And it made him realize that perhaps that feeling of affection and all the trust he felt for you, wasn’t just friendship. Perhaps, he had found it in his heart the will to love someone again, after so long.

“Thank you, for trusting in me enough to tell me this” you said, hugging him tightly. With one of your hands, you caressed his short hair. “I know this can’t have been easy”

“Thank you for listening and not judging” he said, his hot breath against your neck. “Thank you”

You smiled and hugged him even more tightly, trying to bring him closer even if it was not possible. On that little private moment, you both felt quite happy for the first time in a long while.

John Silver → He would figure it out when after much discussion about future plans, you would take his side instead of Flint's. It would mean a lot to him and show John that you really admired his point of view, because you had been a member of Flint’s crew for a long time and trusted him completely. So to have you finally on his side, making it clear to him that his plan was a good one, would make him realize that his need for your approval was deep and went far beyond business.

“Congratulations, Silver. That was a good plan” you told him, when Flint accepted his defeat and went to tell the rest of the crew how would things work for the next few days, when the plan would be put into action. “I can see you really thought about it for the whole crew, not only for yourself”

“Trust me when I say, it means a lot” he said, arms crossed over his chest as he seemed lost in thoughts. “Do you really this plan is going to work?”

“You know I would never have taken your side or go against James, if I didn’t think your plan was better than his” you told him, in a tone of reassurance. You have had your differences in the past but in the last months, you couldn’t deny he had been trying his best to be a part of the crew. “I’m quite sure your plan is going to work”

For that, he smiled at you and the smile you gave back to him, made his heart skip a beat in a way it probably shouldn’t.

Charles Vane → He would realize his feelings for you when you spoke up to him, when no one else had the nerve to, not even Jack or Anne. To see that you were brave and determined enough to go against your Captain if the situation demanded for it, made him see just how amazing and intriguing you were.

“You wanted to see me in private, Captain Vane?” you said, hands joined in front of your body in a respectful position.

“Yes, (Y/N)” Charles said, standing in the corner of the room where only a few shades of light got to him. “I wanted to know if you want to have a drink with me”

“A drink, Captain?” you frowned, surprised. You had been expecting quite a different reaction after having challenged him in front of his whole crew. When he nodded, you saw something in his eyes that made your heart beat faster.

You saw desire.

Jack Rackham → He would find out how he felt about you after a long night, drinking ale together and just rambling about everything. You had been friends for a while and he did know he cared for you, but hearing you laugh at his stupid jokes… that made him understand just how deep was his affection for you.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this before” you were still laughing, trying to stop without success. The story he had just told you was that good. Little by little, you stopped and took a another sip of your ale before looking into his eyes. “It makes me think that there’s so much about you that I still don’t know”

Jack chuckled a bit, caught off guard by your interest in him. “If you want to know, I’ll tell you everything there is to know about Jack Rackham”

Anne Bonnie → She would realize how she felt about you after you face her in a fight as an equal. The way you swing your blade in the air, blow hits on her over and over again, defend her attacks, that would make her see just how good of a fighter you were. And that, was probably what she most admired in others.

“You fought well, but I won” her blade was pressed against your throat.

You smiled, shrugging in surrender. “Give me another chance and I’ll prove to you that I can win”

A ghost of something that could be a smile, passed by Anne’s lips. “I will think about it”

Billy Bones → He would realize he was in love with you when he sees you getting closer and closer to Silver. Your friendship with the other man was growing fast and Billy felt quite disturbed by that, always feeling like he wanted to be the one receiving your attention.

“Hey, you okay?” you asked, concerned by the strange expression on his familiar features.

“Yeah, fine” Billy replied, lowering his eyes to the deck as he said so. For the past half an hour, he had been watching you and Silver talking from the corner of his eye. Should that really hurt him so much?

“If something is wrong… you can tell me” you insisted, frowning. Billy wasn’t someone who would often keep his thoughts to himself. The fact that he did in that moment was weird.

“Trust me, this, I can’t” he forced a smile to you and then, walked away.

120 notes · View notes

rhmg-au · 3 years

Text

Prequel part 1.

Thinking of some endings for the final confrontation, would try to get them out once I complete the prequel first.

This AU belongs to @rhmg-au . Please follow them, reblog their art, give them fanart, support them in any way possible, etc.

TW: Torture, blood, gore, restraints

(Mod Swanno: Edited with the read more option due to length and content!)

Eyes fluttered rapidly in the dark, the aching pain ran rampant throughout his entire body, the tears in his uniform exposing his skin to the coldness in the room from the lack of heat inside. Two figures seem to be in front of him, chatting with one another.

He let out an involuntary groan of pain, causing the two to turn to them. They look familiar.

“Awake already, Price? Thought you’d be knocked out for at least for few more hours.”

At that statement, the memories flooded back to him, as if he was in the sea in the middle of a big storm, only he was alone on a boat, the lighting and crashing waves wanting to throw him off the only thing keeping him from drowning.

The fighting, the snapping, the discovery.

———

A knock was heard on his door, he was in one of the rooms made for soldiers who needed to rest after a tiring mission or just stay for a break from their duties. His mind was wandering in its own little world, trying to think of ways to get rid of that monster he calls his general, he’s not noble anymore, after what he witnessed him doing to a Toppat, though he is a criminal, it was still so cruel to strip him of his memories and forcefully turn them to their side, and how it was carried out was…too brutal to watch or even hear for that matter. How could he live with himself after such a heinous act?

Those thoughts were carried to the back of his mind when that sound caused by a hand repeatedly hitting the door from the other side to get someone else’s attention inside.

“Rupert? May I come in?”

It’s him, it’s time to play the role of the actor again.

“You may, general.”

Galeforce entered the room as soon as the request to come inside was approved by the soldier, closing it behind him. His smile looked so normal that no one would ever guess that he did so many terrible acts behind that mask.

“What is it you need, sir?” Rupert asked, straightening his posture, and making sure to wipe his face clean from any form of an expression full of hatred. He cannot reveal his true feelings towards the man, or anyone for that matter. They can be loyalists to him, blinded by their duties to ever consider siding with him. No one is safe to talk to about his issues.

“Are you…actually loyal to the government, Mr. Price? I was informed by Dr. V that you were acting quite strange these past few days, and she has a suspicion that you’re a traitor.”

These words caught Rupert off-guard. They knew? How…how could they know? He thought he hid it so well, concealed it from everyone, how, just how?! Did someone snitch on him? “I, I am loyal sir. I was just thinking about my next missions those past days is all.” He was praying that he would buy it, he couldn’t risk to be found out of his resent. He knew it wouldn’t be anything but bad.

“Then tell me…do you know about the latest piece of technology we developed?” What was that supposed to mean? Naively, he shook his head, realizing too late that he made a crucial mistake by doing that.

Galeforce’s smile contorted into a smirk, one that is full of malice. That never meant good, at all. “A device that allows us to know who is lying by just hearing their words and their tone. Think of it like a lie detector, but a better version.” He took out the little gadget, the design was rather basic, just a square shaped piece of metal with antennas sticking out, a screen was visible with lines rapidly going up and down. Such a simple yet complex device. And it’ll be used for an occasion like this. “It’s still in the alpha stages, consider yourself honoured since you’re the first one we’re using to test it.” He took a good look at the lines. “And would you look at that, judging by the way the lines are moving, it detected that you’re lying.”

“No, no sir, are you sure it’s just a misinterpretation? An error?” Rupert knew that he was screwed, yet he still tries to deny it. Anything to get him out of this situation. Anything.

“Sorry to say, Price, but Dr. V told me these lines represent when someone is lying. It is no bug for sure.”

That was the answer he was dreading to hear.

“Now, do you remember what happens to those who are traitors? Or, for you, a potential traitor? You have quite the disdain for me, and that leads to backstabbing.” Galeforce pocketed the device, that grin turning sadistic now.

There was nothing left to hide. He saw through his facade, and now he has the information that he harbours distaste for him.

“You really think I would let something like that slide? What you did was absolute torture! How could you consider yourself to be human after what’d you done?! He may have been a Toppat, but you didn’t have to go to the extreme! What the hell is wrong with you?! Did you even think about how the Toppats feel?! That you took away someone who was so valuable to them, both personally and usefully, did you ever consider that?! Tell me, was there a time you even felt some sympathy?!” He couldn’t contain his rage anymore, he had to snap. It was in there for too long for him to ever hold it back, he may hate the Toppat Clan, but even he couldn’t deny that what Galeforce did crossed the line.

Galeforce didn’t responded, instead he took a step forward. Then another one. His face blank, showing no emotion, no care, no concern, no astonishment, no happiness, only apathy. Before he eventually leapt out and attacked him, like a wild animal would when it sees potential prey.

Rupert didn’t hesitate to fight back, both of them knocked to the ground. He raised his hand to counteract the opposing one ready to strike, catching it in time before it could land a hit on his face. Immediately afterwards, he caught the other hand that threatened to finish what the other arm wanted to begin.

“You could’ve been a valuable soldier here, had you not raise this hatred inside of you.” Galeforce taunted, ripping his hand out of his grasp and grabbed his hair that still stuck out from his hat, pushing his head forward.

“What was I supposed to do? Watch you turn someone into a relentless slaughtering puppet to do your dirty work? That isn’t how anything should go!” Rupert gave him a hard punch, directly on the nose. He wasn’t sure if he broke it, but blood poured out from the openings, a good indicator to confirm his suspicions.

Galeforce didn’t get knocked out, though the sudden punch to the face disoriented him for a few seconds, giving the resentful soldier enough time to rip himself out of his grasp and push him off, making a break for it to the door.

He didn’t make it, because of course he didn’t.

He was yanked back by his uniform, the grasp so tight and so harsh that he felt the cloth made to create this suit tear, and before he knew it, he was thrown against the wall, black starting to tease around the edges of his eyes from how hard his head hit the concrete.

“It’s the least I could do, trust me, I would do much worse.” Blood dripped down from his nose, staining the floor with the crimson substance.

“I don’t need to see them to know you’re a horrible person. I’ll beat the shit out of you and I’ll expose you and your heinous deeds.” Rupert shakily got up, it was rather hard when you’re close to blacking out from a strong hit on the head, but it was manageable.

“Still being cocky as ever? That’s biggest downside to you, always so certain you can do everything no matter how impossible it may seem. How cute.” Galeforce’s smirk increased in size as he approached him, taking him by the neck and lifted him off the ground, feet barely touching the floor. The soldier threw his hands onto the wrist of the general, suffocation is very likely if he was not released soon.

“It’s…not impossible…to get you…dismissed…” With his windpipe blocked, air couldn’t get inside to his lungs, affecting his breathing and speaking abilities.

“Dismissed? Why, so many ridiculous ideas run through your mind these past few days huh?” Galeforce released his grip on Rupert, letting him fall to the floor gasping for breath for a moment.

“They’re…logical…not ridicu…lous…” Regaining his strength albeit a bit slowly, he threw his fist at the general, aiming for his chest. The sleeve on the arm of his clenched hand was caught, yanking him to his feet so violently that another tear was made in his uniform, as well as causing pain to his arm due to how hard it was pulled, almost out of its socket. It took all of his willpower and gritting his teeth to not scream from the pain travelling up the limb.

“You must be forgetting that I’m a general, the public believes me as a good-intentioned nobleman who brings criminals to justice. Nothing can ever convince them otherwise.” Galeforce brought his face close to the soldier’s, letting him see that wicked grin close up, which only succeeded in letting his glare darken. He took ahold of his arm, tightening the grip instantly, as an attempt to prevent escape.

“Not if I get evidence, your acts are inhumane, no one deserves a fate like that.” Rupert spat, bringing his knee up and kicking him right in the stomach, using all of his strength in that one blow.

This action caused Galeforce to stumble back, releasing his grip on his arm in the process. Taking this opportunity, the soldier opened up the door, running out of the room. He needed to get out of here, now.

The attempt at escape didn’t work, as the general caught up with him easily, sending him crashing to the floor as he felt a heavy weight fall onto his body, He looked up, the black around his eyes more prominent.

Before his irises could see who was there, even though he already knew who, a fist collided with his head, causing the void in his eyes to finally take over.

The last thing he remembered before blacking out were these words:

“Really thought you could get away? Now, you’ll face the consequences.”

———

Everything was made clear now.

“What is this place?” His voice sounded weak, probably from the lack of water. “Are you going to robotize me like Green? Is that it?”

“No, something much worse. But now that you mentioned it, it would be a great idea. For now though, we have something else planned.” Galeforce answered, that grin so sinister it might as well be considered taking a spot on the most evil smiles list, if one was created that is.

“I would like to turn you into walking weapon, but I still need to monitor Green for the time being. Consider yourself lucky.” Dr. V added, sharing the same smirk as the one on Galeforce.

Rupert tried to throw a fist in either of their faces, but when he did, his hand never moved. Instead, he was greeted with the coldness of a metal cuff holding his hand down on one of the arms of the chair he was sitting in. It’s likely his other wrist was also in the same state as his left one. Though it should’ve been expected, it still shocked him. He was being restrained.

“Oh, I forgot to mention that you aren’t going to be able to leave. You’ll spend the rest of your days here rotting away while we make you realize just how stupid you are to doubt my acts of protection.” Galeforce informed, as if the feeling of the bindings on his wrists weren’t made clear to him enough.

“Protection?! You call that protection?! You hurt someone beyond the point of acceptance and you call that protection?! What the hell is wrong with you?!” Despite his throat hurting after such an outburst, Rupert called him out on that statement of absurdity. Still thinking he’s a hero after everything? Even criminals don’t deserve that happening to them.

“It’s for the greater good. Besides, would you want a cyborg to be roaming free with those crooks?”

“He’s still human!”

“Criminals aren’t humans if they don’t have morals.”

“And you aren’t human if you feel no sympathy for them! Think about the hardships they went through that forced them to turn to crime and we never noticed! If anything, it’s the government’s fault!”

“…Dr. V, do your work.”

“Yes, sir.”

The blonde took out a pair of surgical scissors from her lab coat, walking over to the soldier, who is now struggling in the cuffs that held him in a one spot.

“Let’s begin the lesson, shall we?” Dr. V said, holding the surgical scissors over his face for a moment before snipping a part of his skin with them, blood immediately dripping out from where she made the cut.

Rupert grounded his teeth together, not wanting to give either of them the satisfaction of hearing him in such pain. He knew it would only bring more trouble if he gave them the reaction they wanted to hear, so no screaming. Just endure the pain all enough for something else to occur that causes them to leave. Like boredom or duties.

When no strong reaction came from the soldier, Dr. V dug the blades of the scissors deeper into his flesh, sliding it along slowly and painfully, intending to stop at his cheek if no signs of a scream comes soon. This was only the beginning. The next stages are much, much worse.

Despite the fiery pain growing inside of him from the scissors digging into his skin, Rupert still didn’t give them what they wanted out of him. His teeth were gritted so tightly together to suppress it the best he could. Blood started to leak into his mouth, that metallic taste made clear from the get go. He has to stay strong, this wasn’t the worse thing that happened to him. Seeing Dave getting fired and him going missing were much worse than experiencing torture…

Nothing, no reaction. “You’re stronger than you look. Impressive, but not too impressive.” The doctor pocketed the now bloodied scissors back into her lab coat, the remains of the crimson substance staining the white colour of the garment. She then took out a scalpel, this time instead of his face, she targeted his arm, plunging the sharp edge of the blade onto his shoulder.

The soldier bit down on his bottom lip as to let his teeth rest from the pressure they were under from grinding against each other for so long. Blood slipped out from the bottom lip due to how hard he was biting down on it, the metallic taste more prominent now.

Dr. V’s face contorted into frustration. “Don’t bother trying to hide your pain.” She advised, taking the scalpel out from his shoulder, that crimson substance affecting colour of the metal to make this surgical tool, now just like the scissors sitting inside of her lab coat. She clenched her hand into a fist and made it collide with his cheek, the one that isn’t soaking with blood from the cut. The force in the punch was hard, bound to create a bruise.

Rupert felt his head snap to the side momentarily, causing him to quickly look back to the woman in front of him. “How do you call this revenge if you only really want the Toppats?”

“Anyone who sides with Toppat Clan is called revenge.” Dr. V answered, making an incision on both of his wrists as he spoke, acting and speaking nonchalant about it. “I told you, masking your pain would make things worse. Cooperate with us.”

“You just need to give him a little push in the right direction. As I said before, he’s as stubborn as Green when he was a Toppat.” Galeforce said, his first words in a while.

“And how do you suppose we shove him where we want him to go?”

“Allow me to handle it. I’ve known him for quite a while now.”

The general stood in front of Rupert after Dr. V backed away. He leaned in close to him, whispering something in his ear, his breath causing a shiver to run down his spine. Surprisingly, his eyes widened at what was said, horror written all over his expression.

“Y-you, no you couldn’t-”

“Don’t worry, I trust him enough. But if I find out he’s been going behind my back…”

“Don’t you fucking hurt him! It’s me who you’re mad at, so just do whatever the hell you want with me but leave him alone!”

“I will take action if that’s the case, and what can you do in your current state?”

“This.” Rupert lifted his legs up and slammed them into Galeforce’s chest, the general taking a few steps back due to the impact. Man that hurt…

He looked up after a few seconds, Dr. V coming by his side to check if he had any injuries, pocketing the scalpel beforehand. “Chain his legs too. I’m not letting this happen a second time.” He checked his belt and took a pair of handcuffs from them, handing them out to her.

Dr. V nodded hastily, snatching the restraints quickly and cuffed the soldier’s ankles to the legs of the chair, despite his trashing interrupting some of the progress. “There we go.”

“Someone will find me here, and you’ll regret all of your actions.” Rupert promised, the glare so dark you could probably see a shadow brooding across his face. He’d struggled for a little bit more before giving up, the burning pain playing a part in why he stopped.

“You are in basement of lab, no one knows of this.” Dr. V said, immediately crushing any hope that he may have. Green most likely doesn’t know of this too. “Let’s continue now, shall we?”

Before she could pull out the blood covered scalpel however, Dr. V was stopped by the sound of beeping. “One sec.” She took out the communicator she brought down here, in case of the event someone made a call to her while they were doing what they were doing.

“Hello, this is Dr. Vinschpinsilstien speaking, how could I be of service?”

Rupert saw this as an opportunity, an opportunity to get outside help. It doesn’t matter who it is, the Twins, Victoria, Hayden, Charles or even Green, he can get out of here if he just yells at the communicator. He hated asking for assistance for anything, if he had to be honest, but at this moment, he needed help, he can’t escape by himself.

He was about to shout, to scream, to cause a scene to get the attention of whoever is there, but at the last second, his mouth was harshly covered by Galeforce, both hands were on him to block out his cries for help. Still, he called out anyway, muffled by the hands on his mouth, barely creating any noise.

“…Ah yes, I will be at the lab Green, just come along and I’ll attend to you.” The line cut off soon after Dr. V finished her call with the cyborg.

The opportunity passed…gone.

Galeforce released his hands from Rupert’s mouth as soon as the call was finished, allowing him to take in deep breaths and finally talk properly. “I’ll…I’ll scream down here and…Green will hear me. It doesn’t matter that he’s rewired, he will notice that something’s wrong with me down here.”

“And that is why you shouldn’t speak so soon.” Dr. V said, taking a piece of cloth out from her lab coat, using it as a gag as she wrapped it around his mouth, muffling his words once again. As soon as she finished tying the knot, she and Galeforce left for the door, opening it up to reveal stairs, his only way to freedom if he can get out from this stupid chair. Light temporarily pouring into the room as it was opened up, but soon it was closed, denying any light from projecting itself into the room, leaving him in the darkness again.

What now?

———

Every passing day was torturous.

Literally.

Beating after beating, his blood spilling out from his system, eventually creating blood stains on the floor, chair and his uniform. The smell of the dried up crimson substance still lingered.

Any cry for help was muffled from the gag, guaranteeing that no one could ever find him here while Galeforce and Dr. V continued to teach him the lesson.

Every gash, every bruise, he even got some broken bones some days.

Whenever they went away, he cried and cried to himself, tears mixing in with the dried blood that stains his face. His spirit breaking down everyday. He still held onto hope, but it seems his grasp on it is fading away slowly.

“Someone…please…find me…I can’t hold out for much longer…”

#PACKAGE - [ FANWORK ]#[ NON CANON ]#tw blood #tw torture #tw gore #hoooHHH BOY!!! HOLY SHIT - MOD - [ SWANNO ]#submission

48 notes · View notes

isthisthingeven0n · 4 years

Text

face to face, at last : d.d

brief summary: ever since you turned sixteen, you’ve had the ability to know when someone will meet their soulmate. it’s a blessing and a curse, as you’ll never know which one might be yours.

word count: 2k requested: yes by the sweetest anon. i loved the concept and i hope you like the outcome! warnings: none that i’m aware of, just floof

* masterlistin’ / masterlistin’ 2.0

(everything on my blog is my own writing. if it is shared on another page or website know it hasn’t been approved me unless specified. all rights reserved. - i have to start doing this as I had some shit on my other blog with plagiarism)

“Okay, how about me?” Another friend eagerly walks up to you with bright eyes as she clutches the cash in her hands.

You hide your sigh before holding your hand out, accepting her payment.

Everyone watches closely as you look at her closely before shutting your eyes. “Four months. You’ll meet them on July 2nd.” You tell her, watching as she excitedly walks away with the anticipation of finally meeting them, of meeting her soulmate.

“So, that’s at least fifty bucks today alone my friend.” Your friend walks alongside you, doing the calculations in her phone as you look around, noticing everyone’s dates in their minds that remains hidden away to all except you. “Man, if I had your ability I’d of raked in the cash a long time ago.” She chuckles before nudging your arm, snapping you from your thoughts. “Good job I’m here, Y/n.”

You nod in response as you keep your head down before exiting the campus and heading back home. “It’s not a great gift, Elsie.” You tell her as you unlock the front door and pull out your phone. “My phone is inundated with messages about other peoples soulmates.” You sigh, but Elsie doesn’t quite seem to get the point.

“What’s the issue with that? Just think how much money you’ll make from it!” She encourages, but you shake your head as she follows you into the living room. “People get to know when they’ll meet their soulmate, you make twenty bucks per person. And ten for close friends.” She comments as you roll your eyes.

“But I’ll never know about mine, Els.” Your statement hangs in the air as the realisation hits her.

“Oh,” She mutters before sitting down beside you, letting the words truly sink in. “I, I’m sorry Y/n.”

“No need, Els.” You say with a small smile. “Sometimes it just hurts that I know when everyone will meet their soulmate, but I’ll never know about my own.” You admit, even know it’s still difficult to come to terms with. “After five years of knowing I thought this would get easier.”

“It will, Y/n.” Elsie tries to remain positive as you shrug your shoulders before rising to your feet.

“I’m going to take a nap.” You speak through a yawn as she waves you off, returning her attention to her phone.

As you collapse down onto your bed, you reach for your phone.

Scrolling through the endless requests you pause, seeing a missed FaceTime call from the one person you’ve missed talking to.

Postponing your nap, you try to call and wait for the endless ringing to come to a halt, and luckily it does. “Hey, you in class earlier?” He asks through the phone as you force yourself to sit upright.

“Yeah, and a lot more people asked about their soulmates obviously.” You scoff as he chuckles to you.

“That’s still a trend, huh?” He questions as you nod to yourself. “Y/n, I can’t see you nod but I’m assuming you just did.”

“You’d be correct, Dave.” You chuckle. “So, what’re you up to this evening?” You rise to your feet, wandering over to your laptop before starting it up and curling up into your chair.

David glances over at his clock, seeing Natalie sat editing with Jason. “Just some more editing really. Nothing exciting.” He tells you half-heartedly. “We could always FaceTime though?” He tries to hide his excitement about the idea, unaware of how eager you are to see him once more.

“Yeah, I think I can squeeze you into my busy schedule of sleeping and avoiding assignments.” You tease as the familiar butterflies start to flutter in your stomach.

“Okay, well I’ll catch up with you later, don’t work too hard.” He jokes, unable to hide his smile from his friends.

Elsie wanders up the stairs, noticing you looking down at your phone, struggling to wipe the smile from your face as you stare at the blank screen.

“I still find it weird you guys have never met,” She inputs as she leans against your doorframe, snapping you from your thoughts.

Uncrossing your legs from your chair, you swivel to face her. “It’s not weird,” You mutter. “he’s just in another state and the money I’m making is going straight to my savings.” You explain something she’s heard countless times.

“And you don’t want to fly out to LA only to meet him and discover he’s got a soulmate ready and waiting.” She finishes for you as your smile falls. “Why can’t you just see it when you guys FaceTime?” She questions.

“I don’t know,” You say truthfully. “something in my head blocks it off. I have to meet the person in person.” You explain, somehow still getting to grips with the technicalities of this ‘gift.’

“Do you want to meet him?” She takes a step into your room, testing the waters as you focus on the dark screen of your phone, watching it light up with another soulmate request.

“Of course,” You admit with a heavy sigh. “I just don’t want to disappoint myself by thinking of something that isn’t possible.”

“Well, you won’t know until you try, Y/n.” She nudges your arm lightly as you look up to see her trying her best. “I’m going to order Chipotle, want some?”

A small scoff leaves your lips. “Like you have to ask, Els.”

Over the last few weeks, you came to the decision, it wasn’t easy to make and frankly, you were terrified. “So you’re really going to see him?” Elsie sits beside you in the living room as the flight confirmation remains on your laptop screen.

“Yeah,” You breathe out. “I used most of the money saved from the soulmate checks.”

Elsie squeezes your hand and rests her head on your shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be worth it, Y/n.” She states, feeling you nod softly as you shut your eyes.

“I hope so too.” You admit through nerves as you have less than a week to go until you’ll finally meet your close friend in person. “I’m just wondering if he’s excited or unphased.” A small laugh leaves your lips as you envision him filming with the likes of Madison Beer or David Blaine, and then there’s you.

Yet, across the country David was sat in his room, trying his best to calm down. “Dave, you gotta relax.” Natalie jokes as she walks in, seeing David lying on his back with his head hanging off his bed. “You’ve known each other for like a year now.”

David groans before sitting upright, feeling the blood rush as he turns to face Natalie. “It’s not that,” He admits. “I really care about her, but what if she’s not the one? Like, I’ll still care about her, but I’m falling hard.”

Natalie sighs before sitting beside her best friend. “You won’t know until you meet her I guess.” Natalie pats his thigh. “And who knows, maybe you’ll meet and she isn’t the one, but you’ll have a great friendship and story.” She shrugs her shoulder, seeing David remain unconvinced.

“Thanks, Nat.” David mutters as he looks over to his phone, counting down the days until you arrive.

Wandering through the airport, you wheel your suitcase alongside you. You’re still wearing your headphones, having music blasting into your eardrums to ease the gnawing sensation you can’t shake.

“Okay,” You mutter to yourself as you make it to arrivals, knowing he’d be there somewhere waiting for you.

As your eyes search for him, all you can see are numbers and dates for other people. You can see some will wait for years, and others are blank as they embrace a loved one. Despite it being somewhat of a gift, you shut your eyes as the sense of being overwhelmed returns.

“Y/n?” You hear your voice being quietly spoken in front of you, and you open your eyes to see brown ones looking right back at you.

Opening your mouth to say something, you’re startled. He’s here, in front of you. His hands are resting on your arms as his smile widens. “Hi.” You manage to squeak the word out before he laughs, enveloping you into a tight hug.

Dropping your bags to the floor, you wrap your arms around him, not wanting to let go.

“I can’t believe we’re finally meeting in person.” He mutters into your hair as you let out a sigh of content before pulling away. “Like, it’s been a long time coming but you’re here!” He motions to you as you twirl around, he can’t help but think how much prettier you are in person.

“That I am, Dave.” You joke before he helps you pick up your bags. “I was expecting a cute ass sign and everything.” You tease, watching as he rolls his eyes before motioning to Natalie and Taylor standing with a brightly coloured sign.

‘surprise, bitch!’ It reads and you laugh at the state of it, having clearly been battered along the way.

“Yeah we had a few issues, it kinda got run over on the way.” David comments, scratching the back of his neck as you smile before greeting some of the friends you’ve heard plenty about.

“I love it,” You tell him geuinely as your bright smile forms on your lips, causing David’s heart to swoon. “so, where to?”

“Ooh how about that cafe down the road? They do the best matcha lattes.” Taylor suggests as you follow behind her and Natalie, David remaining by your side as he struggles to keep his eyes off of you.

“Dave, stop staring at me.” You speak up, catching his gaze as a pink tint crosses his cheeks.

“I’m not staring,” He comments as his hand reaches down for yours, and waits for you to pull away, but you don’t. “I’m simply admiring as I’ve waited for this moment for months.” He chuckles, squeezing your hand lightly as your fingers intertwine.

As you sit in the car beside David, he props his camera up. “So as you guys know, this is Y/n.” You wave happily to the camera, still shocked that this isn’t just a dream. “And, she has a special gift.” His voice trails off as he turns to face you, knowing he’s waited for this exact moment to know the truth.

“You can tell when someone is going to meet their soulmate for the first time, right?” Natalie questions and you nod, swallowing the lump in your throat.

“Yeah, I can see when they’ll meet them in person. What date it’ll be and sometimes a time. If it’s blank, they’ve already met.” You explain what you do understand about this and both Natalie and Taylor raise eyebrows.

“Could you do me?” Taylor asks, smiling shyly as you nod.

David watches as you turn around, focusing on Taylor closely before you close your eyes. Within seconds, he watches as you open them. “Thursday, 2:45pm.” You tell her and her jaw drops. “And yours is blank, Nat.” You tell her, and she rolls her eyes.

“Of course it is.” She huffs.

“Wonder if it’s Todd after all, hey, Nat?” David jokes, receiving a playful punch from Natalie. “Okay, how about me?” David focuses on you, seeing worry spread throughout your expression.

“Sure,” You force the word out as you shuffle and face him.

Holding his breath, David watches as you close your eyes. He notices you scrunching your face up, before a small smile lines your lips.

“Looks like you already met them.” You tell him. “At 1:13pm, today.” You reel off the information that was displayed to you and pause.

“Holy shit.” Natalie comments before covering her mouth, allowing the realisation to hit you both.

“Well,” David chuckles as you remain quiet, letting it all sink in. “hi soulmate, ‘bout time we met in person.” He leans in, resting his hand on your cheek. “Is this okay?” He whispers into your lips.

“More than okay.” You whisper before kissing him back, relieved you finally made the choice to come and visit after all.

362 notes · View notes

croose · 4 years

Text

Power Down Part 3: Downloads

Request/Summary: You, the 501st and Rex arrive on Kamino, you with the intention of avoiding the fight and looking for information, much to Rex's delight. But can that promise be kept?

Warnings: I don't think any apply but there is, like, a fight scene so I'm tentative to say none apply.

Author's note: I'm so sorry it took me so long to write this, i wrote it, went to edit it, got writers block (for some upcoming bits) and it made me nervous to continue. Thank you for your patience! Again, so sorry!

Sure enough, Anakin and Ahsoka managed to rally up quite a few clones. Most of the 501st and a good chunk of other clones from other Battalions.

Now you were aboard The Resolute, sailing for Kamino amongst as many clones as the two jedi could gather up.

When you noticed Rex clench his fist, you knew the time had come to put his mind at ease.

"When we arrive on Kamino," You said, "Theres something I need to check out. I had a vision of it - I don't know if I'll be able to join in on the main battle as I'm not entirely sure what I saw, but I know it's important."

Anakin shrugged and said, "Alright, but don't blame us when you miss out on all of the fun."

Ahsoka turned and smiled at you... But Rex.

Stars, Rex.

When you felt the shift in the Force, you felt as though every decision in your entire life had led up to you saying that sentence. You realized now not why you were so attracted to Rex, but you realized simply that you were.

You knew then that you could fight your actions, but not your feelings... Never your feelings. Not when Rex was in the picture. Never when Rex was in the picture. And you silently kicked yourself for feeling so strongly for the Captain.

But then you were on Kamino.

You were immediately recalling your vision in order to figure out where to go when Rex took a gentle hold of your arm.

"Be careful, General."

With three words you knew Rex felt for you how you feel for him. With three words you knew for sure that should you abandon your code, practices and your life, Rex would be doing so with you.

You nodded at him. "And yourself, Captain. If you die in this battle, I will kill you."

Rex grinned a bit, then let go of your arm as gently as he had grabbed it.

And you were off in two different directions, yourself following your vision and him to his battle station.

You weaved through hall after hall, passing clone after clone before finally coming to a halt outside a door you knew contained whatever contents you were searching for.

Then your comms beeped.

"They're here."

Fighting broke out above the planet and ships rocketed towards you. You didn't have long.

You immediately began trying the door but it jammed and took a few tries before finally letting you in.

The Separatists reached the planet by the time you were in the room.

It was a small, pale, circular room with a control console in the center and rows of transaction records lined the lower halfs of the wall. The upper half was windows that faced where the fight was happening. Granted, you were also about ten floors up, but you thought you could delude yourself into seeing Rex from here.

Immediately, and uncertain as to what you were searching for, you began looking through as many records as you could, going further and further back in time. You became unaware of the fighting and focused only on your task.

Eventually you found one tiny disk no different from all of the others, but this one called to you. You knew this was what you were looking for.

It took a bit for you to figure out how to release it before the light cold plastic was in your hands. It felt relieving to have it tucked safely into your palm, but you parted with it just long enough to plug it into the system. You had to know what was on there.

Immediately, with less than one sentence and nothing but implications, your life changed.

Numbly, less desperate to get the disk into your hands, you ejected it.

The system had heated the platic and it now felt more a burden than relief.

Now more than before you were not paying attention to your surroundings, which perhaps was how Dooku cornered you so easily.

"I believe that belongs to me." The Sith Lord said, extending his hand as though you would seriously give it over.

He was blocking your exit.

Despite how you felt for this disk, you tightened your grip and stared at Dooku, tears forming in your eyes and gears turning in your head.

"Ah, I see." Dooku said. "You've seen the contents, haven't you?"

You said nothing.

"Well, then, it seems I have to kill you."

Dooku ignited his saber.

Your own hand, the one not holding the disk, found your saber. It's metal was still cold. Reassuring in your hand. It wouldn't be for long.

"You can try, Old Man."

In one swift movement, you ignited your saber, spun around and jumped on the shelf of records while slashing through the transparisteel with your saber before propelling yourself through the window, raising your arms to shelter your face from the shards of transparisteel that flew everywhere as you smashed through, falling to a hallway below.

You smashes through the transparisteel that enclosed that hallway as well, somersaulting to break your fall before jumping up.

Now you looked at Dooku, shrugging as though this was hilarious.

Dooku prepared to jump but before he could you raised your hand, sensed him in the force, surrounded his presence and pulled.

Startled, he fell, twisting around madly midair, collapsing through a different area of transparisteel, landing with a sickening thud and loads of little crunches.

For a moment you thought you'd killed him, but then he raised his head to glare at you.

"Nevermind," He growled. "Killing you would be too kind a fate."

☆☆☆

Rex ducked the droid's attack and jumped up behind it, grabbing it's head and smashing it down on a railing just as Anakin ran up.

"Sector's clear, General."

Anakin nodded. "Looks like this fight is going well."

Rex went to respond, but when he looked up, his heart sank.

"Don't speak too soon, General." He said, pointing a few hallways up where there you were, duelling with Count Dooku, a small plastic disk clutched in your hand.

Anakin looked at Rex, nodded, then jumped in a way only a jedi could jump, scaling the two or three hallways between you and landing on the roof of yours.

"Sure, sure, throw me around constantly except for when I actually think it's a good idea." Rex muttered to himself. "Guess I'll just... Take the stairs."

☆☆☆

It was over.

Dooku had you pinned down on a railing, you holding the disk just barely out of his way, Dooku's saber getting steadily closer and closer to your neck.

You had prepared yourself to die, so now there was only one thing to do... Hope it was someone like Rex who found it.

You dropped the disk down to the halls below.

You heard Dooku screaming but before he could bring his saber down on you, Anakin pounced on the old man, prying him off of you.

Before you could react, in a fit of blind fury, Dooku slashed the hall's railing out from under you.

The next thing you knew, you were falling. You felt the wind whipping past your head and watched Dooku and Anakin duel above.

You felt the impending doom of knowing the ground was growing closer and the curiosity as to whether or not the fall would kill you.

When you closed your eyes, just behind your eyelids was the one person you wanted to say goodbye to. The one person you wanted to apologize to.

There was Captain Rex. You realized you had broken your promise to him.

No. You thought, determined. I can control my actions and I will not leave Rex. Not Rex. Never Rex.

You opened your eyes and twisted your body so you were falling feet first.

You glanced down and saw your target. You pushed yourself with the force to fall more acurately and when you landed you somersaulted out of the fall once again before grabbing the droids blaster from his hand and holding it to his head.

"Uh-oh." The droid said, raising his arms in an I-Surrender motion.

"I believe that belongs to me." You raised your hand out, similar to how Dooku had mere moments ago.

"I don't even know what it is." The droid protested.

"Give it over or I blast you to Chaos."

The droid lowered his head and in a defeated tone said, "Roger roger." Before putting the disk back in your hand.

"Good lad." You jumped off, not bothering to return his blaster.

In the distance you heard a faint, "Hey, that's mine!" But didn't bother stopping.

You were halfway back to Dooku and Anakin when you turned your head and there he was. He was in the hallway of the roof you had just landed on, looking up at you.

Rex removed his helmet and gently raised his hand to touch the roof.

You lowered your hand to meet his, staring into his eyes.

Then his eyes widened and he shouted something but all you heard was the clang of metal hitting your head and the air as you once again plummeted below.

And here I was just starting to feel so badass. You just had time to think before the world swarmed into unconsciousness

#star wars fanfiction #star wars clone wars #star wars #star wars imagine #star wars one shot #clone wars x reader #the clones #clones #clone wars x you #the clone wars x reader #clone wars #clone wars imagine #clone wars one shot #captain rex x oc #captain rex imagine #captain rex x reader #captain rex #captain rex x you

102 notes · View notes

stellar-imagines · 5 years

Text

HEADCANONS REQUEST: ❝Mineta’s harassment.❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shouto, Aizawa Shouta ]

「Headcanons of Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki and Aizawa defending their S/O when Mineta harasses them.」

MIDORIYA IZUKU

♤ Let's be real, Midoriya is nice to everyone. He can't really say that he's close with the class's pervert but he just thinks he's a friend/classmate, nothing more, nothing less. It's usually Kaminari and Mineta who talk about girls. Unlike Kaminari who knows his limits, Mineta often takes it too far. So when Mineta and Kaminari were talking about girls, he's usually at lost, unsure of what to say and ends up just nodding to whatever they were saying.

♤ Everyone knows that Midoriya tries to solve everything with words and through communication, he rarely resorts with force and violence. Just talking about you was fine but he gets really unhappy when Mineta is talking about your boobs, ass or whatever. This boy just tells Mineta to stop treating his girlfriend like some sort of meat and respect her as a person.

♤ He gets super uncomfortable when he notices Mineta looking at your direction and giving you that look, the one akin to when a drunkard has his eyes looked on a woman. Midoriya is silently glaring at his friend and hoping that you wouldn't notice this pervert's eyes on you. He tries to ignore it but if the staring had gone for far too long, he takes it upon himself to reprimand Mineta to look somewhere else.

♤ If you're the type who can stand up for themselves, Midoriya's worries lessen. He'd still be there to make sure Mineta doesn't take things too far. However, if you're the quiet-shy type who has social anxiety 24/7, he's on full offense and defense. He makes sure to stick by your side or at least have the girls accompany you.

♤ When it does get too far, Midoriya would step in front of you, glaring at his classmate with a furious look in his eyes. He tries not to expose you to violence. But when Mineta is talking about you behind your back, he won't hesitate to hit Mineta if he touches you inappropriately. And it won't be those gentle slaps. It will be One For All 100% or Shoot Style. And viola, the filth of Class 1-A had been removed!

♤ Conclusion, he won't hesitate to beat the shit out of anyone who dares to make you uncomfortable, cry or anything. And you bet he's gonna throw someone off a cliff if someone dares to hurt you.

BAKUGOU KATSUKI

☆ Bakugou pretends to not pay attention to you but he actually is. To begin with, he sneaked glances at you when he thinks no one was looking and he was pretty damn good at it. This goes on until you start dating. Until one day, Kirishima spots him looking at you and all hell breaks loose.

☆ Without you noticing, Bakugou became your boyfriend and at the same time, a guard dog. He's very observant and he prefers to trail behind you a bit when walking together. But he can't escape when you want to hold hands. If someone dares to make fun of you, that person might as well just play dead because Bakugou is gonna hunt them down and make them regret saying whatever they said about you.

☆ Okay, everyone knows not to mess with Bakugou's territory you, or they will face serious consequences. It's not a rule that he established himself, that reminder is drilled into their heads the moment your relationship was revealed.

☆ So that one time Mineta decides to harass you were either before you were dating or when no one knew that you were dating yet. Whether he just talks about you or stares at you, Bakugou is already storming over and planning a murder. If he goes as far as to touch you. Guess what, Shinsou? There's a seat open for you. Welcome to 1-A.

☆ Whether Mineta is aware of your relationship or not, he won't get off the hook that easily. The girls are there to beat his ass for you if you're too shaken. Maybe it was because Bakugou never did anything when Mineta was up to no good, that the pervert thinks that doing his usual thing was not a problem. But, he was so wrong when he met Bakugou's deadly gaze. His looks can kill. The blonde didn't even have the chance to use his quirk because his looks alone were enough to make Mineta retreat.

☆ Bakugou looks freaking scary when it happens that it haunts your classmates for a long time. It will take them a long time to find something scarier than the look on Bakugou's face when someone messes with you. Stage fright? What is that? Think about this then you'll forget about that stupid fright.

TODOROKI SHOUTO

♡ Similarly to Midoriya, he chooses not to use unnecessary violence. Most of the time, he tries to talk it out. To begin with, Todoroki wasn't well acquainted with most of his classmates. He's usually chill with everything. Just like some of his classmates, he never really paid any heed to Mineta when he was talking about girls.

♡ But now that he's dating you, he's gotten more conscious of what people say. He might be a bit dense when it comes to relationships but he's learning! He's able to identify jealousy and all the weird, fluttery feelings he gets around you. But when Mineta starts talking excitedly about your features, he was able to separate the feeling fro jealousy quite easily. It was just pure disgust.

♡ Now, Todoroki doesn't really speak and only does so when it's necessary. He never said anything when the pervert is talking about the girls and all that. For starters, Mineta is a pervert who frequently lusts after and sexually harasses his female classmates, even though that's far from a hero should do. Boy gets mad when Mineta brings your name up.

♡ Todoroki opts to glare at Mineta when he talks about you, a disapproving stare sent his way. When his glaring does nothing to solve the situation, he will warn Mineta with words, telling him to stop because it's really disrespectful. He tries to stay calm and manages to do so, at least in expression-wise but deep inside, he's troubled. He doesn't like other guys talking about you like that. Sure you had the looks that attracted several men but he can't blame you.

♡ When Mineta takes it too far, to the point you were starting to get uncomfortable and bothered by his comments, Todoroki gets a bit serious, knowing how words weren't the best way to solve this. He didn't want to resort to threats but with the way you were behaving, he can't control himself. He tries to keep casualties to a minimum so he would step forward and face Mineta, glaring at him with eyes that say 'You piss me off, I will turn you into a block of ice'.

♡ Afterward, Mineta never had the guts to talk about you inappropriately. Todoroki sticks close to you from then on, not wanting anyone making you uncomfortable again.

AIZAWA SHOUTA

♧ Aizawa is seriously sick of everything. He always shows up in class looking ready to pass out at any second. His students were usually rowdy, making noise before he showed up for homeroom. There was the group of daredevils who annoyed Bakugou, Mineta screaming about something and Iida's loud voice that tried to overwhelm the crowd, barking orders to make them keep it down.

♧ You happen to be a teacher who was in charge of helping him with stuff, to put it simply, you were like an assistant of some sort. And he was so grateful that you were there to help if not, he would've been twice as tired than he is normally. He has students' homework to grade, wake up early every day, deal with his students and many other things.

♧ Let's face it, everyone is annoyed with Mineta. He was always making lewd comments about girls and in some cases, going as far as to harass them. Aizawa was rarely there to stop him but it seems like everyone in Class 1-A deal with that annoying grape pervert. Something that he's really grateful of. He trusts his students to deal with whatever problems themselves but he makes sure that they know he's there if they need help with anything.

♧ It was no surprise that you had been a target of Mineta's harassment. He drools over any women it seems. You were mature enough to handle the situation yourself but it didn't change the fact that it was annoying you. On one hand, he's very proud to see you standing up for yourself and the students. However, he's irritated at the fact that he can't just expel him on the spot.

♧ Aizawa usually looks like he doesn't care but when push comes to shove, he's not afraid to speak his mind. After all, he is known to expel students who he feels are not suited for UA, he's rigid and strict when necessary, and also has little tolerance for disobedient behavior. Doesn't hesitate to threaten Mineta when Aizawa catches him harassing anyone.

♧ He's very mature about the issue. Makes sure that you're alright before dealing with the issue—aka Mineta by disposing of him in many different ways. Ties him up and throws him into the trash, because that’s where he belongs. Takes you by the hand and cuddles ensure. And during those cuddle sessions, he reminds you not to wear any weird clothing.

♧ “Listen to me, I want to make an announcement, from today onwards, Shinsou Hitoshi will be your classmate. Don’t be annoying. Mineta? I don’t know, he dropped out or something.”

Total: 1623 words Published: 21.08.2019

We’re open for some limited edition prompts featuring Fall and Halloween! Read more here!

Thank you for requesting! *｡٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و*｡ Oof, please pretend they’re all dating ok? Trying to finish up as much as we can and post em all! PS: we love you for sending us something, anon (´,,•ω•,,) ― author Hibiki/Lou

Thank you for requesting! We’ve done our best, please praise us. Hope you like it, anon! We’re happy to hear you say that you love our blog and we’re so sorry to make you wait so long for this (･ω･`〃) ― author Natsuki

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

1K notes · View notes

lideria · 4 years

Text

Open Book. | Johnny

Request: Hi! 😊 Can I ask for a Johnny imagine wherein he finally had time for a solo vacation in some other country after his very busy idol schedules. Then he meets this girl who stays in the same hotel and also in her own vacation. Btw, I love your fluffy stories ❤

Author’s Note: I kind of really don’t like this, I kind of think it’s cringey but I worked on it so much that I want to publish its first version heheh I hope you it lives up to your expectations! Plus, I hope you get to learn this amazing country a little, because traveling there has been at the top of my bucket list since I first learned about it when I represented it at an MUN conference back in high school lol

Warnings: Some swear words, mentions of drinking/intoxication, suggestive towards the end, kind of dialogue heavy, representations might not be at their best so please let me know if there are any problems. English is my second language so there might be errors, and that must be it. Please let me know if there is more!

Word Count: 4.262 kinda long

Genre: Fluff all around, Angst if you squint like you have really bad eyesight, traveler!reader, fem!reader (I have all of my fics besides this gender neutral, but I thought since it was requested specifically I’d make this fem!reader)

Hope you all enjoy and hope this is not as cringey as it is to me!! Stay safe and healthy, take good care of yourselves for me 💚Have a happy morning/day/afternoon/evening/night!

Going on vacation alone after many years of constant company is weird for Johnny.

It starts off normal. He goes to the airport accompanied with some managers, with a private car. His disguise is more secretive than ever— no special airport outfit, no make up, face mostly covered with glasses, a mask and a hat to make sure no photographers or fans spot him throughout the procedure. The only suspicious thing is that he gets special treatment with VIP access to avoid waiting in the lines and get over with everything quickly, but to his luck, nobody seems to suspect anything.

The weirdness of everything starts then. Managers leave when he passes passport control and gets into the duty free area. For the first time in years, he is completely alone. It is somewhat overwhelming.

But Johnny manages to keep his calm and go to his gate for the first of his flights. He gets to his business class seat, not bothering to take off his mask or glasses yet, and tries the in-flight entertainment system. Though, he has already memorized everything that it has to offer, so he opts for listening to music and editing a few experimental shots and videos he has taken instead before going to sleep.

When the flight is over and he checks his phone for the first time, he finds the group chat filled with encouraging messages and good wishes, which he finds is exactly what he needs.

It is early in the morning when he lands in Paris, and he has a couple hours to spare before his second long haul flight to Pointe-à-Pitre. So he treats himself to a breakfast before rushing to his gate. This flight of almost nine hours of flying does not seem to end since he has grabbed quite a bit of sleep on his first one. He does everything to keep himself occupied, walking up and down the plane’s aisles to make up for the lack of activity that his legs were getting. Somehow that flight also ends without much hassle. It ultimately ends up being the one that messes up his sense of time, since his body thinks it is 3 pm whereas the time in Pointe-à-Pitre is in fact 9 am when they land.

Within a matter of an hour is his flight to Bridgetown, and after his two long haul flights, this short flight of just over an hour is basically nothing. It comes and goes with a blink of his (very tired) eyes.

In all honesty, it awes Johnny that his luggage does not get lost during this almost a day long— 21 and a half hours, to be exact— travel, and he wants to thank every airline and airport worker ever for doing a phenomenal job.

But he cannot, because shortly after landing he has to take a boat ride to his final destination.

The lands are beautiful, the ocean more so, with their blinding greens and blues. His mask and glasses he had gotten rid of on his flight from Paris, but the glasses quickly make a come back, along with his hat under the morning sun. The guide that is designated for him and the group of people he takes the boat ride with takes them to their hotel, and after checking in and being guided to his little villa, Johnny is able to stand in an open space with a private bed and bathroom.

But it is all worth it. Because as he looks out of the windows that cover the side of the villa that looks out to the ocean, he can see the beautiful bay and the islands and the beauty of nature, with its bright colors and white noise that is the screeching of bugs.

Why travel so much? Well, if he had gone to a known, tourist-dense place, he probably would not get what he wanted to get— which is to relax. Truly let go of everything for a while. Disappear, even, with people not knowing him, ultimately resulting in him forgetting his usual life as well. He wants to be a bit invisible for once.

And St. Vincent and the Grenadines was the perfect place for that. He had been interested in this place for years after first seeing a random video that popped up on his YouTube recommended. Locals were known to be angels of hospitality, everyone seemed to be happy, views were amazing, yet it somehow attracted less tourists than the surrounding countries.

With a good ten days to spare here, the first thing he knows he will do is take a nap. For at least a good couple of hours. So he takes off his t-shirt that smells of all kinds of airports and plane seats, puts his glasses and hat somewhere, and does just that. Luggage still packed and all.

Only after waking back up does he even bother with unpacking his luggage, and to be honest, it is only because he wants to take his trunks out and head to the beach. He looks.. disheveled at best, or so he decides when he is putting some sunscreen on very carefully as it is just past the afternoon and he has a good chance of getting a burn otherwise. Johnny’s face is puffy, both from traveling and sleeping, and his nose is acting up a little— blocked because of all the air and pressure change. But is it enough to stop him from exploring around? No. Not really.

The bay is not crowded when he walks down save for a few groups of people and a couple others that are alone. It smells like sea salt and overall freshness, with small waves hitting the shore and a few yachts in the distance. The sand is almost white under his feet and the water is a beautiful turquoise.

What is truly different to him, though, is the fact that the beach seems to be silent. Sure, some people a few years younger than him were playing with a beach ball in the water and provided some noise, but not too much. It was almost too peaceful as he swam a few laps in the water.

That is not to say it does not feel magical and amazing, though, because it does.

He takes his time swimming around, looking down to see any formations or life in the clear water before coming out. In the heat that is much more manageable than back in Seoul, he walks back to his place, takes a shower, and dresses back up to go outside.

The resort is stupidly big. There are many facilities, pools, sports grounds, restaurants, entertainment areas and access to different bays that he feels overwhelmed by the time his stomach starts crying out for dinner— and even by then, he is not done with exploring the whole place.

It is only when he takes a brochure from a random information point and looks at it that he realizes this whole island belongs to this resort, because it is privately owned.

Looking at the map for directions, he goes to the nearest restaurant. It is fairly small, more like a pub than a restaurant, so he sits at the bar. The waiter hands him a menu with a smile on his face, and Johnny does not hesitate to smile back before thanking him.

There are so many options on the menu. Some local food, some not, some snacks, some appetizers, some main, some desserts, but basically too many. Especially since they all sound good to his stomach that craves something other than plane food.

“You seem lost, want help?” Somebody leans on the bar as they speak to him, and he picks his head up to look at them. A girl. A very pretty girl with a warm smile on her face. “Actually, yeah. I’d appreciate some help.”

Without even glancing at the menu, you respond. “Roasted breadfruit and fried jackfish tends to be good anywhere. It’s the national dish, can’t really go wrong with that.”

Your confidence beams like a shining star, so Johnny finds himself trusting you. He orders his meal with, again, a smile on his face, and gets flustered when the waiter compliments his outfit choice genuinely. So far, the locals really did seem very happy and positive, because the guide was also the same. Always smiling. And Johnny really appreciates that.

You, who is now sitting on the stool next to him order some roasted breadfruit yourself, before coming eye to eye with Johnny and chuckling a bit awkwardly. “Is it okay if I sit here?”

It kind of makes him feel bad that you felt the need to even ask him that, so he relaxes himself in an attempt to hopefully not look too intimidating anymore, and nods. “You don’t have to ask. Sorry, it’s just been a long travel day.”

Your smile grows wider. “Oh I know that feeling all too well. You look nothing like me when I’m just done traveling, though. I wish I could look like that.”

Something about the sentence makes Johnny smile to himself, and you seem to notice that, because you clear your throat. “I mean,” You let out before clearing your throat one more time because your voice is not quite like how it was. “I’m a full time traveler. I just wish it’d get easier by now.”

“You’re a full time traveler?” Johnny asks. He can smell the food being cooked now, and it smells absolutely delicious. Enthusiastically, you nod. “How come?” Because you look maybe his age, maybe a few years older or younger, whatever it is— you look around the same age. Full time traveling would have sounded like a good stretch (anyone your age) if it was not for the confidence you were radiating.

“I have a goal of traveling to 120 countries. Made it my job, I work for several magazines and networks writing about my experiences. Plus filming a documentary— but all by myself so it’s not like I’m getting payed for that or anything.” All of that sounds so incredibly cool to him, he cannot help but feel his eyes widen. “Everything I do is so that I can pay off the traveling expenses.”

“That sounds amazing,” Johnny says with a smile on his face, awed at the fact that you get to do this for a living, at least for now. The waiter comes back with their food, and the two of you thank him before digging into your servings. It is either because Johnny is really hungry, or because the dish tastes so good, or both, but it is delicious. Breadfruit is something he had not tried before but he finds himself loving it.

He kind of groans, which is embarrassing. “This is amazing.” It prompts a giggle out of his companion, and he too huffs at his own remark. “So, how many countries have you been to?”

Biting a breadfruit piece, you answer. “Ninety three,” You say it as if it is nothing. “So I’m starting to slow down a little. I’ve been here before, but I wanted to take a bit off my savings and have a vacation. Pamper myself, I guess.”

“Excuse me, ninety three?” Johnny asks in awe, grabbing a bite of his salty fish. You looked around the same age as him. “How long have you been doing this for?”

Your eyes roll upward, recollecting memories and counting the time. “Three years? More or less.”

“You’re crazy.” He chuckles lightly, to which you join. “I am.”

He continues to talk with you, asking you questions about how and why. It takes some time for him to actually ask you your name, but he does— luckily you are not insulted or suspicious by the fact that it takes him at least a good hour of conversing before he can ask you. In fact, you have a positive energy with the way you speak and act throughout the time the two of you spend which could only hopefully mean good. Because Johnny finds you really interesting, the initial physical attraction put aside. You sound like an open book that he would love to read.

Luckily, you give him a chance. Before you have to leave to catch up with your work, you suggest him something. “Are you by yourself?” Johnny nods at your question as he finishes up his meal. “No tours or anything?” Contradictory to his last answer, he shakes his head. When he looks at you, you smile to him, trying to ease the words. “During the day I’m usually island-hopping. I could show you around, if you’d like.”

The suggestion makes him feel all happy-go-lucky inside, and he can feel it reflecting by the way he smiles. “Do you suggest this to everyone?”

You do not answer. But the way your cheeks get slightly pink as you turn away from him with a chuckle is all the answer he needs.

The next morning you call his phone— the one in his little villa, that he had given its number of before you two parted your ways. It was too early in the morning, and your voice was not beaming the way it did the day before, but you still sounded more enthusiastic than he ever could. “Do you like hiking?”

Johnny kind of whines a little before he can catch onto what he is doing and stop himself. He really wants to relax, but he had the unfortunate chance of fortunately meeting you. “Is hiking literally the first thing we’re doing?”

“I was gonna do this before I met you too, so,” You yawn. “Plus, it’s not like we’ll hike in some forest. I’ll take you to an active volcano.”

It sounds too cool for him to not agree.

First you two meet up at the restaurant you had met in, having some light breakfast and coffee before you leave the resort. You take him to the port, saying you will have to take a ride to another island— Saint Vincent to start your hike. You inform him that the peak is at a whopping 1,234 meters which sounds really fun considering the way up will all be on foot not to mention the rocky trail, but in return, you promise him a beautiful view and countless photo-ops. Plus the ability to say I’ve hiked all the way up to the crater of an active volcano.

The boat ride is short and before he knows the two of you are already on the trail between groups of tourists. The weather is only just starting to get hotter when you start hiking, but he knows it will not be much of a problem anyway with the height you are hiking up today.

“So,” You start speaking after a while of silence as you walk beside him. “You interviewed me enough yesterday. It’s only fair if I get to interview you.”

“Go ahead.” He says in a heartbeat, looking down at the bay the two of you were coming from. It was a good drop down, but considering how long it had been since you both started hiking, he would guess you are not even a quarter way done. “Who even is Johnny? What does he like to do? What does he not like? What is the one thing he can't back out of?”

He laughs at the curiosity that is in your voice, and at the questions before he starts answering. “Optimistically I’m a giant with way too big of a coffee and Coldplay addiction and love for photography, pessimistically I’m one tired guy that is long overdue a vacation, and realistically I’m just Johnny.”

Johnny sees you scrunch your lips and nodding. “That sounds pretty legit.”

That makes him laugh, and you do not hesitate to join him.

You two hike your way up to the volcano, and honestly speaking, it is maybe one of the coolest things he has done before. And you were right— there really are lots of beautiful sceneries with a three sixty view of the island, yachts in the water, the clouds, the colorful native flora and fauna, the crater of the active volcano for goodness’ sake, and the occasional wildlife that got close enough.

The hike takes around 6 hours. It is the evening by the time you get back to your resort and have dinner, and you only converse during dinner before calling it a night.

Next day you take him to Saint Vincent once again, this time to walk around the Botanic Garden. You tell him it is one of the oldest in the world, and that he can take photo-card-worthy shots, even film something if he wants to. He lets you show the way around ferns, palms, agave trees, cinnamon and breadfruit trees as parrots chirp and fly around. He learns that they are the national animal when a staff member spots him trying to take a photo of the birds and tells him, pointing at one colored blue, green and yellow before patting the flag on his work uniform. The middle-aged-almost-old guy laughs when realization dawns on Johnny and his mouth parts, with your sweet giggle in the background.

Johnny would not mind looking dumb if it gets you giggling that way again.

On the fifth day of his trip that rolls around way too fast, you to go to the market place on the main island. Not necessarily buying anything as most things sold are local produce, just looking for souvenirs of any kind, but all he ends up with is a magnet for each member and some baked goods because it is not strictly tourist season yet.

You take him to a restaurant that you know the owners of— which is kind of mind blowing to him how you can remember specific people after traveling to ninety three countries— and order a bunch of drinks with roasted breadfruit. You tell the family that owns the place that he is a friend of yours, a friend of yours who is visiting for the first time and has come from far away. And he hears the words Seoul, South Korea.

He cannot bring himself to listen to much after that.

Even when the older sister of the bartender that is serving you both tells him that the rums are quite dense in alcohol, and that one of the beers might taste a bit different to him since it is made of tree barks and spices, he does not care too much.

There are lots of shots placed in front of you, and you call for him to clink his glass with yours in cheers before he tries. He does what you say, but stops before any of you can drink. “How do you know where I came from?”

Johnny hears you chuckle airily before smirking a little and leaning towards him on the counter. “Well I’ve visited South Korea before, and it’s hard not to know when I’ve literally walked into your face at a mall. Went there for the library, originally.”

It makes sense. The Coex mall. A weirdly serious tourist attraction because of Starlight Library, neighboring his agency’s museum, which thought it is for whatever reason necessary to put digital screens everywhere with idols’ displays on them. The world is so small. Even when he is at a place so little that it is a literal dot on the world map, he is somehow spotted. But this time it does not feel all that serious.

“But I swear that’s not why I approached you at first. I didn’t even realize until I went over a few videos the other day and literally saw your face in one of them. Imagine the horror I went through.” You laugh lightly before clinking his glass again. “For a good minute I thought you’d think of me as a crazy fan or something.”

“I was about to, just now.” He sees your face change in shock and mocked hurt, and raises his glass a little in defense. “But I didn’t. Your explanation makes enough sense.”

You laugh. “Just down the drink, Suh. You need to get tipsy already.” He sees you down yours and smile a little afterwards, and you shrug, just as he brings his glass to his lips. “For the record, I don’t care. Like you said, realistically you’re just Johnny.”

He downs the drink with a dumb smile on his face.

The two of you return to the resort slightly tipsy that day, but it does not stop you from going out the upcoming day.

You go to Kingstown again and walk around looking at the buildings and the Gothic churches that seemed to be everywhere despite the town’s small size, taking photographs and interacting with the locals. He finds himself to be greatly inspired by the coexistence of the English colonial architecture that looks old, intimidating and grey, with the colorful, wooden and inviting local architecture— he photographs almost every street you two pass, sometimes even asking locals if he could photograph them. It is a generally more relaxing day as you hang out and eat and drink and speak and support the local businesses, dedicating time to each other.

On the seventh day, he basically gets dragged out of his room with you promising that you will give him the last two days of him to laze around. Until this point he had already skipped swimming in any way for 2 days, and he really wanted to have relaxed beach days with the comfort of a bed available to him at anytime because who knew when he would get another vacation like this.

But he internally shuts his internal voice up when your boat ride (a different kind this time) brings you to a waterfall inside a canyon.

Johnny comes to learn you are an adventure addict, one that likes to share her experiences. And he loves that about you.

Well.

Johnny comes to learn that he himself is a bit of an adventure addict when he kisses you on the night of the ninth day.

In all of his defense, there was a fair share of attraction. The initial attraction was undeniable. He would have liked to think it was mutual. And maybe it was, because you had kissed him back.

Not only did you kiss him back, but you let him hold your hand and lead you to his room for privacy. You let him caress you, your cheek and your waist as he kisses you against the wall. You let him lay you down on his bed. You let his hands roam around your body, and you roam your hands around his as well. You let him mark you up in his moment of bad, tipsy judgement, the plum colored bruises splattered around your chest and stomach where his hands bunch your top up. And maybe just to get even, you lay him down mark him up too, focusing on his collarbones. You both let each other elicit such sounds from one another, it is almost hard to believe that you two had just met several days ago.

It is a tipsy mistake at worst. Neither of you goes further out of mutual respect.

Yet maybe it is not the worst, because you sleep and wake up together. Still tangled in each other.

It is the tenth day. In a matter of hours, he has to be at the port to go to Bridgetown again and start the madness that is his way back.

“I don’t wanna leave yet,” He complains as he rubs your arm that is slung over his chest, getting a hum from you, though not the kind you had made last night. “Why?”

“My sense of time was just getting better,” That gets an unenthusiastic giggle from you. “Ouch.”

“Why?” Shrug. “I thought it was because of me or something.”

You are joking, but he does not get it. He looks down at you, meeting his gaze with yours when you tilt your neck up to look at him. Even better, he furrows his brows. “You’re part of the reason why. Probably the biggest part.”

Silence. But you smile softly, which makes him smile softly.

You can see the hope inside his eyes, and when he parts his lips, you cut him off. “Don’t even ask. Dating and traveling full time don’t exactly go hand in hand.”

What you say does not even faze Johnny. “I can imagine. But I’m willing to learn more about you, if you let me,” He mumbles sleepily. “I don’t mind waiting if we want something to happen. And I don’t mind having a kick-ass friend who’s traveled to 120 countries if we decide we don’t want something to happen.” This time, he shrugs. “Win-win either way.”

His fake carelessness makes you laugh even though you are too tired to laugh fully, and in the end you just end up smiling way too wide to the point where your cheeks hurt. You would like everything he just said and more. “If you insist. Are you ready to hear the classiest thing about me yet?”

“Hm?”

“You need to e-mail me or call me from Skype because half the time I don’t even have connection.” Looking at his sleepy, dumbfounded face you laugh a little, but he shrugs again.

“I could work with that.”

#nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct fluff #nct 127 imagines #nct johnny imagines #johnny imagines #nct x reader #nct johnny #johnny suh #johnny #if this doesn't get posted in tags like what happened with a piece yesterday i'm gonna sue #good night to meeee

75 notes · View notes

manggojooz · 5 years

Text

Cross the Line

pairing: Jungkook x reader

word count: 1,363

genre: one shot; fluff

warnings: none

note: it’s TGIF again, had some alcohol again, round two of alcohol-fueled writing again... and not edited coz it’s 3.30am and i’m gonna go sleeppppp

“Are you not going to give it to me?”, a very upset Jungkook whined.

You stuffed your tightly-closed fist into your jacket pocket, standing up to walk away, knowing fully well that this is going to annoy him more.

---

The bar was bustling with people as usual, you didn’t quite enjoy having to squeeze through the narrow aisles to get to the table that just called for a waitress.

“Could you get us another five soju bombs, please”, the male customer politely requested. He wore a black suit, tie slightly untangled, hair still neatly set by whatever wax he used.

“Sure, just one minute”, you responded.

You returned carrying his order on a round tray, unloading the drinks onto their table. You took the opportunity to collect some of the empty glasses but as you were about to leave, the well-mannered man slips a piece of paper onto the tray.

You looked at him sharply, did he just...? He smiles warmly at you, “It’s my number. I've seen you a few times and …”, he wasn’t able to finish his sentence before someone picks up the slip of paper and tosses it back onto the table.

“She doesn’t want your number.” Jungkook, your fellow part-timer at the bar and also your friend from school, sternly told the patron.

The man smiles mildly, not engaging Jungkook, instead turning to ask you, “Your boyfriend?”

“No... just friend, and I’m sorry I can’t take your number”, you gently slid the piece of paper across the table.

“You can’t... doesn’t mean you don’t want to”, he picks up the paper and puts it into your pocket gingerly.

Jungkook was gawking at his audacity and was prepared to pounce by now. After all these years of knowing him you could sense it way too easily. He almost lunges forward, you raised your arms just in time to block him at his torso.

You picked up the tray again and turned to drag Jungkook away from the table.

---

It was almost closing time, you were counting down the minutes in anticipation. You were just putting away some empty glasses you had just collected when you heard a loud crashing noise.

“Stop it! Stop it!”, a woman’s shrill voice was clearly audible.

You walked out from behind the bar counter in shock. Jungkook was in the middle of the chaos, a few chairs had toppled over and a few people were trying to restrain the visibly drunken man.

The manager walked past you hastily while sighing, “again...”, he sighs.

Again indeed, somehow Jungkook always manages to get into trouble for just existing.

“Sir, sir, please calm down”, your manager firmly tried to get the customer to back down.

“How am I supposed to calm down? Do you not train your employees?! How dare he come over and flirt with my friend and ask for her number?”

Jungkook deadpans the manager, shaking his head in denial.

“Shut up, Bryan! I gave him my number! You are obviously drunk, will you just stop this shit?!”, the same shrill voice continues yelling into the stuffy air.

“Why? Am I a joke to you? You would rather hook up with a bar waiter than go out with me!??”, the man shouted desperately.

That must be one of the most desperate and awkward confessions you have witnessed in a long time. You quickly rushed over, extracting Jungkook from the situation.

---

Nobody was sure exactly how but Jungkook suffered a scratch on his left cheekbone. You were annoyed as you applied the ointment onto the scratch with a cotton bud outside the convenient store.

This wasn’t the first time Jungkook has been involved in a brawl at the bar and you really wanted him to stop working there. It clearly wasn’t a place for him, and you were pretty sure he wasn’t in need of the money either.

“Will you just quit already?”, you demanded.

“Are you quitting?”, he asks.

“You know I need the money for my tuition fees and this is the part-time job with the best rate”, you replied.

“Then why are you asking me to quit?”

“You keep getting into trouble there!”, you blurted out.

He folded his arms and leaned back into the plastic chair he sat in, narrowing his eyes. “Are you trying to chase me away?”

“Yes! For your own good! Honestly you don’t need the money, and you are obviously too... attention attracting for the job. Doesn't it bother you every time when you get into a fight with someone over something like this?”, you berated him.

“It bothers me more that you are working there, that sleazy people are slipping their numbers to you, that you never know when any of them might take advantage of you...”, he maintained his defensive position.

“Not everyone’s sleazy. Maybe this guy’s good material”, you took out the folded slip of paper from your pocket and waved it in the air.

“You haven’t gotten rid of it? He's obviously sleazy, hand it over...”, Jungkook stretches out his palm.

He’s been like this for a while now; a little too concerned to be a friend, but not yet crossing the line of becoming your boyfriend.

“Are you not going to give it to me?”, a very upset Jungkook whined.

You stuffed your tightly-closed fist into your jacket pocket, standing up to walk away, knowing fully well that this is going to annoy him more.

He paused for two beats, confused that you just up and left like that. When he got back to his senses, he immediately ran after you, catching your arm and spinning you around.

“Are you actually thinking about calling that guy?”

“Why do you care?”, you jabbed.

“I’m trying to protect you, Y/N!”, he glowered.

“And I’m trying to tell you to just say that you will be my boyfriend already!”

He was so taken aback he didn’t even dare to move, not rejecting it but not accepting either.

“You don’t want to? I thought that was what you wanted with the way you were acting... never mind then...”, you winced a tad in embarrassment and tried to gloss over it as best as you could. You turned to walk off again but you were cut off by him jumping in front of you.

“No no... I want to... I just thought you wouldn’t want to...”, his ears were flushed a dark shade of red by now.

Although your smile was mostly out of happiness, there was also a relief that you finally managed to push him to cross that line.

“So you are quitting the job right?”, you questioned.

“Huh??? Why??” Your smile widened from seeing his reaction, he always has the cutest bewildered face in the world.

“You want me to watch my boyfriend being hit on by random girls at the bar all the time and then occasionally getting into fights because of that??”, you took one step closer towards him.

“And you want me to not be there to do anything when my girlfriend is being hit on by sleazy men?”

You confidently nodded, “If anyone tries to hit on me, I will just show them a photo of my boyfriend and I'm sure they will back off... right?”, you teased him.

He turns his head to the side, clearly beaming from what you just said. You took another step closer to him, craning your neck to give him a small peck on his cheek.

His smile turns to a bashful shock expression. But as he faces you again, he watches your eyes reflecting the mixture of streetlight and moonlight. He puts his hands into the pockets on each side of your jacket, his left hand finds and wrestles the paper he wanted so badly from your relenting fingers. He crushes it and with his hands holding yours inside your pockets, he pulls you towards him, bringing his lips to meet yours.

You never experienced anything more satisfying than this kiss, he felt needy like he was all the while waiting to finally cross this line, but at the same time, it was soft like he always is when he touches you.

307 notes · View notes

dvp95 · 4 years

Text

quiet on widow’s peak (3)

pairing: dan howell/phil lester, pj liguori/sophie newton/chris kendall rating: teen & up tags: paranormal investigator, youtuber phil lester, dan howell is not a youtuber, online friendship, slow burn, strangers to lovers, nonbinary character, trans character, background poly, phil does some buzzfeed unsolved shit and dan is a fan word count: 3.1k (this chapter), 9.5k (total) summary: Phil’s got a list of paranormal experiences a mile long that he likes to share with the world. Abandoned buildings, cemeteries, and ghost stories have always called his name, and a particular fan of his has a really, really good ghost story.

read this chapter on ao3 or here!

Interviews used to be Phil's least favourite part of this job. The research was always captivating, the filming was always fun, the editing was always challenging, but talking? To people? About things? Absolutely not.

He still doesn't love doing it, but he's long past the point of begging Martyn or Ian to pretend to be him on the phone.

The curtains in Phil's room are open for once, letting natural light in so he doesn't look as dark on the Skype screen. His eyes keep drifting to himself, distracting him as he tries to fix his hair or laments not getting out of his pyjamas. This is his fourth interview of the day, and he's starting to hate the process with a renewed fervour.

"Okay, thank you," he says, clicking out of the screen record window. "Can I message you here if I have any further questions, or would you prefer this to be your final statement?"

"Oh, um," the girl says, her eyes round with some kind of emotion that Phil can't be bothered to parse. "No, no, that's... that's all I saw. I don't have anything else. But you can still... message me, if you like."

Ah. Phil makes a face that he hopes reads as apologetic and not panicked. "No, I - sorry. Gay. Just interested in your ghost."

"Oh!" she says again, looking more puzzled than Phil thinks she has any right to after a forty minute conversation where he mostly just asked her clarifying questions that she kept dodging. She tucks some of her long hair behind her ear and shakes her head. "Sorry, that's just - you haven't said that online."

Phil isn't very good at knowing when people are lying to him, but now he's definitely suspicious of the half-assed testimony he'd gotten from this girl. He sighs. "Okay, you know who I am, then?"

"I mean, I looked you up when you messaged me about a video and all," she says. "Wanted to know if you were a creep or, like, legit."

Okay, that's fair enough. Phil supposes that if he were a girl in uni and a stranger asked to video chat, he'd also do a little digging first. He still doesn't quite believe her story, though - most of it matches what she'd written on Facebook, word for word, and she didn't go into detail on anything she claimed happened.

"Right, of course," says Phil, feeling awkward and exposed.

Her eyes are wide and blue and she can see into his room, into his life, and she's giving him this look like she thinks she knows something about him. He hates this feeling.

"That a secret, then?" she asks.

"No," Phil says. "It's just not relevant to my job. I don't have a lot of ghouls asking me out."

She doesn't laugh. Phil is getting more and more uncomfortable by the second, and he's wondering if it's worth it to hang up on a potential lead - no matter how dubious her claims - when she says, "Well, alright. I won't tell anyone anyway."

"Thanks," Phil says automatically. He doesn't particularly care if she does or not, but he does want this call to end as soon as possible. "And thanks for your time. Message me if you think of anything else you forgot to mention about the Wilkins place or if you know of someone who's seen something."

Before she can even respond, Phil hits end on the call and groans, resting his forehead on his thumbs for a moment.

Unsurprisingly, this is giving him a migraine. It doesn't take much to make the twinge of a headache turn to insistent throbbing, because Phil's body hates him and overreacts to everything.

Phil takes a couple of deep breaths before he comes out of hiding. He attaches the final screen recording to the email he's already got open and ready to send to Martyn. After a moment's thought, he CCs PJ and Sophie in and adds, Nobody sounds credible except the second person to me, so... it's not looking good lol, before hitting send.

He takes off his glasses and rubs at his eyes for a moment. Interviews are still draining for him, especially when they don't go as planned, and Phil's starting to get the impression that there's nothing to even find at the Wilkins place.

But. Phil pauses, considers his options. He hasn't interviewed everyone, has he.

Before he can talk himself out of it, Phil shoves his glasses unceremoniously back onto his face and opens Tumblr. Winnie hasn't said anything to him so far today, so Phil feels only a little like he's bothering them when he shoots off a quick, Hey! I just finished interviewing the sources you gave me and most of them aren't very promising. Would you consider letting me ask you some questions to round out the video?

me?????, Winnie replies almost immediately. i didnt even see anything?? like im happy to answer questions but idk how much use ill b in an INTERVIEW

I know! And you don't have to lmao so don't feel pressured or anything but you know so much more about the place than they do. Everyone claimed that they didn't know other people were having paranormal experiences.

oh bullshit, Winnie says. Phil is surprised into a huff of laughter.

There's a part of Phil, fuelled by anxiety and uncertainty, that worries Winnie is just pulling an elaborate joke on him. That part of him feels a little more at ease every time he actually talks to Winnie. They just seem... genuine. And maybe Martyn would disagree, would blame Phil's desperation to see the best in people, but there's a reason Phil doesn't tell Martyn everything.

Before Phil can agree with Winnie's colourful derision, his laptop beeps again. i look like an ogre rn but i can voice chat if you rly think itll help

It would!!, Phil assures them. The tender spot behind his eyes twinges again, serving as a reminder. Can I call in like an hour? I've got a headache from the screen lol

sure i really have nothing else going on today

So it's later in the day, late afternoon light still streaking through Phil's window, when Phil sits back down at his computer and adds the Skype username Winnie gave him. His head still hurts a bit, but it isn't all-consuming now that he's had another coffee and some painkillers. The padded headphones feel good to put over his ears, blocking out most of the typical noises from such a full house and a busy street, and Phil just sits in the blissful quiet for a moment before he sends a voice call request.

It gets picked up almost immediately, and Phil presses a smile into his palm before he says, "Hi! Can you hear me alright?"

There's a beat. Phil waits, in case Skype is lagging as usual, but he's opening his mouth to repeat himself by the time he gets a response.

"Yeah," says Winnie. "I can hear you."

Phil isn't really proud of himself for being surprised by Winnie's voice. It's just. He knows his viewer demographics, okay, and he has a rough grasp on Tumblr demographics, and the name - alright. It isn't his proudest moment, is his point, because he's expecting a much higher pitch for absolutely no good reason.

In addition to that, his brain automatically tries to classify Winnie's voice as very obviously masculine, and Phil has to push back against that.

"I can hear you, too," Phil says cheerfully, not allowing his anxieties to spill over into the conversation.

"That's good, probably," Winnie says. There's another beat of silence, and then a huff that might be laughter or a sigh comes through Phil's headphones. "Sorry, I - I'm not trying to be fucking weird, this is just surreal."

"Is it?" Phil hums. "But I haven't even asked you about ghosts yet."

A snort - definitely laughter, this time - follows, and Phil is so glad that he's able to put Winnie at ease even if his brain is betraying him. "That's true. I guess it's gotta get weirder from here."

"That's kind of, like, the subtitle of my whole channel," says Phil. After a moment, he frowns. "Subtitle? No. What's the thing, on the poster -"

"Tagline," says Winnie. They sound so amused and warm and, okay, they've got a nice voice. That's not gendered. Phil can think that. "You're thinking of a tagline, you buffoon."

"Tagline," Phil echoes gratefully.

"Don't you," Winnie starts, then stops abruptly. They don't finish the sentence, but Phil can kind of guess what they were going to say. There's the sound of some rustling, like Winnie is getting comfortable, before they change tacks. "Again, I didn't see any of this alleged ghostly activity with my own eyes, but I know the hot goss."

Phil opens the recording program out of habit, nodding even though Winnie can't see him. "That's still really useful at this point," he says encouragingly. He clicks a couple of buttons. "And, yes, I do have an English degree. Thank you for not asking."

Winnie laughs, the sound of it filling Phil's headphones and making it feel like they're in the room with him. It's warm, like everything else about their voice, and absolutely contagious.

"I didn't want you to think I was, like, a big stalker," Winnie says, and Phil can hear the grin in their voice.

"Eh, I know you watch my videos," says Phil. "So I figure you know some stuff about me. You probably know that I'm going to ask this, too, but - is it okay if I record our conversation? I don't need to include it in the video if you don't want me to, but it's still useful for me if I don't so I can, like, actually remember the things you told me."

"Yeah, sure," Winnie agrees easily. They hesitate, for a moment, and Phil waits for whatever the caveat will be. "Uh, can I still swear?"

The question surprises Phil into laughing. "Yeah, you're fine. I can bleep them out."

"Then I am all for it. Ask me the ghost questions, ghost man."

Phil presses record and glances down at his notebook, where he's scrawled some disjointed questions alongside his usual doodling. "Uh, okay. Yes. I am totally a professional."

"If you say so, mate," says Winnie.

"Hush. Okay." Phil finally gets his brain back on track and taps his pen against a question near the end of his list. "So, Winnie, you did all this research into the Wilkins place on your own downtime, but you mentioned that you've been hearing murmurs about it for a while, right?"

"Not that long, actually, I've only been hearing about it since term started," Winnie says, and Phil is struck by how comfortable they suddenly are now that there's a guideline. Or, maybe, now that there's a non-Phil audience. "Which I thought was pretty weird, since I'd been there a couple times since I moved here, and it's a spooky fucking place but nothing to write home about."

That's more or less exactly how Phil feels about the situation, except that he doesn't remember the Wilkins place to be scary at all. Maybe it's gotten worse in the years since, or maybe he's just got a higher threshold for empty, decrepit homes than Winnie does. Either way, he's not sure if he should be relieved or suspicious that their thoughts on it mirror his own so well. He starts a spiral in the corner of his page as he considers the answer.

"So, you never got the impression that it was haunted before?"

"I - can I be perfectly honest?" Winnie asks, and then doesn't wait for a response. "I don't get the impression that it's haunted now. I dunno if people are just making shit up or if they're doing too many drugs, but we all know that ghosts don't actually exist."

Phil snorts. He does have a fairly large number of skeptics who watch his videos to argue in the comments about logical explanations for his findings or to just enjoy watching him fail so much, but he hadn't really expected that from someone who sent him a sourced essay on the topic of ghosts.

He's recording right now, so he's not about to give away the fact that, yeah, he kind of does agree with Winnie on this one. Instead, he keeps his tone neutral and says, "You don't believe in ghosts."

"I don't believe in most things that can't be explained by science," Winnie says, so matter-of-fact that Phil has to smile.

"I don't really believe in science," Phil says, mild.

A beat. "Excuse me?"

"I said I don't believe in science," Phil repeats, doubling down on the joke so he can hear that incredulous pitch of Winnie's nice voice again. "I mean, isn't it all just as made-up as anything else? People just tell us stuff exists and we have to believe them?"

"We believe them," Winnie says slowly, "because it's a fact."

"How do I know that?" Phil asks. He knows how off track he's already gotten, and he decides to cut this part out before he sends the file to Martyn or his friends.

"Because you can. See it. With your eyes." The genuine bewilderment in Winnie's voice is very funny. "Like. What the fuck, Phil. If someone drops an apple and it hits the ground and they're like, 'oh that's gravity', how are you supposed to say, 'uh, no it ain't'?"

Phil leans back in his chair a bit, his spiral turning into an apple. "Because, what if that's just what the apple wanted to do? It's not like we know any of this for sure, Winnie."

"You're fucking with me," Winnie says, but they don't sound very certain.

"I am," Phil admits happily. "Do you remember the first incident that kicked off the Wilkins place rumours?"

"You," Winnie says, and then cackles. They lean away from their mic as they do, but the sound of it still makes Phil feel some secondhand giddiness. He wonders if their laugh has a volume limit, or if it's just going to keep getting louder the funnier Phil is. He is so tempted to put that to the test. "Fuck. You little fucker."

Phil hides his own giggle in the palm of his hand and clears his throat, trying to get back into the professional mindset he'd forced himself to be in for the four earlier interviews.

"Do you need me to repeat the question?" Phil asks. He can't resist teasing, just a bit.

"No, fuck off," Winnie chuckles. They take a deep breath and let it out on a hum, low and thoughtful. "So, there was this shindig during fresher's, which I obviously didn't go to because I'm not a fresher and I'm too old to go to shindigs, but people were talking about how the house was making weird noises. A girl I know - I linked you to her Reddit post - said she saw someone just standing outside the window watching them, but, like, is that really a supernatural occurrence in Rusholme?"

"It's not. And she hit on me as well, so I'm not sure her judgement is trustworthy."

"Sounds like her. Sorry. Anyway, nobody really thought 'ghosts' as much as they thought 'rats in the walls and a pervert on the street', but then - this one didn't get spoken about online. I don't even know how valid it is."

"Word of mouth is how most ghost stories get passed," says Phil. "I'm not going to hold you to citations on rumours."

Winnie huffs a laugh. It's soft, quiet, and Phil almost wishes he could say something ridiculous to make them cackle again. Unfortunately, he has a job to do.

"Fair enough. Well, some idiots spent the night there to see if anything weird would happen," Winnie says, and Phil feels a bit attacked, "and three separate dudes had sleep paralysis."

Phil hums and jots some messy notes down. "In the same night?"

"At the same time," Winnie corrects him. "The other idiots were trying to wake them up for a long time, apparently. They're convinced that the guys who fell asleep were just pulling a prank on them, and maybe they were, but that's when the ball really got rolling."

Out of everything Phil has heard today, this is the most compelling story so far. Maybe that's a good indicator of the Manchester students being full of it - maybe there truly is nothing to find in the Wilkins place - but it piques Phil's interest anyway.

"For someone who only believes in cold, hard science, you're good at telling ghost stories," Phil says.

"Thanks," Winnie says, sounding pleased with themselves. "Learned from the best."

Phil is suddenly very, very glad that this isn't a video call, because he can't stop himself from smiling like an idiot. "Oh, is that what they're calling me?"

Another cackle. Phil doesn't remember the last time he made someone laugh so much without tripping over his own clown feet.

"I never said I was talking about you."

"Uh huh."

"Oh, shut up," says Winnie, and Phil can still hear the laughter in their voice. "Don't you have a bunch of questions to ask or something?"

Phil does. He has a whole list of questions that he should be following. He chews on his pen and looks at the doodle-covered list of things he's meant to ask Winnie. His head still hurts - maybe the extra caffeine didn't help after all - and all he really wants to do is take a nap.

"Yeah," Phil says, reluctant. "I've just got, like, a migraine. Can I call you back another time? This was a really great start."

"Oh, yeah, sure," says Winnie. They've dropped their voice down to something soft, like they're worried that they'll make Phil's headache worse.

"I'm actually going up to check the place out this weekend." Phil isn't sure what makes him say that. He meets up with sources in person, sometimes, but usually only if they've seen something with their own eyes. He just feels comfortable talking to Winnie, far more than he'd felt talking to the other students he'd interviewed today.

Phil doesn't actually extend the invitation, and Winnie either doesn't pick up the hint or doesn't care to.

"That'll be good," they say, still soft. "Get some rest, Phil, you can call me back when your brain stops trying to drill a hole through your temple."

After Phil says goodbye and hangs up, he sits at his desk for a long moment. It feels too quiet, all of a sudden, his padded headphones blocking out all the ambient noise around him. It's good for his head, but Phil is still weirdly disappointed.

#phan #phanfiction #phanfic #dnp fic #words words words #quiet on widow's peak

32 notes · View notes