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#sorry this game is like all that's been occupying my mind for the past week
liaromancewriter · 4 months
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Stardust
Premise: Ethan and Cassie’s skating date plans go awry, but all hope is not lost.
Fandom: Open Heart/Choices Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine) Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff. Words: 1,965 Day/Prompt: @12daysofchristmas Day 9 - “I like it out here. It’s peaceful.”
A/N: For @choicesholidays "Best Christmas Ever" prompt, @choicesprompts Holiday rewrite event: inspired by Virgin River's S5 Christmas special where Mel and Jack celebrate their first Christmas and make their own holiday traditions, including the ice skating scene. Also submitting to @choicesdecember2023 prompt "Christmas" and @choicesficwriterscreations Holiday event.
I'm using @choicesflashfics week 64, prompt 1 (in bold), and fluffy dialogue prompt 1 from Second Day of Gift-Giving by @creativepromptsforwriting. Tagging for reblog to @creativepromptfills.
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Growing up in New England meant ice skating. One of Ethan Ramsey’s earliest memories was holding his father’s hand as they stepped onto an outdoor ice rink. Light snow fell around them like stardust, and he tilted his head back to catch a snowflake on his tongue.
His father taught him how to skate that night, gripping Ethan’s hand lightly and encouraging him to lean forward and alternately stroke and glide on the ice, letting the blades do the work.
He remembered his father’s deep laughter and his mother’s cheers from the sidelines as he let go of the hand keeping him tethered. Feeling the wind on his face and watching colors blur from the festive lights strung up around the rink, everything in little Ethan’s world was perfect at that moment.
Many years later, Ethan still loved to skate but didn’t have as much time for it. As head of diagnostics at Boston’s Edenbrook Hospital, his duties kept him much too busy. But something about the holidays made him nostalgic for simpler times.
“Earth to Ethan. Anyone there?” Cassie Valentine snapped her fingers in front of his face.
Ethan shook his head to clear the memories clouding his thoughts. “Sorry, I was miles away. What were we talking about?”
“Okay, that was some trip,” Cassie commented, giving him a strange look above the rim of her wine glass. “Holiday traditions from our childhood. You were telling me about skating with your parents, remember?”
“Oh, right,” Ethan said, feeling his face flush.
For a moment, he’d forgotten where he was. He glanced around his apartment and the holiday decorations they’d put up a few days ago, scratching the back of his head as he tried to collect his composure.
A Christmas tree stood in the corner against the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the bay — the first one they bought and decorated together — tinsel and fairy lights winking against the dark. Presents had found their way underneath the tree at regular intervals in the last couple of weeks.
This was their first holiday together, technically second as a couple, but he’d been in Providence last year, and she’d been working. Somehow, without realizing it, he found himself in a relationship that was more serious than anything he’d ever had before.
What else would you call meeting each other’s families and planning together what presents to buy for their respective relatives?
“Do you still skate, or is that in the past?” Cassie mused, her legs curled up beneath her on the couch.
“Not as much as I’d like,” Ethan confessed, picking up the near-empty wine bottle to top up their glasses. “A few years ago, a bunch of us started getting together in the community center rink for ice hockey. Nothing formal, just pick up games to blow off steam.”
“Why am I only finding out about this now?” she said, somewhat disgruntled. “We’ve known each other for almost three years!”
Ethan rolled his eyes at her dramatic response. “Because I have other, more pleasurable things to say and do when you’re around. Besides, I had Naveen’s condition to occupy my mind that first year, and then my mother’s return and addiction last year. This is the first normal holiday season for both of us.”
“You have a point,” Cassie conceded with a regal nod before twisting in her seat to regard him thoughtfully. “I bet you’re a goalie. You’ve got the build for it.”
“You’d lose that bet.” Ethan raised an eyebrow in amusement. “I play center.”
She harrumphed and then tapped her index finger against her lips. “Remember how we talked about making our own holiday traditions when we decorated the tree last week? Let’s add skating to the list. The Boston Common Frog Pond rink is open for the season, and it always looks fun when I go running past it.”
“I’ve been, and it is fun,” Ethan said. “How about Friday? You’re working a double before that, so should be post-call, right?”
“It’s a date,” Cassie smiled, intertwining her fingers with his and nestling against him. “This is going to be the best Christmas season ever!”
When Friday came, Ethan was run off his feet. Herb, one of his oldest patients, had been admitted with an unknown infection. He spent the entire day running tests, frustrated when the results didn’t reveal anything useful.
Deciding to return to the beginning, he sat behind his desk, switched on the monitor and pulled up Herb’s medical history. He wasn’t leaving here until he figured this out.
“You’re still working?”
Ethan looked up at the intrusion, eyes unfocused, the screen’s glare reflecting off his reading glasses. Cassie stood inside the sliding glass doors, wearing a pink long-sleeved sweater beneath a puffy white vest and black jeans. A knitted cap with white and pink stripes sat atop her long blonde hair.
He wondered whether she coordinated her outfits or if it was an innate style. Maybe even both.
He noted the small duffel bag in her hand and cursed internally. He’d utterly forgotten their skating date, and judging by Cassie’s amused expression, she knew it, too.
“You’re important to me. And I want you to know that,” Ethan said, coming around from behind the desk to stand before her. He took her hand in his.
“I do know that, but thank you for telling me,” Cassie chuckled, lightly swinging their clasped hands before letting go. “What’s going on?”
Ethan quickly explained the situation, running frustrated fingers through his hair, his inability to solve the case coming through in the irritated tone of his voice. Before he knew it, he started brainstorming Herb’s condition with her, pulling up test results and walking her through his thought process.
Herb wasn’t the diagnostic team’s patient, but it helped to have someone he trusted from the team working with him.
“Could be GI. Have you considered….”
“…barium follow through?” he said, reading her thoughts as perfectly as she could his. He frowned as he tried to connect the dots to the other symptoms.
“I thought I saw something in his chart,” she said, nudging him out of the chair to take control of his keyboard, her eyes scanning the electronic medical records. “Aha, there it is. Small bowel obstruction, managed through a steroid protocol, so no biopsy was done to rule out Crohn’s or colitis.”
“Good catch,” Ethan said, reading over her shoulder. “I’ll put in orders for a barium test tomorrow. Nothing more we can do today.”
Her light floral scent drifted into his nostrils, and he sighed in disappointment. Date nights were already hard to organize with their erratic schedules. He couldn’t help but feel he’d wasted this one.
He turned the office chair around, placed his hands on either side of her and leaned in. “I’m sorry, Cassie. I not only messed up our plans tonight, but I pulled you into this after you’d already worked a double shift. I heard about the clusterfuck that was last night.”
“That would be an apt word to describe it,” she murmured. “Not sure how I got home this morning, but at least it was quiet in the apartment with everyone else on shift.”
“Still, tonight was supposed to be the start of another holiday tradition for us,” he insisted.
For the first time in forever, he resented work coming in the way of his personal life.
Cassie framed his face between her hands. “I’m here with you. I’m right where I belong. Doing what I’m good at with the man I love and one who taught me that patients come first.”
Ethan closed the distance between them, his lips capturing hers in a slow, sweet kiss, thanking her for understanding with the promise of more to come. Cassie locked her hands behind his neck, and he tugged her out of the chair, reversing their positions without breaking the kiss.
They slowly drifted apart, foreheads touching. Cassie smiled softly, her fingers trailing down the side of his face. “Raincheck on our date?
Ethan checked his wristwatch and noted it was almost half past eight. Where had the last few hours gone?
“We could try to get to the Commons before the rink closes at nine,” he offered, mentally calculating the distance, traffic and parking situation.
“It’s okay,” Cassie said, getting off his lap and stretching her arms upward. “Another night. Besides, we’re doctors. Disrupted plans are par the course.”
“There are other rinks in Boston,” Ethan said, standing beside her. “Let me google what’s open. Tonight doesn’t have to be a total loss.”
“Actually,” Cassie said, taking her phone out and unlocking it. “Rafael’s old neighborhood has a small rink that’s open all night. He invited the Roomies there last year. It’s no Frog Pond, but it was nice. Let me text him.”
While she did that, Ethan tidied up his desk, closed out files and powered down his computer.
“Yes!” Cassie pumped one fist in the air. “It’s still around, and Raf is sending directions.”
An hour or so later, after stopping by his place to change and pick up skates, Ethan parked in the lot on the other side of the community park from where the rink was located. They walked hand in hand down the walkway, the soft glow of street lamps a welcome relief against the shadows around them.
The rink was small, as advertised, and empty, given the lateness of the hour. And yet Ethan liked it all the more for its relative privacy versus other public rinks.
“I like it out here. It’s peaceful,” Ethan commented as they sat on a bench and strapped on their skates.
“It’s popular with local families, so it can get busy early in the day,” Cassie explained, her voice muffled as she bent down to tighten her laces.
Ethan flicked the light switch, the red and green lights bright against the darkness. He stepped onto the rink, gliding effortlessly on the ice, feeling the familiar rush of wind rushing against his face.
“Whoops,” Cassie giggled behind him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, looking back to see her arms flailing before she caught her balance.
“I’m good,” she said, carefully holding herself still.
He laughed as recognition hit. For all Cassie’s bravado, she was not as comfortable on skates as she pretended to be.
“You think it’s funny?” She lifted her chin mulishly, spreading her legs wide and turning her skated feet inward.
“Yeah, I do,” Ethan smirked, skating in a loop around her.
He took her hand as she continued to struggle and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “Because I finally found something that Cassie Valentine isn’t good at.”
He grinned as Cassie pretended to be offended. She started to push against his arms, but her skates slipped, and she clung to him like a barnacle. Within seconds, they were both laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
“You figured me out,” she confessed, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes as she swallowed back her laughter.
She placed her gloved hands on his upper arms, her green eyes sparkling as they gazed into his. “I suck at skating. No matter how much I try, I will never be more than passable.”
Ethan brushed his hands down her arms and folded her hands in his. “Then it’s a good thing you have me to hold on to.”
He lowered his face as Cassie stretched on her toes, and their lips met in a kiss that chased the cold away. They looked up as snowflakes started to fall from the sky, sprinkling over them like stardust.
And under a starry, magical night with snow falling around them, Ethan looped Cassie’s arm through his and skated them expertly around the rink, making another holiday tradition just for them.
-----------------
All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @coffeeheartaddict2 @crazy-loca-blog @genevievemd @headoverheelsforramsey @lucy-268 @jamespotterthefirst @jerzwriter @lady-calypso @mainstreetreader @peonierose @potionsprefect @queencarb @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @socalwriterbee @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction
Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @debbiechanclub
Ethan & Cassie only: @cariantha @custaroonie @youlookappropriate @zealouscanonindeer
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Prompt Request: Can you do angst 13 to fluff 11 with shuri? And have a good day sweetheart🥰
Angst #13: “I never meant to hurt you”
Fluff #11: Kissing scars either shortly or long after they’ve healed
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The lab. The place where Shuri spends just about 23 hours of her day. The princess. Your soon-to-be wife. Uses the lab to stay busy. To keep her mind occupied. After Namor's attack she proposed as if you were going to slip through her fingers like her family did. You got hurt that day and she hasn't stopped blaming herself. You quickly threw on some clothes before putting your hair in a bun. You walked into the lab which was in utter chaos as one of the scientists was currently getting yelled at by Shuri.
"I asked for one thing! You couldn't even do that right. You're done for the day. Leave." She shouted as the scientist walked out with their head down. 
"Kinda harsh don't you think?" You asked quietly and she scoffed.
"What are you doing here Y/N?" She immediately turned her back focusing on the sequence in front of her.
"I'm just here to check on you. You haven't been to bed in the past 2 weeks." You told her and she waved her hand. "Are you getting any sleep?"
"Yes."
"Well the bag under your eyes say different. You need to rest." 
"I'm fine! I already said that. Now please go find Okoye if you want to talk." She told you trying to get back to her work.
"I want my fiance to not work herself to death. To eat a good meal and get a good night's rest. Not be in this blasted lab all day everyday." You said as she was beginning to upset you. 
"I don't know why you're causing such a fuss, I told you I'm fine now, get out of my lab. That's a command." She commanded and you raised an eyebrow. Now you were fuming. How dare she use her authority on you. Especially when you're just trying to help. 
"This is why I'm making a fuss." You went to grab the paper off the desk and she quickly grabbed your wrist causing you to wince. With everything being forgotten it seems the fact that she holds the strength of the black panther now. 
"Shuri, you're hurting me." You mumbled as pain started to shoot up your arm. 
"I told you to get out Y/N. I do not have time for games." She debunked as the other scientists looked on.
"Princess!" Okoye shouted to grab her attention. Shuri let go of you before turning her back on everyone. You held your wrist before leaving the lab in a hurry ignoring Okoye as she tried to talk to you. "With all due respect princess, I don't see why you would hurt the people trying to help you."
"I don't need a lecture, Okoye. She's fine, I barely grabbed her wrist." She started moving her hands over the touch screen and Okoye sighed.
"Is that you or the panther talking?" She questioned and Shuri froze. How could she forget? She's the Black Panther now. Her strength is unmatched. Shuri dropped her tablet and started to walk out the lab before Okoye stopped her.
"You both need time to cool off. Talk to her later." She said and Shuri's eyes casted to the floor as she thought about the way you winced when she grabbed you. She didn't even realize she squeezed down on your wrists until Okoye spoke up. Her mind was racing and she knew she had to make it up to you. 
You made it to the kitchen area rubbing your wrists before walking over to the fridge. There you pulled a handful of ice out and wrapped it in a towel. Letting out a sigh the coolness made your burning wrist simmer down. A bruise was beginning to form and you made your way up to the room. Shutting the door behind you, you turned on the lamp and just opened a book. Reading should clear your mind a bit. You know she didn't mean too but, your mind was racing. An hour into your read the door to the room opened slowly but you didn't have to look to see who it was.
"Sthandwa?" She called out to you softly but you kept your attention on the page you were reading over and over. She approached you with caution before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Baby I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't know I was squeezing your wrist. I didn't realize until-"
"It's fine." You said in a flat tone and she shook her head.
"It's not. It's not fine. When I asked you to marry me I promised to protect you. Not hurt you. Which is what I did today. If you want some time apart I- I understand that. But please let me make it better. I never meant to hurt you." Her voice cracked and you set down the book to finally look at her. She had tears in her eyes and you couldn't help but brush them away with your thumb. 
"Okay." You whispered as she reached for your hand. She grabbed your arm and placed a soft kiss over your bandaged wrists.
"Did you ice it already?" 
"Yeah." She kissed the ring on your finger and you gave a small smile as she kissed every inch of the bruise on your wrists. 
"I'll take a break out of the lab. I won't think about any sequences or anything lab related. If that keeps me from hurting you love then that's what I'll do." She said and you ran a hand through her curls.
"The scientists will lose their shit if you're not there." You laughed and she hugged your middle as you leaned into the embrace. 
"I know but they'll live. My girl needs me now."
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killmongerskeeper · 1 year
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Can you do angst 13 to fluff 11 with shuri? And have a good day sweetheart🥰
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Angst #13:“I never meant to hurt you”
Fluff #11: Kissing scars either shortly or long after they’ve healed
The lab. The place where Shuri spends just about 23 hours of her day. The princess. Your soon-to-be wife. Uses the lab to stay busy. To keep her mind occupied. After Namor's attack she proposed as if you were going to slip through her fingers like her family did. You got hurt that day and she hasn't stopped blaming herself. You quickly threw on some clothes before putting your hair in a bun. You walked into the lab which was in utter chaos as one of the scientists was currently getting yelled at by Shuri.
"I asked for one thing! You couldn't even do that right. You're done for the day. Leave." She shouted as the scientist walked out with their head down. 
"Kinda harsh don't you think?" You asked quietly and she scoffed.
"What are you doing here Y/N?" She immediately turned her back focusing on the sequence in front of her.
"I'm just here to check on you. You haven't been to bed in the past 2 weeks." You told her and she waved her hand. "Are you getting any sleep?"
"Yes."
"Well the bag under your eyes say different. You need to rest." 
"I'm fine! I already said that. Now please go find Okoye if you want to talk." She told you trying to get back to her work.
"I want my fiance to not work herself to death. To eat a good meal and get a good night's rest. Not be in this blasted lab all day everyday." You said as she was beginning to upset you. 
"I don't know why you're causing such a fuss, I told you I'm fine now, get out of my lab. That's a command." She commanded and you raised an eyebrow. Now you were fuming. How dare she use her authority on you. Especially when you're just trying to help. 
"This is why I'm making a fuss." You went to grab the paper off the desk and she quickly grabbed your wrist causing you to wince. With everything being forgotten it seems the fact that she holds the strength of the black panther now. 
"Shuri, you're hurting me." You mumbled as pain started to shoot up your arm. 
"I told you to get out Y/N. I do not have time for games." She debunked as the other scientists looked on.
"Princess!" Okoye shouted to grab her attention. Shuri let go of you before turning her back on everyone. You held your wrist before leaving the lab in a hurry ignoring Okoye as she tried to talk to you. "With all due respect princess, I don't see why you would hurt the people trying to help you."
"I don't need a lecture, Okoye. She's fine, I barely grabbed her wrist." She started moving her hands over the touch screen and Okoye sighed.
"Is that you or the panther talking?" She questioned and Shuri froze. How could she forget? She's the Black Panther now. Her strength is unmatched. Shuri dropped her tablet and started to walk out the lab before Okoye stopped her.
"You both need time to cool off. Talk to her later." She said and Shuri's eyes casted to the floor as she thought about the way you winced when she grabbed you. She didn't even realize she squeezed down on your wrists until Okoye spoke up. Her mind was racing and she knew she had to make it up to you. 
You made it to the kitchen area rubbing your wrists before walking over to the fridge. There you pulled a handful of ice out and wrapped it in a towel. Letting out a sigh the coolness made your burning wrist simmer down. A bruise was beginning to form and you made your way up to the room. Shutting the door behind you, you turned on the lamp and just opened a book. Reading should clear your mind a bit. You know she didn't mean too but, your mind was racing. An hour into your read the door to the room opened slowly but you didn't have to look to see who it was.
"Sthandwa?" She called out to you softly but you kept your attention on the page you were reading over and over. She approached you with caution before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Baby I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't know I was squeezing your wrist. I didn't realize until-"
"It's fine." You said in a flat tone and she shook her head.
"It's not. It's not fine. When I asked you to marry me I promised to protect you. Not hurt you. Which is what I did today. If you want some time apart I- I understand that. But please let me make it better. I never meant to hurt you." Her voice cracked and you set down the book to finally look at her. She had tears in her eyes and you couldn't help but brush them away with your thumb. 
"Okay." You whispered as she reached for your hand. She grabbed your arm and placed a soft kiss over your bandaged wrists.
"Did you ice it already?" 
"Yeah." She kissed the ring on your finger and you gave a small smile as she kissed every inch of the bruise on your wrists. 
"I'll take a break out of the lab. I won't think about any sequences or anything lab related. If that keeps me from hurting you love then that's what I'll do." She said and you ran a hand through her curls.
"The scientists will lose their shit if you're not there." You laughed and she hugged your middle as you leaned into the embrace. 
"I know but they'll live. My girl needs me now."
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pearljen-blog · 10 months
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Renovations with Joel Miller - 07
Chapter  07 - Submission
This chapter is not written from the readers perspective. It starts off at the end of the last chapter from Joel’s POV.
Joel is not really nice in this and has to make up for it in the next chapter.
When I write this, I have the video game version of Joel in my mind, but can be changed to the HBO version if preferred. Taking place pre outbreak in Austin Texas.
Masterlist
Pairing: Joel Miller x afab reader
Warnings: Reader is afab and has medium - long hair/ swearing / Smut! This is 18 + only / Joel is not really nice here. All actions are consensual but reader is drunk and as such warning should be given if this is a trigger for you.
Warnings: This is 18+ content. Please do not interact with this content if you are under the age or do not generally like smutty content. Adult themes and language used below the cut.
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Something dark and depraved is brewing at the back of his mind. It’s not new; it’s just new with you. He wants to take advantage of you. Use your body anyway he wants. The fact that you let him do whatever he wants, no questions asked since you entered his home, makes him want to see how far he can push you tonight. It’s not right, but he’s not feeling guilty either.
Joel and you pack up the tent together. It’s easy enough with two people and you are ready to hike back within 20 minutes.
His thoughts are wandering right away. He can’t wait to see Sarah again, but his mind is occupied thinking about the future for the both of you. You are compatible in most ways. Somehow you manage to deal with his closed off attitude, better than most people he’s come across. And the sex so far has been amazing. He will replay the last few hours in his mind many times.
But Joel is thinking 15 steps ahead. He has to, because of the responsibilities he’s facing every day and just generally how he was brought up. He’s wondering if you’ll stick around once the monotonous and repetitive day to day routine sets in.
Him coming home late and tired most evenings. The few hours of free time, occupied with his daughter.
The both of you living in different cities.
Is this going to be a weekend only relationship? It’s just begun, but he can’t stop thinking about the romance slipping away already. Like it always did in the past.
‘I’ll bring you back home or do you need to stop somewhere? Food or something?’
‘I’m fine. Home would be great.’ You smile at him.
‘Home it is.’
The drive back to Lulling is quiet. Joel lost in his thoughts, but neither of you seem to mind the lack of conversation. He looks over at you once a while and has the need to touch your knee or thigh. It’s equal part attraction and his worry about the future with you. You are young and he can’t expect you to settle for a boring suburban life with him.
Plus, the friction he caused between you and your brother. He nearly forgot about the events, and immediately regrets putting you into this position.
He stops the car in your driveway.
‘Will you be around next week to work on the house?’
Joels looks at you. You are glowing. You look at him with your huge expecting eyes and it hurts him.
‘Yeah. Probably from Tuesday.’ He simply replies.
‘I’m working in Austin on Tuesday, so I may not see you. Maybe next weekend we can do something if you’re free?
‘Next weekend. Listen…’ Joel hesitates. ‘I really enjoyed this time with you, but my primary focus is Sarah you know.’
There it is. He can see the worry on your face, your eyes drifting away in confusion. He can see you holding your breath.
‘Sorry, I don’t want this to come out the wrong way. But it’s just the reality of being a single parent. Plus, I’m taking on another job soon in Austin. Not as big as yours, but I’ll be working there few hours a week.’
He’s telling the truth, but he knows the words offer no comfort. You did nothing wrong but will blame yourself regardless.
‘I understand.’ You say quietly.
Joel can’t face you in this moment. He’s looking straight out of the car window, and desperately wants to escape this conversation. You are hurting. He knows. And he knows he’s the reason for it.
You speak again. ‘Look I’d love to see you again. I mean, besides you working on my house. But I don’t expect you to sacrifice your evenings or weekends with your daughter for me.’
Joel can feel your soft touch on his arm, but he’s still unable to look at you right now.
‘How about you let me know when you’re free again. I’m happy to wait until things settle down. I’d even offer to meet you and Sarah for a hike or dinner or something, but I suspect it’s a bit early for that.’
Images of the three of you together come to his mind. But he doesn’t allow himself to linger in the fantasy and cuts it off just as quickly.
‘Well, you’ve met her before. And she likes you. Thinks you are really pretty.’
He says the next part quietly and mostly to himself. ‘But yeah it’s a bit early to play family.’
Joel finally turns to you again and your puppy eyes nearly break him. You deserve so much better.
You look right at him and continue. ‘You have my number, give me a call when the time is right Joel. I hope I will still see you around the house some days.’
He feels like shit.
‘Yeah you will for sure.’
He sees you getting ready to exit the car. A minute ago, he was unable to look at your direction, but right now he can’t stand the thought of seeing you leave. He knows he’s just dropping you off, but it suddenly feels like you are leaving him for good.
He messed up. What was a beautiful weekend is now a sad goodbye. Both of you wounded.
**********
When Joel gets home, he’s greeted with an empty house. He drops his bags at the bottom of the stairs and starts looking for Sarah and Tommy. There’s leftover food in the kitchen from last night. Mexican food and popcorn.
He’s slowly going from room to room, asking both of their names while he’s looking. Finally, he finds them hanging out in the back garden. Tommy half asleep and Sarah reading a magazine.
He walks over to Sarah and bends down to kiss her head. She squeezes his arm in response.
‘Sooooo… how was the hike?’ She asks.
‘Was good. Nice area. Will take you some day. Think you’d like it.’
Joel sits down on a chair and stretches his legs. Still lost in his own thoughts.
Tommy is shuffling on his chair, rubbing his eyes. Then he adds himself into the conversation.
‘Look who’s back.’ Tommy smiles. ‘How was the night big brother? Get any sleep?’
‘Tommy!!’ Joel says with a harsh look.
Tommy only chuckles, dropping his temple on a popped-up fist on the armchair.
‘Well, we had a great evening. Watched that … what was that movie called?’ Tommy throws into Sarah’s direction.
‘Pitch perfect.’
‘Yeah, watched that and ordered food. There’s some left over. In the kitchen.’
‘Yeah I saw. Looking a mess.’ Joel is looking at his feet.
Tommy looks at Joel until he says. ‘Walk with me brother’. He gets up and pats Joel on the shoulder, walking inside the house.
Joel closes his eyes for a second. He has flashes of you in the tent, you in the car with those sad eyes and you exiting the car. He can feel his anxiety taking over. One hand clenched in a fist involuntarily.
Slowly he’s following Tommy inside.
He joins Tommy in the kitchen, where he knows that Sarah can’t hear them. Joel is looking at the ground. He’s not in the mood to talk, but he knows that Tommy will wants answers.
‘So what happened? She broke up with you or smthing?’
‘What?’ Joel just looks at Tommy. ‘No Tommy, she didn’t break up with me.’
‘So? Why are you so miserable?’
He messed up. He knows it now.
Joel doesn’t respond.
‘Sex is bad?’
Joel shakes his head. ‘Not it was… great. None of your god-damn business.’
‘Joel!’
He takes a deep breath. Hating this conversation.
‘We had a great time. All that included. She’s just…’ He’s not sure what word will come out next. ‘Unattainable.’
‘The hell you mean Joel? I see the way she looks at you.’
‘That’s not it… I mean the every-day living part. What you think she will move in here? Play happy family?
‘Joel what the hell…?’
Tommy is shaking his head, face twisting into a scowl. He’s trying to respond but no words come out.
‘What did you tell her?’ He finally asks.
Joel is collecting his thoughts. Taking a deep breath and puffing up his chest like he’s going into battle. Arms folded in front of him.
‘Just to take things slowly. Sort of... I told her I’m not sure when I’m free next. Which is true by the way.’
‘I hope she told you to fuck off.’
No, you didn’t. You offered him patience and space.
He wasn’t proud of himself. He tried to forget the whole conversation, but Tommy making him reflect on what happened an hour ago makes it all come up again.
He feels like throwing up.
‘I don’t know…’ Was all he could respond.
‘Call her. Jesus Joel, if you want her, you need to give her some indication.’
Yeah he’s right, but Joel also knows he can’t call you. He’s terrified.
‘Maybe you’re right, and she’s, you know… She doesn’t want this.’ Tommy gestures around the house with his hands. ‘But from all the conversations we had over the last few weeks. Jesus, I know you want her, and you can.’
Joel’s face is crunched up. Arms still crossed; he’s now partially leaning on the kitchen counter.
Tommy looks at him but then walks back outside to join Sarah.
Joel remains frozen in place. Thoughts occupied with your face. He can see all these different scenarios in his head. You and him in his kitchen, him alone on the couch, Sarah falling asleep between the two of you, you in the tent…
***
Joel and Tommy work at your place on Tuesday. You are not around, and Joel is not sure if that’s what he prefers right now. He’s equally scared about facing you and not facing you.
Tommy only brings the subject up once on the drive back to Austin.
‘Have you talked to her?’
‘No didn’t have time.’
Hhmmm is all Tommy replies. He knows better than to push Joel right now.
If you would call him, he would answer you. But you don’t and he can’t blame you. He asked for space, and that’s what you give him.
Thursday you meet for 5 minutes at your house. Joel and Tommy are finishing up when you arrive. Joel is trying to greet you with an open and kind manner. Giving you a smile when you stand in front of each other. But he can see you are hesitant. Neither one of you making any move to be close.
You look so beautiful, and he wants to touch your face badly. Feel you against him. Feel your naked body against him. Hear you moan.
Joel has to stop himself from letting his mind wonder again. It translates into a frown on his face.
You ask about the progress in the house. If there’s anything they need, if anything came up this week.
‘I will text you an update as usual.’
‘Yeah thanks, that’s great.’
You smile at him. Neither one of you sure how to keep the conversation going.
‘You got any plans for the weekend Y/N?’ Tommy asks, walking by.
Your gaze follows Tommy, and you turn away from Joel.
‘Just a work thing. Dinner paid by the office. Drinks not included of course.’
‘Yeah? Where ya going?’
‘Actually I don’t know. Some place near the university there. I haven’t been before.’
‘Austin?’
‘Ah yeah, up in Austin.’
‘You driving back?’
‘Staying with a friend I think.’
Tommy gives Joel a quick look, before turning back to you.
She’s spending the weekend in Austin. Joel knows he should add something. Come over if you want to. Maybe I can meet you for a drink. But he remains silent.
‘Well, have fun. Can tell me all about it next week.’ Tommy breaks the silence and walks towards the car.
Joel follows behind from the other side. He turns to you on the way to the car and sees you waving goodbye. He replies with a small nod, still not trusting himself to speak.
In the car, Tommy gives Joel a frustrated look.
‘Fucking hell Joel. Calm down.., give her a chance to speak.’ He says ironically.
Joel frowns and reverses the car out of the driveway.
‘No really. Good thing you didn’t make this awkward.’
‘Shut up.’
He knows that Tommy is right. The longer this silence goes on, the worse it gets. It’s his default behaviour. Things get tough, he just shuts down.
He did it before when he started working on your house and tried to keep it strictly professional. It was Tommy who talked him into inviting you over for a beer. A way of saying thank you for offering your van.
Joel hated the idea of having you in his house initially. But you were so kind and sweet, never doubting his ability or decisions on the job. And offering the van really did save him for that week. He also couldn’t hide his attraction to you. It’s not that you were running around in skimpy outfits but seeing you in a tight shirt or denim shorts was enough to drive him crazy at times. He fantasised about you a lot. Made himself come nearly every night. Thinking of you bend over in your house and him taking advantage of your body. Naked and sweaty and full of want for him.
***
Why are you doing this Joel? What happbened?
It was Saturday night. Joel spending the evening with Sarah on the couch, watching movies. She was burned out from the day, playing all day with her friends in the park.
He had to work a few hours and allowed himself to have a beer in the evening. He was thinking about having a glass of whiskey, but it would only drag him down on Sunday.
At 10pm is when he received your text.
He’s wants to reply but he’s unsure about what to say. So, he puts the phone away again. Hoping he’ll come up with something better. He doesn’t.
Around 11pm, you call.
Joel looks to his side and sees Sarah asleep. Then he answers the phone.
‘Hey.’
‘Hey.’ You reply and he can hear music and voices in the background.
‘Fuck you Joel Miller.’ He can hear that you have been drinking as well. Despite the situation, it makes him smile, he’s never experienced you like this.
Joel remains quiet.
‘What happened? Man, I thought we had a beautiful time. You didn’t like it? Or I did something? I wasn’t sure when you dropped me that weekend. Like something changed. But now you full on ignore me. Joel… I’m sorry if I did anything. Just, tell me so I at least know. I like to think about that evening in the tent… The sky was that crimson and orange colour.  And then you were there and .. god I’m rambling I’m sorry..’
‘Hey.’ He finally cuts you off. ‘Where are you?’
‘Mockingbird.. we’re in that university area.’
‘Come over?’
There was a silence on the phone. No reply from you.
‘What?’
‘Come here. Please.’
More silence.
‘I want to see you.’ Joel adds.
He doesn’t want to explain. Doesn’t want his fears to bubble up again. Right now, all he can think about is having you close again.
‘So, you want me over to fuck and then ignore me again? That it?’
He can hear you being upset, and you have every right to be. But he can’t deny how cute you sound all tipsy. His cock is twitching. Joel knows it’s not right. You should talk it out first. He should apologise for not handling it better. But all he wants is you in house. Naked.
‘Come over baby.’ Is all he replies.
He can hear you breath in deeply before you respond with a quiet ok. ‘I’ll try and get a taxi or uber.’
He smirks to himself.
‘Call me when you’re here. Let me know if there’s any issues.’
‘Sure, ok.’
30 minutes later he gets another message from you.
Outside
Joel quietly gets up from the couch, careful not to wake Sarah. The TV is still on and throwing in background noise.
He walks over to the front door and opens it. He’s expecting you, but he’s not expecting you to look like this. All black, short dress and tights. Very different from your usual casual attire. He can’t help himself from starring at your legs and then up to your faintly red lips. If he saw you on a night out, he would never have the courage to talk to you. He can’t believe you are here willingly, for him.
You look at him like a deer in headlights. All shy and unsure on how to proceed.
‘Hi pretty.’ He throws at you, lip curling slightly. You don’t move.
He steps slightly backwards, moving for you to step inside. You follow him slowly and he puts one hand on your shoulder to guide you all the way in.
You stumble slightly once inside. Joel catches you and grabs you by the arm. He can see your eyes slightly glazed and your cheek flushed. You, being somewhat drunk and so innocent right now, turns him on immensely.
He moves his index finger to his lips and indicates for you to be quiet. Then he looks over to the living room, where Sarah is sleeping. You follow his gaze and nod.
He moves on slightly towards the stairs but sees you taking off your shoes first. Possibly to be quieter, he thinks to himself. He remains close to you, in case you stumble again. Then you both walk upstairs. You first and Joel behind you.
Joel can’t stop starring at your ass and legs as he follows behind you. He thinks about touching you right here, but he wants to have you in the privacy of his bedroom.
He leads you inside his bedroom and closes the door behind him. Locking it all the way; just in case.
You step further into the room, but only slightly. Hovering near Joel where the door is. He grabs you by the elbow, softly, and pushes you towards him. He just stars into your face, bringing one hand up to cup it.
It’s the complete opposite from the last few days. He can’t take his eyes or hands of you.
You are pliable like pine wood in his hands. No resistance, you just melt into his touch. And it makes him hard.
He takes his thumb up to your lips and drags it down. Slowly but not soft. When he removes his thumb, you bite your bottom lip and look at him like you are waiting for instructions.
Joel looks you up and down. Then starts moving the straps of your dress down your shoulders.
You don’t stop him and turn your head slightly to show him the zipper on the back of your dress.
He leans in close to you and grabs all the way around to drag it down. You take out your arms until the dress falls down your body most of the way. Joel grabs one of your elbows to steady you, when you step out of the fabric, knowing you may need the support tonight.
His eyes drift to your chest when you stand in front of him again. He nods at you, hoping you’ll get the hint. You do and take off your bra as well. Your nipples are hard, and Joel can feel the blood pump through his cock. He takes one of his arms around your waist and brings the other one to play with your exposed breast.  
You moan slightly and he can see you closing your eyes. Your skin is so soft, and Joel rakes his hand over your exposed midriff.
Something dark and depraved is brewing at the back of his mind. It’s not new; it’s just new with you. He wants to take advantage of you. Use your body anyway he wants. The fact that you let him do whatever he wants, no questions asked since you entered his home, makes him want to see how far he can push you tonight. It’s not right, but he’s not feeling guilty either.
Joel brings one hand up towards your neck and starts pushing you down. He doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t have to because you follow his guide regardless.
You hold onto him and situate yourself in front of him, on your knees. You look up and Joel brings his hand up to your head. Petting you like a little kitten.
He starts unbuttoning his jeans and drags them down slightly. He’s fully erect underneath and takes out his cock, without moving his underpants down. He looks at you, while he’s slowly pumping himself.
Your face is lined up perfectly with his crotch. Your eyes are still glassy, and your lips have a faint red stain left to them. You look like a whore he thinks but doesn’t say it out loud.
Instead, he uses the hand around the back of your head to push your face forward onto his hard cock. You open your mouth and let him guide you as far as he wants. He doesn’t push you all the way down, but enough to make you moan around him.
Your hands remain by your side, and you let Joel set the rhythm. It’s slow in the beginning. He wants to see how far he can push you before you struggle.
Suddenly he starts pushing his cock all the way down your throat, and it’s the first time you show any sign of resistance. Your hands come up out of reflex and settle on his thighs. He lets you catch your breath right away and moves his hand from the back of your head to your face. He tilts your face up and forces you to look at him.
Your eyes meet. Yours are watery now and your face is flushed.
‘Doing great.’
You grab his cock with one hand and start moving your head back down. Taking him halfway in. He’s enjoying it.
Joel throws his head back and closes his eyes for a second. He knows that if he keeps looking at you, he won’t last very long. After a few seconds, which helped nothing to compose himself, he looks back down at you and brings his hand back to your head. You still control the rhythm.
That’s until he starts fisting your hair and pushes your head down all the way every other time. You drop your hand and he bucks his hips into you whenever he pushes your face down.
You gurgle around him, and he can see you having your eyes closed. Your face wet from the tears spilling down. He knows he’s using you right now. Fucking your face with no regard for you.
He keeps going for minutes.
Joel is groaning until he knows he’s close. He pulls your head off him and bends your face back towards him. You look at him and he can’t help himself. He has a smirk on his face from your messy appearance. Make-up smeared around your eyes and sweaty all over.
‘Open darling.’ He says while pumping himself with his free hand.
You don’t respond right away, and his grip on your hair tightens for a second. He groans deeply while he does it.
Then you open your mouth and show your tongue around your bottom lip. It’s enough for him to finish all over your pretty face. Partially hitting your open mouth and your cheek.
‘Fuck.’ He says louder than he anticipated and lets your head go.
You slump back down onto your knees and move your head to the side. Joel has to collect himself for a second, cock still in his hand. He brings his hand back to your hair, much softer than before. Stroking you softly like a pet. Then he turns your head back to him and he angles it to get a good view at your cum smeared face. He moves you slightly, and it’s the most delicious things he’s ever seen.
His cock twitches right away. He’s not getting hard but it’s enough to draw his mind back to the things he wants to do to you. He doesn’t allow himself to dwell in the post orgasm bliss.
Joel grabs your arm and pulls you up from your knees. You hold onto him, while you stand up all the way, still on shaky legs.
When you are face to face with him, he takes another second to look at your dripping face. Both from tears and his cum.
His thumb finding your cheek to slip through his release. He collects a small amount and brings it to your lips. You open your mouth and taste his cum without hesitation.
His cock pulsing now, getting half hard.
Joel looks at you and then down your body. He lingers on your tits and grazes your nipple with his other hand. You shake slightly from the sensitive touch.
‘Filthy’ he says looking you over.
‘For you.’ You say quietly. It’s the first thing you’ve said, since walking into his bedroom.
Joel smiles at you knowingly.
‘Take the rest of your clothes off.’
You fidget your hands down your tights and slip them off over your ass. You pull the tights and your underwear down at the same time. Joel doesn’t offer you and help this time and it takes you three attempts to step out of them.
‘Easy darling’ is all he says, without offering any help.
When you are fully nude you stand back in front of him, unsure of what to do next.
Joel has his cock back in his hand, pumping his half-had member lazily.
He sees your eyes looking down at him and you reach a hand to help him. Joel lets you take his cock in your hand but puts his own hand over yours. Dictating the pressure and rhythm as he likes it.
You gasp slightly. He’s squeezing your hand more than you anticipated.
‘See what you do? Already hard again babe.’
His speed increases and he’s nearly fully erect again. You stay like this for a minute. Him yerking himself off, with your hand around his cock. He takes his free hand and moves it between your legs. His middle finger touches your lips. The outside first until he pushes in deeper. He feels your wetness and drags his finger through your slick. Then he slowly pushes inside of you. He has to bend over slightly to accommodate this position.
You moan and fall into his chest. He’s still pumping himself while knuckle deep inside you.
Joel adds a second finger inside you and quickly after a third one. You hiss this time, just out of reflex from being stretched. But he doesn’t stop from finger fucking you. Just shushing you slightly, while you lie with your head in his neck.
He’s fully hard now again and takes his fingers out of your cunt. His hand moves behind you and gives you a hard slap on your ass. You jolt and look up at him. Joel removes your hand from his cock and moves you across the room by your elbow. You follow him quietly.
He brings you to a drawer on the other side of the room with a mirror on top. There he moves you to face the furniture, with your back towards him. He wastes no time moving you into position, just how he likes it. Bending you over with your hand propped on the drawer to keep you up.
He steps back just slightly and smacks your ass one more time, before pulling your cheeks apart. He can see your ring and glistening cunt underneath. His hand moves between your crack and his thumb pushes into both holes slightly. You hiss both times. He would love to fuck your ass, but he knows this is one boundary he needs to discuss with you before. He’s not willing to cross this threshold in your current state.
Instead, Joel starts pumping himself again and moves his cock towards your cunt. He pushes in the tip, just enough so it stays there without his hand. Then he grabs your hair again to pull your head up. He wants to see your cum smeared face in the mirror, and wants you to see it too.
‘Looking like a whore.’ This time he says it out loud instead of just thinking it.
You moan loudly and he can see you starring at your own reflection. It makes him feral to see you in this state. He pushes inside you now. Slowly but all the way.
You gasp at the intrusion. And though you are able to take it all, you also have to adjust your stance slightly. Joel keeps one hand in your hair, holding it like a ponytail, and the other hand on your hip to offer resistance. Then he pulls out and pushes all the way back inside.
You gasp ‘Joel’ loudly and your knuckles turn white around the edge of the drawer. He pulls your hair harshly and shushes you to be quiet.
Joel is looking between the mirror and back down at where he’s entering you. He’s trying to keep quiet but unable to muffle his groans. The room is filled with the noises of his hips meeting your ass and the combined moans from the both of you.
‘Fuck. Fuck. Joel.’ You say more quietly this time. Joel fucks you harder in return.
He can feel you cramp around him with your cunt. You have to adjust again in order not to be pushed into the drawer. Joel keeps fucking you hard and fast. He can see the sweat rolling down your lower back and feel it equally dripping from his forehead. He looks back up in the mirror, seeing you struggling to hold your composure.
He’s getting close again, can feel it pulsing through his abdomen. The grip of his hand in your hair loosens and he brings his hand down to your hips. Meeting your ass first, before gripping both sides of your hips hard. He’s stuttering now, his path getting less regular.
Without the hand in your hair, your upper body is now dropped down on the drawer and Joel doesn’t correct you this time.
He groans loud until he pulls out of you. A loud gasp escapes you and you look back up into the mirror.
Joel pumps himself twice more before coming all over your lower back and ass.
‘Fuckn hell.’ Is all he says. Finishing with another hard slap to your ass and letting go of you.
Without his grip on you, you slide down to the floor until you are back on your knees and draped over yourself. Joel takes a few steps away from you. Breathing heavy and with his hands covering is face. His head is blank and he’s unable to look at you. Unsure how far he pushed you.
When he finally looks back at you and sees you slumped over on the floor, he meets you there to drape his arms around you.
You look like a scared little lamb, unable to look up at him. He did this to you and yet he’s feeling no shame or guild. When he pulls you into him closer, he sees the rest of his cum still smeared on your face and for a second he wonders if he could go a third round tonight. He will never get this picture our of his head.
But he’s equally spent and this time he does take pity on you. He brings your naked body back up, half leaning on you.
‘You’re a mess.’ He whispers into your hair.
‘I’m sorry.’ You reply.
Joels chuckles at your response. The fact, that you are the one apologizing after he used you for his own pleasure is comical.
He drapes a think blanket around your used body and leads you towards the bedroom door. He unlocks it and pears out before exiting the room with you. Then he slowly and carefully walks you to the bathroom next door. He’s treating you like a porcelain doll now, in contrast to his harsh grip on you just a few minutes ago.
Once you are inside the bathroom, he lets you sit on the toilet seat while he turns on the shower and waits for it to heat up.
‘Take a quick shower baby. I will be back in just a few minutes.’
With that he leads you into the warm shower, making sure you have enough stamina left to keep yourself up.
He washes his hands, forehead and brushes his teeth quickly before closing the bathroom door and descending downstairs to check on Sarah. Halfway down the stairs he buttons up his pants fully before he enters the living room. Sarah is still fully asleep on the couch and Joel sings a silent prayer. She will never know what happened upstairs.
He lifts her up and brings her upstairs to her room, letting her rest softly on her bed. Then he returns to you in the bathroom and helps you out of the shower. You still look a mess, but you are no longer covered in his release.
Joel sits you down on the toilet seat again and holds your head in his hands. He softly grazes under your eyes to remove some of the smeared makeup, still visible after the shower. You look up at him and softly mirror his movement by putting one of your hands to his face.
The gesture is unexpected for Joel and he does a quick double take.
‘You gonna ignore me again Joel?’
He sees your pleading look on your face and shakes his head slightly. You look at each other, before he kisses you deeply.
Previous Chapter // Masterlist
I had an idea for this scenario for a long time, just didn’t know where to place it. I had a little writers block and decided on a Joel POV chapter.
Initially I wanted to build on the drama but the little poll on my page showed be that people had less interest in drama lol
Joel is not a nice guy in this. Next chapter will be all about your pleasure. Promised!
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writingstothevoid · 8 months
Text
My submission for Star Sans Poly Week, day one: Flowers. The work will also included in the read more but I wanted to also add the ao3 link.
@starsanspolyweek
Dream had been around a long, long time. Even when discounting his centuries in stone, his age still reached well past a mortal lifespan. It was no surprise, then, that he sometimes found himself caught up in the past. It was better now than it had once been. Between his lovers, friends, and the years between now and then, it was easier to stay within the confines of the present.
Dream was, admittedly, extremely grateful for the development. Though there were many things about the present he didn’t fully comprehend, he couldn’t deny that he was happier now than he had (probably) ever been and his lapses in time were rarely pleasant.
Today, however, seemed to be an exception. Of course, it was not a flashback or memory, but still. No, today’s memory came during a routine trip to the Omega Timeline. He had stumbled upon a large farmer’s market and deigned to explore it to his leisure. Blue and Ink were both occupied and would not mind him being out later than expected; not to mention, he could use a bit of time to himself. Not that he didn’t love his partners dearly, but everyone needs alone time sometimes and he would revel in whatever he could get.
And it was there amongst stalls piled high with bread and soap and jewelry that he spotted it: an unassuming little thing with flowers of all different breeds and colors, manned by an older woman with a kind smile. He barely even registered what he was doing before he was in front of the lady, looking down at a card placed artfully on the table. Monica’s home-grown bouquets
Flowers for any and all occasions!
Ask attendant for historical meanings!
“Can I help you?” The voice brought Dream’s attention back to the present and he looked up, a bit flustered.
“Ah, no, I’m sorry, I was just looking,” He replied, hands affirming his disaffirmation. The woman – Monica? – smiled down at him, no malice apparent.
“No worries, love. Just let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do.”
Dream looked back down at the card, then up to all the bouquets hanging haphazardly from the top of the tent. Historical meanings… he knew those, didn’t he? Or he had, at some point. They poked at his brain, filling it like smoke as he remembered the small nuances of the old society.
A single red rose for love, geraniums for sympathy, anemones for apologies. He was not certain about all (or really any of them) but he couldn’t help but feel they were right. Red was for romance, orange – enthusiasm, yellow – joy, white – purity.
“They make good gifts,” that same voice as before chimed in and Dream realized belatedly that he had been staring at a “lovers bouquet” of sorts. He flushed once more and started to stammer an apology before he finally processed what she had said. It had been awhile since he had gotten his partners something to show his gratitude, nor had they really been able to spend much time together the last few weeks outside of work and cohabitation.
“I quite like this one, although I could certainly help you find something more tailored,” she continued on as Dream finally came to a decision.
Blue stood in front of the spotless kitchen and freshly-set table, aching but proud of the work he had done that day. The last few weeks had been particularly busy for not only him but his lovers as well. They seemed to be constantly called out on missions to stop Nightmare’s Gang or Error or some other being that decided to reek havoc that day. With all the Negativity, Dream hadn’t been at his best and Ink was being dogged by the Creators more than usual meaning it was often just Dream and Blue against their opponents. It hadn’t been too bad, but it would not be a stretch to say that they were all well and truly exhausted. Today had been their first day off and each had chosen to take full advantage of it, Dream going into town, Ink locking himself in his room to paint, and Blue completing tasks around the house.
Many would say that doing chores didn’t truly count as relaxing (his brother, for example), but Blue felt a sense of calm in the menial chores that little could beat. Some music or an audiobook and he was good to zone out for the next several hours and reawaken to a cleaner house than when he started. Win, win!
Checking the clock once more, Blue decided it was high time he dragged his boyfriend out of his stupor for a little bit of dinner. He found him in the exact same position he had left him in hours earlier, albeit with a far more completed painting and even more art supplies scattered in a ritualistic circle around the artist.
“Ink,” Blue called out, keeping his voice just low enough to not startle the other while still being able to capture his attention. Well, in theory at least.
“Ink,” he called again and this time the little artist turned to look at him, blinking up at him like he had just woken up. Blue watched in real time as Ink recognized him and his face lit up, causing affection to bubble up through Blue’s soul.
“Blue!” he cried out, his voice scratchy from disuse. He attempted to stand but almost immediately fell over, his joints just as cranky as his voice at their stagnation. Blue lurched forwards to catch the guardian and helped him stand once more, holding him until his feet were steady at which point Ink immediately launched himself at his slightly taller boyfriend.
Blue laughed and hugged him back, loving his lover’s seemingly endless well of enthusiasm. He admitted it was something he certainly related to but Ink never seemed to be able to contain it and always reacted with as much emotion as he could muster. It was endearing to say the least and though his impulsivity was sometimes problematic it could also be, quite frankly, so damn adorable.
The artist pouted as Blue pushed him back just slightly but lit up once more at his next words. “Dinner’s ready,” the royal guard informed him. And just like that, Ink was gone, his footsteps surprisingly loud for such a small person. Blue followed behind with a small smile, closing the door to Ink’s workroom behind him. He knew how secretive the artist could be about his work and would never take advantage of the immense trust he showed in them by allowing them in there at all.
Ink sat already at the kitchen table, his feet and hands tapping against the floor and table respectively as he impatiently waited. Blue laughed again. “We have to wait for Dream, Ink.” Said artist attempted once more to pout but the excitement in seeing their other boyfriend again wiped out any genuine annoyance he could have.
Almost on cue, the door began to rattle as someone attempted to unlock the thing and enter. Ink shot up out of his seat and ran to greet Dream, only beaten by Blue because the royal guard had already been standing. Together they opened the door and were greeted with the sight of their boyfriend, his hands occupied with not just his keys but also two beautiful bouquets of flowers.
They all froze and a blush appeared on Dream’s skull as he shyly said hello. Ink was the first to shake himself out of his state and leaped up to drag the guardian into the house, leaving Blue to close the door behind them. The task took longer than it perhaps should have, likely because of Ink’s stubborn insistence on hugging the other as they moved.
“So,” Blue began, a smile (definitely not a smirk, no siree, he never smirked) stretching across his face. “What’s this all about?”
Dream flushed even further, detaching himself slightly from Ink in order to hold out one of the bouquets to Blue. “They’re for you,” he added quietly and handed the other one to Ink, whose eyelights had become a pair of pink and yellow stars. Blue blushed in spite of himself and gingerly took the offering, taking in the beauty of the thing.
“Those are anemone,” Dream was looking a little off to the side as he pointed at the largest flowers in the bunch, a couple of blue buds spread wide, unable to meet his lover’s eyes. “They are given as an affirmation of intelligence, love, and respect.”
He pointed to another, a beautiful cluster of pink, orange, and yellow petals. “These are lantana. They symbolize rigor, the determination to not only keep going but to do every task to the best of one’s ability.”
He drew closer to Blue who’s skull had begun to light up more and more. A quick glance up told him that Ink’s unusual silence came from his rapt attention set on the pair. It took a lot to hold his attention, even for a short stretch of time, and the thought that he was so invested did not help Blue’s condition.
“This is kalanchoe,” he rambled on as if afraid he wouldn’t be able to get it all out if he stopped now. “It means, um, everlasting love and symbolizes persistence and endurance.” Now they were both blushing like mad. How did Blue get so lucky as to have such an adorably sweet boyfriend?
Next were the red bits sticking out from the mess in the middle. “These are cardinals and they symbolize distinction from others. Like, um. A really amazing partner.”
Ink’s snicker could be heard from space but both of them were masters in the art of ignoring his teasing by now. Well, perhaps not masters, but certainly used to it. “Blue stars are related to strength and also cover persistence and endurance like the kalanchoe. They represent the strength of will of another.”
He smiled as he reached the last ones and finally met Blue’s eyes. “And these are bluebells. They’re given to show gratitude towards someone. Like the gratitude of being with you.”
“Oh, Dreamy,” Blue couldn’t help himself. He launched himself forwards and dragged his adorable boyfriend into the biggest hug he could. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love it!”
Dream laughed as he caught the other man and held onto him just as tight. “We haven’t been able to really hang out much lately and I wanted to give you guys something.”
A small weight barreled into them both and suddenly Ink’s shining face was grinning up at them. “Do me next!” The pair smiled at one another as Blue extracted himself from their embrace.
“I’ll grab a couple vases while you do that,” he promised and left for the kitchen. Dream turned his attention to their other boyfriend and his oldest friend. He backed up just enough to be able to point out each flower without leaving their embrace entirely.
“Well,” he began with a round red bloom, “These are dahlias. They stand for a lasting bond and lifelong commitment. It felt right given how long we’ve known one another.”
A unique orange outside with a bright blue interior. “These are birds of paradise, and symbolize paradise and freedom.” He decided not to elaborate on that one, not knowing if he could handle Ink’s adoring look growing any brighter.
A collection of small pink petals followed by similar blue ones. “Daphnes mean ‘I would not have you any other way’ while hydrangeas represent a deep understanding between people.”
Delicate pink flowers poked out from the center. “Almond flowers stand for hope.” And on to the last one. He took a breath and smiled at his lover as he grasped one of the long stems of a lightly budding plant. “And Acanthus. They can mean a lot of things but the one I like the most is artistic beauty. They’re said to inspire others and allow them to persevere and transform whatever it is they’ve doing. I got them not just because you do that for others, but also because you are that for me. You’ve inspired me to keep going for years and years and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate you dearly.”
Dream looked away from the bouquet and instead at Ink’s face only to find it filled with tears. Alarmed, he reached out but didn’t get far before he was unceremoniously handed the gift back while Ink ran towards a nearby bucket. Although he could very easily clean up the ink that came out anytime he felt too much, Dream and Blue had convinced him to at least throw it up in one container so it was easier to dispose of.
Despite how odd he knew it must look to outsiders, Dream shyly smiled as he followed the other, if only because he knew how much it must mean to Ink for him to react so intensely. “Are you all right, dear?”
It was only because of his years of experience with the artist that he was able to sense what was about to happen before it did. As such, he was just able to move the flowers off to the side before his arms were filled by his tiny feral boyfriend.
“Oh stars, Dreamboat, you’re the best, I love you so much, thank you!” his words were said so fast they were nigh incomprehensible to anyone other than those within the confines of their home. As it was, the guardian simply wrapped his arms around the other and hugged him back. “Of course. Anything for you.”
“If you two are done being gay in there, dinner’s ready!” Blue teased. The blush returned with a vengeance as Ink laughed, “Please, after this that’s impossible.”
“You two are impossible,” Dream shot back but still he made his way into the kitchen and added the Ink’s flowers to the vase next to Blue’s, that smile never leaving his face.
Several days later Dream was awoken to the sight of both his boyfriends standing over him in bed. Ink had called out to him – likely several times – and appeared smug in his ability to wake a man who slept like the whole world was out to get him. Which, to be fair, it had been at one point. The guardian groaned indulgently before glancing over at the clock. Nine in the morning. He had slept in late, unsurprising given how late they’d stayed out last night but still groan worthy, hence another indulgent groan leaving his mouth.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Ink shook him in blatant disregard to his woes. “We’ve got something for you~”
“Ink, quit it,” Blue scolded without any heat, turning to their sleepy boyfriend, “I’m sorry to wake you, but we do have something to give you.”
Suddenly more interested than he had been before, Dream let himself indulge one more time before sitting up and stretching (at which Ink let out an appreciative whistle and Blue delicately looked away). Smirking, he let his feet dangle off the bed and asked, “All right, what is it?”
His lovers looked uncharacteristically uncertain at the question and the smile slipped from his face in slight worry. He knew he would love whatever they gave him, but he hated to see them so uneasy. Words of reassurance caught in his throat, however, as Blue shyly held out the thing he had been hiding behind his back: a dazzling bouquet of flowers.
“We wanted to get you something for the other day,” Blue informed him hesitantly, his gaze still averted.
“We checked the meanings too!” Ink added, his gaze able to meet Dream’s but his skull still a delicate rainbow half hidden by his scarf.
Dream gently took the bouquet and looked it over. The other two sat down next to him, one on each side, and performed a reverse of the other day.
“Viburnum, for good luck, affection, and loyalty,” the young guardsman explained.
“Craspedia because you light up our world!” the protector continued.
“False indigo for protection.”
“Angelica to represent your guidance and inspiration.”
“Cyclamen for resilience, strength, and perseverance.”
“Lungwort, for joy, devotion, and admiration!”
“And…” Dream trailed off as he thumbed the last one left.
“And roses,” Blue grabbed his hand and smiled, “For love.”
On his other side, Ink leaned into him, “Cliche, we know. But it’s true!”
For once the pressure building inside Dream was one he didn’t mind and he hugged his bouquet tightly. “Thank you,” he whispered. Two skulls pressed against his cheeks at the same time and he buried his face into the beautiful flowers. Ink’s laugh was like little bells ringing and Blue’s voice was full of affection, “Of course.”
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questforgalas · 1 year
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Hidden in the Moonlight
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Summary: After weeks of Brynjolf dodging the dragonborn, Lorienna, after they took down Mercer, she's ready to throw him in the cistern herself. With some pushing from Delvin, Lorienna confronts Brynjolf about why he's been avoiding her all this time
Notes: Apparently I write Skyrim fanfic now??? Meet my OC, Lorienna :) Also, writing Scottish accents is hard so I'm sorry if the dialogue spelling detracts from the story! Enjoy!!!
WC: 4k
Tags: BrynjolfxFemaleOC, Delvin, Vex, love confessions, fluff, gentle kissing, idiots not communicating
On AO3
“Sorry, lass, I’ve got important things to do. We’ll talk another time.”
It took a lot for Lorienna to lose her temper. During her short time in Skyrim, she’d been attacked by cultists, fought more dragons than she could count, was hunted down by the Thalmar, and survived a drinking game with Sam, though that last one was a close call. That’s not to mention the many guilds she stumbled upon that all oddly were in need of a leader so badly they just let the newest recruit fly through the ranks and quickly become their master, but who was she to question the rules. At least that’s what she told herself each time she was handed a hideout master-key or a centuries old set of armor with more enchantments than an arcane table.
Yet, here she was, ready to throw one flowing-haired ginger into the waters of the cistern if he brushed her off one more time. There were layers to her frustrations, of course. First off, she was the dam guild master. What in Sovngarde could be more important than talking to the guild master? Lorienna may have been new to this, but she was pretty sure that in the “Priorities of the Thieves Guild” mental-handbook, speaking with the guild master was number 1.
Second, if the distractingly rugged nord really had such important things to do, shouldn’t she, again, the GUILD MASTER, know about them? Wouldn’t that be something her second-in-command should keep her in the know about?
Third, and the one that stung more than she wanted to admi, was that she wasn’t just the guild master to the infuriatingly handsome thief. Or at least she had thought.
Yes, many members of the Thieves Guild have been victims to Brynjolf’s easy charm. There wasn’t a day that went by without a new recruit ending their first job with star-filled doe-eyes focused on the good-looking man, but Lorienna had been certain she felt the shift between Brynjolf and herself during the whole mess with Mercer.
When she wasn’t lying to herself, she could admit it started shifting well before that, well before he ran up to her in the cistern, disbelief in his eyes, relief in his voice, telling her he’d looked for her. Too lost in the moment, both of you had missed the knowing glances passed between Delvin and Vex, silently smirking at what you two didn’t know yet - that you were well beyond the safety of the shoreline of this river of emotions.
But right now? She was lying to herself as she stared daggers into Brynjolf’s broad, rippling back hugged by his Nightengale armor in the most deli…
Ok. She had it bad.
Too distracted by her warring thoughts of plunging a knife in Brynjolf’s armor to either make him bleed or to cut it off of him in offense for blocking him from her view, Lorienna didn’t notice Delvin sliding into the unoccupied chair to her left, thunking his mug onto the table. “Ya know, I don’t think actin like that mug is Brynjolf’s throat is goin to help ya at all.”
Jerking back, Kandri blinked Delvin into focus, shaking her head of the cobwebs occupying her mind. When Delvin’s words registered, she looked down, noticing ghost white knuckles strangling the tankard in hand. “I wasn’t imagining strangling anyone,” she mumbled.
“Might be more convincing if ya hadn’t been starin at his back without blinkin the past 10 minutes.”
“I was not staring.”
“Miracle he hasn’t looked over at ya, honest.”
“Can I help you Delvin? Or are you just here to archive my movements?”
A chuckle shook the guild-veteran’s shoulders. “Just wonderin when ya’re gonna talk to him, boss.”
“Who? Brynjolf? There’s nothing to talk about. He’s obviously content with moving onto the next chapter with no regard of who he’s leaving behind in the pages.” Lorienna wanted her statement to drip with venom, leave no question for the disdain she was obviously feeling, but Delvin caught the melancholy lilt sucking all the poison out of her words and replacing it with an ache only the hear knew.
“Listen, boss, I ain’t here to tell ya what to do. But, well, listen, I’mma be blunt. Ya’re walkin around here like a kicked puppy, and it’s obvious to err’one why. Well, maybe not err’one, hence why ya’re mopin around…”
“I am not moping...”
“Ya’re. And it’s pathetic. Ya’re lucky I’m givin ya this talk and not Vex, she’s been wantin to throw a dagger at ya the past two days.”
“I don’t know how a dagger wound is going to help anything…”
“It’s Vex. Probably best not to question it, yeah? Either way, either ya talk to him or we lock ya both in the vault.” While Delvin spoke, their subject of conversation rose from his seat, emptying his tankard with a long gulp, setting it down on the table for Vekel to clean, and made his way out of the flagon to the cistern.
Lorienna didn’t realize she’d been watching Brynjolf’s every move like her eyes worked completely on their own agenda until Delvin jabbed her in the side, causing a startled yelp and an arm to flail, knocking the wooden plate in front of her to the floor. The clatter only interrupted the Ragged Flagon’s din for a beat, everyone going back to their conversations once they were satisfied with what could’ve caused their leader to cause such a ruckus.  
Rubbing the fresh bruise, Kandri pointed a daggered look at the man now becoming a quite literal pain-in-her-side. “Why do you care so much? What’s in it for you?”
“Figure it’s best for err’one to have our two leaders be happy. Not gonna be verr’ good with both ya actin like draugr around here. Morale and all that. Not to mention Brynjolf’s been messin’ up job details, so that’s not helpful.”
Kandri took a beat at that last bit. Brynjolf messing up jobs? She’s never heard of him missing a speck of dust on the vault door, let alone pass along faulty job information. This guild was new to her, but it was Brynjolf’s family, and he knew better than anyone that bad information meant risking a member of that family. He’d rather cross Maven Blackbriar himself than risk sending any thief on a half-assed job.
“What’re you getting at Delvin?”
With uncharacteristic softness, Delvin met Lorienna’s gaze, “Ya both deserve happiness, boss. And right now? Ya’re both wading through each day like Sovngarde’s already takin’ ya. Bryn’s too blind to see his own feet, so he’s probably got no idea. But just talk to him. It’ll be alright, ya ‘ll see.”
He gave a comforting squeeze to her hand and downed the rest of his ale before moving over to join Vex and Dirge in their game of cards at the next table. Vex caught Lorienna’s eyes over Delvin’s shoulder, giving a knowing smirk, and coked her head in the direction of the cistern.
The guild master let her head fall back, eyes closing, as a small groan escaped her lips. “Sovngarde take me. These bunch of idiots are going to be the death of me.” Pinching her nose, she took one last deep breath as she steeled herself and finally pushed from her seat.
To her surprise though, the cistern was mostly empty, many members still in the Flagon given the early hour. Steady “thunk” “thunk” thunk”s told her someone was by the archery dummies, and she wandered in the direction of the sound, fingers crossed that she’d catch Brynjolf practicing archery for the first time in their friendship, but Stendarr wasn’t on her side today as Rune came into view.
Seeing the guild master approach, Rune loosed one more arrow, satisfying “thunk” meeting their ears, and lowered the bow as he turned to greet her.
“Lorienna, what can I do for you?”
“Hi Rune. Any chance Brynjolf came through here earlier?” Lorienna hated the sheepish tone of her voice and was praying that her cheeks weren’t an telling shade of crimson while she spoke. Either Rune had the soul of an angel or he was none-the-wiser to her plight because his face never changed as he kept his attention on her.
“You just missed him. Exited out the entrance just a minute ago.”
“Outside? To the town?”
“Yup.”
“Huh, ok. Thanks Rune. And keep up that practice, your shooting is already greatly improved.” Now it was Rune’s turn to blush as a shy smile crept on his face. Easing his suffering, Lorienna brushed past him, giving a pat to his shoulder as she did. Moments later, the crisp night air of the Rift touched her face while the stone door ground behind her.
This was Lorienna’s favorite hour to wander the city. Not many found Riften beautiful, with it often considered the underside of Skyrim, but Lorienna found the opposite to be true, relishing in the beauty that hid beneath the cracks and creaks of the fishing port. The surrounding mountains kept the air cool, even in the summer months, while the steady water below them offered a mask of tranquility to a city that lived in bedtime stories to keep naughty children at bay. During the day, the sun reflected off the mountain snow, bringing out the colors of the foliage as if they were freshly painted on the branches. And at night? Oh, the night in Riften was magic.
Running water replaces the bustle of the market, crafting a spell of calm to all who wandered the streets, making their way to the Bee and Barb or to rest their weary heads. The moon casts a shimmering blanket on top of the water, stars appearing in the air, reflecting off the windows and lamps as you passed by. You could feel completely alone and surrounded at the same time. It was Lorienna’s happy place.
When she started rising through the guild ranks, duties piling up and stress multiplying with each new member, Lorienna would escape their underground home to the quiet streets of the city above, basking in the moonlight on top of the temple roof. It wasn’t surprising when Brynjolf started following her there, attempting but failing to hide the worry in his eyes as he claimed he just happened to be scouting the area when he caught site of her up there. She didn’t bother pointing out that scouting the area he knew like the back of his hand when sleeping didn’t make much sense; instead letting him ease down next to her, always settling into comfortable silence.
That rooftop, in the spotlight of the moon, became their hideaway. So she knew exactly where her instincts were pulling her as she turned from the Thieves Guild entrance and looked up, finding him right where she knew he’d be. At first, it appeared as if he didn’t notice her standing just before him on the ground, but then she saw the slight tilt down of his forehead. “Should’ve known ya’d find me here.”
Oh, how she missed that voice.
Her usual route to the roof was imprinted in her brain, and she was approaching their spot in less than a minute, but as she walked closer, she felt her steps get smaller. Just steps away from him, back still facing her, she paused.
Weeks. It had been weeks of hearing his sorry excuses. Of hearing him brush her off over and over again. Of watching her best friend move on without her. One more exchange and she was going to break. But standing here, preparing to confront him, her heart was in her throat. Every doubt, every fear, every reason for her to turn around and run bombarded her brain as she stood frozen, feet unwilling to take the final steps, because she knew. She knew once she started the conversation, there was no going back. To before. To their easiness. To their companionship. Was this worth risking all of that?
Brynjolf didn’t even bother to turn around to interrupt her spiraling mind. “Just sit down, lass. I can hear ya’r thoughts all the way over here.”
That voice. That voice was a balm on her soul when she returned from a job, weary, exhausted, ready to collapse. That voice was her guiding light as they confronted Mercer. That voice was just one part of a man who plucked her off the streets and became her home. Lorienna closed her eyes, taking one more steadying breath.
Much to her chagrin, the descent onto the rooftop was more of a “plop”, foot slipping on moss slick with the day’s rain, and the “oomf” she let out didn’t go unnoticed. Shoulders shaking, Brynjolf didn’t bother trying to hide his chuckle while Lorienna got herself situated, rubbing her arse in an attempt to ease the pain. Leaning on an arm for leverage, her shoulder brushed his, and Brynjolf turned his head at the contact. For the first time in weeks, since they took down Mercer together, Lorienna and Brynjolf held each other’s gaze.
Familiarity settled in her chest before unease and fear gripped her heart. She swore she caught a glint of sadness in Brynjolf’s brown eyes before he turned away again, focusing his attention on the mountains over the wall. Well, it was now or never.
“Where’ve you been, Bryn?” Lorienna asked him, eyes never leaving his face.
“Only been here a minute before you got here, lass.” He answered.
“That’s not what I mean. I mean the last few weeks, since Mercer.”
“I told ya, lass. I had important thin…”
“Brynjolf. Talos help you if you say you had important things to do. I am the guild master. Master of the Thieves Guild. Top of the top. What in Sovngarde could have been more important than talking to me? Especially if you were doing ‘important things’ for the guild! Please enlighten me because I have been losing my mind the last few week!”
Lorienna’s gaze never faltered, staying focused on Brynjolf’s temple since his gaze on the mountains seemed as determined as hers. For a few beats, he remained frozen, not even a twitch of his jaw to be seen. It took every ounce of Lorienna’s will to remain patient, letting him sort through what was flickering through his mind, instead focusing on calming her pounding heart.
Agonizing seconds passed before he closed his eyes, letting loose a sigh she felt in her own bones, and turned to face her. His eyes met hers. Brown eyes that could flash with mischief and then compassion and then steel determination in the span of a second. Eyes that always held a softness for his family in the guild, and a softness that grew a little more noticeable only when he looked upon one particular member. Eyes as deep as the treasure troves of Skyrim that Lorienna loved to get lost in.
Hope bloomed as she watched the sadness in his gaze transform to fondness, holding her breath as he seemed to settle on whatever thought he’d been arguing with.
“Lorienna, lass, I’m sorry. I – I wasn’t truthful over the last couplah weeks.”
“No shit.” Brynjolf tilted his head, rolling his eyes at Lorienna’s lack of decorum, giving her a bored look as if to ask if she was done.
“Ok, ok. I’ll behave now,” she relented.
“Aye, I like it better when you don’t.” The mischievous glint in his eye left as soon as it appeared, somber softness settling in again. “It’s a sorry excuse, and an ever sorrier way to go about it, but I was scared. That whole mess with Mercer, I thought I was ready to handle it, to come out of it same as before, but I was only foolin myself.”
He returned his gaze to the mountains beyond, resting an arm on top of one bent knee, the other placed behind him on the roof to keep himself upright. Sitting patiently beside him, Lorienna listened as he put his thoughts forward.
“I knew it well before too. When ya came back from Goldenglow, eyes shinin brighter than any emerald, bouncin on the balls of your feet with adrenaline. Mara herself could’ve descended, and I wouldn’t’ve questioned why. But I lied to myself. Tucked that feelin down and buried it, tellin myself you were a new recruit, probably not gonna make it the month. Can’t get attached now. Yet, insufferably determined lass you are, ya kept comin back. Nose down, gettin jobs done. Gradually takin in my family like they were ya’r own. Slowly, a kernel of worry would always form when ya left for jobs. ‘Ya worry for everyone, don’t overthink it,’ I’d tell myself.
Then the kernel would stay, plantin itself as soon as I’d watch ya leave the cistern, and not makin itself scarce until my eyes were on ya again. Didn’t take long until I’d ask Delvin or Vex where they sent ya off to. Thought I was bein subtle, but they know me too well. Wanted to punch Delvin right in his smirkin mouth every time it popped up.
But I am nothin but a man of my word so I kept tryin to bury it, kept tryin to lie to myself. Thought I was goin crazy when givin ya your next job was my favorite part of the day simply because it meant I’d get to talk to ya.”
Lorienna’s cheeks were flaming as she listened, nuzzling her face in her knees in an attempt to hide the affects his words had on her. Never in her life could she fight the smile that was taking over her face, basking in the moonlight, listening to Brynjolf’s confession.
It seemed that this next part wasn’t coming to Brynjolf so easily though. Pausing, he shifted his gaze to the shingles underneath them, scratching at the wood like it was the most important thing for him to do in that moment. Just as Lorienna opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, he planted his hand flat on the roof as if grounding himself and continued.
“Then Mercer sent ya after Karliah. As I watched ya walk out of the cistern, my instincts were yellin at me. ‘Tell her, tell her. You’re in love with her ya fool, tell her.’ Like they knew something was goin wrong. But the fool that I am, I stood there, feelin that seed of worry take its usual place. Weeks went by. Somethin started to nag at me. I’d look at the entrance to the cistern everyday, pleading with it to open and ya’d walk back in. Finally, Mercer returned, alone. As he approached me, my mind was screamin. Every fiber of my bein kickin at me that this wasn’t real, that this was a trick. Ya were right behind, comin in any second. It all went silent when he told me ya were dead.”
At last, Brynjolf lifted his head, brown eyes meeting Lorienna’s green. Small tears began to form in the corners, and she allowed herself to reach out, wiping one away before it fell to his cheek. For a moment, her hand lingered there, her palm lightly scratched by his stubble, relishing in being in front of him and not a corpse left in the snow.
“I acted on pure will and muscle memory, grabbin my gear and equipment I needed. I didn’t hesitate, immediately makin my way to Snow Veil. Nothing would’ve stopped me. I dared any imperial or stormcloak to get in my way, blocking my path to ya. It wouldn’t’ve ended well for ‘em. By the time I got there though, ya were gone, and there weren’t any tracks for me to follow. It was a dead end, nothin to tell me what Mercer said wasn’t true. Nothin to wake me from the living nightmare I was trapped in. As I trudged back, I grieved. Grieved the love I had been too stubborn to accept. Grieved the fiery dragon who burned her way into my life. Grieved the thief who was the sole owner of my heart.”
Lorienna knew this story, but this was the first time she heard the depths of Brynjolf’s pain. Heard the crack in his voice as he relived that grief. For a brief second, in the back of her mind, she cursed her inadequacy with necromancy not letting her bring Mercer back from the dead just so she could kill him over and over again for eternity.
A hand found its way onto Lorienna’s check. One she nuzzled into, eyes closed, humming at the contact. Brynjolf’s thumb gently stroked back and forth, coaxing her to meet his gaze. “I hadn’t realized my world had stopped until ya walked into the Flagon weeks later, casting my life in ya’r fiery glow once again.  Mercer’s plot be damned, I wanted to grab ya right there and hold onto ya until the divines separated us. Durin that whole ordeal, swearin to Nightengale, takin down Mercer, restorin Karliah, I swore to myself I’d tell ya as soon as we were back. I couldn’t go another day without ya knowin how I felt. And then we got home, and well, I ran.
Not literally, of course, but any time I dredged up the courage to talk to ya, I’d look in these gorgeous green eyes with the ability to make my brain stop, and I’d get scared. What if ya didn’t feel the same? What if I read everything wrong? Could I date the Guild Master? Was that even allowed? Would the other members reject it? Every cowardly question would roar in my head until it was all I heard, and I’d run. Throwin that half-arsed excuse at ya every time ya approached me. I’m honestly impressed ya hadn’t punched me right in the mouth.”
Lorienna rolled her eyes. “You were one more excuse from getting thrown into the cistern.”
That earned her a hearty laugh that she found contagious, the tension built upon for weeks dissipating into the Rift night air. There on their little hideaway, laughing like schoolchildren, Brynjolf and Lorienna took each other in for the first time not as guild members, not as friends, but as the sole protectors of each other’s most precious possession.
Brynjolf moved the hand resting on Lorienna’s cheek to snake his arm around her waist, tucking her into his side. As she went to nestle her head in the crook of his neck, he stopped her with a gentle tap to her chin. Tilting up, she blinked up at him, catching him glance down at her lips before meeting her eyes again and closing the space between them. A ghost of a kiss touched her lips, one that had her angling her neck to deepen it, chasing whatever she could. So gently she barely registered the movement, Brynjolf moved away, looking at her like she was the greatest treasure he’d ever beheld.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been a right arse, lass, but I promise ya. I’d fight every divine if it meant havin ya by my side. No one is takin ya from me again. I’m honored to be your second-in-command, rebuilding a life for our cozy, little family, but if ya ’ll have me, it’d be my greatest honor to be your partner.”
“Until my dying breath, Brynjolf, you and I will go through this life together, no matter what the divines have in store for us.”
Conveying the conviction in her words, Lorienna leaned up to seal her oath with a kiss, one that Brynjolf returned eagerly, trying to deliver every promise he could offer to her through such a simple act. Breaking apart, they rested their foreheads, trying to imprint this moment in their memories to hold onto for eternity.
Hearts settled, Brynjolf moved to make room for Lorienna in the crook of his neck, resting his cheeck atop her head, his thumb tracing small circles along her hip. Together, they took in the view in front of them – snow-capped mountains glistening with the stars in the moonlight, gentle waters lapping underneath the city, and the cemetery below cast in silver light, a single moonbeam shining on the hidden entrance to their family.
Was this worth risking their before? Lorienna could feel the answer wash over her as if the divines themselves were handing over their blessings.
Because he was hers and she was his, and even when they find themselves separated in the darkness, they would always find their way back home. Back to each other.
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olibavee · 3 years
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friend man.
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twilight-orchid · 3 years
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How The Demon Brothers React After Fighting With Their SO
tw: some angst with resolution at the end, mentions of past arguments, insecurity.
Lucifer:
This man is petty as hell.
He doesn’t do the silent treatment, but he acts like you aren’t dating.
If you need to work on something together, you’re a co-worker.
At RAD you’re a classmate.
Around the house you’re just a housemate.
His poker face is immaculate and it will not crack when you’re around.
If someone didn’t know what was happening, they’d probably think you two barely knew each other.
However, you won’t notice, but as soon as you look the other way his eyes are on you.
He’s used to arguing with his brothers and is no stranger to explosive fights that end with he and the other person not being on speaking terms.
But you’re different.
He tries to go on with business as usual, but he can’t think about anything other than how much he misses you.
Yet, he lets it continue because he just can’t put his pride aside and apologize.
If you decide to sleep in your old room it’ll both hurt his feelings and royally piss him off.
He thinks you’re being childish and will be pretty rude about it, but that’s because internally his blood just ran cold.
It adds a degree of seriousness to the argument that he’s uncomfortable with.
Yes he’s mad, but he can’t lose you.
If you still sleep in his bed, he makes sure to scoot over to the very edge so he doesn’t cuddle you in his sleep.
In fact, the first night after the argument he’d probably put a pillow between you just to really punctuate the fact that he’s still upset.
I’d say it could go 4 days to a week tops without you making up.
After a point though, he just can’t function until the issue is resolved. He can’t sleep, he’s falling behind on his work, and he’s just generally not doing well.
You get called to his office one night and find him at his desk surrounded by piles of paper, disheveled and exhausted.
“MC, come sit down. I’d like to talk this through. Please.”
Mammon:
He’s so dramatic.
You dare defy him? The Great Mammon can’t believe this tiny fragile human would have the audacity.
The theatrics are just a front though.
His ‘The Great Mammon’ act is a mask for his insecurity, one he hasn’t had to use with you in awhile.
Even as the words leave his mouth he regrets them.
He’s going to be very uncomfortable with everything until the argument is resolved, but most of all himself.
He’s learned not to take his brothers too seriously when they toss insults his way, but words have a way of morphing to belief over time.
Internally he is going to be super hard on himself. 
Regardless of if the fight was his fault or not, he’s going to kick himself constantly for making yet another mistake.
He’s over the argument pretty fast. The anger quickly melts into anxiety.
Are you going to leave him? Do you hate him? Did he hurt your feelings? 
That being said, he doesn’t know if you’re still mad and he doesn’t know how to ask. 
As a defense mechanism, he defaults to how he treated you when you first arrived in the devildom.
Calls you human, disregards you, stuff like that.
If you decide to sleep in another room, before midnight expect him to be knocking on the door.
“Oi, MC. You awake? I just - I can’t - *sigh* Can we talk about this?”
If you sleep in his bed, he makes a point of sleeping with his back to you.
Less because he’s actually mad and more because he doesn’t want his image of you as he drifts to sleep to be a look of anger.
Though as soon as he passes out he’ll roll over and tuck you into his arms on instinct.
I’d say any after effects of an argument with Mammon would be resolved in a day, maybe two tops.
Leviathan:
Arguing activates his trolling the forums mode.
Goes back to calling you a normie and contradicts everything you say.
He’s less mad about the argument and more using the bitterness to cope with how upset he is.
He feels like a break up is less of an if and more of a when.
Why would someone as amazing as you settle for weird otaku like him?
Honestly doesn’t understand why you’re with him in the first place, so when there’s a serious argument he assumes its over.
Tbh don’t know how you and Levi would sleep together being that I doubt two could fit in a tub, but any deviation to your routine sends him into a panic.
It’s his reality check that the situation is serious and he needs to fix it NOW.
He’d have trouble apologizing in person. He can’t think of what to say, he stumbles over his words, and he feels like he’s on the verge of a panic attack.
Instead, expect a long ass text message.
He says how sorry he is, how much he misses and loves you, and legit begs you to forgive him.
If you sleep with him like normal, he’ll probably try to make up after laying there for awhile. His mind is going a million miles an hour and there’s no way he can sleep.
Still really has trouble verbalizing how he feels, so give the poor boy a break and take over the conversation.
He hasn’t had a serious relationship before and he doesn’t know what he should do to make it better.
So the after effects will last however long it takes him to read several mangas, watch some anime, and play a few games to see how the characters get over arguments in the story.
Satan:
Satan makes sure not to fight with you over minor issues.
He’s worked tirelessly to tame his wrath and he refuses to feed into it over a minor issue.
Thus, if you fight with Satan it’s a major argument and it’s explosive.
The aftermath isn’t much better.
He doesn’t want to risk blowing up again, so he’s frighteningly calm.
He’s an absolute master of the silent treatment.
He won’t say a word to you until he’s certain he’s calmed down enough.
For the first few days he’ll straight up leave a room if you enter.
For a good while the only way you can expect to communicate with him is through his body language and the expression in his eyes.
Satan’s biggest fear is losing control and lashing out at you. 
He couldn’t live with himself if he hurt you and he can’t stand the thought of you being afraid of him. 
He’s a whirlwind of emotions, so he isolates himself until he can figure out how to deal with it.
Not just from you, but from everyone else too. 
Satan will not share a bed with you for at least the first night.
If he got worked up enough to actually fight, it’s gonna take him time to simmer down.
And he’d rather not risk doing or saying something he regrets in the meantime.
Once he’s ready, he’ll approach you when he’s completely calmed down and has thoroughly analyzed the situation.
He’s considered both of your sides, tried to pinpoint what caused the disagreement to turn into a fight, and made a plan of action to prevent it from happening again.
“MC? I’ve been thinking quite a bit about what happened. Would you please talk it through with me?”
He won’t apologize for the argument if he feels like he was right, but he will apologize for letting the disagreement escalate into a fight.
Satan could go weeks without making up if necessary, but he tries to resolve it within a couple of days.
Asmodeus:
Wants to give you the silent treatment, but is physically incapable.
He can’t stand to have you ignore him.
He’s the type to go back to normal then suddenly remembers you guys had a fight.
“Wait, no! I’m not talking to you! I’m mad at you!”
His biggest downfall is that he’s so stubborn.
If he thinks he was right, he will die on that hill.
There are arguments with his brothers that happened a thousand years ago and he could still tell you exactly why he was right.
But with you, he realizes that doesn’t matter too him nearly as much as it usually does.
If it means going back to normal, he’ll forget who’s right or wrong.
If you sleep in another room, he’s beyond offended.
“What?! Well fine! I don’t want you in my bed anyway!”
Laying in bed alone is a different story though.
He can’t sleep. All he can think about is you. Your face when you sleep next to him, your smell, the feeling of his arms around you.
He 100% cries.
Finally goes and knocks on your door with wet, glossy eyes.
“MC? Can we talk about this? I can’t get my beauty sleep and my tears are wiping off all of my skin care lotion!”
Will throw himself into your arms before you can answer.
If you sleep next to him still, he rolls over and watches you sleep.
It puts him at peace and he decides seeing your sweet, resting face every morning is worth more to him than the argument.
He’ll initiate the conversation the next morning.
I think Asmo could make it a few days if it was a really serious argument, but he will not function well until you make up.
Beelzebub:
Wants to make up immediately.
He doesn’t like to argue, even less so with you.
Whether he was right or wrong, he blames himself. He’ll take all the blame in the world if it makes you happy.
He’ll go make you your favorite food and bring it to you.
If he thinks you don’t want to talk to him, he’ll leave it outside your door and text you to let you know it’s there.
He’s honestly devastated if you decide to sleep in another room.
You guys migrate to your old room when you want privacy from Belphie, but you almost never sleep separately.
Seeing you grab your pillows and march out of the room nearly stops his heart.
He goes completely numb and silent as he just stares at the space you had just occupied.
Like Levi, he thinks this means the relationship is over and he genuinely does not know what to do with himself.
He can’t even bring himself to eat, he just wants to lie there, lost and trying to grapple with his emotions. 
He’s another one who will absolutely cry, but unlike Asmo he will make sure no one knows it.
If you still sleep in his bed, he’s very nervous about it.
He doesn’t know if it’s okay to touch you, what he can or can’t say, stuff like that.
He just lays there stiff as a board not even able to close his eyes.
Honestly the fight would probably have to be resolved before bed. His anxiety just can’t take it.
I don’t think he’d initiate the apology. Not because he doesn’t want to make up but because his confidence is rock bottom in these situations.
He catastophizes and honestly thinks you hate him.
If you don’t initiate the apology soon, Belphie will. He can feel what his twin won’t say, and he knows Beel won’t approach you about it for fear of making it worse.
Belphie will lock you two in a room if that’s what it takes for you to make up.
Belphegor:
The embodiment of if looks could kill.
He won’t talk to you, won’t look at you, basically pretends you aren’t there.
If he must interact with you he’ll roll his eyes and sigh the whole time.
Tries to sleep through any interaction so he doesn’t have to deal with it.
He feels almost betrayed by the fight.
He thought the relationship was stronger than to have such a huge divide, so he’s really insecure about it.
After the first day, the anger has melted away to guilt.
He ‘s not guilty that you fought, but he is guilty about how he treated you after.
Guilt and self-blame have become unwelcome friends at this point. Guilt over Lilith, over his plans to destroy the human world, everything.
But more than anything else, the guilt for the fact that he attacked you weighs on him every day.
He moved past it quickly after, essentially pretending he hadn’t killed you, but that’s because he just couldn’t confront what he’d done. 
He feels like the luckiest demon alive that you forgave him, let alone  opened you heart enough to love him, and now it’s all in tatters.
Another thing to regret.
If you decide to sleep separately, it’ll hit him like a bag of bricks.
“You - what? Where are you going?” 
It’ll take him a second to process what you were doing, but then he’ll roll over and let you leave.
“Fine. Don’t let the door hit you.”
No one will see him for awhile. 
Belphie sleeps all the time anyway, but he just can’t make himself get out of bed.
If you don’t approach him to apologize, Beel will tell you that he’s been nauseous and randomly emotional which must mean his twin is coping very badly. 
Will beg you to go make Belphie happy again. 
If you sleep in his bed still, the argument will be resolved by morning.
He can’t keep himself from embracing you in his sleep, and it’s hard to say you’re mad at someone when you wake up in their loving arms.
It’s hard to pinpoint how long it could last with Belphie. If you don’t apologize first, he won’t let himself be conscious long enough to approach you.
This is both my first hc post as well as my first obey me post so I’m sorry if le boys are ooc. I just got this idea and couldn’t stop thinking about it so here we are.  Especially Belphie, he was hard to me for some reason. Let me know if you guys agree or disagree and if you want to send a request or ask, my box is open! 
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randomshyperson · 3 years
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Wanda Maximoff/Reader - The One Where You Punch Tony Stark - Part One
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Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || AO3 (Complete)
Summary:  When the rumors that you punched Tony Stark in the face spread around your school, some interesting events unfolded. Or enemies to Lovers in high School.
Warnings: 18+; Enemies to Lovers/ Angry Sex/ Underage Sex/ High School AU/ Violence/ Fights/ Inappropriate language.
Words:  19,905K (Complete)
//-//
Sometimes it is just a punch “ - Chapter One
Rumors at your high school were spreading like the plague. No one would really admit to talking about it, but everyone knew they were gossiping. Everything about this place seemed to irritate you deeply, from your stupid and petty classmates, with their idiotic social circles and narcissistic behavior, to the body of psychotics professors who seemed to take pleasure in embarrassing the students.
Fortunately, it was your senior year. You couldn't wait to get out of this place, to get away from this troublesome town.  You let out a grumble when you noticed two teenagers pressed up against your locker. Fucking hell, you thought impatiently as you walked up to them. Then you noticed who they were, and your irritation increased even more.
Golden boy, captain of the soccer team, arrogant pain in the ass, Steve Rogers, was kissing Sharon Carter against her locker. Sharon was a cheerleader, human barbie, and honestly, she used to be a nice girl in elementary school, then you guys grew up and she became an arrogant bitch.
- Really, Rogers, don't you have your own locker? - commented a voice next to you, before you could say anything. It was Natasha, your locker-mate, with whom you had at least three classes together. She was very closed off and didn't let anyone near her, always alone at school. But if you could guess, she was the closest thing you had to a friend in this place. Steve stopped kissing Sharon when he heard Natasha, and throwing his arm around the girl's shoulders, he smiled wryly at Nat.
- Take it easy, Romanoff. We were just making out. - He says, and then adopts a debauched expression. - You know what this is, right?
- Screw you, Rogers. - Natasha says without hesitation, Steve laughs ironically and then his gaze falls on you.
- What are you looking at? - He threatens, you roll your eyes. He then leaves, dragging Sharon through the halls. 
- Fucking idiot. - Nat grumbles when you are alone. You don't really know what to say, so you just stay silent as you open the locker to get your chemistry books. - I heard about Stark's party.
That's the problem with rumors. You didn't look at Nat, but shrugged. 
- What about Stark's party? - You tried to play along, but Nat let out a little giggle.
- Everyone is talking about how you punched him in the face. - She said, turning to you as she leaned against the now closed locker, two notebooks in her hand. You finished picking up your books and turned to her. - I just think it was cool. - You smile awkwardly, looking at the floor. Nat speaks after a moment. - Are you going to the game on Friday?
You blink in surprise at the question.
- I don't like football.
Nat chuckles.
- I'm not going to the game. - She says, and seeing your frown, she adds. - You know the skate rink a little way past the bleachers. I'm meeting some friends there. You can come if you like. - Nat says finally, winking at you before turning away, walking in the opposite direction of the corridor.
 You are very surprised that you have been asked to go out with Natasha Romanoff and the friends you didn't even know she had. Ignoring how awkward the interaction was, you make your way to the classrooms, heading towards the chemistry lab.
Professor Agatha Harkness has been your chemistry teacher since the first grade. She is extremely strict, and demands that her students work hard and cannot stand, or rather absolutely detests, sycophants. You laugh with the memory of the day when Steve Rogers tried to buy a higher grade by bringing her a Teachers' Day gift, and Ms. Harkness simply threw the package in the trash at the front of the room, saying that if he wanted to pass her class, he better study.
You took your place in the last chair, yawning slightly as you sat down. You were startled when your colleague in front, Darcy Lewis, turned in her chair to look at you.
- Can I help you? - you asked.
- I heard that you punched Tony Stark. - She said. - I think it's awesome. Finally someone wiped the pretentious smile off his face.
You smiled wryly. Darcy was one of the smartest girls in the class, and she had never really talked to you before. She returned your smile before turning forward again.
 You were distracted by the landscape outside, but you noticed when the room suddenly fell absolutely silent, and turned your face to find out what had happened. You felt your body tense with the intensity of anger you received in the gaze of Tony Stark, entering the room at that moment, a large purple mark in his left eye. He didn't stare at you for long, taking a seat in one of the front chairs with his friend James Rhodes. Many of the classmates began to whisper about the party, glances running between you and Tony. But the room fell silent as Ms. Harkness entered, and the students began to rush to their seats.
If there was one thing that Harkness hated more than sycophants, it was tardiness, so you weren't surprised that everyone in the room held their breath as they watched the Maximoff twins arrive late to class.
- What an honor the Maximoffs have decided to join my class. - She sneered as they walked to their seats. A few giggles were heard.
Pietro Maximoff was a member of the football team along with Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, and you guessed that's why he gave you an angry look before he sat down. You didn't really know the twins very well, but you knew that everyone knew them. 
While Pietro was extremely popular, and changed girlfriends like he changed clothes, his sister, Wanda Maximoff, was a member of the student council, as well as being the captain of the cheerleading squad. She was ridiculously beautiful, the kind that would bring boys crawling to her door. But you had never seen her date anyone, not that you really paid attention to Wanda anyway.
When Ms. Harkness started class, your mind wandered to lunchtime.
Your week went by too fast, you realized. With the final exam period approaching, you were spending a lot of time studying. Natasha didn't speak to you again all week, and you were beginning to imagine that the invitation to go out was your imagination, but then she smiled at you and told you that she hoped you could make it on Friday, and you just nodded, too surprised to say anything.
The school seemed to get even more unbearable on game days. The players were agitated and noisy, and disrupted all the classes. Also, the cheerleaders seemed to occupy every bathroom you entered, taking over the sinks with their makeup. 
You grumbled when last period finally came around. It was literature with Mrs. Hill, and she was probably the only teacher you liked.
It was hot, and you put your leather jacket on the chair as you stretched your body and raised your arms, lifting your shirt a little. You blushed in surprise as you noticed a girl you didn't know staring at you mischievously, her gaze drifting down to your waist tattoo, which had been visible for a moment.
She continued to stare at you brazenly, biting her lip, and you felt very uncomfortable. 
- Do you need anything? - you asked snidely. The girl was startled, and rolled her eyes in embarrassment, then turned to look away. - What the fuck was that. - you muttered to yourself, as you opened your notebooks.
You heard laughter, and raised your eyes, frowning as you felt your stomach flip at the vision of Wanda Maximoff throwing her head back as she laughed at something her partner said to her as the two of them entered the room. You blinked in confusion at your own reaction, quickly looking away. 
And then your lab partner for two years, Jessica Jones, with whom you had never exchanged a word that was not subject-related sat down next to you and asked how you were doing.
- I'm sorry, what's that? - You asked in surprise, but Jessica smiled.
- What's up with you? - she repeated, causing you to frown.
- Why are you talking to me? - you retorted, and Jessica just shrugged.
- I want to be friends with the girl who punched Tony Stark in the face. - She says simply, and you stare at her for a few seconds, not knowing exactly what to say.
- All right, then. - You say, turning your attention back to your materials. Jessica smiles before adjusting her posture to rest her head on her arms on the table. 
Professor Hill begins her class shortly after, and you reprimand yourself for letting your gaze wander to Wanda and then looking away. What the fuck is the matter with you today?
You were particularly focused on an exercise that didn't seem to make any sense when your classmate in front of you passed you a piece of paper. You looked around, seeing a small commotion, which indicated that the paper had been passed around the room. You frown, opening it.
- Ulala, you have an admirer. - Jessica teased, leaning yours shoulders together to read the paper. On it was simply written "want to make out? girls restroom, second floor". You laughed ruefully. - Are you going to accept?
- I don't even know who sent it. - You comment, looking around, but no one is looking at you. You quickly hide the paper to prevent the teacher from seeing. - Besides, it might just be a joke.
- Maybe. But the whole school is talking about you, so I think you might have suitors. - Jessica commented, writing in her notebook. - Besides, you're hot. It's not like no one notices you.
- Thanks. - You laughed, returning your attention to the exercise.
The class finally came to an end, and Jessica patted you on the shoulder, wishing you a good date even though she knew you weren't going, and you laughed, realizing it was a joke.
You were putting your notebooks away in your locker when school counselor Nicolas Fury approached you.
- Hello, Miss Y/L/N. Could we talk for a moment? - He asks, leading the way to his office. You sigh, knowing exactly what this is about, before nodding in agreement.
In Fury's office, you sit in the armchair opposite his desk, while he assumes his typical thoughtful position.
- I'll be straightforward, Y/N. - he begins. - I heard rumors about you getting involved in a street fight outside of school hours.
- Great choice of words, Fury. - You counter. - Out of school hours, and even off school grounds so I really don't understand why I'm here.
Fury smiles, crossing his legs.
- So you admit you were in a fight? You know as a counselor I need to warn your mother...
 - I admit nothing. - You cut without patience. - It's my word against the other gossips. 
The man lets out a chuckle before continuing.
- I imagine Anthony Stark's black eye was a domestic accident then?
You smile wryly, shrugging your shoulders.
- I think Tony Stark would rather say he hit his face against a wall than admit he got beaten by a girl, so I would put that in your report.
- Please, Y/N. - Fury asks with a serious expression. - If you tell me the reason for the conflict with Mr. Stark, I can find a way to help you.
You laugh, crossing your arms.
- The reason is that Tony Stark is an arrogant jerk who thinks he can do and say whatever he wants without consequences. - You say, and then stand up. - I don't have anything to tell you, and school hours are over. Excuse me, Mr. Fury.
You say before hurrying out of the room, annoyed by all the talk. Leaving the hallways, you roll your eyes at the excitement of your classmates, all of them heading for the soccer field, while the remaining team members in the hallway were applauded and patted on the back as if they were war heroes.
You were happy to remember your date with Nat and her friends as you walked out of the school.
Good thing I brought my jacket, was your first thought as you headed out to the skate park to meet Nat. You could hear the noise from the stands, which must have been packed since everyone in the school seemed to love football.
You had bought some French fries from one of the stalls set up for the game, and walked alone toward the park, around the iron bleachers.
A few minutes later you arrived at the skateboarding rink, observing the small group of people that was there. Nat waved to you as soon as she saw you, and you smiled.
- Hey, you made it. - She remarked as she approached. You waved. She turned to the group. - Guys, this is the girl I told you about, Y/N. 
You waved to everyone, who smiled at you.
- This is Clint, Laura, Thor, Valkyrie and my boyfriend Bruce. - Nat said, introducing everyone. You have never seen them at school. - They are owls.
Oh, that makes sense. You thought. They were all students at the state school that was two blocks away. Their mascot was an owl, and their team was your school's opponent in today's game. That's why they were all here.
You sat down with them, offering them some of the fries you had bought. You smiled as you noticed Nat sitting with Bruce, it was different to see her like this, completely comfortable and smiling openly.
Thor then stood up, a skateboard in his hand.
- Hey, Y/N, want to give it a try? - He suggested and you hesitated. You didn't really know how to skate. But Thor seemed nice and willing to teach you, so you nodded and stood up.
It was fun to learn from him. You laughed about the times you fell on your buttocks, and Thor seemed concerned about checking to see if you were all right. And when you got tired of that, you and he joined the group again, talking about various random things.
You eventually found out that Clint and Laura were already engaged to be married, and intended to move in together after college. You thought Thor and Valkyrie were boyfriend and girlfriend at first, but she commented that she hoped to meet more interesting girls in college. Also, Thor told you that he was applying to colleges outside of New York, wanting to be closer to his brother. Bruce wanted to go to medical school, and he and Nat were looking forward to sharing an apartment together. You told them that you had applied to colleges all over the country, that there was nothing really keeping you here. 
You spent the whole period of the game talking, and having fun. And then, when the fireworks went off from the stadium bleachers, you thought it was time to go.
The vast majority of the people had already gone home by the time you reached the stands, and then you thought you heard a noise. Investigating the source, you walked slowly around the iron construction, letting out an exclamation of surprise at the image you saw.
Tony Stark was wrapped around Steve Rogers in the passionate kiss. You wanted to laugh at the hypocrisy. You were going to leave in silence, because you didn't give a fuck about what these two were doing, but Tony pushed Steve away and opened his eyes, and then he saw you.
Assuming an aggressive posture, while Steve looked worried, he advanced toward you.
- What the fuck are you doing there girl? - He shouted, and you took a few steps back in surprise.
- You must be looking to get punched in the face again. - You retorted angrily, hiding your nervousness. You could fight, but being alone against Stark and Rogers, you might push your luck. 
- I think you'd better not tell anyone what you saw here. - He threatened when he approached you, Steve following close behind.
- You think I care if you're banging Rogers behind the locker room, Stark? Screw you. - You retorted in a provocative tone. Stark advanced on you, his fist raised, but Rogers held him back.
- You're out of your mind, it's a girl. - He spoke, shoving Tony away from you. 
- Listen to your boyfriend, Stark. - You teased last, reveling in Tony's anger.
Tony let out an irritated snort and jumped toward you again, but when Rogers grabbed him, he punched him in the face. You blinked in surprise, and then they started to fight, rolling on the ground.
What the fuck, you thought, frowning at the scene, and taking a few steps back to avoid being bumped into.
And then someone shouted, and you looked up from the fight to see Pietro Maximoff coming out of the locker room along with Wanda, and another boy from the team who you thought was named Bucky.
The boys ran to separate the two, and Pietro held Tony by the arms as Bucky stood in front of Steve.
- What the fuck are you guys doing? - shouted Pietro.
- It's all this crazy bitch's fault! - Tony shouted, pointing at you. You rolled your eyes as Pietro looked at you in confusion.
- Are you fighting over her? - he asked. And you burst out laughing when you understood.
- Oh, Maximoff, that's not the kind of fruit they like. - You sneered and Pietro had to hold Tony back to keep him from jumping on you. 
- Let's get them out of here. - Said Bucky dragging Steve away. Pietro nodded as he dragged Tony to the opposite side.
You frowned when you were left alone with Wanda, and she looked at you.
- Do you need something? - you said snidely, and Wanda let out a wry laugh.
- I don't know what your deal is, girl. - she said, stepping closer. - But I think you'd better leave my friends alone.
You laughed.
- What friends, Maximoff? - You countered. - Those kids are narcissistic sociopaths who will fuck anything that wears a skirt. And your brother is an asshole. You're just a trophy to them.
- You don't know shit. - Wanda spoke angrily.
- Try to stop behaving the way they want you to. - You provoked by taking a step forward. - One day of not being the perfect little lady that everyone thinks you are.
- You shut your mouth. - She retorted with fury in her eyes, and then she shoved your shoulders, making you laugh ironically. - Stay away from me.
- Oh but I can't wait to get out of this fucking school! - You shouted back, laughing wryly. - And I'll never have to endure Stark's little group ever again. But mostly, I won't have to deal with Miss Perfect Girl here, with her fake smiles and annoying comments. - You punctuated your sentences with your finger, as you approached Wanda, who was staring wide-eyed. You let out your breath through your mouth as you realized how close you were, and stared intensely at Wanda. - I hate you.
- I hate you too. - She whispered before breaking the distance between you.
You closed your eyes tightly, lifting your hands to Wanda's waist and squeezing. Wanda sighed against your mouth, and you took the opportunity to push your tongue against hers, moaning at the new sensation.
Feeling her whole body respond to the kiss, you pushed her, until she slammed her back against the locker room wall. You pressed your knee against Wanda's center, and she moaned against your lips, lifting her right leg and entwining it around your waist. You felt your body tremble in anticipation, and the new friction made you press Wanda tight against the wall.
You weren't thinking about anything. All you felt was Wanda. Her tongue circling in your mouth, stealing all the air from your lungs. You pulled your mouths apart to breathe, and moved your kisses down to Wanda's collarbone, which made her sigh. You kissed the skin, hard, marking her. The thought of her trying to hide those marks after that, stimulated you to suck. Wanda let out a loud groan, pressing her nails into your shoulder.
You brought your mouths together again, and let your hands run up the inside of Wanda's blouse. She was still wearing her cheerleader uniform, and you tried not to think about it so much.
Your hand reached her right breast, and you squeezed without hesitation.Wanda moaned against your mouth, and you kissed her hard as you pressed your bodies together.
She whimpered as you pushed your knee up, breaking the kiss to rest her head on your shoulder. You let out a wry chuckle, lifting her chin with your hand and forcing her to face you as you brought your mouths together again. This time you let your tongue play with hers slowly and sensually, making her shiver. 
And then you reached down into her blouse again, pulling down her bra. With her breasts exposed, you played with her hardened nipples, feeling Wanda rub against your knee. 
You lowered your hand around her waist, pulling up the fabric of her skirt. Your hand moved down to her now exposed ass, and you squeezed the flesh, pressing Wanda against you. The contact made you both moan with intensity.
When you interrupted the friction with your knee, Wanda grumbled at the lack of contact, but you kissed her firmly, one hand squeezing her neck, and she trembled completely. You released her ass, to run your fingers up her thigh, until finally you reached her pussy. 
Reaching up with your fingers to pull down Wanda's panties, you kept up the pace of the kiss, wanting to keep her distracted.
You found her pussy soaked, and moaned as you felt it. Massaging her superficially with just one finger, it didn't take long for Wanda to whimper, moving her hips in search of more contact.
She broke the kiss with a moan when you penetrated her without warning. You moved your hand from her breasts to grip her leg around your waist, seeing that the intensity of your touch was making Wanda shiver and lose her balance. 
You withdrew your finger and then sank in again, and Wanda rested her head on your collarbone, sighing breathlessly.
- I'm sorry, Wanda. But I won't be gentle. - You whispered against her ear before sticking two fingers in without warning.
Wanda cried out against your skin, completely surrendered. You didn't wait for her to get used to the sensation, moving your fingers immediately afterwards. She bit your shoulder to keep from moaning, and her hips began to move frantically against you next, trying to increase the speed. You smiled mischievously, following her request. 
It didn't take long for her body to quiver in spasms, you delighting in the feel of her pussy tightening against your fingers. A thrust or two later, and she came apart against you, letting out a sultry moan against your ear that made your own intimacy pulsate. 
You continued to stimulate Wanda's swollen clitoris even after she came, and she bit your shoulder, trying to normalize her breathing and stop shaking. She quickly lowered her hand to yours, asking you to stop your touch, and you gave her a dirty smile before moving your fingers up to your mouth, tasting Wanda's sweet flavor on your tongue. She looked at you with dilated pupils, and then moved forward, kissing you again and tasting herself in your mouth.
Kissing like this, she was soon ready for another. But you were interrupted, a hissing noise in the distance. You grumbled, pulling away, as you helped Wanda fix her clothes. 
- Who's there? The game is over! - says a voice. You knew it was the janitor, he had probably come to lock up the locker rooms. 
You and Wanda laughed as you ran past him, holding hands, while he yelled that you couldn't be there.
When you reached the parking area, you caught a glimpse of Rogers' car parked next to Pietro's car. The four boys were there, talking. They didn't see you.
Wanda also looked and then pulled you to the corner of the wall of the school building, hidden from the rest of the place. 
- I guess this is good-bye. - You commented, letting Wanda press you against the wall, as she slung her arms around your shoulders. You kept your hands on her waist. - It's a shame really. I wanted to make you cum in my mouth.
Wanda bites her lips, holding back a giggle as her eyes sparkle with mischief.
- It doesn't have to be the last time. - She says, bringing your mouths closer together.
- No, it doesn't. - You agree, closing the distance, meeting her in a slow kiss, while your hands press her ass into you.
- Hmmm, I should go. - She grumbles, breaking the kiss without pulling away. You bring your mouths together again, biting her lip gently, which makes her close her eyes and chase after your mouth, but you don't kiss her.
- You can go. - You play, squeezing her flesh again and pressing her against you.
- Fuck. - She whispers before kissing you again, one last time. 
You separate amidst giggles and stolen kisses. Wanda gives you one last look before walking toward the parking lot. You stand there against the wall for a while, your heart racing, with the promise that this would not be the last time.
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thefanficmonster · 3 years
Text
Casual
Ranboo x Reader (Female)
Warnings: None, unless talking about the future counts
Genre: FLUFF, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)
Summary: Following the arrival of the dreadful invitation to his cousin’s wedding Ranboo turns to the only cover-up he can think of to keep his still-single status hidden from his family.
Requested by Anon. Hi darling! Thank you so much for your wonderful request! I’m so glad you sent your idea to me and I’m so glad you were my first official Ranboo request. I’m really sorry it’s taken me so long to write it but I still hope you’ll come across it and read it! Love, Vy ❤
“Heyyy, so Y/N, I have a favor to ask you...um yeah, call me back, it’s awkward sending it via voicemail. Bye“
Huh - that’s the first thought that goes through my head when I listen to the voicemail left after a missed call from my best friend Ranboo. The favors he usually asks for consist of requesting assistance for his videos in which I also appear with a mask and sunglasses to keep the brand running. I genuinely have nothing against my face being shown but when I think about it, I’m honestly a bit glad people can’t identify me.
Anyways, back to the favors, Ranboo is no stranger to asking me for them but they’ve never been considered too awkward for a voicemail which is why I’m no slightly concerned. I’ve been swamped with work for school and studies for the graduation finals for the past two weeks and it seems like I’ll never get on top of it and I know Ranboo’s been in a similar situation too, so maybe he needs help with that? He’s not used to asking help for school stuff, he sometimes even has a hard time accepting it when I openly offer it to him.
I eventually sigh, decide that playing this guessing game will not get me anywhere and settle on giving him a call as I make my way home from the gym with my legs barely putting up with the task of carrying me around.
He picks up on the second ring.
“Hey! Wh-...“
“Would you pretend to be my girlfriend for my cousin’s wedding next weekend?!“
My legs take that opportunity to stop moving in the middle of the sidewalk which is luckily void of any people at the moment. It’s not my fault my body’s first reaction was to freeze up at the question that came flying at me like an out-of-control jet, almost as though he’s been dying to say it and get it over with.
“Um...run that by me again please, I think I misunderstood.“ I say, blinking blankly as though awoken from a fever dream. No, actually as though I’m IN a fever dream right now.
“Ok, now that the cat’s out of the bag, wanna grab some coffee and talk about it face-to-face. I need to see your facial expressions to gauge what response to expect.“ He says, the previous nervousness gone and his voice calm as regularly once again.
I’m this close to face-palming but I squeeze my eyes tightly shut and bring myself to utter a reply, “Our usual spot. Be there in ten minutes.”
                                                             *  *  *
“No freaking way.“ I shake my head, folding my arms over my chest as I lean back in my seat in the booth we picked when we arrived. Good thing I got an iced coffee cause even a hot one would’ve gone cold by now considering I haven’t yet taken the time to have even a sip of it. I’ve been too busy listening to the long and short of the explanation and begging speech Ranboo probably made last night to try and convince me to agree to this nonsense. “Dude, we’ve been friends since middle school-...“
“Exactly! Who else was I gonna ask?“ He cuts me off, pleading gaze meeting my unimpressed one.
I huff before continuing my previous statement, “We’ve been friends since middle school so you know my opinion on weddings.” I put extra emphasis on the word ‘opinion’, giving him the clear hint at the distaste I’ve expressed on the topic multiple times before.
“And you know we’re on the same page there but there’s no way I can avoid going unless someone kidnaps me.“ He too now gets in the same stance as me, his coffee forgotten too.
I can’t help but snort out a little laugh, “I’d be more than happy to kidnap you considering the other option is far less appealing to me.“
He, of course, rolls his eyes at me as though he didn’t offer to do the same thing so I could avoid an exam but anyways. “So you’re gonna choose to fake a kidnapping that has the potential of landing you in jail over coming to eat some great food and maybe even have some fun at a wedding with your best friend? I’m hurt.“ He says, frowning to cover up the smile that’s fighting its way onto his face.
Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes, “I’d be kidnapping you, dummy...” I cut myself off to let out a long sigh and calm down before I go off at him. His smirk isn’t helping me much with the task either. I’ve known Ranboo long enough to know he’ll eventually convince me and he’s known me long enough to know how to do that exactly. With that in mind, there’s really no point in getting so worked up and wasting my energy. And so, despite my own rationality, I cave. “Fine, but I’m not staying the whole wedding.“
His eyes immediately light up and almost makes me feel the compromise was worth it. Almost. I mean, when you’ve been best friends with someone for so long, seeing them happy is worth more to you than your own comfort sometimes.
And he knows it too. Which is exactly why he outstretches his hand for me to shake and says: “Just one dance and you’re free to go. Deal?”
I take his hand without hesitations. That’s a better offer than I could’ve ever imagined. “Damn straight it’s a deal.“
                                                            *  *  *
“How long until you kick the heels off?“ Ranboo asks, bringing me a non-alcoholic cocktail and sitting down next to me.
I take a sip and giggle, “You kidding? I already kicked them off and replaced them with flats. I need mobility if we dance. They also lower the risk of me severing off a toe of yours if I step on you on accident.”
He laughs, clinking his glass against mine before he gets a bit more serious, “By the way, thanks for handling my family’s attack so well. I know it might’ve been a bit much but you handled it like a pro. Still, I’m sorry on their behalf.”
I shake my head and wave my hand dismissively, “Don’t mention it. I’d probably react the same way if my brother or cousin brought a date to an important family event like this.” I instinctively turn to look in the direction of where the majority of his family has gathered around, chatting with guests, smiling brightly. It’s hard not to immediately take a liking towards these people. They’ve been a second family to me ever since Ranboo and I started hanging out so I completely understand why they were so shocked to see me in the role of his ‘girlfriend’.
“I’ll tell my parents the truth later, our extended family is the ones I wanted to fool to be perfectly honest.“ He looks around as do I and we catch more than a few pairs of eyes fixated on us that turn away when they realize they’ve been spotted, “Mission accomplished by the looks of it.“
I chuckle. I’ve never felt so comfortable at a wedding before. I don’t feel stressed nor anxious despite knowing that there’s quite the number of eyes on me and there are whispers going around about my ‘relationship’ with Ranboo. It’s oddly calming and relaxing to be surrounded by some familiar and some unfamiliar faces. This cocktail is pretty great too.
Speaking of which, if it had any alcohol in it I’d blame it for the decision I’m about to make but this one’s entirely on me: I tap Ranboo with one hand while taking out my phone with the other. “If we’re already the talk of the wedding, let’s give them something to talk about.“ I say as I put up my phone, pretending to be taking a selfie leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek.
When I pull away I can clearly see that he’s still processing what just happened. I can’t help but burst out in a fit of laughter as I reach out to wipe the lipstick stain I left on his cheek. He looks like a lost, clueless puppy with the question: ‘what on Earth just happened???’ replaying in his head and it’s so freaking cute!
Wait....what was that? Since when do I use the adjective cute to describe Ranboo? Didn’t I think he looks handsome in a suit earlier too? The hell is with me today?
Then it hits me - the feeling isn’t foreign. Like, I know I’ve felt it before but I never analyzed it or even bothered to acknowledge it. But now that I do, I’m afraid of what it might be.
“There!“ I say, desperately trying to push the thoughts away along with this little firework show in my stomach, “Now you have pinker cheeks. Well, cheek, singular.“
As if snapping out of his state of confusion, he returns to Earth with a smirk, “Kiss the other to even it?”
Alright, his blush might not be even but mine now is and it’s ten times as intense and very much apparent but I don’t let the feeling shine through anything else as I proceed to actually kiss his other cheek too, wiping the lipstick stain.
“Thanks. You’re the best.” And just like that, as though it’s no big deal, he kisses my forehead.
See, that’s the thing, it shouldn’t be a big deal! It’s never been! This is far from the first time I’ve kissed him on the cheek or the first time he’s given me a forehead kiss. These are regular occurrences after years of this lovely friendship we have. Why do they feel so different now?
Then, much to my relief, the music starts and the lights turn off leaving only one spotlight for the groom and bride to have their first dance. They look absolutely astonishing and I can certainly say I’ve never before stopped to think that about any newly weds of the weddings I’ve preciously been to. I don’t know if it has something to do with the company I have for this particular wedding or it’s maybe the fact that my mindset’s changed over the years without me realizing.
Then I automatically look at Ranboo who just so happens to be looking at me too and all I can say is: my mindset hasn’t changed.
A loud applause takes over when the couple finish their dance, officially opening the dancefloor for any other pairs who’d like to occupy it and I’m happy to see how many people are eager to rush up with their partner.
 Ranboo gets up, putting the glass down and offers me his hand, “So, wanna dance? Don’t take this as a sign to leave though, we said one dance and you CAN leave, not SHOULD.” He says, giving me a warning look.
I roll my eyes and am about to give him some sass right back but he takes my hand and picks me up from my seat, leading me to the dancefloor.  And I gotta admit maybe it’s a good thing he did. If he left it to me I would’ve probably said no to the dance and ran the hell away. Why? - Cause I’m freaking terrified of this new mindset and point of view and these intense emotions I never used to pay any mind to before in regards to my best friend.
Friends don’t feel that way about friends. Friends don’t look at friends that way. What’s happening to me?
When I gotta look him in the eyes like this, not for the first time might I add, I can finally understand how the friends-to-lovers trope works: it’s all meaningless until it starts to mean so much to you. It’s all platonic until it reminds you of a romantic movie moment. It ‘best friends’ until it’s ‘I wish we were more than that’. It’s all casual, until it’s not.
And, unfortunately, it’s irreversible.
Damn do I wish I ran away now...
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Text
just friends
word count: 5,393
pairing: Akaashi Keiji x Fem!Reader
warnings: literally all fluff. maybe some swearing lol 
a/n: this literally was supposed to be a short fluffy drabble and turned into a full on fic haha. I wrote a lot of this while I was half asleep so please excuse any spelling mistakes haha. I hope you guys like it! 💕 gif below isn’t mind, creds to the original creator!
haikyuu masterlist
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Your window was only open slightly, meant for allowing the cool air to flow in, while also aiding for a certain somebody’s quick escape if it came down to that.
The Fukurōdani Academy Group Summer Camp started tomorrow. Well. Today, if you count the fact that it was already 2AM.
It had originally been 11PM. 3 hours ago, Akaashi Keiji had crawled up the side of your house and tapped his knuckles ever so softly on your window. It had freaked you out for a second until he texted you “Lemme in”, to which you then moved to the window to greet him with a confused look.
“Akaashi, if my parents hear you-” you started, glancing over your shoulder and hoping they hadn’t somehow managed to get to your bedroom door without you noticing.
“Then stay quiet and help me in,” he shrugged, slowly plopping into your room and smiling down at you. “How’s your evening?”
You just stared at him, “Akaashi, it’s late!” You hissed as he crawled into your bed and got comfortable like he was meant to be there. “What’re you doing awake anyways? Don’t you have to be up early for your training camp?”
Akaashi just gave a hum and a nod, patting the other side of the bed he wasn’t currently occupying and giving you a smile. You rolled your eyes and tucked yourself in next to him. It didn’t matter that the two of you were slightly squished, if anything your bed actually felt comfier this way.
Without any more questions, you and Akaashi laid there for hours, whispering as the time ticked by. Your legs slowly tangled together under the sheets and you fit in his side as if you were made to be there.
“What’re you thinking about?” Akaashi asked suddenly, his voice coated with fatigue, eyes lazily opening to look over at you and your pensive expression. It had been so long between topics, you had actually started to think he had fallen asleep.
“What do you mean?” You smiled back at him, your fingers still tracing along the lines on his palm like you had been for the past 10 minutes.
“You’re too quiet to be not thinking. And you’re obviously not sleeping. So what’re you thinking about?” Akaashi explained, interlacing your hands together for a moment. Just to see how they fit.
“Why did you come?” You questioned after a moment, turning to really look him in the eyes this time. Akaashi had such a soft demeanour about him tonight, a gentleness that you hardly ever saw when he and Bokuto were getting up to their usual mischief. But he was always kind and sweet to you, always took a moment of his day to tuck your hair behind your ear, or pluck a piece of fluff off your shoulder. Always put his plans on pause to ask you about your day, texted you about life and school and plans for the future.
His future included nationals. Playing in front of crowds and cameras, screaming fans and loud cheers. His future included volleyball. But you always wondered if there was room for you in that future too.
Akaashi paused, watching your eyes and for a moment, you could’ve sworn he had looked at your lips, a flicker of something different crossing his eyes. “I needed to see you.”
He said it so casually. As if this was normal. As if it was normal for a guy to crawl into a girl’s bedroom and lay in her bed like they were already married.
“I see you practically every day when we’re at school,” you pointed out, brushing a piece of hair from his eyes and trying to determine what he was really thinking because lord knows you could never tell.
Akaashi just stared some more at you, eyes slowly blinking from exhaustion. “I’ll be busy the next few weeks. With volleyball. And I know you’ve got plans for the summer too. I just... wanted to see you before I got all busy. I wanted to just be here with you and pretend like i could come back here.”
“You could,” you added quickly, maybe a bit too quickly, because then he looked at you with surprise. “I like it when you come by,” you admitted to him quietly, sitting up slightly in your bed. “I’m going to miss you while you’re all busy this summer.”
“I can make time,” Akaashi said hurriedly, his teeth tugging on his lips as he sat up with you. “For you. I can make time.”
You look at him with a smile, his thumb grazing over your hand again as he interlaced your fingers together once more. The two of you sat there, both wanting to ask the hovering question that sat buried in your throats.
What are we?
We’re friends, you’d always insist to your friends.
But friends don’t come crawling into your room at the middle of the night to hold you and hold your hand.
We’re just friends, Akaashi had told the team before with flushed cheeks.
But no friend of Akaashi’s had ever made him so nervous, Bokuto pointed out. And friends don’t stare at each other across the room the way you two do.
What are we?
“You should go,” you pointed out as you felt the tensions rising, glancing at the clock. It was almost 3:30AM now. Maybe it was sleep exhaustion or maybe you were just tired of never knowing what you were to Akaashi, but you knew if you didn’t get him out of your room now, you might end up spilling your guts to him.
Had she felt me try to get the courage to confess? Akaashi wondered as he gathered his things, moving to leave from the window again. But not before he wrapped you up into another hug, pressed a gentle kiss on your forehead. Do friends give forehead kisses?
“I’ll miss you,” he stated as he started to climb out the window.
“It’s not like you’re going across the world,” you teased with an awkward sort of laugh. “I’ll come see you guys maybe. When you’re not too busy.”
It could’ve been your imagination, but he seemed to lighten up at this idea. He nodded and pulled his backpack off for a moment to pull a hoodie from it. “To keep you warm when I’m not around,” he told you as he handed it to you. So casual. Like this was just something friends do.
“T-Thanks,” you tried to hide your smile, tried to hide the fact that you wanted to squeal out like a little girl. You held onto the hoodie as he gave you another little wave and crawled out of your house. You held it tighter as he landed on the ground, looking up at you and smiling at you like you were his romantic interest.
Do friends look at each other like that?
When he disappeared from view, you held the hoodie to your chest, smiling as you smelt his cologne or body wash or whatever the hell it was that made Akaashi smell like Akaashi. You crawled back into bed after closing your window tightly and turning off the lights, still gripping onto the hoodie he had left with you.
Do friends miss each other almost immediately after they’re gone? A few days later and there was Akaashi crawling through your window again. You heard the knock on the glass and found him with a tired smile on his face.
“Are you just going to keep visiting me in the middle of the night?” You asked with a giggle, watching him flop into your bed and open his arms asking you to join him.
“I have to look at sweaty annoying boys all day. What’s wrong with seeing a pretty girl every now and then?” He asked as you crawled in. Do friends say things like that to each other?
“Aw it can’t be all that bad,” you insisted, avoiding his eyes as you tried to wave off the compliment. “Bokuto is rather nice to look at.”
Akaashi huffed a bit, tickling your sides briefly until you reminded him in a harsh whisper that your parents were asleep. “Stop thinking about another boy while I’m here with you,” he stuck his tongue out at you playfully.
“Sorry I’ll stick to thinking about them when you’re not around,” you teased, making him poke at your side some more.
Did friends get jealous that easily?
“Why did you come?” You asked him after a while, tracing soft lines with your finger tips down his cheek and jawline, as if carefully measuring out a masterpiece because that’s exactly what he was. “Is the training camp really that bad?”
“Nah it’s alright. It’s fun getting to play with some new teams. Bokuto gets all excited about showing off his skills,” Akaashi responded softly, his eyes closing slowly as the two of you spoke.
“Aren’t you sore? From all your games?”
“Extremely. I’m not going to feel my legs tomorrow that’s for sure.”
“You shouldn’t have walked all this way then, idiot. You’re going to tire out your legs even more.”
“It’s worth it if I get to see you,” his voice was so quiet you weren’t even sure he actually said it. You looked up at him and found his eyes open again, watching you as if gauging your reaction.
Did friends make you feel like your heart would beat out of your chest? Do friends walk all the way to your house in the middle of the night after exercising all day?
What are we?
You wanted to ask, the words forming at your lips. The question was begging to be answered, pleading at your vocal cords to produce some sort of sound.
But what if you were reading into things?
What if friends really do all the things you wondered about? What if you weren’t exactly friends but weren’t anything more either? What if Akaashi saw you as a placeholder. A warm body to be everything a girlfriend could be until he found someone actually worthy.
What if you really were just friends?
Akaashi left a few moments later, groaning softly as he stretched and giving you another exhausted smile as he insisted he’d be back some other time. He traded sweaters with you, pulling out a brand new one for you from his bag and taking the one he had left earlier.
“I’m okay with this one Akaashi, why are you giving me another?” You asked confusedly.
He shrugged and you could’ve sworn there was a blush on his cheeks, “Just cause.”
He wrapped you up in a hug, pressed another kiss to your forehead and slipped out the window. Then spent the whole walk back shaking his head at himself for not saying what he wanted to say.
“Because I like how my clothes smell like you after you wear them,” he spoke aloud into the quiet night. “Because I wanted a part of me to always be with you. Because I don’t want you thinking about Bokuto, I want you thinking about me. Because I wanted to walk all this way to tell you how I felt and I chickened out again.”
The reasons piled into his head and he angrily kicked at some rocks as he walked. Why was it so much easier to think of why when he walked away?
“Because I want to know what we are,” he whispered to himself, stopping his footsteps and staring at the sky for a moment before walking further from you.
More days passed and you couldn’t help but feel disappointed when you didn’t hear from Akaashi as much. He was busy. You were busy. Everyone was busy, you told yourself. It’s not like he forgot about you. Or that he decided to ghost you.
It’s not like he found someone else. It was a volleyball training camp, who could he have found?
You wanted to tell yourself that there wasn’t anyone else and even if there was, it’s not like you had a claim to him anyway. You and Akaashi were just friends.
But you still waited for him every night, looking out the window in hopes he’d come.
Finally you heard a little tap at your window, and there was Akaashi with another tired grin. He seemed like he was glowing more than usual. He seemed bigger, more toned under his jacket.
“I missed you,” you told him shyly and the two of you curled back under the sheets together again.
“I’m sorry,” he sighed, pressing his lips briefly against your forehead. “I got all caught up in training and even after the day is gone, everyone still wants to practice. Even that blond boy from Karasuno seems like he’s getting into it.”
You smiled and nodded, thinking about the few texts that Akaashi seemed to get out to you when he wasn’t so busy, “I’m sure everyone’s training hard for Nationals.”
Akaashi nodded and smiled, shifting so he was lying on his back and staring at your ceiling, “It’s getting really close. We got to be the best we can be.”
“You’re already really good. But I know you guys will win it all,” you beamed up at him excitedly. It was one of your favourite things, watching them play. And these National games always came with such excitement.
“Only if you’re there cheering us on,” Akaashi glanced at you, as if he had asked if you were coming and waiting for you to confirm.
“Of course,” you nodded up at him. “I wanna watch my boys beat everyone! Wipe the floor with them!”
Akaashi smirked and held onto you a little tighter, fingers dancing along your skin gently.
Did friends send tingles up your spine when they touched you? Because you hadn’t noticed it with anyone else but him.
“I can’t stay long tonight, love,” he whispered to you softly after an hour of whispered conversations passed. “I told Bokuto I’d wake up early with him and get some more practice.”
You nodded understandingly, though your heart felt a little as he started to move, “After your camp, maybe we can start doing all those summer things you wanted to do. When you’re not practicing of course.”
Akaashi chuckled and nodded, “Sure. Ice cream, find a beach, go swimming, whoop your ass in a water balloon fight,” he listed off.
You rolled your eyes, shoving his shoulder back as you insisted that he was definitely going to lose a water balloon fight.
His hands grabbed you by the shoulders, pulling you into another hug. This time a bit tighter, like he was scared you were fading away, “I’m sorry I can’t stay,” he murmured to you, pulling away slightly to look down at you. “But I promise I’ll come see you soon.”
Why did everything he say always seemed like something a boyfriend would say? Do friends say things like that?
“I know you’re busy, Akaashi, don’t worry,” you told him with a small shrug, staring at your hands nervously.
“Y/N...”
There was something in his tone... something so foreign. You looked up at him and saw nervousness in his eyes, his hands sliding down your arms to hold your hands.
“Yea?”
Akaashi cleared his throat awkwardly, his eyes glancing between yours and your hands.
“I- We...” he started.
What are we?
Three words.
Or maybe he should ask what you wanted you two to be?
Is that too much? Is that too pushy?
What if you didn’t think there needed to be anything more to this relationship? What if he was overthinking it? What if this was just for fun and you really were into Bokuto?
“Are you okay, Akaashi?” You asked after a moment of him stuttering.
“Yeah... we’ll do all those things and more,” he finally managed out, his eyes avoiding yours more now. “Promise.”
You nodded slowly, wishing he would keep holding your hand as you two moved away from each other. He traded sweaters with you again, pressed another kiss to your forehead, and disappeared into the night.
You spent the night wondering what he had started saying. Why was he so nervous tonight? What was it about tonight that made him so awkward? You hadn’t seen Akaashi nervous in a lot of situations. He was always so calm, but not tonight for some reason. Could it be that he was nervous… just like you were? Could it actually be that you two were something other than just friends?
It was the last day of the summer training camp and the smell of cooking meat made Akaashi’s mouth water. He looked around him, carefully calculating exactly what kind of meats he wanted to grab off of the barbecues. He and Komi chatted with Tsukishima briefly about their baby Ace’s tantrums, Akaashi smirking to himself as he watched his idiotic best friend going around with Hinata, drooling over the lunch. 
“When Bokuto told me to swing by for lunch, this isn’t quite what I expected.”
There was a little lurch in Akaashi’s chest, hearing that voice. He swung around to see you standing there, Suzumeda giving you a little wave after she had shown you to where the team was. “Glad you could swing by! It’s not every day we get to hang out with Akaashi’s friend,” she snickered, a teasing tone in the way she said friend. 
You and Akaashi both just looked at her funny before turning back to each other, a smile on your face, “Did you miss me?”
Akaashi just gave you a little smirk, grabbing you by your wrist and pulling you into a hug, “Obviously.” He smiled down at you. “Sorry, did you say Bokuto told you to come?” He asked suddenly, looking around to find a wide smiled owl looking Bokuto behind him.
“I just thought that you’d actually smile a bit if she came by!” Bokuto insisted with a laugh, hands on his hips all proud-like. “Good to see you, Y/N! Must be nice to come by and hang out with Akaashi huh?”
You smiled up at him and moved to pat his head affectionately, “Of course! But I like coming to see you too, Bokuto,” you teased.
Bokuto’s smirk seemed different this time as he gave Akaashi a wink, “Sure but there’s nothing wrong with being here solely for Akaashi so you two have some time together,” he grinn, poking your nose playfully.
Before you could ask him what he meant, questioning his word choices and teasing sort of tone, Bokuto got called across the field, eagerly grabbing a plate with the food.
“Are you hungry?” Akaashi asked, nodding towards the gloriously smelling food. You nodded but stayed at his side, finding the massive groups of boys a little daunting. “I’ll get you something then, you can stay around here.”
“Thank you,” you squeezed his arm gently and he just gave you one of those kind soft smiles before disappearing into the crowd.
“Come on! She’s super sweet, you’ll love her!” Suzumeda was saying, dragging a bunch of girls in your direction. You blinked in surprise, Shirofuku giving you a wave as she also made her way over.
“How you doing, Y/N?” Shirofuku wrapped her arms around you excitedly, squeezing you into a hug. “You should’ve come with us! You could’ve been a big help keeping these boys in line.”
You laughed, shaking your head, “I’m not quite sure I could do what you guys do,” you insisted shyly, smiling at the other girls who were smiling at you. “Hiya! I’m Y/N Y/L/N,” you offered to the new faces.
Soon, you met all the managers from the other schools and it didn’t take long for you all to be laughing and joking about the various attitudes and characters your teams all had.
“Aren’t you hungry, Y/N?” Kiyoko asked suddenly, noting the lack of food in your hand. “We have lots, and I’m sure some of these boys don’t need to have 7 helpings!”
You nodded and glanced behind your shoulder, finding Akaashi yelling at Bokuto for trying to steal all the meat. “Akaashi already said he’d grab me a plate. Figure it’s better than me getting lost in that group,” you pointed out and turned your eyes back to the girls. 
They were all sharing grins with each other, Suzumeda giggling, “Aren’t they adorable?”
You blinked in surprise as they laughed some more, tilting your head, “Who?”
“You!” Ōtaki laughed. “I don’t know Akaashi much but Shirofuku and Suzumeda told me you two really bring the best out of each other.”
You paused a bit more and the Fukurodani girls noted your hesitation, “Sorry, was it supposed to be a secret?” Shirofuku asked with wide eyes. “Leave it to Bokuto to go spilling everyone’s secrets!”
Your eyebrows furrowed more as you glanced between the girls, “I’m so confused. What secret?”
“That you and Akaashi were dating! We heard he snuck away between days here at the summer camp to go see you and that he finally confessed!” Suzumeda explained, her smile getting more and more stiff as you seemed more and more confused.
“Akaashi and I are just friends,” you insisted nervously, heart pounding against your chest. “W-Why would Bokuto tell people that?”
“I’m sorry, Y/N, we didn’t mean to put you on the spot like that! I thought it was pretty obvious you two liked each other,” Kiyoko admitted, the rest of the girls apologizing profusely. You shook your hands in front of each other, insisting that it wasn’t their fault that Bokuto was being dumb again, your face heating up from embarrassment.
You wondered just how many other people Bokuto had been whispering this news to, but it didn’t take long for you to find out. You excused yourself from the girls, saying you were going to find Akaashi and your food, but really just feeling way too embarrassed to look them in the eye.
You met with a few Karasuno third years, Daichi grinning as he told you that Akaashi had mentioned you before and said nothing but good things.
“It’s really great to finally meet you!” Sugawara had chimed in. “Bokuto told us about your new relationship so congratulations! I have to say, Akaashi seems like he’s smiling more that you’re around.”
You quickly insisted to them as well that you and Akaashi were in fact not dating and that you weren’t quite sure why Bokuto had gone round telling otherwise. The third years apologized on their behalf, sheepishly walking back to their team as you excused yourself yet again.
Even some of the Furkurodani boys grinned at you and gave you a thumbs up, thanking you for making Akaashi smile every now and then. As much as you wanted to take credit for those smiles, you weren’t quite sure how to awkwardly tell them that you and their setter were just. friends.
Did Bokuto not realize that you and Akaashi were just friends? Why was he torturing you like this? It’s not like he didn’t know you were constantly staring at his best friend. You wanted to slip away, hide in a corner, because now it felt like everyone was looking at you differently. You were no longer just a friend of the Fukurodani boys, now you were Akaashi’s girlfriend. You wanted that title more than anything, but not like this. And what would he say when he found out? He’d probably kill Bokuto for insinuating that the two of you were dating because you two were just friends. Just. Friends. And nothing more.
You finally managed to find Akaashi, who was giving a weird look to some of the Karasuno boys, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, “-who told you that?” He asked, a slight hint of surprise in his voice.
“Bokuto!” A small redhead grinned widely, catching your eye and his eyes widening, “Your boyfriend is so cool!” He yelled at you before stuffing his face with more food.
Akaashi whirled around to see you, both of you sharing a look of what the hell is going on? “I’m going to kill him,” he huffed as he walked over to you, handing you a plate of food. “I’m sorry I took so long but I piled enough on there for the two of us. But… everyone keeps asking me… questions.”
“About… us?” You asked slowly and he just shifted in his stance, nodding slowly. “Me too. Bokuto seems to have a big mouth for things that don’t exist.”
Don’t exist, the words rang in Akaashi’s head as he tried to remind himself that as much as he wanted, you two weren’t dating. He wasn’t sure why Bokuto had it in his mind that you were, or that he could go telling literally everyone around, but he would kill him first and ask questions later.
“Hey hey hey!” Bokuto yelled, as if he felt you two thinking about him and magically appeared behind you two. “How’s the happy couple!?”
“Bokuto, what did you do?” You groaned, not at all hungry anymore even though the food on the plate still smelled incredible.
“Do?” He asked, tilting his head as Akaashi groaned. “Why do you two look so stressed? It’s a BBQ!”
“Bokuto, you idiot. Why does everyone think we’re dating?” Akaashi asked him, flicking his upperclassman in the head. “What did you do?”
“Aren’t you?” Bokuto asked with a furrowed brow, looking between you two. “I thought all those nights Akaashi snuck away, I thought he finally got up the courage to tell you how he feels,” he told you, an oblivious and concerned look in his eyes. “Did he not tell you?”
“N-No,” you managed to get out, your face feeling hot again. What would it take to just forget all of this happened? To forget that Bokuto just insinuated that Akaashi has feelings for you? It had to be a lie right? Akaashi was going to insist that he didn’t have feelings for you and that you two were just friends. You didn’t want to hear it - you’d give anything to just slip away and forget this whole day ever happened. 
“Bokuto, I hadn’t told her yet,” Akaashi sighed instead, shaking his head. 
“You chickened out again?” Bokuto gaped, patting his friend’s shoulder in comfort. “It’s okay, I’m sure it’ll go great when you finally tell her!” He insisted, as if you weren’t standing right there.
“Tell me what?” You asked quietly, watching Akaashi’s somewhat strained expression. Why did he seem so nervous? What did Bokuto mean when he said Akaashi chickened out again? You didn’t want to believe that all of this meant what you thought it meant because getting your hopes up was terrifying. But you stared at him anyways, waiting for someone to explain to you like you were a child. 
Bokuto just grinned, looking between you two as if watching a film and waiting for the ending. “Go on, tell her!” Bokuto insisted to his friend, nudging him towards you.
Akaashi had a flush on his cheeks and he was starting to avoid your eyes. His weight shifted back and forth on his feet as he played with his fingers, sighing quietly, “I didn’t want to do this in front of everyone, Y/N,” he admitted softly.
Your heart was pounding in your ears. This couldn’t be happening now, could it? You were just friends, you were just friends, you were just friends. The words had been repeating in your head ever since Akaashi had first snuck into your room. You two were only friends - there was nothing more. You had to believe that. Because if there was something more, it meant leaving your heart open to be broken. What if he only liked you because you were available? What if he didn’t really see anything in you? What if he moved away after high school and the two of you drifted apart? Losing a friend hurts, but if you two took the next step and then you lost your friend and a lover? It would be devastating. 
“Stop overthinking,” Akaashi stated after a moment, his eyes finally catching yours and seeing that telltale sign that you were spiraling mentally. He took the plate from your hands, setting it on a nearby table so you weren’t holding it for forever. “I like you. I’ve always liked you. I wanted to tell you that night before the summer camp. And every other time that I came to see you. I’ve been wanting to tell you since that day we spent at the park and you kept picking flowers for me. You don’t make me feel like I need to be anything more than me.” Akaashi swallowed hard as he watched your eyes, feeling a little light headed as the words spilled from his lips. “I know we’re friends. But I don’t want to be just friends anymore, Y/N…”
“You don’t?” You asked softly, biting down on your inner cheek nervously. Was this really happening? Your hands were trembling at your sides, looking up at Akaashi like everyone else had disappeared (though you could still feel Bokuto squirming and squealing beside you, watching the interaction). 
Akaashi just gave you that same smile he always did, taking one of your hands and giving it a squeeze, “I’m tired of always telling people that we’re just friends. I don’t want just any friend in my sweaters and I don’t go climbing into people’s rooms in the middle of the night just because they’re a friend.”
“You did what?” Bokuto gasped, eyes widening but immediately shushing when Akaashi sent him a little glare for interrupting. 
Akaashi took another breath and just shook his head slightly, “I want us to be more than friends, Y/N. So maybe if you’re okay with it, we can start telling people that Bokuto isn’t a liar and that… you are my girlfriend?”
You looked around the space, expecting the sky to be falling or some imaginary creature to randomly show up. Because this had to be a dream right?
“You’re not dreaming, dummy,” Akaashi laughed, seeing the panic in your eyes. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. But I needed this off my chest,” he explained, starting to let go of your hand. You watched as a flash of disappointment crossed his eyes before you grabbed his hand again, squeezing.
“Of course I want to,” you breathed out shakily. “I just… always thought you wanted to be just friends. But I’ve always wanted something more with you.”
Akaashi’s face broke out into the biggest grin you’d ever seen before, pulling you into a tighter hug than he’s ever given you before, actually forcing a breath from your lungs.
“Don’t kill her before your first date!” Bokuto screeched, trying to pry Akaashi’s arms from around you. “God, that took you guys forever! I gotta go tell everyone that I’m not a liar now!” Bokuto beamed, rushing away from the new couple to shout it from the top of his lungs that his best friend finally had a girlfriend.
Akaashi laughed a bit and shook his head, watching his idiotic friend bounce around. “You should eat,” he pointed out after your hug was interrupted by the sound of your stomach growling.
You nodded and smiled up at him, “Only if you eat with me.”
“Of course. Can’t leave my girlfriend to eat on her own now, can I?” He teased, a smile on his face as he realized how easy and natural it seemed to call you that. The two of you walked around before finding a spot to eat, mingling with those around you.
You watched as Akaashi talked to people, so calm and almost unaffected by everything that just happened. But then he’d look at you with a smile, open his mouth for you to feed him and take your hand in his, and you felt like you were falling for him all over again. You couldn’t help but laugh to yourself later thinking about how many people you were going to have to hear “I KNEW IT” from. Because maybe you and Akaashi were just a little bit more than friends.
Okay fine, a lot more.
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adorerdraco · 4 years
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It’s Only Quidditch ✧ Draco x Slytherin!Reader
Request: can i please request you and draco being in slytherin and dating for a while and you two are on the quidditch team with him so maybe you two are in a match together but you get hurt and he gets worried and has to win the game and visits you after and maybe even wrecks the person who hurt you hehe just fluff and angst
AU AROUND 6TH YEAR NO VOLDY
Warnings: angry!draco, vengeful!draco, VIOLENCE, kinda graphic details like blood and injuries, lil bit of angst
Words: 3.9K (love making these long for no reason)
A/N: ANGRY DRACO IS SO HOT IM SORRY WOW BUT I HOPE THIS IS GOOOOD PLEASE ENJOY MY MADE UP CHARACTER AND MY SUPER LONG QUIDDITCH GAME THAT CONFUSED ME AFTER A WHILE OF TRYING TO WRITE LMAO and i made gif :)
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November had begun and with it came the new season of quidditch at Hogwarts along with very poor weather and over-bundling nerves. Tensions had always gotten high around this time of the year amongst the teams and all animosity between the house’s respective players was on the forefront as the competition was building. It was like clockwork every year; captain’s starting strenuous training schedules, begging Snape to help book the stadium even if it was already occupied, spying on other teams to figure out their strengths and weaknesses. Not to mention the arguments that would happen regularly in between the first couple of games when you and your teammates would be accused of cheating or using dangerous and illegal moves. Which did happen to be true most of the time.
It was safe to say that it was the most eventful time of the year, and as suffocating as it sometimes got - you looked forward to it every time the new term started. It was in quidditch that you found yourself feeling the freest in, zipping around the stadium in a flash of green with the wind blowing through your hair and crisp autumn air biting at your cheeks. But most notably, it was in quidditch that you met Draco Malfoy and had quickly evolved from teammates to friends, to him now being your boyfriend.
You made Slytherin’s team your second year as a Chaser, a shiny new broom being given to you on the first day of scheduled training when Lucius Malfoy had made a generous donation that came along with a new platinum blond seeker. With the two of you being the latest additions to the teams, your captain, Marcus Flint, had decided to leave the dirty work for the two of you to do in the downtime every one else was able to enjoy. Marcus never changed that as the years went on.
So you and Draco would be sent off to other teams’ practices nearly every other day or week, depending on how secure Flint was feeling, both of you huddling closely together for sometimes hours behind the thick wooden benches as you watched and studied tactics with conversations in between. You would joke around a lot and call him your partner in crime which he would always roll his eyes to and make a snide and playful comment about even if he secretly loved hearing it. And the two of you stayed partners in crime for a while, neither of you ever making any move towards the other besides lingering touches and longing looks, and very rarely, a shy compliment.
It wasn’t until last year when you were hiding behind the bleachers, bored out of your mind watching Ravenclaw have a flawless run through around the stadium when you were graced with the dumbest idea.
“They’re playing good today,” you drawled out, “too good that it’s boring.”
“You reckon they studied so hard and found the key to quidditch?” He snickered as he played around with a pebble on the ground with his wand.
“We should help them out,” you suggested as Draco turned to raise a puzzled eyebrow at you. “Prepare them for the unexpected, nothing too crazy.”
You took out your wand from your pocket and pointed it towards one of their Beaters that was sitting idly by on their broom, a faint “confundus” leaving your lips that caused the broom to jerk swiftly to the side and nearly topple over its rider.
“You’re a genius,” Draco laughed quietly, repositioning himself so that he was right beside you with his wand directed out into the field. He spotted one of the bludgers flying towards the same Beater and instead of colliding with the bat, he used a charm to direct it into the back of their broom and then doubled it back around to try and hit one of the passing by Chaser’s that moved at the very last minute. 
You were a giggling mess, gripping tightly onto Draco’s arm as you watched everyone begin to look around wildly for the wild bludger with panicked expressions. What either of you didn’t realize in the middle of your joyed hysterics and Draco’s smugness for causing the angelic sounds, was that the bludger was flying idly still in front of the bleacher’s as his wand was still trained on it without moving it around anymore, his focus completely gone and concentrated on you.
It wasn’t until you heard someone yell out a, “Is that Malfoy and Y/L/N back there again?!” That made you get up with a sudden jolt, grabbing onto your accomplice’s hand as you ran towards the set of stairs that descended out of the stands. All you heard was distant angry insults and threats quickly fading out of ear-shot while you ran, laughing uncontrollably alongside Draco with his hand still tightly gripped in yours. 
When you finally reached the entrance of the empty courtyard of the castle with flustered cheeks and wheezing chuckles, you looked down at your joined hands at the same time he did and after a few seconds of realization and lingering adrenaline, you quickly moved into each other with a yearning kiss that changed everything from that day forward.
Draco stood beside you while you sat on a bench outside the locker room, your head resting lazily on the side of his leg while his fingers carded soothingly through your hair. Marcus was pacing in front of you, using his broom as a walking and pointing stick whenever he wanted to add any calculated words to his very hostile pep-talks that left everyone feeling more irritated and stressed.
Today was the last game of the season and the most important, it was the game that ended the season with a shimmering Inter-House Quidditch Cup and it just so happened to be against Gryffindor, making the stakes much higher than they already were. The matches against Gryffindor were by far, the most dangerous as they weren't afraid to play roughly either if push came to shove. The determination to beat each other and to win was critical on both sides and the day always ended with some sort of injuries.
“I don’t care how dirty we have to play today,” Flint fumed to the team, “I don’t care how many fouls we get, as long as we win.”
“Relax, Flint,” you sighed deeply. “We have the best players on our team and we’ve been working our arses off all season, we’ll be fine.”
“Still, I want to see blood out there,” he muttered back, walking towards the entrance of the field as Madam Hooch started calling your team out to start.
You stood up with a huff, Draco frowning when he noticed how tense you looked when your eyes worriedly met his.
“All right, love?”
“I'm just nervous,” you shrug, “I don’t want to mess up.”
The silver-haired boy moved to stand in front of you, placing two strong hands on either side of your arms to stand you in place so that he would be the only thing your wandering eyes were able to focus on.
“You are the best Chaser that Slytherin has ever had, no, that Hogwarts has ever had and I know for a fact you’re going to do amazing out there,” he cups your face with care, brushing a few stray hairs out of your face as he spoke. “You’ve got this.”
He pressed an encouraging kiss onto your forehead and then your lips, smiling at you supportively before taking your hand and hurriedly walking the two of you out into the field where the match was about to start.
Almost the whole school had shown up in an overcrowded sea of red and gold for Gryffindor. There were red sparks and small fireworks of lions that were charmed to roar when the animal would open its mouth. On one end of the stands, however, was the entire student body of Slytherin that was throwing green and silver ribbons and sparklers from their wands, yelling loudly in support as if their life depended on it. Over the rails, they had thrown down a large poster of a snake that moved around sleekly over large green words that read, “SLYTHERIN FOR THE WIN.”
Rain was lightly drizzling from the grayed dense clouds above, a sharp chill in the air from an approaching winter that always seemed to give the worst weather during the last couple of games of the year. You didn’t mind it since the cold had always felt nice against your sweaty skin during the game and it served like a small revitalizing shock that gave you a surge of energy to push forward with. 
Madam Hooch quickly went over the rules, set free the bludgers, and the snitch, forced the two captains, Wood and Flint, to shake hands and by the time she had counted down from three to one - brooms were soared into the sky with such speed it looked like a tornado had formed as she threw the quaffle up into the air.
A roar of cheers erupted from beside you as you got ahold of the quaffle, dashing past your House while you headed straight towards the Gryffindor’s goal post and managed to make the first shot in within the first five minutes of the game putting you at 10-0. You spotted Draco flying around above, smiling down brightly at you with triumph that only fueled your confidence as you darted forward to catch the ball again. You were, just as Draco had said, the best Chaser on the team and in all of the school. You were fast, agile, and smart when it came down to it and you were the reason why your team had easily wracked up 40 points with thirty minutes down in the match. Marcus was always trailing behind you with focus, shoving anyone who tried to get to you or pulling them back by their robes that landed Slytherin a couple of fouls throughout. 
You didn’t like to play dirty, but when Katie Bell had rammed into your side either accidentally or on purpose, it knocked the quaffle out of your hands and into one of their other Chaser’s, Rowan Rees, a muscular and tall seventh-year boy that had made the team that same year. With Katie still closely trying to cut you off, you veered sharply into her with your shoulder before breaking away from her and heading towards your goal post where they were trying to shoot. 
“ILLEGAL PUSHING FROM Y/L/N, FOUL AGAINST SLYTHERIN!” 
You rolled your eyes at the announcer, completely ignoring the boo’s that had filled the air as you whizzed past the other houses even though it was you who got hit first. Just as Rees had raised his arm to score, you flew over him, swooping your arm underneath your broom until you felt the quaffle back in your palm and ripped it from his grasp. The match was becoming more intense by the second, Gryffindor was promptly catching up in points because of the penalties they were awarded from the illegal moves your team was making and it left you feeling more pressured that it was nearly a tie now, Flint reminded you of that every chance he zoomed past you.
Unbeknownst to you, Draco was watching you cautiously from across the field most of the game when he noticed how close everyone was trying to get to you. You didn’t see the way you were almost tugged back multiple times or were missed by inches when someone was about to push you. Or how the Beaters were deliberately directing the bludgers in your direction. You also didn’t see how irked you had made Rees with your constant scoring and with the sporadic few times you had cut him off or almost bumped into him - but your boyfriend did, and he was much more focused on your safety now than the Golden Snitch he or Potter hasn’t spotted yet. Instead of searching for it, he was purposefully maneuvering himself around in front of the other Chasers to throw them off their focal point towards you so that you would have a clearer path to fly through.
He watched as you pulled your broom upwards to try and twist away from the area but Rees had reached out and pulled at your ankle, sending you out of your seat as the quaffle fell while you tried to rebalance yourself. That was all the encouragement the blond needed when he hurtled down into the mess, kicking at the back of Rees’ broom and sending him quickly spinning on a dive before he could try and move any further. 
“FOUL AGAINST REES AND MALFOY FOR KICKING AND TUGGING!”
“MALFOY!” Flint roared as he flew past, “Potter’s spotted the snitch! This isn’t your place, get out of here, NOW!”
And when he looked up, sure enough, Harry was going around desperately with an arm outstretched towards the small glint of gold that was moving too fast. 
“Go, I’m fine!” You shouted out to him when you flew back up with the ball back in your arms.
It was like slow motion when he forced himself to leave your surroundings, everything around him was moving fast and intensely with everyone screaming wildly that he couldn’t think straight. In a daze, he haphazardly sped towards Harry but noticed the panicked look on the seeker’s face when he had lost sight of it again which directed his attention right back to you. You were right in front of the Gryffindor goal post, arm stretched over your head and releasing the quaffle with a harsh throw.
“Y/L/N MAKES THE GOAL, TEAMS ARE AT A TIE-”
It wasn’t until the very last minute that everyone, including you, had realized the flash of red that came hurtling into your side at full speed, Rees colliding so loudly with you that it echoed around the stadium in a powerful clang and crack.
Draco watched in horror as you were thrown off your broom, your now unconscious body falling like a rag doll with a speed that sent his stress levels into overdrive. He had never pushed down on his broom so fast, immediately abandoning his spot to bolt towards you even as Marcus was screaming at him to not go. 
A few feet above the ground and before you met it, he managed to loop his arm around your waist and heave you onto the front of his broom with a slight struggle as it was now raining hard and clouding his vision. He saw Madam Pomfrey and Mcgonagall rushing into the field, hands holding tightly onto their hats as they worriedly rushed towards the area where your broom had fallen and where Draco was hovering over with you. 
“TEAMS ARE TAKING A 10 MINUTE TIME OUT!”
Marcus had flown down towards him, face twisted in fury and annoyance as he approached. 
“Is there a reason you’re not being a seeker, today?” He spits, “because I’ve been seeing you do everything but your job.”
“My bloody girlfriend just got knocked out!” Draco seethed at him. “I’m not going back into the game, I’m going with her to the hospital wing.”
“Like hell you are,” Flint scowled, “if you leave, you'll forfeit us the game. If you stay and let Potter catch that Snitch so it’ll be over quicker, I will personally make sure that this is your last year on the team. You’re going to win this for us.”
“Mr. Malfoy!” McGonagall called up to him, waving her arms hastily. “She needs to go to the infirmary, immediately!”
The two Slytherins were staring each other down aggressively as Draco contemplated the threat he was just given. There was nothing more he wanted to do than to throw a hex at Flint and leave with you, but he just swallowed thickly and nodded at him before descending towards the ground and letting you off carefully into the hands of Madam Pomfrey. A surge of fear ran through his body when he finally saw you clearly; a harsh red mark was making its way up to your neck, the corner of your bottom lip had split and doubled in size, there was a small scratch on your cheekbone. It made him feel queasy, but he tore his eyes away from you and hopped back onto his broom while glaring angrily at Marcus and the distant group of huddled Gryffindor’s. 
He was blinded in rage when the match resumed and even more enraged when Flint had cheered loudly when the announcer granted Slytherin a penalty for the injury Rees gave you, allowing them basically to get a free score in against Gryffindor. Draco let his eyes wander around for the snitch for the first time that day and he could hear his heart thundering in his eardrums in distress as the rain continued to make his search worse. All he wanted was to get out of the game to check up on you, and then he'd come back to the stadium to throw his fists into Rees’ face with maybe a few hits in on Marcus.
Just as he was losing hope, he saw a flash of gold whiz past him with a loud buzzing that shocked him into alertness. He didn’t care that catching the snitch would win the game, or the cup, or give him all the glory, no - this was his ticket out. He dived towards it with his arm outstretched, hand thrashing around in the wind as he tried to eagerly catch it. In seconds, Harry was right beside him, bumping him with his shoulder to try and throw him off the path but Draco only pushed back harder. There was a flurry of shouting as everyone watched, the announcer was yelling into the mic about the seekers going head-to-head, bludgers were flying past him. 
It was pure chaos and urgency, Draco could feel the fluttering of its wings beneath his palm and when Harry pushed into him one more time, he felt the coldness of the Snitch get trapped into his enclosed hand, the vibration of its wings sending a current of relief up his arm that spread throughout his whole body as he soared up into the sky while brandishing it to the schools’ painfully watchful eyes.
“MALFOY HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH, WINNING SLYTHERIN THIS YEAR’S INTER-HOUSE QUIDDITCH CUP!”
Draco hurriedly made his way down to the field where the rest of his house was pooling into, celebrating proudly and calling out for him to praise, but when he landed on the ground and was met with half of the Gryffindor team including Rowan Rees - all his wrath came flooding back into him. 
Angelina, another Gryffindor Chaser, had nudged Rowan with her shoulder, pointing towards the Slytherin Prince that was stalking towards them.
“Malfoy,” Rees started bitterly, “sorry about the girlfriend, I was only trying to knock the quaffle out her hands.”
“After she had already thrown it?” He glowered, walking closer up to the boy that was beginning to straighten himself out and flex. “Looked a little personal seeing how she was dragging you through the dust the whole game.”
“Accidents happen, mate,” Rees shrugged, “it’s only quidditch, you won didn’t you? Maybe you should be thanking me for giving you that extra push to win the game.”
A clear line had been crossed and everyone who was listening knew it. But before Rowan could say anything to try and drag himself out of the hole he had just dug himself into, he was being tackled into the ground with Draco above him throwing punches wherever he could land them. There was loud hooting and laughing coming from the Slytherins that gathered around the fight, cheering loudly for their House superior.
Rees was thrashing around on the ground, trying frantically to throw off the extremely infuriated boy that was repeatedly pounding into his face with bloodied and bruised fists. Oliver Wood ran up to the sudden brawl, Fred and George following closely behind him as they all started trying to rip the fighting boy’s apart from each other. Oliver had gotten Draco off briefly, allowing Rees to try and get a hit in but it was dodged at the last second as the blond quickly leaped up to his feet. The fight immediately ended when a muddy shoe had collided with Rowan’s jaw and Draco stepped back satisfied with the damage he had done, roughly shrugging off the grip Oliver still had on his arm.
“It’s only quidditch, right?” He spat venomously from above the Gryffindor who was holding his now battered face in pain. “That’ll teach you from putting your hands on a woman too.”
“Mr. Malfoy!” Madam Hooch bellowed as she broke through the crowd in a frenzy. “50 points from Slytherin, go wait outside Professor Snape’s office for further punishment, go right now!”
Draco did go, and instantly, but he didn’t go down to the dungeons to hear about the lengthy detention that he knew he was going to get and the scolding for being reckless and stupid. His feet carried his sore body up the many stairs that led to the hospital wing, his pace picking up swiftly when he saw the large double doors of the infirmary ajar and he was able to hear a faint and familiar voice speaking indistinctly. 
He threw open the doors, walking straight in as if he owned the place and ignored Pomfrey’s requests for him to leave as he made a beeline towards your hunched figure that was facing away from him. 
“I need to see her,” he said to the nurse quickly when she stopped in front of him. “I’ll leave soon, please.”
At the sound of his voice, you hastily turned around in your spot to face him, a yelp escaping your lips for moving too quickly through your injuries. Pomfrey stepped out of the way with a sigh allowing Draco to jog over to you.
“I’m going to kill him,” he scowled when he reached you. You were wearing a sling, a deep purple and yellowed bruise quickly set itself over the side of your arm and the same cuts he saw from earlier were still scattered over your features. His fingers ghosted over your skin and he let out a deep shaky exhale of anxiousness before moving his thumb up to graze your cheek tenderly.
“What happened to you?” You asked quietly in shock when you noticed his mud-splattered clothes and tattered fists. 
“Long story,” he drawled. “Don’t worry about me, are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” you muttered with a slight shrug that made you whimper lightly. “Did we win?”
He nodded quietly, his eyes still scanning sadly over your face with a frown. “I swear, I’m going to kill him.”
“Only if I can help,” you sniggered faintly, trying to make light of the situation and succeeding in doing so when you saw he had cracked a small smile. With his hand still on your cheek, he bent down to press a firm kiss on the top of your hair and then warmly on the side of your mouth that wasn’t bleeding.
“I’ll just let you finish him off then,” he mulled amusingly when he pulled away.
“Finish him off?”
The doors of the hospital wing were thrown open again, a sea of red flowing inside as they carried in a pummeled Rowan with a busted lip, bloodied nose, black eye, and deeply bruised jaw. You looked briskly between Rees and Draco, both of them staring daggers at each other and it rapidly clicked in your mind why your boyfriend had looked like he just walked through a battlefield in your absence.
“Oh.”
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tooruluv · 3 years
Text
Hajime Iwaizumi x F!Reader
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❝ enemies, as well as lovers, come to resemble each other over a period of time ❞
description: your feud with hajime iwaizumi only escalated throughout your years at hogwarts; whether it was on the quidditch field or who would be the first to sit down in class, there always seemed to be some sort of raging competition between you two.  
genre: hogwarts!au, angst, enemies to lovers, slow burn, rivals, gryffindor quidditch keeper iwaizumi, slytherin quidditch captain f!reader
word count: 5.5k
warnings/notes: swearing, lots of angst, small depictions of violence, mentions of alcohol and drinking, not proof read im so sorry although i am an avid believer than both iwa and oikawa would be slytherins, i wanted to play with the idea of them being gryffindors, which actually makes sense when you think hard about it hfklhfd anyway! please enjoy!
part of a hogwarts collab !  collab masterlist posted here ! tysm to the wonderful @rintsuru​ for hosting <3
my general masterlist
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You could feel his presence from across the dining hall, immediately dowsing you in a raging hatred that you only reserved for him. His arrogance mocked you as he basically danced into the Great Hall bathed in compliments.
The Gryffindor quidditch team won against Ravenclaw the night before. You didn’t know why he had all of the glory... he wasn’t even the captain. Being keeper had its perks, you guessed.
You rolled your eyes and focused your attention to your food. You tried not to stab the plate as you heard the varying praises to the boy in red and gold. “Congrats, Iwa!” and “That last block was brilliant!” nearly made you want to choke.
Hajime Iwaizumi was simply not someone who deserved such compliments. He was vile, annoying, and did everything in his limited power to poke and prod at every single one of your nerves. You used to ignore your burning hatred that you harbored for him; but late in your second year, you had let it all out.
And, as it turned out, he wasn’t quite fond of you either.
It had been years since then, yet the feelings remained the same. It was just the start of your sixth year and you already wanted to gouge his eyes out with the pointy end of your fork.
Tooru Oikawa caught your gaze and sent you a cheeky smile. You wished that you could hate the captain as much as his keeper, but you only let your hatred for him simmer for so long. He was quite fun when he wasn’t next to the little shit.
“Just wait for next week when you verse Slytherin! You’re sure to win!” a small Gryffindor told them. 
“I wouldn’t be too sure.” You said, perhaps a bit too loudly. You lacked volume control, after all.
“What was that, Slytherin?” Iwaizumi turned to you. His gaze was fire on your skin and you wanted nothing but to catch him aflame as well. 
“Your arrogance and cockiness proceeds even you.” You said, voice monotone and venomous against the recent silence at your speech. “I wouldn’t be too sure of your success.”
“Say that again after the match.” Iwaizumi turned back to accept another compliment and find a place to sit at his house’s table.
You wondered if you would get expelled if an apple happened to launch out of your hands and land on the back of his head.
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Late in your second year, you had enough of Hajime Iwaizumi.
The both of you were in a silent competition the minute you were introduced to each other in your first year. It was never anything serious, just two eleven year olds who liked to be at the top.
It wasn’t until your second year that you started to feel genuine distaste for him. You had buried the thought of “hate” for a long time, masking it to be annoyance and opposition. 
The hatred was much deeper than a surface burn.
It was during charms class that you finally snapped. 
It was not more than the simple mutter of his breath. It was a mispronunciation of the spell and the tap of his wand against the table that made you lose your control. 
“Hajime! Can you please, for the love of Merlin, shut the fuck up!” The harsh language created a tense silence through the classroom. No twelve year old had the balls to curse that hard in front of that many people, including a professor. “If you are going to be an idiot, at least try to hide it.”
Hajime Iwaizumi turned in his seat to face you, irritation and vexation easily overpowering his shock. 
“Funny that you’re saying that.” He said.
“You’re so ridiculous.” You rolled your eyes. “Oh, I’m Hajime Iwaizumi and I am a perfect student that can’t even properly pronounce a simple spell! But that doesn’t matter because guess who’s a keeper for the quidditch team when I’m only a second year!! I am perfect!! Literally no one likes you.”
“Trust me, no one likes you either.”
No one meaning, and translating to, I don’t.
Just to show off, you easily cast the charm that he had failed. Charms was your strong subject, so you only needed to say the spell and flick your wand before turning your attention back to him.
He was nearly smoking from his ears, he was both embarrassed and livid.
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You waved to Kei Tsukishima as you caught his gaze from the side of the hall. He was a fellow Slytherin and a good friend, though neither of you would admit that to each other.
He nodded as his greeting. He shoved his book back into his bag as you made your way to his side.
“Hey, Tsukki.” You said. “I wasn’t expecting to see you until practice tomorrow.” 
“Yeah, I’m waiting for Yamaguchi.” He turned his body to lean against the wall. “We’re going to Hogsmeade today.”
“No invitation?”
He sighed. “Would you like to join us, Captain?”
“I was joking, no need to sound so enthusiastic.” You chuckled. As you started to speak again, Tadashi Yamaguchi left the classroom the two of you stood outside of. He smiled at you, his green and white reflecting off of his eyes.
“Captain!” Yamaguchi greeted, putting an arm around your shoulder. “Are you coming to Hogsmeade with us?”
“Be careful, the idiots are coming.” Tsukishima interrupted and warned, motioning over your shoulder.
You turned around to find Oikawa and Iwaizumi walking next to each other, laughing about something only the two of them knew. You had to hold back from making a comment.
“Yoohoo!” Tooru Oikawa caught your eye. You sighed and turned back to your fellow Slytherins, sharing a look. 
“Hello, Tooru.” You felt him beside you before you looked. 
You purposely didn’t look at Iwaizumi. 
“We’re celebrating our win tonight, you guys should join!” Oikawa invited. You heard Iwaizumi’s exhale of frustration, but you only rolled your eyes in an attempt to ignore his presence. 
“You want a group of Slytherins hanging out with you, celebrating your win, when we go against you in less than a week?” Tsukishima spoke up. He moved off of the wall. “No thanks. Come, Yamaguchi. Let’s go.��
Yamaguchi waved goodbye and followed his best friend down the hall. You pivoted to fully face the two Gryffindors.
“I’ll come.” You said, mainly out of spite.
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Tooru Oikawa was naturally outgoing. He was the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team, a flirt, and all together a pretty chill person. You didn’t mind calling him a friend, despite the vast differences between you two.
One vast difference being his best friend.
Which is why you found yourself next to him as soon as you entered the Gryffindor party. The cascades of burgundy and gold created a deep atmosphere in the hidden room, lights dancing along the dark walls and the smell of various alcohols filled the air. It was a Gryffindor party, that much was true.
You were one of the very few Slytherins that occupied the room. Your eyes caught sight of only a couple, most of them much younger than you and just happy to be at one of their first few parties.
“Oi, a snake has crawled into the winner’s common room.” Oikawa joked as he handed you a can. You accepted. 
“A snake in a lion’s den, I wonder who will win.” You quipped. 
“The lion, for sure.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure. Snakes can eat things 100 percent their size.” You raised a brow and opened your can. 
“Hm,” Oikawa looked over his shoulder and called out for someone you didn’t see. “Hey! Who do you think would win, a lion or a snake?”
“A lion obviously.” It was Hajime Iwaizumi. 
You let out a groan, immediately losing your sense of humor. “Ah, you’ll see in less than a week.”
“I don’t think I will.” Iwaizumi said, stoic and annoyed. “This win was only one of few.”
“I suggest you just celebrate this win.” You took a sip. “Because I don’t think the losing team would like to come to the winner’s party.”
“That just means I will not be seeing you, which is a grand idea.”
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It was the time of year just before winter, where the air starts to cool but the sun still warms your skin. You took a breath and held your broom at your side. 
It was near minutes before the anticipated game against Gryffindor, and you could hear the crowds already. The rivalry between your houses was something that everyone enjoyed; the rivalry between you and their keeper was all you.
“Alright team.” You pivoted to the team behind you. “We’re playing Serpent first; and if we don’t get any points within the first two minutes, I’ll hold up the signal for Green. Got it?”
“Got it.”
You had a pretty well-rounded team in your honest opinion. Tsukishima was perfect as your keeper, he was never one to let anything get past him. Your chasers included you, Yamaguchi, and another girl named Yui Michimiya. You had the Miya twins for beaters. And, rather recently, you gained a new seeker named Tobio Kageyama. The same age as your keeper, but only wanted to join quidditch out of hate for the Gryffindor seeker (and who were you to deny that?).
The Gryffindor team was not one to mess with, they had a nice team too. Iwaizumi as the keeper, the Idiots Nishinoya and Tanaka as beaters, their new seeker Shoyo Hinata... but the problem was their chasers: Oikawa, Kiyoko Shimizu, and Wakatoshi Ushijima. They were so quick on their brooms, it was like working against wind.
Today was no day to lose.
“It’s our first official match of the year.” You encouraged. “Let’s show them who not to mess with.”
“Let’s absolutely destroy them.” Atsumu added.
You grinned.
As you headed towards the field, you could feel the adrenaline creeping into your bones. Quidditch had become routine, simple muscle memory as you moved to your starting positions. 
The Gryffindor team appeared, and you felt the excitement enter you in a rush of air.
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In the air, Hajime Iwaizumi felt at peace. He was very good at what he did, and he knew that, and the game was something he was passionate about.
He was also passionate about beating you.
You were the bane of his existence. You had never once sent him anything other than something bitter or sarcastic. You were an annoying pest that he simply couldn’t get rid of.
And as you threw the Quaffle into the goal just above his head, Iwaizumi felt his eye twitch.
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Slytherin won, Tobio Kageyama’s hand high with the Snitch inside. 
You watched in triumph as the teams descended on the brooms. From the skies down, you cheered.
“Congrats, Slytherin.” Oikawa said, though his tone was bitter and sour. 
You knew that he hated losing, so you didn’t push it. He was a friend, after all. Sending him just a small “I’m sorry you didn’t win” smile, you headed to your team. You gathered them into a hug, or rather-- a huddle, and ruffled the hair on Kageyama’s head. 
You peeked over your shoulder to catch sight of Iwaizumi. He was standing, hands at his sides, red face and eyes blank of any expression other than anger.
You smirked at him.
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Hajime Iwaizumi was on the other side of the victory this time, silently brooding as he picked at his food in the Great Hall. The Gryffindor table emitted zero volume. 
He was pissed off the second you entered the hall, Kei Tsukishima and Tadashi Yamaguchi walking beside you. The green and white seemed to glow, mocking him in the worst way imaginable. 
Oikawa tried to bring his attention back to the food, but Iwaizumi was focused primarily on you. You were gloating, relishing in his loss, taking delight in the compliments from your house. A Hufflepuff appeared at your side, and you smiled as you thanked them for their congratulations. 
He felt sick.
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You could not help but drown yourself in the triumph. You walked on air, the feeling of superiority tickling every inch of skin it could touch.
You waved goodbye to a couple of friends, heading directly to the Gryffindor table. You placed your hands on Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s shoulders, leaning to place your head right between theirs.
“I suppose the snake beats the lion.” You sent a wink to Iwaizumi, knowing full well how it would provoke him. 
“Fuck off.” Iwaizumi shoved your hand off of his shoulder.
“Go receive your praise at the Slytherin table.” Oikawa shooed, fork in hand. “You won’t find it here.”
“Sore losers.” You mocked just for fun. You stood straight. “I imagine that I would be the same, given it were the other way.”
You basically skipped back to your table for breakfast.
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You were absolutely elated for the rest of the day. It was quite similar to being on cloud 9, winning your first game of the year against your rivals. The look on Hajime Iwaizumi’s face only added to the feeling.
You were walking down the hall, talking to a fellow Slytherin girl who had her arm wrapped in yours. She was going on and on about how she wished she could have imprinted Kageyama’s snitch catch to her memory.
That was when your shoulder collided directly into a firm body.
Your arm was ripped away from your classmates, along with your bag that fell onto the hard ground with a loud thud and wisp of parchment and ink. Everything in your bag now scattered the ground, covered in the dark ink and dirt. 
Your mood was too high to get too angry. It was an accident; you would bite your tongue and clean up the mess.
Until you realized just who’s shoulder you ran into: Hajime Iwaizumi. Your greatest enemy and now destruction of your contents.
“Watch where you’re going next time, Hajime.” You grunted, kneeling to save some of your parchment before the ink could reach it. 
“Perhaps if you had your head out of your ass, you wouldn’t have run into me.” Iwaizumi responded. He had turned to face you midway through your fall.
“As if you didn’t feel this way a week ago.” You told him, standing up. Nearly everything that was in your bag was soaked, including the bag itself. You inhaled deeply. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Now, why would I run my shoulder into you on purpose hoping to ruin your mood?” He asked. “You must be very arrogant to think that everything must be about you.”
You clenched your jaw and closed your eyes. “I will not let a piece of shit such as yourself bring my mood down today. Today is a good day.”
You knelt once again to find your essay that you had written for Snape, searching your documents. Only to find it one of the few that were directly under the ink, completely doused in black.
“Actually, fuck you.” You lifted the paper. Ink dripped off and onto the ground. “Do you know how long I worked on this?”
“I don’t know, a couple of minutes?” Iwaizumi shrugged. “You aren’t exactly the best at your schoolwork.”
“You wish you knew me well, but you don’t at all.” You felt anger boil in your chest. “I worked very hard on this essay. Days, even. And you destroyed it in less than five seconds..”
“There’s the Slytherin in you.” He let out a humorless laugh. “You think everything has to be about you, and if it doesn’t than someone is out to get you. Your ego is so fucking enormous that you can’t even muster the idea that maybe something isn’t about you. You didn’t even win, Tobio won the game for you. God, why don’t you go make a friend instead of standing here arguing with me about an accident?”
And then, “You really are a raging bitch, aren’t you?”
The girl that you were talking to had wide eyes, and you were sure that she was ready to fight. A couple of bystanders that were once just listeners started to mumble. And you.... you couldn’t fathom words.
Your feud with him had grown deep, but it had never gone as far as that. In front of a crowd, no less. 
It was one thing to make comments, to be bitter and roll your eyes at each other’s presence. It was one thing to bicker, to fight, to joke to friends about the other’s incompetence and purposely pull on each other’s strings.
It was something else completely to call you a bitch in front of everyone in the middle of a hallway after a thread of insults.
You fake smiled, feeling unwanted tears threaten their way to your eyes. You would not allow yourself the angry tears; they would only make you angrier. 
“You’re more than just an asshole, Hajime Iwaizumi.” You told him. Because you truly didn’t have any words.
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“Calling a woman a bitch is the worst insult. Those are fighting words.” Oikawa’s older sister used to say. “It’s comparable to calling a man a pussy.”
Hajime Iwaizumi didn’t think much while he spoke. He just said the things as they came, especially when he didn’t really care much about what you thought of him.
But, calling you a bitch... that felt as if it were crossing a line that he didn’t have the authority to cross. And the look on your face after he said it was one that he had never witnessed on you.
At practice, his head still held the image of you. 
He was confused. Why did he regret calling you a name? It wasn’t as if the two of you don’t argue in front of people all of the time. In fact, it was nearly a common occurrence. 
For some ungodly reason, he felt a tug at his chest. 
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“Maybe you should apologize?” Oikawa suggested.
“Why would I apologize to her?”
“Because I think you went a little bit too far.” He told his best friend as truthfully as possible. “Because as much as I think the rivalry between you two is fun, she’s still just a girl. And because my sister said you should.”
“You wrote your sister?”
“Yeah, of course I did.”
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For several days, Hajime Iwaizumi hadn’t seen you. You didn’t eat in the Great Hall, you didn’t come to the classes he had with you, you didn’t go to Hogsmeade like you usually did on weekends.
So, he came to your practice.
He was hoping to apologize. It was something he had never done to you before, and he had practiced it quite a few times. Just a small, “I’m sorry for calling you a bitch in front of everyone.”
Yes. That should be fine and the two of you could go back to the regularly scheduled loathing.
But the second he stepped onto the field, the two beaters stood in front of him. 
“I wouldn’t.” Atsumu said, holding his broom. “She’s been in a mood.”
“I know, I’m the reason for that.” Iwaizumi said. “I just want to talk to her. Just a second.”
“I wouldn’t.” Osamu repeated. “Whatever you have to say, it’s gonna have to wait.”
Iwaizumi nodded, looking at the twins. He was going to ask them to tell you that he had been there, ask them to ask you to meet him somewhere or something so he can get the stupid apology off of his chest, when you appeared behind them.
“Get off of my field, Hajime Iwaizumi.” You said. You had been at practice for the past two hours (according to the sign ups), yet your voice was even and you hadn’t even broken a sweat. In fact, your voice spit toxin in his direction.
“I just wanted to...”
You had taken off before he could even say his second word. The twins followed right after.
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Tooru Oikawa took a place beside you. It would have been normal, if it were not for your avid avoidance of anyone with a Gryffindor robe on.
“Hello, Tooru.” You said without sparing him a glance.
The thing was, you weren’t angry with him. You didn’t hate Oikawa, you hated his closest friend. And by association, you didn’t want to talk to him just as much. Oikawa had always been the middle ground between the doom and gloom that was the dark haired man you hated.
“I think you should talk to Iwa.” Oikawa said. Plain and simple, to the point.
“I think you should mind your business.” You retorted. “I never talked to him to begin with, what’s different now?”
“Because now is different.” He grabbed his book as the professor walked in. “Now, you won’t even say your smart ass remarks or tell him how fucked up his hair looks. Now is just... boring and sad.”
“So you want me to talk to the guy I hate in order for you to not be bored?” You scoffed and collected your things. “Truly, you are his best friend.”
You left just as the professor started talking, receiving a few stares in the process. It wasn’t as if you weren’t used to that.
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You were walking with Tsukishima, laughing at your attempts to get him to smile. Your team had really taken your mind and restored your confidence. You figured, as long as you didn’t see the man you hate then he simply didn’t exist. It was that easy.
Until you accidentally caught his eye across the street. 
It had been snowing, so most of the students were in their winter gear and warm clothes. You yourself had a hat and scarf on, gloves to cover your hands despite the hot to-go mug of cocoa in them. 
Hogsmeade was quite busy with everyone getting last minute holiday gifts and hurrying to hang out before break. Yet, somehow, your eyes found the brown of Iwaizumi’s.
You turned around, forcing Tsukishima to follow. The younger boy didn’t even have to ask about your change in demeanor, easily falling into pace beside you. 
You felt a hand on your wrist, and heard your name being called. “Hey. Can I talk to you? I’ve been trying to apologize...”
You stopped dead in your tracks, as if you were pulled on a leash. As if his bare hand touching your empty gloved one had scolded you. Iwaizumi stood before you, red cheeks from either the cold or from rushing after you. Either way, you wanted nothing to do with it. 
He had spun you in his grasp, his jaw tight and eyes searching yours before falling to his hand around yours. His grip on your wrist was tight, and he swallowed as his eyes found yours again.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” You snatched your arm away. “Have you ever considered that? I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to see you, and I don’t want to hear your half-ass apology!”
“I have been trying to talk to you.” He said. “I...” His eyes scanned yours. His tongue rolled in his mouth. “You mean to tell me that you don’t want my apologies?”
“You’ve made it very clear what you think of me, so I hope that I can make this very clear for you,” You took a deep breath. “I hate you. I don’t like you, I have never liked you, and I hope that whatever it is that is eating you up inside continues to do so.”
Hajime Iwaizumi’s eye twitched. He started to take a step towards you, but decided against it, falling back into the same step. “I don’t...” His voice was nothing as you had ever heard it. “You...” His eyes clouded with the emotions you were familiar with. “Fine.”
“Fine.”
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It was a sudden realization. It was not something you had even considered before, not something planned or reasoned. It was much like a tsunami, a build up of unrelated activity that brought something else entirely.
Emotions were unfortunate things. If you feel extreme emotions for someone, no matter what... they are still very strong feelings.
Hate to love, what a strange concept.
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You held the potion below your nose, inhaling the scent. 
“What does it smell like?” Snape asked.
“It smells like... bergamot.” You distinguished the varying smells. “Apple. And... lavender?”
You stepped back and hoped no one could see you connecting the dots through your eyes.
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Tooru Oikawa was an observant person. He was known to be the person who knew the best for his team, easily finding the perfect techniques for each on the field and as encouragement. He was one for connections and relationships.
Which is why he knew that you were masking feelings of something else with this burning hatred. Which is why he knew why you felt so bad after Iwa called you a terrible name in front of an audience. Which is why he knew who it was when you listed your amortentia scents.
He tried to send you a look from his seat across from you, classes later. He wanted to tell you that he knew; that he knew there was something more to what’s going on, and that something was Iwaizumi.
You just sent him a middle finger, knowing full well what he was getting at.
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Your feelings didn’t just suddenly arrive. And you were full of confusion, disorientation, and most of all... anger.
For as long as you could remember, Hajime Iwaizumi was supposed to be your arch enemy. He was your nemesis on a daily basis. He was the reason for your annoyance. He was the reason for your hatred for the colors red and gold. He was the reason you became the quidditch captain. He was the reason for the breath leaving your lungs.
And he was the reason for the breath entering.
You were pissed. You were pissed that you had unrealized feelings for the man you were supposed to hate, have hated for years. You were pissed that your love had been in a game of chess, where the only outcome is to win or forfeit. You were pissed that the entire time you had spent a vast majority of your time hating, loathing, rolling your eyes at... the entire time you had a reserved space for hate, when it should have been quite the opposite.
The luck must have been exclusively for someone else, because it seemed as though whoever created you had decided to have a fun game.
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You had punched Hajime Iwaizumi once. 
It was something you thought of a lot, and it was the main reason Iwaizumi chose not to test you too closely to that day. 
He was rolling his eyes at something Oikawa was saying when you walked by. You were heading to your quidditch practice, the captain not one for latecomers. And he caught sight of you. He quickly jumped from his spot and stopped you from passing.
“Out of the way, Hajime, I have practice.”
“Oh, right, because you’re on the quidditch team now.”
“I am, thank you very much.” It was the beginning of third year, and you were not only annoyed but you were also a Growing Person going through puberty. You did not have time to deal with a teenage boy pissing you off. “You forget that not everyone got on the team their first year of trying out.”
“Because we’re better than the entire Slytherin team.”
“Talk to me when you win a house cup.” You tried to push past him, but he stood directly in front of you in one step. “Move, or be moved.”
“What are you going to do? Punch me?”
So, you did. Your fist collided with his cheek before you could even register that it had happened. Oikawa gasped out loud, it quickly turning into a laugh. 
“She punched you!” Oikawa laughed, grasping at his sides. “Ah man!”
While Iwaizumi touched his cheek to check that— ah yes, you really did punch him— you were already walking away to the practice field.
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Iwaizumi missed you, if he were being fully and completely honest with himself.
He found himself searching for you in classes or in common areas, prepared for your snide remarks and bitter taunts. He found himself waiting for you to roll your eyes at his presence; looking for you to quip about the next quidditch game.
But when none of it came, he felt out of place.
He actually missed your annoyed banter. He missed you shoving your middle finger in his direction. He missed the redness on your cheeks when you would try to calm yourself down. He missed the silence that would escape you if he entered a room and you were anything other than angry.
He missed catching you smiling at someone and watching your face change. He missed the arguments in class. He missed the little comments during eating.
Confused, he pushed those feelings down as he watched you eat with some Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff that he had never talked to before.
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It had been several weeks of silence from your end. You had thrown yourself back into quidditch before the break, happy to have a distraction from whatever the fuck you were feeling. You weren’t going home for the holidays, so you spent some time planning for the spring and classes.
You found yourself outside, sitting in the snow and writing a make up essay for Snape. You had found a nice spot under a roofed area, so nothing smudged your writing (or, you know, covered it completely). 
“Oh.” A voice said from above you.
You looked up to find Iwaizumi, hands in pockets and staring at you as if you had never existed and he was discovering you for the first time.
“I wasn’t expecting to find anyone here.” He said. 
“Yeah, obviously neither was I.” You started to put your things away.
“No... no comment?”
“Hm?”
“No... snarky comment? No you look terrible to me?”
You shook your head. Mainly because you didn’t have the energy. You were content, bored, and just overall exhausted. You had exhausted yourself in thinking of every possible outcome to your love for the man in front of you, none of which made any sense.
None of it made any sense.
It was as if one moment, you were standing on ground. And the next, you were swept away by a giant wave that you thought was only an earthquake. You hated love. 
“Then, can I finally say what I have been meaning to?”
“No.” You finally got the last of your things into your bag. 
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why can’t you just hear me out?” He stood in front of you, hoping to stall your leaving. “I’ve been trying to tell you that I shouldn’t have called you a bitch, and I should have...”
“And I don’t want to hear it.”
You started to leave, but he jogged to jump in front of you again. Through the years, he had gained height compared to you. You weren’t necessarily kids anymore, you weren’t at eye level to just punch him in his cheek without reaching for it. 
“God, you’re fucking annoying.” You shifted your bag on your shoulders. “You want me to call you a name so it can be even? You want me to tell you that everything is fine and we can go back to our constant fighting? What do you fucking want from me?”
“What do I want from you?” He asked, voice rising to match yours. “What do you want from me? I’ve been trying to get your attention for over a fucking month and you have given me every reason to just stop.”
“Then why don’t you!” You dropped your hands. “Why don’t you just leave me the fuck alone?”
“Why?”
“Why what, Hajime?”
“Why?” Iwaizumi let out a small breath, the grey cloud leaving his lungs. “Why won’t you just let me talk to you for five minutes?”
“Because I don’t want to! Because I don’t want to hear you make up excuses. Because I cannot listen to your voice for too long.”
Before you could stop yourself, before you could recognize your own voice, before any thoughts arrived, you said, “Because for some fucked up god awful reason, I’m in love with you!”
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Everything froze all at once. The oxygen left your lungs, the snow stopped falling, and everything became so unbearably silent.
You stared at him, regret drenching you in an instant as if the tides of the ocean had rose and fell in one single motion. You couldn’t breathe, your heart seized in your chest and against your ribs. You couldn’t bring yourself to look into his face, fearing to find yourself lost and never found.
He let out a single breath. And you held yours.
fin.
626 notes · View notes
watchmegetobsessed · 3 years
Text
Never Have I Ever - Harry Styles (part 2)
i quite liked this story and thought it totally had potential for more, so i’ve cooked up a part 2, continuing the idea. i have no clear plan with this, just enjoyed taking the story further, but i might turn it into a proper series if you guys are enjoying the concept!
pairing:  Harry x actress!reader
word count: ~3.2k
SERIES MASTERPOST
masterlist
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The car comes to a halt and you look up from your phone after being so occupied with texts you’ve been ignoring all afternoon.
“We’ve arrived, Miss,” The driver, Lawrence informs you in his usual, polite manner, looking at you through the mirror.
“Oh, thank you so much,” you breathe out grabbing your purse from the seat next to you. “I don’t think I’ll take too long, I’m not really in the mood to party,” you let him know, quickly running your hand through your hair before getting out, already knowing paparazzi is waiting for all guests at the entrance probably.
“Had a long day?” he asks with a soft smile.
“Kind of,” you sigh nodding. “I’ll text you when I’ll feel like heading home soon, alright?”
“Perfect. Have a great night, Miss,” Lawrence nods.
“Thank you,” you nod at him before opening the door and getting out of the car. Strategically, Lawrence stopped just a few buildings away from the club, so you wouldn’t be attacked right away, emerging from the car. This gives you enough time to fix your dress and avoid your private parts to end up on the tabloids. Not something you want to include in your career, if you’re being honest.
Shutting the door closed you head towards the club that has quite a long line of people waiting outside, though you have no idea why. If they are not on the list, there’s no way they’ll get inside, it’s a private party.
As you approach the entrance, people start to recognize you quite quickly and you hear your name coming from all direction, but you just flash a smile in their way, continuing to walk with the intention of getting inside as fast as possible.
Just as you expected, paparazzi are already waiting at the entrance and they start flashing their cameras in your way right away, throwing all kinds of questions at you that are left completely ignored.
The bouncer checks your name on the list and lets you inside without a fuss and you’re happy to leave the madness behind and mingle in the crowd of familiar faces.
Tonight is the celebration of the birthday of a good friend, a quite old friend of yours. Florence and you met quite some years ago, when both of you were only trying your luck in the industry, working hard to make yourselves a name. Now you are both are in the inner circle of Hollywood, piling iconic roles on your resumes together. So much has changed, people keep coming and going in your life, but the two of you managed to stay close and keep each other grounded when it was needed.
You keep saying hello to the people you know as you make your way through the guests, hugging a few guests, asking if they have seen Florence and they all point towards the bar. Unsurprisingly, you find the birthday girl right there, with a group of people circling around her as the bartender places a row of shots to the counter and her eyes light up at the sight of all the alcohol.
“Not even surprised you are already plastered,” you grin at her and she squeals upon seeing you join the little circle. Throwing her arms around you she jumps at you mumbling her greeting.
“I’m so happy you’re here!” she breathes out, clearly over a few drinks at this point. “I feel like we haven’t seen each other in ages!”
“It happens when we are both working on a movie at the same time, in different cities,” you chuckle giving her a look.
This past month has been rather busy, you were in Atlanta finishing up filming your latest movie while Florence was in Palm Springs, working on Don’t Worry Darling, she barely made it back to the city to her own birthday party, apparently they wrapped filming just two days ago so it was a close call.
“You have to take a shot with me!” she urges, already grabbing two shots from the bar and handing you one of them, not even waiting for your answer.
“Cheers to the birthday girl!” you hold your glass up after everyone else grabbed a shot, everyone around wishes her a happy birthday again before sending down the alcohol.
You can’t help the grimace that pulls on your face as the liquor burns down your throat. It’s been a while since the last time you had anything other than a few glasses of wine, it’ll take some time to get used to the stomach churning taste.
As the host of the party and the birthday girl, Florence’s presence is in high demand, so you don’t get to spend too much time with her, but you don’t blame her. Ordering a longer drink for you, sticking with some tequila based cocktail as you mingle in the crowd of guests.
Luckily, there are quite a lot familiar faces and you don’t have to linger around the club on your own. You move to a booth at the side with Sydney, a producer you and Florence both worked together previously. She is pretty new in the world of films, but she surely is a talent and you can’t wait for everyone to realize what a blessing she and her art is. You’re joined by her girlfriend, Emma and the three of you are deep in conversation, sharing the funniest stories that happened to you lately and surprisingly, you are genuinely having a good time. You really weren’t in the mood for a party after such a long and frustrating day, having scrunched in three auditions to one day because your manager messed the dates up. When you finished with the third ones, you wanted nothing else than to just sink into a nice bath, have a glass of wine and go to bed early, making your friends’ point of you being a grandma quite valid. However you didn’t have the heart to cancel on Florence, but now that you’ve had some alcohol buzzing in your system and some good company, you don’t regret coming at all.
Once you get to the end of your drink you head back to the bar to have another one, not feeling like leaving just yet. Pushing your way through the people, some keep saying hi to you and you greet everyone back with an instinct, even if you don’t know them. Something you’ve grown to do over your years being in the spotlight.
Standing in line, just like everyone else, you patiently wait to get to the front, when you feel someone bump against you from behind.
“Excuse me—Oh! If it isn’t my favorite Never Have I Ever game partner!”
Your eyes are met with a pair of green ones and a dimpled smile, you can’t help but chuckle as you turn to greet Harry.
“Hi there! Long time no see!” you smile as he pulls you into a side-hug and stands with you in the line.
“You know, maybe you would’ve seen me earlier if you actually gave me your number,” he comments with a sly smile and you have nothing to defend yourself with, he is completely right.
That day the two of you met on The Ellen Show you were actually planning to give him your number, but once your part of the filming ended your manager called you about something urgent and you couldn’t wait for him to finish as well, leaving the studio without ever giving him the chance to even ask for your number. You felt guilty and a little disappointed, but thought your paths would sooner or later cross somehow and it seems like you were right.
“I’m sorry about that. I had some papers to sign before the office closed, I had to leave,” you apologize truthfully and he nods understanding.
“S’alright. I was a little bummed, but I get it.”
“So what are you doing here?” you ask, moving forward in the line, getting closer to the front. Harry gives you a quick look that you can’t quite read before answering.
“I uhh—Florence and I filmed together last month.”
That’s when it clicks. She told you and you read about it, but you tend to forget these kind of things, not having enough capacity to keep everything in mind, only restricting it to the most important stuff.
“Oh, right! Yeah, sorry. Totally slipped my mind. Sorry, I sounded like I live under a rock,” you awkwardly chuckle, feeling a little ashamed that you didn’t remember, when Florence even mentioned it herself before she travelled to Palm Springs, but you were running on caffeine and protein bars between takes, it’s a luck you didn’t even forget your own name after those busy weeks.
“No, s’alright. Nice to know not everyone is drowning in the content that’s been put out of me lately,” he chuckles lowly. “You look lovely, by the way,” he nods at you, eyes running down your body quickly, before they return to your gaze.
“Oh, thank you,” you breathe out looking down at yourself, as if you forgot what you were wearing. It’s a little, black Gucci dress, quite vintage with some embroidered floral patterns along the slightly daring neckline. “It’s Gucci,” you tell him with a knowing smirk.
“Oh!”
“Know you are obsessed with it,” you add with a chuckle, seemingly surprising him with your knowledge about him.
“Someone did some research about me then?”
“I’ll admit, I might have searched your name one of those nights after I had a nice glass of wine.”
“And what else did you find out about me?” he arches an eyebrow at you, making your cheeks heating up. You shouldn’t have admitted that you searched him, he’ll think you’re some kind of stalker, which you are not, you just like to catch up on things sometimes. Though you are clearly a fan of his music and you know about his career vaguely, you haven’t been keeping an eye on him that closely lately, only because you didn’t have the time. However after meeting him at the taping, he was stuck on your mind for days before you gave in and checked out what he’s been up to lately and went through some in-depth articles about him from the past years, closing the line with his latest Vogue issue.
“Nothing shocking,” you simply answer and luckily, you are next up at the bar. You ask for another cocktail and Harry chimes in, adding a beer to the order.
“I hope you know I won’t let you leave until you give me your number this time,” he smirks at you cheekily, making you chuckle.
“I never said I would give it to you.” Wanting to play a little you shrug innocently, earning a stunned look.
“Making me work for it? Alright,” he nods, trying his best to hold his grin back.
The bartender comes back with the drinks and Harry is quick to whip his card out and pay for yours as well. You’re not surprised when he follows you back to the booth to Sydney and Emma. They both greet you with bright smiles upon arriving with Harry.
“This is Sydney and Emma. Syd and I worked together a while ago. Ladies, this is—“ You start the introduction, but Sydney cuts you off quickly.
“Harry Styles. You don’t have to introduce him to us,” she chuckles shaking hand with the fourth guest at the table. “I was a big One Direction fan,” she adds with a chuckle and that’s a new information. As a former fan girl, she is holding herself quite alright in the presence of her idol.
“Oh, nice!” Harry beams, genuinely looking delighted at the information.
“Her playlists have at least one One Direction song on them still this day,” Emma laughs shaking her head, while Syd just shrugs innocently.
The four of you are quick to engage in a conversation about music, mostly about what you listened to when you were teenagers and you are having some laughs at the odd taste you all used to have.
“I think my most played song was Crazy by Britney Spears. I was obsessed with that song,” you admit and Emma groans throwing her hands in the air.
“I loved that song! Even learned the choreography!” she shares, making everyone laugh around the table.
“I bet you did too,” Harry grins in your way over his half empty beer.
“Totally did not,” you scoff with a pretentious grimace that makes it clear that you in fact did.
“I would give an arm to see you dance to that song,” he sighs with an amused grin and you just chuckle, taking another sip from your drink.
At one point Florence joins the booth, buzzing from all the birthday shots she’s been constantly taking, but making sure you all are having a good time.
“I see you guys met again!” she beams looking at you and Harry sitting next to each other. “Y/N, wanna hear something funny?” she smirks at you with glistening eyes.
“Always,” you chuckle softly.
“Once on set, I caught Harry stalking your Instagram.” The man in talk almost chokes on his beer as Florence starts laughing, clearly enjoying how she just busted her co-star, but you are having a blast at how nervous her comment got him and you find the story quite flattering.
“Flo, I think you had enough to drink,” Harry tells her, urging her to leave the booth, but she is way too caught up in getting him into trouble.
“Are you ashamed she now knows you were checking out her sexy photos for that perfume campaign she did last year?” she continues, giving away even more details. Your eyebrows run up as you look at Harry, who is desperately trying to avoid your burning gaze.
“Oh, so you’re a fond of my pictures?” you tease him, his cheeks turning redder with each passing moment.
“I mean… You looked really good.”
“And quite half naked, only covering myself with a huge perfume bottle,” you add chuckling, enjoying it probably a little too much than you should, but Harry has been so confident, flirting with you, it’s funny to see him so flustered all of a sudden.
Harry lets out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his neck while Florence taps his shoulder, saying something that sounded like ‘good luck, man’ before she moves over to the next group of people.
“I wasn’t stalking, your profile just popped up and—“
“Harry,” you stop him with a chuckle. “It’s fine, I was just messing with you.”
“Way to make me a wreck, Y/N,” he shoots you a narrow-eyed look, but you can see the smirk pulling on his lips.
“If it makes you feel better I checked your profile a few times too,” you admit and once again, he seems surprised.
“It does make me feel better,” he nods, his sly smirk growing wider with each passing moment he spends staring at you.
Though you’ve been enjoying the night so far you are running low on energy, so when you see it’s already past midnight you send a text to Lawrence letting him know you are planning to leave soon.
Luckily, Florence is at one of the booths near yours, so you excuse yourself from your table, walking over to her to say your goodbye.
“Leaving already?” she pouts, returning your hug.
“I’ve had a long day, I wouldn’t want to be the grumpy guest to ruin others’ night,” you tell her with an apologetic smile and she nods understanding.
“I’m happy I saw you. We need to do something sometime soon!”
“Sure thing. I’ll have a looser schedule in the upcoming months. Call me whenever you are around and free,” you tell her kissing her cheek and giving her hand a soft squeeze. “Happy birthday once more.” “Thank you babe!” she cheers as you let go of each other.
Walking back to your booth you say goodbye to Sydney and Emma, making the same promise to meet up with them sometime soon. When you turn to Harry he is already up on his feet and offers to walk you out.
“Just to the exit. There are a shit ton of paparazzi outside,” you tell him and he nods, placing a hand to your lower back, ushering you through the crowd. The two of you stop near the exit since Lawrence hasn’t replied to you that he has arrived and you definitely don’t want to wait outside.
“So, are you gonna leave without giving me your number this time as well?” he asks tilting his head to the side as he hides his hands in his pockets lazily.
“Maybe I’m just trying to see if fate is gonna throw you in my way again,” you tease him, but reach for your phone in your purse. “Send yourself a text,” you tell him handing him the device.
He doesn’t try to hide the satisfied grin as he types his number in and sends a quick text to himself so he has your number. Handing it back you just take it and check if Lawrence has texted you. Right at that moment the screen lights up with a short ‘I’ve arrived, Miss’ text and you slide the phone back into your purse.
“Well, it’s been nice seeing you again, Harry,” you say your goodbye and stepping closer you engage in a short, but tight hug.
“You too, Y/N,” he smiles down at you. “Never have I ever had the number of an Emmy nominated actress’ number,” he smirks making you laugh.
“Drink up, Styles,” you tell him cheekily before you walk away, out of the club.
Lawrence is parked right in front of the building and you try to shield your vision from all the flashes as you get into the back seat as fast as possible.
“Hello, Lawrence!” you greet the man in a very delighted mood and he senses the change in you.
“Had a great evening, Miss?” he asks as he leaves from the club and heads to your apartment’s building.
“I did,” you nod biting into your bottom lip. Reaching into your purse you pull your phone out to check the text Harry sent himself.
You can’t help the chuckle that leaves your mouth when you see the short message he sent to his contact that he just saved under Harry S.
“I promise I won’t ghost you.” That’s what the text reads and as you are looking at the conversation you see the bubble popping up that signals that he is typing right now.
“So nice of you. Please keep that promise!” His text appears on the screen and you chuckle under your breath.
“Cheeky.” You write back.
“Maybe, but now I have evidence. Don’t even try to put me on your ghosted list!”
“Will think about it…” you write back with a sly smile before you lock the phone and put it away, letting your head rest against the back of the seat, eyes closing as you can’t wipe the smile off your face.
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1K notes · View notes
oneoftheprettynerds · 3 years
Text
Fixed: Dark!Steve x Reader (Mob AU)
Chapter 4 in the Lipstick and Crayons Series.
Chapter 3: Love So Soft
Main Masterlist
A/N: It’s shorter than my usual updates but I’m busy so sorry for the delay. My final exam dates have come and all I can do is pray right now lol. Please pray for me if you can, this sis is out here writing fanfics for yall instead of studying so, haha. ANyways, enjoy babies! Shit happens in this chapter.
Warning: Non-Con, Sickening Threats, Mob Themes, Violence, Death, Manipulation, a mild mental breakdown, Cheap Tricks.
Genres + Characters: Mob AU, Single Parents AU, Steve Rogers x Reader.
Summary: Steve can’t ever repay you for what you did. After meeting you, Steve believes his broken family is the missing piece in the puzzle of your own wrecked one. Indebting the crime lord to you has been the biggest mistake of your life, cause now you can’t get rid of him, no matter what. Loyalty and favours go a long way in the mob.
Word count: 5K
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Chapter 4: Fixed
You didn’t sleep that night. Or the next few. Your hands shook every time you got a flashback and even though you were numb to emotions that entire day, tears threatened to spill whenever your mind took to you to that overpriced kitchen again.
Now that he had gone to a dangerous and unnerved assaulter from a Dad trying to take care of his daughter, your mind wouldn’t put anything past him. You knew that in the back of your mind that he was a mobster and your ‘friendship’ was alarming to say the least, but now there was no denying his resources and power and the very obvious threat to your life lingering in the air.
At least before you had the luxury to be oblivious and ignorant, not anymore though. Steve felt even more unhinged and liberal now, even messaging you daily, greeting texts that you obviously ignored. He knew you both were aware that you never handed him your number and he felt no need to hide his pursuit.
You read most of the messages, not bothering with a single reply though. You tried to block him but somehow your phone would still receive messages from his number, even though his contact would always peek back at you from the otherwise empty blacklist.
As if his torment wasn’t ample, another message thread from a different number would forward you alarming images, photos of Grace in her daycare, on a class trip to the park and even her playing in your backyard. You had no doubt that this was another game of his to show you his resources.
You skipped daycare for a few days, your mental health worse than it was after the carnival attack, because now you had a personal tormentor and you cursed yourself for falling into this mess. At times, you believed it wasn’t your fault really, you just helped a kid and this situation spiraled itself but what would pointing fingers now get you? The harsh truth was you were in a calamitous situation now and every step from now on had to be thought out.
So, you let Grace attend her daycare and acted if nothing was amiss or altered, after the few initial breakdown days of course, kept going to your job and earning the bread. You considered your options, you really wanted to go to the cops or a higher fair power but those were few these days, almost non existent in your city. You also vaguely recalled meeting three of the Captains of the PD at Sarah’s birthday, all smiley and doe eyed for Steve. You knew they wouldn’t help, fucking kiss-asses.
Maybe you would have to move somewhere else, perhaps to your hometown, at least till things cooled down or better yet were forgotten? But that trail was very predictable and you didn’t want your parents in this mess.  
You also came to know that Steve had inserted himself in the other spheres of your life. You were sure your location was always being sent to him, the knowledge a courtesy of the black car following you while you travelled to home at some late day’s end.
Aiden told you whereabouts were easy to track, when you inquired ambiguously. Another instance was when you went to the bank to deposit cash for your debit card, you came face to face with an enormous amount already there. Somehow, the limit on your credit card was also extended. How, you knew. The clerk told you about an email you must have gotten in regards to it, you dismissed that justification away and told them to not accept the cash. To sum the discussion, they weren’t helpful and had no policy against anonymous donors.
Aiden, your trusted coworker cum pal, sensed the shift in your aura and fidgety form very easily, pestering you with questions and you decided to turn to him, stressed and tired and ready to do something. His questioning eyebrows made you confess vaguely but you refused to tell him the extent of it. Just that his prediction came true and you needed help. Let’s just say, Aiden was a good man.
With time, Steve’s ‘affectionate’ messages became deranged, and you found it harder to act nonchalant in your daily life. You were thankful he didn’t come to visit you, possibly occupied with the rumored war between the mobs. You just prayed for a few more days of ignorance, just enough time to think and do something.
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“What do you mean someone collected her?!” You had a hard time controlling your voice, you were about to burst, in tears or with anger, you didn’t know.
“The man was verified in the emergency contacts and we got a letter signed and approved by you to skip the day an hour into the first activity.”
“A man? Emergen-, wait no! What fucking approved letter?”
You had three emergency contacts, your mom in another state, Aiden, and one of the other kid’s mom you had grown close to. Aiden was with you at work all day, so did someone disguise themselves as him? And what was the deal with the letter signed by you? You surely didn’t remember writing and authorizing one.
The boy, Pietro, who had been the receptionist for as long as you could remember, shuffled through the chaotic piles of paper and presented a letter to you, and your blood froze as your eyes skimmed the font.
Your beautiful cursive stared right back at you and you knew that no one would ever be able to distinguish between this penmanship and the one in the pocketbook in your clutch. No one but you. Even though you knew you had not written it, the slightly different ‘f’ and ‘g’ told you everything.
Your signature at the bottom though, was done quite perfectly and that made you even more scared.
“I did-, I didn’t write this! What the-” Your widened eyes met Pietro’s from above the paper but all he offered you was a meek smile. Your hands shook with rage and for the first time in your life, you had the urge to slap someone really bad.
“Maybe your family had an emergency to take he-”
“No, you don’t get it!” You stopped yourself from getting frantic, willing yourself to take deep breaths and think rationally. Today of all days, things had to mess up.
He didn’t know you had no family in this city, that you had a mobster after you or the subtle threats that his hired spy sent to you.
Was going to the police an option? Aiden already told you that the cops were as good as Steve’s men. But this was about your missing kid! You’d never forgive yourself if something happened to her. And you were giving Steve way too much credit, what if he wasn’t behind this all? Come to think of it, what if the other number wasn’t his?
Relax yourself! Thinking of disturbing theories wouldn’t help anyone. You thought you should go to the cops, just in case. No mentioning of Steve, just a woman with a ‘missing child’ report.
‘Missing Child’ left an acrid taste behind and you were too close to a breakdown, but your whole journey of single-parenthood taught you to kick vulnerability aside, well most of the times.
You turned and were about to leave, but Pietro stopped you. “If you are going to the cops Ma’am, they require 8 hours of inactivity or disappearance time for kids under 5.”
Well look who just read your mind.
You huffed and kept the tears at bay, your mind thinking of what to do then? Grace was obviously taken-
“How could you let a toddler leave without informing the parents?” You knew your anger was channeling out at the wrong man but didn’t he all but hand Grace to the stranger?
You beat him answering and inquired, “What did the man look like? Do you have any footage? Anything?” The wrinkles in your forehead and stress creases on your face paired with the eyebags betrayed your age surely. You were sure you had aged more this week than an entire decade, juggling your normal life with the hovering threat.
“You shouldn’t be this worried Ma’am.”
The fucking audacity.
“Your daughter recognized him, she all but ran to him and this other little girl he came with. You should maybe ask your parent-friends around? A blonde family perhaps?”
As all the emotions drained from your face and terror took over, the young lad in front of you looked smug. You wondered as if you imagined the faintest of smirks on his face.
You crumpled the letter in your hands, seething with rage as you stepped in your car. Oh, you were mad, more wrathful than ever. You could take any hits on you, any threat but not on Grace, never on her.
You were stupid, you had already decided you wouldn’t put anything past him but unknowingly, you did put this past him. You thought this man had a shred of decency to not use your kid in this adult war, being a parent himself and all but what a surprise! You were wrong.
You drove to your home, your thoughts a mix of trepidation, anxiety and fury. You were scared of him and his reach and resources but if he put Grace in any type of danger; whether to teach you a lesson or use her as bait or both, there’d be consequences.
Lord knows you killed a man a month ago Grace was threatened.
You had one thing to do before contacting Steve about Grace but you never got to do it because unexpectedly the bastard was in your home. In your home.
The black sports car outside was a huge giveaway but your suspicions were confirmed when you opened the door with your house key. The banter and giggles from inside alarmed yet calmed you; the dread of confrontation and the assurance of Grace’s safety reigned your mind.
As the door opened painfully slow like a horror movie, the sight that met your eyes made you sick with a feeling of failure. It wasn’t gore or blood or grunge, it was Steve bouncing Grace in the air and catching her while Sarah twirled around in the living room.  
This man was craftier than you thought, every action of his was calculated, each a refined step. You had been so preoccupied to avoid direct encounters with him in your little family’s life that you didn’t think he had other ways. He was always looming around with Sarah and as Grace began to trust Sarah, she consequently began to trust her blonde guardian too.
As you slammed the door behind you, Steve’s eyes snapped to yours and his smirk made you want to punch him so hard. The smugness on his face while he let Grace down without breaking eye contact told you he had no regret, no remorse. In fact, he was loving every second of this cat and mouse chase between you two.
You were a millimeter close to losing your shit, the only check being the kids in the room. But you were mad and he was going to know it.
“What the hell, Steve? Messing with my kid?” You threw your clutch onto the couch, Steve haughty by the reception of his sent message but still holding back because of the kids. He called Wanda and you didn’t really notice where she came from but you did register Steve asking to take the girls to the park for a ‘private discussion’.
As Grace passed by you, you grabbed her arm lightly, making her look at you with doe eyes resembling yours. You gave her a smile trying to ease her, but you knew she was smart enough to sense the change in the atmosphere.
Apparently, the whining Sarah wasn’t.
You looked back to Steve, your hold still on Grace and continued with a frown and raised eyebrows, “She isn’t going anywhere, not out of my sight and obviously not with you or your goons.”
Wanda had the audacity to look offended and you scoffed at her, eyes staring Steve’s down.
“Honey, I don’t think the kids should hear what I think you have to say right now.” He said nodding to Wanda to take Grace.
“You must be deranged to think I trust Grace near anyone even remotely related to you! Take your people and get out.” You held your hand up to stop Wanda and pointed towards the door with the most menacing glare you could form.
Grace looked incomprehensibly between you two, concern and confusion on her face. That might have been the first time such a tone was used in your household. The grumbling Sarah was close to throwing a tantrum, irritated by the change in the playful air or the lack of attention to her, you didn’t know. She was hanging on Wanda’s forearm, her feet slipping on your printed rug. Wanda was trying to not look hurt still by your previous statement, distracting herself by the blonde kid and you were baffled by her obliviousness to all this.
Steve, the beefy blonde Lucifer, was furious and seething. His white knuckles and ticking jaw were the most obvious giveaways, the fingers just itching to beat the shit out of someone no doubt.
Was he imagining striking you into compliance into his weird playhouse game complex? You wouldn’t be surprised given the extent of his attempt to ‘win’ you over.
The ‘get out’ tone and blatant disrespect was a bruise to his ego for sure, and by you, a middle-class woman nonetheless was a worse injury. Steve was the deadly boss to armored men in the vicinity, the kids’ father figure, according to him, and Wanda’s stern yet kind employer.
People had been killed for less and there you were, standing in all your glory, being the only person alive to reject Steve Rogers and now, the only to raise your voice at him.
You almost scoffed at his impudence to look offended, what did he expect? For you to submit to him after the stunt he pulled? His reach was scary he proved today and that any future with him in your life in any way, was a fearsome possibility to entertain but you’d be damned if you went down without a fight.  
“You can’t make me leave; we both know. You don’t have the physical edge nor the mental one. I have no problem drawing out G-U-N-S in front of the kids or to throw the warnings around, although I would prefer not to.”
Your free hand itched to slap him, like how his did minutes ago. It wasn’t a mankind problem about men thinking they were entitled to everything; it was a Steve Rogers’s problem. Of course, with him consent didn’t matter. If he had a ‘housewife, kids and fences’ fixation, he’d make it come true.
“Do you even listen to what I say? Or your own words even? Please, go ahead! Traumatise my kid and also yours in your wooing process! Why are you so obsessed? Leave us alone, you freak! I just ignored few messages!” You had a hard time maintaining your cool, if there was any left. You were sure you were scaring Grace and no matter what happened next, you knew she was already traumatized by this entire ordeal already. You were so sorry, so, so, so sorry to your poor baby caught in this mess.
You knew, no, you hoped, he wouldn’t pull out the gun, his actions at the carnival a proof, you remembered how he hid his gun on finding Sarah. That threat was empty but the next one wasn’t, his words making you freeze in your spot.
“I think you keep on misunderstanding me, sweetheart. I don’t make empty promises,”
Posh word for threats.
“For starters, maybe I should pay my future in-laws a visit in their blue duplex. They might need help with the vast garden they have, it is the season for ‘violets’, isn’t it?”
As you froze with your parents being brought up, he also cooled, albeit differently, smirking once again gaining the upper hand, not that he lost it if you were being honest.
“Isn’t threatening my kid enough for you, Steve?” You hated how your loud voice almost broke, your anger slowly subsiding into helplessness and you hated that. You hated his guts, his entitlement, his claim; everything about him.
“You still don’t see it, do you? Our family of four is the most important thing to me right now and I’m not above doing anything to save it.”
“There is no family of four Steve! I keep explaining and you keep coming back to square one with all this bullshit!” The curse word did tick Steve off but he would correct that later, when bigger things weren’t at ploy.
“Your ignorance makes me a little mad sometimes sweetheart and that is why I have to do all I do. You haven’t realized we need each other yet, but I’m staying until you do and even after that, I promise. You know how much it pissed me off to see your tickets and the packed suitcases after I’ve been nothing but nice? I was so generous to spoil you with my riches but instead I find that in your finances.”
This fucker knew. Of course, he did!
You were wondering in the back of your head what had prompted this visit with so many threats and warnings and anguish. He was pissed even before you ‘acted out’, he tracked the tickets and the plan and that meant he even tracked-
“You have so much to learn, but luckily you interact with quite a few people. I am most tempted to start out with this Aiden guy, trying to be the hero and giving you all the ideas. Maybe I should visit him?” Steve wondered out loud, and you flinched at his suggestion, hating how you were trapped by this man.
You couldn’t live with yourself if anyone got hurt because of you, be it your parents or Aiden or any other possibility Steve would come up with. Of course, Grace was your peak priority but you doubted he would hurt her as he threatened to harm them.
“Steve, please.” The fire was almost out, your hands trembling, Grace worried and Steve smug.
“Let the kids go and I think we can come to a conclusion.”
“Steve this needs to stop.” You said, your breaths heavy and helplessness clawing away at you.
“I won’t repeat myself.” He voiced out with a threatening edge, gesturing to Grace and Wanda, clearly telling you to first get the kids out.
For a deranged fucktard, he sure cared about the kids a lot.
You loosened your hold on Grace, patting her arm softly and nudged her to Wanda. Wanda received her little hand and enticed the kids with the promise of ice-cream. Sarah clapped her hands and as the trio left, Grace did look over her shoulders at you in concern and for permission, majorly in concern though. You nodded and waved, a tear dropping as soon as the door clicked shut.
You were still staring at the door, not wanting to meet Steve’s stormy blue orbs when he began, “Today was a slip up that I won’t tolerate again. Neither the cursing nor the dramatics.”
We aren’t in a fucking play, what the fuck is he labelling as dramatics?
Your eyes slowly flickered to his, and you had a hard time not letting the tears escape except the one traitorous one earlier. The fatigue, the worry of Grace’s disappearance, the threats to your friends and family were all catching up to you. It took all in you to stay strong and not fall down right now.
“Steve this isn’t funny anymore. It’s sick and you know it! I just said no! Was that so inexcusable that you had to follow up with this? You have violated me for that, broken into my home and now kidnapped my daughter! At what extent will you stop?” You broke down finally, arms a flailing mess as fat tears rolled down. Nothing scared more than the helplessness this moment. He won and he knew it. The carnival incident was nothing in comparison to this. The only good thing you could hope in all this was a safe Grace but that too only if you complied, which seemed like what you would do now given your attempts at fighting back and scampering have failed laughably.
“Gosh, I forgot how theatrical women are. You are smart darling; you know what I want from day one, just a happy family. Nothing that horrendous has happened and especially not as badly as put it. I’m just looking out for you and me in the long run.” Steve slowly treaded towards you, his hand extended to pat your arm comfortingly but you involuntarily flinched at contact and stepped back. Steve clearly didn’t like that as he caught your arm in a bruising grip and jerked you towards him. Manhandling you as your wet hands rushed to ease his grip was not a tough task for Steve, a surprise to none.
“Stop trembling like I’ve actually done something to harm you!”
Steve clearly didn’t know how to comfort women and it showed.
You stopped with the cowering away, even though it disgusted you to be this much in close proximity with your assaulter. He clearly had anger issues and no clue how to solve them. You needed to steer the conversation right and get him out. You could see your hands visibly shake as you put them on his chest, just to create some distance and in a way of surrendering to not fight. The tears slowed but you don’t think they stopped; it was hard to tell with a million other things on your mind.
As your eyes made contact, Steve loosened his grip, clearly a bit satisfied by your submission, as he began counting to help you breathe. As much as you hated to admit, it helped you and you got a flashback to the time when you freaked out on him about Grace at that extravagant dinner date. That was a sweet gesture then, not so sweet now. Funny how drastically things change with time.
It wasn’t so much Steve’s help as it was your own mind telling you to be fucking smart about the whole ordeal right now.
“Good. Better. Now let’s talk. Why were you planning to run away? I’ve been busy and coming home to find out that wasn’t joyful, you know.” His smile suggested a better mood than before but his voice, his husky voice always had this daring edge that almost challenged you to defy him but at the same time warned you of unpleasant consequences if you did.
“Steve, I’m scared.” You spoke with utmost honesty. “The part of the world you associate yourself with scares me. You can’t blame me for not wanting that life for Grace, I mean you have a kid of your own. Wasn’t the carnival attack specifically on Sarah?”
The reasoning was right but you knew you triggered him the moment his smile evaporated. He either felt insulted as a parent or disrespected in his profession or probably both.
He was fighting his inner demons already and you pointing it out was a slap to his face, a hit he didn’t want to take.
“That was a slip up, I admit. Never again. I’m only human, okay?” He convinced himself and you, his grip tightening a bit again.
Oh no, not the right direction to take.
You reckoned he still had nightmares about it like you, he really did love Sarah a lot, all things aside.
“Besides, I am looking out for you! Out for you and Grace and Sarah. I remember my promise of never putting either of them in harm’s way ever again.”
You definitely didn’t trust his security or his people because what sort of a mobster let his daughter get targeted and possibly abducted? You definitely didn’t know the whole story or if it was just a bad day but he wasn’t a person that deserved some slack. Despite all this, you knew what all he held above you, above a common man. He might not be ‘Kingpin’ skilled but a threat to you nonetheless.
Before you could stop yourself, you blurted out, “Is that what you call following me around, huh?” which you immediately regretted.
“Trust the process, baby. Everything is just to protect you.”
Is that what he called stalking even Grace around and twistedly enough, sending you proof of that? The anonymous thread of photos was another nightmare of yours, thanks to him. The last being a candid photo inside Grace’s room, her sleeping in her bed this morning and that’s when you decided you needed to get out. Of course, that didn’t go as planned.
“How am I supposed to do that when you have cameras in my house?!” You scoffed and he reeled back at the accusation, having the nerve to look impressed at being uncovered and caught red-handed.
“Oh my fucking God, it was you! You sick pervert!” You jumped out of his grip, your eyes wide and horrified. “I wasn’t aware of what to make of it but of course, it was you! Who else would be sick enough to do that?” You let out a humorless chuckle. You always put things past him even when you keep telling yourself you shouldn’t. When will you ever learn huh?  
You were full on panicking yet again, this man was an assaulter, a stalker and a creep too. It would have made a good dark, psychological thriller for you to watch if you weren’t the protagonist about to suffer his obsession.
He reached out to steady you again, but you whipped and stumbled back, realizing too late that you elbowed Steve’s nose so bad that there was a crunch. That, right there, was the look a man real-fucking-furious on Steve’s face and now you could see the feared mobster, the man who was personally terrorizing you under the beautiful, Greek God façade.
Steve reacted so fast even with an injury that in a split second, your view of his face turned into a view of his crotch.
“You do realize that there are others ways for me to teach you obedience? I think it’s fucking time you show me your gratitude for my care and attention and apologize for your misconduct and unkind response.” Steve spoke with a hoarse voice, a voice running out of patience and just about done with defiance.
His hand fisted your hair, maintaining eye contact while he nodded between you and his crotch. You knew what he wanted, what he was expecting as ‘thanks’.
“Steve, please no, you don’t-”
His other hand grabbed your jaw, stopping you from speaking as he warned, “I think you have done just enough talking for today, so why don’t you put that tongue to a better use and show me how sorry you are. Better make it convincing because I’d hate to pay one of your friends a visit and then bitch about a nasty blowjob.” He smirked at the end of his monologue, eyes shining with triumph and amusement.
You wouldn’t let him harm anyone else, you couldn’t. You and your daughter were already knee-deep in a pit and at this point, it’d just be cruel to drag someone else in. With shaky hands opening his pants, you just hoped you could get Grace out before you eventually were buried in it.
“Now that’s a good girl. Submissive is a sexy look on you.” His hands patted your hair, playing with your tresses while yours pulled his pants and then briefs down.
His member jerked out, almost slapping you in the face as you recoiled at his insolence to get hard and erect at your torment. Your disdain must have shown which he took as admiration and derision to take his affluent cock in.
“No need to get shy, I have faith you’ll be able take it just as well in your pretty pussy as you will right now. Open up-”
“Steve, I beg you-”
Just as you had cut him off, he interrupted your pleading. Your gag reflex was probably the most efficient in the world but that turned this narcissist on. It had been years since you had done it, never with a man as beefy as Steve.
His taste was salty and if you had to put it into better words, it was the like overpriced sea salt flakes that you never bought. High and pricey and for the entitled.
Your hands clutched at his thighs as you blacked out multiple times; your jaw aching, uvula swaying and tears escaping. Him forcing himself on you brough a new sense of vulnerability as your body trembled. Steve relished like a sadist, practically rutting into you all by himself as you just sat there with your jaw unnaturally open.
His obscene moans and groans were crass and nauseating and you just prayed for this to be over soon and for no one to walk in on this, especially your kid.
It seemed like it would never end, your body dehydrating with all the spit it produced, the drool dribbling and landing just beside your knees on your printed rug. You would have to throw that out.
The tears stooped after some point, the sobbing an unnecessary action that just tired you out more on this eventful day. You moved your tongue around to prevent your teeth from scratching him when he shifted angles. If this was what he did on slightly mad, you didn’t want to find what he did for a more serious punishment.
Apparently, that action was something that turned him on even more, his breath hitching as neared closure. In broken whispers he demanded that again and you complied, wanting to get done with it.
He growled in the moment of his release and you tried to lean back but his grip didn’t relent. “Swallow.” His grainy, exasperated voice said out loud and you knew better than to defy.
He released you and you fell on to the rug, hip bruising by knocking into some furniture and tears coming back again after being hydrated by his seed. He packed himself, his smile smug and content as his expressions truly resembled ecstasy being personified.
“You be a good fiancée from now on and maybe you’ll have all your friends alive and present at our wedding. No cheeky business from now on, got it?” Steve hummed then and strutted out, not even bothering to listen to your reply.
As soon as the door slammed, your eyes closed and your demons danced again.
There was no right direction to take when you were stuck in a loop.  
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iliveiloveiwrite · 3 years
Text
I find myself travelling back to you // Simon Basset
Request: Could you possibly write a Simon Basset fic where maybe the reader is like a childhood friend and he bumps into them and they talk and catch up with maybe some romance or something - anon
A/N: My first Simon fic! I am a little uncertain of this as I am not sure whether I have Simon’s character down yet. I hope you all like! Thank you for requesting, I hope I have done it justice.
Pairing: Simon Basset x Fem!Reader
Warnings: childhood friends, pining, mutual pining, fluff, some angst, she/her pronouns, female reader.
Word count: 3.8k
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There was not a cloud in the sky as you made your way through Mayfair after having turned down a carriage. Instead, you chose to walk away the morning, happy to feel the warmth of the sun through the layers of your dress.
The streets had started out as quiet; a few souls here and there, but they soon grew busier and busier as routines were started. Dodging bodies here and there, you found it hard to be annoyed at the crowds – the weather too perfect for your mood to be sullied.
A flash of deep red amongst the crowd has your eyes and body on alert; the sound of a deep voice has your ears pricking. “Simon?” You call out, eyebrows furrowing as you spy a familiar head of hair making their way through the crowds.
“(Y/N)?” The man in question answers, eyes wide as he takes in your form.
“It’s been so long,” You whisper, staring into his brown eyes. “I suppose I should call you ‘Your Grace’ now. I was sorry to hear of the passing of your father,” You comment softly, not overly sorry for the death of the man who had mistreated his son so poorly but offering your condolences as a form of social etiquette.
Nodding his head, Simon smiles at you. “Thank you,” He gestures to the elderly lady on his arm, “I am sure you remember Lady Danbury.”
You smile widely at the elderly lady as she grins back at you. “Of course I do,” You laugh, “We meet at least once a week to have tea.”
If possible, Simon’s eyes grow wider to the point where Lady Danbury snorts. “Really now, Simon. Did you expect us ladies to go our separate ways when you left the country?”
“Of course not,” Simon drawls, amused by the elder. “I just didn’t realise you had a close relationship.”
“Well we do. That reminds me,” Lady Danbury pipes up, “I will not be able to make our tea appointment this week, dear (Y/N). My grandson, Gareth, is visiting.”
“Of course, Lady Danbury. We can always rearrange to the following week.”
“Nonsense,” She declares, slamming her cane onto the ground, “Simon will meet with you.”
Casting your gaze to the tall gentleman, it is not hard to miss to the surprise in his eyes. Shaking your head, you state, “I am sure the Duke has more pressing issues than tea with an old friend.”
Lady Danbury opens her mouth to protest your point but is beaten by the Duke. “I have nothing so pressing that cannot be rearranged. I shall meet you tomorrow, I assume Lady Danbury knows the spot.”
With a nod of your head, Simon smiles. He reaches out, grabbing your gloved hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. “Until tomorrow then,” He promises, stepping away from you with Lady Danbury in tow.
“Until tomorrow,” You whisper, watching the strong figure of your childhood friend walk away from you.
Glancing up at the still cloudless sky, you wonder how it is possible that the world keeps spinning when your own has changed so much. Simon left the country years ago, and even then, contact with the man was few and far between. He had left for school and seemingly left you behind. The very fact that he was happy to have tea with you sent shockwaves through your body; not a word for so many years and then this out of the blue.
Now glaring at the sky, you wonder whether there wasn’t a larger game afoot. One that had you reuniting with the childhood love that had left you a bereft teenager; it had you hoping you would not be left a heartbroken adult.
------
The pleasant weather was to continue, you thought to yourself as you sat down in the drawing room. Despite the calmness of the room; the sweet sound birdsong outside of your window, your stomach would not calm. Instead, it was threatening to make a mockery of your breakfast. A missive had arrived late yesterday evening from Lady Danbury explaining that Simon would indeed be calling on you for the promised tea.
Smoothing out your pale blue skirts, you wish desperately that you had brought something to keep you occupied as you wait for his imminent arrival. You curse the fact that you left your latest cross-stitch upstairs in your room, having worked on it late into the night. You could have used it to the pass the time to keep your mind busy.
“The Duke of Hastings,” The butler announces, startling you slightly, stepping aside for Simon to stride into the room.
Simon smiles widely as he spots you standing by the table; he rushes over to you, reaching for your hand, placing a lingering kiss to the back of it before straightening. “(Y/N),” He greets, breathless as if he had rushed all the way over here.
“Simon,” You answer, smiling just as widely.
Following his lead, you take a seat at the table, waiting for the tea service to be brought up.
“How is Lady Danbury?” You question, trying to fill the time for the service to arrive.
Simon laughs. “It seems she is on the warpath. Her grandson, Gareth, arrived this morning still out of sorts from the previous night.”
“No!” You gasp, “He’s barely of age!”
“That is what dear Lady Danbury was reminding poor Gareth as she swung her cane at him. I thought I better leave before her attention and her cane turned to me.”
“A good decision to have made.”
“Definitely,” Simon agrees, “As I was leaving, Gareth was promising his grandmother not to touch another drop of alcohol again though I doubt that promise will stick.”
“Poor Gareth,” You lament, thinking of the times you had been on receiving end of a lecture from Lady Danbury. “She does love him so though.”
“She does,” Simon states, “I remember his birth. It feels so long ago.”
You hum in agreement; wondering how quick time had flown by. Gareth was to be part of the next generation of society; he was to bring it into its future, especially if his grandmother had anything to say about it.
“How long have you been home?” You ask, pouring the both of you some tea now that it had arrived.
“I travelled to Clyvedon to settle things there before journeying down to London. I’ve been back in England just short of a month.”
“Oh,” You murmur, trying your best not to feel hurt that he hadn’t actively sought you out. After all, it had been years since you had last spoken. No correspondence had been exchanged throughout the duration of his travels; Lady Danbury had been the one to update you on where Simon was in the world. He hadn’t written you a single letter despite the long friendship that you still held dear. Instead, it had been an utter coincidence, a meeting in the streets that had proved to you he was still alive and breathing.
“I wanted to come see you,” Simon states, feeling bad about the broken sound that had left your mouth just now. He wasn’t one to talk so openly about his feelings, but he found himself needing to explain to you that he hadn’t stopped thinking of you since he stepped foot on English soil.
“Did you?” You question, sounding very much as if you did not believe a word leaving his mouth. By the unimpressed expression on your face, Simon knew you did not believe him.
“I did, but I got so busy. There were estates to manage, ledgers to balance and announcements to be made. By the time I landed in London, I was so thoroughly exhausted that I simply wandered to Lady Danbury’s home and fell asleep on her chaise-lounge. She wasn’t impressed.”
You snort before realising the impropriety, “I can imagine.”
Simon laughs entertained by the thought of Lady Danbury’s face when she found him snoring away on her chair. “As punishment, she made me accompany her on a walk… where we ran into you.”
“What a punishment,” You drawl.
Simon rolls his eyes at your tone. “I like to think of it as a happy coincidence.”
“Then I shall look at it in the same manner.”
There was something different about the man sitting across from you. Was it how he held his spoon? How he stirred his tea? Had the years abroad moulded him into a new person, one you could barely recognise?
Simon held himself entirely different to how he would when he was younger. His posture, perfect. His stance, brimming with confidence. It takes you aback somewhat as you take in the changes the years away at school and abroad have placed on his body.
Would your friendship still stand after so long apart? Is Simon simply placating Lady Danbury by having him meet you for tea? He talks such pretty words; can form sentences that leaves your mind in a spin, but this is the same man that had left the country without so much as a goodbye in your direction.
Reaching for your tea, you distract yourself from such intrusive thoughts. The tea clears your mind; letting you form a blank slate in your mind. “Enough talk of the past, no matter how recent,” You declare, “You left so long ago and came back a new person. It seems I need to get to know the new one.”
Simon smiles at you from his place across the table. “The same could be said for you too.”
You smile though it doesn’t reach your eyes. You don’t mention how you had spent the last few years turning down every marriage proposal offered to you due to your heart belonging to another even in its broken state. “Time is a marvellous thing,” You offer instead, grabbing a small cake from the stand.
“Indeed,” Simon murmurs, eyes following the cake from the plate to your mouth. Despite the time that had passed, his feelings had not changed. They had grown stronger instead. By now, Simon truly understood the meaning of absence making the heart grow fonder. All through his travels, he had cursed himself for not asking you to join him. Through every country, principality and dominion, Simon wondered how it would be for you to be there with him, experiencing the wonders of it all.
“Where was your favourite place to travel?” You ask, leaning forward slightly, “I’ve never travelled further than France.”
Simon nods, remembering your trip abroad with the same pang of sadness he felt back then. He knew logically that you were sat across from him, yet the longing in his body did nothing to help repress the urge to reach out for your hand across the table – to touch you so he would know that you were there, and this wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
“I think my favourite place to visit was Greece. I stayed on the mainland for a while before eventually making my way around the islands. Each island had its own charms, but there was one that had me questioning whether I could live there for the rest of my life. It was so calm, so quiet. Not even the thoughts in my head could distract me from its serenity.”
“Do you miss it?”
“The island?”
“The travelling.”
Simon sighs, staring out of the window as he thinks of over his answer. Eventually, he says, “I miss the sights and the people. I miss the smells and the food. However, I do not miss the time zones. There were moments where I didn’t know what time it was, let alone what day it was.”
“It sounds as if you had a magical time,” You sigh, trying your best not to think of Simon in the desperate heat of the Mediterranean.
“It had its moments,” Simon admits, thinking of the hours he had spent in markets, trying local delicacies and drinking traditionally made coffee. He had adored every second of his travels; he hadn’t minded the odd illness that came along with a new environment when there was so much to learn and so much to experience.
“Will you be travelling again soon?”
“It depends,” Simon answers.
“On?”
“On whether I find anything to keep me here.”
Silence falls over you both as you take in his words, trying to find the meaning of them. Taking a sip of your tea, you wonder whether your friendship with the Duke would be enough to keep him grounded at home for longer than a few weeks at a time. Your heart skips a beat at thought that you might not be enough; your feelings for the Duke had never surprised you. They had not surprised Lady Danbury when you showed up on her doorstep in floods of tears after Simon had left for the continent; she had simply welcomed you into her home with words of comfort and reassurances.
“Will you be attending Lady Danbury’s ball later this week?” You ask, needing to take your mind off that terrible evening.
Simon chuckles, placing his teacup on its saucer. “I shall be in attendance. I find it hard to turn down Lady Danbury. Will you be there?”
You nod, thinking of the dress you had made special. “I will. I’m quite excited if I’m to be honest.”
“Why is that?”
You shrug, “The theme, the music, the company. Lady Danbury never fails with her balls.”
“She does not,” Simon agrees, remembering the grandiosity of such events before he left to travel.
“So I shall see you there?” You ask, your voice hopeful as if daring to wonder whether Simon would attend before no doubt leaving the country once more.
“You shall. Would you save me a dance perhaps?” Simon asks, his usual mischief alight in his eyes.
You smile widely, “Always.”
--------
The rest of the week is spent in anticipation; desperate for the hours to quicken so you could walk through the home of Lady Danbury to find Simon already waiting for you. A hopeless dream, but a dream, nonetheless.
The Duke of Hastings remains on your mind for the rest of the week. One chance meeting and one organised tea and it seems that the man had made his home in your mind and brought to life the feelings you were certain were dormant.
With those feelings in mind, you prepare for Lady Danbury’s ball knowing full well you were about to spend the evening in the presence of Simon, but also watching the mothers of London’s available fawn over him as if he was a prize to be won. It was enough to make your blood boil.
Ridding yourself of such anger, you enter the home of Lady Danbury.
Lady Danbury never spared any expense when it came her to time to host the event of the season. She knew that it would be reported on, that it would be spoken about. She also knew that there was a chance that many matches could be made that night; so no expense could be spared in the battle for love matches among the ton.
The sight of the ballroom takes your breath away as you enter. Lady Danbury had chosen the theme of the moon, stars and sun – asking her guests to dress in colours relating to either. Your navy blue skirts swish together the further you walk into the room, distracted by the moon and star decorations hanging from the high vaulted ceilings.
You’re so enraptured by the scenery that you do not hear the footsteps approaching or the whispers of the women beside you. It isn’t until you hear him call your name that you turn your gaze from the silver decorations.
“Simon,” You greet with a smile, “How have you been?”
“Very well,” He replies, “And yourself?”
“I’m fine, thank you for asking.”
“You look wonderful,” Simon compliments; eyes raking up and down your body.
Your skin heats at his rapt attention; flashes of heat soaring through you as your mind begins to think of all sorts of scenarios where you could keep his eyes on you for much longer. “Thank you,” You answer, voice breathy, “You look very handsome too.”
“Would you do me the honour of dancing with me?” Simon asks, voice quiet in the loud room.
Nodding your head, you take his outstretched hand and allow him to lead you onto the dancefloor where many other couples are gathering.
Simon’s hand is soft on the small of your back; soft but insistent as it brings you closer to his own body. Wrapped up entirely in him, you find it hard to concentrate on the steps of the dance, easily being led around the dancefloor by the man who had captured your heart before you had even known the meaning of the word.
A large smile spreads over his face as he spins you out and brings you back. A surprised laugh leaves your lips as Simon spins you once more; the delight settling deep within your bones, melding to become a memory that would always be with you. Simon’s own laughter soons join yours and before long, neither of you are paying much attention and custom – the both of you having far too much fun in each other’s arms to be aware of the looks and glances being sent your way.
As the music fades into silence, Simon’s grip on you loosens reluctantly. He doesn’t want to let go of you; doesn’t know when the next time he can hold you this close will be. If he could, he would steal you away right now, but etiquette and his title demands he be a gentleman.
With a strained smile, Simon bows at you once before turning away without a word. So deep in his thoughts, he doesn’t see you escape to the gardens before it is too late.
------
The gardens at Lady Danbury’s home had always been spectacular, but in the night, they were even more magnificent. Despite the shadows of night, you were not scared as you walked down the paths, fingers absently brushing over the flowers of delicately blooming flora.
Rather, your mind was occupied by the one man who had returned into your life after such a sizeable absence. Simon had danced with you tonight, and every aspect felt so perfect. The way his hand covered yours; the way his palm felt pressed against the small of your back. Bringing your hand to your mouth, you hide the smile on your face as you think of the way he had laughed with you as he spun you across the floor. He had looked so young; so carefree, as if he hadn’t the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“I wondered where you had wandered off to,” A voice sounds from behind you, startling you.
“Simon!” You gasp, clutching your chest, “You scared me!”
He chuckles, holding his hands up in surrender as he steps closer to you. “That was not my intention,” He promises, his smile wide.
“What was your intention then?” You ask, an eyebrow raised in challenge.
“I wanted to ask you a question should you allow it.”
“We are alone,” You remind him, “We should move inside.”
“Please,” Simon pleads, “It won’t take long.”
You pause your steps. The cool night air settles around you as you wait for Simon to ask his question.
“Why did you never marry?” Simon demands; his eyes blazing with the need to know. “I know you had proposals; Lady Danbury even told me so.”
“There was never anyone good enough,” You confess, fisting your hands in the skirts of your dress to keep yourself from reaching out for him. “I tried. I really tried, but I always found myself thinking of you or wondering about you. Even though you never wrote, I still fell in love with you.”
Simon inhales sharply; not expecting your confession. You hadn’t expected to be so honest, but your heart was in control of your mouth; your mind taking a backseat on this one. Your heart had yearned after this man since you had learned the very definition of the word ‘love’.
“Why did you never write?” You ask, finally verbalising the question that had plagued your mind since the moment he had left.
He remains silent, so you repeat your question with a firmer voice. “Why did you never write, Simon?”
“If I had written to you, I would have come home.”
“Would that have been so bad?”
“I needed to get away, I had to leave. To do that, I had to cut strings with you, or I never would have become the man I am today. I never would have become worthy of you.”
“It is for me to decide whether you are worthy of me, Simon Basset. I have found you worthy of my love since you were ten years old and getting caught hiding a fish in the footmen’s bed if you must know.”
“For that long?” He asks; his voice a mere hoarse gasp as he battles with this new information.
“For that long,” You affirm.
“I always found myself travelling back to you,” Simon admits, “I would be in the furthest corner of the world and my mind would question why you were never by my side. On my last trip, I found myself packing my belongings with you on my mind before I had even made the decision to return home. My father was part of it, I’ll admit. But you… you were the whole reason why I returned to London.”
“What does this mean?” You ask, confused and emotional over the night’s confessions.
“It means I no longer want to travel the world if you are not by my side. It means I want to court you and follow the traditions of society. I have two loves in my life: travel and you.”
“You love me?”
He nods, “I have since I was a teenager.”
“I love you too,” You respond honestly, seeing no reason to lie in a moment like this.
“So,” Simon sighs as your words settle over him like a balm over an open wound, “Shall we do this properly? Courting and the like.”
“I think I would. I think we could start right now,” You whisper, stepping closer to the man who you felt certain was the love of your life.
“Right now?”
You nod you head, smiling widely as you reach for the lapels of his jacket. “I think we could start this very moment with a kiss. What do you think?”
Simon glances from side to side, checking for witnesses, “Only if you promise not to kiss another.”
“I don’t think that would be an issue,” You admit happily, “Kiss me, Simon.”
He doesn’t need to be told twice.
*******
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