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wesimpforxiao · 3 years

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Say My Name and I’ll Be There: 10.2

Author’s Note: I got all 4 wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday and now I look a bit like a chipmunk hehehe XD

"Haah...ngh..." Squinted eyelids prevented you from panicking at the sight of the branch retracting from your abdomen while you slowly pulled yourself away from the tree. Still, the movement only enhanced the stars that obscured your vision.

"Your opponent's right here." A cold warning caught your attention, and you glanced up to see Childe with another arrow knocked against his bow and aimed at Scaramouche's head. Apparently the sixth harbinger was contemplating on striking you down while you moved. "Your fight is with me."

"You have three seconds before I end you for betraying the will of the Tsaritsa," he growled back.

"Well, Mezzetin? What're you waiting for? Get out of here."

"Mhmm..." You scooped up a handful of snow and pressed it to your stomach. You don't have to tell me twice. You turned your back to them, trusting Childe with your literal life in his hands, and--froze. Dammit. Why is he throwing his life away for me? He has a family to return to. "Childe-"

"Go! I can handle him."

You peered over your shoulder to gaze at his profile. He didn't bother looking your way which was the smart move given the dangerous situation. His expression was nothing less than determined and focused on the opponent in front of him. "Be careful."

Childe didn't respond, though his lips did twitch slightly upward at your heartfelt warning. The sound of retreating footsteps that crunched in the snow allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief. He dismissed his bow and summoned two hydro blades in his hands. "Now then. I've been wanting to fight you for awhile now. What do you say we have ourselves a friendly fight to the death? Show me your strength."

.................................

"What do you think you're doing?" A faceless god struck Xiao across the face and sent him sprawling to the ground. "You have the audacity to disobey my commands? Who do you think you are? You are nothing without me. You hear? You're nothing, Alatus."

Xiao licked the blood that covered his teeth and bit his lip to prevent himself from fighting back. This wasn't a new occurrence by any means...or at least, the little rebellion wasn't. He would fight, claw his way out of this god's grasp if he could, but every day he was back at square one: nothing but a slave.

"What's your excuse this time," the god questioned, yanking Xiao into the air by construing a firm grip in the adeptus's hair, "that you couldn't fulfill your duty? Did it make you sick, killing those creatures? Exterminating those gods that were strangers to you? You're weak. You're worthless. You're worthless!"

The god dropped Xiao and he fell to his knees. He couldn't bring himself to speak with the growing lump in his throat and the tears burning his eyes. Who was he but a murderer now? Could his soul even be redeemed for the sins he's committed? He's only been in this god's grasp for a couple months now, but the amount of beings he's killed is--

"I have a special punishment for you." The god summoned what looked to be a young god, no older than a child and an orphan by the tear stains on his cheeks. He was beaten, like this god had already decided to have his way with the child; bruises colored his pale malnourished flesh with blues and purples. There was no light in the kid's eyes; they were empty, devoid of hope, devoid of rage, devoid of even sadness.

The sight alone was enough to scar Xiao. Would he too become devoid of all emotion in due time?

His master shoved the god spawn forward so he fell before Xiao's stiff body. "Kill him."

"What?"

"You heard me loud and clear, Alatus. Kill him, and eat his dreams. This is what you will do from now on when I give you the order to kill."

"I can't," Xiao wavered and stared at the broken child in front of him. "I won't."

Xiao would very much rather be dead than do these awful tasks so the god never bothered to threaten death. Doing so would give this worthless servant release from a job that needs to be done. Torture seemed to work on some occasions, but eventually Xiao had become used to the pain and rarely cried out. So the best way to get this stupid creature to follow orders-- "If you don't, I will. And you know what that means."

Unnecessary torture until his dying breath, the yaksha thought as his wavering gaze lowered to the child once more.

"What'll it be?"

The child held Xiao's gaze, but he felt no hope looking at the adeptus. His life was over; that much, he was sure. There was no point in living anyway. His entire family was slaughtered. Where could he go but wonder the lands alone? Nothing would fill the void in his heart nor replace his loved ones.

Xiao recognized the acceptance, the defeat, in the child's broken demeanor. He didn't want to kill him but if it prevented a much slower, painful death, then this is an act of kindness. It's an act of kindness. It's an act of kindness. He's doing this for the orphan's benefit. This is a way of saving the child. This is--

"...Forgive me."

The blade of his polearm shot through the god spawn with the utmost precision and speed. A weak labored gasp escaped him from the contact, but all he felt was a small pinch. It was peaceful, or at least as peaceful as death could be.

This is for his own good, Xiao told himself as he watched the life drain from his eyes. A desperate persuasion of the mind to preserve what little innocence he has left.

"Eat his dreams."

"I won't disobey again. Please, spare me," he begged. But the unwavering glare of his master said there was no room for bargaining.

Xiao returned his attention to the boy who was now hanging by a very thin thread. To extract one's dreams, they must still be alive--and the last moments of their death are a frightening eternal nightmare. He did as he was told and pulled the boy's dreams out until a glowing substance sat lightly in his hand. The smell was different for everyone's dreams, those with pure hearts having the sweetest of fragrances just like this boy's. The tastes of dreams themselves were rather unrememberable, but the textures were all the same.

He devoured it as quickly as possible, holding his breath so that sickly sweet aroma wouldn't stick around in his nose to haunt him. As he did, the dying boy's expression changed from empty to horrified, and then his body finally gave in to the drastic wound in his chest and slumped over.

He just stared helplessly at the body for awhile while his master nodded in approval. The weight of the god's hand clapping his shoulder barely managed to snap Xiao out of his distraught gaze.

"You'll learn to love the taste, Alatus. Then their distraught expressions as you take from them." Then the god dismissed himself from the room leaving Xiao to stare brokenly at the corpse before him.

Xiao's nose scrunched up in anger while his stomach flipped with displeasure. He hated this god. He hated him. 'You're wrong, I could never,' he wanted to protest, 'I could never be like you,' but his stomach twisted in self-disgust. A part of him did enjoy it, if even by the smallest amount, and it made him hate himself even more.

If killing the child broke him, then devouring, tasting, and seeing the child's dreams devastated him. They consisted of the child with his parents living together again. Smiling, laughing. No sign of torture, only peace. Something pure and loving, that he would never have again nor will Xiao ever get the chance to experience.

Just as that child died, so too did Xiao's remaining innocence.

Years passed, and what once was a kind-hearted adeptus was now a cold-blooded killing machine. Slaying gods left and right, increasing the death toll in the honor of his wretched master until a major war broke out throughout Teyvat. That was when he saw fear in his master's eyes for the first time--the threat of his domain being overthrown loomed heavily over his head. Though Xiao felt a sense of hope, it was quickly shattered when he was once again put to work.

It was one gloomy day during the Archon War when he and his master were confronted by Morax. They tag-teamed the god, but the master was quickly slain while Xiao was trapped between a few pillars summoned by the god of geo. The master's blood spilled onto the grass and he felt his knees weaken with relief and trepidation.

Finally, he was free. He sank to his knees and watched Morax approach him with a bloody spear. He can die free. Morax had other plans for him and welcomed his presence with open arms. But the words that came out of his mouth did not belong to him.

"Xiao, can you...hear me?" The voice that came from Morax was heavily distorted and high-pitched. "Please..."

"That's not part of this memory," Xiao, now aware that he was dreaming, spoke out. "Who's calling me?"

"Please don't die!" Why was it suddenly hard to breathe, and what was this grief and anger washing over him suddenly?

"P-please don't die!" I have to go back for him. He can't-- You stumbled forward through the snow, still hesitant on whether to follow Zhongli's trail or make your way back to the palace rubble. It was only a moment's hesitance, though--you were already making a beeline for the palace and making a point to avoid Childe's fight by the time you realized what you were doing. It wasn't long until your wounds and exhaustion caught up to you about halfway back to the palace. You force yourself to continue on all-fours for a little ways, but your fingers were growing numb from the cold now that you lacked a vision. "Rex Lapis, please, I can't--I need to reach--" Wait. The wind can carry me, can't it? You tried despite the growing pain in your stomach. It barely lifted you off the snow, but it was something. You can do this. It's just another mile or so.

But just as your body was lifted from the ground, something grabbed you by the collar of your shirt and lifted you higher into the air like an animal carries it's offspring. "It seems I cannot dissuade you from running back to danger."

"Z-Zhongli?" You winced, and your hand pressing tighter against your side.

"You're injured!" Aether immediately moved to inspect the wound, but you swatted him away just as Zhongli set you back on your feet. "Were you able to defeat Scaramouche?"

"I'm fine, it's not fatal--I think." Your gaze swept across your companions' faces. "...Childe intervened and is fighting him now."

"Wait, Childe betrayed the Tsaritsa?" Paimon appeared out of thin air after hearing this. "Why the heck would he do that? And now of all times?!"

"Perhaps it's best we save the questions for later," prompted Zhongli. This may as well be some form of apology for the harbinger's actions against you and the rest of the group; he hinted a possible alliance when Zhongli confronted him above the harbor after the Lantern Rite ended. Regardless of the intent, they need to take advantage of the time they were given now.

"Either way, I don't care. I'm not leaving Xiao. You all came to rescue me, but I refuse to have my life traded for one of yours."

"That much is clear," the consultant let out a heavy sigh, but there was a certain fondness and respect in his eyes as he looked at you. "Very well. But as soon as we recover him, we leave immediately. No more impulsive decisions."

"Yes sir."

"I too have begun to suspect all is not well," he murmured thoughtfully, but you couldn't quite hear him. "Do not push yourself further, I'll carry you."

"Wha--? Ah!"

The palace was a literal heap of smoking rubble. Not a pillar was left standing. Whatever fires may have started were immediately smothered by the snow, leaving ominous black pillars of smoke that didn't have an origin. The silence was overwhelming despite being filled by the wet shoes that crunched in the snow. By the looks of it, not a single agent survived the fall. How would they? For humans are but fragile creatures incapable of healing themselves unless they had the specific power to do so.

Paimon frantically flew over the rocks and columns ahead of the group. "The mess goes on and on! Where would we even start?"

"We should split up to cover more ground."

"But what if the Tsaritsa reappears?"

"I doubt she will be in a fighting condition after facing Xiao. Paimon and I will start here. Aether, would you two search to your right?"

"Sounds like a plan." The traveler joined your side while throwing your arm over his shoulder to assist you. You weren't looking too hot; your skin was pale but it was unknown whether it was more from the cold or from your injury. "Leave the heavy lifting to me, alright? Don't push yourself too much."

"Xiao's always pushed himself to protect me. It's time I do the same for him."

A wry grin lifted the corners of Aether's lips. "That might be true, but he's more equipped to handle it don't you think?" He escorted you to a suspiciously large pile of rubble. "Wait here. I'm going to use Elemental Sight to see if I can locate him."

"Elemental Sight?"

"Oh...right...you never learned how to do that since you haven't held a vision for long," an awkward laugh escaped Aether as he began pushing boulders away from the pile. "I'll tell you about it after this is over." The elemental traces left behind were crowded with a mix of cryo and anemo energy, which made it difficult to decipher the strongest trail that Xiao left behind.

"...What'll we even do once we find him? Where would we go? The Tsaritsa wouldn't just give up on hunting us down." Your palms pressed against the next boulder and it tumbled unceremoniously into the snow. Then they gripped the next one, and your shoe needed to push against it for it to budge.

Aether didn't answer at first and the two of you removed several chunks of the wreckage over several minutes. Then he used his Elemental Sight again and scanned the area. "I was actually talking to Zhongli about that after we left Scaramouche to you. I was gifted a Serenitea Pot a few days after you joined the Fatui; it's an adeptal realm only I or those I invite can access." Aether's gaze hovered over a spot and his brows furrowed with concentration. "The two of you can stay in there until the situation calms--There."

"Huh?" You followed his line of sight but didn't see anything. "What's there?"

"He's very close. Hey, Zhongli! Paimon! Over here!"

"Did you find him?" Paimon beat Zhongli to the punch and worriedly scanned the surrounding area.

"I think he's trapped back here. Zhongli...?"

"Allow me." The boulders of rubble carefully rose away from the pile one by one to prevent any possible cave-ins that could injure Xiao. He must've removed at least twenty chunks from the debris before a small cavern was revealed.

"--wake up! Xiao!" The ringing in the yaksha's ears finally faded until a girl's voice filled its place. Slowly, his drowsy eyelids opened to see a blurry figure stare down at him. Despite his unfocused gaze his reflexes were as quick as they always were. A flash of silver nearly slashed at your neck, but a golden shield erupted around you and Xiao's polearm bounced off. You were unfazed. "It's alright. You're safe now." A numb hand was placed against his cheek.

Zhongli stared thoughtfully at the boulder that sat on Xiao's abdomen and stained his clothes red. "Aether, can you grab a few handfuls of snow?"

"Yeah. I'll be right back." Paimon glanced at the two of them before flying after Aether.

"Don't do the stupid thing and move yet," you nagged once you finally caught sight of the blood.

Something between a pained groan and a scoff left his lips. 'Don't do the stupid thing?' Who do you think you're talking to? "You're one to talk," his gaze grazed over your side, where the snow you had pressed against your body was melting and soaked with blood. "...Here. Put more pressure like this." Despite being pinned, his heavy arm lifted enough to push against your skin.

"I would do the same to you, but your injuries are more extensive--"

"Yes, it would be wise to refrain from doing anything until Aether returns." Zhongli knelt on the other side of the yaksha, his gloved hand ghosting over the boulder. "I may have a solution, though it depends entirely on the presence of those Aether has authorized to enter his teapot..."

"Okay, do you think this should be enough?" The traveller entered the cramped cavern once again with an armful of clean snow and his scarf removed. "We can tie this around his waist so the bleeding slows down--"

"Aether," Zhongli turned to him. "Have you by chance invited a healer to your Serenitea Pot?"

"...Yes, actually. You're thinking I bring them here?"

"The opposite; I want you to enter your teapot now and see if they're taking residence at the moment. If they are, we could potentially send these two into the teapot where the healer aid them."

"T-That's brilliant!" Paimon immediately went to pull the Serenitea Pot out of Aether's bag. "Paimon would've never thought of this! Quick, Traveler! Hurry up and go see if Bennett's inside!"

"Right!" Aether handed the snow and scarf to Zhongli. Then he opened the teapot and a vortex sucked him inward in an instant.

"It shouldn't take him long to return. Quickly," he handed the scarf to you. "I will lift the debris and place the snow on his injury. While I do that, tightly wrap the scarf around his abdomen. Ready?"

"Y-yes." Xiao looked displeased, but he nodded at you.

"One, two, three." The debris was easily lifted off of Xiao's body.

You did your best to ignore the gruesome wound and the dark blood that had soaked into his clothes, carefully sliding the fabric beneath his back and tying it at his front. A low grunt escaped Xiao when confronted with the sudden movements, but other than that he remained silent.

Aether was thrown out of the teapot and almost stumbled onto the three of you. "Okay, he's inside! Give me your hands."

"Our hands?" You and Xiao exchanged confused looks before returning your attention to Aether. Despite the confusion both of you lifted one of your hands to him.

Aether pulled out what looked to be some sort of marker from his bag and drew a symbol on your palm, then Xiao's. The symbols then glowed a bright gold before fading like they had never been on your skin in the first place. Next, Aether tapped both palms twice. "Okay. You'll be able to enter the realm now. All you have to do is tap your hand like I did."

"...A-Are you sure about this? Xiao's..." He's not looking well anymore; he was still bleeding heavily from his stomach and blood was still dripping from a wound somewhere behind his hairline. "This won't hurt him, will it?"

"Relax. Bennett will be there to treat him the second you guys enter."

You and Xiao simultaneously turned to Zhongli, who nodded in confirmation. "Go now. We will contact you once we're out of Snezhnaya."

"Okay. Be careful." It was your turn to look at Xiao, and both of you then brought your hands together to enter the realm.

Tap, tap.

#wesimpforxiao #wesimpforxiaoupdates #Say My Name #say my name and ill be there #genshin impact #xiao genshin impact #xiao x reader #genshin x reader

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zawasscarf · 3 years

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Void - Keigo Takami/Hawks One-shot

Warnings : none/ reader is gender-neutral.

Genre: angst! i got inspired from a tiktok I saw, the link for it is here.

Prespective: second person

Synopsis: Hawk's and you have been broken up after villians revealed his secrets to you, but having no time to drown in sadness, he forces himself to attend a press conference, where he reunites with you...but it doesn't go as well as imagined.

Void. Empty. Still. That's how he would describe the feeling in his heart when he woke up to his empty, cold bed. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, pumping blood into his veins, reminding him that he was alive for another day. That he had to suffer for another day. That he was just existing, barely even alive.

He lazily rolled from one side to another, his eyes gazing up at the alarm clock he had knocked off the counter in a fit of frustration when it started ringing early in the morning. Normally, he wouldn't need an alarm clock, knowing that you'd wake him up by peppering kisses all over his face. Knowing that you'd lay on top of him, and whisper sweet nothings into his ear until he is fully awake and motivated for the day. But you weren't there. You weren't, so he had to use this stupid, lifeless machine to wake him up. It displayed the hour. 12:30. He had to go. He was already late for the conference he had to be attending. So he got up, and headed to the bathroom, dodging the empty bottles of sake on the ground and the dirty laundry piles that were looking more like mountains. The apartment was never left in such a messy, dirty state before. Carpets stained, laundry gone unwashed for days, bed un-tidy, used plates in the sink, piling on top of one another. Hawks was for-sure forgetful when it came to his laundry and his chorus, but you would always remind him. And with you it was easy to do his chorus, even if you would be doing most of the work, while he sat there, distracting you rather than helping.

Hastily, he splashed water across his face and brushed his teeth. Then he looked into the mirror, and ran a hand into his hair. He looked miserable. Facial hair untrimmed, overgrown blonde hair on the top of his head, eyes worn-out, wings a dull colour of red. He couldn't remember the last time he looked presentable. He wasn't the only one who noticed this, the press also did. They noticed everything, that's why he didn't want to be seen in public. That's why he has been locked in his skyline complex for days, only going out in complete disguise to buy food or get groceries.

He dragged himself out of the bathroom, and moved to the way-too small pile of clothes thrown on the floor. Getting dressed in his hero outfit, he put his hand on his back to reach for the zipper.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to zip up my bodysuit, baby bird. What does it look like?"

"It looks like a chicken is flailing trying to scratch it's back."

"Well, if you stop being so sassy and help me, I wouldn't be flailing. Come on, I'm going to be late for work."

"Maybe I want you to be late.."

"Oh?"

He found himself staring at his messy bed. Where you would stare up at him, wearing nothing but his shirt, trying to get him back to bed even though you were the one to wake him up. For a moment, he could vividly see you. See both of you. Sitting on the bed as you helped him with his zipper, laughing when he pulled you into his lap to kiss you, to tickle you and shower you with love. He could still feel your tender hands on his tinted cheeks, caressing them oh so softly, telling him that he was the world's most wonderful boyfriend, that you would love him until the stars die, until the sky falls, until the world ends, and maybe even then, you wouldn't stop loving him.

His heart clenched, making it hard to breath. His eyes were on the verge of welling up with tears. "No," He thought, putting on his pants and his matching jacket. He had to go and say something. He couldn't hide like this any longer. Endeavor wasn't good with the press, and as the number two pro hero, as the charming one, he had to make up for it. The one that could handel all the talk, while also being an inspiration to everyone. He had to pull himself together. It's been too long. He had to accept that he isn't going to see you anymore.

Slipping on his black sturdy boots and fixing his hair and eyeliner, he opened the window and flew out, a few of his long red feathers fell, leaving a trace of him on every inch of the city. He looked down. The streets were busy, but peaceful. Buzzing with open shops, with traffic, kids were laughing, it was so tranquil, considering there was a villian attack on this part of town only two days ago. He bit his lip. He wasn't able to help that day. Too drunken and heartbroken to even pick up his cellphone. He felt like such a failure. He failed the pro heros that day. He failed the civilians. He failed you. He failed you, and now he was living in a limbo. A limbo that only you could get him out of, but you wouldn't. And he wouldn't blame you. He deserved this. He was a selfish bastard. He was too secretive. He was. And god, if he could just turn back time..for just one day..

Kids pointed up at the blue sky at the winged hero. They wore shirts with his face on it, one of them was even wearing a costume like his. They were waving, waving and waving, praying that he notices them. Hawks waved back with a slight smile on his sleep-deprived face. Like little chipmunks, they squealed, being noticed by him was a dream of theirs.

"Hey, would you ever want kids?"

"With you?"

"Of course with me. Anyone else you're seeing behind my back that's offering you to have kids?"

"Shut up," You laughed whole-heartedly, and put a hand on his chest, letting him carry you as both of you flew over the glimmering city. "But the answer is yes. I would love to have kids with you. Maybe a baby girl or a baby boy. It'll be our little cozy family."

"Little? I was thinking maybe we could have seven kids. I am ready to give you an entire football team."

"That doesn't sound very pleasant, Keigo."

"The process would be worth it, though."

His smile fell. The memories. The talks you shared when he picked you up and flew you over the city. God, they always meant so much to him. He always tried to linger a little longer in the sky, to share a few more laughs. To share a few more conversations. He lived for moments like that. Moments where it felt like time stopped. Where it was only you and him that existed in this vast universe. Moments where he could hold you close to his chest, breath in your scent and perfume. Fly with you up in the sky. Fluster you. Cuddle you. Hug you. Kiss you.

Forcing himself out of his misery, he landed down on the roof of the building he was suppose to be interviewed infront of. The press were already huddled up at the front door. There were civilians too, waiting for him to appear. He could see Miruko, Snipe, Endeavour and Gang Orca, all ignoring the press asking them about his whereabouts. Miruko had her phone pressed against one of her bunny ears. She was calling him. Hawks swiped left on the call, and took in a deep breath. He could do this. He just had to forget about you for an hour. Forget about how his heart was in shreds, how his rib cage was suffocating his lungs, how his brain felt all jumbled. He fixed his wings, calling all his feathers back to him, and then he flew down to the side of the building.

The camera shutters increased when he emerged from the shadows of the alleyway. Journalists squeezed each other, all spewing out questions for him already. Microphones were shoved at his face, but he deflected them, doing his best to give them his infamous million-dollar worthy smile, trying to pretend that the sadness in his eyes wasn't as visible as the sun on this summer day.

"Where were you?" The booming voice of Endevour cut his tracks. He looked up at the larger, much taller pro hero, and his smile disappeared. "I over-slept." His answer short and dry. That made the line of standing pro-heros all tense up. This wasn't like him. He would usually tease Endeavour. Tell him to take it easy. That the press wouldn't go anywhere even if he appeared three hours later. Not today.

Hawks made his way up the stage, and stood infront of the mic. His playful voice was dull, and he looked far more serious than when he first walked in.

"Alright, folks. I'll be taking all your questions today, but in order. I won't know what to answer if you all throw your questions at me." Hawk's sharp, golden rhinestone eyes scanned the crowd. So many people. So many people wouldn't make him anxious, but he could feel something was off. He felt..watched. Like someone was staring right through his soul. Goosebumps raised on the nape of his neck, but he chose to ignore it. It had to be nothing, everyone was staring at him all the time anyway. "Okay," He pointed at a reporter with dark hair in the very front. "let's start with you. Go ahead—"

"Hawks, if it's not a bother, can you tell us why you did not assist with the fire attacks two days ago?"

He tensed up. Not from the question. From a feeling. He felt something rumble in the pit of his stomach. Maybe it was because he didnt have a bite to eat. There was no way he was feeling uncomfortable just because a bunch of reporters were looking at him. Or maybe it was the three glasses sake he had yesterday before heading to bed. "Uh," He paused, trying to think of a quick excuse. "I was..out of town."

Lying. That what he resorted to. No wonder you left him. He lied to you. He lied to you and hid everything about himself from you. He hid everything, and now you were gone.

"Next question." He pointed at another reporter. "Who do you think is the suspect of these attacks, Hawks?"

"The League of Villians." The answer came short and quick. He knew who was behind those attacks. "They may not seem much of a threat as Overhaul or the nomus Endeavour and I fought, but they are a dangerous organisation and I am sure they had something to do with this." Moving to a question to another, he answered almost a hundred questions, all of them filled with lies and excuses. He couldn't go through two questions without lying. What could he do? Tell them that the reason he has been MIA is that he was on his floor every morning, sobbing his heart out on his lost love, that he searched the streets every night for his lover to apologise. To make you come home, to him.

Hawks pointed at a tall man, who had his hand raised at the back. Oddly enough, the man wore a dark hoodie and sunglasses. The hood was up, and he was looking at the ground, as if to hide his identity. He didn't have a camera, a crew, or even a microphone, but his voice was still loud for Hawks to hear his question.

"You haven't been seen with the Pro Hero: Light Monarch for a few weeks now. Nor has they been seen in public. Mind telling us why..." The man looked up. Hawk's face fell, as he saw those fiery, glowing blue eyes staring back at him. His breathing rapidly increased, his chest rose and fell in unrythmic ways. His hands clenched the sides of the microphone stand, until his knuckles turned white. "..wing hero, Hawks?" The mockery in his voice. He was enraging him on purpose. He was mocking him. Mocking him for being unable to protect your relationship. For being unable to protect you.

Other reporters picked up his question and started twisting it into different questions. Ranging from 'Has your relationship fell apart?' to 'Is Light Monarch even a hero?', but all he could focus on was Dabi. Dabi, who was secretly recording all of this. Dabi, who was the main reason your realtionship fell apart. Dabi, who he strived to make suffer for what he did to him. Hawk's eyes were so fixated on Dabi, that when someone nudged him away, he immediately looked over to them.

They were wearing the villain's long coat, along with a hoodie similar to Dabi's. They were nudging him away, trying to make him move out the crowd. Dabi only put an arm around them, pulling them close to his lean body. That's when Hawks caught a glimpse of their face.

And that's when everyone saw the winged hero unfold.

He leaned into the mic, and closed his eyes. Possibilities flooding his mind, clouding his senses. Why were you here? Why were you wearing Dabi's coat? Did you come here just to see him? Why was Dabi holding you so close to him? Why does he have his arms on you like that?

"Because I'm an idiot." He spoke into the mic. A hush fell on the crowd, and you looked up. Both your eyes met, you could sense the hurt in his eyes, you could see the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. "Because I hid information about myself that I shouldn't have. Because I slipped and everyone was watching me. Because everyone just couldn't let us be." Hawks closed his eyes.

For a moment, a flash appeared before his eyes. It was you. You in all your beauty and grace. You comforting him after a long day of work. You smiling and laughing at his corny jokes. You running your fingers through hair and untangling it for him. You kissing his bruises. You sitting on his bed, tinkering with something you found in his house. You holding him after a nightmare. You. All he could think about was you. How your lips felt against his. How your foreheads touched whenever you finished kissing. How your hands felt so warm holding his. How he was a lucky bastard.

"So.." head raised, the first few strand of his hair falling into his tear filled eyes. He choked on air, his lip quivering. "So, baby bird, I am sorry for being such a selfish bastard." His voice was shaking. His hands were shaking. You were staring at him with those beautiful eyes of yours. The eyes that he would stare at for hours, without feeling a hint of boredom. "I am sorry for hiding the truth. "His voice got louder, louder and louder until he was yelling. "I am sorry for letting you go so easily. I am sorry for hurting you!"

"Hawks—"

"Bastards, all of you." He spat out, looking directly at Dabi and the frozen crowd of shocked journalists. They were the reason. They were the reason you weren't with him. They were the reason your laugh and your smile were stolen away from him. If they could've just let him explain.

"Songbird, I love you." Your breath hitched in your throat, your eyes that were full to the brim with tears were now spilling your emotions into view. Dabi only noticed when your figure started shaking in his arms. "Hey, let's go.." He tried to drag you away, but you wouldn't budge. Keigo was staring right at you, unfolding into a mess, a crumb of a man he once was. Tears streaming down his handsome face, eyeliner ruined. Your heart felt crushed. Like it was an ornament that was knocked down by a carless child. You couldn't imagine what he was feeling, but you were sure that he wouldn't be able to handel all that pain alone. So you stepped to the front subconciously, and if it weren't for Dabi's hands around your waist, you would've ran right over and reunited with your lover.

"I love you." He repeated, desperate. Memories were flashing right before his eyes. Your first meeting in that grocery store infront of UA. Your first kiss under the moonlight during a patrol. Your first dance. Your first date. Your cuddles on the couch in winter. Your odd sleeping positions in summer. Moments. The way you would lean into his chest when he sat you on his lap. The way you liked him to tuck his wings around your body because it felt warm and you like the feeling of feathers against your skin. "I love you! I love you!"

"Let's get out of here." Dabi grabbed your hand and squeezed just a bit, not too forcefully. You were surprised by his gentleness, but you couldn't take your eyes off him. "I love you. I love you.." He was staring at you with such desperation, such longing, such regret. You didn't want to forgive him, you tried not to. But you couldn't. You couldn't, because he made it so hard. He made it so hard to hate him.

"Till the stars die and till the sky falls, remember?" His voice was much lower now. He was leaning over the stand so much that it almost fell over. You clasped a hand on your mouth, and let out a silent sob. You could feel everyone's eyes on you. Cameras were pointed at you. That's when you looked away, after giving Keigo a long, parting look. That's when you followed Dabi into the crowd.

Hawks watched as you walked away, back given to him. He wanted to move, he wanted to follow you, he was telling every limb on his body to move, but he couldn't. He looked down at his body. It was glowing. Glowing with a white aura around it. You. You were using your quirk on him, forcing him in place, not letting him move and rescue you.

He didn't understand why. Why didn't you want him to rescue you now that you found each other again? Did you really loathe him that much? Did he really mess up that badly?

So, all he could do was helplessly watch you go. Watch you as you disappear into the crowd, with the flame user by your side, knowing that one day, you might reunite again.

And then when that time comes, he won't mess it up.

a/n: aaaaah! my first oneshot on tumblr. i hope you liked it. posting this is basically testing the waters, but i enjoyed it so i think I will keep writing on here!

#hawks x reader #wing hero hawks #hawks headcanons #hawks imagine #hawks one shot #boku no hero x reader #anime

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acephysicskarkat · 3 years

Text

Duet

I was just packing up from practicing in my garage when Rosetta shot bolt upright.

Rosetta’s my dragon. She’s mostly a blue, but there aren’t any blue breeds that are crestbacks, so there’s definitely some other stuff in there. Her crest is also malformed, so it flops over to the right all the time instead of standing straight up like crests are supposed to. When I got my undercut, I made sure it flopped over to the right as well, so we matched. She seems to appreciate the ‘do when she’s riding on my shoulder.

Anyway, Rosetta’s awesome. Smarter than some people I’ve met, although to be fair I’ve met some really dumb people. Also, I’ve managed to teach her to play the drums. Some dragons have an amazing sense of music.

In this case, though, she’d apparently heard something in the bushes – yes, even though we’d both just been rocking out for the last twenty minutes. I don’t know how her ears work. I put down my electric guitar and went to have a look…

…and found a white dragon.

I looked up a lot of dragon breeds when I was a kid and obsessed with them, so I recognised him as a purebred at once. Specifically, he was a seraph – a rare and very expensive featherwing breed, with a long, wavy feather sticking out the back of his head like a ponytail.

“Hey there, little guy,” I said, keeping my voice gentle and sing-song – at least, as far as I could. “Someone’s gotta be missing you. Come on, I’m not gonna hurt you…”

Cold fangs nipped at my fingers, but after a few moments, the newcomer seemed to decide I could be trusted. A heart-shaped tag on a simple but expensive-looking collar told me that this was Ludwig, and gave an address. Needless to say, it was on the rich side of town; if you lived anywhere else, getting a seraph would probably leave you in a cardboard box.

“You up for a trip, little buddy?” I said, and Ludwig hopped up onto my wrist. “Great. Let’s go find your owner.”

***

The house Ludwig’s collar pointed me at wasn’t the biggest in the district, but since my house is basically six rooms including the garage, which doesn’t even have a car in it, it still made my place look like a shoebox. And here I was carrying a dragon probably worth as much as a car.

Some low, shitty part of me whispered that I should just run away and sell the thing, but I felt the comforting weight of Rosetta on my shoulder and shut that thought down. I knew how I’d feel if Rosetta went missing. I wasn’t going to inflict that on anyone, not even for a big sack of money.

I was just about to knock on the door when it swung open and all my brain’s resources were assigned to Being Gay simultaneously.

She was gorgeous. Blue eyes, a tight ponytail of night-dark hair, wearing a tailored shirt and elegant pants, carrying a handbag that probably cost more than anything I’d ever owned and holding a bundle of Missing Dragon posters with Ludwig’s picture on them and the legend “IF FOUND, CALL GWYNEIRA” and a number I couldn’t quite make out. Standing there in my leather jacket, pride pins on full display, an old skirt, hand-repaired glasses and big, tough boots, I felt like a nail driven into a classical painting. I had no business being here and I knew it.

After a frozen second, her face broke into a smile. “You found him! Thank you so much!”

“Uh.” My brain whirred for a few agonisingly slow seconds, and then some parts of it kicked into gear. “He was hanging around my garage. Must have heard my music and thought it sounded interesting.”

“Oh, a fellow musician!” she said. “What instrument, pray tell?”

“Well, I dabbled when I was a kid, but these days I mostly stick with the axe.”

“Axe? You mean a weapon?”

“No, I mean an electric-” A stray neuron sparked back to life. “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

She gave a too-innocent wide-eyed look and then started laughing. After a few moments, I did too.

She reached out, and Ludwig hopped across from my wrist to hers. She waggled a finger under the dragon’s snub little nose and said, “I hope you won’t be pulling any more disappearing acts, Ludwig.” Ludwig gave a smug, catlike smile and hopped up to her shoulder, and she turned back to me, reaching into her bag. “I didn’t have time to put the posters up, but I was planning to give a reward for finding him-”

Take the money, Vetra, you dumbass, the parts of my brain that were functioning said. Your amp is so old it was designed for the mandolin. Take the money, stick it in a jar, and when you have enough money, buy an amp that isn’t held together with baling twine.

Then my mouth, operating entirely independently from those parts, said, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?” When my treacherous head nodded, she said, “Then at least allow me to buy you dinner.”

***

I was crammed into the only halfway decent dress I owned and had eaten something about half the size of an actual proper meal, but somehow I was still having a great time.

“So then we found the drummer hanging from the tree, in his underwear, rope around his ankle, and all he had to say when we let him down was, ‘I hate chipmunks.’” Gwyneira choked back a laugh, and I shook my head. “The band didn’t last long after that, although the bass player still crashes on my couch when he’s in town.”

“Such an…adventurous lifestyle,” she said, and sipped her wine.

“But I’ve probably rambled long enough.” I stabbed what I had been assured was the correct fork into a too-small morsel of chicken and said, “You said you were a musician, but you haven’t even told me what instrument.”

“Oh, how rude of me.” She cut a slice off…well, I don’t speak French, so whatever it was she was eating, and said, “I’m a violinist.”

“Huh. Just as a hobby, or-”

“Professionally.” She adjusted the cuffs on her suit, an outfit choice that was just deeply unfair. “Have you ever studied much classical music?”

Show her how smart you are. “Tell the truth, uh…I never really got into it. I like my music with a bit more impact to it, you know?” I mimed shredding on the air guitar. Nailed it.

“I think I can show you plenty of impact,” she said, her delicate features arranged into a cocky smirk. “Come to my place tomorrow afternoon, and bring your…‘axe’.”

***

Rosetta took a deep breath and spat lightning into the amplifier. For some reason, dragon thunder-breath doesn’t just charge a battery; it keeps it charging. I scratched her behind the ear, and she grinned up at me, then spread her wings and soared over to the drums.

Ludwig raised his head from the piano, and Gwyneira started to play.

Notes didn’t fall from the violin; they rose, soaring into the air like birdsong. Her voice, just as high and pure, mingled with it, underscored but never challenged by the slow, measured notes of Ludwig on the piano.

It was beautiful, but I wasn’t just here to listen.

I was here to play.

As the notes from the violin started to die away, I flicked my plectrum between my fingers like an old-time riverboat hustler playing with a coin. Rosetta chose the tempo, her bunched-up claws striking the drums, a drumstick wrapped in her tail striking a cymbal, and my axe sang as I began: not the high, pure note of birdsong, but the howl of an iron wolf.

After a few bars, the piano started up again, but without its previous dignity and reserve. Ludwig, apparently, relished the chance to cut loose a bit. His claws struck the keys with speed rather than precision, keeping up with the beat of the drum and the snarl of the electric guitar, mixing in the occasional, perfectly timed glissando.

Then the violin’s song started up again.

Gwyneira’s eyes were closed, but she was keeping up with the much faster tempo like she was born to it, her bow dancing over the strings. Her violin and my guitar weaved notes around each other, twining together like the tails of dragons in love. It was like we were instinctively opening spaces for the other to slip into, letting the instruments work together rather than battle for dominance.

It was the kind of jam session you usually only get once in a lifetime.

***

Anyway, that’s how I met my girlfriend.

I own some nicer clothes, now. I speak a little French. And, you know, I’m starting to get along with classical music. I mean, give me the faster ones any day – you should hear my cover of Rondo Alla Turca on the electric guitar, it’ll knock your socks off – but, you know, we meet halfway.

And I mean halfway. Gwyneira looks like a goddess in anything, but when she’s let her hair out of its ponytail? When she’s at a rock concert, just letting it all out, headbanging along? It’s amazing. She’s amazing.

There have been challenges – you try finding good homes for an entire clutch of half-seraph, half-mongrel dragon hatchlings sometime – but we’re going pretty damn well. She’s even talked about starting a proper band – weaving classical and rock together.

And if that never comes to pass? If we can’t get a gig or find a good rhythm guitar? At least we can still jam together.

#original fiction #dragons #rock and roll stories #quick romance fiction #fluff #i guess

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softliebgott · 3 years

Note

fot the dvd commentary <3 i really, really love this whole fic and this part, i don't know, but i just love it with all my heart

Breathless, Don was more taken aback by your wine red lipped smile, which dimpled your cheeks and made your eyes squint. You didn’t have perfect teeth, for some were crooked, but with any piece of art such as yourself there had to be flaws to make you stand out. Wow, was all Don could think. “I thought there’d be some squirrels up here…not a…a beautiful…”

Embarrassed, but flattered, you pursed your lips and looked down at your knees. You were in casual attire, a navy blue and white striped polo shirt tucked in to your high-waisted, chambray denim shorts, and loafers. A dress felt too risky to wear while climbing a tree, especially with all the soldiers occupying the area. You weren’t looking for attention. All you wanted to do was draw.

“What are you doing up here?” A new light came to Don’s gingerbread brown eyes, making them shine like sequins.

A soft smile lingered on your lips. “I could ask you the same thing, soldier.”

He moved to a comfortable spot in the branches. “I used to climb trees as a kid, and it’s sergeant, actually.” He echoed your smile.

“Oh.” You lifted your brow. “Well, sergeant, I came up here to sketch the branches. Good texture and shading to practice.”

“No kidding? Can I see?”

Your sketchbook’s audience had been limited, from you, to your mother, and to your friends. New eyes intimidated you. Would they see your work, brows furrowed, and hesitatingly lie that it was wonderful? You disliked when someone lied, in any occasion, to not hurt your feelings. Criticize me! Help me improve! You thought. You handed the sketchbook to him, opened to the page you had been drawing the branches.

The network of branches you sketched…Don felt as if he touched it, he could feel the rugged texture of the bark. When he noticed that the thickest branches’ ends were sawed off, all he could picture were Guarnere and Toye’s legs, looking as if a beaver had eaten away at them as they did with trees, leaving their feet attached by meager strings of flesh.

“Gotta get up…gotta get up…” Toye’s strained voice echoed in the back of Don’s mind.

“It looks so real…” He said softly, and met your eyes. He looked at you different this time with some sort of shadow in his gentle gaze, like clouds hiding the moon. “It’s right on the nose. Holy mackerel…” He glanced back at your sketchbook before giving it back to you.

this fic holds a special place in my heart! it was so fun to write 🥰 malark is probably one of my favorite pov’s to write which means i need to do more ficlets with him 😅 i especially love his book and i used to it to help me keep him more in character in this

in the fic, i thought it would be cute for him to meet someone in a tree - or even just magical for him! when he was a kid, he climbed every tree he could in Astoria. he thought of himself as Bomba the Jungle Boy from his beloved book series that he not only loved, but lived 😄

i felt as though to personally connect with him you’d have to be into nature somehow. his childhood sort of revolved around it from swimming in rivers, camping, hunting, fishing, to bringing a chipmunk friend to school (or was it church?? i forget) which he got scolded by a nun for 😂

when he’s looking at the sketch of the branches and his mind sees Guarnere and Toye wounded in bastogne, i kind of feel as though after seeing something like that it would be an easy trauma to trigger? i’m still trying to do more research on ptsd or “combat fatigue” in wwii vets (i believe that every war is different from one another and come with their own unique traumas, like the war in the pacific seemed like a completely different war compared to the fight against the germans. kinda scary with the differences in experience ANYWAY I COULD GO ON I APOLOGIZE) but yeah sometimes i don’t entirely mean to add angst like that in my fics but i tend to…want to keep the realism 🥴 plus i’m a slut for angst 🤡

now i wanna write more malark 😭 y’all, always feel free to send me prompts for the boys!! i don’t mind :)

thank you for stopping by with a bit of fic reminiscing !!☺️💖💖💖

pick a passage from any fic i’ve ever written and i’ll give some dvd-like commentary!! 😁

#idk why but i go absolutely bonkers for how adorable malark is when he says ✨holy mackerel✨#fuck i love him #asks #💖💖♥️💖♥️💖♥️♥️💖💖#don malarkey #band of brothers

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lyssismagical · 4 years

Text

Boy, I'm so happy, we have been heaven-blessed

Parkner Week Day Eight: “Get some rest tall child” / cuddling / movie nights

“Babe, babe, babe, babe-”

“Oh my god, what do you want?” Peter says. He sounds annoyed, but Harley knows better. “I’m trying to work, believe it or not.”

“I believe it. You don’t have to convince me on that.” Harley sits up on Peter’s bed, rolling his eyes for the thousandth time since he’d gotten to Peter’s dorm room. “Why am I here when you’re not even paying attention to me? You’re not even looking at me.”

“I don’t have to see you to know you’re pouting like a baby,” Peter mutters, scribbling some more words down into his notebook with his pen. He shoves the pen between his teeth so he could flip through his heavy textbook and try to find a page in the stack next to him.

Harley sighs dramatically. “But I’m your baby, aren’t I? Doesn’t that mean I’m allowed to pout?”

“Stop pouting and stop whining. I’m trying to work, Harls.”

“How do you know I’m pouting if you won’t even look at me?” Harley exclaims, throwing his arms up in frustration. It started out as a game, but now he’s starting to feel a little bit cast aside.

“Are you pouting?”

“…Maybe.”

Peter finally sets down his pen and turns to Harley from his desk, a smile gracing his lips. He looks pretty as always, but Harley can’t help but notice how tired he looks.

“Ned said he was going to move out if he found us in the same bed again,” Peter says instead of acknowledging their entire conversation. “I think he was serious. MJ’s roommate doesn’t live with her anymore.”

Harley rolls his eyes and dramatically flops back onto the bed. “When was the last time we went on an actual date?”

“We went out last weekend, Harley.” Peter’s still smiling, but there’s insecurity shining in his eyes, eyebrows creasing a little more than Harley would like.

“I just miss you.”

“You miss me?” Peter repeats. “Yet you’ve been literally lying a few feet away from me for the past two hours. I’m right here, Harley.”

Harley tips his head to the side, breathing in the soft scent of Peter on the pillow. “But I should be your number one priority.”

“Number one?”

“Mmhm, you’ll never get a catch like me ever again. I’m one of a kind, baby.”

Peter finally gives in and crawls into the bed beside Harley, unceremoniously dropping half onto Harley’s chest. Harley immediately wraps his arms around Peter’s waist, making sure Peter couldn’t leave even if he wanted to. Harley’s getting cuddles for as long as he wants them.

“You have no idea,” Peter mumbles, words muffled by Harley’s sweater.

Harley grins and presses a kiss to Peter’s hair. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Now, get some rest, tall child.”

“You know, I thought you were going to murder me when we first met,” Harley says, out of the blue on the next morning. They’re still in bed despite it being way past the appropriate time for sleeping in, even for a weekend. “I literally thought you were going to poison my food or something.”

“What?” Peter says, stifling his laughter. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I thought you’d be as jealous as I was, I just figured you’d act on that jealousy and murder me so you’d be Tony’s only intern.”

This time, Peter does laugh, hiding his flushed face in Harley’s shoulder. “You thought I would get so jealous, I would poison your food? You know how crazy that sounds, right?”

“I thought about killing you. I just knew it was an irrational idea, I didn’t know if you’d think it was irrational too.”

Peter bites on his bottom lip, trying to quiet his laughter. It makes his cheeks puff up a little bit like chipmunks, face rosy and eyes sparkling.

“I can’t believe you thought, even for a moment, that killing me was the appropriate reaction to being jealous.”

“I’m from Tennessee, Peter. Anything goes.”

Peter ducks his head again, muffling his laughter in Harley’s sweater. “That’s- I can’t believe you.”

“Tony thought so too!” Harley exclaims. Peter doesn’t have to see to know Harley’s rolling his eyes. “Maybe not that we’d kill each other, but he thought we’d hate each other.”

“No,” Peter says, voice dropping to a little more serious. “I knew from that first moment I saw you that this was going to be something special.”

Harley smiles, going all soft and mushy in a heartbeat. “I love you like an insane amount. Like I don’t think there’s anything I wouldn’t do if you asked. I’ve never felt like this before, and if I’m being honest, it really scares me sometimes.”

The younger of the two leans up to press a kiss to the older’s jaw. “You don’t have to be scared. I feel the same way, there’s no way I’m breaking your heart. It’s safe with me.”

“I know. Your heart’s safe with me too.”

“Good. Now that we’ve napped and talked, do you think you could let me get back to my homework now? I never got to finish it yesterday thanks to you.”

Harley laughs, relinquishing his grip on his boyfriend’s waist. “I should probably get going anyways. I’ve got a study group in a bit and then I’ve got a few errands to run in the city. Oh, and I think my sister’s calling to make spring break plans this afternoon.”

“You’re spending spring break with your sister?”

“I don’t know if you’ve forgotten but Abbie’s going to UCLA. Her roommate’s boyfriend’s parents are super rich salespeople who are taking the roommate and boyfriend to Europe with them while they’re there for business. Abbie volunteered to housesit and pet-sit. Meaning…”

“Meaning she’s got a huge house to herself in California all week?”

Harley grins. “Precisely. If you want, I was thinking the two of us could crash with her all week. Morgan’s on her break too, and she’s offered to pay to fly us all out.”

“Morgan and Abbie in the same house for a whole week?” Peter repeats, rolling his eyes but the smile doesn’t even falter.

Laughing, Harley finally pulls away from Peter, stretching his arms. “Yeah, it’ll be interesting, for sure… I’ll let you get back to your homework. You want me to swing by again tonight?”

“Please?”

The one thing that’s been weird since they started school is that they have separate rooms. Harley lives on the other side of campus, closer to his own classes, so it’s normally easier for them to spend nights in their own rooms, despite being used to the opposite. Back in high school, May’s apartment was closer to Midtown than the Tower, so Harley would stay with Peter for conveniences sake, and weekends they spent together at the Tower.

Today’s a Saturday, though, so neither of them have obligations tomorrow.

Harley grins, leaning back to press a kiss to Peter’s forehead before he’s tugging on his shoes.

“I’ll stop at mine and grab some clothes and things, and I’ll be over this evening. Six?”

“Sounds good. Movie night?”

Opening up the door, Harley shoots a final smile over his shoulder. “I’ll bring snacks! I love you. See you tonight.”

“I love you too.”

The door shuts behind Harley and Peter falls back into his bed, breathing in the soft smell of Harley, boyish with a hint of the Tennessee smoke that he carries with him, and a bit of the cinnamon body wash he uses. He smiles up at the ceiling, feeling so warm with love and happiness.

* Late that evening, after Peter’s finished his homework from the week and cleaned his room and finished some laundry, after Harley showed up in a flurry of excitement and lit up joy, carrying a shopping bag of snacks for the night along with a few selections from his DVD collection, after they’ve made it through way too many snacks and a few movies, they’re curled up, trying not to fall asleep.

“I wanna marry you one day,” Harley blurts and then he laughs, no awkwardness or worry to it.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I wanna do one of those fancy weddings with all the components like the big, tiered cake, and the expensive suits, and the cute RSVP cards in the mail. Abbie and Morgan could be the flower girls or the ring bearers. Ned and Harry could be our best men and Cassie, MJ, and Gwen could all be our bridesmaids or whatever they’d be. We’d do one of those over-the-top bachelor parties, except we’d do it together because it wouldn’t be as fun to party without you. Tony would have to walk one of us down the aisle because May and Mom would want to do it. Or maybe Tony could officiate. And then we’d get on a plane the next morning for a crazy honeymoon.”

Peter smiles fondly, snuggling closer to his boyfriend and nearly knocking the laptop off their legs. “You’ve really thought about this, huh? Is this your way of proposing?”

“No,” Harley laughs. “I don’t have a ring and I’m going to do it right, when I do. The whole shebang. The expensive dinner, the dramatic speech, maybe I’ll do the stupid ring in the wine or something.”

He shakes his head against Harley’s chest. “I’d accidentally drink it. Don’t do that.”

Harley laughs again, peppering kisses over Peter’s face. “I just really want you to know that this is a forever thing, for me, you know? I want us to be forever. I want us to get engaged, to move in together, to get married, maybe we could think about kids. I’d even go for the white picket fence future if that’s what you wanted.”

“You’re such a sap,” Peter teases before he kisses Harley. “I want that too. Trust me, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Taglist: @littlemissagrafina @spidey-reids-2003 @romeoandjulietyouwish @c-artara @shadedrose01 @likeaphoenix13 @pj-hermes-tonystark-obsessed @you-get-killed-walk-it-off @kitkatwinchester @emo-girl10 @justme--emily @hold-our-destiny @imalivebecauseirondad @spiderman-peterman @dykeragee @maryserrao @heeeyitskay @parknerandirondad @lilacsandlilies4 {Let me know if you wanna be added or removed}

#lyss writes #parkner week 2020 #parkner #peter parker #harley keener #parkner fic

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 5 years

Text

Treat You Better

Warnings: non/dubcon sex, questionable relationship lines (kinda cuckold-ish).

This is dark!Bucky Barnes and explicit. 18+ only.

Summary: Bucky wants what Peter has.

Note: Okay, so I mean, this fic doesn’t involve technical cheating but if you’re sensitive to it, I wouldn’t recommend reading. Also we got a very calculating Bucky and very clueless Peter. I hope y’all enjoy!

Let me know what you think!

You hated waiting. Worse, you hated waiting for Peter. Without fail he was always late. When you planned something, you always expected to do it at least a half hour later. Tonight, you had planned to go out for drinks after a long week apart. Classes and your respective obligations had kept you away from each other. Admittedly, his were more pressing.

Still, the semester started to drag by the more you were alone and you had fewer reprieves from the endless studying and inherent chaos of your dormitory. You had flagged the day in your phone and it had gotten you through the midterm stress.

But he was late. Not just a few minutes, but a whole hour. It didn’t matter, right? Drinks could wait. The bars would be open well past midnight. It was only...9:17! Mark that; an hour and fifteen minutes late.

You sighed and unlocked your phone as you leaned back on metal and leather chair. You re-read the text for dozenth time. ‘See ya at 8.’ He had sent you that. You had confirmed with a ‘can’t wait’ and heart emoji. He had sent you five hearts in return. Yet here you were, waiting on him.

You set your phone down a little harder than you intended. The spark of anger drew the eye of the only other person in the room. It was easy to forget Bucky, even when he was right beside you. He was quiet, unassuming.

When you entered he had muttered a greeting and you had returned it. You asked him how he was; he shrugged and returned a courteous but unconcerned ‘you?’ You echoed his sentiment and began your vigil.

“Sorry…” You gave a meek smile. “I…”

“It’s fine,” He assured you. His facade didn’t crack as he went back to swiping back and forth on the tablet. He had been poring over a briefing since you arrived. It didn’t seem very brief. He yawned and shifted on the leather couch.

You leaned on your elbow and stared down at the small font of your textbook. Medieval and Renaissance Art: Themes and Narratives. You rubbed your eyes and tried not to yawn yourself. You had taken the book out about half an hour into your wait. Studying was preferable to staring at your lifeless phone.

You huffed again and tapped your fingers on the table. Where was he? There was only so much you could read about the Sistine Chapel before you found yourself staring out the window and plotting your fateful descent.

“Just call him,” Bucky’s voice surprised you. His arm was stretched across the couch as he looked over his shoulder. “Kid probably forgot...almost forgot his damn suit the last time we worked together.”

“Sounds like him,” You grumbled.

“Do it,” He said, “Really. I can’t take you moping over...whatever it is your reading.”

You lifted a brow and his lips curved slightly. He was amused with himself. You picked up your phone and stood. You waved it at him with a tilt of your head and turned away. You hit Peter’s picture and waited for it to dial.

It took two tries. He picked up as you expected to be forwarded again to his voicemail and you stuttered on your greeting.

“Hey,” He answered nervously, “What’s up?”

“Um, I’m waiting...for our drinks,” You leaned on the table and tried to keep your voice down. “It’s almost 9:30.”

“Shit,” Peter cursed on the other end. You glanced over your shoulder at Bucky who was once again focused on his confidential files. “I’m so sorry, I thought I texted you.”

“Texted me?” You wondered.

“Yeah, uh, something came up,” The inflection made it sound more a question than a statement. “You know…business.”

You nodded. You didn’t miss the crack in his voice or the poorly muffled whisper from Ned. When those two were together, it was rarely business.

“I came all the way down here, Peter,” You hissed, “Now I gotta take the subway back. At night. Thanks for the heads up.”

“I swear, I thought I hit send.” He explained thinly. You frowned.

“Sure,” You didn’t feel like arguing. Maybe you were just tired. Frustrated. It didn’t matter. “Fine, I’ll see you...Monday?”

“Tomorrow!” He said sharply, as if surprised. “Promise, babe.”

“Tomorrow,” You replied unconvinced. “Sure….love ya.”

“You too, babe.” He returned, “I...gotta go.”

The line died before you could give your own farewell. You shook your head and tucked your phone in your pocket. You turned and rounded the table to close your textbook.

“You were right, he forgot,” You muttered as you shoved the book in your tote. “Good thing I didn’t sit here for an hour and a half waiting for nothing.” You said dryly. “Now that would be stupid.”

“Ah, fuck,” Bucky leaned forward and set down his tablet. You glanced over at him as you pulled on your canvas jacket. “Now, I don’t think I could forget something as important as you.”

“Please, don’t try to make it better,” You moaned, “Really. I’m just going to go home and write that stupid paper on Titian. What an exciting Friday night.”

“You want a ride?” He offered casually as he stood and stretched. He turned with his arms over his head, his lower stomach peeked out from beneath his tee. You tried not to notice the lines of his pelvis above his jeans.

“I appreciate it but I can manage myself.” You slung your bag over your shoulder. “I got a pass.”

“Come on, let me drive you,” He insisted though his voice was as detached as ever. “I got nothing better to do.”

“I don’t know, you seemed pretty entranced,” You kidded.

“It’ll be a nice break,” He said, “And hey, a step up from the subway. Instead of a train full of strange men, you’ll only have to deal with one.”

You scoffed and shook your head. “Alright, fine. You’ve twisted my arm.”

Bucky’s car was nice. You guessed it was a perk of working for Stark Industries. And saving the world. It was much preferable to the subway. You sank into the seat with your bag on your lap. You almost felt like a child as he turned the engine.

“So, where am I going?” He unlocked the gps on his console and brought up the address bar, “Type it in, will ya?” He steered with one hand as he pulled out. “Not the greatest without this thing...as much I don’t trust robots.”

You squinted at him but shrugged off the comment. His metal hand would’ve made you think he had a natural kinship with more mechanical. And his demeanour. The street lights flashed through the windows and lit up the lines of his face as he drove out onto the street. You keyed in your address and turned to watch the city pass through your window.

“So...never asked but you study science or whatever, too?” He prompted. You looked to him slowly. You were almost stunned by the question. Not the content, merely the speaker. You almost preferred his disinterest. You guessed he was merely making small talk.

“No,” You laughed, “I suck at science. Art. Yeah, I know, I’ll make a great barista.”

“Art, eh?” He nodded. “I like art. God, that sounds like I’m stupid.” He chuckled. “You know, during the war, there was lots of stolen art. Some hidden away to prevent that. Some never found.” He cleared his throat as he turned the wheel.

“We were on our way to Germany. We’d clear towns along the way. Some of them’d be blown out so bad you couldn’t step inside for fear of it all falling on your head.” His eyes searched the road as if he was seeing another city entirely. “Others, totally untouched. Towns just empty. The people fled to avoid the same carnage...or they were dragged out by their invaders.”

You nodded. You didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t ever spoken so much in your presence. Even with Peter around.

“Anyway, we found this one apartment. It must’ve been locked up for well over a year. Place was covered in dust but...paintings everywhere. On the couches, in the kitchen sink, just dozens of them. We had them taken back to headquarters...I knew this one CO though, had him send a Monet to my ma. She loved flowers, you know?”

“Monet?” You were stunned. You’d only ever seen the famous paintings in your textbooks and on the walls of museums. “Wow. I…”

“Don’t know if it ever got to her though,” He said. “I never did.”

You bit the inside of your lip. What could you say that wouldn’t seem entirely obtuse?

“Ah, don’t worry so much.” He shrugged. “Sorry, I get a bit heavy. That’s the past though…” He stopped at a light and looked over at you. “So, you’re an artist?”

“I guess,” You said. “I like to paint and my portfolio got me into the program so...for now, I am. Until I’m off into the world of corporate desk jobs and retail gigs.”

“Ah, I see why Peter likes you. You’re a hell of an optimist,” He joked as he hit the gas and looked back to the road.

Your phone vibrated and you reached into your pocket. “No use running from the…” Your screen lit up and you swiped up to view the snap. Your voice died as you watched the video in awe and anger. “I knew it!”

You hit lock and the screen went black. Your nostrils flared and you clamped your mouth shut in a scowl. You squeezed your phone and shook your head. Bucky’s eyes flicked to the rear view than you and back through the windscreen. He laughed again.

“What?” You couldn’t help the growl.

“You,” He smirked, “You’re...cute when you’re angry. Like a little chipmunk.” You frowned deeper. “I mean...you’re fiery. It’s...I always wondered how a girl like you got mixed up with the Spider-man but I’m starting to think you might be more formidable than him.” You narrowed your eyes and he peeked over at you again. “Look, it’s a compliment. I’m not very good at them but take it for what it’s worth.”

“Gee, thanks,” You crossed your arms over your tote, “I’m flattered.”

He pulled into your dormitory parking lot and brought the car to a stop as the gps announced your arrival. “Look, try not to stress about it. He’s young, stupid. You got your whole life to be mad at him.” He said. “Or to explore your options. Who knows?”

“My type of optimism,” You chided. You grabbed the handle and inched the door open. “Thanks. Really. You didn’t have to.”

“No problem. It gave me an excuse to get off the couch,” He leaned his arm against your seat, “Hit me up if he does it again. Can’t have a girl like you on the subway so late.”

You couldn’t help the smile and you opened the door all the way as you stepped out. “Thanks. Have a good night, Bucky.”

“You too, doll.” His vibranium fingers tightened on the wheel. “Take care of yourself. Don’t let the boy get you down.”

You closed the door and stepped back. He pulled out and around the lot. You watched him leave, his headlights disappeared into the city haze and you retreated to the gate of your dorm. What an odd night. Not exactly the end you were expecting.

Bucky lifted the bar, a small breath escaped him. The muscles in his right arm strained and a shock surged at the base of his vibranium arm. While he could lift the weight with his left arm alone, he worked to keep his right as strong as he could. He may have only one arm but he didn’t want to fight like it.

His time in the gym was his alone time. A sort of meditation. He could forget about everything and just be. His body was intuitive. He moved from machine to machine with ease. His body fell easily into the patterns; running, push-ups, lifting.

He set down the bar and sat up as he rubbed his right hand. The metal of his left was warm. He stretched his vibranium fingers and watched the plates slide back into place. He moved his head from side to side to work out the kink along his shoulders.

The door opened and closed. He was rarely caught off-guard but his head wasn’t as clear as usual. It hadn’t been lately. Two nights ago he had drove her home and ever since she hadn’t left his mind. When she got out of his car, he could still smell her. She smelled of strawberries. Good enough to eat.

He stood as he turned to the intruder. Peter smiled at him and Bucky had to keep from scowling. When he thought of her, he couldn’t help but think of the boy. He was a kid truly, not to see what he had right in front of him. It filled Bucky with resent. She was so sweet, so devoted to the flaky college kid, and Peter was entirely oblivious.

“Sorry, Mr. Bucky, I was just comin’ to train,” For god’s sake, the kid still called him mister.

He shook his head and shrugged as he dropped and began another set of push-ups. “Thought there was a gym at the school.” He grunted.

“Yeah…” Peter let his voice trail off as he set his gym bag on the bench. “It’s too crowded there.”

“Mmm,” Bucky lost count after ten.

He couldn’t concentrate on the numbers as his mind strayed once more. As he lifted himself up and down, he couldn’t help but think of her. Picture her below him. He felt a stir in his shorts and held back a groan. Fuck. The things he’d do to her.

She was so delicate. He could only imagine the ways he could break her with his iron touch. She’d wilt like a flow. The juices would flow from the sweet berry and fill his mouth. He sniffed and brought himself to a halt.

He rolled onto his back and stretched out each leg. His cool down exercises would help him calm down. He was getting far too worked up over Peter’s girl. Yes, Peter’s girl. He shouldn’t have to remind himself of that.

He stood and stretched out his arms. “So, how’d your little date go with the girl?”

Peter looked at him curiously as he began to warm up. “How’d you know about that?” His voice was higher than usual.

“She was here all night waiting for you,” He replied, “Friday, that is.”

“Oh,” Peter blinked and frowned. “Well, I kinda forgot we were supposed to meet.”

“And yesterday?” Bucky prodded. He should back off. It wasn’t his business.

“I, uh...we saw a movie,” Peter squinted at him. “Why are you so concerned?”

“No reason. Drove the girl back to her dorm. She seemed down,” He tried to seem nonchalant but could barely ignored the thrill it sent up his spin. “Just...I dunno, she’s a special one. You should treat her like she is.”

“You drove her home?” Peter stopped his own stretches as the thoughts wrinkled along his forehead. “Why?”

“Didn’t want her to take the subway that late,” Bucky said coolly. “Not safe, ya know?”

“Ya,” Peter nodded and bent an arm behind his head. “I guess you’re right.”

Bucky finished up and grabbed his hoodie from the bench. He drained the last of his water and watched the kid as he began a set of sit-ups. He made it halfway to the door before he turned back. He neared the kid and stood over him. He looked down as Peter fell flat.

“What?” Peter asked.

“You really upset the girl,” Bucky said, “I doubt whatever you were doing with that friend of yours was worth it.”

“What do you care?” Peter leaned on his hands as he sat up. “She’s my girlfriend.”

“Then start acting like it,” Bucky snapped.

“Hey,” Peter hopped up to his feet. He still had to look up at the super soldier. “I don’t appreciate you getting involved, Mister.”

“Mister?” Bucky scoffed. “Ah, kid, you need to grow up. Women get tired of boys. Quickly.”

“I’m not a boy,” Peter snarled. “You need to back off.”

“Tell your girl the same,” Bucky didn’t know why he said it. It just seemed right. A bit of revenge on her behalf. A little jealousy always put things into perspective. “She’s very talkative.” Bucky let his voice linger in the air. “...Very...friendly.”

“Leave her alone!” Bucky was surprised by the kid’s strength. He very nearly stepped back as Peter shoved him.

“Oh don’t you worry. It was all innocent,” Bucky smirked. “She’s loyal, almost to a fault. But you’re pushing her to her limit. One of these days--”

“One of these days what?” Peter spat. “Why don’t you mind your own business, old man?”

“Key word being man,” Bucky countered. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Bucky patted his shoulder and backed away. He draped his hoodie over his shoulder as he pulled open the door and glanced at the kid as he stepped into the hall. Their eyes met in unspoken challenge.

The door closed between them and Bucky chuckled. His chest fluttered wildly as he pictured her face. Imagined how her body would feel against his. He’d just have to wait until the kid slipped up again.

“How many times do I have to repeat myself until you hear me?” You pulled away from Peter.

You had been entirely content until he spoiled it all. Nestled up together on the couch watching a movie on Netflix. The compound lounge was empty and peaceful. Or at least, it had been.

“I forgot,” Peter’s hand brushed your lower back as you stood and turned on him. “I’m sorry.”

“You forgot. Again. Big surprise. Anything to do with me, you always forget,” You evaded him as he rose and reached out to you. “Goddamn it, Peter. I told you about this two months ago. I’ve reminded you constantly and you just don’t even care.”

“I can tell Happy to reschedule the whole thing.” He pleaded as he followed you around the sofa.

“That’s not the point, Peter,” You growled and turned on him. He nearly tripped as you bore down on him, your finger in his face. “I’m tired of feeling like this. Ignored. A burden.”

“You’re not--”

“I am. Fuck, Pete, I don’t wanna be your biggest priority but I at least wanna be on the list,” You spat. “I mean, we both have our lives, our responsibilities. We knew that when we got into this but...you never treated my time like it was worth anything.”

He tried to grab your hand and you shoved him away. His eyes rounded in hurt.

“Peter!” You exclaimed, exasperated, “Or should I call you the amazing Spider-man, hmm? Our greatest hero. You can’t do any wrong.”

“You can’t hold that against me,” Peter shook his head.

“I don’t, Peter,” You lowered your voice. “I don’t expect you to drop everything for me, I just expect you to give me something. Anything.” You sighed and crossed your arms. “We’re on different roads, Peter. We can’t turn back now.”

“No, you...Please,” His face drained of colour. “You can’t mean it.”

“I can’t live like this. I can’t try anymore, not when you don’t.” You pressed your lips together and sniffed back your tears. “I might not be a hero but I can’t handle it all. School, you, work. I...You should enjoy it. College. We only get these years once and obviously I’m just an obstacle.”

“Don’t say that,” He neared and you hung your head. “I...can change.”

“People don’t change, Peter,” You let him hug you, his chin on your head. “Not for others. One day you’ll be ready for a relationship, I will too. But now…” You slowly drew away and hid your face. You grabbed your purse from the table. “I don’t think either of us are ready.”

“Please don’t leave,” Peter’s voice cracked as you pulled on your jacket. “Please…”

“Go save the world, Peter, it’s what your meant to do,” You opened the door and looked back at him. “But it’s not for me. This life...you’re much braver than me.”

You closed the door behind you. The hall was cold, it sent a shiver up your spine. Or was that the pit in your stomach. The twist of your insides as reality struck you across the face. It was over. Two years, done. Even if you had seen it coming, it still hurt. Inevitability was just as painful as chance.

The tears began to fall when you reached the elevator. You wiped your cheeks as you waited for the doors to ding. You were startled as a shadow appeared at the edge of your sight. You turned and brushed away the last of your tears with your sleeve. But it wasn’t Peter.

“Hey, you okay?” Bucky neared and you shied away. You sniffed again.

“I’m fine, I…” Your voice was nasally from crying.

“What’s going on?” He asked kindly. He stared at you and his blue eyes sparkled. “What did he do?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” You looked past him. “It’s...stupid college kids, you know?”

“Youth is...dramatic,” Bucky said lightly. “Doesn’t mean you don’t have a right to feel the way you do.”

You looked at him. He wore a leather jacket over his tee and his usual combat boots. He was on his way out too.

“What are you doing up?” You wondered. “It’s a bit late, isn’t it?”

“You telling me it’s late,” He scoffed as the elevator doors chimed and slid open. He waved you in ahead of him. “What about you, young lady? Out after dark?”

You laughed. “You got me,” You resigned. “I’m headed home. To sulk alone.”

He nodded and the elevator began its descent. You took out your phone and fiddled with it nervously. The silence that rose was tense. You were both thinking of what to say but neither could muster a word. You tucked your phone away and sighed as the elevator stopped.

“Hey,” He followed you out, “Wait, come on, it’s almost midnight. You need a ride?”

“I’ll be fine, really.” You assured him as he kept stride with you. “I’d hate to treat you like a chauffeur.”

“I don’t mind. Really.” He stepped ahead of you and blocked the door. “I wouldn’t feel right letting you take the subway this late. Alone.”

You squinted at him. Why did he care so much? While the gesture was nice, you weren’t so sure about his intent. Wait, this was Bucky. He was an Avenger. A hero just like Peter. Did you really prefer the underground creeps to him?

“I…” You bit your lip and peered through the glass doors on the other side of him. “...dunno.”

“Or maybe…” His lips twitched before he grasped his thought, “You wanna join me for a drink? I was just headed to this bar down the street. One drink in exchange for a ride. Fair trade, right?”

“A drink?” You raised a brow.

“Totally friendly, I promise. But you seem like you could use one,” He smiled, “I always heard it was bad to go to sleep angry.”

You stared at him as you thought. You dragged your tongue along your bottom lip as you weighed your options. You were on edge and you knew it would only get worse once you were home to stew in your self-pity.

“Alright, I suppose a drink is the least I can do,” You accepted. He turned and opened the door and waited for you to pass through. “But wait…” You stopped before the second door, “Should you be driving if you’re drinking?”

“Yeah, uh, my tolerance is...the serum kinda cancels out the alcohol.” He moved past you and grabbed the second door.

“So you drink for the taste?” You stepped out onto the street and he followed.

“It’s actually pretty sweet without the burn,” He shrugged. You walked side by side down the pavement. “And I like the bar. Small, quiet. As much as I hate crowds, it’s comforting, you know?”

“Ah,” You let him lead you to the corner and he stopped you at a small door under a plain wooden sign. “Oh, this place it cute.” You looked up at the simple moniker.

“Yeah, Peter said it was a hipster joint but I don’t really know what that means.” Bucky opened the door, once more gesturing you through. You frowned at the mention of your boyfriend. Ahem, ex-boyfriend. He noticed and winced. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s fine. It was my decision…” You shook off the sudden wave of gloom. “Look, let’s get that drink and forget about it. That’s all I wanna do.”

You entered and he followed closely behind. The bartender recognized him as you approached and Bucky greeted the woman as ‘Laura’. You smiled at her as she poured another customer’s drink. She turned to you as you dug out your wallet.

“I’ll have a gin and soda,” You said above the low din, “A lime too, if you have it. And uh, whatever he drinks.”

“Actually, I’ll try that,” He intoned, “Sounds interesting.”

You waited for your drinks and handed over your cash. You left the change as a tip and Bucky led you to a table in the corner. He sat and you did the same, dribbling a little gin down your fingers. You sipped through the thin straw and shook the moisture from your hand.

“So, how’s school?” He asked before another deathly silence could rise.

“Oh, it’s school,” You rolled your eyes, “Mostly papers and seminars. Nothing interesting. I mean, come on. You don’t wanna hear about the lameness that is the life of an art major.”

“Yeah? You’d be surprised how much paperwork is behind fighting the bad guys,” He replied, “Plus the mishap with Sam’s wings...that’s not going over well.”

“Mishap?” You prodded. “What exactly happened with the wings?”

“Well, airports don’t take well to unidentified air crafts in their zones,” Bucky chuckled, “We kind ran into some heat over Heathrow…”

One drink turned into two, which turned into a tequila shot and a third. Bucky was surprisingly good company. A nice distraction from the grief brewing at the back of your mind. You had thought of asking for that ride but the thought of being alone made you sick. Or was that the alcohol?

You giggled as you finished off your third gin and hid your mouth behind your hand as a belch threatened to rise. Bucky was entirely sober as he watched you lean back heavily in your chair. As a university student, you envied his tolerance.

“Another?” He offered as he looked to the bar.

“No, no,” You raised your hand, “No. I can’t handle anymore.”

“Lightweight,” He teased and you scowled. “There it is.”

“What?” You wiped the irritation from your face.

“That little furrow,” He pointed between his brows, “The chipmunk face.”

“Stop!” You whined and reached for your phone. 2:37 am. Holy shit! “Oh my god, it’s so late. Or early, I guess.”

“So it is,” He glanced over at your screen, “Last call already.”

“I should...go,” You stood with a wobble. You steadied yourself and untangled your purse from the back of the chair.

“Yeah, we should probably head out,” He rose and stretched his arms and grabbed his leather jacket.

“Urgh, I can’t wait to lay down,” You pulled on your canvas jacket as you followed him to the door. “What a long night?”

You yawned as you stumbled out onto the sidewalk. He was quick to catch you. His arm around your waist as he turned you in the right direction. “Careful,” He warned as he led you down the pavement. “Can’t have you messing up that pretty face of yours.”

Your cheeks burned and your lashes fluttered. You reached up to rub your neck as the heat spread. “Ha, you’re too sweet.”

“And you’re...drunk,” He chuckled as you leaned into him without thinking. He smelled of sandalwood and sweat. A hint of alcohol clung to him, too. “Come on, let’s get you back while you can still walk.”

“I’m not that bad,” You protested and elbowed him.

“Sure,” He said dryly and you sneered at his doubt.

He turned you into Stark Tower, through the two glass doors, and towards the elevator. It wasn’t until you were in the rising box that you realized you were going in the wrong direction.

“Wait…” You slurred as his arm slipped, “Why aren’t we...your car?”

He squeezed your ass and your squeaked in surprise. He turned to pin you against the elevator wall. His metal fingers pushed a stray hair back and you gasped. He leaned in as your heart hammered in your chest.

“Bucky,” You grabbed his forearm as it snaked around your hip, his hand kneaded your ass hungrily.

“You’re so fucking sexy, you know that?” He pressed his lips to yours sloppily and crushed you against the wall. You froze as his metal hand drifted down and cupped your breast. He pulled away as the floors ticked closer to the top. “Peter’s a stupid boy...how could he ever let you go?”

“He...how do you know that?” You breathed.

“Not hard to guess,” He smirked, his arm once more around your waist as the elevator doors opened and he as good as dragged you out. “Don’t worry, baby, we’re gonna show him what he’s missing out on.”

“Bucky,” You said weakly. Your head spun and the warmth of his arm hypnotized you. You felt safe; wanted. “We shouldn’t…”

“It’s okay, baby,” He pulled you around the next corner, “It’s just a little bit of fun. I know you uni girls…”

Another corner and another. He spun you against a door and his mouth was on yours again. He turned the handle as he held your hip with one hand. He devoured you as he urged you backwards into the room and kicked the door closed behind him. You clung to him to keep from stumbling, your lips working against his.

He reached up to slide your jacket down your shoulders. You let him as a small voice told you not to. His touch was hot. Intoxicating. Your jacket fell to the floor with your purse. He bunched the hem of your shirt up with his fingers. Up along your stomach and chest. He pulled away as he tugged it over your head, his eyes intent on your lacy black bra.

“Jesus,” He whispered.

Your mind was hazy, his broad shoulders blurred as he nudged you back. Your legs hit something and you fell onto the bed with a gasp. You felt him pull off your shoes, then your socks. His fingers worked deftly at the fly of your jeans as you lifted your head to watch him. This had to be a dream.

You giggled as he lifted your pelvis and glided your jeans down your legs. He stood and your vision cleared for a second as his eyes met yours. You glanced down at your body, the lacy bra and panties were all that were left to you.

“Stay there, baby,” He purred and you dropped your head. You couldn’t have moved if you tried.

You heard him moving around. You looked over as he emptied his pockets on the dresser and peeled off his leather jacket. He turned back to you and winked. His tongue poked out as he came nearer and pulled off his tee. He bent to unlace his boots and quickly kicked them off. He circled the bed as he undressed, watching you like a scavenger.

Your head lolled back and forth as you tried to keep track of him. The shadows blurred in your eyes and you closed them to still the ripple in your vision. You flinched when he touched you. His metal fingers were cold along your thighs as they crawled along the flesh. His other hand was warmer but rougher as it slid around your waist.

He lifted you and held you against him as he climbed up on the bed. He walked on his knees across the mattress and laid you down beneath him. His kiss was even more fervent than before. His tongue desperate as it slid past your lips. He ground his pelvis into you and you felt his erection through you sheer panties.

He parted and sat back on his heels. His hands explored your body as his eyes followed them. You looked down and gaped at his naked body. His cock was slightly curved but large. Your eyes rolled back as you wriggled beneath his touch.

"You're so precious, baby," He whispered as he reached around and popped open your bra with a flick.

You pouted as he tugged your bra from your arms. You caught it and he pulled it away easily. It dropped over the side of the bed and you shivered at the touch of his fingers along your hips. He guided the lace down your thighs and past your feet.

He tossed the panties away and bent over you. His lips trailed along your neck, shoulders, chest, and stomach. He hummed as the tip of his nose traced the line of your pelvis and you squirmed. His dark hair hung around his head and tickled you.

"Bucky," You breathed. "What are--"

You gulped as he kissed just above your pussy. He pushed your legs apart and bent them over his shoulders. The muscles of his shoulders rippled against your calves as he bent closer.

His slipped his tongue along the curve of your lips and pushed deeper. It was cool and sent a tingle along your thighs. You squeezed his head between your legs without thinking. His fingers danced along your ass and edged around your pussy.

He delved between your folds and you trilled. The sound was startling. Was it really you? His tongue moved from your clit to your entrance and back again. He swirled around your bud and suckled. He didn't let up, each flick of his tongue had you trembling.

You reached down to push away his head as the heat built. Instead your fingers buried in his dark hair and urged him deeper. He tickled your folds with his finger and circled your entrance. He pushed inside and you arched your back beneath him.

He drew his finger in and out before adding another. His mouth continued to play with your clit as he worked his hand. The pressure mounted and you moaned through your teeth.

His tongue and fingers moved faster. You could hear your wetness, feel it as he lapped it up. The knot unwound and you disassembled all at once. You whined as your orgasm radiated through you.

You twisted beneath him as he slowly parted from you. He looked down at you as you pressed your legs together and your hands fluttered over your torso. You closed your eyes and the after waves swept you away.

He chuckled and stroked his cock as he pulled your legs apart and dragged you closer. He rubbed his tip along your folds and it sent a shiver through you. You opened your eyes and watched as he pressed himself past your entrance. His head stretched you as he leaned over you.

He held himself up with his elbow beside your head as he slid into you. You gasped as he filled you to your limit. Your eyes went wide at the storm of lust and pain. He smiled down at your tortured delight.

"Yeah, baby," He pulled back slowly and eased back in. "You like that?"

You bit your lip and he cradled your head in his hand as he moved carefully. You shyly touched his hips; nudged him weakly as he worked against you.

"I can tell you like it." He whispered, "A girl like you needs a real man, eh?" He sped up just a little, "He can't fuck you like I can." He picked up again and you let out a mewl. "That's it, baby."

Your legs bent around him and your nails dug into his skin. Once more you felt the spring winding. His mouth smushed against yours and he nibbled your bottom lip as he parted and kissed along your cheek.

"Say my name, baby," His hips rose and fell in rhythm. "Say it."

"Bucky," You breathed.

"Again," He sped up.

"Bucky," You rasped as the heat licked at your skin.

"Louder," He urged as he rocked into you harder and harder. "Louder."

"Bucky," You raised your voice and he pushed himself up.

He grasped your hips as he sat back, his thighs against yours. His flesh clapped loudly against yours as he crashed into you. "Keep going," He hissed.

"Bucky!" You exclaimed as the tide rose higher. "Oh, Bucky, Bucky, Bucky…"

You yiped as the swell burst and you came with a violent shudder. He kept going until you were weak and breathless. Your fingers knotted in your hair.

He slowed and lingered in you. He wiggled his hips and you twitched.

"Turn over, baby," He rubbed along the back of your thigh. "I wanna see that pretty little ass."

He pulled out of you and you trembled as you struggled to move. You rolled over and raised yourself up on your knees. Your arms shook as you struggled to stay up.

He slapped your ass and you nearly fell forward. He seized your hips again and pulled you back against him. He entered you in a single motion. Your pussy squelched around him and you moaned.

All pretense was gone. He pounded into you and you fell down to your elbows. His pelvis crashed against your ass and he bent over you to fondle your tits. You purred and pushed back into him, longing for more.

His metal hand went to your throat and he sat up. He took you with him, your back against his muscled torso. His grip tightened as he fucked you without pause. His other hand found your pussy and his fingers twirled around your clit.

"Are you gonna cum again, baby?" He growled in your ear. You nodded and his fingers slackened just a little. "Let me hear it." His breath was hot along your temple. "Let me hear you cum."

"Ah, ah, ah," You panted and closed your eyes as another orgasm broke through. "I'm cum--cumming."

You shook and he caressed you through your climax before dragging his wet fingers along your stomach. His metal hand choked you as his other hooked around your shoulder and he forced you down harder onto his cock.

"Fuck, baby, can I cum in you? I'm gonna cum," His lips brushed over your hair.

"N-n-no," You wheezed and clawed at his hand. "N-not inside."

"Inside?" He snarled and sank into you completely. His hips twitched and he gave several long thrusts. He came as you batted helplessly at his metal hand. "God, baby, you feel so good."

He slowed and lowered your bodies together so that he was on top of you. He pushed inside as deep as he could and you cried out as he hit your cervix.

"You like it when I fill you up?" He ran his nose along your ear. "Hmm?"

You buried your face in the mattress and steadied your breath. He kissed the back of your head and pulled out of you carefully. You felt the stream of his cum and yours as it leaked between your thighs. You shook your head and the cloud grew thicker.

You rolled over as the bed shifted and you watched as Bucky's vague figure walked to the dresser. You sat up and squinted at him as he turned back with something in his hand. His phone was pointed at you as he neared.

"Bucky?" You blinked in confusion, "What--"

"Say hi," He smirked as he moved the lens up and down your body. Your mouth fell open as he turned the camera back on him. "Who's an old man now, Petey boy?"

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #dark!bucky barnes #dark bucky barnes #dark!bucky barnes x reader #dark bucky barnes x reader #fic #au #one shot #captain america #mcu #marvel #peter parker #spider-man #dark!fic #darkverse #dark!verse

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awesomerextyphoon · 4 years

Text

Charred Briar Roses - 7

Recourse

Summary: You finally see Karim and an old friend.

Paring: Orc!Bucky x Black!Reader, Orc!Steve x Black!OFC, Orc!Sam x Black!OFC

Word Count: 1596

Rating: 18+

Warning: Not much for this chapter

Back to Masterlist

“Karim! What happened?! How are you-”

“Easy there, cousin. Drink this,” he handed you a water bottle, “You’ve been out for three days. Take it slow.”

Three days?! FUCK! How did-

“How did you save us? You never studied magic when were kids,” you remembered a more poignant point, “How are you still alive?!”

Karim sighed deeply and his eyes were downcast, “After Sophronius’ failed coup and resulting battle, he asked the demon lord for ‘more fire power’,” he unbuckled his armor and rolled up his right sleeve revealing a shadow demon seal,”and the demon lord delivered. I was his first successful guinea pig. The sealing was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. He and mother fought for weeks until she finally tried to escape with Amani. They were caught and,” Karim lips quivered as he tried to hold back his tears,”he sacrificed my mother and bound Amani to an enslaved succubus.” He gasped out the last part and the dam burst.

You pulled him in for a hug as he sobbed for a couple minutes. Even though you didn’t have the best relationship with Amani (she was resentful of the attention you and your sisters got and in turn you ignored her), both she and Aunt Photine did not deserve their fates.

You wanted offer Karim some comfort, so you continued to hold him while aired out his emotions.

Once Karim calmed down, he returned to his tale, “I still don’t know where he took Amani, but I still remember her cries. The next day the shadow demon took over and it was like I was in this abyss like place, my only window to the outside world was through the demon’s eyes. I’m still haunted by the screams of the innocent while I went along with that abomination’s plans of conquest.”

“How did you escape?”

Right then, another figure came into the clearing. She was a dark elf! Her long silvery platinum blonde hair was in a french braid with delicate bangs on either side of her face, framing her spring green eyes beautifully. Her skin was a lovely shade of midnight purple which contrasted nicely with her powder blue and light sand outfit.

Karim turned to the approaching elf and pulled her in for a comforting hug and a kiss, “I was saved by Dáiríne, my mate.”

Neat.

“It is pleasure to meet you, Y/N. I’ve heard so much about you and your sisters. I just wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Dáiríne was a spy for the remaining Fae and the Resistance. She was able to stop me from killing her and freed me from the shadow demon’s and my sperm donor’s influence. We’ve been assisting the Resistance from afar ever since.”

Well, it great to see someone in your family have some happiness. There was still one thing bothering you, “What happened to the Fae?”

Before Karim or Dáiríne could answer, the moon hit the willow tree just right and it began to glow in a color similar to the Nephrashim Crystal. The reeds pulled themselves apart and 10ft mirror appeared at its base while a stone path rose from the water.

Karim motioned you to walk towards the willow tree and when you got close enough to see your reflection, a figure appeared in the mirror.

It was Aoife! Or rather, what remained of her. Aoife’s once lustrous strawberry blonde hair was now a dull yellow almost gray. Her youthful face was haggard and her vivacious body was now a corpse, barely holding itself together.

Tears welled up in your eyes, “Aoife, what happened?”

“My sweet summer child, I had almost lost hope oof see you again. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to greet upon your matches breaking the spell. As you can see, I’m stuck in an enchanted mirror.” Aoife laughed bitterly and sighed,”To answer question, I’ll have to go back to your 18th birthday.

When you and your sisters fell, Sophronius took that moment and killed your father. He would’ve killed your mother if was not for a stable boy who was in the right (or wrong) place at the time. Your mother used the commotion to escape and gather a surprisingly large force to fight Sophronius. It took three days and the loss of three of my sisters, but we were able to drive that demon asswipe away from the Crystal and you.

We were able to form the Resistance with your mother at the head and we had some successes...but it did not last. Within 150yrs, Sophronius either killed or captured all of the Fae. I was the last free Fae left when Doireann was killed at the Battle of Skull Ridge.”

“What about the Titania?”

“She was the first one to be captured as a means to let everyone else escape. Although, considering how this started, we might’ve deserved our fates.” Aoife lamented.

You shot her a puzzled look.

She gave you morose smile, “About 5,000yrs ago, the Nephrashim Empire was just a small kingdom. It pretty well for itself, but it was always attacked by raiders and natural disasters. One day the Crystal fell from the sky a few hundred meters from the kingdom’s walls. The current king had it brought to the central square and the entire kingdom was bathed in its glow. Soon the people of Nephrashim was able to create marvels of science and technology the world has never seen.

Everyone in the kingdom was enjoying unbridled peace and prosperity. All was well...until a king, Bashar, five generations down took the throne. He wanted to share the kingdom’s knowledge and wealth with the world. At first, we were glad. We’ve been saying that it was rude for Nephrashim to hoard all of their progress to themselves and the kingdom was only place the Fae were truly welcomed.

But his mind turned to conquest.

We remained loyal to Nephrashim royal line despite the atrocities.”

You balled your fists in anger, “Why didn’t you or the rest of the Fae do anything!”

Aoife bowed her head in shame, “Most of us didn’t feel the need to do anything since we weren’t the ones doing it and it didn’t affect us.”

Why is almost everyone in your pre-cursed life either psychos or cowards?

Fuck.

“How I do stop Sophronius?”

“The Nephrashim Crystal. It is the heart of the empire and the key to Sophronius’ plans. In the throne room, there’s a key that opens a staircase that leads to the underground chamber where the Crystal is being held. You will need your sisters as you are the last ones of the direct royal line since Sophronius lost the duel for the throne.

I am truly sorry that you and your sisters must bear the burden of our apathy, but you are the only ones who can stop Sophronius.

I know that this is hard, but know that you are not alone in this fight. Trust your loved ones.”

“Why does this feel like you’re leaving us?”

“Because I am. I only had enough power left to give you this message. I am sorry my little chipmunk,” and with that the glow enveloping the willow tree faded and the mirror vanished.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

You fell to your knees and sobbed until Karim scooped you up and carried you back to shore. Dáiríne got you something to eat and got you up to speed on the Resistance, “Your sisters have been captured by Sophronius and the Resistance is mourning the loss of Olanma and Chetachi. If this keeps up it won’t be long before Sophomore wins.”

“Thanks for the boost. You have any good news?”

“I have something you’ll like,” Dáiríne smiled, “But first, what are you going to do?”

“I have to get my sisters and destroy the Nephrashim Crystal. It’s the only thing I can do now.”

Dáiríne stood up and led you away from the kitchen, “Well, you’re going to need some help. Now, before you ask, Karim and I have already contacted the remaining members. They’re not happy about what happened with you, but they’re working on a plan. Let’s see here,” she stops in front of set of metal doors, “Go on, Y/N.”

You cautiously opened the doors to find Bucky on a bed, his left arm replaced with a metal one made of vibranium and mithril weaved with both magic and biomedical engineering in the Nephrashim fashion.

It suited him, and it somehow made him sexier.

“I’ve been trying to wake him for hours, but I think you might fare better,” Dáiríne whispered as closed in on Bucky and gave him a kiss.

He was unresponsive for a moment before he grunted and smirked against her lips,”I guess the tables have turned. Huh, sweetheart?”

––––––––

You and Bucky stayed with Karim and Dáiríne for a few days while Bucky got used to his new arm when the Weeping Willow was engulfed in flames.

“Shit! The Horde! Dáiríne, take Bucky and Y/N to the rendezvous! I’ll hold them off!” Karim barked as he activated his demon seal release.

“No! We can’t leave you here!” you yelled back.

“Quickly you two!,” Dáiríne ordered as she dragged you to the workshop and locked the doors. She got the portal ready right as the Horde group leader, one of the demon lord’s sons, started to break through.

“Get in!” Dáiríne shouted as the Horde leader started firing at them.

“But-”

Dáiríne gave you a heartbroken smile, “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she pushed you into the portal.

Taglist: @giorno-plays-piano @lookiamtrying @retroxvailles @hurricanerin @saiyanprincessswanie @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @pseudonymphet @rosalynshields @imdarkinme @macheregrace @anyatheladyclown @buckysbunny @marvelfansworld @mcudarklibrary @moonstruckbucky

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky x black!reader #bucky x reader #bucky x you #mcu imagine #mcu fanfiction #dark!mcu #sleeping beauty #fairy tales #dark fairytale #mcu #charred briar roses

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mydarlingklaus · 4 years

Text

The Apology

Part 3 of the angsty “The Merge” arc is now updated! Highly anticipated reunion between Klaus and Lizzie. So glad you all have been enjoying these drabbles! Thank you for leaving all your reviews on my ff account, I appreciate it! You can find part 1 here and part 2 here! Enjoy :)

WARNING: Angst galore!

**********************************************************

New Orleans, 2:45 AM

Klaus' elbows rested on the lengthy solid wood dining table as his interlocked fingers covered his trembling mouth and flared nostrils—eyes practically burning a hole through Lizzie's forehead who was sitting across the other side. Carefully watching as she ate the grilled cheese sandwich he prepared for her—raising children forced him to learn his way around the kitchen. After Klaus paid the cab driver and compelled him to forget arriving here and picking anyone up in the last two hours, he was too enraged to speak to Lizzie when she eventually brought her luggage inside. Figured making her a meal would ease his mind and rationalize his thoughts—it did not.

As she settled in Klaus called Alaric to inform him about Lizzie's whereabouts—of course Caroline was his first option but he was still feeling petty. The insufferable human speaking over him was irritating, especially when realizing they contacted each other just a few seconds apart. Josie and Hope were both heavily interrogated by Caroline and Alaric. Hope was clueless but eventually they were able to pull the truth out of Josie. The news broke Klaus' heart all over again, but he reassured Alaric that Lizzie was safe in New Orleans and would call back after talking with her first.

Her bites were small, awkwardly shifting her attention down at the plate and up at the man with dagger eyes. One cheek resembled a chipmunk's as she prolonged each chew in the hopes that Klaus would be the first to break the dead silence—no such luck. She knew Klaus was pissed, which was unusual towards her because he had never genuinely been upset with her in the past.

She gulped the food down her throat with a dramatic swallow before placing the remainder of the sandwich on the porcelain plate. Using the napkin on her lap to rid her mouth of crumbs, subtly clearing her throat.

"Um, thanks for the food by the way. I was starving." Lizzie extended her gratitude with a soft smile that fell when Klaus did not reciprocate.

The silent treatment was growing tiresome, along with Lizzie's patience.

"Did you call my mom?"

His stomach clenched at the reference, but he finally spoke. "I called your father, actually, at the exact same time he called me."

"Are you two wonder twins or something?" She half joked, but Klaus obviously was not amused causing her to clear her throat. "So this means they already knew I was here. Well Josie certainly knows how to keep a secret huh." She rolled her eyes.

"You're lucky she said something." Klaus blurted. "Everyone was worried about you, I was worried about you."

"And like I already told you, I'm fine. I made it here unharmed didn't I? You don't have to keep treating me like a child—"

"You are a child, Lizzie." Klaus' tone low and dark—dropping his hands onto the table but eyes of fury never leaving hers. "You're a beautiful and naive 17 year old girl who has lived in the bubble of a small town her whole life, and despite thinking you know everything about the dangers of the world, you don't."

"Klaus—"

"Anything could have happened to you, anything, do you understand?" His glare deepened.

She groaned while rolling her eyes. "Yes, yes I get that but—"

"There are no 'buts'!" He slammed his hand on table,frightening the teenage girl. "And obviously you don't get it otherwise you wouldn't have done something so...so selfish and irresponsible! How many times do I have to explain to you girls, just because you're a powerful witch in Mystic Falls does not make you invincible to the real world. Evil comes in all shapes and forms, you have no idea what to look for. People in this city know who you are and how important you are to me. Why do you think I'm so protective over you all whenever you visit? What if someone recognized you wandering this hectic city alone at this hour, with some vendetta thinking they have something to prove by..."

He wiped his hand over his face exasperatedly, inhaling and exhaling as he regrouped, hating when his mind wandered to the darkest of places. Since Caroline became a permanent part of his life Klaus not a day went by he wasn't terrified for her safety, even more with the twins. The nightmares he never told her about of his deepest fears. He's had to protect Hope her entire life from the dark forces insistent on taking her away from him, now his family was expanding and felt helpless to stop life from happening to them. They inherited a thousand years worth of enemies and he couldn't be there for all of them at once. Seeing Lizzie, alone, on his doorsteps was among the most haunting images he's ever seen.

The witch rubbed her lips together, blinking away the sheen covering her blue eyes for a better visual of his disgruntled expression. Klaus wasn't simply upset, he was scared—clear as day on his face. Klaus has always been overprotective since they were kids and barely knew each other. Sometimes he was extreme: like not allowing her and Sebastian to go on unsupervised dates, or her having to text him her every move if she went on a trip without him, or one of his hybrids watching over at her football games when Klaus was unable to attend. It was behavior she grew accustomed to, fighting that is who he is. She underestimated how triggered he would be about her traveling on her own—expected some fleeting harsh words but his silence hurt more. Never did she mean to harm or scare him in any way.

Placing her hands out in front of her on the table, Lizzie picked at the fabric on the sleeves of her sweater.

"I'm sorry, okay. I never meant to freak you out. I just thought...I thought you'd be happy to see me." She said defeated.

Klaus' eyebrows furrowed, offended she would think otherwise. "Of course I'm happy to see you. I'm always happy to see you, Lizzie you know that. But you can't do reckless things like this and expect me not to, 'freak out', as you say." The tension slightly dissipating with his soft smirk. "I always worry, every bloody day about you girls when you're together, never even entertaining you all being apart. You mean...everything to me, do you understand?"

Lizzie understandably nodded as Klaus left his seat to walk over to her. Pulling out the chair beside her he sat down, with an expression ranging from relieved and anxious on his face. His hand reached out to hold hers on the table—giving them both much needed comfort.

"However, running away from home without warning is not an excuse. There are more pressing matters we need to discuss now that you're safe and well like, how did you acquire a plane ticket so last minute in the first place. How did you know I was here?"

The young witch swallowed audibly, squeezing his hand.

"Um, I sorta, well definitely, called Uncle Kol and told him I was running away and needed to see you. He didn't want to say anything at first but after much precision he finally told me you were in New Orleans and bought a ticket for me."

"HE WHAT?!" Klaus' eyes bulged and fist balled as he let her hand go.

As if the situation could not be worse—of course Klaus' delinquent of a baby brother was involved!

Lizzie winced, leaning back against her chair. "This is the reason I was holding off telling you..."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "How dare he...and he knew I would never allow it. I am going to kill him, violently, and you be sure to tell him so during your next chat." He huffed. "Why were you running away anyways?"

"Same reason you did." She answered, making Klaus pause.

His glare and jaw softened as the realization settled in.

"You know..."

She nodded again, with shifty eyes and a blank face.

"And Josie?"

"Of course I told her. She's my sister. There's enough lies running around the boarding school and this effects both of us, remember?"

He knew, eventually, the twins would have to find out but didn't feel any better with them knowing before he had time to process it himself. How was he to console them about a matter he could barely grasp? The time away from Mystic Falls—from Caroline—did little to clear his mind because every second he thought about it the anger resurfaced.

Klaus let out a deep exhale scooting his chair closer to her and rubbing his hands together.

"Do you, um...do you want to talk about it?" He asked concerned.

She scoffed while crossing her arms. "About the fact that in a few years I'm either going to die or be forced to murder my sister, and my parents have been lying to me about it my whole life? Thanks but no thanks."

"We're going to have to talk about this eventually." He tried to reason with her but her refusal was as stubborn as a brick.

"Then I'll wait for eventually." She decided with a shrug.

"Lizzie—"

"I'm tired." She yawned covering her mouth. "It's been a long day and I can barely keep my eyes open so, can I just go to my room now please?"

- Say no, say no.

Klaus was such a weakling when it came to his daughters, specifically Lizzie. Her big blue eyes and pouty lip held so much innocence she reminded him of the little girl he once knew.

It has been a long night, for both of them. They could always talk in the morning when they're both refreshed and willing. Quite frankly Klaus wasn't too jazzed about discussing the matter further tonight either—as long as Lizzie knew it was something to discuss, soon.

Reluctantly, Klaus bit his tongue and conceded with an affirmative nod.

The young witch grinned, widely, jumping out her chair eagerly and picking up her plate.

"I'll dispose of it. Get some sleep." Klaus insisted with a weak smile.

She could see it on his face how badly this was eating at him, maybe more than her. But her mind and body were drained—from the devastating information of her fate to hitching a last minute solo trip to New Orleans. Last thing she wanted was more talking, even from Klaus—enough talking.

Placing the plate down, she muttered a low 'thank you' before walking towards the staircase and leaving Klaus alone with his conflicted thoughts.

**************************************************************

9:10 AM

Breakfast in the Mikaelson manner was, awkward.

They all sat at the food-filled dining table together—Elijah and Hayley slowly sipped on coffee, Freya and Lizzie fawned over orange juice while Klaus nursed an alcoholic drink. Elijah discreetly tried to talk to talk to his brother about Lizzie's sudden arrival but Klaus didn't budge, nor did anyone outside of their immediate family need to know about this before they could tackle it themselves. Attempts at conversation were made in between fruit and pastry platters, but the trio were worried about stepping on anyone's toes which made everything more awkward. Klaus' irritability was written on his face, even for so early in the morning. The hybrid was running on two hours of sleep, barely capable of catching any slumber after Lizzie resides in her room for the night. He sat outside her door for about an hour before retreating downstairs to his study. He tried everything to keep his mind occupied: reading, sketching, brainstorming strategies for the next faction meeting but nothing worked.

Afraid if he closed his eyes he'd have another haunting nightmare; with Lizzie as the starring role.

Even reaching out to Caroline crossed his mind, once or twice. After finally turning his cellphone back on he played her voicemail over, and over again until it brought boredom—it never did. He missed her voice, the way she rambled when nervous and her smile that he could hear through the phone.

You give me comfort, and I could really use some of that right now.

So did he.

I miss you.

I'm sorry.

I need you.

He had to turn his phone off again just to fight the temptation. The tears already glossing his eyeballs as he contemplated throwing the bloody contraption in the lit fireplace. He hated feeling conflicted.

Despite how much he loved and missed her, nothing about the merge was simple nor fixable yet she kept it from him for years. Whatever her intentions Klaus was incapable of reasoning right now—not to mention the teenage runaway who sparked his blood just as much.

When his two siblings and Hayley finished their meals and left the mansion for an 'outing', he was left alone at the table with the stubborn teenager who appeared just as displeased.

"It's a bit early for bourbon, don't you think?" She sassed, flipping her blonde hair to the side while jamming her fork into a chocolate chip waffle.

Klaus knew those were her favorite.

"Let's just say, I've earned it." He raised a glass before downing the liquor in his throat then slamming it down on the table. "Are you enjoying breakfast?"

She nodded gleefully, pushing the empty fruit bowl away as the servant came around to dispose of dishes.

"You always have the best food, especially the waffles!" Lizzie praised before scarfing another piece into her mouth.

"I'm glad." He rewarded her with a soft grin, gesturing to the servant to scurry away until it was just him and his step-daughter. "Not to put a damper on a good morning but sweetheart, we really need to talk—"

"We should go into the Quarter today." Lizzie proposed.

His forehead creased and eyebrows pulled together at her blatant disregard for his request.

"What are you talking about?"

"Hayley...Auntie Hayley?" She raised a curious brow. "I'm still not really sure what I'm supposed to call her but, I overheard her talking about meetings you have coming up. I could totally audit some of them. I've been told I'm quite the stellar listener." She suggested, making Klaus more puzzled.

He sighed. "Lizzie—"

"Or," the smirking blonde witch rose from her chair, "we can ditch boring responsibilities and turn it into a fun day trip. Just me and you like old times. We can get some lunch at that Cajun restaurant you introduced me to on the last visit, before going to Jackson Square. I could really use a new painting for my room—"

"Lizzie stop." Klaus abruptly demanded, now standing at her level with an equally stern look.

The young girl's stretched smile deflated to a withdrawn frown. Her heart pounding cranky in her chest and her body went numb—unable to feel the over-pour of emotions hanging by a thread.

Cautiously, Klaus walked towards her and anxiously licking his reddened lips until he was across the room staring before her.

His loomed over her small figure intimidatingly, focusing his attention on her while hers was directed at their feet.

"I know you've been through quite a bit in the past 24 hours, more than anyone your age should endure." Klaus reasoned, reaching out to grab her shoulders comfortingly. "This is scary and surely you must have so many questions but we can't pretend this merge isn't real. We can't pretend it isn't happening because it is and we need to deal with how to move forward."

The girl laughed. "You mean like how my mom and dad 'dealt with it' by lying to me for the past 17 years? About how I'm destined to partake in a fatal duel of survival against my own twin sister?" She spat, looking up to expose her tearful eyes. "Or how you 'dealt with it' by running away from Mystic Falls the first chance you got instead of, I don't know, staying?!"

Klaus was perplexed as Lizzie wiggled out his grasp angrily and took a step back. Her cheeks a fiery red and small hands balled into even smaller fists. She was shaking but Klaus knew better than to approach her right now.

"Three days in your little blissful New Orleans bubble and just forgot about your family huh? You don't write, you don't call. What, you're allowed leave the problem like it doesn't exist but I can't?"

Her anger was manifesting, he could feel it.

He swallowed audibly. "That-that's more complicated—"

She screamed—more like a sharp screech like nails on a chalkboard—stunning Klaus. Her hands pulled at her hair unruly.

"Why, why is everything so damn complicated with this family! Complicated this or complicated that." She threw her hands up. "Why is that always the excuse used for none of us taking responsibility for the messed up things we do? No it's not complicated, it's actually simple. Just admit it, Klaus. Be the good man you want us to think you are...and admit it."

"You're upset, I understand—"

"Stop telling me what I am!" She groaned. "Or how I feel. I'm so tired of everyone doing that. You never did before. Just...just admit it..."

Klaus' own body began to tremble, but not out of anger.

"Admit what?" He asked warily.

"You left me, Klaus you left me!"

Her screams now accompanied with her thrashing the wooden cabinets of the dining room. The glass shield, along with the multiple place settings, now a scattered pile of pieces on the carpet. Telepathically knocking over every chair until the legs individually broke off, and shattering the lights above until they blacked out

Klaus' mouth opened and closed, completely astonished at her horrifically violent actions.

"Bloody hell!" He yelled, tugging at his hair. "Lizzie, what in the—"

"You said I could always depend on you except, when I actually needed you!" Throwing another plate into the wall.

He visibly swallowed. "Lizzie..."

"Don't come near me!" The witch sharply commanded when Klaus attempted to step forward, snatching a knife off the table in a haste.

His undead heart dropped into the pit of his stomach and face drained of color. The lump bobbed in his throat, wondering how they got here and how quickly could he deescalate the situation before venturing off to worse case scenarios. If he lunged at her there would be no chance.

Seeing no other option, he stayed in place holding his hands up to demonstrate his surrender but eyes never leaving the weapon in her small hand.

"Sweetheart, please..."

"You—you were the only person I wanted to talk to about this. Not Hope, not even Josie but you!" She exclaimed through clenched teeth, waving the sharp object aimlessly. "I just found out the most devastating news anyone could ever hear for their future. Do you know how that feels, to have your life taken from you like that, hm? I was the most terrified and angry I've ever been, and so confused. I needed you but—but you weren't there." Her sobs uncontrollable as she shook her head side to side frantically, the knife still in one hand—blade facing away—as she brought both up to cover her ears. Eyes pinched shut and face a deep cherry red.

Klaus stayed silent, not wanting to trigger her any more than she already was and cause more damage.

"You weren't there. I cried out for you, called your phone religiously all three days...but you never answered. You just left, without even saying goodbye. You left me alone. You didn't protect me..."

Correction: this was the most haunting image he's ever seen.

He stood there like a deer in headlights and an agonizing ache in his core.

The emotional thread finally snapped, and there was no saving from the rapture. When Lizzie wasn't scratching at her face and hair, she was throwing more furniture in sight and belted louder cries before helplessly falling to the ground—knees hitting first.

You didn't protect me...

Klaus experienced Lizzie's episodes before, recalling their intimate conversations where she confessed the amount of times she contemplated taking her own life. The dark thoughts she never went through with, but nonetheless scared herself to even let her mind go there in the first place. Klaus never told Caroline about the things Lizzie confided in him about, and he never would, but seeing her with that knife was cutting too close to home for his comfort.

He thought he was capable of handling her emotional mishaps, but this was a blend of pent up betrayal and fear that he had zero control over. So blinded by his own turmoil all he cared about was leaving the situation as quickly as possible, barely giving a thought to the people he was leaving behind. Not thinking, if he was going through he ringer like this imagine the twins. Knowing how Lizzie felt—how she's been feeling—and him being among the ones that hurt her made him physically sick.

What a coward, he thought, to abandon his family when they needed him the most? Caring for his then was all he cared about now, but already proving he was still capable of being a selfish prick with them. Failing at the only job that mattered—being a good father.

No more.

Rushing to her side, Klaus kicked the knife out her hand first then crouched down to cradle his incredibly strong but struggling daughter in his protective arms. Pulling her against him until she felt nothing but his warmth. Her hands stayed on her side, not embracing him fully, but Klaus was just relieved that she was allowing the hug at all.

Her tears staining his gray Henley as she buried her face into his calming embrace—the whimpers and screams muffled by his shield. Klaus caressed her hair and kissed the top of her head repeatedly, whispering reassuring words that she was safe as her cries continued to unfold. He wanted her to know she could be as vulnerable as needed, no holding back or saving face for anyone. For 1000 years Klaus suppressed his emotions to appear 'strong' and 'unbothered' but it only crippled him as the years went on—until Caroline—and even then took longer to understand what those feelings meant.

The huffing and puffing didn't let up the longer he held her—chest heavy and heaving.

Klaus gasped at the feel of her wrapping her arms around his waist, squeezing. Her death grip pierced into the fabric of his shirt as she healed onto him for dear life, never wanting to let him go. Each passing thought about the merge made her cry more.

Lizzie didn't plan on the outburst, not realizing how much she was hurting until the words began to spew. Her lungs felt shot , throat swollen and dry from the heavy cries and overflowing tears. Deep down this was the reason for her insistent denial. Discussing the matter meant it was real, and she wanted to hold onto the bliss a little while longer with the person who has made her feel the safest.

A few moments went by before Lizzie began to feel lighter and her breathing began to balance out. Her cries subtly ceased as she pulled her face from his chest. Lips plump and parted while observing the disaster she created—broken plates and glasses shattered on the floor and against the walls. Cabinet of silverware broken and chandelier barely hanging on. The shame began to overtake for not controlling her temper after working so hard towards not being an emotional wreck. As if all the progress she made was suddenly irrelevant. Hanging her head low until Klaus cradled her face in his hands, surprised to see his sunken reddened eyes matched hers.

In all the years of knowing Klaus she's never seen him cry, or any heavy emotion. He's been sad, sure, but nothing compared the bloodshot gaze directed towards her.

- Either he is the quietest crier to ever exist or I'm more self absorbed than I thought.

His thumbs swept across the skin underneath her eyes to rid them of the lingering tears, rewarding her with a sweet grin from his shaky lips. Even he was thrown off by his own wave of tears but...Klaus had a short list of people he actually cared about and seeing any of them in distress rubbed off on him.

Felt like 20 pounds had been lifted off both their chests, despite what brought them to this point.

"I'm sorry." Klaus said, his voice raspy.

Lizzie's sucked in her bottom lip, nodding her head.

"Klaus..."

He sniffled, giving her his full attention.

"I—Klaus—I don't want to die." She stammered, her throat beginning to tighten.

The hybrid nearly lost it, again. His eyes widened and mouth agape.

I don't want to die.

One of the first sentences Caroline ever said to him.

When he knew her strength before even knowing her—the baby vampire with the will to live. Who did not beg the powerful hybrid towering over her limp body for mercy, the way she didn't beg but decided to fight. How he could so easily see the same spark in their daughter's eyes...even if she didn't notice it herself.

Wiping away the remaining tears from her pretty face, Klaus nodded his head.

"I know."

Was all he could say, for now. Not even the miraculous Klaus Mikaelson wanted to give her false hope.

The exhaustion weighed down her eyes but she kept them open best she could, still holding onto Klaus but not as aggressively. Coming down from the emotional high took a greater toll than anticipated and felt if she tried to stand she'd fall over.

They were both mentally drained after confronting the realization of their mutual fear: losing each other.

Kissing her on the head again, Klaus lingered there a little longer and closed his eyes just to appreciate her—very much alive—presence. He didn't even have it in himself to be upset anymore, not even after the stunt she just pulled.

"Klaus, um, I said some bad things to my mom. Actually they were pretty horrific, and I don't think I can take any of that back." She sniffled staring up at him with regret. "How am I supposed to face her again? There's no way she'll forgive me."

He smiled. "There's no one with more forgiving bones in their body than your mother. The amount of chances she's given to people who don't deserve it, how many she's given me...you're her her daughter and she loves you more than life. There's nothing you can do that's unforgivable in her eyes."

"But—"

"You underestimate a mother's love, once upon a time so did I." The corner of his lips quirked up. "She understands you were angry and won't hold any of it against you, I assure you, though she might have some words about you running away which is valid."

They softly laughed. Lizzie bit down on her bottom lip.

"Do you still love her, my mom? Even after everything?" She timidly asked.

"Of course I do." He answered effortlessly, clearly making the girl happy.

"Good. Are you ready to forgive her?"

Klaus hummed, pressing his lips together with a sigh through his nose.

"You must be tired. Come on, I'll walk you up to your room." He said instead.

Lizzie decided not to pester further, mainly because she was in the same boat on how she felt towards Caroline or Alaric.

She allowed Klaus to help her onto her feet, making sure she was unharmed and stable enough to walk on her own. Granting him a sad but reassuring smile which was more than enough as he led her upstairs to lay down.

***************************************************

Mystic Falls, 9:30 PM

"Caroline, I never said I'm blaming you." Alaric tried convincing the pacing baby vampire.

"Our daughter ran away from home after talking with me, don't lie to me, because if the roles were reversed I would blame you." She claimed, still walking back and forth in their kitchen.

"It's not like we're running around like headless chickens anymore. We know exactly where Lizzie is and we know she's safe. Klaus would never let anything happen to her."

He was right, she knew he was but...that void remained open.

No word from Klaus or Lizzie all day, not even a simple text of when she planned to return. As badly as Caroline wanted to harass them, she rationalized—or rather Alaric talked her down—and agreed to give Lizzie time to cool off first. She was rightfully upset with both of them and needed space. The saving grace was knowing where she was and that she was safe, and also being aware of Klaus' well being. Why wasn't New Orleans her first guess?

"You need to calm down, here." Alaric calmly offered her a drink.

Caroline crossed her arms, turning her head to face him not realizing he was now beside her with two glasses of scotch in his hands. She reluctantly grabbed one before leaning against the countertop, biting her bottom lip and shaking her head.

"She hates me, they both do." Sipping on the bitter drink.

"They do not hate you—"

"You didn't see how they looked at me, or hear the things Lizzie said to me, and I deserved it."

"No." Alaric walked over to where she stood. 'This is on both of us. Mainly me because I knew even before you did. We both made an agreement about not telling the girls about the merge, we chose to handle it on our own."

"Then why I am I the only one feeling guilty?" She asked before downing the rest of her drink.

Alaric sighed. "I do feel guilty, Caroline, everyday I felt it too. You're a good person and exceptional mother and that comes with a heavy heart. You care about the people you love even if it means you get the short end of the stick. I really am sorry Klaus found out the way he did. It was never my plan to be the one to tell him."

"I know." She said.

"But it doesn't make up for anything." He realized. " I do hope Lizzie and Klaus return soon so we can finally talk as a family."

Caroline's eyebrows shot up amusedly. "Did I hear that incorrectly or did you just refer to Klaus as part of the family?"

He chuckled. "As much as I hate to admit it, and as much as I wish otherwise, you love him and so do our girls. Our clan keeps expanding and I would never be able to explain how twisted all of it is. But my personal feelings aside, he's your family which means to an extent he matters to me as well."

Not that Alaric's opinions on her relationship with Klaus ever made a difference, but this was a permanent arrangement. Caroline knew Alaric and Klaus were not friends and probably never would be, but at least being cordial and accepting of one another meant even more.

She weakly smiled, resting her hand over his on the kitchen counter. "Thank you."

Alaric returned the smile and the ringing of the doorbell immediately followed.

The two looked at each other confusingly, knowing neither were expecting any guests for the night and Josie and Hope were in their respective rooms.

Caroline waited as Alaric walked out the kitchen and towards the front door, too noses to stay in place she poked her head out to sneak a glance. The door was opened but Alaric's body was blocking who he was standing in front of him.

Moving closer, she noticed four pairs of feet and one were covered by black combat boots and the other was embraced by Alaric wearing sparkling white high top converse tennis shoes.

- They're here?!

Caroline was flashing forward before her mind could fully process her own speculations, which were proven to be true. Realizing her gasp louder than anticipated when it made all three of them turn to face her.

Instantly making eye contact with Lizzie—blue on blue—saddled and remorseful.

The young witch left Alaric's side and timidly approached her mother, twisting her lips with her hands anxiously grabbing at the straps of her backpack.

"Hi mom..."

Caroline exhaled a breath she unintentionally held before reaching out and pulling her daughter into her arms for the momma bear hug they both needed.

Lizzie felt overwhelmed with the affection, from both her mother and Klaus, but accepted wholeheartedly. Flaunting a close-lipped smile as she hugged her back just as intensely.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, do you understand me?" Caroline softly demanded into her blonde curls.

Lizzie frantically nodded and hugged tighter, underestimating how much she craved her mother's touch. With a final sniffle, Caroline finally released her with a lingering smile, kissing her on the forehead before stepping to the side so she could walk inside with Alaric—leaving her alone with the hybrid. Suddenly the nerves settled in with the blank look he flashed towards her.

Three and a half days since she last seen him and nothing changed besides her amplified feelings.

Klaus remained outside on the cold porch while she was inside standing between the threshold of the door. Caroline hated not knowing where she stood with people, and Klaus' unreadable face did nothing to subside that annoyance.

- Maybe he's still upset?

She wanted to run into his arms the moment they're alone but, what if things have changed for the worst? What if he brought Lizzie back but is planning on leaving Caroline? What if he didn't forgive her?

She nervously gulped when he finally stepped more into the light—as handsome and imperfect as ever—his straight lips curved into a full smirk.

"Hello love."

Caroline's lips struggled to form a smile in between her relieved blubbering. She covered her mouth, embarrassed by her reaction from a simple 'hello'.

"You came back..." She managed to say, tucking one of her curls behind her ear.

Klaus' smirk only widened, decreasing the gap between them until they were only inches apart with him still standing outside the door.

Having him so close but so far was the most cruel act he could do to her. Those three and a half days felt like an eternity. Where she realized her life was no longer complete without him. He had taken her—body and soul—all those years ago when he swooshed into her life and she swore a long time ago she was done denying it.

Distance was not an option anymore. She missed him, god did she miss him, and his dimpled smile and masculine presence. If he wanted to stop her he could but all she cared about was embracing the return of the man she loved.

In a blink of an eye Caroline's body was colliding with his, face buried into his shoulder and arms securely around his neck as the tears already began streaming down her cheeks.

Affection, comfort and nurture were new concepts for Klaus who unfortunately had no experience of his own growing up. Not think he would ever be granted the opportunity to extend those feelings to others, let alone have people in his life he cared about enough.

Initially taken aback, Klaus completed the hug by encircling her waist and pulling her against his firm chest subconsciously. Inhaling her warm scent, hair and presence as if for the first time. He could feel her tears staining his shirt but it didn't matter, nothing mattered besides the woman in his arms.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." She pleaded between broken sobs as she gripped onto him tighter.

"Shh, love...it's all right." He tried reassuring her, rubbing her back up and down soothingly but he felt her shaking her head.

"No, it's not." Her voice unwavering as she pulled away enough to look up at him.

Her eyes puffy and tired compared to their usual vibrant form—breaking Klaus' cold dead heart more than he thought was possible.

Klaus let out a low breath as her eyes bored deeply into his, demonstrating the severity of her plea, she continued to explain herself.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, "I'm sorry for not telling you from the beginning. It was never my intent to keep anything from you."

"I know—"

"Please, let me finish." Caroline interrupted and Klaus obliged. "First of all, the twins are your daughters as much as mine and I'm sorry I ever made you feel otherwise. For someone who is constantly being reminded they're biologically not mine and having to deal with judgmental gossipers, I should have known better. I wasn't thinking. Even if it wasn't my intent to hurt you I still said it, and I'm sorry."

Klaus understandably nodded. It was as if she knew that particular section of their fight cut the deepest.

"Secondly, I was scared. I've been scared about the merge since Alaric first explained it to me and when I get scared I tend to turn people away. It's what I did to you, and them. I'm so used to making all the decisions regarding all of this because it was the only bit of control I had. Then circumstances changed when you came back into my life the way you did. I never expected us to become what we are, or you loving the girls as much as you do but there's nothing I wanted more. Our relationship is means everything to me. I'm so grateful to have you in our lives. I love you so much and I'm so—"

His lips molded against hers before she could muster another apology, desperate and commanding as her mouth opened to him from the pressure—succumbing to the warmth of his wet tongue. Pulling at each other mercilessly.

There was obviously more they needed to discuss—starting with proper discipline for their delinquent child—and solutions to theorize but neither of them could find it in themselves to care right now. After being away from each other for what felt like a lifetime the longing for one another only increased.

Caroline raised her fingers into his hair, standing on her tippy toes while lightly tugging at the light curls on the back of his neck. Venturing up to trace his scalp as she pressed his face more against hers—if that was even possible. Needing him, inhaling all he had to give. His talented tongue drew out soft whimpers from her lips before aiming for another passionate kiss to explain without words how much he missed her too.

His determined hands traveled from her face to squeezing her sides and caressing her silk covered back, bringing her closer in the most demanding but loving way. Tasting the teardrops that fell down her rosy cheeks and combined with their interlocked lips. Klaus almost felt ridiculous fore leaving in the first place, no matter how angry he was, but the distance made his love for her grow stronger. Rationalizing his thoughts instead of lashing out—progress.

She was more than apologetic, he felt it with through every kiss and tug. His anger was warranted, but deep down he knew Caroline was coming from a good place because he knew her heart. Nothing about this was easy on anyone and that was the reality they had to face, as a family. Being with Caroline now, holding and kissing her on the porch where any Mystic Falls resident or student could see, was the insight he needed. All he wanted to do was take her inside and never leave their bed. To shower her with love and affection to make up for lost time—forget about the bad shit just for a night.

Following that train of thought, Klaus' hands now rested dangerously on her hips, suggestively, their lips still moving together in perfect rhythm as he blindly lead them backwards and closing the door behind them with his foot.

#klaroline #klaroline drabbles #klaroline fanfiction #my writing #klaus x caroline #klaroline shippers club #lizzie saltzman-forbes mikaelson

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justreadingfics · 5 years

Text

Looking For a Heartbeat (17/?)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader

Series Summary: You and Bucky used to be in a relationship. Feelings were hurt, you left. It’s been two years and you’re back. You both will handle the reunion well, won’t you?

Chapter Summary: New bonds.

Word Count: 5,2K

Warnings for this chapter: fluff again (don’t get used to it), children, mutual pining.

A/N: @suz-123 is my angel and I love her. Here I am writing fluff again. I suspect this is why I’ve taken longer than most times to write this chapter, lol. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts. Links are ruining posts, you can find the masterlist link on my description.

It´s been four weeks since Bucky has shown up unannounced to the ultrasound appointment- that he discovered by himself after some private research, he told you- and you still can’t shake off a stupid smile from your face. Without a doubt, these have been the best weeks of your pregnancy so far. Everything seems to be great with the baby, who, according to Doctor Nadine and her team, is healthier than normal, developing better than expected. It seems to be so because the serum Hydra has used on Bucky altered his genetics system and its goodies have passed to the baby.

Bucky has been present in all of the appointments, right at your side the entire time, listening carefully and asking every single question he had. His presence, soothing and grounding, keeping you steady throughout the whole thing. You know he had been worried to death about the possibility of being responsible for any complications to the baby. The news that everything was ok was a huge relief for him too, despite you still sensing in him a deep worry about how the enhancement on its system would affect the baby's life in general. A concern you both share.

However, for now, you both have been trying to stay positive and focusing on finding a pace – the right one- to reconnect and shape your relationship as parents of your child. Aside from the appointments and some occasional times he drops by to see how’s everything with you and the peanut, you have also been talking on the phone, whether through voice calls or text messages. Not a day goes by without you talking to each other.

You’re not gonna lie, it still feels awkward at times. You’ve never been friends to Bucky. Before your intense and passionate relationship, you two were nothing but acquainted co-workers. And after that, you’re not sure what the two of you have become. Now, on top of that, it’s not like you two can just turn into friends. You’re going to have a kid together, for God's sake. Yeah, it’s still awkward.

The conversations have been centered exclusively on the baby and anything that concerns them. That's why you don’t know if something has changed between him and Anna, if they have talked or anything. You prefer it that way. It’s a sensitive topic to him, but it’s the same for you. You’ve taken the part of trying and being the bigger person, saying you didn't blame her, that you understood her point of view, giving him advice about his relationship with her… and it was in good nature, but… thinking about him and her together has never been easy and you suspect it never will be.

Oh, well… It's hard. Something you should discuss more with Heloise in therapy. She gave you a strawberry lollipop saying it was positive reinforcement for your civilized conversation with Bucky. You wonder what she would have in store for you when you truly become able to talk about and live through the jealousy that takes over you every time a thought of him and Anna together pops into your mind.

You continued going to the support group encounters, you feel like you’re not completely alone anymore, but the group, giving justice to its name, has truly become an important support system for you. Plus, it’s an easy way for you to see Harry regularly, who was pleased to know about things taking a turn to a better path with you and Bucky. You and Harry ended up going to the Hot-Dog trailer next to the group’s place - the one you missed because of the car accident - and then you scheduled for you to finally meet his kids, which you were excited and anxious about, you had heard so much about them you felt like you already knew each one of his little chipmunks, like he called them affectionately.

You had planned for a picnic in their favorite park, but the rainy day forced you to move the party over to the common room at the Tower’s living quarters. Wanda has helped you set everything up, moving the furniture to place the big cloth in the center of the room, spreading pillows to accommodate everyone as you prepared the snacks with all the goodies Harry had told you the kids liked. You also put some toys and games for the kids – and for the adults, who are you kidding? You live amongst children.

That’s where you are now, along with Harry and the vivacious Luna and Jon, the three year olds that make sure to remind you every five minutes that they are turning four in a week. Luna is the spitting image of her father with her dark curls falling graciously over her big brown eyes laced with curiosity as she keeps them glued on you. Jon must’ve taken his looks from his mother, with a lighter tone on his straight short hair and his eyes are green with shades of blue. He seems quieter than Luna, who takes the lead and asks all the questions and tells all the stories, allowing her brother to make a comment or two. In his shyness, he reminds you of his father.

Wanda joins you, and soon so do Steve and Sam, who had arrived from a mission the day before. Tony’s absent on a solo mission of his own, much to the kids' disappointment, which is reinforced by the Iron Man images on both of their shirts. Crazy for kids as much as she is, Nat is there, but she has mostly been giving you the silent treatment lately, as a result of your decision of making the baby’s sex a secret. You can only wonder what she’s been putting Bucky into.

You keep a huge smile on your face as, right in front of you, across the picnic cloth, Wanda uses her powers and the red mist to make moving drawings in the air, prompted by all sorts of excited and loud requests from the kids, whether it’s a dog, a sheep- no, a bigger sheep, an elephant, Iron Man fighting that big purple monster, or daddy with those colored swords he likes…

“They’re called lightsabers. God, how many times do I have to tell you this, guys? Show some respect…” He sighs at your side, looking at you and shaking his head in frustration as he’s completely ignored by his kids, who keep the row of requests to Wanda.

You chuckle; prompting him to smile at you, “They’re really awesome,” you whisper, bumping his sides with your elbow, as everyone else around the cloth seems drawn by the kids energy and interested in Wanda’s little performance.

“They are, aren’t they?” He beams at you, “Thanks for this by the way, they’re having so much fun.”

“Oh, no. I’ve been wanting to meet them for so long,” You dismiss him with a wave, before grabbing a handful of popcorn. Chewing on it, you cackle at Wanda’s latest art: a Chihuahua pulling The Falcon by the wings while Captain America tries to catch them. Sam shots some protests, but the burst of belly laughs from the kids is undeniably contagious.

When you look back at Harry, you’re still laughing as the others, but he is not. Instead, he’s observing you while holding a half smile on his lips, “What?” You frown at him.

“You look happier. I like it. It’s a great look on you.”

You offer him a wide grin as you feel a wave of warmth overcoming your chest… and rushing to your cheeks.

“Daddy,” the high-pitched, but sweet voice makes you both turn to Luna, now directing her narrowed eyes and full attention to both of you as she stands on her knees over the pillow.

“Yes, chipmunk?” He says, bringing a plastic cup of orange juice to his mouth.

“Is Y/N the girl you’ve been talking to on your phone all the time and then stay with that funny smile on your face and does like this?” She exaggerates a deep and long sigh to show what she’s talking about.

Harry chokes on the juice, as all eyes snap to the direction where you two are seated. Wanda hides a laugh with her hand and Nat sips on her coffee, but you glimpse the devilish smirk on her lips. Sam and Steve pretend to focus on the little checkers board they’ve been playing with when you glance at them.

“Luna!” Harry shrieks, trying to glare at the little girl between coughs.

You frown at his embarrassment, a disproportionate reaction on your opinion.

“What? What have I said wrong?” Luna pouts adorably and stands on her feet, crossing her arms in front of her little body.

“Daddy didn’t want us to know, yet, Luna.” Little Jon whispers loudly, pulling the hem of his sister’s shirt.

Wanda laughs fully and loudly while Nat sports a proud smirk at the two siblings, probably pleased by the spying skills the kids are showing.

“Jon!” Harry exasperates, eyes roaming around everyone in the circle, before turning to you, dumbfounded and red as a pepper, “That’s not-this isn’t-”

“Calm down, Harry.” You laugh, placing a hand on his shoulder.

You’re sure you’re not the girl the kids are referring to, that’s not what your relationship with Harry is about, but he hasn’t told you anything about someone that makes him sigh and now you’re curious, especially because he’s acting like a deer caught in the headlights. Before you can torture him with teasing you hear someone cleaning their throat, catching your look.

Bucky stands by the door, with a bag in his hands and an unreadable expression on his face.

“Bucky,” you exclaim, feeling the inevitable tug at the corner of your lips, but trying to ignore your heart skipping a beat. How long has he been there? Has he heard anything? As happy as you are to see him, you can’t help the hint of apprehension at the pit of your stomach that makes your heart falter, you know he still has reservations towards Harry and you really don’t want him to assume anything, which is bullshit, of course, you and Bucky have nothing and if you wanted you could date whoever, of course, that’s definitely settled between the two of you. Was the room this hot before?

Bucky nods timidly at you and at the others, who chant their greetings all at once: “Hey, Buck,” “Hey, Man,” “Barnes”.

“Come on in, we ́re having a picnic,” You wave him in from your spot, swallowing down any trepidation and kicking the inner rambling off of your mind, focusing on his presence only.

“Oh no, it's ok. I can come another time,” He answers in a small voice. Recoiling his shoulders, he presses his lips in a tense line.

The protests from everybody – except from Harry, who seems to be trying to make himself invisible at your side- resound around the place while the kids fasten their curious eyes on the new person in the room.

Knowing damn well how uncomfortable Bucky is capable of feeling when he’s in the spotlight, you raise your brows at Wanda, which is enough to make her promptly go back to entertaining the kids, now lifting the food over the cloth to the air. The sounds of bewilderment coming from the tiny little creatures distract everyone else as you get up, using the sofa behind you as a support for your growing body.

“Come on, Barnes, you made a pregnant woman get up from the floor just to drag you by the ear. I’m a mom now, I can do that,” You taunt, getting closer to him, twisting your expression into a mocked scowl.

Letting out a heart-fluttering smile that ignites one of your own, he relents, stepping into the room and shooting that fondly look at your growing belly, like he does every time he sees you.

“Hi,” you softly say when he stands inches from you.

“Hey, I called you a couple of times, and you didn't answer my messages, I got worried,” He cringes.

“I must’ve left my phone in my room, but it's ok, Bucky, you don't need an excuse to drop by,” You assure in a teasing manner, before your eyes drop to the bag in his hand, “What do we have here?”

“Oh, on my way over, I saw this and I couldn't help it.” With a broad smile on his face, he pulls the object from the bag.

Your eyes go round and you practically squeal, grabbing the little colorful unicorn, “This is amazing, Bucky, so damn cute. And fluffy.” You squeeze the soft little stuffy against your chest.

He chuckles, brushing a lock of his own hair behind his ear, “I bought it for the peanut, but I suppose you can play with it, too.”

You roll your eyes and pull your tongue out playfully.

“Hello.”

At the tiny voice who takes you and him out of your little bubble, you see his eyes going comically round, before he lowers his head to follow the sound. Luna stands beside him, with her hands laced behind her back and mischievous interest plastered on her sweet features.

“Hi.” His stumpy answer is a bit more than a whisper.

“I’m Luna,” the girl says her name proudly to him, “I’ll be four years old in a week. What’s your name?”

“Bucky.” He replies shortly.

As little Jon runs to stand beside his sister, you choose to remain a silent observant of the scene with great curiosity, and from the corner of your eyes you catch the rest of the adults in the room doing the exact same thing.

“This is Jon. He's my brother.”

“We’re twins,” Jon announces.

“But I’m older,” Luna reminds him.

“And that’s daddy.” The boy points at Harry, who quickly and shamelessly looks up to the ceiling, trying to cover up the fact he’s been watching them.

“Ok.” Bucky purses his lips and nods, seeming ready to bolt away from the interaction.

In fact, you can’t recall having seen him talking to a kid before, except for maybe Clint’s and Scott’s kids, but he always preferred to remain at least one arm’s length away from them. You know this has everything to do with the fact he still struggles to think children would want anything to do with him...

“Your hand is shiny.” Luna states straightforwardly.

As you feel Bucky freezing beside you decide to step in, but probably not in the way he would want you to, “His whole arm is shiny, Luna.” You whisper, leaning down and half covering your mouth like you were telling her a secret. You choose to ignore the betrayed look you receive from Bucky.

The information makes the little girl gasp and stare longingly at said arm, covered by the long sleeve of his Henley.

“Oh, you ́re the Winter Soldier,” Jon yells, pointing at Bucky with astonishment as his jaw drops.

The nickname Bucky used to dread so much, but which in time - as he formed his name as an avenger - got a different and more positive meaning to everyone else, sounds nothing but adorable in the kid’s soft voice when said in such an enthusiastic way. It doesn’t go unnoticed by you the phantom of a smile that threatens to curl Bucky's lips.

“Oooo, I know you,” Luna grins, bouncing on her little legs, “You're Captain America ́s boyfriend.”

“Oh, my God! Luna!” Harry mortified attempt of reprimanding his daughter is muffled by the thunder of loud laughs filling the room, including one of your own. Horror twists Harry’s features as Bucky and Steve share widened staggered looks.

“Don ́t laugh,” Luna turns to the party, putting her hands on each side of her waist and stomping her little foot to the ground as the laughs are swiftly held back at the respect the small figure imposes, “Daddy said it’s ok that boys date. And girls, too.” Her features turn into a scowl.

You glance at Harry and you glimpse the pride which his daughter’s words brings to his expression being swiftly replaced by apprehension when he spots Steve.

“And your daddy is right,” Steve straightens up his posture for Harry’s relief and then putting on his Captain voice, he turns to Luna again, “But Bucky and I are not boyfriends, we’re buddies.”

You think Sam will explode when he puts his hand over his mouth to hold back the laugh even harder.

“Maybe it's a secret, Luna. Just like dad ́s.” Jon innocently shrugs and that's what kills everybody’s strong will and the sound of multiple laughs bubbles into the room again.

Even Bucky has given in and sports a small but beautiful smile on his face as his head shakes slowly and warm heartedly. You smile right back at him when your eyes meet and you notice how much more at ease he seems.

“Aright, alright. You two get back here.” Harry commands.

“Ok,” Luna answers and starts to move towards the party again, but not before she laces her chubby little hand with Bucky’s metal one to pull him with her, being followed close by her brother.

When he looks back at you, being pulled by the girl, there’s no plea for help or embarrassment on his face; he only keeps smiling and shrugs. Your stomach flutters inside you as you take a deep breath in.

Luna makes Bucky sit in the middle of her and Jon, as you sit where you were before, beside Harry, placing the little unicorn between you and him. Everyone catches on conversations or eating and drinking.

“Oh, Bucky. Have you met Harry, already?” You ask, trying to act cool, especially about the fact he has seen him before at Steve’s party and not mentioning all the times Bucky has asked you about your relationship with Harry.

“Hey,” Bucky nods and extends a hand, leaning over to catch Harry’s from across the cloth, “We’ve seen each other before, but I think we haven’t been introduced yet.” He says, pressing his lips in a polite smile.

“Hi, yeah, that’s right,” Harry answers in a matching polite tone, “It’s such a pleasure, I’m a huge fan, of course. I’m sorry for my chipmunks-”

“Ugh, daddy.” Luna, huffs.

Before any of the grown-ups could add anything else both the kids launch on Bucky. Leave it to kids to dissipate any kind of awkward situations…

“Is your arm heavy?” Luna leans on Bucky’s shoulder, resting her chin over her hands there.

“A bit, yes.”

“Are you strong, Mr. Bucky?” This time Jon asks from Bucky’s other side.

“Of course I am.”

“Stronger than him?” Luna cocks her head towards Steve, who snaps his look up from the checkers board.

“Sure, he’s all jacked now, but deep down he’s nothing but a skinny little angry man…”

The super soldiers make a face to each other and you chuckle.

“What about him?” Jon points at Sam.

“Kids, please…” Bucky’s eyes roll as he lets out a smug snort.

“You wish, tin can,” Sam shots a handful of pop-corn on his direction.

“And them?” Luna points at Wanda and Nat.

“Well…”

Attentive to the scene so far, you spot the red mist Wanda casually pours from her elegant hands as Nat cracks her fingers, staring blankly at Bucky.

“Definitely not.” He turns widened eyes at Luna, enticing a little giggle to come out of her lips and a laugh of you.

“You’re not stronger than Iron Man.” Jon affirms, rather than ask.

“Hey!” Bucky playfully yelps, as the boy places his little hand on his chin, furrowing his eyebrows as if he’s concentrating real hard to come up with Bucky’s next challenger.

“Oh! Are you stronger than daddy?” He finally yells, partnering up with his sister as the two people who made her father choke on his juice that day.

“Ahm… I don’t know-I,” Bucky fumbles with his answer as Harry keeps struggling for air.

“I know how we can find out,” Luna swiftly raises her hand, looking excitedly at Jon.

You pat Harry’s back as he coughs harder.

“Daddy can lift me and Jon on each arm, I bet you can’t.” She cocks a daring eyebrow at Bucky as Jon eagerly nods his head and gets up.

“Oh, yeah?” Bucky raises his eyebrow back at her, before turning his eyes at Harry asking for permission, which is granted with a nod and a smile. Now that the latter knows Luna’s idea doesn’t involve him getting his ass kicked he seems a lot more relaxed.

Then, with an exaggerated grunt, Bucky grabs and lifts the two little creatures by their feet using only his metal hand. The squeaks and giggles bubbling out of their lungs mingle with Bucky’s groans as he tosses the twins around as if they weigh nothing.

“Who’s the strongest person in this room, huh?” He challenges, as he holds them by their behinds and presses them into the air as a couple of dumbbells in each hand.

“You, Mr. Bucky,” They both yell in unison between little screams and loud giggles.

Your heart melts and the smile on your face is wide when you realize that, just like that, he also becomes their favorite person in the room. You totally get it, who can be better judges of character than kids? Besides, falling in love with Bucky is that easy and inevitable, you're one to talk...

The kids keep themselves glued on Bucky’s side all the time, asking questions, proposing games that he promptly accepts, offering him food, telling him stories about themselves and about their father – to Harry’s very dismay… They even get him to show them part of his arm, gaining claps of admiration from Luna.

At some point you reach for the jar of juice to find it empty, but before you even think of standing up to go grab some more, you feel the jar being promptly stolen from your hand.

“I got this,” Bucky winks, getting up, as Sam and Nat finally get a bit of the kids attention, doing some magic trick with a few cards for them as Harry watches.

“It’s ok, Bucky-”

“Na-ha. You stay comfortably there.” He gets up, glaring at you to show he means business.

You let out an annoyed huff – only a stunt to hide how you’re secretly loving the attention coming from him. Wanda calls on your bullshit aiming you a teasing smile that you choose to not indulge.

“Steve, get your lazy ass here and help,” Bucky calls, walking inside the kitchen, as the kids giggle at his choice of words.

~~~

Bucky places the jar on the sink and, before he could walk to the fridge to grab more oranges to squeeze, a wall of enhanced muscles captures him in an impossibly tight hug.

“Ugh, what’s that for, punk?” He grunts, but promptly hugs his friend back.

“You’re gonna be a dad,” Steve croaks out.

Bucky lets out a quiet laughter. He hadn’t seen Steve yet, not after the ultrasound when Bucky’s real feelings towards the news became clear. He guesses his friend wasn’t really sure of what his decision would be to actually congratulate him and express his emotions about it before, “And you're gonna be an uncle.” Bucky beams.

Steve only whimpers and tightens the hold around his friend.

“Alright, alright,” Bucky pats his back and let goes. “This is why everybody thinks we're a couple.” He adds, without taking the smile off his face.

Steve chuckles and shakes Bucky by his shoulder, with his eyes clearly red, the Captain wipes a tear with the back of his hand “You deserve this,'' he says.

No more words need to be said as Bucky’s smile falls but his eyes remain soft and he only nods as an answer. The two friends exchange meaningful and watery gazes before they move to go grabbing the oranges and the necessary utensils, forming a team side by side by the sink to slice the fruits and squeeze the juice using the squeezer.

“I know Y/N has banned you from telling anyone what you two are having, but you won't deny this information to your oldest pal here, are you?” Steve nudges Bucky as he slices the oranges.

“By the image on the screen, it sure looked like a kid.” Bucky keeps squeezing the oranges, unaffected.

“Ah, come on, Buck.”

“Not a chance, pal. If I didn´t give in to Nat, you won’t make me talk, either.” He turns to Steve, “And stop with the damn puppy eyes, you’ll have to wait, like everyone else.”

“Spoilsport,” Steve grunts his displeasure of being kept in the shadows about the baby’s sex before the smile comes back to his face, “You´re happy, aren´t you?” He softly asked after taking a good look at his friend.

“Like I’ve never thought I would be. Not even back in our days. It’s funny…” Bucky’s eyebrows furrow as a small breathy laugh comes out of his lips, “A couple of days ago I had no idea this kind of feeling, this sweet agonizing happiness, existed. Now it’s all I feel, all the time.”

“Sounds intense,” Steve chuckles, clearly pleased, “You and Y/N? What’s the deal with the two of you now?”

Bucky clears his throat and bites the insides of his cheeks, “We agreed we should focus on the baby. Let go of what happened before in the past.” He keeps his eye focused on the task of squeezing oranges.

“Oh…and how ́s that working out for you?”

“Good”

Steve stops what he’s doing altogether and turns to face Bucky, placing the hand holding the knife on his side, “Are you lying? Is this something we do now? Lie to each other?” He waves the knife on the space between them, “You couldn’t even be around her before, it can ́t be changed all of a sudden.”

Bucky shakes his head as he huffs. The damn punk… “It’s… I don´t know,” He turns to face Steve as well, “A mix of heaven and hell. Fighting with her was easier, to be honest.” He snickers, “I could handle that. And now, we talk, actually talk without fighting or anything… I get to be around her without jumping on each other’s throat and now I can really, really see her. She’s still her but, I don’t know…different,” He turns back to the sink, grabbing another half orange to squeeze as he talks, “She seems more content, level headed, elegant…” He sighs, “She looks even more beautiful each day that passes… fucking sexier…” His whisper is barely audible as his eyelids close for a moment, “It must be the pregnancy, I don ́t know, haven't you noticed it?” He looks back at Steve to find the latter holding back a smile.

“Seems the same good old Y/N for me,” Steve shrugs, “Maybe a little more… joyful?” He asks himself, “Yeah, but what do I know, I ́m not in love with her.” He resumes slicing the oranges, acting nonchalantly.

“Stop it.” Bucky glares at him.

Steve throws his arms to the air and scrunches up his chin as a sign of resignation.

After a few moments more of silence as they work together, Bucky briskly stops and turns to his friend again, “It's just, it's complicated,” His eyes shut as he scratches his eyebrow, “With the baby, and all.” He sighs, looking down, “I don´t wanna ruin the peace we’re finally achieving between us by trying again with her, but God…” He looks up to the ceiling before and his eyes close before he looks down at Steve, who has stopped his work to pay attention on the man beside him, “I have to physically restrain myself from kissing the fuck out of her every time I lay my eyes on her, every time she comes closer and I smell her perfume...goddammit…” He confesses for the first time out loud, before turning to the sink to lean his hands on the marble taking in a deep breath, “She said we didn ́t work as a couple, and she’s right, isn’t she…” He murmurs.

Steve places a kind hand on his shoulder, “I know the way it ended was rough and then everything else that happened after that, but everyone could see how you two loved each other, Bucky…” He softly says as Bucky remains silent, staring down, “And I don ́t know, you both seem like growing from the place you’ve been, when you’ve hurt each other…”

Silence lingers between them as Bucky feels his jaw clenching. He loves you. Of course he does, he always has and everything he did to try and deny this only resulted in pain. And that’s what scares the shit out of him. He knows you two agreed on trying to not focus on each other as anything more than parents, and as much as he agreed on it, the all-consuming love he feels for you only grows each day he stays at your side, each time he talks to you and he watches you becoming the mother of his child…

Fuck, he doesn’t want to ruin everything. Not again.

“Buck, everything will be alright, I’m sure,” Steve seems to hear his thoughts as he tries to comfort him.

Bucky forces a smile at his effort and squeezes the last orange, before wiping his hand with a knapping hung on the wall. Giggles coming from the living room catches their attention.

“Do you think there's something there,” Bucky tentatively asks, eyes stuck on the door that leads to the living room, “With Harry, I mean.” He clarifies in a low voice, when his eyes meet Steve’s.

Steve sighs before shrugging, his forehead creasing, “They seem close.”

Bucky nods slowly, worrying his lower lip between his teeth, “I heard his little girl, Luna, asking if Y/N was the girl he’s been-” He sulks down a harsh intake of breath, “I wouldn't blame him…” His lips form a taut line.

When Steve presents him with silence and something that resembles empathy in his eyes for him – old Steve Rogers’s style- Bucky clears his throat and moves to pour the juice on the Jar.

“Come on, I’m gonna say goodbye to them, I have to go.” He adds, turning towards the door with the Jar in his hand.

“Where to?” Steve cocks his head, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m gonna meet Anna in a few.” Bucky mutters as his shoulders round downwards, “I called her yesterday.”

“Oh.”

“You think I shouldn’t.” Bucky states.

“No, not at all.” Steve shakes his head. “I just wasn’t expecting to hear this now after-” Steve licks his lips and nods once, “I do think you should talk to her, though, Bucky. Set things straight. I know how important she’s been to you and I know it hurts you how things played out between the two of you. Now that you cleared your head a bit, maybe it’s the right time to really listen to her and tell her how you feel, too.��

Steve… always the voice of reason. Of his reason.

“I know.” Bucky nods. He needs to set things straight once and for all.

~~~

Chapter 18 coming soon.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes series #bucky series #bucky fanfiction #bucky angst #bucky barnes angst #angst

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arotechno · 4 years

Text

The Heartless: Chapter 2

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Chapter II: in which plans are made

The following day, I dodged further confrontation with Bertrand with practiced ease and crept out of the house and down to the local bowyer’s shop down the road with my proverbial tail between my legs, in the mood to sulk. The shop always smelled faintly of sawdust and freshly cut wood, and Marley always had some new project sprawled across her battered workbench. Many years ago, she had been the one to make me my bow, after I wouldn’t stop showing up at her door asking to see what she was working on. Its strong and sturdy construction still held firm today, something she always told me was the mark of a true craftsman. I had helped her cut the wood myself, barely tall enough to see over the top of the workbench and having to stand on a crate to properly reach the saw.

At the sound of the door, Marley emerged from the back room, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her arm.

“Ace, what a pleasant surprise!”

She came around to lean back against the counter while I made myself at home in the chair by the front door.

“What’s troubling you?” she asked.

I looked up to see a knowing smile on Marley’s face and grimaced.

“How did you know something was troubling me?” I questioned.

Marley chuckled. “Please, it’s written all over your face!”

Hastily, I attempted to neutralize my expression, but based on the amused look that flashed across Marley’s face, it likely only made things worse.

“Well, spill,” she commanded, wiping her hands on her work apron. “You’ve already waltzed in like you own the place, so out with it.”

Ignoring her usual taunts, I sighed and rested my elbows on my knees.

“I ran into a little trouble last night,” I began hesitantly.

Marley’s eyebrows jumped into her hairline, revealing the wrinkles that were beginning to take shape on her forehead. “Oh? Do tell.”

I launched into a retelling of the previous night, from the moment I woke up after supper until my squabble with Bertrand, leaving out the specific details of my dream. Throughout the tale, Marley listened intently, nodding along.

“It sounds like you were in the right place at the right time,” she commented when I had finished. “But just be glad it was just a couple of kids looking for trouble, and nothing more than that.”

“That’s all it ever is, Marley,” I countered. “And the fact that it’s just some kids says nothing about the potential danger.”

“Well, of course. But there’s a marked difference between a few stray troublemakers and a planned attack.”

“You don’t realize what kids are capable of. Someone could have died.”

“I know, Ace.” Marley held up a hand to halt my anxious rambling. “You’re always on edge, always anticipating some danger that isn’t sure to ever come. Is that Bertrand’s influence on you?”

I shook my head. “Bertrand doesn’t get it. All he cares about is breaking the curse.”

Marley sighed. “He’s an old man, set in his ways. Heaven knows what he’s been put through in his life. You’re the only person who ever talks to him.”

I shrugged glumly. “We don’t quite understand each other.”

“Well, understanding takes a lot of work. We all know that better than anyone.” Marley pushed off the counter and gestured to the back room. “You want to help me sand down some wood for a while? You can’t sulk if you’re working.”

I smiled. “Sure,” I responded, and rose from my chair to follow Marley into the back of the shop.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, the rift between me and Bertrand grew steadily wider, and the little old house buzzed with static whenever both of us were in it. We rarely spoke, save for a few muttered pleasantries in the mornings and at supper. Every night, I crept up to the big oak tree down the road and perched there, watching for Petra, and sometimes I saw her dart out of the woods with another sack full of looted food. Sometimes she saw me up in the tree and paused, raising a finger to her lips before running onward.

Knife Boy never followed her. Sometimes I wished he would.

The weather was growing warmer and the days longer, which only gave me more time to think and Bertrand more time to agonize over breaking a centuries-old curse. Throughout all this time, the nightmares never ceased. Knife Boy’s smug, slimy grin eventually faded, unmasking the demons I had kept under lock and key for years. Some of them were creations of my own mind, but by far the most harrowing ones were true.

“And then,” Basil whispered, pausing for effect, “when they turned the corner, the whole village had disappeared!”

There was silence. Basil looked back and forth around the circle, anticipating a reaction. Finally, Carita spoke up next to me.

“That wasn’t very scary,” she complained, rolling her eyes. “Why would a village just disappear?”

I saw Basil stare at me out of the corner of his eye and smirk. “I don’t know, Carita,” he replied. “Ace seemed pretty scared to me.”

I felt my face heat up as several pairs of eyes landed on me. I couldn’t be sure if my expression really betrayed my fear, or if Basil was just pretending so the other children would think he was a good storyteller. “D-Did not!” I cried.

“It doesn’t matter, I have a scarier story,” announced Marcus, “And this one’s true.” A chorus of gasps rang out from around the circle. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes--I was never Marcus’ biggest fan--but I quickly sobered up as he began his tale. “It happened hundreds of years ago. There’s a legend that says there was once an evil, terrible wizard who put a curse on our entire kingdom. For the rest of time, there would be children born in the kingdom without hearts.” He paused for dramatic effect, to striking results. “Most people think they’re really out there, probably living at the edge of the kingdom somewhere.”

“I-Is that true?” someone piped up from somewhere across the circle. I sat mostly frozen, combatting feelings of otherness and plucking blades of grass out of the dirt absentmindedly so Marcus would think I was simply uninterested.

Marcus scoffed, “Of course it’s true. My grandpa told it to me. But he said they don’t feel any emotions, so it’s dangerous to go there.”

Hesitantly, I stole a glance across the circle at Basil and was surprised to find him staring at his feet out in front of him, mouth set in a deep frown. It was the quietest he’d ever been.

I woke up with a familiar crick in my neck and an ache in my hip from sleeping curled up on the uncomfortable cot. I could hear Bertrand tinkering away in his study, where he had likely been all night for what had to be at least the fourth day in a row. My nightclothes were soaked with sweat, so after a humble breakfast of a slice of old bread and some jam, I peeled them off and wrung them through the wash before hanging them outside on the line to dry.

It was still early, just after sunrise, so the Village of the Heartless was quiet, with just a few people outside tending their gardens that had been pillaged overnight by groundhogs and squirrels. Dawn was as serene as the Village ever got, after the danger of night had lifted but before most people awoke. I stood there outside the house for a long time, soaking in some much needed peace. Outside, the tension between me and Bertrand could not reach me, and neither could the nightmares that plagued my sleep.

Nevertheless, my lingering thoughts followed me all the way from the front door to the back garden behind the house. Dewdrops clung to the heads of lettuce that had continued to sprout overnight, and against the wall grew the selection of herbs that Bertrand kept for his potions. I walked amongst the rows and filled in holes dug by chipmunks with the toe of my shoe, grumbling all the while.

“Ace!” Came the call of a familiar voice from down the road. I turned to see Petra jogging up to the fence, oozing with her usual enthusiasm and zest for life. She came to a screeching halt at the garden gate and shot me a grin.

“You’re up and about early,” I remarked.

“I could say the same to you.” Petra stepped up between the wooden slats of the fence and leaned over the edge. “You said we could have target practice this morning, don’t you remember?”

Realization sprouted within me. Ever since I first caught Petra sneaking around and getting into trouble, I’d resolved to teach her to shoot a bow and arrow, for self-defense purposes. If she was going to run around committing petty theft throughout the kingdom despite my warnings, I couldn’t exactly let her do so undefended. However, my dream had caused our plans for that morning to completely slip my mind.

Our chosen practice area was a secluded grove at the forest’s edge, just a brief walk from the far end of town furthest from the village gates. There, the trees grew sturdy and untouched by agriculture, perfect for hanging up targets I had drawn onto old sheets of burlap. When we arrived that morning, I passed Petra my bow and arrow and took several deliberate steps back.

My body was present in the clearing, but my mind drifted elsewhere, wandering back to some distant meadow that now lived only in my subconscious. Each day, the nightmares became harder to shake, and the gnawing feeling in my gut became harder to ignore.

"Ace? Are you paying attention?”

I snapped back to the target range, my eyes darting around the clearing until they found purchase; Petra was staring at me incredulously over her shoulder, bow hanging limp at her side.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Did you say something?” I inquired, trying to make my voice sound casual.

Petra frowned. “I asked if my form was better that time, but you were spacing out again.” She paused and turned her body to face me properly. “Are you alright?”

I was unsure how to answer. I’d never told Petra very much about Basil, or anyone in my home village for that matter--my stories were always intentionally vague, leaving out names and other personal details to avoid revealing too much. But it became clear to me now that as Petra got older and I grew more visibly pensive, the mystery became far more frustrating than enthralling.

“I’m alright, just thinking.” I dropped down and sat cross-legged in the dirt.

Petra seemed unconvinced.

“Thinking?” she questioned, coming to sit beside me. “What about?”

“I’ve been having quite a lot of dreams lately, mostly of home.” I paused, letting the truth roll around on my tongue for a few moments. Even amongst fellow Heartless, I still was not used to sharing the grittier details of my childhood, although I knew I was likely to be understood.

“I had a friend,” I started. “Basil. I haven’t spoken to him since the day I left. I’m not too sure he’s still alive.”

“Oh,” Petra whispered, seeming to sink into herself ever so slightly. “You’ve never spoken about him.”

I shrugged. “I don’t like to talk about what happened. He was like a brother to me.”

Petra hummed softly in understanding. She picked a small twig up off the ground and began drawing patterns in the dirt. A few moments passed in companionable silence before she tilted her head to look at me again and mused, “You should come with me next time I go into town. You know as well as I do that there is more to the world than what the Village has to offer.”

“I don’t know about that.” I offered her a watery smile, chuckling under my breath. “You do remember me telling you to stop doing that, don’t you?”

“Well, we don’t have to steal anything.” Petra returned to drawing in the soil. “Just to take your mind off things, you know?”

For a moment, I hesitated. I had never left the Village or its woods in the seven years since my arrival, and the thought of entering back into a world that had long ago driven me away struck a fearful chord in me, ghoulish fingers plucking my bones like the strings of a skeletal guitar. However, the kingdom of Amistadia was large, and the chances of me being recognized at its southern limits were slim.

“Fine,” I eventually conceded. Petra gaped at me in surprise. “But only on the condition that we restrict our travel to the south and east, as my home village, Swallow’s Point, is in the north.”

Petra leapt to her feet. “Yes! Of course! We’ll go wherever you want!”

“Right, not so fast.” I stood up and dusted the dirt from my pants, then pointed at my bow, which lay discarded on the ground where Petra had been sitting. “First, show me your form again. This time, I’ll pay attention.”

Petra beamed. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

#The Heartless #aro #aromantic #aro writing #aro writers #writing #writeblr #aspec writers #aspec writing #op

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sdottkrames · 3 years

Text

@comfortember Prompt 15: campfire

Summary: Tony takes Peter camping to watch a meteor shower

Notes: I adore space. Stars and constellations are so fascinating to me!!

Fun fact: The Leonids is actually happening in two days, and I thought that was really cool, so I incorporated that into this fic.

Also: the song is Jupiter by Sleeping at Last. I've recently become OBSESSED and their album Atlas 1 (especially the space songs) have become my Irondad muse. So enjoy!

Read on AO3: Here

While collecting the stars, I connected the dots

I don't know who I am, but now I know who I'm not

I'm just a curious speck that got caught up in orbit

***

Make my messes matter

Make this chaos count

_________________________________

Tony’s concentration on the book he was reading was interrupted by a scream from his wife. Even though he was retired, he always kept the nanosuit close by (old habits die hard), and he had his gauntlet up in an instant, ready to fight. Then he looked to the window and saw what had made her scream.

He rolled his eyes. “Let him in, Friday.”

“Sorry, Pepper,” Peter said as he climbed through the window, but his laughter made it hard to believe his apology.

“Don’t do that, Peter! I might not have the heart condition Tony’s always griping about,” she shot a grin to Tony, who pretended to be offended, “but I would rather stay away from one.”

“Duly noted.” Peter shed his coat and sauntered over to the couch, cuddling up to Tony with no embarrassment. There had been a time that the easy affection between the two seemed impossible, and Tony was forever grateful those times were long past them. He put his arm around the boy, pulling him closer and picking up his book again.

“What’re you reading?” Peter murmured.

Tony showed him the cover, a book on astronomy and the physics of stars, and was surprised to see Peter’s face light up.

“I love astronomy!” he said.

“Really? I used to, but I started to hate it. For obvious reasons. I was hoping that reading about it more might make me hate it less.”

Peter hummed. “I probably should hate space, too, but it was always my thing with Ben. I guess I just refused to let it go.”

Tony could understand that. He’d never had any particular connection to space, just an idle interest in it as a kid. He’d started looking down whenever he was out at night, unable to look at the black expanse above him without seeing destruction and death. His experiences in the wormhole were soon joined by red dust and grey ash that seared his skin with grief and guilt. He had even started hating the moon.

But Peter was back, and Tony was trying to work through his hatred of and anxiety from space. Hence the book.

“You know, there’s a meteor shower tomorrow night. The Leonids. I’ve never seen one.” Peter sighed wistfully.

They continued their night as usual, but the gears in Tony’s head had started turning. He had an idea.

“What are you planning?” Pepper asked him skeptically that night as she got into her pajamas. “You have that look in your eye you get when you have an idea.”

“I was thi-in abou ta-in Peer sta-azing.” Tony was brushing his teeth, so it came out garbled and unintelligible, but Pepper spoke fluent Tony nonsense, so she understood.

“I think that’s a great idea. There’s that campsite close by that we took Morgan to that one summer. The stars were pretty spectacular there.”

Tony smiled at the memory around his toothbrush, and retreated to the bathroom to spit so he could talk normally.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Just for tomorrow night. You can handle things here, right?” He teased.

Pepper rolled her eyes. “As if I don’t handle things all day every day.”

Tony kissed the corner of her smile. “You’re not wrong.”

***

Peter sleepily shuffled into the kitchen the next morning, grunting a greeting unceremoniously at Tony, who chuckled and put a plate with a pile of pancakes and some bacon in front of him. Peter perked up instantly at the prospect of food, and dug in with gusto.

“I will never understand how you can eat that much.”

Peter grinned around a mouthful of pancake, his cheeks sticking out like a chipmunk’s and forcing Tony to use every ounce of self control to keep from pinching them. He was sure Peter wouldn’t appreciate that.

“What can I say? I’m a growing boy!” Peter took a moment to swallow. “Thanks for the breakfast, by the way.”

Tony's amazing self control apparently didn't extend to ruffling Peter’s hair. “Anytime, kiddo,” he said. rubbing the kid's curly locks. “So, I was thinking, Pete. You want to go see the meteor shower tonight?”

Peter paused in his chewing, eyes wide with excitement and disbelief. “What?!”

“Well, I just figured since you said you’d never seen a meteor shower, and I happen to know of a really good camping spot, that you might want to go.”

Peter nodded, jumping up and crushing Tony into a hug, squeaking a thank you. The older hero squeezed him gently. “You’re welcome, bud.”

After finishing his food and putting his plate in the sink, Peter excitedly ran to his room to pack a bag for camping. It was a quick drive to the site, so they lounged around, watching a movie with Morgan and enjoying lunch as a family before they decided to leave.

Once everything was packed in the car, they were off. They stopped quickly at a grocery store because Peter insisted on hot dogs. Tony was more inclined to order takeout and eat it by the fire, but Peter had insisted on roasting hot dogs over the flames, and of course s'mores because “what camping trip is complete without s’mores, Tony?” Tony was quickly learning he had no self control when it came to Peter, so he ended up agreeing.

It was a quick drive, and Tony reveled in the easy conversation and camaraderie between him and his kid. He never got tired of just talking and spending time with Peter, and it definitely helped distract from the slight worry in his chest about spending a night staring at space.

They pulled into the campsite and Peter stretched as he got out. Tony let him pull out the tent. Being Tony Stark’s, it was no ordinary tent. It was huge, for one; Tony was pretty sure at least six of the Avengers had stayed in it one mission. It also had the comfiest blow up mattresses, and a built in speaker system that connected to Friday.

Peter took one look as they laid it out, rolled his eyes, and mumbled something about glamping.

“Yeah, I know, Underoos, this isn’t the typical camping tent. But I saved the world, lost an arm, all that jazz. I think I deserve a little comfort.”

Peter let out a laugh. “Mmmmhmmmm. Sure. Are you sure it’s not just cause you’re old?”

Tony gasped in mock offense. “Insubordination. I’m eating all your marshmallows.”

Peter didn’t look concerned as he hammered the stakes into place. “Uh huh, okay,” he grinned.

They made quick work of the tent, and even quicker work making the fire. Peter made it a competition gathering firewood, and Tony called him a cheater for climbing up a tree to get some bigger limbs.

“Show off,” he muttered as Peter flipped from the top of a tree, landing perfectly. “You’re like a cat, kid.”

Peter grinned, and they got to work making the fire. It blazed, warm and bright, and they roasted hot dogs and marshmallows as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky.

“Oh, Tony, look!”

Tony glanced up just in time to see a star streak across the sky, and he couldn’t help but notice it’s beauty despite how his heart started thumping in his ears.

A hand slipped into his, stemming the panic.

“You’re here. You’re okay,” Peter whispered, and Tony took a shaky breath. “Did you know that shooting stars are little bits of debris from outer space? They enter the atmosphere and burn up. Sometimes they end up falling to the ground, but usually they just burn and disappear.”

Tony nodded. He had read that somewhere as a kid. Peter pointed to a group of stars.

“That’s the constellation Andromeda. See that blurry spot in the middle?” Tony nodded again. “That’s an entire galaxy. It’s amazing how we can see it so well this far away.”

Peter continued to talk quietly, spouting off facts that Ben had taught him or that he’d learned from class. A strange sort of peace filled Tony as Peter's voice swirled with the crackling of the fire, replacing the panic in his heart.

“Tell me about Ben,” he whispered eventually.

Peter let out a little sigh. It wasn’t sad, more wistful than anything. “He was the best. You know this already, but he was the reason I became Spider-Man. He was kind, he cared about everybody he met, and he always made time for me. He was my hero.” Peter paused, and his voice went quiet. “He would have liked you.”

Tony sniffed back unexpected tears. When Peter first came into his life, he hadn’t known what he meant to Peter for a long time, but he’d known he wasn’t the kid’s dad and uncle, and he had been so worried Peter felt like he was trying to replace them or something.

“I’d’ve been honored, and know I would have liked him too,” he finally answered.

“You know, you remind me a lot of him. There was always a huge hole when he died, and you obviously didn’t fill the hole completely. Only he could. But you filled a different hole. You made it easier." Peter squeezed Tony's hand. "You still do. I’m glad I have you.”

All the fear, the sorrow, the worry, every mess he made and every bit of chaos that came with raising a child was worth it in that moment. He squeezed Peter’s hand, telling his kid thank you without saying it.

The fire crackled, the warmth washing over them and creating such a sense of peace that, combined with Peter’s hand in his, made it impossible for Tony to feel scared anymore.

And above them, the stars rained down.

#comfortember #comfortember 2020 #i love my iron dad and spidey son #mine

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sunflwrvolume6 · 3 years

Text

to the end [pt 42] fin.

Poor man was outnumbered - on one side, a mother who loves his wife almost more than she loves her son, and on the other, a wife who has cried nearly every hour of every day for the past six days. In my defence, my baby is a year old now.

[ao3 ☆ wattpad]

[previous ☆ masterlist]

For the seventh time this morning, I take one look at my son and promptly burst into tears. Declan stares at me with wide eyes, then his lower lip starts quivering. He cries along with me. I scoop him up and hold him to my chest, still blubbering.

“Fucking Hell, Erin, knock it off.”

“I can’t!” Sniffling, I let Amber take Dec from my arms, and she turns away immediately. He’s giggling again in seconds. “My baby’s one now.”

“C’mon, pet, we can commiserate together.”

I stick my tongue out at my best friend before following Maura into the kitchen. Niall had told me to relax today - mostly because I can’t stop tearing up every time I look at Declan - and I’ve done my best to do just that. It’s hard, though. All I want to do is take over on the decorating.

Harry forced me from the living room the first time I tried. Zayn, having made a rare appearance in our lives, threatened to throw me into the pool the second time I tried - he followed through when I protested. Liam swatted my ass the third time I tried. And Louis... Louis did the worst: He vowed to withhold any and all coffee if I didn’t go away.

The only reason I didn’t attack him was because Maura and Niall intervened. The fact my mother-in-law knows of my love of caffeine (decidedly not an addiction, despite what my husband says) is hilarious. She’s been quick to get me coffee first thing in the morning. She even scolded Niall when he tried to tell me I needed to cut back over the last week.

Declan is no longer a wee thing. He feeds himself solid foods, and he even took his first steps just a few days ago. His personality is beginning to shine through. The only time he’s quiet is when he’s watching Phineas and Ferb. He still sleeps in bed with Niall and me most nights, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We have a guest room if we ever want what we’ve come to call ‘adult time’.

His first word - to my utter displeasure - wasn’t “Mama”. It wasn’t even “Dada”. It was “Nana” after all the FaceTime calls with Maura. Thankfully, “Mama” was next. Niall took it like a champ, but I caught him dozens of times coaching the baby to say “Da”. It was only three months ago that Declan finally did. Niall cried.

I lean against the counter and sip at my tea. Ever since my pregnancy, I’ve actually cut back a bit on coffee, minus the last week, and Maura has recommended so many delicious teas. My favourite one at the moment tastes like Hot Tamales candies. She sits at the table and watches her son cross the room.

“I still can’t believe he got a tattoo,” she remarks once he’s out on the patio, and I snort.

“Neither can I.”

Niall hadn’t told his parents of his plans beforehand, but they certainly found out when I pinned him to the bed the day after I came home. He was half-naked and had expected something else, not me grabbing my phone and taking a photo of his chest. As soon as I sent the picture off with a Your son broke his own rule!, I gave in and gave him what he wanted.

Maura had called that afternoon demanding an explanation. Evidently, Niall had chosen to get the tattoo because I’d been talking about getting a tattoo of Dec’s name if he would. He’d kept saying ‘no’, but then Matt did what he did. Niall figured it would make me feel better.

I was in the nearest parlour two days later, watching as needles left inked kisses on my chest. I even got the Irish version of Declan’s name to match Niall’s perfectly.

Natalie announces her presence with a shout of “Monster is here!” Levi toddles into the kitchen, followed closely by his mother, and I lean down to scoop him up. Peppering his cheek with dozens of kisses, I inhale the scent that only a child can have. Amber stole my baby, so I’m stealing Nat’s.

The exhaustion on her face tells me she doesn’t mind a damn bit. I stifle a giggle then tap a finger against the coffeemaker. She lets out a long, low groan and kisses my cheek as she passes.

“Thanks for coming, Natty. I appreciate it.”

She pins me with an unimpressed look. “Dude, it’s my little chipmunk. Why wouldn’t I come?”

“I dunno, maybe you had other—”

“Gonna stop you there, Casper.” Natalie throws an arm around my shoulders, tugging me into her side. “Your anxiety is lying to you. Not a damn person in this house would rather be anywhere than right here celebrating Dec’s birthday.”

“My baby’s one,” I mumble, sniffling and wiping a stray tear away.

Before anyone can say a word, Levi grabs my cheeks with two chubby hands and presses a wet, open-mouthed kiss to the tip of my nose. I splutter out a protest but can’t stop laughing. I love kids so much; they always know how to cheer someone up. Even if I do end up with toddler slobber in my nostrils.

Maura, Natalie, Amber, and I take the boys out onto the patio for some last-minute sunshine before the party begins. And because the men have all but kicked me out of the house until they’re done decorating. I have to be thankful that Niall is just as particular about placement as I am.

My parents and half-siblings arrive an hour later. Jonna stomps through the house, dropping to sit in a chair on the patio, and I glance up my mom. She only shrugs.

“Dad took her phone because she snuck out of the house.”

“I only went to the park with Andrea!” my half-sister protests.

“Jonna!” I scowl at the teenager before winking quickly. “Haven’t I taught you a damn thing about not getting caught?”

“Erin!”

Jonna’s anger melts, and soon enough, she joins in on the conversation. When we go inside and my mother’s back is turned, I slip Jonna the phone I bought for her to use when she’s here but grounded from electronics. Our parents should really expect less of me - I’m always going to go against what they say if I think it’s unfair. Sneaking out and getting in trouble for it?

Definitely unfair.

All she’d done was hang out with a friend past curfew. I did so much worse when I was her age. Namely, sneaking into bars with lax rules and playing gigs to a bunch of drunks with my friends.

Niall finally deems the decorations appropriate for a good party, and everyone gathers in the living room. As I sit beside my husband, our one-year-old on his lap, I watch our closest family and friends celebrate the momentous occasion with us. My heart aches with the love I hold for these crazy, silly, amazing people who make my life Hell and Heaven wrapped in one.

Only a year ago, I was struggling with being a new mother. I felt alone and isolated from everyone I cared about. I drowned in the idea that they would all be better without me. But I’ve made it an entire year, and everything has settled. I know I can do this. I can be a daughter, a wife, a sister, and - most importantly of all - a mother to the most amazing little boy I’ll ever love.

And if Nat bought my kid a drum-set and play-microphone that plays children’s songs, how can I be angry?

This is my life. It will be to the end.

#to the end #niall horan #niall horan fanfiction #one direction #one direction fanfiction #nhff #1dff #dad!niall #original universe #ou #unnknown writes dumb stuff

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xbillyloomis · 4 years

Text

Baking with their S/O

Requested: no

WARNINGS: swearing, mentions of murder (ish), pretty much all the gerneral/minor warnings that come with reading Slasher stuff

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Billy Loomis:

Words ~ 124

this guy can’t bake for shit

so if you can’t either then you’re both kinda screwed

but, if you can, then you can semi guide him through the steps

although be warned, this guy will take every opportunity to play around with the food instead of making it into something

has dumped flour on you instead of measuring it out too many times to count - “for the love of Michael Meyers, STOP DUMPING FLOUR OVER ME!!” *cue cute angry face*

saying that, he genuinely enjoys eating the food afterwards

just the thought that you two had created that, that you’d done something so domestic sent his heart into a gushy mess

it’s just getting there that’s hard

but it’s an experience totally worth having

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Stu Macher:

Words ~ 126

oof

if you’re brave enough to take on cooking with this man-child then you deserve a Medal of Valour

100 times worse than Billy

seriously, this dude will actually try and climb into the scales to see how many Ounces he weighs

(bby boi is adorable but “oh my god, Stu, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!”)

gets very pouty when you pull him off of them only to find that they’re now broken

“Well what did you expect Stu, you’re a grown ass human”

anyway

since your scales are now completely ruined, he gets you the bestest, newest scales money can buy (Stu is just the best boyfriend ever, amiright?)

which makes the next time he breaks them that much more frustrating

*rolls eyes*

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Stu and Billy:

Words ~ 152

these two together + kitchen = absolute chaos

they take to pulling pranks on each other with the ingredients when you’re back is turned

they also used to steal ingredients and stash them away later like chipmunks to pull pranks on you, but stopped when you threatened them with a spoon - something they took very seriously after the first time you whooped their arses with it

usually means that whatever you’re making ends up a flat lump that’s barely two fingers high (“volume is everything, after all, Stu”)

it still tastes pretty delicious though, which is a little bit odd but you don’t complain (“turns out that volume isn’t everything, ey, Y/n?” “I will take your cake away, Billy”)

they however, do complain when it comes to cleaning up the kitchen

“you made the mess, you can clean it up!”

results in them being very pouty bois™️ by the end of the night

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Beetlejuice:

Words ~ 165

it’s like trying to cook with a two year old on crack (srsly tho, don’t give your kids crack)

loads of hassle, and no reward (he dumped the cake mix on the floor? oops *adorable shrug*)

there was one time when he genuinely tried so hard to be good

made it until you guys had to put it in the oven and then just couldn’t help himself.

when your back was turned, he turned the oven off, and stuck the rack to the sides of the oven a little

so about 40 minutes later, when you go to get it out, it spills all over you (it got stuck, like Beej planned, you yanked, like Beej planned, and now you’re covered in cake batter, like Beej planned)

“you’re so annoying”

he laughs when you threaten to murder him, simply pulling you into his side and squeezing you “You can’t murder me, darling. You’d miss me too much.”

*sigh*

a truly horrifying experience. Would not recommend

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Norman Bates:

Words ~ 143

is probably the best Slasher to cook with.

he has no idea what he’s doing, but won’t behave like a child like the others (Thank God)

little bean just wants to make something nice for you, so will follow your every instruction (he has a massive fear that you’ll leave him if he can’t make you happy, so he’ll do literally anything that you could ask of him)

is so proud when he pulls it out of the oven, he literally lights up

insists you have the first bite, and fuckng glows when you compliment how good it is (seeing his reaction makes you feel bad for wanting to sneak salt in when he wasn’t looking - thankfully he never left the meals side so as to check it was all ok)

honestly the best person to cook with. 10/10 would recommend

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Pennywise:

Words ~ 180

this clayown

is an absolute nightmare when it comes to cooking

gets drool everywhere (seriously, don’t serve this cake to people!)

gets more of the ingredients over the kitchen than in the bowl/pan

but he has so much fun!

his favourite thing to make is popcorn

he loves watching it pop (he copies along with it too, mouthing the word “Pop” and laughing maniacally as the corn heats up. seriously, your neighbours are a little worried that you’re the killer haunting the town)

never ever ever do one of those ‘share bowls’ with him

you’ll get like, three of whatever’s in there before he’s already eaten the entire contents

but

if you ever make an actual meal for you two?

then he’ll actually behave and help you make it (he likes it when you two sit across from each other at the table with a meal, it makes him feel like he’s doing a good job of taking care of you)

it’s very enjoyable to have that … different level of intimacy between you every once in a while

🖤🖤🖤🖤

Requests Closed!

Tags Open!

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captainillogical · 5 years

Text

Devil’s Ballroom Ch.7

A year after the events from the earth’s final attack, Little Homeworld is finally complete, and there’s a new jazz bar where gems and humans mingle and drink. - As you’re typing back a reply, someone pulls the stool out next to you and takes a seat. You see a sliver of pink out of the corner of your eye as you try not to actually Look. Oh god. It’s her. God can’t help us now.

Spinel/Reader

collab with my lovely wife @firstofficertightpants

ya’ll im sorry lmao

You spend the rest of your evening doing exactly none of the errands that you needed to deal with today. Instead, you're laying on your couch and texting your friends.

Y/N: I'm so tornnnn.

Y/N: Do I say something about the cheek smooch?

Y/N: Should I leave it be?

Y/N: Because she's texting like nothing happened.

Y/N: What if I'm reading too much into it??

Y/N: What if that's just how she shows friendship affection???

Y/N: I might make it so fucking awkward if I assume something!

Y/N: This entire ordeal is mortifying!!!

Y/N: I want nothing more than to dig a big hole and lie in it forever.

Y/N: I might be low-key having a panic attack about this rn but what's new.

Harper: Y/N. chill. you're way overreacting to this.

Harper: even if it meant nothing, she still likes you as a friend right?

Harper: i think it would take a lot for her to like.. not wanna stay friends lol.

Alex: im just saying you could probably kiss her and she'd be ok with it

Alex: cheek kisses are pretty forward

Harper: don't listen to him. all of his relationships ended in failure.

Alex: wow

Alex: im seriously hurt

Harper: am I wrong?

Alex: no..

Harper: my point exactly.

Harper: i’m not saying you have nothing to lose or anything.

Harper: because i myself had to tread very carefully with leah..

Harper: but i think you should just see where it goes and not like

Harper: put too much emphasis on this incase it was nothing.

Y/N: Yeah see now you have me worried it WAS nothing!!

Alex: oh my goooooooddddddddddddddd

Alex: the both of you approach women so.. pathetically

Alex: take a risk

Alex: live a little

Alex: what is seriously the worst that could happen

Alex: she kills you??

Alex: lmao

Alex: its funny cuz of.. you know

Harper: i can’t wait to be home and smothering him with a pillow instead of affection.

Y/N: You and me both.

Y/N: Try being the only one available to play games with him.

Alex: both of you fucking love me okay

Alex: alsooooooo i get to be home the day after tomorrow

Alex: the alex is back, babieeeeee

Y/N: Harper please come home I’m BEGGING you.

Harper: sorry you gotta deal with him alone for another month lmao.

Y/N: Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

Alex: can i get a fucking crumb of love here please

You swipe over to the couple of messages Spinel has left you in the past couple of minutes while you were talking to your friends.

Spinel: It’s another stupid ball, I just found out.

Spinel: I told her that I’m sitting this one out this time.

Spinel: She has so many others that would absolutely love to help her, and yet, still absolutely insists that I must be there.

Spinel: I don’t want to go back to homeworld right now, and not for this.

Y/N: And you put your foot down? Hell yeah, dude.

Y/N: Planning a ball for a bunch of gems sounds like a chore anyway.

Spinel: oh, it is, believe me.

Spinel: And they need everything to be PERFECT.

Spinel: Which isn’t realistic anymore now that they don’t expect any of the gems to stay in line with their gem class nowadays.

Spinel: The last ball they threw almost 4 months ago was utterly chaotic.

Y/N: For thousands of years y'all as a race never pushed to deviate from the norm, and now that you guys are allowed to? I’d go batshit with it too.

Y/N: Being stifled in everyday life, and finally you’re free?

Y/N: Fuck, I’d go around fusing with anyone!

Spinel: That is precisely what too many of them did.

Y/N: Lmao. I wish I could’ve seen that.

You tab back over to your group chat for a moment to see what they’re talking about.

Harper: see? they’re everywhere.

Harper: i wasn’t expecting the campsite to have so many.

Alex: you could have built an army and instead you took pictures

Alex: do you know how easy it is to lure chipmunks?

Alex: oh that lil guy on the bottom right is so fucking chunky i love him

Harper: that’s the one that got the closest when i fed them. :3

Alex: oh i fuckin BET

Alex: you dont get that chubby in the wild without takin a few risks

Alex: if u know what i mean ;)

Harper: i hate whatever you just implied.

Y/N: It’s not a conversation with Alex unless you roll your eyes at least 3 times.

Alex: hey i thought it was 4 times

Alex: dont insult me

Alex: anyway, y/n

Alex: are you workin the day i come back

Y/N: Yeah I’m actually scheduled a double.

Alex: scheduled

Y/N: Yes.

Alex: a double

Y/N: Yes.

Alex: he can’t SCHEDULE you a DOUBLE

Y/N: He can if he asks me ahead of time as a favor.

Alex: that fuckin bastard

Alex: always ruining my plans

Harper: you’re still mad at him for firing you last summer, huh.

Alex: OF COURSE I AM

Y/N: Bro you stole like $300 of cotton candy sugar that summer.

Y/N: It’s only fair.

Y/N: Besides, I’m only doing this because he said he’d give me a long weekend for it.

Alex: kay well

Alex: i guess i’ll just go bug you at work and wait for you to get off that day :'(

Y/N: Get me written up again, I swear to god.

Your phone chimes several times, and you swipe down to see messages from both Spinel and Steven. You check Spinel's first.

Spinel: Do me a favor and ignore any messages Steven has sent you.

Y/N: What are you, my boss?

Spinel: I MEAN IT

You quickly switch over to Steven's texts.

Steven: I was going to ask you if your date with Spinel went okay, but I'm assuming it went fine considering she hasn't really stopped talking about you.

Ohhhh my god, this is wild. You reply to him.

Y/N: It wasn't a date as far as I know.

Y/N: I had fun.

Y/N: She's telling me to not read your messages, lmao.

Y/N: Also what do you mean she hasn't stopped talking about me??

Steven: She’s been lying on my floor for the last hour basically gushing about you.

Steven: But you didn’t hear that from me!

Steven: :D

Y/N: Haha thanks, kid.

You switch back over to text Spinel, and get up off the couch to make yourself some tea. Pulling out your kettle, you turn the stove on and grab some raspberry flavored abomination tea bag that your dad loves more than any of the other good tea flavors.

Y/N: Sooooo.

Spinel: You talked to him, didn’t you.

Y/N: Hahaha noooo. :)

Spinel: The fuck did he say?

Y/N: Absolutely nothing.

Spinel: Seriously? I was sure he’d reveal something embarrassing.

Y/N: Nope! You should probably get off his floor eventually, though.

Your kettle goes off and you grab a clean mug, and pour the boiling water into it along with the tea packet. You look down at your phone, and grin.

Spinel: goddammit.

You let the bag steep for a little bit, and add in a small amount of sugar. Walking up to your bedroom you take a snap of Jellybean half lounging, half falling off the stairs and send it to Spinel. She replies with a couple heart emojis, and you wonder if Steven was the one to show her the proper use of them. You set your cup of tea down on your desk, and turn your computer on. It’s evening now, and it’s much too late to do anything left with the rest of your day productivity-wise, so you settle in on playing more minecraft. Your thoughts wander quite a bit, and you find yourself stuck on thinking about Spinel. Naturally. You wonder about a lot of things she’s learned while staying on earth, from things like - does she pay rent? Does she have a job? Does she know what taxes are? Does she know what a relationship with a human looks like? She said she watched a movie, but didn’t exactly elaborate. You don’t know what human-norms she’s been exposed to. You can’t even concentrate enough to mine any of this redstone for Alex, and you nearly die in-game when the thought of ‘does she know what sex is?’ pops into your mind. You grab your phone and shoot Spinel another message.

Y/N: Quick question.

Y/N: If you don’t mind me asking.

It takes her a few minutes to reply.

Spinel: Sure?

Y/N: Do you know how humans are made?

Spinel: w

Spinel: Yes?

Spinel: Steven told me about it a few weeks ago actually.

Spinel: Why are you asking?

Y/N: No reason! Just curious is all.

Spinel: Hm.

Yeah you’re not too confident that she actually knows, and you’re too chickenshit to elaborate right now. You’ll enlighten her later. You spend the rest of the night browsing memes on your phone, and texting your friends and Spinel on occasion. Before you know it, your eyes drift close with your phone in hand.

You wake up when your alarm goes off for your morning shift, and curse at yourself for not charging it last night. It’s at a solid 32%, which isn’t really enough to go about your day, but you’ll have to make do. You get ready for a hopefully not shitty day, lock up the house, and head in to work.

It’s a complete shitshow when you come in, and you turn your phone off to save battery and concentrate on dealing with more than an average amount of tourists. You find Mr. Smiley sleeping in the breakroom/office/supply closet, and have half a mind to lock him in there from the outside for the rest of your shift. It’s pretty busy, and messy, and it isn’t until you’re there for several exhausting hours that you finally have enough time for a break. You turn your phone on, and instantly you’re flooded with messages from several different people. Ugh.

A couple from your dad - just checking in, really. Group chat too as usual, but none of it seems overly important. One from Spinel, and several from Steven. You open up Spinel’s message first.

Spinel: Do you think we could talk about a couple of things later?

Vague, and a little concerning. You text back an apology for getting back to her so late, and open the messages from Steven.

Steven: Hey are you busy?

Steven: I’m dealing with a bit of a situation right now, and could use your help.

Steven: Spinel locked herself in my bathroom, and she won’t come out.

Steven: She refuses to answer to anyone, and several of us have tried.

Steven: I’m just really worried about her, and you guys seemed to bond, so I was hoping..

Steven: That maybe you could come over?

Steven: Thanks regardless.

You check the timestamp, and that was over an hour ago. Jesus christ.

Y/N: Steven I’m so sorry, my phone was off and I’m at work, give me a few and I’ll be right over, okay?

Y/N: I’ll be quick.

He replies almost immediately with a “please” and you pocket your phone. You try not to worry too hard about Spinel as you rush over to grab your things, and knock on Mr. Smiley’s office/broom closet door. He opens it groggily, clearly just waking up.

“Yeah?” he slowly blinks at you.

“I gotta leave early. Emergency.” You stare at him, trying to not be pissed at his lack of work ethic.

“Are you for real? You’ve got another 3 hours left.” He says and crosses his arms, and you glare at him.

“I’ve been working my ass off while you’ve been sleeping this whole time, AND I’m covering your ass tomorrow so you can go meet your old friend! So the LEAST you can do is let me go early when I have an emergency!!!” You almost yell out at him, and he holds his hands up in defense.

“Okay, okay! Fine. Only because you’re a good worker.” He says, and has the gall to look at least a little ashamed of himself.

“Damn right I am.” You spin around and head out of the building, practically running.

You almost trip and bite it several times on the way over to Steven’s place, but you’re more worried about Spinel. You’ve only been to his place twice, but once you’re there you run up the stairs and open the door without knocking. You’re greeted by the only two people in the living room, Pearl, and Steven.

“Oh, she’s here!” Pearl says and nudges Steven, who looks up from typing on his phone.

“Y/N! Thank god you’re here.” He says with furrowed eyebrows.

“What happened?” You say and shut the door, and cross the room over to him.

“I’m not sure! We were just working on something together for Amethyst, and she got a call from Blue and Yellow. She’s been ignoring them lately, and they’ve been bothering me in turn because of that, so I asked her to take the call just see what they want.” He runs his hand through his brown curls, and just for a moment, you see that 12 year old him in again. The obvious stress masks just how young he really is, and you feel bad that he can’t live life like a normal kid. “She went outside to take the call, and was out there for quite a while. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I did hear some yelling. And just when I was going over to make sure they were alright, she comes back in tears, eyes spiraling like months ago, and nearly knocks Pearl over rushing into the bathroom.”

“And nothing since?” You inquire, fidgeting with your hands.

“No,” He says, frustratedly. “I’ve been trying to reach the diamonds to see what this is all about, but I’ve only been getting the pearls. I don’t know what to do. She hasn’t been like this in months. What were they talking about to make her this upset?”

“Maybe I can find out. You said she’s in your bathroom?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, the one right over here.” He says and points to it.

“Is it locked?” You ask.

“No,” Pearl glances towards the bathroom door and crosses her arms. “The lock has been broken on it for a while, since Peridot joined us actually. Both Garnet and I tried opening it, but I think once Spinel hears someone trying to come in she blocks the door.”

Hm.

“I’m gonna try something, but you guys are gonna wanna stay away.” You say to the two of them. “I don’t want to overwhelm her with more than one person.”

“Let us know if we can do anything?” Steven makes to pass by you and gives your arm a light squeeze. “And thanks for coming to help.”

“Anytime, dude.” You give him a half smile, and walk over to his bathroom. You turn to take a look back at the other two, and they’re already in the kitchen discussing something in soft tones. You move to knock at the door, make two light taps against the frame, and wait for an answer.

A couple seconds pass, and nothing. Not even any movement. Nervously, you knock again, a little louder this time, and wait for a good ten seconds.

Still nothing.

You take a deep breath, reach out to grab the door handle, and very slowly and quietly open the bathroom door. You see nothing but absolute darkness, and step in. You feel around the wall to your right and flip a switch just as you close the door behind you with an audible click. The room instantly floods with the dark red light of the heat lamp, and before you can even think about finding another light source, you find yourself slammed up against the wall and let out a surprised yelp. You open your eyes to see Spinel’s face inches from yours, pupils wild, her hands splayed against your shoulders.

“U-um,” Your voice cracks a little. “Hey.”

You watch her eyes take a second to find yours, and almost instantly, she lets you go, arms trembling.

“W.. what are YOU DOING HERE!?” She cries, large tears pouring down her face, eyebrows raised in confusion, mouth trembling. Her hair is in loose pigtails, strands untamed around her face, cheeks stained with tear tracks. She looks like a mess, and your heart breaks, just a little. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt y-”

“I’m fine.” You cut her off. “I should have said who it was outside the door, I’m sorry. And um.. Steven texted me while I was at work, and told me what was going on so I rushed over..” You trail off as you watch Spinel’s entire body shake, and she covers her face with both of her hands.

“I can’t believe I just did that.” You hear her wavering voice, muffled behind her fists, and she lets out a choked sob. “Maybe they were right. M-maybe I’m not meant to-” She quickly moves her hands down to look at the floor with wide, vulnerable eyes, and struggles to form the rest of her words. You hear her breathing pick up pace, and you’re starting to realize she’s hyperventilating.

“Spinel, look at me.” Her eyes shoot up to yours, lips trembling. “I need you to breathe.” You do what your friends have always done with you, and gently grab both of her hands and hold them with yours, thumbs stroking her palms in slow circles. She freezes up instantly, and you’re about to panic, because while a familiar touch helps ground you, you register that maybe it’ll make it worse for her. But before you can pull your hands away, her hands relax ever so slightly, and she lets out a shaky breath. “Good. Just like that.” You motion for her to follow your breathing inverals, and she copies you, hands still shaking in yours.

It’s been a while since you’ve had to deal with something like this, but you’re thankful for having similar life experiences. After a solid minute or two of this her breathing is back to a normal pace, but she’s still crying, and now not meeting your eyes. Almost like she’s avoiding them.

“Look, I.. I don’t know what happened with you and the diamonds, but you can talk to me about it if you’d like. No pressure, though.” You give her hands a small squeeze, and she whimpers, looking up to meet your gaze. Tears are still actively streaming down her face, and you have no idea how to make any of this better. It physically hurts you to see her like this.

“C-can I not talk about it? I don’t think I’m ready..” She pulls a hand from yours, and wipes at her face. She just kind of smeared half of her face with wetness, and she looks miserable.

“You don’t have to talk about anything, Spinel.” You look at her, making sure she sees it in your eyes. You slowly let go of her other hand, and hold your arms out in a silent question instead. Her mouth opens slightly, the red glow of the light around her making her look extremely vulnerable and soft, and she looks at your open arms with a blank face for a moment before understanding. Almost instantaneously, she throws herself against you and wraps her arms around your shoulders, shoving her face into the cradle of your neck. You envelop your arms around her tightly, giving her sides a squeeze, and you feel her start to shake again.

She lets out an unsteady sigh, and hiccups out another small sob. You pull her to lean fully against you as you stand there, bracing your back against the bathroom door. She lets you maneuver her, and you rest the side of your face against her temple while she cries. You resign yourself to letting her cry on you until she’s done, if she needs to.

You feel her sniffle against your neck, and try not to mind that she’s getting your shirt soaked. You give her back a few gentle rubs, feeling her body quiver against yours as she’s trying to control her choked breathing. You’re not really counting the minutes, as right now you’re currently having way too many rampant thoughts about what the fuck the diamonds could’ve said to her. You’re mad as hell, honestly, and if you could say shit to them, you would in a heartbeat. You don’t want to make anything worse for her though, as much as you want to steal her phone and video call them to curse them out. It takes a few more minutes, but eventually her crying dies down, and you feel her breathing even out. Slowly, she dislodges her arms from twisting around you two, and you feel a sigh, her breath hot against your neck. You do your best to school your facial expression as you’re realize just how close you are to her, and she pulls her face from its resting position to look at you. She looks awful.

“U-um,” She lifts up her hand to attempt to wipe her face, failing to rub half the tears away. “I don’t really want to go out there yet..”

“You don’t have to.” You say, quietly. “I can leave if you’d like some quiet to yourself.” Her face looks panicked for a second, and she grabs your wrist.

“Please don’t leave me.” She says, voice wavering again. You try not to let your heart shatter at her tone.

“I won’t if you want me here.” You say, and sigh softly. “Here, hold on a second.”

She lets your wrist go as you move slightly over to the sink, turn the hot water on, and grab a clean hand towel from the counter. You soak it in water, and squeeze out all the excess. Towel in hand, you turn back to her, and she’s looking at you cautiously. You lift the towel slightly, motioning to her face.

“May I?” You ask, and she nods slightly.

Tenderly, you brush a couple strands of hair away from her face, grasp her chin with your left hand and pull her forward, gently pressing the towel to her cheek. She closes her eyes, and her shoulders sag a little as she lets you dab at her face, cleaning her of any tear stain marks. She sighs into your touch, and it strikes you that it would be so easy to just.. lean in and kiss her.

Your brain almost short circuits and you snap your thoughts back to reality. There’s a time and place for everything. This is not the time, nor the place.

Once you’re satisfied that she looks a lot better than before, you pull your hands away to toss the rag in the sink, and Spinel, for a brief moment, looks disappointed that you had stopped. Which.. kind of gives you an idea.

“Can I try something? Harper used to do this thing with me when I.. had similar breakdowns.” You ask her. She raises her eyebrow in response, clearly exhausted from crying so much. “Here.” You say, and take her hand and lead her over to the rim of the bathtub. You sit down on the edge, and motion for her to sit in front of you on the floor. She takes a seat in front of you, still confused, but obeys nonetheless. “Can I touch you?” You ask her, watching her face to make sure she’s alright.

She looks up at you, the red light in the room flooding the entirety of her face, making her hair darker, and the whites of her eyes a bit more dramatic.

“Yeah.” She says in reply, voice tired.

You reach out to her hair, and stop for a moment.

“Can I have you face the other direction, actually? Come over here.” You move to open your knees, making enough room for Spinel to turn around and lean against the bathtub. She’s close to you again.

“What are you..” She trails off as you start to take the hair ties out of her pigtails, one after the other. It takes a second, as it’s a bit tangled, but you manage to get both out, and let her hair fall down. You comb out her hair with your fingers, gently, and she sighs audibly while leaning into your touch. You run your short nails along her scalp, scratching and massaging as you smooth out her hair, attempting to pull all the tangles out.

“Touch used to calm me down, and Harper was really good at it, honestly.” You say while pulling out a particularly difficult tangle without hurting her. Her hair is long like this, and you like it. You wish you could grow your hair this long, but it’s kind of a pain to deal with, and the longest you’ve ever had yours wasn’t even to your mid back, you think to yourself. “Sometimes she’d give me shoulder and neck massages, but I preferred that she’d just play with my hair. There’s just something different about another person touching your hair.”

“I kind of get what you mean.” She says, tiredly.

“Can I braid your hair?” You lean closer to look at her face.

“Do what you want.” She says, looking fairly relaxed.

“Cool. Anyway, while Harper was good at that, Alex, on the other hand, was just terrible at any kind of physical comfort. He’s genuine, and he tries, but he’s an idiot. He’s a lot better at distractions, for the most part.” You run your fingers through her hair one more time, before starting to separate her hair into three parts for a french braid. “He’s funny, and comes from a large family, so he always has stories and jokes. Whenever I’d have a panic attack, those two were always so good about being there for me. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

You notice that Spinel‘s shoulders have lost most of the tension in them, and you’re secretly relieved. You keep talking to fill the quietness around you two, because you’ve always hated the quiet during moments like these. Your friends aren’t here, so it’s up to you to make up for it.

“It was kind of hard, at first though,” You say, and start looping the chunks of hair around your fingers, starting at the top of her head. “Because for a while there, back when I was 16 and dealing with the worst of my abandonment issues, I clung onto Harper like a baby koala. I had this super weird crush on her even though we had been friends since we were practically babies. I think I idolized her because she was just.. good to me.” You accidentally tug a little too hard on a strand of hair, wince and utter an apology while massaging the spot on her scalp. “I’m glad that didn’t ruin our friendship, but for a while there I really pushed my feelings onto her, which was kinda fucked up on my part.”

“Hm..” Spinel mumbles. “I kind of had a thing for Pink, I think. Which ended up screwing with me even more after what she did.” You stare at the back of her head and pause your hands for a second. Huh. Yeah, you had a hunch.

“If she were still alive, I’d punch her in the face for you, I hope you know.” You state, in full seriousness. This gets the first chuckle that you’ve heard from her today, and you’re secretly overjoyed.

“I’d pay to watch that.” She says, and you laugh out loud. You see her smile, just barely.

“So,” You continue, with both your hands and conversation. “A week or so after my 17th birthday, right after Harper talked to me about this guy at school that she liked, I confess to her. And not like a, ‘oh hey, you’re my best friend and I really like you’ kind of way, either. It was more like a, ‘have a mental breakdown over your best friend liking someone else and make them feel like shit about it on your walk home from school’ kind of confession.” Your hands reach the nape of her neck now, braid mostly done on her head, but you’ve got around another 20 inches of length before being finished.

“Harper avoided me for nearly a week after that. I was absolutely pathetic, and inconsolable. Alex was fed up with my shit after a few days, and nearly slapped me over it. He would’ve been in the right, doing so, honestly. I was a selfish asshole who only thought about her own feelings, and not about her best friends.” Your eyes drift to Spinel’s face, and her eyes are closed, eyebrows unfurrowed.

“Anyway,” You’re nearly done with the entire braid now. “She did end up forgiving me. Thankfully. I don’t know what I’d do if it were my fault that I’d split up our friend group.” You pick up the discarded hair tie from earlier, and tie it around the end of the braid.

“I’m all done, by the way.” You say to her. She opens her eyes tentatively, and she looks sleepy. You stand up, and stretch your back. She also gets up on wobbly legs, and turns to look at you.

“Um.” She’s avoiding your eyes. “Thank you. For this.” She’s twisting her hands together, nervously. You lean your face closer to get at eye-level with her.

“Anytime.. and for the record, you look really cute in a braid.” You say and smile, giving her a cheeky wink. You watch her entire face from the neck up turn bright red, and think that you could probably do this forever, and never get tired. She gives you a noncommittal grunt, halfheartedly smacks your arm and you grin at her.

You hear a quiet knock at the door, and look over to Spinel. She shrugs, so I guess it’s okay now.

“You can come in!” You say to the door. It opens slowly, and you see Steven peek his head in.

“Um.. are we okay?” He asks, clearly very worried about her.

“I’ll be okay.” She says, and you think that maybe she should lay down and sleep. You verbalize this immediately.

“Spinel. I think you should go take a nap.” You look at her, and she blinks at you. “I’m serious.”

“She’s kind of right.” Steven says in agreement with you. Spinel gives the both of you a shrug, and even that seems like it’s taking a lot out of her.

“Okay.” She says, and turns to walk out of the bathroom. Steven opens the door wider, and you can see Pearl in the kitchen leaning against the counter, trying to not seem like she’s intently watching all of you.

Spinel makes her way over to the couch and takes a seat, sitting up rigidly. You walk over to her to make sure she’s okay before you leave for home.

“You know you can text me, right? And if you need me, I’ll be available. I’ll leave my volume turned on.” She gives you a nod. “Oh, and.. take this,” You say, and pull off the pullover hoodie you’re wearing right now, and hand it over to her. “Alex used to let me wear his oversized sweaters, and they used to help me sleep, so..”

She tentatively reaches out, and takes it from your hands.

“Thanks.” She says, and gives you a small smile. With her hair pulled back like this she almost looks human, for a fleeting moment. You sometimes forget she’s a gem. You return the smile back at her, and turn around to leave.

After grabbing your bag that you set down earlier from beside the couch, you head over to the front door and open it. Shouldering the bag, you start to shut the door and see Steven behind you. He closes the door behind him, his face searching yours for something you don’t quite know.

“I don’t know what you did, but thank you.” He says, completely genuine.

“You don’t have to thank me. I’d do it for you, too, you know.” You say to him, and he smiles.

“That’s why I like you, Y/N. You’re sweet.”

“Yeahhhh, don’t tell anyone, though. You’ll ruin my reputation.” You smirk, giving him the side-eye. He laughs and pats your back.

“Ohhhhhh no! Whatever will you do!?” He rolls his eyes in jest. “Get home safe, okay?”

“No promises.” You reply, and jump down his steps, two at a time.

It doesn’t take you long to get home, and you’re pretty tired yourself. You make yourself busy by preparing dinner, cleaning the kitchen a little, and calling your dad for another check-in. Before you know it, it’s nearly 11, and you need to sleep for your double shift tomorrow that you almost forgot about. You’re laying in bed browsing social media before drifting off, and you receive a text from Spinel. You swipe down and open the message.

Spinel: Thanks again for today.

Spinel: I baked some new cookies with Steven, and would like to give you some tomorrow if that’s okay?

You smile to yourself. Ughhhhhhhh, you’re catching the feelings disease, and you swat the air around you like it somehow physically manifested around you.

Y/N: I work literally all day, but feel free to stop by and give them to me.

Y/N: Then I get to see a pretty familiar face to break up all the lame tourists.

Y/N: Cuz that sounds super nice. ;)

Spinel: I’ll see you tomorrow, then.

She didn’t react to your obvious teasing, but you won’t let that discourage you. You fall asleep thinking of the many different ways you can poke fun at her, and this time, you charge your phone.

You wake up the next morning feeling well-rested for once, and get ready for work. Alex has sent you a couple texts about when his flight will arrive, and when he’ll roughly come to meet you. Sometime around 4pm, apparently. You shoot Spinel a good morning text, and she replies almost instantly with the same, which makes you smile.

You head to work, texting your group chat about what happened yesterday with Spinel, and give them basically all the details. Alex makes fun of you for a bit, so you curse him out and pocket your phone as you clock in. Today’s going to suck, but you’ve got a few things to look forward to.

You make it a couple hours into your shift before you finally get a break, and Spinel texts you that she’ll drop by sometime in the afternoon once she’s done helping Bismuth with something. God you hope it’s not when Alex gets here, because you are so not fucking ready for that interaction. You eat your lunch and pray to any god out there that you could have one more day of peace.

You’re outside the main building repairing a couple parts on the carousel, ignoring the bulk of the tourists to focus on work. You don’t realize that quite a while has passed by, because someone walks up to you as you’ve got your head in a small door, and kicks you slightly on your ass. You jolt and bump your head against the opening, and you hear Alex burst out into laughter as you groan in pain.

God fucking dammit, this guy. You pull your head out to glare at him, screwdriver pointing at him threateningly.

“Do you want this up your ass? Because I can do that.” You say to him, and he laughs even harder. You roll your eyes at him.

“Don’t promise me with a good time, Y/N.” He says, and you stand up to smack him.

“I don’t think the pointy end would be a good time, idiot.” You deadpan stare at him. He grins.

“You don’t know what I’m into.” He shrugs, and flips his hair dramatically. You hate that he’s stupid and charming, and you love him so much.

“I know I haven’t seen you in 2 months, but like, I feel like you’ve grown taller?” You stare at him, a little mournfully. You’re the shortest one out of your friends, and you’re of average height. He also seems.. handsomer. You think he definitely got a lot more tan. He’s definitely grown into his looks, his dark curly hair and recently shaved face making him look older than you’re used to.

“I don’t think I did, but I think you’ve grown shorter.” He laughs obnoxiously, and you smack his arm again, which makes him laugh harder.

“You’re so mean to me, like all the time. Why do I love you?” You cross your arms and pout, because you know it gets a rise out of him.

“Youuuuuuu knowww, because I’m just so loveable and gorgeous and the smartest one in the group??” He flutters his eyelashes at you like he thinks he’s cute.

“Wow, you are none of these things.” You reply, smirking at him. He puts his hand over his heart in mock offense.

“Y/N, I’m offended. I’ve been here for like, five minutes, and I’ve received absolutely no affection from you. If I don’t get love, I will wilt and die. Do you want to be responsible for my death?” He opens his arms wide, and you roll your eyes dramatically, and stand there.

“We’re not doing this in public.” You say, standing your ground.

“Ohhh, YES we are, Y/N.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Prepare yourself for the onslaught.”

You take a couple steps back, prepared to run. He grabs your arms, wraps his around your torso, and picks you up, swinging you around.

“Nooooooooooooooooo!!” You cry. “Put me down you oaf!”

“No! I want love!” He all but shouts, and spins you around. He grabs your cheek with one hand and starts giving you big ‘ol smooches all over your face, and you’re giggling and trying to push him away, when you hear something drop and spill on the pavement a good twenty feet from you. You look up.

It’s Spinel.

Her face is twisted with heartbreak, and before you can even speak up, she bolts.

You look down, and see the cookies she made you scattered on the ground.

#spinel x reader #spinel #su #steven universe #spinel self insert #fic #my fic #devils ballroom #look. im not sorry yall. i promise next chapter youll get what u want LMFAO

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