Woodsmoke
masterlist
Pairing: Frankie Morales x Gender Neutral Reader. No physical descriptions of reader beyond having hair. Reader has a cat. Established but new-ish, implied long-distance-ish relationship.
Summary: Life has been running you ragged lately, but someone is waiting for you when you get home. For a moment, you don't have to be strong.
Trigger Warnings: Mentions of difficult family life, attending therapy, absent parents, wounded inner child, loneliness as a general theme. If I've missed anything, please do tell me.
Word Count: ~1.6K
Rating: General? Two curse words and some kissin'. The remainder of my work is 18+ / minors DNI.
A/N: I do not know about y'all but I have been going through it lately. And Frankie Morales is my comfort character. This is not along the lines of my usual writing, and for that reason, I haven't tagged anyone. But I'm sharing it on the off chance that you, like me, just need a hug. I know this time of year isn't the easiest for a lot of us, and I hope maybe this gives you a little comfort. Comfort!Frankie, if you will. Please heed the warnings and read with care.
You are worthy of love.
You don’t have time to cry.
Not right now, on this highway, snowflakes flying towards you like crystalline stars at a speed twenty miles per hour slower than the speed you’d be moving at if they weren’t.
You can’t see the lines on the road even without tears in your eyes.
One thing at a time.
Like everything lately.
Just follow the tracks of the car in front of you until it gets you home.
Home to your house that’s empty save for a grumpy tabby cat.
Most days you swear your existence hinges on his.
He’s been your thing to look forward to for the last fifteen years.
Well, and Frankie is visiting this week.
Provided that this storm doesn’t shut the airport down.
Fuck.
It’s not that you hadn’t been doing well without him.
It’s that you hadn’t been doing well.
Too long without a mental break. Exhaustion that seeps with the cold into your bones.
Too many things on a to-do list that you can’t bring yourself to do on the weekends because it’s too long and your own time is so short.
Maybe it’s some malefic arrangement of stars and planets, perhaps.
You haven’t even started buying holiday gifts.
And it sends you face-first into the dread of making a trip back home.
The place that was supposed to be your home.
And dread is the correct word, even if your therapist says you're making real progress.
See, the thing is, your therapist doesn’t have to sit in the contents of the box of shit you dug out from the corner of your brain and emptied all over the floor of your mind.
She only helps you sort through it every other Tuesday.
It was in the box for a reason.
It was easier to carry that way.
_____
When finally you pull into your driveway and step out into fresh snow, it’s the smell that hits you first.
Woodsmoke.
Someone has started up the wood stove so that you don’t go cold, but you hadn’t been expecting company. You figure it’s your best friend who has a key and a standing invitation, and you’re not necessarily opposed to them being here.
Sharing a bottle of wine would probably do you some good.
You stomp snow from your shoes and step inside to offer your layers to the hooks on the wall of the mudroom before you catch sight of the boots in the tray as you toe yours off.
“Frankie?!”
“One sec, babe!”
Frankie.
You wrench open the door that leads through to the kitchen and catch sight of him in front of the sink where he’s draining steaming water from a pot of pasta.
He looks up at you across the kitchen and winks.
“Frankie,” you breathe and he quickly pops the pot back onto a dead burner, slinging oven mitts off a fraction of a second before you collide with his chest.
“Baby,” he whispers, locking you in with an arm around the small of your back and the other at the nape of your neck.
He smells of woodsmoke and cedar and Frankie.
Smells like home.
“You weren’t supposed to be here for another two days,” you pull back and look up into brown eyes framed by mirth-filled creases.
“I was keeping an eye on the weather,” he urges you against him again to nuzzle into your hair, “didn’t want to wait. There’s another front coming behind this one. Took an Uber from the airport. Got in about an hour ago.”
Pilots and their forecasts.
“I’m glad you didn’t wait.”
“So am I,” he tilts your chin up and presses his lips to yours. Soft and sweet. Perfect.
“I made pasta, thought you’d be hungry when you got in.” He grins against your mouth before turning back to the stove to stir tomato sauce. “There wasn’t much in the fridge, but there’s plenty for tonight.” Frankie turns off the burner.
And it’s so new, having a man in your kitchen.
Making you dinner.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, I haven’t had the chance to go to the store,” you rake a hand through your hair as he winds a corkscrew into a bottle of wine.
So new, having arms to fall into.
“Don't apologize, babe. We’ll go tomorrow,” he sneaks another kiss as he fills your glass, one hand absently rubbing your back as he does. “Oh, I also fed the cat,” he points to stacked tins of cat food near the fridge, “from that, hope that was okay,” he fills his own glass. “He was hungry and he was insisting on spaghetti but I figured that’s not…”
“Thank you.”
It’s not more than a trembling whisper.
Because you’re fighting back tears.
This man warmed your house and poured you wine and fed your cat and made you a meal.
Because he cares.
Someone cares.
For you.
“Oh, hey no no no, cariño, what’s wrong?” He replaces his glass on the counter and cups your face in one massive palm.
Soothing with a gentle thumb over your cheekbone.
“This is so nice,” you breathe and the tears finally blur his face. “I just—no one has ever done this for me before.”
It leaves your mouth slowly, like you're not even sure if you can say it.
If you're allowed.
Your view is quickly replaced by the grey and red of his sweater.
“There’s nothing I’d rather do, baby.”
And it makes your chest heave with the sobs you can’t hold in any longer as you wrap your arms around his waist, sinking into the way he presses you tighter against his heart.
The wool of his jumper eager to collect all of the tears you haven’t had time to cry.
Because time stands still here, wrapped tight in his embrace.
And Francisco isn’t afraid of your mess.
“It’s okay, baby. You’re okay.”
He doesn’t ask.
Instead, he tiptoes around the debris of that box to where you weep in the center of the chaos.
To where the child sits with hot tears streaming down their face.
And he looks straight into the heart of you with eyes as soft as the toy you clutch to your chest for comfort.
And offers himself instead.
He offers the breadth of his chest and the strong panes of his back. The vice grip of his arms and the gentle soothing of a palm.
He offers his whole self.
In the stead of the affection you were never given and so learned too well to do without.
In the stead of the wire-framed mother.
In the stead of the shell that should have been a father.
In the stead of all of the unkind words you clung to in the belief that they must be true.
For why else would they not love a child in the way that a child needs love?
For why else were you left lonely for so long?
And the back of your throat goes sore with the burn of his kindness.
Kindness that you still don’t believe you deserve.
“Put it down, baby. Let it go.”
Where Life asked you to soothe yourself.
“I’m here.”
Life offers him to you now.
For Life, it seems, has taken pity on you.
Or perhaps It grew weary of how your grief made It ache.
“I’m here now.”
And so It proffered this apology.
One that you accept in the form of skin and muscle. Bones and blood.
A soft-hearted one with big kind eyes.
And Frankie holds you until the sobbing eases.
And thumbs the tears from your lashes.
Plush lips soften into a crooked smile.
"Are you hungry, cariño?" Whispered softly.
"Yeah," you murmur because you suppose you are.
"Can we sit by the wood stove?" He turns you towards the living room and lays a kiss at the crown of your head.
"Yeah, yeah of course."
"Good, because it's fucking freezing." And that finally pulls a laugh from your throat. "Go on," he smacks you lightly on the bum, "I'll bring you a plate."
You grab both glasses of wine and toss a few throw pillows on the floor before Frankie settles next to you with two shallow bowls heaped with pasta.
_____
When you've finished dinner, plates stacked on the coffee table, cat napping on a throw pillow near the pair of you, Frankie sits back against the sofa and pulls you to sit at his side.
"I'm sorry that I..."
"No," Frankie cuts you off and wraps an arm around your shoulders. "Don't ever apologize to me for feeling, baby."
And you stare down into the dregs of your wine.
"Promise," he prompts with a nudge of his arm.
You look up at him through tired, but grateful eyes. "I promise, Frankie."
"Good," and he kisses you slowly, all warm lips and soft moans.
He regales you with stories from his latest trip until you settle in against him, head tucked under his chin. Lulled by the rise and fall of his breath.
You let him hold you here, with one arm wrapped around your shoulders.
Safe by the gentle heat of a dying fire.
You'll be yourself again tomorrow.
But tonight you allow yourself this.
Frankie kisses into your hairline as you drift between this word and sleep. Your weight against him is soothing as he finishes the last of the wine, eyes trained on the windows beyond, tracking the path of snowflakes on their way to meet the earth again.
"Te comprendo, cariño," he murmurs, resting his cheek against your crown.
"Y creo que te amo."
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Catching up (Platonic Mobius M Mobius x Reader)
Author's Note: here is just a 1k word scene of camaraderie. A bit of Lokius feels.
Misery might love company but good friends lift you up.
Post Season 2
Unbeta'd and barely edited.
Gender neutral for the most part.
Content warnings: loneliness, sadness.
You wave to Mobius as you walk through the restaurant doors. He stands and helps you out of your jacket. You hug. It almost feels normal. But for you, it isn't.
To anyone in the restaurant you look like two friends catching up, or maybe a couple on a date. They couldn't possibly know the reality of your situation.
Mobius gives you a once over as you take the seat he offers you.
“You look stunning,” he says as he sits at the table.
“Oh hush, you’d say that about anything after knowing me only in those beige and brown boring outfits day in and day out for all of time.” You grin. “But you don't look so bad yourself, M. “Especially the tie.”
Mobius grins as he smoothes the deep green tie he had paired with a black suit.
“You would, considering you picked it out.”
“You needed more color in your wardrobe,” you grinned. “And I know you like the color.” You wink. He shakes his head but you don't miss the sad look in his eyes. You reach across the table and squeeze his hand. “I miss ‘em too, M.”
He nods but the waiter arrives and you place your orders.
You talk about the weather and surface topics as the waiter brings your drinks. You tell him how Casey, OB and Timely have been testing a new feature of an alternative power source since the TVA doesn't actually pull energy from the loom like you used too. Sure, OB had stabilized a source not long after the loom failed. But OB was no longer satisfied with a singular source. He wanted back up for back ups.
“That's OB,” Mobius says fondly. “I'm just glad he has help now. It's not all on him.” Mobius gets that look that you know means he’s starting to get lost in his memories.
“So,” you ask. “How’re the boys?” and you have his full attention again.
“They’re good,” he smiles as he thinks about his sons. “A handful, but good.”
“Mischievous, are they?”
“Oh without a doubt,” Mobius chuckles.
You laugh too because of course the people he loves most are chaotic by nature.
“Well, if anyone knows how to handle chaotic energy, it's you, Mobius.” You smile up at the waiter as he brings your entrees.
“How about you? What have you been up to? Last I heard B-15 had you keeping an eye on some of the former TVA workers.”
You nod. “The ones we weren't sure would adjust well, but honestly, most everyone is thriving.”
“Except?”
“Just a couple people,” you try to shrug off details. But he waits you out. “Brad Wolfe is thriving but he's still an erratic idiot, so we keep an eye on him.”
“Probably a good call,” he says between bites of his side salad. “Anyone else setting off that analyst brain of yours?”
You had just taken another bite of your pasta when he asked and you tried not to sigh.
“Like I said, most everyone is doing well. You hear from Sylvie more than I do, and the TVA is still in transition, but we’re doing alright.”
“But?” He asks, because he's Mobius and he knows to read between the lines.
You sigh and set your fork down. Stalling as you take a sip of your drink but he just watches you with a narrowed gaze.
“Mobius,” you start, tone now more serious.
It's his turn to sign. “It's me isn't it, I'm the outlier.”
“You lost more than anyone, Mobius, and that's understandable.”
“You lost your friend too,” he says. You and Loki had been thick as thieves. You worked with the god almost as well as Mobius did. “And D-90.” You and the hunter had been close. How close Mobius had never managed to get out of you, but he knew it broke your heart when you found out Brad pruned him. He was pretty sure that was why you monitored the actor as close as you do. If Brad failed to make use of the life he killed your closest companion for, you'd prune Brad Wolfe yourself.
“The job always had risks,” you say sadly. “It was always a possibility. But before it had a purpose.”
“For all time,” Mobius says.
“Always,” you finish for him.
“Doesn't make it easier,” he says knowingly.
“Still keep expecting him to drop by my desk like nothing has changed.”
“Now you know why I didn't stay,” he points out.
“I knew that already, M.” You start eating again.
“But you need that purpose, don't you?” He asks.
“I didn't have a timeline with people that needed me,” you tell him. “I just monitor you guys now. No variants. It's rare we actually have to intervene these days. Just watching out for Timely’s variants. And thankfully they haven't seemed to notice us yet. But I think that's more…their doing than anyone else's.” You liked to think Loki had a hand in it all.
It's quiet as you both finish your meals.
“You can say their name,” Mobius finally says as dessert arrives. Mobius had predictably gotten key lime pie. “It's alright. I know you're avoiding it for my sake.”
“Last thing I want to do is make it harder on you, M. But to me, it’s…important. I know Loki’s got a bigger role than just protecting the timelines and free will. I just do.”
“How can you be so sure?” He asks.
You study your former colleague and there it was. The doubt and loneliness is written on his face. Unmasked and very real. You reach for his hand again. “Because of the little things. Brighter flowers, my favorite coffee is never out of stock. A pack of cookies I could have sworn weren't there before.” You admit. “Either that or time has finally swiss cheesed my brain and my memory is failing.”
“Maybe it's just wishful thinking,” he says.
“Maybe, but at least this time I get to choose to believe. And I do. Believe in Loki. Always have thanks to you. So, I know you do too.”
________________________
This one if for you guys. @marvelforever352, @welcome--back, @bugbugboy
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