#whats up my name is sam and my life is falling apart around me so i have to cling to what little i have control over

[rhey-007]

I can't help falling in love with you

serial killer!Max Verstappen x reader || 18+ P2

Summary: Moving back to your childhood house was never in your plans, but after your parents' death you couldn't let go of it. After moving in and meeting your new neighbor everything seemed to fall apart, but you're too oblivious to notice the obvious.

Warnings/Tags: 18+, GORE (dismembering), mentions of smut, kidnapping, restraining, torture, violance, female reader, creepy/jealous/yandere Max, cheating

A/N: Max and Lando did so good today in Brazil, but I'm so proud of Nando jdkcjhddnhfjdh 💞 And the hug between him and Checo at the interview 😩 I melted... That's it. That's my A/N. Enjoy!

Wordcount: 3541

P1

༶❃.✮:▹💀◃:✮.❃

Your love life was a misery again after Sergio. You were unable to find someone, while you craved for a normal, romantic relationship after the previous one.

Most of the time after work you’ve spent at Max’s, ocassionally going out to parties with your coworkers. You two layed on his couch, legs tangled together while you played video games, watched races or other things.

Sometimes Daniel joined you too, joking how close you two seemed to be, glued to each other most of the time. But you didn’t see it, you saw your actions just as friendly ones, as well as Max’s. You felt so comfortable aroud him you even told him what happend with you and your parents.  

“They were very abusive...” 

You blurted out one night, when you layed on top of his chest while you watched some netflix series. 

“Not in a physicall way but verbally and emotionally... They were always criticizing and degrading me... Sometimes even threatened me into doing something... I couldn’t have my own opinion, I always had to agree with them no matter what... I couldn’t stand it and run away at 18... It’s cruel but I kind of felt good when I found out they were gone... I know it’s sounds bad... I-I'm sorry, I shouldn’t have told you. Don’t know what came over me...” 

You rushed up but were stopped by Max’s hand wrapped around your waist, pulling you back down. 

“It’s okay, I understand. I’m sure you feel better now” 

The man hugged you tightly and planted a kiss on the top of your head. You felt so safe...  

༶❃.✮:▹💀◃:✮.❃

One day Bethany and Sam – your closest coworkers – took you out partying. You weren’t really keen on it as the only thing you wanted was to go back home and see Max, but eventually agreed when they said they wanted you to meet someone.

When you saw him, already sitting in your booth you stopped in your tracks and looked at your friends. There was nothing wrong with him, quite the contrary. The man was really handsome, had a beautiful smile and even more beautiful hazel eyes.

And that was the problem. You were a hundred percent sure a guy like him wouldn’t fall for you. And you were wrong. Lance, was his name, seemed to have a liking in you. His arm was wrapped around you a second after you greeted him.

The conversation wasn’t very good, but the man made up for it with his good humor and eventually you found a mutual topic. You brought him back home that night, his lips instantly landing on yours the moment he closed the door after himself.

Suddenly, a light turning on and a sharp cough made you pull away and look confused in the direction of the noise. Max sat on your armchair, arms crossed, leg placed on a leg, a deep frown on his face and cold take out on the table. His death stare pierced through Lance, making him tighten his grip on you waist.  

„Oh god Max... I-I'm so sorry I forgot „ 

You whined out, arms slumping down in defeat but you didn’t push Lance away.  

„It's okay. Enjoy your food” 

Max hissed, quickly and angrily getting up and leaving, bumping Lance's arm on his way. He was really mad that you stood him up just to go to some stupid party and bring some dick back home.

The last part angried him the most, as he thought he finally had a chance with you, ready to make a move that night. But of course you ruined everything.

Even though the man was furious at you, he still watched you. Watched how Lance pounded into you at an agonizing pace, how your lips moved moaning – he imagined how they sounded, how you could sound moaning his name. He observed you constantly changing positions, pleasing each other as best as you could.

Despite Max noticing Lance being by far the best in bed from all your lovers, he knew he could be even better.  

Next day you woke up alone in your bed. It saddened you a little as you hoped the man would stay until you wake up, but your face brightened up when you noticed breakfast and a little note on the dining table.  

„Thanks, It was amazing. Enjoy your food and call me!  xxx xxx xxx ❤” 

Immediately picking your phone up you texted the man. A few weeks after that night, you started dating. It might have been too early but you didn’t care.

In meanwhile you've also managed to make up with Max, but he still seemed stiff when Lance joined you. The Dutch warned you about him, saying that the Canadian was a ladies man, not able to stick to one woman for a long time. But you brushed it off, thinking you knew better.  

༶❃.✮:▹💀◃:✮.❃

Max saw Lance glued to other women multiple times while out in the town. He didn’t tell you cause you wouldn’t listen anyway, just get mad at him. He bought them various gifts, took them to fancy restaurants and events – all those things he did with you too. He thought that if his daddy had money, he could do everything.

One day Max couldn’t hold back anymore and beat Stroll up, landing him in the hospital. You were so furious at him, shouting your lungs out at him when you found out.

Little did you know your anger only deepened his admiration for you and turned him on. You were unable to stay mad at the dutch though, and eventually you were good again.

After some time you caught Lance cheating. Max was right... Again... You walked back from work, as Lance drove you there in the morning, eyes focused on your steps and pevement while music filled your ears.

You haven’t noticed them at first, walking by a bar with a huge front window they drank at, until you bumped into someone and got out of trance. Looking around you looked through the window and saw them, drinking, giggling and kissing like there's no tomorrow.

Feeling your heart break in your chest you quickly run away and dialed Max’s number to pick you up. The man was quick to answer and soon you were sitting in his car, sobbing quietly while his hand soothed your thigh.

Max wanted to say ‘I said so’ so badly, but he knew it would hurt you even more and he didn’t want that. That night you spent at his house, wrapped in a blanket like a burrito, eating ice cream and watching TV while Max finished up some work beside, constantly playing with your hair to comfort you a little.

You woke up to hundread missed calls and texts from Lance but didn’t bother answering. Getting up you noticed Max wasn’t home. 

"He must have gone to work...” 

You thought stepping to the kitchen, delicious smell of scrambled eggs filling your nostrils. Your mouth started to water when you also started to smell coffee. The man knew how to please you. At least him...

You there, eating your breakfast, waiting for the host to come back home and thinking about him. It’s been 3 years since you know each other and the man already knew everything about you, yet you knew so little of him...

It was kinda of scary that he turned from just a neighbour to literally your best friend so quickly. But if you had to be honest you didn’t mind. You were greatful to have a friend like him. His call made you get out of your another hypnotic state.  

“Hey I’m sorry I left without a word. Didn’t want to wake you up... Listen... Unfortunately I’ll be gone for a few days - bussines. Can you please take care of my house? You can do everything you want there just... Don’t go down to the basement okay?” 

“What’s in there?” 

“Well uh... Don’t laugh okay?...” 

“I won’t” 

“Just... Just my man cave...” 

“Oooh... Okay Okay I won’t. I promise. Take care of yourself, see you soon!” 

With that you were left all alone in his mansion for a few days. Oh that was going to be fun... 

༶❃.✮:▹💀◃:✮.❃

Three days passed since Max left in bussines and you lived the time of your life in his house. Lance haven’t called nor texted you ever since, which you were really happy about thinking that he quessed what caused your behaviour and gave up.

 Max even transwered you some money for food, which you thought was too generous of him but didn’t really complain. You were sitting in the living room, making a model for work when you lost your scizzors.

You’ve looked for them everywhere, even under both couches and armchairs but it was nowhere to be found so you decided to take one from Max. But you couldn’t find any either, even in his home office.

Although... There was one more place you haven’t checked. Max forbid you going in there, and soon you understood why. You froze after what you saw. 

“Y/N! I’m back!” 

Max’s voice resonated through the house, a sound of closing front door sealed the noise. Then long silence, until rushing steps came from the staircase. You didn’t turn around, couldn’t care to turn around and look him in the eyes as tears filled yours. 

‘’You weren’t supposed to come here...” 

The man growled yanking your arm, making you turn around and shrink under his dangerous look. A quiet ‘why’ escaped your lips while tears started to fall down your cheeks like waterfalls and your hand motioned to the horror located in the basement.

Naked Lance sat unconscious on a wooden chair he was tied to – a trail of dried blood could be seen on his forehead and he was very clearly starved and dehydrated, the skin from your ex boyfriends’ faces graced the wall like trophies, a few other ones around them, a wooden, bloodstained desk underneeth with some files and various knives and last but not least an altar with your photo in the middle, your stuff and candles around, was placed near by.

 There was also a metal table, just in the middle of the room with chains that were used to keep the victim restrained, a trolley next to it with bloody tools and a huge fridge in the corner. The room looked like taken straight out of a horror movie, and you felt like Max’s next victim, just after Lance.

But he didn’t want to hurt you, he had no idea how to handle the situation yet but he was sure he wasn’t going to kill you. After all, he loved you and you should love him too. You were made for each other, you were made for him. 

“I did it all for you, don’t you understand?” 

His voice now soft and warm while his hand slipped down your arm to catch your hand, gripping it tightly. His other hand wiped away your tears then stroked your cheek with his thumb. As much as you wanted to push him away, to run as far away as you could, to get away from the man, you couldn’t. Something made you stay, not able to move. It was probably just shock... 

“’George, he... he never had time for you... Always comming back home all worn out and tired expecing all the chores to be done, house clean and food ready... Has he ever helped you?... That mexican? Oh god don’t even get me started... I know that he hurt you... I heard and saw him relieve his stress on you multiple times... Those weren’t cries of pleasure... And him? Really? You could do waaay better... He was cheating on you since you became a ‘couple’. Don’t believe me? I can show you, no problem” 

Max explained, he didn’t seem to be affected by the fact he has killed them, it wasn’t his first time. George always said there was something uncanny and scary about him. So did Sergio... And Lance...

But you haven’t listened, of course you haven’t. You were so blindfolded by this facade of a man you haven’t noticed his strange behaviour. And now you were where you were, standing in the psycho’s basement listening to him disclose his crimes.  

“That despot was the easiest... Both for you and me. I know you felt sooo relieved when he went missing. And I felt sooo satisfied hearing him shout and cry for help while I teared him appart... Those screams were like honey to my ears... Although he did struggle the most...  Geogre... Oh. My. God... The most boring guy I have ever met... Killing him wasn’t a pleasure at all, gotta admit. Although he was the only one that apologised, for not having time for you. That I appreciated. And Lance? Well... You can find out yourself” 

You listened to Max rumbling about his crimes, describing each with such a passion it terrified you more and more. Soon the man grabbed your arms and spoon you around to look at Stroll.

He walked up to him and woke the man up with a painful kick to the stomach. He grabbed his hair tightly and made him look at you, all terrified and trembling, huging yourself to try and calm yourself down.  

“What should we do with him honey?” 

Max’s eyes never left yours while his hand reached for a knife that soon slightly moved across Lance’s neck.  

"Maybe we’ll dismember him huh? First the dick he stuck in all those pussies... Then his hands that used to touch other women aside you... And then whatever you’d like... What do you say?” 

You instantly shook your head and tried to run away, but the bastard locked the door. You breathed heavily as you watched him slowly walk up to you and yank towards him and Stroll. He pushed an axe into your hands and positioned you next to Lance. 

“Y/N please...” 

The man managed to breath out, eyes filled with tears as he looked at you and you looked at his with just as much fear. 

“Come on sugar, start” 

You wanted to puke at all the nicknames Max gave you. You held the axe tightly and was just about to swing it around your shoulder, wanting to hit Max, but the dutch grabbed your hands and helped you chop off Lance’s member. A loud scream vibrated through the room while blood splattered onto your face.

You felt weak, almost falling to your knees when Max caught you and chuckled into your ear, before nibbling it softly. 

“Can’t stand little blood huh?” 

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!” 

Lance shouted out between cries. Tears started to fall down your cheeks, seeing him in such pain because of you.  

“Max please... L-Let us go...” 

You whispered into his chest, wetting his shirt with your salty tears but the man only laughed maniacally. 

“And where’s the fun in that? Come on we gotta finish this. I know you can do this doll. Think of all the times those filthy hands touched anyone other than you in a sexual way and the just... Chop them... It’s that easy” 

The man once again positioned you and awaited your move. His words actually made you think of all the times Lance could have cheated on you. It was terrifying to think about because, if believing Max, there might have been a lot of them.

Your blood boiled at the only thought of it but your hands were still shaking, not making a move but instead making Max impatient. A deep sighed escaped his lips before he helped you cut off Lance’s left hand. 

“Relieving isn’t it?” 

He grinned down at you as you listened to the canadian scream like a little girl, in agony once again. This time though, you didn’t feel so bad. He kind of... Deserved it...

Max noticed how your lips twitched, almost smiling. You were so easy to influence and manipulate... And he was going to use that as much as he could.  

"Now the other one” 

He instructed making you move around to Stroll’s other side. 

“I think you can do it yourself now, right?” 

The blonde asked stepping away to watch the horror. A creepy grin graced his face as he watched his girl finally cause pain to her ex by herself.  

“That’s my girl” 

He praised taking the axe from your still shaking hands and pressing you to his chest. He rubbed your back soflty, while you processed what just happened, trying to ignore the screams in the proces.

Did you really just cut off a guys hand? You could not believe it. You could not believe that you did it. That you did it by yourself. 

“Now let’s finish this off, shall we?” 

Max whispered, his lips gracing over yours before he put on that scary smile again. The axe was back in your hands as you stood in front of Lance. The blonde held your hips tightly so you wouldn’t run away and ordered you to chop off Strolls’ head. 

“There’s only head left. You can do this baby” 

Your heart beat like crazy as you took a good swing and observed the sharp tool get stuck in Lance’s head, killing him off. You didn’t really listen to the dutch and get rid of the head, instead opting to just ruin it. You felt dizzy almost immediately, falling to the ground and loosing conscious. 

After you woke up you found yourself laying in Max’s bedroom, the man sitting beside you stroking your head. 

“You did such a good job down there...” 

He complimented planting a kiss to your forehead. 

"Why...” 

You suddenly whispered after a short while of silence, your voice cracking softly. 

“Because I fucking love you... Don’t you understand?...” 

He hissed, gripping the back of your neck before he released it when you curled in the bed, those doe eyes looking up at him with hurt. 

“I love you Y/N L/N... The way I have never ever loved anyone else... All the things I’ve done for you were full of my love... Our dinners in the town? They were dates... The secret valentines? They were mine... All the presents, flowers, sweets, help... Have you really not noticed my signals?...” 

Max asekd with hurt in his voice, now you started to pity him. You were so oblivious you really thought all those things he had done in a friendly manner. But your blindness didn’t justify his actions.  

“Why haven’t you told me?...” 

“What would it give when you were already taken?...” 

He was right... It wouldn’t have changed anything. You looked at him, fear and hurt filled your eyes while you tried to even your breath. Even then, you looked so beautiful to him and he couldn’t wait to finally make you his. 

“I know... I know it’s shocking and I’m sorry... I really am, but you need to understand I did it for you. I did it for your well being... And I’m sure you feel relieved after killing Lance... I know... I know it’s an amazing feeling isn’t it?” 

Max smiled down at your. This time the expressions wasn’t sinister nor creepy, but rather cute making your heart melt.  

“What... What will you do with me now?” 

Asking quietly you earned a soft chuckle from the dutch. He got up and looked down at you, his demeanor changing from a soft and sweet one to a completely cold one. 

"Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you... My love for you is too big to make me hurt you, but... I can’t let you go after you saw everything... I’m sorry but I told you not to come down there. Now... There’s no going back” 

You crawled away from him in fear, then watched him close, lock and cover the windows, before he turned back to face you. 

“I’m not gonna keep you down there... It would be too cruel even for me” 

The man admitted taking afew steps towards the bed. 

“Don’t even try screaming. We wouldn't like those beautiful throat of your sto hurt, do we?... The walls and windows are soundproof, no one will hear you... I’ve got you some nice, new clothes already, they’re in the closet, so you don’t have to worry you’ll have nothing to wear. I’ll bring some of your old ones soon... Let me unpack and I’ll make you something to eat, then you can shower and go to sleep. Here’s the remote”  

Max said handing you the remore before leaving you alone and locking the door. 

“Max no!”  

You screamed, running after him and trying to stop him from locking the door but it was too late. You slumped down onto the ground, curled up sobbing quietly. Max heard you cry as he stood by the door. It hurt him, it really did, but he couldn’t let you go. Not now when he finally had you. That night you cried yourself to sleep, wondering if you will ever be able to live a normal life again... 

 

"Take my hand 

Take my whole life, too 

For I can't help falling in love with you"

#f1 #f1 fanfiction #fanfiction #18+ fanfic #female reader #violance #cw: gore #max verstappen x reader #max verstappen fanfic #max verstappen #max verstappen fanfiction

[kittyamore0]

Hey there!! Can I get an Ethan landry scenario where the apartment Scene in scream six Isn’t him but Quinn as ghostface and reader goes through what Anika does after Ethan told Quinn not to do anything to them?? Thank you!

A/N: i was so pissed because i loved Anika and that whole scene gave me 36 panic attacks and 67 heart attacks!

Knocking at death's door...

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RATING: SFW

PAIRNG: ETHAN LANDRY X GN! READER TAGS: @kittiescrownedsoul, @zspen

FANDOM/GENRE: Scream 6, ghost face, dark romance, horror

POV: 2ND POV

WRITING STYLE: one-shot, slight angst

Reminder: Do NOT translate, transfer, modify, copy or steal my ideas!

CW: Attempted murder, faked death, blood, height mentions, GN! Reader, swearing, shouting/screaming

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The cold wind hits your face hard, your body trembles at the sight below you. The fall was too high. Banging of someone trying to break in can be heard from behind you, Ghostface.

Ever since receiving that picture on your phone about Ethan 'dying,' things just went downhill. Now, leading to you being on a timer at death's door.

"Oh, god...I can't do it, I can't do it...!" You sobbed as Anika frantically gestured to you to hurry as fast as possible. The drawer wasn't going to hold Ghostface for so long.

You began slowly crawling over, your breathing uneven. "You can do it! That's it! That's it!" Sam and Anika shouted.

You sobbed, as you noticed Sam, Mindy, and Anika had gone quiet, staring at what was not you, but behind you...

"What?" You stared at the back, confused. "[Name], you have to move right now!" Mindy shouted and pointed behind you.

You turned around to see Ghostface stabbing his knife beside the ladder. "No! No!" You gripped onto the ladder weakly, your heart hammering in your chest.

"Move!"

"You gotta move!" Sam and Mindy tried reaching out to you, but the ladder suddenly shook back and forth and up and down. "Stop! Stop!" You ducked down your hugged the ladder, as Ghostface violently shook it.

"[Name], MOVE!" Anika cried. "Anika, I don't wanna die!" Your heart felt like it had stopped when Ghostface lifted up the ladder and tilted it. "No, no, no! Stop it! You fucker!" Mindy gabbed onto what she could of the ladder.

To their surprise, you didnt fall. You stuck on to the ladder and hugged it for your dear life. Legs tangled and curled on the steps, arms engulfing the sides, but you were upside down. There was still a chance for your downfall.

"What...? Mindy stuck her head through the ladder to see a distressed you. Sam, and Anika laughed in relief and disbelief. "Im still alive! Oh, shit!" Seeing you still clinging to the ladder had gotten him furious. He started shaking the ladder up and down again.

Until, all sudden movements stopped, and you almost slipped because they stopped during his mid-shaking-the ladder. You craned your neck to look up slightly. Two Ghostafce, but they didnt look like they were helping each other...no...they were...fighting?

Another Ghostface appeared, but swung a punch at the Ghostface trying to kill you. "What..?" Sam whispered and Anika just stared in shock.

Suddenly, the second Ghostface comes up to the window. "[Name], go...GO, NOW!" He shouted with his deep, moderated voice. That was enough to get you going, because even though you were backwards, you started crawling up slowly. One by one...

Sam, Mindy, and Anika cheered as they picked you up. Anika arms held under your arms, Mindy was holding your stomach, and Sam got your legs. They hauled you in the apartment on the count of three.

Anika, and Mindy hugged you. "You did it! You did it...!" Anika cheered. Sam crouched down and came up behind you.

"What was that..?" You shook your head. "I dont know...I think that Ghostface knows us, or rather...me."

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#scream #scream movies #scream 6 #ghostface scream #ethan landry x y/n #ethan landry x reader #ethan landry x you #ethan landry #reader fic #reader x character #reader insert #gender neutral reader #anika kayoko #mindy meeks martin #sam carpenter #scream vi #scream 2023 #ladder scene in scream 6 #ghostface x reader #ghostface

[andsoigotabutterfly]

-Save Me From Her - chapter 3

Tara Carpenter x fem!reader

Summary: The past comes back to haunt, and it doesn't like the present.

a/n: Hai everybody! Sorry that this took this long to come out, but life has been lifing, and I needed to get a hold of my mental health and stuff like that. Anyways, enjoy!

warnings: amature writing, wounds, stabbing, Canon-typical violance, multiple POV's, mixed POV's, mass homocide, blood, blood, and more blood (also; not proofread. I will, but not yet. When I did, I will remove this. I just wanted to push this out as quick as possible.

“Lolly!”

Her voice was venomous as it echoed through the small room, shivering, and agitated.

“Come ‘ere…”

The voice disintegrated, everything in it becoming shadowy dust, blown away by the wind. Her voice faded as well, as it was taken over by a sound that cut through the very fabric of nature. A scream, loud, horrid, and filled with emotion. Filled with anger, with hate and rancor.

“She was screaming, shouting, and begging for it to end.” The voice sounded from the depths of darkness. “Yet you did nothing!”

Her face emerged from the dredge, emotionless. Her eyes like glass, her mouth ripped open, deep bruises across her features. Dead. Then her voice sounded again, the former emotions snuff from the words she spoke, replaced with sadness. She sounded bitter, heartbroken. Disappointed.

“We could have been happy Y/N. We could have been…”

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

Tara was worried about you. Ever since you saw the note, you haven’t been the same. You acted like nothing happened, talked to the cops about the attack whilst soothing her quivering body. They asked about the dead body as well, which you gave the full truth about; that he attacked you two yesterday and that in his drunk state, you could fend him off. With her help you went through about what happened inside the building today, skipping over the personal parts of course.

Even though you kept a straight, composed face, even when you talked calmly, not a hint of trembling present in your voice, she could see through your façade. You were shaken to your core. She saw the slight flinch of your eyes when the name ‘Lolly’ came up, she felt the almost unnoticeable tightening of your grip around her whenever they asked about your wounds. The little motions your lips, your body, they all gave you away. She has never seen you like this. Scared. You weren’t whilst talking back to someone twice your size, not when you defended her yesterday from the drunk, not when you two fled for your lives today. Not when the knife was inches away from your face. Never

Yet now, you were. The reappearance of Ghostface by itself made Tara too, your state had only worsened hers. She was afraid for you. The worry she felt for you overwhelmed every other emotion that would rise in her. She felt like she needed to stay strong, for the both of you. Falling apart was not an option.

After the ambulance patched you up, the cops approached you once more.

“You’ll have to come with us so that we may pick up your statements at the precinct.”

Tara raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t we just tell you what happened?”

“Yes, but to officially record it, we need you to be at the station.”

“But-“ Tara started but your soft, gentle hand on her shoulder made her stop.

“Let’s follow the officers Tara” you said, looking at the young woman. You were composed and confident.

She huffed but gave in to you. “Can I call Sam from your phone please? I left mine in your apartment.”

“Here” you mumbled as you absentmindedly handed her yours from your back pocket.

As Tara started to dial in her sister’s number, she saw it was already saved. At the name she raised her brow again. “Who is ‘Geralt’?

“Oh, it’s her” you say, blushing a little. "It's from Witcher.

“I know, but why is this her name?” she asks, turning the screen towards you.

You shy away from her unwavering gaze, then press the call button and push her hand back towards her face. “Oh, no you won’t escape this-“ she starts but Sam is faster, as she immediately picks up the ringing phone. She hears her voice calling out for her from the other end of the line.

"Tara! I just saw the news. Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm on my way and be there as fast as possib-" her unrelenting assault of words is cut off by Tara.

"Sam, calm down and take a breath. I'm uninjured, but Y/N got a nasty cut on her neck. The police want us to go down to the precinct to pick up our statements. Meet us there?"

"Yeah, sounds good! Be careful!"

"Off what? I'll be surrounded by cops for god's sake!"

"We both now that won't stop him" Sam said, voice low and mournful. Flashing memories of the hospital ran through Tara's mind for a second and sent a shiver down her spine. The dead cop, laying limp on the floor with an open throat, the pain and the fear coming back to her all of a sudden. Her senses numbed, not hearing Sam's voice on the other end of the line, the lights becoming blindingly bright, yet she couldn't close or avert her eyes. She was frozen in place, helpless just like when she was crawling away from her. From the one that said she would be always by her side. The one that said whatever the case, she would keep her safe. The one that said she loved her.

She flinched when she felt something touch her and snapped her head backwards. At your sight she calmed, only now noticing, and taking in her surroundings once again. "Okay Sam, I will. Bye" Tara managed to say, then hung up.

"She knew?" your voice was soft, so soft. Why were you this thoughtful with her always? It made her heartbeat faster, making her able to believe she could be normal again. But life always had a way to prove her wrong, doesn't it?

"By now all of the world could now" she gestured behind you, towards the police line where an army of reporters were lined up. You sighed as you noticed them. "We are gonna meet her at the station."

"Then let's get moving." Tara felt your hand on her back, nudging her gently to get to the police car.

You opened the door for her, then scrambled to the other side to do the same for yourself. When you got in and closed the car, the sounds of the outside vanished, a comfortable silence filling the space. The vehicle soundlessly rolled out to the road, the lights of the city blaring by the window that Tara's head was leaned against. The cops in front were chattering quietly, trying not to disturb you two.

The Carpenter felt odd. Out of place. Everything was calm. Nothing should be calm. Ghostface was back. He was here to bring her and her loved one’s pain, suffering, and death. Why her? Then she thought of the note. This wasn't about her. No, you knew what the name meant, it scared you. This wasn't about her she realized. This was about you. She rethought the attack, every little detail she could think of. She was the first one to get called, but that didn't mean much. All the time, he was staring at you with his dead eyes, always attacking you. She remembered the occasions where he could have wounded her, yet he was focused solely on you.

Tara looked over to your side of the backseats, taking in your features again. You were just as disturbed as her, deep in thought and uncomfortable. You would have looked cute if one didn't know about what had happened. Tara saw your pained gaze, could feel that your thoughts were eating you up inside and hated every moment of it. Your usual smile wasn't there to light her up. She missed your crinkling eyes that could melt the coldest frozen hearts, your witty jokes, that you would throw in the worst time possible. So, she tried to distract you.

"I want an answer" she demanded, looking at you with furrowed eyes. She surprised you with speaking up, that she could see. You looked at her, confused and unfocused. "I want an answer" she repeated. You clearly didn't know what she was talking about, but she needed you to get speaking so you wouldn't shut off again.

"What answer?" your voice full of confusion.

"The answer to my question" Tara said matter-of-factly.

You rolled your eyes at her statement. "Which one Tara?"

"Why the hell is my sister saved in your phone as Geralt of Rivia?"

You reddened instantly, looking everywhere but her. "It was mainly meant to be a joke…"

"But?"

You gulped and glanced over to her a few times. She knew her unwavering gaze would brake your resistance, and it did. "Anika pointed out that he resembles some of his attributes." You say, still not looking at her.

"Like what?" Tara asked playfully. You looked like a child caught in the act of stealing cookies from the fridge. You swallowed again, clearly rethinking your life choices since the date of your birth. "Y/N, don't think that I'll let you off the hook this easily."

"She is strong, layered and protective besides being misunderstood and mistreated!" you blurted out, looking straight at her. Once you did, your eyes widened and went pale as a ghost. Tara could feel her smile widening to unimaginable lengths before bursting out in laughter. "I'm only telling the truth here! Don't laugh at me" you pouted. You looked so kissable.

"N- no it's not you it's just" she tried to say in between laughs. "It's just that it's so accurate. She would be fuming if she heard about this."

"And that's why she will never know!" So kissable.

"Oh, I don't know about that" she smirked. "My tongue is in a slippy mood these days…"

"No, Tara I'm serious!" you pleaded, face contorting in fear. "She would kill me! I have barely made it on her list of tolerated people! I don't want to end up-" she cut you off with her lips on yours. Your eyes widened for a moment, taking in what was happening, but she didn't give you enough time to fully comprehend it. She leaned back and watched your gaping face. After you finally shook off the surprise, you smirked at her. "Well, if I end up like this, I don't mind her knowing."

Tara rolled her eyes at you but the butterflies in her stomach rendered her silent. What exactly was this? You kissed her back, that surely meant you liked her too, right? She didn’t have much time to think because you leaned in to kiss her again, this time deepening it. You cupped her cheek with your right hand, whilst the left on found hold on her waist, gently rubbing circles under the fabric. When you had to separate for air, she pressed her forehead against yours, eyes locking with each other.

“I-“ Tara started, but stopped herself. The words she was about to speak didn’t feel right. Didn’t feel enough. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to think up something that would be better.

“I know” you said simply, caressing her face with your fingers. She opened her eyes again, and your heart started beating faster at the sight of them, full of hope and concern. “Me too.”

Your words made the swarm of butterflies in Tara’s stomach grow into a horde. “Since when?”

“Anika told me what you told Mindy” you said with a smirk. “That’s when I really started to hope for it to be true. I never fully believed it until know though.”

“You mean the time when they got together?” At your nod her face reddened. She then narrowed her eyes and leaned back. “Mindy is dead to me.”

“Oh, come on, they share everything between each other, and Anika could never stand my stare.”

“It was meant to be a secret!”

“If you want to blame someone, blame me for being a too good sister, from which the other can’t keep anything from!”

“Yeah, if anything you’re an idiot” she said, smiling.

“I might be” you leaned back too and smirked at her. “But I’m your idiot now.” Tara’s stomach churned in the most pleasurable way after hearing your words.

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

The rest of the route went by in a blink of an eye. Tara and you had talked most of it through, and you were thankful of her for distracting you from your own thoughts. The note rocked you to your core. There were only a few people who could have known that nickname, but you didn’t see any of them capable of killing someone, let alone mutilate them afterwards. The only one died a year ago. She died a year ago.

When your thoughts would start to eat you up again the car stopped. The cops got out and helped you two leave the vehicle as well. You entered the building and were met with the familiar sight of the white walls and crowded office. You couldn’t remember how many days you spent here nagging and annoying your uncle. Yet he wasn’t here anymore, and the thought made you feel alone. Scared. Overwhelmed. Screaming, shouting, begging for it to end…

As if she read your mind, Tara grabbed your hand and interlocked her fingers with you. You looked down at her and smiled, reassuringly squeezing her hand. The cops started leading you two to what you liked to call; ‘interrogation chamber’ in your youth. Whenever you saw the cops bringing in perps in handcuffs, you would imagine how scary it must be for them. You would chase yourself into a corner of your mind where everything was scary and dark. Where she was still free. Still alive. Your only lifebelt being your uncle, who never failed to help you out of there. Now, the room you were closing in on didn’t seem so bad. It felt safe. Funny how time changes perspectives.

“Y/N?” you heard a familiar voice behind you. Not believing your ears your span around, searching for the source. “Y/N! Hey! How are you? What the hell are you doing here?” The source turned out to be a young man, with red hair and sparkling green eyes. Just like your uncle.

“I could ask you the same thing V.”

“Not even a greeting for your most humble cousin? I must say you’ve cha-“ he got cut off when you hugged him so tightly Tara was worried you might brake some bones. “There she is…” he said, wrapping his own hand around you.

“What happened? I thought you are stationed in Washington!”

“I got transferred here upon my request. Being a legacy of pa helped.”

“Kayoko, you two know each other?” one of the officers asked that were escorting you.

“Not intentionally” Vasco smirked and pushed your shoulder a little. You flinched from the pain. His eyes narrowed and without asking pushed the fabric of your shirt to the side, revealing the bloody bandage that was wrapped around the stitched wound. “What happened?” his voice got serious in an instant.

You took a deep breath before answering. “Me and Tara had been attacked in my apartment.” His eyes widened, suddenly gripping your bicep. “It was Ghostface. Now I’m involved in the homicide of a homeless drunk that also attacked us a day before and gave me this” you held up your arm. The wound narrowed since yesterday, yet it still itched and hurt. “Speaking truly, I was the aggressor that time, but that’s unimportant now.” You almost whispered the last sentence. He huffed and shook his head slightly.

“Just my luck” he shook his head. “The first serious case I get, and my family’s involved.”

“You lead the case?”

“No, Wayne does. You know, father’s old partner.” You nodded, as you did, in fact remember the graying man. “I’m in his team and for once, he didn’t put me in the backline.”

“Wayne as in Wayne Bailey?” Tara interrupted.

“How do you know him?” Vasco asked back.

“He’s the father of her roommate.”

“Quinn or E… Oh wait, no. His son is studying at Princton. So, you are Quinn’s roommate huh?”

“I thought her brother died…” Tara said.

“He did. Sorry, he had two siblings. I thought you would know this.”

“No, she never mentioned two” you said as well.

“Sorry to interrupt Kayoko, but we all have our jobs to do” a officer said. “After picking up their statements, you can have them back.”

“Of course, Stan. Apologies” he said and held his hands up.

Before you were lead away, you hugged him again and decided to throw the big ball into the game. “There was a note for me, pinned to the corpse” you whispered in his ear.

“How do you know it was for you?”

“It was meant for Lolly.”

When you pulled away, you saw his struck state. It looked like he froze down, his eyes full of sorrow as he looked at you “I’ll get to work then” he said, threw you a weak smile, and squeezed your shoulder again, before turning around and walking towards his place.

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

You needed to wait a little for Bailey to arrive. He was at the scene and missed you there.

“Stan and Mitch are awfully efficient when they don’t need to be” he huffed as he greeted you warmly. He was just as bright and straight as he always used to, even if time had worn him out a little. With you, at least. Tara was a different world. You remembered how he first acted around you and found resemblance. They just needed to warm up to each other, you thought.

They didn’t. From the point he started picking up your statement, he gave her his coldest self. Sam got there in the middle of interrogation, and her being around didn’t help much either. She looked even more dishevelled than last time as she barged into the room, even though half the police force tried to deny her that. When Tara reassured them that she was with you two, they reluctantly let her stay.

You didn’t know whether Tara wanted to hide what you had from her, so you tried to keep the usual distance, but the young Carpenter was having none of it. Once she got a hold of your hand under the table, she wasn’t letting go. Sam clearly saw but didn’t say anything. The only reaction you saw from her, was the small, almost unnoticeable smile on her concerned face, which you took as a good sign.

You explained everything again to Bailey, this time a bit more calmly and provided more information. You described the attack, the phone call, leaving out some information about you and Tara again. Then came the nickname. The grey man tried to go into the depths, but you dodged every question as your father and uncle had thought you to. Noone besides our loved ones will know about this. The vow you made to them resounded in your head, and you never took yourself for a liar. Noone else needs to know. It just wasn’t necessary.

“Who could want to see you two dead?” he asked with a resigning voice, eyeing you and Tara.

“Cmon’ Bailey, you know me! I’m the most charming person in the world” you teased and leaned back, smirking.

“So, half the city. You?” she asked Tara.

Before answering she shook her head slightly. “Can’t think of anyone who’s still alive.”

“Yikes.” you and Bailey said in unison.

The door opened and Stan showed his head in the door. “FBI’s here, claiming jurisdiction.”

Bailey’s face contorted from confusion. “Where are they?”

He stood and left the room, you quickly following behind. No matter how much time you spent here, it could still surprise you. You have seen federal agents once or twice, but never when they claimed a case for themselves. You were interested, the Carpenter sisters following close behind you. Tara wouldn’t let go of your hand, gently squeezing it, so you couldn’t release it, which you wouldn’t, not even if the world was ending. Especially not if the world was ending.

Three doors later Stan opened a door, motioned inside. A woman stood from one of the chairs, blonde, painted shoulder length hair, combat boots and a black outfit with a black leather jacket. You couldn’t make out what they were talking about, but the woman showed her badge and Bailey clearly didn’t like her. A case was laid open on the table, your and Tara’s picture on top of it. The sisters were talking about something, but you didn’t listen, your eyes focusing on the photograph that was taken of the corpse. It looked weird. Not how it looked when you were there.

Your train of thoughts was disrupted by Sam, who just noticed who was inside. “Kirby?”

“Hey Sam” the blonde woman greeted her and squeezed herself past you and Bailey to hug her. “Tara, and you must be Y/N, right?”

“Your detective skills are impressive” you nodded.

“You are the FBI?” Sam asked.

“You guys know each other?” the graying man asked, after Kirby nodded.

“Yeah. We went to Woodsboro high together” the older Carpenter said. “She was a senior when I was a freshman.          “

“We share a certain history, yeah” Kirby agreed. “Look, I’m not trying to get into a jurisdictional pissing contest here, I just want to help” she had a sly smile plastered on her face. “I’ll show you mine” she said, still smiling. “Et cetera.”

You huffed at her words. This was one of the weakest jokes, you have heard today, yet it still made you smile. Kirby had this look of pure confidence and kindness, that made you calm. You looked down at Tara from the corner of your eye and saw her also hiding her grin with her left hand, the other one still holding onto yours.

Bailey scrunched his eyes, but gave in, sharing some information about your statement and about the attack. The woman nodded along, and once he was finished, spoke up. “I already knew about the circumstances of the attack. If we are to catch this maniac, we will have to work together.”

“Yeah, good luck with that!” Sam said, as her patience ran out. “We are getting out of town” to exercise her point, she grabbed Tara’s hand and started leaving the police station. Your heart clenched in a familiar uncomfortable way.

“No!” Tara pulled her hand back and stayed close by your side. “I’m not leaving her behind!” The pain eased a little at her words, yet your mind was screaming for her to leave.

“Also, I can’t let you do that” Bailey cut in. “I’m sorry, but your sister is a person of interest in a homicide. She can’t leave town until the matter is resolved.”

Sam looked at both in disbelief. At Tara because she wanted to stay in a place where a psycho was on the loose, hell bent on hurting her, and at Bailey because of how ridiculous his words have made her feel. There was a maniac on the loose, and they couldn’t leave. They couldn’t leave because of the people that should try to do everything in their might to keep them safe. It was laughable really. When she wanted to word the thoughts that were circling in her head, the lights shut out.

The whole building went dead silent. The only source of light, being the streetlamps outdoors. You felt Tara leaning into you, her heartbeat fastening against your chest. You tightened your grip on her hand, and blinked, so your eyes would adjust to the darkness quicker. There was a hint of smoke in the air, but there was no logical explanation for it. It also smelled like smoke.

A pained scream echoed through the room. The scream of man. After a moment it turned into a growl, becoming ever more silent as something blocked the way of the sound. You heard Bailey and Kirby take out their guns, cocking them, just as all the other cops in the building. You snapped your head in every direction, but you still couldn’t see clearly, only the figures of people. The smoke in the room only got thicker.

A way too familiar voice resounded across the place, filling you with fear. His voice. “Did you miss me, Lolly?”

Another fading scream filled the room, but this time two shots followed it right after. The sound was deafening, and your ears started ringing. You could hear distant orders being barked out even though it came from right next to you, the figures of the two law enforcers disappearing from before you. A million thoughts were blaring through your mind, only some of them useful. Before you could do anything, you felt someone grab your hand and pull you with. After a moment you realised it was Sam, and stopped struggling against her, following her lead. But then she stopped in her tracks.

“No escape for you here, dear.” Ghostface spoke again, from right before you. You looked over Sam and saw him already stabbing towards her. You tried to pull her backwards, but it was too late. The knife sliced into her flesh, a pained groan leaving her mouth as she stumbled back. As you were still pulling her, a cop got between you and him, raising his gun. Three shots were fired, two of them clearly hitting him, but it was as if he didn’t even notice. He lunged forward at his shooter, opening his throat and chest with two precise and fast attacks.

You span around and ran the other way, the Carpenters by your side. The smoke had now filled the entire place, vision impaired. It helped that you had the building memorised by heart, as you took turn after turn. Shots were being fired and the smell of blood mixed with the smell of smoke and gunpowder, creating a metallic, hardly breathable atmosphere.

Then you tripped in something. As you fell, you let go of Tara’s hand and when you looked up, you couldn’t see her no more. You could hear her screaming your name, but you couldn’t answer, the smoke filling your lungs. Then you looked down at what you tripped in. Or as it turned out, who. It was a uniformed cop’s body, struggling for air. He had a stabbed wound in his gorge. Your hands were dripping of his blood, half your clothes soaking in it too. You didn’t know a human could have so much blood in their body, but when you looked around, you saw one more, with also as precise cuts as all the other victims you witnessed. All of them were stabbed at vital organs, or from where they would die in a few seconds or minutes. Not a second wasted.

“Oh, poor Y/N” he said in a condescending voice. “This must be pretty traumatic for you. I almost feel bad.” A hand grabbed your hair and pulled you back by it. “Almost” he whispered in your ear. There was a voice behind the modulator, that was familiar. Your heart skipped a beat after realisation hit you. But that couldn’t be possible. It just couldn’t!

You slumped back to the ground when she suddenly let go of your hair. You looked back behind you, seeing her figure falling onto her back. Another woman stood above you, and you could take out Sam’s boots. She grabbed you, pulled you up and started running, not even waiting for you to be able to catch your balance, just pulled you after her. She barged through a door, that led you to the Northern stairs, where Tara was waiting, tears running down her cheek. She was coughing hard, trying to swallow air desperately, yet she couldn’t. You looked at Sam for a moment, and after you saw one of her hands was occupied with a gun, you picked up Tara in your hands and started running down the stairs, three steps a time.

The ground floor looked similar in its form, but there was no smoke here. Bodies were scattered around the place, some of them civilians, some of them cops. All of them dead. You traced over the room, searching for a specific table, and once you found it ran towards it, leaning Tara against it.

“Y/N what the hell are you doing?!” Sam was trying her best not to snap at you.

“Tara’s going to suffocate if we don’t do something” you answered, opening drawer after drawer to find the item you were looking for. “To our “luck”, Private Alice always holds an inhaler at her desk in case her asthma ever comes back.” Sam accepted this, and turned towards the places Ghostface could come after you.

You found it in the fourth drawer and immediately turned towards the younger Carpenter. You aided her to take it in her mouth and pressed down a few times, just to be sure. She looked at you gratefully after. Her coughing died down slowly, and you helped her up. That’s when you noticed that everything was quiet. No shooting, no footsteps above you, nothing. Was everybody dead?

As to answer that question, the door of the staircase opened, and a very dishevelled looking Kirby stumbled into the room, followed by Bailey and two other cops. You sighed in relief when you saw Vasco in their group. The greying man barked out some orders, and Vasco and two others walked over to you, surrounding the three of you, whilst he and the rest of the cops marched out. Kirby joined him, her gun also raised, eyeing every corner before she disappeared behind a wall.

“Vasco, what the hell is going on?” you asked, suddenly feeling very weak.

“He jumped out a window, after we surrounded him” he said, very quiet. Why was he so quiet?

Then he threw you a glance. The glance, turned into a full-blown stare, his face horrified. You saw his mouth opening, but no notes hit your ear. Your side throbbed of pain, and you looked over to see, why. When you saw the opening that had been carved into you, you did nothing. Nothing else than stare at it, whilst feeling your vision darkening, and getting weaker and weaker. The floor came quicker than you could realise, why it was even getting closer. Suddenly you felt the floor hit you with all it’s might before everything became dark.

#my stuff #fanfiction #please reblog #scream fanfic #tara carpenter x reader #tara carpenter #tara x reader #tara carpenter imagine #Jenna Ortega #Jenna Ortega x reader #tara carpenter x you #fanfic #Scream #Wayne Bailey #Kirby Reed #Save Me From Her

[endless-summer-soldier]

cruel to be kind - chapter one

pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (90s college AU)

summary: it started with a dare. Bucky restlessly pursues Y/N, seeking just one date. as he chases her, he realizes she's different from she challenges him, so he starts to catch feelings. but it all falls apart when she learns about his initial motivations. based on 10 things I hate about you!

warnings: alcohol use, cursing

word count: 1.4k

series playlist

series masterlist

taglist: @sebsgirl71479 @ozwriterchick @notmeddy @drewsuncrustables @lokidokieokie @nats-whore @m4nulup1n @arcanebabe @tanyaspartak @jackiehollanderr @princezzjasmine @pono-pura-vida @mavrellover91 @helluvapimp @charmedbysarge @blackwood-bodecker-housewife (message me to be added)

There were three bangs that came from the other side of the wall and a voice yelled, “KEEP IT DOWN. SOME OF US HAVE STUDYING TO DO.” 

The small group of college boys playing Nintendo 64 groaned and turned the music down a few notches. This was a usual occurrence for a Thursday night.

“She is such a bitch!” Zemo said.

“Come on, cut her some slack,” Bucky said.

“Since when are you defending her?” Sam asked.

“I’m just saying, if you guys were my neighbors, I’d be annoyed too.”

“Alright then Barnes if you like her so much-”

“I don’t even know her,” Bucky interrupted.

“I’ve got a proposition for you,” Zemo continued.

“What’s that?”

“Take her on a date.”

“No chance,” Bucky scoffed.

“I dare you.”

“I’m not ten years old. Daring me to do something isn’t gonna work.”

“Oh I see,” Sam added, “You know she won’t say yes.”

“That’s not it-”

“I didn’t think you were afraid of a challenge,” Zemo added.

“I’m not-”

“Sounds like you’re making a lot of excuses,” Sam said.

Bucky clenched his jaw in frustration, “Fine, fine. I will take her out on a date if it’ll get you two to shut up.”

As the other two went back to playing video games, Bucky started wracking his brain on how he was going to pull this off. Y/N was Zemo and Sam’s next door neighbor and she had a bit of a bad reputation on campus. She was the star player on the field hockey team and the only thing more lethal than her stick handling was her sarcasm. She didn’t put up with any bullshit, and people found that to be intimidating. But Bucky wasn’t intimidated, he just had to think through his first move.

He sat on the bleachers watching as field hockey practice drew to a close. Once the final whistle sounded, he took a final puff of his cigarette, dropped it on the ground and crushed it under the heel of his leather boot. He sauntered over to the bench where Y/N was gulping down a cup of water.

“Hey there doll,” he said, capturing her attention, “How are you doing?”

She crushed the cup in her hand and said, “Sweating like a pig.” 

“Now there’s a way to get a guy’s attention,” he replied. She started packing up her things in a duffel bag.

“My mission in life. But I caught your attention, so you see it worked.”

She grabbed her things and started walking off the field as he followed. “Pick you up on Friday then?” he replied.

She rolled her eyes and said, “Oh right, Friday...uh-huh.”

“I'm serious," he added.

She stopped walking and turned toward him, “Do you even know my name?”

“I know a lot more than you think.”

“I highly doubt that,” she said, picking up her pace. He stood there watching her leave.

“Think about it!” he called.

She turned around just for a moment to flip him off with both hands and then continued off the field. He stood there shaking his head with a smile. He lit another cigarette and watched her leave, wondering what his next move would be.

Bucky stumbled across Y/N rather unexpectedly a few days later. He spotted her in the window of the record shop, browsing through albums, and decided to wait out front to say hi. She walked out of the store with a few vinyls and stopped in her tracks when she saw him. 

“Hi,” he said, with a smile.

“What, are you stalking me now?”

“I was in the laundromat and I saw you in the window and thought I’d say hi.”

“Hi,” she said, walking away from him.

“You’re not much of a talker are you?”

“Can’t say that I am.”

Bucky took a few quick steps so that he was ahead of her and then came to a stop, blocking her path.

“You’re not afraid of me are you?” he said.

“Afraid of you? Why would I be afraid of you?”

“Most people are.”

“Okay well I’m not.”

“You may not be afraid of me, but I bet you’ve thought about me naked,” he said in his most sultry voice.

She stared at him for a moment, choosing her words very carefully. 

“Wow, am I that transparent?” she replied, sarcastically. With that she nudged him out of the way and continued on her path. She turned around and saw him standing there, watching her walk away. She stuck her tongue out at him and continued on her way. He lit a cigarette as he watched her trudge off in the opposite direction.

Bucky wasn’t giving up on her that easily. It wasn’t because he wanted to win the dare, now his interest was piqued. He could always rely on his good looks to charm women, but this girl was different. His normal moves weren’t even scratching the surface. He would have to get creative. He deduced from the run in at the record store that she liked music. As luck would have it, a local girl band was playing a set at one of the bars nearby and Bucky thought there was a good chance he might run into her there.

He walked into the bar and he immediately stuck out like a sore thumb. The place was filled with women and Bucky stood about a foot taller than everyone. He immediately made his way to the bar where he caught up with one of the bartenders he knew.

“What are you doing here man?” he asked Bucky.

Bucky downed a shot of Jameson and said, “I have no idea.” The bartender poured him another drink when Bucky saw Y/N dancing in the crowd. He almost didn’t recognize her with such a big smile on her face. She was usually scowling at him, but tonight she let her hair down and was laughing and dancing with her friends. He watched her for the next few songs when she suddenly started weaving through the crowd toward the bar. Bucky brought his attention back to the bar where he took a big swig of his drink and then gazed back up to watch the band. He saw Y/N approach the corner of the bar but he kept his attention focused on the band, waiting for her to approach him. She ordered a round of drinks and then she spotted him. 

She slid over toward him and said, “If you’re planning on asking me out, you might as well get it over with.”

“Do you mind?” he said, glancing at her briefly before looking back at the band, “I’m trying to listen.”

“You’re not even going to offer to buy me a drink?”

Bucky signaled to the bartender and ordered them two tequila shots and smiled at Y/N. The bartender placed the shots in front of them and Bucky took the salt shaker and sprinkled a pinch of salt on the back of her hand before doing the same to his own. He wedged the lime slice between his fingers and he held up the shot glass to her. She clinked his glass and they licked the salt, downed the shot, and then sucked on the limes. 

“So what are you doing here?” she finally asked him. 

“I come here a lot.”

“Not sure if you noticed, but you are one of the few guys in this bar right now.”

“Maybe this is where I come to pick up women.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said.

He shrugged, “I needed a change of scenery.”

“Ah, did you get hustled at your regular pool hall? Can’t show your face there anymore?”

“Something like that,” he smirked at her. 

“Well as much as I’d love to hear that story, I have people waiting on me,” she said, grabbing the round she ordered. She collected the glasses and turned, walking back towards the dancefloor. But Bucky wasn’t finished yet. He brought his drink and followed in her footsteps.

“Come to a party with me tomorrow,” he leaned over her shoulder and spoke in her ear. She turned to look at him, rolled her eyes, and shook her head in disbelief.

“Was that a yes?” he added.

“No.”

“Was it a no?”

“...No.”

“Great, I’ll see you at 10:30.” Before she could protest, he disappeared in the crowd.

“That smug son of a bitch,” she muttered to herself, returning to her friends.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes college au

[redactahoe]

Tank centric shaw pack headcanons

Tw:// this is unorganized brain rot shenanigans, there will be mentions and talk of Quinn, tanks shitty parents, etc. but it will be mostly fluffy shenanigans also mention of my personal tank headcanons, this also is unedited

Tank was and still is freakishly huge (like bigger than David) in wolf form but kinda “tiny” in human form. And this caused a lot of health issues and social issues. But Mr Asher “I befriend everything that breaths” Talbots(is that his last name??) decided at the age of 14 that he was going to befriend the impossible(or that’s how he puts it)

Asher is one of the few people that could touch tank without them flinching

Tank was born half deaf(like they hear next to nothing without hearing aids) and a little blind in the left eye, so b/c of this Asher with the help of David forced ever single pack teen to learn asl(American sign language) so tank could feel included

Tank also didn’t even realize that they were deaf, they thought that everyone heard like them and struggled for the first few years of life to learn how to read lips (they got to learn sign language w/ everyone else :) )

That is until it was Milo that noticed that tank was deaf and brought it up in the next hang out the teens did(tank wasn’t there cause they were taking care of honey they’re baby sib)

Then the word was passed on to Gabe who decided to take tanker to get some hearing aids

Asher likes to greet tanker by shifting and tackling them to the floor

Asher was the one to introduce tank to music and movies and shows when tank got they’re hearing aids at 15

Asher is a very touchy person and (other than Sam) knows that tank is very touch starved and cuddly

B/c of this Asher used to scare the shit out his mom and dad by jump scaring tank

Most of the pack except for Gabe, David, Milo, Marie, Asher, and a few others are afraid of tank b/c of not only their abnormally sized wolf form but also b/c tank was and still is very instincts based person and more animalistic in nature

Despite the fact that Asher is a giant goofball he still very protective of his pack and mate

The most protective of them all goes tank, David, then Asher. Everyone else is normal

Asher had to be physically held back from running down to the d.u.m.p facility that Quinn was in so he wouldn’t tear Quinn apart

The pack didn’t know the full extent of abuse tank went through until after Quinn was arrested and it’s safe to say that a lot of the pack(including our non werewolf members) had some pretty violent thoughts they wanted to enact on Quinn

When Asher’s parents started traveling and his sister moved tank regularly checked up on him b/c they know what it’s like to feel abandoned

Soon after tanks meeting back in daliha, they had a heart to heart with David explaining that Quinn would’ve only attacked the pack if they were “in his way”. And that the only reason tanks friend was attacked was because that friend consistently called Quinn out and tried to keep tank from falling to deep into Quinn’s manipulation. The said something like “ Quinn is a coward, he would never attack Shaw pack without a sure fire way of getting away with it or if he’s was running out of ways to manipulate me and the pack had too many connections for him to do anything that wasn’t a desperate last attempt.” This is really when it clicked for David that tank really knew what they were doing when they kept everyone away. Sure it was self sacrificing at its finest but tank probably didn’t see many other options

This was even more solidified for him when tank was going on for hours trying to get a rise out of Sam and he said that if tank kept “acting”(whatever that meant) they would’ve forced him to “hurt those precious little humans the Shaw pack keeps around”

Out of spite of what Quinn said about darlin being his last sight before death, darlin, David,angel, sam, Milo, sweetheart,Asher, and babe stayed inside and had a sleepover at the pack house and actively avoid Any thing regarding the execution

Around the time tank and babe started getting close(they’re besties b/c I said so) bab started to work for a research facility they focused on bettering vampires lives and was able to get in contact with William and DUMP to start a experiment to see if they could find a way for vampires to be in the sun by using Quinn as experiment fodder

Babe went ask tank for permission and tank asked why keep him alive babe responded with “Quinn has hurt to many people to just simply die, he deserves so much worse, and hey maybe he could be useful for once in his pathetic life :).

Tank obviously agreed because there was just something so ironic about how Quinn’s want for power and eternity(he use to go on and on about how vampires are superior and how powerful and old he was) would be the cause for his suffering

On that same note babe despite being kinda small can be quite scary

I’m gonna end it hear. I’ll make a part two sometime later

#redacted asmr #redactedverse #redacted audio #redacted honey #sam collins #redacted sam collins #redacted angel #redacted darlin #redacted david #redacted headcanons #redacted asher #redacted milo #redacted baaabe #redacted sweetheart

[greenbergwrites]

hello me again!! I absolutely loved seeing more of the possessive!stucky verse and if you could share the parts you have from them in modern day I would die of happiness 🫶🏽

Oh, I'm sorry, babe. I definitely saw your reblog/reply to that post and totally forgot to post the rest of what I have.

Here you go, the last of what I had written for the blood in my veins 'verse

It was going to be called learning to breathe again, which I thought was apt

----

If asked, Steve Rogers would say that the world ends on a dreary, snowy day in 1945 while he clings to the side of a train in the French Alps. It doesn’t begin again until 2014 when he stands under a bridge in Washington, D.C., surrounded by chaos and facing off with the world’s deadliest assassin.

It doesn’t matter that the world says, “who the hell is Bucky?”

It doesn’t matter that the world tries to kill him, just days later, on a helicarrier falling from the sky. It doesn’t matter that it’s his turn to fall or that he almost drowns.

The only thing that matters is his last sight before he goes into the water: familiar, beloved bright eyes staring at him in recognition.

Steve’s happy to die in that moment. It’s a good way to go if those eyes are the last thing he knows in this life.

*

The world - no, the entire fucking universe - pulls him out of the Potomac. Steve doesn’t remember it and there’s no proof of it but it’s irrelevant.

His name is Steve Rogers and if he’s in danger, Bucky Barnes is there.

That’s just the way things work.

*

“You don’t have to come,” Steve says, standing in a graveyard.

And he really doesn’t. Steve can do this on his own. He’s happy to do it on his own, if that’s what it takes. But Sam is one of the few people in this new world that he actually likes and he isn’t actually opposed to company.

“I know.” Sam smiles. “When do we start?”

*

They follow Bucky around the globe for months.

Most nights are spent in different beds, most weeks are spent in at least two different countries. Sometimes there’s a backtrack and sometimes they go to places Steve has never even heard of.

In all the time they spend chasing him, neither of them catch sight of a single hair on Bucky Barnes’ head.

With every dead end and every dropped lead, Sam frowns and glances at him nervously. No matter what this new century thinks of him, Steve isn’t clueless; he knows that Sam is looking for the cracks.

Sam, the good friend that he is, is waiting for Steve to fall apart. To breakdown with grief or frustration or whatever emotion is a normal response to a situation like this one. He’s waiting for anger and tears and despair and he doesn’t quite understand that none of that is coming. None of that will ever come.

Because Sam is a good friend but he’s only ever known Steve Rogers broken. He’s looking for cracks, has been since Steve woke up in the hospital after Project Insight fell and Bucky disappeared, because he doesn’t understand.

The cracks were already there and they’re finally starting to heal.

*

In the sixth month, Steve wakes up to a draft in his room. The window is open and the curtains billow in the breeze, bringing with it the scent of the sea. There’s no one in his room with him and everything appears untouched save for a scrap of paper taped to his shield.

It looks like it came from the bottom of a receipt and on the back of it are three words.

Go home, it says at the top in thick block letters. The word please is written underneath, smaller, like an afterthought.

The handwriting is both familiar and foreign and Steve smiles quietly to himself, caressing the note gently.

*

“So we’re just giving up?”

Surprisingly, Sam isn’t upset. He is, instead, bewildered and very, very curious. They’re sitting at a cafe in the airport, passing time until their flight boards. Steve bought the tickets before Sam ever opened his eyes that morning and despite what his friend might think, he feels happy with this decision.

It’s hard to explain why he’s smiling, so he hides it behind his coffee cup.

“It’s not giving up,” he says truthfully. “Bucky asked us to go.”

Sam tilts his head, considering Steve with appraising eyes. 

“It’s just not what I expected from you,” he says after a moment. “You’ve been acting very til the ends of the earth, if you know what I mean. Didn’t think you’d let him call the shots.”

Steve snorts. 

Bucky’s been calling the shots for as long as Steve’s needed him to.

*

They land in Washington, D.C. at night. The airport is still buzzing with activity but it’s quieter, different than it was the morning they left. Nobody glances at them twice as they loiter around baggage claim for their luggage and Steve is grateful; he’s too tired to put on his Captain America smile.

Just as the conveyor belt starts filling with new luggage, his phone buzzes in his pocket. Fishing it out, he sees a text from an unknown number.

Thank you.

Warmth starts in his chest and spreads outwards, relaxing him just a little. He still feels tension throbbing inside of him, a cord that’s been stretching since 1945, but in that moment, it isn’t so unbearable.

Steve doesn’t bother replying - Bucky probably tossed the burner phone as soon as he pressed send - but he doesn’t delete the text message, either. Instead, he saves it to his phone, where he can look at it any time he needs.

“What is it?” Sam asks, making Steve look away from the words. He realizes he’s been staring at his phone for several minutes now; Sam’s already gotten their bags.

“Nothing,” Steve says with a smile. He pockets his phone again. “Just happy to be home.”

*

Life settles into a routine again. He and Sam run in the mornings, have breakfast in a cafe somewhere between Sam’s apartment and his. When the Avengers need him, which isn’t often, he helps out and when the remnants of SHIELD need him, which is more often, he helps them, too.

Natasha would be proud of how well he’s taking to the ways of her trade. He and Sam are soldiers first, good in a fight, but they learn the art of blending in; moving through a crowd without anyone ever remembering they were there. It’s new, this tactic. A freshly-bought pair of shoes that he hasn’t broken in yet but once he does, he has no doubt of the comfort they’ll provide.

It definitely makes their jobs easier, at any rate. 

There’s not a lot of big battles for Captain America anymore but there are more covert operations. Steve spends most of his time after coming back helping ex-SHIELD agents move through the city without being caught. There’s one last base in DC but its stretched too thin as is with half its agents gone and the other half focused on rebuilding. Besides, not everyone wants to stay with the organization that housed HYDRA for so many years.

So Steve does what he can. He sets up new safehouses, stashes money and weaponry all around the city, sets up a network of help for anyone who needs it.

It isn’t just their own government hunting down SHIELD and no matter what he thought when it still stood, he won’t leave these people to fend for themselves. Not when it’s partially his fault that they’re on the run at all.

He tells a SHIELD agent this when she asks and her eyes widen.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she says and then blushes, like she just remembered who she was talking to. “You’re the reason we’re alive at all, Captain. A lot more people would be dead if it weren’t for you.”

It’s the Captain rather than the reassurance that Steve focuses on. His smile, when it comes, feels brittle. He doesn’t bother responding and instead, hands her a slip of paper.

“Only stay there for a night,” he says. “Burn the paper when you’ve memorized the address. Make sure to dye your hair and put on different clothes.”

She nods and then takes him by surprise, hugging him fiercely for just a moment before pulling back. Her face is an even darker shade of red but she ignores her own embarrassment, straightening her spine and squaring her shoulders. When she meets his gaze again, she is every bit the SHIELD agent instead of the scared civilian that had been in her place moments before.

“Thank you,” she says. “For everything.”

Steve shakes his head. “No need for thanks,” he tells her. It feels mechanical, wrong, when he puts a hand on her shoulder. He’s still not used to touching people or having them touch him. “You’ll be fine, Agent. Just keep moving.”

She smiles at him and then disappears into the crowd.

*

A month after they abandon the search for Bucky, the gifts start arriving. Trinkets from France, Germany, Italy, Russia. There’s at least one every month and always from a place they know has been hit by the Winter Soldier.

“This is weird, you know that, right?” Sam says one morning. He turns the tiny Eiffel Tower over in his hands as Steve flips through a brochure for the Louvre. “He’s not even trying to hide the fact that those hits are him.”

Steve shrugs. “Why should he? He’s hunting down HYDRA, same as the rest of us.”

He plucks the Tower from Sam’s hands, placing it and the brochure on a shelf with previous ones. Bucky’s gifts hold a place of honor in Steve’s home, proudly displayed in the living room where Steve can see them any time he wants to. Sam doesn’t know it but the scrap of receipt holding Bucky’s first note is tucked under the music box from Russia. When he’s alone, Steve pulls it out sometimes just to look at it; just to see that handwriting again.

“Steve,” Sam says. “He’s a mentally fragile assassin that just spent the last seventy years being tortured, brainwashed, and forced to kill for a scary secret cult. He needs time to heal, not more death.”

Sighing, Steve turns to face his friend. “Did you ever think that maybe it’s helping him heal?” He asks.

“Yes, I have, actually.” Sam shakes his head. “But that’s not a healthy coping mechanism.”

Steve shrugs. “Lotta things in this world aren’t healthy, Sam,” he says. “Doesn’t mean people stop doing them.”

*

Bucky’s fifth gift and the first for that month - three months after Steve came home - is an expensive set of drawing pencils and three sketchbooks. It’s also the first gift to include a note.

I remembered this, it says. No signature.

Trembling fingers run lightly first over the note and then the gifts themselves. Steve lets a harsh breath, his eyes burning and his chest aching. He’s glad that he’s alone for this gift, that no one is there to see him shaking apart like this.

He opens the pencils slowly, reverently, and when he holds one in his hand, he feels a little more tension leak out of him. The rest of the day is spent ignoring the world in favor of drawing. His first few pictures are shaky, both from his own emotion and his unpracticed hand, but the more time he spends buried in his sketchbook - his sketchbook - the smoother things become.

His hand is cramping by the time the sun sets and his latest drawing has tear stains ruining his perfect lines and he feels, for the first time since 1945, like Steven Grant Rogers.

*

“I didn’t know you were an artist,” Sam says when he sees the art littering Steve’s living room.

Steve snorts. “Just another thing the history books left out,” he replies, bitter.

That pitying expression is back on Sam’s face and Steve decides to ignore it in favor of getting the lines of Bucky’s face just right.

*

The gifts continue to come and Steve’s shelf becomes an entire bookcase of trinkets. The Avengers are called on to save the world from an artificial intelligence named Ultron. They barely make it out alive but somehow, they all do make it.

Natasha watches him closely after the battle. They’re all undressing in Stark’s version of a team locker room, unconcerned with things like nudity when they’re all too busy minding cuts and bruises.

“What is it?” Steve asks her when he’s tired of the stares.

“You’re different,” she says. Her mouth softens into her version of a smile. “You don’t try to make the sacrifice play anymore.”

She doesn’t ask, so he doesn’t tell her that he finally has something to live for again. He suspects she already knows, anyways.

*

It’s been almost a month since the last trinket when one of their safe houses is compromised. He and Sam arrive on the scene too late but miraculously, no one is dead. The two ex-agents that were staying there are sitting on the porch, wide-eyed and shaking. Sam kneels down in front of them with kind eyes and a soothing voice. Steve goes inside to check out the house.

Broken furniture litters multiple rooms, one of the beds is upended,  the toilet in the guest bathroom is split in two. One hell of a fight took place and it seemed to span the entire house. In the living room, there are bodies piled one on top of the other; unconscious not dead. The only thing surprising about this is that not all of them are part of the strike team that hit the house.

“He was here,” Sam says from behind him. He comes to stand shoulder to shoulder with Steve, staring down at the bodies. “The agents said he’s the only reason they’re still alive.”

Steve smirks at him. “Still think it’s an unhealthy coping mechanism?”

“Yes.” When Steve looks at him, Sam holds up his hands. “Hey, man, I’m the first to admit that I’m grateful. But this still isn’t healthy.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve gestures at the two plain-clothed people. “Did they say where these two came from?”

“Yeah, Barnes left ‘em.” He gives Steve an unimpressed look. “Said something about it being a present.”

Oh.

Steve smiles, looking away from Sam’s piercing gaze. His trinkets are getting bigger.

*

It takes a few hours to get the HYDRA operatives secured in the DC base and to elicit a promise for whatever information is gleaned from them. He doesn’t know if he trusts the agent who does the promising but Steve will come back if he needs to. At least two of the prisoners were specifically meant for him, anyways.

When he gets home, Steve finds a pile of crushed metal and wiring piled onto his coffee table. It takes him a moment to realize what they are but when he does, he smiles; they’re bugs from all around his apartment.

Next to them is a note that reads: out with the old.

The words are very specific. Bucky doesn’t do anything uncalculated and Steve is sure that’s truer now than it was during the war. He begins to search the apartment but doesn’t have to get very far before he’s proved right. On the bottom of the Eiffel Tower statue, there’s a listening device.

And where there’s one, there’s dozens.

Steve puts the statue back without removing the bug and relaxes a tiny, tiny bit more.

“In with the new,” he says quietly, warmed by the thought that Bucky will hear him.

#moodymelanist #greenberg replies #my fics #the blood in my veins

[websterss]

What if you were crazy but Ethan is even more crazy about (yall) each other even going so far as to murdering each other's ex's just to be with each other And Mindy thinks that your just a nice and" innocent " person that couldn't hurt a bug while she thinks Ethan is insane and would hurt anything

Even Sam Thinks the same way about Y/n and Ethan Her and Mindy would be talking about it a lot I mean I lot 🤭

I’m trying to finish my fics and Im getting encouraged by these headcannons 😭😂😂

Alright here we go!

Mindy and Sam would be at the apartment, Sam is cooking while Mindy leans against the counter naming off every reason it could be Ethan.

“I’m telling you Sam. Ethan is ghost face. Okay we hardly know him, he most definitely juked the roommate lottery. And he wooed his way into our lives by getting our best friend to fall in love with him. He’s sticking to the classic Stab 2.”

“Wasn’t there an actually ghost face killing people on a college campus though?” Sam raises a brow.

“Yeah, Nancy loomis and Mickey Altieri. The only time where the victims where in a different location.” Mindy looks up and winces. “Too soon?”

“Yeah…”

“Look all I’m saying is we don’t really know him and I think he’s more than capable of hurting us. I mean have you seen how tall he is. Sure height isn’t a playing factor when it comes to all the previous ghost faces but in his advantage it would most definitely work in his favor.”

Sam laughs, shaking her head. “What would Y/n think of you saying all this shit about her boyfriend?”

“That beautiful angel would thank me, for saving her life, and warning her about her psycho boyfriend.”

“Sure she would.” Sam scoffs. “How do know she’s an angel? What if there’s a deep serial killer underneath that smile.” Sam hums.

“Don’t disrespect my girl like that. Okay? Y/n wouldn’t hurt a fly. Remember that spider she found in her room.” Sam rolls her eyes at Mindy. “She let it go, anyone with half a mind would squash it. Not our Y/n. She let it go. Y/n wouldn’t hurt anything or anyone if her life depended on it. Okay, she’s not even on my list of suspects, hell the list doesn’t even apply to that beauty.”

“But it applies to her boyfriend?”

“It sure does!”

-

Meanwhile somewhere behind a dumpster. A guy that looked at you and girl that looked at him, cowered into the farthest corners begging for their lives.

“Please…please. W-What ever we did we’re sorry!”

You and Ethan turn to look at each other through the masks you wore, then slowly looked down at the two. You both raise your knives and watch as the two scream.

-

“Hey, hey. I’m home!” You call out as you walk into the door with Ethan in toll. “Ethan’s here too!”

Sam meets Mindy’s eyes with a smirk. Mindy rolls her eyes.

“Speak of the devil…Hey!” Her annoyed look turns to one joy seeing you pop into the kitchen. A tight lipped grin on her face.

“What’s up? Smells good in here!” You lean back into Ethan’s chest, his arm wrapped around you.

#‣ julie answers #ashlesys-blog #scream vi:hcs

[avengerscompound]

The Interview - Chapter 16

The Interview - A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Rating:  E

Warnings: none

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Melody Danes

Word Count: 2126

Summary:  Melody Danes gets the break of a lifetime when as a lowly intern, she’s assigned to write a profile piece on Captain America.  Steve Rogers is a hard man not to fall for and as she and Melody get closer and Melody’s career takes off, jealousy leads to sabotage, and the potential to bring her whole world crashing down.

Chapter 16

Excitement bubbled in Melody's stomach as she rode the Avengers Tower elevator up with Bobbi.  They’d both been to the tower plenty of times.  They’d met all the Avengers.  This was different though.  They weren’t there to sleep over with their prospective boyfriends.  They weren’t there for a party that half of the city had been invited to.  They weren’t there for work.  Tony Stark had invited them to dinner with the team specifically to get to know them.  He’d even had an assistant call to find out if either of them had any special dietary requirements to make sure they felt completely correctly catered for.  He wanted them to feel comfortable because for the Avengers this was the equivalent of meeting the family.

It felt like a big deal.  A relationship marker.  This was the part where the people who loved them best decided if Melody and Bobbi were good enough for them.  Melody just wished it had been Steve’s idea.

Bobbi reached over and gave Melody a push.  “It’s going to be fine.  It’s just dinner.”

Melody pushed her back. “I know.  I know.  It just feels like a big deal.  I don’t know if I should ask Steve to come meet my parents after this or what.”

“Well, at least you get to think about that as an option,” Bobbi said.

Melody frowned and put her arm around her cousin.  “I’m sorry.  I know.  But you got me.”

Bobbi rested her cheek on the top of Melody’s head for a moment.  “Yeah, I’ve got you,” she said.  “And Bucky’s already met you, and he thinks you’re great.  So I’ve got nothing to worry about.  Still, there are my sisters, and I hold out hope mom and dad will come around.”

The elevator opened, and to Melody’s surprise, instead of opening out onto the party deck where she’d first met the rest of the team, it was straight into an apartment.  She could only assume this was the penthouse because it appeared to take up the entire floor, and at least the one above too, as there was a large glass staircase that wound up on the left of the room.  Ahead of her were three steps that led to what appeared to be a living room and the top of the Chrysler building dominated the view out of the floor-to-ceiling windows.  The Avengers were all sitting on the couches together and they stood when the doors opened.  As well as Steve, Bucky, and Tony there, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson, James Rhodes, Bruce Banner, Wanda Maximoff, Thor, Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, and Pepper Potts were all there.  She’d met them all at the party, though some only very briefly, and while most she knew just due to their fame, there were others whose job it was not to be known by the general public.  Melody had Steve go through everyone’s names before coming just so she wouldn’t embarrass herself.

“Here are the guests of honor,” Tony announced, when they approached he stepped forward and kissed each of them on the cheek.  “Welcome, welcome.  Have you all met?  I’m sure you know most of them from their do-goodings.  That’s Maria and Sharon.  Anyone else you might not know?”

“It’s fine, Tony,” Steve said as he put his arm around Melody.  “They both met everyone at the party.”

“Though some of us only briefly,” Hill said.  “It’s nice to see you still around.  I don’t think any of us have ever seen that before.”

“This is the first person I’ve even seen Bucky actually date,” Clint said.

“There was that blind date Natasha set him up on,” Sam replied.

“Alright, alright.  We don’t all need to be going over my love life in front of my girlfriend,” Bucky said.

Bobbi took his hand and kissed his palm. “Your past doesn’t bother me, mi corazón.  They can tease.”

“Great, permission granted,” Sam said, rubbing his hands together.  “This is going to be great!”

Bucky groaned and ran his prosthetic hand down his face.  “Fuckin’ great.”

“Come on, come on,” Tony said.  “Dinner won’t wait forever.  Let’s go through.”

Melody had never seen a dining table as large as the one in Tony’s dining room in person before, and while she’d seen ones on TV just as big or maybe even larger, they featured on shows with vampires, or large mafia families, or epic sagas with Kings and Queens.  Those tables were always dark and heavy hardwood.  Often they were ornately carved.  This was nothing like those tables.  It was rectangular and made of what looked like a single piece of highly polished obsidian and sat on a support of polished chrome in the shape of an x.

Steve pulled out one of the black padded chairs for Melody and she took her seat as everyone else sat down around her.  As soon as they were seated two waiters came out and began filling glasses.  One poured either red or white wine into the wine glasses, while the other poured water into the highballs beside them.  Already set out on the table were platters with olives and warm sourdough bread, as well as meatballs, stuffed zucchini flowers, focaccia, and some kind of arancini.

Melody helped herself to a little of everything as the rest of the group filled their plates.  She was used to eating with Steve and Bucky at this point and wasn’t surprised to see how full Bucky’s plate was, nor how Steve had leaned more into the high protein things like the meatballs over the empty calories of the white bread.  She was surprised to see just how much Thor had taken.  He had dragged an entire platter of meatballs down to himself and added handfuls of everything else to it.

“Speaking of people’s love lives,” Melody said.  “How’s things going with Mattie, Sam?  He talks about you a lot.”

Sam’s eyes lit up at the mention of his new relationship.  “It’s going great,” he said.  “I mean - you know what it’s like dating an Avenger.  I don’t always have a lot of free time, but we’re having a great time together.”

“Ohh… is there another meet-the-family dinner coming up?” Tony asked, a teasing tone in his voice.

“I’ll happily let all of you degenerates meet him any time,” Sam teased.  “But we’re a little way off taking him back to Lousianna.”

Tony put his hand on his chest.  “I’m wounded, Tweety.  You wound me.”

The appetizers were already starting to run out and the waiters started to bring out bowls of a rich soup filled with clams still in their shells.”

“That’s Zuppa Di Vongole,” Tony explained.  “It was one of my grandmother’s favorites.  Or if you don’t eat fish, you’re getting minestrone.”

“How many courses are we having tonight, Tony?” Steve asked.

“Just six,” he said.  “I didn’t go overboard.”

Sharon, Sam, and Clint started laughing, while Steve, Pepper, and Rhodey shook their heads, the look of resigned disbelief was mirrored in all of them.

“Thank you so much for doing all this, Tony,” Bobbi said.  “In a way, it reminds me of dinners with my whole extended family.  Only we all cooked together as well.  And it was a lot more dysfunctional.”

“Give it time,” Bucky muttered.

“You don’t want to cook with all of us,” Bruce said.  “There’s only a couple of people here who can cook.  Most of us burn water.”

“Well part of the fun is passing on tradition, isn’t it?” Bobbi said.  “Bucky’s a great cook.  We’ve been teaching each other different recipes.”

“I didn’t know you liked cooking, Bucky,” Sam said.

Bucky shrugged. “You don’t know lots of things about me.”

Sam looked at him deadpan.  “Well I was going to offer to share some of my family recipes with you, but see if I do now.”

Melody was using one of her clam shells to pick out the clams from the others, but there was still a lot of soup left in her bowl compared to the people around her.  She was a little worried she’d still be eating by the time the next course came out.  She leaned up to Steve’s ear.  “I might need your help to eat all this.”

Steve chuckled.  “And you’re asking me?”

“Think of it as a public service.  Your poor hard done by girlfriend needs to save face,” she whispered.

Steve laughed harder and stole a quick kiss.  “Okay, I’ll help you,” he said.

“Thank you, honey,” she said and kissed his cheek.

Steve shook his head, smiling affectionately as he scooped some of the soup from Melody’s bowl into his own.  She was just getting to the bottom of the bowl when the waiters came out with the next course.  This time it was a salad course.  Most everyone got a Caprese salad, though Tony and Pepper seemed to have gone for something without dairy that featured pear and red cabbage.

“Still avoiding dairy, Tones?” Rhodey asked.

“Well, cutting it down.  It’s hard when there’s a Ben and Jerry’s flavor named after me,” Tony said.

“That’s not the humble brag you think it is, Tones,” Clint said.  “Most of the people here have Ben and Jerry’s flavors named after them.”

“And not one of them is as good as Phish Food,” Maria said.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Tony said.  “Hey now, I won’t hear a thing against Stark Raving Hazelnuts.”

Melody was starting to think she might make it through the entire six courses as she ate her salad.  It was light and fresh, and it didn’t feel like it was filling her up at all.  Then the waiters began bringing out the next course.

“Gnocchi with pesto cream,” Tony said.  “But it’s a cashew cream.”

Melody took a sip of her wine before she started eating.  Before she even took a bite, the conversation had started up again.

“Stark said you interviewed him, Lady Bobbi,” Thor said.

“Yeah, that’s right,” she said.  “We had fun.  You should do it.”

Tony snorted and took a quick swallow of his water.  “Sorry.  I just imagined what it would be like for your team to be making food from 2000 BCE.”

“Just big slabs of meat roasted over coals,” Melody laughed.

“I would not complain,” Thor said.  “A feast is a feast.”

“That sounds better than what I had to eat.  Everything I had was set in jello,” Tony said.

Clint laughed loudly. “Amazing.  I can’t wait to watch it.”

“So what’s the premise?” Sharon asked.

“Just a casual interview while you eat food made from recipes in magazines that came out the year you were born,” Melody said.  “We have other ideas too.  But so far we like that one.”

“That does sound fun.  I hate doing interviews and I’d do that,” Clint said.

“You’d be so welcome,” Melody said.  “I was also thinking of doing a series where we compared things from different chains.  Like pizza or burgers.”

“Oh, oh, I want to do that one,” Clint said.

“I’ll call you to set it up. Thanks, Clint,” Melody said.

“So what did you have to eat Tony?” Natasha said.

“There was a red cabbage salad in a jello that tasted like acid,” Tony said. “This loaf made of creamed liver, this sandwich that was made to look like a cake.”

“Mmm… sounds so appetizing,” Rhodey said.

“I was a little worried he was going to get revenge with this dinner,” Bobbi joked.

“There’s still two courses to go,” Sam said.

Tony laughed hard.  “See, I’m a better person than I thought.  That didn’t even occur to me.”

Despite Steve’s help, Melody was very full by the time she finished the pasta course.  She noticed that most of the other mortals were struggling too.  Pepper’s plate was practically full when they took it away and replaced it with Tuscan-style lamb shanks, while the non-meat eaters were given eggplant parmigiana.  Thankfully, the conversation flowed freely around the room.  So while Melody was feeling overfull, she didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.

The fact that Steve’s friends were all so open to accepting both Melody and Bobbi was gratifying.  Nothing was quite as gratifying as seeing Steve and Bucky enjoying having Melody and Bobbi fit in with their friends.  By the end of the night, Steve had never looked so in love, and it made Melody’s heart feel full every time he looked at her.

By the end of the night and after a serving of Tiramisu served with Vin Santo, Melody not only felt very full but very content.

She said goodnight to everyone and headed to the elevator with Steve.  “Will you spend the night?” Steve asked.

She looked up at him and smiled. “You couldn’t keep me away.”

// NEXT

#marvel #avengers #steve rogers #captain america #steve rogers fanfic #captain america fanfic #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers x ofc #ofc #original character fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #smut #the interview #avengerscompound

[onceuponastory]

3am - bucky barnes x reader

And now it's 3AM and you're calling me up again And you wanna know if I meant every word that I said - 3am by you me at six

Plot: One night at 3am, Bucky Barnes gets a call about his ex, Y/N. Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader Warnings: Being drunk, injuries/broken bones, a tiny mention of vomit, and a few mentions of Bucky’s past as the winter soldier (but nothing too graphic). As always, if I miss any triggers please let me know! Notes: Thank you to my bestie @staticscreenwriting / @astartothemoon for my dividers. Not beta’d, so any mistakes are my own.

One winter night in the middle of Brooklyn, Bucky Barnes is fast asleep. For once, things around him are quiet, and he’s finally able to get some rest after the years of pain and torment he’s been through. Yet soon, the phone rings, startling him.

“Hello?” He murmurs, still half asleep.

“Hello, is that Mr Bucky Barnes?” Bucky’s brows furrow, not expecting to hear his full name at three in the morning.

“Yes…it is. How can I help you?” He expects this call to be inconsequential, at most a prank being played by Sam or the kid. However, when the voice on the other end speaks, Bucky realises that this call will be everything but insignificant.

“This is the hospital. I’m calling on behalf of Miss Y/N Y/L/N.” At the mention of her name, Bucky sits up, immediately awake. Y/N is his ex-girlfriend. He hasn’t spoken to her in months since they broke up. Since he got scared that he wasn’t good enough for her because of his past and broke up with her a few months ago. And now, the hospital is phoning him up at 3am to ask about her. Concern floods Bucky’s entire body. Although they broke up, he still misses her dearly, and would move the ends of the earth to make sure she’s safe. Despite this, he hasn’t said anything to her about it, wanting her to let her get on with her life rather than being laid down with him and his issues. Honestly, he thought she had moved on a long time ago.

“What happened? Is she okay?” He asks, speaking a mile a minute.

“Yes sir, she’s okay. She got quite intoxicated, and had a nasty fall which resulted in her breaking her ankle.” Bucky breathes a sigh of relief. This is better than expected. She’s okay. She’s not dying. “I’m calling because she has you down as her emergency contact, and she has no way of getting home.” His words make Bucky stop. Even though he’s an Avenger, Bucky and Y/N never spoke about things like this, about what would happen if the other was hurt or in danger. It was just assumed that he’d take care of her and she’d take care of him, like any boyfriend or girlfriend would do. When they broke up, they were focused on bigger things, like coming to terms with almost a year of their lives suddenly meaning nothing, or moving stuff out of each other's apartments. Neither of them thought about the little things like this, how they could suddenly be confronted with each other once again. Yet, breakup or no breakup, Bucky would still do anything to make sure she’s safe. Picking her up from the hospital is nothing. “Mr Barnes? Hello?”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Bucky makes it to the hospital within ten minutes, furiously searching for any sign of Y/N. When a nurse points him to the right room, he almost pulls the door off of its hinges with the speed he opens it. As the door opens, Y/N turns around, looking at the new entry to the room. As soon as sees Bucky, her eyes light up, and she grins. The same smile that Bucky has missed for so long. Immediately, he starts smiling too, and butterflies start to flutter in his stomach. Maybe, just maybe, her happiness at seeing him isn’t just because she’s drunk. Maybe she misses him, too.

“Bucky! What are you doing here?” She gasps.

“I’m still your emergency contact, doll. You okay?” 

“Ohhhhh! And yeah, I’m fine.” Y/N nods. Bucky already knows she has no idea what he’s saying. And judging by the moon boot she’s wearing, her ankle is definitely going to start hurting soon. Alcohol is a hell of a drug. Yet, seeing her so happy despite everything still makes him smile. It reminds him of before, when they were both happy together. Back when things were still good between them, when they could speak to each other without devolving into arguments. He misses those days more than anything in the world. In all honesty, if he had the chance to go back in time, Bucky wouldn’t go back to the 40s, before his life changed in the worst possible way. Before he became a weapon of mass destruction. He’d go back to when he lost Y/N, and try to make things right, rather than running at the first sign of trouble. 

He’s good at that. At running.

As the doctor explains the break and the healing process, Bucky listens attentively, ensuring he’s ready to support Y/N and her needs. He’s not been good at much throughout his long life, especially not talking about his feelings. But he can be good at this, at taking care of the woman he loves. He can at least give her that after their relationship broke down. And then, something brushes against his hand. And then it does again. It’s only then that Bucky realises that something is Y/N’s hand. Feeling her fingers brushing against his still sends shivers throughout his entire body. Even though he’s been alive for decades now, Bucky swears that Y/N is the only one who makes him feel alive.

Soon, the doctor sends the pair away, and Bucky wheels Y/N towards the elevator. Immediately, he feels the atmosphere change. At least when they were with the doctor they had a middleman, someone to do all the talking to prevent them from speaking to each other. Now, it’s just them both, brought together again after being apart for so long. “This is fun.” Y/N mumbles with a giggle. 

“Just trying my best to make the ride as smooth as possible for you.” Bucky replies, chuckling to himself. Yet soon, the smile fades. Sure, they’re getting along now, but that’s largely because Y/N’s drunk and doesn’t remember that they’re broken up. But what happens when things go back to normal and she does remember? When this little pocket of happiness is gone? Honestly, Bucky can’t bear to think about it. But then, Y/N starts laughing again, and he can’t help but smile once more.

Maybe he can stay in this happy time a little longer.

Soon, the pair reaches Bucky’s car, and he lifts her into the passenger side, buckling her in before crossing over to his side and buckling himself in. As he drives, the pair sit in silence. For a while, Bucky thinks Y/N has fallen asleep, and is about to check on her, until:

“You know Bucky….” she trails off, and he raises a brow. “I miss you. I don’t know why we stopped talking.” The words are murmured, but Bucky hears them loud and clear. And they almost make his heart stop. Of course, he knew she had forgotten why they’d stopped talking, but he wasn’t expecting to hear the first few words. And it hits him like a bucket of cold water. She misses him. Maybe he has a chance to fix this. 

“I miss you too. More than you’ll ever know. I regret what happened every day.” He tells her. But then, Y/N goes back to her drunk mumbling as if nothing happened, as if both of them didn’t just admit that the pain and heartbreak of the last few months could’ve been avoided. Bucky sighs. He’s probably right. She’s just drunk, and her words mean nothing.

When they reach Y/N’s apartment, Bucky helps her up the stairs and into her apartment. She still keeps a spare key under a plant pot, just like she did when they were dating. Bucky still remembers warning her about it, how anyone could find the key and break in. To his surprise, though, she simply laughed.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a super soldier to protect me…and he’s really cute, too.” She laughed, pulling him close for a kiss. That was the day she’d been making cookies, and she tasted like cinnamon and chocolate. Remembering the memory, Bucky smiles. At least he still has those to keep him happy.

Once inside, Bucky helps her towards her bedroom and into bed. “Thank you Bucky.” She murmurs. And almost as soon as her head hits the pillow, she falls asleep, snoring softly. Bucky sighs.

“I know you’re just drunk. You’ll wake up tomorrow, and this whole thing will be just a dream, and you’ll hate me again. But I’ll deserve it.” He sighs. After checking on her again, he leaves the room, ready to spend the night on her couch. Of course, it’s not the most ideal situation as her ex, but this way he can make sure she’s safe, and that she doesn’t hurt herself any more. 

As he gets himself comfy, Bucky glances around the room. All the pictures Y/N has with him are taken down. The sight makes his heart sink. He knows that keeping pictures of you and your ex-boyfriend around after you’ve broken up isn’t something people do, but seeing them all gone is like the final nail in the coffin. The ultimate confirmation that all hope of them having a happy reunion after this is gone. And Bucky knows he only has himself to blame.

So, with tears stinging his eyes, Bucky settles down to try and get some sleep.

The next morning, Y/N limps into her kitchen, rubbing her eyes. When she sees Bucky leaning against her counter drinking a coffee, her eyes widen.

“What happened? Why are you here?” Bucky sighs. He’s been awake for most of the night, trying to figure out the best way to explain the events of the last couple of hours and coming up empty. 

“I’m still your emergency contact, so I got a call from the hospital at three this morning saying you had broken your ankle and needed a ride home. So, I came and got you.” He explains. “The doctor wants to see you again tomorrow, so I can drop you off if you want.”

“Oh…thanks for doing that.” 

“Y/N, you were drunk. I wasn’t going to leave you alone in the hospital. I brought you home and put you to bed. I know we’re broken up, but I uh, I crashed on your couch to make sure you didn’t fall over or throw up during the night. Hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Thanks…again.” She nods. And just like Bucky predicted, things between them are back to being awkward. There’s no way she remembers her admission to him last night. Although he knew she wouldn’t, he can’t help but feel disappointed. Part of him was expecting them to make up right here, like they do in the romcoms.

“I’ll just finish my cup of coffee, and then I’ll go. Don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.”

“No! No, you don’t need to go.” She gasps, the quickness of her reply making Bucky raise a brow in confusion. Is she really that upset at the thought of him leaving? Does she really want him back, after all? “Not yet, anyway. You can stay a little longer.” Bucky nods, helping her sit down at her table and passing over some coffee.

“Do you want some breakfast? I could make you some pancakes, or we could order something in.” He offers.

“Some pancakes would be nice, thanks.” Bucky smiles.

“Coming right up.”

“You know….” Y/N sighs, stopping only to finish her last bite of pancakes. “That was really nice. It was just like how things used to be. You made me these every Saturday morning, remember?” The faintest hint of a smile twitches at the corners of her mouth. Bucky can pick up on the melancholiness in her voice, and how she misses their past. After all, he’s feeling the same way. 

“Yeah, I do. Those were great.” He sighs. All he wants is to tell her right then how much he misses her, how he’d give all he has to go back to those days, back to when they were both happy. He just doesn’t know how to tell her. The words just won’t link up to his mouth.

“How was I last night, by the way? Did I say anything, or was I out of it?” 

“No, not at all.” Bucky insists. She doesn’t have to know the truth about what she told him. Yet, his words make her furrow her brow.

“Well, you’re saying that Bucky, but I can tell you’re hiding something. I always could.” Bucky gulps.

“Yeah, you could.” He laughs awkwardly, and Y/N nods.

“So there’s that, and there’s also the fact that I wasn’t drunk enough to forget everything I said to you last night. At first, I thought it was a dream, but now you’re here....” Shit. “So, I’ll ask you again. Did I say anything to you last night? Like…about missing our relationship?” Bucky stammers, his eyes widening. 

“Yes. You did.”

“And you weren’t going to tell me?” She demands. “What, you were just going to let me carry on like I didn’t tell you the truth about how I’ve really been feeling?!”

“I didn’t think you meant it or that you’d remember! I thought it was just the alcohol! And besides, I wanted to say something, but the last thing I wanted was for you to wake up still hating me, and then find out you said something you didn’t mean.” Bucky explains. Y/N sighs.

“I never hated you, Bucky. Maybe at the beginning, but as time went on, I just realised how much I miss you. And I still do.” Bucky gasps, and he scoots his chair forward.

“I miss you too, Y/N. More than anything. I hate how things ended, and how I ruined everything. I’ve regretted it ever since. I was just so worried about hurting you, because of my past, but I ended up hurting you even more. I’m sorry for hurting you.” He sighs. To his surprise, Y/N starts chuckling.

“You know, we really should’ve told each other this before now.” She says, and Bucky nods, unable to stop himself from laughing too. It feels weird, being comfortable and laughing with each other after being apart for so long. Maybe though, the fact they’re able to do this shows that things might be okay between them both after all.

 “Yeah, you’re right. You know…if you’d like to start over, I’m okay with that.” When she doesn’t reply at first, Bucky gasps. “But if you don’t want to, that’s totally okay. We can take things as slow as you want.” Y/N smiles.

“Sure. Maybe after my appointment tomorrow, we can go get a drink or something?” 

“Yeah…I’d love that.” Bucky smiles.

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#Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x Female Reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fic #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #marvel oneshot #marvel cinematic universe #marvel fanfic #marvel fanfiction

[0sincerelyella]

Could you please do a Joe Burrow imagine where the team find out that he has a girlfriend?

yes ofc!!

Secrets out of the bag - J.B

Summary: joe let’s something slip, and his secret gets scared

notes: my first request!! i absolutely love requests and i so hope that this is as good as you’d hoped:) this was a little different than requested but still i hope you like it

warnings: maybe a little angst

Secrets among a team who is fighting for a game as big as the super bowl is never good. the boys of the bengals football team never have secrets, not any big ones that’ll effect how they play anyway.

the closer boys, being joe burrow, Jamar, joe mixon, sam, and a few others, had no secrets. not only for the team but also because they are friends, best friends.

but joe was a very private person. he never really was much for telling the world about his private life. even with his best friends, he was hesitant to tell them anything at first

but he had a big secret. he met this girl during off season, in april, a native to cincinnati. who just so happened to have the last name of Hubbard.

sam had never introduced his sister to any of the guys, they knew of her, but sam was a big protector so he never wanted any of them around his special little sister.

so on a night where he just wanted to take a walk, and breath around four months ago, he ran into mrs y/n hubbard. and it’s been four months of sneaking around ever since.

of course sam knew of y/n having a boyfriend, and he respected the wishes of not meeting him yet. but was still suspicious of how he treated his little angel

this was a secret that could affect how they played. a big secret.

so when sam saw the picture on his instagram feed while he was out with some of the boys, jamar, mixon, mike hilton, tee, and tyler. sam was not happy, not excited, sam was angry. his sister had lied, his team mate had lied, and so had his bestfriend.

on that same day, joe and y/n were laying in her apartment, laying on her bed together. “y/n baby, you are the most beautiful girl in the world” she smiled, kissing her on the cheek. “then i think it’s time to tell everybody”

joes breath hitched. he knew sam would be angry, but he could never really fathom how angry he’d be. “i have to tell sam before we tell anyone but i’m tired of having to sneak around and not hug you after games and-“ joe cut her off with a kiss, pulling her closer. “of course. don’t be so anxious, we’re gonna let the world know. i’m gonna let the whole world know how much i love you”

he pushed her onto the bed and kissed her, holding her as close as he possibly can.

and just as they’d gotten close, the door slammed open, causing something to fall off the dresser and break.

“I can not believe either of you!” it was sam

y/n pushed joe off as fast as she could, standing up to confront her brother.

“Sammy i wanted to tell you i did- i just-“

“you just what? wanted to tell me but didn’t tell me and i had to find out from a twitter post? y/n what if he hurt you! i couldn’t have done anything because i didn’t know! and if he hurt you it would’ve and will affect my job!”

“don’t you think i know that sam. i can’t help who i fall in love with”

sam stood quiet, and only then did y/n and joe notice the other boys behind him. “in love? how long have you been lying?” y/n stood tall. “four months”

“i can’t believe you” and with that he walked out.

“hey, for one we are happy for you two” jamar said, pulling joe off the floor. “i mean we’ve heard a lot about y/n, she’s a good girl” tee added

“but i suggest you patch it up with sam before it affects the game”

as the boys left, then and only then did y/n cry. she felt as if she lost her brother, her very favorite person on the planet. joe walked over to her, pulling her close. “he’s gonna get over it, i promise” joe brushed her hair down, rocking her side to side.

“joey he’s gonna make me choose” joe took a breath. “i know you’d choose him. he won’t make you choose, he wants you to be happy.”

at practice the next week, it was going horribly. every chance sam got he was shoulder checking joe, and joe was so completely off his game. coach was not having it.

“Joe! come see me”

joe jogged over, nodding to zac to begin speaking. “jamar informed me of the little mishap between you and sam. as much as i want you boys to connect, do not let your personal life fiddle with your job. talk to him, please” “yes coach.” joe sighed, walking over to sam.

“listen sam, i’d never hurt y/n and-“ sam stopped him. “no but you lied to me. and my baby sister, the one person i can trust, lied to me.” he crossed his arms

“listen, we were gonna tell you but we were afraid of something like this happening sam, she really loves you she just didn’t want to disappoint you”

“she could never disappoint me” joe smiled. “never in a million years could she disappoint me” sam tossed his helmet down. “just don’t hurt her man” joe nodded with a smile, “bro hugging” his best friend.

that night, y/n was moping around her apartment in joes sweats, and a sweatshirt when she heard a knock on her door. upon opening it, sam stood at the door. “y/n i’m so sorry for how i acted” he pulled her into a big hug. “i’m so sorry i’m so glad your happy and he loves you and i’m so sorry”

no one noticed joe standing behind him.

“oh sammy i’m so sorry i didn’t tell you i just care about you so much” y/n sobbed into his shoulder while joe snuck passed y/n. “i love you so much y/n”

y/n smiled so much, happy to have her brother back and not have to be so secretive. as y/n and sam let go joe hugged her from behind, with a small jump y/n turned around and kissed him

“okay okay just because i said this was fine doesn’t mean i want you doing this nasty stuff cut it out.”

#joe burrow #cincinnati bengals #football #sam hubbard #nfl football #nfl imagine

[eddiemunsons80sbaby]

Nobody's Fool: Chapter 8

Pairing: EddieXReader

Summary: You have bartended for years after you were forced to drop out of college due to family circumstances. You have dated your fair share of musicians, had your heart broken by one particular one, and have learned they are not be trusted. You have sworn off of them for the rest of your life. Then, one night, a new band plays at the bar, and against your better judgement, you can't help noticing the lead singer and guitar player. Could he possibly be different from the ones who came before him?

Warnings: 18+ Only due to eventual smut and language. There is also a toxic family relationship with a narcissistic mother if that is triggering for you.

MasterList

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28

“I can’t believe we managed to get this back here,” you commented, clutching a gigantic teddy bear in your arms as the two of you walked toward your apartment building. 

“I strapped him down good,” Eddie commented. “He wasn’t falling off my bike. I worked hard to win him for you. I mean, that bear must have cost me fifteen bucks.”

You laughed. “You were pretty damn determined you were going to knock all those milk bottles down.”

“And I did!” he exclaimed. “I mean, it may have taken me thirty tries to do it, but I still did it. Behold my success. I am feeling very successful tonight. I won your challenge and I defeated the rigged carnival game.”

“That you did,” you agreed with a smile, pausing to look up at him. “On both counts.”

A slow smile spread curved his lips and he bent down, hand cupping your cheek, gently kissing you. You felt the warm rush of pleasure run straight down to your toes. Damn, he was so very good at that and you couldn't help but consider what else he might be good at. You kept expecting his kisses to affect you less. Surely your body would get used to it, build up an immunity, but that had not happened so far. In fact, each time he kissed you, your reaction only seemed to intensify.

“So, what should I name our furry friend?” you asked, shaking the giant bear so his head flopped this way and that.

Eddie placed his finger and thumb on his chin, looking adorable as he considered the teddy bear, seriously scrutinizing it like it was the biggest decision of his life.

“Frodo!” he announced, snapping his fingers.

“Absolutely not,” you disagreed, shaking your head. “Frodo is the worst hobbit! He never would have survived if it weren’t for Sam. All he did was whine.”

“Blasphemy!” Eddie exclaimed, clutching his heart dramatically. “Damn, you've wounded me, sweetheart. How can you hate on Frodo? Okay, Sam then. I mean, even I have to admit that Sam is the best hobbit.”

“Nah, I’m going with Pippin,” you laughed. “I love Pippin.”

“Alright, I suppose that’s acceptable. I'll allow it. So, when can I see you again?” he asked, his arms wrapping around your waist and pulling you in close, hands settling on your low back. 

“Hmm…going for date number four?” you mused, trying to hide your surprise. Was this really happening? This guy was content to just spend time with you, wanted to spend more time with you when you hadn't even given it up to him yet? And he wasn't even pushing for it. He was just pushing for another date.

“Oh, look at you, admitting our first one counted as two,” he teased, his tongue slipping along his bottom lip in a way that had your toes curling.

“Well, you keep insisting and honestly, it’s too exhausting trying to argue with you,” you replied, chuckling. 

“You’re learning,” he said, sounding impressed. “So, are you free tomorrow?”

“Depends,” you responded.

“On what?”

“On what you’re thinking of doing,” you answered. “I work that night so I can only do a daytime thing. I mean, or I am off on Tuesday if you want to wait until then.”

“No, I definitely don’t want to wait until Tuesday,” Eddie stated, shaking his head. “Hmm, a daytime date. How do you feel about boats?”

“Boats? Motorcycles and boats, huh? Interesting. You don’t strike me as the boating type.”

He snorted with a roll of his eyes. “I’m not talking about sailing. Can you even imagine me in boat shoes, wearing one of those little hats? Ugh. No, I was thinking maybe we could grab some lunch and then rent a canoe and head out onto the lake for a bit.”

“So, the man wants me to trust him enough to let him take me on a hazardous ride that could end in me splatting on the ground. And now, he wants me to risk myself being out in the middle of a lake, alone with him, where he could easily dump my body and nobody would ever find me?”

“Damn, morbid much?” he sniggered. “I thought I won your challenge and proved I’m a good guy? Good guys wouldn’t dump your body in a lake.”

“Good point,” she shrugged. “Okay. I guess I will put my life in your hands again.”

The apartment complex door suddenly flew open and Jen came running out, her face letting you know that something was wrong. You felt your stomach instantly knot. You knew what had probably caused that reaction. There was only one person in your life that would cause Jen to look like that. No. Not right now. You didn’t need him to know about all of your dysfunction.

You desperately wanted to signal to Jen to close her mouth, to just wait a few more minutes before she spilled the brokenness that was you. You could say goodbye quickly to Eddie and talk to her inside. But you never got the chance.

“Girl, thank god,” she sighed. “I've been up there just waiting for you to get home. There was a call while you were gone. It’s your mom. She’s been arrested again and she’s down at the police station.”

Shit. You looked over at Eddie, watching the stunned expression on his face and your heart sank to the floor. You wanted a hole to open up and swallow you. You didn’t want him to know how entirely fucked up your family was, how fucked up you were. One, you didn’t want him looking at you with pity and two, you weren't prepared to tell him anything this deep. You were having a good time together. You were definitely not at the level of sharing deep dark secrets yet. You weren't even sure you ever planned on being at that level. 

“Umm…fuck,” you muttered, running a hand through your hair, figuring this was the end of that. “I’m sorry. This was really fun and thank you for the teddy bear but I have to go.”

“Yeah, obviously,” he nodded. “Do you need a ride to the police station?”

“No, thanks but I can drive myself,” you insisted, shaking your head. 

Eddie looked at you with such concern that it pierced your very soul. Damn it, you really didn’t want this. This was too much, too fast. You didn’t need him swooping in to help you. You didn’t need some white knight saving the day bullshit. You didn’t want to feel like you owed him anything. Easy breezy did not mean intense and dramatic. It did not mean debts that needed to be paid. 

“You really shouldn’t drive yourself,” he commented. “You’re shaking like a leaf and clearly upset. Just let me drive you. I’ll even drive your car since I’m assuming your mom is going to need a ride too.”

“I think that’s a really good idea,” Jen added and you wanted to strangle her. “You really don’t need to go alone. You know how she gets.”

“There, your friend agrees,” he stated, reaching his hand out as if that was the end of the conversation. Decision made. “Keys, please? No worries. I’ll get you there. I promise.”

You sighed, reaching into your bag and placing your car keys in his hand. Clearly, he was about to be thrust into the insane world that was your family whether you wanted him to be or not. You just hoped he was ready for what he was about to see.

____________________________________________________________

“Hi Charlene,” you greeted, approaching the front desk at the police station. “I got a call that my mom's here...again. I'm here to post bail.”

“She's back there, alright. Good to see you again, sweetheart. Just wish it wasn't for this reason. Wait here,” the desk officer said, heading off through a door. 

You groaned, hands gripping the edge of the counter, lowering your head. At this point, every cop in town knew you and your mom. Your mom had been arrested more times than you could count for drunk and disorderly or drunk driving. Her license had been suspended on condition of her completing rehab, which she refused to do. She wouldn’t admit she had a problem to begin with so why would she need to go to rehab.

Eddie walked up behind you, placing a hand on your shoulder, but you shrugged him off, taking a few steps away. You couldn’t do this with him right now. You didn’t need him feeling sorry for you. You were so tired of being the one people looked at like you were pathetic, a lost cause, a broken girl. Poor tragic you with your defective mother. He didn't even know you, not really. Hanging out three times did not mean he understood shit about your life. This was just awkward. You wished he wouldn't have come.

Charlene came back with the proper paperwork. You filled it all out and handed over the bail money. Money you really couldn’t spare at the moment. You were constantly scraping by because of always having to fund your mother's bullshit. Charlene informed you that your mom was expected to appear at a court hearing in two weeks. If she didn’t, they would arrest her again and there would be no bailing her out this time. She had gotten herself in trouble one too many times. 

You paced back and forth, avoiding Eddie’s gaze, while you waited for them to bring your mom out but you could feel it, like twin lasers burning into the back of your skull. You knew, without looking, that he was feeling sorry for you and you just didn't want to see it. Finally, you spotted Jodie being led around to the front. They paused to remove the handcuffs from her wrists.

“Jodie,” the officer told her, “you need to behave yourself now or next time, your little girl won’t be able to bail you out. You’ll be staying with us long-term, you hear?”

“Pfft,” she sneered, rolling her eyes, “you mind your own business. I’m fine, and that child better bail me out. It’s the very least she could do after everything I’ve done for her ungrateful ass.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide and you felt tears sting your own. You would not cry. You were not going to break down in front of him. This was exactly why you didn’t want him to come. Your mom was nasty on her good days, vicious when she was drunk, which was almost all the time these days. 

“Come on mom,” you muttered, “let’s get you home.”

“There she is,” your mom called out loudly. “My little whore of a daughter. Did you know she tends bar for a living? What a successful one I’ve raised. She knows just how to make her mama proud. She slings drinks and opens her legs for the guys who play there. What mom wouldn't want that?” Her head swung toward Eddie, a sloppy smile that she thought was sexy appearing on her lips. “Oh, and here’s one right now. Well, aren’t you good looking? Do you like older ladies? You could trade up from this one over here if you wanted to, handsome. I promise I can show you a better time than anything you've gotten from her.”

The officer, his name was Henry, walked over to you and leaned in, “Honey, are you sure you don’t want to leave her here for the night to sober up?”

“It’s fine,” you said quietly, your face flushed from your mom’s words. You didn't even know why it embarrassed you anymore. You should be used to it by now. “I’ve got her.”

Eddie helped you get her in the back of the car and you directed Eddie how to get to your mom's house. Most of the way your mom was either making inappropriate comments to Eddie about what she could offer him or berating you for being the biggest disappointment of her life. You stared out the window, only glancing at him to tell him when to turn. 

You could only imagine what he was thinking right now. You bet he wouldn’t be so eager to go on that fourth date after witnessing this mess, after seeing what you came from, the baggage you dragged along with you. You and your alcoholic mother, the ongoing mother daughter saga of mental and emotional abuse that has been your entire life.

Eddie pulled in your mom’s driveway and immediately got out, coming around to help. You wanted to tell him to stay in the car, but your mom had now passed out and you wouldn’t be able to carry her on your own. There's been many a night you'd left her in the car to sleep it off while you slept on her couch. But you couldn't do that with him here. He had to be able to get back to his bike. He’d already seen your mom at her absolute worst so what was it hurting now for him to see her comatose? 

You were struggling, trying to get her upright, until Eddie just lifted her into his arms. You unlocked the door and Eddie carried her in, gently laying her on her couch. You tucked your mom in, setting a blanket around her and grabbed a glass of water and the ibuprofen from the cabinet, setting them on the coffee table next to her. You grabbed Eddie’s sleeve and gestured to the door.

You stepped out onto the porch, and you relished the night air as it filled your lungs, replacing the dank stale smell of your mom’s house. You spent as little time there as possible. Just coming to this place made your skin crawl. Her house was never clean, not even a little. She was either too hungover or too drunk to care about stupid things like dishes or dirty laundry.

“Thank you,” you managed to say. swallowing the emotion you didn't want to show. “You really didn’t have to do this, but thank you.”

“It’s no problem,” he assured you, tucking his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and offered you one, which you gladly accepted. Lighting it for you, he asked, “So, is this like a regular thing?”

You took a deep inhale of the cigarette, your eyes glued to the ground as you answered, “Yeah. Kind of. I don’t even know how many times I’ve had to bail her out anymore. It’s always either she was causing a scene somewhere or she was driving around drunk.”

“I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“Yeah, it does.”

“Has she always had a drinking problem?” he asked.

“No. It started after my dad left,” you explained and knowing the next question he was going to ask, you beat him to it. “He met some young blond secretary at work who is basically my age. They were having an affair and when my mom demanded that he leave her, he didn't. He left my mom instead and took off with the secretary. One day, we were a family, a dysfunctional one where the parents were always screaming, mind you, but a family. The next day, implosion. My mom couldn’t handle that she lost her husband to a younger girl so she started drinking. She's always been obsessed with her looks and it killed her that he left her for someone like that. It started off small, a couple glasses of wine each night. But then it became a whole bottle and then that became straight liquor and now here we are.”

“Damn,” he said simply. “I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t,” you huffed. “How would you? We barely know each other. This wasn’t something I was going to share with you. What? Was I supposed to mention her over an elephant ear at the fair or french toast at the diner? I didn’t exactly plan on having you see the disaster that is my mother on our third date.”

“It’s okay…” he began.

“No, it’s really not. Look, just drive me back so you can get your bike and then you can go. This clearly is not the way you planned to end your night. This is about the worst ending ever and it’s fine. Most guys would run for the hills after seeing all of this.”

“I thought we already established that I’m not most guys,” Eddie said.

“It’s fine, really. I’m giving you an out,” you sighed. “You don’t have to act like the nice guy and fight your instincts to get as far away as possible. No one would blame you, least of all me.”

“I’m not fighting anything,” he argued. “I don’t want to run away from you. I feel like you keep finding a reason to run from me, to not see where this goes, and I can’t figure out why. I like you, you like me. We are having a lot of fun together so why would I run? Because your mom is a drunk? Okay, my mom is in prison because she’s a junkie. My dad took off and never looked back. Your family life doesn’t scare me. It’s actually not that far off from mine.”

“So, we both like Tolkien and our families are fucked up,” you laughed sarcastically, the sound hollow. “I guess that means we’re written in the stars. Two completely dysfunctional people coming together to form a dysfunctional relationship full of fantastical fucked up adventures.”

“Or we’re just two people who came from shitty circumstances who are doing our best to not repeat history. And maybe those two people have a shot at something really worthwhile here.”

You forgot to breathe as you felt like the floor had dropped out from under you. You were just having fun right? Something worthwhile? He was making it sound like he was considering more than a fun, casual thing. You really didn’t think she could handle that, especially after the shitstorm this night had become. You could feel your brain screaming at you to find the emergency exit.

“I thought we were just having fun together?” you asked tentatively. 

“We are,” he responded. “But, I don’t know, I mean I see the potential for something really amazing here. I mean, no pressure. I just don’t want to walk away from this. I want to see where it’s headed because I feel like it could be headed somewhere pretty great.”

“Okay,” you replied softly. No pressure sounded good. He agreed this was fun. “No pressure. I think I can handle that.”

“Sure you can,” he teased with a smile. “See, you can let just a little crack in that wall. You don’t have to smash it all down at once, but just a tiny little gap, that is you agreeing to go on a fourth date with me tomorrow.”

He grabbed your hips, pulling you against him, fingers digging in. The feel of his body pressed into yours sent waves of overwhelming desire from your head to your toes. Everything around you faded into a soft blur as he leaned down, brushing his lips across yours. 

“Just a tiny gap,” you whispered, trying to assure yourself.

Taglist

@tlclick73 @bebe07011 @emma77645 @corrodedcoffincumslut @babeyglo @kimmi-kat @bblunuh @vintagehellfire @hellfire--cult @avobabe87 @just-a-sewer-goblin

#eddie munson #eddie the banished #stranger things eddie #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x femreader #eddie the freak munson #eddie x you #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #eddie munson series #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson au #eddie munson x reader angst #eddie munson fanfic

[raised-u-fr0m-perdition]

we could be more | dean winchester | 12

Summary: Ivonne Rainer was practically a trained killing machine. Stripped to the bone then built back up by her father in order to become one of the best, like he was. She was forced into hunting when she was nineteen, having developed powers that couldn’t be explained. That is, until she was paid a visit by Azazel’s lackey. Her powers were gone, she needed help, and that’s when she found her father’s journal. Pointing to Sam and Dean Winchester.

SERIES MASTERLIST

PLAYTHINGS

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : DOLLS - BELLA POARCH

“That amulet protected the wearer from possession.” Dad repeated. “It was blessed, and I gave it to your mother until Ellen got it. Giving that up put you in danger. You wouldn’t even be able to know how long you have left.” 

“So you failed to mention in your little note to Ellen that the necklace was the ONLY thing protecting me from being possessed by a PSYCHO who’s been after my BLOOD for EIGHT YEARS?!” I burst out, karate chopping my palm. “Yeah, cause that’s not important.” 

“I wanted to tell you.” 

“No, you didn’t. Not until I went and faced Gordon Walker and suddenly I’m in immense danger. Two weeks, Dad. Two. Plenty of time for you to warn me.” 

“I wanted to, Ivonne.” He pleaded. “More than anything, but I didn’t know how you’d react-“

“Better than this! I’m now a walking death timer! I could even stick a knife in anyone and I wouldn’t even know it and I’d be blaming myself for this. When I should really be blaming you.” 

“I was dead for eight years!” 

“Yeah, dead for eight years while I had to pick up the pieces. The yellow-eyed demon chose Carter for his sick plan, but Carter’s dead, so I became the next contender. Because I was the last one standing. I lived with the guilt of Mom’s death, Lily’s, Carter’s, my baby brother’s and yours. Because you sent me that tape, told me not to look for you and I listened, stayed at home when I could’ve been the difference between whether you survived or not. A week after that tape, you’re dead and I knew that I could’ve done something but I decided to follow your orders like a good little soldier. Nothing in that tape explaining what I might be facing. Nothing preparing me for what’d happen a few months later.” 

“Ivonne-“ 

“THAT THING SLAUGHTERED MY FAMILY!” I yelled, completely losing it. 

“Our… family.” 

“You don’t get to call it ‘our family’ anymore.” I fumed.

”Oh, she went there.” I heard Sam whisper. 

“You weren’t there for the last few years before you died. You missed my graduation. My first prom. Hell, you even missed my eighteenth birthday in the name of killing the supernatural! I looked up to you more than anything, Dad, but our family was falling apart. I looked to you for help and you weren’t there. I look at our video tapes and I remember what we were like when I was growing up, but somehow I only remember the good parts. That’s cause I’m trying to find every excuse I can find to paint you as an amazing father  and somehow live up to the name of the great Mick Rainer, hunter extraordinaire.” 

Dad crumbled, starting forward. “Jellybean-“ 

I held out a hand to stop him. “Don’t ‘jellybean’ me. Just don’t. I’m done with you, Dad. I-I wasn’t even thinking when I made that deal and essentially traded my life for yours. I’m not your puppet. I’m…” I turned to see Dean and Sam at the foot of the stairs, watching everything with a bewildered expression. I grabbed my leather jacket, wearing it and grabbing my safe house keys and my satchel. I stormed out of the door, and I heard jogging behind me. 

“Beanie!” Dean called. I continued walking, not wanting to hear consolations or a ‘calm down’. “Hey, BEANIE!” 

“WHAT?” I yelled back, stopping and turning around.

“Where’re you going? It’s 8:00 in the evening.” 

“My other safe house here. It has more beer.” I replied, then started walking off. 

“Beer? Count me in!”

After locking the door, I went to the fridge and my cabinets, pulling out a casket of beer and a couple bottles of whiskey. “I’m gonna change, just make yourself at home.” I went into a bedroom, pulling my long pyjama shirt on and taking my bottoms off. I ran my fingers through my hair, then dumped my clothes on the bed in that room before coming back out. Dean gave me a once over, then passed me a bottle of beer. 

“I’ve been waiting for when you get here.” He cracked open his bottle and I did mine, both of us clinking them. “Cheers.”

”Cheers.” I took a large sip out of my beer, rubbing my forehead. 

“How much of a heavyweight are you?” 

“I’m not that heavy.” I chuckled. “I just want to get drunk so I can forget about this for the time being.” 

“I feel you.” He raised his bottle. “To forgetting about our problems.” 

“Touché.” I did the same, drinking. 

“What would you do if you weren’t a hunter?” 

“Complete my college course, make a name for myself, then find a guy, get married.” I shrugged. “But if I think about it, I wouldn’t have met you and Sam if I hadn’t become a hunter. If Carter’s abilities hadn’t been transferred to me, or if I’d gone dark side and done the yellow eyes man’s bidding. Now I can’t imagine life without you two bozos.” 

“Words hurt, but I get your point.” He got up, already swaying because he’d finished his first bottle. “I’m gonna head to the restroom.” 

“First door in the hallway opposite.” He nodded and then left, and Carl sprang up from my bag, writing on a sheet of paper. 

You like him. 

“No.” I refused. “I just can’t. Dean’s got too much going on and so do I, plus, I’ve learnt that short-distance relationships end up with me shooting them. Besides, there’s James.” 

No, there’s Dean. 

“Why are you so set on Dean? You talked to me about this last week!” 

You two are really protective of each other. 

“Yeah, and so are you and your precious refills. Doesn’t mean you’re dating.” Dean walked, or, more accurately, stumbled, back in, flopping down on the sofa. 

“Wanna crack open the whiskey?” He rumbled, and I grinned, taking out two glasses and filling them each up with whiskey, passing one to him. I sipped mine, my mind growing more cloudy than I’d intended it to. “Oh, yeah, that’s the good stuff.” 

Both Dean and I were laughing our heads off, collapsed against the sofa. 

“No way! That happened in T-Tampa?” I giggled, sipping my fifth glass of whiskey. “You’re mad.” 

“The waitress was h-hot!” 

“S-She turned out to be a witch… Dean.” 

“You’re a witch, but I don’t complain.” He smirked. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Am I a burden, Winchester?” 

He glanced at me with a look that I couldn’t really explain. His green eyes had a dark quality to them, his voice getting rougher by the minute. “Nah, you’re not. You’ve- you’ve been great.” 

“T-Tell me m-more.” 

“Well, y-you’re the b-best lady hunter I know. Probably gonna top most o’ the d-dudes I know. You always get S-Sammy and I o-outta fixes, I owe you for that. When y-you handle a gun… there’s this f-face that you make. You’ve got this… this… look in your eyes.” 

“That looks stupid, right?” I giggled airily, sipping some whiskey. 

“No, it’s… it’s goddamn sexy, that’s what it is. You’re goddamn sexy.” He downed the rest of his whiskey, him staring into my eyes with his pupils blown wide. My gaze flickered down to his lips, then I drank the rest of mine. “Beanie, I-“ 

“God damn it, Dean…” I whispered, grabbing his collar and pulling him in for a kiss. He pulled away, his hands cupping my cheeks. He took a breath, giving me the fifth once-over of the evening before something snapped inside him, and he hooked his hand under my knee, pulling me to straddle him before kissing me again.

His hands were like they were everywhere but at one place at the same time, one arm looped around my waist while the other held my thigh, occasionally squeezing as if to remind himself where he was. His lips were so soft and he tasted like whiskey, mint and something indescribable that was just very… Dean, while the scent of his cologne, something along the lines of gunpowder, cinnamon and leather made me feel dizzy in his arms. I didn’t really care, cause damn, it was intoxicating. He pulled back, eyes closed for a moment and out of breath as he leaned his forehead on mine. 

“Are you sure?” He asked softly, holding me in a way which told me that he wanted this too. 

“Dean, who kissed who first?” I smirked, my hands resting on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. I could see all his scars, faint scratches on his skin but they looked like they told a damn good story.

“You did.” 

“Are we gonna remember this after being black out drunk?”

“No.” 

“Then let’s make it count.” I grabbed the hem of his t-shirt, lifting it off his head in one smooth motion. He did the same to me, running his hand from my face, down to my arm, then my waist, hips, and ending on my leg. His eyes drank up whatever he could, his fingers lingering

“Damn.” He hesitated for a moment, the cogs visibly whirring in his head as his chest heaved. Then he let out an almost needy moan, lips kissing down my neck like I was his lifeline, propping himself up on one knee to switch positions and lay me down on the sofa, and I put my hand in his hair, thanking the whiskey cause boy this man knows what he’s doing. I gave him access to my neck, my lips parted as I gasped for breath, struggling to keep in my sharp moans. “This… this is just for tonight, right?” 

“Yeah.”

I woke up the next morning at 5am, rubbing my forehead and trying to ignore the hangover. I had my shirt on, but my hair was disheveled. Dean was asleep on the other sofa, a small smirk on his face as he slept with one arm under his head. I stood up, but I almost collapsed due to a feeling in my legs like they’d cramped badly throughout the night, making me grab onto the sofa for support. I shook my head, collecting the bottles and disposing the empty ones, pulling my workout clothes out of my satchel and quickly changing. I tied up my hair, glancing momentarily at Dean asleep on the sofa before going into my home gym and getting straight to doing pull ups on my bar. I got a call, so I dropped down, picked it up and held the phone to my ear, panting. “You’ve reached Ivonne Rainer’s cell.” 

‘I was half expecting you to decline the call.’ I heard James on the other end. 

“James!” I grinned, wiping the sweat off my forehead with a towel. “How’ve you been?” 

‘Good, yeah. I’m not interrupting something important, am I? You sound… uh… out of breath.’ 

I got what he was insinuating, panic striking through me. “Oh, no, no, no, I’m not getting laid. I was just doing pull ups in my gym.” 

‘Your house doesn’t have a gym. Are you on a hunt?’ 

“No, just recovering from an argument with my dad.” I sighed. “I decided to have an early morning since I got wasted last night. Hell of a hangover, though, so I’m working it off.” 

‘That’s good, and bad, cause I found something.’ He paused. ‘Two freak accidents at a hotel. One woman drowns in her bathtub, then soon after a man seemingly falls and his head makes a one-eighty. Isn’t normal, so I called you to see whether you’d check it out since I was swamped with work.’ 

“Can you email me images of the accidents, or is that out of your jurisdiction, police boy?” 

‘I can make a few calls. By the way, dinner was great.’ 

“It was. Love you, bye.” I cut the call, looking up to see Dean at the door, still shirtless and looking impressed. He was leaning against the doorframe, running his hand through his hair while his shirt was hanging from his other hand. This kind of felt like a cliché bad boy sitch.

“What happened last night?” He asked, walking in and whistling when he saw the plates on my bench. 

“We got wasted.” I shrugged. “At least, that’s what I remember.” 

“I did have really bad breath this morning.” He stared at a stack of gold medals in a box and a set of pointe shoes beside it. “Gymnastics gold medals? And… ballet shoes?” 

“I used to be a ballet dancer and gymnast.” I explained. 

“And you chose hunting? Bold.” 

“Bold was my only option, Dean.” I chuckled, then loosened my hair. “Anyway, James called. He said there’s an inn with two extremely unlikely freak accidents. Woman drowns in a bathtub, and a man seemingly falls and his head’s been snapped the full 180.” 

“Let’s go get Sammy.”

“Dude, this is sweet. I never get to work jobs like this.” Dean grinned as we got out of the car. 

“Like what?” Sam chuckled, glancing between Dean and I.

“Old school haunted houses, you know? Fog, and secret passageways, sissy British accents. Might even run into Fred and Daphne while we're inside.” He chuckled. “Daphne. Love her.” 

“Of course you do.” I laughed, then spotted something, kneeling down. “I'm not so sure haunted's the problem.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“That’s a quincunx.” I tapped the symbol. “Typically used for hoodoo spellwork. If you fill it with bloodweed, you have a five-star way of warding off enemies.” 

“Yeah, except I don't see any bloodweed. Don't you think this place is a little too, uh, whitemeat for hoodoo?” 

“Maybe.” I stood up. “Alright, you two go in first and book a room, and I’ll go after.” 

“Why?” 

“Cause I want my own room. And I don’t want to owe you money.” 

Sam shook his head, laughing. “Fair enough.” They went in, and I walked in afterwards, looking around.

“Hey, Carl?” I whispered. “Notice anything?” Carl wiggled in my pocket, tapping out ‘no’ in Morse. “Ok, but keep lookin’.” 

“May I help you?” The lady at the front desk asked, looking at Sam and Dean amiably. 

“Hi, yeah, I'd like a room for a couple of nights.” Dean smiled. Then a kid ran past him, bumping into Sam with a giggle and running off.

“Hey!” The lady snapped, then sighed, as if she was tired. “Sorry about that.”

”No problem.” Sam grinned. 

“Well, um, congratulations, you could be some of our final guests.” 

“Sounds vaguely ominous.” Dean chuckled. 

“No, I'm sorry, I mean we're closing at the end of the month.” She took a look between them. “Well, let me guess. You guys are here antiquing?” 

“How’d you know?” 

“You just look the type.” I raised an eyebrow, smirking. The type? “So, uh, king-sized bed?” 

Sam blinked, realising what she was saying. I bit my lip to hold in my laughter, but a quiet giggle did manage to escape me. “What? No, uh, no, we're, we're… two singles. We're just brothers.” 

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” 

“What do you mean, ‘we look the type’?” Dean asked curiously. The lady struggled to form an answer, so Sam jumped in. 

“You know, speaking of antiques, you have a really, really interesting urn on the front porch.” He stammered, fiddling with his hands. “Where did you get that?” 

“Oh, I have no idea, it's been there forever.” She handed Dean a key, dinging a bell. “Here you go, Mr Mahagov. You'll be staying in room 237. Sherwin, could you show these gentlemen to their rooms?“ An old man with thinning grey hair and dressed in a black blazer showed up, taking Dean’s duffel bag and starting to limp up the stairs. I went to the desk, handing the lady, whose badge read Susan, my fake card under the name Lily Carter. 

“A room for one, please.” I smiled, and she gasped upon reading the name. 

“You don’t need to pay.” She informed. “A gentleman by the name of Fred Jones came and said that a lady by the name Lily Carter would be showing up soon. He also said to give you this.” She pulled out a gardenia and a rhododendron, giving it to me along with the key. I grinned goofily, biting my lip again. A rhododendron. I knew exactly who this was. “He really loves you. I gave you the best suite, by the way.” 

“I’m sure he does, and thank you.” I chuckled, taking the key from her and going upstairs. I unlocked the door, finding an all-too-familiar man lying on the bed. He smirked at me, holding an orange gladiolus in his hand, green eyes glinting mischievously and his expression highlighting the intense shadow on his cheek. “And here I thought you were swamped with work, Fred Jones.” 

“Come on, I don’t wanna pass up the chance to see you in a haunted inn.” James stood up, handing the gladiolus to me. “Milady.” 

“Did you have to do the theatrics?” I sighed. “First a Scooby Doo reference, then giving me a rhododendron, couldn’t be more obvious as to what that meant, a gardenia, meaning joy and sweetness, and finally a gladiolus. An orange one.” 

“Meaning that you’re strong and capable.” He winked. “I studied up on my botany.” 

“So, how’s your… police work… going?” I picked up the files with the crime scene photos from his bedside table, flicking through them. 

“I’m off-duty, obviously. But I’ve been a bit distracted. Got this mystery girl on my mind.” James gave me a once over, biting his lip for a split second. 

“Oh, really?” I fake-gasped, raising an eyebrow. 

“Mhmm. Diana knows who she is, but everyone else wants to know who’s gotten my attention.” He continued. “Naturally, I can’t tell them she’s a girl running around with a felon wanted by the Feds.” 

“Naturally.” I smiled, putting down the case files and the flowers in a vase. “I’m glad you’re here, James. Really.” 

“Good, cause I was wondering whether you’d pull a gun on me for stalking you.” 

“More so pull that tie off.” I teased, pointing at the tie he was wearing with his suit. “That Trinity is killing me.” 

“I knew I should’ve done a half-Windsor.” He pouted like a little baby, undoing his tie, then folded his arms. “So, uh, I got you the case files, I learnt that Susan has a little girl called Tyler, and I got you here. Albeit with Sam and Dean.” 

“Thank you for that. I owe you one.” 

“Yeah, and I’m gonna have to cash that in. Do you have any spare men’s clothes? Cause, i, um, didn’t exactly think the whole romantic gesture thing through and didn’t pack anything. And I really don’t wanna sleep in a suit.” I buried my hand into my satchel, pulling out some spare clothes for him to wear, shoving them into his hands. “Thanks, beautiful.” 

“You’re welcome, handsome.” I winked. He hesitated for a moment, then threw the clothes down and put his hands on the small of my back, kissing me while my hand instinctively cupped the nape of his neck. After a few seconds, I pulled back, grinning. “Bold move, Serge.” 

“I learnt from the best.” He pulled the rubberband from my plait and took my beanie off my head, letting my hair fall loose. He then picked me up, laying me down on the bed before climbing on top of me, taking off his suit jacket before he claimed my lips again.

I was sitting in James’ lap, studying the case, when someone knocked on the door. “Beanie?” It was Dean, and when I opened the door, his eyes immediately landed on James. “Oh, hey, Serge.” 

“Dean.” James nodded. 

“Hey, James.” Sam popped his head around the door. “How’re you doing?” 

“I’m good, you?” 

“As well as I can.” 

“Alright, get in here, then.” I beckoned them inside. Once they were in, I closed the door and locked it. “What’ve you guys got?” 

“We figured that someone might be using hoodoo to fight off people who want to sell the home. Y’know, cause that quincunx wards away enemies.” 

“But that doesn’t make sense, exactly.” I frowned. “Quincunxes would prevent the enemy from entering entirely, let alone kill them if they got too close.” 

“So then what’s the plan?” 

“I’ll lay it on Susan.” I said matter-of-factly. “It’s gonna be harder for two men to do it than it would be for one woman. Besides, she seemed to take a liking to me. She thought you two were gay.” 

“That’s settled, then.” James got up. “I’ll go over the cases a few more times, see if I can find anything interesting.” 

“Thanks.” I picked my room key up, going over to the door. “Behave, while you’re at it.” As soon as I stepped out of the room, however, I saw Dad standing there, looking apologetic. “Geez, who brought the buzzkill?” 

He sighed, reaching out. “Jellybean-“ 

“I made it very clear yesterday that I don’t want anything to do with you.” I retorted. “And here you go, tracking me.” 

“How else am I going to help my only daughter?” He pleaded. “I can’t leave you out there, alone, with the chance that someone could take over your brain while you’re sleeping.” 

“I have three very strong men to restrain me if things go wrong, Dad.” I frowned. 

“I trained you to be stronger-“ 

“You trained me to be you.” I sneered. “All people say of me is that I’m Mick Rainer’s girl. That’s my identity, because you raised me in your image. And I realised that eight years too late.” I knocked on Susan’s door, and she opened it, smiling when she saw me. 

“Miss Carter!” Susan grinned. “How can I help you? Is your room alright?” 

“I just came to thank you for the surprise.” I grinned, slipping on a fake ring I kept in my pocket in case of emergencies. “My fiancé and I recently got engaged, so I think he just wanted to surprise me.” 

“Well, you’re such a lucky person.” She appraised. “Well, I was, I was just in the middle of packing.” 

“Are those antique dolls?” I gasped, spotting one. “My grandma used to own some.” 

“Really? Come in!” She let me in, and I looked at the dollhouse. 

“Is that-“ 

“A replica of the hotel? You guessed right.” I bent down, picking up a doll. 

“This one’s broken.” 

“That’d be Tyler.” 

“Mommy!” Tyler ran in, stroppy. “Maggie’s being mean!” 

“Tyler, tell her I said to be nice, okay?” Susan lectured, and I knelt to Tyler’s height. 

“Hey, Tyler.” I smiled. “I’m Lily, and I see you broke your doll. Want me to fix it?” 

“I didn’t break it.” She grumbled. “I found it like that.” 

“Maybe Maggie did it.” 

“No, neither of us did it. Grandma would get mad if we broke 'em.” 

“Tyler, Grandma wouldn’t get mad.” Susan sighed. 

“Grandma?” I asked politely.

”Grandma Rose. These were all her toys.” 

“And where’s she now?” 

“Up in her room.” Tyler smiled. 

“How is she? Doing well?” 

“She…” Susan paused, “she barely comes out anymore. Never takes visitors.” The way she said it made me intrigued. And suspicious.”

“That’s sad to hear. Give her my well wishes.” I clicked my tongue, then stood up. “Anyway, I better get going. My fiancé’s probably waiting up for me. It was great meeting you again, Susan.” 

“You too, Lily.” I hugged her, and she patted my shoulder. “Call if you need anything.” 

“I’ll make sure of it. Bye, Tyler.” I waved, then left the room and ignored Dad, going into mine and meeting the boys. “I got the info I needed, and look what the cat dragged in.” Dad entered behind me, and Dean and Sam instantly stood up, the air becoming tense. 

“Mr Rainer.” Dean nodded coldly. 

“Sir.” Sam gulped. 

“Boys.” Dad coughed.

”Ok, so there’s a Grandma Rose here.” I flicked through my hoodoo book. “Lives in practical solitary, doesn’t take visitors. I think we found our hoodoo and voodoo lady.” 

“All right, I'll see what I can go dig up on boomin' Granny.” Dean agreed. “Sam, James, you go get online, check old obits, freak accidents, that sort of thing, see if she's whacked anybody before.” 

“And me?” Dad asked. 

“You sit there and do nothing.” I snapped. 

“There's been another one. Some guy just hung himself in his room.” I sighed, walking back in with Dean. James and Dad were in the other room.

“We saw the guy being carted off.” Sam grimaced. “Bad business.” 

“We've gotta figure this out, and fast.” Dean frowned. “What'd you find out about Granny?” 

“You’re the boss.” 

Dean stopped. “What?”

”You're bossy. And short.” Sam giggled. I raised an eyebrow, walking over to Sam and lifting up his face so he could face me. 

“Are you drunk?” I scrutinised, checking his eyes for his focus. Then I saw the empty bottles of beer.

“Yeah.” He snorted. “So?” 

“We’re on a case, Sam.” 

“That guy who hung himself. I couldn't save him.” 

“You couldn’t have done anything, Sam.” Dean frowned. 

“That's an excuse, Dean. I should have found a way to save him. I should have saved Ava too.” 

“You can’t save everyone, Sammy.” I hugged him, smoothing his hair down. 

“No, you don't understand, all right? The more people I save, the more I can change!” 

“Change what?” Dean groaned. 

“My destiny!” Wow, that’s dramatic. Or not so much, but I stand my ground.

“O-kay, Sasquatch, time for bed.” I laughed, hauling Sam up and putting his arm around my shoulder, limping with him to his bed. I threw him down, pulling the blanket over him. 

“I need you to watch out for me.” Sam whispered. 

“We’re doing that, Sammy.” 

“No, I mean, watch out for me.” He groaned. “If I go the wrong way, Dean, I need you to… to kill me.” 

“Sam, no.” Dean refused. “I’m not doing that.” 

“You have to.” 

“No-“ 

“Dean!” Sam grabbed Dean’s collar. “You’re the only one who can do it. Please.” 

“Sammy, I-“ 

“Do it.” 

Dean conceded, nodding. “Ok. I’ll-I’ll do it.” 

“Thank you.” Then Sam fell asleep. Dean rubbed his face, gritting his teeth. 

“I can’t kill him.” He muttered, voice breaking. “Why’s he asking me to do it?” 

I frowned. “Because you’re his brother.” 

“Dad asked me to do it, but I just can’t-“ 

“I’ll do it, then.” I ran a hand through my hair, biting my lip. 

“What?” 

“I’ll do it.” I

“But… but why?” 

“You’ve got enough of a guilty conscience, Dean.” I crossed my arms. “Sometimes it seems like I don’t have enough of one.” 

“I can’t let you do this.” 

“It’s going to be a hell of a burden to carry!” I snapped. ��You’re already half-killing yourself for John’s death. If Sam dies by your hand, I don’t know how much longer you could take that kind of thing.” 

“What about Carter? Lily? Your mom? Xavier?” He frowned. “You carry the guilt of their deaths too, right?”

“Every damn day.” I nodded. “But you deserve to live a happier life than I do.” 

“You don’t have to live that life! Beanie, you deserve much more than I do-” 

“Dean!” I cried out, silencing him. “Why do you think so low of yourself? You are the bravest person I’ve ever met. You don’t hesitate to save the people you love. No matter how many times I yell at you, you always rush to my side when I’m hurt and don’t leave until you know I’m ok. You may be tough, but you’re also sweet and caring and charming. The one thing wrong about you is that you don’t know your own self-worth. But, somehow, I do.” 

“Beanie-“ 

“I’ll do it. I’ll pull the trigger, Dean, and if the same happens to me, I’ll pull it on myself.” 

“Iv-“ 

“That’s final.” He stayed silent, so I calmed down. “I’ll watch over Sam. You go milk more information outta this place. Maybe try Sherwin.” 

“Ok.” He went to the door, but then stopped and turned around. “For what it’s worth, Beanie, I think you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.”

Dean and Sam came back to my room, looking guilty, and I groaned. “You didn’t just go talk to Gramma Rose, did you?” 

“We did.” Sam sighed. “And now we’re kicked out.” 

“Well done.” I stood up, flicking through files. “Whatever I’m thinking, is that Rose is somewhat connected. I also know that the next closest person associated with selling the inn is Susan. So I’d wager she’s next.“ 

“Now what?” Dean asked. 

“I’ll keep as close of an eye on her as well. But… uh… Maggie seems a bit off to me. Haven’t seen her, but I think she’s Tyler’s sister.” 

“You do that.” He held up his hand. “Beer me.” I chucked him a beer, then looked out of the blinds. Susan was lugging boxes into a red car, but then I heard the EMF scanner whir, and I knew something was up. 

“It’s happening. Go, go!” We ran out of the door, and we sprinted across the field to get to Susan just as the car started on its own. I managed to get there first just as the car almost rammed into Susan, taking her out of the way just in time. “Are you ok?” 

“I think so.” She gulped. 

“C’mon, let’s get her inside and fast.” Dean ordered. “Let’s go!” We walked Susan into the inn, where James was waiting for us. 

“Whisky.” 

“Sure.” Sam nodded, passing her a glass of whisky. “I know the feeling.” 

“What the hell happened out there?” 

“You want the truth?” Dean asked. 

“Of course.” 

“First we thought it was a hoodoo curse, now we’re sure it’s a spirit.” I explained. 

“You’re insane.” She scoffed. 

“Yeah, we get that often.” I laughed. “Also, Fred here isn’t my fiancé.” 

“What?” 

“Look, I'm sorry, Susan. We don't exactly have time to ease you into this, but we need to know when your mother had the stroke.” 

“What does that have to do with any—” 

“Just answer the question.” Sam persisted. 

“About a month ago.” 

“When the killings started happening.” Sam deduced. 

“See?” I stared pointedly at Dean. “So what if Rose was working hoodoo, but not to hurt anyone. To protect them.” 

“She was using the five spots to ward off the spirit.” Dean agreed.

“And then the stroke, so now she can’t.” Sam nodded. 

“I don't believe this.” Susan whispered. 

“Listen, sister, that car didn't try to run you down by itself, okay?” Dean stated. “I mean, I guess it did, technically, but, but the spirit can- forget it.” 

“Look, believe what you want.” James spoke up. “But the fact is you and your family are in danger, all right? So you need to clear everybody out of here: your employees, your mother, your daughters, everyone.” 

“I only have one daughter.” Susan frowned. 

“I thought Maggie was Tyler’s sister.” 

“Maggie’s imaginary.” 

My blood ran cold, sharing a look with the boys. “Susan, where’s Tyler?” 

“TYLER!” Susan screamed, and we ran up to the playroom, which was empty and littered with broken dolls. “Oh my god. Tyler.” She ran out of the room for a moment. “Tyler!” She came back. “She's not here!” 

“Susan. Tell us what you know about Maggie.” 

“I don’t know. Tyler’s been talking about her ever since Mom got sick.” 

“Okay, did you ever know anyone by that name?” Sam asked. 

“No…” 

“Think, think, I mean, somebody that could have lived here.” Dean urged. 

“Someone that might have passed away?” James added. 

“Mom had a sister named Margaret.” Susan gasped. “But she barely talked about her. She died when they were kids.” 

“How did she die?” 

“She drowned in the pool.” I instantly started running to the pool, my head pounding as I made my way to the pool, the boys not far behind. There were three doors to the pool, and Susan and Dean took one, James and Sam another while I took the last. I picked up a garden chair, slamming it against the glass. Just then, Tyler screamed, falling into the pool. I slammed harder, while Dean, James and Sam tried their hardest to break the other doors. I could see Tyler’s attempts to fight become weaker, and then they stilled completely. 

“Damn it!” I growled, then pulled out my gun and shot the door twice, cracking it. I busted it open with one ram of my shoulder, taking my jacket off and throwing my gun down as I ran to the pool and dived in, grabbing Tyler and pulling her to the surface, holding on tight as I swam to the edge, laying her down on the tiles. Dean, James, Sam and Susan ran in through the door I’d busted, while I turned Tyler to the side, waiting for a moment. Then Tyler coughed, spitting water out and making Susan cry out in relief. 

“Thank god! Thank god, thank god.” She sobbed, running her fingers through Tyler’s hair. 

“Mommy!” Tyler cried. 

“I’m here, baby.” 

“Tyler, do you see Maggie anywhere?” I asked. 

“No, she’s gone.” Tyler answered. 

“Let’s get you guys back to the inn.” Before we all stood up, however, Tyler hugged me tightly. I returned the hug, patting her on the back. “Hey, it’s ok.”

”You saved my daughter, Lily.” Susan said. “Saying ‘it’s ok’ is an understatement.” 

“We should probably get away from the pool.” James chuckled. 

“Don't worry, honey, we're leaving in two minutes, we've just got to get Grandma.” Susan soothed, and her and Tyler left to get Rose. 

“I don't get it, did Maggie just stop?” I frowned. 

“Seems like it.” Sam shrugged. 

“Well,” Dean bristled, “where the hell did she go, then?” Just then, we heard Susan scream. We sprinted upstairs to find Grandma Rose dead, motionless with no mark on her body. I dialled an ambulance, while James brought Tyler and Susan away from the scene in time for the paramedics to arrive. When they did, Susan came back to us with the report. 

“Paramedics say another stroke.” She whispered. “Do you think ... Margaret could have had something to do with it?” 

“I don’t know.” Dean shrugged. 

“We can’t be sure.” I sighed, “But it’s possible. I’m sorry, Susan.” 

“You have nothing to apologise for. You've given me everything.” She smiled. Tyler came out, and she took her daughter’s hand. “Ready to go, kiddo?” 

“Yeah.” Tyler nodded. 

I knelt to Tyler’s height, tilting my head with a smile. “Now, Tyler, are you sure that Maggie’s gone?” 

“I’m sure. I’d see her.” 

“Alright.” She hugged me again, and when I stood up, Susan hugged me too. 

“Any other thing I should know about you?” She asked.

“My name isn’t Lily Carter.” 

“Then?” 

“Ivonne Rainer.” 

“Then your name,” She turned to James, “isn’t Fred, right?” 

“Nope.” James grinned, running a hand through his hair. “Detective Sergeant James Rhodes at your service.” 

“For what it’s worth, you two still make a cute couple.” She got into her taxi, driving off. Dad showed up, and the three boys slipped away. I turned to Dad, frowning. 

“What do you want?” I grimaced. 

“My daughter back.” He begged.

“That ship sunk a while ago.”  

“You meant the world to me-“

”I know. But I was also your soldier, even more so when I grew up.”

”You were my daughter first.” 

“You first taught me how to shoot when I was six.” I gritted my teeth. “Made my first explosive at eight. Killed my first spirit at nine. All while listening to your stories. You put me into martial arts so I could be more capable at hunting. Mom was a hunter, but at least she didn’t force me into it. She didn’t make me read the monster encyclopaedia and memorise every detail I could. She actually made me feel like I was a girl. You made me feel like a soldier. And you made Carter feel like he would never live up to my standard, which chipped at him every day.” 

“Jellybean-“ 

“I’m not ungrateful for the preparation you gave me, but I’m not grateful for what came out of it.” I walked away, joining the boys in the car. 

Sam joined Dean in the kitchen back at the safe house, where Dean was just staring at a bottle of beer with a weird expression. “What’re you doing?” Sam blinked, sitting down. 

“Thinking.” Dean replied, looking up. 

“Thinking about what?” 

“It’s not important.” 

“Humour me.” Sam persisted, and his brother conceded.

“When you were asleep cause you were wasted,” Dean gulped, “Beanie and I had an argument. She told me that I don’t know my own self worth.” 

“Well, you don’t. What else did she say?”

”That I was the bravest person she knew.” He continued with a small smile. “That I’m tough, yeah, but I’m also sweet and caring. I’m not sweet… am I?” 

“Oh. My. God.” Sam laughed, shaking his head. “You like her. You like Ivy.” 

“Beanie?” Dean scoffed. “Pfft, no.” 

“Yeah. You’re making practical heart eyes right now. In fact, you make them every time she opens her mouth.” 

“No.” 

“Dean, you’ve literally done it together.” 

Dean blinked, confused. “No, we haven’t. Seems like you’re hopped up on somethin’.” 

“Don’t tell me you don’t know.” 

“Know what?” 

“The night you both got wasted. In her safe house. Together. When you came back with the case, Ivy was somehow wearing your cologne. You know, the one Dad got you for your birthday?” 

The realisation struck Dean, and his eyes widened. “Damn.” 

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#dean winchester #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x reader #dean x reader #dean winchester x oc #spn #spn masterlist #supernatural #dean winchester x you #supernatural oc

[bbgem329]

Where’s My Love?—Chapter Nine

Pairings—Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

Summary

Two years ago, you and your husband built a life for your growing family at a safe camp during a world wide apocalypse. Everything is good until Bucky catches wind that a rival group is out to dominate the rest for their own gain.

What happens when, one day, the most capable men and your husband are out on a hunt when the camp is attacked? Will you be able to get your children and your heavily pregnant self to safety? Will Bucky find you before it’s too late?

Warnings

MINORS DNI!!! 18++. Language. Apocalypse. Violence. Blood and Gore. Mentions of death. Zombies. Protective!Feral! Dad!Bucky. Angst. Mentions of labor. Did I miss anything??

Notes!!

Last chapter before the epilogue!!!

Thanks for sticking with me and for the support ❤️

Series Masterlist

—————

“Hey, Buck.” Followed by a chuckle. “ Good to see you too.”

“Sam?”

Bucky couldn’t believe his eyes, there was absolutely no way this was happening—that this was real. His hands moved on their own accord, rubbing harshly at his eyes and when he opened them again, his best friend was still standing there.

In the flesh.

Very much alive.

“How?” Was all he could manage out, voice scratchy and raw. “How?”

He didn’t know what to feel. The moment he met familiar chocolate eyes, ones he’d never thought he’d see again, every thought in his head was lost—his mind completely blank.

Shocked. Startled. Happy.

But above all relieved.

The corner of Sam’s mouth lifted ever so slightly, “I’ll explain but on the way. We gotta-”

Before he could even blink, Sam whipped around, knife lodging effortlessly into the cheek of one of the dead. The movement was enough to knock Bucky back down to earth—back to reality.

Even a second later and Sam would’ve been… gone.

Bucky couldn’t stand for that, not when he just got him back. The thought alone was enough to get him moving.

The dead were coming in fast from every side, focused intently on them. They needed to move fast if they wanted to escape unscathed. You were out there and you needed him more than ever. He couldn’t afford to wait any longer, or risk getting overrun and ripped apart, or worse—bitten.

“We gotta get outta here, man. And find-”

Bucky mumbled your name, finishing Sam’s sentence with wide eyes. “They are out there”

“I know”

Sam fell in step behind him, watching his back as he always did—as if he’d never stopped. There were so many questions, so many words to be shared but it could wait.

“She’s pregnant, Sam.” It came out as more of growl, pace picking up as they shoved their way through the gathering crowd of dead, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. “Due any day now.”

He glanced back just long enough to see Sam’s eyes widen ever so slightly before he steeled his expression—determination and resilience shining across his face.

“It’s the fucking apocalypse and you still can’t seem to keep in your pants.”

Bucky couldn’t help but laugh, though it didn’t last long, trailing off into a grunt as a little corpse launched itself at him. It didn’t take much, barely a flick off his wrist and the thing went flying across the grass. He didn’t think about who that corpse used to be—ignoring that that graying, torn up body once belonged to a little girl.

“Can you blame me?”

“Nah, man.

Bucky stopped dead in his tracks as they approached the fence, heart falling into his gut as he took in the body lying just below an opening in the fence.

“Do you know her?” Sam asked as he turned back to cover Bucky, lifting his gun, sliding the silencer in place before picking off the approaching dead one by one.

“Yeah.”

As much as he resented the thought, Ruth’s body laying here and the cut in the fence above her was a positive sign. It meant you really had gotten away. And when he looked just beyond the fence, he found a pair of familiar tin snips lying on the grass.

His girl.

His brave, badass girl.

You’d done as he asked.

And you’d escaped.

Bucky allowed himself one more look at Ruth’s lifeless face before he shoved open the fence and dipped down to squeeze out onto the other side. He held it back open for Sam, watching his back as he made it through.

At least Ruth would be with Ted now, at peace and in a better place. And if baby Rosy was with you, he’d step up and take care of her.

That’s what friends were for and that’s what Ruth and Ted were.

For the both of you.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Sam spoke up as they sprinted through into the woods, following the path Bucky laid out for you, one that was clearly trampled. “Losing your home and your friends.”

“That’s not my home. Not anymore.” Bucky shook his head, more to himself than anything, “She knows where to go. I built us a house, deep in the woods off the main road.” His chest tightened, breathing labored as he picked up the pace and led them deeper into the woods. “We were supposed to leave tonight when I got back from the run. It’s been planned for months.” He stole a glance over his shoulder at his Sam, making sure he was still there, “The group, Helif, that’s who attacked camp. That’s why we were moving. You’re more of a target in a big group—in a camp.”

Sam didn’t miss the guilt in his voice and the obvious slump in his shoulders, he didn’t even need to see his face, “It’s not your fault, man.”

Bucky opened his mouth to argue but Sam cut him off.

“You had absolutely no way of knowing what was going to happen.” He pointed out, tone final and sharp, one that left no room for arguments, “And she’ll be fine. She’s a spitfire, that one.” He paused, chuckling a little, “Especially when her baby—babies?… are involved.”

“Babies.” Bucky confirmed with a nod, “Jamie, Becca, and another on the way.”

Sam laughed and for a second Bucky forgot where he was, forgot he was running through the woods with a bunch of zombies chasing after him. Racing to find his wife and his babies, to whisk them off to safety.

Forgot that this is the first time he’d seen his best friend in almost three years, and up until today he thought he was dead.

Forgot the world he had once known—had grown accustomed too, had ceased to exist altogether.

“The world ends and Bucky Barnes is still making babies.” He laughed again, “Guess you kept your word.”

Bucky supposes he did.

“What’s going on with you, man?” Sam slapped a hand down on his shoulder, giving it a little squeeze before sliding in the booth across from him. “You’re really quiet today. It’s kinda…” He shrugged his shoulders, nose scrunching as he made a face, “Unnerving”

The new picture folded and tucked neatly into the inside pocket of Bucky’s jacket, felt like it was burning a hole right through the fabric. He liked to keep the ones he loved most next to his heart on missions and the pocket was perfect for the picture of you and one-year-old Jamie, all big smiles on a summer picnic.

And now—now there was another photo just recently added to the mix. A black and white picture of a little bean.

Proof of another one of his babies growing, safe and snug, in your belly.

This time, he was hoping for a girl.

“Buck?”

He’d been waiting weeks to tell Sam and it was becoming harder and harder to keep it from him.

It was better to wait until you were past the first trimester—twelves weeks at least, you’d told him. Things could happen and the risk of miscarriage lowered significantly in the thirteenth week.

But Bucky wasn’t good at keeping secrets—not from you, not from Sam.

“Huh?” He almost forgot to respond. There was no way around this now, Sam knew him better than that. He’d given himself away no doubt.

“Bucky.”

That tone.

It was as if his body and his mind were disconnected because before he was even knew what he was doing, he had the picture in his hands.

“Well.” He grimaced, tongue darting out to skim along his top lip, “I’m not supposed to share yet.”

Sam uncrossed his arms and held a hand out across the table, eager fingers wiggling, “Hand it over, Barnes.”

God, you were going to kill him.

When had he become such a puss?

The people in his life, the ones he loved, were softening his once hard heart. They all damn well knew they had him wrapped around their fingers and here he was adding yet another person that will hold his heart.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t love it though.

Love was power. You’d taught him that.

“Well I’ll be damned.”

“Don’t tell her.”

Sam laughed, a full belly laugh with his head thrown back and his eyes crinkled in the corners, “She’d kick your ass.” He turned his attention back to the photo, thumb brushing over the blob, “Look at this little bean. How far along?”

“Twelve weeks in two days.” He scratched nervously at the back of his neck, eyes darting around the space. As if you’d pop out at any moment just to scold him. “Don’t tell her. She has this whole little plan and you need to act surprised. She didn’t want to tell anyone too early—didn’t want to jinx it.”

Sam’s face softened, “I won’t say a word.”

Sometimes Bucky forgot he wasn’t the only one who had a soft spot for you and Jamie. Sam could be as bad as he was at times.

You were his family and he was yours.

“I’m so happy for you.” Sam smiled, and he meant it, Bucky knew. “And I’m so proud.”

“Thanks, Sam.”

“I hope it’s a girl.” Sam laughed with a shake of his head, “We need a little princess around here.”

Bucky raised his beer to his lips, taking a big gulp, “We do.”

“If it were up to you, you’d have a million kids, wouldn’t you?”

It was Bucky’s turn to laugh. “If it were up to me,” He shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, “She’d be pregnant all the time.”

Sam grinned, wiggling his brows as he reached across the table, passing the sonogram back. “You dog.”

Bucky shrugged, smiling behind his beer bottle as he stuffed the photo back in his pocket, laying directly over his heart—where it belonged.

“Buck.” He was tugged to an abrupt stop, “Lookie here.”

He almost let out an irritated growl, felt it crawling up his throat but it all stopped when he laid eyes on the torn up corpse lying against a tree and a few feet in front of it laid an all too familiar knife.

Bucky's stomach churched at the sight of the blood coating the blade and caked along the grass around it. It was obviously a lot of blood and it probably didn’t belong to the guy on the tree.

“Stab wound and a bullet.”

His eyes flickered over to his friend, watching as he stood from where he was crouched in front of the dead man before approaching him.

“It was definitely her.” Sam stopped in front of him, eyes wandering over the blood and the knife, “Isn’t that your knife?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s okay.” He urged, hands up and eyes soft, “She protected herself and the babies. They got away.”

“But,” Bucky waved a hand over the blood, “That.”

“Don’t panic.”

Firm hands pressed to either of his shoulders, grounding him as he struggled to calm his racing heart—to breathe. It had been awhile since he’d felt this sort of panic, since he’d felt paralyzed by it.

It wasn’t your blood. It couldn’t be.

“Think rationally, Buck.” He latched onto Sam’s voice, ears straining to make out the words, “If this was her blood, she wouldn’t have been able to go on. Especially with Jamie and Becca in tow.” More pressure on his shoulders, the sound of his heartbeat echoing in his ears, “And she wouldn’t let anything happen to them. She’s die before letting anything or anyone hurt them.”

As the world came back into focus, he found himself on his knees before the pile of blood.

“How are you here?” His voice came out croaky and rough, “Please.”

He needed this.

The distraction from his thoughts, even if it was just for a second.

Because the thought of losing you was nearly enough to make his chest feel like it was caving in. He couldn’t afford to panic yet, to waste time on this thought.

Because that’s all it was—a thought.

Sam was right. You were fine and if you were fine, so were babies. There is no one he trusted more to protect them than you.

“I was on my way to you.” Sam began, squatting down in front of him, “One of the people we took in was infected and it all happened so fast.” He shook his head, “There was nothing I could do. I barely got myself and Cass out of there. And Cass… I didn’t realize he’d been bit until it was too late. They were gone—all of them.” Sarah and the boys, he realized, “I didn’t know what else to do but start heading North, to you.”

“We were coming to you.”

“I know.” Sam nodded, running a hand down his face, “I wasn’t thinking clearly. I went all the way to the outskirts of the city—my mind was on a one track path, I guess.” He shrugged a large shoulder, “Eventually I realized my mistake and made my way back—I needed to go back home, take care of Sarah and AJ. Put them down and bury them like I had done for Cass.”

Bucky’s heart ached as he took in the far away look in Sam’s usually warm eyes and the pain that was residing there.

“But when I got there, someone else had already done it.” He lifted his gaze, eyes locking with Bucky’s. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

Bucky swallowed hard, “Of course.”

He didn’t have time to react, Sam’s arms were around him quicker than he could blink. One minute they were crouched together, the next they were embraced in one of the tightest hugs he’d ever had.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Buck.” Sam mumbled. He took a step back, hands still clutching either of his shoulders, “I’ve searched every camp for the past three years.”

“Sam.”

“I owe you, Buck.” He choked out, tears welling up in his warm eyes, “You took care of them when I couldn’t.”

“I thought you’d hate me for it.” Bucky admitted, voice raspier than he intended it to be, “I killed them.”

“No.” Sam shook his head, “No, you saved them. You put them out of their misery. You helped them find peace. Thank you.” He pulled him into another embrace, “Thank you so much.”

“They were family.” He said softly, solemnly, “You are too. I’m so relieved to see you, Sam. She will be too.”

“It’s getting dark.” His friend stepped back, giving his shoulder one more squeeze, “I’m happy to have finally found you. Now let’s go find your girl and your babies.

“Okay.”

—————

By the time they made it to the house it was well into the early hours of the morning. According to the position of the rising sun, it had to be five or six to be exact.

Bucky was practically shaking as he sprinted up the pathway of lights and barreled up the steps, nerves vibrating with so much excitement and anticipation.

The moment he reached the door, he was calling your name. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest as he shoved open the door and stepped into the house.

Silence.

It didn’t take long at all to figure out you weren’t here.

You never had been.

Not yet.

“You built this?”

Bucky ignored him, tearing into the open kitchen, “They aren’t here.”

“Keep your head, Buck.” Sam followed him as he worked his way further into the house, “They probably stopped somewhere for the night. No doubt Jamie and Becca were tired. I know I wouldn’t want to drag two young kids around through the woods in the middle of the night.”

“We beat them here.” He was becoming frantic, even more so when he found the upstairs was empty too. “Something’s wrong.”

Sam grabbed his arm once they made it back down the stairs and onto the main level, pulling him to a stop and forcing him to look at him, “Breathe, my man. Come on.”

Bucky inhaled sharply, jaw ticking as he tried to keep his composure. He was losing it, barely keeping it together. It felt like there was a permanent weight on his shoulders and his heart felt heavy in his chest and the only way it would go away is with you and his babies in his arms.

“Panic will get you nowhere.” Sam nodded his head in the direction of the door, “Let’s go look. They are making their way, they’ll be heading this way, maybe we can meet them halfway.”

Bucky nodded, shoulders slumping as he took a deep breath.

“We’ll find them. We won’t stop until we do, okay?”

“Okay.”

And they didn’t.

All day they spent searching the woods from the house, to the camp, and then back to the house. They found nothing—no sign of them anywhere.

Bucky didn’t know whether it was good or not. No bodies should be a good sign but what if someone had picked them up? What if hellif got ahold of them? What if-

“Bucky.”

Why did Sam have to know him so well?

“Sam.”

“I know.”

“Sam.”

“I know, Buck.” He groaned, rubbing a hand down his face, “We won’t give up. They will come. She’s strong, man. She’ll be okay. You have to believe me.”

“How do you know?” His voice cracked, he was moments away from falling apart, one more fucking second of this and he would break, and once he did there was no putting the pieces back together, “How can you be so sure?”

“Because we would've found something—anything.” Sam urged, waving his hand frantically in front of him, “Blood, bodies, some cloth, or a knife. Anything. She would’ve left something behind. She wouldn’t have gone anywhere without a fight.”

“What do we do?” Bucky croaked out, “I can’t sit around and wait—not while they’re still out there. I have to do something.”

They weren’t far from the house, Bucky could see the solar lights he’d line up to make a path from here—little specks shining bright but far in the dark.

“We just keep-”

They both whipped around as a scream sounded throughout the night.

“Help.”

“God, help. Please.”

They took off into the dark, heading in the direction of the scream—of the lights.

“It’s her.” Bucky called back, feet moving faster than they ever had before. “It’s her, I know it.”

The closer he got, the more he heard—Becca screaming, Jamie sobbing, and you—you struggling for your life. Bucky never loathed and loved his enhanced hearing more then he did now.

Faster.

Faster.

And faster.

His heart really was going to beat out of his chest this time, he was sure. He couldn’t think straight, his mind focused solely on getting to you.

You. You. You.

He screamed your name as soon as you came into focus, seeing you struggling beneath the dead, holding it away from you and Becca with whatever strength you had left.

He wasn’t quick enough.

He wasn’t close enough.

You let go and he had no choice but to watch helplessly as it descended upon you fully, moving to sink it’s teeth into Becca’s—

You let out a loud cry as you lodged the end of one of his solar lights into its head. The corpse fell limply on top of you but it didn’t stay there for long, Bucky was there in the blink of an eye, throwing it off of you.

“Baby.”

“Daddy.” Jamie shoved himself into his side just as he moved to help you sit up, sobbing, “Daddy.”

“You came.” You smiled, sweaty and out of breath, “I knew you woul-”

You cried out, curling in on yourself as you clutched your stomach.

“Baby.” He called your name, lifting Becca out of your arms, “What’s going on? What’s happening?”

“Let me take her.” Sam appeared, out of breath and reaching for Becca, “Buck, is she in labor? Jamie come here, my dude.”

It was all too much at one time.

Jamie and Becca sobbing, you crying out in pain and curled into a fetal position—possibly in labor.

“The baby.” You cried out, “Now.”

“We gotta move you. We can’t do this here.”

You gripped his arms, nails digging into his biceps as he rolled you onto your back, “No. It’s happening now.” You let out another cry, back arching, “Buck, please. Help me, please.”

“Sam.” Bucky hissed, trying to keep his voice down, “Watch my back. Distract the kids.” He shucked off his jacket before bending down between your legs. “I’m here, baby. I’m gonna help. It’s okay.”

A quick tear and your overalls were ripped at the apex of your thighs, your drenched underwear following soon after. Sure enough, Bucky was met with the sight of the top of a head full of dark hair.

“Okay.” Bucky nodded to himself, brushing his thumb comfortingly over your thigh, “Go ahead and push. Don’t worry about nothing but this.”

It didn’t take much, one or two pushes and his daughter was sliding out and into his awaiting hands.

Moments later a loud, angry cry sounded throughout the mostly quiet woods, and finally everyone could breathe again.

—————

TagList

@ginger-swag-rapunzel @buckystevelove @snugglingbucky @slamminmine

@here4thespice @ameerakane20

@netflixxgodess @animegirlgeeky @futur3corps3 @toldyouitwasamelodrama @tanyaherondale @feelinglikeineedlotsofnaps

#sebastian stan x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barns fanfiction #bucky barns x reader #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky fanfic #james bucky buchanan barnes #bucky x female reader #bucky barns x y/n #bucky barns x you #bucky x y/n

[cloveroctobers]

CHAD MEEKS—MARTIN / summer prompts 🍋

A/N: a lot more people voted for him on my poll this time around and…I’m finally getting around to doing it lol. My list is kinda lengthy for this summer so bear with me. Nothing too fancy or long but Chad’s got some heart eyes for a certain someone. Also doesn’t it bother anyone that they didn’t make “Meeks” the last name since it just flows better? Chad Martin-Meeks is way better but who tf am I? Im also picturing Morgana Van Peebles’ character from the film “You’re killing me” as Mindy’s new love interest + Andrew Spach as Alex — s/o to lifetime 😆

*GIF BELONGS TO: @scream-source

PROMPTS used from this list: 1. Violent mosquito killing claps + 2. “wanna walk on the boardwalk?”

WARNINGS: language, a derogatory term is mentioned, lots of insect talk and I think that’s it!

┊͙: ̗̀➛ - ̥˚ ̥۪͙۪◌ ┊͙: ̗̀➛ - ̥˚ ̥۪͙۪◌ ┊͙: ̗̀➛ - ̥˚ ̥۪͙۪◌ ┊͙: ̗̀➛ - ̥˚ ̥۪͙۪◌ ┊͙

Maya Evans wasn’t much of a lake person but…she was basically bullied to be here! She had Mindy Meeks-Martin to thank for that, being out here at her and Chad’s grandparent’s lake house up in the outskirts of New York was not originally how she was going to tend to the beginning of her summer.

Mindy remembers asking, “What’re you gonna do the entire summer? Shield that pretty face away from humanity inside this apartment?”

“Kinda,” Maya blinks at the short haired twenty year old.

Mindy scoffs, “I don’t think so! you’re coming with us. You need vitamin D and hopefully I’ll get you the other D from one of our not so bad looking neighbors, who mentioned he would also be there.”

Maya groans at the alluding to the overall cringe-ness of her sex life. If they were going to be on vacation, she wasn’t worried about getting laid when she did quite well if she did say so herself.

“I don’t care about any of that. I’m not going.”

“Yes you are.”

“Nooo, I’m not.”

“Yes!”

“No, Melinda!”

A glare was instantly formed on Mindy’s face since Maya loved to challenge her, even when they were children, they could bicker for hours (especially when Mindy had one of her bright adventurous ideas) until one of the two would crack. Most of the time Maya had lack of energy to keep up with Mindy but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hold her own for awhile.

Yet she still ended up here, laying out on the docks, arms up and shielding the sun from completely burning that face of hers, while she allowed the rest of the sun to add to the redness undertone of her melanin. Maya knew she could fall asleep out here, hearing the light splashing from Tara as she sneakily tried to tip Sam over from the floaty.

The birds were chirping away and she could hear the motor of a boat not too far away in the distance of the lake. It was soothing enough, don’t get Maya wrong but she preferred to be somewhere underneath the AC but Mindy and her new fling, Kendra ruined that in one of the bedrooms.

So she was out here, ignoring Chad who also managed to get out of the house minutes before Maya witnessed the horrors of his twin’s actions, long limbs stretched out on the trampoline that his legs where hanging off the circular springboard, phone lightly held up to his sunglasses covered eyes.

“Hey Bigfoot, need some sunscreen for those legs!?” Maya called out to Chad on her why by, his head lolling to watch her.

Chad responds, “Haha, I forgot how unfunny you are.”

“What?” Maya holds her arms out as she walks backwards to the water, “I’d sell out comedy shows.”

Chad is sitting up on his elbows now, “More like you’ll need a hazmat suit for the tomatoes heading straight your way, babe.”

“Don’t call me babe.”

“Okay,” Chad smirks, “whatever you want, honey.”

With a roll of her eyes, Maya flicks her own sunglasses back over her brown hues and spins around to continue back in her path. It had been about forty-five minutes since Maya decided to give Mindy and Kendra their space by dipping her feet into the water, actually taking a swim with Tara and Sam—although she hated big bodies of water, she’ll be a dead bitch swimming if she didn’t insist on Chad teaching her how to better swim, weeks before they came out here, unknowing that she would be forced to attend.

Of course that didn’t really matter since there was a tragedy that surrounded Maya’s slight fear of water. Long story short: she watched her dad drown at the beach when she was like nine, right after he was testing her swimming abilities after he taught her in a community pool back home. She got out of the island water once it started to drizzle and sat down next to her mom to have some sandwiches until a typhoon hit, killing him and seven others that were still in the water.

Which is why she probably spent maybe only five minutes in the water with Tara and Sam before she got back on the dock to soak up the sun, like her dear friend Mindy wanted.

A clapping sound echoed through the air, waking Maya from her approaching slumber. She tucked her chin to see Tara rubbing at her neck with all eyes on her.

“You okay, girl?” Maya asks the doe eyed twenty-one year old.

Tara nods, “yeah, just a stupid bug.”

Maya nods before resting back on her towel, staring up at the sky with purple clouds, which was a nice contrast of the rising summer to what you’re typically used to seeing. This also meant the evening would be around in a few hours or so.

“Ow! Fuck this.”

Maya hears, she pulls her head back, eyeing Chad upside down, who is scrambling off the trampoline, shoving his feet into his sandals before beginning to trudge up the incline towards the home.

A laugh bubbles in her throat just as she hears the same from the girls in the water.

Sam comments with her own head thrown back, hair tossed up into a bun, floating around with her arms out wide, “Weak pain tolerance.”

Which wasn’t necessarily true considering how much they’ve been tossed around and stabbed! But it was always a little fun to pick at each other from time to time, that’s what friends do.

Come on people, it’s satire!

“Oh is that what you’re into?”

“Shut up, Tara.”

A buzzing sound is dangerously close to Maya’s ear that she flinches once she actually feels the insect touch her skin. She swatting at her ear in annoyance and just hopes it didn’t make its way down into her eardrum and decide to lay eggs on her brain or anything like that. Bugs didn’t bother her too much, she was one of those kids that had a ant farm and happily wrote that she wanted to be a Entomologist when she got older—despite the kids that gave her shit for it.

She wasn’t a fan of people who had a lot to say about her character without spending the time to get to know her. Maya wasn’t much of a shit-talker, only to Chad of course! But most of time she liked to keep to herself and not pay anyone any mind. It wasn’t until a nine year old Mindy walked straight up to her in fifth grade to sit right beside her, forcing her twin brother Chad to sit on the other side of Maya since the spot next to Mindy was already filled.

The Meeks-Martin twins made the fifth grade survivable and Maya was always grateful for their friendship. Even when Chad started acting like a butt-hole once he made the team sophomore year. Then he started dating Liv—you know what? You probably don’t want to hear all that, just know that no matter what, if the earth suddenly collapsed and the apocalypse was officially here and if ghostface decided to appear from the shadows again, nothing would really keep Maya from being friends with Mindy or Chad.

They were locked in, just like a insect on your ass. That was probably the worse analogy so maybe white on rice was better? Unless you burn your rice! You get it though, neither of the trio planned on ending their friendships in the long run. They planned to get old together with all the fight they have instilled in them.

Back to the point…what was the point?

Oh yeah, this.

A clap to Maya’s skin, had her sitting up now. Her knee cap is stinging and it must have been loud enough since the chatter between the two siblings in the water has them eyeing her now.

“You good over there?” Sam asks but that burning sensation on Maya’s skin was not pleasant.

Could it be that she just just slapped herself too hard? She thought the latter as a ring of a welt immediately began to form on her skin. Was this some sort of allergic reaction? Not likely but a smidge possible since her mother became a worry wart after Maya’s father passed so they knew most of what she was allergic to. Mrs. Evans eventually was diagnosed with hypochondriasis after being forced to seek help from her nurse maternal grandmother, who ended up taking Maya underneath her wing for a few months in her late elementary years then again from the sixth to seventh grade.

You know, good ‘ol tragedy always has something to say and of course Maya hated that.

Maya seemed to zone out for a bit, making Sam sit up in the floaty, sending a look to Tara who was already swimming her way over to the braided girl.

“Maya.” Tara gently said, reaching a careful hand out to her.

The welt was formed into a circle, almost like a stab wound she was used to seeing not only on herself but also her friends. It was the clapping that brought Maya out of her daze, blinking rapidly as she felt her eyelashes become moist.

The sound came from Sam who scrunched up her face and flicked her hands about, “Got that bastard! Ugh don’t tell me the bugs are gonna be bad out here.”

They’ve only been out here for a full day now, the group getting here late last night and scurried off to their rooms for a good nights rest. The afternoon settled on them all quite quickly and they’ve all been fine not seeing the bugs…until now.

Tara asks after turning her gaze away from Sam, “Hey, are you okay? We sorta lost you for a second there.”

“I’m fine.” Maya mutters, glancing at the mark once more but it doesn’t seem like she believes that herself.

Tara doesn’t but dips her head while she scoops her damp bangs further away from her forehead. Her eyes briefly follow Maya’s rising anxiety filled eyes towards her knee and Tara doesn’t realize she’s getting closer to peer at the mark as well.

“Shit, that looks like it hurts.” Slips out of her mouth before she registers it.

Maya blinks, looking back at Tara who meets her stare, “so you see it too?”

“Yeah I see it, it’s hard not to miss. Are you sure you’re okay? And no bullshit, be honest with me.” Tara’s tone is firm but cautious, knowing how it felt to be constantly questioned when you’re not a hundred percent sure what was happening in the first place.

Maya also slips, “like you being honest about you and Chad?”

“What?” Tara frowns.

Maya chews down on her bottom lip, “It’s nothing. I don’t know why I said that.”

“Yeah right,” Tara scoffs, “maybe it’s the sun getting to your head.”

“Or maybe it’s these fucking mosquitoes!” Maya finds herself erupting a bit as she scratches at the back of her neck now.

Tara watches Maya curiously as the twenty-one year old starts to look around. She doesn’t say anything yet as Maya snatches her shorts to the right of her and pushes up to stand.

“Maya—

Tara starts but Maya is grabbing her towel and holds up a hand, “I’m gonna head in,” she stares out into the scenery of the water and trees, “and maybe you and Sam should too.”

And Tara watches Maya almost jog off the dock and away from what was troubling her.

“Sam,” Tara calls out as she watches Maya disappear into the house, ready to tell her sister that something was up.

Back inside the much cooler home, Maya still can’t find the relief in that as she rummages through the fridge, mumbling to herself until she yells, “where’s the fucking ice in this house?!”

“Whoa, hey. What’s going on?”

Maya doesn’t answer Chad as she’s now scratching at her thigh and slams the fridge shut.

“I thought you said this fridge had a awesome ice maker inside of it, how awesome is it if there’s no ice?!” Maya mocks and yells at Chad who carefully places his phone on the counter.

Mindy strolls into the kitchen all grins and full of after glow as she says, “What’s up, pretty people? Not you Chad.”

“Nice, Mindy. Real nice.” Chad is sarcastic before they turn their attention back to Maya who is now holding her forehead.

Mindy shushes the taller male as she asks, “what’s the matter?”

“There’s no fucking ice!”

“Whoa! That tone was a lot,” Mindy informs Maya who begins pacing now, “there’s some in cooler on the floor next to the counter on the left there. I forgot to turn on the ice maker this morning so we have to wait a few more hours before the ice really starts to kick in.”

However Maya doesn’t even go to the mentioned cooler with wheels, she’s still pacing and rubbing at her hive covered thighs.

Mindy side eyes Chad, “what happened while Kendra and I were inside?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Chad lifts his shoulders, “I swear.”

Kendra huffs before she bites into a pear she plucks off the bowl on the counter, “Well something happened because she’s acting very r-word right now.”

Mindy and Chad both hardened their stares at Mindy’s new lover.

Mindy is quick to move herself from the brown skinned girl with Mother Nature braids, “The fuck did you just say?”

“Yeah hell no, you might as well pack your bags. If you thought you were welcomed before, you’re definitely not now.” Chad stands up straight as Kendra looks puzzled at their reactions.

“What did I say?”

“You know exactly what you said,” Chad glares, “and the way you felt so comfortable to just say that, shows you’re problematic.”

“Absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe I let you eat—

Chad gags, “Don’t finish that sentence.”

“Whatever, clearly you guys aren’t my kind of people and take things too seriously.” Kendra replies as she peeks over at Maya, “Good luck with that over there.”

Mindy starts charging at the shorter girl who is walking away but Chad yanks Mindy back by her shirt telling her, “she’s not worth it and I been told you she’s not the one.”

She yanks herself away from Chad and sighs, “I know and she’s long forgotten and won’t be mentioned ever again, got it?”

“Deal.”

They both shake on that before they turn back to Maya who seems to be zoning out again. Chad rests his hands on the counter and gently says, “Maya babe, tell us what’s wrong so we can help.”

“Didn’t I say to not call me that, Prince Chad?” Maya also bites, knowing that nickname actually irritated her friend just as much as “babe” irritated Maya.

A twitch of smile threatens to appear on Chad’s lips but he holds back because of the jab she also just threw at him.

“Well how else am I supposed to get your attention if you’re not communicating with us, Hm?” Chad rests his cheek into his balled up fist.

Maya rolls her eyes again, “by shutting up and letting me think.”

“You might be doing too much of that, sis.” Mindy remarks with a sigh.

A small silence hits the kitchen but Maya picks up on what’s behind it. That buzzing sound that makes her itch at her aggravated knee and a clapping sound made by Mindy makes her zero in on the attack.

“What’d you do that for?!” Chad rubs at his bare shoulder while Mindy scrunches up her nose, before moving around to wash her hands.

Mindy says over her shoulder, “there was a mosquito ready to take your blood and I handled it. You’re welcome!”

“I think it might already have,” Chad answers, pinching at his skin and Maya can see from where she stands that his skin was swelling and turning pink.

They’ve all had lots of scars on their bodies due to growth and of course the trauma of running for their lives but this felt different and Maya wasn’t sure how to explain that. It’s like the feeling deep in your gut that’s aching and rolling like the waves of a storm in the sea, hinting at you that something was wrong.

Although, Maya seemed to be the only one feeling like this and was beginning to wonder if that was just her own mother’s worries running through her blood. Normally that wouldn’t be…so why was now dissimilar?

“Hey, whatever is it I’m sure we can figure it out.” Maya hears Chad saying to her, he’s standing in front of her now, back leaning against the counter with one hand reaching out to caress a thumb against the inside of her wrist.

It was one of the sensations that seemed to calm her down; especially back when they were kids. He hasn’t done that in awhile but it seems to battle against the nagging itch she’s feeling.

Mindy’s usually the quick thinker out of three, also the out-loud thinker when it comes to it. There’s no such thing as only thinking to yourself when it comes to Mindy Meeks-Martin. When she faces the two, Chad seems to let go of Maya’s wrist and she turns to exit the kitchen; pass the kitchen table and towards the window by the front door.

“Okay you guys were outside, I was inside having a grand time, there we no screams—well—that you guys are aware of but most of you were in the water. Were you in the water, Chad?”

“Nah, wasn’t really feeling it today.”

“So that leaves Sam, tara, and Maya. They were definitely in the water so that means they probably have the answers to why Maya’s like this, since it seems like we’re not gonna get any answers from her just yet.” Mindy thought out loud while Chad just shrugged his shoulders, still clueless and wincing at the pain and slight itch in his own shoulder.

Maya jumped as the door-bell sounded, making the twins share a look.

“It’s probably Sam and Tara.” Chad suggests as Maya looks over at them.

Maya is chewing on her bottom lip again, “Why would they come to the front when they can use the back door?”

“It automatically locks behind you if you close the door a certain way…pop-pop still didn’t fix it I’m guessing. And since you were the last to come in…you may have fully closed it.”

“We don’t know that for sure,” Mindy warned as Chad shook his head at the girl.

“Mindy, don’t start.”

“I’m just saying! Maya’s having a moment and now the doorbell rings? It can’t just be a coincidence.”

“Things have been normal for months now, stop it before you make things worse.” Chad hissed at Mindy, sending a reassuring smile to Maya who exhaled.

“It’s okay, you can let them in Maya.”

“I’m not touching that door,” Maya states as there’s now a knocking at the door.

Mindy looks at Chad who’s now scrolling away on his phone and she reaches over to slap his phone from his hands.

The phone clatters onto the floor.

“Hey, what the hell!?”

“The right thing to do is reveal who’s at the door but you can’t send a man to do a woman’s job, obviously.” Mindy scowls as she brushed by her brother, taking her time as she steps towards Maya who can’t see through the window who’s at the door, so she takes a step back.

Chad scoffs, “I’m not gonna lie, that’s offensive.”

Maya shakes her head as Mindy picks up the golf club that’s sitting in the umbrella holder by the door, “the right thing to do is get the fuck away from the door.”

Unbeknownst to Maya and Mindy, Chad is approaching them now as Mindy slowly unlocks the door, breathing increasing, “None of the phones rung so we should be okay, right? Right!”

Mindy coached herself as she flings open the door with a roar, making Maya hold her breath again, just for Mindy to slowly lower the golf club.

“Oh it’s just Alex, the guy I told you about, Maya.” Mindy calls over her shoulder, but keeps a steady eye on the tall guy at the door.

He shows a dimpled smile, light stubble on his face, dark blue eyes, thick curly hair tied back, nice cheekbones—basically he looked like a model.

Chad didn’t like this guy and wasn’t sure why he was here in the first place.

“Hi,” Alex smiles at Mindy which she returns before his expression turns serious as he yells out, “Hey!”

That’s when both Maya and Mindy turn to see Chad red-handed. Something flies away from Maya’s direction and out the front door, Maya hears it but doesn’t focus on it as they’re all eyeing Chad now.

“It’s not what it looks like.”

“Were you about to smack me over the head? With a skillet?!” Maya eyes the heavy item that Chad finally starts to lower.

Mindy frowns, “Fuck is wrong with you dude?”

“There was a mosquito!” Chad tries to defend but Maya is heading through the kitchen and down the hall.

Mindy tells as she waves Alex inside, “A skillet though? On Maya? Not your best thinking.”

“Yeah, seems pretty violent if you ask me.” Alex adds as Chad tightens his eyes at him.

“Well nobody is asking you, Aaron Taylor Johnson.”

Alex raises his brows, “you know he’s actually playing in the new kraven movie that’s coming out?”

“I don’t care.” Chad widened his eyes and lifts his shoulders before also leaving Alex behind with Mindy.

Mindy apologetically smiles as she welcomes Alex to place the food he brought with him on the kitchen table, “You remember my idiot brother, Chad and the one trying to get away from him, is Maya.”

“Is now a bad time to be here?”

“Only if you didn’t see my shameful fling leave on your way over.” Mindy jokes with a light punch to Alex’s shoulder.

Chad is leaning in the doorway as Maya flops herself back onto her bed for the weekend. It’s usually the room his parents stayed in when they would all come out here in the winter. He’s quiet as he folds his arms, picking up on the profile of his old friend, seeing specs of freckles from the sun lingering on her cheeks, her low-set eyes, and the slope of her nose…

“Maya,” Chad calls out but she’s still staring up at the ceiling, curly braids spread out around her.

Now he’s jumping on the bed and Maya is floating up in the air but before she can collide with the ground, Chad is full of laughs before he loops a arm underneath her stomach to stop her from completely falling off the bed.

“Why are you like this?” Maya groans as Chad pulls her upright.

He’s still smiling then, “why would I be anything else?…I hope I didn’t break the bed.”

He’s shifting on it now, testing it for any new and odd sounding creaks, “Nope, I think you’re good.”

If she wasn’t, she would definitely be finding a spot in Mindy’s room or kicking Chad from the best sectional in the house, which happened to be in the basement—surprisingly.

“Are you ready to talk about what’s bothering you…or do you need more time?” Chad asks, while Maya rolls her neck around to release some tension.

Maya swallows, “I’m just being silly and it was probably just my imagination.”

Chad hums, “maybe, maybe not. But if you have doubts, you can always talk to me. Or Mindy but preferably me first, you know that right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course.” Maya gives a soft smile, “See? All better.”

“I can’t say I believe that, babe.” Chad tells Maya who rolls a glare his way, “but in due time you’ll let us in?”

She nods.

“Okay! Now that that is placed on hold for now, wanna walk on the boardwalk with me?” Chad pokes Maya who slaps his hand away.

“No.”

He shakes his hand out, “Ow, that kinda hurt.”

Maya raises a brow, “You didn’t see that mosquito just then?”

It’s Chad’s turn to roll his eyes, “I see how it is.”

“Uh huh.” She grins with teeth, allowing Chad to see the small gap in her front two teeth that he found cute, remembering that it was much bigger when they were kids but it started to close up as they got older but the minor detail was still there.

Still Maya.

“So…c’mon vámonos!”

“I’d rather stay here than go be around other people and you for the rest of the night.”

Chad sighed, “that was mean and this fake dislike you have in your heart for me is getting old, Maya Papaya.”

“When you say things like that, kinda makes it easy for me.” Maya leans towards him with a satisfied grin.

Chad stares down at Maya and presses his forehead against her’s, “you’re a bad liar.”

Maya’s staring back at Chad with his eyes on her and now she’s finding it hard to breathe, this must be what Tara feels being asthmatic and all but surely much worse. There was no denying that Maya had love for Chad, he’s always been in her life and he was the one she didn’t mind talking shit to.

In fact he was one of her favorite people.

“And there’s no way in hell we’re leaving anybody behind here! That’s rule number one and you know that.” Mindy’s voice interrupts, making Maya pull back.

Chad sighs in disappointment as he looks at his sister, “well I wasn’t inviting everybody.”

“Oh,” Mindy places her hand on her chest in mock offense, “Didn’t you say vámonos? I thought exclusion was also off the table when it came to us monster inc?”

“It is but we don’t need the bozo with the manbun tagging along either.” Chad told as Mindy smirks.

“But he and Maya didn’t get to spend any time together.” She pouts.

“Good,” Chad scoffs while Maya tilts her head to the side, “he seems more like Sam’s type anyway.”

“Not for you to decide my twin!”

Mindy is all finger-guns and Chad is all annoyance.

“And it’s not up for you to decide to be match-maker, that is what you’re doing isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Mindy has a knowing smirk on her face, arms crossed.

Maya jumps up, “alright enough! You two are giving me a headache, let’s go to this dumb boardwalk already.”

“That’s the spirit, Maya!” Mindy grips her shoulders with a light shake as she tries to squeeze out of Mindy’s way, braids all in her face now.

Once Maya is out of sight, Mindy turns back to Chad who is now pushing off the bed with a exhale and sends his sister a middle finger who just laughs at his expense.

July’s on the boardwalk were muggy but at least there was a hint of a breeze as the night fell. Alex and Sam are leading the way, sharing small chatter while Mindy and Tara are in the middle laughing about something over cotton candy, leaving Maya and Chad behind. The boardwalk is full of noise and various of colorful lights shining through the dark skies.

“Remember when you fell trying to get this grasshopper out of Mindy’s hair in the sixth grade?” Chad brought up while Maya peeked over at him.

“I was actually trying to forget it,” Maya says, “I was the one who ended up getting in trouble in gym class over it. Just for helping out a friend, during that awful PACER test, like how does that make sense?!”

“It also didn’t help that you stepped on Jackson Horne’s stomach during it, knowing that was Mr. Sapo’s nephew.”

“He sucked too.”

“I actually didn’t mind him.”

“That because you hung out with douchebags, you weenie.”

“You’re the weenie!” Chad yanked Maya underneath his arm, ready to give her a noogie but she pinched his side, making him yelp.

Maya fans herself after getting out of hold, “I didn’t see you trying to search and get the grasshopper out.”

“She was running all over the place and why would I ever? you’re the bug lover.”

The itch was slowly starting again, “was.”

A hush falls between the two but the comfort of Chad beside Maya is all she seems to need, to not worry about that hunch that’s still sitting in her gut.

“You ever think about—

Maya starts but feels her phone buzzing from her back pocket. She stops in the middle of the boardwalk with Chad turning to her but watching the many faces that are finding their enjoyment in the summer boardwalk.

“Hey ma,” Maya starts as she meets Chad’s eyes who softly smiles.

“Hi Mrs. Evans! Maya’s safe and having fun, don’t worry!” He yells with enthusiasm, his forehead brushing against Maya’s again as he talks into the receiver.

Maya lightly shoves Chad away, his body containing too much heat, pressed a finger to her other ear and blocking out the noise while Chad laughs, “Sorry mom, what did you say?”

She’s walking a bit away from Chad now.

“I said, is this Maureen Evans?” The familiar nasal but scratchy voice says, “Oh my mistake, that Maureen is also in the ground somewhere. Now it’s my turn to make sure another Evans gets gutted from the inside out next! Those mosquitoes won’t even compare to what I’m about to do to you. So! Maya Evans, what’s your favorite scary movie?”

Took them long enough.

Maya’s eyes are searching the boardwalk now but of course everyone looks sane. Unconsciously she’s scratching at her knee cap and her breathing becomes labored with her eyelashes stinging with tears.

Maureen Evans was her twenty-two year old older cousin that she didn’t get the chance to meet. Her father often told her some stories about his niece and her dreams to be in the medical field, wanting to build artificial organs since she couldn’t stand gore (something Maya and Maureen strongly had in common) and wanted to figure out what medical problems someone may have. Maya was always told that Maureen had her head on straight and had a desire to help others when they couldn’t help themselves.

It’s a ignominy that no one helped her in her final moments.

“How long have you been watching?”

“Since last night! I honestly thought you and Pretty boy Chad would be sharing a bed but maybe he’s still interested in that little bitch Tara instead! How does that make you feel, Maya Papaya?” Ghostface quizzes.

“Fuck you!” Maya screams into her phone, causing a mother to shield her children’s ears from her outburst and others to stare but continuing carrying on in their New York glory.

“Maya?” Chad is making his way over to her now, trying to get through a sea of people.

“Wait! Before you hang up, you still didn’t answer my question.”

“And I’m not going to, you fucking nut bag.”

With that she ends the call and turns to Chad who grips her forearms. “What is it, Maya?”

“That was ghostface. I was right! They’re back.”

“No way.” Chad pulls Maya into his arms, also looking around above her head before he turns back in the direction they were going, up ahead he can see the group who carried on without them. With one hand he cups one hand to his mouth to call out to them, “Mindy! Tara! Sam!”

They don’t hear him.

“Call them.”

Chad fishes through his pocket, just to find his phone dead like they all might be, yet again. He takes the liberty of grabbing Maya’s phone and tells Siri to call Mindy as they disappear through the crowd.

The phone rings for what feels like forever until it finally picks up, “Hello Prince Chad! Isn’t it a lovely night to stroll the boardwalk and die?”

With that, Chad slips his fingers through Maya’s and tugs her along as they began running through the crowd, “who is this?”

“Take a wild guess.”

“I swear on uncle Randy’s soul, if this is that ponytail wearing fuck—

“Oh please Chad, wouldn’t that be too obvious? You’ve got to be smarter than that, or maybe I give you too much credit for having more than half a brain cell.”

“Just wait until I get my hands on you.” Chad laughs, still running.

“Not unless I get to you first.”

And the call drops just as Chad and Maya make their way to the group, who’s lingering by a Photo Booth that’s outside of the slingshot ride.

“There you two are,” Tara smiles at them but it quickly falters once she sees the expression on her friends faces, “what happened?”

“Ghostface has your phone.” Chad breathes as he looks at Mindy who pats her pockets.

“I don’t think I brought it with me in the first place.”

Maya questions, “Where’s Sam and Alex?”

Tara looks up at the ride behind them and gulps before they all take off to the operator of the ride.

“I never trusted this guy and his ugly ass hair!” Chad points at the air as he expresses to Mindy while Tara is arguing with the teen that’s operating the ride.

Mindy shifts on her feet, “We don’t even know for sure it’s him.”

“We also don’t know he’s not the killer.” Maya announces.

Mindy queries, “Well what did ghostface say?”

Maya gives Mindy the run down while Chad goes to help Tara get the kid to turn the machine off. Mindy is intently listening to everything Maya tells her and hums as actual frightened screams fill the ride. It takes minutes for the kid to slam on the big red button to stop the ride.

Mindy takes Maya’s hand and together they quickly walk to the outside of the gate, in front of them stands Chad and Tara. They all stare up at the ride that’s halted in the middle, where they see Sam lifting her head, face full of tears as specs of blood are on her cheek and with a very dead Alex slumped over beside her, blood running down the base of the ride with his insides exposed to the public.

Soft music plays in the background as the bloody scene burns into their brains:

…There's a battle ahead

Many battles are lost

But you'll never see the end of the road…

“Get me the fuck off!” Sam screams, legs swinging as others continue screaming and a crowd begins to form, some even taking pictures.

Maya feels the urge to empty her stomach but the shock freezes it in place for now. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to seeing dead bodies in front of her.

Hey now, hey now

Don't dream it's over

Hey now, hey now

Tara, Chad, Mindy and Maya all share a look of pure terror as Sam’s screams stand out to them, while the realization of everything was starting over again for the third time.

When the world comes in

They come, they come

One things for sure that they all knew, they weren’t going back to the fucking Meeks lake house tonight, that’s for sure and certain.

To build a wall between us

We know they won't win…

Maya pulls her hand away from Mindy’s the longer she stares at Alex’s body and finds the nearest trash can to up chuck into. After a couple of dry heaves afterwards, she used the back of her hand to wipe at her mouth and stands up straight just as a hand touches the small of her back.

Her elbows instantly want to go flying but she knows the touch belongs to Chad as the sound of fireworks blast through the air. They both stare up into the sky as it tosses blue and red sparks into the air, signaling freedom.

Would they ever be?

┊͙: ̗̀➛ - ̥˚ ̥۪͙۪◌ ┊͙: ̗̀➛ - ̥˚ ̥۪͙۪◌ ┊͙: ̗̀➛ - ̥˚ ̥۪͙۪◌ ┊͙: ̗̀➛ - ̥˚ ̥۪͙۪◌ ┊͙

Continue along with my summer anthology prompts here.

#scream #scream vi #scream 2022 #scream 2023 #scream v #chad meeks martin #Chad Meeks #chad meeks x reader #chad Meeks martin x reader #mason gooding #summer prompts #queued #Mindy Meeks #mindy meeks martin #tara carpenter #sam carpenter #Morgana van peebles #Andrew spach #Maureen Evans #scream 2 #jenna ortega #jasmin savoy brown #melissa barrera

[aro-pancake-writes]

@fangbangerghoul, it's here.

I have way too many brain rots that need to pay their rent.

I also still have Kinky Boots floating around in here, and decided to continue on my previous one.

NSFW, so minors DNI.

AFAB NB Dusty, goes by they/them.

And I still cannot name my stories.

[Read beneath the cut]

The walk back to the hotel was charged and rushed.

Sam's jacket covers my body from anyone who wants to take a peek, and I feel protected by it.

I never really minded the looks, catcalls or anything like it. But the way that man touched me, pressed me against his body, that was a stark reminder of why I haven't dressed like this in a while.

However, the way Sam jumped in to protect me, to save me when I froze, felt good.

The elevator opens on our floor, and Sam is already pressing me against the nearest wall to kiss me, while trying to find the door and get us inside.

I shrug off his jacket as soon as the door closes behind us, giving him access to my body. I watch as his eyes turn dark in desire while I walk towards him.

“How do you want me?” I ask, wrapping my hands behind his neck.

“Just like that.” He says, turning me to face away from him, a hand making its way up my legs and raising my dress. “I want you to trust me, and let me fuck you until I'm done.”

I have to bite back a moan. I trust him. With my life whenever we're out exploring, so this isn't that far off.

I lean forward, offering him a view of my ass. He slaps it, making me moan out loud.

“Darling, you're gonna make me cum in my pants if you continue to make those lovely sounds.” He says, wrapping a hand around my neck and the other on my hips, finding my dampened underwear.

“Would that be so bad?” I ask, feeling bratty and defiant. It was a great choice.

He rips off my undies, falling on his knees and making me turn to him.

Before I can react to the way he manhandles me, his lips take my heated core. His beard is scratchy as he feasts like a starved man. And I love it.

He places one of my legs over his shoulder, giving himself better access and placing his hand on my lower back for support.

I'm so close now, looking down at his blue eyes, full of love and worship, and…

He stops. Letting go of me completely and getting up. I almost fall, if not for him holding on to my waist for stability.

“Brats don't get to cum.” He says with a tone of command. And I want more. “Now, darling, get rid of this dress. Don't hide from me.”

I do as he says, removing the dress and allowing it to puddle at my feet. As I go to sit and remove the boots, he stops me.

Those stay, then.

It's hot to look at his eyes without having to crank my neck up. But the hot press of his skin on mine had me wondering when he had the time to strip.

The feel of his pants tells me that he's not fully naked, stabilizing his dominance further over me.

I want more. More of it, of him, of being taken care of.

He makes me get down, sitting on my heels with my knees apart. He takes his sweet time running his fingers on my lips and opening his pants ever so slowly.

I'm not prepared for the way his cock almost hits me in the face when freed, the desire already leaking off the tip. I want to taste it, feel it.

One look at his face, and the permission in his smile is all it takes for me to wrap my lips around him and let it go in as deep as I can.

It's not everything, but he's pleased. I know he'll respect the limits of both my body and my mind.

I suck on him, enjoying the grunts and moans he gives me. It's not doing much to help my edged and denied state, especially when he cums in my mouth. I freeze for a second, looking at him for instructions when he slips out of my grasp.

“You're a good lil bitch, aren't you?” He asks, placing a hand under my chin. I can only nod, keeping my eyes locked on his. “Then you know what to do, love. If you want to earn your release.”

I swallow and open my mouth to show him. The satisfied, cocky grin he gives me makes me go weak.

Sam pulls me to my feet, and before I can take a step on my own, he has me facing the nearest wall, one with a massive mirror on it.

I was a mess. My makeup is smudged, my lipstick is completely gone, my hair wants to fall back to its natural position. The reflected person was one who was pleasured and guaranteed the night was not over just yet. Sam pulled me to lean forward for him.

I have to put my hands in the mirror for support as he enters my body. It's too much to take in after being denied so long. I'm panting and begging as he makes me arch my back so he can have access to my neck as he fucks me relentlessly.

“Please,” I say, not even knowing what I'm about to ask for.

“Please, what?” He asks me, slowing down his pace. It's tortuous, denying me once again my release. “What do you want?”

“I want you.” My words come out cut and breathless, with his movements becoming harder. “I want you to make me cum. Please, Sam.” My pleas feel like it's falling on deaf ears, as he stops completely and takes a step away from me, taking me to the bed.

“You'll have to work for it.” He sits on the bed, comfortable and naked, pulling me to his lap. “Now, sit.”

And I sit, placing him back where he belongs and riding him.

There's only the sounds of our moans and our lovemaking echoing in the room, turning me on even further.

I'm so, so close, that one flick to my clit and I'll collapse.

And Sam knows it, holding my hands back and making himself my only source of pleasure.

“When I said you'll have to work for it, I meant it.” He whispers in my ear. “Now, imagine what I can do for you if you cum for me, right… now.”

It's like magic. When he says it, my whole body shakes, letting out everything. There's wetness between my legs, and I can only see the sky blue of his eyes.

Sam takes over, fucking me through my orgasm and dragging another one out of me. And another.

It feels like being on the beach, and having wave after wave hit you, in a way you can't even stop to breathe.

There's warmth inside, and it's taking me on another high.

I have no strength to move when we both come down from our high.

“I'm sorry.” Is the first thing I hear, making me look up at him. “I'm sorry if I was too rough on you.”

“You weren't.” I say, falling back to his neck and enjoying the scent of leather and bourbon. “It was great. There's nothing to apologize for.”

“Love, look at this.” He says, placing a hand on my hips. I look, finding light marks matching his hands. It'll be bruised by morning, but they make me smile. “It's not a laughing matter.”

“Not laughing.” I shrug, going back to nuzzle his neck. I love being like this, basking in his scent and warmth. “They make me happy. I want to bear your marks, and I do it with pride.”

There's a deep breath, and he hugs me, pulling me closer to his chest. It's still not close enough. I want closer, more, mine.

But tiredness takes over, and I only want to take a shower and sleep for the night.

Before I can say or do anything, I'm turned on the bed, with Sam removing my boots, that I had all but forgotten I still had on. He picks me up and takes me to the bathroom, where we take a long and steamy shower.

Back to the bed, I'm curled up to his side, drawing circles on his chest as my insecurities finally pop up.

Is… is this a one time thing? Or will we be able to do it again? Does he want something more, a real relationship with me, or just the sex?

“We can't do this,” he starts, and I hold back from sitting up. My heart skips a beat, and I move to look at his eyes, “on the ship.”

“Why?” I hold back all my dark thoughts, sending them to the pits of my mind.

“Because you're too loud, love.” He laughs, coming in to kiss me. I don't avoid it, but don't reply either. “The whole ship would know when we're fucking. And I'd rather keep those noises for myself. We don't need anyone else knowing that you can sound so lovely with my dick inside of you.”

I stare at him blankly while processing.

“You want more?” I blush, and he looks at me like a lost pup.

“More?” He smiles, pulling me to sit on his lap. “Darling, I've wanted you since the moment we first met. I've wanted to know your taste, your sounds, your warmth since the day you first walked into the Lodge.”

Just sex, then. I try to keep my heartbreak from showing, but it's too much to hold in.

“Then I got to meet you.” He continues, giving me a glimmer of hope. “And I fell in love with you. I've been scared that you didn't feel the same way I do. That I'm not good enough…” I can't hear him talking about himself like this, so I interrupt him with a kiss.

“I do. I feel the same way.” I'm finally able to smile again. My broken pieces are put back together. “And you're worthy of love, Sam. Hell, I'll give you the galaxy if you ask it of me.”

There's a hearty laugh, and he kisses me again.

“I can already hold my whole world in my arms, love. There's no need for more.”

#sam coe #spacefarer x sam coe #starfield #starfield sam coe #save a horse ride a cowboy etc #starfield neon #coemancer

[motownfiction]

gentleman

After Elenore picks up a summer gig as a hostess at a fancy restaurant, she can’t stop talking about this waiter she met there. Will, who always waits up for her in the living room when she works late nights, hears all about it. She heats up orange chicken and white rice and talks a mile a minute – par for the course with Elenore.

“His name is Joe, which honestly, I thought I would hate, but it’s grown on me,” she says in between sips of Coca-Cola. “He’s a year younger than me, just finished eleventh grade.”

“Did he finish it like I did?” Will asks.

“With a high GPA or with a baby?”

“Either.”

“He’s a childless A student.”

“That’s what every former teenage father wants to hear.”

Elenore laughs, and Will beams. So much of Elenore is just a carbon copy of Lucy – Lucy’s hair, Lucy’s eyes, Lucy’s voice, Lucy’s laugh. He doesn’t know what he did to get so much of it, but he knows even Desi Arnaz couldn’t handle this much Lucy.

“He’s a funny flirt, too,” Elenore says.

“Is he?” Will asks.

“Yes. Though I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I should call Sam and see if he’s awake. Better yet, where’s Mom?”

“Mom’s asleep. She spent all day wrestling with a table of contents for that collection she’s putting together with Mariam, and she finally surrendered.”

Elenore frowns, and Will has to keep himself from beaming at that, too. From the day she was born, Elenore has frowned exactly like him. He has to treasure those parts, too. The rare moments where it’s just about them, where she loves him like her friend and her dad all the same. He remembers writing that in his journals – the ones he kept the first three years of raising her. Elenore is my friend, he wrote when she was about two. She is my daughter and my friend. It’s times like these when she remembers it, too.

“Well, if you really want to hear …” she starts.

“I do,” Will says. “Honey, I love it when you share your life with me. And if I was one of those shotgun dads, I’d be the world’s biggest hypocrite.”

Elenore nods. She taps her fork against her plate and looks toward the ceiling.

“Well, I was holding the door open for some guests as they were coming in,” she says, “and Joe was coming in for his shift, right behind them, so I held the door open for him, too. He looked at me and said, ‘You’re such a gentleman.’ I know it’s not that funny, but … I don’t know, he was trying. You have to love that he’s trying.”

Will nods. He agrees, mostly because it’s nice to see Elenore believe in romance again. When she was little, she couldn’t wait to fall in love, just like Mom and Daddy. She would make forks and spoons kiss at the dinner table. When Sean Fitzpatrick broke her heart on the night after their junior prom last year, Will was afraid she’d never believe in love and pink candy hearts again. But seeing her like this … with her eyes lit up by a boy who tries when he looks her way … it’s more than he can ask for and more than he can describe.

“You gonna ask him out?” Will asks.

“Daddy!”

“What? If your mom were awake right now, she’d say the same thing. Girls in 2002 don’t wait around for boys to ask them out. They take the reins. They do what they want.”

“Yeah, but …”

“Nah, no but. If your mom were awake right now, and she said all that, you’d think it was inspirational. You’d be calling him up right now.”

Elenore sighs. Will can see her putting it together. That she’s been pulling away from him for reasons even she doesn’t understand. He knows he’s been a good father – it’s why Elenore and Emma both still call him Daddy – but that happens with kids when they’re not kids anymore. They try to find their footing.

Maybe, tonight, Elenore knows her footing is right here, in this apartment, with her family. With her dad.

“OK,” she says. “So, if Mom had ever asked you out instead of … whatever happened between the two of you … what would you have preferred?”

Will thinks about it for a little longer than he needs to. Just trying to make the most of this with Elenore. She may not be moving away when she starts college in September, but it won’t be the same. Gotta grab it while you can. Gotta grab it while it lasts.

(part of @nosebleedclub january challenge -- day 21!)

#drabble #writeblr #ch: will o'connor #ch: elenore o'connor #dynamic: you're my only hope #year: 2002