abaker74

[abaker74]

More Than Casual?

Summary: After breaking up with Bucky, you thought you'd never see him again. That is, until you're required to make an appearance at one of the future congressman's events.

Part 1: Casual

CAABNW!Bucky x Agent!ExWidow!Reader

“You ready for the event?” Joaquin asks you as he throws a punch. 

“What event?” You huff, dodging the right hook. 

“Everyone on Cap’s team gets an invite to the White House.” He covers his guard. 

“Less talking, more punching!” Isaiah yells from the other side of his training room. 

You’d heard about the event being held at the White House but you decided to turn off the TV the second those familiar blue eyes were displayed. It was too early to see the man who still made you shiver. 

“Not going.” Is all you say, throwing him a rogue kick with more force than necessary. 

“You’re missing out on the event of the year for what? Ordering in pizza?” He laughs, but you take the opportunity to kick the center of his chest, making Joaquin fly across the room. 

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Isaiah hollers. 

You help your partner up. “What if I have plans?”

“Plans?” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Are you finally opening your heart to love?”

You roll your eyes, but your heart sinks a little. You’d successfully gone weeks without thinking of him and now, with just a couple of words, he’s back in your mind. Pulling at your heartstrings so tightly it makes your chest cave in.

It wasn’t Joaquin’s fault, he had no idea that the man who’s being honored at the event is the same person who tore your heart to shreds. 

“I just don’t feel like going,” you manage to get out. “I much prefer to fight and protect, rather than prance and drink.”

——

“What’s this I hear about you not going to the gala?” Sam casually says a few days later. 

You choke on the water you’re drinking. 

“That serious, huh?” Sam jokes. 

You shake your head. “Doesn’t sound like something that I’d be interested in.”

Your words are careful and strategic. But trying to think of the perfect excuse while your team leader looks at you so inquisitively is almost impossible. 

“I’d be nice,” he shrugs. “To go out and support Buck.”

The nickname sends a chill down your spine. 

You called him that same name for years, especially when you wanted to tease him. In front of others you’d always referred to him as Sergeant. But in close encounters, especially when you wanted him to plead for something, you’d call him just that. Buck. 

It never failed to make you think back to when he was a kid. You’d beg him to see pictures, you knew he had a couple printed out after the rediscovery of the Howling Commandos files. 

“You’re looking at the best version of me there is, doll.” He’d always say. “No need to dwell on the past.”

But you knew it was because part of him was always scared to look back. It made him remember he had a life before all of this happened. 

“I’m busy that day.” You mutter, picking up the report on the desk. 

Sam crosses his arms. “I haven’t even told you when it is.”

You stop in your tracks. 

“Is there something else that’s bothering you?” Sam asks carefully. He knows perfectly how to deal with guarded agents. “You can tell me anything, you know that, right?”

You hum.

“So, I hope to see you there, Agent.” Sam narrows his eyes. He doesn’t need to use the words for you to know it’s an order. 

You nod your head without another word, leaving the conference room before your anxiety rises more through your body.

——

“You’re pretty amped up for someone who didn’t even want to come!” Sam yells over the loud music playing inside the limo sent for you. 

You don’t look back at him as you tip the vodka bottle, letting the clear liquid coat your throat.

On any other day, vodka wouldn’t be your liquor or choice but today, you need all the courage I can get. And in terms of fucking you up the fastest, vodka is the way to go. 

You can barely feel your heel poking your foot by the time you step out. 

Your eyes inadvertently scan every square inch of the room, not looking for anything suspicious but looking for the man who you’ve been dreading seeing. 

It’s bad enough his posters are up on every lamp post.

You make a beeline towards the free bar cart, Joaquin hot on your heels. 

“Sam sent me over to babysit you,” he leans on the edge of the cart. “You look like you’re having fun.”

“Oh, yeah,” you say sarcastically, sipping on the martini the bartender set for you. “I’m having a blast.”

Both your eyes travel down to the napkin the bartender passes you, his ten-digit phone number neatly scribbled on the paper. 

You turn it over without looking at him.

“What happened to opening up your heart to love?” Joaquin whispers, looking back at the bartender. 

“I don’t have time for love.” You mutter, swirling the olives in your drink. 

He twists the cap on a water bottle before passing it to you. “You’ll never have time for love, if you don’t make time for love.”

“Who died and made you the team’s hopeless romantic?” You eye him. 

“Steve.” He shrugs. 

Joaquin goes on and on about love but you can’t hear him anymore. Because the second you look over to the other side of the room, there he is. 

Time stands still, and your legs threaten to give out.

Bucky’s changed so much since the day you said goodbye forever. His eyes have dulled, turning into a muted blue like the sky on a rainy day. His hair looks polished, but you know better than anyone else he hates how it feels. “I love it when you run your hands through it,” he used to murmur against your lips. “Makes me feel free.” But most importantly, his expression lacks that liveliness it used to have. The wrinkles near his eyes would deepen the second his lips would stretch into a smile. And it almost always came with a: “You have no idea how much I missed you, Doll.” 

Unsaid words stretch between you two. Your eyes say all the talking needed. 

Bucky’s eyes travel from yours, down to your left hand, where you’d always wear a vibranium bracelet that he’d gifted you. It had pieces of his old arm in it. Bucky used to say that after The Winter Soldier, he wanted nothing to do with him. Until he met you. He liked when you wore it because it reminded him that even with his past, he could still deserve someone as loving as you. 

You rub the spot where the bracelet used to lay. 

“You don’t deserve me anymore,” you whisper. 

“D’you say something?” Joaquin looks up at you.

You shake your head, ripping your eyes away from the man who caused you unspeakable hurt. But not before noticing how his expression hardened as he looked at the man standing next to you. 

You recognized it immediately. It’s Bucky’s signature: I want to rip your head off look.

And it had everything to do with the way Joaquin was rubbing your shoulder. 

“Torres, we’re friends, right?” Your eyes bounce from Bucky’s azure to your partner’s brown. 

“Yeah,” he eyes you suspiciously. 

“Could you pretend to be my boyfriend?” You get out before you can regret the words. 

Was it immature? Yes. 

Did you want Bucky to feel at least one ounce of the hurt you felt? Also yes. 

“Why?” Joaquin’s eyebrows furrow. 

“I hate these events because, as you can see,” you flip over the napkin with the bartender’s number on it. “Men always get the wrong idea. So, can you just act like you’re my boyfriend?”

“Is this some kind of test Sam put you up to?”

You pinch your lips together. “Sure.”

“Man! I’ve been waiting for an undercover mission,” he shimmies happily. 

“But you have to pretend with everyone, okay?” You look back at the future congressman who’s making his way towards the two of you. “And make it believable.”

Joaquin smooths down his lapels. “You got it.”

Not even ten seconds later, Bucky stands between you and Joaquin with a scowl on his face.

"Agents." He looks at both of you like he's done so many times. But now, his gaze holds Joaquin's for a second longer.

"Congratulations." You raise your glass to him.

"I haven't won, yet." He doesn't look away from the brunet to your side.

"By the looks of it, you're going to sweep the floor with all the other old bozos around here." Joaquin smiles, playfully shoving the super soldier's shoulder but he doesn't budge. Not one bit.

"Could I take her away from you, it'll only be a second." Bucky asks like you're Joaquin's property.

You roll your eyes. "You don't have to ask him."

"As your boyfriend," Joaquin not-so-subtly raises his eyebrows at you. "I approve of your parting."

"We're not in the regency era you doofus." You whisper as Bucky leads the way.

"I haven't been anyone's boyfriend in a long time! I don't know how to act!" He whispers back, throwing his hands up.

"What are you doing here?" Bucky asks the second you're away from everybody else.

"Trust me, I didn't want to be here." You let out a dry laugh, pulling a cigarette from your bag and lighting it up.

"I mean, what are you doing here with him?" Bucky narrows his eyes toward your partner. "What's this? A debutant ball for your new relationship?"

"Why would you care, anyways?" You take a drag, liking the way the smoke coats your mouth.

"I don't care-I-I just-" Bucky runs a hand down his face.

"Look James," You watch as his PR guy paces around the ballroom, looking for the man who is standing in front of you. "It's best if you go back inside."

"I can't." He looks down at the floor. "I can't just leave you out here smoking alone."

A genuine laugh rips through you.

"That's the promise you're keeping up?" You raise your brows, laughing harder as his expression tightens. "Out of all the promises you made me, that's the one you're going with."

"This isn't-" He tries but you interrupt him.

"Tell me what this is?" You push for him to spill what you know is on the tip of his tongue. "What? Was this summon a friendly one? Or did you want to bring me out here just so you could see if you still had it? That power you had over me."

"N-no." He stutters over his words.

"I'm happy now, James." You let out more smoke. "And it's killing you to know that."

"I just don't know how you did it!" He finally snaps. "You come here, looking amazing like always, with another man next to you. Acting like what we had was-"

"What we had was casual." You repeat the words he said. "Nothing more."

"Was it?" His blue eyes lock into yours, tumultuous like the sea.

"Yes." You lie.

"Then why do I feel like this?" He runs a hand through his hair, messing up his perfectly combed hair.

"I don't care, Barnes." You drop the end of your cigarette on the floor. Bucky lifts his foot to step on it, just like he'd done a million times before, only for you to do it first.

You turn on your heel but Bucky stops you.

"Whatever we had is in the past, and I intend on keeping it that way." You look at him over your shoulder, hating the way his gaze still makes your heart squeeze and his touch makes your skin heat.

"I should leave, Congressman." You say through gritted teeth. "Wouldn't want to give the wrong impression to all the voters around here. "

Authors Note: Hiiiihi! Thank you so much for the love on pt. 1! As always make sure to like and comment. Alsoooo I posted the first chapter of my book, it's on my page. I'd love it if you guys could give it a read. And if you'd like to support me, make sure to give me a follow on my ig and tiktok: @sophiabazar_author, I'll be posting all book related content on there! I'll be posting chapter 2 soon! If you'd like a part 3 to casual make sure to comment!

Tagged: @erinallene @the-bucky-one @unaxv @kodzukenie333 @g1g1l @hanacheryl @ironwinnerwonderland

[abaker74]

Jake's gonna be juggling while trying to deescalate 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Aim for the Sky Part 36 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley needed a day off with his wife, but you needed it more. Taking care of his family would come first from now on, and he had no problem proving that to you. As your plan begins to take shape, one of your allies doubles down.

Warnings: Angst, adult language, body image, DILF Roo, pregnancy, oral smut, lactation kink

Length: 4400 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Aim for the Sky masterlist. This was written to accompany my series Is It Working For You? along with a bunch of my one-shots and other series, but it can be read on its own! Check my masterlist for the reading order.

Cat gave you an earful over the phone, and you let her. As soon as you told her you wanted to move up the unveiling of the project she'd been leading for months, she panicked.

"I have it scheduled for December," she snapped. "Six weeks from now. It's not perfect yet, and you know how much I like perfection."

When you said, "It doesn't need to be perfect, it just needs to work," you heard a muffled scream.

"I'm going to break out in hives. I need to lie down," she hissed. "You're talking about something that affects the entire F/A-18 fleet."

You rolled your eyes. "I'm not talking about the whole Super Hornet fleet yet. I'm talking about testing on a handful of aircrafts. Or maybe just one to start..."

When you went silent, Indigo's eyes danced through your mind along with her pompous voice and irritating strut. 

"Do you have any idea how long I'll have to stay at work? I'll be here overnight finishing this. Overnight. Do you hear me?" Cat asked.

"I'll owe you big time," you replied. "I'll babysit Jer a hundred times. A thousand times."

"I absolutely refuse to mention this to Bickel," Cat whispered, reminding you she was at work while you were in your living room. "You can talk to him about it yourself, but I will not. Because I value my relationship with my commanding officer."

"I'll take care of Bickel. He loves it when we're ahead of schedule," you replied, biting your lip as you realized you would very much need his permission to push your plan forward. And you weren't sure you could get it.

"Why do you want this so much? And are you coming back to work today? What's going on?"

You took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Listen, I'll be there tomorrow, okay? And I'll fill you in then. Just...give me until tomorrow. Please, keep working on your code."

Cat groaned so loudly, you had to pull your phone away from your ear. "Fine." Then the call ended, and you ran for your bedroom with your hand holding your belly.

Bradley was already sound asleep, the dark circle under his eye prominent even as his face was half buried in his pillow. His thick arm was flung across the spot where your body belonged, and you could see his fingers twitching along the bedding like he was searching for you. 

Your heart clenched, and you slipped quietly under the covers next to him. "There you are," he grunted, opening one eye as he pulled you closer. "Did you talk to Cat?"

"Yes," you whispered, letting him pull you close so his chest was pressed snug against your back. His warm hand settled on your belly, and his even breathing filled your ear.

"Baby Girl, I can't stay awake," he murmured, kissing the back of your neck. "I need a little nap, then I'll get up with Rose when she cries," he promised.

"I can get up. I'm not that sleepy," you told him, melting in his arms as his fingers circled your belly button. 

"I love you," he rasped, kissing your ear before his soft snores filled the space. 

Your eyes blinked slowly before closing, and you realized you were exhausted, too. The adrenaline that had filled you when you were in Bradley's office was drained now. Your belly was full from lunch, and Bradley was so warm. Even the baby had settled into a gentle squirming pattern like she knew you needed a break.

Sleep took over. You never heard a sound until you jolted awake alone in the dark bedroom with your breasts aching. You needed to feed Rose for some relief, because it had been hours since she'd eaten, so you slipped out of bed. 

Bradley had her tucked in his arm, reading a story about a goose on the couch while Rose poked his mustache. Every other word was punctuated with his laughter, and Rose erupted into giggles.

"How am I supposed to finish the story when you keep distracting me? Now we'll never know if the silly goose finds his friends, and that's your fault, Nugget."

Rose giggled more, and Bradley tossed the book aside to give her kisses while you watched from the end of the hallway. He was the most perfect father, and you should have never doubted him. You wanted to apologize a million more times, but when his eyes met yours, you simply said, "I love you, Roo."

He was on his feet, Rose held against his chest, and then he was smothering you in kisses, too. You couldn't stop laughing as his rough mustache scratched your cheeks while he held you in place with one big hand on your butt.

When he finally stopped, he took you by the hand and said, "Wait until you see this. You're not going to believe it."

"What?" you asked, but he was already setting Rose down on her play mat. As soon as she was on her belly, she popped up to her knees, crawled two feet, and collapsed back onto her belly. "She's crawling!"

"She's crawling!" Bradley shouted. "I took a video of the first time, so you didn't miss it. This was only the second time, I swear. Unless she's been crawling around in her crib."

"She probably has been," you cooed, easing yourself down onto the floor next to her. She promptly started crying hysterically. "She associates you with fun. I think she only associates me with food," you said, pulling your shirt over your head.

"That's not true," Bradley insisted, staring openly at your breasts which were starting to leak. "You're so much more than a perfect rack."

With an eye roll you said, "I guess I should start thinking about what to make for our dinner while she eats." 

Rose latched on while Bradley kissed the top of your head. "I already took care of it."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I reprised one of your mom's crockpot meals. Chicken soup."

You blinked up at him as he stood. "How? We don't have any groceries. I haven't felt like going shopping."

"Rosie and I took care of it. You needed to sleep, so we went to Costco. Did you know they give you twice the number of free samples if you take the cutest baby in the world?"

"Did you wear her in her carrier on your chest?" you asked as he went into the kitchen.

"Yep."

"That'll do it. Makes you look irresistible." Bradley blushed as he took the lid off the soup, and then the smell of dinner hit your nose. "Oh my god, I'm starving."

He started shifting things around on the counter. "I'll bring you a bowl, and it should be cool enough to eat by the time Rose is done."

You watched him work as your daughter got groggy in your arms. Bradley carried two bowls into the living room along with crackers and lemonade. He had dinner set up for both of you by the time Rose's eyes started to close, and that's when you realized just how late it was.

"I think she's ready for bed," you whispered, handing her to Bradley so you could stand.

"Go eat. I'll burp her and change her diaper," he promised, nodding toward the food. 

As soon as his big hand circled her back, you heard her burp. It always took you twice as long. This was also the first night in weeks Bradley was home at this early, and you felt tears prickle your eyes as he walked around singing to Rose about the silly goose and his friends before vanishing into the nursery. It didn't take him long to return empty handed, and when he did, you were crying on the couch.

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

Bradley missed this so much. He'd only been home for a handful of nights to get Rose ready for bed recently. Right now he was enjoying her fuzzy hair against his lips as he gently set her down on her changing table. He grabbed a fresh diaper and clean pajamas covered in airplanes while she yawned. 

"Are you too tired to finish the story?" he whispered. "You're going to leave me on a silly goose cliffhanger?"

He swore she nodded. She probably did, she was so fucking smart. She could roll over and crawl, and soon she'd be talking and walking around. 

"Okay," he murmured. "We can finish the book tomorrow."

He flicked on the lullaby machine even though she was already falling asleep in her crib and went in search of his wife and his dinner. But he found you sitting on the couch with tears on your cheeks.

He dropped to his knees in front of you. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," you whispered, shaking your head. "I'm just happy you're home tonight."

Bradley's face fell as you wiped at your tears, guilt filling his body. "I'm so sorry I fucked up so much," he replied, reaching for your hands. "I just wanted to be on top of everything at work, but I should have been here with you."

"It's okay," you sobbed.

"No. It's not. None of this is fair to you, and I'm not even talking about Indigo right now. You need me helping more at home, and I haven't been. I took this new position so I could be here more and be deployed less, but I fucked it up. I'm thinking about asking Mav to pull me."

"No," you gasped, wiggling off the couch and onto his lap. "You can't, Bradley. You're such a good teacher."

He buried his face in your neck and inhaled as he wrapped his arms around you. "I'm a joke. Nobody's taking me seriously. I have a student who convinced herself she could take advantage of me."

You jerked his chin up so he was looking at you. "That's not even true. She admitted she pulled the same shit in the past, and of course she wanted you, too. You're so sexy. But that's her fucking problem at the end of the day, not yours. And I won't let her make it ours."

Bradley closed his eyes as you kissed his nose and his cheeks. "I just want you to be happy," he whispered. "I'll do whatever I can to make my family happy."

When you said, "You already reported her, right?" he nodded. "That makes me happy. And if you come home on time more often, that will make me happy, too."

"What about a vacation?" he asked softly, letting his hand rest on your belly. "Just the four of us? We could go away for our anniversary. Today was so nice, I think we need some more time off together."

You hummed and nodded. "Let me make sure I don't piss Bickel off tomorrow before I agree to that. I don't want to request time off with my tail between my legs."

Bradley raised one eyebrow. "I'm scared to know what you need to talk about that could make him upset."

"The less you know, the better."

Your words didn't calm his nerves, but your kisses did. So did the soup which was the perfect temperature to eat. You even watched an episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey with him before he started cleaning up.

"I can do that," you told him. "I slept all afternoon."

He turned you toward the bedroom and swatted at your butt. "You and Nugget number two were tired. Go relax in bed and start looking at the Halloween costumes I saved in my Amazon cart for Rose." 

Bradley handed you his phone and sent you on your way. He let Tramp outside and loaded the dishwasher before wiping down the counter and packing up the rest of the dinner. When he finally walked into the bedroom, you were topless and giggling.

"We have to get her this costume!" you insisted, holding up his phone, showing him the one that was actually his top choice as well.

"That was my favorite," he grunted, watching your tits bounce as you sat up.

"It's too perfect. I'll order it right now."

Bradley was distracted as he walked around the room, trying to get ready for bed. He brushed his teeth and got undressed, eyes barely able to look anywhere but at your body. This morning, he woke up in the Bronco on the driveway, because you thought there was a chance he was messing around behind your back. He was just happy to put that behind him. He wasn't about to press his luck as he climbed in bed.

"Here you go," you whispered, handing his phone back. He took it and plugged it in to charge overnight, but your breasts brushed his arm. They were heavy and perfect, your nipples big and pert from all the hormones and breast milk. And now he was fully erect as he tried to lay on his back, reaching to turn the lamp off.

"Are you ready for bed? Or do you feel like staying up a little longer?"

Bradley's gaze snapped to your face as his fingers hovered next to the lamp. "I could stay up a little longer," he rasped, keeping his eyes away from your tits which were pressed together as you leaned closer to him. "If you want."

Bradley had barely touched you in weeks which was evidenced by his throbbing cock. You'd seemed tired and distant, all thanks to Indigo, but he didn't put the pieces together at the time. He thought you were worn out from your pregnancy. Right now, he was horny as hell but afraid for you to know where his mind was as he tried to discreetly adjust himself.

He left the lamp on as you curled up snug against his side. "I saw that you started another notebook for the baby," you said, your fingers skimming along your belly, showing off your perfect body.

Bradley grunted. "Each Nugget gets to read my personalized thoughts on parenthood when they're older."

Your lips found his shoulder, and he shivered. "You're a good dad. I'm sorry I doubted you." Bradley closed his eyes as your fingers traced his chest hair down to his abs. It felt like heaven. He wasn't going to make it.

"Why are you topless?" he gasped, tone accusatory. "You've been sleeping in a sports bra with those pad things in them."

"My nursing pads?" you asked, clearly confused. "So I don't leak at night?"

"Yeah. Those things. Why are your tits all over the place right now?"

You looked taken aback as you pulled your hand away from his body and sat up. Bradley groaned, eyes raking all over you as his cock tented the bedding. "I was going to put a bra on before I fall asleep. It just felt nice to take a break for a few minutes. Is it bothering you? I'll put it on now."

You were pouting, and he was sweating as you started to climb out of bed. "Jesus Christ, Sweetheart. Come back," he begged, wrapping his fingers around your wrist. "You look so fucking hot, I can't focus on anything."

"Oh." Your pout turned into softly parted lips that he needed to kiss. So he did. He sat up, letting the bedding fall to his hips as he smashed his lips to yours. Fuck, you felt too good. And then you blindly nudged his cock with your hand. "Oh!"

You pulled away, wide eyed and staring down. "Yeah," he grunted. "But in my defense, you had your tits all over the place. You still do." Then you wrapped your hand around his erection, and Bradley collapsed against his pillow. "We don't have to mess around tonight," he gasped. "It wasn't my intention at all. I just wanted to spend time together."

Your laughter filled his ears, and colors erupted behind his eyelids as you worked your hand down to his balls. "You really never stopped wanting me?"

"I've wanted you nonstop since the moment I first saw you," he whined, and then your lips wrapped around his cock. Bradley's eyes flew open, watching you give him head, but after a minute of pleasure, he was reaching for you. "I won't last another minute."

You pulled him free with a pop. "So?"

Bradley panted. "So, I want to make you feel good, too."

You smirked and licked him from balls to tip. "It makes me feel good knowing you can't stop looking at my body." He forced his gaze from your nipples to your face. "And it will make me feel good to swallow your cum before letting you suck on my tits."

He was going to pass out, he was sure of it. "Okay," he rasped, in no position to argue with you while you were gagging on his cock. 

He had been correct. After another minute, he was grabbing at the bedding, hanging on for dear life. Your tits were bouncing against his inner thighs, and your belly looked gorgeous. Your face was perfect as you looked up at him with your mouth full. This wasn't what he expected, but he wasn't mad about it. He came, barking out your name as you swallowed every drop, licking him clean.

When you eased yourself onto your back, coaxing him closer to your taut nipples, he moaned. He was in heaven with your fingers in his hair, and when he tasted you, he knew he'd never get enough.

He kept you up for another hour, making sure you felt as good as he did.

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

You couldn't stop smiling the next morning as Bradley kissed your cheek while you tried to put your contacts in. "Can I have a little space, Roo?" you asked sweetly.

"No," he whispered, crowding in closer. "I can't stop touching you."

He'd done plenty of that last night. You came so hard on his mouth and fingers, you thought you were going to wake Rose up. Turns out Bradley had been missing you while you were trying to block him out to protect yourself. But Indigo was toast. You'd see to that. She had Bradley convinced he was terrible at his job, and that just wouldn't do. Neither would the fact that nobody got to have your husband except you.

"If you let me get ready for work, I'll blow you again tonight."

He took an immediate step away, hands up in surrender. "By all means, have as much space as you need, Sweetheart. I'll get Rose up and let her crawl around with Tramp."

After you brushed your teeth, you went to the closet. The maternity tent taunted you from the back corner, but you decided to squeeze into your regular uniform. "You'll have your day soon enough," you whispered. But your mind was already focused on work.

If Cat stayed late enough to finish the code, then just maybe you could pull this off. Indigo could get her punishment through the Navy, but you wanted to give her a little something special yourself. After all, she knew who you were, but she didn't know you overheard her in Bradley's office.

You were smiling as you strutted through the living room and out the front door. Rose was buckled in and ready to go, and Bradley was waiting in the driver's seat of the red Bronco with his aviators on.

"You look hot," he murmured, reaching to buckle your seatbelt for you after you climbed in. His lips brushed yours making you very aware you'd be late for work if the three of you didn't leave now.

"I told you I'd blow you tonight, not now."

Bradley laughed and started the engine. "That's not what I'm after, and you know it."

After he backed out of the driveway, he reached for your hand. "What are you after?"

"I want to have lunch with you in the cafeteria today."

Your smile grew as Bradley's rough fingers tangled with yours. "That sounds nice. Not sure what time I'll be able to get away though."

"Text me. Whenever you're free, I'll make it work."

"Okay," you whispered, turning to check on Rose. "And we'll leave on time to go home?"

"We'll leave on time to go home," Bradley confirmed.

You almost made another comment about the blowjob, but you knew it wasn't about that. He promised to do better, and you were going to as well. Starting with showing Indigo who's boss on your husband's behalf.

An hour later, your knuckles connected with Bickel's office door. "Come in!"

This was not the time for nerves. You needed to sound confident as hell. "Captain Bickel, Sir, can we talk about one of our projects for a minute?"

"Sure, Lieutenant Commander," he replied, shuffling some things on his desk. "Uh, have a seat."

He was kind and patient, and as soon as you got into it, you weren't nervous at all. "How do you feel about testing our code on some grounded Super Hornets ahead of schedule?" Kicking the project off early could actually be beneficial, and you knew it. It was a pretty easy sell. "It could give us a little more time to work out any kinks before the end of the year."

Bickel leaned back in his seat. "I'm not sure Lieutenant Commander Coleman is finished with the preliminaries."

"Oh, she is," you told him with a smile. "She's way ahead of schedule, because she's brilliant."

He laughed and nodded. "We really do have a great team. Hmmm." His brow furrowed, and he looked through his calendar. "I think this could actually work out well. Starting updates ahead of schedule means we could have the fleet back in the air ahead of schedule. Go ahead and move forward with an aircraft or two."

Your heart was racing. It was the moment of truth. This might not work out at all. "Do I need to choose randomly?"

Bickel shook his head. "Choose whichever you want. But if you ground your own husband, that's on you. I will not bail you out of that argument."

Satisfaction filled your insides as Bickel laughed at his own joke, and a giddy grin spread across your face. "I know just where to start, Sir," you promised, saluting him before running back to the lab with both hands on your belly.

Cat glared at you when you sat on the stool next to her. "I am so tired. Literally and figuratively," she mumbled. "Don't come in here and try to talk to me with your peppy BS. I don't want to hear it."

You laughed merrily and slid her computer away from her.

"Hey!" she complained, reaching for it, but you shook your head.

"We can start testing whenever we want," you said, opening the credentials list of each aviator currently at Top Gun associated with an F/A-18. "And we can choose which aircraft to run the program on first."

You scrolled past BRADSHAW, BRADLEY and FITCH, REUBEN and GARCIA, MICKEY as you made your way through the alphabet. When you got to JEFFRIES, BROOKE, you stopped and smiled. "Bingo."

"Who's Lieutenant Jeffries? And why did you go directly her them?" Cat asked as you casually went back to her lines of code to start double checking everything.

"Oh, she's been trying to fuck Bradley for over a month."

"What?" Cat screeched, jumping out of her seat. "What's going on?!"

You waved your hand dismissively. "She's a young pilot training under him, and apparently she likes getting sexy, older officers to sleep with her. Nothing's going on, much to her displeasure."

"Well of course nothing's going on!" Cat spat. "Hasn't she seen the way your husband looks at you like you're a dessert buffet?" You snorted, but she ripped her computer from your hands. "Give me this," she muttered, pounding away on the keys. A few seconds later, you realized what she was doing, but it was too late.

"Cat, don't!" you gasped. "You put 'check for potential incompetence and/or pilot error' in the notes!"

"So what?" she snarled. "I always do that when I ground an aircraft. It adds a layer of safety."

"I didn't even finish checking your new code to verify we can run the program!"

"It doesn't matter," she added, inching her computer further away from you. "My code is flawless. And this bitch can sit on the ground indefinitely, I don't even care. Don't mess with my friends."

You watched as Cat's index finger slammed into the return key.

"Oh my god," you groaned. "We're logged in under your credentials which means you're the one who will have to do a thorough investigation!"

This would add hours and hours of work to Cat's schedule. You knew it. She knew it, too, but she was rolling her shoulders with a satisfied smirk on her face. "I love investigations. I haven't done one since the summer. And as far as I'm concerned, it's better to be safe than sorry." Her smirk melted into a solemn expression. "I take my job very seriously. You know for a fact I'll do everything by the book."

"What about all the extra hours?" you whispered.

"I don't give a shit. You can help Jake can take care of Jer while I work late. I'll go over Jeffries' aircraft with a fine tooth comb."

When you looked at her, you burst into tears. "Thank you."

"You don't have thank me. It's my pleasure to keep the Pacific Fleet safe from all kinds of threats."

Eventually you texted Bradley when you were done checking Cat's perfect work, letting him know you were ready for lunch. The cafeteria was packed, but you found him standing alone at the end of the line.

"There you are," he murmured, collecting you in his arms and kissing you in front of everyone. "I'm so hungry, I thought I was going to have to start without you." He ushered you into line with a tray and began to pile it with food. "I got an email a few minutes ago letting me know that Indigo will be grounded until further notice starting tomorrow. You know anything about that?"

"I already told you, the less you know, the better. Don't forget to grab the hot sauce."

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

I'm afraid Indigo doesn't stand a chance if Cat teams up with BG... I just don't want her anywhere near Bradley. Gonna start wrapping up this series in a few more chapters!

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[abaker74]

I love you, I'm sorry || Bucky Barnes x reader! au)

Summary: James loved his wife, his son, and the life he had. However, lately he begins to remember his days as a sought-after bachelor in the past and all the opportunities and experiences he wasted.

One night, a magical being appears to him, who offers him to fulfill a wish, which will change his life completely.

Author's note: So i had this idea for a long time ago and i thought it'll be fun to see where this is going. This is some kind of au, where reader and Bucky are married. The magic being is Doctor Strange.

P.S: I love Bucky, and i know he will never do this 💌

《tags: angst, Bucky being a jerk, fluff, married life, arguments, curse words, a character that decide to step in 👀》

Bucky was tired.

He didn't know if he was tired of the long work day he had in the office, or if he was tired of returning to the routine. Sometimes he began to think what would happen to his life if he had made different decisions.

Don't get him wrong, he was sure of what he had chosen: he loved his son Theo, the sweet 5-year-old who looked up to him with a twinkle in his eye every time they spent time together. Bucky thought it was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. On the other hand, the job he had was good, considering that he must maintain a house, a family, pay the bills, put food on the table everyday and treat himself, his son and especially to his wife.

His dear wife Y/N, who had always been there for him. Who he loved with all his might. He can still remember the first time he met her. Well, the first time he actually saw her. Bucky used to be a heartthrob even back in the days when he went to college. He had a certain reputation with the ladies and never committed himself to a relationship; the black haired man wanted to enjoy his single days as much as he could. That's what he thought until he met Y/N, the sweet girl with glasses who helped him with exams and congratulated him every time he got an A. She had bewitched him from head to toe with her noble heart and sweet aura.

He had it all.

But he also had everything in the past.

A life without worries or bills to pay, girls who fought for his attention or to sit next to him in classes, a group of friends whom he still saw, but without seeing much because of their tight schedules. And well, he didn't want to sound like an idiot, but he didn't have anyone to send him to wash the dishes or change diapers. Plus, he always had someone to have a good time with, if he needed to... de-stress.

It wasn't that with Y/N ​​he didn't want any of that now. But he felt like the flame had gone out since she spent most of her time taking care of Theo, the house and resting from expecting her second child on the way.

Shaking off those thoughts of his head, James takes the keys from his pocket and begins to open the door to be greeted by the excited screams of his son, Theo.

"Daddy! You're finally here." Theo throws himself at him and Bucky reciprocates his hug.

"Hello champion" Bucky ruffles his hair and looks into the boy's blue eyes, who look at him adoringly "You didn't cause your mother any problems, did you?"

The little boy shakes his head.

"I helped her clean up the mess after I drew something for you," he mentions.

Bucky raises an eyebrow and looks at him softly.

"Yeah? I want to see it" Bucky says and the boy runs off to look for the draw.

Bucky sighs and puts his coat and briefcase aside to loosen his tie. All he wanted to do was finish the paperwork he needed by tomorrow without fail, take a shower, and sleep.

"Doll, where are you?" Bucky asks, running his hand over his face in frustration.

"In the kitchen!"

Bucky walks to the room and watches as his wife stirs something in the pot. The aroma of food invades the man's nostrils and his stomach growls with hunger. Y/N puts the spoon aside and hugs him lovingly, making sure her bump doesn't crush against the man's body.

“I missed you,” Y/N murmurs against his lips. Bucky accepts it and hugs her.

"Mhm. I'm really tired," he says barely. Y/N frowns and pouts.

"Long day at work?" He nods.

"And I still have to finish the paperwork," he mentions, rolling his eyes. Suddenly, a crazy idea - which he's sure young Bucky would like - occurs to him, he raises an eyebrow and lowers his hands to his wife's butt. "I was thinking that as long as I do the paperwork, and Theo falls asleep... I don't know, we could have fun in the office room."

Bucky starts kissing her neck, to which Y/N ​​giggles. She sighs and moves away from him a little.

"I have to finish doing the laundry and help Theo with his homework," she excuses herself. Bucky grimaces and can't hide the discontent on his face "But maybe later we can..."

"No, it's okay," Bucky says sharply. "I'd better take my plate to the office and eat there."

"Honey, I..."

“It’s okay, Y/N.” And with that, he grabs his plate of food and takes it to his office to lock himself in and not go out again.

"Theo!" Bucky exclaims.

His temperament overwhelms him, especially when he sees the drawing that his son had given him for him to appreciate. He had appreciated the gesture, since Bucky loved when his son drew him, but the man hadn't liked it at all when Theo decided to paint on the reports he had to correct for tomorrow.

Bucky enters the boy's room and he is surprised to see his father angry approaching him. He had never raised his voice at the boy like that, not even when he got into trouble. Y/N follows him when she hears the commotion from the bathroom.

"What happened?" the woman asks calmly. Bucky shows his sheet to the boy.

"Why did you draw on my work report papers? Why did you come into my office, Theo?" Bucky asks, about to lose his cool.

Theo purses his lips and his eyes fill with tears.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to come into my workspace without permission? Damn it!" Bucky screams and the little boy runs into his mother's arms.

"Bucky, this can be fixed, but please don't be so hard on him," Y/N asks, holding the child's head in her belly, in a motherly way.

Bucky shakes his head, laughing unamusedly.

"I have to hand these papers in tomorrow, Y/N! I'm going to have to stay late looking over them," Bucky says angrily. "Theo doesn't have to do this thing where he comes into the office and draws on my papers."

Theo starts to sob.

"I'm sorry, Dad," he says, choking back a cry.

But when James sees this, the man lets out a sigh through his nose and closes his eyes, trying to calm down. The black-haired man crouches down to the child's height and opens his arms. Theo hesitantly approaches him and lets his father's arms wrap around him.

"Oh, champion..." Bucky whispers "I'm sorry"

Y/N watches the scene. She knows his husband is under a lot of stress.

"Do you promise me you won't do it again?" Bucky says looking at the boy, who nods his head and sniffles. The man wipes his tears and smiles slightly. "Good boy. Sorry for yelling at you."

Bucky starts tickling him and the boy laughs in his arms. Y/N laughs when she sees the scene and touches her belly.

“Theo, you have to finish your homework and brush your teeth before going to sleep,” Y/N reminds him.

Theo nods and proceeds to look for his notebooks so his mother can help him. Bucky stands up and looks at his wife with a tired face.

"I have to finish this," he says and she leaves him, caressing his cheek before they both go to do their chores separately.

Bucky can't help but think about how tired he is as he goes to his workspace and locks himself in until he finishes the paperwork.

What would his young self be doing if he hadn't had children?

If he hadn't had Theo and his second baby on the way?

When Bucky comes out of the bathroom in the room he shares with his wife, he drags his feet across the soft carpeted floor and falls onto the bed, while his wife applies cream to his belly, which has grown quite quickly, indicating that there are a few weeks left to see their son be born.

The man just wants to sleep, because he must get up early. He turns off the light on his bedside table and lets his head fall back onto the pillows. He hears a playful giggle from his wife and notices how she turns off the light and approaches him, to begin kissing his neck and caressing his chest with her hand.

"Hi" she whispers.

She continues kissing his neck and Bucky lets her for a moment, even when he feels his wife's hand go down to his boxers. But he doesn't feel like continuing this, he doesn't know why. Maybe it's tiredness or... he no longer feels that way for the woman who caresses his manhood.

"I don't have the energy to continue, doll," he whispers, pushing her away from him and turning his back on her.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." she says, feeling embarrassed.

She raises the sheets until they cover her chest and looks at the ceiling. The truth is that she had also realized that something was distant between them, ever since she gave him the news that they were expecting another child together.

It's like Bucky doesn't see her with the same adoration as before and that makes her feel insecure. Especially when she didn't feel pretty or sexy with the pregnancy.

She closes her eyes, preventing another tear from falling, falling asleep.

Bucky can't.

He keeps thinking about what his life would be like if he hadn't married Y/N.

He loved her, yes. But he was bored of playing the role of the worried, caring, gentle and loving husband. He needed space.

He needed air, so he gets out of bed and watches the figure of the woman sleeping with one hand on her belly. Bucky leaves the room and goes downstairs to grab a beer from the refrigerator and go out to the backyard and sit on the bench to watch the starry night.

"Fuck" he mumbles.

He can't admit it.

No.

But....

"I wish I could go back to my past life" he wishes and takes a sip of his beer.

"Are you sure it's what your heart truly desires?" A voice surprises him.

"Fuck! Shit!" Bucky curses.

He stands up from his spot and notices a man floating in front of him and points the bottle at him, ready to defend himself.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my house?" James looks around and his eyes travel to the window of his room, where Y/N sleeps. "What did they do to my wife? My son?"

The man stops floating to walk on the grass in the yard. Bucky backs away on instinct and continues raising his bottle.

"James Buchanan Barnes" he says his full name, and danger scares him.

"How do you know my name?" He asks without believing it.

"My name is Stephen Strange, and I came here to grant you a wish" Bucky shakes his head, not believing it.

"Pff, sure. And I can fly" he says and raises the bottle, but Strange snaps his fingers and it disappears "What the hell...?"

"Now do you believe me?" Bucky swallows and thinks he's dreaming.

"Who the hell are you?"

"The man who can grant you your wish"

After explaining where it came from and why he was in front of him offering to grant him the wish, Bucky let out a heavy sigh and crossed his arms.

"So... you're saying that you can take me to another reality where I start my life again?" Strange nods calmly. Bucky grimaces. "What will happen to my life here? My job? My kids and my wife?"

Stephen replies: "If I take you to another reality, which in this case would be your past self, your life here will take a different direction. What you do there can completely change what happens here," he explains and moves his fingers to make a golden circle appear with scenes from Bucky's past appearing. The black-haired man approaches as if he were under a spell and remembers some things. "If you decide to go back and be in that reality, nothing you had here would be the same again."

Bucky smiles when he catches a moment where he was the most popular guy in college. Or when he dated Natasha, the most gorgeous woman in the school.

Bucky smiles falters when he sees Y/N studying with him for the exams. And when he carried his son Theo in his arms for the first time.

"Are you sure you want to leave everything you built here to go back to being the famous heartthrob Bucky Barnes?" Strange asks. Bucky swallows and finds himself in a dilemma with himself. On the one hand, he is bored with this domestic and routine life, he misses his life without ties and when he felt like he had everything in the palm of his hand. However, he loves his son Theo, his second child who is on the way and, above all, Y/N.

The woman he married. The woman he loved.

But right now, that didn't seem to care.

But Bucky wanted to have it all and more.

"Strange.... I want to go back" he decides after a moment.

"There will be no turning back," the magician warns him. "With a snap of my fingers, you will wake up in another reality and your life will be different."

And without hesitation, he didn't let himself be clouded by anything other than his desire to have it all again.

"I'm sure"

And Strange snapped his fingers, feeling disappointed once again in people's desire.

Bucky was having a blast.

So far he attended all the parties, went out more with his friends and could go on dates with any girl he wanted. He was taking advantage of that and more.

It was a starry and cool night and with his group they decided to go for some burgers where they always went to eat. Bucky's arm was around the shoulder of his former girlfriend, Natasha Romanoff. The hottest and most outgoing girl he had ever met.

"Today Bucky must buy the burgers" Sam says pointing his finger at him.

Bucky snorts and rolls his eyes in amusement, ignoring the strange emptiness he feels in his chest.

"I'll do it as long as someone deigns to come take our order," says the blue-eyed one, looking around in search of a waitress.

Everything stops in the moment for Bucky.

A couple of tables away was Y/N chatting animatedly with Yelena, Ava and John Walker. He knew John because the blonde was with him in his class. He was a jerk, but somehow he was in Y/N's group since he was dating Ava.

Y/N looks beautiful with her glasses.

When he had married her, he may have commented how funny she looked in them, and how the next day she had gone to the ophthalmologist to see if she could wear contact lenses. An idiotic comment on his part.

"Good evening, what are you going to order?" asks a deep voice coming to their table.

Bucky turns around and sees a boy with slightly long brown hair, below his ears. He remembers it because he was in Y/N's class. His name was Robert Reynolds.

The brunette had always tried to woo Y/N, even when she started dating Bucky. Even at their wedding, Bob was there with a hopeful and hurt look as he saw the girl he wanted marrying Bucky. The latter could only give him a victorious look when he kissed the girl to close their engagement.

"James...." the redhead shakes his arm. He reacts and turns to look at the boy who is looking at him expectantly. "What do you want to order?"

Bucky clears his throat.

"I want a burger and a soda," he asks, not really wanting to eat now. Bob notes it and gives them a flat smile.

"Coming right up, excuse me" he leaves and takes the menus from their hands.

Bucky follows him with his eyes to see how he leaves the menus on the table.

"Are you alright, Buck?" Steve asks him.

Bucky nods nonchalantly.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's good"

After a few minutes, while Bucky looked out of the corner of his eye at the table where his wife was, Bob arrives with everyone's orders.

"Thank you," thanks Steve.

"Sure. Enjoy"

Bob leaves again and the black-haired man notices how he talks to the man at the cash register, taking off his apron, and then goes to Y/N's table. She smiles shyly at him and he sits next to her, putting his arm behind her shoulder. Bucky watches this scene in front of him with jealousy.

She was his wife. His Y/N.

"Bucky, are you sure you're okay? You seem angry" Natasha points out, stroking his hand. But he feels a different sensation, comparing it to when Y/N used to do it.

Bucky nods curtly.

"Why do you keep asking me if I'm okay?" He takes a French fry and bites into it. "I'm clearly okay!"

Bucky turns to look at the table and sees how the boys from the other table start walking towards the exit. He notices how Bob leaves his hand on Y/N's lower back and gets up from the table.

"Hey!" They turn to see him. He is frozen in place as he reacts without thinking. Y/N frowns holding Bob's hand.

"Um, the burger was good" he says in an attempt to save himself "Thank you".

John, Yelena and Ava laugh watching the reaction he had. Bob nods his head, looking at him strangely.

"You're welcome?"

Bucky stands for a few seconds before Natasha tugs at his jacket, asking him to sit down. The black-haired man watches as the other group leaves the restaurant, ignoring the rest's eyes on him.

"What is wrong with you?" The redhead asks him.

"Buck, you're acting strange" Sam says.

That's it. Strange.

Stephen could help him.

Bucky gets up again and hurries to chase the group.

"Sorry, i don't feel so good"

Bucky rushes out hearing the screams of his friends behind him, but he doesn't care.

He is a few meters away from Y/N who hugs Yelena, Ava and John goodbye. Those three go their separate ways, while Y/N returns to Bob's arms, who takes her cheeks and kisses her sweetly. Y/N hugs him around the waist and Bob imprisons her against him with his arms.

Bucky feels something in his chest and thinks about the wrong decision he made. He would have to be the one to kiss her. She married him. With Bucky she had a family. With her he had everything.

"Strange. Damn Strange, I need you to help me" he whispers.

"I told you the consequences and you still accepted," Strange says, seriously. "Just like everyone else."

Bucky sighs angrily and waves his hands in exasperation. "Yes, i know. But I regret this. I want to go back to my stupid job, see my son Theo again and meet my son who is on the way. And Y/N...." he whispers hurt "My Y/N"

Stephen shakes his head in dissaproval.

"Humans are all the same. They have everything in their hands and it's still not enough," he reflects. Bucky feels the desperation for his body "I can take you back, but not to go back. But so that you can see and learn from your own mistake"

Bucky nods desperate.

Strange snapped his fingers, and the go back to where it all started.

His house.

It's the same as when he left.

Only the yard is with more flowers and toys scattered around. Bucky felt the urge to pick everything up and wondered since when they had so many flowers. Y/N had told him how much she wanted to plant roses for the garden, but Bucky never liked the idea. Now there were flowers.

Bucky walks to the door and Stephen's voice stops him.

"Don't hurry," he says. "No one will be able to see us, so it's better if you come with me."

Bucky follows him and they enter the house, where the aroma of home-cooked food fills his nostrils. His eyes light up as he sees a child painting on the floor. His adorable face rises when he hears the keys to the door.

"Mom, daddy is here!" he exclaims. The next thing he sees surprises Bucky.

"Champion! I missed you so much!" Bob exclaims, receiving the child in his arms.

The black-haired man's face falls as soon as he sees Y/N receive him in her arms and kiss him lovingly. Like she did with him.

"Are you hungry?" she asks.

"I'm starving," he says over his lips. And he plays a little longer without his little son hearing "Maybe later you could give me my favorite dessert."

Y/N laughs sheepishly and punches him in the arm.

"Dad" his son intervenes. Bob ruffles his hair.

“Wait, why isn’t Y/N pregnant here?” Stephen looks down in shame.

"Today they are supposed to do it so that Y/N gets pregnant with a girl."

Bucky chokes a sob. Y/N always wanted two kids: a boy and a girl.

Bucky remembers that he wasn't all that excited to have a second child. He thought it was already a lot of responsibility with Theo, and a second would be chaotic.

But she looked so happy here.

"I guess I'm not coming back here, am I?" Strange nods.

"It was my decision. And I have to face it like a man," Bucky says. He sighs and looks one last time at the scene in front of his eyes. "He won't hurt her like I hurt her, right?"

Strange denies. "It wouldn't cross Bob's mind to change anything about his life with Y/N, here. It's more than enough"

And with that Bucky leaves with Strange feeling like a sword is stabbed into his chest.

[abaker74]

‘The Bitter Bond.’

Chapter XX

Warning: 18+ ⚠️

“Wait” Aemond whispered, as he held her hand gently, his thumb tracing against her fingers.

Daerlyssa was quick to pull her hand away from him, avoiding his eye, as she hid her hands behind her.

The awkward tension had risen slightly between the two, as Daerlyssa waited to see what Aemond would say, and yet he would not speak.

“Goodnight” Daerlyssa responded harshly, once again turning away, to walk out and leave him behind.

“Why?” Aemond called out, stopping Daerlyssa from taking another step forward. He gulped, before clearing his question, “why did you do that?”

“I do not know what you are speaking of” Daerlyssa responds.

“Daerlyssa, I am not stupid, I can see” Aemond responds.

“Whatever I do does not concern you” Daerlyssa responds.

“Oh, so now you are mad at me?” Aemond scoffed, “I did not ask for this, you did!”

“Yes!” Daerlyssa let out in frustration, turning to face him, “yes I did. I asked we keep our distance but I did not ask for you to treat me as if I’m some sort of disease.”

“What-?” Aemond stuttered on the words that did not seem to escape his mouth.

“You have been cold, and angry towards me. And rightfully so, if I have hurt you but you have done just the same!” Daerlyssa fought back, “you have taken advantage of me!”

“Daerlyssa what are you speaking of?” Aemond’s voice was now calmer, as he found himself confused to this accusation.

“Whilst I have been alone, you have been out with Aegon. I saw you” Daerlyssa responds, with a scoff, to see Aemond’s blank expression, “do not deny it now, I saw you walk back with him that night.”

“I do not know what you think I have done, but I have done nothing” Aemond responds.

“Sure” Daerlyssa nods, smiling her tears away from reaching the surface and falling down her cheeks.

“Daerlyssa, I can explain-!”

“I had thought for sure, that perhaps we were more than just.. lustrous. But I was wrong” Daerlyssa responds, “in fact, I am glad, that I had told us to keep our distance, otherwise I would have been stupid enough to believe any more lies you tell.”

“Daerlyssa I have not done anything wrong” Aemond took a step forward, yet hurt when Daerlyssa took a step back, away from him.

“You hold no loyalties to me, no” Daerlyssa shook her head, looking at him painfully, “but I thought you respected me, Aemond. The way I respected you. I- you have truly hurt me.”

As she tries to escape from him, Aemond has held her back, his hands grasped around both her wrists as he turns her to face him, pulling her body closer.

“Let go of me” Daerlyssa warns him.

“No” Aemond responds.

Daerlyssa had began to struggle her way out, as she hit her fists against his chest, but to no avail.

“Let go of me, Aemond!” Daerlyssa exclaimed as she continued to hit him against his chest, yet Aemond had kept his cool, as he watched and waited, knowing she would calm down soon.

Eventually, after she had hit him quite a few times, Daerlyssa looks up, Aemond noticing her tired eyes, as she spoke in a strained voice, “let go of me. Please.”

Her hands slowed down, along with her breath, as she looked over at him.

“Are you done?” Aemond asks.

To which Daerlyssa could only respond with quietness, looking away.

Before Aemond managed to get a word out, the two were startled by Aegon’s sudden snore, as he was fast asleep, no clue to what was going on at this very moment.

Aemond rolls his eye away from his brother, looking back at the woman in front of him.

“I did not touch another woman at the pleasure house nor did I fuck anyone” Aemond responded, “I went with Aegon, simply to have a couple of drinks, and stayed alongside him because he was upset about Erich.”

“Erich?” Daerlyssa responds, “what has happened with Erich?”

Aemond sighed, slowly letting Daerlyssa’s hands go, looking towards Aegon, “I promised I would not say anything, but Erich has left the city. His father had found him a proposal elsewhere, to a young lady.”

“Oh, Aegon” Daerlyssa looked towards her husband apologetically, whilst he was fast asleep.

“He needed someone with him, so I stayed beside him. That is the only reason I was with him” Aemond responds, before turning to face Daerlyssa.

Looking back at her hands, he had held both of them gently, one he then lifted, to feel the warmth of her hands against his cheek.

“I would never disrespect you, Daerlyssa. I admit, I have been cold and stupid towards you, when I didn’t need to be. You had every right to believe I was up to something else, because of that. But now that I am here, I am telling you, that there is no other woman” Aemond’s words were sincere, as was his touch.

Looking at her fingers against, Aemond was saddened by the state of them, “why did you do it? Was it because of me?”

Daerlyssa shook her head no, as she tried her best to hide her reasonings.

But Aemond was no fool.

It was clear he had not only upset her, but had caused her a lot of hurt, and stress.

And due to his actions, and the cause of it all, Aemond now found himself driven with guilt and embarrassment.

With tender motion, Aemond had began to place a peck on each finger, from her pinky, to her thumb, from both hands.

Daerlyssa watched in silence, at the man she found herself to have been falling in love with, as he was not only gentle with her, but caring.

As he reaches to the last thumb, Aemond’s lips begin to hover, above her arms as he planted gentle kisses onto her.

Kisses that were meaningful, as he absorbed the scent he had missed ever so much.

“Aemond” Daerlyssa whispered, “what-? What are you doing?”

He did not respond, as he continued to leave Daerlyssa in anticipation, wondering if he would answer her question.

Yet his lips continued to linger on, towards the softness of her neck, as her chest heaved up and down, against his cheek.

A man that was starved, and now hungry, with the only thing he wished to eat stood right in front of him. Aemond did not know how to control himself.

Not at this given moment.

With his hand beginning to cradle the side of her neck, from opposite of where his head was rested, Aemond then leans towards her ear.

“I have missed you, more than you can imagine” his words had trailed off towards the end, when his tongue found itself grabbing a hold of her earlobe, until he took a bite, causing Daerlyssa to gasp, as she flustered amongst his touch.

He kissed her all around her face, from her cheeks, to her eyes. Above her eyebrows, to her head. To her nose to her chin and back up to meet her lips.

Aemond’s kisses were desperate. A motion that Daerlyssa was the first to witness from the man himself, as his eye was hooded, looking back at her.

It was as if she were a bag of blood, and himself a new blood vampire, with no remorse, nor constraint to keep himself together.

He could feel himself becoming reckless before her and surprisingly, he did not care.

Aemond had listened to Daerlyssa’s idea to keep the two apart and clearly, it was not right, for either of them. They needed each other.

And Aemond had promised himself he would show that to her.

Pushing forward, Aemond presses his lips against hers harshly, his tongue aggressive and dry, as it swirled against her tongue, in hopes of finding a consistency of getting it wet, once again.

Daerlyssa could not find the words to speak, and even if she did, she could not speak either way, when Aemond did not give her the option to.

Instead, the tingle against her skin had only caused her to moan softly against him, her hand reaching for his wrist as she guides it down to her waist.

Pulling both hands in, Daerlyssa tiptoed towards him, her arms around his shoulders and both hands pushing the back of his neck, as she deepens their kiss.

Aemond had held her close, as his arms wrapped tightly around her, keeping her close to him, as they seemed to let no air between them, a gasp after every salivating kiss shared.

Dragging her saliva across his tongue, Aemond had kissed her above her lip, to the corner of her mouth, and down to her chin.

A sticky wet substance left for Daerlyssa to deal with, against her skin.

Twirling around, restlessly in circles, their lips touching every fibre of skin, the two lean towards the wall behind them, Aemond then pulling away.

Daerlyssa stood breathless, as they look into each other’s eyes.

A spark, one can not deny, was love, yet neither of them could bring themselves to admit such a thing. At least, not yet.

As Daerlyssa stood, catching her breath, her eyes followed Aemond’s movements, as he fell to his knees before her, his head levelled with her navel.

Despite the fabric of Daerlyssa’s dress distancing him from her skin beneath, Aemond had kissed her gently against her navel.

Plenty of kisses he left, his hands struggling to find something that he could grip onto.

Daerlyssa could feel his frustration, and with instinct, had placed one leg, above his shoulder.

Aemond looks up, his eyes asking for permission, and Daerlyssa’s smile giving acceptance to him.

His eye had travelled back down, to her ankle, that hung off his shoulder, as he leaned back, his lips slightly apart.

Leaning in, nose first, Aemond glided his face up, and along her leg, her scent having him shaken to his core.

Daerlyssa felt a shiver run down her back, as Aemond’s hot breath lingering against her inner thigh had become the cause to such feelings.

Helping himself, Aemond had lifted up her dress slightly, only to let his head rest under it, leaning towards the prized treasure between her legs.

Nibbling with his teeth, Aemond was quick to remove the fabric that covered her, revealing her wet clit.

Whilst Aemond was a man to take his time, he did not hold back his tongue, diving straight in and causing a startle in Daerlyssa.

Her eyes widened, her head ready to fall back, as he swirled his tongue deep inside her, and around, his nose buried in deep, just the same.

The sound of shaken gasps left her lips, as she felt herself falling onto him.

Worried she might suffocate him, Daerlyssa cleared her throat, as she held herself up, her hand in a fist as it rested against the table beside her.

Aemond could sense her stiffness, as she held herself up, and took matters into his own hands, as both his palms reached to her hips, pulling her back down, his nose sticking against her clit yet again.

With his hands holding into her hips, Aemond gestured her movements, as he had her ride against his face, back and fourth.

And whilst she had no control of what was happening, Daerlyssa began to lose control to her voice, as her moans gradually became louder, each time he kissed against her.

It was messy.

Hot.

Wet.

The Valyrian steel that hung around her neck, became cold, due to the increased temperature of her body, as her breath felt shortened.

Aemond felt his hunger becoming less and less, his starving heart slowly finding itself satisfied.

As her head arched back, Daerlyssa’s back had followed along in those steps, as she reached her free hand to the back of his head.

Aemond no longer needed to guide her, as she herself began to ride herself above his face.

And boy, did he love it.

Despite her softened, sinful melodic voice filling the room, the sound of Aemond’s light chuckle had rung through her ears, as it vibrated against her.

It excited him, to know just how much they both felt for each other.

To know that she was just as frustrated to not have him all these months, the same way that he was.

And whilst he regretted his actions, he promised himself to make up for it, tonight.

Daerlyssa’s stomach had tightened, as well as her fingers, that gripped onto Aemond’s hair, from above her dress, relief washing over her as Aemond let out a grunt, into her.

He bought his palm down to her leg that rested against her hip, rubbing against it softly, as she began to shake above him, with no control to stop herself.

Kissing against her inner thigh yet again, Aemond felt her hand that was placed behind his head, loosen in grip, as he kissed his way out, from under her dress.

Looking up, he finds Daerlyssa’s head held back, against the wall, as she looked up in despair, her breath hung heavy and confused.

He let out a soft smirk, and Daerlyssa’s eyes had caught it, as she looked back down towards him.

Despite his smirk, Aemond’s breath was just as heavy, as though it was him, who had experienced the pleasure he had performed on her.

With a dazed look in his eye, neither of them look away from one another, as Aemond slowly placed her leg back down, helping himself up, off his knees.

His hands gripping the bottom of her dress as he did.

Soon ripping it off her body, he threw it onto his bed, beside Aegon, who continued to sleep soundfully.

As Aemond reached out to unbutton his shirt, Daerlyssa had beat him to it, her fingers messed up, and trembled, yet she managed it off his body, before dealing with whatever piece of fabric was left clinging to his body.

It was not long before the two were naked, facing one another.

Daerlyssa had pushed him back, having him lay on his bed.

Despite Aegon laying not even inch away, the two seemed to be occupied in each other’s eyes, too much so, that they did not consider the possibility of Aegon’s presence.

Climbing above him, Aemond had pulled her down towards him, their naked bodies pressing against one another.

His hands reached for the clip that held her hair back, pulling it out and throwing it to the ground, leaving her kisses against her cheek before Daerlyssa had sat back up.

Inserting her fingers through her hair, Daerlyssa had her hair free from the entanglements, Aemond watching as her silver curls fell down to her waist.

Resting one palm against his chest, Daerlyssa had lifted herself up slightly, her free hand guiding his cock inside her and when she found it in, had sat back down.

Aemond laid back, his hands all around her, as Daerlyssa lifted herself up and down, repeatedly, and slowly, her fingers pulling onto his skin.

Looking up in adoration, Aemond brings his hands to her hips.

“Fuck-!” He grunted harshly, as her walls tightened around him, her pace fastening overtime.

As it did, Daerlyssa leaned forward, her hair now falling over her shoulder, the ends of her hair stroking against Aemond’s cheek.

His thumbs press against her as he helps her to ride his cock faster than it began, the sound of her thighs slapping against his echoing throughout his chamber.

“Just like that” he whispered, his head leaning back, as he did his best to compose himself of release.

And once he did, Aemond had sat up, his lips aiming straight for hers.

The two stop moving for a moment, his hand gently cupping her cheek, his fingers softly placing her hair behind her ear.

With their lips slightly lingering against one another, Aemond pulled away, Daerlyssa’s eyes fluttering open to find his gaze on her.

She wondered what was wrong, or perhaps she did something wrong, yet Aemond only wished to sit back for a moment, one palm leaning against the mattress, himself leaned back slightly.

His fingers, from his free hand, trailed along her back, as did her eyes to witness what he was doing.

He tugged against her hair slightly, having Daerlyssa look back at him, finding his devilish smirk yet again.

…

With her back arched, and herself facing in Aegon’s direction, Daerlyssa was now laid on all fours, her forearms, and knees holding her down, against the mattress of the bed.

It was no longer the sounds of their thighs that clapped against one another, but the sound of his balls, that slapped against her.

The two had let themselves loose, their moans now probably being heard throughout the corridor, but it did not occur for either of them to care.

As one hand rested against her hip, Aemond’s other hand had gripped against her hair, as he tugged onto it, pulling her head back.

“Aemond~” she cried out, pleasurably.”

“My Star” he whispered, his voice ragged by his heavy breaths, “my lucky lucky Star.”

Her voice followed along with a lot of muffled moans, as she bit her lip, to stop herself from screaming out her pleasure, “mmfh!~”

As Aemond found himself ready to release his load inside her, coming closer and closer, he stopped abruptly, holding Daerlyssa back, against him, to Aegon’s sudden movement.

The two fall silent, their breaths being the only noise heard, as they watch Aegon shuffle slightly, turning to face them.

And soon after, his little snores had come back to surface, having Daerlyssa and Aemond sigh out of relief.

With her back pressed against him, Daerlyssa turns her head back to face him, Aemond’s hands creeping up on hers, before holding both her hands behind her back.

“Aemond-?”

Before she could ask him any questions, Aemond resumed to pounding himself inside her, his pace fastened just as before.

Yet he kept her up, against him, as her hands stayed pinned back, held by one of Aemond’s hands.

The other holding her from the bottom of her jaw, as he had her head lifted up, facing her drunken husband.

“I love you” Aemond’s whispered words echoed through her, her eyes widened, as he had buried his face into her neck, himself hyperventilating as he came inside her.

…

Pulling away, tired and sweaty, Aemond looked towards Daerlyssa, his eyes hooded as he stared right at her.

He knew the confession he made.

He knew he meant it, even if it meant that he had confessed himself before her.

But it was honest. It was truthful.

“I love you, Daerlyssa” Aemond whispered, once again.

He did not wish for her to return the answer.

No. Not until she was ready to love him back the same way.

But he needed to repeat it, in order for her to be assured that his words were true.

With a light chuckle, Daerlyssa held herself against him, pulling him for a longer, final kiss.

Pulling away, the two lean their heads against one another, eyes closed, and the soft fibres of their naked, hot, sweaty skin pressed against one another.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

[abaker74]

Super love to the hockey one cause im a hockey girly. But really liked the football one too

Endless love

Welcome to the Masterlist for the collection of “Endless love” featuring Steady and Pengu.

Shout out to @elixirfromthestars, without your challenge this couple would have never been written, plus without all your love and encouragement and ideas there wouldn’t have been more. So thank you so much, appreciate it. I love you, Mel!❤️❤️

The collection has two parts. One with the original Story “Summer of love” where Bucky is a college football captian, and the other with him as a college ice hockey captain. Though, the relationship is always based on the one in “Summer of love”. Dividers made by me.

If you have questions or ideas, feel free to ask.

College! FootballCaptain! Bucky Barnes x College! Fem!Reader

— Summer of love [angst, fluff | 11.1k Words]

College! IceHockeyCaptain! Bucky Barnes x College! Fem!Reader

— Shattering glass [fluff | 2.2k]

— Be my Valentine

[abaker74]

The L Word

Summary: You and Bucky have an agreement, but you can’t help but to push his buttons.

Word Count: 2297

A/N: Smutttt, all of it, Bucky is dominant and jealous. 

lmaooo it's been 5 years and i've discovered the original link is broke, so here's a reupload.

You stood at the bar, heels completely aching at the pumps stuck to your feet. You sipped your rum and coke, turning back to Sam who stood with you at the bar. He looked insanely handsome, wearing a blue suit instead of a traditional black, and opted out of a tie.

“Wanna dance?” He grinned mischievously, offering you his hand. You shrugged, giggling in response and throwing your drink back before taking his hand and getting on the floor. The avengers were stuck at yet another one of Tony Stark’s fancy parties, too fancy for your liking. Everyone was rich and snobby, something you could never manage to be even if you wanted to. You shook your head at the people circled around Tony like sharks, presumably laughing at a joke they didn’t quite get.

Sam pulled you to him, his hand taking your waist and the other holding your hand up as your two swayed slowly back and forth.

Your eyes scanned the room for Bucky, finally landing on him standing in the corner, suit jacket off, his hand clutching his drink. His own orbs were already on you, burning into you as you swayed with Sam slowly. He brought his drink to his lips, his eyes never leaving your body as Sam picked up the tempo slightly, and slid his hand to the small of your back. Bucky set his drink down briefly to roll up the sleeves of his white shirt, picking his drinking back up again. You leaned up to Sam, your breath fanning over his neck, you were dangerously close, smirking as you continued to watch Bucky. He clutched his drink so hard it looked like it was one squeeze away from shattering. You smirked at that possibility, parting your mouth and sliding your tongue out slightly as if you were going to lick Sams neck.

Sam jumped to the sound of shattered glass, turning around to find out where it came from. Bucky stood there, visibly fuming at you before he bent down to clean up the mess. Sam turned back to you, giving you a quizzical look, you shrugging in response at an attempt to brush him off. 

“You look amazing by the way.” Your back stiffened briefly at his comment, worried you’d taken flirting with Sam slightly too far. He chuckled above you, seeming to have heard your thoughts. “Don’t worry, I know you’re after Barnes.” He murmured into your ear. You lifted your head to look at him. “I’m not going to tell anyone,” He replied, reading the concern and anxiety on your face, “But you’re trying to put on a show, right? Make him jealous?” You gulped, barely swaying with him anymore, debating if you should answer or not. “I’m just saying, I could help with the show.” His mouth crooked up into a smile. You thought for a minute, then shrugged, I mean you had come this far, why not have help?

He dipped you then, one of your legs coming out of the slip of your dress as Sam ran his hands up to your calf, pulling your leg almost around his waist. You wanted to giggle, feeling almost giddy at the feeling of putting on a show, but resisted. Sams mouth ghosted over your neck and collar bones, pulling you up slow to twirl you.

“So has anything happened between the two of you?” He whispered into your ear. So he didn’t know anything. You felt yourself relax, but refused to answer. “I see how it is.” He pulled you against him, chest to chest. “Laugh with me, like I’m funny.” He spoke urgently in your ear suddenly.

“What?”

“You want him jealous or not?” He hissed. You threw your head back like you had just heard the funniest thing, a high pitched laugh escaping you, Sam chuckling beside you you. Once the laughs had settled more he gently cupped your cheek, bringing your face close to him. For a brief second, you almost panicked, not wanting to go that far as to actually kiss Sam, but then he stopped, just inches from your lips.

“Here comes your boy now.” He breathed.

“Mind if I cut in?” Bucky spoke gruffly behind me.

“I don’t know, James,” Sam toyed, “Her and I were having a lovely conversation.” He smirked.

“Well it’s done now.” Bucky growled, gripping your elbow and gruffly pulling you to him, Sam raising an eyebrow at you. You bit your lip, clearly loving Buckys reaction and Sam rolled his eyes in response, turning to head to the bar.

Bucky pulled you to face him, taking your waist and hand, starting a slow steady paced as you danced.

“Something wrong, dear?” You couldn’t resist, his mouth was set into such a hard line you thought he might crack, jaw clearly clenched.

“Why were you all over Sam like that?” He gritted out.

“What’s it matter?” You scoffed. Bucky had made it abundantly clear that though the two of you were sleeping together, not only was no one in the compound to know about it, he didn’t want it to go any further than just sex. No commitments, no feelings, and yes, no strings attached. Whether you agreed to that, or wanted it was out of the question. If Bucky didn’t want anything more than that, what good is the use of you trying to change it, only to get rejected? At least you got to be around him, even if it was just for sex. Sometimes if you got lucky he’d wind up staying the night, exhaustion encompassing him. But he’d always be gone when you woke in the morning, no matter what.

His eyes casted over, unwilling to give you an answer. He dropped his hand, and instead grabbed you by the elbow yet again and steered both of you out of the party without a second glance.

“Where exactly are we going?” You huffed, turning down a hallway. You both made another left, you recognized this hallway as his. Your stomach flopped, almost not wanting to know what would happen behind the closed door of his bedroom. He stopped in front of the door, grabbing the handle and sending you a glare that shook you to your very core, before opening the door. You knew you were in trouble. 

As soon as the door closed, he was on you, your back pushed up against the door, either of his hands on the side of your face. You have no where to go.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve been doing to me all night?” He purred, his face a mere inch from yours, breath fanning over your cheeks, “What this has been doing to me?” He snarled, fisting a handful of your dress. You let out a tiny squeak as he hiked your dress up further, grabbing your thighs and yanking you up to lock your legs around him, his hands gripping your ass for support. You felt his arousal already, his erection pressing directly against your heated core.

“I already had to jerk off this morning, after watching you in the pool, purposefully wearing a bathing suit two sizes too small.” He panted, his mouth traveled to your ear, now starting to rock his hips against you. You stifled a moan, trying to gain your composure.

“Nearly had to run out of the fucking party twice, thinking about bending you over the bar in this pathetic excuses for a dress.” He promptly shoved himself into you harder as the word dress slithered through his lips. You slammed your head back against the door, a cry escaping your throat, your arms resting on the bulge of his biceps. He groaned in response to your mewls, his hips grinding against you faster, you could feel his cock rubbing directly against the little bundle of nerves, your walls almost begging for something to be in you. You yanked his shirt out of his pants, tugging it over his head so you could marvel at his bare chest and metal arm, his lips parted slightly as he watched you run your hands down his chest and shoulders.

Bucky slid a metal hand between the two of you, the other still tight on your ass as he started to rub you through your panties, a whimper escaping your lips. You already wanted to cum, the burning desire low in your belly. He slid his cold metal fingers underneath, feeling your slick wet folds. You sucked a breath in at the contrast between your hot skin and the cool metal. You brought your lips to his shoulder, sucking a purple bruise in hopes to stifle your moans.

“God look at you,” He breathed, running the back of his two fingers up and down your sex, lingering over your clit barely before he moved back down to spread your juices around. “You’re so fucking wet.” He groaned, sticking a metal digit in you slowly, your light sucks turning into an aggressive bite on his shoulder as you wrapped your arms around him, hands traveling up into his hair and gripping it as if it were your life line. He worked his finger in and out of you slowly, and you yanked on his hair in response to the sudden penetration, though it felt absolutely delicious, your body already acting out in a plea for more. Air was coming to you in sharp inhales now, you knew your release would be quick as he set you on the edge now, not supplying enough stimulation to let you cum.

“Do you want to cum?” He whispered into your ear, your teeth coming off his shoulder. You settled your head back against the door again, both hands still in his hair. You could feel your eyes hooded over as you thought about Bucky inside you, fucking you relentlessly, and you being able to scream out as waves of pleasure rippled through you. “Answer me, baby.” He growled softly, you opened your eyes, not even realizing you had closed them. A sheen layer of sweat beaded on his forehead, his pupils blown on with lust as his eyes rested on your face, traveling to your mouth.

“Yes.” You whispered. You wanted to say more, you wanted to tease him, but that was all you could manage. The heat was growing inside you so intensely, you craved a release, especially from him.

“I don’t know, have you deserved to cum after the shit you pulled earlier?” He snarled, shoving another metal finger inside you and you cried out, biting your lip. His fingers crooked inside you, finally warmed up to your temperature, rubbing your gspot teasingly. You breaths were pants now, nearly gasping for air.

“Please.” You begged. You didn’t care how you looked anymore, and you knew you looked like a weak, pathetic mess to him, but you stopped caring. You just need him to fuck you at this point.

“So fucking greedy, why am I not surprised that you’d beg this early?” He leaned in closer to tickle your neck with his lips, peppering soft kisses up and down before he reached your ear again. Your eyes snapped shut, trying to get your bearings together as his tongue flicked your lobe, then gently bit it. His lips traveled back down to your neck, biting it slowly and a low moan escaped you. You felt him chuckle against your skin.

Your hands traveled from his hair, going directly for his pants as you undid the belt buckle, ripping his pants open and shoving your hand inside to wrap around his large member. Bucky stilled against you, you pumped him in your fist, a mixture of precum and sweat already on his cock.

“Doll,” He growled, clearly pissed you had taken some control of the situation, but you knew as soon as you started touching him he couldn’t resist, and he’d need to fuck you just as badly as you needed him. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“I want you.” Your voice small, he groaned into your neck, biting it harshly this time making you gasp.

He brought his other hand to rip your panties, quickly pulling his pants and boxers down farther so his erection could happily spring free. You licked your hand, then went back to pumping him lazily in your hand, leaning in to moan his name softly in his ear, driving him fucking inside. You felt his cock twitch in your hand as his name left your mouth, his hands gripping your hips so hard you’re sure he’d manage to leave bruises.

“Sergeant.” You whispered, a shit eating grin on your face that he couldnt see. He groaned, his chest rumbling, as he finally kissed you so hard he shoved your whole upper body up against the door, his hand replacing yours on his cock and lining himself up briefly before he slammed into you. You had no time to adjust as he set a brutal pace, high pitched cry leaving your throat as he fucked you harder and harder with every thrust, somehow managing to not break the door.

“Fuck.” He grunted as he felt you clamp down around him, your release building rapidly and he knew it, his thrusts getting sloppier as he slid a hand between the two of you, rubbing your sensitive clit. You gripped his shoulders, your nails tearing into him at the sudden contact.

“Cum for me.” Bucky breathed, and that was all it took to send you over the edge, your whole body clenching as your orgasm riddled through you. Bucky’s name echoing through his room in a scream as his pace didn’t falter in the slightest, almost too much to bear.

Bucky grunted, you knew he was close. You slid your hand to grip his bulging bicep, digging your nails in, and let the other hand fall back in his hair, giving it a hard tug. He cried out, his pelvis slapping against you harder, your name falling off his lips before he finally stilled inside you. You panted, covered in sweat. He finally looked up at you, you brushed the hair and sweat from his face, leaning in to press your lips to his in a tender kiss.

“I love you.” You whispered without thinking, pulling away to adore his face. His expression changed, and you realized what you had just let escape your thoughts. Your legs fell from around him as he took a step back from you, barely able to hold yourself up. His eyes never left you as you stood there in front of him with your mouth agape, you wanted to say something, you wanted to assure him you didn’t mean it, but nothing came from you. His face was almost pained, like you had slapped him or betrayed him. You closed your eyes, letting out a shaky breath.

[abaker74]

Ima need daemon to stop acting like he didn't do the same thing 😑

“We were always meant to burn together.” 2

Summary: cant think of one without spoiling everything 🥲

Includes/warnings: hightower!reader, aegons twin. Y/N has been used on multiple occasions. There is an age gap in this (whatever daemons canon age is). Some high valyrian with translations, i am not fluent so ignore if it sucks.

🪐notes: its been a while since i’ve seen season 1 so please ignore any timeline mistakes. Daemyra does not exist in this. :)

Biggest thank you to my lovely hannah ( @just-some-random-blogger ) for beta-reading this <33

« “I am not going back to Oldtown with you, uncle.” »

« “Then where will you go?” »

« “i’ll be with rhaenyra.” »

Dragonstone ― Near the beaches...

Less than six months later, after the incident at Driftmark, a new act would rattle the court.

As per the ancient customs of House Targaryen, Daemon and his niece, you, had arranged a ceremony on the beaches of Dragonstone to perform a Valyrian rite, which was attended by Rhaenyra, her children, Jace, Luke, Joffrey, and Daemon’s children, Baela, and Rhaena, along with Rhaenyra's maester, Gerardys. 

The wedding ceremony was to be solemnized by a High Priest, who worshipped the Old Gods of Valyria, and was brought in by both Targaryen royals. However, due to the tragic event of the Doom that destroyed the Valyrian Freehold and their civilization, very little information or records remained about the long-forgotten religion, except that the Targaryen dragons were named after gods from the ancient pantheon worshipped throughout Old Valyria's vast empire. 

Their faith was practiced for thousands of years before being greatly diminished. It was a momentous occasion for the family, steeped in tradition and history, as they honored their heritage and celebrated the union of two of its members.

You, dressed in the traditional garments, looked back at everyone. This marriage was performed suddenly without the knowledge of your father, mother or siblings. They were not in attendance— a deep shame. You had hoped that they would be there to support you. 

You never wanted to be wed, you linked it with childbirth and after the late queen Aemma, and Daemon’s late wife, Laena; it scared you to no end. Your thoughts drift back to the day you and Daemon arrived at Dragonstone, and he had made the proposal. 

« “If you don't want Alicent to have any control over you anymore, you must wed me. A woman’s place is beside her husband. She couldn’t deny that.” »

« “I do not wish to be wed, Daemon— to sit around as a broodmare, my only purpose to produce heirs until I end like...” »

« " I know you are frightened, but I won't let anything happen to you.” »

Proceeding with the wedding, you and Daemon cut your hands and lips with dragonglass, mixed your blood in a ceremonial chalice, and marked Valyrian glyphs in blood on your foreheads.

"Hen lantoti ānogar. Va sȳndroti vāedroma.” Blood of two. Joined as one. the High Priest prayed in High Valyrian. "Mēro perzot gīhoti. Elēdroma iārza sīr. Izulī ampā perzī. Prūmī lanti sēteksi. Hen jenȳ māzīlarion. Qēlossa ozūndesi. Sȳndroro ōñō jēdo. Rȳ kīvia mazvestraksi.” Ghostly flame. And song of shadows. Two hearts as embers. Forged in fourteen fires. A future promised in glass. The stars stand witness. The vow spoken through time. Of darkness and light.

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Red Keep ― Maegor's Holdfast...

"A perversion of justice," Larys commented. "The young Prince Aemond... defiled. An outrage."

"Indeed," Alicent replied. Since her father took control of her influence, the instructions were left relatively straightforward. Her position as Queen Consort was in dire jeopardy.

"If it's an eye you want to balance the scales, I am your servant."

"Don't bother. Even if Rhaenyra's bastards are mere pushovers, she and daemon are another matter entirely. So even if I wanted to, such actions would only bring further unnecessary trouble. But your devotion has not gone unnoticed."

"These are dangerous times."

"The day will doubtless come when House Hightower will require such a friend. With not only skill but discretion as well."

"I shall await your call, my queen. However..." Larys passed on a note. "It's come to my attention that a certain young princess has done the unthinkable, Your Grace."

Alicent raised a curious eyebrow and examined the note. Her eyes traced the handwriting intricately. When she finally realized what Larys's spies had uncovered, the queen couldn't help but gulp. "My sweet girl.." She turned to Larys. "Thank you for letting me know."

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Dragonstone

After the wedding, there was no bedding ceremony. As much as daemon had wanted to bed you, he knew it was not something you wanted yet, still far to scared of your duties as wife. Only you two would know that secret, to anyone else you had consummated.

You had avoided daemon after that night, trying your hardest to not speak to him, or to avoid his presence altogether. Having never been close with him beforehand, you didn’t know what to talk to him about. If you weren’t being a wife, what else should you be doing? You did not know.

The small folk and the fishermen looked up in confusion as you passed them, it wasnt a usual occurrence that a Targaryen princess such as yourself, walked along the dusty beach of dragonstone, in a fancy dress no less. You had wanted to clear your mind, you told yourself. But subconsciously, it might have had something to do with the sightings of a dragon near the beach the past few days.

Daemon had assigned a personal guard to you, to keep you safe. If the guard reported back to him on your doings, you did not know. But if he did, it wasn’t obvious. “Princess, maybe we should turn back.” Ser Steffon spoke, gulping as he hears the screams of terror as a dragon is sighted flying towards the beach.

“If you want to return, you are welcome to do so Ser. I am staying.” Claiming a dragon wasnt the first thing that crossed your mind, you simply wanted to stay at the beach. And unlike the small folk, you were not terrified of dragons. But yet as the dragon flew over you, and the thought of claiming it did cross your mind, a small tingle of terror did run over your spine before you shook it off. You are a targaryen, this is your birthright. You tell yourself. Don’t be scared of what is owed to you.

You speed up to the flat lands where you saw the dragon land. You hadn’t seen what dragon it was, you had only hoped it was seasmoke, or any other dragon that wasn’t as scary, in your mind, as the wild ones.

After Aemond claimed vhagar, you were left the only Targaryen without a mount. It broke your heart when your dragon didn’t hatch in OldTown. Now that you had this opportunity in front of you, you weren’t gonna let it go to waste.

Ser Steffon, however scared, did not turn away, and instead followed you. Ofcourse his pleadings to turn back never stopped, and neither did his murmurs: “Prince Daemon is going to kill me.”

Now that you have the dragon in your full sight, you can finally see which one it is. You audibly gulp. “grey ghost.”, you whisper to yourself. It just had to be a wild dragon didn’t it?

You don’t let it deter you, slowly stepping closer. you were never taught High Valyrian in OldTown, you had only started learning with Rhaenyra when you first came to dragonstone. You hadn’t progressed far, so you tried your hardest to remember dragon commands. Lykirī, dohaerās, sōvēs, you recited over and over in your head as you stopped in front of Grey Ghost. He is a beautiful pale grey-white dragon, and if the stories were true, he blended in beautifully with the clouds.

It made sense that he was near the beach these past few days, according to the stories you had heard, Grey Ghost preferred fish.

“Beautiful”, you mumble to yourself, you were mesmerised.

“Princess! Please get away from that beast!”

You clench your jaw, “Dragons are not beasts, Ser Steffon, they are beautiful creatures. If you do not wish to be here, you are free to leave!” You yell at him over the wind.

You take small steps towards Grey Ghost, and he growls at you. “Lykirī, Grey Ghost, Dohaerās!”

You chant those two words over and over towards him, your hand held out as you step closer to his head. This is it, you think, this is the part where i get burned alive.

Eventually you step so close, your hand lands on his snout. “Kostilus” you whisper, please.

Grey Ghost turns his head away. You move towards the length of his body, praying to the seven you won’t get burned, or eaten.

You hear Ser Steffon running away, probably to fetch Daemon, or other guards. You dont know why, if this is when Grey Ghost decides to kill you, nobody would be able to stop it.

You slowly climb up, somewhat clumsily seeing as Grey Ghost has no saddle for you to climb up on, and you’re wearing a dress instead of the usual riding wear.

As you manoeuvre yourself on top, you settle down and let out a sigh of relief, It doesnt last long because you’re forced to lean forward and grab onto something, anything, as grey ghost moves. “Lykirī, Grey Ghost, sōvēs.”

With that, Grey Ghost takes off. Once in the sky, its hard for you to not panic. Not only is Grey Ghost very fast and very excited, you are also flying at a great height without a saddle, or reigns to hold onto.

You hear a loud roar and suddenly a red dragon flies beside you, caraxes. A smile blossoms onto your face as you follow the length of the blood wyrms body til your eyes land on your husband.

Daemon smiles at you, as he leans back in his saddle and spreads his arm wide. You’d do the same, but you are nowhere near as skilled at riding a dragon as he is.

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Dragonstone —— DragonMont

Your feet touch the ground as you dismount Grey Ghost. You spent an hour in the sky, flying around with Daemon, before he led you to the dragonmont.

In the sky it was fun, but you knew that now you’re on the ground, you were in for a scolding. And as you approach Daemon, the stern look on his face proves you right.

He meets you halfway, stands impossibly close to you, puts his hand on your waist to lock you in and places his head right beside yours. “Do you know how reckless and dangerous that was?”

You sigh, but dont say anything to excuse yourself, because nothing will excuse it.

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you happy now? Did you get what you so desperately needed? you were even willing to risk your own life for it.”

You say nothing, you dont move and you dont speak, you only avert your eyes downwards. Daemon notices and pulls back slightly. He puts his fingers under your chin and forces you to make eye contact with him again. He leans slightly forward, and presses his forehead against yours for nothing more of a nanosecond before pulling away again and walking off, leaving you standing there.

Part 3, anyone?

explore post, masterlist

please comment & reblog if you enjoyed. <3

© mrscarpenter, 2025

[abaker74]

Blood of My Blood

Summary: An argument ends with the death of a lord and a husband enraged. Characters: Daemon Targaryen x Female!Reader!Hightower. Ormund Hightower Word Count: 1,291 Chapter Warnings: Not Edited. Mention of Violence and Death. Hints of Misogyny and Patriarchy (ew!).

Masterlist | Series Masterlist

“Stupid child.”

You closed your eyes and ignored the words that escaped your Uncle’s lips. It wasn’t your error but of Gwayne’s but you didn’t want him to deal with your Uncle Ormund’s wrath, you could take it better than him, knowing you will be leaving after all was said and done–unlike him.

“The reports you’ve provided weren’t sufficient enough.” You said looking straight at him daring him to say otherwise. “Or do you want me to elaborate how this is more your fault than it is mine?”

You clenched your hands together when he threw the parchment right onto your face. Your Uncle hated to be undermined and you loved to get under his skin whatever means necessary. He was no better than your father, the only thing he had that you father didn’t was being the eldest son–nothing more, nothing less. As cruel and neglectful as your father was, he knew how to live and how to work, something Ormund did not inherit for his own use.

“Are we done, Uncle?”

“You are to address me as your Lord. Or have you forgotten your place already?”

“As far as I remember, I do not have a place here, you’ve made a point to constantly state as such, My Lord.”

“What place should a woman like you have under my ward? Constantly disrespecting me and my rules.”

“I am the wife of a Prince, by marriage and by reputation, I am now of a higher standing and position compared to you, Uncle.”

You refused to acknowledge your marriage and the power and reputation of your new husband, but at this moment of time, you had no other choice.

“Is that what you father made you believe?” He cackled, earning a shiver down your spine. “You and Alicent are nothing more than whore for the sake of the family name. If it means selling you to the Targaryens for the sake of power.”

At the mention of your sister, you snapped. Your left hand was burning, but the satisfying echo of your hand slapping your uncle’s cheek was worth it. What came next made it even more so when he slapped you right back before his hand gripped onto your hair.

Before the gasp could escape your lips, his other hand found its way around your neck, cutting air from your lungs and cutting what little chance of help you could muster in your state.

“Pathetic that you think you could even touch me, you wretched woman!” He spat. “You and your sister think you are above me and my reign? But you are nothing more than meat offered to dragons, your sister will most likely die the same death as the King’s first wife and you will have the same fate as your husband’s first wife!”

“I can have your tongue cut for your words against my sister and our husbands.” You were barely able to threaten, but it was enough to earn a cackle from the man.

Cruel, this was what you’ve always hated about being in Oldtown. Of the abuse that your father will never know and you had forced your brother never to admit to anyone. You were simply called the Wretched Hightower for you constantly going against the grain and it constantly ended with you being punished for it, accepting even the punishment that was meant for your brother and sister if it meant protecting them from the harsh treatment you were constantly enduring.

“I want to see you try, you whore.”

You could feel the black spots lingering in your sight before it was replaced with red instead. Splatters of blood that sprayed onto the air and eventually painted your face–before you met with the half of your Uncle’s head decapitated.

The hands holding you finally loosen and you were met with the sight of your husband, with sheer fury in his eyes as he held onto his sword. His lilac eyes looked down at the now fallen Lord Hightower before turning his gaze to you.

“Are you alright?”

You did not know what possessed you in this moment, but the tears finally fell. For the first time, someone had defended you against your Uncle. You found yourself wrapped gently in your husband’s arms as he soothed you in your sobs.

“Let’s go home.” He whispered gently pulling you away from him, his bent forwards to look right at you, his hands wiping away the blood that lingered on your face.

Even with the blood that completely painted his face, you saw him in a different light. It scared you that someone like him would act so gentle with you after committing murder–it was his duty to protect you it seems, whatever means necessary.

Before you could nod, the scream from one of the servants had you turn, but was pulled right back into the arms of Daemon, as his sword was lifted pointed threateningly towards the shaken servant.

“Your Lord has spoke ill of the King and the Queen and I have refused to keep him alive after he raised his hand at my wife.” Daemon spoke boldly. “Now have this cleaned up.” He barked as the servant immediately left leaving the two of you alone once again.

“Let’s go back.” You whispered finally finding your voice finally.

“Let’s pack your things and have you cleaned up.” He smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. “We don’t want to have Caraxes reject you for smelling like that cunt of a Hightower.”

“Hey!” You protested offended now.

“You are now under the house of Targaryen, and I will be damned if I allow you to ever use the Hightower name ever again.”

~

“Fuck.” You winced, licking your lips and feeling the sting on your busted lips.

“It will heal.” Daemon spoke from behind you.

For everything that had happened, the last thing you would have ever expected to do in your lifetime was riding an actual dragon with your husband. The same husband that just hours ago sliced off half of your own Uncle’s head as revenge for raising his hand at you.

Now you were both heading back to the Red Keep. But after everything that has happened and the repercussions that you were certain you would have to face, you would rather just ran away all over again–even if it meant jumping a thousand feet off the dragon that somehow earned a fixation over you since your husband insisted on your patting on the monster’s nose.

“You will say nothing, do nothing when you are questioned of your Uncle’s demise. I will ensure your honor and your innocence in the matter.” He spoke as if reading  your mind.

“Why would you do that?” You couldn’t help but question him turning to look back at him and you were met with the familiar smirk on his lips.

“Because you are my wife and because it is my sole mission to be as much of a nuisance to your father as humanly possible.”

At the mention of your father, you didn’t know what possessed you but you found yourself laughing at the hilarity of what you would return to. The shock and the fury that was certain your father would be in after your husband, the man he loathes the most, had killed his brother, who just so happens to be Lord of Oldtown–a real power vacuum now with Ormund Hightower not having a viable heir to replace him with no living heirs to replace him.

“I’m glad you found amusement in all of this.”

You didn’t but after what had happened, it was the only coping you could do for every single thing that was going wrong in your life and your family.

[abaker74]

Cat said.. umm hold my poodle.

Aim for the Sky Part 36 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley needed a day off with his wife, but you needed it more. Taking care of his family would come first from now on, and he had no problem proving that to you. As your plan begins to take shape, one of your allies doubles down.

Warnings: Angst, adult language, body image, DILF Roo, pregnancy, oral smut, lactation kink

Length: 4400 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Aim for the Sky masterlist. This was written to accompany my series Is It Working For You? along with a bunch of my one-shots and other series, but it can be read on its own! Check my masterlist for the reading order.

Cat gave you an earful over the phone, and you let her. As soon as you told her you wanted to move up the unveiling of the project she'd been leading for months, she panicked.

"I have it scheduled for December," she snapped. "Six weeks from now. It's not perfect yet, and you know how much I like perfection."

When you said, "It doesn't need to be perfect, it just needs to work," you heard a muffled scream.

"I'm going to break out in hives. I need to lie down," she hissed. "You're talking about something that affects the entire F/A-18 fleet."

You rolled your eyes. "I'm not talking about the whole Super Hornet fleet yet. I'm talking about testing on a handful of aircrafts. Or maybe just one to start..."

When you went silent, Indigo's eyes danced through your mind along with her pompous voice and irritating strut. 

"Do you have any idea how long I'll have to stay at work? I'll be here overnight finishing this. Overnight. Do you hear me?" Cat asked.

"I'll owe you big time," you replied. "I'll babysit Jer a hundred times. A thousand times."

"I absolutely refuse to mention this to Bickel," Cat whispered, reminding you she was at work while you were in your living room. "You can talk to him about it yourself, but I will not. Because I value my relationship with my commanding officer."

"I'll take care of Bickel. He loves it when we're ahead of schedule," you replied, biting your lip as you realized you would very much need his permission to push your plan forward. And you weren't sure you could get it.

"Why do you want this so much? And are you coming back to work today? What's going on?"

You took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Listen, I'll be there tomorrow, okay? And I'll fill you in then. Just...give me until tomorrow. Please, keep working on your code."

Cat groaned so loudly, you had to pull your phone away from your ear. "Fine." Then the call ended, and you ran for your bedroom with your hand holding your belly.

Bradley was already sound asleep, the dark circle under his eye prominent even as his face was half buried in his pillow. His thick arm was flung across the spot where your body belonged, and you could see his fingers twitching along the bedding like he was searching for you. 

Your heart clenched, and you slipped quietly under the covers next to him. "There you are," he grunted, opening one eye as he pulled you closer. "Did you talk to Cat?"

"Yes," you whispered, letting him pull you close so his chest was pressed snug against your back. His warm hand settled on your belly, and his even breathing filled your ear.

"Baby Girl, I can't stay awake," he murmured, kissing the back of your neck. "I need a little nap, then I'll get up with Rose when she cries," he promised.

"I can get up. I'm not that sleepy," you told him, melting in his arms as his fingers circled your belly button. 

"I love you," he rasped, kissing your ear before his soft snores filled the space. 

Your eyes blinked slowly before closing, and you realized you were exhausted, too. The adrenaline that had filled you when you were in Bradley's office was drained now. Your belly was full from lunch, and Bradley was so warm. Even the baby had settled into a gentle squirming pattern like she knew you needed a break.

Sleep took over. You never heard a sound until you jolted awake alone in the dark bedroom with your breasts aching. You needed to feed Rose for some relief, because it had been hours since she'd eaten, so you slipped out of bed. 

Bradley had her tucked in his arm, reading a story about a goose on the couch while Rose poked his mustache. Every other word was punctuated with his laughter, and Rose erupted into giggles.

"How am I supposed to finish the story when you keep distracting me? Now we'll never know if the silly goose finds his friends, and that's your fault, Nugget."

Rose giggled more, and Bradley tossed the book aside to give her kisses while you watched from the end of the hallway. He was the most perfect father, and you should have never doubted him. You wanted to apologize a million more times, but when his eyes met yours, you simply said, "I love you, Roo."

He was on his feet, Rose held against his chest, and then he was smothering you in kisses, too. You couldn't stop laughing as his rough mustache scratched your cheeks while he held you in place with one big hand on your butt.

When he finally stopped, he took you by the hand and said, "Wait until you see this. You're not going to believe it."

"What?" you asked, but he was already setting Rose down on her play mat. As soon as she was on her belly, she popped up to her knees, crawled two feet, and collapsed back onto her belly. "She's crawling!"

"She's crawling!" Bradley shouted. "I took a video of the first time, so you didn't miss it. This was only the second time, I swear. Unless she's been crawling around in her crib."

"She probably has been," you cooed, easing yourself down onto the floor next to her. She promptly started crying hysterically. "She associates you with fun. I think she only associates me with food," you said, pulling your shirt over your head.

"That's not true," Bradley insisted, staring openly at your breasts which were starting to leak. "You're so much more than a perfect rack."

With an eye roll you said, "I guess I should start thinking about what to make for our dinner while she eats." 

Rose latched on while Bradley kissed the top of your head. "I already took care of it."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I reprised one of your mom's crockpot meals. Chicken soup."

You blinked up at him as he stood. "How? We don't have any groceries. I haven't felt like going shopping."

"Rosie and I took care of it. You needed to sleep, so we went to Costco. Did you know they give you twice the number of free samples if you take the cutest baby in the world?"

"Did you wear her in her carrier on your chest?" you asked as he went into the kitchen.

"Yep."

"That'll do it. Makes you look irresistible." Bradley blushed as he took the lid off the soup, and then the smell of dinner hit your nose. "Oh my god, I'm starving."

He started shifting things around on the counter. "I'll bring you a bowl, and it should be cool enough to eat by the time Rose is done."

You watched him work as your daughter got groggy in your arms. Bradley carried two bowls into the living room along with crackers and lemonade. He had dinner set up for both of you by the time Rose's eyes started to close, and that's when you realized just how late it was.

"I think she's ready for bed," you whispered, handing her to Bradley so you could stand.

"Go eat. I'll burp her and change her diaper," he promised, nodding toward the food. 

As soon as his big hand circled her back, you heard her burp. It always took you twice as long. This was also the first night in weeks Bradley was home at this early, and you felt tears prickle your eyes as he walked around singing to Rose about the silly goose and his friends before vanishing into the nursery. It didn't take him long to return empty handed, and when he did, you were crying on the couch.

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

Bradley missed this so much. He'd only been home for a handful of nights to get Rose ready for bed recently. Right now he was enjoying her fuzzy hair against his lips as he gently set her down on her changing table. He grabbed a fresh diaper and clean pajamas covered in airplanes while she yawned. 

"Are you too tired to finish the story?" he whispered. "You're going to leave me on a silly goose cliffhanger?"

He swore she nodded. She probably did, she was so fucking smart. She could roll over and crawl, and soon she'd be talking and walking around. 

"Okay," he murmured. "We can finish the book tomorrow."

He flicked on the lullaby machine even though she was already falling asleep in her crib and went in search of his wife and his dinner. But he found you sitting on the couch with tears on your cheeks.

He dropped to his knees in front of you. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," you whispered, shaking your head. "I'm just happy you're home tonight."

Bradley's face fell as you wiped at your tears, guilt filling his body. "I'm so sorry I fucked up so much," he replied, reaching for your hands. "I just wanted to be on top of everything at work, but I should have been here with you."

"It's okay," you sobbed.

"No. It's not. None of this is fair to you, and I'm not even talking about Indigo right now. You need me helping more at home, and I haven't been. I took this new position so I could be here more and be deployed less, but I fucked it up. I'm thinking about asking Mav to pull me."

"No," you gasped, wiggling off the couch and onto his lap. "You can't, Bradley. You're such a good teacher."

He buried his face in your neck and inhaled as he wrapped his arms around you. "I'm a joke. Nobody's taking me seriously. I have a student who convinced herself she could take advantage of me."

You jerked his chin up so he was looking at you. "That's not even true. She admitted she pulled the same shit in the past, and of course she wanted you, too. You're so sexy. But that's her fucking problem at the end of the day, not yours. And I won't let her make it ours."

Bradley closed his eyes as you kissed his nose and his cheeks. "I just want you to be happy," he whispered. "I'll do whatever I can to make my family happy."

When you said, "You already reported her, right?" he nodded. "That makes me happy. And if you come home on time more often, that will make me happy, too."

"What about a vacation?" he asked softly, letting his hand rest on your belly. "Just the four of us? We could go away for our anniversary. Today was so nice, I think we need some more time off together."

You hummed and nodded. "Let me make sure I don't piss Bickel off tomorrow before I agree to that. I don't want to request time off with my tail between my legs."

Bradley raised one eyebrow. "I'm scared to know what you need to talk about that could make him upset."

"The less you know, the better."

Your words didn't calm his nerves, but your kisses did. So did the soup which was the perfect temperature to eat. You even watched an episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey with him before he started cleaning up.

"I can do that," you told him. "I slept all afternoon."

He turned you toward the bedroom and swatted at your butt. "You and Nugget number two were tired. Go relax in bed and start looking at the Halloween costumes I saved in my Amazon cart for Rose." 

Bradley handed you his phone and sent you on your way. He let Tramp outside and loaded the dishwasher before wiping down the counter and packing up the rest of the dinner. When he finally walked into the bedroom, you were topless and giggling.

"We have to get her this costume!" you insisted, holding up his phone, showing him the one that was actually his top choice as well.

"That was my favorite," he grunted, watching your tits bounce as you sat up.

"It's too perfect. I'll order it right now."

Bradley was distracted as he walked around the room, trying to get ready for bed. He brushed his teeth and got undressed, eyes barely able to look anywhere but at your body. This morning, he woke up in the Bronco on the driveway, because you thought there was a chance he was messing around behind your back. He was just happy to put that behind him. He wasn't about to press his luck as he climbed in bed.

"Here you go," you whispered, handing his phone back. He took it and plugged it in to charge overnight, but your breasts brushed his arm. They were heavy and perfect, your nipples big and pert from all the hormones and breast milk. And now he was fully erect as he tried to lay on his back, reaching to turn the lamp off.

"Are you ready for bed? Or do you feel like staying up a little longer?"

Bradley's gaze snapped to your face as his fingers hovered next to the lamp. "I could stay up a little longer," he rasped, keeping his eyes away from your tits which were pressed together as you leaned closer to him. "If you want."

Bradley had barely touched you in weeks which was evidenced by his throbbing cock. You'd seemed tired and distant, all thanks to Indigo, but he didn't put the pieces together at the time. He thought you were worn out from your pregnancy. Right now, he was horny as hell but afraid for you to know where his mind was as he tried to discreetly adjust himself.

He left the lamp on as you curled up snug against his side. "I saw that you started another notebook for the baby," you said, your fingers skimming along your belly, showing off your perfect body.

Bradley grunted. "Each Nugget gets to read my personalized thoughts on parenthood when they're older."

Your lips found his shoulder, and he shivered. "You're a good dad. I'm sorry I doubted you." Bradley closed his eyes as your fingers traced his chest hair down to his abs. It felt like heaven. He wasn't going to make it.

"Why are you topless?" he gasped, tone accusatory. "You've been sleeping in a sports bra with those pad things in them."

"My nursing pads?" you asked, clearly confused. "So I don't leak at night?"

"Yeah. Those things. Why are your tits all over the place right now?"

You looked taken aback as you pulled your hand away from his body and sat up. Bradley groaned, eyes raking all over you as his cock tented the bedding. "I was going to put a bra on before I fall asleep. It just felt nice to take a break for a few minutes. Is it bothering you? I'll put it on now."

You were pouting, and he was sweating as you started to climb out of bed. "Jesus Christ, Sweetheart. Come back," he begged, wrapping his fingers around your wrist. "You look so fucking hot, I can't focus on anything."

"Oh." Your pout turned into softly parted lips that he needed to kiss. So he did. He sat up, letting the bedding fall to his hips as he smashed his lips to yours. Fuck, you felt too good. And then you blindly nudged his cock with your hand. "Oh!"

You pulled away, wide eyed and staring down. "Yeah," he grunted. "But in my defense, you had your tits all over the place. You still do." Then you wrapped your hand around his erection, and Bradley collapsed against his pillow. "We don't have to mess around tonight," he gasped. "It wasn't my intention at all. I just wanted to spend time together."

Your laughter filled his ears, and colors erupted behind his eyelids as you worked your hand down to his balls. "You really never stopped wanting me?"

"I've wanted you nonstop since the moment I first saw you," he whined, and then your lips wrapped around his cock. Bradley's eyes flew open, watching you give him head, but after a minute of pleasure, he was reaching for you. "I won't last another minute."

You pulled him free with a pop. "So?"

Bradley panted. "So, I want to make you feel good, too."

You smirked and licked him from balls to tip. "It makes me feel good knowing you can't stop looking at my body." He forced his gaze from your nipples to your face. "And it will make me feel good to swallow your cum before letting you suck on my tits."

He was going to pass out, he was sure of it. "Okay," he rasped, in no position to argue with you while you were gagging on his cock. 

He had been correct. After another minute, he was grabbing at the bedding, hanging on for dear life. Your tits were bouncing against his inner thighs, and your belly looked gorgeous. Your face was perfect as you looked up at him with your mouth full. This wasn't what he expected, but he wasn't mad about it. He came, barking out your name as you swallowed every drop, licking him clean.

When you eased yourself onto your back, coaxing him closer to your taut nipples, he moaned. He was in heaven with your fingers in his hair, and when he tasted you, he knew he'd never get enough.

He kept you up for another hour, making sure you felt as good as he did.

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

You couldn't stop smiling the next morning as Bradley kissed your cheek while you tried to put your contacts in. "Can I have a little space, Roo?" you asked sweetly.

"No," he whispered, crowding in closer. "I can't stop touching you."

He'd done plenty of that last night. You came so hard on his mouth and fingers, you thought you were going to wake Rose up. Turns out Bradley had been missing you while you were trying to block him out to protect yourself. But Indigo was toast. You'd see to that. She had Bradley convinced he was terrible at his job, and that just wouldn't do. Neither would the fact that nobody got to have your husband except you.

"If you let me get ready for work, I'll blow you again tonight."

He took an immediate step away, hands up in surrender. "By all means, have as much space as you need, Sweetheart. I'll get Rose up and let her crawl around with Tramp."

After you brushed your teeth, you went to the closet. The maternity tent taunted you from the back corner, but you decided to squeeze into your regular uniform. "You'll have your day soon enough," you whispered. But your mind was already focused on work.

If Cat stayed late enough to finish the code, then just maybe you could pull this off. Indigo could get her punishment through the Navy, but you wanted to give her a little something special yourself. After all, she knew who you were, but she didn't know you overheard her in Bradley's office.

You were smiling as you strutted through the living room and out the front door. Rose was buckled in and ready to go, and Bradley was waiting in the driver's seat of the red Bronco with his aviators on.

"You look hot," he murmured, reaching to buckle your seatbelt for you after you climbed in. His lips brushed yours making you very aware you'd be late for work if the three of you didn't leave now.

"I told you I'd blow you tonight, not now."

Bradley laughed and started the engine. "That's not what I'm after, and you know it."

After he backed out of the driveway, he reached for your hand. "What are you after?"

"I want to have lunch with you in the cafeteria today."

Your smile grew as Bradley's rough fingers tangled with yours. "That sounds nice. Not sure what time I'll be able to get away though."

"Text me. Whenever you're free, I'll make it work."

"Okay," you whispered, turning to check on Rose. "And we'll leave on time to go home?"

"We'll leave on time to go home," Bradley confirmed.

You almost made another comment about the blowjob, but you knew it wasn't about that. He promised to do better, and you were going to as well. Starting with showing Indigo who's boss on your husband's behalf.

An hour later, your knuckles connected with Bickel's office door. "Come in!"

This was not the time for nerves. You needed to sound confident as hell. "Captain Bickel, Sir, can we talk about one of our projects for a minute?"

"Sure, Lieutenant Commander," he replied, shuffling some things on his desk. "Uh, have a seat."

He was kind and patient, and as soon as you got into it, you weren't nervous at all. "How do you feel about testing our code on some grounded Super Hornets ahead of schedule?" Kicking the project off early could actually be beneficial, and you knew it. It was a pretty easy sell. "It could give us a little more time to work out any kinks before the end of the year."

Bickel leaned back in his seat. "I'm not sure Lieutenant Commander Coleman is finished with the preliminaries."

"Oh, she is," you told him with a smile. "She's way ahead of schedule, because she's brilliant."

He laughed and nodded. "We really do have a great team. Hmmm." His brow furrowed, and he looked through his calendar. "I think this could actually work out well. Starting updates ahead of schedule means we could have the fleet back in the air ahead of schedule. Go ahead and move forward with an aircraft or two."

Your heart was racing. It was the moment of truth. This might not work out at all. "Do I need to choose randomly?"

Bickel shook his head. "Choose whichever you want. But if you ground your own husband, that's on you. I will not bail you out of that argument."

Satisfaction filled your insides as Bickel laughed at his own joke, and a giddy grin spread across your face. "I know just where to start, Sir," you promised, saluting him before running back to the lab with both hands on your belly.

Cat glared at you when you sat on the stool next to her. "I am so tired. Literally and figuratively," she mumbled. "Don't come in here and try to talk to me with your peppy BS. I don't want to hear it."

You laughed merrily and slid her computer away from her.

"Hey!" she complained, reaching for it, but you shook your head.

"We can start testing whenever we want," you said, opening the credentials list of each aviator currently at Top Gun associated with an F/A-18. "And we can choose which aircraft to run the program on first."

You scrolled past BRADSHAW, BRADLEY and FITCH, REUBEN and GARCIA, MICKEY as you made your way through the alphabet. When you got to JEFFRIES, BROOKE, you stopped and smiled. "Bingo."

"Who's Lieutenant Jeffries? And why did you go directly her them?" Cat asked as you casually went back to her lines of code to start double checking everything.

"Oh, she's been trying to fuck Bradley for over a month."

"What?" Cat screeched, jumping out of her seat. "What's going on?!"

You waved your hand dismissively. "She's a young pilot training under him, and apparently she likes getting sexy, older officers to sleep with her. Nothing's going on, much to her displeasure."

"Well of course nothing's going on!" Cat spat. "Hasn't she seen the way your husband looks at you like you're a dessert buffet?" You snorted, but she ripped her computer from your hands. "Give me this," she muttered, pounding away on the keys. A few seconds later, you realized what she was doing, but it was too late.

"Cat, don't!" you gasped. "You put 'check for potential incompetence and/or pilot error' in the notes!"

"So what?" she snarled. "I always do that when I ground an aircraft. It adds a layer of safety."

"I didn't even finish checking your new code to verify we can run the program!"

"It doesn't matter," she added, inching her computer further away from you. "My code is flawless. And this bitch can sit on the ground indefinitely, I don't even care. Don't mess with my friends."

You watched as Cat's index finger slammed into the return key.

"Oh my god," you groaned. "We're logged in under your credentials which means you're the one who will have to do a thorough investigation!"

This would add hours and hours of work to Cat's schedule. You knew it. She knew it, too, but she was rolling her shoulders with a satisfied smirk on her face. "I love investigations. I haven't done one since the summer. And as far as I'm concerned, it's better to be safe than sorry." Her smirk melted into a solemn expression. "I take my job very seriously. You know for a fact I'll do everything by the book."

"What about all the extra hours?" you whispered.

"I don't give a shit. You can help Jake can take care of Jer while I work late. I'll go over Jeffries' aircraft with a fine tooth comb."

When you looked at her, you burst into tears. "Thank you."

"You don't have thank me. It's my pleasure to keep the Pacific Fleet safe from all kinds of threats."

Eventually you texted Bradley when you were done checking Cat's perfect work, letting him know you were ready for lunch. The cafeteria was packed, but you found him standing alone at the end of the line.

"There you are," he murmured, collecting you in his arms and kissing you in front of everyone. "I'm so hungry, I thought I was going to have to start without you." He ushered you into line with a tray and began to pile it with food. "I got an email a few minutes ago letting me know that Indigo will be grounded until further notice starting tomorrow. You know anything about that?"

"I already told you, the less you know, the better. Don't forget to grab the hot sauce."

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

I'm afraid Indigo doesn't stand a chance if Cat teams up with BG... I just don't want her anywhere near Bradley. Gonna start wrapping up this series in a few more chapters!

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[abaker74]

Super cute little series

Marriage Problems FINAL Chapter 6

Summary: They’ve been married for 19 years, their 20th anniversary coming up soon.  Older, busier, and stuck on the repeat of their daily lives, Y/N and Bucky are struggling.  Their marriage is good, but feeling rocky the last few years as they’ve settled into this stage of their lives.  Can they get their spark back?  Or is it better to do the unthinkable, and move on without each other?

Warnings:  language, forced kiss, eventual smut

Previous chapter

A week later they were in Paris.  Y/N was having the time of her life getting to see all the sights she had always wanted to see, and Bucky couldn’t stop smiling the entire time seeing her so happy and carefree.  They still had a week left, where they would be traveling down to Cannes for the beach, so on their last night in Paris he got the terrace of their hotel room set up with room service dinner while she was in the shower after a long day of sightseeing.  He thanked the staff for helping him and shooed them out of the room before Y/N came out of the bathroom in a robe, toweling off her hair.

“What are you up to now, Bubbas?” Y/N smirked, looking at him suspiciously as he stood by the terrace door.

Bucky couldn’t help but laugh.  “Nothing, cherie, just setting up your next surprise.”

Y/N walked forward and looked around him to see the dinner set up, her face brightening.  “What is all this?” she asked excitedly.

“Dinner with a view of the Eiffel tower,” he replied, leading her out to the terrace and holding her chair out for her.  

“Buck, I’m in a robe,” she said quietly with wide eyes.

“And?” he asked teasingly.

She rolled her eyes and tightened the robe around herself, sitting down in the chair he pulled out.  Bucky sat across from her and served her the food from the platter set out for them.  They had a great dinner together on the terrace, watching the sun set and the lights of the Eiffel Tower come on as they ate good food and talked.  

Bucky was looking off toward the Tower before glancing back at Y/N.  She was looking at it as well, sitting back in the chair with a small smile on her face, the Parisian night breeze making her mostly dry hair sway.  Her robe was slightly open on her chest as she relaxed, revealing just a bit more cleavage.  

“Beautiful,” Bucky breathed.

“It is,” Y/N replied, her smile widening.  She looked at him to find him already staring at her, and blushed when she understood.  “Oh,” she giggled.  “Thank you.”

He smirked and stood from his chair, stepping toward her and kneeling down by her legs.  He took her left hand in his, admiring her wedding ring before pulling it up to his lips and kissing it before looking back up at her.  “Twenty years,” he said.

“Twenty years,” Y/N repeated.  

“And forever after that,” Bucky said quietly.  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his second big surprise present.  “I promised you forever with this ring,” he said, his thumb brushing over her ring.  “But maybe after twenty years it’s time for an upgrade?”

Y/N’s brow furrowed suspiciously.  “Are you being sneaky again?”

He chuckled and nodded.  “Gotta keep my wife on her toes,” he teased before bringing the ring box up with his other hand.  Y/N’s eyes widened.  “My pretty mama deserves pretty things,” he said, flipping open the box.  While her original engagement ring was a simple white gold band and a small round diamond, which was all he could afford at the time, this one was a thin yellow gold band that led to a larger, emerald cut diamond with two smaller emerald cut diamonds next to it.  Next to that ring was a wedding band, also yellow gold and shaped in a slope to allow for the emerald diamonds to be the centerpiece, but lined with small white diamonds along the band.  

“Bucky,” Y/N gasped, her free hand hesitantly reaching out and lightly holding his hand with the box in it.  “No.  No, it’s too much.”

“It’s still not enough for you, love,” Bucky said, pulling the two rings out and sliding her original ring off her finger.  “But it’s as close as I could get to what you truly deserve.”  He slid the band then the engagement ring onto her finger, setting her original ring in the box and on the table before clasping both of her hands in his.  “I know I’m not always the perfect partner to you–”

“Bucky,” she said, starting to cry.

“Ssh,” he shushed her, sitting up on his knees further so he could lean forward til his forehead was pressed against hers.  “I’m not always the best, but I try.  And we’ve had some bumps in the road, but here we are, twenty years in.  And I’m going to be right here for the next twenty years, and then the twenty after that, and twenty after that.  I’m in it for the long haul, pretty mama.  I’m sorry we lost that for a little while.”  He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose, making her sputter a laugh.  “This ring is my commitment to you, to our kids, our home, our life together, and whatever shape it takes as our time together goes on.  I love you, Y/N,” he nuzzled her nose, his hands squeezing hers.  “I always have.  And I always will.”

Y/N was fully crying now, her tears streaming down her face as she looked at him adoringly.  “You and me against the world,” she promised.

Bucky smiled widely.  “You and me against the world,” he promised.

She sniffled, squeezing his hands back.  “God, I love you, Bubbas,” she sighed, then leaned forward and kissed him.

Bucky kissed her back passionately.  She angled her head to deepen the kiss, her hands letting go of his hands and cupping his face.  He felt like his heart was thumping wildly, his head feeling dizzy.  He was so incredibly grateful that they were able to get past the rough patch in their marriage, even though he knew it was going to take more time and work than just a vacation.  Y/N pushed forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly as she opened her mouth, licking at his lower lip.  He quickly opened his mouth to her, letting her explore him first before he took his turn.  

His hands landed on her hips, squeezing them before moving up her torso to her chest.  He slightly pulled her robe apart just enough to slip a hand in and cup her breast, rubbing her nipple with his thumb.  Y/N moaned and he moved his kisses down from her mouth to her neck then tucking his face into her robe and holding her breast up higher to suck on her nipple.  

“Buck,” she groaned.  “We’re outside.  People will see.”

“Let ‘em,” he said, kissing his way to her other breast.  

Y/N shivered then pulled her robe tighter.  “Inside,” she said firmly, pushing him away and standing.  She took his hand as he stood and brought him inside, closing the terrace door behind them before leading him to the bed.  She pulled his shirt off then unbuckled his belt and pulled his pants and underwear down, Bucky helping her by kicking them off.  She pushed him backwards onto the bed and he fell with a “umph,” then quickly pulled himself up the bed as she untied her robe and let it slip off of her.

“Fucking hell, pretty mama,” Bucky said as she started crawling up the bed toward him.  “You’re so beautiful.”

Y/N smirked at him as she stopped when she reached his thighs.  She glanced at his cock and her smirk widened at how hard he already was.  She reached her left hand up and gripped him firmly, her new ring glinting in the lamp light.  “So are you,” she said, then leaned down and kissed the tip of his cock.

Just that alone had him shivering.  “Holy shit,” he groaned when she licked from the base to the tip, then swirled her tongue around the head slowly.  “I need to get you jewelry more often.”  Y/N huffed a laugh and skimmed her teeth over the head.  She suddenly took him in her mouth as far as she could, and he gasped at how she relaxed her throat to take him farther back.  “FUCK!  Oh my god!” he whimpered.

Y/N started bobbing her head up and down on him, hallowing her cheeks and sucking him off languidly.  She took her time as her tongue would slide along the shaft as she bobbed her head, sucking the tip and licking the slit in the tip before doing it all over again.  Her left hand kept his cock steady, stroking him wherever she couldn’t reach with her mouth.  She popped off with a slurping sound and then spit on it, her left hand using the saliva to jerk him off more easily before going back to sucking him again.

“Y/N…wait…pretty mama,” Bucky begged, his hands fisting the blanket beneath him.  “I don’t wanna cum like this, please.  I need to be inside you.”

Y/N merely looked up at him with a teasing smirk, watching him as she sucked the tip slowly, her tongue swirling around it over and over again like her favorite lollipop.  Bucky’s hips trembled as he watched her.

“Please,” he begged at a particularly hard suck.  “Please love!  I can’t…”

Y/N’s movements sped up, her left hand stroking him harder and faster as she sucked and licked the tip quickly.  Right as his balls tightened, threatening to finish in her mouth, she popped off of him and let go of his cock, letting it slap against his stomach.  Bucky gasped again, looking at her in shock.  “How do you wanna cum, Bubbas?” she asked sweetly, like she hadn’t just been sucking the life out of him.

Bucky grunted as he heaved himself up and tackled her to the bed. Y/N laughed as he man-handled her to lay on her stomach, his knee pushing her legs apart as his hands pulled her hips up so she was on her knees, her face down in the sheets.  “Just like this,” he murmured, kissing up her spine and between her shoulder blades.  He gripped his cock in hand and rubbed the tip through her pussy, feeling how wet she was for him already.  “Always so ready for me,” he mumbled.  “My pretty mama with her pretty pussy.”

Y/N’s hips wiggled against him.  “Bubbas please don’t tease me,” she begged quietly.  

Bucky chuckled, playfully nipping at her shoulder.  “Alright, love,” he said, before aiming himself and slowly thrusting into her.  Y/N’s breathing stuttered as he pushed in inch by inch until his hips were flush with hers.  He let her adjust for a moment, his hands moving to hers plastered to the bed on either side of her head.  His left hand intertwined with her left hand, his right hand gripping her right wrist.  He rolled his hips, pulling a deep moan from her.  “That’s it, mama, let me hear you.  I don’t get to really hear you at home.”  He snapped his hips and she whimpered, her head thrashing against the bed.  “You make the sweetest noises.”

He picked up the pace of his thrusts, and her left hand curled in on his fingers.  She started meeting his thrusts as she rolled her hips back into him, and his eyes rolled back.  Bucky felt so close already after she gave him head, and her being so enthusiastic was making it hard for him not to immediately cum.  She was moaning, whimpering, gasping and dirty talking back to him.  “Fuck me, Bucky.  Fuck me hard,” she grunted. 

“Yeah?” he panted, automatically snapping his hips harder and faster into her.  “You got it, pretty mama.”  He set a punishing, relentless pace, and she shivered underneath him as the pain mixed with the pleasure.  Her pussy was fluttering around him in warning of her impending orgasm.  “Let me feel you, Y/N.  Let me feel that perfect pussy cum all over me while I pump you full of me.  Fuck, I love you.”  He laid his whole front across her back, his beard chuffing the crook where her shoulder and neck met.

“I…ungh, I love you!” she cried out, her fingers squeezing his tighter, their wedding rings slightly grinding against each other.  

Bucky let go of her right hand and slipped it under her, flicking and rubbing at her clit.  Y/N’s hips bucked against him and she came, crying out his name as she squeezed his fingers painfully tight.  He came almost at the same time with her as her pussy squeezed his cock, pulling out all he had to give.  Bucky moaned loudly into her hair, filling her up as his hips rutted her down flat onto the mattress.  The last of his strength gave out on him and he sank down on her, his hand letting up off her clit so he could try to catch himself before squashing her.  

“Goddamn,” he groaned, his cock still leaking into her.  “So good, pretty mama.”

Y/N sighed heavily, her fingers releasing his fingers from her iron grip.  “Happy Anniversary Buck,” she said, her voice muffled by the bed.

Bucky laughed, pulling himself up and then out of her before making her turn over to look at him.  Her eyelids were heavy, trying to look up at him in her fucked out bliss.  He smiled widely at her.  “Happy Anniversary, Y/N,” he said, then leaned down and kissed her deeply.  

She kissed him back as best as she could, humming as he cuddled her close to his side, grabbing her left hand and kissing her ring.  “Thank you, Bubbas,” she breathed.  “For everything.”

“You and me against the world,” he replied, kissing each of her fingers.  “You and me.”

***

“Everyone ready?” Bucky called out as he got his lunch ready.

“Yes!”  three voices called back as the kids all stood by the front door.

“Good,” Y/N said as she came down the stairs.  “You all have a good day,” she smiled at them, giving them hugs and kisses.  “I love you.  Say goodbye to your sperm donor.”

“My spawn!” Bucky said dramatically, running to the front door and hugging all three of them in a big group hug.

“Ugh, Dad,” Becca groaned, while James giggled and Winnie rolled her eyes.

“Accept my love,” Bucky said.  “Have a good day.”

“Bye!” they all said as they hurried out the front door for the bus.

Y/N and Bucky waved to them before closing the door.  The second it was closed Bucky cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her deeply.  Y/N made a sound of surprise, her lips smiling against his lips as her hands gripped his wrists.  He backed her up against the front door, kissing her over and over again until his watch beeped.

Bucky groaned unhappily but Y/N pushed him away.  “You gotta go,” she said teasingly.  

“Just one more,” Bucky said, kissing her again.  Y/N giggled, kissing him back for just another moment before pulling away.  Bucky pouted, making her laugh.

“You gotta go to work!” Y/N said with a wide smile.  

“I’ll miss you,” Bucky said sadly.

“I’ll miss you,” she replied.  “Now go.”

Bucky swept his thumbs across her cheeks before stealing one last kiss.  “Good luck on your first day back at work,” he said as he pulled away and walked back to the kitchen.

“Thanks!” she said, walking toward the office.  “I love you!”

“I love you!” he called back as he got his things together.  Right before he left he walked to the office, looking in to see her.  Y/N was logged in, responding to emails and her work chat going off already.  He smiled as he crept in, sneaking up behind her until he could reach his hand around and grip her jaw, making her look up at him.  She smirked as he leaned down and kissed her one more time before squeezing her throat gently.  He smiled at her then let her go and walked out to his car.  

Bucky was extremely grateful for all they had been able to overcome.  Y/N was going back into the workforce since the kids didn’t constantly need her anymore, and he could already tell that she was in her element again, being able to be a part of something more than being a wife and mother.  They had been talking a lot more, and their sex life was better than it had been in a while.  Their 20th anniversary vacation had been like a reset for them, and Y/N seemed happier and lighter.  He couldn’t stop the wide smile on his face as he drove to work.  Just the two of them against the world.  

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Thank you my darlings for the likes, comments, reblogs and follows. I'm so happy y'all liked this one. I hope you'll stay around and read more of my stuff. I'm still working on some asks and sequels to asks, so please be patient with me. Love you!

[abaker74]

Poison: part 3

Summary: Coriolanus always hated Sejanus Plinth. He had everything that Coriolanus should of had; money, influence, and you.

Warnings: Coryo being de-lu-lu, unrequited love, Reader insert, dark!Coriolanus snow, unedited, dead dove to not eat

Word count: 9,832

Part 1 here

Part 2 here

Part 3

Part 4 coming

Comments and asks welcomed!

 Coriolanus sat on the train to District 12. 

Something compelled him to bribe the clerk for a ticket to district 12. 

He wondered if Lucy-Gray would still be alive?

Would they kill her for his mistake? 

If he wasn’t hopeful that he could get himself out of this mess and back to you, he would have killed himself. 

The shame of it all was too much. He couldn’t even look Grandma’am or Tigres in the eye while he explained the circumstance he now found himself in. He felt as if he had failed them. 

He knocks his head against the cold, hard glass. Watching as his surroundings sped past him. 

The door was heard as it opened, but Coriolanus didn’t stir from his self-pity, sure it was another recruit just passing through. 

When he heard Sejanus’s voice it startled him

“I thought I might find you here”, his old enemy spoke with a grin. 

“Sejanus, what are you doing here?” 

He rises from his seat, watching as Sejanus in a peacekeeper uniform came forward with a duffle bag.

He gazes back at the door with his heart in his throat. If Sejanus had brought you along to district 12, Coriolanus was sure to kill him where he stood. 

But the door never reopened. You were safe back in the Capitol.

“Are you kidding me? After I found out where they were sending you I couldn’t get here quick enough”.

Sejanus throws his bag on the floor and takes a seat across the table. Coriolanus joins him with his questions. 

“What about y/n? Did you break up”, Coriolanus asked too quickly and with too much hopefulness in his voice. 

“No”, Sejanus’ coy smile angered Coriolanus greatly, “No. we are engaged. 

Coriolanus swallows his rage to force out a “Congratulations”. 

“Thank you. Yeah, you know. I figure I get through basic, and become a medic. They allow third year medics to bring over family, give you a house on base instead of sharing a dorm with twenty other men. We can carve out a better life for us out here”.

“You plan to bring her here? To the districts. Are you insane? They are savages here”.

“They are desperate people. People in need of help. Y/n and I have a real chance of making a difference out here, like you told me I could do”. 

Coriolanus’s hands balled into fists. He hadn’t meant to get you tangled up in Sejanus' misled fantasies. He only wanted to get out of the arena. 

“If you think I am going to let you bring her here, you are mistaken”. 

As soon as Coriolanus got his hands on a piece of paper he was going to write to your father, and tell him of the plan. He properly didn’t even know of the engagement. 

Sejanus laughs as if it was a joke. As if Coriolanus wasn’t imagining jumping across the table and pounding his face in. 

“I know you want the best for her, Coryo. So do I. You’re a good friend, but y/n can make her own decisions, and she has chosen to follow me to district 12”. 

The word ‘friend’ made Coriolanus’s ears hot. He was not a friend. Not to Serjanus. Not to you. Still his composure was his strength. He had to wait until the time was right. He couldn’t have you thinking he was jealous. Jealousy was weak. 

If your father had already disowned you due to the news of the engagement, he would have no further cards to play. He would figure out a way to keep you in the Capitol, but it started with staying in the loop of information. 

“Be careful, Sejanus. It’s a different world out here. One where you can’t buy your way out of trouble.”

Coriolanus looks to the window, sure if he spent any more time looking at Sejanus his fists would fly before he could stop himself. 

“Ah come on, man. Don’t give me grief. I’ve come all this way for you. Why are we talking about my girl, when we should be talking about yours? The girl you risked everything for is just at the end of these train tracks”.

His girl, the one he risked everything for, was back in the Capitol, engaged to his enemy. 

Coriolanus was sure he was going to kill Sejanus, but faked agreement. 

—-----------

You would write Sejanus letters every week. Pages, and pages on how much you missed him. How you wore the ring with great pride, and never take it off.

You never mentioned the kiss. Never asked about Coriolanus. He wondered if you had told Sejanus or decided to keep it as a secret. 

He liked the idea of you having a secret with him. Something that only you two shared.He thought back to the kiss often, wondering what he could have changed that would have stopped you reacting the way you did. But what did it matter? The outcome would have been the same.

His fate was sealed when his father made enemies with Dean Highbottom. 

Late at night Coriolanus would break into Sejanus’ locker to read your letters. He would sit under the moonlight, pretending that the letters were written for him. He would pen one back in his mind. 

He thought about sending you a real letter, but what would he say? I love you. Don’t marry Sejanus. 

It seemed too little now. 

He trained hard. Much harder than Sejanus. 

He was desperate to be picked for officer training. From there he could make his way back to the Capitol faster than Sejanus could earn the privilege of bringing you here. 

When he pushed his body to the limits during training, and remained studying while the other men captured what little joy they could. He thought of returning to the capitol while Sejanus was stuck in this living hell. 

It would be hard not to fall in love while your boyfriend was in a different world. 

Coriolanus would do everything with you, naturally as your only friend. You would feel terrible having rejected him just moments before he was shipped off. Maybe even regret it. 

It would happen slowly and naturally. One day you would just wake up and realised you were in love with coriolanus. 

It would break Sejanus' heart certainly. But Coriolanus had suffered in silence for years. It was his turn. 

He would figure out money at a later date. An officer makes a decent wage, but not enough to afford you the lifestyle you deserve. That Grandma’am and Tigress deserved. 

It was a hurdle he would jump through when the time came. First he had to survive district 12. 

He was yet to see any of it. The Compound was locked down tight. You had to earn the privilege of time off. Not that Coriolanus had the desire to see any of it, or even take a break from his study. 

But he had wished that Sejanus would be further away at times. 

He followed Coriolanus around like a shadow. Swapping chores and assigned placements to be near Coriolanus at all times. 

The only benefit of Sejanus’ friendship was Ma’s cooking. She would send packages of sweet treats each week. 

It made Sejanus popular among the cohort. Coriolanus would always get first pick being Sejanus’ closest friend. 

Having been fed three meals a day and Ma’s sweet treats, Coriolanus gained healthy weight. 

He found himself being able to focus better and his energy flourished. 

He would return to a changed man, but you hoped you would still be the same woman. 

His mind focused on you as he pushed his body to the duties of a Peacekeeper.

Sejanus would talk of you which helped. Mostly things he had already read in the letters you send for Sejanujs, but sometimes he would derail and offer a piece of  information Coriolanus never knew. 

It made Sejanus slightly bearable. His presence is less insufferable when he is useful. 

Still being followed everywhere was starting to grate on Coriolanus. 

He walks fast to try and shake Sejanus, but the young boy takes it as a challenge to keep up even with his damaged knee. 

He complains about the superior officers while Coriolanus races across the yard to return his patrolling uniform so he could return to his bunk and study for the officer test. 

The gray uniform was heavy with padding, and his helmet was like a rock in his hand. It added to his irritation as Sejanus squawked in his ear about things he didn’t care about. 

His mind floats to you and what you could be doing. He imagines you shopping for a new dress, and then going for lunch in the Capitals best restaurant, where he would be sitting there patiently waiting for you. 

When he heard your voice in his ear, at first he thought he dreamt it, but he would never dream of you calling Sejanus name over his. 

He whips in the direction of the sound to see Sejanus already sprinting to the fence. 

You stood behind a tall wire fence that separated the Peacekeepers section from the nurses and doctors. You wore the dreadful blue nurses uniform with a white patch across the left side of your breast that stated ‘Junior nurse’. 

With no makeup or jewelry and with your hair tied back into a ponytail, you looked pale and undressed.

He stared at you in disbelief but you never spared him a glance. 

Sejanus throws himself into the fence in front of you, attempting to hold what he could of you. The fence separated your bodies, so intertwining your finger through the gaps was as close as you could get. 

“Hey, what are you doing here?”Coriolanus could hear Sejanus ask in a tone of disbelief that spoke of his surprise. 

Coriolanus moves over to the fence line to hear the reason too. Still half shocked that you were really here. 

“What about your family? Your dad?”, Sejanus pesters. Both very good questions. 

Did they even know you were here? Could Coriolanus work with your father to get you back to the Capitol where you belong?

You shake your head at him

“It doesn’t matter” you say, “All I have is you now, okay?”. 

Sejanus laughs giddily at your words, but Coriolanus remains livid. You shouldn’t be here, moreover it wasn’t true, you didn’t only have Sejanus, but you had Coriolanus’ mind, body and soul that you are so quick to dismiss. 

“Are you crazy?”, he seeths. 

You tear your eyes away from Sejanus to glare at him. 

“What a surprise Coriolanus isn’t happy again”, you remark. 

“Do you realise what you have done? How dangerous it is to have followed him here?” Coriolanus pushes. 

“I’ve made my choice’’, you state. Coriolanus felt you were speaking to more than your decision to follow Sejanus. You were making it clear that you belonged to Sejanus. 

Coriolanus could feel the ghost of your lips against his. You hadn’t forgotten and forgiven the kiss.

How could he protect you here if you wanted nothing to do with him? How could he get you to listen to him if you willfully blocked your ears with Sejanus?

“Hey”, Sejanus scoffs, trying to ease the tension, “some things never change”.

Coriolanus felt Sejanus clamp his large hand on his shoulder. If he wasn’t so stuck in his anger, he would have shaken him off. 

Instead he stood rigid staring at you. Hoping that this all was just a dream.

“I for one couldn’t be happier. I have the two most important people in my life. A path in life, a chance to make a real difference, freedom. Our lives have just begun. We’re going to do great”. 

You smile at him in a delusional gaze. 

“We’re going to do great”, you agree. 

A whistle blows and an older woman in a nurses uniform begins to yell at you. 

“I’ll see you soon”, you promise to your fiance. 

“Hoffs given us leave passes for the weekend, can you make it?” Sejanus rushes. 

You nod your head ‘yes’, half turning your body away before you receive a punishment for insubordination.  

“Meet me at the front gates at 4 o’clock on Saturday”, he instructs. 

Coriolanus felt his blood run cold at the thought of willingly bringing you out from the safety of the compound. 

“I will” you promise. The stupid smile not leaving your face. 

Your complete delusional state left you vulnerable to very real danger that the district posed. 

“Take care of yourself” Coriolanus orders as you run back to where you were supposed to be. 

Sejanus slaps Coriolanus' shoulder in glee, and this time Coriolanus has the capacity to shove Sejanus away. 

He turns, regaining his fast pace to return the uniform with Sejanus following, but no longer talking. 

The goal was to get back to the Capitol before Sejanus could bring you here, now you have come on your own accord and completely ruined his plans. Why did you have to be such a difficult woman? 

Had you ruined his officer plans? How could he leave you here with only Sejnaus for protection. 

The panic almost strangled him. He needed to recalculate his plan

 But every outcome he could think of either let you down or grandma’am and tigres. 

He left Sejanus still taking off his jacket in the uniform room to go back to his bunk.  

Sejanus had swapped a week of Ma’s goodies for the lower bunk so Coriolanus only had a few moments before Sejanus would rejoin him. 

His head hit the flimsy pillow and he covered his face with his hands.

He could think of a million things that could go wrong now that you were here. 

A district could find his way into the Camp. Into your bunk, with your luck. You could get sick and have to rely on the district's poor resources. 

Life in the Compound was no picnic. You would have to work harder than you ever had before. At home you ate and woke when you decided. Here you would have to earn your keep. 

The privileges of your life lost because you loved the wrong man. The right man would stop at nothing to ensure your every comfort, not congratulate you for losing everything for him. 

He wondered if he could kill Sejanus during training and get away with the accident angle. But you would never look at him the same if he killed Sejanus, accidently or not. 

Footsteps approached the bed and Sejanus threw something heavy on the bed.

“Coryo, are you alright?”, he asks. 

“You need to tell her to leave Sejanus. For her own good”, he commanded. 

He uncovered his face to look Sejanus in the eye as he spoke but his words missed their mark. 

Sejanus smiles instead and rolls his eyes. 

“You worry too much. You’ve always been like that, even in the academy. Always watching everyone carefully choosing when to weigh in”. 

“Well I am weighing in now, Sejanus. Is this really what you want for her? The slums of the District?”, Coriolanus snarls. 

His push awakened something in Sejanus who now carried a look in his eyes that Coriolanus had never seen before. 

“I know you and Y/n are friends so I’ve put up with a lot, but you are overstepping your boundary now. So long as Y/n and I are together nothing else matters. I don’t care if I am with her here or the hunger games. She’s not your girl, Coriolnanus, you don’t need to worry about her”. 

His comment silenced Coriolanus who was forced to turn to his side away from Sejanus. 

Coriolanus’s hands balled into fists ready to put Sejanus back in his place. But he was right. Technically you weren’t any of his concern. 

If it had been anyone else Coriolanus wouldn’t have battered an eye. But it was you. The object of his obsession since the end of the dark days. 

His life line to keep going through it all. His hope and joy, even if you never knew it. 

Maybe that’s why you felt compelled to come to district 12. To help Coriolanus survive yet another feat. 

To inspire him to work harder, to train longer. 

Suddenly, he felt terrible for greeting you the way he did. 

You were only trying to help him. You came to him in his hour of need, and he had bitten you for it. 

A slither of hope ran through Coriolanus. 

Maybe things would work out after all. 

—------

Coriolanus counted down the hours until the weekend. 

Sejanus too. It was the first time he had ever had anything in common with the district born boy. 

He saw glimpses of you during training in the yard. 

Never for very long and Coriolanus had to concentrate to find you amongst the other recruits. But a single glance for a split second was enough to renew his spirits. 

He even found himself interacting with others. Ending nights in a friendly competition between friends, rather than with the training book in his hand. 

There were many Peacekeepers in the compound, but few that he liked. Most of them knew nothing more than to follow orders and use brute force.

The unit he was placed in housed twenty men in a shed that didn’t leave for much room. Of the twenty, Coriolanus found company in only three. Beanstalk, called so for his great height, Smiley, a round face and eager boy and Bug, who often said nothing. 

They had tried to give Coriolnaus a nic-name, but he pushed back against it. His name was the last thing he held to his capitol standing. He would die before he relinquished it. 

Sejanus on the other hand accepted the name ‘Bulls-eye’, dubbed after an impressive training session, where he hit nearly all of the targets. 

The name had taken on an ironic meaning after he failed to do so since. Coriolanus had warned him against showing such promise. They don’t need a medic with perfect aim. It may derail his plans of leaving the gun behind for gauze. 

Coriolanus also didn’t need Sejanus taking any attention away from him during training. He needed to be the best in all categories so there was no doubt in the Commanders eyes that Coriolanus was the one to be sent for officer training.

Saturday came slowly, but finally arrived. 

Coriolanus took extra time to groom himself. Ensuring that he looked and smelt his best after hours of grueling training. 

The other men, who he had come to accept as friends until he could get out, snickered at him, asking him if he was prettying himself for the girls.

Coriolanus smirked to himself as the men jeered. 

Sejanus came to his defence and the men left Coriolanus alone. 

They stood together prettying themselves for the same girl. 

“Do you think she will be there?” Sejanus asks. 

Coriolanus felt a jolt run through him. Seeing you was the only thing he was looking forward to. Was your presence now a maybe?

“Who?”Coriolanus asks for clarity. He puts down his wet washer and faces Sejanus at the next sink. Surely, he couldn’t mean you. 

‘Who else? Lucy-Gray!” He said without care. 

Coriolanus huffs, feeling his heart go back down into his chest. 

“I don’t know”, Coriolanus says, “I don't even know if she would still be alive”. 

It saddened him to think that his cheating would cause her death. 

“Do you think they killed her?” Coriolanus asked. 

Sejanus shakes his head ‘no’ still looking in the mirror to apply his after shave, and pleasant smelling cream. 

“Why would they risk it? She was a big hit. If they do have the games next year, they will properly invite her to sing at the opening ceremony”. 

His words sooth Coriolanus, who picks up his soapy washer and runs it across his skin. 

When he finally saw you standing just outside the compound gates with the sun going down behind you, it felt as if a heavy weight was being lifted from his chest. 

You wore a nurses uniform, pale blue and faded from previous use. The sleeves came down to your elbow and hugged your skin.The top of the fabric cinched at your waist before falling into a straight line of fabric that ended just before your knees. 

“Hey” you called with a wave. 

Coriolanus fought to keep his hand down, as Sejanus ran up to you. 

Sejanus took you into his arms and gave you a deep kiss, earring a cheer from the men. Coriolanus had to look away from the sight. 

You break away to shush them, much to Coriolanus’s pleasure. 

“Don’t draw any attention” you command, “I’m not supposed to be here. I gave a girl my gold hair clip to cover for me. It’d be a waste if you blew it for me”. 

The men hush, instead shaking Sejanus in encouragement. 

“Come on”, Sejanus commands, turning out from you but keeping a hold of your hand, “lets get there before all the seats get taken” 

“I have to be back by ten. Thats when the head nurse checks the bunks”. 

Sejanus hums in response, but Coriolanus was livid that you had a bedtime at all. 

He wanted to say so to you, but found it difficult to get close enough to speak to you. 

He was pushed to the back as Smiley, and Beanpole crowded you with questions, and idle conversation. 

It left Coriolanus and Bug walking behind the group in silence. He never thought Bug would become his favorite. 

The men disappeared as the large barn came into sight. Coriolanus took his spot next to you as soon as it opened. 

He could hear the music from a mile away as he walked. The old barn had a yellow stream of flight that flooded the place, occasionally cut off by shadows of people walking past. 

He stayed close to you as you entered the barn. 

It was hot and loud inside. Peacekeepers and districts crowded the floor. No one seemed to mind the shared coexistence, but Coriolanus could feel the underlying tension. He would be sure not to let you go too far tonight. 

A small blonde headed girl sings and dances on a makeshift stage. A call for peace while people were fixated on her. 

Senjanus halts on the edge of the dance floor. His eye caught by something at the bar. 

“Stay with Coriolanus. I am going to get a drink”, Sejanus orders.

He is weaving his way through the crowd before you could get your “okay” out. 

Coriolanus stood straighter next to you. His hand reaches out behind you to keep you close but never lands. 

The little girl on stage finished her song and the crowd roars for more. 

“Is it getting hot in here?”, the girl calls to the crowd. 

You cheer back, cupping your hands to scream back and clap.

“Well, we’re planning on heating it up just a tad more!”, she teases, “The one, the only, Lucy-Gray-Baird!”. 

The world stops for a second as he watches Lucy-Gray dance up onto the stage. She was dressed in heavy dark clothing that resembled a costume, and had her face painted in make-up. 

You hit Coriolanus’s chest in excitement.

He looks down at you. He had brought you this happiness. 

You grinned from ear to ear. Your eyes sparkle with joy that he secured by cheating in the games. 

He wondered if he would get a thank you. He wouldn’t push it from you, seeing you happy was enough for him. 

Lucy-Gray warms the crowd with her charm before she starts her song. It was the same one from the reaping but placed to a happy tune. He almost didn’t recognize it. But her words were unforgettable. 

“You can take my pa, but his name’s a mystery”, she sang,

Her eyes roam around the room before finally falling on you and Coriolanus in the crowd. 

Her voice hitches when her eye catches Coriolanus. The words she was singing gets stuck in her throat until you draw her attention by waving. 

Lucy-Gray gives you a flash of her smile and her singing voice returns. 

He couldn’t believe it. She was alive. His filly in the race made it out unscathed. 

You take a step forward into the crowd and Coriolanus goes along with you, hovering his body protectively close. 

A shout is heard from the back of the room causing coriolanus to turn to see a dark featured man making his way through the crowd. 

Coriolanus pushes you closer by the shoulder into him and out of the mans way as he pushes through. 

“Lucy-Gray!”, he calls, “Lucy-Gray, you're sounding mighty thin without me! You all are!”.

“Billy!” the women trailing him scolded. 

He feels you shuffle forward towards the scene, and clamps down on your shoulder to keep you at bay. 

“I know you miss me!”, Billy yells as he attempts to climb the stage. 

He is pulled back by the women, Coriolanus guessed is the Mayor’s daughter. 

“You promised me you wouldn’t play with them again”, she demanded. 

Her demand is met with a harsh shove back into the crowd. It agitates the atmosphere and people begin to become rowdy. 

“Settle down, settle down”, Lucy-Gray says into her microphone. 

The crowd does not. When a Peacekeeper gets punched, it incites the crowd to erupt into chaos. 

Bodies shove into Coriolanus as some join the fight and others fight to leave. 

You tear yourself from his grasp and push your way to help Lucy-Gray as Billy climbs the stage. 

His hand wedges it way through the gaps but fails to pull you back. 

Instead he forces his path behind you. Shoving people away to get to you. 

His uniform made him a target in a roomful of angry and hungry district men. 

It didn’t come as a surprise when a fist came flying at his face. 

His face stung from the hit but he didn’t retaliate, too focused on yanking you away from Billy.  

He had climbed on the stage to cling to Lucy-Gray’s dress and you had grabbed on to his arm to stop him. 

When he shoved you harshly away, you latched on again like a fool. 

Billy swung his arm back to ensure your compliance. It almost lands before Coriolanus yanked the threatening arm to spin the short framed man towards himself. 

“Don’t touch her!” he shouts, pounding his fist into the side of Billy’s face. 

From the corner of his eye he saw you recoil in shock. He should have stopped with three good punches but he found his fist flying again and again into the boys boney face. 

It brought him back to the area. That same fierce protectiveness coursing through his veins. He didn’t want the threat to be neutralized, he wanted it to be eliminated. 

“Coriolanus stop!” you call.

When you wrap yourself around his arm to keep it mobilized, he doesn’t shake you off. The sirens of the Peacekeeper vans could be heard over the commotion of the people. 

He looks up to see Lucy-Grey clutching her mic stand, frozen from what she saw. Even after the Hunger Games violence was foreign to her. It wasn’t in her nature, but it was in Coriolanus’s. 

He heard your name being shouted by Sejanus who tried to push his way through the dispersing crowd to get to you. 

A loud bang knocked down the barn doors and fully equipped peacekeepers marched in, throwing around anyone in their way. 

Coriolanus grabbed your wrist with his sore hand and yanked you towards the back exit people were escaping from. He couldn’t hear you over the noise of the barn but he could feel you tugging back against him. 

Even when he hit the quiet, cool, outside air, he still didn’t release you. Continuing to force you forward into the darkness. 

“Wait. We have to go back”, you demand with a harsh pull of your wrist. 

“He’ll be fine”, Coriolanus assured, “He’ll find his own way out. Come on”.

He yanks you a bit too harshly forward and you stumble from the force. 

“We have to get you back”, he addresses, loosening his tight grip to a firm hold, “They’ll be sure to conduct the bunk checks early with the amount of peacekeepers there”.

You follow him along the dirt, rocky road back to the Compound. A few people run past but it is mostly dark and silent. Coriolanus stews as you walk quietly beside him. 

“What were you thinking?” he spat.

“I was thinking Lucy-Grey needed help”. It seemed his question had snapped you out of your compliant trance as you began to tug your wrist out of his hold again.

“From you? You could have gotten hurt”, he criticized. 

“So I shouldn’t have done anything? Let go!”. 

He doesn’t, swinging your wrist forward out of the way of your free clawing hand. 

“Yes,Y/n. That’s exactly what you should have done”, he scolded. 

“Maybe you should listen to your own advice. Saved yourself a busted lip, and sword to your shoulder”, you mocked, slightly out of breath from Coriolanus’s speed. 

He hadn’t realised that his lip was bleeding until you mentioned it. Now he could taste the metallic warm liquid trickling into his mouth. 

He wipes it away with his spare hand. The cut stings as he puts pressure on it.

Your own cruelty stunned you. A person who prided herself on her kindness and compassion now sneering at her saviour. 

“Wait, Coriolanus”, you say, halting your steps. Coriolanus stops with you, releasing your wrist. 

“I am sorry. That’s not fair”. 

He stares at you in shock. You had always spoken to him quite guarded. Now it felt as if your relationship was growing. You were speaking your mind to him now. Apologising when you are wrong. It was a strong foundation to any relationship. 

“You’re forgiven”, he whispers back.

He reaches out to take a hold of your wrist again but you know it back out of his way. He doesn’t attempt again, moving forward along the road. 

“Come on, we have to get back”, he commands. 

You do follow him, and the air is heavy with something you wanted to say. 

“Coriolanus”, you begin after a moment of silence, “what you did back there. What you did back in the arena”. 

Coriolanus cuts you off, sure the next words weren’t a thank you. 

“Saved your life”, he turned to gaze down at you with eyes that spoke of how cautious you should be, “I did what I had to do to keep you safe”. 

You shrinked under him. You nodded your head in agreement but your eyes looked unsure. 

He followed you when you began walking ahead of him. 

“It must have felt good to see Lucy-Gray tonight”, you say. 

“Yes”, he agrees, “I am glad she is not dead”. 

“Me too. I thought she was for sure when those snakes got dropped in the arena”. 

“So did I” he acknowledges. 

The night was quiet now. Only the moon lit the path back to the Compound. You and Coriolanus took a leisurely stroll away from the chaos of the barn. He found himself grateful for the eventful night now that he walked beside you. 

He lifts his hand to place it on your shoulder closest to him. You stop walking immediately as it lands. 

Coriolanus halts a step forward, turning his body back to you in question. 

“You should know I didn’t tell him. I figured a kiss in excitement wasn’t worth upsetting him for”, you lecture. 

He felt the lump in his throat forming. 

“What is it you are insinuating?”

“You’re Sejanus’s best friend”, you accuse. 

He needed to throw you off the scent. You needed more time. 

“And you're my best friend's girl. Someone I hoped I could form a close relationship with, for Sejanus’s sake”.

“Sometimes it feels like you are taking Sejanus’ place”.

Some day he would. Sejanus would be a distant memory as you curled up in bed beside him, but for right now he was an active threat. 

“You’re right” he acknowledges, “A kiss in excitement means nothing. I didn’t ask you to come here, Y/n. I don’t want you here”. 

The kiss meant everything to him, and now you were trampling it under your foot. 

He continues walking on. He wouldn’t leave you behind in the darkness by yourself but his resolve was slipping and he needed the distance to organise himself.

“I am sorry if I have given you the wrong impression but I followed Lucy-Gray here, not you. Whatever you think, I assure you, you have dreamed it”.

You jog to keep up, but he keeps his quick stride. 

“You’re right, I am sorry. You’ve been nothing but a good friend to Sejanus and to me. And Lucy-Grey, I know you two got close. It’s just the kiss, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I was looking for an answer where there wasn’t one, and I am sorry that I offended you. Honestly, Coriolanus”, you tug his arm back to slow his movements, “ I am sorry. I do want to be friends with you”. 

Coriolanus tugs his arm away and continues walking back to the compound. 

“Hurry up”, he calls. 

You don’t speak anymore and Coriolanus swims with his thoughts. 

He wasn’t the only one who was unable to let go of the kiss. Maybe you didn’t tell Sejanus because the shame of wanting him too was too much. 

Your reaction and accusation, however, hurt. On top of that he had confessed untrue feelings towards Lucy-Grey. You had attempted to push him away and he had allowed you to. 

Was it too late to undo the damage? Could he tell you he was lying and that he only ever thought of you. 

The sight of the compound told him it was too late. He had made his bed, he would now have to lie in it.

He led you back to the medic side of the compound where the security was less militant. 

“Go inside” he commands with a shove of your elbow. 

You nod and walk past him. You don’t once turn to look back but he watches you until you fall out of sight. 

—--------

He doesn’t see you for the next three days. Not even in crossing. Sejanus does however. 

The lovers had found a quiet isolated place where they could meet. Coriolanus was yet to figure out where it was. 

He thought about following Sejanus but instead chose to focus on his studies. 

When a first aid course with the nurses was announced, Coriolanus couldn’t believe his luck. 

The nurses needed volunteers to practice on. A whole afternoon of sitting in your presence. The whole cohort jumped at the chance. 

Coriolanus knew that the Capitol had ulterior motives. They wanted Peacekeepers and nurses to get together and raise capitol loving children in the districts. 

It was a good way to control morale and ensure obedience. The officer in charge gave the men a long list of chores that needed to be completed before such a privilege was granted. 

Coriolanus did them happily. Sejanus too was eager to see you and worked alongside Coriolanus. 

He wouldn’t allow Sejanus to come. Coriolanus was not doing the chores to see any other nurse but you. 

Upon the day, Coriolanus excused himself from breakfast so he could go back to the bunks.

Discipline and obedience was a trait that was valued amongst basic training. 

The superior officers demonstrated this with morning bunk checks. 

There was a certain way that bunks had to be made. It was nothing more than a test of complacency, but it came with strong sanctions if not followed. 

Coriolanus untucks Sejanus’s bottom bunk, and retucks it incorrectly. Leaving the edge of the fabric poking out. After that he picks random and unlucky beds and ensures they also won’t pass the inspection. 

Pleased with his work Coriolanus returns to the mess hall in perfect time to be called for the morning bed inspection. 

He fights to keep the smirk off his face while he lines up alongside Sejanus in front of their bunks.

“Snow, pass” the officer says, documenting the outcome on his clipboard, “Plinth, you’re with me”. 

“What?” Sejanus questions. He looks back at his bed, noticing the untucked fabric and mentally scolds himself. 

“Is that a volunteer for tomorrow too?”, the officer threatens. 

“No, sir”, the boy spits in a strained voice. 

The officer moves on to other bunks and the men are left standing there in silence like they are expected too. 

Coriolanus could feel Sejanus’s disappointment radiating off him. The reaction was surprising. He would see you during your secret meetings. Why did it matter so much to him to lose out on this opportunity? 

The officer finishes the morning inspection and wishes all the men going to assist the nurses a good time, and all the men assisting him today, good luck. 

Coriolanus turns to Sejanus, who’s shoulders were sagged and face sour. 

“Tough break”, Coriolanus offered. 

“I swear that bunk was correct. I checked it three times”, Sejanus whines. 

“Obviously not”. Coriolanus straightens as men begin to disperse to their destinations. He didn’t want someone else to pick you after all the effort he went to in order to get Sejanus out of the way. 

“Can you tell y/n that I am sorry, and that I’ll see her soon”, Sejanus asks. 

Coriolanus nods, although he had no intention of following through. 

“Good luck, Sejanus” he remarks as he makes his way past his enemy and out the door. 

—-

As he enters the usually empty hall that was now filled with tables and chairs and medical equipment. 

He spotted you almost instantly standing in front of your small table. He could tell you were looking for Sejanus from the way your eyes darted across the room and your hands clasp together in front of you, almost in a begging fashion. 

The men were stopped at the door, while the head nurse explained that the nurses would be practicing bandaging, and the men would sit quietly and allow them to do so. She made it clear that this was not a dance, or social event. The girls would learn and the men should try and pick up as much as they could as the information could one day save their life. With a final warning that too much fun would get them kicked out, she released the men to find a partner. 

He went straight to you, but you still looked past him for Sejanus. 

“Where’s Sejanus?” you ask as coriolanus takes a seat in front of you. 

“He’s not coming. He didn’t pass the bunk inspection”, he explains. 

You sigh in response and begin to unwrap the bandage from its wrapper to begin. 

Coriolanus leans closer to you, mockingly whispering his words. 

“Surely I am not that bad?”, he teases. 

“No, Coriolanus, no. You’re fine. It’s just”, you begin but stop, dropping your hands to your lap. 

“It’s just what?”, he asks sincerely. It hurt him a tad that you consider him just ‘fine’ and sought any further explanation as to why. 

You look back at him and begin to wrap his fake wound as the teacher walks around the room. 

“He’s been so distant lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if he deliberately didn’t pass the bunk inspection”.

His heart sank at your words. He didn’t want to hurt you. 

“He’d be crazy to do that”, Coriolanus defended but your face didn’t change from it’s sullen expression. 

“A lot of Peacekeepers didn’t pass the inspection, not just Sejanus. They were hard this morning”. 

You offer a kind smile which eases him slightly. 

“You’re right. I keep forgetting this isn’t the Capitol. Sejanus isn’t free to see me when he likes”. 

He watches as you pick up a pair of scissors to cut off the extra material. 

He wondered if not being able to see you when he liked drove Sejanus as mad as it did Coriolanus. 

If it did, he showed no outward signs of it. But then again neither did Coriolanus. 

“How are you adjusting here?”, Coriolanus asked. 

You were mainly focused on getting the bandage wrapped correctly so you spoke slow and in fragmented sentences. 

“Yeah, it’s. Um. It’s different”, the pin you drive into the bandage to keep it in place nipped Coriolanus, but he made no complaint. 

“It’s nice. You know, independence. I’ve learnt how to wash my own clothes, and clean, and bandage perfectly good wrists”. 

You pin another but this time it goes perfectly into the bandage. 

“You shouldn’t have to”

“Everybody should have to. The Capitol keeps us dependant on the districts so we fear their uprising”. 

“Y/n”, he growls looking around the room to make sure no one else heard you. That talk could get you killed.

You realise it too. Your eyes shift around but no one appears to have noticed. 

You clear your throat before talking as if to clear anymore silly words coming out of your mouth. 

“How are you adjusting? You must miss your family back home”, you comment. 

“I do”, Coriolanus admits, “I worry about them all the time”.

“You’ll get back” you promise to him, “Sejanus tells me you are working your way quickly up the ranks. If there’s one thing Coriolanus Snow can do, it’s rise to the top”. 

He smiles at you. Maybe being sent to district 12 was part of a greater plan to bring you closer to him. 

District 12 offered a forced proximity. You just needed to get to know Coriolanus

“You know they never told us what you did”, you begin to pry. It makes Coriolanus’ heart jump to his throat. 

“I cheated”, he admits after a moment of silence, “To save Lucy-Gray from the snakes”. 

He awaits your reaction.

You nod in understanding, placing the last pin into the bandage. 

“I am glad you did. It would have been a shame to lose her too”.

“Sejanus tells me that you plan to stay here. Is that truly what you want?”

Your face read shocked that he would ask such a personal question but you answered him anyway. 

“I want to be with him. I don’t care where that has to be”

The teacher reached the couple which gave Coriolanus a nice break to gather his thoughts. 

After constructive feedback was given, the teacher leaves and you begin to unwrap his dressing. 

“I am sorry, I don’t mean to overstep”, he says. He could tell you were angry at him from the roughness of your hands and silence of your tongue. “It’s just we’re friends and I only want your happiness. If that’s with him here, fine, but I want to make sure it’s your decision, not his”. 

“You are the only one who seems to want to make decisions for me, Coriolanus”, you bite. 

“I only want to help you”, he defends. 

“I don’t need your help,Coriolanus. I don’t need your friendship, and I don’t need your grubby little hands over me all the time”

Coriolanus hadn’t realised that he had reached out to take ahold of your wrist until you yanked it from under him. 

You get up from the table completely which draws the rooms attention. 

“Y/n sit down” he demands. 

You do sit down, drawing the attention of the head nurse who comes over to inspect the scene.

“Is there something the matter?” she asks in a cold hard tone. 

“No Ma’am”, you answer, “Sorry, just a cramp”. 

The older woman runs her eyes over Coriolanus' wrapped wrist and begins to critique your work.

With instructions to do it again, the woman leaves the table, and the tense atmosphere returns. 

You pick up the gauze again and undo it from Coriolanus’ wrist. 

Coriolanus remains silent and allows you to break the stalemate with a deep sigh. 

“Sorry, I just haven’t been sleeping very well. I don’t mean to take it out on you”. 

“It’s okay”, he assures, “I understand”. 

Your words still were unnecessary, but he could forgive you with the excuse. 

“Is there something I could do to help you?” he asks. 

Maybe he could find a way to get a firmer pillow for you. He knows the flimsy pillow he received drove him mad. 

You shake your head ‘no’ with a sad expression that he wanted to wipe off your face. 

“I keep having nightmares”, you explain and Coriolanus was grateful for it, “I am in the Hunger Games, being forced to fight for my life”.

Coriolanus grows cold at the memory of Sejanus’s rescue. He never should have allowed you in the van. Now you were carrying trauma that he could have protected you from if he had just been less of a boy and more of a man.

“Like that night in the arena?” he confirms. He wanted to assure you that you were in no danger. That he would and did protect you. 

But you spoke before he could. 

“Like as a tribute”.

The bandage was off and you began re-dressing his wrist as instructed. 

“I can’t imagine what Lucy-Gray is going through right now”, you state.

Coriolanus turns his wrist up so he could take a hold of yours as he spoke. 

“You’re safe”. He promises. 

You remove yourself from his grasp.

“Until the Capitol decides I am not”, you declare. 

It’s quiet again as you redo his bandage.He decides he better turn the conversation onto something more joyful. 

��Lucy-Gray has invited me to go to a hidden lake tomorrow with her and the Covey. Perhaps you would like to join?”, he asks. 

He, himself, was not intending on joining but maybe seeing that Lucy-Gray was okay would stop your nightmares. 

“You’ve seen her?” you question, looking up from pinning the bandage in place. 

He nods back in confirmation, “Yesterday” he remarks. 

He doesn't mention Sejanus used that time to speak to Billy Tope and the Brother of the girl in the jail cell. The less you knew the better. 

“Was she okay after the barn?”. 

“Fine. So are you in?” he pushes. 

Tomorrow was your day off, he knew it. If he rushed through his chores in the morning, he could spend nearly the whole day with you. 

You nod back causing Coriolanus to smile. “Of course, what if someone needs my expertise wrapping skills”, you joke. 

—----------

It was not a surprise when you showed up with Sejanus. Even so, Coriolanus felt disappointed. He had gotten up at 4:30 to start his chores in order to finish in time to take you.

You clung to his arm as you followed the Covey into the forest. Coriolanus held Lucy-Gray’s hand. 

More so, she held his hand and he just didn’t let go. They didn’t talk. Coriolanus was too preoccupied to decipher your and Sejanus’s conversation and Lucy-Gray was happy humming a song. 

Half way the blonde child complained she couldn’t walk any further, and hero Sejanus offered to give her a piggyback ride.

You fall back, giving Sejanus room to bounce and run with the child. 

“Here, do you want a drink?” Coriolanus offers, letting go of Lucy-Gray's hand and reaching into his small bag to retrieve his water bottle. 

You take it with a thanks and he watches as you place your lips around it to take a drink. 

To his dismay, Lucy-Gray takes it next and swaps out your saliva for her own. 

“That song you were singing, is it new?” you ask. 

“No, been sang long before me” Lucy- Grey responded. 

Coriolaus had not been listening, leaving him deeply regretting his choice now that he had nothing to weigh in. 

Luckily, lucy-gray began singing it again with clear and slow words. 

‘Oft I heard of Lucy-Gray, and when i crossed the wild i chanced to see at break of day the solitary child”. 

The song did not thrill Coriolanus but you were enthralled with the performance. She sang of a girl with the same name, a child who got lost in the wild, who turned into some sort of ghost. 

“Does she survive? Lucy-gray in the song?” he fakes interest. 

Lucy-Gray grins back, “No one knows. It’s a mystery, sweetheart. Just like me”. 

The view of the water breaks all further conversation. The lake was murky and still. A long wooden jetty reached from the shore into its depth. 

The lush grass stopped upon the muddy shore, and weaved itself alongside the small cabin built upon it. 

The Covey are quick to jump in. Disregarding their clothes to show the home made swim wear underneath. 

You pose no hesitation in joining them, stripping down to your underwear. 

If you were Coriolanus’s girl he wouldn’t allow it. Not with other prying eyes. 

But as he was the prying eye, he stood in silence and watched. 

Sejanus jumped in after you, pulling you close as you playfully squirm out of his grip. 

Lucy-Gray blocks his eyesight as she shimmers off her dress and invites him to join with her smile alone. 

He takes the invitation, ridding himself of his peacekeeper uniform and running off the jetty. 

You pay him no mind as he joins you in the water. Your focus is on Sejanus. 

Lucy-Gray pays mind, swimming over to Coriolanus and holding herself up on his shoulders. He hoped it made you jealous when you glanced at him to see it. But your head turned back to Sejanus too quickly. 

You join the covey in water games while he and Lucy-gray float off on the side with each other.

Lucy-Gray seemed to what to say something but she never did. 

One by one the water was evacuated. As soon as he saw you swimming to the shore, he followed. 

You put on your nurse dress still soaked and it clings to your body, leaving dark patches of material where it dampened. 

Lucy-Gray offers Coriolanus a towel to dry himself which he accepts. He wondered if it was just spare or if she had packed one especially for him. 

As he dresses, you and Sejanus find a shady spot under a tree and you lay against him, talking. 

He thinks about going over, but it is too awkward even for him. Instead Lucy-Gray calls him over to sit on a blanket with her. 

Like a dog, he obeys and takes a seat next to Lucy-Gray who had thrown back on her purple dress. 

“I am real sorry about y/n and Sejanus”, she remarks. 

Coriolanus remains stone-faced and looks out to the lake. 

“What’s there to be sorry for?”. The war was far from over.

“You said it was complicated, don’t seem too complicated now”

Her comment irritated Coriolanus. It was more complicated than it had ever been.

“Y//n doesn’t know what she wants”, he declares. 

“I heard about the engagement”, she said awkwardly. She curls herself into a ball, hugging her knees tight to her chest.

Coriolanus shifts his gaze upon her in an intense stare. 

“I don’t see a ring”, he states softly. 

It was true. You didn’t wear the large diamond that you boasted about in your letters to Sejanus. He supposed they made you give it up when you volunteered for the districts. 

“She followed him here”, Lucy-Gray reasons, “Sejanus says you followed me here”. 

Coriolanus reflects on her statement. He supposed it was true. There was no other reason why he bribed the clerk into sending him to district 12. 

“I guess I did,” he admits, looking back to the ocean, “I had to see if you were alive”. 

“Well I am”, she declares. The new topic instills new confidence and she unrolls herself into a more relaxed position,”didn’t think I’d make it”. 

Out the corner of his eye, he could see Lucy-Gray anxiously playing with her hands. 

“Didn’t think I had what it took to survive”, her voice began to shake, earning Coriolanus attention back. “That little girl, Dill. I thought it would be one of the others. maybe Coral…”

“Hey” Coriolanus consoles, “You are not a killer, Lucy-gray”.

Her watering eyes that focused on the water, snapped to his in stern look. 

“Yes, I am” she proclaims, “both of us are now” she adds softly. 

Her assertion stunned him. How did she know about Bobbin in the arena?

It clicks and Coriolanus inhales a large breath. 

“Dean Highbotton told you what I did to that boy in the arena?” he quizzed. 

She nodded back, wiping away her tears. 

“I didn’t have a choice”, he says softly. It was you or him and he had made his choice long ago. 

“She wouldn’t understand. We’re the same, Coriolanus. We do what we have to so we can survive”.

Coriolanus is saved from having to answer when the smallest member of the group begins to shout excitedly, pulling out a flapping fish from the water. 

He gets hold of it and turns as if he was going to show someone before all his sounds stop and he falls back into silence. 

“Good work, Cc!” Lucy-Gray calls. 

The small boy doesn’t respond as he hits the fish against a rock to stop it moving. 

“See if you can catch some more. We’ll have lunch”. 

A thumbs up is given to Lucy-Gray’s words before the boy turns back to fishing with the others. 

“He misses Billy toupe”, Lucy-Gray addresses. 

The disappointed look on her face spoke of her true feelings too. 

“Do you?” Coriolanus pushes. 

“No”, she says bitterly, “Not since the reaping. I can’t trust him anymore”.

“Trust is everything” Coriolanus agrees. 

“It is to me” she declares, “More important even then love. Without trust, you might as well be dead to me. But you can trust me. I promise you that.If you can trust anyone in this world”, her eyes flick quickly to you before they go back to coriolanus, “You can trust me”.

Coriolanus wasn’t sure what to say. He did trust Lucy-gray, and he hoped that she trusted him. She did at least during the Hunger games. 

“You can trust me too”, he answers softly. 

Coriolanus turns hearing footsteps to see Sejanus and you walking hand in hand over to the blanket. 

“Hey, you guys mind if we join you?” Sejanus calls. 

“No” Lucy-gray yells back but her voice hinted that she did.

Nevertheless, you two sit down. Sejanus in front of Lucy-gray and you next to Coriolanus.

“Don’t have anything like this in the Capitol”, Sejanus comments. 

“The Capitol also doesn't have bed bugs and rats the size of small children” Coriolanus bites. 

“Come on” Sejanus laughs, “it’s not that bad”. 

“You know what I miss?” you speak up, “Hot baths”. 

Coriolanus hated the thought of you missing anything. Let alone because of a district born fool who doesn’t deserve you. 

“I miss my ma,” Sejanus croaks. 

It earns sympathy from you in the shape of reaching out to hold his hand. Coriolanus wanted to mention his dead mother who he will never see again, but it was a pitiful move. 

Lucy-gray is also unfazed by his declaration, having experienced true pain and loss. 

“You must miss your parents” Coriolanus asks you. 

Maybe he could find a way to guilt you back to the Capitol and enjoying hot baths. 

But you shrug your shoulders as if you didnt care.

“They made me choose. Sejanus or them.  How can you miss people who disown you”. 

The situation was worse than he had anticipated. You were disowned with no one to reach out to for help. Still you were a loved daughter, surely they would welcome you back. It was Sejanus they hated, not you. With Coriolanus by your side, they were sure to accept you back into the fold. 

“Would you really go back through? I mean if you could” lucy-Gray asked. 

Coriolanus felt as if she was solely asking him so he answered first. 

“I have to. It’s where I belong. Where we all belong”, he states firmly. 

“The Capitol’s not for me”, Lucy-Gray asserts as if Coriolanus was including her. 

He hated the way she turned her nose up at the idea. As if she was better. 

“At least it’s civilized. Has order” he provokes.

“Oh the Hunger Games are order?”Lucy-Gray returned.

“Making children fight to the death is civilized?” you take Lucy-gray’s side and he quickly backtracks haven forgotten you were there.  

“No. No, of course not”, he defends himself to you. 

“What if this was your life, Coriolanus? Out here. Waking whenever, catching your own food. Would you still feel the need for the Capitol even then?”, Lucy-Gray continues to aggravate the conversation. 

‘‘Sounds like the life to me” Sejanus submits. 

“And you?” Coriolanus corners you now. 

“I would go back to the Capitol” you admit, “I would go wherever Sejanus is”. 

Another fish is caught. The sound of the Covey clapping breaks the tense conversation. 

“They are going to need wood for the fire” Sejanus notes, “I’ll put you to the test, come with me to the forest to collect firewood?”.

You grin at him, copying him as you stand. 

“Lead the way”, you tease. 

Coriolanus was glad you were going. Lucy-gray had ruined the peaceful atmosphere. 

“Be careful of snakes!”Coriolanus calls after you. 

He thinks maybe he should follow but he was still uptight from the previous conversation. 

He leaves Lucy-Gray on her blanket, going back over to where his stuff laid and shoving on his shoes. 

The group sat in a circle around the fire. Lucy-Gray kept her distance on the other side with most of the Covey members. While Coriolanus sat by you while you talked with Sejanus. 

He had never had fish before and was surprised at how much he liked it. The only thing left on his fish was the bones. Everyone else still had a small amount of meat left. It was embarrassing and Coriolans tried to hide his fish with the leaf it was plated on. 

Sejanus barely touched his. His eating was interrupted by constantly checking his watch. 

“Hey, Tam” Sejanus shouted once it had hit the right time, “Would you mind showing me the way back?’

‘We’re leaving?” you ask, almost disappointed. 

“You head back with Coriolanus. I am not going back to the Compound”, he answers, swinging his bag over his shoulder. 

“Where are you going then?” you question. 

“I told you I had something in town this afternoon”.

“You didn’t tell me what”. 

Sejanus stands as Tam finishes packing his stuff to take Sejanus back. 

“I didn’t think I had to. My father doesn’t run my life and neither do you”, Sejanus declares. 

You stand up to his height, causing Coriolanus to strain to hear you. 

‘I don’t want to run it. I want to be in it” you demand. 

Sejanus turns soft, cupping the side of your face and speaking softly to you.

“If I thought I could tell you, I would. You just need to trust me”, he responds. 

“I do trust you. Whatever it is, I don’t care. Just let me face it with you”, you beg. 

Coriolanus implores Sejanus to say no. Coriolanus didn’t want you anywhere near Sejanus’s mess. A sentiment that was seemed to be shared by Sejanus when he pulls you in for a kiss to avoid answering. 

“I can’t be late”, he says before turning to slap Tam’s shoulder in thanks and following the boy back to the district. 

“What was that about?” Coriolanus digs as you sit back down. 

“You should know, he’s your best friend”.

You pick up a stick and dig it into the ground to ease your frustrations. 

“You see him more than I do. Suppose there's no room for serious talk in secret lovers rendezvous” he says bitterly. 

His words surprised you and you snapped your head towards him. 

“Rendezvous? What do you mean? This is the first time I have seen him in weeks” you state. 

It fills Coriolanus with pure joy. When he was picturing you locking lips and sharing promises with Sejanus, you were really far from him. 

“What could he be doing?” he pestered. 

Could this be his way in? A thread of distrust had started, all he needed to do was pull the string. 

You turn back to the fire and hold yourself like Lucy-gray did, tight and in a ball. 

He reaches out to place a hand on your knee in comfort. 

“I am always here for you”, he promises, “If ever you want to talk”.

“Thanks” you return flat. 

You are quiet on the walk back but fall in line with Coriolanus beside you. As soon as he is in familiar territory, he diverts you away from the group without a goodbye to the rest. 

He ensures you get back to your side of the compound safe, and you go towards the gate robotically. 

You stop and turn however, just as your body crosses the threshold. 

“Whatever he is doing, Coriolanus, protect him” you command. 

Coriolanus would sooner throw him to the dogs. 

But you didn’t need a response, trusting him to do it anyway and returning to the compound. 

When Coriolanus returns to his side he is greeted by senior peacekeepers closing in on him. 

“Private Snow? Come with us” one of them said with a harsh shove forward. 

With no choice he follows as they escort him to the commander's office. 

Coriolanus had done all his chores, there was nothing he could get in trouble for. Yet, his nerves still rose the closer they got. 

Was it bad news? Did Grandma’am die of shame? 

The doors shut behind him solidifying his fear that it was a private conversation. 

His Commander sits behind a desk, finishing the sentence on his paperwork before looking up. 

Coriolanus goes to stand before him, giving the Commander a salut in recognition. 

“Snow”, the older man address, “I have received the results from your aptitude tests”. 

Was that all? Coriolanus groaned. Hardly something he had to be called upon for. 

“Looked over your training records too. Your performance is exemplary”, he praises. 

“Well half the other recruits can’t read, sir”, Coriolanus states.

The Commander scoffs, placing down the results and folding his hands on his desk. 

“You’re General Crassus Snow’s boy. What did you do to end up here?” the commander questions. 

Coriolanus was hoping no one would connect Coriolanus to the great house of snow. But now the cat was out of the bag, he had to own it. 

“I made an enemy, sir. In the Capitol”, he answers.

The response impressed the Commander who smirked back. 

“I’ve made a career out of ruining my enemies’ plans. I’m going to reassign you to officer training in District 2. You’ll earn a real wage, maybe even have another shot at the capitol one day”. 

Coriolanus should be overjoyed but now that you were here it wasn’t enough time. The official assignment wasn’t for another few months. He was counting on the period between then to win you over. 

The commander reaches for his official stamp and places it on the paper. This conversation had been a test for Coriolanus. One he hadn’t meant to ace. 

“The train leaves in ten days. Keep a clean record, you’ll never see anyone from district 12 again”. 

The certificate is held out but Coriolanus’s hands froze to take it. 

“Is there something wrong? This is an honor, private, not an option”, he criticized. 

“Yes, sir. Thank you”, Coriolanus agreed, “it’s just, there’s a nurse I have grown quite close to”. 

The Commander grins back. Coriolanus wondered what he said that was so correct. 

‘A nurse, ey”, he brings back his outstretched hand to write on the paper with his pen, “my wife was a nurse too”. 

“You’ll have to make her your wife to stay together in district 2 but the Panem welcomes such news”. He holds out the paper again. 

This time Coriolanus takes it, noticing the plus one on the ticket. 

“Thank you, sir” he genuinely says. 

The world had fallen into place. All he had to do was find a way to get rid of Sejanus then you would be forced to marry him. 

You wouldn’t stay here by yourself. Your family has disowned you. Coriolanus would offer you a lifeline as his wife that you couldn’t refuse. 

Coriolanus had ten days to figure out how to kill Sejanus and get away with it. He slept soundly that night with the thought of it.

—------------------------------

Taglist?

[abaker74]

Marriage Problems Chapter 3

Summary: They’ve been married for 19 years, their 20th anniversary coming up soon.  Older, busier, and stuck on the repeat of their daily lives, Y/N and Bucky are struggling.  Their marriage is good, but feeling rocky the last few years as they’ve settled into this stage of their lives.  Can they get their spark back?  Or is it better to do the unthinkable, and move on without each other?

Warnings:  language, forced kiss, eventual smut

Previous chapter Next chapter

Bucky was putting his lunch in his lunch box when a rumble of footsteps came thundering down the stairs and he looked up as Y/N burst into the kitchen looking frazzled.  “Why didn’t you wake me up?” She asked him incredulously.  “Where are the kids?”

“On the bus,” he answered nonchalantly.

“What?” she sputtered.  “H-how…what do you–”

“They got themselves ready, lunches packed, homework done, and I made sure they were out of the house on time,” he said, smirking at her.  He grabbed a plate of food next to him and slid it toward her on the island, accompanying it with a mug of her favorite drink.  “I wanted to let you sleep.  Now sit down and relax.”

Y/N stared at him, the surprise evident in her expression.  She glanced at the plate of food then slowly walked over to the island, pulling out the stool chair and sitting down.  She grabbed the toast and took a bite.  “Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome,” Bucky smiled.  He rounded the island and stood next to her, his fingers pulling her chin to make her look up at him.  “We need to talk about what happened last night,” he said, and her eyes fluttered in sadness.  “But, not right now.  I’m about to leave for work, but I want you to take today to do nothing.”

“Nothing?” Y/N frowned.

“Absolutely nothing,” Bucky nodded.  “Don’t you dare cook or clean, just rot on the couch and get caught up on your shows.  I’ve already got dinner set up for delivery later.  And we’ll have a good, long conversation about everything over ice cream.”

Y/N still looked surprised, but a small, happy smile crept up on her lips.  “Sherbet ice cream?”

Bucky huffed a laugh.  “Whatever my pretty mama wants,” he said.  

***

That night after the kids went to bed they sat on the couch downstairs, a gallon of rainbow sherbet ice cream between them that they took bites from as they talked about everything.  Bucky felt like they had come to a good understanding with each other, and they agreed to actively work towards reigniting their marriage.  

“Well, I have a work party next weekend that you can come to,” Bucky said.  “We’re celebrating that presentation going well and getting that client.”  He hadn’t told her about the bonus yet, wanting to keep it a surprise.  

“Oh you know I’m not a huge fan of work hangouts,” Y/N waved him away.  “As much as I love Steve, it’s just a lot of awkward moments for me being the odd one out on everyone’s work inside jokes and what not.”

“Okay, okay,” Bucky smiled and nodded.  “Then how about the next day?  We’ll go out together, just the two of us.”

Y/N smiled.  “That would be nice.”

“It’s a date,” Bucky smiled back.  

***

That next Friday he found himself in a bar downtown.  He felt too old to be there, just keeping a watchful eye on the younger employees as he nursed his one and only beer for the night.  He and Steve took the time to catch up with each other, since they were both married, family men who didn’t get to hang out as often as they used to or would have liked.  Steve stood from the small table they were at to get himself another drink.  Bucky finished his beer, setting the bottle aside when someone else sat in front of him.

“Hey boss,” Natasha greeted him with a flirtatious smile.

Bucky inwardly groaned, but politely smiled.  “Nat,” he greeted her.  “Hope you’re having fun with the rest of the team.”  He had to tread carefully with her.  Natasha was young, beautiful, and had made it clear a while ago that her conversations with him were her attempt at flirty banter, sliding in sexual innuendos and compliments towards him.  He’d tried ignoring it, not playing into it with her at all, but she was nothing if not persistent and ambitious.  That was what made her a great part of the team.  He just wished she would take the hint.

“You look ridiculously hot, as usual,” Natasha said, maneuvering herself to sit closer to him, leaning forward on the table to show off her cleavage.

“Oh, um, thank you,” Bucky said, trying to lean away from her.  “You look nice.”

“Just nice?” Natasha laughed teasingly.  “Looks like I’ll need to up my game next time.”

Bucky’s lips tightened as he tried to subtly look for Steve to save him.  “Well, I don’t want you to waste your time with me—”

She reached a hand out and slid her fingers across the back of his hand.  “Oh there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here, sir,” she purred.  

Bucky pulled his hand away and frowned.  “Nat, I’m not sure how else to say this without it sounding mean, so I’m just going to say it.  I’m married.  Happily married–”

“No you’re not,” Natasha smirked.  “You’re having marriage problems.”  She leaned forward again so she was close to his ear, the alcohol on her breath making him scowl.  “I can help you feel better.”

Bucky pushed away from her.  “Where did you hear I was having marriage problems?” he asked angrily.

“I could just tell,” Natasha shrugged.  “And Peter likes to gossip.”

Bucky rolled his eyes then closed them as he rubbed his face, and she took the opportunity to corner him against the wall, her hand holding the back of his neck and pulling him forward, kissing him right on the mouth.  Bucky froze in shock for just a moment before he pushed her away and stood.  “What the fuck was that?” he yelled.

“Hey, woah, what’s going on?” Steve asked, finally coming back over to the table with a new beer in his hand.

“She just fucking kissed me!” Bucky replied, wiping his mouth.

“Natasha,” Steve groaned, looking at her with deep disappointment.

“What?” she pouted.  “I’m drunk.”

Bucky shook his head incredulously as Steve sighed.  “Okay, it’s time for you to go home,” he said, pulling her up by the arm.  “I’m calling you an Uber.  And we’ll be having a discussion with HR on Monday.”

“What?  No!  I’m not ready to leave!” Natasha whined, pulling against his hold as he directed her toward the front door.  Bucky stood there in shock until Steve came back a few minutes later.  

“She’s gone,” Steve said.  “I’m sorry, Buck.  I knew she was flirtatious with you, I just didn’t think she’d do something like that, even while drunk.”

“Y/N,” Bucky whispered, his eyes wide as he looked at Steve.  “I have to tell her, Steve.”  Steve’s eyes widened with him.  

@cjand10 @sebastians-love @sherwoodforesttales @shanksstrawhat @sagexsenorita @abaker74

[abaker74]

I'm crying. Please add me to your taglist

Marriage Problems Chapter 2

Summary: They’ve been married for 19 years, their 20th anniversary coming up soon.  Older, busier, and stuck on the repeat of their daily lives, Y/N and Bucky are struggling.  Their marriage is good, but feeling rocky the last few years as they’ve settled into this stage of their lives.  Can they get their spark back?  Or is it better to do the unthinkable, and move on without each other?

Warnings:  language, forced kiss, eventual smut

Previous chapter Next chapter

Bucky rushed home after work that day.  The presentation had gone well, securing his bonus, but had run over the time he’d originally planned.  He had texted Y/N, but never got a response.  He got home as fast as he could, walking into the kitchen to find it empty.  Fuck, missed dinner, he thought, chastising himself as he unloaded his things and cleaned them.  He walked toward the sound of the kids’ voices in the front room.  They were all spread out on the floor doing homework, spouting off endless questions to Y/N, who was trying her best to help them while also mediating between Winnie and Becca, which seemed like a constant these days.

“Mama she won’t stop brushing her eraser shavings on my paper!” Winnie whined, trying to shove the eraser bits back toward Becca.

“Oh my god, you’re so annoying,” Becca whined back.  “Not everything I do is to spite you.  Maybe if you wouldn’t sit so close to me they wouldn’t land on your stuff!”

“Guys, please,” Y/N sighed, rubbing her eyes.

“Hello my loves,” Bucky called out, trying to distract them.

The kids all looked up at him with smiles on their faces, quickly getting up and giving him hugs and greetings before sitting back down.  Bucky moved over and around them to Y/N, kneeling down next to her.  She gave him a small smile in greeting.  “How did your presentation go?” she asked quietly.

“We got it,” he replied, smiling at her.  

“Congratulations,” Y/N’s smile widened.

It was one of the few real smiles he’d gotten from her in a while, and it made his heart soar.  Before he could say anything else the girls were bickering again, and James started firing off questions.

“Quit with the eraser!  Geez, do you just not get it so you keep having to restart?  How stupid can you be?”

“Mama, did you sign that form for the field trip yet?”

“I’m not the stupid one, you are!”

“Nuh-uh!”

“And I have that bake sale coming up, did you sign up for cupcakes?  Or muffins?  Your cookies last year were good.  Oh and my soccer uniform is all grassy, did you wash it yet?”

Y/N shut her eyes tight, trying to breath through the mounting noise.

“Guys,” Bucky said in a warning tone.

“Dad she’s being so annoying.  Why can’t you just leave me alone?  This is why you don’t have any friends.”

“I have plenty of friends.  You wouldn’t know anything about that because all the friends you have are just guys trying to date you.  How does it feel knowing that they don’t actually care about you, just what they can get from you?”

“At least I can get a date.”

“Mama, what does she mean what they can get from her?”

“OH MY GOD SHUT UP!” Y/N screamed, standing up fast and pushing away from them all, covering her ears.  “SHUT UP!  ALL OF YOU!  JESUS CHRIST!”  They all froze, staring at her in shock.  “No, James, I haven’t done any of that yet.  It will get done eventually.  As for you two,” she pointed at the girls.  “I know you’re both in a very weird stage of teen years right now, but if I hear one more mean thing said between the two of you I will ground you both for the rest of the school year, do you hear me?”  They both nodded quickly.  “I cannot stand this anymore.  This constant bickering, the noise, the incessant leaning on me for every little thing.  I’m so sick of the same thing day in and day out!  I’m done!”

Bucky stared at her in shock.  She had yelled at the kids before during rough moments, but this was different.  Y/N looked at them all with a deep look of disgust.  “I love you all very much.  But this is absolutely ridiculous, and I will not put up with it anymore.  I deserve better than this endless, repetitive, tedious bullshit!  Don’t I?”  Bucky stood up and walked over to her.  She had started crying as she spoke, and as he cupped her face in his hands she looked up at him, her eyes pleading and exhausted.  “Don’t I?” she cried.

“Yes, you do,” Bucky whispered, nodding as he leaned down and pressed his forehead against her forehead.  “Just breathe, pretty mama.  Breathe.”

Y/N sputtered, her hands in fists at her sides as she closed her eyes.  She let herself relax against him for a moment, but just as suddenly as it started she shook her head again and pulled out of his grasp, sniffing hard.  “I…I’m fine, I just–” she glanced at them all, her face twisting into a look of horror.  “I’m sorry,” she gasped, then turned and ran up the stairs.

Bucky watched her run, sighing when he heard their bedroom door shut loudly.  He turned to look at the kids, each of them with a look of shock and sadness on their faces.  “It’s gonna be okay, guys,” he said quietly, sitting down on the floor with them again.  “Mama just needs some time.  But she’s right,” he said, looking down at his hands then at Becca.  “Becca, if what Winnie’s saying is true, you need to find better friends.  Boys, especially at this age, aren’t worth it.”  She frowned and looked down.  “Winnie, you need to let Becca have her time away from you.  Just because you’re both close in age and go to the same school doesn’t mean you’re both the same.  She is her own person, and you are your own person.  Does that make sense?”  Winnie’s lips tightened, but she nodded.  “James, I know you mean well, but asking a lot of questions all at once is very overwhelming for Mama, and as much as she is willing to help you, she needs a breather just like everyone else.  Got it?”  James nodded sadly.  “As for all three of you, you’re old enough now, and your mom and I have taught you enough by now, to be able to handle yourselves more.  That means from now on you’re responsible for knowing your schedules, taking care of yourselves with your personal hygiene, cleaning up after yourselves, and as of now you’ll be responsible for getting your lunches for school ready, preparing your own breakfasts, and making sure you’re out the door on time for the bus.  Also, laundry,” he said, glancing at James for emphasis.  “Your clothes, your problem.  Do you all understand?”

They all nodded solemnly.  “Good.  We are going to have to work together to take the brunt of the work off of Mama.  She’s done too much for all of us for too long.  Which makes her an amazing mother and wife–” he stopped, nearly getting choked up on his words, before quickly clearing his throat.  “But it’s too much for just one person to handle.  We are a family, and family loves and supports each other, right?”  They all nodded again.  “Okay.  Are you all done with your homework enough for tomorrow?”  

“Yes,” they all said in unison.

“Great.  Then go get ready for bed,” Bucky said.  “Good night, my spawn.”

They all giggled and gave him goodnight farewells and hugs, gathering their things and putting them away before trudging up the stairs to get ready for bed.  Bucky sighed as he stood up again, stretching before looking around the main floor of the house.  It was mostly pretty clean, so he got to work cleaning up the last few little messes and things he could see that needed to be done, then ate the leftovers from dinner.  

When he was finished the kids had all settled down in bed, and he tucked them each in before heading to his bedroom.  Bucky hesitated at the door, unsure of how to broach what had happened.  He knocked lightly, waiting to hear anything, but after a moment of silence he slowly opened the door.  He peered in and found Y/N already in bed, her soft snores the only sound in the room.  Bucky walked in and closed the door quietly, walking over to her side of the bed and kneeling down.  She was already in her pajamas, and judging from her makeup free face and the puffiness of her eyes, she had cried as she got ready for bed and up until she fell asleep.  Bucky’s heart broke for her.  He and the kids had been leaning on her for everything for so long.  They had taken advantage of her.  She had been suffering silently because she felt like she could only depend on herself to get things done.  He reached up and gently wiped away the last bits of tears that were still wet on her face, then leaned forward and kissed her nose.  “I’m so sorry, pretty mama,” he whispered, nuzzling her cheek with his nose.  “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.  I love you.”  

Y/N squirmed a little in her sleep at his touch, but didn’t wake, letting out a short hum as she readjusted herself.  Bucky smiled at her, fixing the blanket around her and tucking her in before getting ready for bed.

@cjand10 @sebastians-love @sherwoodforesttales @shanksstrawhat

[abaker74]

If there's room I'd love to be tagged in part 3

Bad nights (part two)

A/N: hi everyone!! Bad night was the first ever fix I posted and I am very glad everyone liked it so much!! I wasn’t expecting more than 20 likes? But this is crazy and I am overjoyed! This took me a lil while since I started working on this request I got which is a very interesting idea, but thank you sm <333

p.s: I reread this 3 times and used grammars for spelling mistakes if there are still any, do tell me!

Summary: Remus got clingy cuz of the full moon, James lost a match, Sirius has problems with his parents and you aren’t well. How Will this situation turn out?

Read bad nights part one, here

The tension in the room only deepened after Remus pulled back, He was always the calm one, the one who understood the unspoken language of their relations, but today, with every emotion piling up, even he was slipping.

You could feel the heat from his body as he stepped away from you, the silence hanging in the air, thick and uncomfortable. Your stomach churned in response, both from the physical ache and the emotional weight of everything around you.

James finally broke the silence, though his voice was very much with frustration. "I get it, Sirius," he said, barely holding back the anger in his tone. "You’re upset, and I’m upset, but don’t act like you have it all figured out." His hand clenched into a fist by his side. "This—this whole thing—it’s not just about losing a match, alright? It’s about everything. Every bloody thing that's been piling up lately." He paused, glancing at you as though the weight of his next words was too much to carry alone. "It’s about her. About how she’s always there for all of you, and… I can’t even seem to be enough for her."

Your heart squeezed at his words, but before you could say anything, Sirius snapped. "Enough? Enough? What about me, huh?" His voice cracked an that made your chest tighten. "I’ve been fighting off my mother’s poison for years, I’m constantly keeping my own demons at bay, and I’m the one who gets left behind! She’s always there for you, James, and for you, Remus. Always comforting you, holding you up, and I’m just… just here, trying to keep my head above water." His face was twisted in anguish, eyes wild. "And all I get is the scraps—the leftovers."

"That’s not fair!" Remus’s voice was raw, , "You think I want to cling to her like this? You think I’m not aware of everything she does for me? But I need her, Sirius. I’m barely holding it together after last night—" His voice wavered, and you saw the raw hurt in his eyes as he turned to you for comfort once more, even as he fought back his own tears. "I’m not asking for more than what she can give. I’m just asking for her to be there when I can’t be there for myself."

Sirius's glare softened for a split second before he snapped again, his frustration morphing into something darker. "Yeah, well, we all need her, don’t we?" he spat. "But it’s always you, Remus. It’s always you who gets the comfort, who gets the attention. And I’m just supposed to wait in the damn hard moments , pretending I’m fine when I’m falling apart inside." He was pacing now, his voice rising with every step. "I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep pretending I’m okay when she’s the one holding everyone else together."

The words hit harder than anything you could have prepared for, and it was like a pressure released in the room. You knew he didn’t mean it like that. You knew he wasn’t blaming you specifically, but the weight of it settled over you like a suffocating wall. You wanted to shout at him, to tell him that you weren’t some object to be fought over, that you couldn’t be everything to everyone, but the words wouldn’t come.

"You think I’m okay?" James's voice cut through, his eyes burning with a mix of anger and hurt. "I’m the bloody Quidditch captain! I’m supposed to lead everyone, make everything perfect, and now I can’t even—" He stopped, voice cracking, fists clenched at his sides, looking away from both of you as if his words were too much to handle. "I’m so sick of failing."

s. That broken crack in James that you had never seen before. You wanted to walk over, to hold him, to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, but as soon as you moved, Remus took a step toward you, his eyes pleading, like he was afraid to lose you in all this madness. and Sirius’s hurt eyes, his unspoken plea, were just as raw.

But your body was betraying you. The nausea was getting worse, and the headache was growing more unbearable. You couldn’t hold on any longer.

“Stop,” you whispered, barely able to keep your voice steady as you stood between them, your hand resting on your stomach. "Stop. All of you. I… I can't do this anymore."

The room went silent, and for a moment, everything stopped.

You felt tears pricking at the edges of your eyes, but you held them back. "I’m trying so hard for all of you. I can’t be everything. I can’t be the one you all lean on all the time." Your voice was shaky, but you pushed through it. "I… I’m struggling too. Do you not see that? I’mtrying, I’m hurting, and no one’s even asking if I’m okay. All I do is try to hold everyone else together, and no one sees it until I’m falling apart. I just… I need… I need a break."

You didn’t give them time to respond, didn’t let them apologize or tell you it was fine. You turned on your heel and walked away

But in the quiet, as the seconds passed, you realized something. You weren’t the only one struggling,It was time for them to see that.

And you weren’t sure if that would make them love you less, or more.

alright so I think part three will be out more soon and will be the final part!!!!

taglist: @almostjollypizza @setayeshmohseni @navs-bhat @treefairy-28 @may-madness @ameliaweasley @maysrain @reggieswriter @meowmeowbby @hiireafstuff @flowerytombx @hcqwxrtss123 @unstable-cucumber @aleatorio1234 @penned-musings @plk-18 @iheartpieck @livia7137 @liviessun @eeviee4 @marvelsmarauder @amatoanima @minejungwoo

[abaker74]

starlight moonlight sunlight blurb series

Remus has a choice to make: his new boyfriend Sirius or his recently no longer ex girlfriend, Y/N. But when Y/N's world begins crumbling, Remus wants to be there for her. So he makes a decision... Continue dating his boyfriend behind his girlfriend's back.

(all blurbs are at most 1.5k words)

Reconnecting on the Train (reader meets remus for the first time in a long time)

Party in the Dungeons (remus discovers reader's biggest secret)

Bakeries and School Musicals and Book Clubs (remus keeps trying to run away from reader and run towards sirius)

Warm Jumpers by the Fireplace (remus realizes he needs to act the part)

Nymphs are Great at Karaoke (remus is a better boyfriend and sirius tries to play nice)

Holiday Spirit (the marauders + reader start a band)

Happy Fucking Holidays (reader finally catches their boyfriend)

Friendship Breakups and Shitty New Beginnings (reader copes with being alone)

Old Friends (reader reconnects with some very important people)

To Be Ignored... And Summer Hopefulness (reader's friends keep their head on their shoulders and a promise pays off... somewhat)

[abaker74]

If this ever comes back I'll die 💙💙💙

-We'll Heal Together- MasterList

HIATUS

-We'll Heal Together (Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort) 12/? parts Remus Lupin/Sirius Black x Reader

Masterlist

Playlist - Songs I listen to while writing/Songs I think express the readers various relationships.

Summary: Harry Potter grew up without the warmth of a family he should have known. A father in James Potter, a mother in Lily Potter, a God Father in Sirius Black, and an uncle in Remus Lupin. Oh, and let's not forget, a godmother in {Y/N} {L/N}

Alt Summary: Starts at the end of Chamber of secrets and into the Prisoner of Azkaban with the first chapter, Harry meeting his father's old friends, and starts learning the fate of {Y/N}, who has long since been presumed dead. there seems to be more of a story hidden behind her disappearance, and in turn, her reappearance.

Running Wc- 39,037

Chapters:

•Prologue •Part One •Part Two •Part Three •Part Three 1/2 {Blurb} •Part Four •Part Five •Part Six •Part Seven •Part Eight •Part Nine

I'll Look After You

•Prologue (Nine 1/2) •Part Ten •Part Eleven

Blurbs/Oneshots:

• You and Sirius's break up... • Coming soon...

{Summer at the Potters}

Blurb request form: Prompt/Question: Must have Charaters: Optional:

[abaker74]

I would buy it. Just sayin. 💙

Two Good Reasons, Part 11

Summary: Christmas time is here

Pairings: Andy Barber X Reader

Rating: mature

Warnings:  language, Scott, Audrey 🥺, 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 8.4K

Previous

Series Masterlist

*Divides created by @firefly-graphics

Audrey groans softly as she opens her eyes. Leaning over her brother, she keeps her face close to his, until she feels his breath brush over her skin. The little girl lays a hand on his stomach, counting his breaths before she rolls to the other side. Panting with how long she had held her own breath. Another bad dream. A dream of her brother not breathing.

Her fingers reach toward her iPad Mini before she drops her back on the bed. She leans over to check the floor for monsters before reaching towards the iPad again. Deciding it’s best to keep her hands safe under the covers while she stares longingly at the tablet. Daring herself to either be brave enough to walk out of this bedroom to get her mommy or brave enough to just pick up the iPad.

—

Ransom’s hands cling to the bed as he hoists his hips back into the girl. She was good enough to fuck, but would never be good enough to have a decent conversation with. It beat spending another holiday alone. He drives his hips deeper into her before he looks towards the bedside table. His phone lighting up with the cutest little picture of the sweetest little girl. A smile spreads over his face, until he realizes the time.

Scrabbling off her, despite her protests he picks up the phone, and walks himself into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He answers the call quickly, trying to catch his breath, “Audi, baby, what are you doing awake?”

“I had a bad dream,” her voice sounds as wrecked as a five year old’s voice could. Deep circles pocket under her eyes with her lack of sleep since her party.

“The same one about Suede?” She nods her head, and Ransom could barely see it in the dark room. He sighs, “Have you told your parents?”

“Daddy won’t call me,” his head leans back as he looks up at the ceiling. Scrounging around for some pants to put on, and get this girl the hell out of his house. He’d buy a fucking airplane ticket to Michigan if he had to. He wasn’t supposed to like kids. But now he’s invested, and he wants to kick Scott Huffman’s ass. In court. Legally of course.

“What about your mom and Andy?” Audrey shrugs, looking down. Her eyes open up quickly, trying to avoid falling asleep.

“I don’t want to bother them,” so instead she calls Ransom in the middle of the night, and stays on call with him until she feels comfortable enough to fall back asleep, “Mommy got in a fight with aunt Morgan. She had to take her outside.”

“I’m sure your mom gave her a mouthful,” Audrey shrugs, looking behind her at her brother before flipping to her back. “You’re sharing a bed with your brother?”

“Uh huh. I sneak into his bedroom sometimes to make sure he’s breathing. But uncle Ryan’s bed isn’t like my princess bed. It’s lumpy and smells like a boy.”

“Sweetheart, we really need to tell your mom and Andy about your nighttime habits. I can’t help you like they can,” she sighs, and holds her hand over her brother’s mouth the same way she’s seen you do. Counting his breaths again before he offers a pitiful smile, “Is he breathing?”

“Yeah-huh. Do you think I’ll become a lawyer one day?” One thing about a five year old, they can change the subjects of conversation quickly.

“I think if that’s what you really want, yeah. You’ve got the best people in the world to help you,” but what every adult in her life wants her to do is to be a damn kid. But the one adult she wanted attention from, she wasn’t getting it. So now becoming a lawyer is the most important thing.

“Daddy won’t help me though,” she looks off to the side before back at the screen, “Did I do something wrong?” he starts taking a mental stock of every time that he wants to punch Scott on Audrey’s behalf. He’ll behave and start at one.

“No, Audi, you did nothing wrong. I think your daddy is still very scared about what happened.”

“What about me?” He barely can the tears start to well in her eyes, but the break in her voice is enough. “I’m scared, too.” That deserves at least one hundred punches.

“I know. And your daddy is a big man that should know better. We adults suck, you know?” She nods her head, trying to give him a smile. “Well, what else have you done since being there?”

“Me and mommy had a mani/pedi. My fingernails are pink,” her voice starts to get more animated, and she giggles. Holding a hand over her mouth, trying to quiet it. “And I got glitter on them. My dad — Andy said that they look just like a princess.”

“Youd,” the little toddler groans beside his sister. A kid that needed his sleep.

“Suede, buddy, are we being too loud?”

“Chess. Me seep. Oo youd,” Ransom gives a smile to the little boy that flops over to the other side. His body wiggles a bit, until the blanket is nearly over his face, but he wouldn’t be asleep for long. If Audrey was with Suede when she called Ransom, this is always the routine.

“I think my giggles woke him up.”

“I’m sure they did. Are you going to buy me a Christmas present while you’re there?” She smiles, nodding her head. “It’s going to be bigger than the plane, isn’t it?”

—

Andy pets around your belly, while you’re in the middle of dozing off, and staying awake to keep feeling him. He isn’t even snuggling you as much as he’s cradling your stomach. “Doe, it’s late, go to sleep, honey.”

“I’m enjoying you,” enjoying feeling more loved and worshiped than you’ve ever felt. Elated that you are the one giving Andy the family he’s craved. No one would ever love you like Andy, and no one would love Andy like you.

“You’re going to continue to enjoy me for many months. Go to sleep,” your eyes droop down for a bit longer, and you take comfort in his warmth. His protective hold over you and the unborn child in your belly. He’d proven more times than not his protection extended to Audrey and Suede as well.

It’s like everything is finally fitting in a pretty little puzzle. Just the way that you have always wanted it. You start to drift, until you hear the sweetest little giggle, “Andy?”

“Shh,” you think you’re falling asleep again before you hear two cute little giggles. “Is that?”

“What are those two up,” you sit up in the bed, but Andy playfully pushes you back on the bed. “Excuse you.”

“Let me go check on them,” he is not serious. If it wasn’t for his playful smile, you’d have already stubbed up.

“No,” you stubbornly answer, sitting back up again, and slinging your feet off the side of the bed. “If they’re giggling that means they’re having fun. And it’s vacation, so if they’re having fun, I want to join in with them,” grinning wildly, he stands up, extending a hand towards you, and you tiptoe out of your childhood bedroom, and walk towards Ryan’s.

It isn’t until you get closer that you hear a man’s voice. Not just any man either. But the endearing part is it’s a little conversation with all three of them. You could stand and listen to them having their moment. Their safe space. You open the door, and are followed by Andy. “Hey, mommy.”

“Hi, mama. Uck Ann, my mama and daddy!”

“Hey, Andy. Hey, Doe. Don’t be mad. I, uh, I called them because I couldn’t sleep,” you get closer to the mini, and frown at him. He didn’t call. He is doing a great job of keeping the camera higher, but he was topless. So the question then becomes, why did Audrey call?

“Did they pull you away from an — engagement?” You ask with a smirk.

“Nothing important. Audi?” you look towards your daughter before glancing behind you at Andy.

“I have nightmares, and call Uncle Ann. He doesn’t care. He just gets me to laugh, and I fall back to sleep,” your daughter has nightmares, and she doesn’t seek you out. She finds someone else. You don’t want to cause a scene right now in the middle of the night, but you want to know what she’s dreaming about. And while you’re happy that she feels comfort from Ransom, it hurts that she didn’t try and find it with you.

“I’m glad you could find someone to talk to,” Andy says, walking behind you, and his arm wraps around your waist. His hand resting on your barely swollen belly. “Ran, are they bothering you?”

“Nah. They’re just giggle boxes right now. Suede was asleep,” was. So the call woke him up. “Audi says that you’re buying me an airplane for Christmas.”

“Nu-uh, you said that my gift was going to be bigger than the airplane, I didn’t say that about yours. Mommy his nose is getting bigger,” the true joy you see in her eyes, melts your heart. Despite all that she’s been through, and is still going through, she has managed to keep her beautiful smile. Even the sweet little bantering between her and Ransom. But you’re still jealous.

“Did he now? Ran, I don’t know if we can do that.”

“Chess. Big big ruck!”

“A truck?” Ransom snarls.

“Chess! Big um!” Ransom’s nose crinkles as he tries to tell Suede he would not be driving a truck. “Chess!”

“Shh, buddy,” Andy blurts in. Audrey keeps moving the iPad to point at whoever is talking, and she lets that mini tablet capture Andy’s awkward hold on your stomach, while he addresses the kids, “We should really let Ransom get back to his — plans, and get back to sleep.”

“The plan has already left,” he smiles, hoping that Andy sees his eyes flicking down to see his hold on you. He knew that his partner wouldn’t be able to stop touching you once you got pregnant. If he liked Scott, he’d pity him. Andy will now have this innate need to protect you and the kids even more. People have yet to see how ruthless Andy can be for his family. “It’s not a big deal.”

“And then, we’re going to sneak into the kitchen for hot chocolate, and Audi and Suedey are going to come into the bedroom with us for a Christmas movie,” both kids get excited, wiggling around, but Ransom sticks his tongue out at Andy. Is he now jealous that you're taking time away from him? Did you just find a trustworthy babysitter? “And when we get back, we’ll make sure to invite Ransom and ’a plan’ to have a Christmas dinner and movie at home, okay?”

“I can live with that. But there’s only one ‘plan’ that I would take to your house, and meet the kids. And her name starts with a Tay and ends in a Tum,” Audrey turns the iPad to look at him, questioningly, and gasps, “Bye, cuties. I look forward to hearing everything that has happened while you’ve been gone, and movie night. Yay!” The video ends abruptly, and Audrey looks up at you and Andy with her brows furrowed.

“He doesn’t have plans with Miss Tatum yet.”

“Yet?” You ask her, and she puts both hands on her hips as she gets out of the bed with her princess nightgown, followed by Suede. “What do you mean yet?”

“He told me that he would do a book read in class for Christmas. That is his plans with Miss Tatum,” oh she sounds grumpy. First crushes are hard, especially when this crush could never happen.

“I’m sure he just misspoke, baby. Come on. Andy makes the best hot chocolate you’ve ever had, okay?” Suede is already sassy walking towards Andy with his arms outstretched for him. “You need to wipe that moody look off your face.”

“Why would Uncle Ann bring Miss Tatum to our house?” She stomps her foot. Sass you expect from Suede, but never her. She’s entitled every now and then of course. But it’s extremely out of character.

“The bigger question is why Uncle Ann even said that,” Andy mumbles, starting to walk out the door with Suede.

Kneeling down, you look at Audrey’s sweet face. Brushing some baby hairs back, “Would it bother you if he did?”

“Well, if he did, would that mean I can’t sit in his lap?” Oh no. “I don’t want her to sit too close to him.”

“Why not?” You don’t want to giggle at this. But you wonder if she’s going to tell you why she doesn’t want Miss Tatum close to Ransom.

“I am his girl,” there it is. “Not Miss Tatum. His only plan is to read a book in class. And I get to sit in his lap.”

“You’re right, baby. And in the daylight, we’ll make sure to tell Ransom not to be telling fibs, okay?” She gives you a single nod, and almost marches towards the bedroom door. Little girls' first crushes usually are someone that is kind to them. But having your five year old be jealous of her teacher is not something you were able to be prepared for.

But you didn’t want to think about it. You want hot chocolate with your family. You want to snuggle up all in the bed together. You want to stare at Andy as he watches over all of you. Watch Suede starfish out as much as he can, while Audrey tries to touch every person in the bed in some way. She just didn’t know she would also be touching another member of the family.

“Suedey, go potty before we take sissy to school,” Suede may blow out a puff of air, staring up at the ceiling, but he also bops off to his and Audrey’s shared bathroom, and you turn to look at Andy looming in the doorway. “What?” You ask, standing up, and going to check on Audrey.

“If you’re that nervous about a babysitter, we can take Suede with us,” you shake your head no as you walk up to him. Giving him a chaste kiss. “You’re not nervous about a babysitter?”

“What’s there to be nervous about? You’re going to be with me. And she is going to be at the office so Sloane and Ransom can make sure that our baby is being taken care of. Do you think that making her watch him at your office was the best idea?” Of course he doesn’t care. Andy said that’s what was going to happen, and that’s just how it was going to be. Suede was at the office enough to know his space. Know that under Sloane’s desk was an okay spot. Know that if Ransom didn’t have a client, he could be in there with him. But more importantly, the sitter couldn’t be alone with Chris.

“If it means that his mama can be at ease at her doctor’s appointment then yes,” you give him a little kiss, heading towards Audrey’s room. She needed to wrap a present for Miss Tatum by herself. You peek your head into her beautiful princess room. She never asked for anything, but she wanted the giant pink canopy bed, and Andy made sure that she had gotten it. It’s still one of her prized possessions.

“Do you think this is pretty enough?” Her nose crinkles up as she turns the wrapped gift around. It wasn’t the best. “It’s not very pretty like yours.”

“I think it’s beautiful. And I think Miss Tatum will love it,” she sighs, looking up at you as you join her at her tea table. “What is it?”

“Can I just stay with Uncle Ann?” You shake your head no. “Why not? Suede gets to.”

“And mommy gets a little bit scared when Suede isn’t with her,” she crosses her arms over her chest, looking towards her bed. The very bed that she asks you to help her make every morning so she can pile her stuffed animals on it.

“I get scared when he’s not with me, too.”

“I know you do, baby. We’ll have to slowly start trusting other people with him. But your job as a five year old is to go to school. Have fun with your friends, and other classmates. And tonight we’re decorating the gingerbread houses. And it won’t be long until Christmas. And,” she pushes her chair out from the table. Brushing down her jumper she grabs her school cardigan from her bed, and brings it to you. “Are you mad?”

“No,” her voice is a bit short as you put the cardigan on her though. “Can dad — daddy make hot chocolate tonight, too?”

“Yes, he can,” you’re proud of her for trying to figure out the most comfortable name to call Andy. It changed constantly. Sometimes Andy still popped out, but recently it seemed to go between dad and daddy.

“Can Uncle Ann make gingerbread houses with us?”

“We can ask him,” if he wasn’t busy that man would probably buy all the gingerbread house kits he can find and show up. He never can tell Audrey no.

“And he can’t invite Miss Tatum, okay?”

“Okay,” she holds out a pinky towards you, “I pinky promise Uncle Ann won’t invite Miss Tatum tonight for gingerbread houses,” you aren’t sure what Ransom’s plans are with the teacher. If he’s going to read in Audrey’s classes for brownie points, or if he truly enjoys it. You didn’t know, and you didn’t want to know. Ransom’s private life was his.

“I’m ready to go to school now!” All worries are washed away as your sweet girl jumps up from the pinky promise with a smile. The joys of being a five year old. She had deep feelings, but she still had her many joys in life. And you still had many annoyances with trying to get in touch with her father.

Fuck Scott for ever acting like he wanted full custody of your children. He has missed three weeks with them. Three weeks of not seeing their faces, or hearing their voices. Three weeks of not asking how his son was doing, but how his daughter was feeling! Three weeks without your children sounds like a lifetime.

This is the difference between you and Scott. You wanted him to spend time with his children, even if it meant more time away from you. You wanted them to have a relationship with their father. You wanted him to step up for Suede. You wanted him to treat Audrey like the little girl that she is. And all he cared about was trying to get one over on you.

He used custody as a weapon against you. He wanted you to suffer because he needed you to pay for his transgressions. These three weeks away from their dad, without any word, showed you that he didn’t even truly care about either of them. It makes you sick to your stomach that he can so callously walk away from his flesh and blood. When a man who didn’t even have kids wanted to call them every night. It is Ransom who Audrey turns to with her nightmares, not her own father. Or you. You still haven’t got over that.

“Alright everyone!” Andy shouts from the bottom of the stairs. “The train needs to head out of the station,” Audrey gives you a little giggle as she grabs her gift for Miss Tatum. It’s a bit early, but she has been excited to give it to her. And now, to check on the little Barber bean in your belly. After you get both kids situated.

Taking a deep breath, you look around you and know no matter what this baby will be loved and cared for. Andy would never let three weeks go by without needing to see or hear from Audrey and Suede, and now another one. Andy didn’t even like the weekends the kids were gone. It’s why he implemented naked Saturdays. Saying seeing your tits was the only way he didn’t feel like something was missing.

He wanted to talk to them when they were with Scott. Needed to hear their voices, and see their little faces. And the man that wanted a third child with you could go three weeks with nothing. He claimed your lack of providing him with a third child was one of the reasons that he cheated. That your behavior after Suede made him fall out of love with you. Pig. Of all the ways he’s flawed, when it comes to being a father, it’s his biggest downfall.

“So,” your doctor begins as he roots around for the baby. Of course the pregnancy test was positive. You’d tested enough without Andy’s knowledge just to be sure. Nearly a daily reminder to prove you weren’t dreaming, you were pregnant. You couldn’t get over seeing the two pink lines, the word pregnant, and whatever colorful array of tests that said you were pregnant. “How far along do we think we are?”

“She’s probably about two and half months,” leave it to your fiance to know roughly the length at which you’re pregnant. He knew these things. He’d been paying attention when you were trying to ignore what your body was telling you. You couldn’t get pregnant. It’s what your old doctor told you. Andy agreed with you, he didn’t want you to see that doctor. Except the petty part of him wanted to go back just to say, ‘You were wrong.’

“Well,” he says looking at the monitor, and you grip Andy’s hand tighter. He squints his eyes, and then looks towards you. And then looks back at the monitor. There is no denying what you see. It’s clear as day, right there, “Umm…”

“The baby is okay?” Andy asks, looking at the monitor, and slightly shaking his head with confusion. He didn’t see anything. Nothing but blobs.

“Is there two?” you screech. Andy’s grip on your hand now matches your own when the doctor nods. “But they’re in different sacs,” you’ve been here before, you know what sacs are. Know the what two means. They’re not identical. You could have a boy and a girl! You could have two boys, or two girls.

“Not just different sacs.”

“I really do not see two. What…oh,” you’re so thankful to be looking at Andy when the Doppler picks up the heartbeats. His face immediately changes at the sound. He looks so calm hearing a steady heartbeat, and a less loud one in the background. His eyes go misty as he leans to kiss your temple without removing his sight from the monitor, “Can we talk about what’s happening. That’s their heartbeat?”

“Yes, Mr. Barber. But…you were told you couldn’t have any more children?” Maybe you should make an appointment to see the doctor, after the babies are born.

“Yeah.”

“You weren’t given a true explanation as to why?” You shake your head no. It was complicated. He said there were several factors at play. Your uterus was shaped wrong. There was scaring. You were old. You may have PCOS. “I mean there’s some scarring, you said that your son’s birth was difficult?” You nod your head. A ball of anger starts forming in your gut, and you’re not sure why. “Hmm,” that’s all he says. Hmm.

“What does that mean?” You ask, starting to get agitated. Your uterus has always been a big conversation with some people, and clearly it works just fine. But your uterus, your business. Now you just have mixed emotions. Would it not be for the two beautiful beans growing in you now, you might be raging.

“I mean it would have made conceiving difficult, but not impossible with viable sperm,” you snort. “I did not make a comment about your ex’s sperm. Here’s the biggest issue we currently have,” you didn’t like the sound of that as he starts to clean up. You kind of liked seeing and hearing the babies. It gives you calmness while talking about something you hate. Even though you’re struggling to wrap your head around babies. Two.

“Is there actually three?” Poor Andy is in shock, and not saying anything, he just stares at the now blank monitor.

“No,” the doctor answers shortly. He rolls his chair away from you, and picks up your file. “Baby B seems to be growing a bit slower pace, or…”

“Baby B was conceived after Baby A?” You ask, and he nods his head. He wipes his brows as he looks towards you, “What are you suggesting?”

“This isn’t uncommon mind you. I know you said your periods were irregular, and there is the scarring. There’s a few concerns. You’re older, you’re starting off at a disadvantage. Multiples are high risk anyways. I want you to take things easy. There will most likely come a time you will be on bed rest if you want healthy babies, and I’m assuming that you do. I will not sugar coat this. The babies can be fine, but stress…”

You hear what he’s saying without saying it. Stress. You’re a mother of two, you’re going through a divorce with an asshat, your baby daddy won’t call his kids, you have emergency sole custody of Suede, now you’re finding out that you’re having twins and one is possibly much younger than the other. Stress is no big thing. Completely stress free life here.

“I get it. Stress is next to impossible. But I need this to be a very valiant effort. But both babies have a great heartbeat. Both are growing well, despite Baby B at a bit of a disadvantage. And I’m going to urge you to think about this being the last pregnancy,” you nod without question. Two more babies is more than enough. You’ll get fixed, Andy could, you didn’t care. You didn’t need another.

Now onto more things. Divorce finalized, and custody dealt with.

“We need to keep the pregnancy as much from Scott as possible,” you didn’t care if Scott knew or didn’t know. It didn’t matter either way.

“Is there a reason why?” Andy’s hand on your thigh squeezes you slightly. “So what are you not telling me?”

“We need the divorce finalized before you start showing,” you would have liked the divorce finalized a month ago. “Umm, he could contest the pregnancy.”

“Excuse me?” There is no contesting. The twins were yours and Andy’s. He can’t force you to do shit.

“Legally you’re married to him.”

“And physically I’m with you. The doctor said no stress, but this is stressing me out. Can you just spill it?” He’s trying to protect you. But in terms of your children, you didn’t care right now.

“He’s enough of an asshole that if he found out that you are pregnant, he would demand a DNA test while you’re pregnant. He’ll want me to be legitimized to be a dick,” you’re still not fully understanding. “Legally those are his children. Our twins.”

“No,” tears prickle your eyes. Not tears of sadness, but pure rage. “No. No, they are our babies.”

“Legally they are his. I don’t doubt what a DNA test would say about either baby. But if we can avoid that it would be more ideal,” Scott would be the asshole that would make a mockery of yours and Andy’s relationship. “We shouldn’t tell the kids until after the divorce. Not that he is calling to see or talk to either, but still.”

“Why is he not calling her back? I’m getting tired of lying to my baby. But I won’t have us speak ill of Scott, she’ll figure it out all on her own. But she’s a confused child right now. Can — is there anything legally I can do?” So many thoughts and question run through your mind. Scott could contest the pregnancy. He could say whatever he wanted in court to put doubt in a judge’s mind. He could say infidelity happened.

“It can be brought up during the custody hearing. I just don’t know if it’ll make a difference. Scott knew he screwed up, and he’s continuing to screw up and doesn’t know how to stop it. They’ll be fine,” you aren’t worried about Suede, he doesn’t even talk about Scott. He is young enough to accept the man with him daily is his dad.

“So we can’t say anything to the kids, we need to keep the pregnancy on the downlow, I’m currently at risk and need to have no stress while my stress is piling up. Andy, I just want to be divorced. I’ll give you whatever type of wedding you want, but I want divorced, and I just want to be your wife. I want you to have custody of Audrey and Suede in case something happens,” his hand tightens on your thigh again. “I need to know that if anything happens to me their dad will take care of them, not their father. This is the responsible part of being adults; thinking about the hard stuff.”

“I know. And we’ll do whatever we have to. Just promise me that you’ll keep the babies safe,” that isn’t something that needs to be discussed, it just is what you will do. What you’ll do for your family. You want Christmas to be a pleasant one. You want Scott to put his big boy pants on, and you want him to be a fucking adult for once.

Uncontested little prick. Andy knew that Scott was operating on a low moral scale, but contacting Ray to just inform him that he would sign divorce papers uncontested was something Andy couldn’t predict. He knew that you had the ammunition to smear him and his good name. He agreed to the terms of child support. Agreed to you having full custody, but wanted to go back to every other weekend with Audrey. Just Audrey.

Your eyes glazed over as Ray told you all this information. Hitting you like a blast of cold wind when he got to the end. It’s not that you want Scott to have Suede, it's the fact he could easily throw him away. You should have known. You allowed your son to be around him for too long.

It’s bittersweet hearing your ex wanted to sign away his rights. The one thing that was never mentioned was alimony. Ray advised you to proceed with getting some money, but you didn’t fucking care. You’d be marrying Andy anyways, and wouldn’t receive it. Scott folded over under pressure.

You know that Andy is wanting you to do something more by his pacing around the house tonight. He doesn’t like you’re not getting alimony. He doesn’t like that he wants Audrey, and not Suede. He doesn’t like that you aren’t doing more. “You know I just want to make sure they're safe.”

“You have the power to do that,” he answers with a bit of anger in his voice. “You should get alimony for putting up with that prick. I don’t know why you’re agreeing to his terms. You’re making it too easy for him.”

“Or I’m thinking of how this speeds things up. Scott wants to sign away all of his rights for Suede, giving you the ability to adopt him. I don’t need alimony when I want to immediately marry you, and it’ll go away anyways. Do you see him having children with anyone else?” Andy sighs. “I actually wonder if the asshole got snipped, and he’s the reason I couldn’t get pregnant. He just made me believe I was the issue in the family,” you heard the doctor loud and clear. It’s stuck in your head. Something you can’t prove, and won’t try, but it’s made you wonder if all this time it was always Scott.

Andy sits down at the bar, while you stuff a loaf of sourdough back in the oven. His fingers make odd circles on the counter. “You think I’m making a mistake?”

“I think you’re thinking too rationally, and in the end it makes sense. But I also want him to pay,” you just want him to disappear. “Has he even called you? Asked about his golden child?”

“No,” you answer shortly. Circling around the counter, you lean against Andy, letting him cup your belly. He gives you a kiss to your temple, holding his mouth there while you listen to your babies giggling and laughing in the playroom. “He’s a coward, and probably won’t do anything until after Christmas anyways. I still have full custody. You heard Ray, I get the say so on holidays. It’s because he doesn’t want her to cramp his style.”

“He’s a damn sperm donor. I don’t see how he just kept spiraling,” plain and simple, he wanted to own you. He was realizing he couldn’t, and then he made a grave mistake with Suede, and his reputation was put on the line.

“Well, according to Sloane, his ego has been hit,” Andy’s brow cocks up as he looks at you questioningly. Sloane always gets the best gossip in the courthouse. “Taylor, well, she has this thing with fucking men that don’t belong to her.”

“What?” He smiles, getting excited to learn that Scott was the one cheated on.

“She’s cute. And doesn’t have a job. He was working late, and she found her a young man to fuck in Scott’s bed,” you don’t want to rejoice at his bad luck. But it does serve him right. “She was too young for him, and lets be honest, she doesn’t need kids right now.”

“So where does that leave them?”

“Well, she did show up at his office, and told him it would never happen again,” Andy snorts, and rubs on your belly. He couldn’t feel anything, and neither could you. But the bump is becoming more noticeable. Clothes are struggling to hide the babies growing there. “So it seems that she’s back at the house with him. But it’s not about love, it’ll be about finding someone with more money.”

“But he knows that she doesn’t have a problem with cheating,” you shrug. You didn’t care anymore. She was Scott’s problem. Maybe if he wasn’t so concerned with parenting an adult, he might be better a parent to his daughter. “I just can’t sit and think about him giving Suede up.”

“I know. And I’m both amazed, and pissed off that you can do that,” you know it bothers him. But Scott fighting for Suede would be worse. It’s like he knew deep down he could not give Suede the care that he needed for health reasons. He didn’t want that responsibility, and you would always be there over his shoulder with him. “Are you angry with me for thinking you’re crazy?”

“No. Because you’re looking at this as being Suede’s dad. You can’t fathom why a man would give up their rights to their child. Could throw him away without thinking about it. You’re thinking like someone that loves Suede, because you do.”

“I also think he’s giving you what you want,” he definitely was. He knew that it would be hard for you to let things go back to how they were with Suede. It’s possible you could have enforced monitored visitation for Suede’s safety.

“And I don’t care about his reasons. I am done trying to figure out Scott Huffman. I’m done trying to appease him. I can’t think about if this is a grand scheme of anything because I know that our son will be safer without him in the picture, and Suede Barber sounds nice.”

Andy gives a sighing chuckle as you start to get off him. “I like the way that sounds. So what do you think the babies are?”

“Healthy,” you already have one of each, so it doesn't really matter. You wanted healthy babies.

“And how is Christmas going again?” Neither of you have family in the area, so it will be Christmas at home with the kids in the morning. Just you and your little family.

“Uncle Ann is coming by for Christmas brunch, and,” you walk backwards away from Andy with a smile. Going to check on the bread.

“And? You’re being very coy and secretive,” he pulls you into him, pressing himself up against you in a not so innocent way. But the kids can be heard, and they aren’t anywhere near you. “Doe?”

“Miss Tatum couldn’t get a flight back home, and she’s alone, so she’s coming here,” Andy looks at you confused, and it’s so sweet how clueless he can be. “Ransom has a crush on her.”

“And Audrey has a crush on Ransom.”

“A bit of an oversight, but it can never happen. Ransom can, however, date this cute little teacher at Audrey’s school. He goes there to read books,” Andy shakes his head no. Oh, he really is clueless. “He’s been there three times. Once was to read How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

“Ransom Drysdale went to a Pre-K class to read books for what reason?”

“Andy!” He is so dense right now. “He is trying to impress Miss Tatum. He wants to see her, and how else would he see her?”

“She’s a teacher,” he reminds you. Rolling your eyes you take out the Dutch oven, and smile at him. “I don’t think I’m following.”

“He wants to see her, and impress her, so he goes to her classroom, and shows that he can deal with sticky hands. And he wants to make it clear that you’re not his partner,” Andy’s face goes flat as he stares at you.

”I shouldn’t have told you that,” giggling, you pull him into you.

“I’m really glad that you did. You and Ransom make a very handsome couple,” he leans to the side, blowing a raspberry on your neck. “Make sure to invite me to the wedding.”

“Is dinner ready? I’m getting tired of your attitude. I think I should punish you later,” emphasizing his baseless threat with a swat to your bum, “Audi, Sued, dinner is ready!”

“No, it’s not!”

“You little,” playfully he grits his teeth, and nibbles on your neck. His hands squeezing your ass as Suede runs in, giving Andy’s finger a pinch. “Suedey!”

“Dada, no, my mama! Mama! Mama!”

“Come here, buddy,” you’re able to snake out of Andy’s arms, and pull your baby up, getting a stern look from Andy. “Do not tell me not to pick my son up.”

“I just want…”

“Picking up my children was not on my list of don’t’s. And I will hold them, and if I’m told I can’t, we’ll deal with that then, okay?” He gives you a nod. You know he worries about you, about the babies. He’ll help out how he can, you know that. But not being able to pick up your kids just isn’t an option for you. You need them.

“Is dinner really not ready,” he pouts at you, leaning in to give both you and Suede a kiss.

“It is. And, you know what tomorrow is!”

“SANA! Uck Ann. Peesants and baby,” his legs wiggle around, and you stare at Andy with your mouth gaping. What was that last part? You can’t bring it to Suede’s attention, or he could go blabbing to everyone else.

“You told Suede Ransom was going to be here?” Andy focuses on that part more than ‘baby’ being said.

“Uck Ann. Chess. Me yike Uck Ann. Dow, mama. Dow der,” you put him down, and take a long breath. Saying a silent prayer that Scott could find it in his heart to call his daughter. If you didn’t have Andy in Suede’s life, you would feel like a failure to him. He has someone. But how Scott could ever throw a little precious boy like Suede away is shocking to you.

But is it worse that he wants Audrey enough, but doesn’t want to call her? See her? It just didn’t make sense. Didn’t add up. You know that Andy wouldn’t do that. He would fight to see both the kids, and they weren’t born from him. You’d chosen the wrong man, and deep down, you knew it. But you got the right kids. The best kids.

Ones that are now surrounded by so many people that love them. You are making it work out here away from family. Growing a village, and everyone is happier because of it. Even though Ransom wasn’t happy about the plan for you to fade out of work, but you and Andy decided as a unit that it was best if you slowly weaned your hours down to nothing.

Ransom might not be the biggest fan of that idea, but he couldn’t argue much. You volunteered to do some work from home. Help him out as much as possible. You’d already made him change his mind about children at the office. Suede was easily entertained, and entertained himself well. You just couldn’t let his health be in someone else’s hands right now. You weren’t ready.

Now, onto Christmas Eve, and Christmas.

“Uck Ann, and yoys, and mama, and dada, and Audi, and yots a yoys, and tees, and mine dog, and…” Ransom’s eyes just keep getting larger the more that Suede jabbers about that morning. Ransom gave the morning to your family, but the moment he walked in after cleanup, Suede and Audrey attacked. They were not expecting him, nor expecting him to spend the night.

“Audi, can you translate for me?” He asks, smiling at the little boy, and giving him some rib tickles.

“He had a good Christmas,” she covers her mouth, giggling. They both did. So far, Audrey hadn’t even mentioned Scott. His loss. She very may well later. But she is too much into her feels about new toys, and decor for her bedroom, and now Uncle Ann to care. At bedtime, it was sure to be different.

“Chess. Mine yoys in for. Oo pay me,” Suede points to the wide array of toys in the living room floor. You’re just relaxed with Andy the giant chair of his, enjoying the sight. Before toys had to be strictly cleaned up and put away, and never brought out into the living room. What is the fun in that? This living room is big enough that they had a little nook for additional toys that didn’t fit in their play room.

The fireplace was on, and you soak up Christmas morning. Even more, Andy’s joy of having a Christmas he always dreamed of. The both of you sat in the floor with the kids, opening up presents with them. Then opened up boxes, added batteries, built the race track for Suede. You enjoyed the time with your kids.

“He wants you to play in the floor with us,” Audrey nods. It’s what she is wanting to. If she had it her way she’d probably spend her time sitting in his lap, and getting him to play baby dolls with her.

“Chess,” Suede does one solid nod, and points to the living room. “In der wi us.”

“Can I sit in your lap? Suede likes to get up and move too much,” he responds with a chess, still pointing in the living room. “Please?” Your little needy, sneaky girl.

“Of course,” she giggles again as Ransom carries both of them into the area with you and Andy. Such a lazy Christmas today. The kids have been in the living room with their toys all day, you’ve had a Yule log on the television, and the fireplace on, while you snuggled with Andy, watching the kids play, or playing with them.

“Hey Ran,” you smile up at him, and Andy rubs over your belly, getting an eye roll from Ransom. Apparently, he’d been ragging on Andy for being able to knock you up, while ‘Scoot’ and his limp dick couldn’t

“How the babies?” You cringe, looking up at Ransom. You hadn’t told him. The divorce is official final, but it just was never the right time.

“Mine otay. Chess. Yots a toys!” Suede answers, because he is the baby.

“What babies?” Audrey looks at you accusatory as you gawk at Ransom. “Like me and Suedey are your babies?”

“Me no babE! Me ig boy,” Suede’s brows furrow at his sister. You take a deep breath, trying to think if this is the wrong time. Christmas should be about their happiness with being kids. You’ve already signed the divorce papers. You agreed to Scott’s terms. You allowed him to belittle you over and over again to keep the peace. You deserved to have this family. And they deserved to know.

“Doe,” Andy’s voice is reassuring, and not pressuring at all. He’s always let you lead things when it comes to the children. But you want him to have say as well. He’s earned it. You gulp staring at Audrey who continues to just look at you. Miss Tatum will be coming, and Audrey is already jealous of Ransom’s attention. Would she feel like you are replacing her?

“I got a new baby doll for Christmas. And she looks real,” oh sweet girl. “Is that what you mean?” Audrey twiddles her fingers, as Suede swings his legs, silently asking for Ransom to set him down, and he does.

“I’m sorry,” he says, still holding onto your sweet girl. “I thought…”

“Audrey,” your voice cracks looking at her sweet face. The little girl that made you a mom. The one that has been so strong, and yet is still your baby. The one that calls Andy’s partner to tell him about her nightmares. She’s suffered through so much, and you don’t want this to hurt her, but you wouldn’t change it.

“Honey, Andy and I have a big surprise for you.”

“More yoys?” You shake your head no, at Suede, and he returns to his playing. He didn’t care about anything but more presents.

Audrey looks at your belly with glassy eyes. Andy’s hand is still splayed over it. She’s so smart. Too smart some days. And then her mouth turns up into the biggest smile, “Babies?” She is going to be okay.

“Uh huh. Two of them,” letting her work through the emotions, you just smile up at her.

“Twins!” She screeches, causing Ransom to grimace holding his ear, and he lowers her to the floor, and she bounds towards you. Crawling up into your lap, and kisses your neck. You melt into her touch. Hugging her back, and kissing all over her cheeks. “But daddy said you can’t have babies,” daddy shouldn’t be talking to her at all.

“But mommy can,” Andy says proudly, kissing both of you. “Mommy can have two at once.”

“NaNa my daddy,” Suede sings, connecting the magnetized blocks together. He’s taking it well. Still just worried about NaNa being his daddy. He’d eventually figure out there are babies in your belly, and then there are babies in his home.

“So Suedey is going to be a big brother!” She covers her mouth again giggling. “Can I name one?” You smile, pushing her hair back as her hand joins Andy’s on your belly. Giggling when she feels the growing bump.

“As long as it’s not Princess Peach or Bubbles,” her sweet nose scrunches up, shaking her head at Andy. “Maybe Princess Banana Hammock.”

“I was thinking Aubrey,” she says so sweetly. Something to match her.

“We don’t even know what we’re having, just that there’s three,” her hand stops right above your belly button, and both of you lock eyes for a moment. She felt it, too. Of course your sensitive girl would feel the small flutters. Or just knew that you could. Or it was all in her head. Children’s perceptions are strange.

“You’re sure? Can we put a third in there?”

“I’m sure, and two is enough” you answer. Turning towards Andy you nod your head, and he reaches over to his wallet. He digs through it before pulling out the photos of the ultrasound. “See, this is baby A, and that is baby B.”

“That is a blob. What is that?” She asks, squinting at the photos. “These are not babies. Are they going to look like that when they’re born? That’s terrifying.”

“No,” Andy chuckles, giving her another kiss to her head. “Oh,” he looks at Ransom with a smile as the doorbell rings. “Ran, can you answer the door?” He smiles, putting the photo back in his wallet. Realizing now he can have the ultrasound on display with the family photo. And soon a family photo with your bump. And then photos with all four kids.

“Is it Santa?” Audrey claps her hands, jumping up to cling to Ransom as she follows him out of the living room.

“Sanna! More yoys! Yots a yoys,” both kids run with Ransom to the front door, but you just look at Andy for a moment. Creating new traditions for Christmas. A village unfolding and hopefully no tantrums with Miss Tatum joining you for dinner. There is the couch if she wants to stay, but Ransom better give her the guest bedroom.

“That went better than I thought,” Andy yawns, and brings you practically in his lap. His hand goes up underneath the oversized sweatshirt. He didn’t have to hide anything anymore. You are carrying his babies. And he’d shout it to the moon.

“Now, let’s hope that Audrey does well with this,” you agree. Let’s hope this goes well. She did have such big changes happening.

“Miss Tatum!” Audrey screams, and two sets of feet start jumping up and down, and Ransom says absolutely nothing. “Can I show you my room?”

“Mine yoys. Mine Uck Ann. Mine mama. Mine daddy.”

“Hey, Ransom,” you know that voice. At least Ransom’s crush is reciprocated. That can be your gift to him this Christmas. “I brought a cookie box, and some fudge.”

“My Ike tookies!”

“Ands, everything is okay,” he shushes you, and gives you a chaste kiss. “I’m not sleepy,” you are. You’re very sleepy. And cozy, and comfortable.

“Say hey to Miss Tatum, I’ll offer coffee for everyone, and make hot chocolate for the kids if they want it, and we’ll play a movie. You can sleep right on here with me during the movie, okay, little deer?” You nod as you start to stand up. Better yet, let you make the coffee, he make the hot chocolate, and you get a cookie and be a cordial houseguest. Nap can come later.

Christmas just got so much sweeter.

Next

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