lxvrgirl

[lxvrgirl]

this was so so so good !!!

౨ৎ꣑ৎInamorata౨ৎ꣑ৎ

[fem reader] contains: bullying, angst pairing: coriolanus snow x fem reader summary: Coriolanus met you during his time as a peacekeeper, and he resolves to bring you back to the Capitol with him. author’s note: Hey hey! First Coryo fic in awhile, I'm excited about this one!! Please enjoy! Pinterest Board Spotify Playlist

You were lying between his legs, hidden in the trees away from the world when he told you he was leaving. It was a sunny day, and the shadows of the leaves were dancing over your faces.

Sitting up from his arms, you turned around, looking at him with your brow furrowed. "What?" You knew a peacekeeper's service spanned twenty years, and Coriolanus had hardly been here seven months.

"I passed the advancement test," he said, looking down at you, his blue eyes solemn. "They're sending me to Two."

"Oh." It was all you could say, and you pursed your lips, turning back around and leaning against his chest. You were quiet.

Coriolanus brought his fingers to your chin, turning your chin to face him again. "Sweetheart."

You looked into his eyes, brow furrowing. "So, you'll still be a peacekeeper? Just...not here?"

He nodded, studying your expression in his way. Coriolanus, you had learned, was always watching you, always inspecting you in some way. You'd grown to find it comforting, though now you didn't know how long that comfort would remain in your vicinity.

Biting your lip, you looked down, the reality of him leaving setting in. You'd fallen in love with him so quickly, and you now couldn't imagine your life without him.

Coriolanus couldn't either.

He'd been disappointed, at first, when he'd been assigned to this city. Bribing the official had been a last-ditch attempt to get to Lucy Gray. The chances had been small, he had known, but still he'd moped during his first week here. Not only was he in District Twelve of all places, but the person he'd spent the last of his money to get to wasn't even here.

But, knowing he wouldn't last twenty years pining over her, he'd pulled himself together and thrown himself into his work. Coriolanus was a hard worker, and he put his skill to good use, focusing solely on his duties.

That mindset had lasted all but a week.

One day he'd been in a bad mood. There were some unusually rowdy citizens that he'd had to round up, and the clouds were getting dark. On top of that, he'd had Lucy Gray on his mind more than usual, wondering (stupidly in his opinion) if she missed him, what she was doing. He'd been patrolling along the street, breathing in coal dust and holding his gun tightly.

There had been a rumble of thunder, and then it began to rain. Quickly, passerby had begun to scramble inside, and he'd cursed his shift, longing to go back to base and have a hot shower. Of course it'd rain today of all days.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone walking in the downpour. When he turned to get a better look, he'd seen you, carrying a bag on your shoulder.

Although you were strikingly pretty, that wasn't what caught his attention at first. It was the fact that you, in a now soaked through blue dress, weren't hurrying along at all, not eager to get inside like everyone else. No, you were meandering along, smiling as if there was nowhere you'd rather be.

He'd approached you, unable to help it. "Miss," he greeted. "You shouldn't be out in the rain. You'll catch a chill."

You'd smiled so sweetly it made his head spin. "I don't mind a little water, officer. It's a lovely change from the heat we've been having."

"Still," he nodded, trying to quell his thoughts. "You shouldn't be walking."

"I don't know any other way to get home from the market," you raised your eyebrows, teasing a bit.

Coriolanus paused for a moment, realizing you were right. He straightened, nodding. "Allow me to accompany you home, then. At least I'll know you're safe."

You'd smiled coyly, tilting your head. He remembered thinking how pretty you'd looked, with your wet hair sticking to your cheeks, rain sliding down your face like tears, contrasting your happy smile beautifully. "Do you do this with all the girls, officer?"

He'd been unable to help the slight lift of the corners of his mouth. "No miss. Just you."

That had only made your smile wider, and you'd let him escort you home. He carried the bag of fruit and vegetables for you, telling himself it was simply the gentlemanly thing to do. But as you'd chatted with him kindly all the way to where you lived, he'd found himself drawn to you, to your sweet nature, your beauty, you.

He'd never before understood how Romeo fell in love with Juliet so soon after Rosaline.

From that point on, your relationship had bloomed quickly. He began to let his guard down around you, surrendering to the pure goodness of you. He was wholly enamored by your being, by your existence. Coriolanus had thought coming to District Twelve would mean Lucy Gray at best, lung cancer at worst, but he hadn't at all expected to find a treasure like you amidst the dust and grime. The two of you cut a striking picture at first- the peacekeeper in his sharp uniform and the sweetest girl in town with a gentle demeanor.

You pried him open, softened his heart. And he made you feel loved, made you feel special. You cherished him for this reason, which was why this news of him leaving hit you so hard.

Back in the forest, Coriolanus propped his chin up on your shoulder. One of his hands was resting on your tummy, soothing back and forth. "What do you think sweetheart?"

"Of the promotion?" you questioned, leaning back against him. You didn't want to tell him how saddened you were by his leaving. So you, true to yourself, took the positive route. "You'll be happy there. You've worked so hard and I'm proud of you." You knew how he dreamed of escaping the lower districts, how much he missed his home. Transferring to Two was a step closer to getting back. "You deserve to go."

He nodded, kissing your temple. "Thank you, sweetheart." Then he rubbed his hand over your tummy again, the side of his head leaning against yours. "Are you upset with me?"

You shook your head, biting your bottom lip in contemplation. He studied you. "What's the matter then, darling?"

"I just..." you hesitated. It felt so insignificant. In your eyes, Coriolanus had a bright future, and you didn't want to weigh him down. "I'll miss you."

You were afraid he'd think it silly, but instead he cooed, pulling you more snugly into his arms. He pressed his lips to the top of your head. "I'd miss you too." He rested his chin on your head for a moment, thinking. Then, in smooth tones, he asked, "Would you come with me?"

Once again, his words made you turn around. You read his face, trying to determine if he was serious. When you found no trace of humor, you asked, "You want me...to come with you?"

His hand found its way to your face, his thumb stroking your cheek. He smiled in a reassuring way. "Come with me, dove," he repeated. "I know you think I'll be happier there, and maybe it'll be familiar for me. But..." he reached over and squeezed your hand. "I won't be happy without you."

You searched his eyes. "Coryo, I can't-"

Coriolanus leaned in and kissed you softly, his hand running up and down your side. He pulled back slightly, that usual contemplative look on his face. "You've got no reason to stay here."

He was right. Your family was long passed or moved away. But that was beside the point. "This is my home," you murmured as he pressed gentle kisses to your neck. "I grew up here."

"But what does this district have for your future?" he asked, nudging his nose against the soft skin of your neck. He was clinging to reasons to keep you.

"I..." you didn't know how to counter. When he put it that way, he was right. But the idea of leaving here, the only home you'd ever known, was just so daunting.

Coriolanus met your eyes, both his hands coming to your cheeks. "What will you do here?" he questioned, shaking his head slightly. "I don't want you to marry some farm boy and make babies for the rest of your life darling." He heard how selfish he sounded, but he didn't care. "You deserve better, sweet girl. You deserve the world."

You felt yourself soften at his words. "Nobody could give anyone that."

He shook his head. "Give me a little time. A few years to move up. And I will be able to give you everything you deserve."

A little smile came to your face at his loving promises. And now you were actually considering it. Sitting back against his chest, you turned sideways so your cheek was pressing into it. "Is it even allowed? Bringing a girl?"

Coriolanus smiled reassuringly. "I'd send you a ticket once I got there. This is hardly the first time a soldier's fallen in love with a girl where he's stationed."

You nodded, then looked up at him. In truth, the idea was growing on you. To be with him, away from the slums, where you might have more opportunities to pursue the things you loved, sounded wonderful.

The other driving factor was the way he looked at you. The way he so clearly wanted you to come. He wanted you near him. He'd said you made him happy.

So, for these reasons, you sat up a little, and nodded, looking into his eyes. "Okay. I'll come with you."

The words were barely out of your mouth before he was hugging you tightly to his chest, peppering kisses all over your face. You giggled, cuddling into him and imagining your new life with him, far away from here.

He told you he'd be leaving in two weeks. Your train ticket would be sent about a month in, so he could get settled first.

You began to prepare, saving money and gathering together a few things you'd want to take with you. Living arrangements would likely be modest, but you were used to such things. As long as you were with him, you'd endure any circumstances.

In the weeks before he left, Coriolanus suddenly became very busy with his peacekeeper duties, and you didn't see him very much over the next bit. It was only when you heard awful news that you figured out why.

Sejanus, his peaceful, soft-spoken friend, was to be hanged. For conspiring with rebels, you'd been told. You were horrified. Sejanus was the last person you'd have thought to be caught doing such a thing. Your heart broke for him, but also for Coriolanus. That was his best friend. Even though their personalities were stark opposites, and Coriolanus was a little colder in affections toward anyone except you, you knew he was fond of Sejanus.

Since you knew him, you grappled with going to the execution or not. It would be horribly painful to watch, since he'd been your friend. But what if he was looking over the crowd, seconds from death, and he wished to see a familiar face? Someone who cared about him? Or would it be worse then? You went back and forth until you received a message from Coriolanus.

Don't come.

It was a hard order to follow, but you did. The whole day you cried for Sejanus. He didn't deserve this, no matter what he'd done. But like your mother would have said, he was in a better place now.

You didn't hear from Coriolanus at all after that. Knowing him, he wouldn't want to talk about what had happened with his friend, but you'd hoped to get something from him letting you know he was okay. The day he was set to leave came and went without anything.

During the month following, you practically slept by the mailbox, hoping and praying for a letter from him. Anything to let you know he remembered his promise. It was harder than you'd thought to live without him now that you knew what it was like to do so. You missed him desperately, trying to distract yourself but ultimately failing.

In a moment of desperation, you wondered if he really had forgotten you. But then you recalled the look on his face when he'd asked you to come. No. Coriolanus never made promises he didn't intend to follow through on. So, you kept your things packed and waited.

The day the letter came, you opened it eagerly, noting the heavy, fine texture of the paper. His initials were prominent in gold at the top. Maybe this promotion was better than you'd thought.

Sweetheart-

I apologize for not writing sooner. Things have been busy here. This ticket is for the twenty-eighth, at 9:00 am. I'll meet you at the station. I miss you.

Yours,

Coryo

Him closing the letter with the name you called him made your heart sing. He didn't forget you.

Then you realized: the twenty-eighth was tomorrow.

Leaping from your seat, you scurried to put what remained for you to pack in your small, round case (a pretty thing your mother had left you), making sure there wasn't anything you were forgetting. You hadn't renewed your rent on this house yet for the next month. The plan had been to send a letter to the owner from District 2, and you figured you could still do that. You'd thought Coriolanus would give you a little more notice, but it would be okay.

Waking early the next day, you donned your prettiest dress: a white thing with buttons to the waistline and little flowers embroidered on the bodice that tied at the bust. Brushing out your long hair, you checked your appearance several times before leaving. You wanted to look your best when you saw him.

When you presented your ticket to the stationmaster, he directed you to the first-class section. Surprised by this, you hesitantly settled, sure there'd been a mistake. But a few hours into the ride, nobody ordered you out. It was very in character for Coriolanus to do this. To make sure the long journey was comfortable. But first class? You hadn't asked enough questions about his new position apparently.

The train ride was long, but you hardly minded, watching the landscape whiz by through the window like a moving picture. Eventually, your eyes became heavy and it was clear your exhaustion caught up to you. You fell asleep, figuring it was okay since you were in a safer section. No need to keep guard over your possessions here.

Some hours later, awoken by the sound of the brakes screeching to a stop, you wearily stretched, sitting up from where you'd lain across the seats. You rubbed your eyes (not too hard as not to muss your light makeup) and looked out the window, expecting to see the rugged mountains of District 2.

Instead, the sight that greeted you was of a city, shiny and crisp. Buildings stretched tall; their grandeur surprising you. It was true you'd never been to District 2, but you were fairly certain that it had nothing like this.

Maybe you'd been sent to the wrong place? You reached for your ticket frantically. But no, it had your name on it. If this had been a mistake, it'd been a well-planned one. Looking back out the window, you saw a sign situated just on the outside of the train tracks.

WELCOME TO THE CAPITOL!

Blinking in surprise, you looked from the sign to the view of the city again. It certainly looked how you'd heard the Capitol did.

The conductor called for everyone to get off the train, and you stood, taking your case in your hand and hoping he'd really be there when you exited.

You stepped off the train, trying to see if you could find him amongst the crowd. People dressed very nicely here; you noticed as you observed the hoard of people coming and going. Then, as you made your way away from the tracks and into the station, you saw him.

Heart jumping for joy, you started to walk toward him. His appearance caught you off guard for a moment. You'd thought he'd be wearing his peacekeeper uniform, but he was in a red suit, a coat of the same color over it. His hair was longer too. He was studying something in the distance in his serious way. As you got closer, he noticed and turned to you, a little smile gracing his features.

You walked faster at the sight. When you were close enough, he held out his arms and you dropped your case, practically jumping into them. Coriolanus held you tightly, lifting you off your feet and burying his face in your hair.

"Coryo," you laughed, overjoyed to be with him again.

"I missed you sweetheart," he muttered into your hair. Coriolanus pulled back slightly to look at you, arms still holding you up around your waist. Yours were wound around his neck, and you searched his eyes.

"I missed you," you said softly, and he leaned in, pressing his lips to yours. The kiss was gentle, but there was a hint of hunger to it, and you knew when he got you alone there'd be more. For now, you smiled into it, nudging your nose against his.

Coriolanus set you down carefully, picking up your case and holding out his hand for you. You took it, the familiar feeling of his hand in yours lighting you up. As you walked hand in hand out of the station, you were overwhelmed by the sight. This was nothing like anything you'd expected.

He watched your reaction, smiling and squeezing your hand. "I'm sorry for not telling you darling."

"Why didn't you?" you asked as you began to walk down the street. "Did you know you were coming here the whole time?"

Coriolanus moved his arm to your shoulders as he guided you through the crowd on the sidewalk. "I thought I was going to Two until I was about to leave. They sent me here instead." He looked down at you, that little smile you loved so much making you melt. "As for why I didn't say anything about it; I wanted to surprise you."

You smiled at that. It was sweet of him. Then you tilted your head as you asked another question. "Is it the same position, just in the Capitol?"

He shook his head. "I've been discharged. I'm studying at the university."

Now that you were at a lightly less crowded part of the street, you stopped, looking up at him, remembering what he'd told you before about tuition and why he'd been sent out to begin with. "Really? But I thought-"

Coriolanus brought his hands to your arms, setting your case down for a moment. "Strabo Plinth- Sejanus' father- is sponsoring me. He was very grateful for my friendship to his son. And in addition to my studies, I have an internship with Dr. Gaul that pays. Extremely well."

All this information washed over you, and you stared at him in disbelief, trying to understand how you felt about this. Already everything was far different than you'd thought. But he looked excited, and you knew this was everything he'd wanted; to be back home with his family and you, a promising future ahead.

So, you smiled, winding your arms around his neck again and whispering, "I'm so happy for you."

He squeezed you once before you pulled back. Coriolanus lifted your chin with his finger, making sure you were looking at him. "It's going to be so much better than we thought, sweetheart. Just you wait." You nodded, unable to do anything but believe him. The two of you were attracting a few looks as you stood there with him, and you knew it was because you were dressed like the country girl you were. It may have looked odd next to his sleek appearance. You hardly cared though, too caught up in excitement that you were here.

Picking up your case, he took your hand again, leading you further into the city. You looked around at all the sights, excited by the buzz of it all. The structures were so distinguished, with their columns and pillars. It was also chilly. You shivered a bit, and he tightened his arm around you. Back home it'd been spring for a month. But here it still seemed to be winter. The cold, however, didn't stop you from gazing at everything in awe. The view quickly took your mind off the temperature.

Coriolanus watched you take it all in, a look of amusement on his face. He seemed to delight in your wonder. You looked over at him. "Are we going to where you live?"

He shook his head, squeezing your hand. "Not yet sweetheart. We're going to go somewhere else first."

Brow furrowing slightly in confusion, you let him take you to this mystery location, which turned out to be a tall building with lots of windows. He held the door for you, and when you stepped inside, you saw sleek decor, and a woman sitting at a receptionist's desk, looking like something out of a magazine.

She looked up as the two of you approached. "How can I help you?"

Coriolanus told the woman your name, his hand on your shoulder. "She needs to be...outfitted."

The woman nodded, giving him an impressed look. "I'll call someone in to assist."

"Thank you." Coriolanus turned to you, putting your case down beside you. He put his hands on your shoulders, thumbs smoothing over your skin soothingly. "I have a meeting at the university in twenty minutes, but I'm leaving you in-" he paused, looking over at the woman.

"Lyra," she affirmed.

He gave her a charming smile. "-Lyra's very capable hands."

You tilted your head. "What am I about to do?"

Coriolanus tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. "It'll be fun, sweetheart. Don't worry. We're going to get you something pretty. Tigris said this is the very best place in town." He referred to his cousin, who he'd told you was very fashion centric.

Feeling a bit confused still, you nodded hesitantly, and he smiled. "Good girl. And I don't want you worrying about price or quantity. The more the better. I'll see you in a bit." With that, he kissed your forehead and left.

You watched him go, then turned to Lyra, who wore a kind smile, seeming to understand how you felt. "Don't worry. We're here to help you. It can be overwhelming at first, especially here."

"Help me with what?" you questioned, returning her smile nervously.

She stood up as another woman walked in, taking her place behind the desk. "Shopping, of course." Lyra gestured for you to follow her, and you picked up your case, walking behind her through another door.

Behind it was a seemingly never-ending space. You saw racks of clothing, jewelry peeking out from behind cases, and shiny bottles of perfume on shelves. Lyra smiled as she watched you take it in. "Like I said, it can be overwhelming. But it's not as intimidating as it looks, I promise."

She led you to a room with wallpaper in a pleasing shade of blue. There was a three paneled mirror in the center. Two comfortable looking chairs were positioned against the wall in front of the mirror, a side table between them.

Lyra told you you could set your case down, and you did, a little warily. "Would you like some champagne?"

"No thank you," you declined sweetly, and she smiled.

"Now, I'm going to pull some things from the floor that I think would fit you," she said, studying you in an observant way. "Are there any colors you like to wear in particular?"

You thought for a moment, shifting on your feet. "I have a lot of blue things, but I'll wear anything, really."

Lyra took note of this, promising she'd be back in a few minutes with a few options. When she returned with two full racks, you realized you and her had very different ideas of a few. "I sent someone to get shoes."

She held out the first dress to you- long, silky, in a light blue color. "Go on."

There was no area to change in, so you hesitantly stripped down in front of her, avoiding eye contact. She didn't bat an eye, zipping up the dress from behind and nodding at the mirror. "Go see."

Gradually, as you tried on dresses, you began to get more into it, spinning to see yourself at different angles in the mirror. The things they were giving you were very beautiful. You liked how the fabric felt against your skin, so different from the dresses you were used to wearing. Lyra pronounced the best colors for you to wear as pink, red, black, white, and blue. "But honestly, you're so cute you could wear anything."

Another woman whom she introduced as 'Cassia' came in with shoes. You tried those on too, testing them out with different dresses and experimenting walking. You almost felt like someone else in these clothes, but in the best way.

Lyra and Cassia flattered you, adjusting the clothes, telling you the best ways to wear your hair with which ones and what accessories would look good. They hung the dresses you'd liked on one rack, separating them from the others, and did the same with the shoes.

You put the dress you'd worn in on and followed Lyra out to the different departments of the store. First to jewelry, where you picked a few simple pieces, much to her pleasure. "You'll be able to wear these with everything," she said approvingly, holding up a necklace to your collarbone.

She led you to an area with nightdresses and intimates next, which you'd balked at. "Are you sure about this? Nobody will be able to see them." You were looking at what she was suggesting: a set with a black lacy bra and panties.

Lyra gave you a mischievous sort of smile. "It's less for you, and more for him."

"Who?" you questioned.

"That handsome man who brought you in, if I'm not mistaken," she raised her eyebrows. You caught her drift and blushed, looking down. She insisted you pick out a few sleeping pieces too, lacy nightdresses and sets.

You selected a scent of perfume too; one you liked that smelled like roses. Lyra handed you a pretty black and white bag that she said would go with everything you'd picked out today.

Much to your surprise, that wasn't the end of it. Now she was sitting you down in a chair in front of a sink, telling you to lean your head back as she gently washed your hair with warm water and soap that smelled like flowers. "To match your perfume," she clarified, as if to explain the choice.

She rinsed your hair and dried it with heat, using her brush to make it fall in sleek, bouncy curls. You smiled at your reflection, amazed at how chic it looked. Lyra applied a little makeup too, not too much because in her words you "were naturally pretty and don't need it unlike some other girls I've helped before".

When all that was over, she took you back to the room with the mirror, handing you one of your favorite dresses you'd tried on (red with a long skirt and short sleeves), and a pair of black heels. Lyra turned her back when you put on your new intimates, only coming over to help you with the brassiere, which was held together by a ribbon tied in the back.

When you looked at yourself in the mirror, you were in awe. Somehow you looked brand new, but also yourself at the same time. Bouncing on your heels, you thought of Coriolanus, and what his reaction would be. Would he love it or hate it?

Lyra smiled at you through the mirror. "Very pretty." You turned around excitedly, thanking her kindly for all her work. She almost seemed surprised that you did, as if she wasn't used to it. Adjusting your hair behind your shoulder and smoothing the sleeves of your dress, she said that you were a sweet girl and she'd be happy to help you anytime.

You helped her carry your four bags of things, plus your case, to the front. Just before you got to the door, Lyra took the bags you were holding, hoisting them in her arms and giving you a knowing look. "You come out last. For effect, you know?"

She opened the door, an impressive feat with everything she was carrying, and said something you couldn't hear to someone on the other side. You followed her, and instantly saw why she'd wanted to go in front of you. Coriolanus was standing there, his eyes on you as you entered.

His face, in its usual serene position, broke into a smile when he saw you, all dolled up for him. Moving forward, Coriolanus took your hands in his, lifting your arms so he could see you in your entirety. "Look at you," he said in awe. He put one hand down, lifting the other, still joined with yours, up high. "Turn around for me."

You did so happily, doing a slow spin under his arm so he could see the whole dress. His smile seemed uncontainable. "You look beautiful sweetheart. So pretty." He brought your hand to his lips, kissing your fingers. "There's a car waiting. I knew you'd have bags." He nodded at a man in a suit standing near him, and he started to gather them, carrying them outside.

Coriolanus turned back to you, looking over you again with an adoring smile. "You look lovely, darling. Truly." His affections pleased you, and you looked up at him proudly. Then he seemed to remember something, rubbing your arms. "Did you get a coat?"

Lyra stepped in, holding out the white coat with fur around the cuffs and collar you'd selected earlier. He gave her an appreciative nod, holding it up for you to step into. You slid your arms through the sleeves, and he turned you back around, taking the edges to adjust it around you, making sure you were warm enough.

You watched him do all this with a soft look in your eyes. He'd always doted on you like you couldn't believe. Coriolanus closed the coat around you, chucking you lightly under the chin. "I forgot to tell you how cold it stays for a while, darling."

The driver poked his head in, letting him know everything was ready, and Coriolanus took your hand. You turned to Lyra. "Thank you again for everything."

She smiled appreciatively. "It was my pleasure. Come back any time." You could tell she meant it.

Coriolanus led you out to the car, his arm around your waist, and you could see that you were attracting stares from some of the passerby just like earlier. Only this time, you weren't sure why. You were dressed like a Capitol citizen now.

When you asked Coriolanus about it, he smiled, squeezing his arm around your waist. "It's because you're gorgeous. You were before, but now you're beautiful in a way they know."

He kept his arm wound around your waist the whole car ride, and you couldn't help but think what a pretty pair the two of you made. For so much of your relationship you'd been mismatched. The soldier and the country girl. And a few hours ago, the country girl and academic. But now you looked like you belonged together, like you were dolls that came in a set.

The car pulled up in front of a tall, grand looking building. It was clearly old, but in a majestic way. The sun setting made the white exterior appear nearly golden. Coriolanus exited the car first, holding out a hand for you. You moved to get your bags, but he shook his head, offering his arm. "They'll be taken up. Come with me, darling."

Every step you took, you were more unsure of what you were walking into. A man standing guard at the front nodded at Coriolanus, and he returned it curtly. All the way into the elevator, to what seemed to be the top floor, you wondered what it would be like. Living with him. You'd never lived with someone you were in a relationship with before.

When the elevator dinged, signaling your arrival, Coriolanus looked down at you, reaching his other hand to where yours was clinging to the crook of his arm. "Ready?"

You nodded in an assuring way, even though you had no idea what he was asking.

The doors parted to reveal a luxurious space, more elaborately decorated than anything you'd ever seen. One thing you noticed were the accents of red everywhere. And the roses. Both the color and the flower seemed to hold importance. On some unconscious level you'd known this, known red was his favorite color but not why. Known he valued roses, but not the reason. You were thankful for your choice in dress, the same dark, rich crimson.

Coriolanus helped you take off your coat, but he seemed to be looking for something as he did. "Tigris?" he called, removing his own and hanging it with yours in the closet. Or someone.

A pretty, stylish woman with blonde hair emerged from another room. When she saw you, her face lit up. "Is this her?"

"It is," Coriolanus looked down at you proudly. You felt as if he were showing you off, but you didn't mind it one bit. "Darling, this is my cousin Tigris."

She smiled as she looked over you. "You're just lovely...I can see what Coriolanus was talking about."

"It's nice to meet you," you offered shyly, letting go of his arm. She brought you into a warm hug, and a comforting feeling bloomed in your chest. When she pulled back, she looked over the details of you with great interest. "Your dress is beautiful."

"Ah," Coriolanus said pleasantly over your shoulder, and you looked up, seeing an older woman enter the room. His grandmother, you presumed from what he'd told you.

He introduced you to her and she smiled, albeit a bit tightly. "So, you're the girl he met in twelve?" Her tone made it sound like that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Tigris saved the day, swooping in and linking arms with you, asking about you, your interests and how you liked the Capitol so far. You told her a bit about shopping earlier, and she beamed. "I'll finally have someone to shop with! Maybe that's the real reason Coriolanus brought you home," she said teasingly, tossing a look back at her cousin.

He only smiled, holding out his hand. "I'm going to show her the bedroom, Tigris."

Playfully reluctant, she let go, smiling sweetly at you. "We'll talk more tomorrow." Then she hugged you again. "I'm very glad you're here. You and I are going to be great friends."

"I'm sure we will," you smiled, letting go and going to Coriolanus. He seemed pleased that you were getting along with her.

He led you to a pair of doors at the end of a hallway, standing like two white chess pieces. The king and queen, you thought.

Coriolanus took you through the door on the right. It was a rather pretty bedroom, decorated much the same as the rest of this floor, grandly with accents of red. Beautiful of course, like a palace.

"This is your room, dove," he explained, and you smiled at the thought of this elegant space belonging to you. Then, he opened a door you'd presumed was a closet. Behind it, you saw another bedroom, but this one looked a little more lived in. "And this is mine."

"A secret door?" you wondered in delight. He confirmed it with a nod.

"The washroom is just through here," he pointed to another door with a gold handle. "It connects to my room as well."

Instantly, you wondered how much time exactly you'd be spending in the room he'd pronounced as yours. He validated your thoughts, taking your face in his hands. No matter how many times he did so, you loved it, the feel of his big hands caressing your soft cheeks. "They've already brought your things in here. I'll let you freshen up." He chucked you under the chin lightly. "Meet me in my room."

Coriolanus kissed your forehead, looking at you in his typical fond way. "I'm happy you're here, sweetheart."

Your smile stayed on your face until he shut the door behind him, and then you leapt into action.

The bags of things you'd gotten today were set to the side of the bed, beside an open door that looked like a closet. You rushed to them, carefully pulling out boxes and trying to figure out what was in each of them.

Finally, you found the one with your sleepwear and rustled through it, trying to find something...acceptable to wear. He'd implied you'd be sleeping in the same bed. You wanted to be pretty for him, for your first night together in the Capitol.

You pulled out nightdresses and sleep sets, considering. Which one was the prettiest? Which one would he like the best?

Remembering the importance of red, you chose a nightdress of that color with white lace trim and a bow in the center. You would keep your panties underneath on, you decided.

Removing your dress and hanging it in the closet, you put the nightdress on, looking at yourself in the full-length mirror. It was pretty. It made your legs look long and your skin smooth.

You pulled your hairbrush from your case and ran it through your hair a few times, making sure you looked presentable. Suddenly everything about you looked wrong. You messed with your reflection, turning to try and see yourself from the back.

There was a knock on the door. "Is everything alright, darling?"

When you looked at the clock, you realized you'd been in there for nearly an hour. "Yes!" you called, adjusting the straps of your nightdress. "I'll be just a moment."

Looking at yourself one more time, you nodded, hoping this was enough.

Opening the door, you saw him standing at his desk, holding a file, reading the contents. He'd also changed, into a grand looking dressing gown that was open, revealing he was wearing nothing but his boxers.

Coriolanus looked up, grinning when he saw you, and putting the papers back on his desk. He came to you, reaching for your hands. "Beautiful." He looked you up and down, his eyes catching on your delicate nightdress. His gaze grew slightly hungry, and he pulled you to the bed, sitting and guiding you to his lap.

His large hands settled on your thighs, grazing the hem. You searched his eyes, trying to guess at his next move. Leaning in, he kissed you gently, pulling back to look at you. "Have I already told you how happy I am now that you're here?"

"A few times," you teased, and he gave a playful growl, grabbing you around the waist and rolling you over so he was on top of you. Coriolanus' lips trailed hot kisses down your neck, and you leaned back and enjoyed it, sighing softly and tangling your hand in his hair. He'd never had hair long enough where you could do that before.

As he ravished you with attention, you relished in your newfound position. Here you were, lying on silk sheets in a pretty dress being kissed by a handsome man who loved you.

When he pulled back to look at you, your smile was bright. Was there ever a girl luckier than you?

The second he'd met you, Coriolanus knew you weren't destined for the backwater slums of District 12. No, he knew you needed something grander, that you were born to live in luxury.

And besides, you deserved it too. There was a natural sweetness about you that made him protective of you, made him want to spoil you beyond belief. And until now, he hadn't had the chance or the means.

The second he'd spotted you in the crowd at the train station, his heart grew full. You were so adorable, a breath of fresh air in the windowless room that was the Capitol. He grew excited at the chance to spend money on you, and give you every comfort he thought you required.

Pretty dresses to wear, A grand place to live. Silk sheets to...well, he'd come back to that later.

Although the dress you'd arrived in was pretty, he wanted you to fit in here. Besides, you'd look absolutely beautiful in the classic style of the Capitol.

When he'd come back to collect you at the shop and seen you all dolled up, looking like you'd been born into luxury, he'd rejoiced. Obviously, he'd always found you beautiful, but there was something about the way you carried yourself now. You were every inch a lady.

He'd been slightly disappointed at how little you'd gotten, but remembering the way you'd lived in 12, he let it slide. In time you'd become accustomed to it. He'd send you shopping again soon, perhaps with Tigris since she seemed to like you so much.

It was only a few days after you arrived that the first social event you'd attend together came up. He was eager to take you out and show you off.

That night when you emerged from your bedroom in a black and white floor length gown of delicate tulle, a string of pearls around your neck, his breath was taken away. He took your hand in his, kissing it gallantly. "Beautiful darling. Absolutely stunning."

You smiled in your sweet way, and he offered his arm to escort you out. Tigris fawned over your dress, looking lovely herself in pink silk. The three of you made your way down to the car, and he could feel your giddiness at the prospect of tonight, though you kept yourself composed in a way he admired.

Walking in with you, he could feel everyone's eyes draw to the pair of you. As a new face in the Capitol, they'd likely be curious, and he relished in the unspoken interest.

Instantly people came to you. He introduced you to person after person, and you greeted them shyly, but politely. It was obvious after a while that people were becoming enamored by you. The sweetness of your being captivated them just as it had him, just as he knew it would.

Women fawned over you, complimenting your dress and asking where you got it. Men eyed you appreciatively, but saw that you were on Coriolanus' arm, so didn't get too close. Good, he thought, looking down at you. You were his. Anyone who got too close in the wrong way would be buried.

You chatted eagerly with anyone who crossed your path. He kept you close, but still greeted those who approached him. There were certain people he was required to talk to after all, but he wasn't going to let you go for it.

When you went off to get a glass of champagne, an older woman whispered to him, "She's absolutely darling."

Coriolanus' mouth twitched into a smile. "Isn't she?" He was pleased that society seemed to have accepted you, finding you as charming as he did.

The night progressed smoothly, and soon you were caught up in a group of women alongside Tigris, talking about fashion. He excused himself, deciding you were alright for the moment in the company of his cousin.

Making his rounds, he greeted senator after senator, oozing politeness. These events could be tedious but having you here with him helped greatly. He'd look over at you every now and then, just making sure you were okay. Every time, he'd see you caught up in conversation, looking like sunshine in a physical form.

He wasn't worried about your social graces. You were unusually well educated for where you were from, and by your own choice too. There was plenty in your pretty little head about topics Capitolites could discuss for hours. Both intellectuals and opposite. His angel could bewitch anyone she wanted.

You came back to him shyly after a little bit, and he wrapped his arm around you, pressing a kiss to your temple. He could smell your perfume. Roses. His favorite. "Everything alright, darling?"

You nodded, looking up at him. "Who do we talk to next?"

That made him smile. You were so eager to please. He rested his hand on your face, thumb running over your cheek. "We don't have to. We can go home now, love."

You looked nervous. "Just a few more? I don't want to be rude."

Coriolanus looked over you, considering. "A few more." He thought it was adorable of you to worry about manners; you really were too sweet.

He led you over to a group of colleagues, greeting them politely. The group of men looked at you with interest, showering you with compliments. Of course, these compliments were a bit more sexual in nature than the women from earlier, but he let it slide, keeping his grip on you tight. You were oblivious to it, chattering with them and winning them over the same way you had with everyone else thus far.

One of the men made a comment about the way your dress hugged your body, and his fingers splayed on your waist possessively. It's not her fault, he reminded himself. He made a mental note to keep you even closer at the next event.

You excused yourself for a moment, whispering to him that you'd be right back, and he was left alone with the group of men. Back to talking about what he considered to be uninteresting affairs, especially when compared to you.

Twenty minutes passed, and you had not returned. He was growing concerned, looking around the room to see if you were with Tigris, perhaps. But no, his cousin was talking to an older lady in a blue dress.

His brow furrowed as he looked, still trying to stay engaged in the conversation but failing. Where on earth had you gone?

Finally, to his relief, you returned. Your smile was tighter, wearier than it had been before. When he got a closer look at you, he could see dried tear tracks on your face.

Immediately he took you under his arm, nodding a brief goodbye to the men in front of him. Leading you out into the hallway, he searched your eyes, brow furrowed. "Sweetheart...sweetheart, what happened? Are you okay?"

You were trying to stay composed; he could see it. Breathing deeply so you wouldn't cry, you said, "Who else do we need to talk to?"

Coriolanus shook his head, pulling you into his arms. "No one. What's the matter?"

The second he had you against his chest you broke, tears slipping down your face like rivers. He held your head against his shoulder, letting you cry there. "Shhh, I've got you angel. It's going to be okay."

He kissed your hair, rubbing your back lightly as not to wrinkle your dress. "What happened?"

You sniffled, shaking your head against his chest, words muffled. "Nothing. It's nothing."

"It's not nothing if it's making you cry. What happened?" he demanded gently.

Turning your head so your ear was over his heart, you sighed softly. Then, "I heard someone talking about how I'm 'district' and I should go back to Twelve."

His blood ran cold, his arms tightening around you. "Who?"

"I don't know," you said honestly. You were so new to this; he should have figured you wouldn't recognize who did it.

Coriolanus inhaled softly, burying his nose in your hair. "Pay them no mind, darling. They're fools with too much wine in their systems."

"I don't even know how they found out," you muttered, pulling back to look up at him. "I didn't tell anyone where I was from. Did you?"

"No," he said, trying to think if he might have let it slip. Not that being from Twelve was anything to be ashamed of, but he knew the socialites at the Capitol would take it too far in a negative light.

You leaned your forehead against his chest. "I don't know how anyone found out," you repeated.

"It's alright, sweetheart," he promised, his voice a soothing coo. "High society feeds on gossip like this. They'll forget all about however scandalous they think it is in no time."

You nodded, unable to do anything but believe him, leaning back into his chest, safe in the cocoon of his arms.

When the next event approached; a gala to celebrate the president and his wife's anniversary, he watched you build yourself up to attend. You selected your dress carefully, trying to infuse confidence into your appearance.

Coriolanus had known it would be a hard transition, going from living in a poor district to the upper-class world. You were doing wonderfully on your part, and he reveled in that. It was the people around you that were having a hard time getting used to it.

Perhaps he shouldn't have involved himself so much in the world of parties and dinners so soon after returning in anticipation of your arrival, but he couldn't help himself. He finally had money and influence and he wanted to use it. It was like giving a man dying of thirst water.

Anyways, the both of you were stuck in this position now. You were making the best of it, enjoying the life he'd given you despite the whispers heard everywhere you went. His sweetheart had a gift for seeing the light.

Tonight, you looked especially beautiful, in a floor length white, sheer dress that Tigris had assured you was the latest style. You seemed very eager to please, checking your reflection a dozen times before you followed him out the door.

He watched you enter the party with an air of pure confidence. Here you were, beautiful as ever, determined to make everyone like you. It broke his heart a little, that you sook the approval of others so much. But he stayed quiet, letting you do what you pleased.

It started well.

You greeted everyone you'd met before, a bright smile gracing your face. Coriolanus felt a twinge of pride. That was his girl.

He looked up at a group of women who were eyeing you, whispering among themselves, and his eyes narrowed just slightly. Then he turned to you. "Darling, let me introduce you."

Walking you over to them, he put on a polite smile as you sweetly told them your name. "It's lovely to meet you."

"Pleasure," one of the women, a blonde, said, pursing her lips as she peered at you over her glass of champagne.

"Likewise," you gave her a genuine smile and Coriolanus thanked the higher powers for your innocence.

As you began to speak to them in your special you way, he relaxed a little. Maybe he need not be so protective. Maybe you could handle yourself.

After a few minutes, you leaned into him, whispering, "You can go greet whoever else you need to, my love. I'll be fine."

He furrowed his brow a bit. "Are you sure?"

You nodded assuredly. "Of course." Tilting your head up to kiss him briefly, you said, "I know you have people to talk to. Go on."

Coriolanus stood still for a moment, deciding if it was a good idea. Eventually he concurred, giving you a parting kiss on the temple and going off to talk to a nearby official who greeted him heartily.

You watched him go, then turned back to the women, smiling. "I love your dress," you told the blonde who'd said it was a pleasure.

She softened a bit, giving you a squinty eyed smile. "Thank you. It's from the new boutique on Third. I can direct you there if you'd like."

Before you could answer, one of the other women, a brunette, said, "Your accent is so unique. Wherever are you from?"

You froze at the question, keeping the smile on your face. "Up north."

The brunette looked amused, a little smirk on her face. "Oh, so like Seven? Or Nine?"

Another blonde cut in, laughing a little. "Oh no, I bet she's from Twelve. Their accent is very similar."

Feeling tense and not much like lying, you nodded. "I am."

Blonde number two seemed rather pleased to be correct, and she raised an eyebrow as she looked you up and down. "How did you wind up here, then? In the Capitol, I mean."

You ignored the pang in your chest. "Coriolanus brought me here."

All three of the women's faces lit up at the mention of him, now looking interested. "How kind of him," the brunette said, sipping her drink. "The Snows have always been known for their charity. First with the Plinth boy and now with you! How lovely."

It was a jab, but you brushed it off. She probably didn't mean anything by it, you decided. Straightening up, you responded, "Yes, it was. I'm very grateful to be here."

"But how long are you here for?" Blonde number two asked, her eyes wide. She seemed about your age, but you could nearly physically feel the difference between you two.

"As long as he wants me to be," you answered honestly, fidgeting with the sleeve of your dress and looking to see if you could spot Tigris. She was nowhere to be found.

"Ahh, I see," the brunette gave you a smile that almost seemed condescending. "Well, that's very nice for you. A little trip to the Capitol."

"Yes, quite," you smiled politely, feeling like a bug under a microscope. "Excuse me, I'm going to go get a drink."

Once you were away, you took a deep breath. At least they weren't being outright awful. It was better than nothing, you supposed. Grabbing a glass of champagne, you took a sip for courage.

You can do this, you told yourself silently as you made your way back over. Make them forget where you're from, make them-

"She's rather naive, isn't she?"

The words of the first blonde woman pierced your ears, and you halted to a stop, just barely in earshot. The crowd was thick, but you could both see them and hear everything they said.

"Well, she is from Twelve after all," the brunette laughed. "Did you expect anything different?"

"Such a shame for Coriolanus," the second blonde mused, swirling her drink. "I wonder if he felt sorry for her. Or maybe he got her pregnant!"

The brunette gasped, hitting her in the arm lightly as she giggled. "That must be what it is. He's such a gentleman, of course he'd do the right thing even if she's a whore. I've heard most pretty girls from Twelve are."

"Poor man fell in love with her and she's just using him," the second blonde shrugged. "Oh, my word, we have to tell Jenny and Mary!"

You were rushing off into the hallway before they could say anything else.

Hot tears burned your cheeks as they fell, and you leaned against the wall, hand covering your eyes. Why did I ever think I could do this?

You caught sight of your reflection in a mirror on the opposite wall, and it only served you worse. Before tonight it had shown a girl who fit in, who could be every bit as good at society as the women in the next room.

But now all you saw was an imposter. Nothing dressed up all pretty.

Squeezing your eyes shut, you tried desperately not to cry. You didn't want to ruin your makeup and have to go back out there with blackened eyes. Taking deep breaths, you tried to focus on the positive. Everyone else seemed to like you, that was good. The dress you're wearing is pretty.

Opening your eyes, you breathed in and out shakily, smoothing your hair and still harvesting good thoughts. You're in the Capitol. You don't have to worry about money. Coriolanus is-

Right there.

You caught him in the reflection of the mirror and slowly turned your head. His face was solemn. Silently, he held out his arms.

Like a magnet, you were drawn to him. His arms felt like a shield around you, and you could've welded yourself to him in that moment. As a peacekeeper he had always been protective of you, and you were happy that hadn't changed.

No words were said. He knew. Instantly he knew. And you loved him for it.

You were still trying not to cry, and he looked down at you, lifting your chin with a single finger. "Darling."

The single word broke you. Biting the inside of your cheek, twin tears rolled down your cheeks, and his face softened. He pressed your head against his shoulder, holding you to him.

"I'm sorry sweetheart," he breathed, holding you against him.

"This was a mistake," you hiccupped, lifting a hand to brush a tear away.

"What do you mean?" he frowned, hand running through your hair.

"I shouldn't have come here," you whispered in shuddering tones. "I know it looks bad for you, being seen with a girl who's 'district'."

Coriolanus pulled back, looking down at you. He looked determined. "Darling, if anything you make me look better. You've charmed just about everyone in that room."

Shaking your head, you choked, "I'm an imposter, Coryo." Your hands were shaking. You'd jumped into the river of Capitol society, and now the words of the women were stones tied to your wrists, holding you down at the bottom when you desperately needed air. "You should just let me go back to Twelve."

"No," he said instantly, tone sharp. Coriolanus held you tighter to him, as if you'd disappear to Twelve any second in a puff of smoke. "You're not going back there. You're staying with me."

"There is absolutely no reason to keep me here," you begged, searching his eyes. "You have so much ahead of you- you don't need me dragging you down."

Coriolanus heaved a sigh, looking firmly at you. He thumbed a tear from your cheek, studying you for a moment. Then, he reached down for your hand. "Come on. We're going home."

"You don't need to-"

"No," he cut you off, looking over you. "Come with me, sweetheart."

You trailed behind him, his hand in yours as he pulled you back into the ballroom. Flushing red a bit due to your slightly disheveled appearance, you kept your eyes on your shoes, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Hearing Tigris' voice, you looked up. She looked concerned, looking between you and Coriolanus like she was at a tennis match. "Is everything okay?"

"We're going to head home," Coriolanus said smoothly, letting go of your hand and moving his arm to your waist, holding you in a protective way.

"Okay," Tigris said confusedly. "I'm going to stay a little longer. I'll call a cab." It was sweet of her, to let you go. You didn't want her evening to be ruined because you couldn't handle what other people said about you.

"I'm sorry," you said quietly, and she shook her head.

"Nothing to be sorry for," she said kindly, reaching out and smoothing the sleeve of your dress. "Feel better, alright?"

You nodded, and Coriolanus guided you away, through the crowds. Their whispering irked at you. You were convinced they were talking about the naive country girl and the Capitol's newest up-and-comer, and what a mismatched pair you were.

The car ride home was quiet, and you sniffled the whole way. Coriolanus kept close, his presence a rock in your panicked ocean of insecurity.

All the way up the stairs and into your room he was silent. It wasn't until he sat you down on the bed, and knelt before you, his hands grasping yours, that he said, "You're not going back."

"You have to let me," you responded dryly, your voice hoarse both from crying and lack of use. "I'm no use to you."

"Darling-" he looked away for a moment, seeming frustrated. "What did they say?"

"I don't want to talk about it," you mumbled, looking at your lap.

"You're going to talk about it," he said firmly, lifting one of his hands to take your chin between his fingers, forcing you to look at him. "What did they say? Don't leave anything out because you want to be nice. I know you, dove. Repeating what they said about you doesn't make you any less of a sweetheart."

Feeling trapped, you avoided his eyes. "It doesn't matter." What the women had said had hurt you, but you didn't want to be the one running to your boyfriend every time someone hurt your feelings.

"It matters to me," he insisted, forcing you to meet his sharp blue eyes. "Don't leave a single word out."

You bit your cheek so hard you tasted blood. Then, seeing no way out, you said in broken tones. "They said...I must be pregnant, or..." you didn't want to say whore. "...or a girl who sleeps around to have gotten you to bring me back here." His eyes darkened, and you quickly tried to smooth it over. "But it's not-"

"Don't defend them," Coriolanus stopped you, squeezing your hand. "Don't. Trust that they'll be dealt with, but do not defend them. They wouldn't do that for you."

"That's not the point, Coryo," you shook your head, scrambling so you wouldn't be the cause of anyone getting hurt. "They also...said I was pretty...?" you tried.

Coriolanus paused for a moment, then laughed lightly in disbelief, bringing your hand up to his lips and kissing it. "You really are an angel, you know that? Always so worried about everyone else. I'll bet it was a backhanded compliment and you're leaving something out."

He'd gotten you. You were quiet.

He nodded in confirmation. "Right. But sweetheart-" he came to sit by you on the bed. "Come here." Coriolanus pulled you to sit across his lap, your head resting on his shoulder. "They didn't say anything true. Women in the Capitol are jealous creatures."

"That's likely all they know," you said softly as he rubbed your back soothingly. "The poor things...growing up competing with each other like that."

Coriolanus kissed your temple, chuckling ironically. "You're too sweet. It'll be your downfall someday."

"They were right, though," you said softly, your fingers hooked on the buttons of his shirt.

"Baby," he muttered against your hair. "No."

You looked up at him, and he exhaled softly, his fingers running through your hair. "I don't want you talking about yourself like that. Especially when what those women think is in the minority."

Furrowing your brow, you tilted your head. "What do you mean?"

He scoffed lightly, in a fond way. "Sweetheart, do you know how many people have asked me about the charming girl I brought home with me? How enchanting everyone finds you?" Coriolanus squeezed your arm. "You've entranced everyone that matters."

"But-"

"There's always going to be someone who can't find it in their heart to admit they like you," he assured, nudging a kiss against your temple. "But you, my angel...you're perfect. And you're staying right here. With me."

The possessiveness of his words did not escape you, but it made you feel safer. "I don't want to hurt your position."

"You are the last thing that would hurt that," Coriolanus stated, and the way he said it made you believe it too. "If anything, you're an asset. The way you draw people in, you're a born higher-up's wife. And you're a thousand times sweeter."

He put both hands on the sides of your face. "I have never found you anything less than radiant. Never. And I do not want you do go back to Twelve. You deserve better. I want you here with me. Do you understand?"

Moved by his words, you nodded, and he wrapped his arms back around you, tucking you into his chest. "That's my good girl." He kissed the top of your head, rubbing your back. "I love you. I'm not about to let you go for anything."

"I love you too," you breathed, eyes closing as your body melted against his. It was safe here. And in that moment, you saw forever with him, here where he wanted you.

Seeing you in distress was agony. Coriolanus never wanted that to happen again.

He had to be careful with how he handled things, however. You were innocent, unknowing. And that was just the way he liked it.

Holding you there in his arms that night, he vowed not to let anyone who made you cry walk the planet. Someone who'd hurt a creature as sweet and good as you were didn't deserve to live anyways, he justified.

Coriolanus had big plans for the future. As he rose to power, it'd be less and less of an issue getting you what he thought you deserved.

And it'd be even less of an issue hiding from you what he had done to get there.

You would never find out that he was the cause of Sejanus' death. You would never know what became of the women who spoke so illy of you tonight. No, he'd continue to distract you with the shine and luster of the Capitol. Tomorrow, he'd send you out for a day with Tigris and then leave his internship early to spend the evening with you. Maybe armed with a gift or two. It likely wouldn't even be as hard as he was thinking, given your tendency to focus on the light.

He would do everything over and over again because he adored you. The love, the light of his life. Too good for this world, his alone to protect and cherish and dote on. He would live for you; he would kill for you.

This was only the beginning.

come talk about coryo here!

[lxvrgirl]

love this series so much!!! it’s so damn good

A Whiff of Blood Masterlist

Lloyd Hansen x You / Reader

A collection of the stories of Mob!Lloyd and Secretary!Reader.

The moodboard is created by the lovely @rogerswifesblog/@rogerswifesblog-updates. Please send this amazing person some love <3

Fluff: 💕 Angst: 🥀 Smut: 🔥 Dark: 🌑

A Whiff of Blood: It is a dumb idea to be working for Lloyd when you have hemophobia. 🥀💕

Bleed Out: Lloyd is under your protection for now. 💕 (newly updated

Out for Blood: You were captured by a rival gang. Would Lloyd come and save you? 🥀🌑💕 Bonus: What happened to the mole

A Rush of Blood: You asked whether you could leave early for a date, while Lloyd decided not to keep his feelings bottled up any more. 🥀💕

Drabbles:

Headcanon for Dani

[lxvrgirl]

so sweet i love it

the lakes - m. murdock

a/n: hey guys so i've been struggling a lot with the fact that i might have hearing loss (i'm going to the doctor next week) and as always i am projecting, but i am not 100% sure everything in this fic is accurate and for that i apologize. but it's my little passion project and i hope you enjoy <3 as always, comments and reblogs are always loved and appreciated! warnings: hearing loss, hearing aids, tinnitus, reader struggling with being disabled, some parts are more vulnurable and don't have the reader being like overly confident in their disability, matt being soft, some suggestive behavior at the end, kissing, nicknames, pretty pg-13 honestly word count: 3.0k summary: your hearing aids run out of battery, and you're forced to struggle through a day of ringing ears and being deaf. matt helps, as he always does. pairing: matt murdock x hard of hearing!reader now playing: the lakes - taylor swift "take me to the lakes/where all the poets went to die/i don't belong/but my beloved, neither do you."

“Are you deaf?”

“What?”

You’re eighteen, home from college for the first time since fall break. Your family sits around for Thanksgiving, and there are so many people talking. There’s about thirteen people at this long dining room table, and they are all talking at once. You’re sitting next to your sister, but you can’t hear her well.

You know she’s speaking, and you’re sure you’re yelling, but you’re frustrated.

“I said, are you deaf? I repeated myself like, four times!”

You feel your face flush.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you. You’re mumbling, and it’s loud in here.”

Your sister looks at you like you’re crazy.

“I’m right next to you, and I’m not mumbling. In fact, no one is yelling, either.”

You poke your fork at your sweet potatoes and feel hot, angry tears in your eyes as you avoid everyone’s gaze.

Your mom sits across from you, and frowns, planning to tell you to make an appointment at the student health center when you get back to campus.

She doesn’t even have to. You’ve booked one by the time she says it to you.

At the student health center, they administer a hearing test, and then refer you to a specialist for further testing. You call your mom, crying and she gently comforts you, before driving to the nearest bookstore and picking up a book on hearing impairments and a copy of ASL for Dummies.

At the specialist, they do another round of tests. Your doctor tells you that you do in fact have hearing issues and that you should come back in a year for more testing, to see if your hearing gets worse. For now, you get a doctor’s note that requires all your professors to take your hearing impairment into consideration. The process for getting that applied at your university is painful, and only gets worse through your years there.

Before you get to law school, your doctor tests you again, and tells you how your hearing has been decreasing in quality in the past few years. He says that you’ll need hearing aids to regulate it. You cry because you cannot afford that.

You get captioning accommodations throughout law school, as well as a note taker for certain classes that are entirely lecture based. You still try to take your own notes, but it frustrates you that suddenly you need all this help. Your own notes are incomprehensible and often miss key parts of the lecture as you sit for a few minutes trying to decipher what your professor had said a few minutes prior.

You go into corporate law after law school, choosing to stay out of court initially because you find yourself frustrated that you wouldn’t be able to process all of what’s going on due to the many voices.

You stay at this company long enough to get your hearing aids, long enough to pay your loans, and long enough to save up a good fund for your hearing aid needs.

You quit your job and get hired at Nelson, Murdock & Page as an interim while you decide what you want to do.

With your hearing aids, life isn’t so frustrating anymore. You find yourself enjoying casual chatter and not worrying about processing what your friends are saying. At family dinners, you take your hearing aids out when you’re mad at your family, to which your stepdad, another hearing aid user, always laughs.

And, despite the pay not being stellar at your job, you love it. You love working with people who need help, love fighting injustice, and you love your coworkers.

...

If only Matt Murdock would reciprocate your feelings towards him.

You’ve been dancing this dance for months. You come into work with coffee and stutter when you get to his doorway.

You wonder if he’ll ever know how desperately you want him.

You go about your days quietly, going to the bar with them at the end of a long week. You love your friends and find yourself hoping they know how much you love them.

Karen and Foggy, as well as Foggy’s fiancé, know about your hearing aids since they sit sort of clunkily on your ears.

You don’t tell Matt, though, not at first.

You know how bad it is, to not even tell your blind crush that you have hearing aids. But you’re embarrassed. It makes you sound like an old person even though you’re in your twenties.

But when Matt crawls into your window late at night, bleeding, you don’t even flinch as he crashes onto your floor behind you. You’re reading, your hearing aids out, and he’s unsure why you can’t hear him. Your heartbeat had no reaction, it’s like you don’t even realize he’s there.

He taps you on your shoulder and you turn quickly, and gasp, before starting to sign at him. Even in his disoriented state, he knows you’re doing something with your hands and moving your mouth. At first, he thinks that he might have stuff clogging his ears, but then he realizes you’re signing, probably because you think Daredevil isn’t blind.

He takes off his helmet.

“Matt?” You say, and it comes out a little louder than it should, because you can’t hear yourself to gage how loud you’re being.

He says something, and your gaze focuses on his mouth, where you can barely make out what he’s saying.

“I can’t hear you.” You say, softer now. You reach over to your bedside table and put your hearing aids on. By the time you look back, Matt has passed out on the ground. Oh fuck.

You get your first aid kit and begin to work on his wounds. When you’re done, you pull him onto your couch, now stained with his blood, and watch as he sleeps. Blood covers your hands, and you listen to him breathing.

When he wakes up that morning, you’re asleep on the couch, and when you feel him start to stir. You grab your hearing aids, and turn them on, before watching him wake.

He says your name softly, and you take his hand in yours.

“Hey.. You.. You’re Daredevil...”

“You’re deaf.”

“Hard of hearing. Not fully deaf, just… My right ear is a lot better than my left, but without my hearing aids I’m close to deaf, yeah…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were Daredevil?”

“I was scared. Scared that… That you would view me differently, scared that you wouldn’t like me as much.”

“I was scared too..”

“When did you start losing your hearing?”

“In college. I realized it when I went home for Thanksgiving, and then it got worse from there..” You tell him. A hand reaches out to your face, and you lean into it, letting your cheek rest in his palm. His fingers trail up towards your ear and gently run his fingers over your hearing aid.

“Thanks for stitching me up.” He says softly.

“No problem.”

“The hearing aid does explain the buzzing I always hear when you’re around.”

“You can hear my hearing aids?”

“Apparently. I can hear a lot of things. I have heightened senses. You use pomegranate shampoo and had red velvet cake for dessert tonight. Your heart is racing.”

Your face flushes.

“I can turn them off if it’s bothering you.”

“How would you hear me, then?” He has a point.

“I just don’t want them to bother you.”

“Don’t offer to hide your disability just to make other people more comfortable.”

You kiss him when he says this, in a careful way. You’re gentle, making sure not to hurt him as you do. He lays there and lets you kiss him, his hands on your face. You realize you had no reason to be scared that Matt might reject you for your disability, because he is the only person in your everyday life who really gets how it is to have a disability that affects all aspects of your life.

You trace the healed scars on his skin as you kiss him gently, careful not to hurt him. You promise that you’ll kiss him more passionately when he isn’t freshly stitched up.

• • •

A few weeks passed after that night. You and Matt start seeing each other more and more as you fall deeper in love. You find it silly that you wasted so many days, afraid of talking to each other and maybe disappointing each other over the fact that you both lack a vital sense.

But Matt never views it that way. You wear hearing aids and it’s perfectly fine because most of the time, you aren’t struggling to hear him and cannot communicate with him, and he can’t see when you can’t hear him.

Instead, Matt loves that he can hear your hearing aids buzzing softly because it always alerts him that you’re there. He can hear your heartbeat and smell you, too, but it’s not quite the same as this soft little buzzing that reminds him often of a bee.

Except for this one day.

You slept over at Matt’s on a Thursday and really, you should have known better. You knew your hearing aids were going to need a battery change soon, but you’ve been so busy with work and with Matt, and worrying about him at night, that you’re tired. So tired that you forget to pick up batteries before your hearing aids die.

You sneak out of Matt’s apartment early, sending him a text that you needed to go get changed before work. Really, you want to avoid the fact that you wouldn’t be able to hear him. But he didn’t respond to your message. You decide that you don’t care at this moment and head out to work, debating the right way to tell your coworkers about your predicament.

When you get to work, Foggy is immediately talking to you, and you are tense.

“Foggy—” He’s not stopping. It sounds like he’s mumbling, and there’s this ringing in your ears. “Foggy, I can’t hear you.” He finally looks to you, and says something, you make it out to be a phrase of confusion. “My hearing aids died.” You tell him. You’re frustrated, and Matt isn’t in the office yet.

You deem this as a blessing and a curse. Foggy goes to tell Karen what’s going on and as you’re settling down for the day, you get a text. You hope it’s from Matt, but when you see Karen’s name, you falter slightly.

‘Hey! Foggy told me what was going on. We’ll have your calls redirected to one of us and you can spend the day doing housekeeping and paperwork.’

‘Thanks’, You respond, “Sorry about all this. I’m usually on top of my battery life.”

“Don’t worry about it. These things happen.”

“Still, thanks. Did you hear from Matt at all?”

“No, he probably just slept in late. He should be in soon.”

You try to ignore your anxieties over his absence even though you know that when he does come into the office, you’ll have to struggle to communicate with him all day.

So, for the first hour or so of your day, you try to get some work done but there’s a light ringing in your ears that’s getting worse and worse as you attempt to try and focus on other things. Everything sounds so muffled. You’re so focused that your teeth grind against each other, your muscles tense, as you attempt to try and block out the ringing in your ears.

You have a feeling that by the time you leave today, those hot frustrated tears will be threatening to pour once more.

You don’t hear Matt as he steps into your office and stands by your left side, where you’re almost completely deaf. He stands there for about ten minutes, trying to get your attention before he realizes the light buzzing of your hearing aids are not there.

You must not have them in.

So his hands find your shoulders gently, and instead of tensing, you actually relax under his touch, because you realize that it has to be Matt. A slight turning of your head confirms it and you lean into his touch.

Neither of you say much for a while, deciding to let your frustration slowly dissipate as you lean into his warm hands. They stay on your shoulders and upper arms, rubbing gentle patterns into your skin.

After a good ten minutes of this, his body shifts to your right side and he leans down, before speaking at full volume, maybe even a little louder, just to make sure you can hear him. It still sounds like he’s mumbling, but you can hear him.

“Forgot your hearing aids?”

“Batteries died.” You tell him. “You never answered me.”

“My phone died. I forgot my charger, too.. Are you gonna be okay to work all day?”

“Mhm..” You smile softly, “You’re gonna have to help answer calls, though.”

He kisses your cheek, and you lean into the warmth.

“Anything for you, sweetheart.” He says, a soft smile on his face.

The day goes by pretty much as you expect it. You spend it doing paperwork and dodging phone calls, your tinnitus gets worse as the day goes on. By the time the day is finally winding down, Karen sends you one final text.

“Matt’s staying a little late to catch up on some work. Want me to walk you home?”

“No, I’ll be fine. Thank you.”

You realize that because she and Foggy are heading home, you’ll be able to sit with Matt, maybe get a little bit of peace. You’re thankful, too, because you’re about to lose your mind over all of this. The ringing is just getting to be too much.

You wait a few minutes after Foggy and Karen head home before you go into Matt’s office. He smiles at you and gestures for you to come in, and you do. You lean against his desk, as he speaks loud enough now that you can hear him.

“I’ll just be a few more minutes, Bee.” Even the soft-spoken nickname doesn't get you out of your funk, too busy wanting to get on your hands and knees and beg God for your hearing back.

That doesn’t usually happen, but every once in a while you ask him for a normal life.

God sends you a blind man as your soulmate, because he must think that the whole thing is quite funny.

“Okay…”

You feel hot tears pooling in your eyes as you bite your tongue and dig your fingernails into your skin. You almost draw blood.

“What’s wrong?” He can tell that something is wrong. He can always tell, and you’re foolish to think anything less of him, and even more foolish to forget his super senses. A part of you bites back a bitter feeling, since you wish you could’ve had super smell, super sight, super taste, anything in exchange for your hearing. You were not given an exchange, only forced to give, with nothing in there for you.

You forget that your boyfriend has super senses and can taste and smell your salty tears and blood in the air. Damn him.

“Loud… Ringing in my ears, my tinnitus is always really bad when I don’t use my hearing aids for a while..” You say softly. “It’s just.. it really hurts...” You confess, tears slipping down your face.

“Sweetheart..” He takes off his glasses and rests them on the desk in front of him. “C’mere..” You can’t hear that last part, but the way he opens his arms gives you the hint.

You sit on his lap, burying your face in the crook of his neck with a shaky sigh. You feel the thumps of his heartbeat and hold onto it, the ringing in your ears slightly muffled by his skin. It doesn’t fix the problem, but it helps.

His hands linger on your body, gentle caresses of your knee or thigh happening here and there. He just wants you to know he’s there, in the same way he desires when everything becomes too much for him.

“”m sorry..” you say gently, and he just hushes you softly, kissing your head. He traces patterns into your skin. He traces words into it as well.

L-O-V-E.

S-W-E-E-T-H-E-A-R-T

He traces your name, his, and your last names.

You kiss him softly, realizing that you might never be 100% okay with your hearing, but Matt will help. He’ll understand. He loves you, and it’s enough to be confident in your future again.

You spend only a few minutes more in the office before you decide to head home, his hand never leaving yours.

You make it back to his apartment and Matt plugs his phone in in case you need to text him and get his attention. You wind up stealing a pair of sweatpants, a tee shirt, and a pair of fuzzy socks. The two of you wind up tangled together on his couch.

Your ear is pressed against his chest as he gently caresses your skin, occasionally moving your hair from your face. He mumbles sweet nothings, and while you can’t hear them, you feel the rumbling vibrations in his chest, and you relish in them. You bathe in the feeling of his heartbeat thumping against his skin.

You fall asleep like this, with Matt touching you and talking in this low tone to make sure you can feel the vibrations of his voice in his chest and in his throat. It’s enough just knowing he’s there. That this thing you thought would deem you unlovable is no match for Matt Murdock, who on your wedding day will throw up the sign for ‘I love you’ in ASL.

For Matt Murdock, who, when you’re taken for loving the devil, will find you and take you into his arms and kiss you so that you know he’s real.

For Matt Murdock, who touches you in all the right ways so you can hear the sounds of your own pleasure.

For Matt Murdock, who will gently trace patterns into your skin when you need to be grounded. For Matt Murdock, who feels himself slipping further and further in love with you and finds himself searching for the soft buzz of your hearing aids when you walk into the room.

[lxvrgirl]

love love <3333

Guard Dog

jason todd x fem!reader

aka don’t fuck with jason’s girlfriend

4 in 1 blurbs

warnings: mildly creepy guys, standard protective bf methods

Jason’s good at shutting people up very quickly. You’d almost call it a talent.

He shuts you up with a kiss when you get stuck in a rant, or with a hug to calm your worried rambles.

And when you’re in an incorrigibly teasing mood, he’ll throw you over his shoulder and carry you back to your bedroom to really shut you up.

With other people though, he has…different methods.

You sit atop your kitchen counter, trading lazy kisses in between giggles with your boyfriend. He stands in front of you, hands massaging your thighs as he leans in for another. You happily oblige.

You break off the exchange to lay a series of sweet kisses on that spot under his jaw.

His head tilts back, letting out a groan so low you nearly miss it. “Sweetheart…” he warns.

“Sorry…” you resign with a sheepish smile.

A knock at the door bursts you out of your shared reverie. You press a kiss to his knuckles and hop down to start setting the table.

Jason gets the door, greeting the pizza guy with a nod as you shuffle around the kitchen. The delivery guy hands him a receipt, asking for a signature.

Jason uses the door as a surface to sign, giving the delivery guy an apt view into your apartment, where he sees you getting out plates in the kitchen. More noticeably, he sees you in your boyfriend's shirt, which rides up just a little bit when you stand up on your toes to reach the top cabinet. The lift of the shirt exposes the bottom of your underwear, though it falls back into place again just as quickly.

Now, lucky for this guy, Jason’s facing the door and does not see him checking you out in your own home. Unlucky for this guy, he has wildly misread the vibe of your relationship. Or at least your boyfriend.

“Man, how do you get anything done around here?” He jests.

Jason looks up at him, and the pizza man’s eyes tear away from your legs to meet his hard gaze. It does not take him long to realize his mistake.

“Try again.” Jason behests, arms crossed in front of him.

The pizza boy’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head, stuttering. “I—uh, I said have a good night.”

“Mhm.” He grumbles.

The pizza guy hands Jason the box with shaky hands and scuttles back down the hallway.

Thankfully, you didn’t seem to notice the exchange, but even so, your boyfriend still glowers down the hallway after him.

“Jay?”

His attention snaps back to you, demeanor changing instantly. “Yeah, baby?”

You’re sitting in your usual spot at the table, his chair empty and waiting just around the corner from you.

“Come sit.” You say, with eyes that might as well be hearts.

He gives a reassuring nod and kicks the door shut behind him.

You and Jason are sitting on the floor in his old room at the manor, your legs thrown over his. You lean up against his bed, asking him about posters on the walls and trinkets on the shelves.

His knee is propped up and your arm dangles across it, his hand in yours. He plays with your fingers and periodically leans forward to leave a kiss on them.

You’d just woken up less than an hour ago after spending the night post-gala, and it’s a peaceful, if not unusually quiet morning.

Dick shouts your name from another room, audibly booking it towards you. Yeah. That’s more like what Jason remembers.

He grumbles some annoyances, dropping his head against your intertwined hands.

Dick bursts into the room, clearly incredibly excited.

“What’s up, Dick?” You ask, calm as ever. Jason lets an unseen smile creep up, head still down.

Dick’s practically jumping up and down, “You gotta see the shit that Tim just found in the cave!” His face drops as he directs his gaze to Jason, “You’re not invited.”

“Thank God.”

Dick ignores him and grabs your wrist, yanking you up from the floor. This is one place where he differs from Jason—he’s not always quite so aware of his own strength.

His grip doesn’t hurt really, but it’s firm enough that you imagine there’ll be bruise marks there later.

“Hey.” Jason calls out, nodding his head to where Dick is holding your arm. “Ease up.”

Dick follows his gaze and immediately loosens his hold, apologizing to you before pulling you along once again (this time much more gentle).

You grin at Jason as he tugs you out the door, him returning it with an endeared smile as he watches you go.

Fuck he loves you.

Jason had a decent break from his night job for once, and was happy to let you drag him out to a bar for a little date. You’d been linked at the hip for most of the night, his hands maintaining their ever present home on your waist with yours rested on his thighs as you told him about your hectic day.

He’d usually prefer to stay in bed with you for as long as possible when he gets time off, but you’d looked so excited asking him to go out with you—he never stood a chance.

You look up into the mirror as you wash your hands, a strand of hair falling into your face as you do. You push it back behind your ear and smile to yourself, recalling the several times Jason had wordlessly done the same throughout the night as you rambled.

You make your way back to the bar, smile immediate on your face when you see your boyfriend. It gets replaced rather quickly though, when a man slides in front of you, cutting off your view of him.

“Hey there.”

You have to take a step back because of how close he decided to stand to you. He looks sober (enough) but wildly overconfident in whatevers about to happen.

"Let me buy you a drink, pretty thing."

Jason calls you pretty thing sometimes. It makes the blood rush to your cheeks and an inescapable smile creep up on your lips. When this guy says it, it makes you literally frown.

"Oh no, I'm okay, my—"

"You seem like a dirty martini kinda girl." He expertly ignores you, clearly trying and failing to make some kind of innuendo there.

Jason's sitting back against the bar, watching the interaction carefully. You still can’t see him, but he’s close and you can rest comfortable knowing he’s looking out for you.

With that reassurance, you don’t play this out quite as carefully as you would if you were alone.

"Look, I don't want a drink from you, thanks."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say to him because his face contorts quickly to mock-disgust that you figure is really just embarrassment.

“Hey, don’t be a bitch just ‘cause—”

You try to sidestep around him, thoroughly done with this interaction, but he grabs your upper arm harshly, pulling you to an abrupt stop.

Jason stands up real quick, yanking the guy backwards by his collar before you can even process what's happening.

Now, you know that Jason is an objectively intimidating guy. There's not many people that will come face to face with that absolute unit of a man and still decide to keep on trying him. However, you tend to forget that when you're so used to your gentle giant that only ever speaks to you kindly and touches you softly.

But his intimidating status becomes very apparent when the guy spins around, looks up at Jason, and immediately takes four steps back. He actually almost bumps into you in the process, not doing anything to tame Jason’s acute distaste for this man.

"Listen to me—back the fuck off before you get hurt."

“She—”

“I don’t give a fuck. Leave.”

The guy hesitates.

“Now.” Jason adjusts his posture to stand at his staggering full height, clearly with no qualms about putting him back in his place.

That does it for him, the man stumbllng away with half-committed mumbles of “whatever” or “something something lame anyway.”

Jason watches him until he walks out the door, before turning back to you.

He delicately takes your upper arm in his hand, pulling your sleeve up to search for bruising. But as harshly as he had grabbed you, it didn’t have the time to cause a bruise before Jason intervened.

“What’d he say to you?” Jason asks, brow furrowed as he inspects your arm.

“Nothing very interesting.” He looks at you mildly.

You smile and comb his hair back from his forehead, “Don’t worry about him. I’m good.”

He lets your arm go, and exchanges it for holding the back of your head, planting a kiss on your forehead.

You take his other hand and guide him back to your seats.

“Besides,” You look over his shoulder and let out a little shocked gasp. “Guess who just walked in.”

He gives you a questioning look before his face slacks, eyes widening in realization.

“No…” And you smile so brightly it almost makes up for what's coming his way.

You redirect your smile over his shoulder and give a wave to the door. Jason swigs down the rest of his drink, hand finding your waist once again.

“Jaybird!”

Jason’s still exhausted from patrol last night but he’d insisted on going with you to the bar to meet your friends. You’d tried to convince him that it was okay to stay in and rest tonight, you’d be fine. But it was a losing battle.

You suspect it has something to do with him not liking when you go out in Gotham at night, especially when you’re drinking.

So he hangs out in the background of the buzz, with you sat in front of him, in between his legs.

You’re talking it up with Roy, who’s been making jokes about how Jason’s “moody ass” tricked you, “the ray of sunshine” into this relationship somehow.

You laugh, taking a sip of your drink. “Right, ‘cause you and Kori were in love at first sight.”

"Oh, fuck off." Roy jeers.

He doesn't say it with the cadence of a joke, but it is.

You know he's joking, he knows he's joking.

Jason, who very well may have been tuned out of the conversation up to that point, does not seem to know he's joking—or he doesn't care.

You don't need to look behind you to know that your boyfriend is in defensive mode, though the look of regret mixed with amusement on Roy's face gives a solid hint.

You hold your hand out to block Jason his path as he moves forward. He lets you stop him, though you're certain he could get past you without so much as blinking, no problem.

"Right. My bad, forgot your guard dog was here. Don't fuck off." Roy backtracks, hands up in front of him.

Jason just rolls his eyes, slouching back down. You reach behind you for his hand, giving it two squeezes. You know he’s tired, so much so that he almost punched his best friend for making a typical joke.

“Five more minutes, okay?” You say softly over your shoulder.

He nods at you blearily, and ducks his head down to rest on your back. You adjust your posture a little bit to make it more comfortable for him and continue on talking, his hand still in yours.

If he hadn’t fallen asleep so quickly, five minutes would’ve been five minutes, but instead it became something more like fifty.

He goes through patches where sleep isn’t always so welcoming, a phase he’s been in for the past couple of weeks. You’d been waking up to find the bed half empty, your boyfriend resigned to doing research on cases in an attempt to at least be productive while he’s awake.

You can’t protect him in the same ways that he protects you—you’re not a fighter or necessarily “intimidating.” But you can protect him like this, in these little ways. Letting him nap on you, making him close the case files and rest with you, holding his hand throughout the night so that when he inevitably has nightmares, he knows immediately that you’re still with him. That he’s safe.

So if he can get some much needed sleep while only costing you a stiff back tomorrow, you’ll happily take that deal as many times as he needs.

[lxvrgirl]

so well written so good !!! i love my tortured bby Jason

— IT’S SO SWEET

pairing: jason todd x best friend!reader

summary: the 3 times jason takes care of you and the 1 time he lets you do the same. alternatively, jason thinks he's invincible, but his best friend needs to be protected at all costs.

warnings: unedited. again. pls don't kill me. swearing, kissing, mentions of blood/weapons/injuries, mentions of periods, reader is a nursing student, best friends to lovers!!! <3

author’s note: *shoves it at you* another one of these fics with the same format, this time with jason :) listen to 'sweet' by cigarettes after sex while reading this btw. and let me know what you think!! drop an ask or a message, don’t be shy!💌

1. when finals are going to kill you.

Sometimes you think being a vigilante like your best friend is worth the constant risk of dying if it means you never have to open another textbook again. When you voice this to Jason, he scowls like you've just threatened to kill a kitten in front of him.

"That's not funny. Don't even joke about that," he scolds, still frowning at you from the opposite end of your kitchen island. His Red Hood suit is sprawled out in front of him as he stitches up a loose hem, compliments of the last goon he most likely beat to a pulp. You make a face at the fact that his sleeve is covering your anatomy notes, ignoring the way he leans down in attempt to catch your eye. He resorts to snapping his fingers in your face. "Hey. Hey, I'm serious."

"Jason," you sigh, setting down your pen and resting your chin on your hand as you talk to him. "I'm studying for nursing school finals in my kitchen, because I didn't want to walk the five more steps it takes to get to my bedroom after making instant ramen. Do you really need me to tell you I'm not being serious about becoming a vigilante?"

His shoulders relax very slightly, but his expression stays annoyed. "You're going to give me an entire head of grey hair before I'm even thirty."

"Well, at least we know it'll suit you," you say through a yawn as you point to the white streak running through his hair. "So, if anything, you're welcome."

He gives you another withering glare, going back to his stitching. The tiny needle in his large hand distracts you for a minute until you realise that Jason has stopped sewing and you're actually staring into nothing now. He notices your eyes that have glossed over and immediately reaches over to slam your textbook shut, startling you back to attention. It isn't until he does this that you feel the exhaustion seeping into your bones, emphasised by the knot in your neck and the cramp in your writing hand.

Jason drags your textbook away from you, along with your notes. You take a second to appreciate how careful he is not to crease the pages, knowing you'd lose your mind. "Okay, you're done for today."

"Huh?" you mumble stupidly, his words registering in your mind too late and you realise he's just hijacked your study material. "Wh- Hey! Give it back, Jay, I have-"

"Finals, I know. Last I checked, you need to be alive to take finals and I don't see that happening unless you take a nap," he says, voice a little too calm for someone who you're about to pounce on and claw at until you get your textbook back. You sluggishly clamber off your stool and step in front of Jason, who immediately raises his arm to hold your textbook out of reach.

You look up at him and attempt an intimidating glare. "Hand over the textbook, Todd."

Jason raises his eyebrows, huffing out an exasperated laugh. "Lift one of your arms to get the book and its yours."

Your finger doesn't so much as twitch, but you sway a little until you reluctantly accept that maybe he's won this one. And maybe a nap does sound pretty good right now, you think with a groan, dropping your head so it rests on Jason's chest. Your arms hang floppily at your sides. "I'll kick your ass after my nap," you mumble into his shirt.

"I'm terrified," he deadpans, and you hear the thud of the textbook on the counter before his large hands come up to grip your waist so he can walk you backwards to your couch, knowing you well enough to anticipate your grumbles if he were to attempt to take you all the way to your bedroom. You smile into his chest.

"You've met your match, Red," you say as dramatically as you can for someone who's practically the equivalent to a sack of potatoes against Jason right now. When you feel the back of your legs hit the couch, you grip onto the bottom of Jason's shirt and tug at the fabric before he can let you go. "You're my human pillow, where do you think you're going?"

Before he can answer, you nudge him onto the couch and he obediently lies down so you can nestle in next to him and plop your head back onto his warm, muscled chest. You blame your exhaustion for your shameless behaviour.

Despite the tiredness, you can't help irritating Jason just a little bit more. "Hey, Jay. What would my vigilante name be?"

"Shut up," he says without any bite, resting his chin on top of your head. You snicker into his shirt, half delirious with fatigue but awake enough to feel his face moving as he smiles when he thinks you're not looking.

"Something cool. Like Nightwing," you mutter sleepily, poking the bear.

"What? Nightwing is not as cool as-" Jason starts incredulously, but cuts himself off. "Whatever. Go to sleep."

You hum, eyelids feeling heavy and you start drifting off, the last thing you register being Jason's fingertip tracing circles on your back.

When you wake up, Jason and his suit are gone, but you have a blanket tucked around you and a box of your favourite cookies on the coffee table.

2. when, apparently, you aren't immune to the streets of gotham.

Considering you live in the most corrupt city in the world, you probably should be a little more cautious about going out at night. It's not like you don't take precautions, though. Like every woman in Gotham, you're loaded with pepper spray every time you leave the house. Unlike every woman in Gotham, you also have multiple vigilantes in your phone with whom you share your location with.

Even then, you aren't stupid enough to step into any alleyways. You wish that were enough to stay out of trouble, but as soon as you realise the streets have completely emptied while you've been distracted with your thoughts, you start panicking a little.

You're fine, you reassure yourself as you slide your phone out your pocket to pull up your recent texts. You keep your screen open just for some reassurance, gripping the sides of your phone tightly when you hear some distant footsteps.

It's only ten more minutes to the convenience store, so you're more irritated than scared when you hear the footsteps quicken behind you, catching up. Your fingers fumble to text an SOS to Jason, but you accidentally tap send on your chat with Dick instead. With slightly shaky hands, you try and send one to Jason as well, hoping it's gone through when your phone is suddenly knocked out of your hand.

"Oh, for the love of-" you hiss, when you hear the cracking noise of your screen against the pavement and you don't risk reaching down to grab it. Instead, you turn around slowly to face a dark figure, clad in a cliche, all-black outfit and stood in a threatening stance. God, you hate Gotham.

"Hand over your-"

"Wallet, money, most prized possession," you cut the man off, probably very stupidly. "I know the drill, hang on."

He falters for a moment before anger clouds his expression and he pulls out a knife before you can get your wallet out. You try not to sigh in relief. For anyone else that might sound crazy, but knives you could manage. Being best friends with Jason Todd means of course you've been made to learn self-defence. Disarming someone with knives was doable enough to learn as a nursing student. Guns, on the other hand, are out of your league.

The fact that you know how to defend yourself doesn't make the knife look any less threatening and sharp, though.

"Hey, look, I'm not gonna be difficult," you say, dropping your voice to a low murmur as though you're trying to coax a cat out of a tree. "I'll give you my money."

"Yeah. Yeah, you do that," he rushes out, sounding confused. You kind of feel bad for him. Most people confronted with a mugger would probably be a lot more scared than you're acting and it's clearly throwing him off his game. You almost regret bothering to send your SOS and as you're thinking about how you're going to apologise to Dick for wasting his time, you go to grab your wallet to try and stall before the mugger becomes violent. "Stop! Put your hands up. I'll grab it myself."

You furrow your brows, about to argue that no, he fucking won't. But you see that the man's face suddenly becomes ten times paler than before and he's looking behind you instead. Your shoulders sag with relief as you spin around to see Nightwing in all his black and blue glory.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" he lowers his voice an octave and you fight the urge to roll your eyes. He seems to be focusing hard on acting like strangers, because anyone with eyes would see the problem very clearly in the form of a man wielding a knife.

"Please, help me," you respond, drily. Dick raises a brow at your flippant attitude, so you clear your throat, kicking it up a notch. You glance at the man behind you and try to look more terrified than you feel. "Please help me, Mr Nightwing. This guy's got a knife, and he's going to stab me with it."

The man frantically shakes his head, dropping the knife immediately and backing up. "I wasn't! I swear, man, I was just trying to scare her. Look, I'll just-"

"Hey." You hear another familiar voice boom, this time through a modulator. You sigh, lifting your head to see Jason, all the more threatening as Red Hood. His guns are already in either hand by his side and you have to respect the mugger for not passing out where he stands. If you didn't know it was Jason behind that mask, you'd be terrified to death. He tilts his head, evaluating the man. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Nowhere, I-"

"Exactly," Jason's warped voice comes out tight, and you hear the cocking of his gun, making you whip around to send a panicked look to Dick. He runs closer to you and you drop your voice to a whisper.

"I've got Hood, you take care of the guy."

"Don't do anything stupid," he says, not unkindly and the two of you snap into action.

You run back over to the mugger and step in front of him, making Jason falter in his movements and lower his gun. His chest rises and falls with deep breaths like he's exercising real control. "Move."

You stay as still as possible, arms splayed out in an attempt to cover the man behind you, despite the fact that Jason definitely possesses the skill to take him out even with you in the way.

"Put your guns away," you hiss when Dick has successfully restrained the man out of earshot and is dragging him away with ease. Jason steps towards them, but you stay in his way, using both hands against his chest to stop him. It's more of a symbolic gesture than anything, since you know you wouldn't be able to budge him an inch even if you threw yourself at him with full force. He stops anyway, looking down at you with his hands gripping his firearms tightly. "He was practically harmless. Let Nightwing deal with him. Please."

You're talking him down, trying to waste time so Dick can leave before Jason is able to do anything. You know you've succeeded when he tucks away his weapons, albeit reluctantly. Dick is too far away with the man now, anyway.

"What the hell were you doing out at this time?" he says, raising his voice instead of the usual quiet, deadly anger he reserves for the people who deserve it. It's how you know he's worried, when he doesn't try and control his temper. "And without dropping me a text first, so I could check on you? You do understand where you live, right?"

"Don't yell at me!" Your voice cracks in the middle of your sentence and you feel your lower lip tremble slightly. Jason stills. You refuse to cry, cursing your damn hormones and the fact you're a woman and the fact that you're cramping again. You aren't in the mood to talk to Red Hood right now. You want Jason. "And turn off your stupid voice thing!"

He obliges quickly, stepping closer to you. You're angry at one less thing now that his voice is back to normal. "I'm sorry for yelling. Please don't be upset with me, I was just worried-"

"You were going to kill that guy."

"Damn straight," he fires back, defensive again.

You glare at him and he has enough sense not to speak further. Shaking your head, you let out a frustrated groan. "He was a lousy mugger. That hardly deserves a bullet through the head."

"Are you forgetting that he had a knife?" he exclaims, throwing his hands up. Suddenly, as though he's remembering something, Jason folds his arms across his chest. "Why'd you call D- Nightwing for help first?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. How about next time, I'll ask the guy with the a knife if he can hold off for a second while I select the right contact number!" you grit out, hit with another wave of cramps, extremely tired of this conversation. "It was an accident, you idiot. I meant to text you first."

You can't see Jason's expression beneath his Red Hood mask and you aren't going to ask him to remove it in the middle of the streets, but you imagine he's mollified with the way his shoulders relax a bit.

Huffing, you walk away to get your phone, gingerly picking it up to inspect the newly made cracks all over. You vaguely register Jason standing over your shoulder before you shove your phone in your pocket, a problem for tomorrow. You turn around to face him and clutch at your lower stomach, breathing turning shallow.

"I was on my way to the convenience store," you explain, gritting your teeth. "I assume you're coming with me now?"

"Why did you need to go so late?" he questions, typically not letting it go. Instead of responding, you screw your eyes shut and puff out a few pained breaths. He immediately grips your shoulders and begins inspecting you. "What? Are you hurt? What happened, did he get you?"

"I have cramps, you ass," you groan, shoving his hands away. He ceases looking for an injury, and you don't need to ask him to remove his mask to know that he's relieved. "I was going to the store so late because I'm out of my sanitary products."

"Oh," Jason says gruffly, a hint of embarrassment creeping into his voice due to his excessive worry. "Well, I kept a whole box of pads and stuff from the other month in my apartment. It's closer, come on."

You sag with relief, dragging your feet to follow him as the two of you walk to his place. You're in his apartment so often that you're not surprised it's stocked up with period products as well as your usual things for when you stay the night. You feel a funny little flip that has nothing to do with cramps when you consider how he kept everything.

"Do you need me to carry you?" Jason asks, completely serious, snapping you out of your thoughts. "I know how bad the cramps can get."

"I took some meds a couple hours ago, they're not the worst yet," you explain, shaking him off and trying not to think about him offering to carry you all the way to his apartment just because you have cramps.

You reach his complex quickly and he sends you up while he enters through the fire escape from a back alley as not to expose Red Hood's living quarters. By the time you've entered through his door, Jason is already there, judging by his helmet sitting on his kitchen counter.

"Be out in a second," he calls from his bedroom and so you flop down on his couch, face down in one of the cushions as you try to think about something other than the sharp needles stabbing your lower belly. He walks out while you're writhing in pain and sets down some pads, two painkillers and a glass of water on the coffee table. "Here, take them now and go sleep in the bed. There's some snacks in my nightstand if you get hungry. Do you need me to stay home?"

You reluctantly turn over onto your back and see that he's also holding your fluffy panda hot water bottle. You might combust, there and then. Pouting, you reach out for the panda, grabbing it to hold it close to your body and sighing at the slight pain relief. "I'm okay, you can go back to patrol. Thanks for looking after me, Jaybird."

"It's nothing," he shrugs, turning away to hide the pink flush appearing on his cheeks and grabbing his helmet. He shoves it on quickly and you try not to let out an unattractive snort of laughter. He turns on his voice modulator. "Text me if you need anything."

With that, he slips out of his window, making sure to shut it tightly behind him. You stay on the couch after knocking down a couple of painkillers  and try to entertain yourself with some TV while you wait for Jason to come back.

You mournfully scroll through your phone, trying not to cut your fingers on the broken glass. The actual phone seems to be giving up on you as it takes forever to click on one thing to the next. Giving up, you toss it on the table and close your eyes. Making make a mental list in your head of things to do tomorrow, you add buying a new phone to it and prepare to say goodbye to a healthy chunk out of your bank account.

You don't remember dozing off, but your alarm startles you awake and you grab around for it on the nightstand next to you. Turning it off, you decide to brave the world outside the comfy sheets and realise you're in Jason's bed. He must have gotten back late and put you there, you think with a smile, suddenly happier than you were when first waking up. This happy attitude sours a bit when you nick ur finger on the broken glass of your phone screen trying to turn off the rest of your alarms.

Making your way out of his room and following the smell of toaster waffles, you see Jason plating up some breakfast for you. "Morning," you yawn, plopping down on a kitchen stool. "How was patrol?"

"Same old," he says, giving you the usual, non-descriptive answer. For all you know, he could have taken down an entire drug ring single-handedly and you'd be none the wiser. He sets down a plate in front of you, as well as a rectangular box. "Here."

You inspect the box, confused and wanting to focus more on the food before you process what it is and your jaw drops. "Jason Peter Todd. What the hell did you do!"

"Your phone broke," he says, gruffly, clearly trying to downplay the fact that he bought you a brand new smartphone, a later model than the one you already have. "Don't make a big deal out of it."

"Of course I'm going to make a big deal, Jay," you say, frowning. "I was going to get one myself today. Why did you waste your money on me? How much was it?"

"Don't worry about it," he says flippantly, plating up his own waffles. You should have known better than to ask. There's no way he's taking money from you.

You sigh, shoving your waffles and the phone out of the way to make your way over to him. "Jay," you say softly, grabbing his face in your hands. His eyes widen slightly and you fight the urge to smile. "I can't accept it."

"I said it was nothing," he replies, furrowing his brows and you release his face in favour of hugging him instead. "And it's not a waste if it's on you. You're taking the phone."

"It's everything," your voice comes out muffled by his hoodie. The cost of a phone really is nothing to Jason. It wouldn't have made even the slightest dent to his bank account, but that's not the point. "You need to let me take care of you for once. Oh, one more thing."

He hums in question, resting his chin on your head and wrapping his hands around you.

"If you buy anything for me again, I'm cutting a heart shaped hole in your suit."

Jason huffs out a laugh and you feel the vibration through his chest. "What about the coffee I get you after class every Friday?"

You stay silent.

He snorts, knowing he's got you. He drops a kiss on your head and grins when you look up to frown at him. "That's what I thought."

3. when this guy just won't take a hint.

Jason owes you big time. You've had the longest week of your life and yet here you are, in a floor length, dark red dress and heels, for crying out loud.

Realistically, this is the least you could do for him, showing up to a gala thrown by his father to keep him company. You're more than happy to do this as a favour to him, but that fact doesn't make the heels pinch at your toes any less.

"I haven't worn this dress since high school," you grumble, twisting it around your waist where it fits snugly. You're thankful for the fact that it falls loosely past your waist, or you'd have ripped it from your body by now. "If I eat one thing, it might actually tear."

"I'll give you my jacket when you spot the appetisers," Jason says, absentmindedly. You squeeze his bicep gently in thanks from where your arm is looped in his as he leads you into the venue. "Anyway, we'll be in and out, as always. Just making an appearance for Bruce."

"In and out," you repeat, lowering your voice as the two of you enter a more populated area. You know even though Jason moans about these events, he wouldn't be here if he really didn't want to be. He cares, even though he'd never admit it.

Groups of businessmen, celebrities, entrepreneurs; basically a bunch of rich people who are dressed in clothes that are definitely more expensive than your rent are milling about, every one of them with a drink in their hand. Their unwavering smiles and the constant trips to the bar are nothing new and you wrinkle your nose at the atmosphere of the place. "Do they even know what charity Bruce is throwing this for?"

Jason raises an eyebrow. "Bruce could be throwing this thing for homeless badgers and they'd be none the wiser," he mutters, a hint of bitterness creeping into his voice. Rolling his neck, he takes a deep breath. "I should go say 'hi' to him, while he's talking to a bunch of people. Prove that I actually showed up. You wanna come?" 

You almost agree, not wanting to be left alone, but just before you reluctantly trudge over to a group of Bruce's boring business associates, you thankfully spot Jason's brothers by the bar. "I'll just go hang out with Dick and Tim, is that okay? I can come with though, if you want."

"Nah, go ahead," he says, detangling his arm from yours and giving you a reassuring smile. "Come grab me when they start getting annoying."

"Be nice," you warn, gently shoving him towards the group of men as you make your way to Dick and Tim.

"Hey," Tim greets you with a smile, glancing up quickly before returning to his phone. He does a little double take, eyes snagging on your dress and his smile turns devious. "Well, you look nice. You're wearing a very... nice colour..."

"Tim," you heave a deep sigh. Dick rolls his eyes, but he can't help the corners of his lips quirking up. "You can't keep doing this every time I wear red."

"I'm not doing anything, just making an observation," he shrugs, rocking back and forth on his heels in an attempt to look casual. Tim glances around to see make sure no one is in earshot before lowering his voice. "Hey, totally unrelated, but I heard Jaybird nearly shot a guy for almost mugging you."

"Tim."

"Leave her alone," Dick intervenes before Tim can needle you further. He definitely enjoys it too, but ever the golden boy, he seemingly wants to keep the peace. "How are you doing after that, anyway?"

"Fine," you nod reassuringly. "Thank you, again for showing up, Dick. I really appreciate it."

"Don't be silly, it's-"

"I heard he got you a brand new phone, too," Tim pipes up, cutting his brother off.

"Tim," you groan, thwacking him in the arm with your clutch. He barely flinches. "For the last time, Jason and I are just friends."

Tim opens his mouth to respond, but his eyes dart behind you and he thinks better of it, choosing to just smirk like the troublemaker he is.

"That's good news." You whip around to locate the source of the voice, finding yourself looking at a guy you've never met before. He seems to be around your age, dressed smart and very rich looking. You stand there stupidly.

"For who?" you ask, chuckling nervously.

He shrugs, giving you a charming smile. "Anyone who wants to buy you a drink. May I?"

Understanding dawns on you and you glance at Dick and Tim with wide eyes, feeling a little awkward that they're here for this interaction. Dick keeps his expression carefully neutral as he considers the man, whereas Tim frowns when he meets your eyes, jerking his head as subtly as possible in Jason's direction.

This has you glaring at him and just to prove a point, you plaster on a wide smile of your own and return your attentions to the stranger. "Yes. You may."

The two of you walk closer to the end of the bar and away from the others. You pointedly don't look at them. "What was your name?" you ask the stranger, mostly for the sake of being polite.

"George." A rich guy name, you think to yourself. If Jason were here, you know he'd have a million things to say.

He asks your name and you give it to him as he orders you a drink without actually asking what you want.

"Pretty name," George remarks, handing you a glass of something you've never had before. You pretend to take a sip, smiling in thanks. "So, what's your story?"

You try not to outwardly cringe at the question, sorely regretting tonight's decisions despite the fact you've been here less than half an hour. "I'm just here to keep my friend company." You keep the story short, not bothering to explain how you know the Wayne family.

"Ah, well. I dont blame you for looking so bored. I'm just here because I have to be as well," he mutters, swirling the contents of his glass. "Business connections and such."

"Oh." You find yourself being less and less interested in this conversation. "Do you know what the fundraiser tonight is for?"

"God, no," George laughs, taking a sip of his drink. You try your hardest not to grimace, mentally checked out of the conversation already. "It's always the same shit, anyway. Forget all that. Drink up and we can get out of here."

You nearly choke on your own saliva at his sheer confidence and set down your drink. "I really shouldn't. I'm, uh, I'm okay staying here."

"Aw, come on," he leans in a little closer than you'd like and you try to look as imperceptibly as you can for Dick or Tim, but it seems they've left you to face the consequences of your own actions. Traitors. "You don't look like you're enjoying yourself. What, you don't like me-?"

"Hey." You feel Jason's presence at the same time as hearing his voice. You almost laugh at how relieved you suddenly feel and you and relax into his hold when he places both hands on your waist. Jason drops his voice to a murmur that only you can hear. "Ready to go home?"

You nod, turning to leave. About to bid a quick goodbye to George as not to be rude, you open your mouth but get stopped in your tracks.

"She's fine right here, man," George says, voice as smooth as glass. If the glass is shattered into sharp, pointy spikes that are as uncomfortable as this conversation, that is.

Jason's previously polite smile hardens as his front is now practically plastered against your back. "She can talk for herself."

"She was actually just-"

"She's right here," you interrupt, squirming out of Jason's arms to step back. He drops his hands immediately, but doesn't look at you. Instead, he assesses George through a narrow eyed gaze. You can't decide if George is being brave, or stupid for not cracking under the weight of Jason's intense glare as he stands there, all six foot two of him posing a threatening picture. "Right, well. I'm just going to-"

"Hey, hold on," George says, averting his all-too arrogant gaze back to you and gripping your upper arm, jerking you slightly. You flinch a little when he moves into your personal space. "You aren't going to give me your number?"

His grip doesn't hurt, but it's a world away from gentle and you almost gape at the fact he doesn't seem to be aware of how uninterested you are.

Jason immediately clocks this, stepping forward. "Yeah, I don't fucking think so," he says darkly and then he shoves at George. Hard.

The people nearest to you gasp and titter when they see George careening into the stools at the bar and you slap a hand over your mouth, shocked. Shocked that Jason had actually gotten violent as Jason and not as Red Hood. All over a random creep, no less.

Before George even has the chance to recover from the surprise of Jason's brute force, you pull harshly on Jason's suit jacket, steering him out of the venue and into the hall. He follows you without protest, still breathing heavily.

"What the hell was that?" you hiss, trying to keep your voice quiet, despite being alone out in the entrance hall.

"He grabbed you," Jason says slowly, as if he's confused as to why you're upset. His expression is tight, like he's being careful to control his anger even now that you're away from George. "I would have done a lot fucking worse to him if you hadn't dragged me out of there."

"You cannot go all Red Hood when you're Jason! It's suspicious as hell. Not to mention how you were practically back-hugging me like some sort of reverse bulletproof vest."

"I always do that," Jason says, calmly. The fact that he isn't raising his voice just spurs you on to raise yours higher. The multitude of emotions swirling around in a confused whirl around your stomach makes you nauseous.

"You hate being touchy in public," you say, pinching the bridge of your nose in frustration. "Last month, you punched Tim in the stomach for putting his arm around your shoulder. Anyway, that's not the point! You're so occupied with trying to take care of everyone that you never consider yourself. Or let anyone else do so. Yeah, that guy was an asshole. But he was just an asshole trying to talk to a single girl. He wasn't some... some crime boss or villain or evil freaking mastermind for you to take down!"

"I don't need looking after. And he didn't know you were single," Jason scoffs, running a hand through his neatly combed hair, mussing it up. If you weren't so irritated, you'd take a moment to appreciate how much you prefer it when he looks like this. Real and raw, like the current expression on his face rather than closed off and emotionless. "You came here on my arm, wearing my colour, like Tim's always fucking going on about. You... you're my..."

"Your what, Jason?" you ask, hysterically. You're almost yelling now, finally ready to snap at Jason's inability to share his thoughts with you. He stays silent, face going blank again, an indication that he's closing himself off to you. Your shoulders sag from exhaustion. "Come talk to me when you can give me an answer. I'm going home, I'll get Dick to give me a ride."

You don't wait for a response as you walk back into the venue. Thankfully, Dick is near the entrance and you don't have to subject yourself to too many stares before he takes you home. You don't glance at Jason on your way out.

4. when he asks for your help.

You're moping. You don't bother trying to deny it, but you're definitely moping around your apartment since your fight with Jason. You wake early every day and get dressed and study, but your movements are almost robotic in nature.

Dick has tried texting you a few times, but you've decided to just avoid looking at your phone, because it's the one Jason bought and it just makes you feel even worse. You aren't sure if Jason's tried contacting you, but your phone stops going off around the same time as Dick's evening patrol and you don't let yourself dwell on it further.

The two of you have never gone this long without speaking and aside from the pit of unease in your stomach as well as the sadness hanging over you like a dark cloud, you're also just bored. You have acquaintances from your nursing course, but no one close enough to do anything with this late at night.

Oh, well, you think to yourself, Chinese food and Grey's Anatomy for the second night in a row it is.

You take a quick shower, standing under the hot water for longer than necessary to let the time pass. Getting out, you change into your second pyjama set of the day, opting for a hoodie when you feel a chill in your room that wasn't there before.

You go to shut your bedroom window with a frown, not remembering why you opened it. The handle is stiff and you internally curse your landlord for still not fixing it as you finally succeed in shutting the damn thing after a particularly hard tug.

It shouldn't have taken that much energy out of you, but you're panting when you walk out of your bedroom to enter the living room so you can sit in front of the TV and order the takeout that you probably shouldn't be eating.

Before you can even attempt to regulate your breathing, you look up in the direction of your couch to find Jason sitting there in his Red Hood suit and slap a hand over your mouth to smother your shriek.

"Oh my God," you gasp, your free hand flailing out frantically to grasp the door frame in an attempt to steady yourself. The minute it takes for you to catch your breath is enough time to take in the state of the vigilante sitting in the dark of your living room.

You switch the light on and Jason winces at the sudden brightness, but you take the opportunity to give him a thorough once over. His dark hair is disheveled and falling into his eyes from hours of confinement in his helmet and he has a fresh bruise blossoming across his cheekbone.

You hardly ever use the main light, usually opting for a warm-toned lamp instead, so when the main light casts the cuts and scrapes on Jason's body in a harsher light, you want to turn it off even more.

Jason's eyes flutter shut for a second and you immediately rush forward to assess him for any injuries causing major blood loss. "Did you get stabbed?" you ask clinically, your voice void of any emotion. "Are you bleeding under your suit? You need to stay awake-"

"I'm fine," Jason mutters, opening his eyes to peer up at you through tired eyes. "I'm not bleeding or anything. Just wiped out from patrol."

You relax slightly, taking a step back to create some distance between the two of you. "Oh. You snuck through my window to tell me that you're tired?"

"Anyone could have snuck through that damn window," he says, brows furrowing in disapproval. He's been hassling you about the security of your apartment since you can remember and you usually wave him off, but in this moment you bristle.

"You don't get to be annoyed at me right now," you say, crossing your arms and glaring at him through narrowed eyes. "Why are you here, Jason?"

He grimaces at the use of his government name coming from you and takes a deep breath. "I haven't slept."

"So, go home and take a nap," you say, exasperated, letting your hands fall to your side as you're about to turn around and walk back into your room. Before you leave, you hear your Nursing teachers' voices in your head, reprimanding you and you sigh. "And you want to clean those cuts before they get infected."

"Could you do it for me?" Jason asks quietly, barely audible. His jaw clenches with the effort of asking you the question. "Please?"

You blink at him. "But, I- You've never..." you trail off, not knowing what to say. Jason has always refused to let anyone else patch him up after patrol. Hell, he's even learned how to do stitches on himself when you're the one learning how to do them for a living.

"I want... to let you look after me," he whispers, looking at you imploringly like you're going to refuse. Your irritation immediately melts into something else that you don't want to analyse any time soon.

"Oh," you exhale softly, heart twisting unwillingly. You nod slowly, words escaping you again. "Okay."

Jason's head flops back onto the couch cushion and he sighs like all of the tension is leaving his body. His hair covers his eyes, but you don't miss the dark circles under them, contrasting starkly with his skin, pale from exhaustion.

You consider letting him stay there, but you know it'll be easier in the bathroom where you keep all of your first aid supplies and the lighting is better for when you're practicing your techniques. "Come on. Up," you say, gesturing to the bathroom with a jerk of your head and you walk away, allowing him to come in his own time.

While you're digging through your bathroom cabinet for all the supplies you've haphazardly thrown in after using them, Jason slips in and you glance over at him quickly. "Sit down," you mutter, reaching up for the disinfectant. It sits on one of the higher shelves and you have to get on your tiptoes to reach it. Jason instinctively moves to help you but you shoo him away, managing to grasp it yourself. "Sit down."

"Yes, nurse," he huffs out a quiet laugh and you bite back a smile, opting to roll your eyes at him instead. Setting your supplies down behind Jason, you focus your attentions on unzipping his suit. The way his arms are resting limp in his lap tells you that he's not wanting to move anytime soon. You bring the zipper down yourself and pull off each sleeve cautiously, not wanting to rip the suit further where the torn fabric is clinging to the bloody cuts in his skin.

Once the suit is hanging loosely around his waist, you see from the black tank he's wearing that the cuts are localised to his now bare arms from where he's been defensive, whereas the fabric on his chest and abdomen are intact.

Jason's eyes track your face as you assess the extent of his injuries and when you lift your face to look at him, he's unabashed, continuing to look directly into your eyes. Your cheeks warm and you stutter out a sentence "I-I'll be right back, one sec."

You rush out of the bathroom and into your kitchen to pull open the freezer and scramble around for a bag of frozen anything. Settling on a bag of peas that you have no intention of cooking anytime soon, you hurry straight back to the bathroom.

Jason eyes the peas warily and you raise a brow, daring him to challenge you. When he stays silent, you move forward to shove the peas onto his cheek where the bruise is a darker red mark than before. He hisses when the icy bag makes contact with his face, flinching away from it.

"Ouch," he mumbles belatedly, giving you a sheepish smile when your mouth sets in a line. You should probably be gentler with him considering it's the first time he's allowing someone to physically care for him and it's you he's choosing to cross that boundary with. It's not like you want to scare him off so he never asks you again, but you can't help still being annoyed with him after your fight.

You sigh, trying to relax your face into a non-threatening expression. "Sorry. Keep it on your face to stop the swelling."

Jason grasps the bag slowly as you let go, letting his fingers brush over your own. You clear your throat and focus your attentions on the cotton pads, dousing them with disinfectant. Jason looks at you through one open eye, the other obscured by the bag of peas. "You shouldn't be the one apologising," he says, after a beat.

You purse your lips, bringing a cotton pad up to Jason's shoulder. "I know," you say simply before you press the disinfectant into one of the larger cuts, harder than probably necessary. Jason screws his eyes shut and works his jaw, but stays quiet. "Did that hurt?"

Jason shakes his head immediately, letting out a short breath he was holding. "Nope. Felt good actually. Kinda like a cooling effe- Shit," he hisses, tensing his arm. You think that's enough torture for now, instead continuing to gently wipe away the blood and dirt.

"I won't apologise about that one," you say, shrugging. Jason cracks a smile and you find yourself hiding one of your own as you clean off the other, smaller cuts and scrapes that don't need bandaging. "Are you hurt anywhere else? Promise I'll be nicer about it this time."

Jason shakes his head again, so you dispose of the cotton pads and get the band-aids, the only noise in the bathroom being the sound of you rummaging through your supplies. When you spot the choice of band-aids, you grin. "Pick one."

Surveying the two that you hold in your hand, Jason's gaze lingers on the dinosaur patterned band-aid, before flicking his eyes up to yours and raising an eyebrow. He points to the other one. "I'll take the Hello Kitty."

Your grin widens, knowing he's only choosing the pink Hello Kitty band-aid to appease you. You're certainly not going to challenge him about it as you carefully peel off the backing to stick it over his shoulder. Stepping back, you tilt your head to evaluate him and nod. "You look very pretty."

Jason smirks, but the slight blush creeping across the cheek that isn't covered by the frozen peas doesn't fool you. "Pretty enough for you to forgive me for being such an ass?"

"That depends." You take a tentative step towards him, crossing your arms. "Are you going to stop being stupid?"

Jason lowers his arm holding the bag of peas and places it behind him. With both hands, he reaches over to your arms, uncrossing them to bring you forward until you're standing close. He's so impossibly tall in your tiny bathroom that even standing up, you're only eye level with him as he sits on the closed toilet seat.

"I can't promise that I'll never be stupid in front of you again. You kind of have that effect on me," he says, sighing like it's some curse inflicted on him. You thwack his rock-solid arm and he grins. "I can promise I'll let you take care of me from now on, though. And that I'm going to stop lying to you."

"What?" you ask, eyebrows furrowing. You're even more confused when Jason places his hands around your waist to guide you onto his lap, both your legs hanging off one side of him. You raise both eyebrows expectantly, waiting for his answer, but he merely stares at you, smiling. "Jason. When have you lied to- mmph-"

He cuts you off by pressing your lips together in a kiss, one hand still holding yours, intertwining your fingers while the other tilts your chin up so he can kiss you deeper. You're a little slow on the uptake, frozen from shock for a second, but it isn't long until you're kissing him back just as eagerly. You shift in his lap, lifting one of your legs to swing over to his other side until you're straddling him and Jason takes a sharp inhale, sitting up straighter and pulling your body closer to his.

He pulls away for a millisecond, before his lips reattach to your jaw, travelling down to pepper soft kisses down your neck and you let out a noise halfway between a sigh and an embarrassing whimper. Jason groans at the sound, nipping at your neck and you feel like you can't breathe enough air.

He pulls away again to catch his own breath and you take the opportunity to come to your senses and lean back, gently pushing at Jason's chest. You breathe hard, trying to lift your gaze from Jason's swollen lips and he seems to be having a hard time looking away from your own.

"Jason," you say, voice shaky and uneven.

"Mhm?" he hums distractedly, pressing a soft kiss on your jaw before looking at you again.

"You kissed me," you point out, stupidly. "You really, really kissed me."

"I did," Jason murmurs, both hands cupping your face. He swallows, expression going from dazed to nervous before he speaks. "You asked me what you are to me before you left the other night."

You nod slowly, head still reeling from the kiss. Truthfully, you were willing to pretend the conversation never happened if you could go back to being friends again. You missed Jason. 

"You're everything to me." Jason's shoulders are relaxed, his face free of tension as he says this. You're so shocked by the fact that he doesn't seem to be in pain as he opens himself up to you, that it takes a minute to process the actual meaning of his words. Your lips part but he shakes his head, continuing to speak. "You're everything. And sometimes I can't even think about that too much, let alone speak it, because I'm scared it'll consume me. I'm scared you'll consume me. The idea of compromising your safety, the idea of you loving me back, all of it. I'm... I was scared."

You lift your hand to place it over Jason's, still resting on your cheek. "That's okay. I can think and speak enough for the both of us," you tease and Jason laughs quietly, his breath tickling the inside of your wrist and sending a shiver down your spine. "You're everything to me as well, by the way. And sometimes all I can think about is loving you. I was just waiting for you to say it first."

Jason smiles and you think the corners of his lips lifting up and his eyes lighting up is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, each time blowing you away like it's the first time you've witnessed it. "Does that mean I lose? Kinda feels like I've won," he tilts his head, pretending to think about it.

"Oh, you've so lost," you furrow your brows in a mockingly serious frown. "And I'll be telling Tim as much."

Jason stills. "Please do not tell me that he bet you fifty dollars I'd confess first as well."

Your jaw drops. "That little bastard was playing both of us?"

You start laughing when Jason lets out an irritated groan, dropping his head onto your shoulder to bury his face in your shirt. You thread your hands in his hair and wrap an arm around his neck. He sighs, half content and half resigned. "I say we don't tell him for as long as we can get away with it. Live in peace for a while."

"We're talking about Tim here," you remind Jason, leaning back to lift his head and look at him. "I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew. And he'd literally never talk to you again if he knew we were hiding it after he finds out."

"I don't care," Jason says, lifting your hand to brush his lips over your knuckles. He leans back to run his eyes over your face, drinking you in like looking at you is a rare occurrence that he doesn't get the opportunity to do much. "You're all I need, anyway."

© angelfic 2024.

[lxvrgirl]

this whole series is the best ever. my heart 🥹🥹❤️‍🩹

Lorelei — Simon ''Ghost'' Riley x Reader | Part I

1 2 3 4 5

Synopsis: Aware of the way his lifestyle doesn't align with your dream life and unwilling to quit his life as a soldier, Simon breaks things off with you. It isn't until a year later that he sees you again, a tiny carbon copy of him held in your arms.

''So you're just goin' to sit there and tell me that isn't my daughter.'' Simon says bluntly, tone even yet carrying a snark hidden that you came to listen so many times after working with him— never once directed at you until now.

''It's really none of your business, Ghost.'' You don't even spare a glance at him, simply looking at your little girl, fingers gently running through her short hair. She looks exactly like Simon, though that will never take away your love for her.

''You're not denyin' it.'' He hesitantly sits down next to you, secretly afraid you'll bite his head off. The glare you shoot his way is enough confirmation that you would if you could. You sigh softly, the air leaving your lungs before being sucked back in, not wanting to argue in front of your little girl despite her not understanding words yet.

''Well, what's it to you? Why do you need to know?'' I can't handle you leaving me again.

''Don't be like that.'' His tone is soft, almost pleading. It has been over a year since he broke up with you, yet that doesn't make the loss any easier, not now that he knows he has a daughter, no matter how much you tried to hide it from him.

''Why didn't you tell me?'' He asks gently, feeling like he's walking on eggshells. It's the first time ever he feels that way with you, and he doesn't blame you in the slightest. It takes a few seconds of you thinking before you answer.

''I was terrified of you choosing to walk away from her... to be a deadbeat. I didn't want to have that image of you, because that would have hurt more than the break up.'' Your voice is more calm, though for all the wrong reasons. The familiar tingling all over your nose is back, eyes stinging as you try to hold back tears, too prideful to cry in front of him again.

''That's what you think o' me?'' He replies in nothing but pure disbelief and slight disgust. He would never walk away from his child, no matter how much that would destroy all the walls he has been building for years, stones upon stones carefully piled on top of each other, so strong nothing could ever break through— until you came along.

''I was fucking scared, okay?'' You look away and wipe your eyes with one hand, the other one carefully supporting the neck of the baby on your lap. Simon sighs, his bare hand hesitantly reaching down to trace the features of the tiny girl, being careful with her as if she would break if he applied any pressure. He notices your eyes glued to his hand, eyebrows furrowed. He's about to move his hand away until you adjust the little girl so he can touch her face without the awkward angle.

''Give me one more chance. Please— please, let me be a father to her.'' Simon never begged for anything, not even when he was tortured for months to no end, drugged, beaten like a dog, yet here he is; begging his ex for a chance to keep the girl in his life. You don't reply.

''I'll do everything I can. What I should've done. I want to be here, please.'' He was so damn ready to get on his knees and beg if that's what it took for you to let him be involved in her life. He's not asking you to be together— he knows he doesn't deserve that chance.

''She's looking at you like she knows you.'' Your response is ominous to say the least. You want to deny him, to tell him he doesn't even deserve to be able to touch the little girl you birthed alone, that he doesn't deserve the chance at a family after he destroyed 4 years of a relationship because of the very same thing, but... your little girl is looking up at him with pure admiration and curiosity in her big brown eyes, her tiny hand struggling to hold one of his fingers. Growing up with a single parent yourself, you know she deserves better, and you're willing to put your pride and pain aside to make sure she gets the world.

''Okay.'' You reply after taking a deep breath, holding it into your lungs for what feels like forever, choosing to ignore the strong arms wrapping around you, bringing all three of you close. It feels... right.

[NEXT]

[lxvrgirl]

your honour, i love them

Kate and Anthony Bridgerton Bridgerton — Season 3 Trailer

[lxvrgirl]

i dislike the Harry Potter movies and books yet why is it I’m so invested in the marauders lore, fics and everything 😭 + all the slytherin boys. (fans really do it better)

[lxvrgirl]

so good that after reading i reread it all again

Call It What You Want

Tangerine x fem!reader

Summary: After accidentally killing your kidnappers, the twins—especially Tangerine—seem determined to keep you away from harm.

Genre: Fluff, hurt & comfort

Warnings: protiective!Tangerine, innocent!civilian!reader, kidnapping, swearing, mentions of injury and blood, canon violence, plot diverts from canon, No Ladybug—the other assassin is supposed to be Carver (since i felt the characterization would have been too off otherwise!)

Thanks for requesting! I hope you like this hehe <3 @kpopgirlbtssvt

So far, the mission was running smoothly.

Lemon and Tangerine had killed all the men in the warehouse and were now making their way out with the White Death's son. Approaching their car, Tangerine throws his bloodied poncho into the trunk as Lemon stuffs the son's passed out body in the backseat. 

"Shit, bruv, I dropped my knife in the warehouse," Lemon suddenly whines with a grimace. 

His brother sends him an annoyed look, "Fuckin' cry me a river will ya? It's just a knife."

Lemon narrows his eyes at Tangerine and slams the car door shut. He deadpans, "It's not just a knife. It's Willa. You'know she's my fav."

"Shouldn't have dropped 'er then, yeah?" Tangerine snaps. 

Lemon ignores him and walks back into the warehouse. He's gone for a while and Tangerine wonders if perhaps he'd been hurt. Just as his annoyance turns to worry, he sees Lemon emerge from the warehouse, looking incredibly concerned. 

"Tangerine, come here," Lemon calls him over and based on the seriousness of his voice, Tangerine reluctantly follows him. His nose scrunches as they walk around the dead bodies they are responsible for. Lemon pulls at a filthy white sheet that hangs in the corner and it falls to reveal a makeshift room with old, beaten, boxes.

However, Tangerine's blood runs cold when he sees you splayed across the mattress in the opposite corner. 

Lemon sends him a look. "Heard 'er shift. I think she's asleep," he says. 

Cautiously, they move closer and Tangerine hears the occasional quiet whimper escape your lips. He kneels beside you, brows furrowing heavily, as with a gentle hand he pulls on your shoulder so you shift from your side onto your back. Your arm falls limp over the mattress and your head rolls to face him, causing Tangerine to inhale sharply. 

Your eyes are shut and your hair is messily splayed around and across your face. You're dressed in a pair of pajama shorts, worn out sneakers, and a tank top, the flimsy bedsheet the bastard that had done this to you had provided you with barely covers your bruised and exposed skin. 

Tangerine's jaw clenches when he sees the fingerprints on your thighs and arms. He looks at Lemon, who shrugs his shoulders and then leans over you to take your wrist and check your pulse. 

"Sleeping," he repeats. 

"Drugged," Tangerine argues and runs a hand over his face. Part of him wants to leave you here. You aren't his responsibility. He has a job to finish and anyway, he'd already killed the men who took you—probably? Hopefully? Fuck. He glances at Lemon, who seems debating the same thing and then Lemon catches his eye, as usual, his brother reads his fucking mind. 

"We have to take 'er," Lemon whispers, "She's innocent."

Tangerine looks at you again and his frown remains. Innocent. For all they know you could be the fucking evil mastermind behind it all. Maybe this was your plan all along and they're the fools who have fallen for the trick.

Only, his eyes soften when he watches your chest lift and fall a little harshly. You look so strangely delicate and it's making Tangerine lose his mind. 

No, you couldn't be anything other than pure innocence. 

Without another word, Tangerine shifts and hooks his arms under you. Your dead weight leans against his chest as the sheet falls from the curve of your foot and his hands tighten around you in fear you'll shiver from the sudden cold. 

Lemon watches his brother for a moment, a small smirk tugging at his lips. As much as he wants to, he doesn't comment on the scene in front of him.

* * *

Your head feels like it's spinning. The man you learned is named Lemon is yapping your ear off as you squeeze through the train aisle. You almost bump into him as he struggles with the poor man they'd told you bumped his head, and then the second man who'd introduced himself as Tangerine almost bumps into you.

You squeal, almost tripping, but Tangerine grunts and wraps his arm around your stomach so you don't fall. 

Quickly, as Lemon finds a booth and pushes the third man to lean against the window, Tangerine removes his arm and pretends like he didn't feel how badly you tensed under his touch. Raw anger simmers inside him at the mere idea of what your kidnappers had put you through.  

You watch as Lemon disappears with the silver briefcase for a moment and you wrap Tangerine's checkered coat closer around you. It's cool in the train and your exposed thighs and arms prickle with goosebumps. You don't dare complain. Tangerine sits next to you and he sends you a look. 

"Ya cold, luv?" he asks seriously. 

You look up at him, eyes widened innocently, and hesitate before you nod. Tangerine hums, happy you're communicating in some way, and he looks around. He stands and disappears down the aisle.

Lemon obscures your view for a moment when he sits across from you and when Tangerine returns, he's holding a sweatshirt over his arm. He hands it to you without a word and when Lemon gives his brother a confused look. Tangerine rolls his eyes and says, "What? I nicked it for 'er. She's cold."

Lemon hides a smirk as he holds up his arm in surrender and doesn't say much more. You slowly let Tangerine's coat fall from your shoulders as you slip on the sweatshirt. It's large enough to cover up to your mid-thigh and you feel less uneasy.

"So, ya really don't remember what those men wanted with ya?" Lemon interrupts.

You shrink in your seat. You wish you could remember more of your kidnapping so you could tell them. When you came to, you were already in the Twins car and they'd informed you you had been drugged and most likely kidnapped. You couldn't remember why. 

While the Twins had been nothing but kind to you, you still can't shake the feeling that they aren't the knights in shining armor you want them to be. You peer at Tangerine as he plucks a pack of snacks from the passing trolley. Without hesitation, he turns and hands them to you. 

You sit up a little and look at the snacks, eyes round. Tangerine nods silently as if to say, "It's okay," and then turns his attention to his brother, his blue eyes sharp. "She said she doesn't remember. Will ya lay off her?" he snaps.

You open the snacks and eat them up quickly. You hiss as your split lip opens from your carelessness but you continue to eat anyway.

Lemon and Tangerine bicker again but you're too focused on the food in your palms to care. Lemon sends you a sympathetic look as Tangerine calms down and the third man, who is sitting in a booth across from you all, starts to stir. 

* * *

"I am not leaving 'her alone with 'im!" Tangerine exclaims as he stares at Lemon like he's lost his mind. Lemon throws his hands up in the air and glares at his brother. "I don't trust 'im. If he's anything like his Daddy then he's bad fuckin' news," Tangerine reasons.

"So, what's your plan then? You gonna keep her safe by your side, hm? Someone took our case and I can guarantee they aren't gonna play nicely, bruv! She's a fuckin' liability, that's what she is!" 

Lemon raises good points but Tangerine ignores him completely. 

"She's our responsibility now, Lemon," he says sternly but he's distracted by the doors to the cabin sliding open and your frame slamming into his chest. Surprised, he tenses as your hands grasp helplessly at his suit and hide behind him. Lemon looks as puzzled as his brother when he sees how scared you look. 

However, unlike Lemon, Tangerine is in a panic. He spins around and holds onto your shoulders. He leans down as you hyperventilate, his heart beating so loudly. "Hey, hey, luv, what happened? Are ya hurt? What's wrong? Tell me," he says. His large hands move up to cup your tear-stained cheeks as he tries to calm you down.

You make small gasping sounds and point to the now shut doors you just came from. "T-the man! H-he w-was poisoned! I saw the person in the costume prick him with something and now there's blood coming out of his eyes. I think he's dead!" you sound completely horrified and Tangerine can't help himself when he wraps you in his arms and holds you closer.

Lemon paces behind him, clearly alarmed that the white death's son was murdered under their care, but Tangerine is only focused on you.

"Hey, darlin', can you look at me," he whispers as he tries to ground you. "You're fine. Shh, you're okay now. You did the right thing running to us, hmm?" you nod, still clutching onto Tangerine. Lemon scoffs from behind you and his brother sends him a dark look. "She's staying with me," Tangerine says. 

"Your funeral mate," Lemon says and unlocks his gun. He looks at you and his eyes soften for a moment before they land on Tangerine. "You've gone completely sweet for 'er," he says in a whisper, almost like he can't believe he's saying those words out loud, "be careful." 

You look up at Tangerine and see his jaw clench for a moment. Something flickers in his eyes—denial perhaps—but he just ignores Lemon's warning and guides you back into the train compartment to make a plan. 

* * *

Your head is throbbing as it hits the wall of the train. You hear ringing in your ears as Tangerine's shouts become hazy. You feel a hand curl around the hood of your sweatshirt as you're yanked up and thrown to the opposite side of the room again. You crash into the cupboards as foods from the shelves fall onto you.  

"Fuckin' bastard," Tangerine seethes, recovering from a punch the man had landed in his stomach. He lunges and hits the man in the nose, the crack audible, as the man crumbles to the ground. Tangerine sees red as he straddles the man and punches him repeatedly. "Ya don't fuckin' touch 'er! Ya hear me? I see one fuckin' bruise from your fingerprints on her again and I'll break all your fuckin' bones!" 

You struggle to stand, shards of glass stuck in your palms as you watch the scene with a scared expression. The man slams a glass onto Tangerine's head and taunts cruelly, "What's she to you, hm? One of your little bitches? Your reputation betrays you, Tangerine." You wince at this man's words and when he stares at you, your breath hitches.

"Huh, you one of his bitches, girl? A stunner like you shouldn't be involved with men like him, you know—but, I can see why he keeps you around, I mean you're—" 

Tangerine interrupts him with a hard punch in the jaw and his sentence falls short. Without hesitation, Tangerine takes your wrist in his hand and speed-walks away from the scene. You stumble after him as he grunts in pain from the blows he'd taken. When he finds an empty bathroom, he pushes you inside as he crams into the small space. 

Tangerine's hip is digging into the sink as he holds up your palm. "Shit, look at your hand," he mutters and then looks up at you more closely, "You aren't too hurt, are ya? I'm sorry, darlin'." 

You stare at him, your adrenaline pumping, and blurt out the first thing you think of as you look at the cuts and bruises across his face, and at how disheveled and bloody his suit has become. "You look like shit," you say with concern, and with your other hand, you push some curls away from his forehead. Your fingers dance across his skin delicately, too worried for him to realize what exactly you're doing

Tangerine's eyebrows raise in surprise and he laughs. You pull your hand away and stare up at him, your wounds obvious from the blows that the other assassin had landed on you. However, he just smirks. "Atta girl," he whispers, and almost as if on instinct he moves to press his knuckles to your cheek. You feel the warmth spread across them. 

Clearing his throat, he pulls his arm away and looks down to unlock his gun. "We gotta find Lemon and we need to get off this god-forsaken train—job be damned. I'm not putting you at risk anymore." You nod, wiping some blood from the corner of your mouth with your sleeve.

"You stay behind me and listen closely. If I say jump, you jump, understand?" he says and slides the door to the bathroom open.

* * *

Tangerine feels his eyes hang heavy as he tries to erase the memory of Lemon's dead body. His heart is pounding as he feels your hands clutch around his arm. He hadn't let you see Lemon, not fully, but you'd cried from the situation anyway (and in fear of his anger he assumes). 

After all, he is furious.

"Fuckin' diesel bitch," he mutters, his gun pointed at the girl dressed in pink.

The young girl snarls and stares at him defiantly. She doesn't seem scared of him. However, as soon as the third assassin—the brown-haired man from earlier—enters, she screams. Tangerine senses you tense beside him and he quickly moves to shield you as the man points his gun at you and him. 

Tangerine fires his gun sloppily and it hits the man in his neck. However, he's too slow to prevent the man's bullet from hitting you in the shoulder.  

You shriek and the pain is excruciating as you fall to the ground. Tangerine spins around, catching you in time as he holds you close and applies pressure to your wound. He holds up your head as he looks into your teary eyes.

"Shit, fuck, fuck, hey–shh, you're okay," he promises, his voice strained. You're not trained for the pain and as much as Tangerine tries to prevent you from looking, your eyes move to your shoulder. 

There's blood everywhere. 

Tangerine can see that you're in shock as your eyelids flutter. He holds you up but he can't think as you lose consciousness. He wants to scream and he slams his hand onto the ground next to you, desperately holding you to him. 

He needs to help you.

Somehow.

* * * 

When you wake, you hear Tangerine's voice loud and clear— "You told me you weren't wearing yer fuckin' vest!" he snaps, pacing around the small motel room. Your eyelids flutter and you see Lemon—Lemon!— sitting on the second queen bed, his head in his hands. Tangerine's pendant still hangs from his neck. 

"Will ya stop screaming at me!?" Lemon hisses, pinching his nose.

"I though' ya'd died!!" 

From where you lay you can see how furious Tangerine looks. His suit is still bloody and he looks as disheveled as he did on the train. You can hear how pained he sounds and your heart sinks.

Lemon is silent for a moment and then he stands. Without any smart comment or argument, he walks over to his brother and wraps his arm around Tangerine's shoulders. Instantly, Tangerine's body seems to melt into Lemon and you hear a choked sob as they hug—you aren't entirely sure who it's from. 

After a moment, Lemon pulls away first but puts his hand on the back of Tangerine's nape. "I see ya managed to keep 'er safe," he says, amusement in his voice as he turns to you and you shut your eyes so they'll think you're still asleep. 

"Barely," Tangerine's voice is strained, "She's hurt. I tried'a stitch her up as best I could but I ain't no fuckin' doctor. She was passed out the entire time—hope she didn't feel a thing."

You hadn't.

"You care about 'er," Lemon states and you hold your breath. 

"I don't," Tangerine insists quickly. "She's just a responsibility. Nothin' more, nothin' less."

Your chest tightens at his words and you feel very stupid. Why would he care more than that? You're still strangers. You don't even know his favorite color. All you know is that you care.

He'd saved you. He was your savior. How could you move on and pretend he wasn't? How could you move on and just not see him anymore?

Lemon sighs sadly, "Why is it so hard for you to admit you care about someone?"

"Because everything I care about dies. Gone. Just like that, Lemon," you hear Tangerine snap his fingers and you flinch, "I don' want 'er to die because of me. Because I cared too much to let her go and live a normal fuckin' life!" 

You bite down on your lip—hard. 

"I–fuck, you don't understand Lemon," Tangerine says and you wish you could open your eyes to see him. You want to see him so badly but you can't so you stay still, listening in. "I almost lost you and you're a trained assassin! She's just a girl. I can't protect her. I couldn't even protect her tonight."

You want to tell him that he's wrong. He can! He had! Without him, you'd still be kidnapped or worse, dead. 

"Mate, you're too hard on yourself," Lemon reasons. 

"No. I'm not. I can't fuck up. Fuckin' up means death," Tangerine says sternly, his tone ending the conversation.

You hear faint footsteps and then the mattress dips as someone's nimble fingers find your hairline and push away some stray hairs. Is it weird that you recognize his touch already? You stir unconsciously and shift onto your back, your eyes opening. 

You're unaware that as they flutter, all Tangerine is picturing as his blue ones staring back at you is the way you looked when they'd found you—hair messy and spilled across the dirty mattress, skin bruised and bloody. His stomach churns and he feels sick. 

"Hi, darlin'," he mutters, and then his fingers, slow and deliberate, move to pull down the blanket so he can access your bound shoulder. You tilt your head and wince when you see the blood seeping through the plaster.

"May I?" Tangerine asks as his hand hovers over your shoulder. You nod, staring up at him with widened eyes as he checks over your wound. 

As he works, you're overwhelmed and you have to look away. When you do, your eyes fall on Lemon. "Lemon," you say, "you're alive!" 

Lemon cracks a smile and runs a hand over his face, "I am. Were ya sad, bird?"

It's meant to be teasing but you nod instantly and Lemon's eyebrows crease. He looks at Tangerine, who stands up and pulls the covers over you again. "She's a sweet bird, ain't she?" Lemon says as he smiles fondly. Tangerine nods and moves some hair behind his ear as the strands fall messily. 

"Yeah," is all he answers and then he tells you, "Rest up now, luv. Your stitches are solid and you need sleep. It's been a long day." You wonder if he knows you'd overheard his conversation with Lemon or if he's blissfully unaware. You try and sit up but Tangerine scowls, "Hey, now, none of that," he reprimands. 

"Don't leave me," you say seriously and Tangerine's eyes round.

"Pardon?"

"I don't want to be alone—" you whisper and settle into the pillows again, looking up at him. 

"Lemon and I will just be over," Tangerine starts to explain but you reach out and grasp his wrist. You stare up at him silently and Lemon chuckles. 

"Think she wants ya to sleep with 'er," he says and Tangerine's cheeks turn pink at the double meaning. He sends Lemon a glare but sits back down beside you. He lets you hold onto his wrist as he thinks of a plan. 

You wonder if asking him to lay next to you is too much. You would understand if he refuses.

"I'm gonna clean up a little," Tangerine finally says, "and then Lemon can take the other bed and I'll—I'll sit here, on the floor, and hold your hand so you can sleep?"

His voice has a slight tremble you wonder if he's suppressing, and you can't help but wish he'd just hold you.

"You'll be uncomfortable," you try persuading him as he stands and his wrist slips from your hand.

"I want to keep watch tonight anyways," Tangerine says and smiles. It isn't a smirk—no it's a real smile. You don't argue as you nod.

Your arm dangles from the bed as you try and stay awake long enough to know Tangerine will actually hold your hand. You feel your body slip in and out of sleep as you catch only fragments of Tangerine's conversation with Lemon through the open bathroom door. 

"We'll call Billy tomorrow morning and she can call 'er family—tell'em she's safe."

"Ya know, ya could just sleep in the bed—next to her—it's really not that odd,"

"Shut up,"

You're so close to sleep your eyelids feel so heavy that when you hear quiet shuffling near your ear, you can't even open your eyes. Your hand twitches and a soft sound escapes your lips when you feel Tangerine's fingers interlock with yours. 

"I'm here," he whispers, the sound so quiet if you weren't so close to him you'd miss it. You hear the sound of his head hitting the bedside table and with an exhausted wince, you shift closer, your hand squeezing his. 

"Thank you f-for everything," you manage to mumble, your eyes remaining shut. You aren't sure your thanks escaped your lips audibly because he doesn't answer. You slip into sleep, unaware of Tangerine's mind racing as his hand remains in yours. 

Don't thank me, he thinks, please. 

His drowsy eyes are trained on the motel door as Lemon washes up in the bathroom. He refuses to shut them. While his back is already aching from sitting on the floor and his arm is tired from being in such an awkward position to hold your hand, he doesn't move. 

Instead, he listens to your calm breathing as you sleep. It's so different from when he'd found you—you'd been so scared and, even drugged, your body had been on edge.

Now, you sound so calm and secure and as silly as it sounds, Tangerine's chest tightens. As long as he can help it he'll make sure you're never that scared and vulnerable again.  

[lxvrgirl]

need a part 2, 3 and 500 right now!!

too sweet || tangerine

tangerine x reader

summary: tangerine is strong and bitter, much like a neat whiskey but you were sweet, like an aged wine, and he wasn't use to that.

warnings: none

word count: 1.2k+

a/n: requested by @whimsical-roasting inspired by lyrics from hozier's new song too sweet :)

masterlist

tangerine was harsh, uninviting. rigid and stern. he wasn't one to make small talk with the store clerk or mutter a hello to the person walking past him on the street. that was him, and he was unapologetically himself. he didn't care nor did he want to be that person who was over-joyous to strangers, it didn't entice him. what would he gain from exposing pieces of himself? he becomes vulnerable and that wasn't a word tangerine would ever describe himself as.

you were warm, inviting. gentle and kind. you were one to chat with the store clerk and greet the person walking past on the street. that was you, unapologetically yourself. you wanted to be that person who engaged with strangers whenever possible. you would gain so much from sharing and exchanging pieces of yourself with others. you felt secure.

tangerine faults himself for breaking that day he met you. he often wonders why his eyes cast a glance at you, but they did and that simple movement upturned his life.

it was a long day, a day from hell, actually. tangerine was exhausted from work and found himself dragging his feet home. his head screamed in pain, his throat felt tight from dehydration, and his stomach was practically eating itself. the flickering neon light of the convenience store caught his attention and the metal bell announced his arrival in the store. he wandered to the drink cooler and stuffed his arms with anything that sounded appealing. tangerine wanted a real dinner but unfortunately that night the snack aisle would be a five-star meal.

"you can never go wrong with these," a voice spoke and tangerine saw a pointing hand come into his field of vision. he mumbled under his breath some sort of 'thank you' and grabbed the bag of crackers.

that's when he looked over. that's when he saw you. that's when tangerine's normal hard exterior soon chiseled away in your presence. he felt his shoulders relax and he stopped gritting his teeth when you looked back at him and smiled.

"if you want something more hardy they got killer snacks up at the register. i'll admit i'm almost a regular here because of them. it's a bit embarrassing but the workers are really cool," tangerine stood there and listened to you talk. he liked the way your lips pulled up into a smile and how animated your face became. perhaps it was the pure exhaustion from the day that wore him down and made him engage in a conversation with you, or maybe it was just your warm presence.

it wasn't long after that night in the convenience store that tangerine ran into you again. he didn't see you at first but rather heard you. your booming voice and infectious laugh carried its way over to him. he was on a walk, an exercise he enjoyed, when the breeze carried you to him. he paused on the sidewalk and in some measly attempt to stall, tangerine re-stretched his legs until you came closer.

'hey! i remember you, how were those snacks?"

tangerine pretended to be caught off guard at first before responding, "pretty fuckin' good, i can't lie."

"told you!" you laughed with a wave goodbye.

tangerine found himself cemented to the sidewalk watching the back of your head disappear into the day, your arms flailing as you spoke to the friend beside you, and your voice slowly drifting away.

this would keep happening, tangerine running into you in public every few days in different places. it confused him a bit, to the point he almost considered that you were some spy out to get him and his arm would subconsciously drift to the knife in his pocket. each time he would stop himself when you began to talk about the most mundane things and share little anecdotes about yourself with him, like how last night you burnt your dinner and ate a whole bag of wonton strips you found in the back of your pantry from a recipe you cooked a year ago or how earlier that day you stepped in dog poop and didn't realize until you tracked it into the store. tangerine loved hearing you overshare and how kind you treated him even when he was a stranger.

in the months to come you and tangerine turned these random run-ins into deliberate meetings. at the park, at the movies, at a restaurant, at his home. you would notice the glances from people when tangerine stood beside you or the raised brow when tangerine was short with conversation while you talked the person's ear off.

"i know i'm not the friendliest but at least i don't grimace in people's faces," tangerine chided.

you tsked, running a hand up and down his bicep, "oh tang, don't mind them. they just don't know you like i do."

but he did start to mind how others perceived him after the two of you started dating. most people knew how outgoing and sweet you were, but tangerine didn't want to taint the image of you with him by your side. he didn't want people to start believing you were also this cold, stern, person. you couldn't even be if you tried. not only this but he felt guilty hiding his job from you. had you been aware you wouldn't be with him. each day you prioritized the happiness of others and never acted with malice, he was the stark contrast. he hated how he was beginning to love the sweetness.

it was late, 3am to be exact, and the two of you were lying in bed. your legs wrapped around tangerine and his head propped up on the satin. the tv cast a glow onto the bed, the array of colors illuminating your skin. it was an action movie. fast-paced, big cars, bad people, and drugs. your hand was placed on tangerine's cheek, the small digit of your thumb caressing the empty space below his eye. a gun sounded and your body jolted, eyebrows pulled together at the sight of the body falling to the ground.

"that's so scary. i can't believe there are people out there who want to hurt others," you sighed.

tangerine stiffened. he could hear the beat of his heart drumming in his ears and the way his hands became clammy. he watched as the main character aimed his gun at another person and pulled the trigger with no hesitation. that was him. he was watching himself and without you even knowing, you were also watching him. who he really was.

"why's your heart beating so fast. you a lil scaredy cat hm?" you joked rubbing your palm on his chest.

tangerine stifled a fake laugh, "just gettin' nervous for him," he winced at how pitiful his excuse was but you didn't seem to catch on.

he felt sick. you were too sweet for him, like grapes at the bottom of a barrel, aging into a sweet wine. he was foul-mouthed, hot-headed, impolite, and dangerous. he wasn't meant for you, didn't deserve you. he only ever knew the bold and strong taste of a black coffee or a neat whiskey. he wasn't used to the sweet flavor.

[lxvrgirl]

jason angst is the best and worst thing ever!! ugh the ending 💔🫂

about your open request, I got a prompt borrowed from @urfriendlywriter

"a broken "come, please" with tears in the eyes, and the helpless other being able to do nothing about it"

with Jason, please, thank you :)

Your welcome Nes and thank you for requesting. Hope I did this justice.

This is also kinda placed in Arkham Knight and inspired by it.

Summary: It's suffocating and Jason can't remember anything correctly all he knows is one thing: he has to get to you.

TW: Torture, blood, scrambled memories, The Joker, death

It feels crowded in the room despite the obvious space that Jason can feel. He hurts everywhere, his ribs are surely bruised and if anything, he’s almost certain that he has a collapsed lung on the way. His hands are tied behind his back and his legs are tied securely to the chair, in his weak and tired state, Jason would be lucky if he could even look up at the moment. 

The laughing haunted him, the cold and heartless laugh that came from the stupid fucking clown. The way that he mocked Jason’s pain made him want to lash out but he couldn’t, it wouldn’t matter, Bruce would come for him. Then he could get to you, he could save you, and apologize for even getting you into this mess in the first place. 

No, no that wasn’t right. 

Jason shook his head, groaning in pain at the movement but it didn’t matter, he needed to remember. His memories were jumbled around from each hit the Joker gave him. Each hit knocking something out of place, his nose, his jaw, his memories. 

The only one that stuck with him was the look you gave him as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness. The desperate and pleading look in your eyes begging him to help you as you yelled out to him and even through fuzzy ears he could still hear you so clearly. It haunted his mind whenever he passed out after hours of torture. 

A TV was set in front of him on a rolling cart, it wasn’t plugged up but he knew that it was not that long ago. 

No, he was trying to get to you first, screw Batman.

A buzzing sound came from in front of him but Jason didn’t have the strength to look up, he was too weak, too malnourished, and exhausted to do something so simple. He kept looking at the ground, the dirty floors stained with sweat and blood, both of them his own. 

A sound of a chair scraping and the Joker's laughter came from the TV but Jason still didn’t look up. 

Find you, he had to find you. You had asked him to, he had to but he couldn’t get up. 

His head hurts, feels like it's going to explode at any moment.  

“Jay, Jay please,” the begging words came from the TV and Jason’s eyes widened at your voice. He tries to move his head, tries to look at the TV and see you but he can’t. Jason can only sit there and listen to you. 

Flashes come in front of his eyes: blood, Batman, himself, and you. 

A rough scream is being torn from your throat and even louder is the insane laughter from Joker—no, not the Joker. The laugh becomes deeper, and rougher, transforming in such a way that Jason can’t pay attention to with the blinding pain in his skull. “Come find me please!” You shout out and suddenly Jason can find the strength to move his head enough to see you. 

Your eyes are watery and tears stream down your face in rivers, falling in the blood-soaked shirt that you were wearing. “Come please!” You scream and beg. 

You, him, a gun, and Batman. 

Another scream is torn from you as he can hear a gun cock through the TV. He wants to scream, to beg, and to plead but he can’t. “Jason!” You scream and Jason is grateful that at the angle he’s placed at, he can’t watch as the bullet goes through your head. He can only hear as your body hits the floor, dead.

Clapping comes from behind him and Jason flinches. The sound is loud and punctures his ears from the loudness of it alone. “Isn’t that a nice show, now tell me, Jason.” He can feel the Joker's breath in his ear when he gets close and his skin crawls but he can’t seem to care at this moment, anger taking a new form inside of him. “Who do you hate?” The Joker asks sickly. 

A flash of black comes in front of his vision and the corrupted memory of you dying at the hands of the man he once called his father shows up, nothing being able to replace that very image. “Batman,” he growls out. 

The reason why he’s here. 

The reason why you’re dead. 

Jason would get him back, he would make him suffer just like you did.

[lxvrgirl]

ruined my entire day 💔

“See, it’s healing. It wasn’t so bad, right?”

X | instagram

[lxvrgirl]

read this whole thing in one night how absolutely beautiful. i love it

The Roommate Series

Pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x f!reader

This is an (18+) story which means if you are a minor, you are not allowed to come onto my page and read this story. Smut will have a * in the link to the part

This series is complete

Synopsis: Three years ago you decided to go to college after being out of high school for so long but the only problem was that you needed a place to stay. You found an ad about someone needing a roommate for their apartment and ended up becoming roommates with a man named Simon Riley.

Now you've become best friends with Simon even when he disappears to work for months on end and shows back up randomly while never telling you what he does. As your relationship with Simon begins to change, you wonder if maybe his secrets were meant to stay hidden.

Heaven Help a Fool Who Falls in Love

My Heart is Yours

It was Only a Kiss

The Only Exception*

I Missed You, I'm Sorry

Home is Whenever I'm With You*

Lover Boy

So This Is Love*

I Surrender Who I've Been, For Who You Are*

Summertime Sadness*

Ptolemaea

In My Time of Dying

Aren't We Just Terrified?

Bury Me in Your Kiss*

Epilogue*

The Roommate Series on AO3

Extras

Why did Ghost fall in love with you

Dream

Flowers

Future

Argument

Sick

Nightmare

Zombie/Roommate!Simon 1

Zombie/Roommate!Simon 2

The tag list is closed!! I am so happy that so many of you want to be tagged for this story but I will not be accepting anymore requests to tag people in this series since this list has gotten long and it's hard to keep track of how many I have to add! Sorry for the inconvenience!

I don’t own these characters, Call of duty, or any of the Modern Warfare titles. You do not have permission to sell this work. (2/27/2024)

[lxvrgirl]

this was so sweet and just aww. Love the characterisation of Simon here

Patient | Simon Riley x Reader

words: 3992

plot: you bring Simon home from the airport after months of not seeing him. he finds something in your apartment that triggers a discussion about your “situationship”

tags: drug mention, fem!reader

Whatever it is you share with Simon, it’s beyond complicated. So complicated that neither of you talk about the details too much or ask a lot of questions. Not yet.

He’s gone for months at a time. When he is home, you practically move in with him for the time being, moving your toothbrush into his bathroom and your favorite pajamas into his closet. When he’s home, he will hold you and stroke your hair and kiss all over your body and fuck you senseless. He will tell bits and pieces of his time out in the field, but never all of it. And in return, you tell him bits of your life, which always seems so boring and tame by comparison.

The complication arises in the fact that you have never seen Simon’s face. Not fully, anyway. Even off duty, he wears a painted balaclava and usually has a hoodie draped over his head to keep his face in shadows. Even when you sleep together, he typically prefers to keep a long-sleeve thermal on and some sweats. He fucks you by just pulling down his trousers low enough to take his cock out. You asked him about it at first, desperate to feel his bare skin against yours, but slowly you gave up on the idea. Being bare, exposed and vulnerable with all his scars on display, is not something Simon is okay with even after the eight months you’ve been… doing this together.

To complicate things further, the two of you never talk about your feelings. Not towards each other, anyway. He’s never said I love you, and although you’ve let a few things slip from time to time, you’ve never said it either.

There are some nights when he is home that you’re awoken by his body thrashing around under the blanket. Simon will groan and cry out in his sleep, and you’ll gently take his head into your hands and plant kisses all over his face until he calms down. You’ll whisper against his skin, “I love your eyes. I love your hands. I love your voice. I love your heart.”

You never say “I love you”, though, because that’s not something you feel safe telling him. And if Simon ever remembers the things you whisper by the time he wakes up in the morning, he has never mentioned it.

The past month without him was particularly hard. The complications of your relationship were starting to gnaw at you, the lack of commitment and lack of his presence taunting you each time someone asked about your ‘boyfriend’.

“He’s not really my boyfriend,” you’d tell friends, smiling half-heartedly. “He’s not… We’re both not ready for something like that. Especially when he’s gone all the time.”

They would nod like they understood, but their questions always made your chest tighten and your mind spiral. It felt embarrassing having to explain it sometimes. You pretended to shrug it off and act like you were okay with how things were, but the truth was, something in you was crying out for more than what Simon was able to give.

You pick him up from the airport the night he comes back.

You’re waiting in the car, fingers drumming against your thigh, and eyes peeled for any sight of him. When he does come out, it’s not hard to spot him amid the crowd, with his tall frame and broad shoulders and SAS uniform still clinging to his body.

Moisture swells in your eyes the moment you spot him, recalling all the nights alone when you missed being in the warmth and safety of his arms. You never heard from him while he was gone. Radio silence for four long months did things to your mental health, even if the man wasn’t really your boyfriend.

You wipe your eyes once he sees your car.

You get out to help him put his things in the back, even though know he doesn’t need any help. But you’re desperate to see him, to smell him and feel his body against yours after nightmares of him not returning.

“Hey… hey now,” he says when you pad up to him, always feeling small in his presence.

Simon has his quirks.

He’s not much of a hugger, never has been. So instead of pulling you in for a normal embrace, he grabs the back of your head and leans down, nuzzling his masked face into the warmth of your neck. That was as much of a “hug” as he would ever give you and it causes flutters to erupt in your stomach.

“Hi,” you whisper, touching his back as he breathes you in. You want to tell him you missed him, but those words feel too intimate, and you’re always worried about scaring him off. So instead, you say, “It’s good to see you, Simon.”

“It’s good to see you, too, pet,” Simon mutters, his voice just as thickly accented and drawled out at you remember.

“Come on. Let’s get you home.”

You try to help him with his backpack but he doesn’t let you. “Just get in the car,” he tells you, and you obey his order.

The drive from the airport is a quiet one. Not uncomfortably so, because you had anticipated him to be silent. He usually was whenever he first came back from duty. How could he not be? You understood better than anyone how difficult the transition was for him. He sits there while you drive, his hooded eyes staring out the window at the town called his “home”, but Simon isn’t sure if it has ever felt like one.

“Do you want to stay at my place for the night?” you ask him after some time.

Finally, Simon makes some acknowledgement of you, your words snapping him out of his heavy daze. His hand reaches over to splay atop your thigh and the simple touch is enough to replace his lack of words.

“Sure,” he nods. “Tomorrow, we’ll get ya into my place, yeah?”

You nod in return, glad for his verbal confirmation that he does still want you moving in with him while he is here. Secretly, you believed that Simon’s greatest fear was being alone, because ever since you’d known him, he’d done everything he could to be in your company.

Even though he loves having you near him, there are still days where Simon seems to be stuck in his own world. You can remember, just before he left four months ago, a day when he hadn’t spoken a word to you even though you were both in the house together. He’d walk past you in the kitchen, glance at you a few times, but then just stalk off into his room and lock the door. You had never asked him why, because you knew he wouldn’t tell you if you did, and because he was back to kissing and touching you the next day like nothing happened.

You often wondered about the things that haunted him when he got like that. Simon’s past was a dark canyon of trauma, that much you knew, and sometimes it hurt to watch him sit in that canyon all by himself and refuse to see the light you offered as a beacon.

Everything was fine until you reached your apartment.

It’s not often that he visits you here since it’s usually you staying with him. But it’s closer to the airport than Simon’s place, and you can only imagine how tired he must be, so you pull up to your flat and quietly guide him up the stairs with your purse slung over your shoulder. You’d only managed to put a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt to go get him, but you know he doesn’t mind it, especially when he grabs at your ass on the way up the stairs.

You flush and tap his hand away.

“I figured you’d be too tired tonight,” you say sweetly, biting your lip as you shuffle through your purse for the keys.

“I’m never too tired,” Simon says simply, and touches your butt again. It’s a possessive yet gentle touch. “You can never find your bloody your keys, babe.”

“No, they’re here,” you mumble, loving the sound of the pet name tumbling from his lips. He is sporadic with his use of affectionate names, sometimes going weeks without calling you babe or baby, so when he does say it, it sends a wave of warmth through your chest.

He lifts the hand off your ass and reaches in the purse for you.

“Here,” Simon says with a roll of his eyes, finding your keys before you can.

“Thanks.”

Despite the quiet car ride, and despite the lack of “I missed you’s”, Simon is quick to let you know just how much he was thinking about you the past four months the moment you open the door.

One minute you’re breathing normally, and the next you feel the wind knocked out your lungs as he tosses his bag to the floor and pushes you up against the door. His balaclava is pulled up within seconds, just enough for him to get his warm mouth on yours as his hands touch everywhere and anywhere.

You’re not sure if you are weak or if he is just all-consuming, but every night spent away from his touch and every worry about your future together suddenly seems so far away now that his body is so close. His lips are rough and feverish and his tongue laps against yours. It takes you a minute to fully respond, bringing your hands up to his chest and feeling the firmness of him underneath his uniform.

“Thought a lot about these lips,” he tells you lowly. His hands cup your bum and give it a squeeze. “Thought a lot about this, too.”

Is this his way of saying he missed you? Your heart takes the words and runs with them, melting into his arms as he keeps your body pressed against the door.

“Simon,” you sigh into the kisses. Relief washes over you and leaves behind a building warmth between your legs. You feel needy, four months of only having your fingers and memories of him to keep you company, and you make sure he is aware of just how needy you are by grabbing his hand and guiding it under the waistband of your sweats.

“You’ve been thinking about me too, then?” he asks, almost unsure of the question. You want to pinch his shoulder and tell him that of course you were thinking about him. You didn’t have it in you to think about much else.

He practically growls when he feels the wetness of your underwear.

“Good to know I’ve still got such an effect ya, pet,” his voice is low.

He’s touching you there now, igniting your veins with a heat that you’ve been desperate to recreate in his absence. You’re not sure you can live without this, this warm touching and eager kissing that you’ve only ever shared with Simon.

It’s almost enough, you think. It’s almost enough to keep you happy despite all of of the flaws and unspoken words and months apart.

Slipping his hand out, he picks you up all of the sudden with such ease that you feel weightless. His hands on your bum and your legs instinctively wrapping around his torso, he breaks away from your lips only so he can see where he’s going. The departure of his warm mouth makes you pout, digging your fingers into his shoulders and instead latching your lips onto his warm neck as a replacement.

The game of pretend you are playing- the one where everything is fine and you’re happy and his touch is enough to replace his love- comes to an abrupt end when Simon suddenly stops.

You don’t even notice at first. Just keep sucking and nibbling at his neck until he lets go of you, your body sliding against his so you’re feet meet the floor.

“What-“ his brows are furrowed and he’s looking at something behind you. “What the fuck is that?”

“What’s what?” you ask, wiping the wetness from your mouth and following the direction of his darkened gaze.

You’re confused, belly still churning with need, and you’re wondering what the hell could have made him take his hands off you.

Then, you see it. The thing he’s staring at so intently. Your racing heart slows down once you see the rolled up joint on your coffee table you that stupidly left out for some reason.

Shit.

“Simon, it’s just… it’s just a little pick-me-up I bought the other day. It’s really not-“

“You’ve been doing drugs?” he questions, voice low and laced with something that sounds like disgust.

“Well, no, not drugs. Just weed. Only a little bit while you-“

“While I was gone?” He almost laughs, uncharacteristically, and shakes his head to himself. “Christ, what else have you been doing while I was gone, huh?”

You swallow. “It’s really not… it’s not a big deal, okay? Let’s go to my room.”

Attempting to wrap your hand around his doesn’t result in the distraction that you hoped for. Instead, Simon seems barely fazed by your touch, still standing in the same spot and breathing fiercely. You wish you could see him under that mask because maybe then you’d have a better understanding of what he’s feeling, and why this seems to bother him so much.

“I’ve disappointed you,” you say quietly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had such strong feelings about it.”

“Well, I do,” he says gruffly, with a voice you’d heard only on a few occasions when his temper was kicking in. Simon could get angry, just like anyone else, and it was something that actually benefited him out in the field when he was yelling commands and knifing people in the neck. But here, with you, his anger is something he works very hard to reign in because he knows from experience how things could get ugly, fast.

“I do have strong feelings about it,” he continues slowly, and you’re certain that his nostrils are flaring under that mask of his. “I hate that shit, Y/N. I don’t want you using it anymore.”

The command, spoken as if you were his subordinate, causes your teeth to sink into your cheek and the next words that fly from your mouth are not words you have any control over.

“It’s not like you’re my boyfriend, Simon. You can’t just order me around. Why should you even care?”

You regret them as they come out, but once they are spoken into the air, you actually feel a weight lift from your shoulders just enough to let you breathe for a moment. The towering man in your living room doesn’t seem to share your relief, because now he is pinching the bridge of his nose and swearing under his breath.

“Fucking hell,” Simon grunts. You’ve clearly stoked the flames of his frustration even further. But did you say anything other than the truth? The gnawing truth that he so conveniently likes to pretend doesn’t share a space between you and him, keeping you from ever truly being close to each other.

“That’s it… I need to- I need to be alone,” he declares, a vein in his neck ticking. “Don’t wanna… don’t wanna argue with you, alright?”

You blink away the sudden moisture in your eyes and nod, wishing that you could be back in his arms. But by the way he’s looking anywhere but you, you get the feeling that Simon would like to be very far away from you.

“Okay,” you mouth, nails clenching into the palms of your hands. Why couldn’t he just tell you what was wrong? Why was that so hard?

He had a habit of doing this when he was pissed off. Though it’s only been a few times, you can recall Simon shutting down before his anger ever rose to its full potential. He hated arguing. He’d usually stalk off to his room or go take a long shower, but right now, you watch him walk back to the front door.

Your heart flutters. “You’re leaving?”

“For a walk,” is all he says, leaving you confused and hurt and feeling like your relationship was somehow even more complicated than it was while he was gone.

____

By the time you hear the front door open, you’ve almost dozed off to sleep. You’re propped on the couch, legs tucked against your stomach, and your eyelids red and heavy from all the crying you’ve done.

You felt like you had a right to anger, too. Out of nowhere, he’d demanded that you quit a recreational habit as if he was someone who deserved a say over your life. He could tell you to stop smoking weed but he couldn’t tell you he cared about you?

But you’d read somewhere in a book once that all traces of anger lead back to hurt. You were hurt more than anything, having felt the shame and disappointment roll off him in waves when he’d seen the joint on the table. Simon made you feel like you’d done something horribly wrong, but couldn’t even explain why. Even after a year, he didn’t trust you enough to be vulnerable about whatever thoughts or memories were surfacing in his mind.

He opens the door and your eyes flutter from the sound of it. You’re quick to your feet.

“Hi,” you say, swallowing the hoarseness away.

There’s a red tinge lining your puffy eyes that he would be blind not to notice.

Simon mutters a quiet, “Hey.”

Then, he nods over to the couch behind you. “Sit down, yeah?”

Obliging, you’re now sitting at the edge of the couch with your knee bouncing gently and your fingers laced together. He sits down beside you. The joint on the table is long gone. You’d tossed it the moment he left.

You’re ready to go first, start off with how confused you are, but he beats you to it.

“My brother was a drug addict,” Simon states, his eyes round and dark and wounded. “I realize I never told you that before.”

Oh.

“He’s dead now,” he continues, watching your face carefully as he shares this information with you. A piece of himself that he’d never shared before. “Not because of the drugs, but that doesn’t matter. It was really… it was not fun watching him go through that, yeah?”

You nod, your throat now dry and new tears threatening your eyes.

“There was a time,” Simon rubs at his eyes as he gathers his words. He hasn’t said this much all at once ever in his life and it’s foreign and weird and uncomfortable, but after his walk, he realized that it was necessary. “There was a time when I had problems with it, too.”

He leaves it at that, not willing to say more. He gauges your reaction with a haunted stare and you simply nod again, accepting what he’s told you, but not offering any judgement of the past. He’d played the words over and over in his head during his walk. Kept changing his mind on whether or not to tell you. Would you hate him for it? Would your eyes fill with pity and disgust?

Simon knew that the words were out now, a little bit of his darkness out in the open for you to see. He hates sharing things like this because, well, saying them aloud makes them feel more real. Less distant.

But for right now, with how you are looking so tenderly at him, Simon thinks to himself that it didn’t feel nearly as terrible as he thought. Your hand finally reaches out to find his, a gentle thumb brushing over his knuckles as if to let him know you are here, with him.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” you whisper when there’s been a stretch of silence. “I know that was hard for you, opening up about that. But I… I have to open up with you about something, too.”

His hand stiffens under yours. “What?”

You wonder if it’s the right time. Maybe you should just draw him in and kiss him and swallow your feelings down into your stomach where they’ve been staying for some time now.

But if there was ever a right time, it had to be now.

“While you were gone,” you begin, clearing your throat. “I realized that I-I need more than this, Simon.”

Those wounded eyes are now curious and unreadable, glazing over your the sight of your touching hands. “What do you mean by more?”

“I mean that,” you lick your damp lips, “I mean that I can’t keep pretending I don’t care about you. I know you don’t feel the same, but it’s killing me to keep holding back. To keep feeling like… you’re always hiding yourself from me. I didn’t even know you had a brother until just now.”

You think maybe he will get up and walk away again, or tell you you’re off your rocker. This is the most intimate conversation you’ve ever shared, so you’ve no idea how he’s feeling about it. For you, it’s equally as scary as it is everything you knew you needed to say.

To your surprise, Simon leans over and does that thing of his where he nuzzles his covered face into your neck. Your body tenses from the shock of such a gesture.

“Of course I care about you,” are the words he decides to breathe into your neck, resting his head fully on your shoulder. It’s got to be an uncomfortable position for someone his stature, to lean across the couch like that, but he keeps his head there anyway and you happily melt against him. “I missed you like crazy, you know that?”

“You did?” you whisper, in a daze, and your fingers settling at the nape of his neck. You can’t believe it.

“Fuckin’ hell, I did,” he rasps. “I missed you… s’much.”

You hold him. Arms wrapping around the breadth of his shoulders, you feel his wound-up muscles underneath your touch and you sigh into him. It feels unreal, to hear him say those words after a year of him hesitating to even call you ‘babe’.

“Be patient with me, pet,” Simon mumbles, his hand finding yours as you sit together like that for some comfortable minutes. “I know you deserve more from me.”

Patient. If there was one word to describe you, it’d have to be that.

You kiss the top of his head over his mask. Tonight, he trusted you with a dark part of himself, and he told you he cares.

For now, that would be enough.

[lxvrgirl]

angsty angsty i love. this whole blog as well honestly one of the best

For the 400 followers bash, I want to be punched in my fucking feelings with TASM Peter and the “do you care?” + “does all of this mean nothing to you?” prompts. Idk what kind of mood I’ve been in for the past month or so where I just desperately want ANGST, so I am politely on my knees begging for the ouchiest hurt comfort you can muster.

So Be It

✮ tasm!peter x reader

✮ word count: 1.0k

✮ summary: you're the only person peter has left, and when he pushes you the edge, you set your foot down.

✮ warnings: language, light descriptions of injuries (stitches), violence, mention of bruising, peters a dick in this, angst, all hurt/no comfort.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

main masterlist ⋆ peter masterlist ⋆ four-hundred follower bash

✮ by @gifmarvel

Having Peter sit in your bathtub bleeding and bruised on a Saturday night wasn’t ideal, but when he knocked on your window an hour ago, you didn’t have the heart to say no. The water is now lukewarm as Peter’s gaze bores a hole into the tile in front of him. 

He hasn’t moved an inch or said anything since he’s sat in the tub. You’ve been working on a gnarly gash on his shoulder, and the only sounds to escape his lips were the softest of winces. Sometimes Peter talks about what he saw on his night out, but other times, like this one, he remains silent. You never pester him about it. You won't force him to talk if he doesn’t want to talk. 

Tying off the last stitch, you rise off the floor, and a quiet pop of your joints echoes. A physical reminder of how long your knees have been on the hard floor. As you rise, you sigh before placing the needle and medical supplies on the counter. “I’m gonna get some water,” you place your hands on your hips, “I can make you something to eat if you’re up for it?”

He’s silent still. Peter’s stare doesn't move from the pale tiles. There’s no response from him, “Peter?”  

“Yeah, whatever.”

You ignore his snarky response, walking to the kitchen to fill a cup with water, and grabbing a granola bar from the pantry before returning to the bathroom. When you’re met with Peter putting his suit back on, you pause. 

Placing the water and granola bar on the counter next to the supplies you were just stichting him with, you bring your hands up to his chest, stopping his movements. And finally, Peter looks at you. The bags under his eyes are dark. That’s the first thing you notice when you look into his eyes for any answers. 

Giving up, you ask, “What are you doing?” 

He walks past you. Once again, his eyes fall to the floor, away from yours. “Back off,” he mutters. Scanning the floor, he searches for his mask—the red fabric blending in with the darkness of your room. 

You roll your eyes at his stubbornness, “If you think you’re going back out tonight, you’re fucking crazy.” Standing back in front of him, you try to grab his attention again. 

Peter shoves you aside, causing you to slam into your bed frame beside you. The edge of it dug into your arm, surely to leave a bruise there in the morning. A gasp of pain leaves you.

The sound of your fall causes Peter to turn back around. It’s like he’s finally woken up from whatever trance has held him captive all night. He crouches down and offers a hand, but you cut him off. Your worry grew to anger, “Do you even care?”

Retracting his hand, his eyebrows furrow, “What?”

“Do you care that you’re hurting everyone that loves you to be Spider-Man?”

He doesn’t respond, instead, he’s stunned into silence. Your question makes him recall all of the friends he’s pushed away. You’re the only one left. For the past few years, you’ve been able to deal with all of Peter’s lows and celebrate his highs. The two of you weren’t sure what you were officially, but you’ve always shown Peter kindness, and now, he’s afraid he’s going to lose it.

“I mean, come on Peter,” you push yourself up to stand, not without a wince that doesn't go unnoticed by the man in front of you, “does all of this mean nothing to you?” You look around at your bedroom. His clothes are neatly stacked on top of your dresser, the water you brought him still untouched, and a few of his sleep shirts tossed on the floor for when he decides to sleep over. And under a pile of them, he finally finds his mask. You made Peter feel comfortable, and most importantly, you made him feel safe in your dingy one-bedroom apartment. “Do I mean nothing to you? Because honestly, you make me feel like shit,” you shout.

He’s still crouching there on the floor, looking up at you with an extreme sense of guilt, and it’s visible. When he rises to his feet, a fire is sparked in your blood. With all your might, you shove him as hard as you can. Peter stumbles back, the shock of your strength makes his eyes widen. 

“Just get out, Peter,” you scream between gasping and shaky breaths, “please just leave!” 

He lets you keep shoving him, even though he can feel his wounds opening again, he takes each shove. Tears are rolling down your cheeks as you sloppily attack New York’s neighborhood hero. You eventually shove him to the window he’s crawled through almost every night. Pushing it open, you turn to Peter, waiting for him to make his exit. 

He reaches a gloved hand up to cup your cheek, “You’re my everything. I’m sorry, bug.” The nickname buzzed in your ear as soon as he said it. He’d usually call you that during times of intimacy. Back when you used to enjoy his company. But now, it was the annoying insect in your ear. Lingering there as you desperately tried to ignore it. 

Pulling down his mask, he hops out of the window. Not bothering to pull the glass shut, you sink to the floor, and sobs escape your lips. Peter’s heart aches as he hears your wails, he’s below you, sticking to the brick wall of your apartment. Silent tears escaping his own eyes. 

You both know this is the last time you’ll see each other formally. But of course, Peter can’t help but watch you exist for the next few months. As he looks after you, he realizes that he hasn’t heard your laugh in a while as he watches you throw your head back in amusement when you’re out with your friends. Your peace warms him, and if that peace didn’t include him in it, then so be it. 

✮ author's note: hi anon!! i've been in a weird angsty mood too, so i get it. thank you for requesting this very sad, but very delicious fic with those prompts. no happy ending because angst. don't forget to like, comment, and reblog. to support my blog! check out my four-hundred follower bash that's happening NOW!! ok, ily bye<3

[lxvrgirl]

oh my gosh this is sooo good !!!! the whole blog= chefs kiss.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Wife Reader

Summary: You ask your husband Tommy if he believes in ghosts. The answer might surprise you.

Warnings: dark, angst, spooky.

ao3 link

-

“Do you believe in ghosts?”

It was near the end of winter, and another autumn of earl grey teas and tireless raking of crunchy leaves was fast approaching Arrow House. Tommy’s peaky cap lived on the coat hanger by the front door, dusted in the faint smell of smog. Gone was the silver razor; the Shelby’s were much too respectable for that anymore. In came the monogram initials, all of which had been carefully handstitched onto cuffs and collars to match golden cufflinks, and out came the fine woolen overcoats.

The weather lay thickly that year over the English countryside, enough to invoke a ghostly mist around the trimmed hedges and shorn grass. A stillness crept in as sly as a cat when the fog came down, covering all life with a sheer dew. The garden retired into a dull combination of cool greens and toe-curling crystal air.

It was at this time of year that the monsters came out to play in their ominously shaped shadows and faint howls. Where there was a tick of movement, an airy silence and childhood fear followed. Tommy would have teased you endlessly for your paranoia if he hadn’t suffered through the same fate after the war. You supposed he had more of a right than you because his fears came from a very real place, and yours were out of superstition.

“Spirits,” Tommy clarified. “Yes, it’s in my blood.”

“But have you ever seen one?”

Tommy turns his head to look at you, squeezing you closer to his chest from where you both lay under the covers.

“Why’d you ask?” His accent was thicker in the morning.

If anyone knew anything about spirits, it would be your husband. He was more superstitious than you due to his gypsy blood. The things he told you about the community were nothing short of witchcraft—charming dogs, telling fortunes, and cursing wrong'uns. It puzzled you at first that your seemingly pragmatic, calculating husband believed nothing short of Madame Boswell’s words as nothing but gospel.

You stared out the window, attempting to conjure up the right words, but shivered instead when his fingers ghosted across your back.

“Well… I don’t know. I don’t think I would believe in something until I saw it for sure with my own two eyes.”

He hummed and smiled lazily. “Why do people believe in God, hm?”

You pressed your lips together and shrugged as best you could in his embrace.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Eh?”

“Have you ever seen a spirit?"

Tommy’s eyes glazed over in thought. It was the answer you dreaded.

“Yes.”

“Were you scared?”

He blinked out of the daze.

“No.”

Your hand moved to rest on the cusp of his cheek.

“What happened?”

He cleared his throat and laced his hand with yours there on his face.

“I was nine. Madame Lovell’s nephew drowned in a lake the day before, and then on the day of the funeral, it rained. I was running back from over the hill when I saw him. He stood there staring at me through the spray of rain.”

Your thumb swiped over the tops of Tommy’s cheekbones.

“You’re certain? Maybe the rain got in your eye, and what you saw was a shadow or maybe even an eyelash in your eye. That happens to me sometimes.”

“I know what I saw.”

You hummed in acknowledgement, then tried to picture the scene for yourself. You stood atop some grassy hill, peering down into the valley. Dark plumes of smoke rose from a small coffin stationed at the bottom of the hill, slivering up through the wildflowers and tree branches to where you stood. Then there, through the smoke and rainfall that blinded your eyes, was the boy who drowned.

“Was he scared?”

A pause, then: “no.”

That night, you settled by your vanity, combing out knots and patting lotion onto your skin. The haunted look of that boy Tommy said he saw lingered in the back of your mind, and every vague shape or shadow shifted in the corner of your eye. Paranoia—that's all it was. You didn’t want to be caught staring at a dark corner like some half-mad crook. Tommy would be crossing the threshold into your room any moment now. Maybe if his last-minute business hadn’t held him up in his office, he would be here with you now, and you wouldn’t be glancing over at that suspicious coat hanging up by the wardrobe. The lamps that were lit didn’t stretch far enough to illuminate the monsters from their hiding spots.

It was a trick of the brain, that’s all.

And surely enough, Tommy’s footsteps were heard down the hall. Your shoulders slumped in relief. The autumn season was only one for the dramatics.

Your hand cream pot clattered onto the vanity, swirling in circles until it came to a stop just as you heard Tommy outside the door. But when you stood to greet him with a kiss, the door to your bedroom remained closed, and the doorhandle remained still.

“You can come in!" You laughed, but a sort of coldness seized your heart with terror when you wondered why Tommy was just standing there on the other side.

“Tommy?” You inquired after a painfully thin stretch of silence.

Again, nothing.

You reached for your comb, holding the long, sharp piece you used to part your hair out like a knife. You weren’t naïve. Tommy had enemies, opportunistic ones, too.

And so you stood there, straining to hear any noise beyond your heartbeat that thundered in your ears. You tried slowing your breathing to hear better, but your eyes then began to water from the strain and your refusal to blink. Then it happened, as abruptly as you imagined. The door burst open. Tommy rushed in, slammed the door shut behind him, and stormed over to the closet without so much a look in your direction.

“Tommy?” You squawked, still seized in terror.

He grunted, shrugging on his overcoat and snatching his leather gloves from the tallboy.

“What’s going on?”

Finally, he paused. His eyes were bloodshot and far away. You feared he looked through you rather than at you. He came closer then, pulling you into his arms and laying a warm kiss on your temple.

“Everything’s ok, darling.”

“Where are you going?” Your voice broke. “Did something happen?”

“No…” He hushed. “No.”

“Then where are you going? It’s still dark outside!”

He sighed into your disheveled hair, then pulled away.

“I need to check on one of the horses. Get into bed; I’ll be back soon.”

You clutched his lapels in protest. “No!”

He said your name sternly: “I really need to go. Frances is in her room if you need anything.”

“Tommy, I heard something!” Then, you lowered your voice so only he could hear, “I think someone’s in the house.”

He pulled you in by the scruff of your neck. “No one’s here, love. It’s just us and Frances.”

His boots thud severely against the wooden floor to the door. “I’ll be back soon.”

Begrudgingly, you let him leave and confined yourself to the bed, pulling the covers over your face like a small child afraid of the dark. You left all the lights on, determined to let any intruders know that yes, you were home, and yes, you would see them coming. Tommy would be back soon, and if Tommy didn’t suspect anything amiss, he was probably right.

But the grandfather clock in the other room kept ticking, tick tick tick, and little fairies scampered about in the garden below. The moon’s solemn gaze glared judgingly through the windows, past the squinting shutters, and onto your skin. Ink from family portraits bled into one horrifying mess of shadows. You threw back the hungry covers, which seemed to be swallowing you whole, and knocked your shoulder into the jaw of the door (you had mistaken it for being further than it really was). A teacup flew off a shelf, but you dodged it with one ugly turn of your ankle.

Then you ran down the winding stairs, through the narrowing hallway, and out the chattering front doors of Arrow House. A lustrous mist had fallen over the land, thick enough that your arms whipped around senselessly, blinded by the clouded night, in your attempt to trek to the stables.

The stable gates were banging back and forth by the time you reached them. They whack your behind when you pass them, and you would’ve cried if it weren’t for the airy atmosphere peeling the moisture from your eyes.

“Tommy!”

A clack of hooves answered you.

Your feet burned despite the bitter cold, swelling with each step. Still in your nightgown, the elements worked together, clawing, scratching, and biting at your bare skin. The swell of a draft caught the tip of your nose, and you whipped around just in time to see a coat disappearing around the back of the stable where the paddock was.

Fear acted like a glaze of sweltering iron, hissing the rhythm out of your heart.

“I can see you!” You tried to warn as if you were the hunter and not the hunted.

Leather hands wrapped around your shoulders from behind.

“Are you insane, eh?” Tommy’s gruff voice scolded in your ear.

You turned around to crumple into his embrace.

“Tommy, something’s not right about this house.”

“Is that why you’re out here? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

It could have been a ghost, a careful soulless thing—a soundless haunting memory with no cause for action, warping around the edges of reality. It was then a great whipping lash of winter lakes and violent snowflakes cut into the lines of your knuckles and sliced beneath your skin.

Your lips moved sometime after that, or maybe it was before; you couldn’t remember. Nothing seemed to make sense. The man in the moon wound away your surroundings one by one, like a fisherman with his catch on a hook.

“What?”

“You don’t remember, do you?”

“Remember what, Tommy?”

Silence held a knife to your neck.

“Out in the paddock..." His dark, long eyelashes brushed earnestly along his high-cut cheekbones, and you feared the thought that had seemingly paralyzed your husband from saying any more. If it weren’t already dark, a shadow might’ve passed over his features.

A fountain of words prepared to gush out, but you slipped on a puddle that appeared around your feet. You stepped back with a gasp. It wasn’t raining.

“I’m sorry, my love. I should’ve listened to you.”

The puddle kept growing. Words turned into water.

“What the fuck is happening, Tommy?"

His thumb brushed the apple of your cheek.

“I’ll avenge you. I will.”

You cried.

“Shhh, don’t be afraid, darling." Tommy kissed your ice-cold forehead.

You choked. Water: water pooled out of your mouth and suffocated your lungs. You couldn't breathe.

“Go back to bed for me, eh?”

All over your nightgown—water, water, water.

The horse trough out in the paddock, the goldfish swimming past your cheek, straw in your teeth, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, no response, no one, the weight of a hand tangling in your hair, air, air, air, no air.

Drip, drip, drip.

Water in your eyes, ears, nose, mouth—

You never saw them coming.

“I promise, love. I’ll get the bastards that…”

He choked as if he were also choking on water, water, water.

“I never saw them coming, Tommy,” you hiccupped, but it was all water, water, water—

“I know.”

Gurgling.

“I just wanted to find you.”

“I know, I know.”

They pinned your arms back.

“The fucking water trough, Tommy!”

He swallowed painfully.

You couldn’t see him anymore. His face had washed away in your straw, goldfish, blood, water, water, water, tears. Blindly, you traced under his eyes and felt his salty, grief, widowed, water tears.

There’s so much tears and sorrow there in that stable that it begins pouring from outside and through the roof. Most days it was in the paddock, but tonight it was here.

Frances, the housekeeper, watched from her window. On these types of nights, when Arrow House became entrapped in a spell and rain drizzled over the countryside, Thomas Shelby would squelch across the overgrown grass to the paddock behind the stable before disappearing. Where he went, she didn’t know. The hazy sheet of mist left much to the imagination. What he saw out there? She didn’t know either. The poor bastard probably just missed his wife.

Frances briefly left her room to peer into Mr. Shelby’s. Letting out a sigh of relief, the room appeared untouched, still frozen in the state Mrs. Shelby left it when she went out to find her husband that tragic night. The sheets were still tossed aside, the teacup still shattered on the ground, her comb still waiting on the bedside table.

Satisfied with her findings, she turned to leave when—

What’s that?

A puddle.

There must be a leak somewhere.

Oh well, she’ll see to it in the morning.

With that, she quietly crept away to her room and fell back asleep, undisturbed by the chattering shutters or creaking floorboards. Not even the ghostly cries down the hall woke her.

After all, there was no such thing as ghosts, only things that went bump in the night.

-

Taglist: @maliceofwonderland , @fairytale07 , @goblinjnr , @ilovepeoplesdads , @multidimensionalslut , @blogforficslol

[lxvrgirl]

i have a love hate relationship with the miscommunication trope but this is wow !!

I Wanna Be Yours

Summary: You are afraid to believe that someone like Bucky might actually love you back.

Pairing: Bucky x Female!Shy!Insecure!Reader

Genre: Angst with happy ending

Warnings: Casual sex (?), misunderstandings, self-deprecation

A/N: I’m actually not very happy with how this turned out but I hope some of you might enjoy it anyway?

Word count: 4.8k

You had never fallen in love before until you met Bucky.

You had spent your whole life wondering when it would happen to you - when you would feel that heart-racing, mind-blowing, bliss-inducing love that you saw so often in movies and read in novels.

Falling for him had been unexpected, like you had been turning corners in an endless maze until suddenly - there he was. This unbelievably talented, unique, intelligent man who treated you with respect and kindness. He showed interest in you when you were too shy to approach him first, talking to you about the everyday mundane, making you feel special. Out of all the incredible people Bucky knew and interacted with, he made you feel like you counted, too.

You worked as a lab tech at the Avengers compound since landing the coveted job two years ago, working closely with Bruce Banner, and had witnessed first hand when Bucky joined the team. He had been quiet at first, introverted, but you watched as he blossomed like a flower. He revealed more of his great sense of humour, wicked smile and subtle charm which made you fall for him.

When you were around him, you felt like your nerve endings were on fire. Every touch from him on your arm, your shoulders, the small of your back, sent pulses shooting through your body and a flush of red straight to your cheeks. The power he had over you was undeniable, and you were certain he knew it, too.

The moment you realised you were in trouble was on a Saturday afternoon, four months after you first met him. He returned to the compound one day with a nasty gash on his forehead and blood crusting his hands, his eyes tired and face pale. The moment you saw him, you knew that if anything were to happen to him, you would have no idea how to cope. Even seeing him with relatively minor injuries made your chest clench in fear and anxiety.

Without a doubt, you had finally fallen in love.

Your first time with Bucky was unexpected. He was perched on one of the counters in your lab, snacking on a pack of cashews as he watched you peer into a microscope. You could barely focus on the work at hand, hyper aware of his presence and ocean blue eyes on your form.

“You’re not supposed to eat in here, you know,” you murmured, trying to hide your smile.

“I know,” he countered, continuing to chew obnoxiously.

You had been harbouring your secret feelings for him for over a year and a half. With every day that passed, you found it harder and harder to figure out what to do. Sometimes you felt that he reciprocated them - the constant flirting, the close touches, the excuses he made to spend time alone with one another. But you were too afraid to ask him outright how he felt about you, and too shy to make the first move.

“How’s your leg?” you asked, if only to distract yourself from your thoughts, referring to the injury he had received a few days ago.

“Much better. Strong as ever.” He kicked it out suddenly as to punctuate his words.

“Hey,” you exclaimed, alarmed. “I wish you would be more careful. Seems you’re always getting patched up lately.” You were frowning, and Bucky seemed amused at your concern.

“Occupational hazard.”

“Whatever. Just don’t bust open your stitches and bleed all over my lab. It’s just been sanitized.” You sniffed as Bucky cocked his head at you, flashing his adorable grin. “In fact I’m violating several health and safety rules just allowing you to be in here,” you said, trying to keep your face straight as Bucky threatened to tease a smile from you.

You turned back to the work at hand, working in comfortable silence as Bucky observed you. He soon seemed restless, however, and you looked up again when he jumped off his perch and walked over to you, bumping you with his shoulder. He smelled so good - like the forest after it had just rained. He looked down at you, giving you one of his trademark dimpled smiles yet again.

“What?”

“I’m bored,” he shrugged.

“Don’t you have top secret, dangerous mission stuff to do?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Your heart was beating fast as he leaned closer suddenly, eyes flickering from yours down to your mouth. He had been doing that a lot as of late.

“Rather do something else,” he said quietly, his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip.

Time stood still. He suddenly closed the distance between you, and then you were kissing. His lips were soft, his hands gentle as they raised to cradle your face, sliding into your hair.

Your hands raised on their own accord to grab the edges of his leather jacket, pulling him closer, feeling surreal as he deepened the kiss.

He pulled away just long enough for you to ask breathlessly, “Is this actually happening?”

All he did was chuckle and pull you back against him again.

You were positively floating as Bucky grabbed your hand and led you to his private floor in the compound, into his bedroom. You thought you were dreaming when he lay you down softly on his bed, undressing you both because your hands were shaking.

“Is this okay?” he whispered, eyes searching your face as you nodded.

“Yes,” you said instantly. “It’s okay.”

That night, you had sex with him for the first time. He held you tightly as he thrust inside you, peppering your face with kisses, making you whimper with pleasure until you both reached the inevitable climax.

You felt you could die happy now as you fell asleep in Bucky’s arms, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

Insecurity was an ugly thing.

You woke up a couple of hours before Bucky, lying with your eyes wide open as the ink black sky slowly lightened, the sun bleeding across the horizon.

You looked at this man lying beside you - this perfect specimen, eyes closed and lips slightly parted as he slept, his chiselled jawline, ruggedly handsome features. The reality of what had happened was slowly sinking in, bringing with it doubts and questions as to what this meant.

God, he was so beautiful. So perfect in literally every way. You were fully aware of his contrast to you.

You had never considered yourself a beautiful girl. You had always been very conscious of your flaws, the way your body didn’t look quite the way you wanted it to, the way you felt that no one really gave you a second look.

I’m bored, Bucky had said yesterday. Were you just a cure for his boredom?

You gnawed at your bottom lip, uncertainties flooding into your system as you recalled the conversation and events leading up to the steamy encounter yesterday. Had he pulled you tighter against him, or had you simply imagined it? Did he do this all the time, or were you an exception?

People had causal sex all the time. You knew that Natasha and Steve had fooled around before and continued as friends only, and a lot of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents you knew had been known to sleep around interdepartmentally, lending to some interesting work gossip.

You knew you were stupid to let yourself think something serious might be happening. You and Bucky hadn’t even spoken about feelings or been on anything which remotely resembled a date. Bucky had been a proper charmer back in the day, you were well aware.

Your heart plummeted as you continued to think. You were suddenly so relieved you hadn’t revealed your feelings for him last night in your stupor. You had been so happy to be held by him, to be kissed by him, but that’s all it was - just a bit of fun. It had to be.

You felt Bucky stir beside you eventually, and you clutched the covers close to your naked body as he opened his eyes and smiled at you lazily.

What was the proper etiquette? Were you supposed to leave as soon as possible?

“Morning,” he said huskily. He looked so adorable that the panic in your chest quelled momentarily.

“Morning,” you smiled.

He yawned, his dark hair unruly as he ran his fingers through it.

“What’s the time?”

You cleared your throat. “Just gone seven. I have an early meeting with Bruce.”

“Mmm. Okay. You have to go now?” He looked at you with what may have been disappointment.

“I should probably get going, yeah. Need to prepare,” you said, eyes scanning the room for your clothes as you blushed at the thought of dressing in front of Bucky, even though he had seen you in all your naked glory last night.

Bucky suddenly moved in close and kissed you, causing your breath to hitch. You felt self conscious about how worn out you probably looked first thing in the morning, but melted into his touch nonetheless.

"Are we going to do this again?" he managed to get out against your lips.

"If you like," you answered carefully.

"I would very much like."

“Me too,” you said shyly, pulling back from Bucky and ducking your head down.

"So you're okay with this?"

Your heart constricted then, wanting to shout loudly that no, it’s not okay, and you actually wanted a serious relationship. But how terrifying would that be to suddenly dump your confessions onto him when the poor man had no idea how you felt?

But you didn’t know what was worse. Just being friends with benefits, or actually confessing your true feelings and pushing him away completely.

“Sure,” you said finally, keeping your voice purposely light. “It’s just sex, Bucky. It’s okay.”

Bucky froze then, his expression unreadable as he stared at you. His eyebrows were slightly drawn together, his lips stiffening as he swallowed.

“What?” you asked carefully, feeling inexplicably nervous.

Bucky was silent for a beat before responding. “Nothing.” He gestured between you with his vibranium hand, frowning ever so slightly. “This is nothing. Right?”

He wanted affirmation. You felt shame flood your chest.

“Right,” you said weakly, turning away before Bucky could see the tears in your eyes. “I better get going.”

He didn’t say anything as you hurriedly pulled on your clothes and mumbled an imperceptible “Bye” before you let yourself out.

As it turned out, it didn’t happen again.

You had no idea what you had done or how you had messed it up, but you had.

You had never done this before. Never casually hopped into bed with a man without something greater at play. You had one ex-boyfriend from your college days who was sweet but you were never truly in love with, and sex with him had happened a few months into your relationship.

You didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know how to act around Bucky anymore. Didn’t know what he even wanted.

You thought he just wanted a fling. No strings attached. But after that day, somehow, the two of you were never alone again.

He gave you small, if a little curt, smiles now and again and sometimes spoke to you about work-related matters if necessary, but everything else had suddenly disappeared.

A monstrous, ugly feeling gnawed a hole in your chest, slowly over the next two weeks until it was a gaping cavern. Had you messed it up so badly that Bucky just wasn’t interested anymore? Or worse - had it been his objective all along to just get you into bed and then disappear?

No, he wasn’t like that, you decided, quickly dismissing the thought. The only logical conclusion, then, was that your performance had been so poor that he just didn’t want to be intimate again, but didn’t know how to tell you.

You felt so lost. This isn’t what you wanted, not really. You were never one for casual sex, and yet it killed you how Bucky was avoiding you now. You’d rather reduce yourself to his fuck buddy than nothing. That one night with him had been magical, had made you think about an entire lifetime of mornings waking up beside him.

Your misery was clear to see to all those around you, particularly Bruce, whom you had become very good friends with since you worked together in such close proximity.

“Are you okay?” he asked suddenly, exactly two weeks after your night with Bucky. You were prodding about with some equipment you were working on for Sam’s wings. “And don’t just say you are, because I can tell you’re not.”

You shrugged half heartedly. “I guess I’m not. But I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“You might feel better,” Bruce said, approaching you with a sympathetic tilt of the head. “You know I don’t usually pry, but I’m kind of worried. I can tell you’re upset.”

“Not upset,” you lied quickly, meeting his eyes. “Just…I need to get out of my own head, maybe.”

Bruce studied your face carefully but didn’t delve any further. “Tell you what. Maybe you’ll feel better tonight at the party.”

You wanted to groan loudly. Tony’s annual charity gala. You had looked forward to it before, the prospect of dressing up and maybe getting a dance with Bucky, but you weren’t quite in the party mood anymore. Still, you decided to maintain as positive of a mindset as you could, returning Bruce’s smile and promising yourself that you’d try and have a good time.

You left work with a slightly reinvigorated mindset as you headed back to your apartment to get changed. Maybe tonight could be a chance to relight that spark with Bucky again - if not that way, then you at least wanted some assurance that you were still friends.

You tried your best to uplift your mood whilst you got ready. You changed into a silky blue dress, one which complimented Bucky’s eyes, you realised. Perhaps this had been in your subconscious the day you’d picked it out. It was a long number, quite form fitting with a modest slit up the leg. You tried hard with your makeup and jewellery, the idea of impressing Bucky at the forefront of your mind as you tried to steady your racing heart every time he popped into your head.

Observing yourself in the mirror, you smoothed down the sides of your dress and tried to practice your smile. You managed to leave your apartment in a much better, optimistic state as you hailed a cab to take you to the gala venue.

It was being held in a new building commissioned by Tony next to Central Park, extravagant enough to rival the Met. You walked into the marble lobby, gaping at the high, vaulted ceilings and chandeliers hanging everywhere for just a moment, before you began searching the crowd for a familiar face.

You found yourself mingling with your other fellow lab techs who were buzzing with excitement to be invited to such an event, and you suppressed a frown as 30 minutes passed with no sign of Bucky.

Eventually, the crowd filtered into the main room filled with round tables where dinner would be served, and a huge glass bar which stretched along one side of the room. People were still socialising before food was to be served, and your eyes were roving non-stop, unable to focus on proper conversation with anyone.

Finally, just when your hope was dissipating, you saw him. He was standing in the middle of the crowded bar, clad in a black tux. This was the first time you had ever seen him in such an outfit, and it took your breath away. He held a flute of champagne in one hand, a complete vision and so different to how you usually saw him, typically fresh off the battlefield in his combat gear.

He was talking to Sam who had his back towards you. Bucky’s expression was unreadable but, as if sensing your burning eyes on him, he glanced towards you.

He did a double take, pausing mid-sentence to Sam, and you held your breath. He gave you a polite, if slightly terse, smile. He turned his attention away from you again, and your heart clenched.

It hurt more than you thought it would. It was just a tiny gesture, and he had acknowledged you, but why did it cause you pain?

No. Stop overthinking. You excused yourself from your colleagues and found yourself walking towards Bucky and Sam, reminding yourself that you were friends. You spoke to Bucky all the time - okay, maybe not in the last couple of weeks, but you had nothing to be afraid of. Just act normal.

“Hey guys,” you said lightly, watching as Bucky cleared his throat and gave you that same, tight smile.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Sam beamed, giving you a one armed hug. “You look stunning.”

You smiled shyly, twisting your hands together as you looked at Bucky.

“Thanks. You both look very handsome.”

As if answering your prayers for alone time with Bucky, you heard Clint in the distance beckon for Sam to go over, and he excused himself, leaving you two stood in a slightly awkward silence.

Bucky raised his champagne and took a sip as you tried to get him to meet your eyes.

“How have you been?” you asked finally. “Haven’t spoken to you in a while.”

Bucky shrugged, finally looking at you. “Been okay. Busy.”

You felt frustration rising. Usually he would be telling you all about the things that had occurred in his day, his daily arguments with Sam, anything and everything in between. But now he spoke to you as if you were merely acquaintances.

“Listen. Did I do something wrong?” you said finally, surprising yourself by cutting to the chase. You just wanted Bucky back, and you let your desperation take over.

Bucky seemed taken aback at your forward approach, but he composed himself quickly.

“Nothing,” he said, his tone ever so slightly blunt. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

You felt like you were going to cry. You didn’t know how just a fortnight ago, you and Bucky had been locked in a passionate cinch in his bed, and now he was completely icing you out.

“Okay,” you said, deflating slightly. You knew that if he didn’t want to tell you, there was nothing you could do to squeeze it out of him.

“I’m gonna go take a seat,” he muttered, giving you one last look before he walked away.

You quickly hurried back to your colleagues, embarrassment searing your insides.

The evening passed painfully slowly. You found yourself sat quietly at your table after dinner service had ended and people were either having drinks, chatting out on the balconies or dancing in the middle of the ballroom.

You felt the gala could not get any worse. Until it did.

Natasha and Bucky were in the middle of the dance floor, swallowed up in the sea of couples and yet standing out due to their striking attractiveness. Natasha was dressed in a short, tight black dress, so simple and yet so gorgeous. Her red hair was straight and sleek, and she looked up at Bucky as they danced, his signature almost-cocky smile on his lips. A smile which he had not shown you since that day.

Natasha was effortlessly beautiful. She didn’t even have to try and she could get any man she wanted. Bucky included, obviously. You watched their movements closely as they danced, how they spoke to each other in low voices.

The emotions rising in your chest was like bile in your throat. It burned, it hurt, and it was able to illicit a terrible response in your brain.

You felt so ridiculous.

The dress you had on suddenly felt too tight, too uncomfortable around your stomach. You caught sight of your reflection in one of the large, ornate mirrors hanging off the walls and suddenly felt so ugly. You had tried so hard tonight, and for what? Bucky had barely given you ten seconds of his attention, and at the end of the day, no amount of effort could make you feel beautiful.

You didn’t know how you could’ve let yourself believe in something more. You had to make every effort to even just feel somewhat presentable, but women like Natasha didn’t have to. She was stunning and talented and intelligent, the obvious choice.

God knows why you had been questioning Bucky’s lack of attention. Maybe you had simply been misinterpreting your closeness all along.

You stood then, not wanting to cry in front of an audience. No one would notice you early departure anyway.

You left the ballroom, almost tripping in your stupid heels as you collected your things from the cloakroom.

Shrugging on your heavy coat as you marched through the empty lobby, you yelped in pain as you rolled your ankle clumsily, sending you crashing gracelessly onto the floor. You cursed, coat half-hanging off your body as you felt tears spring to your eyes.

It was the last straw. You were crying as you tried to stand, ankle throbbing, feeling mildly grateful that there was no one around to witness your childish episode. You thought you might have heard someone calling your name, but you ignored it, the roaring in your ears failing to stop.

Your tears didn’t cease, not even when you finally made it back home, ripping off the dress as soon as you could and crawling into the safety of your bed.

Bucky finally found you the next day in your lab on your lunch break. You were startled to see him appear in the doorway, your eyes tired and swollen from a night of crying. You hoped it wasn’t too obvious.

“Bruce isn’t here,” was the first thing you said.

He looked almost annoyed as he walked in and said, “Wasn’t looking for him.”

“Oh. What do you want?” The words came out harsher than you intended. Bucky definitely looked annoyed now, a scowl fixed on his face.

He shook his head. “Never mind. Forget it.”

“Bucky!” Your voice came out loud and sharp as he turned back around. Frustration erupted. “You know what - you have no right to behave this way.”

“Excuse me?” He turned to look at you incredulously, forehead creasing.

“The way you’ve been treating me - the past few weeks since that night - you just ignore me now,” you were practically spluttering, all your feelings fighting to pour themselves out at once. “It’s horrible. I thought we were friends.”

“We were,” he said, looking almost torn.

“It’s not fair.” Your eyes were stinging and you were mortified, hurriedly lifting your hands to wipe them.

“Are you crying?” Bucky asked softly, looking nervous.

“Yes,” you snapped. “I thought we were close - I thought you liked me.” You were humiliated at your confession but ploughed on. “I thought that night meant something. But you -”

“Woah, hang on -”

“Don’t interrupt me!” you huffed.

Bucky took you in his arms, pulling you into his chest as you tried to pull back.

“Calm down,” he grunted, holding you still as you let out an exasperated noise. “Breathe.”

You knew he wouldn’t let up, so you let your anger reduce to a simmer as you focused on breathing steadily.

“Good girl.”

His presence was comforting despite your anger and frustration towards him. He always made you feel safe.

“I thought you liked me,” you repeated in a quiet voice. You were staring at his chest, refusing to look at him.

“I do,” he said, his voice tight.

“No, I thought you liked me as more than a friend.”

Bucky pulled back, lifting two figures under your chin and forcing you to meet his eyes.

“Can we rewind?” His request was soft. “Tell me. What did that night mean to you?”

“Are you really going to make me do this?”

His silence spoke volumes.

You tried not to let your frustration get the better of you. “I really like you, Bucky. I’m not a girl who enjoys sex with no strings attached. Especially not with you. I mean, I enjoyed the sex -” you blushed violently, “- but I - I want more.” Your words were rushed and you stared at the empty spot above his head, wanting to die from embarrassment.

“More?” he promoted.

“A relationship,” you clarified. “I know that’s not what you want. And that’s fine. But if we could at least just go back to how we were, where you actually spoke to me and spent time with me, I would really like that. Because I miss you.”

Bucky looked perplexed as he released you, mouth opening wordlessly. Finally, he uttered, “I don’t want that.”

Searing pain burst inside you, and your face crumpled.

“No, no, no,” he said hurriedly as your vision blurred. “I mean - I don’t want to be friends, because I want to be together. I want a relationship.”

“With me?” you asked, confusion marring your face.

“With you.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” you said instantaneously. “Are you joking? This isn’t funny.”

“Would I joke about something like that?”

“You said you were bored,” you blurted. “You asked me if I was ‘okay with this’.” As you spoke, you realised how groundless your assumptions actually might be, but you refused to believe the alternative - that Bucky genuinely wanted to be with you.

Bucky threw his hands up in the air, looking defensive. “You said it was ‘just sex’! I never at any point told you that this was just fun for me.”

“I thought that’s what you wanted.”

Bucky dragged a hand over his face, sighing. “Okay, I think we may have had a breakdown in communication.”

“But I don’t get it,” you insisted. “Why would you want to be with me? I saw you with Natasha last night.”

“Dancing,” he said indignantly. “Just dancing.”

“You didn’t dance with me,” you shot back. “I - I only went to that dumb thing because I wanted you to ask me to dance.”

Bucky looked pained, biting down on his lower lip with regret. “I didn’t know.”

“I wanted to look nice for you,” you confessed quietly.

“You did. You were gorgeous.”

You laughed humourlessly. Bucky frowned.

“I’m being serious.”

“Sure.” You genuinely didn’t believe him.

“Stop that and look at me,” he said sharply.

His eyes were filled with both annoyance and affection, making you falter. You didn’t say anything when he sighed and stroked your hair.

“I wanted to tell you how beautiful you were. But I just couldn’t bear to be near you. I thought you just wanted something casual. And I don’t think I can handle that.”

“I can’t handle that either,” you confessed. “I really want to be with you, Bucky.”

Bucky beamed then upon hearing your words, relief washing over his face.

“Really?”

How could he ever doubt that? You smiled and nodded, but your smile was fragile and faded at the thought of Bucky and Natasha dancing last night. Even if there was nothing untoward happening, you still felt that he should be with someone as equally impressive as Natasha.

“Yes,” you confirmed. “I want to be with you, but at the same time, I don’t know why you would want to be with me.”

Bucky frowned. “Is it that hard to understand?”

You didn’t say anything, so Bucky continued, “I thought you knew how I felt. I’ve been making it pretty damn obvious these past few months.”

“I thought you were just being nice,” you mumbled. “I did think, sometimes, maybe you had feelings for me, but then I decided it just didn’t make sense.”

“Tell me why,” Bucky said gently.

You took a deep breath, knowing you could be vulnerable around him. “I’ve never felt that I was good enough for you. I feel so average, so normal. And you - well, you’re you. So outstanding in every way.”

Bucky shook his head, lifting a hand to cup your cheek. He smiled slightly when you blushed in response, skin flaming.

“Listen to me. Do you know how I view myself? I’m completely flawed, my morals are sometimes questionable, I’ve done terrible things -”

You were shaking your head vehemently in disagreement, and he smiled.

“See? You’re proving my point. We’re our own biggest critics. And maybe you don’t see how amazing you are, but I do. And I want you. I have pretty good taste, you know.” The way he looked at you made your self-doubt falter - he was observing you like you were so precious, the softness and tenderness in his face making your heart flutter.

You smiled then, Bucky taking a step closer, dipping his head to whisper against your lips.

“I’ll spend the rest of my life convincing you how brilliant you are, if that’s what it takes.”