#<- i guess? does it count when you are looking canon and the eye and going. yes you are wrong

[darknight3904]

Every Breath You Take

Chapter Six- Good Vibrations

Summary: A prepper restores your little group's faith in humanity, and you and Tommy decide to spend your evening celebrating in bed together.

Warnings for this part: Canon typical violence, themes, language, gore, and horror. Smut 18+, use of a sex toy, p in v, oralF!receiving ,riding Tommy Miller like a horse (as nature intended, ofc). Check the Series Masterlist for expanded warnings.

Word Count 3.6K

Previous Part / Series Masterlist / The Last of Us Masterlist

April 2005, Allensville, Pennsylvania 

Robin Williams once said, “Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'". And sure, there wasn’t much to celebrate these days, but right now you felt like you were on top of the world. With the snow gone, your little group had set out to canvas some of the other homes that were within a few-mile radius. An unassuming, puke green home was the last one for the day, you were all tired, and the baby was getting restless in his sling, a scarf that Lara held him with. You’re pretty sure all the kid wants is to be held, since he hasn’t cried once since she put him in there this morning. 

Joel pried the front door open with a crowbar, and you expected to see what you’d been seeing: an abandoned home, a few odd cans of food, and dusty clothes. Instead, you’re met with a gold mine. 

A prepper. A fucking prepper lived in this home. 

You could cry right now, break down, and never get up as you held a can of Campbell’s tomato soup in your hands. Even Joel looks surprised as he takes in the abundance of things. Perfectly organized in different bins and labeled bags, you swore you were seeing things. 

Tommy lets out a low whistle, his hands running over a huge box of ammunition, “How the hell are we gonna carry all this back?” 

“We’ll figure it out.” You hum, walking over to where he stands, handing him a jar of peanut butter, “How long has it been since you had a spoonful of peanut butter?” 

A chaste kiss is pressed to your lips, his dark facial hair tickling your face as he pulls away, “Too damn long.” 

Joel approaches the two of you, Tommy’s hands loosening from where they wrap around your waist to take the box Joel holds out. 

Trojan Ultra Thins Value Pack! 36 Count!

Your face goes hot in embarrassment as Tommy chokes on his spit, taking the box and quietly thanking Joel. 

“There’s a whole box of ‘em, can’t have any more babies running around,” Joel mumbles before walking off to survey the many bins of canned foods you now have. 

Tommy turns to you, a sly look on his face, “Guess we better start working our way through these, huh, hot stuff.”

For added measure, he wiggles his eyebrows, shaking the box in front of you as you roll your eyes. 

“You’re disgusting.” 

A loud gasp from Lara has all of you turning to look at the girl. She’s staring into a duffle bag, her hands shaking as she pulls a container out. As usual, she’s wordless, but she does do you all the courtesy of turning the can towards you, Similac Baby Formula. 

“I could kiss the fucker who hoarded all this to himself.” Tommy declares, a smile on his face, as Lara shows the baby the many cans of food. 

“You’re a really strange guy..” You poke his side 

“Yeah, I am.” He proudly accepts your tease, poking you right back. 

Joel claps his brother on the back, a loud smack resounding through the room, “Quit flirtin' with your girl, there’s a car parked out back, let’s go see if we can get it running.” 

Joel and Tommy disappear into the backyard, where a shed and hopefully a working car await them. You cross the room to Lara, who is trying to pick through the baby stuff, her boy letting out little grunts of discontent. 

“I can hold the baby while you look.” You offer. 

Lara had begun letting you hold her child recently. You could tell she was still hesitant to really give him her all, instead letting you take care of the nurturing while she simply fed and changed him when he needed it. 

The baby, who still has no name, kicks his feet happily when you pull him from the sling after Lara nods to you. You sit on the floor with him, balancing him on your knee as he looks at his mother with big blue eyes. 

“You’ve got a buffet now.” You say to him, “All you can eat. There’s like at least forty cans of formula up there for you.” 

The baby blinks back at you, a gurgle leaving his lips as drool falls down onto the floor below him. Your eyes scan his appearance, he’d gotten chubbier in the past weeks, Lara having a steady diet of half your food meant more breastmilk. Now, his once loose onesie was looking a bit snug as he sat on your lap, staring at you and his mother. 

“Hey, I’m gonna go upstairs to see if there's something new for him to wear.” You say, perhaps this nameless prepper had also snagged some baby clothes. 

Lara waves you off, motioning for you to leave the kid on the floor. You hesitate for a second, technically you know he shouldn’t be left alone, afterall she isn’t going to watch him. But, he also couldn’t even crawl yet, he’d only accomplished sitting up recently. 

So, you left him on the carpet handing him a still closed bag of fruit to marvel over, its shiny packaging should have him enamored for at least twenty minutes. 

Upstairs is pretty boring, empty of things, it’s a simple two bedroom home, one of which was pretty much empty except for a box filled with old tax documents and a busted lamp. The furnished bedroom has a small full bed pushed up against one wall, a dilapidated nightstand beside it, holding a bottle of lotion and box of tissues. Gross. Guess whoever lived here was a dude. 

Clothing apparently wasn’t a top priority for this man, simple jeans and shirts lined his closet, a couple of sweatshirts and a big winter coat were shoved in the way back. The dresser drawers are pretty much the same deal, socks, underwear and a few pairs of well loved sweatpants. One t-shirt says “Best Dad Ever!” its faded and nearly falling apart A hazy memory of Joel wearing something like this came to mind, a fathers day many years ago, you had taken Sarah to the mall and both of you bought one for your dads, convincing them to wear them out at the same time had been a whole ordeal. 

You return the old shirt to its place in the drawer, something else catching your eye. A polaroid camera sits on a bookshelf, beside it a dusty picture of a woman, her long hair a tangled mess of dark curls. She smiles at you, her eyes crinkling as she lounges on the beach. You pick up the polaroid, the film counter reading that it still had four photos left. 

The loud sound of a thump has you rushing back down the steps, ducking your head through the camera so it dangles off your neck. Back in the living room, you find Lara, standing over a knocked-over box of old magazines, her eyes fixed on something at her feet. The baby remains where you left him, his hands slapping the bag of fruit like it’ll open for him like that.

You walk over to Lara, and at her feet is a fitness magazine, a young man poses, his arms confidently crossed, showing off tanned biceps as he smiles, his teeth an unnatural white. 

10 ways to lose that gut! Mike Leeds shares his secrets!

“You uh okay?” You ask her softly, the man’s sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes suspiciously match the baby’s, who sits a few feet from you.

Lara moves fast, faster than you’ve ever seen her move, even that day she jumped Tommy, she didn’t move this quickly. Grabbing Mike Leed’s magazine, you watch as she rips the cover off, proceeding to shred the entire thing into a thousand pieces at her feet, her chest heaving as she does. 

Fat tears begin falling down her freckled face as you watch with concern. You stare at the destroyed magazine for a moment then look back at her. Lara’s arms wrap around herself, and quiet sobs leave her lips as she stands there, her chest rising and falling abnormally. Before you can even think about it, you pull her into you, her wavy red hair tickling your nose as you hug her, her head resting on your shoulder. 

“Shhhh.” You soothe, “You’re alright. You’re safe…” 

You run a hand up and down her back, holding her tight as she cries. The baby stares up at the two of you, the bag of fruit still in his hands. 

The sound of the backdoor has you looking away from Lara for a moment, she’s still wrapped in your arms when Tommy enters. 

“Hey, Joel got the…What happened? Why’re we huggin’?” 

You wave him away, pointing at the door. Your boyfriend spins on his heel, a sigh escaping his lips as he goes. Lara pulls away from you after she hears the back door swing shut again, wiping at her red eyes as she bends down to pick the baby back up. She moves to grab the bag of formula cans, her hand brushing yours as she moves. 

“Hey, you ever wanna talk about it, let me know, okay?” You prompt wishing she’d make eye contact. All you get is a soft grunt from her as she walks off, the baby humming as he stares at you from over her shoulder. 

It takes the rest of the day to get everything from the puke green home to your little blue one that’s only four miles away. Joel and Tommy do a lot of the heavy lifting, loading shit up in wheelbarrows and tossing it into the Toyota 4Runner they had resurrected. Some of the most exciting things consisted of more batteries, about a million packs of toilet paper, the formula, and of course the seemingly endless canned goods and bags of rice. Oh, and the seven boxes of condoms, that was cool too.  By the end of the day the kitchen and attic of your home looked just like the preppers did, although you were actually going to get some use out of it all. 

“What do you think happened to the guy who owned all this shit?” You ask as the four of you slurp up cans of beef ravioli from your new favorite man, Chef Boyardee. 

“Ah well…” Tommy scratches his head, staring at Joel who shrugs in return from his spot across the room in the wooden rocking chair. 

“What?” You ask cluelessly, knocking your knee against Tommy’s as the two of you sit on the sofa together 

Lara spins around, she’s sitting at the kitchen table, her notebook in hand, baby at her feet, a bottle in his hands, the nipple stuffed in his mouth. Her spindly hand writing stands out against the paper. 

Tell us

“He was layin’ out in the shed, all decomposed and shit,” Tommy says

“What, like he killed himself?” You ask 

“Nah, we think he slipped and fell. There’s this big stack of cinder blocks out there, he was layin’ next to one that was all bloody. Probably tripped on his untied shoelaces.” Joel chimes in before Tommy can speak again. 

“Oh.” You say, thinking of the best dad ever shirt and the dusty photo of the woman on his bookshelf. You’re a bit sad for this stranger, tripping and bashing his head open, no one in his home to rush to his side to save him. 

After dinner, Tommy helps Joel unload the last car full of stuff from the man’s home. Arguably, this might be the most important of them all, the weapons. There’s a decent pile of about 10 new guns in your house now, plus seven big boxes of ammunition to go with them. Joel says it should last well over two years of hunting, as long as no big groups of people or infected find you out here. 

That night, you lay in bed, safely tucked away from the world and stomach full, your eyes should flutter shut. Instead, you squirm around on the mattress, Tommy’s figure beside you, his light snores filling the room as you try to sleep. 

You turn on your side, pulling open the drawer of your nightstand. A few months ago, when you’d gotten settled here, you tossed a few miscellaneous items into the drawer, not really bothering with them until now. Over a year ago, you’d found a still packaged vibrator in the drawer of a home you, Tommy, and Joel had stopped in. Of course, you didn’t have any batteries for the damn thing so it sat forgotten at the bottom of your backpack. Now, thanks to the nameless prepper, there was an overabundance of triple-A’s, enough that you’d been able to sneak two of them into your pocket without Joel taking note earlier. 

A soft hum filled your ears as you clicked the toy on, softly sighing as it met the delicate flesh between your legs. You press the button again and a noise leaves your lips, your hips canting up towards the soft silicone as you rub your clit. You’d always had a hard time getting off yourself, your fingers never hitting the right spots to get it done. 

Since you’d gotten together with Tommy, self pleasure hadn’t been necessarily needed. You’d probably been overactive while living at the cabin but recently not so much. The past few weeks had been spent busy trying to survive, rationing and trying to catch licks of sleep when the baby wasn’t crying. This left you with very few moments for lust would take over, resulting in the lack of lying next to him, breathless and sweaty, between damp sheets. 

To put it bluntly, you were needy. You missed the regular feeling of Tommy in you, pleasing you til’ the sun came up some days. You bring your spare hand up your shirt, gently tweaking your nipples as another quiet whimper escapes your lips when you bump the toy’s settings to go higher. Fuck, you were close, you were so damn sensitive just a little bit more…

“What the fuckr’ you doin?” 

“Nothing!” You gasp, regretfully ripping the toy away from your body, clicking it twice to turn it off 

Tommy shifts a click being heard before light floods the room from the lantern he kept on his own nightstand. A squeal leaves your lips when he pulls the covers partly off you, staring between your legs at the discarded toy, a harsh, bright pink that stands out from the light green sheets that were on your bed. 

Tommy reaches between you, careful not to touch your aching center as he picks up your contraband, rolling the small bullet vibe between his fingers as he stares at it in the light. 

“This is why you took those batteries? To power up a sex toy?” 

You squirm guiltily on the soft mattress, perhaps you hadn’t been as discreet as you thought you were, “No…” 

Tommy’s brows shoot up at your blatant lie, an amused smile working its way across his face. “Yeah, alright.” 

“Quit embarrassing me, go back to bed so I can finish.” You say, plucking the toy from his big hands. 

A quiet chuckle escapes Tommy’s lips as he leans in to press a kiss to your cheek, “Nah, think I’ll stay awake. Besides, clearly I’ve been neglecting my girl if you’re stealing precious batteries.”

“But aren’t you tired? You helped unload all those boxes of supplies today.” You softly say 

Tommy slots himself between your thighs, pushing your shirt up so your navel is exposed, he presses kisses to the skin, slowly leading down to where you want him the most, “Never too tired for you, darlin’.” 

He leans back down, a trail of kisses pressed to your skin as he finishes his path with a kiss to the bundle of nerves between your legs, already raw and sensitive from earlier. 

“Quit teasing me.” You mumble, hands fisted in the sheets 

“Yeah, yeah, needy girl.” Tommy waves you off, his hand reaching for the toy that lays in the sheets, “It seems like I have some competition, wanna tell me who’s better?” 

You scoff and roll your eyes, men and their egos, “Well, the toy doesn’t talk back, so…” 

“Oh, so it’s like that?” Tommy asks 

“It’s like that.” You confirm arrogantly 

“We’ll see about that then…” 

Twenty minutes later, you’re strung out, your bottom lip is probably bleeding from how roughly you’re biting down on it. Tommy has a big hand splayed across your middle, you wrap your own hand around it, squeezing tightly. He’s been alternating between his tongue and the bullet vibe, always switching off when you were close, laughing into your cunt whenever you’d quietly whine in protest. 

“Let me cum…” You tiredly mumble 

Tommy pulls away from you, a nip of his teeth have you yelping when they brush your soft folds. 

“Think you deserve it?” 

“Yes.” You huff 

“Dunno…you seemed pretty eager to get off on a piece of rubber. Why don’t you try asking nicely?” He asks, a thumb gently running across your thigh. 

This fucking guy. You were so going to kill him when this was over. You tug on Tommy’s arm, feigning a pout as you pull him up towards your face, his dark eyes roaming yours as he moves for you. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks concerned 

Before he can ask you again, you catch him off guard, flipping the two of you around so his back is on the mattress. A grunt leaves his lips as you clamor on top of him, determined to get your release. Pushing his underwear down, you sigh loudly when the warm skin of his cock touches your soaked hole. 

“Fuck, wait, wait!” Tommy groans 

You freeze, worried you’d overstepped and that he wanted to stop, “Fuck, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-I’ll get off you.” 

One of his hands flies to your hips, keeping you above him, “Just needed to grab one of these.” 

You glance down to where a small silver square sits in his hand, a condom from the box Joel had shoved into his arms earlier today. Tommy rolls it on with practiced motions as you watch. 

“Condom number one is officially in use.” He declares proudly

“You’re fucking weird.” You comment 

“You lov-ahh fuck…”

Tommy’s mouth snaps shut as you sink down on him for the first time in two and a half weeks. His name falls from your lips as you desperately try to keep quiet, your hips immediately beginning to rise and fall while he grunts below you. You’re utterly wrecked as you roughly roll your hips down into his, reveling in the friction from his pubes on your clit. Tommy’s whispered, frantic voice fills your ears as slick noises leave where the two of you are connected.

“S-Slow down, M’ not gonna-Fuck!” 

You lean down, slamming your lips into Tommy’s as he brushes a sensitive spot inside you, your cunt clenching as it does. 

“Mmm you feel so fucking good.” You mumble into his lips, drunk on him 

Straightening back up, you continue your movements, tasting blood as you bite down on your bottom lip when Tommy’s hands run up your body and under your shirt to your soft chest. 

Tommy’s back raises slightly from the bed, his hands falling to your hips, slowing your motions down exponentially, a quiet whine leaving your lips. 

“Not, fuck, gonna last like this, you’re killin’ me here.” 

Your hands land on his still clothed torso, nails biting through the fabric as he winces. You gently push him back down, no real malice behind it, if he wanted to he could toss you off him at any second. 

A chuckle leaves his lips as you stare down at him, silently pleading for him to just stay put. 

“Alright, you win.” He concedes 

Rough hands resume their place on your waist, squeezing as you stifle your moans, wishing that the two of you were alone in this damn house. 

“Good fucking girl,” He groans, knowing how you love it when he says that. Tommy’s hand falls off you, searching the bed sheets for something. 

Your lust riddled brain barely registers as he finds the vibrator, you only react when he places it on your needy clit. Your mouth opens to scream just as Tommy places his hand across your mouth, sitting up as he muffles the cry. 

“Fuck, Fuck..Cum for me.” He mutters into your neck, sucking at the soft skin there 

A muffled moan escapes his hand as you stare at him, too fucked out to really speak. 

“C’mon darlin’, use me, let me feel it.” 

Three more rolls of your hips and then you’re gone, shaking above him as the toy’s soft hum fills the room. Tommy grunts below you, spilling into the condom as he brings his lips to yours, his hips jerking with erratic movements. 

Tommy rests his head in the crook of your neck, his chest heaving as he catches his breath. 

“You almost killed me, girl.” He smiles dopily up at you as you press a kiss to his damp forehead, “Damn near lost my mind with you on top like that.” 

“Mmm, good.” You giggle, his nose brushing your chin 

Tommy wraps his arms around you, holding you close as the two of you come down, sweaty skin sticking to your t-shirts. You’ll have to boil water for a bath tomorrow, perhaps he’ll even join you if you beg hard enough. 

“Remind me to never neglect you in the bedroom again.” Tommy says 

A laugh escapes your lips, kissing him as you lean into his touch. 

“Seriously, I think you just stole a piece of my soul back there. It’s probably trapped in the condom or something.” 

You laugh, climbing out of his lap, falling into the messy sheets, pulling the covers up your body, “You’re so fucking weird, Tommy.” 

Next Part- Coming Soon

I really need to eat more vegetables and fruits. I'm gonna end up with scurvy or something crazy one of these days.

Comment to be added to the tag list. This tag list is not chapter by chapter; I carry the tags over to each part.

Tags:

@freythecrazyfae @rae-gar-targaryen @keseqna @eniepascal @jakecockley @aphroditesblunt @soberbabes @daisyhams

[imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul]

Safe and Sound - Jacaerys Velaryon

A/N: Hi, hi! The hotd brain rot is REAL. All I can think about is this beautiful prince above. I'm working on a longer story for him, but in the meantime, enjoy is blurb. This was jointly inspired by a genuine bad dream I had (the brain rot!!), and the Taylor Swift song that was playing when I was writing this at work. Hope you enjoy!

TS Prompt #7: Safe and Sound

Pairing: Jacaerys Velaryon x Reader Word Count: 1.3k Synopsis: Jace comforts the reader after they wake up from a terrible nightmare.

Warning: This does not follow the canon, but I do base the nightmare off of real events that have yet to happen in the show. Do not read if you don't want spoilers.

Sweat drenches your brow. Swords clash, arrows whistle through the air, and dragon fire paints the sky orange.

Your heart thuds as you spin around amid the chaos, searching for a green dragon or for a head of dark, curly hair. For any trace of Jace.

An ear-splitting scream rattles the sky, and before you can make sense of what you are seeing, Vermax's body crashes into the water, sending up a raucous wave.

Panic flows through your body. Searching, searching, searching. You need to see any sign that he made it, that he is alive. The water is riotous, making it impossible to figure out where he landed.

You nearly fall to your knees in relief when you see him crawl up onto floating wreckage, injured badly, but still breathing. You know you need to get to him, need to do whatever it takes to get him out of enemy-infested water.

As you move towards the coast, you have no plan in mind. Out of the corner of your eye, you see an approaching ship, making its way towards Jace. You run, wanting to scream his name, but also not wanting to give away his location.

You reach the shoreline and the water laps at your feet. Jace spots you the moment the approaching ship spots him.

You know he won't be able to get to the shore in time. You wade into the water, watching as he struggles to swim towards you. He's too far away, too weak, and you're not strong enough to pull him back.

The sound of a crossbow trigger pierces through the crash of waves. Jace's eyes widen - looking into yours - as the arrow speeds towards his chest.

"Jace!" you scream.

You tear out of your dream in a cold sweat, waking to your dark bedroom.

Jace wakes when you scream, crying out his name. His eyes adjust too slowly to the darkness, so he grabs for you blindly. He needs to know you're alright, needs to feel your warmth, your pulse. It thunders beneath his thumb as his hand wraps around your wrist.

His eyes finally adjust and he sees you sitting up in bed, your night gown wet with sweat.

"What is it?" he asks, sitting up next to you. "What happened?" He does a quick scan of the room, confirming his first guess. The room is unchanged from the evening before. There is no danger within its walls, just within your head.

You've had another nightmare.

He brushes the hair off your forehead as you put a hand to your pounding heart, clearly coming to the same realization. Jace leans closer and kisses your shoulder gently.

"It was just a dream," he says lowly, his lips still pressed to your skin. You take deep breaths as you try to relax. You have yet to look at him.

"Y/N," he says, "It was just a dream." He tugs on your arm and finally, you look at him. Even in the dark room, he can tell your skin has paled.

"It didn't feel like just a dream," you say. He frowns and rubs soft circles on your back.

This has become your miserable routine. You wake up in the middle of the night, screaming, and he sits next to you, feeling useless to change anything.

"Tell me about it," he says quietly.

"It's the same dream I always have," you say, looking at him sadly, trembling. He pulls you into his arms, holding your shaking hands in his. His gaze focuses on the Valyrian steel ring he put on your finger a year ago. The promises he made to you that day flash in his mind.

"The Battle of the Gullet," he says in response.

"Yes."

"I regret ever telling you about that day," he says with a shake of his head. The movement jostles his hair, and you tuck it behind his ear gently, your hand linger on his face. "I'm fine, Y/N."

"I watched you die."

"What do you see now?" he asks, taking the hand cupping his cheek, pressing a loving kiss to the palm. He moves it down to his bare chest, to the beating heart beneath his warm skin. "I am alive and well."

You continue to frown at him, but your hand presses to his chest. You take a few more deep breaths.

"I'm sorry," you say, tears forming in your eyes as you look up at him. He shakes his head, his heart hurting that you would ever think that your pain was an inconvenience to him.

"Hey," he says, pulling you into his chest, your tears falling onto his skin. "You don't ever have to be sorry."

"I know that we are safe now. That war is over. But I am still so scared," you say, and on the last word your voice breaks. Jace holds you tighter.

"I know. I am, too, sometimes."

"Really?"

"Really," he says, "You think I don't have nightmares about that day? Or any from the past year."

"You don't ever tell me about them," you say, pulling away to look him in the eye.

"That's because I don't want to worry you," he says, smiling shyly, playing with your hands. "There are memories I have that I wouldn't dream of sharing with you, that I don't want you to carry."

"That doesn't seem fair," you say, "You get to worry about me but I don't get to worry about you?"

"It's hard," he says, his eyes still focused on your hands. "Sometimes I still see the dying dragons. Still remember when I'd look outside and see everything on fire. Still see the war raging."

"But you don't seem like any of it haunts you," you say, leaning in so he'll look at you. He gives you a soft smile, his thumb tracing circles on your hand.

"Guess I've gotten good at hiding it."

"Tell me how," you say quietly. He hates that he can hear the longing in your voice. He notices the dark circles under your eyes. How many nights in a row have you woken from your sleep like this?

"I just try to remember everything good that I still have. Vermax is alive. My mother is alive. You are alive," he says. "Safe and sound."

"Safe and sound," you say disbelievingly.

"You are, I swear it. I won't let anything happen to you," he says. "Ever again."

"I know," you say, touching his cheek softly. "I love you."

"I love you," he says. He draws you in close and kisses your lips slowly, his movements languid, like he's got all the time in the world. He hopes you feel it. Hopes you realize that this is what the rest of your existence together looks like. No wars, no death, just the pair of you in this room, reminding each other what you fought for.

"Let's get some sleep," he says as he lays the two of you down. He adjusts the sheets around you, keeping you close to his body. You run a hand over his chest, humming softly.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to," you say.

"Just close your eyes," he says, kissing your forehead, feeling the pull of sleep wash over him. "You're alright, Y/N. No one can hurt you or I now."

"Promise?" you ask.

"I do."

"You'll never leave me here alone," you say. It's not a question.

"I'll never let you go," he says, tucking you in tighter. "You and I are safe and sound."

"Safe and sound," you mumble. Jace waits a few moments for your breathing to fall into a slow rhythm. When he knows you're asleep he lets himself close his eyes. He vows to himself that he'll do whatever it takes to make sure you never feel so scared again. He vows that you'll never feel ashamed to talk to him when you do. And he vows to have more moments like this, with you asleep on his chest, his hand in your hair, and less like the one he jerked out of sleep to.

[taeyongdoyoung]

summary: your best friend brags complains that he can't get laid due to his huge dick posing a threat to random girls at parties, so you offer to fix his little big problem pairing: soobin x reader genre: smut, best friends to lovers warnings: explicit language, big dick soobin (canon event), size kink, foreplay, eating out, blowjob, hugging, fingering, size training, creampie, consensual intercourse, kissing, aftercare, allusions to death in a sexual context, lowkey possessive soobin at the end author's note: the killa is on my mind 24/7 and im down bad for soobin 25/8 🥵 so i had to get it out of my system somehow 🤷 word count: 2k

“You’re kidding, right?” you ask your best friend when he makes a rather shocking confession as the two of you are sitting in his bedroom after one of your usual anime marathons.

“I wish I was. But I would never lie to you,” Soobin responds truthfully. His big moist eyes look a 100% genuine but it still sounds so...bizarre.

“Let me get this straight…Every time you try to hook up with a girl at one of those parties Yeonjun keep dragging you to, you go to a room, eat them out like the generous, selfless guy you are, and then after you take off your pants, they get scared by your gigantic cock and refuse to have sex, running away in horror?”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to explain for the past 10 minutes, yeah,” Soobin confirms with a very adorable pout on his stupid face.

You shake your head in utter disbelief.

“I’m sorry but this is just ridiculous. Any girl would be happy to hook up with a guy that has a huge dick.”

“Well, I guess not any girl ‘cause this shit has happened three times already and I’m at my limit. Why can’t I just get laid?” Soobin bemoans his tragic destiny.

“No, I don’t get it. The least they could do is give you a quickie or something to return the favour. It’s so rude to just sprint away. I can’t believe your cock is that terrifying.”

“Ugh, please stop saying that. It’s so embarrassing,” Soobin covers his face behind his big hands. Hold on a minute…

“If what you’re saying is true, then I think it’s pretty hot. Those girls are surely missing out.”

“Or maybe they’re just looking after themselves. Like…I’m not mad at them for being spooked out, I just wish I could finally get some, you know?” Soobin sighs.

“Death by dick does seem appealing,” you shrug.

“Y/N!” he exclaims.

“Listen, what if I make you an offer? You prove to me that you weren’t exaggerating about your size and I promise I won’t run away and will take care of your…frustrations.”

“Are you seriously suggesting this?” Soobin freaks out. “This could ruin our friendship.”

“I won’t be weird about it, I swear. What do you say?”

“Fuck it. I’m so horny that this actually sounds like a good idea,” Soobin admits. “Can I eat you out first?”

“Erm, if you insist,” you reply, suddenly feeling nervous.

“I just wanna take care of you, make sure you’re all nice and wet for me,” Soobin explains patiently.

“You really don’t have to,” you reassure him.

“I know but it’d be awkward for me to just whip it out. Please?”

“Oh…okay,” you really can’t imagine saying no when he’s asking you so sweetly. God, what did you get yourself into?

Soobin takes off your leggings and panties in one swift movement and pushes you down gently on the bed so you are in a lying position. He spreads your thighs apart and looks at your pussy, already glistening with wetness caused by the conversation you’ve been having. Soobin smirks but doesn’t say anything about it. You’re grateful for that as he dives in, licking and kissing all over you. Fucking hell, if his tongue is capable of making you feel this way, you are slightly unnerved to find out what his cock can achieve. But unlike those girls at the parties, you are determined to never run away from your best friend.

Soon enough, you reach your high, overwhelmed by Soobin’s insane tongue movements and his big hands gripping your thighs. You need a few moments to gather your thoughts and when you are finally able to speak, those are the first words that leave your mouth:

“I think they fleed because you eat pussy like a starved animal. Seriously, what the hell was that?”

Soobin chuckles nervously and runs his fingers through his black hair, pushing it back and exposing his forehead for a bit.

“Trust me, it’s not that.”

“Prove it,” you challenge him even though you are fairly certain he’s telling the truth. Your best friend has never lied to you, so why start now?

Soobin takes off his pants, his hands are shaking and you immediately feel bad. You put your hand on his in an attempt to calm him down.

“Hey, you don’t have to if you feel uncomfortable.”

“I do want this, but after so many failed attempts, I’m so anxious…”

“I’m not going anywhere, Soobin,” you insist and squeeze his hand reassuringly.

His skin complexion looks slightly less pale and your words seem to give him the confidence he so desperately needs. Moment of truth. Soobin takes off his boxers and…Oh damn, he was not exaggerating. He’s not just big, he’s so huge a part of you wonders how is it humanly possible to carry such a weapon around and maintain the gentle, humble composure with which Soobin carries himself.

“You’re not running yet,” he jokes.

“Soob?”

“Y-yeah?” his voice cracks, he is obviously terrified of what you’re going to say.

“I’m not gonna lie to you, I finally get why these girls ran away.”

“Oh,” he sounds a little dejected, as if already expecting you to go back on your offer.

“But! That’s not gonna stop me. Just tell me what you want first and I’ll try my best to make you happy.”

“Huh?” Soobin is too flustered to process your words.

“My hands, my mouth, or my pussy, what do you want first?”

“You mean…you’re willing to give me all of them?” he blinks in shock.

This poor, precious boy. Did he really face disappointment so many times that he is now looking a gift horse in the mouth with such uncertainty?

“Just pick, Soobie, I promise I’ll give you anything you need.”

“Um…can you suck me off? Please?”

Gosh, he’s so adorable you want to eat him.

You nod a little too enthusiastically and go down on your knees, taking as much of his cock as you can. It’s a tight fit but what you can’t put inside your mouth you make up for by wrapping your hands around him. You suck and lick and touch him, eager to give him as much pleasure as he did you. Your beloved best friend has obviously been frustrated for a while now because it doesn’t take him long to cum inside your mouth. There is so much you can’t manage to swallow it all despite your valiant efforts and you see some of it falling down your cheeks. You wipe it off with a finger, sticking it into your mouth, grinning widely at Soobin.

“Fuck, you’re incredible. What…how…are you okay?”

He presses his big palm against your cheek and it takes a lot of self-control for you to not melt right there and then.

“I’m great. Did…did it feel good for you?” you ask sheepishly.

You’re not particularly confident about your skills but you genuinely did your best for him.

“Are you crazy? It felt insanely good,” Soobin takes your hand, lifting you up and wrapping his arms around you in a hug.

“I’m glad,” you respond, feeling safer and warmer than ever before in your life.

“Do…you still want to…you know?” Soobin asks.

“If you’re asking whether you can put your cock inside my pussy, then yeah, go for it. As long as it’s something you want, of course.”

You keep reminding him to only do things he’s completely okay with, because you would hate to put your best friend in a situation he doesn’t enjoy just because of your greed.

“I want you so bad, you have no idea. But I think I’ll need to stretch you out a bit, yeah?”

“O-okay,” you quickly agree and in no time, Soobin’s long fingers are inside of your pussy, going deeper than your own have ever been and making you feel things you never even dreamed about.

“How does it feel?” Soobin asks in concern.

“Heavenly,” you admit and just as you’re about to reach your second orgasm, Soobin’s fingers leave you.

“N-no, why’d you do that?” you whine frustratedly.

“Wanna feel you come around my cock.”

As it turns out, you'd like this just as much so you quickly forgive him for ruining your orgasm.

“I think I have a condom in my-“ Soobin starts but you cut him off.

“I’m taking a pill. And I believe we’re both clean, so…”

“You gon’ let me fuck you raw?” Soobin inquires, not wanting to make assumptions.

“Yeah, I trust you,” you reply with conviction.

“You’re a dream,” Soobin chuckles and nudges the head of his cock against your moist entrance. You brace yourself for some level of discomfort and are surprised that it doesn’t come right away. Soobin takes his sweet time getting inside you, making sure you’re okay.

“Fuck, Soob, you're so big,” you moan, already feeling overstimulated.

“This is just the tip, baby,” he explains shyly, which makes you lose your mind.

Soobin goes deeper very slowly, making you feel every inch, stretching you out bit by bit.

“How much more?” you ask somewhat impatiently.

“Just a little bit. Can’t help it that your pussy is so tiny,” he teases you.

“Not my fault your dick is so gigantic,” you bite right back.

“I promise, I'll try my best not to split you in half,” Soobin jokes, which does little to ease your worries, but at the same time only makes you wetter.

“Keep talking to me,” you plead for him.

“Does it hurt?” he wants to know, as he keeps entering you further.

“It’s a good kind of hurt,” you explain, wincing slightly.

Once you’ve gotten used to it, you signal to Soobin that he can start moving and he does just that, fucking into you with an impressive speed. You try to meet him halfway, lifting your hips up for him, melting into one.

“You’re taking it so well, my darling best friend,” Soobin praises you relentlessly.

“Anything for you, Soobie,” you cry out in sweet bliss.

“I’m close,” Soobin confesses soon enough.

“Fill me up,” you beg him, almost in a daze, deeply affected by his overpowering presence.

He doesn’t need to be asked twice and spills his seed inside of you. It feels so good that you cum with him, walls clenching around his enormous dick. Soobin leans down to kiss you, further blurring the lines between friendship and…whatever this is.

Then, he takes his cock out and you realize something far more terrifying than his intimidating size - you are falling in love with your best friend.

Soobin quickly brings a towel and a bottle of water, taking care of you like no one else before. You want to cry, touched by his sweetness and falling even further.

“How do you feel?” Soobin brushes a piece of hair behind your ear.

“I feel…like I'm on another planet,” you confess shakily.

Soobin chuckles, visibly relieved to hear that.

“You’re so cute,” he murmurs, enveloping you in a hug. His large frame towers over you and if it was anyone else, you’d probably feel slightly threatened. But this is Soobin, and even though he just fucked your brains out, you feel completely safe and protected. Safe enough to be honest about how you feel.

“I know I promised not to be weird about it but…I don’t think I can go back to being friends.”

Soobin pales for a moment, scared of losing you.

“Why not?” he blinks, barely restraining his tears.

“I wanna belong to you,” you try to ease his worries by openly saying what your heart and soul desire.

“Oh…But baby, you already do,” Soobin suddenly beams with excitement. “And I belong to you, too.”

“I think you killed me a little,” you laugh. “Killed my pussy with your big cock and ruined me for other men.”

Soobin raises an eyebrow.

“Bold of you to assume that I’d let other men near your pussy. You’re all mine now.”

The End

[darkacademicvibes]

Only One ~ Yellowcard

Slytherin!Fem!Reader x Mattheo Riddle

Not canon compliant

For @princess-weasley bc Matty is such a 'Dovie' boy

Sorry I took so long😭

You watch, amused, as he struggles with his tie. "Do you need-"

"No" Mattheo insists, yawning as he fumbles with it before cursing and shoving it into his bag with a groan. "Why do we even have to be here?" he grumbles, and Blaise lifts his head from his arms. "'Cause Umbitch has something to screech" he answers, and it makes a far-too-awake Pansy snicker.

"How are you so awake? It's six o'clock in the morning-" Blaise mumbles.

"On a saturday" Mattheo interrupts to complain.

Theo lifts his head, having been smoking beneath the table. "Shut up, my head is killing me" he grumbles, ducking back to place his forehead on the edge of the table again. You snicker quietly, "real discreet" you muse, eyeing the hungover italian.

Mattheo yawns again, and lays his head on your shoulder, "I'm too sober for this shit" he grumbles to no one in particular, and Blaise grins at you cheekily as warm blooms over your cheeks. Your fingers gently tangle into his hair, "mhm?"

Mattheo nods against your shoulder, huffing.

"Y'got no idea, dovie"

➯ 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝

𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚡 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝

𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜

"Come on, y/n, please? Nobody is gonna tell toad-face, we're in our common room" Mattheo pleads for the forth time in ten minutes. Ever since Umbridges new rule, he'd been practically begging for your attention, but you'd seen the words people have had carved into their skin. The weasley twins had 'I shall not be reckless fools that waste time' for weeks. As well as Pansys own 'I should not break important rules for selfish satisfaction' that she was still unable to look at.

"I'm studying, mattheo, if it bothers you so awfully, go to Theodore. You two practically kiss all the time" you muse distractedly, and Mattheo screws up his nose, "sharing a smoke doesn't count, and if you really think it does, than I might have to show you a real kiss, because that's disgusting" he mutters. You pause, "why is that disgusting?" You challenge, ignoring the way he had insinuated actually kissing you, because the way your stomach fluttered at the sound had absolutely no business here.

"Because it's Theo, Blaise would've been a better choice" he grumbles. "Not that I'd kiss one of the boys- or any boy- see what you're doin' to me dovie? I miss you, pretty girl. Please?" And with a painfully dramatic sigh, you push your homework away and open your arms, enjoying the way Mattheo all but crushes you beneath him, burrowing his face into your neck.

"Ugh- get a room!" Draco snaps, walking throught the common room, one of Umbridges many 'enforcers'. "If Riddle wasn't practically glued to your side fourty-eight/seven, I'd remind you of the rule. But I'm not an idiot, and I want to live, so do as you damn well please, I guess" Draco mutters, slumping into a chair. Mattheo doesn't even lift his hand to flip Draco off, merely clinging to you.

"You can never not touch me again, pretty girl, I love'ou. Been driving me mental all week." He complains quietly, placing soft kisses over your throat.

"You love me?" You ask, warmth fluttering alight in your stomach, and when he merely nods, silent, you can only tangle your fingers into his hair.

"Mkay... love you too, Matty."

[tangerinesgirl]

Push Your Buttons

Sergei Kravinoff x Fem!Reader

Rating: 18+, explicit

Word count: 1.8k

Warnings: pure smut, public sex, asphyxiation, sex used for information, rough sex, sexualised reader, mean boss, stranger/anonymous sex, creampie (wrap it up folks), size difference

Notes: slight canon deviation (yeah sure Kraven doesn't wear his wet button up during the Mr Tackling scene but he does now)

Totally oblivious to the man shouting at you to hold the elevator, you drown out your sorrows with your cheap, slightly on the turn, instant coffee, marinating in the same rusty travel cup you have used for years.

Even though you didn't exactly like working for Mr Tackling, you were in too deep now, you couldn't leave even if you wanted to. Honestly, you probably more know about his business than he does. Mr Tackling doesn't even see you as a human being most days, you're sure he only hired you to be his receptionist and personal assistant as a front, only wanting the eye candy, and barely thinks you do any work.

You're late coming in today. Originally on time, but sent home by Tackling as your outfit wasn't "short enough". He makes your skin crawl. But you have to obey his demands, trying not to think about what happened to the last man who did.

You're snapped back into reality by the sound of something loud hitting the door button on the elevator. Eyes widening as you immediately clock the source of the noise being a small metal knife. The doors remain open as the man slides through the gap before retrieving his knife.

Straight away, you feel unsafe being alone in the lift with him. You take in his appearance through the awkward silence, as the lift whirs upwards. Memorising him to warn someone when you are out of the enclosed space.

Young, you want to say 30s, brown hair, damp and slicked back, as if he's just been swimming. Beard, trimmed to a suitable length, but still with a wild quality to it. You can't get a good look at his eyes, his gaze furrowed, staring at the ground.

You almost double take when you glance at his bare feet. What happened to his shoes?

Black trousers and white shirt, dripping wet. Unbuttoned at the collar teasing the muscles he is hiding underneath. Rolled up at the arms, his veins and muscles nearly pop out as he clenches his fists. Angry? Or preparing for something?

You can't deny he is a handsome man, even though you are scared, you can't help but be attracted to his ruggedness. Your breath hitches in your throat, unable to help clearing it with a cough.

As you do so, the man snaps out of his trance to look at you. His brown eyes tracing you up and down. You avoid his gaze and nervously pull down your short skirt, suddenly becoming self conscious at him oggling you.

Suddenly the man lunges forward, his body towering over yours, you back into the wall as he reaches behind you to press a button on the lift panel. The lift comes to an abrupt halt, the alarm starting to ring in your ears.

The noise of your own heart beating drowns out the alarm as you stare at the man in front of you, neither of you moving even after pressing the button. His hand next to your head, looming over you as his beard statts to tickle your face. You wait for him to make the first move.

"You know Mr Tackling?"

His voice rumbles through his chest, the deep bassy notes going straight to your core. You can't help but wonder what your name would sound like with his Russian accent.

"I uh...yeah, I'm his PA."

SHIT why did you tell him that? You don't know who this man is, you fear you may have put a mark over your head now. You guess he would find out anyway, your job being common knowledge around the office.

The man hums in thought.

"Would you tell me where he is?"

You hesitate, less likely to give up that information.

"I, I'm not sur-"

He moves his arm by the side of your head to your chin, cupping it to moving your face upwards, making you look at him. On closer inspection, you start to notice blood specks on his white shirt. You doubt it is his own.

"I won't ask again", he continues.

"What are you going to do to him?", you ask, but really, you already know the answer.

"You really have sympathy towards him? The man who sends you home to change as you don't look hot enough for him?"

"How did-"

"Never letting him touch you...", his hand travels down your body, catching on your blouse, "but yet let a complete stranger do so?"

You look away guilty, blushing at his words. You do like the attention he's showing you, part of the anonymity scares as well as excites you.

His hand snaps back onto your head as he pushes your cheek, making you look at him once again. Your coffee cup falls out of your hand in shock, spilling onto the laminate floor.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you."

His words sting, but end up going straight to your core. You should be afraid, but your body is saying otherwise, and he knows it.

"Will you show me where he is? ...or am I going to have to fuck the information out of you?"

The damp of his shirt starts to seep into yours at the close proximity. You can't seem to find the words, taken aback by his boldness. You start to move your leg up his, saying more than what you could have done with words. Your bare legs catching on the creases of his trousers.

The man looks at your lips, hungrily, as you trail up his leg. Seems you're both just as into this. He nods subtly, picking up on your consent, before his lips crash into yours. The force pushes you further back into the wall, both his arms leaning against the glass for stability as his tongue explores your mouth. You glance at his arms, his hands steaming up the mirror, as you moan softly into the kiss. You can't help but wonder what those hands look like wrapped around other parts of your body. You start to grind your hips on his crotch at the thought, slowly starting to feel his erection through his trousers.

He pulls away from the kiss briefly to yank your shirt open, the sound of buttons popping off around the elevator. His hands immediately palming at your bra, dipping inside to caress your breasts. You melt into his grip as your hand dips underneath your underwear.

The man stops to unzip his trousers, his cock bouncing free in the very little space between you. He wastes no time as he pulls your panties to one side to slide his cock inside you. You're grateful you decided to touch yourself before he did this, making entry a little easier, not quite realising exactly how big he is. He struggles to fit himself inside you.

"Fuck, so tight", he whispers absentmindedly next to your ear.

He grips hold of one of your legs, lifting it, spreading you further apart to make room for more of his cock. Slowly starting to thrust into you, you squirm underneath him, desperate for more. The wall behind you digs into your back with each push. You wrap your leg around his waist, making him fully insert himself into you.

Your eyes roll into the back of your head feeling him stretch you completely. Looking at him, you notice he's also totally blissed out, with some small shock and impressed looks glinting in his eyes. He takes a second before continuing to thrust inside you. Part of you wonders if he's ever managed to fully seat inside anyone else before, with his reaction.

The force of his pace winds you, unable to make any noise. You somehow can hear him pant and moan over the continuing alarm. Your body goes limp as you let this complete stranger fuck you however he seem fit, your hands digging into his back through his shirt, clawing into him for stability, craving for him to be even closer to you.

His lips start to trail down your jaw, before reaching your neck, feeling him leaving bites and bruises, you wonder what your boss would think seeing them. You swear he even growls as he does so, like a wild animal. His hand instinctively pushes some of your hair behind your ear, giving him more access. But his fingers linger there, teasing the pulse point on your jugular. Lifting his head, he sees your eyes pleading with him, letting him use you however he wanted to.

His hand effortlessly engulfs your entire neck, as he gently presses the sides. You can feel him still spearing up inside of you as the oxygen escapes your throat. His other hand ghosting at your entrance, before his fingers start to rub at your clit. He watches you closely, enjoying this power over you, and the way your walls swallow his cock perfectly.

He can feel himself close to release too, he tries to pull himself from you, but your steel grip on his back lets him know to continue. Before you know it, his pace starts to stutter, pushing one final time up into your cervix. Warmth rushes inside your cunt, his seed filling you up is nearly enough to make you orgasm again. You hum gently at the feeling. His cum starts to seep out of you, onto his trousers, but neither of you care right now.

The overstimulation is enough to make you cum. The combination of him fucking into you, playing with your bundle of nerves and seeing the veins in his hands flex and control your breathing, makes you unravel. Your toes curl inside your heels as your walls clench around him, feeling every vein of his cock as your orgasm washes over your body.

There's a pause as you both come down from your high. He removes himself from you, tucking his cock back into his trousers, pressing the alarm button again, the elevator whirring back into action.

You catch your breath as you pull your skirt down, going to do up your blouse but cursing when you remember it no longer has buttons. The man can't help but smirk seeing you have no choice but to have your bra on display. You can still feel his seed drip out of you, through your underwear and onto the floor. The elevator gives you no time to regain your thoughts as you reach the top of the building.

As soon as the door opens, you're greeted to a handful of people waiting for the elevator. Various murmurs of "about time" and "what's the hold up?" pause when they see the doors unveil the two of you. The smell of coffee and sex wafts through the air as you quickly squeeze past them, avoiding the embarrassment. The man in the lift following you, quick on your heels.

One worker eventually pipes up.

"I guess I'll take the next one."

[dadddybangtan]

‘And There Were Three’ | (m)

pairing: sylus x zayne x afab/fem reader

contains: smut mdni, loosely l&ds based plot, unprotected sex, threesome, dom sylus, service top zayne, docile reader, mentions of abortion, strong language, short violence, sleepy sex, multiple orgasms, choking, daddy/kitten/doctor, established relationship between reader and zayne, big dick zaddy zayne, shlong slinging sylus, filthy unapologetic smut, slight zayne x sylus

word count: 3.5k

a.n. wow we’ve only known sylus for less than a week and my brain already went wild. before sylus came, i was very loyal to zayne, now i romance both of them and i couldn’t be happier with the game. and yes, that’s my avatar in the cover lol

my pronouns are he/they and i usually make afab/gender neutral smut to align with my own preferences. but i use she/her pronouns for the reader here to have continuity with the game’s canon.

anyways! tell me what you think of this threesome and if i should continue writing more (this definitely feels like part one to a bigger smut story…)

READER POV

Sylus was finally beginning to drive on some streets I recognized. My anxiety only worsened when I realized he was on the street of my own house. How does he know where I live?

"You're taking me home?" I asked.

"You won't resonate with me because you're uncomfortable with me," His dark voice said, "We should get to know each other in the place you're most comfortable."

I swallowed a lump in my throat. He was so focused on modding my Evol, it made me sick. When he parked in front of my house, I saw the lights on inside. Zayne was home from the hospital already and it was only ten o'clock at night.

"It's not good to leave the lights on."

"I-I didn't..." I stammered, "My boyfriend's home from work."

"So that's why you don't like me," He chuckled, "You've got your heart set on someone else. I guess I'll just have to give him a little greeting."

He grabbed his gun from his hip and reloaded bullets from his chest pocket. Assuming his plan, I swung the passenger door open and jumped out. Only for Sylus to catch me by my arm.

"You think I'm just gonna go in guns blazing," He asked but I remained silent, "This is just in case he tries anything with me. Self defense, kitten. Not like you'd know anything about that."

He let go of me and I was out of the car. He followed me to the front door and watched my shaky hands unlock it. Once inside he looked around for Zayne, but he wasn't reading on the couch like usual.

"Doctor Zayne?" I called, "I'm home."

"You call your boyfriend doctor?"

I ignore this and headed up the stairs. I could hear his loud footsteps behind me.

"Stay down here."

He took a step back and crossed his arms. His face made a cocky smirk that annoyed me, but I continued up the stairs and to my bedroom.

"Zayne?" He was no where to be found.

I took off my jacket and tried to settle in before going back downstairs. As soon as I caught my breath, I heard a sudden gunshot from the distance. I darted out of my room and down the stairs. I ran into the kitchen to see Sylus pointing his gun at Zayne.

"Sylus, what have you-." I paused, finally noticing the bullet frozen on the ground.

"You didn't tell me he had an ice Evol."

"Who is this man?" Zayne said calmly.

"Zayne, this is Sylus. The leader of Onychinus."

"And what is he doing here."

"I'm here to get properly acquainted with your girlfriend so we can resonate."

"Excuse me, [Reader], you're letting him do this?"

"We made a deal. I have to." I said weakly.

Zayne stepped forward, over the bullet on the ground. He wore the shirt I love him in, glasses and barefoot. He was comfortable. I felt horrible for bringing this mess home with me.

"Sylus, is it?"

"Doctor Zayne," He coos lowly "You're really a doctor?"

"Heart surgeon," He said with a stern voice, "Judging by your pale skin and red eyes, you're a vampire. Would I be correct?"

"You're smart," He looked over at me, "How did a ditz like you get someone like him?"

With that, Zayne froze Sylus' hand to his gun and pushed him against the wall.

"Don't talk about her like that."

"Or what, Doctor Zayne," He asked rhetorically, "If I can't insult her, what should I say? That she'd make the perfect fuck doll and she'll need you to patch her up when I'm done with her."

My heart pounded. How could he say that out loud to my boyfriend of all people?

"Arguably, I'd say that's worse," Zayne hissed, still holding the man against the wall, "Sylus, I think you should leave before you cause any more trouble."

"Ah, come on, Doctor Zayne. You can't tell me you've never looked at her and didn't want to tear her apart."

Sylus cracked the ice on the wall, put his gun in the holster and grabbed Zayne's face. He forced my own boyfriend to look at me. My heart beat only increased.

"I mean look at the way that top hugs her breasts. And how tight her pants are. Those hips would be perfect to grab onto as you rail her from behind."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted to sleep with her."

"And if I didn't know any better, I'd say you got hard just by looking at her," Sylus sneered before fixing Zayne's gaze to himself, "Or was it the sound of my voice?"

"That's enough," I said, trying to separate the two, but they were both much stronger than me and neither of them budged, "It's one thing to objectify me but it's another to seduce my boyfriend. What are you trying at?"

"I'm just playing a little game, kitten."

"What kind of game?" Zayne asked, I felt his shoulders relax and heard his voice soften.

"How about I make you a deal," Sylus said, finally using his strength to push Zayne off of him, "I need her to be comfortable with me to resonate with her. How about we make her cum-fortable?"

"You think I'm going to let you screw around with my girl?"

"As much as I want to, and as much as your cock wants me to," He said, snickering at Zayne's twitching bulge, "I had something else in mind."

"And when were you gonna ask me?" I interjected.

"Kitten," He growled as he brought his cold hand to my chin, "Can daddy help Doctor Zayne make you cum?"

I was appalled. But I couldn't lie; I was intrigued. And judging my Zayne, he seemed to be intrigued too.

"Zayne, why are you okay with this?"

"I'm not asking him, I'm asking you like you wanted. So answer me."

"You're not gonna hurt me, are you?"

"Not unless you want us to."

"You're not gonna hurt Zayne?"

"I promise I won't hurt Doctor Zayne."

I think on it a bit more. Zayne isn't protesting and he's managed to retain his erection in his sweatpants. This must be something he was into for a while, but hadn't told me about.

"Under one condition." I say.

"Yes, kitten?"

"Leave all of your weapons on the counter."

"As you wish." He says, releasing my chin and unloading his gun, tasers, and pocket knives onto the kitchen counter.

Zayne grabs my hand and leads me to the couch. He sits down and puts me on his lap.

"You didn't answer my question," I say, "Why are you okay with this?"

"To help you with your deal."

"That's not all, Zayne." I said, palming his clothed bulge.

"You already look so beautiful with one person treating you," He said as his hand gently snaked up my back and to my neck, "I've always imagined what you'd look like with two."

I knew it.

"R-really?" I asked, my body became hot, "How come you never told me?"

"The desire was never that extreme to ask a prude to engage in a ménage à trois. Plus, I've never had a third candidate in mind until now."

"Prude? You're bi?"

"You ask too many questions, kitten," Sylus said from behind me, startling me, "It's not that he's bi, it's that he wants to see how fucked out you can actually be."

"And if I was bi?" Zayne asked, looking up at Sylus. I'd never seen him look so submissive.

"You couldn't handle me, Doctor Zayne," He chuckled, "Besides this isn't about your pleasure, it's about hers. Don't be selfish."

Sylus snuck his hand under mine and prompted me to stand up. He turned me towards Zayne and stood tall behind me, silhouette engulfing my boyfriend. His presence was so daunting, intimidating. I always knew Zayne was strong but Sylus' strength is superhuman... Vampiric. I thought he was joking earlier.

I felt his cold hands hovering over my shoulders. They reached down my chest to the collar of my shirt.

RIP

I gasped, looking down at my bare breasts. To my surprise, Zayne doesn't struggle to look me in the eyes.

"Her tits are down here," Sylus propped my tit up in his hand while his arm supported the other. It was like he was presenting them to Zayne, "Perform your oral, Doctor Zayne."

Only then did Zayne's eyes wander downwards. He leaned in and let his tongue play with my nipple. I saw one of his hands come to my side and the other to his core. His mouth felt so good on my body.

We didn’t have sex often due to our work schedules. So when we do got time like that, I was always blissfully reminded of how good my lover feels.

Sylus hummed in my ear and it genuinely sounded both devilish and heavenly. The deep richness was born in hell. But the smoothness and seductiveness made it heavenly.

His free hand went down to my waist and the button on my pants. He was an expert, it seemed. He unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans with ease.

"W-what're you doing?" I moaned.

"I'm not gonna finger you, that's Zayne's job."

Sylus pressed his middle and ring finger on my clit from the outside of my panties and slowly toyed at the nub. Am I already about to cum? Is it because I don't orgasm often?

Regardless, the pleasure made me throw my head back on Sylus' chest. I knew he was attractive, but how was he so hot even from upside down.

"Fuck." I whimpered as my I felt my underwear become wet with cum.

"Our kitten came already? We're nowhere near done with you."

Sylus let go of me and I fell into Zayne's lap again. Zayne kissed my neck as he inches my pants off. Sylus took off his pants too. Even in his underwear, his cock was huge.

Without a word, Zayne readjusted me so I would sit directly on top of his dick. It slid inside me easily. He used his knees to separate my legs. My pussy seemed to be on display for Sylus. That prompted him to throw his underwear down, making his cock spring up and hit his stomach. With Zayne thrusting into me and watching Sylus play with himself, I felt a bit overstimulated.

"Look at yourself." Sylus eyed my pussy as Zayne slid in and out of me.

I looked down to see what Sylus was on about; Zayne's cock glistened with my slick. I don't know what turned me on more. Was it watching Zayne disappear inside me or was it Sylus watching Zayne disappear inside me.

Sylus stepped toward me, thick, hard cock staring directly at me. I could tell he wanted me to put my mouth on him, but I refused. I knew Zayne well enough to know he'd get jealous if I gave another guy a blowjob.

As Zayne continued to thrust inside me, his hand went under my arm and to my neck, lightly choking me. I remember asking him for this months ago, but he didn't understand why I wanted him to do something like that. What’s gotten into him? Whatever it is, I love it.

I looked back at my boyfriend and caught him staring lustfully at Sylus' member. He was so focused and I could feel him twitch and throb inside of me.

Sylus lifted his leg onto the couch, bringing his dick dangerously close to my face. Zayne's firm hand on my neck prevented me from pulling away. Just when I thought Sylus would bring his dick to my lips, he put his hand on the back of Zayne's head and forced his dick into his mouth. I’d never seen Zayne like that before. It was shocking, but it was so hot.

I stared intently at Zayne’s mouth as it stretched to Sylus’ size. I saw him wince and moan everytime his tip hit the back of his throat. His eyes began to water behind his glasses and when the first tear fell, I felt his grip on my neck tighten.

“You’re fogging up his glasses, kitten.” Sylus moaned.

He decided to give Zayne’s mouth a break as he carefully removed his glasses and dropped them onto the far end of couch.

“Why’d you stop?” Zayne groaned lowly.

“You didn’t look like you could handle it, Doctor Zayne,” Sylus said, taking his foot off of the couch and sitting next to him, “Taking me is not for the weak. Isn’t that right, kitten?”

I struggled to protest. Zayne felt so good inside me and his grip felt so erotic on my throat. I couldn’t find the words to assure Zayne that I’ve never fucked him.

“You’re not weak, are you, [Reader]?” Zayne whispered into my ear.

“N-no.” My moan was cut off by the strong pulse I felt in my core. I closed my eyes to focus on the feeling.

My clit was pulsating and my walls were closing in on Zayne’s member. The feeling was so intense, I couldn’t control my legs from shaking. I clawed at Zayne’s strong arm, but I didn’t want him to take his hand off of my neck.

“Fuck…” Zayne moaned softly. He never cursed in front of me before, “Can I fill you with my cum, baby.”

Before I could answer the question, I felt his warm seed coating my insides. And my legs only shook more violently. I opened my eyes and glanced over at Sylus who just was watching us and stroking his cock.

Zayne lifted me off of his dick and I saw his cum pour out of me and onto his pelvic mound.

“Look at you whimpering and shaking like a leaf,” Sylus chuckled, “Are you sure you’re not weak.”

“I’m sure.” I said, trying to catch my breath.

I lied back on Zayne’s chest. I wasn’t weak, but I was tired. I had already orgasmed twice at the end of a long day. I wasn’t sure I could take anymore.

“You’re nearly drifting off to sleep,” Sylus got up and scooped me into his arms, “Doctor Zayne, show me to her room. I think we should finish her off in the bed.”

My boyfriend led Sylus to the bedroom upstairs with me in his arms. Zayne lied on the bed first and Sylus put me down softly. Zayne snuck his arm under my head and cuddled me from the side. He spread my legs and rested one of them on his thigh.

Through my eyelashes I saw Sylus remove his sweater, and revealing his insanely muscular body. He was completely naked, staring at me and eating me up with his eyes. He then climbed onto the bed and on top of me.

“Even when you’re weary, you still look scared of me,” He said, “Don’t worry, you can handle it.”

His tip flirted with me dangerously. Sylus ever so gently pushed his member into me. My eyes widened at the girth as he stretched me out so much. Zayne is big but Sylus is bigger. He’s not even all the way in. I felt my face contort in reaction to his size.

“Oh my god.” I whisper against my will, I didn’t want Zayne to hear me.

“Look at yourself,” Sylus said, glancing down, “You take me so well, kitten.”

When I looked down, I saw a lump in my lower stomach from his cock. I let out a shaky breath from the sight.

“You’re doing so well.” Zayne said.

With that, I melted into his voice and my body melted onto Sylus. He pulled out just enough to let his tip remain inside then slowly trusted into me. He kept that rhythm, letting me feel every inch of him.

Zayne caressed my face and lovingly kissed my forehead and cheek. But I was needy. All this fucking and not a single one of them kissed my lips. I angled my lips to Zayne’s and he kissed me back passionately.

“That’s cute. Kissing your boyfriend makes you cream all over my cock.”

I didn’t realize my body reacting to that sensation. But hearing him say that brought me close to another orgasm. I moaned into Zayne’s lips and he kissed me harder, letting his tongue play with my lips. Sylus kept his pace steady and I felt my walls closing in on his cock, same way I did with Zayne.

“Come on, kitten, cum on daddy’s cock.”

I bit down on Zayne’s lip. He slid his hand down my torso and massaged my clit. My legs started shaking again.

“You can do it.” Zayne said into my ear.

“Cum for me.” Sylus demanded.

“You’re almost there.”

“Good girl.”

All of my senses muted as I fell into a deep sleep.

3rd PERSON POV

Her body lied limply on the bed as her orgasm put her to sleep. Once Sylus pulled out of her, Zayne closed her legs to give her some decency. Then he took his arm from under her head and went to the bathroom attached to the bedroom while Sylus sat on the edge of the bed.

He came back with a warm, damp towelette and began cleaning her up as she slept peacefully. He used the towel to soak up the fluids from around her core so she can sleep more comfortably.

“You didn’t cum inside her, did you?” Zayne clarified.

“Not even close. It takes a lot more than that to get me off.” Sylus said as he reached over to grab the towel.

“I can do it.”

“I believe you, Doctor Zayne, but you missed a spot,” He said, quickly correctly him, “Besides when I do cum in her, trust I have the means to take care of it.”

“As if I’d let you touch her again. As if I’d let you raise her baby.”

“When I say ‘take care of it’ I mean abort it. A ditz like her can’t raise a child.”

“What did I say about talking about her like that.”

She began stirring in her sleep. Both Zayne and Sylus remained silent until she settled down, refusing to take a breath. Once she was still again, Zayne moved to properly take off her ripped shirt.

“I assume you have the means to replace this then.”

“Tenfold,” Sylus chuckled darkly, “Y’know, it’s funny that you hold such animosity towards me since my cock was down your throat just a minute ago.”

“Sylus, is it? The only thing we have in common is [Reader],” He said, covering her naked body with the blankets on the bed, “I only did that to help her.”

“Sure.” He smirked.

Zayne swallowed hard and went to the nearby dresser. He retrieved a pair of night pants and a hoodie before throwing both at Sylus.

“Cover yourself,” He said before getting his own pair of pants and sliding them on, “If you’re going to spend the night you should be comfortable.”

“I don’t need these. And I don’t need to spend the night.”

“You’re [Reader]’s guest. You should say a proper goodbye before you leave. And you’ll do that when she wakes up in the morning.”

“I suppose a proper goodbye would make her trust me enough to Resonate with me.”

“Precisely. But surely there were other ways to get her comfortable with you, hm?”

“Of course. This was just much more fun.”

Sylus slipped on the clothes that were surprisingly a good fit. Zayne gestured him downstairs and Sylus followed.

“You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen, although we need to go grocery shopping. If you’d prefer to order something in, you’re more than welcome to. You can sleep on the couch tonight.”

“I must admit, your hospitality is admirable. Especially considering how the night began.” Sylus said, looking over at the bullet with a melted ice puddle beneath it on the floor.

“It’s for her, not for you.”

“Sure.” He said again, sitting on the couch.

“Goodnight, Sylus.”

“Your glasses, Doctor Zayne?” He said, holding up the specks with a small smirk on his face.

Zayne grabbed them but Sylus didn’t let go.

“I can tell that you don’t trust me around her. But you have my word when I say, I’d never try anything funny without her permission or without your knowledge.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I didn’t become the leader of Onychinus by being a liar. My people trust me because I never gave them a reason not to.” He said, finally letting go of the glasses, “Goodnight, Doctor Zayne.”

[lizard-on-a-window-pane]

When the Levee Breaks pt.1

pairing: Remus Lupin x reader

tags / warnings: friends to lovers fluff then smut, mutual pining, smoking weed (be responsible irl), high sex, explicit descriptions of oral (f receiving), fem!reader

NSFW notes: A LARGE PORTION OF THIS FIC IS NOT SUITABLE FOR MINORS; DO NOT READ IT IF IT ISN'T APPROPRIATE FOR YOU! HOWEVER, because such a long portion (like 2/3) has no sexual material (except for the implication at the very beginning), i have clearly marked where it becomes NSFW in case any age-appropriate readers want to read only up to that point (i know some people just want fluff not smut even if they're of age, and that's so chill); i will say there is drug use before then, so still adult material, but fluffy around that; please please be responsible for your content consumption

random notes: set in the late 70's / early 80's, following canon of when the marauders would've met but the rest of the world building (e.g. au) left ambiguous title inspired by a song on one of the albums mentioned idk why this turned out similar to The Prettiest Star with Sirius Black, but i guess my fantasy is just to listen to music intensely with someone then fuck lovingly lol

word count: 6.4k

hope you enjoy! thank you if you read it! 🫶

You watch as his long fingers, practiced and adept, roll the spliff. You liked this part. You could stare at his hands under the guise of watching the rolling. Remus didn’t have to know how far from pot your mind wandered when you did. He didn’t have to know it made you wonder every time what else he could do with this fingers. Imagine how they would feel on you. In you. 

At the thought, you squirm where you’re seated on his settee next to him. He chuckles in a low tone. 

“Antsy?” 

“No.” 

He can tell you’re lying. You can tell he can tell. But you don’t care. As long as he can’t tell why you’re lying, it doesn’t matter, and you can keep wriggling.

“Whatever you say, jitterbug.” 

Your wringing hands catch his attention, and his eyes fix on them even as his hands continue their work. 

“Next time, you’re rolling it,” he says through a smile. “There’d be nothing left to smoke by the time you finished shaking it everywhere,” he laughs, too amused with himself, giggling as if he were already high. 

“Remus?” you start, and he shakes his head and chuckles, loving how you get when he teases you. 

“What?” he smiles, eyebrows shooting up at you, both a welcome and a challenge for you to say whatever you’re about to. 

“Can you remind me who provided this wonderful gift on this wonderful afternoon?” You shake the baggy you brought to his flat not 15 minutes ago. 

He laughs, now nodding, and concedes, “You’re right, sunshine. I should be so grateful.”

Remus brings the spliff to his mouth to lick the edge of the paper, and your retort gets caught in your throat as you fixate on his tongue. 

A bit too late, a bit too quiet for your usual banter, you say, “You should be, Moons. I can still take it home and smoke by myself.”

“Oh now I’ve rolled it for you, yeah? Didn’t realize you were just here for my services. Should’ve known you were just pretending to love me till you got what you wanted.” He holds up his finished work — a beauty really — in front of you as he finishes his joke. You hum affirmatively, taking it from him and looking it over. 

You inspect it exaggeratedly and with a theatrical sense of casual satisfaction tell him, “Hm, not bad. I was starting to regret the long con, but I think this was worth it.” 

He’s giggling as he gets up, bumping his body against yours before he does, going toward his record collection. He walks over lazily, unhurriedly, his bare feet quiet on the floor, his hand coming up to mess with his hair. His loose, comfy clothes do a lot to hide the muscles you know are lean but strong underneath.

“Come help me choose,” he says over his shoulder as he falls to one knee to scan a lower shelf. Almost a whole wall of his small apartment is covered in shelves, boxes, stacks of records. It looks a mess, but it’s actually meticulously organized by release date.

You follow him, come up just behind him. You crouch, too, not all the way down like him. You lean on him, resting your head atop his, bringing your arms around his shoulders and neck. 

He moans casually, seeming happy, and grabs your arms where they fall across his chest. 

“Oh, Rem. You should know…”

“Hm?” he asks, looking up at you. You look down at him, seeing his warm smile upside down. 

“This is the real reason I’ve pretended to be your friend all these years,” you fake seriousness as you nod toward the records. Remus rolls his eyes, but his smile stretches further across his lovely face. It pulls on a long scar that runs down his cheek. 

“And may I ask how you knew when we were eleven that one day I would own such an epic collection?” 

“Easy. You wore a Led Zeppelin t-shirt one of the first days we knew each other.”

He’s taken aback by your giving an actual answer. 

“Did I really?”

“Yeah,” you shrug, smiling down at him. The warmth of reminiscing about those childhood years softening you. 

“I think I remember that shirt,” he smiles nostalgically. “How do you remember that?” He twists in your embrace, coming to sit on the floor and pulling you with him. You’re sitting close to each other, and he’s watching you, rapt. 

“I don’t know,” you shrug. “I remember being so nervous and lonely at the beginning. Wanting to make friends. And you seemed nice, so I noticed you.” You shrug again, look down for a moment, not wanting to express embarrassment at a more honest recollection: you had a crush on him immediately, even back then, even before you were really sure what it was you were feeling — that came with the years that followed. “The day you wore that shirt, it was like something familiar I could latch onto. Someone who liked something I liked.” Remus is smiling adoringly at you. Listening as intently as he is, looking as giddy, he looks like a child at the greatest story time ever from his seat on the floor. 

“I even tried to talk to you about it,” you confess, cringing teasingly at yourself.

“Yeah?” He sits up straighter like a puppy hearing someone at the door. 

“Yeah,” you exhale. 

“I don’t remember that happening.”

“That’s because it didn’t,” you laugh. “I said tried to talk to you. I got too nervous and ran to hide before I could get the words out.” 

He’s shaking his head in disbelief, his smile still plastered on his face.

“I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed you yet.” Remus looks especially contemplative for a moment then hums, biting his lower lip. “It’s crazy. Trying to think of my life before you is like remembering a blank canvas.” 

Your cheeks warm and so does your heart. 

You’re smiling a beaming smile at him but say, “There wasn’t much to notice. I was pretty quiet. And besides, your attention probably couldn’t handle a single thing more given you were getting to know Sirius and James.” He laughs lightly at the good memories but shakes his head at you a little more pronouncedly. 

“I’m sure there was a lot to notice. I was just an idiot. And quiet, too. By comparison to that lot anyway. They spoke enough for the three of us. I probably would’ve wimped out if I’d tried to talk to a pretty girl like you back then.” The edges of his entrancing brown eyes crinkled from his smile. “I mean… to be honest… I’d get nervous for a while, talking to you at first.”

“You didn’t,” you tease but secretly really want to hear more.  

“I did, yeah. Of course I did,” he laughs at himself. “I had a big crush on you. James and Sirius wouldn’t let me live it down for ages.” 

You’re shocked at this news. And maybe your face shows it. What it doesn’t show is how desperately your mind is racing, questioning: “Wait, could things have been otherwise? Did he actually like me as more than a friend at some point? Did I ruin it somehow?”

Remus tenses slightly, his smile no longer reaching his eyes, which are attentive at your reaction. 

“That was a long time ago,” he jokes to fill the silence that is beginning to stretch too long, his tone awkward.

“What happened?” you whisper, unable to help it. 

He takes a second to answer, like he doesn’t know what to say. He’s searching your face, and you’re not sure how much he can read there. 

He shrugs. His face gives an “I don’t know” scowl. He’s trying to escape answering, but you don’t let him.

“Remus,” you laugh and shove him playfully. 

“I don’t know,” he giggles. “I don’t know. Then I got to know you I guess. And we became friends.” 

You give a scoffy laugh. You know he probably didn’t mean it that way, but your stomach sinks at the idea that getting to know you would remedy him of his crush. You’re staring at the floor when his voice breaks you out of your thoughts. 

“Hey, you okay?” He’s trying to keep the playful atmosphere, but you hear true concern in his tone. “Did I say something I shouldn’t’ve?”

You want to say “yes,” but you wouldn’t be able to tell him which part. So, you don’t say anything.

“I didn’t think you’d mind, after all these years,” he says more softly.

“No, Rem. Of course I don’t mind.” You shake your head as if dismissing the idea, attempting a laugh that still comes out strained. “I was just surprised is all.” 

He’s watching you, nodding subtlety, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. 

“Let’s choose something, yeah?” you nod next to you toward the wall, desperate to redirect attention.

“Yeah, yeah, ‘course.” Remus turns toward the records, skimming across his stacks. A thought catches him, and he moves purposefully toward a different shelf.

“What are you thinking?” you notice, your interest piqued. 

“1971,” he says as if it’s an answer. It is to you. 

1971: the year you met. 

He pulls out a well-worn record, and the strain on your smile finally dissipates to easy delight. You come stand next to him, and he hands it to you. 

“Do you remember how much we listened to that then?” he asks. 

“How could I forget,” you smile, your fingers tracing the cover of Led Zeppelin IV. 

It came out November 1971, but neither of you could get it till at least a month later, during Christmas break from school. When you finally did, the two of you listened to it nonstop. You absolutely loved the album, but you knew you listened to it that much because it was an easy excuse to hang out with Remus. You’d been listening to music together, often just the two of you, ever since.

“Fuck, I remember we’d listen to it in my room,” Remus reminisces. “And even Sirius, the biggest Zeppelin fan of us all, couldn’t take it anymore,” he laughs. “He’d turn it off when he found us listening to it, scolding us for ‘abusing a sacred thing.’”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Oh, look at this,” Remus startles you, excited. He pulls another record off the same shelf.

“This is too perfect,” he giggles. “I didn’t remember this came out then,” he muses, looking it over. “Probably didn’t get my hands on it till much later, I guess. But it’s like it was made for us. For you.” He hands you Just As I Am by Bill Withers, but you still don’t get what he’s saying. He sees your confused look and chuckles. “Second track,” he hints. Your eyes land on “Ain’t No Sunshine.” 

“Sunshine”: Remus’s nickname for you for years. You had Sirius to thank for it actually. He’d said you and Remus were like yin and yang. And since you all already called him “Moony,” you had to be “Sunny.” The other three of you cringed at the sound of that, so he tried “sunshine” instead, conceding it was close enough, and it stuck. Over the years, Sirius and James used it less and less, Remus more and more.

“It’s your song,” Remus urges, knocking his shoulder against yours. “There literally can’t be sunshine when you’re gone because you are sunshine.” He sounds too excited, and it’s adorable. 

“You sound like Sirius saying he’s serious,” you tease. He just laughs and takes the record back.

“Whatever, grumpy. It’s an epic song, and you know it, and now it’s yours, and I don’t care if that’s cheesy.”

“I love it,” escapes you, teasing tone gone. His eyes snap to yours, and he looks at you warmly.

“Alright, sunshine,” he whispers. A beat. “Wanna listen to it?” he asks, voice almost normal again. You nod gladly then go back to the sofa as he sets it up.

Remus soon comes back and joins you. He grabs the spliff from between stacks of snacks you’d prepared for the afternoon then looks over at you.

“Ready, sunshine?”

“Mhhm.”

“You do the honours.” He hands it to you and grabs the lighter. Rather than handing that to you too, he lights it for you as it dangles from your parted lips. 

You take a long drag, feeling it enter you and welcoming it. You cough lightly as you exhale slowly. You are no novice but are still always a cougher. Remus still always giggles when you do, but it’s never mocking. He has a glass of water ready for you, knowing you well, always looking after you. You trade him the water for the spliff, which he proceeds to hit with equal enthusiasm and less wheezing.  

You pass it back and forth for a little while. It’s strong stuff and just three hits in, you feel it engulfing you. The settee feels softer; the music sounds better. 

“Ain’t No Sunshine” is playing, and in your dazed state, you’re sure this is going to be the peak of the album even if it doesn’t coincide with the peak of your high. You close your eyes, and you can feel the music on your skin. 

Remus chuckles next to you, and your face turns to him.

“You look so stoned right now,” he explains, giddy. 

“That’s because I am,” you laugh. Once you start laughing it’s hard to stop; once Remus joins, it’s almost impossible. 

You chat easily, observations and jokes from both of you greatly benefitting from the induced assistance. Remus has a revelation about your listening to HI-fi while high. Your mind is blown multiple times at how deep the lyrics are. 

“They’re all talkin’ at him, but he doesn’t hear a word they’re sayin’, Moons! Not a word! I should do that,” you tell him as if it’s the most urgent thing in the world. He cracks up. “He’s so right, you know? Gotta keep the sun shining through the pouring rain, you know?”

“Uh-huh, I know, sunshine, I know,” he just laughs at you.

“You have such a nice smile, Moony,” you observe, dazed just as much from the feelings perambulating through your system than the pot doing the same.

“Yeah?” he asks, exaggerating it till he’s all teeth and squinty eyes. 

“Yeah,” you laugh. “It looked funny upside down over there,” you remember. “Watch!” 

You flip over on the sofa till your feet are up where your neck should rest and your head is dangling off the edge where your knees would normally be. You smile up at him. Remus doubles over laughing with you, bringing his face much closer to yours as he leans into it. 

“You’re right. Looks funny,” he tells you much more softly than you expected after his cackling. He watches you intently then brings a hand to your upside down face. He traces your features lightly, and it’s warm and tingly. His long finger travels down your nose, across your eyebrows. 

“C’mere,” you whisper to him.

“Where?” he whispers back, his voice a gruff chuckle again. 

“Down here!” you whisper-yell. 

You pull his shoulder down and start kicking his legs up as he contorts until you get him in the same position as you. You end up side by side, upside-down on the sofa. 

Each of you giggles at the other as you steal side glances. Your faces, pulled the wrong way by gravity, softened more than normal by the smoking, look even goofier through your incessant giggles and pointless efforts at holding those back.

You listen, and laugh, to at least a whole song like this. You kick each other’s feet throughout. As one of your kicks brings you closer to Remus, he rolls over to tickle you. You laugh so loud you can’t even hear the record over it. 

“Stop, Rem! Stop!” you plead. “I’m already too dizzy.” 

He keeps it up a moment but soon takes pity on you and helps move your body the right way around, his strong hands manipulating you easily. 

“Alright, dizzy. Enough upside-down,” he says as he fixes your now crazy hair. 

You just nod and shift closer to him. You rest your head on his shoulder, and he shuffles to a comfortable height for you, laying his own head on yours. 

A primary reason you enjoy getting high with Remus: you both get snuggly. You’re touchy normally, even more than most best friends you’ve seen, but not overly so. When you’re high, it’s overly so. But it somehow doesn’t feel weird. In fact, it feels wonderful. 

So, it feels wonderful, not weird, when you absentmindedly reach over for his hand. He gives it to you easily, and you begin caressing it. 

“Your skin is so soft, Rem.” You pull his hand closer to you, bringing it close to your face, looking it at like you’ve never seen a hand before. Remus takes the opportunity and quickly grabs at your nose playfully. You giggle at this as he responds to your initial comment.

“In between all the scars maybe.” He sounds matter of fact. There’s a lot less pain in his voice now when he talks about them than when he did in your younger years. You look forward to the day when you hear no pain there at all. 

“No, the scars too,” you correct him gently, and you bring your thumb to a scar that runs from the top of his hand up to his forearm. You trace it with reverence, and he shivers at your touch. You know for a fact you’re the only person in the world he allows to touch them. You’re so grateful for his trust, and in this moment, your emotions heightened, your inhibitions lowered, the vibrations of the music moving through you, you feel the need to tell him so. 

“Thank you for letting me touch you, Moony.” 

Remus has been watching where your hands are connected until now, but at your words, he looks into your eyes. He just looks at you for a long moment. You can’t tell how long, time elongated and indeterminable in your current state, but you’re completely comfortable to sit in it through its entirety, looking straight back at him. 

Eventually, the softest grin blossoms on his face. You mirror it. 

“Thank you for not being afraid to,” he whispers. You genuinely don’t understand. 

“Why would I be?”

“You know what I mean,” he tries to explain. He looks down in shyness but back at you before continuing, “Maybe ‘afraid’ isn’t the right word. Maybe it’s ‘disgusted’ or something…” 

His voice is fading to a low whisper by the end, like the louder the words are the truer they’ll be. 

Without hesitating, you tell him the truth: “Remus, you’re the least disgusting person in the world. You’re beautiful.” He grimaces like he can’t believe you, so you go on. “You are.” 

You turn your body even more toward him, bringing your connected hands to your almost shared lap and bringing your other hand to caress his cheek. 

“Silly Moony. You’re so sickeningly beautiful,” you chuckle. Your hand runs up through his hair. “This hair is ridiculous,” you inform him, tousling it. He leans into your touch like a content puppy. “These eyes.” You trace circles around each of them, first skimming his eyebrows then looping around. “They’re the easiest thing in the world to melt into, no pot needed.” You feel them crinkle as they smile into your compliments. “This nose.” You trace it slowly. “These lips,” you say more softly. You feel his gasp when you touch them then feel nothing, his breath held as you trace them. “And your scars,” you say with some finality. You trace a prominent one across his face. He closes his eyes while you do, opens them again when you reach its end. “You beauty isn’t one to be ruined by scars, Remus Lupin. Your beauty is the kind that incorporates the scar and makes that beautiful too.” 

Remus squeezes your interlaced hands. Your faces are so close to each other that you could see his eyes moisten as you tell him all this. He closes them before full tears form and moves his face that tiny bit closer till his forehead rests on yours. You nuzzle his nose, and he nuzzles yours back. 

“It’s so quiet,” you whisper, breaking the silence — noticing the silence. You didn’t notice when the album ended.  Remus just hums in response. 

The silence is loaded but peaceful. You don’t want to pressure him into having to say something back after you let yourself get so intense with him. It wasn’t about what he said back; it was about his understanding how you saw him, how you hoped he would see himself. 

So, with his eyes still closed, you give the scar that runs across his nose a light kiss, do the same to another larger one across his jaw. Then you bring your head back to his shoulder, snuggling into him to mark the end of the moment, no further pressure necessary. 

Remus shifts his body closer, as close to you as possible. He brings his arm around your shoulders without letting go of your hand. He’s holding you close, and your arm crosses your chest to keep your hands intertwined. He kisses the top of your head — new, sweet — then rests his own there again — familiar, warm. Your thumb absentmindedly strokes the back of his hand. 

You sit together in the quiet a long while. You close your eyes, breathe Remus in, let his body, his presence envelop you then just bask in it. Everything feels pleasantly heavy — the air, his body where it touches yours.

You settle into him, and without your noticing you’re doing it, your hand on his stills. 

“Don’t stop,” he whispers. 

“Hm?” you need to ask, unsure what he means. You look up, and he looks down, and your faces are a breadth away from each other. 

“I liked how you were touching me,” he whispers. “I always like how you touch me,” he adds like a secret. 

He brings his hand that’s not holding yours up to your face. First, the backs of his fingers brush lightly over your cheekbone then he rests his hand there. His fingers hold your jaw; his thumb caresses your cheek. Like you tend to do, you lean into his touch. 

His gentle, soothing touch flutters your eyes closed. Your inability to see his face makes it less scary to respond, “I always like how you touch me too.”

“Yeah?” he sighs, his hand holding you a bit more tightly, his thumb coming down to graze your bottom lip. You nod slowly, his hand moving with your head.

“Do you ever think about other ways we could touch each other?” he whispers. Your eyes fly open at this and land on his: lidded, dilated, gazing into your own. 

“Do you?” 

“I asked you first,” he giggles. “And I’ve already told you a secret today. It’s your turn.”

“What secret?” Your voices are still soft, whispering even though there’s no need for quiet other than your intimacy demanding it. 

“About my crush.” 

“I had a crush on you too,” you tell him. “So now we’re even.”

“That’s not fair, sunshine,” he smiles. You smile back. 

Then, after a moment, like he can’t help it, “You did?” 

“Of course I did.” 

“What happened?” he echoes. 

“Nothing,” you confess. 

His eyebrows furrow, unsure how to interpret this. His eyes hold hope and trepidation at once. 

“I got to know you… And we became friends…” you continue. His expression falls, and you’re pretty sure you recognize this look as disappointment. But you go on, “And it made me love you all the more.” 

You’re ready to read his expression closely this time, but you don’t get the chance before he’s kissing you, before you’re kissing back. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NSFW beyond this point ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s slow. Deliberate. His lips push on yours; his arms bring you closer. His tongue teases your lips, and though they part in response, his tongue traces them rather than push in. You whimper at the feeling of it, and he moans at your reaction. He breathes you in, covers your whole mouth with his, devouring the sound, devouring you. 

Now his tongue enters your mouth, exploring, playing with yours. You’re not sure whether his movements are slow or whether they just feel slow because you’re still high. You are sure you have no desire to speed any of it up. 

You bring your hands to either side of his face, holding him gently but pulling him to you. He follows easily, and when your chests are almost flush, you trace your hands down to his shirt and pull him on top of you as you lean back, lying down on the sofa.

You keep kissing a deliciously long while then Remus goes beyond your lips, kissing along your jaw leisurely. He mouths at your skin, licking, nipping his way unhurriedly down to your neck. Here he languidly runs his tongue along the length of your neck, kissing your pulse point, nipping behind your ear. 

Everywhere he touches is buzzing, and you shiver at the sensation. When his breath blows cold air on your now wet skin, you shiver even harder, your body shuddering against his above you. He chuckles into the crook of your neck and continues. 

After another while of his working his way down, he has to pull the neck of your shirt down to reach further. You bare your neck to him, loving his exploratory path. 

When his mouth leaves your skin for the first time in several minutes, your impulse is to immediately pull him back to you.

“Let’s take this off,” he whispers sedately, gruffly, tugging at your top. 

You pull it off and don’t waste time unclasping and sliding your bra off as well. Remus looks at you, dopey and delighted, but without further ado, pushes your chest so that you lie back again. His hand stays on you and begins lazily kneading your breast as he brings his mouth back to you.

He kisses the base of your neck and continues his previous ministrations across your collarbones. He seems to be on a mission to trace the entire surface area of your skin with his wandering mouth, and you have every intention of letting him and enjoying every long second of it. 

As he makes his languorous way down your sternum, you arch your back, pushing up into him, and bring your hands to his messy hair, holding him close. You scratch and tug, needing somewhere to release some energy, every part of you he’s touched left humming warm and electric. He groans into your chest, and you’re certain you feel the vibrations move through your skin, across your chest cavity, and into your heart, where they ricochet within it, making it beat faster. 

“Remus,” you whine adoringly. He hums into your skin again in response and speeds up his southward trajectory just the slightest bit. 

His face comes between your breasts, and he runs his teeth down the valley, then licks his tongue up the same path. You shake a little, and his hand squeezes your breast tighter. The other one he mouths across until his tongue traces a slow, wet circle around your nipple. This shoots a hot, jolting current straight from where his mouth is connected to you down to between your legs.

He’s gentle for a while, moving back and forth between your tits, often agonizingly slowly, his hands kneading at your chest all the while. Without your expecting it, though, he bites one of your hard, sensitive nipples and tugs lightly. You squeal and push your chest into his mouth. He keeps going, switching as he fancies between rough and tender. 

At a bite of the side of your breast, you rut up into him, and the movement has you feeling how wet you are. You’ve never been this wet before before direct stimulation. 

Remus holds your hips down to the sofa but moves from your chest to your stomach. His roaming mouth proceeds at its perfect, maddening pace. It meanders to your ribs, down your sides, not following a straight path down. 

Once he eventually reaches the threshold of your pants, he looks up at you. 

Remus looks higher than you’ve ever seen him before. He looks elated, in awe. 

“I want to spend hours and hours on your body like this,” he tells you, nuzzling his face into your lower stomach, kissing it as he detaches from you.

“Remus,” you whimper, running your hand into his hair and inadvertently thrusting your hips up. He chuckles, still sounding high, but his voice is as low as you’ve ever heard it.

He takes your trousers and underwear off in one efficient but slow tug. He pulls his shirt off much faster, and you touch all his skin you can reach before he’s repositioning himself.

Your thighs feel cold now uncovered, but it’s nothing compared to the sensation of fresh air on your soaking cunt. As you adjust your body, you feel a thick wetness drip from your entrance down to where your arse meets the sofa. You feel the coldness of that wetness even more as Remus pushes your legs further apart to position himself between them. 

You’re completely sure you’re wetter than you’ve ever been before, but you’re not sure if you could possibly be as wet as you feel, thinking the high could be heightening your sensation of it. You’re worried it’s too much, worried you’ll put Remus off. 

“I can clean up a little if —“ you start, but you’re cut off by Remus diving in, running his flat tongue slowly, firmly up from the base of your puddle up to your pubic bone. A strangled, prolonged gasp functions as the end of your sentence.

When Remus licks you again, your thighs shake on either side of his head. You feel him laugh into your cunt, and this time you imagine the vibrations shooting all the way up your body, following the chaotic roadmap his mouth left lingering across it.

Remus pulls back from you and rests his chin on your pubic bone, looking up at you. 

He informs you simply, “You taste delicious, darling.” He looks drunk on it. 

“Everything tastes better when you’re high,” you tease.

“Then I’m really going to enjoy this,” he smiles. “But I’m pretty sure you’ll get me high just by letting me do this other times.” 

“Other times?” 

“Well, yeah…” he giggles. His eyes bore into yours even though he’s the length of your torso away. “I though this was a first, not an only…”

“Good.” You sound giddy. “Just checking.”

“Silly,” he shakes his head at you. You thrust your hips up and laugh at the expression he makes when you bump his face, like he’s dazed. He squeezes your thigh harshly where he’s holding you. 

“Behave, sunshine. It’s feeling dangerous down here.” 

“I thought you were enjoying it.” 

“I am.” A bite at your hip. “And I’m seriously getting the munchies, so just…” You don’t understand the end of his sentence, the words muffled against your skin as he starts eating you out.

It’s heavenly. High as you are, in love as you are, you think you’re on cloud nine. This gets you wondering where such an odd expression even comes from. It seems so random. 

“Moony?”

“Hmm?” is grunted into your cunt.

“Why do you think it’s called being on cloud nine?”

He pulls back. The whole lower half of his face shines in your slick. 

“Why are you thinking about that right now? Am I that bad at this?”

“Bad? It’s amazing.” You ruffle his hair in your groping hands. “Which is why I’m on cloud nine, which is why I’m thinking about that right now. Your hair is as soft as clouds, Moons.” 

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Am not,” you giggle.

“Are,” he teases.

“Can you keep going now? It felt so good. Your mouth is ridiculous.” You thrust your hips up at him again.

“Ridiculous and bossy,” he complains, but he’s smiling hard, and before you can even think of a retort, he does as you bid. 

His mouth takes its time between your legs. He spends eternities teasing you: mouthing at the tops of your thighs, licking up your bikini line, nipping at your clit without giving it the attention he knows you want from how loud you whine every time he gives it the slightest graze. He loves all over your vulva, not leaving any part untouched, unworshipped. His tongue fucks into your entrance languidly; it swirls there. He licks your labia, sucks on it, gives the same attention to your clit when you moan loud enough. He travels back and forth, seemingly enjoying all of it too much to stick to any one attention too long. The next time he lands on your clit, he prolongs it.

Your legs shake; your back arches; your whines grow loud before turning strangled, and Remus takes his cue to reserve the relaxed approach for later. He picks up his pace, gripping your thighs tightly and shakes his whole face into you, alternating between licking and sucking rhythmically at your clit. You cum hard, and it feels like it goes on for minutes. 

With your eyes closed, you truly feel like you’re floating, your only anchor to the world Remus Lupin where you feel his body attached to yours. 

You’re laughing in pleasure, and the laughs turn to pants as you slowly, slowly come down. You love coming down to an already high baseline, and you giggle at the sensation of relaxing into a still heightened state. 

It suddenly strikes you it feels like it’s been years since you talked to Remus, heard his mellifluous voice, and you startle your eyes open searching for him. 

You see him immediately. He’s gazing at you with equal parts ardor and adoration, but when he sees your expression, his shifts to concern. 

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong, my love?” He rushes to hover just above you. His face is close to yours again, though it’s scanning all over your body. His hand holds your face gently, his other arm holding him up. “Did something feel bad? Does something hurt?” 

“No, no, I’m fine, Moons, I’m fine,” you rush to reassure. “I just missed you,” you explain.

“Missed me?” His eyes shoot to yours. “I’m right here, love; what do you mean you missed me?” He can’t help a subtle giggle, and his adoring expression takes back its rightful place on his beautiful face. 

“I just thought I hadn’t seen you in too long.” Your hands caress his face, thread through his hair. “Or heard your voice…” 

“Hmm,” he hums, leaning into your touch. “I’m right here. What do you want me to say?”

“Anything,” you smile. 

“I love you.” 

You’ve heard them before, but never like this, and they’re the best words in the world, in the universe. 

“Remus,” you sigh, leaning up to kiss him. He tastes intensely of you, and you laugh into the kiss. “I’m sorry I got you so… so slicky.”

“I don’t mind,” he chuckles. “Means it was good, right?”

“Beyond. ‘Good’ is like… like one colour out of a whole rainbow for how that just felt.” 

He’s beaming down at you and kisses you again, lingering there. 

When he finally separates from you, his caressing thumb comes to wipe some slick at the corner of your lip. You grab his hand and kiss each of his fingers lightly. Then you lick down his long index finger, your tongue finding and following a scar up his hand to his wrist.

You look into his eyes, and he’s staring at you, transfixed. 

“I was thinking about your fingers when you were rolling the spliff.” 

“Yeah?” His voice is a desperate sigh. 

“Yeah.”

“What were you thinking about?” 

“How beautiful your hands are. How they’d feel touching me… How your fingers would feel inside me…”

“Fuck,” he whispers. “You wanna find out?”

“Yes,” you moan. 

“Get them nice and wet for me, and I’ll show you.” They’re already lingering at your lips, but he slowly pushes them in. You welcome them enthusiastically and lazily suck on them, swirl your tongue around them.

“Fuck.” His voice is low. “Fuck, I want to feel everything there is to feel with you.”

“Mmm,” you nod, your mouth still full. 

Remus takes his fingers out, kisses you, and lets his mouth stay on yours as his fingers trace down your chin, your chest, your stomach steadily, leaving a wet path. When they reach between your legs, you squirm in anticipation. 

He rubs a couple of tight, slow circles on your clit. You’re so sensitive, and it feels amazing. You mewl into his mouth where it still hovers just above yours. 

“Ready, my sunshine?” 

“Mmhhmm.”

Remus pushes two fingers into you ever so slowly. You release a low, slow whine the whole time he takes to press in. He gives you gentle kisses, eating it up. When his fingers are in to the hilt, you wonder how you didn’t feel devastatingly empty every moment of your life before this one. When he adds a third, you’re sure you will every moment after.

You clench purposefully around him, and he moans into your mouth. Closing your eyes again, it’s the easiest thing to let yourself be consumed by the sensations, by Remus. 

When he curls his fingers inside you, you clench again, this time automatically. You grip his hair and clutch his back, your arms pulling his body close to yours. 

The spot he starts massaging feels like it’s a blazing fire, but everywhere else you’re connected, your chests, your mouths, is scattered scalding embers.

You’re savouring every second, every sensation, already feeling another high building but relishing in the time it’ll take to get there. 

You run your hands down Remus’s back, feeling the bumps of his scars, the grooves of his defined muscles. For the first time all afternoon, you feel a desire to hurry… 

You start moving your hips to meet his rhythm, eager, even more than for your own climax, for your turn to take your time on him. 

pt. 2!

[strawberrystepmom]

canon au. cult leader!geto x f!reader. | word count: 762, reading time: 3 minutes.

“Did I ever matter to you, Suguru?”

In a different life, the fact you’ve even asked would have crushed the man standing next to you. In this imaginary reality, he’d ask how he could show you differently that he cares. He would reaffirm that the attention you spent almost a year of your life extending to him was worth it and helped him through the worst times he has ever experienced, but in this one he knows better.  

It doesn’t matter if you did or not. His feelings won’t change the fact you will never be his, your noble choice to do good far more important to you than any lingering feelings you may have for him.

“No, I guess you didn’t.”

The words taste worse across his tongue than any curse he’s ever ingested. He’s a liar, damned to hell for more reasons than just dishonesty, but he has to finally let you go; to let you walk back into a crowded club with tears blurring your vision because his words cut to your core. You told him years ago you fear being forgettable, someone people can let go of without a second thought, and it’s the sharpest knife he can press into you in some ill guided attempt to get the last word.

“I’m glad to finally know.” 

A chance encounter in a club closes out a chapter in your life you thought you’d stay suspended in forever and your stomach turns, your hands idly resting at your sides while your thoughts race. From “does your boyfriend know you’re out dressed like that?” to turning your head with a grin that swiftly fell as you weaved through the thick crowd to end up out here. 

You sniffle and what’s left of his heart breaks, wondering for a moment if he can’t take it back. If he can’t replicate the grin of his former best friend, jovial and wide enough that you believe he’s joking. He could toss you a sardonic, bitter chuckle and you’d roll your eyes but who would it help? 

It’s not like you’re going to return to him, it’s not like he can undo this.

“Thank you for being honest,” you mutter quietly before turning on your heel to leave.

Words sit heavily in his mouth but they disappear with each step you take, putting distance between the two of you before you glance over your shoulder. He’ll try not to remember the look in your eyes while they dance over the entirety of his form as though they’re seeing who he really is for the first time. 

He’ll fail and it’s why he accepts that tonight you’ll return to Satoru, begging for affirmation that you aren’t as worthless as you feel and he’ll almost certainly give it to you, eager to please with sweet words and teases. Reassurances you aren’t nothing, that you’ve made a mark on his life he won’t soon be recovering from. The boy with the silver spoon has become the man with a gilded tongue, the one who always inevitably gets what he wants.

God knows Satoru has wanted you for long enough, since you first stumbled into his life at fifteen, it’s only right he gets to have you now despite Suguru’s selfish wishes that you stay affected by him forever.

He’ll fail and that’s why he knows he will return to the compound, a failed scouting mission in the city under his belt, but he’ll slide into someone’s bed regardless. There’s a woman who looks enough like you when the lights are low he can pretend, it’s the reason he recruited her in the first place, a poor imitation of the real deal. He can press his hand over her mouth to keep her from speaking pleasured babbles in a voice that doesn’t belong to you and he can close his eyes and pretend the smack of skin on skin is yours on his. He’ll ask her to flip over to her belly so he doesn’t have to look at her but he can imagine that the hair that’s a shade too dark to belong to you is still yours, looped around his fist while he fucks all of his angst into her, pretending he’s another man living another life.

Your retreating footsteps continue and his traitorous mouth opens, gasping quietly enough it doesn’t grab your attention over the sound of pouring rain and thrumming music behind the entrance to the club, and he closes it wordlessly, grateful he’ll never have to see you look at him like that again.

[bellaxgiornata]

A Favor from the Devil |Chapter Four|

Pairing: Matt Murdock x fem!Mom!Reader Word Count: 4.1k [Series Masterlist]

Warnings/tags: 18+; Domestic abuse, depictions/mentions of sexual assault, struggles with past trauma, canon-typical violence, angst with a happy ending, friends to lovers, slow burn, eventual smut (possibly more warnings to come)

a/n: Saint Matthew strikes again in this fluffy-ish(?) chapter that has been my favorite to write so far. Feedback and reblogs are always appreciated!

Tag list: @kee-0-kee @dethspllz @a-half-empty-g1rl @senjoritanana @kezibear @sleepysleepymom @danzer8705 @scriptedmoon @flowher @wanda-maxamommy @guccicloudz @loves0phelia @withasideofmeg @mattmurdock-wife24 @sarraa-26 @mylastarrival @mdanon027 @kmc1989 @abiisscared

“Dinner?”

“We'll see what we've got, cricket.”

The sound of voices in the hallway broke through Matt’s sleeping mind, pulling him back to consciousness. Groggily stirring on his couch, Matt tried to focus his senses around him as he rubbed a hand across his forehead. Waking from sleep always left him a bit disoriented, especially the rare times he allowed himself a short nap.

“Chicken nuggets?”

“You know I'm–I'm not too sure if we have any left, but we can look when we get inside.”

Pushing himself slowly upright on the couch with a hand, the leather groaned beneath his weight. As he continued to listen to the voices outside of his apartment, Matt quickly realized he was overhearing you and your daughter in the hallway. Leaning forward and resting his elbows along his thighs, he tilted his head towards the wall where the pair of you were now standing in front of your own apartment door.

“I’m hungry.”

“I’m sure we have something I can make for dinner tonight, Evie.”

A frown settled on Matt’s mouth, his tired eyes narrowing as he focused closer on your body out in the hall. It sounded sluggish, as if you were exhausted and low on energy, and if he concentrated really hard, he could hear the faint rumblings of your stomach. You were both hungry. And with the hesitant way you’d just responded to your daughter along with the burst of anxiety inside of you at your last statement, he’d begun to wonder how true it actually had been.

Shifting on the couch, Matt did what he’d told himself he wouldn’t continue to do. He focused on you as you made your way into your apartment. He found it odd how your young daughter didn’t seem to say much, even now when it was just the pair of you alone in your own place. Something about that unsettled him. A child so young shouldn’t constantly be so timid and quiet.

He heard you set something down on your kitchen counter–a purse most likely. He listened as you took four steps before you opened what sounded like your refrigerator door. There was a soft, quiet sigh that even he’d barely caught as you closed that door seconds later and opened the other. A few items faintly shifted around on the shelf as you clearly searched for something in your fridge. 

“Sorry, cricket, there’s no chicken nuggets. I’ll have to add them to the grocery list for this weekend. But I can make us peanut butter and jelly for dinner. How does that sound?”

“No bread.”

“Oh,” Matt heard you reply, your cheerful tone instantly shifting to something disheartened. “You’re right. I uhm, I guess we might need to–to make a trip to the store before dinner then. Maybe we can find something to make for tonight.”

Your heart rate had accelerated as you spoke, the sound piquing Matt’s curiosity. Why had you suddenly become so nervous at the prospect of going shopping? But then he heard you picking up the object you’d set on your counter, the soft noise of a zipper confirming that it had indeed been your purse. That’s when he understood–you were looking for your wallet. Probably to see what cash you had on you in order to find groceries for tonight. You were probably nervous because you knew how little you’d find to help you.

Eyes closing, Matt blew out a deep breath as he buried his face in his hands. So his suspicions had been correct, you were struggling financially. Even with being able to afford to feed your daughter. He felt sick to his stomach listening to your growing panic in the apartment across the hall in what was clearly a very vulnerable moment for you.

Desperately Matt wished he could head over to your place right now, knock on your door, and offer you that job that Foggy and Karen had agreed upon letting you have earlier this week. Except there was absolutely no way Matt could realistically do that without making you entirely uncomfortable and possibly scaring you further away from him. Because he’d barely ever spoken to you, there was no realistic reason that he should’ve known about the situation you’d found yourself in or for him to offer you a job. 

But he also couldn’t just sit here in his apartment and let you both continue to go hungry. 

Pressing the heels of his hands into his closed eyes, he tried hard to think of how he could help you. Chewing the inside of his cheek, his mind ran over countless different ideas before it finally settled on one realistic one. Lowering his hands from his face, a small smile slipped onto his mouth. While he may not have had an excuse to go over to your place and offer you that part-time position just yet, there was something else he could do to immediately help the pair of you and possibly open the door to communication between you both.

Getting up from his couch, Matt began to make his way into the kitchen and over towards his fridge. Mentally he was already trying to prepare himself for what he would say to you when you opened the door for him because he needed to make this interaction count. He couldn’t afford to have you slam the door on his face–or worse, completely refuse to answer.

“Thank you, Mrs. Amato,” he whispered under his breath as he pulled a dish out of his fridge.

Pulling your wallet out of your purse, you tried to calm the sick feeling in your stomach. You already knew how much cash you had in there. A single twenty dollar bill. And that was all you had until you got paid again next Friday.

Plastering a smile onto your face, you glanced up at Evie. She was standing at the edge of the kitchen, the glaringly empty living room behind her only cementing your feelings of inadequacy. But now wasn’t the time for focusing on that–you needed to find a way to stretch twenty dollars and fast.

“Hey, how about you go put your backpack away in your room while I try to figure something out for dinner?” you suggested. 

Silently Evie turned and headed over to her bedroom. Pressing your lips together, you watched her until she disappeared from your sight. Once she had, you focused back down on the wallet in your hands, spotting the lone twenty dollar bill sitting in your otherwise empty wallet. Shoulders dropping in defeat, you weren’t sure how you were going to make it last all of next week now.

Two soft knocks came from the door behind you, the unexpected sound startling you so much that you dropped your wallet back inside of your purse. Your heart jumped into your throat just as Evie poked her head out of her bedroom, her eyes growing wide and terrified. Yet again you did your best to plaster a calm smile on your face, not wanting to worry her further. Because while you didn’t know who was at your door, and while you were almost positive it wasn’t your ex-fiance, your fear had still sky-rocketted at the sound. The fact that someone was here when you didn't expect company was enough to put you on edge.

“It’s alright, I got it, cricket,” you told her.

Mouth going dry, you stepped out of your kitchen and nervously made your way towards the door. You weren't sure who you’d find on the other side because it had barely been a week since you'd moved in. You'd intentionally gone out of your way not to speak to anyone in the building, so there was no reason someone should've been trying to visit you right now.

Placing both of your hands very carefully against the door, you leaned forward and peered through the peephole. Sucking in a sharp breath, you were shocked to see your neighbor standing in the hallway. The same man from across the hall who you just couldn’t seem to get away from this week. You were about to lock the deadbolt and tell him to leave until he shifted his weight on his feet and you caught sight of what looked like a glass dish covered in tinfoil in his hands.

Was he bringing you food? Because that was…odd. You were in the middle of New York City, why the hell would your neighbor be bringing you food? Even where you’d lived previously just outside of the city, no one had been that friendly. Had he somehow overheard you and Evelyn talking about dinner in the hall? But even then, as you replayed the short conversation in your mind, nothing you’d said had implied that you were both in need of anything.

You’d truly contemplated telling this man to go away as you stood there watching him through the peephole. It was strange that he kept randomly appearing around you this week. But as you stood there chewing your bottom lip, you knew that if he was bringing you food–for whatever reason that he was–you weren’t entirely in the position to turn it down. Because a stranger’s kindness, however unexplainable, would certainly help you make it to your next paycheck.

Inhaling a deep breath, you tried hard to calm your nerves as you began to unlock your door. After all, he was only carrying a dish of food, not some sort of weapon, and when you’d very briefly encountered him on the roof a few nights ago he’d sounded friendly at least. Though there was still a part of you that internally screamed danger whenever you saw him, and you’d yet to put your finger on why.

Opening your door only halfway, your trembling right hand still gripping it in case you needed to slam it shut, you took in the sight of your neighbor. He was standing there in a pair of dark gray sweatpants and a crumpled olive green tee-shirt–a vast difference from the nicer suit you’d first spotted him in at the beginning of the week. There was a bright smile on his face beneath the red-tinted glasses sitting atop his nose. Your eyes didn’t fail to miss the small cut along his chin behind his stubble though, your gaze lingering along it as you nervously licked your lips.

“Can I help you?” you asked after a moment.

“Hey, I’m your neighbor across the hall,” the man greeted, his voice like honey to your ears as he spoke. “6A?” 

One of his hands briefly released the bottom of the dish he was holding to gesture at the door behind himself. Your eyes followed the movement before coming back to land on the dish in his hands. It looked like a glass dish filled with lasagna and your stomach gave a faint rumble. Your hand nervously gripped your door tighter, hoping he hadn’t caught the sound as your attention returned to his smiling face.

“Hi,” you replied awkwardly. 

“I just wanted to introduce myself,” he continued, clearly unphased by the tone of your voice. “My name is Matthew Murdock. I’m a lawyer over at Nelson, Murdock, and Page. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of us before, but we're known for helping out many folks in the Hell’s Kitchen area.”

“I haven’t,” you stated simply.

The man’s smile wavered for the briefest of seconds, but it didn’t completely disappear from his face. It was true, though. You hadn’t been in the city long enough to have become familiar with much in it yet. While you’d been at Hope Haven, you’d been more focused on getting you and Evie set up to make a life in Hell’s Kitchen. You didn’t exactly have a need to go searching for lawyers–not unless Daniel found you. But even then, you weren’t sure there was a single lawyer that you could afford who could save you and Evelyn from him.

“Well, we often tend to do a lot of pro bono work for clients in the area who understandably can’t afford a lawyer,” he continued, almost as if he’d read your mind. “And they tend to show their appreciation for our help with meals and baked goods–and sometimes far too much fruit.” 

He chuckled good-naturedly as he held up the lasagna in his hands. Your eyes once more dropped down to the dish and you swore you could smell the delicious red sauce through the tinfoil. 

“I just thought I’d bring over some food to welcome you to the building,” Matthew continued. “I know with a big move sometimes it's hard to find the time to cook or even pick up groceries, so I thought this might help give you a little break this week.” His charming smile grew even wider, crinkles forming at the corners of his eyes behind his red lenses. “But I’ll be honest and admit upfront that I did not make this lasagna, so I can't exactly take credit for it. One of our clients made it as a thank you for dealing with some issues with her landlord.”

You eyed Matthew curiously as he stood in the hallway just in front of your door, examining his friendly and charming smile beneath those red glasses. While there was a part of you that still felt an unexplainable sense of danger from him–the hair on your forearm having prickled beneath his unseeing gaze–there was a smaller part of you that felt his sincerity. After all, how often did you hear about lawyers who handled pro bono cases happily getting paid in lasagna and fruit? 

Still, you found him incredibly strange and you planned to remain on your guard with him. 

“And why exactly is it that you're giving away a lasagna to a neighbor you don’t even know?” you asked cautiously.

He shrugged lightly in response. “I certainly don’t need an entire lasagna for myself. I’m just one man, there’s only so much I can eat.” He paused, a soft, disarming chuckle falling past his lips again. “I’m still trying to make my way through the soup I was generously gifted the other day. But if I’m also being honest–”

He leaned forward towards you but the unexpected proximity had you startle backwards a step, your hand squeezing your door in response. Strangely it almost seemed like he’d hesitated, as if he’d somehow known you’d moved despite being unable to see you.

“I don’t want the food to go to waste and I’d much prefer to drop it by your place than over at Mrs. Henderson’s in 6C,” he finished conspiratorially. “She frightens me a little. Very big flirt, that one. Doesn’t matter if she’s in her late sixties and widowed.”

You cleared your throat awkwardly as he leaned away from you once more. Curiously you thought you saw him even shuffle a step backwards into the hallway.

“Right,” you said, uncertain how to respond to that.

“But I’m sure you’re busy this evening and I'd hate to take up any more of your time,” Matthew continued, extending the lasagna out towards you. “I was told the instructions to heat this up were on a post-it note on top, but considering that I can’t see it, I’m certainly hoping that’s true.”

You glanced down at the yellow post-it note on the tinfoil. It did in fact have the reheating instructions noted. But instead of reaching out and taking the dish from him, you awkwardly stood there, your right hand still firmly grasping your door. Matthew’s smile finally fell at your hesitation.

“I’m sorry if this is making you uncomfortable in any way. I can leave,” he said. “I was hoping this would be a friendly gesture. I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know that if you ever needed something, I’m just across the hall.”

“Why?” you blurted.

His dark brows furrowed beneath his glasses, his head tilting just a bit to the side. “Why what?” he asked.

“Why’re you coming across the hall to welcome a neighbor to the building?” you questioned. “That seems quite uncharacteristic of someone in the city. At least, from the time I’ve been here so far. People are not generally this friendly unless they want something in return. And I'm not looking to owe anyone any favors.”

The charming smile returned to his mouth as he shrugged once more. “Maybe it’s my Catholic upbringing,” he told you, “but I prefer to be kind whenever the opportunity presents itself. But I assure you that I absolutely do not want anything in return. I promise.”

Your eyes dropped back down to the dish in his extended hands. You did, in fact, want to accept it, but you still felt uncomfortable at the idea of it. 

“I…don't really know what to say,” you awkwardly confessed. 

“You don't need to say anything at all,” he assured you.

Cautiously releasing the firm hold you had on your door, you slowly reached out and accepted the dish from his outstretched hands. You eyed him curiously as the smile on his face somehow grew wider when you did.

“Thank you,” you said softly.

“You're welcome,” he replied. “I hope you and your daughter enjoy it. And if you're a fan of baked goods, I know for a fact that we're receiving far too many peanut butter cookies on Monday. I'd be happy to drop some off because I certainly don't need them all.”

“Oh,” you breathed out, clutching the heavy glass dish in your hands, “that's alright. Really. We don't–”

You stopped short when something tugged at your dress slacks. Glancing down beside your leg you spotted Evie with one of her small fists curled around the dark fabric. She looked up at you and then over at your neighbor.

“Cookies?” she asked.

Matthew's head turned towards the sound of your daughter’s voice. The softening of his expression somehow almost completely eased that feeling of danger you often felt around him with the way he was now smiling down at Evie. He almost looked trustworthy. Safe.

Almost . Which made you even further suspicious of him.

“Hello there,” he greeted gently. “I'm–”

“Mr. Murdock,” Evie said. 

Shifting the heavy casserole dish over to your left arm and cradling it against your chest, your other hand landed protectively along her back and held her close to you. You were surprised she'd even come over and spoken to him because she usually disliked strangers and kept quiet. She must have sensed something else in him than you initially had.

“That’s right,” he said, still warmly smiling in her direction. “We're always getting sent so many baked goods. And it's up to your mother, but I could certainly bring you some cookies next Monday after work if you'd like?”

Evie's attention shifted to you, her wide hopeful eyes silently pleading with you. She didn't often get sweets anymore because they weren't a priority when you were budgeting groceries for the week, so you knew exactly what that look meant. She wanted you to accept the offer of cookies. But that also meant another inevitable interaction with your neighbor and this one was already one too many for your liking. 

But it was Evie and you’d do just about anything to make her happy.

With a sigh, you nodded at her before focusing back on Matthew. “If it's not too much trouble, I think Evie would like that,” you told him. “Thank you.”

“No trouble at all Ms….?”

Your lips pressed together for a moment, your initial instincts fighting you to give away your name and briefly causing you to hold your tongue. Though you had just given him Evie’s name and he already knew where you lived. What more harm was there if he knew your name, too?

Quietly you gave it to him, your stomach twisting into nervous knots. He repeated it softly, somehow the sound further calming you as he did. 

“It was nice meeting you,” he said, already taking a step backwards towards his door. “And I meant what I said. If you ever need anything, I'm just across the hall.”

A tight smile settled onto your lips even though you knew he couldn't see it as you nodded. “Thank you,” you replied, full well planning not to ask him for anything more. “I'll keep that in mind.”

You watched as he finally turned before you shut the door one-handed, the dish of lasagna still cradled against your chest. As weird as that whole interaction had been, at least you didn't have to worry about dinner for the next few nights. 

“I guess we're having lasagna tonight, cricket,” you said, carrying the dish over to your kitchen counter. “Sound good?”

Glancing over your shoulder at Evie, you saw the expression brighten her face. She nodded enthusiastically in response and the sight managed to put a smile on your own face.

Whoever that Mr. Murdock was, he'd at least put a smile on your daughter’s face tonight with his kindness.

“Mama!!”

Eyes flying wide open at the unexpected scream that ripped you from a dead sleep, you felt your heart nearly jolt out of your chest. By the time you heard your daughter shout for you a second time, you were already scrambling out of your blanket and rising to your feet.

“I'm coming, Evie!” you yelled back.

This was why you slept in front of your daughter’s door. Because it took you a matter of seconds to throw it wide open. 

Rushing inside her bedroom, you found Evie out of her sleeping bag and standing by the window across the room. You dropped down to your knees once you reached her, immediately beginning to inspect her with your hands for any sign of injury.

“What is it?” you asked her in a panic. “What's wrong? Are you okay?”

She nodded her head, your eyes drawn back up to her face. Despite her having shouted for you, she didn't look terrified. She appeared startled and a little surprised, but not scared.

“I saw him,” she told you.

Hands making their way back up to her shoulders, your brows furrowed at her words. “Who?” you asked her slowly. “You saw who?”

“The man,” she answered, turning at the waist and pointing to her window. “Outside.”

Your eyes flew to the window, scanning the rooftops beyond the fire escape outside of her room. There was nothing to see though. And with how bright the billboard across the street was, you would have been able to see if someone was there. 

This wasn't the first time this week Evie had told you she'd been seeing a masked man outside her window out on the rooftops. At first when she had told you about seeing someone, you'd let your fear take hold of you, worried it was somehow Daniel out there trying to torment you. But then when she hadn't been afraid of the man, you'd begun to worry that her fear of her father had led her to conjure up some masked imaginary figure that she kept seeing at nighttime when she was supposed to be asleep. 

“Cricket,” you said softly, your attention returning to her, “I've told you already. There's no masked man on the roof.” You reached a hand up, gently cupping her cheek. “Sweetheart, you're just dreaming. Okay? No one is out there. We're safe here, remember?”

“ He keeps us safe.”

Her strange comment gave you pause, your lips parting as you wondered what that even meant. Shaking your head a second later, you rose back up to your feet. At least this masked man wasn't giving her nightmares. 

“Let's get you back to bed, alright?” you suggested.

With a hand on her shoulder, you guided her across the room and back over to her sleeping bag. Despite being grateful that everything was alright after how terrified her screaming had made you, you really weren't a fan of her constantly waking at night because of this imaginary man. 

“He is real,” she whispered.

Expelling a soft sigh, you helped your daughter get back into her sleeping bag, tucking her in as you smiled down at her. If she wanted to believe some man on the roof was keeping you safe, you weren’t about to tell her that she was wrong.

“Alright, Evie,” you replied. “But it's late. You should get back to sleep. You can tell me all about it in the morning. Okay?”

You leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek before gently smoothing her hair. Telling her goodnight one more time, you got up and made your way back out of the room. But before you shut the door after yourself, you caught her quiet voice once more behind you. 

“He is real.”

[fluentmoviequoter]

Us or Them

Requested Here!

Pairing: Dominique Luca x fem!SWAT!reader

Summary: You and Luca go undercover as a couple, and when you're forced to get close, the truth slips out.

Warnings: tiny bit of angst, fluff, a tiny bit suggestive, making out, infidelity (not r or SWAT characters) + canon typical warnings

Word Count: 3.8k+ words

A/N: I'll proofread this tomorrow! I just love the req so I wanted to post it now. :)

Masterlist Directory | Luca Masterlist | Request Info\Fandom List

“I don’t like that look, Hondo,” you murmur as he walks into the locker room.

“Hurtful,” he replies. “Detective Burrows wants to see you and Luca. Where is he?”

“Luca? I shoved him in his locker.”

Hondo hesitates before muttering, “I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.”

“Luca is helping Rocker with something outside. Why does Burrows want to see us?” You stand as you speak, and Hondo fails to hide his smile. “Hondo.”

“I only heard a few words, but one of them sounded like undercover.”

“Fantastic. I’ll find Luca,” you offer. “But not one more word out of you, Daniel.”

Hondo puts his hands up in surrender as you walk past him, but you hear him call out to Deacon. Shaking your head, you walk through HQ and into the parking lot to find Luca. You’ve been undercover once before, but you were alone, and it was just to find a way into a suspect’s house. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes before 20 Squad stormed in behind you and arrested everyone else in the house. So, you’re unsure why Burrows would request you and Luca rather than trained UC officers.

“Luca!” you call when he stands from beside Black Betty. “Burrows needs to see us.”

“What for?” Luca asks, wearing a similar surprise to yours.

“Hondo thinks it may be an undercover thing, but I don’t know yet.”

Luca nods and passes a small toolbox to Rocker. “Keep working on it.”

“You got it,” Rocker answers. “Have fun undercover.”

You roll your eyes and follow Luca into the building. Once inside, you take a few large steps to walk beside him.

“Hondo said undercover?” Luca inquires. “Think maybe he misheard?”

“Possibly,” you admit. “I don’t know what case he’s working, but I guess if he needs UC and SWAT…” You trail off with a shrug, and Luca smiles. “What?”

“It’s never that easy with Burrows,” he reminds you.

“True. This is going to be terrible, isn’t it?”

A door opens to your right, and Burrows says, “Depends on how you look at it.”

“How are we going to look at it?” Luca counters.

Burrows gestures for you to come inside, and Luca moves to hold the door for you as you enter Burrows’ office. There’s a case board in front of his desk and pictures of a different couple in every corner.

“Please don’t tell me that’s mafia related,” you state.

“Not mafia,” Burrows assures with a grin. “But they are looking for a fifth couple.”

“To do what?” Luca asks before you can.

Burrows hesitates, and you exhale sharply. You’re a SWAT officer; you knew before you walked in that it would be a dangerous assignment, but now you are sure it will be more than you anticipated.

“They stage affairs to rob and murder couples,” Burrows explains quickly. “The richer the better.”

“They stage affairs,” you repeat. “As in pretend to cheat on each other to get into these people’s houses?”

“Apparently it’s their favorite way to, uh, get the blood pumping. We’ve got CCTV footage of them in high end hotels after every attack.”

“How do they do it?” Luca asks. “One goes in, the other storms in, and they work together?”

“Thinking like a criminal already, Officer Luca,” Burrows applauds. “More or less, that’s exactly how it goes. They go out together, play up how in love with one another they are, then one of them connects with someone else. Excuse, go upstairs, both partners burst in, then it’s time for murder and theft.”

“Wait, so wife goes upstairs with someone else’s husband,” you clarify. “Then husband gets the other wife, and they come up together? They con both of them to get them upstairs?”

Burrows shrugs and explains, “It’s just genius enough to keep them from getting caught. They’re getting more brazen, robbing two or three couples at a time. Apparently they need a solid five couples to keep it working.”

You look at Luca, and he nods before he says, “Tell us what you need.”

Burrows sighs in relief, then says, “I need you to convince these people that you’re madly in love and madly homicidal.”

“I feel like I should be on a reality show,” you tell Luca as you adjust your hair in the mirror on your visor.

“You look like it too,” he replies. “Burrows’ CI said they’re dining at Mastro’s tonight, though, so we have to look our part and then some.”

You close the visor and turn in the passenger seat to look at Luca. “We’re going to have to get really close, to sell this, I mean. It’s not going to make things weird, is it?”

Though you know you’re both trained and professional, there is a chance this will change everything between you. Not because you are friends and coworkers who see each other daily and trust one another with your lives, but because you have unresolved and unadmitted feelings for Luca. If something happens tonight, you’re not sure you’ll be able to keep those feelings buried anymore. The thought of him not wanting to be around you anymore because of that makes your stomach flip beneath your overpriced outfit.

“Of course not,” Luca answers emphatically. “It’s just a job.”

Maybe for you, you think. “Right,” you say instead. “And we get expensive food out of it.”

“Tonight is their deadline to pick up a fifth,” Luca reminds you. “As far as burglary-homicide can tell, that means it’s time for them to strike again.”

“So, you want me to flirt – eyes and body language only – with our server or someone close to him, then lift his wallet while they can see?” you check.

“Yeah,” Luca answers. “We can do this.”

You smile as he stops the car beside the valet stand and agree, “Of course we can.”

With your left arm looped through Luca’s right and your other hand perched on his bicep, you enter the penthouse restaurant with a smile.

“They’re all sitting against the west windows,” you whisper in Luca’s ear as you follow a woman to your table. “But pretend I said anything else.”

Luca turns his chin toward you, a look you’ve never seen before in his eyes as he squeezes your hand gently and says, “Later.”

You brush your teeth over your bottom lip before you separate from Luca and sit across the table from him. With what you hope is an apologetic look, you slide your leg under the table and hook your heel behind his lower leg. He smiles and offers his hand across the table. There are eight sets of eyes on you, glaring into you as the criminals across from you evaluate you and Luca as potential criminal accomplices.

“They’re looking,” you murmur softly.

“Everyone is,” Luca replies, cocky, sure, and completely in character.

“Good evening,” your waiter greets. “What can I get you to drink?”

Luca orders for both of you as you trail your eyes up and down the waiter. When he steps back, you lock eyes with him and smile. His eyes drop before he turns and walks away. That’s exactly what you wanted.

“The ladies liked that,” Luca whispers. He leans against the table and drops his eyes to your lips to add, “Almost as much as I did.”

You push your foot against his leg as you smile and desperately try to hold on to the part of you that views this as an assignment and nothing more. If you start seeing how Luca looks at you as anything more, you won’t be able to come out of this act the same.

“Waiter’s wallet is in the left pocket,” you enunciate, hoping the people beside you are reading your lips. “When he comes back, I’ll excuse myself, you order for me, and I’ll grab it on the way past.”

“You sure you didn’t make him too nervous looking at him like that?” Luca inquires.

You reach across the table and gently grasp his chin before you ask, “Does this look make you nervous?”

Luca shakes his head slowly before he kisses your fingertips, and you pull your hand away too quickly. He apologizes with a small nod, but you’re unable to explain the sudden movement before the waiter returns.

“Will you order for me?” you ask Luca. “Excuse me.”

You move the napkin from your lap back to the table and pass behind the waiter a few inches closer than is usually acceptable. With one simple move of your wrist, you pull his wallet from his pocket and tuck it between your hand and your hip as you walk to the restroom. In your peripheral, you notice two of the four women on Burrows’ board stand and walk toward you. It’s induction time.

As you enter the ladies’ room and the waiter leaves Luca’s side, one of your visitors' boyfriends walks to Luca’s table. He sits and pretends to greet an old friend.

“What can I do for you?” Luca asks, effortlessly charming even as his thoughts drift to you.

Luca has cared about you as more than a coworker since you met on your first day in the LAPD. He was drawn to you, and his need to be near and with you grows stronger each day. Deacon has encouraged him to tell you how he feels, but too much is at stake. The same things that have also kept you from making a move.

“Steph and I – you remember Steph, right?” the man begins.

Luca sees the challenging look in the man’s eyes and plays along as he answers, “Who could forget Steph? You two still going strong?”

“Stronger than ever,” the man – Grant, if Luca remembers the couple pairings correctly – brags. “In fact, we’ve got a new business venture that is doing wonders for our professional and private lives.”

“What’s the point of business without a little pleasure?”

“Exactly. I saw that you’re here with your beautiful woman, too, and since I’m sure they’re gossiping about us in the bathroom right now, why don’t we meet up after dinner? Grab a nightcap or a coffee and talk? I think you’d be very interested in hearing about our team.”

“That sounds perfect,” Luca agrees. “We’ve been looking for a change, anyway. Can’t let things get too boring with women like mine, you know?”

“Trust me, brother, I do. My buddies and their girls are coming too.”

Luca nods as Grant stands from the table and slides him a paper with a time and address written on it. Alone at the table again, Luca fights to hide his surprise when you return with a different hairstyle, red lipstick, and have adjusted your outfit.

“What’s that?” you ask, pointing to the paper in his hand.

“We’re meeting one of my old friends for coffee after this,” Luca answers.

“Perfect.”

Grant and his crew of thieves and murderers leave the restaurant before you do, and you sigh as you slump in your seat.

“I look like I ran into a girl from the Jersey Shore and her makeup rubbed off on me,” you lament.

“I hadn’t noticed a difference,” Luca jokes. “If it helps any, you don’t need any of it.”

You smile, not the flirty, overselling smile from earlier, but your genuine smile as you pinch your napkin and murmur, “Thank you.”

Luca stands and offers his hand. In the privacy of the elevator, you drop your head against his shoulder and ask, “What do you think they’ll want to know?”

“The wallet for sure. Probably about us and how far we’d go to get the things, experiences, and people we want.”

“They’re either really good actors or so remarkably greedy that they can’t see how good they have it with decent relationships,” you comment.

“Or both.”

The first thing you notice upon entering the dark coffee shop is how close your suspects are sitting to one another. You tighten your grip on Luca’s hand but don’t warn him before you wait for him to sit and then perch on his knee. Without hesitation, he wraps his arm around your waist and tips you to lean against his chest. Your hand splays over his heart as you smile at the people sitting around you.

“I’m Grant,” the man who spoke to Luca introduces. “I believe you’ve already met Steph and Daisy,” he tells you. “This is Oliver, Aurora, Jacob, Brendan and Lizzie.”

“Nice to meet you,” Luca says before introducing himself and you.

“You’re all incredibly attractive. Just wanted to throw that out there, and obviously I have good taste,” you add, looking pointedly at Luca.

“Good taste in targets too, it seems,” Oliver states. “The waiter?”

“Easy isn’t always good.”

“But it works,” Lizzie argues. “And we all start somewhere. Girls gotta eat, right?”

You hold your tongue between your teeth and look at Luca to agree, “So right.”

“That have something to do with your new business, Grant?” Luca asks, tightening his grip around you.

“Everything,” Grant and Oliver answer together.

“Please continue,” you invite.

“We’ve got a pretty straightforward system,” Brendan explains. “One you’ve already proven capable of.”

“One of us chooses a target – married target – and initiates contact. It goes well, always, and they go off alone. Whatever that takes. Then your significant other finds the cheater’s spouse, takes them to the room and storms in. Inside, we work together to incapacitate the infidelity-stricken couple and take whatever we want,” Jacob adds.

“Do you…” Luca trails off with a small gesture of his thumb over his throat.

“Usually,” Daisy answers before sipping her drink. “They see our faces, sometimes a bit more-“ Lizzie interrupts her with a giggle before she can finish – “so we can’t just leave them, you know?”

“Makes sense,” you muse. “But why do you need more? Eight of you seems like plenty to rip off some rich, sloppy cheaters.”

“Short answer?” Aurora asks. “Variety. People look for different things in flings, plus sometimes we have trouble restraining them. Mostly, though, it’s talent. You robbed a waiter in the middle of one of LA’s most expensive and busiest restaurants.”

You nod, wondering how they’ll feel about their decision-making process when they learn that he was an undercover cop.

“What do you want us to do?” Luca asks.

“Prove your worth one more time, and then we’ll talk again,” Grant says.

“The Four Seasons Bar tomorrow at nine,” Steph adds. “We’ll be at a booth in the corner, watching your every move. Pull it off and you get to keep the spoils and get your choice of future targets with our help.”

“Hear that?” you ask Luca. “We keep what we earn and then get to earn more. Sounds like a good investment to me, baby.”

Luca smiles at you before he tells Grant, “We’ll be there.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” you groan. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Burrows asks, tossing his hands up.

“Look at him,” you demand, pointing at Hondo. “I’m not going to be able to do this to him. I’ll laugh at him before I can even think about pretending to be interested in having an affair with him.”

“You just showed up to work this week to hurt me, huh?” Hondo interjects. “What about Deac?”

“It can’t be someone we know,” Luca argues. You nod quickly to agree. “They’ll be able to see any sliver of recognition.”

“Get me a UC couple that I’ve never met before and we can make it work,” you explain. “But no one I work with consistently.”

“Even Rocker?” Hondo taunts.

“Especially Rocker.”

“Okay, fine,” Burrows concedes. “I’ll send in UCs, both wearing purple so they’re easy to spot. Tell me again why we can’t make the arrest this time?”

“Because they’re expecting us to do this ourselves,” Luca says. “For all we know, they won’t come up to the room with us at all, just check our pockets when we come back down.”

Burrows runs his hand through his hair before he clarifies, “But we get them next time?”

“Guaranteed,” you and Luca answer together.

“Why don’t we ever come to the Four Seasons for date night?” you inquire from your position on Luca’s arm.

“We get this job, and we can,” he says lowly, moving his hand over your waist and toward your hip.

“Get a table facing the three-side,” you request against Luca’s shoulder.

He does as you ask, and from your seated position, you can see the UC couple, but Luca’s back is to them. You lock eyes briefly with the man, smile, and then look down. He knows his cue; he’ll follow you to the elevator when you hold up three fingers. His partner laughs and leans across the table to kiss him as you lay your cheek against your hand and look at Luca. The longing, lovesick gaze you fix on him isn’t thanks to your acting ability; it’s just one of the only excuses you’ll ever get to look at him like this.

Someone approaches your UC’s table, and you keep your eyes on Luca, letting them stray to his lips as he flirts freely with you. Without eyes on your UC, you don’t know how long you’ll have to wait to pretend to gauge his interest again. The man, dressed in black, steps away from the table as you move carefully to stand beside Luca. You press your hands against his shoulders, looking up quickly to check on your UC. He stares at you, pretending to breathe heavily before his attention suddenly snaps back to his partner. His quick glances at you are exactly what you need as you lower onto Luca’s lap and press your lips to his.

Luca hums in surprise, but his hands quickly move to your waist, gripping you softly before his fingers spread to trail up your back. With his hands on you and your lips moving with his, you nearly forget to drop your hand beside his chair and flash the signal to the UC. Carefully and painstakingly, you pull back from Luca and wipe your thumb under his mouth to remove the lipstick you transferred to his skin.

“Excuse me for a minute?” you request huskily, scraping your thumbnail under your own lips.

Luca nods, squeezing your hips as you stand. You make it to the elevator fifteen seconds before the UC, and you press yourself against him as the doors close.

“Sorry,” you murmur as you step back.

“It’s what I’m trained for,” he replies. “Pretty sweet gig some days.”

You shake your head at his comment, then lead him to the department-purchased hotel room and wait for Luca and his partner to arrive. Someone knocks on the door, and you freeze.

Steph says your name, then giggles like she’s pretending to be drunk. “Let me in!”

Turning to the officer beside you, you press your lips against his chin and neck, then ruffle his hair and push his purple shirt off his shoulders. As you stumble to the door with one shoe kicked off, you pull one of your dress straps down and pull several pieces of hair from your updo.

“Steph!” you greet as you open the door. “What are you doing here?”

“We want to see how it’s going,” Grant answers, stepping away from the wall beside your door. “Let us in?”

You shrug and push the door open for them, unsurprised to see that they’re both armed. Grant pulls his gun and holds it on the UC as you aim yours – removed from your thigh holster – at Steph.

“Don’t do this,” you warn. “We’re LAPD.”

“Figures,” Steph scoffs. “Only a cop would let looks like that go to waste.”

“And that kiss?” Grant challenges knowingly. “Just part of the act or something you wanted an excuse to do?”

“Stop talking,” you demand.

“And do what? Wait for your partner?”

“Something like that,” Luca says as he enters the room with his weapon ready.

“For robbers and killers, you’re not very good at making sure the door closes behind you,” you tell Grant.

He sees your heel propped between the door and the jamb and sneers as he moves his finger to the trigger.

“I wouldn’t,” Luca advises. “Your buddies are downstairs telling the detectives everything. What I heard was all about you and how it was all your idea. Grant pulled the trigger, Grant set them up, Grant-“

“Shut up!” Grant demands, turning his gun on you. “I’ll kill her.”

“Go ahead,” you say. “You kill me, they put you in jail forever. Either way, no one else has to deal with your pathetic attempt at feeling wanted.”

“I swear-“

Grant doesn’t finish before a gun fires, and he falls to the floor with a yelp. The UC officer beside him stands and pulls Grant’s gun away before he looks at Luca with wide eyes. Steph falls to her knees beside Grant, giving you plenty of time to pull the gun from her waistband as Grant holds the gunshot wound on his thigh.

“Bit premature?” you ask Luca.

“It was us or them,” he tells you, holstering his weapon. “They planned to kill us too, the guy downstairs was supposed to interrupt the trial run. So, when you left anyway, they got worried. Which, by the way, Grant, your plan was awful.”

Grant moans in reply, and you step aside as more officers enter the room. Luca turns toward you and pulls your dress up just before Hondo walks in with Burrows.

“Jacob, Lizzie, and Aurora gave us everything we need to charge them all,” Burrows says. “Well done, you two.”

“Don’t get used to it,” you mumble.

“Good night?” Hondo asks, smirking as he looks between Luca and the UC.

“His was better,” the UC answers as he prepares to leave. “Thanks for the fifteen minutes in the Four Seasons room, detective.”

“Get out of here,” Burrows instructs. “Come by in the morning to give your statements and I’ll try to keep the commissioner from pushing the cleaning cost on you,” he adds, gesturing to the blood on the carpet.

You nod and follow Luca to the unmarked police car waiting for you. Sitting in silence beside the curb, you both try to find the words to start the necessary conversation.

“I’m sorry,” you decide. “I shouldn’t have just kissed you like that.”

“We were undercover,” Luca defends. “You saved my life.”

“You saved mine.”

You fall silent again, watching the digital clock on the dashboard and waiting for it to change.

“I wanted it,” Luca whispers. “Not like that, and it doesn’t change anything, but I’ve wanted this – us – for years. Every time we work together, I realize it more.”

Your jaw drops as you watch Luca in the dark car. He continues talking, mixing in apologies with assurances that nothing has changed before you lean across the console and kiss him again. He cups your face immediately, bringing you as close as possible.

When you pull back and take a deep breath, you promise, “I still want it.”

“I’m glad I chose us then,” Luca says, tracing his fingers over your lips.

You smile and lean in again, hoping you’re imagining Hondo’s shocked but excited yell from outside the car.

[navybrat817]

Dark and Light

Pairing: Winter Soldier x Female Reader, Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Summary: You learn the real reason why Hydra wants to keep you.

Word Count: Over 2.65k

Warnings: Threat of dubcon/noncon, minor character death, violence, canon divergent, captivity, brainwashing, slight feels (it's me, okay?), Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?).

A/N: It's been almost 3 years since the last part of Soldat and Sparrow. Are you lovelies still interested? ❤️ Not beta read and written on my phone, so any and all mistakes are my own. Divider by the talented @silkholland . Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

The cell they kept you in this time was larger than your last. It didn't make it any less uncomfortable. The thick gray walls surrounding you made the room suffocatingly quiet and hollow. You only knew the color thanks to the singular lightbulb in the center of the ceiling, too high for you to try and make a weapon out of the glass. Without windows, you didn't know it was dark or light outside.

There was no escape, but you couldn't give up hope.

It was maddening not knowing the time of day as you played the waiting game on the worn mattress in between meals and sleeping. The screams of your lover played on a morbid loop in your mind and you had to will yourself to not let tears surface. Other than temporary relief for your emotions and aching heart, crying would do you no good. It never did.

What you needed to do was focus.

The man on the bridge.

He triggered something inside of the Winter Soldier. Something Hydra wanted to keep locked away. But what was it?

Bucky. He called him Bucky. He knew him. But how?

Two hard knocks on the door pushed the thought away before it swung open. Narrowing your eyes as Brock walked in, you wondered if he could’ve been a good man in another life and fought for the people who needed it most the way he pretended to. This wasn’t that life though. He chose his side.

The wrong side.

“You know, I don’t get it,” he said, crossing his arms as he stood in the doorway. He didn’t hide the lust from his eyes as he looked you over. “I mean, the Asset does his job well, but it’s like he forgets all about being a soldier when he’s deep in your pussy.”

“What can I say? I guess my pussy’s just that good,” you sneered, not in the mood for his taunts or anything else.

“Is that right? Maybe he should fuck your ass next to get the stick out of it,” he snapped back. “Or are you too stuck up for that?”

Pierce had a range of prostitutes lined up to satisfy his soldiers, but Brock didn’t hide how pissed off he was that you were “given” to the Asset after that fateful training day. He claimed it was special treatment. He dropped the issue almost as quickly as it was brought up, which led you to believe he was either reprimanded or given something to shut him up.

“Is that what bothers you, Rumlow? That I'd rather fuck him than you?” You asked, tilting your head as you regarded him. “And just so we’re clear, I’ll never want you.”

Brock clenched his fists as he took a step forward. “You really are a fucking-”

“Let her be,” a melodic voice ordered behind him, making you stiffen as he moved out of the way.

The doctor, or Doc as most called him, stepped into the room with a kind smile on his face. Unassuming in stature, you knew better from the start than to judge him by appearance. The man was a snake in the grass ready to spread his venom to unsuspecting victims.

“How are you?” He asked.

You kept your eyes on him as he moved closer, doing your best not to show any emotion. The doctor somehow made you more uncomfortable than Rumlow and that said something. “How do you think I'm doing?”

“Hmm. Not well, I'm sure.”

“You guessed correctly,” you said.

You didn’t know why he bothered asking. Maybe he thought he was better than the others because he didn't physically hurt you. If anything, his indifference to the evil around him made it worse. It told you that he either justified or accepted it.

Either way, he disgusted you.

“Don't worry. You'll have the Soldat back soon and I’m sure you'll feel all better,” he assured you.

“You wiped him,” you reminded him, your voice cracking.

His screams echoed in your mind again, your heart aching as you tried to block it out. When pain knocked on the door, it didn't wait for an answer. It broke it down and made itself at home. But in the pain Hydra inflicted, the soldier found solace with you and you found the same with him. The light for each other within the darkness.

While you failed to protect him and couldn't stop what they did to his mind, you had to believe you’d help heal his soul once you had him back.

“We did indeed as we have many times.”

You knocked his hand away as he tried to place it on your shoulder, your stomach turning from his words. “Don't touch me.”

He held his hands up in surrender as he took a step back. “I mean no harm.”

“All of you mean harm,” you whispered.

The Soldat was your only bright spot in this nightmare. Ironic that he thought you were fire, bright and warm. The truth was you burned because of him. He was your eternal fuel that made the flames grow.

“I only want what is best for you,” Doc argued, his eyes void of any emotional depth behind his rimless glasses.

“Liar,” you whispered.

An exasperated sigh left his lips. “Now, now. I really do want what’s best for you. Don't you realize how important you are?”

“I'm not important,” you said. You never were. “Pierce made it clear that I don't have a purpose.”

But if that was the case, why were you still alive?

The doctor's chuckle made your blood run cold. “That's what he wants you to think. You see, the more they cut you down and make you question your worth, the easier it becomes for you to comply. Because by that point you’re so desperate for survival you'll do what is asked of you,” he explained, pushing his glasses up. “Yet you still only comply to an extent. It’s rather fascinating.”

He stared at you like you were a bug under a magnifying glass. And wasn’t that what you were to him? An experiment or something for him to study? “I haven't complied. I won't.”

“Oh, but you have,” Brock chimed in. You almost forgot he was still in the room. “Those missions you completed. The lives you took.”

Bile rose in your throat as images of violence and blood flashed in your mind. They would haunt you for the rest of your days. “No, I didn't want to hurt anyone.”

“Of course, you didn't. It’s as I said: desperation. You did what you had to do to survive,” the false sympathy from Doc grated on your nerves. “Don't let the weight of those souls wear you down. They were meaningless. But you? Oh, you are meant for more.”

He attempted to touch you again, but his hand moved toward your stomach this time instead of your shoulder. “I said don't touch me!” you snapped, scrambling backward to put distance between the two of you. As much as you wanted to hurt him, Brock was still there and could do a lot of damage.

The doctor pressed his lips together before he smirked. “Pierce and Rumlow are right. You have a hold on him. Even with his programming and orders, it all comes back to you,” he said, your body going rigid. Where was he going with this? “And it’s you that we want to carry his child.”

Your stomach churned again, but you weren’t sure if it was more at the thought that he wanted to force a child on you or that he’d try and force your soldier to impregnate you. “Care to repeat that?”

“You’re going to carry his child. You’re going to give birth to the perfect soldier. And you’ll keep doing so,” he said slowly like you were a petulant child, standing tall and proud as your mouth fell open in horror. “You’re the perfect incubator.”

Your stomach sank as you looked between him and Brock, wishing it was a sick joke. “No, I won't.”

“You think you have a choice?” The doctor questioned nonchalantly, like he was asking what you wanted for dinner. “And do you think the Asset needs to remember exactly what you mean to him to fuck you? I guess we'll see if he does. Science versus instinct.”

The room became eerily silent as the doctor gave you his first genuine smile since he walked in. You struggled to get your bearings and process the words. That was why you were still alive. They were going to make you an incubator. Force your soldier to breed you. They would take another choice away from him. And raise your children in captivity.

In Hell on earth.

“Well, that shut the bitch up,” Brock chuckled.

Before you could think, you launched yourself from the bed. The doctor’s eyes widened as you tackled him to the ground, unable to brace himself as you landed the first blow to his face. You straddled his waist, the second hit knocking his glasses away as fury rushed through your veins like a wildfire. He didn’t try to fight you off.

You could’ve cried. Screamed. Anything to keep him from making his twisted plan a reality.

The sound of a gun cocking stopped you from hitting Doc a third time.

“I won’t kill you,” Brock said, your fist frozen in the air as you looked toward him. Your chest heaved as you stared down the barrel of the gun. “But I’ll make it hurt if you don’t get up.”

“Go ahead,” you said through clenched teeth.

The doctor coughed, but held up a hand. “No shooting,” he croaked as you looked at him out of the corner of your eye. “No harming her.”

Brock’s eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. “She can still lie down and take a cock if-”

None of you could have foreseen the metal hand punching through the wall. Before you could blink, the hand closed around Brock’s shoulder and pulled him through, his cry of pain silenced almost immediately by the sound of a gunshot. The doctor beneath you was long forgotten as you scrambled to your feet just in time to see your soldier step into the room through the hole, his face obscured by his typical mask and goggles.

But you felt his gaze on you as he stood like a dark angel ready to avenge you.

Hope launched into your chest like a shooting star as you smiled. “Soldat,” you whispered.

He came for you. Found you. But the star that filled your heart quickly faded when he didn’t move toward you or say “Sparrow”.

The dread grew stronger when he holstered his gun and took out his signature knife.

Was this the beginning of the end?

The doctor smiled as he wiped the blood from his lap and slowly stood up. “You really think he’s here to save you? Oh, no. He just doesn’t want any competition near his breeding partner,” he taunted as your eyes stung. “Back from your assignment early, Soldat? Good. Now you can complete your mission.”

The Winter Soldier tilted his head before he took a step forward.

You remained rooted to the spot, casting your fear that he’d force himself on you aside. “Bucky,” you said, using the name you heard. His real name. A tear rolled down your cheek when he flinched and tightened his fingers around the handle. “I’m not going to fight you. Or hurt you. Do you know why?”

Another step forward, your heart pounded as you stood as still as a statue. “Why?” He asked, the word clear to you through his mask.

The tears flowed freely as he stopped in front of you and slipped his goggles off, your heart breaking when he dispassionately looked at you. “Because I’m your Sparrow. Remember? My fire burns for you and you only,” you told him and pointed to your chest. You needed him to remember. “We swore we’d be free together. Somehow.”

“Don’t listen to her. Breed her and be done with it,” the doctor ordered.

The soldier’s brows furrowed before his metal hand came up around your neck, not squeezing or bringing you any harm.

But it felt like a warning.

“You won’t hurt me,” you breathed out, placing your hand on his arm as you kept your panic at bay. “They won’t break me. And I won’t leave you,” you promised, echoing his words when he took you the first time. “I’m yours.”

No matter what they forced him to do to you, he would never be to blame.

The doctor had the gall to smack the flesh arm when he made no move to shove you down on the bed or remove your clothes. “Finish your mission. Now.”

“It’s okay,” you mouthed.

Somehow, it would be okay.

“My mission…” the soldier began mechanically, not taking his eyes off you as he plunged the knife into the doctor’s jugular. You weren’t sure you could breathe. “Is to keep my Sparrow safe.”

An intake of air caught your sob as the metal hand fell away, the doctor collapsing as he tried in vain to stop the blood from leaving his body. It was useless. And a kinder death than he deserved.

“Hail,” he gurgled, his fingers stained red. “Hydra.”

“Just shut up and die,” you snapped as your soldier ripped his mask off. “Soldat,” you said, softer, almost crying all over again.

“Sparrow,” he whispered.

There was nothing gentle or sweet in the way pressed his lips to yours, but it was warm and safe as he pulled you against you. Your arms slipped around him as you returned the kiss, your cheeks still wet from crying. For a second there, you thought you’d lost him. For once, fate decided not to be cruel to you.

It brought you back together.

“I’m sorry I couldn't get to you sooner,” he said when he allowed you a moment to breathe, quickly scanning as much of you as he could. “Did they hurt you?”

“No, I’m okay. I just thought…” you trailed off with a shake of your head. “You came back to me.”

But how?

“I’ll always find you, Sparrow,” he said, touching your cheek as your heart swelled. “Steve helped me remember a lot of things. Including you.”

“The man on the bridge? You saw him again?” You asked before an alarm sounded, the blaring force echoing in the room.

“Yes. And his friend is sending reinforcements, so we need to go,” he said over the noise, nudging the doctor’s body with the toe of his boot before he stepped on his glasses.

“Where are we going?” You asked.

Where could you go since you no longer had a home? You had so many questions, but understood that you’d have to wait for answers. Getting out of there in one piece was your priority.

“Somewhere safe,” he answered, fear flickering in his eyes for a moment. “Do you trust me?”

“With my life,” you promised without hesitation. And anything else you had to offer him.

The next kiss was one of gentleness, relief, and thanks. “One thing before we leave.”

“What’s that?” You asked as he took your hand.

Love and determination filled his eyes as he glanced back at you and put a gun in your other hand. “We burn it down.”

You could hardly contain the fire inside you as you smiled. “Together.”

You didn’t know what the reinforcements would do or what would await you once you got out. It didn’t matter. Your soldier found his way back to you and you would follow wherever he went. The two of you would finally leave Hydra behind.

In a pile of rubble and ash.

But you’d find out soon enough that the man on the bridge wouldn't let your soldier go either.

I'll try not to let so much time pass before the next update. Love and thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[zerocoded]

summary: headcannons about what is like do date zayne.

authors note: yay i love headcannons and i hope you guys enjoy this one! this is all written upon my perspective of zayne and his character, things that i think would suit him bla bla bla, pls don't take everything too seriously. i found this beautiful drawing on pinterest, credits to the beautiful owner.

warnings: husband material zayne i guess? • suggestive but nothing nsfw

word count: 0.8k

☆ zayne who actually laughed when you told him your favorite song was snowman by sia.

☆ i get a feeling that zayne is actually ambidextrous which means he has the ability to use both hands equally well, which brings me to the topic that zayne is the king of multitasking.

☆ like you are having trouble with some buttons on your shirt? this man is helping you without even blinking while scrolling through his cell phone with the other hand.

☆ he been through an exceptionally tough day at the hospital? imagine him getting home and discarding his tie with one hand while already unbuttoning his shirt with the other, all of this while making eye contact with you.

☆ speaking of eye contact, i feel that zayne is another level of control freak with everything in his life. do you see how this man built his whole career around wanting to save mc from her disease? man NEEDS to have everything within his reach and on HIS conditions.

☆ that translates to the bedroom when you both are fooling around. like do you think you are closing your eyes anytime here? no, zayne is making sure you are looking at what he is doing to you or his eyes so he could turn your mind into puddy.

☆ are you embarrassed of your sounds or think you both are in a place too public to let yourself go? zayne is not having it. this man is pinning your hands wherever he feels like it and makes it particularly hard for you to shut up.

☆ well, maybe i should go back to the sfw first, i'll make another post about what i think zayne is like in bed hehehe

☆ BRO IS THE MOST GENTLEMAN A GENTLEMAN CAN BE. like in every sense and that is canon.

☆ you will not be opening any doors from now on and will never have to worry about paying in a date. or in anything.

☆ you know what else he does? he is not only a gentleman in his mannerisms but also in his attitude. you would never catch my man zayne raising his voice at you or anyone ever.

☆ he takes his time to listen to you speak. and i mean listen. be it two minutes or three hours about your new favorite tv program, this man will be devoted to each word you say.

☆ zayne is usually a silent type of guy, being the listener of the relationship instead of the speaker. even if you also don't talk that much, he is happy to enjoy a few minutes of silence with you at home. he really likes the fact that you love him and don't judge his more reserved persona.

☆ i see zayne as more of an insecure man at the beginning of your relationship. i mean, he doesn't let it show but later confesses to you how much he was scared you would go away after a few weeks with him.

☆ on the other hand, doctor zayne knows exactly what he wants. he has his opinions and preferences and he doesn't let anyone change that. i mean that in a sense that you guys would probably have arguments over everyday things like the way he thinks grocery shopping should go or how to dry clean twice a week the kitchen because he is certain that that is the dirtiest place at his house when you come over.

☆ zayne is a hard headed man and you are probably the only one who can convince him to change a little of his demanding habits.

☆ regarding his health, you guys argue over that a lot. somehow this man tends to overprotect you so much that it pisses you off when you see him not sleeping at all. how dare he demand something from you and not pay attention to himself daily?

☆ he always says sorry when you guys fight by building little snowmen throughout the house and leaving a corny note on the fridge promising he will pay more attention to his sleep schedule for now on.

☆ also i think that zayne is a big words of affirmation partner, he LOVES to praise you while making eye contact - again, control freak - and waiting to see your flushed cheeks because that is his favorite look on you.

☆ miss here have a late-night craving? zayne is running to the closest store at the darkest crack of dawn to buy you your wish, even if you try to stop him he is like "don't worry, love, i'll be quick" and proceeds to kiss your forehead while putting a jacket on and rushing outside.

☆ you’re so his passenger princess. this man will be moving mountains to do what you want and he’s so good at it.

☆ you can disagree with me but i will say it: zayne matches SO MUCH with a little age difference. like he is "too sweet by hozier" and you are a little "messy by lola young".

☆ but my favorite trope is zayne with a badass partner that is also a genius like him and they both make the perfect power couple at akso hospital.

☆ i'll stop here but i have so many of these that i could make 😣 let me know if you guys would like to see more.

author's note: pls, i would love to hear what you think of this work! sorry for any misspelling. send me a request • my masterpost

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

So I saw a post on twsttwit that had me wondering. They were talking about what would have happened if Malleus had come along in the Ghost Bride event, would he have passed Eliza’s test (Someone made a valid point how Mal would pass the physical part of the test, but not the singing, dog, etc. based on where he his social knowledge was at the time)? Would he have gotten slapped? What would have happened if he HAD gotten slapped? etc.

I’m mostly interested in that last question, like, we have voice lines & dialogue from Mal how he’s intrigued by people who aren’t afraid of him (Yuu, Ace), but being poked and spoken back to by someone you know (even if vaguely) is completely different than being FULL ON ASSAULTED, by a STRANGER no less,💀 so would he rain down lightning on Eliza (Justifiably so)? Or at least be caught off guard by her boldness? I highly doubt her slap could freeze him, that’s for sure.

What’s your opinion on what would happen?

I've actually written dialogue for a "what if" the remaining NRC boys attempted to propose to Eliza! I'm really proud of how it turned out, so please take a look at it if you're interested ^^ Malleus is, of course, also included.

Let's compare Malleus to Eliza's requirements (assuming that Malleus would be allowed to fake-propose to her):

At least 180 cm tall ✅

An air of nonchalance ✅ (Malleus is generally pretty standoffish and stoic, or at least has those vibes initially.)

Healthy, lustrous skin ✅ (If pale ass Idia meets this criteria, I am assuming Malleus does too.)

Lidded eyes ✅

A charming smile ✅ (If Idia’s “creepy” smile counts, then so does Malleus’s smile attempts that look more murderous than friendly.)

Bright, shimmering hair ⚠️ (Well… his hair isn’t bright per se, but I guess you can argue it must be well-kept since he’s a prince? He has a royal hairdresser and all.)

Lips so arresting that you just have to kiss them ✅ (Malleus is canonically considered pretty, so I’m giving him this pass.)

Sings with her ⚠️ (Malleus might be caught off-guard by the singing, but he might catch on and sing with her. This is because he does appear to be musically inclined, playing string instruments and singing to others in book 7. Some fans even theorize music is a way he expresses his love or something he associates with love, as this was how his mother soothed him when he was still in his shell.)

Owns a dog ❌ (The only way I see Malleus passing this is if he misunderstands and tells Eliza the name of some random NRC gargoyle.)

Combative abilities ⚠️ (Malleus is very strong, yes—but Eliza seems to expect her prince to slay monsters with swords?? Malleus is more familiar with using his magic or raw strength, not tools. She might view this as crass or improper, seeing as she smacked Jack for saying he’d use his fists.)

Plays an instrument ✅ (Strings!)

Understands how to converse with others; does not talk about random people/things she doesn’t know about ⚠️ (Malleus is a prince, so he must know proper etiquette and such. However, he is much more socially awkward and unaware of social faux pas among peers. Additionally, he does get out of control when he fixates on certain topics (gargoyles, the difference between dragons and longs) and can talk for HOURS at a time about them.)

Chases after her when she flees ✅ (This one’s up to personal interpretation, but I can easily see Malleus just teleporting in front of her.)

Is poetic ✅ (I can see it! Especially with how he speaks about gargoyles www)

Does not speak crudely or threaten her ⚠️ (Malleus doesn’t speak crudely, but he’s not exactly unfamiliar with making threats to those that are impolite to him.)

Doesn’t come across as fake ✅ (He’s not an underhanded schemer unlike some of his peers, just a little mischievous.)

Takes things seriously ✅ (See: Endless Halloween Night, which was just a minor issue but he still acted.)

Not cuter than the bride ⚠️ (Debatable, I guess 😂 depending on how you view Eliza versus Malleus)

Doesn’t use her as a test subject for poisonous flowers the absolute bare minimum ✅ (He’s not J word 😭)

As you can see, I don’t believe Malleus meets all of Eliza’s demands. I think that’s supposed to be the point though? She’s meant to be unreasonable and hard to please.

I think Eliza would have still slapped Malleus. I don’t like how… OP he is without any repercussions (it makes any conflict he’s involved in lack stakes because Malleus is expected to easily overcome them). In my own headcanon, Eliza’s grief and lingering regrets overpower Malleus’s magic. I do think he’d be mad in the aftermath of the slap and attempt to rain down lightning as punishment though.

While it’s true that Malleus is intrigued by people who aren’t afraid of him (Yuu, Ace, even arguably Rollo), he doesn’t always react this way. It’s very context dependent. For example, many Magicam Monsters expressed zero fear of Malleus and were very rude toward him when he asked them to respect Ramshackle dorm. Malleus became furious and tried to attack them, only stopping when Lilia and Silver intervened. Malleus similarly becomes angry with Lock, Shock, and Barrel for their unruly behavior and probably would have killed them if not for Leona interrupting and reminding him that this would poorly reflect on Malleus and his nation. Rollo technically also falls into this category, since Malleus was initially mad at being deceived and wanted to get revenge on him. It wasn’t until the final confrontation with Rollo that Malleus admitted he was experiencing fear for the first time + at the post-battle masquerade where he was relatively cordial with Rollo. In all of these cases, Malleus was enraged by people who were not intimidated by him and sought to “deal” with the nuisances in extreme ways.

I definitely see Eliza falling into the same category as Lock, Shock, Barrel, Rollo, and the Magicam Monsters. They all disrespected Malleus in some way, so he’d probably react poorly to that and retaliate.

[frogzxch]

Vinsmoke Brothers x Pregnant Fem!Reader

Here's a little headcanons for the three brothers! (⁠｡⁠・⁠/⁠/⁠ε⁠/⁠/⁠・⁠｡⁠)

This version keeps a balance between fluff, their canon personalities, and how they might react to the news and the pregnant.

Pairings: Ichiji, Niji and Yonji

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 2.2k

Ichiji Vinsmoke

• Ichiji is hard to read at first. When you tell him you're pregnant, his eyes narrow slightly and he says, "So it's mine." It’s more of a statement than a question. Beneath that cool exterior, though, he’s already running mental simulations of how to keep you and the baby safe.

• Suddenly, you're not allowed to go anywhere without one of the Germa soldiers trailing you. Ichiji pretends it’s for “efficiency,” but he’s just paranoid something might happen to you or the baby.

• Quietly attends every checkup, never says much, but if the doctor even breathes wrong, Ichiji gives them a death glare. He reads up on pregnancy in secret, and you'll find subtle changes in your routine foods switched out, pillows added, comfort prioritized.

• Will act aloof, but you'll wake up in the middle of the night with him gently rubbing your back or watching you sleep with an expression that borders on tender.

Niji Vinsmoke

• Niji is shocked but then grins. “Guess I’m irresistible, huh?” He jokes, but his mind is racing. Underneath the cockiness, he's lowkey freaking out... in a good way.

• He starts buying baby clothes with flames or lightning bolts on them. You catch him bragging to his soldiers like, "Yeah, I knocked her up. I'm gonna be a dad—crazy, right?".

• He talks to your belly like it's already a person. “Oi, mini-me. You better be cool like your old man.” He’ll press kisses to your bump when he thinks you’re asleep.

• He’ll make you laugh or buy something you crave when you’re feeling tired or hormonal, and he’s got a sixth sense for when you need a foot rub He will let the maids do it ofcourse sometimes. He’s immature sometimes but learning to grow up fast because of you and the baby.

Yonji Vinsmoke

• “HUH?!” Yonji nearly faints. He's the most dramatic, pacing the room, tugging at his hair, shouting things like, “I’m too young to be a dad!” But he’s not upset just overwhelmed by the news that you are pregnant.

• Suddenly, he's 100% IN. “I’ll be the best damn dad you’ve ever seen.” He’s overly enthusiastic and starts trying to build a crib out of Germa tech (you have to stop him before he installs rocket boosters on it pfft).

• Won’t let anyone near you. He’ll fight a marine just for looking at you sideways. He brags about how strong his baby’s gonna be “With my genes? Our kid’s gonna be a beast!”.

• Cuddles you constantly, asks too many questions (“Does the baby have teeth yet?”), and is obsessed with feeling kicks. Will cry when he feels one for the first time.

I hope that you guy's enjoy reading this one! :3 Request are open for now!

[cemeteryspider]

Imagine Being a Lady Dimitrescu-esk Overlord and Being in Love With Alastor

Alastor x Overlord! Reader

Summary: What happens when you attend a meeting, and get insulted by Velvette. Spoiler, it doesn't end well for her.

@doe-eyed-fool- this was their idea and I do not want to take credit for it (If you see this I hope you enjoy!)

Trigger Warnings: Canon-Typical Violence, Dead Angel, Talk of the Purge

Words Count: 508

Your heels clicked as you strutted your way into the elevator that would take you to the floor the rest of the Overlords were meeting on. Something about the purge leaving territory open potentially. So there you were in an empty meeting room, where you sat down and waited for the rest of them to arrive.

Slowly people arrived with Carmilla and her daughters emerging from behind a curtain. The metallic smell of angelic weaponry permeated the air wherever the trio went and here was no exception. Soon Zestial and Alastor made their appearances, with Zestial sitting by Carmilla and Alastor sitting between you and what will be Rosie's seat.

Before sitting down he took your hand in his and placed a kiss on your knuckles. Sweetly you showed him a smile with sharp fangs that could tear through even the most powerful demons and, although you've never been given the chance to try, possibly powerful hellborn as well. You set your hand back in your lap and he took his seat next to you.

Once everyone had arrived your idle chatter with Alastor and Rosie ceased, and you began to listen to what Carmilla had to say. That was before Velvette, the newest addition to the Vees, slammed the door open and scrolled through her phone as she spoke.

Soon an argument between the most powerful overlord and Velvette took place, and everyone knew whose side they were on. Until an exorcist's head was thrown on the table and Carmilla looked, scared almost.

"Sorry group attendin'. Since when are overlords too scared to fight? You're long past trendin'. Sorry, bae, but I ain't swipin' right. You lost your relevance" Most of this insult was hurled in your direction, and this is when you had enough.

Your clawed hand found its way around Velvette's soft throat, "What did you just say?"

You stood to your full height which was almost to the ceiling, which when you came around a long time ago was raised specifically for you, and Velvette's feet desperately searched for the table which was a good foot below her.

You licked your fangs as you indulged in the fear in Velvette's eyes. She looked utterly terrified, and only when you felt the shadowy hand of Alastor on your forearm, did you shrink down and throw Velvette back on the table.

"Sorry, hon, I just couldn't help myself" You chuckled as you licked the pricks of Velvette's blood from the tips of your claws, and she clambered away from you.

Alastor set his hand on yours, "No, it was absolutely marvelous, darling, but no bloodshed at meetings"

"Oops, I guess I've just been around a long time and must've forgotten. I'm sorry Carmilla," Carmilla smirked in your direction and continued to lecture Velvette on why the Overlords would not be attacking angels on the possibility of someone killing just one.

Velvette's hands still shook and she wouldn't look in your direction, and when she left you gave her a cheery clawed wave and a fanged smile.

[psychedelic-ink]

ㅤㅤㅤ✦ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄 ⸻ 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐈𝐄𝐒

ㅤㅤjoel miller x f!reader

⌜HOW MR. MILLER STOLE CHRISTMAS MASTERLIST⌟

genre: enemies to lovers, romance, fake dating, minors dni

word count: 3.7k

chapter summary: hanging garlands around town goes horribly wrong when you decide to decorate one of the polls. luckily a stranger with a rather soothing voice talks you through it and helps you down. But much to your surprise, he doesn't seem to be a stranger at all but rather a reminder of the past you've been trying to escape from.

warnings: age gap, canon typical violence, reader having a fear minor fear of heights, some threats, a brief make-out scene at the end, drinking

**dividers by @saradika

Jackson is everything you never expected in such a cruel world.

It’s been only a week since your arrival, yet you already feel fully incorporated into the community. Tommy and Maria Miller had surprisingly taken a liking to you. Later on, you learned that, especially Maria, wasn’t that keen on newcomers. If you had to guess why she decided to take you in, it would be the fact that you were half-dead and a mile away from their doorstep. It was cold, very cold. You still remembered how the wind sliced against your cheeks. When you came to, you met Tommy Miller. His smile was genuine and vaguely familiar for a reason you couldn’t quite understand. He had shown you around, then led you to your new home.

A home. Something you’d thought wasn’t possible anymore. 

Something that you would protect to keep, no matter what. 

It was a bit rundown, but solid nonetheless, like most of the survivors. Despite being only one person, the home they provided had three rooms and two bathrooms. You felt spoiled. You’d told Tommy about it, he had just laughed it off saying that after everything you’ve been through you deserve a decent roof over your head. 

The words had stung at the time. He didn’t know who you were or what you’ve done. Jackson was a small community so you knew that Tommy Miller had been somewhat involved with the Fireflies but not like you. Never like you. 

You feel slightly nauseous thinking about it. Snow crunches loudly under your boots as you make your way to Tommy’s. It’s lonely not being able to talk, not being able to say what you’re thinking freely. Most of the time it just feels like you’re looking through the other side of the glass, never truly comfortable around people that you frequently conversed with. 

Standing in front of the door you take a deep breath, your skin tickles as your lungs expand with crisp cold air and you smile faintly upon the exhale. It’s hard, but you shouldn’t be complaining. You don’t have to fight to stay alive anymore. You don’t have cuts and bruises, you’re not a soldier anymore—you’re free. 

Your mind drifts off only for a second, to that day when you made your escape. You would’ve been dead if it wasn’t for the man who spared you. His vacant gaze is still vivid in your head, waking you from sleep from time to time. 

You follow your first knock with a second one. Heavy footsteps reach your ears and the door opens with a loud creak. Tommy’s eyes shine bright as he sees you, a half smile tugging at his mouth. If you had to call someone a friend it would certainly be him. 

“Hey there Pecan,” he says. “Ready for some decoratin’?” 

“Can I get out of it if I say no?” 

He scoffs, “Don’t be a baby. It’ll be fun.” 

“How is labor fun?” 

You grin broadly and upon seeing it Tommy rolls his eyes. Stepping forward, he closes the door behind him. “You’re the goddamn second person to tell me that, you know.” 

“Who beat me to it?” 

“My pain in the ass brother.” 

The two of you walk to the back to get the garlands. Everyone in Jackson had pitched in to make them, including you. “I keep forgetting you have a brother. Why haven’t I seen him yet? Does he hate you or something?” 

“I’d say the opposite,” he huffs, opening the door of the garage. It’s full of boxes with “Christmas” written in bold letters. Luckily you don’t have to deal with those today. Only the garlands. “He’s like a mother hen. Too overbearin’. His name’s Joel and if you decide on gettin’ a tree you’ll see his ugly mug.” 

You doubt that anyone related to Tommy would be ugly but you decide to keep that to yourself. “Why is that?” 

“Maria appointed him as Christmas tree farmer. You can imagine his joy upon hearin’ that.” 

“All by himself?” you ask a bit surprised. 

“Nah. He has a couple of helpers but they work in shifts, everyone is pitching in chopping down the trees and getting them where they need to go. You’re free to help him out if you’re so worried.” 

“I’m not,” you say a bit too quickly when seeing Tommy’s grin. “It just felt a bit unfair for an old man.” 

“He might be old but he’s a fuckin’ beast,” he answers, leaning down and picking up one of the boxes. You follow, you take two since garlands aren’t exactly heavy. “I’ve never seen anyone as resilient as him. Honestly, it scares the shit out of me sometimes.” 

“You can say that about a lot of people here.” 

“You’ll understand what I mean when you meet him.” He heads out the garage and so do you, both of you leaving deep footprints on the snow as you head to the heart of the community. “And do please call him old man in person. I wanna see the look on his face.” 

“I’m not going to sacrifice my well-being so you can laugh at your brother, Tommy.” 

“You disappoint me, Pecan.” 

Damn, Tommy Miller and his stupid stupid garlands. 

You have no idea how long it’s been since you started hanging them all around town. You and Tommy had split up, deciding that it would be faster. At the time it made perfect logical sense but now, as your heart rams into your chest while decorating one of the polls, you decide it was a stupid ass idea. 

You’re not exactly scared of heights but you’re not a fan of them either. Every time the ladder creaks, you have a miniature heart attack. You’d feel much safer if Tommy were holding the legs, even though you know it wouldn’t help much if the damn thing collapsed. You hear the faint chatter coming from below. Some people staring as you wrap the stubborn garlands around the cylinder wood. You hate this. Hate it, hate it, hate it. 

When you’re finally done and about to climb back down, you can’t move. 

“Fuck,” you hiss loudly, knowing that no one can hear you. You glance down—big mistake. Your entire body freezes over, your fingers tight around the poll. You have half the mind to hug the damn thing. Your throat tightens and you look up. This is it, after everything you’ve been through, you’re going to fucking die while hanging fucking garlands—

A strong gust of wind blows, swaying the ladder side to side, a sharp scream rips from your throat, and this time you do hug the pole. You notice a small crowd gathering. Another blow of wind and the unstable surface ceases to exist, you barely manage to bring your legs around the poll. 

Screams and shouts that don’t belong to you reach your ears and you hope no one got hit by the ladder. Oh god. You can feel your heartbeat in your throat, sweat beading from every pore despite the cold. 

“Slide down!” you hear someone shout. A man, you register. A man with a deliciously raspy and deep voice. “Just slide down damn it!” 

“No!” you shout back. “It took me hours wrapping the damn garlands I’m not doing it again!” 

A weak excuse but still valid nonetheless. If you slide down all that work it rook the town to make these things would get destroyed thanks to your body. And even if it doesn’t, the damn things would slide down with you. There’s no way you’re climbing back up here. At least not until hell freezes over. 

“You’re gonna fall and the ladder is busted,” the man shouts back. “And from the quiverin’ of your legs, I don’t think you’ll last until Greg brings the other one!” You hug the poll tighter, he was right, your legs—especially your thighs—were about to give out. And as if he can read your mind, the voice shouts out once more. “I’ll hang the damn things myself and fix’em up, just slide your ass down before your legs fuckin’ give out!” 

You’re starting to get a bit lightheaded. Adrenaline and fear make your breathing uneven and quick. The disembodied voice is right. If you don’t slide down now your body is just going to give up and you are going to crack your head against the ground. A sharp exhale parting your lips, you finally start sliding down. You loosen your limbs, groaning every time you feel the needles of the garland ripping away and presumably falling above the snow. Fuck. You hope the stranger is good with his hands.  

“That’s it, atta girl,” you hear him say, ignoring the way your body slightly clenches at the praise. “Just go down, I’m right here.” 

More voices start to reach your ear the more you go down. You hear the voice of a girl, “I would’ve died if that happened to me.  Holy shit.” 

The man grunts, “Now’s not the time, Ellie. Keep your opinions to yourself.” 

By the time you reach the end, your breathing is ragged and you can barely feel your legs. The man who’s been talking you through it holds you gingerly from the waist and pulls you away from the poll. Your feet skip over each other and you end up tripping backwards, right into the stranger's chest. You feel the warmth of his breath tickling the back of your head as you both end up falling. His body breaks your fall, his large hands still holding you from the waist. A pleasant shudder runs up your spine and you find yourself relaxing. 

The crowd inches closer, a worried clammer coming from all directions. However, all you can focus on is the girl standing right across from you. She’s wearing a thick coat, her hair in a neat ponytail. She’s giving you a curious look, she also looks amused. 

Your brows furrow, the brown of her eyes familiar. 

“You plannin’ on gettin’ off me sweetheart?” 

You push yourself up, realizing you're still sprawled on top of the stranger. Heat rushes to your cheeks as you scramble to stand, muttering apologies. He chuckles, a deep, resonant sound that sends a shiver through you.

"Easy there, no harm done," he says, getting up as well. The crowd disperses now that the crisis is averted, leaving you alone with the man and the girl, who's still watching you with that curious expression. “You a’right? That was quite a journey down.” 

“I’m. . .” You turn towards him, still feeling disoriented, still feeling a bit shaky. You’re about to tell him you’re alright, and possibly thank him right after, but the words die in your throat. You hear the loud beat of your heart. Thud thud thud. The world is turning, spinning. You open and close your mouth, over and over again. His eyes meet yours. The same brown eyes you’ve seen in countless sleepless nights. 

You don't forget the face of the person who determines your fate. 

And in his case, you don’t forget the face of the person who spared you. 

Recognition slowly flickers across his weathered features. It’s so subtle. His lips part ever so slightly, eyes in the midst of going wide but keeping his eyelids neutral. He blinks heavily and snaps his lips tightly shut. You do the same. Your mouth now a thin line as you take each other in. 

Then you see the recognition, the surprise, turn into anger. You’re a brutal reminder of his past and what he’s done to get here. 

“Joel,” the girl hisses, nudging him with an elbow. “Don’t be an asshole.” 

You blink, eyes snapping to the girl. . . Ellie. . . the immune girl. 

Despite her harsh warning, neither of you speak. You are eyeing each other like wild animals wanting to protect their territories. Your legs are still shaking, your body trembling. He looks different but at the same time not at all. There’s no blood on him, no weapons. And the vacant look you’ve grown accustomed to is now full of emotion. 

No one notices Tommy until he’s standing next to Ellie, his chest heaves as he tries to gather his breath. His gaze fixed on you, “You a’right there pecan?” 

You freeze once more. The familiarity you’ve always felt around him—

“He’s your brother,” you state. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up as he nods. You feel sick. 

“I’ve heard what happened are you alright?” 

“I’m fine,” You’re not. Joel is still staring at you, taking in every detail. You take hold of yourself and force some emotion other than fear to flicker across your face. “I’m fine thanks to your brother, the ladder collapsed and I had to slide down,” you turn to Joel, ignoring the taste of blood in your mouth. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

The playful lilt in his tone was completely gone. Ellie jumps forward, quickly taking your hand, everyone except you misses the way Joel flinches, jerking forward. “I’m Ellie and this caveman here is Joel.” 

You clear your throat, “Nice to meet you Ellie and. . . “ You meet his gaze once again and say carefully. “Joel.” 

He doesn’t say a word as you introduce yourself. Thankfully Tommy whistles and all eyes turn towards the ruined garland and the pine needles scattered above the snow. “Fuck. It’s gonna take days to fix this.” 

“We still have time don’t we Uncle Tommy?” Ellie asks. “Joel offered to help fix it and hang it.” 

Tommy’s head snaps towards Joel, a lopsided smile stretching across his lips as he shoots him an amused look, “Did he now?” 

Ellie’s look matches her uncle’s, “He did.” 

“Well then,” Tommy says, slapping his brother’s back. Joel glares at him, his brows knitted tightly together. “I’ll leave it up to you.” 

“We should go,” Joel says suddenly, grabbing Ellie’s arm and dragging her away. Both you and Tommy are left dumbfounded as you watch Ellie furiously waving. 

“Nice meetin’ you pecan!” 

“Good,” Tommy grins, prompting your sharp glare. “The nickname is catching on.” 

Alcohol buzzes in your system, making you grin like a fool as you lean back against the makeshift bar, enjoying the sight of everyone dancing and laughing. After a boring meeting of who would be doing what during the Christmas season, everyone had rushed out to get the bonfire ready. Faint music hummed in the background. Festive songs you’ve hadn’t heard since you were a little girl. You only recognize the melodies since you were a kid when you last heard them, the lyrics you can’t quite remember. 

You watch Tommy and Maria from the corner of your eyes, he had his arms wrapped snugly around her waist. They were happy. Deep inside you can’t help but be envious. You hadn’t met a lot of people since coming here, it was hard to make friends when you felt undeserving of the comfort you received. 

Your skin tingles as you remember Joel’s hands firm against your waist. You’ve felt something before recognizing him. Something sweet and playful. But it was ripped away thanks to your intertwined past. He was death. You can’t forget that. You wonder if Ellie knew what he’d done for her, you wonder if Tommy knew. 

Shaking your head you take another swig of your drink. All these thoughts were sobering you up. You can’t have that. You need to relax, to forget. But despite knowing that, a nasty feeling of worry brews in your gut. What if Joel tells them? What if he makes the case that you’re dangerous and did unspeakable things for the cause? Will Tommy and Maria throw you out then—or worse—kill you? Joel is Tommy’s brother after all. . . you. . . you are nothing. 

There’s a flicker of movement and a ripple amongst the crowd, lifting your head you see Joel giving Tommy a quick hug. He says something to Maria, a greeting you assume, and you notice Ellie heading off with Dina. Your heart skips a beat. You should go home, or at least stop staring at the man but you can’t. He’s the one you’ve been thinking about ever since you left the damn hospital. It was his eyes you’ve seen the nights you were jolted awake from the horrors the world had to offer. 

You can’t decide on what to do and because of that, you’re suddenly facing an icy cold gaze from him. His lips are downturned, shoulders raised. You think about smiling, maybe raising your drink but you decide it would only add fuel to the fire. 

A minute passes, a minute that feels like an hour, and he finally rips his gaze off of you, turning to Tommy instead. He squeezes his younger brother’s shoulder and quickly disappears. 

You feel an unwarranted rage at him leaving. Running away. And suddenly you’re on your feet, following him. You can see his footsteps in the snow. You’re not sure what you’re going to say to him but you have to say something. This is your home now too and he won’t be taking that away from you. You’re not leaving after finding some semblance of peace. 

You follow the footprints to a narrow space between two buildings. You notice moss in the cracks of the wood. You frown. Where the hell is he? There isn’t any place else to go from here, it’s a dead end. 

You turn on your heel, only to come to an immediate stop. 

His expression is dark, a harsh sneer on his face that makes you stop. You remember the stories, the ones about the things he’d done to survive. You swallow thickly and take a step back, but he reaches out and shoves against the wall. You gasp as Joel’s arm presses against your throat, your back hitting the wall with a painful thud.

"You’ve got some nerve, showin’ your face around here," he growls, pressing you harder against the wall. You can feel his warm breath against your face, his forearms causing you to struggle for air. But you refuse to back down, refusing to let him intimidate you. You stare right back into his angry eyes. “Tell me what you want.” 

“Nothing,” you hiss. “I just wanted to talk to you, clear the air.”

“Clear the air of what?” he leans closer, your nose almost brushing. “You’ll leave right now.” 

“No I fucking won’t,” you snap and claw at his arm. It’s getting harder to breathe. “Jackson’s my home too.” 

His eyes narrow and he presses forward, fully cutting the airflow. There’s a vicious throbbing in the back of your eyes and tears gather in the corners. “I should’ve fuckin’ killed you when I had the chance,” he says, voice barely above a whisper. 

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. You don’t know what to do, you can barely speak, only whimpers leaving your parted lips. You attempt to kick at his legs but he simply moves out of the way. 

How can this be the same man who held you so gently before? 

“Take this as a warnin’,” Joel loosens his grip, your lungs filling with delicious oxygen. “If I see you anywhere near Ellie—” 

“Oi Miller, what the fuck are you doing?” 

You should be relieved. You really fucking should. But seeing the panic flaring in his eyes, a similar emotion starts coursing through your veins. You both tense and you feel your skin growing taut over your body. Your eyes shift between him and the two friends standing. You recognize them, one of them is Marc, and the other Steven. Twins. Your eyes move gradually back to Joel, he meets your gaze, your eyes drop to his lips, a plan forming in your head—an ill-advised plan, but a plan nonetheless. 

You kiss him. 

You fucking kiss him. 

The arm on your throat immediately drops and you fist the front of his shirt, pulling him closer until he’s flushed against you. His body feels solid against your own. Strong and tall. He hesitates, his lips still as stone. Not knowing what else to do to make it more convincing, you tilt your head, lick the seam of his lips, and moan absurdly into his closed mouth. Joel starts moving then. His hands trail down the sides of your body and grip your hips, squeezing as he moves his mouth. 

Everything about the moment lingers. The kiss, the closeness, everything. His hands twitch and you find yourself rolling your body towards him, feeling the semi-bulge underneath his pants. When a second moan escapes you it’s not for show. Heat licks the base of your spine, your entire being screaming for him to come closer and closer and closer— 

He stops. It’s sudden and cold. However, you take the hint and with a lazy smile turn to the men watching you with dropped jaws. Joel doesn’t bother to look in their direction, he’s still holding you, allowing you to use his shoulder somewhere to lean against. His grip on you is tight. 

“Sorry guys,” you make an effort to slur your speech. “I might’ve had too much to drink and couldn’t keep my hands to myself. Love it when a man is a bit rough.” 

You don’t know why but his grip on you instantly loosens. Both Steven and Marc look at you with utter shock. 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Marc blurts out. “Get a room you two. There are families out.” 

With that they both leave, grumbling to themselves something about young people you can’t quite catch. 

When both of you are sure no one is near, Joel shoves you off of him. “What the hell was that?” 

“A kiss.” 

“Don’t fuckin’ pull that shit with me, people are gonna talk. They’re gonna think I can’t keep it in my pants.” 

“Better than them thinking you were gonna kill me,” you say. “You should be thanking me for saving your ass,” you answer, trying very hard not to look down at the front of his pants. “Don’t worry so much nothing is going to happen. They’ll talk a day or two and then it’ll just blow over.” 

He doesn’t seem that convinced, “Fine,” he grunts and you start to take your leave. Your mind is swirling with unidentifiable emotions. You need time to think. “I was serious, stay away from Ellie.” 

As if you were the dangerous one here. 

“Joel,” you turn to face him one last time for the night. Not prepared to see how his eyes were glossed over, the anger and hatred drained from them. He looks startled. “I’m not leaving my home.”