#“what could he do? should have been a father” THIS SCREAMS LEE ALRIGHT

[froggie-at-home]

"army dreamers" by kate bush, but it's apollo singing about his dead children

[fantasies-fairytales-n-fics]

Code Blue Ch. 3 "Hysteria"

Summary: Josie is discharged from the hospital and goes home to more than one upsetting situations. A treasure hunt begins but someone deters it, temporarily. A close friend comes for Josie. She learns shocking information. Lee is in trouble and is in need of saving, but can he be? Quite the reunion takes place.

*Warning* language, mentions of child death, injury, alcohol mentions, angst, mentions of traumatic events(ptsd), mentions of infertility, mentions of anxiety, mentions of organized crime

Stories Stories Stories Masterlist

Salem, Massachusetts

February 2, 2023 - Earlier in the day

"TAXI!!!" You hollered while vigorously waving your hand in the air. It was 9 am as you ran out to the hospital parking lot watching a cab pulling away from dropping someone off.

The winter groundhog day was actually quite warm and sunny to where you could get by with the thin waist length jacket you wore. You were in a rush to get home, charge your phone and get on your laptop to search for the debonair doctor Lee. In a way, you were glad this was happening as it you distracted you from thinking about your brother, otherwise you would just go crawl in bed and hibernate until his future funeral was over.

It was just you and your mother Margaret now. You were 30 years old and still lived with her but only so she wasn't alone since your father had passed a few years ago. Besides, you had no significant other tying you down which was by your choice. One too many let downs had been enough for you to handle so you made the family businesses a priority along with your love of writing. Fantasies, fairytales and romance novels were your thing, although you loved a good horror story as well. Living in the witch city certainly had it's perks and influenced a lot of your material. One thing that came with writing was research and you were damn good at it. Finding Dr. Pace would...should be a piece of cake.

The cab dropped you off and you went racing into the house.

"Mom! I'm home!"

As you shut the door, there stood your mother at the bottom of the stairwell on her phone....and something in the kitchen was burning.

"Hey! Mom, what are you doing?? You're supposed to be resting, not trying to burn the house down!"

You ran into the kitchen and foolishly yanked the flame filled cast iron pan filled with charred bacon off the stove. Screaming in agony, you instinctively dropped it onto the floor.

"Fuck!!"

You ran to the sink while sucking on your fingers and desperately submerged your hand under a cold stream of water. About five more F bombs dropped from your clenched mouth as you stared at your already blistering palm.

"I'm sorry honey! Are you alright? I was only trying to make some breakfast for you. Let me get some ointment...."

"You couldn't have waited until I got home? I called you this morning and told you I would be here soon mom!"

"Alright. Well I am just going to go up to my room then." she huffed and stormed up the stairs.

You just stood there, peering down at the splattered grease and broke down in quiet sobs as you leaned over the sink. The smoke, the smell, the burning of your hand, had all triggered your memories of the explosion. In that moment, you became so angry at Jason for the lifestyle he chose that resulted in his death and could have killed you too. You dreaded what was to come of it soon enough as you would have to face the investigating detective who tried to speak with you, but Britt would not allow it because of the condition you were in at the time.

After soaking your hand for a few more minutes, you went to the bathroom and wrapped your palm in gauze, then trekked up the stairs to your room to get your laptop. First and foremost, you plugged your phone in. Then....you heard your mom crying.

You crept inside her room and found her taking clothes out of the closet and someone sitting on her bed. Megan, the younger sister that you did not acknowledge because she only came around when she wanted something, such as a boyfriend of yours. Otherwise, she was whoring it up in Boston somewhere. You were fuming inside to see her as she did not even care for Jason at all. Most likely she was there to hit her mother up for money as there was an abundance of it from the businesses and also from your father's will that he left all of you.

You glared at her as she ignored you and played on her phone.

""Mom...I'm sorry. I did not mean to snap at you. Are...you ok?"

Your curly haired redheaded mother rolled her eyes and turned to you.

"No Jo, I am not O..K. How could I be? My son is...and now I have to find something for him to wear and plan a funeral but what do I dress someone in who was in the mob?"

"Do you think I was oblivious to his so called profession? Or that you knew about it? And were almost killed too?"

She, along with most of the town and police department were definitely not oblivious to what Jason was involved in. Mafia, mob, organized crime...call it what you will, it all meant the same thing and your brother had been in it up to his neck for many years. You just happened to be collateral damage merely by being in his orbit.

You paced about, wanting to scream as you couldn't take it when your mom got into these moods.

"Ok...I can see you need some space right now, so I am going to go to my room for a bit, and then I am leaving. You seem to have everything you need here."

Your sarcasm was deep as you left, glowering at Megan in her stupid little clashing beret.

Your phone was now half charged and you powered it on. 3 new voicemails appeared in your notifications.

"Hey Josie, it's Britt. Obviously your phone is dead as it went straight to voicemail. Call me..or text, whatever. Just let me know how you're doing. David is worried about you also so give him a shout out too, K? Love you. Talk soon."

"Hello Miss March, this is Detective Butler with the Salem P.D. following up about the incident on pier 55 yesterday. Please give me a call at your earliest convenience to set up a time to take your statement. Sooner than later is best. You can reach me at 555-7268. Thank you."

"Ugh!!" you reeled. He was just going to have to wait. What did it even matter now anyways? Your brother was gone and the last thing you wanted to get involved in was matters of the mob.

"Hi there Miss March. This is Dr. Bloom. I just wanted to follow up with you to see how you are doing. Hopefully well. Feel free to reach out if you have any concerns...and again. I am sorry for your loss. Bye."

"What in the hell was that?" you whispered. Do doctors call to check on patients? Not that you knew of...and you had just seen him three hours ago.

You blew it off and hopped in the shower, dressed and fixed yourself up, then grabbed your laptop and phone charger, stuffing them in your bag and took off. Anywhere but there was good for you to do your doctor hunt.

You headed straight for Britt's downtown apartment since you knew this was her day off. Of course the gorgeous 5'9 40 year old brunette who looked 30, had a snazzy penthouse on the top floor of a place called the Metro Court but she certainly could afford it with her Chief of Staff salary. She deserved it though because she worked her ass off and was damn good at what she did as she was an OBGYN. She had chosen that path when she found out she could never conceive a child, so she wanted to help others out. It was something you could identify with as well, but yours stemmed from an accident years ago.

As you got out of your car, you glanced up at the twenty story high rise which made your stomach do a flip. Heights off almost any kind, you couldn't do or you would freeze solid and have an anxiety attack, which this fear was caused by a ride at an amusement park. But oddly, you didn't have a problem with riding rollercoasters...as long as it wasn't anything to where your feet would dangle out in the open. You had to be boxed in or it wasn't happening. You had been to the famous Cedar Point once in Ohio and rode the Power Tower. Biggest mistake ever... Everyone sits around this gigantic pole in their own chair with your legs hanging in mid air and then it starts moving up, then at some point, it just drops and flies back up, over and over.

Your body had frozen as the panic set in, and it was bad. You screamed and cried as if you were being murdered, while your friends laughed. The ride attendant couldn't decipher your terrified screams from everyone else's joyful ones, so you had to endure it, and you've been traumatized ever since.

Up the gazillion flights of stairs you went, as another issue you had was elevators. You had claustrophobia and any small space would have you flat on the floor in seconds. Your sinister sister once locked you in a pitch black crawl space when you were both teens and let you scream and cry for over an hour before your mother came home. Megan quickly unlocked the door and denied having anything to do with it, that the door must have gotten stuck. She paid for it though, much later when you kicked her ass after school one day with no witnesses.

You finally reached Britt's door, huffing and puffing as you knocked.

"Omg Josie!! Hiiiii!!!" She threw her arms around you as you both did the little jump up and down dance while laughing.

"Hey you!" a familiar voice sounded from behind. Dr. David Conrad, Britt's brother and also your drop dead gorgeous other best friend. Tall, dark and handsome with piercing blue eyes, also older than you at 38 ...and all just like the stunning Dr. Pace. It was no secret Dave had it bad for you but you were not willing to cross that line and risk your friendship with him in case it didn't work out. It wasn't easy though because he was just perfect in every way. One of the most kind, caring and compassionate individuals that you had ever known. But this Lee guy...you had never felt so drawn to anyone in your life, not even Dave....the pull was undeniable, at least on your end and you had to find out why.

Dave came right to you and picked you up in a spinning hug.

"How's my girl? I am so sorry about what happened sweetheart. I would have been there for you, but I was out of town. I rushed as fast as I could to get here. Britt told me you were coming here so I just came here to wait. Don't ever scare me like that again, you hear me?"

His words and tone were so heartfelt and sincere. You knew he was in love with you but you also knew he would never tell you that. He too was afraid of jeopardizing his friendship with you. You felt like such a fool because he was every woman's dream and yet you kept him at arm's length. Sure, people say being great friends first bud some of the best relationships but after all you had been through in that department, you were just too scared to test the waters because it would kill you if you lost him. You did love him, you just weren't in love with him.

"Hey, don't worry! I know you would have been here in a flash if you could. Your here now and that's all that matters." You stroked his cheek and smiled.

"You're the best, you know that? So...I am grilling out on the patio, taking advantage of this unusual warm weather. You're gonna stick around right? We can all get our drinks on and try to have a little fun? Just to try and ease your thoughts some?"

'I..I..well...I actually have some things to go take care of...but I guess I can stay for a little while since I haven't seen you in a minute." His grin matched yours as he spun around to make you a drink. His famous midnight margaritas, although it was only high noon. You and he named the popular drink that after many nights of horror movies on his couch. One of those nights, you mentioned that you were in the mood for a margarita and it was midnight, and he happened to have all the ingredients so he got up and made them, and then it just became a tradition with a name.

He handed you the icy beverage and then went to the patio to finish his ridiculously good steaks.

"Someone's sure happy to see you." Britt said in an insinuating manner. She knew of her brother's feelings. Most people did.

You rolled your eyes at her. "Ugh. Britt. Don't. He will find someone someday. That person is not me. Although, it baffles me. All these gorgeous doctors at SGH and they're all single."

"That's because they have no life." she chuckled. "Same for me." Her face changed to sadness as she looked down.

"So...how are you doing with all this?"

"I...I'm fine? Why wouldn't I be? Except that I am worried about you."

"Maybe because you were in love with my brother."

"Well...he didn't love me and now he's gone and...Josie...I don't want to talk about that ok? So what's with all the stuff?"

She was good at deflecting, so you broke down and decided to tell her what you were up to. After explaining it all to her, only the parts about finding the bracelet and wanting to return it and thank him, she gave you the dreaded look you knew you were going to get.

"So, like I know you better than anyone, and I also know when you have a thing for someone. I also know of the train wrecks of relationships you've been in and that you're trying to steer clear of that, so why on earth are you doing somersaults for a man you have only known for like 5 minutes? And don't deny it, I can hear it in your tone and see it in your eyes. The way you talk about him. I'll tell you right now, you need to get in your car and drive as far in the oppsite direction form him as you can. He's bad news Josie."

"What? How?? He was so kind and understanding."

"Because he's a doctor. That's his job."

Now you were just getting pissed. "So you're saying it was all an act? That he's an asshole or something because I may have only known him for the 5 minutes you speak of, but his eyes...there was...something in them...and it was not that of what you say..."

"It's called lust. You're beautiful and every man knows it."

You laughed sarcastically. "Ok, if that's what it was, then why isn't he chasing after me?"

"Ok...look. He called the hospital about an hour ago and requested for time off to take care of some business. The man's a workoholic and has weeks upon weeks to use so I allowed it, but not for that reason. He's a hot mess Josie. Dealing with things you do not need in your life."

"Excuse me but I will make the decisions of what I do and don't need....Shit...I'm sorry. I don't mean to be hasty. I know you are only looking out for me...but it's not like I haven't dealt with hot messes before. Hell...I"M one." you giggled.

"Maybe so, but did you forget you're trying to stay away from all that or did you hit your head in that explosion? If you knew what I know, you would think twice. So I'll tell you."

"No...you won't! Whatever he is going through is none of my business, and honestly it's none of yours either unless it is affecting his ability to treat his patients."

"I fear that it could. There are days I can tell he had not slept, his eyes all blood shot and sucking down his red bulls, and his mood swings will give you whiplash. He's so irritable lately and as I said, he works too much. I have suggested to him in the past to take time off, but he refuses so when he asked for it, I gladly accepted because he needs to get his shit together before an accident or mistake happens with a patient. Josie...he had a son who died and..."

"NO I SAID! Don't tell me this, it's not your place." You literally put your hands over your ears and walked away.

"You need to know before you get in too deep. There was a car accident. The boy was only five years old and he wasn't buckled in..."

"Stop!! No wonder the man is a complete wreck and you're standing here calling him a hot mess and bad news. I am going to go find him to return his bracelet wether you like it or not. So are you going to tell me his address or do I have to drive to everyone I find on google?"

"Ok..OK....calm down. Geez. I know where he's at right now and he'll probably be there at least two weeks so I am only going to tell you if you stay here tonight and think all of this through. Dave came all the way here to be with you Josie. He left an important conference...for you. The least you could do is spend a little time with him and go in the morning. Dr. Pace needs his space anyways. He's at his old home where he lived with his son. He was renting it and the people up and left, leaving the place in a disarray so he's going to be there a long time cleaning it and fixing things. One day won't hurt you to hang out with your best friend, you know, the guy you've actually known more than 5 minutes?"

The woman could certainly pose a good argument and you knew you wouldn't win. You also knew she was right so you agreed to wait. Your heart was broken over what she vaguely told you. Now you knew what you saw in his eyes.....pain.

You woke up at 1 am in a sweat from a nightmare and couldn't breathe. But it wasn't about the explosion...it was about Lee. As you laid your head in your hands and closed your eyes, you strangely heard Lee's voice in your head. "Just breathe Jo."

You sat up straight, eyes still closed and sucked in a deep breath, then blew it out slowly.

"Ok...ok Jo...breathe...you cannot have another panic attack...not now." you mumbled under your breath. Of course you hadn't taken your meds like Dr. Bloom had persistently told you to do.

When you got this way, your entire rationalized thinking capability was non existent. Why were you like this? So befuddled? After the episode with your mom and surprisingly seeing your succubus sister, you were flat out frazzled and so was your hand still as it stung, but that wasn't enough to get you in such a frenzy. It was him....it was all him. The dream was horrible. Lee had been hurt and you were trying to get to him but you couldn't. It had to all be related to what Britt told you and the fact you were trying to find him but had to wait. The thought of seeing him again had your stomach filled with butterflies. A feeling no other had ever caused. You screamed internally of frustration and whipped the blanket over your head, finally falling back asleep after a few minutes.

Lee's old home- 1 am.

Lee was three sheets to the wind and in a maudlin mood. A mood to reminisce and he knew just where to go. The attic. It had all of Jacob's things stored in boxes. He pretty much had to pull himself up the ladder in his stupefied state to accomplish his destination.

All he could manage to do was stumble around while using the flashlight on his phone as there was no light in the attic. Corner after corner was stacked with boxes and he couldn't remember which ones were his son's as it had been years since he had went up there. He could never bring himself to do it and now, the one time that he wanted to, he still could barely do it due to his blind drunken state.

As he turned around, he saw the pile belonging to his son. The sight was so overwhelming that he gasped and stepped backwards.

But there was nothing there but the open doorway he just climbed through. Down the wooden ladder he tumbled, crashing to the floor below which knocked him out cold.

February 3, 2023

You awoke bright and early at 7 am. There was no way you could make yourself sleep any longer. You snuck into Britt's room and woke her up by plopping onto her bed with a laugh.

"Ok...it's tomorrow, now spill it. What's his address?"

Britt moaned and yanked the blankets over her head. "Noooooo...go awayyyy. It's too early and my head is killing me."

"Well who's fault is that miss beer pong champion?"

You had all played games and drank last night, although you drank yours in moderation so you would be ready for today.

"Tell me or I am going to jump up and down in your bed like a kid on a trampoline!"

She whipped the blankets down. "OK OK, please don't!"

You ran and got a pen and paper off her dresser, then hopped back onto her bed in an Indian style position with an anticipated grin on your face as she groaned from the bounce.

You scribbled down the address and directions, then jumped up and rooted through her closet for something to wear as you both were the same size in clothing. Then off to the shower you went so she could go back to sleep. Once you were done, you quickly texted a still sleeping Dave to tell him thank you for everything and that you would see him soon. Down the twenty flights of stairs you went and got into your car. A classic silver Monte Carlo SS with chrome wheels. You loved the older style sports cars. Even bicycles. The one you had was blue and looked like it belonged to Almira Gulch and should have a captive Toto on the back in a basket.

Off you went with your tires squealing. Your lead foot was inspired by Jason who rode a motorcycle and was always burning rubber. Your car had the absolute best sound system too so you turned on Sirius XM and cranked it up. The song was so fitting too for what was occurring and it was one of your favorite bands as well. Def Leppard. Hysteria.

The window down, you sang along.

"I gotta know tonight, if you're alone tonight. Can't stop this feeling, can't stop this fire..." Your thoughts went straight to Lee. What the hell had done to you?

It was now almost 9 am and the drive would take you about 30 minutes with the morning traffic. You prayed that Lee would already be up. The butterflies were swarming through your stomach as you pulled onto the street his house was on. You turned off your music and slowly drove as you searched the house numbers. There it was. A large two story home with a large porch with stone pillars and a swing.... and the front door was wide open. There was also the coolest classic muscle car parked in the driveway.

You got out with the bracelet in your pocket and carefully shut the door as you gazed up at the open doorway that held blackness behind it.

"Breathe Jo..." you whispered and went up the steps. The closer you got to the entrance, contents of the home became visible from the sunlight shining in. Your heart dropped as you saw Lee laying in the middle of the floor with a bloodied nose.

"Jesus!" You rushed to him and dropped to your knees. He was unconscious, or so you believed. You began to panic as you called his name but got no response. You flipped him over and checked his pulse but failed to find it.

"Lee! Can you hear me? Come on, wake up please!" you shouted frantically as you patted his cheek over and over.

What you did next is all you could think of to do before you were going to grab your phone and call 911. CPR, which you had absolutely no idea how to do.

Leaning down, you opened his mouth and placed your lips over his, but as soon as you did, you felt his warm breath softly flow onto your cheek from his nose....yet you remained in an immobile lip lock with him as you couldn't move. You did not want to move. His lips were so incredibly soft and you liked the way they fit perfectly to yours. It felt like a union of soulmates for the first time as you foolishly believed in that stuff. His breath was tainted with whiskey and you now understood why.

You broke the seal of your joined lips and hovered over him, lost as to what to do for him.

Suddenly he gasped and began to sit up with his eyes in a squint from the sunlight.

"You...You're...here..." he whispered as he gazed at you like you weren't real.

"I...Are...you alright? What can I do? Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

All he did was stare at you, then spoke one word.

"W...water."

You stretched your neck up and glanced all around for a kitchen or bathroom.

"Ok..ok. Don't move. I'll find you some."

You shuffled to your feet and found the kitchen and grabbed the first thing you saw for a cup. A child's thermos. You snatched the top off and filled it, then scuffled back to him.

"Here...it's all I could find." you said as your shaking hand offered it to him.

He drank it as his eyes remained fixed on you, then his head lowered as if he was ashamed to be seen in such a state.

You sat trembling in a silent hysteria, trying to hold down yesterday's lunch. Words were out of reach as your brain fumbled for them. Finally, you spoke.

"Wh..what happened? Are you alright?"

He glanced up at the open attic door, then brought his sapphire orbs back to you.

"I...fell. It was...dark and I..." He sighed as he closed his eyes. "Basically, I was shit faced and lost my ability to navigate. How...why... are you here....miss....March?"

"Please...call me Josie. I. I wanted to...." You couldn't stop looking at the blood. "You're hurt... bleeding. Please, let me get something to clean you up."

All you could think about was if you had came last night, maybe this would not have happened to him.

"Thank you...but it's not necessary. I did this to myself. Do stupid things, get stupid results. I will live." he lightly smiled.

You gave him a meek smile. "Well, you didn't deserve that. That's quite a fall.

"Indeed. So...are you going to tell me why you are here or how you even found me?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry. I...I wanted...I found something I think belongs to you and...I also wanted to thank you for what you did for me."

"Something of mine? How could that be?"

You reached in your pocket and pulled out the bracelet, dangling it in front of you. "It..it was under the table in my hospital room..."

His eyes widened as he stiffened into an upright position. "My...bracelet..." he whispered in disbelief.

You handed it to him and he held it as if it would break. "You...you have no idea what this means to me...I..I never thought I would see it again. You came all the way here to give me this?"

"Well....yeah. It looks expensive. I..I tried to fix the clasp. I think it will work now. It was the least I could do after what you did....sitting with me and all."

His mouth hung slightly open as his eyes darted about your face in awe. "I...I don't even know what to say....th...thank you...Josie." His soft delicate tone was so sincere.

"You're so welcome. I am glad to see you so happy." you said in a timorous voice.

His head slightly tilted at your words. You both stared at each other in silence for what seemed like minutes. Shyly, you lowered your eyes.

"You...you have a little...something right...." he touched his lips as he gazed at yours.

Quickly and self consciously, you wiped you mouth and your fingers revealed some blood from him. Oh god, you thought...did he remember? You wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out.

"I...I had...patted your face to try and wake you and must have...gotten some blood on my hand...then...touched my face..." you rambled in the most awkward stutter. How lame did your explanation sound? The grin that formed on his mouth told you he fucking knew. The panic was creeping up into your chest from sheer embarrassment. For fucks sake, how did this man make you so damn frazzled and nervous. Between the butterflies and this feeling, you had no answers, just that not a single soul has ever made your body react this way.

You were certain he was going to call you out on it, but he didn't. He seemed to notice your fear and didn't want to embarrass you more than you already were. Of course he probably noticed it, the fact that you knew you were 50 shades of red right now. You could feel it.

He then got up. "Let me give you some money for returning this to me and for fixing it."

"Oh god no, Lee, I do not want your money. I just wanted you to have that back. It is obviously something of great importance to you and expensive like I had said before."

He turned with a dazed look. "H...how did you know my name? Which brings me again to the question of how did you find me?"

You didn't want to give Britt up, although you actually kind of did after the way she had downgraded him...but...you could see her point now after finding him in such a dire state.

"Google." you simply replied with a fib. You were going to search him anyways, so maybe it wasn't such a stretch of the truth.

"Oh..." he also simply replied. "Yes, it is very expensive but it's value to me is nothing of cost."

He held it in is palm and gazed so deeply at it. "It was a birthday gift from someone special."

His tone was of sheer sadness as his face then corresponded. You knew then it was from his son.

Stupidly, you said it. "You had a son, it was...from him?" Open mouth, insert foot is all you could think.

He lightly gasped as his eyes sprung up from his hand. Then he just flat out said it.

(click the volume button below)

"Oh god...I..I am soooo sorry. Please forgive me Dr. Pace. It is so none of my business."

Lee took a few steps towards you. "Please...call me Lee...and do not be sorry. It's not like it's some classified secret. I'm sure google can tell you that as well."

His eyes diverted back to the bracelet as he took it and tried to put it on his wrist, failing miserably.

"M...may I?" Your hand reached out to him.

There he was, staring at you again. He held the bracelet out to you and held his arm there in an answer to your question.

You sheepishly took it and wrapped it around his wrist. Tremors rolled through your fingers at the touch of his skin while you tried to clasp it. He must have felt it.

"Here....you hold the end and I'll hook it." His voice was understanding and his smile comforting. "There. Back where it belongs thanks to you."

"I am going into the kitchen for more water. Would you care to come have some? Or some juice? Sorry, it is all I have right now."

"Sure." you squeaked and followed him. As he came to the archway to the kitchen, he leaned on the wall, appearing dizzy and then he just dropped.

"Jesus Lee! Are you alright??" you knelt beside him and rubbed his arm. "Let me take you to the hospital, please! You obviously hit your head and have a concussion."

He brought his arm up, laying it over his forehead. "No...please no. They cannot know..."

He then took your hand. "Who's the doctor here?" he smirked. "I didn't hit my head, only had the wind knocked out of me when I fell...and I'm severely dehydrated. I now the symptoms."

"And I also know doctors are not supposed to diagnose themselves. Britt told me that."

"And she also told you about Jacob. She knows all about what happened, not google. Am I right?"

You closed your eyes in shame. "Ok, ok I may have stretched the truth some but.."

"Jo...calm down, it's ok. I am not upset."

Now you were the one staring at him.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"You...you called me...Jo..." You also remembered he called you that when he told you to breathe when you awoke from your dream and imagined his voice. Did you imagine it?

"Annnnd? That's your name isn't it?" he chuckled.

"Well...yes, technically but...no one but my mom and Jason ever called me that...well...me too when I talk to myself.."

"You talk to yourself? I think maybe you are the one with the brain injury." he chortled in amusement.

"Ha ha. You got jokes, so you must be ok."

Your hands were still entwined and his smile faded as he was lost in your sun like eyes....You felt his hand lightly squeeze yours and then he began to tell you about Jacob....

@redeemer46

[aajjks]

Jimin states on the phone “Alright little bro, when can we see your the rest of us miss you. Also I will call you back immediately when I find what you are looking for about the Choi family.”

Jungkook hears Jimin hang up and he sighs and says “Why do you have to make it hard to trust you my love? Please never leave me, I cannot help my jealousy when it comes to your family. You should know how much you mean to me.. please please please.” He felt like he was loosing it. He touches where you kissed him and he giggles then it increases into a psychotic laughter.

~~~~~~~~Meanwhile with Y/n~~~~~~~~~

She paces back and fourth screaming in her head *WHY DID YOU KISS HIM?! OH MY WORD! YOU STUPID MOTHER FATHER!* (if you know you know, it’s an Eh bee family reference.)

She hears a knock on the door that makes her come back to reality. She goes to open the door only to find out that it was a maid, but it wasn’t Mrs. Lee.

The maid wordlessly made her back into the room so “she” could go in. The maid locks the door and drags her to the bathroom and locks that door. The maid says “You should take a shower, I will help you get ready. Do not worry I will protect you too. Mrs. Lee told me to take care of you because she wasn’t feeling all that well.”

Y/n nerves went out the window and bows toward the maid and says “Thank you for informing me and I will go take a shower.”

~~~~~~Meanwhile with Jimin~~~~~~~~

He does everything to make sure he can get anything bad on the Choi’s but he couldn’t. He even went person and all of them are good and well rounded people. He actually felt bad as Taehyung ask “Who is this for Jiminie?”

Jimin sighs and says “Jungkook found someone I guess to play with but from the sound of his voice he doesn’t view her as a plaything more like his soulmate, like us.”

Taehyung squeals and says “JUNGKOOK FOUND THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE?! LET ME SEE LET ME SEE!” He sounded like a kid on Christmas.

Jimin laughs and says “I do want to see her too.” He pulls up her personal details and both of their faces drain of color because he fell in love with a minor. Jimin felt sick to his stomach while Taehyung found himself angry but he knew he couldn’t do anything about this.

~~~~~meanwhile with Y/N~~~~~~~~~

Y/n showers very quickly and get out as the maid hands her a towel without looking at her. As Y/n gets ready the maid helps her. As the maid helps Y/n, she couldn’t help but notice the maids features, they look really familiar.

Y/n doesn’t say anything until the maid is finished with her hair and make-up. The maid also accessorizes her with silver jewelry and a touch of perfume that enhances her natural smell. The maid got a low heel as well and said “Y/n as you know I need you to do me a favor and not tell Mr. Jeon.”

Y/n looks at the maid and nodded her head feeling like she knows this “maid” the maid walks out quickly and quietly without getting noticed by anyone or any camera.

Y/n sighs and thinks *Jungwon what are you doing here, and why are you being in a maid’s clothing? Who brought you here?*

-✨

The older man walked out of his room, impatient to see you.

And he can just go into your room and meet you there maybe you’re already dressed up it’s been hours and since he sent you to get ready.

Jungkook sighs as he climbs the stairways, so he can take you with him and spend some quality time with you.

But as soon as he walks down the hall, after climbing the stairs, he hears some mumbling.

That’s coming from your room.

He raises his eyebrows. It’s your voice, but he cannot tell what you’re talking about.

“Yn?” He Knocks on your door. Maybe he shouldn’t go inside maybe you’re still changing and you are such a pure soul you’re so talkative so maybe you’re talking with the maid.

[lubdubsworld]

Insatiable ( Jungkook x Oc ) Chapter 4

Pairing : Jeon Jungkook x OC

Rating 18+

Genre : Vampire Au!!!! , DILF! Jungkook ! Bodyguard AU! Babysitter OC!   Age difference!!! 

Chapter 1   Chapter 2  Chapter 3

Chapter 4

“Dearest, I am  appalled. “ My father said apologetically. “ Jungkook told me what happened at the dinner and I’m beginning to rethink this whole idea. These pups need to be on a leash , if they cannot control themselves to this extent.” 

I was curled up on the couch next to my dad, his fingers gently stroking my hair while he stared at the screen in front of us. It carried all the accounts of the mansion for the week and the numbers made my head swim . So I ignored it, eating the freshly baked macarons that  cook had sent up from the kitchen. 

My father occasionally consulted from a bunch of files spread out on the table in front of him and I shuddered again when I thought about Mingyu. 

“He was an awful choice father. I should have just told you to set things up with Yugyeom.” I grimaced. 

My father nodded at once.

“Of course dearest, I’ll talk to him myself and see if he’s free this weekend. Will that work for you?”

“thank you father.” I said brightly, curling up next to him.

For a few minutes, we both stayed quiet, him humming as he leafed through the files, me munching on a few ripe tangerine pieces. 

“What do you think of Jungkook?” My father said suddenly, making me cough. 

I swallowed, throat dry.

My father felt me stiffen against him and he chuckled. 

“Don’t panic, love. I am way too old not to recognize heartache when I see it. Especially in my own daughter. Your display at the breakfast table yesterday was quite unlike you and I realized, it’s not just a silly infatuation anymore, is it  ? ” He rubbed the back of his fingers on my cheek, soothing and gentle. 

I didn’t reply. 

“I think he’s a good...man.” I finished.

“Ahhh...” My father chuckled. “  Man.  Here I am , trying to foist you off on boys who’ve barely popped their fangs for the first time .... when it is obvious that what you need is someone reliable and in control. Therein lies the appeal, does it not, dearest? ” 

I flushed red, scrambling to sit up , and clutching the fabric of my skirt in a death grip. 

“It’s... it’s stupid. I’ll get over it.” I choked out. 

My father hummed. 

“Have you told him how you feel?” He asked gently and I stared at him.

“You’re not mad.?” I whispered.

My father chuckled.

“Why would I be mad?  I’ve known him for five whole centuries. He’s a fine, upstanding man. Jungkook is fair and strong. He is more than capable of taking care of you and the best part, you would be able to live here forever. I would be lucky to have him as my son in law.” He said firmly. 

I felt my body go lax in disbelief. 

“Somi .. Somi said...That you wouldn’t approve. Because he isn’t from a strong clan. ”

“Somi worries too much about what the others in our clan may say.  Especially your uncle. He’s coming back soon remember? “ My father grimaced. 

I felt a shiver run through me. 

“Uncle Jaebum? He’s coming back?” I whispered, terrified. 

My father hummed, kissing the side of my head.

“Yes he is, love. But don’t worry. I’ll handle him. Your uncle still believes that lineage plays some role in how a vampire turns out but couldn’t be more wrong. i mean , young Mr. Mingyu has single handedly proven  that theory wrong , hasn’t he?” My father shook his head, laughing, “  So tell me, has Jungkook agreed to court you?” 

I groaned. 

“He has categorically stated that he doesn’t want to court me.” I said softly.

My father laughed at that.

“That must’ve been a novel experience for you.” 

I pouted. 

“Father!” I whined. 

“Alright, alright ...dearest. I won’t tease. Did he say why? ” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. 

“Because I’m too young? Possibly.... He said something about carrying too much baggage and not wanting to ruin my life.” 

My father made a noise of impatience.

“The boy is an overthinker. He’s always been that way. He doesn’t look that way but he cares deeply about hurting others. It’s possible he’s only trying to protect you. Albeit in a very misguided way. “

“ Perhaps. But, whatever the reason, he’s not willing to court me. So, no. i don’t think he wants to be your son in law. I wish I could change his mind. ” I muttered, snuggling closer into him. 

“Ah, you know I can’t change his mind for you, don’t you flower? That’s your job...”

I sighed. 

“I know...” 

“If Jungkook does choose to court you. You will have my blessing. I will give you a wedding that will make the world watch in awe. “ He said firmly. 

i laughed. 

“Really? You made Somi marry Jimin in the barn on the estate.” I grinned. 

“Well, Don’t tell your brothers and sisters but you are my favorite after all. “ He whispered conspiratorially and I grinned. 

It was funny because I knew he wasn’t even lying. 

After my mother had left the clan, my father had taken on the role with enthusiasm. Unlike the head of clans all over the world, my father was approachable , friendly and deeply involved in his children’s lives. And he had always adored me. 

“And even if Jungkook doesn’t realize how amazing you are, remember that there are plenty of good men out there. I want you to be happy, dearest. I will not settle for anything less than your complete happiness. “ My father said fiercely and I hugged him closer. 

I loved this man too damn much. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ You’re so good at what you do, Sera .” Lee Minhyuk gave me a seductive smile as he watched me wrestle his one year old daughter into her booties with one hand while i kept the other wrapped around her to stop her from toppling backwards on the small seat. 

 How about you stop flirting and help me dress your daughter , you asshole, I thought angrily, grunting from the effort of crouching for long periods of time. 

When the fluffy blue fur boots were finally on, I gave little Cherin’s squishy thighs a soft squeeze, pressing a kiss to her perfect cheeks. 

“Good bye cherry berry...” I sang softly, waving gently as she hugged her father’s legs before being scooped up into his arms. 

“So, are you free this friday? We could get something to eat?” Minhyuk gave me a wink. 

His wife was out of town. 

I offered a polite smile in return. 

“I’m going to have to pass on that. I don’t date parents, Minhyuk ssi.” I bowed my head lightly. 

Minhyuk looked annoyed but his gaze flitted to the 6′3″ man behind me, and he didn’t push the subject, merely bowing before leaving. 

Behind me Jungkook cleared his throat. 

I turned and he gave me a slow, lazy smirk. 

“You don’t date parents? Does that mean we’re not on for tonight anymore?” His eyes danced with mirth, mischief glinting in the black orbs. 

I flushed red. 

“Stop it, “ i hissed peering over his shoulder to make sure none of the other workers in the daycare had heard him. 

Jungkook smiled a little at the panic in my face. 

“But then , it isn’t really a date is it? You only want my body.” He sighed deeply in faux disappointment. 

I gave him an impish smile.

“It is the best thing you have on offer....” I shrugged. 

He laughed.

“Fair enough. Did you tell your dad about Mingyu? ” He asked as the workers began to leave one by one. Joowon had left with some of the other kids earlier, Jimin and Somi having promised to take the kids in the clan out for icecream. 

I picked up the stray blocks, dropping them into the huge laundry basket repurposed as a toy bag. i got on my hands and knees to peer under the huge wooden dresser in the corner, looking for stray blocks or toys and picking a few. 

 My back screamed in protest and i wondered if I was going to spend the rest of eternity with an achy back. I was just too young to be feeling this old. 

Was Park Jimin onto something with the whole yoga and stretching and exercise and healthy eating ? Should I stop binge eating french fries and possibly start eating salads? 

I sighed, straightening up and twisting my torso a bit only to find Jungkook with his gaze leveled very obviously  on my ass. 

So much so he didn’t even notice I was looking at him. 

I cleared my throat and his gaze left my butt, meeting mine with an absolutely unrepentant look on his face. 

“What?” He shrugged. “ I’m just seeing what I’m going to be working with tonight .” 

I felt my face flame, hating the way an absolutely ridiculous smile was threatening to make its way onto my face. I turned away quickly, crawling on all fours to the next dresser and peering under it too. 

once all the toys were put away and I’d double checked the to do list on the board , We finally closed the day care down for the night. It was just  little past six and I stood by the door, watching while he carefully checked all the side gates and the backyard. 

Slipping the key into my backpack , I began the walk back to the mansion and he fell into step next to me. 

“You didn’t answer my question....” He said softly and I blinked.

“Oh?” I couldn’t remember. 

“ Did you tell your father what happened with Mingyu?”

“Did you?” I retorted. and he shrugged. 

“I had to give a complete play by play report. Your father was incredibly upset.” 

I chuckled. 

“He’s very protective of me..” I shrugged.

Jungkook went tellingly quiet.

I felt foreboding rise inside me. Jungkook inhaled sharply, obviously staring to say something but i cut him off quickly. 

“He likes you!!” I blurted out quickly. “ I mean..he approves of you... Told me he wouldn’t mind you being his son in law.” 

My lack of filter was going to get me  killed  one of these days. 

Jungkook however seemed more amused than annoyed. 

“Well, considering the kind of candidates in the race, I can see why he would prefer me. “ He laughed. 

I frowned. There was something smug in his tone that irked me. He shouldn’t get to be smug about something like that when he didn’t even want to be with me in the first place. 

“They’re not all clowns. Yugyeom is a great guy.” I said sharply.

Jungkook’s eyebrow shot up.

“Is it so?”

I nodded, honest. 

“He’s older... almost two centuries old now and he’s a good friend.” 

“Two centuries? How on earth did he become your friend?” 

“He was one of my tutors during college. So I kind of had a crush on him.... It was all exciting .... You know, teacher and student .....forbidden love and all that “ I smiled. 

Jungkook gave me a cheeky smile. 

“Ahh...ever sucked his dick off under the desk? Or dreamed of it at least? ” He asked casually and I choked.

“ What? “ 

“Why do you look so shocked? isn’t that the most common of fantasies?“

I glared at him .

“No... I did not. That’s indecent.” 

He stopped walking. 

I walked a few steps ahead and paused, turning to stare at him. 

“What?” I demanded. 

“Sera , what the actual fuck do you think we’re going to be doing tonight?” He asked thoughtfully. 

I spluttered . 

“I... Its different. I was too young back then. Of course I know what you’re going to do tonight.” I said impatiently, turning around to keep going. 

But his hand shot out, gripping my arm and pulling me to him. I crashed into his chest, gripping the fabric to steady myself. 

“For someone who was so eager to have me show her the ‘ ropes’ , you’re quite intent on running from me, anytime i bring it up.” He whispered. 

i stared resolutely at his chest, refusing to meet his eyes. It wasn’t that I was shy per se. But just looking at his face made me lose my braincells. 

“I’m not running away. I just....” Don’t want to read too much into your flirting. Your teasing. Your interest in me. I have to keep my heart safe and I can’t do that with you offering me all of your attention....

“Don’t be nervous, alright? I’ll take good care of you.” He smiled softly. 

 God, I hated this man. 

I could feel heat pool in my belly, spreading all over my body and the urge to throw myself into his arms was so overwhelming.

“I know you will. “ I said softly, finally looking up at him, pressing my palm to his face. “ You’re a good man. A kind man. I knew the minute I saw you that you’d take good care of me. ” 

The words seemed to affect him and he bit his lips, grabbing my wrist and pulling my hand away from his face.  

“We should go.” He said shortly, pushing away from me and walking away briskly. 

“Who’s the one running now, Jeon Jungkook?!!!” I yelled after him and he flipped me off without turning around. 

Laughing, I ran to catch up with him again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At 10.55 , I stood outside Jungkook’s room, nervous but eager.

 It wasn’t even the prospect of sex, I thought giddily. Just the idea of spending time with him, of listening to him talk, of having him at touching distance .....it was so intoxicating. 

I knocked lightly. 

Jungkook opened the door , a smile on his face and it was jarring, how young he looked like this. 

He was clearly fresh out of the shower. Hair wet and and still dripping a little, he was dressed in a grey hoodie, the sleeves rolled up to show his veiny forearms and grey sweatpants, hands tucked into his pockets as he shook his hair out of his eyes. 

It was a futile action and all it really did was send water droplets flying all around. 

I blinked against the unexpected spray, water clinging to my lashes and my cheeks. 

“Hey!! “ I protested. “ Are you a puppy? Use a towel like the rest of the world.” I mumbled. 

He laughed. 

“Come in, princess.” He grabbed my wrist, tugging gently and I stepped into his room, looking around eagerly. 

He closed the door behind us and I heard him pull the dead bolt into place before turning the key as well.

No interruptions then.....

Good. 

“Your room is actually bigger than mine.” I frowned, noting the big four poster bed, complete with a white curtained canopy. I let my gaze fall to the clean white sheets and my mind flashed back to the beautiful Helena, sprawled on the bed in nothing but her underwear. 

I swallowed the bitter jealousy that threatened. 

Hands wrapped around my waist from behind and he hugged me close, the warmth of his chest heavy and amazing on my body. I jumped a little when i felt the gentle press of his lips on the curve of my neck. 

“You sure about this? We don’t have to do anything at all tonight. We can kiss a little, watch a movie and sleep. But you’re a big girl so I’m gonna let you call the shots.” He lightly grabbed a huge chunk of my hair, lifting it out of the way before kissing the back of my neck. 

“Uh...” I stared straight ahead, already half aroused. “I want....to feel good.” 

He laughed against my skin, his hold around me tightening. 

“That can be arranged.” He said hotly, teeth nipping  at my skin before he gently turned me around in his arms. 

I looked up at him, drinking in his gorgeous face and he hummed, eyes narrowed as though in deep thought. 

“Bed?” He prompted and it was ridiculous, how one word could turn me on that bad. I nodded, making to move but he surprised me, crouching and grabbing the back of my thighs, pulling me up so easily, that I shrieked. I wrapped my thighs around his waist, more by instinct than intent and he laughed at the look on my face. 

“This always gets the ladies going.” He winked and I flushed. 

“Show off...” I muttered, lightly punching his shoulders and he shrugged.

“I don’t hit the gym five times a week to  not  show off darling.” he drawled, walking over to the bed and tossing me on the mattress. I bounced off the surface, squawking in surprise and I scrambled to sit up but he was already grabbing the hem of his hoodie and tossing it off. 

I’d never seen him shirtless but before I could fully appreciate the view, he was climbing on the bed. He grabbed my ankles, tugging me away from the head board and I landed on my back with an oof. 

“Ow. You’re being entirely too careless with me. “ I protested. 

He crawled forward on his knees, closer and closer till he was throwing one leg over my body, straddling my waist. 

“Thought you wanted to be put in your place.” He reminded me and I grinned up at him. 

“I think I’m right where I want to be. Under you.” I said honestly and he nodded.

“It’s where you belong.” He whispered, taking me entirely by surprise .

 My heart began pounding a familiar ache, a familiar pang. I knew it was an illusion. He didn’t for a second believe I belonged here but it was hard not to believe him, when he was hovering over me , looking like a fallen angel. 

God, don’t get emotionally invested. He doesn’t actually mean it, you fool. 

“Kiss me.” I held my arms up and he lowered himself carefully, keeping his weight off me as he kissed me, soft and gentle. I let my fingers tangle in the damp ebony locks, tugging gently as he angled himself better, tongue begging entrance. 

The heady mint taste of him, sent me into over drive and I wrapped both my legs around his waist, pulling him down. 

I took a second to just take him in.

The scent of his skin against mine, clean and woody, slightly sweaty, but mostly just musky. The smell of a man . The weight of him on my body, the hardness of his arousal evident even through the sweatpants. He pulled back to stare at me, his fingers brushing my cheeks. 

“You have perfect lips for kissing. Lush and plump. Like tiny pillows I can sink my teeth into.” He whispered, catching my lower lip between his teeth and tugging. 

“You have beautiful nipples. I want to lick them some day. .” I breathed, running my thumb on the curve of his cheek bones. 

Jungkook stared at me in complete shock for a second and then  laughed . 

“Thats.... a new one. Jesus. “ he shook his head, almost in disbelief. 

“Sorry.” I flushed and he waved off my apology. 

“You wanted to feel good right? Shall I start?” His eyes twinkled. 

I nodded, way too eagerly and he laughed harder. 

“Okay, let’s get you out of these clothes, princess. “  He grabbed my arm, pulling me up to a sitting position before gently tugging the t shirt off my chest. I wasn’t wearing anything underneath and his breath caught s he stared at my breasts.

He stared at them for a second, swallowing before, glancing at me .

“Beautiful.” He said, voice deep and husky. 

“Thank you .” I said primly. 

He laughed again and shook his head.

“I can’t remember ever laughing so much before sex. This is so weird.” 

“Weird bad?” i asked, nervous.

He shook his head.

“Weird good.” He leaned in, kissing my cheek just as he hooked his thumbs into my shorts, pulling them down easily and leaving me completely naked. “ Weird adorable.” 

I crossed my legs, drawing my knees up at once, feeling devastatingly shy. 

His eyes softened. 

“You want me to turn off the lights? “ He asked gently. 

“Yes please.” I said desperately and he nodded, quickly climbing off the bed and fumbling with the light switches. He left a single light on , near the closet. It left the rest of the room dimly lit. 

“Am I the first one to see you like this?” He asked, rubbing his hands together before climbing onto the bed again. 

“Um... after the age of ten, yes.” I laughed nervously. 

He hummed. 

“You’re gorgeous. Toss me that pillow.” He pointed to the one next to my head and i handed it to him.

“Lie down for me darling.” He smiled. 

I hesitated, closing my eyes tight just because it was overwhelming, seeing him in front of me , shirtless and being naked in front of him. 

I laid back slowly, knees still pulled up and feet on the bed, thighs pressed together. 

My heart was pounding , less from nerves and more from sheer anticipation. I’d waited long enough for this to truly feel nervous or want to back out. 

And the fact that it was with Jungkook... I’d pretty much hit the jackpot in first time experiences. 

Hands on my knees made my eyes fly open and I found myself staring up into his face.

“You okay?” He asked gently. 

i nodded.

“Let me between your legs?” He asked sweetly. 

I felt the blood rush to my face, my legs shaking as I spread my knees and thighs, enough to give him space between them. His fingers closed around my ankle lightly, gentle as he ran his hands up and down my legs. 

“Relax alright. You wanted to feel good and I’m going to make you feel good. The only thing you need to do is... well.. feel.” He smiled, impish bunny teeth bright even in the darkened room. 

I nodded, closing my eyes. 

“Don’t wanna watch?” He teased and I shook my head. My pulse kicked up at the very thought of it. 

Jungkook wasn’t anything like I’d imagined, I thought miserably. He had been attractive as the stoic, serious man who wanted to do the right thing but like this : naught and flirty and charming , he was absolutely devastating and i wasn’t sure i could come out of this unscathed. 

I couldn’t fight the feeling that I was making a huge mistake . that this whole thing was going to end with my heart ripped to shreds....

His lips against my forehead pulled me out of my thoughts and I swallowed. 

“I’m going to touch you.” He said softly and I shuddered when his hands closed over my breasts, gentle but firm, kneading the flesh very slowly, thumbs rubbing back and forth on the nipples till they tightened. 

I bit my lips to stop myself from crying out, the sensation overwhelming and foreign because it was someone else’s fingers and not my own. 

“Hey... “ one soft finger pressed against my lips, parting them gently and i sobbed out loud. “ None of that.... You should be as loud as you want to...how else will I know if I’m getting the job done?” 

“You’re getting it done..” I choked out, shaking all over and his kissed my lips again, quick and hard. 

“So beautiful.” He murmured, lips pressing kisses down my chest and across my breasts.

“Since you wanted to lick my nipple, let me uh...return the favor? In advance ?” He laughed against my skin and I inhaled sharply when he nipped at the fleshy mound. 

His lips closed around my nipples, the suction gentle but his tongue wet and insistent .

I went completely still, my hands flying to his hair and gripping so hard he grunted . My hips lifted off the bed at the sensation, every nerve ending on fire as he kept suckling and licking and god, his teeth...he was using his teeth to bite down on the nub... making me thrash my hips , my body completely overwhelmed . 

He kept his lips over the peak, licking the tip over and over till it was tender and wet and hard . He used his hands to knead the other side, thumb rubbing insistently on the neglected nub and I felt my toes curling into th mattress, my arms drooping to loop around his neck as he began to move his hips as well, grinding down on to my thigh. 

I was going to black out from having my nipple played with, I thought vacantly.

“Probably won’t feel this good for me but I’m glad you like it.” He laughed again and I loved the sound of it. Loved that he seemed to be enjoying this too. And I wanted him to enjoy it. Wanted to make him feel good too.

So I let my hand drop, down to his waist and then to the front of his pants.

He froze over me. 

“Sera-”

“I want to.” I said desperately, knowing what he was going to say.  . “ Please , let me touch you too-”

“Hey hey...shush..”He kissed me again quick and heady. “ Remember what I said? You call the shots.... “ He pressed another kiss to the corner of my lips. “ Want me to take off my sweats?” 

I nodded, “ Yeah.” 

He wiggled out of his pants quickly and i cursed myself for wanting the lights turned off. 

I hesitated, rubbing my palm on his pecs and tracing the muscles down to his tightly packed abs and then hesitating. 

“You can touch.” He said hotly and I swallowed, letting my fingers flutter down between his gloriously thick thighs. His skin was smooth and hard , like silk over steel and I let my fingers go lower, past the light dusting of hair to the thick, rigid length of him , my fingers closing over the hardness of his cock. 

Jungkook jerked forward, head burying into the pillow near my head and he swore.

“Fuck...” He sounded strangled and I laughed , gripping him harder but not a lot because I wasn’t sure how much was too much. .

“I have no idea what I’m doing...” I admitted weakly , loosening my grip a little to stroke up and down over the length of his cock. 

“Fuck.. just the fact that you’re doing it is going to make me cum.” He choked out and I laughed, ridiculously flattered.  

He grabbed my wrist, pulling my hand away.

“Lick it.” He said softly. 

I went still, my brain grinding to a halt.. Lick....??

 My eyes went wide.  

And so did his.

“Your palm.” He choked out. “ Lick your palm not my..... Your palm. It’s too dry.” 

Oh..  oh.

Lick my palm. Not his cock. Right. Got it. 

“Okay...”I drew my hand up and hesitated , unsure . Jungkook watched me like a hawk, eyes trained on my mouth and I bit my lips, cupping my palm and spitting into it, twice for good measure. feeling absolutely filthy.

“Fucking hell.” He breathed as I took my hand down to his cock again, wrapping my hand around it and it did feel better, easier to jerk him off with the lubrication. I moved my hands up and down , with  no rhythm and Jungkook gritted his teeth. 

“Okay... I’m gonna.. “He shivered a little when I tentatively pressed my thumb to the head, surprised to find him wet , on the top. I gathered the moisture around his slit, spreading it all over the head of his cock, using my fingers to rub circles over the crown , fingers tracing the thick vein on the underside. 

 inside me. This is going to be inside me. 

 I felt my thighs shake, my insides clenching, wetness dribbling out of me as I squirmed. 

“Please... Jungkook , I...”

“I got you...” He whispered, grabbing my hand and pulling it away from his cock. 

“hey-” I pouted but he shook his head. 

“If you don’t keep your hands off,  this'll all be over before it even begins,.” He said dryly. 

I closed my eyes again, my nerves picking up. 

“Listen...” He said suddenly and I blinked, staring at him. “ I’m going to get you wet...” Oh, god, “ With my tongue.” 

My entire body went taut. 

“I..”

“It’ll make it easier... trust me. And It’ll feel good. Wasn’t that the goal today? “ He tossed me a wink, squeezing my thighs a bit. He moved back and grabbed the pillow.

“Lift your hips up for me.” He said gently and I raised my butt, jerking when he folded the pillow in half and pushed it under my hips. And the he was crawling backwards, till his face hovered over my belly button.

“Throw your legs over my shoulders....” He said briskly, gripping my thighs , one in each and spreading my legs apart. I did as he asked, the back of my knee resting on the hard muscles of his broad shoulders and i raised my head a bit to peer down at him. 

The sight of jungkook’s gorgeous fucking face between my thighs got seared into my head and I fell back, already overwhelmed. 

He pressed a soft kiss to my thigh, a little nip my skin and then sucked the skin at the juncture of my hip and thigh. He was breathing in suddenly, a loud, shuddering inhale.  His breathing wavered and i felt the sharp pin prick of teeth. 

“Shit..”He pulled back and I jumped a little, watching him struggle. He glanced at me and I saw the flash of white between his lips. He’d dropped fang...and was clearly struggling to get them to retract. 

“You can do it..” I said feverishly. “ Jungkook , you can.... Drink.” 

He shook his head and glanced up at me and the look in his eyes made me startle .... because it looked like he was going to get up, move away , possibly call off this whole thing and no...no that was absolutely not going to happen. 

I was not letting him back out of this. 

He tried to move, but I grabbed his hair, yanking his mouth back to my thigh. 

“Fucking do it...” I snapped angrily and his eyes widened at my tone, “  do it and then fuck me , Jungkook or I swear to God I’ll  -” 

Sharp, sharp pain lanced through my spine as he bit down, fangs piercing my skin with ease and I felt the rush of liquid as it left my body, filling his mouth as he gulped. 

His venom worked its magic, the pain dulling to a throb, a pleasant heady intoxication....meant to make the bleeding out painless, meant to make death pleasant for the prey but for me it was just pleasure.

 Pleasure because he could have his fill and I would still be able to give him more. 

Pleasure because with me, he could indulge himself, as much as he wanted without worrying about the consequences. 

Jungkook groaned against my thighs, his shoulders shaking as he drank and I stroked his hair, petting the dark strands as I fought the slight lightheadedness, knowing that it would pass soon. 

Jungkook sucked deeper and I parted my legs moaning when my head began to spin, and then I felt his fingers touch my center, parting my folds , spreading the wetness all over his fingers before his thumb pressed down on my clit, rubbing insistently. I felt myself dripping all over the sheets, so wet and swollen and throbbing... 

“Oh, god yes... That feels so good, Jungkook .. I...” I gasped  as he slipped one long finger in, deep and without any resistance. The warm wetness in my thigh began spreading and I heard him groan as he sucked harder, drinking me down like i was the finest wine. 

“Another... give me more...please...” 

He moaned, still drinking, still shaking as he pressed another finger in next to the previous one, deeper still, searching and stroking, tracing every ridge inside me, curling just right, and rubbing down on that spot inside me...the one I could never quite reach by myself. 

Jungkook inhaled sharply, his fang sinking in just a little deeper as he latched on tighter and my legs shook as I cried out. 

He hummed, using one hand to rub soothing circles on my thigh, while he rubbed his thumb across my clit , hard and the gentle and then hard again until it throbbed and ached , over and over again and I was sure the little nub was bruised, that I wouldn’t be able to touch it for a while without wincing. 

I was gushing , my arousal so strong that the sheets were soaked, wet and so damp and the sensation of his fingers, thick and deep inside me while his fangs bit down harder, while he fed from me, was just too much...too much. 

I exploded around his fingers , my orgasm so strong that my hips lifted right off the bed, and he fucked me through it, fingers pounding in and out of my wet swollen walls as he pulled away, fangs retracting and I struggled to get on my elbows , to get a look at him.

He looked completely wrecked, fangs still half out, lips red and dripping blood , eyes flashing scarlet and blazing with lust so potent , I felt my insides churn.,,. i stared at him as I clenched over his fingers and he closed his eyes, shoulders shaking as he tried to get his bearings but I grabbed his shoulders, scrabbling to pull him up and closer. 

“Inside!” I choked out as he tried to get up, looking punch drunk and out of it.” Get inside me.”

“Sera... you’re...” He was slurring his words and I cried out in sheer frustration, scrabbling to my knees and pushing him down till he was flat on the bed. 

 “ Please i need it... need your cock inside me Jungkook, fuck...”  I begged, my thighs aching and walls clenching from how desperately I wanted to be filled. I stuck my hand between my legs , gathering as much of my wetness as I could before gripping his cock, coating him in my arousal.

 There was something so filthy about his hard, thick cock covered in my juices that made my mouth water. I wanted to swallow him down, to feel his cock hit the back of my throat but I wanted him inside me too. 

Maybe next time. 

“Please....Please can I sit on your cock?!! “ i choked out, fully gone. Jungkook groaned at my words. 

“Yes.. fuck... Do it.. Come on baby, take what you want from me.” he whispered.  and I scrambled up to straddle his thighs. Gripping the base of his cock, I pressed the tip against my entrance, closing my eyes to brace myself, digging my knees into the mattress for leverage before sinking straight down . 

“Oh, fuck....” I shuddered, my entire body thrumming as he pressed in, the hard length of him cleaving me so easily there was absolutely no pain to even register. It was just new. Different. 

And so so exhilarating. 

I sank all the way down till my ass hit the hardness of his thighs. 

And then I couldn’t move anymore. My body shook with tremors and My hands began trembling. 

“Jungkook...please... I..”

He responded by reaching out and gripping me thighs.

“Look at me baby...!” He said sharply and I stared down at his sweat slicked face. His eyes flashed red for a second and then he tugged me down, till i was lying flat on his chest. His arms came around my waist, anchoring me in place. 

“Gonna give it to you good. Just stay still yeah?” He breathed against my ear as i buried my face in the crook of his neck. And then he was rolling us both over, till I was flat on my back, his hand closing over my thigh, spreading my legs apart as he pistoned straight in. 

We were both too far gone for any semblance of a rhythm and I stopped trying to move, merely wrapping my arms around his neck, clinging on as he fucked into me, so hard that I could feel him in my gut. I felt my hips ache from the sheer force of his thrusts, my thighs cramping from how wide he had me spread and my clit throbbing from the way his cock dragged across it with every thrust. 

Pleasure swelled, again, this time stringer and I stopped fighting to make it happen, sinking back and letting it crash over me , like a wave breaking over the cliffs. 

Jungkook groaned as I exploded around him, my walls clenching around his cock and milking him and he shuddered in my arms, his cock twitching inside me as he came, filling me up . 

I gripped his shoulders, clinging to him as he trembled through the aftershocks. I felt my walls clenching, over and over again and Jungkook gave me a strangled moan.

“Too much...baby.. please stop... “ He begged and I froze, realizing that he was too sensitive and wanted to pull out. 

“sorry...sorry... “ I willed my walls to stop clenching and he made a noise of sheer exhaustion as he pulled out of me. 

I watched as he rolled off me, collapsing on his back, breathing hard. 

I stared up at the ceiling, feeling the wet mess of his cum, drip out of me and onto the sheets. I had the sudden made urge to stick my finger down there , scoop it up and taste it but I tamped it down. 

“Well.” I began.... 

He turned to look at me. 

I turned to him, still trying to catch my breath. 

“I’m not a virgin anymore.” I grinned wide. 

He groaned and ran a finger over his face. 

“Congratulations, Princess.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note :  Please i need holy water. 

feedback is love. If you don’t tell me you loved this fic i will not write smut anymore. 

taglist :  

@ladyartemesia        @veronawrites   @alpaca1612     @bonyg    @unseejuice21  @sppvjj     @ggukkieland     @tae-by-tae      @blr1004      @yoongichild    @stussyjeon  @jellybearo​   

[blackbat05]

Day by Day

Shangqi x Reader 

A/N: My love for this man has hit an all time high so let me capitalize on it while I still can! If you read everything, I sincerely thank you for doing so!!! And holy cow 2 fics in 2 days have I gone back into my prime days? 

Genre: PG-13

Notes: As the title mentioned, I’ll probably set it some time after endgame. You could see it as a prequel to my first post! Reader is a social worker and she’s just dealing with all the mess that the snap bought back. The reader’s name as Jen Lee. I also apologize in advance for the potentially long fic. 

***

‘Excuse me, I’m looking for my child? Her name’s Wang Yiman and she’s seven.’ Another frazzled-looking parent fought her way to the front of the receptionist, approaching the helpless intern who looked like she was going to be on the verge of tears if another request came in. 

‘I got this,’ a hand calmly reassured the young intern as she beckoned the relief parent. ‘Mrs Wang? My name is Jen Lee and I’m the social worker here.’ I offered my hand for the anxious mother. ‘Oh thank god! Is Yiman ok? She must have been so scared!’ I slowed to a stop outside the room at the end of the corridor, gently sitting her down. 

‘Yiman has been a very brave girl Mrs Wang, but I will not lie to you. The sudden disappearance of their parents has traumatized a lot of kids. We’ve managed to explain to them what was going on but they will need a lot of support.’ I gave a glance over Mrs Wang’s shoulder, nodding to my colleague, Tammy who was holding the hand of a little girl in pigtails and a floral dress. 

妈妈! mā ma (mommy!)

The young girl ran into her mother’s open arms, allowing the floodgates to open from both ends. I turn to Tammy as we shared a silent agreement to leave the area. ‘That’s the last one for the day,’ Tammy unceremoniously plops herself onto the chair, letting out a groan. ‘Thanks for your hard work Jen.’ 

‘Right back at you.’ I entered the last bit of paperwork before uploading Yiman’s case file onto the portal. Yiman’s reunion with her parents meant the Children and Youth Centre were halfway in getting every displaced child back to their parents. Looking at the dingy television that was hung on the walls at the waiting room, despite not being able to hear anything, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. S.W.O.R.D was apparently in a stand-off against Wanda Maximoff? Reported rumors that Sam Wilson didn’t want anything to do with the shield? It’s been a crazy few weeks but that was utter- 

‘Bullshit! If anything it’s the government. They must have psyched him into giving up the shield.’ My chair swiveled to face Tammy who returned a nonchalant shrug. ‘What? You know I’m right. Doesn’t matter if half the world’s gone or our universe gets split into two - they’re the true evil here. I’m still struggling to find a place after I found a couple making out in my apartment! And you know what the global repatriation council told me? We’re only dealing with urgent cases right now. Well I say f-’

The incessant ringing of the bell interrupted our conversation, replacing Tammy’s tirade into a cheeky grin. ‘Look who’s here!’ 

Shangqi stands behind the counter, dressed in his usual red varsity jacket and jeans, holding bags of what I could only make out as takeout from the Chinese restaurant that was run by a friendly Singaporean couple. ‘Did I interrupt something?’ He scratches his head nervously. ‘Nope, in fact you just saved me from Tammy’s monologue, any further and she’ll explicitly tell me what she saw in her apartment when she got dusted back that day,’ I shivered in mock fear. ‘Still haunts me up till today.’ Tammy meets us by the door, bag in her hand. 

‘I thought you were staying? We got fried dumplings and 泡饭  pào fàn (poached rice).’ 

‘Last minute duty - A parent called, gotta run! Enjoy your dinner date.’ She waggles her eyebrows suggestively, much to our embarrassment. ‘What? It’s not...’ Shangqi stutters, trying to form intelligible sentences. ‘Get out before I throw a fried dumpling at your face Tammy!’ She winks at me, before darting out of the door. Once my nosy colleague was out, I turn towards a red-faced Shangqi. ‘I’m so sorry... just don’t mind her.’ 

‘Huh?’ The man was knocked out of his stupor. ‘Oh yeah... sure,’ in an attempt to forget everything that had just happened, he opened the packets of fried dumplings. ‘Ready for war?’ 

‘I was born ready.’ 

Thirty-five minutes later, all that was left were the remnants of fried dumplings and three empty containers. 

‘This should be illegal,’ I patted my stomach in satisfaction to his amusement. ‘Laugh at yourself! You lost track of how many dumplings you had and ended up taking my share!’ 

Raising his hands in defeat, Shangqi starts to clear the table up. ‘So how’s the center? Everything alright?’ I nodded numbly. 

The past five years had been a blur. Hazy, even. All I remembered was a kid running into the office telling me that half of the staff disappeared during a school holiday program that we were running with a dozen other kids. Parents who survived the snap rushed to our center, demanding to see their children. We couldn’t give them any answer as we too, were equally perplexed. Maybe the only thing that made sense was Shangqi and Katy bursting into the center to help us with the chaos. 

Coming back from what could be the 1000th phone call, I got a glimpse in the children’s playroom where the five years old kids were at, treating myself to an amusing sight. They all had red cloths draped around their neck, each holding a stick that was from the abandoned prop box. Katy wasn’t spared to as she was wearing her own red cloth that seemed a few sizes to small for her. Not that she didn’t seem to mind. 

‘Alright my warriors! Chargeeeeee!!!!!!’ 

In unison, little pairs of feet pattered across the room towards their ‘enemy’, a cardboard cutout of a monstrous creature who was really just Shangqi in disguise. 

‘RAWR! I’ll eat anyone who stands in my way!’ He stands up, mimicking a dinosaur that was about to trample an entire city. I decided that the paperwork could wait, standing near the door to watch an Oscar-worthy performance. With great effort and bravery from the kids, they finally managed to take down 5 foot 10 worth of muscle. 

‘Again! Again!’ 

I chuckled upon seeing Shangqi on the floor, about to drift off into wonderland. It was time for me to step in. ‘Alright kids that’s enough for today! Dinner’s here.’  As the kids dispersed with the help of Katy, it was just the two of us left to clear up the mess. ‘Thank you so much, both of you. I honestly can’t think of what would happen if you guys didn’t come to help.’ 

Perhaps my body language was screaming ‘I’m dead tired, please just knock me out’ as Shangqi takes a cloth from me, folding it back into the box. ‘It’s what we would have done, this place, it means a lot to us - to me.’ 

A small knock on the door diverts our attention away from the trash. Little Yiman stands at the door, as she stares at the both of us with big round eyes. 

‘Yiman, it’s late, what are you doing here?’ I squat down to her eye level. The little girl beams, ‘ 妈妈 said that I could give this to you!’ She passes me a juice box together with a handmade card with colorful scribbles. Maybe I was carrying too much on my shoulders, as I suddenly felt a boulder lifted off me. ‘Thank you,’ I smile at her sweetly, ‘I love apple juice.’ Happy with the response, she runs to Shangqi. ‘Shangqi 哥哥 gē ge (brother)!’ 

He breaks out into a smile, opening his arms wide. Yiman nuzzles her head into his shoulder before breaking out into uncontrollable giggles from his sudden attack of tickles. ‘Are you hear to help Miss Jen?’ I took the trash from his hands, giving him some time with the girl. 

‘Yes I am. Miss Jen needs some help so I’m here today!’ 

‘Are you her boyfriend?’ 

Shangqi freezes on the spot. He had undergone what could be the toughest training by his father, fought the greatest assassins in the world and here he was - stumped by a question from a seven year old. ‘Well... I’m her close friend since when we were very young,’ Yiman looks at him expectantly. ‘She helped me when I was in trouble so I had to be a good friend when she was in trouble too.’ 

‘Like how Ningning helped me when I injured my knee?’ 

‘Yeah... something like that.’ He breathes a sigh of relief, thankful to escape his first crisis. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if he was telling himself the truth. 

‘Yiman! Your mother’s here!’ The little girl gives him one last hug before running to the waiting room. Shangqi takes a moment to recollect himself. ‘Here I am thinking that you finally managed to have some stamina while interacting with young children, maybe I was wrong.’ I teased as I sat beside him. 

‘Har har, hilarious.’ He tosses me a straw for our peach teas, as we were greeted by the amazing night view of San Francisco. ‘Enough about me, you good though?’ Looks like he didn’t forget the conversation that was cut off earlier. My mind goes back to a few minutes earlier, eavesdropping on the conversation.

‘I had to be a good friend when she was in trouble too.’

Life has been so unpredictable, I don’t even want to think too far into the future. With appearances from more superpowered beings, I don’t know what’s real anymore.

‘Yeah. To be honest, it’s been so crazy and overwhelming but I’ll get through it. I have you don’t I?’ Giving him a wink, I slowly sipped on the sweetness of the tea, savoring the pearls. He pauses for a moment, nodding thoughtfully. 

Life isn’t the same as it was before. But maybe, just maybe... if I had Shangqi, I’ll take each day on one at a time. Day by day. 

[END]

A/N: Hoho! I literally spent the whole afternoon writing because I just had to get this idea out and also because work was pretty slow today. I have no idea what is up with my first two fics hinting at unrequited love? I guess I got inspired by Shangqi’s and Katy’s platonic relationship because I thought it was so well written but I also love Shangqi so I guess is a compromise kinda thing. Again, do like and comment if you wish! Really thankful that y’all have been so kind to me so far! 

Perhaps I’ll try my hand at shorter ones like headcannons before this girl exhausts herself out and I don’t want to do that because I believe I have more to show! 

[neovisioned]

♡ꜜ out of my league﹫mark lee

out of my league - fitz and the tantrums

pairing : mark x reader (f)

genre : tiny angst, fluff, smut with some plot, bestfriend!mark, college!au, best friends to lovers.

warnings : weed, making out, fingering, unprotected sex, praising.

word count : +4k

synopsis : your best friend Mark Lee tells you all the things he believed, you were always out of his league.

Mark Lee has been in love with the same person for as long as he could remember. It's something he took some time to understand, days to wrap his head around. 

Where do you draw the line between deep friendship, platonic love between friends and a connection running deeper, a love that seeks more than the label "friends" ?

Laying on your bed, his right hand throws a tennis ball in the air, easily catching it while his left hand hold the rolled up paper between two fingers.

It's a shame, the smoke he's blowing out of his lungs is probably sticking to your bed sheets, ones he noticed you washed the moment he dropped his body on your bed.

Soft rose fragrance, traces of an exotic fruit he can not pin point, though Mark is sure he could recognise the perfume of your detergent between thousands of others.

Heavy sigh, smoke escaping his lips like a dragon dissolving in the air, heavy eyelids closing in front of his brown irises. He really should stop smoking, Mark thinks. It's a black hole in his wallet, it is not that good for his health and fuck, does it makes his mind wonder.

Correction, Mark should stop smoking around you. Because, whenever he does, his mind might search in the deepest, darkest folds of his brain for a new topic, he'll always, forever, come back to you.

Mark Lee has been in love with you for as long as he can remember.

It's something he's been aware of for some years now. It's crazy how he can pinpoint the moment his mind clicked, the moment he put two and two together. He can still visualise the moment his heart went from a friendship he'd die for to a love he'd die for, one so strong he, himself, was dumbfounded by his years long blindness. 

It happened right before prom, second to last year of high school. Mark Lee remembers when you stepped out of your father's car (he doesn't trust any other boy but Mark, he insisted on driving you to your school's dance).

Pretty deep blue dress, it's his favourite colour on his favourite person. You did not do anything special to your hair, only added a bit more makeup. Though, it's not your appearance that made everything click, you've always been pretty, it wasn't the first time your friend noticed.

Rather, it's when your date shows up. It's when one of the school's popular kid shows up and makes you dance that he understands. He wants it to be him so bad. He wants to make you twirl, he wants to make you laugh.

Mark understands it isn't just him being mad that you're not answering your phone, it's love. Jealousy, green monster eating away at his heart when he wonders if you're still with him, it's a hand tightly wrapping around the muscle when he wonders if you're going to fall into someone else's arms.

Mark remembers it, it was five years ago. Late summer night where he stayed on his phone for too long, love sick kid scrolling through pictures and pictures of his prom waiting for a text from his best friend.

He didn't say anything, maybe Mark was a bit of a coward, and you were out of his league.

“Mark ?”

From all the things you best friend loves about you, if he had to pick, it'd be the way you say his name. No matter the intonation, no matter the context, the men loves the way it sounds coming out of your lips.

He thinks he won't ever get enough of it, it's intoxicating, makes him think he has the prettiest name after your own. 

Eyelids slowly open, tired smile stretching his lips. You're steading in front of your bed, freshly showered, hand turning your small projector on. 

“Hm ?”, he doesn't bother answering with words, humming softly. His head turns to the side, following your movements around the bedroom he knows like the back of his hand.

“This one or...That one ?”, you ask, playing with your remote to show your best friend two animation movies you both saw too many times.

“First one.” You've noticed over time, his voice always gets deeper when he smokes, brown eyes always get a shade darker. 

“Alright, baby chose.”

Ah, correction. If there's one thing that Mark loves, it's the pet names you give him. So natural, honey filled, he wished you meant them. 

Baby, babe, darling. He loves it all, he wants it all, he wants you all. 

Unaware of his thoughts, you finally crawl up next to him, the shirt you're wearing as your pyjamas riding up, Mark takes another hit at that. 

Familiar sound of Netflix resonates in your room as you take yet another remote and turn your lights off, before gesturing towards your friend. You're not an avide smoker but, you infale the smoke a few times before giving the rolled up paper back to the brunette. 

Mark knows what's about to happen, whenever your movie night has a bit of green, the movie gets long lost behind while you two would rather speak about anything and everything. After years of friendship, you'd think you two would've took and turned every subject under the pale moon but, Mark definitely did not expect this. 

Hands free, he crushes the cigarette on the special painted bowl you have for him, Mark also loves the way you have some things for him on your house as if he lives with you. 

Your right hand is quick to find his left hand, an old habit your have. Your fingers stretch against his own, comparing sizes like kids flirting, swinging your hands from left to right. Your arm easily gets tired by holding your hand up in the air like this, but the warmth of Mark's hand and the way his fingertips rough by his guitar strings brush against your palm every now and then feels like home. 

“How do you know when you're in love ?”, your voice's soft, mindlessly humming to the song in the animation movie Mark chose. Is that the topic you decided to bring up...? Mark's hand stays still for a moment, following your own hand's movement as he thinks for a while. 

“Don't give me that “You just know” bullshit.”, you mumble when he stays quiet for a bit too long. 

“But I think you do, just know. I think it's different for everyone.”, he starts, speech slightly altered by the green herb intoxicating his mind. 

“How is it... For you ?”, you ask. See, you know Mark had some crushes here and there, but you don't think he has ever been in love or, at least, he never told you. 

“It's... Loving the way they say your name, wanting to be with them as much as possible. It's... Craving to be as close as possible.” and unconsciously, his fingers wrap around yours. 

“It's finding happiness in their joy, sharing their sadness. It's small things like memorising the perfume they wear and what food they dislike.”

The brunette stays quiet for a moment, heavy eyes look upon your locked hands in the darkness, chest light, mind foggy. 

“It's them feeling like home.”, he finally says. 

Mark smiles to himself, you do feel like home, you make everything feel like home. From the way you have a pillow and the way you keep a toothbrush for him, to the way you always feel so warm and safe. 

Thankfully for you, the lack of light hides the small blush creeping on your cheeks. 

Mark doesn't know, you've been in love with him for years, though you've been aware for a bit longer. His confession takes your breathe away with a heavy sigh, you squeeze his hand. 

“I was in love with you.”

Was, you take the safe route as the words fly out of your mouth before you can even understand. Even if he's shocked, you can play the past card. 

“I was in love with you too.”, silence doesn't last long as Mark let's out as well, eyes on the movie even though he isn't paying any attention : his favourite line just played and he didn't even let a giggle out. 

The words make your ears ring, skin burn red, heart beat against your ribcage. He was too...? He was. He isn't anymore. 

“Why didn't you tell me ?”, you breath out, turning to the side. You use an elbow to support your body, you dare look at your best friend's face. 

It's crazy how he still have the still has the same baby face you've always known, the same pretty eyes and the same smile, his jaw got sharper with years and voice deeper and yet, he's still the same. He's home. 

Mark, him, doesn't dare look at you for a second. Before he does, soft eyes looking directly into yours. Why didn't he tell you ? He knows why, he has a list of reasons why and another list of reasons why he should've told you he'd rather not think about right in this moment. 

“You're out of my league.”, he breathes out. You can read your best friend like a book, you know he is not joking when he tells you so. And yet, you can't wrap your head around the idea. 

“I— What, no !”, you're almost whispering and screaming at him at the same time, getting up to sit on your knees. He was out of your league, he has always been, you never—.

“You were—. You are out of mine.”, you tell him, almost dumbfounded. For a split second, it feels like someone's finally giving you the dream you've always wanted and, the moment it touches your hands, it slips through your fingers. 

Can you be nostalgic of something you've never even experienced ? And yet, your mind grabs onto a single thing. Present tense, you're still out of his league, he still thinks so. 

In his semi-high state, the brunette chuckles out, as dumbfounded. 

You wonder if there are feelings still unknown to humans because this, the pull you're feeling at the strings of your heart and the lump in your throat combined to the angering heat taking over your body aren't emotions you're used to feeling at the same time. 

“Hey, what's wrong ?”, your best friend asks, an arm wrapping around your neck to pull you closer. You're sure it's supposed to be for hug, one you'd happily accept if you weren't in this very situation. Both forearms stop your body from colliding against his, Mark frowns. 

In another situation, he'd be able to read you like an open book and, maybe he's thankful he isn't completely sober right now. If he wasn't slightly high, he'd be as red. 

“Are you...Are you still in love with me ?”, you ask. It's almost a whisper, one Mark is sure he would've caught if it wasn't for the almost silent scene going on in the long forgotten movie. 

Is he still in love with you ? Yes. His mind screams a loud, obnoxious yes. His body screams another loud and obnoxious yes and yet. Yet, Mark stays silent for what feels like minutes. He knows he is, he's sure of it, he doesn't know if he should say it. 

Yes, yes, yes. 

“Yeah.”

To be in love with your best friend, to confess your love after years, decades, even. 

Such a simple word and yet, it hangs in the air, you can almost make it out in the slight darkness of the room. When Mark has the ability to put words on how he feels, you can't put anything on what goes on in your brain and body when he says the simple truth. You think your heart might fall out right into your best friend's hand, if he did not already have it. Your mind twist the word again and again just to find a fault, a break, a rupture. 

There isn't none, he's in love with you. 

There's another few seconds where you stay silent. You decide actions speak louder than words. Where Mark pulled you into a hug, you pull him into a kiss you've been craving for years. 

Carnal need sleeping deep in both your minds, it doesn't need much to be awakened, burning a fire louder than hell's. Your lips touch his. Its shy, hesitant but, when Mark's arm tighten around your neck, no words need to be spoken. 

The sweet, innocent, childlike kiss turns desperate in matter of seconds. Your best friend pulls you closer, closer, closer. He catches your leg between his, pushes your chest against his to the point where you can feel his heart hammering.

Lips move in harmony, common rhythm is quickly found and, you whine the moment he pulls away.

“Tell me.”, he breathes out against your lips, it's a desperate plea for something he had been waiting to hear, something he thought he'd never hear. “Say it.”, it's demanding, greedy. You give in easily.

“I'm in love with you.”

There's a weight pulled out of your chest, you'd chant it again and again if you could. You'd scream in if you could, you'd breathe it against his skin.

The brunette pulls you into a bruising kiss, he pours his soul out, hand cupping the back of your neck.

If this is a dream, Mark is determined to not let it go. Using his body at his advantage, positions are reversed, the brunette quickly towards over you. You switched you could turn the light back on but, the colourful lights of the movie dance against his jawline and shine against his wet lips, you decide your best friend looks like a painter's muse.

“There hasn't been a single day where I haven't thought about you.”, he breathes pretty words against your skin, taking his lips from your mouth to your jaw. It's loving, deep kisses, each to mean something.

“There hasn't been a single day where I haven't thought about being more to you, wished we were more.”

More, more, more. You want more too, you need more too. You refuse to let go now.

“We can be, we can.”, it's frantic. You cup his face with your hands, bringing him closer. “Spent nights thinking about what we could be.”

It makes flowers bloom in his chest, he isn't able to take his lips away from your skin. The tip of his nose digs in your cheek, he inhales deeply. Oh, how he loves the soap you use.

“What did you see ?”, he asks, lips peppering kisses down your neck, hand gripping your shirt. You're quick to pull it up above your hips. First wanting to completely pull it off your body, it seems the brunette isn't patient enough.

His lips leave your neck to your tummy, butterfly kisses here and there until he stops to your panties.

“Us. Together. Living tog—.”

Your sentence's quickly cut off by your best friend, maybe a lot more now, pressing his tongue flat against the fabric of your panties.

If you weren't aware of how wet you were getting, you sure were now.

“Living together, yeah ?”, he asks, bringing his face closer to yours again right after disregarding his shirt somewhere. There's a few seconds where you pose, shamelessly taking in the men's figure. 

Forehead against yours, his digits run along the line of your underwear. He's as nervous as you are, as shaken up as you are yet, you two have never been more certain of one thing that doesn't need to be said anymore.

Mark bites down on his lip, you almost hear tje mechanism in his head twisting and turning to find the right way to ask you.

You beat him at it anyways, nodding as your arms wrap around his neck.

There's one thing you'll never tell him, you spent night dreaming about a future and other were filled with thoughts of his fingers.

The guitar player had pretty hands, even prettier when they wrapped around the neck of his guitar or when he picked as some strings.

“'was too scared to tell you.”, he says and, you'd tell him you know. You know exactly how it feels, the fear of rejection by the one you've know you're entire life. You'd tell him it doesn't matter now that you now if you could. 

His fingers stop you from articulating right, index and middle finger greedily collecting the wetness between your folds, the brunette doesn't wait much longer before pushing two digits in. 

“I—Mark.”, there it is, a moan of his name that intoxicates Mark more than any other drug. Pupils grow wide, ears greedy to hear more. It's him, him managing to make you moan so softly in the dead of the night, him that has you wrapped around his finger. 

“Fuck, say my name again.”, it's another desperate plea, say his name again so he knows it isn't a vivid dream he's going to wake up from, say his name until it's the only thing rolling out of your tongue. 

You easily oblige when he starts moving his fingers, slowly yet, in a way that quickly had you gasping for air.

There's nothing rough in his actions, expect from the way his teeth gaze at the skin of your neck before softly biting down just to sooth to spot with his tongue afterwards. 

It's agonising, like he wants to make sure he maps out your body to remember it perfectly after tonight. His fingers curl and drag against your walls, he remembers how and where. 

His free hand creeps under your raised shirt, quickly finding your chest as his mouth finds your again. 

There, he catches every sweet sound you make like he doesn't want any body else to hear them, tongue tastes yours as they lazily battle. 

“Shit, baby. Just like that, god.”, when you think Mark couldn't get any better, his fingertips brush against a spot that has your hips raising up, slowly rocking against his hand. 

“Right there ?”, you nod frantically as he does it again and again, lazily fingering you whilst he lets your hips grind against his digits. 

“So fucking pretty.”, it's a murmur once he detaches his lips from your own, wet and red by the exchange. 

It's not the first time Mark calls you pretty but at this very moment, it's different. 

His wrist twist the right way just as he's about to pick the pace up and the familiar feeling grows alongside the flower blooming in your chest as Mark whisperes sweet nothings into your ear. 

He can feel it, the way your walls clench around his fingers, it has his cock throbbing in his sweats. Carnal desire to feel you wrapped around him as his fingers speed up until you come undone around them. 

It's a mess of his name and profanities you hope your neighbours aren't hearing. 

“Want more, want you.”, you babble once you come down from your high, sweat collecting around your hairline, chest irregularly raising up and down. 

When Mark seems to take too long to process your words, you take matters into your own hand. 

A moment, Mark struggles to find his words and the other, his back hits the bed with a soft gasp. 

He's quick to raise with his elbows, almost having whiplash when you sit down on his lap after taking off your ruined and soaked panties. 

“Let me help you with that.”, there's a slight shyness in your voice Mark decides he'd die for when your clumsily work on the strings of his grey sweats. 

Unspoken words, soft silence when you look into his eyes and help him push the fabric down his thighs. The air is thick, your heart beats harder and harder, your chest swells when Mark pulls you closer by your hips. 

“I've been in love with you.”, he starts as you raise, lining your core with his hard member, one your eyes lingered on before he opened his mouth. There's a pause, your lips part as to say something when you slowly sit down, but no sound comes from your mouth when Mark's leaking head pushes inside. 

“For so— so fucking long.”, he uses the last bits of air in his lungs to let it out, voice cracking when you sit inch by inch. 

You wonder how you went so long without telling him, telling him you love him feels too good to take it back or ever again. There's a slight part of you wondering where you'd be right now if you told him sooner but you're quick to push it away. 

Both hands cup his face as you bring him closer for a kiss as you fully settle on his lap, though the exchange doesn't last long. There's a beautiful groan coming from the men in front of you just as you moan out from the sensitivity, the fulness. 

Mark's red lips fall open the moment you start moving up and down on him, eyes rolling back the slightest bit like he forces himself to look at you as you ride him. But, when his groans turn into moans, the brunette hides his face in the crook of your neck, arms tightly wrapping around your waist. 

You don't think your can be any closer, chest against chest, your mouth to his ear as he mumbles about how you were made for him. 

Up and down, up and down, your legs start burning but you keep moving on top. 

“Fuck, I love you.”, it slips out when his hips meet yours halfway, not that you can say it, you swear you won't stop doing it at any given occasion. 

Mark answers my sucking on your neck, probably drawing blood as he more boldly snaps his hips against yours. 

You find the same desperation as when he was kissing you, carnal need wanting to be met, he fucks into you just like he means it, switching between deep and slow to fast and short snaps. 

For the second time, you feel it tighten, knot threatening to burst at any moment. If you aren't moaning, your mouth hands silently open and thankfully, Mark can tell you're getting close by the way you're clenching around him. 

“You're doing so good, so so good for me.”, voice almost unrecognisable, the way you can feel every vein and the way he pulse tells you he's as close, if not more.

“Come with me.” 

After years of tuning your body to his voice, it follows the command almost immediately, there's a few seconds where the brunette snaps his hips, slowly, deeply, right before letting a draw out moan against your neck. 

It's the last thing you hear, the way he moans you name breathlessly against your skin before you follow right behind, coming right around him like he hoped so. 

Moans and body against body sound abruptly stop for heavy breathing and soft whines, you blink a few times, forehead against Mark's baked shoulder. 

He smells like the apple shampoo he almost wears, he feels like home when his arms tightly wrap around your body and rock from side to side, almost lolling you to sleep. He feels safe, familiar, comfortable. 

And, right before you fall deep into sleep, you hear him slightly chuckle at his second favourite movie line. 

© NEOVISIONED l NO REPOSTING OR TRANSLATIONS ALLOWED.

[tharros-auris-black-asimi]

Lay All Your Love on Me (Chapter 6)

Pairing: Soft!Dark!Lee Bodecker x Female Reader

Summary: After moving to Knockemstiff, Ohio with your troubled parents, you find solace in the local Seven-Eleven. There, you bump into the Alpha sheriff, Lee Bodecker.

And then you keep bumping into him. There’s just something about that chubby Alpha that keeps drawing you in. Now there’s something going on with the new preacher of the church that you attend. Everything’s a mess.

But you’re an unbonded Omega. Life can turn to shit anyway.

Chapter Warnings: ABO dynamics, age gap (Reader is nineteen while Lee is in his late twenties/early thirties), religious themes, scenting, explicit language. This chapter has loss of virginity, the Pepsi cup scene, car sex, and possessive behavior. Some gun training for Lee.

Word Count: 7,385 words

Author's Note: I literally spent like 10 minutes having a complete and utter frigging meltdown to try and get the "read more" line under here, but I couldn't do it so... sucks to be me, I guess. This is literally going to haunt me for the rest of the day so... yeah. Have fun reading guys.

Additional Notes: So... while having my meltdown, I didn't realize I didn't add a fucking title so that shit's also on me. Call it rushing, lol.

A couple of nights later, back in Knockemstiff with Lee and you…

Footsteps. The front door opening and closing.

That was what slowly woke you up from your nap from where you had been sleeping in Lee’s room. The older Alpha said you could sleep in any room- he had two guest bedrooms after all. He didn’t mind where you were deciding to sleep. But your Omega, oh your Omega. She had whispered to you after Lee told you that he’d be going out for a bit and after he had kissed you on the top of your head, told you he’d be coming back. Then he left. She had told you to head into Lee’s room.

And you had.

The first thing that had struck you was how it just much smelled so much like Lee. It screamed Lee.

His scent was everywhere. The only thing that filled your nose, surrounded you, made you feel like you were wrapped up in a warm blanket was the scent of chocolate and bourbon.

The first thing that you had done was take a shower. Pull some of Lee’s clothes on you, because you didn’t have anything else. Anything to get your father’s scent off of you.

Besides, now with your marked gland, you felt like it was on fire earlier when you had spotted Lee’s clothes. Almost like you and your Omega, you and your designation needed to smell like your Alpha.

Our Alpha, your Omega had whispered in your ear.

Our Alpha now.

It was almost surreal.

You slowly rose up from Lee’s bed, still sleepy. You almost didn’t want to open your eyes. You could hear the familiar footsteps of Lee walking through and down the hallway towards his room.

The door creaked open.

Lee wasn’t surprised to see you in his bed. You were still very sleepy, even debating if you should go back to sleep. You really were tired of all that you had done earlier. Cleaning his house, from top to bottom. You had asked your Bondmate earlier if you could clean. Lee was someone who needed everything to be clean. A fickle Alpha. He had started cleaning more ever since he had met you. Beer cans and bottles had been thrown out. Floors mopped. Rugs cleaned. Countertops too. Walls had been dusted. If Lee hadn’t known any better, he might’ve even second-guessed that this wasn’t even his house.

But nope.

It was his house.

He almost felt like his home was more his home than ever, with you and your mom in his house.

“How’re you doin’, Mega?” His voice was gentle as he made his way towards his bed. You let out a yawn. “M’ tired,” your voice was thick with sleep. Through sleepy eyes, you sorta registered Lee taking off his uniform, sort of hearing him climb into bed. You felt him wrap his arms around you, the scent of chocolate and bourbon filling your nose. You even felt his skin against the fabric of your nightgown. His tongue flattened against your gland, and you melted.

Your nose nuzzled against his neck. Against his gland. A low purr rumbling through your chest. Your Omega was slowly waking up, purring at the sight of her Alpha.

Alpha. Alpha ours.

Through the murky, cotton candy headspace that made your head spin, you could feel one of Lee’s hands travel down, all the way down. Your breath hitched.

“Daddy…” your voice was still thick with sleep. A low buzzing noise echoing in your head.

“S’ alright, Mega. You keep those eyes closed. Just relax. Daddy’s gonna take care a ya. Be a good girl for daddy. Can ya do that, babydoll? Be a good babydoll for daddy?”

Nods.

Nods were coming from you as you started to slip back into that fuzzy, warm headspace. “Yeah… yeah, daddy…” was all that came from you. Lee was slipping his fingers inside you, spreading your pussy open. A low whine filled the room when you felt one of his thick fingers slip in. Making a slick noise echo in the empty room.

You nearly choked on Lee’s fingers when he slipped them in your mouth without warning.

“Keep your voice down. Ya mama’s sleepin’ in the next room, don’t cha remember? Or do ya wanna wake ya mama with how loud my Mega’ gets for me?”

You began to shake your head.

To not prove his point, you kept his fingers in your mouth. Biting down on his fingers as another finger slipped into your wet pussy. Your daddy groaning deeply in your ear, almost rumbling. His pace had started slow. But slowly, the rhythm became faster. The sounds of wet slick noisily echoing in the quiet bedroom.

Drool was coming out of your mouth. Dribbling out at the sides of your mouth. Down your daddy’s thick fingers. You were trying oh so hard to not make noise. Lips wrapped around his fingers, sucking as your pussy grinded onto the palm of your Alpha’s hand, creating more friction. The palm of his head brushed against your clit, giving you even more stimulation. All the while his fingers were trying to find your g-spot. Retracting his fingers out of your slopping cunt, you sucked on his fingers harder, trying to tell him not to stop. Your eyes even watered.

A shake of your head told him that you didn’t want him to stop.

Your body shuddered when Lee let out a dark chuckle. It spread all the way down your spine. Your back might’ve even started to arch up.

You bit down on his fingers hard when his fingers slammed back into you without warning. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head. Lee’s fingers plunged in deeper and deeper in your pussy, more slick trickling down his hand, to his arm. Your hips were moving up and down, bouncing on his fingers. When his fingers brushed right up against your g-spot, you were cumming. You swore you saw something in your vision. Your pussy didn’t stop throbbing, you didn’t stop moving your hips, or grinding down onto the palm of his hand until you had ridden out your orgasm. Only when Lee pulled out his fingers from your mouth did you stop.

“Such a needy little baby,” Lee’s voice was rough against your ear, making your pussy throb around his fingers that were still inside you. “Always need ya holes filled, don’t cha?”

All you could do was nod.

“Want it, Lee.” Your voice was slightly slurred together due to the amount of saliva that was still in your mouth. And because his fingers were still shoved in your mouth. “Want your cock daddy. M’ please. M’ ready.” To prove your own point, you even bucked your hips against his. Feeling that skin-on-skin contact. You could feel his hard cock against your pussy. Your dripping slick dripping onto his pelvis. You could tell he was hard.

And it wasn’t like you were speaking right through your teeth.

Your slick was running everywhere.

Your gland was on fire.

At least it felt like it.

You didn’t dare touch it, because you just so fucking turned on. His scent was enveloping you. Telling you that he wanted this, too.

One of his hands fell to your shoulder, gripping it.

“Ya sure? This whatcha want? My lil Omega wants to be full, huh? Wants to be full with her Alpha?” Lee’s breath tickled the side of your neck, making you shudder deeply. Your Omega was gleeful. You imagined her bouncing around in her cage in delight.

Your Omega couldn’t put into words, how good she was feeling in this moment.

Gleeful probably couldn’t describe the feeling either.

But finally.

Finally.

She was going to witness her Alpha take her.

“Turn over. On your stomach.”

Unlike most times that you had been with Lee, it was different this time when he spoke. He wasn’t just talking to you. He wasn’t just talking to you, speaking to you gently. Like he always did. There was a note of tenderness in his voice when he spoke to you. Like you were a fragile porcelain doll that needed to be treated with the utmost care. You heard a slick popping noise, and a soft little whine filled the room when your pussy clenched around nothing. Your eyes might’ve even watered a bit too at the realization.

“I told ya, Babydoll. No noises.”

There it was again.

Lee was talking to you. But he wasn’t being gentle. It made your back straighten up. Your Omega preen.

Because when Lee Bodecker was talking like that… using his Tone… well, how could you not listen?

Your whines quieted. Now, now, you were awake. Your mind was sharp. Your Omega was sighing in the most utter bliss.

Finally. Finally, she would be getting what she demanded. This Alpha, her Alpha, the Alpha that had bitten her neck, the Alpha that brought her home, that her Alpha would be the one to lay claim to her body. To fuck it. To breed it. She already wore his mark on her neck with pride. Having his pups… it would complete it. She would get her Pack with her Alpha. The Alpha that she had chosen herself. On her terms. No one else’s. No one had forced her to choose this Alpha. She had done it herself.

Oh boy, did that give her pleasure. Her pleasure was heightened when your fists gripped his bedsheets, hearing Lee’s sharp intake of breath. All he could smell was you. The scent of freshly baked cookies wafted up to his nose. It was nothing compared to his tummy pressing down gently on your back, making your back arch up.

Your breath caught in your throat when you felt the tip of his cock poking against, slipping inside your slippery pussy lips, coating it with your slick. Making it all wet. You felt the burning feeling erupt in your belly as your vaginal walls stretched out for his cock.

Inch by inch, he rocked against you. His hands holding your shoulders down onto the mattress firmly. You were breathing against the pillow, eyes glassed over in pure bliss.

“Daddy,” your voice was muffled because of the pillow, “more.”

Through the past couple of nights, you had asked. Over and over. At first, Lee had laughed a bit, saying things like “are ya sure,” or “don’t wanna hurt cha, babydoll. I don’t think ya can handle it.”

Words and phrases that made your Omega stir. Albeit a little angrily.

Now though, she was happy. Practically bouncing around carefree in her cage in the confines of your mind.

Lee’s hand traveled down, all the way down to your clit. Rubbing your clit with one hand as his other hand rose up, to slip into the collar of your dress, down to cup a breast. His thumb grazing over a nipple until it was hard as a pebble. Your pillow muffled the noises of pleasure. Your back arched. Your hips moved slightly.

Every rock of his hips against your backside made you gasp. Every rub against your clit made you squirm. Feeling the pressure building up in your belly. But you were remaining cautious.

All because you didn’t want to wake up your mother next door.

The things you did for your Alpha.

It was when he was halfway in did he hear the whimpers.

“Daddy, ‘s too much, can’t- can’t take it-” you were sobbing into the pillow.

“C’mon babydoll. M’ only halfway in and you’re already whimperin’ so sweet. You’re daddy’s good girl. You can take it. You’re my good girl, aren’t cha babydoll?” Lee’s voice was gruff. But it was pouring into your ears like honey. The pain of his cock stretching you open was the number one thing you could feel. His hands, gripping your hips. Grinding his cock into your pussy. His rubbing at your clit became harder, quicker. Your whimpers were beginning to rise again as you felt your impending orgasm coming.

“Lee,” your voice was muffled by your pillow, “please, m’ gonna- m’ gonna-”

“I know Mega,” he grunted in your ear, making you nearly choke, “s’ okay. Let go babydoll.”

A muffled cry filled the room.

Lee chose that moment to fully sink in, break that final barrier that was keeping him back. A deep, choked noise came from you at the strange sensation. Tears even sprung in your eyes at the feeling. For a moment, Lee could feel it. Your pain. A hand rose up from your breast to your hair, to tug it gently. “It’s okay,” his voice gentle, almost soothing your tears, “just relax. It’ll be okay.”

In and out. In and out. Taking deep breaths. Lee saw your body moving up and down as you tried to get used to him fully inside of you. You felt like a freaking stuffed turkey at Thanksgiving. Never had you ever been filled this good, this deep before.

It was kind of an unusual feeling. After a couple of more deep breaths, and Lee saw through the dark, your form beginning to relax. He took the initiative to move.

His thrusts were slow. Gentle. He was out of you, an inch, two inches at the max. He never truly left you.

The pain was something you weren’t used to. Your vaginal walls clenched around his dick tightly. It made Lee’s eyes roll into the back of his head. The more he thrusted in you, the more the pain lessened. It began to hurt a little less. Soft kisses were placed down from the back of your neck, down your spine. It made your back arch up.

“Daddy,” your voice was muffled from the pillow, “more, more, more.” Your hips adjusted. Your ass even wiggled.

“Took me so well, Mega. Such a good Omega.” His praise was hushed in your ear. Your Omega, oh your Omega. She couldn’t be any happier. She was still happily bouncing around in glee.

Alpha calls us a good Omega. We’re a good Omega.

There was a part of Lee. A part of Lee who wanted nothing more than to just take and take and take in between your thighs, even if you cried out for him to stop. That part of him that just wanted it. A part of him that would never be satisfied.

Like now.

He could hear that inner voice, telling him, urging him on. To take this Omega that was underneath him that was purring so sweet. And he wanted to. Oh dear god, heavens above, hand on the Bible, god’s green motherfucking earth, did he want to. He wanted to.

But that restraint.

He needed to be restrained.

Almost like he was playing a game of tug-of-war with himself.

He could lose control just as easily and wake up your mother and his neighbors.

However, he didn’t.

Until…

“Daddy,” your voice was breathy and muffled. Your ass wiggling against his front. Your head went up, enough to gulp in some air. “Harder. More.”

A sharp thrust made your face smack right back into the bed. You heard the popping of buttons. Suddenly, Lee was shoving your nightgown up, bunching it together at your waist. His teeth sank into your gland. Your second orgasm of the night rushed through you like a wire being cut. You came so hard around his dick, your walls clenching down on him, gripping his cock so tightly that Lee almost cursed out loud.

“Bite me Omega,” Lee breathed out against your neck. When you eventually turned your head up, your mind was still foggy. Mind still swimming, you kinda saw Lee putting his neck out down towards you. Your fingertips brushed over his Mating Gland. When you lowered your head down, your tongue flattening down against the corded muscle, you felt his hips stuttering against yours.

And then your teeth sank in.

Breaking the skin.

When your teeth pierced, broke the skin, Lee felt the bond complete.

You tasted blood. The taste of copper on your mouth. You had been so surprised.

It was as if someone had snapped a rubber band on Lee. You felt the bond complete. Like you had been made whole.

Lee had come so hard that his body jerked. You whimpered, out loud when you felt it. He spilled his seed, coating the insides of your cunt.

Deep, hollowing breaths slowly filled the room as Lee slumped beside you. Feeling that skin-on-skin contact.

Your voice was thick when he heard it.

“Welcome home, daddy.”

A couple of days later…

Being mated was weird.

You were mated.

Fully mated.

You had Lee’s mark. He had yours. You were his Omega now.

Officially.

It was… strange.

You had noticed Lee’s mark on you for a few weeks before you had lost your virginity to him. Completely gave yourself over to him. Mind, body, and soul. Popped your cherry. You knew that you weren’t his first.

But something that Lee never told you was, well, he had never been with a virgin before. Cause sure, he had been a virgin once. Inexperienced. Not like how he was now. And before you had shown up in his life, all he knew were prostitutes.

That weird fog that had surrounded Lee until he had come home to you in the early mornings was gone. Everyone knew and could see the difference in the sheriff. Lee was happier. Less grumpy. Ate fewer sweets and smoked less. There seemed to be an ease to him now. Not quite a pep in his step. Oh no. He would never admit to that shit.

But his mark on his Mating Gland on his neck, oh he showed that proudly. Your bite on his neck. He showed the hell outta that. Proudly. He was so proud. He finally had a Bondmate. You were his Bondmate. He was your Bondmate. It was as if everything had come full circle. For once, he felt complete. Oddly happier than he had for the first time in a long time.

However, all of that good mood soured when he went to go into the cells, to check up on your father.

He had been in such a good mood before he had realized that he still needed to check up on your father.

The report.

Right.

Right, right, right.

The stupid report.

A scowl came onto Lee’s lips as he remembered.

With a sigh, he got from his chair. Grabbing his leather jacket that had been hanging on his chair, slipping it over him.

It still smelled like you.

A small little smile spread over his lips at that. He could smell your lingering scent of freshly made chocolate chip cookies. Somewhere in him, his Alpha rumbled at the reminder at he’d always be carrying a piece of you at work.

Down to the beasts he went.

Much later that morning, at the Bodecker residence, with you…

Your mother was out.

Gone to see and greet the neighbors in the neighborhood.

You highly suspected that your mother wanted to make fun with everyone since you hadn’t.

It wasn’t that you didn’t like your new neighbors. It was just that you could hear the things that they had said about you. You knew that if anyone spoke an ill word against you… well, they’d have your Daddy to deal with. Your Alpha would set them straight. But that wasn’t what bothered you. You didn’t need Lee to put them in their place.

It was just… these past couple of days. It seemed to be going by fast for you. Too fast. You had been recently bonded, yes. But with everything… would you be okay? How were you just hanging on by now? Were you hanging by a thread? Was that all that you were doing now?

Cause it wasn’t like you didn’t love Lee.

You did.

Your love for him wasn’t something you could show like normal people. You weren’t like one of those babes that you would see at dance halls with their girlfriends, all giggly. That wasn’t you anymore.

No.

No.

No.

You were different now.

You were a Bondmate now.

Now… now you had more responsibilities. But you couldn’t help but wonder. If you grew old with him and got ugly, would he still want you? Someone like you? If you had pups with him and got fat, would he still want you?

Those thoughts polluted your mind and distracted you to the point of crying. You had been so busy crying in your shared room that you hadn’t even noticed Lee coming through the front door. The front door locked behind him as Lee walked down the hall towards his room, still fuming.

The visit to your father hadn’t gone well. He had finished writing up the report, however. So at least he could take out his anger on something. His anger loosened when he heard the sounds of crying.

You were crying.

His footsteps came quicker.

By the time he got the door opened, it was too late.

“Mega?” Lee sounded very worried.

“Daddy,” your voice was raspy as you managed to turn your head to look at him. Tears were streaming down your face. Not to mention, the makeup that you had applied earlier this morning had been ruined.

Absolutely ruined.

Mascara had been running down in dark streaks on your cheeks. Your lipstick was still on though. Perfectly painted. But your bottom lip was quivering. Trembling as sobs wracked your body. Your hands were gripping your dress. On your knees, kneeling in front of him looking like an absolute trainwreck.

“What’s wrong, Omega?” Lee asked you again as he walked in front of you, getting down on his knees to pull you close to him. All that succeeded into was you crying even harder. “It’s all my fault,” you sobbed, “s all my fault. I’m a terrible Omega. I’m a terrible Bondmate. Why do you want me? You should just let go. Put me back. Put me back in the cells, please. Just put me back.”

Lee was gobsmacked.

Oh no.

No, no, no.

Noooo.

No.

Nope.

He was not about to do that. You were still blabbering though. He needed to bring you back.

“Mega.”

No answer.

“Omega.”

Still no answer.

He even spoke your name.

And nope.

“Babydoll.”

You had stopped moving. Your jerky movements coming to stop. You froze like a deer in headlights.

He hadn’t wanted to use his Tone. He really hadn’t. But looking at your face, seeing the tears and the smeared mascara all over your cheeks, it was what had to be done. You had stopped being in hysterics, but you were still shaking like a leaf. It ate him on the inside, what was happening in front of him.

“Eyes on me.”

Up went your eyes. They were still shiny. Wet.

“Who did this to you, huh? Who made you cry, angel baby?” His words flowed into your ears like thick syrup. Making your brain feel all fuzzy. Your tummy warm. Like you were almost drunk. “M’ daddy… he called me a… called me a harlot when we was in the kitchen before we both got arrested… don’t wanna… don’t wanna be ugly for you… wanna be pretty… wanna be pretty for ya, daddy…” you still weren’t crying, but you were feeling the emotions kicking in again. Very high.

Lee clutched you harder. Running his tongue against your mating gland, before sinking his teeth into that corded muscle, making you gasp against him. Your cry being muffled from your head being buried in his shoulder. Your body jolted at the sensation, your hands coming up to grab and tug at his dark hair.

He licked his canine teeth. Tasting your blood. The taste of copper filling his mouth. But he didn’t care. You shook in his arms before you managed to gauze your head back up.

“Daddy?”

Never had your voice ever been this soft before.

And then he was picking you up. Bridal style. Hoisting you over, your arms wrapped around his neck.

“Daddy? Where are we goin’?” You asked him again. Lee’s lips conformed into a line. His gears in his mind turning. He was thinking, as he always was.

“Out.”

Out, according to Lee was making sure you had thoroughly washed your face, blew your nose, smoothed down your dress, put on a jacket, and after Lee had come back down from the basement holding a shotgun, you two were back in his cruiser and driving out to god knows where.

The car ride had been silent all the way through.

But you could tell from your mate, from the way his scent was twisting and changing, that something was lingering under the surface. Like a darkness slowly creeping. Bubbling up to the surface.

You watched the streets. Watched the people. You two even drove through the downtown area. Although it was small, you still watched. You could smell food through the cracked, open, rolled-down window. It reminded you of Emma’s house back in Coal Creek, with Arvin, Lenora, and your mother. Your chest grew heavy. You missed them. Were they okay? Were they alright?

You made a mental note to visit them soon. After all, next week was your visit.

Just then, the car stopped. You heard Lee turn off the engine. You turned your gaze towards him.

“C’mon Mega.”

Following him deep into the woods, you were looking around. The sun hadn’t set yet, and all you could hear were the chirping of birds. You could hear the leaves crunching underneath your kitten heels. You were thinking, maybe, just maybe, you should’ve switched out your clothes. You also noticed Lee was holding a bag that was full of something.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.

Those sounded like beer cans. Were those beer cans?

“Lee… what’re we doing here?”

You saw Lee walking up to you, handing you the shotgun. You were confused. If anything, you were convinced that Lee was scouting for something. So he wasn’t using it. Why was he giving it to you, then?

“Target practice, babydoll. I was thinkin’ earlier this mornin’, with everything that’s happened with ya daddy…” he didn’t miss the look that you gave him. That look of pure, almost horrifying fear at the mention of him. It made his veins hot and the urge to strangle your father was back. That greedy part of him that was telling him to just get it over with, to just kill again so all of your problems could be solved was slowly returning.

Focus.

He needed to focus. Still looking at you, he continued to speak. “I know you did a number on him with ya cast-iron skillet and m’ proud of that for ya, Mega. My strong Omega.” He didn’t miss the way your cheeks colored at the praise either. A smirk was curling its way onto his lips. He couldn’t help it. At this rate, he would be half-hard. “But ya ain’t always gonna have a cast-iron skillet lyin’ around. I would teach ya how ta use a knife, but I’m not as good with knives as the deputies are. One of em specializes in usin’ knives and shit. So all I can teach ya are how to use a shotgun.”

You were nodding.

It made sense.

Still, you felt like you needed to ask…

“So… do you have a collection of guns I don’t know bout?” A wry smile was on your face. Lee chuckled. It was a deep one, one he could feel in his belly. You noticed how his belly shook when he laughed.

There was the Lee you knew.

“A sheriff never reveals his secrets, babydoll.” was all that Lee replied to you with. Handing you the shotgun, Lee began to pull some of the old beer cans out. Watching him set it up as your gaze lowered down to the shotgun. The barrel was long. Probably as long as your arm. Maybe even a bit longer. There was something behind the trigger. You didn’t know what it was. You at least knew where the trigger was, at least.

“What’s this, Lee?”

You were gesturing to the thing behind the trigger.

“Recoil pad,” Lee answered you, finishing up setting up the last beer can a couple of feet away from you. “Helps ya shoot more accurately.”

A nod came from you. Saying that you got it.

“Okay… so here’s what I want you to do… you hold it like this,” Lee helped you grip the shotgun, placing your hand that you were going to use to pull the trigger along the side of the stock wrist. Making your cheek brush up against your cheek. Your eyes at the same level of the barrel. Index finer placed directly on the trigger, Lee gently told you to wrap the rest of your hand on the wrist.

“Not too tight… not too loose either… good job Mega.”

Your Omega preened at the praise once again. Happily bouncing around in glee. It was the happiest the bitch had been in weeks. You couldn’t blame her all that much. If it was you in her shoes, then fuck you’d be so fucking happy too. So could you really blame her?

Not really.

“Okay… shoulders bared… keep your feet apart… mhmm. I want you to look at those cans. You see those cans, Mega? Good. I want cha to shoot at em.”

You gave him another nod.

“Aim for the center. Pull the trigger and then shoot.”

Arm upright. The butt of the gun lodged in your shoulder pocket. Nicely tucked. Your eyes forward.

“Lee… what happens if I can’t pull the trigger?” Your voice came out a little shaky.

“Then just think of your dad.”

When your finger pulled the trigger, the first thing you heard was the ringing in your ears. The smell of gunpowder filling your nose. The gunpowder even exploded and some scattered onto the collar of your dress.

The first shot landed smack-dab right in the center, knocking the beer can back. Then Lee told you to move, adjust your footing.

“Shoot again.”

Another shot rang out. The sounds of the beer can clanking back rung in your ears.

And then you did it again.

Another beer can smacking backward with a thunk.

“Three more beer cans left. You got four more bullets in there. We’ll pick em up after you’re done, okay?” Lee’s voice brought you back. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling, you gave him a nod.

“Okay.”

“Good. Keep going.”

Another nod.

One more shot rang out.

You heard the thunk of the beer can flying back.

Turning your head, eyes narrowing, you aimed.

Bang.

Another clunk.

Two down, one more to go.

The last shot rang out and you heard one last clang.

Slowly lowering the gun, you asked him, “How’d I do?”

You felt a warm pair of arms wrap around you from behind. A gentle rumble erupted from Lee’s chest. Unlike the first time you met, this rumble wasn’t to calm down frantic Omegas.

This one was different.

This one was for Mates.

Your head lolled to the side, leaning into his neck with a dreamy sigh.

“Perfect, babydoll.” Your mate said. “You were perfect.”

The entire mood shifted when you two had gotten back into the car.

Loud slurps of you drinking your slushie were heard. Lee’s own empty cup sat on the dashboard. Happily slurping away at your cherry and blueberry mixture, you didn’t notice Lee’s jaw clench.

Only when you finished your slushie, putting it on the dashboard, did you see Lee’s controlled look. A frown made its way onto your features.

“Lee?”

Your voice was gentle. It almost made the dark, violent thoughts running through his head okay. He almost felt like he wasn’t sinking into that dark place for a second.

“Yeah, Omega?”

The two of you were at the next town over. Your head perched on his shoulder, you still looked at him. Frowning. When Lee looked at you and saw that frown, well, he started to frown too.

He didn’t like that frown on your face.

“Are you okay? Do you need me to calm you down? You want me to touch you?” You asked him. Lee swallowed. You could see his Adam’s apple bob. “You don’t have to,” he replied quietly. Undeterred, you shook your head. Your hand traveled down. There was a popping noise. A hiss came from Lee when your hand sank into his pants, fisting his cock with your hand.

“Shit, babydoll,” hissed Lee, his eyes rolling into the back of his head with a deep guttural groan. It sounded almost like a deep rumble from his chest.

“You- you don’t… you don’t have to,” he grunted. Again, you shook your head.

“I don’t have to. But I want to.”

Lee swore he nearly came in his pants at that. A little whimper left him when you pulled your hand out of his pants, both of your hands coming down to undo his belt. Unzipping his fly. He watched you do one of the filthiest things he ever saw in his life. You spit into your hand, a slick echoing through the cruiser. A deep growl came from Lee’s chest. His growl turned into a moan when your spit-covered hand gripped his cock again. All slicked up to take his dick. This time, you weren’t fearful or scared. Timid if you had done something wrong.

No.

This time, when you stroked him, you did it with a clear mind and you probably looked like you had your war face on. Up and down went your hand. All the way from his shaft down the tip of his cock that was red and smeared with pre-cum. You slowly built a rhythm, all the while your pussy throbbed. Your panties growing damper with each stroke of his dick.

Lee couldn’t help himself. Moans, grunts, and whimpers slowly filled the cruiser. A shuddering breath even left him when you squeezed his cock a little. His lips trembled.

“Jesus… shit…” was all that left him.

“I’m your Omega, daddy. It’s my job to balance you out, you know? You don’t need to hide shit from me, okay Lee? I can handle it.” Your words flowed into his ears.

Lee allowed that to sink in.

Shallow, then deep breaths came from him.

He couldn’t almost believe it.

Was this the universe’s way of telling him that they weren’t going to punish him anymore? That he could actually breathe for once? That he actually had someone who understood him? Him and his whole entire goddamn motherfucking package of shit that he carried with him on a day-to-day basis?

He really fucking hoped so.

“O-Okay.” His words might’ve come out a little staggered, a little breathy. Like he needed to believe it himself. A harsh pump made him hiss.

But up and down your hands went. Pumping his dick with the palm of your hand.

“Okay. Glad we get each other, Daddy.”

Pump. Pump. Pump.

“Daddy… you got somethin’? For ya jizz? Or else I’ma just catch it all with my hands…” you trailed off. Not that you weren’t unhappy with catching all of his jizz in your hands. In fact, it was quite the opposite. You were really thinking about that other night in his office, where you had caught all of his cum in your hands. Just the thought made the burning heat in between your legs freaking worse.

Terrible.

He was terrible.

You were probably turning out to be like a fiend now.

“Uh-huh… yeah… think I…” he was cut off with his own grunt, “I got something… in here…” There was shuffling as Lee tried his best to bend down a little. Fumbling around, you heard him grab something.

“Alright, I- shit,” Lee swore. You couldn’t help the smile that was creeping on your face.

“You got it?” Your tone was full of amusement.

“Yeah,” grunted Lee. Humming, you continued your merry task of giving your Alpha a hand job.

Beads of sweat were rolling down Lee’s temples. You could feel his balls tightening, signaling that he was getting close. “C’mon Lee. Daddy. It’s okay. Let go.”

He came with a grunt. Ejaculate spilling all over your hand and into whatever he had found.

Panting, “You got it all in the cup?”

Cup?

“Y-Yeah… and all over my hand too… whatcha wanna do with the cup?” You asked him. “We can throw it out later,” Lee replied back to him. Frowning. Thinking about it. A thought crossed your mind. “Or… I can drink it? I don’t wanna… waste it.”

Something inside Lee snapped. All of a sudden, your back smacked against the door. It made you gasp.

“Lee!”

You sounded very scandalized. Your mate paid no mind, shoving the skirt of your dress up, his hands, his huge hands finding your panties underneath all of your skirts, pulling and tugging them to the side until they ripped. A hand gripping his half-hard erection, he thrust into you without warning.

You cried out at the sensation. Your head falling back against the window. You saw him take off his leather jacket, shrugging it off to the floor, and then his shirt followed. He managed to shove his pants and boxer briefs down to the floor, kicking them off.

His hands came to grip your still-clothed shoulders. Almost immediately, he started pounding into you.

You had been so taken aback that all you could do was take it. Take all that he was giving you. Not that it didn’t feel good. It felt really, really good. Cries of pleasure filling up the cruiser were heard pretty quickly. Lee’s balls smacking against your clit with every single time he bottomed out of you.

Lee swore he could almost feel as if he was in some sort of heaven. Your nonvirgin body squeezed him for everything he was worth. Slick and his seed smeared on your inner thighs, making them all sticky. His thrusts were so powerful that they were sending your head back against the window. Not necessarily smacking it, but you just couldn’t move.

You came screaming.

Yes, screaming.

Your orgasm had rushed over you so quickly you barely realized it had come. Lee hissed and grunted when he felt your walls milking the hell out of him. He still could remember when he took you last night. How tight you had been. Your vaginal walls had gripped his dick so fucking hard that he swore he was in heaven. Like he had fallen into a piece of heaven. It would be worth it just so Lee could get a taste of what the angels would sing about. He knew his soul was damned and that he’d probably be heading straight into hell, and without a doubt, you’d probably be going down with him. But he’d risk it all, just to stay in this piece of heaven for as long as he could.

He continued to thrust into you. Pound into you. Wet, squishing noises coming from your pussy as he took you. His cock was nearly splitting your vagina in half by how hard he was taking you. At this rate, your second orgasm would be coming quicker than you thought.

Which, you were.

Your mouth dropped open in a silent moan as your second orgasm piggybacked off of your first one, your legs trembling and shaking as you came around his dick again. Lee fucked you through it, swearing in your ear. Praising you. Calling you his good Omega.

His wet mouth dipped down to your mating gland. And his teeth sank into your neck, biting you again.

And then he came. You sobbed out.

You were asleep.

Lee knew your mother was asleep too because he had just checked up on her an hour ago. Your nightgown clung to your body, the nearly transparent fabric falling over your body like a sleeve. From where Lee was stroking your nipples with his thumb, he could feel your nipples harden underneath the pads of his fingertips. The only light that surrounded his room was the dim light of his night lamp.

Soft breathing came from you as you breathed through your nose. Your chest rising up and down as you slept.

For once in his life, Lee was oddly at peace.

Everything was quiet.

It was as if he could breathe again. Like there were no toxic things in his life. Your lovely, sweet scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, with a slight undertone of his own scent of chocolate and bourbon, filled the air.

His.

You were his now.

Suddenly, he heard a car pulling into his driveway. It made him stop what he was doing. His Alpha stirred, sensing that something was happening. Being dressed in only a pair of boxers, he had to slip on a pair of pants and a loose shirt that barely had any of his scent left, due to you rubbing it into his bedsheets.

He really needed to invest in nest bedding now that you were his Omega.

And then he heard knocking.

To make matters worse, you had begun to stir. Soft noises came from you.

“… addy… what’s happenin’?” your voice was full of sleep. Your eyes still weren’t open yet. A soft groan came from you as the knocking on his front door became louder. Another groan came from you.

“Daddy… tell em to go away… tell em to shut up… I need my sleep…”

And he was really thinking along those same lines too.

Something just wasn’t right in his gut as he unlocked his door. Beginning to walk into the hallway, where your mother’s door was still closed. Still probably asleep. You had mentioned to him once or twice that your mother could sleep like the dead. If World War Three were to ever break out, your mother could probably sleep right through it and still be a-okay.

“… Lee! I know you’re home Big Brother!”

Sandy.

That was Sandy.

But what the hell was his sister doing here? So early in the morning too?

“C’mon! Open the door, Lee!” A man’s voice barked out. Lee knew that was Sandy’s husband, his brother-in-law, Carl.

Carl.

A deep burning of anger and hatred bubbled up to the surface.

However, Lee walked to the front door. Knowing that soft footsteps were following him.

You.

You had gotten up when Sandy had shouted, quickly padding down the hall to catch up with your Alpha. Your hand intertwined with his.

The sounds of the front door being unlocked were heard.

The door swung open.

Sandy Bodecker saw her big brother, and a young woman who looked barely looked like she would be roughly nineteen or her early twenties, in nothing but a nightgown, looking into the familiar eyes that her Alpha had. Sandy also noticed that she had a bite on her Mating Gland on her neck. She noticed that Lee had a bite mark on his Mating Gland too.

Realization came over her.

This was her Big Brother’s Omega.

Lee was mated now.

Your gaze went from the young woman who smelled like an Omega, just like you. You noticed that she had the same eyes as Lee. This was probably his sister.

But the man beside her.

This man…

There was an unsettling feeling in your gut. Something was telling you to not trust this man. Even though it was still dark, you could see his mousy brown hair and brown eyes. But something churned in your gut.

And when he spoke, you nearly almost vomited.

“Lee. Care to introduce us?” Carl Henderson said, a grin stretching over his face. The Beta man was looking at you, his scent of something that smelled like cabbages filling your nose. It made you remember that disgusting, spoiled cabbage soup you had smelled once when you used to live in Michigan. You began to feel a headache coming on.

You didn’t trust this Beta.

Not at all.

Your Omega was in her cage, looking at this Beta in pure horror.

Something terrible was about to happen.

Taglist: @greeneyedblondie44, @bxnnywriting

[jeromesxreader16]

Such a Joker (55)

Part 54 Here!

~o0o~

I stop at the bottom of the staircase with a basket of clothes. "You two need to come down here or you're going to be late. We have a set time, you know!" "WE KNOW!" The twins yell. Four feet hitting the steps quickly. "Can I give this to him?" Juliet opens a card reading a sweet love letter to her father. "That's very sweet, honey. I'm sure he will love it." Jeremy shuffles his feet pushing his glasses up his nose. "Do you have something for him, Jer?" He nods, pulling out a book about his favorite animal. "He loves tigers!" Jeremy's eyes light up. "Really?!" "Yeah! Come on!"

I rush the kids to the car, buckling them into their seats before making way to Arkham Hospital. "Make way! We're back!" Juliet screams as she runs to the door, swiping the entry card. The nurses stare at my family strangely each week. "Juliet, honey. Slow down."

"Daddy!" Juliet yells at the gate, flailing her arms around. "Welcome back, Juliet." A guard by the name of Rick speaks up. "Thanks, Rick! Care to open the gate, good sir?" She bows to him playfully. As the doors slide, Jeremy walks through the patients calmly minding his business while Juliet attempts to make friends.

"Jules, honey, come on." I laugh, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the table. Jeremy sits in front of his dad crossing his hands in front of him. "Hello, dad." He smiles brightly at Jeremiah. "Daddy!" Juliet throws her arms over his neck hugging him.

Rick comes over nodding to us. "His room is ready if you'd like to escort him." I nod, going behind Jerimiah's wheelchair. "Thank you, Rick."

The kids walk behind me as I push Jer to his secluded room on the end of the hall. "Jeremy, love, get the door for me, please."

"Sure." As my boy pushed the door open Juliet jumps on his bed. "Can't we spend the night, mommy?" I scoff, "Jules, you know we can't." She crosses her arms. "Why not?" I bend down to her level. "Don't you have something for him?"

She takes the card out of her pocket and pushes it towards Jeremiah. "I made this for you, daddy." She places it on his leg. He just sits still, looking dead at the wall. "Are you going to read it?" Juliet looks at me. "He won't read it if you're in here, mommy. Can you step outside?" I give her a sad smile. "Honey, he's... daddy can't move." She looks up at me confused. "That's not true. I've seen him!" Jeremy walks over and leans to his father's ear, whispering. Then goes to his mouth, listening almost as if Jeremiah is speaking back.

"Kids! That is enough! Jeremiah is not going to move. He's not going to talk. All we can do is come visit and see him. We do not get a response. Now straighten up or-"

"Oh darling, you've gotten yourself all tightened up haven't you?"

His voice cracking. Dry and horse. I turn around seeing Jeremiah standing out of his chair. "What? See a ghost?" He laughs spinning around. "Daddy!" The kids cheer running to him and jumping In his arms. "Oh, my boy and girl. I've missed you!"

I stood frozen as the kids interacted with him. He looks over at me. Scars and all, he's still my love. "(Y/n), my wife. Come to me." As a river flows one way, so does my heart. I reach for him, walking closer. "You haven't aged a day. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner." I rest my head on his chest letting out a breath. "Jeremiah. It's been so long." He hugs me close. "I know, darling. I know, but now we're together again. As a family." I back away from him slightly. "Why have you done this for so long? How long were you able to-" Jer shovels me in his arms, pressing myself against him, devouring my lips. "Everything is fine now. Unanswered questions are useless. Live with me, now, in the present."

~

The kids and I walk into Arkham with smiles. "Morning, Rick." He tips his hat to us, opening the gate. "A pure saint you are." I internally roll my eyes. "I just want my kids to have their time with their father."

I grab the handles on Jer's chair pushing him forward towards his room. I kiss the side of his head. "Almost there, honey."

The kids open the door letting me in and close it right after we make it through. Jerimiah sits still waiting. I stare at him confused. "Jer?" I question leaning down. "BOO!" He raises his hands scaring me. I jump back holding my heart. The kids laugh running to him.

Hours of laughing and playing with Jeremiah the sky has darkened. I put on my jacket and gather my kids. "Alright. Time to go home, loves. I still need to make dinner. Pops is coming over." Jer frowns and hugs his two wild redheads. Juliet shuffles her feet. "Do we have to, Mommy?" "Honey, of course, we do. This isn't a hotel."

Jer kisses my head. "Not long now. We will all be home." He rushes me out and closed the door leaving me to wonder about his plans.

~

Juliet and Jeremy sit at the table swinging their feet. I open the door with my hip, setting the roast on the table. "Now remember what I told you." "Don't talk about dad." My children say out loud. "That's right!" The doorbell rings and the two kids rush to it.

"You're under arrest!" Jeremy says holding his hands like a gun. "Woah!" Jim throws his hands up. "Don't shoot. Don't shoot!" Jim scoops him up wrestling him on the couch. "We got you now, Pops!" Juliet says beating him with pillows. I smile looking at them. I get a cold chill against my neck making the hairs stand up. I rub my neck and turn around to see nothing.

Must be a draft.

"Alright, kids, Dad, come on and eat."

All four of us around the table acting as a picture-perfect family. All that would soon change.

~

The children in bed asleep when my phone rings over and over and over and over. "What Dad? I'm getting-" "DID YOU KNOW (Y/N)?" I bite my tongue. "Know what? What's going on?" "(Y/ N), Jerimaih has escaped!" My blood runs cold at the mention. I sigh into the phone. "I don't know where he could go, Dad. He would come here if he knew where I was." "It's not you, he wants. It's me." "Do you need me?" He holds his breath. "I can't tell you to leave the kids."

I look over my shoulder at the doors. "I'm going to Bab's to get Barbara Lee." I hang up locking the kids behind both double doors.

~

At Barbra's the lights and music suddenly turns on.

♪Now, I don't hardly... ♪ ♪ But I think I could love her ♪ ♪ Crimson and clover ♪

"Turn around." She speaks to the figure at the bar. "Turn around. I won't ask again."

A chilling voice emerges behind her. "Surprise." She whips around to hit Jerimiah but is pushed into Ecco. "Easy. It's just a surprise party. For you, Barbara Kean, queen of Gotham, business titan. How exciting. But there was another you, I... I seem to recall. Wasn't there? Then again, there was, uh, another me, too. Oh, so hard holding on to what's real. It's... It's enough to drive you mad." He cackles over her. Barbara Lee comes running at Jerimiah, throwing a statue at Ecco.

Jeremiah looks down at her unamused. "Cute. Mine is better." Jer simply shoots Babs in the abdomen. "Mom!" Jerimiah picks Barbara Lee up, "She has your eyes. For now."

Echo whimpers, holding her stomach. "I... think she... nicked me, Daddy. I... oh, boy." Jer stares at his assistant. "Oh, dear me. My sweet Ecco, no longer my echo. There will never be one like you. (y/n) will miss you dearly." She smiles widely, "Really?" Jerimiah aims and shoots her in the chest. She smiles as blood pours down her chin. "But you were deceiving and in love with my wife. I suppose there are other employees available."

"Let me... down." Barbara Lee struggles in his arms. Jerimiah leans down to Bads on the ground, pistol-whipping her.

"Hush, little Barbaras, don't say a word. Now we're going to play a... little game. By now, James Gordon should have made it to your apartment and called his daughter. When he gets here, I want you to deliver a message."

~

I park my car as I see Dad sitting alone. I run-up to the club seeing Bads laying down. "What happened?" She glares at me. "He took her! Your psychotic husband took her!" She reaches for me in anger. "He took her! That lunatic took her! He said you have to come, and if you don't come, he's gonna kill her." "Where?" "The place where he was born again." I rub my face in frustration. "Ace Chemicals." I run down getting in my car and racing there. "Jer!" I call out loudly. "You can't do this shit, Jeremiah!"

"Jeremiah? Is there a Jeremiah here?" I hear him call. I follow the voice to see him all alone. "So what should I call you?" I tilt my head, tears flowing. "Jerimiah." "No, no. That's a boy name." "STOP THIS!" I scream. His facade falls slightly but never cracking.

"I call you the devil." Dad appears behind me with his gun drawn. "Wher is my daughter?" Jer looks at him confused. "The Devil? No, Call me... Jack. Mm, no, no, no, that's not right. J-Joseph. John. Jay. I-I don't know. I just... I feel something new crawling from the primordial ooze that was me. Something... beautiful."

"How long have you been pretending to be brain-dead?" "How long have you been pretending? That's a joke. I know you're not pretending." I look up seeing Barbra Lee hanging over the tanks. "Ah, ah, ah, that's far enough, (y/n)."

"But you still haven't told me. Why? Why keep pretending?" I look at Jer in confusion. Why has he waited all this time?" He smirks, "I was waiting for him to come home. We're bound together, he and I. It's the one thing I knew for certain, the one thing I knew was true. And then he just... abandoned us. Do you know how it feels to have the one, the only thing you love ripped away from you? It feels like this." Jer pulls the rope releasing Barabra Lee. "No!" I scream grabbing hold of the rope, the fibers sliding my hands.

Clangs of metal are thrown at Jer, who dodges them. "Who's there?! What do you want?! Show yourself! Show yourself!" I see a black mass whooshing over us. I gasp in realization. "You." Jeremiah laughs before he's knocked out cold.

~

"Now you give those kids kisses from their Pop." I laugh as I hang onto my father's arm as we walk to dark streets. "You know you could come over. They miss you. You make them laugh, dad." He shrugs and kisses my head. "I'll come over tomorrow night for dinner. Let it be a surprise." I nod and open my car door sighing. "Bye, dad." "Bye (Y/n). I love you. Tell Juliet and Jermey I love them too." "Of course." I finish, getting in my car and closing the door.

The drive home is never my favorite. Time alone is cruel to me. I still hear his laughter. Both of them are so different yet so loveable in their ways.

Juliet holds so much of Jerome in her. Especially her eyes. Full of joy and determination boxed up in two beautiful green orbs. Jeremy loves the books and brain teasers and puzzles like a certain Valeska who holds my heart.

I pull up to my small house upon a hill. The lights to the living room, kitchen, and kids' room are the only lights illuminating the house. The sitter's car was still parked in the driveway where it was hours ago untouched.

I unlock the door stepping into my house. "Jeremy! Juliet! Babes, I'm home!" I hear my daughter's beautiful laughter from down the hall. "Mommy! Come here and look!" She giggles, creating a smile on my face.

Jeremy giggles and yells from the same room, "Juliet made a mess, Mom!"

Maybe they're playing house, maybe even cops and robbers!

My heels click as they edge closer to the door. I grasp the handle smiling. "Did you two have a good time with Abby? I hope you were" I scream as the sight before me wounds my eyes.

Abby, the sweet high school girl who has watched my babies grow up now lays in my daughter's bed with knives and pins stuck in her body.

My baby girl, Juliet, stands next to her, knife in hand, blood on her cheeks, and a wide smile spread across her lips.

I cover my mouth horrified. "Juliet. Honey." she giggles and pulls out a pin of Abby's eye. "We played Doctor, mommy!" She runs to me laughing and holding the weapons.

Jeremy runs in from the bathroom with a blood-soaked rag. "I'll help clean, mommy!"

I fall to my knees letting a few silent tears fall. "Are you okay, mommy?" Jeremy asks with big eyes filled with worry. He walks over, hugging me by his sister's side. "I'm sorry we ruined the floor. I told Julie we needed a sheet first." Jeremy says, kissing my cheek.

Juliet wraps her blood-covered hands around my neck kissing my cheek like her brother. "Did Pop not come too? I miss him." I smile holding my girl as Jeremy goes to clean the floor again. "Pop has a busy day tomorrow morning. He said he'll make it up to you." she nods and laughs again.

Jeremy takes the knife from his sister and holds it up to me smiling. "Do you want to play, mommy?" I see the joy in those eyes as she asks me. I see hope in her eyes.

"Yeah, mommy! Play with us!" Juliet jumps on the bed over Abby's body.

I grab the knife and stare down at it.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, come on, mommy. Let's play."

I look up and see Jerome sitting at Juliet's vanity playing with a big brush for her play makeup. "Aw come on doll. Look at her. You'll make her so happy."

I turn my head to the right and see Jerimiah flipping through a children's book. "Better than intoxicating their minds with this, darling. Think of how much they'll admire you. Our little ones will look up to you as their hero. A hero they're going to be told is evil in Gotham. Raise them right."

Jerome grabs my hand and helps me grasp the handle of the knife. "For me doll. For Jeremy and Juliet. For you, (y/n). I know you miss it, doll. Go on."

I walk over to the cold dead body and look at my little boy and girl between their fathers.

"Let me show you two something Daddy showed me." Juliet runs over and hops on her bed next to her brother, standing in between Abby's legs. "What mommy?"

"If you slice a clean cut from the corners of her lips... to her cheeks..." I slice the skin feeling my hands become lighter.

"She's smiling!" Juliet giggles and jumps. "Isn't she pretty, Jeremy?" Juliet asks, hugging her brother. He giggles and nods jumping on the bed.

I see my men both smile at me. "Let's go get cleaned up and then we can call pop and tell him goodnight." She nods and skips to her bathroom.

"You're such a bad mom, (y/n)." Jerome purrs smacking my butt as I pass him. Jerimiah rolls his eyes and simply kisses my head. "They'll turn out to be magnificent, darling. Even more than they are now." I shrug smiling at them both.

"What can I say. They're Valeska Twins." 

[fanficsandthings]

Through the Years, Ch. 7

A George Weasley Fanfiction

A George Weasley x Slytherin reader story.

Each chapter shares events in one year of George and reader’s life together.

Word Count: 6.1k

Author’s note: i know i’m like 3 months late on posting this chapter, but i promise i haven't abandoned this fic. 

Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6 

Year 6, Part 2:  Fireworks

 The heavy rain soaked through your clothes as you made your way into King’s Cross. It had been raining hard since early that morning, and the heavy gloom that hung over London was starting to take hold in your chest. The events of two weeks prior were impossible to purge from your mind, and on days like this the memories slowly crept their way forward. You swore that green skull could illuminate the sky again at any moment, so instead, you forced yourself to think about other things. 

You uncle and dad had been talking for weeks about an event happening at Hogwarts this year, but they wouldn’t give anything away. All you knew was that you needed a fancy dress, which you bought a week ago at a second hand store. It now sat in the bottom of your trunk, its intended use unknown to you for now. 

You no longer needed the motivation to run through the brick wall that separated platforms 9 and 10, like you did in your first year. You and your father casually waited by the wall, wringing the water from your clothes, as you watched the muggles pass by. When all was clear, you casually leaned against it, disappearing suddenly to anyone who might’ve cared to notice. 

The steam from the scarlet coloured engine filled the platform, the people rushing about looking more like ghosts than corporeal beings. You searched briefly for a family of redheads, but quickly gave up and turned your attention to the items you had brought with you. 

You checked quickly on Minnie, whose carrier was concealed under your rain jacket on top of your trunk. She was dry, just a little perturbed at all the movement happening on the trip here. 

“You packed the camcorder, right?” your father asked. “And the extra tapes?”

“Yes,” you told him, “they were the first things I packed.” 

“And you’re sure you know how to use it?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure we went over it about 100 times.”

“I just don’t want you to get there and then not be able to capture anything,” he said, looking around at the people on the platform. He lowered his voice a bit to speak the next part. “It’s going to be a very fun year. I don’t want you to forget any of it.”

You let out an exasperated sigh. “Will you please stop being so secretive, and tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough,” he told you. 

You were about to protest and beg for more information when three more people came through the platform portal. Ron, Hermione, and Harry appeared before you, squinting through the steam. 

“Oh, look!” your dad cut you off, ignoring the annoyed look on your face. “Friends! Now, go get on the train with them. I might see you sooner than you think.”  

You said a very quick goodbye before turning to the three newcomers. They were still looking through the steam, trying to orientate themselves before heading to the train. You snuck up as quietly as your trunk would allow, thankful that the train engine was letting off some noise. 

“What’re you looking for?” you shouted, right in between Ron and Harry’s heads. It caused all three of them to jump; the owls in the cages they were holding hooted frantically as they got tossed around. 

“Please don’t do that,” Hermione voiced as she clutched her chest. 

“Sorry,” you said, smiling, “I couldn’t resist.” You turned your head to look at the brick wall briefly. “Where is..”

“Your boyfriend?” Ron butt in. He turned to Harry and made a fake gagging noise. Harry let out a laugh, amused at his friend’s actions. 

“Right behind you,” a familiar voice said. You turned to see Charlie, Fred, and George. George was smiling brightly at you. “We just passed your dad on the other side of the barrier.” 

“Charlie!” you exclaimed, giving him a quick hug. “I expected you to be back in Romania by now.”

“Do we even exist?” George whispered to Fred. 

“Apparently not when Charlie’s around,” Fred answered. 

You rolled your eyes as you turned to the twins. “I’m gonna see you two constantly for the next 10 months. I rarely see Charlie.” 

“I took extended time off,” Charlie said, answering your question, “because I’ll be working a little extra in a couple of months.” 

Ginny, Bill, and Mrs. Wealsey made their way through the wall behind the twins. 

“Hello,” Mrs. Weasley greeted upon seeing you. 

“Molly, it’s so good to see you. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see you at the Quidditch Cup,” you told her, giving her a hug. 

“Quidditch isn’t really my thing, dear,” she informed you. “But I might get to see you all again soon.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” you asked. 

“It’s nothing,” she said, pushing you back towards Fred and George. 

“We should get going,” you said to the twins. “We need to find Lee and seats” 

The twins said goodbye to their family, and you all headed off through the steam towards the train. You found Lee, who had already boarded and was saving a compartment for the three of you. You stuffed your trunks above the seats and put Millie’s carrier in the seat next to the door. 

It was a weird feeling, purposefully sitting so close to George on the train; him next to the window and your head leaning on his shoulder so you could watch the countryside pass by. Really, it’s not like much had changed from being just friends to dating. You had always sat close to each other before, even holding hands when the situation allowed for it. Something seemed to change over the last couple months, though, and now you felt more comfortable than ever resting your head against George. 

Maybe it was the fact that you could hold hands now without people whispering in the background and speculating about you. Or the fact that you could run your hands through his hair, which he had let grow a little longer over the summer, and not be worried about accidentally looking into his brown eyes and having to hide your embarrassment over the matter. You could freely count the freckles splattered across his face and name the constellations you made in them. Freckles that would always remind you of the falling snow on the night you first kissed. 

At some point, you let Minnie out of her carrier, letting her roam freely around the compartment, careful to make sure the door was securely closed. She eventually found a comfy stop on the seat between Fred and Lee. You watched as she curled up into a ball, her tail carefully covering her eyes, as if to block out any light. 

As the train rolled on and the rain outside got heavier, the windows fogged up, making it impossible to see outside. You turned your full attention to the conversation happening. Lee was talking about what he did over break, and brought up the Quidditch World Cup. 

Your eyes moved briefly to the window, thinking you might see the bright green light shining through the rain. George saw your movement and squeezed your hand in reassurance, a small smile on his face. You smiled back at him, telling him that you’d be alright. 

Lee mentioned that his father had been cheated out of money over a bet he made with Ludo Bagman at the Cup. 

“That dirty little cheat!” Fred yelled at the mention of Bagman’s name, causing Minnie to startle beside him. 

“He took our money, too,” George added on. “He paid us back in leprechaun gold.” 

“That’s exactly what he did to my dad,” Lee said. 

“You bet all the money you had saved, didn’t you?” you asked Fred and George. 

“Yeah,” Fred sighed. 

“We’ll have to find another way to open the shop now,” George said. 

“I still have some money saved up,” you told them. “About 20 Galleons when converted from muggle money. It’s not much but maybe we could find something to invest it in.”

“We couldn’t ask you to give us your money,” Fred said. 

“Yeah, I’m sure there’s other things you could use that money for, right? ” George inquired. 

“Not really,” you told them. “I’ve always planned to help you with Weasley Wizard Wheezes one way or another. Whether that be through money or inventing inventory.” 

“Oh,” George said rather quietly beside you. “Thank you.” 

You leaned up and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “Anything for you, Georgie.” 

“And you know I’m always here to test out products,” Lee chimed in. 

“Oh, speaking of which,” you voiced, “did you finish those Canary Creams in the last two weeks?” 

“Not quite,” George told you. “There’s still some kinks to work out, but give us a few weeks and some of Snape’s potion supplies and we’ll get them done.” 

“But!” Fred said, pulling a small, wrapped treat out of his pocket. “We did nail down the yellow hair color.”

“Now we have all the house colors down,” George finished. 

“And I think we should take advantage of that,” you said with a grin. You grabbed the sweet from Fred’s hand. “This one’s yellow?” He nodded. “And you guys still have a beef against Cedric for winning the quidditch match last year?” 

“We should’ve gotten a rematch,” all three of them said in unison. 

“I know, I know,” you said, faking sympathy. 

The rest of the train ride was spent slipping sweets into other student’s train compartments and hiding in the hallway until you heard a couple screams. Cedric didn’t really seem to mind too much; being more embarrassed of the attention his friends were giving him because of it, opposed to being mad. You did manage to slip a pink one into Draco’s compartment, but one of his oversized bodyguards ended up eating it instead. 

You found Adrian Pucey, who was trying to rekindle your friendship a little bit. He had written to you over the summer a few times. You gave him a blue haired sweet just because you wanted to see if the color would look good on him. It really didn’t, as the Ravenclaw blue didn’t mix with his complexion very well. You made him promise to sit next to you at the welcome feast, and you’d reverse the effects then. 

Overall, you were very happy to be going back to Hogwarts where you’d be able to hang out with your friends again. 

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

The term seemed to pass too quickly with all the Tournament excitement going on. You had been concerned for Harry ever since his name was pulled out of that blasted goblet, but ever since he won the first task, he seemed to be in a much better mood. 

You had snuck out of the castle the night before the first task with Fred and George to meet up with Charlie. He had excitedly shown you the dragons they had brought from Romania, their fiery breaths keeping you warm in the cool November air. You had never seen creatures like this upclose before, and they intrigued you enough to think for just a moment that maybe you wouldn’t mind working in Romania with Charlie. 

A month after that, you found Hogwarts covered in snow, the winter chill finally settling in the castle corridors. Fireplaces blazed in every room, warming you ever so slightly as you sat by them. The fireplace in your dorm room did little to help fight the cold of the Black Lake. Again, just like last year, you spent most of your nights in the Gryffindor common room, curled up next to George by their roaring fire. 

Minnie took to spending her nights in George’s room. She seemed to be making friends with Crookshanks, as you would sometimes find them cuddled together in the common room. 

At times you felt bad for the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students. Their carriage and ship didn’t seem like the warmest of homes. You’d look across the school grounds and see them covered in ice and snow, and it would send a shiver down your spine every time. 

Christmas Eve came, and the entire school was filled with excitement over the Yule Ball the next day. You were excited too, but there was one more thing you needed to do before that day came. 

You had told George to meet you in the Astronomy tower in his pajamas at 10pm on Christmas Eve, a surprise all planned out in your head. You had stolen the radio from the Slytherin common room for the night. It had taken you and Adrian over a week to figure out how to get muggle radio stations to play on it, but eventually you got past all the magical interference and were able to listen to muggle music for the first time in almost four months. It wasn’t that you didn’t enjoy The Weird Sisters, but sometimes you just missed the music your mum would listen to at home. 

You set up your camcorder in one corner of the tower by the stairs, getting as much of the room in frame as you could. With no one else in the room to film, it would be the best shot you could get with the camera. 

You met George at the base of the tower five minutes before 10, confusion etched on his face. 

“I see you wore the pajamas with a little lion embroidered on them,” you teased him, reaching for his hand. “My cute little Gryffindor.” 

He blushed at your words, but he took your hand nonetheless and let you lead him up the stairs. 

“You’re literally wearing the same ones but with a snake embroidered,” George said. 

“Hey, your mum made them, and I love them,” you told him. You squeezed his hand as you both laughed. 

Music from the radio played softly from the top of the tower, a song that neither of you had heard before. When you reached the top of the stairs, you paused briefly to press the record button on the camera. This caused a confused look to make its way onto George’s face, but you reassured him that nothing harmful was going to happen.  

You pulled him to the middle of the room, the chill from the winter night just barely reaching you. Pulling him close to you, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders. George instinctively put his arms around your waste. You started to sway to the slow song coming from the radio.

“We haven’t been up here in a while,” George whispered. 

“Not since fourth year when we flew right into the middle of Professor Sinistra’s nighttime class,” you said, laughing. 

“Hey, we both expected her to have a midnight class that night,” George said, “not an 8pm class.” 

“I didn’t even mind the detention we got from it,” you told him. “I was just happy that I beat you in the race up here.” 

“I remember you cheating to beat me up here,” George said, wrinkling up his nose to tease you. “You and your old money Malfoy broom nearly knocked me into the castle wall.” 

“All’s fair in love and war, Georgie,” you said. “I was just using the speed that broom gives me to its full potential.” 

“If I didn’t love you so much, I’d still be mad about it.” He leaned down to kiss you on the forehead. “I still can’t believe you finally let me kiss you a year ago now.”

“You can thank Charlie for that actually. He gave me a little pep talk before I came outside that night.” You rested your head against his chest, listening to him hum along to the music. “Do you know this song?” 

“I’ve heard you play it before while you were at my house. I quite like it.” 

You pulled yourself as close to George as possible, trying to absorb his body heat. You hadn’t really thought about the open balcony and the winter weather when you planned this out. You leaned against him and swayed with the song, only really listening to his heartbeat through his chest. When the song was over and a more upbeat one came on, you pulled away just enough to look at his face. 

“Do you think Dumbledore really got The Weird Sisters to play tomorrow night,” you asked. 

“I hope so,” he said with a small laugh. “It’s all everyone’s been talking about the past few days.” 

“Speaking of the ball,” you started, “Did Fred ever ask that girl he likes to go with him?” 

“He asked Angelina a few days ago,” George told you. You wrinkled up your face in confusion. “What? They’re going as friends.” 

“But what about that Hufflepuff girl that he talks about constantly?” you asked. “I expected him to ask her, and I thought Lee and Angelina would go together.” 

“Lee’s going with a Ravenclaw fifth year, actually,” he informed you. “One of Cho Chang’s friends. Cedric actually set them up.” He seemed to have a hard time admitting that Cedric could do something nice for someone. George and Fred really held a grudge when it came to quidditch. 

“Cedric’s a good person, you know?” you said. “He wanted to have that rematch. But back to Fred; why is he being an idiot about his crush?”

“Because he is an idiot in general,” George said laughing. “He asked Angie just to prove to Ron that he had a date. He didn’t think it through.” 

You let out a sigh. “He’ll never learn.” 

The next song started with a familiar tune. “George, I think you’ll love this one!” 

You pulled away from him and grabbed his hand. There was no rhythm to your dancing, but it was fun nonetheless. George left all his worries behind and danced with you, not caring that you two definitely looked like idiots. He did really like the song that was playing, and he enjoyed it even more knowing that you loved it. 

You turned your camcorder off after that song, saving room on the tape for the next night too. You walked with George to the balcony, braving the cold to look over the snow covered grounds. Hogwarts really did look beautiful at this time of night. The moon reflected off the white snow and shone brightly over the Black Lake. The ship and the carriage looked like mere children’s toys from this far away. 

You rested your head against George’s shoulder as you both leaned against the railing. “Thank you, George.”

“For what?” he asked.

“For being my best friend, I guess,” you said. “It means a lot to me to have someone like you in my life.” 

“I’m glad I have you too,” He kissed the top of your head. 

You moved your head to kiss him properly, his body heat warming your face as you leaned in. The smell of potions clung to his skin, as he had been working on new products the entire last week. You caught the scent of a rather sweet one, and breathed in deeply. You pulled away reluctantly, but the cold was getting to you and you needed to head inside. 

George picked up the camera as you grabbed the radio, turning it off. You walked quietly down the stairs, hoping not to run into anyone at the bottom. He offered to walk you to your dorm, but you knew that Gryffindor tower was a lot closer than the dungeons, so you walked him there.

“Keep the camera for tomorrow,” you told him. “Record whatever mischief you get up to in the morning and then put it in the Great Hall.” 

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He leaned in for one more kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

You hurried off down the hall as he climbed through the portrait hole. Sneaking down to the dungeons at this hour required a bit of stealth and luck, but you had done it enough to basically know the patrol schedules. You made it to the common room after only one near run in with a teacher, but you ducked behind a statue, just barely avoiding them. 

There were a few students left in the common room, so you casually put the radio back in its spot on the table. Hopefully no one had missed it too much. 

You made your way to your dorm room, opening the door quietly to not wake your roommates. The last embers of the fire were still burning in the fireplace, and they gave you just enough light to be able to see your way to your bed. The light from the moon didn’t reach this deep into the Black Lake when there was a layer of ice on top of it, so your windows remained pitch black. 

You laid in bed, pulling the quilt from last Christmas as close to you as you could. You breathed in the earthy smell and let out a content sigh. Sleep found you easily that night, and your mind raced with dreams of what tomorrow might be like. 

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

The buzz and excitement in the air was contagious as everyone got ready before the ball. You had spent the morning in the common room with Adrian, trying to get him to tell you who he was going with, but he refused, saying that you’d find out in a few hours anyway. 

“Why won’t you just tell me?” you asked, leaning forward and narrowing your eyes at him. 

“Why does it matter so much?” he asked in return, ignoring the look you were giving him. 

“Because I want a picture of us and our dates,” you said, “and if I don’t know who your date is, then I can’t force them to take the picture.” 

“I promise you’ll get your picture,” he said. “I’m meeting up with him in front--”

You nearly sprang to your feet, but kept yourself in your chair when you saw the look of embarrassment on his face. 

“So it’s not the seventh year Ravenclaw girl that has a crush on you,” you said, putting your hands over your mouth to think a bit. “I really thought it was her.”

Adrian looked flustered, his cheeks turning red. “What? No, no, she doesn’t have a crush on me.”

“She does,” you told him bluntly. “She asked me if you had a date about two weeks ago. I told her yes, but seeing as you won’t tell me who, I couldn’t give her more information.” 

Adrian sank back into the couch, wishing this conversation would end. You looked at him, still thinking about who he could be going with. 

“The Beauxbatons boy who wouldn’t stop staring at you on their first night here?” you pondered, but he remained quiet. “The fifth year Hufflepuff who ran into you in the hall last month? He’s cute and rather shy. I remember him apologizing profusely. I noticed him ducking his head away from you when we’d pass him in the hall after that.” 

You watched him for a reaction that would give you a yes or no answer, but all you noticed was his face getting redder. Adrian never really talked about crushes and who he liked. This conversation about people who maybe liked him seemed to be a little much for him. 

“Alright, one more guess,” you said, “and then I promise I’ll drop it until tonight.” He looked at you out of the corner of his eye. You took it as a sign to go on. “It’s not one of your dorm mates, is it? They’re rather all kinda assholes.”  

You finally got a laugh out of him at that. “Absolutely not. I know them all way too well to ever want to go on a date with any of them.” 

“Good, just checking to make sure you were still sane,” you said, standing up. “I’ll see you in a bit. Meet back here before we head up?” Adrian gave a small nod as you headed towards your dorm. 

You got ready while the rest of your roommates chatted around you. The dress you had picked out just before the school year started hung from a hanger on your four poster bed. The purple fabric of it was accented nicely by some small gold details. You had added a little bit of magic to it over the past few months, making it more your own, rather than just a second hand find. 

You found Adrian a few hours later, sitting in the same spot you had left him; his casual clothes now swapped out for dress robes, and his hair neatly styled. 

“You look nice,” you told him, causing him to look up. 

“Thanks.” He stood up, scratching the back of his neck. He looked at you, taking in your dress. “You look great. Did you get the sparks to work?” 

“Yes!” you said excitedly, looking down at the gold details. “Technically not sparks, but you’ll see. Wait till George can see them too. Can you carry this?”

You handed him your disposable camera, and he quickly put it in his pocket. He held out his arm, and you easily linked yours in it. You headed out of the common room, ready to meet up with your dates.

Walking up the stairs from the dungeons, the first person you saw standing in front of the Great Hall was Ron in his interesting dress robes. He was staring angrily at two people as they walked into the hall. It took a second to realize the girl was Hermione, having never seen her with her hair done like that before. You recognized the boy as Viktor Krum when he turned to greet one of his friends as he walked past them. 

Viktor’s friend turned in your direction, and his face lit up with a smile as he saw you and Adrian. You turned to Adrian, who was smiling just as brightly back at the Durmstrang boy. 

“A Durmstrang boy?” you whispered to Adrian as you made your way over to him. The boy was tall, at least a few inches taller than Adrian, and his long dark hair hung to his shoulders. When he reached the two of you, he turned his attention to you and took your hand, kissing it softly. His green eyes looked into yours briefly. 

“Adrian has talked a lot about you,” the boy said, dropping your hand. He looked back over at Adrian, the softest expression on both of their faces.

“This is Georgi,” Adrian introduced you. You looked at him, trying to hide your expression of slight shock. 

This is exactly why he wouldn’t tell you the name of his date. He knew you would tease him about going to the ball with a boy who shared a name so similar to your boyfriend. In all honesty though, the two boys were almost nothing alike. Georgi seemed a little more subdued and quiet, opposed to George who, though quieter than his brother, was still too loud for his own good. 

While making polite conversation with Adrian and his date, you were also trying to find the twins in the crowd of people. You noticed them coming down the stairs with Lee and Angelina, Lee soon hurrying off to find his date. 

You nudged Adrian in the side and gestured towards the twins. “I’ll be right back.��� He nodded at you, and you set off through the crowd. 

“George!” you called as you ran up and hugged him. He and Fred were wearing matching outfits, probably passed down from their uncles to them.  

“Hello.” George pulled you back from the hug, looking at you fully. “You’re beautiful.” 

You ignored his statement, trying to hide the heat rising on your face. “Come on, I want you to meet Adrian’s date.” You looked at Fred and Angelina. “You too. I want a picture.” You pulled George’s hand, leading the group back through the crowd. 

“You put the camcorder in the Great Hall, right?” you said over your shoulder. 

“Yeah,” George confirmed. “About an hour ago. You’ll just need to hit record.” 

Meeting up with Adrian again, you gestured to George, introducing him to the Durmstrang boy. “George, this is Georgi. Georgi, George. My boyfriend.” 

They stared at each other for half a second before Fred butted in. 

“Well, isn’t that fun,” he said with a grin. 

You just grinned at Adrian, a smug look on your face.

You introduced Fred and Angelina and chatted for a bit before pulling another student over, who you knew was muggleborn, to take a picture of the six of you. Adrian nudged you and pointed to your dress. You looked down at it before realizing what he was suggesting. 

“Oh,” you said, catching the attention of the group. “I almost forgot. I added a little magic to my dress. Adrian, do you mind doing the honors?”

He pointed his wand at your dress, and a translucent, almost invisible smoke came out of the end. Tendrils of smoke reached out, attaching themselves to the center of each little gold detail and then disappearing into the dress. Each gold detail began to shake, as if filled with an immense energy. Suddenly, the details exploded across the dress, mimicking fireworks to the best of their ability. After a moment, they settled into their original shape. 

The group was staring at you, transfixed on what had just happened. 

“I’ve never seen a spell like that before,” Georgi finally said, a look of wonder on his face. 

“That’s because Adrian and I invented it, just for this,” you told him. You smiled as you looked over at Adrian. “We’ve been working on spells and such all of term in our free time. So far we only got the radio to work, and now this. This one isn’t perfect though. The smoke isn’t supposed to be there; it’s supposed to just be an immediate effect.”

George could tell that you were rambling now. He could see that your ramblings were bringing your excitement over the fantastic job you did down into doubt about how it didn’t work exactly how you wanted it to. He reached out and grabbed your hand. 

“It was beautiful,” he said. He looked into your eyes, trying to bring your attention to only him, trying to calm you down. “You know I love fireworks. Maybe they could be a part of the uniform at our shop.”

You smiled at him, giving a small laugh. “That would be wonderful.”

You turned back to the group and noticed Angelina standing by herself, Fred nowhere in sight. “Where’s Fred gone off to?” 

“He said he needed to talk to someone,” Angelina said, pointing towards the stairs that led towards the kitchens. 

You turned, expecting to find Fred putting a firecracker in someone's robes, but instead found him trying to get the attention of the Hufflepuff girl. She was standing close to another Durmstrang boy, but looked rather uncomfortable at the whole situation. She kept trying to scoot closer to Cedric, but every time she did, the Durmstrang boy would scoot with her. Cedric said something to her before he took Cho by the hand and led her into the Hall. Fred called her name again, but she continued to ignore him, instead saying something to her date before they too walked to the Hall. 

“Why didn’t he just ask her?” Angelina asked beside you. “I would’ve been fine going with someone else.”

“Because he’s an idiot,” you said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You’re not wrong,” Angelina agreed. 

The entrance hall was getting emptier as everyone filed into the Great Hall. You took this as the cue to follow suit. You stood in the large crowd, pressing play on your camcorder as the school champions were ushered to the dance floor. The dancing started, and George almost immediately pulled you to the dance floor as more people joined in. 

The night went by quickly, but you would always be able to watch it back thanks to your camcorder, and look at pictures that you took. 

Your favorite picture by far was one of Adrian squished in a hug between the twins, their red hair and gold vests standing out extravagantly against his all black outfit. Adrian and the twins were still not the best of friends, but over the past few months they had all agreed to try to get along for your sake. The twins liked to show their progress through aggressive acts of friendliness. 

The videos were another story. They showed the night in motion and sound, something you were eternally thankful for. You could never give enough thanks to your dad for buying the camcorder for you. 

The video of the school champions dancing showed Hermione being the happiest you had ever seen her. It was quickly interrupted by you laughing as George pulled you onto the dance floor, followed by Fred grabbing Angelina to dance with him. It even caught a bit of McGonagall dancing with Dumbledore, a surprising sight, as you had thought you would never see either of them dancing in your life. 

You caught a video of Percy, zoomed way in on his grumpy face as he watched his ex-girlfriend dancing with someone else. Penelope looked happy with the boy she was dancing with though. You knew in a few years, hopefully, Percy would be able to laugh at his emotions too. 

You got Fred and George pulling Percy, Ron, and Harry out of their seats as The Weird Sisters started to play. Ginny joined their group to dance with her brothers; the three excited Weasleys trying their best to dance the grumpiness out of the others. You set the camera down on a table, facing the group and ran to grab Adrian and Georgi. Passing Angelina and Alicia on the way back, you told them to come with you too. Your large group now took up much of the dance floor, but no one seemed to mind as you all jumped around to the song the band was playing. 

The next video had the band playing a slower song in the background. The camera just sitting on a table, having been accidentally turned on by someone. It showed the Hufflepuff girl sitting at a table with Percy. They were talking, but the music drowned out any words that they were saying. Percy looked a little happier than he did earlier. Fred came into frame, sitting next to Percy, but putting his whole attention on the girl. She said a few short words to him, but when it was obvious she didn’t want to talk, he got up and walked towards the camera. He must have noticed it was on, because he mumbled a few words at it before the video cut off. 

There was a short video of you and Adrian walking outside in front of the castle, lights sparkling around you. George and Fred were a few paces ahead of you, talking about something you couldn’t hear. Georgi had offered to record for a bit, even though he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing. The video cut off abruptly when the camera was dropped. 

The last video on the camera was George recording you as you were leaving the Hall for the night. 

“How was your night,” he asked from behind the camera. 

“I had a great night,” you told him, walking backwards. You were holding up your dress so you didn’t trip. “Better than some people.”

The camera panned over to Fred, who flicked it off. He had a smile on his face, though, so you knew he still had a wonderful time. George moved the camera to catch Angelina in frame. 

“Did you still have a good time,” he asked her, “even though your date was kinda a drag?” 

“I had a wonderful time,” Angelina said as she put her arms around Alicia and Katie, who were walking beside her. “I still had my best friends to lift the mood.” 

“And what about you,” George turned so now he was walking backwards, camera pointed at Adrian and Georgi. They were walking hand in hand, Adrian’s head resting on Georgi’s shoulder. 

“It was alright,” Adrian said, smiling up at his date. Georgi squeezed Adrian’s hand. 

You had now reached the base of the stairs that led up to the Gryffindor common room. Everyone stopped walking to say their goodbyes. 

“One more thing,” you said to the camera. “I wanna get my spell on record.” You grabbed out your wand and pointed it at your dress, setting the fireworks in motion. 

“Beautiful, as always,” George hummed behind the camera. “I think this is where we part ways.” He took your hand in his. “Goodnight, love.”

“Goodnight.” 

The video stopped as you leaned in to kiss him. 

[timextoxhajima]

Love Me A Little Less: Chapter 1 - Frankenstein

LOVE ME A LITTLE LESS CHAPTER MASTERLIST

Member: (3rd person pov) arranged marriage au with Lee Juyeon

Genre: angsty wangsty

Taglist: @hyunvelies​

“We buried you.”

The feast before Kim Jang Won is absolutely stunning. Lemon meringue tarts, strawberry smoothies (with actual strawberry bits in them), pancakes and freshly buttered croissants, a gorgeous transparent glass pot with the golden shade of chamomile tea and a beautiful tray of puffs and eclairs.

It would be even more stunning if it wasn’t her view every morning though.

“Hey, um, don’t we have like alternating menus or something for breakfast? I feel like I’m eating the same thing every morning now, it’s kinda getting tacky.”

“Miss Kim, I hope you know you’re the one who decides what the menu is. You chose this set like a week ago and you told us not to change it for the next two weeks.”

Jang Won sneers at her butler, arguably the only person on the property to has the guts to talk to her in a way that could get her fired.

“You’re lucky I can trust you.”

Ro Il Jung purses his lips into a thin white line, scratching his cheek with one of those knuckly, wrinkly-skin-covered fingers of his. “You seem to forget that I wanted to retire last year, Miss Kim.”

Jang Won huffs childishly, sticking her tongue out, now a gentle, thick shade of smoothie on her tongue. “I’ll let you retire when I find someone else I can trust, Mr Ro. It’s just too bad I don’t have anybody in mind right now.”

Mr Ro shakes his head like a parent disapproving of his child, but a house guard pulling the heavy doors of the entrance over accompanied by some urgent yelling tears his attention away from the owner of the mansion. 

Jang Won looks up from her butter and croissant, at Mr Ro, who excuses himself before heading for the entrance hall. 

“Sir,” He begins before he can even note the visitor. “If you could--”

“Mr Ro!”

Jang Won hears her butler’s words fade to a complete silent, only listening to their visitor talk. But it’s strange, because it’s a familiar voice...

Mr Ro cannot believe the sight before his eyes.

“I can’t believe you’re still working here. It’s so great to see you again!” Then the visitor pulls Mr Ro into a hug, harshly patting the space between his shoulder blades. 

The lady of the house cannot take it anymore, not when she can’t eavesdrop on the conversation occurring in her own halls. So she gets up from the table, heels clacking against the marble floor as she heads into the entrance hall.

“Alright now, who’s got the guts to stop me in the middle of my French breakfast this morning?”

Mr Ro turns in silent shock, eyes wide and glaring while Jang Won processes the face of the visitor. 

The man hadn’t looked like he aged a day since he was--

“I’m sorry,” Jang Won scoffs, waving her beautifully done manicured fingernails in the air. “If this is some impractical joke, please do tell because my brain is just about to explode from the sight right now. Y’know,” She gestures to her head and mimics the sound of a bomb. 

“Jang Won...” The visitor strides towards her, arms wide. But she raises a palm and shifts backwards, a cautious half-smile mixed with a frown plastered to her flawless skin. 

“Not another step, nuh-uh,” Waving a finger before his nose, she shakes her head. “There is no way in Hell you can be standing here.”

“Oh, but I am, love,” Once a warm voice that sang her to sleep, Jang Won cannot decide if the tears in her eyes are welling from relief or fear. “I’m home.”

“No... no!” She slaps away his outstretched hands. “We... we buried you...”

“And I can only imagine what you’re feeling right now, my child, but... we have more important things to worry about.”

Mr Ro’s face is contorted with a mess of confusion and anxiety and he watches the first tears fall down Jang Won’s cheeks. 

“What...? ‘More important’-- No, how is anything more important than you... standing here?” The last word comes out like a final breath, at a volume just enough for him to hear. 

“I came bearing news, Jang Won. I-- Well...” He rubs the back of his head, eyes tilted down to his feet. “Because I’ve return to the board of administration now... part of the company now comes back to... me--”

What?

“And... you cannot inherit any part of the company unless you are married to someone from a family from the same administration board.”

Jang Won’s tears solidify into fumes of anger as the thought runs through her neurons. The middle aged man begins to panic when he can read the rage in her eyes, her fists now clenched and the markings of her rings probably embedded into the flesh of her palm. Her knuckles begin to turn white as does his face, ever so slightly.

“Now, now, love. I know what you’re thinking and we can sit down and have a chat about this--”

“‘Sit down and have a chat’?” Jang Won scoffs miserably, lower jaw hanging agape. “Why don’t we sit down and let me ask you whiCH SCIENTIST MADE YOU FRANKENSTEIN?!”

The hallways of the mansion echo the shouts, the sound waves bouncing back and forth between the marble walls mostly adorn with gorgeous, one-in-a-million paintings. 

“That’s not important now, hun. I just need you to understand that without this marriage, you will lose the house and everything you own from HERA & ARTEMIS.”

“I built HERA & ARTEMIS after you were fucking bURIED! Who are you to tell me that you will inherit it ownership and I can’t just because I’m not married?!”

“These were instructions from The Board, Jang Won. I had absolutely no say over this--”

“BULLSHIT! If you have the power to take ownership of HERA & ARTEMIS just because you climbed out of your own grave, why don’t you have the power to help m-- Oh, oh...” Jang Won frowns in disdain, disgust welling her lungs and her gut. 

“What?” His eyes widen and shoulders shrug.

“You came back just to tell me this... because you want HERA & ARTEMIS for yourself.”

“What-- No--”

"You... low-life... scumbag!" The sharp shatter of the glass cabinet behind him echoes through the entrance hall of the mansion. One of the palm-sized statues sitting on the table in the middle of the circular hall lands amongst the billion pieces of glass on the marble floor.

"You give me my freedom and now you tell me I have to get married?!" The final word is literally pushed through her teeth when she cannot clench her jaws even harder. The tremors vibrating up her fist and into her arm and then her entire body makes her look like a volcano ready to erupt, so if these people haven't gotten enough, they have yet to see what's in store.

"Just who the HELL do you think you are?!" Grabbing another one of those tiny statues, Jang Won throws it into the other glass door of the cabinet.

"Jang Won, will you calm down?!"

"Don't you DARE tell me to calm down! You waltz back into this house after GOD knows how long- Hell, we BURIED you!"

"There was a mistake of the body identification and frankly, I expected a warmer welcome from you!"

"HA! A ‘warmer welcome’?! What do you want me to do? Set the entire house on fire? Do you want me to? Because I will!" The man has his brows furrowed back, palms out stretched to her. The mansion staff have all gathered a safe distance around the two of them, Mr Ro and some of those closer to Jang Won trying their best to get to her and calm her nerves but there is just absolutely no way she isn’t going to hurl a brick at her father.

"I can't BELIEVE you're standing there as if you own this place," The muscles around Jang Won’s nose twitches as the frown sinks deeper into her forehead. "I want you to hear this mighty well and crystal clear. You may have been the one who gave me life, but you will never EVER be my dad.”

The huffs that are billowing out Jang Won’s nostrils are starting to hurt.

"There is not a single cent you're stepping on - or touching, for that matter - that belongs to you. The only reason why I haven't fucking put a bullet through your right eye is because I'd go to jail and every thing I've worked for would be thrown out the window.”

“Now, now, love, we can sit down and be civilized about this—”

“Fuck you,” The anger surges through her, and she picks up one more palm-sized statue from the blue resin table. The heavy bronze weight leaves her fingers, and before it can hit the slightly aged man, someone reaches out and catches it instead.

“What the HELL are you doing?!” The scream echoes through the hall of the mansion. Younghoon sighs heavily, hand retreating back to his side as he hands the statue to one of the house staff.

“You have no right to get involved in this—”

“Jang Won, let’s go,” Younghoon strides across the space and grabs her arm, back-facing his father and trying to pull her in the opposite direction. “We can talk about this in your office.”

“How are you thinking straight?! We BURIED him! We watched his coffin get lowered into—”

“I know! I was there!” His eyes flutter shut in frustration, shoulders raising as he sucks in a deep breath, flaring his nostrils. “There’s no point destroying your own property over this. We can carry out some investigations, figure out what really happened, then we’ll work from there.”

The grip on her arm tightens when her instincts try to writhe away from him, but obviously, he doesn’t relent.

“Don’t do it. It’s not worth your time, or mine.”

He stares down at Jang Won, but it doesn’t scare her, not when she has a ghost standing right in the middle of some shattered mess. Not one cut on him.

Younghoon grimly shuts the door as Jang Won stomps over to her office desk and rests her palms flat against the Agar Wood surface. With a sharp, swift feat, she swipes nearly all the documents off the furniture. But when she misses the empty glass (that would usually be filled with some kind of alcohol or soda), she doesn't hesitate to pick it off the desk and propel it into the marble by the television mounted to the wall.

The shatter startles Younghoon as he whips around, eyes darting frantically between her and the mess she’s made.

"Jang Won!"

"Should I be concerned you don't seem one bit bothered that a dead man is standing in our living room - MY living room?"

"That dead man is our father."

"No, that dead man WAS our father before he ditched us! How are you not- UGH!"

Frustrated, furious and absolutely exasperate, she plops down into one of the two sofas sitting in the middle of the office, feet almost tempted to kick the frosted glass table in the middle but she holds herself back. Younghoon manages to get a few house staff into the room, who hurriedly help clear the glass and return the documents to the table. Fingers pressed into her temples, Jang Won could only imagine the gratification she could receive have if she had the chance to ram her first into someone's face.

Younghoon waits for the staff to leave, then stands by the sofa opposite her, one hand on his hip and the other running through his hair. The late morning sun reflects off his soft, dark brown locks when he absent-mindedly rubs the back of his head and he proceeds to unbutton his blazer to allow him a seat. The leather squeaks under his weight before he leans his elbows on his knees, knuckles resting under his lips and chin.

"Please tell me you're actually thinking and not just trying to look pretty. You're in my house now, not some studio photoshoot."

"I'm thinking about where to put a whole person for you."

"Don't bother, he's moved half his things into the first guestroom. He's probably holding a conductor's wand right now and asking the staff to help him with the second half."

"Have you called the funeral services?"

"And say what? 'Hey sir, have you... perhaps mis-screwed a coffin about 2 years back and now we might have a problem of a zombie'?"

"I'm just saying someone might've paid someone to replace the bodies!" Younghoon frowns, eyes stuck to the rug under his feet. "We don't know how it happened but someone MUST know, right?"

"I think your best bet is the asshole living down the hall now."

"He's not gonna budge, we both know that."

"Well, Sherlock Holmes, thanks for pointing out the obvious."

"I'm just trying to help. You need to stop your nonsensical whining and use your brain like how you used it to get all this money."

Jang Won picks up a pillow and hurls it into Younghoon. “You’re lucky you still stick around, else I’d have the both of you screwed over.”

Younghoon catches the pillow, holding it to his side. “The day I stop looking out for you is the day I die, alright? So you can be rest assured I’ll--”

“Miss Kim!” Mr Ro’s voice calls out from outside the office. 

“What is it, Mr Ro?” Younghoon turns and returns the call, head tilted towards the door. It croaks open, and Mr Ro’s eyes are tired, wary as he sticks his head in.

“Your father just left and... and I think you should see the news.” Mr Ro pushes past the heavy door and reaches for the remote sitting on the frosted glass. The television screen mounted above the fire place flickers on, and there it was, her father’s face.

“The Board has just confirmed the ownership of HERA & ARTEMIS will thus forth be returned to Kim Jo-Pil, father of Kim Jang Won, the current owner. Investigations as to Kim Jo-Pil’s supposed death two years ago are still ongoing.”

“I’m gonna kill him.”

“You can’t.”

“Watch me.”

“We’ll be-- Wha-- The Board’s just come in with some new information! Kim JO-Pil has announced a marriage between Kim Jang Won, current owner of HERA & ARTEMIS and Lee Juyeon, the next-in-line to becoming the next Director of Apple, South Korea.”

Younghoon’s eyeballs are about to bludgeon out of his eye sockets. “Jang Won... I know what you’re thinking... But don’t--”

“I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL HIM!”

[incorrectbandofbrothersquotes]

You Better, You Better, You Bet - Chapter 9

As Long as You’re Mine

Ron Speirs x Juliet Fletcher

Summary: Juliet Fletcher reaches a breaking point in her life. When she is at her absolute lowest, she meets Ron Speirs, and something happens between them that neither of them will ever forget.

Word Count: 4.1K

Tag List: @vintagelavenderskies @how-are-those-nuts-sarge @iilovemusic12us @hesbuckcompton-baby @tvserie-s-world @whovian45810 @50svibes @cagzzz107 @evelynshelby @piano-isnt-my-forte​ If you’d like to be added, let me know!

A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this update!

Warning(s): None :)

Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 3  Chapter 4  Chapter 5  Chapter 6  Chapter 7  Chapter 8

AO3 link

Chapter 9 let’s go!!!

“Okay, how does this sound?” Juliet asked Ron, who sat on her bed as she put together her story of the trial. He was careful not to recline, lest he disturb her pages of notes carefully organized atop the quilt. “Meredith Fisher confessed to the murder of six-year-old Peggy Lee in front of the courtroom before her trial began. Mrs. Fisher was arrested and charged with the murder in September of last year. Her lawyer, Mr. Harvey Cooper, originally planned to plead not guilty, but in a shocking turn of events, Mrs. Fisher herself admitted to the jury she killed Peggy Lee before even opening arguments could be made.” 

“I’d read that,” Ron replied. 

Juliet huffed and looked around her room at the Blue Boar. Papers littered the floor, pens were nowhere to be found, and her typewriter was mocking her. Now that the trial was finished - with such a dramatic twist - she was hard at work, trying to ensure she reported it just right. An impossible task, it felt like.

“Okay, but would you read it because I’m your girlfriend or because of the writing?” she asked. 

“The writing,” he told her. “It’s simple, it explains everything.” 

“It feels a bit long for the lead,” she said. “Perhaps I should put the bit about her arrest in the nut graph.” 

“That does feel more like background information,” he agreed. 

She pulled a pencil from behind her ear, scratched out the sentence, and began again. “So, it’d go like this - Meredith Fisher confessed to the murder of six-year-old Peggy Lee in front of the courtroom before her trial began. Her lawyer - I’m gonna take out his name and have that later - so, Her lawyer originally planned to plead not guilty, but in a shocking turn of events, Mrs. Fisher admitted to the jury she killed Peggy Lee before even opening arguments could be made. Then I’ll go into when she was arrested, the details of the murder, then the evidence the prosecution had prepared, and finish with her sentencing date. How’s that?” 

“I think it’s perfect,” he said. 

She chewed her lip. “Should I use the word shocking? I don’t want to tell the readers how to feel.” 

“When she confessed, what was the first thing you heard?” he asked. 

“Gasps,” she answered. 

“There’s your shock,” he said. 

Juliet had to concede that point. Ron almost didn’t believe her when she told him the story. The judge had barely gotten the words “How do you plead?” out before Meredith let out a wail like wounded animal and confessed to the whole gruesome thing. She sobbed that she was sorry, but she knew she had to be punished. She wasn’t safe. And truthfully, Juliet felt bad for her. It was truly one of the most pitiful things she’d ever witnessed. 

But the one thing Juliet could never forget, the image that would stick with her for all her days, was the look on Peggy Lee’s parents’ faces. The Lees watched, dignified, proud, yet misty eyed as the person who killed their daughter begged for mercy. Their grief was profoundly felt, despite their stately manner. They said nothing. They did nothing. And they spoke to no one upon their exit from the courtroom. 

“Jules?” 

Ron’s voice brought her back to the present, his hand on her shoulder making her turn to look at him. 

“Sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “Just...it’s so unfair. If anyone had a right to be screaming and crying it was the parents.”

“They must be very English,” he said. 

“Oh, they were proper English,” she agreed. “Stiff upper lips and all. The mother did at one point hide her face in the father’s arm, but other than that, they were stoic.” 

“Thinking about including that in your story?” he wondered. 

“God, no,” she replied. “I’ll mention that they were there and offered no comments, but this isn’t that kind of article.” 

“Just the facts, huh?” 

“As usual.” 

“Juliet.”

“Yeah?”

“The article’s gonna be great,” he said.  

“How can you be so sure?” she asked. 

“Because you care this much,” he said. He accentuated the point with a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ve got a staff meeting. Are you alright here?” 

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for being so patient with me.” 

He kissed her again. “I’ll see you tonight.” 

“See you later, Ron,” she returned. 

With that, he left. Juliet started trying to condense the lead again, still feeling like it was too long. There had to be a better summary. But it was a lot to try and fit into one sentence, so she resigned herself to making it more than one line. She hadn’t chosen a headline yet, either, but she usually liked to write the article first. That way she could pick out the singular most newsworthy part and headline with that. As she organized further, the phone rang. 

“Hello?” she answered. 

“Juliet, it’s Lottie.” 

“Hey, Lottie, how are you?” Juliet asked. 

“Fine, same as usual,” Lottie returned. “Otis just rang and told me about the trial. I hope you’re hard at work.” 

“Absolutely,” Juliet assured her. “I’ve nearly got the lead down. I’ve just got to get the facts organized. I’m thinking of doing a follow up story about the shortcomings of Operation Pied Piper, since Cooper’s little tidbit did prove to be true.” 

Sad as it was, Harvey Cooper was right. There was no process for vetting the families agreeing to take the children. The committee had been in such a hurry to evacuate, they had not even considered that some children could end up in more danger than they were at home in the cities. Juliet found the whole thing fascinating, and it could open up a conversation about war time protocol - be meticulous or swift? 

“I think that’ll be fine,” Lottie said. “But have you gotten any war news? I know I wasn’t enthusiastic about it initially, but you’re the only reporter I’ve got with the Airborne.” 

Juliet bit her lip. While the prospect of war news had originally driven her to accept the Peggy Lee story, she found herself conflicted about it now. Her relationship with Ron threw a wrench in it. 

“I think it’s a conflict of interest for me to cover the Airborne,” she said. 

She could practically hear Lottie’s eyes roll. “Oh, come on, Juliet, don’t be absurd.” 

“It isn’t right, Lottie!” Juliet insisted. “I’m in an intimate relationship with one of the soldiers, there’s no freeing me from bias there.” 

“You could use it to your advantage,” Lottie said. “Obviously, you can’t use him as a source, but couldn’t he lead you to the right person?” 

“I can’t ask that of him,” Juliet said. “I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.” 

“What wrong idea?” 

It was something Juliet had already put a lot of thought into. As badly as she wanted to cover the war - and it did seem like things were ramping up even more in Aldbourne - she was hesitant. She had actually considered asking Ron for a source and then immediately hated herself for it. She would not use her relationship to get ahead in her job. She couldn’t. It just wasn’t right, simple as that.

“That I’m using him,” Juliet explained. “If I ask him to get me a source, he might worry that it’s the reason I entered the relationship, and that’s not the case.” 

Lottie sighed. “So, you just want to give up on covering the war?” 

“I didn’t say that,” Juliet returned. “I’d be happy to cover something else once I get back to London, but-”

“Forget it,” Lottie cut across her. “Just focus on the trial for now and then Pied Piper, if that’s what you want.” 

“Lottie -” 

“Good afternoon, Juliet,” Lottie said harshly, hanging up before Juliet could protest any further. 

She sighed, hanging up as well, and sitting back in her chair. She had a feeling the conversation wasn’t quite over, but she’d hear more about it on her next trip home. For now, she wanted to focus on what happened at the trial. The sentencing would be in another few weeks, so she needed to get this done. 

***

Ron was right of course. The article was published and the London Pursuit sold the most copies it had in years. It surprised Juliet a little, but perhaps people were tired of war news and what better than a dramatic murder trial for a change of pace? It was morbid, sure, but Juliet knew she’d handled it as well as she could. 

Lottie called, absolutely elated by the circulation numbers. And honestly, Juliet was thrilled too. She found Ron later that day and leapt into his arms as a display of her unmitigated excitement. She’d done it, and done it well! It was cause for celebration. So they went to London for the weekend - staying with Nancy of course, since she would have had a fit at missing an opportunity to see Ron - and they went to a nice dinner, champagne and everything. Juliet could hardly believe her luck. Everything was going so perfectly. 

And that night, as they lay together in the afterglow, she looked at his face and knew she loved him. The kind of love she read about in books and poetry. The kind that crooners sang about on the radio. She’d found it. It was scary enough to admit to herself, but she determined that she would - one day soon if the opportunity presented itself - admit it to him. 

He caught her gazing at him. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

“Nothing,” she replied. “I’m just happy you’re mine.” 

***

The sentencing hearing was not as interesting as the trial itself, but Juliet was relieved to report that Meredith Fisher was going to prison for life. There would be no chance for parole, either. So justice was served. 

However, Juliet couldn’t help but notice the look on Mr. Lee’s face. Mrs. Lee had not come for the sentencing, so it was just father. When the judge announced Meredith’s fate, Mr. Lee only closed his eyes and let out a long breath. He nodded, put a hand over his heart, and inhaled again. A single tear rolled down his cheek. It made Juliet look away so that he could have that moment for himself. To take in whatever feelings came to him. To remember Peggy and take some solace in that her killer was going away. 

“I thought I’d be happier,” Juliet told Ron as they prepared for bed that night back at the Blue Boar. “But it still just feels...rotten.” 

“Nothing can bring the girl back,” he said matter-of-factly. 

“I know,” she replied. “But I just....I suppose you’re right. What else could anyone have hoped for in this situation?” 

“Right,” he agreed. 

“I’m also grateful we didn’t have to hear that lawyer make that ridiculous argument in a courtroom,” she said. “I don’t think I could bear the looks on the parents’ faces at that.”  

“That would have been awful,” he said. 

“Even so, it feels rather anticlimactic,” she said. “Especially for the prosecution who spent months putting everything together.”

“They still got the result they wanted,” he pointed out. “So what does it matter?  

She shrugged at that. She still felt unsatisfied, as if there was something more to be done. Even though logically, she knew there wasn’t. She would write an update for the paper, and that would really be the end of it. That was when it hit her. What was really upsetting her was that now that this was over, there was no more reason for her to be in Aldbourne. Especially now that she didn’t want to cover the Airborne. It meant that she would go home to London, in turn reducing her time with Ron significantly. And that was a dreadful thought. 

***

“What do you mean you aren’t coming back to London?” Lottie cried through the phone. “What about the Pied Piper story?”

“I reckon it can wait,” Juliet said, entirely unconvincing, but she hoped Lottie was buying it. Her reasons for remaining in Aldbourne had nothing to do with her job and everything to do with the man she was in love with. “And maybe with some time, I can find my own sources on war news.” 

Lottie remained silent for several minutes. “So, you’ve just changed your mind all of a sudden about covering the Airborne?” 

“Not completely,” Juliet lied. “I...I’m just not sure I’m quite finished here. And what if there’s something else about the Peggy Lee story that comes up? I could -” 

“Give it a rest, Juliet,” Lottie groaned. “I know you want to stay for your boyfriend.”

“That’s not -” 

Lottie cut across her protests. “Please do not insult my intelligence by suggesting otherwise. You want to be near him.” 

“You don’t sound quite as sympathetic as I hoped,” Juliet said, giving in. 

“You have a life in London, Juliet!” Lottie reminded her harshly. “You have a job to do, your mother is here, and you want to put everything on hold for some man?” 

“He’s not just some man!” Juliet argued indignantly. “He’s...different from any man I’ve ever known. And what we have means more to me than anything I’ve ever known.” 

She glanced down at the necklace that sparkled against her skin. A constant reminder of how much she meant to him as well. 

“Oh, come off of your cloud, will you?” Lottie snapped. 

“Lottie,” Juliet said seriously. “The whole time I was with Arthur, did you ever know me to put him before work? Or my family?”

“No, so why is this Ron fellow -”

“Because it is different,” Juliet emphasized. “This is it, Lottie. He’s the one.” 

That seemed to stump her. “Has he...proposed?”

“No, he hasn’t,” Juliet said. “I don’t even care if he does.”

Lottie scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, you can’t just carry on living in sin.” 

Juliet rolled her eyes. “Could you please pay attention to what's important here? There’s a man in my life who I genuinely see a happy future with and I just...I want to focus on that. Is that so wrong?” 

“I suppose not,” Lottie sighed, and Juliet inwardly celebrated a moment of victory. “But I can’t pay you if you aren’t working. At least be making the proper phone calls to follow this Pied Piper story. Conduct interviews of other families there who have taken in children from the cities. Part of the story is there if you know where to look.” 

“No problem,” Juliet said. “You’ll be glad to know I’ve already begun. I’ve got an interview with the Barnes family next week, who are housing a little girl. I’ll ask them about how the process went for them.” 

“Perfect,” Lottie said. She paused for a beat. “And, Juliet?”

“Yes?” 

“I really am happy for you.” 

Juliet smiled softly. “Thank you, Lottie.” 

***

Spring fully thawed the winter out by the time April arrived. Aldbourne was rather charming in bloom. But Juliet wasn’t sure if it was the flowers or that she was in love. She found herself humming a lot more than she used to - these days she didn’t even need food to start a merry tune in the back of her throat. She had more energy, despite spending rather long nights in Ron’s arms. And she found her enthusiasm for work - even though her priority shifted - a great deal easier to come by as well. 

The interview with the Barnes family went splendidly. They were also housing a couple of lieutenants from the Airborne, though they were not in Ron’s company. Juliet only exchanged brief greetings with them, as they were heading to work just as she was entering the house. She nearly melted at the connection they had formed with the girl - Ann - which was clear in their goodbyes to her for the day. She seemed particularly close to the tall redhead. 

Juliet told Ron about it that evening over drinks. 

“Yeah, that’s Winters and Welsh,” he told her. “Good officers.” 

“Do they spend much time here?” she wondered, indicating the Blue Boar.  

“Welsh does, but Winters doesn’t drink,” he said. “He spends most nights there with the family.” 

“I can tell,” she said. “I mean, it was seriously precious. She hugged his knees and he patted her on the head and I think I fell a little bit in love with him for a moment.” 

He scoffed. “Good luck, I think he has a girlfriend.” 

“Has he?” she questioned. 

“Yeah, the nurse,” he said. “She works for the regiment.” 

“You lot have your own nurse?” 

“She’s got some connection to Colonel Sink,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve never actually met her.” 

“And what about the other chap?” she asked. “Welsh?” 

“He’s engaged,” he told her. “Her name’s Kitty.” 

“You know that but not the name of the nurse?” she questioned. 

“I only know because Harry never shuts up about her,” he said. “The whole regiment knows at this point. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Krauts knew.” 

She giggled. “I think that’s sweet.” 

“It’s obnoxious.” 

“You mean, you don’t brag about me to the whole regiment?” she teased. “Romance is dead.”

“Sorry for your loss,” he retorted as he took a swig of his drink. 

“Not as sorry as I am,” she returned. “Now I’ll have to spend God knows how many hours in mourning.” 

“At least you look good in black,” he said. 

“My saving grace,” she agreed with a smile. She paused for a beat. “Seriously, you don’t talk about me at all?” 

“I do if you come up,” he told her.

“And what do you say?” she wondered.

“Whatever’s relevant,” he said. 

She rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.” 

“I prefer not to broadcast my personal life,” he said. “All they need to know is that you’re mine.” 

She smiled as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. “That’s true.” 

***

April was drawing to a close. Juliet stood in her room, preparing to go and interview another Aldbourne family about their process in fostering a child from London. These interviews were restoring the bit of faith she’d lost in covering Peggy’s story because most of the families were very kind, and doted on the children. They were proud of doing what they could to ensure the future of England. And the children were mostly happy. What happened to Peggy was a tragedy and an outlier. 

She was just getting ready to leave when Ron entered her room. A grim shadow of doubt on his features made her smile disappear as fast as it had come. Something was wrong. He definitely had bad news. 

“We’re moving out,” he told her. 

She had expected this at some point, but she still blinked in surprise. Her shoulders drooped as the reality of it percolated through her.  

“Oh,” she said. “Well...when?” 

He hesitated. “This is off the record -” 

She scowled at him, momentarily offended that he felt the need to clarify. 

“Everything between us is protected, Ron,” she said sharply. “You and I are always off the record unless stated otherwise.” 

“Sorry,” he said quickly, picking up on her tone. “I know that, I just -” 

“When?” she demanded again.

“End of May,” he said. “I don’t know when we’ll be back.” 

The if hung in the air, but remained unsaid. This was it. The moment she had been dreading since she met him. Well, maybe not that long, but since they had started getting to know each other there in Aldbourne. The war was taking him from her, like it took everything. 

“I see…” she trailed off, her annoyance easing up. That was sooner than she had hoped and she didn’t want to waste any precious time being angry at him. “Um...where - wait, I can’t ask you that.” She bit her lip. “When - oh, no, you’ve just told me, that’s right -” 

“Juliet.”

“Yes?”

“Wait for me.” 

Once again, Ron failed to disappoint her. Despite all the reassurance, she worried that when they shipped out, he would take the opportunity to break it off with her. Instead, he was asking - in his way - for a commitment from her. She held his gaze for a long moment, waiting for him to say more. But he didn’t. 

“You really want to stay together?” she asked. 

“Yes,” he said assuredly. 

“Oh, thank God,” she sighed, and she threw herself into his arms for a kiss. 

He returned the kiss with enthusiasm, his lips fiery and desperate against hers. As if he were leaving the following morning instead of a couple of weeks. But Juliet wanted the intensity. She wanted to savor every touch, every kiss, every moment she had before he was gone. She also wanted to let him know that she absolutely would wait for him. She would do anything he asked of her. She just wanted him. Forever, if possible. And if the war robbed her of that, she would at least have the memories of kisses like these. Of nights in his arms. Of his unwavering dedication to her. 

***

The arrangements were made for Juliet to return to London once Ron and the rest of the Airborne were off. On his final morning in Aldbourne, they of course made love again, only it was the after that they relished even more. Juliet etched into her brain the feeling of his embrace, the warmth of his skin, the sound of his voice. She wished desperately that she could freeze time and hold onto him for just a little longer. She had found something so wonderful and now it was being dragged away from her. 

“Jules,” he said, voice low as if there might be someone listening on the other side of the door. 

“Yeah?” 

“We’re going to France,” he said. 

She blinked and adjusted her position so she could look him in the face. “France?”

He nodded. “I wanted you to know.” 

She couldn’t explain why that felt more intimate than anything they had just done in her bed. 

“Why tell me now?” she asked, curious. 

He swallowed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, but his arm gave her shoulders a squeeze. 

“Trust,” he said. 

She pressed her lips tenderly to his chest to let him know how much she appreciated his trust. There was no longer a need to specify on or off the record. His statements were privileged. Anything he told her would remain between them. 

For a fleeting moment, she considered telling him right then that she loved him. Because if he was going to France, there was a chance he would never come back. And shouldn’t he know just in case? But her heart told her to play it safe. If she didn’t tell him now, perhaps whatever power there was would protect him enough so that she could say it later. If there were still things left to be said, hopefully that would keep him alive. 

There were no guarantees, of course. All they had was each other and their promise.

That afternoon, the trucks began rumbling out of Aldbourne. Juliet walked Ron as far as she was allowed. Her chest felt tight as the impending goodbye hung in the air. She hated this. It was too painful. How could it be that the very war that brought them together would also be the reason for their parting? What was fair about that? Nothing, that’s what. 

A kiss from Ron drew her out of her thoughts. He held her firmly against him, almost as if he were afraid she would disappear right out of his grasp. When they parted, they were both breathless. 

“Be careful,” she said. 

His eyes searched hers. “You too.” 

Her brain was practically screaming at her to tell him now just what she felt. But she was too afraid. Too afraid it would doom him. Too afraid he wouldn’t say it back. Or even worse, say it only because of the passionate nature of the moment. It had to be when they weren’t so desperate. When they really meant it because whatever was coming was not a threat. 

“I’ll write,” she told him. 

“I’ll respond when I can,” he returned. 

She nodded. Her throat was dry and thick. The lack of tears in her eyes surprised her. How could she not be crying when she could feel her heart breaking so badly? She kissed him again. Just to prolong the last moment where he was only hers. 

“Stay safe,” she told him. 

He nodded. 

With one last kiss, they said goodbye without saying it. Juliet went to the train station and headed home to London. And Ron went to war. 

[mirkwoodshewolf]

On set visits; Queen x reader x Borhap boys pt. 1

*Author's note*

Alright so this part is broken up into 2 parts so here is the 1st part of the Bohemian Rhapsody film set visit. Part 2 will be up in just a second after I get done with this author's note. So expect some crazy stuff happening, fluffiness and the Rock Angel reminiscing on her past with the boys. 

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@simonedk​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@queensdivas​

@queendeakyy​

@wormzteef​

@geek-and-proud​

@starswin​

@isabella-bby​

@onebigfangirlworld​

@labessieisallama​

@5sos-wdw​

@ssa-sadboi​

@naturalswifty89​

@bohemiansweede

_________________________________________________________

*Sept. 2017. Filming Bohemian Rhapsody*

I almost couldn't believe it myself. I mean I knew that the boys were planning on a film about themselves and that it was taking them almost 10 years just to get it off the ground. But now after multiple rewrites of the script and better casting, the film was ready to get off the ground.

"So you're absolutely sure I can stop by whenever I feel like it? No matter how many times?" I spoke into my I-phone.

'Absolutely love, just as long as you don't spill any secrets.'

"Please Bri, when have I ever revealed anything to anyone about you guys?"

'Well there was the time—'

"That was a fluck and you know it!" I snapped.

'I'm kidding love, you've never spilled any secrets. You've gotten better at lying lately.' Brian chuckled.

"Well when you say it like that it makes me feel guilty."

'As it should love. So when can we expect you?'

"I'll try to get there before the filming starts, so I may end up going to bed now so that way I can get on the road early enough to beat traffic."

'I know Rog is looking forward to seeing you again.'

"I just did the summer tour with you guys, how could he already miss me?"

'It's a mystery to all of us, but he is your father after all.'

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay well I'll see you tomorrow Bri."

'See you then (y/n). sweet dreams and drive safe tomorrow.'

"Will do. Love you."

'Love you too poppet.' I then hung up and couldn't help but grin.

"You still going over to see them film tomorrow?" I turned and low and behold after a long day's shift there was my husband coming in from his police work.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat threw up." I teased.

"Ha-ha you're hilarious my love." He said as he undid his tie and unbuttoned his short. "So the film's finally taking off the ground?"

"Yep, and they finally found a better Freddie Mercury."

"Yeah cause I remember when you called and told me about Sacha Baron Cohen."

"I just couldn't stand the fact that he was wanting to expose the dark side of Freddie. I mean yeah he had the parties, and the drugs, the sex, but that's all what Rock and rollers did back in those days. Plus that's all he seemed to care about. The scandal that came with Freddie's name, nothing about the music. I'm only just glad Bri sided with me on it." I ranted as Jack came up after taking his shirt and undoing his pants and began to rub my shoulders.

"I know love. You're as protective of this project as Brian and Roger are. So do you know who exactly they got to play Freddie this time?"

"No, but I'll find out tomorrow."

"Okay well, my team's got a heavy lead on the case so I won't really be available tomorrow."

"I understand. Just—promise me you'll be careful my love. I haven't forgotten that one killer that shot you in the line of duty."

"I survived didn't I? Plus now we both have a bullet story to share." He leaned his forehead against mine.

"Not funny Jack." I muttered.

"I know. C'mon let's get some sleep. We both have got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." I nodded and then we both got into bed and we fell asleep.

Early the next morning I was on my way over to the set driving in my own car without a driver. As I approached the set gate of course I was stopped by security.

"Badge and proof of visitation ma'am." I handed him the badge that Roger had sent in for me and some documentation that I needed to show him saying that I was not only visiting but a consultant for the movie to help the actors get to know the true Queen. "Everything checks out Mrs. Kline, here you go and have a good day."

"You too uhh—Marvin." I read his nametag before putting my VIP badge around my neck as the gate opened and I drove on inside.

After about 10 minutes I finally was able to find a parking space. I got out of the car and locked it up before walking towards the set. I was told by Brian that the actors had been prepping for the biggest scene they were going to film, the Live Aid sequence.

When I came around and actually stepped up onto the stage, I was blown away and taken back to the summer of 1985. Jesus they—the production got every single detail down to the paint chippings. The rigged lights that Queen had the day they performed, Roger's kit and the grand piano with Freddie's Pepsi cups filled with beer.

"Oh my god. Jack if only you were here to see this." I muttered to myself. It was then I saw Brian talking to someone but—wait did he? Did he seriously dye his hair back to its original dark curls? I walked up to him but waited till he was done talking to some of the producers. Once he was I tapped his shoulder and he turned around and—oh wow I just....wow.

I don't know whether this is a prank or time travel does exist but I swear I'm literally looking at Brian the day I had met him.

"Okay it's official. I think I have finally cracked." I said as I placed my hand over my forehead.

"I'm sorry ma'am do you need to sit down or can I get you a cup of water?" Oh god he even sounds like Brian.

"Ahhh seems you two have already met. And here I thought I could surprise you." I turned and there was—Brian? My Brian with the grey curls now. Wait what!? What is going on here!?

"What the f—"

"Ah, ah language young lady!" Brian scolded.

"You must be the Rock Angel (Y/n) Kline, Brian and Roger have told us a lot about you. Pardon me, Gwilym Lee." He said as he extended his hand to me. I shook it and said in awe.

"Ahhhh, now I see it. Sorry Gwilym dear, never did I think I'd see two Brian's at once. I swear to god you look—exactly like Brian when I met him."

"Anita said the exact same thing. Cheeky woman was even trying to flirt with him." Brian said as he pouted towards the end..

"No she didn't." I gawked.

"I'm afraid it's true." Gwilym said with a blush. I shook my head softly laughing.

"Oh that woman I tell you what."

"Well I can tell you one thing I know a certain someone of the cast who will flip out once he sees you." said Gwilym.

"And just who might that be?" I asked him.

"The young lad whose playing Deacy, Joe Mazzello."

"Kept ranting on and on about your Live Aid performance and how you and Deacy used to interact with each other in your performances together."

"Ahh yes. Me and my dear brother mine." I sighed with a solemn smile.

"I—I'm sorry I-I-I didn't mean to......"

"No, no Gwilym it's fine. While sometimes I do wish he could still be around, I completely understand why he chose to leave the band. Hell without Brian and Rog I—I don't even want to think what I would've done after Freddie died." I soon brushed my sorrows away and said, "Now come here Gwilym I want to get a closer look at you." he came up to me and we stood face to face of each other.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked him up and down before cupping each side of his face gently.

"God they chose right for my Brian. I swear, it's like Gwilym is your long lost son Bri." I said as my eyes turned toward Brian.

"I'm beginning to think you might be right." Joked Brian. I stepped back from Gwilym and said to him.

"I can't wait to see the full Live Aid recreation with you all in full costume."

"I hope we do you proud Mrs. Kline."

"First of all, call me (y/n). Secondly, I'm already proud. From what I've heard from Brian and Roger, I have no doubt in my mind that we've entrusted the right group of actors with Freddie's and Queen's upbringing tale to absolute rock gods."

"You flatter us too much (y/n)." Brian gushed.

"Only because you old fossils deserve it." I teased as I stuck my tongue out at him to which Brian did his little eyebrow quirk at me. I giggled softly and continued. "Well before filming starts, I'm gonna continue to look around the set. I'm told the lower decks where all the performers were settled in are just like how they were when we were there. Ciao Brians'." I walked away from them with a wave of my hand.

After exploring more of the set design and going down memory lane it was then I came across another look-a-like. Holding the famed natural Fender precision Bass guitar and wearing that god awful tacky shirt that I secretly wished I had told him not to wear, and having the iconic mushroom fluffy hair was the actor who was playing Deacy, Joe Mazzello.

One of the hair designers was fluffing up the wig to make sure it was up to Deacy's standard. And god just like with Gwilym, Joe was practically identical to Deacy.

It was just like seeing Deacy again back when he was happy and content with where Queen was at, just before finding out about Freddie's illness (which I had found out from Spike several years ago that Deacy had actually known since the last tour Queen ever did with Freddie).

I smiled softly as I watched him get ready for the camera. His wide smile reminded me so much of Deacy's. Slowly I walked up towards him and as the hairdresser looked him over Joe asked.

"So how does it look?"

"I think you look terrific." I said.

"Wait who said—OH MY GOD!!!" he screamed as he turned around and saw me. Like all usual fanboys, he jumped back, his mouth was gaped and his eyes were wide.

"Close your mouth please Joe dear we are not a codfish." His mouth immediately closed.

"Y-you-you-you're....."

"The Rock—"

"Rock Angel." We both said together slowly. "Call me (y/n)." I greeted as I extended my hand out to him and he took it hold of it and shook it.

"I just—I can't believe that I'm-I'm-I'm actually standing beside the Rock Angel." I softly giggled.

"Just know that beyond the glam and the rock star female empowerment, I'm just a normal 55 year old woman."

"But you still look good." He said. I quirked my brow at him so he quickly tried to save himself, "Not that you're old or anything. I mean I don't mean to offend you I just....."

"Joseph. Relax dear. I'm not offended at all. Freddie always said that I would end up being an eternal beauty. At first I thought it was just Freddie being Freddie but as the years have passed I think he—that he must be behind giving me this youthful glow."

"The Rock Angel called me dear," he first gushed with a shy smile. "Sorry I just...... I grew up listening to your albums along with Queen and the first time I saw one of your broadcast performances, I kinda had a little crush on you" He said gently.

"Aww I'm flattered Joe, really I am." I said as I gently cupped the side of his face and gave his cheek a stroke of my thumb. At that point he looked like he was about to melt into a puddle with how much joy he was probably filled with. "Now Joe forgive me for saying this, how long have you been acting?"

"I was a child actor actually. I've—always been in the acting business. Why do you ask?"

"Well besides seeing some of my brother's features I feel like I've—seen you in something before."

"You might recall a little film that came out in the 90's known as Jurassic Park?"

"Wait hold on—you...." I gasped. "You played little Tim Murphy!?!"

"Yes, yes I was Tim Murphy."

"Oh my god. When that film came out my twin boys were literally obsessed with that movie. Would not watch anything else for a full year. They even wore out the old VHS tape we had for it. Oh my god how could I not recognize you sooner?"

"Well I was 8 just turning 9 while we were filming it."

"You had a birthday while filming?"

"Yeah. It was during the kitchen scene with the raptor. I actually got injured on that day."

"What? What happened?" he then proceeded to tell me exactly what had happened. Of how the raptor they used was on wheels and he was running toward the fridge and he was supposed to go left while the raptor was supposed to go right, but the guy controlling the raptor lost control and went the same direction as Joe and he ended up getting hit in the face with a metal claw.

And it was at that moment the director Steven Spielberg and the rest of the crew sang Happy birthday to him.

Then of course he tried to ask Joe at that moment if they could try it again, but when Joe proved he couldn't do it, they wrapped for that day.

"Oh you poor thing."

"It's okay, I survived."

"Well I hope you never suffered an injury like that since then. And on your birthday too? That's never a good birthday present to get a concussion."

"I was cleared out with no concussion, just a little dizzy and a bit of bruising."

"Oh I'm sorry love, it's my inner mother instincts kicking in."

"She always was an overprotective mother." We both turned around and I saw Roger walking up sporting the black beanie I gave him for Christmas last year and another actor who was sporting the Roger Taylor look he had for Live Aid.

"Oh look who's talking smother father! For years since I've known you you've been the definition of helicopter parent." I gawked at him. "You still sometimes even threaten Jack with missing out on our dates cause of our jobs."

"And I've always told you that boy would be trouble one day." He teased as he came up to me.

"Wow so it is actually true, you guys do look at each other as father and daughter." Said the young actor playing Roger.

"Yes Ben, my adoptive daughter (Y/n) Kline, otherwise known as the Rock Angel." Roger introduced.

"So you're the young actor playing my main father figure eh?" I said as I looked at the young man.

"Yes. Ben Hardy, it's a real honor to meet you in person Mrs. Kline. To say I was nervous to meet Roger is nothing compared to the thought of meeting you."

"Are you saying I'm intimidating and unapproachable?" I asked offendedly.

"Wha? No! No! God no I-I-I-I didn't mean it that way I was just...." I interrupted him with a laugh and said.

"Dear, relax. I was just pulling your leg."

"And be thankful she was. Otherwise, I'd beat your arse boy for insulting my daughter." Roger protectively stated.

"See there you go you old hypocrite. Besides Rog you haven't been able to kick anyone's arse in years. Don't want you breaking a hip now do we?" I mocked him.

"You're lucky these boys are here little missy." Roger scolded me.

" Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now then Ben, you were once on EastEnders right?" I said turning my attention back toward Ben.

"Yes. I played Peter Boyle on the show. My recent film before this was the new X-Men movie that came out about a year ago. X-Men Apocalypse."

"Ahh yes, my youngest son is always obsessed with all the superhero films. Marvel or DC. Now I'd like to see you two more closely, stand together." Both Joe and Ben followed orders and I looked both of them up and down.

Circling around them before cupping each of their faces once by one. And yes Ben was a bit more muscular than Roger was and of course they didn't get his hair right for this part in time, but there was just something in Ben's eyes that just made me think back to the first day I met Roger.

That sparkle of mischief but also protectiveness that shown through those blue eyes of his.

"That is most definitely my Roger. You both have the same spirit in your eyes. I can't wait to see how you play the drums up on that stage."

"Yeah, me neither." He said with a hint of nervousness. I then went over to Joe and cupped his face too. Just—my god just like with Deacy the profile was just uncanny. Of course, Deacy's eyes were more of a hazel type while Joe's were like a brownish type color. But I couldn't deny he looked so much like my brother. "And you my dear Joseph. Gwilym isn't the only one to resemble the man he's playing."

"It was kinda scary after getting the wig on. So much so that I called my mom and asked her what she was doing in 1983?" I laughed and said as I took my hands away from his face.

"Unfortunately, I can tell you for a fact that John Deacon is not your father. The only lady he's ever loved and will love is Veronica."

"I know." I chuckled softly.

"Now then Joe if you'll come with me there's important things I need to discuss with you."

"Like what?"

"You'll see. It was wonderful to meet you Ben, I hope we can get to know each other better later after you all film the Live Aid concert."

"Yeah of course, it was wonderful to meet you Mrs. Kline."

"Please call me (y/n). Dad you better not be too hard on this one, I like him."

"Don't worry I won't break him too much." The four of us went our separate ways.

Joe and I arrived at my trailer (all thanks to Rog and Bri). We entered inside and I told Joe to take a seat. He sat down on my couch while I went over to the kitchen.

"Tea?"

"Yes please. One sugar please."

"Just like how he liked it." I muttered to myself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing love, nothing." I prepped the tea for him and once it was done I handed him his cup and he thanked me. I watched him take a sip and he said,

"Ahh never gets old. I'm telling you after this I may just be the biggest tea fan ever."

"It is good for the soul. I myself have always found Jasmine to be the way to nirvana." I paused for a brief moment before saying, "Joe." He looked at me giving me his full attention, "As you know probably from weeks of research and maybe even from Roger and Brian themselves, Deacy chose to exempt himself from all forms of stardom. To live a quiet life with his family."

"Yeah. When I first got the part I did reach out to him on just any personal advice on certain quirks that he did. Cause even though I've played real life people before, this is the first time I'm playing someone whose still alive, and I wanted to do him justice."

"Yes, quite."

"However all I got back was just that he approved of the project and just for me to take it as any other actor would. Not that I'm saying that I'm mad at him for saying that. But I just—"

"I get it. Really I do." I took his hand and gripped onto it comfortingly. "Look. Ever since Freddie died, Deacy has been—grieving. Just like he did for me, it was Freddie who helped bring Deacy out of his shell and become more involved with the band. Not just being the bass player or the quiet guy."

"The King of the one liners, the tie breaker of Queen." Joe stated.

"Yes, although John could be loud and rowdy when he wanted to. He was definitely Queen's wildcard, but he was also their Ace. Unpredictable but incredibly brilliant. Never have I met a bass player quite like him. Nor do I think I ever will." It was quiet for what felt like forever when Joe asked me.

"Do you—do you still speak to him? I mean, cause I read that you both basically grew up close together, even for being 11 years apart from each other."

"Yes. We actually lived 20 minutes from each other back in our youth. He was and will always be my brother mine." I sighed heavily. "And to answer your question, I must remind you he's always been.....a cautious subject to me. Any remembrance of Freddie just makes him break, and as I'm sure you've seen from my concert footages I, sometimes, subconsciously find myself doing some Freddie movements on stage. Whether it's flicking my wrist like he did, strutting around the stage or waving my arms like he did. Deacy's.....he knows those things. But he's always there for me when I needed him. The last time was—on the tragedy of 9-11."

"Wait you mean....."

"Jack's cousin Jared and his wife Gen, they—they were on the plane that was overtaken by the terrorists. Took five days to finally find their bodies. Jared holding Gen in his arms. It was a risk but—I knew Jack needed more support than just his American family. So he and I went over to John and Veronica's place. We went at the early mornings of course just so that way no one would spot us driving in midday and try to track us down, then at sunrise we walked up to the door and—there he was. When Jack told him what had happened, he—actually invited us in and allowed us to stay the entire time. He ended up being the right support Jack needed."

"Your husband and John were close?"

"Oh yes. More alike than you know. Both incredibly talented bass players. That's how Jack got Deacy's approval when Jack and I started hanging out. He even gave my husband private lessons."

"Wow."

"Yes. They were practically inseparable the two of them for that summer. Even during their rehearsals, you would see Deacy go in the corner and practice what riffs he'd teach my Jack next. However that was the last time I ever actually saw Deacy, 16 long years ago. Haven't gotten in contact with him since. But occasionally, at least according to Brian, he asks them how I'm doing as well as Jack."

"I hope he's living a quiet and happy life with his kids and wife."

"I know they are. I still keep in contact with Ronnie whenever I can, sometimes we go out shopping, fawn over grandchildren pics, and just catching up. She was the mother I needed when I first had Kelly."

"Sounds like she was the ultimate mama."

"You have no idea." I felt Joe place his free hand on top of mine that still had his. I smiled softly at him before I got down to the real reason why I brought him here. "Joseph, now I know that when it comes to acting, Hollywood can pick whomever they deem worthy for a role, especially if it's for a real person. I'll be honest with you; hearing your American accent puts me a little on edge. Cause I have heard some pretty bad English accents on screen that just make me want to pull my ears off agonizingly slow. Now I know Deacy has probably the most unique accent from anyone in Leicester, I mean you hear my accent and I sound nothing like his dialect. So what I want to ask of you, just for the sake of you playing my brother, may I hear you speak with John's accent?"

"What-what would you like me to say?"

"Maybe say what you did for the audition. Or anything that comes to your head. It doesn't even have to be an interview Deacy did, I just want to hear your accent." He nodded before sitting back on the couch while I leaned back on the chair.

He adjusted himself before finally miming that he was driving a car before he finally spoke about when Deacy first joined the band. The one interview he did during the 'News of the World' tour with Bob Harris.

I felt like at that moment my heart had stopped. My hands slowly covered my mouth in a prayer style while the corner of my eyes watered. And sure there were certain words that he said that still sounded American but—this was my brother. I....I was actually looking at my brother right now. They got it right.

By the end of it, Joe looked at me and his eyes grew concerned as he said.

"Did I screw up?" I stood up from my chair in silence. I then walked over to him and knelt down in front of him cupping his face. A wide smile spread across my face as I immediately hugged him and softly sobbed.

"You are my Deacy! My brother mine." I then felt him embrace me back and the two of us rocked side to side. I looked up to the heavens praying that Fred was looking down knowing he would've loved Joe playing his Deacy. "If you ever need any advice or help, I'm here for you. Promise me Joe Mazzello that you will come to me with anything regarding Deacy."

"I promise (y/n)." he still spoke with Deacy's accent which filled me with both sorrow and happiness.

We stayed that way for god knows how long. After composing myself, we left my trailer when one of the volunteers came up to us and said.

"Joe, they're ready to start filming the concert."

"Shall we go on?" I asked.

"Yes, let's." God he had my brother's quick wit already. He crooked his arm out which made me grin softly. I looped my arm through his and the two of us walked on towards the Live Aid stage.

I stood alongside Roger, Peter Freestone (Freddie's former assistant and the other consultant for the film) as well as Brian's youngest daughter Emily (who in every way was so much like her father from the hair to the smile).

"I think this will be a great shoot, don't you think (y/n)?" asked Peter.

"Indeed Pheebs. And I'm sure Freddie would've loved to have seen it."

"He would indeed." He said as he wrapped an arm around me and soon Brian came and stood beside us after being backstage with the young actors who then came out just as Queen did that day back in 85. When I saw the young actor playing our Freddie, I was already impressed.

Sure he was skinnier than Freddie was, but seeing him move about just as Freddie did it was like I was seeing Freddie right before my eyes. The boys got into position and soon began to perform the entire Live Aid concert.

Besides actually being there and seeing them perform from the wings that day over 30 years ago, this was about the greatest concert performance I had ever seen.

The boys in full costume had everything down. Gwilym channeled Brian's solo on Bohemian Rhapsody, Ben was pretty impressive on the drums, Joe had Deacy's rhythmic moves down, and the young man playing Freddie he—it was beyond what I could imagine. He wasn't just moving like Freddie, it was like he knew why Freddie would move a certain way to a song.

I was in awe cause it felt like I had actually traveled back in time and was watching Queen's most historical performance once again. I stood behind Brian and wrapped my arms around his shoulders leaning up against his head smiling from ear to ear, I felt Brian take one of my hands and gently patted it every now and then.

When the Aye-Oh's happened I could help but lowered my head and holding my laughs of joy. I swear when this is over, I need to talk to this new actor playing Freddie cause unlike Sacha, this was our Freddie. Soon Hammer to Fall came on and I couldn't help but bop my head along to the song.

I felt a tap at my shoulder and I turned to see Emily holding her phone out with the notes app open. In the app it read.

'Is this how you remember it Aunt (y/n)?' I walked towards her and gestured for me to have her phone. She handed it to me and I typed out.

'Everything and more. God I wish your cousin Kelly could've been here to see this as well as your uncle Jack. They would've loved it.' I showed her my message and she came up and wrapped her arms around my shoulders as the two of us smiled happily up at the stage.

When Hammer to Fall concluded, the extras and even me and team Queen applauded. I let out a loud whistle from the sidelines as I applauded and took pictures with my own phone to show Jack and the kids later. Now I recall that it was at this time the guys ended up surprising me and the world with our duet "Set it all free" instead of the planned 'Crazy Little thing called love'.

Now I've been skeptical about having a biopic film about me, even though I knew both Queen and Elton were starting theirs at the same time, hell one of the producers Dexter Fletcher is currently directing Elton's film 'Rocketman' as we speak right now. So I didn't know if they would plan to do Crazy little thing or if they'd go the set as it was all those years ago.

I got my answer however when Ben started to play the drum intro to my song.

"You guys didn't." I muttered.

"We wanted to be historically accurate with the Live Aid set." Brian started.

"So we cooked up a little surprise for you." Roger said. It was then I heard the actor playing Freddie began chanting out along with the audience "An-gel! An-gel! An-gel!" it was then I saw a young girl come out and—by god it was like looking at my younger self from that day.

She was dressed exactly how I was with a pregnant belly suit underneath her shirt. Her hair was designed the same way as mine was, everything just took me back. Instead of a playback that the Freddie actor was using for all the singing, this young woman was actually singing and she had a pretty good voice.

I continued to watch in awe as the young woman basically became me doing each step or movement I did that day on Live Aid. I felt Brian and Roger wrap their arms around me as I couldn't even take my eyes off the young woman up on stage. I could hear the extras singing out the lyrics, even some of the crew members were bopping their heads and singing along.

She walked across the stage at the second verse right towards the Freddie actor and just like Fred and I did, they stood forehead to forehead singing the duet before she walked back out and went back to center stage. When the guitar solo came on, my eyes turned to Gwilym and he amazed me that he actually could do my hard rock solo.

After the song was over, the crowd applauded and cheered and I turned to the guys and hugged them and whispered into their ears.

"If this is you guys way of trying to get me to sign onto a biopic film......I'm highly considering it after seeing her."

"We'll introduce you later." Said Roger as we separated from the hug and we turned our attention back to the guys as We Will Rock you now began playing. I couldn't help myself by stomp my feet to the rhythm and mouth out the words.

I was just amazed by not only Gwilym's guitar playing but also the young man who moved just like how I remembered seeing Freddie move, using the mic stand as Fred always did (the cheeky man), even the facial expressions that he made were exactly like they were.

It wasn't until when 'We are the champions' came on that I could barely hold my tears in. Seeing not only Fred's actor but my actor singing the famed Queen anthem that has literally been played in every victory sport or award winning singing competition.

Seeing the two of them interact with each other, it was pure nostalgia.

By the end of the song, tears welled up in my eyes and I looked toward the heavens hoping that Freddie could see this and running through my mind I already knew what he'd say.

"Amazing jobs my darlings, not as fabulous as me but very, very close." When the extras and even some crew members cheered, Brian, Roger, Peter, Emily and myself all applauded and cheered for the boys and that's when the director called cut.

"This.....is gonna be a great movie." I said.

"I think so too. After just seeing them come together like that, I think we've finally casted the right people to play us." Said Brian.

"I agree you two, I'm liking what I've just seen so far." Roger said.

"And—I'm sure he would've liked this too." I said solemnly. I felt Roger gently rub my back and Brian said.

"I know he would."

After a few more takes of filming the Live Aid concert, the director said that it was enough for today. I walked around the set to find the producer Graham King and when I approached him I asked him.

"Graham tell me, who's the young man you got to play Freddie?"

"Oh his name is Rami Malek. His recent project was a show called Mr. Robot."

"Ahh yes I've heard of that, my Freddie is obsessed with that show. Never misses an episode."

"When we were casting Freddie I happened to come across an episode and when I saw him I—just thought I was looking at Freddie. So we brought him in, he gave us a mock interview as well as an audition that your boys saw when they first met him. And from then on it just fell into place. Do you approve of him? Is there a problem Mrs. Kline?"

"Absolutely not. Do you know where I can find Rami at right now?"

"Probably in hair and makeup getting undressed."

"Well, when he is done would you be so kind as to bring him to my trailer?"

"Of course (y/n)." I nodded in gratitude and walked off to my trailer.

I sat there once again on the chair looking through an old photo album. Each picture held a deep and personal memory for me, I thought back to the day that each picture was taken and remembered exactly what was going on at that very moment.

A knock was soon heard at my trailer. I composed myself with a deep exhale and said.

"Come in." the door opened and there without costume or the tache was Rami Malek.

"Graham said you wanted to see me Mrs. Kline?"

"Yes Rami, love please come in." he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "Take a seat." I gestured towards the couch. He sat right where Joe had sat down earlier this morning and I said. "Would you care for a biscuit, or as Americans call them cookies?"

"Uhh yes please." I smiled and handed him a tray of biscuits I always kept around me (hey a woman's gotta have her sweet tooth fix right?) and handed him my best plate of chocolate chip cookies (all thanks to my mother in law's secret recipe). He thanked me as he took one and took a bite out of it. "Mmm. Oh my god," he cleared his throat and closed his mouth before finishing the biscuit up. "This is so good."

"Thank you, it was my mother in law's secret recipe. She passed it onto me shortly before Kelly was born." He took another bite of it and swallowed that piece before saying as he set it down on a napkin that I had also provided.

"What-what was it you needed to see me for Mrs.—"

"Before we continue, I'll ask you to call me the same way I've asked the other three of the band to call me. Call me (y/n)."

"Yes of course, (y/n). What was it you wanted to see me for? Is it to talk about what you saw out there? Did I screw it up already?"

"No, no dear relax. This is nothing in the way you're thinking." I saw him take a sigh of relief.

"Oh good. Cause I know I obviously wasn't the first choice for the job."

"In my books Rami, you should've been the first one to be called for the role."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, but first there's a couple of questions that I want to ask you that Brian and Roger might not have asked you, and I want you to answer them as Freddie would've."

"Okay." I smiled softly and stood up from my seat as I set the phot album aside.

"Who is Queen not without?"

"That's easy. It's you darling. There's no Queen without their beloved Rock Angel, and no Rock Angel without her four aging Queens." I felt my heart clench at hearing Rami speak with a British tone. The softness of his voice almost sounded identical to Freddie's voice. I turned towards him and walked towards the kitchen area of my trailer.

"Who is it that you trust the most?"

"Mary. Mary is the one I trust the most. For she knows me like no one else ever will." I reached the kitchen and rested my hand against the island.

"Who are you?" Rami looked at me before finally answering something that would forever stun me.

"I've been asked that all my life. By my family, student peers, professors, the entire world. I've been told who I should strive to be but I say fuck what they say. They don't define me. No, I decided who I am. I'm going to be what I was born to be. A performer who gives the people what they want." He pointed towards the ceiling as he whispered, "touch of the heavens." He dropped his hand before finally answering, "Freddie Fucking Mercury."

My lips quivered and I ducked my head as tears began falling down my face for—god knows how many times right now.

"Oh (y/n) I—I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you cry, I—did I say something wrong?" Rami said urgently as he stood up and stood in front of me.

"No." I choked out. I sniffled and that's when he handed me a tissue. Oh ever the kind gentleman and concerned about my wellbeing, just like Freddie was. "No you—you've prove to me that you know just who Freddie truly was."

"Didn't want to be put in a certain category or be stereotyped." He said. I nodded as I wiped my tears with the tissue he had given me.

"For as long as I have known Freddie, especially to his last, various people have chosen one of two sides. There's the one side that the press made him out to be. The one that-that—bastard Cohen wanted to portray Freddie as. The wild, crazed, homosexual drug addict. That he deserved what he had gotten because he was so reckless and stupid. That AIDS was his form of suicide. Never did I want to punch and murder so many people. Every time I got asked about whether Freddie's death was his own fault, I just wanted to rip the interviewer apart."

"I can see why. I bet a lot of true fans and the people who knew Freddie well would've done what you've felt like doing."

"But people like you Rami, who understand that Freddie wasn't just a frontman or greatest performer to ever live. That he did come from a harsh background but rose above all the trials and tribulations that came his way to define himself as he sought out to be. That's why he was my biggest idol." I grabbed the photo album and sat down on the couch and opened it up taking out a picture that was always a favorite of mine.

It was a picture that Deacy took of Freddie and I together just after my very first performance as the Rock Angel at Madison Square Garden. Fred's arms wrapped around me as he had picked me up, huge wide smiles were spread across our faces. I felt a dip on my left side I looked up to see Rami sitting close beside me. He looked down at the picture before saying.

"Was this your first performance?"

"Yes. Out of four members of Queen, it was Freddie Mercury who truly believed that I could make a name for myself in the industry. Taught me everything there was into getting the self-confidence I needed to get up on that stage. Sure we had our ups and downs, but through all the falls we had, he never gave up on me. He gave up on no one that he loved. And Rami," we looked at each other and I told him the utmost truth, "If he were alive today, he would've loved you."

He smiled as I gently touched his cheek and the two of us looked through my photo album of every picture Freddie and I took throughout the 11 years I knew him.

At the end of the day, just before the four boys left to go hang out at a pub nearby, I stepped in and offered.

"Why not have dinner over at my place boys?"

"Oh we couldn't impose." Said Joe.

"Nonsense Joe, I insist and I won't take no for answer. Plus it'll be a more homely environment. You boys can't live on catering and pub foods for the next several months to a year. No I absolutely won't have it."

"Best go along with her boys, she got her persuasion from the best there was." Roger added in.

"Well—if you think it's a good idea." Said Gwilym.

"Of course it is. Now come on, you four can fit in my car. Let's go. Meet you there Brian and Roger?"

"We'll be right behind you love." Said Brian. I gestured the boys to follow me to my car. Ben sat up in the passenger seat, Joe sat behind him, Rami was in the middle and Gwilym sat behind me. I turned the engine on and told everyone to buckle up (mama instincts what can I say?) and we pulled out of the gate and I drove us on home.

"So (y/n), what other kind of music do you listen to?" asked Joe.

"Whatever song has a good voice and a good beat, with no autotune I will love. You can look through my Spotify and see what I have." Ben took my phone out of the phone holder and turned around as Joe took over the controls and went to my Spotify.

"Wow there are a lot of songs. And I thought you would've just stuck with what you grew up on."

"Unlike most rockstars like Roger who think everything after 1979 basically became trash music with the rise of pop or as they called it 'disco'. I'm a little more open minded. But I deny all songs that use explicit language every three words, degrading women, or promotes violence."

"You even got some old Christina Aguilera songs on here?" asked Rami.

"Who do you think helped produce her?"

"Shut the front door. You produced Christina Aguilera?"

"Yeah. I even gave her rights to a song that I wanted to do. But even singing it brought back some old wounds. So since I was helping her produce her album at the time, I turned to song over to her."

"What song was it?" asked Ben.

"Fighter."

"Shut up! That was literally my jam."

"I can attest to that. Throughout the filming of The Pacific, he would never shut that song off when getting into Eugene's character for certain episodes." Rami rose his hand.

"Yeah. I have an entire playlist of some songs I helped produce or make. You can play that playlist if you'd like. Or my typical playlist my boys best songs."

"I think in the light of our first day filming, we should go with Queen. What do you guys say?" Joe asked.

"Agree."

"Yep."

"Oh yeah."

"Aright then Joe, we'll each pick our favorite Queen song. You're up first little Tim." He grinned and scrolled through my playlist until Somebody to love came up on the speakers. "Read my mind Joseph." The piano began playing and that's when I vocalized alongside Freddie and the five of us began singing the song at the top of our lungs.

The entire car ride contained each of us picking our top favorite songs. Ben did 'White Queen' which I commended on him cause people nowadays tend to forget the old Queen songs, Gwilym picked Love of my Life, Rami chose Radio Gaga, and I, of course chose Bohemian Rhapsody.

Thanks to Wayne's world (yes I saw the movie and yes it was silly but just the opening scene alone made the movie worth watching) we basically did the same motion by motion that those boys did in the film when the operatic section came on. And of course when the headbanging rock out came on, the boys proceeded to bang their hands while I did mine not as aggressively (responsible driving kids!)

We continued to rock out to the song and it wasn't until by the end of the song that we soon arrived at my home. I pulled the car up into the garage and hit the clicker button which opened up the garage door and I pull inside just as the last line came up and Roger's gong rang off. I shut the engine and said.

"Here we are boys, welcome to casa de la Kline." We all exited out of my car and right behind us as scheduled were Brian and Roger with Bri getting out of the driver's seat. "Bout time you two got here, I was beginning to worry that I'd need to call in an ambulance."

"We're old dear, not dead." Roger sassed at me.

"But I still love you old coots. Just like I said all those years ago."

"That I do remember, the day right after you got so shitfaced after your 21st birthday. You remember that Brian?" Roger said.

"Indeed I do Rog, I even remember what we did to her to get her to apologize, think we need to do it again?"

"That might have to be arranged."

"Oh no you guys don't! We're not doing that now, now let's get inside before we all catch a cold." I guided them all inside. Once we stepped through the backdoor of the garage I could already smell something cooking, and I knew who exactly was cooking at this rate. "Baby! I'm home!" I called out from the hallway.

We turned the corner and soon came to the kitchen where a young man of 19 (going on 20 in a couple months) stood by the oven. He shut it off and turned around. He was every bit like his father when I first met him back in '83, but he had my eyes. When he saw me, he softly smiled and I came up to him.

"Sorry I didn't call in advance telling you that we would have more guests than your uncles."

"No worries mom. You know I've always cooked way more than I should." I smiled and cupped his face and we kissed each other's cheek. "Uncle Brian, uncle Roger."

"Hello Fred." Brian greeted.

"Hey lad, how's school been?"

"Oh you know, NYU's a challenge but I manage." He then directed his attention towards the young actors but when he eyes landed on Rami, he quickly grabbed my arm and whispered to me. "You didn't tell me you'd be bringing Rami Malek to our house!"

"Again slipped my mind." I teased him.

"Mom how dare you bring my celebrity crush here without telling me, look at me I'm a mess."

"Oh you're fine. Now best behavior." I wrapped an arm around my son and said. "Boys, this is my youngest son Freddie Mercury Kline. Fred, these are the boys that will be playing your uncles. This is Joe Mazzello, he'll be playing your uncle Deacy. Ben Hardy who's playing your old uncle Roger."

"Watch it lion cub." Rog warned me. I gave him a cheeky look before continuing the introductions.

"Gwilym Lee will be playing your uncle Brian, and you know Rami, he'll be playing the man you were named after."

"Uncle Freddie?"

"Yes. And—from what I've seen so far, you'll finally get to meet him through the screen."

"I don't doubt that. I'm a big fan of yours Rami, your role in Mr. Robot has been—amazing."

"I'm honored."

"Alright since we've all had a long day today, let's get some grub. Everyone grab a plate." I grabbed some extra plates from the cabinet and handed four plates out to the actors and we all assembled around the island to grab a piece of lasagna, peas, mashed potatoes with gravy and Hawaiian rolls.

Once we gathered around the table I set out the iced tea Jack had made a couple of days ago as well as some champagne or wine. "Okay guys, before we dig in I want all hands on deck." I extended my hand out.

Freddie immediately placed his hand on top of mine, Brian and Rog soon followed after and it was then Rami, Gwilym, Joe and finally Ben placed their hands on top.

"Thank you for this family, thank you for this meal. Thank you for this day. It'll be a wild ride, but I feel this movie will soar, and—that this new family will forever stay." I said ending the traditional family prayer. The young actors looked at me with warm eyes and soft smiles.

"Alright, let's dig in. You boys will never eat the same way again once you taste (y/n)'s cooking." Roger said.

"That bad?" joked Joe. I gawked at the young cheeky actor.

"On the contrary she's the best chief on this side of London. Even when she was an intern she made us this one Christmas pudding that was to die for." Brian spoke on my behalf.

"It's true. She put all the other PTA mom's to shame when it came to my school's bake sales." Freddie said as he took a bite of his lasagna.

The entire dinner was filled with talks about our lives, stories and embarrassing moments in life. Not a single person was excluded from a conversation. After dinner, Rami and Gwilym helped Freddie with the dishes while I got some other scrapbooks out and bonded a bit with Ben and Joe about my time with Rog and Deacy.

"Now this Joe was taken during my first Japan tour. At the very garden where Queen went to near the Tokyo tower, Deacy refused to let me leave without having a cherry blossom crown."

"He seems to be doing good in the picture."

"Except one twig got so tangled in my hair it literally took 15 minutes just to get it out." We both laughed before I turned the page and found a great picture of me and Roger. "Now this picture Ben, both Roger and I have this picture, this was taken after my first Hyde Park performance."

"She performed to an audience of half of what Queen did when we performed at Hyde Park." Roger spoke.

"She could've performed for more but times changed and better security measure for the public's safety prevented it from happening again." Brian added.

"One thing's for sure, I was damn well proud of her for performing at her biggest crowd at the time just barely two years into her career." Roger spoke again. I looked up and winked at him.

"You guys really do have that father-daughter bond don't you?" Joe said.

"Have ever since she gave me the real 1 and 3/7th's sugar."

"It wasn't until Brian told me the next day that Roger just says that to pull people's leg. God I felt embarrassed after that."

"Aww lovie, but it was due to that I became your favorite. And I don't regret it as I'm sure you don't."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." As Gwilym, Rami and Freddie came back in I continued going through the scrapbook sharing my photos of my days with Queen with the boys, and allowing Freddie to finally hear all the stories that he was denied cause of my grief.

As the night got darker and darker, the young actors at this moment were so full of food and exhausted from a long day's filming they actually passed out along my living room. Joe and Ben cuddled up on the couch, Rami asleep on the recliner, while Gwilym was curled up along the loveseat.

Meanwhile I was watching over them and couldn't help but think it was like seeing my boys all over again. I remember back when I was still an intern and would see the guys all passed out whether at Freddie's parties or in the studio, I always had to provide the guys comfort (which I never minded). So seeing these four young men passed out just brought me a sense of nostalgia.

"I got the spare blankets mom."

"Thank you dear. Your uncles tucked in the spare bedrooms?"

"Uncle Brian's in the room across yours and dad's and uncle Roger is in Georgie's old room."

"Good boy." I then proceeded to cover up and adjust the young actors. I wrapped both Joe and Ben in the same blanket and closed Joe's mouth gently so that he wouldn't drool in his sleep, followed by giving them each a soft kiss goodnight. Without trying to wake him up, I uncurled Gwilym from his pretzel position and covered him up.

I gingerly stroked through his hair before placing a soft kiss to his temple. He groaned and lifted his head up which allowed me to place a pillow underneath him. He hummed in content as he snuggled into it. I then went over to Rami and adjusted the seat so that he would be more comfortable. Pressing the button on our automatic recliner, his legs slowly rose up before finally stopping in full recliner mode.

I tucked him in while looking down at him. God even without the tache it was like looking at Freddie from when I first met him in person at a concert, long before I became an intern. I gently kissed his cheek before faintly stroking his cheek.

Sitting outside along the deck, Freddie and I were looking up at the stars.

"So you think this movie's gonna be a hit?"

"Critics are always hard to please, no matter if it's music or movies. From what I've read of the script yes there's misinformation but that's why it's called a biopic. There's some truth but it's the touch of Hollywood in order to make the film not a boring documentary. But those four boys, they are just how I remember your uncles being when I not only worked with them, but grew up with them hearing their music."

"I wish I had gotten the chance to meet uncle Freddie." Fred said after a brief moment of silence. I turned to him to see him looking down sadly.

"So do I love. He would've loved you as much as he did your brothers and sister. And he would've been over the moon had he found that I had named you after him." I brought my baby close and he wrapped his arms around me as we both looked up at the moon and the stars together.

The star right by the moon glowed the brightest, the very same star that shined just as bright the night after the tribute concert we did back in '92. I couldn't help as a tear slid down my face and a smile spread across my face.

I knew that it was Freddie's star, telling me that he was watching us and that he was proud.

[7wanderingpaws]

Always, yours (3)

Pairing: Baekhyun x reader

AU: professor Baekhyun, domestic AU, family AU, triplet craze AU

Word count: 4.8K

Warnings: none

tags: @geniusloey​ (let me know if you want to be added!)

Masterlist / story masterlist

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You were crying and everything was a disaster. The baby corner was full of onlookers and you never hated your life as much  as you did in that moment.

Upon hearing small gurgles of your son, you ran the remaining distance, taking your scared, crying son from Sonhee’s hold. She handed Jun without any question and you quickly cuddled Jun to your chest, your tears of fear and worry rolling down your cheeks without you realizing.

You were mad at yourself. So, so mad. How could you leave the weakest baby alone with a stranger? How could you forget to tell them not to feed him without your presence?

You bit your lip harshly as you heard Sukyeong sending everyone away. She was then talking to someone quietly but you wouldn’t pay attention. Jun was now a whimpering mess, his ear-piercing screams coming to a halt when he felt your presence.

“Oh, what a young mother,” someone muttered from behind you, a hushed whisper still caught by your ears. “No wonder she isn’t doing well yet without experience.”

More tears welled up in your eyes. Even though you couldn’t see clearly, you looked at Jun’s face, his father’s eyes looking back at you. How come baby’s tears could be so big? They were rolling down, taking up a huge space on his small, red cheeks.

“It’s okay, mummy’s here,” you murmured quickly kissing the tears away. Carefully cradling the back of his head, you brought him to your neck so he wouldn’t be exposed to other intrusive eyes. Juna and Junhee were restless as they were held by Sonhee and Mrs Lee in the meantime.

What to do? You were thinking frantically. The only thing that came to your mind was to go home. Obviously staying in this gym wasn’t doing you nor the kids any good.

“Sukyeong,” you muttered, not turning. The wall you were facing was a pastel blue but it didn’t do anything to calm you down. “I’m going to go home. Can you bring me my stuff?”

“I’ll take you-“

“I’ll take you home,” a familiar male voice spoke up out of nowhere. 

Slightly turning, you saw Lee Junho looking at you with worried eyes. When you didn’t respond, instead holding your son closer to you, he added: “I’m the owner of this gym and I feel responsible. Please let me take care of this by giving you a lift.” He turned to Sukyeong who was a little taken aback. “You may go back and resume the workout with Kanghee, she will finish the class for me.”

“But she is my best friend, I’ll take care-“

“I insist.”

You wiped your eyes, realizing you’d been shedding tears the whole time with your heart broken. Jun was finally quiet but he managed to pee himself in the ruckus so you nodded quickly, agreeing: “Go finish the workout Sukyeonga. I’ll take up on Mr Lee’s request.”

“Are you sure?”

You nodded and reached for the baby bag you always carried around. “Yeah. It’s no problem. I’ll be back, I’ll just change his nappy and clothes. Please watch out for the girls until then.”

</3

“I thought you were just a university student,” spoke up Junho as he was driving slowly towards your home. “You are so young I-” he stopped himself, growing speechless as he gently shook his head.

Jun was tied to your chest in the baby carrier while both girls were in the backseat, safely in their baby carrier baskets. It was a headache to install all of it in Junho's car but you didn't mind as long as he would take you home and you wouldn't ever see him again.

Only now, as you were seated with some time to think were you reminded to look at your phone. You wanted Baekhyun to come downstairs to help you with the kids, only to feel like crying again when you finally read his messages he sent you before you started your class but didn't read.

I know you know it but make sure to remind them not to feed Jun just in case we never know when the reflux hits again  and I'm worried about him since you won't be there

“Sorry, I keep blabbering,” laughed awkwardly Junho and you looked at him. He was staring ahead, sometimes looking out his window as if unsure where to look. “So you're a mother. Of triplets. Wow… Anyway, how many months young are they?”

You heaved out a small sigh and managed to smile, liking to talk about your munchkins. “They are only three months old. And before you go and judge me about leaving them alone, I double-checked with the baby corner whether they are able to take care of the kids.”

“Well, my mother - Mrs Lee - is in charge of the baby corner. She is an expert when it comes to babies,” he said and you felt even worse that he was blaming himself when in fact it was all your  fault. “Sonhee is also great with babies.”

“It isn't their fault at all. It's mine,” you admitted and looked down at Jun's face. He was sleeping peacefully, cuddled to your neck, his gentle baby smell and baby powder you used calming down your senses for a minute. “I should have mentioned he has problems with accepting food.” Plus, the words of a stranger woman came back flooding your already beaten up mind. Oh, what a young mother. No wonder she isn’t doing well yet without experience.

“I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you,” murmured back Junho, not wanting to disturb the babies. “Sorry if I am being too nosy but what about their father? Did he leave you?”

“Oh, no, he is at work. Well, he should be home by now,” you said quietly, frowning. “But he usually works a little late so-”

“-so you're alone with the kids the whole time,” finished Junho, his voice somehow accusatory.

You stole a glance his way again, catching the tighter grip on the steering wheel. “Well, someone has to feed us.”

This time, Junho looked at you and caught you gazing down at your son. “Many men just do that - knock up a woman and then let her take care of the mess while they live freely.”

You frowned. “I know my husband for many years, Junho,” you told him in a cold voice, a little disappointed he thought of you or Baekhyun in such a way, let alone thinking of your blessings as a mess, “and he does his best for me and our kids.”

Junho was once again shocked, shooting you a wary glance. “You're married, too?”

“Yes,” you snapped, “I don't wear my ring for the workouts, you know?”

“I'm sorry-”

“It's fine,” you sighed, running your hand through your messy hair.

“I misjudged.”

“I thought people like you shouldn't be so fast to judge.”

“You're right. It is just worrisome to see you so young with triplets alone.”

“I wasn't alone,” you reminded, “I was with Sukyeong.”

“But it should be their father who is by your side.”

You only hummed, not wanting to talk about your personal life with a stranger. Sure, a handsome one but he was a stranger. When you recognized the neighbourhood, you unlocked your phone quickly, kissing Jun's temple in the process. With a little shock, you noticed your hands shaking. It must have been the stress. “I'll call my husband so he can come downstairs.”

Junho was silent but he nodded nonetheless. Baekhyun's phone rang four times already but he wasn't picking up. Frowning, you were about to put the phone back down when he suddenly picked it up. The background on his side was so loud, you accidentally pressed the “speaker” option, Baekhyun's voice filling up the whole space in the car.

“Sweetheart, I'm not home yet, sorry!” he said and you heard some clinking of cups in the background. “I was dragged to dinner with my colleagues but I'll try to come home soon, alright?”

Your throat restricted, lump rising as you tried to put it back to silence.

“Are you home, yet?” asked Baekhyun when you didn't reply.

“Yeah, I finished a little earlier,” you told him and finally managed to put the volume down. Pressing the phone to your ear, you saw Junho speeding up to enter the underground carpark. “Don't worry, I'll be waiting home.”

“Is all good?” he asked, his voice more serious.

Your eyes were hurting from the burning tears so you closed them, praying you wouldn't start crying again in front of Junho. “Yes! All is fine!” you replied, too cheerfully. “See you soon, honey.”

“Alright, I trust you,” he added with emphasis. It was supposed to be a small threat in case you wouldn't be telling the truth and you knew you would hear it from him once he'd find out you lied, but you couldn't care less in that moment. “Love you, baby.”

You swallowed. “Love you, too.”

As soon as you ended the call, Junho said: “I'll help you with the kids.”

You nibbled on your lower lip. “Thank you.”

</3

It was an uneasy feeling; arriving into an empty apartment with the lights off. The heat of the summer evening was hitting the space which made you head straight for the air conditioner in the living room, Jun in your tight grip.

“Don't worry, you can come in with shoes,” you said hurriedly to Junho who was shuffling at the entrance, trying to take off his trainers while having a baby bag over his shoulder and two babies in the carriers.

“It's okay,” you heard a smile in his voice and by the time you appeared in the corridor leading to the entrance door, he was already walking in, looking around with focus and unhidden interest. “You have a really nice apartment.”

You smiled, saying a small thank you, and headed to the baby room, telling him to follow you. The gentle smell of baby powder welcomed you when you entered and turned on the lights. “You can just put them down here and I will take care of the rest.”

Junho clicked his tongue and lowered the carriers on the fluffy carpet, but he proceeded by crouching down and unbuckling the sleeping babies. “How could I just go? Let me at least help unpack.”

You stood unsurely above him. You knew as a mother you should be fast to take charge and get everything done according to your rules, but for some reason, you couldn't. Junho was very careful with the babies as he undid the belts and when he looked up at you, he froze. “What?”

Almost rigidly, you shook your head not wanting him to misunderstand whatever he was interpreting in his mind. “No, no, nothing! I mean - thank you for coming all the way up here and of course for driving me home.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” And just like that, he brought sleeping Juna out and with one questioning glance, you navigated him to put the baby in the crib, soon following with Junhee's sleeping form. “Do you want me to put these somewhere?” He pointed to the now empty baby carriers.

You smiled gratefully. Junho really seemed to want to help.  “That's fine, I'll do it.”

He nodded and soon enough, silence spread over the baby room. Jun was awake but as usual, he didn't make a sound and only this once you wished he would, so that you'd have a good excuse to start moving around and do what you originally intended. Jun needed feeding despite vomiting everything before.

“I'm going to go then,” he said after a small while. You already felt bad for not being able to host him properly enough but with Jun still on your mind and worried eating you away, you couldn't bring yourself to do it.

You nodded and when he moved out of the room, you spoke up. “I am not going to come anymore. I mean - to exercise.”

Junho turned around with a little shock. “If it's about what happened today, then don't worry about it. It's only normal.”

“No, it isn't normal,” you sighed, dejected. “Babies are still too young and Jun is quite sicklish. I forgot to tell the babysitter not to feed him. I'm so irresponsible.”

Junho was fast to spot the utter guilt in your eyes and the way you avoided his gaze. Frowning on the ground, you pursed your lips while gently running your hand over Jun's butt. He would always thought you looked beautiful and cute in that moment with the baby, but he knew it must have been difficult on you as a mother of triplets at such a young age.

“I don't know much about you,” he started gently, “in fact I wish I knew more because you seem to be interesting. But you are doing everything by yourself. You spend days alone with them and you probably have a head full of worries and three kinds of checklists that you mentally tick off. I won't judge nor mind if you don't want to exercise anymore. But maybe once your little ones grow bigger you can come back and I will gladly make the best work-out routine for you. Your body is your everything. Don't neglect it.”

Even though he could have saved that last sentence, Junho's words made you think; even more so that they were more accurate than you would have expected from a man who didn't have kids yet on his own. At least you thought he didn't have.

“Thanks a lot,” you smiled again, but the more the meeting prolonged the less you felt like it. A good cry was what you needed. “I'll reach out once I will be ready again.”

He nodded and started to put on his trainers. “I wish you all the best,” he said once he straightened up to his full length.

You nodded and let him out of the apartment. “Take care.”

He turned around just in the last moment, startling you. “I'll be waiting for you.”

Breath hitched in your throat and you could only manage to look at him speechlessly.

“At the gym! Of course at the gym!” he added quickly, laughing when he saw the expression on your face. He looked incredibly handsome when he laughed and his awkwardness made you heave out a little laugh as well.

“Okay, I'll meet you much later at the gym,” you replied, still smiling.

“That's good enough.”

</3

It was quite late when Baekhyun arrived home. The apartment was dark and quiet and he mentally cursed for not being on time again.

He went straight to your shared bedroom, not wanting to wake the triplets by accident and when he opened the door, your dim bedside lamp greeted him. With it you lying on your side and next to your chest a peacefully sleeping Jun. He was surprised to find the baby with you in your bed.

“Baby, I’m home,” he whispered, hoping you weren’t asleep yet.

You hummed, opening your eyes to see his suit-clad figure. He walked over to your side and hovered over you, looking at Jun and then at your side profile. He trailed his hand over your arm soothingly.

“Baby, why is Jun here?” He looked over his son again. “Did something happen?”

“All is good,” you said, your voice heavy with upcoming sleep.

Baekhyun understood you didn’t want to talk. He expected you to be hurt or even offended that he didn’t let you know on time about his delay. He always felt guilty for leaving you to be with triplets the whole time by yourself.

“I’ll go shower, you sleep,” he mumbled eventually when he didn’t receive more of an answer. A hum met his ears and he pressed a small kiss to the side of your face before taking off the suit jacket. He was unbuttoning his shirt when you took Jun into your arms, wanting to bring him to his crib.

Without sparing Baekhyun a glance, you walked past him and he took a hold of your waist gently, stopping you from leaving. Your tired eyes met his before you let them look at his exposed chest, the shirt still hanging off his wide shoulders. “You’re mad, right?”

“I’m not mad, Baekhyun. I’m tired.”

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I know I promised you that I’ll be home by-“

“You didn’t promise anything,” you interrupted him quietly. “You said you’d try to make it home earlier and I'm sure you did.” You hesitated. “Let me put Jun into bed. I need to lie down, too. It's late.”

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry,” he said in a hushed tone and he sighed.

You managed to smile and shook your head before walking ahead and out of the bedroom, Jun still in your tight grip. Maybe it was the shock of the day that you didn't want to tell Baekhyun what happened. But you were certain you were mad at yourself more than at anyone else and you were positive Baekhyun would be extremely dissatisfied if he found out how irresponsible you were. You had a heavy heart and you wanted to keep to yourself for the time being. Jun was all fine, thankfully, which was the only reason you could put him to sleep separately from you. The idea of something happening to him again while you weren't present was probably the first issue that would come to haunt you in the future as a mother. This was how it felt like; leaving your kid and always hoping they would be fine without you.

By the time you came back, Baekhyun was in the shower. The constant buzz of the running water quickly lulled you to sleep, your mind and body completely exhausted from the day’s events. This one time you couldn't wait up for him. You were practically a walking zombie when you landed on your side of the bed.

Even when your husband joined you in bed, rushing to scoop you up in his arms so he could envelope himself around you like a koala to his eucalyptus tree. He sighed in content but he knew he would have a talk with you in the morning.

<3

It was only by Saturday when you actually talked. Baekhyun didn't want to wake you after being woken up on Friday early in the morning to feed, and then you slept yet again when he was about to leave for work. Your quietness was very unusual to him.

He made sure to bring the monitor to his side and tried to sleep as lightly as possible so that if the munchkins were up, he'd be there first. The bags under your eyes, and your eyes themselves not having the typical spark made him very worried. You needed to rest and he would try his best to let you.

Currently, he was having a good chat with the triplets, even though one was already crying - Junhee, of course - because he was trying to feed Juna who started the ruckus first. Thankfully, he closed the door to the babies' room, so he didn't have to worry about their wailing waking you up.

But boy, was it difficult to satisfy them. He opted to heat up another bottle of milk and he was now balancing them in both hands, trying to safely feed both of the hungry mouths. Baekhyun prayed Jun wouldn't follow his sisters' lead as he observed him for a moment before focusing back on his daughters.

“Are you always giving this much of a hard time to mummy whenever I'm not here?” he murmured but an affectionate smile stretched his lips. Juna and Junhee were adorable as he was staring down at them, their eyes wide open while looking at their father. Their cheeks were pinkish and puffy, their soft hair a little messy and pressed in funny ways from sleeping  which made Baekhyun's heart swell with love. Whenever their small fingers tapped on his long fingers, he would try to caress their hands with it.

“After this, it's nappy-change time,” he told them seriously. “No exceptions, okay?”

Juna was gulping down like crazy, and whenever she swallowed hard, she exhaled loudly and Baekhyun eventually chuckled. “You are definitely daddy's little girl. Daddy also eats too fast but watch out - don't want your tummy to hurt, hm, little Juna?”

When he was sure that both babies were well-fed, he threw a small glance at Jun who was still too peaceful. He wasn't asking for food and neither was he asking for attention. “Junnie, what's wrong?” he asked quietly, worry laced in his voice, and lifted him out of his crib. “Why are you so quiet? You don't want some yummy milk?” He brought the bottle up to his face, pressing the pacifier to the top of his lips. Jun was only bulging his eyes at his father, as if unsure what to do with the bottle. “You don't want a sip?”

Jun averted his gaze, observing everything around him in quietness. He was moving around in Baekhyun's arms, most probably meaning he was a little restless, so Baekhyun put him back down into the crib, hoping he would make a scene, but Jun only looked at the small toys that he had hovering above him. To make it more interesting for him, Baekhyun pushed a few of them, letting them dingle gently and taking Jun's attention.

Baekhyun sighed, unsure. While the babies were still in their peaceful mode after changing their nappies, he left them and went straight back to the kitchen to wash up the bottles and prepare some breakfast for the both of you, wanting to surprise you with breakfast in bed.

Of course, he underestimated the whole situation. It was now way past 8am and you were up, and rubbing your eyes at the bar table separating the kitchen from the open living room. “Honey, why didn't you wake me?” you asked, your voice still heavily laced with sleep.

Baekhyun turned his head to the left as he was washing the tomatoes. “Sweetheart, go back to bed. I'll bring the food to the bedroom,” he told you and turned the water off.

Not listening, you tapped over to him, observing and trying to decode his recipe, but Baekhyun put down the vegetables, turned to you and held you by your upper arms. “You. Bed. Now.”

“I'm fine, honey,” you insisted tiredly. “Let me just help you out- oh, and what about the triplets?”

“I took care of them,” he said somewhat proudly, happy that it was finally him attending to them while you could keep on sleeping.

You sighed. “You should be resting. You work a lot during the week-”

“And you cannot escape your work at all,” cut in Baekhyun, frowning. “I'm not going to ask you what has been bothering you the past couple of days, but let me at least help out like this.”

Instantly, you felt guilty. You were so tired you managed to forget your heavy emotions in your deep slumber. They all came back to you, taking a good, comfortable seat in the depths of your chest, no signs of leaving whatsoever. Not until you resolved them at least.

“I don't want to lie down,” you still protested and Baekhyun observed you for a moment, trying to see through you. Without another word, you stepped closer and hugged him, your arms stretching so you could connect your hands on his wide back. He didn't hesitate, and brought you to him, pecking the top of your head.

“What's the matter, hm,” he hummed softly into your ear. “You haven't been yourself.”

“I messed up,” you murmured into his chest and when he wanted to pull away, you squeezed him tighter, making him groan in mock hurt. “No, just stay like this a little longer.”

He brought up his hand to your head and gently caressed your hair. “How did you mess up?”

You took a deep breath. “I am a bad mother, Baekhyun. I can't do this.”

“No, sweetheart, that's nonsense and you know it, too,” he said, this time really trying to pry your arms away from him but you wouldn't budge, persisting on holding onto him. He tried again, but gave up when you shimmied yourself closer, causing him to step backwards. He sighed affectionately, his hand going back up to caress you.

“Jun got sick while I was working out and well… yeah, that happened. So I had to come home earlier on Thursday.”

Baekhyun tensed slightly at your words, but was fast to ease up. His son was alright now. There was no need to overreact. “Did Sukyeong bring you home then?” he asked, trying to sound unbothered.

It was your turn to tense up now. Baekhyun felt it, but did not comment, instead waited patiently for your answer. “The trainer brought me home,” you mumbled and he desperately wanted to see your face, but you were still glued to his chest. “But don't worry. I'm not going to work out anymore. Not until the munchkins are bigger at least.”

“Let me look at you, princess,” Baekhyn requested, tapping your butt gently. “C'mon, don't hide.”

You squeezed him one last time before slowly disattaching yourself, your big, sad eyes looking up at him while your lower lip was trapped under your teeth. “I'm sorry for disappointing you.”

He gave you a gentle smile as he cupped your face, breathing a kiss on your forehead. “Is this what's been bothering you?” You nodded, still bulging your eyes at him. “I'm such a jerk,” he sighed eventually, “it should have been me who brings you home on Thursday. Instead I came home super late and had you deal with everything by yourself.”

You started to shake your head violently. “No, Baekhyun, no, this isn't your fault.”

“Did the trainer come up here?” he shot quickly, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at you.

You shrugged. “He helped me bring the triplets up. So he had to come in.” You went on to explain to him what actually happened that day, keeping Baekhyun's eager eye contact the whole time. “I forgot to tell them,” you admitted, devastated. “I'm so frigging irresponsible.”

“That's why you had Junnie with you when I came back?” he asked quietly, brushing your hair behind your ear.

You nodded, pressing your lips together in anxiety.

Baekhyun sighed. “Let's take him to the doctor's, hm?” he suggested and when he saw you nod again, he brought you back into a bear hug, your arms immediately sneaking around him. “And then you, little lady, will go to the doctor's about your breast milk, got it?” he asked, more seriously. He still didn't let the topic go but since you were both dealing with the problems now, he wanted to bring it up. “You're leaking too much and it's causing you discomfort. I don't care if you don't want help, but you need to see the doctor to make sure everything is in normal with your body.”

You pouted up at him and he chuckled softly, caressing your cheek. “Okay, you're right,” you eventually gave in and Baekhyun's smile grew even more, very much satisfied with your answer.

“That's my baby girl,” he breathed, pecking you on the lips.

“Sorry for not telling you sooner.”

“You needed time to process, there is no need to apologize for that. It's my fault for letting my colleagues drag me when I knew I had responsibilities.”

Once again you cuddled yourself to him, and Baekhyun laughed again, humming in satisfaction when he had you like this. It was only until there was a knock on the entrance door, with it the doorbell ringing through the quiet apartment. If that wasn't enough to surprise you, the babies' reaction to the doorbell wasn't good, either, for at least two babies woke up right away, their whimpers coming in through the monitor.

You separated, moving to tend to the babies while Baekhyun went for the door. You were shushing Junhee, the forever crybaby, only calming down when she was finally in your grasp. Too curious as to who was the unexpected guest, you went to the room's door, peeking over the door frame just to completely freeze.

Baekhyun was facing Lee Junho, your trainer.

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

A/N: Did you figure out the usage of "<3 and </3" ??? Huhu ^^ 

[stusbunker]

A Gentlemen’s Agreement Epilogue

A Supernatural Denny AU Fan-fiction Series

Featuring: Dean Winchester/ Benny Lafitte

Other characters: Pamela, Jesse, Caesar, Crowley, Balthazar, Meg, Jo, Lee, Lisa, Sam (mentioned), Drea OFC, Robbie and SJ OMCs, Deanna OFC

Word count: 2340

A/N: Enjoy! xoxo Stu

Brunch

    The sun was bright, but the air was crisp. The remnants of the early snowstorm had left soggy lawns and damp sidewalks. Benny pulled up to the restaurant and parked on the curb, smiling over at Dean. He waited patiently. 

    “You sure this is a good idea?” Dean squinted in the midday light.

    “Been dying to meet ya. Figured it’s only fair, I met your folks, you can meet my people too,” Benny said simply. “But I’m not gonna force ya.”

    “I just, I’m not used to being out in public. In numbers,” Dean sputtered.

    Benny raised a single eyebrow at him. “Well, I guess this is your best shot to try it out, dontcha think?”

    “What if they don’t like me? I don’t want you to have to choose between me and your friends,” Dean explained the root of the problem.

    “I like you, they will too. Just relax, be your charming self and if you don’t know what to say, you can just keep eating.” Benny put his hand on Dean’s thigh, squeezing just so.

    Dean growled out a sigh. “Fine. But you’re paying.”

    Like that could make an uncomfortable situation worth it. Benny smirked at Dean’s logic, waiting for his face to soften from grouchy to amiable. Once Dean relaxed, Benny kissed him, just long enough to keep him flustered and climbed out of the truck.

     They approached a large round table midway along the heated patio, where four people were already seated.

A raven haired woman waved them over. “My good Benjamin, did you bring a straight boy to brunch, just for me?!”

“Pammy!” Benny leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Hate to disappoint ya darlin', but ain't nothing straight about this'n."

 “Hey, now! Can’t a guy speak for himself?!” Dean snipped defensively as he sat in the spot beside Benny.

Everyone laughed. Pamela raised her eyebrow in question.

Dean licked his lips and put on the smolder, “Sorry sweetheart, but I’m taken.”

“Wait, this--- THIS is your sassy mechanic?!” Crowley leaned forward, extending his hand, his English brogue gruff and pandering. “Nice to finally meet you, handsome.”

       Dean gave Benny the side eye and all Benny could do was shrug coyly. Dean shook the man’s hand, trying not to show his discomfort from his lingering glances. Benny made the rest of the introductions, Jesse and Cesar were also a couple, but had been married for a few years. They seemed to be waiting on someone before they ordered. The group sipped their cocktails with a fresh pitcher of Bloody Mary in the center of the kitsch tablecloth.

Benny poured Dean a generous portion of the red drink and slipped seamlessly into the conversation. Dean sucked the palmeto out of an olive and listened casually, not too sure where he fit in this part of Benny’s life.

Twenty minutes later a rail of a guy swaggered in, with oversized aviators and a black linen suit. 

“Oh, thank Christ for booze,” he huffed, grabbing Dean’s glass without even acknowledging Dean was there. The blonde chugged the entire drink, before breaking for air. “I just had the worst hook up of my life, no, well, the year at least. He took me to his mother’s house. She tried to make me breakfast. I was simply mortified. I just left. What could I even do at that point, honestly?!”

Now that his audience had his attention back, the man gawked at Dean. He even pulled down his sunglasses for a better look. “Now who the fuck is this? Is it show and tell?! Because I am not prepared in the least.” 

He casually patted at his hair and eyed Dean from top to toe. Benny chuckled, but Pamela was the one to make the introduction.

“Balthazar, our regular hangover diva. Meet Dean, Benny’s boy toy,” she deadpanned, eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Oh you can’t be serious,” Balthazar lamented, looking from Pam to Benny to Crowley and finally at Dean. “Fuck you southerners and your goddamn accents--- always gets the hotter ones,” he muttered defensively as he threw himself against the armrest of the chair, crossing his legs.

“Well, now that we’re all here,” Cesar ended the dramatics concisely. “Maybe somebody should find our waitress?”

Dean looked at Benny confused. “We’re always here for a while, she doesn’t bother us until we’re actually ready to order. Tend to annoy her otherwise.”

Crowley volunteered as he needed to head to the men’s room anyhow. Five minutes later he arrived with an obviously surly waitress.

“Well look what the cat dragged in,” Meg’s smokey voice broke through Balthazar's latest story. She centered herself between Cesar and Crowley’s seat and cocked her hip, tongue firmly in cheek as she waited for Dean to take her bait.

“Heya, Meg,” Dean sighed. The inevitable caught up with him after all, they just had to run into someone he knew.

“Oh, this has got to be good, now, pray tell, how do you two know each other?” Crowley probed.

“Oh me and this schmuck? We go way back.” Meg smiled without teeth.

“Is that so?” Benny tested the waters.

“Not like that,” Dean grumbled. “Meg, here, took my little brother Sammy out for a few spins, back in the day. Didn’t you, sweetheart?”

“Yeah, well, what can I say? It was high school.” Meg let her indifference coat her entire being until curiosity sparked to life in her eyes. “So what are you doing with this crowd, or did they bring you in just to add a new level of torture to my Sunday shifts?”

“Well---.” Dean swallowed, looked at Benny for clarification and got mild amusement instead. “I think you’re stuck with me now.”

“Joy,” Meg bristled before taking their orders, knowing most of the table’s usuals before they even opened their mouths.

News

    Benny rushed into the customer entrance of the shop, the wet October air had kept the service doors closed for the past week. He leaned against the counter, decorated in local business cards and charity fliers, anxiously waiting for someone to talk to. His chest was so tight he worried he’d pass out from excitement. He just needed to see him was all, once he saw Dean it would be easier.

    Lee sauntered in from the service bay, they both had drawn the short straw it seemed.

    “Hey, mind getting Dean for me? It’s important,” Benny asked, unable to keep the burning smile from his face.

    Lee eyed him curiously but nodded and headed back the way he came. He didn’t shout, not really. “Dean-o, your boyfriend’s looking for ya.”

    Dean unfurled himself from the engine he had been tinkering with all morning and glared at Lee.

    “Husband, whatever, seems urgent,” Lee acquiesced. Dean nodded and wiped his hands off on the closest rag. Dean pulled his wedding band out from his undershirt out of habit more than anything. He couldn’t wear it on his hands at work, but he didn’t want to lose it so Benny made him a braided leather necklace once they got back from their honeymoon.

    Dean ignored formality and walked straight into the waiting room. Once he saw the look on Benny’s face he knew what was happening.

    “It’s go time?” He asked, shock and exhilaration sparking his instinct to move.

    “It’s go time, cher. Lisa called me on the way to the hospital. Sam’s driving her from the office. Her water broke about 9:30,” Benny explained, the nervousness slipping into his cadence.

    “Alright, I’m gonna clean up, you want me to drive?” Dean asked, gauging the unsteadiness in his usually stalwart husband.

    “That’s probably best, yeah,” Benny agreed. 

Dean leaned in and kissed him firmly, resting his forehead against Benny’s temple before pulling away.“Hey, we got this, alright? That kid is gonna be so spoiled having you for a daddy, you know that?”

“Look who’s talking, gonna have you wrapped around their finger before they can even crawl,” Benny teased back, inhaling with contentment.

Dean headed back to warn his coworkers that he had a baby on the way and to clean up enough to be allowed into a hospital. Jo followed Dean out into the lobby. Quickly, she hugged Benny before demanding regular updates to the group chat.

“Alright, get out of here, we’ve got you covered for the rest of the week. Let me know and I will put in paternity leave as soon as everyone’s home, okay?” Jo got all professional about things as Dean left.

“Oh, right, shit. Well, I guess I’ll let you know when you can come over and---,” Dean started before Benny pulled him by his elbow.

“We should be goin’” Benny urged. Dean looked at Jo one last time and nodded.

This was it.

   Dean held Benny’s hand the whole way to the hospital, their grip tightening every so often, grounding them both. Because Lisa was a friend and the surrogacy was looser than most circumstances, both Benny and Dean were allowed in the delivery room. They were the best cheerleaders a birth mom could have ever asked for. Seven hours later, one chubby baby girl entered the world screaming to high heaven and splitting her fathers’ hearts open for an entirely new level of love and devotion.

    Mary Andrea Lafitte-Winchester, or Drea for short, was a happy and healthy little girl. And an overprotective big sister to her twin brothers, Samuel Joel and Robert Fergus, who came along four years later.

Sunset

    They’re old men now. Dean is five years retired, while Benny works the register for their sons on the weekends. Both of their hands aren’t what they used to be. But they keep busy. Drea is bringing the kids round tomorrow, it’s the start of summer break and Dean’s been dying to teach her kids to fish.  

    Dean went grey after he turned fifty, but it hasn’t changed since, in color at least. Benny’s beard is as white as Santa Claus and he hides what little hair he has left under a cap. They’re both a little rounder, a little lower to the ground, but they got that way together and neither of them notice it on one another anyhow.

       Every year they visit Jesse and Cesar in Arizona for New Year's. Though they fly more than make the drive these days.

        They still take turns cooking the meals and the movie nights from their early days resurfaced into movie afternoons when their kids moved out. Dean can’t hear for shit anymore and, naturally, Benny makes fun of him for it. But Dean’ll put in his hearing aids if company is over.

 It’s early evening in the beginning of June and the bugs are orchestrating quite the soundtrack to their time on the porch. Dean pours his whiskey. Benny’s already sipping his sweet tea, his medications don’t let him drink much anymore. Jo’ll come by on Sunday, along with SJ and his wife and Robbie. Sam and Jess usually make it to every other dinner or so.

    “Hey there, handsome. Mind if I join you?” Dean teases, once a flirt always a flirt.

    “Not at all, cher. It’s a helluva view,” Benny glances at his husband, watches Dean take in the peaches and pinks kissing the slopes of the fields. They sit like that for an hour, until the dark is too thick to see through. Groaning and creaking they stand in turn. Dean keeps his hand on the small of Benny’s back as they head inside for the night, steadying them both.

    They moved their bedroom to the ground floor after Dean’s heart attack, a lot less worry about making it upstairs that way. After being married forty years, Dean still makes jokes about it being Benny’s place. But it’s always been his home. He kisses Benny goodnight, makes it a little saucy because he can. He’s the first to close his eyes.

    In the morning Benny makes waffles and tofu bacon. Dean pretends he can’t taste the difference, fooling no one. They make out while the sink fills for the dishes, too few to run the machine. Benny gets handsy first and Dean tries to squirm into the upperhand. They’re interrupted by a car pulling in the drive.

    “Busted,” Benny whispers.

    “You’re the one who wanted kids,” Dean grumbles against Benny’s neck, an old, unfounded retort.

    “Yeah, but the grandkids---,” Benny starts.

    “Were made to be spoiled,” Dean finishes and kisses Benny once more. Drea’s yelling at her kids to slow down before her dads even make it outside to greet them. Her eyes, blue as her daddy’s are tired. They don’t envy her the school aged years. Dean bends down as baby Deanna, who’s nearly four, comes crashing into his arms. He pulls her up and holds her tight, reminds him of her mama and he can’t help but get a little weepy over the passing years. 

    “It’s so good to see you, baby girl.” Benny pulls his daughter into a hug before helping with their bags. The older kids don’t come inside until it’s time to eat, climbing through the barn and splashing in the creek until they’re soaked. But Deanna sticks with her Grandpa on a simple stroll, while Pappy and Mama catch up.

    Dean still has the jacket he bought from Benny, though the pants are long gone. He’ll leave it to Robbie when the time comes, when his son finds himself a stud that’s worth settling down for. If that’s what he chooses. 

    For now, Dean lets his granddaughter pick up every rock and stick she finds and examines it to the nth degree. He explains what he can about each one. She’s very curious. He even lets her wipe her chubby little hands on his pants’ leg when she needs to. They get back to the house just in time to start dinner, but before they go inside Dean takes a mental picture of his husband on the porch, their daughter beside him and his granddaughter running past him.

   It is a helluva view after all. 

Tell me what you think?

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[byorder-fanfic]

How They Look After You When it Gets Bad: Esme

Preference Masterlist

Word count: 1541

Warnings: reader going through a hard time, a small mention of anti-romanism and John's infidelity

Author's Note: I LOVE ESME SO MUCH! But I also love jesme so in this they're both still married and alive. You can interpret this as a platonic or poly relationship, or however else you like! Hope you enjoy

(Gif by @lotsoffandomimagines)

Esme knew how to hear the words unspoken. She was well acquainted with interpreting the stares she got when she travelled with her family in their not-English traditional clothes and painted caravans. It always screamed at her when the slurs were stuck on their tongues, hung on by a thread. She had to learn quickly how to weed out those with good intentions, and those with bad. This skill served her well when she married John. As a Shelby, deceit was everywhere- in the family and out. As a mother, she soon learned the unspoken language of her step-children, always knowing how they felt from their cautious glances and wild, flickering eyes. As a wife, she soon figured out what John's downcast eyes meant when she asked about the long shifts, or the lipstick on his collar. She always wondered if he saw her little mannerisms and interpreted them like she had, making a little note of them in her mind like a treasure. Or, did he just see her as the wild woman he was promised?

Just like John, you were easy for her to decode. But, this time, it wasn't until her one and a half year old, Martha, came up to her and tugged at her sleeve that she realised she needed a little help.

"Mummy!" She whined, making Esme smile softly as she crouched down to be at the same height as her daughter. "Y/N. Sad."

She spat the words out harshly, but it was enough to get Esme nodding her head. If the message wasn't as troubling as it was, she probably would've whooped and yelled with pride. Her and John had been waiting for their little'n to start making sentences ever since she began garbling and chirping like her Uncle Arthur after one too many beers. John would want to hear her when he got home from work. But, first, she had to make sure you were alright. She sent Martha to go and play with her older brother Lee and the rest of John's kids in the garden, running around the expanse of the green field with spaniels nipping at their heels. The little girl giggled as the eldest, Louise, grabbed her little chubby hand and helped her catch up with the older ones. Seeing them at ease and safe made her relax for a moment before she went back inside, turning her head over her shoulder to make sure they were all still there in their game of chase.

It felt colder as soon as she walked in, without the sun shining on her face. Her bare feet padded along the wooden floors, her dress floating around her as she walked through the long corridor. She still couldn't help but trail her fingertips down the wallpaper, admiring each painting and ornament like it was the first time she'd seen it- there was still a disbelief in her that this was hers. That she lived here. That every corridor she walked down in bare feet was hers to walk in, that all of those fields down to the stream were hers to run in, along with the children, that in the stables there were horses to feed and take care of. She still couldn't believe that every breath of fresh air she took wasn't the smoke and smog of Small Heath. They may have had a rocky beginning, but John had gotten their family a good life. Out of the bloody Peaky Blinders and into the sunlight. But that didn't mean nothing was the same anymore.

You were sat on the sofa, legs tucked underneath you as the baby Sophie was held to your chest. Ever since she had learned she could roll over, she had been attempting to make every moment a chance to show it off. Thus, the Moses basket was considered a liability, and there was no way either Esme or Joh was gonna but a crib in every single room in this house. So, being held was the only way to keep her still. You were looking out of the window, smiling at the children as they started to race each other. The smile didn't quite reach your eyes. You had been quieter than normal, she supposed, but she hadn't seen that look for some time now.

"Hey," she brushed her hand against your shoulder as she spoke, knowing that startling you would lead to an almighty scream from the sleepy baby. "How is she?"

"She keeps on looking at the rest of them," you said, nodding out of the window. "Think she wants to join them."

"Oh, well, she's gonna have to wait a while for that." Esme lightly brushed her thumb over her daughter's cheek, seeing her head start to loll into your shoulder.

"Do you wanna join them?" She asked, plainly. "You've been cooped up in here. You should come out, get some sunlight."

"Yeah," you said hesitantly, "I will do."

She took the baby from your arms, surprisingly able to keep her sleeping as she slowly tottered into the corridor. You immediately followed her, led by the soft patter of feet on the floor. As you went outside, the Sun berated down on you in an unexpected heat that prickled your skin. Just as the sudden change in temperature startled you, it quickly eased into a soothing, soaking feeling of warmth that made you take a deep breath. The smell of grass and fresh air halted you on the front door step, just getting a moment of peace and quiet. Only a moment, though.

"Y/N! Y/N! Y/N!" The kids yelled, forcing you to open your eyes and smile down at them as they swarmed at the end of the stone path. Esme had taken Sophie and sat on the garden table, head bent back as she enjoyed the sunlight.

"Can you come play with us?" Lee asked, just as George gave him a soft nudge in the ribs.

"We're not playing! We're racing." He said it proudly, puffing out his chest like the living imitation of his father.

"Racing?" You made an exaggerated tone of excitement that didn't quite match the tiredness you felt. "Where to?"

"The stream!" Katie giggled, obviously excited, as she pointed over to the far away line of grey.

"All the way there!" You shook your head. "Isn't that a little far?"

You looked over at the toddler Martha who, despite Louise's best efforts to distract her with the flowers, was determined to join in with the rest of her older brothers and sisters.

"It'll be fine." Esme yelled from where she sat, rocking the baby in her arms. "Martha can sit here with us two and help me call out the winner."

The little girl seemed enamoured with the idea, immediately waddling over to the table and allowing Louise to join in with all of her younger siblings. With a bit of help from her mum, Martha climbed and wiggled her way onto the seat, immediately standing up to pat at Sophie's bare head. Esme held an arm around her second youngest to keep her steady as she nodded over to the rest of you.

The kids all went into a line and you were dragged along with them as they bent their knees in ready position and each of them put on a comically serious expressions. There were a few squabbles about someone had got their toe over the imaginary line, or so and so was cheating, but you managed to keep them all pacified and ready.

"On your marks!" Esme began.

You felt a smile tugging at your lips that couldn't be bitten back or flattened out.

"Get set!"

Your heartbeat was thrumming with just as much excitement as the kids, taking a deep breath as you got ready for that final command.

"Go!"

Almost as soon as the first syllable had uttered, the lot of you broke out of the line and thundered forward. Being that bit older, you decided to go a little slower, but still bounded in the middle. Louise and Jack were right at the front, throwing their heads back and sticking their tongues out at each other as they tried to gain a definitive lead. Esme and Martha were whooping and cheering as the lot of you stumbled over the great field. You were laughing so hard between your breaths, slowing down and reaching out a hand so you and Lee would scurry after the rest of them, who had managed to fly ahead of you. You wold say that you let them, since you were that much older, and you wanted to make sure little Lee wasn't at the back all by himself. However, Esme could see your toothy, wide smile that probably caught as many flies as it did big, huge chuckles that made you pause and run that bit slower. She could see your cheeks glowing from something other than the exercise and warmth, your shining eyes growing soft and excitable as you tried to hurry Lee on to chase the rest of them. You were happy. 

Esme saw things clearly- all you ever needed was a bit of fun of laughter and, most importantly, love.

[girlandthedarkness]

the avatar I azula x reader

what if azula will have a crush on a girl that turns out to be the avatar, what would she do? 

a/n: take a shot every time you see me doing a grammatical mistake, it's a little bit dramatic and in this fic azula is slightly ooc, because she's in love

Y/N were just playing in the royal garden, she came to the palace with her uncle, who had to attend a meeting. Y/N heard some noises behind her, and when she turned around, she saw a girl, who was walking towards her. The mysterious girl has a dark hair and a sly smile on her face, when she approached her, Y/N could see the royal crown in the girl's head. "Your Royal Highness." Y/N says gently bowing her head. "I saw you here, all alone, so I decided to play with you since I'm so bored." The princess voice was calm, but it still sends shivers down Y/N's spine. "Also, you can address me as Azula, what's your name?" To Y/N's opinion Azula's voice sounds genuinely interested. "Y/N". In that afternoon, Azula and Y/N spent time together, playing and chatting about stuff, the firebender even showed Y/N her moves, Azula couldn't help but try to impress the other girl. She even scolded herself for being so open with a person that she met a few hours ago, but the other girl makes it so easy to be wide open with her. Their game was interrupted by a maiden, that with a polite voice announced that the meeting was over and Y/N's uncle was waiting for her. "Will you come again?" Azula's voice was still calm, but to that was added a bit of sadness as well. "It was my uncle who was invited, so I don't know-" But her words were interrupted by Azula's "I'm the princess and I order you to be tomorrow here." She sounds like she will not take no as an answer, so Y/N just bend her upper body in a sign of respect and left with the maid who was ready to escort her. The next day Azula introduced Y/N to her other friends, Mai and Ty Lee, the last one was so happy to meet Y/N, that she runs to hug her. "So you are that mysterious Y/N that Azula talks about all morning, nice to meet you." You smile at the girl who griped you in her arms, noticing Azula's slightly red cheeks, which disappeared once she saw other's eyes on her. After that, the four became the best friends, spending a lot of time in academy and at royal palace. This is where Y/N found out that she can firebend, before that she was thinking that she's a non-bender.

Y/N was training already a few years in hand combat, but the last few months she had taken some acrobatic lessons from Ty Lee, who was very happy to teach her friend everything she knows. That's how Y/N found herself sparring with Azula on the backyard, wanting to test her abilities on a firebender who'll shot fire at her. At start Azula casts some fire at Y/N to see how good she can move, when she saw the girl moving fast and precise, she stopped holding herself back. After Y/N successfully dodged all the fire she sends at her, Azula shot more fireballs at the girl, thinking she'll dodged it like the first ones. But Y/N didn't, she avoids the first three shots, but missed to escape the third one, the blue fire almost licked the young girl's skin, but in a pure instinct, Y/N, stopped the fire right in front of her chest, shocking everyone including herself.

"So you didn't know that you're a firebender?" Mai's voice is curious; despite being hardly covered in carelessness. "Honestly I though I'm a non-bender as my parents, my uncle is the only firebender that I know in my family." Y/N talk fast, still astonished by the news. "Then you a very lucky person." The girl quickly turns around to see Azula who have a small smile on her face, but when she lifts her eyes to meet Azula's eyes she notice sadness in them. "Y/N can I talk to you privately?" But the princess didn't wait for girl to answer, she takes Y/N's forearm and drags her to garden, that she so dearly hates. "Something's wrong?"  Azula study Y/N for a long time, her eyes exams her body, stopping at her chest when she noticed the slightly burned garment. "Are you dragged me here just to stare at my chest?" Y/N founds this situation funny, but the blush still crept on her cheeks, for her the princess is more than just a friend, you can call it a crush. Azula on other side just rolls her eyes, still deep in her thoughts. "I'm sorry, I should had been more careful, I almost hurt you." She said avoiding the other girl eyes. Y/N smile, in this few years, she gets used to see Azula's emotions or regrets occasionally and only in private, that's why she greedy memorize every second. "That's okay Azula, I'm not hurt and if you want to make up for almost kill me, you can become my firebender teacher." Azula just rolls her eyes again, feeling much lighter, now that she's sure that Y/N it's not mad at her.

Later, in the night, Azula is thinking about her feelings toward the Y/N, the things that she feels when the girl is near it’s nothing that she ever felt. Her heart starts beating faster, her palms sweats, she feels a tight in her chest and a foreign sensation of pure happiness every time Y/N hugs her.

Another few months were spending for Y/N in endless training with Azula, who makes sure to cast her own feelings for Y/N aside and teach her firebending. She makes sure to introduce her to everything she knows and even started slowly to teach Y/N the lightning bending.

But Azula was still a royal member who needs to attend gatherings and parties, so when she has to meet some very important general, she takes Y/N with her, half to continue their training and half to just have Y/N beside herself. "Why are you so pale, are you sick?" The Azula's face stay the same, not even one face muscle twitches, she keeps her appearance calm, but Y/N could see the worry in her eyes. "I guess it's just sea sickness." Azula frown her eyebrows and drags the sick girl to her own chamber, on the way ordering to one of the guards to bring something for sea sickness. "That's nothing Azula, I'll get over this." "You look very pale, maybe a tea will make you feel better?" The next few days Y/N spends on bed, feeling very ill and weak, but at the same times she enjoys the sudden attention that came from Azula. Lost in worries, Azula, didn't notice how their borders disappeared, she could spend hours just talking with Y/N, but deep down in her heart she knew that this is too good to last forever. And she was right.

Y/N felt like the sea decide to revenge on them, the storm make their ship to shake violently, while the waves were hitting them. Azula was busy talking with the captain, deciding how to survive the calamity. Y/N felt useless so she decides to go and help the crew to bring in everything from outside. The hard rain on girl skin didn't bring discontent, opposite, she feels very content, it was until she was thrown out from the ship by a violent shake.

Azula was annoyed by the downpour, thinking how late she'll be, her thinking was interrupted by an open door without anyone knocking on it. She was ready to scream, when she saw the terrified look on one of the guard. "What's now?" "It's Y/N, she was outside when we saw how she fell into the sea!" He sounds scared, and Azula wonders, is he anxious about Y/N or afraid of her anger. She didn't cast a second glance at him, she tells him to show her where this happened.

During this time, Y/N, was fighting for her life, feeling how the heavy clothes drags her deeper to the bottom. She already lost all hopes when she heard a voice, then another, thousands voices in her head, telling her to rise, Y/N's hands move on their own, bending all the water from her lungs and then around her, moving her closer to the surface. The last thing that Y/N feels is a pair of hands that brings her out of water.

Azula could feel her heart pounding in her chest, she hurried up her pace, almost running, she outs all her thoughts that she's late, Y/N's alright, right? Outside the rain stopped, making easy to search something on water, she moves around the ship, ordering everyone to do the same. Azula was ready to take a boat and search somewhere further, when she saw a light coming deep from the water and then she saw a body. Quickly lifting the body out of the water she breathes with relieved when she saw Y/N's face, but then she notices the light in her eyes that slowly faded away. Azula let the body on the deck and feels like her whole world breaks again, she commands to her guards to take care of Y/N, while she left to recollect her mind.

Azula spend the last hour thinking, Y/N is the avatar, there's no doubt, the shining eyes and the water that brought her from the sea. The person that she cares about dearly is the avatar, the number one enemy of the firenation. So the rumours about the "avatar" that was seen in Southern Water Tribe is a lie, she was right beside them. She could go and throw her in jail, where she wouldn't be able to bend anything, bring the avatar back the fire nation, her father will be proud of her, her nation will worship her. Azula moves fast, open the door that secure the avatar from her and stopped when she saw the girl on bed. The realization hit her, it's real, Y/N is the avatar, she can't sacrifice her, Azula stays here, just like that, staring at the girl and try to analyze everything. "Azula?" The hoarse voice of the Y/N, makes shivers run down Azula's spine. "Did you know that?" She needs to know, did Y/N lied to her all this time. "I don't understand." Y/N sounds genuinely, that make Azula even more angry. "Did you know that you are the Avatar?" She almost spits this words, feeling how her defense starts to crack. "The Avatar? What do you mean-...so this's what it was...Azula I swear I didn't know" The tears start pouring right from the Y/N's eyes. Azula study the girl a few more moments and came closer, already knowing what she'll do. "You can't stay here, Y/N, it's dangerous. I'll leave a boat here, on the ship, take it and run away. Hide somewhere, maybe in Earth Kingdom? It's a very big place, they wouldn't find you here." The stillness returned in Azula's voice. "I can't leave, my family and, and you Azula, I can't leave you." "I'll meet you at sunset, come here to the ship, understand?" Y/N nods and Azula, take of the hand from girl's face, when she even managed to touch her? The rest of the day Azula tried to focus on the general and his plans. "I know, everyone think that Avatar returned back to world, but tha's just rumors, your highness"

To Azula annoyance, outside was pouring once again, she lets a deep breath when she saw Y/N's form approaching her. "Had you taken everything?" Azula says nodding to a small bag in the girl's hands. "I didn't take a lot of things with me." Y/N study Azula's face trying to find anything, but was meeting by a stone cold face. "Take it, you'll need money." The princess quickly throws the bag with money in Y/N's own bag. "Why do you do this Azula?" "Because..." Azula looks at Y/N as if she tried to remember everything, taking her arms she cups Y/N's face, inhaling deeply when she saw her leaning in, caressing softly her face to Azula's hands. "I care about you." Y/N nods and take Azula's face in her hands, giving her a kiss, tears were all over their face, and Y/N let a painful laugh. "I imagined our first kiss differently." Azula tilt her head and give the last kiss, feeling way to numb to even cry. "We meet again, I know this, when I'll win the war, I'll found you, I promise." Y/N just close her eyes trying to remember Azula's scent. She quickly gets on the boat, which will take her to the port where Y/N will start her life on the run. The next time they’ll meet, both of them will be on different sides of the war.