#✦ [ Save ] : Trapped Inside A Looking Glass Never Let This Moment Pass ✦

[dark-fics-4-you]

Crying in the Country Club ch. VI

dark!dbf!Rafe Cameron x dark!f!Reader

Warnings: dubcon if you squint, oral (f!recieving), implied p in v sex, implied unprotected sex, drug use, abusive relationship, manipulative behavior, physical abuse, aggressive behavior, mention of previous attempted assault, ptsd symptoms, infidelity, age gap relationship, secret relationship, love bombing, mentions of baby trapping, reader calls Rafe ‘daddy’

You glanced down at your outfit one last time before steeling yourself to go inside. You knew that Rafe would like the short skirt you had picked.

After spending more time with him recently you had gotten a sense of the types of clothes he liked you to wear around him. Skirts and dresses were his favorites, along with any tight, low cut shirts.

Rebecca had never worn those types of clothes as long as you had known her and you knew that was part of the reason why Rafe loved seeing you walk around his house in your tiny skirts, paired with revealing blouses that left little to the imagination.

Luckily for you and Rafe, Rebecca’s therapist had recommended she attend late night group sessions a couple times a week, giving you the perfect window to sneak over and see Mr. Cameron.

It had become a routine for you at this point. You told your parents that you were hanging out with Charlie, and they never asked any questions. They didn’t realize that Charlie had been spending most of her nights at her boyfriend’s house.

Entering the code that Rafe had given you, you unlocked the door and the pulled it open, letting yourself inside as you looked around.

There was no sight of Rafe, and for a moment you worried that maybe you had been wrong about the day Rebecca had therapy until you heard the muffled sound of music coming from down the hall.

You quietly closed the door behind you before nervously reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear.

Usually he would have been waiting for you in the living room with two glasses of wine and his charming smile that made you melt into his arms. The two of you would hang out and talk about your day for about half an hour before you would inevitably follow him into his bedroom.

Over the several weeks that you had been sneaking over, he’d never not met you at the door. Maybe he got caught up doing work?

You set your purse down on the couch, walking towards the source of the pulsing music. When you found yourself in front of Rafe’s office, his door slightly ajar, you couldn’t help but pause for a moment, not sure what to expect on the other side.

When you swung the door open, you froze in surprise, and your sharp inhale alerted Rafe to your presence.

He was sitting at his desk, which was clean and tidy, save for the several white, powdery lines that he was crouched over.

He dropped the rolled up hundred onto his desk, sniffing once before wiping his knuckle against his nostril as he stood up, his eyes never leaving yours.

“Y/N…” he began, walking towards you as he took in the shocked look of betrayal on your face.

You couldn’t find the words that you wanted to say. For reasons you couldn’t really explain, your heart was pounding faster as Mr. Cameron got closer.

“Why are you..?” The rest of the question died on your tongue and you couldn’t bring yourself to say it.

Rafe took another step towards you and the chill that passed through your body reminded you of the horrible night at the party weeks ago, only this time Rafe was the one scaring you.

“Just- just calm down, okay, sweetheart?” His tone was even, kind perhaps, but the way that his fingers were twitching and balling into fists at his side and the jumpy look in his eyes made you feel nervous.

“Is that coke?” You asked again, cringing internally when your voice cracked with emotion.

Rafe stared down at you with an unidentifiable expression. His jaw clenched and you took another step back when he drew closer to you.

When your back hit the wall of his study, you wanted to cry, fear clenching your gut so hard you thought you might be sick.

You made a move to side step him and walk towards the door to his study, but Rafe’s fingers tightened around your wrist, forcefully pulling you away from your escape and roughly pushing you against the wall of his study.

“Wait, Y/N-”

Yelping in pain, you froze, tears springing to your wide eyes as you were transported back in time to the house party with Mason.

“C’mon Y/N,” he chuckled, slurring his words. “We both know you’re looking for attention.”

Your chest felt tight, anxiety beginning to pool in your gut. “I’m not-” you tried to get past Mason again only for him to shove you backwards a second time, this time much harder.

You couldn’t catch your breath, and your heart was racing so fast you felt dizzy.

Rafe’s hard grip on your wrist loosened and he released you, face falling as he took in your panicked state.

“Fuck- I’m so sorry, Y/N, I didn’t mean to do that.” He sounded so different than he had just a moment before and his demeanor changed so quickly you didn’t have time to question it. “Are you okay?”

He gently grabbed your arm, examining the red, irritated skin he had wrapped his fingers around. You whimpered when he ran his fingers over the spot and he immediately withdrew his hand.

“I’m-” you began before your throat closed up with emotion. The injury likely wasn’t that bad, but that didn’t change the feelings that accompanied it. You felt startled, hurt, and betrayed, but most of all you felt scared; scared of the man you had know your entire life who had shown you an unforeseen side tonight.

“I’m okay,” you finally forced out, feeling guilty as the words left your mouth, and you couldn’t stop the tears that had started sliding down your cheeks.

“I’m so sorry baby,” he repeated again, and the pain in his voice made your heart hurt. “Shit, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“A buddy of mine gave me some of his stash to try for the first time,” Rafe rambled, reaching into his pocket to pause the music. “I didn’t think it was going to make me act like this.”

“Oh,” you paused and sniffled, wiping away some of your tears.

“S-so this isn’t something you do regularly?” Your voice was quiet and timid, but your heart was still thumping in your chest.

“No, no. Absolutely not. Just a one time thing because Topper kept talking it up.” He reached out a hand to brush your tear stained cheek and this time you didn’t flinch away.

“Y-you promise?”

“Yes Y/N/N, I promise. And I’m so sorry I grabbed you. Turns out coke makes me a bit…” he sighed, “aggressive, and I just got scared that you would get the wrong idea about this. About me.”

You swallowed, trying to catch your breath as you calmed yourself down.

“You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in years, Y/N.”

Your breath caught in your throat at that and you looked up at him with shiny eyes.

“I mean it, the last month has been amazing. And you’re on my mind more often than not, which drives me kind of crazy at times,” he chuckled at that and you joined him, completely understanding how he was feeling.

“You’re intelligent, funny, and so sweet at times it hurts. Not to mention how beautiful you are,” he added the last part with a wink, finally taking in the outfit that you had chosen to wear.

You blushed as he looked you up and down.

“I mean, fuck, you look gorgeous right now. I feel so damn lucky.”

Your stomach flipped at that, and you were secretly thrilled to be hearing him say all of the things you’d always wanted him to.

“I just, I dont want this one stupid mistake to ruin what we have.” You could feel the regret in his voice chipping away at your fear.

Rafe’s eyes flicked from your eyes to your lips, and when he met your gaze again you gave him a slight nod.

He closed the distance between you, one of his large hands tangling into your hair as your lips met.

It felt gentler and more tender than usual, and you couldn’t help but melt into his arms when he deepened the kiss. His other hand hand found your back, pressing you closer to him when you moaned against his lips.

When he finally pulled away, you let out a soft, disappointed whine. You opened your eyes to see him looking down at you almost dreamily. Up close, you realized how big his pupils were right now.

“Y/N?” Rafe’s arm was still wrapped around your back protectively. The rest of the house was quiet and you shivered in his arms at the intensity of his stare.

“I love you.”

You blinked in surprised silence, shocked to hear the words that you had wished to hear for so long whispered by him.

Before you could reply, his lips were on yours again, stealing your breath with another passionate kiss. With one hand on the small of your back to steady you, he slowly walked you towards his desk, only pulling away from you to sweep the contents on top of the desk onto the floor.

Rafe easily lifted you onto the desk, pressing kisses to your lips and cheek before trailing to your neck. You whined when he nipped at a sensitive spot, squeezing your legs around his waist as he sucked at your tender skin.

“I love you,” he groaned into your neck in between sloppy kisses. When he rolled his hips, pressing his clothed hard on to your core, you gasped, grinding your hips against him.

“I love y-you too,” you stuttered, finding speaking difficult as his scent clouded your thoughts. His large hands roamed down from your waist and under your mini skirt, squeezing your ass and pulling you in closer to him.

You could feel your panties growing slicker as Rafe kissed your neck, and you were almost sure he could feel it too as you greedily bucked your hips against him.

Rafe broke away, panting as he took in your flushed face for a moment before lowering himself to his knees in front of you.

His fingers brushed against your thighs before hooking around your panties and you lifted your hips to help him pull them down your legs. He splayed his hand across your stomach, lightly pressing and you laid back against the desk, heart racing as he pushed your skirt up.

Rafe spread your legs, lifting them to rest on his shoulders. The blond leaned closer and you shivered as he trailed gentle kisses down your inner thigh, stopping before he reached your core only to do the same to your other leg.

You were practically quaking with anticipation by the time he finally tasted you, and you whined his name as his tongue teased your clit.

His warm tongue slid up and down your slick folds and Rafe groaned at your sweet taste, one arm wrapping around your thighs to bury his face deeper.

He lapped at your clit hungrily, eyes rolling in the back of his head as he devoured your soaked cunt.

“Mm, y’taste so good,” he mumbled, and you arched your back off the desk when he slid his middle finger into you.

You whimpered as you squeezed around him, and Rafe held you in place as he curled the thick digit inside of you. His tongue never stopped flicking against your tender bud and the vibrations of his moans sent waves of pleasure through your entire body.

He slowly began thrusting his finger inside of you, and you rolled your hips to meet his pace, whining and squeezing your eyes shut when he circled your clit with his tongue.

The sounds of him groaning as he sucked on your clit made you gush around his finger. You cursed softly between gasps when he pushed his ring finger in, stretching you out before he even reached his knuckles

Rafe pushed his fingers deeper, holding your thighs in place as you squirmed on the desk. You tensed when you felt a new sensation, something hard and cool dragging inside you, but when you realized it was Mr. Cameron’s ring —his wedding ring— you bit back a moan, tilting your hips into his touch.

He curled his fingers as he thrusted them into you, the pace building as your cunt grew slicker and his tongue swirled around your clit.

Your hand came to his shoulder, digging your nails into his tanned skin as his skilled fingers massaged your walls. Each stroke made the pleasure between your legs build, and you felt embarrassingly needy even as Rafe fervently lapped up your juices.

“Daddy-” you whimpered, your nails clutching at his shoulders and leaving red marks on his back.

Rafe pulled away, replacing his mouth with his thumb, which circled your clit as he pumped his fingers in and out of you.

He could help but watch your face as he fucked you with his fingers, his pants getting tighter as your mouth fell open and your pretty eyes met his.

“Yeah? You gonna cum all over daddy’s fingers?” He growled. “Making a mess all over my desk.”

You moaned loudly when his tongue found your clit again, and you arched your back off the hard wood when his fingers curled deep inside you, hitting a spot that made you clench around him.

“Fuck I’m-” you whimpered, so lost in the rhythm of his thrusts that you couldn’t think straight.

Rafe’s thick fingers were stretching you out so deliciously, and the feeling of his tongue teasing your clit had you twitching in his arms.

You couldn’t stop the tension that had been building inside you from bubbling over and you whined as you came undone. Rafe groaned against your clit as you tightened around his fingers, pulsing with overstimulation as he continued lapping at your sensitive bud.

Light headedness flooded your brain, and you felt dizzy when he finally pulled away to kiss you. You leaned into the kiss, allowing him to messily push his tongue into your mouth as his thumb traced along your jaw. The aftershocks of euphoria made you feel almost high and you enjoyed the taste of yourself on his tongue as his lips slid against yours.

When Rafe drew back, you let out a disappointed whine, but the realization that he was unzipping his pants to free his hard cock had you eagerly lying back down against the desk as you spread your legs.

He pushed into you with one stroke, stretching your slick, sensitive cunt out around his length, his lips smothering yours to swallow your moans.

The package arrived at noon two days after Rafe had told you that he loved you for the first time.

You were sitting in your bed reading a book when your mom knocked on your door.

“One second!” You planted your hand on the bed beside you to sit up, wincing momentarily at the dull pain that pulsed in your wrist. Pulling your sleeves down to cover up the bruise, you climbed out of bed and opened your door to see your mom holding a black gift bag.

“Long sleeves in this weather?” She half joked before you could ask her what she was holding.

“It’s chilly in the house, Dad keeps it at like 60°,” you shot back, hoping your discomfort didn’t show in your voice or face.

You curiously eyed the gift bag in her hand, happy to change the subject.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know, I just found it on the porch… but it looks like it’s addressed to you,” she winked with a joking tone. “Do you have a secret boyfriend you’re not telling us about?”

Your mom laughed and you chuckled too, but your heart skipped a beat.

If she only knew the half of it, you thought to yourself.

“I’m sure it’s just a stupid prank. Maybe some frat boy I met at a party or something,” you tried to sound nonchalant, but you eagerly took the bag from her, not wanting to give her any chance to snoop inside.

“Thanks mom,” you said, and she walked away as you shut the door behind you.

Barely able to breathe, you carried it to your bed, taking the tissue paper off the top to reveal a smaller, blue bag inside.

Your eyes nearly popped out of your head when you read the logo on the bag and you reached inside to pull out the small matching box that was tied up with a white ribbon.

No fucking way, you thought to yourself as you untied the ribbon and opened the Tiffany & Co. box.

Inside, laid out on a bed of satin, was a necklace with a small rose gold pendant that to the unsuspecting eye could have been an abstract shape, but you knew exactly what it meant.

In your excitement, you accidentally knocked the bag over on your bed and the small letter that tumbled out caught your eye.

You ran your nail under the wax seal of the envelope, pulled the letter out, and unfolded it.

Dear Y/N,

A beautiful girl like you deserves beautiful things. I hope you enjoy this gift and wearing it reminds you of me.

Love,

R.C.

You had to stop yourself from giggling with happiness as you read and reread the letter again and again.

No matter how many times you reminded yourself, you still couldn’t believe it.

Rafe loved you!

You could feel all of your dreams coming true as you remembered how those words sounded on his lips.

Setting the letter down, you picked up the box again, gently pulling the necklace out and walking over to your mirror to try it on.

After fastening the small clasp on the back, you beamed as you admired the gorgeous necklace against your skin.

As you looked at yourself in the mirror, you couldn’t help but imagine how you would look pregnant. You pictured yourself glowing, full and round with Rafe’s child, one ringed hand resting on your belly along with your husband’s as he stood behind you.

There was nothing in the world that mattered to you more than having that life and you believed more than ever before that you were going to make it happen

No matter what it took.

[jake-whatthefisgoingon-kiszka]

No Strings Attached

(Strumming of a Heart)

✵ Part 1

Summary: After an overwhelming breakup you decided to set your heart aside and run free. With the constraints of your past relationship behind you, finding the fun in the physical company of others has been your favorite past time and it all started one night you met a lonely Jake Kiszka in a bar. Although you thought you would never see him after that night, a year later you meet him again, only this time you find out he’s a guitar player in a popular band. You can not deny the intense attraction, embarking on a messy situationship that has only one stipulation: absolutely no strings attached.

Pairings: Jake X fem reader

Warnings: as always 18+ no minors, past abusive relationships, angst, drinking, sexual content, friends with benefits, mentions of cheating, I’ll update more as they come along!

Word count: 14k

May 2018

“How about him?” Your friend pointed the neck of the glass beer bottle towards a guy sitting at a table by the bar with a couple of other guys.

“No, he looks like he could be a little clingy” you replied while also sipping on your cocktail. It was your third in the last hour. You knew you were definitely going to need to be intoxicated to get done what you came out to do tonight.

As your wandering eyes searched the dimly lit bar they trailed the expanse of the bar only to fall onto one gentleman sitting seemingly by himself at the end. “Over there” you nodded your head in his direction and your friend followed your gaze.

“Ooh he’s cute, think he’ll bite?”

“There’s only one way to find out” you stood up and tipped back the rest of your quickly diminishing glass.

“Good luck” they called after you as you walked away towards what at the time you had no idea was going to be the biggest regret of your life.

“Hi” you greeted the man at the end of the bar, leaning over on the cold, slightly damp and sticky countertop and crossing your legs.

He looked up at you through tired dazed eyes, he was absolutely plastered, this was perfect. “Hey” he took one look at you then his eyes slipped down into your trap, your chest was on display for him as you leaned in closer to him.

“You here alone?” You were trying hard to act smooth and well versed in the art of picking people up in bars, but in reality your mind was screaming inside.

“For the moment” he replied, flashing you a quick smile.

You smiled back, one thing you’d learned. Anytime a boy smiled at you, smile back and then you had him in the bag.

“You here alone too?” He turned your question back on you, at least he was participating in conversation.

“Does it matter?”

“I suppose not” he gave a low chuckle and tossed back the rest of his beer.

“So, you from Detroit?”

“Just passing through”. That was perfect, if he didn’t live here that meant there was less of a chance to run into him somewhere else.

You straightened back up and he peaked up as well, wondering if you were planning on leaving so soon. That was your cue that he was interested. “Did you maybe want to umm-” you looked around, although you had planned this out you honestly didn’t think you would get this far on your first try.

He smiled even wider this time, leaving some cash next to his empty glass and standing up as well. He took your hand in his and pulled you away. You looked back to your friend who had been watching the whole time in case they needed to jump in and save you at any moment. You flashed a smile and they raised two thumbs to cheer you on.

Your heart was pounding as you let him drag you along through the bar. It was busy for a Tuesday, but not nearly as packed as it usually was on a weekend night.

You weren’t sure where he was taking you, to his car, his place? You weren’t sure you had signed up to be staying the night with him. Then he rounded the corner. A few girls exited the bathroom, making room for the two of you to pass and sharing a giggle with each other.

Was it obvious? Of course it was. Here you were hand in hand slipping into the bathroom of the bar together.

With the two girls gone it was empty now, thank god. He smirked as he held open the door to the last stall waiting for you to either enter or chicken out and ditch him.

You weren’t chickening out though, you wanted to get this over with so you could move on with your life. So you stepped inside and he closed the door, locking it behind him.

As soon as you heard the slight click of the plastic pieces hitting each other you pushed him against the door, locking lips with the stranger.

Your hands fumbled with the top few buttons of his shirt, giving up halfway and moving below the waist to take a shot at his belt buckle.

You felt his lips pull up against yours as he put his hands on your shoulders gently pushing you away. You looked up at him to see why he stopped you and watched as he wiped his bottom lip with the back of his hand.

“Hey, so, what’s your name?”

That’s it? He stopped you for this? You really didn’t want to tell him your name so you looked down and continued unbuckling his obnoxiously large belt buckle.

Once you got the damn thing undone it was smooth sailing to get his pants unbuttoned and the zipper flew down before you had your hand inside the front of his tight jeans groping him over his boxers.

He stifled a moan, propping each elbow up on either side of the stall, tilting his head back against the door.

He was getting hard quickly, and you noticed a strip of bare skin where his collar had fallen away from his neck so you latched your lips there feeling the grumble of his moan vibrate up from his chest through his throat and out past his parted lips.

He seemed to like what you were doing, so you licked a stripe up the side of his neck then sucked gently.

His head snapped back up startling you into taking a step back.

“No marks” he was looking you directly in the eyes this time and you were stunned in place. When you were talking to him at the bar his eyes looked dull and tired, but now there was a fire behind them as he waited for your next move, a fire you ignited.

“Sure, whatever” you mumbled “anything else I should know?”

He let his arms drop down to his sides before reaching over to take one of your hands in his. “Jacob Thomas Kiszka, at your service” he brought your hand forward and kissed the back of it, never breaking his eye contact as he did so.

You sighed, you didn’t want to know his name, not knowing his name would have made it easier to forget tonight, but here he was with his charming drunk ass practically spelling it out for you.

For a moment you debated giving him a fake one, but ended up giving in and telling him your actual name. He let your hand go but placed his against your cheek and pulled you into another kiss, parting your lips with his and fitting his tongue inside.

Your knees started to feel weak, you had to give it to him, he was doing it for you.

He slipped his other hand around your waist and pulled you flush against him so that there was just a little more room for him to turn the two of you around and push you against the door this time. You broke the kiss so you could take a breath and he followed your lead from earlier by moving to peppering kisses against your clavicle.

His hand on your waist slid down and between your legs. You had worn a dress specifically for this purpose, easy access. To help speed him up you lifted the hem and hooked your thumbs on either side of the fabric of your panties, shimmying them down and kicking them all the way off. Once you popped back up he was smiling at you again so you put a stop to that by putting your lips back on his and resuming the making out.

Things were really heating up at this point, you were glad the moment was finally here. You were going to have sex with this man in the bathroom of this bar and then your first time would be over, nothing special, no one worth crying over, just done and done.

You ran through your plan one last time in your head, it was a simple one. Go to bar, find a forgettable guy, get him alone, condoms in the purse… Wait, you left your damn purse at the table with your friend.

“Do you have umm, some protection?”

He paused his exploration of your thighs where he had been getting closer and closer to your center. “Oh, yeah right” he reached around and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.

“You know you’re not supposed to keep them in your wallet right?”

He pulled out the thin square, flashing it between index and middle fingers, rotating his wrist to inspect it. “Only put it in there yesterday. Looks fine to me?”

Yesterday? You thought, your head running off with the thought before you could slow it down and catch yourself. He put a new condom in his wallet yesterday. Does that mean he was having sex with someone else just a day ago? How many hours has it been since he was with another girl?

You shut yourself up quickly. He was alone in a bar of course he could be having lots of stranger sex in bathrooms. He was honestly outstandingly good looking, especially this up close, taking the plastic to his lips and tearing it open with his teeth. Also what you were not supposed to do but damn was it kind of hot to watch.

He pulled himself off of you and you watched as he dropped his pants and boxers around his ankles, expertly rolling the piece on before giving himself a few preemptive tugs. He placed a hand on the door next to you, leaning in close and resuming that eye contact you hated so much like he was still watching and waiting for you to suddenly change your mind and go running out of the bathroom.

Although you had said hardly anything to this man before you, purposefully played a game with him so you could use him and lose him all in the same night, as he stood there barring holes into your eyes you couldn’t help but feel like he knew you. At least knew your story, because his was the same. Maybe he was using you tonight as well? Just like he’d used some other girl the night before. You didn’t care anymore, you were here and ready and he was cocky yet gentle, not what you had expected when you’d picked him but now there was no turning back.

You bridged the small gap he left between you, grabbing his hips and pulling him back against yours.

He lifted one of your legs and you hooked it around his hip, pressing your back against the door for more support as he positioned himself, gripping your hip and pulling you down onto him as he pushed up at the same time.

You sucked in a deep breath as you got used to the feeling of being filled. It wasn’t a bad feeling, in fact your adrenaline was spiked to an all new high that flooded your head and relaxed all your muscles even though you were in the most awkward position.

He started to move, knocking you against the door in a way you knew anyone just outside was avoiding coming in because they could hear what was going on inside.

“Mmm, no I need to be deeper in you” he groaned into your ear before grabbing your wobbling leg that was still barely holding you up and hoisting it around him like the other.

With your elevated position you were able to grab a hold of the top of the stall walls, throwing one arm across his shoulders and reaching up with the other to grip the wall, using it as leverage to attempt to move yourself, bouncing off of him as he thrust inside spewing a mix of slurs at the pleasure the change in leverage provided.

Although you had explored with yourself plenty of times this was new, this was intoxicating the burning wave inside your body mixing with the liquid courage still coursing through your system.

“Does that feel good? Is this what you wanted?” He was back at your ear, speaking at just an audible level above the sounds you were making. You nodded your head, squeezing your eyes shut as you slipped your hand underneath his shirt and dug your fingernails into the flesh of his shoulder. He’d said no marks but that was sure to leave one.

He groaned, somehow able to move one hand off your waist and still keep you hoisted in position. That hand came to rest across your neck as he tilted your head back to display for him the vast surface of smooth and delicate skin. His hand continued to trail down, following the curves until he was pulling down the collar of your dress, tucking the fabric under your bust and leaning his head down to place wet kisses across the tops of your breast.

“Fuck you feel so good, I don’t want this to be over” he returned his hand to your neck and kissed all along the skin up to your jaw.

You were seeing white spots on your eyelids, a coil in your stomach starting to tighten as he relentlessly continued to thrust up into you. In the moment you didn’t want it to be over either, but it would be, soon.

You snapped and your body felt like hot liquid running against his. You were shuddering from the orgasm he was giving you, tightening your legs around his hips like you might break him in half but you didn’t care.

His movements started to falter, his steady rhythm falling apart as he moaned. “Fuck that’s so good. Are you still cumming? I can feel it. Me too, I-”.

You didn’t expect him to be a talker, but he silenced himself as he moved his hand back down with the other to your hips, pulling you towards him and holding you in place as he finished himself.

You let go of the stall, wincing a little as your arm was sore from the strain. His head slumped against your shoulder as he caught his breath then he gently lowered you back down onto the ground.

Without wasting a minute you retrieved your panties and bent over to slip them back on, pulling at your dress in all places until it was situated back where it belonged and turning around to pull the lock open.

“Woah, wait!” He hurried to pull his pants back up and chase after you. “Will you let me buy you a drink?”

“No thanks” you rejected him but he caught your hand to keep you from escaping so quickly.

“Just one, I promise you don’t even have to sit with me and drink it, just let me get you one?”

You weighed the pros and pros and cons in your head. The pros being you were really thirsty after that. So against your better judgment you agreed and followed him back out to the bar where you had first met him.

He ordered another beer and you a drink, the bartender took one look at the two of you and smirked before leaving to get some glasses.

You looked over at the man you just let fuck you senseless and realized half of his shirt was still unbuttoned and his long hear was tousseled around. He didn’t look tired anymore, more refreshed than when you first saw him, a hint of a smile on his lips as he fished out his wallet again and pulled out more cash. Yeah, if this was how you saw him earlier you would have walked away.

The bartender returned with your drinks and took the money. You took a sip of your drink and just about when you were about to leave him for good a girl came walking up from behind you.

“Jake!” She called out, making you jump a little at her unexpected arrival.

So he goes by Jake. Flashed through your mind. Wait, you didn’t care.

The girl moved past you like it was nothing and joined Jake by his side.

“Oh right, this is my girlfriend” he announced with no hint of guilt or shame. Your jaw dropped as you saw the unknowing girl call the bartender back over. There was no need for him to get her a drink you thought. He could have yours. You took the small red straw out of the glass and tossed the contents across his bare chest.

Now you were walking away from him. Your friend was still waiting at the table where you left them. Having watched the whole scene they grabbed both your things and followed you out the bar.

You were walking away from him now, and you knew right then and there that you never wanted to see Jacob Thomas Kiszka ever again.

Jake’s POV

As the ice cold liquid hit your chest you sobered up for a moment only to catch her storming off, another person jumping up from a table to follow her out the door. So she wasn’t alone?

You couldn’t hold back a smirk from forming across your face as you grabbed some bar napkins to dab at your chest and shirt.

“Who the fuck was that?” Lila asked you, absolutely shocked at what she’d just walked into, unknowing how you had spent the rest of your night leading up to now.

“I don’t even know” you breathed out. The only thing you had left of your encounter was the warm feeling in the bottom of your stomach and her first name. “She was beautiful though wasn’t she?” Now that she was gone you were already reminiscing about how her face looked above you, pink and glowing with a sheen of sweat under the dim lights.

“Yeah, beautiful and fucking crazy” Lila responded as she finally got herself a drink. “You sure do attract them Jake you know that?” She chuckled under her breath as she took a sip from her glass.

It was evident that she wasn’t coming back at this point so you swiveled around in your bar stool to face your friend. “You would know wouldn’t you? Beautiful” you teased her and she pushed your shoulder nearly knocking you off the stool. She realized then how drunk you already were.

“How long have you been here anyways?” Her tone turning serious.

“Not too long, maybe an hour and a half, or longer, time kind of… got away from me”.

“That’s what I was afraid of” she muttered in a way that you might not have heard her correctly so you asked her to repeat herself. Instead she just shrugged her shoulders and kept sipping.

You spent the rest of the night there with her as she commented on how shitty the bar was and how next time she was picking the spot. You nodded your head and agreed with her. You told her you didn’t plan on coming back here but it was a lie, you spent the next three nights back in this stool waiting to see if she would show again.

She never did, and you had to get back to work. After all, you were just passing through.

Three months prior

You wanted to cry some more, letting the tears roll down your face was a lot more satisfying than the dry heaving sobs your body was forcing you through right now.

Your best friend was there for you throughout the whole thing. They were currently leaning over you with half of their body draped over yours as they rubbed soothing circles into your furiously shaking back. “Shh it will be okay. You’re alright. Everything’s going to be alright” they quietly repeated to you over and over again until you finally managed to suck in a deep breath and calm down.

Thank god they always had a relaxing effect on you because you were worried you were about to start hyperventilating.

You had just gone through the worst break up of your life. Your boyfriend of 4 years, known him most your life. The man you thought you’d, no planned on, marrying.

He was out of your life for good and as much as you hated it right now, it had to be for the better.

“Now, tell me what happened”.

They hadn’t heard the full story yet. Every time you started to try and tell them you burst into uncontrollable tears.

You took another deep breath and closed your eyes, picturing for the last time the man you’d called the love of your life and letting it go.

It started on a Sunday afternoon. Liam had told you to get dressed in something nice for the evening. He was taking you out.

Your heart raced as you picked through your worn in closet, nothing you had felt like it was appropriate for what you were sure was coming. He was finally going to propose to you.

You met Liam in highschool, he was two grades ahead of you but you shared some electives that allowed for the chance encounter to meet each other and become friends.

He had a different girlfriend at the time, Jessica. She was the sweetest, president of the student council, homecoming queen, insanely smart, but not as smart as Liam.

He was his year's valedictorian, Jessica finishing right behind him, always second in his shadow when it came to academics. You could tell it bothered her at times. She worked ridiculously hard to get to where she was because he didn’t want anyone sitting up on stage between them when it came to their graduation, whereas it seemed to just come naturally to him.

When their graduation finally came you attended to show your support to your friends, by that point you had become as close to Jessica as you had Liam maybe even closer as sometimes girls just shared a deeper connection. As the ceremony finished up you squeezed through the crowd of people trying to find either of them to congratulate them on their speeches one last time before you left them to celebrate with their families.

Jessica found you first, sneakily grabbing your hand with hers and pulling you out of the crowd over to a quiet corner.

“You did so great, the last minute changes you made to your speech were perfect, everyone loved it!” You squeezed her shoulders as you hugged her.

Once you finished she pulled away and grabbed your hands again, holding them in front of her as she debated how she was going to tell you. “Can I ask you something and you be entirely honest with me? I promise I won’t get mad”.

You smiled nervously, your first response was to tell her of course! Anything!, but you held back a little since she seemed to be a bit anxious. “Sure, I’ll do my best” you landed on that reply, seemed safe.

“Do you have feelings for Liam?” She blurted out, but she wasn’t mad, more like genuinely wanting to know.

You pulled your hands out of hers, rubbing your arm as you tried to figure out what was the best way to continue this conversation. Should you lie to her? That wasn’t really fair considering she was your friend and she was coming to you with this in a very stoic way. Should you laugh her off? Admitting to anyone’s girlfriend that you had feelings for their boyfriend, although you were all close, wasn’t really a laughing matter. You sighed as you knew there was no getting out of this, she clearly wouldn’t have asked you if she didn’t already know the truth. You looked down at the pair of feet underneath you, both clad in sparkly heels for the occasion, and nodded your head yes.

“Ok, thank you for being honest with me” she rubbed her hands over your arms like you had. She really wasn’t mad? “I have to tell you something else now”

You looked back up at her, there was something else on her mind, something you realized she’d been keeping from the both of you.

“I got into Brown”.

“Wait, what?!” Your excitement suddenly came back to you when she told you the shocking news. You had no idea she even applied to other universities other than the one Liam was going to. Well that was probably the point, she hadn’t told anyone had she? “What does Liam think?” You asked to confirm your suspicions.

“He doesn’t know, I’m telling him tonight at dinner. Also I got into a summer program so I’m leaving in a few weeks.”. You could tell she was also a little excited to finally be telling you, but scared about how she was going to break the news to her boyfriend.

“I’m sure he will be so proud of you” you tried to help ease her nerves, tell her it was going to be okay even if they were soon going to be nearly twelve hours away from each other and starting whole new chapters in their lives. You knew how highschool sweetheart relationships lasted through long distance at college, they didn’t. “Maybe you guys can work out a schedule before you leave? He can come visit you in the summers and you will be coming back for the holidays right?”

“No, this is it for us” she shook her head, she had already made up her mind. “I’m leaving him, and I’m leaving him to you”.

“Oh” was the only sound that popped out of your mouth. Her question before made sense now, but the reality of the situation did not. “No, he doesn’t like me like that. How could he when he’s got you? You’re so much better at me in everything” she frowned at the way you put yourself down and compared yourself to her, but you thought it was true.

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Known it for months. We’ve been on rocky shores recently. I knew it would only be a matter of time anyways. He likes you”.

Your stomach did a flip, partly because you felt bad their seemingly perfect relationship had been cracking because of you, but also because you couldn’t believe that she could be right about him liking you back.

“So does this mean today is the last day I’ll see you?” You sniffled a little bit, damned if you were going to cry, but getting worked up nonetheless.

“Better not be!” She pulled you back into a hug, this time being the one to squeeze on you. “I said a few weeks, I’ll be around and I promise I’ll come say bye to you before I go. Alright now I better go find my mom and dad before they freak out about not getting enough pictures of me in my cap and gown”.

Just like that she was gone. You did see her one last time like she had promised, but it was at a going away party that filled her house with all the people she knew. You felt so out of place at that party. All upperclassmen that had just graduated and we’re excited to go off into the world wherever their post graduation goals took them, and you were stuck here with another two years to go.

The rest of the summer you spent a lot of time with Liam. At first it was awkward and kind of sad without Jessica there, but eventually Liam opened up to you and like she said he’d confessed his feelings shortly before moving into the dorms.

Despite your differences your relationship grew steady quickly.

You were over the moon about dating someone in university, spending as much time as you could going the next few towns over to visit him. Highschool fell into the background for you, only doing as much as you needed to get into the same university as him. Then there you were, finally really together.

When he helped you move into your dorm your first fall at university was the first time you told him you loved him. You didn’t expect him to say it back, there was still a lot of ground to be made between the two of you, one of which being sleeping together. Liam told you he loved you back, your heart swelled and you tried to make your move, bringing him into a long passionate kiss. He stopped you before you could pull your shirt off, explaining that he wanted to wait until marriage.

You were kind of bummed out, stuff like that didn’t really matter much to you, but you let it go because more importantly he loved you.

Back to the Sunday afternoon. You settled with a dark blue dress. One that had gold shimmers woven into the fabric of the dress. You thought the lights would catch just right in the pictures you would be taking. Picturing it already him getting down on one knee and you fighting back tears, you were excited.

You were in for a let down though when you pulled up to the restaurant and Liam threw the car in park, leaving you inside to go meet a group of guys at the front door. You left yourself out of the car, bringing your purses strap over your shoulder as you approached the group, confused.

“Come meet my girlfriend!” Liam told them, walking over to you and placing his hand on your lower back to speed you up. What was his deal?

He introduced you to the guys who all agreed they should go back in so you could meet their girlfriends they’d left inside. It became evident very quickly as you followed them into a private party room that this wasn’t a proposal dinner, but a get together with people from his department.

His hand stayed firmly on your back as you walked inside together, continuing to push you around and guide you towards groups of people to be introduced to.

So him asking you to wear something nice wasn’t to look good in pictures you’d be treasuring for years, but to show you off.

You suddenly weren’t hungry any longer, but when a waitress passed by offering drinks you weren’t about to pass that up.

You took a drink after each person he made you meet, standing there and forcing a smile like the pretty quiet thing he always wanted you to be at events like these.

By the time he was done pushing you around you were done with your current drink. He finally let you go and you found another waitress to get another glass then took a seat at the back of the room at an empty table.

You never set your drink down as you watched him circling back around the room, spending more time with a few specific people than others. He looked perfectly far away through the refraction of the glass.

The evening went on like that for a while and a collection of empty glasses were starting to pile up on the table next to you but no one seemed to care. No one except your boyfriend who was making a b-line in your direction.

“That’s enough drinks. I don’t want you embarrassing me”. He said in a hush as he leaned behind you.

Embarrass him? What about how embarrassed I feel? You wanted to tell him how you felt, how you thought after the week leading up to tonight he had left you bread crumbs, telling you how important this weekend was for us and our future. How you thought that meant a glass of champagne and a ring not whatever this event even was, but you knew he wouldn’t want to hear it right now.

“Fine, I’ll just stop drinking this free booze here and drink ours when we get back home” you replied to him, glancing behind you to see him biting the inside of his cheek. He had commented on your drinking on multiple occasions. It’s not like you were a stumbling drunk, you just enjoyed your first few years of college like anyone else and now that you were legal to drink in public you liked to indulge yourself from time to time. Tonight seemed like a night to enjoy yourself, he certainly was.

You could tell he wanted to say something else, scolding you like he did a thousand times when you ‘weren’t acting like you were mature enough to be around him and his friends’, but he bit the inside of his cheek instead of risking making a scene.

“Excuse me, I’ll be in the restroom. Maybe go introduce yourself to a few more people. I don’t want to see you sitting here alone when I get back” he cupped his hand down onto your shoulder and gave it a squeeze before walking out the room.

You sighed and left your empty table to go find the one other girl you barely recognized to latch onto until he got back.

“Hey!” She called to you when she saw you making your way over to her. You pulled your smile back on but as you made your way across the room your knees wobbled and you nearly fell.

Fortunately you caught yourself by grabbing onto a nearby man’s shoulder. Unfortunately he spilled his drink all over your dress.

Fuck! You yelled at yourself inside your head. If Liam sees me like this he’ll be pissed I made him leave the party early to go home and change. You hurried out the room, not even pausing to apologize. You were embarrassed that you had gotten a little too drunk, but more afraid of Liam getting upset. You searched the restaurant for the restrooms, but stopped yourself when you realized you could cross paths with him too easily this way.

Instead you made the decision to go outside knowing you had some napkins and a bottle of water in your car. That and the breeze outside to dry you off and sober you up a little would work.

The parking lot was small but packed full with cars, most likely due to the event going on inside. You didn’t see many others in the actual restaurant but then again you were in a hurry.

Sitting in the passenger's seat you wiped your chest down, pouring the remainder of the water onto a napkin, some spilling out onto the ground between your feet to try and get as much sticky off of you as possible.

The front of your dress was still soaked. Thankfully the dark color helped hide it a little, but knowing Liam he would notice still.

You sighed, you did want to go home, maybe getting him to agree to leave and deal with him being a little pissy in the car ride back would be worth it.

Standing up you pulled at the hem of your dress, putting everything back in its place and gently closing the car door. When you turned to head back inside you saw a sight you were not at all expecting.

Liam was standing outside the restaurant. You wondered if he was looking for you, but his eyes were fixed on someone else and he was smiling from ear to ear. A beautiful girl approached him, placing her hands around his neck and giving a quick kiss on his cheek. He wrapped one arm around her waist, placing his palm against the small of her back just like he so often did with you. She pulled away but he kept his hand on her as he opened the door and led her inside.

What the fuck was that? You thought to yourself. Sure Liam was very impressionable and charmingly friendly towards most people, but something about watching that interaction made your stomach churn. Nothing about it was particularly incriminating, besides some girl’s hands and lips all over your boyfriend, but they seemed to be very familiar with each other and that didn’t sit right with you.

If you had been in a better mood, if this had been the dinner you expected it to be, if you hadn’t been drinking, then you would have brushed it off, but those were just ifs and instead you were fuming.

If you even so much as smiled for too long at another guy Liam would be angry with you, so why did you have to constantly put up with him acting any way he wanted to?

You marched back inside the restaurant and saw that although they had put some space between them, Liam and the girl were standing in a small group. A waitress walked past and Liam stopped her to grab a glass and offered it to the girl. Oh so she can drink but you can’t?

The man whose drink was spilled on you tried to stop and ask if you were ok, but you ignored him. Only concerned with making it to Liam and getting the two of you out of here.

“I need to go, someone spilled a drink on my dress” you arrived and interrupted his conversation to which he slightly rolled his eyes.

“Of course,” he sighed, pinching the area between his brows, “I’m not finished here yet. Why don’t you take the car back to your place and I’ll get a ride back to mine with one of the guys?”

Well, he didn’t sound pissed, just disappointed which unfortunately made you feel a little worse about it.

“You don’t want me to wait at yours? How much longer are you going to be?” You flashed your eyes at the girl next to him who was caught up in talking with the rest of the group.

“We will probably go out for a bit after this, it will be late” he replied. Something didn’t add up to you. He had invited you here, but did he make plans to go out with his friends after you’d arrived or had he planned to ditch you the entire time?

“Alright, we’ll I don’t have classes until the afternoon tomorrow, I’ll bring the car back by in the morning and get mine”. You gave him an awkward half hug, trying not to get the front of your wet dress too close to his nice shirt. “Love you” you gave him in parting.

“I’ll see you in the morning, get home safe”.

You made it home in one piece despite how much you’d had to drink. In fact, you were surprised Liam had let you drive knowing how many cocktails you’d had.

After the second shower of the day to rinse off the remainder of the spill and wash your face free of the extra makeup you’d put on, you changed into some comfy clothes and made your way into the tiny kitchen to find something quick to eat.

Your apartment was much smaller compared to Liam’s. Well you didn’t have the financial support from your parents like he had, relying heavily on your scholarships, student aid, and even a part time job while he took extra classes and had an unpaid internship.

You spent most of your time together over there where there was more space and you wished he would just ask you to move in, but he stuck to his beliefs and was firmly against living together until you were at least engaged. That was another reason why you’d expected him to propose tonight. There had been comments he’d made about ‘when we start living together’ like it was coming sooner than later.

After heating something up you plopped onto your two person couch and clicked on the TV. In addition to being hungry, you were wide awake, so you decided to catch up on some of your cheat shows as you ate.

Three episodes in and you still weren’t tired. You went into your room where you’d left your phone to charge, thinking surely you’d have a text or a missed call from Liam. Once you unplugged the device and the screen illuminated you saw there was nothing.

It was a little over half an hour to midnight. Liam didn’t go out with his friends very often, but when he did, he did tend to stay out into the early hours of the morning.

Your thumb swiped and tapped along the screen until his contact was pulled up and you hit the call button. The phone rang just a couple of times then went to voicemail.

This was so stupid. You had been so excited this afternoon, only to end the evening alone in your apartment without even a text to say good night.

Fuck this. You snatched up your keys and kicked on some shoes before locking your door behind you and getting back in the car. Even if he was going to be out for longer, you’d wait for him, you wanted to be with him.

When you pulled up to the apartment complex you found that there was someone already parked in his spot. You waited for a moment to see if anyone would come out and move it, besides he'd said his friends were giving him a ride back, but no one ever came. Both the car and his apartment windows were dark.

You drove further down to find an open visitor spot then made your way back to the front door, using your spare key to unlock it and go inside.

You entered quietly in case he was indeed already back and sleeping, but it wasn’t quiet inside.

Cries and moans were being carried down the hallway. You were in absolute shock and denial, your first thought being one of his pretentious friends had a girl over, but then you heard her crying out his name.

You flew down the hallway, throwing the door open and flicking on the light to expose them in the act.

Liam was naked, you’d never seen him more than shirtless before, but here he was only a sheet keeping him somewhat decent and he was on top of the girl from the party.

“Who the fuck?!” The girl squealed, knocking Liam off of her and grabbing the sheet to cover her chest.

“Who the FUCK is right!” You were yelling, nothing but rage filling your entire body as Liam jumped out of the bed you had spent so many nights laying in with him trying to keep control. He pulled a pair of shorts on and ran over to guide you away from the door so she could get dressed and you could talk before you did something rash like jump her and scratch her eyes out.

“Baby, baby, come here sit down” he wrapped his hand around your arm and guided you down the hallway. His touch was burning into your skin, you wanted him off of you, didn’t want to hear a damn thing he had to say. You tried to swing your arm away from him but his grip tightened and he practically threw you onto the couch.

He crouched onto the ground in front of you, placing his hands on your thighs and trapping you there.

“I’m so sorry! I had a little too much to drink!” He tried to explain, reaching up to wipe away the tears that were starting to fall and roll down your cheeks.

“You had too much to drink?!” You repeated, your voice cracking out of your tight throat in a way that made it feel sore to even try and speak. “So you had to fuck someone in our bed? What happened to waiting until marriage?! I thought you loved me!” The tears were pouring out of your eyes now like a faucet turned all the way open. You didn’t even attempt to wipe them, there was no way your face was going to be dry again tonight.

“I do love you!” He squeezed your thigh, his fingers digging into the skin in an unsettling way. “You have to realize, it’s different for men”.

Your brows furrowed, what was he trying to imply? You didn’t respond. Only stared at him, thankful you could hardly make out his face through the water works.

“I love you, and I want to marry you, but until then I need some personal time, to get it all out before we commit to each other”.

Oh. So he was allowed to cheat on you to sleep with others but you weren’t. You had to remain his unspoiled prize until he trapped you forever.

Everything wrong with this picture was slapping you in the face. A blinking red light searing your corneas.

You tried to get up, but his hands remained firm on your thighs, his nails starting to dig into the flesh. “Let me go!” You were yelling again, kicking your legs trying to get away but he stood up and hovered over you, squeezing your knees between his legs and placing his hands on your shoulders to keep you still.

“Stop!” He was matching your volume, surely his neighbors were being woken up at this point from all of the commotion.

Panic set in as he held you down onto the couch. He had never gotten this physical with you before, and it was starting to scare you a little bit.

“Hey!” The girl had redressed and was standing in the hallway watching the two of you struggle. “Let her go” she was yelling too, but fortunately she seemed to be on your side.

“Stay out of it and get the fuck out of here” he turned toward her and you took that as your opportunity to shove him to the side as hard as you could and jump up.

You ran for the door and the girl picked up a few books sitting on the bookshelf in the hallway to throw at him and keep him from chasing after either of you.

“Oh my god, thank you” you yelled as you both made a dash for your cars.

“I got you girl, what an ass I hope you dump him!” She replied before ducking into the driver's seat and backing out.

She has been the one parked in his spot, so your car was next to hers. It had been since that afternoon when you came over dressed and ready for what you thought was going to be the best night.

You backed out like a bat out of hell, just trying to get away before he had a chance to come out and chase after you, lure you back inside, lie to you some more.

When you were clear of the apartment complex and a little ways up the road you pulled into a gas station and let your forehead fall onto the steering wheel, sobbing as you tried and failed to calm yourself enough to drive home.

Then it hit you, going home wasn’t the best option, if he came looking for you that’s the first place he’d go.

Instead you fumbled for your phone that you had thrown into the passenger seat when you jumped into your car. Retrieving it you pulled up the contact for your best friend, hoping they would pick up this late.

“Hello?” They answered after a few rings, not sounding very excited to talk to you unlike usual, but also like they were still half way asleep.

When you called out their name through a fit of sobs their voice went from sleepy to concerned.

“Can I come over? I’m sorry, I just really need some help right now” you begged feeling like an absolute mess of a friend.

“Hey, don’t ever be sorry to ask for help. Are you safe to drive over here or do I need to come get you?”

Your tears slowed from inconsolable weeping to a sniffling whimper. It was already easing you to hear them speak so kindly to you. “I can drive, thank you. See you in a bit” you replied and hung up so you could focus on making it there.

You stayed with your friend for the rest of the week and by the weekend they went with you to pick up all of your stuff from Liam’s apartment.

You were so thankful for the patience and support you received from your friend. You were afraid if you’d gone to Liam’s apartment alone then he would have tried to force you to talk again and you didn’t want to talk. It was over between the two of you.

The cheating had been the final straw, and you were constantly nauseous every time you let yourself think about how long he must have been doing it without you even realizing. On top of that you knew there were parts of your relationship you turned a blind eye to. The standards, the image, the way he wanted to control every aspect of it and you had started to feel suffocated even before everything unraveled.

How stupid you felt now, obeying his every wish and command just because he was the first guy to ever love you? Well, that was overrated and you weren’t about to ever let another man possess you.

May 2019

“Hey I’m going to this concert later tonight. My buddy was supposed to come with me but he bailed. Want to take his ticket?” Caleb stopped to ask you.

“What kind of music?” You replied, tucking your arm behind your head to prop it up and look down at him.

“Rock music. They’re a Michigan band that made it big, like doing shows back home. I went through hell getting us good tickets kind of pissed he’s ditching me actually”.

“Yeah, yeah, okay” you finally agreed to go with him and removed your arm so you could place your hand on top of his head and push him back between your legs.

You caught a smile spread across his lips before he went back to work getting you off. It didn't take much longer, unlike him you were focused, throwing your head back against the pillow and riding out your orgasm.

You’d met Caleb through a friend of a friend. Well actually a guy you hooked up with once invited you over again. Although at the time you usually didn’t meet up with a guy twice you’d had a particularly stressful day and some good old fashioned cardio to take your mind off of it sounded like a good idea. Little did you know he wasn’t inviting you over to fuck again but to his party.

You were pissed when you got there. What on Earth had given him the idea you would want to come to his party? Regardless, there was free alcohol so you stayed long enough to stand in a corner and get buzzed.

That was when Caleb approached you. He was extremely talk, tanned skin, dark hair with matching dark eyes. Nothing about him stood out but all the same time he was exactly what you’d needed.

“You look like you want to get out of here?” Was the first thing he said to you.

“Yes please”. You let him drive you back to your apartment. Another unusual for you but what the hell. You had the best mind blowing sex you’d had since, well since the first time.

From that night on you broke a lot of your rules, you let Caleb stick around, stay over some nights, but you had made it explicitly clear to each other that your situation would never turn into a relationship. Because you didn’t have a heart for relationships anymore.

The good thing was you didn’t have to fumble around online to find hook ups anymore. Caleb was there any time you called, always on your command, and eventually you had to admit even when you weren’t rolling around in the sheets you enjoyed his company.

He was a sports management major, whatever the hell that meant. He was smarter than he led on, but he said he’d only ever wanted to be a coach and you found that admirable. He had a vision for himself since he was a kid and he was so close to making that vision come true. You on the other hand had changed your major a few times. Trying out classes and failing at them when you lost interest.

You were a year behind everyone else in school. Only going part time for the duration of your relationship with Liam had set you back further than you had realized at the time.

The only thing you were passionate about was writing, which meant you took as many English classes as possible now and sat yourself down in front of your laptop every afternoon to force yourself to work on something even if the product was just a sentence or two.

Liam never condoned your future as a writer. To him that was a hobby not a career. So your first two half semesters were filled with useless classes you didn’t do well in. You’d started to realize that maybe Liam never expected you to finish college, he only wanted you there to keep an eye on you while he worked on his degree and his future.

Since the break up you had filled your schedule, if not to try and get back on track, but to keep yourself busy so you didn’t have to think about how lonely you were.

You had classes four days a week, not including your study day, and also picked up as many shifts at work as possible. You were burning yourself from both ends but it was paying off.

About 5 months ago you decided you needed a change of pace, or of scenery, honestly anything to keep you going. You sent in dozens of applications to literary arts and creative writing programs all across the country knowing how competitive these programs were. The rejection letters were rolling in, you were soon to give up hope, but finally you got notified you were put on a waitlist for a program in Nashville.

Now all you could do was hope, maybe soon you would be starting fresh in another city, another state for that matter, and maybe you could start to recover.

“Who did you say this band was again?” You questioned as you followed Caleb through the busy crowd. You wondered how many more people were planning on showing up before the building maxed out its occupancy.

“They’re called Greta Van Fleet” he leaned over to speak to you in a way you could hear him over the rowdy crowd and dozens of speakers blaring a random mix of music to keep everyone happy until the live show started. “Want something to drink?” He tipped his thumb over his shoulder towards the back where a long bar was packed.

“Sure” you yelled out so that you didn’t have to lean into him. He took your order and headed to find a spot to squeeze in.

Since it would take him a bit you found a decently comfortable place to stand and pulled out your phone to google the name of the band you were about to see.

The signal was shit with as many people in here all on their phones at the same time. Once the page finally loaded you were shocked at what you read:

Greta Van Fleet, an American rock band from Michigan consisting of Kiszka brothers: Josh, Jake, and Sam, and Danny Wagner.

Kiszka. As much as you tried you could never forget that name. Jacob Thomas Kiszka.

Caleb returned faster than you had expected. You stuffed your phone back into the pocket of your jeans before turning around to take the plastic cup from his hand. Why were drinks at concerts so small, you were going to need a lot more to get drunk and make it through tonight.

You finished the drink as you tried to stay engaged in whatever Caleb was trying to chat you up with. An opener came onstage and eventually Caleb turned his attention away from you to watch them, giving you a chance to slip away back to the bar.

Once two cups were ready you made your way back, only getting half way before the main artist for the night started to take the stage.

Your jaw dropped as you watched them all pile out, the crowd cheering as soon as they made their appearances. Then there he was. Walking out onto the stage with his guitar strapped around his shoulder was exactly who you hoped it wouldn’t be.

He looked different than the night you met him. His hair was longer, his face more defined. There was only shitty lighting in that bar that night, but tonight he was standing about you in the spotlights.

There was no way he could see you in this sizable crowd, and even if his eyes met yours there was no telling he would even recognize you.

They got right to it, instruments roaring to life as the lead singer introduced themselves and thanked everyone for being here. You heard what he was saying, but your eyes were fixed on the guitarist as he smiled and strummed the strings in deeply resonating chords before breaking out into the first song of the night.

Caleb was overly excited, thoroughly enjoying himself as the set list moved along. You gave him a few half smiles and nodded your head to one of the songs to assure him you were having a good time when in reality your mind was spinning and you wanted to turn around and run out the doors. Surely that would cause a scene though, so instead you stood next to him with your hand in your back pocket and the condensation from your thin cup wetting your fingers.

After nearly an hour the last song ended and the band all thanked everyone and waved as they made their way off the stage. A group of people started to back away from the front of the crowd, getting ready to leave so they could beat the line out of the parking lot. That was silly you thought, because bands always played encores.

“Look! Let’s squeeze up front!” Caleb pointed over to a small space right next to the right of the stage.

“I think it might be over” you lied, trying to stay put but he was already hurrying you over before someone else moved in.

“They’ll be back out, they haven’t even played Highway Tune yet” he excitedly remarked when you successfully scored the spot.

Just like you expected, they came running back onto the stage, repositioning themselves and starting their first encore piece, the song you assumed was Highway Tune.

The crowd behind you started cheering as soon as the guitar part blared through the speakers. It was tremendously louder closer to the stage, the sound of the guitar ringing through your ears so that you couldn’t focus on anything else.

They were having fun dancing across the stage, you had to admit, their performance was lively and intense, the stage presence alone nearly outdoing the music itself. Just as the song was coming to a close the guitarist looked out across the crowd, making eye contact with a lot of fans in the front row until his eyes fell on you.

Your heart was pounding with the beat of the drums as you locked sight with him. Does he recognize me or is he just checking me out? You couldn’t tell but his eye’s definitely lingered on you for a moment while the rest of the band started up the final to the encore. He flicked his eyes away but a smile spread across his face as he continued to play, finishing out strong.

“That was interesting” Caleb had noticed the interaction, curious what the point of it was but you pretended like you didn’t know what he was talking about.

“I’m going to go back over to the bar” you notified him before turning to the side and squeezing through the groups who had scrambled forward when the band came back out.

Once you broke free you felt like you could breathe again, finding a seat to take and give your legs a break as you ordered another weak cocktail.

The band was gone for good now, their crew already working at breaking down their equipment. The bar filled up around you but the crowd dramatically thinned out and you were able to spot Caleb talking with another couple.

You turned around and leaned on the bar, pulling out your phone to check the time, realizing you still had your google search pulled up. You swiped through the pictures, almost in disbelief that the men on the screen were the same ones who were just standing up there being real and human. You set your phone face down and took another drink. How in the hell was this even happening right now.

“Hey,” a barely recognizable voice called from just behind you. You tried to ignore him, you did not want to talk to him, but he continued regardless. “You here alone?”

He definitely remembered you, starting up the conversation the exact way you had done with him a year ago.

“Does it matter?” You replied, still facing the bar instead of him but subtly informing him you remembered as well.

“Absolutely not” he deviated from the previous conversation. His voice was deep and scratchy from yelling lyrics along with the singer on stage. He acted like he expected a total replay of the night. Who did he think you were? Easy? Well maybe by this point you were, but just because you knew he was some hotshot rockstar now didn’t mean you were dying to throw yourself at him like a few if the other girls around you’d noticed ogling him the second he walked up.

“Fuck off Jacob” you told him thinking any minute now Caleb would come looking for you and you could suggest leaving. Surely it wouldn’t take much motivating to get him to agree to head back to your apartment and finish what you had started earlier.

“Woah, only my mom calls me Jacob” he snickered. Maybe you needed to remind him how you had left things last time you saw him.

You finally turned around to face him, holding out the cup that was still filled to the brim with ice and a little bit of liquid.

He tossed his hands up, getting the look in your eye as you started him down. “Hey! What’s your deal? I thought we had a great thing last time? Until you freaked out and threw your drink on me”. He pointed at the cup then down to the counter in a way to ask you to set it back down.

“I freaked out?” You scoffed, “I’m sorry but I’m not very turned on by cheaters”.

“Cheater?” His brows furrowed as he repeated what you called him.

You rolled your eyes about to turn back around and ignore him again but he caught your shoulder with his hand to keep you there. He looked slightly pissed that you weren’t showing any interest in him anymore, but also that you were calling him names he thought he didn’t deserve.

“I can admit I’m a lot of things to a lot of different women, but I am not a cheater”.

You scoffed again and he looked like he was getting more pissed off by your attitude. Good, then he’d leave you alone soon. Regardless, you didn’t go around talking shit about people for no reason so you made sure he was clear with why you wanted him to as you put it earlier fuck off.

“Yeah I’m sure the girlfriend you introduced me to after fucking in the bathroom would have thought about you differently. Or did you never tell her?”

“Girlfriend?” He repeated you again, the clueless act was getting annoying but suddenly he started to piece the rest of the night back together. “Girlfriend… Lila? Jesus, how drunk was I that night?” He was talking mostly to himself now, bursting out in laughter by the end of it and running his fingers through his hair. “Umm Lila was my ex-girlfriend. We dated back in highschool, stayed friends, she came to see me while I was back in Detroit for a bit. God, I really introduced her as my girlfriend?” He was chuckling still, finding the whole encounter funny albeit knowing how torn up you had been thinking you’d had sex with someone else’s boyfriend.

It was hard not to continue to feel animosity towards him, even if you were realizing it was only a mistake he’d made while being too intoxicated to know any better. When he slipped his hand against the counter and placed it on top of your arm some of the feelings eased up though.

“So, now that you know I’m not a cheater, like I said, do I turn you on a little?” He was inching closer towards you, trying to keep the conversation intimate, and flashing you a white toothy smile. His thumb was strumming against your forearm just like you had seen him strum on his guitar strings up on the stage. His fingers were calloused, worn in, but that only aided in the formation of goosebumps on the surface.

He seemed to notice your physical reaction, trading his smile for a smirk and moving his hand down to grip yours and pull you away from the bar.

You grabbed your phone and quickly sent a text to Caleb.

Not feeling well, grabbing an Uber. I’ll talk to you later.

If it were anyone else you might have felt a little bad about covering yourself with a text, but that was the nature of your relationship with Caleb. Surely he wouldn’t be too upset by it and you could make it up next time you saw him.

“Don’t tell me we’re going to find a bathroom” you joked with him. Joking was always your way of coping with your chosen lifestyle and this was no different. He had towed you hand in hand towards the stage but over to a door just to the right. A man waiting at the door recognized him as one of the artists and let him through. There was a short hallway followed by a left turn and a longer one filled with doors. Was this backstage?

“Obviously, where else?” He looked back at you with a wicked smile. Please tell me he’s joking too. When he turned back around he stopped at a door in the middle of the hallway. Letting your hand go he opened the door, the lever clicked a little as he pulled down on it and pushed in.

Inside was indeed not another bathroom but what looked like a dressing room. You stepped inside, taking in the disheveled state of the room but also admiring all the little bits of clothes and makeup scattered about. There were quite a few chairs pulled up to the mirrors lined in bright LED lights. It looked like the entire band had gotten ready here just before starting the show.

He closed the door behind himself and strutted into the room, much more familiar with its space than you were. “Don’t worry, the others will be out for a while longer. They like to mingle a lot more than I do”.

That made sense, you didn’t remember seeing any of his band mates at the bar from last time. Until his ex showed up he had been seemingly alone. Why though? You thought to yourself, he seemed to have a pretty good life. He was in a successful band, he was attractive enough already without the allure of being a musician, but it surely helped. No you were just trying to kid yourself, he was hot.

“Where the hell did they leave it?” His talking aloud brought you out of your head and back into the room where he was tossing random clothes around looking for something. “Ah! Here she is!” He exclaimed in victory as he found what he was looking for, pulling a tall glass bottle of tequila out of a bag that had been thrown onto the floor in the corner of the room. He unscrewed the cap and took a swig straight from the bottle. You watched him with a small smile and your brows raised.

“What?” He asked when he caught you staring. “You need a glass? We’ve got some around here somewhere”.

You shrugged your shoulders and reached for the bottle. Smiling back he handed it to you, watching this time as you brought it to your lips and took a drink then two before passing it back off. He took another gulp then returned the cap and set it down.

He moved over to you, wrapping his hands around your waist and pulling you into a tequila laced kiss. You moved your hands up his chest and wrapped them around his neck to bring him closer. His skin was still sticky from sweating under the stage lights but that didn’t bother you one bit.

He pulled away from the kiss too soon, just like before.

“So, there’s a futon over there” you followed the trail of his eyes to a small black couch covered in bags and a feather boa? “Or there’s chairs? The counter top? The floor?” He listed off places in the room he could bend you over and let you have it, not really having a preference of his own.

“I have to choose one?” You replied, stretching your arms out across his shoulders and twisting the ends of his hair between your fingers.

His toothy grin returned and he leaned over to hook his hands around your legs and hoist you up onto his hips. Carrying you over to the counter he swiped his arm across the surface to rid it of all the bottles of hair product and eyeliner pens it previously was a temporary home to and setting you down in their place.

“Here first then we will see where we end up” he grinned as he started working at unbuttoning your jeans and peeling them off your body. You placed your hands on either side of you, lifting your hips to help him with removing the clothing.

He started at his pants, just barely getting the front undone before realizing he’d forgotten something. “Wait let me find my bag” he moved to search the area he last remembered seeing it to no avail, but quickly found it nearby. Inside the distressed leather bag he retrieved a small foil wrapped square. “Don’t keep them in my wallet anymore”.

As he made the small walk back you took the chance to observe his stride. There was a confidence in his step, boarding proud but not necessarily cocky. Like you had noticed when you first saw him tonight his hair was longer and messily laid down his back and across his shoulders. Although it was mostly straight, the pieces at his neck had started to form a loose wavy curl after being soaked in sweat from performing on stage. He had the typical rocker attire, only he’d added his own personal touches to everything he wore from a stylish belt to cutting the hem off the bottom of his shirt so that it hung deliciously just above the navel.

“You know staring is considered rude in most situations”.

He’d caught you, but he didn’t seem to actually mind. Only a hint of embarrassment peaking through his cool and collected front making you wonder how much of what he had shown you so far of his personality was truly himself or just an act.

Once he was within range again you were pulling him back toward you and lifting his shirt at the unraveling hem and up over his head.

“Do you remember last time?” He smirked, sliding his hands up your thighs and dragging you closer to the edge. “Very similar position to this”

“Jake?” You hooked an arm around his neck.

“Hmm?” He hummed as he turned to place kisses against your forearm.

“Shut up and just fuck me already” you sighed, dipping your hand into his pants to see he was already fully hard.

“Of course, I am at your service after all” he chuckled darkly, slipping his pants off and removing the condom from the wrapper before lining himself up and rolling his hips up into you.

He stayed there all the way inside for a moment, sucking in a breath of air as your walls stopped clenching and settled around his size. A moan fell from your lips as he pulled all the way out, taking himself in his hand and teasing your entrance with his tip as he rubbed his thumb against your clit then stuffed himself back inside.

“Sorry, I just had to feel that again” he groaned, placing one hand on the counter, the other guiding your leg up around his hip and he started thrusting.

The pace was already set to a fast one. More than likely he was still riding out his high from getting to play in front of his fans, residual energy needing to be expelled.

“You don’t know how badly I needed this” he was pulling at your leg to bring you closer to him.

There was an understanding with where he was coming from. This week leading up to tonight had been particularly long and stressful. You hadn’t had the time or energy to do much of anything which is why you never really wanted to come out with Caleb in the first place. Apart from this afternoon, you hadn’t seen him in a few days. Tonight you had planned to take out all your frustrations in bed with Caleb, but you were finding yourself increasingly satisfied with where you’d ended up.

You suddenly felt the need to take control, to show him how much you had learned since the first time. “Go sit on the couch” you requested and he followed your command without word.

Taking a seat with an arm stretched across the back, he waited for you to pull your shirt off and come to straddle him.

The mood had shifted when he slid a hand up the length of your back as you slowly settled onto him. He was holding back a moan when he bottomed out with you on top. Part of you guessed if the room was insulated well or not so passersby couldn’t hear what was going on inside. While another part wanted someone to hear you making him feel good.

You moved your hips opposite of his, slowly rocking back and forth, grinding against him for some additional friction while he was already nestled right up against your g spot.

He let his head rest back onto the futon, his lips falling open but his eyes squeezing shut. “You know, I waited for you to come back”. He muttered into the room. This wasn’t exactly striking up a conversation time, so you chose to continue your movements on him, picking up the pace a little. “We were supposed to leave the day after, but I stayed the rest of the weekend. I sat at the same spot at the bar hoping you would visit there again and I’d get to see you”.

That was unexpected, his recollection of the past coming as a shock to you. You stopped, now concerned about what it was you were doing here and realizing neither of you had taken the time to explain your intentions.

“I should tell you something” you began as he pulled his head back up to see why you’d stopped. “I’m not the kind of girl right now who wants to be wined and dined. I don’t want the romance, the feelings, the mess. I want uncomplicated, no strings attached, just fun and hot sex”.

“Fun?” He smirked, “is that not what we’re doing?” His hand trailed down until he found the curve of your ass, giving it a quick and sharp slap.

“No, this is fun” a smile found its way back into your face, “but like, don’t expect anything else. We’re just having a good time”.

He moved his arm off the back of the couch, wrapped it around you, and pulled you down onto your back against the cushion.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give you a good time” he teased and pressed back into you. “Now just tell me what else it is you want. Tell me and I’ll give it to you. Do you want me to finish this quickly, or do you want me to make you beg for it?”

Although the prospect of what he might do to make you beg was alluring, you were pent up and would probably just end up getting frustrated. “Quickly” you chose and his smile returned.

He reached over and grabbed a cushion that had fallen on the floor, asking you to lift your hips as he placed it underneath you. One hand gripped your hip and he brought the other to his mouth, sucking the pad of his thumb before pressing it against your sensitive bundle of nerves. Then he did just as he said he would, thrusting over and over unrelentingly, the sweat starting to return to his forehead and chest until you were both finishing together.

“We’re playing another show here tomorrow night. Will you come back?” He asked as he watched you redress and collect your things.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea” you admit once getting your jeans pulled back on. “I don’t usually go for seconds let alone thirds”.

“Is that’s so?” He scoffed with an amused grin. Maybe he wasn’t used to getting told no so many times in one night.

“Hey, I agreed we’re just having a good time here. What's one more night? And then maybe I won’t see you again for another year if even” he made a good point but something told you the universe had other plans for the two of you. That first night you’d never expected to see him ever again. It was the point of finding him alone in a bar. Yet here the two of you were.

“I’ll think about it” you replied and slipped out the door before he could try and convince you further.

You pulled out your phone and flicked through the apps, finding the black and white square and ordering a car to pick you up. Thankfully since the area was busy tonight there were plenty nearby and you wouldn’t have to wait long.

Not looking up from your phone as you walked down the hallway you were suddenly stopped by a couple of hands pressing against your shoulders.

Embarrassed that you had almost run into someone you quickly started to apologize until realizing you recognized the person as another one of the band members.

He was very tall, clad in another pair of dark wash tight jeans and just a vest. His arms were tanned and toned, the result of his instrument of choice. He was their drummer.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going”.

“That’s alright, but how did you get back here?” He was less concerned with the near collision and more with what exactly you were doing wandering around backstage.

Your face flushed a little thinking that as soon as you admitted how you got back here he would know exactly what went on in the dressing room. “Oh, umm, Jake let me back. I was just leaving though”.

He looked past you directly at the door you had just retreated from, cocking an eyebrow and letting you go with a sigh. “Of course he did. Okay well the exit is to the right” he directed and you thanked him before making your way out.

The next morning came and you started your wake up routine, making a drink, washing your face, getting dressed into something comfy and heading out to the office to check your mail.

The mail run was an addition to the morning checklist when you started applying to programs. It was annoying to you that everything could be done online these days, yet fancy universities still insisted on sending you their rejection letters in the post.

Regardless, you made it a habit to check for the letters never expecting much, until upon checking today you found the one you’d been waiting for.

You could tell from the address on the envelope that this was the letter that would tell you if you got moved off the waitlist or not. Your hopes had not been high due to the many past denials, however, this had been your first step in the right direction and you were eager to see if you actually made this one or not.

Stuffing the stack of magazines and junk mail under your arm you started to tear into the letter as you walked back to your apartment.

You started from the top, reading the introductions that always started the same thanking you for your application to the program, but as you tried to read lower you were caught off guard by someone calling your name.

You peered over the edge of the paper and saw Caleb closing the door on his car and waving you over. That was odd. Caleb didn’t usually come over without messaging you first, but you had ditched him last night so maybe he just wanted to check on you. He was nice like that.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t call you beforehand, I just wanted to see if you’d made it home after leaving last night”. You were right in your assumption, but there seemed to be something else on his mind by the sound of his voice.

You gave him a smile and a nod and returned your eyes to the words before you, trying to find the spot you left off on.

Upon your addition to our waitlist we did a secondary review of your application

“You know about last night,” Caleb started to speak again, so there was something he’d come over to tell you.

Your focus was split, Caleb was speaking but you had to know what the letter said. He didn’t seem to catch on though, continuing his thought even though you were hardly paying attention.

“I had a really good time with you last night. Honestly, I have a really good time with you all of the time. I know that we’ve been keeping it pretty loose between us, but I just wanted to let you know that if you ever felt comfortable with getting a little more serious I actually would kind of like that”. After spilling his confession he waited for you to respond, but you’d just gotten to the most important part.

We would like to extend you an offer to attend our creative writing program this fall.

“Caleb,” you started. You did not want to hurt him, he was the best guy you met in a long time, and if things weren’t the way they were then maybe you would consider his offer. On the other hand you were excited, so ready to drop everything here and take a leap into the future and this program was going to help you do that. Just like the many rejection letters you’d received over the past few months you knew he would get over this. He’d try again with another who was more prepared to be loved the way you knew he was so very capable of. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this with you. I’m moving to Nashville”.

Next chapter>>>

[sulfurousdreamscapes]

The shadow of a fish swam past the crossword puzzle, and that was all the impetus it took for Auguste to search his coat pockets for a pencil. He didn't find one, so he looked behind him, at Samantha, who lay spread eagle on the floor, staring at the glass ceiling that kept the two of them from being submerged in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Do you have a pencil on you, dear Samantha?" Auguste asked, his thin, trimmed moustache curling up into a smile.

"Did you finally decide to have a go at that crossword?" Samantha asked, eyes fixed on a shark ripping apart a catfish.

"Yes."

"I thought you were saving it for a special occasion. Such as when we finally get to leave this prison, as you put it."

"Yes, well. That was then, and this is now."

Samantha groaned and made an effort to get up, before deciding not to get up after all. "There should be a pencil in my handbag."

Auguste waited for the catch, but none came. "Do you want me to look in your handbag for the pencil?"

The red cloud of blood dissipated within a minute, and the sea was dark, dark blue again, with shadows swimming past the glass-topped hotel.

August cleared his throat. "I thought you said I could never touch your belongings."

"This is a special occasion."

Auguste stifled a laugh and got up from his upholstered seat. He went across the hotel restaurant and found the handbag right where he'd first spotted it, tucked against the window wall in a booth for six.

"Let's see what's in here."

Samantha groaned. "How long before they realise we're still alive down here?"

Auguste raised a finger to the air. "It's best to consider this a hell we've been consigned to, based on all our previous sins. That's the newest theory I've come up with, and it's the one that makes the most sense to me, I think."

Samantha closed her eyes. "What did you find in the handbag?"

"Lipstick, a notepad… a little horseshoe charm. Where's the pencil, dear Samantha?"

"Look, Auguste, I have to confess something."

"That there is no pencil in the handbag?"

"That handbag isn't mine."

"Oh."

"I was just pretending it was mine. I never even looked inside it, so I don't know if there is a pencil or not."

"Are you sorry? Or…?"

"I'm not sorry. I just thought that since we're trapped in a hotel under the sea, we should have some secrets from each other. My mother always said that secrets make for the best stories."

"It doesn't look like there's a pencil here."

Samantha sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What will you do if you don't find a pencil in here?"

Auguste looked at her from across the restaurant. "Why, I'd go absolutely insane trying to solve a crossword I can't fill in."

Samantha shook her head. "All this time, we had the perfect balance - you with your crossword, me with my handbag. Now we've crushed it all."

"Yes, we've entered a new phase of hell."

Somewhere far above them, a blue whale passed by, casting a massive, dark shadow over the restaurant as it went. For a moment, Samantha wished the glass would shatter and fall in with all the water, just to see how it'd feel to be suddenly taken by the Atlantic Ocean.

Auguste shouted, breaking her out of her daydreaming.

"I found a pencil!"

[smol-dargon]

Not me posting a fourth chapter because I really wanted to see where this story would go

The air was completely still inside the mausoleum, as if the place were holding its breath. The knight shivered, her chain mail rattling. Her breath was visible in the air. This was not a place for them to linger, clearly.

In the floor ahead of them, several panels in the floor rattled, as if barely containing their occupants. Dan led the way, club at the ready. The knight raised her axe and nodded at him, prepared for whatever might come crawling out of the floors. He bashed the panels in one after the other, sending tiny gremlin creatures scurrying across the chamber. The knight had her hands full corralling and killing them all.

In short order, the room was silent again, save for the sound of their armored steps. One of the panels didn't have anything inside. Rather, it dropped out into a corridor below. With little else to go on, Dan hopped down. The knight followed quickly behind.

Their path was blocked by a stained glass panel. He hated to destroy such art, but he hoped the souls of the recently risen dead would forgive him. He had to pass in order to save the kingdom. The knight was one step ahead of him though; she destroyed the panel without a second thought. In fact, she looked rather upset at it. Beyond the shattered pane, more of the gremlin creatures scurried about, swiftly dispatched by her axe. She took a moment to catch her breath, looking even more distressed at the sight of three more pathways, each blocked by their own stained glass design.

He gave her a bit of a questioning look. It was one thing to be committed to saving Gallowmere. It was quite another to be so hateful towards art.

She heaved a great sigh and rubbed her knuckles as if they ached.

"My father sent me to a convent once for 'misbehaving'. I've hated anything that even smells like a church ever since."

He'd heard of such things happening in other places. Places far removed from his beloved Gallowmere. Women here might not always do the same things men did, but never were they punished for being unusual or unladylike. It explained why she had been so stressed about being discovered, and why she was so aggravated at the mere thought of not being respected as a knight.

"Sounds awful. Sorry."

He hoped even if she couldn't understand his words that his tone at least would carry. To his immense relief, she took a few moments to breathe before steeling herself to continue.

"Let's just get this over with. The sooner we're out of these halls, the better."

He took the lead this time. It was a good thing too. The left path send them down a corridor half blocked by jagged crystals. He smashed their way through a sea of them so she could charge into the room at the end and take care of the creatures within.

With that done, she picked up the rune in the corner. The corridor shuddered. The floor was suddenly very unstable beneath their feet. They both made a mad dash out, barely making it before the floor completely disintegrated. Perhaps that had been a trap. They would have to keep an eye out for other such designs.

The panel across from their original entrance was next. Just beyond it lay the gate the rune opened. Even before she placed the rune, they could hear more chattering creatures past a short drop-off into another chamber. Without waiting for him, she dashed ahead, eager to blow off some steam. By the time he caught up, she'd taken care of them all, then dashed up the stairs in search of more.

He shook his head. She could handle herself. It might do her some good to get the anger out. He noted a gate on the opposite end from the stairs, but without a rune to open it, all he could do was follow the knight back to the upper level.

He had barely left the staircase when he felt a sudden lightness at his hip. His sword was gone! He whipped around to see one of the gremlins tearing off with it. Annoyed, he decided to test something he'd been curious about since waking up again.

He pulled his left arm from its socket and threw it as hard as he could at the creature. It yipped and lost its grip on the sword, but his arm kept going. He groaned, but looked back just in time to see his arm heading straight back for the creature, streaking through the air like a boomerang. It hit the gremlin a second time, more than enough to take it out for good. He was quite pleased with himself!

He wasn't counting on his arm still having momentum when it made it back to him. His own arm backhanded him before clattering to the floor behind him. He was getting really tired of doing cool things and then immediately going back to being ungainly.

The knight reappeared around the corner, surveyed the scene, and couldn't suppress a hearty chuckle. She retrieved his sword from where it had fallen while he fumbled with getting his arm back into place. It was a little easier said than done.

"Uh... help?"

She snorted and held his sword out to him.

"I'll trade you."

She took his detached arm and gave him back the sword. Sheathing it one-handed was tricky, but he managed. After a brief moment surveying his shoulder and arm joints, she fitted them back into the proper places with a satisfying crack. He tested his limb out and made a mental note to never try that again.

"This leads back to the entryway and downstairs. I found the runes we need."

After a short trek through the halls, they were back at the three-way junction facing the final stained glass panel. She destroyed it, this time with a great deal less malice than before. The hall was once again crusted with sharp edges, which Dan helpfully cleared from their path.

She stopped him before he could step fully into the room at the end.

"If this one is booby trapped like the other one, I'm faster. I won't be long."

He retreated back to the junction to wait. Certainly enough, shortly after the sounds of combat faded, the building rumbled and shook. The knight came tearing back up the hall, narrowly throwing herself clear.

"Much easier that way, see?"

He chuckled and turned to continue down the center path once more. Back upstairs, she led him through the main chamber and into a side room. A ghostly organist banged away haphazardly at the keys. He was no musician, but he was pretty sure that wasn't how one played the organ.

The knight pulled a set of papers from her breastplate and offered them to the specter. He happily took them and placed them on the stand before him. After the first few chords, a side door opened, revealing yet another of the strange chalices.

Dan retrieved it and awaited the appearance of Canny Tim. However this time, he was met with another face.

"Ahh Fortesque! What's this I hear about that arch cad Zarok still being alive? Thought you killed the fella?"

Dan grimaced.

"Well, about that--"

"Never mind, you old war-horse, better show 'im what's what, eh? I expect Johnny Zombie's a bit more of a handful than you remember. How are you doing for weapons?"

Dan held his club out for the ghost to see, gesturing with his free hand to the mostly dull broadsword at his hip.

"Here, take my warhammer, it'll smash anything and it won't fall apart like a club. I only ever get to use it cracking walnuts around this place."

He started to refuse, worried he wouldn't be able to handle such a massive weapon.

"Nonsense, Fortesque, I won't take no for an answer. Knock a few heads for old Stanyer Iron Hewer, eh?"

With that, the spirit disappeared, leaving his massive warhammer behind. A bit doubtful, he did try to pick it up. It ended up lighter than he was expecting. He tucked it into place and prepared to continue. When they turned back around, the phantom of the organ had vanished.

At long last, they could open the final gate with the rune she had picked up. Down the hall were shards of glass jutting forth. But a path lay in the middle, just wide enough for a brazier on a pedestal. She scouted ahead and peeked around the corner.

"Aha! The beast's heart! We can set it alight and make killing him that much easier!"

She returned and they began the arduous task of pushing the stone monolith down the thin path between the crystals. It grated down the hall, sparks flying from the friction. Between the two of them, it was short work. At the end of the hall, a massive crystalline heart beat, floating serenely between a pair of statues. They redoubled their efforts and finally shoved the brazier into place beneath it. The heart beat faster in the heat before shattering into countless pieces.

Unlike the other corridors, this one didn't crumble beneath them. They checked over their weapons and armor and headed back up into the main chamber.

The final pane of stained glass bore the image of the demon himself. As they entered, the pane vibrated angrily. Without further warning, it shattered, the stained glass demon bursting forth with a shriek.

Dan charged in ahead of the knight, swinging viciously at the demon. It only took a few hits for him to realize nothing he did was even slowing the thing down. The demon leapt about, aiming to crush them beneath its talons.

The knight stayed well clear of the two of them, her axe stowed into a holster at her back. He wondered for a split second how she intended to help without a weapon. The demon took the opportunity to slam its fist into him, sending him flying across the room and into the wall.

The demon moved to the center of the room, charging an attack with its heart floating free of its chest. He drew the crossbow Canny Tim had given him, but before he could get fully to his feet and take aim, the knight stepped between him and the demon.

She took up a defensive stance. Her arms sparkled with a crackling blue energy, almost like lightning crawling towards her fingers. In the next moment, she let it fly. Twin beams of energy flew through the air towards the demon's heart, causing it a great deal of pain.

He managed to get back on his feet just in time to leap out of the way of a stream of glass shards the demon channeled from its heart. He was startled at the knight's ability to use magic, as it was incredibly uncommon among humans. But he didn't have much time to ruminate on it. Glass shards flew every which way, and he was hard pressed to hold the demon's attention so the knight could reposition.

She let him keep the thing's focus while she charged up another magical attack. The next time its heart came out, it froze Dan in a glass prison from his waist down. His weapon arm was trapped as well. Seeing this, she aimed one beam at the demon and the other at him. It hurt greatly, but it did free him, so he couldn't complain too much.

Between her magic and his crossbow bolts, the demon slowly began to weaken. Its attacks became more harried and frantic, even as it lost the strength to continue its assault. Seeing its tactics failing, it turned its attention to the knight instead. The jagged bits of glass streaked towards her. She raised a hand, creating some sort of barrier that stopped them just before they reached her. He took the opportunity to deal ever more damage to the cracking heart with Canny Tim's crossbow.

With these last few bolts, the heart shattered into pieces. The demon froze, cried out in anguish, and fell to the ground, where it too fell completely to pieces. Amid the pieces, an ornate key with a skull on it lay. He scooped it up and tucked it into his breastplate for safe keeping.

They breathed a collective sigh of relief. At last, they could leave the graveyard proper and take up the chase in earnest. The demon itself had given the. Their exit from the mausoleum, its empty pane leaving an opening from which they could carefully drop back into the graveyard below.

But before they could continue, Dan squared up to the knight properly. He didn't trust magic as far as he could throw it, especially after the mushroom incident. The entire court had done things they regretted that night...

"I have questions."

She nodded, her proud stance faltering under his scrutiny.

"I figured you might... What do you want to know?"

[implexaanima-a]

💘

[gottawriteanegoortwo]

Disposable

A thought crossed my mind today. As humans, we like to think of ourselves as a leading character in things, especially in these stories. But in the grand scheme of the events of Who Killed Markiplier?, we weren’t. What if it went beyond that and that we were utterly disposable?

What if Dark decided to try and help the Attorney, but was too late?

Word Count: 1,453

-

Time had passed. Dark couldn’t say how long. Whatever the duration, it was enough for the anger gripping his frozen heart to loosen its hold and let him see past the need for vengeance. There was someone he needed to find and save.

He had abandoned his dearest friend in their time of need. A hand had been offered in the darkest time, and the most generous offer of escape had been turned into a death-trap beyond the reaches of mortality. No more. He wouldn’t let them suffer alone.

The manor was falling to ruin. A setting long abandoned, an on-site location never again used in these endless games and stories. Dark stepped inside, welcomed only by the lingering presence of death and neglect. Much of the furniture had been knocked aside through storms that had broken the windows, but the mirror remained intact. The prison, bar the initial shattering of the glass, still hung on the wall. Dark pressed his hand to the surface.

“Are you there?” 

No response.

-

Understandable. Who would want to see the face of one who betrayed them? Dark waited a moment to try and anticipate any rippling of the mirror. Only when he was sure there would be nothing, he dared to speak again.

“I’m sorry. I know that will never excuse my actions, but do not let that sully the intention. I want to help you. I know how I can get you out of there. It will take some time to set things in motion, but I am able to do this.”

Nothing. Not even a trick of the light.

“You have every right to be angry at me. I can’t say I don’t deserve it. But I think it would be much more satisfying for you to slap me in the face. How many times did you threaten that when we were younger?”

The silence was growing more and more unbearable.

“I know I don’t deserve any sort of forgiveness, but… Please. Talk to me. Let me help you. I don’t want -”

“Damien?” Dark spun around in alarm at the voice, the aura around his form rippling at the sight.

“What are you doing here? Why can’t you give me a moment’s peace from your utter lunacy?!” The intruder to the scene raised his hands in self-defence.

“I didn’t know you’d be here. I felt a tug pulling me here, but you must have been why. Look. There’s no script. No show.” The Actor gestured to his attire - black t-shirt and jeans accompanied by sneakers and a dark red zip-up hoodie - as proof that this wasn’t anything ‘official’. He stepped forward, only to freeze when he noticed the area around Dark plunge into darkness. Only the mirror remained intact.

“I don’t want you here. Leave. Now.”

“I heard you saying you wanted to help someone. Wait wait, don’t give me that look.” Once more, Actor raised his hands to show that he didn’t mean any harm. “I can help. I write stories, remember? Between us, we should be able to solve any problem. No strings attached, and you have my word on that.” With both hands still in front of him, Dark could at least take solace in the fact that Actor didn’t have his fingers crossed behind his back. Maybe he would be honest for once.

The shadows faded as the world returned to normal.

“It’s… My friend. They were trapped in this mirror. I know they were. I checked in on them over the years. But they aren’t responding.”

“Your friend..? Oh! You mean the District Attorney?” Actor carefully stepped over the shards of a broken vase so he could examine the mirror. Only his reflection could be seen. “They were a sprightly person, weren’t they? Quite the life and soul of the party - huh… Now that you mention it, it has been a while since I’ve seen them. May I -?” His right hand hovered over the mirror’s surface, only resting on it when Dark nodded. Actor took a slow breath and closed his eyes. The entity took a nervous step back. When Actor used this technique, it was his way of tapping into the Void and the realm just beyond the plane of reality. It was as though he could reach through and take something out, or briefly peer in. An ability worth the awe if it was used by anyone else. But Actor’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“Damien… Put your hand on the mirror. You have to see this for yourself.”

Dark hesitated. This could be the easiest trap he had walked into since accepting the invitation to a poker night long ago, but he couldn’t refuse. He did as instructed, and his vision went hazy.

-

Dark shook his head as the world around him regained focus. He hesitated as he looked around, realising he was somehow inside the mirror. He could see Actor standing in the foyer of the Manor, and the shadow of another hand - ah, the curse of never having a true reflection. But when he turned to his left, there was Actor standing beside him

“This is the pocket Void within the mirror,” Actor explained, loosely gesturing around them. “This would be where your friend was.”

“Is.”

“Was.” Actor’s correction was firm, but laced with a tinge of sadness. “Look around us, Damien. This place has been abandoned. There’s nowhere to hide. If they were here, we’d see them, or they would have approached us. We need to be realistic.” 

“That doesn’t make sense. No. You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie about something like this?”

“Oh, would you like the reasons given alphabetically?!” Dark snapped, turning away so he could try and force his eyes to adjust to the darkness to try and find any source of life. Maybe they were asleep.

“Okay, yeah, sure. I’m not exactly a saint. But why would I lie about this? I am a man with standards, Damien. It’s not like - ack!” Whatever Actor was about to say was cut off as Dark blinked out and into existence to grab Actor by a fistful of his t-shirt.

“I REFUSE to let you turn them into another character in your twisted stories!” Actor was flung across the expanse, only being stopped by slamming into an unseen wall. He sank down as Dark began frantically searching for any sort of clue that would prove his friend was still here. Every step yielded nothing new. Nothing could be seen. No response was given to his shouts of their name.

But then… A discovery was made. In one of the farthest corners, he discovered a jacket. He recognised it as the Attorney’s so-called ‘lucky jacket’. Kneeling down, he realised that it was placed in a strange position… As though they had been curled up. Dark tried to lift it up, only to discover it had merged with the inky black floor.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t be this,” Actor, too, knelt down so he could gently tug the jacket out of Dark’s hold. “Damien… I’m afraid your friend no longer exists.”

“What do you mean they ‘no longer exist’? This is one of your worlds. You fix this, and bring them back!”

“I don’t have that kind of power.”

“You take people and pull them into your stories!”

“That’s not the same as this! Those are people that are trapped in unfortunate circumstances that they can’t get out of alone!”

“I’m pretty sure this counts!!”

“Damien! I can’t find someone if they don’t exist! They’ve been taken as part of the Void. That’s why the jacket is like that. They never answered you because they aren’t an individual anymore.”

There was silence as Dark’s entire posture slumped. Was he really too late? He would rather them be caught in the stories than to never exist. They didn’t have a proper death, their family never had the resolution of a funeral - 

“I did this.” His eyes were on his trembling hands. “I killed them. I left them to rot in this miserable place. I couldn’t get back soon enough.”

“It might be little consolation… They might not exist now… But they will be able to exist in the future, if that makes sense.” When there was no answer, Actor continued, “What I mean is that… Someone who fades within the Void will become part of the stars, and who knows? Maybe one day in the near future you’ll spot a little child that has their mischievous grin.”

The words weren’t comforting in the here and now, but it was better than the grim reality that they were gone forever.

“Mark… If they do come back… Promise me you will leave them alone.”

“I will.”

[koqabear]

hit me with your killshot, baby (C.YJ)

Summary:

It was a small, quiet town you had decided to move into. One that you could help with any healing or magical needs. What you didn’t expect, however, was to face a demon too powerful for your own good. The worst part? Seems like he’s gotten attached.

Yeonjun x reader/ demon!yeonjun x witch!reader

Genre: fantasy, enemies to ?? thriller(?), angst if you squint me thinks

Word count: 3.0K

Warnings: general physical fighting/violence, mentions of scars, burns, bones breaking, knives, blood, fire, descriptions of pain (let me know if I should add anything!)

a/n: This might get another part if it gets a good response <3 Writing fantasy is rlly fun for me as well, I’m so glad that this is the story that got me out of my writers block lmao

comments and reblogs are always welcome and much appreciated, hope you guys enjoy! <3

Disclaimer!! Absolutely nothing about this story is accurate or real, anything and everything that mc the witch does is made up!

It was about three in the morning when you got the call.

“Hello?” You said, eyes squinted as you had just been woken up from your sleep. The line remained silent for a moment, leaving you to wonder if this was a scam caller. You spoke again, only to hear hasty footsteps becoming louder, presumably running towards the phone.

“Hello?!” The voice called out, the loud exclamation causing you to jolt awake. “Oh my god, oh my god!” Their exasperated voice rang through your line, and you stood to get properly dressed, already anticipating their request.

“Where do you live?” You asked sharply, grabbing the keys to your car and waiting for their answer. They stuttered out their address, the sounds of the rain coming into your ear. They were now outside.

“Please come quick, this spirit has been bothering me for weeks now, I could have sworn they were harmless-“ they cried into the phone, only to get cut off by your stern command.

“Leave your home. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

They agreed, their voice quiet and shaky, and you hung up, beginning to drive to your new task.

It was no secret your town had a problem with the supernatural. That was the whole reason you lived here.

‘The town witch’ was what they called you. You remember moving to this small town the moment you turned eighteen, the rumors of the paranormal town beckoning you to help. With potions and incantations by your side, you were the best damn thing this place had ever gotten. But that was six years ago, and you were young and naive. The scars and burns that riddled your body only served to prove your progress, marking your place in this town permanently.

You sighed, your grip on your steering wheel weak. You were, after all, the only help these people had. Late night calls like this were beginning to become much too common recently, leading you to wonder if something, or someone, new was beginning to pester this poor town.

You arrived at the house, the thunderstorm only helping to provide a stereotypical atmosphere for you to work in. You got out your car, pulling your coat tightly against your body, the wind around you strong enough to hinder your footsteps.

The two story home before you rattled in protest, the front door swinging open the moment you got close enough. You felt your heart begin to race, beginning to question if this was truly worth it. It seems that whatever had been pestering the homeowner was no small ghost. Walking inside, you were met with the dark and empty home, the hardwood floor beneath you creaking in protest as you carefully walked around, the house seemingly calming the moment you entered.

You breathed in slowly, attempting to steady your mind as you surveyed the house, recalling what the homeowner told you before hanging up. This had been going on for a while, but it seems that it only recently became too much for them. Whatever was in this home really liked the attention.

Before you were able to take another step forward, you were thrown off your feet, slamming into the wall to your left, the many picture frames and decorations falling before you with a loud crash. The door slammed shut, and you covered your head, bracing yourself as you felt the glass shards begin to be directed towards you.

It’s here, and it’s angry.

Just as the chaos around you finally dulled down, you were met with the sight of the trophy shelf in front of you beginning to shake, your eyes widening as you began to run. You muttered a quick incantation to help shield you, the dull sounds of impact that began to pound against your shield only serving to make you run faster.

The hallway in front of you suddenly seemed never-ending, it’s violet wallpaper becoming harder to see the more you ran. Was the house layout always like this? The hallway suddenly ended, leading you to an open room, quickly recognizing it as the living room. The lights suddenly flickered on, disturbing your concentration as you noticed a shadow walk past one of the doorways.

Seemingly knowing you perfectly, the spirit took this small wavering to throw a book in your direction, narrowly missing your face as you ducked to the side, only to get knocked to your knees as you felt a kick to your back, your disturbed concentration causing your spell to be broken.

You turned around in a haste, summoning your shield once more as you unsheathed the knife you had in your coat pockets.

“Show yourself!” You barked out, standing up as you surveyed the room. “I know you’re here.”

Silence.

The howling wind outside stopped, the flickering lights suddenly still at the sound of your voice. You gripped the handle of the knife harder, trying to not let the exhaustion seep into you. The lights began to slowly dim, a lit ember flickering in front of you, only to be followed by many more, swirling into a raging fire directly in front of you. You jumped back at the heat, the familiar sight making you frown in anticipation.

“You look tired,” the voice said, as smooth and elegant as you first remembered it, “Maybe I could fix that.”

Standing in front of you was no other than Yeonjun. Clad in black, his dark eyes stared into yours as he towered over you, his platform boots shining underneath the dull lights, his hair slicked back and pushed away from his face save for a few strands that hung to frame his face.

“Yeonjun.” You said, a feeling of anger stirring inside you the longer you stared at him

“It’s so nice to hear my name come from you again,” he sighed, taking a step toward you, only for you to step back in retaliation.

Yeonjun was none other than the first demon you tried to expel when you first came here. You had fought with every single potion and spell you spent years perfecting, only to leave hospitalized and unsure that he would return. However, as the years passed and no sign of him appeared, you had assumed that you had succeeded in your battle against him, any signs of hauntings or poltergeists disappearing after that day.

“You,” you snapped, everything finally piecing everything together. “You’re behind everything that’s been happening recently, aren’t you?” You took another step back as he began to laugh, throwing his head back as if you had just told him the funniest thing in the world. Slowly, he calmed himself down, his eyes playful as he took his sweet time responding to you.

“Maybe, why?” He said, beginning to walk towards you slowly. You held your ground, concentrating on keeping your shield steady, they grip on your knife tightening. He stopped centimeters away from it, the aura of the shield humming as his clothes grazed the perimeter, shocks emitting on impact.

“I missed you, you know,” He muttered, head leaning towards you teasingly as he stood just far enough to not be blasted away from your shield. “It wasn’t fun hopping from town to town, trying to mess with other witches that resided there. They were just too…”

“Weak.”

You were barely given a moment before the sight of Yeonjun’s bright eyes filled your vision, the feeling of a scorching heat overtaking your senses.

Yeonjun had trapped you in a ring of fire.

A pretty small one, too.

Slightly panicked, you looked around for any place you could escape, the memories of the last time you got so close to Yeonjun warning you to get as far from him as you could, only to find that it was just you and him, trapped in a space that wouldn’t even allow you to shift backwards.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, his voice taunting as he waited for your next move, “Claustrophobic?”

The weapon in your hand began to heat up, your mind working its hardest to form a plan that would work and let you come out alive. You already knew what this fire around you would do; It wasn’t a simple flame, and the scar on your chest that throbbed painfully in this demonic presence was enough proof of that.

The moment you had healed from your first encounter with Yeonjun, you had put all of the knowledge you had acquired from experience and older, more experienced witches into putting a weapon that would help you with violent demonic problems like him. It had taken you weeks of pure isolation and meditation to engrave the correct energy into the weapon, afraid to make any mistake that could lead to something drastic. By the time you were finished putting the last few touches on the weapon, (a protective incation; the words engraving themselves in fine print letter by letter as you poured the last of your energy into it,) you could barely stand, landing yourself at the house of a medic that specialized with witches.

“You’re lucky that you managed to come out of this with just drained energy,” He had told you one day, standing next to your cot and handing you a homemade medicine; its taste was horrendous, but it did the job.

“I’ve dealt with witches, succeeding or not, that had come out in a much worse condition. You’re very powerful, that much I can tell.” He confessed, his face sobering as he remembered why it was that you were there, “Whatever it is that you’re dealing with, I wish you luck.”

And now here you stand, the results of all your hard work and patience vibrating the more you concentrate on defeating the demon in front of you.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to try and hurt me with that,” Yeonjun laughed, watching the way your grip tightened the moment he landed his eyes on it, your knuckles turning white with the force, “You know your little knife can’t hurt me, right?”

While it was true that regular knives were nothing more but toys to him, you knew that what you were holding was not a regular knife.

But he didn’t.

You remained silent as you stared at him, quirking a brow to silently challenge him. He scoffed, rolling his eyes at your demeanor.

“Giving me the silent treatment now?” He said, pausing for a moment before looking back at you, “Fine. You think you can hurt me with that little kitchen knife?” With a single movement of his hands, the fire dwindled, going down until it was no more,

“Go ahead. Give it your best shot.”

You suppressed a smile.

Yeonjun was a lot of things. Strong, powerful, smart, hell, he was a bit attractive too.

But above all, he was cocky.

Slowly, and as subtly as you could, you adjusted your stance, your eyes never leaving his, ready to let your shield down to attack him.

“No games?”

His lips quirked up, his hands coming up to his sides to show you his full vulnerability.

“Fair and square. Here, I’ll even let you make the first move.” His pitch black eyes twinkled with his signature playfulness, his thoughts displaying to you loud and clear;

I thought you were smarter than this.

You fought the urge to scoff, and instead surveyed him for a moment, stepping back to give yourself a bit more room. He watched intently, his body language open and relaxed, clearly not threatened by you.

You lunged forward.

Before Yeonjun could move away, you swung your knife towards him, your stomach sinking as you missed your target, his neck, and sliced at his face instead. His head turned to the side, a hiss emitting from him as he turned back to you, the slash on his cheek burning into his skin, going deeper into his face as he began to bleed.

Except that wasn’t blood that came out of his face.

A thin liquid, pure black and mixed with the poison of your blade, trickled down his face. Slowly, he brought up a hand to his cheek, touching tentatively at his wound, observing the black substance that poured out of him, before turning back to you.

“Come on, you little vixen,” he groaned, the nickname that he called you from your first meeting rolling off his tongue smoothly, “Not the face!”

Cocky bastard.

But now that your first move was over, Yeonjun took a minute to crack his neck, the black liquid trailing down to his neck as he slowly rolled his head back, pausing for a second before straightening up, smiling at you sweetly.

“My turn.”

Right as you were going to activate your shield once more, Yeonjun ran to you, landing a solid punch to your stomach, sending you flying to the wall behind you, the wind being knocked out of you on impact as you crumbled to the floor. Looking up, you saw him lunge at you once more, mumbling your incantation for your shield, successfully knocking him back at the last second. Tumbling backward, Yeonjun layed on the floor as you slowly got back up, using the wall behind you as support, the wild and unhinged sound of Yeonjun’s laugh echoing off the walls.

“Oh, my little vixen,” he began, sitting up as he watched you regain your composure. “I missed this. I must admit, you have gotten stronger.” Standing back up slowly, you felt the room slowly heat up. You shifted, knowing what it was that he was about to do next.

“It’s exciting.”

Running towards him, you did your best to avoid the trail of fire that was now after you, ready to swing your knife at him as you got closer. Just as you were close enough to him, you swung towards his neck once more, the predictable movement allowing Yeonjun to step aside, only to get a kick to his chest, successfully knocking him down and allowing you to dive down, the fire that was about to pierce the center of your back flying instead to the wall in front of you, the loud boom barely covering Yeonjun’s scream as you dug your knife into his shoulder.

“Fuck!”

You towered over him, straddling his waist and putting as much weight as you could to keep him down. His hands immediately reached up to clasp over yours, attempting to pull the weapon out, only to have you retaliate by digging it into his skin more, his cursing filling up your ears as he struggled against you.

Your jaw clenched and you felt yourself begin to sweat, the same ring of fire from before beginning to enclose around you slowly with no signs of stopping. Your hands began to burn underneath Yeonjun’s touch, obviously his doing as he seemed to concentrate on attempting to scare you off with the same fire that landed you on the brink of death from your first encounter.

But you refused.

You refused to allow the demon to live any longer, to continue to terrorize innocent and defenseless people in your town, or in this world at all. And now that you had him under your grip, your hands struggling to successfully behead him, you weren’t going to let a little bit of pain scare you away.

Your hands began to numb under the heat of his skin, popping noises emitting from under his iron grip. He was attempting to break your hands, to render them useless, but with the adrenaline coursing through your veins, you pushed on, biting back your own groans of pain and trying to concentrate on your current task, and nothing else.

“Come on my vixen, give it up,” he said, his voice laced with pain and false confidence that he attempted to use in order to make you believe that he remained unaffected. But as your knife inched towards his neck, piercing through his skin and emitting a loud sizzling sound, you knew that it was all a bluff by the way he winced, a low grunt of pain escaping him.

“I really don’t want to hurt you, you know,” he confessed, the ring of fire snapping angrily at your legs, the heat making you want to faint from overexertion. But you continued to push on, much to Yeonjun’s annoyance. “Fine, you asked for it.”

He screwed his eyes shut, the ring of fire slightly calming down, along with his iron grip on your hands. Just as you were about to take this chance and behead him, you felt something coming.

You turned around.

A ball of pitch black fire, resembling a pure void, flew towards you.

It all happened so fast. Throwing you off of him, Yeonjun staggered away from you, watching silently as the void of black washed over you, your screams of agony causing him to look away, the slightest bit of pity washing over him.

This was it, wasn’t it?

You couldn’t move as this void of fire washed over you, a feeling as though every bone in your body was being broken and you were being turned inside out coarsed through your system, your screams ripping through your throat, the wish for death appearing in your heart.

But right as you felt as though you were going to black out, it stopped.

And Yeonjun stood over you.

He watched as you lay there, completely paralyzed with pain. It took a bit before you began to breathe again, your chest barely rising, the air flowing into you causing you pain. Slowly, you opened your eyes, Yeonjun’s face inches from yours, the dark liquid from his wounds dripping onto you.

“I almost feel sorry,” he whispered, his lips grazing yours. You tried to hold on, to finish your job, but the very effort of having to breathe exhausted you beyond belief. Slowly, he pressed his lips to yours, the kiss more of a half hearted apology as he lingered there for a second, his lips still against yours. His mind reeled at the feeling, and he pulled away, a soft smile on his face as he slowly brought his hand down, hesitating before caressing your exhausted face slowly, spreading his own blood on your face.

He grinned.

“I look forward to our next battle.”

And he was gone.

Tears pricked at your eyes, and you collapsed.

[rcksmith]

Heaven — Five Hargreeves

Request: “Can I get 53, 31, 48 from fluff and 28 and 29 and 68 with heavy smut? Where Five is an emotionless Assassin from the commission and does his job without remorse or mercy until he meets the reader and he will do anything to make her his? And will kill anyone who gets in his way between him and the reader? If your okay with this!”

Fluff prompts:

31. “I wasn’t lying when I said that I loved you.”

48. “nothing else matters except for you.”

53. “There are no limits when it comes to you. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”

Smut prompts:

28. “Such a needy little thing, aren’t you?”

29. “I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”

68. “Say my name over and over again and, once you think you’ve said it loud enough, scream it. I want the whole neighborhood to know who’s making you feel good.“

A/N: We not tolerate any pedophilia here !!

I write about Five with their 20s. I write the same about the characters of Harry Potter.

My God, I loved it so much!! Thank you so much for request, I loved writing it!💖💖 I hope you like!

Guys, I really understand who doesn’t feel comfortable reading or writing Five’s smut. But I always say that I only write with him (any genre: romance, fluff or angst) with the notion that Five is 20 years old here. All of my fanfics mention swearing or sex, even if it is a memory or something shallow, but as I am writing with Five as an adult, it is consistent that the fic has aspects of an adult life.//

English is not my first language, so I so sorry if have a mistake.

Requests are open. Love you ❤️

Couple: Five Hargreeves / Fem! Reader.

Warnings: SMUT, SMUT, bad words, blood, murder, mention of death (and sooo explicit heavy smut), fluff too.

— — — — —

He was not a saint.

The trail of blood, bodies and the smell of death he had left behind could terrify even the strongest mind. He could get the devil to run.

He has already broken many bones, but none of them were his own. Once, there was an army, he was alone, and he broke many bones.

He was not a saint.

If there was a note for death and danger, it would be his symphony of life. Echoing and constant whenever the viscous and metallic liquid stained him white shirt.

Five Hargreeves did not consider himself a good person. But he didn't think he was bad too. He was just minding his own business. Even if it meant killing the innocent people that the Commission was ordering.

It was ironic. Five had been raised by Reginald to be a hero, to save people, and what he was doing was just the opposite. Was Needed cold blood, a focused mind, an objective.

Five had a closed and serious countenance. And in his case, the book could very well be judged by the cover, because Five it was also closed and serious inside. He It had the typical soul of a storm and a rough sea, where the wind blew with fury and the rain punished, while the sea was brutal and with aggressive waves capable of swallowing up a city in its entirety.

Anyone could see the warning sign hanging from his chest: "GIVE UP ALL THE HOPE IF YOU ENTER HERE." He was advancing with heavy artillery. Five was heavy artillery. The Commission considered he best of the best.

Five Hargreeves could get the devil to run. Nobody couldn't fool him, hook him, he wasn't a trout. He was a shark, dangerous and big. With a sharp and cruelly intelligent mind. Working in an equally sharp and cruelly intelligent environment.

But none of that bothered him. Five did not fear the fury of the Commission or its representatives. Machiavelli said that: you can only insult the other if you are not afraid of his retaliation. And Five feared no one. When angry, he had the same caustic look that Lucifer threw around shortly after The Fall. And it was a surprise that that look did not leave a trail of rubble wherever it passed.

Five did not liked what he job did, but it did not affect that he was very good at it. He had been anesthetized for years. Submerged in an inertia of emotions that not even the largest number of victims could tremble. He was already convinced that his furthermore emotions were buried as deep as possible in his soul of the troubled sea, lost. Such as Atlantida. Perhaps, like Atlandida, his emotions were a myth.

And Five had already accepted that. Even he sets eyes on you.

It was another routine day of that profane work: finding the target, shooting down, not leaving witnesses and leaving. And that was exactly what would be done. If it was not you.

Five was seated at one of the tables at a local Irish bar, the glass filled with cold beer set in front of him. The rays of the sun, from a year that he did not even care to know more about, were entering inside the large windows that overlooked the busy streets. People's humorous conversations filled that place with bright, welcoming walls, but Five felt none of it. Anesthetized.

But for some reason, when the door bell rang when someone came in, he raised his face towards the door and... his breath was gone.

The moment you walked through that door, Five knew it was hopeless for him. Your beauty was blinding. Sublime. Impressive. He felt as if his whole life had been wandering in the desert and finally found his oasis. Lepid, fierce heat swept Five's body from the top of his head with night-black hair to the tip of his feet.

You wandered your eyes around the place, and you seemed to find what you wanted because your eyes softened and you went towards your goal.

But just as Five was oblivious to the world because of you, so were you oblivious to the world, but for something else. And it was like this, oblivious, that you hit your waist on the front end of Five's table, causing his glass to swing and fall on the table, pouring all the beer on the floor. Five stood up quickly to keep from getting wet, but a few splashes of the cold drink had hit his suit.

“Oh my God, I'm so sorry!”

You said promptly, trembling hands quickly lifting the glass from the table, your voice nervous and embarrassed. You righted his table while the waitress came to clean up the spilled liquid.

“I wet your suit, god, I'm so sorry.” And when Five noticed,your hands were drying the beer droplets with a napkin.

That was when the two of you looked at each other for the first time. The heat immediately gave way to a cold sweat.

Something inside him stirred and woke up, something that had been dormant for years. Sensations that had never before appeared now snaked through his body, waiting for the best time to hang him. Even with a layer of clothing and a napkin, Five felt the warmth of you touch, and he wondered if you had been forged in the sun.

Dangerous. The sensations you aroused in him were dangerous. And therefore, you were dangerous.

“It's all right.”

If it had been anyone else, Five would have burst. His moods were not one of the best and he felt that anything could set him on fire.

But apparently, not for you.

That afternoon, Five convinced you to join him, saying, whit charming, he would forget about the incident if you sat with him.

He tried to convince himself not to do that, that he should just give a mocking smile and leave. He had done this millions of times, and he knew it was one of the best ways to avoid headaches. Even so, the smile didn't come and he couldn't turn his back on you.

The sensations you stirred up in him were addictive, and Five was lost in a hurricane, trying to understand what was happening to him. But he couldn't let you go. Not without knowing his name.

But it took on proportions that he never considered. You were funny, witty, with an intelligent, warm gleam in your eyes. At that moment, while Five found himself really enjoying someone's company instead of just tolerating it, he felt out of his own body.

God, he was losing track of reality.

He had a job to do, a person to finish. The list was full but... but his body didn't order any muscles to move. It was like... while you were talking to him, with an extraordinary friendliness and ease of making friends, he felt alive for the first time.

Five had been alive for 25 years. But only now did he feel his own heart beat.

But when your time inevitably came, and you said goodbye and thanked you for the lunch that Five and you had — he didn't even remember how the situation got there. Since when did he have lunch with someone? — As soon as you left for that door, it took with you all the new feelings that were aroused within him.

Executing the target that day was weird, going to Motel's room was weird, and cleaning the blood was weird. There was something different, a shortness of breath, an itch in the palm of his hand, his body desperate for something he didn't know what it was.

Five Hargreeves stayed in that martyrdom for days, weeks. He was trying to understand his own body, his own mind. He felt he was losing his sanity and that the body, now that he experienced what it was like to be alive, repudiated the feeling of feeling dead.

He was trapped in some damn spell that you had cast on him. If Five looked in the mirror at the place of the chest you touched over his shirt, he could feel his skin tingle.

Fuck, he was losing his sanity!

The situation was stupid, he didn't need anyone, he didn't depend on anyone. But after the second week Five found himself returning to that bar again, feeling completely stupid to be looking for someone he barely knew.

What a stupid thing. He said to himself as soon as entered that place.

But that's when he saw you. With the bar uniform on, you hair tied up in a ponytail with a few strands dangling from your face, your chest slightly heaving, a pad of paper with a pen in hands. His heart skipped a beat, as if he found something he didn't even know was lost.

Five felt lost amidst a jumble of thoughts and reactions. But as soon as you saw him, with a smile was purely sincere and happy appearing on you lips and went towards him, the answers to all the questions that plagued him for weeks flashed in his mind like neon lights:

I want her.

He wanted you since the day he saw you. You were beautiful, with a maddening body, a sublime smile and the heat of a thousand suns. Now Five realized that had never wanted anything so desperately in his life.

Five thought he understood the desire: an attraction, a magnetic current between two people. He thought he knew what lust was: an intense hunger, a strong yearning. And he found out that he didn't understand anything.

For when you embraced him and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, the desire was a hot, black whirlwind that ripped you from end to end, with dizzying speed, and dragged you towards perdition, below any intellect. Five thought he was going crazy when he felt your heart beat next to his, in the same frantic rhythm. The same compass needed.

But Five was not going crazy. He wasn’t crazy when he saw your cheeks flush when he looked at you more carefully, he wasn’t crazy when he noticed your hands trembling slightly with his presence.

Were you feeling the same things?

Yes. And he found that out when first kissed you. It had been a few weeks since he had used, for himself, the excuse that he was going to that bar just to drink something and not to see you again.

But that was not how you two met that day

Five had just finished a job that did not end soo much great. A fight had taken place, and a bullet had grazed his left shoulder, tearing through the flesh. His clothes were flooded with red, thick, metallic liquid. His muscles ached and the wound stung like hell.

He was on his way back when the car popped loudly, the car stalled in place and smoke began to rise from the bikes.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” Five punched the steering wheel, cursed the Commission for making such a damn fuck thing available.

He had just gotten out of the car when a car passed by and stopped.

“Five?” This time, his body throbbed for something else instead of pain.

He saw you get out of the car, your eyes shocked, the livid concern on your face, your hands shaking.

“My god, are you okay?!”

Five hated to appear that he was not able to deal with anything, but there was no plausible and peaceful lie to what you were seeing. You didn't let him make any decisions at that moment, you just stuck him in you own car, and when the chance of taking Five to the hospital had been vehemently denied by him, you ran the car to you own apartment.

“Oh my god, oh my god.”

You whispered to yourself, now at in your bed, closing the cut on Five's shoulder after he took a shower.

“I can do this.” He repeated it for the ninth time, but you shook your head.

But, while for you the situation was only for first aid, for Five it was torture in a very different sense.

Your touch was addictive, hot and fiery. Five didn't want to want you, but he did. He wanted you to beg for it too, so that Five could pretend to be in control. He wanted you to burn for him, just as he always burned when he was near you.

Under a light gauze, you covered the bruise on his shoulder, letting out a loud sigh that went to another very specific spot on Five's body. You asked for an explanation and he said that he had been mugged and reacted, but that the bandits had received what they deserved. He had to lie. At least for now. At least while he wanted you so much to touch him.

Perhaps this madness would pass.

But it didn't pass, your hands were still on Five's warm skin and he felt his heart pounding in his chest.

He wanted you. Holy Mother of God, he wanted you so fuck much! The knuckles of his fingers were whitened, the strength with which he clenched his fists.

But you whispered his name under your breath, as if you too were trapped in that cloud of lust and passion. So it was the end. Five kissed you, hungry, desperate, as if he wasn't going to have a tomorrow. He pulled you around the waist so you could sit on his lap, his hands roaming your body, squeezing all the flesh he could touch.

“I was asking how much more time was take to you to kiss me.”

You whispered against his lips, with a mischievous smile on your face, your hands roaming through his hair as you held a sigh when he adjusted your hips under you. God only knows how long you've been dreaming about this guy.

“Such a needy little thing, aren't you?” Five barely recognized his own voice.

This time, you who kissed him, your body burning in suppressed passion and desire, burning under the intense touch of Five. You hardly saw it when your shirt left, nor when you skirt went up until it was exposed to him. You whimpered, your lips going down to his neck and hiding your face there, squirming when his hand went up from your thigh to its pulsating center.

“Your skin is so hot. You were wishing for that, weren't you?” Five whispered, his voice hoarse.

You heart was beating fast in chest, cheeks were flushed, and Five brought your face up to look at him, lust bubbling in her eyes. You frantically agreed, rummaging you hips in him when you gasped. He curled his mouth over your left breast, groaning against your skin as you tightened your fingers on the back of his neck.

“F-five!” The liquid dripped from inside you to your thighs, and Five let out a loud moan of satisfaction when he saw it.

He raised his mouth to you, and, without kissing you, he sighed maliciously on yours lips: “I didn’t know you were so sensitive.”

After that point, everything became more crude. Five's touch on your waist gained pressure, marking your skin with purple marks on his fingers, his mouth bit and sucked on your breast, like a hungry man, and you were being driven crazy.

That's when two of his fingers entered you, deep, strong, opening your walls.

"Five!" You moaned loudly, your body hot under his lap, at the mercy of lustful desires.

“Shit! You are so tight!” His moan transcended between painful and angry, as if you were pushing him to the limit. “How are you going to put up with my dick, doll? You almost can't take my fingers!”

Five jerked his fingers inside you and hit rock bottom. You screamed, tears welling up in your eyes, the walls throbbing on his dick.

“Answer me!” His free hand came down on your thigh, and you bit your lip to keep from moaning loudly again.

“II am going to put up with you-everything.” You whined.

“How much?!” Five pulled your chin up to look at him, the hunger overwhelming his eyes, he's holding on as much as possible so he doesn't deal too badly with you.

Not yet.

“An-Anything as you give it to me.” You purred like a kitten "Fuck me hard, Five."

Oh you didn't say that.

His hand came down on your left cheek, letting out a soft slap and pulled your chin back at him, he jaw clenched by the effort he made to keep from fucking and hitting you so hard.

“Do you want it hard?! I will leave you without walking for days!” Five got up with you on his lap, threw you on the bed and slapped your thigh.

“Turn around!” He ordered in a snarl, removing his own pants, and as soon as you positioned yourself with your hips up and your face on the mattress, a hard, brutal slap made you moan loudly, squeezing your hands on the pillow.

The right hand wrapped around your hair, pulling your face off the pillow as Five positioned itself behind you.

“What you want?” He growled.

“I whant You fuck me hard!” God, you were begging, you needed him so much, you wanted him so much.

“How much hard?”

“Much! I want you to fuck me until I can't stay…”

Five came inside you brutally, pushing your body onto the mattress, making you moan loudly. He didn't let you finish, it barely gave you time to moan. As soon as he started to move, his rhythm became relentless, coarse, rude, forcing himself deeper inside you with each thrust.

Tears stung your face, you pussy throbbed in excitement, so fucking good that you felt like you were in heaven.

“What is it, lillet slut?” He pushed deeper, his voice arrogant and condescending, “Am I too big for you? For that tight pussy?” A slap went down your ass again, the other hand never coming out of your hair.

“F-fi-five! Please, I need this so much!”

The desperation in your voice did things to him, further igniting Five's desire to fuck you until he broke you.

“You were so tight! So. fucking. tight!” And you moaned and pushed him hips at him like you couldn't live without what he gave you. “Fuck, this is what you wanted, isn't it? You wanted me to broke you!”

“Yes!” You screamed as he keeping fuck you deeper and deeper “Pl-please!”

Your voice was too much for him! Five's hunger snarled and roared like a beast, increasing the desire to get you so badly. He hit your ass hard, letting go of your hair and sticking both hands on your waist, pulling you violently to his dick.

“Say my name over and over again! And, once you think you’ve said it loud enough, scream it. I want the whole neighborhood to know who’s making you feel good! ” Five combined a deep thrust with the tug on his waist, making his dick reach your unimaginable corners.

“Five!”

“Higher!” A slap.

“Five!” One more slap.

“Higher!” Another slap.

“F-FIVE!”

His mouth went to your shoulder, his lips tightening there as he pushed himself deep inside you. You were very close, super stimulated, your legs were shaking, your heart was pounding.

Five was fucking you so hard that you could barely groan, giving you sensations that you never felt before. You came with a loud groan, trembling on his dick, losing your breath when Five sank to the bottom of the well and came there, filling you with his hot cum.

Five Hargreeves thought that after that he would be free of your effects, freed from that desperation that was always wanting to be with you.

But then again, he was deeply mistaken.

Everything only increased in unimaginable proportions. Jealousy came, the overwhelming sense of protection, the need to be with you. Now he not only fucked you hard, but he made a point of leaving you at work and picking you up at night.

And that's when you said you loved him. And his world has turned inside out once again. Five didn't respond right away, he was dumbfounded and bewildered, and you said he only had to speak when he was ready.

He love you? That question hung around his mind for days.

Five felt at peace with you company, relaxed with your touch, happy whenever he heard your voice. You were the only place he thought about going back after a hard job, after the day had gotten the best of him.

He love you?

That was when The Handler told him, in one day, that it was good that his new “pet” did not make him deviate from the Commission's objectives.

Five has never felt so furious in his life. He came as close to her as possible, making her look death in the eye, and said that if any hair disappeared from your pretty head, he would stop everything and kill everyone on that commission. And The Handler knew that Five was not bluffing.

That's when he found out that he loved you. That the idea of ​​seeing you hurt, even if it was a scratch, was unacceptable. And that's when Five realized that his world only revolved when you were with him.

“I love you.” He released that night, you were lying on his chest, watching some series on TV when Five cut off the characters' lines.

You looked at him in bewilderment, propping yourself up on your elbow to see him better.

“What?”

Five looked him in the eye, and in the most sincere and truthful way, he said: "nothing else matters except for you."

Your eyes filled with tears, and you kissed him as if Five were your whole world. In fact, he certainly were your world. But it was at that moment that he said he had to talk to you, and that's when he told you the whole truth.

Shocked would be an understatement to say what you felt at that moment.

It took a few days for you to digest the whole truth and several conversations with Five to understand what was really going on. You saw his powers, his briefcase, his life story. And Five knew, when the dust settled and you said that none of that mattered, that you really loved him.

“I just can't have anything with someone who hides things from me.” You said “ I understand the reasons why you didn't tell me before, but now I don't want any more lies between us.”

“None.” He smiled, and looked at you as if he finally understood that you loved him.

And it is logical that you noticed.

“ I wasn’t lying when I said that I loved you." You laughed.

And in that moment, in that fraction of a second, Five realized that he would never be able to live without you.

“I'm just afraid of your job. Whether you get hurt or they want to hurt you coming after me and…”

Five didn't let you finish. He held you in his hands, your cheeks in his palms, and whispered, “There are no limits when it comes to you. I'll do anything to keep you safe. ”

[lxngbottom]

Cramps. | N.L. (+ D.T & S.F.)

in which the reader is having a really bad period, so her three best friends come and check up on her.

warnings: pain, periods, bleeding, swearing, we know how it is.

i’m on my period rn, & these three boys are my fav characters so this is mostly to comfort me (and idk if you guys can even relate, but my periods get THIS bad) (edit: this was NOT supposed to be this long but oh well i love these three)

gryffindor reader! (but anyone can read obv)

—

somehow, you had managed to make it through the previous school day. but, the whole time your stomach felt like it was completely turning on you, and with every step you took, the bleeding was so heavy. you couldn’t even remember the last time you went through so many pads and tampons in one day.

on top of that, you were an absolute emotional wreck. and, that became apparent to neville when seamus laughed over tripping over your shoe lace, and you looked up at your three best friends with tears in your eyes.

“merlin, y/n! i was only messing with you! what’s wrong?” seamus furrowed his eyebrows at you, only for you to bend down and groan in pain as you attempted to tie your loose shoe laces.

“i can’t do it!” you whined, a tear finally escaping your tired eyes. you stood up, and sniffled, not noticing the genuine concerned looks plastered across the three boys’s faces.

and then, if things couldn’t get any worse, you felt someone tap your shoulder. you turned around to meet a terrified looking ron and harry, staring down at your legs,

“y-y-y/n... blood! t-t-there’s blood running down your legs!”

you looked down, and sure enough, there was a bunch of it. you automatically began to cry, and the sobbing only got worse as you realized that this was happening in front of not one, not two, but five boys.

“nev—neville... p-please give me your jacket...” you choked out, rushing as the blood seeped between your thighs. he did so quickly, tossing it to you, and your tied it around your waist before running into the nearest bathroom.

“why would you point that out?” dean asked ron, eyeing him,

“what?! would it be better for her to stay like that the rest of the day?” the ginger snapped back, still not putting two and two together. ron wasn’t exactly wrong, but his execution was awful.

the boys sighed, deciding that maybe waiting outside the bathroom would do you some good. but, unfortunately, as 15 minutes passed, you never came out.

“m-m-maybe someone should go and get hermione. or lavendar. or one of the parvati twins?” neville suggested, scratching the back of his neck. seamus shrugged, honestly clueless on how to handle the whole situation.

luckily, a saving grace skipped by, grabbing the attention of all of the boys,

“ginny!” ron called out, and she stopped in her tracks, “thank merlin you’re here!”

the look on her face was questionable as harry, ron, neville, dean, and seamus all stared at her.

“w-what?”

dean spoke up first, more than concerned, “y/n went in there. she—she had—blood running down her legs. and, she started crying...”

that’s all it took for ginny to nod her head, “okay. you guys go ahead. i’ll take care of her!”

they did so reluctantly, more so your three best friends. as ron and harry wanted to be away from the whole scenario as soon as possible.

and, that was the last they heard from you yesterday. today, they waited for you to come down from the girl’s dorm, but you never came.

they waited for you in the great hall, but again, you never came.

little did they know, you were curled up in a ball on your bed, sobbing from the excruciating pain that filled your whole body. this cycle was hitting you like a truck, and you’d wished that somehow you had been more prepared for it.

hermione had left you reluctantly that morning, never seeing a fellow girl having such a bad period before. you had cried all night, and you and her both had barely gotten any sleep. so that’s why when neville saw hermione drifting off to sleep during a shared class, he was absolutely baffled.

as that same class ended, the three boys caught up with hermione,

“hey, granger! where’s y/n?” seamus asked, and she rubbed her eyes.

“she—um—“ a yawn interrupted her response, “she’s in our dorm. she doesn’t feel well.”

neville’s mouth went agape, and he finally put two and two together.

“i wouldn’t go and see her, though. you guys embarrassed her yesterday. she told me all about ronald, and ginny, and seamus. she’s really upset, and... she’s just in a lot of pain. so, just let her be for a while.”

and with that, she left the three boys. they gave each other weird looks, mentally questioning each other.

you on the other hand at this time, were crying as you changed out your bed sheets for the second time that day. it wasn’t necessarily the most comfortable experience to have to explain to a house elf why you needed a bunch of new clean sheets.

dinner soon came, and even then, the boys expected to see you sitting with them, eating and laughing. but, you still hadn’t left that dorm.

so, neville packed some extra food, and the three made a journey to gryffindor tower, just to see if they could break the rules to make sure you weren’t dying. (of course, all three of them were convinced that you were on your death bed.)

they slipped past the prefect, climbing up the stairs to your dorm.

dean was just about to knock when they all heard your voice,

“stop, hermione! please! i don’t care that i missed my classes! i’ve been puking all day, bled on my bed, almost shit my pants four times, so, i really don’t care about snape and what he said about me! piss off!”

seamus’s lips curled, and the sound he let out could only be described as pure disgust. but, neville nudged him,

“she can’t help it. don’t be like that...” he whispered, still not sure if you were alright with visitors at the moment.

“well, i’m sorry! but, dean, neville, and seamus are all worried about you! they—“

that’s when they heard a blood curdling scream, and it sounded exactly like you. it made them jump,

“I WANT TO KILL MYSELF! FUCK!”

“don’t say that! it’s only for a few days, y/n! i told you i would help you with anything you needed!”

“then you can start by fucking off! go away!”

the boys looked at each other,

“maybe—“

“yeah—“

“later.”

they all mutually agreed, and ran down the stairs before hermione had the chance to see them.

they settled in the common room, deciding to do their homework until they knew it was a safe call to go and see you. they all worried about you tremendously, as they had never heard you talk to a fellow friend like that. you simple weren’t that type of person in their eyes. you had always been patient with people, so it was a wonder to them how you loved them so much.

they spotted ginny, walking up to the girl’s dormitories with a glass of ice cream in hand. they naturally assumed it was for you. and truth be told, when ginny entered with a sweet smile on her face, holding the cold treat, you realized you had never been more happy to see a weasley before.

as pathetic as it sounded, you cried to ginny while eating the chocolate ice cream. you sobbed to her about all the events of that day, and the day before. your crush on neville and how you believed he didn’t feel the same, the way that seamus chewed too loudly, and how hermione was too uptight sometimes. she simply listened, knowing that’s all she could really do.

finally, the three boys saw ginny coming down the the glass now empty, and they ran up to her,

“is she okay?”

“what’s happening?”

“can we go and see her?”

she chuckled and shook her head them, “she’s fine, you guys. calm down. i’m not so sure if she’ll want to see you guys, but you guys can sure try.”

they all three looked at each other, slightly terrified.

but, they sucked it up and made their way up again. of course, seamus couldn’t hold back from making a snide comment,

“i swear, if i get a book thrown at my head and end up in the hospital wing with a concussion, i’m blanking it on neville.”

“why me?!” neville scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air,

“because! you fancy her and are the most worried about her! she’s just on her period! is it really that big of a deal?”

before neville could answer, dean cut in, “yes, seamus. it is a big deal. maybe not to us, but to her it is. try bleeding out of your dick for a week while your inside are ripping apart!”

if you would’ve been present, you definitely wouldn’t hugged dean for that one.

they finally arrived, and they argued for a moment over who would be the once to knock on the door. it felt like they were stepping into a death trap. finally, neville agreed to do it.

he did so gently,

“what?” you asked, “who is it?”

dean and seamus eyed each other, definitely panicking.

“erm—it’s... us...”

you groaned, and looked down at your state. you were only in your bra and underwear, trash bucket in your lap, nausea getting the best of you... again.

but, you figured seeing your three best friends would bring you some comfort. this wasn’t their fault, and you didn’t want to take it out on them anymore.

“um... you can come in, but warning! i’m—“

before you could warn them, the door flew open,

“naked...” you breathed out, looking down at the trash can.

they all went wide eyed, and neville covered dean and seamus’s eyes with his hands, and closed his own.

“close the door, you gits!”

neville did so with his foot, still covering everyone’s eyes. you let out a small chuckle at the fact, and shook your head.

“you guys can look, you know. you act like we haven’t been best friends since first year.”

“b-b-but you’re—naked!” dean responded, through neville still keeping his own hand over the boy’s face.

you pursed your lips as you felt vomit climbing it’s way up your throat, “who—“

that’s when they heard it. the violent sound of puking. neville thanked merlin that his eyes were closed, because he probably would’ve puked too.

“who cares?” you breathed out, wiping the slobber from your chin. that’s when seamus took neville’s hand away from his eyes, and realized how you looked.

you looked unrecognizable almost. you looked exhausted, pale, and like you had just been hit by twenty cars at one time. your eyes were all puffy and red from crying, and your hair was definitely not put together like it usually was. makeup was smeared all down your face, makeup from the day before that you simply didn’t have the motivation to get up and wash off. but, seamus couldn’t help but notice your bra and underwear.

“you—“ he chuckled, “you have teddy bears on your undergarments, y/n?”

you clenched your jaw, and tightened your grasp around the trash can, narrowing your eyes at him. his eyes widened,

“kidding! i was only kidding! they suit you well!”

finally, dean shoved neville’s hand off as well, and neville opened his eyes back up reluctantly. neville and dean took in your state, much less of a laughing matter to them, as they were more of the calm friends.

“merlin, y/n... are you alright?” neville asked, approaching you slowly. you shook your head,

“i’m dying...”

the three boys gasped, and you looked at them funny, “i’m kidding... but i feel like i might...”

that settled their nerves a bit, the theory of you dying slowly fading away. you spit in the trash can, and set it back down on the floor. of course, seamus being the curious cat he is, looked in the trash can.

“don’t look at my vomit, finnigan! don’t you have any manners?”

he jumped back, and nodded his head.

“what are you guys doing here, anyway?” you asked, laying down fully on the bed, stomach and legs exposed.

“well—we know—you—you sorta—“

neville sighed at dean’s awkwardness about the whole situation, “we know you’re on your period. and, we know that you’re in a lot of pain. and, we just wanted to come and check up on you.” he glanced at the other two boys, “right?”

“yeah, definitely!”

“totally!”

you giggled at seamus and dean, “oh, what gentlemen. how could i ever thank you?”

seamus couldn’t hold it in. the comment just slipped from his lips,

“well, seeing you in your bra and underwear is thanks enough in my book!” he joked, nudging dean.

surprisingly, the only one who laughed beside seamus... was you. this surprised the boys, as you were sure that would earn seamus that book to his temple, or at least a smack to the face. but, it didn’t.

“see? i told you guys she’s fine! she’s laughing like she always does!”

neville seemed to look over at you for reassurance, just to make sure that seamus hadn’t crossed a boundary with one of his crude jokes. it was something that seamus had done quite a few times, without even realizing it, but it was simply because he didn’t know how to put a filter on. you knew at the end of the day that seamus wasn’t trying to disrespect you. plus, it was something you had go get used to, being one of his best friends and all.

at one point, the boys had eased into the floor, getting things for you if you needed it. seamus even asked why exactly girls even got periods, and you explained it to him in full detail.

“so... like—the inside of your uterus is actually tearing? i thought dean was joking about that!”

you shook your head, “unfortunately, it’s not a joke, finnigan. it’s very real...”

“well, is it this bad for all girls?”

“no, actually. some girls only bleed for a couple of days, and it’s very light. they can go without cramps, puking... lucky bitches!”

that’s when the boys fell silent, even seamus himself. until he raised an eyebrow,

“is it bad that i’m kinda curious? you know—to see how it feels to... bleed... down—there...”

dean furrowed his eyebrows, but neville nodded his head in agreement.

“well, boys... i can’t make you bleed out your dick for seven days straight... but, i can punch you guys in the stomach with full force and show you how cramps feel!”

collectively, they all disagreed, which caused you to fall into a fit of laughter.

“but—it can’t be that bad, right? i mean, everyone can get a stomach ache...” dean questioned, but unsure of what he had just said.

“let me put it to you like this, thomas. imagine the weasley twins sneaking a muggle laxative into your morning pumpkin juice...” you started, “but that stomach pain for a whole week.”

dean put his head down, finally understanding. no wonder you had talked about almost shitting your pants.

that’s when the door swung open, revealing a surprised hermione,

“y/n! where are your clothes?! boys are in here! and plus, they’re not even supposed to be in here, anyway!” she snapped, immediately storming over to your closet, and pulling out a random shirt, throwing it at you.

“but, it’s too hot! and, any tightness hurts!”

“i don’t care! i couldn’t imagine sitting around with ronald and harry with my—lady parts hanging out!”

you chuckled at her hidden shaming, quite used to it by now. “oh, whatever, granger! it’s the same difference as a bathing suit! lighten up!”

seamus and dean snickered at the look on her face, and the way she stormed out.

“she’s right, y/n. not about—you know, we don’t care... but, just—seamus will be talking about it for the rest of his natural life if you keep your clothes off any longer.” neville stated, standing up and taking his sweater off. he passed it to you, making sure not to touch you in anyway that would make you uncomfortable.

you smiled at the kind gesture. sure, it was a sweater, and you probably should choose the lighter t-shirt that hermione had snagged out for you. but, it was neville’s sweater, so, how could you refuse?

you slipped it on over your head, and pulled your hair through the hole. it was quite comfortable, and you were just the right amount of warm and cool. so, it worked out in the end. “thank you, longbottom. that was sweet.”

his face turned red at the small grin etched upon your face, but he shook it off and sat back down on the floor.

you all began talking again, not even noticing when seamus had gotten bored and ancy, and started snooping in your drawers. but, his eyes went wide at the sight of something in your drawer. he picked it up, and stared at it for a moment.

“uh... y/n...” he started, voice a bit shaky, “what’s this?”

he held it up, and you, dean, and neville all looked over.

“that’s a tampon, finnigan. i use it when i’m on my period so the blood doesn’t leak out.”

he took a beat of silence as he connected the dots, and his eyes seemed to widen even more,

“and... you have to put this where exactly?”

[wicked-mind]

The Night We Met

Summary: When Sam catches you and Bucky making-out in the truck, he has some questions. The most important one being how you two met.

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: Swearing, drinking, some talks of boobs. 

All Writings Masterlist

Any and all likes, comments, and/or reblogs are deeply appreciated (: I love that shit.

*Gifs not mine.

A soft whimper escape your lips as you tilted your head back, feeling the kisses slowly move along your jaw and down your neck. Your hands tangled in his dark locks as you press your hips more against his, “Bucky…”

Bucky grins against your neck, nipping softly at your skin. The way his name rolls off your tongue makes him grip your hips tighter in his grasp, slowly starting to move your hips back and forth against his own. He knows exactly how to drive you wild. All his focus is on you that he didn’t even notice Sam approaching the truck from the house until he knocked on the window, causing both you and Bucky to jump slightly. Bucky pulls his lips away from your neck and rolls down the window with one hand, “Uh… Hi Sam…” He said with a small smile through the window as you nuzzle your face into his neck embarrassed.

Sam folds his arms at the two of you. He had suspected Bucky to have a girlfriend with how weird he’s been acting lately with his late night phone calls and random trips that lasted for days but he’s never been able to confirm it until now, seeing you straddling Bucky in the driver’s seat of the truck, “Why don’t you invite your friend inside for a drink? Would love to meet her.” He said with a small half smile, “Five minutes.” 

Bucky watched Sam turn and walk towards the house for a moment before letting out a raspy chuckle, “I think we’re busted, sweetheart.” He murmurs out to you, gently rubbing a hand up your back.

You giggle softly and pull your head back to look into his eyes, biting your bottom lip at the sight of him. He was the most beautifully built man you had ever seen but you loved his eyes the most. They looked at you like you were his world and he would do anything to keep you safe, which you knew he would, “Well, you did bring me here to meet him anyway.” You say softly, lifting a hand to stroke along his cheek gently, “We just got a little distracted.”

Bucky grinned up at you. Every touch you gave him was like fire to his core, intoxicating him. He couldn’t get drunk but god damn, it sure felt like he was drunk on something when you looked at him like that and touched him so sweetly, “We better head in, otherwise I’m not gonna be able to keep my hands off ya.” 

That’s how you ended up sitting by Bucky across the table from his friend Sam, drinking a beer as the two men awkwardly stared at each other as if trying to read each other’s minds. You cleared your throat and smiled, breaking the silence “It’s nice to meet you, Sam. You have a very lovely home.”

Sam looked over to you and smiled, “Thanks, it’s nice to finally meet you too. I knew Bucky was sneaking around for some reason.” He chuckled and shook his head, “So how long have you two been…”

“Sneaking around?” You ask with a small smile before looking over towards Bucky, “Uh, about four months?” 

Bucky nods in agreement and moves one of his hands under the table to your thigh, giving it a soft squeeze. He knew you were nervous just by the way small red splotches started to appear on your neck.

Sam folds his arms and leans back in his chair, his eyes flickering between the two of you, “Four months, huh?” He asks, landing his eyes on Bucky who shifted a little in his chair, “That’s about the time you went to New Orleans… So how’d you two meet?”

You and Bucky look at each other with a small smile.

About Four Months Ago

‘Go explore the world. Live a little.’ Sam had said to Bucky, ‘You’re free now, Buck. Get out there.’

That is exactly how Bucky ended up Bourbon Street in New Orleans in the middle of Mardi Gras in a state of shock while two women had pulled up their shirts to flash him. He didn’t know what to do, they were staring at him like they expected something in return but he was just shocked at what was happening before him with wide eyes and lips parted slightly. He looked like a deer in the headlights except those headlights had nipples.

Luckily, you managed to see the whole ordeal and waltzed on over to the three, pulling some beads off from around your neck and passing them to the two women, “Beautiful ladies!” You tell them as they put the beads on, pulling their shirts back down and stumbling off down the street drunkly. You turn to look at the tall, dark haired man who seemed to relax a little after the women had left, “You aren’t from around here, are you?”

Bucky sighs and shoves his hands in his pockets, “That obvious, huh?” He asks with a small half smile, observing you as you stood in front of him. You had a friendly smile on your face and your neck had many different colored beads around it, “I’m not sure what exactly I stepped in to.”

You chuckle softly and smile at him, “Well, you sort of have this cute lost puppy thing going on. That and you looked like you were going to die from shock from being flashed.” You say, pulling a few strands of the beads from your neck and slowly dropping them over his head to dangle around his neck, “It’s Mardi Gras. Girls get a little crazy and there’s this thing where if they flash you, you give them beads. So here’s these just in case you get trapped by boobs again.”

Bucky blushed but let out a small chuckle, “Thanks for saving me, I guess.” He said before pulling a gloved hand of his pocket and outstretching it to you, “I’m Bucky.”

You smile and shake his hand, “Bucky. I’m guessing that’s not your real name?” You ask, narrowing your eyes a little at his cerulean ones, “I’m Y/N.”

Bucky nods, shoving his hand back in his pocket after you shook his hand, “Yeah, my real name is James.” He said sheepishly, his eyes glued to you, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Y/N.”

You nod, “Well, since you introduced yourself to me as Bucky first, that’s what I’ll call you.” You beamed at him before looking down the street, “The parade will start soon. We should probably get somewhere less crazy. Neither of us have enough beads for the amount of women that’ll be flashing us.” You chuckle, looping your arm around his and starting to walk him down the street, “So, where you from?”

Bucky keeps pace with you, following to wherever you were leading him as long as it was away from more drunk women, “Brooklyn originally but I’ve been staying in Delacroix with a friend.” He said down to you, watching your movements, “How about you?”

You nod as you listen, looking up and over to him as you weave through people, “I lived in Seattle until I turned twenty-four, then moved here. I didn’t do well with the cold and constant grey. I prefer my sunshine and jazz. Not to mention the history and culture here is very intriguing. I love it.”

Bucky nods as he keeps his eyes glued to your face, dodging people without even looking at them as you lead him down the street, “You live in this chaos?” He asks with an amused grin.

“I thrive in the chaos.” You giggle, “But it isn’t like this all the time. We always have tourists but Mardi Gras is the craziest two weeks out of the year.” You stopped in front of a small bar and looked up at him, “C’mon, we’ll be safe in here.” You say before pulling him inside. The front of the bar was packed but you weaved him towards the back and through an archway that said private to find a secondary, smaller bar and took a seat on one of the stools, “What brings you to New Orleans?”

Bucky followed you, weaving through the crowd of bodies into the less packed area before taking a seat on the stool next to you, “Well, I haven’t traveled much except when I’m… working and just finished up some of that work so I have a lot of time on my hands now.” He said softly, “My friend suggested I explore the world.”

“Sounds like a good friend.” You reply before reaching over the bar and grabbing two glasses and a bottle of whiskey, “You like whiskey?” You ask, looking back to him to see him nod with a sort of uneasy look as you reached over the bar. You chuckled softly, “Don’t worry. It’s not stealing. I work here and I’ll make sure to pay for it.” You told him, watching him relax a little as you poured some of the amber liquid into the glasses before setting the bottle onto the bar. You lifted your glass and held it out to him, “Well, cheers to good friends pushing you into the world of New Orleans so you could meet me.”

Bucky smiles and picks up his own glass in his leather gloved hand, cheering your glass before taking a sip of the whiskey. He smiled slightly as he watched you take a sip of yours, your nose crinkling at the burn in your throat. He thought it was cute.

You set the glass down on the bar and licks your lips before looking back to him, “What hotel are you staying at? Just so I can let you know if you need to check for bedbugs.” You giggle.

Bucky squinted his eyes slightly, he knew he forgot something. Sam had showed him how to look at hotels on his phone and how to pay for rooms but he never got around to it, “Uh… No where.” He replied, “I haven’t booked a room so I guess I don’t need to worry about bedbugs.”

You laugh slightly at his response, shaking your head, “Oh, Bucky. You’re never gonna get a room now.” You tell him, “All the hotels are probably booked since it’s the middle of Mardi Gras.” You bit your bottom lip softly as you looked at him, “You could stay with me if you’d like until we manage to find you a room. You don’t want to be wondering the street all night. Besides, that way I can give you the proper tour of New Orleans without the boobs.”

Bucky smiles over at you, thinking your suggestion over before something inside him told him to agree even though he was hesitant, “Alright. Thank you, doll.” He replies, his smile widening when he saw you blush slightly at the name.

After a few more drinks and shared laughs while you two got to know each other a little better, you lead Bucky back to your apartment after he went to his truck and grabbed a duffle bag with his belongings. You watched as he looked around at every detail in your apartment like he was studying his surroundings. After grabbing some pillows and a blanket for him on the couch, you shared a goodnight before going into your bedroom and falling asleep.

The next day, you took Bucky around New Orleans showing him all the sights and sharing the history about the town. He had a constant smile on his face as he listened to you speak about the history, nodding sometimes to let you know he was still actively listening to you. Although it seemed quick, Bucky was falling for you with every word that dripped from your mouth. Your voice quickly became his new favorite sound, especially when you would get lost in a ramble and then blush when you realized you were doing all the talking. The first day together was mostly just you showing him around and how to get back to your apartment in case he wanted to go out on his own. 

The second day together, you took Bucky around to try all your favorite foods. You started with mimosas with chicken and waffles, laughing when Bucky made a bitter face at the orange juice with champagne, making a joke about he must be strictly a whiskey guy which made him smile. You took him to your favorite place to get beignets and when Bucky saw how much powdered sugar was on the pastry, he made a comment about having a heart attack that made you laugh. But beignets quickly became one of his favorite snacks, especially due to the fact you wiped some powdered sugar off his chin and he returned the favor when you got some on your nose. Your night finished up by ordering some take-out gumbo and sitting on the balcony of your apartment as you two ate, watching the people flood the streets as loud jazz music filled the air. 

The third day, you took him to the French Quarter after another beignets stop. Bucky was a little hesitant when you told him there were a lot of psychics that do card readings, palm readings, and other things. He was especially hesitant when you told him that you two should stop to visit your favorite palm reader, telling him that she was freaky good. You offered to go first and Bucky watched the psychic intently as she held your palm in her hand. The psychic, named Iris, told you that you have a very bright future and that your person, whether it be a best friend or a lover, was closer than you thought. Then was Bucky’s turn. He hesitantly pulled off the glove from his right flesh hand and outstretched it to Iris who gently took it in her own, tracing the lines in his palm gently with one of her fingers, “You’ve been through a lot, James. Winter has not been kind to you.” The psychic told him, which shocked Bucky. He hadn’t told her his real name and the fact that she said ‘Winter hasn’t been kind to him’ was like saying Winter was a person. Which it was. It was the past version of him, “Your ghosts want you to know they forgive you, something about it not being your fault. They thank you for your amends.” He swallowed hard before she continued, “You’re on a good path, especially since you decided to come here.” She leans forward a little and hushed her voice so you wouldn’t hear as you looked at some crystals on the gift shop wall, “You’re guide is more important to you than you know. Keep your light close.” She said, nodding over to you before giving a soft smile to Bucky.

After you two left the psychic, Bucky was more quiet than usual since you’ve met him and you wondered what the psychic had told him. You bit your lip as the two of you walked in silence, counting the bricks on the floor to distract yourself from the silence. The sun had started to set when you made it back to your apartment. Bucky immediately went out onto the balcony without saying a word and you stood in the kitchen, pondering what possibly could’ve been said that seemed to close him off slightly from you. You grabbed two beers from your fridge and went out to stand beside him with a small smile, holding one out to him.

Bucky looked over at you as you came out, still pondering what the psychic said to him. The words she said had echoed in his mind since she said them. He took the beer from you with a small half smile and muttered out a soft, “Thanks.” He took the cap off and looked out into the streets, watching people flood them again as they did every night. After a few moments of silence and noticing you shift on your feet awkwardly he turned to look at you, “I’m sorry, doll.”

You swallowed hard as he finally spoke to you, turning to face him and putting on a small smile, “It’s alright, Bucky. I’m the one who should be sorry. You didn’t really want to go see Iris and I pushed you.” You said, leaning your elbows on the banister and looking down at the beer in your hands.

Bucky frowned a little as he watched your movements and listened to the apology that spewed from your lips, your tone almost sad for seeming to offend him. He held his beer on his left gloved hand and placed the other on your back gently, “Y/N, no need to apologize. It was… enlightening.” He said softly and offered a small half smile. And it was. Iris knew things about him she shouldn’t. She knew of his ghosts and his amends. But then she spoke about how important you would be to him, calling you his guide and his light and he wondered if it was fate that he met you, “I had a really good time with you. I’m sort of sad I gotta go back to Delacroix tomorrow.”

You smile over at him, “Me too. I’ll miss having someone to eat beignets with.” You said softly, looking back down at the people in the streets dancing to the loud music, “Good thing it isn’t too far away.”

Bucky kept glancing over at you from the corner of his eye. He honestly didn’t want to leave but if he didn’t, Sam would just come looking for him like the annoying friend he was. He swallowed hard before clearing his throat at an attempt to grab your attention, which he did and he felt nervous butterflies in his stomach as you met his gaze with those beautiful, shining eyes of yours, “Maybe I could come back next week?” He asks, “I mean… I’d like to eat more beignets with you.” He internally flinched at how he sounded before letting out a deep breath, “What I mean is that I would like to see you again… Take you out on a date.”

You smile over at him, turning your body to face his and bit your lip as you listened to him stammer over his words which made you giggle a bit with a small blush to your cheeks, “Now here I thought I was taking you out on mini-dates.” You teased with a smile before continuing, “I’d like that very much, Bucky. You know where to find me.” You said softly, reaching over and taking his hand in yours and together you silently watched the parade in the street while giving small squeezes to each other’s hands.

Present

Sam listened to the story and then held up his hand, “Wait… So you two met because you saved him from…”

“Boobs.” You finish with a chuckle, looking over at Bucky who had this look on his face like he was done with this conversation, a slight pink on his cheeks, “Yup. I saved him from boobs.”

Sam nodded slowly and looked over to Bucky with an amused grin, “So your little ‘escapes’ have been going to see the woman that saved you from boobs.” He said, holding back a laugh.

Bucky glared over at Sam, “It’s not like I was scared. I just didn’t know what to do. They kept staring at me like they earned something.” You and Sam both let out a chuckle which made Bucky look over at you with a half smile at the sound of your laughter. You laughing was his favorite sound, especially when it was because of him.

“The boobs kept staring at you or the women?” Sam asks with a laugh. That earned a groan and an eye roll from Bucky and a laugh from you. Sam folds his arms with the same grin on his lips, “Alright then. Well, we have a spare bedroom. You’re welcome anytime, Y/N. You’ll have to come to one of our cookouts.”

You smile and nod, “Perfect. I’ll bring the beignets.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Permanet Taglist: @buckypops​ @bibliophilewednesday​ @stcrryslibrary​ @redhairedfeistynerd​ @princessnnylzays​

[hongism]

1:58 am - c. jongho 18+

↣ pairing: jongho x fem!reader ↣ genre: fluff, smut ↣ wc: 2.0k ↣ for @ppersonna​​: “HELLO MY BESTIE RATTY PLS JONGHO WITH 25 - Being somewhere you’re not supposed to be 34 - “It’s 2am. Go back to sleep.” ↣ warnings: language, oral sex: f

In your defense, Jongho is both a maniac and insatiable. What started as a lovely movie night between the two of you, with his roommate Yeosang curled up in the armchair by the couch, has quickly devolved into leagues of stress for you and endless amusement for Jongho. Yeosang is (thankfully) off in dreamland and fast asleep despite the movie still going in the background, although that does nothing to quell your current nerves as Jongho’s hand is moving further up by the minute. 

It started at your kneecap, two fingers tracing mindless patterns into your skin under the blanket. Then he slipped to the inside of your knee and clutched tight at your flesh before pulling up the inside of your thigh.

Now, he has a hand basically over your crotch, close enough to make you sweat but far enough away to have you refraining from squeezing your thighs shut over his fingers.

And being a cocky little shit, of course Jongho knows exactly what he’s doing to you — if the smirk curling over his lips is any indication at least. You aren’t about to scar yourself or Yeosang by fooling around on the already stained leather couch in their apartment, as much as you really want to give in to his lingering touches.

You haven’t been paying attention to the movie on the screen for at least an hour, maybe longer than that because you don’t even recall the name of the damn film at this point, and all your focus is honed in on the fingers pressing into your thigh. Jongho won’t stop teasing with his touches either. Every few seconds, he squeezes just enough to startle you into sitting up straight just when you’ve recovered from the last touch. You’re certain he’s trying to seem interested in the movie given the way he keeps making interested noises or scowling at the screen, but then his smirk returns and you know what he’s really up to.

In short, you have had more than enough of his fun and games, growing increasingly frustrated with each passing second. Your body is so pent up and overheated that sweat is pooling at your brow, and that’s what makes you nudge his hand away as a last-ditch effort to save yourself from this teasing hell he’s trapped you in. Yet this isn’t your apartment and you can’t very well escape to his bedroom without looking suspicious to Yeosang. As far as his roommate is concerned, you and Jongho are still just friends, even if there is an ungodly amount of sexual tension lingering between the two of you like this.

Water. Yes, you need water. And where can you get water? The kitchen of course. Perfect plan. You should be safe from Jongho’s antics there, no?

“Feeling alright, Y/n?”

As it turns out, you are very much not safe in the kitchen.

You nearly throw the glass in your hand at Jongho’s head out of sheer shock when he sneaks up on you, creeping into the kitchen behind you like a damn ghost. You manage to hold back from doing that, but a small yelp escapes your lips instead. Jongho laughs at that, continuing to chuckle under his breath even when you try to level him with a sharp glare. He has the audacity to look absolutely delectable at nearly two o’clock in the morning wearing nothing but a stupid black t-shirt and stupid grey sweatpants with his stupid hands shoved deep in the pockets like he wasn’t trying to practically finger you on the couch moments ago.

“I don’t know, am I?” It made sense in your head, although that might be because of the haze of arousal over your brain because once it actually comes out, you’re wondering why the hell you said that.

“Well, you felt more than alright just a few minutes ago.” He’s smiling again, another lascivious grin that has you sinking your teeth into your lower lip.

“Not here,” you hiss back as a last-ditch effort to talk yourself out of this (again).

“Because Yeosang is in the other room? Come on, Y/n, you know half the fun is in the risk of getting caught.”

A scoff passes through your lips, loud enough to resound through the small kitchen.

“You’re insatiable.”

“And you’re painfully aroused. Are we done stating the obvious?”

Throwing this glass at his head is a lot more tempting now, but that would certainly cause a ruckus and Yeosang would wake up in a heartbeat.

“Only because you were fucking feeling me up on the couch like it’s your goddamn job!”

Jongho crosses the kitchen in three seconds flat, suddenly so close to you that you can’t breathe your own air without feeling the heat of his breath against your lips. You stumble back and hit the edge of the counter behind you. Jongho doesn’t give you a moment to recover, catching your wrists in his grip and pressing them hard against the surface of that same counter.

“Careful there, doll, you wouldn’t want to wake anyone up, would you?”

“No, that’s not what I want,” you exhale. It’s not enough to quell the desire in your gut, especially not when Jongho’s fucking thigh is pressed between your legs and leaving you squirming. He knows how you feel about his thighs thanks to an unfortunate admission on your part one night when you had too much alcohol (and unfortunately Yeosang knows too since he was an unwilling participant in that conversation).

“What do you want then? Although, I’m fairly certain that I know.” Again, Jongho’s gaze flicks down over your body, enough to be obvious about the way he’s checking you out from head to toe, but he returns to staring you in the eye after a second.

“Shut up and eat me out already,” you hiss under your breath. In the same sentence, you free your wrists of his grasp and push down hard on his shoulders. It’s nothing compared to his strength — he’s more than strong enough to resist your futile efforts, but he goes along with it anyway and lets you push him to his knees in front of the counter.

“You’re lucky I never make you beg, baby. If I did, you’d never get to cum.”

Tempting, you think, but right now you aren’t in the mood to be edged or teased anymore. Jongho did his fair share of that for over two hours, so all that is on your mind is a release under his skilled tongue.

“Please, Jongho, I’d like to do this before Yeosang wakes up…”

His hands are already curled around your pajama shorts, taking the soft fabric into his grip and pulling down with no resistance. A sharp inhale follows as the cold air hits your nether regions, and Jongho lifts one of your legs up to his shoulder as he bunches your shorts into the palm of his hand.

“Be glad I didn’t take you on the couch right in front of him then.”

Then Jongho is smiling up at you from between your legs, and you would be lying if you said that isn’t one of the hottest things you’ve ever seen in your life. You brace yourself on the counter, knuckles white from the effort of clinging to the marble, and the man beneath you takes his teasing a step further. Soft lips caress the inside of your knee over the spot he clung to for the better part of an hour, then he follows the same path his hand took as well. He doesn’t stop until his nose is flush with your folds, and even then he exhales against you in a way that has a chill rushing down your spine. Your curl away from the counter, unintentionally pressing your hips closer to his mouth in the same fluid motion. It’s enough to make his nose hit your clit dead-on in a way that has a strangled moan escaping your lips. You fling a hand up to your mouth (too late as it does absolutely nothing to conceal the sound).

“Now it sounds like you’re trying to wake Yeosang up, doll.”

“I’d like to see you stay quiet when I’m sucking you off next time.” You manage to smirk a little, just enough to be playful and throw him off a little. He’s just as quick to retaliate, which is both a good and bad thing for you because his next move is to hoist your other leg onto his shoulder, and it takes every ounce of your willpower not to clamp your thighs around his face. You have to bite the side of your thumb to quell the noises bubbling up your throat; your remark seems to have been enough to spur him fully into action, his tongue brushing between your folds until he reaches your hole with practiced ease. You can’t count on one hand how many times you’ve indulged in this — his tongue pressing at your entrance like he has no other purpose in life, eating you out with more enthusiasm than ever, drawing so many noises out of you that it’s getting difficult to keep quiet.

“Jongho?”

The man between your legs freezes but doesn’t move away from your cunt, staring up at you from between your legs without blinking for so long that you think he’s truly stuck like that. Admittedly, you’re stuck where you are too, both because he’s got your legs around his face and on account of Yeosang’s sudden intrusion on your otherwise intimate moment. Your gaze goes straight to the archway to the kitchen. The kitchen island is tall enough to block the view of your lower half, but if Yeosang steps even one more foot into the room, he will certainly see what Jongho is up to. There’s no telling how long it’ll be before he does enter, and you’re watching with peaked anxiety as Jongho sidles up your body into a standing position again.

His hands find your hips, and next thing you know, he’s moving you around and pushing you until your back hits the kitchen island. It protects you from possible exposure to Yeosang, which proves to be a good move on his part because Yeosang pokes his head in the archway a second later. Jongho moves to the side enough to avoid suspicion but you’re still quite nude from the waist down and screwed if Yeosang decides to come further in.

“Oh, there you two are. The movie’s over?” Yeosang says, easing his weight against the doorframe.

“Yeah, you fell asleep pretty early on honestly. But it’s 2 am. Go back to sleep. We’re just picking up some snacks we pulled out while you were asleep.”

You think that excuse is far too easy to see through, especially if Yeosang decides to even so much as glance around the kitchen to see that you are certainly not doing any cleaning whatsoever. You squeeze your eyes shut. Looking at Yeosang right now would be a mistake and you would probably give away what you and Jongho have been up to in the blink of an eye.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. I’m too sleepy to help you anyway. See you in the morning.” Yeosang stifles a yawn, lifting the back of his hand to his mouth, then lets his arms fall into a stretch. He lingers for only one more second before disappearing from the archway. You exhale the second he disappears, shifting to stare Jongho down as your heart continues to race rampantly in your chest without relent.

“That was a fucking mood killer,” you mutter before crossing your arms over your chest. Jongho huffs out a sigh and puffs his cheeks full of air. He stretches a hand out to touch your bare hip again.

“Let me make it up to you?”

[watchmegetobsessed]

IN YOUR MEMORIES

a/n: alright so this was inspired by an amazing fic called Graveyard by @wkemeup​ if you haven’t read it... WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? honestly, i was amazed by the whole idea of having to “pay a price” for a super power and i’ve been really itching to try myself out in this concept, so that’s what this story is. im really excited to share this with you guys so i hope you’ll like it!

pairing: Bucky X Reader

warnings: a hell lot of Bucky’s past pain, a little bit of angst aaand idk im really bad with these warnings

word count: 7.6k

masterlist

“I’ve been trying to figure out an effective way to help him, but it’s been more complicated than I expected. None of my ideas were good enough to even attempt them.” Shuri lets out a frustrated sigh as you stare at the peaceful face of the sleeping man in front of you in the cryo pod. The glass in front of his face is frosty, but you can still make his sharp features out, his chiseled jawline under the stubble, the elegant line of his nose and the thick lashes fanning over his cheeks as his eyes are shut closed.

“His whole mind needs to be rewired, his corrupted memories should be replaced or wiped out so the trigger words wouldn’t work any longer, but I can’t do that on my own.”

Tearing your gaze away from the man you look at her, an apologetic expression adorning her features, because she swore you’d find shelter in Wakanda, a place where you can be just like anyone else and yet, she is now asking you to use your power.

“Do you think he would let me help him?” you ask, glancing back at the man. Bucky, as Shuri called him, doesn’t look as old as he was said to be. A hundred and six years is a lot for a human like him, though he is not as mortal as others on the planet. Shuri told you about the experiments he had to endure through his life and even though you haven’t even touched his mind, you could feel the pain inside you.

“He is desperate to get rid of his dark side, I think he would do anything.”

Reaching up your fingers graze the glass over his face before you plant your whole palm onto it, trying to feel him even under the surface and ice. Eyes shutting close, you take a deep breath as you let your senses open up and find your way to the man.

Because of the cryo pod, you don’t feel him the way you usually do. It’s like he is just an echo in a huge empty room, you can’t make out his whole mind, but he is there. And even with him sleeping under the ice, you still can feel the despair and pain he had to go through as an innocent man. You know he deserves to be saved, he deserves to be freed from his own past and you are his only chance as of right now.

“Wake him up,” you simply tell Shuri before turning around to go back to your room that was assigned to you upon your arrival in the palace.

Bucky doesn’t feel like he has been asleep under the ice for more than just a few hours. It felt like a nap, but in reality he woke up months after the day he closed his eyes.

Shuri welcomed him with the news that the cure has been found and it’s time for him to get rid of the Winter Soldier for once and for all. She didn’t say much about the method, just told him to get ready by the afternoon.  He was never one to question the genius young girl so he just obeyed.

After a hot shower he shaved and took the time to get accustomed to the prototype of the vibranium arm Shuri left for him. It’s not the final version, a lot of details need work, but it’s good enough for his everyday life for a while.

The world hasn’t seemed to change since he last saw it. Wakanda is just as flourishing and vibrant as he remembered, a truly spectacular place in his opinion. He wonders how his friends have been, what Steve is doing, if Natasha is alright… Is Tony still fuming after their last encounter? He probably is.

When it’s time, he leaves his room and heads to Shuri’s lab for their meeting. The guards let him in with just a nod, like he is an old friend and he finds Shuri at her computer as always. The girl beams upon seeing him again, complimenting on his freshly shaved look.

“So what did you invent for me, smartpants?” he smiles at her gently. Bucky owes a lot to Shuri and her brother, they took him in when he wasn’t welcomed anywhere else and now she is about to give him his life back. After this, he’ll forever owe her and her family.

“Well, it’s not my invention this time,” she chuckles shaking her head. Bucky is about to question her when the doors open again, both of them turning in the direction just to see you walk in. His eyebrows knit together at the sight of you, not entirely sure what it’s supposed to be. “Mr. Barnes, let me introduce you to Y/N. Y/N, this is Sergeant Barnes.”

You walk closer, Bucky’s icy blue eyes are glued to your form as you stop a few feet away from him, holding out a hand shyly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Sergeant James Barnes,” you smile softly as his flesh hand takes yours and shakes it gently.

Bucky is enamored with you instantly. He has never seen someone as delicate, soft and charming as you are, your whole aura just demands his attention and he wants to know everything about you. But he also notices that though you look a lot like any other human on the planet, he is convinced you are not from Earth.

What he doesn’t know is that the moment your hands touch, you can hear his thoughts and you can’t push down your smile at how well he is at inspecting his surroundings.

“Just call me Bucky, please,” he nods before your hands let go of each other and his thoughts quiet down again in your head.

“To answer your suspicion, I’m rorm a planet called Lortena. Life on my planet looks a lot like humans here on Earth, but our lifespan is a little longer and some of us have gifts, as my mother always liked to call them.”

“How did you—“ “How did I know what you thought?” you ask with a small smile, finishing his sentence as he nods in complete awe. “I’m what you might call… a mind reader. But my abilities go a little farther than just reading minds,” you admit and his lips part at the revelation.

Bucky glances over at Shuri, part of him thinking it’s some kind of joke or witchcraft, but the girl smiles back at him with an assuring nod.

“Why don’t we sit down and have a chat? I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” Shuri suggests patting Bucky’s shoulder before the three of you head into her conference room.

Though you’re not touching Bucky, you can sense his confusion and hunger to learn more about you. He is curious about what else you are capable of and though the news about your abilities are still quite odd to him, you can tell that he isn’t trying to shut you out entirely. He just has some reservations for now.

Bucky knows it’s rude to stare, but he can’t stop himself from inspecting you. Knowing that you are not from this planet is already enough for him to get his mind racing, especially because you look just like any other humans on Earth. But the little trick you did on him was enough of a convincing for him to believe that you are from somewhere else.

The three of you sit to the table and Shuri takes the lead to start the conversation.

“While you were asleep, Sergeant, life went on and we had a lot going on,” she smiles, her eyes falling on you. “Y/N is a refugee from her planet, Lortena. There’s a war going on there and she was sent away because she was a primary target. She wasn’t supposed to end up here, but there was a little mishap during her journey and landed in Wakanda.”

“Are you targeted because of your… powers?” Bucky asks, hoping he is not asking anything offensive.

“No,” you shake your head. “It’s because I’m the king’s daughter.”

“Oh!” he breathes out.

Great, so she is not only a breathtakingly beautiful creature with superpowers, but she is royal as well, he thinks to himself.

“And how… where do your… powers come from? Is that a usual thing on your planet?”

“Not quite,” you chuckle softly.

You give a glance at Shuri who nods and brings up a hologram of Loki’s scepter with the mind stone in it. Bucky is already familiar with them, but he is curiously listening to find out what it has to do with you.

“Long before the mind stone was trapped into the scepter, it was in our possession. We used it as out main power source, kept locked away from preying eyes and hands. We all knew it’s capable of more than what we use it for, but we didn’t want to risk it and use it for the wrong purposes.”

The hologram changes and now the mind stone is on display on its own.

“But not everyone agreed with that. A couple hundred years ago there was a war for the stone. Though our people sacrificed everything to protect it, they didn’t succeed entirely. Unfortunately, the attackers didn’t know how great the stone’s power is. In the midst of the chaos, there was an explosion caused by the stone. Almost everyone present was killed, only seven survived and they were blessed with different powers coming from the stone.”

Bucky’s lips part as his eyes flicker over to you from the stone in the middle of the table, while you are staring at the hologram remembering back the stories your parents told you growing up. He feels like he is being shared with an ancient legend, a piece of history that is a privilege to know.

“The powers they were gifted with were held at great heights after the war was over. And while some of them could pass it on to their children, some couldn’t. The seven became four, then just two and there was one left. My grandmother. When my father didn’t show any signs of the stone’s power it was believed the magic was gone forever, but then I was born and…”

“And you had the powers,” Bucky chimes in, completely in awe of your origin story. You nod with a shy smile as the hologram of the stone disappears in the middle of the table.

“Yes.”

“And why is there a war on your planet right now?”

“Because though it’s been a miracle that I inherited my grandmother’s powers, the people want to get the stone back and have more of its powers. Unfortunately, the stone was lost through the years and I was informed that Thanos got a hold of it some time ago,” you explain, turning to Shuri for assurance about the accuracy of your words and she nods. “Who then gave it to Loki and now it’s in the scepter. People were demanding my father to start a war for the stone to get it back to Lortena, but he refused to sacrifice his army to get the stone back from a titan.” Sighing you lean back in your seat as you think about your home, your family that was left behind when your father sent you away because he was afraid the rebels would use you to get to him.

“The stone is not at Thanos’ any longer,” Bucky speaks up and your eyes find him as you snap out of your thoughts.

“I was informed of that as well. It’s um… it’s Vision’s now, right?” They both nod. “Well, the rebels think it’s Thanos’ and you better hope it stays that way. Because if they figure out that the titan doesn’t have it any longer, they won’t hesitate to attack you for the stone.”

Bucky’s jaw clenches at the thought of another war to take part in, but also because you had to go through such terrible events because of other’s greediness.

“I’ve been trying to find a solution to help you since you’ve gone to sleep, but I wasn’t able to come up with any,” Shuri speaks up. “But then Y/N arrived and I think she could be the one to do the job.”

“You think you can do that?” Bucky asks, eyebrows pulled together. “What else can you do, other than reading minds?”

You feel hesitant revealing the depths you’re able to reach with your abilities and you’re afraid he would find it too invading after everything he has been through. You want to help him but he has to let you. Though you’re powerful, if someone resists your attempts, the outcome won’t be the same as if they cooperated.

“If you let me… I can change your memories. I can make them appear differently in your head so what they did to you won’t have an effect on you any longer.”

Bucky’s jaw twitches. He has no idea what he was expecting, but not this for sure. Letting another person get into his head, play with his mind like it’s just a toy, it’s something he vowed not to let anyone do it again. But as he stares back at you, he can tell the difference between you and the monsters who ruined his head before. He is at a safe place and everyone here wants what’s good for him.

“It only works if you let me do it,” you add and notice how he presses his lips together into a thin line.

“I would do anything to get rid of him. So… I’m in,” he nods at last and you let out a relieved sigh.

You’ve never tried to corrupt so much of someone’s memories before and you’re not sure how long it will take to complete the task so you requested to start the next day, giving you some time to get ready physically and mentally and of course, for Bucky to get himself ready for his mind to yet again get taken apart by someone else.

Not having much to really do since your arrival other than helping Shuri out occasionally at the lab or giving assistance for T’Challa around the palace, you’ve been able to explore your temporary home in the heart of Wakanda.

There is a hidden terrace near your room, one that’s not well-known even by the people living in the palace and you like the peace and calm whenever you are out there, surrounded by flowers and plants in hand-painted pots, some of them were made by yourself, watching over the breathtaking view of Wakanda in front of you, the sky turning from bright blue to shades of orange, pink, purple and eventually black as the Sun goes down behind the hills.

Tonight, this is where you are seeking peace again, sorting your thoughts out about what you’ll have to face tomorrow. Your power has a lot of benefits but it has its curses as well. You’ve only attempted to do something similar before and you had to learn the hard way what price you have to pay for having control over someone else’s mind, thoughts and memories.

Your brother was tragically killed in an uprising when he was only seventeen and you were ten. It was the result of a series of unfortunate event, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, no one could help him. Your mother broke under the pain of losing her own child and you listened to her cries every and each night for months before you decided that you needed to help her. She didn’t want to let you even try, afraid it might take too much of you to help her, but you insisted and she eventually gave in. You altered her memories and feelings about your brother’s death, only left her with the ones that bring her joy and happiness, but your gesture demanded a price you weren’t ready to pay.

Upon your own grief for your brother, you had to bear your mother’s as well, the pain of two people clutching your heart and mind in return for your mother’s happiness. You never told her how you cried yourself to sleep every night for an entire year, how you could barely control your dark flashbacks and the constant darkness that was pulling you down. No one knew what you had to go through just to see your mother smile again and you made sure it stayed that way. However, you didn’t dare to do it again, not entirely sure if you could handle the pain one more time.

You surprised yourself when you offered your help to Bucky. You don’t even know him, yet you are willing to take his pain and make it yours just so he can live a somewhat normal life. Though his memories and nightmares won’t torture you as long as they would have did with him, you’ll still have to fight his demons and he won’t even know it. Then why are you doing this?

You have no answer to that. Seeing him for the first time you just had a feeling that you have to do it, that he is worthy of it all and that you want to be the person to free him.

The glass door opens behind you as you’re watching the Sun disappear on the horizon and you’re surprised to see Bucky walk out to the terrace, stopping in his tracks once he notices you sitting on one of the wooden chairs.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think anyone would be here,” he mumbles, his gaze snapping down at the floor.

“That’s what I thought too,” you chuckle.

“I’ll leave you—“ he starts, ready to leave, but you stop him.

“You don’t have to. Feel free to join,” you tell him, gesturing towards the other chair. His hesitation is clear at first, but then he closes the door behind him and sits beside you.

Bucky watches the sunset in awe, but he can’t shake his curiosity towards you, having to control himself not to stare at you as he tries to figure you out. You’re not the only one who doesn’t understand why you’re doing this major gesture for him, he’s spent the afternoon trying to find any alternative motives that might explain your willingness to help him. He couldn’t find any and it left him with even more puzzles in his tortured head.

“What is it like on your planet?” he finds himself asking, breaking the long silence between the two of you.

“It’s not too different than here,” you admit truthfully. “Though our technology is a little more advanced,” you add with a soft chuckle. “In a way I’m happy I ended up here, because Wakanda reminds me of my home.”

“You miss it, don’t you? Your home?”

“Who doesn’t?” you ask with a soft smile and Bucky nods. He misses his home too, but in his case, it’s not a place but a time, decades ago, when he was his true self instead of the monster Hydra forced him to become.

“I’m sure it’ll be nice to return once the war is over,” he hums to himself and he expects a warm and positive reaction from you, however all he sees is pain and sadness in your eyes. “What is it?”

You hesitate to share it with him, staring back at him you think about keeping your thoughts to yourself, but how could you expect him to let you get into his head if you don’t share your thoughts with him willingly?

“Bucky, I don’t think I’ll ever return to my planet,” you breathe out as your gaze moves back to the scenery in front of you, the burning disk of the sun already hidden behind the hills.

“What do you mean?”

“The ship I came with can’t be fixed and they don’t know that I ended up here. It would take them too long to find me here and that’s if… If my family will be alive by then. I have no idea what’s happening there right now, if the rebels are winning or my father is able to keep things under control. I see very little likelihood of my return.”

Bucky’s heart aches for you, knowing well the pain you feel, he finds it ironic how the both of you are stuck so far away from your homes, seeking shelter at the same place at the same time.

He thinks it’s fate.

“What’s your favorite memory from your home?” he asks and you turn to him with soft and shining eyes. He is expecting you to tell him about it, but instead you decide to show it.

Grabbing his hand that’s closer to you, you bring it up to your face and make him cup the side of your head, his thumb brushing against your cheekbone as you close your eyes and recall the memory, planting into his head as well, taking him back, like the two of you could travel time and space just that easily.

Bucky can barely believe what he is experiencing but he finds himself inside your memory and it all seems so real, as if it was happening in the moment. He is standing in the middle of a meadow filled with luscious, green grass and some kind of flowers, whites and purples and yellows dancing in the soft breeze. At first he thinks he is alone, he doesn’t see you anywhere around him and then he spots a woman in a long, light pink dress, her hair waving behind her in the gentle summer breeze and then he spots a little girl running behind her.

Bucky walks closer to the woman, but she doesn’t acknowledge his presence, she doesn’t even look his way and when he reaches out to touch her arm, his hand goes right through her figure, as if she was just a ghost.

The little girl finally catches up with the woman, a handful of flowers in her hands and when looks up Bucky realizes that it’s you as a child. Your main features can still be found behind the round cheeks and pouty lips.

“Mom! I picked these for you!” your younger self beams, holding the little bouquet of flowers up to your mother, who takes it with a bright smile.

“So beautiful, my love!” she hums, sniffing the flowers as you giggle at her. “But why don’t we use them for something?”

“For what?” you ask with a curious look and Bucky can’t help the smile on his face. It’s such a pure and joyful memory, he almost wishes it was his.

Your mother sits down in the grass, her skirt fanning over her in a circle as she pulls you down to her lap with your back facing her before she combs her fingers gently through your hair and starts braiding it, sticking the little flowers into the braid as she moves down. You start singing some kind of song, one Bucky doesn’t know, and your mother smiles brightly at your chiming voice. She braids with so much care and precision, at the end it looks perfect and very much princess-like with the flowers littering around.

“There. Now you are a bouquet of flowers yourself, my love” she smiles at you, kissing your cheek before letting you out of her arms, watching you dance around in your dress, singing to yourself without a care in the world.

Bucky wants to stay there, more than anything and see more of your younger version and your mother, but he is abruptly pulled back into reality when you pull his hand back from your face and the connection stops. His eyes snap open and they find yours, so enamored and in awe of what he just experienced, he feels like he was let in on a secret no one else knows in the world.

“Wow. That was… amazing,” he breathes out as his hand drops back to his lap while you just smile back at him shyly. “Is that… Is that what it’s gonna be like when you…?”

“Not quite,” you shake your head. “You won’t feel anything, you’ll just have to think back to all the memories you want to be changed or wiped. I’ll be the one stuck in your memories like you were in mine. And from inside, I’ll be able to change them.”

“Will I know later which ones were altered or they won’t be different at all?”

“There’ll be… a kind of shine to them when you’ll think of them after that. It’s gonna be the only tell that they were touched by me. But I won’t change anything you don’t give your consent to.”

Bucky nods, having answered his biggest concerns about tomorrow. Now he feels like he trusts you completely and you’ll be the first person he can open his mind up to without a worry.

No matter how much you tried to get yourself ready for what you’d see in Bucky’s head, nothing could have prepared to the pain and darkness he had to endure during his oddly long human life. All the torture, the blood, the hurt and fear of death, it all comes down crashing on you even after the first session you have with him.

It breaks your heart that such a sweet soul had to go through Hell innocently and now he has to live with everything he was forced to do against his will. You can only hope that the people who did this to him have gotten their rightful punishment.

The first time the two of you sit down to start his treatment you get stuck in his head for hours, going through memories and altering them to take away anything that is connected to the trigger words. You witness the time he was captured and the first time he was sat into the chair that broke him. You can’t help the tears rolling down your face as you use all your power to change the memory and leave him with just a faded picture of his cell and held captive. Bucky asked you not to wipe them entirely, leave him with reminders of what made you be the way he is today and that’s exactly what you do.

When you finally come back you almost faint from exhaustion, Shuri catches you right in time before you could fall off the chair in front of Bucky’s who is equally dizzy, but he still manages to reach out and grab your hand to help you steady yourself. You feel drained and almost tortured, Bucky’s memories imprinting into your own head and you already know they will haunt you for quite some time. Not as long as your mother’s grief did, you were just a child back then and you couldn’t control your power that well, but even though you’ve learned to use your abilities, it will still take a couple of months for you to get rid of the horrors you saw in Bucky’s head.

Bucky sees how broken you look after just the first session and he doesn’t want to believe you’ll be strong enough to finish what you started.

“It’s fine,” you assure him when he asks you again in the evening if you surely want to continue. “I just have to rest and we can go on,” you tell him, giving his arm a squeeze before returning to your room.

That night, you wake from a burning nightmare with a scream, gripping onto the sheets with terror running through your veins. In your dream, you were the one strapped to that chair, going through all the pain Bucky had to bear decades ago. It was vivid and torturous and you know it’s going to return.

But you’re determined to finish the work and you do it over and over again, every day for the next couple of weeks. You go through all of Bucky’s darkest memories, altering and changing them until there’s nothing left from the Winter Soldier in him, just some faint and blurry pictures of him being held by his captors. You take all the pain and let it sink its claws into your own head, clouding your mind with darkness.

Bucky can feel the change in himself instantly after the first time you get into his head and a few days later he sleeps through the night for the first time in forever, oblivious to the fact that not far away from his room, you are fighting his demons every night so he can have his peace.

He is always the one to help you back into your room after an exhausting session and he wakes you up with breakfast in the mornings, always making your favorite. You tell him it’s not necessary, but he insists that this is the least he can do for everything you are doing for him, and he doesn’t even know the worst things you endure for his happiness.

He is always the one to request days off from the treatment, not for himself, but for you. He sees how trying it is and though you would never ask for time off, you don’t have to, because Bucky does it for you. Every third or fourth day he tells you he needs some time to heal and get used to his new mindset, but he just wants you to rest and recharge and though you know it too, you appreciate the gesture.

Some days he asks you to join him for walks just to get you out of the palace and you gladly say yes, desperately needing something to bring the light back into your life and it doesn’t take long to realize that Bucky is that light that can ease the heaviness of the pain you are fighting.

You love seeing his smile as the first thing in the morning, you love how he squeezes your hands every time before you dive into his head and how insists to carrying you to your room even when you’re perfectly capable of walking on your own. You love how chivalrous he is always, something Shuri told you was more common in the times he was born and you adore it that it’s a piece of his past self still present after everything he’s been through.

Bucky is the only one who can pull you out of the dark hole you’ve been stuck in and you promised yourself that you’ll never tell him the price you had to pay for his happiness, because he deserves every ounce of it and you wouldn’t want anything to cloud over it, not even your misery.

It takes five entire weeks to go through everything that turned him into the Winter Soldier and then the day to test if it has worked finally comes. Shuri has made sure to have a capsule ready for the test, one that would keep him under control in case you didn’t succeed and he would be triggered by the words he already knows too well.

“Are you sure I won’t hurt anyone?” Bucky asked cautiously as he was strapped into the capsule, a good majority of the Dora Milaje guarding the lab as well in case the test goes wrong, but both you and Shuri are optimistic about it.

“Calm down, Sergeant. We can handle you,” Shuri jokes before finishing up. “Alright, I’m gonna close this now, but you’ll be able to hear us and we’ll hear you as well,” she informs him and he just nods as she closes the capsule, securing him inside.

You sit on the side, but still close enough to see his face in the capsule. His icy blue stare finds yours and you give him a soft, encouraging smile. You do believe he won’t be triggered and not just because of what you did, but because he has a strong will and if there’s still any part of the Winter Soldier in him, he’ll be able to come over it.

“Okay, ready for the words?” Shuri asks him and breathing out he nods, closing his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

“Желание,” comes the first word through a speaker and you hold your breath as you stare at his face through the capsule.

“Ржавый. Семнадцать,” the words carry on and you see him squeeze his eyes a little, fear taking over you that he might break, but it never happens. “Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Добросердечный…”

The trigger words ends and your lips part when his eyes open, noticing the tears in them as he finally realizes that he didn’t turn. The Winter Soldier is finally gone.

“Congratulations, Sergeant. You’re free,” Shuri announces as she opens the capsule and lets him out, sobs shaking from his chest before he is freed from the straps and able to step out of the capsule.

He is quick to rush over to you and wrap you in his embrace, both of you sobbing and crying and you hold onto him tight, as if he was just a memory that could vanish any moment, but he is there, flesh and metal, the Bucky you know and adore so much.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he keeps repeating as his vibranium fingers tangle into your hair at the back of your head.

It’s been over a week of freedom for Bucky and he hasn’t felt better in his life, well, not in this decade. Without the sessions, he now has quite some free time on his hands that he prefers to spend with you, actually.

The two of you have been joined at the hips since his recovery and not just because Bucky feels like he owes his life to you, but because you both can’t help falling for the other in the light of your newly found friendship that’s starting to slowly turn into more.

Bucky hasn’t been shy about showing his adoration and gratitude towards you, not after you’ve seen the darkest side of him and could still look at him the same way. He feels like he has bared his entire soul to you and you accepted it gladly, so there’s no need to beat around the bushes.

However you’ve been still trying to keep him away from the secret you’re hiding. He can’t find out about the nightmares, the screams and the tears you shed every night when his demons come for you. You can’t let him get close enough to see the price you paid for his own happiness. But even with all the cautions you’ve been keeping, you still can’t stop fate from finding its way.

One night Bucky is staying up late, binge watching a series Shuri has recommended for him. He didn’t intend to stay up so late, but before he could realize how fast the time has passed, it was already past two in the morning.

Shutting the laptop down he decides to get himself some water before finally going to sleep. Padding his way down the dark and quiet hallways in only a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, he unintentionally takes the route that goes past your room. He didn’t plan on dropping by, knowing you’re probably asleep by now, just wanted to feel that sense of closeness even in the middle of the night, but his original plans immediately change when he hears your deafening scream coming from the other side of the door.

His blood freezes in his veins and he is quick to turn into combat mode, ready to fight whatever is threatening your life, but as he pushes his way into your room he doesn’t find any intruder, it’s just you, curled up on your bed and even under the thick layer of covers, he can see how badly you’re shaking, your beautiful face churned into a painful frown as you keep your eyes shut.

He immediately realizes that you’re having a nightmare.

He rushes over to the bed and sits to the edge, the mattress dipping underneath his weight as he carefully places a hand to your trembling shoulder.

“Y/N! Y/N, wake up!” he softly shakes you, trying to get you back to consciousness, but you keep tossing and whimpering, a thin layer of sweat covering your skin.

“No, no, please! I’m not the Winter Soldier!” you cry out and Bucky freezes, his jaw clenching at your words, an eerie feeling running down his spine.

“Y/N, it’s just a dream, wake up!” he tries again and your eyes finally shoot open.

Though you’ve woken up, you don’t instantly see what’s really happening around you and you are quick to flinch away from Bucky, pushing yourself to the far end of the bed as you stare back at him with fearful, wide eyes.

“It’s just me. It’s alright, it’s me, Bucky,” he softly reminds you holding his hands up so you can see them. Your chest is heaving and your hands are gripping the sheets so tight, your knuckles are turning white.

“Bucky,” you breathe out and he nods.

“Yeah, it’s me. You had a bad dream, I heard you scream.”

Letting out a shaky breath you close your eyes and try to shake the vivid images that haunted you tonight out of your head, with not much success. Tonight you were beaten up in a cold and dark cell, the man kept telling you that you’re just a monster, a soulless nobody as he kept hitting you before he reached for a weapon that sent electricity through your body until it was too numb to move at your will.

You know it was one of his memories, because you’ve seen this scene before in his head and you remembered it clearly. Only that last time you saw it happen to him and now you were the victim.

“Fuck,” you breathe out, loosening your muscles as you gain your contact back with reality.

“What was the nightmare about?” he quietly asks and your gaze snaps up to meet his. You can’t read his icy blue eyes and for a moment you think about touching him so you could hear his thoughts, but you promised yourself you would never use your powers on him.

“Just… some nonsense stuff,” you lie shaking your head.

“Didn’t sound like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you beg to someone, telling them that you’re not the Winter Soldier.”

His face hardens as he inspects you while you try your best to hide anything that would tell him more about what you’ve been keeping from him.

“I don’t… I don’t remember it,” you shrug, scooting closer to him as you fix your pillows.

“Y/N, I don’t need superpowers to know that you’re lying,” he retorts and you almost flinch at his words. “Are you having nightmares because of what you saw… in my head?”

For a split second you think about lying. You think about telling him that it’s just because of what you saw and not tell him the real reason of your nightmares, but guilt has been already eating you away for not telling him and you wouldn’t be able to lie straight into his face. So you shake your head and your eyes meet his icy gaze again.

“I’m having… your nightmares.”

He looks confused, eyebrows knitted together as he is tasting your words, not entirely sure about what you meant by them, so you go into the details you’ve been keeping hidden from him.

“I can’t just take memories away and turn them into nothing, Bucky. Memories can only vanish if they get forgotten with time,” you start explaining, hoping you can paint the picture as realistic as possible. “When I changed your memories, I took parts away and… made them mine. And now I have to be the one to fight and forget them, but it happens faster for me than it would have happened to you,” you quickly add, as if it could make it any better.

“Why didn’t you tell me this is the cost of my recovery?” he snaps, clearly mad at you and he has every right, but you just wanted to save him. “I would have never let you do it if it meant you’d be the one to suffer for me, Y/N!”

“I had the chance to help you, I wanted to give you the freedom you deserve!” Tears are stinging your eyes as you stare at his harsh expression, the soft and joyful Bucky you’ve seen these past weeks is now gone.

“But it’s not worth it if you are being tortured by my memories now!”

“It was worth to me!” you snap back, a tear rolling down you cheek. “I might have been selfish for keeping you the details of what it would take to free you, but now you are the one who is being selfish, because you wouldn’t have let me help you if you knew and that’s exactly why I didn’t tell you! I chose to do it and I knew what I was getting myself into and I knew what it’s gonna cost.” More and more tears run down your heated cheeks, soaking your skin before they drop to your shirt or the sheets covering your lower half. Bucky stares back at you in disbelief as you reason about why you did it exactly. “You deserved this second chance and I was your only chance. If I didn’t do it for you, I would have had to live with the guilt forever that I let an innocent man suffer. It’s a small price for the happiness I was able to give you.”

Bucky is in total shock. He has had Steve do selfless shit for him plenty of times, hell, he wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for him, but what you did is just above everything that’s been ever done for him and he is having a hard time accepting that anyone would put up with so much pain and suffering for him willingly. He can’t decide if he wants to scream and shout at you for being so stupid or if he wants to fall to his knees and glorify your name till the end of times.

When you realize that he won’t snap at you again, you carefully scoot closer until you can reach out and touch his face, but you don’t even try to read his thoughts. Not this time. You let his thoughts wrapped in the darkness of the unknown. Bucky melts against your touch, his eyes fluttering closed for a few moments.

“You shouldn’t have done this, Y/N.”

“But I did,” you breathe out with a bitter chuckle. “And it can’t be undone, so you better accept it.”

He cracks a tiny smile, but it quickly vanishes as a thought pops into his head.

“If you have the memories that made me into the Winter Soldier, how come you don’t get triggered by the words?”

“I might own your memories now, but there’s a natural bond with the original owner that can’t be taken. It’s what makes them so vivid and real for you, but it will never be as real to me. The trigger words have no power over me, because the memories are not mine, I don’t have the bond with them.”

“But you still have the nightmares. My nightmares,” he breathes out, a hint of disappointment ringing through his tone, though you’re not sure if it’s because of what you did or because he couldn’t stop you from it.

“They will go away,” you assure him, but you can tell that his guilt is eating him away. “Bucky, I’ll be fine. A few weeks, at max a month and they will be gone. I promise you.”

“You don’t deserve this,” he mumbles under his breath as his hand reaches for yours, squeezing it gently before he brings it to his lips and kisses your knuckles softly. “You don’t deserve any of it.”

“But you deserve happiness,” you reply with a chaste smile that makes his heart flutter in his chest. “Let me give it to you. You’ve had enough pain, Bucky. I’ll take the rest now.”

Bucky stares back at you for a long second before he decides to do whatever he can to make sure you get through it as easily as possible. Pulling the covers back he slides under them, lying down next to you as he pulls you into his embrace.

“Go back to sleep and if you’ll have another nightmare, I’ll be here to wake you up from it and get your mind off of it. You’re safe with me,” he murmurs, as you lay your head to his hard chest, his flesh arm curling around your frame while his vibranium fingers lace together with yours on his stomach. You don’t try to protest against him, you know he won’t leave and quite frankly, you don’t want him to. Knowing that if you go back to the darkness again he’ll be here to pull you out relaxes you, doesn’t let you worry about what kind of horrific scene you are going to be forced to see when you close your eyes next. You melt against him, inhaling his scent, listening to his steady heartbeat under your head as you let yourself go back to sleep, for the first time, ready to face whatever is waiting for you on the other side.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed it!

[implexaanima-a]

@akairyoku​ said:  1. Love, Idek where to start. First, ur writing’s amazing. The way u write details and just come up with ideas as if it’s the most simplest thing – ur endless creativity and just all this love for ur muses that shines through, it’s so heartwarming and always brings a huge smile to my face. U have made me fall in love with a character that I thought, I would never love. And has made him come alive in ur writing which is just wow. U know who I am speaking about, but Kai isn’t the only one.

2. Every muse u write has so much life to them and merely seeing them on my dash makes me smile, even when I am merely reading ur rps. U have always been a wonderful person to me, even before u blessed me with something as breathtakingly beautiful as ur love. Even before u became my precious raven, u always warmed me with ur presence and was there when I needed someone. U’re amazing, not that I haven’t told u a million times (which will happen a million and a million times more cos u deserve it)

3. U’re always there for people when they need a hand and I couldn’t be prouder to call u my gf. Thank u for being in my life and for gracing me with ur love and just u, u’re just so amazing & I love u so much ❤︎❤︎❤︎

Honest Anon ? || Always Accepting

help me, my girlfriend is the sweetest, most adorable, kindest in the world TT_TT I HAVE SO MANY FEELS. not shown: me crying

[stuff-from-the-void-matron]

Oh Baby!

(baby!Tommy x motherly!Reader)

(lets see if this gets any attention. if it does i’ll see about doing other characters as babies! maybe wilbur or techno lol.)

--------

You were minding your own business, just relaxing at home in L’Manburg with a good book and some of your favorite drink. But the peace and quiet was all at once interrupted by frantic knocking at your front door. Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked at the front entrance, wondering as you got up who in the world could be knocking so hard on the door.

You cautiously went over and raised an eyebrow when you heard… crying and then the sound of someone running away? Now more confused than ever you tentatively cracked the door open and looked around but didn’t see anyone. Though the crying was still close and when you looked down your eyes widened at the sight of a covered basket sitting innocently on your front porch. 

The crying slowed to only whimpers but it was definitely coming from the basket and you hurried to pull the door open all the way and lean down to check the abandoned basket. But you hesitated when you saw a slip of paper stuffed in the side of it. You pulled it out and quickly read it, and felt your stomach drop when you read out loud,

“Reader. IDK what happened. Tommy and I were dungeon hunting and there were skeletons shooting at us and he didn’t have a shield and got hit with a tipped arrow of some kind and then he turned into a baby. I can’t handle kids but you seem like you could. Don’t worry, it should wear off eventually. But don’t tell Philza, he’ll probably kill me. -Quackity.”

You let out a confounded ‘what the fuck?!’ then finally pulled the blanket off the basket and froze when you looked into a VERY familiar pair of bright blue eyes. Only instead of being on a teen boy’s face they were on a little baby’s face. A baby face that was streaked with tears. Your shocked face softened when you saw how distressed the little guy was. Without thinking about it too hard you reached down and scooped the little bundle up into your arms.

Tommy stared up at you with his wide watery blue eyes and sniffled before whimpering again. You cooed at him and began to rock him in your arms, trying to soothe his distress as best you could. 

“Oh no baby, shhh, it’s okay. I’m here. C’mon, let’s get you inside,” you said as you brought him and the basket in. 

You noticed he wasn’t actually wearing anything and the only thing keeping him covered was the blanket he’d arrived in. So first things first you crafted him some cloth diapers and got him cleaned up and changed. Then you held him up in front of you and smiled while you baby talked to him.

“Oh there we go! All dressed huh? Not nakey no more!”

Tommy giggled and kicked his chubby little legs and reached for your face. You pulled him close so he was snuggled to your chest and he instantly used one hand to grab some of your hair, but thankfully he didn’t yank on it and just held it. While his other hand patted your face while he babbled.

You wondered if Tommy could understand you, or if he had any memories of before he was turned into a baby. Then you wondered how long he’d be like this, or… if he’d go back to normal at all. But when Tommy started fussing you let those thoughts drift to the back of your mind so you could take care of him, for as long as he needed you.

-0-

Turns out he’d been hungry so you’d warmed him up some milk, which he’d more than eagerly drank til there was nothing left. Then you’d had to burp him, which was cute and thankfully he’d not thrown up on you at any point. He was a cute little baby but nobody wants baby barf on them.

But now you were playing with him on the carpet, doing the ‘this little piggy’ game on his toes (which he apparently loved more than anything) and each time you’d recite a line about a ‘piggy’ you’d wiggle one of his toes. He was giggling and watching you with bright eyes, knowing when you got to the last piggy you’d tickle his feet. 

You played with him well into mid day, but then you noticed him getting fussy again. And he’d eaten not too long ago so you doubted he was hungry again. You also checked his diaper but he was clean, which meant he was sleepy. So you scooped him up and started walking to your bedroom, rubbing his back and telling him it was nap time. He continued to fuss as you closed the curtains and shut off the lamp. There was still enough light to where you could see but it was dim enough to make sleeping easier.

You got into bed and laid on your side and nestled him so he was on his back with his head laying in the crook of your arm, making sure he was between you and the wall for safety. He didn’t want to sleep it seemed because he started whining and kicking his feet, clearly upset. But you shushed him and hummed to try and get him to settle down. It didn’t work though and he continued to fuss. You sighed and thought back to how your mom said she got you to go to sleep. 

So you turn him on his side so he was facing you and then start to gently run your nails up and down his back in a soft scratch. Your mom swore by this, it could put any baby to sleep. And true to her word the moment you started scratching Tommy’s back his eyelids drooped and he yawned. Soon his eyes closed all the way but you kept scratching until you could tell his breathing had evened out. 

You stopped scratching and waited a minute to see if he’d wake up or stir at all, but luckily he stayed sleeping. You brushed his honey colored hair from his face and kissed his forehead then slowly inched out of the bed. You’d have napped too but you had chores that needed to be done that you were supposed to do earlier but couldn’t because of Tommy’s surprise visit. 

After successfully getting out of bed you surrounded Tommy with pillows to keep him from rolling off the bed and hurting himself. Then you silently crept from the room and cracked the door behind you so you could keep an ear out while he slept in case he woke up.

-0-

You managed to tend to your garden and harvest the carrots and potatoes without trouble, then handle your laundry, but it was when you were washing dishes that you heard it. Tommy wailing. You dropped the dish you’d been washing into the sink of soapy water then practically sprinted upstairs to your bedroom. You were cursing yourself for not putting more pillows around him, fearing he’d fallen and banged his head or something.

But when you burst into your bedroom you let out an audible breath of relief when you saw he was still safely on the bed and not the floor. You hurried over, cooing at him as he saw you and raised his arms up towards you, making grabby hands to show he definitely wanted to be picked up. You happily obliged him and lifted him into your hold and kissed his wet cheeks and lovingly rubbed his back while he calmed down from his crying.

“Oh baby I’m so sorry, did you wake up all alone? I’m sorry, I’m here, don’t worry~” you murmured sweetly against his crown.

He clutched onto your neck and refused to let go, but you didn’t try to pull him away, instead you just rocked him and took him downstairs to be with you so he wouldn’t cry anymore. You were starting to get hungry and you knew seeing you eat would make Tommy hungry so you decided to warm him up some milk while you prepped some carrot sticks for yourself. You figure if he wanted some of your food a carrot would be the safest option for him to gnaw on.

But while you were standing at the kitchen sink filling a glass with water for yourself you glanced over when Tommy hiccupped and saw him blink as potion swirls hovered around him. Before you could see what was wrong he hiccupped again and suddenly the weight sitting on your hip was MUCH heavier and you stumbled a bit before realizing the blue eyes you were looking at were sitting on a teen boy’s face and not a baby’s…

All at once it hit you both that Tommy was naked save for the underwear he was in (how’d his diaper turn into tighty whities?) and you were holding him up on your hip. Once it hit him he screamed and flailed until you let go of him and he fell to the floor. You wanted to laugh but asked him if he was okay instead. Or you tried to but he screeched,

“DON’T FUCKIN’ LOOK!! I’M NAKED!!”

You turned your head away from him but you could see him scrambling to his feet and trying in vain to cover himself with just his hands. You helpfully directed him to the bathroom and said you’d bring him some clothes to change into. A second later you heard your bathroom door slam closed and you finally broke out into snickers. Once you composed yourself you went to grab some spare clothes of yours from your bedroom. 

You knocked on the bathroom door and passed the clothes through, not taking offense when Tommy quickly slammed the door closed after getting the shirt and pants. But once he was dressed he came out with a red face and looking huffy. You asked him if he remembered anything and he grumbled before swearing.

“Well fuckin’ Quackity and I were exploring this weird dungeon and there was a hidden spawner or somethin’ because suddenly we were trapped with like 7 skeletons and they were shooting these weird glowing arrows at us. An my shield broke and I got hit by one. Then… I don’t know, it’s blurry after that..”

He would never admit that he remembered everything from when he was a baby. He remembered how you looked after him, soothed his cries, and just loved him. He couldn’t remember anyone ever caring for him so nicely before. Ever. Not even Philza was that loving and he was his dad pretty much. But saying anything like that out loud would be humiliating! So he faked remembering nothing. 

You shrugged and filled him in briefly, saying he’d been a baby for the day and you’d made sure he didn’t die. He gave an embarrassed ‘thanks i guess’ but you just grinned and said you’d never let anything bad happen to your “widdle baby~!”. Tommy’s face flushed red and he sputtered angrily and started shouting that he wasn’t no BABY! He was a MAN! You just laughed and agreed, yes yes, very macho.

Things returned mostly to normal, though if your relationship shifted ever so closer in a familial way after that then neither of you mentioned it. But truthfully Tommy grew quite attached to you and you to him. Like the family you both weren’t aware you’d needed.

[albaedhoe]

promise

pairing : venti x gn!reader

summary : many people say promises are meant to be broken, but this one? It has been nurtured and cared for for millennia.

contains venti’s story quest spoilers

Unlike Barbatos, who was only a wisp among the thousand winds at the time, you were a young, lesser-known god. For plot sake, let’s say you’re the god of health. Having similar views and wanting to allow humans to have atleast some form of hope, the two of you became fast friends and stuck together within the confinements of old mondstat.

“Please don’t ever leave me.”

“I promise that I will never even think of leaving you, Barbatos. I, Y/n, God of Health, swear my power and life that I will keep this promise until the day I fall from Celestia.”

“W-Wait- you didn’t have to go that far!”

You were there during the events of the rebellion and fought along side those who were trapped under the rule of Decarabian. You were by the side of Barbatos the moment he had become one of the seven, the god of anemo and later changed his name to Venti.

“You took the form of your friend?”

“I...I don’t want to forget what he looks like.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save him on time, I can tell he meant a lot to you.”

“It’s fine! His sacrifice will never be in vain. Just don’t leave me too, as you promised.”

“As I promised.”

A few hundred years pass and growing tired of responsibilities, it didn’t take long for Venti to garner a need to escape, so he did, but not without taking you with him to the human world. While he took on the role of being a bard who played the lyre for others, you preferred a more stable subtle occupation that actually brings home money, such as being a teacher. This way, you can keep tabs on the younger generations of the people of mondstat without suspicion and to make sure that the city won’t fall into ruin because of the lack of education. After all, if that were to happen, everything the rebellion had fought for would be for nothing.

The grass grows green, leaves wilt off the trees, snow falls from the sky, the flowers start to sprout from the ground. The cycle repeating who knows how many times now. But one thing is for sure, Venti is lost. Mondstat does not need nor has needed of the god of winds for a long time. He comes back late to your shared cottage out in the open plains filled with dewy grass and blooming cecillias. On that night, he asks you a question. “Would... Would you allow me to rest for a few years..?”

Don’t get him wrong, Venti would never think of leaving you purposely. He’s just so tired. Your silence and furrowed eyebrows made his heart sink. He didn’t and couldn’t blame you if you had said no. After all of these millennia, you had kept his promise with undying loyalty and sincerity, and here he is, feeling as though he is selfishly taking advantage of your kindness. You even swore on your life and power!

Hanging his head low in shame, he didn’t notice you walk up to him and wrap his head with your arms, burying his face to one of your shoulders.

“I’m not mad at you, rather, I’m upset to think you see me so highly that you need to ask my permission for something, despite being an Archon.” Lifting his head so you could face him, you cup his cheeks and wipe the tears threatening to spill from his eyes with your thumbs. “I only ask that you allow me to spend these last days with you,” you whisper. “Of course,” he responds.

True to his word, he had spent every waking moment with you. Frolicking in the fields, listening to his singing while you read, braiding his hair, cooking dinner.

“V-Venti! You’re not supposed to add that much sugar!”

“Ehe!”

Until the final day came. The sun was bright and the breeze was gentle. Sat in the middle of a field that stretched out for miles, you were fiddling with a flower crown while venti stares up at your beauty with his head atop your lap. He thought about the years spent with you and treasuring every single memory. He thought about how much he appreciates and loves you. He thought about how much you will miss him, if at all and hopes that you won’t find someone to replace him so soon.

“When I’m gone, don’t go off running to find someone to replace me!”

“Don’t make it sound like you’re dying-”

“Done!” You hold up the finished crown of daffodils and cecillias. Venti chuckles at your antics. Gently placing the flower crown to fit his head, you look proud of your work. Comfortable silence fills the air as the two of you enjoy the atmosphere. Taking your hands to cup his face once again, he leans against your touch. “I will be dreaming of you,” Venti says. Leaning down so that the both of your foreheads were touching, you close your eyes. “I don’t doubt it. I hope you rest well, zephyr.” And with that, Venti dissipates into the breeze, only to be awoken when he is ready. Staring at the clouds above you, you smile gently as the winds made your hair dance and birds fly past your vision. An ache in your chest starts to form, “Oh dear...,” you laugh while your left hand rests above your heart.

The clock struck 12, the latest time Venti had ever been out drinking. He had told you earlier on that day that he had earned quite the tip for his entertainment and since he hadn’t drank in so long, he had asked you if it would be alright to splurge it on Master Diluc’s dandelion wine. Who were you to say no? You’re rather proud of him doing something he enjoyed and being rewarded for it, however, despite being an archon, you couldn’t help but worry that in his delusioned state, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself if he were to bump into the wrong crowd.

Slipping on a thick coat, you discreetly transport to an alleyway near Angel Share. Since it was a Friday night, opening hours are much later than other days of the week so no wonder the lights were still on and playful banter could be heard inside. Opening the door, the shouting only got louder. First thing you saw was the owner of the bar, Diluc, looking quite amazed and curious at something, or rather, someone.

“Good Evening, Master Diluc. Would you happen to know if a certain bard is here?”

“Good Evening. He’s actually right infront of you.”

Confused, you looked down at your feet. And low and behold, Venti was sprawled on the floor, cheeks flushed, hat crooked and he was muttering nonsense, you deadpan. Looking back up at Diluc, you reach to grab mora from your pocket.

“How much did he drink this time?”

“Around 37 glasses.”

You honestly weren’t surprised at this point. As you were about to hand over the money, Diluc stops you. “It’s fine, honestly. Watching you have to drag him back to your home builds enough pity in me to spare him the bill.” Waving goodbye and a quick thank you at the young bachelor, you silently think to yourself, ‘Your descendants have the same heart as you, don’t they, Vanessa?’ Slinging Venti’s arm around your other shoulder, you hoist him to his feet.

“For a guy that took form of a young boy that was practically skin and bones, you sure are heavy.” Teleporting to your shared abode, you shuffle to the bedroom. Forcing him to sit on the bed so you could at least change him into more comfortable clothing. “I kneeewww *hic* you’d come for meee *hic* Y/n!” Venti bellows out, arms wiggling as if to set himself free from your touch.

“I’ll drop you.” You threaten, but your hold on him so that he sits up only tightened more. Loosening his corset and unbuttoning his top, you make him put on a casual tunic. “You looooove me too much!*hic*” Not bothering with the bottom half of him, you tuck Venti underneath the covers. Slipping under the blankets with him, you interlock fingers and have eachother. Although his breath stank with alcohol, you couldn’t really care less.

“Thank you for not leaving me after all of these millennia and despite the things you go through just to be with me...” Venti whispers, eyes closed as sleep nearly takes him. Smiling softly, you joined foreheads with him. “I promised to never leave you, Zephyr, remember?”

[bellakitse]

Making friends in Life or Death situations

“No,” Nancy shakes her head quickly, tightening her hold on his face so he can focus on her. “You have to stay awake,” she continues, her voice cracking as fear grips her again. This is her friend, sure they don’t know each other that well, but Carlos is nice and sweet and the love of her partner’s life. He’s her friend, damn it, and she’s not going to lose him, not after losing Tim. “Please, stay awake.”

+

Carlos and Nancy are trapped together after a tornado hits the pharmacy they are in.

Written for @911lonestarweek - Day 2: Emergencies/“Please, stay awake.”/Angst

Nancy Gillian walks into the Walgreens just as her phone rings out another tornado warning. 

“Dear, we’re closing early, in 15 mins,” an older woman behind the counter says to her with a quick smile. “Because of the tornados.”

Nancy gives the woman a nod of acknowledgment and quickly makes her way down to the pet aisle. She wouldn’t even be out if it wasn’t for the fact that she realized she was down to her last can of cat food and with no time to make a Costco run for her new tabby. Looking through the limited selection, she picks a few of the chicken options, dropping them into her basket, and heads for the junk food aisle. Just some salt and vinegar Pringles to go with the leftover Easter chocolates she has back at her apartment, and she can head home and ride out the bad weather.

Turning the corner without looking in her rush to finish her shopping, she bumps face-first into a solid chest, bouncing right off it. She feels herself fall back and closes her eyes, bracing for the pain falling will cause, but it never comes. Instead, strong hands grab hold of her waist, keeping her upright.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry – Nancy?”

Nancy opens her eyes at the sound of her name, finding familiar brown eyes looking at her with concern.

“Officer Reyes!” she squeaks out, blushing when he raises an eyebrow at her. “I mean, Carlos – hi!”

Carlos gives her a friendly smile in return. “Hello, Nancy.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologizes quickly, gesturing around them. “I was in a rush to get what I need before the tornados touch down and wasn’t looking.”

“Same,” Carlos says with a laugh. “TK sent me to get what we need to ride it out before we are eventually called into work when it’s over.”

Nancy peeks into his basket, her eyebrows going up when she finds condoms, lubricant, and ice cream in it. “The essentials for sure,” she says dryly, biting back a smirk when she sees him blush and start to stammer in response. “Relax, officer,” she continues, feeling bad for how red he’s turned. “We all know how nauseatingly in love you and my partner are. This is not shocking.”

“Maybe not shocking, but embarrassing for sure,” Carlos grumbles back, scowling at her when she lets out a snort.

She grins at him, pleased when he gives her a reluctant smile back. She doesn’t know Carlos all that well. She’s been to his place a handful of times now that TK has made it a point to invite her when the rest of the 126 meets up at their apartment. But Carlos is usually in the kitchen making sure everyone is well-fed, and afterwards, he seems to enjoy sitting back and watch their brassier friends interact. She understands the instinct, feeling they’re a lot alike, which is why she can’t help but feel comfortable around him even though they’re not super familiar with each other.

She opens her mouth to tease him some more when a piercing siren rings out and the lights in the establishment flicker seconds before the whole place starts to shake.

“Shit,” Carlos curses, already on the move as he drops his basket and takes her arm, moving her further back.

“The cashier – “ she starts to say, only for her voice to get lost under the howling winds. It’s so loud; it sounds like a freight train barreling straight for them. She blinks, once, maybe twice, less than a second of time, but it’s all that’s needed for the front of the place to disappear under collapsing walls and ceiling.

She feels strong arms go around her waist, and the next thing she knows, she’s rolling across a hard surface and landing on the floor. Carlos covers her as best he can with his body, trying to make them as small as possible as they cower under the counter desk of the pharmacy section of the Walgreens. She can’t hear much past the whirling winds and her racing heart, but somewhere in there, she hears a hard grunt. She looks up at Carlos, still hovering over her, doing his best to protect her, but she sees pain clouding his expression.

“Are you okay?” she shouts, worry spiking her pulse as she sees a trail of blood rolling down the side of his face.

“Something hit me in the head and my back,” he grits out as the winds begin to calm down. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine; you’re bleeding,” she points out, not sure if he’s noticed yet. Given the way his eyes widen when he touches his hairline, she doesn’t think he has. She goes to say more when the walls around them let out a loud groan followed by a series of bangs as more of the place falls down around them.

She closes her eyes, tucking her face into Carlos’ shoulder.

Carlos pulls her closer to him in return, and she’s thankful for the kindness as she hides in his frame. If this is the end, she realizes she doesn’t actually want to see it.

A few minutes pass like this as she waits for it to end, be it the disaster or her life, she’s not really sure, but slowly the howling lessens until it’s only a dull echo in her ears.

“Nance – it’s stopping,” Carlos says softly, giving her a slight shake, bringing her back to the present.

Slowly she pulls back, surprised she can still see, realizing that somehow the lights have managed to stay on, flickering, but on. She looks at Carlos to find him giving her a concerned look.

“Well,” she starts to say, licking her lips nervously. “That was terrifying.”

Carlos lets out a chuckle that quickly turns into a hiss.

“What, what is it?” she asks quickly as she watches his face go slightly grey.

“I – I think,” he stops, closing his eyes but not fast enough to hide the pain from her. “I think something is in my back?”

“What?” she squeaks out. She moves to her knees, her hands hovering over Carlos’ shoulders as he sits down on the floor with a heavy sigh. Going around him, she starts to probe him, stopping short when she feels something hard and jagged by the right side of his flank. She swallows a gasp as she realizes what it is.

“How bad?” he questions, his voice tight as the obvious pain starts to set in.

“It’s – it’s glass,” Nancy whispers with dread as she notices the patch of blood on his shirt is growing.

Carlos lets out a weary sigh. “Of course it is,” he mutters dryly. “TK is going to be so pissed.”

Nancy ignores his comment, starting to get up from under the desk counter. “Okay, we need to get you out of here,” she says, just for Carlos to let out a chuckle.

“Hate to burst your bubble, but I’m pretty sure the front of this place collapsed, trapping us back here,” Carlos says far more calmly than she feels the moment merits. “We are lucky the walls dividing the back of the pharmacy and the front held up – protecting us.”

Nancy looks through the counter’s window, where she would usually wait for her prescriptions to be filled, and realizes he’s right. Carlos pushing them behind the counter saved them, but now the whole front is a maze of rubble with no apparent way out.

“Fuck me,” she swears, feeling the frustration and panic build inside her. She lets it for a second before pushing it aside. She’s a trained paramedic, and right now, her main priority is making sure she stops Carlos’ from bleeding out. She looks behind her, letting out a relieved breath to see that the space they are in is relatively sound. If she’s going to be trapped with an injured person needing her care, there are worse places to be than a fully stocked pharmacy.

“Check your phone, Carlos,” she says to him, already on the move. “I’m going to get supplies to care for your injuries.”

She gets a grunt back from Carlos and takes it as an okay as she steps over the mess of pills and supplies on the floor and thanks whatever higher power might be watching over them when she finds bandages, alcohol, and even a pair of scissors in her search. She makes her way back to Carlos to find him hunched over, his expression dazed as he stares at his phone.

“Carlos?” she questions, repeating his name louder when he doesn’t answer right away. He blinks in her direction, and she can see he’s not all there with her. She ignores the trickle of fear that runs up her spine as a result. “Did you get through to anyone?”

Carlos shakes his head slowly. “The lines – they’re not – “

“Okay, that’s okay,” she rushes to reassure him as she comes to sit in front of him. She takes ahold of his face, feeling the tackiness of the drying blood on his head. Two injuries then, she makes a note. “We’ll try again after I bandage you up, okay?”

“I’m tired, Nance,” Carlos answers, his speech becoming slurred, and Nancy adds likely concussion to the list. “My side hurts, and my head.”

“I know, hon,” she answers with what she hopes is a comforting tone. “But I’m going to fix it, okay?”

Carlos blinks at her slowly. “Sleep.”

“No,” Nancy shakes her head quickly, tightening her hold on his face so he can focus on her. “You have to stay awake,” she continues, her voice cracking as fear grips her again. This is her friend, sure they don’t know each other that well, but Carlos is nice and sweet and the love of her partner’s life. He’s her friend, damn it, and she’s not going to lose him, not after losing Tim. “Please, stay awake.”

Carlos looks at her with wide eyes before slowly reaching up to touch her face, startling her as she realizes that it’s wet from tears she hadn’t realized she’d shed. “Don’t cry, Nance.”

“Then stay awake,” she answers back, letting out a shaky smile when he gives her a solemn nod in return with an ‘I promise.’

“Okay,” she says softly, letting go of his face to turn to his back. “I’m going to clean and pack the wound. We can’t take the glass out because you’ll probably bleed more, but we can secure it.”

“Okay,” Carlos answers, giving her permission.

“Sorry about your shirt,” she says quickly as she starts to cut it up the middle.

Carlos lets out a hiss as she pours the rubbing alcohol over the wound. It’s thankfully not as big as she initially thought, but she winces when Carlos lets out a shout as she starts to press the gauzes around it. She tries to think of a way to distract him from the pain, letting out a quick breath when it comes to her. “Talk to me about TK,” she instructs him, hoping it will achieve the goal.

“TK?” Carlos questions sluggishly.

“Yeah, tell me about him, about the two of you,” she says as she rolls out more bandages.

Carlos lets out a sigh. It has the same sappy sound that she hears when TK talks about Carlos or is on the phone with him. “I just love him so much,” he answers, and even though she can’t see his face, she knows he’s smiling through the pain. “He’s beautiful and kind, silly and sweet, and when he looks at me the way he does, I feel like I’ve won the lottery. I’m so lucky he loves me back.”

Nancy smiles at the comment; she’s heard TK say the same exact thing. She tells Carlos as she makes a quick finish of securing his wound before moving to face him and deal with his head injury.

“He has?” Carlos questions her with a boyish grin, looking loopier, his eyes heavy. “That’s good. I bought him a ring; now I just have to work up the nerve to ask him to marry me.”

Nancy stares at Carlos for a moment, sure that he wouldn’t have revealed that if he was in all his five senses.

“Are you sure I can’t sleep?” he questions quietly, swaying towards her.

Nancy shakes her head at him, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Not when she can see that his eyes are rolling back, and she has just enough time to keep his face from meeting the floor as he slumps forward.

“Carlos!”

 ֎֎֎

 Nancy has grown to hate the sounds and smells of hospitals. She thinks she’s lucky to not be a doctor or a nurse and not have to be in one every day, but she’s still in them enough because the people she cares about are danger magnets, and she hates it.

They get rescued not long after Carlos has passed out, but it still feels like eons to her. She rides in the ambulance with him, ignoring the paramedics that want to look her over in favor of holding Carlos’ hand. She doesn’t let go until she absolutely has to in order to allow the doctors to work, and she doesn’t break down until she sees TK walk through the hospital doors with a panic-stricken look on his face.

She cries on his shoulder, feeling horrible that he’s comforting her when it’s his boyfriend who is hurt. Fresh tears spring up when he hugs her tight, thanking her for saving the man he loves, and even though he tells her to go home, she waits until Carlos opens his eyes again.

She doesn’t have a home anyway; her neighbor left a message telling her the tornados destroyed her place, luckily he managed to get her cat out, watching over her until she can get back.

She sits in one of the uncomfortable but familiar chairs as the 126 and Carlos’ parents come and go in the later hours, all the while she remains next to TK as they wait for Carlos to wake up. It’s late at night, and TK has fallen asleep next to her when Carlos finally opens his eyes, and Nancy springs forward, rushing to his side, holding her breath as he slowly blinks to consciousness.

“Nancy,” he gets out roughly, and Nancy feels her eyes sting in return. “Are you okay?”

“You said you’d stay awake,” she accuses him as the tears roll down her face. “You promised.”

Carlos looks like he’s in pain, but it doesn’t stop him from giving her a kind look. He reaches out to take her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I did. I’m sorry, Nancy.”

“You can keep calling me Nance,” she whispers, squeezing his hand back. “We’re friends now.”

Carlos smiles at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Very cool,” he says softly before looking past her at his sleeping boyfriend. “Is he okay?”

Nancy nods, giving TK a soft look of her own over her shoulder. “He’s strong, and he knew you were going to be just fine,” she says with a smile. “Let me wake him up.”

She starts to turn, only to be stopped when Carlos holds on to her hand. “What I told you – “ he begins, looking at her with those big brown eyes of his that endears him to everyone who meets him, herself included.

“I’m not going to ruin your surprise,” she assures him, chuckling when he lets out a breath.

“Thanks, Nance,” Carlos says, smiling once more.

Nancy returns it kindly. “Hey, what are friends for.”