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whereianonymouslypostfics · 2 years

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Silver Springs Part 9

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~13.5k

Summary: Wanda tries to leave her mob life behind to start a family with you

A/N: Finally! The confrontation we’ve all been waiting for. So excited for them to call Vision out for being a little shit. ❤️

Chapter Warnings: Sexual content, blood, violence, and torture

Unsurprisingly you’re tired when you wake up, but you drink another cup of coffee with breakfast before heading out to work. You talked to Wanda about confronting Vision after you come home because you want to be present for whatever piss poor lie he tells. You want him to see you as something other than stunned because he can’t have the satisfaction of knowing you were upset. Wanda reluctantly agrees to wait, and decides to contact a couple of people about how to deal with Vision. She doesn’t say who it is of course, but she talks to her brother and then two of her best people for this particular job because she has nothing else to do but wait.

She considers talking to Nat or Yelena about what you told her, but she’s not sure she wants to. She is a little frustrated with them for keeping your secret when it affected your wellbeing to the point that it has. However, she’s equally glad that you have people that you can count on when it really matters. She’s just not sure she can get into it with them without asking why they didn’t try to get her to fire Vision.

Wanda sighs as she stares out the window from her kitchen counter. She doesn’t know what to do with herself and it’s not even noon. She briefly entertains the idea of wandering around, but she doesn’t want to draw attention to herself. She never is really seen unless she has something to do, or if something is wrong. Not to mention, people are still a little on edge about the aftermath of the Clark incident.

Fletcher jumps up on the counter a ways away, and Wanda sighs before she holds her hand out for the cat. The tabby hurries over to head boop her before trying to stick her head in her coffee mug. Wanda pushes her away while scratching her chin and Fletcher just bats at her with a meow.

“What should we do today, Fletch?”

The tabby just purrs as she steps into Wanda’s lap and nuzzles her before licking her chin. Wanda sighs as she just scratches her for a few minutes and thinks about how things have developed over the past few days. Someone, probably Vision, sends you flowers at work the same day that someone’s stalking you. Rumlow barely shoots Boone in the middle of the night through the window, but then he just flees. Thinking back on it, it seems like a pretty pointless trip overall. Rumlow clearly wasn’t told to kill Boone, but maybe just to scare them and get them thinking they weren’t safe. She wasn’t sure what Vision was trying to accomplish with that, but then you were poisoned the next day.

Wanda thinks back to your hospital stay, your very short stay and frowns. Again, if Vision really wanted you to suffer, he would have made sure you stayed in the hospital longer, right? Why was he just toying with them and half-assing everything? If he was smart, which Wanda hates to admit it, but he is, he wouldn’t do things pointlessly. Each effort costs money, and time and risks revealing him, so what was the point?

She tries to think about each event as an isolated incident. When you were sent flowers, you immediately texted her a picture asking if they were from her. The only thing that did honestly was make her a little jealous, but you’d soothed her jealousy easily enough. That same night someone surprised you after work, but they just ran away after placing a creepy doll in your car that amused you more than anything.

Suddenly Wanda remembers what Clark told her seconds before dying. He’d mentioned that Vision wanted to ruin her marriage. This was hardly news, but having him orchestra these honestly poor attempts at doing this exact thing was confusing to say the least. She’d figure that if Vision was going to have a go at this, that he was going to do a better job. He’d only worked alongside her for years, and had enough time to figure something more devastating out. It wasn’t that she wanted this per se, she was just underwhelmed and as a result suspicious of what was to come.

Would confronting him now with very insubstantial proof of his involvement be worth it? She honestly didn’t need proof that he was involved to want him dead, to actually kill him. He was a pain in her ass and based on what you told her, a despicable human being. She wanted him gone, but she was reluctant to do it quite yet.

Maybe when she confronts him tonight, she’ll have Steve, Bucky, and whoever else is free be there. Have him outnumbered and cornered for when she interrogates him.

The thought of what he’s done makes her blood boil and she tries to take a deep breath to calm down. She doesn’t want you to be there tonight, she really doesn’t because she’s not sure she’ll be able to hold herself back in front of you. Whatever justification, whatever lie he comes up with, she’ll want to punish him for it, and if that means a bullet between his eyes, she’ll be the one to do it. Despite your anger at him, she’s not sure you want to witness this, but she doesn’t feel right asking you to sit it out. You’re just as involved as she is, more so even and you deserve to see this through.

Wanda stands up with a sigh before rolling her shoulders and looking around the room. She has nothing that she wants to do here, so she may as well go blow off some steam. She texts Steve that she’s heading down to the shooting range and to join if he wants.

When Steve sees her text, he’s quick to get ready and meet her down there. Wanda only goes to the range for three reasons. One, she has something she needs to prepare for like a particular hit or a meeting that won’t end well. Two she’s training with you or someone else, or three she’s angry and wants to pretend the targets are someone’s face. Steve’s not quite sure which one it is, either option one or three, but there’s no way of finding out unless he goes down there with her.

He arrives to the private range to find her already going through an entire magazine on a target at the far wall. She’s wearing her earmuffs and she didn’t see him come in, but she still somehow knows he’s there. She turns to him before setting the gun down and ejecting the empty magazine and replacing it. She slips her earmuffs off so she can talk to him.

“Hey. Have you talked with Bucky?”

Steve just nods because he’d been in touch a little while ago just to check in. He says this before moving next to Wanda and setting down his case that has three of his guns in it.

“Yes, Y/n’s fine, busy.”

Wanda shakes her head before pressing the button nearby for a new target. She watches Steve open his case and get his guns set up before sighing in exhaustion. She’s tired and she really wants this all to be over. She’s hoping that the end is near, and she doesn’t mean hers.

“No, I meant if he told you about last night at all?”

Steve doesn’t have to think about his answer, and he nods as he loads his handguns and sets them down beside his rifle. Bucky had told him that Wanda was thinking about going after Vision sooner than initially planned. She was losing patience and he was getting bolder and pissing Wanda off.

“He said that Vision’s telling lies and you’re thinking of confronting him later today.”

Wanda just nods before agreeing that she’s planning on talking to him tonight. You just wanted to be involved, so they were waiting until tonight.

“Ideally we’ll have Nat and Yelena there too, the more the merrier.”

Steve almost laughs at this, but he realizes that Wanda’s serious. She’s serious and she’s anxious about what’s going to happen. She’s probably down here to blow off steam and think about what she’ll do. She has enough information to reach a verdict, but she does want someone else, her closest confidants to be on the same page so they can understand.

Steve understands why their presence is necessary and he nods before taking out his phone.

“I’ll see if they’re free after this.”

Wanda nods before smiling in thanks and putting her earmuffs back on. She picks up her gun before taking aim and shooting once again.

You are having a pretty good day considering the night you’d had. After making an announcement about labeling all food items left in the back, you resumed your normal day and saw your many appointments. Most of them were easy, and a few interesting, but your mind wasn’t really on work today. You were thinking about Vision and how everything he’s done in the past week, assuming he’s responsible, has just been a nuisance more than a real threat. If he’s wanted you dead, he would have found a way to do it by now. He was toying with you or trying to piss you off with only a little success.

You have some time between appointments, and you find yourself wondering what it takes to make someone like him go to such lengths. You assume his endgame is to win over your wife, and despite his less than stellar start, everything he’s done seems to be with that goal in mind.

He wants you out of the way but given that Wanda knows he’s responsible, does he really believe she’ll choose him?

You sigh in defeat as you see that your next appointment is here, and you grab your stethoscope before heading downstairs. You only have a couple of more hours until you’re back at the compound and can confront Vision with Wanda and the rest of the gang. You just hope it’s worth it.

Vision is not surprised to be called in by Wanda later in the afternoon. He claims he has some things to finish up but that he can be there later tonight. She agrees and Vision just smiles as he sits back down at his desk and fiddles with the device in his hand. He’s contemplated sharing the recording on his phone, but then he feared it would be confiscated and then he wouldn’t have it anymore, so he’d put it on a USB and was going to give it to you or Wanda depending on his mood.

He's already drafted a text to you with an audio file of the recording so you can have it just minutes before he shares it. He wants you to be able to go over it in agonizing detail to your heart’s content. He smirks at the idea before pocketing the drive and stifling a yawn. He’d called Rumlow earlier and gone over the plan with him for later this week.

He was getting bored of dragging this out, so he was going to do his best to make sure this all comes to head by the end of the week. He just needs to make sure that you and Wanda are still fighting by then, but considering what he’s going to share in just a few hours, he’s certain that won’t be a problem.

When you finally leave work, you’re a little sore from your last appointment. You’d done most of it on the ground next to a nervous dog and your knees ached from kneeling on the tile floor. You feel older than your years as you get into your car with Boone settling in the back seat as usual. You take a deep breath before speaking into the emptiness of your car.

“Are you ready for this, Bucky?”

He’s been in contact with Steve and then Wanda while you worked and was able to confirm that Vision would be there at 7. That gave you just enough time to get home, change and meet with everyone who would be in attendance besides the blonde. He tells you this and you just nod to yourself. You feel your anxiety increase at the thought of this meeting’s outcome. Vision has to be prepared for Wanda to call him out for lying to you, but you’re just uncertain of how he’s going to react.

You’re not afraid for Wanda. You know, despite hating him for it, that Vision would rather hurt you ten times over before laying a finger on your wife. You’re not even particularly worried for yourself because your very capable friends will be in attendance and they will certainly be armed.

You suppose you’re mostly worried about Vision surprising you again with his insidious way. You’re afraid of being humiliated in front of all of your friends, and ridiculed about your insecurities and you’re not looking forward to it. You don’t tell Bucky this because despite the fact that he knows some of what Vision did, you don’t think he knows everything. You trust Nat and Yelena to keep it a secret, but now Wanda knows, and you’d be shocked if she doesn’t bring it up during the meeting.

You’re almost disappointed when you arrive to the compound and you take your time to get Boone out of the car before meeting Bucky at the elevator. He realizes you’re tense and he just offers you a smile before patting you on the back.

“Try to relax for a few minutes. Get something to eat, and remember to bring Boone to the meeting.”

You had forgotten about this detail. His presence always made you feel better, and if things got rough you knew having him close could calm you down. He was also still your security detail until further notice, and he had a gun, knife, and pepper spray in his harness pouch.

You nod in agreement before telling Bucky you’ll see him soon. Boone leads the way to your rooms and you take a deep breath before opening the door.

“Wands?”

You call out into the quiet room to find the immediate areas empty. There’s food on the stove, but you can’t entertain the idea of eating until you find your wife. You lay your bag down on the counter before heading toward the bedroom.

You find Wanda sitting in bed with her eyes closed with Fletcher wandering the room. You can tell that she’s already ready for the meeting given how she’s dressed in a suit and she has a gun sticking out from under her jacket. Her legs are crossed and she’s taking deep breaths every few seconds. You realize she’s trying to calm herself down as well and you just move to the closet to find what you’re going to wear.

“How was work?”

You turn back around and see that Wanda’s eyes are still closed so you start undressing with a shrug. You move a little slower when removing your pants but she doesn’t notice as she continues to focus on her breathing.

“It was fine. No one fed me and no one bit me.”

Wanda smiles slightly at your words before she opens her eyes to see what you’re up to. You’re buttoning your shirt and reaching back into the closet for a jacket. Wanda waits until you make your selection and slip it on before speaking up.

“Are you sure you want to go to this, Y/n?”

You knew this was coming so you already have your answer prepared when you turn to see Wanda looking at you with an unreadable expression.

“No, not really, but I feel like I need to go. Plus, everyone will be there, so I’ll feel like I’m missing out if I don’t.”

Wanda thought this would be your response so she just nods and starts to stand up. She wants to get this over with, but she also wants to make sure you’re as prepared as possible. She holds out her hand to you, and you don’t hesitate to close the distance and take her hand with a sigh.

“Okay. I want you to be prepared though. If he says something disgusting or incriminating someone will hurt him.”

You assumed this would happen, but Wanda not saying specifically that it would be her makes you wonder what she expects. You nod before bringing her hand to your lips with a smile.

“As long as I get to watch.”

This gets a small smile out of your wife and you count that as a win before you drag her out to the kitchen. You both should eat something before you go, and you manage to lie down for ten whole minutes before it’s time to leave.

You’re a little anxious as you follow Wanda, and she can tell so she squeezes your hand. “It’ll be okay, detka. We’re all going to be there with you.”

You nod before following Wanda into Pietro’s office that is more than spacious enough for the small crowd that’s gathered.

Yelena’s sitting on the window sill staring outside at the moonlit grounds while Nat’s chatting with Steve on one of the couches. Bucky’s standing in the corner behind the desk where you assume Wanda will be sitting. You follow Boone’s lead and greet Yelena before sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Wanda takes survey of everyone in the room before sitting behind the desk with a sigh. You’re the only one not armed as far as she can tell, but that’s fine for now. If you end up needing a gun then there’s going to be a lot of trouble.

“Thank you all for coming. Y/n and I appreciate your support.”

Wanda sets her laptop on the desk and opens it briefly to make sure her notes are all there. She’s written everything down because it helps her organize her thoughts and reach her decision on how to handle this. When there’s a knock on the door, she sits up straighter in her chair before calling Vision in.

The blonde had expected only two fewer people than were in attendance. He knew you’d be there as well as the body guards, but Yelena and Nat’s presences are a bit of a wrinkle. Still, he smiles slightly as he closes the door behind him and fiddles with his tie.

“I wasn’t expecting a full house, but okay.”

Wanda frowns and everyone follows suit as he turns to you briefly before addressing Wanda. Boone’s staring at him and his hackles are up as he prepares for whatever happens next. Wanda gestures for the chair beside you silently.

“Good to see you again, Y/n.”

You just frown before offering a tight smile and saying the only thing you plan to during the meeting.

“Vision, I wish I could say the same.”

He doesn’t seem surprised by your response, if anything he expected it and he’s smiling to himself. He opens his mouth to say something, but Wanda cuts him off with a scowl.

“The reason for the full house, Vision is that I wanted to ask you something that they’re all going to hear the answer to eventually.”

Wanda’s jaw clenches as she watches Vision turn to her with a curious look as if he doesn’t know why he was here. She takes a breath to compose herself before deciding to get to the point and save them all some time.

“What can I answer for you, Wanda?”

You grit your teeth as Vision eyes your wife curiously. You realize you’re going to have a harder time at this than you thought if he’s going to be oh so eager to help the entire time. Wanda feels similarly and she cuts right to the chase to save them all from the disingenuous performance.

“Why did you lie to Y/n about what happens during interrogations?”

Vision frowns in confusion before shaking his head in response. You feel your phone vibrate in your pocket, but you ignore it as you watch Vision try to pull one over on your wife.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

Everyone knew what she meant, including Vision, but apparently, he wanted Wanda to say it. She glared at him before leaning forward to bite out her response.

“You told her that I have sex with them, with Clark. Why?”

Vision actually smiles and you feel your hatred for him increase ten-fold at the sight. You force yourself to stay in your chair, but your grip on the armrests is painfully tight as Vision just deadpans.

“Because you did, Wanda. What’s the point of lying when I have proof?”

Wanda’s on her feet in a second and she practically snarls at Vision in anger.

“That’s bullshit! You can ‘t have proof when it didn’t happen.”

Vision merely reaches into his pocket and everyone but you, stiffens in anticipation. Yelena’s hand goes to her gun and Steve and Bucky stand up straighter, ready to move if needed. When Vision just pulls out a thumb drive and just holds it out to Wanda everyone is confused.

“Why don’t you look at that and then say that again.”

Wanda’s baffled by Vision’s insistence that this truly happened. Is he that delusional or did he scrounge up something he believes backs up his story? She just stares at it angrily, but makes no move to take it from him as she considers her options. Vision simply places it on the desk before he sits back in his chair and shrugs. He turns to you and you instantly brace yourself.

“If you’d rather, Y/n, you can look at that text, it has the file attached to it.”

You frown in confusion and hate that you’re already reaching for your phone. You see a text from an unknown number, presumably Vision and it has an audio file – nearly 2 minutes long attached to it. You look to Wanda who seems as confused as you are, but you put your phone back in your pocket right as your wife goes to grab the drive.

“That’s probably a better idea.”

You and Wanda glare at him again as the redhead opens her computer and inserts the drive hesitantly.

“I don’t know what the fuck you think this is--.”

Wanda trails off as she opens the file and plays the recording attached for everyone to hear. You’re confused at first as it starts, but this slowly becomes horror as you recognize the voice as your wife’s. The breathy moans and the accompanying pleas make your jaw drop.

Oh god, fuck, fuck – ah shit, please!

The second voice that you hear a few seconds later is one that you’ve only heard once but given how recently this was you recognize it immediately.

Fuck yeah. God you’re so good. Je—

The recording is stopped once Wanda manages to snap herself out of her shock and horror. However, it’s too late and the very damning proof that Vision insisted on has already been heard. Wanda’s still trying to figure out how the fuck Vision made this happen as she slams the computer shut and yells at him.

“What the fuck! How the hell did you manage this you bastard? That’s not--!”

Wanda trails off because she can’t say it’s not her. She unfortunately recognizes her own voice, and Clark’s and despite never even touching him she can’t explain what Vision’s given her. She storms around the desk, ignoring her friends’ shock, confusion and disgust as she grabs Vision by the shirt and yanks him out of his chair.

“You did this. You screwed with something, made this to fit with your lie. I never did this! Tell them I never did this!”

Wanda’s wide-eyed and breathing heavily as she throws Vision to the ground. He just smiles wickedly up at the bewildered redhead before turning to you. You’ve said nothing this entire time, you’re just sitting as stiff as a board while you barely breathe. You’re still trying to convince yourself that it’s a lie, but you just can’t put it together, not with so little time, and not with so many people watching you.

“I guess you really aren’t enough, hmm, Y/n?”

This catches your attention and you turn to Vision at the same time that Wanda pulls her gun on him. She’s shaking she’s so angry, but she’s looking at you as you continue to look dazed and overwhelmed. You realize you need to get out, and you stand slowly before you start to retreat.

“I-I need to go.”

Wanda keeps her gun trained on Vision who is still smiling up at you as she takes a step towards you.

“Y/n, no, please. Don’t go--.”

It’s too late and you’ve already turned around and fled before anyone could stop you. Boone races after you and the door slams shut behind him. Vision’s laughing but it’s cut off as Wanda slams her foot into his chest forcing him to the ground. She considers shooting him right now, but she’s more worried about you and needs to run after you.

“You son of a bitch!”

Wanda tucks her gun away and runs to the door, but not before shouting over her shoulder. “Don’t let him leave!”

When the door slams again, everyone but Vision is left with whiplash and no one speaks for a full minute. It’s Bucky who speaks first since he’s reached his decision the fastest. He doesn’t—he refuses to believe that Wanda would cheat on you. This entire thing, this entire week has been orchestrated by Vision as some sick scheme to break his friends up. This was just part of that, and the tape, regardless of how disturbing and incriminating, it couldn’t be real.

He moves from where he’s standing and hovers over Vision with a scowl as he contemplates how to punish the blonde.

“You sick fuck! How did you manage to pull this off?”

You don’t even know where you’re going when you start running. You just run for the nearest door and storm up the stairs before finding an elevator. You frantically press the button and mutter a curse under your breath when you hear the door to the stairwell open behind you.

“Y/n, wait!”

As soon as the door opens you rush in and press the close door button praying that it closes before Wanda catches up to you. You breathe a sigh of relief when it closes and you press the button for the top floor before pressing the two below that. You don’t want Wanda following you, and this is the only way you can think of to stop her. You can barely see past your tears and you jump when you see something move in your periphery. You spin around and see Boone standing behind you and you kneel down to pull him into a hug.

“Hey bud. We’re going to play a game, okay?”

Wanda waits until she knows which floor you’re going to before heading for the stairs. She doesn’t even know what she’s going to say to you. She has no idea how she’d react if she were in your place. It’s not something she’d ever want to experience and she hates that Vision’s managed to take all of her expectations and throw them out the window. She thought he was simply going to admit to being a liar before addressing his entire plot. She didn’t even get to mention any of that and Wanda hates that he’s managed to manipulate them all so easily.

She’s breathing hard by the time she runs up four flights of stairs, but as she exits the stairwell, she doesn’t see you anywhere. She doesn’t hear anything and as she hurries down the hall there’s no sign of you or Boone. After spinning around uselessly for too long, she reaches into her pocket for her phone with shaky hands. It takes her three tries to unlock it but then she goes to her app that’s connected to your tracking devices. There’s one in your car, phone, and then one in your shoulder. The two dots on the map aren’t very far from her and she turns around before heading in your direction with a confused frown. It’s not until she reaches the door to the roof that she realizes where you are. She puts her phone away and swipes her keycard before pushing her way through the door and hurrying up the stairs.

When she bursts into the cold night air, she doesn’t see you immediately. Rather she sees two glowing eyes staring at her off in the distance. She realizes belatedly that it’s Boone and she goes to move toward them when she hears something behind her. She turns but doesn’t see anything immediately and is about to turn around back towards Boone when she realizes there’s something at her feet.

She kneels down to pick it up and her heart stops when she realizes it’s your phone. She curses under her breath before taking her phone out again and checking on you again. She sees you moving and takes off back towards the door with Boone on her heels. She realizes you used him as a distraction, and by leaving your phone, she assumes you know about that tracker but probably not the one in your shoulder. She’d juggled with the idea of planting one on you just in case, but she’d never told you about it. She still feels guilty about it, especially now when she realizes you really want to be left alone, but at the same time she’s glad that she can keep track of you.

“Fuck.”

You just need to get out of this building. You can’t spend another second here and as soon as you arrive to your room you start packing a bag. You grab what you’ll need for work tomorrow as well as your money and some of Boone’s food. You feel guilty about leaving him on the roof, but you knew Wanda would find him. You just needed to buy yourself some time to get away. You can’t talk to your wife right now because you’ll just scream at her and you don’t want to say anything you’ll regret. You don’t know what to make of Vision’s weird sex tape and as much as you hate it you’re going to have to listen to it later to try and figure out what it means.

You leave quickly, letting the door slam shut behind you as you head for the stairs again. You push the door open only to see your wife rushing down the stairs in front of you. You sigh in defeat before shaking your head and turning back around. There’s no point of getting exercise now. You’ll just use the elevator since Wanda’s already found you. Boone comes running out of the stairwell too and you’re at least glad to see him.

“Y/n, detka, please. Don’t go. Let’s talk about this, please.”

Wanda starts to panic when she sees you have a bag, and you won’t even look at her as you continue to shake your head as you make your way to the elevator. You press the button before she reaches out for your arm, and you react immediately.

“I swear I didn’t do this. I don’t know how, but Vision--.”

She’s cut off as you yank your arm away and step back from her. You can’t do this right now. You need to get as far away from her as possible.

“Let go. I-I can’t talk about this right now. I need space, okay?”

Wanda looks to you and then Boone who’s got his ears pinned back as he reluctantly growls at her. He’s not sure what’s going on, and he’s not used to his mothers fighting, but he knows whose side he’s always on. Wanda doesn’t reach out for you again but she does try to get you to stay.

“Okay, okay. Just don’t go. I’ll sleep somewhere else tonight, please.”

You shake your head again as you take a deep breath and look to your wife. You nearly break down when you see how upset she is. She’s crying and she’s flushed from running after you for so long. She sees tears in your eyes as well and feels a desperate need to hug you, but she’s aware of Boone watching her carefully, so she holds back.

“No, you stay here. I just—I’m going.”

Wanda realizes that short of forcing you to stay she’s not going to stop you from leaving. You don’t want it, but Wanda reaches into her pocket and puts your phone in your hand.

“At least take Bucky with you.”

You are going to refuse this too, but honestly, it’s not a bad idea. Sure Vision’s accounted for right now, but who knows who he’s enlisted for help. The last thing you want is to be killed while you’re running from Wanda. You sigh in defeat as you step into the elevator and push the button for the parking garage. Boone’s by your side immediately and Wanda’s at least grateful that he’ll be with you if no one else.

“I’m leaving in 3 minutes.”

The doors shut between you two and Wanda’s already pulling out her phone to call Bucky.

The four friends didn’t just stand around and wait for Wanda to return. Yelena was the first to stand up and punch Vision in the face. She curses at him in Russian before spitting on him in disgust. He was a sorry excuse for a man and she needs Wanda to get rid of him. After all the hurt he’s caused you, he pulls something like this? She’s not sure how he pulled it off, but Wanda’s reaction said it all.

All of them had been horrified and struck dumb by what they heard, but despite what it sounded like, it couldn’t be right. There were ways to alter things to fabricate a story, and despite how unsettling it is to think of Vision having basically a sex tape of Wanda, it would be less disturbing than Wanda actually cheating on you with Clark.

“Come on Vision, fess up. Tell us how you did it.”

The blonde just lays on the ground with blood gushing from his nose as he stares at her in stubborn silence. Nat and Steve are sitting on the desk in front of him, watching as he tries and fails to keep the blood off his shirt. Bucky’s about to hit him again when his phone rings and when he sees that it’s Wanda, he hurries to answer it.

“Hey, did you--?”

He trails off as Wanda starts trying to explain what happened. Given how quiet the room is almost everyone overhears her frantically telling Bucky that you’re leaving and that he needs to follow her.

“She won’t talk to me, Bucky. She’s leaving for the night or longer, and I need you to go with her, please.”

Bucky’s already heading out the door and shooting everyone a look as he leaves. Vision’s smiling at the fact you’re apparently leaving, and despite how distraught Wanda sounds, he’s glad that his plan has worked so far. He doesn’t have much time to gloat before Steve’s hitting him again and forcing him onto his back. He pins him to the ground much like Wanda had before glowering at him.

“You think this is funny? You’re trying to ruin her marriage so she’ll run to you, is that what you think will happen, huh? Talk!”

Vision just starts laughing and Steve’s about to hit him again when Nat speaks up. She reaches out for Steve, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him as she gives Vision an appraising, disgusted look.

“He’s waiting for Wanda. This is all just a sick game to him. I hope you know she’s going to beat your ass for this, Vision.”

Steve frowns at this but can’t argue with what Nat’s saying. He doesn’t even get a chance to think about it when the door flies open, and slams against the wall signaling Wanda’s return. She storms over to Vision seeing him still on the ground she goes to haul him to his feet as she screams at him.

“You piece of shit! Why would you do this to me, Vision? Why do you hate me so fucking much?”

Wanda slams him against the wall once, twice and then a third time before preparing to punch him. She’s wiped out from running all the way back here, and she needs to sit down before she passes out, but more importantly she needs to beat Vision until he can’t see or think anymore.

“I don’t hate you.”

This is the first time he’s spoken since she left the room and everyone turns to him in confusion. It certainly seems like he hates her, and even after she punches him in the nose again, and throws him onto Pietro’s desk he’s still smiling. He lands on the ground in a bloody heap and Wanda is still seething as she watches him crawl towards her.

“It sure feels like it.”

He’s shaking his head and Steve comes to stand beside Wanda because he’s sure she’s going to want to take this downstairs soon. He’s also slightly worried that she’s going to pass out. She’s breathing heavily and she’s flushed from more than just anger, but she stands steady as she looks down on him.

“I don’t. I love you, and if you were with me you wouldn’t have to step out to be satisfied, Wands.”

Wanda grabs Steve’s shoulder to steady herself as she kicks Vision in the face sending him flying backwards onto the ground again. He’s passed out and everyone’s grateful for it as Wanda takes a deep breath and glances around the room. Nat’s watching her with an expression that gives nothing away, and Yelena looks pleased with Vision’s current state. Steve’s eyeing her with concern but she ignores it for now as she forces herself to breathe.

“Let’s get him to the basement.”

Bucky’s shocked to find you waiting by your car with Boone when he charges into the garage. Without a lot of notice, he’d almost neglected to go by his room and grab a bag and a couple of extra magazines. He’d taken 5 minutes but he was certain you’d be peeling out of the garage and getting out as fast as you could. Instead, you were waiting patiently for him to arrive before greeting him with a blank face that gave nothing away.

“Buck, you don’t have to come with me. I won’t tell her if you don’t.”

Bucky nearly laughs at this but he holds back since he has a feeling you wouldn’t appreciate it right now. Your lack of enthusiasm and the fact that you don’t say Wanda’s name makes him realize you’re trying to distance yourself from what just happened, at least until you’re alone.

“Not a chance, kid. Lead the way.”

You look at him for a moment before you just nod and get in your car. You let Boone sit up front because it’s that kind of night, and you pet him with one hand as you steer with the other as you head to your destination. You only see this hotel practically every day on your drive to work, and you figure being close to there will benefit you tomorrow when you have to go in on very little sleep.

The ride’s silent and that reminds you that you didn’t bring your coms and you won’t be able to communicate with Bucky during work tomorrow, but that’s okay for now. You’re too ticked to really care about anything other than listening to the recording that’s practically calling you from your pocket. You park in the hotel lot before you reach into the back seat and grab Boone’s service animal vest. He’s never felt like more of service animal to you than in the past week, and you switch his harnesses out and replace the supplies carefully as he licks your face.

“Thanks, Boone.”

You get out of the car and grab your bag from the back seat already thinking about how poorly you’d packed.

You turn to find Bucky and are grateful that he doesn’t say anything before following you inside. You walk to the front desk not really paying any mind to the looks you get with Boone by your side. The person behind the desk notices his vest so she simply smiles before greeting you and Bucky once she knows you’re together.

“Good evening, how can I help you?”

You have a lot of answers to that, but you merely smile back before requesting two rooms. If this throws off the clerk, she doesn’t mention it before asking if you want them to be adjoining. You think about saying no because he’s going to undoubtedly hear you crying your eyes out, and that’s going to be embarrassing. However, you also don’t want a complete stranger to hear you either. You turn to Bucky deferring to him.

“Whatever you want.”

He nods before asking for rooms near the stairwell and the brunette offers a smile before handing you two key cards. You thank her and look around the lobby briefly taking stock of your options before heading to the elevator.

“Rooms 505 and 507.”

Boone steps in the elevator first and you and Bucky follow him wordlessly. You sigh in exhaustion before putting a hand on your stomach with a groan. You’re not sure if you’re hungry or nauseous honestly, you’re a bit of both, but you ignore it for now as you watch the floors go by.

“Are you okay?”

You decide to answer this in the easiest way possible. You figure he’s asking about your stomach and you just nod before deciding to lie. Any unsettled feeling is almost certainly from tonight’s events and you’re going to believe that until proven otherwise.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I apologize ahead of time, Buck. Tonight’s not going to be pretty.”

He just nods as the doors open on your floor and you step outside with a grimace. You are not looking forward to spending the next night or so here. You knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep next to let alone in the same room as Wanda tonight, but maybe running away to a hotel was a little premature. You were feeling guilty, but didn’t want to go back to your wife until you had answers. Or at least a little clarity about the entire situation.

You feel Bucky reach out for you as you arrived to the room you’ll be sharing with Boone. You turn to him and see his kind smile and you almost start crying immediately.

“I understand, but I’m here for whatever you need, okay?”

You nod in understanding and whisper a quiet goodnight before leaving Bucky standing in the hallway. He sighs before entering his own room and pulling out his phone. He looks around the room with a sigh before throwing his things on the bed. He’s exhausted from the events of tonight, but he’s going to stay up for a while longer. He opens one of his bags to check his things before he decided to just get it over with. He texts Wanda that you’re set up for the night before taking a deep breath and looking to the door between your room and his.

Tonight, definitely wasn’t going to be pretty.

When Vision comes to, he’s been stripped of his jacket, phone, gun and his tie. They’re thrown haphazardly in the corner, and Wanda just sits in a chair in the corner as she stares at him. Steve is standing beside her and Yelena and Nat, although gone, have checked in. She’d sent them to Vision’s place to see if they could find anything that would help her exonerate herself. She hates to admit it, but after thinking on it, she figures that if Vision had one recording of her, he likely had more. Despite how violated it makes her feel, she’s almost hoping to find something that she can use to get you back to her. She’s distraught because she’s afraid you believe what Vision claims, and she hates that you won’t talk about it with her. She understands your confusion, frustration and your betrayal, but she just hopes you take the time to really think about it and realize that she couldn’t have done this. She wouldn’t have done this to you.

She didn’t remember about the copy that Vision had sent you until a few minutes ago, and she dreads the idea of you listening to it. She had briefly seen how long it was, and she couldn’t even consider what the rest of it held. She wanted to reach out to you, but she needed to respect your desire for some space even if it killed her. She’s brought back to the present by the sound of Vision groaning and she just scowls as he looks around before his gaze settles on her.

“Good you’re awake.”

Wanda didn’t really mean this. Honestly, she wouldn’t have minded if he never woke up, but part of her wanted answers for this, and she was going to get them. Despite being present, she didn’t plan on giving Vision the satisfaction of being touched by her. If she had to guess he’d probably get off on it and that was the last thing she wanted for him.

He turns to Steve with a frown before turning back to Wanda with a disappointed look.

“You know, I was really hoping this would be just us.”

Wanda grits her teeth before rolling her eyes at his insistence on being such a pain in the ass.

“And I was hoping to be in bed with my wife, but you fucked that up too.”

Vision just grimaces at the thought before he shakes his head and looks to Steve again with a glare. He doesn’t want the older man here, but he doesn’t get a chance to say this again before Wanda speaks up with a scowl. She leans forward in her chair and tilts her head slightly as she cuts Vision’s bitching off.

“What I really want though, is for you to tell me how long you’ve been a fucking pervert.”

Vision strains and pulls against the ropes around his wrists when Wanda says this and he just shakes his head before offering an unsatisfying answer.

“I’m not a pervert, Wanda, I--.”

He’s cut off when Steve backhands making him curse under his breath from the force. He scowls and spits out some blood and maybe a tooth before gritting his teeth. Wanda just watches him unamused before she sits back and crosses her arms.

“Wrong answer. Try again.”

You realize the fault in your plan as soon as you sit down on the bed and pull out your phone. You stare at Vision’s text and the sound clip that’s 1 minute and 49 seconds. That seems like an agonizingly long time to listen to your wife have sex with someone else. You stop at this and clench your teeth at the thought with a shake of your head. This isn’t something that actually happened and you need to keep that in mind as you listen to this. You take a deep breath before digging in your bag for your headphones. You’re not playing this out into the room because it feels wrong. Not to mention Boone is lying on the ground at your side and he’s going to undoubtedly be confused by the sound.

So you take your headphones and put them in your ears and just lie back in bed. You hold your breath as you try to remember what Wanda told you earlier this week. She told you that she loves you and that she would never even consider being with anyone the way she is with you. You keep this in mind as you press play on your phone.

Even the first few seconds that you’d already heard are brutal and you’re clenching your teeth hard to keep from screaming, or crying or both. You realize that lying in bed was a terrible idea and you jump up and walk around as you continue to listen to the recording of your wife and Clark. You’re about half way in when you realize how odd it sounds. You retreat into the bathroom, and Boone follows you curiously. You feel your face grow hot and your tears start to fall as you climb into the bathtub and start to cry.

You flinch at each loud moan from either person and you shake your head as you start to mutter under your breath.

“It’s not real. It’s not real.”

You don’t realize that Boone’s joined you in the bathroom. He stares at you in confusion before he sits on the floor beside the tub. You try to control your breathing but you’re still near panting by the time the recording ends. You take a moment to recover from it as you think about what you just heard. You could tell a couple of things just from your first run through. Wanda sounded different, and you weren’t sure how, but you were going to figure it out. Second, Clark sounded off too. You couldn’t be sure because you didn’t know him and you’d never had sex with him, but he sounded forced.

You couldn’t put a name to it and you groan loudly when you realize you’re going to need to listen to it again. You decide to be strategic about it, at least as much as possible and you decide to listen to Clark this time. You open your eyes and nearly jump at the sight of Boone watching you over the tub. You sigh before patting your lap and your dog quickly jumps to his feet to hop in the tub with you. He lays down beside you with his head in your lap and you sigh happily before kissing his head.

You look back to your phone and unlock it before pressing play.

Wanda’s beginning to worry that Vision isn’t going to crack. He just continues to insist that he’s not creepy (which he is) and that he’s in love with her (which unfortunately she believes). She sighs as she decides to take a different approach. Vision’s so bloodied that he probably can’t see out of his eyes well, so Wanda moves to take Steve’s place. He sits down in her chair reluctantly once she gestures to it before she sighs heavily.

“Vision, I don’t understand why you won’t tell me when this started. Have you been listening to me in bed with my wife for years?”

Wanda continues to circle Vision until she’s standing in front of him again. She shoots him a smile that he barely sees as she kneels in front of him.

“Does that kind of thing get you off? Or is it something else?”

Wanda waits for him to give any indication that he’s going to answer, but after a little while she gives up. She sighs before walking over to where his phone is sitting on his jacket. She picks it up and turns it on only to see its security is set to be unlocked by a face. She laughs slightly realizing this might be an issue. Still, she gives it a shot and walks back over to Vision and holds it in front of him.

“Smile.”

He looks up in confusion until he realizes what she’s trying to do, but it doesn’t matter. His phone doesn’t recognize him and Wanda just chooses a different unlock option. The code takes six digits, and Wanda takes a second to think about it. She puts her birthday in and it immediately unlocks, and she can’t help but scoff.

“My birthday? Seriously?”

Vision just shifts uneasily as Wanda begins to look through his phone. She goes to this gallery first which is mostly boring. She doesn’t see anything particularly incriminating until she goes to his downloads and sees the audio files. They’re just labeled by date and the first one is from nearly 10 years ago. She frowns at this before digging into her pocket and yanking out a pair of headphones. She’s not making this mistake again, and despite how stoic Steve is, she doesn’t want him to hear her have sex twice in one night.

Vision tenses when he realizes what she’s doing, but he’s powerless to stop her. He jerks slightly but she pays him no mind as she puts her headphones on and listens to the first file. She doesn’t say anything as she listens, but she stiffens and turns to face Steve with a stricken look on her face. He doesn’t get to ask before Wanda moves to the next file which is dated around the same time.

Again, she listens and her jaw drops in shock. These are all her. Each one of these recordings are her in bed with someone, most likely you, she can’t be sure but given the timeline that would make the most sense. She doesn’t listen to them long enough to hear her say a name, and the recording is distorted so it muffles any noise that isn’t coming from her. She listens to one more to confirm her suspicion before scrolling through the list of nearly 2 dozen files. The most recent dating last week. This tells Wanda that whatever he’s done over the years has continued since they moved back to the compound. She listens to the most recent one and her face flushes at what part Vision’s kept and she turns it off immediately at the thought of him listening to this.

She shoves his phone in her pocket before spinning around to glare at him. She’s breathing deeply to try to calm herself down because honestly beating him more at this point won’t get him to talk. She’s certain he’d rather die than admit to being jealous of you.

“You sick fuck. You’re disgusting. I can’t—I can’t believe you’ve been listening in for years and saving it on your fucking phone.”

She can’t help but smile as he flinches and she reaches out to grab his face to force him to look at her. He groans in pain but doesn’t resist much as Wanda shoots him a taunting look.

“Do you listen to them every night pretending that you’re the one fucking me? Are you that pathetic Vision?”

He doesn’t say anything in response, but his eyes harden at her jibe. She lets go of him before watching him squirm as she stares him down. She twirls the ring on her finger, wishing that you were here with her as she taunts and tortures Vision.

“You’re getting off on this aren’t you? That’s why you’re not talking. You want me to touch you, tease you a little? Well, that’s not going to happen. I’ll leave you here to rot before I give you anything.”

Wanda stands up and turns toward the door intending to leave. Vision realizes this as Steve stands up, and he speaks up to stop her from leaving.

“Then you won’t know how to stop it.”

Wanda groans under her breath before she turns around to face Vision with an unamused look. Steve’s already gathering up all of the weapons on the table and packing them up. If Wanda really is going to leave him here, there needs to be nothing in the room when they lock it behind them.

“Stop what, Vision? Your recordings? You don’t have to worry about that.”

Vision shakes his head before smiling cruelly at the redhead who’s halfway out the door.

“No, the hit I’ve already put out on Y/n.”

Two hours and a dozen times listening to the recording later you’ve come to one important conclusion. This was doctored. It’s not really Wanda with Clark and you thank whoever is listening that you know this for a fact. You’re not sure how Vision pulled it off, but if he was working with Clark maybe he’d had him record his part with someone else, either way you didn’t want to think about it.

You also certainly didn’t want to think about the implications of Vision having a recording of your wife having sex. You realized the more you listened to this one that Wanda was younger, this was years old and the possibility that Vision had been recording her somehow, recording both of you made you sick. You nearly gagged at the thought of Vision listening to this and doing who knows what. You curse under your breath as you rip the headphones out of your ears and stand up. Boone startles as well and is quick to follow you back out into the room. He’d fallen asleep with you after you didn’t appear to be doing much, but when you grab his leash, he gets excited.

“Let’s go for a walk, Boone.”

He just barks in excitement and you hush him before grabbing your jacket, keys and phone. You stop short of opening the door and decide to grab the gun from in his pouch and stick it in your pocket. You almost want to go home now that you know Vision’s really just continued to prove himself as a manipulative shit by making up something this elaborate. You sigh in defeat as you open the door to your room and find Bucky standing outside of his waiting for you.

“How did you know?”

He just shrugs and you groan in response before waving him along. You’re starving and you need to eat before you go to bed. It’s nearly 11 but you knew a grocery store around here that was 24/7.

“I’m starving, let’s go to Sprouts.”

Bucky just nods as he follows after you in silence. He’s a little surprised to see you looking pretty good all things considered. Sure your eyes are red and you’ve obviously been crying, but you almost seem lighter and less burdened by Vision’s lies.

He doesn’t get a chance to ask about this when his phone buzzes with a text from Nat. He takes it out as you ride down the elevator and his eyes widen.

Look what we found in Vision’s place.

Attached to the text is a photo of what Nat and Yelena must have found and laid out on his bed. There were hundreds of pictures of Wanda, with a dozen or more tapes and recorders laid out on top of them. There are a couple of articles of clothing and a gun or two that he doesn’t recognize but that doesn’t matter as much as the other stuff. The idea that Vision has been listening in on you and Wanda for years is disgusting, horrifying and unbelievably creepy. He lets out a breath as the elevator doors open and he follows you out without a word.

If you wonder what the text was about you don’t ask. You’re distracted by your desire to eat and you just hurry to the front door and to the parking lot. You stop and let Boone pee on a tree before you pull out your keys.

“Come on, I’ll drive.”

Bucky just nods and swallows the bile he tastes rising up his throat at the thought of Vision stalking your wife.

Steve’s phone beeps as Wanda stares down Vision and he pulls it from his pocket to see a text from Nat. His eyes widen and of course Wanda notices this but she decides to focus on the more pressing matter.

“Let me guess. You have Rumlow going after her? You’re hoping she’ll stay away from here, from me long enough to be an easy target?”

Vision doesn’t speak immediately. He’s a little surprised by how easily Wanda came to this conclusion. She scoffs before shooting him an offended look that he honestly doesn’t know what to do with.

“Do you honestly think I’m stupid? I knew you were behind everything that’s happened in the past week as soon as Clark ratted you out. I was just giving you time to fuck up and reveal who you were working with, but I’m tired of waiting.”

She shuts the door behind her again before taking out her gun and pointing it at Vision. He looks startled and a little concerned when she aims down. She considers just killing him or being spiteful and shooting him in the crotch, but in the end, she decides to shoot him in both of his legs. Now he won’t be able to run away even if he does get out of here.

Wanda leaves him screaming in pain as she locks the door behind Steve and hands him the key. She doesn’t plan to come back for Vision, but she might ask him to finish him off or clean him up later depending on which comes first.

“What did Nat send?”

Steve can’t help but flinch slightly but he doesn’t hesitate to show Wanda his phone as they walk to the elevator.

“They’re bringing it back, but it’s all just proof that Vision’s a pervert.”

Wanda looks at the picture and feels a chill run down her spine. She shudders before handing his phone back with a shake of her head. She’s so creeped out she can’t even put it into words. She feels violated and betrayed by someone she used to trust. She’s also furious that they didn’t have this proof before you left earlier.

“That’s just so disgusting. Have you heard from Bucky?”

You get in the driver’s seat and wait for Bucky to get settled before you start the car. You are about to back out of the spot when you just sigh and put the car back in park and look to your friend. You feel bad about dragging him around with you, and you know you need to do better. He turns to you not quite sure what to expect, but when you turn the car off, he just waits for you to gather your thoughts.

You’re starving, truly starving, but the idea of going out to get food and then come back to this depressing hotel room makes you feel horrible. You want to be home right now and you want to see your wife.

“Bucky, don’t hate me, but I want to go home.”

He surprises you by just smiling and nodding in agreement. He gets unbuckled before opening the car door and following you back inside.

“I’ll get us checked out.”

Steve shakes his head as he looks to his phone again to see that nothing new has come in since Bucky told him that you two were at the hotel. He’s not sure how he feels about you leaving Wanda. He understands that you were overwhelmed and that you just didn’t want to talk about it, but to leave so suddenly? He supposes you don’t know that Wanda’s a wreck and now dealing with the revelation of Vision’s transgressions, but either way he wishes you were here.

As he looks to Wanda who just frowns and nods in defeat, he wishes he had something good to tell her.

Wanda arrives to her dark and quiet rooms and immediately breaks down. She’s so exhausted, so emotionally drained from this evening that she doesn’t even have the energy to move from where she’s collapsed on the floor. She’s so mad at Vision for doing this to her, to both of you, and for still being a threat despite bleeding out downstairs. She hates that the precious time she’s spent with you over the years, just the two of you at your most vulnerable has been invaded and exploited by someone so sick.

She wipes at her eyes and opens them at the sound of Fletcher yowling certainly out of anger. She’d been left alone for much longer than planned and she was expressing her discontent now that someone’s returned. She head butts Wanda’s legs and puts her feet up to try and climb her, but Wanda pushes her off. She’s not in the mood and this makes Fletcher madder. She lays on her back in front of Wanda flicking her tail angrily as she watches the redhead continue to cry.

“Not now, Fletcher.”

When Wanda manages to make herself stand and head to the bedroom, she’s near catatonic. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do about Vision, or what she wants done with all of the creepy stuff from his apartment. She certainly doesn’t want to listen to it. Maybe once you’re back you both can have a bonfire.

This makes her remember about the most recent recording she’d listened to. That had certainly happened in this very room and she immediately jumps out of bed and starts looking around for a bug. She takes out her phone and uses the flashlight to look under the bed, but when she doesn’t see anything there, she moves to the bedside tables. She looks at the lamps, flipping them over before practically slamming them down when she spots nothing suspicious. She curses as she opens the drawers to the bedside tables before getting on her knees to look under them. She stops at the sight of something that doesn’t look outright suspicious but she can tell it’s not supposed to be there.

Wanda reaches into her pocket and grabs Vision’s phone before unlocking it again. She’s not sure if the device is connected directly to his phone, but she decides to check. There are the standard apps that she doesn’t care anything about, but there’s one she doesn’t recognize that she immediately opens. She sees a list of three devices: Bedroom 1, bedroom 2 and car. The first and the last are shown as offline, but the second one is online. She grabs the circular device from underneath the table and throws it on the ground. She then pulls out her gun and smashes it against the device until it breaks. She looks back to Vision’s phone and watches as it switches to offline and she feels her breath catch.

That little…

Wanda breathes a sigh of relief as she throws Vision’s phone aside and gets to her feet. She takes a look around her room and wonders how long she’ll have to be in it alone. The thought of you makes fresh tears fall. She’s not sure what she’ll do if you stay mad at her. She wants you to come back, but she knows reaching out to you tonight will only make things worse. She just hopes that you are being safe wherever you are, and that Bucky and Boone are watching out for you.

“Boone, watch it.”

You nearly trip over your dog as you tiredly make your way into the elevator. It’s nearly midnight and you drove all the way back to the compound because you didn’t want to be alone with your thoughts anymore. You also just wanted to see your wife and apologize for overreacting and leaving her when you should have just talked it out. You stifle a yawn as the elevator climbs to your floor before reaching out for Boone.

“Ready to sleep buddy?”

He starts panting excitedly and jumping around and you just smile before patting his head. You feel bad about dragging him all over tonight, but you know he doesn’t really mind as long as he’s with someone. You start at the ding signaling your arrival and you take a deep breath as you step out. You hope Wanda isn’t too mad at you.

Wanda’s awoken by the sound of a door shutting nearby, and despite being only half-awake she jumps up and reaches for her gun. She hadn’t even gotten around to changing before she crashed and her clothes were wrinkled and her hair a mess. However, that’s not her priority at the moment because as far as she knows she’s alone and probably will be for a while. She hurries out to check out the noise when she sees a shadow bending over in front of the front door.

“Don’t move.”

You had expected it to be dark when you got back, but you hadn’t realized Wanda was still awake until she came running out of the bedroom. You set your things down and are about to turn on the lights when you see her point something at you and your hands fly up. She tells you not to move and you don’t but you open your mouth to apologize for surprising her.

“I know you’re probably mad, but don’t shoot.”

Your voice immediately makes Wanda drop the gun and you take that opportunity to turn on the lights so you can see her.

“Y/n?”

She’s shocked to see you here, that you’re back already but you don’t give her a lot of time to process it before you move towards her. You shoot her a questioning look as you raise your arms and Wanda nearly tackles you in a hug before you can even ask.

“Y/n! You’re back. Thank God.”

You smile widely as you hug your wife back tightly. You sigh in relief, exhaustion, happiness, maybe all three as you shake your head and just revel in the feeling of holding Wanda in your arms.

“I’m back. I’m sorry for leaving, I shouldn’t have done that. I just needed time and a chance to work things out on my own.”

Wanda just shakes her head as she pulls away from you just enough to look at you. She’s exhausted and she can tell that you are too. Your eyes are red and you look like you feel guilty and nauseous at the same time.

“No, it’s okay. I get that. I just—are we okay? What did you work out?”

You sigh heavily before you just take Wanda’s hand and lead her to the couch nearby. You’re about to fall asleep standing up and you need to sit down before you actually collapse. You’re about to tell Wanda what you found out, but her soft hiss catches your attention. You frown as you turn back to her and realize that you caused it when you look at her hand. Your frown deepens and you carefully hold her hand closer to inspect the red, broken skin over her knuckles.

“Babe, you need to take care of this.”

It doesn’t take a lot of thought to figure out what happened, and you feel your guilt hit you again for leaving your wife to deal with this alone. Well, she’d had your friends but you should have been there with her as well. You stand up to go find something to clean her wounds with but she stops you before you can go far. She squeezes your hand with a pleading look and you are powerless to resist.

“First tell me if we’re okay, please.”

You don’t hesitate to nod and you offer Wanda a sad smile as you pull her gently to her feet. You’ll walk and talk to appease her and yourself. You look to her other hand and as you suspected that one is a little banged up too. You just hope that Vision hurts more than she does.

“We’re okay, Wands. I-I listened to the recording because I just had to know.”

You don’t realize you’re leaving Wanda hanging as you look for the hydrogen peroxide underneath the bathroom sink. You find it and set it on the counter as you look around for gauze or cotton balls with a sigh.

“Do you know now? “

Wanda’s question makes you stop and when you turn and see how anxious she looks you drop what you’re doing and stand back up to hug her again. You curse yourself for not being more reassuring before you rush to explain yourself.

“Yes, I’m sorry. Vision is a disgusting; devious fuck and I really hope you killed him.”

When Wanda shakes her head, you can’t help frowning, but she explains before you can ask. She holds you close before closing her eyes at the thought of what was discovered.

“Not yet. Nat and Yelena searched his apartment, and they found a lot more.”

You stiffen at her words but you try to focus on cleaning up her bruised and battered hands. You carefully put band aids on the spots that look the worst before daring to ask.

“A lot more what exactly?”

You finish cleaning Wanda up and she shakes her head as she decides not to tell you. Unfortunately for her, you’re smart and you realize what she’s trying to tell you. You feel yourself growing angry at the thought of Vision having more of what you’d heard. How could he have done this for so long without you knowing about it? That’s something you don’t want to consider, and you shake your head as you scowl in distaste.

“That fucker.”’

Once Wanda’s wounds are taken care of and you finally get some food, the two of you fall into bed. You’re exhausted and already grieving the fact you’re only going to sleep for a few hours before you take a deep breath. You hold Wanda close to your front as you cuddle her from behind. You kiss her shoulder before you shift so you’re holding your wife even tighter against you.

“I’m sorry about tonight. I really am.”

Wanda sighs and is about to tell you that it’s fine, that she understands, but she stops short. Despite this being true, she was also terrified when you left tonight. She thought you were going to leave her and not come back. You scared her tonight, and she doesn’t want to make you feel bad, but she knows that being honest with you is important.

“You scared me tonight, Y/n. I thought you were gone for good.”

You frown hating to hear that you caused Wanda so much distress. You just try to make up for it by reassuring her that you’re here now and you don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

“I promise I’m not going anywhere, Wands. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Wanda just holds you tighter in response, and you close your eyes and let your exhaustion send you into a dreamless sleep. You sleep so soundly you don’t realize your alarm is going off for nearly two minutes. Both you and Wanda are exhausted enough to not hear it, and it’s only Boone barking and jumping on you that gets you to wake up.

You curse as you pull away from your wife to defend yourself from the large dog who’s trying to climb in bed with you.

“Boone, no! Get down.”

You groan loudly as you push Boone off the bed and then fumble around for the device that is still screeching loudly. You don’t realize that Wanda is reluctantly getting up as well until she looks over to you and Boone who are glaring at each other. You sigh in defeat as you give up and climb out of bed. Boone sticks his face to the carpet and starts sniffing a pile of broken plastic that you hadn’t noticed last night, and you hurry to stop him.

“Leave it, Boone. Don’t eat that.”

Wanda watches as you bend over to pick up the scraps of plastic from the recording device with a grimace. She’d meant to clean that up before you saw it, but now she just had to talk about Vision first thing in the morning and she frowns at the thought.

“What’s this?”

You’re still picking up the tiny shards of plastic so Boone won’t eat them when you look around for more and see a phone you don’t recognize. You reach out for it and Wanda’s getting out of bed before you can ask about that.

“That’s Vision’s phone and bug that he’s been listening to us with. It’s obviously broken now.”

You turn back to Wanda with a shocked expression that quickly turns to disgust before you shake your head. You hand Wanda the phone because you figure she wants to hold onto it before tossing the destroyed bug into the trash.

“That gross fucker…where is he now?”

Vision is passed out by the time Wanda visits him later in the morning. Despite wanting to gloat a little, you decide to take Wanda’s advice and not visit him quite yet. She wanted to see if he had a contingency plan for if he ended up not being able to talk to Rumlow about your hit. If it was already scheduled maybe he would change this if you and Wanda weren’t fighting.

It was unlikely but Y/n only had two more days at work before her weekend, so she was just going to be extra careful and only go from point A to point B. They were just going to have to see how things went.

Wanda is trying not to worry too much about that right now, but she honestly just has to believe that everything she’s done will be enough to keep you safe. She plans on talking to Vision again soon, but for now she just needs a bit of a break. She heads back up to your rooms to lie down for a while. Despite Boone not being allowed in the bed because of how much he sheds, Fletcher is somewhat immune to rules. She at least seems to think she is because after Wanda falls asleep, Fletcher comes to curl up next to her.

You are at work wishing you could curl up and go to sleep when lunch rolls around. You’re tired and today’s not even half finished, but you take the lunch hour to catch up on work and check in with Wanda. She’d told you that she was going to let you know how it went with Vision, but she hadn’t reached out yet. You pulled your phone out and started to dial Wanda when Bucky speaks up in your ear. You kept forgetting he was there.

“Hey, Wanda says she’s about to call you.”

You nod at this before you decide to call her first. You thank Bucky and take out your com and place it on your desk. You wait for a few seconds as it rings, but eventually you hear your wife’s tired voice.

“Hey detka.”

You cringe slightly before looking at the clock. You hadn’t realized that Wanda would be asleep.

“Hey, sorry did I wake you up?”

Wanda sits up in bed before shaking her head. She had just been resting and doing some reading when you’d called. She’d visited Vision this morning and was still mulling over what he’d said. She told you a little about how Vision was entirely unhelpful in regards to telling her how you were going to be targeted. This wasn’t a surprise to you despite being a disappointment and you sigh before nodding in understanding. Of course Vision wouldn’t do anything to help you, even if Wanda asked for it. You think about what to ask first but Wanda beats you to it.

“I’m sorry he wasn’t any help. I can go back and try again later, but he’s really out of it. I probably need to have someone treat him or give up. He’s on his last leg.”

You hum at this as you try not to be too pleased about hearing that Vision is near death. As much as you hate him and he hates you, it doesn’t seem like good karma to gloat about his current condition. You just sigh as you try to ward off the headache that’s been creeping on you all day.

“Whatever you want to do, Wands. I don’t think he’s going to do anything that might help me though.”

Wanda scowls because she hates to admit it, but she’s almost certain that you are right. Short of giving Vision everything he wants, meaning leaving you for him, there is no way he’d spare your life. She curses him once again for being a vindictive and insecure asshole. Wanda is about to say that she agrees with you, but your office phone rings indicating that someone’s paging you.

“One sec, sorry.”

You answer the phone and have a brief conversation with one of the assistants about an end of day work in euthanasia. You hate adding those at the end of the day, but you won’t say no since it sounds like the dog is in bad shape.

“That’s fine. Go ahead and add it. Sure, thank you.”

You try not to think about how you won’t be home until late as you turn your attention back to your wife.

“Sorry. Did you catch any of that?”

Wanda nods and says exactly what you’re thinking and you just smile before nodding in defeat.

“Yeah, sounds like you’ll have a late night.”

Taglist: @whitewidowsbite, @exclusivitymajor, @natswifeysblog15

Part 10

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda x reader #wanda x you #natasha romanoff & reader #natasha romanoff #yelena belova & reader #yelena belova #pietro maximoff #silver springs #mob au #marvel fic

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kpforpresident · 1 year

Note

from the prompt list - time travel 💫😌 please

Clarke slams into the ground so hard her teeth rattle. Every muscle aching with effort, she manages to fling out a shaking arm to hinge herself onto her back, teeny rocks biting into her palm with sharp edges as she flops down again, arms screaming.

With another desperate burst of energy she manages to curl her fingers around the knife that is digging a razor tip into just above her knee, bringing it to clasp over her chest as her lungs burn from the abrupt change in both altitude and oxygen content.

The sky is a bright ceramic blue, puffy white clouds lazily sailing by as birds chirp merrily in the background, the sounds of an idyllic marred only by the loud wheezing Clarke found herself emitting as she struggled to catch her breath.

Why the fuck is that time jump so goddamn hard? When I go forward it doesn't give me a rib stitch like that, Clarke finds herself thinking as she massages her right rib absentmindedly.

Three large breaths later Clarke finds the fortitude to peel herself off the ground, staggering upright as she shakes the pins and needles out of her leaden feet. She surreptitiously checks the glowing map that surrounds her wrist, noting the golden, pulsing dot in the middle is moving steadily closer to her location.

Nodding decisively, she moves forward, finds a slightly rotten, moss coated log to settle onto by the side of the road, and settles in to wait, eyes glued to the glowing orb that is moving from the crook of her elbow to the green x that is projected above her wrist.

///

Lexa rolls her next side to side slightly, straightening up and nodding infinitesimally back towards Gus's direction when he tilts his head in her direction, eyes questioning.

Yes, I'm ok.

Stiffness from her neck alleviated slightly, Heda settled into the rhythmic movement of her horse, Laika's gentle walk, and resigned herself to a boring ride north, mentally preparing for the mind games and underhanded treachery that two weeks of all of the ambassadors in Polis for their annual meeting held.

At least Luna is coming this year, that's something.

Lexa was so entrenched in the thoughts of her dark eyed friend that she almost missed the flaxen haired girl, curled up slightly off the path on a crumbling redwood log.

Her guards, however, did not.

Lexa was unable to bark an order to stand down before Ryder drew his bow, a lethally honed arrow whistling through the arrow with deadly speed before Lexa could raise a hand in warning.

Before she could breathe, a blue glow washed over the clearing as an orb, crackling and pulsing with energy, encompassed the girl. Ryder's arrow fell to the ground silently at Laika's feet, arrow tip compressed cleanly into a flat disc where it had come in contact with the energy field.

Brow pressed tight in silent disbelief and worry, Ryder silently stooped to scoop up the arrow and hand it to Lexa, both chastisement and concern etched into his features.

The clearing was completely silent, dusk rapidly creeping into the forest as purple smudged the horizon.

The girl was awake now, expression blank behind the wavering energy as she stared silently back at the company before her. She stands quietly, every muscle clearly on alert as she raises her hands in deference to Lexa, either somehow knowing or assuming that she was the one to address. Lexa makes a mental note of her observation skills,

"Hello. My name is Clarke Griffin."

Lexa turned the arrow over in slender fingers twice, thumb gently worrying the downy soft fletching of the owl feathers before coming to a snap decision.

She speaks the language of the mountain people.

"Hei, Clarke Griffin. I am Lexa."

Something akin to recognition washes over Clarke's features, intelligence clear in her bright eyes.

"Lexa."

Confused, Lexa cocks her head, Laika stamping uneasily as Lexa's hands tighten unconsciously on the reigns.

"Lexa kom Trikru." The trig words trip uncomfortable, foreign, off of Clarke's tongue.

Gus's head snaps up at this, hand tightening around his sword as he looks at Clarke Griffin with renewed suspicion.

"The only people who refer to me as that are my familiars or my advisors, of which you are neither, Clarke Griffin. Explain yourself, or you will not be so lucky as for Ryder to miss a second time." The words come out colder, tighter, than initially intended. Clarke's tech and her appearance among a trail that was a tightly kept secret as Heda's preferred traveling path was unlikely to be a lucky guess.

The blue orb flares again around Clarke at Lexa's threatening tone, Lexa's guard blinking against the bright glow that once again surrounds her figure. Despite this, Clarke takes one, then two hesitant steps towards Lexa. Laika

"Lexa. I'm here to help you, to help protect you."

Lexa can feel her eyebrow quirk in amusement and disdain as a ripple of laughter ran through her men. Lexa, clad head to toe in leathers with two swords strapped to her back, black war paint smudged down her cheeks in a fearsome mask, hardly conjured images of helpless maidens in distress. Lexa had staunchly curated her image in defiance of her stature as a slim young woman since the day she had climbed bloodied and victorious out of her Kongeda.

"Protect me?" Lexa snorted in derision, though not unkindly. This Clarke Griffin clearly meant well, although mistaken. While they would have to question her on her knowledge of this trail, there was nothing to be concerned about, Lexa decided as she settled back into her saddle once again. "I highly doubt that, Clarke Griffin."

"I come from a future where you are killed by an unseen assassin at the last night of the yearly ambassador meeting, Heda. With your death the conclave falls into disrepair, triggering the start of World War Four. I was sent back to save you, and I intend to do my job."

The reins slip from Lexa's hands as she is unable to stop the shocked breath from escaping her lips.

A steely blue gaze meets a dazed green stare as Clarke hesitantly lowers the force field, stepping foward into Lexa's path.

"I believe we have much to discuss."

#i.....do not know what happened here #clexa #time travel au?#did y'all ever read peter and the starcatchers growing up #that vibe was playing in my head #tell me what you think please #even though i do not need any more projects or AUs

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berrypass-de-murdler · 3 months

Text

22. They Bill You for Dying

AHAH

Fletch made

Cosmonaut Bluski!! he is an otter and a CUTIE!!! He has his helmet on most of the time but usually takes it off when he's talking. Or convicted.

For this episode Blackstone's twin bro is literally just him but with a red tie, BEST DESIGN EVER.

DON'T READ THE EPISODES UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED THE FIRST BOOK!!

Obsidian contacts the famous lawyer business Blackstone & Blackstone, and Logico has to come too because judge stuff. I guess there are two Blackstone brothers but now the not-important one is dead I guess. Also Mauve is there. For some reason.

MAUVE: Want to step into my metaverse? LOGICO: [leaves]

Anyway, one of the presumed weapons is a contract so confusing that it would kill someone to read, literally. Logico cackles loudly to himself at just the thought and is not professional at all. But more importantly, weird stuff is going on. Blackstone has a crush on… Mauve???

BLACKSTONE: Hello. :’3 MAUVE: Whaaaaat. BLACKSTONE: I just uh omg um hi MAUVE: Heallo. <3

AWWWEE MAUVIEEEE Anyway Logi figures out the truth behind the brothercide.

BLACKSTONE: No, I’m not going to jail! LOGICO: Fair enough, I guess.

That's my short king, always on the side of justice.

The end!

Sorry for not much, I spent too long on the video whoops

Good news is we're crankin out designs like nobody's business, LET'S DESIGN THE WHOLE FIRST SERIES WOOOOO

And the second. And the third.

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

#murdle #cartoonmurdleverse

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trudemaethien · 10 months

Note

The ship: Fives/Longshot Words: revise, lake, reference

Good luck!

hi here i am to ruin your happiness, im very sorry but guess what! these two met in canon! guess where! 😈😅😰🥺

TW: canon compliant deaths, graphic, DDDNE

“So you’re the troopers Commander Cody assigned to this mission. Five of you, huh?”

“And you’re Captain Rex’s pick for the mission? Only two of you, huh?” one of the gold-painted troopers mimicked.

Fives broke into a friendly grin and offered his hand to the brother who had the balls to challenge an ARC. Echo shook his head; he always bemoaned Fives’ methods of getting others to revise their bad opinions of Torrent’s ARCs. They had a reputation they couldn’t shake now, though.

The trooper stared unmoving at it for almost too long to be anything but insulting, then clacked their vambraces together, their gloved thumbs rasping against blacks in the gap of armor at the bend of the elbow.

“We’re going to show the Seppies there’s no prison strong enough to withstand the combined forces of Ghost and Torrent!” another trooper enthused.

“Or not show them, I think the point is,” Fives’ new friend said wryly. “It is stealth infil we’re going for here, Mayhem.”

“Of course the sniper wants to avoid direct contact, Longshot.”

Fives deftly cut off the impending spat, “You’ve all been selected for your excellence in your specialty, and we’ll have need of each of your expertise on this mission.”

“Our specialty as ARCs is to have your backs,” Echo promised. “We’re trained to be as close to Jedi as Force-Nulls can be, so think of us as roving assets like Kenobi, not that we’re as experienced as your esteemed General.”

“Just twice as devilishly handsome,” Fives joked, and then overtly checked over his shoulder as though to ensure the Jedi hadn’t overheard his boast. It made the group of clones laugh, and tensions ease completely as they introduced themselves: Longshot, Charger, Mayhem, Fletch, and Chance.

Despite the impromptu team bonding, the mission on Lola Sayu was a clusterfuck nearly from the start. Ahsoka had stowed away. Fives almost dropped Charger off the cliff, but Echo caught him—just not before he accidentally set off one of the mines and triggered the alarm.

Inside, the defenses were insane. Holocams watched them, laser turrets activated at the slightest motion, electricity crackled down the walls. There was a moving force field that raced up to catch the rear guards. Charger, winded by the previous blast, stumbled; Echo’s fingertips almost brushed him, but he had to jerk back to avoid the lightning himself. One save, only to lose the man minutes later. Echo would be chastising himself, but Fives could help his partner deal with it after the mission was over.

Fives managed to snag the other man who’d been bringing up the rear, his new sniper friend. He bodily slammed the regular trooper none too gently into an alcove as the field passed them by. He knew Echo would be jealous but also glad of his success. One less casualty.

Longshot breathed raggedly. “Thanks,” he croaked. “Running from death traps is not my specialty. Give me a sight and a site, anytime.”

“Just stay with me, and I’ll paint you some targets to take out,” Fives promised, and got them moving again, herding everyone into a bounding overwatch.

The SNAFU only got worse from there.

Mayhem got caught in a door and cut in two. The prison warden executed Chance without a second thought to try and intimidate Jedi Master Piell. Fletch got shot by a crab droid. Of the five clone POWs they rescued, Kip and Jecko were shot down from their ascension cables, and Nav Officer Tuurn threw himself in front of a blast meant for Tarkin.

And Echo. Echo went down in an explosion trying and failing to save their escape craft. All the remaining troopers could do was watch in increasing horror as their numbers and hope of rescue dwindled.

Rex and Cody were still standing, of course, and Fives. They did have two of their rescues still, Effo and Mill, but the only other man remaining from the original team was Longshot.

As promised, Fives painted targets for him in between his own shots, and Longshot never missed. Fives privately felt responsible for this trooper’s safety in a desperate, last-ditch sort of way. He’d failed all the rest of the team he was supposed to be looking out for, but if he could only make sure this one made it back…

The Warden pinned them down on an island in the midst of the lava sea, and desperately, Fives shot at his speeder; his shot didn’t hit, but the sniper’s did. They made a good team, even diminished.

Fives whipped off a congratulatory salute at his buddy even as Tarkin and the warden grappled nearby.

The cavalry arrived: Commander Wolffe and Plo Koon.

Ahsoka stabbed the warden. They were done. Nothing else was stopping them from leaving

Fives turned back to give Longshot a hand up into the larty, only to see him take a hit on the shoulder from a stray droid—survivable—but then stumble off the lip of the island, into the lava.

His plastoid warped and dripped, and grimly Fives shot him, a clean kill, before he could scream again.

just beyond my grasp 🔒 https://archiveofourown.org/works/51735298

#writing prompt #ask answered #fanfiction #star wars tcw #cloneshipping #clones #arc trooper fives #clone trooper longshot #fives/longshot #canon death #angst #unhappy ending #sorry guys

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gravesung · 1 month

Text

quick and dirty bios for the unseen's inner circle (the sanctum)!

bc i just remembered sage and fletch are the only unseen creatures i actually have bios for.

*note — by default, these descriptions apply to the unseen as they are in shelter island. some details are subject to change based on verse. *note 2 — each member of the sanctum has a self-chosen tarot card that's left behind as a "calling card" at a particular job they claim responsibility for. in place of a stolen bounty, on top of a body, etc.

acheron ??? (he/him) — the poisoner

the emperor

dilf

calm, collected, honest but in a kind way. pretty emotionally intelligent.

as a rule, never pries into other people's business. lane = stayed in.

has a son who's in college rn! on good terms with his ex-wife.

ex-safecracker/bank robber

he makes poisons! has a little lab and everything

occasionally fletch will pull him out of retirement and make him go crack a safe. he complains about his knees

norah suman (she/her) — the engineer

the sun

lesbiab

has had a secret crush on seph for a couple years. designed her arms from the ground up, and the first point of contact when something goes wrong or seph needs a redesign/upgrade

dry humor, very blunt and often sarcastic

eyebrow piercing

habit of chopping off her hair when she's sad

makes the gadgets. makes explosives, modifies weapons, invents new shit, always thinking about new ways to do stuff. engineering as an art and a science at the same time.

also an up-and-coming tattoo artist!

orion aisa (he/they) — the forger

the moon

seph's twin brother

not a great fighter, hates using guns

eyepatch over his right eye. fletch took it when he and seph tried to escape as teenagers, along with ripping seph's arms off, which is a very normal and cool and chill reaction to have

trans lad. top surgery, took testosterone for a few years but then stopped. pretty satisfied with where he's at right now

excellent painter

suffers from hand tremors, though they fade when he paints

hector dionísio (he/him) — the muscle

the wheel of fortune

unpredictable and violent. unhinged.

will be having a drink with you and then at a hair-trigger provocation, he'll just turn around and start kicking the shit out of someone

scarily good fighter, way too fast for his muscular build

no one knows why fletch trusts him to be in the inner circle and not rat on them

unexpectedly very reliable as a teammate. he does his job very well

fixated on seph in a "constantly riling her so that she'll fight him whenever he wants" way

fixated on edith in a "why can't i land a hit on you. come here" way

pit fighter. so far undefeated

cody shimura (he/him) — the accountant

justice

the most guy ever

he's so tired.

retired hedge fund manager, went into crime because he did some digging, realized the finance industry was already in fletch's pocket anyway, and his ability to stealthily uncover those secrets impressed fletch enough to hire him on.

tries to be a plant dad but he keeps killing them

surprisingly well-trained with a gun

occasionally pulls out the most scathing one-liners in the quietest and calmest voice imaginable

sage / VECTOR (she/her) — the driver

the world

technomancer (arcane hacker)

pokemon superfan

harvard dropout

a pretty normal person, generally, probably the least traumatized out of the crew

can summon cars / motorcycles made of, essentially, compressed/hardened demon souls sourced straight from hell

also has normal, non-summonable cars / motorcycles that she likes to augment and fix up with norah's help

has a giant fluffy dog named Baby

fucking Maniac behind the wheel. the dog's name is a reference to baby driver for a reason.

if she knew about @tewwor's vector alias, she would make them matching shirts

edith winter (she/they) — the thief

the hermit

sneaky. quiet. wow shocker

fey changeling who's lived on earth their whole life, but is in contact with the human child they replaced

raised by wolves a gang, sort of collectively alongside her parents. it takes a village yaknow. they all had a hand in training her to be the insanely skilled thief she is — edith was probably the most valuable piece on their board, even at a young age

said gang was absorbed by the unseen and scattered across the world for resisting said absorption. one of edith's parents was killed in the conflict, the other was sent across the world but she doesn't know where

no one knows if they're bitter about it or not. they don't talk about it

acheron taught her how to crack safes

caro vitale / deadfall (he/him) — the fence

the hanged man

owner of the black stag, a bar and antique shop just at the northern edge of the city where metropolis meets highway meets forest.

can sell anything to anyone

no one knows a single thing about this man except for the fact that he's fluent in italian. he WILL lie if you ask him anything else. caro vitale is also not his real name

he got that thang on him (a club)

tattoos everywhere

ishal king (they/them) — the doctor

death

fae nephilim (an angel fucked an archfey and produced a very strange kid), exiled from the autumn court for death crimes before going into the human medical field as a surgeon.

nearly got arrested for experimenting with nephilim blood (their own, but whatever guys), faked their death, joined the unseen. now works happily and privately for fletch in their silly little lab.

mushroom garden

medicinal plant expert alongside their knowledge of modern medicine

ominous positivity

anah tannar (she/her) — the spy

the devil

you know her! you love her! she's probably broken your heart!

local celebrity influencer

resident honeypot for any woman-attracted target

prefers to be flashy and stand out, but also insanely good at blending in and being invisible when need be

serial dater. never lets anyone too close, but loves to have a web of one-way connections to people who think they're her best friend or favorite ex, and/or owe her a favor (she has a book of debts)

a genuinely compassionate person underneath it all, she just leaned hard into her manipulative side after being used one too many times

persephone aisa (they/she) — the assassin

judgement

first lieutenant/right hand to amari fletch, and thus second-in-command to the unseen itself

sharpshooter, beat-upper, gunfighter, knife-swinger. if john wick can do it, so can they

cold, aggressive, hostile. deadly as fuck. if you follow this blog you probably came from hers so i won't go into too much detail SJDKHJKSD

amari fletch (they/he) — the leader

the tower (also the name they're publicly known by)

i swear they're not secretly thousands of years old i swearrrrr (yes they are) (they cheated death in a game of dice and bear the mark of cain for it)

think gus fring, netflix wilson fisk, silco — that type of person

spidery motherfucker, aka has connections eeeeverywhere. so many judges, cops, government officials in their pocket.

for the most part, fletch is satisfied with the world the way that it is. the unseen profits nicely, they have as much power as they need, and no one fucks with them (if they even know it exists)

if someone does fuck with him and his, however, he will not hesitate to make a violent and chaotic example of them for the rest of the world to see.

calm and levelheaded 99% of the time. 1% of the time, off-the-wall destructive

will take risks if they can see a benefit and the consequence of failure won't fuck up their plans.

extremely powerful in a fight (is not human) with enough raw strength to fully charge straight through a building wall by wall if they wanted to. but they don't. lmao

seph is their protegé (????) (i genuinely don't have a term for their relationship it's so fucked up and hard to describe), & they are very very possessive about it

#muse drop.#fletch meta.#unseen meta.#the sanctum meta.#sage meta.#acheron meta.#anah meta.#etc etc

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majesticwren · 6 months

Text

due to high demand - me. I'm high demand. this entire project is being written entirely for my pleasure, be warned I'm being extremely self-indulgent - I've decided to write a little prequel to the events that take place here. this is set in 2018 and is the beginning of Fletch x OFC. billy will have his own little prequel at some point. enjoy. this it the grand finale guys I went heavy on the fluff because my heart needed soothing. thanks. bye. more of the nuclear season series (?) coming soon.

Trigger Warning/s: a whole lot of healing, toothrotting fluff, mention of alcohol consumption, more fluff, a little bit of drama because I'm that bitch and I needed spice for the plot - nothing majour though, mainly friends to lovers/impossible relationship dynamics..

nuclear season: part I -> | part II -> | part III -> prequel: <- part I | <- part II | <- part III Masterlist

When she was left alone, Erika sat there for the longest time, just looking at the phone her dad gave her. She looked and looked, searching for the courage to move from within herself. She lit herself another cigarette and still looked at her own reflection on the black screen, waiting, hoping someone else took the decision she was required to take for herself.

In her mind branched a dozen of possible dialogues with an infinite number of outcomes. And not one seemed to satisfy her. Especially because she had no way to control the true sequence of events. She couldn’t know what version of Mark she would have found on the other side of the call. She wanted it to be the brother she knew well. The one she relied on and considered her entire world. But there was an instilled new fear that she would have found the one who broke her instead.

Maybe she should have just ignored it. Maybe she could have gone more time keeping her life on pause, living in self-doubt and sadness.

Or maybe she could have taken control of her narrative.

Inhaling a puff of smoke, Erika finally moved, unlocking the phone and sliding into the contact list, looking for Mark’s number. Her thumb was shaking as she started the call and that nervousness was quick to spread all over her. As the line connecting her to the other side of the world rang, a shiver crossed her, shaking her. She felt it in her bones.

The longer it rang the more Erika hoped he simply wouldn’t pick up. Somehow, ending all her expectations in such an underwhelming way felt better than any other possibility.

“Hey, dad?” As Mark’s voice flooded through her, Erika felt so nervous she wanted to puke. “Can I call you in a minute? I’m a little busy.” He was out of breath and, around him, Erika could hear a great cacophony of voices and laughter. Someone howled “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,” so close to Mark that she felt it next to her.

“It’s me, Mark,” She immediately regretted her choice. She should have waited. She should have ignored it. She wasn’t ready. She wasn’t brave enough.

“Erika!? H-hold on. Don’t go away. Give me a minute,” she heard him move the phone, brushing the mic against something as he told someone around him, he needed a moment.

Erika couldn’t control herself. Her wondering mind pictured her brother in a room full of people and she wondered where Kyle was standing. She knew he was there. He was one of those voices. One of those people laughing. Was he close to Mark? Close enough to know she called?

Mark left. She felt the background noise quiet down as he moved. “Where have you been all this time? What happened to your phone? I tried to reach you so many times,”

“I’ve been home. I am just at home. And I’ve changed my number.”

“That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

“Well, it was that or ruin my life. I picked the less evil.”

“Listen,” he huffed, “I am so sorry. I said horrible things to you and I didn’t mean to. I am so terribly sorry.” He sounded like his chest was tight. There was a small pause. “I thought you hurt yourself when I couldn’t find you anymore. In those two days no one knew where you were, I thought the worst. I-”

Erika shook her head, trying to survive the ache that spread through her chest knowing he wasn’t lying. Guilt stubbed right through her.

“Listen to me,” Erika started, “I am going to try and be brief because I am still not sure I can do this. I am not sure I am ready to forget what happened. But you aren’t the only one in the wrong.” She huffed, shaking her head and fidgeting. She was so nervous her skin was hurting. “I am no saint. I understand where your concerns came from. But it hurt me in an unhuman way, how you reacted,”

“Erika, I am so sorry,”

“Shut up. I am not done,”

“Ok, sorry,” he mumbled going back to listening to her.

“Knowing how little you thought of me made me reconsider everything. It broke me in half and I hadn’t been able to think clearly that last day I was there. I knew you wouldn’t have liked me being around Kyle, I had suspected it from the beginning because I was the first to know I was not worth being around someone like him. I was too scared to even start a conversation with you about it because I didn’t want to find myself hearing what you then still told me in the end. It was like facing my deepest nightmare. You were – you still are, the only person I can’t deal to know I let down, and hearing you say those things made me lose it.” Erika took a small pause only to light herself another cigarette, out of pure anxiety, “But, that being said, I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. I shouldn’t have done what I have done. I should have been brave. I should have faced you and told you how I simply fell in love with Kyle and there was nothing I could do about it. I should have fought.”

“You are fighting now,” there he was, the brother she knew, the man she admired so much. Her light in the dark. She was still far from trusting him, but the walls surrounding her heart just came down for him, it was stronger, bigger than her, and there was nothing she could do. She was back being a small kid so close to her older brother they were inseparable.

Erika couldn’t hold a smile as tears started coming. “Like hell, mate. You don’t even know half of it.”

“For what’s worth, I am proud of you. I need you to know that.”

“I needed that two months ago, Mark.”

“I know. I am sorry. I dealt with it badly. I didn’t know you felt that way about Kyle. I’ve seen you with boys before. I thought this would be the same.”

“Well, it isn’t. It wasn’t. I had never,” Erika paused, wondering if she truly wanted to be honest with him, but it didn’t seem like she could control herself, words were pouring out of her chest quicker than her thoughts. “I’ve never loved anyone before. It scared me so much. And then you were there making me doubt I’d never be able to be worth enough for Kyle, I just-”

“I am sorry,”

“Please, bro, stop apologising or I swear I’ll catch a flight and come there to smack you. I got it, we are talking about it. Just stop saying sorry.”

“Ok. But I can’t control myself from feeling like it was my fault.”

“Yeah, well, it is your fault. And I should have just told you earlier about Kyle. I’ve known I liked him for much longer than this. I think I knew from the beginning. And somehow it felt easier to pretend I didn’t than just come to you and be honest.”

“Feelings are scary, mate. I get it. Especially when there’s a complicated situation in the way.”

“Yeah,” Erika sniffled, drying her tears and then inhaling another puff of hot smoke, letting it seep into her lungs and spread through her. “Well, here we go. I love him, Mark. Spent the past two months trying to put myself together to be somewhat worth enough to even consider apologising for what I did to him.”

“Oh, munchkin,” she felt his breath trembling, shaken by emotions she wished she would witness in person, “you already are. You are good for him. And he is good for you.”

Erika was struck. Pure emotion crossed her as more tears came, making it impossible for her to stop them. She curled on herself, hugging the phone. She released a soft chuckle, shaking her head. “That’s it. This is what I wanted you to tell me, Mark.”

“I know. I should have. Would have saved all of us lots of trouble.” She had the impression he was smiling, “I won’t let you down again, Erika. I swear this on my life.”

Erika chuckled louder, shaking her head. “A bit extreme, don’t you think?”

He too, followed her with a small burst of laughter. It was maybe a new beginning. Maybe she didn’t completely trust he wouldn’t have judged or hurt her ever again just yet. But hearing that noise still restored hope in her.

“So, you and Fletch, uh?”

“Yeah,” Erika smiled to herself, allowing herself to behave just like a little girl in love, “that little bastard did a trick on me.”

“He does that doesn’t he?”

“What’s that?”

“Attract people like he’s the fucking sun or something.”

“Yeah,” Erika smiled. There were no better words to describe Kyle, truly. “He is just like the sun.”

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know.” She huffed. “I need to find a way to apologise and hope he’ll forgive me.”

“Let me help you. Please. I had something to do with breaking it, let me help you fix it.”

“I’d like that,” Erika cleared her voice, “I’ll text you my new number later. Could you give it to him? Do you think he’d consider talking to me again?”

This time the burst of laughter that came from Mark was loud and genuine. “You fucking kidding mate? He’s been pining over you for months now. He will, he’s a sweetheart. Too naïve to feel resentment, I don’t even think he knows what that is.” There was a small pause, and then Mark huffed, sounding exhausted. “He was angry at me for some time. He knew I was partly to blame. He didn’t speak to me for two weeks after you left. That was hard.”

“Good,” Erika smiled, “You deserved it. But I am glad you made up. Because you did, right?”

“Of course, we did. As I said, that boy doesn’t know resentment.”

“Good,” Erika’s eyes trailed across the garden distractedly, “So, how is he?”

“I think he’s going to be so much better very soon.”

Erika lowered her eyes. “So, do you think he’d be able to ignore my past?”

“I think he doesn’t give a crap about what you did. There’s not a thing you can do or say that will make him consider any less of you. And I am sure he’d do anything for you. Given the chance, as soon as he has your new number, he will get in touch. Trust me.”

“God,” a shiver crossed her only thinking about the possibility. It was as if new life just seeped through her. There was a magnetic force pulling on her chest, giving her hope. “I hope so,”

“It will be, sis.”

Erika hugged herself, leaning her head to the side. “I’ve missed you so much,” she revealed with a small sigh.

“Me too, baby. Are we ok?”

“You are my brother no matter what, so, I guess we are.”

“Thank you,” his voice trembled. “I love you, little one.”

“I know you do. I love you too.”

“C’mon,” he then said loudly, sniffling away whatever soft emotion just connected them. “We got hearts to fix. Give me your new number so I can get you and that idiot back together.”

“Are you going to steal all the credit?”

“Of course,” he chuckled. “My sister. My best friend. You’d never met without me.”

“Right,” Erika rolled her eyes, “I can still go back not talking to you, you know?”

“Please, don’t do that. Now, stop losing time with me and give me this bloody number.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll text you in a second.”

“Bye.”

As she hung up, Erika still sat there holding the phone with a dumb smile on her mouth.

She didn’t feel relief or happiness in a long time and now, she had the impression the world around her had shifted. There was something different in the air surrounding her. The colours were brighter. The sun was warm and pleasant. The birds chirping happily made her feel at ease.

Moved by a wave of adrenaline, Erika was startled and realised she didn’t want to lose any more time. Ever again. She got back into her dad’s phone, obviously not covered by password protection because he was too forgetful for that. He was too old generation to trust the fingerprint scan and found her way into his chats, only to open Mark’s and send him her contact. She was respectful and didn’t invade her dad’s privacy further.

Instead, she got up and, grabbing her now cold cup of coffee, went back into the house.

The TV was still on, and some people were still watching ROH but most weren’t paying too much attention as everyone was talking above each other, as large families did anytime there was a gathering. The younger bunch of the group were spending their time lazing around on their phones. Aunt Janice and the rest of the uncles’ wives had all moved into the kitchen to put on a fresh batch of coffee and start cooking breakfast.

“Thank you, dad,” Erika started, handing his phone back to him. They exchanged a complicit nod and Erika added a smile, the first genuine smile since she came back home.

“I take it went well?”

“It could have gone worse,” Erika nodded, “but yes.”

“What went well?” Her mum poked curiously through their conversation.

“I called Mark,” Erika explained briefly.

“And?”

“Well,” Erika tried to look around the room, making it obvious she didn’t feel too comfortable talking in detail about her conversation with her brother in front of the entire family. “We made up.”

“That’s so weird, kiddo,” her uncle Rod intervened. He was her dad's older brother. Much older. “You are here, your brother is in London and you just talked to him after we saw him on TV. Weird.”

“God bless technology,” Erika squeezed herself in between her shoulders and then looked back at her mum, leaning to kiss her on the cheek, as that could bribe her to shut up. “I’ll tell you later. I need to go now.”

“Go where?” Her mother ignored the way her husband tried to give her the subtle signal of minding her own business. “We are in the middle of a family reunion for your brother's debut at Honor Ring,”

“It’s Ring Of Honor, mum,”

“Whatever it is, you know what I meant,” she snapped in Mum’s typical way, “we are about to have breakfast and everything,”

“I’m just going to go for a walk, I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

Before she could reply further, finding other reasons to possibly try and stop her, Erika’s dad moved, releasing a soft sigh. He placed a hand on her knees, making his wife look at him. “Let her go, darling. She is dealing with more important stuff than breakfast,”

“Well, that’s ridiculous, family time is important too, she hadn’t seen everyone in such a long time,”

As they kept bickering and mumbling, Erika caught the quick look her dad sent her. He wasn’t trying to make her mother reason; he was creating a distraction so she could slip away. Which she caught gladly.

Erika escaped quickly, avoiding making eye contact with any other family member she crossed on her way. She didn’t want to give anyone the chance to stop her.

In the time it took her to go grab her bag, wear shoes and run out of the house, Erika had obsessively checked her phone every second, terribly anxious to miss Kyle’s call. And then, she spent the rest of the time still being so anxious she felt it shake her in her bones, because the idea he could call her any minute in a period that covered from anytime now to the next few hours or days, or not call her at all, was unnerving.

As she left her house, glad to shut her loud, big family chit-chattering behind, she felt her chest so tight she thought she was having a heart attack.

Taking a deep breath and putting her sunglasses on, she started her walk not entirely having a direction in mind, walking only for the motion and not to a destination. She felt like she needed to be moving. She needed to be doing something. Her senses needed to focus on other things than simply looking into a wall waiting because she was certain it would have driven her insane.

She quickly decided to put her phone on noise, to make sure not to miss Kyle’s call. And still checked the phone every second.

Before she knew it, Erika was heading towards the beach.

She was lucky enough to have grown her entire life about ten minutes away, even though to her it was just as common as the playground. It was a mundane view to her. It was the place where she had family outings when she was much younger, parties with her friends in her teenage years, and then again barbeques, or leisure days. It was familiar, common even, just like her back garden.

Though it was also melancholic and romantic, in a way. And if there was a place, she thought about to have a connection with Kyle, the beach on a hot sunny day was the one.

She was getting so nervous she started to nibble on her fingernails, trying to deflect the emotions rolling through her all at once, twisting and turning her stomach and sucking the air out of her lungs.

Why wasn’t he calling?

What if he didn’t want to get in touch with her ever again?

She was sure that Mark received her number because he had sent her a text as soon as possible. So, she couldn’t even try and convince herself something went wrong on that side. The delay was entirely willed by Kyle.

And she wanted to respect his wish, in case he wouldn’t have reached out. She wanted to leave him space. Or even leave him alone, if that was what he wanted. She’d understand his choice, after what she did. But her consideration didn’t mean she didn’t feel like she was getting stabbed every time another second passed and she still waited.

Then her phone finally lit up and rang. Even though she had been waiting for it for what felt like a lifetime now, Erika was still startled. She felt her chest explode with joy as she looked at the screen to check the caller ID. Part of her feared the disappointment she would have felt if she found it was anyone else in the world calling, though the area code shown on the calling number was a pretty big hint.

Erika took a deep breath in, trying to gather her thoughts and collect herself. Then, sitting on a log because she now felt like she needed to be still, she finally answered.

For a moment, there was silence from both ends, and they both just listened to each other background noises.

There were subtle voices surrounding Kyle. Distant enough, but she could still clearly hear people moving past wherever he was.

God, she would have given anything to be by his side.

“I thought you’d never call,” she finally said, choking on her own emotions.

“I thought about it,” hearing his voice made her chest shake. It was enough for her to feel tears coming back up. She thought she understood what it meant to miss him before, but now it hit her even harder.

“Oh, Kyle,” she began, not fighting against her emotions anymore. She was done shying away. “I am so sorry.”

“I know,” he sounded serious. He was giving her a chance; he wouldn’t have called if that wasn’t the case. It was the reason why she let him decide whether or not he wanted to get in touch. And still, the way his voice sounded filled her with uncontrollable fear. “I only called because I wanted to tell you I don’t want to have this conversation on the phone.”

“What do you mean?” Her chest was so tight it was hard to breathe.

There was a pause that terrified her. “I mean that I want to look you in the eye when you say it. I want to look you in the eye and tell you how I feel. This time, things will get done properly.”

How she wished the world shrunk, right now, enough to place them a little closer to each other instead of opposite sides of the globe.

“So, here’s what we’ll do,” he continued. She nodded, ready to do whatever he’d ask, “I’m gonna come home. I have some time off coming up and I haven’t seen my mama in months now, I think she’d appreciate it. And then, when I am done in Sydney, I’ll come up to you.”

“Sydney is a long way away from Brisbane,” she pointed out distractedly.

“It is,” Kyle agreed, “And I don’t care. Don’t you wanna see me?”

“Fuck, baby,” she huffed and the way she called him baby made him hiss, “it’s the only thing I want, the only thing I can think about,”

“Good. Then it is settled,”

“I just meant that maybe I could come down to Sydney since you are already travelling all that way.”

“Oh, no, no, baby,” he tutted, “that would involve scheduling and I do not want to tell you when I am going to get there.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to surprise you,” she just knew he was smiling and felt the need to mirror him, “I want you to look forward to it, to wait for it. To fucking crave it.”

“You are so cruel, you know that?” She didn’t think she would have, but she chuckled. She was expecting tears and heartfelt conversations, not banter.

“Yep, you deserve it.”

“I do.” A timid smile popped on her lips, “Can I at least have a frame of time?”

“Nope. Might be the day after tomorrow, or next week, or perhaps in a month.”

“Are you serious!?”

“Deadly, baby.” A shiver crossed her. She understood what he wanted to do. She even appreciated it. Somehow found it romantic too. But it was torture. The idea she might have seen him some time without knowing when would have gnawed on her bones. “Here’s the hardest part, hear me? I won’t text you or call either.”

“Why?” She tried to object, full-on whining, “That is not fair.”

“No. It is not. But I do not want to make up over the phone. We can do better than that,”

“Are you pulling Nicholas Sparks crap on me?”

“Yep.” Of course, he was. It still made her smile like an idiot. The feelings pressing her down and tightening her chest were listing off. She felt free to breathe, free to feel, and to let her heart go straight to him. He may have not wanted to make up on the phone, but she felt like they did.

“OK, but this is still so cruel. I will go insane.”

“Good. I want you so desperate that when you see me, you’ll just fall into my arms and won’t fight against it.” She could picture his little kiss-ass smirk so well.

“It doesn’t work if you tell me what’s the catch, baby.”

“I think it will. I just need to exhaust your stubbornness.”

“Mh,” Erika nodded, pulling a complicit smile. “I am taking this as a challenge. Just so you know. I won’t accept your cruelty without a fight.”

“Of course, you won’t,” the sound of his chuckling made her heart explode.

“So, I will text and I will call, and you’ll have to consciously ignore me and feel bad.”

“Fine. It will be difficult, but I am doing it for the better good.”

Erika played with a lock of her hair, feeling a warm feeling flooding into her as her relaxed nerves. Her confidence was rising, enough to make her feel daring. “And what if I sent you stuff you must reply to?”

“Like what?”

“Nudes,” she cheekily bit her lip, feeling the heat in her cheeks. He wasn’t even there and she was still blushing like a little girl.

The deep breath he took only fed her ego, convincing her that, if she wanted him to crack, that would have been the way.

“Well, I can’t stop you from doing anything. But if you expect me to be that weak you are dead wrong.”

“You are so on, Fletcher. I will take you down.”

“I wonder what will drive you insane the most. Me not biting, or knowing that if you do send me pictures of yourself, I’ll be touching myself for you but you won’t get to know it.”

“You little devil,” Erika hissed, shaking her head. “I hate you sometimes.”

“No. You don’t.” He was smiling. She knew he was.

“Can I just ask you how you are? Before we go pretend you don’t talk to me and I just harass you?”

“Do you want honesty or politeness?”

“Be honest, please,”

“I wasn’t good for a while. You hurt me in a way I didn’t know I could hurt and even if I tried to forget you, I couldn’t. You were the only thing I could think about. Still are. I was angry too. At you. At Mark. And at myself. But nothing I did changed the fact that you were gone. I think that was the worst part. Your absence.” Kyle cleared his voice, “That never really changed. You left a quiet I couldn’t fill up, no matter what I did. But I have got better at ignoring it.”

“I am so sorry, Kyle.”

“What about you? Tell me how you are.”

“Putting myself back together,” she explained with a sigh, “I have been good compared to my alternatives. I am fixing my relationship with my family, and trying to fix myself too. Feel like I am finally growing up, if that makes sense. But I have broken my own heart too in the process of being so stupid, so,” she released a nervous chuckle, shaking her head. “I am ok, all things considered. But now I just want to see you.”

“I’ll come to you baby; I promise. Just wait for me, ok?”

“Ok.”

“Ok,” he repeated softly, “I’m gonna hang up now.”

“You do that, Fletcher,” she still smiled, feeling warmth spreading through her entire body.

The moment he hung up, Erika slid her phone to her chest and hugged it, curling on herself, feeling the desperate need to feel Kyle between her arms. It was beyond missing him, by that point. She wasn’t allowed to feel guilt anymore, not as slashing as it was before, because she now knew they had a chance. But she couldn’t freely think they made up either because it wasn’t the case.

Still, a smile bent her lips as she leaned her head, looking over to the sea and only seeing him. Only feeling him around her.

She loved him so much.

Erika had no intention of lying any longer. She had decided that would have been the first thing she told him once they saw each other in person. More than the guilt. More than the pressure to fix it. She loved Kyle and there was nothing she could have done, ever, to stop it.

“So, that’s it?”

Erika gasped, turning over startled, only to find Trevor standing at a little distance.

He was too close and she didn’t like it. The way he stood there and looked at her made her think that not only he had invaded her privacy but was convinced he was right to do so.

“What’s it?”

“You just made up with him?”

She froze, not granting him politeness any longer, since he wouldn’t get the message that way. “Did you follow me?” It was of course a rhetorical question. But Erika had no fear as she looked up at him, raising her chin.

Trevor shrugged. “I did. You ran off, I thought something happened. I wanted to make sure you are ok.”

“I am ok.” Erika looked away. “And it isn’t your responsibility to make sure, Trevor.”

“That’s what friends do, Erika.” The way he sounded so condescending as he tried to lecture her made her go ballistic.

“But you do not want to be just friends, right?” Erika glared at him, shaking her head. “How much of my conversation did you hear?”

“All of it.”

Erika twitched, feeling the cringe sliding under her skin. Despite how much she hated that her privacy was broken that way, she still had a point to make. “Did I ever talk that way to you, before?”

“Well,”

“No.” Erika cut through his crap easily, because she had no patience to let him live through a fantasy, whatever that might be. “No. I didn’t. I don’t. That’s the way I talk to the man I am interested in. This,” she pointed in between them, “this is an acquaintance and you get me being polite. That’s it. I’ve been nice, not interested, Trevor. Leave me alone.”

“So, are you saying that all this time I simply misunderstood?”

“Yes,” Erika huffed, shaking her head. “Maybe I had the wrong approach. Maybe I should have been more direct and less friendly. Maybe our mothers could have got the hint earlier. Maybe you could see that I do not have an interest in you. All plausible scenarios, I am sure. But I think after today you must take my words like the absolute truth.” Erika popped her chin up, “I am not interested in you. I will not change my mind, Trevor.”

“Well, that’s harsh.”

Erika bit her tongue, trying her absolute best not to bite his head off. “It’s the truth.” She shrugged trying to shake the awkwardness off herself. “I am in love with another man. I’ve always been in love with him,” Erika was ready to shout from a mountaintop at that point, “I don’t know what of my behaviour you misunderstood, but I have never led you on.”

“Non intentionally, perhaps, but you-”

“Why are you still here?” Erika was ready to growl at him like an animal. She had no time or patience to listen to his reasons and didn’t want to leave him any space to keep misunderstanding. “I don’t want to know what you thought I did. I just told you how things are. You should go, now.”

“Maybe we can walk together to the house?”

“No, Trevor,” she huffed, “just go away.”

“What am I telling your family when I come back without you?”

Erika rolled her eyes and then she jumped on her feet, ready to fight him if needed. Her sudden move startled him. She pointed a finger at him, trying her best to appear as threatening as possible. “Stay the fuck away from my family, Trevor. You aren’t one of us. You have even less right to be around them than you have to be around me. Just go get on with your life, will you?”

He looked genuinely hurt by her words, which was kind of the point. She needed to get him off her back and she wasn’t sure kindness would have worked anymore. “Fine,” he raised his hands in the air, taking a step back, “hope you know what you are doing, because you will regret letting me go.”

Erika didn’t reply. She didn’t want to give him anything else to misunderstand. She returned to sitting on her log, looking at the sea and doing her best not to pay any attention to Trevor or his decisions anymore. She just wanted to have a moment not to be disturbed. A second for herself and all the trapped emotions she had finally acknowledged.

But she couldn’t relax anymore. She couldn’t go back to the peace that she felt just a moment ago when she had just heard Kyle’s voice after months and felt like nothing had happened and time didn’t pass. She didn’t feel safe now. She didn’t trust to be alone.

Erika sighed and then picked her phone up, dialling her dad’s number.

“Hey,” he answered quickly, “you ok, honey?”

“Yes. I’m by the beach. Would you mind coming and pick me up?”

“Sure.”

He didn’t ask why. And she didn’t need to say anything more, but she trusted he’d be there in a minute.

Erika had never asked anything to her parents before. They weren’t the people she depended on. They weren’t her emotional support system. Mark has always been the one. Finding herself to quietly ask for her dad’s support now was surprising even to her.

That was the moment Erika understood and accepted that she was finally changing. Something, inside of her, was shifting. And maybe, just maybe, she did deserve to have a shot at a better life and happiness.

June 2018

“Crap, crap, crap,” Erika fiddled with the hoops of her golden earrings trying to hook them to her lobes and the longer it took the more nervous she got, keeping pinching her pierced ears in the wrong places. “Fucking hell,” she grumbled, glaring at her reflection in the mirror, fighting against her hoops.

Maybe she should have just left it. She was already late.

Everything that could go wrong was going wrong.

First, she had wardrobe problems. The bubble-gum pink dress she wanted to wear had a faulty zip and wouldn’t close, so, she had to opt for a second option she didn't like as much; the blue dress she ended up wearing just wasn’t as strong of a statement. Then she couldn’t find her shoes, which were, for some reason, hiding in the last place she thought to check. Everything after that was given by the anxiety of being in a rush; Erika felt like her hair and make-up could have looked so much better if only she had the time to fix them properly.

The more stuff kept happening, the more it got under her skin, to the point that she was on the verge of throwing a tantrum and cancelling all her plans.

But it was her birthday. She wasn't allowed to cancel anything. She wouldn’t have done that to her mum. Letting her mother organise the event, just like she cared so much to do, and attending her birthday party was yet another thing Erika did to try and patch up their relationship. Her politely accepting anything her mum decided to put her through was yet another way to quietly apologise. Family portrait to honour her twentieth birthday? Sure. Deciding a theme and letting her mother embark on an insane party galore moment? Fine. Handwriting thank you notes and preparing gift bags for the guests? Why not.

At that point, Erika was convinced she would have done anything for her mother only to appease her guilt.

“Honey?” Erika heard her mother call her from downstairs, “Hurry up, we are going to be late.”

“One minute mum!” Erika finished touching up her lip gloss, giving herself one last look in the mirror.

She then snapped a quick picture of herself in her outfit and sent it on Kyle’s chat, queueing up with all the other texts and pictures she had been sending him for the past few weeks. She knew he was paying attention to her life, but as promised, he remained silent. Saying it was excruciating wasn’t enough. Not knowing his reactions, thoughts or emotions was torture. But she got used to the pain and the frustration, taking them like a habit.

“We don’t have a minute,” her mother pointed out.

“I am the birthday girl, I am allowed to be late,” she chirped grabbing her purse and quickly going downstairs.

Both her parents were waiting by the door. They looked so cute, all dressed up and coordinated with each other.

“There she is,” her father welcomed her with a soft smile leaning in to kiss her cheek once she was close enough.

“What happened to the pink dress?” Her mother wondered studying her new outfit.

“I know, I know, I am heartbroken too. The zip didn’t work or something. But this is not that bad, is it?”

“No, darling, of course not, you always look so pretty no matter what.”

Erika smiled, nodding, “Thank you, mum.”

“She’s right you know?” An unexpected third, familiar voice came from behind her, “You look stunning,”

Erika gasped loudly as her heart jumped up in her throat. “Mark?”

She started moving towards him even before her brain caught a sense of what was happening. She turned around, following blindly that tone that was so familiar to her that it resonated in her thoughts. Yet she hadn’t been used to being in the same room with her brother in such a long time it was now a shock.

“Mark!” She squealed as soon as her eyes laid on him. Erika leapt into his arms and Mark was more than ready to catch her with a chuckle, squeezing her to his chest. “Oh my god, you are here!”

“Surprise, gremlin,”

Erika hung on his shoulders giggling, “When did you get here? Oh my god, I can’t believe it! Why didn’t you tell me?” She kissed his cheek.

“Well, that would have spoiled the surprise, honey,” her mum chuckled.

When Mark put her down, Erika had a smile so large her face was hurting. She turned to her parents, still holding onto Mark’s arm with one hand, not entirely convinced he was real.

“You were on this too?”

“Of course,” her mum sent a complicit look to her dad, “we knew you kids needed to see each other, after everything.”

Mark slid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her under his side. “And I can’t miss your birthday, little one.”

“Oh,” she was so happy she could cry. Erika leaned against Mark, hugging him by the waist. “I am so happy to see you. I’ve missed you so, so much.”

“I’ve missed you too,” he kissed her forehead and then he softly tapped on her chin, making her look up at him, “I am sorry. About everything. I love you.”

“I know you are,” Erika appreciated his words. She knew that, even though they made up a couple of weeks ago and went back to talking regularly, he cared to let her know how sorry he was. She didn’t take it away from him or diminish his intentions, just as much as she didn’t shrug it off. It meant a lot to her too.

“So?” She continued, patting his side, “When did you arrive?” She gave him a good look, noticing how he was spat and polished he looked, wearing an elegant two-piece suit. “Where did you hide dressed so dashingly?”

“Well, let me tell you, I landed yesterday. Spent the rest of the time in a hotel in town recovering from the trip and the jetlag. And then, this morning, I took mum for breakfast and then she insisted we went looking for something appropriate for me to wear at this thing tonight.”

“No way,” Erika giggled, shaking her head, “I guess the usual blue jeans, large t-shirt and cap with a statement print wasn’t allowed?”

“Sadly, no. Mum is cruel,” he whined, fixing his thin black tie with a pout.

“C’mon you two,” their mum signalled to them to move with a large wave of the hand, “This mother is about to get furious if we lose any more time.”

“Oh, no, kids, be careful or she might start spitting fire,” their dad chuckled, opening the door for everyone to move outside.

Before Erika followed them, she still looked back at the rest of the house. She was looking and hoping as her chest filled with a level of expectation she couldn’t control. She kept thinking something was missing. And she kept hoping to see Kyle pop out from a corner, surprising her too.

Mark noticed her eyes trailing around and squeezed her hand softly. “He is not here, baby. I am sorry.”

“No?”

Mark softly shook his head. “No. I am sorry,”

“He said he was going to visit. And you are here. He is never too far from you.” She felt like she was ready to throw a tantrum, “And it’s my birthday. Why would he miss that?”

Mark shrugged, “I know. He knows that too. I think that’s the point.”

Erika rolled her eyes, “I know I deserve it, but it’s fucking killing me.”

“Trust me, his ways are surprising me too. I thought my guy didn’t know revenge but I was wrong.”

“He’s enjoying himself, isn’t he?” Erika grinned, shaking her head.

“Yeah,” Mark smiled proudly, “I’ll let him know how badly you are pining. He’ll be happy to know.”

“Can you at least tell me if he is in Australia?”

Mark bit his tongue, hissing and looked away. “Uhm, I don’t know if I am allowed to give that away, sis.” He avoided her gaze and started to move towards the door just as their dad honked the car, giving them a hint to move it.

Erika followed him quickly, grabbing his arm. “No. Don’t do this to me. After everything, now you need to tell me at least if he is near.”

“Are you going to play that card?”

“Yes.” She nodded, stubborn and determined. “That card is mine to use whenever I want, from now on. C’mon, please tell me.”

Mark sighed, rolling his eyes. “Don’t think you can play me this easily anytime, little one. Only because it’s your birthday,” he opened the door for her so she could slide in the back first. “Yes, he is in Australia.”

“Who’s in Australia?” Their mother wondered distractedly looking at herself in the flap mirror.

“No one,” Mark tried to remain vague, but Erika knew it would have only attracted more questions.

“Kyle,” she explained fixing her seatbelt, careful not to catch her dress in it. She exchanged a quick look with her dad in the rear mirror, but he didn’t dare to say a word. Her mother was still oblivious to her relationship with him.

“Oh, dear boy. Is he about? Why didn’t you invite him?”

“He’s in Sidney, mum,” Mark explained even quicker than before. “He’s from there and went to see his family.”

“Oh. Shame. Will he come to visit?” She wondered. Again, her bubbly, oblivious, sweetness left everyone else in the car speechless.

By that point, the look Erika and her dad exchanged through the rear mirror was complicit and accompanied by a small grin. “Yes,” Erika proceeded poking her brother, “will he? Soon?”

Mark moved on his seat, feeling awkward under the spotlight that hit him. “I don’t know,” he mumbled and then poked her back. “Maybe? Why don’t you ask him?”

“Oh, well, that’s just mean,” Erika whispered and this time, as she reached back, she pinched him on the tit, grinning.

“By the way, darling,” her mother started, looking back from her seat, “I don’t know if I told you, but I’ve invited Trevor.”

Erika’s smile immediately washed off her face. She rolled her eyes and let her head fall backwards, releasing a grunt. “Why, mum? You know he has a thing for me!”

“Yeah, I know,” her attention trailed to Mark’s puzzled face. “Trevor is the lovely son of one of my friends, Pamela,”

“And she has been trying to fix me up with him from the past god knows how long,” Erika explained, “and the longer she keeps inviting him around to shadow me, the more he thinks he has a chance.” She looked back at her mum, straight up crossed. “And she didn’t tell me sooner so I wouldn’t tell him not to bother, right?”

“Oh,” Mark looked at their mother with an inquisitive look, “Mum, it doesn’t look to me like your plan is working.”

“Nonsense, I have no plan. It’s just nice if Erika can have a friend around these parts.”

“It surely looks like that’s what she wants.” Mark pointed out severely, shaking his head.

“I tried to tell her already,” their dad sighed, keeping his eyes on the road. “I am sorry, darling.”

“Oh,” their mother huffed and turned over, crossing her arms not even trying to hide her childish annoyance. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I only tried to do something nice.”

“I know you did, mum,” Erika sighed forcing herself to gulp down her irritation. Being angry wouldn’t have helped anyone. So, she scooted closer to Mark and as she leaned closer to him, he moved too, leaning his head against hers. “You aren’t allowed to leave my side tonight. Like, ever.” She whispered.

“That bad, uh?”

“It’s not that bad,” she looked up at him, “It’s not like this guy is a freak or anything like that. But equally, I don’t want him around because he has convinced himself that if he is patient enough, I’ll open up, or whatever.”

“Is this the same guy that followed you that one time?” Mark spoke just as quietly as if they were keeping secrets.

“Yes.”

“So, he’s not a freak despite that one time.”

Erika sighed, “I am trying to keep my shit together and you saying that doesn’t help.”

“Sorry. Why not tell him you are taken?”

“Well, I did. Kind of. But I don’t feel entitled to say I am involved. So, he still hopes for the best.”

“Why not?”

“Because your stupid mate hasn’t bothered to take me yet, did he!? Him and his stupid romantic crap,”

“Ok. Don’t say it like that, please.” Mark chuckled.

“Why don’t you tell him that? Uh? That my mother is trying to fix me up with some guy. I bet he wouldn’t like his decision to ignore me that much anymore.”

“Why aren’t you being honest with mum?”

“Because,” Erika’s voice lowered, “I don’t want to argue with her.”

Mark pulled a soft smile and reached for her hand, taking it into his palm and giving her a soft squeeze.

“Good on you,” Mark pulled a grin and nodded. “I’ll stay with you, by the way. You didn’t even have to ask. I came back to see you.”

Erika smiled grateful and leaned her head on his shoulder, releasing a sigh. “Thank you,”

“Anything for you, munchkin.”

Erika laughed loudly as Mark made her spin in his arms while they danced. She had not one thought in her mind or worry in her heart. Even her constant melancholy for missing Kyle, in that specific moment, was toned down. From the speakers played Church, by T-Pain, which was one of the greatest tunes ever made. She faced Mark as they both mouthed the lyrics, moving in sync following the song. It looked like they rehearsed it. Erika pretended to shake Mark when the pistol clicked in the song, and he put his hands to his chest, pretending to be shot in the heart.

When the song ended, they hugged and then Erika signalled him to follow her back to the table. She needed a breather and a glass of water.

She fell heavily on her chair, fanning her face as Mark sided her, catching his breath. “All things considered this is pretty fun,” he started, looking around. “I wouldn’t have expected the party to go this way.”

“Well, I am always twenty. I think mum wanted to do something more sophisticated but I’ve convinced her otherwise.”

“From sophisticated to a noughties theme party packed full of family members and middle-aged adults trying to have fun like they are kids is a big step.” Mark pulled his tie off, unbuttoning his shirt. “I could have pulled one of my regular fits.”

“Mum would have never let you,” she chuckled, looking over to the group of people dancing in the middle of the room. “Looks like she is having enough fun, for sure.” Erika smiled leaning back on the chair, only for Mark to roll a heavy arm on her shoulders, nodding.

“Seems like stuff is going well down here, uh?”

“As well as I can make it go,” Erika shrugged, “But I miss England.”

“You can always come back,” Mark suggested, looking down at her. “I’d like it if you came back.”

“You would?”

“Yes. And RevPro would rehire you in a heartbeat. I kind of already thrown the idea to Andy, just to feel the vibe.”

“And?”

“And he’d be happy to have you back. We have a part-timer who took your place but no one likes him as much as they liked you.”

Erika sighed, nodding. That was certainly something she should have thought about. She had never thought her life was gonna end in Brisbane. Even now, she knew her current situation was temporary and since things were slowly getting fixed up, she was convincing herself more and more that, one day, she would have gone back to England.

Her life wasn’t taking pictures at lame events, or getting stuck in Australia for the rest of her career. Her life was travelling with her brother, living wrestling. She missed it so much.

“We’ll see,” she huffed, tired but hopeful.

There was only one thing that needed fixing now. And she was beyond done waiting.

For some time through that evening, Erika had convinced herself that Kyle would have popped out, somehow. But the longer the celebrations went on, the more she realised she was hoping in vain. Maybe he was truly in Sidney. On the other side of the country. Still closer than ever before, and yet not as close as she needed him to be.

Erika huffed, hiding her frustration behind a glass of icy cold water.

The dinner was over and now people were only enjoying themselves and drinking. Most were there to party, which was kind of the idea. Erika didn’t mind at all the fact that the party demographic was mostly composed of middle-aged people. She found it fun, to watch them party like kids. It was one of the reasons why she picked that theme too, most of them were young adults in the noughties, hardly something to forget.

Plus, it was hard to forget that she didn’t have friends. Not really. Everyone she grew up with and embarked on bad paths with was now a stranger to her. Since she decided to change her life, one year ago, she had burned down many bridges.

So, now, Australia represented only family to her. Which was nice. Now, after the three months, she spent back home trying to fix mistakes she made in the past, it had a better soft tone to it than the usual bitter regrets that always followed anytime she thought about home.

Knowing she hadn’t been the golden child her family deserved still haunted her. She wasn’t at all convinced she’d be able to ever forget it. But, at least, now it was better.

Someone approached them. Their uncle Rod’s heavy hands slammed on Mark’s shoulders, giving him a hard shake. “Dear boy,” he kept shaking him, “it’s so good to see you. We miss you around here,”

Mark chuckled, getting up from his seat to embrace the man properly in an affectionate hug. “Miss it too, uncle.”

“So, how the hell are you?” the man wondered, taking a seat next to them. “Tell me about old London, how’s the Queen?”

Erika smiled, leaning back on her chair and enjoying watching their interaction.

Mark was the golden boy of the Davis family. It was difficult not to love him.

His coming back had surprised everyone at the party. When he rocked up by Erika’s side, everyone lost their mind and there had been a literal parade of hugs and handshakes. But after that he tried his best not to steal the show, making sure the focus always remained on Erika. It was her evening, after all.

She leaned in, distracting him for only a moment squeezing his arm. “Want a drink?”

“Yes, please, a Great Northern would be perfect about now.”

“Coming right up,” Erika kissed him on the cheek before moving away, leaving him to chit-chat with Rodney.

Erika moved to the bar, quite enjoying taking a moment for herself. She called the bartender over with a quick gesture and then leaned in placing her order for a Great and whatever non-alcoholic thing they had, taking full advantage of the open bar, with a smile.

And then, her bubble burst.

“Hey, Erika?” Trevor approached her.

Even if she wanted to be polite, and she didn’t want to, Erika couldn’t keep herself from grumbling loudly at him.

He had kept his distance most of the night, mainly because Mark made it pretty clear there was no space around her. She should have thought the second she left her brother’s side he’d pop up. But since he showed up with a date, Erika thought to be in the clear. Or she hoped so.

“What are you doing here, Trevor?”

“I just wanted to say happy birthday.”

Erika grabbed the drinks the barista passed her and turned around, not giving him too much attention. “Right. I mean to the party. You shouldn’t have come, mate.”

“Your mother invited me,”

“Yes,” Erika nodded, sighing, her patience was already underground. “And I thought I have been very clear the last time we spoke.”

“So,” he started, puffing his chest up, “Nothing changed, uh?”

“No, Trevor. Nothing changed. And it won’t change. Just get over it, will you?”

“Difficult to do when you are around,”

“Well, it would be much easier if you just stopped coming to these events, right?” Erika pulled a sour smile, “It won’t be a problem anymore, anyway. I’ll soon be moving back to England with my brother.”

“And what about the guy?” He wondered, taking a small step forward. “Are you still with him?”

“Well, that’s none of your concern, for one. But yes.” She felt somehow wrong saying that, knowing that she had no right to say it. She and Kyle weren’t together. Yet. And it didn’t matter how desperately she wanted it and how much she longed for him. But none of that was Trevor’s business. “And I plan to be with him a long time.”

“Good for you,” he didn’t sound genuine. Erika couldn’t stop herself from wondering why some guys did that. Why did they go and convince themselves they had the god-given right to assert their dominance or whatever over a woman who wasn’t interested, making her self-aware of the fact that maybe she was the one who was mistaken? Maybe her behaviour was wrong. Maybe she should have been more careful.

She hated that. She resented it.

“See? We managed to have a normal conversation, that wasn’t so hard.”

Erika rolled her eyes, biting down on her tongue not to point out how abnormal everything about that conversation was. But she didn’t want to make a scene. She didn’t want to be that person ever again. So, she kept it in, only looking up at Trevor, not hiding her annoyance. “Right. Good talking to you, mate. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’m gonna go back to my party.”

Before she could move around him, Trevor grabbed her by the arm and pulled her closer to him, almost making her lose balance on her heels.

Erika flinched and gasped, praying he wasn’t truly that stupid. Because if he cornered her, she had no intention of keeping down. She may not look it, but she knew well how to poke someone in the eye or aim a knee to the crotch with the precise intent of hurting.

“Oi! I would suggest you leave my sister alone, mate,” a heavy hand slammed on Trevor’s shoulder, as he was pulled back and Mark slipped in between them, shielding Erika with his body, puffing his chest up to look even bigger than usual. “Or I swear I’ll break your hands.” Mark smiled dangerously. “Trevor, isn’t it?”

“Sorry,” Trevor immediately pulled his hands up in a peaceful gesture, taking a step back. “I didn’t mean to,”

“Oh,” Mark chuckled, shaking his head. “But you clearly did.”

By then, any feeling of fear had left Erika. She embraced Mark’s protection and popped her chin over his shoulder, pulling a confident smile. “He did,” she teased distractedly, sending Trevor a threatening look.

Mark nodded, leaning his head closer to her, underlying how close they were even just by the way they moved around each other.

He turned to her, now blocking Trevor completely. “You ok, munchkin?” He wondered looking down at her face. Erika nodded and offered a soft smile, passing him his beer. “Better now, thank you.”

Mark nodded, genuinely amused. Then he pointed towards the patio exit. “You should to the garden,” he suggested, “I’ll take care of our friend here. He won’t bother you.”

“Why would I go out there on my own?” She asked suspiciously, frowning.

“I don’t know. Fireworks?”

“And I’m the only one knowing?” Erika looked up at him suspiciously, “Mum would have told everyone by now,”

“Just go to the fucking garden, sis.” Mark chuckled, shaking his head, “I am not allowed to tell you more.”

Erika’s stomach started to tremble, constricting painfully as her heart skipped a beat. “Mark?” Her face lit up as hope started building up inside of her. Adrenaline flooded her nervous system. “Is he here?” She felt her skin come alive, as every hair on her body stood up. “Is he here?” She repeated, forgetting about everything else. Had it been weeks of her waiting for that single moment? It mattered no more. She didn’t even remember why Trevor was a concern or why it was slightly cringy to see auntie Janice twerk to Missy Elliott’s songs.

Mark gave her a small push, shaking her head. “Just go, will you? And happy birthday.”

Erika squeaked and jumped up to hug him. “Thank you,” she kissed his cheek, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Mark affectionately pushed her off himself and directed her into the direction of the patio, nodding. “Now go, make me proud.”

She did as he said and didn’t pay attention anymore to what was happening behind her even though she felt Mark grab Trevor again and threaten him some more. It wasn’t her problem anymore. Nothing else mattered just as much, to her, as the possibility of seeing Kyle.

To an extent, she had started thinking that everything that had happened to her was necessary to bring her to be exactly there, looking into her future, able to welcome it and accept it fully.

When she hopped on the patio, the evening breeze surprised her. It had picked up quite a bit and the temperature had dropped, but it was still not enough to be considered cold. Brisbane never got to experience proper winter like it would happen in England, for example. She still crossed her arms, trying to keep her thin dress from being blown off her chest.

Her eyes followed the dark garden and immediately pulled to the seating area over the edge of the beach. The low hedge surrounding it was lit by hundreds of golden twinkle lights. It looked romantic. Just like out of a movie.

There, looking over to the sea, stood Kyle. She would have recognised his frame anywhere. Standing tall and proud, hands casually dug into the pockets of the suit trousers he was wearing. He looked so beautiful it hurt her.

She felt the need to leap toward him and into his arms, digging herself a spot into his chest to never let go. And yet, she was also frozen there, still holding the bottle of non-alcoholic beer from before.

She was overwhelmed by her emotions the second she realised he was there, for the first time after everything, he was only a few meters away. She could have talked to him. She was about to be able to reach out and touch him.

What a fool.

She knew he would be there. She felt it with every fibre of her being. There was a silent song only her heart could hear, humming in the air. She just knew. And yet she had let circumstances convince her otherwise.

Erika chuckled out loud and, leaving her bottle of beer on the patio floor, she got up gathering the courage to cut through the last bit of distance that divided them. As soon as he realised she was there, Kyle turned to her just in time for Erika to pull him into a hug he didn’t refuse. It was soft at first, and then they both squeezed on each other, pulling one another towards their chests, as if their lives depended on that closeness.

Her hands travelled across his shoulders, feeling his body underneath her touch, just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. He was solid and warm. Soft enough to mould under her touch. Real enough to complete her. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder and inhaled his scent deep into her lungs. Feeling like she was finally home.

“I love you,” she blurted out without even thinking, unable to keep it in any more. Erika pulled away and cupped his face into her palms, softly caressing his cheeks. “I love you.” She repeated, getting lost in his bright eyes.

Kyle welcomed her words with a soft smile, studying her features. “I love you too,” he attentively moved a hand around her cheek, following the line of her chin with his thumb as his eyes traced to her lips. “Been loving you an awful long time, baby.”

Erika gasped, feeling any trace of fear getting stripped off herself. She wasn’t afraid anymore. He was allowed to have her feelings. She was ready to trust him with it. Just as much as she humbly would have taken his heart again, to protect this time.

“I am such an idiot,” she started, but before she could continue, Kyle shushed her, pressing his thumb on her lips, and shaking his head.

“Don’t talk that way about yourself.”

“But it’s true. I’ve known from the very beginning. I am so sorry.”

Kyle made her lift her head, now towering over her. He looked straight into her eyes, diving right through her feelings. His lips still pulled into a small smile. “I love you, Erika. I do not care what happened before. I care about now.”

“But I did so much wrong. And I hurt you so bad, I-”

“Let it go, baby,” he whispered shaking his head. “I have forgiven you already, it is forgotten. Please forgive yourself. I just want to move on with you, I don’t care about the past.”

Erika’s hands hooked on his wrists as she held onto him. Her eyes were teary but full of joy. She didn’t know how an angel like him came about into her life and she wasn’t entirely convinced she deserved him, but she had no intention to let him go.

“Are you gonna kiss me, then?” She lifted her chin, almost like a challenge.

Kyle's smile widened. “You’d like that, uh?”

“There are many things I’d like, Fletcher.” She smirked, watching his cheeks blush.

He looked at her face a second longer, getting lost in her glimmery eyes reflecting the twinkle lights. Then pulled her closer to him, leaning close to her face. He softly kissed her cheeks, holding her tenderly. Erika melted under his touch, releasing a soft sigh. She needed only that to lose her mind. Her senses were completely overwhelmed by him. Kyle hesitated only a second, brushing his lips on hers ever so softly, leaving her breathless, and then, he finally kissed her.

Just like their hug, it was soft at first, attentive. Both let themselves get used to that closeness, easing into being in each other’s arms after all the time it has been. But then, as both were hit by passion, the kiss deepened as they both dived into each other.

“So,” Erika started as soon as she caught a break from his lips, catching her breath, still hanging from his shoulders, “just for the record, are we together now?”

“Just for the record, I think so. Would you like that, baby?”

“God, yes.”

Kyle pulled the sweetest smile, nodding. “If only I had known it would have been this easy, I would have taken you to the beach sooner.”

“Don’t think you can swoon me this easily every time just with any romantic setting, Fletcher.”

“No?” Kyle pecked her lips as his arms slid around her figure, “I think you are a big softy on the inside. Like a marshmallow. I think you like this stuff,”

“Whatever,” Erika chuckled, shaking her head. “I like you, that’s it.”

“Ah,” he mirrored her soft chuckle, shaking his head, “whatever, that’s it, uh?”

“Yes!” Erika was still giggling as she poked his chest, “So, tell me, for how long have you been here?”

“In Brisbane? Or Australia?”

“Both,”

“Well, I got to Sidney a few days ago. I left England before Mark. Wanted to make sure I had enough time to spend back home before travelling up here. I arrived in Brisbane earlier this afternoon.”

“So, Mark lied to me.”

“Pretty much, yes. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if not.”

“Why did you wait this long?” Erika poked him again. “You could have joined the party much sooner,”

Kyle pushed a finger under her chin, making her lift her face, pulling a kiss-ass grin. “Where was the fun in that?” he softly pecked her lips, “Right,” Kyle then looked over her shoulder, to the big gazebo where the party was taking place, “so, do you want to go back in? Introduce me?”

“Yes,” Erika nodded, but before she moved, she still pulled him by the suit jacket, her lips traced on his chin, “In a minute,” she kissed him again, “I am not quite done apologising and making up.”

“Are you saying it was too easy?”

“Yes. You should have made me sweat for it a little longer,”

“Mh,” Kyle leaned on her and pushed his face into her neck, brushing his lips on her skin, “I thought I did in the past two weeks. You have seemed a little desperate on a couple of occasions if I remember correctly.”

“Don’t bring that up,” Erika wanted to sound threatening, but she didn’t manage to do more than purr for him. “I’ll make you pay for that later.” Just thinking about what later implied made her skin ripple in goosebumps.

“Is that so?” She felt him pressing his smile on her neck before he lifted his head and looked down at her. “You seem to have a very specific plan going on.”

“You bet your ass I do,” Erika chuckled. Then she leaned in for a soft kiss. “C’mon, let’s go back.”

Before she could move, Kyle held her back only a moment longer. “Hold on one second,” he pulled her into his arms again, “Happy birthday, baby,”

Erika smiled. Her thank you was yet another kiss. And, holding onto him, she just knew she would have never been able to let go ever again.

#kyle fletcher #kyle fletcher smut #kyle fletcher x reader #kyle fletcher x ofc #aew fanfiction #kyle fletcher fanfic

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edenloves · 2 years

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jon hamm ,𝐆 𝐈 𝐅 𝐏 𝐀 𝐂 𝐊

by clicking on the content source below, or here, you’ll find #275 gifs of actor jon hamm in confess, fletch (2022). all of the gifs were made from scratch by me, and intended to be used for roleplaying purposes only. please don’t claim them as your own or add into other hunts! if you do, please credit/tag me, or contact me, before you intend to repost edited versions, that would be kind. last but not least, a like / reblog would be the best!

content warnings: flashing lights, nudity, kissing, alcohol

#jon hamm #jon hamm gif hunt #jon hamm gif pack #olderfcs #gifsociety #fcxdirectory #usermina #userdevon #dearindies #supportcontentcreators #mine #mine: gif hunt #mine: jon hamm #*

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hccn-overseer · 1 year

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Issue 3, 4/29/2023 - The Overseer

Issue Masterpost About the Overseer

This week's news is once again accompanied by a PDF version of your latest news brought to us once again by the lovely Cheer! Pick it up right here for your viewing pleasure!

The Hermitcitizen Hub seems to have tapered off growth right around 640 citizens, but we may have jinxed it, please keep us up to date. This week, a new set of roles has been added so you can let your fellow citizens know if you can be pinged! New rules have been added for your comfort, safety, and pleasure, so ensure you go check those out! Mod applications are still open, and ModMail has been added so you can contact existing Mods easier. On to the news!

We are gathered here today due to the passing of Sirius_Buisness. It led a long and wonderful life. The cause of death was Geminislay. While it was surprising, it was not shocking. While it worked for The Overseer it was fought over, with many of the Newspaper Club declaring their love and fighting for who was Sirius’ favourite. Sirius mentioned that its list of favourite people were in order: People who bribed it, Newspaper Club, and then everyone else. It started after the fall of the court, a Gardening Club in which it grew Anemone and Sampaguita. The deceased is survived by The Overseer and the Gardening Club. The Overseer asks the readers to please give Sirius’s family and friends some peace at the moment.

The deceased asks for you to bring 12 shulker boxes of Sampaguita to The Crastle. Donations of customised socks with its face printed on them and one pair with a photo of King Ren when he was asleep and looked silly would be greatly appreciated. The more socks, the merrier. Donations of clicky pens and diamonds would be greatly appreciated at The Overseer. Sirius’ debt collector has been told to go to the Gardening Club and ask for Tulips.

The readers are reminded that at Sirius’ funeral, there will be jousting to determine who will get to marry Sirius once it decides to make its return. Please remember to bring your anvil protection gear and/or your anvils. To remember it, we ask that you wear neon colours.

Written by Winter

Now onto other news below the cut!

Affiliate Happenings

By Roo

The affiliate guilds of the Hermitcitizen Hub have been busy, discussing important things, pranking anyone who crosses their path, and just plain chilling and drinking tea! So, without further ado, let’s take a look at what they’re up to!

Bdoubleo: He's just a little guy!! They’ve been discussing their favorite silly moments (as they should).

Cubfan135: Apparently it’s 1,508 days since fletching table functionality was promised. Mojang, for your safety and ours, please listen to the Cub affiliates. They are right.

Docm77: I think we should be concerned. They’ve decided that instead of making a union or merch, they’re just going to replace all redstone diamonds with magenta glazed terracotta. Please steer clear of the perimeter if you’re the sort to blindly follow directions.

EthosLab: The only reason anyone goes to his area is to check on the dolphins.

FalseSymmetry: They're excited for False, Ren, Scar X, and Joe Hills to be playin some No Man's Sky together! Sounds like a blast. (Please tell us we're funny. We're unpaid interns, we take anything we can get.)

GoodTimesWithScar: Someone hired a charged creeper. Please. Again, for your safety and ours, a charged creeper is not a good employee.

Grian: The Rift tastes like grape juice, battery acid, wasabi peas, and has the texture of stale Cheerios. No, don’t ask how they found that out. Yes, The Rift is right down there if you want to pop down a medical services tent. The Fixer team is also experimenting with ways to play Just Dance and DDR on Grumbot’s monitor! Bribes are in order, including the promise of letting Grumbot control the difficulty of dance. Join in at your own risk.

ImpulseSv: They had a lovely stream watch party!! And discussed falling off of walkways?? Hi, Minecraft, OSHA called, they’d like to schedule a tour for no reason whatsoever.

Iskall85: Hallo.

Joehills: Affirmative nodding. Yes. Joe Hills indeed.

Keralis: Keralis has a hype squad now! That’s awesome, ngl. :)

Mumbo Jumbo: Mango Jumbo. The sus has returned. They’re still talking about redstone. I got scared even looking in the channel.

Pearlescentmoon: She <3!!!! (got squished in a hydraulic press)

Rendog: I can see the founding of the King’s court. This will surely lead to good and not suing the former king. Surely.

Vintagebeef: They’re just chilling! Chillin’ ‘n chatting, how lovely.

Welsknight: They’re going to make a Wels scrapbook! Drawings, anything he’s dropped in the past week, screenshots of the man himself, the hydraulic press that squished him (yes he got squished too).

Xisumavoid: Frenchsumavoid. Need we say more.

Zedaph: According to a scientist, there is a 31% chance that the reason you randomly think of Zedaph out of nowhere is because of a phenomenon known as mind control.

Zombiecleo: They’re discussing Cleo’s TCG tournaments. All is well.

Recap affiliates: How’d they get into reporting?? Oh, that sounds right up our alley. Maybe the newspaper should hire more recap reporters. We already have a couple, but hey, what’s a couple more?

Other affiliates: Most are homeless or live in the shopping district. Living in the shopping district, I must say, is a horrible idea. Warden attacks are many and days without accidents are zero.

If you do not see an affiliate channel on here, it is simply because nobody was active in the past two weeks, or that activity was simply claiming the first message.

Weekly Weather Report

By Virtual Note: Rainy has been kidnapped for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, we don’t have the funding to pay their ransom. We wish them the best of luck on escaping.

Thursday - SUNNY, 25% chance of being challenged to a TCG match in the shopping district. Citizens are advised to bring their best decks.

Friday - WINDY, Citizens working in high areas should be wary of strong gusts. Elytra flight may be difficult to control.

Saturday - CLOUDY, GeminiTay sightings expected around Spawn Town between 1PM - 3PM (GMT). Duels are sure to follow.

Sunday - RAIN, Light showers anticipated across the server, followed by periods of clear skies. Carrying an umbrella is recommended.

Monday - STORMS, 95% chance of Bdubs sleeping before the storm gets serious. Expect clear skies by 10AM (GMT).

Tuesday - SUNNY, Fireworks expected around the Crastle between 6PM - 9PM (GMT). Avoid flying directly above the area during this time.

Wednesday - CLOUDY, 45% chance of HotGuy strikes. Note that clouds may make it more difficult to spot the vigilante from a distance.

Astrology Corner

By Winter

Have you been feeling without guidance? Do you look at your birthday and look up your star sign and wonder, “Will I get challenged by Geminitay?????” “Will I get to choose whether my horoscope will be weird?” Don’t worry, here at The Overseer, we can help you.*

Aries: You will attend a very sirius funeral :) Flip a TCG token to decide whether you will attend in a clown costume.

Taurus: You will attend to a Red Carnation which was sent to you.

Gemini: You will start a successful business. That business teaches first aid.

Cancer: Understand that once upon reading this you will be challenged by GeminiSlay to a battle. Send regrets to loved ones and respond in two-three business days.

Leo: You will become mortal enemies with the Decked Out Crew.

Virgo: You will follow a Joe Hills Tutorial on how to win a beauty contest.

Libra: You will learn how to become a babysitter.

Scorpio: On Thursday at 3:21 PM you will run into a new friend or foe, only time will tell

Sagittarius: You will provide a meditation class to combat Etho’s washed up allegations.

Capricorn: Congrats. You get to do Bungee Jumping in the Spaghetti IF you are born on the odd days of the month.

Aquarius: You will adopt something. Ask a friend for advice and whether they consent to being adopted.

Pisces: Someone you used to know will meet you in the most unexpected place. Whether it is a good or bad thing will be up to you.

All star signs: Don’t worry, you are not being watched… yet.

*Ignore how blatantly specific these are. Nothing bad will happen to you.

META REPORT: BOOMING BOOMERS!

By Arsène

After covering the top of the top, we move into a deck that (in my opinion) is just as strong, but hasn’t gone around too much. The Booming Boomers, as I’ve decided to call them, is a high-paced aggro deck focused around getting your hermits on the board and setting up a strong sweeping Impulse ® to Boomer his way through the competition! The deck certainly has other options, with the amount of extra cards it runs to mill* quickly.

*For people who do not play card games a lot, I will sometimes use terms common in other games. Milling refers to the act of quickly drawing through your deck through cards that discard cards and let you draw more. In the case of this deck, our mill cards are Fishing Rod and Flint & Steel.

DECK LIST ( ® denotes a rare version of the card in the case of hermits)

Tango ® x2

Tango x3

Impulse ® x3

Milk Bucket x1

Water Bucket x1

Diamond Armor x3

Looting x1

Bow x1

Flint & Steel x3

Fishing Rod x3

Instant Health II x3

Double Farm x1

Farm x7

Double Redstone x2

Redstone x8

PLAYING THE DECK

Like stated above, this deck is aggro and looks to set up Impulse ® with a double redstone and two Tangos on board to start using Boomer, dealing 70 damage baseline and +40 for each of the Tangos with him, up to a bonus of 80 damage. 150 damage a turn is enough to two-shot every single Hermit in the game currently. Enabling this strategy is the copies of Flnit & Steel and Fishing Rod letting you look through your deck quickly. Fishing Rod is fairly straight forward to use, with the two cards being put in without any downsides, but Flint & Steel is a bit harder, so let’s talk about using this optimally.

Flint & Steel discards your hand and allows you to draw three cards to replace this. Using this is a last case scenario, so be smart with how you use it. Do NOT use Flint & Steel if you’re going to discard Hermits while you do not have your setup on board. Once you have an Impulse ® plus any two Tangos on board, make sure you have enough items to stock up Impulse to get to Boomer. If you do not have any of the Hermits you need to set up on board, Flint & Steel becomes a priority card, as milling your hand to find them allows you to set up and sweep.

As usual, this deck has a few floater cards that can easily be swapped out for others. Both Buckets, Bow, and Looting can all be swapped out for any other active effects. Try not to grab anymore equipment cards, since your goal is to keep Impulse ® on board doing damage as much as he can, and the Diamond Armors do a great job of this. Alongside well-timed Instant Health Potions, Impulse can stay on the board for a long time with a Diamond Armor. I like holding onto one copy of the Bow because very often, an enemy can switch if a Hermit is in kill-range of a Boomer, and Bow is very often enough to kill most Hermits after one or two attacks. It also synergizes very well with the back-up plan of this deck, Tango ® and Extra Flee.

The big thing to keep in mind with this deck are your win conditions. Find Impulse ®, find any Tangos possible, equip Impulse ® to Boomer and start swinging. Start slamming items on Tango ® as a backup just in case. With the right draw and a strong start, you can quickly end a game by knocking out all Hermits on your opponent’s board before they can draw any more.

Play fast, play quick, play deadly.

That’s all for the Booming Boomers! As always, good luck players, and may you forever draw your Impulses on turn one!

Lost and Found

By Virtual

To the representative interested in claiming “Peekaboo” from last week’s Lost and Found, please meet Paint by Wings & Things in the shopping district. They will be carrying a purple shulker box and three diamonds. We will happily provide any necessary assistance to get “Peekaboo” off our hands.

The following items were collected from across the server over the past week. If you would like to report an item missing, or if you recognize any of the below items as your own, please contact us at [email protected]*

*not a real email address

Item 1: A pufferfish in a bucket named “Charles,” found in the bushes behind Twinkly Trash. Though several people have expressed interest in adopting Charles, we are making an effort to find his original owner. The fish has been temporarily relocated to an impromptu fish tank inside the Overseer offices. The tank is already being used as a desk. If Charles belongs to you, please come pick him up. He misses you.

Item 2: A piece of bedrock, found in the screeching crevice. The item was delivered to the Overseer offices late last week after a resident of Grumbot’s cave found it in the screeching crevice. The item appears to be bedrock, aside from the fact that it can be held in the palm of a player without incident. Though the bedrock is most likely fake, the implications of its existence have sparked more than one crisis in the citizens who beheld it. If it belongs to you, please collect it, and consider destroying it.

Item 3: A dusty book written in galactic, found within the bowels of Joe Hills’ pinball machine. Joe Hills, when confronted with the book, denied any ownership of the item. When translated, the book appeared to contain a list of horoscopes stretching for the next several years. Each horoscope was highly specific, to the point of being disturbing for our translator, who refused to interpret past a prediction for Libra set three weeks from the writing of this article. If the book is yours, please reach out to collect it. If you do not own the book, but can translate galactic, we encourage you to try reading a few passages for scientific purposes.

Item 4: A collection of fourteen chests in minecarts, found abandoned in the woods surrounding Scarland. The minecart chests were found when a Scarland employee tripped over them on their way to work. Despite this area of the woods being clear the previous day, the minecarts were sunk half into the ground and covered in vegetation, as though they had been slowly buried over the course of several years. Within the chests were three clocks, a diamond hoe, thirteen stacks of cobblestone, and four blocks of red concrete powder. All efforts to remove the minecarts from their half-sunken state have failed. If this chest monster belongs to you, please collect it in the woods behind Scarland Castle.

Item 5: A red shulker box stained with a rusty brown substance, found washed up on the shore near Grian’s base. The box appeared two Fridays ago and was dropped at our office door by someone claiming to be one of Grian’s employees. The player vehemently insisted it not be thrown out before vanishing as quickly as they appeared. When opened, the box smelled faintly of seawater and contained several red corals, all stained with the same brown substance as the shulker’s exterior. The stain spreads to anything the box is placed on and smells faintly of rust. When collecting this item, we suggest bringing a pair of thick gloves and perhaps a face mask.

Ask the Seers

By Seers Jester, S, Vi, and Nes

Has your favourite little guy been put into a situation they can’t get out of? Do you have questions about how a mountain appeared on top of your house last night? Question no more, for The Seers are here to help! Questions can be submitted through the ask box and are collected throughout the week.

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Dear Seers, Hello! I keep finding myself waking up from a daze in random places and almost exploding! Is there any possible way to stop this from happening? - :D

Hello, dear smiley face. It seems I have the honour of answering your question today. Tying yourself in your bed is a highly recommended idea, as is simply finding someone who will accompany you at all times of the day. Looking for wither roses in a tavern will let you meet many who are interested in such jobs, as long as there is payment on the table. You may, also, simply try not being in a daze. I have heard that a well-timed swim in a cold river could wake up even the sleepiest of beasts. - The Seers

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Dear Seers, How do you fill up someone's walls with TNT and make the said TNT not explode their house just give them a little scare? - Avoiding Property Damage

Hi, Avoiding Property Damage! You have three options here! First and foremost, have the TNT explode in a block of water so it doesn’t cause any damage to the blocks around it. This can be down in many different ways, but I suggest the ol’ single block stream of water method. Downside is unless if you’re present you can only realistically do 1 piece of TNT this way, due to all TNT having to be lit at once. Option two, ignore the walls go down under! By digging 5-7 blocks below the persons base and placing TNT you can get the full effect of how ever many TNT you want with minimal damage. However, it is possible for the TNT to push one another up into the floor causing a lot of damage. Option 3, ditch the TNT! Shriekers are your safest bet, as they cause just as loud of a noise with zero risk of property damage. However, they do cause a risk to your safety due to the method of collecting them. For legal reasons The Seers would like to clarify that it is not responsible for any property damage caused due to someone following our advice. Have fun! - The Seers

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Dear Seers, I had the most AWFUL day at spawn :(((( somebody set glitter traps EVERYWHERE and I got caught in what feels like at least twelve of them!!!! Do any of the Seer have advice to get rid of glitter? The glue is making it really hard to get rid of! And any idea whose fault this is? - The Very Sparkley, Not Vampire

Hello Not Vampire, hopefully I can be if some assistance, Hmm, I wonder if there’s a glitter related Zedvancement somewhere in the archives that could be of use… I’ll have to get back to you on that. In the meantime, step one is to figure out what type of glitter and glue is in use. I’m talking metallic, plastic, or biodegradable glitter, glue of the washable, super, or hot variety? Step two is to then design a contraption to remove both the glitter and the glue. I personally would suggest a shower or either water or acetone (depending on the type of adhesive) alongside an apparatus for removing the particles. Perhaps some sort of full body lint roller? Now that I think about it, this would be quite the useful device, I’ll look through some records and workshop some blueprints and get back to you ok? - The Seers

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Dear Seers, I’m stuck in someones walls. How do I get out? - Does This Count As Breaking And Entering

Hello Does This Count As Breaking And Entering! I hope you like the walls you’ve become trapped in, because like Grian in S7 and S8, you now live in them! Can you get out? Yes, you can. Is if funnier if you just live there until you’re discovered? Also yes. I hope you’ve enjoyed this non-help! - The Seers