#(also on the ex. had his parents there to watch what my brother took from the apt and didn't let me have ANY of the expensive stuff i bought

[defiledtomb]

IM DA KING OF THE PARQUET

I got an apartment. I GOT AN APARTMENT!!!!!

[zepskies]

Lost on You - Part 5

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x F. Supe!Reader

Summary: 1983 is a big year for you. You’re finally chosen to join the ranks of Payback, led by the most (in)famous supe in the world: Soldier Boy. He’ll never admit that he’s trying his damndest to figure you out. You’ll never admit that he’s actually growing on you. But the problem with this game is deciding who’s the predator, and who is prey.

AN: We’re going deeper and darker on this one, with an ending you might not expect...

Word Count: 5.5K

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only. TW: attempted sexual assault (not successful), violence, character death, drug use, and a twist.

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Part 5: Eminence Front

Your last conversation with your mother was on a Sunday morning, in hospice.

You sat at her bedside and held her hand. Chris and your father were downstairs in the hospital food court, ordering sandwiches. You hadn’t had much of an appetite for three days.

“I had your father call the whole family so they could watch the music video with you and Soldier Boy,” your mom said. She wore a proud, if weak smile. “He even recorded a few tapes of it. He sent one to your aunt, another to your cousins, and another to our friends Leah and Stan.”

“Pretty sure that’s illegal piracy, Mom,” you said with a laugh.

“I don’t care. You’re my daughter, and you’ve worked incredibly hard to get here,” she said. Her eyes misted over a bit in memory. “We’ve all worked hard.”

You stilled at that. You didn’t know what memories she had filtering through her head, but you were sure your perspective behind the lens was…different.

In your mind’s eye, you saw yourself at twelve years old. Chris had been pestering you all day, as big brothers were wont to do sometimes. With a slap on his arm, you’d screamed at him to leave you alone.

He didn’t speak to you for a whole month. He didn’t go to your piano recital or your choir concert, where you had the best solo. He didn’t talk to you until you touched him again, grabbing his arm, pleading with him.

"Please, whatever I did, I'm sorry. Just talk to me!"

He startled as if he’d woken up from a dream.

Your parents had shared a look, and they’d known then that their gamble had worked.

You remembered being sat down by your mother and told that they had spent their entire life’s savings to make you a hero. So you were going to spend the rest of your young life training to be one.

“We’re investing in your future, but we’re also investing in ours.”

You remembered sleepover invites rejected and summer plans canceled on your behalf. Your mother used her meager retirement fund to sign you up for vocal lessons from a former opera singer. Your high school football coach father drilled you to condition your body like an athlete.

You never had a moment that wasn’t scheduled. You were always exhausted, taking whatever “supplements” your parents gave you to keep you going. (Often it was Adderall, until it started giving you insomnia, among other delightful side effects.)

You were miserable. Then again, you’d be surprised by what you could get used to.

The end goal was always getting into Payback. It was where you’d garner the most fame and make the most money, and therefore, make the most returns on your parents’ investments.

So your father later took out a loan to get you some basic combat training from an ex-Vought employee. Your parents wanted you to be well-rounded and prepared for anything when you got onto the team—and it was always when.

If was not part of the story.

Any small commercials and modelling gigs you landed throughout middle school and high school helped pay for your family’s bills, and later for college, where you double majored in Vocal Performance and Marketing. You would learn how to become your own brand.

Through it all, you always remembered what your mom had said to you on the set of your first commercial. You were crying because the hours were long and you missed your friends, and even your brother.

“Come on, let’s wipe those tears. You don’t want to smudge your makeup,” she’d said. When you couldn’t be consoled, she guided you over to a quieter corner of the set. “Listen, sweetheart. Don’t let them see you upset. You'll get a reputation for being difficult to work with.”

“I don’t care! I don’t want to do this anymore,” you said, sniffling badly as you scrubbed at your eyes. Your mother sighed sharply.

“You’re just starting out. Of course there are going to be growing pains,” she said. “Showbusiness is a cutthroat world, and yes, you’re so young. Maybe too young.”

She wiped your face with gentler hands, then she laid them on your shoulders and made sure you met her eyes.

“But you’re going to be better prepared than most superheroes. You can literally read men. You know what’s in their hearts, and you can control them. As a woman in this world, do you know how damn powerful that is?” she said.

She squeezed your shoulders.

“That’s why you’ll be smarter than any of them, and you’ll only show the world what you want them to see.”

What you want them to see…

“We don’t have to talk about that right now,” you said at last.

Your mom nodded and stroked your hand. Her eyes fell closed in rest. She looked so small and frail in her bed.

“I’m so, so proud of you,” she said. “Always remember that.”

Your lower lip trembled, and your eyes stung. You couldn’t help but feel hollow. What was there to be proud of? You’d failed. All your hard work was meant to give your family a better life, not…this.

“You’re so beautiful and talented,” she continued. “And you’ll get your father out from under these medical bills I put on him, won’t you?”

Deep in your soul, a painful ache twinged.

You ignored it and nodded in agreement.

“I’ll take care of Dad, don’t worry.”

Your mother died the next morning. You wrote a statement about her passing to explain your absence to your fans. It went through Madelyn Stillwell and Arthur before they released the press release and even had it covered in Vought News. Then you spent the next week entrenched in funeral arrangements with your father and brother.

When you eventually returned to Vought Tower after the funeral, it felt like another part of you had chipped off.

Your room was filled with flowers and gifts from your fans, which managed to make you wide-eyed, and even tearfully touched. So this was the power of fame, then?

But there was one vase filled with beautiful scarlet roses. Attatched was a handwritten note:

Welcome home.

You thought you recognized the scrawl. A small smile graced your lips.

You gave into the desire to venture up to the penthouse floor, and knock on Ben’s door. He opened it himself. He was dressed down for once in the afternoon, in a normal sweater rolled up to his elbows and tucked into his slacks. Once he saw you, he was a little surprised.

You held up the note for his view. “Was this you?”

He smiled slightly, but he didn’t answer you. He just welcomed you inside. You followed him into the living room area and sat heavily on the couch. An album was playing on his record player. You recognized Sinatra’s smooth voice singing “My Way.”

“You want a drink?” Ben asked.

“Whiskey, neat,” you replied. He rose a brow, but he fulfilled your request.

While he was busy, you grabbed his forgotten half a blunt from the ashtray on the coffee table, and you lit up. You didn’t often partake in drugs because you didn’t like being out of your lucid mind. You preferred being in control.

Today was different. You needed a distraction. Maybe that was why you were here to begin with.

You accepted the glass he handed to you and took a generous sip, though you coughed at the burn on the way down. And you took a puff, the smoke irritating your throat even more. You practically coughed up half a lung, until he sat down beside you and reached out his hand. You passed the blunt back to him. You two traded off hits until it was more than halfway down to the roach, and he eventually put it out on the ashtray.

“My offer still stands, you know,” he said.

You turned to him. Even in your “enlightened” state, you could feel his intentions. The way he roamed your body with his eyes was unmistakable, but just then, you had a moment of clarity. You couldn’t be bothered to play this game, or hide your true thoughts for that matter. You smiled to yourself, and you stood.

Ben got up with you, trying to gauge your reaction.

“Thank you,” you said, “for finally showing me who you really are.”

His lips slowly pulled into a frown. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“My mom died,” you said. “I know you knew that, but you couldn’t even muster up a basic ‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ or whatever the fuck.”

You even laughed through the spark of tears. You wiped at your face. “This place is exactly what I thought it would be.”

The man was silent while you finished the drink in one long gulp. You slammed the glass on his counter, and you left his apartment.

It wasn’t the first time Ben watched you walk away from him, but despite his outward stoicism, it was the first time he felt the sting of it.

You knew it would be difficult at Vought, but you were finding it more and more challenging to keep focused as the months went by.

On one mission, Ben threw a man out of a three-story apartment. He lived, by some miracle, but shattered almost every bone in his body.

On another, Black Noir choke-slammed an escaped convict so hard, her esophagus caved in. And it was a good day if the TNT Twins even zapped the right culprit.

You were increasingly wary of the collateral damage and violence you were being complicit in, just by being there. You had to keep reminding yourself of why you were here. You needed to take care of your father, who was still swimming in your mother’s medical bills and funeral costs. You needed to prove to yourself that you could do this, with or without Ben’s help.

Even so, a day you were called to a full team mission made you more anxious than excited.

It was a drug ring that the police had been trying to dismantle for nearly a decade: Los Reyes. They were the "kings of cocaine," and they were brutal in their retaliations, locked in a turf war with one of the Italian mafias. As Stan Edgar had explained, the police were grateful for any help that Payback could provide.

You guys were sent to a warehouse in Hell’s Kitchen. According to law enforcement intel, it was the base of the Reyes gang's operations.

Infiltrating it was the easy part. Countess blasted right through the front doors, revealing your entire team to the group of men huddled around entire tables and crates filled with product.

When a man aimed a gun at you, Ben threw his shield. It hit the man, who then crashed into a support beam and broke his back in half. Your eyes went wide in horror at seeing his lifeless ones. You gaped up at Ben.

“Was that really necessary?” you asked in alarm.

"Would you rather get shot?” he said coolly.

The others picked off a few men in the room, but the rest of the gang scattered into other rooms within the large building. Ben barked commands for who should go in which direction.

“Sirena, you’re with Swatto. Head east towards the alley and cut off any rats,” he commanded.

You wanted to take issue with being partnered with Swatto. You glanced over at him. After how you compelled him a few months ago, he still had a grudge against you as well. But you two knew better than to argue with Soldier Boy on a mission.

You and your partner ducked out the east side into the alley. Sure enough, you saw blood splatters on the wall from a handprint, and drips of blood leading down the concrete path. After sharing a nod, you and Swatto followed the line of blood.

You turned the corner into a dusty construction site, where a new skyscraper was only partially built. Some walls were up along with the foundation, but it was mostly dirt, bare concrete walls, and piles of brick.

When you turned a corner, you and Swatto stopped short as bullets rained your way.

“Oh, fuck!” Swatto shouted. He pulled out his gun and decided to fly above. You heard more shots and men screaming, and then, it was quiet. You cocked your own gun, though you hoped you didn’t have to use it. The problem with your powers was you needed to be close enough to touch someone to actually compel them, man or woman.

Your last resort was your actual siren song, a power you rarely used. Mainly because it was lethal to any man who heard it. For that reason, it had to be your in case of emergency break glass tactic.

So you crept around the corner to see what Swatto had done. You were surprised to find that he fought well. He managed to kill a few of them, but one large man was still alive. He was on his knees in the dirt with his hands folded behind his head.

“See? Ain’t so fuckin’ tough now, huh?” Swatto taunted. “Get ready to get fucked in the ass in jail, Paco.”

You grimaced in disgust. “All right, that’s enough. Just—”

Before you could realize what was happening, the man raised up from the ground and swept the gun from Swatto’s hands. It flew across the clearing and hit the wall, setting the gun off. A bullet ricocheted and grazed Swatto in the side. 

“Aw, fuck! I’m fucking hit!” he yelled in alarm. His wings expanded from his back, and he raised off the ground in flight. Your eyes widened.

“Where the hell are you going?” you shouted.

“I’m hit! I need a hospital!” His voice grew smaller as he flew away like a fucking coward.

It left you alone with a man twice your size. He seized you up with a smirk.

“Hey, baby,” he said. “You’re the new one, right?”

You raised your gun and fired, but you were too late. He evaded and grabbed the gun from your hands. You held your ground after the first punch, but the second and third made your legs shake. You were more durable than the average human, and you were well trained. Unfortunately, you didn’t have super strength like most of your teammates.

You blocked when you could and gave blows of your own, but this man was large enough that it didn’t slow him for long. He wore a sweatshirt with long sleeves, so you couldn’t easily compel him with a touch.

Okay, this warrants an emergency, you thought in alarm. When you opened your mouth to sing, he shot out a sharp blow to your throat. Maybe he thought you were going to scream for help, but it had its intended effect of choking you into silence.

He grabbed you and proceeded to beat you down, until you felt the sharp breaking of ribs and blood and dirt in your mouth. Every time you tried to slip away or get to your feet and escape, he knocked you back down. He was toying with you, and having fun with it too. You could sense his sick enjoyment.

But then, you felt his intentions shift. Darker, and more carnal. A more intense fear coiled in your stomach, rising up into your throat. A gasp got stuck there as you tried harder to crawl away.

He grabbed your ankle and dragged you back towards him. He took your wrists when you tried to claw at his eyes, or even just touch his face to try and enforce your power over his.

Just a scrap of skin. That’s all you need.

A whimper escaped you as you struggled, but you kneed him hard between the legs. That managed to stop him for a moment as he grunted and cursed. He got a hold of a meaty hand around your neck. Your eyes glowed in desperation.

Suddenly, the man’s weight lifted off you.

You panted for breath and raised yourself up on your elbow. You watched with wide eyes as Ben slammed your attacker’s face into the dirt until he couldn’t breathe. Ben glanced at you, taking in the sight of your bloody face and cut lip, your arm wrapped around your battered ribs.

His frown deepening in displeasure, he bent the man’s arm until it broke in at least two places. His howls of pain echoed into the night. Ben cut it off by twisting the man’s neck, until it released a loud crack.

He threw the body to the ground in disgust. He barely even wiped his gloves before he stood straighter. Then he went back to you.

“You all right?” he asked gruffly.

You stared up at him with tears shining in your eyes. You tried to answer, but it hurt your throat. It was also painful for you to move your body. You tasted blood in your mouth and knew it had dribbled down your chin.

With a rough exhale through his nose, Ben lowered down and slid his hands underneath your body. You cringed and cried out when he moved you, but you were grateful. You were embarrassed. And you were exhausted.

Tears streamed down your cheeks as you folded your arms over your battered middle. You couldn't help but lay your head against his chest.

The rest of the team was waiting at the other end of the clearing, except for Swatto. Even Countess was quiet as she watched Ben carry you out of the construction site.

You spent a couple of days in the hospital. There you were surrounded by Vought security fielding off any journalists or tabloids, and you were accompanied by your dad and brother.

Chris especially was angry for you, not to mention worried, but you tried to hide your pain and reassure them that you would be okay. This was just par for the course when taking down the bad guys.

Yeah, that one sounded hollow, even to you.

You were grateful when you got out of the hospital and were sent back to the Tower. Even so, the doctor had you mostly on bedrest until your ribs healed up. You weren’t proud of it, but you wallowed in your embarrassment and a bit of self-pity while you watched a marathon of Cheers and ate from a box of assorted chocolates. You dug around for your favorites, but you kept getting the weird shitty filling ones.

“Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came,” sang the TV show theme song. “You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same. You wanna be where everybody knows your name…” 

“Bullshit,” you muttered aloud. Such was your grouchiness that you had half a mind to change the channel. This godforsaken sitcom was too damn cheery, no matter how much you loved Ted Danson’s fine, rugged ass.

God. Maybe I do have a type.

That was when a knock at the door threatened to disrupt your solitude.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

You’d now recognize that smooth, deep voice anywhere. Sighing, you closed the box of chocolates and hid them under your pillow before you turned off the TV.

“Come in,” you said.

Ben stepped into your apartment and soon found you in your room. It was the first time he’d ever been in here, and he took a subtle look around. He wore his suit and tactical gear.

“Just come from a mission?” you asked.

He nodded and approached your bed. He smiled slightly.

“Eating your feelings in Whitman’s, huh?” he teased, tapping his nose. He could probably smell the chocolate.

You blushed and crossed your arms on reflex, but you grimaced when the motion made your ribs twinge sharply. You made a sound of discomfort and lowered your arms back to your sides. You shifted in the bed as slowly as you could. You’d been in this position for a while.

“How’re you holding up?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m peachy,” you groused. When you looked up at him though, you realized that he hadn't needed to come visit you. He was here of his own free will…and there was something you had yet to say to him. You sighed and met him with sincerity.

“Look…thank you, for saving me,” you said.

Ben inclined his head. He lowered down and sat beside you on the edge of your bed.

“You may not like how I run things here, but this is the way of it,” he said, holding your gaze. “This is the real fucking world. If you’re going to stay here, you need to get with that program, or this place is going to chew you up and spit you out.”

That fell between you two for a moment. The more you turned his words over in your mind, the more you realized that he was right, to a point. If you stayed, this was your life. You couldn’t keep handwringing. You had to be smarter.

“I’m sorry, I’m not looking very camera ready,” you said eventually. You meant it to be joking, but your voice was heavy. “I wouldn’t blame you for averting your eyes.”

You half expected him to make a joke about your black eye and torn lip. But to your surprise, Ben picked up your hand with a kind of gentleness. He raised the back of it up to his lips for a kiss. He gave you a reserved smile.

“Rest up,” he said.

He got up and strode out of your apartment. Not for the first time, he left you feeling unbalanced…and this time warm.

It took a few weeks for you to fully heal. You agreed to do an interview with Jason Carver, the anchor of Vought News. It was a bit intimidating being in yet another studio, and this was live.

The cameras aren’t there. This is just a stage like any other. You’re just…having a conversation, you coached yourself. You sat in an uncomfortable leather chair across from Jason at his desk.

When he got the green light from the producer, he kicked off the show by introducing you as his special guest.

“Can I just say, Sirena, we’re all very glad to see you’re all right,” he said, with a very convincing note of sincerity. Your abilities allowed you to read the truth.

Only show them what you want them to see.

You gave him a grateful smile.  

“Thanks, Jason. I appreciate that. It’s just…hazards of the job description, you know?” you said. “But I’m doing much better, and I’m very thankful that my team was there to support me.”

“Yes, the rest of Payback really stepped up to not only apprehend your attacker, but round up the entire Reyes gang. Is that right?” he said.

You nodded, reading the teleprompter. You were meant to go on a mini monologue about how great your team was, and how grateful you were to be a part of it. It was a script approved by Madelyn, and even Stan Edgar.

You paused, glancing over to where Arthur and Madelyn stood in the dark with the rest of the crew. They were both looking at you encouragingly, but expectant.

You took a steadying breath, and you decided to go a bit off-script.

“Well, actually, it was Soldier Boy who saved me,” you said. Jason’s brows rose at your shift in direction, but he reacted with all due interest.

“Really?” he prodded.

“Yes, he did,” you said. The memories of that night filtered through your mind with harrowing detail, including the way Ben stepped in and brutally handled that man. “He didn’t even hesitate. He just threw himself into the fray…and when it was over, he carried me to the hospital himself.”

That part wasn’t exactly true. He’d carried you over to a Vought-owned SUV, and the director of the camera crew drove you over to the hospital. You decided to gloss over that detail, and many others.

“Wow,” Jason said. He shook his head in wonder. “He truly lives up to the legend, doesn’t he?”

You smiled. “He’s more than that. Believe it or not, Soldier Boy was the first one to take me under his wing. He knew I was new to the city, so he guided me all over New York to see the sights like a tourist. Stuff I’m sure he’s seen millions of times, like Top of the Rock and Times Square. Oh, and he was also very gracious when my nephew came to visit. Got me some major brownie points for ‘Best Aunt in the World.’”

That earned you a congenial smile from your host. Your expression faded with a kind of weight in your heart.

“Ever since I got here, he’s been the one to tell it like it is, with that deep, authoritative voice of his,” you said, laughing a little when you tried to imitate Ben’s voice. It got you a laugh, even from those in the studio. “In a way, he’s the one who’s looked out for me the most. I’m very grateful for Soldier Boy, and of course for the rest of my team.”

When you finished, Jason nodded and clapped along with everyone else in the studio.

“Well, that’s just wonderful. Well said,” he said, and he looked straight into the camera with two fingers poised at his temple. “Soldier Boy, if you’re watching, we all appreciate you. And we salute you.”

Ben watched the clip from his living room with a small, incredulous smile on his face.

He wiped the remnants of white powder from his nose and sneezed. Blinking the bleariness out of his eyes, he refocused on the screen while you talked about him. He knew you had to be playing it up for Jason and the cameras, but you also seemed so sincere.

“He’s more than that.”

After the segment was over, he enjoyed the climax of his high while sitting back on his plush sofa. He tossed up an old baseball from his collection up towards the ceiling, this one signed by Babe Ruth. He caught it when gravity pulled it back down towards his face.

That was how Donna found him when she let herself into his apartment. She was out of her suit and wearing a little red dress, one of his old favorites. She graced him with a sultry smile.

“Busy?” she asked.

“Evidently,” he said.

She pouted, almost like a little girl. She went to him and curled herself under his arm and against his chest, draping a smooth thigh over his.

“I miss you,” she purred.

He smiled wryly and turned off the TV.

“Really now?” he drawled. “Because by my calculations it’s been…what, a few months since we’ve fucked?”

Donna paused, the smile slipping from her face.

“And I’m not counting that hand job a couple weeks back. That shit was pitiful, and a little chafing,” he said.

For the past few months, he’d been wracking his brain to remember what it was that had attracted him to this woman, besides the obvious outer packaging. He knew the difference now.

In the beginning, she idolized him. Worshipped him. Loved him. These days, she only came to him when she wanted something, and he had gotten bored. Bored of her.

As if sensing his shift, Donna moved her leg off his lap and sat up with a frown.

“Well, then let me fix it,” she said, as she slid a hand up his thigh. Suddenly she was all too willing to use those red-painted lips to service him. 

Ben couldn’t help but envision those lips as yours, a sinful red, while your mouth did sinful things. He’d gotten off more than once to the thought of it alone, ever since he shot that goddamn music video with you.

So he grabbed Donna’s wandering hand and looked at her coolly.

“Look, for whatever reason, I know you’re not happy,” he said, waving dismissively with his other hand. “Neither of us are. So let’s just stop wasting time.”

Her eyes widened. “What’re you saying?”

Ben’s brows furrowed. “Am I speaking fucking English? It’s time to call it quits, sweetheart.”

Donna’s jaw worked as she fought to keep herself under control. He had a feeling she’d be angry. She always was a little spitfire.

Her body was coiled like a spring when she withdrew her hand from his and got to her feet. She gave him an icy look.

“This isn’t going to last,” she claimed, with a prideful tilt of her chin. “In a month, a week, you’ll get tired of her. And you’ll remember that I’m the one who looks best by your side.”

Ben huffed in amusement before he laid back again. He continued to toss up his baseball.

“Keep telling yourself that,” he said dismissively. 

Donna let loose an aggravated breath, but she kept most of her reaction inside. She turned on her heel, prideful as ever, and left his apartment.

When her fingers landed on the doorknob, however, she turned back for just a moment. Silence greeted her.

It wasn’t until then that her tears finally bubbled over.

Days later, a knock on your door drew your attention out of pulling on some jeans. You were intending to go on a walk through the city, take some time to get out of the Tower and just be you for a change.

That had better not be Madelyn at the door again. She had chastised you for going off-script at the studio twice already. She made the point that she and Stan had gone over those talking points for weeks, and agreed that framing your rescue as a team effort would cover Swatto as well.

He was still laid up with a broken leg, long after the scrape of the bullet had healed. He was tight-lipped about how he’d broken said leg, but you’d heard from Tommy that he’d shattered it…somehow.

Arthur had smoothed things over about your adlib though. He pointed out that talking positively about Soldier Boy helped the whole team. He was the leader, after all.

So yeah, you hoped this visit wasn’t another passive aggressive dress down from the head of PR. You sighed and went over to get the door. You were thoroughly surprised to see Ben.

And a Ben that was wearing a regular suit, for that matter. He looked like he’d stepped out of a Hugo Boss catalogue, steeped in charcoal gray with a long black coat draped over his arm. Your mouth parted in soft shock, especially when he produced a single rose from behind his back.

You took it with tentative fingers and a blush rising hotly in your cheeks.

“Okay, what—”

“Let me take you out,” he said. “One night. You’ll get to see what it’s like to be with the most famous man in the world.”

What an opening line that was. You sensed he was in full Charm City mode, complete with a suave smile. Yours was more amused, even though you twisted the flower's soft petals lightly on your chin in contemplation.

After a few seconds to think, you gave him a patient look.

“Ben, nothing’s changed for me. I told you, I��”

“Countess and I are done, for real this time,” he said.

Once again, you were taken by surprise—mostly because he was telling the truth. You felt it.

Your brows knitted together in confusion. “When did this happen?”

“Recently,” he shrugged. “But like I said, it hasn’t been working for a while. It was a mutual thing.”

You weren’t so sure about that, but… 

This is what I wanted, you reminded yourself. In fact, it had been half what you’d hoped for when you went off-script. You just couldn’t believe it had worked this well, so soon. As much as you probably shouldn’t, part of you began to feel bad for manipulating him. For lying to him.

But it’ll be good for my career.

“…Okay,” you agreed, glancing down at your plain shirt and jeans. “Just give me some time to change.”

He raised a brow. “How much time?”

You gave him a slightly cheeky smile. “An hour, and I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

He sighed, but he agreed.

“Just don’t keep me waiting all fucking day,” he said.

“Come on. What’s a little delayed gratification?” you teased. Then you gave him a more sincere smile. “I’ll see you later.”

Ben nodded, with some added charm in the look he gave you in return.

You slipped back into your apartment and shut the door. You paused there when a thought struck you.

Shit, now what am I going to wear?

AN: Did you see that one coming?

A lot of darker angst and drama in this one, sorry for that. But I think you may like what's coming up...

Next Time:

You slid your hand over his on the table. You felt him stiffen slightly, his body tensing up at your touch. You frowned when you saw the glint of wariness cross his face.

“I won’t compel you again, Ben. I promise,” you said. As long as you don’t give me a reason to.

Your hand traveled up his arm, soothing along his neck, your palm finally resting against his cheek. His green eyes stared into yours.

Soon enough, his wariness bled away into desire.

▶️ Keep Reading: PART 6

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[evans23]

RICKMAS 2024 - DAY 3 - A TREAT

Pairing : Sinclair Bryant x OC

Summary : It's December, Sinclair's favorite time of year, at least before his divorce. But this year, it will be his first Christmas with a woman who truly loves him for who he is, not for what he represents. She is his special treat.

Tag(s)/Warning(s) : Smut. Fluff.

A/N : And here the third story for this intense Rickmas. It's challenging but it brings me a lot of joy. Thanks for it @deepperplexity

This is the part 2 of I am yours

Part I

Also read on AO3 - Wattpad

Two months. It had been two months since you had finally offered yourself to Sinclair for his greatest happiness. Officially, you had been a couple for eight months, but it had taken you time to offer yourself to him and to feel comfortable enough to tell him your little secret. Well, you hadn't really told him, Sinclair had guessed and you had simply confirmed.

It was now the beginning of December. The week before, you had celebrated your birthday, a drizzly day in November but that Sinclair had managed to brighten up with his presence. And with a chocolate cake, your favorite. He hadn't forgotten. Some people like to make fun of him by saying that he always talks without ever letting anyone else get a word in edgewise, but that's not true, he knew how to listen too.

Today, you were both busy decorating the tree that stood in the beige-toned living room. The warm atmosphere of the room, illuminated by the garlands and the small colored lights that blinked all around you made the living room even more comforting than usual.

"This tree is a little too big, isn't it ?" you asked, laughing softly.

"It doesn't even touch the ceiling," Sinclair replied, kissing your temple.

This was your first Christmas together. The fifth for him since the divorce with the one-who-was-no-longer-named. Well, in your head, you nicknamed her the bitch who had fucked her brother.

"What do you normally do at Christmas ?" you asked, hanging a glass ball on the tree.

"When I was a kid, we had big, lavish parties. My parents' whole house was decorated: big trees, luxurious dinners, expensive gifts. The kids stayed in the playroom most of the time. Honestly, it was kind of boring."

You looked away, a little embarrassed. It was obvious that you and Sinclair didn't come from the same world, even if it had never bothered him.

"With... With you know who, it was always very cold. If I threw a big party, she told me she felt left out, if we were invited to my parents' house, she said he made fun of her - which is totally false ! - and if it was just the two of us... well, I wasn't enough for her. And nothing I could offer her was ever enough," he said bitterly.

He fell silent, his cheeks slightly red, as if he regretted talking about her. You took his hand in yours and gave him a small smile. Sinclair tried not to mention his ex-wife in front of you so as not to hurt you, but sometimes, it was stronger than him, he needed to talk about it. You didn't mind, you understood that he was still terribly scarred by what she had done to him and you appreciated knowing that he trusted you enough to open up and share what was still hurting him today.

"But after the divorce, and after an exorbitant amount of therapy, I learned to love the holidays again like I did before... her."

"At home, we didn't really have any traditions," you said to lighten the mood and distract Sinclair from his gloomy memories, "it was just my parents and I. We'd eat a simple meal and then spend the evening in front of the TV watching Christmas movies. But it was never really a big holiday in our house."

"Do you regret it ?" Sinclair asked sincerely.

You thought for a moment before shaking your head. 

"Not really. When I was little, we spent Christmas at my grandmother's house with my father's whole family and it was so... hypocritical. Everyone pretended to get along and smiled at each other falsely. Of course, I was too young to understand, but once I was a teenager, those Christmas parties became heavy. When my grandmother felt too old to host us all, we started to do it just the three of us and it was fine like that... And then... as an introvert, big crowds tire me out quickly," you added with a small smile.

"I know, and I am eternally grateful to you for accompanying me to all my professional parties," Sinclair said with a smile even brighter than the garland he was diligently hanging on the wall.

"It's normal, I want to be with you. That's what good girlfriends do !"

Sinclair's smile widened even more. 

"Are you glad your parents are here for New Year's ?"

"Yes, they love you," you replied, handing him a thumbtack.

Your parents had met Sinclair shortly before you moved in with him, and your mother had told you that it might have taken you a while to decide, but at least you had chosen well. Your mother never made a mistake, and you had known she was the right one. As for your father, all it took was for Sinclair to start talking to him about sea fish for him to fall under her spell.

"I'm glad to spend this Christmas in a simpler way," Sinclair said in his deep voice as he stepped down from his stepladder.

"Really? I don't want you to change your ways for me."

"Not at all. It's you and you alone that I want to be with. This will be our first Christmas and I love this simplicity."

He kissed you tenderly before deepening the kiss. He lifted you up with ease and as your legs wrapped around his hips, he led you into the bedroom to share a tender moment under the sheets filled with caresses, tender kisses and sweet words whispered in your ear.

The following days, you began to create your own traditions. You walked in your favorite park on a sunny and dry but particularly cold afternoon at Sinclair wrapped you in his wool scarf when you started to shiver despite your own scarf and your wool coat lined with silk that he had given you for your birthday.

You had also spent an entire afternoon preparing gingerbread cookies and cupcakes with delicious and colorful decorations with Christmas music in the background and in the evening, to accompany your pastries, you had prepared a hot chocolate garnished with marshmallow.

There had been Christmas movie nights of course, but also board game nights and many reading nights during which you took turns reading your favorite novels, sometimes introducing the other to an author they would never have thought of reading before.

And slowly but surely, the days had passed until December 24th. Sinclair, who had worked all month, was finally enjoying a well-deserved day off. In the early morning, you had left him to enjoy a restful sleep and had gone to prepare his favorite breakfast: fried eggs with sausages, bacon and warm toast. You had also prepared a hot chocolate that you hoped would soothe his irritated throat and you had left a bar of honey-filled chocolate, your favorite.

You woke him up with a series of kisses on the back of his neck, but without you expecting it, Sinclair turned you over with a fluid movement and you found yourself pinned to the mattress, Sinclair pinning you before his solid body. 

His lips crushed gently on yours as one of his hands moved up the t-shirt - his t-shirt - that you had worn to sleep. His lips traveled down your throat and, in one movement, Sinclair removed your t-shirt to let his lips travel down your almost naked body.

"Tell me to stop," he whispered in your ear.

"Keep going," you told him as you buried your fingers in his dark blond hair.

His lips traveled down to the bottom of your stomach as his fingers played with the edge of your pajama pants. You lifted your hips slightly and he slid your pants and panties down your pale legs before throwing them to the floor.

You placed your cold hands underneath Sinclair’s shirt, making him shiver slightly but, far from turning him away, he continued to explore your body, his tongue gently caressing your clit.

“Sinclair, please,” you whispered as one of his fingers teased your entrance.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to tease your clit, his eagle-beaked nose pressing just where it should have been to make you moan without giving you the release you craved.

Just as you were about to come, Sinclair stopped, chuckling softly when you let out a small frustrated groan. He then got rid of his boxers, and positioned himself at your entrance, his hard member teasing your soaking pussy, ready for him.

He gave you a tender look to make sure you were ready. A nod from you, and he was already slowly sinking into you, his slow and calculated thrusts sending shocks throughout your body.

"Faster," you said in a breath.

Sinclair didn't need to be asked twice, his movements intensified, but still with a certain reserve. His member was longer than average and even if since your first time you had shared several nights together, you remained inexperienced and you were still learning to recognize what you liked and didn't like while he guided you with patience and love.

"Sin... Sinclair," you stammered as you felt your orgasm building inside you.

"I love you, [Y/N]," Sinclair said breathlessly.

"I love you too," you replied, one of your hands gripping his hair and the other sliding down his back.

Sinclair picked up the pace a little more, his eyes closed as if he was trying to stay focused as your toes curled against the sheets and your nipples hardened with each new thrust from Sinclair.

"[Y/N], I'm gonna... I'm gonna..."

Sinclair didn't have time to finish his sentence as his orgasm caused shockwaves into your vagina, triggering your own orgasm. Feeling your tight pussy contract against his cock, Sinclair let out a grunt of satisfaction, a primal grunt that made your own chest vibrate.

Sinclair kissed you one last time, then pulled out, leaving you with an empty feeling that he quickly filled by holding you close to him.

"Thanks for breakfast," Sinclair whispered, making you laugh softly.

The rest of the day passed in relative calm. You were wearing casual clothes. You had nothing planned and no one was going to disturb your little cocoon of warmth and intimacy. In the living room, the tree was shining brightly, on the TV, "Die Hard" was distracting you and the cinnamon and orange scented candles added a pleasant touch. You were wrapped up in a fluffy blanket, leaning against Sinclair's chest, who was totally absorbed in the movie, so much so that he had forgotten his bowl of popcorn.

Well sheltered, protected from the cold outside and the snow that had started to fall at the end of the morning, covering the garden and the windowsills with a white blanket, you felt good, safe in each other's arms. And for the first time in a long time, Sinclair felt serene.

After the movie, you headed to the kitchen. You had taken care of the main course: vegetarian lasagna, and Sinclair of the dessert, a surprise you knew nothing about. The smell of tomato sauce and grilled cheese perfumed the entire kitchen. Sinclair was busy preparing the table while you watched the lasagna. When you came back with the dishes, you saw Sinclair's effort to prepare a pretty festive table. He had laid out a pretty white tablecloth decorated with gold snowflakes. Candles provided an intimate atmosphere and in the background you could hear Wham!.

"I can't wait to taste your lasagna !" Sinclair exclaimed as he sat down at the table with an almost childish excitement.

You had done well to have planned two large dishes of lasagna. Sinclair had several helpings and he was already looking forward to knowing that there would be some more for the next day... or for the evening if he ever got a little hungry.

"Please, this is my first try so don't make fun of me if it's inedible," he said as he arrived with his dessert.

It was a Christmas Pudding that looked... unappealing. But you said nothing, waiting to taste it to give your opinion. If the visual aspect was not the most inviting, the taste was exquisite.

"You're too demanding of yourself, Sinclair. It's delicious," you said between bites.

Your sincerity, your happy and loving gaze, erased all his fears. With you, he didn't aim for perfection. All he wanted was to see that glow of pride, contentment and reassurance, mixed with the obvious love you had for him.

You shared a hot, foamy bath enhanced with lavender essential oil accompanied by champagne. You dozed gently against him as he told you how sparkling white wine had become champagne. He continued by telling you about Henry II and how his conquest of Gascony had allowed the introduction of viticulture in the United Kingdom while wrapping you in a thick bathrobe.

A few hours before Christmas, you settled back into the living room, both of you covered with a blanket. Sinclair was reading Emily Bronte's work out loud while you absently stroked his arm, wondering how you had managed to be so lucky, to have met such a man and for him to have let you into his life without knowing that Sinclair was asking himself the same question.

"A hot chocolate?" he asked suddenly, making you jump slightly.

You nodded and smiled gratefully. Except that when he came back, Sinclair was not only holding a steaming cup in his hand, but a small package that he handed to you with barely contained excitement.

You opened the velvet box under his watchful gaze. Inside, there was a gold mesh bracelet with several small pendants.

"Sinclair! This is too much!" you exclaimed, moved.

"Nothing is too much for you," Sinclair answered sincerely, taking the bracelet to put it on your wrist. "A book, because you were reading Sense and Sensibility the first time I had the courage to talk to you, a cup, for the milkshakes you drink every day, a car so that you have one of my passions with you, a clover so that you always have luck and a heart," he listed as he presented each pendant to you one by one.

"My heart," he added almost shyly, a rare occurrence for Sinclair.

You kissed him without hesitation and he hugged you.

"I'm a little ashamed to give you my gift now," you said with a little redness in your cheeks.

"I'm sure I'll love it !" Sinclair exclaimed excitedly.

You went to get it, hidden among your beauty products, and handed it to him a little shyly. You had spent weeks and weeks to finish it on time. It was only yesterday afternoon that you had finally managed to complete your work, albeit imperfect. 

You would have liked to give Sinclair something more beautiful, but he already had all the books in the world including first editions - not that you could have given him a first edition on your meager salary as a receptionist for a private school - and you had never seen him wear jewelry.

"[Y/N], it's beautiful," Sinclair said as he unwrapped a hand-knitted scarf.

You weren't really convinced, but nothing could have made you doubt his sincerity, especially when he wrapped it around his neck without hesitation.

"I know it's not much..." you started, but he interrupted you almost immediately.

"It's perfect ! Just what I needed to keep warm this winter."

And just like I will always protect your heart, Sinclair, you thought without daring to say it out loud.

He hugged you and you settled back on the couch. Sinclair turned on the TV just in time to see the beginning of Little Women, a movie he knew you loved. He absently played with the bracelet that hung around your wrist, smiling to himself. There, in the comfort of your home, in the warm caring embrace, he felt at peace.

Nothing mattered anymore. Past failures, loneliness, Natalie and Richard, nothing. Except you. You and the calm with which you surrounded his existence, soothing the demons of his past that had haunted him for so long, reminding him again and again of the burning pain of the humiliation he had felt.

As midnight struck, announcing Christmas, and the snow fell harder, Sinclair observed your peaceful face on which the glow of a candle danced. You had finally fallen asleep, totally abandoned in his arms, in full trust. His heart swelled with love. You had become, in a short time, the center of his universe, his source of joy, peace, love. 

You were his present and his future. You were his special treat.

[on-my-vigilante-sht]

I'm Sorry

Young!Haymitch Abernathy x Reader

Summary: Moments of Haymitch having to mentor his ex-girlfriend

Warnings: Canon-level violence, implied smut, cheating, alcohol consumption

Word Count: 5.1K

Masterlist

“Haymitch!” I called my boyfriend’s name as he stepped off the train. He had just won the Hunger Games. Not just the Hunger Games, the second Quarter Quell. Where he competed with 47 other tributes. When he had won I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait for him to come home. But then I went to his family’s home and found nothing but the bleeding bodies of his parents and younger brother.

When he finally reached me, having to fight through the throngs of excited District 12 citizens, he wiped away my tears with a smile, mistaking them for tears of joy. “I’m back, sweetheart,” he smiled, pressing his forehead to mine. But as he pulled away he noticed my lack of a smile. “What?” he asked, fear creeping into his throat.

“I’m so sorry,” I cried, handing him his parents’ wedding rings. He immediately knew what that means.

“No,” he tried to deny, shaking his head. “No.”

~~

“Y/N L/N,” the district escort’s voice rang out as he called my ex-girlfriend’s name. I was honestly surprised I had managed to comprehend it at all given that the crowd was a blurry haze and every word was melted together in my brain. But I saw her clearly as she walked up to the stage, fear and rage on her face. I assumed fear for the games, rage for me.

She had been there for me as I grieved my family’s death. Even when I pushed her away she was there for me. She was killing herself for me while I poisoned myself with booze and hate. All until I couldn’t handle her care and my rage anymore so I picked a fight.

“Can you not?!” I yelled as she tried to clean up my new house a little. “Just fucking leave it.”

Her sad expression, I regret to say, brought me satisfaction. I loved to hurt her for no reason. A small part of me was pained to hurt her, I think that’s what allowed me to push her away rather than trap her with my hate. “Sorry,” she murmured softly.

“Yeah you’ve said that before,” I spat, poison dripping from my words. “Why are you still here?”

She sighed, biting her lip. I could see she was silently debating whether or not she’d open herself up to being attacked by my again. “Because I love you,” she admitted painfully, tears pricking her eyes.

I scoffed. “Well I don’t love you anymore.” A small piece of my heart broke as I watched her shatter. I had spent weeks abusing her, something a part of me reveled in, but I had never hurt her this bad.

She nodded her head compassionately. “I understand.” And with that, she walked out of my life for what I thought would be forever. The part of me that had reveled in her pain immediately became regretful as I watched her go. My regret only continued to grow as I kept tabs on her throughout her life.

I tried to catch her eye as she took her place next to our escort but she refused to spare a glance at me. I understood, I had tortured her when I got back and had spent the better part of a year borderline stalking her.

I glanced at the crowd, finding her new boyfriend of five months, Rune, standing there, slack jawed. I rolled my eyes at the oaf as the male tribute’s name was called, Landon Caleban. Of course Rune didn’t volunteer to protect his girl. I would’ve. Eleven months ago I would’ve laughed at her reaping but now that my anger had faded a little, I would give anything to take her place.

As she was escorted into the capital building, I followed, immediately going into the room she went into. She had barely sat down by the time I entered and it broke my heart that she looked so surprised to see me. “Y/N…”

“What are you doing here, Haymitch?” she asked coldly.

“Well,” I began, taking a seat across from her, “I am your mentor. And… I also care about you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah well you sure as hell didn’t care about me when you told me you didn’t love me anymore.”

I looked down at my shoes, ashamed. “I know and I'm sorry. I’d take back everything if I could. I was hurt, and angry, and god… I felt so powerless.”

“And I was your helpless punching bag?” she finished for me, disgust in her eye.

I nodded regretfully. “I made you, the girl I love who did nothing but support me, into a punching bag,” I confirmed, still looking at the ground in shame.

“Loved,” was all she said. I looked at her quizzically causing her to roll her eyes again. “You said ‘girl I love.’ You should say loved.”

“No, I still love you,” I insisted.

“You’re the one who said you didn’t love me anymore.”

“That’s because I had a lot of misplaced anger,” I insisted. “Yes, I know it’s not fair that I took everything out on you and I have no right to try to tell you I love you but I do.”

“Well what good does that do me? I’m being marched to my deat-”

“Don’t!” I cut her off “…fucking say that. You’re not fucking dying. I’m your mentor, I’ll get you out of there.”

Before she could respond, the door creaked open. I knew even before he spoke that it was Rune. “Babe, oh my god.” I cringed as I knew she hated being called that. He rushed over to her side, taking her hand in his. “I don’t even know what to say… I just…”

She shook her head dismissively. “You don’t have to say anything.”

“I promise I won’t date anyone else for a while,” he said genuinely, as if it were a touching thing to say. Even I knew that was probably the worst thing he could say. Y/N also stared up at him, a baffled look on her face. She made no verbal indication she heard him so I did. I scoffed, catching the little twerp’s attention. Upon seeing me, his face immediately soured. He knew who I was, what I had meant to Y/N. Everyone in 12 knew we were a couple. “Don’t you have a bottle of whiskey to down yourself in, Haymitch?” he sneered.

I just chuckled at his attempt to tell me to stay out of it. “Maybe you should try treating her decently and saying goodbye instead of planning your next random hookup.”

“You’re one to talk about ‘treating her decently,’” Rune immediately mocked.

Before I could respond, Y/N stood up. “Both of you shut up and get out.”

I started to say her name, hoping she wouldn’t kick me out too but she cut me off, insisting we both go. So I went reluctantly, making sure Rune left too. I’d be damned if I ever let him have a moment alone with her ever again.

As soon as we stepped into the hall, a woman I recognized as Y/N’s mother rushed in, tears in her eyes. As the door closed, Rune stepped close to me. “I know what you’re planning, Abernathy. But she’s not going back to you. You’re just a useless, 17 year old drunk who broke her heart. And I’m not gonna let you break her again.”

Some part of me knew he was right, I shouldn't be inserting myself in her life again but I had been missing her for the past eleven months. And now it was also my job to keep her alive despite only winning last year.

Not one to let Y/N’s rebound talk me down, I retaliated. “At least I actually believe in her and actually want to see her come out of this alive.”

Offense crossed over his face. “You don’t get to say that. You got lucky. We all know the odds, especially with you as a mentor. I’m her boyfriend, you blew your chance!” he yelled before storming off. I wanted to yell after him but I didn’t know what to say that hasn’t been said already so I just clenched my jaw before heading to the train.

~

I didn’t see Y/N again until we arrived at the Capitol. Probably for the best, I spent the two day journey sleeping and getting shitfaced. I hadn’t been back to the Capitol since my victory tour and I had absolutely no desire to go back but I’d be stuck doing this shit until there were two more victors.

When we all finally got off the train I finally saw her. She looked exhausted, like she hadn’t slept since she was reaped. I honestly understood. I tried to catch her eye but she seemed determined to look everywhere but me. And before I could try to approach her, she was whisked off to styling. So reluctantly I went to the penthouse until the tribute parade.

~

I stood with the other mentors, watching the tribute parade. My heart stopped when I saw the District 12 chariot. The camera never bothered to focus on them long but from the glimpse I saw, Y/N was hardly clothed. As was typical for District 12 tributes. The stylists were a big fan of just dumping black powder on us.

By the time the tributes were re-entering the building, all the mentors were waiting to bring their tributes back upstairs. Heading over to the last chariot I found Landon helping Y/N down from the chariot. She struggled in her stilettos and mini black skirt. I averted my gaze from her mostly bare torso, the only thing covering her was a lace top shaped to look like smoke. Along with an unhealthy dose of black powder to portray the coal-mines. Something they did practically every year. I kept my gaze firmly on her from the shoulders up. It felt like a violation of her privacy to ogle her like all the Capitol citizens or how I would have back when we were together.

I managed to meet her gaze but she quickly looked away, refusing to look at me again. Even in the elevator I caught myself staring at her longingly, just wishing she’d at least look at me. But she never did. As we stepped into the penthouse I let her go to her room. Remembering how exhausted she must have been, I had sleeping pills sent to her room along with a steak.

~

The next morning I sat at the table in the main room of the penthouse, eating breakfast. My attention was caught by Landon and Y/N heading to the elevator for training. I couldn’t help but admire the way the athletic clothing hugged her body. But as I noticed what I was doing, I averted my gaze back down to my food. It wasn’t until I heard a throat clearing that I looked back up at the pair. Y/N was looking at me, a conflicted and grateful look on her face. “Thanks for the uh… stuff, last night,” she thanked quietly.

“No problem,” I replied, in slight awe that she was talking to me. She just gave me a slight smile of acknowledgement before stepping into the elevator and disappearing.

I spent the next several minutes just staring at my plate grateful that I was finally getting somewhere with her.

~

I watched anxiously as Y/N took the stage for her interview. She looked absolutely stunning. Of course I always thought she was stunning but I had to admit, some of the Capitol glamours I could get behind. She was practically glowing under the lights, makeup drawing attention to her best features.

As always, everything was in a slight haze but when Caesar asked her a certain question, it sobered me up a bit. “So is there anyone back home that you’re fighting for?”

Y/N did her best to give a graceful smile. She knew how to appeal to the audience. “Well, my mom is back home rooting for me. I can count on her for that.”

“How sweet. Any boys?” he suggested cheekily.

I watched as uncertainty crossed her face before she answered. “Yes,” she answered, her voice noticeably weak, “my boyfriend, Rune.”

“Aw, well isn’t that so sweet, huh folks?” The crowd made coos of sympathy. “Tell me, did he visit you before he left?”

“Yes,” she answered, her voice cracking slightly again. “He said…” she trailed off before she seemed to decide what to say. “He said he couldn’t wait to see me after the games and that he loves me.” She gave a weak smile and my heart broke. I couldn’t believe she was lying to make this guy look good when I was the one who was actually there for her. Ever since she had thanked me for the food and sleeping pills, our relationship had improved. She no longer ignored and avoided my presence and conversation attempts. We had engaged in a few polite conversations and had even slipped back into old habits. One night, at dinner, Landon mentioned wanting to ally himself with the careers. To which Y/N and I instinctually shared a look of ridicule. I could feel my heart swell every time we interacted more like we used to. But an unreasonable amount of hurt rang in my chest as she essentially defended her dirtbag boyfriend.

I didn’t even bother to finish watching her interview, I just went straight upstairs to my room in the penthouse, bringing a bottle of vodka with me.

I don’t know how long I was laying there watching some stupid reality tv show when the door opened. In stepped Y/N in a sweater so long it looked like her legs were bare. Her face was cleaned of makeup, leaving a fresh look and I could see the exaggerated curls in her hair that remained from her updo. She just stood in the doorway, hugging herself, until I spoke. “Y/N,” I said a little too eagerly, having never expected to see her in my room again after I ended things. “Wh-what’s up?” I tried to ask casually.

She shrugged. “I’m here to drink,” was all she said.

Sitting further up, I held the bottle out to her, simultaneously gesturing to the bed to offer her a seat. She took both, perching herself at the foot of the bed, her legs crossed so she was looking at me. She took a deep swig from the bottle, cringing as she pulled it away. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her expression, she never got used to the taste and burn of alcohol. She noticed my expression and smiled slightly. “You know I hate the taste,” she explained, the slightest teasing tone in her voice.

“I remember,” I smiled fondly. “The only thing you liked was that flavored shit we got off that peacekeeper.”

She smiled, looking at the bottle in her hand. “Yeah, that was good. I got so drunk that night,” I got a genuine laugh out of that comment and it made my stomach do cartwheels.

“So what brings you here tonight?” I asked as she passed me the bottle.

“Well I’m being marched to my death tomorrow,” she laughed bitterly. Before I could try to console her she met my gaze. “How did you feel before you went in?”

I pondered for a second, trying to recall. “I was afraid,” I admitted. “I thought that there was no way in hell I’d survive but I wasn’t ready to die.” She hummed, nodding. I took another swig of vodka before passing it to her. “Why’d you lie about Rune during your interview?”

“You saw that?” sha asked. “I didn’t know you watched. The other mentors were there but you weren’t.” She noticed I wasn’t there? “I guess I just wanted them to think I had a reason to live,” she sighed. “I don’t really know what I was thinking but I figured bashing my-still-technically-boyfriend on national television wasn’t the best idea.”

“‘Still-technically-boyfriend?’” I questioned. “Y/N, he basically said that when, not if, when you were gone he’d be dating other girls. He’s not your boyfriend anymore.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. We never officially said that we were broken up so it feels wrong to bash him.”

“Fuck him, fuck his feelings!” I insisted. She laughed a little at my exaggerated outburst.

“I guess I just feel like I still have an obligation to him. Like I can’t move on before we have the conversation and I may never get to have the conversation,” she mused ruefully.

I scooted closer to her, placing my fingers under her chin to make her look at me. A move from when we were together. “Hey, what do you mean obligation?” I found pain in her eyes as I asked.

She hesitated before answering me. But as she did she averted her gaze as if in shame. “You said you still love me?” she asked meekly.

My heart broke at her doubt. “Of course I do,” I promised, bringing her gaze back up again. “I never stopped. Yeah, I was angry and I took it out on you and I never should have. But I love you.” She hesitated with her next words and I took the chance to kiss her. She immediately melted into my lips much to my relief. I pulled her closer until she was practically perched in my lap, the bottle of liquor on the nightstand long forgotten.

~

The automatic alarm controlled by the Capitol went off at 6 am. As I shut the damn thing up I rolled back over, resuming my place cuddled up to Y/N. Both my arms were wrapped around her waist, my head cuddled into the crook of her neck. She groaned at having been woken up, probably a little hungover. “Morning,” I murmured into her bare shoulder. She just groaned again. This time I figured it was a groan of remembering what day it was. “C’mon,” I said, pushing myself up to rest on my hands, “you need to eat breakfast.”

She rolled over reluctantly, finally meeting my face. “Can’t even think about eating.”

“I know but you’ll thank yourself for eating later,” I advised, getting out of bed and throwing some clothes on. She followed suit, heading to the door. As I tried to follow, she stopped me.

“Wait, come out in a couple minutes.”

“Why? Are you embarrassed of me?” I asked only mildly genuinely.

“No,” she dismissed genuinely, placing a hand on my arm. “How’s it gonna look to Landon when I come out of your bedroom with you? With terrible bed head?” she added jokingly. I just hummed in agreement, gesturing for her to continue.

A few moments later I joined both Y/N and Landon before they were both ushered off.

~

The entire games I was a mess. I was ashamed to admit that I couldn’t remember most of it, too wracked with worry. I only ever sobered up enough to watch the rundowns of what had happened that day, listening for Y/N’s name when they listed the deceased.

I thanked whatever cruel deity was out there that Y/N survived another day. And when they told me she won, I wanted to break down crying in relief.

By the time I was able to see her, she was still very injured. She laid in the hospital bed, asleep, and it took everything in me not to shake her awake for reassurance that she was still in fact alive. But instead I settled for grasping her warm hand and listening to the rhythmic beep of her heart through the monitor. They kicked me out periodically to work on healing her and a day later, when they let me back in the room, her eyes were fluttering open.

“Y/N,” I uttered. My voice had an unexpectedly broken sob but if she noticed, she didn’t care. She sat up as best as she could as I enveloped her in a hug as tightly as possible without hurting her. “You’re alive.”

“I’m okay,” she assured me. I could feel her fingers in my hair, her other hand rested against my shoulder as she hugged me as close as possible. With as much strength as her weakened, malnourished frame would allow.

I finally pulled away, my hand cupping her face as I admired her face. She had scrapes on her face and a bruised jaw but it was otherwise unmarred. “I love you,” I whispered before pressing my lips to hers.

~

I stood behind Y/N as she stepped off the train, smiling down at her as the crowd cheered. She just stood there on the platform for a moment, seemingly in a daze. I couldn’t be more thrilled in this moment. Of course we were both shattered, both fragments of who we used to be before the games. But we were holding each other together nonetheless. I was just so grateful she made it. The picture-perfect happiness was shattered by a shout.

“Y/N!” Rune’s voice broke through the crowd. My mood immediately dropped. Ever since that night we spent together I had forgotten about the twerp.

Y/N seemed to hardly register his presence as he jumped up on the platform. He was immediately kissing her, dipping her into what would be a picture-perfect photo if it weren’t for what happened and the fact that she was visibly uncomfortable. When they broke away, he pulled her back up to her feet before pulling her in closely once again to pose for the camera. All the while, Y/N looked visibly uncomfortable from even just the rear.

I wanted to punch him. I wanted to rip the douchebag away from her and inform him that she didn’t love him. But for the sake of not creating an incredibly public, embarrassing scenario for her, I kept my fists at my sides and my mouth shut.

Y/N managed to pull away from him, disappearing into the crowd with peacekeeper escorts. Rune tried to follow after her but I stepped up to him quickly. “Hey, don’t count on this five second of fame,” I informed him in an admittedly snide tone.

He looked deeply unhappy to see me. “She’ll be my wife soon enough. She declared her love for me on national television. You didn’t do that for her,” he remarked smugly.

I glanced around, noticing most of the crowd and cameras were gone. “She never said that she loved you,” I corrected. “Besides, why’d she spend the night in my bed after that interview then?”

A dark look crossed over his face. “You didn’t. She would never.”

I admit that it’s juvenile but pride swelled in my chest as I watched him become increasingly indignant. “She did. She told me she only said that because she felt obliged to and then we slept together.”

Rage filled his features. “You’re lying, Abernathy. I know you are. What’s your game? Are you hoping that if you tell enough people you slept together she’ll just come back to you out of shame? That’s pathetic.”

I took a step closer to him, getting in his face. “You’re the one refusing to accept the truth. That makes you the pathetic one.”

Rune just looked at me with disgust. “Whatever, I guess we’ll both just have to get the truth from her tonight.”

I shrugged with a smirk. “I guess we will.”

~

I hardly even caught a glimpse of Y/N the entire day as she was too busy being pulled in every direction. Her mom was all to eager to welcome her back into her home while the district officials were trying to get them moved into their new home in Victor’s Village next to mine. Then, of course, there were the people she didn’t really know who were all too eager to suck up to the newest victor, hoping to gain a little bit of fame and wealth. And then finally, there was Rune who was practically stitching himself to her side. I was debating whether or not I should go to her and rescue her from the overwhelming-ness of being a victor and Rune’s attempts. But I decided against it, not wanting to add to her stress and because I feared that if that little bitch opened his mouth I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from punching him.

It wasn’t until the welcome back party a few of her friends threw for her that I got a chance to speak with her.

As I approached her in the crowded room, I held out a shot glass. “Grapefruit vodka?” She smiled, taking it from me.

“Where did you get this?”

“I requested a bottle before we left the Capitol,” I smiled down at her. “Congratulations, Y/N, seriously. I know the party and the drinks are a meager consolation but you deserve it,” I professed, bringing her into a hug.

She hugged me tightly in return. “Thank you, Haymitch. For everything.”

“Of course,” I returned, pulling away from the hug but still keeping her in my arms. I reached a hand up to her face. “I love you,” I professed, kissing her. Which she returned. Until she was literally ripped from my grasp. As I was wrenched back into reality I saw Rune holding Y/N by her arm.

“What the hell, Y/N?” he yelled at her.

“Hey, back off,” I told him, moving to get his grip off of her arm. But he just stumbled back, tugging her along with him.

“No, what the hell is going on?” he demanded, looking at Y/N. “I thought you hated him.”

She shook her head. “Maybe for a bit I did but you don’t get to act all incredulous, Rune. After I got reaped you said you wouldn’t date anyone else ‘for a while,’” she mocked his words. “You couldn’t even wait until I was dead. I know about Selene Ducote. While I was fucking fighting for my life you were more concerned about getting your dick wet than seeing if I’d survive. You were depending on my death.”

Rune stood there, still gripping her arm, flabbergasted. “Yeah well, you slept with Haymitch.”

“Yeah, I did” she freely admitted, “and now I don’t feel guilty about it.”

Rage filled Rune’s face as he clenched his jaw. His free hand moved to grip her jaw, “Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna end things with him,” he nodded to me with disgust, “and we’re gonna get married because I know that you are in love with me.” He sent a final glare to me and I noticed his grip tightening. “Am I clear, you fucking slut?”

Now it was my turn to be filled with rage. Before I knew what was happening, I was throwing a punch at Rune’s face. He crumpled and would have brought Y/N down with him if it weren’t for the fact that I caught her around the waist. By now, the rest of the crowd had noticed us and were unsure of who’s side to take. Because while everyone had known Rune and Y/N were dating, they had also been aware of our relationship and took notice of the way she was huddled against my chest.

Rune got up, intending to punch me in return but Y/N pulled out of my arms, stepping up to him. “Enough, Rune,” she chastised him. “We’re over. We’ve been over. You’re making this so much more pathetic for yourself.” Seeing as the guest of honor had clearly made her allegiance known, the other attendees began booing him out. I only caught a glimpse of him walking out in shame because Y/N was stood in front of me again. She cupped my jaw, reaching up to kiss me.

Later that night we were both sat in her kitchen as she attempted to heal my hand that had admittedly been a little banged up when I punched Rune. We were both a little drunk so I was grateful her mom was back at her old house.

I hissed as she dabbed rubbing alcohol against my split knuckles. “If you take a swig maybe it won’t hurt so much,” she giggled.

I chuckled, admiring her blissful expression. “You can’t drink this type of alcohol sweetheart,” I explained gently. She pouted softly but didn’t say anything else as she focused on my hand.

When she deemed my hand disinfected enough, she pulled away. “I need something to wrap it with. Maybe there’s some cloth?” she suggested. She went to the cabinets, rummaging through them. Most of them were empty but a few had supplies that came with the house.

As she was looking, I quickly began to miss her touch so I got up. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, trapping her between my body and the counter. I pressed my face into her shoulder and the crook of her neck, pressing kisses into her skin. “I don’t need a bandage,” I slurred in assurance. “I won the 50th Hunger Games.”

“And I won the 51st,” she countered.

“I beat 47 others,” I argued playfully as she spun in my arms so she was facing me.

She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Shut up,” she laughed before kissing me.

Masterlist

[lets-try-some-writing]

Humanformers Unicron being former mafia boss 👀.. Unicron gets babytrapped by the goverment

Unicron: Whoever told you that child is mine is a liar. They must've mistaken me for my brother.. You see He is the lady man that ends up with his flings throwing kids at him.: I never slept with anyone outside or in my.. Job. And i was never drunk.

?: What about morphine? Being mafia boss is dangerous and surely resulted in some injuries.. That lead to someone using y-

Unicron: She is not mine.

?? :Good we took samples then. We can confirm that she is yours

Unicron: You-

? :She has no other relatives to take her in. Consider her as something that keeps you from going to prison. We will also give you a parole officer. Better watch yourself Mr Reaper

Unicron: ...Very well then

It was a surprise to literally everyone, but Earth (Or Terra), according to DNA tests, was indeed Unicrons. No one knew how she was actually conceived since Unicron hadn't been with anyone. Unicron certainly didn't believe she was his, but he took her in anyway. No use letting a baby die. He had hoped that his brother would never catch wind of the whole affair considering their estrangement and Primus's health issues. But Primus found out anyway, most likely through one of his illegitimate children. And so against everyone else's better judgement, Primus sent his youngest legitimate son over to give Unicron a congratulations gift. Poor Optimus was given no peace as he was coerced into child care on Unicron's behalf.

Optimus didn't actually like Unicron and still doesn't, but he keeps coming back of his own free will as a sort of pseudo CPS just to be sure Unicron is actually parenting. He is fondly regarded as "Mr. Thirteen" by young Terra since Unicron refuses to call him by his name and instead refers to him by his number. Optimus is not fond of it, but he tolerates it for his young cousin's sake.

Unicron may or may not scare the ever living scrap out of Optimus and the government in more than a few ways with the things he teaches Terra. An ex-Mafia boss has enemies, and he can't have his unofficial heir getting wrapped up into any of it. Terra being trained in the correct way to swiftly kill a man? Self defense obviously. She's a young woman in a world filled with creeps. Terra being taught the art of skirting the law? Unicron is just making sure she is ready for the hassle that is taxes and lawsuits. Terra being very VERY familiar with Unicron's old associates? What on earth are you talking about? She's just visiting some of her aunts and uncles.

Terra suspects nothing. The government is nervous but largely fine so long as Pluto is keeping a vague eye on the situation. Optimus is stressed. He's a dad too and Unicron's method of throwing Terra into the deep end of the pool to see if she swims or drowns in all aspects of life puts him on edge. One of these days, he is going to go to Primus to request payment for his efforts.

[milla-frenchy]

Roads part 3

4k2 | Joel Miller x fem reader Chapt summary: Joel doesn't know how to deal with his feelings, and loses control Warnings: 18+ mdni. possessiveness, jealousy, alternate POV, dirty talk, praise kink, masturbation, fingering, oral (f/m receiving), cum eating, unprotected piv, ass play, rimming, anal, creampie, light violence (not against reader or Joel) a/n: Thank you for beta-ing @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog 💞💞🫂 Playlist | ao3 | Series masterlist | Masterlist

Part 2

Joel hadn't had a serious relationship in years.

He didn't miss it, didn't want to risk integrating someone into his life. Sarah might eventually become attached to her, but what if it didn’t work out? It would  be another loss. The departure of Sarah's mother had been harsh, and their daughter had suffered too much from her mother's absence. He didn't want to hurt her again. 

So he went on with his life, without any additional ties, offering all the possible stability to Sarah.

Until the day he met you.

He had heard Tommy talk about you so much, for so many years, that he had been imagining… someone  else. A vague vision of you as a child and then as a teenager had formed in his mind, with all the stories he had heard all those years. Whether by an elated Tommy or by his parents bitching about the “nonsense they had done again” when he, slightly older, was already far too mature for his age.

One afternoon, your parents had stopped him when he came home from high school, their neighbors being furious at the cigarette butts both of you threw from your bedroom window to the neighbors' garden.

"No, I don't know where my brother or your daughter are, sorry," he replied, with a quiet sigh.

Now, years later, his work situation was worrying, and even if he had his old prejudices, you worked in a large group, held an important position there, so why not see where it would go?

*************

That evening at Alexandro's, he came leaving aside his prejudices, and after one meal, that image was forgotten. He had in front of him a rigorous, practical, and independent person. Serious. With an amazing quirky sense of humor.

************

The night of the gala, during your speech, he looked at you attentively. Your suit, your tie, your attitude. He felt his cock twitch in his jeans.

That night in his bed, after you brought him home, he thought back to what Tommy had told him, "Everyone falls in love with her." Joel thought about the fact that you had the balls not to stay after your speech, because you did not like the proximity of people. Thought about the phone call you had received.

He took his cock in his fist, and jerked off thinking of you, until he came, growling, sending his squirts on his lower stomach.

************

Several weeks had passed since then, and you had already seen each other far more times than any of the other women he had dated. He loved to fuck you. He loved that you had no limits. He loved how you two  complemented each other physically. But also more and more, he loved talking to you. Loved to know more about you, your way of thinking. He liked your seriousness, your humor. Those times were totally different from when you were fucking. You were calm, poised. And he sought that closeness more and more. Worse, he didn't want to lose it, he who hadn’t had long term relationships. This turnaround puzzled him, he didn't know how to handle it. He just knew he didn't want it to end.

*************

He had been hard all night at the restaurant since the moment you said you had talked to your ex on the phone. So he drove to your home fast so he could arrive before you, watch you walk up your driveway. He wanted to sink his cock into you, telling himself that during that moment, he would be the only one you would think about.

He had fucked you against your front door, so eager to feel you. He had been watching you, lying on your dining room table, your fingers sliding against your clit, as his cock was thrusting deep into you. He watched you cum and got lost in his emotions.

“Everyone falls in love with her.”

This sentence from Tommy haunted him. What if someone fell in love with you? And that he could no longer share those moments with you?

He who never attached himself, was afraid of losing the feelings that he had rejected altogether until then. And he handled them as best as he could. Painfully, and badly.

You tried to forget the discussion with Tommy. You missed Joel when you didn't see him. But you saw each other often, more and more.

Tonight you were at his house. You told him to sit on the couch, naked. You were standing in front of him in the dark, also undressed. The room was moonlit. He looked at your curves, his cock erect against his stomach.

You planted your feet on the couch, on each side of his thighs and settled down, your knees resting on top of the headboard, your crotch level with his mouth.

His gaze was up at you, eyes devouring you. You caressed his cheek, your other hand pressed against the wall. Joel put his hands on your bottom. You brought your pussy close to his mouth, and he started licking you, his eyes still fixed on your moonlit face. His tongue slid against your slit. You pressed against his mouth and felt your lower abdomen quiver at the touch of his tongue, pressed against your clit, twirling it under the tip of his tongue.

Your moans filled the room and you thought no one had ever given you pleasure like him. His tongue was fucking into you, as deeply as possible.

He reached out his hand towards you and said "spit", his tongue leaving you for a second.

He then took his cock in his fist, and started jerking off. Slowly at first, then harder, as he was fucking you with his tongue.

He growled against your folds. You imagined his hand on his cock, his strong grip, his confident and increasingly rapid movements. It amplified the pleasure you felt.

“Joel, please… my clit. Suck it. Make me come in your mouth. And come with me”

He slid his tongue from your soaking wet hole despite all the attention he was putting in licking everything that flowed from you, towards your clit and sucked it gently. 

He alternated licking and sucking. You felt your pleasure rising.

“Fuck Joel… Yeah, keep going. Go on…oh Joel…”

He began jerking off faster.

You came in his mouth, while he moaned and squirted his cum all over his hand and stomach.

You got off the sofa, your legs shaking, and settled down between his knees. You lapped up the cum that was smeared on him, and cleaned him.

“Fuck… baby...” he didn't finish his sentence.

You came to sit on the sofa next to him, your legs folded under you. He took you in his arms, and you remained entwined, naked, silent. He stroked your hair.

After a while, he stood up and took your hand, “Come with me sweetheart.”

He took you to his bedroom and asked you to lie on his bed, on your stomach.

He straddled you, and spread your buttocks with his hands, staring at your wet pussy and ass.

“ 'm gonna fuck you now… are you gonna be wise, my sweet slut? You gonna let me do it?"

"Yes Joel."

"Good girl."

He entered you with a slow thrust, couldn't resist feeling your pussy before preparing you for what he had in mind. He slid his cock, watching it enter you, shining with your wetness. He went back and forth several times before withdrawing from you, growling at not feeling you anymore.

You were waiting, getting more and more turned on.

He quickly glided his thumb against your pussy and spread your wetness. Going up more and more towards your ass, until his thumb reached your ring.

You moaned under his touch.

He lay down, his head between your thighs which he spread wide, and passed his tongue from your pussy to your ass. He lapped up and down, lingering more and more on your ass. He slipped a finger into your pussy and lingered over your tightest hole with his tongue, until he penetrated you with its tip.

He licked for a long time, to prepare you as best as possible.

He lay on top of you and entered your pussy with a slow thrust, his fists on either side of your head. Your body enclosed in his. He was fucking you slowly, deeply.

He grabbed something from his nightstand drawer, while he was deep inside you.

You heard the sound of the opening bottle. Then he put some lube on his fingers, before coming to massage your ring with it, his cock still deep inside your pussy.

You moaned, eager to feel him in the last hole he hadn't fucked yet.

“On all fours baby” he told you, before applying lube to his cock.

You settled on your elbows and knees, waiting.

"You're so beautiful baby. I'm gonna fuck you so deep. Want me to fuck your ass?

"Yes Joel, please."

"Good girl..."

He entered your pussy deeply, one last time, then he positioned himself against your ass. You turned your head and your eyes locked with his. The tip of his cock pressed against your tight ring, he began to thrust.

You looked at the headboard, and said “fuck, Joel…”

You felt all of your muscles contract against his cock, trying to push him away.

“Relax baby,” he murmured.

The tip finally inserted and you couldn't hold back a scream.

“I know baby, i know. Shhh it's gonna be ok. I know you can take it sweetheart. I want you to take it. Will you?"

"Fuck… yes Joel, I can do it"

"That's good baby. You're doing well."

He kept pushing into you.

“I wanted to fuck your ass so bad. You have no idea how many times I've checked it out. Thinking how good it would be for my cock. But I had no idea it would be that good.”

And he pushed until his balls hit your pussy, and he stayed down. You could hear him breathing heavily, when you felt fuller than ever.

“Fuck… Joel… Move. Fucking… move”

He spread your ass with his hands, watched his cock thrust all the way into your ass, your dilated ring throbbing around him. He took a deep breath to calm his excitement.

He began his movements back and forth, bigger and bigger after each push, until he came out almost completely with each hip movement, to immediately fill you totally again. You gasped, biting your lip with each thrust.

"Joel… too much."

"Oh no, it’s not too much sweetheart."

You got used to his girth, and he started shoving you harder and harder.

He whispered in your ear “I knew you were a slut. My slut."

You bent your elbows, sagging your chest against the mattress and kept your ass up, which he was clinging to with his hands, to the point where you thought you'd be bruised the next day.

Your head was resting against the pillow, your body was a rag doll waiting for every stroke of his cock.

He slid his hand against your pussy and stuck two fingers inside you, which made you moan. "I miss your pussy, but tonight, I'm taking care of another hole" He then pulled out his fingers and started circling his index finger against your clit.

“Fuck… it feels so good, my cock deep in your ass sweetheart.”

You felt your pleasure rising, filled with his length and the sensations that his fingers were giving you.

“You take me so well baby girl, so well.”

“Joel…” you said, unable to speak further. 

“Come on baby. Come on. I want to feel my cock even tighter in your ass, while you’re squeezing me.”

And you came, hard. Your pussy clenching around nothing, but contracting his cock buried in your ass.

“ ‘m gonna fill you up now. I'm gonna shoot my load deep in your ass."

He groaned, fucking you even harder, your feelings heightened, way too strong for your mind. Then he froze and you felt the jets of hot cum he sent deep inside you.

He pushed you forward until your knees gave out and you were lying with his body on top of yours, crushed under its weight.

He clasped your fingers in his and buried his head in the crook of your neck.

The only thought you had was the fear that gripped your guts, of not feeling him anymore. In you, against you. You were intoxicated by him, as you had never been by anyone. And while his cock was still in your ass, the spasms that continued in spite of you only squeezed him tighter, still making him groan.

*************

You two were at the pub, Joel picked you up after work. Joel had grown accustomed to these outings, but at the same time they contributed to his rising possessiveness. He saw men looking at you way too often.

More and more, he thought his reactions would be better handled if you discussed it. If, maybe, you talked about what your relationship was.

If it was official, he could hug you, kiss you, and show that you were his. He always ended up brushing the idea off from his mind.

You went to the bar to order a drink for the both of you. A guy approached you and offered to join him at his table, which you politely declined. He put his hand on your arm and asked if you were sure. “I already told you no” you told him, annoyed by his insistence.

"Get your fucking hand off her," Joel snarled behind you. You turned around, his imposing broadness making the other man, yet of equal height to Joel, appear ridiculously frail. You had never heard him talk with such a cold voice.

"That's ok Joel, he's leaving" but he didn’t hear you.

"Oh man come on… Just one drink and I'll give her back to you. Unless she wants to spend more time with me after that.  You know…" You rolled your eyes, exasperated that he was talking about you like you weren't there, shocked by what he had the audacity to say, and started to say "listen, man…"

And… Joel went mad. He hit him with a punch that knocked the man to the ground, grabbed him by the collar and punched him again. He shook his hand and grabbed your arm to pull you back.

At first you didn't understand what was going on. His movement to pull you away was too sudden, and you were in shock at what just happened.

You pushed him away and told him "fuck off Joel."

You left the bar and called for a passing cab.

Joel was furious. Furious at that man, furious at himself for letting himself go and unleashing his violent side. He came out of the pub, ran to his car and arrived at your house almost at the same time as your cab.

You told him to leave you alone, and spat back at him, “I don't need a fucking walking red flag in my life.” But he followed you until you opened the door.

"What the fuck Joel? What the fuck?! Are you mad behaving like that? You can't beat his ass like that just 'cause he's being a dick. You can't act like a fuckin' savage. Fuck Joel… You can't pull my arm like that. I'm not… i'm not yours. I'm not your damn property. You understand? I'm no one's property. So go fuck yourself and get the fuck outta here."

He looked at you with wide eyes and all his anger came back.

"He touched you," he growled.

"Do you have any idea how many times men act like jerks? He was probably drunk anyway. And I could handle  it myself. I don't need a fucking Neanderthal man to protect me in a crowded bar"

Tears were starting to appear at the corners of your eyes. it was too much for you. His reaction at the pub, that scene between you, you were cracking up realizing that everything had gone wrong in such a short time. You didn't understand his insecurity and it pissed you off and made you sad.

All of his anger went down at once. He sat down on a chair and put his head in his hands. " 'm sorry. I'm sorry... I... I don't know what happened to me. I... don't know what I was thinking. I'm fucking ashamed of myself. I don't know… I've been so scared and got angry. It was an instinct... Fuck. 'm sorry."

“Scared? What were you scared of?” He shook his head and didn't answer.

You sighed “Joel… you scared me there. Really”

“I'm sorry I... It wasn't directed at you. Not for a moment. I couldn't stand seeing him insisting and laying his hand on you.”

You were lost and didn't know how to react. You weren't used to that kind of rash reaction. Joel had lost control and you weren't expecting it. Seeing him so miserable broke your heart.

"Joel…"

You approached him gently, he took your waist in his arms, put his head against your belly and hugged you like a child.

You put your hands against his head. You didn't know if you were still mad, if you wanted to reassure him, or if you wanted… Something else. You felt the warmth within you awaken.  Felt that shadow jump deep inside you. That darkness.

He looked up at you, you stared at each other for a few seconds. And his eyes went dark. He got up and kissed you gently, stepped back, waiting for your reaction. Seeing that you didn't reject him, he kissed you again, more violently, your face between his hands, teeth against teeth, tongue against tongue. He bit your lip gently then licked it.

"So you're not mine, huh?"

His words made your pussy clentch.

You backed away, gauging his attitude. Assessing if you could go further. If he had regained control. You said "my safe word is "arrow". Understand me?" He nodded. He understood what you wanted. You hesitated a few moments, time to make sure that you were ready to play that game, and if Joel was capable of it too.

"No Joel, i'm not yours." 

You stared at each other again. You lowered your gaze to his lips, and bit yours. He grinned.

Your words confirmed, more than any way you had fucked so far, that there was definitely something dark in you. And that it was not him who managed things between the two of you. It was you, all along. Bringing him where you wanted to go. And he loved that, knowing that you were sure of yourself and your desires, and that you chose him to express that darkness. He felt like the two of you were a perfect match, more than ever. He allowed himself to think so. His insecurity was at rock bottom right now, and he was ready to give you anything you wanted.

"Yeah... well we're gonna see ‘bout that," he said.

He undid his belt slowly, and took it off and threw it on  the floor. Then he unzipped his jeans, without lowering them. He squeezed his crotch in the palm of his hand and walked over to you, ripping your blouse open and popping all the buttons. He kissed you, sliding his tongue in your mouth and mingling it with yours. The zipper of his jeans pressed against your lower abdomen, you felt his cock against your pussy.

He undid your bra and took off your pants and panties. Then he pulled his cock out of his jeans and boxers. You looked at his erect member and bit your lip again. He caressed himself slowly while looking at you.

"On your knees."

You didn't move.

"Not gonna repeat myself."

You knelt down and looked at him. He was still holding his cock in his hand, still jerking off slowly.

"Suck", he commanded.

You dripped your saliva on his cock. You took it in your hand and jerked it off, from the tip to his hand, and you surrounded it with your lips, still looking at him.

“Gonna fuck your mouth” He took your head in his hands, and started to fuck your mouth slowly. He clenched your hair in his fists, digging deeper with each movement. You were still staring at him, until you choked on his cock. You pulled back to catch your breath, then he grabbed the back of your head with one hand, his cock in the other, and slid it down until it touched the back of your throat. "Don't move", he said. You waited, full of his cock, and he released you.

“Get up. I'm not gonna cum in your mouth. Would be too easy”. He waved you up the stairs and followed you, like the first night you fucked, weeks ago. Once in your bedroom, facing you, he pushed you slowly back against the bed, until the backs of your knees bumped against it. You lay down with your legs apart and bent. He took off his pants and boxers and knelt down.

“You’re fucking soaked. Bet you were.” He licked you for a long time, and inserted his fingers inside you. You moaned. “Come in my mouth. Give it to me” Your orgasm floored you, your fists clenching his brown curls.

He licked his fingers, looking at you “Mine". You shook your head, challenging him. Intoxicated by his attitude.

He grabbed you and pulled you up on the bed. “Spread your thighs.” You didn’t move. 

“Fuck… you’re really testing me.” He pushed your legs apart, forcibly, lay down between them and brutally penetrated you. You suffocated.

“Take my fucking cock” He said, as he settled a brutal path. You couldn't speak, only moan, your legs around his waist to feel him deeper.

“Mine?” he scolded.

“F… shit. Fuck… no"

“For Christ sake…” He grabbed you and rolled you back against the bed, face down. His hands spreading your ass, he licked the ring already wet from your wetness which had flowed over it since he had eaten your pussy, and pressed his thumb against your ring. He tickled it with his finger, forcing it little by little until he inserted it in your tight hole. He pulled out, spread your cheeks, spat on your hole and took his cock in his hand

Suddenly you got scared. Of his power, of the upcoming pain. That it would be too much. "No Joel!" You turned your head to look at him.

He stopped immediately. “No?”

You shook your head. He stared at you, stopping time for a few moments.

“Ok baby” He thrust into your pussy and fucked you, slowly but powerfully, laying down with all his weight on top of you. You heard him growl in your ear. Your closeness, his body leaning against yours, made you lose your mind.

“Turn around sweetheart”

And that time, you did as he said. You stared at each other again, but his eyes were soft.

He took your cheeks in his hands and kissed you softly. He took his cock in his hand and slid it inside you, gently, all the way. He moaned longly.

“You’re so tight... So tight for me baby”. He was fucking you slowly, but so deeply. Kissing your lips, your cheek, your neck, your collarbone. His nose brushed everything he could reach. His movements were gentle, but with each thrust he sank deeper, his face nestled in the crook of your neck.

“I'm yours, Joel" you murmured. You heard him rumble against your ear and hugged him tight, feeling the emotion wash over you but not wanting to confess them openly.

“ ‘m gonna cum baby. Come for me please.”

You tilted your pelvis so you could feel the pressure of his lower abdomen against your clit. Savoring the surge of pleasure you felt. He came, sending his spurts of cum deep inside your pussy. His spasms triggered your orgasm and you came hard, while your nails dug into his shoulders.

You stayed like that, waiting for your breaths to calm down.

“You stopped… even though I  didn't say my safe word.”

“Didn't need to. I knew you weren't playing anymore."

You felt your heart flatter again.

He finally pulled out, rolled onto his back, and pressed you against him, your head resting on his broad chest.

He sighed. “I don't know how to say what I want to tell you. I don't know how to talk about it sweetheart.”

“Give it a try?” you told him slowly. 

"Damn… look, I don't do relationships. Huh... usually. But…” He paused, then: "if you want, I would like to try with you."

“I’d really like it too, Joel” you brushed his neck with your nose and kissed it. Your heart was pounding. He kissed your forehead. You stayed like that, until he felt your breathing slow and your muscles relax.

“I love you”, he whispered in your hair, while you slept. You growled at him, and hugged him tighter in your sleep.

He looked at you in the moonlight, relieved that things could be expressed so easily, and worried that his heartbeat was struggling to slow down.

Part 4

**********************

Thank you for reading 🙏 Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated ❤️

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[am-i-the-asshole-official]

So this is a bunch of messy relationship drama, and I really don't know if I made the right move here.

I (19M) dated my ex-girlfriend (Anna, 19F) for nearly a year, June 21-July 22, until she cheated on me with Tom (18M), who she was with until early-mid July this year.

Tom hadn't known that me and Anna were still together when they first started sleeping together. He went to a different school to me and Anna, we never really hung out together, the main reason we would see each other was because our younger brothers are friends. He pulled me aside one day when I was picking my brother up from his, and came clean. Told me that he and Anna had been on a couple of dates, that they'd hooked up, and that Anna had told him that we were on a break. He said that my brother had mentioned something about me having Anna over, and realized he needed to talk to me about it. I was hurt and upset, and broke up with Anna. It also affected how I interacted with Tom, we can be civil to each other, but if one of us is at the other's house for our brothers, I won't spend any real amount of time talking to him like I had before.

I have (had?) a close friend, Becca (18F). We became friends after me and Anna broke up, but we aren't interested in a relationship. Becca is a lesbian, and I'm the only person she was out to. I felt so honored that she trusted me with that information.

But last week, I was home alone because my parents had taken my brother out of town, I had to stay behind because of work. I gave Becca a spare key for the week, so she could come over whenever she wanted to get away from her family.

I came home early from work one day, because we'd had to close due to an electrical fault. I heard noises coming from my room, and assumed Becca was there, watching tv or something. But she was having sex with Anna in my bed. I swore at them, mostly versions of 'What the fuck'. Once I was over my shock I asked about Tom, and Anna was instantly saying I couldn't tell him, that it wasn't a big deal. That he didn't need to know. I told them to get the hell out of my house and that I didn't want to see either of them again. I took the key back from Becca, and followed them out.

I drove over to Tom's and told him about what I'd seen. The thing is, he didn't know that Anna and Becca aren't straight, so I basically outed both of them by telling him what had happened. I know that Tom isn't homophobic, he has an older sister who is a lesbian that he is super close to. He was pissed about it, and thanked me for telling him.

I wasn't around for it, but I've heard that he confronted Anna about cheating on him, and said that I told him everything. He broke up with her over it. SInce this happened, I've been bombarded by Anna and Becca saying it wasn't my place to tell him, that I'm an asshole for outing them, that I put them in massive danger. I blocked their numbers, but they've come to my house and to my work about it.

I do feel bad about outing them, but Anna cheated, again. Tom had told me when she cheated on me, so I was just returning the favor. And I do feel betrayed by Becca because she was like my best friend. And she slept with my ex in my bed. I've been sleeping in the guest room since because I feel sick every time I go into my room.

so aita?

What are these acronyms?

[applejuicefruit]

hiii! can i request you being kylian mbappè best friend and going with him at the world cup and there you meet olivier giroud and you both fall in love but kylian is very protective of you and don’t want you to date because of your age difference (reader being 22/23 and oli 36) so he protects her and he’s jealous please ❤️

Please yes😭

Thank you for requesting this I hope you like it ❤️❤️

In your eyes

World Cup was this year and you couldn’t wait to go with your best friend and his family.

You and Kylian were best friends since you were kids. Due to the fact that your parents were friends you grew up together and were really close friends. You always attended his games, you supported him no matter what and he made sure to beat the shit of your ex boyfriend when you found out he cheated on you.

Unfortunately you missed World Cup 2018 and you couldn’t go with him but this year it would have been different. Kylian invited you and your family to join him at the WC in Qatar and you couldn’t be more enthusiastic.

Kylian also promised you that you could meet all the football players and you honestly couldn’t wait. You were a huge football fan so just the fact that you could watch his matches live made you happy but to think about that you were going to meet the french team? You were dreaming.

After the first game Kylian kept his promise. France won against Australia and of course Kylian scored in that match - so now the team came back to the hotel and celebrated.

Kylian invited you on their floor so you could celebrate with them and in that way he could introduce you to them.

You melted the moment you met Antoine Griezmann, one of your favorite football player ever but someone else caught your attention.

“Hi…I’m Olivier Giroud, nice to meet you!” he introduced himself shaking your hands and in that moment you felt like dreaming

“Hi nice to meet you! I’m y/n!” you shook his hands too

“What a beautiful name!” he smiled at you and in that moment you felt your legs going jelly. What was going on with you?

“Oh thank you…” you replied shyly “you play for Milan right?” you asked him trying to make a little bit of conversation

“Yes! I’m glad you know that!” he told you with a surprised look

“Yes I’m a huge football fan actually…it’s kind of a dream being here” you said honestly

“I’m glad Kylian took you here” he said now teasing you a bit

“Oh…yes I’m glad too!”

“Hope you enjoy the rest of the night!” he said hugging you and going back to his friends when they called him

What did just happened?

You were sure you were dreaming. Olivier Giroud, aka, one of the most handsome man in the whole world just flirted with you? You were kinda left paralysed until you heard Kylian’s brother calling you and telling you to go with him and eat something.

But as you were happy, Kylian wasn’t as happy as you. He saw everything and it kinda made him mad the fact that you were drooling over one of his teammates. Kylian was very protective of you, especially due to the fact that you were younger, you were 22 and he was 23 so he felt more protective and always acted more like a big brother. He wasn’t jealous, he always supported when you got into new relationships but he wasn’t enthusiastic about your boyfriend choices. They always ended up cheating on you, breaking your heart or treating you like shit so Kylian had to put them in right place.

He just had no idea why you were drooling over Olivier.

“Hey Kyky I’m going back to my room, thank you so much for inviting me here, I really appreciate it” you said to Kylian and he simply nodded and smiled to you.

You left and went straight into your bedroom, taking a quick shower and changing into some comfy pajamas, going straight to bed and staring at the ceiling thinking about what happened tonight.

A few minutes later you saw a notification from instagram.

“Olivier Giroud has started following you” and you were literally going crazy.

How did he found you?

Probably he stalked Kylian’s instagram since he has a couple of pictures with you but they’re kinda old.

That man was really a tease.

You fell asleep almost 20 minutes later, smiling and thinking that maybe this holiday would be good for you.

You woke up with some heavy knocks on your door.

“Wake up sleepyhead! The sun is shining and I want you to have breakfast with us” Kylian said from the other side of the door

“Ky what time is it?” you asked him with your low voice

“Time you wake up! The guy’s won’t wait for you and they’ll finish all the good food!”

“I’m coming I’m coming!” you said not even hearing what he said but then everything clicked - the guys - he invited you to have breakfast with him and the team, meaning Olivier would be there too! Now you were up and getting ready, opting for a nice t-shirt and a pair of jeans, nothing to fancy since you didn’t want to be the centre of attention.

“Look who’s up!” Kylian said the moment you opened the door and you simply smirked at him while he hugged you.

You both got down where everyone were having breakfast. You noticed you weren’t the only woman since almost every footballers wife were there too.

You sat next to Kylian who was facing his brother.

“Can I sit here?” a voice you recognized very well asked you while pointing to the chair in front of you

“Sure” you replied him smiling while he sat

“Did you sleep good?” he asked you and you nodded while never stop smiling. Kylian was looking between the two of you to see if you could notice the way he was feeling uncomfortable but you and Olivier were too focused on each other’s presences to even notice it.

“So” Kylian said making you both look toward him “Olivier how’s Angela?” he asked him and you could feel his look tense. Now who was this Angela?

“I think she’s good, I don’t know” Olivier replied a bit annoyed by this question

“I thought you were dating…or kinda, had a thing going on?” he asked knowing this might hurt you but he didn’t want you to have a crush on Olivier - he knew how football players change their girlfriends like their socks and he didn’t want you do be a replacement or a rebound to some failed dates

“No we were not dating Kylian…” he answered sipping his black coffee

“Oh my bad…” he said smirking a bit and you had no idea of what was going on

“Angela is a model” Kylian explained to you “and she had a thing going on with Olivier back in Milan, we talked about her when we were playing for the Nations League but then I haven’t heard anything about her” he finished explaining and you simply nodded.

A model?

Of course a model.

Football players have high standards. They don’t date girls like you. They look for models or influencers or perfect girls with perfect bodies and perfect smiles. You were not of those and it kinda hurt you.

“We flirted a bit in the summer…nothing to serious” Olivier stated and you nodded pretending you didn’t care.

After that you had breakfast in silence thinking of your next moves.

While you and Ethan were talking you didn’t notice Olivier and Kylian talking in the corner of the room.

“Kylian was that necessary?” Olivier asked him

“Yes it was. I don’t want you near her”

“It’s not your choice to make Kylian”

“But it is if I can help her making the right choice…I don’t want you two to date”

“Can I at least know the reason?” Olivier asked him. He was a very calm man but right now he was losing his patience

“I’ve seen her growing up! She’s my best friend and I want her to protect her!”

“Protect her from me?” Olivier asked a little bit hurt now

“Yes. Protect her from getting her heart break again! She’s been through so much, she’s kind and she let people taking advantage of her without her noticing…she got her heart broken so many times and I can’t stand to see her again like that, not because of you Olivier” Kylian said honestly

“I wouldn’t break her heart”

“You don’t know that! Plus, Oli be realistic, you’re kinda old for her don’t you think? You’re 36 and she just turned 22!” Kylian was getting mad now

“Well she’s an adult she can make her own choices Kylian. I really appreciate you taking care of her but I would never break her heart, I like her, a lot. Definitely falling in love wasn’t on my top list of things to do during the world cup but I fell for her the moment I saw her at the stadium cheering for us! Kylian trust me…”

Olivier said with a sincere tone

“I don’t know…she’s my best friend and if you hurt her I swear-“

“I’m not gonna hurt her…I want take things slowly…I saw that she liked me too and if she’s okay with it I want to ask her out tonight…”

“Olivier…”

“Trust me Kylian…and if I hurt her you can kick my ass” Olivier said laughing

“I’ll do more than just kick your ass…I broke her ex nose when I found out he cheated on her” Kylian said with a proud look and Olivier just looked shocked

“Good to know…well, I’m gonna ask her out…” Olivier said looking at you laughing with Ethan and he couldn’t help but smile too

“Good luck” Kylian said and smiled at him and then he left.

Olivier approached you while you were talking with Ethan.

“Can we talk?” Olivier asked you offering his hand to help you stand up and you gladly accept it

“Did something happened?” you asked him once you got in the corridor

“Yes, well no, not exactly I just…”

“Are you okay Oli?” you asked him and he melted when you called him Oli

“Are you free tonight?” he asked you out of nothing

“Yes!” you shouted “I mean, yes why?”

“There’s a nice restaurant next to the hotel and I was wondering if you would like to come with me?” he asked you smiling

“As a date?” you teased him a bit

“As a date” he confirmed

“Yes, I would gladly come with you”

“Perfect! Be ready at 8 pm! I’ll pick you up from your hotel room” he said before leaving “I have training now but I’ll see you tonight”

And you simply smiled at him.

You had a date with Olivier Giroud?

You were so happy you couldn’t wait for tonight. You honestly thought this holiday would be good for you. The man you had a crush on wanted to take you for dinner and you felt like dreaming and all you had to do was thank Kylian for giving you this opportunity.

[tala-bez-i]

At first sight II Chapter Nine

(m!reader x Bonten!Haruchiyo Sanzu)

Fluff/slash/reader is male/cursing/BontenTimeline/drugs and alcohol mentioned/violence/blood/death

All characters that appeared in the Tokyo Revengers manga and anime belong to Ken Wakui.

Words: 3758

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“Saburo Sasaki, 22. Student of Art History at the University of Tokyo. He lived with his father, who works as a chief accountant in a company that produces high-quality acrylic to oil paints...” The black-haired man took a long drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke through his nose. “All that is known about his mother is that she abandoned the family when Saburo was almost 7 and began modeling in the United States of America.” 

“She didn’t keep in touch with either her husband or her son.” You added, watching as a blue-gray trail of smoke curled against the evening sky. “Mr. Sasaki was aware of what his son did in his free time, but he blamed it all on his ex-wife.” 

“Not exactly ex.” Okumura flicked the ash from his cigarette over the railing of the balcony you were standing on. “Neither of them filed for divorce.” 

“Right.” Hearing the laughing voices of your children, you looked over your shoulder and smiled slightly at the sight of your partner’s offsprings. 

“Well, okay. The boy also didn’t have the best relationship with his own father, because the old man spent most of his time at work, trying to earn money to keep both of them living at a decent standard. On top of that, the boy’s studies…” Okumura continued and took another drag on his cigarette. “I don’t know if he wasn’t interested in his son at all or if he just didn’t have time for him, because from what we heard, both Saburo and his father usually passed each other in the doorway of the apartment they lived in.” 

“It's sad, isn't it? But it's nothing new really. We grew up in a similar environment ourselves. Busy parents and children left to fend for themselves.” You commented, leaning both hands on the balcony railing. “I was lucky enough that my father preferred my mother to take care of the house.” 

“Uh-huh but remember that it was mostly because your grandparents were rich, and they chipped in when your parents got married.” 

Shinji looked at you, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray he had placed against the wall. 

“Listen, Y/n... A little question...” You looked at him carefully, waiting. “How did Riku know so much about young Sasaki unless we saw him in the brothel where he worked? They didn’t even live in each other’s neighborhood. What could possibly connect them?” 

“Riku said he met him at one of the nightclubs. The two of them accompanied as escorts their regular clients who were discussing some business that evening and the boys were sent away so that they could not hear what exactly the conversation was about.” You explained calmly. “They went to a bar together for a drink, and Saburo’s tongue got a little loose.” 

You both looked through the glass door at the Okumura children playing and the pregnant Mimiko bustling around with joy on her face. The corners of your mouth turned up and a wave of pleasant warmth flooded you at the memory of their reactions to the food you brought. Every time you cooked curry from your mother's recipe, you were grateful that she had the patience to teach you how to do it. 

“You’re wasting yourself.” Your partner said quietly and you looked at him in surprise, not understanding what he meant. “You have a way with children. My little rascals prefer you to my brother. In their eyes, you’re their uncle, not him.” 

Your face warmed slightly, and you laughed nervously. “Come on. It’s not like that at all.” 

“Tell yourself whatever you want.” He patted you on the back and smiled widely. “Come on, let's have another beer and leave the subject of work alone for a few hours. It's too rare for us to organize such casual evenings for simple, friendly get-togethers.” 

You agreed with him, but you knew that the subject of the young man's body that had been found that morning would not leave your thoughts, nor Okumura's. 

As soon as you sat down again in the small living room by the kotatsu to drink the beer you had brought, you were immediately surrounded by Shinji's two sons, who, one after another, started telling you about their favorite characters from the TV show their parents allowed them to watch. 

The oldest, Takara, was telling you what happened in the last episode and with each of his wide smiles, you could see the gap in his teeth caused by the recent fight. His lower lip was cut, but it was starting to heal quickly, as it usually did in young organisms. In a day or so, there would be no trace of the incident. It was a different story when it came to his cut knuckles, which were currently sprinkled with a special powder for wounds. From what Mimiko had said earlier, the boy was picking scabs because he couldn't look at them. Luckily, he couldn't see his mouth, because otherwise he would have been picking a scab from there as well. 

The younger boy, whose parents named him Taro, wrapped his arms around your shoulder and cuddled up to you, looking at your face every now and then. He nodded to his older brother and repeated random single words after him. At times he blinked his eyes more often, which you interpreted as the preschooler's deepening tiredness, and after a few more minutes Shinij got up and gently picked up his little one to carry him to the other room and put him to sleep. 

Takara fell silent upon seeing this, looked at you with a clear uncertainty written on his small face and nodded. He got up from the floor, said goodbye to you politely, just like his mother taught him, and followed his father to go to bed as well. 

"They both like it when Shinji reads them a bedtime story." Mimiko explained in a calm voice, who was sitting in a soft armchair, stroking her belly. "Takara won't miss these few minutes, no matter what happens." 

“I see.” You took a sip from your bottle of beer and smiled at the woman. “Shinji is a good man after all, right?” 

“I know he likes to go wild.” She gave you a pointed look that made you cringe slightly. “But he cares about his family and loves his children. He has a much better bond with his sons than his father had with him and his brother.” 

You nodded, staring at the closed door behind which all three male members of the Okumura family had disappeared, and you felt a pang of jealousy. You yourself would like to experience a similar moment with your children... With your son, who you didn't have. 

"Y/n." You looked at the woman, hearing her soft voice. "Please don't think badly of me, but..." She hesitated for a moment, and you pursed your lips, knowing perfectly well what you were about to hear. "Emi is not the right woman for you." 

“You’re not the first person to tell me that.” You replied with a bitter smile and a brief silence fell over the room, broken again by the woman. 

“Talk to her father.” 

“Huh?” You didn’t expect that. 

“If you can catch him when his wife is away, he'll be more willing to talk to you in a more polite manner.” She smiled slightly. “He's not as scary as he seems, trust me.” 

“Why would I talk to him? It's not like I'm going to marry Emi anytime soon...” You tried to joke, but seeing the seriousness in your partner's wife's gaze, you fell silent. 

“Mr. Nakayabashi is by no means your enemy, Y/n. Shinji said he mentioned it to you.” 

“Not necessarily in those words.” 

“It doesn’t matter. He can explain many things about Emi’s past to you.” She looked down at her belly, where she was carrying two more children, and fondly stroked it. “I can’t do that. Even though my friend started to openly avoid me, I promised her I wouldn’t say anything.” 

“What did you promise her?” You asked quietly feeling a strange unease, but the woman just shook her head. 

“The rascals are sleeping.” The black-haired man said closing the door to the boys’ room behind him and with a quiet sigh he sat down by the kotatsu, kissing his Princess on the cheek before. “Where did we end, Y/n?” 

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“Can you tell me again how you know who the victim was?” 

Did your voice always sound strangely gentle on the recording, or was it because of who the other person was? 

“Gossip spreads very quickly.” Riku, who had arrived three hours after your meeting on the steps in front of the police station, replied. “This park was his turf.” 

“Did he work for someone? Did he had a guardian?” 

“No. Saburo acted on his own.” Came the answer. “He had regular clients and always met them in the park. Only later did they go somewhere else together.” 

“How do you know about this?” 

“Saburo told me many things. We didn’t have regular contact…” He was embarrassed for a moment, as if wondering what to say next. “You see, the point was that he wanted to remain independent as long as possible. He had no intention of getting involved in brothel business and such…” 

“I see. You said the park was his territory. Why? Did he mention anything about it?” 

“Yes. He lived in the area.” A moment’s pause. “Saburo mentioned that his father used to give him terrible rows about it.” 

This was something new, because during the day, right after the conversation with Riku, the father of the murdered man showed up for questioning. Mr. Sasaki maintained that despite their differences of opinion and the unflattering, as he put it, his son's hobby, they didn't argue. Mainly because they couldn't spend time together. 

“Thank you Riku, that will help us a lot with the case.” You said and the boy nodded. 

“I'm glad I could help. It's a shame Saburo died, but that's not what I wanted to talk about.” 

“Of course. Let's get back to the Jun Takenaka case then.” 

“Junko. I'll go by Junko...” The boy sitting across from you in the interrogation room said. “He preferred his alter ego.” 

“Alright. Junko Yoshioka.” 

“Junko Yoshioka.” This time, Riku's voice sounded softer and warmer, as if he was talking about someone close to him, not someone who had introduced him to the dangerous world of prostitution. 

“I have your latest statement in this case here.” The rustle of notebook pages being turned. “Do you want to read them? Change something?” 

“No.” The boy didn’t even look at the notebook. His eyes were staring at you with a seriousness you didn’t expect to see in him. “I remember everything. I don’t want to change anything I’ve said so far. I want to add something more.” 

“Okay. I’ll listen then.” 

Sigh. “These are just my thoughts.” Riku said. “I’d rather no one knew it came from me.” 

“Why? Did anyone threaten you, Riku?” You asked after a moment of silence. 

You felt the anxiety again, and it wasn't any less than it had been a few hours earlier. 

“No, but please keep this between us. This entire recording.” 

“I can’t promise that…” Rustling of clothes. “But I can try to keep your details about this part private.” 

“Okay, thank you.” The young man took a deep breath. “I suspect Haji is responsible for Junko’s death.” 

“Haji? Your boss’ deputy?” 

“Yes. Junko often took me with her to various places, and one day I happened to hear them arguing in the other room... It was when Jin was arrested, and Junko asked me to come over to their apartment. I was in the other room, and that's when Haji came over.” The boy explained calmly. “They argued about the drugs that Junko was supposed to get and pass on to the right client.” 

“Did Haji threaten Junko?” 

“Yes.” He replied in a confident voice. “Junko didn't let herself be intimidated, but this time she was scared. She made me promise myself that if anything happened to her and the police wanted to talk to us, I would...” A moment of silence. “I could not say everything if he's around.” 

“Did anyone else from Bonten know about this?” 

“Huh? No, I don’t think so.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“No, I can’t be sure. The high-ups didn’t interfere with their pawns. They don’t care what happens to us. The most important thing is that the profits match, there are no losses, and no one steals from them.” 

At that moment, you realized that until the last time-leap, you were probably the only one who cared about the fate of prostitutes, which was very sad and unpleasant. But on the other hand, it was because of that that you were considered a wimp. 

Prostitutes, whores, sluts... They were the most common goods, just like weapons and drugs. They were written off as losses from the very beginning, but that changed slightly when the Uchiyama couple started kidnapping and murdering the syndicate's source of income for their own entertainment. 

But who was supposed to take care of the case then? You. Sure, Kakucho and Mochi investigated it at first, but it was you who had to figure out the rest and deal with the traitors. You had to clean up the whole mess, and only because there was less profit. 

Now you had to do something similar, except you were on the other side of the barricade and saw the victims as human beings. Someone's mothers, sisters, daughters... Sons and brothers too. They weren't trash to you and in fact you never saw them that way... At least not until they started behaving as they were expected to. When they lost themselves in what they were doing and threw away the last bits of empathy and humanity for money and pleasure. That's when you started to see them as ordinary trash that couldn't be recycled. 

You looked into space and froze. What kind of comparison was that? Recycling? 

“Fuck…” You shook your head and took a sip of the now cold tea that was in the cup on your desk. 

You glanced at the clock, which showed 11 p.m., and pursed your lips. You checked your phone again, but there were no notifications. Apparently, despite the promises you had made earlier, Emi was having a great time and had no intention of leaving her company just yet. 

Not that you weren't excited during the day for the woman's promised intimacy, but... That's not how it's done and you felt a little disappointed. You kept your promise. You were sober and returned from Okumura's earlier, much earlier than you had originally planned. 

Maybe something happened after all? 

You didn't like that thought and despite knowing how stupid it was for her to inform you how and when she would be returning from parties, you dialed her number and waited for her to answer. 

After the fourth ring, you heard very loud music and equally loud laughter of amused women in the speaker, but the voice you heard was not your girlfriend's. 

"Yes, Kitty?" 

Kitty? Is that how Emi had you saved in her contacts? 

"Can I talk to Emi?" You asked politely, or at least as politely as you could. 

“Uh... Not really, she's busy.” The woman answered you. 

“Excuse me... Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?” 

“Oh... I'm Aimi...” She replied cheerfully, and right after that you heard a burst of loud laughter from several clearly drunk women. 

“Emi!...” Some string of indistinct words. “Don't bite!” 

“Aimi?” You said, trying to get your interlocutor’s attention back. “Aimi?” 

“Yes? Ah... I'm listening." A giggle. 

“Can you tell Emi I’m waiting for her…” 

“Oh!” The woman’s voice changed to a much sharper tone. “She’s neither your wife nor your maid!” 

The call was cut off and you stared at the blank screen in complete shock. You didn't expect this at all and basically had no idea how you should react to it. Get angry and start looking for Emi on your own in the clubs where you knew she liked to party or leave it and wait until your beloved girlfriend gets home and ask her as delicately as possible what her friend was up to. 

You pouted as you put your phone on the desk and looked at the monitor screen, which displayed the contents of the folder designated for Junko's case. 

You felt offended and irritated, but decided to let it go and not take offense. You'll just have to talk to your beloved and clear up a few things. It shouldn't be hard. 

Haji. From the beginning, the guy had strangely caught your attention, but you thought it was mostly because of his appearance and overall presentation. After all, compared to Jun and Jin, he was the only one who looked like an actual brothel keeper. 

You looked at your hand, which looked quite pale against the desk in the glow of the computer screen. Since the visit to the brothel, you and Okumura had not managed to establish his real personal details, because the name Haji did not seem real to you. 

Even Katsuro Wada didn't say anything different about him, which could indicate that he himself didn't know who the manager was. For a moment you thought that maybe even Nagasawa and Junko had not knew anything about him. Maybe the guy was actually sent to them by someone higher up at Bonten? 

You'll have to check it out, and the next day you might get a chance to do so. If Tomoko doesn't change her mind and still wants to take you with her to the meeting with the syndicate, which she should attend for reasons you still don't fully understand, then a lot of things could be explained. 

Or not. It all depended on how you were treated by the gang members and you sincerely hoped that despite whatever benefits you had offered them so far, they wouldn't decide to tear you apart. Especially if it was about Haruchiyo Sanzu.  

Sanzu. At the mere thought of the pink-haired man, your heart pounded, and your hand involuntarily went to the locked drawer in your desk, where you kept the perfume, the gangster used to use. 

When your fingers tightened around the drawer handle, you froze with your eyes wide open. The rush of blood in your ears became so loud that it successfully drowned out other sounds, including the ticking of the wall clock. 

You snorted quietly, pushing yourself away from the desk in your chair and rubbing your temples with your hands, feeling frustrated. If you reacted this way to the mere thought of Haruchiyo, how could you behave when you saw him in person? 

“This is completely ridiculous. What are you doing, idiot?” You growled to yourself and stood up from your chair to look outside through the window. 

You saw a taxi pulling up below and after a moment a man got out, the driver, who walked to the back door and helped a very drunk woman, whom you recognized without a problem, out of the vehicle. 

You had no problem seeing that she was holding both her purse and her high heels and was explaining something to the driver, gesturing for him to stay calm and quiet. 

You sighed and decided to go downstairs to help your beloved girlfriend get to your apartment safely. 

When you left the building, you were struck by how cold it was, and you felt uneasy seeing that Emi didn't have her coat. Last time she forgot her shoes, was it the same with her coat this time? 

“Good evening.” You greeted the taxi driver, who was clearly worried and tried to convince the woman that he would help her get to her apartment. 

“Good evening, sir…” He answered you uncertainly, as if not quite knowing how he should react to your presence. 

“Oh... Y/n, honey!” Emi greeted you, holding out her hand to you. “Help, help!” 

“Shhh...” You tried to hush her up so she wouldn’t make any more noise. You grabbed her arm to steady her a little. “I see you’ve been a little crazy today.” You looked back at the taxi driver and nodded. “Thank you for driving her home. Is her coat inside?” 

“Uh, no. Sorry, but no.” The man replied, seeming a little reassured to see that his passenger felt comfortable in your company. And judging by the way she started to snuggle up to you, almost squeezing into your unbuttoned sweatshirt for warmth, very comfortable and safe. 

“Okay. Alright. Did she pay for the service?” 

“Y/n... Y/n... Cold...” Emi moaned miserably. 

“Yes. The bill has been settled.” The man nodded to you and retreated to his taxi. “Have a nice evening.” 

You grabbed your girlfriend tightly and lifted her up so you could carry her to the apartment you shared. She was mumbling something under her breath, giggling quietly every now and then and you already knew that this was the only closeness that would happen between you today. 

You sighed heavily, closing the apartment door behind you as quietly as you could, so as not to draw even more attention from the neighbors than Emi herself had, and carried her to your bedroom. You looked at the unfolded futons and once again regretted not standing your ground to buy a bed. 

“Y/n...” The woman murmured, throwing her arms around your neck as you managed to gently lay her down on her futon. 

“Shh, shh, shhh...” You untangled her arms and wrapped the blanket around her. “Sleep, honey. You're exhausted.” 

You kissed her forehead, and it wasn't long before you heard the woman's soft snores. 

You sat next to her in silence, looking at her face. Her makeup was slightly smudged in a few places, and her hair, which she had neatly combed before leaving, was now a bit disheveled. 

Something had changed in her, and it wasn't even about the fact that she went out to nightclubs with her friends more and more often, but that she came back sober or only slightly tipsy less often. The Emi you knew didn't like alcohol and only drank it on the occasion of a holiday or other celebrations, but now? 

You stroked her hair, mentally agreeing with Mimiko and Shinji. You should talk to Mr. Nakayabashi. 

<PREVIOUS/NEXT>

[cod-dump]

What are your headcanons for the families of Soap, Price, and Gaz? Like, how many siblings, relationships with their parents, the such.

I personally see Soap as the baby brother, I don't know why, it just popped into my head one day and won't leave. Don't know what I'd put for Price and Gaz, but I feel like neither come from large families, maybe like a sibling or two (if any).

Soap has a big family. He’s the baby of four siblings, having three older sisters. He has a good relationship with both his mom and dad. He’s close with a couple cousins, his aunt (mom’s sister), and his grandmother (father’s mother). He’s very close with his family and calls and visits as much as possible. He also loves to spend time with his nieces and nephews and tries to be a good role model for them.

Gaz doesn’t come from a big family. His dad died when he was young so it’s just been him, his mom, and his little sister since. He has an okay relationship with his mom but she was always working to keep a roof over their head. He never really bonded with her. He was closer to his mom’s friend who watched him and his sister while their mom worked. He loves his mom but that friend raised him.

Price had a horrible relationship with his parents. He was an only child that lived on a farm in the middle of no where so he had a lonely childhood. He was married for a few years and had a daughter, Emmy (Emilia). He had a rough divorce and his ex took his daughter with no visitation rights. It’s been years since he had last seen his daughter. This plays into why he’s so protective of Ghost, Soap, and Gaz. They filled the hole that his daughter once filled but they never could replace her. He loves those boys and they made things so much better when they came into Price’s life.

[50calmadeuce]

Ch. 1: Home

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Top Gun: Maverick world, trademarked by Paramount Pictures Corporation. I do not claim ownership of the characters and the world that I am borrowing.

The story and situation I am creating are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to official story canon. This work is for entertainment only and is not a part of the storyline.

I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story, but I do hope it gives you happy thoughts.

These stories are my own, so please do not take them and use them for yourself without my permission. If you see them somewhere else, please let me know. :)

It was a scorching summer day in Austin, Texas. You were dressed in a light gray tank top beneath a short-sleeved gray plaid button-up shirt, paired with blue jeans and a set of gray cowboy boots. Your dirty blonde hair was neatly tucked into a French braid, concealed beneath a well-worn gray baseball cap and your silver-blue eyes were hidden behind a pair of mirrored silver aviator sunglasses.

You leisurely walked through the crowd, savoring the creamy mint chocolate chip ice cream on the cone.

As you strolled along, you took in the sights and sounds of the bustling city. Vendors called out their wares, colorful stores and restaurants lined the streets, and the aroma of various foods filled the air. It was a lively scene, and the coolness of the ice cream against the warmth of the day was a delightful contrast.

You had just flown in last night and it wasn't because you wanted to, you had to. Your brother called the previous afternoon and delivered the somber news of your mother's passing. Luckily, you managed to secure an evening flight to Austin in order to be with your family.

You took a deep breath, releasing it in a heavy sigh. It had been a decade since you last set foot in your hometown, and the urban hustle and bustle were certainly not something you missed.

Glancing at your watch, you noted that it was three o'clock in the afternoon. The night had been spent at the hotel, and the morning consumed by the somber task of finalizing your mother's arrangements at the funeral home. However, you remained uncertain whether you were emotionally prepared to return to the place you once called home.

Taking another deep breath, you set out towards the hotel where the rented truck awaited your journey back home.

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin was outside his parent's home in rural Texas, tending to a section of fencing when his mom approached him. He had taken some leave time from his job with the Navy to come home and check on things.

"Jake?"

"Yes, Momma?"

"I need you to drive over to the Atherton Ranch. I just got word that Doris passed away the other day."

Jake looked at her as he continued to work on the fence. "That's terrible."

"I know. Well, you know James has been running the ranch for awhile now and I know you remember him."

He nodded. "Yes, Ma'am." How could he forget? James was his ex-girlfriend's brother. He set down the tools he was using and took off his work gloves. He glanced at his mother with a solemn expression. The news about Doris was certainly sad, but it brought back a flood of memories from his time with his ex-girlfriend. He had actually been to Atherton Ranch to help James out a few times, and also to see if his ex had been around, but he hadn't seen or spoken to her in years, and the prospect of returning to the Atherton Ranch brought a mixture of emotions. What if she was actually home? Nevertheless, he nodded in acknowledgment.

"I'll just finish this up and head over there, Momma," he replied, his voice steady. He knew that despite the complexities of the situation, paying his respects was the right thing to do.

"Thank you. I'd do it myself, but I'm knee-deep in this pie for the fair. And there's a casserole for you to take along, so be sure to swing by the house."

"Yes, Ma'am."

She began to make her way back towards the house, but then paused and turned back to face him. "And Jake?"

He met her gaze.

"Y/N hasn't been seen or heard from since the last time you were home." With that, she pivoted again and headed back towards the house.

You drove along the dusty, winding dirt road, approaching the ranch that held many memories. The two-story house, constructed of wood and stone, gradually came into view, as did the matching large barn with the large black fancy looking 'A' on it. As you drew nearer, the cowboys in the training pen caught sight of your vehicle and paused their work, casting curious glances your way to see who was arriving.

You parked the truck in front of the garage and stepped out, feeling the weight of all eyes on you. Fortunately, you were no stranger to being the center of attention in a room full of men.

"Y/N?" a male voice called from the back porch.

Turning towards the voice, you met a pair of silver-blue eyes, so much like your own.

"Hi, James," you greeted as you closed the truck door and made your way towards the porch.

"I wasn't sure if you'd gotten the message."

"You lucked out. I was in town that day and I heard it come over the radio." You slowly started up the steps.

Standing at an imposing six foot three, James Atherton exuded the quintessential image of a rancher. He was clad in well-worn jeans, sturdy cowboy boots, a blue shirt with a t-shirt underneath, and his gaze pierced through from beneath his tan Stetson that also covered his dirty blond hair.

"I wasn't even sure if you were going to come."

"I'm here, aren't I?" You halted in front of him. "Took care of the funeral arrangements this morning. They'll be out here on Saturday."

"I know. They called."

You shot him a look. "Wait a minute. So you already knew I was home?"

He shot back that mischievous grin he used to wear when getting you both into trouble as kids. You couldn't help but grin back.

"You ass."

He extended his arms, and you willingly stepped into a warm embrace.

"Welcome home," he said, holding you close.

"Thanks," you replied, a genuine smile on your face as you pulled away.

"Griff has your room all set up."

"Griff is still around?"

"He's not planning on leaving anytime soon. Come on, let's get you settled."

James draped his arm around your shoulders, and the two of you entered the house together.

[anotherrosesthatfell]

I honestly never make Alive angst opinion on everyone- 💀 (or if I did, then I forgot 💀) so let's go. I will also change some of his old opinion to new one because Cherry and I uncovered the dark side of Angst

Sunflower Au belong to @abloomingsunflower / @itzcherrybonbon

His personality explanation:

Angst is quiet and mysterious man. No one actually hang out with him expect for Gradient. (Plus Angst is depressing 💀)

He is a bookworm and very intelligent. Angst never reveal his full power unless he snapped.

Appearance:

He wear royal clothing in some occasions but mostly wear comfy clothing. On his daily life, you can see he wearing a red scarf and pairs of black earrings.

Magic/Power:

This dude is stronger than corrupted Nightmare. Only in E.L.A of course- yet, he never use his full power.

Angst power is almost alike to E.L.A Lily. His power is 10/10, second strongest after Dream. Even if Palette and Lux awaken their true form, Angst is still stronger.

Other than that, he has the ability to see ghosts even memories from the past when he touch an old object (or a person)

His opinion on people he knows

Adult

Dream

"Dream Light, the king of sun. Rumours says he committed many crimes years ago by letting the wars to happen. How did I know it? Well, let's just say I have little friends to tell me."

Ink

"Ink Comyet or her now name, Ink Light. Hmm.... Honestly this woman has another last name but I don't think I should mention it. She drinks to forget her loveless marriage. How sad..."

Swap/Blue

"The ex royal guard. He was very useful to the light kingdom. Sadly, father took his power away... This is why people sometimes should live quietly."

Hope

"The last witch of this generation or should I say the current Queen of witches? People think witches extinct but there are many of them, hiding and not knowing their abilities... Hope, she know witches are hiding but she didn't do a thing about it. All she said was 'it's better to move on'... ... But I am more interested about the revengeful spirit watching her."

Error

"the destroyer and the man who lose his wife. I am not fond of him and him too, hating me."

Alphonse (corrupted nightmare)

"I hate father."

Killer

"mother... I don't sympathize with mother at all. It feels bored to do it... Mother has the witch to support her."

Cross

"the babysitter, he had a crush on mother until he met Albedo. Hmm, I remember he used to protect mother and us from the abused... I don't like him after knowing what he has done to the king of light kingdom. He don't even know Lux is his daughter."

Dust

"A pawn of father. I am surprised she didn't run away with Swap when she had the chance... Stupid woman, she could live a happy life but instead she chose to stay."

Horror

"the most sympathetic man I know... I like to eat his cooking."

Albedo

"That Albedo guy, I seen him carries many sins in his back. His emotions are overwhelming and lots of negativity.."

Ship children

Palette

"a bothersome hero. Why grandma chose this weak boy to be a protagonist... He is nothing but a scared little kid. How annoying..."

Goth

"she live a quiet happy life. I am jealous, really. She somehow is able to sealed her ability to see spirits but that can't stop her curse of having a deadly touch."

Lux

"Ah yes, the antagonist of 'Palette story'. Can you believe it? A little girl who were abandoned by her parents and isolated from the world, was chosen to be the antagonist... Isn't it a sad reality? Yet, she is very intelligent which is I like it."

Merciless

"My heart dropped when I found out my dear little brother is the sidekick of the antagonist. Hmm... Well I don't mind it, he is strong one. I believe he do well to destroy this dammed world."

Crescent

"My twin brother."

Artemis - @abloomingsunflower

"My little sister is the sidekick of the protagonist. Sad reality isn't it? Now my little brother has to fight our naive little sister. I wonder when will there's a timeline where she found out I know how many times she died. I want to laugh thinking about it, I hope she will start to live quietly when she found out."

Gradient

"My 'friend'. It's not like I love his attention or affection anyway, I just got used to him. Since he made me feels like this, he should take the responsibility."

Paperjam

"I don't know much about her. Gradient only says the same thing over and over again. Luckily, a silly ghost told me she has a crush on Crescent."

Spirits

Nim

"grandma can be nice sometime but mostly she just complain about her old life. It was nice when she sang a lullaby."

Passive nightmare

"The revengeful spirit who is guiding Lux and watching over Hope. He is the one my father hate the most... He look nothing like Merciless. If father open his eye, Merciless face resemble mother. He is a bit annoying and lose himself while playing this useless game."

Lanny

"The Queen of magic. She has no descendant to manage her kingdom. Now the magical kingdom is nothing but forest for remaining mystical creatures."

Quetzalcoatl

"He hates my father for taking over his kingdom and manages it badly."

Bonus (what if!)

Vivi - @canon-vi

"the daughter of Dream and Ink. She is not on Palette side rather on Merciless and Lux side. It was a nice sight. Just image having your own sister to choose people who killed you... Artemis can relate to that."

Starcross

"he was an annoying brat but I'll be glad to educate him some manners. Maybe I should let him know that he is capable of taking Palette's power."

Callisto

"The child of Hope and Dream. He has a very handsome face and very respectful despite hating me. Pfft, I like to see this now prince of witches capable of."

Tasya - @canon-vi

"Ah, Hope died because of her? Hmm... She has a little elemental magic such as to grow plants unfortunately she don't realize it yet. I should lend her some witchcraft books."

Shelki - @canon-vi

"A petty little ghost told me this little one got a deadly kiss as her curse. She can't see spirits that well... It should stay like that or else I'll to take action."

Lily

"she's a very interesting little one. Unfortunately, I must hate her actions on making my dear little brother traumatized. She can torture Palette as much as she want but she should never touch my little brother... And I will make her regret it."

[leeehye]

Baby Bear (Part 1?)

Summary - Having the opportunity to be with Jongho, your husband, you are faced with a small problem, Minho, Jongho's son who doesn't seem to like you. You will have to win Minho's little heart for the good of everyone, and mostly for your love to Jongho.

a/n - hey loves 💕 I decided to post a Jongho fluff imagine. I think this is really cute and I don't know if I should make it a little series. Let me know!

Also thank you for all the love to my Hongjoong imagine. Enjoy!

WARNINGS⚠️ - Nothing really just towards the end a little. But nothing happens. ALL FLUFF ☁️ in my opinion. (baby talking included)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

You had just married Choi Jong-ho, which made you his second wife after he had gone through a nasty divorce with his arranged wife. The love that you two had for each other goes way back, and due to his arranged marriage later on and the threats you both received he had to accept the marriage in order to protect you. Now his ex wife is out of the picture and you two can be happily together…

though there was still a little problem… or two his baby and his 4-year-old, his wife and him had come to an agreement on the kids and for now they are staying with him. You had met his 4-year-old, Minho before but he didn’t seem to like you, the baby was fine he was a baby after all.

But Minho always found a way to prank you or just make you get in an awkward situation, you sighed grabbing Jong-ho’s arm bringing him to a stop he looked at you as he stopped from trying to reach his keys from his pocket.

“What’s wrong darling?” he asked looking at you with his pretty brown eyes.

You looked at him trying to figure out a way to tell him that you were nervous.

“Well… you know Minho…” you managed to say in a soft voice causing him to let out a chuckle showing his cute gummy smile

“Love, he’s a four year old, are you scared of a four year old?” he asked laughing softly gently kissing your head, as he was trying to brighten the mood and calm you down.

“I'm playing angel. look he will need to understand, maybe not now but as he gets older. That you will be the one staying with us for the rest of our lives because you’re the one I love with all my heart not his mom and he knows that… he did once saw one of our arguments and-“

You looked at him feeling bad holding his hands giving him a soft kiss on his cheek shaking your head.

“No Jongie I know what you went through…I didn’t mean it like that…I love your little ones but Minho doesn’t like me as much… but I promise you I will do my best I won’t force him to see me as his mom but he can count on me as a mother figure…”

You said softly as he smiled at you nodding as he listened to your words softly pulling you close kissing your lips as you returned the kiss.

After your little "parenting meeting" Jong-ho opened the door to his huge house he had just bought it so there was boxes that still needed to be unpacked you looked up the staircase seeing little Mrs. Park who was watching the little ones, Minho was running down happily looking at his father with a toy car in his hand hugging Jongho’s leg as he finally noticed you showing a pout looking up at his father.

“why is shwe hwere…” he asked looking at Jong-ho as he kneeled down to his level grabbing your hand pulling you gently to them.

“Well little prince… Y/N and I are married now… so she’ll be with us forever now and she will be helping me out with you and your little brother” he said softly showing Minho a gentle smile as Minho pouted and looked at you as he crossed his arms moving into Jongho’s arms making you look at Jongho as he gave you a reassuring smile as he got up holding Minho.

You gave them time before looking up seeing Mrs. Park coming your way with Hyeon-Ju in her arms you gave her a sweet smile.

“Hello eommoni, thank you for looking after the boys” you said sweetly as you carefully took Hyeon-Ju in your arms.

“Oh you are more than welcome dear, they are lovely boys,” she said giggling “well I should get going now that they cute parents are here” she said giving back soft pats maybe for emotional support.

“No!! only my dada!!” Minho babbled as you turned your head towards him and Jongho let out a quiet sigh before speaking to Mrs. Park.

“I’ll transfer your payment in a bit eommoni, thank you again” he said as he companied her to the door watching her leave before turning to you.

“Okay! how about you help Y/n unpack her clothes while I put your brother to sleep hm? Y/n must be tired from the trip so make sure you help okay?” he asked Minho putting him down.

“Oh that would be really nice of you Minho” you said sweetly trying to make conversation with Minho while you gently swayed Hyeon-Ju. Minho looked at you and walked away to Jongho’s room ignoring you. Showing a small smile you gave Jongho, Hyeon-Ju carefully before grabbing your suitcase following Minho as you looked around the room you sat the suitcase to the side, gently sitting down on the bed that Jongho had chose making some naughty thoughts on how you will be sleeping with him every night now, waking up to his cute sleepy face and the alone time you will have with him come to your mind.

Your thoughts banished as you heard Minho baby talking throwing your clothes out on the floor making you widen your eyes jumping up on your feet as he had already opened the suitcase starting to "help".

“Minho! Wait…” I exclaimed going to him picking up some of my clothing.

Minho looked at you with one of your dresses in his stinky hands as you tried to not cringe gently taking it away looking at the mess.

“okay I'm back— what happened here?” Jongho asked looking at the clothes around the room as he stayed by the door way. Slowing glancing at you as one of your panties had landed close to the door, he picked it up with a puzzled face before realizing what it was putting it in his pocket winking at you making you widen your eyes you could feel your cheeks burn.

“Um my… my suitcase accidentally opened and—“

You said softly taking the blame for Minho.

“Y/n you pabo!” he said as he left to the bed and played with his toys, you opened your mouth in shock at his audacity ‘god this is going to be hard’ you thought to yourself as you smiled softly at Jongho going to him hugging him snuggling in his warmth. You knew having to bond with his babies won’t be easy but you had to try because one Jongho only had you now after what had happened to him and second because you loved him.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I hope you all like it! Let me know if you guys want more of Y/n's struggles! And maybe times with daddy Jongho. 💕🤭

Have a good day everyone!

I'm opening requests too! I do Ateez, Seventeen, BTS, and maybe more that I can't count! 💖

[phillipgraveshusbandfr]

Because I'm getting back into writing, how about I write when Lynx and Graves met and fell in love :3 --------------------------------------- (Lynx POV with notes from Adler as he was the one who picked Lynx up from the airport. Written like a Journal) March 2019 I fucking hate customs. Of course I was pulled aside for being of Russian descent. They questioned me for hours (5 minutes - Adler). They mostly questioned about my prosthetic arm. The drive was long. I'm used to long (European long is like 45+ minutes - Adler) drives, but this was loooong. Who knew that going from New York city to Lancing, Michigan would be 10 FUCKING HORUS!! (Not that bad to be honest - Adler). We stopped a couple times for food and bathroom breaks. Adler had to do most of the talking since I only spoke Russian and broken English (And a couple other languages, Lynx's father taught him well - Adler). It was close to midnight when we finally got to Adler's house. A medium sized house in the suburbs. Close enough to the inner city for it to not be a bad drive and far enough so that the sounds of the city are quieter. He had a couple extra rooms. One for his son who visits occasionally, and a guest room for some of his old friends. I took the guest room with the assumption that his son would visit while I was staying (He did and now their married - Adler). It was nice, once I fully learned English, I started helping out with some chores. I even got to go shopping with Adler. We ran into an entitled bitch who I humbled (He threatened her in Russian. It was fun to watch. - Adler). ---------------------------------------- (still Lynx. It was a time skip. No more notes from Adler) August 2019 Adler has been pacing around for a while. His son is coming to visit and he's nervous because they've been talking to each other about me. Something about Adler being worried that I won't be what his son is looking for. I don't know what he means by that. August 2019 Holy fuck he's adorable. Phillip Graves, that's his name. Adler explained that his ex wife, Phillip's mother, took Phillip in their divorce and changed her last name back to Graves. It's a nice name. Phillip Adler doesn't have the same ring to it. No offence to Adler. Phillip runs a PMC called Shadow Company, says he wants me on the team. Thanks but I don't want to join another military group after what I went through in Konni. September 2019 I caved and joined. Shadow 0-2. That's my callsign. Most of the other Shadows are American. I felt out of place being there. I was put as second in command almost immediately. I don't think anyone liked me. October 2019 I'm having second thoughts about joining. I've tried being kind to the other Shadows. I'm mostly in my office working on paperwork but I also have to run training. They don't fucking listen. Found a raven near the lake behind base. It was hurt and I brought it in. Phillip was nice and helped me get it out of the water. I named him Reaper. November 2019 Had to break up a fight today, that might have gotten the Shadows to respect me. Phillip jokingly (God I hope) said that I looked hot disciplining the Shadows who got into a fight. November 2019 Found a little area where I can catch a break from the Shadows, my office and bedroom aren't safe, Shadows like to pester me while working and Phillip keeps breaking into my room. December 2019 My parents invited me back to Russia for Christmas, I want to go but at the same time, I'm kinda the reason my brother is in the Gulag. I've gotten closer with Phillip so I might spend Christmas with his family. One of the only times that Adler willingly goes to visit his ex wife. We're taking a train down to Mrs. Graves' house. ---------- This has gotten to long for Tumblr to autosave it lmao I will Reblog this with part 2!!

[gxrdenofthxrns]

Loving the Sunlight

WARNING! TRIGGERING THEMES TO SOME READERS! DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

My writing is Rusty so please feel free to give me any critic or feedback! And thank you for reading!

Not Proof Read!

Heimdall X reader

Please tell me if you want to be tagged in the future!

One last thing! This First part will not include Heimdall, I’m setting up the story line mostly in this part. Heimdall will be seen soon, I promise. <3

Einn ~

You set down the now empty flask of herbal medicine onto the counter.

"Freya? Are you back already?" You questioned.

Walking cautiously, you reached the door and opened it slowly, peeking your head out. Your brows furrowed together, No one was here? "Hello? Who's out there?" You yelled out into the forest. You stepped out of the door and glanced around. "Maybe it was just an animal" You thought. You sighed a breath of relief and took note to grab your sword that Freya Gave you.

Freya has been your trainer, a motherly figure even. Telling you all the stories of her ex-husband, The foreign God and his son that she helped, her brother, and about all the realms. You have been taught her ways of magic and fighting. Although you have no recall if you are Aesir or something else between the realms. You can only learn what she has written in her journals. You spend most of your day reading her spells and magic, and training with Freya when she is around.

Freya never told you the story of where she found or met you. Only that you were alone. She couldn't find your parents or anyone around. So she took you in. But you know there's only half of the truth written in her story. She treats you as one of her own. But also a warrior.

Although you don’t see how; you've never beaten her, But you have almost won during training. Only once.

“Lets see what you got now.” Freya held up her sword and got into her stance. She was waiting for you to make a move. . You needed an advantage point if you were going to defeat her. Quickly, You looked around and found a Branch and swiftly climbed up the tree.

Using a spell to set the arrow aflame, You drew the arrow back and aimed at her. Letting the arrow go you saw her turn and avoid the arrow. Cursing at yourself, you loaded another and shot, this time at the branch above her head. Letting it go, you quickly loaded and shot it at her.

She dodged the arrow that was aimed at her and went straight under the branch you had shot. The branch cracked and had fallen off the tree. Falling right onto her head. Or so you thought.

Using her sword, she deterred the branch and jumped out of the way. Looking up at you with wide eyes she laughed.

“Very good. A little slow but we can work on that.”

You shut the door to Freya's Hut, turning around you are met with one blue eye, and the other covered by an eyepatch. Acting on instincts, you grab the dull sword by the door and swing it at his head. Unfortunately, He grabs the sword in motion and stops it.

He laughs "I was expecting Frigg! But you are just as fierce as her, I see.” He shows you a thin lined smile and lets go, walking further into the hut. Is he searching for something?

The fireplace is crackling, only a few logs that seem to keep the fire steady. The two wooden tables were littered with Herbs and books. And tucked away in the corner are weapons and bows from you and Freya going hunting one night. The hut is fairly dimmed, just enough to see the Aesir god examining and touching the herbs.

"Why are you here?" is all you can manage to escape out of your mouth. Shocked that the God of the Aesir is walking around in the place you call home. In the home of his Ex-wife.

"I came to see my lovely ex-wife. But I see she had more important things to-" you cut him off

"She does not want to see you and we both know that." You spit. Watching him turn to glance at you with his nasty grin.

"Oh yes I know, But seeing that you are here, you have no clue of what's happened." The last part he spoke slowly, walking closer to the fire and staring into it. Interlocking his hands behind his back, waiting for you to answer.

"What do you mean?" You asked, finally lowering the weapon down to your side.

"Baldur is dead. Our son is dead."

His monotone voice threw you off. You knew she had a son but with him? How did he die? Where was Freya now?

"I would suggest you keep out of her way. She is on her way back now. She has sworn revenge onto the God and his son for killing him." His warning cut you off. He glanced over to you, his one eye staring straight through you.

"I will not be surprised if she leaves you to rot here. She is known to create bad relationships with her children"

"Do not speak of Freya that way. She will not abandon me."

"Frigg, you mean? My dear _____ , you do not know her then." He let out a chuckle and turned his body to face you. Throwing your sword out towards you to catch.

You panically grab for it, Catching it in both yours hands and look at him through narrowed eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"I know everything, Child. Now be prepared. If you are in need of help" He turned his back and went to the door as he spoke. He glanced back at you again, "Just call." and with that, he opened the door and his ravens engrossed him in their wings.

Hurriedly, you ran over and shut the door. Just for another one to be pushed open.

"Freya! You’re fin-"

"Don't."

You welcomed Freya only for her to raise her hand to silence you.

Her darkened hair was falling from the braid she put it in. Her clothes were torn and bloodied. She used her hand to wipe away the tears and bleeding makeup from under her eyes.

She was a mess. Physically and Emotionally. You knew that. Her demeanor usually calm and relaxed now changed to troubled and vengeful.

Your eyes saddened, opening your mouth to tell her you’ll help her but then she would know someone had told you. You did not want to let her know that her ex-husband had come to "visit" a few minutes ago. So you kept your mouth shut. Standing with the table in between you and her.

She looked around, her dark eyes now locked on the weapons in the corner. She grabbed her bag and started shoveling herbs into it, grabbing her bow and a sword. She was preparing herself for a long journey.

"Wait! where are you going?" You asked confused, moving out of her way and standing in front of the fireplace that now seemed to crackle louder.

"You need to leave. Now" She spoke with anger laced in her words. She grabbed her things and looked at you. You now got a good look at her.

Her eyes were dark and bloodshot, The makeup around her face ran down and was smeared. Blood coated on her clothes and face. She was Angry, she breathed heavily and gripped the bow in her hand until her knuckles were white.

"What? Why? Where would I-" She cut you off, using her sword to point towards the door.

"I don't care where you go! Just leave! I don't want to see your face ever again, You hear me? You stay out of my way!" Her words were laced with venom and her eyes filled with hate. Now the rage was directed at you.

Your eyes widened and you kept silent. You nodded your head and started grabbing your things. As you did, She left and slammed the door, muttering spells in her native language.

You flinched and looked at the door. Odin was right. Of course he was, he is the All-Father. Your eyes filled with tears, grabbing your bag the Freya had made you, you started collecting your things. All the Herbs she helped you pick. the books she let you have. Anything you could. You sat down on the chair with a shaky breath.

Whoosh!

That is all you heard before the outside of the hut was ablaze. Your eyes widened and you quickly stood up and grabbed your bag. Hurrying to the door you grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it.

Blocked

Using your shoulder you rammed into the door. But it was no use. The hut started to fill with smoke. And the heat from the fireplace and outside started to combine and make you sweat.

"Come On!!"

You went to the other door, Trying the same technique. Of course, it didn't work.

"Fuck!"

Letting go of the door you stepped back, looking around alerted to the fire slithering through the roof.

Did she set the Hut ablaze? Was she trying to get rid of you?

You realized he was right.

“You do not know her then.”

You had no choice but to call for him.

Next Part: Here

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not allowing someone to look at the serial number on my PS5 or the PS5 box to confirm it is not someone else's?

Okay, so, last month a now ex-family friend (I will call him M, late 30s - early 40s) got kicked out of a shed he was living in, in the back of his brother's garden. So he asked my dad (73) if he could keep a couple of things in our garden, and my dad, despite me (29F) and my ma telling (ma is also in her 70s) him it is only going to lead to trouble, and he also already had a storage locker that he could take it all to. He didn't listen to us and said that M could. Ma and I weren't very happy about it, but you can't really tell dad anything without getting snapped at.

So M put his electric tricycle in our back garden on the decking, some other electrical bits for it in my dad's shed. He also asked us to keep his son's PS4 for him safe as he doesn't trust his family (his brother and the people living in his brother's house would steal from him all the time, and his parents, and other brothers who live with them are drug dealers and M doesn't trust their customers or them to not steal and sell it.) And he asked us to keep his PS5 which he put in a blue suitcase because he didn't have a PS5 hard case to carry it with.

We left the PS4 and the PS5 alone. The only time we touched either was to put the PS4 into a bag because he never put it in one, and to move both the PS4 and PS5 into the shed, which is secure while we had the living room floor ripped up to fix it as it was rotting away. But other than that, no one touched it.

Now three weeks ago, more like four at this point, he came over to collect his PS5 and PS4 routinely like he always does (he also leaves his things unattended at his parent's house while he goes out to smoke weed or to sell drugs. He also used to live in a group home after leaving the shed he lived in, and now currently lives in a caravan outside his parent's home, which is opposite our home.) Anyway, he left with his PS4 and PS5 and back a couple of hours later yelling at my dad.

M said that my dad, me, my brother (30M), and our long term family friend (B. Male and I think either late 40s to early 50s) of logging into his PS5, changing the email address, changing his password, deleting all of his games and pictures from it and swapping his PS5 for someone else's.

To clear things up, me, my brother and B have our own PS5s. B has a digital one, I bought one back in March because Microsoft banned my account and wouldn't get in touch with me for 4 months (this was because I added my phone number as a security message.) And my dad bought my brother one because I got one.) So we have no reason to swap PS5's at all since we all have our own, save my dad and ma who watches me play mine when I sit downstairs with them. And if we didn't have a PS5 we wouldn't do anything to someone else's property, and we also do not have the money to just... Randomly get a PS5 to switch with someone else's PS5.

He said that we must have done something because he's just left it here. Forgetting he takes it back to the group home, he took it over his parents, he took it to the caravan site he used to have his caravan in and would often leave it there where he leaves the doors unlocked and anyone can get in. M left when my dad told him to take his stuff and leave and that he (my dad) wants his tools back.

M came back 5 days later, told us that he called the police and that he handed the police his PS5 AND now his PS4 over to the police because "now the 1tb hard drive in the PS4 is missing, and you took it! That or your friend did because you told me that B was having storage issues in his PS5" when B never even knew that we were keeping his PS4 and PS5 safe. And neither of us have a PS4 either, no reason for us to even touch ANY of this PlayStations. My brother and I told M that he's not going to find any of what he's looking for here 'cause we have our PS5s.

So M asked to see our PS5s to make sure. And ma and I said at the same time, "no you can't. If the police are involved then the POLICE can check the PS5s." To which he turned around and called us assholes. But this was 3/4 weeks ago, and we still haven't had a visit from the aforementioned police.

So... Are we Assholes?

TLDR; M accused me and my family of swapping and stealing things from his PS5 and PS4, "called" the police on us, and called because we said no to HIM checking the serial numbers on our PS5s. (3/3)

What are these acronyms?