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lanawinterscigarettes · 5 months ago

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Off Limits (poly Non-Judging Breakfast Club x gn reader)

Summary: your partners aren't too thrilled when Vanessa gets you alone at a party you're attending

Warnings: Vanessa is a little obsessed with the reader (and plots to break them up with their partners to be with them), the reader briefly smokes a cigarette, they/them pronouns used to refer to the reader in a gender neutral manner, jealousy/slightly possessive behavior, suggestive stuff at the end

A/N: this was a request for a jealous njbc that kind of got off track and spiraled into something else so that's why I'm not responding to the ask with this lmao, I plan on writing something different for that

Everyone in the Upper East Side knew who you belonged to, from the prep school kids to their parents to the tabloids. Even Gossip Girl herself posted the occasional blast about catching you in the arms of one of your many lovers, something the drama-hungry scavengers of the city greedily ate up as though it were their last meal.

Most people knew better than to mess with you because of this, not wanting to deal with the wrath of your partners by making you upset, even if it was by accident. Anyone who did would immediately find themselves in hot water with no one to help fish them out.

Of course, Vanessa Abrams was not most people. She was from Brooklyn. She was edgy, she was cool, she was the manic pixie dream girl from hell who could be either your sweet dream or your worst nightmare. Or something like that. It seemed as though that's how she saw herself, at least.

Obviously you'd be willing to make an exception for her, right? I mean, Blair definitely hated her, and Chuck automatically disliked anyone Blair did out of principle, and she did kind of go out with Nate at one point, but still. At least Serena was somewhat friendly, and that had to stand for something.

Plus, you were good friends with Dan, even though your partners weren't all too thrilled about it. She didn't know for sure that you'd fooled around with him, but there was always a slight chance of that happening, and if it could happen with him then maybe it could happen with her, too.

Was she obsessed with you? No, of course not... Okay, maybe a little. You were certainly much nicer than anyone else on the Upper East Side, even with the slight bit of snark you always portrayed whenever you had to be around someone you didn't like. Still, it was better than nothing.

She figured the best way to spend some time with you would be at some kind of fancy event the Upper East Side was famous for throwing, where hopefully your partners would be distracted long enough for her to get you alone. Dan was obviously invited as your best friend, which meant she felt like it was okay for her to tag along. (It was not.)

"Dan, it's so great to see you!" She heard your cheerful voice ring out the moment they'd stepped inside, you pulling him in for a warm and friendly hug before turning your attention to her. "Oh, I didn't know you'd be bringing Vanessa."

You seemed a bit apprehensive at her presence, but that was probably just because you knew the trouble it would stir up by her being there. Dan looked nervous for the same reason.

"Uh, yeah. I mentioned it earlier and she said that she wanted to come so I figured what's the harm, right?" He let out an awkward laugh while rubbing the back of his neck, fully aware that bringing her might not have been his best decision.

"Well, I have to go check on a few things, but it was so nice seeing you both. Enjoy yourselves, okay?" You gave the two a bright smile before disappearing off into the crowd of people.

"I'm gonna go get us a drink. Stay here and don't get into any trouble," Dan said a moment or so later, leaving her by herself. That was fine, as she didn't expect him to stay with her for very long. Now all she needed to do was find you again.

Vanessa searched the sea of people, spotting you over by one of the tables with Blair and Dan. The brunette had her arm linked with yours, a subtle reminder to everyone there you were already taken. Blair glanced over in Vanessa's direction, her eyes narrowing as they caught the sight of her. It appeared as though Queen B wasn't too happy to see her.

That was fine, everything was fine, Vanessa quietly reassured herself as she looked away, trying to make it seem like she wasn't staring just now. She'd just have to catch up with you a little later when you were alone.

Dan returned after another moment or so with their drinks, handing her a glass as he surveyed the people there. "I swear I was just talking with a guy who's new car cost more money upfront than it would be to put a down payment on a house," he mused with a shake of his head.

She merely shrugged and took a sip of her cocktail before replying. "Welcome to the Upper East Side."

No sooner had she said that did Serena appear with Nate. "Hey, Dan! Blair told us you were here," the blonde greeted, seeming just as bubbly as she usually did (though the alcohol that was certainly in her system probably helped with that).

"Yeah, we showed up a few minutes ago," he explained while Vanessa just sort of stood there awkwardly, averting her gaze as she tried to avoid making direct eye contact with Nate. You know, her ex.

"I was surprised to see you here. I didn't think you liked these kind of events, Vanessa," Nate spoke up suddenly, causing her face to heat up as she realized they must've known she wasn't just there to socialize.

"I just thought I'd try to get out of my comfort zone a little," she lied while doing her best to keep it cool, not wanting to seem nervous. Despite that, Nate could clearly see right through her facade, even if Serena couldn't.

"Well, I hope you have fun," Serena replied with another cheery grin before tugging her boyfriend away from them, most likely off to either make out or get another drink.

Vanessa excused herself to go to the bathroom shortly after, needing some fresh air. God, she had to get a grip. There's no way her plan of seducing you would work properly if she kept stressing herself out over it.

She was fixing her hair in the mirror when the sound of voices began to carry from down the nearby hall, which prompted her to hide in one of the stalls so she could eavesdrop in on the conversation.

"I'm telling you, she's not just here because she wants to 'socialize'," the voice of Blair spoke, her heels clacking furiously again the marble flooring as she entered the bathroom. "She's here for a reason, and I'm going to find out what it is."

"Okay, B, don't you think that maybe you're being a little bit paranoid?" Serena's voice said next, her walking sounding much more relaxed and at ease compared to the brunette that came in before her. "Maybe she really just does want to have some fun here, did you ever think about that?"

Blair scoffed at the suggestion. "If she wants to have fun, she can do it in her own city, away from here. Brooklyn is much more her speed, anyway." It was quiet for a moment, as if she was trying to either collect her thoughts or check how she looked in the mirror, most likely both. "Besides, she's been staring all night. At us. That's not just for no reason, I'm certain of it."

"Okay, why don't you take a deep breath and try to relax, alright? Let's get you another drink,maybe that'll help you calm down some," Serena said while attempting to keep her best friend/girlfriend reigned in. "Come on, I'll go with you."

The other woman responded with a grumble of "fine" before allowing herself to be led out of the bathroom, the sound of their retreating footsteps like music to Vanessa's ears. She couldn't stay much longer, she knew that much. Not when they were already starting to catch onto her plan so soon.

Once she was certain they were really gone, she exited the stall and left the bathroom, hoping her disappearance hadn't been noticed as that would only add onto their suspicions. She thought she was in the clear to slip back into the party where she could act as if she'd been there all along when she bumped into someone, quite literally.

"Oh- excuse me," she apologized, her green eyes widening the moment she noticed that it was you.

"No worries!" You simply laughed it off, the appearance of your dazzling pearly whites sending a shiver down her spine, in a good way. "I was just about to head out onto one of the balconies for a cigarette break, perhaps you'd like to join me?"

Her heart stuttered in her chest at that. You wanted to be alone with her? On the balcony, of all places? That could only mean one of two things: you were either going to kiss her, or attempt to push her off. Still, it was a risk she was willing to take.

"Y- Yeah, sure! I'd love to," she replied with a grin of her own, quickly following after you out onto one of the many balconies there. Maybe things would work out tonight after all.

Unbeknownst to her, however, Georgina Sparks of all people happened to be watching the whole thing from a distance. If there was one thing that girl loved, it was stirring up trouble, and what better way to do it than by telling the four people who practically ran the Upper East Side that their precious little darling had slipped away with one of their biggest enemies?

"Hello Blair, Chuck," she purred out when approaching them, a Chesire cat-like grin on her face.

Both of them had visibly displeased looks on their faces at her sudden appearance. "Don't you have anyone else you can bother?" Blair grumbled with an eye roll.

Georgina just ignored her. "Where's Nate and Serena? They should be present to hear this, too."

"Hear what?" The Golden Boy himself questioned while approaching, Serena clinging onto him as they made their way over. She was already tipsy, by the looks of it. Big surprise there.

"Well, it's really none of my business-" she began in an innocent tone, purposely acting coy just to irritate them further. "-but I would've thought the four of you would want to pay better attention to your shared pet."

That certainly got their attention, as they knew full well she was referring to you. A shared look passed between them before Chuck spoke up. "What are you talking about?" He demanded, already not liking where this was going.

Georgina, on the other hand, was thrilled by how on edge they were already. "I mean, hanging out with the Humphreys is one thing, but Vanessa Abrams of all people? I thought you had them on a tighter leash than that."

Their reaction was exactly what she hoped it would be. Chuck's jaw was clenched so tightly he looked ready to crack a tooth, Nate's brow was furrowed in confusion, and Serena's jaw was dropped in disbelief. The only one who didn't seem entirely shocked by this new information was Blair, whose eyes were narrowed in the oncomings of rage.

"I knew we couldn't trust her," she hissed out, giving Serena a pointed look that had the blonde shutting her mouth instantly. "Where are they?" She demanded while turning her attention back towards Georgina, who looked far too pleased at their anger.

"Probably still out on the balcony where I saw them disappear off to a moment ago," she stated with a shrug, picking up a drink from off a nearby waiter's tray and taking a sip.

That worried the four more than anything else. Vanessa could be fairly crafty when she wanted to be, and you were far too nice to realize when someone was trying to use you.

Meanwhile, you were indeed still out on the balcony just like Georgina had said, casually smoking a cigarette while Vanessa debated just how to move the topic of conversation away from small talk and towards "Would you like to have sex with me?"

"So-" she began before cutting herself off, not quite sure what exactly she'd planned to say after that. Before she could try to speak again, however, you beat her to it.

"I'm glad Dan has you as a friend," you said sincerely, glancing over at her while you spoke. "I mean, sure, he's friends with me, but it's good that there's someone in his life who isn't from the Upper East Side that he can relate to."

That was probably one of the last things she expected you to say, but it was pretty on brand for you so she decided to just roll with it. "R- Right, I definitely agree with you there." God, why couldn't she get a grip and stop being so nervous?

It probably had something to do with how she knew at any given moment your partners could burst out onto the balcony and snatch you away from her again. She was a bit surprised it hadn't been done already, in all honesty.

"You know, I think you two would make a really cute couple," you added while tilting your head slightly in her direction, carefully making sure to blow out the smoke from your cigarette away from her. You were always so considerate like that, but your words made her brow furrow a bit in confusion.

Did you really think they'd make a cute couple, her and Dan? Or were you just trying to be nice? Or were you somehow aware of the massive crush she had on you, and this was your way of trying to let her down easy?

"Actually-" she began hesitantly, knowing if she was going to try to win you over it would be now or never. Of course it was just then that the doors to the balcony opened, revealing Nate of all people.

"Hey," he greeted with a sort of strained politeness that immediately let her know she'd been found out. Crap. "Blair's looking for you." It was a thinly veiled way of him saying "she's about to blow her top if you're not in her presence without the next five minutes".

Judging from the look on your face, you seemed a bit concerned but not surprised as you put out your cigarette on the railing, clearly used to this happening. "It was nice seeing you, Vanessa. Think about what I said with you and Dan," you politely bid her farewell as Nate led you back inside.

"Spotted: Vanessa Abrams seen alone out on the balcony with a toy that already belongs to the Upper East Side's most elite. Haven't you heard, V? They won their prize fair and square, and they don't intend on sharing anytime soon. If it's company that you're after, perhaps Lonely Boy would be a much better suited companion. At least he doesn't have a pack of vicious bloodhounds sniffing after him wherever he goes. Maybe next time you'll think twice about going after someone who's clearly off limits, to you and everyone else. If the object of your attraction wouldn't be shared with their fellow socialites, what makes you think a nobody from Brooklyn would ever have a chance? Just something to think about once you're officially excommunicated from the Manhattan crowd, which is bound to happen any time now from the looks of it. You know you love me. XOXO, Gossip Girl."

Vanessa knew she'd never get another opportunity to be alone with you like she had, especially after the most recent blast put out by Gossip Girl. None of your partners seemed intent on leaving your side from that point on, one of them always having an arm wrapped protectively around your waist whenever she saw you together, just like Nate had when he took you back into the party and away from her.

She didn't miss the hushed whispers and judgmental glances thrown her way by the other party goers, no doubt questioning the audacity she must've had in thinking she'd somehow manage to snatch you up just by getting you alone. Even Dan looked uncomfortable, not even bothering to say goodbye to you when he left. It was all her fault, and she knew it.

The last thing she saw of you before she left the party was your flustered expression from the many kisses being placed on your neck by Serena, Chuck's hand resting on the small of your back as Nate and Blair also stood close by. Despite being "off limits" as Gossip Girl had said, she really did think she'd somehow be special enough to be an exception to that rule. She wasn't, and if anything only caused it to be enforced even more.

Once again, she'd lost, but was that really a surprise? You certainly didn't think so, and while part of you felt bad for her you also thought she should've known better than to go after you of all people when literally anyone else was up for grabs.

Next time you invited Dan to a party, you'd have to specify that plus ones weren't allowed. You already had enough drama in your life without someone else adding onto it just because they had a little crush on you.

Right now, however, that wasn't your biggest concern as you were far too focused on the after party your partners were clearing intent on having in the limo on the way home. Safe to say your neck was going to be covered in hickeys and your legs were going to be shaking from aftershocks of pleasure by the time they were through with you.

End notes: sorry for the slight vanessa bashing I couldn't help myself (and if some of the descriptions of her made you cringe then good because that's the point lmao)

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moonydustx · 1 year ago

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Good Medicine

Trafalgar Law x F!Reader

warnings: F!reader is sick, Law has some problems taking action to take care of her. Pre-established relationship, mentions of disgusting things about being sick (basically vomiting) , fluff

a/n: maybe I'll rewrite this better later, I just needed to get it out there to see if it sparked my creativity.

requests open | one piece masterlist

Today was one of those days where you woke up already knowing something was wrong, your only mission was to find out what. The plate in front of you looked strange that morning. The same coffee, the same bread, everything seemed wrong. The same went for your body, it seemed to weigh tons and your stomach was boiling with something that went beyond the hot drink in front of you.

"Are you okay?" Shachi snapped you out of your reverie, watching you roll a piece of the sandwich from one side to the other.

"I just need to get some air." You stood up, not having the trouble to even take your plate off the table.

With hurried steps, you reached the bathroom with just enough time to open the toilet seat before all your breakfast went away. You just hoped that like a good hangover, emptying it would be enough to improve but apparently you were wrong.

You had recently left the last island you had visited, which meant more things to keep: more work for you. In those days, you knew that rest would be scarce, as would the times you would meet your captain - who also served as your boyfriend in his spare time. Chills ran through your body as you struggled to stack two boxes of medical supplies, your body seemed to sweat more than usual. You heard your name being called in the distance, needing to focus a few times before you saw Law approaching.

"Are you ok?" He analyzed you from top to bottom. Pale lips, deep dark circles, something was wrong.

"Yes captain." you replied, respecting your treaty for when you were in public. "Just some heartburn."

"Keep an eye on it. You know where to find the medicine." he simply responded, analyzing you once more before leaving.

You finished putting away the boxes and leaned against the wall, trying to regain the air and strength lost in the whole process. Following the quick orders your captain had given, you swallowed some pills and continued with your tasks, even though your body seemed to fight against every movement.

You loved Law and you knew he loved you too, but sometimes it was a little difficult to deal with how methodical he could be especially when it came to being sick. On days like these, he tended to be more of a doctor than a boyfriend and you hated that. Ignoring the thoughts, you made your way to your shared room, reaching the bed and seeing Ikkaku hanging from the top.

"What ghost scared you?"

"What you mean?" you threw yourself against the pillows, using the blanket.

"You're pale, you look like you're going to disappear." She came down, standing in front of you and placing her hand on your forehead. "And you're burning up with a fever."

"I've already taken my medicine." you covered your head, trying to escape the cold that only you felt. "I just need to get some sleep."

"Did you eat anything bad?" She pulled your blanket back. "Or are you pregnant?"

"I'm betting more on the first hypothesis." you immediately reassured her, knowing that for the other proposal, you and Law were always responsible in terms of protecting each other. "I think it's just a virus."

"Did you warn Law?"

"He asked me to..." you sat down, to continue talking, but again your stomach turned.

Without responding, you ran once again towards the bathroom, this time Ikkaku's hurried footsteps followed you.

"Open the door." she asked and even though she didn't see it, you shook your head. A few minutes passed before it knocked again.

"I am worried." she warned. "Open the door or I'll have to call him here."

"It is not necessary." you reached up, unlocking the lock. "I'm just a little dizzy."

"Let me help you." Ikkaku pulled you, supporting your body as you washed your face. "Are you sure the medicine alone is enough?"

"Yes." you replied with clear discouragement in your voice.

"I'm going back to my room, maybe getting some sleep will help me."

Walking a few meters from the bathroom, the two of you came face to face with Law followed by Bepo, both discussing something about the likely next island they would find.

"Are you feeling ok?" Bepo was the first to ask and you just nodded. Law's gaze burned over you again, analyzing every inch of your body.

He knew there was something wrong, but he didn't know how far he wanted to intervene, for fear that you would feel uncomfortable.

"Do you need any help?" he asked in your direction, waiting for you to say yes.

"It's okay captain." you replied before Ikkaku spoke for you, giving what was your best smile for the moment.

he two of you walked away from him and it didn't take long for you to reach the bedroom. Ikkaku helped you get to the bed and watched you cover yourself up to your head. Being one of the only two people who knew about your relationship with the captain, she sat at the foot of the bed, watching you.

"Are you sure you don't want to ask him for help?"

"He's going to medicate me, probably tell me to eat and rest. I've already done almost all of that." you answered. "I don't want to be a problem for him, I know it's not in his profile to take care of someone like that, in a more intimate way."

"But it's what you need right now." she replied, walking away. "Get some rest, I'll ask them to prepare something light for you to eat."

The lights went out and you remained there in a light doze bothered by the fever. Ikkaku followed with firm steps, finding the captain heading towards his room, approaching him halfway and pretending to be angry.

"Captain, I need to talk to you."

She tried to appear more imposing in order to advocate for her friend, but she knew that would be a bit difficult when the person you want to impose yourself on is your captain. Law just gave her space to enter the room, closing the door for her.

"What happened?"

"Are you really going to let your girlfriend walk around dying?" she crossed her arms, indignant.

"She said it was just heartburn."

"That was her talking to her doctor. With her boyfriend she would definitely ask for help. Can I give some unsolicited advice captain?" Ikkaku leaned on the table, taking the opportunity to look around.

"I guess I have no choice, right?"

"She's burning up with a fever in her room, she vomited her guts out and can't stand up." with each new symptom, Law was the one who seemed to get paler and more worried. "Take care of her a little. A little affection is also good medicine."

"Right..." he seemed to analyze, waiting for more answers from the woman in front of him.

"I'll ask them to prepare some soup for her and leave it in her room, okay?"

"Could it be." Law turned his back to Ikkaku, ready to leave. "Thank you. This time I won't throw you into the sea out of insolence." he joked, earning a few laughs from the woman.

Law knew something was wrong, now he needed to find out why you didn't ask for his help. He walked quickly and felt his heart shatter when he found you curled up and shaking under the blanket.

"Just let me sleep Ikkaku, I don't know if I can eat right now." your dejected voice murmured, squeezing Law's heart even more.

Now it was all so clear, so obvious that part of the doctor felt ashamed for not having noticed it before. You were so careful with anyone who even cut a piece of their finger, it was obvious you wanted the same treatment.

"Hey, sorry it took me so long." he whispered. You opened your eyes and found Law bent down on your bed, his fingers were removing the strands stuck to your face by sweat. "I'm going to do a quick scan on you."

He warned and then used the sword he carried, analyzing every millimeter of your body. It seemed to be a virus and a resistant one. That would explain the fever and the tremors.

"Let me take proper care of you."

"No." you murmured, feeling his arms go around your legs and back, picking you up. "I already took medicine."

"I know."

"And I don't want to be tied up in an IV." you tried to pull away from him, feeling your stomach drop at the movement.

"I'm not going to medicate you." the blue dome appeared around the two of you.

"And I think I need to throw up."

At the last second, Law changed your fate, taking you to the bathroom. As soon as the gray walls of your room turned into the walls of the bathroom, you reached the floor again, leaning over the toilet and despite the immense urge your body didn't seem to have any more bile to be expelled. It took him a few seconds to follow you, but soon his hands found your hair, holding it with one hand while the other passed your forehead.

"Law." you called and flinched, pressing your own body against yourself. "It hurts."

"I'm so sorry sweetheart." he placed his hand on top of yours, which was pressed against your stomach. "You still have a fever and haven't eaten anything, we need energy for your body." he confirmed, gently lifting you off the ground. "Come on, I'll give you a bath.

"I'm disgusting."

"That's the point." Law spoke and saw you laugh, albeit lightly, which was already a relief for him. "I'm just kidding. Let's try to get this fever down."

Knowing that you didn't have enough strength to even talk, Law guided you to the shower, taking off your clothes while you leaned on him. As soon as the cold water came into contact with your body, you tried to escape and were immediately held by your boyfriend.

"Law!"

"Just a little, I know it's pretty cold." he allowed you to hug him even more and consequently get him wet in the process. "I promise, just a few minutes and I'll take you back to our room."

"If I survive until then."

"Do not say that." He scolded you, even though he knew that your way of dealing with problems was always sarcastic - sometimes even too much.

Law slowly turned off the shower. The first breeze that hit your damp skin made you cling against him and whimper, Law's usually colder skin this time was a warm pleasure to your body.

You felt a drastic difference in the environment and broke away from the man, seeing that you were in his room. Law guided you to sit on the bed and pulled a small blanket over your shoulders while he looked for some clothes for you to wear. Taking advantage of the comfort, you lay down and watched him walk from one side to the other.

"Can you sit down?" He knelt in front of you, using a small towel to dry your still damp skin.

Leaning on his shoulders, you sat on the bed and for a few minutes, you felt like a delicate, small doll. Using the extra strength he had that you lacked, Law dressed your body piece by piece, like a delicate puzzle. Even with the simple touch of your hand on your shoulder, Law could feel you tremble, probably due to the weakness that the virus brought to you.

A few minutes later, you were dressed. A pair of baggy black sweatpants and a blouse of the same size. Surprising you by showing that he had more pieces than the hat adorned with black circles, Law placed a black cap on your head, adjusting your ears so that they were also warm in the fabric.

"Unfortunately, we can't use that." he pushed away the blanket you were about to use. "If you cover yourself up and get hotter than that, it will only make your fever worse."

Avoiding your grumble, Law sat with his coat against the wall and pulled you to sit against his chest. Watching you curl up against his body, Law picked up the small bowl on the table next to him that Ikkaku had probably left as they agreed.

"I do not want it." you tried to move it away with your hand, having used your strength in vain as Law didn't move an inch. "I just want to sleep, just a little."

"Just a few spoonfuls and I'll let you sleep. It's that or more medicine." He warned, seeing you pout at the time. "Come on, I'll help you."

"Sorry to bring you into this."

"You don't need to say sorry." Law wished he could get rid of that virus right away when he saw you grunting in pain when you swallowed the first spoonful of food. "I should have noticed sooner, I know I can be more distant sometimes, but I need you to make it clear when you need me in moments like this."

"But what about the others, if they suspect something?" you accepted the other spoonful of food, the discomfort this time was smaller but still present.

"It's okay as long as you're okay."

Supporting the bowl of soup in one hand and the spoon in the other, Law convinced you to eat just five more spoonfuls, the last one being enough for him to see you push the bowl away and writhe in pain again. Law placed the bowl in the same room he was in before and saw you cling to his body, your eyes already heavy.

"Law you're going to get sick." you mumbled, already practically giving in to sleep.

"Don't worry about that." the last thing you felt was his lips on your forehead. "And if I stay, it will be worth staying with you."

#fiction #reader insert #one piece #no use of y/n #requests open #trafalgar d law x reader #trafalgar law #law x reader #law x you #trafalgar law x reader #trafalgardwaterlaw #trafalgar one piece #female reader

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lostrologyy · 26 days ago

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hii I love ur writing style! begging u to please write some mean!remus or tutor!remus? maybe both? <3

tutor!remus being kinda mean to you *. ⋆ 0.7k words

a/n: thanks for the request, lovely! this gives me more like rivals to lovers kind of vibe, but i hope i still made him justice<3

cw: none, just reader struggling academically. and maybe remus being a little bitch ksjdksdj. not proofread!

"you know you could've already sorted this out if you had studied, right?" remus bickers.

you look away from your paper and see him with a stupid smirk plastered on his face.

"well, believe it or not, i did study for this"

you've been on and on like this for the past three hours, many of the students you saw ocuppying the tables when you came to the library are longer gone, probably because it's late and they aren't struggling in class as much as you are.

"yeah, it doesn't seem like it. you're just wasting my time." he doesn't look up from his book, but you catch him rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"not everyone is a smartass as you are, lupin" your hand curls around your quill.

he finally looks at you and frowns "i told you not to call me that"

you notice you've hit a nerve and can't help the smile that creeps on your face. you might not know a lot about this guy, but if there's something remus lupin hates with passion is people insulting his intelligence.

"i'm just saying i was perfectly fine by my own, i don't need an arrogant prick telling me everything i do is wrong." you add.

"i think that got very much clear when i was asked to help you with the finals." his voice carries a condescending tone that makes you want to slap him right on his pretty face.

sadly, he's right, you'd been at the verge of failing history of magic several times by now, and the professor had made it very clear that this was your last chance. you couldn't afford to do the bare minimum again, even if that meant spending every evening at the library with remus, much to your dismay.

"and i'm sure my cry for help didn't include you criticizing me every chance you get."

a little smirk forms in the corner of his mouth. "what can i say, it's more entertaining that way." his hand moves from his lap and turns the page of the novel before returning to its position.

"god, you really are insufferable." he ignores you, silently proclaming that his lecture is more important than whatever you've been trying to memorize for nearly half an hour.

you debate internally, if this is how he's gonna be the entire time he's helping you, it's better to look for another tutor. or in the worst of the cases, study all by yourself.

yep, you've had enough.

so you start gathering your things and stuffing them on your bag. your parchment paper, your wand, and even the colourful sticky notes you got somewhere because you really wanted to take this matter seriously.

out of a sudden, his hand goes straight up to your arm, catching it right before you take your quill and ink from the table.

his hold stays on your wrist for a second, his fingers touching that exact spot where he could easily feel you pulse acelerating. his eyes fixate into yours and they seem to soften for a moment before it disappears.

he clears his throat and lets go your arm. you find yourself missing the warmth of his skin agaisnt yours, but you set that feeling aside. why would you want to be closer to him? he's been unbearable ever since he met you.

"can't take a fucking joke, huh?" he gulps.

"not when you keep portraying it as if everything was so easy and i were just a fucking bimbo with no idea of what she's doing." your voice comes out harsher than you would've anticipated, but hey, he's the one infurating you.

he sighs and looks down at your packed stuff before tilting his head, a sign for you to sit down.

"alright, i'll help you."

his book is now closed on the table, and he waits for you to answer.

"well, thank you." he ignores your sarcastic tone and keeps observing you get your papers out again.

the ambient feels a bit tense, and remus kind of perceives it as he breakes the silence once again.

"just don't make such a fuss about it." you can't help but roll your eyes again, and this time a grin forms in your face.

remus doesn't notice it, and if he does he doesn't say anything about it. he opens this heavy book you'd been revising all day and starts reading right where you left it.

his raspy voice echoes through the empty room, and maybe it's the soft light from the candles iluminating part of his face.

maybe it's the fact that you're trapped with him until the exams finish.

but suddenly, he doesn't seem so bad.

#first request ever!!!#*. ⋆ velvet's mail #*. ⋆ velvet's writing #remus lupin x fem!reader #remus lupin x y/n #remus lupin x you #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin #remus lupin fanfiction #remus lupin fluff #marauders fanfiction #marauders era

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treacheryinblue · 2 months ago

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「 ON DISPLAY 」 noah sebastian ⨯ f!reader

▷ chapter four

noah is your neighbor and your new favorite view thanks to his lack of curtains. you're pretty sure he prefers it this way. but the man you've created in your imagination is nothing like reality and you soon find yourself falling prey to a past lifestyle you had been desperately on the run from. trigger warnings : language, eventual smut, violence, mention/flashbacks of abuse, alcohol and drug use, sexual harassment/assault (nongraphic). word count : 11k

masterlist

You told him everything.

Well, mostly everything. You had skipped over some of the more gritty details after noticing how Noah’s hands would clench into fists anytime there was a vague mention of someone laying a malicious finger on you. He was protective of you, for reasons unknown, but you figured it wasn't best to question him in the middle of your sob story. It wasn't his sympathy you wanted, anyway, nor his pity.

You told him of how your father basically sold you to Vane in a bid to grow his empire. He saw how quickly Vane was coming into his own power, all by striking fear into others, and your father thought it best to align with him for his own selfish reasons. Your father was getting older and didn't want his legacy to falter. What better way to do that than to promise Vane his own flesh and blood? He didn't give a shit about you, his only daughter. He didn't care about how cruel Vane could be or how you had tried to escape on more than one occasion. Honestly, you had never made a true motivated attempt until the last time when the opportunity simply happened to present itself. Every other time you had been too scared, too ill prepared, too slow.

You told him about Vane’s business ventures; the drugs, the weapons, the aspiration to move to 'bigger and better things’, so Vane had said. You had no idea what that meant. What went beyond your typical drug and weapon smuggling? A few ideas popped into your head when you thought about it long enough but you didn't want to believe Vane was that monstrous of a person. But, maybe he was. Years of your life were wasted on him and you still felt as if you barely knew the menace.

Finally, you told him about what spawned your move across the country. The fight for your life that had ended with you taking one instead. Vane’s. A few stabs to his body in the heat of the moment had done the trick. This was also where you left out the more gory details again. Not just for the benefit of Noah’s temper, but for your own past trauma. It wasn't something you wanted to relive.

“No one tried to help you?” Noah pondered aloud after you fell silent. You looked at him, offered a sympathetic smile, and shook your head.

“No one could. I was cut off from everyone who wasn't my family or in Vane’s inner circle.”

“But your friend, the one you said you moved here for?”

You took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled while tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. To say that you were exhausted would've been an understatement and the constant curious questions weren't helping. The morning light was already beginning to shine through your window, casting a faint golden glow across your living room where you sat with Noah. He had finally abandoned the Nocturnal mask again, once more returning to the mildly nerdy but kind neighbor you had watched from your window.

“I've known Mel since I was a kid but we drifted apart once Vane stepped into my life. We spoke whenever possible, if possible, but then when I found out she had moved here…it's the only place I thought to go.” Another glance was taken his way, his brows furrowed as he tried to put all of the crumbled pieces of your life together. Good luck.

“She didn't know anything about what was happening,” you concluded before Noah could add Melinda to his list of people to make disappear. “And she still doesn't…which I’d like to keep that way.”

Noah nodded in understanding. You knew he would be able to relate with your need to keep the people closest to you safe, and since all you had was Mel, she needed to be kept far, far away from all of this. Even if that meant you having to uproot your life again for her sake.

“I'm going to keep you safe, okay?” Noah reached over the couch cushion that separated you and lightly cradled your jaw. You couldn't help but to nuzzle into his palm as the warmth of his skin instantly calmed you, allowing you to take in a much needed deep breath. “I'll talk to Jolly. We’ll get it figured out and–”

“No! Noah, no.” You quickly interjected, your eyes widening. You snatched his hand from your cheek but kept it within your grasp, the hold you had on him firm. “No one else can know. Please. Don't tell him.”

“You can trust Jolly the same as you trust me. I've known him nearly my entire life. He wouldn't–”

Again you cut him off with a strong shake of your head. “Do not tell him, Noah. Promise me that you won't. I can't run the risk of someone else possibly getting hurt because of me.”

Noah was looking at you with great confusion. You could see it swimming within his eyes, the words to make digging questions not forming just right to actually be spoken. He opened his mouth to speak but you beat him to it.

“If you believe me like you say you do, then this has to stay between us.”

“And what am I supposed to tell him about who you are?”

You heavily sighed, your head falling back against the couch cushions in near defeat. Shrugging as your hands scrubbed over your face, you took a few seconds for yourself before looking at him again. He was beautiful, even when his eyes were heavy from lack of sleep and he was still looking at you as if you were a puzzle to figure out. You hated it. No one was supposed to want to know all the inner workings of you. A man like Noah was going to be the death of you.

“I don't know,” you finally replied. “Just…tell him that I showed you family pictures or something to prove who I am. Tell him those guys were just…debt collectors. I don't know.”

Noah rolled his eyes and lightly laughed under his breath. “Debt collectors,” he repeated in disbelief. “Those guys could only be debt collectors if they were coming to take one of your organs as payment.”

You couldn't help but to laugh along with him because you knew how horrible of a lie that was. Although, maybe it was just bad enough to be believable.

X X X

It wasn't long ago that you dreaded being at Nocturnal and wished to remain employed at Red’s only. After the most recent turn of events, though, you were constantly thinking about what was happening at the club. Noah was always on your mind. What was he doing? Had he told Jolly? Was he truly an ally? Well, you had already revealed all of your closest secrets, so it wasn't as if the latter mattered too much now. You were just hoping he was someone you could actually trust and rely on. Your gut told you that he was exactly that, but you could never be too sure.

Taking a sharp right, you hustled into Red’s home with a fury to get out of the cold. You were early, and only realized this after checking your phone too late that morning. Red had messaged you to say he had a meeting and for you to arrive later than your original agreed upon daily time. But since you were already on the subway at that point, you decided to head in and just start helping out wherever you could. What was an extra hour really?

It was quiet around the house, though you could hear the faint murmur of voices coming from Red’s office. You passed by it without pause since you didn't want to be caught as a snoop, and instead began gathering the laundry from the designated room not much further down the hall. As you were folding a fresh load in the sitting room, an older man with a suit on waltzed in, phone and briefcase in hand. He regarded you with a passive smile, which you returned with one of your own.

“Are you another one of Red’s grandchildren? I've yet to meet them all.” He inquired after a few beats, his hands now clasped down at his waist and his attention fully on you.

You softly laughed and shook your head. “I work for him,” you explained. “But I'm sure I see him a lot more than any of his grandchildren do.”

The man chuckled before taking a quick glance over his shoulder. “I wouldn't say that too loud or else one of them may hear you.”

“Oh…” you glanced over your shoulder. “Is one visiting now?”

You had never encountered any of Red’s family. He's spoken of them, not always too fondly, and you've seen pictures, yet you've never crossed paths. Which wasn't too unusual to you considering you worked the same time during the day as most people also did.

The man released a heavy breath as he nodded. “Nicholas, his youngest. Watch out for that one. He has a liking for…trouble.”

His final words were quickly murmured because a door heavily closing could be heard throughout the entire lower level of the city mansion. The suddenness of it caused you to jump slightly, your eyes darting to the entryway of the sitting room. A short moment later, a figure appeared that you only recognized from a family photo hanging on Red’s wall. The guy was older now, but you remembered the unique shade of his eyes.

“I'm guessing your Red’s newest wife?” He looked you up and down with disinterest, then turned to the other man. “That would make…what? Wife number four?”

Did people really not know that Red had other employees?

The man said nothing beyond a faint grunt of acknowledgment, his focus only on his phone that he was quickly typing away on. He was probably trying to ignore Nicholas, and you couldn't say you blamed him. There was something about Red’s youngest grandchild that rubbed you the wrong way right off the bat.

“I'm definitely not his wife,” you quickly defended.

“No…no, you're not.” A slight smirk appeared over his lips. You noticed the way his eyes traveled you from head to toe again, but this time with a bit more intrigue. His gaze lingered much too long on your chest for your liking, though you were thankful for the crew neck sweater you had tossed on. At least it wasn't anything low cut.

You forced a tight smile, returning to the laundry. You could still feel Nicholas' sights on you. There was also what sounded like a click every now and then, and a brief glance his way showed you the zippo lighter in his grasp. Jesus Christ, what was with this guy?

Appearing unfazed, you loaded the folded laundry back into the basket to be carried away to the upstairs closets. Just as you were going to lift said basket, though, the sound of Red’s cane hitting the hardwood floor garnered your attention. He seemed surprised to see you, maybe even a little perturbed by your presence. He still plastered on a smile of his own, but that didn’t stop the tension in the room from remaining.

“Nicholas. What are you still doing here?” Red held a stern look over his grandson, his tone unable to hide his aggravation. “I thought you had another meeting to rush to.”

Still flipping the lighter, he shrugged. “I was just introducing myself to your new…”

“Assistant,” you finished the sentence for him. If you could even call yourself that. Sometimes “housekeeper” felt too proper for what you did.

“Assistant,” Nicholas repeated with an amused grin.

Red sighed as he walked towards Nicholas with the intent on ushering him out. He murmured a few choice words to him, most of which you couldn't make out, but you could assume.

“I'll be sure to stop by more often to see how things are going with you,” Nicholas said.

The statement was directed at you, but you didn't look his way again. He set you on edge and you couldn't really place your finger on why. You had been around enough psychopaths to know one when you saw one, so your plan was to steer clear.

Excusing yourself from the suit man with nothing more than a mumble, you carried the laundry basket up to the second floor to be put away. Even a floor up you could still hear the bickering of Red and his grandson on the front step. As their voices grew in volume, so did your curiosity.

Slowly, you inched closer and closer to the window that was right above where they stood. Nicholas' jaw was clenched, his bright eyes glaring daggers at the older man you had become fond of. Red was going in on him, but you could unfortunately only make out a few words here and there.

“– even think about it.”

“– brain of – ruin everything –”

“I mean it, Nicholas. – out of line.”

You watched Red’s hands move haphazardly with his words, though his back was to you so you couldn't see his expression. You could only imagine his face was the same shade of his namesake.

Quickly, you stepped out from in front of the window when Red turned to head back inside, but not before Nicholas’ eyes shifted to you. You pressed yourself against the wall, heart pounding within your chest for having just been caught. Again. Why the fuck were you so bad at this sneaking around thing?

Deep breath in, slowly out. Deep breath in, slowly out. You repeated this a few times until you assumed enough time had passed for Nicholas to clear out. Oh, but of course, you were wrong.

Your head slowly dropped into view of the window again, curious eyes immediately going to where Nicholas and Red had been on the doorstep. Empty. With your gaze quickly dancing around, you could feel the anxiety releasing from your body, only until you spotted him a little further up the sidewalk.

Nicholas stood at the waist-high gate, his sights set directly on you. You nervously swallowed because there was no way to explain this away. No way to say that you hadn't been eavesdropping. The expression Nicholas wore wasn't one of anger, though. He appeared more so amused as he watched you through the second story window. The joy of catching you lighting up his eyes.

X X X

A month quickly passed and thankfully without incident. No one stopping by the club to see if you were there. No random phone calls or messages like you were partly expecting. All seemed…normal. At least, for the most part.

Things with Noah were a little odd at times, though. You didn't see him outside of Nocturnal very much, and you hated to admit that you kind of…missed him. Would you be mad to wake up again and find him in your living room? Nope. It was better than gazing out your window for a glimpse of him like some love sick stalker.

He even kept his distance when you were working together. You weren't really sure how that equaled keeping you safe, but you assumed there was some sort of method to his madness.

YOU: You should get some plants or a pet or something.

YOU: Staring at your empty living room is kinda boring sometimes. Liven it up a bit.

HOT NEIGHBOR: I'll be sure to let my interior designer know that my Peeping Tom would like some visual stimulation.

You chuckled to yourself, following it up with an eye roll at Noah’s sarcastic response. It wasn't too often that he would stop being serious long enough to joke back with you, but it always made you smile when he did.

YOU: I'm being dragged out with Melinda tonight for drinks. Do you want to come?

You didn't even want to admit how long it took you to pluck up the courage to ask that. Nothing weird about the offer, right? Just two friends hanging out with other people. Casual. Normal.

HOT NEIGHBOR: I'm working later. Sorry. Maybe next time.

Like he didn't basically make his own schedule. Jackass. You heaved an irritated sigh while giving the response a thumbs down so he at least knew you read it. No other messages were exchanged.

“Let's just go to Limelight!” You whined as you tugged on Mel’s hand in an attempt to drag her across the street later that night.

Your best friend was hell bent on going to Nocturnal despite your pleas to go anywhere else. Not only did you not want to spend time at work while off the clock, but you also didn't want to see Noah. It was only a few days ago that you finally caved and told Melinda about how he worked there with you and was basically your boss. Of course, you left out all the extra details, like how he broke into your house and also had an affinity for cornering and touching you. You figured those weren't really too important. She was ecstatic, just as expected.

“Ugh! Limelight is so lame and you know it! All they do is play shitty Taylor Swift remixes and –”

“Okay, yeah! Maybe! But they have those fun little drinks they drop a glow stick into!”

Melinda deadpanned her expression and stared at you as if to say 'fucking really?’. You dramatically groaned at her silent response, the pregame drinks in your system already working their magic to help you loosen up.

“Fine! Let's go to stupid Nocturnal.”

Skipping the line and getting into the club was a breeze since the bouncer obviously knew you. The angry complaints from the patrons waiting were of no concern to either of you and you thanked him with a quick kiss to the cheek. Marco appeared big and bad due to his rather large stature, but he and his boyfriend liked to foster Greyhounds and go antique hunting on the weekends. He was the nicest guy you had ever met. But would he punch someone in the gut if necessary? Yes. You had seen it more than once.

You giggled along with Melinda as you both sauntered down the long red-lit hallway that led to the main area of the club. Even though you didn't really want to be at your place of work on your day off, you weren't going to let it ruin your mood. Nope, nothing and no one was going to fuck it up. Not even…

“Noah,” you gasped as soon as you stepped into the thunderous sounds of Nocturnal, only to come face to face with your neighbor slash boss slash protector? Fuck, you had no idea what the hell he was to you.

“Jesus Christ, you're even taller in person.” Melinda looked him up and down unapologetically, but his eyes were set on you.

Considering you had just fully crashed into him, though, that wasn't surprising.

“Please tell me this is not where you would've taken me to get drinks.” His tone read as serious but you could see the faint little smirk on the corners of his lips.

Shaking your head, you realized how close you still were to him and took half a step back. You didn't want to. You actually wanted to be as close as you possibly could. Preferably so close that he was insi–

“No,” you finally voiced before you could finish that thought. “We were going to go to Aqua but the line was ridiculous, and Mel refused to go to Limelight, so here we are.”

Noah slowly nodded. “On your day off.”

“On my day off,” you repeated with a sideways glance to Mel.

The frustration in Noah’s eyes was evident, at least to you. He released a long breath, looked left and right as if in search of someone, then settled his gaze back on yours. Oh, how you could so easily get lost in the warm brown of his eyes. Even with the red lights of Nocturnal drowning out most colors, that was one they couldn't touch.

Leaning down a bit closer, probably only just a fraction of an inch but enough to cause your breath to hitch, Noah lowered his tone for only you to hear.

“Be careful,” he warned, worry flaring in his eyes. “I'll be watching.”

Most would regard his words as a threat, but you knew their true meaning. He would be looking out for you. Keeping you safe, just as he promised. Although you wanted to argue that you could take care of yourself (your stubbornness knew no bounds), you both knew otherwise. Noah had so easily broken into your apartment. No alarms had been sounded, no uneasy tingling to signal to you that you hadn't been alone. Nothing. So, maybe you did need another set of eyes watching your back.

“That was…weird,” Melinda said loud enough for you to hear over the heavy bass of the music once Noah had disappeared into the sea of people. “Is he always so tense?”

You raised your brows as you looked at her, laughing. “You have no idea.”

“Anywho!” She quickly changed the subject while guiding your shoulder forward. “We need drinks!”

As much as you loved to drink, you didn’t do it nearly to the extent as you used to. It was a helpful tool when you were with Vane to help drown out the pain of actually being with him, one that lessened in frequency once you were free. Not just because you didn't need the mental escape anymore, but because keeping your senses dulled could be dangerous. The last thing you needed was someone coming for you when you were a wine bottle deep.

You winced as the alcohol burned down your throat before making your face twist in disgust. It was your third shot and you still weren't numb to its effects yet. God, you really hated tequila.

“This is horrible,” you shivered while pushing the miniature glass away from yourself.

“Don't be such a sourpuss,” Melinda struggled to speak through her own grimace. “It's great!”

“Not the word I'd use to describe it but sure.”

“What's got your panties in a twist tonight? I can basically see the storm cloud following you around.”

You cut a look at Mel and shook your head to silently relay that you didn’t want to talk about it. Really, you'd love to talk about it, though. You'd love nothing more than to be able to come clean about everything happening but you weren't going to put Melinda in the middle of it. Selfishly doing just that to Noah was bad enough.

“I'm just tired,” you shrugged. “Haven't really been sleeping well.”

Not entirely a lie.

“Prepare to wake up even more tired tomorrow because we're partying tonight!”

Melinda reached for your hand and was dragging you to the dance floor without another word. You inwardly groaned, already annoyed with all the sweaty bodies bumping into you and making you press closer to your best friend. It was odd for you to be such a buzzkill, even you knew this, but everything happening was truly just weighing on you.

You spent most days terrified. Leaving your apartment was basically a thing of the past unless you were going to and from work. With that came you bumming rides off Noah if your schedules aligned or letting him know when you left and when you arrived at your destination. That was his idea, not yours. You would normally be extremely annoyed with his overprotective nature but you understood. And that's how it would remain until he inevitably crossed a line.

Shaking out your hands, you tried your best to loosen up. The alcohol helped, your head already swimming and your body swaying to the music. It was just hard to forget about it all completely. You did a damn good job at masking it, though.

“I can't believe you get to work here!” Melinda yelled over the music, her arms above her head. “It’s so much fun!”

You laughed as you did a turn along with her, your hands settling loosely on her waist. “It's not like I get to hang out on the dance floor all night!”

Melinda shrugged, a hand waving off another one of your downer comments.

The lights on the dance floor shifted from red to blue to purple in random patterns, making it hard to focus on the familiar face of your best friend. You assumed there was a point to this so people could really lose their inhibitions but Melinda wasn't who you wanted to lose them with.

Your eyes cut up to the ceiling where you knew a camera was mounted. He was watching, just as he said he would be. Even with Noah being floors and rooms away, you could still feel his heavy gaze. You debated putting on a show for him like you did during the housewarming party at your apartment not too long ago, but ultimately decided against it. Too many people. The last thing you wanted was some random guy near you to think you were trying to lure him in.

Eyes closed and fingers running through your hair, you tried to let the music take you. The bass hummed through you, vibrating from your head to your toes in a sensation that actually did make it easier to get lost in. When you turned around and opened your eyes again, you didn't see Melinda right away. You did a quick glance before finding her in the arms of some college-age looking guy with bleached hair and wandering hands that made you grimace. Gross.

Well, she seemed thoroughly distracted, so you decided this was the best moment to take your leave from the dance floor. You maneuvered your way back through the crowd of people and took solace at the bar, close to where the servers would be gathering their drinks.

“Love us so much that you had to come hang on your night off?” Shauna grinned as she filled her tray, sending a wink your way.

“Oh yeah,” you teased. “Just can't get enough.”

“Guy at the other end of the bar has been looking at you, by the way.”

Following her line of sight, you tilted your head enough to see the newly discovered light eyes of Red’s grandson. Nicholas, was it? Your brows furrowed in slight confusion, an expression you only wore for a split second.

“I think he's related to my other boss,” you explained with a shrug. “He's probably trying to figure out where he knows me from.”

At least, that's what you were telling yourself.

“Well, I think he figured it out because he's on his way down.” Shauna gave you a gentle bump with her hip as she sauntered away to serve her drinks, leaving you with no one to distract yourself with for when Nicholas ultimately closed the space.

Which he did in a matter of seconds.

“Imagine all the people to run into,” he began with a lighthearted chuckle. Funny how just a few weeks ago he was sizing you up, and now he was acting like you were a long time friend.

“Yeah, imagine that.”

“Do you come here often?”

“Wow, is that really the line you're going to open with?” You laugh, both brows raising at him.

Nicholas shrugged in a nonchalant manner, his own faint laughter still escaping. He was looking at you again as if he was trying to read who you were right away, possibly like he knew something you didn't. It made you uneasy, but what could truly happen when you were surrounded by hundreds of people?

“I thought it was pretty original. Creative, even.”

“Well, I already know that you don't come here often,” you pivoted. “So what could be the reason you're here tonight?”

Arching a thick brow of his own, he squinted ever so slightly before motioning for the bartender - Paul - to come down your way.

“I'll have a bourbon and she'll take…” Nicholas looked your way with an expectant stare.

“She'll take a gin and tonic, and she’ll also buy her own drink.”

Nicholas flinched playfully, his hand grasping at where his heart was. “Oof, that's gonna leave a mark,” he teased.

“Keep avoiding my question and I'm going to assume you came here to see me.”

You weren't flirting…were you? No, of course not. You were going to explain it away by saying it was just the drinks in your system making you extra bold. You had no interest in Nicholas. You didn't even know him.

You didn't know Noah at first either and you still wanted to fuc–

Nope. That was just another thought you were going to prevent yourself from fully manifesting.

Nicholas nudged your glass towards you once the drinks were set down. “What if I did?”

Taking in the way you only stared at him, slowly blinking with bemusement, Nicholas shook his head. “I just came to scope out the scenery,” he explained. “Seeing you here is merely a…happy coincidence.”

You wanted to call ‘bullshit’, but you kept it in. For now. At least he wasn't giving you the creeps like your last encounter.

It was then that you realized Nicholas was looking past you, his lips again pulling up into a grin. You didn't need to glance back to see who he was staring at because you knew as soon as a hand was lightly pressed to your lower back.

A warmth immediately spread through you and it took whatever self control you still had to not lean back into his touch.

“Ruffilo,” Noah greeted with a blatant disinterest. “Last I checked, you were banned from Nocturnal.”

Your eyes widened but you remained silent, your focus instead falling onto the drink you were now taking a generous swallow from.

Noah leaned down closer to your ear, his voice dropping as he relayed the explanation. “He almost set VIP on fire last time he was here.”

“Accidentally,” Nicholas quickly defended, his tone clipped.

“That still has yet to be determined.”

“I see you're just as much of an asshole as you've always been, King.” The name Noah used while in the club was spoken with a condescending wretch, just before Nicholas tilted his drink back to finish off the remnants.

Noah gave a sideways smirk, his fingers still splayed across your lower back. They occasionally brushed your bare skin from where your shirt had ridden up, and you assumed this wasn't done on accident. “Possibly even more.”

Nicholas glanced back and forth between the two of you, realization finally hitting him. “Oh, that's rich. You're so predictable sometimes,” he chuckled to himself.

What the fuck was going on? It was clear that these two men had some amount of bad blood between them, but to what extent? You had no idea. You wanted to tell Noah that it was okay, that Nicholas was just harmlessly talking to you, though the clench of his jaw and the hard set of his brow told you to not. Despite how angry Noah was, he was doing his best to keep it in check.

“Allow me to see you out?” Noah suggested, although you knew it was more of a demand.

Nicholas didn't put up a fuss as Noah stepped around you and motioned towards the exit of the club. He didn't so much as even look back your way before he was swallowed by the crowd again, leaving you to stew in your own thoughts.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” you murmured to yourself. Paul came stepping up in front of you from behind the bar a short moment later, both of his brows raised in an expression of curiosity.

“I'm assuming you didn't know who that was?”

Shaking your head, you quickly finished your own drink. You were beginning to come to terms with the fact that you didn't give a fuck anymore. Every time you turned around there was someone new to be weary of.

“Can I just get a shot of whatever, please?”

X X X

What was it about you allowing strong men to overtake your life? Your father, Vane, and now Noah to a certain degree. Why?

You kept telling yourself that the first two were only out for themselves, whereas Noah was trying to help you. That made it okay to let him be so controlling, right? It wasn't like you were making any effort to stop him.

This wasn't just history repeating itself. Not with Noah. He was funny and kind and had never truly hurt you even when given the prime opportunity to do so. He was keeping you safe. Maybe he was simply a man of his word and took promises seriously. Maybe he would see it through that you were kept out of harm's way.

These were the things that you kept trying to tell yourself. Was it helping to convince you? Eh, sort of.

“There you are,” Noah breathed, the sound of a door softly closing and locking to follow.

You didn’t even remember how you got up here. Wherever ‘here’ was. Your eyes slowly fluttered open to make immediate contact with a light hanging above you, making you slightly wince. It was dim, just as every light in Nocturnal was, but it was still bright enough to force you to turn your head away.

“You had me worried that trouble had found you again.”

You knew you were still in the club. The pounding of the bass behind the closed door told you this. Your hand moved at your side as you lifted it to push your hair from your face, though it hit a hard object in the process. The same object, or so you assumed, then made a soft collision with your hip before disappearing again.

Wait. You now vaguely remember finding the employees only lounge area and making yourself comfortable. It used to be part of a VIP section on the opposite side of the one now currently used, but at some point before your time at Nocturnal it had changed to somewhere employees occasionally came to relax. From what you could tell, it wasn't used very often.

The hard surface you were laying on must be the pool table. The object your hand hit, one of the colorful billiard balls.

“Trouble does always have a way of seeking me out,” you retorted after a long moment. Your eyes cut to where you could sense him standing because maybe he was currently the trouble that had found you this time.

Noah paused at the end of the pool table, his fingers lightly caressing your ankle and working his way up along your calf. Chills formed in their wake, your body immediately coming to life for him. You had been on the verge of fully passing out only moments prior, but now that he was there, you felt like you could run a marathon.

“Or maybe you attract trouble.”

Propping yourself up on your elbows, you silently eyed him. His hair had previously been styled back away from his face, but the forecasted rain had clearly loosened the strands that now hung at his cheekbones. His lips were slightly parted and just begging to be abused by your own, just as the heavily tattooed skin of his neck was. You wanted to know how quickly he would lose his stoic control at your hands…and mouth.

Both inked hands closed around your calves so he could tug your body closer to the edge of the pool table. Your legs would've been dangling off had they not been bent to close in at his hips once he released you, only to lean over your upper body. One hand planted itself by your head to support his weight as the other trailed slowly along the side of your thigh, over your hip, and all the way up to your face where he cradled your jaw.

Your breathing stalled as your emotions went into overdrive. Just the feeling of his skin against yours could make you lose all control, which you knew was very bad, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. You wanted him. Every piece, every inch. And you could tell by the way he was looking down at you that he wanted you too.

“Why did you come up here?” His voice was soft and low as his eyes traveled every detail of your face.

It took you a second to process his question, but you eventually found your words and swallowed in preparation. “I wanted to be somewhere quiet,” you nearly whispered. “And I know the cameras aren't routinely checked here.”

“Were you trying to hide from me?”

There's a flash of pain within his dark eyes and you want to soothe whatever unpleasant thought just ran through his mind.

“No,” you exhaled slowly. “I knew you'd find me.”

And just like that, the pain you noticed was extinguished and replaced by something much softer.

Suddenly his lips were on yours in a collision of desperate need. There was nothing slow and tantalizing about the kiss. It was all tongue and teeth, heavy breaths taken when able to, but those were far and few in between. You arched up into him and your hips rubbed against his, the friction forcing a groan from deep within Noah’s chest.

Oh, you wanted to hear that sound again.

A strong hand grasped the back of your neck as your own fingers dragged along his chest, eager to push his shirt up. You only got as far as slipping your hands beneath the dark fabric, both of your tongues still working in tandem in an attempt to dominate the other. Fuck, he tasted so good, but felt even better.

The hem of your skirt was bunched at the top of your thighs, allowing you easier motion to grind up against the man you should be terrified of. Fat chance of that when he could get this sort of reaction out of you. And you him, considering the hard bulge you felt pressed right between your thighs.

Noah broke from your lips so he could hungrily kiss along your jaw and neck. His hand slid around to grip your throat in a firm hold; not enough to hurt, but just enough to drag a whimper from you. Every nerve within your body was on fire. They threatened to fully combust the longer Noah teased your delicate skin, leaving you a writhing mess beneath him.

“Is this allowed?” You heard the words before you even realized you had spoken them.

“What?” Noah’s voice was slightly muffled from where he was now kissing along the exposed portions of your chest. His free hand had somehow dipped down between your thighs without you noticing, giving him free rein to stroke the sensitive skin.

“This…” you swallowed, silently begging for him to bring his fingers closer to where you knew you were wet and ready for him. “Fucking one of your employees?”

You felt him smile before he lifted his head enough for you to actually see it too. His pupils were blown, lips swollen from the forceful kissing you had both just indulged in.

It was then that you felt his fingertips graze the thin fabric of your panties, his eyes further narrowing in on your own. He had obviously noticed how wet you were. You were sure he felt it but you had zero shame. Just looking at him most days could get your blood boiling.

Noah smirked, his fingers still drawing slow and taunting designs over the damp fabric. “Who said anything about fucking?”

What. The. Fuck.

You squinted up at him in confusion. Your head was still swimming and you felt like you were in a haze, but you knew damn well you weren't imagining this. No way was this a dream.

The hold he had on your throat tightened and his hips forcefully pushed forward into yours. Your mouth fell open, brows knitting together as you did your best to swallow all the noises you wanted to make. Noah then loosened his grip on your neck, his lips lowering back to yours for a kiss that was the exact opposite of what they had been. It was gentle and slow, as if he was savoring your taste this time instead of trying to devour you.

“When we fuck for the first time,” he murmured low, “you're going to remember it.”

Noah stood to his full height, his hands caressing the sides of your thighs one last time before he was tugging your skirt down to return you to a mostly modest state.

“Why wouldn't I remember it?”

He quirked a brow at you as he took a step back and began to straighten out his clothing, as well as adjust the bulge in his dark pants. “I watched you order a handful of drinks and take multiple shots,” he stated. “I'd rather avoid the whole ‘did we have sex last night?’ conversation in the morning if I were to fuck you right now.”

You rolled your eyes, your body shooting up into a sitting position so you could follow his lead with trying to appear more presentable. The way he worded what he had said made you inwardly grimace. Was it just an excuse not to fuck you whether drunk or sober? Considering you had been sober the last couple of times he initiated anything between the two of you, you were beginning to think he was just…bored.

“I also don't want to take advantage of you.”

Your eyes cut up to his from under your lashes, lips pressed into a thin line that accurately portrayed your annoyance. What a line that was.

“I can make decisions for myself,” you grumbled before carefully sliding off the edge of the pool table. Noah was quick to reach for your elbow when you stumbled a bit, his much larger form helping to steady you.

“Right, because you're very much not out of it right now.”

Okay, fine. Maybe he was right and you weren't as sober as you liked to believe you were. Didn't mean you were going to admit it though.

You opted to simply remain silent. He could kiss your ass.

Noah released a heavy sigh as he stared at you, his shoulders dropping in defeat. His hand remained wrapped around your elbow even when you refused to meet his gaze now. But what did he expect? You were embarrassed.

“Let me get you home,” he spoke after leaning down to plant a kiss to the crown of your head, his grip on your arm tightening so he could pull you in closer.

One more thing you weren't going to admit was how that small gesture had made your stomach do a somersault.

X X X

The next morning you were sporting a massive hangover. Who was shocked? Not you.

You groaned as you tossed and turned in bed, pulled the comforter over your head, and tried your best to block out the annoying as fuck dinging. What the hell even was that?

“Fucking hell,” you grumbled. Tossing the blankets back, you then realized it was your phone going off, to which you quickly sat up and reached for it.

You had five missed texts from Red, seven from Mel, and one from Noah. Your eyes shifted to the top corner of your phone screen so you could check the time, your heart dropping to your ass when you saw it was well after noon.

Fuck! You had missed work. No wonder Red was blowing up your phone. You were surprised he hadn't called the police to do a wellness check yet. Not once had you ever been late to his house. Early, yes. Late, never.

YOU: I'm so sorry! I was feeling a bit under the weather and didn't realize I had slept through my alarm. I'm on my way right now!

Red responded within a matter of seconds, his punctuality barely giving you the time to even drag yourself out of bed.

RED: No need to worry about today. I'm just glad you're alright. Please rest and do give me a call if you need anything. -R

Well, at least that meant you didn't have to be anywhere now. You heavily sighed as you dropped back against your bed again, mentally preparing yourself for whatever nonsense Melinda had texted you. Actually…you were going to deal with that later. Instead you went right for the single message from Noah.

HOT NEIGHBOR: Let me know when you're awake. There's some aspirin and a glass of water on your nightstand. I'll be at the club if you need me.

A smile crept over your lips as you looked to your bedside table where a bottle of pain medication and a glass of water sat, just as he had said. While you didn't remember all of last night, it would've been impossible for you to forget the weight of his body on yours or how he had helped you up to your apartment in the early morning hours.

But this also meant that you remembered asking him to stay with you…which you assumed he had declined considering there was no indication that anyone had slept in your bed other than you. Fuck, that was going to haunt you for the rest of time.

You downed the aspirin in a single gulp, hoping and praying that it would ease the pressure in your head as soon as possible. After responding to Mel’s multiple angry messages about how the guy she met at Nocturnal sucked, you finally ventured out of your room to find something to eat. That quest left you mostly empty handed since all you could really find was a strawberry Nutrigrain bar. Yeah, you really needed to go grocery shopping.

Snack in hand and your arms crossed over your chest for warmth, you slowly approached the large window in your apartment. Noah’s apartment across the breeze way was empty as far as you could tell, just as it typically was. You studied the basic items in eyesight: couch, television, lamp, a plant. You paused while bringing the Nutrigrain bar up for another bite. A plant?

A small side table was now positioned off to the left of the window and on top of it was a potted plant. The leaves were bright green with flecks of white that you assumed were flowers beginning to bloom. You couldn't stop the smile from overtaking your lips before you rushed back to your room to grab your phone.

Noah had put that plant there for you. There wasn't a doubt in your mind about it. It couldn't just be a coincidence that you brought up needing some “visual stimulation”, as he would say, and then a plant appears.

You immediately found his name in your contacts and tapped the option to call him. It only rang a couple of times before his voice sounded on the other end, the effect it had on you highly visible.

“Are you okay?”

Leave it to Noah to be worried just because you were calling him.

You ignored his question and went into a query of your own. “Have you named it yet?”

“Named…what?”

“The plant in your window.”

There was a brief pause followed by the breathy laugh he did that you liked so much.

“I guess my interior designer liked your suggestion. But no, I haven't named it. I'll allow you that honor.”

“I'll have to think on it.”

“Well,” Noah began again. “Let me give you something else to think on too. Maybe dinner? Tonight?”

You suddenly froze as you were mid-bite into what remained of your Nutrigrain bar. Holy shit. Was he asking you out? You pried your teeth out of the bar without yet taking a bite, your heart now pounding within your chest.

“Like…a date?”

“Unless you'd rather call it a business meeting, then yeah, a date.”

—

And that's how you ended up at Noah’s favorite Japanese restaurant that night. You sat across from each other in a little separate dining area that lined the back wall of the restaurant. Each room was open, but inside of it was a low table that allowed you to sit on soft cushions versus the usual chairs. You were mad at yourself for wearing a dress but Noah told you he would be your shield when you had to stand.

“I'm horrible at this!” You laughed as the piece of sushi fell from your chopsticks yet again.

Noah had been trying his best to teach you how to use them but you were a lost cause to the art.

“It is getting kind of sad watching you fail to eat,” he teased.

With a huff, you set the chopsticks aside and grabbed the piece with your fingers instead. You were done playing games with those complicated utensils, just as your growling stomach also was.

Noah could only shake his head at you in feigned disappointment while showing off his own impressive chopstick skills.

“I'm half Japanese,” he explained, as if that meant the ability to use chopsticks just ran through his veins. Maybe it did. What did you know? Your ancestry definitely wasn't as exciting as his.

“That's cool,” you shielded your mouth as you chewed your lump of fish and rice. “Have you ever been to Japan?”

Shaking his head, Noah mixed a bit of wasabi with his soy sauce before dunking another piece of sushi into it. “Too busy here with the club and everything else. It's hard to even get a night off.”

“But you managed to tonight,” you pointed out with a sly smile.

Noah lifted his eyes to yours, a smile now on his face that mimicked your own. “Jolly owed me a favor.”

All you could do was stare at him, your pleased expression lingering. He looked so different when not in the Nocturnal atmosphere, like he could fully breathe and relax his shoulders for once. Sometimes you found it hard to believe that the man sitting in front of you was one in the same with his Nocturnal counterpart.

“I have a question.”

With his mouth filled with sushi, Noah nodded for you to continue.

You propped your elbows on the table and leaned forward a bit, your voice lowering so no one could overhear. “Why do you stop us from going further whenever you touch my underwear?”

Noah suddenly coughed, his fist lightly banging against his chest to help dislodge whatever had gotten stuck. He eyed you while reaching for his water and taking a generous swallow.

“Have you been sneaking shots of sake?” He questioned through his gulps of water.

Chuckling, you shook your head. “I'm just curious since it's happened twice now.”

Three times if you count the last dream you had of him but that was definitely not something you were going to bring up. Ever.

As he took in a deep breath after regaining his composure, Noah fumbled with his chopsticks. If you didn't know any better then you would say you had made him blush, but you would pass it off as being an effect from his coughing fit. For his sake, of course.

“It's not done on purpose,” he finally replied. “Neither time has been the right time and that just happens to be whenever my head decides to work again. The head on my shoulders, that is.”

You couldn’t help but to faintly smirk at his admission, though you covered it by taking a bite of the ginger on your plate.

“The one below my shoulders…mind of its own.” He murmured under his breath like you wouldn't be able to hear him. You opted not to taunt him for it.

A few topics later and Noah finally pushed his plate away to indicate that he was full. You had already done the same, the sushi weighing heavy on your stomach. You didn't regret a single piece of it, though.

“So, the guy last night, Ruffilo…”

“Nicholas?” You cut him off, brows raised. Noah cleared his throat a bit and nodded.

“Do you know him?”

You shrugged as you sipped from your water. “That was only the second time I've met him. He's the grandson of Red, my other boss. One of many, apparently.”

You could tell that Noah had something he wanted to say but he was contemplating heavily about it. His jaw was clenched, his fingers still fumbling with his chopsticks that were now placed down on the table. You wanted to reach over and grab his hand so he would stop and calm down, but you resisted.

“Whatever it is you want to say, go on and say it.”

“I just really need you to be careful, okay?”

You looked at him with a confused stare, your head tilting to the side slightly.

“Why does it always feel like you're keeping something from me?”

Noah opened his mouth to speak but then paused as the waitress approached. He passed off his debit card when she asked if they were ready for the check, his body language showing how eager he was for them to leave. Why? She couldn't say.

“Noah,” you pressed.

“Because I am,” he finally admitted. “But only to keep you safe. The less you know, the better.”

“Jesus,” you rolled your eyes. “I'm so tired of everyone thinking they know what's best for me.”

“Hey, no, that's not what –”

You cut him off by dropping your napkin into your plate and making a move to stand. You didn't even care if you flashed him in the process because at least the glimpse of your bright red underwear would let him know what he was missing out on that night.

Standing and smoothing out your dress with as much grace as you could muster, you didn't even spare Noah another glance before you were walking away. “I'll be outside.”

Yes, you were mad, but you weren't dumb enough to walk home alone when people were looking for you. The city was big but never quite big enough if you were trying to hide.

Noah found you barely a minute later leaning against the front of the restaurant. With your arms crossed over your chest and your heels digging into the pavement, you glanced his way when you felt his overwhelming presence. He may look like a completely different person when wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but he still had the same effect on you just from being close.

You fucking hated how drawn to him you were. Like you were an idiotic asteroid caught in his planetary orbit and you couldn't get away even if you wanted to. Which…fine, you didn't. Not really. That wasn't something his arrogant ass needed to know, though.

“I liked it,” you softly spoke. You glanced back towards the restaurant over your shoulder, motioning towards it. “The sushi.”

“I told you it was the best in the city,” Noah smiled.

Pushing off the wall, you responded with a sarcastic roll of your eyes. “Yeah, yeah, so you did.”

You began walking towards the parking lot with Noah in tow, his steps quickly meeting up with yours. Damn those long legs of his. With only silence drifting between the two of you, you began to feel the awkwardness seeping in. Not from the silence itself but from your childish storming out. You weren't going to apologize for it because you weren't sorry, not in the least bit, but you knew you could've handled it better.

“It's really frustrating,” you began as your pace slowed and you nervously toyed with the ring on your index finger. “When everyone around you is keeping secrets and you constantly feel like you're on the outskirts of your own life.”

Noah exhaled slowly through his nose, his pace again matching your own until you both came to a halt at the passenger side of his car. He licked over his lips before dropping his gaze to yours, a look of concern present in those eyes of his that you already loved so much.

“I know,” he said as he brushed your hair from your shoulder before lightly grasping the back of your neck.

“I don't think you do,” you shook your head. “My dad, Vane -” you lowered your voice at his name as if just speaking it would summon him from the depths of Hell, “everyone kept me in the dark and expected me to just go along with whatever they had planned.”

You were trying to ignore the way his fingers were lightly stroking the nape of your neck because it would be all too easy to fall into the temptation of that sensation. Apparently your body had other plans, though. Chills formed along your arms and you were sure that if you glanced down then your nipples would be rather present against your dress, so you quickly remedied that by crossing your arms over your chest again. Goddamn him.

“It's not fair, Noah,” you continued. “I have every right to know everything. Well, at least everything that has to do with me. You know what I'm saying.”

Noah smiled as you stammered over your last few words, your aggravation at a boiling point. His hands shifted until he was cradling your face within his palms, the pads of his thumbs lightly stroking along your cheeks.

“You're really fucking cute when you get flustered.”

Your eyes narrowed up at him into a glare and you suddenly pushed against his chest. “You're an asshole,” you muttered.

Noah laughed but still placed a chaste kiss to your forehead before you could shove him away again. He then opened the passenger side door for you and made sure you were settled before venturing around to the driver’s side.

“I'm trying to identify the men who came looking for you from our security footage,” he explained once you had been driving down the road for a few minutes.

“It's proving to be harder than I thought because I doubt guys like that are just going to pop up in a system, so I'm having to dig deeper.”

You finally looked over at him, your face expressionless. You were thankful for his honesty on what was happening but you also wanted to smack him upside the back of the head.

“Why didn't you just ask me who they were? I've been around my dad and Vane’s men for years.”

Noah shook his head, his wrist flexing on the steering wheel where he was using it to drive. “I didn't want you involved anymore than you already are. I told you that I'm trying to keep you safe. If anyone were to catch wind of a girl snooping around with me, it would be very bad.”

He glanced to where you were seated just as his free hand extended out to rest on your thigh. He gave your heated skin a reassuring squeeze, but left his hand to linger. Your heart rate immediately picked up at the skin to skin contact, a shaky breath escaping.

“Play dirty all you want, but I still expect you to show me pictures of these guys.”

“So bossy,” he chuckled, but then gave your thigh another gentle squeeze as a silent acceptance of your demand.

There was a lot of back and forth once Noah pulled into the apartment building as to whether or not he was going to walk you up to your place. You told him again and again that you were fine, but he made the argument of being a gentleman and needing to end your first date right.

How could you deny him that?

Standing outside your door, he had one hand on your hip and the other on the back of your neck. Noah’s version of ‘goodbye’ meant having his tongue in your mouth again but you definitely weren't going to complain about it.

What a gentleman he was indeed.

You fumbled to try to grab your keys from your bag as his lips ignited that familiar fire within you again. He had been right - it was so much better when you were sober. There was no haze lingering that made you question whether or not this was a dream, no swirling thoughts. You could freely feel every hard line of his body against yours and the way his fingers grabbed you with a need that rivaled your own.

“I need to unlock the door,” you murmured into his mouth. Laughing like a love struck little school girl, you managed to turn away from him, but that wasn't stopping Noah from pressing into you from behind and kissing along your neck.

Your eyes fluttered closed and your hands trembled while you tried your best to slip the key in. All while his own large hands had disappeared beneath your dress to graze your bare hips and thighs, turning you into a puddle right then and there.

“Having a hard time?” Noah teased as one of his hands ran across your lower stomach, his fingers dipping just beneath the band of your panties.

You pressed your ass back into him to give him a taste of his own medicine, a deep groan then given to you in response. His grip on your hip tightened just as you managed to unlock the door and push it open. Barely a step in was taken before Noah had you turned around, the door shut, and your body sandwiched against it.

Fuck, you didn't know if you two were even going to make it back to your bedroom. He was on the verge of taking you right there against your front door.

Grabbing beneath your thighs and hoisting you up, your legs immediately secured around his waist and pulled him in close. You could feel how hard he was against your thigh and you were desperate to help him find some relief, but he had found solace at your chest first. Noah tugged the straps of your dress down, his lips trailing eager kisses along your chest and down the valley between your breasts. Each touch of his lips to your skin was like a spark of electricity and you wanted more. Needed more.

“Noah,” you gasped once he had pulled your dress down more and gained access to your bare chest. His tongue flicked across your nipple as your hands threaded through his hair, gripping tight into the locks to keep him in place.

“I can't get enough of the way your body responds to me,” he lowly spoke as he transitioned to your other nipple to give it the same attention.

You smirked, your eyes then slowly opening when your hands dropped to begin working open the button of his jeans. Suddenly, you paused, your body going completely still.

“Noah…” your voice was more serious this time, but it took you lightly tapping his shoulder for him to realize that you were trying to get his attention and not urging him forward.

It only took him a couple of seconds of reading the scared expression on your face and witnessing the trembling of your lower lip for him to follow your line of sight over his shoulder.

Your apartment was a disaster. The cushions of your couch had been ripped apart, side tables overturned, the television smashed. Things previously on your walls now laid destroyed on the floor, just as little knick knacks you had here and there also did.

Noah had you on your feet and your dress situated correctly in a blur. He was wearing the Nocturnal mask now, his face hard and unreadable.

“Stay here,” he demanded, his hand pressing into your stomach to keep you against the door.

Then he began to slowly move through your apartment, checking every corner and closet, glass cracking beneath his feet. All you could do was listen to his command, your arms now hugging yourself and tears threatening to spill over. You weren't going to let yourself cry. Not over materialistic items that didn't truly mean anything.

But what if you had been home when whoever stopped by to ransack your place? Had they come by in hopes of finding you or did they know you were out? Was it targeted or were you simply a random victim of a burglary?

“Everything is clear,” Noah exclaimed a short moment later when he came walking back up to you. You hadn't been able to pull your gaze from the empty picture frame that laid shattered on the floor, though. It used to house an image of you and Mel from your fifteenth birthday.

“Are you okay?” His voice was soothing but it was his hands lightly touching your face that brought you back to reality. Noah tilted your head up to look at him, your eyes meeting through the dim lighting after he had turned the kitchen overhead on.

“I need you to ignore the mess and pack a bag, okay? Can you do that for me?”

“What? Why? Where are we going?” You were slightly frantic as your eyes searched his, but it was expected when your entire life was being turned upside down - literally.

“You're going to stay with me until I can figure out what to do, alright? So, please, go pack a bag and be quick.”

Noah was eager to get going, you could tell from his voice that he was trying his best to remain calm and collected for you, though. He continued to lightly push your hair back, his fingertips grazing your jaw until you were finally able to nod.

As you began to slowly maneuver your way around the disaster that was your apartment, you paused in the hallway, your hands fisted at your sides.

“Noah,” you called out softly. “This is the last time I run from these assholes, got it?”

CHAPTER FIVE

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mama-qwerty · 1 month ago

Note

Do you think that Tom would be secretly jealous over the fact that Wade was able to form a friendship with Knuckles in a short amount of time, while he himself has trouble having a full conversation with the kid?

Even though Sonic and Tails already are fond of him, the idea that Knuckles isn't as close to him but with his best friend instead would probably bother him a bit

Tom stood at the window near the front door, watching as Knuckles slid into the passenger seat of Wade's truck. Wade gave a little wave, before pulling away, taking the boy . . .

Well, Tom didn't really know. Knuckles never said, and asking Wade seemed almost like an invasion of privacy. Even though Tom and Maddie were supposed to be looking out for the echidna, just like they did the fox and hedgehog who were currently sitting in the living room playing video games.

"You're gonna get frown lines glaring out the window like that."

Maddie's voice broke through his thoughts, and Tom turned to find her hauling a basket of laundry toward the utility room.

"Do you see the way he smiles when he heads off with Wade? He never smiles like that around here."

She rolled her eyes. "You make it sound like he's a teenage daughter going out on dates with a guy you don't trust."

Tom flinched slightly. "I just . . ." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Sonic buddied up to me right away. Tails, too. Why won't Knuckles?"

Maddie shrugged, shifting the basket on her hip. "He's not like the others, Tom. In a lot of ways, he had a much harder life. He wasn't looking for . . ." She gestured around them. "This. A home. A family. New parents. He was looking for that emerald. And now that he has it, he's trying to figure out where to go from here. Where he fits."

"Yeah, well, right now he seems to 'fit' better with Wade than us."

His voice was a little harsher than he meant it to be. This whole situation was actually kinda pissing him off, and he wasn't quite sure why. Sonic thought the world of Tom, and Tails was right there, too. Was it an ego thing? He had to have everyone love him?

He didn't think so.

He was pretty sure, anyway.

Maddie watched him for a moment, before moving closer. She ran a knuckle over his cheek, drawing his attention back to her.

"You're jealous."

His brow furrowed. "Am not."

A smile curled her lip. "You are. Sonic practically appointed himself a Wachowski from all those years he snuck around outside, and Tails has absorbed some of Sonic's admiration of you. But Knuckles doesn't see you that way, and it just eats at you."

Tom pulled his lips tight. She may have a point. A little one. A nano-point.

"I don't want him to idolize me or anything, but I mean, come on. Wade??"

Maddie shrugged. "Wade's got his issues, but he's a good guy. And maybe Knuckles needs someone who's not gonna be as . . . fatherly."

"But I'm not--"

"You may see it as being Sonic's 'buddy', but we all know what you really are to him." Her voice was softer, but not unkind. "Tails, too. I'm just saying that Knuckles wasn't looking for that. He doesn't want parents. Not right now. I made the mistake of just lumping him in with the others as a kid who needed a mom right before he went AWOL with Wade to Reno. I tried to parent him when he wasn't ready for it."

He didn't respond, instead looking out the window where Wade had been parked a few moments before. All that had gone down while he'd been out of town, and judging from how freaked Maddie had been when Knuckles had disappeared after the ill-fated grounding, she understood his feelings right now.

Knuckles was the hardest of their kids to understand. He didn't speak much of what happened while he was being the Most Dangerous Warrior in the Galaxy, and Tails tended to go a bit tight-lipped, too, when asked. The echidna was independent to a fault, proud to the point of almost-but-not-quite arrogance, and insisted he didn't need to be looked after.

He was older than the other two, but that didn't mean he still couldn't benefit from having people care for him. Watch over him.

Tom turned back to Maddie. "So it doesn't bother you that he spends more time interacting with Wade than us?"

She blew out a little huff. "Hell no, it pisses me off." A little smile pulled one corner of her mouth. "But I understand. It was one thing when Sonic came. He knew Earth life, he watched us for who knows how long. To him, he practically lived here already. Tails is a smart kid who seems to adapt easily to new situations. But Knuckles . . ."

She trailed off, glancing out the window with a little sigh.

"He's different. He likes to feel in charge of himself. So, like it or not, we're just gonna have to let him come to us when he's ready. And we have to stop treating him like a kid who needs to be taken care of. Even though he is. He has to decide he wants it before we can meet him there."

Silence settled over them as her words sank in. They made sense. If Knuckles were a dog, rescued from the fighting pits, you'd have to establish yourself as a safe place before getting too close. Let him realize he was safe before trying to establish any closer relationship. And while it hurt him to think of the echidna like that, based on what little he knew of Knuckles' history, it was heartbreakingly similar.

Wade had somehow broken through this defensive exterior Knuckles still wore around the Wachowski home. As much as it pissed Tom off, maybe he needed to swallow his pride and ask Wade just how he'd done it.

"He's such a proud little guy," Tom said, his voice softer. "Always watching out for danger, trying to protect us. I just wish he'd see that we want to do the same for him."

Maddie nodded, letting out a soft sigh. "I know. It kills me that he doesn't see himself as needing it. But I think he wants it. I've seen the way he looks at us when we hug Sonic or Tails. But if he catches me looking, he just turns and walks away."

Another awkward silence fell, broken only by the soft sounds of video game music from the living room.

"We just have to give him space," she said, and Tom could hear the frustration in her tone. The sadness. "Let him know we're here, but don't push it. As hard as it is, we're gonna have to leave it up to him to show us when he's ready to reach out."

Tom's heart clenched. He hated that idea. Waiting for this traumatized kid to decide he wanted love. Wanted to be part of the family. Knuckles apparently did want that closeness, otherwise he wouldn't be so buddy-buddy with Wade. He just wasn't ready to get it from the Wachowskis.

Yet.

"Yeah," Tom sighed, running a hand down his face before taking the laundry basket from her. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

They headed toward the laundry room, and Tom cast a quick glance in at Sonic and Tails, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV, game controllers in their hands.

It'd been so easy with them. They both had joined the family like they'd always been there.

He wished it was that way with Knuckles, too. He hated to think of the horrors the echidna had seen as he grew up. The hardships he'd gone through.

And Tom wanted nothing more than to tell him he didn't have to be afraid anymore. Didn't have to be so tough anymore. Didn't have to take care of himself, or be worried about being betrayed. That there were people who cared about him, wanted to love him, if only he'd let them.

He uttered another sigh. Time. It would just take time.

And they would just have to be patient.

#ask me #niya's stuff #knuckles the echidna #ask shortie #tom wachowski #maddie wachowski

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weirdgenetic-fuckup · 9 months ago

Note

Dave Mustaine being the reader's stepfather and they fall in love and have sex (pet names, praise kink, size kink)

A/n: I wish this was longer bc I love this prompt so much for reasons that I should tell a therapist, I'm also assuming you meant grandma Dave but I just had this thought with 90's Dave, I think it could work no matter what era you think of it as that's just the era I had in mind while writing this <3

(I lied he must have stubble ☺️)

Warnings: Smut, age gap, riding, size kink, praise kink (kind of?), pet names, hints to oral (f receiving) but not explicitly stated or described, pantie stealing, if you think I missed anything let me know otherwise enjoy!

Your mom was young, she'd gotten pregnant with you when she was 19. She had a tendency to rush into relationships so when she told you she was moving the both of you into her boyfriends house you didn't think twice of it, you just got your stuff packed and kept it that way, sure that you'd be moving out in just a minute.

Your mom had a long list of partners, some were better than others but one rule remained the same. You wouldn't meet them until at least a year into the relationship, so you moved in with no idea who this man was, and you were pleasantly surprised with who you were met with.

Dave was, to say the least, fine. He was tall, at first glance distinguished and nice. He saw that you weren't big on talking with him so he didn't push you to do so, he let you hide away in your room as much as you needed.

The first week, anyway.

After the initial meeting he tried to get to know you better, he'd ask your mom about your favourite things so he could try to start conversations but it didn't seem to get him anywhere.

He honestly thought you hated him. You did too, but then you were in his lap.

It was late, you were just watching a movie on your laptop in bed when he came in. You weren't sure how you got naked, when you straddled his lap, it was a blur but suddenly he was inside you and your were bouncing on his length.

His big hands were on your hips, guiding you on his cock. Maybe it was the position or maybe it was your mind running laps but he seemed so much bigger than you, from the way he looked at you to how he bruised your insides.

"Oh, fuck, taking me so good, aren't you?" He mused, staring at you, right where he kept disappearing into you.

"Ngh, fuck, daddy~" You moaned, eyes rolling back. Your hands were on his shoulders, using him as support as you rode him.

"Go on, princess, you're doing so good for daddy, aren't you?" He praised. "Don't need any instructions, just needed permission to get off on me, didn't you?" You nodded, eagerly agreeing with him.

He was so fucking hot, his long hair reaching his perfectly perky nipples you had an oddly faint memory of licking, smudged lipstick covering his chest, those kind eyes and encouraging smile. Fuck, just everything.

"Daddy-daddy, m'close, 'm s'close." You whined, focusing more on your own pleasure and reaching down to rub your swollen and neglected clit.

"Look at you being a good girl and making herself feel good." He said with a smile. "Go on and cum on daddy's cock, hm? You can do that for me, princess, can't you?" Again you nodded.

You could feel your high approaching, it was so close yet so far out of reach. You kept bouncing on him, moaning as you felt the veins on his cock pulsing and dragging against your gummy walls, no matter how fuzzy everything became you had one goal. You could swear it was just there, that knot in your gut ready to snap but it stopped.

"Princess? C'mon, you can't sleep out here, princess." You heard. It was Dave's voice. He was crouched next to you as you lay on the couch, a movie set up in the TV but it must've ended after you fell asleep.

Dave had been shaking you trying to get you up. "It was a dream..." You mumbled, rubbing your eyes.

"Yeah, guess so." Dave said, pushing a few strands of your hair behind your ear. You couldn't believe it, all those feelings, those words, it was gone. Well, not really. It couldn't be gone because it was never technically there. "I came to get something to drink and heard you mumbling to yourself on the couch."

You froze and your eyes widened.

"I-I was..?" You asked nervously.

"Yeah, something about your 'daddy' needing to come..?" He asked. You stared at him, how could he be so oblivious? Thank God he was but how?

You spewed some bullshit about your 'dad' and he accepted that.

"Well, it's late, you should get to sleep. In your own bed, that is." He helped you up and kept an arm around you as he walked you back to your room.

There was a stinging between your thighs and you could've sworn you'd tied your sweats, they must've come undone while you slept.

Dave tucked you into bed and kissed your forehead, a strange wetness clinging to his stubble.

He got up and walked to the door but before he left he turned back to you. "By the way," he started and pulled a small piece of cloth out of his pocket, "I'm keeping these." He held your panties like a reward before he left, closing the door behind him.

#megadeth x reader #megadeth smut #megadeth imagines #megadeth fanfiction #megadeth #dave mustaine x reader #dave mustaine smut #dave mustaine imagines #dave mustaine fanfiction #dave mustaine

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brainddeadd · 6 months ago

Note

can i request something like best friend!jack hughes gets jealous when a guy is flirting with reader so he claims she’s his girlfriend and threatens him to scare him off meanwhile reader is like ???

Possessive Streak

You had only agreed to tag along with Jack to this party because you knew how much it meant to him. He was always dragging you along to events, insisting that you were his favorite plus-one. And, truthfully, you never really minded—it was hard to say no to Jack Hughes when he looked at you with those big blue eyes, grinning like an overexcited golden retriever.

The party was in full swing, music pulsing through the room, people crowding every corner with drinks in hand. Jack had disappeared at some point to talk to some of his teammates, leaving you by the bar. You were fine with it, though; it gave you a chance to catch your breath.

What you didn't expect was the guy currently standing in front of you, leaning far too close and trying way too hard.

"You must hear this all the time," the guy said, shooting you a grin that screamed player, "but you're seriously too pretty to be here alone."

You smiled politely, gripping your drink tighter. "I'm not alone. I'm here with a friend."

He raised an eyebrow, not taking the hint. "A friend, huh? Well, how about you ditch him and let me show you a better time?"

You forced a laugh, inching away. Just as you were about to politely make your escape, a familiar voice cut through the conversation like a sharp blade.

"Yeah, no."

You turned to find Jack standing there, his easygoing demeanor replaced with something cold and possessive. His arm slid around your waist without hesitation, tugging you closer into his side like you'd been his girlfriend for years.

The guy blinked, looking between the two of you. "Uh… sorry, man. I didn’t know she was taken."

"Yeah, she is," Jack said flatly, tightening his grip on your hip for emphasis. "So you can leave. Now."

The guy raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Didn't mean to step on any toes." He gave you one last sheepish glance before slipping into the crowd.

Jack waited until he was out of sight before turning to you with a smug little grin—clearly proud of himself. "There. Problem solved."

You stared at him, dumbfounded. "Did you just—?"

"Claim you as my girlfriend? Yeah." He said it so casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Why?" you asked, blinking up at him.

Jack shrugged, but his ears were suspiciously pink. "He was annoying. I didn’t like the way he was looking at you."

"You realize that’s not a good enough reason to pretend we're dating, right?"

He gave you a mischievous look, one that made your heart stutter in your chest. "You didn't seem to mind it, though."

You opened your mouth to argue, but the truth was—you kind of didn't mind. There was something strangely comforting about the way Jack had stepped in, protective and sure of himself, like it was second nature for him to keep people like that guy away from you.

Still, you crossed your arms over your chest, trying to appear unaffected. "You know, you could’ve just told him I wasn’t interested. No need to act like a jealous boyfriend."

Jack smirked, clearly enjoying himself way too much. "Well, maybe if you actually were my girlfriend, I wouldn't have to pretend."

Your breath caught, and before you could figure out how to respond to that, Jack gave you a wink and tugged you closer.

"Come on," he said, nudging his shoulder against yours. "Let's go find something more fun to do. I think I've made my point."

You let yourself be pulled along, heart racing, trying to ignore the way his hand lingered at your waist. But something told you this little game of pretend wasn't quite over yet—and maybe, just maybe, you didn't want it to be.

You let Jack pull you away from the bar, weaving through the crowd. The warmth of his hand on your waist made your heart beat faster, and you couldn't ignore the fact that it felt right. Too right for just friends.

He steered you into a quieter corner of the house, away from the music and noise. The dim lighting cast soft shadows over his face, but you could still see the flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.

"So…" you said, crossing your arms. "You gonna explain what that was all about?"

Jack gave you that signature cocky grin, but there was something else underneath—something nervous. "What do you mean? I told you, I didn’t like how that guy was flirting with you."

You raised an eyebrow. "And your solution was to pretend we’re dating?"

He shifted on his feet, his hand raking through his messy hair. "Well, yeah. Seemed like the easiest way to get rid of him."

You shook your head with a small laugh. "Jack, you could’ve just told him I wasn’t interested."

His grin faltered slightly, and for a moment, he looked serious. Vulnerable, even. "Yeah… but what if you were interested?"

That caught you off guard. "What?"

Jack glanced away, like he was trying to gather his thoughts. When he looked back at you, his eyes were softer, filled with something that made your chest ache. "I just… I didn’t like seeing him all over you, okay? It made me feel—" He broke off, sighing in frustration. "I’ve been trying to ignore it, but it’s driving me nuts. Every time I see some guy flirting with you, I realize how much I hate it."

Your heart was pounding now, the pieces starting to fall into place. "Jack…"

"I didn’t just pretend you were my girlfriend back there," he admitted quietly. "I’ve wanted to say something for a while, but I was scared I’d mess everything up. And maybe I just did."

He ran a hand down his face, clearly bracing himself for rejection. "But the truth is… I don’t want to pretend. I want you to be mine. For real."

You stared at him, stunned into silence. Jack Hughes—your best friend, your partner-in-crime, the guy who had always been there for you—was looking at you with so much sincerity it nearly knocked the air from your lungs.

"Say something," he murmured, his voice a little shaky.

It took you a moment to find your words, but when you did, they came out soft, filled with the emotions you hadn’t even realized you’d been holding back. "I think… I’ve been waiting for you to say that."

Jack blinked, his lips parting slightly in surprise. "You have?"

You smiled, stepping closer. "Yeah, dummy. I don’t want to pretend either."

His eyes lit up, and before you could say anything else, he leaned down and kissed you—soft and tentative at first, like he was still afraid you might change your mind.

But you kissed him back without hesitation, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him closer. The tension that had been lingering between you two for so long melted away in an instant, replaced by the warmth of something real and undeniable.

When you finally pulled back, Jack rested his forehead against yours, grinning like he’d just won the lottery.

"So," he whispered, brushing his thumb along your jaw. "Does this mean you’re my girlfriend now?"

You laughed, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I think it does."

His grin widened, and he tightened his arms around you, like he never wanted to let go. "Good. Because I wasn’t planning on letting anyone else have you anyway."

And just like that, everything that had once felt complicated now seemed so simple—because being with Jack had always felt like the most natural thing in the world.

#jack hughes x reader #jack hughes imagines #jack hughes fanfic #° braindead writes

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qu1cks1lversb1tch · 11 months ago

Note

Hi! I just scrolled through your blog and loved your writing, so I decided to make a request! I was wondering if you could write fem!reader x Lucifer where they're kind of just hanging out but R is kind of grumpy and Luci is subtly (but not subtly cause lord knows he's too awkward to be good at hiding things) trying to figure out what it is. R kind of just dismisses him while scrolling on their phone and Lucifer's like "let me try something..." and just slides a snack to R to which she nibbles on and then becomes normal again. Bonus points if she apologizes when she realizes she was being mean without meaning to. Anyway, this got long. If you decide not to write this, I understand. If you do, you are required to drink water and eat a snack too at some point. Love you and your writing! <3

A/N — OOOOOHHHHHHH anon I love you for requesting this 😭💖 thank you so much! It's just a little short, but I wasn't sure what else to add lol

Hangry | Lucifer x Fem!Reader

Warnings: reader being a little mean, Lucifer being loving and understanding

Word Count: 489

Summary: Luci forces you to eat something after you unintentionally snap at him.

On a couch, in a palace, in hell, there was you. Glorious you. The very one who kept Lucifer sane — his Heavenly best friend turned perfect stepmother to his beloved daughter, which was a more recent (and super awesome) development.

He could tell just by looking at you that you weren't exactly feeling the best — it was clear by the present frown and the way your brows furrowed every once in a while, as if you were fighting something.

For a split second, he thought you were sick. But as he placed his hands all over your face, forcing you to look away from your phone screen, he soon realized that you weren't sick.

“Sorry. . .” He mumbled when you set your darkened glare on him.

You rolled your eyes, looking back to your phone. There was important stuff going on. Meetings to be scheduled. You didn't have time for anything else.

“Did you sleep?” Lucifer questioned not even five minutes later.

You sighed, irritated, practically growling out your answer. “Yes.”

“Okay. . . Well how long did you —”

“GOD! Can you give me five fucking minutes to do my job, Lucifer!?”

He was momentarily taken aback by your harsh tone, but then it was as if a light bulb went off in his head and he stood from where he had previously planted himself in front of you.

Guilt began to settle in your being as you nestled yourself further in the couch to continue working. You hadn't expected him to leave — just maybe stop hovering like you were going to spontaneously combust and disappear.

You knew he meant well, but you just weren't feeling it. Any of it.

Five minutes later he returned with a plate that had your favorite sandwich and bag of chips on top, snatching your phone out of your hand and replacing it with the plate and a bottle of your favorite drink.

You growled. “Luci—”

“Eat.” He demanded, holding your phone out of your reach.

And you did. That first bite of the sandwich made you realize that you hadn't eaten breakfast. . . Or lunch. . . You felt better immediately, which showed him instantly what the problem had been.

Once you finished, you sat in silence, trying to figure our what to say. . . It ended up being a ‘thank you’ that was said so low it was almost missed in the quiet room.

“You feel better?” He asked.

“Yeah. . . I'm sorry I snapped at you — I didn't mean to. . .” You trailed off when he grabbed your face in his hands and forced you to look at him.

“I forgave you the moment you started eating. Before anything, you're my best friend, and we don't need you being hangry.”

“Wife.” You corrected with a slight smile.

“Even better.” He grinned, placing sweet kisses all over your face — even the tip of your nose. Yeah. . . You were definitely forgiven.

So long as you remembered to eat and stay hydrated.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel imagine #lucifer hazbin hotel #lucifer morningstar x reader #lucifer x reader #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin lucifer #lucifer magne #lucifer morningstar #lucifer headcanons #lucifer x female reader #hazbin hotel x female reader #fem reader #x reader

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woso-dreamzzz · 1 year ago

Text

Nena V

Barcelona Femení x Child!Reader

Summary: You're sick

It started with a little cough.

Ingrid didn't really think anything of it. Sometimes, you just had a cough. It wasn't really a big thing which was why she was so happy to leave you in Mapi's company while she went to do some media things.

Only, the cough seemed to be getting worse.

It started out as a little tickle in the back of your throat at breakfast and then got more and more scratchy as time went on. Your head started to pound too and your arms felt all weird and heavy in a way that you had never really experienced before.

"Hey," Mapi said, shaking you lightly," Are you okay?"

You shook your head, eyes squeezing shut. "My throat don' like me, Mapi," You said, squeezing at your neck as if it would help.

You coughed again. Your eyebrows drew together after it took you a while to stop.

From just outside your field of vision, a hand moved until it was pressed against your forehead.

Your frown deepened as you darted your eyes to the side. The hand belonged to Irene. You looked at her.

She was frowning too. "Does it hurt to swallow, Nena?"

You nodded miserably.

"Say aah."

"Aah!"

Irene moved closer so she could look in your mouth, frown deepening for a moment before she drew away and nodded.

"You've got a case of tonsillitis there, Nena."

You don't know that word but you nodded because Irene is a mama and mamas know things like this.

"Tonsillitis?!" Mapi exclaimed, her voice going very squeaky," Shit! Is she going to die? Do we need to call an ambulance?!"

Irene rolled her eyes. "She just needs some medicine and for you to calm down. Once Ingrid's back, you can take her home. It's not that serious."

Mapi certainly looked like this was serious. "Does she need them removed?!"

Irene laughed. "Not right now. If it gets worse or keeps happening then yes, maybe, but what she needs now is medicine and some water. Calm down, Mapi."

Mapi took a deep breath before panic flashed on her face. "I don't have kid's medicine!"

"I do." Irene pulled a little bottle out of her bag and shook it. "I was meant to bring it home for Matteo but I'm sure he can share."

You dutifully took the medicine even though it tasted kind of yucky and drank the water Mapi put in front of you.

Breakfast was easy after that but there was separate training for the defenders so Mapi had to hand you off to someone else to watch.

Tia Alexia sat next to you when she took a break from her gym session.

You felt better than earlier but still a little bad.

Tia Alexia checked your temperature like how Irene did and you leaned into her cold hand. She laughed.

"Careful there, Nena," She said," Don't go falling asleep on me."

"'m not sleepin'," You slurred, forcing your eyes open and squinting at her.

"Sure you're not," Alexia said, pushing the hair out of your eyes," But I need those eyes of yours open. Can I check your throat?"

Everyone had been checking your throat now. Irene did it earlier. Mapi did it a lot before she trained. Even Marta and Caro had looked at it for some reason.

It was routine now so you opened your mouth and stuck out your tongue.

Alexia looked inside for a moment, nodding a few times before getting you to drink from your water bottle. She checked your throat again afterwards before she went back to her weights.

She kept looking back at you though, as if to check you hadn't disappeared or anything.

Honestly, you don't think that you have the strength to just up and disappear. You were content to be miserable on the floor with your scratchy throat until your next babysitter came to get you.

You missed Ingrid. You wish she finished her job so she could come and get you. Last year when you had the flu, Ingrid flew all the way back home to make sure you were okay. Mama didn't like that because she thought it was making you co-dependent or something but Ingrid and you didn't care.

Ingrid made the best soup and she had medicine that tasted nice, not like the one that Irene gave you earlier.

"What with the grumpy face, Nena?" Lucy asked as she joined you, poking at your cheek. "Why aren't you smiling?"

"Ingrid's not here," You whined," And I'm sick."

"You're sick? How come?"

"I just am!" As if the punctuate your point, you flew into a big coughing fit.

Lucy looked very worried, flapping her hands about like Mapi did earlier and looking around the room as if someone would save her.

Tia Alexia came back and wedged the straw of your bottle back into your mouth as soon as you finished coughing.

"When is Ingrid done?" She asked as you drank your water," Nena really needs to go home. Some cuddles and a nap would do her wonders."

"She should be done soon," Lucy said," I don't think she knows yet. I can go and check."

"No," Alexia said," I'll send Patri and Pina. You've still got a gym session to get through."

"I can wait with her until Ingrid comes," Lucy insisted, looking down pointedly at you as you began to scratch at your throat again," Do we need to give her more medicine? She looks uncomfortable."

Alexia looked at her watch. "We've still got another two hours before we can give her another dose."

You scratched harder at your throat and Lucy gently took your hand to bring it away. You whined a little, pulling out her grip. She was running warm. You didn't like that. You wish she were cold like Tia Alexia was.

Lucy was like a furnace as she sat next to you and you edged as far away as possible. You tugged at your shirt and kept having to shift around because your clothes were sticking uncomfortably to your skin.

Your throat was getting very scratchy again and you whined.

"Ooh," A new voice said," That doesn't sound very good."

You whined again and raised your arms.

Ingrid picked you up instantly, checking your forehead with the back of her hand and looking down your throat like everyone else had done.

"Irene says there's somethin' wrong with my tonsils," You replied.

Ingrid smiled, pushing your head into her neck. "That's okay," She said," How about we go home? I'll make you some soup and we'll have some cuddles."

"With Bagheera?"

"Yes, with Bagheera."

"Is your Mapi coming?"

"Mapi can come too."

"And I get soup?"

Ingrid laughed. "Yes, you get soup."

"Okay."

#woso x reader #barcelona femeni x reader #barca femeni x reader #barcelona femeni #barca femeni #woso community #woso fanfics #woso imagine #woso

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lawko-sama · 2 months ago

Text

Romantic surprise

Summary: Unexpected challenge. Date, with Daryl. What was supposed to be a disaster, turned out to be a great victory.

Warnings: curses (I think that's all?)

Era: Whatever tbh, but the action takes place at Hilltop

Word count: 3.9k

Something from me: Hello again. Thank you very much for the warm reception of my first work, I didn't expect this.. Catch another, totally different idea. Sorry for all the mistakes. I hope you like it! <3

"– Draw."

You looked at Carol in disbelief. She was sitting at the table, arms crossed, looking at you with that unreadable expression on her face. The one that said there was no point in arguing.

You raised an eyebrow, sensing there might be some joke behind this. "Seriously? A date in the middle of the apocalypse?"

"Got something better to do?"

And she had you there. Because no, you didn’t. You sighed quietly, reaching for one of the folded pieces of paper. You slowly unfolded it, as if your life depended on it.

DARYL.

You froze.

Carol snorted with laughter. "Well, good luck."

Oh, shit.

Her tone didn’t sound encouraging – more like a challenge. Because it was no secret that Daryl... well, he wasn’t exactly the easiest person to approach.

You watched Carol walk toward Maggie, and when both of them covered their mouths and glanced your way, it became clear that this whole "drawing" thing was nothing but a clever plan. And soon enough, the whole Hilltop would know about it.

Which meant you had to act fast.

You sighed, glancing at the paper again, almost hoping the name would magically disappear. Unfortunately, it didn’t. So if you were going to do this, it had to be on your terms.

You smiled slightly, took the rubber band off your hair, and ran your fingers through it, letting it fall in a loose mess. The last raspberry from your plate served as a subtle touch to redden your cheeks – a small detail, but the girls at the table immediately gave you thumbs up.

Here we go.

You walked toward the garage.

Daryl, as usual, was tinkering with one of the vehicles. He was lying under the car, completely indifferent to the thick, tar-like liquid dripping down his forearm.

You crouched next to the car and peeked underneath.

"Want some help?" you asked, maybe a bit too innocently.

Daryl froze for a second, then barely lifted his head.

"Nah."

You weren’t discouraged.

"Then maybe you want to help me?" this time, it came out more like you.

You heard the clink of a wrench falling to the asphalt. After a moment, the man slid out from under the vehicle, propping himself up on his forearm. He looked at you with furrowed brows – not a bad look, more like... cautious.

"With what? I ain't got all day, girl."

You hesitated for just a fraction of a second.

"We're going on a date."

Daryl blinked slowly.

"The fuck we are."

You sighed and lifted the piece of paper to eye level.

"Before you start blaming me..." You moved just enough so he could see Carol and Maggie, who were openly watching the whole scene from the other side of the yard. "It was Carol’s idea."

Daryl didn’t need to say anything. A single glance was enough.

"‘M not gonna be a part of this."

"Daryl." You leaned in slightly, lowering your voice as if you were revealing some big secret. "If we don’t do this, she won’t leave us alone for another month."

And that stopped him.

Because Carol could be incredibly stubborn.

Daryl furrowed his brows, chewed on the inside of his cheek, then let out a short, drawn-out:

"Shit."

It wasn’t a "yes."

But it wasn’t a "no" either.

And that was something.

Daryl sighed heavily and waved his hand.

"’Kay, whatever," he muttered, then almost immediately disappeared back under the car.

You glanced at Carol, who raised an eyebrow meaningfully, then back at him.

"So… come on?" you said with amusement, seeing his movements slow for a moment.

"Ain’t got time now. Later." His voice was muffled but firm enough that most people would have given up.

But you weren’t "most people."

"But Carol needs to see that we’re going, y’know." You pressed, barely holding back a wide smile. "So it kinda has to be now."

Something between a grunt and a sigh escaped his lips – heavy, resigned, slightly irritated. Something that, in his language, could mean "damn it" or "why the hell am I doing this."

After a moment, his head slid out from under the vehicle, and he started wiping his hands on a black rag. He did it quickly, almost nervously. But he did it.

So the first step was done.

Once Daryl looked down, you quickly turned back to Carol and Maggie, raising your clenched fist in the air. A sign of triumph. You didn’t wait for their reaction – you knew they were impressed – only looked back at Daryl.

This time, he was wiping his hands on his pants, clearly irritated with the whole situation.

"Where are we going?" you asked with exaggerated sweetness, knowing exactly how it would irritate him.

"Ya tell me," he almost growled, giving you a brief, suspicious glance.

You feigned surprise, but only for a second.

"You know, where I come from, men choose the date spots." You put a hand on your hip, purposefully looking at him, clearly aware of what it was doing to him.

In his piercing eyes – cold blue, seeing right through you.

"‘N back where I’m from, we ain’t dating."

You sighed ostentatiously and rolled your eyes.

Then, you smoothly turned on your heel, not looking back, but gesturing with your finger for him to follow you.

To your surprise, he did.

You felt a shiver run down your spine.

"Well… today you do." You smiled lightly. "So think of something, or I will."

You looked at him again, unable to resist.

"And trust me… you don’t want that."

The man raised an eyebrow in surprise. Something passed over his face – a single emotion you couldn’t read.

You didn’t comment on it.

You slowed down to match his pace and very subtly stared at him. You made it clear that you were waiting.

Daryl got the message. But still, for a long moment, he didn’t say a word.

"So?" you finally asked.

"So wha’?"

"Any ideas? Or maybe you want my help, after all?"

Daryl froze for a second. Was that... hesitation?

No, he looked more lost. And that was new. His blue eyes scanned the area as if looking for a hint, some kind of escape.

Finally, after a long pause, he just shrugged.

"Walkin’ counts."

A smile crept up on your lips.

"Indeed it does," you nodded seriously. "So, a romantic walk. Nice."

"’S just a walk."

"No," you immediately disagreed, too quickly for it to be accidental. "It has to be a romantic walk. It’s a date, remember?"

And again, that strange emotion on his face.

His gaze weighed heavily on your shoulders, and you could feel Daryl was about to say something. He even opened his mouth...

…but then he closed it again.

You weren’t about to press him. But you also weren’t going to let it slide.

"Tell me something romantic, then," you said casually, deliberately looking away.

You knew that if you saw his face, you’d burst out laughing.

"Not happenin’."

"Why is that?" you feigned surprise. Very exaggerated surprise.

You raised an eyebrow in silent shock and added a slightly sad expression. Not even a second passed before Daryl was raising his hand in a defensive gesture.

Wow.

Daryl. On the defensive.

You were getting better at this.

"We just gotta show Carol that we’re talkin’," he corrected immediately, as if he wanted to end the topic. "That’s it."

You hesitated.

It was a good excuse – it fit the narrative of "Carol made me do it, I don’t want this." But the truth was completely different.

You wanted to get to know Dixon better. And everyone saw that.

Everyone, except him.

You’d tried a few times already – pulling him for hunting, scouting, anything. But Daryl always found a way to back out. Maybe he was closed off, maybe just oblivious. Either way, it ended in failure.

But you weren’t going to give up.

"If we do something, let’s do it properly," you said, choosing your words with exaggerated care.

Deliberately.

You knew it was a bit of a stretch, but you didn’t let it show.

"I don’t like doing things half-heartedly."

Daryl didn’t counter, though he probably could’ve. You weren’t about to give him the time to do that.

"We have to do something romantic," you added quickly, before he had a chance to wiggle out of it.

Daryl slumped his shoulders a little. A small change in his posture, but it was enough for you to notice.

Resignation.

Had he given up?

He furrowed his brows and looked at you as if weighing how serious you were.

"'N what do ya call romantic?" he mumbled after a moment.

That was something.

Those words lit a fire in you. Was Daryl finally falling into your carefully laid trap?

You smiled lightly, feeling like you were slowly winning.

"I dunno," you threw back innocently. "Maybe you should figure it out?"

Daryl sighed heavily, then… He turned away and walked toward the gate.

"C'mon, princess." He called over his shoulder, not even checking if you were following.

Your eyes lit up. Something fluttered in your stomach.

Oh. My. God.

One word, one phrase—and you already felt like a teenager. Not a good sign.

It was a tragic sign.

Only now did you realize you were playing with fire. Your victory was temporary, fragile. Daryl could shatter it at any moment, though you weren’t sure if he even realized that.

You followed him without hesitation.

For a moment, he vanished from your sight, turning between the buildings, and when you caught up, you noticed him packing something into his bag.

A second too late.

You didn’t see exactly what he was shoving in there with such passion, but you decided that a little surprise might work in your favor. Only now did you notice the motorcycle.

You froze.

You stood like a pillar, staring at it in utter disbelief. He must’ve noticed.

"Ya goin’?" he called, raising an eyebrow.

You shook yourself out of your daze and nodded.

You stepped closer, feeling a slight hesitation that Daryl didn’t seem to care about. He grabbed the handlebars, leaning slightly forward, then—almost imperceptibly—tilted the bike toward you.

You grabbed his shoulders.

Your eyes scanned the patches on his vest.

The touch—despite three layers of clothing—shocked you like electricity. But you didn’t pull back.

You took your place behind him. There wasn’t any question about whether you were ready. The kickstand lifted with a quiet snap. The roar of the engine hit your ears.

You pressed against his back—definitely a bit too much.

Partly, you just wanted it. Partly out of necessity, because the motorcycle took off faster than you thought it could.

You didn’t even know when you’d left the settlement.

You glanced over your shoulder, sensing someone’s gaze. Carol. She stood in the distance, looking at you with a clearly proud expression. You smiled to yourself, but didn’t wave. You’d have to let go of Daryl to do that.

That wasn’t an option. You closed your eyes.

And then you felt him.

The forest. Steel. Sweat.

A combination of scents that, right now, was dangerously attractive.

You inched a little higher, closer to his neck. It was too comfortable. Too good. So good that you almost… drifted away. It felt like you were dreaming while awake.

But then—suddenly—something yanked you away. A force pulling you away from the man, and you almost sighed in disappointment. Almost.

You quickly opened your eyes, only now realizing he’d braked. And hard. Like he wanted to make a point, but you had no idea how long you’d been riding.

– "Are ya sleepin’ or what?" His voice hit you straight in the consciousness.

You mentally cursed yourself and quickly got off the bike. Literally and figuratively.

When your feet hit the ground, you barely steadied your suddenly weak knees.

Oh no.

That’s all you managed to think before Daryl looked at you, scanning you from head to toe. You weren’t even sure what you were afraid of.

"Ya cold?" he asked, and something soft appeared in his eyes.

Too soft for Daryl Dixon.

Concern. Worry.

If you could, you would’ve screamed. When had this whole situation slipped out of your control?

You shook your head, Daryl didn’t seem convinced. He nodded, though, as if understanding. You had goosebumps—he asked probably because of that—but it definitely wasn’t the temperature.

"Where are we going?" you finally squeezed out, noticing a very subtle quiver in your voice.

The man led the way through the bushes. He didn’t turn to you, only spoke when he cleared an obstacle in your path.

"Surprises are romantic, ain't they?"

If you could, you would’ve just passed out.

You didn’t respond because Dixon didn’t give you a glance, but even if he had, you weren’t sure you could.

You walked for a short while. You left the motorcycle behind, now covered with branches that lay nearby. The rustling leaves and the gentle breeze were the only stimuli you clung to like a drowning person. Thanks to them, you were still keeping your wits about you.

You laughed quietly, a little too loud for the silence around you. You snorted, freezing in place when you realized how irrational it was. You were losing your mind. For sure.

"What's so funny?" Daryl suddenly asked, completely surprising you.

Nothing.

Your mind was a blank slate. You felt cold sweat on your neck as you desperately tried to come up with any response.

"My shoes..." you blurted out without thinking, looking down at your feet.

Even you were surprised by that comment.

"They are very appropriate for our trip, aren't they?"

You mentally slapped yourself. Really? That was the best you had?

Daryl stopped and looked down at your shoes. Black, with a slightly higher wedge than they should’ve had for a forest trip. Half-covered in mud, damp from the earth that hadn’t dried from yesterday’s rain.

"Ya pick them on purpose or ya just stupid?" he raised an eyebrow, but his voice held no malice.

You snorted, pretending to be offended.

"I'd say a little bit of both."

The corner of his mouth twitched, barely noticeable. Maybe it was a shadow of a smile. Maybe you just imagined it.

He moved forward without waiting for your response. You also took a step forward, trying to ignore the dampness soaking into your shoes.

For a moment, you walked in silence until you began to notice something beyond the trees and shrubs.

A clearing.

It wasn’t large, but it seemed almost... untouched. Thick, lush grass, interspersed with purple flowers here and there. In the distance, you could see what looked like a small stream lazily cutting through the land.

Daryl stopped at the edge, as if checking your reaction.

“That romantic enough for ya?” he said, still not looking at you.

You didn’t answer right away. Your mind was too occupied—because here you were, in a place that felt like it had been pulled from another world.

Daryl walked toward the clearing, and though your shoes begged for mercy, you followed him without hesitation.

The sun was breaking through the treetops, casting golden spots on the grass. The light reflected in delicate waves on the surface of the stream, making the water look like liquid glass.

You didn’t know what to say. Maybe that was the point. Maybe this was one of those places that spoke for itself.

Daryl crouched next to his backpack and began pulling things out. You thought for a moment that he might be preparing a meal, but no. Instead, there was a small knife, and... binoculars.

You furrowed your brows.

“Are we spying on someone?”

Daryl snorted, checking the sharpness of the knife as if it was the most normal question in the world.

“Nah.” He shrugged. “Figured ya might wanna see somethin' cool.”

Before you could ask what he meant, he nodded toward the trees. You followed his gaze and then you saw it.

Perched on one of the higher branches was a large, brown bird—an eagle, maybe a hawk, you weren’t sure. It looked regal, its feathers gleaming in the rays of the setting sun.

Daryl handed you the binoculars.

“Take a look.”

You didn’t hesitate. You lifted it to your eyes and froze. You could see every detail—the razor-sharp talons, the watchful eyes, the slight tremor of the feathers in the wind.

“Wow...” you whispered, unable to contain your awe.

Daryl was silent, but you could feel his gaze on you. It seemed like he was more interested in your reaction than the bird itself.

You lowered the binoculars and looked at him.

“How did you find this place?”

He thought for a moment, then shrugged.

“Been 'round. Saw it. Thought ya might like it.”

Something stirred inside you. Maybe it was the wind, or maybe something else entirely.

You didn’t respond, but smiled softly, sitting down on the grass.

Daryl did the same.

And for a moment, in this strange, unreal world, time seemed to stop.

For a moment, everything felt suspended. Only the wind sang through the trees, and the eagle slowly soared toward the sky, as if that moment could last forever.

Daryl kicked a stone with his foot, breaking the silence. He glanced at you out of the corner of his eye, and his lips curled into a slight, almost imperceptible smile.

“Ya lookin' all peaceful, ain't ya?”

A warmth spread through your chest, but you decided not to react immediately. You simply smiled back, feeling a strange relief, like you had finally found a moment of peace you had long been missing.

You struggled to tear your gaze away from the bird, which had disappeared into the clouds, and looked at him. Daryl was sitting next to you, his hands resting on his knees, but his posture was much more relaxed than usual.

You didn’t have to say anything to feel the subtle shift between you two. This wasn’t a moment full of words, and it didn’t have to be. His presence said more than any questions you could have asked.

And suddenly, after that long silence, Daryl spoke again.

“Ya know, sometimes it's nice just to... stop thinkin'... for a bit.”

His voice sounded different—calmer, like those words were rare for him.

You paused, then opened your mouth to respond, but before you could, Daryl changed the subject.

“Don’t get used to it, though. Ain’t like this happens often.”

You chuckled quietly, but inside, you felt a strange sense of relief. Something about this moment was so normal, yet so atypical, that you almost wanted it to last longer.

“I won’t” you replied softly.

He looked at you for a moment, then nodded, as if convinced. Silence fell again, but it was a different kind of silence—one that wasn’t uncomfortable or tense, just... peaceful.

At least, until...

He grabbed your shoulder, and the warmth of his hand shot through you like an electric jolt. The moment his touch became inevitable lasted only a fraction of a second, but it felt like time had stopped for a moment. You forgot everything—about the motorcycle, the forest, the uncertainty you had been trying to hide.

Your heart stopped for a beat, and Daryl’s gaze, as he lifted his head, was so intense that it almost felt like he was peering into your soul. His eyes weren’t as cold as they had been before—now they held something more, as if, for that brief instant, he became... available.

You couldn’t bear it any longer. The torment.

Instinctively, you grabbed him by the collar and pulled him toward you with a strength you didn’t know you had. Your lips almost collided. Your uncertainty vanished into oblivion as Daryl took complete control, stealing any direction from you. His grip on your shoulder tightened, and you couldn’t stop the hum of satisfaction that escaped into his mouth.

You felt everything like it was in a haze. The butterfly touch on your cheek. The warmth building between you. The tickling sensation on your face as Daryl leaned in closer, his hair brushing against your skin.

You didn’t want to break it, even though you felt a burning emptiness in your lungs.

But you didn’t have to, because Daryl pulled away from you. Too suddenly, by your standards.

You opened your eyes, seeing his pupils dilated to their limits as they fixed on something behind you. A sharp whoosh of something slicing through the air, a gust of wind centimeters from your face, and the soft thud of a body falling.

You turned around, your mouth slightly ajar in shock. A rotten body lay just a meter away from you. The small knife that Daryl had pulled out earlier was embedded perfectly in the center of the zombie’s forehead, and it now lay lifeless.

“I told ya, don’t get used to it.”

You exhaled the breath you had been holding with a soft hiss. You didn’t even have the presence of mind to think about your momentary lapse. Your whole mind was focused on him. On his perfect accuracy, the vigilance that clearly never left him, the almost nonchalant way he carried himself, which somehow bought you in completely.

You turned back to him, feeling your heart race again, but this time, it wasn’t fear. It was something else—something that pulled you toward him with every passing moment spent together. Daryl was like a mystery you wanted to uncover, but at the same time, you feared what lay behind that gaze.

You looked at him, and he still stared ahead, but you could feel how close his presence was. His arm brushed lightly against yours, as though he hadn’t noticed the proximity. But you knew he did.

He felt it. He knew it.

Suddenly, without warning, Daryl looked at you. His eyes held uncertainty, maybe even anger, but also something you couldn’t name. He looked at you for a moment, like he didn’t know what to say.

Then, for a moment, he blinked, as if trying to control something that had suddenly risen in his chest. He moved a little closer, and you felt the warmth of his body. There was an unspoken thing hanging in the air, something neither of you could quite understand yet.

“You're gettin' under my skin...” he said, with a soft sigh, as though trying to explain what he felt but couldn’t find the words—“Teasin' me all day...”

You smiled faintly, not sure if it was a challenge. Seeing that moment of hesitation in his eyes, you felt something shift. Like all those moments of silence now held something more than just quiet.

“Maybe that’s the point,” you replied softly.

His gaze grew more intense, almost piercing. You didn’t know if it was desire or something else—but there was something in it. You could feel it, even though he said nothing.

“I don't know what you're doin' to me,” he said with frustration, but his tone was strangely soft, as if he couldn’t hide what he was really feeling anymore.

That feeling that connected you both was hard to grasp, but you couldn’t ignore it.

You didn’t respond, only moved closer until you felt your breaths start to mingle. For a moment, you didn’t speak, just stayed there, in that space that was becoming more and more intimate.

And then Daryl surprised you again, pulling you toward him unexpectedly. His strong, sure hands landed on your hips, and his warm breath wrapped around you like a cloak. Before you could pull away, you felt his lips on yours—first gently, as if testing what would happen, and then with an intensity you hadn’t expected.

It was like an explosion you had feared, but at the same time, you didn’t want it to end. You felt the world vanish, and the only thing that mattered was that moment. You felt his hands on your back, pulling you closer, as if he didn’t want to let go, as if he wanted to keep you there forever.

When he finally pulled away, you couldn’t catch your breath. He had always been so closed off, with that mysterious posture, but now... now he was like a book, the pages finally ready to be discovered.

He looked at you with expectation, uncertainty, but also with something special.

“Don’t run away from me,” he whispered, and those words carried more emotion than the rest of the conversation put together.

They were intertwined with a delicate tease, laughter. They sounded so light, yet so certain.

“You’ll never get rid of me" you whispered back.

And somehow, neither of you were ready to say goodbye yet.

#daryl fanfiction #daryl #twd fanfiction #the walking dead #daryl fic #daryl x reader #twd daryl #soft/fluff sth like that

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