#6U fanfiction

[mrsalwayswritex]

Dont wanna be in love

A/N: I wrote TWO things last night and I am hella proud of this one, tbh. Again *Gif isnt mine, im a horrible person and Im sorry.

Pairing: Ghost Billy x Female Reader

Warnings: Hella angst guys, Im not even sorry.

Word count: 3600

“Billy, why are you so afraid of this?” Eight whispered, reaching for her boyfriends hands, but he pulled them away.

“I ain't afraid.” He mumbled, not looking her in the eyes, rubbing his sweaty palms onto his dark jeans. “We just don't need to be this touchy where everyone can see.” He stood up and paced the open room where just a few of them were gathered. “It’s still against One’s rules, Eight.” Eight. He couldn’t even say her name. She looked down at the floor, instead of his back, which was all she could see.

Five looked back and forth between the two of them, eyes full of sadness for the girl. “Four, come on, it's not like no one knows what's going on between the two of you.” She tried, “All she wants is to hold your hand, it's not like she wants to have sex in front of us all.” 

Billy scoffed, looking at the dark haired doctor. “You don't know what you're talking about, Amelia.” There it was. Amelia. He had no problem letting her name fall from his lips, but not Y/n’s. “Shit.” He seemed to notice it just a minute too late, Y/n already chewing on her thumb, staring at an obviously very interesting spot on her pants. “Eig- shit, Y/n..” He corrected himself too late, because she scoffed and jumped over the back of the couch she was sitting on and was out the door before he could move.

“Way to go, asshole.” Seven chimed in from his spot on the corner of the couch. “Five, you wanna get this one?” He pointed towards the door, and Amelia nodded her head, slowly standing and eyes not leaving Billy’s. 

“I fought for this to happen Billy, you need to get your shit together.” She shoved her pointer finger into his chest harshly. “She loves you, you know.”

“I know.” Billy sighed, throwing the plastic cup he had in his hands across the room. 

-

“Y/n, wait up!” Amelia shouted at the girls back. She didn't turn around but she raised her hand waving the doctor off. “Come on, girl, wait for me.” Amelia jogged up to her, seeing the tears rolling down her face. “Talk to me, Y/n, please.”

“It doesn't even matter, Lia, I appreciate you trying and trying but there's nothing that can be said to make this better.” Y/n wiped her hand across her face, scoffing when she remembered she was wearing Billy’s hoodie. “I keep trying and he keeps pushing me away.” She sighed, unzipping the jacket, letting it slide off of her arms. She shivered at the cool air hitting her bare arms, before shoving the jacket into Amelia’s arms. 

“Don't give up, Y/n, please.” She took the hoodie, folding it over her arms. “He does love you, you know that.” The girl kept walking, passing Billy’s trailer where she had been staying the last few nights.

“I thought I did, but sometimes I just don’t know anymore.” Y/n paused in front of her own trailer. What had once been her safe haven had quickly become a nest of sad memories that she fought hard to not think about. “I'm just gonna walk for a bit, yeah?” Y/n sighed, pulling the doctor into a tight hug.

“At least take this?” Amelia offered her back the blue hoodie, and she could see the thoughts cross the newest ghosts mind. Y/n shook her head, a fresh wave of tears pushing past her eyes. “Okay, hey, it's alright. Will you take mine?” Amelia stuffed Billy’s hoodie between her knees and pulled her own over her head, passing it to the girl who took it with a nod. “Come find me later if you want, hon.” She gave Y/n a hug again and let the girl walk away, towards what they called the plane graveyard.

-

Y/n really did love Billy, even if he seemed to be hesitant towards her, and she knew that he loved her too, he was just afraid. Anyone who knew Billy knew that he would never admit to being afraid of anything, but she could see it in his eyes.

When it was just the two of them, the look in his eyes filled her heart to the brim. The way he held her hand, made her heart overflow. The soft kisses that he left all over her face was enough to make her feel like she could fly. Y/n would often lie awake at night, cradled in his arms, watching his chest rise and fall gently, mouth slightly agape. She loved him more than she could ever say.

Billy was the first one who heard her wake in the middle of the night, screaming and crying from nightmares. He was the first one who asked her if she could remember what had her so upset. He was the first one she confided in. He was the first one that made her feel alive again. It was with him that she watched her first sunset and sunrise, staying awake all night, nestled cozily on the wing of a plane as they talked about their lives before becoming ghosts.

Here she sat again, on the wing of the same plane, watching the same sunset as she thought back on her time as a ghost. It had been a rough adjustment, being a part of a team that was comprised of snipers, thieves, and hitmen. She had never been in a situation that called for killing before and she had certainly never lived amongst people who killed for a living.

Y/n thought back to when she first became a ghost, shuddering at the thought of where One found her, left alone to die in an alleyway behind a bar. Her mark had caught on to her schemes and he played along, she thought that it was working but when the two of them left the bar together, that’s when she knew that she had been made. When her marks hand was around her throat, her back roughly pinned against the cold brick wall, she was sure that she was done for.

That’s when the man was roughly pulled off of her, she fell to the ground coughing and sputtering at the sudden intake of oxygen. Y/n screamed out when hand found her again, struggling against the hands that held her shoulders. “Hey, it's alright, relax. I'm not here to hurt you.” One whispered to her gently. When she looked into his eyes, she knew that he was genuine. She knew that he was here to help. “I have a job offer for you.” 

Listening to the man, sitting in a quiet corner of an all night cafe, she accepted his offer quickly. So quickly that he asked again, slower, making sure she understood. “I need to die, so I can really live again.” She had whispered to him and he nodded his head in understanding. 

“I think we will get along just fine.”

-

That night had been over a year ago, and now she was thriving. Her talents had been deemed invaluable to the team by almost all of the team, her new family. One had resisted the first time she called them her family but he had since grown used to it, accepted it even.

She loved her family, but she loved one of them differently than the rest. Billy. Billy was the most important thing in her life and it scared her for a long time, she fought it as much as he was now, and that's why she understood that he really did love her. She would stay with him as long as it took for him to realize it, or so she thought.

Y/n and Billy had started slow, leaning on each other for comfort, especially when the nightmares of that night had come back to haunt her. That mark hadn't been the first to ever get rough with her, wasn’t the first to catch onto her game. Billy was there to hold her through the sob inducing nightmares, where she woke up screaming as if she was still there.

Billy was always there for her, with sweet words, soft touches and just being a shoulder for her to cry on. After the night she first told him that she loved him just three months ago, everything had changed. She would wake up in her own trailer, alone and shivering. Billy wouldn't touch her the way that he used to, and he could see that it hurt her. He would always make up for it, though, and she always welcomed him back into her arms, swallowing his apologies with eager kisses which he always returned just as eagerly. 

After nights like those, he would be fine again for only a few days, lingering touches, flirty winks and comments directed to her through their comms, everyone cooing mockingly at them. Y/n loved those moments, when he was unabashed in his affection, planting soft kisses to her temple as they sat in the main room talking about an upcoming mission. 

It never lasted though, which broke her heart but nothing could push him away from her. His moods would change as quickly as the California desert temperatures. It hurt her to know that she had just accepted it, but she had. She had accepted it as just Billy being Billy. She had noticed though, that the mood would change when she told him that she loved him, but she never stopped telling him. She knew that he was afraid, but she also knew that she loved him more than anything in her whole life, and he needed to know that. Everyone deserves to be loved, don't they? 

She accepted his fear, but she didn't think that she would ever give up on him. She believed that she would always be here for when he inevitably came back to her, sadness in his eyes, needing her touch. She thought that nothing would ever make her turn her back on him. Tonight had crushed her though, Billy’s inability to hold her hand was normal, sadly enough, but she never stopped trying.

Last night was one of the nights he had crawled into her bed, whispering apologies against her bare skin as he slid himself into her bed. His breath reeked of alcohol, and his clothes smelled of smoke, but she rolled her body to face him, cradling his face in her hands.

“I'm so sorry, Y/n.” He whispered, leaving soft kisses along her thumbs.

“Billy,” She started, shaking his face ever so slightly to get his eyes to focus on hers. “It’s alright to be afraid..” Y/n watched him close his eyes. “Billy, I love you.” Pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I love you.” Another kiss to his cheek. “I love you.” She whispered, leaning to kiss his lips but he pulled away, a whimper leaving Y/n’s throat. “Billy please..”

“Please, Y/n, please…” He kept his eyes closed, pulling her hands from her face. 

She let a tear fall down her cheek and she closed her eyes along with his, letting her head fall heavily against her pillow. “Please don't leave.” She whined softly, her hands reaching out for him but the spot was already empty. 

“I can't..” Were the last words that she heard before the soft click of her trailer door closing.

“I know you love me too, Billy.” She shouted into the darkness, knowing that he was standing outside. She heard his fist hitting the side of her trailer, followed by a soft whimper. “Even if you can't admit it to yourself.” Y/n whispered the last part to herself before pulling her knees to her chest and crying herself to sleep.

-

That morning was the hardest for Y/n. She knew that this would only prolong his mood, but she was beginning to tire of the whiplash. She knew that he loved her, she could feel it in his kisses, in his touches, in his words. She longed to hear the words come out of his mouth. When she walked out of her trailer that morning she saw Two first. She knew. They all knew. Camille’s trailer was close to Y/n’s and she had no doubt heard the exchange last night.

“Good morning, chérie.” Camille had pulled the small girl into her side, arm wrapped around her shoulder. The blonde knew how the girl's heart was breaking, and it made her feel protective of her. Y/n may have been the newest to the team but no one could dispute the fact that she completed their dysfunctional little family. Camille and Amelia doting on the young girl, taking her under their wings immediately. Two knew what it was like to break One’s rule. She understood the hardships that came with loving a dead man. 

“How much did you hear?” Y/n looked at the blonde woman sheepishly, voice hoarse from crying. 

“Enough to know that you are right.” Camille gave her shoulder a squeeze as they walked into the main building. “We can all see how much he loves you, don't give up on him, mon caneton.” Two gave her a wink and pulled away from her. Y/n smiled weakly at her, walking over to where Five and Seven sat closely. 

“Can I join you guys?” Y/n hated how hoarse her voice sounded, she didn't notice when she spoke to Camille, but speaking with Amelia, the doctor knew immediately that it had happened again, and tsked softly.

“Oh honey.” Five opened her arms and Y/n crumpled into them with a soft whine. “That boy will never learn.” She rubbed her hands soothingly along the girls back, Blaine reaching out to grab the girls hand, which she accepted gratefully. When Billy got into moods like this, she just needed to be held, to be touched, and the team knew that and happily obliged.

When Billy walked into the main building that morning, a grimace on his face and sunglasses over his eyes, he stopped short at the sight in front of him. Five had her arms wrapped around Y/n and Seven was holding onto her hand from across the table. Two and Three were whispering softly to each other, both watching him closely as he entered the building. 

“Morning.” He mumbled, walking straight to the kitchen and making himself a fruit smoothie. No one answered him. “You all know that this is none of your business right?” His voice raised higher as he ran a hand through his hair, looking out at his team.

“Don't push us away too, Four.” Seven spat out at him, giving Y/n’s hand one last squeeze before he stood and walked out. Three standing and walking over to Y/n, leaning down to give her a small kiss to the top of her head.

“We don't love you like she does, we won't put up with your shit.” He glared at the blond man, dropping his dishes into the tub filled with water. “Remember that.” He pointed at him as he followed Blaine out.

There was that word again. Love. Y/n let out a soft whine at the men on the team standing up for her. She knew they were just adding fuel to his fire and she didn't want that, though she greatly appreciated the support. “Billy, can we-” She pointed outside and she looked at him expectantly. Billy shook his head softly, eyes not meeting hers. “Please.” It was her pleading voice that got him to look directly at her. 

Her eyes were red, puffy, like she had been crying for hours. She probably has. The thought hit him like a tonne of bricks. The way she looked today was all his fault. He did this to her. He always did this to her. She must be a saint to put up with his shit for all these months. He nodded his head, eyes not leaving hers.

-

The two of them walked in silence, side by side, into the plane graveyard. “Y/n, I'm so, so sorry.” His voice cracking surprised even himself, as he looked at the girl in front of him. He reached for her hand first this time, but she was the one to pull away this time. His heart clenched.

“I need you to say it Billy.” Y/n’s voice wavered slightly as she stared at the dirt under her feet.

“Y/n, please..” Billy reached for her again, but she didn't pull away and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

“At least admit that you're afraid.” She pleaded, a tear slipping down her already streaked cheek.

“I am.” He admitted so softly that had she not been right in front of him, she may not have heard it at all. “I just..” He took a deep breath.

“Do you love me, Billy?” Her gaze flicked up to meet his, the sadness in her eyes made him suck in a sharp breath. “I need to hear it.” She pleaded again.

“Y/n..” He started, turning his head away from her, but she was quick to grab his chin, pulling it roughly back to face her.

“I'm serious, Billy.” Her eyes pleaded with him, though her voice was strong and steady. “Yes or no.” Y/n wiped a tear from her face angrily. When he tried to turn his head away from her again, a choked sob slipped past her lips.

“You know it's not that simple for me, y/n.” He mumbled, eyes looking anywhere but into hers.

“It is that simple, Billy.” Her voice was rising and she couldn’t help it. “Either you love me, or you don't.” Pulling her hands away from him, he reached out to pull her back. “I need to know, Billy.” She took a step back. “Right here, right now.” 

“Y/n, please don't do this..” He looked at her, tears threatening to spill from his green eyes. “Please.” 

“Yes or no, Billy.”

“Why do you-” He started, and she held up a finger shaking her head.

“No, I need you to say it.”

“I can't!” He shouted at her, making her take another step back. “I don't know what you want from me, y/n..” His voice dropping low, reaching for her again, but this time she shook her head and pushed his hands away.

“I want YOU, Billy! I want you, and I want us. I want to tell you that I love you and I want you to be able to say it back.” She screamed at him, shoulders shaking with the effort to not let her own tears spill over. “I need you to say it, or I can't do this anymore. I can't keep going like this.” 

“You would leave me? You would throw this, us, away because I wont say it back?” He scoffed at her, she nodded in response. “Please don't leave me, Y/n. I'm trying so hard.”

“No you aren't Billy. I've been telling you for months that I love you.” She pointed a finger at him, “MONTHS of telling you and getting nothing but you leaving in response. You want me to stay, Billy? Give me a reason to stay, tell me you love me.”

“I DON'T WANT TO BE IN LOVE!” He finally snapped, shouting at her, face turning red. She blinked back at him, shrinking away from his anger, wrapping her arms around herself tightly.

“Was that so hard?” She whispered, turning to walk away from him. 

“Shit, y/n please wait, that's not what I meant.” His stomach clenched tightly at his own words. He hadn’t meant it. He did love her, so why couldn't he just say it. He was losing the only thing in his life that brought him any joy and it was his fault.

“You can't take it back now, Billy.” She scoffed over her shoulder, not stopping her retreat. “You finally told me what you really feel, and I have no one to blame but myself.” 

“Please, y/n.” Billy jogged around her, putting his hands on her shoulders, his heart shattering at the look on her face, the tears freely pouring down her face, chin trembling. “Please..” 

“Please what? Huh? I pushed and I pushed, and all I did was love you. Love you so much that it destroyed me every time you couldn't meet my eyes. Every time you pulled away from me, but I stayed. You yanked my heart out and stomped on it for days until YOU were ready to come back and say that you were sorry, but never telling me what I wanted to hear.” She sobbed, closing her eyes and dropping to the dirty ground. “Do you know what it's like to love someone who you know can never love you back? Do you know what it's like to have your heart ripped out, day after day? Of course you don't. Because you don't love me, you never have and you never can.” Billy dropped to the ground beside her, but she scrambled away from him quickly. 

“I'm done, Billy.” She sobbed into her hands, she kept her eyes to the ground as she stood up, leaving Billy on the ground. “I love you, I always will, but I guess I was wrong when I thought you loved me too.” And with that she took off, running as fast as she could to put as much distance between the heartbreak as she could. She could hear his screams, her name falling from his lips pleading her to come back.

“I do love you..” He whispered to himself, hating that he couldn’t just say the words to her when she needed to hear them the most, and now she was gone.

~x

[american-satanxx]

Immortal//Chapter 3

Author’s note: Thank you so much for the love on the first two chapters. Hopefully you guys will stick with me until the end. My updates will vary pending on my work schedule. I work full time at an animal hospital so my hours are kind of all over the place. So I apologize now. If you want to be on the tag list let me know. That way you guys don’t miss out if you truly love this story. Also any Russian in this story was translated Google. 

Taglist: @kingniazx

Masterlist

you're a sweet shot of kerosene. when i threw it back, it poisoned me

“So you and Four, huh?” Seven asks as he joins me out on the range. “That must be some story.” “It was the most imperfect, perfect relationship I had…” I shrug. “I mean up until he faked his death. That was a dickish move.” “You understand why he had to do it, right?” Seven questions me. “He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.” “He wouldn’t have been stuck there if he would have just listened to me.” I counter his point. “I warned him. I begged him not to do that job. But he brushed off my bad feelings and vibes and did what he wanted to do anyway. Men.” I scoff the last sentence. “You loved him, didn’t you?” I look over at Seven. By the looks of it, his questioning is genuine and not mocking me like every other guy that has asked that question. A sigh escapes my lips before a small smile dances across them. “I nearly spent 3 years with him. I have never stayed in a place long enough for me to develop attachments. But he...he was different.” “And he royally fucked it up by faking his death?” Seven chuckles. “Royally.” I agree, chuckling myself. “So how do you tie into everything? You don’t seem to be the type to work with criminals such as Four and Three. You’re not CIA like Two and I’m sure you’re not the doctor type like Five. Or a Femme Fatale like myself?”

“Femme Fatale, is that what you’re calling yourself?” Seven raises an eyebrow and soon a smirk develops on his lips. “I like it.” “One mentioned that’s what he’s calling me.” I shrug. “So spill, Seven… what are you?” “One said he was looking for an operative such as myself.” He shrugs. “I’m Army trained and my longest relationship was with my gun. I’m a good shot and obviously had One’s attention.” “I wonder how he finds us.” I bite my lower lip as my gaze goes towards the HQ building. “How the hell did seven people, from completely different backgrounds, find themselves on One’s radar?” “Well you were on his radar because Four was on his.” He shrugs. “But I get where you are coming from. I’ve been asking myself since the day I was recruited.” “Think about it. He’s Bruce Waye and all of us are his Dick Graysons.” “You do know there are more than one Robin, right?” Seven laughs, causing me to shrug. “Dick Grayson is the most important Robin though. Fight me.” “And lose?” He questions. “I rather not shatter my ego, thank you.” “I’m Alex by the way.” I introduce myself...officially. “I know One doesn’t like using real names but that’s mine. I figured it was time for someone other than Four to know it.” “Alex. You certainly look like an Alex.” He smiles before holding out his hand. “I’m Blaine and it’s nice to meet you.” I smile before putting my hand in his for a handshake. “It’s going to be a pleasure to work alongside of you.” “I second that statement.” ** “I hate ASMR videos.” I mutter to myself as I walk into HQ and see Billy watching an ASMR video while One is deep into his research. “How the hell can he concentrate while listening to that!?” “It’s supposed to be calming.” Billy shrugs. “It stresses me out.” I counter before sitting across from Billy at the table. I stretch out my legs and place the balls of my heels on the table. “So what’s going on bossman?” I ask One. “How’s research going?” “Not well. I’m having a hard time finding the whereabouts of a big name in this.” “What’s the name?” I ask. “Remember, that’s why you brought me on. I’m more than just a pretty face and a decent shot. I know everything there is to know about the Ukraine and Russia.” One just shoots me a look that tells me everything I need to know. He doesn’t trust me just yet. “Fine, come get me when you actually have news. Don’t summon me again for stupid shit.” Just as I’m about to get up, One tosses a folder on the table, right between me and Billy. “You two are going to case out this person’s apartment. You two and Seven are driving to Los Angeles tonight.” I open up the folder and see Anastasia Petrova. She’s an upcoming Russian actress. And also the daughter of the man simply known as Krestnyy Otets Razbitogo Serdtsa; otherwise The Godfather of the Broken Heart. This man has made more wives widows than any other man in the history of Russian Mafia. This alone makes me nervous. “You have a deathwish don’t you?” I ask One. “Or better yet, you have no problem sending three people into certain death?” “So I take it you know who we are dealing with?” The smirk on his lips is making me really want to slap him. “The don’t call him The Godfather of the Broken Heart for shits and giggles.” I sigh, running my fingers through my hair. “He has nothing to do with this. He’s not a fucking idiot.” “No he’s not.” One agrees. “But that doesn’t mean he’s not a connection or a contact to the person in charge. We need to flip over every stone. And the first stone starts with his daughter’s apartment. Get your shit ready, you guys leave tonight.” With that both Billy and I are dismissed. I just roll my eyes before getting up and walking out of the trailer; Billy isn’t too far behind me. “You look worried.” Billy’s deep accented voice states behind me. “I didn’t think Alexandria Smirnov got worried.” I turn around to look at him. “I worried about you that night.” I counter. “My worry is often overlooked, if I recall correctly.” “One lost his mind, hasn’t he?” He questions. “The man we are dealing with is insane, isn’t he?” “Insane is a nice way of saying it.” A humorless chuckle escapes my lips. “Let’s just say, his name is fitting. You truly don’t want to mess with this man, let alone mess with his daughter.” “I’m sure our Femme Fatale can flirt her way into the apartment.” He smirks. “You were always good at using your pretty face and amazing body to get whatever you wanted.” “But still you went off to steal those jewels.” I counter, rolling my eyes. “Come on, let’s pack our shit and get ready. This’ll be a long night.” I turn away and start towards my trailer. “What were you and Seven talking about earlier?” He yells in my direction. A chuckle escapes my lips but I keep walking, only looking back long enough to tell him, “jealousy never looked great on you Billy…”

[fan-of-everything-and-nothing]

The worst thing

about being one of the first in a fandom

is that there are absolutely no fanfiction, no gifs, no fanart, no witty coments, no nothing about my faves.

And I just watched

6 Underground

[taylorroger-s]

the great pretender [2] // billy/four x reader

a/n hi!!! here’s the second part of “the great pretender” and the third 6u fic ive posted. i have so many wips right now (because i have no self control and keep on starting stories i dont have the time to finish). i sat down like 4 hours ago and this is what came out of it. i’m kind of vibing with this story ngl. sooo here's part one, please reblog, etc.

masterlist!

warnings: none!

enjoy :)

⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱ 

the address the blond man had given you led to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. you tentatively stepped out of your car, eyes scanning back and forth across the area. it suddenly occurred to you that you could have been led there to be murdered. you could walk back to your car, drive back home, and forget you ever met the british man. but you didn’t, and continued to walk towards a set of steel double doors. 

it was unusually warm for that time of year with not a cloud in the sky as the sun beat down. you drew closer, searching the surrounding lot for some sign of other people. nada. the building stood about twenty feet high, a few small windows placed at even intervals on the concrete walls. definitely felt like a prime murder location. aren’t i here to “die”? you mused, hand closing around the door handle. you breathed in, out, then pulled the door open and stepped inside the dark warehouse. 

it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and you flinched when the heavy door shut behind you. taking another deep breath, you started walking around the room, eyes tracking the catwalks hanging overhead. the only light streamed through the small square windows, dust drifting through the air. the light all joined in the center of the room, one spot free of shadows.

“hello?” you called out, hands clenched into fists by your side. for a moment, there was only silence, and your anxiety was steadily mounting by the second. your heart nearly stopped when you heard a set of footsteps from the other side of the room. then another. someone sounded like they jumped from one of the catwalks. another set of footsteps. and another, until you could tell that there were six people in the room besides yourself. you were frozen, waiting for the mysterious group to make the next move. your eyes were glued to the circle of light as a tall man stepped into view. 

“well well, looks like four was right. you did show.” his voice was relatively neutral, and he spoke fast. he had close-cropped, light brown hair, and a short beard; a few gray hairs sprinkled throughout. he gave off heavy egomaniac vibes. you automatically were suspicious. some part of you was struggling with vague recognition of his frustratingly handsome face. had he been on the news at some point? but you couldn’t put your finger on it and let the question slide. 

“i did. might i ask why you wanted me to come here in the first place?” he tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms over his chest. you could just barely make out the outlines and shadows of more people lingering behind him. you unconsciously readjusted your stance to feel more confident, lifting your chin to look him in the eye. 

“in the simplest of terms, you’re an asset,” he spoke without letting through a whisper of emotion, a small, cold smile on his lips. his light tone was mildly irritating, and you were eager to get to the chase as to why you were there. but you already knew the answer, of course. piles of money and classified statistics would make you useful to any illegal operation. yet you decided to play dumb. letting out a breath through your nose, you placed a hand on your left hip. 

“oh? to what?” you did your very best to fill your words with a mocking lilt, though it wasn’t necessarily convincing, as his eye roll betrayed. the flicker of a scowl crossed your lips before you slid back into a poker face. you heard a faint snicker from behind the man, and then a subsequent hush. they were listening. 

“our crew. we’re just like you. tired of the bullshit. and we decided to do something about it,” the dangerous vibe you found on the group on a first impression seemed to be confirmed. it made you wonder what made each of them an ‘asset’ to this group, and if it was a bigger operation than just an agreement between the people in that room. 

“and we know you do too.” they certainly remember my outburst last night, you thought, cringing at the memory. once you stepped into the cab, it was impossible to think of anything else but what you did and what you were thinking of doing. the rest of the night was spent on the couch in your apartment, analyzing the piece of paper the british man gave you, even dipping into the fbi database with your account to dig up any other information. you were surprised to find there was nothing you came up with except for the location and ownership of the place he wanted you to find. apparently, it had been owned by some big tech company but was later abandoned and left to fall into disrepair. besides that, your hands came up empty of all information and you ended up falling asleep while watching tv, still holding tightly to the note. 

“what exactly am i in for if i say yes?” curiosity from the night before still simmered in the back of your mind, and you were becoming more and more willing to take the leap you spent the last twelve hours considering. ‘death’ in exchange for a life of freedom. it dawned on you that this man must have faked his death to avoid the very government you were employed by. 

“well, this is less of a request and more of an opportunity. you can take it or leave it.” now it was your turn to roll your eyes. your original assumption that the man was egotistical came to mind again. he certainly sounded like some boys you had known in college: rich from daddy’s trust fund, filled with unearned confidence, and owner of a severe superiority complex. 

“wow, you really know how to make a lady feel special.” a louder laugh sounded from the shadows behind the man, and you instinctively flicked your gaze to where it came from. an annoyed, whispered curse (in… french?) followed the laugh, which only made the person laugh harder. 

“ooh, she’s got a mouth on her. nice choice quattro.” the man’s voice was rich and warm with a slight accent to his words. quattro meant four. was that a name? nickname? 

“ANYWAY, you’re gonna be dead in every way, except physical. without the law to hold us, we can do anything.” the man sunk back into a slightly patronizing, dreamy tone, trying to paint a picture of the future you left your boyfriend for. freedom from your earthly responsibilities. but the cynical analyst within you won over. 

“as someone who works for the government, that is highly irresponsible.” you felt almost like a mom scolding her children for cooking up a dangerous activity. the man’s smile looked sharp enough to draw blood, brown eyes growing a shade darker. you had to stop yourself from taking a step back. 

“didn’t bring you here to lecture me about my poor life choices, i hear enough of that from seven. this is your chance to make the mark you have been dreaming of. now, what do you say?” another number. you had to admit, he was highly convincing. he had such sheer charisma it was hard to resist, but you drew together the best argument you could think of and forced it past your lips. 

“i’m not sure… it seems like you are up to some questionable vigilante justice,” you were about to continue your motherly scolding when you felt a person move to stand behind you. their body heat sent a startling chill across your skin. they leaned in closer, mere inches from your ear. 

“love, this is what you have been looking for, right? i promise you won’t regret it.” your breath hitched at the british man’s voice. he didn’t sound as confident as he had the night before, somehow seeming younger without his gorgeous features clouding your thoughts. you tried to fight back against the part of you completely convinced by the two men, but it grew stronger by the second. oh god… am i really going to do this? you took a deep breath in, out. there was no more debate. you knew exactly what you wanted, needed. 

“what do you need me to do?” you breathed out, pressing your lips into a thin line as soon as the words left your mouth. the blond man behind you relaxed, and you could almost see the smile he was most likely sporting. the man in front of you nodded approvingly, rubbing his beard with his left hand. 

“excellent. first step, your name is now eight. i’m one. take a wild guess as to what everyone else’s names are. second, fake your death…” eight? what? the two numbers mentioned before made sense. they were names. your name was now eight, something that you had not expected in the slightest. but you didn’t had time to argue. you listened carefully as one explained how you were going to fake your death, along with finer points about your new fellow ‘ghosts’. a few minutes later, you were caught up. you turned around to greet the others, forgetting that the blond man was standing right behind you. you stumbled, the man’s strong arms keeping you from falling. you could feel the embarrassment rise as he looked down at you. 

“glad you joined up… eight.” your cheeks grew hot with every passing second he had a hand on you. clearing your throat, you reluctantly stepped out of his arms.

“that’s gonna get some getting used to.” you laughed nervously, inwardly cringing at the obvious worry in your voice. he just smiled, raising the ambient temperature by 2 degrees celsius. his gorgeous green eyes were locked with yours, and you couldn’t help but offer him a shy smile in return. you were usually much stonier when it came to complete strangers, but the man’s casual confidence was annoyingly attractive. 

“you’ll catch on quick. you’re family now.” you softened a little at the care in his voice. you broke eye contact and glanced down at your shoes. a beat later, you looked back up, smirk on your lips. 

“then what’s your name, casanova?” 

“four,” he matched your smile, reaching out a hand for you to shake. you took it, praying he wouldn’t notice the sweat on your palm. his hands were rough with callouses, skin hot to the touch. 

“pleased to meet you, four.” you responded, doing a mock curtsy once you let go of his hand. he smiled, winking at you playfully. 

“likewise.”

⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱ 

yayayydufaysudf it’s done! hope ya liked it

[thetenthdoctorscompanion]

6 Underground /// Katie → Ace → Eight

“You’re not gonna shoot me.”

“Oh, I’m not?” She cocked the gun, lowering it from his face to his balls. “Try me, asshole.”

“Come on.” The man scoffed, chuckling like he was at ease. But she could see him eyeing the gun nervously. “You think this is the first time a woman has pointed a gun at my penis?”

“I think this is the first time a woman’s gonna follow through. Leave. Now.”

“See, I’m not gonna do that either. Because like it or not, we need each other.”

She was ready to blow him away. But something in the man’s expression made her stop. All humor was gone - all the nervousness and the quips and the bullshit. He stared at her like her apartment was his home ground, and he was the one with all the cards. Her hand tightened on the gun, her finger itching for the trigger. 

“Why?” she demanded.

The intruder smiled.

“Because I’m the guy who’s gonna get you out of this hellhole. I’m the guy who’s gonna let you work for the good guys again.”

HEY SO WE DON’T SUPPORT TERFS. REBLOG THE RECAST HERE!!!

[neon-caskets]

He Can’t Even Pronounce Je T’aime

Two x Three from 6 Underground

Request from anonymous: “could you write something where two is sent on a mission that involves like seducing another man and three gets jealous”

Yes, yes I can. 

TW// cursing, implied smut, drinking, 

Kinda short, but I hope this is okay!! :)

“If this fucks up, it will go Florence fast as hell. No, it’ll be worse than Florence. More than one of us dead, maybe all of us.” One made known. The team was in the control room, their little secret base in the middle of the Californian desert, away from prying public eyes. The perfect place to discuss taking down a mob boss with links to their next target; an arms dealer with the blood of thousands on his hands. “I’m serious. You thought dickhead dictators were bad? Every single person involved with this asshole has the ability to kill you in ways you didn’t know possible. So do your jobs well and everything goes fine. Got it?”

Everyone around the metal table in the dim, seedy room agreed and nodded. They understood the importance of getting this right. 

One, satisfied that the ghosts were on the same page as him, then moved onto explain the plan. He slid a few photos onto the table, all of one man. He was a looker, a pretty boy, definitely something of a heartbreaker. His pale blond hair was windswept as he stepped out of a helicopter, and the breeze blew his shirt up, showing off his toned torso. “Meet James Adams. He’s a gang leader from London-”

“My town,” Four grinned proudly, arms crossed across his chest.

“Shut the fuck up. I swear to God,” One huffed in exasperation. Four looked away sheepishly. “James here? Total asshole. He and his guys have done a lot of bad things, killed a lot of good people who couldn’t afford their end of deals made. James is pretty much the mini-boss in the way of the final boss,” He pointed to a picture beside the eight on the wall of jobs the ghosts had to do, people to kill. “So we need to go speak to him. Avoid killing him if we can; as much as I hate to admit it, we’re outgunned, outnumbered, outmatched.”

“What’s the plan? How do we do this?” Five piped up, tearing her eyes away from the pictures on the table. 

“Plan is Two gets cozy with James.”

“Really?” Three sighed in annoyance. It was no secret that he and Three were going strong in their relationship now. After the Turgistan job, Two met Three’s mother. Three swore his heart grew three sizes that day. There was something sweet about the hitman’s love for the ex-spy. There were, of course, also fleeting moments where Two’s icy exterior melted and everyone saw her feelings for Three, but those moments were brief. One job saw Three shot in the shoulder and Two rescued Three, panicked and urgent, before killing every person who attacked her partner -  that was one of these moments. Two and Three escaped for a date night on a job in Shanghai. They snuck off together in Rome. Not to mention all the nights they shared in each other's trailers in the desert base. 

One shrugged, “Sorry man, we gotta do what we gotta do. And Two’s the most qualified spy in the room.” He turned to address Two properly. “You’ll be in disguise, something fancy. We’re going to a party in Tokyo.”

“Should be fun,” Seven added in approval. 

One nodded then told Two, “I want this James prick seduced within two hours of being in that party.”

Two stared blankly at One and told him, “Give me one hour and a decent dress. Consider it done.”

~~~In Tokyo~~~

“Are we on the list yet?” Two asked One over her earpiece. She was wearing a shimmery champagne floor-length gown, strappy high heels, and blood-red lipstick. She, Three and Five were driving through Tokyo, heading to the party.

“He’s working on it. Don’t stress him or he might get a migraine,” Four answered, watching over One’s shoulder from where the two were positioned atop a skyscraper. One was trying to hack the bouncer’s electronic entry list. 

“Got it,” One said suddenly. “You’re in. Your name is now Camilla.”

“That’s creative. Couldn’t have just gone with Camille?” Five asked as she, Two and Three drove through Tokyo in an Aston Martin Rapide S. “I take it my name is now Amelie and Three is Javi?”

“Yes actually, now drive,” One muttered before jogging to the maintenance ladder to find another vantage point to watch from. Four took off along some scaffolding, agilely bouncing over buildings and scrambling up walls. Seven was watching, waiting, ready in a sniper nest in a building across from the party. 

The trio of ghosts pulled up to the glamorous, glitzy building which was swarmed by broody security guards and expensive cars, not to mention an array of guests. 

“Remember guys, the people in here range from black market royalty to globetrotting-country-conquering kingpins. One wrong move and it’s game over. Please don’t die; that’ll be a logistical nightmare.” One told Two, Three, and Five.

“Yeah, we get it. Jesus Christ, you worry too much,” Three uttered as he and the others stepped out of the car. He neatened his suit to make sure his gun was concealed enough. 

“Whatever man. Not my girlfriend going to seduce the bad guy.”

“Hey, low blow.”

“It will be when you blow your cover and get your ass handed to me.”

“Listen-”

“Enough. My God, I work with children,” Five grumbled, painting on a falsely sweet smile when people started to look their direction. She was wearing a striking blue gown that drew plenty of attention. She greeted the bouncer to check herself, Two and Three in, leaving Two and Three to talk for a moment.

Three turned off his earpiece so the others couldn’t hear the conversation, and Two copied. He sighed, the sound falling into the bubbly noise of laughter and song from the party beside them. “Try to make it painless, please.”

“One said to try to avoid killing him-”

“I meant try to get as much information as you can from him without... you know...”

“Fucking him? I’ll do my best.”

Three raised his brows and looked up for a moment as he tried to think of what to say, “I bet he doesn’t even know what je t’aime means.” He lowered his head to smile at Two. 

Two pursed her lips, but the corners pulled up into the slightest of smiles. She placed a kiss on Three’s cheek. “He probably won’t understand te amo either.” And that earned a smile from Three.

Their moment was relaxed, despite the circumstances. They were surrounded by neon lights and cigarette smoke, hazy headlights from the traffic beside them, the music mixing with the conversations that they couldn’t quite hear. It was one of those brief, beautiful moments where both Two and Three were fully engrossed in each other, enveloped by the auras exuded, surrounded by reciprocated feelings. 

“We should go. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home,” Three said, admitting defeat to time, which was not exactly on their side for this mission. He pressed a swift yet soft kiss to Two’s hairline. “Good luck.”

“You too.”

The pair marched into the party after Five, clicked their radios back on to communicate with the others. Five disappeared off to the bar to keep a lookout. Three left Two to go mingle with some crime-world locals. Two set about trying to find the target. 

She had to venture deeper into the building that had been decorated with a glossy back theme. This wasn’t something she was necessarily worried about, just something that wasn’t exactly desired. From all over the world, bad guys had traveled to be here. Everyone made a deal with the devil. This was a wolf den of arms dealers, black market regulars, corrupt politicians, mercenaries, and of course, ghosts. 

Soft golden neon lights brightened the place a little, giving light to the people crowded around to have conversations in the halls, talking in the expansive lounge, dancing in the club area, or sitting by the second, less occupied bar in the back. It was this particular bar that caught Two’s eye. The man drinking a daiquiri at the end of the bar was clearly trying to blend in. He might have done too, but Two’s eyes locked on like sonar, and she headed towards him. 

“I see James,” Two said quickly into her radio, letting the team know what was going on.

“And I see you,” Three added, entering the room to keep watch on Two whilst Five watched the main entrance. 

“Alright assholes, don’t fuck this up, understood?” One said bluntly to everyone, and he received less than enthusiastic mumbles in reply.

Two sat beside James wordlessly. She offered him a smile, and he offered her a drink. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Sure,” Little to no expression passed over the French woman’s face.

“Any preference?”

“Surprise me.”

James raised his brows at that and nodded curtly at the bartender, who got to work on a drink for Two. Then James sparked up a conversation. “So, what brings you here tonight?”

“Business. What about you?” Two thanked the bartender as a Moscow mule was placed in front of her. 

James nodded once, only slightly. His right hand, studded with silver rings, remained locked around his glass. “Business too. I guess that’s why everyone’s here tonight.” He paused to sip on his drink. “What’s your name?”

“Camilla. You?”

“Lovely name. I’m James.” He finished off his drink, ordered another, then asked, “So, Camilla, what exactly is your business then?”

Two, quick thinking as always, smiled sweetly. “I’m good with numbers and love shiny things. Embezzlement is my middle name.”

“Ah, I see,” James nodded along, totally oblivious to the fact that he was being had. “I’m good at making people do what I want. Some people call me a gang leader, but I think it’s more than that; I’m making an empire.”

“This guy needs to shut his fucking mouth,” Three groaned as he plucked a glass of champagne from a passing server’s tray.

“Harsh much,” Seven commented over comms.

Three scowled and shook his head, “Oh come on, you’re seriously telling me it doesn’t sound like he’s full of himself?”

“He sounds like a wanker.”

“Gracias, Cuatro,” Three said to Four before returning his full attention to Two, occasionally taking a drink of champagne. 

Two smiled at James, agreeing with him as they spoke of their crimes. Then James threw Two a curveball. “So, did you come here alone?”

Two hesitated slightly, then swallowed thickly. “I did.”

“New plan!” One barked down the line over everyone’s radios. “Lead him to one of the rooms upstairs. They’re accessible from the roof, so me, Seven, and Four can get there if we need to.”

Two continued, new plan in mind, “Are you planning something for after this party, James?”

“Perhaps. Why, are you?”

“Maybe. Want to disappear upstairs for a while?”

A smile crawled over James’s face at the exact same time a frown fell across Three’s. 

Two and James headed off up a set of stairs past the bustling dance floor of tipsy people and thumping bass music. There was a variety of colorful neon-lit rooms along this hall. Some had doors wide open, inviting people into the warmth of cigarettes and alcohol, with the sound of music beneath as background noise. Others had doors closed in a clear statement of ‘do not disturb’. James led Two to a room at the end of the hall. James didn’t notice the hooded blond-haired Brit leap across a building and out of sight, and Two pretended not to notice Four, especially when he swore at the fact he was almost seen. Seven had repositioned to a new sniper nest, this time pointing directly into the room. One was nowhere to be found, but he was the most ghostly of all the team members; not always seen, but his presence was definitely felt. 

The room that Two found herself in with James was cramped, only a few meters wide in each direction, a large king-sized bed ruling most of the room. There was a circular mirror above the bed, red neon strip lights running along the skirting boards. Hanging plants sat beside the windows, which had only white mesh that offered very limited privacy as curtains. 

“Is this more exciting than the business you were here for?” Two spoke with a shiver-inducing lull. Her voice was controlled yet powerful, beautiful, like the tides.

James grinned and began unbuttoning his shirt, “Damn right it is. I was meant to be arranging a buyer for my boss for some crates of stolen US military weapons going through Bucharest. This is way better.”

“And is your criteria for a buyer the same as your criteria for picking up girls?”

“My boss normally likes to meet his buyer after me, but I might have to keep you to myself...” 

Two tried not to cringe at that. And downstairs in the bar, Three downed the rest of his drink and tried not to break the glass. He was powerless at the moment, but hearing everything going on... it was torture.

“What a shame. Maybe you could introduce me to your boss one day. That’d be cute.”

James strode up to Two smoothly, hands finding her hips, “Yeah? Maybe I’ll take you to Prague when I meet him in a few days, huh?”

“Maybe,” Two smiled and was totally unfazed when One, Three, and Four burst through the door. 

“The fuck is this?” James scowled, utterly aghast. 

One watched as Four pulled a rag over James’s head to gag him, followed by a black fabric back to cover his head. Three was on the zip ties, binding James’s hands together. One told James coldly, “Alright, Mr. Adams, my friend Four here is gonna take you outside so he and Seven can have a little talk with you. This talk will, of course, end with a lead pellet between your eyes straight through your skull.”

Four dragged James harshly by the wrists out of the room and to the fire escape that he and One entered the building through. There was a loud crash and hushed curses from Four, who hissed over comms to Seven, “Catch... catch... fuckin’ catch him Seven!”

“You pushed him down the fire escape? Are you insane?” Seven groaned irritably. 

“Yeah, I pushed him on purpose. He fell. I’m not the one who didn’t catch him on the other end!”

“I’m gonna kill them both,” One stated monotonously, leaving behind Four, who was now locked in discussion with Five about how badly James’s body was now broken. 

“See?” Two smiled a little, approaching Three, “Told you I wouldn’t fuck him.”

“I’m very happy about that,” Three grinned broadly, his arms secured around Two’s waist, holding her close to him. 

“I’m just mad that I wore new lingerie under this dress and didn’t need to use it as my secret weapon,” Two shrugged. 

“You’ve got new lingerie under there?”

“Want to find out?”

One’s voice crackled in over the radio, “Guys, radios still on.”

Two and Three switched their radios on, tossed them aside, and continued where they left off, not bothered, not afraid that the other would leave, not unhappy. 

[samxslaughter]

Oh man guys, I just wrote some heart crushing angsty Billy and it hurts me so good 😍

Highly proud of myself for writing not one but TWO new stories in the last 12 hours 💙

Will be posted on @mrsalwayswritex later so stay tuned!!

[chairstacker69]

The Shadows Playground Chapter 1

Summary: Evelyn a college dropout has an odd talent for going unnoticed. As her job takes place on the dark web it is quiet a good talent to have.

****This whole chapter is to introduce the main character this story will follow. The 6 Underground characters will come into play next chapter****

The world is quickly changing, everything is done online opposed to in person. Crime is no different, the dark web came into fruition in the mid 90s so the US government could exchange information completely under the radar. But the tables have turned and it is now a place for assassins and people of that nature to find work.

A young women with an even younger looking face went by the name Evelyn, of course the only time she was called that was back when she was a teenager and her mom was telling her off. She had a softer nickname but a soft name is not something she wanted in her line of work so she re took the stricter sounding Evelyn. Sometimes at night she would lay awake and think about how each one of her choices lead her to where she is now. You see Evelyn didn’t work a nine five, nor was she studying in grad school. Although those may have been some of her go to lies when an overly friendly person asked what she did with her time. The truth was she had her own little place on the dark web, mainly a thief for hire. If someone wanted a rare painting, or priceless jewels she was the one. You see in her high school years Evelyn learned she had a she had a knack for being unnoticeable. It started small, walking into a room and no one would notice unless she would speak to them. But that slowly grew to pickpocketing people and shoplifting. 97% of the time she would go unnoticed but during that 3% she could smoothly lie her way out of it. 

When Evelyn was 20 she broke into her first house with her college friends. She’ll admit the job was sloppy and thats how she ended up with her first arrest. During that night in the holding cell Evelyn couldn't sleep. The feeling she had inside that house, the adrenaline was indescribable. She had found her very own version of cocaine but she knew in order to feed this addiction she’d have to work alone. Why not use the talent she was born with. 

That same year Evelyn was called into the deans office and was informed that her parents had gone missing. But she was not to worry because a missing persons case was filled. Evelyn never did see her parents again and their place in her heart was taken by a feeling of resentment towards the police force, a resentment that could only grow.  

After that year Evelyn never went back to university she studied the art of thievery instead. She didn’t know the full extent of what she was getting her self into but after a number months she had began to actually get clients. Saying that the people in this dark web business were dangerous was an understatement. Thats how Evelyn wound up with a number of scars, but over time she learned how to stop loosing fights so badly. Eventually she could actually win them, and she could now add assassin to the “services” she offered. 

When Evelyn turned 24 she found a sketchy apartment complex in Brooklyn where should could get a place no questions asked, no more living in that beat up Subaru.    

[mrsalwayswritex]

End up here

a/n: This gif has literally nothing to do with this story, but i mean come on. the man is beautiful!

pairing: Ben Hardy x reader

warnings: I mean I tried to do the smut thing but I chickened out, so have some heavy petting? I swear this was the best i could do, y’all.

song rec: I listened to and even mentions Body Party by Ciara, its pretty much how i imagined the dance scene going

You always end up here. It was never really a thought out decision on your part, to be honest. You knew that it would never go anywhere, never become anything, but here you are again. It started just like it did every time, and this time you had come to the realization that this wasn't you should be doing.

When Gwil called you hours ago to go out for drinks with everyone, you should have said ‘No’, you should have just stayed at home with netflix and a cup of tea, but before your brain could tell your mouth to shut up you were agreeing and then smacking yourself in the forehead. Gwil couldn't have been happier, gushing about how much they missed you.

Honestly, you missed them too, but after the last few times when you were forced to do the walk of shame before morning even came, you had started declining the offers. You missed your friends and it was time to be a big girl and own up to your behavior. So you sucked it up, threw on some jeans and a hoodie, thinking it was a nice ‘leave me alone, I'm not interested’ vibe, and walked out of the door.

It didn't take you long to walk to the bar that Gwil had directed you to, being only a few blocks away, and pulled open the door, the smell of smoke and alcohol filling your nose in a weirdly pleasant way. You shouted when you saw your friends at the table, Lucy standing up and squealing as she ran to you happily. The two of you hugged tightly, smelling the alcohol on her breath as she kissed your cheek. Dragging you back to the table, you smiled at everyone, giving out small touches, an arm squeeze for Rami, cheek kisses to and from Joe, a giant hug for Gwil, and then you saw him. Ben. You leaned towards him for a hug, but he kissed your cheek instead, hot breath fanning over your ear in the process. Shit.

Hours went by and the shots seemed never ending. At some point Lucy pulled you onto the small makeshift dance floor, made only because tables were moved, and started waving her arms wildly to the music. You laughed at her before she grabbed your hands and started shaking you around with her, both of you giggling madly. When the song was over and a slow jam started, Lucy and you laughed and hugged each other close, the boys shouting and clapping from the table. When you started to walk back to the table, Lucy grabbed your arm and gave you a sly smile.

Pointing to the speaker in the corner of the room, you listened closer to the song. You groaned and Lucy threw her head back in laughter as you stood side by side, both watching the other closely as you started to dance slowly. Body Party by Ciara floated through the speakers and you were instantly transported back to middle school dances and inappropriate dance moves that you thought were cool. Turns out, Lucy had done the same thing when she was younger, cause lets be honest, who hasn't. One wine drinking night with Lucy and the two of you had made up your own, rather provocative dance, to the song. Which Lucy had apparently wanted to do, right now.

As the music played, you closed your eyes and moved along with Lucy in a slow and sexy synchronized dance, that the two of you may or may not have practiced many times since the wine night. As you turned your body to face Lucy, she winked at you and you smile back at her. You glanced over towards the table where the boys sat, tapping Lucy lightly and nodding towards the table. When you saw four pairs of eyes following every move the two of you made, your alcohol soaked brain decided it would be a good idea to lock eyes with him, the one you had been avoiding thinking of all night. Ben. 

Lucy saw the look you exchanged, your eyes hooded as you rolled your hips with the beat, hands running slowly through your hair and your bottom lip held snugly between your teeth. Suddenly the thing turned into something more for you, you were singing along to the song, eyes locked with Ben, seeing his jaw clench and unclench before he pulled his lip between his teeth as he stared. You knew that had you been sober, you would never be doing this, but here you are, grinding yourself on Lucy as she ran her hands down your back softly. When the song came to an end, there was clapping, whistles and more being shouted at you both from half of the people in the bar, so when Lucy laced her fingers with yours and raised them in the air, you bowed with her while you both laughed and panted hard.

The song changed to the next one, but you lifted your hand to your mouth, signaling that you needed a drink and Lucy nodded quickly in agreeance. It didn't hit you until the short walk back to the table what you had done, when you locked eyes with Ben again. His eyes were dark, filled with something you couldn't quite put your finger on, but it made you shiver slightly, a shy smile appearing on your face.

The whistles and claps continued once you got back to the table, and Rami instantly had his hands on Lucy who gave him a small kiss and a wink. Gwil, ever the gentleman, sat there quietly clapping for you guys, seemingly unphased by the scene that had unfolded before him. Joe on the other hand, quickly let his gaze flicker back between you and Lucy. His mouth was open wide until Gwil reached over and closed it, that seemed to snap him out of his trance and he cleared his throat a blush appearing on his cheeks as he took a drink.

Sliding into the seat next to Ben without thinking, he leaned over and whispered praise in your ear, another shiver shot up your spine, making you sit straighter and Ben smirked at you. Wordlessly, he handed you a shot and clinked his glass to yours as he threw it back and you did the same. Moment put on the back burner, your group began chatting like normal, only a few mentions of the dance from then on. When you leaned back and crossed one leg over the other, Ben shifted so he was leaning forward, his fingertips running lightly along your calf.

You tried to push the burning sensations coming from his fingertips out of your mind and took a sip of a drink from the table, not caring who owned it, everyone staring at you as you set it down. Ben cleared his throat and reached for the cup you drank from, smirk on his annoyingly beautiful face. When you met his eyes again, they looked dark and heavy and they weren’t leaving you, even as he took a drink and handed it to you with a wink.

That moment seems like it happened in another lifetime, with as much has happened since. But that brings you right back here and now, sliding into a cab with Ben close behind, so close you can feel his breath tickling the hairs on the back of your neck. You're eyes closed at the feeling but you quickly snapped out of it when he growled softly, smacking your ass lightly pointing to the cab. Once seated inside, Ben slid in and gave his address to the driver and then his arm was around your shoulders, thumb rubbing lazy, torturous circles on your denim clad thighs.

The ride back to Ben’s apartment seemed like it took hours, especially with Ben leaning close to your ear and speaking in his lowest voice, it felt like there was fire inside your veins and Ben’s voice was just adding gasoline to it. Before the cab was even at a complete stop, Ben was shoving the cash into the drivers hand and he had the door half open, pulling you quickly up the steps. This is how it always happens, he would touch you lightly, whisper in your ear, everything he could do to get you riled up. He knew that you would be putty in his hands, and he fully intended on getting his hands on all of you.

You made it to his door, his hands on your waist as he pushed himself against you towards it, effectively trapping you between his body and the door. Pushing your hair from the side of your neck, he ran nose from your shoulder to your ear, leaving little nips along the way, a happy sigh escaping your throat. Unlocking the door, his hand wrapped around your waist to hold you to him as he pushed it open, slowly walking you both inside.

Once the door was closed, all bets were off, and soon so were the clothes. He pulled your hoodie over your head, sucking in a breath when you only wore a bra underneath. Ben stepped forward and slid his hands along your bare skin, eyes closing at the contact, when his hands slid up your waist and onto your back reaching up and unclasping your bra. Pulling away from you to pull the garment off, tossing it like it had personally offended him, he stepped back even further and you whimpered at the loss of contact. When you met his eyes, they devoured your topless body, giving you the confidence you needed to surge forward and crash your lips to his.

Ben wrapped his fingers in your hair and pulled lightly, pulling your head back to expose your throat, which he wasted no time in getting his mouth on it, earning a soft sound of pleasure. You wrapped your arms around his neck, scratching your nails gently over his scalp and his chest rumbled. Your hands on his chest pushing him backwards earned you a low growl which you felt from your ears to your toes and everywhere in between. Leaning up onto your toes your pressed your lips to his, working your way down his jaw as he tilted his head back for you. Your fingers working, undoing the buttons of his shirt before it was pushed to the floor, forgotten. 

Continuing your ministrations you kissed the whole way down his neck, knowing exactly when and where to bite him lightly to get a deep moan from him, you smiled as you kissed lower and lower, down his chest until you were eye level with the button of his pants. Sitting on your knees and looking up at him through your eyelashes earned you another growl and his hand back in your hair as he pulled roughly. You made quick work unbuttoning and unzipping and peppering light kisses along the top of his boxers, almost to the treasure you so desperately wanted until he pulled tightly on your hair, forcing you to stop and you whined. 

Pulling you up gently, Ben wrapped his hands around your waist and roughly pulled your bodies together, the skin to skin contact making you gasp slightly, which he used as the perfect time to connect your lips again, his tongue wasting no time and sliding along your lip, and you gave in instantly, your tongue meeting his eagerly. You again reached for his pants and pushing them down around his ankles before he stopped you, now standing in just his boxer shorts. “No fair, love.” He whispered in your ear lowly as his fingers burned trails of fire from your belly button straight to your core. He fidgeted with the button of your jeans and, frustrated, he pulled his lips from yours to focus on those damned jeans.

Laughing lightly, you pulled away from him, hooking your fingers into your waistband and rolling your hips seductively as you popped the button open easily. Running your hands from your waist up your body, lingering on your breasts, you bite your lip and locked eyes again, watching his eyes follow your fingers on your chest. Bravely running your fingers in a circle around your nipple and gasping lightly as your nails scratched over the sensitive area. Ben let out a frustrated grunt as he tried to step towards you again, you backed away with a cheeky smile on your face, hands cupping your breasts and throwing your head back in a soft moan. Your hands slid back down your body, pulling your jeans off slowly until you stood bare before him.

“No shirt, no panties? What were you planning tonight, love?” Ben chuckled deeply as he walked around you in a circle, hand connecting with your ass and you hissed, jumping slightly. His hand trailed around your body as he kept walking, hand dipping lower to almost where you wanted him to be, before he slid it back up your body. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered, now directly behind you, his tongue flicking out to trace the shell of your ear. Tossing your head back onto his shoulder, he slowly kissed, licked, and bit along you collarbone, grabbing your wrists and pulling them both above your head and around his neck. “Perfect.” He seemed to be whispering to himself and that just got you more worked up.

Ben was loving this view, with your arms over both of your heads, your chest rose up higher. Sliding his hands up, his fingertips ghosting over your nipple, a whimper falling from your lips as he did it again with more force behind it. You arched your back, pushing your back into his front and he groaned deeply, his hips snapping forward automatically. 

This was usually around the time when you realized that, earth shattering sex or not, this was never going to be anything different for the two of you. It seemed like the only time the two of you got along well was when one of you was panting underneath the other. This is how it always happens. “Ben, wait.” You whispered, silently hating yourself for making this stop. Quickly stepping away from you, Ben grabbed his shirt from the floor and offered it to you, but you shook your head. “What are we doing here?”

Ben stepped closer, dropping the shirt on the floor, and cupping your cheek gently, “Well, I thought it was obvious, but if I need to give you the birds and the bees talk, I will do that for you love.” He chuckled lightly, thumb brushing your chin.

“I mean..” You grabbed his wrist and ran your hand down his fingers, his hand, his wrist, all the way down his arm then back up to his shoulder, you watched a shiver run through him at the contact. “What are we?” you asked almost shyly, hating that you chose this moment to ask. 

“What do you want to be?”

“What?”

“Tell me what you want us to be, and we will be that.” He smiled at you, bopping his finger to your nose.

“It's that easy?”

“You think this was easy? y/n, we've been doing this for months. Months and Months of being able to have you in every way possible, trying to get myself to believe that it's just sex, but thats not any more true for me that I bet it is for you.” Ben spoke softly, and you nodded your head quickly.

“I want you, Ben. Every way that I can have you.” You stepped forward, chest-to-chest and turned your chin up to him. “I want you body, heart and soul.”

“I want that too.” He let out a breath you didn't know he was holding and he leaned down, hands sliding down your body until his hands reached the back of your thighs. “Jump.” wrapping your arms around his neck, you jumped up and his calloused hands caught you effortlessly. He walked you both towards his bedroom, hot breath skimming your neck as he nipped at your ear lobe. Growling at the yelp you made, he squeezed his hands on your thighs pulling you ever closer.

By the time you reached his bedroom, the kisses more rough, teeth clashing and moans being swallowed by the other. When he released your thighs, you were dropped onto the bed, Ben crawling over top of you, the look of a hunter stalking his prey etched onto his face. “Let's start with the body, shall we?” He smiled wickedly as you let out a deep groan, winding your fingers through his hair and pulling him in for yet another bruising kiss as your hand wandered low on his torso. “Fuck, y/n” he panted, your hands putting just the right amount of pressure in just the right place. “You're going to be the death of me, aren't you?” his eyes closed tightly as you left light kisses along his throat, pulling away to look him in the eyes.

“Only one way to find out.” You purred and he cursed again, you giggled lightly as he rolled you over. 

For once, things were different, but no matter what, you always ended up here.

~x

[mrsalwayswritex]

Your Prize

A/N: Ok so this was actually the frist Ben Hardy thing I had written, I had shared a prompt list with a friend and she chose these!

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Maybe a little angsty, some mentions of past abuse (but no detail), out baby ben being the literal best as always, Smoking (looks good, but no good for you)

Word count: 2500

Prompt: okay, i would like "hey hey it's just me" "oh don't cry i hate it when you cry" and "don't push me away" with ben boi (46&42 h/c and 26 a)

Written for the best hype man in the world @borninslumber​

Ten months ago

Your friends had finally talked you into going out with them, after you had been too busy for weeks with your new job, successfully guilt tripping you into it. 

“Come on, y/n! Just one night! It'll be fun to have the group back together!” Your best friend shouted at you over the phone so loud that you had to yank the device away from your head. 

“I already said I would go!” You laughed at her and she let out another howl of happy laughter before announcing to the rest of the room that you had agreed to go, followed by even more laughter and shouts of happiness. 

“Seven oclock! Don't be late!” She spoke softer now but you could tell it was for your benefit. “Wear something cute, were gonna get you a date tonight!” Before you could protest she ended the call with a loud laugh.

It had been just under a year since you had broken up with your last boyfriend who you had been with for years. It was tiring having friends who were single and happy about it when you were still crushed. Glancing at the clock and realizing it was already 4:30, you huffed to yourself as you shuffled towards your bathroom for a shower.

-

After showering and brushing your teeth you wrapped the towel around you and padded into your bedroom, pressing play on your phone and smiling as your favorite song came on. ‘I have no idea what something cute means.’ you thought to yourself as you flipped through hangers in your closet. Shrugging slightly, you found a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a plain black long sleeve shirt with the shoulders cut out. 

Standing in front of the mirror and inspecting the outfit, you chose a simple pair of grey converse to go with it and you left your hair falling in waves down your back. Stealing another glance at the clock you saw it was just after six when your phone rang. Seeing your best friends face pop up you rolled your eyes as you answered it.

“I still have time!” You said as soon as you heard the commotion on the other end.

“Not anymore you don't! The cutest guy just came in and he’s with a group of just guys so you had better get down here before he’s snagged away!” she chirped happily. “Your uber should be there in just a few minutes!” and then the line went dead.

“Wait, what?” You asked to a dead silence. Your phone buzzing alerting you to a text message with a picture of the uber order confirmation. Glancing outside you saw the car parked outside of your building. Sighing heavily you grabbed your small backpack and ran down the stairs to the waiting car.

-

After a short ride you got to the bar that your friends were at and walked through the front door and looking around for the group.

“Y/N!” You heard a chorus of your name being shouted from the corner, girls standing up and waving excitedly towards you. You smile and wave back at them, blushing slightly at the attention from the other bar patrons, shuffling over to them quickly.

“You guys are ridiculous you know that?” You smiled at your friends and they all whooped louder as you sat down. Your best friend since middle school scooted over towards you and pointed to a group of guys at a hightop table near the bar.

“That one.” She said simply, hooking her arm in yours and dragging you to the bar despite your protests.

“Two shots of Jack, then two more!” Your friend winked at the bartender, earning a laugh from him.

“So you want four shots of Jack.” He smiled back at her and she honest-to-goodness giggled and you rolled your eyes. “Ask and you shall receive.” He gave her a wink back and grabbed the glasses. 

“Can I also get a bud light please?” You said to the man behind the bar, who seemed to not even hear you. “Excuse me?” You spoke again, but he seemed to only have eyes for your friend. “Unbelievable.” You threw your hands up and turned your back to the bar.

“Four shots.” The bartender smiled at your friend and she touched his arm lightly before hitting you in the shoulder and pointing to the shots. You gave her a smile as you both picked up a shot and linked your arms together easily, and downed the burning liquid, tapping the empty glasses on the bar twice and erupting in a fit of laughter.

“Could I get that bud light now?” You looked back towards the bartender to find him ignoring you again. “Hello!” You raised your voice slightly but still no response. Getting tapped again by your friend you picked up the second shot and downed in the same way, and then she walked back over to the table to grab her beer. You stayed and tried the bartender again. “You are soooo not getting a tip!” You sang at the man and pulled out the stool to sit down.

“Hey buddy!” A voice shouted from beside you, making you jump a little, laughing at your nerves. When the bartender looked down the bar you waved your hands in disbelief. “I think this lovely lady here is in need of a beer.” The man said looking at you with a smile that you swear could stop your heart if you held his gaze. “Bud Light was it?” He winked at you and the bartender sheepishly set the bottle in front of you, and you snatched it with an angry look at him.

“Thanks.” You smiled at your savior, and he sat down beside you.

“Always prepared for a ‘damsel-in-distress’ situation.” He gave you a smile, taking a sip from his own drink. “I'm Ben.”

“Y/n” you raised your beer to him and he tapped his bottle with yours with a nod.

“y/n” He said back to you, and your name coming out of his mouth sounded like pure honey and sunshine and gave you a smile so big you swore you could see his wisdom teeth.

When he smiled at you, you melted into the chair a little further and let a small laugh escape your lips. You chanced a look at your friend and she was nodding her head furiously and giving you a thumbs up, eyes flicking to the table she had pointed out earlier. ‘This is the guys she had me come down here for’ you thought to yourself with a smile, she always had an eye for the good ones.

You sat with him for almost an hour, mindlessly chatting and laughing together when you heard the bar door open and a group of guys cheered from the other side of the bar, drawing your attention. Taking a sip of your beer you turned to see who the commotion was all about and you stared, bottle slipping from your fingers and shattering on the floor. You turned your quickly so your back was facing the man and your breathing started coming out in short puffs.

“Y/n,” Ben started reaching his hand out to touch you, but you flinched away quickly, eyes shooting towards the ground before you squeezed them closed. “Hey,” He whispered, “Hey, it's just me. It's Ben.” His voice held so much concern that you looked up at him with watery eyes. “What just happened?” His deep green eyes searched your face for any indication of the sudden change.

“Need to- Need to leave.” You choked out, voice sounding raw in your ears. Ben looked at you sadly and nodded his head, rubbing his hand through his short blond hair.

“Yeah, okay, uh well it was nice meeting you.” He touched your arm again and this time you didn't flinch away.

“Please, don't leave.” You whispered, grabbing his wrist. 

That seemed to change Ben’s whole demeanor as he nodded his head quickly and gripped both of your shoulders in his hands. “Tell me what to do.” He seemed sincere and you tried to give him a smile but you were sure you looked like a maniac, tears in your eyes and trying to smile. “Let me help.”

“Back.” You didn't trust yourself not to make a scene so you gave short answers and pointed towards the back door. “Smoke.” Ben nodded again and grabbed his beer and then wrapped his arm around your waist, helping you stand and leading you out of the back door, you looked behind you and you saw him clearer this time. Your ex boyfriend, Matt. Shutting your eyes quickly as Ben’s hand slid down your back, leading you out.

Once outside, Ben pulled out a pack of cigarettes and pulled out two, handing you one wordlessly and you accepted it, handing him your lighter with a small smile.

“You probably want an explanation.” You chuckled dryly, taking a long drag before blowing it out and pacing in the small alleyway.

“Not if you don't want to give one.” Ben gave you a small smile, leaning against the building and crossing his legs at the ankle. You had your back to him but turned and smiled back as the back door opened.

“Y/n.” Came a rough voice, and you stopped walking and started shaking. “Y/n. Look at me.” 

“No.” Your voice was shaking heavily and Ben looked back and forth between you, standing up and walking over towards you. “You aren’t allowed to be this close.”

“I didn't know you would be here, plausible deniability.” Matt shrugged his shoulders with a dark smile on his face. “I didn't know you’d be out here to smoke either.”

“Y/n?” Ben asked lightly, reaching out for you but you flinched away with a sob.

“Don't bother buddy, Cut your losses while you still can, this one isn't worth a steaming pile of dog crap.” Matt chuckled, taking a step towards you but Ben stepped in between you.

“Hey, don't talk about her like that!” Ben raised his voice but you spun around, pulling Ben’s sleeve as you stepped back. “No, y/n, he can't speak to you like that.” He tried to step forward but you knew what was going to happen, and you knew how to stop it.

“He’s right, Ben.” You spoke so softly and looked to the ground, but you knew what was happening without having to look.

“See? She knows.” Matt smiled at you but it was anything but a pleasant smile, and it churned Ben’s stomach to watch. Matt flicked his cigarette filter onto the ground and walked back inside with a wink to Ben.

As soon as the door clicked closed, a sob ripped from your throat and you collapsed to the ground, tears flowing freely. Ben crouched down and rubbed a hand soothingly over your back and you leaned into him and cried.

You sat in the alley, Ben sitting behind you so you could lean on his chest and you both chain smoked through his pack and started on yours while you told him the story of you and Matt and how abusive he was to you, until you put a restraining order on him. Today was your first time seeing him in over 9 months. Ben listened to you and rubbed his hands up and down your arms when you got too choked up and scoffed in all of the appropriate places in your story.

-

Present time

Ben woke to you mumbling in your sleep, thrashing around the bed you two had been sharing for the last few weeks. After a whimper left your lips he touched your arm and you let out an ear-piercing scream as you sat straight up in bed, pulling your arm away like you had been burned. When you turned and saw Ben’s worried face, tears threatened to spill over, but Ben was quick to wrap you in his arms and shush you softly, rocking you gently.

“Hush now, love.” He kissed the top of your head and rubbed your arms again. “Oh don't cry,” He rocked you some more as you sniffled a little. “I hate it when you cry.” Ben reached back and grabbed his pack of smokes and handed it to you gently. “Was it the same dream? Him again?” 

Not trusting yourself to speak, you just wiggled out of Ben’s grasp and pulled the blanket around your shoulders, lighting a cigarette and handing the pack back to Ben. Ben sighed and took one out too, before leaning back against the headboard, putting the ashtray between you. “Talk to me, y/n.” 

“I'm sorry.” You whispered softly, a single tear slipping free. Trying to wipe it away before Ben could see it, turning your head away from him, but he caught your chin gently and turned it back to him. “I'm sorry i'm broken.” Lower lip trembling and more tears sliding down your face. “You deserve someone who isn't broken.”

“Hey, don't push me away,” He rubbed his thumb over your chin softly, using his other hand to wipe your face. “You are not broken, and you are so much more than anything I could have ever dreamed of. Y/n, I love you so much, and even if you were broken, I would love all of the little pieces.” He gave you a smile, and despite yourself you smiled back at him. “There’s my girl.” He leaned in and gave you a soft kiss and you sighed happily.

“What did I do to deserve you, Benjamin Jones?” 

“You overcame the biggest battle that anyone could go through, I'm just your prize.” He gave you a cheeky smile and a wink, which made you laugh loudly. Your laugh sounding like music to his ears and he brushed your hair behind your ear. “That is my second favorite sound in the whole world.”

“Second favorite, huh?” You smiled up at him, leaning close and placing small, soft kisses along his jaw, slowly working your way down to his neck, feeling a grumble of happiness vibrating through his chest. “What would your first favorite sound be?” touching his jaw slightly, he tilted his head back just enough for you to continue your ministrations, which you did happily.

He licked his lips lightly before pulling your hands from him and rolling so he was hovering over you, bodies molding together instantly. “Well let me show you.” He looked up at you and you giggled lightly as he kissed his way down from your lips, down your chin and onto your neck until you let out a breathy sigh. “That’s not good enough, I'll have to try harder.” He gave you a cocky smile, and you could see the mischief in his eyes.

~x

[mrsalwayswritex]

Premiere Night

A/N- This is my first non prompted fic, but be brutal and tell me what you think!

Word count- almost 6k (what a way to start off)

Pairing- Ben Hardy/Jones x Fem!Reader

Warnings- light angst (little sad), fluffy friendship untiiiiiiiil, gwil softness

Two weeks ago, your best friend asked you a huge question, and it took you days to answer him, despite the constant texting.

Jonesy- please please please please

You- I told you I needed time to think

Jonesy- think faster would you

You- don't you pressure me jonesy, i will fight you

Jonesy- please please please please

You- I'm done having this conversation, bud. xx

Jonesy- fine xx

He wanted you to go to the premiere of 6 Underground with him, and as excited as you were for him, that really wasn't your scene and it honestly scared the crap out of you. There would be way to many people for your liking and the fact that all eyes would be on you pushed you closer to an anxiety attack, but then you though back to his face when he asked you.

-

“Hey, y/n, would you mind stopping over later?” He spoke into the phone before you could even say ‘Hello’, but you smiled anyways. “I mean if you like have other plans, that uh- that's alright too, but uh-”

“Hello to you too! Don't worry Jonesy, I'll be over at yours in maybe a half hour? I need coffee or I could possibly die.” You chuckled into your phone and though you couldn't see him, you knew he was smiling too. “What do you want?” You asked, swinging your legs out of the blanket and off the bed with a soft grunt.

“You’re the best, y/n.” Ben chuckled into the phone before basically rattling off his usual order, which made you roll your eyes. “Just because I'm not there doesn't mean i can't see you rolling your eyes at me. I know you, y/n/n. How long have we been friends?”

“Since before sliced bread, Jonesy.” You smiled into the phone again pulling on a pair of black denim shorts, while trying to balance the phone on your shoulder. “See you in a bit.” You huffed out and closed the phone before he responded. Changing your sleep shirt for a tank top and grabbing a flannel shirt you were out the door in less than ten minutes.

There was a small coffee shop almost directly between your apartment and Ben’s and the two of you often met up there so when you walked in and they saw you, they repeated your everyday order with a smirk and you shot them the finger guns you usually did and stood off to the side while other people came in. Once your order was up, you blew a kiss to the barista and you walked the next block and pushed the button for Ben’s apartment with your nose until the door buzzed open.

“I don't know why you won't let me help you.” Ben said when you kicked at his door with full hands and a paper bag in your teeth. He took the coffee you handed him and he grabbed the bag from your mouth.

“Strong and independent.” You gave him a wink while you kicked off your old converse walking straight to his couch. “Ok so I'm here, what did you need from me?”

“Oh! I wanted to ask you if you would mind being my plus one!” He seemed excited but also, in normal Ben fashion, shy as hell. “Like for the 6 Underground premiere?” He said slower when he saw your jaw drop.

“I know what premiere, Benjamin. You really think that I'll fit in there huh?” You scoffed, taking a large sip of your coffee, burning your tongue. “I don't know, this is kind of a huge thing isn't it?” Ben rubbed his hand through his hair and sighed, giving you a weak smile.

“I really want you to go though, you haven't been out with me like that since EastEnders and I miss it!” He gave you his best pouty face and you rolled your eyes and sighed at him. “Pleaseeeeee, y/n!” He ran over to the couch and jumped beside you, puffy out his lip and shaking his hands at you. “Pretty pleaseeeeee.” He begged.

“Let me think about it, when is it?”

“Three weeks from tomorrow.”

“Ugh, Jonesy you're killing me.”

-

The image of your best friend pouting beside you had stuck, which is what brought you here, dress shopping with Ben. You were more of a converse and jeans kind of girl so this was not even close to your scene, but then again neither would a premiere be your scene. He is so lucky that he’s my best friend. You thought to yourself as Ben was flicking his way through rack after rack of fabulous dresses that you never thought you would ever be thinking of wearing. “What are you wearing, Jonesy?” You asked, flipping through a rack of so many colors and sparkles it almost was too bright to look at, you shook your head lightly and moved down the line.

“All black, my stylist says it makes my hair pop?” He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “Black would look good on you too! Let’s look for those!” He exclaimed happily grabbing your hand and dragging you through the rows. You tried not to think of the warmth of his hand as you followed him with a giggle. “Oh look at this one!” He asked pulling a long black gown with small flowers on it and a split almost the whole way up the side.

“I don't know about that one, look at this slit!” You whisper-yelled, “You’ll practically be able to see mine!” You whispered the last part, looking around you and Ben let out a laugh so loud that people started looking at the two of you. “I swear to god, Jonesy, stop making people look.” You tried to hide your face but he wrapped his arms around you, chest still rumbling from laughter and he pressed a kiss to your hairline.

“You had better get used to it if you're going to this thing with me, y/n/n.”

“Fuck off.” You grumbled but hugged him back none-the-less.

You and Ben had been friends for almost your whole life, and you had tried years and years ago to deny that there was anything more than friendship you were feeling, but Ben had never showed any extra interest in you so you just pushed those aside and basked in the friendship of this sweet boy you grew up with. It had been only a few months ago that he had broken up with his long time girlfriend, and you noticed him being more touchy with you. You had brushed that off as him needing some sort of contact and pushed the feelings away again. This is your best friend, y/n. Get over yourself. You admonished yourself often when Ben would lay his head on your lap during a movie, or like now when he gave you a big hug and a kiss to the forehead, which you used to do a lot when you were younger but that fad had disappeared as you grew up. You and Ben had been through so many things in life together that you would never risk this friendship for some silly crush.

When the two of you broke apart moments later, your face bright red, you dove right back into flipping through the hangers. Finding a simple black lace dress that had next to no poof - the way you like them- your jaw dropped. Seeing your reaction Ben poked his head over your shoulder and gave a small whistle. “If you don't go and try that on right now, I will leave you here.” His breath on the side of your face made you shiver and he chuckled in your ear. “Go try it on, but don't let me see it.” Gently grabbing the hanger, you walked over to the lady behind the desk, and asked for help getting it on. She smiled brightly at you and took you back to the fitting rooms.

“Oh honey, this is your dress.” The saleswoman clapped her hands happily as she zipped you into the gorgeous black dress. “It's like it was made for you! Do you want to show your boyfriend?” She asked with her hands interlaced by her face. You shook your head, unable to speak as you looked into the mirror. This dress was made for me. You ran your hands softly down the fabric as it hugged every curve perfectly, and the plunging neckline made you feel glamorous.

“Oh!” As if just realizing what she said and you turned red again, “He is just my best friend!” The saleswoman gave you a sly smile that said she didn't fully believe you but shrugged and apologized anyways. “He doesn't want to see it yet, he wants both outfits to be a surprise.” You explained as you spun around, looking at your reflection in the mirror with a huge smile. “But this is the one.” She clapped again and began helping you out of it as you nearly vibrated with excitement.

When you walked out holding the dress with great care, Ben saw your smile and pumped his fist lightly. “This is the one.” You beamed at him and he wrapped his arm around your shoulder as you handed over your card to the saleswoman who gave you a small smile.

“She looks beautiful in it.” The woman mock whispered to Ben, shooting you a wink.

“She always does.” Ben smiled down at you and you blushed, quickly pulling your gaze from his face as the woman put your dress in a garment bag and zipped it closed. “Now the fun part, shoes!” He laughed fully again as you rolled your eyes again for the millionth time that day.

-

Shoe shopping wasn't as bad as you thought it would have been and soon you were back in Ben’s car on the way back to your apartment. “See? Shopping wasn't that bad.” He elbowed you in the side lightly as his eyes flicked back and forth between you and the road. “Now I'm thinking some take out and a movie?”

“Sounds alright to me, bud.” You gave him a small smile and leaned your head against the window, trying to contain your excitement. “Pizza or Chinese?”

“Horror or RomCom?” He questioned back.

“Either pizza and romcom or chinese and horror?”

“How about chinese and romcom so when you laugh there is a chance for a noodle out of the nose again.” He cackled and you smacked him in the chest, laughing with him.

“That was ONE time, can we please move on!” Both of you laughing felt right and you felt more and more the need to keep him as your best friend, butterfly feeling or not. “Pizza and romcom it is!” you brought your fist down on your knee like a gavel, decision made.

“Why can't all women be like you, y/n? In five minutes you decided on not one, but two things.” He shot you a wink, “One of those actually being the answer to the question ‘What do you want for dinner’ I am so proud of you.” You stuck your tongue out at him and he returned the gesture.

Once you were back at the door to your apartment, Ben was on the phone in an instant ordering your pizza with his phone on his shoulder as he leaned down to untie his shoes. Once in the kitchen you pulled the ashtray out from the shelf and set it on the island, knowing that Ben chain smokes when you are together. This was a normal thing, so you went about the usual routine while he thanked the person on the phone, dropping it to the table before pulling out a barstool to sit across from you as you slid him a beer.

“So tell me a little more about what I'm going to have to do next week, Jonesy.” Taking a sip of your beer, you pulled out your pack of marlboros, took one out and slid them across the counter to him, he accepted with a smile. “What is my job?”

“Honestly I just want you there because I miss going to these things with you,” He lit his own cigarette and blew it out of the corner of his mouth. “You don't have to do anything but stand there and look pretty. Take a few pictures with me, and then watch the movie while looking fabulous. That’s really it!” He explained, taking a sip of his beer too.

“What am I supposed to do when they want pictures of you alone? Just stand there awkwardly?” You tried to not seem too worried about it but you knew that he knew you were terrified. Crowds were not really your thing and especially when there will be constant pictures being taken of you, it was nerve wracking and he knew it. When he reached his hand over to yours and touched it gently you automatically looked right to his face.

“Joe and Gwil will be there too, so when I'm needed alone you can just stick around them, you know they love you.” He nodded his head, the gentle look on his face making you feel only slightly better. “Besides, I don't plan on leaving you alone if I can help it. What’s the point in you going with me if I leave you behind somewhere?” He chuckled a little, pulling his hand back and you hated that you instantly missed the warmth and softness of his hands. Pull yourself together.

“Well I guess that doesn't sound all that bad.” You sighed giving him a weak smile. The two of you sat there and polished off your beers and laughing with each other until there was a knock at your door, your pizza was finally here! After all these years it began to be a game between the two of you, who could reach their wallet and the door first, and this time was no different. You both grinned at each other as you both took off towards the door, Ben sticking his leg out to the side as you tumbled onto the couch with a shriek, he cackled loudly as he reached the door. Huffing you got off the couch and stomped your way to the kitchen for another round of beers and napkins, no plates, knowing you will both just eat straight from the box.

The two of you met back in the middle on the couch and ben handed you a box and kept one for himself. “Oh we should have gotten cheese sticks!” smacking yourself in the forehead lightly, Ben smiled at you and handed you a smaller box. “You are seriously the best, Jonesy” You blew him a kiss as you both settled in side by side on the couch and you turned on the movie. You munched happily on your bacon, onion and extra cheese pizza while ben enjoyed his pepperoni and cheese one, both of you offering the other a piece at the same time.

Once you had your fill of the pizza, you carried the boxes to the refrigerator and grabbed the ashtray on the way back through, setting it between you on the cushion. Ben moved it over and once you were settled, he laid down and settled his head in your lap, your hand instinctively going to his hair and he let out a happy sigh. The movie kept playing and you both stayed there, happily enjoying the night.

-

Before you knew it, it was premiere day and when you rolled over to look at the time, you groaned when you saw that it read 6:25 am, you didn't have to be awake for another three hours. Tossing and turning for a bit longer before you sat up with a huff. Coffee! Coffee! Was the only thing your mind could think of, as you kicked off the blankets and shuffled into the kitchen. Cup of coffee in hand, and a cigarette in the other, you yawned as you kicked on the bathroom light.

Hearing your phone going off and groaning loudly, you set the cup on the bathroom counter and turned on the hot water before you ran to the bedside table where the device sat. Jonesy. “Morning, Jonesy.” You yawned into the phone, getting a grunt in return. “Couldn’t sleep either, bud?” You smiled as you walked back into the bathroom. Ben grunted again and you understood it as an agreement.

“y/n. Are you in the shower?” He suddenly sounded wide awake and you huffed out a laugh.

“Not at the moment, but I was about to get in when you called. Can I call you back in like 20 minutes or did you need to talk?”

“Talk. I may have gone to a few of these but my nerves always get to me beforehand. Wanna go get coffee soon?” You heard him shuffling around on his end and you pictured his morning zombie walk to the kitchen. “What time do your appointments start?” He mumbled through a yawn.

Pulling your hair up into a high bun so it didn't get wet, and switching to speakerphone and setting it on the counter next to your shower. Pulling back the curtain and stepping into the hot water, you let out a soft sound of happiness. You swore you heard Ben choke on whatever he was drinking, but he cleared his throat to cover it. “Back to back hair and nails starting at 10, and yes to the coffee. What about your appointment?”

“Claire is coming over to mine around 12, we need to head out about 3, will you be ready by then?” You could tell he was trying to talk louder so you could hear him over the sound of the water.

“Can I just come to yours to get ready? I'm gonna need help with this dress. I'll try and make it before Claire leaves, I'm sure she would help me.”

“You got it, babe.”

-

You and Ben met up at the coffee shop about a half hour later, not hanging up until you could see each other down the street, and you both nervously drank multiple cups of coffee, then he offered to drive you to your appointments, to which you happily agreed. Soon your hair was perfect and your nails were a glittery black color to which Ben happily approved of.

“11:15, let’s go grab your things and head back to mine?” He held open the door for you before rushing forward to get the car door as well, “Don't want your nails to get ruined!” He beamed at you sweetly.

Luckily you were super anxious about today, you had already gathered up everything you would need from shoes to earrings stacked neatly in front of the garment bag holding your dress. Squealing softly and gathering your things, you were back in Ben’s car in minutes and on the way back to his apartment. Neither of you spoke on the way back, nerves speaking loud enough for the both of you. When you pulled up to the front of the building a familiar car was parked in front. Joe and Gwil were both bobbing their heads in the front seat, Ben threw himself into the side of the car dramatically and after hugs and hellos, the four of you made your way up the stairs, each of the boys carrying something of yours so your hands were free. (“Gotta protect the nails, y/n.” Ben winked at you.)

-

Claire had finished putting the final touches on Ben and the boys before coming back the spare bedroom you had taken over. Patting the wall like a drum roll and you opening the bag, she clapped her hands loudly. “Oh y/n! It's beautiful!” She cooed and you grinned happily. Claire was an expert at this, literally her job, so within minutes you were securely in your dress and had just slipped your shoes on while she clasped your necklace. It was a small silver chain that clasped around your neck but fell into your cleavage, shown off by the low cut dress, it was the perfect accessory. “Oh my love, you look so beautiful!” She out both hands on your either of your cheeks and kissed your forehead before touching her forehead to yours. “Let’s go out there and make Benjamin’s jaw drop!” You rolled your eyes, waving your hands at the door, letting the woman go first. She scooted down the hall clapping her hands for the attention of the small group. “Premiere ready for the first time in years, Y/n is back to grace us with her beauty! Ben, keep your eyes closed, Y/n, darling, you too!”

“How am I supposed to walk in these heels with my eyes closed, Claire?” You laughed back and the older woman tossed her hands in the air. With another warning to Ben, Claire walked around the corner where you were patiently waiting and linked your arms with hers. Stepping around the corner with your eyes closed lightly and your steps even lighter, Claire whispered that the boys were blocking ben so you could open your eyes, you were glad you did because you never would have imagined the jaw dropping looks on Joe and Gwil’s faces.

“You look incredible, y/n!” Joe rushed forward and wrapped you in a tight hug, squeezing your eyes closed, before Joe turned you around so you couldn’t see..

“Even more than usual!” Gwil concurred as he came for a hug next.

Then with both boys and Claire standing beside you, Claire cleared her throat. “Benny, you can stop bouncing over there.” She snickered, making you and Ben both chuckle. “You two can turn around now.”

“1. 2. 3.” You and Ben counted out loud together before you both turned around, finally facing each other.

“Holy shit.” You both said in unison, making everyone else make various ‘aww’ sounds.

“Daaaaamn, Jonesy.” You slowly clapped your hands as he gave you a small bow, his eyes never leaving yours.

“You look absolutely beautiful, y/n/n.” He breathed out softly and he swept forward, pulling you in a crushing hug as he lifted you up and spin you around before setting you back down softly. “So fuckin’ beautiful.” He whispered so softly you barely heard him, as he held your hand above your head and you giggled and spun around, his eyes trained to the small silver chain on your chest.

“Alright love birds, since Joe and I obviously don't need to be validated ‘cause we know that we look good, it's nearly three, can we get on the road?” Gwil sighed, gesturing towards the door. Neither you or Ben dared to move, neither of you wanting to break whatever spell was cast over this moment. Gwil clapped loudly and your eye contact broke, both of you turned to look at him a little dazed. “You two are going to be insufferable tonight.” He rolled his eyes, making the same gestures much harsher this time. “May we leave now?”

Ben pulled out his pack of marlboros and shoved one in his mouth, your eyes following the movement a little too closely, before his piercing green eyes snapped to yours and he gave you one too. Muttering out a thanks, you blushed when he lifted his arm to you ad you wrapped yours around his, walking out the door before Gwil could snap again.

-

The four of you had a better conversation once in the car, and it was a lively drive to the event. The boys gave you a beautiful and horrendously dramatic Queen concert on the way. By the time you arrived on location, your eyes were watering from laughter and all of your fear had gone away, but that could have something to do with the fact that Ben hadn’t stopped touching you since you left his place. Knees resting against each other, arms brushing, it sets your skin on fire but you wouldn't change it for the world.

All of your anxiety came back though when you started to hear the shouting of the people on the carpet line. Ben heard it too and he reached for your hand quickly, and you held on tightly. Joe was quick to put a hand on your shoulder and gave it a squeeze for comfort. You smiled weakly at him and Gwil smiled at you happily. “Let’s do this folks.” Joe put on a huge grin and hopped towards the line coming out of the door.

Joe and Gwil went ahead of you and Ben but walked slower so they could be close to you, for the exact situation you worried about last week. As soon as your silver strappy shoe hit the carpet, the cameras turned towards you and the flashes began, Ben leaned in and whispered something funny in your ear, making you laugh loudly, and when he pulled away, he just stared at you while the flashing lights went off. People were calling Ben’s name left and right and he smiled wildly in all directions. He was so in his element and he didn't even realize it.

People were shouting questions at you and Ben and Ben smiled and answered as many as he could, including the questions about who you were, but it was like he was purposely avoiding the questions about if you were his girlfriend. You stayed silent, smiling as genuinely as you could when you had a sinking feeling in your heart. Ben wanted you here to dispel the rumors that he was single. Luckily for you, Gwil was at the end of the line and he was beckoning for you and you were just about to shuffle towards him, when you heard the one thing that you had been dreading since the realization hit you.

“Ben, give her a kiss!”

Your eyes shot towards your best friend, knowing the look in his eye. He was so wrapped up in all of this, he was going to do it. You shot Gwil a frantic look and he looked like he was about to step forward and save you but within seconds, Ben’s face was at your ear and he was whispering into your ear, “Trust me.” Suddenly his hand was on the small of your back and he had you in a low dip, shooting the cameras a smirk and he leaned down and pressed his lips to yours gently while the cameras flashed and the crowd cheered. Your heart was somehow in the middle of glowing and breaking and you could feel the brokenness creeping up your throat and when Bens lips left yours, you hated that you missed it. You hated that you came. But most of all, you hated Ben for putting you into this situation blind. Had he just told me I could maybe have played along, but this is just too cruel.

Slowly Ben pulled you back up and you gave him a weak smile, glancing at Gwil and Joe who stood out of the view of the cameras, jaws wide open before Gwil recovered and made an exaggerated smile, pointing to him cheeks. You had to keep the smile up you thought he was trying to convey so you tried your best to give a dazzling smile as you leaned into Ben’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. “That was a dirty trick, Jonesy.” You gave him another smile for the camera and then when as if on cue, they started asking for pictures of just Ben and you quickly took his arm from around your waist and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before waving and giving another huge smile and walked towards Gwil and Joe, the latter still standing with his mouth wide open.

“Close your goddamn mouth Joseph.” You gritted out with a smile still plastered on your face. “I need to go outside.” You directed the second part to Gwil and he nodded his head quickly, putting his hand on your lower back and leading you to the side door.

“Just hold it until we get out there.” Gwil whispered softly in your ear and you nodded furiously, smile still on your face, but as soon as you feet touched the concrete, a sob ripped itself from your chest. You were lucky that Gwilym was there because he was the only one who knew about your girlhood crush on your best friend, and before this moment you regretted telling him, but now you were glad you had someone here who understood how what had just happened affected you. He was quick to wrap you in a tight hug and started shushing in your ear softly.

“This is why he wanted me to come.” You sobbed into his chest, “Why would he do this to me. He has to know by now, Gwil, it's been almost 15 years!” You shouted, pounding your fists against his chest but he tightened his grip and held you closer, rubbing your back. “I'm going to have to see those pictures every time I go online and they will haunt me forever. It’s not like it was our first kiss but it was the first one since we were 14 and I figured out I had a crush.” When you stopped pounding on his chest, Gwil pulled away from you and used his jacket sleeve to dab at your face, still saying silent as he reached for your purse, pulling out your pack of marbs and tapped one out for you. With a shaky hand you took the offered cigarette with a small laugh. “You are a man of few words, Gwilym, and I love that about you.” He smiled back at you brightly but his smile faded quickly when he saw your sour face. “Oh no, now that I've said I love you, now you must go kiss me in front of the entire world.” You sighed, taking a ragged puff of you cigarette and blew it out slowly.

“Oh, y/n, you know he doesn't think about what he does. Ben’s an idiot, and I know this isn't news to you, but you have to understand the headspace he’s into out there, I'm sure this wasn't his plan from the beginning.” Gwil reasoned, but then he closed his eyes tightly like he was remembering something.

“What do you remember?”

“When he and his girlfriend broke up, he told Joe and I that he was gonna ask you to go with him.”

“He asked me three weeks ago, but your telling me that he’s had this planned for months.” Nodding your head and turning your back on Gwil you paced around, shakily smoking through the cigarette.

“Hey, that doesn't mean he had that whole show out there planned this whole time, I'm sure That was spur of the moment.”

“He whispered ‘Trust me’ in my ear right before he did it.” You scoffed, a fresh stream of tears making their way down your face. Gwil reached out and dabbed away the tears before they could make your makeup run down your face. The moment the door opened you turned your back to it and quickly wiping at your face.

“Y/n?” Ben and Joe had walked out at the perfect moment for you to now be embarrassed and angry at the same time. “Are you crying? What happened?” Ben’s voice was full of concern and before you know it you were flipping through emotions like a flip book, sad-angry-embarrassed-furious-heartbroken. When a laugh escaped your lips, Gwil sucked in a breath.

“That was messed up, Benjamin, and you know it.” You turned to face him with anger in your eyes, “You had no right to take advantage of my feelings, and you're a goddamn asshole.” You light another cigarette off the first one and turned your back on him.

“What did I do wrong, y/n? Tell me, you know I hate it when you're upset with me.” Ben took a step towards you, but you moved away quickly, as if his touch would burn you. “Y/n/n, talk to me.” He grabbed your shoulders quickly but gently as he turned you to face him. When a mutinous tear slipped down your face, his hands went from your shoulders to your cupping your face, wiping the tear with him thumb. “The kiss was too much wasn't it?” His eyes got wide and you scoffed at him.

“I know that you know, Jonesy, you may be an idiot but you still know.” Your eyes bore into him and he dropped his head. “See? You know. You knew and you still did that to me in front of everyone.” You gritted out, trying to not let anymore tears slip from your eyes. “You had no right to fuck with me like that.” Your bottom lip was trembling and your voice was hoarse with the effort. “No fucking right.” You stuck your finger in his face.

“You're right, y/n, I did know.” He whispered, looking down at his feet. “I did know, and I did plan it.” He added softly, still not meeting your gaze. You let out a manic laugh and it kept going until you were full out laughing.

“Of course you did.” You patted him on the shoulder and started walking over to a table that was a short distance away. When you heard footsteps following you, you stuck your hand out behind you, then the only sounds you heard were your heels clicking on the pavement.

One Week Later

You sat alone on your couch for the fourth night in a row, you had turned something on but you couldn’t focus enough to remember what it was. Crushing out another cigarette in your already over full ashtray and you curled into the cushions and just stared at the fabric, only breaking your trance when you heard a soft knock at your door. Contemplating ignoring it, you sniffled a bit and walked towards the door. When it opened you saw him. The person you had been avoiding since the premiere. You had stayed there for the rest of the night but you didn't speak to him again, and you hadn’t since.

“Jesus, y/n.” He breathed out and you just shook your head, as if it were as easy to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. “I- uh- Listen-” He stuttered out and you scoffed at him, preparing to close the door in his face but he grabbed the door first and pushed his way into your apartment. He walked close enough to you that as you back up, you slowly backed against the wall, his arms trapping you in. “I had a whole speech planned but I just-”

“Stop, Ben, I can't do this.” Your lip trembled and his eyes softened.

“Fuck the speech.” He whispered out before he crashed his lips into yours harshly, he pulled away for only a second to look straight into your eyes. “I planned it because I love you, y/n.” He kissed you again, softer this time and your eyes shot open wide at his words. “And I,” kiss, “ am so,” kiss, “so fucking sorry.” He let his forehead rest on yours and he stared into your eyes, waiting for a response.

“You are such an asshole, Jonesy.” You chuckled lightly, grabbing his face and peppering it with kisses, he let out the breath he was holding and wrapped his arms around you tightly.

“Will you let me be your asshole?” He asked gently, you answered only with a nod and pulled him close.

x

[taylorroger-s]

good company [1] // billy/four x tattooartist!reader

a/n so this came as an invasive thought one random night. might be caused by my recent addiction to tattoo videos. also i wanted to read something like this but sadly, i had to write it. and i think it turned out pretty good! plus i wanted to draw this out since i got hit by a wave of nine million ideas and it’s pointless to smush everything together when I can write it all out. and thus, this mini series was born. hope y’all enjoy!!! (me writing this: god i wish that were me) 

summary: you are brand new to the tattooing world; young, scrappy, and eager to prove yourself, you took the first opportunity offered to you. your first client? a young man named billy, who’s character puzzles you to no end.

masterlist here!

warnings: uhhh tattoos (duh), cursing, ~tension~ and the like. clocks in at about 6.3k words

enjoy :)

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it was the seediest shop in town, and the only one to give you a chance. young, scrappy, and determined to make your passion for tattooing a reality, you took the first real offer you got. after a few months doing an apprenticeship with a veteran of your new tattoo parlor, they gave you a table and chair in the corner and told you to get to it. he was your very first client.

the day started off with tidying up the counter and turning on the open sign. your first few hours as an official tattoo artist were spent at the meager “reception” desk, furiously doodling any design that struck your fancy. occasionally you would give out forms and verify ages, but the shop was more into efficiency and artistry than sticking to professional protocol. they did hire you, after all.

several hours and one brief argument with a coworker later, you plopped down on the chair at your tattoo station for lunch. while nibbling at your cheese sandwich, you took a moment to examine the room further. five other tattoo artists were hunched over their own work, chugging along while their clients cringed and bit their lips in pain. framed photographs of tattoos and artwork lined the walls, broken up by miscellaneous wall hangings and the occasional pipe. chatter filled the room, just barely overpowering the music streaming from a clunky radio set up by the waiting area. 

then he walked in, all ropey muscles and bright eyes, no more than a year or two older than you. he wore a grey jacket with the hood pulled up, letting just a few stands of honey blond hair peek through. his eyes swept back and forth across the stations, each one occupied except for your small set up in the far corner. you glanced up from the tree you had been drawing, almost falling off your chair once you saw how strikingly attractive the boy was. 

you couldn’t help but watch as a heavily tattooed woman - stacy, one of the most experienced at the shop - walked up to the desk and greeted the boy. you unconsciously leaned towards the two, attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation. the pen wedged between your fingers fell to the floor, but you hardly noticed. 

“i’d… like a tattoo please.” he spoke confidently, almost brash in his tone, but the way his shoulders tensed with each loud laugh and how his eyes darted back and forth from stacy’s face to the floor betrayed his anxiety. his hands were shoved in his pockets, fingers visibly squirming behind the gray fabric. he was nervous, despite being a good few inches taller than stacy and twice as broad. 

“what’s the name, love?” she asked, tucking a strand of dark blue hair behind her ear. half of her head was buzzed, the rest of her hair peppered with gray strands. tattoos snaked down from behind her ear to the column of her throat, the rest disappearing beneath a “sex pistols” shirt. she wore her age proudly on her face, smile lines creasing the skin around her bright red lips. stacy was almost like the mother of the shop, and had been there longer than anybody.

“billy.” his voice was borderline too deep for such a young face, hood slipping down a little further to expose more of his wavy blond hair. you were well aware at that point that you were staring at him, mind whirling with a million possibilities as to where such a person could come from and why he wanted a tattoo. there were upwards of three different designs you mentally listed that you thought would enhance his good looks. maybe something on his arms? or neck? you stood by the belief that tattoos could make anyone more attractive, though your parents would beg to differ. 

“alright then, what are you wanting to get?” stacy pulled out a clipboard, writing down his information with a pen adorned by cracked beads and colorful string hanging from the cap. 

“some numbers and letters on my knuckles, on uh… my right hand? four of them.” you gripped your sketchbook tighter, barely resisting the urge to grab your pencil and start doodling fonts. however, it was a long shot that you were going to end up with him as a client, your first client, which marginally deflated your enthusiasm. you took a large bite from your sandwich instead of drawing, turning your attention back to him and stacy. 

“splendid, let’s see who’s open… oh um, please give me a moment.” stacy glanced around the room, searching for an empty chair. she grimaced inwardly as she realized there were none, save for the one right in front of you that was occupied by your propped up feet and a brown lunch bag. you couldn’t read further into her expression before she turned away from both him and you, walking over to the middle aged owner of the tattoo parlor. tom was a sour character, but could tattoo better than most of the more respectable artists in the city. you attempted to focus once more on the sandwich in your hand and not the boy while stacy tugged on tom’s baggy tank top. 

“tom, there’s this kid here for a tattoo and no one is free.” tom looked up for no more than three seconds, tattoo machine clutched between his surprisingly thin fingers. he must have been in his early fifties, and weighed more than you and stacy combined. he was in the process of inking a bold skull on the back of a young man, cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. 

“what about our little birdie over there? she’s free, yeah?” tom huffed, clearly annoyed at being disturbed. birdie was the nickname you got after bringing mostly bird-related art to your interview, and it showed no signs of going away. stacy flicked him on the forehead, nearly making him slip and mess up a line. he glowered at her, but still turned to listen. 

“no shit, but knuckles for a first tattoo? do you really think she’s up to it?” stacy had taken you under her wing from the get go, even offering a patch of skin on her arm for you to do your first tattoo. her protection was a comfort, but also a little stifling. she knew you were a good artist, maybe even great, but there were certain tricks to tattooing hands you hadn’t quite learned. she didn’t want you to mess up on your first tattoo and leave the boy with a messy bundle of lines instead of letters. 

“why not? he doesn’t look that picky. now fuck off and leave me alone.” he spoke gruffly, the cigarette between tom’s lips moved precariously back and forth. he turned back to his client, but not before flipping stacy the bird, to which she replied with an obscene gesture of her own. 

“bastard…” she grumbled, tugging mindlessly at a strand of hair just barely covering her eye. taking a deep breath, she walked over to you, plastering a wide smile on her lips. stacy was genuinely excited for you to begin tattooing, but it was difficult for her to step back and let you do your own thing. 

“alright babe, your time to shine. ready to do some knuckle lettering?” your jaw would have fallen open if it hadn’t been for the cheese sandwich filling your mouth. your eyes grew wide and you quickly swallowed the food down, doing you very best to process what exactly stacy meant. 

“what? me? but-” you shook your head, appetite suddenly lost. did she mean it was your time to actually tattoo? a paying human being? they must be mental, you thought to yourself, moving to put the rest of your lunch away. as soon as your sandwich was placed in the brown paper bag, stacy seized you by the arm and began dragging you over to where he was waiting. 

“sorry for the delay, this is y/n. she’ll be your artist today,” you suppressed a laugh, looking at stacy with your eyebrows raised. she just smiled and let go of your arm, giving you a push towards him. you barely saved yourself from stumbling, quickly straightening your spine and lifting your chin to look him in the eyes. his bright, beautiful, green eyes. dammit. 

“oh- that’s me, i’m y/n. and it looks like i’m gonna be your tattooist,” you gave him a little wave, doing your very best to smile professionally instead of grimace. he nodded in response, bringing his hands out of his pockets. he seemed to consider shaking your hand, but instead moved to rub the back of his neck. you fiddled with your fingers, not knowing what to do next. he was your first client, after all. 

“i’m billy. um, how much will this cost?” he stuttered a little, shrinking back into his gray hoodie. until that moment, you had almost entirely forgotten that you were doing this for a job, to get paid. 

“uhhh,” you were blindsided by a very common question, and looked to stacy for help. she stared at billy for a moment, tapping her index finger on the counter. he squirmed a little under her sharp gaze. his eyes flicked to you, locking onto yours. he was looking for an out, but you just shrugged, apologetic look on your face. 

“mm, about forty pounds.” she finally said after a solid couple seconds. he let out a small breath, shoulders falling. his lips fell as well, tweaking down at the corners. he reached into the pocket of his joggers, bringing out a five pound note, two 2 pound coins, and five 20 pence coins. ten pounds in all. 

“bollocks… i only have ten on me.”  you felt bad for billy, really. you remembered how you spent weeks saving up before you could get your first real tattoo; a small raven right above your hip. hurt like hell, but from that moment on, you were addicted. the ones you got before that were terribly done, with homemade equipment, and usually done by you. 

“i don’t know what to tell you then-” stacy started to apologize, but an idea began forming in your brain. bigger tattoo pieces could take upwards of twelve hours, so they were often done in multiple sessions. a knuckle tattoo wouldn’t take nearly as long, nor was it necessary to spread out appointments. but before you could stop yourself, the words fell out. 

“i can just do one. today, i mean. you can come in whenever you have the rest of the money.” you could hear stacy’s sigh, and couldn’t help but cringe as well. billy’s eyebrows shot up, and he opened his mouth to talk, but he couldn’t seem to decide on words and shut it again. a moment passed in painfully awkward silence, you looking anywhere but at billy. stacy sighed again, laying a hand on your shoulder. 

“okay birdie, i have an appointment in seven minutes and you seem to have this under control, yeah?” you turned your head so fast you almost gave yourself whiplash. being alone and in close quarters with billy after only a few minutes after meeting him freaked you out more than it should. you were theoretically a tattoo artist, and that was an unavoidable point of the job. it was basically painting on someone’s skin with a needle for multiple hours at a time. 

“i guess so…” she gave you a soft smile, rubbing your shoulder with the ink-free skin of her palm. you smiled back. you could tell she was a little worried, but so were you. 

“you’ll do great sweetheart, just don’t- maggie! so good to see you, love…” she was about to give you sage advice, but her next client came a few minutes early and in an instant, you were alone. well, except for billy of course. you psyched yourself up for a moment before turning to him with your best professional smile. 

“well then, let’s head over to my chair.” you told him, walking almost halfway there before you turned around to see he hadn’t moved a step. odd. billy was still looking around the room, eyeing the beams on the ceiling and highly decorated walls. his shoulders were tensed and he had taken his hands from his pockets, fingers twitching as his eyes scanned the shop. he looked ready to run at the slightest movement. the hell? you exhaled heavily through your nose, walking back over to him and waving a hand in front of his face.

“you in there?” you asked, taking a step back when his gaze snapped to you, “ah, it seems like you are. ready to get tattooed?” what a peculiar person, you thought to yourself. he shifted back onto his heels with impeccable balance, taking off his hood in one fluid motion. his honey blond hair was styled into a short undercut. you shook off the dazed look in your eyes, and in a surprisingly bold move, held out a hand for him to take. 

“hell yeah.” he finally said, a sharp smile creeping onto his lips. you smiled back, letting the first-day jitters roll off your shoulders. maybe spending time with him wouldn’t be as tense as you expected. he took your hand, and you started to lead him back to your little station in the corner. his palms were surprisingly calloused compared to your never-seen-a-day-of-manual-labor hands. 

“perfect,” you said after stopping at your station. you dropped his hand, gesturing for him to sit on the chair meant for clients. you snatched your sketchbook from the small square table, digging out a pen from a years old pencil pouch you had yet to part with. 

“now, you have any fonts in mind? actually, a better question would be what do you actually want on your knuckles?” you already started to doodle, sketching out a curly, cursive alphabet starting with “a”. lettering wasn’t your favorite thing to draw, but there was always flexibility when it came to art. and you loved art. 

“2-2-E-S on my right hand. just black letters would be fine.” you deflated slightly, tearing your eyes away from the whimsical “b” you were drawing. he sat with his elbows on his knees, fingers knitted together. until then, you didn’t realize how close you were. you lifted your eyes to meet his, faces no more than eight inches apart. the tension between you two drew taut, yanking the breath from your lungs. he was mesmerizing. you laughed to break the moment and leaned back in your chair, letting it roll away from his focused gaze. he shifted as well, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“no design at all? shame on you sir.” you teased, almost immediately cursing yourself for acting so casual out of nowhere. while you were scolding yourself for being unprofessional, billy watched the minute changes in your expression as you mindlessly tapped your pen against the spiral binding of your sketchbook. he noticed that you had your right pinky extended as you drew, perfectly straight as your pen swept across the page. your eyes flicked up for a moment to meet his, then immediately dropped again before you could end up blushing. 

“i’m not really the creative type anyway.” his voice felt so familiar and alien at the same time. like every single boy you had ever known - cocky, fast talking, scrambling for a laugh. yet there was something more behind his deep voice and quick movements. you shook your head, dragging yourself back into the real world. 

“somehow i don’t buy that,” you couldn’t see him smile, focused instead on making the last line of the “e” straight as possible. you held the drawing away from your face once completed, tilting it back and forth. your innate need for perfectionism only grew after you decided tattooing would be your career, and every piece of art you did since then had to be flawless in case you would have the chance to put it on someone’s body. after a moment, you nodded, turning the page around so he could see it. 

“four plain black numbers and letters, as requested. looks good?” you were quite proud of the nearly perfect lines and proportions. it cooled the nerves simmering under your skin as the tattoo machine lay waiting in a shallow drawer. 

“yeah, yeah. good.” he nodded, moving to roll up the sleeves of his jacket and put his right hand on his knee, right within your reach. you took a moment to tear off the page, making sure your letters were still nice and neat. 

“excellent, give me a moment to get this stencil-” you started to stand up, paper pinched between your index finger and thumb. you were about to go to the printer by the back wall, but billy piped up before you could take a step. 

“you don’t have to do that,” you froze, turning on your heel to watch him. he had leaned back onto the palms of his hands, still seated in your client’s chair. 

“what?” you asked, voice coming out almost as a squeak. you immediately cleared your voice and he smiled a little.

“i mean, you don’t have to use a stencil. just freehand it, i don’t mind.” he just shrugged it off like having someone draw with a goddamn needle on his skin was just another day at work. 

“you do realize i could very easily fuck up and leave you with permanent lines on your hand, right?” you were starting to wonder if he actually didn’t know tattoos were permanent, especially since getting them on a visible place like your hands would scare away most employers in a heartbeat. actually, what job did he have? the money he showed was a slim window into his life; ten pounds in various, loose forms. now that brought you back to university in a flash. 

“in fact, i do.” you raised your hands to the sky in a “why me?” gesture before dropping them back down to your sides, integrity of your sketch forgotten. he snickered at your - overly - dramatic reaction, to which you responded with a quick glare. why did i have to get such a memorable first client? 

“must be in a rush.” you shrugged, accepting that this was how the next thirty minutes of your life would play out. you were about to throw the page of your sketchbook in the trash, but changed your mind at the last minute and stuck it in one of the drawers of your small table. you then grabbed your pencil bag again, rooting around until you came up with two pens: one light green, the other black.

billy was silent as he watched you shuffle around the space, taking out your hand-me-down tattoo machine from the top drawer of your table. you gently placed it on the table top, laying out a small cap and filling it with a brand new bottle of jet black ink. you put the pens on the seat next to him, opening a second drawer that contained a disposable razor and replacement parts, sealed wipes, towels, and other things for sterilization. 

one of the most important things to remember is cleanliness, you heard the voice of stacy echo in your ear. you cast a look over your shoulder to where she was, watching for a moment as she carefully laid a stencil on her client’s leg. you watched her for a moment until she stood back up from where she was crouching and looked back at you, giving you an encouraging thumbs up. you returned the gesture with your best play on a confident smile. 

“you all alright?” billy asked, pulling you immediately back into the task before you. 

“mhm,” you responded, lips pressed close together. you pulled on a pair of latex gloves and plucked a razor and wipe from the drawer. 

“give me your hand,” you told him, taking a seat on your rolling chair. he held out his right hand and you gently took it in your left, shifting his fingers so the knuckle of his pinky finger was between your own. you scooted forward until you were almost between his knees, doing your best to wholly focus on the razor in your hand and definitely not how warm he was and how his hand felt in yours. nope, not going to think of that at all.

slowly, carefully, you cleaned his knuckle, making sure that there was no way possible for an infection to set in. you could hear billy humming to himself quietly and tuned in to listen. it was hard to make out the song, but something about it tugged at your memory. you shook it off and tossed the sanitizing supplies into a nearby rubbish bin. you turned back to billy, surprised to see him holding out the pens for you with a small smirk on his lips. slowly, you took them, tensing as your fingers brushed his. 

“just a 2 for today then,” you muttered, almost to yourself, not waiting for an answer and diving right in to recreate the perfect number “2” you had drawn just minutes earlier, on his knuckle. you were so silent that it was nearly possible to hear his heartbeat as the light green sharpie swept over his skin. it was a relatively awkward place to tattoo- right on the joint between his pinky finger and hand. since it was so close to his bone, it would be more painful than he might expect. even drawing it was tedious as you tried to make the lines connect smoothly over the joint. billy watching you draw very carefully didn’t help the anxiety that started to simmer under your skin.  

once you were satisfied with how it looked, you grabbed the black pen and repeated the drawing, tensing every muscle in your body to keep your hand from shaking. the nerves were already coming and you hadn’t even started up the tattoo machine. you leaned back into the light, holding up his hand to inspect your penmanship. billy stared at you as you held his finger up to the light, carefully scrutinizing your work without noticing his gaze. he watched the small crease between your eyebrows form as your thumb swiped at the ink. you glanced up momentarily and met his eyes, and in that moment you could have sworn he blushed. hell, you might have too.

you looked at him for a beat then dropped his hand like it was a hot rock. it was hard to ignore the tingle shooting down your spine as his lingering warmth faded from your hand. it’s just the nerves, dumbass, you said to yourself, now hush up and do your job. you cleared your throat, immediately turning around in your chair and sliding over to finish setting up your tattoo machine. you soon froze when there was nothing left for you to waste time doing. you had to get started. 

it’s fine, you’re fine, this is just a man, a boy even. a nice, attractive, fit… goddammit. you were mentally cursing yourself as you slowly turned to face him again. billy just smiled, holding out his right hand to you. you took a deep breath in and pulled on a new pair of latex gloves. 

“alright, ready freddie?” you said to him, taking his hand in yours, repeatedly chanting ‘don’t fuck up’ to yourself. 

“ready.” he responded, letting his hand relax into yours. you moved his fingers so his pinky finger was front and center, the perfect “2” you had drawn clear against his skin. with your right hand, you picked up the tattoo machine, dipping the tip of it in ink. 

“here we go.” the tattoo machine started with a buzz as you pressed on the pedal. you took a deep breath and touched the needles to his skin, right at the top of the “2”. billy’s fingers quickly tensed, holding tighter onto your hand. you tried not to smile while you slowly pulled the needle across his skin. he took a sharp breath in, holding it for a moment before slowly releasing it. his hand stayed clasped around yours as the tattoo machine hummed between your fingers. 

minutes passed with no conversation. the buzz of the tattoo machine helped you tune out the various sensations trying to distract you. hard rock from a nearby speaker, an occasional bout of laughter or pained shriek from across the room, steady humming from billy that you still vaguely recognized. eventually, about a third of the way through the tattoo, you started to get antsy from the lack of talking and had to break the silence. 

“hmm… what’s billy short for?” you asked, wiping off some excess ink from his finger. you looked up at him, slightly surprised to see him focused entirely on your face. he cleared his throat, using his free hand to comb through his short blond hair. 

“william.” you couldn’t help the small smile that flickered across your lips, dipping the needle into the ink once more. a name like william didn’t fit with his scrappy, self-assured attitude and appearance. neither did billy, for that matter. 

“was billy always your go-to nickname? ever gone by will? or liam?” you went back in with the needle, billy hissing through his teeth as it punctured his skin again and again. 

“my primary school teacher always insisted on william, which made me hate it. she was a major arsehole, mind you.” you chuckled, wiping off more excess ink. 

“now that i understand. i knew a william once, but he went by… will, i think. he also gained the unfortunate nickname of ‘willy’ somewhere around secondary school.” billy laughed loudly, drawing the attention of a few others in the room. and he moved. you drew the tattoo machine back just in time, narrowly avoiding a potential accident. you glared at him, but he couldn’t take the frown on your face seriously and continued his chuckling. 

“you done?” you asked when he finally calmed down. he nodded, still smiling like a school boy.

“sorry, i have the humor of a twelve year old.” you rolled your eyes, biting hard on your bottom lip to ward off a smile. but it didn’t work. it felt terribly natural to be around him and you were not having it. 

“i’ve noticed.” you muttered, glancing back up to billy. you raised an eyebrow at him in a silent question and he nodded, letting you return to your work. dipping the needle in ink, you once again put it to his skin, and once again, his hand tightened around your own. 

“so, how long have you been tattooing?” billy asked, after a minute or two of silence had passed. you lifted the needle for a moment, thinking about your answer. 

“like, professionally?” you had certainly tattooed under less than proper circumstances. on drunk people and often drunk yourself. your roommate in university had a horrendous bird silhouette between her shoulder blades, and your very first love had your name inked on their ankle. you had done it yourself two days after discovering they cheated on you. but you didn’t really want to divulge those… questionable stories to a client. 

“uh, i guess.” he said, voice suddenly tinged with concern. you spotted a chance to mess with him and immediately went for it.

“about,” you glanced up to the clock fixed to the wall, “twenty minutes.” you bit back another smile at the fearful look in his eyes. it didn’t stop you from snorting with laughter, though. 

“your warnings make sense now.” he was speaking slower than before, which only made the moment funnier. to you, at least. 

“i’m thrilled. you scared yet?” you teased, smirk growing by the second. he laughed nervously, rolling his eyes at you. your shoulders relaxed, and you didn’t even realize how tense you had been until that moment. the playful banter back and forth with billy swept your earlier nerves right away. 

“not even close, birdie.” you groaned, a nervous laugh slipping past your lips. it felt a little weird to have someone other than your fellow tattooists call you birdie, but you could listen to billy say it for hours with that smooth, deep voice of h- OH MY GOD, you screamed internally. stop. fantasizing. about. your. CLIENT. 

“ah, you’ve heard my nickname. what can i say? i like birds.” you laughed again, a little too high pitched to be normal. he raised his eyebrows in confusion, but went back to his tense state as you started to tattoo again. 

“i like it, much better than billy.” you bit back yet another smile. he was really starting to worm his way under your skin, and in such a short amount of time. but you had to agree with him. he looked more like a… well, you couldn’t think of any other names that fit him but billy was certainly not anywhere near a fitting name for such an interesting - to say the least - person. 

“now that i have to agree with.” you said, still chipping away at your work in progress tattoo. he chuckled, shifting in his seat. 

“you are coldhearted, woman.” he declared, and you couldn’t help but let out a short laugh. 

“oh, i aspire.”

too soon, yet also not soon enough, you finished. you wiped away the last of the ink and blood - don’t worry, it’s normal - from his finger, lifting it up to the light. the tattoo turned out rather nice. the “2” was plain black, thick, and relatively free of wobbles. it warped a little as billy flexed his fingers, but that was to be expected. he started to stand up once you let go, but you stopped him with a hand to his chest. you could feel his heartbeat under your palm, and slowly drew your hand back. a moment passed in perfect silence where the only thing you could hear was his breathing, and the only thing you could feel was the residual warmth radiating from him. 

“slow down there, i still need to bandage it.” you said after clearing your throat. he sat back down, thankfully making sure to not use his freshly tattooed hand. you took a step back. then another. and then almost ran into your table. flashing billy a quick, slightly embarrassed smile, you turned your back to him and focused on getting out the clingfilm, bandage, and ointment that was standard procedure for tattoo aftercare. 

“okay, so,” you started, turning back around with an armful of health care products. billy was still seated on your chair, right hand resting on his knee.

“what you should do is try not to use your hands for a couple days, plus, your knuckles might swell up and it’ll hurt like hell to use them. gotta keep the area nice and clean with this ointment,” you held it up for him to see, then put it down by his side, “a good thing to do is wear is some nitrile gloves to keep a barrier between your hand and the horrors of the outdoors,” you took a small container of gloves from your pile, placing it right next to the ointment.

“here’s a little pamphlet thing if you want it,” you took it from in between your arm and side, adding it to the small pile on billy’s left. he was nodding along with your instructions, but his eyes were wandering from your face to examine the rest of the tattoo shop once again. you ignored him ignoring you, and got to work bandaging his finger.

“okay billy boy, you’re all set.” you said once you made sure his bandage was airtight and clean. you rolled yourself over to the trash can, disposing of your latex gloves and other used-up items. when you came back to your station, billy was back on his feet, almost unconsciously flexing his fingers to see if his right pinky still worked. spoiler alert, it did, and he was just paranoid. probably.

he seemed a little unfocused until you spoke, then immediately turned his attention back to you. he stuck his non-tattooed hand out for you to shake. still a strange guy, you said to yourself. 

“thanks, uh…” you felt a grin growing, and this time, you didn’t try to stop it. plus, he seemed to have forgotten your name, which was objectionably hilarious. is that why he called me birdie? and how does he remember ‘birdie’ and not my name? 

“y/n,” you confirmed, shaking his hand. billy smiled at you, showing a hint of bright white teeth. 

“y/n. here,” you almost shivered hearing him say your name.  you almost didn’t notice he was holding out the money until he cocked his head to the side, giving you a confused look. it looked almost like he was pouting. you let out a nervous giggle, cringing internally the second it passed. billy didn’t seem to mind, laughing along with you. it soon devolved into a laughing fit as you finally accepted the awkwardness of the situation. many of the other people in the shop shot the two of you quizzical glances, but that didn’t stop you from nearly falling over with laughter. what were you laughing at? nothing, really. it just felt good to be so wildly happy for a brief moment. 

billy started to walk away waving goodbye. you raised your hand to do the same, but froze halfway. there was something you wanted to know before he left for an undetermined amount of time. 

“wait! i never got to ask you what it meant. the tattoo.” he was halfway to the door but turned at the last moment, in the process of pulling the hood back over his golden hair.  

“i’ll be back soon, i hope. i’ll tell you then.” you brightened at that, giving him a playful salute. billy returned the gesture, even adding a silly wink for good measure. 

“i’d like that. until next time, billy.” he gave you one last wave as he strolled out the door, and you watched as he walked past the windows and eventually disappeared from sight. for a moment, you couldn’t tear your eyes away from that spot. a high pitched laugh broke your focus, and you whirled around to see stacy giggling at you.

“what?” you asked, doing your best attempt at a glare. stacy just smiled, batting her eyelashes as innocently as possible. crossing your arms over your chest, you started to say something, but got interrupted. 

“nothing. say, tom, do you think this is how most people behave after doing a tattoo?" she called out in a sing-song voice. tom was in the middle of cleaning up after his client left, but for some reason decided this was the time to cash in one of his few conversation checks. 

"no." tom responded gruffly, and blissfully brief. stacy grinned again, turning on her heel to face you. you opened your mouth to retort, but your mind went blank and you ended up just standing there with nothing to say. what could you say? you were stressed because your first tattoo was a knuckle tattoo? that it was stuffy and looking out the window made it less so? that you had developed an immediate crush on your first client? fresh out of ideas, you blurted out the next thing that came to mind. 

"i smelled bad… uh… yeah. i-i smelled bad, and i was embarrassed. i was watching him through the window to see if he had any reaction from being away from my… smell." you wished for a second that time travel existed just so you could go back to that exact moment, after you figured out a good response, to stop yourself from looking like a fool. because oh what a fool you sounded like. stacy could tell. tom could tell. and you bet that billy would be able to tell as well. stacy shook her head, visibly trying to stop herself from laughing. even tom seemed to have a smile tugging at his lips. 

"you keep telling yourself that, love. now buck up, don’t know when the next customer is gonna come in. gotta be ready, you know, if you happen to be the only one free…” you immediately perked up, billy momentarily scrubbed from the forefront of your mind. the chance to do more tattoos, more of what you loved, had you interested in a split second. your eyes drifted to your discarded sketchbook on the other end of the room. 

“you serious?” you asked, nervous edge clinging to your word. more freedom came with more chances to fuck up, but now that you got over an initial nervous edge thanks to billy, you were rearing to go. stacy looked equally excited for you, and equally worried. but she came over and patted you on the shoulder. 

“deadly. now go, there is art to be inked.” you were bouncing on your toes, but took a moment to lean right into her, even giving her a quick side hug. 

“yes ma’am.” you mock saluted her, then almost skipped back to your chair. you sat back in your swivel chair, letting it roll you to your small side table. you started to pick up the discarded papers, but found your mind drifting back to him. to billy. 

the thought that he would be back eventually brought a small smile to your lips. it could be a few days, a week, a month, but you had a feeling he wouldn’t flake out. it was just a matter of time. plus, he was good company. 

⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱⋰⋱

so,,, what’s the vibe with this lads? please lmk if y’all wanna see more!

[mrsalwayswritex]

Everything I Wanted

A/N: I wrote this for my girl Lani, @borninslumber​, while she is recovering from her wisdom teeth removal! *Gif not mine, I have a bad habit of saving gifs and not remembering where they came from, sorry!*

Pairing: Pre-Ghost Billy x Female Reader

Warnings: None, just youre gonna be soft for our boy Billy.

Word Count: 1900 (she a short bby)

Y/n had been a part of this small crew for months now and she was very good at what she did. It was just the four of them, and they moved as one being. The way they all clicked together was flawless and he couldn't have asked for a better team. Tali, Billy, Greg and Y/n. It was the family that he had always wanted. 

So why wasn’t he happy?

They made all the money that they could ever need, siblings Tali and Greg, being the planners, had made sure of that. Billy and Y/n were the hands of the operation. The way that the two of them communicated without words on missions was envied by Tali, who harbored an obvious crush on the blond thief. Y/n and Tali had butted heads since the beginning when Billy suggested they take the girl under their wings, and Billy had won out in the end.

The blond had clicked instantly with the new girl, when they were both after the same bounty. Billy had flirted with the girl in his usual manner to try and throw her off, but she came back unphased, with her own flirty banter making the boy more flustered than he liked to admit. Though Billy had the necklace safely in his pocket only seconds before, when the girl brushed her entire body against his, he froze for only a moment. It had been just enough time for the small pickpocket to pull the necklace from his pocket and with a small kiss to his cheek, she took off running, shooting him a wink in the process.

With Tali screaming in his ear about the time, he sighed and leaned against the wall before patting his pocket where the necklace should have been, only it wasn't there and Billy couldn't help the small that broke out on his face. “Sorry Tal, I've been bested.” Was all he could offer as he looked down the corridor where the girl had taken off. 

He needed to find her again.

-

Fast forward just a few weeks and Billy was anxious to see the girl again, affected more than he had ever been by a woman. He had begged Greg to find something for them to go after in the hopes that she would be there too. Billy left small calling cards at every heist, hoping that she would find it and understand. Just a small card with a diamond, the words park - big tree written on it. Tali had found the cards once, and screamed at Billy for being so stupid as to give anything away, but Billy knew that he had to find her.

After every heist, Billy would go to the biggest park, and watched the biggest tree from a distance, waiting for her. It took weeks, but as he waited from the roof of a nearby building, he saw her. Billy wasted no time in jumping gracefully from the roof, spooking the girl.

“What the actual fuck, man.” Even her angry voice sounded like honey to his ears.

“I didn't mean to scare you.” He breathed out, taking a step towards her. “I’ve been waiting for you for weeks.” 

“You’ve waited up there for weeks, huh?” She gave him a coy smile.

Billy just smiled in response and pulled the girl close. “I would have waited years for you.”

-

That was almost two months ago and Billy was enthralled with the girl, but it seemed like her previous flirting was only for distraction purposes, as she couldn’t have been bothered to look at him the way she had that night, but Billy was happy to just have her by his side. Y/n had fit into their team like she had been there since the beginning, and he couldn't have asked for anything more.

Billy found himself getting jealous of the time that Greg and Y/n would spend together, trying to get back at her by spending time with Tali, but it didn't seem to affect Y/n in the way he wanted it to, honestly she seemed happy for him. He hated it. Tali loved it though, doting on Billy like she never had before and Billy continued to brush her off, but nothing phased her. 

There was one mission where Tali, Billy and Y/n were all three deployed into the field with Greg behind running surveillance, that the tables turned. Billy doesn't know what had come over him but he needed her, seeing her in action just made his attraction grow. They had the emeralds they were after, the three of them splitting them up between themselves. 

The guards were much quicker than they should have been, apparently being on higher alert than normal, because as soon as Tali was out of the room and into the small crawl space that was acting as their exit, the guards burst into the room. Acting quickly, Billy pulled off her beanie, letting her hair flow down, pushing his fingers deep into her hair and kissing her deeply. He would later tell her that I was only so the guards would think they were just two lovers looking for a spot to hide, but only Billy would know how true that lie really was.

Y/n was stunned for only a second before she caught on, seeing the guards rounding the corner, she understood. When she softened her posture, she let Billy hoist her legs up around his waist and deepen the kiss. Only Billy would know at that moment how much he wanted her, because as soon as the guards cleared their throats and the two of them broke apart, playing the part of teens who had gotten busted, Billy couldn't stop looking at her.

“That was a good call, Billy. I don't think they suspected a thing.” Y/n had winked at him as they walked right out the front doors, bounty filling their pockets.

“Right.” He breathed out, chest heaving, not from getting caught but from the fire that was alight in his belly. He needed more. He needed her.

-

It was weeks before he got his chance, Greg and Tali out on a recon mission, and he wasted no time.

“Y/n.” He whispered, standing right behind her, he expected her to jump but when instead she leaned back into his chest, the butterflies in his stomach caught fire and his hands found her waist.

“Billy.” She breathed out softly, crossing her arms over her stomach, hands resting on top of his. 

“Is this a dream?” He spoke into her neck as she turned her head away from him, letting him nose his way up her neck, she laughed in response, turning her body in his arms so they were chest to chest.

“Not a dream.” She mumbled, her own face burying itself in his neck, soft kisses trailing up his throat.

“Shit.” He hummed as her kisses came up over his chin, hating the whine that left his throat when she skipped over his waiting lips and kissed up the side of his face instead. “Y/n…” She pulled back and looked into his dark eyes and she gave a small chuckle before cupping his face in her hands, bringing her lips to his gently, eyes never leaving his.

-

Billy thought had thought that day had changed everything, and in a way it had. The two of them couldn’t seem to keep their eyes or hands off of eachother, much to Tali’s displeasure. More than once, Tali had walked in on the two of them, whether it being an innocent cuddling session or with Y/n being in a rather compromising position, on her knees in front of Billy, his head thrown back against the wall in pleasure.

Billy would have been a fool to not have noticed the smirks that Y/n would give Tali in these moments, almost as if she was saying that she had won, but Billy was too caught up in his feelings for the thief to think anything of it. Had he been using his brain, he would have noticed the signs. He could have heard Tali’s warnings of the girl being no good for him. But he missed all of the signs as he reveled in the pleasure that the woman of his dreams was giving him.

This was exactly what he wanted and there was nothing that could ruin it.

They had planned for this mission for weeks, Greg had the perfect heist in mind. It was a beautiful necklace called the Kalahari. Tali had stayed behind to run interference on the ground while the three of them, plus their connection, had gone up to the room to search for the necklace. They tore the room apart looking for it, finding only cheap or fake gems instead of the object they were searching for. 

“Fuck!” Billy shouted in the bedroom, when their connection had shouted something in ukranian that none of them understood, except for the word police, that seemed to translate in every language. “We ain’t leavin’ til we find the Kalahari!” Billy pointed at the man, Y/n shooting him a smile which he returned. 

“We will find it babe, chill.” Y/n grabbed his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss, pocketing the jewels that he had discarded being too cheap for the heist. Billy gave her a wink and went back to pulling out drawers from the large stand in front of him, grabbing a cheaper necklace and putting it between his teeth.

One seemed awfully heavy for a drawer that was empty, and when he flipped it over, he understood. False bottom. Sliding it open, he let the jewels fall from his lips as a small laugh bubbled out. “I've got it!” He shouted at them, giving Y/n’s bottom a soft smack. “Let's go!” He yelled, just as the hotel room door burst open and their Ukranian connection went down with a single shot from the cops gun. 

Greg, Y/n and Billy all ran out onto the balcony, easily pulling themselves up onto the rooftops and off they went, jumping building to building, easily putting distance between the cops and themselves. Everything was going perfectly, Billy had the necklace still latched between his teeth as they ran, Greg jumping onto the sign they had deemed perfect to cross over the large gap. 

Billy chanced a look back at Y/n and that's when he slipped.

He never slipped.

He swung wildly from the line, Greg shouting from above him. Y/n jumped down and reached her hand out towards him.

“Grab my hand!” Billy gritted out through his clenched teeth as he swung closer to her, but instead of grabbing his hand, she went straight for the necklace. “My hand!” The line he was holding onto snapped and he his hand tried to find anything to grab onto. It seemed to him that Y/n just couldn't reach his hands because all she did was keep a hold of the necklace that he held between his teeth. “Y/n…” He whispered as best as he could, locking eyes with her, seeing no fear in them. His grip on the necklace faltered enough that soon he was falling backwards, watching Y/n stand up, watching him fall with a triumphant smile on her face.

Billy watched her in slow motion as he fell. He watched her look up at Greg with a smirk, Greg’s face  painted with a look of horror as he watched her let him drop. She never even looked down at him falling, looking at the necklace with a cold smile on her face as she jumped up, level with Greg. “I'm rich!”

She was still holding the necklace. She was only worried about the necklace.

Y/n had been his dream but his dream turned out to be nothing but a nightmare.

[american-satanxx]

Immortal//Chapter Two

Warnings: Cursing....I’m not going to keep adding this as a warning. Because cursing it’s gonna happen in every chapter. So this is my final cursing warning

Author’s note: If you guys are interested I can link the playlist I have for this story.

Chapter One -Masterlist- 

erase your memories from so long ago

Alex/Eight While One attempts to go over the plan of attack, I sit far away from everyone. But the distance doesn’t stop the stares. Everyone is staring at me and ignoring the words coming out of One’s mouth; which greatly annoys the man. “I get it, she’s pretty but can we stop staring at the Russian long enough to pay attention to what I’m saying?” One huffs. “There will be enough time to get to know our newest comrade, okay?” “Why should we trust her?” The blonde woman, I think her name is Two, questions One. Her eyes never leave me, however. “We’re going against the Russians, she could be a sleeper agent for all we know.” “Not all Russians are sleeper agents.” I point out. “But you’re right; you have no reason to trust me. Like I have no reason to trust you. But let’s face it, thanks to One we have to put an ounce of trust in each other or all of us will perish.” “What makes you an invaluable part of the team?” Two questions me. “What can you bring to the table?” “Isn’t that a question you should be asking boss man over there?” I nod towards One. “He sought me out, not the other way around darling.” “Why don’t you start talking about yourself?” Seven suggests. “Like for example, you can tell us how you and Four know each other? You must have been close if you attended his funeral.” I roll my eyes before turning towards One. “Do I have to?”

“Enlighten them.” He shrugs. “Keep personal information to a minimum though. We don’t want to damn ourselves to family status anymore than we already are.” “My father was former KGB; my mother was a trained sleeper agent from what her diaries explained.” I start, earning an all knowing smirk from Two. “Father went AWOL when I was younger and my mother died several years ago. Officially she died in a helicopter accident over some mountain range in Russia. Unofficially she just disappeared without a trace. Some say she went missing because of the mission she was assigned to. I was 16 at the time.” “How do we know you weren’t trained to be a sleeper agent as well?” Seven asks. “I mean your mother was.” “My mother didn’t want to be like hers.” I shrug. “She didn’t want that life for me. She kept me at a distance. About a month before she died, she sent me off to live with long lost relatives in London. She knew she was going to die; her diary said as much.” “So that doesn’t give us anything about why One hired you.” Five points out. “He said you grieved in violent ways, what happened after Four’s apparent death?” “Ukrainian Mafia.” I reply. “I was a pretty face, good behind a pistol and badass getaway driver. They used and abused me, which is probably why I’m here. The Ukrainian and Russian Mafias are at war with each other, hence why Russia is building something big and dangerous.” “How the hell did you get involved with a bunch of thugs?” Three asks. “The jewels Four was stealing before he “died” were property of the Ukrainian Mafia’s head honcho. I told them exactly where to find the treatrous band of thieves.” “You sold them out?” Billy...Four questions me. His tone is somewhere between pride and anger. I’m not exactly sure which one he’s leaning towards the most. “They’re dead because of you.” “They deserved it.” I shrug. “They shouldn’t have left you behind. They should have helped you. Maybe if they were loyal, things would have been different.” Two looks me over. An appreciative smile appears on her lips. “I still don’t trust you.” “I still don’t trust you either.” I smirk at her. “Now can we continue this meeting? I’d like to actually get some sleep. I’ve been awake for well over 24 hours.” “And you were handling guns?” Three exclaims before a slew of curse words in Spanish flows from his lips. I just let out a chuckle. “Alright focus people!” One exclaims. “Let’s get back to work.” This time everyone seems to be paying attention to him. Everyone but Billy. His eyes are still on me, questioning everything I shared with the group. Probably questioning everything I’ve said in the almost three years of dating. ** After the meeting, everyone left the area. Just as I’m about to walk out into the desert air, a hand grasps my wrists to hold me back. I whip around and see Billy standing there, seething. “You lied to me.” He blurts out. “You bloody lied to me Alex. Out of everyone in my life, I thought you’d be the last person to do this.” A humorless chuckle escapes my lips. “You have some fucking nerve to be mad at me for hurting you. I may have lied about my childhood and who my parents were. I may have kept things from you. But you faked your fucking death. I mourned you. I watched your mother mourn you. I went after the people I thought were responsible for this. I fell back into a life I didn’t want for myself; that my mother didn’t want for me. So I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that my mother was a Russian sleeper agent or my father was formerly with the KGB. But I kept that stuff hidden to protect you. Can you say the same things about what you did to me?” “That’s not fair, Alex.” He sighs, running his fingers through his blond hair. “Since faking my death, I’ve been able to do amazing things. I’ve finally have something to look forward to in my life.” “And you didn’t with me?” I ask. “You had nothing to look forward to during those 2 years we were together?” “Alex…” He starts, only to be cut off by my pointer finger on his lips, hushing him. “Don’t try to charm your way out of this Billy, it’s not going to work.” I tell him. “Your charm is dead to me, just like you…” With that I walk out of there and head straight to my trailer. Saying yes to One was definitely not what I expected.

[american-satanxx]

Immortal//chapter one

warnings: cursing. Russian translation via google. Russian translations as told by Google. yebat' tebya means Fuck you. Ublyudok means bastard

Author’s Note: If this gets enough love, I may post more fanfics on here. My writing, while not great, it’s not getting the love it once was getting on Mibba. 

god above and the devil below him

Ukraine; 1.5 years ago “I don’t like this.” My Russian accent fills the room. I roll onto my back, propping myself on my elbows as I watch the blond in front of me put on his briefs. “You don’t like anything.” The blonde chuckles as he looks at me over his shoulder. “Why would this be any different?” “I always have good reasons to not like things.” I shrug. “And this time, I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. A feeling I rarely get.” A sigh escapes his lips as he pulls on his sweats. He continues to get dressed as an uncomfortable silence washes over us; much like it did whenever this mission was brought up.” “I don’t understand why you even came here.” He snorts. “You’ve been saying nothing but negative things about this mission since I told you about it. If you are so worried, why didn’t you just stay home?” “Billy, please let’s not argue.” I plea with the blond. “I came because I’m worried about you. Part of me thought, if I didn’t come with you that maybe, just maybe, I’d never see you again.” He walks over to the bed and kneels down in front of me. “I’d never leave you, no matter how much the jewels are worth. I’d always come back to you.” “I’m not talking about you leaving me for someone else.” I admit to him. “I meant, you dying. I can’t bear to lose you too. I’ve lost so much in my life, I can’t lose you.” A smile appears on his lips before he leans in and places a quick kiss on my lips. He rests his forehead on mine while taking my hands in his. “You’ll never lose me, Alex. Never. Not even death can separate us.” “Get out of here before I pull you back in this bed and refuse to let go.” I tell whisper to him, earning another kiss on my lips then my forehead.” “I’ll see you tonight.” He shouts before jogging out of the room. “Bring me back something shiny as fuck!” I yell to him, laughing at his childish antics. I’d be lost without that boy, truly lost without him…

California Desert; Present Time...Billy aka Four’s POV Five and I walk back into the base camp after a rock climbing trip. Upon arriving, Two and Three are standing there talking to Seven. One is nowhere to be seen. Seven greets me first with a typical bro hug before hugging Five. “Do you know why we’ve been summoned?” I ask Seven. “We took down a dictator, doesn’t that earn us a vacation?” “Evil people don’t take vacations!” One exclaims as he walks over to us. “We’ll be heading over to Russia for this next mission. The Russians are building something; something big and that could potentially destroy the world as we know it. “I also brought on someone new. She’ll be a nice addition to the team, especially with her personal knowledge of Russia; it is her motherland after all.” “Do you think it’s safe to bring on a Russian?” Two questions One. “How can you be so sure she’ll be able to be trusted? Russia is her home after all.” “She hasn’t stepped foot in Mother Russia in years.” He informs Two. “Come on, let’s go meet Eight.” All of us exchange the same look of uncertainty before following One to the shooting range we have at camp. We get there just in time to see Eight switching out one magazine cartilage for another. She’s wearing short jean shorts, cowboy boots and an Army green tank top. But it’s not the outfit that causes my jaw to drop; it’s the Medusa tattoo on her right thigh. “Fuck me.” I whisper, apparently loud enough for Five to look at me. “What’s wrong?” “I know that tattoo.” Is all I can say before One summons the girl to us. “Guys this is Eight. Eight this is everyone.” A smile appears on her lips as she looks at everyone. But once her eyes lock mine, that smile fades. She looks at me with mouth open wide. “You’re dead.” She whispers, eyes not leaving mine. At this point, everyone but one is looking at us with curiosity. “I went to your funeral. I sat with your mother while she cried her fucking eyes out. You fucking Ublyudok.” She immediately raises her gun at me, aiming right between the eyes. “I don’t know what you Russians get up to but we don’t kill our teammates.” One jumps in, forcing her to lower her gun. She looks at me, then at the man right in front of her before turning her attention back at me. “Thank you, Eight.” “You knew.” She speaks up, this is aimed at One despite the fact her eyes never leave me. “You knew there was a connection, didn’t you?” “Vaguely.” He replies. “While I was watching Four, I was watching you. But it wasn’t until after Four’s “death” that you became interesting. You really show your grief in crazy violent ways, don’t you comrade?” “Yebat' tebya.” She spits. “Now that we’ve all been acquainted, let’s get to work.” One shakes off the Russian curse words. “Let me break down this mission yes? Follow me to the Batcave!” One by one, we follow One. She’s the last time to follow him. By the look in her eyes, she’s regretting this. And I don’t blame her...

[american-satanxx]

Immortal Masterlist

I know who you are The leader of lost souls You can't kill me I'm immortal No one can save the world; they can only make it a little less shitty. But then again, we're technically nobody. We're just a group of lost souls trying to make a difference in the world, one shitty tyrant at a time...

Lyric credit: Immortal by Adema

Rating: Not sure yet.

Prequel of sorts (you don’t have to read this before reading Immortal): Lowlife

God Above and the Devil Below Him Erase Your Memories from so Long Ago You’re a Sweet Shot of Kerosene. When I Threw it Back, It Poisoned Me Now I am the Violence; I am the Sickness We'll Never Get Free. Lamb to the Slaughter Calculated Everything We’ve Done All I ever wanted was everything I lost