#Fog Passive
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chongoblog · 4 days ago
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WAIT
I JUST REMEMBERED HEARING AN ELON MUSK QUOTE WHERE HE TALKS ABOUT HOW HE BELIEVES CHESS IS "TOO SIMPLE" OR WHATEVER AND HE SAID HIS FAVORITE GAME WAS A GAME CALLED "POLYTOPIA"
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I JUST REMEMBERED THAT IVE PLAYED POLYTOPIA
It being Elon's favorite game (or at least one so important to him that his biographer dedicates a lot of time to it) is.....really really funny.
Basically, imagine Civilization, but as a mobile game. So like if Civilization Revolution was even more dumbed down (that's a Civilization insult. That's devastating. It's devastated right now). For what it's worth, it's not a bad game. On the contrary, from what I could tell in the little bit of time I played it, it's a perfectly competent game with good design. But it's not a deep game by any means. I played through it once, won easily on my first go, then saw that the other playable characters had barely any differences between them.
Like, not to imply you can judge a book by its cover, but here's what it looks like
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I came across an article by Dave Karpf discussing this exact thing, and I think it describes it wonderfully
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lamina-tsrif · 11 months ago
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something is deeply wrong w/ them (I want to watch them in their natural habitat)
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starzz-n-roses · 26 days ago
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hi chat, just wanted to mention that i feel like we’re about to be hit with the biggest lore drop imaginable.
as in, when the new ftf episode comes out, i think something major is going to happen. maybe i’m completely wrong but something feels like we’re about to get hit with a lore drop, like something is gonna get revealed?? just me, or??
the way Calvin is putting so much effort into it makes me think it’s more than just a long video, y’know? not to say he doesn’t put effort into everything he makes, but he said himself he wanted the upcoming episode to be perfect… like, sir… what are you scheming?🤨🤨
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bravevolunteer · 6 months ago
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i could put michael in s.ilent h.ill
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confinesofmy · 3 months ago
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lately nothing annoys me like recreation and i don't understand why. i'm making a suncatcher and i've been thinking about it and looking forward to it for a couple weeks. i finally have the time and energy and i've got all my supplies together. measuring chain and arranging beads is making me so furious and frustrated i can barely stand it. but that's. that's the whole thing. making a suncatcher is just measuring chain and arranging beads. what is wrong with me.
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kirbytripledeluxe · 7 months ago
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God do I wish we weren't scared to exist as a system without judgement. Hi .
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phoenixrisingastro · 2 months ago
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Astro Observations III
The 8th house doesn’t just hold secrets—it’s where your soul confronts the shadows it’s tried to bury for lifetimes.
Venus in the 8th house doesn’t just want love—they want the kind of connection that burns, scars, and transforms you.
Moon-Pluto aspects in synastry will either leave you feeling like you’ve found your soulmate—or like you’ve just opened Pandora’s box. There’s no middle ground.
Mars in Aries people don’t start fights—they finish them.
Saturn transits through the 4th house will make you feel like home is the one place you’ll never find peace—until you rebuild it from the ground up.
Neptune in the 7th house natally often attracts relationships that feel like a dream but leave you questioning what’s real.
Venus in Capricorn might seem distant, but their love is like fine wine—it only gets better with time.
The 12th house isn’t just about isolation—it’s where you confront the parts of yourself you’ve tried to ignore. Synastry here? It’s like two souls meeting in the dark, stripped of all pretense.
Jupiter in the 5th house people are so generous with their joy that they can light up a room just by walking into it.
Venus square Uranus in synastry feels like love at first sight—and chaos at second.
Pluto in the 1st house natives don’t enter a room—they command it. Their energy is undeniable, and people either love or fear them (or both).
Saturn square Venus in synastry feels like a test from the universe. The love is there, but the timing rarely is.
The North Node in the 10th house people are born to shine—but not until they’ve clawed their way to the top.
Mars in Libra might seem passive, but don’t let that fool you—they’re just picking their battles. When they do fight, it’s for keeps.
The 6th house isn’t just about daily routines—it’s where you find your soul’s purpose through service and hard work.
Mercury retrograde in the natal chart doesn’t mean you can’t communicate—it means your voice is meant to be reflective, deliberate, and deeply impactful.
Mars opposite Pluto in synastry feels like two people locked in an endless battle of wills—and sometimes, the only way to win is to walk away.
The 11th house shows the people you want to surround yourself with, but it’s the 5th house that shows the ones you’ll actually fall for.
Venus in Gemini placements will tell you they’re “just seeing where it goes” while secretly planning every detail of your future together.
The 2nd house isn’t just about money—it’s about what you value, how you feel worthy, and the things you’ll cling to when life falls apart.
Lilith in the 1st house people have a presence that can’t be ignored. They challenge societal norms just by existing.
Sun square Neptune in a natal chart often feels like living in a fog—you’re searching for identity but constantly questioning if it’s real.
Jupiter in the 12th house feels like divine protection. Even in your darkest moments, something always seems to pull you back into the light.
The 7th house ruler in the 8th house often brings relationships that challenge you to confront your fears, desires, and deepest insecurities.
Synastry with heavy 8th house overlays isn’t “just a phase.” Those connections burn into your soul and leave marks you’ll feel long after they’re gone.
Moon trine Uranus in synastry feels like emotional freedom—you give each other space to breathe while still feeling completely connected.
The 5th house isn’t just about fun and romance—it’s where your soul comes alive. Whatever planets you have here show where your heart truly shines.
South Node synastry feels like a love story you’ve lived before. It’s familiar, comforting, and often impossible to let go of—even when you should.
Pluto conjunct the IC in the natal chart often speaks of a childhood shaped by power struggles, secrecy, or transformation.
Mars in Pisces in synastry can be one of the most passionate placements—but also one of the most confusing. Is it love, lust, or a dream you can’t wake up from?
Chiron in the 1st house natives often feel like their very existence is a wound, but their journey is about learning to turn that pain into power.
Venus opposite Mars in synastry creates undeniable chemistry—but it’s the kind that feels like a rollercoaster you can’t get off of.
Uranus transits to the 7th house shake up your relationships so completely that you may not recognize your love life when it’s over.
Mercury in the 12th house often struggles to speak their truth out loud—but their inner world is filled with thoughts too profound for words.
Saturn conjunct the Moon in a natal chart often speaks of an emotionally challenging childhood, but it also creates someone who is unbreakably strong.
The 3rd house ruler in the 9th house often creates people who feel like lifelong students of the world—they never stop seeking, exploring, or asking “why?”
Pluto square Venus in synastry can feel like being loved and destroyed at the same time. It’s the kind of connection you never fully recover from.
Neptune in the 5th house natives often express their creativity in ways that feel otherworldly, almost magical.
Jupiter trine the Sun in the natal chart radiates luck—it’s like having the universe on speed dial.
Synastry with heavy 12th house placements isn’t for the faint of heart—it forces you to confront parts of yourself you’ve buried, even if it hurts.
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societyfolklore · 15 days ago
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Oka soo I dare to send in a Bucky imagine <3 Maybe one where you're dating but you're not an avenger, so you sometimes feel not good enough for him even though he always makes you feel special and he loves you more than anything. One time while he's at a mission, you're back at the compound waiting for him, but then also Sharon comes up to you being a bitch again and makes you feel even more unwanted and leave before Bucky returns. Later then he's happily waiting to see you, but frowns when he finds out you're not there. So he calls you, asking you to come over and you reluctantly agree. As you finally confront him with your doubts he immediately tries getting this thought out of you and gives you also his dog tags to prove he's yours forever and it's all cute then and also some soft smut where he tells you how much he loves you ? ♥️
Here we go! Here's our boy making everything better when the doubts creep in and we can shut it down on your own. Title: Yours to Keep
Pairing: Avenger!Bucky Barnes x SHIELD Analyst!Female Reader
Summary: You feel like your not enough, and when Sharon gets in your head it makes it so much worse. But to Bucky you’re the reason to make it home.
Word Count: 3.3k
Warnings:  / Explicit Content /18+, Minors DNI, Insecurity, emotional manipulation (from Sharon because she's a mean girl), soft possessiveness, smut, unprotected sex, established relationship, oral (f- receviving), praise, dog tag kink, Angst with Fluff, Romance.
A/N: Something softer for everyone this weekend. Thank you for the ask @wintersoldierchronicles
The compound was quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that seeped into your skin and clung to you like static. You sat curled into one of the deep leather chairs in the lounge, knees tucked beneath you, a tablet in your lap. The screen glowed softly, lines of mission data scrolling as you half-heartedly skimmed them, reading intel you’d collected yourself over the past few days. Every enemy movement tracked. Every building layout mapped. Every communication protocol updated and tested.
All to help keep the Avengers safe. To keep him safe.
You should’ve felt accomplished. Proud. Instead, you felt like a ghost in your own home.
No one had said anything, not directly. But they didn’t have to. The looks, the nods you didn’t get in the hallway, the way everyone seemed to talk around you instead of to you. It all added up. They were Avengers. Legends. Gods. And you were… what? Just the analyst who happened to be dating one of them. An ordinary woman in love with an extraordinary man.
And somehow, no matter how often Bucky looked at you like you hung the stars in the sky, the thought kept crawling back up your throat like bile: You’re not good enough for him.
You bit the inside of your cheek and tried to focus, tried to chase away the fog settling over your mind. But it was no use. The feeling had been a quiet whisper in the dark for months now, and lately… it was starting to scream.
You had seen the way people looked at Bucky- like he was a living monument to strength and survival. A relic of history wrapped in modern muscle and trauma, wearing his past like armour. People admired him. Revered him. And yet, he came home to you. You, who shuffled files and ran analyses. Who flinched when the training team sparred too close to your desk. Who once got winded jogging down the corridor when your badge lanyard snagged on a doorknob.
What could he possibly see in you that someone like Sharon, like Natasha, couldn’t offer in a more fitting package?
Footsteps echoed lightly down the corridor, the sharp click of designer boots hitting the polished floor like a countdown. You didn’t even need to lift your eyes. That cadence was familiar, the kind that always made your stomach twist with a mixture of dread and forced politeness.
Then came the voice. Smooth. Sweet. Laced with superiority.
“Still here?” Sharon Carter stepped into view, her tone dipped in passive-aggressive honey. She was perfectly made-up, of course, with not a single hair out of place, her sleek suit hugging her figure in all the ways that made people notice when she walked into a room.
She looked you up and down like you were something out of place, something small, insignificant. “Thought they kept the admin staff in the basement.”
It was a joke, probably. One of those faux-friendly jabs that everyone was supposed to laugh at. Except she wasn’t smiling. Not really.
You fought to keep your expression neutral, fingers tightening slightly around the tablet in your lap. You weren’t going to let her see how deep that cut went, not when she was already poised to twist the knife.
You gave her a polite nod, trying not to let your discomfort show. “Just going over the post-mission data. They’re due back in an hour.”
"Must be hard. Being with someone like Bucky." Sharon's smile was the kind that never quite reached her eyes.
“What do you mean?” You stiffened, your fingers tightening slightly around the edge of the tablet.
She stepped closer, arms folded casually like this was just idle chatter.
"I mean- he’s one of us. Field-ready. Weapon-trained. A living legend. And you… well, you make great coffee."
You swallowed hard. "I do more than-"
"I know," she said quickly, with that same dismissive tilt of her head. "You’re smart. Very behind-the-scenes. Essential in your own way, I suppose. But let’s be honest…Bucky’s built for war. He needs someone who understands that. Who can keep up. Who can be more than just a comfort waiting at home."
Your heart pounded painfully in your chest, each word driving in like a nail. It was everything you'd feared, laid out in someone else’s voice. Someone who was supposed to be on your side.
"He probably misses someone who can actually stand beside him out there," Sharon added with a shrug. "You know… someone who belongs."
The tablet in your hands blurred as tears threatened. You blinked hard and forced yourself to breathe through your nose.
You didn’t answer. Couldn’t. Because if you opened your mouth, you weren’t sure whether you’d scream or sob.
So you just stood, quickly and quietly, and walked away- shoulders stiff, throat tight, eyes stinging. You had to get out of there before someone saw you fall apart.
You left the compound entirely, slipping out the back entrance and taking the long way home. Your mind ran in circles the whole walk. What if Sharon was right? What if everyone had just been too polite to say it out loud? What if the only reason Bucky was with you was because you were safe? Easy? A soft landing after years of running and pain?
~#~#~#~#~#~
Bucky came back two hours later, bruised and sweaty but grinning. The mission had been long, much longer than expected. But successful at least. He was covered in dirt and grime, dried blood flecked across one temple, the strap of his weapons bag cutting into his shoulder. His muscles ached, and the adrenaline had long since worn off, but one thing kept him upright, kept him moving: you. The thought of you waiting at the compound, probably curled up with your tablet and a warm drink, maybe looking up every time the door slid open- yeah, that thought had gotten him through worse days than this.
He slung his weapons bag over one shoulder, still covered in dirt and dust from the mission, and scanned the lounge immediately.
“Hey, Sam,” he called. “She around?”
Sam looked up from his protein bar, brow furrowing slightly. “She left a while ago. Didn’t say much. Looked kinda off, though.”
Bucky’s shoulders stiffened. “Off how?”
Sam stood, tossing the wrapper aside. “I dunno, man. Quiet. Real quiet. Didn’t even look me in the eye. Thought maybe she was just tired, but now…” He trailed off, reading the worry blooming on Bucky’s face.
“You think something happened?” Bucky asked.
Sam gave a slow nod. “Could be nothing. But you know her better than anyone. If it’s not nothing- you’ll fix it.”
Bucky’s heart dropped. Something was wrong. You always met him after missions. Always.
Without another word, he turned and pulled his phone out of his pocket, hand still a little bloodied. ~#~#~#~#~#~
You pulled your car over to the side of the road, the quiet hum of the engine the only sound breaking through your spiralling thoughts. You hadn’t made it home. It felt too far. Too final. The space inside your car was tight, suffocating, but it was still safer than walking through the front door like nothing was wrong.
The phone vibrated in your hand again, lighting up with his name.
You stared down at the caller ID like it was a bomb about to go off. You didn’t answer right away. How could you? How could you speak to him when all you wanted to do was disappear?
You were a coward. That much was clear. Running off like that, not even saying goodbye. You should’ve stayed. Faced it. Faced her. But the words Sharon had said... they hadn’t been new. They were just the same cruel thoughts you’d had about yourself, dressed up in someone else’s voice.
You weren’t right for someone like Bucky.
You were just an analyst. A desk jockey. A tagalong to the world of gods and heroes.
And he was... everything.
He was strength and legend and pain and hope, all wrapped up in that scarred, steady way he looked at you like you were worth the whole damn universe. And you? You couldn’t even look yourself in the mirror right now.
The phone buzzed again.
Guilt stabbed through your chest.
He’d just come off a mission. He was probably still aching, tired, maybe even hurt—and here you were, making it all about you. Selfish. So unlike him. He always made you feel like the only girl in the room. One look from him and the world melted away.
You swallowed hard, blinking back the sting in your eyes, and finally picked up.
“Hey,” you said, voice too quiet.
“Doll, where are you?” he asked, voice already softening. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just… needed some air.”
There was a pause.
“You lying to me, sweetheart?” he said gently.
You closed your eyes. He knew you.
“No.”
Another pause. “Come back to the compound. Please. I need to see you. You're scaring me.”
Your chest cracked open. He sounded so… real. So Bucky. You found yourself nodding, even though he couldn’t see it.
“Okay,” you whispered.
~#~#~#~#~#~
He was already waiting by the elevator when you arrived, walking slow, tense loops with his hands clenched into fists at his sides. His jaw was tight, lips pressed into a thin line, the lines around his eyes carved deeper than usual. Every few seconds, his gaze darted toward the entrance, like he couldn’t help but check again, hoping- needing- you to appear.
The moment his eyes landed on you, he stopped dead. Everything in him just stilled. Relief hit him like a wave, shoulders dropping, hands unclenching—but his expression didn’t ease completely. No, his eyes stayed cautious, flickering across your face like he was afraid one wrong move might send you running. Like you were something breakable he didn’t dare press too hard.
He didn’t speak. Just opened his arms.
You tried to fake a smile, to smooth the cracks in your mask. But it was shaky, barely there, and he saw right through it. You saw the flicker of sadness in his eyes at the attempt.
You stepped into his embrace slowly, almost shyly, as if uncertain you still deserved it. The moment your body met his, the dam inside you cracked.
You buried your face in his chest, exhaling like you’d been holding your breath since you left the compound.
“Hey,” he murmured into your hair, voice rough with emotion. “There’s my girl.”
You clung to him, fingers twisting in his shirt like you were afraid he’d vanish, afraid this was all a dream that would dissolve when you let go.
“Do you wanna tell me what’s going on?” he asked eventually, drawing back just enough to look into your face. His thumb brushed the corner of your mouth, like he wanted to catch the remnants of that broken smile.
You looked up at him, eyes glassy and aching. “You’re Bucky Barnes. You’re an Avenger. A war hero. And I… I sit at a desk.”
“Stop,” he said instantly, thumb now tracing your cheekbone like he could wipe the pain away.
“I don’t fight aliens. I don’t have powers. I’m just… support staff.” Your voice wavered, trembling like your heart might break in two right there in front of him. “Sharon said you’d get bored of me. That you’ll want someone who can stand beside you in the field.”
His jaw tensed like he’d been struck. A flicker of something dark and cold passed through his expression, steel sharp and silent. His entire body went still.
“She said what?” he asked, voice low and dangerous, but even as the fury gathered behind his eyes, he didn’t let it take hold. He inhaled slowly, grounding himself. Because right now, you were what mattered.
You looked down, ashamed. “Doesn’t matter. She’s not wrong.”
There was a pause. Not long. Just the space of a heartbeat and then the weight of metal settled into your palm with a soft metallic clink.
“Look at me,” he said, voice low but unwavering.
You looked up, surprised by the intensity in his gaze.
“You see these?”
You nodded.
“These?” he said again, his voice thick with meaning as the tags clinked quietly between you. “These don’t just mean soldier. They mean survivor. They mean second chances. They mean you, okay? I don’t give these to anyone. I want you to have them.”
You stared at them, too stunned to speak, too overwhelmed to breathe. They were warm from his skin. Heavy with meaning.
He cupped your face gently, both hands trembling slightly now.
“You’re not support staff. You’re the person I come home to. My person. You keep me grounded. You’re the one thing that’s real.”
Your lips trembled, voice caught in your throat. “Bucky…”
He leaned down, voice husky and sure. “Put them on. Right now.”
You slipped the dog tags around your neck, hands shaking, heart pounding so loud you could hear it in your ears.
“There,” he said, eyes gleaming- not with pride, but with something softer. Fierce, unyielding love. “Now everyone knows. You’re mine. Forever.”
~#~#~#~#~#~
In the hallway, without a word, he scooped you up into his arms. Not rushed. Just worshipful, like you were something sacred he’d been aching to hold all day. You wrapped your arms around his neck, face tucked into the crook of his shoulder as he carried you, his footsteps steady and full of purpose, all the way to his room. Every step was careful, intentional, his hold firm but gentle, like he wanted to shield you from everything that had hurt you today.
He kissed your forehead as he laid you back on the bed, then your cheeks, your jaw, each press of his lips like a vow.
“So beautiful… so smart…” he murmured with each kiss. “Couldn’t do any of this without you.”
His soft kisses pressing into your cheeks, the corners of your mouth. 
“You’re everything to me,” he said, pulling your shirt over your head. “Every breath, every second.”
His mouth moved to your collarbone, your chest, trailing down your stomach , while his hand eased you out of your pants. 
“You think I don’t need you?” he said between kisses, each one a soft promise against your skin. “Baby, I fall apart without you.”
His mouth moved lower, worshipful and unhurried, kissing every inch of you like he was reacquainting himself with something sacred. By the time his tongue slid between your thighs, you were already trembling.
He groaned when you gasped, the sound low and reverent. Not just desire but devotion. His tongue moved with slow, deliberate precision, savouring every soft, slick response he pulled from you. He licked a long, teasing stripe up your centre, then circled your clit with a maddening tenderness, his hands gripping your thighs just firm enough to keep you open and trembling beneath him.
He moaned into you, like the taste of you was salvation, like he’d starved for this and finally had permission to feast. One hand slid up your stomach, grounding you as your hips bucked gently, chasing every press of his mouth.
“So sweet,” he murmured against you, voice thick with love, his lips brushing your most sensitive skin. “Taste like heaven. My heaven.”
He didn’t stop. Not yet. Not when you were trembling so perfectly for him. His tongue moved in slow circles, each pass deliberate and precise, coaxing you higher with gentle persistence. His grip on your thighs tightened slightly as your breath caught, his mouth parting you with reverence.
He flicked his tongue softly, then flattened it, letting the heat of him soak into every nerve ending, every gasp. He alternated pressure and pace, reading every twitch of your body like scripture. When he sucked your clit into his mouth and moaned, the vibration made your entire body arch into him.
“You’re not allowed to think you’re not wanted,” he rasped between strokes, his voice wrecked with affection and need. “Not when I love you.”
You cupped his face as he kissed up your body again, pausing to nuzzle the dog tags now lying warm between your breasts. “You feel like home,” you whispered, eyes glassy, voice raw with truth.
When he finally pressed inside you, it wasn’t fast or greedy. It was achingly slow, like he was trying to carve a place for himself inside you, not just in body but deeper. He let out a low, unsteady breath as he sank in, his forehead dropping to yours, his hand tightening around yours like he couldn’t bear to let go.
He didn’t thrust. Not right away. He stayed there for a beat, deep and still, forehead resting against yours as his breath caught in his throat. His hand stayed tangled in yours, his vibranium one anchored at your hip, grounding you both. “I need this,” he whispered. “Need you. Like this. Just us. You make everything quiet.” Bucky needed you to feel every inch, every part of him that belonged to you.
And then he moved like a tide rolling in to soothe what had been broken, to wash away everything that hurt. His hips rolled back with unhurried grace, then pressed forward again in a smooth, reverent stroke, making sure to drag himself along your velvet walls with each motion, slow and devastatingly deep. The way he filled you, the way he moved inside you. Like he was writing his name into your soul with every breathless thrust, imprinting himself where no one else had ever reached. Every motion was a promise: that he was here, that he was yours, that you were loved in the most complete, carnal, and emotional sense of the word.
Every slow push and pull was deliberate, reverent, the kind of lovemaking that felt like a conversation without words. He kissed your cheek, your jaw, your temple, murmuring softly between each breath.
“I love you,” he whispered, voice cracking as you trembled beneath him. “So damn much it hurts. You make me feel like a man. You see me.”
You cupped his cheek, tears sliding down your temples. “You see me.”
He let out a soft, shaky breath and kissed you again, Bucky pouring everything he had into it.
His rhythm stayed slow but insistent, hips pressing into yours with aching tenderness, like he wanted to be memorized, like he never wanted to be forgotten. The friction, the closeness, the way he looked at you like you were the only thing that had ever made him feel whole—it all built into something consuming, something soft and sacred.
When you came, your soft cries muffled into the curve of his neck, he held you tighter, like anchoring himself to you, like if he let go, the whole world would tilt. He whispered your name over and over again like a prayer, like a lifeline, like a vow, following close behind you with a quiet, broken groan into your skin.
And you knew, in that moment, that this wasn’t just sex.
It was coming home.
~#~#~#~#~#~
Afterward, he wrapped the blanket around you both, tucking you into his chest like he was trying to shield you from the rest of the world. His metal fingers traced soft, soothing circles against your spine, grounding you in the silence that settled warmly between you.
“You ever doubt your place again,” he murmured, lips pressed to your hair, voice rough with sleep and sincerity, “I want you to remember tonight. Remember how I touched you. How I looked at you. Remember this.”
You nodded against his chest, overwhelmed, your cheek pressed to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Your fingers curled around the dog tags still resting over your heart, the weight of them a quiet promise.
“I’m yours,” you whispered, the words small but certain.
He smiled, eyes closed as his arm tightened around you, pulling you impossibly closer.
“You always were,” he said, so softly it was nearly a breath, but you felt it more than heard it, like a vow etched beneath your skin.
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theorist-fox · 2 months ago
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Good Luck
Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Reader
Crossposted on AO3.
Previous << || >> Next
Word count: 5.2k
Summary: There’s only so much you can endure for love. Simon’s avoidance takes him one step too far, and this time, there’s no turning back.
18+
CW: angst, arguments, canon typical violence (GSW, surgery, medical talk), a drop of smut.
I listened to this song while writing!
Masterlist 🦊 | In The Walls Masterlist 🦊
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The treadmill runs underfoot when it shouldn't. 
You shouldn't be here—when the lights in the base are off, and curfew has clocked in. Not when your side is still aching, and your injury is still mending.
One would think that after ages in the special forces, you'd get used to gunshot wounds. 
Truth is—you never do. It's always the same burning pain that makes you piss yourself and throw up your guts. How you survived is still a big, fat question mark—sniper rifles are made to kill, not to neutralize. If that bullet had hit a little higher, you'd be six feet underground, not doing some cardio in the HQ gym.
Even now, two months after the incident, the stabbing ache in your gut still lingers. Granted, it's not fully healed, so any pain you feel is your fault. But sitting idly, twiddling your thumbs, feels far too passive for you. So, you decide to resort to the simplest training—cardio, light weightlifting—anything that might help the rage simmering in your chest subside.
Because yes—the worst thing festering in your guts, right in the broken sinews and ripped flesh, isn't the mending hole of a .308 round, but a growing anger that's making it hard for your limbs to sit still.
And it's that anger that's slowing down the healing process, it must be. 
You're running—not too fast. No headphones on, because you want to hear your breath panting and your feet thudding against the moving treadmill. You want to taste copper down your throat. 
Overexertion. Salivating tongue. The wonderful ache of sore muscles. 
Alive, strong, fast, reliable.
A friendly reminder that even though there is someone else occupying your spot in the team, you're still as fan-fucking-tastic as ever.
A friendly reminder that their role is only temporary. That when you're back on your feet, you're going to be the fifth member of that task force again. 
Breakfasts with Soap, early morning runs with Gaz, cigars in the evening with Price.
Ghost, on the other hand, can go and fuck himself. Hard. 
You don't blame him, really. Or, well, maybe a little. A smidge. 
Because that's just who he is. You can't blame someone for being who they are—and what he is, is a bastard. 
You should've known the moment you met him, the second he introduced himself as Ghost instead of Simon Riley, all those years back.
Instead of giving in, instead of acting kind, caring, and giving him your time—instead, instead, instead—you should've bit the same way he bit you. Ravaged you. Gave you hot and cold, push and pull, sunk his teeth until the bone, until you were nothing more than a rag doll in the maws of a rabid dog.
Surely, you couldn't have expected him to visit.
You couldn't have expected him to knock on your hospital room door, cuppa in hand, and have him give you his precious, precious time.
What you should've done was expect him to treat you in person like he treats you in bed. 
A whore: warm enough to fit his cock in, wet enough to stroke his ego. You being out of commission for anything remotely related to sex meant you being out of his life—plain and simple. 
A hard pill to swallow, but a true one.
And so, you run. 
You run and stare deadly holes into the wall in front of you. 
You run and ignore how the forming scar on your side tightens at each movement. 
You run and try your damned hardest to focus on yourself: on your body feeling alive even when unhooked from cables and machines, on the fog in your brain finally dissipating, on your chest filling and relaxing even without oxygen pumped in your nose.
Ten minutes turn into twenty, until you can feel your thighs chafe and your calves cramp, but still you push through. Because the alternative, the only other thing that would make your stomach finally loosen, would be to have that bastard within reach. Punch him until he hurts like you did.
Alas, God seems to have heard, for the next thing you know, is that Simon is standing, jaded as always, at the threshold of the gym to your left.
As soon as you spot him in your periphery, you punch the big red button on the treadmill. Your run slows to a walk before you stop completely and get down. 
You don't even look at him as you collect your water bottle from the floor, grunting softly when your injury folds and aches.
You don't even lift your head when you reply with a caustic, "Look what the cat dragged in."
He snorts. How dare he.
"See you got your wit back."
It's been two months since you last heard his voice. 
When you got shot and blacked out, the last thing you registered was his voice roaring over comms—but judging by the distant behaviour he assumed right afterwards, the complete absence during your hospitalization, you convinced yourself that the anguished cry of your name you've heard was imagined altogether.
One last attempt of your brain to find some comfort in the pain.
However, a treacherous shiver still runs down your spine when he speaks. The thickness of his voice, the rasp that scratches a nice spot in your brain. 
You shake your shoulders to get rid of it.
It's only then that you clock his form with your eyes. You tongue your cheek.
"Never left," you say, uncapping your water bottle. "Not that you'd know anyway, mh?"
As you drink, the balaclava shifts at his jaw as if he's running his tongue over his teeth. Thinking which approach to take—tactical and measured or absolutely ballistic and corrosive.
"You shouldn't be 'ere." He drawls with that grating tone that makes you believe he knows something more than you do.
Measured it is.
"Got cleared."
"Doc said otherwise."
"As obsessed as ever, uh?"
How his eyes sharpen tells you you've cut deeper than any razor blade could. A smug smile blooms on your cheeks because small things feel like huge victories when there are too many losses to count.
"You're under my command." He says bluntly, "Had to keep myself updated."
"Normal people would ask."
He tilts his head. "M'sure you gathered I'm anything but."
"Right," you say with a wry grin. "What was the doctor's diagnosis, then?"
"Lucky your liver got out of it intact," he replies, "Exit wound clear, no fragments. Minimal internal dam—"
"Oh no, I know that." You cut in, sickly sweet, like poison more than honey. "I meant yours."
His eyes darken, with a warning glint that should be enough to pierce through your resolve—shame for him that you're bulletproof and sharp like a knife. You don't care if it'll hurt—let it. After all, there is little left to lose, and you're sure that whatever is left will soon be lost.
"Abandonment issues? Does it stem from your childhood? Are you projecting something on me, Simon?"
"Sergeant," he says, lower than a growl. 
"What?" You snap, tongue riddled with bitterness. "Isn't that what's happening? Takin' my life apart 'cause you couldn't sort out yours?"
Simon rolls his shoulders and straightens his neck. He often does it when he wants to appear taller, broader, scarier—though you know better.
And right now, he's just as tense as you are. 
Both of you are teetering on the edge, walking a fine line that could lead to resolution, but you're afraid it won't. Not this time.
Each step he takes bends the thin rope under his weight. You wobble—precarious, afraid, a gust of wind is all it would take for you to fall and lose it all in one breath: the earned, mutual trust, the fragile love—no matter how disjointed and uncertain at times.
Reluctantly, you know that it has been tender, too.
"I'd watch my tongue if I were you,” he says. A measured threat.
Your eyes are sharp, and you don't dare to breathe. The space between your faces is tense—a ticking time bomb, something preceding destruction.
"And I'd stay the fuck back." You scowl. "If I were you."
There's a sneer painting his face; you're sure of it, even if it's out of sight. Something heavy and dark, hidden under fabric. 
"Aye, I have," he says at length. "For two months. But looks like you didn't enjoy that much, did ya now?"
Your brows fly to your forehead. Utter disbelief at the sheer audacity of him. Apparently, today isn't one of those days in which you can take what you dish out. 
Fuck it, you'll live.
"You think this is funny?" You scowl, cocking your head.
You watch his jaw shift, perhaps trying to reply, but you don't give him time. He's had plenty of it and wasted it all.
"You think it's alright, what you did?"
Your teeth grit until your head hurts. 
"Not even a knock, Simon." Your voice rises in volume and anger alike. "Two months. Not a call, a text, a wordpassed through Johnny."
Your chest grows tight, and those vines climb upward, closing in on your throat and head all the same. The pressure in your skull threatens tears.
You'd rather get shot again than cry now, of all times.
You thought he'd carved a path specifically for you. Instead, he was only covering your eyes in gentle kisses and cottoning your ears with sweet words—perhaps some remorse, if he could feel it at all. Treated you like a hungry dog, throwing a bone so you'd turn into a more docile pup, whimpering and asking for pets.
And still, you kept clinging with your fingernails to the scraps of tenderness he offered, even when unsure of their authenticity.
There is no trace of that naivete now embedded in your eyes. You're as hard as he's portraying himself to be.
Simon now studies the switch. He must see the sadness in there, even if it's buried under a thick layer of anger and spite. 
"Figured I'd leave ya to it," he says at last, pressing his thumb between his brows—a subtle gesture betraying his calm facade. "Give ya time to recover."
What a poor fucking excuse.
Oh, you want to make him hurt like he did you. 
Make him feel two months' worth of staring at the plain white door of the hospital room, waiting for it to open. Waiting to see him duck under the doorframe, holding a pack of Marlboros in his hand. 
Make a joke about smoking in hospital rooms and how irresponsible that would be, how insensitive, only for him to tinker with the smoke alarm and turn the orange butt of a ciggie your way. 
Bring you tea. The book you still haven't finished. Tell you about his day. 
More than sixty days spent pining, waiting, hoping like a helpless lunatic, with Johnny's pitying blues glued on the lines between your brows.
"Oh, spare me." You scoff. "At least have the decency to do that much."
His eyes narrow. You inhale, challenging him with your glare.
Fuck, he doesn't have to love you—to even like you—if that's the barrier he wants to put up.
But basic human decency doesn't seem much to demand. Especially knowing that you were so much more before this ordeal began. You were a colleague, a friend. A shag here and there doesn't cancel that. How can occasional sex erase years and years of carefully built partnerships, in and out of work?
How can he so easily change his view of you just because you parted your legs for him?
It hurts when you realize it. When it hits you right in the head like that bullet pierced your side. That you're done giving him excuses, that you're done giving him time.
That it's now or never again.
It escapes your mouth like something strangled, fighting its way out with elbows and fists. Thrashing through your throat, guided by better judgment and self-preservation, even as your heart begs for a moment more. 
"You know this doesn't work, right?" You gesture in the space between you two. "You and I."
That seems to be what wakes him. His eyes look alarmed, even if only for a moment, and it's a flash so brief you're not even sure it happened at all.
"We talked 'bout—"
"Oh, shut the fuck up." You cut in, exasperation showing in the way your voice rises. 
He jolts. Freezes.
You sigh a shaky breath. Your body burns hot, like the feelings brewing at the bottom of a much too-deep pot are finally spilling out. Skin lighting up, all too aware of everything, from the blood rushing to your cheeks to the throbbing ache of your healing wound.
"Yeah, we had that chat—no feelings, no strings attached, or whatever rubbish you tell yourself to sleep at night."
Your heart feels heavier, like someone's poured cement over it, and it's about to be tossed into deep waters.
"Doesn't mean you've got the right to treat me like this." You say in a single breath. "Like I'm not even a person. Like I don't matter unless I'm naked."
Something in him hardens like he's looking at you through his scope: squinting his eyes, steeling his shoulders. You struck a raw nerve, casting him in a light that even he wouldn't dare to face, self-critical as he may be.
Or you're just describing what you see. What he's shown you. Given you. Not who he is.
But how are you supposed to know that? Discern the mask from the man when he guards the latter so viciously.
"I'm not just someone you fuck," you say through gritted teeth. "I'm a person. I'm your sergeant—I'm your friend. I deserve your respect."
You slam a finger to his chest. The impact is not as strong as it is shocking.
Simon stumbles back.
"I had your back long before we started fucking, and when I get shot, you don't even bother knocking?" You exclaim. "You hear how fucked up that is? And you think I'll let it slide without consequences?"
You retreat your hand, trembling like a leaf. It falls at your side limply, surrendered as you are.
"You don't know me if you think that."
You gulp down something heavy stuck in your throat, but your voice remains abrasive and sharp.
"And I don't know why I ever thought otherwise."
You step back, holding his eyes a moment more—daring to bite back at your words. Daring to fabricate an excuse.
But you don't waste energy to gauge his thoughts this time. You have tried—so strenuously— to discover Simon Riley, but there are walls too thick to climb, gates too rusted and too old to be opened.
And, for once, you forgive yourself for having failed.
Simon stands stock still under the yellow lights of the gym, hands curled into fists at his sides, fighting an invisible enemy. A statue of a man, stone cold and so awfully far, far away.
You walk past him, water bottle clutched in your hand so tight you think your knuckles might snap.
The doorway's left behind you. Your steps quicken the farther you get from the gym, watching the light from the door give way to the darkness of a sleeping headquarters. 
You don't hear his steps, and you're unsure whether he's following. Hard to tell—the man's a ghost in more ways than just his name. Silent and prudent even when wrapped in tac gear up to his head.
When you reach your room, you think you're safe from further arguments. No more raising your voice, no more putting your heart through the meat grinder. It's gone and done, and you only want to get in your bed and not think about it until you wake up tomorrow. 
Still, your hands shake. You test for your keys in the tight pocket of your leggings and curse under your breath when you pluck them out and they fall from between your fingers.
When you're about to bend down, cussing further because your side still aches, a hand steals them from your sight. You follow the tattoos up to the face of the owner, even if you don't have to do so to recognize him.
He's not wearing the mask anymore. He has it tucked in a pocket of his jeans; you see the dark cloth peeking from the light blue. His shoulders are slouched, hair tousled and messy, likely due to his fingers running through it. Pale cheeks and sunken eyes, darker underneath, like he hasn't caught a wink in a while. 
A certain sadness in them, too. But that might be what your eyes want you to see—rationally, you would put all that much, much past him.
"Careful," he murmurs, handing the keys back to you.
You snatch them from his hands and practically punch them into the keyhole.
"Sarge—"
"No."
He calls your name.
"No."
You slam the door behind you once you're inside, but you don't hear the closing thud. When you look over your shoulder, you find him holding it open. Without further questions or waiting for you to rebut, he steps inside. 
You glower to deter him. It's useless.
Simon closes the door behind him and leans against it. His hand effortlessly finds the switch at the entrance and flicks it on. 
As you blink to adjust to the sudden light, your eyes naturally focus on him: a mountain of a man clad in onyx with the pale cream backdrop of your door. 
"Out," you bark.
He looks at you with eyes so horribly tired. Exhausted. Upset.
"Fuck's sake, jus' listen."
And his voice is not so different.
Then, there's nothing you can do. 
Those boots have been here without your frank permission more times than you can count. You're aware of the impossibility of redirecting them outside. 
You scowl, fingers tightening around the water bottle in your hand because his nerve could bloody well be the last straw.
But still—
You nod. Jaw locked tight.
"Make it quick."
He spares not a second more.
"Day o' the surgery, after they cut you open," he says. "I came."
He points at his neck. 
"Had a tube shoved down your throat, a thing around your chin to keep ya mouth open."
Then, to his face. 
"Beaten black an' blue, you were—swollen an' all. Reckon it was probably the fall after the shot—dunno, couldn't fuckin' think when I saw ya like that."
He licks his lips. Bows his head as if the floor might lend him the strength he needs to pull himself together.
He looks up again. Dark eyes tender unlike anything you've ever seen, and yet one corner of his mouth is downturned, like he's about to say something he's very disappointed with.
Your body is gelatin. Flaccid. Cotton ears, foggy sight, clammy palms. 
"You looked dead," he swallows something thick. "And I wished you were."
Your bottle slips from your hands and falls to the floor. A metallic thud. Water sloshes back and forth as it rolls on the linoleum until it stills.
Suddenly, you feel like a kid who's looking for her ma. 
There's a sadness so deep and suffocating you can't quite explain it if not by digging up childhood memories—a sense of loss, of being small and helpless and alone.
You fought tears all this time, and now it feels fruitless even to try. It's written all over your face anyway. 
You taste their salt before you feel your eyes swell with them.
"Fuck. You." You tell him, voice hoarse but no less spiteful.
"Wished you were dead—"
He walks to you.
"You're disgusting—"
"Because—"
Closer.
"Don't want to see your fucking face again—"
"I didn't know wha' to do."
Until he stands with his boots bumping your trainers. Until the cold wall touches the sweat on your back.
He holds your face in his hands.
You pull back. He doesn't let go.
"'Cause I don't know, love—" He breathes tenderly, like his voice is not his, while your nails claw at his wrist so he lets go.
He doesn't.
"I don't know how to mourn the livin'," he says, "Only the dead."
He gulps. You fall still.
"You said ya wouldn't put me through that again, but you did," he croaks. "Made it worse this time. I couldn't take it."
He thumbs your tears.
"Would've been easier f'me to bury ya with the others an' let the guilt finish me off."
Simon leans in until his lips brush your forehead. When he realizes you won't fight back anymore, his hands slide to your shoulders, then down your arms.
Gingerly, his fingers twine with yours. He doesn't tighten his hold; he merely tests the thin skin of your knuckles.
You pull back a step, burning eyes drifting up at him through the tears clumping your lashes. Truthfully, you weren't expecting him to cry with you. You don't think Simon can—maybe he's already shed one too many tears.
But his cheeks are glowing red. His eyelids are heavy, eyes cast down to you. He's just as affected as you are, but he shows it differently in those subtle ways you've learned to read.
After fighting the tremble of your lips, you steady yourself. Fingers warm within his own; you don't pull them away. 
"I don't deserve what you did to me."
Your voice is so tight you hate yourself for it, but if you don't speak your mind now, you're afraid you never will.
He shakes his head slowly, never straying from your eyes. 
"You don't."
Leaning down slowly, giving you ample time to move away if you wish, Simon kisses your shoulder. 
You sigh.
"Don't deserve a ton o' the shite I put ya through," he whispers.
His ear is right next to your lips. You're sure that no matter how much you try to control yourself, he'll quickly gather your feelings by the way your pulse thunders beneath his kiss.
So why hide it at all?
"And yet you never apologized for a single one of them."
Simon gulps. A subtle sound, as subtle as the man who made it. 
He pulls back. Smooths back your hair, sliding a hand from your forehead to your scalp. 
You lean into his touch, exhaling a breath that trembles like your hands.
"Never did, did I." He breathes. 
He leans in and presses a kiss between your brows, then down the bridge of your nose, to your cheek, the corner of your mouth. You close your eyes so he can navigate this new level of intimacy he's never initiated nor shown at all.
And then he captures your lips. 
His shoulders soften.
A long, drawn-out sigh from his nose. 
He pushes forward, forcing the back of your head against the wall. His hands travel to your stomach, hesitant and curious. He skims over the thicker patch of fabric, where the surgery scar is mending under soft, fresh bandages. 
A slight hiss in your breath because it still feels sore to the touch is what makes Simon pull back. Just enough to have the tips of your noses graze.
Suddenly, he kneels at your feet. 
Big hands envelop your waist, touch gentle but still present enough to rip the air out of your lungs. His thumb brushes over the bandage, causing you to shift uncomfortably.
You look down. Your eyes touch.
The silence around you cracks when he speaks, softness in his breath.
"M'sorry."
Chest tight and sore, like he just punched it. 
He keeps his eyes on you, not to study your expression but to convey his own. The earnestness you catch in there ripples through you like a shockwave ready to shatter you whole.
He leans in and buries his nose right above your belly button, in the rougher fabric of your shirt.
His thumbs hook at the hem, lifting it up so that his face meets your stomach.
"Tell me to fuck off, an' I will," he whispers to your skin. "Know I deserve it."
He kisses your belly, carefully navigating around your bandaged injury. 
"But fuck," he sighs. "I hope you don't."
His lips travel lower, where the waistband of your legging cinches your hips. His kisses turn open but unhurried, like he just wants to savour what he's denied himself for too long.
You roll your lips between your teeth, unsure of how to behave.
"Fuckin' hope you don't," he murmurs.
Your hands land on his head, then, hesitant and trembling, fingers threaded through his hair. Simon sighs like you took the weight off his shoulders and got rid of it entirely.
His fingers curl at the hem of your leggings. 
Slowly, he rolls them down, and he follows their trail, drawing his tongue and his lips down your thighs to your knee. His hand slips to your shoe, and he helps you take it off. Then to the other. Your socks, your pants, until your legs are bare, fabric tossed aside in a heap on the floor.
Simon never stands up.
He holds you by your hips with a covetous grip, but still soft enough to not hurt, almost mimicking the way his mouth moves over you: with smothered hunger, with gentle greed, one that feels somehow oppositely selfless.
Like he's doing it because it feels good for you and not because he desires to have it.
Simon's nose dips in the crease of your thighs. A kiss there, one to the seam of your labia, one on your mound.
His eyes flicker to you.
The lights in your room are a soft yellow, casting a gentle glow on his kneeling body that feels somewhat wrong, like there's too much being shown under the sun when only the two of you should witness it.
Gingerly, you slide your hand along the wall until you find the bump of the switch. With a flick of your finger, the lights go off.
The room is pitch dark now. Moonlight laps at the lines of Simon's face like it's trying to make him glow despite how dim everything around him is. 
It takes a while to adjust to the darkness, but you finally see him when you do. The downturn of his eyes, the telltale signs of sleepless nights, wrinkles of exhaustion and endless battles fought within himself.
Utter, devastating regret. 
You wonder if he can spot the heaviness in your eyes. The uncertainty, the fear of falling right back into the cycle, a trap of yours and his making. 
He's going to tell you the nicest things, pull you in until you can only stick to him like glue, and then he's going to vanish from your life. Treat you like you're strangers until you'll somehow find yourself wrapped around his finger again.
And then it'll all start over. Again, and again, and again.
You brush your thumb on his temple.
Simon leans into it like a dog starving for attention.
He hooks his fingers at the thin straps hugging your hipbones. Slowly pulls your knickers down to your ankles as he holds your eyes.
Gently, he coaxes your knee to bend, lifting your leg off the floor. He kisses the side of your foot, your calf and upward, until your knee is draped over his shoulder. 
Slowly, his nose nudges your clit. The muscles in your thighs twitch.
You're not wet; you're not aroused. He isn't either, you can tell. Otherwise, you'd have had his face buried between your legs hours ago.
The tip of his tongue draws a stroke there. Like waves, it reaches the base of your skull. Tips you off balance, almost. Makes your head spin.
Another tentative lick. The tender fingers in his hair turn into claws, and you grip it tighter. 
Another, another, until you're breathless and inevitably dripping. Simon collects it with his fingers, drawing circles at your entrance.
The flat of his tongue meets your clit in a tortuously slow dance, holding you still with an arm encircling your thigh. And then his finger slides in. You're forced to bite your cheek, muffling a moan that only manages to break free as a sigh.
But when you look down, even in the darkness, you see his eyes, glossy and charged. But still so very tired. 
Like yours.
Because maybe he's navigating through this exactly like you, and you hadn't considered it—too absorbed in your own heartache to notice his. And maybe he's even more afraid because when you have nothing to lose, and something's suddenly given to you, you don't know how to behave.
And maybe Simon thinks that doing this is the only way to keep you.
You exchange a look that holds more pain than lust, shaking your head at him so, so softly it’s almost imperceptible. And Simon sighs, surrendered—he takes back his hand, his tongue, and sits back on his heels.
Carefully, you unhook your knee from his shoulder. He doesn't put up a fight, doesn't tighten the hold on your leg. Instead, he drops his arm limp on his thigh. 
You slide down the wall behind you until your knees bump against his. Simon's fingers reach out, almost shy, and trace mindless patterns on your skin. 
He's hunched over, head bowed in what you venture might be shame, or perhaps that grief he said he doesn't know how to carry. 
Your hand touches his cheek. Dark eyes look at you through paler lashes with reluctant understanding.
That it's over, isn't it?
"Doesn't feel right anymore, does it?" You offer gently.
His chest swells. Shoulders taut and suddenly straight, like something's hit his spine and forced it upright. 
He tongues his cheek. Looks away.
"Don't think so, no."
Your lips quiver. It's okay, it was bound to happen. 
It should've happened so long ago. You should've taken the leap and pulled away from him much, much earlier—when your heart wasn't woven to his yet.
"Maybe one day," you say in the darkness, thumb brushing his cheekbone. "When we're not so…"
With your free hand, you gesture at yourselves. 
"…Fucked." You finish with a hint of a breathy laugh in between. 
Simon huffs too, and then deflates.
It's long before his hand comes to cup yours on his cheek. He keeps it there momentarily, while finally giving you the privilege of meeting your eyes.
And he looks so tender, even when he gently brings your hand down, away from his face. He holds it as it lands on his knees.
"Eloquent." He remarks.
You scoff. Roll your eyes with a pathetic sniffle. "Obviously."
He shakes his head softly. A big hand reaches up, and he flicks your nose. You scrunch it up, smiling in a way that doesn't feel forced for the first time since you met tonight.
Simon's thumb brushes your knuckles.
"One day," he repeats. "When we're not fucked."
Your smile feels wet and shaky. Tears are staining your cheek, but it's freeing instead of reluctant, this time.
His eyes are gentle, allowing you to peek through the curtain for the first time. Perhaps it's too dark now to see, but you're hopeful one day you will.
"Good luck to us, then." You say softly.
Simon breathes a chuckle. Brings your knuckles to his lips and holds your hand there.
"Good luck, love."
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Biggest thanks to @/void-my-warranty for helping me out, you're a gem 🧡
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strawberrykidneystone · 3 months ago
Text
the blast that changed everything
sevika x female! reader
summary: your wife came home after being gone at work for more than a day with a limb missing and it was definitely an adjustment
a/n: i did do research for this fic about limb loss but if there's anything that i can do to improve this please don't hesitate to let me know!!
tags: loss of limb, angst to fluff, emetophobia tw, domestic moments, weed, making out, reassurance,
ao3 version
thank you for requesting anon!!!
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when sevika had first told you that she was switching to work under silco, you were more than confused. but once she explained her reasoning and promised that she would be careful, you slowly got on board with her work. you knew that she wanted action instead of whatever "passive bullshit" that vander was negotiating with piltover, but you knew you couldn't talk her out of it even if you tried.
sevika got so many nasty looks whenever she was out in public for "betraying" vander, but a betrayal is a stab in the back, not the front, which is what sevika did when she left vander.
but working for silco meant going along with his scientist's experiments, which you were less than keen to learn about. sevika didn't tell you much because honestly, mainly because she didn't know much about it herself. she did tell you to never touch the substance, a shimmering purple substance would bring nothing but trouble.
so here you are, waiting on the couch for your wife to come home from work. you glanced up at the ticking clock in the living room, it was well past midnight, where was she? sure, she had late nights before, but she would always send someone to at least tell you that she was going to be late. you tried not to worry, but you felt a pit in your stomach that something just wasn't right.
your suspicions were confirmed when you heard a frantic knock on the door. bolting up and throwing the door open, you're met with a panting ran who takes a deep breath and rambles out something slightly incoherent, but you pick up the words "sevika" and "hurt". quickly throwing on a jacket and slipping on the nearest shoes you urge ran to bring you to her, the two of you tearing down the street until you go down a huge spiral staircase into a lab that had an open window view of the ocean.
frantically looking around, you raced to sevika's side as you saw her passed out on a crude surgical table and cupped her hand in yours, reassuring her that you were here even if she couldn't hear you.
then you saw her other arm.
it was charred as it she had stuck it directly into a fire, but it was glowing... blue? she had a scar running up from her shoulder to her cheek with blue cracks as if her skin were a glass that shattered. you had never seen an injury like this before. singed was working on her shoulder with a bone blade and you covered your mouth with her hand, there was no way that this arm was salvageable. you squeezed your eyes shut as you heard the crunching of her bone, she was losing her dominant hand and you had no idea how she would adjust to losing her primary arm. you felt nauseous and dizzy, quickly kneeling down by the nearest trash can and barfing your brains out. you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand and took a shaky breath. you had to be strong for her, especially after she woke up. eventually, you fell asleep at her side and didn't wake until you felt movement near your head the next morning.
you quickly perked up and almost started crying when shew finally showed signs of life. sevika groggily looked around, clearly very disoriented until her eyes locked in on you. "baby? what happened?" she asked raspily, trying to shake the brain fog out of her head.
you gulped and took a deep breath, clutching her hand in yours, "after you pushed silco out of the way, the blast had some sort of blue technology in it, it wasn't a regular explosion. singed tried everything he could, but he had to amputate your arm up to you shoulder and there is some blue scarring going up your face that he couldn't explain to me how they got there."
sevika slowly nodded along and looked to her side at the stump that was now her arm. she seemed oddly calm, but sevika was never really one to let her emotions overtake her. by this point, you had tears streaming down your face and profusely apologizing as if you had been the one to set off the blast. she shook her head and placed her hand on your cheek, rubbing her thumb against your cheekbone, "baby it's okay, i'm okay. it's just an arm, silco's probably commissioning a new one for me as we speak. it's gonna be alright."
you sniffed and covered her hand with yours, leaning into her palm, "i'm supposed to be the one comforting you dummy, you're the one who got hurt."
she snorted and shook her head, "as long as i have you, i know everything's going to be alright."
you wiped your tears away and kissed the inside of her hand, "okay okay you sap, I'll stop worrying. but you're not going back to work until you feel ready, capeesh?"
"caposh, now get up here and kiss me," she said with a grin. you basically lunged up to her and pressed a hard kiss to her lips, throwing your arms around her neck as you smothered her in entire face in kisses. sevika was a little thrown off when she went to wrap her arms around you, but only one actually showed up.
this was definitely going to be an adjustment.
over the next few weeks, you had taken sevika to a decent physical therapist that you had found in zaun and worked with her to improve the handwriting in her right arm. her center of gravity was entirely off and she was unconsciously leaning to the right side when she walked, which she also had to work on in physical therapy as well as outside of it. she opens up to you after a while about how she swears that she can feel every finger in her left hand still, sometimes still reaching for things with a limb that is no longer there and mourning what she lost. she also asked you to cut off the left sleeve of her shirt to make it easier to dress herself, which you happily obliged as you had an excuse to practice your sewing.
when she started getting phantom limb pain, you started massaging the area and sitting down with her with a stand-up mirror so her mind gets tricked into thinking it still has all of the pathways in her body.
and smoking weed.
she joked that the doctor had basically given her a prescription to smoke weed, but that is kind of what happened. you would smoke with her and she loves it when you shotgun into her mouth, her brain releasing tension with the pain in her missing limb soon forgotten. it became a nightly ritual for the two of you to sit out on your bedroom balcony and smoke a shared blunt that usually ended up with you perched on her lap in a sloppy make-out session. life was slowly starting to feel normal again with her adjusted lifestyle. it took her a while to ask for help when she needed it, even from you, her close loved one. sevika was nothing if not resilient, but her patience usually wore thin when tasks started taking her twice the time it did before the accident. you were always there to lend a hand and reassure her that asking for help was nothing shameful, that you wanted to help her. it took her a while to accept, but when she did, her life drastically improved for the better.
during all of this, you were hounding silco's ass about her new prosthetic arm that he calmly said was still getting worked on. he would never admit it aloud, but he was a little scared of you.
when she came home one day with a new prosthetic arm attached to her shoulder, you looked at her in awe as your wife had the cheesiest grin on her face. she immediately wrapped you up in her arms and chuckled as she felt you shiver with her cold metal arm against your slightly exposed back. even though she had the new arm, she didn’t like wearing it around you since it was technically a weapon.
being able to write with her left hand again was. a huge relief for her, sure she made do with writing with her non-dominant hand, but this was different, it was almost like having her own arm back again.
plus, now she could write with both hands.
you were less than thrilled when she added a shimmer component to her arm, lecturing her on how it was hypocritical of her after she was so adamant about not using it when singed was first experimenting with it. however, silco kept sending her on harder missions and shimmer helped her do her best work, so you slowly came around, especially after seeing how feral the substance made her (especially in bed, shimmer strap who?)
eventually, things settled down and she was back at work with new additions to her arm every so often that she loved to show off to you. you admired them and asked about the new features, simply happy that she had new tools to keep her safe while she was out doing silco's dirty work.
it was all worth it for zaun to slowly take steps forward to becoming independent and governing themselves instead of the ever looming presence of piltover stopping them.
a/n: silco having workers comp??? maybe he's not so bad /j
taglist: @maneskinwh0re @archangeldyke-all @fandoms-will-be-the-death-of-me @sevikasfan @lez-zuha @comfortripley @sunflowerwinds
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ultravi0lence14 · 5 months ago
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Salt & Burn
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dean winchester x fem!reader
837 | hurt/comfort, spn level violence
summary: after what you assumed to be a simple salt and burn goes completely sideways, dean is there to help you with not only your physical wounds, but your mental.
*based on this request
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a hiss of pain breathed from your lips, eyes slightly watering as dean’s hands made repetitive motions of the thread and needle in your skin.
what seemed to be a simple ghost hunt turned into a full moon. which then turned into a werewolf prowling the land of the cemetery. dean had put a silver bullet in it’s head, but not before it had dug it’s long and grotesque talons into the flesh of your back.
no visit to the hospital was needed, but the excruciating pain as dean hauled you from the muddy ground to the impala was something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. all you could recall was the feeling of a thousand knives in your back and the sound dean’s voice saying, “you’re alright. you’ll be just fine sweetheart.” coming out in murmured jumbles like you were underwater.
now, as you sat cross legged on the sink of the motel bathroom, you really cursed the moon and what it did to some people every month. you were facing the mirror, watching dean in the glassy reflection as he concentrated so heavily on the sutures you were sure his hand was going to cramp up.
you hadn’t spoken since you came back, and dean was starting to get worried. your face was passive, looking into the bathroom mirror like you could look through yourself. the look in your eyes had dean worried. you seemed like a shell of yourself. not that he blamed you, the werewolf attack was pretty gruesome.
the sensation of the thread being tied of jolted you out of the revere you were in. dean’s concern grew larger when you didn’t move a muscle as he suggested maybe ordering your favourite food and staying in. the physical wound on your skin was healed, but now dean needed to help mend the mental scar the werewolf left on your soul.
softly grabbing your arm and helping you down from the counter, the small whisper of dean’s breath on your ear murmuring ‘come here’ brought you out of whatever fog clouded your brain. your muscles were limp and lifeless as the man pulled you toward the motel bed. He could see to toll of the werewolf’s scratch on your face, and all dean wanted to do was make it better.
the plush yet dull comforter on the creaky mattress brought a semblance of comfort to your aching bones. dean sitting down beside you had the mattress dipping, a firm yet comforting hand being placed on your back and moved in comforting circles.
“everything is going to be okay.” he whispered, hands moving so his fingers were tangled in your hair. “you’re alive, you’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”
a whimper tore from your lips at the thought. you were safe, but at what cost? head turning into dean’s chest, tears fell down your eyes as a sob racked through your body. “oh sweetheart.” dean murmured in the crown of your head, arms resting around your frame and hugging you close to his body. “it’s okay. i’m here, baby no one is going to hurt you.”
“i’m so scared.” you cried out, tears stains littering your cheeks as they kept flowing down your face. “i thought i was going to die. it hurt so bad dean, i didn’t know if i was able to hold on any longer.” your words left a piercing gape in dean’s heart. the thought of you dying broke him into pieces. even the thought of you believing you weren’t going to make it hurt his heart.
placing a delicate kiss on the crown of your head, dean felt his own tears fall down his cheeks. “but you made it. you were so brave honey. you held on for me, sam, and yourself.” the sobs had halted a little, but dean could still feel the tears falling onto his shirt. “you are so much stronger than you let yourself believe.”
“i could’ve got you and sam killed.” you said, looking up at dean through tear stained eyes. he hated himself for thinking such a thing at this moment, but dean couldn’t help but stare at your coloured eyes behind the glass like shield of tears. you looked so beautiful, and he couldn’t help but wipe away a tear that fell from your eye.
“but you didn’t.” he reassured, pulling you down so you both were laying on the mattress. side by side, he grabbed your hand and held on tight as you cuddled into his side. “sam and i are okay. you’re okay. no one expected that to happen. all that matters is you getting some rest.”
you weren’t tired, yet the motions of everything you’d been through in one night made sleep cling to you like a vice. with your head delicately placed over dean’s heartbeat, you fell asleep with the rhythmic thump of his heart as white noise.
“i love you.” dean whispered in your ear as you peacefully slept. “i hope you know that.”
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stellasdrafts · 1 month ago
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Wanted/Woman (Arthur Morgan)
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Summary: two stranger outlaws find themselves captured by bounty hunters (Arthur Morgan x outlaw!Reader)
Word Count: 3.8k
Content: female reader, capture and bindings, violence and death, light gore, mentions of infertility, forced proximity, manipulative reader, enemies? (not quite but they dislike each other) to tension, crude language, male slander
Notes: surpriseeee new hyperfixation (dw will still be writing for leon too!! just added a new fictional man to the roster yum). i imagine mid-honor Arthur for this :) (also idk shit about guns so bear with me thanks). this is kind of an amateurish attempt of mine at criticizing misogyny bc i’m pissed off about today’s political climate. cliché on purpose.
The last thing you remember before going dark is the stinging pain of being pistol-whipped in the face by some bounty hunter’s grimy revolver.
As your consciousness comes to, you see flickering firelight from behind your eyelids. Even before you open them, you mentally curse at yourself for even letting yourself get in this situation in the first place. You had always prided yourself on your talent of finding secluded areas to camp out in. As well hidden as they could be when your picture was plastered on fences and announcement boards across three states with a bold, capitalized WANTED above it, anyway. You suppose you had gotten comfortable – sloppy. You slipped up and somehow those bastards found the shitty abandoned house you were using as a hideout, ambushing you while you were stubbornly focused on patching up a hole in one of your boots.
It takes you a moment to gather your surroundings in the haze of post-unconsciousness. The tent you’re being held in is hot, despite it being dark outside. The air is thick – stuffy and incredibly unpleasant. The smell of animal carcass lingers on the canvas as if it had recently been used to hold some hunt. You hear the muffled sound of men discussing by the campfire roaring outside – something rather serious, you assume by the tone of their voices. It doesn’t sound like too many of them, only two by the clean back-and-forth flow of their conversation. Somehow, the most obvious detail of your capture is the one you register last – the burn of rope at your wrists and feet, and the warmth of another body at your back. You’re bound to someone.
Your heart rate picks up at the sudden realization and you tug, beads of blood drawing at your skin. You’d typically consider yourself a rational person, but with the fog of having just woken up, your brain jumps to the worst conclusions. There’s no way of knowing if the person behind you has been shot dead already, they’re completely still… That is until he speaks.
“Would you stop that? Rubbin’ your wrists raw won’t help either of us.”
Take a breath. You’re better than this. The bounty hunters outside are men, and now you know the person behind you is one as well. Maybe some good old feminine charm could be your ticket out of here. It wouldn’t be the first time your conniving passive woman act got you out of scrapes. They might kill the man first, anyway.
You look around, making sure to make him feel you squirm. Your breath quickens and you summon a more proper accent. You won’t go down. Not like this. “W-What the hell is happening?”
The man’s body shakes lightly behind you – the sonofabitch is chuckling. “Oh, quit playin’ dumb. I saw you when they brought you in. You got posters from here to Colter.”
You make sure to yank at your ropes the way a panicked woman would. He hisses at the pain and you’re glad you don’t have to hide your prideful grin. “No, I don’t know what’s going on! There must be some mistake!”
The hunters haven’t even checked in on the two of you yet, but by the timbre of their conversation outside when you awoke, they’ll get the gist of this one too, and you’ll be damned if this stuck-up man leads to your demise.
“There ain’t no mistake, woman.” Looks like there won’t be any fooling this guy. He must be in the business, you assume. “Tryin’ to play the damsel in distress won’t help you any, so quit your whinin’ and stop pulling at the damn ropes.
“I’m not!” You sniffle. “M’not who they think I am!”
You may as well feel his eyes roll. “Right. What’s your name then?” You give him your usual decoy as he attempts to sit up straighter. “And what’s got an innocent thing like you in this kind of trouble?”
“I don’t know!” you cry. “I was mending some clothes when they burst in my house and knocked me out!” you recite with ease. It wasn’t a total lie, after all.
The man listened to your sob story, wanting to get a read on you, you presume. “Is that right? You were… just sewin’ when they magically came out of the woodworks and took ya?”
The goddamn attitude on this man… “Yes!” You start crying again. “Oh god, this can’t be real!”
You hear your companion let out a heavy sigh. “Alright, cut the dramatics, darlin’,” he grumbles. Twigs snap outside and both your heads whip in the direction of the two hunters’ shadows near the flaps. He lowers his voice. “I know you’re puttin’ on that act and it’s getting’ real old. It’d only work on someone dumb as rocks so-” he’s interrupted as the two bounty hunters waltz in, surely having heard you wailing seconds prior.
You flinch hard and make yourself fall to the side. You’re a pathetic, blubbering mess – the complete opposite of what they’ve surely heard of the outlaw they were chasing. You will make them doubt themselves. Manipulation is your specialty, and men are so simple minded~
“Please! Please-”
The captors look a bit startled by your distress. One of them, the bulky one, kneels down at your side. Men just can’t help themselves, can they? They just have to save the pretty tormented girl. He tries to soothe you by placing a grubby hand on your knee. “Calm down, sweet thing.”
You try to hide your recoil. It’s not like you can scoot backward anyway, since you’re tied to the pessimistic wanted man. “P-Please, will you just tell me what’s going on?” You blink with tear-soaked lashes, being a convincing little housewife.
The hunters share a look, as if silently trying to contemplate the legitimacy of your cries. The bulky one returns his attention to you, seemingly placated. “We ain’t gonna hurtcha unless you give us a reason to, sweetheart. We’re just here to bring you down to the sheriff’s office.”
You hear the other wanted man scoff behind you. Surely, they weren’t actually falling for this?
The taller one hanging back grins cockily. “Gonna get us that nice little bounty on your head,” he adds.
It’s your turn to bite back a scoff. Little? There’s nothing little about a hard-worked two-thousand dollars on your head alone. You’d even been dubbed Bullseye.
For your own sake, your eyes go wide as saucers, as if you’re truly repulsed by the idea of having committed any crimes. “Bounty?! That’s impossible. I’ve never sinned in my life. Please, there must be a mistake-”
The tall one chuckles and you feel flames of anger licking at your insides. “Oh, there ain’t no mistake. You must’ve done some reeeeal bad things. Bounties like that ain’t given out for no reason.”
The bulky man nods to corroborate his friend’s words, but judging by its slowness, he seems a bit more apprehensive. “…You seem too soft to have a bounty of a couple grand on your head.”
Your new wanted companion whistles from behind you, impressed.
“Goddammit, Wilson!” curses the tall one.
There’s the crack you need. You keep pushing, sensing the foundation crumbling between the two. You shake your head feverishly. “I don’t know who you think I am! I’ve told you my name. I’m a housewife. M-My husband’s name is Elijah. Really, I barely ever go out. I don’t know what’s going on here.”
The two idiots glance at each other again, brows raised. Wilson tilts his head. “Roberts, maybe we fucked up. I mean, look at’er! The law has been after the girl for years. The… The posters are old. They’ve been up so long that they’re kinda faded… Maybe her and Bullseye really do just look alike.”
The tall one – Roberts – doesn’t answer right away. You’d venture to guess he’s more trigger-happy than his partner. “I didn’t see no husband inside the house.”
“He’s off on business in the next county at the moment.”
Again, they seem to communicate without speaking aloud. Wilson stands with a groan and nods in my direction with urgent eyes, evidently commanding Roberts. The latter steps forward with a sigh, his arms crossed. “Fine. I’ll bite. If that’s the truth, miss, how long you been married?”
You smile weakly, pretending to recall a memory. “Since my Elijah and I were nineteen.”
“All this time and no children?”
You drop your shoulders and strategically let your smile fade. You’ve been waiting a while to use this one. “No, sir, I been having… issues,” you admit shamefully. And you’re so proud of yourself that you hope even the non-believer tied to you is starting to wonder if he accused you of being a liar a little too quickly.
Both the hunters are taken aback at that. A woman shouldn’t be talking about private matters to strangers. The dumb bulky one breaks the silence first. “I-I’m sorry about that, ma’am…” he mumbles awkwardly.
You nod solemnly and wipe a skillful tear from your cheek with your shoulder. “I begged him not to go- begged him! A-And now I’m tied up-” You gasp and try to put some distance between yourself and the man you’re tied to, but it only yanks at both your binds. “Does that mean I’m tied to a killer?! Oh God!” you cry and squirm violently.
Wilson raises his hands the same way one would calm a horse. “Ma’am, calm down-” In an attempt to calm you down, he grabs a knife from his belt and cuts your wrists’ bindings while Roberts rushes to make sure the other outlaw doesn’t try to pull some stunt. Unlike yourself, he leaves him fully bound and secures him to one of the tent’s support posts.
Now that you aren’t back-to-back with him, you catch a glimpse of his face for the first time. Oh shit. You recognize him immediately – it’s impossible not to, not in your line of work. That’s Arthur Morgan, one of Van Der Linde’s men. One of his most feared men, actually. No doubt he has a pretty bounty on his head as well.
You don’t have time to dwell in your thoughts because that half-witted hunter speaks again. “I won’t untie your ankles, though. Can’t have you runnin’ off on us until we’re sure you ain’t it,” he says with a chuckle.
You want to punch that condescending little smirk right off his face… But you can do even better.
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of running.”
“Well, that’s good ‘cau-”
He trips over his words when you snag the knife from his naively relaxed grip and jam it into his neck with all your might. As he topples over, you swiftly grab the revolver from his holster and shoot Roberts a couple of times in the chest before he can even react.
“Goddamn fools,” you mutter as you undo the rope around your ankles, seemingly unfazed by a tied-up Arthur Morgan some feet away from you.
Even writhing on the ground, Wilson disturbs your newfound peace, gargling on his own blood. You roll your eyes and put a bullet between his own. Standing, you stretch your limbs, rubbing where the rough rope had dug into your skin. You retract the bloody knife from the bounty hunter’s neck, giving it a twirl. It was a pretty knife, engraved with some intricate swirls. You earned it.
You finally look up at Arthur. “You were right, I s’pose.”
“Seems that way,” he replies, carefully watching every movement of yours. You’d seen that look in men before. He was trying to gauge if he was going to be the next recipient of your wrath.
You grin and lean back against some crates, enjoying seeing such an infamous man be so unsure. “Now, what to do with you?” you ask rhetorically.
You watch as his eyes go from the dead man at his feet to your calm figure. Evidently, you had managed to impress him. Pride swells in your chest. He nods toward his bound ankles. “Well, are you going to get these off? That would be greatly appreciated,” he inquires dryly, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
You hum, giving the knife a couple more twirls. “I bet, Van Der Linde.”
The outlaw raises a brow, otherwise utterly composed. “So you know who I am… Or at least who I run with.”
“Mhm.” You trace the edge of the bloody blade with your index. “You’re no small feat, Arthur Morgan.” You push off the crates and nod at the corpses on the dirt. “They would’ve lucked out.”
“I’d say the same for you,” he replies, his gaze unrelenting.
The two morons had spoken your alias, but it’s the fact that Morgan recognized it that sticks with you. A sick sense of satisfaction bubbles within you at the knowledge that your name has been spread to one of the country’s most notorious gangs.
“Well ain’t you sweet,” you quip sarcastically.
Arthur looks down at Roberts, mere inches away from him. “Your aim on him could’ve been a bit better, though. Too far right.”
You? Aiming anything other than perfect? You scoff, your eyes narrowing as you search through a sack on the crates for your confiscated guns. “I don’t have to let you free.”
“And I don’t have to be pleasant,” he retorts gruffly, and for a second, you’re reminded of who you’re talking to. The adrenaline from your victorious escape begins to simmer down and you realize that perhaps you shouldn’t be speaking to an accomplished killer this way.
…But you’re one yourself.
You look over your shoulder with a smile. “You’re tied up, hun.”
The man scowls. “Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.”
Amusing, this one. But perhaps you aren’t exactly in the position to have Dutch Van Der Linde and his boys on your tail for taking out their best man. You sling the bag full of your belongings over your shoulder and crouch before him, pushing Roberts out of the way with one foot. “I can’t see why we can’t be amicable, can you?”
One of his brows quirks up. “Depends on your definition of amicable, miss,” he dryly speaks your family name.
“Charming manners.” You tilt your head. “I reckon we ain’t that different, you and I. Two of the most notorious criminals. Everyone knows our names. We were, well-” you gesture to his bound current state. “-both tied up. On the same team, if you will. We live the same lifestyle. I don’t see the point in goin’ off and tattlin’ on each other.”
Arthur lets out a quiet huff. “So you’re suggestin’… What, an alliance?”
“I’m suggestin’ silence. You go off without worryin’ about me sending the law after you, and I do the same.”
“And how do I know I can trust you?” He’s skeptical, and you can’t quite blame him after he’s just witnessed how you swindled those men.
“It’s a two-way street, Mr. Morgan. I’m the same as you, it’d be hypocritical to turn you in. Plus, I don’t quite care to alert the law of my presence by going in to report you.”
You can practically see the gears turning in his head. “Fine. But I’m not forgettin’ this.”
But his mention of an alliance lingers in your head. You hold up a finger. “On second thought, I’ve got a better idea. More fool-proof terms, if you’re hesitant to trust me.”
He rolls his eyes, obviously not enjoying being at your mercy. “And what would those be?”
The corner of your mouth quirks up. “It’d be idiotic for members of the same gang to snitch on each other, wouldn’t it?”
A look of realization washes over his face. “It would,” his voice drops lower, not liking where this is headed.
“Then, I’ll be joining the Van Der Lindes. I’m tired of sleepin’’ with a pistol in my hand.”
His expression shifts, seemingly amused by your conviction. “Oh, are you?” he retorts with a chuckle. “What makes you think they’d even let you in?”
You grin. “You knew exactly who I was when you heard those twits call me Bullseye, that’s what.” You stand up straight. “And you’re going to give me a shining recommendation.”
“Am I, now?”
“Mhm… Or I could throw you on my horse out there and we could have ourselves a nice little ride to some sheriff’s office. I figure Saint-Denis would have the most intense security. You don’t think they’d recognize me if I just rode by and dropped you on the doorstep, do you?” You jeer as you rummage through the tent, looking for anything of value to take.
Despite your threats, a small smirk creeps onto Arthur’s face. He takes a moment to study you, weighing his options.
“Confident, ain’t ya?”
“With reason.”
A beat. You just stare at each other.
“Can you untie me already? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover to get back to camp.”
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whispersofascorpiomoon · 4 months ago
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Toxic Mercury in The Signs
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Mercury in Aries ♈️ : Fast-talking, selfish, and dismissive in bed. They bulldoze boundaries and justify it with “just being honest.” This can scream antisocial tendencies, fueled by a reckless disregard for emotional consequences.
Mercury in Taurus ♉️ : Silent treatment champion. They avoid tough conversations about intimacy, letting resentment fester. Their stubbornness reeks of passive-aggressive behavior, leaving their partner feeling trapped in a loop of unmet needs.
Mercury in Gemini ♊️ : Masters of gaslighting and breadcrumbing. They’ll flirt with someone else right in front of you and then laugh it off as a joke. Their chaotic communication mirrors histrionic manipulation, making you question your sanity.
Mercury in Cancer ♋️ : Crying one minute, guilt-tripping the next. They weaponize emotions to control their partner, mimicking borderline traits with a clingy, smothering edge.
Mercury in Leo ♌️ : The sex is about them, always. They’ll fake vulnerability to keep you hooked but ignore your needs entirely. Their inflated ego channels narcissistic traits, leaving you feeling invisible.
Mercury in Virgo ♍️ : Obsessed with picking apart every detail. They’ll critique your performance like it’s a Yelp review, crushing intimacy with their obsessive-compulsive need for control.
Mercury in Libra ♎️ : Sweet words hide a manipulative core. They’ll charm you into compliance and avoid accountability when things go wrong. This covert toxicity creates a relationship built on lies.
Mercury in Scorpio ♏️ : Silent treatment? Check. Emotional blackmail? Double check. They’ll dig into your insecurities to gain control, embodying paranoid and borderline traits with a side of sadistic pleasure.
Mercury in Sagittarius ♐️ : Zero tact. They’ll tear you down with brutal honesty, then ghost you for asking for emotional depth. Their recklessness mirrors antisocial traits, leaving a trail of emotional casualties.
Mercury in Capricorn ♑️ : Cold, calculating, and transactional. They treat intimacy like a business deal, devoid of emotional warmth. Their detachment channels schizoid tendencies, making you feel more like a contract than a partner.
Mercury in Aquarius ♒️ : Overly rational and emotionally clueless. They’ll intellectualize sex, making you feel like a science experiment. Their lack of empathy reeks of alexithymia, creating a disconnect that feels robotic.
Mercury in Pisces ♓️ : Escapist and delusional. They’ll avoid real conversations by drowning in fantasies or substances. Their blurred boundaries reflect dependent traits, leaving you in a fog of confusion and unmet expectations.
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thelonelyshore-if · 1 year ago
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Meet me at the cabin. Please.
You weren’t sure what to make of it. A cryptic late night text sent from your younger sibling, begging you to meet up at your family’s old lake home. The plea for help was as concerning as it was confusing. As far as you knew, neither of you had set foot in the cabin in a decade. You had your hesitations, but Willow seemed desperate. You couldn’t help but oblige.
Everything goes downhill fast when Willow's research into childhood ghost stories lands you in a town that doesn't exist. A town where people go missing at an alarming rate, where things that aren't quite human run businesses with hungry eyes, where time runs differently.
A town you can't leave. 
Something about Easthaven is wrong. A supernatural fog permeates the town, so thick you could choke…but you’re one of the only people who seems to notice it. You’re quick to realize the fog keeps the residents ignorant, keeps them passive, keeps them trapped. When people who have long since gone missing start coming back home, you realize Easthaven’s mysteries go deeper than you could have ever imagined.
Explore the magic and the horrors of the small town of Easthaven, team up with the few others who can see through the fog, and do everything you can to make your way back home.
The Lonely Shore is an 18+ supernatural horror story (and mystery) inspired by works such as Midnight Mass, The Mist, Scarlet Hollow, and Gravity Falls. A story about how sometimes places can feel like people, how easy it is to do terrible things for those we love, and how small towns have a way of eating you alive.
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FEATURES:
Play as male, female, or nonbinary; trans or cis. Choose up to two sets of pronouns or input your own. Customize your appearance and develop your personality throughout the game. 
Romance or befriend a cast of characters. Options for ace and aro routes, as well as three polyamorous paths.
Customize Willow, your younger sibling. Select their gender and determine what your relationship with them is. Will you rebuild a broken relationship? Or let a good one go down in flames?
Explore the world of Easthaven, a town that exists outside of time, separated completely from the rest of the world. A place where tragedy is mundane and death is around every corner. Encounter the Fog, the source of all of Easthaven’s horrors.
Build up to one of five distinct magic styles as your character comes to life; including necromancy, clairvoyance, manipulating the Fog, becoming something monstrous–or suppressing your magic instead, having it come out in uncontrollable bursts.
Solve the mystery of the Returned: citizens who have been missing for months, years, decades but who have recently started coming back home.
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CHARACTERS:
Jaylen 'Jay' Jones (M/F)
A veterinarian-in-training and member of the town's Search & Rescue team who has seen Easthaven's horrors firsthand. A kindhearted but wary person who cares more about keeping people safe than they do about solving the town's mysteries. They're tired of losing people.
Yasmin Bakir-King (F)
The local librarian, a fiercely clever widow with very little patience for nonsense. Very outgoing, she's one of the most well-known figures in town. She starts the story unaware of Easthaven's dangers but very quickly gets thrust into the middle of the town's latest mystery.
Amir/Amara "Croft" (M/F)
A reclusive, ill-tempered horror author who just so happens to be the town's latest newcomer…until you show up. Croft came to town with their share of secrets, and there's nothing in the world they want more than to escape Easthaven.
Beck Dawn (genderfluid)
Fun-loving and reckless, Beck is an adrenaline junkie who can't seem to stay out of danger…despite being completely unaware of the town's secrets. A magnet for trouble, it's no surprise Beck lands right in the middle of Easthaven's latest mystery.
Ravi Singh (M)
Easthaven's local mortician. Ravi is easygoing and quick to laugh; though sometimes his humor leans towards the macabre. But his easy smiles don't cover up his almost chilling comfort with the Fog; nor do they get rid of the pile of skeletons in his closet.
Perri Loveless (M/F/NB)
Runs one of Easthaven's three radio stations. In the day they play music, and at night they host a supernatural-themed call in radio show, The Lonely Shore. Perri is an enthusiastic (if a bit awkward) person whose theories tend towards the unbelievable. It's unfortunate that, despite all of their theories, Perri has no idea what's actually going on in Easthaven.
And…
"Willow" (M/F/NB)
Your little sibling. Flighty, impulsive, and outgoing; their fascination with the occult is what lands you in Easthaven. Your relationship can range from best friends to sworn enemies. Will they be able to save you from the mess they've made?
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LINKS:
DEMO | ROs | Content Warnings | Extras
( current wordcount : 225,095 without code )
1K notes · View notes
rmadridcore · 4 months ago
Text
Jealous Streak
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Pairing: Kylian Mbappé x Reader
Summary: After Kylian gets mad over a silly misunderstanding, things quickly heat up between you two, turning his anger into something much more intimate.
Word Count: 2.9K
Warning: Smut! (Minors DNI)
Author’s note: I’m back to writing about Kylian! Recent events surrounding him had been so messy that I couldn’t find any inspiration to write for him anymore, but a new idea arose so here it is! I have a few requests waiting and I’ll get through them as fast as I can & now I will be taking requests about Kylian as well 🫂 hope you enjoy this one! Let me know what you think 🩷
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Water droplets clung to your flushed skin as you wrapped yourself in a fluffy white towel, stepping out of the steamy shower cabin. You grabbed another towel, running it through your damp hair before swiping a hand across the fogged-up bathroom mirror. The haze cleared just enough for you to see your reflection as you applied a few drops of face oil, the soothing sensation adding to the relaxation you desperately needed. The tension from the day melted away, your muscles loose and your mind clearer after the long, steamy escape.
With the towel securely wrapped around your body and droplets still trailing down your warm skin, you padded into the shared bedroom of you and Kylian. He was sprawled on the bed, one arm tucked behind his head, absently playing with the TV remote. A random documentary played on the screen, but from the way his eyes glazed over, it was obvious he wasn’t paying attention.
You glanced at him, noticing his lack of acknowledgment as you entered. It wasn’t that he didn’t see you — oh, he noticed. Kylian was angry, his mood as sour as unripe lemons.
You sighed, your annoyance bubbling to the surface. The root of his irritation wasn’t entirely unexpected. The night before, you’d gone to a friend’s birthday party, solo, since Kylian was away for an away game. You had bumped into your ex boyfriend there, exchanged a polite but fleeting conversation, and thought nothing of it. To you, the interaction was so insignificant that it didn’t even cross your mind to mention it when you spoke to Kylian later that night.
But Kylian, ever the hawk-eyed protector, had seen pictures of the party while on the plane home, one of which captured your brief exchange with your ex. He’d flipped. Your reassurances, how brief the interaction was, how little it mattered, didn’t help. He wasn’t just mad that your ex had been there; he was mad that you hadn’t told him about it.
When Kylian arrived home a few hours ago, you’d expected him to have cooled off. You were wrong. If anything, he was more wound up than before, his brooding silence a testament to his irritation. After his passive aggressive digs began to test your patience, you decided to take a shower to escape his sulking. But now, as you stood in front of the vanity applying leave-in conditioner to your damp hair, you couldn’t ignore his childish behavior any longer.
“Am I getting the silent treatment now?” you asked, your tone sharper than you intended.
Kylian sighed, his gaze fixed on the TV. “I’m not in the mood to talk, that’s all.”
“You’re being ridiculous, you know that?” You set the bottle of conditioner down with a frustrated thud.
He didn’t respond, his jaw tightening as his eyes stayed glued to the screen.
The double standard wasn’t lost on you. Whenever you got jealous, Kylian would laugh it off, his reassurances wrapped in humor and affection. To him, the idea of you doubting his loyalty or devotion was absurd; he loved you too much to entertain thoughts of anyone else. But when the tables turned, when he was the one feeling the pangs of jealousy, it was a completely different story.
He wasn’t unreasonable — he trusted you implicitly. He knew, without a shred of doubt, that your love and loyalty were his alone. But that didn’t stop the irrational surge of irritation when someone else tried to insert themselves into your space, even momentarily. Jealousy wasn’t about mistrust; it was about his protectiveness, his possessiveness, his inability to tolerate the idea of anyone else claiming even a fraction of your attention.
And now, here he was, stewing in his emotions, dragging both of you into his mood. It was petty, it was unnecessary, and it was maddening.
You perched on the edge of the bed, your gaze fixed on Kylian, who still stubbornly refused to look at you. Frustrated yet determined, you reached out and placed a hand on his leg, giving him a light shake.
“Come on now, I deserve forgiveness, don’t I?” you said, your voice dripping with playful sarcasm. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes internally at how much of a fuss he was making over something so trivial.
Kylian didn’t respond, his jaw clenching slightly, but his eyes betrayed him. They flickered downward as your towel shifted, slipping just enough to reveal a teasing glimpse of your cleavage. His gaze lingered, involuntarily captivated, before he snapped himself out of it, tearing his eyes away and gluing them back to the television.
You smirked knowingly. That was it — his resolve was cracking. He was on the verge of giving in, and you weren’t about to let the opportunity slip away.
“You’re really not going to talk to me?” you teased, your hand sliding up his thigh, your fingers brushing against the sensitive spot that you knew made his breath hitch.
His reaction was instant, his breathing faltered, and his eyes darted down to your hand resting on his leg. But like the stubborn man he was, Kylian quickly averted his gaze back to the screen. “I’m watching something,” he muttered, the words unconvincing even to himself.
You arched a brow, suppressing a laugh. “Oh, really?” you challenged softly, leaning in closer. You were sure he couldn’t even name what the documentary was about if his life depended on it.
Tightening the towel securely around your body, you moved to lie down beside him, the mattress dipping slightly under your weight. Your proximity was deliberate, your movements calculated. You knew Kylian better than anyone, and you could tell he was fighting a losing battle.
You scooted closer until your body was practically flush against his, your hand sliding up to cradle his jaw. You placed a featherlight kiss on his cheek, your nose brushing against his skin as you inhaled his intoxicating scent.
He didn’t protest — in fact, you could feel him relax slightly under your touch, though his gaze stubbornly remained on the screen.
“Still mad at me?” you murmured, your lips trailing kisses along the curve of his cheek, each one softer and more deliberate than the last.
“A little,” he admitted, the corners of his mouth twitching into the faintest hint of a smile. You were close now, victory was within reach.
“How do I make you forgive me?” you asked, your voice dropping into a sultry whisper as your lips moved down to his neck. His breath hitched again, and this time, he didn’t even pretend to resist. Tilting his head to the side, he silently invited you to explore, giving you access to his smooth, warm skin.
You didn’t waste the opportunity, pressing open-mouthed kisses against his neck, slow and tantalizing, just the way you knew he liked them. Each kiss lingered, your tongue flicking lightly against his skin, leaving a trail of warmth in its wake.
“You’ll have to figure that out,” he said, his voice lower now, a teasing edge lacing his tone. His hand moved to tug at your towel, but you swatted it away, stopping him just before he could succeed.
“Not so fast,” you scolded with a playful smirk, pushing his hand aside. You locked eyes with him, your gaze commanding. “Turn the TV off.”
He hesitated for only a moment before obeying without question, reaching over to grab the remote and switching off the screen. The room plunged into a comfortable silence, save for the sound of your kisses as you resumed your exploration of his neck. His skin was already beginning to show the faint marks of your affection, love bites blooming wherever your lips touched.
This battle of wills wasn’t one Kylian was going to win, not tonight.
Your hand slid down his chest deliberately, your fingers gliding over the sculpted ridges of his torso. Even through the fabric of his shirt, you could feel the tautness of his abs. Slowly, you slipped your hand beneath the hem of his shirt, letting your palm rest against the firm, warm skin of his stomach.
Your lips moved purposefully from his neck to his ear, where you knew he was most sensitive. As your mouth lingered near his ear, you took your time, savoring the quiet anticipation that built with every second. His breathing grew heavier, a restrained whine rumbling in the back of his throat.
Your lips closed around his earlobe, sucking gently before nipping at it with your teeth. At the same time, your hand ventured lower, cupping and massaging him through his shorts. The moment your touch landed there, Kylian let out a shaky whimper, his body betraying him despite his effort to hold back.
“Fuck, Kylian…” you murmured, your breath hot against his ear, your voice thick with desire. “You’re hard.”
He was, impossibly so. It always amazed you how little effort it took to get him this worked up. But Kylian never felt embarrassed by it; in fact, he encouraged you to embrace the power you had over him, and you did just that.
Teasingly, you paused, removing your hand from his bulge to toy with the waistband of his shorts. Your fingertips skimmed the edge, dipping just slightly inside before retreating, a deliberate game meant to drive him wild. At the same time, your lips stopped their exploration, hovering near his ear but offering no further relief.
Kylian exhaled a frustrated sigh, the tension in his body practically vibrating beneath you. “Y/N,” he said, his tone firm but undercut by an unmistakable desperation.
“What do you want, Kylian? Tell me,” you teased, your voice dripping with sultry confidence. Your hand hovered halfway inside his waistband, motionless, as you gazed down at him. His dark eyes locked onto yours, burning with need, though his jaw clenched with resistance.
“I—” he started, but the words faltered, his head falling back against the pillow as he struggled with his pride.
You leaned down, your lips brushing the shell of his ear as you whispered, “Use your words, baby.” Your mouth found the spot behind his ear again, kissing it softly before dragging your tongue across his heated skin. The reaction was instant — his chest rose sharply as he let out a ragged sigh.
“Touch me,” he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. His head tilted again, baring his neck to you as though surrendering completely.
You pulled back slightly, feigning a look of surprise. “That’s it?” you teased, raising a brow.
When he didn’t respond right away, you began to withdraw your hand, a silent punishment for his hesitation. That’s when he broke.
“Please, Y/N,” he pleaded, his voice raw with desperation. “Please touch me. Please.”
A wave of satisfaction washed over you at his shameless begging. “Since you’ve asked so nicely…” you said with a wicked smile, sliding your hand fully into his shorts. Your fingers wrapped around his throbbing cock, pulling it free from the confines of his underwear. You gave him a few firm, deliberate strokes, feeling his length twitch in your grip.
Kylian’s head fell back, a deep groan escaping his lips as his body melted under your touch. You worked him slowly at first, savoring every reaction — the way his breathing turned ragged, the way his hips twitched upward, seeking more.
Just as the tension in him began to crest, you pulled your hand away, leaving him gasping in frustration. “Y/N,” he whined, his brows furrowing in protest, but he didn’t move, his body too overwhelmed to resist.
You silenced him with a knowing smirk, spitting into your palm before wrapping your hand around his cock again. This time, your strokes were slick and smooth, your grip firmer as you tugged his foreskin up and down his shaft. Your hand moved with precision, knowing exactly how to unravel him.
Your head remained buried in his neck, your lips grazing and sucking at his skin, leaving marks that would linger long after. You didn’t need to look at what you were doing, your familiarity with his body was second nature by now.
Kylian was a mess beneath you, his body trembling with pleasure. His head lolled back, his mouth open as soft, breathy moans spilled from his lips. His voice was broken, whimpering your name between gasps, and it only fueled your determination to drive him further over the edge.
As your hand worked its magic on him, Kylian’s body tensed beneath you, his stomach muscles clenching involuntarily. His moans grew louder, more guttural, a clear sign that he was nearing his breaking point. You smirked against his neck, relishing the power you held over him. When his hips started to buck upward, chasing the orgasm building within him, you abruptly pulled away, leaving him on the edge and visibly desperate.
“Y/N—” he started, his voice hoarse with frustration. The heaviness in his balls was unmistakable, and his cock twitched in protest, aching for release.
You silenced him with a searing kiss, your tongue slipping past his lips and tangling with his. As the kiss deepened, you reached up and tugged at the knot of your towel, letting it fall away and tossing it across the room. The cool air kissed your bare skin, but the heat radiating from Kylian was all you felt.
In one smooth motion, you broke the kiss just long enough to tug his shirt off over his head, discarding it in the same direction as your towel. Your hands explored the expanse of his broad chest, feeling the firmness of his pecs and the rapid rise and fall of his breath. Straddling him, you felt his hands instinctively grip your hips, his touch possessive and eager.
Without breaking eye contact, you reached down, guiding his throbbing cock to your dripping entrance. Slowly, you sank down onto him, his length stretching you perfectly. Kylian’s head fell back against the pillows, a loud, guttural moan tearing from his lips as he filled you completely.
“Oh, fuck,” he groaned, his face twisting in pleasure.
Your hands splayed across his chest for balance as you began to move your hips, rolling them slowly to savor the sensation of him deep inside you. His grip on your hips tightened, his fingers digging into your skin with an intensity that promised bruises. You welcomed the pressure, the reminder of how much he needed you.
“Feel so good, baby. So fucking good,” he cried out, his voice raw and unrestrained.
You couldn’t help but moan in response, the way he stretched you out and filled you making you feel like you were made for him. Every inch of his cock hit you just right, brushing against that perfect spot that sent shocks of pleasure coursing through your body.
Picking up the pace, you began to bounce on his shaft, your movements growing faster and more frantic. Kylian met your rhythm with thrusts of his own, his hips driving upward to match your descent. You were technically on top, but Kylian’s firm grip on your hips dictated the pace, his control subtle yet undeniable.
“Kylian,” you cried out, throwing your head back as waves of pleasure consumed you.
He raised his head slightly, his eyes dropping to where your bodies were joined. The sight of his cock disappearing into you over and over again made him groan deeply, his hand leaving your hip to find your clit. His fingers worked slow, deliberate circles, the pressure just enough to make your thighs tremble.
He knew your body like no one else, he could find your sweet spot even if he was blindfolded, underwater, and upside down.
“Merde, mon amour. Tu te sens incroyable,” he rasped, his words dripping with pleasure. His breaths were heavy, his moans frequent and raw as he fought to keep himself together.
Your legs began to tremble, the strain of riding him taking its toll. You gripped his shoulders tightly, using them for support as your pace faltered slightly. Kylian, ever in tune with you, took the lead, bucking his hips upward harder and faster.
“Kylian, I’m gonna cum,” you whimpered, your voice breaking as the tension inside you reached its peak.
“Come for me, angel,” he urged, his voice soft yet commanding. His hand on your clit didn’t relent, his movements calculated to push you over the edge.
You cupped his face with one hand, forcing him to meet your gaze. His dark eyes burned into yours, the intensity between you electric. The connection sent you hurtling into your climax, your body shuddering as waves of pleasure crashed over you.
Your moans mixed with his as Kylian’s hips stuttered, his release following closely behind yours. You felt him twitch inside you as he spilled his load deep within, the sensation prolonging your high. His head fell back against the pillow, his chest heaving as he rode out the last of his orgasm.
The room was filled with the sound of your heavy breathing, the air thick with heat and the scent of sex. Kylian’s hands moved from your hips to gently caress your thighs, his touch soothing where it had once been demanding.
You leaned down, your lips brushing against his as you asked playfully, “So, am I forgiven?”
He chuckled, his chest vibrating against yours as he pulled you closer. “I’ll let you know after round two,” he teased, capturing your lips in a deep, messy kiss.
You laughed softly, your forehead resting against his as the world outside faded away, leaving only the two of you tangled together in the aftermath of your love.
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frownyalfred · 3 months ago
Note
clark’s first attempt to interview the prince of arkham go about as well as you might expect, given that he’s a reporter with sunshine all but seeping out of his pores. the first time bruce doesn’t even talk to him, too furious at the gall of this metropolitan newshound to interrogate him for the sake of some gruesome, sensationalist op-ed obviously about the tragedy of the family wayne and the irredeemable mire of gotham to do anything more than death-glare at him for the entire length of the meeting. but clark, unsatisfyingly, doesn’t give up after that. if bruce doesn’t talk to him, he sure talks to bruce, and with each subsequent interview the questions…change. no longer trying to establish facts about bruce’s life or his crimes, not asking about his experience in arkham, not even going for the low-hanging fruit of why’d you train for years to kill those people, but seemingly random and unrelated things. he wants bruce’s opinions on emissions policies (need to be stricter and more tightly enforced, especially in gotham, jesus, there’s a reason lung cancer and asthma rates are through the roof) and lex luthor’s keynote speeches (unprintable, wiped from clark’s tape recorder in case luthor somehow finds out) and whether or not clark should buy a new suit (why bother, it won’t be any less tragic than every other polyester abomination he cruelly forces bruce to look at every time he stops by). clark slowly and stubbornly makes himself as much a part of bruce’s routine as visits with alfred and lucius and the doctors, and all the while superman is playing a high-stakes game of mental chess with the sinking suspicion that bruce wayne has already won in more ways than one
bruce figures out kent is superman about three hours after the first time big blue gets namedropped during an interview. he commences with a plan that is part honeypot, part campaign of psychological warfare, and part genuine bid to get this midwestern alien who holds the safety of his city in his hands to try and give a damn like a proper gothamite would, like no one but bruce ever seems to. superman is wrong for gotham, bruce knows it, and gotham rejects superman (not even the weather there accepts him, all rain and fog and darkness with maybe one month of sun a year, but you can’t have shit in new jersey), but fuck it, he is trying. if nothing else, hours sitting in a room with this ridiculous well-intentioned man and a couple armed guards have bruce reluctantly convinced that superman is trying. and if all he asks in return is that bruce sometimes throw him a bone to save everyone else, well. it’s arkham. it’s not like bruce has anything better to do than un-fuck whatever clark and his merry band of spandex-clad morons have run up against this time
(depending on whether or not bruce was active as batman before getting caught or simply never bothered with batman to begin with, he could have a safe leg to stand on to call all the capes and costumes and underwear-on-the-outside stupid as fuck, preferably to clark’s face, preferably while maintaining the facade that he has no idea superman even has a civilian identity. smug passive-aggression, thy name is brucie, prince of arkham)
The only reason Bruce talks to Clark is that he slips up just a little that first meeting — says something about Metropolis and the people of that city. And Bruce sees that same glimmer of possessiveness, that need to better his city, reflected back at him. And he knows that Clark Kent is more than he appears to be.
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