#I WENT A WHOLE CHAPTER WITHOUT CUSSING ONCE

[snowflakeanimelover]

Masterlist | Next Chapter

Relationship: Thomas Shelby x Mafia Boss!Female Reader

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Warnings: cussing, death, major character death, secrets, lies, no Y/N mentioned, she is only given a last name, badass reader, lots of lore, slow burn, this chapter is a little rushed.

NOTE: this is basically just a Prologue, but if enough people like it then ill continue this :)

I believe this would be a perfect fit for readers theme song, for this story. Hence where the title comes from, as well.

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Prologue: The Greeting

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“Where is Tommy?”

That particular voice is very well recognized in this area. It has a stern and motherly tone with strict trauma behind it. The voice is so familiar that anyone who hears it from a distance of a mile away would know exactly who it belongs to. That voice belongs to none other than Polly Gray, the aunt of the Shelby brothers and sisters. Polly is known to be the intelligent one in the family, along with her nephew, Thomas Shelby.

Anyone who knows Polly knows to keep themselves a few feet back. She’s one woman no one wants to mess with—Thomas Shelby’s protection added to the threat.

“I don’t know,” John Shelby, second youngest brother, replied to his aunt with a simple shrug of his shoulders. “Fucker went off on his own a few days ago without saying a bloody word.”

A woman sat not too far from the Shelby and Gray. Her job is quite simple. Someone who counts the money in the Betting Shop, amongst other people. So far, she’s been working there for a few months now. Never has she spoken to the Shelby’s much, besides when she first met them to get the job.

But she wasn’t looking for talk. Her bright orbs often glanced over the shop, studying each and every person who belonged to the Peaky Blinders. And most importantly, she keeps her eyes on the important people, such as the Shelby family members and their allies.

Her back was facing John and Polly as they spoke, due to her desk being in a certain place, but she didn’t care. She doesn’t have to look at them to know what they’re talking about.

”What’s the trouble?” John finally asks after a beat of silence. Knowing her his whole life, he can't miss the unusual way she paced and looked a bit frantic. She’s worried about something, and if that's the case, then it ain’t good for the business or the family.

“Sullivan,” she answers him a bit harshly. “Tommy is supposed to meet him today, and he’s not fucking back.”

The woman listening in on the conversation raises her brows, pausing her writing and she tunes in. This was very important.

John nods absentmindedly, showing he’s listening. “Alright,” he stresses, rubbing his chin in thought. “Alright. Well, send Arthur.”

”Fucking Arthur?” Polly asks in disbelief. “You can’t be fucking serious. Tommy would have his shit if he knew Arthur took his place.”

”Well, what the fuck do you want me to do?”

The woman had already tuned out their voices as she brought herself into deep thought. She takes a moment to think properly; her plans, her ideas, her past business. And within a few minutes, a wicked smirk plays on her lips.

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Light chatter and curses echoed in the small, empty church. The cloudy day had refused to shine light into the holy building, only candles lit in the most important places.

”What the fuck is taking him so long?” A man curses, pacing back and forth in the candlelight. His few body guards stood around, guns in their hands for preparation.

His lips part once more to complain about the tardiness of his new ally, but the sound of the door to the church creaking open makes him pause. Sullivan tilts his head, focused on the new arrival. Although it was too hard for him to see, the darkness took over the corners. “Thomas Shelby?” He calls out, guessing who it could be. “I don’t got all fucking night, eh? I’ve got things to do. Business to take care of,” he boasts, annoyed that his ally was late.

”Well, that’s no good,” a feminine voice breaks the silence, one Sullivan knows well.

Sullivan flinches back in surprise, pointing a finger at the darkness. “No, no…” he mutters in disbelief. “H-How the fuck did you know I was here?!”

“Come on, Jordan,” she teases lightly, slowly stepping into the light. Sullivan takes another step back. It’s her, for sure. The clothes say it all. The only woman to wear such material, such style. Much like the Peaky Blinders. “You’ve done me dirty. You think I’d just let you go so easily?”

”I said,” he yells out, anger and fear taking over his form. “How the fuck did you know I was here?!”

She takes another step forward, a threat. And that was it for Sullivan. “Fucking shoot her!” He demands, his bodyguards doing exactly as they are told.

Guns fire and men fall. It ended within seconds, with Sullivan’s men down in a heartbeat.

Sullivan watches in fear as two women come out from the darkness, dressed the same as the woman he fears the most. Members from her gang. Guns held tightly and confidently in their hands, pointing directly at Sullivan. She didn’t even have to lift a finger.

Sullivan doesn't say a word as he turns and flees, running through the back door of the church and into the dirty streets. She merely laughs, trudging off her long trench coat and handing it to one of the women standing by her side. “A chase?” She chuckles, rolling her shoulders. “How fun.” With that, she starts the chase.

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The run didn’t last long, to her disappointment. The man was down with one simple trip on the uneven gravel, hitting the ground hard. She jumps over a crate that was in the way, and stops to study the scene.

A smile grows on her lips as she pulls out her gun from her holster, pointing it right at him.

Sullivan’s words are slurred together fearfully as he begs to leave her alone, to let him live. He stumbles to push himself back up and eventually gives up, staying on the ground with his hands up in surrender.

“Where’s the money, Jordan?” She hisses, cocking the gun back.

”P-Please—please let me go, I-I swear I’ll pay you back all that I stole, Miss Rose,” he begs, “I-I’ll give you even more than that!”

She takes a moment to observe his fearful state. The way his body shook. The way he cowards with the gun being pointed right at his head. She reveled in all of it.

She wastes no more time putting just a little bit of pressure on the trigger, the bullet flying. Sullivan jerks back as the bullet goes straight through his head, and his body falls back.

Relief didn’t come as much as she hoped. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end—A feeling she was being watched. Her hand holding the gun lowers as her orbs turn, finding none other than Thomas Shelby, Arthur Shelby, and John Shelby standing there with their guns pointed right at her.

A sigh leaves her lips as she puts the gun back in its holster, pulling a smile at the boys. “Apologies,” she says, noticing the shocked expressions they hold, “I didn’t know I had an audience.”

[distraughtlesbian]

can i speak my truth ? can i keep it real ? there shouldve been more in-party conflict in blades 2. like obviously mc should’ve gotten to cuss mal out in particular when he was like You Dont Know What We’ve Been Thru as if getting kidnapped and forced into a magically induced coma and getting your blood stolen and having constant benadryl nightmares is a walk in the park lmfao, and also just gotten to talk more about what they went through and how it’s impacted them

but also there should’ve been way more beef between the other party members. like girl if i’m nia and i’m spiralling scorning sleep and food constantly hunting for a way to free MY GIRLFRIEND (!!) from the clutches of some goth elf cunt on top of making the fantasy catholic church christlike again and repressing my inner shadow demon and one of my friends is like “hesdeadjim.png give up also fuck you” and then fucked off to be an alcoholic pit fighter, i wouldve actually just thrown hands when we saw each other next. no magic no nothing just me and my nasty little fingers (covered in paper cuts from all the arcane shadow tomes ive been reading) coming straight for her eye sockets. staff of silverlake should’ve been nia’s weapon and she should’ve leapt into the pit in chapter 4 and clocked imtura in the skull with it.

like you bitches should be CRAZY!!!! you should all have DISORDERS!!!! you should be begging ravens perched on busts for RESPITE AND NEPENTHE from your memories of me !!!!!! the moon should never beam without bringing you dreams of ME and the stars never rise but you feel MY bright eyes. tyril should be half-mad with grief and stress he should be mumbling to himself and seeing mc’s silhouette in dark corners. nia should be clearly and obviously off her fucking rocker and constantly on the verge of self destructing and taking us all out with her. imtura should be constantly blind drunk so she doesn’t have to feel her grief or anything at all really. mal should have been in the wind the second it started looking like mc wasn’t coming back and nobody’s heard from him in months. kade should be in a bottomless pit of grief bc when he was stuck in the shadow realm we never gave up hope and we went to rescue him but now that the tables are turned he’s slowly losing hope and day by day and night by night we recede and he becomes more faithless. threep and loola should be inseparable sleeping in a pile together never beyond a wing-length from one another and keeping obsessive tabs on all the other party members no matter how far-flung across morella they are because they’ve already lost everyone and everything they knew to the shadow court once and they’ll be damned if they lose anything else. also kade and aerin should’ve built up a weird semihostile rapport bc once everything fell apart and everyone went their separate ways it was just the two of them in the whitetower palace and kade would go to his cell and sit out of arm’s reach to vent about his time in the shadow realm and his grief and hopes and fears. they both knew and loved mc, in their own ways, despite how aerin hurt them, and now they’ve both lost them, maybe for good. maybe one day aerin starts talking back

where is the SPICE where is the FLAVOUR? where’s the DRAMA where’s the OOMPH where’s the PANACHE? you cannot look at me and tell me these dysfunctional bitches wouldn’t fall back into their worst habits once the one person who held them all together up and vanished into the void. why am i not ending each chapter feeling like i’ve just gotten punched in the dick bc the love is so obviously still there and that’s why it hurts so bad. they should’ve put their whole budget and pussies into forcing the party to fit themselves back together even though they’ve all grown new sharp edges and keep cutting each other up. they should’ve gone full dark no stars about it. grief is an amputation but hope is incurable hemophilia you bleed and bleed and bleed, plants that are split down the middle dont heal they die, you are a language i am no longer fluent in but still remember how to read, what lived and died between us haunts me still, if someone asked me at the end i’d tell them “put me back in it”, i care what ghosts think of me, come back even as a shadow even as a dream, someone has to leave first this is a very old story there is no other ending to this story, etc, etc, you get it you understand. also the mc should’ve come back WRONG.

[sarah-bear706318]

Chasing Storms and Finding Love. Chapter 8:

Series Summary: When Tyler's baby sister joins him and his team for a season she seems to catch the eye of a certain StormPar member much to her brothers dismay... will she listen listen to her big brother or follow her heart?

Chapter Summary: Casey and Ashleigh visit y/n and Scotts gets to see the party girl come out!

Pairing: Scott Miller X fem!reader, Tyler Owens x sister!reader

Warnings: Sneaking around, Pissed off Tyler, Love Struck Scott, ALOTS of kissing, A little age gap, Cussing, Drinking, Storms(duh), Falling in love, Slow burn

A/N: This is just a fun filler chapter before something more serious happens. Since Greek was and kinda still is one of my favorite shows and I used the sorority name I decided to also use my 2 favorite characters too! I just cant think of ZBZ without picturing the 2 girls that play Casey and Ashleigh! It was also a bit easier to write them since i have seen the whole series a million and one times!

@nikkicloudie @papichulo120627 @thespillingvoid @turnerintoabutler @Lindsayjoy444 @glenpowellluver @harrysgothicbitch @ambipom9 @lxaah11

It has been about 3 weeks since your trip to the zoo and in that time some things had change while others had not...

You had been going on more chases with your brother again and not spending so much time just reading charts data and radars, and you have grown alot closer to Kate! Having her around helped since one thing that didn't change was the boys and their bickering. They did their best to make it a little less obvious when you were around but they didn't do a good job, but at least they hadn't thrown a punch in since that first fight and you never had to bail one of them out of jail!

One thing that has changed was you and Scott had started sharing a room every night at every hotel you went to and you fucked like rabbits, and damn did your boyfriend know what he was doing! Another thing that changed was the PDA between you two now that you had both had a taste of one other you couldn't keep your hands to yourselves you LOVED it! Your brother yeah no so much! There were more then a few times he saw a hickey on your neck or your collarbone and would walk away grumbling under his breath doing his best to keep the peace.

Although there was one argument about a hickey on your thigh one day

Flashback to 3 days ago...

"Don't get mad Ty I didn't see it when I put on the shorts"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDNT SEE IT ITS THE SIZE OF TEXAS Y/N AND MORE PURPLE THEN AN FUCKING EGGPLANT YOU CAN SEE THAT THING FROM JUPITER AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON THOSE SHORTS" your brother yells

"I like your shorts y/n" Boone pipes up

"BOONE" Tyler says this time looking at him

"No big deal Ty I'll go change so you don't have to look at"

"To late now I know it's there and now, along with many things about my baby sister and her boyfriend things I never wanted to know" Tyler rubs his temples trying to get the scaring mental image from his head

"Sorry" you said

"Sorry doesn't change the fact that I now know clipboard..." Tyler is at a lost for words and still rubbing his temples and it only gets worse when Boone once again pipes up...

"Ate your sister for dinner and looks like dessert too"

"BOONE ONE MORE WORD AND YOU ARE ON THE HOOD FOR THE NEXT TORNADO" your brother yells

"Woah what's going on over here" Javi questions while him and Scott walk up.You and your brother look to Scott and he stands there confused

"What'd I do" Scott questions

Your brother speaks up before you even have a chance

"Next time you leave a hickey on my sister can it NOT be the size of texas and same color as a fucking eggplant"

Scoot looks to you and you look down at your love bit , Scott eyes followed, then he understands what all the yelling is for

"Oh" is all Scott says

"That's all you have to say is oh"

"What else do you want me to say Owens"

"How bout that you won't put more marks on my sister again"

"Well I didn't mean to sorry I guess things got headed"

"Yeah they did bow chcha wowwow"

"That's it Boone next tornado it's the hood" you brother says

"OK that's enough talk about my sex life, I'll go change you two get away from another this is a nice shirt and I don't want blood on it" you grab Scott by the arm and pull him with you and head to your room.

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A few nights later you and Scott are cuddled up watching a movie when when your phone goes off. You and Scott look at each other confused,then you reach over to grab your phone and see it's a text Casey

🩷Casey💛: What do you say to a little ZBZ reunion with me and Ashleigh🤭

"Oh my God" you squill.

"Whats wrong baby"

"How do you feel about meeting a couple of my sorority sisters" you say with a big smile

Scott looks at you and smiles back seeing how excited you are. He knows your sorority sisters mean alot to you "That sounds great baby"

You don't waste anytime texting her back

Y/N: I say hell yeah ZBZ reunion oklahoma watch out!

🩷Casey💛: Great I'll call you tomorrow and iron out details. Love you😘

Y/N:Sounds good love you too😘

The next day you share the news with your bother while looking at the radar and loading up the truck for the next chase, he looks up from what he's doing and lets out the biggest laugh

"Oh God better batten down the hatches this is gonna be worse then an EF5"

"No it's not Tyler don't be so dramatic"

"Last time I was around you the 3 of you I had to hose down the back seat of my truck" he says crossing his arms

"It wasn't that bad" you say in a low voice

Your brother just looks at you with raised eyebrows "yes it was"

"How long are Lucy and Ethal gonna be here and when do they get in" your brother ask and you roll your eyes at the nicknames

"They will be here for just 2 or 3 days they are driving to Chicago and decided to stop, they get here tomorrow afternoon"

"Well Miller you have just about 24 hours to prepare yourself" he says slapping Scotts back

"whatever" you mutter under your breath

Scott walks up to you with a smile and wraps his arms around you and pulls you toward him with a smirk

"So do I get to see the party girl girlfriend in action"

"mmmmm,you might but I'm not sure you will be able to handle her, she can be a handful"

"and really mouthy" your brother looks over and laughing as you flip him off

"I think I can handle her" Scott says leaning kissing your lips before he walks off to the StormPar truck to get it ready to go.

A little while later you were in getting in the front seat of your brothers truck heading out to chase a store coming in from the west. Scotts leans downs to capture your lips in a heated kiss that lingers a few seconds longer then normal

"Be safe baby I love you" Scott whispers before kissing you once more

"Always! you be safe too I love you more!" you whisper back

"Always baby"

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The next morning you wake up with hearing a knock on your door, you look seeing its only 7:30 and you groan who is the hell is knocking on your door this early, the girls arent due here til noon. You move Scotts arm out of the way trying not to wake him he got in later then you you wanted him to have a little more sleep. You slip out of bed and make your way over to the door, when you opened the door you see Casey and Ashleigh stand there with big smiles.

"OH MY GOD" you scream then throw your arms around the both of them and all 3 of you start to jump and scream. In your shock and excitement at their early arrival you forgot your sleeping boyfriend.

"What the fuck" Scott groans from the bed not sounding to happy he was just woke up by 3 screaming jumping girls, you all stop jumping and look over to Scott.

"oh my God baby I am so sorry I didn't mean to wake you up" you hear him let out a sigh and grumble something you couldnt understand before you hear him pulling back the covers and his feet hit the floor

"its fine I need to get up anyway got a long day" he says with a yawn standing up, he's only in a pair grey sweat pants that are hanging low on his hips his V line looking very defined and no shirt your a second you forget your sisters are still standing at the door but are reminded when you hear them both say "wow".

"I know right" you say with a wink

Scotts walks over and sees 2 girls, a blonde around your height and a brunette that's a bit taller, both of them staring at him with their months agape and you cant help but stifle a laugh at their faces

"Girls this is Scott, Scott this is Casey" you say pointing to the blonde "and this is Ashleigh" pointing to the brunette

"Nice to meet you" Scotts says

"You too" they say in unison and you just shake your head

You invite the girls in then Scott turns to get a shirt and tells you hes gonna go wake Javi up then gives you a kiss and walks out the door with a quick " I love you"

"ok y/n pictures do not do that man justice"

"Ash is right hes is gorgeous"

"I know" you say matter-of-factly voice.

The three of you decide to go grab breakfast at the I-Hop across the street. You get dressed and text Scott your plans saying him and Javi are welcome to join, Scott text you telling you he has a few things to fix that one of the interns messed but to enjoy catching up with your sisters you.

The 3 of you spend breakfast catching up and making plans for while their here. You told them about all the chases and listen as they tell you what they have been up in Austin.

"So we haven't gotten many details about the sex care to share any" Casey says while taking a bite of her food

"yes please and make them juicy please" Ashleigh adds and you blush before answering.

"I'll tell you a few things will that satisfy your curious minds" they both just nod their heads with big smiles

"well I can tell you he works magic with his tongue! He once spent an hour eating me out made me cum so many times i lost count and has made me squirt, he's also is very well endowed and he knows how to use it. It is toe curling back arching screaming at the top of my lungs AMAZING, and its always full of passion." You look them and they both have their mouths open and you just laugh. "ok ok enough about my sex life on to yalls"

After finishing breakfast you walk across the street and are met with your boyfriend and brother along with the wranglers and Javi

"Hey if it isn't Charlie's Angels" your brother says tipping his cowboy hat

"Hi Charlie" you all say simultaneously

"Cute"

"Hey baby how was breakfast" Scott ask leaning down to kiss you "It was good I brought you something back" you say handing him the bag "Thank you baby"

"Nothing for your big brother that's rude"

"Shut up, anyways Casey Ashleigh this is Javi he's Scott's partner, then over there is Boone, Lily, Dani, and Dexter my brothers crew the only one missing is Kate she had to go back to New York for a few days" you point to everyone one by one. "Everyone this is Casey and Ashleigh".Everyone shakes hands and exchanges hellos.

"So big brother any storms to chase" you ask your brother with a little mischief in your eye. Oh can he see it so he narrows his eyes at you before answering... "yes why do you ask little sister"

"Well I was hoping we could take Casey and Ashleigh on a chase maybe get up close and personal with a tornado" you smile

"You want me to take you three into a tornado" he looks between yall.

"Its nothing new to me please Ty"

Tyler takes a minute to think it over considering if it was worth the headache or not, "fine but there are rules got it"

"Got it" the 3 of you say with a smile.

"We leave in 30 minutes, and y/n come looknat the radar see if you see what Kate is seeing"

30 minutes later you are all piling into your brothers truck, Scott come over to kiss you like he always does.

"Make sure you watch today I promise it's a can't miss" you laugh while giving him a kiss

"I'm sure it will be very interesting, I love you baby be safe" Scott says giving you one more kiss

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It was about 9:30 that night when you pulled back into the hotel with a slightly annoyed brother 2 semi traumatized sorority girls and a Boone! Let's just say the chase was a bit rougher then normal so there was a lot of screaming from the back seat, and a lot of dirty looks and I told you so's from your brother.

Once parked you bid the girls a goodnight and plan to meet at 10 in your room for girls day. As so as they walked away you looked at your brother and his look said it all.

"OK you were right they weren't ready to be that close to a tornado"

"Yep"

"Hey I didn't mind I had 2 hot sorority girls hanging on me" Boone says with a smile. "Shut up Boone" you and Tyler say at the same time.

You all start walking toward the building when you see Scott come out of your shared room, he smiles then heads your way.

"Hey baby how was the chase" "I know you watched the stream so wjy ask" Scott just laughs

"You have more patience then I do Owens I'll give you that"

"Well try raising this one and you learn to have patience" Tyler says to Scott and they both laugh

"Great the one time yall get along and it's making fun of me, anyways I'm tired and want a shower good night Ty night Boone" you grab Scotts hand and head to your room. The shower felt amazing and even more amazing with Scott in there with you kissing down your neck.

You have round one in the shower in the shower then round 2 and 3 in the bed. By the time you two were done with your xtra curricular activities it's after midnight and you are beyond exhausted. You roll over and lay your head on Scotts chest and are out within minutes!

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The next morning your sisters meet you in you room at 10 and you don't waste time starting your girls day! You kiss Scott goodbye and tell him you love him then your off! You drive an hour away to Tulsa trying to pack in as much as you can that day.

You had an appointment to get your nail and hair done then spent the rest day shopping and site seeing. It had been so long since you got to spend time like this with your sisters so you were soaking it all up! You have a late lunch and in that time you find out there is amazing bar downtown and decide that night you were gonna party like your college days! You call Scott and your brother to see if they are all on board and when they say they are you head back to the hotel to get ready.

You planned to meet at the downstairs at 8. You have the girls get ready in your room so you kick Scott out so he doesn't see your new dress before you were ready.

"Baby really I'm getting kicked out of my own room"

"I promise you it will be worth it when you see this new outfit" you say kissing his lips and pushing him out the door with his clothes in is arms.

You decided to pre game it a little bit in the room while getting ready so by the time you were ready you were already feeling good. You call Scott and tell him to meet you downstairs in 10 minutes.

*YOUR OUTFIT*

You all make you way downstairs and when you get to the bottom of the stairs you see your boyfriends eyes look you up and down with his mouth hanging open, your not 100% sure but you think you saw him stop breathing.

"Holy shit baby you look fucking stunning, this was worth the wait" he says stepping over to you and capturing your lips in a very heated kiss. You were lost in your own world it's just you and Scott, then your brother had to ruin it

"You are not wearing that y/n"

You step away away from Scott walking up to your brother with your hands on your hips

"Watch me

You both stand there for a minute have a stare down before hearing Javi say

"OK is the awkward Owens sibling stare down over, ok good let's go party"

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An hour later you are pulling into the parking lot of the bar ready to let lose! Once inside you get a big enough table near the bar that will for your big group,head to the bar to get your first round of drinks!

The bartender comes over looking you up and down before asking "what can I get you beautiful whatever it is it's on the house" before you can say anything you feel an arm around your waist, you look up to see Scott with his jaw clenched "no need my girlfriends drinks are on my tab, so are her friends" you hear him say handing the man his card to start a tab. You all order a jack and coke and your first(of many) round of shots.

"To ZBZ sisterhood" all 3 of you say taking your shots "let's dance"

The three of you are having so much dancing and drinking it's reminds you of the parties back in school! You even got Scott to losen up and dance with you! It was nice to see your sexy uptight boyfriend let lose for once.

"BODY SHOTS" you hear Ashleigh yell over the music, you look over to her to see that she's carrying a bottle of tequila and shot glasses right behind her is Casey with limes and salt you run towards them with a squill.

"You said you wanted to see the party girl well baby she's about to make her appearance better get ready Scotty boy" your brother says laughing looking at your boyfriend.

"Baby come do a body shot off me"

"I don't know how to do a body shot sweetheart I went to MIT it's not exactly a party school"

"I'll show you, Ashleigh lay down im gonna show Scott how to do this" She lays down then pulls up her shirt then you explain "You put the lime in her mouth, sprinkle some salt on her belly, Then lick the salt from her belly take the shot then use your mouth to get the lime watch" you then do the steps you just showed him. "Your turn baby"

You take Ashleighs place on the table and Casey sets up the shot for Scott "ready" you ask before putting the lime in your mouth having Casey put the salt on your belly,your boyfriend nod his head and licks the salt.

To many drinks and shots later it's safe to the party girl you was in full swing! Right now you Casey and Ashleigh were dancing on the bar like you were in " Coyote ugly" and still downing shots, and sing along with Taylor Swift's "shake it off"

"Hey, hey, hey, Just think, while you've been gettin' down and out about the liarsAnd the dirty, dirty cheats of the worldYou could've been gettin' down to this sick beat. My ex-man brought his new girlfriend, She's like, "Oh my God!" but I'm just gonna shake And to the fella over there with the hella good hairWon't you come on over, baby? We can shake, shake, shake (yeah)"

Scott watched you in amusement and thinking you look so beautiful being so carefree he's pulled from his thoughts when Tyler Boone and Javi walk up to him.

"So how liking this side of your girlfriend" your brother ask taking a sip of his beer

"Its definitely different that's for sure but it's nice to see her let lose and have fun"

"I've heard the stories but damn your sister is wild, dude shedancing on the bar" Javi laughs

"She is definitely drunk, how many shots has she had anyone know" Tyler ask

"I stopped keeping track after the 5th body shot" Boone adds

"Just wait for the hangover tomorrow glad you have to deal it this time and not me"

A few minutes later they hear shouting at the bar, they turn around and see you in a girls face

"Well that's the cue to cut her off go get her Scotty boy I'm off party girl duty for once" your brother says looking to Scott

"Can you at leave least get the other girls Owens"

"Guess I'm not totally off duty"

Scott makes his way to the bar where you are still yelling at some girl your sisters have now joined in and so has the girls friends.

"Bitch get the fuck out of my face" Scott hears as he gets to you

Without a word Scott picks you up and throws you over his shoulder, and starts to walk out of the bar with your brother and Javi behind him with your sisters.

"Baby put me downnnnnnn I wusnt done with her"

"Oh yes you are sweetheart" Scott laughs

"Bot my beer I wasn't done with that either and Ash just order more shotsss" you whine still on Scott's shoulder.

"No" both your boyfriend and brother say together "Sorry sis you and your friends are cut off"

"My sisters Tyler and you camp cut me off I'm a growned up" you slur

"Your broder is a party popper"

You make it to the truck where Scott puts you down in the back seat, you smile and look up to him

"I lobe you" "I love you too sweetheart let's get you buckled in ok"

"Your so sexxyy" Scott laughs and shakes his head

Your brother is trying to buckle Ashleigh in the back seat next to when she starts drunk flirting with your brother "I've always thout you were sexy Tyler I tell your your siser all the time" Tyler shakes his head and laughs and thanks her.

"Are you as good with your tongue as Scotts is your sister said he's does mazing thungs with his, I think yous be"

Your brother looks to Scott with a look of fury before you speak up "it's tur did I tell you his fingerssss are like madgic so his di..." you are cut off with Scott covering your mouth "ok sweetheart that's enough time to be quiet now ok" you pull his hand from your mouth "no i didn tell them baut the time i rode yous in my brothers tru..." you don't get get to finish before once again Scott is covering your mouth "baby I really need you to stop talking" "otay" you say with a drunken smile

"MY TRUCK YOU FUCKED MY SISTER IN MY TRUCK"

"Yep right in the dribers seat" you said proudly pointing to his drivers seat. "Baby I really need you to stop talking before your brother punches me in the face"

"MY DRIVERS SEAT ARE YOU KIDDING ME"

You go to open your mouth but Scott is quick to cover it before you can make the situation worse.

Javi and Boone can't stop laughing watching all this unfold before them.

"I'll kill you both later let's just get these 3 back to the hotel" Tyler adds shutting the door. As he goes opens the drivers side door and looks at the seat with a disgusted look before looking back at you "you're paying to have this seat cleaned, Miller hand me that shirt now that I know your bare ass was on my seat I can't sit on it without a barrier"

It doesn't take long before you and your sisters are passed out! You are gonna regret this in the morning not just for the hangover but your brother really was planning your death,but you had a blast living a night like you were in college again!

[hancocksbestgirl]

The Raider and the Bear, Part 2/3

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Summary:

After losing control and finally admitting to himself that he has growing feelings for his new Overboss, Porter Gage is struggling to restore the professional balance of their relationship - mostly so he doesn't destroy everything he's built for himself so far.

But as they continue to work together, he can't quite seem to forget how badly he wants her.

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Category: F/M

Fandom: Fallout 4

Word Count: This chapter, 6k. Entire work, 22k.

Relationships: Porter Gage/Female Nuka-World Overboss, Overboss Colter & Porter Gage

Characters: Porter Gage, Original Fallout 4 Character(s), Female Nuka-World Overboss (Fallout), Mason (Fallout 4), Overboss Colter (Fallout)

Additional Tags and Warnings Under the Cut.

NOTE: The tags on this fic have recently changed!!! There were some things I missed tagging on chapter one that apply to the work as a whole. Those have been updated there AND added here. Please reread the tags under the cut to be certain that the work is still in keeping with the type of thing you want to be reading!

Updated Tags and Warnings:

Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Behavior, Not Canon Compliant, Brief Mention of Past Abuse, Brief Mention of Past Harassment, Brief Mention of Animal Cruelty, Post-Apocalypse, Alternate History, Romance, Fluff and Angst, Pining, Awkwardness, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Crush, Raiders (Fallout), Nuka-World Amusement Park (Fallout), Fallout 4: Nuka-World DLC, Hurt, Morally Ambiguous Character, Original Character(s), Coworkers to Lovers, Love Confessions, Sharing a Bed, Service Kink, Panty Kink, Cussing, Submission, Non-Sexual Submission, Injury, Secret Crush, Masturbation, Fantasizing, Face-Sitting, P in V Sex, Oral Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Frottage

_________________

The Brotherhood of Steel had gotten in the way of one of the Operators various little schemes.

The broad strokes of these things were always the same: the Operators had happened upon some good loot, caps, guns, whatever… and then someone, the Minutemen, the Brotherhood of Steel, Diamond City Security, went and fucked it up for them. The Operators would send a runner with the bad news, and then Mags Black would come slinking out of the shadows of The Parlor, requesting help from the Overboss.

Gage was tired of the whole thing, perhaps more so than usual. He believed the gangs needed to keep control of as much loot as they could, but the Operators were wearing him out with their constant requests for backup.

After the cart had hit him, as expected, his hip had exploded in a riot of colorful bruising. First it turned a deep greenish black, which had eventually given way to a purple and red sunset, which had eventually lightened to green and yellow fields of pain. It had swollen, keeping him off his feet for a few days, then receded, allowing him to walk once more.

The Overboss had been nice enough about it, by her standards anyway. She hadn’t said much, only asking after it once when he’d emerged from his forced rest, but she had allowed him to while away a few days in his backroom without any harsh comments whatsoever. 

The morning after the incident with her underwear, battling his own stiffening hip, Gage had limped to the sink to guiltily wash them, then hung them up in his room to dry. He’d only returned them to the clothes basket once he was back on his feet, though. 

So while they dried, he’d been laid up on his stomach with a pillow under his pelvis. Staring at them.

He just couldn’t help but spare glance after glance at the now-clean underwear hanging from the corner of a box as he rested. He’d been distinctly aware of being in two types of pain: each time he looked at the panties, his heart would constrict in his chest as he remembered what he’d done, and his aching hip would tense in reply.

The break from the Overboss, paging through a few crumpled issues of Guns and Bullets but not really reading the words, had otherwise done him some good. By the time the bruise calmed, the panties were returned, and he was comfortable walking long distances once more; he at least felt some semblance of control over the way he thought about her.

It helped that the Overboss had gone back to her cold, offputting self. She was mostly silent once more, decked out in the bearhead at all times, fully covered by her clothes again.

Now, they found themselves trudging through mud near Jamaica Plain, scouting for the team they were supposed to meet up with. If the high level Vertibird flying over was anything to go by, they were definitely close to the point where they’d meet up. 

They were a long way from Nuka World, about half a day’s walk from the transit station, and already Gage was looking forward to unrolling a bedroll and passing out somewhere. He didn’t sleep well out in the field, but he also didn’t sleep that well at Fizztop either. Getting off his feet though, that was sure becoming more of a priority than it had been in his youth.

Maybe about a half mile ahead, Gage could see the telltale cluster of Operators, looking like a bunch of highly conspicuous, fancily dressed assholes.

God, he was tired.

At the very least, it seemed that Mags Black running to the Overboss for help was a reasonable request this time. No sooner had they approached the Operator team, hellfire had begun to rain down on them.

Read More on AO3

[keep-the-wolves-close]

Steady Heart

Chapter 28: Achilles Heel

* Pairing: Slow-burn Kayce Dutton x OFC Stella Daniels

* Rating: M? (Still figuring out the rating system) (might eventually be M anyhow)

* Warnings: language, angst

* Word count: 1,867ish

I would love to give credits to @dameronscopilot and @deanscroissant for being sounding boards for me during this whole process, giving outsider insight, being cheerleaders, and allowing me to screech at them about things that have happened during the writing process. I seriously couldn't have gotten this far without y'all

Author's note: Okay, I lied. One more because I have an uneven number queued. Then I’ll follow the rules. Scouts honor lol. 🤓 Things are starting to ramp up, Kayce and Stella are finally coming back to some kind of normalcy. It’s been rough, but we’ll get there. Also, this is shorter than normal, but it worked well for splitting these events up. I hope y’all don’t mind, I hope everyone is enjoying so far! I hope you love this chapter as well!

“What! You told me you ran into him!” Ryan cried out.

“Okay I bent the truth! I’m sorry. I knew if I told you that 30 minutes ago, you would have burnt the whole state of Montana to the ground!” She defended herself.

All the men moved closer to her instinctually. Rip started in on her hard. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me when I picked you up?!”

“Because I wanted to tell everyone all at once, Rip!” Was he even listening?

He came back at her even angrier. “Bullshit! Were you gonna say anything at all?!”

“Yes! My god! I’m here aren’t I?”

Kayce targeted her next. “You’re only here because your brother and I made sure you’d come talk to my dad.”

John interrupted. “All of you quit!” He locked in on Stella. “What did he want?”

“I asked him and he said something about liking my property, yadda yadda, and got insulted when I asked who he was again and told me I work for a ranch that has started to annoy people. Then read me like an open book almost to every little detail about my life.” Stella crossed her arms and shook her leg. The memory of Malcolm’s unnaturally blue eyes staring into hers as he recited her information sent a chill up her spine.

“I told him I wasn’t interested in anything he had to offer. He said I was a soft spot for people here, which I beg to differ,” she focused on the floor, “but whatever. Then he said he would be seein’ me real soon. Whatever that means.” She looked back up at John and shrugged.

“So long story short, what I wanted to say was, I’m not sure Jenkins is our culprit for those cows being dead. Somethin’ about Malcolm and his brother doesn’t sit straight with me. He was fishin’ for somethin’, but I don’t know what.” Her cheeks were flushed by the time she was finished. Stella felt like she was on trial. Especially with the way everyone just looked at her angrily and didn’t say anything. “You can choose to believe me, or not, but I’m tellin’ you right now somethin’ ain’t right.”

“Damn it.” John looked to his son. “Kayce, what did you find out from Jenkins?”

Kayce watched Stella, who focused on John. She turned her body to face the patriarch, trying to pretend she was anywhere but in the room with them. He announced. “Wasn’t Jenkins.”

Rip mumbled a cuss to himself. That meant they were dealing with a different player; and that player was bigger, and seemingly interested in Stella.

“How do we know it wasn’t him?” John asked.

“I looked him in the eye and it wasn’t him.” Kayce made direct eye contact with his dad.

“I can also attest that he wouldn’t know the first thing about cows or how to kill them.” Stella added.

She finally locked eyes with Kayce. He looked tired. “You okay?” Everyone could tell there was something deeper behind her question. Even though it seemed like she wanted to be out of any room Kayce was in.

“It went fine.”

Stella scowled at him for ignoring her actual question.

“Let me talk to my son please.” John excused the three of them. Stella wasn’t sure what was going on, but if it meant she could escape, she’d take it.

Kayce stayed behind to talk to his father. At first they talked about something Kayce had done in war that had changed him forever. His heart raced just reliving the memory. If he could go back and have it happen differently, he would in a heartbeat. Kayce wanted to leave, but John stopped him.

“What’s going on with you and Stella?”

Kayce sighed. “Nothing dad.”

“Her looking like she was about to claw her way out of the window to get away when you went in on her says otherwise.” John leaned back against his desk smugly. He was almost certain he knew what was coming.

“There is nothing going on between Stella and I. Nothing.” He tried to be stern in his answer to get his dad to stop asking. He was confused as to what was going on himself. He had fucked up. Simple as that.

John stayed quiet and examined his son. Kayce’s face was flushed, and his voice let John know he was confused. If he didn’t know any better, he would say Kayce looked like he was going to panic. He looked like he was in love. That’s how he had looked when he found Evelyn.

Kayce couldn’t take the silence any longer. “Okay fine! We slept together. So what?”

‘Ah. There it was.’ John thought to himself as he breathed out a chuckle. This wasn’t when or how he thought this conversation would come up, but he knew it would cross him one day. “And when was that?”

Kayce looked down. “A few days ago.” He refused to tell his father that it was more than once.

“And you just got back from visiting with Monica? Now I understand why she wanted to leave so badly.” John worked out. He watched as his son squirmed. “How did things go with Monica, by the way? Especially with this new,” there was no real way for him to say this delicately, “development.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it dad.”

“But you’re gonna have to sooner or later.”

“She wants a divorce.”

“What for?”

“A lot of things.”

John crossed his arms. “What are you gonna do, son? Because that woman out there has stood behind you through thick and thin. Even after you broke her, she still made sure you were okay. Didn’t like that you ignored her actual question, but she still did it.”

Kayce got frustrated and slammed his hand against the door. “I don’t know! On one hand Monica is my wife, the mother of my son, the lov—,” he stopped himself. He didn’t know if he was choked up, or if he couldn’t actually bring himself to say it.

“— But?” John interrupted.

“I don’t know, dad. I just — I don’t know.”

Making it to the door, Stella started to pick up her pace. She thought she was home free when her feet hit the porch. She would have been if Rip’s rough hand didn’t grab her elbow. Her shoulders sagged. “Listen I know you’re both angry I didn’t tell you right away, but can one more person not be mad at me today?” She looked down at the floor of the porch. “I have Ryan double mad at me, you, probably Mr. Dutton. Kayce and I are weird right now…,” she trailed off. The list could go if she thought about it hard enough.

“Yeah we noticed.” Ryan informed her crossing his arms.

Stella pulled her lips in. She hoped she had hidden it better than that. ‘Great.’

“Was it really that noticeable?”

Ryan scoffed. “You looked like you wanted to be anywhere but where Kayce was.”

“You didn’t wanna be around him the other night. You were upset about somethin’.” Rip started to put two and two together out loud for Ryan. He didn’t want to be the one to spill the beans. “Somethin’ about you broke your own heart.”

“I was really hoping that you wouldn’t have remembered that.”

“What happened between you two?” Ryan asked. Stella remained quiet with her lips pulled in. “C’mon Stell. You gotta lay it out there at some point.”

She looked out along the dark horizon line and wished she could shrink herself. It was embarrassing enough to have the thoughts run through her own head, let alone say them out loud. Especially to her brother and a man she considered a brother.

“I thought something might have changed between us, but it didn’t. I was just a hopelessly hopeless romantic caught up in my own delusion.” She moved her hands in a ‘giving up’ motion. Her voice came out more quietly than before. “It doesn’t matter.” She stepped toward the stairs. “Can we be done here? Please?”

Kayce came out of the house looking flustered. His gaze landed on Stella and both of them seemed to stop breathing. “Can I talk to you?”

Stella breathed in. “I mean, no,” she blew the breath out, “but you’re gonna keep tryin’ until I let you. So I guess.” She crossed her arms and looked at the other two men. “Can you guys give us a minute? I’ll be right behind you.”

Ryan stepped forward and Rip reached out to stop him from getting too close. He threatened the man responsible for hurting his sister. “You hurt her even more, and everything else you’re going through will be the least of your worries.” Rip grabbed his shoulder to direct him to the horses.

Stella watched them trot off. Ryan gave her one last look and she nodded to him. It was quiet behind her, and she was half expecting Kayce to be gone when she turned around. Holding her head as high as she could, she pivoted around to face him. She fixed her glasses and sniffed. “Well, let’s have it.”

Kayce got a good look at her face. She looked humiliated. He had hurt her badly. He was afraid it was past the point of repair. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too Kayce.” She looked down, sullen.

“I shouldn’t have come onto you like that. We shouldn’t have done it at all. I ruined a perfectly good friendship.”

“Yeah I know it was a mistake. Is that all you wanted to say? Because I could live without the embarrassment of hearing, let's just pretend this never happened.”

“No. I wanted to tell you Monica and I decided to co-parent, but we can’t go back to each other.”

“Okay that’s great, but now I feel dirty. Like I was just a distraction, which I mean I was. A distraction for you at my expense. I just don’t know if I can get past that.”

Unbeknownst to the two of them, John had snuck out onto his porch to hear how this would play out.

Kayce started, “I understand, but—,” and Stella interrupted him.

“— Do you really have any grounds to stand on to place a ‘but’ in there? I was blinded by the feelings I’ve had for you since we were kids and somehow, whether you realized it or not, you used it to your advantage.” Her eyes stung. “I thought I was always safe with you.” She said in a small voice. “And to find out I wasn’t, hurts. I let you past everything I had put up.” John tilted his head to the side. She had a point. “So I’m gonna go. I just wanna be left alone.” She spun around to make her way down to the bunkhouse.

Kayce stood there defeated. He knew he’d fucked up big time. If she ever talked to him again, he would be surprised. He heard footsteps on the porch. He turned and saw his dad.

“So how are you gonna make this right, son?”

“I’m gonna respect her and leave her be. I’ve already done enough damage.” He walked off and hopped in his truck.

[havin-fun-imagining-twd]

"fondness" LOL

When -- directly after Scary as a sleepy kitten. We're back to season 2, slowpokes. We had taken a brief trip to pre-season 9 for Still beating

Is there a picture of baby Carl at the end as a prize? -- yes, just as Dale describes it to you!

What -- Andrea and Dale thought you and Daryl were a thing? Lol. But like why are you so defensive about it? While also being defensive about the mangy hick, oh, this is confusing...

Perspective -- 2nd person (you)

Pronouns - nada

Who -- You, Andrea, Papa Dale, and Glenn. Daryl's sleeping, he's concussed and fell down a ridge twice with a bolt hole in him, he needs his rest.

How long is this one? -- shorter, about 10 minutes!

TWs -- a few cusses, and reference to Carol's spousal abuse

Reading assignments -- How's your head? Part 2, then souls stripped bare if you want more emotional context, as well as Invisible tugging strings Part 1 but especially -> Part 2 , then Spell your last name, please. , He hasn't been himself, and Scary as a sleepy kitten.

All that for reading assignments?? -- reading is healthy, y'all :P

Choose your fighter: The Full + Official Masterlist vs Chronological Slowpoke Chapters Only (reading them in publishing order as opposed to chronological order is recommended)

have fun and happy reading!

“Ah, the culprit behind Andrea’s little conclusion. How are you?”

Dale finishes matching a pair of socks as he responds with a quiet chuckle, “Just fine, I hope. I see now that the conclusion caused some…offense?”

“Don’t be silly, Mr. H, you meant nothin’ by it,” you play off, and start to help his sort through the pile of clean, dry socks.

“‘Meant nothing by it’ implying there was some offense taken.”

You tuck in your lip, and meant to return eye contact, but you’re still feeling strange about the whole mix-up. With the simple words, “nazi-bike,” you tell him what you consider a fair reason to have taken some offense.

---------------------

20 minutes ago

“Y/N, I didn’t realize,” Andrea says, slowly walking beside you.

“Realize what?”

“You two.”

“Me, too? What’d I do?” Is she talking about how you’ve got the medical wrap on your upper arm, maybe? “Do you mean this?” you question, looking down at your shoulder.

She peers at you, head tilted to the side.

“You and Daryl,” she softly clarifies. “It was Dale who wondered first, after you had to excuse yourself.”

Me and Daryl? “What’d we do?” Perhaps she's referring to the search today? Andrea isn’t one to not speak her mind, you wonder why she’s not being more succinct. She doesn't know about you having shot that guy. Dale has an idea, but he's tight-lipped about it.

“So, you and he…?” she trails off.

?

So, you start to fill her in about the search. “Before Daryl found the doll, we’d—”

—OH WAIT, now you get it!

---------------------

Once you figured it out, your hands were raised in innocence and you kept your voice lowwww. “Ain’t nothing romantic happened between us two.”

And you weren’t fully sure why you were going into defensive mode so hard, either, but there you went. “C’mon, Andy, there’s a fuckin’ nazi symbol on his drug dealing, motorcycle gang bike,” you’d grit, doing your best to play if cool regardless of how weirdly defensive you’d gotten.

Forcing a smile to cover up for that fact that you licked your teeth in annoyance, you finished up, “He’s my friend, but that right there would be a deal breaker off the bat for aught else. And besides, back at the quarry, we noticed he didn’t seem into people.”

“I’m not entirely sold on that. Maybe, it’s simply that he’s shy and careful and not a pig like his brother was.”

Andrea then had peered at you as if she could see something you couldn’t, which disturbed and annoyed and for some reason thrilled you even more.

You thought about it, and supposed that he did seem to blush that time Amy was headlighting after the first rainstorm at the camp. A squall had come out of nowhere. Last time she ever wore that shirt without a tank top underneath.

Anyway, Daryl had immediately turned his head away, in fact, as opposed to (Merle, obviously, but also) even Glenn, who’d frozen when he’d seen. Amy didn’t know who’d been gaping, but you’d been on the hunt for anyone objectifying your new friend, so had been darting your eyes around like a cat getting ready to pounce, and took inventory of every glance.

That Daryl turned his head so readily was the main reason you’d felt safe enough to ask if him if he’d teach you how to hunt, in all honesty…

“It was his brother’s bike, not his,” Andrea next stated, very like the way older siblings will talk down to younger ones. “Merle was the head, and the dealer. Would you want to be held accountable for what your brother does, his choices?”

That simple reminder made your bow your head, and you could hear your pulse begin to thrum in your ears. You wouldn’t want to be held to Shane’s choices and actions. You still couldn’t (can’t) wrap your head around the fact that he’d just flirted with Lori. And kept flirting after she’d clearly been alarmed by it.

“Something Merle once said made it sound like Daryl wasn’t a big part of the gang,” Andy went on.

However, you got even more defensive at what you were taking as insistence of Dale and Andrea’s little conclusion. “And? He still rode or, or at least hung with them. He still wears the cut sometimes.” 'Sometimes' meaning that spate of a few days when he was particularly sad about Merle...

“‘Cut?’” she repeated, then remembered, “Oh, I remember learning that from Sons of Anarchy, it’s the um, that’s the Boy Scout vest that bikers wear, right?”

Ha. You were cracking up despite yourself, that was funny. Boy Scout vest.

“As for the bike,” Andrea added mildly, “painting over that symbol isn’t on his radar. I mean, routine hygiene isn’t on his radar.”

Nope, you weren’t defensive at all. “…So he’s grimy and desensitized to a nazi symbol. It’s a match.”

With a tut very-like what your eldest sister would make, she stated, “I didn’t remember what the symbol on the bike stood for at first, and I'm a civil rights lawyer. I thought they were stylized lightning bolts.” You heard her breathe deeply as she rested her arms on the livestock fence. “The symbol, the one on Merle’s bike, what’s it mean again?”

“Shoots-stah-full.” You’re bad at pronouncing it and were feeling embarrassed, so spoke it shyly. “SS is easier to say.”

“They were the secret police?” she checked.

“The secret police was the gestapo, the SS were another sort of special branch. Über-jarheads, I guess.”

“See? I only really remembered the swastika as being a nazi symbol, until you and Dale were talking about the symbol on the bike. It’s not unreasonable to think some things in Daryl’s education were forgotten or missed, too.”

That was the point in the conversation when the private knowledge of him having gotten lost for 9 days, as a young child, and without anyone looking for him, slapped you in the metaphorical face. The vivid, awful, and oh-so-fresh memory of seeing his scarred back punched you in the metaphorical gut.

Why did you react so strongly to her assumption in the first place? It’s not a big deal. You’d have probably assumed the same. Like, for goodness sake, you were the one who couldn’t keep the pet names for him from going on parade little over an hour ago. You'd cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead in relief that he was alive!

Either way, there was a (…sane?) inner battle in your head between being offended at Andrea and Dale’s conclusion versus being offended at your own negative reaction to it.

Bitch, he tossed the ‘hard stuff’ this morning, obviously he isn’t a user.

Still ran with the dealers, still was complacent and complicit with it all. And think about how cruelly he insulted you earlier today, how scary he was? You were expecting it to turn into his backhand. It’s something that was plainly done to him, you think he’s unlearned that yet? No, because you remembered how he grabbed you by your arm and dragged you back at the house until you cussed him out.

But then he apologized. Then, when you needed help, he carried you gently and made sure it wasn’t hurting you. You saw how careful he was being, and he isn’t good with touch.

Then he stole Mr. Greene’s horse instead of just asking like a normal person.

He also gave Carol that flower and told her the story to go with it, and meant it.

Before drinking about four beers last night and was hardly buzzed from it.

He carried, buried, and mourned that family of strangers with you today, he’s not some selfish deadbeat, Y/N!

Well, he chain smokes and drives a nazi bike!

And still almost died today three times to give the group—to give Carol—concrete proof that her baby girl’s been near.

Fine! Explain away the r-a-c-i-s-m.

That mangy hick saved Glenn’s life, he saved T-Dog’s life twice. He gave Jacqui extra root beer when she said she loved it, helped the Morales kids learn to throw a punch (and a kick). Y/N, he’s clearly doing some kind of weeding of the bad stuff in him and letting good things take their place, idiot, are you stu—

“Y/N. It wasn’t an attack on you, or a judgment. Amy told me how,” Andy paused to think of a good verb, “discerning you are when it comes to things like that. How strong your boundaries are. And how hesitant you’ve been to enter into a relationship for those reasons.”

She was diplomatic and tactful, you were grateful. You’d have just said ‘old-fashioned, kinda scared, comparatively prudish.’ Lol.

Crossing her arms as she walked, she then drove home, “Maybe I would have trusted your decision, if there was a ‘you two.’”

A slightly stammered “Okay,” was the best you could do right in terms of responding. Let’s be real, sentences aren’t your strong suit on a good day, never mind today.

Andrea stuck her hands into her belt loops and she ambled alongside the fence. You followed, looking out at the cows. One of them had twin calves.

“You gave him the benefit of the doubt before any of us,” she reminded you. “Are you backtracking?”

Your voice cracked when you tried to insist, “I ain’t backtracking on that, it’s j-just been a long day.”

“It’s been something else,” Andrea softly agreed. Her pace slowed a little and she placed her hand on your back as she continued toward the nearest cow field. “I saw Carol washing your stuff. Where’d the bloodstains come from?”

You shrugged. “My stitches ripped.” Ohh damn it, you said it out loud. “Wait, Andy, don’t—please don’t let Shane find out,” came out of your mouth in such a desperate tone of voice that you couldn’t not see a red flag.

“Oh, I won’t.” Andrea’s lips pursed, and she put a hand on her hip. “He’s been acting up.”

One word for it. You closed your eyes, and mumbled, “Thank you. He has been.”

“It doesn’t seem like you to hide stuff from him.”

Hide stuff? “No, it’s the…” After inwardly tugging the halyard to get that red flag down, you give up. Let it fly; you were hiding stuff from your brother, plain fact. Still are. For now, at least.

Andrea said nothing more about it. Again, you were grateful. You also felt stupid.

You stood there in silence for a few minutes, listening to the breeze, the mooing, the birds chirping, the cicadas buzzing.

Once the sun was halfway set, she lead the way back.

“At any rate, back to what we were discussing,” she relaxed her position and gave you something of a teasing smirk. “T-Dog is convinced Daryl’s a good guy, too, so what does that tell you?”

“That Teddy’s a saint,” you answered quietly, mouth twisting into an embarrassed grin. You may or may not sometimes remind her of what a catch you think T-Dog is combined with the fact that he’s single and in her age range. “Andy, where was all this goin’?”

“I have no idea, at first I thought I was being supportive,” she chuckled. “I guess: Daryl is proving to be a different man than we thought. And I’d say you know that better than anyone here.” She inhaled, then made a slight groan. “And, well, I did just shoot him, so maybe I’m biased.”

You held back a giggle. “So you’re tryin’ to set Daryl up to make amends?”

“Mmhm,” she sassed back. “Guess I’ll need a more willing victim.”

“Understood, let’s find Carol, she's half in love with him after today.”

“Perfect, let's get her. She’s probably hanging laundry,” was her initial sarcastic agreement. After a few steps in silence, she grew serious. “Carol needs to learn her worth before we can let a man near near her again. Especially one like Daryl.”

The first half of her statement sent you in for a hug. But the second sentence in her statement put you right back on defense and simultaneous offense. What came out of your mouth as you sought clarification, however, was unproductive. “Seriously?”

Per usual, Andrea remained unruffled. She held a hand up. “Based on what I know, your bar is high enough to do pull-ups on. Now, you’d help hoist someone up to your bar—and would kick off anyone who tried to lower it.” She gave you a pointed look. “Carol’s bar wasn’t only low, Y/N, it was taken down and used to beat her.”

The mental image struck right in the gut.

Blindly, you followed her past the grove of trees where Otis’ cairn lay, so offered a quick blessing in your head for him.

She turned back to look at you. “Do you understand where I was coming from, Y/N?”

You had to swallow some of the emotion down first. “I think so.”

“You and him, I’d be fine with, because your bar is set high and firm. It would imply good things about Daryl.”

After a sniff, you thanked her, that was a very generous compliment. And unfortunately, unable to not be a weirdo, you mumbled this dumb comment: “I can’t be hoistin’ nobody up until my darn shoulder is healed.”

----------------------

Now

“The motorcycle was Merle’s,” Dale lightly defends. Same response as Andrea, but with more of an understanding tone of voice. He was raised Jewish and lost family during the Holocaust, you know that.

Still, why didn't he react with more gusto, then? You hum and end up matching a sock somewhat aggressively. Which is not a sentence you’d ever have imagined thinking.

“Y/N, you can’t fault the man for accepting his dead brother's gas-friendly, easily repairable and reliable mode-of-transport that can go places bigger vehicles cannot. Him being able to go ahead and scope out the roads has been a boon. The emotional connection to the bike in itself would be understandable.”

“Yes, sir.”

He sighs. “My first thought was one of…how to describe it, uh, it was an...” he considers for a moment. “I suppose the best word is ‘confidence’ in Daryl’s character, if you had taken a shine to him.”

���‘Taken a shine to him?’”

“You know, a fondness for each other.”

“A 'fondness?'”

“Though I suppose the camaraderie that you two have is a commendation for him in itself,” he went on, eyeing you with something of an exasperated look. Good humored, though.

You scratch your nose. “I think we all have some kind of camaraderie or, y’know, a ‘shine’ with him after today.” It would be impossible not to. “To be fair, I couldn’t stop callin’ him pet names earlier. There’ve been a lot of up and downs we’ve gone through together the past few days, I’m not lookin’ too deep into it.” And you were merely so relieved that he was alive after getting grazed by that bullet, which is why you pressed your forehead to his and gave it a kiss.

“And he was injured, a circumstance which tends to encourage terms of endearment,” he kindly agreed. “Nothing wrong with that, kiddo. And there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that he’s not so bad.”

Nodding, Dale points his finger after matching another sock. “For me, what solidified it was when he found out that T-Dog had the blood infection.” He pressed his thumb and pointer finger together. “The man immediately gave us those antibiotics, as well as some painkillers.”

The recollection of that blessed relief trickled from your belly down to your toes and fingertips. And hearing that it had been done ‘immediately’ sent a tightness to your throat. You swallowed.

“However, it was before that, at the quarry, when I really started to trust that the, uh,” he raised his brows, then grinned briefly. “That the ‘first impression’ wasn’t accurate in several ways. One, I imagine you will remember, it was a few days prior to the supply run to the city. The last supply run, as it were.”

You nod. You’d been barred from going due to an uptick in getting migraines the previous two-ish weeks. Must’ve been the barometric pressure or something.

“Daryl had been looking for you, found fresh tracks close to the campsite, if I recall.”

Just then, Glenn walks over with his mouth full of something—oh snap, he’s got a container of honey wheat pretzels. Yay!

He plunks it in the middle of you and Dale and begins to help with the sock-sorting and laundry folding.

Like a starving Dickensian orphan, you zero in on the pretzels and quickly stuff a few too many into your mouth. Glenn finds this very funny, cracks up, and now you’re trying not to snarf as you desperately try to chew and swallow.

“I gave half my supper away,” you do your best to enunciate as you crunch.

“Glad you’re doing better after passing out earlier.”

You press a finger to your lips and subtly shake your head, just in case your brother would somehow overhear it.

“Anyway,” Dale gets back to it, with a handful of the pretzels for his own, “after I explained to him that you were indisposed, he seemed irked, wandered off. Some time later, however, he came back to me with a sports drink in his hand, asking if you’d left your tent yet. It seems that he intended the beverage to go to you.”

The memory kicks in and, mid-motion and mid-chew, you stop reaching to grab the mate to the sock in your hand. Another sensation spreads through your belly, a nice but nervous one. Your eyes flit up at Dale, who paused to take a drink from his water bottle.

“I hadn’t seen you or Amy leave your tent at that point, so let him know,” he narrated, capping his bottle again. “Except, on his way back to his and Merle’s spot, he slowed and crouched to look under the truck. Then, he held out the bottle.” Dale next makes a chuckle that probably qualifies as a ‘guffaw,’ it’s a proper old man belly-laugh. “And to my quite vocal alarm, a skinny, pale little arm popped out from underneath and took it!”

The name “Gollum?” is the unfortunately first thing that enters into your head and, yes, you say it out loud…but it’s cool, because Glenn happens to say at the same time, “Like Sméagol.”

“You’re such a nerd.”

“Look who’s talking, dork,” he pokes right back.

“My mind went to the two children hiding behind the Ghost of Christmas Present’s cloak, personally,” Dale muses, then continues the story. “Daryl wandered off on his way after that, but, naturally, I hopped down from the RV to see who on earth was under there." He lifts a shoulder. "I bend down to see who but our young Carl! The boy had already drunk half the bottle, said he felt much better for having done so. It seems he’d felt sick before and crawled under the truck to escape from the sun.”

Daryl gave your Carl a gatorade, too, and said not a word about it.

Good Moses, just when you thought you’d tamped down any notion of irrational affectionate feelings toward that mangy hick...

“With that, little Luis came dragging Miranda over with a cup of water—Miranda had been watching the boys while Lori was out foraging for mushrooms, Eliza must have been with Sophia and Carol.” Another sip from his water bottle. “Mmm. Those mushrooms were a treat,” he said mainly to himself. "Y/N, he found you later and gave you the beverage before you washed up, if I'm not mistaken? He came by with another bottle, I directed him to the quarry lake after seeing you head down with a wash bucket."

You nod. Was it obvious that you flushed when he told you the story?

Because you feel flushed, and that’s with the cool breeze outside this evening. You fold a shirt. Some undies. Match another pair of socks…then you figure you should say something, you’ve been too quiet and Dale is looking at you expectantly. “C-Carl does have a way of, uh, slippin’ out of sight.”

“Like a hobbit.”

“Just like a hobbit, Glenn, the boy coulda burgled us blind.”

Your friend remains mock-serious. “He still might.”

“He’s a tricksy one.” And with that, you take more pretzels. Maybe if you feed the butterflies in there, they’ll get tired and nap. Or, if you stuff enough into your belly, there won’t be enough room for them to fly.

“Hey, saw Shane’s setting up his own tent,” your friend mentions.

“Mm. Privacy will be nice.” You kept your face and voice nonchalant, except for maybe searching a little too intently for the matching sock that was plainly in front of yo—owww, you reached too far with your bad arm.

When you found out from Lori last night about the new baby and who the biological father potentially might could be, it’d felt like the seed of dread that had taken root in you however many months back, regarding Shane, had blossomed.

Now, after you caught him flirting with a very unreceptive and visibly shaken Lori, it feels like the plant shot up and was now pushing against your insides. It’s a wonder the irrational butterflies in your stomach even have room.

“That sound good, Y/N?”

“Huh?”

Glenn nudges you with the side of his foot. “Can you join?”

“Join what?”

“I told you, head was in the clouds,” Dale commented, kindly razzing you.

“Jimmy and I are playing board games later, we want you to come. Beth will be there, too. And maybe Maggie? I-I don’t know…” His cheeks turn purple-red. “Sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds real good. On the porch?”

“Yup.”

“Cool. I’ll be right in the house tonight, anyhow.”

“No way?”

“Way. Daryl needs overnight supervision, I think Carol might will be helping, too?”

Dale looks up from his lap. “Oh, did he enjoy the spam and eggs that she made for him?”

“Not sure, he was asleep last I knew.”

“Ah, that’s right, yes,” he remembered. “Well, maybe in that case she’ll have the pleasure of watching him eat and enjoy. I tell you, it smelled heavenly. She was very intent on making something special for him.”

The first half of what you said was totally innocuous, if maybe on the wishy-washy side.“Who could blame her? After today, she’s probably half in love with the guy.”

But then you followed it up with, “Who isn’t?” and you knew right then that you’d misspoken.

Dale’s made a point to keep his eyebrows level, as if that would help him hide his surprise and suppressed grin better.

But Glenn was under no such pretense, and your best friend dead-ass coughed his mouthful of pretzel.

“Dude—” you go to say.

He held up his hands after getting the pretzel bits off them. “I didn’t say anything.”

You held up yours, too. “I was bein’ objective.”

“Okay, Amy,” he said regarding your choice of word. Amy liked the word ‘objective.’

“Calling me that’s a compliment.”

“We are all objectively in love with Daryl?” he repeated. “Isn’t that a little…wait. Dude, are you saying you—”

“—It was hyperbole.”

“But you’re not, like, do you like him?”

“Now, Glenn,” Dale starts.

That surge of both self-defense that people would think you’d be into a grating racist or that one would be into you collided and was catalyzed with protectiveness against the poor man. That wonderful sumbitch has been on a solid redemption arc, let anybody try to deny it. “Define ‘like.’”

“Like like.”

“Bless your heart, no!” What is with people today? “However, I want you to think back over how he was when we done first met that mangy hick, to today, in terms of his behavior. Try and make like he ain’t grown. Don’t you love a good redemption arc?”

Glenn considered it. “Fair.”

The awful thought that Glenn might not believe you and might think less of you only worsens the mosh pit that is your stomach right now. “I’m gonna, um, g-go grab some of my stuff, bring it inside.”

“Wait, bumpkin, I wasn’t trying to, like—I meant it more as, um,” he can’t seem to get the wording right.

You’re making it worse, man. “Dude, it’s cool, you didn’t mean nothing by it.”

“But like—”

“—Glenn, I’ma start chargin’ a quarter for you using too many ‘likes’ per sentence.”

“Perfect, I’ll charge you for talking too hillbilly.”

Eh. You reckon admit you’ve been speaking a lot more twangy now than you had been at the quarry camp. There’d just been so many new people, you’d toned it down. Maybe being around more folk people who talk like you is why you’ve let it fly. “It’s a deal.”

“Good — you owe a quarter for saying ‘when we done first met’ Daryl,” he races to say.

“And you owe me one for how many likes you done sprinkled durin’ this here conversat—shoot! Did that count?”

“Yup.”

Dale, entertained by the looks of it, cuts in, “See, this is why I’ve been thinking that you two had a fondness for each other.”

“Aw, hear that, buttface?” you giggle, folding the last undershirt from the pile.

“Fondness.” He makes an exaggerated curious face and strokes what would be there if he had a mustache.

“You two expect me to believe there wasn’t fondness between you two?” Dale remarks with a bit of a tut thrown in.

“There still is, it’s just different now,” you insist. And immediately hop into gear to (gently) bust your friend’s balls. “Especially now that Glenny-boy here’s got his eye on a certain mystery lady.”

He’s right there with you. “And now that Y/N’s apparently hopelessly in love with Daryl.”

“There’s such fondness,” you barely manage to say without laughing, as much as it makes your newly stitched abdomen ache.

Dale sighs and throws back a gulp of his water as if it were something stronger. “Glenn, just tread lightly with the certain mystery lady, is all I ask. And Y/N, kiddo,” he looks at you. And winks? “I trust you completely with Daryl.”

“What?” Glenn protests, to which you just slap your leg and snicker “Ha!”

“If between you, there ever was a…” Dale pauses long enough for you to see the twinkle in his eye. “Fondness.”

----------------------

----------------------

And here's the picture from Dale's memory

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[justkending]

Finding Memories. Chapter 6.

Summary: Waking up with little to no memory of her past, and being saved by a group of individuals who call themselves heroes, sends a long time captive for a whirlwind trying to find some form of grounding in this world she quickly learns runs on chaos. But she’s not the only one trying to figure out her forgotten backstory. Bucky Barnes, along with the other Avengers, can’t help but sense that there is a lot more to the whole situation than a diagnosis of amnesia. Her background slowly starts to come forward in pieces of her past and hidden information discovered. Who is she? And why was she in the room they were meant to destroy?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader 

Word Count: 3000+

TW: Torture, cussing, and blood. 

A/N: Hello friends! I am working on chapter 7 right now and hoping to finish it in time. However, writing may slow down some as my sister went into labor recently and as I'm writing this, I'm just a few hours away from being an aunt!!! Anyway, just wanted to make note of that for when I go back and proofread this some random day:) Hope you all enjoy and some of the story starts piecing together. xoxoxo

Chapter 6:

Once Y/N got out of the bathroom, Wanda had the bed ready for her to make it home for the night.

She could tell that Y/N was still rattled from the whole surprise of it all, but at least she was in a safe space now and had taken advantage of it to ground herself again.

Wanda asked if there was anything she wanted to talk about and Y/N politely, yet apprehensively, declined. She just wanted to sleep it off and hopefully not have nightmares that recapped the scene.

Y/N had known Wanda for a bit now and knew that she had powers, but she had never been educated on what she was capable of.

So when Wanda mentioned she could ease some of her anxiety and help relax her mind and body enough to rest and actually get some healing sleep, she was semi-shocked.

Wanda was good about explaining everything she would do, how she would do it, and what it entailed until Y/N was comfortable enough to have her help with her sleep problems. That and she was desperate for a decent night's rest for once.

____________________________

Wanda quietly closed the door to Y/N's room behind her after making sure she was out for the evening. She turned to look down the hallway, checking to see if anyone was around.

It was vacant and it seemed everyone was either in bed for the night or they were out doing their own things.

Wanda checked her phone seeing a message from Steve and took the instructions to meet down in the lab. Also asking to make sure that Bucky was actually in his room and not running around doing more research.

Lucky enough, she could hear him in his room, but couldn't tell what he was up to. She was just happy that he was in a space he could sleep in if he stayed up too late.

Carefully, as if checking to make sure no one followed her, she took the elevator down to the lab and met her two teammates in a private office. It was a space Tony had built for Bruce to do experiments in peace without too many distractions from his welding and other loud hobbies.

"Hey," Steve smiled as she came in. "Was he asleep?"

"Couldn't necessarily confirm that, but he is in his room. I didn't hear snoring, but I also didn't hear typing or noises that hinted he was working," she answered, with a smile at Steve. "He'll be ok. He knows when to stop a lot better than he used to."

"I would like to think that, but I think Y/N's whole case is causing some unfinished revenge to play a role in his plans," Steve sighed.

"Steven," Wanda placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's a big boy. What he chooses to do is up to him. Now as for revenge," she shrugged. "Eh. I think his intentions lean more towards a pretty girl who went through hell he knows a little too much about."

"Wait, you-" Steve started and Bruce snickered.

"And," she continued over him. "I think that he just doesn't like that something as tragic and horrendous as what he has gone through, could have happened to that sweet and innocent girl I just helped go to sleep. There's a lot more at play than just revenge, Steven."

Steve stared at her with a surprised face, but couldn't help the pull of a smile on his lips.

"I know you can read minds, but sometimes I think you don't even need that power to pick up on the things you do," Steve nodded, tossing the pen on the table and going to grab what the whole meeting was revolving around. "And I may or may not have picked up on that too, but wasn't sure if I was making things up in my head."

"Then you must not know Bucky if that's something you're overlooking," Wanda shrugged.

"Or maybe I'm just worried for him if that is the case," Steve sighed realizing his blindness to this subject she's brought up.

"You would be worried for him either way," Wanda smiled. "But I can promise you, he'll be ok."

Wanda was not only good at reading people, but she was good at making them say the things that they needed to hear from themselves.

Therapy lesson to the side, Steve pulled out a personal recorder and grabbed a pen and paper to take notes of their new findings. He claimed his old-fashioned habits helped him put things together faster.

"Ok, so what all did you do?" Steve asked.

"I helped her go to sleep and I just took a peek into whatever her mind was allowing me to," Wanda explained.

"Does that mean these are things she's dreaming about or memories she's thinking of?" Bruce asked, taking notes of his own.

It was hard for her to explain the maneuvers she has to go through in a person's head to see through tunnel vision-type windows created by the complexities of the human mind. Especially people who don't necessarily see it the way she does. But she broke it down for them anyway.

"Memories tied to traumas are a really hard thing to get to. There are parts of the brain that will black it out or make you forget the playbacks of them in order to preserve your nervous system," she explained.

"Unless something triggers it and causes the recollection to piece through," Bruce finished. It was a psychological viewpoint. "Not always 100% telling, but they're based around details of the trauma. Details that play a significance to it are what usually causes the flashback to the scenario to come back."

"The other night when we tried this, I could barely get anything outside of the things we know. The experimentation. The surgeries and sterilized scrubs of doctors over her... Nothing we, unfortunately, didn't know," she sighed. "But tonight..."

"She had a trigger," Bruce mumbled, placing his head in his hand as he thought. "Bucky had said it seemed to be set off originally by the show which caused her to go to the bathroom. Then she had another with the attack, or at least we think... So multiple things could have opened up."

Wanda nodded with pursed lips showing it wasn't anything anyone would want to see. Even though the entire purpose of all this was to recall some of her memories without making her aware of them or having to speak of them again.

"I'm still not sure if it's anything that will help, but I know it's better than nothing."

"We can't let it be nothing. We have too many questions to be answered that any hint we can get, could solve one of them. And that's a step closer than before," Steve concluded.

The three nodded in agreement. They hated going behind a majority of the team's back to find this type of information, but they were desperate.

The two main people they steered clear of were Tony and Bucky.

If Tony figured out, he had the chance to use their facts against them if any of it showed to be threatening. If Bucky found out, there was a chance he would get pissed off for snooping through her mind without her knowledge.

They kept it small with the three of them so that if it came to bite anyone in the butt, it was just them and no more. That and they weren't sure if anything would come out of their idea and didn't want to get hopes up for everyone on the case.

"The first memory I saw was really blurry and hard to grasp. I heard a voice more than anything, but it had to do with... Van Gogh?" Wanda said his name as if checking to see if she was saying it was right.

"Starry Night," Steve mumbled. "Bucky said that she started acting weird when Starry Night by Van Gogh came up." He lifted his head in realization. "What was it that had to do with Van Gogh?"

"From what I could tell, there was a blue and yellowish background to a man that was hanging over her. It was another memory of them experimenting on her and her screams. They were so..." She took a breath as she heard the screams again. "The man was mentioning something about how he was Van Gogh and she was his Starry Night," she said in disgust. "It was the loudest I had heard her from any of the other memories I saw. I feel like it was when she was first brought there. She seemed younger. Her screams were higher pitched and her pleads..." She paused again. "Her pleas were too hopeful for someone who has undergone that kind of treatment for as long as she has."

The two knew what she meant. Yet another thing they believed Bucky related to all too well.

When you have been beaten, bruised, used, and hurt the way they had been, you rarely waste your breath again to beg for something you learn they will never even consider giving you.

"A blue and yellow background?" Bruce asked, opening a tab on Google. "Did it have any shapes like this?"

He turned the phone screen to Wanda showing the famous painting.

"It was blurry, but if I looked hard enough, I would be able to see some of the same patterns I'm sure," she nodded. "Plus, it's the only thing that would make sense to cause that trigger."

"The man said he was Van Gogh and her Starry Night, making him the artist, her the art. Did he think that she was a creation of his?" Steve questioned the symbolism.

"She could very well be," Bruce nodded. "We know from her blood that she's a mutant. Causing the trauma, started her mutation. Suggesting that he didn't know that, he could have believed it was a scientific phenomenon even if it was simple genetics. Yet again, if he did know it would trigger it, he found it as a new study to see if he could trigger anymore or create more in her bloodstream. That's what I got from the breakdown of my blood analysis," Bruce added.

"From our repeated experience, people like that don't do those types of experiments to help others out, but instead themselves," Wanda nodded along.

"No wonder she has a blacked-out memory of most of her recent life," Steve sighed heavily and shook his head.

"There's more..." Wanda said softly, pulling a chair out finally and taking a seat. "That was what I saw once I got past a dark and very difficult threshold. But Bruce, you were right. That girl may have the power to heal at a remarkable rate, but there is something much stronger and more robust at bay."

"It's the other mutation," Bruce was intrigued. "Did you see what it was?"

"No, but I felt something actively in her, but she wasn't able to release it," Wanda shook her head.

"Release it?" Steve questioned in confusion.

"Whatever her power is, it felt like it was being forced to stay in her. Like she didn't have the control to project whatever it was. It would be the equivalent of Peter shooting his web, but they don't go past his feet."

"So they were somehow containing it. How the hell do they do that?" Bruce said in straight bewilderment.

"We won't know anytime soon since they blew the place up," Steve sighed. "Not much was left salvageable or worth our time to put back together since it was all mostly charred."

"They didn't burn one very important thing though," Wanda noted. "And I think we're getting closer to why they were so adamant to keep her powers under their control."

"What are you thinking?" Bruce asked.

"Her second trigger was the one that gave me our next piece of evidence." ___________________________

Y/N woke up in the middle of the night despite a heavy round of magic with Wanda earlier.

She noticed on the clock on the bookshelf across the room that she did manage to get 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but in this last hour, she felt off and couldn't stop twisting and turning.

Carefully walking to the bathroom, she opened the doors quietly and turned on the light. She winced at the sudden change of darkness realizing she turned the gawky mirror lights on. She was actively trying to learn the difference between switches after noting one night to Nat that they were bright enough to spotlight at a Toddlers and Tiaras show.

The internet was a strange place with a bunch of useless knowledge... But at least she was learning a lot of pop culture references. 

She fumbled her hand across the wall and managed to turn on the shower light which was dimmer and less in her face.

Afterward, she closed the doors quietly behind her.

Even though there was no one in the room to wake from the light or the sounds, her learned behavior was not to be a nuisance to anyone. Which meant every noise she made, was interpreted in her mind as the loudest sound she could possibly make.

It was a survival habit she would have to learn to break one day.

She stood in front of the sink, trying to decide if she was nauseous, still exhausted, or just needed to splash some cold water on her face.

Her hands lay on the countertop as she gripped the ledge like it was her lifeline.

Looking into her eyes harder, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes and repeating the steps she had learned to calm herself.

Eventually, the nausea left, but the exhaustion lingered. She decided a splash of cold water would be beneficial either way.

Grabbing a cloth from a basket on the counter, she dabbed her face dry from the cold residue. Quickly after, she made eye contact with herself in the mirror.

She had looked in this same position multiple times since arriving at the compound, but after years of never seeing herself, it was continually shocking to her how worn out and defeated she looked.

Her hair had grown quite a bit and though she admired how some of the waves twisted in different directions, as soon as she touched the ends; she remembered how the woman in the bathroom had come out of the stall unexpectedly and used her hair as leverage to get a hold of her.

Flashbacks of the scene came to her mind and she closed her eyes in hopes that it would erase it, but the pain seemed to still be there.

The woman's fist had wrapped around her hair and dragged her down to the floor. While she was grasping to release herself, that's when the other woman grabbed her feet. Quickly after that, she found herself in a chokehold, kicking and screaming to be let go.

She cringed at the memory and looked back into the mirror. She had remembered on one of her deep dives into the internet, that hair holds energy. It was some random website she had clicked through 10 others to happen upon. Eventually, it led her to a youtube chain of girls cutting their hair to release trauma and 'make a choice of their own'...

The thought of cutting her hair was something that passed in thought a time or two, but she decided against it each time.

Now? Now all she could think about was how the woman had used her hair to immobilize her and how all those years could have stored so much bad and heavy energy in something she sees every day.

As if a force had finally pushed her over the edge, she started digging through the cabinets scrambling for whatever she could find to do the job she had in mind.

Nothing in the bathroom drawers or cabinets would cut it. Nothing in the end tables by her bed was helpful.

Then it dawned on her. She looked at the door as if she were ready for someone to come in unannounced. Again, another habit she was hoping to break. Walking over to the desk that was untouched, yet neatly set up on the other side of the room, she began opening and searching through the drawers.

There they were. The second drawer on the left.

She took them out, feeling the apprehension of her plan melt away with each passing second. Moving quickly to the bathroom, she looked back in the mirror and took a deep breath.

This was just another choice that she got to make. And she needed this change after the most recent events.

__________________

Nat received a text from Y/N that evening. She had just got back to the compound after running some errands and it was later than she expected Y/N to be texting.

Yet again, she didn't know Y/N's texting habits as she had just got the phone 2 days ago and had yet to receive anything from her.

Pushing the surprise to the side, she read the text and tilted her head in confusion.

Y/N had asked her in a somewhat coded message if she would meet her in the training room in the next hour or so.

That was 45 minutes ago. She responded back that once she dropped all her things off in her room, she would be in there in ten minutes.

When Nat got to the room, it was empty and the only place lit up was the boxing ring. She looked around for Y/N, but it was quiet and she didn't see her.

Then a woman with short hair and a lounge-type workout set on, turned the corner in the distance while fidgeting with her hands. The stranger looked to be focused on something else and was pacing in her steps.

"Excuse me," Nat started to walk toward her. "Have you seen a girl with-?"

She stopped talking when the woman turned around and Nat noticed it was not a stranger after all.

"Y/N?"

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[sabrinariverdalefan]

I’ve got my eye on you

Xavier Thorp / Original Character

Chapter 3

Xavier saw her again the next day and once again she was different. Sitting with his back to her in the next booth, the blonde was sitting with her legs up against her chest; hands wrapped around them tightly as she brushed a stray tear from her face as she listened to the older man across from her.

“Do you want to get clean?” the boy heard the man ask the girl. After a long pause, he heard her reply “No…” He was sitting there drawing in his sketchbook, but the whole time he found himself listening to the conversation between the addict and sponsor.

Elizabeth hated crying, but there she sat with tears running down her cheeks as Brian asked her the hardest questions in her life.

“Drugs change a person, I’m sure you’ve noticed that. Don’t let anyone tell you different addiction is a sickness making you feel like you’re tackling a losing battle from the first time you got high. The stakes start simple and harmless but quickly turn into playing Russian roulette with your life.”

Wiping a few stray tears with the back of her sleeve she pulled the hoodie off her head and ran a hand through her messy blonde locks. “I think people would be okay with it…me dying.”

“Why would you say that?” Brian asked with concern on his face.

“I’m not stupid…I know most people look at me and only see my father, and I don’t know given the circumstances that I’m here…what my father did to all those women; sometimes it’s just hard to find a place where you believe you belong. For as long as I can remember I haven’t felt like I was meant to be here. This world is so fucking shitty that I don’t even want to witness it anymore.”

Xavier was hardly paying attention to what he was drawing as he listened to this private conversation, his heart sinking as he listened to the pain in her voice. The urge to just want to turn around her and hug her was so overwhelming. He wanted to comfort her; to protect her but she didn’t even know his name. Without realizing it he found himself sketching the beautifully broken girl in the next booth.

“The world is a fucked up place I won’t disagree with you there, but you have to fight. No one said being sober will be easy. It’s been six years for me and it’s still an uphill battle, but I believe in you.” The blonde hung her head; she didn’t like people having faith in her. It only made her feel worse when she failed them, but she nodded quietly and soon her sponsor left, leaving her there alone to sort out her thoughts. Hand went to the pocket of her sweater were a mixture of pills just waited to be snorted. How bad off to just want to get high because the conversation you just had makes you feel a certain way. Brushing more tears from her face, Elizabeth abruptly got up and found herself colliding once more with Xavier.

Once again he caught her before she fell to the ground. Only this time she looked at him with obvious recognition. “We need to stop meeting like this…” He commented with a slight smirk on his face that quickly faded as the girl sorted herself out when he saw that she was crying.

Shaking her head the blonde pulled up the hood of her sweater “It’s okay. My bad this time…”

“Are you okay Elizabeth?”

The blonde’s brow furrowed “How do you know my name?”

Xavier was confident that she wasn’t going to assume that he had been watching her for a while now. “You’re in here a lot and they always call you Lizzy here.”

She must have accepted that excuse because no questions came of it. “I’ll be okay. Thanks so…umm catching me again.” Lizzy shyly says as she took a few steps back before she heads out the door.

‘No…’ Xavier thought to himself as he followed her out the door. It was pouring and he cursed himself for not bringing his umbrella but that dissipated as he caught up to the petite blonde and grabbed her by the arm. He expected her to punch him or to cuss him out, but instead, Elizabeth looked at him curiously.

“Can I walk with you?” The question was so simple yet so hard to say to someone he found himself obsessed with, and when she shrugs and tells him okay - he was unable to not smile at her.

[thecowboykatsuki-anon]

Unfinished Business- Chapter 1

Summary: You never imagined Bakugou would fall in love with you, and you certainly never imagined you’d break up with him. But he did. And you do. And now there’s too many pieces for one person to pick up. 

Genre: angst, possible smut in further chapters

Word Count: 2,430

Chapter warnings: cussing, reader has a quirk (can produce a neurotoxin that can temporarily paralyze enemies or temporarily take away pain; cannot produce both types at the same time; does not work on self)

A/N- song I listened to while writing: At Least by Jessica Baio; this chapter is formatted a bit differently, as it’s mostly a precursor to the main story, and I kinda got carried away creating a basis for the relationship with Bakugou. Oops? Reblogs/comments greatly appreciated! <3

When you first met Pro-Hero Dynamight, it had been pure chance. He'd been on his way to starting his own agency but still putting in hours as one of his old mentor's best heroes.

You weren't sure what made Jeanist think you'd be a promising duo, but he was insistent on pairing the two of you up on patrol, despite the large gap in experience.

And it wasn't that you weren't a good hero, with a quirk suited for both attack and rescue; you were lucky you'd gotten so much time in the field. But despite all this, Bakugou still felt miles ahead of you in experience, something he was sure to remind you of when you went on your first patrol together.

It wasn't a secret that the blonde was prickly and had a temper, and as much as he respected his mentor, he clearly wasn't happy about being partnered up. He'd insisted for the first hour that he worked better alone because 'he didn't have to worry about anyone keeping up with him.

The irony that he was trailing behind you the whole time wasn't lost on you as you pretended to listen, scanning the dark streets for any disturbances while he grumbled, strutting like he owned the entire city.

He was insufferable, tugging on a strand of your hair every time he felt like maybe you weren't paying attention to his bragging. He was so caught up in pestering you that you almost missed the black-clad figure crawling out of an upper apartment window with a backpack slung over their shoulder.

You'd taken off first, Bakugou cursing behind you, and after a brief chase, you couldn't help but laugh, panting with the robber incapacitated beneath your knee.

"I thought no one could keep up with you, Dynamight," you'd teased when he stopped next to you, puffing. He'd froze, and for a moment, you were sure he was gonna blow you up right then and there, and then he'd laughed.

Full-on laughed like the sound had started in his toes and worked its way up, and you'd been so startled that he only laughed harder.

Everything after that just fell into place. Bakugou requested to be paired with you more often, no matter which shifts you had to take, insisting on carpooling when you had graveyard shifts, coffee waiting for you in the center cupholder of his car. He'd only ever heard you order it once, yet he got it made perfectly every time.

Over the months, you spent as much time together outside of work as inside, and movie nights at your apartment more often turned into you and the large pro falling asleep on your couch, far closer than you'd been when you first fell asleep. You quickly got acquainted with the smell of his cologne, the way the corners of his mouth twitched when he was trying not to laugh, and the way he used insults to convey affection.

You would be lying if you said you didn't fall hard for him, cherishing those quiet patrols where the two of you would be able to look over the dark city from a rooftop, talking about nothing and everything.

And then suddenly, his agency started to take off, and he was gone more than he was around. You were back to solo patrols, and he spent most of his time with Jeanist, trying to learn how to manage an entire company.

And yet, without fail, there was always a coffee on your desk at some point during your shift, the only indicator you'd get that he was around at all. Well, besides the occasional glimpse of orange and green as he headed out on more important missions.

He always seemed to know when you had your own big missions coming up, suddenly appearing in the gear room to help you get suited up without a word, cracking jokes to ease your nerves.

The only time the blonde ever helped you quietly was before your first covert mission with him, his fingers brushing against your bare skin as he helped you zip up your suit. He clearly had a lot on his mind, mouth set into a firm line as he adjusted your equipment absently.

In truth, you knew why. Bakugou'd voiced the opinion that this mission hadn't been scouted enough, that they'd be sending in heroes blind, but the commission had disagreed, and he'd been outvoted.

You tried to joke with the blonde once before you parted ways, teasing him about keeping up with you, an attempt at some sort of reassurance for both of you, earning you nothing but a strained smile before he busied himself with checking over his own suit.

You'd turned to leave when his hand had shot out, catching your wrist in his hand, the material of his glove catching on your skin.

"Come back safe, 'kay?" He'd murmured quietly, cracking a small smile when he took in your stunned stance. "We've got unfinished business," he joked weakly, and as he released you, you couldn't help but wonder if he had meant more than just your competition to see who was faster.

As it turns out, he'd been right about the mission, with more heroes coming back hurt than there should have been, comms lost for more than half the conflict. He'd crushed you into his chest when he'd found you back at the agency, unhurt besides a few scratches and bruises littering your skin.

He'd insisted on spending the night at your place after you'd been cleared medically, just in case they'd missed something, and for the first time, he'd crawled into your bed. Of course, a few hundred pillows propped between the two of you.

After that, you saw him more. He made a point to see you when he delivered your coffee, fingertips brushing over yours when he handed you the cup.

During a meeting discussing the plan for you to take over Dynamight's duties when he left, Bakugou silently handed one off to you in front of Jeanist. The older pro had stopped mid-sentence to watch the exchange, raising a brow and asking the younger blonde if everyone got that same special treatment in his agency, earning a glare from Bakugou as his face turned bright red, and you ducked your head to hide your own embarrassment.

Jeanist wasn't the only one to notice the closeness between the two of you, other coworkers gushing to you about how cute you'd look together as you shushed them, denying the way your heart raced at the thought.

But you couldn't lie that you'd noticed a change in your interactions with the blonde, waving them away as him just being friendly, even as you now spent your movie nights in his arms, his breath warm on the back of your neck.

He wasn't able to come help you suit up anymore, running a new agency clearly taking a toll on him, but for specific missions, he'd still show, right before you left, to give your hand a squeeze and say: "Come back safe, we've got unfinished business" with a wink or a smile. It became the new ritual, and you'd be lying if you claimed that he didn't awaken a swarm of butterflies in your stomach every time he grabbed your hand.

And just when you'd resigned yourself to the current closeness, sure this is all you'd ever get from him, you'd been sent off on a dangerous mission without him.

You hadn't meant to overhear it when he had been arguing with Jeanist in the old pro's office, you hadn't even known he was around, but you couldn't help but listen.

"Let me go with her. I'll be more of an asset there than I will here," Bakugou insisted, his voice muffled by the thick wooden door between you. You could hear the frustration in his voice and the heavy sigh that Jeanist let out before responding.

"You have a new agency to run; you can't go away for a week, Dynamight. Think like the number 3 pro, please," Jeanist pleaded.

"I am! She's not ready for this," Bakugou snapped back, and hurt rolled through you at his statement. You'd worked just as hard as he had to get here, and you'd thought if anyone had known that, it would be him. You turned to leave when Jeanist's response caught your attention.

"She's not ready for this, or you're not? Don't let your personal feelings cloud your judgment."

There was a long pause before Bakugou spoke again, quiet enough that you had to strain to hear him, nearly pressed up against the door, heart in your throat.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered, and you jumped at the sound of Jeanist's soft chuckle.

"Bakugou, I have eyes. And so does every other employee here. You don't have to-"

"I'm not talking about this," Bakugou cut off his mentor quickly, his voice much closer than it had been a moment ago as he stomped across the office. You scrambled away from the door right as it swung open, dragging your horrified gaze to meet Bakugou's, and for a long moment, the two of you just stared at each other like deer in headlights.

You opened your mouth, stammering out an excuse about needing to talk to Jeanist, but Bakugou pushed past you silently before you could finish, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

You didn't see him for the next two weeks, and every text you sent him was replied to with as few words as possible. You forced yourself to busy yourself with prepping for your mission, but your thoughts wandered to the blonde often, wondering if he missed you like you were missing him.

You didn't expect him to show up in the gear room, assuming everything was over between the two of you, the embarrassment that people thought he liked you too much for the man to handle.

You had your back turned, suit half-zipped in the back, when familiar hands brushed over your skin, making you jump.

"Let me help," he'd murmured, and you froze, all the frustration and hurt bubbling to the surface as you rounded on the taller hero, ready to demand an explanation.

When your gaze met his, you stopped short, taking in the dark circles under his eyes, and softened. You opened your mouth to ask him what was going on with him when he shook his head, stopping you before you could start.

"I know I've been a dick. I'm sorry. I just- I needed to think- no, I needed to figure out how-" he stopped short, muttering under his breath as he tilted his head back to glare at the ceiling.

You glanced at the time quietly, fully aware that if you didn't leave now, you'd be late for the first mission you were in charge of. You stepped forward, pressing a hand against the hard plane of his chest to get his attention, and shook your head as you spoke, eyes cast down. "Katsuki, listen, I need to go, so whatever it is you need to say, you'll have to-"

His eyes widened in panic as you spoke, and his hand flew to trap yours against his chest. You glanced up sharply as his other hand found your face, tilting your jaw as he folded himself in half to clumsily slot his mouth over yours.

You'd imagined so many times what his lips felt like, but as you stood there in shock, all that you could think of was how soft they were, his hand sliding back to cup the back of your neck so he could kiss you deeper, smoother, a content hum rumbling through his chest. Beneath your hand, you could feel his heart hammering, rivaling the pounding of your own as your fingers curled into his shirt.

He kissed you slowly like he was trying to drink you in, his hand leaving yours on his chest to land on your hip and pull you flush against him. You let out a quiet whine against his mouth, and the sound seemed to snap him out of it as he pulled away just enough to press his forehead against yours, panting quietly. His cheeks were tinged when he spoke, his thumb sliding over your bottom lip as he watched.

"Come back to me," he breathed, amending the statement you'd gotten so used to hearing fall from those lips before continuing. "We've got unfinished business," he chuckled softly, and for a moment, you were sure he would kiss you again as you stretched forward, eyes fluttering shut.

"You're gonna be late," he warned quietly, pulling gently out of your reach as his hands fell from your body, and then he was gone.

If someone had asked you now to give a full recount of that mission, you'd fail. But you could remember your reunion with Katsuki down to every last detail.

You hadn't even given him a chance to talk when he'd walked into your apartment, shutting him up with your mouth pressed against his, your hands tangled in his hair to tug him down to you.

He'd grunted in surprise but happily obliged, warm hands spreading over your hips to tug you closer as you walked him backward, only breaking apart when the back of his legs hit the edge of your couch, and he toppled back, taking you with him.

He was careful to break your fall, and you were careful not to hurt him as you fell, and he chuckled, his face pressed against your cheek as he held you close.

"Missed you," he breathed, relaxing his hold enough to let you look up at him, a broad smile spreading across his face. You reached up to cup his cheek, heart fluttering when he closed his eyes and leaned into it, his lips brushing over your palm.

"This feels right," he admitted, pretty ruby eyes fluttering open as he leaned forward to press a softer, less desperate kiss against your mouth as you melted into him, humming in agreement.

After nearly a year of being so close to the pro but holding yourself back, this felt like coming home, like he'd filled a hole you were denying existed. You felt complete in his arms, surrounded by his cologne and his lips brushing against yours.

At that moment, you were sure you'd found in Katsuki Bakugou a love that would last forever. But in the end, forever was just a little too far away.

[tlexx]

Lost Heart - Chapter 6

Summary: Jake does whatever it takes to protect his family.

Warnings: Death, gruesome graphic details, cussing

Chapter 5 Chapter 7

You woke up with a thick, gloomy fog invading your mind. You couldn’t think clearly, could barely see, and every inch of your body seemed to be in pain. It was heartbreak.

The book Josh had shown you last night was next to you, open to the middle. On the lined page was Jake’s messy handwriting recounting all of the small details of the first night the two of you met. In the margins were tiny little foot notes that stated things such as ‘make sure to tell her this,’ ‘this is when I knew,’ and other small comments. He was writing for you, just in case your memory of him never came back after he was shot. Jake wrote down the feelings he had for you so you could relive the moments with him.

The blank, light colored walls of the room did you no favors as flashes of memories with Jake played like an old Hollywood movie while you stayed hidden in the safety of the bed. You laid still, staring at the wall for over an hour before you mustered up enough courage to get up and move amongst the house. It was overly quiet in the manor. You weren’t sure if that was because everyone was mourning Jake and Sam, or if you were just completely alone. Though, it felt like the latter would always be the answer from here on out.

Your feet glided heavily along the floor as you used all of your energy to make your way down the stairs. It was too difficult. Halfway down, you stopped and took a seat. You rested your head against the metal railings and let small tears fall onto the marble steps. So little time was spent in this house, but every small detail reminded you of Jake. He was innately a part of you, that even looking down at your hands it felt like you were looking at him.

You ran the nail of your right index finger up your left hand, increasing pressure as you went until tiny droplets of blood started peppering your skin. You wanted to get him off your skin, you needed every reminder of him to disappear. Once you made it to your ring finger, you grabbed the dainty gold band and harshly yanked. It was hard enough to pop your finger out of place, making it turn the darkest shade of purple. You knew neither the pain nor injury would last long, yet the brief moment of feeling physical pain more than psychological was almost worth it. It made you feel almost… human.

With rage and loneliness flooding through you, you rear your hand back and punch the metal railings as an agonizing scream leaves you. Two sharp jagged pieces of decorative metal went clattering onto the floor of the grand entryway, your blood staining the floor around it.

“Y/N?” Ellsie sheepishly peaked her head around the corner of the wall that led to the living room. “Are- are you okay?”

You stared blankly at her, what a stupid question. Of course you weren’t okay. Nothing about this was okay and you doubt you’d ever be ‘okay’ again. You lost your husband, your soul, your heart. You were left empty.

“Daniel told me about what happened. Before he left.” She stepped out fully into the entryway, picking at her nail beds as she did. Ellsie looked sad, but like she was trying her best to hide it. Compared to you, she had no reason to be upset - her soulmate was still here. “That was three days ago.”

“I’ve been asleep for three days?” Your voice was weak and scratchy. Your whole mouth was dry and you just noticed how hungry you actually were.

“Yeah. Daniel and Joshua left right after you did, to uh, to find Samuel. I’ve been all alone in this big house with no one to talk to.” She chuckled lightly, but quickly stopped when your face stayed without any emotions. “I just, I just wanted to say I am sorry for everything I have caused your family.”

“It’s not your fault, Ellsie. It’s mine.” You paused for a second to really look at her. Ellsie still looked so young and innocent, even pregnant. You feel bad for her. It was unlikely that she knew the truth of who caused her to end up in this predicament. “And Jake’s.”

“No ma’am. I caused you guys to come back here. Y/N, you’ve been good to me and I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”

“Just keep yourself safe, Ellsie. Even if that means…leaving.”

Ellsie looked shocked that you would even propose her leaving Danny. You would never have told her this a few days ago, but you didn’t want such a sweet girl to go through what you had. You were pulled through so much in a short time, just to be left completely alone.

“I could never leave Daniel, he is mine.”

You get up off the stairs passing her one the way to your kitchen, “Yeah. I thought the same thing.”

In the kitchen was a pitcher in the middle of the island with a small note next to you. Your heart skipped a beat in hopes that it was Jake who left it for you. You rushed over to the glass full of thick blood with a hopeful grin, only for it to completely vanish when you saw the note.

I’ll always be here - Josh

Next to his name was a messily drawn smiley face. You knew Josh was trying his hardest to be supportive, and you knew he was hurting too. But he had just spent a long time away from Jake, he should be used to it. From the moment you completed the prophecy, you had yet gone a day without your soulmate. This was so much easier on Josh.

Now that you think of it, all of this could be traced back to Josh. This is all his fault. If he hadn’t brought Aleera home, he never would have had to leave. If he didn’t leave, Jake wouldn't have come back to New Orleans and the two of you could be happy and together.

Josh refused to let his twin be happy, and this was just another way for him to get some power over his twin. You rip the paper in half and throw it into the large farm-style sink on the other side of the island. Forgoing a cup, you tip back the pitcher and drink all of it’s contents down in a few large gulps.

Ellsie followed you as quickly as she could, hindered by her belly that looked so much bigger than the last time you saw her. “From what Daniel told me, he had to leave. Y/N, it doesn’t mean he loves you any less. Honestly, it seems like Jake loves so much he is willing to put his happiness aside for you.”

“No, if it was about me he would have taken me with him.”

“He just wants to protect you and the family, Y/N.”

You sarcastically scoff, slamming your hand down on the counter making Ellsie jump. “I know, Ellsie. I fucking know. That’s all he ever says. That’s all I ever fucking hear. But I need him, I just need him.”

You were uncontrollably sobbing now, your weight buckling under you. You tried to keep yourself from falling to your knees, but it was no use. Grief and sorrow filled you completely taking over you as you thought how you potentially have lost your husband and best friend in a matter of twenty- four hours.

Even though it was difficult for her, Ellsie joined you on the floor with an abundance of sighs and groans. She lovingly accepted your weight as she held you to her chest and allowed you to cry and wail. Ellsie smoothed your hair down and rocked you back and forth to try and soothe you.

“Y/N, shh, darling.” Ellsie repeated over and over again, her voice becoming weaker as she started to cry as well.

“I can’t do it, Ellsie. I can’t.”

She grabbed your face in her hands. “You can and you will. I know you love him, but there was life before him and there will be life after him. You’re allowed to hurt, darling, but you still have so much to give the world.”

“Like what?” The thick coating of mucus and tears in your throat made your words sound hollow when you spoke.

“This baby is gonna need her God-mama.”

“Huh?”

She smirked shyly. “I know it’s not the best timing, Y/N. I was planning on asking you but then everything happened. I just trusted you from the moment I met you and I want my baby to have a role model like you.”

“I’m no role model.”

“But you are. You are so fiercely loving - I hope my daughter has that trait.” She silently waited for an answer, but when she didn’t get one, she shuffled away from you. “I’m sorry, I know it’s not the right time. This was so stupid, I am sorry-”

“I’d love to.”

Something compelled you to say yes. This little baby would have so many hardships to face later in life, and if you could help her — no, protect her, then maybe you’d feel a new purpose in life. Jake had taught you to protect those around you, and so you would.

“We are naming her Cheyenne, after my mother.”

“That’s beautiful, Ellsie.” You sniffled and smiled. If you were honest, talking about the baby actually was making you feel a little better. Like a new light in the darkness that seemed to surround your family.

“Cheyenne Daniella Wagner.” She sang as she patted her belly. “Gosh, you’re gonna be a handful aren’t you, honey bee?”

“She’s going to be a werewolf, right?”

“We won’t know until her thirteenth birthday, but we can pray not.”

“Ellsie, she is the daughter of an alpha.”

Her crooked smile was full of nervous energy, “May the odds be in our favor.”

Both of you knew that the day that Cheynne turns thirteen, all of your lives would be completely different. She would need all of you for protection, guidance, and belonging.

“We can do this.”

The two of you sat in solidarity on the floor for a long while. You spent the time just supporting each other through the uncertainty of the future. Ellsie melded into the family, she seemed to be exactly what was missing - positive energy.

Your breathing finally found it’s slow, natural, calm rhythm again, just for it to be ripped away by the sound of screaming coming from outside.

The sun was still set high in the sky, so there was no way for you to safely go out and check on what was going on. But, you knew that voice. You knew who was screeching your name in pain and agony.

“Sam?” You scurried to your feet, sprinting to the front door without actually thinking of the consequences.

As your hand grasped the doorknob, Ellsie was yelling at you, still on the floor of the kitchen, about not going in the sun. Her pleading words fell upon your deaf ears as you winced when the light instantly burned your skin. Small, round, blisters began popping up along your forearm when you used it to shield your sensitive eyes from the sun.

Everything you looked at was out of focus, yet you could still make out Sam sitting in a chair at the far end of the estate.

You blink more times than needed to try and gain a clearer picture of what was happening next to the tree line. When you finally were able to see everything and everyone, you almost wish you hadn’t.

Next to Sam was Xander, who you could only recognize from the memory Claudia showed you. However now, his jet black hair was past his collarbones and he had many, many more tattoos. But he wasn’t who was scaring you.

Two massive, muscular, and feral-looking wolves were posted on either side of Xander and Sam. One was coated in gray fur that turned an almost translucent shade of white towards the tip. The first was clean and fluffy, but their sharp teeth and snarling snout took away any ounce of playfulness and kindness.

The other was brown, borderline red in color who’s fur appeared dirty and matted. Their eyes weren’t as fierce as the slightly larger one across from them, but the moment their chocolate brown eyes landed on you, they turned a shocking shade of yellow.

“Sam!” You screamed from the porch, only being hidden in the tiniest amount of shade the awning allowed.

“Where is Jake?” Xander yelled back. He was more than a football field’s length away from you, yet his voice carried to sound as if he was standing directly in front of you.

“He’s gone! He left because of you!”

All of Sam’s skin was a harsh shade of pink. Open sores and blisters were scattered all over his skin, oozing pus and blood as they burst from the heat. He barely looked like himself. His eyes were hollow and his cheekbones were more pronounced than normal.

They tore his clothes from his body, leaving him in black boxers that left most of his skin exposed and vulnerable. From his head down to his feet, he was burned raw. You could see shiny exposed muscle and matte white bones on the tops of his thighs. To the left of his belly button was a monstrous bite, something far too big to be left by any vampire you knew.

It spanned the size of his torso, ending right under his pectoral, leaving gaping triangular shaped holes. It was no longer bleeding, but black scapes made his skin have the texture of rough sandpaper.

“Sammy!” You screeched when you noticed his skin melting almost down to the bone.

“I’ll let him die out here if you don’t bring me Jake.” Xander sounded sickeningly amused by the situation playing out. He was reveling in the fact he was able to torture the one who took away his first love.

‘Baby. If you can hear me, please come back right now. Baby, please! They have Sam!’

You tried to call out to Jake, to get him home, but the lack of response told you that he could either no longer hear you, was too far away, or simply was ignoring you.

You tried again, hoping that the desperation in your voice would be clear to him. ‘Jake, please! We need you, I need you.’

Again there was no answer. He made good on his promise that he would leave you completely alone.

“Jake is gone Xander! Let Sam go!”

“A deal is a deal, blood sucker! If I can’t have Jake, then give me Ellsie!”

Sam used the last of his energy to weakly yell out “No!”

His head was still hung low towards his lap, but your hearing allowed you to hear him whispering. “Don’t do that to Danny. Let him be happy.”

A sharp pain pierced your chest. Sam was sacrificing himself for his twin flame. Just as Jake always seemed to do.

You thought of disobeying his wishes, literally giving Ellsie to the wolves. But you knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. Sam made it very clear on what his wishes were, and though it felt almost impossible, you had to respect them.

“I love you, Sammy.”

“I love you, princess.”

There was so much loss in your life in such a little amount of time, yet you had no time to process any of it. From the chair, Sam made a feeble attempt to lunge towards Xander, falling to the grass with a loud thud.

Because they don’t know your best friend like you do, they didn’t understand that he was distracting them just long enough for you to slip away. They never came close to the house, but you weren’t going to risk it. So, as Xander laughed at Sam’s pathetic, meek state, you slammed the door shut and ran straight to Ellsie.

She hadn’t made it far off the ground, and you had to help her all the way to her feet. “Ellsie, we have to hide you, now!”

“Is it Xander? Has he come for my baby?” Her face twisted into panic sobs when the realization of who exactly was outside hit her.

Even though you wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball on the ground and grieve the loss of the two most important men in your life, you owed Ellsie protection. She was family.

“Ellsie, come on.” You tried to gently tug on her arm, but she didn’t budge. You didn't want to accidentally hurt her or the baby, but you needed to get her somewhere a little safer.

“I can’t see him, Y/N. Please don’t make me see him.” She was no longer thinking straight, she just continued to babble and panic over all the possible consequences of having Xander outside.

You were growing impatient. You knew that there was a reason Jake told you you weren’t allowed to leave the property. But you couldn’t risk the reasoning. “Ellsie, I’m going to pick you up now.”

You gathered her in your arms and sprinted to the room with no windows you said goodbye to Jake in. It seemed the safest for you. Only one entrance and no one could see in to know where you were.

“My baby, Y/N, my baby.” She wailed when you set her in the farthest corner of the dark room.

“She’s fine, Ellsie. I need you to listen to me.”

“Don’t let them hurt my baby.” She continued to wail on.

“Ellsie!” You quickly grabbed her face in your hands. You look at her in her sad, wet eyes. “I accept you, I accept you into this family.”

You weren’t sure if it was going to work or if you said the right words, but you needed her to have every possible connection and tie to Danny.

“What are you-“ she began.

“Close your eyes and think of Danny.”

“Wh-“

“Just do it” you rushed her on. After a brief moment of questioning, she did as you asked. “Think about being next to him, whispering in his ear.”

“Okay…”

“Now, tell him we need him. Tell him to come home now.”

“He won’t be able to hear me, Y/N.”

“With your mind, Ellsie. Talk to him with your mind.” You spoke through gritted teeth, having no patience left within you.

Ellsie’s face twitched and made microscopic movements as if she was having a conversation out loud with him. You hoped that it was working, that she had reached Danny for help, but her eyebrows still exposed her confusion.

You let your hands drop to her shoulders, becoming more supportive than demanding.

“Ellsie?” She sushed you, then opened her eyes wide with a loud gasp.

“He’s on his way. Daniel and Josh are on their way.”

“Oh sweet girl! Thank you.” You kissed her forehead and gave her a proud smile. Officially, Ellsie was now one of you.

“So, he is really mine now?”

“He has always been yours.”

You never imagined the first one to actually find their soulmate would be Danny. However after reflecting on it, it made perfect sense.

Danny was kind, sweet, and genuine. And although lost sometimes, he was steadfast in who he was becoming. He had so much love to give, and you were happy that these two girls were going to wake up every day with immense love and support.

“Ellsie, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Um. What do you know about your cousin Marques?” You weren't sure if Ellsie knew about how she ended up in Xander’s possession. But you doubted it from the fact she never seemed to recognize the twins.

“Don’t really know him. He is much, much older than I am.”

“Talking about my nephew now, girl?”

Claudia appeared from out of nowhere, again, to startle the two of you.

“Oh! Ms. Claudia I’m so glad you’re here! You have to help us!”

“Help you? I tried to warn you, but you just couldn’t let him go. Now look at us, my boy, my beautiful boy - dead!” She was shaking. “And you did nothing! You did nothing to try and help him. If that was Jacob out there, would you have let them kill him!”

You put your body between Claudia and Ellsie’s, just as an extra measure of protection. Claudia was angry and you had no idea what her limits actually were. Yet, you stayed silent because you knew she was right. If that was Jake out there, in that chair, you wouldn’t have thought twice about giving up Ellsie.

“I came here to help you. To give you the message Jacob left with me, but I come here to see my Samuel dangling from one of those creatures' dirty mouths!” She aggressively thrusted her pointed finger towards the lawn where you last saw Sam.

“He told me to Claudia, he told me to save Ellsie.”

“I knew the day Marques met Jake, he was going to be bad news. Marques was sick, but he was a good boy!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Marques was a werewolf, yes, but he wasn’t like the others. He was weak and sick, and could never keep up with the others. Then Jake found him, had him drink his blood and bam! Marques was the strongest creature in Louisiana.”

“So? Claudia, what does this have to do with Sam?”

“Marques had two alphas then, and you can’t have two alphas. He was exiled by his clan, completely alone. Jacob never did anything. Not a damned thing to help out my nephew. He let him roam the South alone and scared because Jacob had his brothers and wasn’t looking for anymore. Well, until that Daniel came around.”

You stood to your feet when Claudia made her way close to Ellsie.

“I went to find Jacob, set him straight but I turned a blind eye when I fell in love. But to this day, your husband,” she pointed at you accusatory, “tears my family apart. Has Marques wrapped around his finger so tightly, he’d sell his cousin.”

“What?” Ellsie’s lip quivered. “Jake gave me to Xander?”

“Of course he did. Because Jake doesn’t give a damn about anyone other than his brothers and his slut.”

“That’s not true, Ellsie.” You tried to reason.

“Did he or did he not bargain her life away for the likes of his brother.” Claudia corrected.

“Ellsie, he feels so guilty-“

“You knew? I trusted you, asked you to be the godmother of my baby, and you knew?” Ellsie scooted as far away from you as she could before she was firmly pressed against the wall.

“I-I-“ you worked to find the words to explain yourself, but nothing came through. You had no excuse, none that made sense anyway. “Yes, I knew.”

“How could you?” Ellsie spat.

“Because she is just like her soulmate. She deserves to be alone. Just like Jacob, she is cold, dark, selfish, cruel-“

Before her last word left her mouth, you had her pinned to the wall closest behind her.

“Don’t you dare speak of him that way.”

“Now that Samuel is gone, I don’t give a shit about this house.” Claudia snapped her fingers, and the large house shook in response. “The protection is gone, have fun with the full moon tonight.”

“You send him away just to put my family in danger?” Your hands squeeze around Claudia’s thin, long neck. Anger and protectiveness flooded your senses, and you knew exactly who you resembled.

“I was wrong about you, your fate is tied to that devil. You’re just like him.”

“That’s fucking right.” You violently tilt your hands to the left, effectively snapping Claudia’s neck with a shrill crack. Her body dropped to the ground with a loud thud, and you could hear her bones snap from the harsh impact.

Ellsie shrieked, muffled by her palm smacking against her mouth. Her knees were pulled to her chest and she was slowly rocking back and forth, hitting the wall behind her with a slow methodical rhythm.

“Y/N?”

At the end of the hall was a terrified looking Josh. His eyes frantically bounced between you and Claudia’s limp and twisted body on the ground near the baseboard.

“What did you do?” Josh asked.

Danny wasn’t paying any attention to you. His focus was on Ellsie who was sobbing behind you. With a pointed glare at you, Danny stomped towards Ellsie. His shoulder aggressively bumped yours, making you stumble backwards.

“Ellsie, what’s wrong?” Danny was trying his best to soothe her. Talking sweetly in a calm voice and smoothing her dark hair against her head.

“Jake-Jake….” She started.

Josh made his way over to you, grabbing your arm to keep you from taking steps towards the couple in the room.

He leaned in and whispered, “You blessed her?”

You silently nod your head, keeping your eyes completely locked on Danny and Ellsie.

The way he was touching her, caressing her, caring for her. And even though it had only been three days, you were missing Jake’s touch already. You felt completely empty without him.

Josh’s hand on you felt wrong, so wrong it almost hurt you. You shrugged him off of you, much to his disappointment.

“I know what he did, Ellsie. Josh told me, well, Josh showed me what Jake wrote.”

Josh was holding the black book that obviously had pages torn out. You expected it was the pages Jake discussed what he did to Ellsie, because sticking out of Danny’s back pocket was a few pages of ripped paper.

“You should read this when you’re ready, Ellsie.”

Danny put the papers on the floor next to her, then pulled her into his arms.

Josh, once again, grabbed your arm and pulled you into the hallway.

“How did you get back here? The sun is out.”

“Tinted windows.” Josh was fidgeting, locking his jaw in and out of place.

“Y/N,” his voice cracked when he said your name. “Tell me Sam is alright.”

You couldn’t look him in the eye. Josh lost both of his brothers, and the heartbreak was evident in his eyes. He looked weak and scared, even more so than usual.

“He’s not.” was all you had to stay for Josh to get the picture.

“Dead?”

You nodded your head, still not looking at Josh. He slumped against the wall of the hallway with his hands on his knees.

“How much time do we have before Xander comes back?” Josh asked with a few tears sliding off his chin into his white shoes.

“Sundown.”

He sniffled a few times, before standing up straight and putting on a brave face. Josh did his best impression of Jake, rolling his shoulders back and standing a little taller.

“We only have a few hours until the full moon. Let’s get to work.”

You silently followed him as he made his way down the stairs to the library. His shoulders displayed confidence, yet his facial features were wrecked with anxiety.

“Josh, what are you doing?” He didn’t answer. “Josh! Tell me what you’re doing!”

He was rummaging through the cedar desk in the left corner, “I’m not Jake, you can’t just order me around.”

You sighed, “Josh, please can you tell me what’s happening?”

Josh stopped his movements and slid on top of the desk. “Do you think he is going to come back?”

Your stomach dropped. You weren’t sure if you had time for this, but you would take any opportunity to talk about Jake that you could.

“Yes. For me— I mean, us.” You tried to catch yourself, but Josh smirked when you flubbed your words.

“No, no you’re right.” He hopped off the desk, grabbing something from the drawer as he did. Josh stepped right in front of you, close enough for you to feel his breath against the high peaks of your cheeks. He kept looking at your lips, and you swore he was going to kiss you. Your heart began to beat faster and faster, concern over your own reaction making your palms grow sweaty.

If Josh kissed you, you wouldn’t know what you would do. A part of you wanted to believe you’d push him away, smack him in the face. But the other wanted to melt into him and let him make you forget about everything that’s happened…even if it’s just for a brief moment.

Josh leaned in a little to your body, just allowing his hips to graze your’s. “Then let’s make sure he still can come back to you.”

From his hand dangled a teardrop shaped vile from a long silver chain, full of the brightest red blood you’ve seen. It matched the same color of blood that was in the necklace Jake gave you for your birthday.

“Drink up.” Josh popped the cork and took a quick swig of the blood. “Alpha blood makes you stronger.”

His lips were painted with Jake’s blood before he licked them clean. Josh passed you the drink and you looked at him for reassurance.

“Go ahead, it’s not like you haven’t done it before.” He flashed you a knowing look. If you had stayed awake after biting Jake, maybe you would have felt his power, had increased senses, but you were too grief stricken to even pick yourself off of the ground.

Maybe that’s why he wanted you to bite him, or maybe he wanted a piece of you always with him.

You take a bigger drink than Josh. Electricity flowed through your body down to your fingertips, and you could feel yourself grow stronger every second.

Just as you were reveling in the power, Ellsie’s pained scream echoed through the whole house.

You and Josh rushed to her, getting there in a blurred second.

You were both huffing by the time you made it to the back room. You looked around for any sign of Xander or one of his werewolves, but there was none.

Danny was holding on to her hand, kneeling on one knee next to her. Ellsie was laying on the ground, perched up slightly, with a puddle between her legs.

Danny whipped his head to you, talking directly to you. “Her water broke.”

Taglist:

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[noddlesock]

It’s Been A Long, Long Time (2 of 2)

"Kiss me once 

Then kiss me twice

Then kiss me once again"

you've been married to Dmitri for years now, hell the two of you even settled down. But with his job you barely see him anymore

part 2 includes: smut….like a lot….the whole chapter is smut.

It was 2 a.m and the wind was softly blowing into your room, caressing your bare skin that managed to get out of your robe. You were to asleep that you didn't feel the mattress dip and Dmitri's long sigh as he got into bed. The prison had brought in yet another American and with him being really the only guard who can speak English, this means he's going to have to work for week upon weeks without coming home. He wanted to wake you up and tell you. He wanted to hear your voice tell him that it's okay and there was nothing he could do about it. But he knew that, in fact he's gotten used to it.

Instead of contemplating his life he stared at your bare spine, the sheets only covered the lower part leaving your entire back exposed. The way the moonlight shined on your skin made him forget about his problems. He couldn't stop staring at you. His fingers were tracing your back, you still were far to asleep to move or react to his touch. So he moved his body closer to yours and his hand went further down your back. His perverted mind caused him to lift the sheet up to look at your naked ass.  

Dmitri's breathing got heavier and his underwear got tighter at the sight. His hand slowly made it down to your ass. He cussed to him self has he thought of all the times he didn't take care of your needs. He was about to pull back until you shifted in your sleep, thighs rubbing together and you moved so far back your body collided with his. He shut down the thought of pulling his dick out and pushing it between your ass. Until he remembered what you told him a couple weeks ago when he started to work nights, 'you can do whatever you want to me while I'm sleeping.'

That was enough to pull his dick out. He gave it a few pumps then licked his fingers to prepare you. He rubbed your entrance with his wet fingers and teasingly fingered you just to remember how warm and welcoming you were. Your body let out a small whimper but didn't seem to mind it. While your body was slightly shifting, you only thought of it to be a wet dream. A wet dream that you didn't know you'd wake up from in a few seconds. 

Once he knew you were wet enough, he brought his swollen, pre cum coated tip to your entrance, spreading your folds with his warmth and he thrusted himself in. 

"Dmitri?..." he quickly shushed and wrapped your body closer to his. He pulled out before thrusting back in, your warmth swallowing him. 

"It's just me darling." His dick was warming you up. You moaned as his hand reached over to fondle with your breasts. "You gonna let me fuck this sweet pussy of yours?" He whispered into your ear. You nodded as your head tilted back from his hand now folding with your hardened nipples. His free hand grabbed onto your hip to steady his thrusts. He squeezed your hip at just the thought of fucking you while your half asleep. 

Dmitri started to send a trail of kisses over your shoulder. Your moans grew as he continued to thrust in and out of you. It felt like his first time with you. "I missed you so fucking much." He started kissing and sucking at your neck next just to prove for the rest of the week that your his. 

You were feeling so drunk, they way his tip brushed against you made you push your hips back causing Dmitri to let out a hiss. "I want more." You moaned out like an animal in heat. It had been so long since you had sex with your husband that you wanted to make up for all those times you missed out on it. You continued to fuck your self on his dick, rubbing your spot perfectly. 

Dmitri's hand wandered down to your clit. He teased your bud as he started to fuck you faster and harder. He didn't want you up for too long, even though he did wake you up just to have sex. But Dmitri wasn't the guy who would fuck you until you see stars without any aftercare. He knew when we was being to rough on you and when it would be time to slow down. But at this moment you didn't care, you wanted Dmitri to fuck you dumb.

“I’m so sorry darling. I love you so much.” Dmitri said as he hid his face in the crook of your neck. “I promise, I will be here more, cuddle you more, fuck you more.” Dmitri promised as he started to slightly bit at your neck. Your eyes were watering but you couldn’t tell if it was from ecstasy or love. Maybe it was a mix of both. 

His fingers moved faster against your clit. “Right there, don’t stop.” You moaned out. “God it feels so good.”

“Holy fuck your gonna make me right cum right in this sweet pussy aren’t you?” He grunted, his pace not once changing as he helped you orgasm. Your cunt clenched around him and Dmitri covered your mouth to contain your loud moans and whimpers. It got harder and harder for him to keep the pace. Dmitri kissed your shoulder again as you start to come down from your high while he reached his. “We’re do you want it?”

“In me please Dmitri.”

Dmitri grunted. “You want another kid eh?” His thrusts started to get sloppier. You rolling your hips back was enough to push him over the edge. After he finished he wrapped his arms around you. 

“I love you darling. Now and forever. I promise I’ll be around more often soon, just give me time.”

[lambourngb]

SANDERS AND SON! SON! I FEEL VINDICATED. DAD SANDERS FOR THE WIN! Ok, sorry for screaming, but this could at least give you the idea of the inhuman squeal I let out when I read it. My dog ran to me all worried and when I reassured him I was alright, he was *not convinced* and decided it was cuddle time! So picture this: big adorkable furball cuddling me while I read Sanders thinking /idiot/ at Alex and Michael freaking out in the back. Isn't this perfect. My dog and I stan dad!Sanders. Always <3

Dad!Sanders for the win indeed- best part of season 2, and he's only gotten better and better in season 3 and 4. Anyway, this story just hit 20k this morning, and in honor of such a sweet ask here's a peak at the end of chapter 1 and the beginning of chapter 2.

[make sure your dog is prepared] 💖 Previously here with links to the other parts

****

He flipped the sign on the door to ‘Sorry We’re Closed’ and scowled at Michael. “What the hell was that, kid?”

Michael used his telekinesis to flip it back to ‘We’re Open’ out of desperation to avoid the conversation. It was probably pointless, but he had to try. For a genius, he was a real dumbass. “I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

Walt glared and flipped it back, and then slapped his hand against the sign to keep it in place. “Do not make me get creative with that pollen. Or worse, I’ll call Miss Isobel here. Bet she’d be real interested in that whole scene. I got no qualms lettin’ her poke around my head and see for herself-” 

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you, but I’m not doing it without a drink, and we finished off the bourbon here after that dumbass militia tried to commission us to make them super-special badges.” That had been a real shitshow, and while Michael wasn’t a snitch, he did pick up the phone to report that attempt to Max and the new Sheriff. Their shop windows were spray-painted for a few nights in retaliation, but it was a small price to pay for having a bunch of entitled rednecks playing at being police. The police themselves were already bad enough.

“You’ll buy, but I’ll drive.”

****

The sun was just beginning to set as Walt drove them home from the Wild Pony. The story of Alex had taken only two shots of whiskey, laid out over the battered green felt of the pool table and a game of nine-ball. Michael had kept his voice low to discourage eavesdroppers as he told Sanders every ugly detail, still mindful of Alex’s wishes for secrecy. 

He had spilled the story of the guitar and living in Alex’s shed as a senior in high school, brushing off Walt’s insistence he could have stayed more nights at the junkyard. Every night even. Then he had finally explained his hand, a story that he had only told once before. Max had tried over the years, and had actually gotten close to getting Michael to explain one night after Noah had trapped them both in his bunker, but Kyle and Liz had rescued them before the truth had come out.

Sanders had gripped his own pool cue tightly, as he watched Michael balance his stick with his ruined grip and touch of telekinesis, all thanks to Jesse Manes, before making a successful shot at the solid 3 ball. For a moment, Michael had thought the man would break his own cue, but he had just cussed creatively before pounding a shot of Jim Beam down and gesturing for Michael to continue. And Michael had.  

The summer of loss, of fights, of learning that university wasn’t going to be in the cards for him if he had any hope of keeping what had happened to Isobel from happening again.

“We’re aliens, Walt, I thought maybe my species murdered when we got triggered out of some sort of biological defense system, like there are ants who explode with poison when threatened, or like this toad spits blood out of its eyes. I had no one to ask! I just felt like if I went away to school, she’d get triggered again- and people would die.”

“What are you, a zoologist?”

Michael had rolled his eyes before Sanders had finished with a scathing observation, “That’s clearly horseshit because wouldn’t you have killed that sonuvabitch Manes a whole lot sooner if it were true?”

Hindsight about Noah was of course 20-20, but that hadn’t stopped the years of fear for Michael. The bitterness had rich, fertile ground to seed itself in after a life of being passed from one foster home to another and in between the pain in his hand and the difficulty of making ends meet after the financial crash of 2008, he acknowledged that he had done too much drinking and fighting back then. Enough to worry a boy from a house where ‘things sucked’ and had spoken fondly of homelessness in return. With shame in his eyes, Michael had explained how he had engineered his arrest the day Alex was due to leave for Basic Training. One last push to ensure Alex never looked back. He hadn’t felt worthy of love, of any soft touch, and he hadn’t trusted that it would last. He still had a hard time trusting it currently.

Walt had made a humming noise, and sank his target neatly, despite the eye patch. His next shot would have won, ending the game and maybe the story. Without even trying, he had scratched the cue ball and had turned over the table to Michael with ease. “So you wanted to make sure he left, but you also didn’t want him to leave? Yeah, that sounds like stupid teenager logic.”

[atherix0]

This is the time where we collectively find out how long I can make this ask because OH MY GOD

FIRST OF ALL as someone who loves horror I've always really loved the imagery of a safe place, ESPECIALLY in the day, being empty. A place that should have people in it just. Empty. *The streets were empty*.

Also they way you write fight scenes continues to be magnificent. Even without the flair of Scar being there, Grian's got his own flair to the way he tries to fight back and fails. And somehow grian getting KIDNAPPED is gonna be even better than them finding him half dead [or maybe,,,,all dead] on a boatem alleyway but also. Imagine. Imagine if they went looking for him and he was just a body in the road holy SHIT

OH AND THE TORTURE! The ripping at each other, Grian seeing red?????????/ I'm all in. All hands on deck, I can literally F E E L how good the rest of these chapters are going to be

[👀👀 the blood on the glyph was a nice touch]

OHOHOHO 'THEIR' FAVORITE VAMPIRE, I SEE.

oh mumbo my BOY oh my god yes cause Scar is just sitting there like "haha im definitely not going to panic" and mumbo abandoned that at like, the hour mark s2g. Oh my god the way you went back in time and had the realize things were happening prior to the glyph being activated with blood is genius but, once again, imagine if somehow they hadn't been alerted to it and suddenly scars hand is just *burning*-

oh my god Mumbo just shadow walking to Scar's home too its a good thing they went to aqua town before this because the absolutely insanity mumbo would have fallen into because Scar is like the only thing keeping him from ripping into grian's poor manager for answers. Imagine if he had to wait for scar to teleport and then just like. found blood on his own. My god.

Also as a side note i really love how shadow walking is less like teleporting and more like being funneled?????? truly that cannot be a comfortable method of transportation and yet here they are anyway.

Oh and the way Scar uses his magic here is INCREDIBLE I mean like - he's pushing magic in, pushing magic out, having to keep Mumbo from getting caught in all of it, waking all of Boatem back up, AND finding MEMORIES????????? I *LOVE* that explanation for the earlier boatem history lesson he gave grian bc I assume that's what he was doing there, too

FERAL FERAL FERAL FERAL FERAL!!!! AHHHH mumbo my BELOVED look at you GO oh my GOD - just standing there, getting darker and darker and yet Scar *trusts* him oh my *god* please just get engaged after this. Please admit a whole lotta things.

Also I reaaaaaaaaally love how you use the curse words for emphasis in this story it is GENIUS. I dont normally subscribe to the idea that characters should only be allowed to curse like once or twice to get their point across [because that advice often ignores character intention and vocabulary] but it works REALLY well here. It's so striking because Ive gotten used to the fact that the hermits dont cuss in their videos and most people dont make them cuss in fanwork, really a smart move.

OH THE BLOOD ON THE GLYPH BURNS SCAR, ALSO GENIUS because now Mumbo is holding him so gently to HELP and this man just wants to rip apart like. 500 people. But he's being SO gentle with scar PLEASE just admit you like each other at a more opportune time.

DOC MY BELOVED everyone's my beloved but DOOOOOOOOOOOOOC was not expecting to see Doc here but frankly, so smart to stick some of the characters as '''bad''' guys but have them not be bad. oh my sweet doc my poor man because this coven wants power and lord if Doc isnt power lmao and him telling grian to hide the glyph, I love him

ALSO THEY CLIPPED GRIANS WINGS AND I REALIZE I DIDNT MENTION ANYTHING ABOUT IT EARLIER BUT OH MY GOD

Leave it to Grian to be kidnapped over his blood and be like "I think we can save the turned vampires here, actually". Also frankly, doc's broken things was a great mirror to the utter chaos that happens later on wow

FERAL MUMBO MY BELOVED THERE YOU *ARE* AGHHHHHH YES also Grian just standing there and letting Mumbo kill somebody [well, a lot of somebodies in a sec] magnificent. Perfect. Mumbo really knows how to pick em

God and Scar, also, trying so hard to keep such a level head but you know underneath all of that masking he's doing he's been panicking for god knows how long and is just better at not showing it on his face.

Obsessed w grian "Well I wouldve felt bad for you but. um." sir I love you.

ALSO the way you wrote the chaos of the scene while still including visceral detail is GENIUS and I am taking NOTES because I've got a chaos scene like this in my novel that I have been struggling with and wow wow wow

Also Grian you delightful little bird you are such a GOOD fighter WOW you know, no wonder he killed his gods. He's got the skill to show it.

AND MUMBO JUST RIPPING INTO PEOPLE THIS IS EVERYTHING IVE WAITED FOR AHHH ITS PERFECT I loves him. I loves him your honor. The way he just slowly slips to become more and more inhuman, how he loses himself entirely by the end AH its everything.

Please know that i was sitting here practically screaming "grian let him dribnk your blood GRIAN LET HIM DRINK YOUR BLOOD-" for like a solid minute and then actually had to cover my face with a pillow and scream because SCAR is letting MUMBO drink his BLOOD wow. Did not see it coming yet. It's perfect. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

And poor Doc man, he's just like "Uhhhh yall good" and no. No they are not. I mean yes they are but no. And Mumbo is treating Scar as a mate and just DRANK from his NECK on the old BITE MARK so that it's HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS bite mark now??????????? Gay, your honor. Mates, your honor. GET ENGAGED

I just love that Mumbo, half delirious, is like "Yep. Yep. Right here's good *snatches Scar down*" AND GRIAN JUST SITS THERE IN HIS GAY THOUGHTS WATCH MUMBO *DRINK SCARS NECK FROM AN OLD BITE WOUND OH MY GOD* and hes PLEASED about it, please for the love of god SCAR

There's something about Mumbo being a threat even coming out of a blood loss fueled delirium and lying on the floor that is just magnificent in every way. Hair thrown out behind him, blood still on his lips, still looking like a fucking mess with Grian and Scar trying to collect themselves in a room full of dead vampires, and mumbo is still a *threat* god bless him.

OHOHOHOHOHO hello Scar, tired, need to be in the manor, mhm mhm. Right. I just love that he's like "I finished with this coven business so I've come here to Definitely Just Talk About The Coven Business" right mhm. Obsessed with the fact that grian AND mumbo BOTH offer the manor up too like. MMMMMMMMMMM mmm mmm please the three of you are so deep into it

Mumbo whisking Scar away to make him sleep because everyone including tubbo is lecturing him about sleeping is everything to me. Mumbo, stood in the guest room where Scar sleeps, starting at HIS mark on SCARS neck to replace the Bad Mark tm that was not His AH and to be mixing his feelings between guilt and pride is everything

But also Mumbo proving that he's not totally competent in reading this relationship they've got going on because not only does he wrongly thing that Talking to Scar about his Feelings would push Scar away but also that Grian doesnt feel the same way??? Mumbo please use that fae blood to power your brain

AND THEN TO FINALLY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MUMBO MY POOR MAN WOW no wonder he's still a threat when he lying on the floor recovering from his injuries, man is threatening. Crush your sire w shadows, perfect. Everything I could have wanted except that I want to crush her again. Poor Mumbo's got PTSD, understandable, but my poor man.

AND THEN THE FACT THAT HE'S RISKING EVERYTHING TO FIND THEM AND FINISH CRUSHING THEM LIKE A BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUG because their very EXISTENCE is a threat to his MATES, PLURAL, EVEN IF HE DOESNT REALIZE IT YET [Well. He does. But he doesn't] MUMBO YOU GLORIOUS CREATURE YOU truly this is the vampire politics that made me love Castlevania I LOVE where this is headed. and the way Grian reacts to this news????? and only makes mumbo love him more??? And then they have their little gay bonding moment of being in love??? everything I couldn't asked for, totally worth being up at 3:30, wow. wow wow wow. I'm gonna try going back to sleep with all of this just racing in my mind.

But also 👀👀👀 I did notice the fact that Grian got withered and it didn't eat through him with nearly the zest it got Scar, and Scar used Fae magic to keep it from eating him alive. Oh Grian, little godlings, whatcha doiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin. between that and his clipped wings Grian is having a TIME and truly I cannot wait for them to awaken whatever is about to happen.

Also. SHOCKED the askbox didn't cut me off. How far down can this thing go.

HAHA me dropping a whole 4 chapters at the same moment <3

My answers might not be as detailed as usual bc I am super tired today and have work in two hours so <3

This one is really long so read more <3

YEAH me too, liminal spaces are just wild and I love them as a setting <3

Ahhhh thank you so much <3 I always think my fight scenes are lacking so this makes me feel better thank you <3 HAHAHA Mumbo and Scar would have never recovered from that <3 <3 <3 It's wild that Grian being kidnapped was the better of the options so <3

Think Grian is going to just lie there and take it? Aw heeellll no <3 He's gonna fight back tooth and talon, which is exactly what he at least tried <3

[Haha blood magic my beloved <3]

OH HO HO YEAH indeed, THEIR favorite Vampire~

Scar be like "level head level head" and Mumbo is just "I am going to tear this town apart" hjfsdjkfsd that's Scar's masking coming in handy again <3 Oh yeah no there is no way Mumbo wouldn't wake up, find Grian gone and start getting anxious about it- no note, no sign that Scar is in town, nothing, just gone? Haha yeah no that won't fly with him they would totally realize something is wrong and Scar take one step in Boatem and is just like "the fu-" hjfdsk ACTUALLY that was the way Scar was going to realize something was happening, but then I wanted to show Mumbo reaching out to Scar about the situation so <3

Mumbo just like "this is faster let's git" lmao it really is, because Scar would have arrived at Boatem like 10-15 minutes later just to find Mumbo absolutely feral and freaking out and panicking worse than he already was <3 Finding blood and GRIAN'S FEATHERS all alone- hfdskjfds

Ahahaha teleportation isn't the most comfortable either, Scar is used to it so hardly notices teleporting (same for Mumbo with shadow walking) but yeah- it was important to me that these two things be different even though they have roughly the same end result <3

This is one of the reasons I had to establish him as being powerful, despite his limitations jgffdlk because mans did a LOT in just a few seconds <3 YEAH in that history lesson I did try to hint a little that it was actual memories they were looking at by the amount of detail/how real it all felt and the fact that it showed events that Scar would actually cut off (figures dissolving into magic moments before their death would have been seen) instead of simply implying like he might have had it been just an illusion so~ It also doubles as a way to emphasize Scar's, and Elves' overall, connection to the world around them, as he's drawing out the memories of the very land beneath their feet so <3 I love writing about Scar using his magic hjfsdlkfds

Scar really saw murder in Mumbo's eyes because his MATE has been TAKEN and HURT and they have no ANSWERS and he trusted Mumbo to not hurt him even in that mad state <3 And he was RIGHT because Mumbo LOVES HIM but Scar doesn't KNOW THAT AND HJFSJKS-

I know the Hermits are PG and I do want to be respectful of that but also these characters are adults and in stressful situations and serious adult relationships, I think they're allowed to say fuck when things are going bad <3 I'm glad it doesn't bother you, I always make sure to put a warning in the tags of the fics that have cursing in them because I do know some people don't like it <3

It was ALSO important I think to remind people how fucked up the Covens can be and that there are other victims besides our lovely trio <3 Doc is just HHHH I love him and want him to be safe and he just wanted to go home to his family but it's far too late for that </3

Blood magic is a very tricky thing, most people fuck it up and Scar certainly did not intend for the glyphs to be activated using blood <3 So one side of the connection is active using blood and his side is not... magic is all about balance <3

YEAH Mumbo even feral and angry and panicked and all murder-y sees Scar in pain and just- hjfdsjkfds so gentle so <3

YEAH THEY DIDN'T WANT HIM TO TRY FLYING AWAY IF HE MANAGED TO ESCAPE JKGDKS

Grian is such a good heart, the moment he realized Doc and some of the other Coven members were victims too he went "save them" and just <3 Haha thank you~! <3 Not like Doc needs them anymore, this mans is getting *therapy*

YEAAHHHHH he finally gets to be feral and tear things apart and remind everyone around him that he's really not human anymore <3 Grian just watches him rip these people apart and is just thinking "my love <3 my hero <3" and then he helps hjflsdkkjfsd

Oh god yeah, imagine if he didn't work for the Council and had never been in this kind of situation before and wasn't nearly as good at masking as he is- oh man he'd be an absolute mess hjfdslkfds-

I mean Grian is such a mood on that, like he sees what looks like a genuinely loving relationship between two Vampires who had him tortured and threatened Mumbo and is just "serves you right" so <3

HJFSJKDSJKFS chaos scenes are so much fun and I just hjfjkds I'm so glad I didn't lose any detail or meaning in the chaos <3 thank you thank you hhhhh <3

If Grian hadn't been taken by surprise and shot in one of the most painful non-lethal places a person can be shot, there wouldn't have been a story because he would have ripped that Vampire apart with his own two hands <3

YEAH he keeps just enough sense to keep track of Grian and Scar but he is not human anymore and this really highlights it and they both love him anyway and just want to help him and hjfhjdj <3 And he's feral and angry and so protective and just hjfdjs

HAHA I had originally planned on Grian letting Mumbo feed on him but A, he's so injured and even as a godling his blood isn't that much different from a Natural's right now so it would take a LOT of his blood to heal Mumbo, and B, I don't want Mumbo to know yet that Grian has the hints of non-Natural blood <3

Scar was silently freaking out about it bc he was about to let a Vampire feed on him, even though he's recently had a traumatic run-in with being unwillingly fed on, but it's MUMBO and Mumbo is too injured to safely move and Mumbo is also in this feral semi-conscious semi-catatonic state and he TRUSTS Mumbo to not hurt him and really it's just a little bite on the arm no big deal a little Fae blood to help heal his wounds faster right-

YEAH HAHA Grian is just like "woah wait oh my god" and Scar is panicking because the man he loves is biting him on the NECK and Grian is just WATCHING and they're both having very Gay Thoughts about this and just hjfgdsjkfg GRIAN THINKING IN THAT TWISTED LITTLE HEAD OF HIS just PLEASED that Mumbo has basically marked Scar with a very visible bite on his neck and now when he looks at that scar they're all gonna remember MUMBO biting him instead and just hjgfdsjkgds they're all such disasters I'm-

Doc really be like "tf did I just witness I think I should be scared and I think I am ok he's hissing at me to leave I better leave before I die ok" hjfdslkfgds mans has had a hard life and even being rescued he gets the bad end of the stick hjgfdjkfgd

YEAH HAHA Scar offer his arm and Mumbo being semi-conscious just looks at him like tf no and then, cuz Scar was wearing his work clothes including his hair braided down his back and his neck was exposed, seeing that old bite mark from a different Vampire and just HJSVFJKS I may have hinted before that Mumbo would do that hehe <3

Oh god yes, that's the power of absolutely being a Lord and a proper Lord at that- none of this rinky dinky weak-ass mofos relying on their mates or the twisted ones who send their followers to their deaths, he is protective and he is a THREAT at all moments, don't get too close on a normal day but when he's like this- hjfdjkfds literally bleeding out on the floor and Doc knows not to get anywhere near close hjkfgdsl

Hahaha and they really went "nope <3 sleep" lmao Scar is so tired and needs so much rest <3 HAHA "offered" that was a fucking demand <3 I feel like you're gonna go absolutely feral the first time Scar ends up sleeping in Mumbo's bed hjfdslkfs THEY ARE SO DEEP IN <3

Scar, being an Elf and only sleeping once every five days, being lectured about the importance of the very little sleep he already gets <3 Mumbo just being like "yeah time to go to sleep come on" and just hjkfdk HE FEELS GUILTY FOR DOING IT BECAUSE SCAR OFFERED HIS ARM NOT HIS NECK BUT HE ISN'T SORRY HE DID IT AND JUST HJFSDKJS now it's HIS mark and jhfklkluglf-

HJKFHSKJFDJLKFS YEAH lmao <3 he thinks Grian would be against it because he's a possessive little bird but he hasn't yet realized that Grian would be for it BECAUSE he's a possessive little bird jfgdlsf ALSO he's not 100% wrong about it pushing Scar away, bc Scar is oblivious and doesn't realize Grian's caught feelings too so if either of them confess without the other all he sees is his best friends' partner confessing to him without him knowing that they BOTH feel this way and Scar loves them but he isn't that kind of person </3 So Mumbo is absolutely right that Scar would have distanced himself out of respect for Grian, they BOTH have to tell him at the same time or else Scar will feel like he's hurting their relationship and just fhjkdsgjkds-

Mumbo won't let them take everything away from him again <3 magic when it is first developing can be a scary and unpredictable thing <3 Mumbo is terrifying, he's a threat and he's oh so protective and even other Vampires are low key afraid of him, the first time he ever used his shadow magic he DESTROYED his Sire, and he may have taken out some of the Coven on his way out <3

HE WILL PROTECT THEM NO MATTER WHAT even if it puts him on that Coven's radar again <3 he absolutely intends to finish what he started nearly five centuries ago, this man will take on the world if it means his new family will be safe <3

Grian, who knows nothing of Vampire politics or values, hearing Mumbo confess to all this and just being like "you were well within your right and I don't blame you, I will stay by your side no matter what" and just cfjykfif Mumbo falls even more in love and gnkfdnhg lays it all out for him to hear, loves everything from his greatest strengths to his greatest flaws and they are equally matched in their love and just fnfjgjifgkf

Haha well I hope you slept well after all this <3 I was up til 3 am to post it so I understand hahaha <3

👀 👀 haha Grian is suffering rn but one day he'll make them pay <3 I can't wait for the moment he 'awakens' it's gonna be so much fun gdgnnhfg

Tumblrs ask box has no power over the feral Mumbo enjoyer <3 haha ngl this took me an hour to answer I'm literally finishing it on the car ride to work and this delights me <3

[sparklingsad]

title: out of my mind (part 5)

Characters: baji x reader, toman peeps 🤍

Prompt: you don’t know if you should tell baji you like him because is he even interested in other people?

Summary: here’s what happened after the night baji sent you home :’)

A/n: Here’s chapter 5 of my fic! I had so much fun writing this part so I hope you guys enjoy this one. I’m trying to work on this fic as much as I can before uni ties me down into an inescapable despair :’)

P.s. Also I just want to say a big big thanks to all of you who continue to read and support my fic. Your kind words make me tear up always :’) reblogging my work means a lot to me so these little things that you do make my heart so full. Ily guys :’)

Series List: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

“Oh, ya need my help?”

You blink twice as if you cannot believe what is just happening.

“H-Huh?” You said appalled, as if things just started to sink into you. But you can feel your stomach churning, your face burning, and the first thing that you want to happen is for the earth to swallow you whole and save you from yet another miscalculation.

WHAT THE FORK IS HE SAYING?

“Didn’t ya say ya fell, y/n?” He clarified as he tries to remove his helmet to hear you better and alights from his own motorbike.

Seeing that your face is puzzled and your eyes unexplainable, he tries to assess the situation once more “Sorry. Are ya okay, y/n? Did I hear ya right?” He asked continuously.

Well fork. He heard it all wrong?

Learning that your confession has neither been heard nor acknowledged by Baji, you tried to compose yourself to feign innocence in the situation and just get the fork out of this embarrassing moment.

“Uh, oh, nothing!” You tried to mask your words with confidence to hide your tensed state.

“Was jus tellinyou t- be careful on the road justincase the rainfelland you don’tave an umbrellalwithya-,” you spewed out to give a viable excuse and for him not to suspect any further.

“Oh, yeah, don’t worry I don’t think rain will fall tonight y/n,” he let out a small laugh.

“Okay then off I go! Take care y/n!” He started the engine of his motor once more and you let him to be out of sight before you went inside.

You definitely did not have a good night sleep that night.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Y/n: Ken pick me up before going to Mikey’s okay? tell him I want to stay there ☹️

Ken🐉: ‘kay. Have you had breakfast yet?

Y/n: yeah, already did. okay ily you’re the best 🥺

And Draken immediately knew it was going to be a long day.

—-

Without prelude nor preamble you came straight to Mikey’s room, plopped down yourself into his couch and screamed your frustration out.

“Y/n, at least have respect to those who actually live here,” Mikey complained as scratches his head from the sudden noise that woke him up from his peaceful slumber.

“Ugh. I’m soooo sorry Mikey —“ you sighed.

“Okay, tell us wha-“ but before Draken can finish his sentence, he was put to a halt because of your sudden silence.

“H-hey, y/n, you alright?” He asked unsure of what just happened.

You just gave him a sad gaze and you started about rambling what happened last night, but not until Mitsuya came over.

—-

“Hmm, seems like an emergency meeting. You all good y/n?” Mitsuya asked as he adjusts himself sitting by Mikey’s coffee table in the room.

“It’s just..” you tried to rack your brain to find your words to tell what happened but there was nothing but —

“Agh! Fuck!”

Indeed, what happened last night was just incomprehensible. It was utter chaos and a bunch of things that are hard to explain with mere words.

Your three best friends gasped in unison.

“Woah there. This must be serious y/n. Never heard you cuss like that,” Mitsuya teasingly said.

“Yeah, yeah I know ‘tsuya,” you said as you rake your fingers through your hair a couple of times and give yourself small slaps before trying to start once more.

Breath in. Breath out. You are trying your best to calm yourself down before going through what happened last night —for the second time.

—-

“Sooooo, I like Baji, alright?” Your confession to your friends was the first thing that you have said to set the plot of your misadventure.

“Mhm,” Draken replied with a knowing tone.

“Obviously,” Mikey said while still lounging on his bed.

“Most definitely,” Mitsuya responded as he tries to mend the tear in one of Mikey’s uniform.

“Wait,” you paused for a while. “You all knew? It should have been just Draken right?” You scanned their faces as if looking for an explain to what they just said.

They exchanged looks with each other before someone spoke to respond to you.

“Well, y/n. It’s pretty obvious that you took notice of him the first time we took you for a toman meeting, you always try to strike up a conversation him, you get fidgety and flustered around him. It just kinda adds up you know?” Mikey who was just lying down a while ago is now sitting up and rubbing his eyes to support his claims.

“Oh yeah, not to forget how you specifically described him to us when you were just starting to get interest in him,” Mitsuya started

“Raven hair, tousled locks, amber eyes, sharp gaze, pointy canine” they all said in chorus.

You just stared at them at disbelief for what they have just said.

“See?” Mitsuya teased.

“You weren’t as subtle as you thought you are y/n,” Draken nonchalantly said.

You let out a grunt. “Okay, okay, I get it. I surrender!” You raise both hands up in the air.

You went quiet for a bit before proceeding once again.

“So… I told him,” you said looking down on the ground now.

“You what?!” The sleepy Mikey is now alive and kicking and almost suffocating you from his arms hanging by your shoulders.

“Oh, that was unexpected,” Mitsuya said with a low voice.

“Oh! Attagirl y/n!” Draken said with much enthusiasm.

And on that moment they swamped you with questions about how you did it, what did you say, what did Baji say, and all the details important or not, they were asking about everything. It took a moment before they all came down from their seemingly unlimited energy that morning and you started to explain once more.

“Well guys,” you fidget with the end of Mikey’s pillow.

“It kinda went —“ and you made a repeating motion leaning to your right.

“Went…. right?” Mitsuya clarified.

“Well……it went sideways,” you corrected him and pulled a faint forced smile.

All of your friends came near you to give you a pats and a hug for comfort.

“Thanks, you guys. I won’t say I’m super devastated. Not really,” you emphasized so they do not have to worry about you.

“But it’s more like I felt stupid because I mustered up all my courage for it, only for him not to hear it. I don’t know about you guys but it feels kinda annoying to me,” you shrugged.

“Wait, he didn’t hear it?” All of them inquired.

“Well when I told him I have fallen for him, his response was ….‘oh you need my help?’” You slowly said, embarrassed of what happened.

As if on cue, they all paused for a while and burst into laughter.

“BAJI YOU DUMBASS,” Mikey exclaimed as he rolls on the floor failing to control his laughter.

“The fuck, I— I can’t imagine that was his response. Imagine getting confessed on and saying that. That was kinda dumb,” Draken said in between laughs and you could swear his eyes are starting to get all teary from laughing.

“God, his brain turned into noodles after all that peyoung he’s had. That’s kinda stupid I have to say,” Mitsuya said as he tries to catch his breath and wipe his eyes off the little tears threatening to fall anytime.

“Stupid? It wasn’t just stupid! It was fucking embarrassing!” You whined.

“How I wished last night for the earth to just swallow me whole and save me from that moment. I just — I just don’t know how he could have heard me all wrong. He even asked me if I was okay,” you said with the frustration that just starts to get the better of you.

“Is he really that dense? Or just a plain dummy?” The pillow that you were hugging moments ago is now on the floor and you’re just getting more frustrated as the time pass by.

“Does he even like someone? Or is that a concept so foreign to him?” You continued to ask your friends looking for assurance.

“Well, not anything that I know of, y/n. I have known him the longest and I guess that he’s gotten as far a sparring with the girl he likes in our dojo class when we were 6,” Mikey explained.

“Ohh, so that’s all he’s got huh?” Draken said.

“Maybe he just can’t express his feelings you know? I mean who else slugs someone when they’re sleepy and burns a car when they’re hungry? Maybe he’s emotionally constipated?? If that’s a thing,” Mitsuya explained to you.

“Oh, oh. Mitsuya that’s so clever imma change his name in my phone to ‘emotionally constipated’” and Mikey busies himself with his phone.

“Hey guys let’s not get out of topic here,” you insisted and look at them, as if begging to help you with this conundrum.

“Well in that case, we can only do one thing,” Mikey confidently said.

“Wait what are y—“ but before you could finish you got interrupted by him.

“Hold on..,” and he started to speak on his phone

Hello?

Yeah. Are you free right now?

Report to the Sano residence this instant. Do not tell anyone I called you here.

Okay. Thanks. I’ll see you

“Mikeyyyy, what did you just do now?” Draken asked, suspicion plastered on his face.

“Just wait and see Kenchin! This is my genius solution!” He proudly declared.

“Uh-oh, please don’t tell me this will be bad Mikey. Let’s not add up to y/n’s problems right now,” Mitsuya warned.

“Mikey, please don’t tell me you called him an-,” before you could finish your sentence someone knocked on the door.

Knock. Knock.

“Im here,” a voice said.

“Oh, good timing. That was fast. Well he lives near here,”

“Wait don’t tell me you asked—,” you suddenly stood up from your seat your chest about to burst.

“Chifuyu!” Mikey exclaimed.

“Chifuyu?” You all said in unison.

“Well, no one can help us better than Baji’s vice-commander? Right?” He looks at all of you, raising his brow as if looking for approval.

“Well now that he’s here let’s put him to use then,” Draken suggested.

“Um, if I may ask, what are we supposed to do Mikey-san?” Chifuyu asked.

“We just have a bit of questions regarding Baji, and we just need you to answer them as much as you can,” Mitsuya said as he pats Chifuyu on his shoulder as the latter sits right next to him.

“Okay, I’ll give you everything I’ve got!” Chifuyu agreed.

“Okay I’ll start. What is your school routine?” Mikey inquired while he took a pen and a paper, playing detective like.

After taking a while for thinking if his answers, Chifuyu raises his hand and started enumerating their routine by his fingers.

“Well, we usually go to school at the same time since we live in the same apartment complex. We attend classes on days he feels like it. Miss ones when he’s not in the mood and usually stop by the park to pet some cats, or stay on the roof top to do the same thing. Eat peyoung in the afternoon. Attend meeting after school hours. Get back home to eat dinner. Study if there are upcoming tests. His mom will whack his ass if he fails again, so we make sure that doesn’t happen. And um,”

He took a while before speaking again.

“Oh! We stop by to meet some lady before going home,”

All of you have that look of shock and betrayal in your faces when Chifuyu spoke his last sentence.

“Y-y-you always meet a lady before going home?” You said unsure if you should pry on that further.

“What’s she like? Is she someone you know? Does she look pretty? Does she see Baji the same way?” The three of your friends continuously inquire not giving Chifuyu for a space to breath.

“See Baji-san the same way?? Well I guess so? They both love cats so,” Chifuyu answered scratching the back if his neck.

“Oh god. I have plotted my own demise,” you said with eyes filled with regret.

“What’s the matter y/n? Are you that short on cat food?” Chifuyu asked, confused by your sudden reaction.

“Cat food?” Mitsuya asked. “No, no, no. We are not concerned with cat food,” he continued.

“Why are you so interested in the lady who own the pet shop then? We usually stop by there to get some cat food for Peke J and some stray Baji-san feeds,” the blonde further explained.

“Wait. What is this even about? Why do you look like you’re about to cry y/n?” Just as when he asked that, he realized the answer to his own question.

“Oh. Oh god. I see. I know your pain. He’s a dense-ass noodle-brain dumbass who can’t get your hints,” Chifuyu knowingly said.

“Damn right.” Draken affirmed.

“Well if he doesn’t like anything else more than animals and peyoung yakisoba, you just have to let go y/n,” Draken suggested.

You looked at him feeling betrayed with what he just said. He knows that you are head over heels for this person and yet he just discourages you like that?

“Hey don’t look at me like that. All I want to say is you do not have to be with someone who does not see you the same way. Or who just doesn’t give a shit about love,” Draken further explained.

“‘Course I agree with Draken. We want you to be happy y/n. But of course we won’t give up without a fight won’t we?” Mitsuya gave you a warm smile.

“Well, y/n it’s not a secret that Baji-san can be a bit dense and have a hard time expressing his feelings,” Chifuyu tried to sympathize with you.

“This is it guys, watch me grow old with no one to love me back,” you said with your eyes dead-empty.

“You still have that guy from Mitsuya’s division don’t you? Don’t worry y/n I won’t scare him off again if he’d be your chance to have a happily ever after!” Mikey proudly said.

“Mikey, don’t be a dummy and and give us that nonsense,” Draken replied unamused.

“Hey! Don’t look at me like a pity party like that,” you pouted.

“I just really feel bad, that’s all. I feel like I have thrown away everything,” and you look like you’ve switched up with Atlas from his burden of carrying the world.

“Hey, hey. Don’t say that now y/n. Maybe you’d get another chance to tell him how you really feel and maybe make sure this time that he’d hear it loud and clear,” Mitsuya attempts to make you feel better.

“What am I supposed to do then?,”

You breathed deeply and said,

“BAJI KEISUKE, CAPTAIN OF THE FIRST DIVISION ON THE TOKYO MANJI GANG, I’VE BEEN PINING FOR YOU SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL BUT YOU NEVER LOOKED MY WAY SO I’M TAKING MY CHANCE TO TELL YOU MY FEELINGS. I LOVE YOU A LOT. P—“

Before you can finish your sentence someone had come barging in the door.

“MIKEYYY! Mom sent some dorayaki she’s made this morning. Emma said I can go straight here since you’re with every—,”

“—P…..lea….se go o..ut w…ith me….,” you said slow and unsure while the words roll of your tongue.

“Well done, I guess?” Mitsuya mumbled.

“Y/n..” Baji said.

The room grew solemn for a while, and all of you exchanged looks with each other.

The tears that was just threatening to fall down earlier just broke into a dam and you started to get up.

“Oh, for crying our loud! I can’t fucking do this anymore!” you exclaimed and ran off the room.

A/n: Woah! Thanks for reading through everything <33 I promise to update more regularly before uni starts. I hope you find this enjoyable and worthwhile :) ily guys.

[marvelyhp]

Still you | chapter II

Chapter II: The comeback

Synopsis: Y/n decides to help the Avengers despite their betrayal two years prior and her life makes a big shift once again.

Pairing: Y/n x Bucky Barnes and some Y/n x Sam Wilson

Word count: 5,997

warnings: cussing, some fluff

note: I know I took so long but I had writer's block. then, I got covid and I felt too awful to write. But I'm okay now so this is what I could come up with. Not my greatest stuff. the tag list is open :)

Side note: I would really appreciate hearing from you and your thoughts!

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We managed to lower two floors without raising suspicion or making too much noise. At least, James and I were pretty silent, whispering if needed. But of course, Stark always had to open his damn mouth. He had been talking all the way —pretty loudly too— and he just did it again.

“Where’s the grandpa with the bad luck of having you as a tenant?” The man didn’t know the meaning of whispering. Or maybe he did. He just wanted to make my life more complex than it was. I looked frantically behind me, praying he had not seen me sneaking out. At the sight of no one, a breath of relief exploded out of me. But it didn’t last long, irritation quickly dampening my already poor mood.

“Shut the hell up!” I hissed. My patience with the insufferable man wearing thin.

“Oh, relax. If he sees us, we’ll knock him out and blame you.” He mocked, a chuckle erupting throughout the hall and following the stairlike a draft of wind. My blood started to boil inside my veins and I felt the heat spread from head to toes. I was afraid to be reaching my tipping point already because this was nothing. Two years out of practice left me hypersensitive to his shit. I wondered how long I would be able to stand the insufferable mortal and regret hit me like a ton of bricks.

“He is a good man, Stark. We will not knock him out.” I whispered as I pressed myself against the wall. Twisting my head around the corner at the end of the hall, I sneaked a glance at the stairs and the visible space from the top. “Watch your step here. His room is right underneath the stairs. We don’t want to wake him up.

I walked forward, pressing my foot in the first step, praying the creak of the old wood would keep quiet today as it did some nights. At least that’s what I hoped but it wasn’t what happened. A groan broke the silence in the room and I knew that if he was awake, he definitely heard it. I waited a couple of seconds, alert to any noise. When nothing came, I advanced four more steps. I focused on the one shadow dancing in the wall and relief swept through me. He wasn’t awake.

I turned, thinking the guys were still up. However, I let out a gasp when Bucky’s face came into view, mere inches away from mine. Thanks to the startle, the foot I had dangerously close to the edge slipped.

My heart stopped as I thought about the fall and the inevitable bone-crushing pain that would come after it. The stairs were pretty high and even though they were wood, it was quite sharp. Splinters roamed everywhere. I waited for the pain and the strenuous sound. It was phenomenal, the first time I saw the team in two years and I would meet them in a body bag with a broken neck.

However, it never came.

When I opened my eyes, blue electric eyes stared back at me. Our faces were inches away from each other. A hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against him to hold me from falling. I was hyper-aware of our breaths clashing against each other, making the most sinful of sounds. Our lips were separated by a small space, too close for my brain to catch up quickly. I noticed how his lips roamed my face, stopping at my lips slightly parted by the surprise. His eyes held a fervent fire and my breath quickened once I felt the inevitable rush of warmth roaring my body.

Coughing slightly, I took a step backward, stepping out of his grasp. I forgot all about the landlord as I scolded myself. The man looked at me and there I was getting flushed like a raging hormonal teenager. I looked at everything but Bucky’s face, why I knew still had his eyes on me except now his jaw was firmly set. I wanted to ask him what was going on inside his head but a hovering shadow at the top of the stairs captured my attention.

“What are you still doing up there?'' The man looked utterly confused standing at the top of the stairs surrounded by darkness. I wondered if it had to do with what he just witnessed.

“You care about that grandpa, don’t you?” His expression was one of disbelief. His body wasn’t moving as if in shock or trying to process the information he thought was correct. And it was, but he didn’t have to know.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, unaffected.

“Of course you do. You care about the landlord.”

I whirled around as fast as I could with the incident earlier present in my head as a gruff voice filled the room. A short, stubby old man stood at the foot of the stair dressed in a white t-shirt and some basketball shorts. The ends of his hair stood up as if held by a string and maneuvered by a child. His narrowed black eyes stared back at us. His lips pressed in a thin line.

“Of course, she does, kid. Why shouldn't she?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. I followed the movement of the milk dancing in the glass on his right hand. I felt proud of the English I had taught him and how-- as much as I didn't want this to happen-- useful it would be. I looked back at Stark to find him gaping like a fish. Little croaks came from his throat but no coherent words came from him. It was the first time I had seen Stark speechless. “I’m an incredible landlord if I say so myself.”

He was.

I cursed inwardly. There were things I didn't want everyone to know. To a certain extent, I wasn’t ready for the team, for Stark, to find out that I wasn’t the monster he expected me to be. I wasn’t ready for him to look at me differently. Andrei had the power to change our whole dynamic.

It wasn’t that Andrei and I shared anything about life. Or at least I didn’t. Andrei liked to talk, to share his life with me, and try to make me talk. He said I was too reserved. I remember that day like it was yesterday.

It had been a warm evening. I could see the sun filtering through the windows. Shining onto the top of the show top and illuminating the cottage-like bakery. The dough in my hands stuck to my skin, lumps of a uniformed cream mass suffocating the fingers. The powdered white dust sat beside me and I felt irritated. I hadn’t thought about pouring it on the mixture before I touched it. ‘I was out of my element here’ I thought as I reached for the flour.

Andrei’s baker had abruptly called five minutes before work notifying him he couldn’t work his shift. His grandmother had fallen down the stairs and fractured her hip, hence his lack of concern for Andrei. He was the only living relative she had so it fell upon him to look after her. One missed shift would turn into dozens. The bakery was small and hidden in a remote part of Romania. The clientèle was not much besides those living in the small town from years ago, or even since they were born.

Everyone in town knew each other. When I arrived I had my doubts about staying in this place because of that same reason. I would be the talk for weeks and I couldn’t risk so many people questioning my presence. Except, I was lucky.

One evening, I sat in a small and dark corner of a bar near the outskirts of the town where it was most probable to see an outsider. Two men sat a couple of feet away from me, talking fairly loudly. Out of boredom and desire to know the people I might have been seeing every day, I heard and studied their moments. Taking notes about their behaviors and storing them far into the file I had on humanity. Their voices were cheery as they ate pastries that I was sure to not be from the small bar.

“This is so good! I can’t believe I haven't tasted a pastry this good since I left,” he moaned loudly in reaction to the puff on his hand. The crumbly dessert spilling powdered sugar all over his dark gray pants. “Andrei hasn’t lost his touch.”

“Who is this Andrei you talk so highly of?” The older male asked the seemingly young partner. The man wore an expensive suit, not one that could be found here and from what I gathered from their conversation, he had not grown up here. But his friend did. What he said next grabbed my attention the most.

“His bakery is pretty hidden in the town. Someone that didn’t know the road would not find him. He used to be a criminal, on the run and all that. But since he got out of prison he became a baker. the man sure has a gift. I don’t even know why he went to jail, because the man is a sweetheart. I think he was just dealt a bad hand.” The man kept munching on his pastry as he talked. The vowels all merging to create a soundless blob. I swore he said more but that was all I could understand and by the face of his friend, he understood less.

“It’s such a small town. Why was it never known?”

“I don’t know. Rumor has it that he was born here but left, something to do with his family. He came back years later, on the run from some people. People we assumed to be the police. Of course, the police followed his trail and eventually found him here. Two years later. He hid pretty well if, you asked me. He treats people with respect but he never talks about himself. He has always been reserved when it comes to his life, only telling small details that lead to nothing. You know, not enough to form a life picture…”

Before he finished talking, I was out of my seat, walking towards the pair. I plastered an innocent look on my face, one I had studied and perfected many times since coming to earth. I relaxed my posture, knowing I had been tense and tucked since I entered this town. I still can’t believe I was social before. Nobody would believe that if I told them now.

“Hey, those pastries look marvelous!” I said in a cheery voice when I reached the pair. Both of their heads whipped towards my direction, curiosity written in their faces. I could hear the questions in their head about me and where I came from and what I looked for in town. Typical gossiping mortals. I wanted to cut the tie between our heads, feeling bad about corrupting the men’s thoughts. But I couldn’t, not until I had what I wanted. “Do you know where could I find them?”

“Sure thing. What’s your name, sweet thing?” Sweet thing, that’s funny. If he had been into the American news he would not say that.

“Calypso. Do you know where the place is? Can you explain it to me?” I said, trying to hide the hurry in my voice. His thoughts were front seat in my mind, not wanting to miss a thing.

“So eager.” He chuckled. Instead of the route, I was expecting, he thought about my naked form and countless sexual images began replaying. I resisted the urge to impale his backside, taking a deep breath and counting to ten. I played his game. I battered my eyelashes and looked at him from hooded eyes. I bit my lip gently and walked closer. Sneaking a glance at his friend, I noticed he was no longer looking at us. He seemed uncomfortable and had turned to his coffee and pastries. I wish I had a coffee to turn to.

“Maybe you could take me there. If you remember the way, of course.” He smirked and grabbed the jacket slung over the wooden chair he sat on. His friend looked at us, startled as if he wasn’t expecting my response. However, the joy of his friend would be short-lived. Images of the way to the small bakery filled my head and I smirked. Before he could take my hand to guide me to his car I asked for the restroom.

As soon as I came in, my eyes searched for some window I could use to leave unnoticed. And I found it in the corner of the bathroom beside one of the huge black and white mirrors. I locked the door and hurried to open the window, sliding through the door. The darkness of the night didn’t face me but my alert was high. Everybody could hide in the dark. My heart rocked against my chest as I saw the same guy from early waiting beside his car. I hurried along the alleyway, pulling my hood up and hiding my hair, disappearing into the dark.

“Calypso, boy for you.” I was brought from my memories by the rough voice of Andrei. Whoever didn’t spend much time with him would think he was mad all the time thanks to his voice and forever furrowed white bushy eyebrows. I matched the furrowing of his eyebrows when he mentioned a boy. I had been careful enough to not get attached or get anyone attached to myself so the mention of another human being besides Andrei spooked me.

Suddenly, the thought of agents looking for me or the usual threats I had filled me with panic. I heard the thunderous beat of my heart. The tremble of my hands disrupted the beautiful form of the pastry in my hands. quickly cleaning and taking away the apron full of white dust, I walked to the front of the door.

A dark-haired man in his early twenties stood next to the door with a blue box in his hands. A white shimmering ribbon adorned the delicate box, wrapping silkily around it to form a well-done bow. The chiseled bone structure of his profile caught my breath as he looked to the small, underpopulated plaza in the corner of the rondure. The curvature of his roman nose and the thin shape of his lips sticking in his profile.

I saw him regularly at the small bakery. His usual was a Papanaşia with a black strong coffee. He left three dollars on the tip jar three times a week and I noticed if he was overly happy, he would leave a fiver regardless of the day or how many days he had tipped. I had seen him mad twice in the store. Seemingly, he was one of those guys that harbored every trouble inside in a chaotic turmoil. I knew because I had invaded his mind one of those times. Curiosity had gotten the best of me, knowing he was always the type of guy that carried the sun on his shoulder. Every time he caught my attention, I tried to remind myself that he could’ve been an agent sent by Hydra to kill me or worse, kidnap me.

“Hello. What can I help you with?” I said, confidence laced in my voice. The confidence I did not expect to have. His head whipped towards me. A smile broke on his face at the sight of me. I saw the fidgeting of the box in his hands and the sudden bobbing of his knee. He didn’t appear to be harboring any secrets, or at least not deadly ones.

“Hey. I know this will probably look very weird to you but I’ve been watch- I mean not watching but I just- I,” His stammering caused a giggle to leave my lips involuntarily. My hand immediately flew to my lips, hiding the smile corrupting my face. He lowered his face but not before giving me one of those smiles that could light up a world. God, I felt sappy. He looked at me once again. “I don’t know how to do this. I definitely didn’t think it through.” He chuckled. One of his hands came up to brush his face while shaking it, side to side. I could tell he was nervous, maybe more that I initially had been.

Seeing him stammer was the cutest thing I had seen since the little green and purple flowers that grew back home and surrounded our palace. So, I decided to help him a bit. “You could start with your name,” I said, trying to not smile too much. Agent, agent, agent…

“God, you probably should’ve done that first. Nice one.” He said, more to himself than for me to hear it. “I’m Razvan. It's lovely to finally meet you.” I shook his hand. It was rough yet soft with elongated fingers caressing my own small and thin one.

“Calypso.”

“What I meant to say, you know, before I shot myself in the foot was that you caught my eye since I first saw you. Now, I swear I'm not stalking you because it could be easy to think after the horrible introduction I just did. But, yeah, I would like to get to know you, if that’s okay with you.”

I did think about it. I swear I did. I thought about how he could be linked to Hydra and if you searched on the deepest paranoid corner, the Avengers. I thought he could’ve been just a random murderer whose floor I had shaken. My voice of reason said no. and with the saddest feeling settling my stomach, I told him what I thought. Or tried to.

“I’m sorry, I-I can’t. You seem like the loveliest person b-but I…” For some reason, I couldn’t just say no. “Can I think about this?” That was the only thing that came out of my mouth while I tried to get the words ‘go away and ‘don’t speak to me’ out of my mouth. His smile faded a bit, but even then he tried to keep his positivity and bright personality on. I could feel the waves of disappointment once I started speaking but hope soon came flooding back.

“Sure. I'm a complete stranger coming here every day just to see you. I can see how that’s alarming. take your time.” He shook his head as if realizing what he had just said. He chuckled and I tried to give him a small smile. Before I could turn away and leave, I felt him touch my elbow. I jumped back.

His brows furrowed quickly. “Forgive me. This is for you. And please accept it.” I thought about refusing but this would only prolong this meeting, pushing me to accept a company I wasn't ready for. I took the small box, my hand already trying to open the shimmering blue box. “No, please. Open it later, more calmly and everything and you can tell me whenever you’re ready if you like it.” I gave him a smile, which he returned brightly before diving back inside the back of the store.

Once inside, I undid the delicate ribbon, watching it dissolve like seafoam by the lovely blue water. The glistening gold chain with a tiny, colorful Koi fish rested in the center of the box. My heart swelled and I felt a way I hadn’t felt since Bucky. He remembered what I had told him that first, and the only time we had talked before today.

The voice of Andrei brought me out of my stupor with a jump. A hand traveled to grasp my heart while the other held the box tightly.

“Razvan is nice guy.” His voice was gruff and deep like it had been since I had met him. He walked behind me and grabbed a pack of flour to dump beside me. I looked towards the other and realized I was running out of it.

“Do you know him?”

“Yes. Comes every day for two years. Great boy.”

When I didn’t say anything, he stopped cutting open the pack of flour and turned to look at me. “You too reserved. Not want to end like Andrei alone. Give guy chance.” That was all he said before he left. A tall wrinkly woman with short red hair calling out for him.

The last thing I thought that day after he left drove me to the same road he had set me on. I didn’t want to end alone or die alone for that matter. But what was I to do if everyone thought I was a selfish monster who just wanted to kill and bring chaos? The only person who didn’t feel that particular way was the same man I was leaving without saying goodbye.

Stark seemed to have gathered his words together because he suddenly began spewing some shit on Andrei. shit, he didn’t like it.

“The girl is no selfish girl. Only a fool like yourself would think so. Only a blind man would propose such a thing.” His brows were furrowed but Otherwise, he was calmly standing at the bottom of the stairs sipping his milk. He seemed like he would continue but I made sure to stop him

“Andrei, no.”

“I see. She holds you hostage and controls you, doesn’t she?” Stark countered, a smirk settling in his features. I pinched my nose, sighing loudly.

“You have to leave with this buffoon?” I walked down to his side, muttering an annoyed yes. “I’m sadder for you than him.” A chuckle escaped him as he hugged my shoulders with one arm. I tried to push him away but found no will to do so. I would miss Andrei. He felt like the father I never had. Worry settled in my stomach knowing I had been here and I would no longer be if anything happened to him. I hugged him back, despite my better judgment and the four pairs of eyes staring back at me.

“Don’t forget about me, violet. Nor dear Razvan.’ He told me after letting me go. I nodded before calling back to my two companions. Stark came down, slowly walked to the front door. Bucky at his heels. They both turned. Bucky’s face had some sort of emotion I couldn't decipher. I thought I could, but I doubt he would feel happy about finding someone genuine to spend my days with.

Stark, on the other hand, looked at Andrei as if he had grown an extra head.

“I’m confused. Aren’t you supposed to be dying at her touch or something? Are you sure she didn’t threaten you to act this way?” The funny thing was, he sounded genuinely confused. The skepticism in his voice hurt my feelings but the mere fact it was stark made me forget quickly. He was an insensitive prick with a personal vendetta.

“Take this fool away before I turn him into a human pastry,” Andrei commented. I walked towards them, chuckling. “Ai grijă, violet aprins.” Take care, fiery violet. The elder said before we shut the door behind us. my heart swelled at his words. I knew I would long for those quiet evenings where it would rain and we would sit down in the living room with a book, quietly enjoying our presence. We laughed and made new and invented pastries in the kitchen for days, always looking for new and innovative flavors. I would miss the man that had treated me like his daughter.

“Take care, Pop.” I whispered to myself. Not thinking a long-haired blue-eyed soldier would hear.

And just like that, we disappeared quietly into the night and I said goodbye to one of the most important people in my life.

James let me know they came in the Quinjet, that enormous thing I had refused to sit on two years ago. the walk was not far from where we were and we found it in a while.

The Quinjet was hidden behind one of the buildings next to the bakery. the gigantic thing sleeping while we arrived to climb up. clint stood outside, his arms crossed. that man always looked like he was in a power pose.

“Romania? What is it with chased people and Romania?” Confusion and genuine interest were written all over his face.

Barton had always been a friend before I knew the truth. Nat told me she had told him in a drunken stupor. he tried to talk to her about telling me but she didn’t listen. I didn’t hold it against him because I knew he wasn’t actively participating but he didn’t do anything either.

I shrugged. “It’s a good hiding place. too many criminals organizations for you to matter. nobody cares who the hell you are as long as you keep quiet.”

“Good shadow place.” Bucky added as he tried to help me get in the Quinjet. I ignored his hand, focusing on Clint’s face.

“Exactly.” My response was clipped. if he was fishing for a normal conversation he was in for a treat.

After a while, we took off. My legs became restless as I sat in front of Stark and Bucky while Clint piloted the flying thing. boredom pushed me to get up from my seat and walk towards the front of the Quinjet. that, and Straks glare along with the awkwardness of Bucky’s movements.

Clint’s focused face came into view as I sat beside him. silence engulfed the both of us before he broke the silence with some words I didn’t expect.

“We missed you.” it was a quiet remark but full of shocking force. I just sat there, wide-eyed looking towards the already clearing sky. I looked towards him and forced myself to respond. a scoff came out of me, causing Clint to look rapidly towards me.

“You have no reason to believe me, but it’s the truth. Nat was pretty shaken up when you left. we looked for you everywhere and decided you didn’t want to be found. that you needed some time. it took you longer than we thought.”

“You didn’t find me because you didn’t look. You don’t have to lie to me, Barton.” I said, masking the hurt I felt with anger. why keep lying to me? I knew they didn’t care sop they didn’t need to act as they did.

“What? we did loo-” He never finished his sentence since Stark’s voice boomed around the small space. he came to let us know where would land soon as if we didn’t know already. Clint was the pilot, it was impossible for us to not know. suspicion arose in my chest but I soon forgot it when I saw the massive compound below us.

✹✹✹ I would be lying if I said my stomach wasn’t fluttering and my hands trembled slightly. I subtly rubbed my hands in my jeans, hoping to get some moisture away. But, there was something else bothering me. It had been there for a little while. The emptiness in my chest divided in two, as though… I don’t even know. The doors slid with a swift sound and my heart rate hit new floors.

I tried to avoid showing any emotion I felt. Seeing them surrounding the long table, all in their daily clothing made it hard to remember. I couldn’t show the happiness of seeing them all right after two years. Nor could I show the excitement deep in my bones seeing Wanda’s face. I couldn’t forget the damage (situation) those high-held beings made to my heart.

I looked at them with a mask of indifference firmly placed.

Wanda was the first to step forwards, as I knew she would. I didn’t expect her to but a part of me screamed how she had been the only real friend through the year I spent in this cage. I resisted the urge to hug her, touch her, and receive the reassurance I so deeply wanted.

“I thought- we thought you were dead.” The revelation shocked me. It felt as though they couldn’t believe I was alive. But I was. The question was… why did they think so?

“Nop. Still kicking.” I replied.

“Unfortunately.” I heard Stark mutter under his breath. I rolled my eyes and resisted the urge to kick him. I could make him feel a true kick in his brain. And his ass, too.

“Y/n!” A high-pitched voice came from the corner next to me. The smiley face of Pepper Potts came rushing towards me, engulfing me in a hug. My nerve endings shot and I prayed my instinctive responses wouldn’t go through. Fortunately for me, they didn’t. Before I could even think to hold her back—which I wouldn’t have done anyway— she stepped back. Smile intact and a gleam in her eyes capable of illuminating the whole room.

“Jesus. You’ve changed so much!” Her hands settled on my shoulder, holding softly and slightly shaking my shocked frame. “I missed you.” Her vice took a sweet edge and her head lolled to the side. Her eyes scrutinized me with the look of a mother who had just seen her child after a hard year abroad. I resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably out of her grasp. I wasn’t used to this.

“Honey, leave the feral alien alone.” Tony’s voice reached my ears. “We have important matters to discuss.”

“God, Tony. Give us a break. We haven’t seen the kid in two years.” Natasha’s ______ filled the room as I saw her taking steps towards me. I noticed there were no relaxed steps but tense and wary. Her eyes held a sort of apology mixed with caution.

I just stared. Deep inside I didn’t know how to react to someone I hadn’t seen in a long time, someone who betrayed me gets closer. Her body language told me she was sorry but still cautious of my reaction but I didn’t know if I should forgive her. Her right hand stretched towards my frame. I shifted uncomfortably in place, moving slightly away from her.

I saw her eyes roam my body, noticing the discomfort. She came to a halt three feet away from me. Her lips were pursed as she let her head drop for a second. She recovered quickly, extending her same hand towards me, this time to shake my hand.

“It’s good to have you back, Y/n.”

I took her hand in mine, shaking firmly. I nodded my head towards her. My lips pursed. The movement of Wanda’s body caught my eye. She stepped closer to me, her hands nervously trembling beside her big, red jumper.

“Can I hug you?” Hearing those words coming out of her froze the ongoing flow of blood through my veins. I was shocked, to say the least. I bet I looked like a gaping fish as an incomprehensible string of detached words escaped my lips. Everyone else seemed as surprised as I was. For completely different reasons I would bet. As Stark had said, they thought I was a free being.

She waited patiently, probably aware of the shock and ongoing battle I had inside me. She was the only one aware of my thoughts about showing anything besides contempt. And she knew why. But I sent it all to hell and for once, I did what I wanted to do. I nodded.

Her smile was worth enough as she moved quickly towards me, as though worried I would change my opinion. Her thin arms wrapped around my neck, my lack of height apparent as my 5’1 ass reached her shoulders. I resisted the urge to cry as I wrapped my arms around her back, relishing in a familiar face that didn’t hate my only existence.

“I missed you.” It was a whisper, only for me to hear. A small smile escaped my lips as hope blossomed in my chest. Hope that maybe I wasn’t a lost cause. Hope that maybe someday I could have a family.

“I did too, Red.” I murmured back. Careful to not raise my voice as I didn’t want anyone to know anything. I felt oddly vulnerable to be hugging someone let alone hugging someone in front of seven people. I noticed Vision staring and I gave him a subtle nod, a small smile creeping upon my lips. He nodded back with that usual blank expression not in compass with the feelings he harbored. After some time, I let her go before Stark had another remark to make.

I noticed Steve leaning against a far-away table, maybe ten feet away from where I was. His head lowered, eyes on the ground. His arms surrounded his build, hugging himself with a heavy frown on his face. He didn’t want to look towards me and I thought I knew why. He was ashamed of what he did. He was guilty anyway you looked at it. He was guided by Bucky to do everything. He followed the man despite knowing it was wrong. Not because your friend tells you to throw yourself out the window means you’ll do it. He knew full well what was wrong and right. He knew Barnes' proposal was as low as a man could get.

If he didn’t apologize and acknowledge what he did, he was dead to me. I mean, he had tried to apologize that day, but I was devastated and no words came through my anger.

There were a few handshakes and subtle nods here and there before I noticed a presence missing. I looked around for the usual big man with an overinflated sense of heroism but didn’t find him. He was big enough for anyone to spot him. I felt a pang in my chest and a tingle at the back of my head and I knew something was wrong. The air shifted and my hands started trembling slightly.

“Where’s my brother?” I asked, my voice slightly shaky. I tried to compose myself, knowing he had to be alright or I would’ve felt something.

“We don’t know. We couldn’t get a hold of him.” Natasha replied. I noticed the subtle worry etched in her face lines.

Suddenly, I understood that emptiness inside me. That swirling emotion unlatched to an earthy body. One of the connectors inside of me, besides bucky’s, was empty. It didn’t have any energy to connect to.

No.

No.

No.

I didn’t realize I began hyperventilating while the word repeated itself over and over in my head. My chest rose and fell quickly while the air got caught in my throat. My hand shot out to grasp anything in reach I could hold myself up with.

“Y/n?! What’s wrong?” Wanda was the first to step forward and grab my elbow. Her soft touch didn't completely register in my sensory sense. The only thing in my mind was the heavy colorless fog swirling around in my insides.

The worst part was, I didn’t know which of my brothers it belonged to. I thought about them and how long it had been since I had seen them. Since I had been with them.

“Can you all excuse me?” I pulled myself together and without waiting for a response, I hurried across the room. I thought about the me that they just saw but somewhere deep down, I didn’t care.

I hurried, passing Steve's body. This time, he looked intently at me. I didn’t expect him to stand up and grab my shoulders. By this point, my vision was blurry and I tried hard to reconnect with the missing life essence.

“Y/n, I-”

“Can we do this later, Rogers?” I spat, cutting him off before getting my elbow out of his grasp. I left, shuddering and feeling a wave of anger rising in my chest.

What a good way to make a comeback.

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Branded For Ruin Pt. 4

Chapter 4: Old Enemies

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Summary:  Bucky Barnes just wants to be a better person by living alone and eating ramen. Too bad court mandated therapy and the girl he met in the waiting room have other plans.

Warnings: None

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

           You trudged out of Dr. Earnest’s office, your eyelids threatening to shut. You just wanted to curl up on your couch and shut the entire world out. Dr. Raynor’s office door was still closed, so you would be walking down the stairs alone. Usually you didn’t mind being alone, but there was something about Bucky that made you feel like humanity wasn’t the worst thing in existence.

           Walking to the stairs, you were glad you were going down instead of up. Going down always seemed faster. As you were walking down, you noticed another person on the stairs. Anxiety started to spike in your chest as you recognized who it was.

           “Mark? Wh-what are you doing here?!” You said cautiously backing against the wall.

           He smiled and slowly walked toward you. “Hey, never thought I’d see you again. It’s a small world after all.”

           “S-stay away from me.” You said as your breathing began to quicken.

           Mark chuckled. “Aw, come on, Y/n. It’s not like we’re in the forest anymore.”

           “Y-you tried to kill me!” You retorted trying to steady your breathing. “How did you get out of jail?”

           He was a few inches away from your face, his hand went up to your face and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. “Oh, sweet thing. I have my ways.”

~~~~~

           Bucky gave Dr. Raynor a quick bye, before exiting her office. His blue eyes scanned the area for you and frowned when he didn’t see you. Picking up his pace toward the stairs, he figured he could catch up to you if he hurried. He didn’t know why he was drawn to you, but it wasn’t a feeling he was opposed to, which was hard to come by. Hearing your distressed voice, he sped up. His tennis shoes made little noise as he hurried down the staircase.

           He saw a man close up to you, he could see discomfort and fear written all over your body. Furrowing his brows, Bucky grabbed the man and pulled him away from you harshly. The man began to cuss, but Bucky didn’t care, he began seeing if you were okay.

           “Did he hurt you?” Bucky asked softly, his eyes scanning you.

           You shook your head, not trusting your voice. Bucky nodded and turned toward Mark. He grabbed Mark by the lapels of his jacket and pushed him against the wall.

           “If I see you near her again, I won’t hesitate to hurt you.” Bucky growled before releasing Mark.

           Mark glared at Bucky and made his way up the stairs. Bucky turned back to you, his eyes softening. You were surprised by his sudden burst of protectiveness, but thankful, nonetheless.

           “Thanks.” You said as you guys began to walk down the stairs.

           “No problem. Who was that guy anyway?”

           You closed your eyes and sucked in a breath trying to repress the bubbling memories that were threatening to spill over. “Uh, no one worth talking about.”

           Bucky eyed you for a moment, before nodding his head. If you didn’t want to talk about it, he wasn’t going to pry. A comfortable silence settled over the two of you as you walked down the stairs the rest of the way. Bucky held the door open for you, and you guys walked into the pouring rain outside. Reacting quickly, Bucky lifted his jacket over you, shielding you from the pelting rain.

           “I can walk you to your car, if you’d like.” Bucky said gruffly.

           You were surprised by this man’s amount of kindness. Most men would walk by you without giving you a second glance, let alone give you protection from the rain or walk you to your car.

           “I would hate to bother you.” You said quietly.

           He smiled. “I offered. Come on.”

           He followed you to your car, making sure his jacket was shielding you the whole time. Once you arrived at your car, you looked up at him to thank him, but the words got caught in your throat. He was completely soaked, water was dripping off of him, his shirt clung to his body and his hair was a mess, but he seemed happy. For so long you had been avoiding people because of a darkness that lied in everybody, but he made you realize that kindness still lives. Once you realized you were staring, you cleared your throat.

           “I, um, thank you. For everything that happened today.”

           “Just doing what any guy would do.” He said with a shrug.

           You shook your head. “Maybe back in the old days, but definitely not nowadays.”

           Saying your goodbyes, you guys parted ways, a strange feeling swirling inside both of your chests.

~~~~~

           You closed your house door with a sigh. Mark was here. What if he figured out where you lived? Bucky wouldn’t be here to stop him. You had no idea why Mark was here or what he wanted to do, but you needed to be prepared for anything. Locking your door, you went around your house locking all the windows. Thunder rumbled loudly and lightning crawled across the sky like a spider. You squeezed your eyes shut as a memory took over.

           “Go Y/n! I’ll keep Mark at bay!” David yelled over the pouring rain and roaring thunder. “Get the others to safety!”

           You watched as David stormed toward Mark and tackled him to the ground. Mud splashing into the air. A flash of lightning illuminated the scene of Mark and David fighting. You turned toward Jerry and Rose, the other two survivors of the crash and told them to run. Drops of rain blurred your vision as you ran as fast as you could. Fear pounded through your chest as you tried to get away from Mark.

~~~~~

           Bucky opened the door to his apartment, water dripping from his clothes onto the carpet. Alpine was resting on the back of the couch, seeming unfazed by the horrible weather outside. He tossed his keys on the counter before retreating to his room to take a shower and change into some dry clothes.

           Stepping into the soothing hot water of the shower he sighed. His muscles relaxed under the water and Bucky savored its warmth. One of Bucky’s favorite parts of the day was standing underneath the water and relaxing from the day’s activities. He began washing his hair, it was easier to wash now that his hair was short, but he kind of missed the cover his long hair provided him. His thoughts turned to you; a smile unconsciously formed on his lips. He wanted to get to know you better, but he didn’t want to get you caught up in his complicated and scary past. On the other hand, Dr. Raynor did tell him to start making new friends.

           Bucky got out of the shower and tugged on some comfortable clothes. Picking up his phone, he noticed a few texts from Sam. Turning off his phone, he wandered into the kitchen to get him and Alpine some dinner.

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