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writeandsurvive · 9 months ago

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Author's note: this is not proofread, there are probably typos. I hope my teasing didn't get you disappointed with the finale result! Tbh, I didn't know where I was going at first, but once I was in, I just kept adding. Maybe I'll write a little sequel to it, idk. Let me know what you think ❤️

Warnings: hospital, gun shot wound, surgery, complicated family, breakup, cold!Alden, evil!Vivian, secrets and reveals (I don't mean to make Alden's parents as bad people, just very concerned parents who can not not get involved in his life?)

Words count: 5.6k

@novamariestark @mandy426 @sarakafarrah

Never too late ~ Alden Parker

Alden felt stupid. He knew it was a trap but he still went in, head first. And now, he was in a hospital bed, waking up for surgery, his arm strapped and completely useless. He felt groggy and nauseous. He opened his eyes just slightly, seeing two people in the room. He recognized his father's white hair, as it almost blinded him. And a few feet to the left, he thought he saw you. But before he could tell himself it was the anesthesia and drugs that made him hallucinate, he fell back to sleep.

"He fell back asleep, it'll take hours before he actually wakes up. Are you sure you want to stay here, sir?" You asked Roman.

"I'd prefer to talk to him before going home and sleeping."

Not that you wanted to kick Alden's father out of the room, after all he was more legitimate to be here than you were, but it made you pretty uncomfortable. Roman Parker never liked you, or at least, he never accepted you as his son's girlfriend. Clearly, he wanted his son to get back with his ex wife, and no matter who Alden was dating, he wasn't going to accept her. So, he never gave you a chance to win him over, to show him how much you loved his son and how serious the relationship was. Unfortunately, the ending and the breakup was probably the proof he needed that he was right and you were fairly sure that he told Alden 'I told you so'. You doubted Roman knew the entire truth.

You never imagined you'd find yourself in this situation, back by his side, worrying about him, caring and feeling all those things you thought were gone. But when the hospital called to inform you about Alden being rushed into surgery, you didn't think twice before getting on the road. It was a good thing Philadelphia is only three hours away from DC.

And there you were, sitting by the bed, checking up on him just to make sure he was breathing. Roman didn't have much to say and neither did you so the room was silent except for the machines attached to Alden. His team - whom you had never met - stopped by several times, one of them gave you his number so you could call when Alden was awake. Their case wasn't over just yet, so they still had a lot to do. But you could tell they really care about him, and you were happy he had some nice people around.

His eyes finally opened again. He was grumbling, and whining, and it took several attempts for him to focus on where he was. He saw his dad again, asleep in a chair across the room. "Dad," he called out with a raspy voice but Roman didn't move.

"He fell asleep not long ago," you said, getting closer to the bed and putting your hand on Alden's. He turned his face to look at you, confusion written all over it. "Hey, are you feeling?" You asked softly.

He blinked a few times, looked around, to his dad, the machines, and back to you. "I'm dreaming," he whispered. "Dad!"

"You're very much awake, Den." You pushed some hair off his face. "I'm here."

"You left." He said. You tried to figure out the emotions in his voice, but it was like there was none. It was just a plain statement, and unfortunately, it was true.

"Let's not do this now, okay? Do you need anything? Water?"

He shook his head no, and tried to move but he instantly growled in pain. "Stop touching me." He told you and you pulled your hands away.

"Want me to go get a nurse?"

"If you're insisting on doing something for me, wake up my dad and drive him home." His tone was cold, but could you blame him?

"I offered him a ride several times, he didn't want--"

"Wake him up."

You moved to Roman to wake him up. After the Parker men talked for a moment, his father finally agreed to be driven home by you. The entire ride was silent, except for his directions to the new retirement home. You didn't try to make conversation, the old man was clearly exhausted from spending very long hours in the hospital, worrying about his son's life. Before he left the car, you gave him your number and told him he could call the next day if he needed a ride. You were relieved that he took it without any hesitation.

You drove back to the hospital, but stopped to get some comfort food for Alden. He'd probably not want it, or at least not yet, but you wanted to do this for him. When you got into his room, he was drinking some water and the TV was on. He looked at you like he was seeing a ghost. "Hey," you softly said, putting the food down, "I got you some of your fav snacks."

He looked at the bag and then back to you. "Why are you here?"

"Where else would I be?" You answered, getting closer to his bed.

"Literally anywhere else but here." He paused, taking a deep breath. "How did you even know? I highly doubt my dad called you."

"I'm still your emergency contact."

"Thanks for the heads up, I'll change that in the morning. Look, I'm alive okay? In a few weeks, my arm will be like new. So, you can leave now."

"Alden--" you tentatively tried to grab his free hand but stopped yourself when you heard him say, "No! You don't get to show up like this, after all this time, just because I got shot. You don't get to be nice to me, and try to take care of me. I'm a big boy. So you can do what you do, and leave. No need for a stupid note this time."

You stared at him for a short moment, tears threatening to fall. He was clearly avoiding your eyes, just looking at the ceiling. So, you simply grabbed your purse and started to walk towards the door. As your hand reached for the handle, you took a deep breath and turned around. "Believe it or not, but leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I didn't do it because I wanted to but because we were making each other miserable. All we did was fight, we couldn't agree on a single damn thing. Your parents--"

"Don't talk about my parents." He warned you.

"I'm sure they are nice people but they were mean to me, Alden. As much as you could argue with your father, you never had my back when it came to your mother."

"I said, don't." You saw the tears in his eyes at this moment.

"I'm sorry for your loss." You whispered softly, feeling for him and knowing just how much he loved his mother.

"Are you?" He finally snapped and looked directly at you. "Where the hell were you when she passed? Huh? You didn't call, you didn't send a single fucking text!"

"That's not true!" You defended yourself. "I sent you a care package and a long letter!"

"Oh, did you now? Must have gotten lost in the mail." He said, ironically. Clearly, he wasn't believing you. So you gently grabbed his chin and forced him to lock eyes with you again.

"I did." You assured him, knowing it was the damn truth. "I put some snacks in it, your fav bottle of wine, some flowers for your mom and a plant for you. I even put my Metallica hoodie that you always wanted to steal. Did you not get it?" It took him a moment to process before shaking his head no. "Well, have you moved since we--? Cause I sent it to the apartment on--"

"I didn't move."

"Then, I don't understand. I was informed it got delivered."

He stayed silent once more, and you knew he was trying to figure out what happened to that package. "There was no way I would learn about your mom and not do something, Alden. No matter how me and her didn't get along, I know she was the person you loved the most and I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you. I'm sorry you thought I didn't care or--"

"Not your fault for this one, I guess." He sighed. You noticed the tear that was rolling down his cheek and you couldn't help but to dry it with your thumb. Alden closed his eyes at the gesture, and you let your hand rest on his cheek for a moment. You leaned over and kissed his temple softly. "I never stopped caring," you whispered. "Your dad has my number if you want to reach out, otherwise I'll go back to Philly tomorrow night. Take care of yourself and please be careful next time."

You were hoping he would say something but he didn't. So you just left.

As you drove back to the motel, you wondered if you should've told him about everything that was in that care package and in your letter. You remembered every word that you wrote, how you explained why you didn't tell him about the pregnancy - cause he didn't want kids at his age and with his work, and that he was convinced you were having an affair, you were scared he'd think the baby wasn't his - but regretted it every day. Little Noah was still a tiny baby when you sent the package and the pictures, so told Alden he wouldn't remember not having his daddy the first three months of his life. Everything could be set on the right track. You'd come back to DC, do the co-parenting, or whatever. You poured your heart out in this letter, offered countless apologies, and solutions. Since you never got an answer, you figured Alden didn't want to know his son.

In the room, you found your two years old son sleeping on the big bed like a starfish, and your sister by his side, scrolling through her phone. When she saw you, she immediately got up and hugged you. "It didn't go well, did it?"

You told her everything since the last updates you gave her as she made some tea. Noah was deeply asleep, as you softly stroked his hair. "So, he still doesn't know about the little guy?"

You shook your head no, whipping your tears away. "All this time I thought he just didn't care."

"That's crazy. But what the fuck happened to the package?"

You shrugged. "Beats me." Noah moved in his sleep to get closer to you. "I guess I have to tell him again, now."

"Yeah. Face to face this time."

In the morning, Noah woke you up a little before 6am, which meant that you had barely slept for two hours. "It's too early baby, let's sleep a little more okay?"

"'Kay" he answered, but all he did was laying next to you, looking at you like you're the most wonderful thing in the world, and played with your face and hair. But eventually he asked for some milk, and neither of you went back to sleep. Around 9, you went to get breakfast to the diner with Noah and your sister. Your son was very curious about this new place, until he had some pancakes in front of him. Breakfast was going fine, until two people approached your table.

"Agent McGee, Agent Torres, hi!" You greeted them.

"Good morning, you can call us Tim and Nick."

"Alright, um this is my sister Jane, and um my--"

"Mommy! More syrup please?"

You couldn't lie, could you?

"My son, Noah." He barely said hi even after you asked him to, too focus on his food.

Tim started to tell you that they had just visited Alden and he was physically okay, while Nick added that for someone who can never shut up, he was extremely silent that morning. They also said that Jimmy Palmer went to pick up Alden's father to bring him to the hospital. You did your best to remain neutral to that information until they left with their order.

"What do you know about Nick?" Jane asked as soon as you sat back down. You laughed despite yourself, knowing that Nick Torres was exactly your sister's type.

You spent the morning walking around DC, or more specifically around the hospital where Alden was. You answered a phone call from your parents, let them talk with Noah for a bit, who was very happy about being with his mommy and his auntie and not at daycare. As you found a park for Noah to play, you and Jane sat on a bench. "They probably figured it out, you know." Jane said. "I mean, Noah is like Alden's clone. And what's the deal with the Parkers' hair anyways?"

You giggled softly, looking at your son from afar and yes, his head full of hair was all you could see.

"He's almost 3, J. They lost three damn years. Do you think Alden will forgive me? And--"

"Girl, that's not your fault that package didn't reach him! I bet some evil hands got on it!"

"What? Who? Who would do that?"

"His dad was pretty harsh with you--"

"No! I really don't think Roman would do something like this. The only way to know it was from me, was to read my letter. Roman wouldn't have opened the box in the first place."

"Fair enough. Then, was he dating someone back then?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

You looked at each other. You had to visit Alden again.

Your anxiety was so high as you reached for his room, you thought you may faint. Your heart was pounding so hard and fast, but there was no turning back now. You had to tell him, cause he never knew.

You walked into the room after Alden said to come in, breathing heavily. Alden had his bed on a sitting position, and he seemed more alert than the day before. Roman was in the chair next to the bed, and he did give you a slight nod, which you returned. You asked Alden how he was doing and he just mumbled that he was fine. You noticed some of the snacks you brought had been opened and it warmed your heart just a little.

"Why are you here again?" He asked.

You opened your mouth to answer but the door swung open - without a knock first - and the person you really didn't want to see was right there.

"Wow, I thought I was never going to make it!"

Completely ignoring you, Vivian circled the bed to give Roman a hug, before focusing on Alden. She leaned over to kiss his cheek, not earning any kind of reaction from him. You just stood there, staring until she finally looked up to you, “Oh, you.” she said. “What are you doing here?”

You tried to shut all of your thoughts and questions going through your mind and looked at Alden, “I need to talk to you,” you told him.

Before he could answer, Vivian spoke up, “Yeah well, it’s gonna have to wait. In case you didn’t notice, he got shot and–”

“Viv,” he exclaimed.

“What? She doesn’t have anything to do here, does she?”

You heard your name from Roman and looked at him, “I think you should leave.”

You looked at Alden again, hoping he’d say something, that he understood that you really needed to talk to him privately, but he just stayed silent. “Nothing changed.” you whispered before leaving.

You found the first restroom on your way and locked yourself in there to cry. Things were still as they were, he wouldn’t open his mouth to defend you, or at least ask his father to stand down and not get involved. And what the hell was Vivian doing there? Were they back together, or on their way to? You figured he’d eventually find someone, but if that someone was Vivian, that felt like a huge betrayal, as she was one of the reasons things didn’t work out between you and Alden. She was always there, his family never accepted the divorce and it always felt like she needed to have a hold on him. You remember one day when she cornered you and basically said the only reason Alden was dating you was because she let it happen, “If I ask him to get back together, trust me, he’ll leave on the spot.”

Once you had a hold on your emotions, you texted Jane to let her know you were on your way to them. Noah immediately rushed into your arms, asking if you could get some cupcakes, like his auntie promised.

“You have a serious problem with sugar, my love.”

“I love sugar!”

“Yeah, I got that.” you giggled.

It was late in the afternoon when you got a text from an unknown number. ‘You can come. -A’

You told Noah that you needed to visit your friend again, but this time, he was not having it. “Wanna come!” he kept saying, holding onto your neck with his tiny arms.

“You can’t, baby. But I won’t be long, okay?” he shook his head no in your neck. You still started to walk towards the hospital, trying to negotiate with your son.

“I got an idea,” Jane said, “What if you and I go to the shop and find a gift for mommy’s friend? And maybe you’ll find something for you too?”

Noah looked at his aunt and then you. He wasn’t very convinced about it but with one little push, he did agree to let go of you.

You were relieved to see Alden’s room empty except for him. He was standing with some casual clothes on him, a bag was at the end of the bed. “You’re being discharged already?”

“Yeah, I’ll not spend another night here.”

“Alden, are you sure it’s the right thing to do? What did your doctor say?”

“What did you want to talk about?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

You sighed and sat next to him.

“That package I sent you when your mom passed– there was a long letter with it.”

“Longer than your note?”

“Alden, please.” you looked up to him, with tears in your eyes.

“Sorry, but that–really hurt me. More than you know.”

“I can imagine,” you took a deep breath, “And I’m willing to hear all about it, even if you want to get angry at me and insult me, but right now, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“About that letter?”

“I told you a lot of things in this letter, including one very important thing.” You took your phone out of your pocket, unlocked it and went to the gallery. The last picture was one of Noah that you took a few hours early at the park. Eventually, you showed him the phone. He grabbed it with his free hand and stared at the picture of a moment. “Wh–who is that?”

“His name is Noah.” tears fell down your cheeks but you didn’t care. “He’s my son. And your son.” you said right above a whisper.

Alden’s head started to move left to right, tears were forming in his eyes but he didn’t take his eyes off the picture. He couldn’t believe it and you didn’t blame him. “Alden, I’m sorry.” you kissed his injured shoulder without thinking. “I was telling you in that letter about him, there was pictures too, and since I never heard from you, I thought you didn’t–”

“That I didn’t want to know my own child?” you could hear the hurt in his voice. “Did you seriously think that about me?”

“What else was I supposed to think?”

“My mom passed away a year after you left. Why wait that long? He was already born!”

“I know, I– I explained everything in the letter and–”

“Yeah well, I didn’t get that damn letter, okay? So why didn’t you tell me when you found out?” he stood up from the bed, and whined a bit as he uncontrollably tried to move his arm.

“You were so clear about not wanting kids and why, we couldn’t be around each other without fighting and I– I thought you were back with Vivian. Look, I made this decision out of heartbreak and I regretted it, okay? Which was why I reached out when your mom passed. I realized that anything could happen to you or to me, and Noah needed both his parents–”

Your phone, which was still in Alden’s hand, started to buzz. “Your sister,” he said, handing you the phone. As soon as you picked up, you could hear Noah crying, “SOS!” Jane said.

Alden was staring at you, and you knew he was able to hear. “I’m on my way, sis.” you hung up.

“They, um, they are down at the gift shop.”

“Your sister and–Noah?”

You nodded, standing up next to him. “Look, there’s no rush, we can–”

“Does he know? Who I am?”

You put your hand over his, the one stuck against his chest.

“He’s not asking deep questions yet, but he did ask about his daddy a few times and I couldn’t lie to him. He’s seen pictures of you, so he may recognize you.”

Alden took a few deep breaths, taking to stop himself from crying. “What did you say about me not–being there?”

“Daddy leaves away from us and can’t visit for now.”

“Better than ‘daddy doesn’t know you exist’.” he said, coldly.

“Alden,” you whispered.

“We have a lot to talk about, but– our son is crying.”

You couldn’t believe that you were on your way to your son with his father by your side. Noah was going to meet his daddy. Alden was going to meet his son. You didn’t think it would go this fast, even though you figured Alden would want to waste any more time. As you approached the gift shop, you uncontrollably grabbed his arm. “You should��ve let me hold your bag.” you said.

“My right arm is fine. Is that him?” You listened and heard little whimpers and a little kid’s voice.

“Yeah.” you breathed out.

As soon as Noah saw you, he ran. You picked him up, holding him tight in your arms. “What’s wrong, baby? What did auntie J do this time?”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything!” your sister interjected. “Alden,” she greeted the man who was staying a couple of feet away. He briefly looked at her but immediately got his eyes focused on his son again. His eyes were full of tears, threatening to fall again.

“She said I could take just one teddy for your friend.”

“I said he didn’t need two of them. One was enough, wasn’t it, Alden?”

It was only then that Noah looked at his father. He stayed silent, just staring at him before looking at you and back at him. Then he approached his mouth to your ear, “He like daddy.”

“Cause it’s him, baby.”

Noah looked at Alden again. “You hurt, daddy?” he answered softly, like it was the most normal thing. Like it wasn’t the first time they were meeting each other.

It took a moment for Alden to answer. “I am, but it’ll be okay. Soon it’ll be like nothing happened.”

“What happen?”

“Huh, I fell and hurt my shoulder.”

“Need a hug?” He offered, since you strongly believed that hugs can solve a lot of things and it was something you were transferring to your son without doing it on purpose.

“I’d love a hug.”

Noah extended his arms, so you moved closer to Alden. “Careful with his shoulder, okay?” you warned him, but he was very thoughtful, only holding on his father’s neck. Then he kissed his cheek and rested his head on the right shoulder. You could see that Alden was fighting the urge to cry, just as you were. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there before, buddy. I’ll never leave you from now on.”

It was nearly impossible to take Noah off his dad after the initial meeting. Even in the car, he wanted to sit on his lap and only agreed to let go as long as daddy sat next to him. Your sister drove to your former apartment, but she needed to get back to Philly and work the following day. “Don’t worry, she’ll take my car if needed.” Alden told her when Jane asked how you’d get back home. You grabbed yours, Noah’s and Alden’s bags from the trunk before your sister said goodbye to the three of you before driving off.

Inside the apartment, Noah wanted to see every room. He asked a million questions to Alden about everything and nothing, and you had to translate a few times as daddy wasn’t familiar with Noah’s own language. His phone rang a few times but he completely ignored it, only focusing on his son and telling him everything he wanted to know. What you were feeling was indescribable.

When you told Noah that his dad needed to rest, he agreed to settle on the couch with him. “Is it okay if I make dinner now?” You asked Alden, “This little guy woke up at 6, and didn’t nap. Won’t take long until he gets grumpy.”

“Go ahead but I’m not sure my fridge has what you need. I can go get something?”

You looked inside the fridge as you heard your son asking his dad if they could watch Paw Patrol. You heard Alden’s confusion when he said sure, and giggled. “Where Netflix?”

“Oh, here.”

“Well, your fridge is indeed very sad. What do you want to eat, Nono?”

“Nuggies!”

“Why do I even ask?”

You grabbed your phone and settled next to Alden, placing the order while Noah explained Paw Patrol to his father.

A couple of hours later, both Noah and Alden were asleep on the couch. You obviously had to snap a few pictures, before picking up your son and bringing him to the bed in the guest room. “Put him on my bed, it’s comfier.” Alden said, half sleep.

“Okay, but I have to stay next to him, he could roll over.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

You placed Noah in the middle of the big bed, got rid of your jeans, socks and bra. Alden got in before you could get under the sheets, and clearly checked out your legs. “Could you be more subtle?”

“I know and remember your body like it was yesterday.”

You chose not to answer, “Do you need to keep the sling?”

“Yeah, for at least a week.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I took the entire week off work.”

“Doesn’t matter, since you’re gonna quit anyway. You’re not going back to Philadelphia.”

As Noah slept between the two of you, Alden asked many questions about your son; his birthday, favorite food, what he likes to do, if he has allergies or health issues, etc. You answered everything, gave him as much info as possible. “And um, does he have a father figure in his life?”

“Is this your way to ask me if I'm dating someone?”

“Maybe. Are you?”

“No. His only father figures are my dad and my uncle. Are you dating Vivian?”

Alden chuckled. “Are we doing this again?”

“Considering what I saw earlier–”

“I'm not dating her or anyone else. I'll admit I hooked up with her a few times over the last few years, but–”

“Great!” You sighed.

“You're gonna tell me that you haven't been with anyone since–?”

“The last time I had sex was probably the night we conceived this tiny human.” You looked down at Noah and played with his hair.

“Oh,”

It was silent for a moment. Alden wanted to get on his side, play with Noah's hair too, reach out for you, but with his arm, he could only lay down on his back and that frustrated him. “What was your breaking point?” He asked, eventually. “Why did you leave that day? And not talk to me?”

“I knew if I talked to you, I wouldn't go through with it. And it was something in particular that made me leave, I was–exhausted. Of the fights, the arguments, the jealousy, and suspicion. It was like we didn't trust each other anymore, for anything. And–” your voice broke. “Maybe it's stupid, but you didn't want to marry me, you didn't want to have kids with me so I just thought – I was temporary.”

“We lived together. That was a huge commitment for me.”

“Exactly. It was huge for you, while it was just natural for me.”

“Okay, I get that. And I'm sorry I made you feel this way.” He turned his face to look at you. He could only make out some of your features. “I was truly and madly in love with you. But I guess I only realized it once you were gone. And then I was so mad at you for leaving.” It was his voice that broke.

“I can't blame you for that part.” You cried. “Do you think it's too late?”

“Too late for what?”

“...Us?”

“It's never too late.”

Eventually you both fell asleep, exhausted physically and mentally.

Of course, you were both awakened by Noah. First, he cuddled and called out for you. “Hey, baby, good morning!” You said, eyes still closed, holding him against you.

“Daddy's snoring.” You listened closely and indeed Alden was snoring. Crazy as it was, you missed that sound very much. “Like pop.”

You giggled, “Not as loud as pop, though!”

“No! Wake him?”

“Hold on,” you grabbed your phone to check what time it was, 7:30am. Alden probably needed more sleep, so you convinced Noah to help you prepare breakfast for daddy and wake him up after. Luckily, there was some eggs and bacon, and pancake batter in the kitchen and in the end, you prepared breakfast while Noah logged on Netflix by himself. It was almost ready when there were some knocks at the door. You opened to find Roman and Vivian, holding what seemed to be breakfast.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, shocked.

“Making breakfast,” you gave her your best fake smile. “Good morning, Roman.”

“Is my son awake?”

“Not yet, I thought he needed–”

Vivian practically pushed you out of her way to get in. You obviously let Roman get inside too. “What is that?” She said, pointing at Noah.

“My son.” You all heard. Alden barely walked into the living area that Noah was running into his arms.

“Morning, daddy!”

“Good morning, buddy.”

“You snore!”

“I do not!” Alden laughed.

The boys didn't have more time as Vivian raised her voice, asking what was going on. You noticed Roman sitting at the kitchen counter, staring at your son, his grandson. “Go watch your show, baby, and we'll have breakfast, okay?”

Then he told everyone to follow him inside the greenhouse. “Don't act so shocked, Vivian.” Was the first thing Alden said. “You knew about Noah.”

“What? You're crazy, how would I–?”

“I remembered a few days after mom passed, you bringing me my favorite snacks, wine, a plant, and flowers.” The exact content of your package. “What did you do with the hoodie and the letter?”

“I don't– I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“The only reason I'm staying calm right now is because my son is in the next room, but look at me and listen to me. I never want to see you again, so you're gonna disappear from my life and my father's. Meaning that from the moment you walk out that door, you will not text or call him, or any other members of my family. And if I learn that you didn't respect that, I'll be far less gentle. Am I clear?”

“Alden, listen–”

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

She was crying and trying to get Alden to listen to her, but he only grabbed your waist and held you close to him. When she turned to Roman, hoping he'd listen and defend her, the older man simply told her to leave. Eventually, she did, using the greenhouse's door.

Alden held you tighter, kissing your temple softly. “Dad,”

“Can I meet him? What's his name?”

Noah was very happy to have another grandpa. And it was amazing to see how Roman was doing his best to give him a very good first impression. You all had breakfast together, and you mostly stayed silent, just being overwhelmed about the Parkers boys getting to know one another. After eating, Noah wanted to show Paw Patrol to his grandfather, and Alden took this opportunity to take you to the bedroom. He didn't waste any second before kissing you deeply and intensely. You returned it immediately, holding onto his hair. Feeling like you were breathing again, you only stopped kissing when you heard him making a sound of pain. “My shoulder,” he said.

“Oh god, I'm so sorry baby. I didn't–”

“It's okay,” he smiled. “It's worth it.”

He kissed you again, trapping you between the door and his body. “Fuck, I missed you.” He growled.

“Missed you more.”

“We can't do this right now, can we?” He chuckled, out of breath.

“Oh baby, it's gonna be tricky for us to have some privacy now.”

“It's fine. I'm taking all the pros and cons.” He kissed your forehead, “I'm taking you and our little boy. I'm taking it all.”

#ncis #alden parker #alden parker imagine #alden parker fanfic #alden parker x reader #ncis fanfiction #ncis imagine

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i3asil · 2 years ago

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Dungeon 23 - Day 2

So, before I get to continue I just wanted to get some questions out of the way first. “Basil, will this become a full fledged story?” - No. The focus on this really isn’t the story or the party. But the actual environment. I occasionally mention thoughts and ideas but only because these are potential things a DM can use when their Party makes checks. “I saw at least 3 typos! How dare you?” - Well. No real excuse here. Yah, I’m human and I don’t really have time to proofread everything I write on Social Media posts. So while I try to keep things accurate, the occasional mistake happens. Now onto the next room! Last we left off, the party took a long rest in the first room of the dungeon. A large and empty room, yet it left them to consider their next paths. Hints leading to water and possible greens and other hints leaving them to be aware of either another person, or a whole party. They decided that since there was no clear ‘best’ path to travel along, they would simply begin with the right most path. One where another party member figured out that the water came from, and they also found a golden coin akin to a breadcrumb marker in front of it. With a torch in hand and narrow formation they followed the path. It was a narrow and the floor became more and more slippery as they continued. Not only that, but it appeared that the moss formed more densely the further they went. Eventually though, they saw a light on the other end of this pathway and halted in their steps. They could not yet make out what kind of light it was. Whether that of candles or torches, or that of a magic spell, perhaps even daylight itself? Either way, knowing that they might not be alone in this dungeon, they continued to tread carefully with their guard at full alert. Closing in on the end of the pathway and entrance to the next room, their view opened up and their eyes were immediately drawn to the moss. Not just any moss. No, it was the source of light that had worried them so much. Bright illuminecent moss grew in patches on every thinkable surface. After a small breather they dared to actually move inside the room, yet kept their formation tight to observe. Similar in layout to the last room, it appeared to be rather large, several full sprints across in every direction. However, their view was blocked by many pillars and small walls. Not only that, but in some places dense vines obscured their vision. Near the middle of the room, the moss appeared to be riddled with large bushes. Those with sharper eyes could make out that these carried berries of some kind. The atmosphere itself could only be described as a dampness although the smell of green that filled this room was a pleasure to many. Feeling safe and welcome here, they loosened their formation and moved along the outer walls, to try and sneak a peek at what was on the other side of the room, which was hard to see due to the previously mentioned pillars, walls and vines. As they did, their every step was followed by a small rustle, as the floor was practically a complete moss carpet. They grew used to this rustle fairly quick. Once around the corner, they saw a small pool of water in the ground, above it, stalactites from which water dripped down into. As their eyes moved up, however, they could tell this was not the only floor. Right above, there were ridges along the wall with more bushes, some small stone bridges even stretching from different pillars. Yet, before they could take in the whole view, they were jumped by a group of Goblins. Now, for DMs, you can pick whatever starting enemy you’d like of course. However I chose goblins here due to their green skin blending in nicely into the plant life and their small bodies can also hide easily. At first, they saw 4 (1 for each Party Member). Once the party slew about half, another four appeared behind them from bushes and moss. A two phase encounter designed to test strategy from the party as well as how well they would protect the squishy members, such as the wizard. Depending on the party you can obviously reduce the amount of goblins here, though I will say that I generally start them off at level 3 so this kind of encounter is usually alright for anybody. Fending off the goblins with a few close calls for their lives, the morale of the goblins would falter after only about two were left standing, diving into the pool of water. The Party, exhausted from this fight, had never seen a goblin swim or dive for that matter. But this now held newfound curiosity. Where did this pool lead to? Could the party also dive after these goblins? And what kind of paths would they face? Could they even hold their breath for that long? And where would they come out at? Was there a whole horde on the other side, that would now be alarmed? With little time to think, they stood guard at the pool waiting for possible reinforcements. Afters a few hours passed, nobody came. Although they didn’t feel safe, they decided to leave the pool of water for now, and look for what they could scavenge. Quickly finding out that the berries within the bushes were edible and that the moss when plucked would still glow. A smart party member would use a mortar and pestle to grind the moss to a mush, and use it as paint to write on walls where they had been. Mainly, as a test for now, as they had no idea how long this ‘paint’ would glow for. They also still had no idea if the water was entirely safe to drink yet either, but had little choice in the mater as their rations already began to run low. After a brief refill of their water skins they returned to the first room, deciding it best to look at the other pathways next. Once returned, they broke off a few stalactites and mites to wall off the pathway they just went to, to hopefully not be ambushed out of nowhere in case the goblins did return in the future. Now they only had one more choice before them. Follow the middle path, which was signed by a coin. Or to go down the leftmost path which was left untouched. Through which path would they travel next?

#dungeon23 #writing #author #write #novel #story #dungeon #dnd #dungeons and dragons #dragons #goblins #room #moss #party #fantasy #adventure #venture #challenge

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tobesolonely · 4 years ago

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kindergarten teachers

summary: teacher!harry and coworker y/n have a hard time coming to terms with their feelings for each other

a/n: ahhh she’s finally done! i’ve been working on this fic for sooo long and i hope u all like it! big thanks to @queencharry for helping me when i got stuck and beta reading, and @behindthatbabyface for beta reading as well and giving me feedback!! i appreciate u both <3 enjoy ~11.3k words of some mutual pining and teacher!h interacting with lil kindergarteners 🥺also i am sorry if theres any major grammar mistakes (as always) or crazy typos, i always miss some things when i go back and proofread that im sure i’ll catch later! thank u

warnings: smut, mentions of alcohol

talk to me about harry and y/n! let me know your thoughts!!

my ko-fi! thank you :)

From the time you were very young, you knew you wanted to be a teacher. One of your earliest childhood memories was going to school dressed up as one for career day. Your usually untamed hair was pulled back into a sleek bun (courtesy of your mother), and you donned a funky baby-pink sweater. For bottoms, you wore the closest thing to a pencil skirt you had in your five-year-old wardrobe. When you look back on the photographs your mother took of you that day, you did not resemble a teacher in any way. You were sure if you had not done your Career Day presentation in front of the whole class, no one would have even known who you were dressed up as.

Once you moved onto college and declared Education as a major, that was when people really started to let you hear their opinions on the career path you wanted to pursue. It seemed like whenever you went home for a holiday, relatives were always in your ear saying, “You know teachers don’t make a lot of money, right? Have you ever considered something in the sciences?”. You always responded, “I know, but what would the world do without teachers?”.

Eventually, you finished your undergraduate career, successfully completed student teaching with the highest praise from your superiors and colleagues, obtained your teaching credentials, and even went back to school to get your Master’s degree. So, it was much to everyone’s surprise when you settled on being a Kindergarten teacher. People assumed that because you completed so much schooling, you wanted to be a university professor. However, the thought never even crossed your mind. You always thought Kindergarten teachers were the most impressionable people out there and knew you wanted to be one.

To you, there was no greater responsibility than that of a Kindergarten teacher. It was your responsibility to teach your students reading, writing, art, and music at the most basic level. You showed them how to play with others, how to be kind, and give them the tools necessary to succeed once they leave your classroom. You were the first teacher your students ever had, so you needed to make them fall in love with school instead of hate it, considering they’d have to stick to it until they were at least eighteen.

You’ve been a credentialed Kindergarten teacher for the last three years, and you’ve loved every moment of it. You were one of the younger teachers at school, but you never felt left out. Your colleagues were amazing people who often shared tips and tricks they wish they knew when they first started teaching.

Now, you were groggily unlocking the door to your classroom, feeling those first-day-of-school jitters you always felt. You knew kindergarteners weren’t there to harshly critique you. Still, you wanted them to go home and tell their parents about how excited they were to have you as a teacher, not run home in tears. That never happened, of course, but you didn’t want to take any chances. You drop your keys and mutter a quiet, “Shit!” setting your travel mug filled with coffee on the ground and readjust the box of donuts you had for your kids on your hip. As you reach for your keys, you hear a deep voice ask if you need help. You quickly turn around, eyes wide from being startled.

“Oh! You scared me,” you place your free hand over your chest. “But yeah, actually, that’d be great. I’m struggling to get my door open.” The man nods, his own keys he wore around his neck jangling as he retrieves first your keys, then your coffee mug.

“I’m Harry– Mr. Styles, if you want,” he holds your keys out for you to take, your coffee mug still in his large hands. “Uh, I’m the new Kindergarten teacher.” You give him a confused look and trade the box of donuts in your arms for your keys, opening the door. “The last one, Mrs. Brown, I think it was, I guess she decided a few weeks back that she wanted to retire.” You get your door open and walk inside your classroom, turning on the lights. It was a little stuffy, considering you hadn’t been there to open any windows in about a month.

“Oh, that’s right! Welcome,” you give him a warm smile. “I’m Y/N– Miss Y/L/N if you want.” A slight blush appears on his cheeks. “We’re gonna be working together then, it seems. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Mrs. Brown, but it’ll be nice to collaborate with someone closer to my age, you know?” Harry nods, and you realize he still had your coffee mug and box of donuts in his hands. “You can just set that on my desk, thanks for helping out. Would you like a donut?”

“Um, I- it’s okay,” he stammers, setting the items down. “Sorry, it’s just that I’ll probably crash if I have a donut first thing in the mornin’.” You smile at him and move to open all your windows and the back door, wanting the stuffy classroom to air out a bit before the children got here.

“I totally get that,” you giggle, walking back over to your desk. “Are you excited about the first day? I always get a little nervous. I also talk a lot when I’m nervous, I’m sure you caught onto that.”

For the first time that morning, Harry laughs. “Yeah, I’m nervous, too. ’ve never taught in the States before, so this is a bit new to me.” He’s playing with the keys hanging from his lanyard.

“I noticed you had an accent, but I didn’t know if it was weird to ask about it. What brings you to California?” You open the box of donuts and take one out, wanting to eat it before it gets cold, and the glaze hardens.

“Uh, I went to University here, but when I graduated, I decided to go back home and teach for a couple of years. I really missed being here though and wanted to come back, so I got my credentials, and uh, here I am,” he tells you with a grin, and you notice he has deep dimples.

“Well, we’re glad you’re here,” you tell him earnestly. “The kids are just gonna love your accent, too!” you joke and Harry laughs for the second time that day.

“If all else fails, ’m hopin’ to charm everyone over with my accent,” he stares at you for a moment before speaking again. “Well, I better finish getting situated. It’s fifteen til, and I reckon the children will be arriving soon, yeah?” He asks. You nod.

“Best to be waiting at parent drop-off too, there are always a few parents that are just as nervous as their babies, if not more, and could use a quick pep talk.”

“Thanks for lettin’ me know. I was thinking about standing out there anyway, just to make a good first impression.” You take another bite of your donut, giving him a thumbs up.

“You’ve got this, Harry. I know you’re not completely clueless since you’ve taught before, but I know the first day can be a little intimidating. You know where I am if you need anything.” He gives you a grateful smile, quietly thanking you before turning to walk out the door. You’re left thinking about your new coworker, only being pulled from your thoughts of him when the first bell rings.

“Good morning everyone, my name is Miss Y/L/N. Are you all excited to get this school year started?” A chorus of high-pitched yeses fills the room, and you smile warmly at your class. “I’m so excited that you’re all here! I have a little surprise for each of you!” You grab the box of donuts and walk back to the rug in the center of the room that the children usually sat on for storytime. Little gasps fill your ears, and they all say, “Donuts!” and “Yummy!”. You smile at the kids again, already feeling overwhelmed with how adorable they were.

“We all get a donut?” one little girl asks, her eyes wide. You nod at her.

“Of course! Everyone will get a donut, sweetie.” You move to get the plastic food gloves you kept so you can safely hand out a donut to everyone. “Okay guys, I’m going to pass a stack of napkins around the room. Take one and pass the stack to the person sitting next to you. Does that make sense?” All the students nod their heads in confirmation, so you grab a stack and hand them to the child sitting closest to you. “Once the last person has their napkin, let me know, and then it’ll be donut time!” You say this over-enthusiastically, and the children squirm in their seats in excitement.

As you go around handing out donuts to each of your students, you learn their names and ask them to tell you one fun fact about them. Most children say things like, “I have a brother/sister!” or “I can run really fast!”, and you find it absolutely adorable. One thing you loved the most about teaching five-year-olds was their ability to think everything was cool. It was comforting to know that no matter what you did, they’d find you cool, and your first-day jitters quickly dissipated. As the children eat their donuts, you read them a story, putting on different voices for all the various characters. You show them how to raise their hand when they have something they’d like to share and remind them to use their “listening ears” when you or one of their classmates are speaking.

When it’s time for recess, you show them how to line up quietly at the door, and assign a line leader and a hall monitor. You remind the children that they will all get a turn at these tasks eventually because it’ll switch every week, and not to worry. As you’re walking down the hall backward (one of your teachers walks that you’d finally perfected), you hear Harry’s voice.

“Okay Room Ten, we’re gonna go out to the playground now, where you all will get to play every recess and lunch. That sounds like fun, doesn’t it?” He asks them, and you hear little voices chattering out to him in excitement. You can’t help but peek into his classroom as you walked by, as his door was open. He didn’t see you because he was busy organizing his class into a straight line, so you keep going. Your class, who, much to your surprise, was walking very quietly, got loud once they saw the Kindergarten play area had a slide and monkey bars.

“We get to play on this?” one of your students, Destiny, questions.

“Yup! This is a pretty cool play area, isn’t it?” They nod and stare at you, waiting for direction. “Oh, you can all go play and run around, get some of that energy out. When the bell rings, though, I want you to listen to the yard teachers because they’re gonna help get you all lined back up so we can go back inside. Deal?” The children give you nods and thumbs up, and you grin at them, telling them to have fun and be nice to one another. As you’re turning to go to the teacher’s lounge to refill your mug of coffee, you see Harry walking down the hallway with his class, and decide to wait for him. He gives his class the same spiel you gave yours and tells them to “Treat each other with kindness” before noticing you waiting for him.

“Hey,” he gives you a grin, looking far more relaxed than he did when you saw him earlier that morning. “How’s it going so far?”

“It’s great,” you reply, leading him in the direction of the teacher’s lounge. “They’re all adorable.”

“Yeah, don’t know what I was so nervous fo’. They’re great. Also, you’re right,” Harry has an amused look on his face. “The first thirty minutes of ’em bein’ there was just them askin’ me to say things because they think I sound funny.”

“I told you!” you exclaim, laughing at him. “A British accent is definitely not something we hear every day, not here at least.”

“I figured,” he replies, and silence falls between you. “Where are we going, by the way?”

You stop in front of a blue door and sift through the keys on your lanyard, finally finding the one you were looking for. “Teacher’s lounge. Have you had the chance to check it out yet?” He shakes his head, and you pull open the door after having unlocked it. “After you.” He shakes his head and steps back, signaling you go ahead of him. You quirk an eyebrow at him, and he gives you a defensive look.

“What? ‘M a gentleman. Ladies first,” he insists, holding the door open. You walk inside the room, trying to refrain from rolling your eyes. There aren’t many teachers in the lounge. You figure they all must be in their classrooms, trying to do some last-minute organization and lesson planning amidst the first day of school chaos. However, a few colleagues that you’re rather fond of are in the room, so you take it upon yourself to introduce them to Harry.

“Hello everyone, I hope you’re all having a relaxing morning!” They chuckle lightly at your sarcasm. “I’d like you all to meet Mr. Harry Styles. He’s the new Kindergarten teacher that took Mrs. Brown’s place.” A look of realization washes over all three teachers’ faces, and they warmly greet him. Harry goes around, shaking each of their hands, voice dripping with charm.

“Lovely to meet you all. Looking forward to collaborating,” he tells them quietly. They begin engaging in polite conversation, so you leave Harry’s side, walking over to the coffee station to get what you came for before recess was over. He joins you shortly after, grabbing a disposable cup. “They were a nice bunch.” He mutters, pouring the steaming coffee into his cup. You hum in agreement.

“Everyone here is nice. The lounge is usually much more crowded than this. Everyone else must be in their rooms,” you flick your wrist up to check the time. “We got some time to sit down and breathe for a bit if you’d like? Unless you wanted to get back to your room.”

“‘M in no rush, trust me,” he tells you, flashing you a small smile. “Let’s take a seat.” Harry walks over to an unoccupied couch and sits down slowly, taking care not to spill his coffee.

“You didn’t want a lid?” you question when you see him struggling. He shrugs.

“Not necessary. Jus’ some extra plastic,” you hum and look down at your lap. You were quickly learning that Harry was not a big talker, and he liked to get his point across in as few words as possible. Him being a Kindergarten teacher contradicted heavily with his rather bashful demeanor, but that just made him all the more endearing to you.

“Do you live nearby, or is your commute long?” you ask him after a few moments of silence. As soon as you ask the question, you internally cringe, feeling like it was too invasive. If Harry thought the question was weird, he doesn’t show it.

“I live in town. I actually walked here today, believe it or not,” he tells you with a chuckle. “Was such a beautiful morning that I figured I should.” Every time you think Harry can’t possibly get any more captivating, he does, and you find yourself biting back a smile.

“How long is your walk?” You cross your legs and then uncross them, a nervous habit that you had. Harry takes a sip of coffee, mulling your question over.

“I’d say it took me about twenty minutes. I was walkin’ at a pretty leisurely pace, though,” Harry shrugs. “How about you? Do you live nearby?”

“I also live in town, but I’m way too lazy to walk, so props to you,” you smile. “The best thing about living around here is seeing your kids out in public. It’s the cutest thing.” Harry smiles, not saying anything else. A silence falls over the two of you again but instead of feeling the need to fill it, you just sit beside him, drinking your coffee. Your mind wanders off to what you were going to do for the rest of the school day, if you had enough groceries in your apartment for dinner or if you should go grocery shopping after work, and if you remembered to pay your bills on time. The bell rings to signify the end of recess, and you jump slightly.

“Ready to go back?” Harry asks, standing up and walking back over to the coffee station. “Think’m gonna get a bit more.” You go to stand by the door, waiting for him to pour another cup of coffee. He quickly rejoins you, and the coffee sloshes a bit, some getting on his hand, but he doesn’t seem to notice. “Hope those lil’ buggers got some of their energy out.”

“Right! Mine was even more hyper than they probably would’ve been ’cause I gave them those donuts this morning,” you laugh. “So, for my sake, I hope so too.” When you and Harry arrive back at the Kindergarten play area, your classes are already lined up quietly awaiting instruction, thanks to the yard teachers. You and Harry both thank them and move to stand in front of your kids.

“Miss Y/L/N,” one of your children calls out from the back of the line. “Can we get more donuts when we go back inside?” You see Harry smile out of the corner of your eye as he’s giving instruction to his class.

“There are no more donuts, you guys ate them all! I have something even cooler than donuts planned for us, though, okay? Now, remember what I told you all about walking quietly, right? Mr. Line Leader, how does your line look? Do you think we’re all set to go back inside?” The child you appointed line leader turns around to look at everyone, occasionally shushing some people. After a few moments, he turns back to you, giving you a thumbs up.

Harry moves to stand beside you, leaning down to whisper in your ear. “Wanna eat lunch together and do some planning? I feel like it would be a good idea for us to be teachin’ the same things, more or less.” Your body feels warm all over, and you just look at him and nod, not trusting yourself to speak. Harry smiles and places a hand on your shoulder. At a normal volume, he says, “See you then, Miss Y/L/N.”

Upon entering Harry’s room, you’re immediately met with the scent of vanilla and the loud hum of the air conditioning. It was bright, adorably decorated, and surprisingly decluttered. It was the polar opposite of your room, and you found it very welcoming and comforting. “Nice set-up you’ve got going on in here,” you tell him. He jumps in his seat at his desk, not having heard you come in.

“Fucks sake,” he mumbles, face going red. “You scared me. Thanks, though. My sister helped me decorate, I don’t really have an eye for this type of stuff.” He rubs the back of his neck, sheepishly.

“Well, if you ever need any help decorating for back to school and your sister isn’t around, I’d be more than happy to help.” Harry smiles and suddenly gets up from his chair, offering it to you.

“Please, take my seat. I’ll just sit in one of the kids’ chairs,” he rolls it towards you, and you shake your head, about to object, but he interrupts you. “It’s okay, Y/N. Their chairs aren’t that bad.” You take the seat Harry was just in, mumbling a quiet thank you. He hums and pulls a tiny chair up beside you, legs scraping loudly across the floor. When he sits down in it, you can’t but burst out laughing.

“Harry, that chair is so tiny! Are you sure you don’t want me to sit there instead? You look so uncomfortable,” you tell him in between laughs. “This is your classroom, after all, I’m just a guest.” Harry shakes his head, cheeks flushed.

“It’s okay, Y/N, really. ‘M perfectly comfortable in this lil’ miniature chair,” he looks at the lunch bag you sat on his desk. “What’s for lunch?” You reach for your sack and unzip it, pulling out a pre-packaged salad from Trader Joe’s.

“I’m very lazy when it comes to packing my lunches,” you admit sheepishly, pulling out a fork. “How about you? Did you eat already?”

“Oh yeah, I had a green smoothie. Not a big lunch guy,” he replies calmly. “Wanna get started with planning? I think we only have about thirty minutes left.” He looks down at his watch to confirm the time. Harry opens his planner, and you see pages filled with his neat, blocky scrawl. He jumps right into talking about the ideas he had in mind, excitement filling his voice that you haven’t yet heard.

The passion and enthusiasm he has for teaching are evident through the way he tells you about the activities he has planned, new materials and teaching methods he wants to try implementing, and things he’s tried before that didn’t work out the way he wanted them to. He asks you for your advice and listens intently when you speak, jotting down notes.

You find yourself having to mentally remind yourself not to stare at him. He was a handsome man– there was no denying that. He had curly brown hair, soft and wild-looking, the most beautiful green eyes you’d ever seen, and arms covered in tattoos. You also noticed he had the tiniest cross on his left hand. You wanted to ask him about it, but you figured that was a conversation for another time.

“Y/N? Did you hear what I just said,” Harry asks, giving you a concerned look. “Are you alright? I think you just zoned out for a couple minutes or somethin’.” You nod quickly, feeling your palms growing sweaty.

“Oh yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about something I have to do later. What did you just say?” You play off how you were just wholly drooling over your new coworker, feeling scrutinized under his piercing gaze.

“Jus’ got an email from the principal. Said we have a faculty meetin’ after school at three. Wanna go together?” He asks. You know Harry’s asking you to accompany him primarily because you’re the only person he really knows so far. However, it still makes you feel warm and special. “He said we’re gonna go over some planning for the Fall Festival. What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s just the back-to-school festival. It’s adorable,” you explain. “It’s like a mini carnival that we have right here on the playground. Every year they have teachers host booths. It’s a great way to get to meet your kids’ parents and bond with the other faculty.” Harry nods, standing up from the tiny chair right as the bell signifying the end of lunch rings.

“That sounds lovely,” he chirps, smiling down at you. “We’re gonna have the best booth out of everyone Y/N, trust me.” He jokes, the corner of his eyes crinkling. This was the most Harry had talked since you met him that morning and you were enjoying witnessing him open up to you more and more with each conversation shared.

“It is,” you stand up as well, gathering your trash and empty lunch pail. “Thanks for having me, Harry. Next time we can meet in my room. I wouldn’t mind making this a daily thing.” As soon as the words came out of your mouth, you physically wince, figuring Harry had to think you were obsessed with him at this point. He looks down, the corners of his mouth upturned when he makes eye contact with you again.

“I’d like that, Y/N. I’ll actually start bringin’ a proper lunch, so you’re not the only one eating,” you smile. “I’ll meet you in your room after school?” You nod in confirmation, walking out the door in front of him.

“See ya later.”

“Did everyone have a good day today?” You ask your class, walking backward to the dismissal gate. You’re met with a chorus of cheerful sounding ‘yeses,’ and you place your hand over your heart in a dramatic fashion. “That makes me so happy, everyone! You’re all incredible little people, and I think we’re gonna have a fantastic year. What do you guys think?” The children chatter excitedly, glad to have made it through their first day of school and see their parents on the other side of the gate eagerly awaiting them, cell phones snapping pictures.

Harry’s already at the gate, waiting for the bell to ring so he can dismiss his class. He’s walking down the line asking each of the children if they see who they’re supposed to go home with, crouching down to their height so they can point them out to him. Some children in his class look a little upset because they don’t see their parents yet. Harry quickly consoles them, telling them they can all play a fun game together while they wait for their ‘Mummies and Daddies.’

You do the same with your kids, and by the time the bell rings and you finish dismissing the ones who saw someone there to pick them up, there was one child from your class who was still waiting and two from Harry’s. He walks over to you, one of their tiny hands in each of his. The boy looks unbothered, but the girl was beginning to cry.

“Hey, Ava, should we ask Miss Y/L/N and her friend if they want to play iSpy with us? The more, the merrier, isn’t that right?” He looks down at her, and she nods, looking down. You figure she’s one of his more shy students he was telling you about earlier.

“Hi, sweetie! I’m Miss Y/L/N, are you waiting for your mom or dad?” She nods, biting her lip. You turn and gesture to your one student who was waiting as well. “Well, so is she! Don’t worry, they’ll be here.”

“I’m Matthew,” the little boy holding Harry’s other hand informs you, shifting from foot to foot. You give him a big smile.

“Hello, Matthew! I love your Spiderman shirt; he’s just the coolest. Jade, do you want to introduce yourself to Mr. Styles, Ava, and Matthew? Remember when we learned about introductions today in class? When you got to introduce yourself to all your classmates?”

Jade nods, a big, toothy grin on her face. “Hi! My name is Jade, and I am five-years-old but my birthday is September 19th, so I’m actually almost six-years-old,” she tells them matter-of-factly. “It’s very nice to meet you!” She adds, remembering the script you gave them earlier. Harry looks down at her, an impressed look on his face.

“Well, it is very lovely to meet you too, Jade! Do we all know how to play iSpy?” Jade and Matthew shout in excitement, but Ava just grips tighter onto Harry’s hand. He looks down at her again. “Do y’ want Miss Y/L/N and I to show you how to play, Ava?” His voice is very quiet, slow, and soothing. She nods, letting go of his hand.

“Well Ava,” you say, looking around for something to start the game out with. “I would say, “I spy with my little eye something green. Then you, Mr. Styles, Matthew, and Jade, would have to look around and name out everything that’s green. If you name something and it’s not it, then I will tell you nope, and you can try again, but if you figure it out, then you’re the winner! Does that make sense?”

She nods, and you see a gleam of excitement in her eyes. “Can I go first?” She asks quietly. You tell her, yes, and she looks around quickly, trying to find something to say. “I spy with my little eye something blue!” She has a triumphant smile on her face, and even though you immediately know she’s talking about the sky and you’re sure Harry does too, you both decide to take a step back and let the children take the game into their own hands.

“Y’know, that lil’ introduction Jade gave was really somethin’. I didn’t even think about teachin’ my kids that. Think I’ll try that out tomorrow,” Harry whispers, craning his neck slightly to be at your ear. You shiver at the feeling of his warm breath against your skin.

“Yeah, I feel like that’s always a good first day of school activity for them to do. A lot of them have never really been exposed to people outside of their immediate family, so they’re not too sure how to talk to others.” Harry hums, standing back up straight.

“Mr. Styles,” Matthew calls, running over to Harry. “My mommy is here. Can I go now?” Harry nods, telling Matthew to wait for him so he can say hi to his mother. You watch as he walks away, overhearing as he tells the boy’s mother what a great job he did today and how he’s so excited to go through this school year with him in his class. Ten minutes later, Jade and Ava are gone as well, and Harry locks the dismissal gate.

“I forgot how exhausting the first day could be,” he tells you, letting out a quiet sigh. “Ready to go to that meeting, though? It’s just about three.” You check your watch and see the time read at 2:57 PM.

“Yeah, just let me grab my bag, and we can head over there. I’m really hoping this won’t take too long; I was planning on going grocery shopping after this,” you walk down the hall towards your classroom and feel Harry’s gaze on you.

“Where do you like to go grocery shopping?” he asks after a few moments of silence. “I need to pick up some groceries this week, too. ’ve been eatin’ takeout for the past week, and I’m starting to feel like shit.” You laugh, unlocking your door. Harry stands outside, holding it open while you grab your purse and lunch bag.

“Honestly, I don’t have a preference. I switch it up a lot,” you shrug, making sure all the windows are closed before walking out. “Was there something, in particular, you were looking for?”

“Uh,” Harry scratches the back of his head. “No? Maybe you could text me a list of all your favorite stores, though. Jus’ so I won’t forget.”

You quirk an eyebrow at him, ignoring how fast your heart was beating. “Are you asking for my number, Mr. Styles?”

“I guess I am,” he replies nonchalantly. “We’re gonna be workin’ together a lot. Might as well have your number– if that’s okay, I mean.” He looks down at you.

“Yeah, remind me after the meeting,” you tell him, trying your hardest to play it cool. “Don’t let me forget.”

“Trust me, I won’t.”

“So Y/N and Harry, you two will be in charge of the pumpkin decorating booth? Is that right?” The principal looks down at his notes and then shifts his gaze between the both of you. You both nod.

“Yeah, I’m excited! I think it’ll be a lot of fun,” you reply excitedly. “We can go to the craft store and get a bunch of paints, but where do you think the best place to get the pumpkins would be?” You pull out your planner, ready to jot down any suggestions.

“You two could try going to a pumpkin patch? They’re starting to pop-up around town,” one teacher suggests. “I’m sure if you purchased a bunch and told them it was for a school event, we could get some kind of deal.” The rest of the faculty buzzes in agreement.

“Y/N and Harry, could you get to a pumpkin patch sometimes this week and see if they can give us an estimate of how much it would cost? Then I could let the PTA know.” You and Harry confirm that it will be possible to do sometime this week, and the meeting continues on.

By the time you’re finally free to leave the meeting, it’s already growing dark outside. Harry’s hands are shoved in his pockets, and he’s looking down at his feet. “So–”

“Do you want–”

You both stop, laughing awkwardly. “You go first.” you tighten the grip on your purse.

“Uh, I was jus’ gonna ask if I could get your number now. Yanno, so we can plan when we’re gonna go get all the stuff for our booth? And you still gotta tell me what your favorite grocery stores are,” he has a playful look in his eyes. For the thousandth time that day, your hands become clammy. There was just something about every interaction you had with him that made you so nervous.

“Oh yeah,” you answer coolly, digging in your purse for your phone. “Just text your number, so I have it.” You hand him his phone, and he stops dead in his tracks, a look of concentration on his face.

“I can’t walk and be on the phone at the same time,” he mutters when he looks back up and realizes you were watching him the whole time. “I don’t know how people do it.” He hands you back your phone. “What were y’ gonna ask me?”

“I was just um, I was gonna ask if you wanted me to give you a ride home? I mean, since you walked to work today and it’ll be dark soon,” talking to Harry made you feel like a nervous school girl interacting with her first crush, and you hated that feeling.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that–”

“It’s no bother, really,” you cut him off, and you realize you sound a little eager, but at that point, you didn’t even care. “I’m sure we don’t live too far from each other.” Harry looks slightly unsure but nods, and you let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding.

“If you’re sure, Y/N. I appreciate it, I owe you one,” he’s following behind you to the teacher parking lot. You silently pray your car isn’t messy inside like it usually is as you approach it. You decide to pick up your pace and walk ahead of him, telling yourself if the passenger side was messy, you’d just quickly throw everything in the back. “Heyyyy, why’re you walkin’ so fast? Are you sure you’ve got the time to take me home?” He takes a few big strides and quickly catches up with your hurried, tiny ones.

“Yeah, of course, I have time,” you respond, unlocking your car as you approach it. “If it’s messy, then just ignore it.” you preface, honestly not remembering the state in which you left your car this morning when you walked into work.

“Don’t worry about it. You should see mine,” Harry jokes, and it immediately puts you at ease. As you’re about to open your door, Harry quickly rushes to your side, opening it himself. “Let me.”

His hand rests over yours, and you quickly pull it away, your body heating up. “Harry, I’m already right here. I can open my own car door.”

“I know you can. But I’m a gentle—“

“You’re a gentleman, I know,” you playfully roll your eyes and take a step back, allowing Harry to open your car door all the way. You couldn’t lie and say you weren’t flattered and honestly a little bit turned on. He flashes you a smile as you situate yourself behind the wheel of the car and makes sure you’re all the way in before slamming it shut. You see him lightly jog around to the passenger side, and soon enough, he’s beside you, your car immediately starting to smell like his cologne.

“What music do you like to listen to?” Harry asks, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“You ask me a lot of random questions, Harry,” you reply, looking behind you as you slowly back out.

“Is it a crime to wanna get to know my new coworker?” you can hear a smile in his voice. “C’mon. What’s your favorite music to listen to?”

You shrug, looking both ways before exiting the parking lot. “Where do you live?”

“I don’t know my address yet. Just take a left at this light coming up. Favorite music?” Out of the corner of his eye, you see him scrolling through his music library.

“You don’t know your address yet?”

“No. I’ll play something random,” he says, tapping his hand on his knee. “You can take a right at that stop sign up there.” You put on your blinker and glance over your shoulder before switching lanes. Harry quickly pairs his phone with your Bluetooth, and a song you’re unfamiliar with blares through your speakers. Neither one of you says anything else, only speaking to each other when he’s giving you directions to his house, and you’re confirming what he said.

After two more songs, Harry says, “S’right up here.” He’s led you to a beautiful apartment complex— one you were looking at when you were moving out of your parent’s home but just couldn’t afford as a new graduate. You expertly parallel park and then turn the car off, a silence falling between the two of you.

“This is a nice complex,” you tell him after a moment. “Really close to school. I see why you opted to walk to work today.”

“Mhm,” he hums. His seatbelt is still fastened. “I understand if you’re busy, but did you wanna come in?” You raise an eyebrow at him, and he quickly backtracks. “I mean— it’s just— remember the activity you taught your kids today? About introductions? Jus’ wanted to know if you could walk me through it, that’s all.”

“Oh. Well yeah, I can hang out for a bit.” You unbuckle your seatbelt and reach in the backseat for your purse that you threw haphazardly over your shoulder earlier.

“Will your boyfriend be okay with you coming in, though?” He’s chewing on the inside of his cheek.

“What makes you think I have a boyfriend?” You’re slightly taken aback and oddly flattered that he thought you were in a relationship.

“I dunno,” his face grows red. “You got all weird when I opened doors for ya. Figured you had a boyfriend.”

“I don’t.”

“Cool.” More silence falls, this time an awkward one.

“Should we go inside now?” you unlock the doors, quickly getting out of the car. Harry follows behind you and waits for you to walk onto the sidewalk before going up the walkway.

“How close do you live to me?” Harry asks, punching in his gate code. He pulls the gate open and gestures for you to go ahead of him. You decide not to comment on it this time.

“A couple blocks away. I could probably walk over here if I was in the mood to,” Harry shuts the gate behind you and walks over to the first set of stairs, taking them two at a time. “I was interested in this complex when I was moving out of my parents’ but I settled on something else.” He hums, stopping in front of the first door at the top of the stairs. There’s a brown ‘Welcome!’ mat outside his door, along with a few potted plants.

“Here we are,” he looks over his shoulder as if he’s checking if you’re still there. “Excuse the boxes. ‘M not done unpacking yet.” He pushes open the door and steps in, quickly turning on the light. You’re met with the same sweet scent of vanilla that’s in his classroom. Considering he was in the process of unpacking, his apartment was reasonably tidy.

“It looks good in here,” your heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest. You were in your coworker’s house that you just met that day, and you could already feel yourself developing a crush on him. There was obviously no way you’d let this relationship progress past anything strictly professional, but that didn’t mean you weren’t allowed to admire his beauty.

“Thanks,” he gives you a smile, relief washing over his face. “You can set your bag down if you want. Take a seat, make yourself at home.” He leaves the room, and you hear him rattling around in the kitchen. “Can I get you anything to drink? Wine? Coffee? Tea?”

“Coffee sounds great,” you reply. You set your purse down on his coffee table and sit on the edge of his couch, inspecting his living room closer. There were two books on the table, both flipped upside down as a way to mark his page. There were a few more plants inside, similar to the ones in front of his door. There was a framed picture of him with two beautiful women you assumed to be his mother and sister. Harry comes back into the room a few minutes later, two steaming cups of black coffee in hand.

“Here you are, Miss Y/L/N,” he puts on an exaggerated posh accent, and you giggle.

“Why thank you, Mr. Styles,” you respond in the same voice. “Do you have cream and sugar?”

He wrinkles his nose. “I think I might have sugar. Is oat milk, okay? I don’t have cream.” He goes back to his kitchen to retrieve the items before you can tell him it’s okay, and you’ll just drink it black. You thank him, pouring the tiniest splash of oat milk into your coffee. You can feel his eyes on you as you add a bit of sugar, stir, taste, and then add some more.

“So,” you begin after your coffee is made to your liking. “What did you think about your first day? You can be honest since we’re not on campus anymore.” Harry laughs, looking down at his fingernails.

“Uh,” he starts. You notice he says, ‘uh’ a lot. “It was terrific. Not so sure I would’ve felt the same way if I didn’t have you to help me through it.”

“We’re partners in crime now, Harry. We’re the two Kindergarten teachers, and you’re the only other person there my age? We’ve definitely gotta stick together,” you give him a big smile. He doesn’t smile back but looks a bit troubled instead. You wait for him to speak, coming to accept that long pauses were just a thing when having a conversation with Harry.

“Y’know how I assumed you had a boyfriend earlier? I thought after I’d said that–– rather I hoped after I said that you’d be like,” he clears his throat. “‘Why, no! I don’t have a boyfriend. Do you have a girlfriend?’” He put on the worst American accent you’d ever heard to imitate your voice, causing you to laugh. “To which I would’ve replied with a simple ‘no.’”

Now it’s your turn to leave Harry wondering what you’re thinking for the first time all day. You can feel his eyes on you as you look at his couch cushions, noticing a bit of crumbs that you hadn’t seen before. “Are you flirting with me?”

“I think you’re beautiful.”

“You don’t even know me. We just met today.”

“Does that mean I can’t think you’re beautiful?”

You bite your lip, feeling yourself starting to grow a bit turned on by his forwardness. There was a part of you that would risk it all for just one night in bed with Harry because you just found him that attractive. The rational, adult side of you was screaming, ‘Don’t mix business with pleasure!’. By now, you had both moved closer on the couch to one another, knees nearly touching. “I think you’re beautiful, too.” He grins, setting his coffee cup down. You do the same.

“Would it be crazy of me to tell you that I really wanna kiss you right now?” His face is mere inches from yours, so close that you could smell the coffee on his breath. You shake your head.

“No. I really wanna kiss you too.”

“C’ mere, then.”

Harry leans forward a bit more until his lips are ghosting over yours. You pull at the collar of his shirt, bringing his already close body even closer to yours. His lips are softer than they look, and he’s a better kisser than you thought he’d be, too. He brings his hands up to tangle them in your hair, and that’s when you abruptly pull away, not wanting things to go too far. “We shouldn’t…” He looks at you with sad eyes, but he nods, understanding what you mean.

“Probably not the best idea?” his response comes out as more of a question than a statement, but you nod in agreement anyway.

“Definitely not. I’m um–– I’m actually gonna go,” you stand up, slinging your purse over your shoulder. “Thanks for the coffee, Harry. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see––”

You’re out the door, rushing down the stairs before he can even finish his sentence.

The rest of the school week goes on without either one of you mentioning it. It’s a little awkward for a couple of days, but by the time Friday rolls around, both of you decide the best course of action to take regarding the kiss would be to act like it never happened.

You’re in your room at lunch hanging up your kids’ artwork they made during their ‘Free Time’ this morning, having declined Harry’s lunch invitation for the fourth time that week. You decided to pretend to be busy with work so you wouldn’t be too tempted to go into his room. To most people, you’re sure it looked like you were avoiding him–– and maybe you were. However, you were trying to get over this crush on him in the best way that you knew how.

“Need some help?”

You jump, nearly falling backward off the stepstool you were on. “Holy shit, Harry! You scared the hell out of me!” You feel your body getting warm, and you quickly look away, not wanting him to see how flustered you were.

“Sorry, you weren’t answering my texts, so I decided to come see what you were up to,” he walks over to where you were standing and hands you a piece of art, smiling at it before handing it to you. “You’ve got some artists in your class.”

“Mhm,” you hum, not looking him in the eyes. You hear him let out a quiet sigh.

“Still able to go see about getting those pumpkins ordered after work?”

You had completely forgotten that you and Harry decided today would be the day you’d go get the pumpkin situated figured out for your booth. For a second, you consider making an excuse to get out of it, but you decide against it. This was something that both of you were asked to do, not just him, and you didn’t want the fact that you let your attraction to him cloud your judgment getting in the way of your professional responsibilities.

“Yeah, that works.”

He doesn’t say anything, and even though you’re not looking at him, you can see the gears in his head turning. “Should we talk––”

You’re quite literally saved by the bell, the end of lunch interrupting where you knew he was about to lead the conversation. “I’ll see you after school? Did you walk here again? I can drive.” Harry nods slowly.

“Uh, yeah. he replies. “I walked. Uh, ’m gonna go get my kids. See you after school then?”

“Yup!” you respond, fake enthusiasm in your voice. Harry gives you one more look before walking out of your room. You wait until he’s all the way down the hall before following behind him to bring your class back inside. You knew you were the one making things awkward between you and Harry. However, the realistic part of you knew getting involved with your coworker was one of the worst ideas you’d ever had in your life. For now, you’d just tell yourself that you were probably more into Harry than he was into you and pray that would be enough to make you get over your crush.

“I haven’t been to a pumpkin patch since I was a kid.” Harry stuffs his hands farther into his pockets while yours are tightly hugging your chest. You hum, not saying anything. The car ride there was a little awkward, and you were glad it was so short. You could tell there was a lot Harry wanted to say, but you were glad he wasn’t saying it. You keep seeing him glance at you, but you pretend not to notice.

“What size pumpkins should we ask for? Small ones, huh?” Harry nods, looking around in childlike awe. There was a small petting zoo, booths selling warm drinks and kettle corn, and an obscene amount of children.

You walk around together for a moment before encountering a friendly-looking employee who looked like he could help you out. Harry takes over, explaining the situation, and why you need to order one hundred tiny pumpkins. While you’re waiting for the employee to ask the owner if that would even be possible, Harry turns to face you.

“Y/N? Can we talk about what happened on Monday?” you’re about to tell him that you’d rather not, but he continues. “I felt something during that kiss, Y/N. I’m not sure if you felt it too, but I don’t want things to be awkward between us. We have to get through an entire school year working side-by-side, and if you’re not interested, then I respect that one hundred percent, but I just want––”

“So the owner said that is possible!” The employee that was helping you out comes back with a form and clipboard in their hand. “Can you just fill out some information and let us know what time you need it tomorrow? The owner said he could get it delivered and give you guys a discount since you’re ordering so much.”

“That’s great!” you exclaim, taking the form from him. You were glad to have been saved from your conversation with Harry. You quickly go through and fill out everything you can, telling them they can bill your school’s PTA.

The walk back to your car is silent. You’re replaying what Harry was saying to you over in your head, thinking about what he was going to say before he was interrupted. He opens your car door like he’s been doing, but he doesn’t make eye contact with you or say a word as he slides into the passenger seat.

“Y’can just drop me off,” Harry says quietly. He leans your seat back and closes his eyes. You wait to see if he’ll connect his phone, but he doesn’t, so you turn on the radio at a volume so low it almost can’t be heard. It takes everything in you not to speed back to his place. You just wanted him out of your car. You had such strong feelings for him that it physically hurt, and restraining yourself from telling him how you really felt was growing harder and harder.

“We’re here.” your voice is a little hoarse from not saying anything. Harry slowly opens his eyes and unbuckles his seatbelt, opening the door.

“Right. Thanks for the ride. What time do we need to be at school to set up our booth by?”

“Four. I can pick you up if you want?”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow, Y/N.” He closes the door and walks up to his gate without looking back at you once.

“Hi Miss Y/L/N! Hi Mr. Styles!”

Groups of your students had been coming up to you excitedly all evening. It made you happy to see that the Kindergarten classes were no longer divided. They were starting to hang out with one another. Their parents tell you how their children thought it was just the coolest thing to be on school grounds on a Saturday, and how even though it was only a week into the school year, they were having the best time. It was comments like this that made you fall in love with your job all over again.

Things between you and Harry were going well. It wasn’t awkward, but you think it was because you were both too busy helping children paint their pumpkins. You were glad that Harry didn’t take the bit of downtime the two of you had when no one was at your booth trying to talk about the kiss and instead talked about other random things instead. You find out he loves baking (specifically, bread), he has an obsession with old music, and has about fifty tattoos. He talks to his mom on the phone every day, and he is extremely close to his sister. You tell him about your parents’, your undergraduate experience, your hobbies, and you finally tell him what music you like to listen to.

The festival quickly comes to an end, and you find yourself sad once you and Harry are done cleaning up your booth, knowing that you were just going to drop him off at his apartment and go back to yours to spend another Saturday night alone. You get to his complex almost too quickly, and you almost want to keep going and pretend you accidentally missed it just to be with him a bit longer. Instead, you park.

“D’ya wanna come inside?” He blurts out. Even in the darkness of your car, you can tell his face is flushed. “I mean if you haven’t got plans. I know it’s a Saturday night, so I understand if––”

“Nope, I don’t have plans. I’d love to.” Your hands are shaky as you unbuckle your seatbelt. He quickly gets out of your car and runs around to your side, opening the door for you before you can do it yourself. You almost don’t even notice since it was becoming such a habit.

“I picked up this new bottle of wine a couple days ago that’ve been wanting to pop open. Think we deserve a glass or two after such a long week, hmm?” You wordlessly nod, wholly mesmerized with just how good Harry looked after such a long day of work. His curls fell perfectly across his forehead, his eyes were sparkling and full of excitement.

“A glass of wine sounds great,” you reply with a chuckle. “I’m ready to drink a whole bottle by the end of the week if I’m being honest.” Harry laughs, quickly punching in his gate code. You could see his hands shaking a little bit, but you decide not to comment on it. He takes the stairs up to his apartment two at a time like he did last time you were there, but this time there’s an urgency and clumsiness to his actions that you haven’t seen before. He jams the key in his lock, quickly shoving the door open.

His apartment is a little messier than it was when you were in it at the beginning of the week, but it’s nothing disgusting. He runs his fingers through his curls, moving aside papers that were scattered along the length of the couch. “Sorry, I was doin’ some planning. Make yourself comfortable.” He disappears to the kitchen, and moments later, you hear the pop of a wine cork and the smooth sound of him pouring the alcohol into glasses.

He emerges from his kitchen, handing you a generously poured glass of wine. “Thanks, Harry,” you tell him before taking a big sip. It was sweet, and while you usually preferred a more dry wine, it was still delicious.

“Cheers to the end of a successful first week,” he holds up his glass, and you smile, clinking yours with his. “Thanks for helpin’ me get through it, Y/N. Couldn’t have done it without you.” You give him a timid smile.

“Stop, Harry. You’re a great teacher. I can see your kids love you already,” you take another sip of wine. “I kinda do too. I mean–– that came out wrong. I don’t love you, but I do think I like you.” You didn’t know what came over you at that moment, but something told you now was the time to lay it all out on the table with Harry. He sets his glass of wine down, the biggest smile on his face.

“Really? I thought you weren’t interested. Was kinda startin’ to feel like you hate me,” he sounds a little sad. You shake your head.

“Quite the opposite, actually. I’m really into you,” you didn’t even realize how you’d inched your way towards Harry. “I’ve been trying not to think about how we kissed because we shouldn’t, you know? We’re coworkers. I’ve been trying not to think about it all week, though, and I just can’t get you out of my mind.” He stares intensely into your eyes, chewing on the inside of his cheek like he usually does when he’s thinking.

“Can I kiss you, Y/N?” he finally asks. You’re in the same position as you were last time, being mere inches away from the other’s lips. Only this time, you smell the wine on his breath, not coffee. You nod quickly, and Harry cups your face in his hands, hungrily pressing his lips against yours.

“You can do more than kiss me, actually,” you tell him breathlessly. “You can do whatever you want with me.”

Harry raises an eyebrow, a shocked look on his face. “When you say anything…” he trails off.

“I want you to fuck me, Harry,” you tell him bluntly. “Please. Been wanting that all week.” He licks his lips, looking at you in a way he hasn’t yet before.

“I can definitely do that,” he replies, resting his hand on your thigh. His large hand is dangerously close to your pussy, and you can already feel yourself growing wet. “Let’s get all these clothes off you then, huh?”

You stand up and quickly start removing your clothes. First, your blouse comes off, and that’s quickly followed by your bra. Harry’s leaning back on the couch, arms resting behind his head. “Enjoying the show?” you ask, quickly pulling down your jeans and underwear. You’re completely naked in front of him in thirty seconds flat, and you reckon that’s the fastest you’ve ever undressed for anything.

“Very much so,” he mumbles, palming himself over his khakis. “C’ mere, Y/N.” he pats his lap, and you move to sit in it, now straddling him. He softly presses his lips against yours, the hunger that was there just a moment ago completely dissipated. This was a much more hesitant kiss, more gentle and tender. “You’re really beautiful, Y/N.”

You giggle. “I know. You’ve told me that before.”

“I want you to know how much I mean it.”

“I know you do.”

Harry nods. “Can I have a taste of ya now?” you notice that his accent sounds a bit thicker than usual, voice a tad gruffer. You nod, swallowing thickly. Climbing off Harry, you lay back on the couch, situating yourself, so it’s a little more comfortable. He looks into your eyes, placing his hands on your knees. “Is this okay, Y/N?” You nod again, and he removes his hands.

“What’s wrong?” your voice has a hint of desperation in it, but after a week of extreme sexual tension, you wanted nothing more than to cum by the hands of this man.

“Wanna hear you tell me it’s okay. I don’t wanna do anything you don’t want,” he’s looking down at his hands.

“Harry, I wouldn’t have given you a striptease and laid back on this couch for you if I didn’t want it. I wholeheartedly give you permission to do whatever you want with me––”

That’s enough for him. He roughly pries your legs open, immediately licking a long stripe up your heat. You cry out, not expecting him to get right into it. You look down at him and groan when you see he’s making eye contact with you, a smug look on his face. “How’s tha’, love?” You nod, tangling your hands in his curls.

“Yeah Harry, please,” you moan. Harry sucks harshly at your clit, pulling off loudly, the sound echoing throughout his minimally furnished apartment.

“Please what, pet?” He’s looking you dead in the eyes, a devilish grin on his face while his index finger rubs small circles on your clit. Your chest is heaving up and down quickly as you try to calm your breathing down.

“Please make me cum on your tongue, Harry,” you try pushing his head back down to your cunt, but he doesn’t budge.

“Think I rather like hearin’ you beg like this fo’ me. Enjoyin’ watching you squirm like tha’, love.” Just as your about to beg for him some more to feed his inflated ego, he attaches his lips to your clit once more, this time adding his ring finger into your tight pussy. “You’re tight. Sure you’ll be able to take my cock?” His voice is muffled, and you just barely make out what he says.

You clench around his finger, and he laughs, the vibrations sending a new sensation across your clit. “Y’like thinkin’ about my cock, hmm?”

“Yeah, want you in me,” you beg, lifting your hips up. He grips onto your hips tightly, keeping you in place.

“Can feel yeh gettin’ ready for me, darlin’. Think you can take another one?” You nod, and Harry gently places kitten licks on your swollen clit while he slowly pushes his middle finger into you. You feel full in a way you haven’t felt in such a long time, and he only had two fingers in you. Once he pumps his fingers in and out of you a few times, he goes back to harshly sucking on his clit, moaning every so often so you can feel the vibrations against your cunt.

“Fuck,” you’re moaning loudly, and you pray Harry’s neighbors don’t hear you, knowing how thin apartment walls were.

“So fuckin’ wet for me, doll,” he mutters, adding another finger inside you. The burn feels amazing, and you place your hand on his wrist, urging him to go faster. “Gonna cum in my mouth, hmm? Gonna let me feel ya around m’ fingers?”

“Yes, please, Harry,” you feel yourself nearly there, your orgasm threatening to overtake you at any moment.

“Give it to me then, Y/N. Cum for me,” he demands. As soon as he says those three words, you’re done for, your body going tense as waves of pleasure roll throughout your body. He doesn’t remove his digits from the your cunt until you’re coming down from your high, placing a kiss to your clit. He laughs as you shudder at the overstimulation. Harry places his three fingers that were just inside of you and his mouth and sucks on them, not once breaking eye contact with you.

“That was really good,” you tell him, crawling on your knees towards him to place a kiss on the underside of his jaw—Harry’s beaming, a triumphant look on his face.

“Not yet. Gotta make y’ cum one more time. I’m a gentleman, after all.” You know he’s messing with you but also serious, so you lean back on the couch, opening your legs once again.

“Are you gonna take off your clothes too? Why am I the only one that’s naked?” Harry laughs, and you hear the clanking of his belt as he undoes it.

“You’re impatient, aren’t ya?” you nod, and he pulls down his tenting khakis and tight boxers. His cock springs up, slightly touching his stomach, and he hisses at the feeling. “Hold on a sec.” He gets up quickly, and you hear him hurry to what you assume in the bathroom, rummaging around. He comes back a minute later with a box of condoms, making you laugh.

“Is that a new box of condoms? Have you been holding onto those all week, Mr. Styles?” Harry rolls his eyes and opens the box, ripping open a condom expertly with his teeth.

“Weren’t you just the one beggin’ for me, pet? I’d watch it if I were you,” he jokes, rolling the condom onto his hard length. He leans down to place wet, opened mouth kisses to your breasts. “So beautiful.”

“Are you gonna take off your shirt?” you ask quietly. “I kinda wanna see all your tattoos.” Harry raises an eyebrow at you but unbuttons his shirt nevertheless, throwing it into the mess of clothes scattered around the living room. You reach your hand up, shakily tracing the swallows on his chest, moving down to the butterfly across his stomach and finally to the ferns on his abdomen. Harry’s staring down at you, watching as you delicately touch his skin. “You have so many.” you finally say. He nods.

“Yeah. Some of them I just got for the hell of it. Felt like after I got that first tattoo, it was hard to stop.” He caresses the skin on your thighs, and you shudder again. “Gonna let me get inside that pretty lil’ cunt now?”

“Please.”

Harry aligns himself with your entrance and slowly pushes into you, sharply inhaling as you clench around his length. “Relax, Y/N.’ve got ya,” he tells you reassuringly. “Can’t get inside ya if you’re all tense like tha’.” You can tell Harry’s trying his hardest not to absolutely wreck you, the vein in his forehead very prominent from clenching his jaw so tightly. You grip tightly onto his bicep, biting your lip as you adjust to his size. You were so wet and indescribably turned on that you felt every vein his thick cock had to offer, and you knew you wouldn’t last long once he started moving. By the looks of it, Harry wouldn’t either.

“You can move,” you tell him, squeezing your eyes shut. Harry slowly pulls out of you and then ever so gently sinks back inside you, bottoming out. He lets out a breathy moan, moving one of his hands up to tweak your nipples. “Harder, Harry, fuck.”

He immediately pulls out of you and slams back inside, the sounds of his balls slapping against your ass echoing in the room. You scream in pleasure, no longer caring if his neighbors hear what you two were doing.

“Like tha’?” He asks cheekily, working up a steady rhythm. You nod, gripping your boobs to keep them from bouncing. Harry shakes his head, forcefully removing your hands. “Nope, none of that. Wanna see ’em.” He takes both of your hands in one of his, pinning them up over your head. His other hand reaches in between your bodies to rub at your clit, and before you have time to warn him, you’re cumming again, squirting all over his cock.

Harry throws his head back in pleasure, his thrusts getting sloppy and frantic, and you know he’s seconds away from his own orgasm. You spur him on, telling him how badly you wanted him to come inside of you (even though he was wearing a condom). He stills moments later, shaking above you as he holds himself up with an arm, not wanting to collapse on top of you.

“Fuckin’ hell, Y/N. Why did we wait a whole week to do this again?”

#harry styles smut #harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fluff #harry styles x reader #harry styles one shot #harry styles blurb #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fic #teacher!h

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write-ur-wrongs · 4 years ago

Text

Nature’s Nurturing Ways

Hi y’all! This pandemic has really taken the wind out of my sails these past few weeks (maybe months? Time is completely untraceable right now). This piece is born out of a lovely anon’s request, bolded below. As always, I haven’t proofread this mess, so please forgive the typos! I’ll do my best to correct them post-publishing. I seriously can’t thank you enough for taking the time to send me your ideas, and I promise I’ll get better at writing actual drabbles LOL. I hope you enjoy :)

Hii can you write something abt Geralt being w a plant-based reader where she loves animals and nature? Tysm

_____________________________________________________________

Geralt and Jaskier had been travelling for hours when the beating sun finally wore them down. There hadn’t been a breeze in days and the hot, stale air was starting to suffocate the uncharacteristically quiet bard, who wouldn’t dare compete with the surrounding cicada’s symphony.

“Geralt,” he rasped, “do you hear any running water? Drips or gurgles? I’ll take anything.”

“Jask, it hasn’t rained in days and it’s hotter than the depths of hell,” the Witcher sighed before continuing, “I said no yesterday, the answer is the same today.”

“Euughh!” Jaskier threw his head back in despair before hanging his head in exhaustion. “Geralt, I don’t want to be dramatic -,”

“Ha!” Geralt twisted in his saddle to look back at his friend with a quirked brow.

“- but I will fall off this horse and die of exposure if we don’t find water soon.”

Shaking his head, Geralt knew that despite the bard’s tendency to embellish, the situation was getting dire. They’d traveled this way dozens of times before and had always relied on the steady creek that ran alongside the trail for water. The region wasn’t known for dry spells and while Geralt was sure he could manage either way, his companion on the trail was not so durable.

They wouldn’t arrive at their destination for another three or four hours, at his level of dehydration and with probable heat exhaustion, Jaskier might not have that much time.

With another gruff sigh, Geralt pulled back on Roach’s reins and redirected her off the road and into the forest, turning back to ensure Jaskier’s horse would follow.

Geralt knew that there was a small clearing off the road where the thick leaves from the old trees made a lush, and shaded, canopy. He’d been there before a handful of times. It’s where he shared a tender first kiss, where he’d laid his head on Y/N’s chest before falling asleep feeling the cool, lush, grass cradling his large frame. It’s where he first said I love you.

Shaking his head slightly to pull himself from his memories, he dismounted and grabbed both sets of reins, leading the horses into farther the clearing. Once they’d reached the middle of the small field, Geralt released Roach’s lead and gave her a neck a scratch before leaving her to graze.

“Come on Jaskier,” he said, reaching into the gelding’s saddle bag for some food, “get off your horse and lay down in the grass.”

The bard fell out of his saddle with a thud while Geralt continue to root around the bag, huffing as he kept coming up empty.

“Did you eat the last of the cheese?”

“Mmpft,” Jaskier replied incoherently, face down in the grass.

“Hey –”

“Oi! You kicked me!”

“Where is the food? We had bread, cheese, and meat left over last night. Did you fucking eat it all?”

“No, you oaf,” he said, rolling over onto his back, “we ate the rest of it this morning.”

“Fuck!” Geralt cursed under his breath, pulling his hair up off his neck to cool off. He could barely remember what they’d done earlier that day. The heat had been unbearable all evening, and the rising sun only made it worse.

“Don’t worry about it Geralt! No need to apologize for accusing me so harshly.” Jaskier said, words dripping in sarcasm.

Geralt merely looked down at the bard with disdain and rolled his eyes, refusing to admit the sun might be affecting him too.

“Shut up and take off your shirt –”

“Oh-ho!” he laughed weakly, wiggling his eye brows at the witcher. No matter how beaten and battered the bard may be, he’d never miss an opportunity to tease Geralt.

“No, Gods! Fuck,” Geralt went on, flustered, “the grass will cool you down a hell of a lot faster if you’re in direct contact. And besides, Y/N will kill me if I let you die of exposure.”

“Always so serious, eh Geralt?” Jaskier chided playfully, pulling off his tunic before laying back down onto the grass, “Oh-ho-ho-ohhhh yes… Sweet merciful goddess of all that is good, this feels amazing! Yes, yes, yes!”

While he was sure the bard was still mumbling gratefully, and disgustingly, at the feeling of the cool grass against his skin, Geralt’s mind was elsewhere. Somewhere in this clearing, wild heliotropes had bloomed and the sweet, almondine scent was pulling him into a memory.

“Geralt! Witchers use herbs, mushrooms, and flowers in all kinds of magic,” you said, your hands resting high on your hips, “I find it incredibly hard to believe that in all your years and extensive travels, you’d never learned to forage?”

“All my years, eh?” he’d replied, cat-like eyes gleaming back at you.

“Well of course,” you teased, “I mean, unless you mean to tell me that silver head of hair is a choice born out of vanity?”

“I’m going to make you pay for that later, Y/N.” He laughed, taken aback and a little impressed that you felt so comfortable with his mutations as to mock him playfully.

“Ha! Me and what coin?” you reply with a light laugh, bending over to collect the generous mushrooms growing through the bed of leaves and needles.

Geralt turned his head towards you to hit you with a winning comeback, but found himself lost for words when his eyes failed to meet yours.

You get up slowly, peering over your shoulder to find your witcher’s eyes on your backside. Smirking to yourself and quirking a brow flirtatiously, you toss a handful of dirt and wet leaves his way, hitting the poor soul right in the chest.

“Distracted, Geralt?” you said, tossing your hair over your shoulder as you straightened up.

Geralt swallowed thickly, desperately trying to string together at least a couple words – witty at best, coherent at least – when he heard a twig snap in the surrounding forest.

Quick as a flash, he drew his sword and his attention towards the source of the disturbance, a large boar. Chest already swelling with pride at the thought of providing you with a hearty meal, Geralt prepared his attack on the creature before him.

Seeing that the “threat” in question was nothing but a passing porcine, you dove before him with a shout, dropping the mushrooms on the way. Your scream coupled with your sudden movement startled the beast, and it dove deeper into the brush to escape.

“Geralt, no!”

“Damn it, Y/N,” he swore, “I could’ve had it! We could have had a decent meal! We – we would have been set for days!”

“No, Geralt! We have food, right here in this clearing. We needn’t take lives from the forest to eat.”

“Gods, Y/N,” he sighed, dropping his sword to the ground in frustration, “do I need to remind you of the cycle of life? Creatures live, they die, and they get eaten so others can live –”

“Yes, and by leaving that gentle giant to its ruminations, we’ve allowed it to go on, to feed its young, or hell! By leaving that boar to live, we might have secured a lifeline for a fellow wolf or fox. Geralt look around you; mushrooms, flowers, these thick leaves, those berries? You see that tree there? At its roots there are nuts, and over there? Those flowers? Means there is garlic. The forest will feed us with ease if we simply care to drop our weapons, and look.”

Geralt looked at you and with soft eyes, he took in the way your eyes burned with passion, the way your chest rose and fell with every energized breath. He looked around you and really looked at the plants around him, beyond scanning for any toxic or dangerous herbs, he did his best to see the forest through your bright eyes.

Looking at you he felt his chest swell once more, but this time the feeling was warm, grounding.

“I love you, Y/N,” he said quietly, pulling you into his arms, “so, so much.”

You looked up at him with tears in your eyes. You knew he loved you. You had known for months, but you’d made peace with the fact that he loved you however he could, and that that would have to be enough, even if it meant you wouldn’t hear him say it.

“Oh, my sweet, sweet dove,” you murmured, reaching up to lay a soft kiss on his forehead, “I love you too.”

Geralt was wrenched from his thoughts by a swift kick to his shin, courtesy of the bard.

“Shhht!! Geralt!” Jaskier shout-whispered, still kicking at the witcher’s shins. “A deer! A d- dinner! Food! Geralt!”

Side-stepping out of the bard’s frantic little kicks, Geralt looked around him in a quick movement, spotting the deer with his hand primed above his sword’s hilt.

The world seemed to go quiet and still when his eyes met the doe’s. Despite himself, he could hear your voice in his head telling him that she’s a young, vibrant member of this forest’s population. That at her age, she’s likely a first-time mom or about to be. That she has more life to live and more to give to the land than be a poor man’s meal.

Jaskier watched in hungry-horror as Geralt waved his large hand at the creature, turning his back to it before looking down to meet his shell-shocked gaze.

“What the fuck, Geralt!” he spat, “what happened to “Y/N would kill me if I let Jaskier die”? What the fuck! That was food! Survival!”

“You’ll be fine Jask, shut up and lay in your grass.”

“As long as you don’t make me eat it.” He grumbled, not quietly enough.

A laugh rumbled through him as he walked towards to forest line, spotting thick dandelion leaves, mushrooms, and bushes ripe with nuts. He might not necessarily need to feed Jaskier the grass beneath his feet, but he was going to make him eat his words.

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

“There you are my intrepid explorers!” You damn near squealed at the sight of them, dropping your basket of recently-purchased produce as you ran towards them.

At the sight of you, Geralt dismounts and runs to meet you in a tight embrace. You hold each other tightly, breathing in each other’s scent; his cedar, damp earth, and cut grass, and yours sweet almond.

You pull back just enough to look him over quickly and, spotting no fresh injury or new scars, pull your brows together curiously.

“Did you get lost?”

“Not at all,” replied Jaskier, clapping Geralt on the shoulder, “You’d be impressed, madam Y/N! Our dear witcher made quite the feast. Pulled me right out of the greedy jaws of death, he did!”

“Oh?” You said, brows furrowed in a silent question. Knowing what you meant, Geralt shook his head and kissed your temple to reassure you.

“Picture me this, Y/N,” Jaskier mused as he untacked his gelding, “I’m wilting away, inches from Death’s grip, and Geralt sweeps me under a lush canopy of trees and lays me in the grass…”

“Lays him in the grass? Should I be jealous?” you whispered.

“Never my love,” he replied softly, his forehead against yours.

“… then our honorable friend bid the deer a fond farewell, letting him get away! Yes, Y/N, there I lay, starving, thinking the sun must have cooked the sense right out of him when he marches out of sight only to emerge moments later with a bounty!”

“A bounty?” you mock-gasp, egging the bard on to Geralt’s great displeasure.

“Yes! We ate like kings in that forest, Y/N. All we did was eat but I felt hydrated and renewed! Truly a culinary delight.”

“A delight, Geralt!” you giggled, giving his waist a squeeze.

“Gods, won’t he ever shut up?” he grumbled, ghost of a blush creeping up his collar.

“Oh hush, my love,” you cooed, “without Jask’s bragging, I’d have never known what a big softy you’ve become.”

Wordlessly, Geralt looked down at you in mock-contempt, unsure that this wasn’t a veiled insult. He was instantly reassured though, when his eyes met yours.

“You left the deer.”

“I did.”

“And you foraged, found just what you needed.” You spoke softly, admiration and love rounding your features out beautifully.

“That’s right.”

“Now where did you pick up skills like that, my dove?” You chanced another tease, twirling a lock of his white, dust-packed hair around a finger before giving it a light tug, your head cocked to the side.

“Oh, I had an exceptional teacher…” he said, wrapping an arm tightly around your waist and bringing his other hand up to cup your face, pulling into a deep kiss.

#geralt of rivia #the witcher #the witcher fanfiction #the witcher x reader #the witcher fandom #geralt of rivera #geralt of rivia x reader #geralt x reader #Jaskier #fanfiction #fanfiction requests #fanfic #geralt imagine #anon

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linklethehistorian · 2 years ago

Text

Cherish Development Notes — Part 2: Overviews & Outlines

Alright, since I’ve already explained Cherish’s humble origins, I can finally get around to talking about the very unique (comparably to any of my other fics, at least) general writing process for this fic and its chapters.

Now, to give you an idea of the difference, my typical fic-writing process for my previous works (all of which are one-shots) goes a little something like this:

Get inspired by something and come up with a general idea for the fic

(If not already inspired by any particular piece of music) Find a song that either fits the scenario perfectly, or just suits the general mood, to play on repeat while writing, and (usually) use that song for the fic’s title.

Start writing the fic from beginning to end in linear progression — no outlines.

Proofread for typos.

Tag and post.

However, for Cherish, this entire process was never present to begin with; after all, not only is it my first multi-chapter fic, but also, thanks to its unique history, it already came long pre-conceived and partially pre-written from my former rambles with a friend.

As such, before I even began writing the story as a fic, I already had an (albeit limited, incomplete and fairly messy) outline to work off of, for at least all of the major plot points. It wasn’t anything grand, as, like I said, it only covered the most important parts of the story and left a lot of blank spots or super vague bridges between major events, but it was certainly more than anything I’ve ever had to work with before (which is literally nothing lol), and turned out to be a huge help in the creative process, especially early on in the fic’s creation. (I may or may not release some of these old outlines and notes as I move on to talking about individual, already-released chapters in the future, for the curious.)

After gathering together all of those former rambles as a very basic outline, I then began to properly rewrite the first part (which you would all later come to know as Chapter 1 and 2) of that outline into a proper, detailed story, and, after I’d already begun that process of re-writing, eventually sought out a song that properly captured the emotion and thought-processes within (and later an additional one, when I decided to split the chapter in two) and made them not only the ones I listened to on loop, but also the chapter titles.

Once the first chapter was finished and the second nearly done (and they were fairly quick), I created the fic, set the tags, and released it under the name Cherish — a name I had also decided on a short while prior after choosing a song I felt best suited the overall themes and plot (a little more about that here.)

And after all of that was said and done, I took the three songs I had used and decided to create a special playlist for the fic, that I would slowly add to more and more over time — an action which, I had no way of realizing at the time, would actually come to be a huge help with writing future chapters.

You see, although it’s true I had my basic outline to rely on for bigger, more important events, there were still all of those parts in between that were just barely talked about, or even not talked about at all, and also some chapters that inevitably end up split from one into two due to the length, or some other creative decision.

For all of this — and I highly recommend it to other authors, too, if they’re so inclined — I was able to lean partially on my Cherish playlist, as I would gather together a whole bunch of songs of all varieties that evoked feelings and emotions and/or perfectly matched the story I’d already planned to happen, and add them into a secondary, privated experimental playlist to rearrange into my desired order and test for proper aesthetics. By doing this, I was able to determine precisely where different minor events and feelings belonged to make for a good, well-written, well-flowing story; furthermore, by being able to look at and recognize when there felt like there were too many songs revolving around the same emotion or plot point, I could also properly decide upon how many chapters a certain part of the story should take up and how best to tackle the subject without making it feel like the pacing had dipped considerably.

Even now, I continue to use this tool very happily to determine positioning and aid me in the writing process whenever I reach a point only vaguely covered by the original outline — although, it’s also much more than a tool to me; it’s a love language to the story I’m writing, a creative outlet of its own, and an extension of the fic itself for those interested to explore the further depths of it. Not just any song will do for each chapter; the aesthetic, the lyrics, and the title all have to be relevant to the chapter itself, and not only that, but they have to transition decently from one to the next sound-wise, as well. It is, at times, a time-consuming endeavor, but one I take great pride in, as with all things regarding this fic.

Then, as of late, I’ve also found another crucial, very helpful way to fill in those missing blanks in far greater detail after the initial arrangement and secondary outline I’m able to put together with the help of the playlist: sharing a TL;DR of the story I intend to write, chapter by chapter, with my friend @mysaldate (if you’re reading this, hi uwu 💖 Thank you for being amazing). By sharing this information with her, I will end up sitting down and writing out what ends up becoming a detailed plan for any chapters with a lackluster outline, thereby making the writing process itself much, much easier. It is a truly wonderful thing I’m so glad I get to do in the process of sharing something I enjoy with someone I care about.

Writing the chapters, themselves, too, due to having an outline, is not the same experience I am used to with my one-shots; in many ways, it speeds up the work considerably and is an invaluable tool for something I need to try to update at least semi-regularly, though it also has its own unique struggles, too, as all things do (namely, that bridging dialogue or actions anywhere where there is missing information in between can be equal parts fun and maddening, depending upon the situation lol).

So, if we put all of this together, we get a process that looks something like this per chapter:

Refer to the first, original outline for information on a given chapter.

Find a song with lyrics and an overall aesthetic that suits the current situation/emotion of the chapter, has a fitting title, and sounds good within its proper spot in the playlist. Name the chapter after it and listen to it on repeat.

If the chapter does not have enough (or any) information in the first outline to decide this, use the general plan within my head for that time and defer to gathering songs and/or checking and arranging the playlist until I have a basic enough outline to get by.

Write out TL;DRs of future chapters based off of these outlines for mysaldate and then use those more detailed plans as the actual outline with which to start writing the chapter.

Change font to Comic Sans while writing (it genuinely works).

Begin converting the secondary outline (and any potential un-covered information from the first) into a basic version of the story.

Go over it again, and add more detail/tweak aspects that don’t flow upon re-reading.

Do a final proofread/fix typos/make any final changes.

Add chapter title’s song to the public playlist, if not done already.

Check to make sure no more tags need to be added to the main fic due to the content.

Check to make sure no notes need to be added to the chapter and the placeholder joke summary on the AO3 draft is removed.

Post the chapter on AO3.

And thus, this is the usual creative process involved in working on a chapter for Cherish; it is an extensive list, but, I find, a satisfying one.

In regards to tools, I merely use Google Docs and search up synonyms and such if ever needed on the internet; no fancy tools, no Grammarly, no Betas, though on rare occasion I do ask the opinion of a friend on certain lines I’m truly unsure of and concerned with in some way.

I hope you enjoyed the read. If there’s anything you were wondering that I didn’t cover here, or another subject you’d really like me to cover next about the fic, feel free to drop me an ask! [Read the fic here!]

[Check out the public Cherish playlist!]

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smellsfaintlyofvanilla · 4 years ago

Note

hewwo! Would it be okay to request historia x reader? I’m not sure if you’ve finished aot yet but the scenario in my head is set after historia became queen and the reader is a captain of the scout regiment. They’ve been secretly together since their trainees days and it becomes increasingly hard to find time to spend together. So like one day reader decide to dangle outside of historia’s window (how romantic than throwing rocks at her windows👀) and decides to make up for lost time. Lots of fluff and maybe Heheh I wouldn’t mind if it gets a bit (or maybe more) nsfw. Thankiess <33 sorry if it bothers you with this request

Stan Historia hours :) I love her sm

Also I didn’t proofread ‘cause I’m sleepy, so if there are typos... uh... whoops...

Missing You

(Historia Reiss x Reader)

AU: Canon

Warnings: None

Category: Fluff/smut

Summary: Ever since Historia became queen of Paradis, her s/o has been able to see her less and less. So, one day, they show up outside of her window for a surprise.

Words: 4.1K

Gusts of wind delicately brushed your hair behind your ears as you flew through the air effortlessly. You breathed in the cold evening air and gazed at the setting sun over the horizon tranquilly before firing the grapple of your ODM gear into the wall of a nearby brick building. Using the momentum it gave you, you rounded the corner swiftly and let your eyes settle of the sight in front of you--the Reiss castle.

It was a grand sight, no doubt about it, as the pristine stone and marble was decorated with shiny golden accents that fit the grandeur aesthetic. A tall gate surrounded the estate, and guards lined the outside.

Luckily for you, as the commander of the Scouts, you had no trouble bypassing them all quietly. It’s not like you were in any real danger regardless--even if you were caught, the queen would undoubtedly have you pardoned immediately. The worst you’d get out of it was a harsh scolding from a displeased Levi or Erwin.

You were on a bit of a risky mission. Not one sanctioned by the Scouts, but rather, a personal mission. You knew your girlfriend, who was also the queen, resided inside the palace, and due to her newfound status as a monarch, and your duties as a soldier, you found yourself with less and less time to spend with her. Knowing her, she likely missed you as well, and wouldn’t be at all apprehensive about your sudden appearance.

Your fleeting shadow was all that any guard could make out as your body flew over the wall, landing quietly, albeit a little clumsily, in the hedges lining the outer walls. A glance up at a familiar balcony proved that you had hit your target perfectly--you were directly under Historia’s bedroom.

You sat up and brushed the dirt off of your cloak with a scoff. Security was clearing lacking here if someone like you was able to slip by undetected so easily. Still, you were pleased with it’s convenience in allowing you to visit your girlfriend. You shot the grapple of your gear right above her bedroom window, and quickly zipped up to peer inside, placing both of your feet against the wall and letting your arms hang limp as your weight was carried solely on the wire of your ODM gear.

The curtain was already opened, and you took a minute to admire her sleeping frame, which was hunched unceremoniously over her desk and on top of some incomplete paperwork. The messy golden hair, which was out of it’s usual style, and the gentle rise and fall of her chest as her lips parted slightly. Despite her outward calmness, you didn’t fail to notice the light bags under her eyes, and the scowl that painted her usually cheery face.

You decided to cut your creepy staring short, as you balled up one of your hands into a fist and started gently knocking on the glass window. You stopped as soon as you noticed her stir, but you quickly realized she was still asleep. It was probably gonna take a little more than light knocking to wake her up.

You crouched your legs further into the wall, before jumping away and aiming your feet at the window. As your body swung back and into the window, the cheap wooden frame gave way silently, pushing the window wide open. You silently thanked whatever deity was up there that the glass didn’t shatter when you collided with it, because if it did, a rush of guards would undoubtedly storm in to investigate the threat, and you really wanted this little visit to stay a secret between you and Historia.

You gently closed the window behind you, not wanting to let any more of the chilly night air inside, and walked up to your girlfriend’s desk. You placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly.

“Historia...” You whispered into her ear, but the short girl only tightened her lips into a line and furrowed her brows, accompanied by a short, incoherent mumble. You cursed her for being so cute before you gave her a quicker, more forceful shake. “Historia...!” You whisper-shouted, and you felt her body jump at the sudden call of her name.

She yanked her head off of her desk abruptly and turned her body to face you with a slightly panicked expression on her face, but it lightened immediately into a small smile when her gaze met yours.

“Y/n...” She yawned out, covering her mouth and shutting her eyes peacefully.

“Hello, darling.” You smiled, stepping back a few paces to give her space to stretch her arms out above her head.

“What are you doing here?” She muttered, before perking her head up in confusion and continuing. “Actually, how did you get past security?”

You laughed softly before sliding your cloak off of your shoulders and throwing it carelessly onto her elegant, oversized bed. “Well, I missed you, and it’s been ages, so I decided to drop by for a visit. Getting past security was no big issue, either.” You laughed dryly, before continuing, walking over to stand by Historia’s desk chair. “Don’t tell me you didn’t wan to see me?” You smiled.

“No,” She mumbled sleepily, standing up and burying her head in your chest affectionately, wrapping her arms around you tightly. “I’m glad you’re here...”

You smiled at her bashfully and started to run your fingers through her loose blonde hair. She’s always so cute when she’s sleepy...

“So...” She pulled back after a moment, looking up to face you as the tiredness slowly left her eyes. “Did you have anything specific planned?” She smiled, “Or did you visit just for the sake of it?”

You sighed, rubbing the back of your neck with your free hand. “Nothing in particular, but I had an idea.” She raised her eyebrow, signaling you to continue, but you didn’t speak, and instead, you walked back to her window and opened it wide, the gentle winds causing the curtains to flutter. You waved your hand in the ‘come here’ motion, beckoning her to follow you to the window.

“I’ll show you,” You smiled, “But you have to hold on tight.”

She nodded wordlessly, walking over to you and wrapping her small body around your torso. You pet her head affectionately for a moment, before speaking.

“You ready?”

“Mhm.”

And with that, you climbed onto the windowsill and shot off your ODM gear outside of the palace walls.

As you flew through the air, you made sure to be quick and silent, trying not to make a scene, especially now that the queen was clinging to you like a koala. To an outsider’s perspective, it may have appeared like the calmest kidnapping to ever occur, but in reality, Historia couldn’t have been any happier to be so close to you for the first time in months, even if no word’s were spoken.

She finally pulled her head out of your chest when she felt you stop, hitting the ground and skidding along the dirt on your heels from the leftover momentum. You stumbled a little bit, before gaining your footing in the dirt and stopping in your tracks.

“We’re here.” You exhaled, and Historia reluctantly let go and stood up straight. She looked around curiously at the unfamiliar scenery. Tired oak trees towered over the sky, covering the view of the stars completely. Near her feet, green, unkept grass and shrubbery covered the ground, and the occasional patch of flowers gave a drop of color to the predominately brown and green scenery. She quickly concluded that the city was long behind them, and that this place had been free of human inhabitation for quite a long time.

“You dragged me out of my bedroom at 9PM,” Historia started, and you turned to face her curiously. “To show me some trees...?”

You laughed at this, finding her confusion quite adorable. “Not the trees, sweetie.” You grabbed her small hand in your own, and started to lead her down the closest thing to a path there was near here--an area of beaten down dirt and flattened grass. ‘I wonder how often she comes here...’ Historia thought to herself as you continued to lead her through the trees.

You finally slowed your jog to a stop once you found your destination, letting go over Historia’s hand and stretching out, breathing in the freeing night air. “Now, we’re here.”

She finally turned her gaze away from you, and glanced at the landscape ahead of her, mouth hanging slightly open at the sight of it.

The sky was composed of deep shades of purple and blue, mixing together elegantly like paint on a canvas. Shiny white stars freckled the sky, forming best and constellations. It was nothing compared to the view she got from her palace window.

She glanced down at her feet to see just where she was standing. The two of you were on the edge of the forest, which seemed to be the cliff that oversaw the beach that was at least 50 feet below her. It was a small outcrop of dirt and stone, a tiny little peninsula of cliff where trees and flowers ceased to grow, leaving only the small bits of grass and shrubbery.

“Pretty cool, huh?” You sighed happily, plopping down to sit on the short grass, and patting the space next to you.

She snapped out of her trance and settled down next to you, running her fingers through the soft grass, mesmerized.

You watched her with amusement before chuckling. “How long has it been since you’ve touched some grass??” Despite your playful tone, you were genuinely curious. After all, as nothing more than a soldier, you didn’t remotely understand what the life of royalty could be like.

She ignored the question for the most part, her gaze still fixed on the night’s sky.

“I haven’t gotten to see anything like this in a long time...” She trails off.

“I know,” You say confidently, “I go here all the time to look at the stars since the it’s so isolated, Plus, it has an amazing view. Levi always drags me out whenever he finds me here, but I caught him watching the sunrise here one time. I guess even a pessimist like him finds this place calming.” You chuckle, leaning you back against a dead tree stump and sighing. “But keep this quiet.” You smile. “It’s my little secret.”

She smiled back, a small blush creeping up on her cheeks at your laugh. It was so calming to her, so charming and unique to you. It made her happy to know you were happy.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the air, and Historia shivered, hugging herself in an attempt to conserve body heat. It was pretty here, no doubt, but she wished she had a chance to change out of her night clothes before you took her out.

You glanced at her for a moment, still clad in the standard Scout uniform (which, luckily for you, was very warm), and chuckled for a minute.

“Historia, darling,” You called out, bringing her attention towards you and patting your lap, “Come over here.”

She stood up quickly and made her way over to you, facing you before placing herself in your lap, her arms wrapped around your stomach and one leg splayed to either side of you.

You silently wished you had brought your Scout cloak with you so you could use it as a blanket, but instead, you just wrapped your arms around her in return and hoped that whatever body heat you were giving off would be enough.

It seemed to work, though, as she stopped shivering pretty quickly, and buried her head in your chest. You sighed in relief and started to run your hands through her hair absentmindedly.

“Y’know sweetie,” you start speaking, and although she shows no reaction at first, you know she’s listening intently, “I love you, and I love the cuddles too, but you won’t get a good view of the stars if you stay like this the whole time.” You giggled.

She let out a muffled hum into your chest, before speaking her response. “I don’t mind. You’re much better than some cool view of the sky. Warmer too.”

You laughed at her last statement, before settling down yourself, a hand making it’s way to rub small circles of Historia’s lower back soothingly. It seemed to have worked, as she only sighed and cuddled herself further into you.

The two of you sat like that in comfortable silence for what felt like ages, relaxing in each others’ presences for the first time in months. But, eventually the silence was broken as Historia quietly piped up.

“How has it been?” She asked, and you tilted your head to look at her, only to find her still relaxed against you. “Being commander of the Scouts must be tough work. They’ve been getting a lot of attention recently, both good and bad.”

You sighed and leaned back once again. Things had been tougher and more tiring recently, no doubt. Still, work was the last thing on your mind at this moment. You just wanted to spend time with Historia, free from stress.

“It’s been... okay.” You dodged the question subtly, and Historia elected not to prod you on it as you continued. “But I do miss spending time with my wonderful girlfriend.” You teased, and a smile spread across your features as she flustered up, and turned her head subconsciously to the side, allowing you to see her blushing face.

“And you know what else I miss?” You continued, grabbing her chin with your free hand, and lifting her head up to face you.

“What?” She stared back at you, bewildered and flustered.

“This.”

And before Historia even had the time to voice the words that formed in her mind, you pulled her face to yours quickly, quickly kissing her on the nose, then the forehead, then the cheek.

Historia giggled adorably as you continued to pepper her with chaste kisses against her face, and this time, she didn’t try to fight the blush that spread across her cheeks.

“Y/nnnnn...!” She continued to laugh as you kissed the corner of her lips all the way up to her ear, and her laughter started to infect you as well, as you let out soft snickers and laughs as well as you continued to shower her with affection.

You eventually stopped, and the two of you laughed together sweetly for a moment, before finally settling down against each other once again.

“You know what I missed?” Historia spoke teasingly.

“Hm?” You responded, interested in her response.

She gave no verbal response, much like you, instead opting to show her feelings with actions rather than words as she closed the gap between both of your faces.

Her lips met yours, and you closed your eyes to accept the soft, tender kiss, as opposed to the playful and short ones from earlier.

You continued the kiss, leaning over her slightly, and moving your hands to her lower back, and her hands went to grip your shoulders for support.

You playfully licked her bottom lip, silently asking for permission, but she gave in right away, parting her lips slightly and allowing you to quickly slide your tongue over her teeth. She felt her blush darken at the bold action, but continued to deepen the kiss regardless.

She’d be a liar if she said that she didn’t miss this as well, the more... intimate parts of your relationships. Like how you two would quietly make out in the dorm rooms before meeting up with everyone for breakfast, and how you would quietly finger her behind the barracks after training, and even the cute little noises you made when she went down on you.

She couldn’t help it as these dirty thoughts started to cloud her mind, and she could already feel her underwear growing damp.

You continued to make out with her, asserting your dominance more as your tongue started to explore the inside of her mouth, and Historia couldn’t help but let out quiet whimpers, especially when the hands placed on her lower back started to slowly lift up the hem of her shirt.

Then, in what was most likely a subconscious action, you shifted in place a little bit, and it wasn’t until now that she was reminded that her core had been placed directly on your thigh, and the subtle grinding against her crotch caused her to let out a moan against your lips.

You didn’t realize what you had done for a second, but when you did, you immediately used it to your advantage, and you ground your thigh against her core excruciatingly slowly. At this point, Historia couldn’t help any of the quiet moans and whimpers that escaped her throat.

You pulled away to catch your breath, much to Historia’s dismay, but you at least kept the slow movements of your thigh against her as you spoke up between pants.

“How about we go home now baby?” You asked (though it wasn’t much of a question), wiping your mouth and breaking the thin trail of saliva that connected you two. “This isn’t a very good place for... y’know...”

Historia only blushed and nodded, wiping her mouth as well. “Y-Yeah...”

You stood up to lead her out, and Historia tried her best to ignore the throbbing sensation that lingered between her legs ever since you stopped giving her stimulation.

You wasted no time on your trip home—letting Historia cling to you while you zipped your way back to the palace.

Historia tried to be patient on the way there, but she couldn’t help it as she started to subtly grind her hips into yours as you continued to fly through the air.

You sucked in a little bit of air through your teeth—undoubtedly turned on yourself—but you were quick to reprimand her softly.

“Not here, Historia, just wait until we get back.”

After an excruciatingly long four minutes journey, you one again flew into Historia’s unlocked bedroom window, stumbling on the floor a little bit, before regaining your footing and setting Historia down. You turned to close the window, not wanting anyone but you to hear your girlfriend’s sweet moans but you.

Once you had done that, you removed your coat and tossed it aside aimlessly before pushing Historia down against the bed, continuing to make out with her hungrily. She clawed at your shirt clumsily, and ceased to stop the whine in her throat when you playfully bit her bottom lip.

Your hands roamed to the buttons of her night shirt, fumbling to undo them while keeping all of your attention on Historia. Eventually, you got the stubborn things off, and you threw the shirt to the side carelessly, before immediately abusing your new access.

Your hands roamed her breasts hungrily. They were on the smaller side, but, as you had learned not far into your relationship, they were very sensitive.

You toyed with her happily as she crumbled beneath you, and you relished in the way her breath hitched and back arched as you gently pinched one of the pink nipples.

She pulled away from the makeup session to bite her bottom lip, muting any noises she made as you continued your teasing ministrations.

“Shit... Y/n...” She muttered bashfully, causing you to laugh slyly.

You slowly moved your way up her body, before straddling her hips and sitting up, your crotch flush against hers. You slowly undid the buttons of your shirt, sliding it over your shoulders cleanly once it was loose enough, and you discarded along with the sports bra you were wearing.

Historia shamelessly scanned your body, all the way from your shoulders to your toned, somewhat muscled stomach, and she ran her fingers over it delicately, stopping at the button of your pants. You smiled before leaning down to continue kissing her, curious to see where she was leading with this.

She didn’t seem to lose any confidence when you resumed your dominance, as she unbuttoned the pants easily, and slipped her hand into your underwear. You tensed up and let out a small gasp as her fingers brushed teasingly over your clit, rubbing gentle circles on it.

You pulled away from her mouth and let out a small whine. “Historia...”

She smiled at your reaction, deciding to be just a little bolder as she pressed down on your clit, hard, causing a jolt of pleasure to shoot up your body. You let out a strangled moan before lust took over your mind. Enough foreplay, enough teasing. This is starting right now.

You sat back up again, causing her hand to fall out of your pants to avoid the uncomfortable angle, and you slid of your pants and underwear, throwing it off to the growing collection of neglected clothing that littered her floor. You did the same thing to Historia right after, sliding her skirt down her hips gently, talking her underwear with it.

Your hand instantly settled in between her legs, and you stuck a finger into her up to the knuckle experimentally, and smiling sadistically at the lewd noises that fell from her lips.

You pulled it out gently, causing her to call out your name in both pleasure and frustration.

You didn’t let her go long without stimulation, however, as you lifted one of her legs up to go over your shoulder, pressing your heat against hers, and causing you to close your eyes and let out a pleasured exhale.

Slowly, you started to rock your hips against hers, scissoring her at a slow pace, enjoying the soft sounds she made.

“Y-Y/n...” She muttered, covering her mouth with her hand to mute the noises that fell easily from her lips.

You glanced up at her and grabbed her wrist, displeased with her action. “Don’t cover your mouth.” You groaned, moving her hand away. “I want to hear you.”

Historia nodded hesitantly, blushing in embarrassment as lewd moans and whimpers left her lips.

“Fuck...” She exhaled in ecstasy, causing you to smile. It brought you a lot of joy to make your oh so innocent girlfriend curse as you fucked her like this.

Her dormant hands reached up to grasp at your waist, running her hands up and down it and feeling you up with need, causing you to let out a shuddered moan as you sped your pace.

The increase in speed jostled her for a moment, and a startled, but pleasured yelp left her lips. You sighed and tilted your head back, biting your lip in pleasure as you rocked against her with force.

Slowly, Historia felt a knot grow in the pit of her stomach. Intense, heated pleasure that threatened to burst with every thrust of your body against hers, and helpless whines filled the room, only increasing tenfold when one of your hands went down to grope her breast.

“F-Fuck...! Y/n... I’m getting... close...” She exhaled, causing a surge of arousal course through your body. You could feel your orgasm slowly building in your stomach as well.

“Y-Yeah... me too...” You panted out as your thrusts started to get irregular as you got closer and closer to your climax, and lust-filled moans fell from your lips. You reached your other hand down to rub at her clit, finally sending her over the edge.

The hot sensation in the pit of her stomach finally unraveled as she arched her back up and gripped the sheets, rolling her hips desperately against yours, needy moans of ecstasy spilled from her lips, along with the occasional curse and yelp of your name.

Evidence of her orgasm dripped down her thighs and onto you as you came against her as well, riding out your orgasm with her.

You let out a few, slow thrusts as your hips twitched and legs shook, finally coming down from your high. You thrusted one final time, before exhaling and collapsing next to her, still sweaty and panting from your activities just moments ago.

Historia looked just the same as you, sweat dripping down her red face, the aftereffects of ecstasy still evident on her face. You turned on your side to face her, putting your hands on your back and pulling her close.

She let out a long, contended sigh and wrapped her arms around your back, and pulling the silk covers over you with her free hand, kissing your collarbone gently as sleep started to overtake her.

“I missed this.” You sigh, closing your eyes and running your hands through her disheveled and messy hair. “I missed you.”

You heard her quietly hum in agreement, before muttering sleepily into your chest. “I love you...”

You smile as her breathing evened against you. You were sure she had already fallen asleep, but that didn’t stop you from responding.

“I love you too, Historia.”

THIS IS SO RUSHED BYE EVERYONE SEE YA

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan x reader #shingeki no kyojin x reader #aot x reader #snk x reader #historia reiss #historia reiss x reader #christa lenz #christa lenz x reader #fluff #smut

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kuroos-moon · 4 years ago

Text

≪ the love that wrecks, and the one that mends ≫

pairing: atsumu x reader x suna

genre: sfw, angst

warning/s: toxic relationship, implied sex, minor swearing, prolly contains typos & grammatical errors (didn’t proofread)

wc: 2.3k

His breaths are ragged, thoughts a jumble. It couldn’t be true, lies spread far too easily and he knew that. But still, just to be sure—not that he believed a word at all—he’ll ask you. You, his haven and comfort, the thick blanket to his coldest days and the warm embrace piercing through his isolation.

You, who filled his thoughts every night. What if he did this the next day or what if he had done that before bidding you goodbye after he walked you home? You, who had been there by his side all this time, he need not look to know that you’re there; you always will be. Through hurricanes of uncertainties and tides of pain, where every memory was precedented and followed by another misery for you both, you and him will not change.

“This isn’t gonna be the last time we’ll cry because of each other, right?”

His lips twitch up into a small smile as he tilts his head to the side, looking at you as if you were the prettiest sight. “Most likely not. Tell me, do ‘ya want it any other way though?”

Eyes seeing through you, he already knows your answer. You only shake your head, chuckling, “as if there is another way with you.”

That’s right, you can’t expect to have Atsumu in your life if you’re not willing to wet your pillow with tears before slumber, to break the rules—to lose yourself—to get hurt, to bleed, to yearn for more but accept the least. You can’t have it all, they say. Well, you always thought they were wrong.

With Atsumu, you had it all. The thrill, the pleasure, the pain—him, your breathtaking Atsumu who would utter the most painful words and whisper the sweetest apologies. He knew it too, you were willing to go through hell and back. You befriend your demons and say goodbye to the light, you easily do so, without the faintest doubt—if it means a few seconds of intertwined fingers, a glimpse of his loving eyes, an echo of his laughter, you don’t care, it’s enough, it should be.

But where the hell are you? You’re not at home, apparently you’re over at a friend’s place. He takes a moment to catch his breath as he arrives at his own home, exhausted, depressed and anxious. He could feel himself lose control of his thoughts, though he was only thinking of you.

You, who would call him at the most random of times ‘just because’ and you, who had not talked to him properly ever since the last fight you had which was roughly three months ago. What the fight was about, he couldn’t even remember, what he does recall is how you uttered the words goodbye, Atsumu and not your usual see you, ‘tsum.

“I thought we were watching a movie,” there’s the subtlest smile on his lips, dark orbs finally trained on you after he had looked away from the screen. “What I’m looking at is so much better though,” you whisper, intoxicated by his scent and his embrace.

“Really?” He asks, nonchalant but his tone dishonest. If anything, he wishes more than anything else for you to mean those words, yet it felt like they weren’t for him to hear. “Really.”

You’re an angel, badly hurt and wings clipped.

And it’s all okay. He’ll mend you and patch you up with what he could offer, though deep down he knows you still preferred pain than his solace. He’ll make you fly again, overlooking his true wishes that even with flight—even if you’ve healed enough to let Atsumu destroy you once more—you’ll pick him. It’s fine, he keeps reminding himself, even if you dive straight down to that hell again and abandon him.

In a millisecond of staring back at your eyes, he had thought over a million ways for you to actually see through him. Words will not do justice for how deeply he had fallen for you, not by a long shot, so please, “y/n, see me,” he whispers into his dark and silent room while you lay facing each other.

“I am looking at you, Rin,” you assure him, appreciatively running your fingers through his hair. Thank god for him, he’s a work of art.

“Then, do you know how much I love you?” He whispers, the agony of being someone who could only relieve your pain and not truly make you happy had his voice breaking and he hid it so well, but you heard, a tear already rolling down his cheek.

Your heart falls, watching more tears fall from his beautiful, kind eyes. The very eyes that had seen you at your worst, the very ones that you catch already staring at you from across the room.

“Y/n you said you see me, right?” He says, silent sobs forcing its way out of his throat and you pull him to yourself, peppering feather-like kisses on his skin and the heaven knows how far and desperately he truly wished that those kisses were out of love and not of pity.

“I see you.”

You don’t, he thought. You see a friend, a potential lover, a satisfactory replacement, it will always be Atsumu who’s rooted in the depths of your heart he could only dream of reaching.

“I love you Rin, you have no clue, and I do know how much you love me.” Of course you know, how could you not know when he kisses your forehead before he heads off to practice? when he races to your side the first thing in the morning and wordlessly holds your hand, when he tells you he loves you every single day and night, whether it’s through the phone, or in person when he thought you were asleep.

“But you wish he loved you this much instead of me,” he says, and as he’s always done, he puts you first and neglects his hurt, comforting you as you cry silent tears, pushing away the pain in his chest that’s commanding him to just breathe and let go.

He’d rather suffer alone than have you shed tears with him though, regretting to let you see him cry. Like the miracle of peace amidst chaos, his lips find their way to yours, drowning your sobs as his thumb swipes across your cheeks to wipe your tears away.

Your hearts beat faster, and he was wrong to think he was insignificant to you, because if anything, he was your world, your lifeline. Not just because he kissed, hugged, and comforted all your pain away, but because Suna is the only person you’ll love and forever choose to love like this, like words couldn’t describe, and numbers could not measure.

If your relationship with Atsumu was hell, you couldn’t even say Suna was heaven, not even close, heaven’s too flawed and unworthy to be compared to your lover. He’s just him, your cherished Suna Rintarou. The brunette you don’t have to break the rules for or cry over every other night, the gentle Suna who will never utter words he knows would hurt you, the beautiful Suna who with just a glimpse of him, all your troubles fade and love fills you.

It was when you loved Suna Rintarou, that you truly knew what love was like or what love was supposed to be—for you, that is. After months together, you discovered that love for you was listening to your shared playlist as you walk home together with your hand in his inside his pocket, love for you was barging into his room while he was still asleep and waking him up with a kiss, love for you was not hurting yourself over and over, love for you was loving more and more each day, and after loving Suna, love for you is him and him alone.

“Y/n?” The surprise is evident in his voice when you had pulled away only to glue your lips back together as you shift and now lay on top of him. He guiltily cannot peel his eyes away from you when you rid yourself of his hoodie, he had always known you were beautiful, it was common sense, he’d make it a law if need be, but tonight, he’s looking at you where his eyes had never seen or adored you yet before.

“Do you see me, Rin?” You whisper, and he draws his hand to the side of your face, his love for you painfully too overwhelming brought by your small act of kissing the inside of his wrist. He’s drunk from your affection, addicted to it. “I love you, only you, and it will always be you, okay? I’m sorry it took me a while to get to where I belong, to be here with you.”

That night, tears were spilt as your lips met, confessions were whispered as love was made, again and again until early hours of dawn, until your head lays on his bare chest and his arm securely encloses you to him, a smile on his lips as he listens to your even breaths.

Meanwhile, Atsumu suffered a sleepless, restless wake of dawn. It wasn’t confirmed to be true yet, but maybe it was because of the way he knew deep down that it is probable, and it made sense. Your love was toxic—unofficial even—while he had always been yours, he knew that he gave you one too many reasons to no longer be his.

Yes, he was yours as you lay together on your bed that one night, endless conversations and sincere smiles. But no, he was no longer yours when he left your place and called one of his girls, apologizing for not showing up.

He was yours, when he got jealous and possessive, claiming you his and holding you tightly close to him. But the moment you started asking for more again—for a relationship more certain—in his irritated eyes and discomforted language, in his small sigh and aversion of the topic, you knew once more that he isn’t and might never be yours.

He’ll change from now on, he says to himself as he swallows his pride and picks up his phone, pressing your contact starred favorite, a red heart at the end of your name. In the first ring he wishes you’ll pick up on the next, on the second he hoped you were just asleep, and when you didn’t pick up, he looks at himself in the mirror and wondered why tears had already graced his cheeks.

He calls again, you pick up on the second ring.

“Atsumu.”

As if the coldest wind breezed through him, a shiver runs down his spine and he could feel his throat dry. He couldn’t speak, refusing to accept that the person who picked up your phone is the very person he begged the universe you weren’t with right now.

“What?”

“Where is she?”

“She’s asleep, why would you even call at this hour.”

There was silence on the line, and from the other end of the call, Suna was sitting up, gazing at your peaceful features as he covers your exposed arm with the blanket that had slightly gone astray. He caresses your cheek gently with the back of his hand, as if the reminder of Atsumu had him on guard with you, instincts kicking in as he wanted to make sure you feel loved and safe with him even though you were asleep.

“Then are ya really… Ya aren’t right? Y’know y/n’s mine.”

Just like that, Suna’s eyes drop cold, his hand leaving the side of your face. “We’re going out, I wouldn’t really consider the things we’ve done together platonic.”

Before he could respond he hears your voice, from the sound of it—after having heard it a thousand times when he used to stay over at yours—you just woke up, he bets you were barely even awake at all.

“Rin? C’mere,” you mumble.

The sound of the mattress shifting and the fluffing of pillows as you sit up and snuggle into Suna’s chest left him a lot to imagine. Despite the wreck it was all making inside his head, he couldn’t even bring himself to end the call.

Suna had already abandoned your phone, presuming it had already ended as he diverts his full attention to you, looking down affectionately with love behind his dark eyes.

“Did I wake you?” He says in a small voice, yet the kiss he planted atop your head was something Atsumu could still hear, fingers shaking as his grip tightens on his phone.

“’sokay, let me just sleep here,” you smile, kissing the crook of his neck as you close your eyes once more, already feeling yourself succumb to slumber. This was peaceful, your heart had never felt this in tuned with someone else’s, yet here in his dark room, under the warmth of his covers and the serenity of his bare body against yours, you knew you had finally wound up to where you belong.

“Rin?”

He hums in response, tracing his hand across your back as he too starts to fall asleep in your embrace.

“I love you.”

Those words meant the world to one and torment to the other.

“I love you, ‘Tsum! You fucking know that! And if you don’t want to let me go, why can’t you just love me too?”

“Are ya sayin I don’t love ya?”

“Then do you?”

Like every fight wherein you had him cornered, he left you unanswered that night. He bitterly smiles, regretful and anguished. With four last words before hanging up the phone, he welcomes the pain of his loss, the loss he knew was coming because he just couldn’t treat you right.

“I love you, y/n.”

#haikyuu!! x reader #suna x reader #atsumu x reader #haikyuu!! scenarios #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x you #haikyuu!! x you #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu scenarios #atsumu miya #Suna Rintarou #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu!!#hq

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starrywhump · 4 years ago

Note

Could you continue the story about hero and villain being captured by the anti super power organization? I really enjoyed and i want more of it

I was actually about to post this story when I got this ask, so perfect timing! I hope y’all enjoy this next part. It is a bit long and it’s late so I’m not proofreading super well so I apologize for any typos. Thanks for reading!

TW: Drugging

Part 1

“Unit 13, log it as a class B, regular holding will be sufficient,”

“What are you talking about!?” The Hero yelled at the man beside them.

They were restrained on a cold metal table, strapped down with leather at their ankles, wrists, chest, and neck. Various people in lab coats milled around the room around them, ignoring them completely. It was infuriating, even the Villain talked back to them.

The man next to them seemed to be in charge, they calmly spoke orders to the others.

“Take a blood sample to be sure, we don’t want any surprises,” the man in charge called across the room.

The Hero couldn’t move their head more than a few inches, so they could only see the people right next to them. They felt much too vulnerable locked down without any use of their powers.

If this was a normal situation the Hero would just break out of the ties around them, but there was something in the air that made the Hero feel weak. It was like someone had put gauze between the Hero and their powers. They were still there, they could see them faintly, but they couldn’t get to them.

The Hero’s powers weren’t something that was always with them, but it was always there for them to access. It was a part of them but now it was blocked off. The Hero wasn’t helpless without them, they still knew how to fight. But that added strength was something they couldn’t count on anymore.

Usually, when they used their powers their regular abilities became enhanced, they were stronger, faster, more agile. If they really focused they could harden their skin, creating their very own armor.

They were almost unstoppable until they met the Villain no one had been a match for them. Now this place easily neutralized them. It was unnerving.

Footsteps by the Hero’s left side broke them out of their thoughts. A woman stood over them with a needle, attached with tubing to a small vial.

“Hey! Get away from me!” The Hero jerked in their binds.

“Sedate it for transport once you’re done with that,” the man in charge didn’t even look up, they were focused on writing something on the clipboard they held.

“Will do,” the woman nodded. She pinched up the skin on the Hero’s inner elbow, inserting the needle.

The Hero paused their struggling as they watched the vial fill up with their blood. The woman pulled the vial from the tube, securing the lid and handing it over to the Hero the man on the other side. She then pulled the needle out of the Hero’s arm, placing a bandaid there to stop any bleeding.

It was all very confusing. They hadn’t done anything to hurt them, not since the guards had shocked them to get them out of their cell. No one had talked to them, or even looked them in the eye, it was like they were some inanimate object to be observed.

The woman was looming over him again, this time holding a syringe filled with a white liquid.

“Hey! Stop! What is that? Get away from me! Didn’t you hear me I said GET AWAY!” The Hero yelled as the woman pushed their head to the side, injecting whatever was in the syringe into their neck.

“What was that! Hey, listen to me what was that!” The Hero yelled as the woman removed the syringe.

“Ok, you can move it back to holding,” with that the man walked out, followed shortly after by the woman.

The Hero felt a wave of cold, numbness sweep through them.

The guards from before appeared at the Hero’s sides, they began to undo their restraints.

As soon as their wrist was free the Hero tried to punch up at the nearest guard. All they could do was move it about an inch off the table before it fell back down.

The guards looked at each other and laughed.

The Hero’s brain felt like putty, unable to fully understand what was going on.

An overwhelming sense of fear overtook them. They suddenly missed the cold indifference of the lab coats. It was better than the cruel hunger that shone in the eyes of the guards above them.

The Hero was pulled up off the table, and set on their feet. They blinked sluggishly, the room spun around them.

Invasive hands held them up and began to push them forward.

“Stop-” the Hero slurred.

The guards ignored them.

The Hero’s eyes fluttered open and closed. Time seemed to jump forward every time they blinked.

It felt like no time had passed before one of the guards was unlocking the bar door to their cell.

The Hero was shoved unceremoniously into their cell, they stumbled and tripped over their own feet, falling to the ground.

They tried to get their hands under them, to push back up to a standing, or at least sitting position. Before they could a kick from one of the guards stomped down on their back. They laughed as the Hero’s face slammed into the concrete floor.

********

The Villain closed their eyes, silently thinking, plotting. Since they first got here they never yelled or screamed, they simply sat and thought, waiting for the right moment or opportunity to escape and kill everyone in this godforsaken place.

It was a bit hard to think when you have to listen to two idiots beating the shit out of your nemesis next door. While they were gone it had been a few hours of blissful peace, but as soon as the Hero was dragged back into their cell that was over.

From the way they had walked in the Villain could tell the Hero had been drugged, they were being too complacent not to be.

If the Hero had just been left to lay quietly in a drug-induced stupa everything would have been fine.

But of course, the assholes who run this place wouldn’t be happy with just kidnapping and drugging people.

They had to have their fun messing with the powerful beings rendered powerless. It probably was an ego thing, these grunt workers, clearly lower in the chain of command than the scientists around here, would get a rush from beating up Heros.

“Get ‘ff...me,” a slurred complaint from the Hero next door distracted the Villain momentarily.

The Villain couldn’t see what was going on due to a concrete wall between their cells. But they could clearly hear fists connecting with a body. Occasionally this was followed by the Hero’s pitiful attempts to fight back, usually entailing a threat spoken in a weak voice, almost too quiet to hear. It didn’t exactly inspire fear.

“ st-” the Hero cut themselves off with a groan of pain.

The Villain rolled their eyes, this was getting really boring. They rolled off their cot and walked over to the front of their cell. They grabbed the bars as looked over to the Hero’s cell, they could only see a small sliver of it.

“Are you quite finished in there?” The Villain spoke loud enough to be heard in the Hero’s cell.

The sounds of the fighting stopped.

“Why do you care?” One of the guards exited the Hero’s cell to stand outside the bars of the Villain’s.

“Because it's loud. It’s getting on my nerves.”

“And why would I care about what you want?” The guard sneered.

“I don’t care what you care about. Just try to finish proving your machoness by beating up someone who can’t fight back, and go away so I can have some peace,” The Villain deadpanned, gazing at the guard with a bored look.

The guard reddened, whether with anger or embarrassment it was unclear.

They reached through the bars grabbing the Villain’s shirt and jerked them forward against the bars, “You think you’re so fucking funny!”

The Villain’s expression didn’t change, they left their hands hanging limply at their sides. Their lack of a reaction seemed to only make the guard angrier.

“Well if it’s such a problem for you, you can deal with it,” the guard growled.

They released the Villain, moving to unlock their cell. Before the Villain could make a move the guard grabbed the Villain by their shirt, pulling them out into the hall.

The Villain scowled, trying to stay upright as the guard moved and shoved them into the Hero’s cell.

Looking down they saw the Hero laying on their side. There was a small puddle of blood next to their face, coming from their nose and a few cuts littered around their face. They had their arms up around their head, hands on the back of their neck, trying to shield themselves.

The Villain turned back to the guard in the hall, “what do you expect me to do with that?” they gestured at the Hero, “I mean I would be happy to kill them for you but do you really need my help to do that?” The Villain leaned back against the wall, crossing their arms.

“Clean them up,” The guard in the hall motioned to his partner. The partner walked out of the cell using keys to open a solid gray door between all the bars. They brought out a bucket, bringing it to the Hero’s cell and dropping it inside.

Water sloshed out onto the floor. Next to the bucket, the guard dropped a few rags.

“Boss doesn’t like blood.”

The Vilain looked down at the bucket and laughed, “Yeah, no. Sorry, I’m not a nurse. You made the mess clean it up yourself.”

The guard ignored them, sliding the bar door into place, “Clean them and the floors. If when I get back it’s not clean, I will kill you. And don’t kill them, boss doesn’t like it when the new ones die, if they end up dead so are you.”

With that the guards walked away, leaving the Villain alone with the Hero.

The Villain rolled their eyes.

Fucking hell.

“Get up,” the Villain stayed where they were against the wall, yelling over to the Hero.

The Hero didn’t move.

The Villain pushed off the wall, trudging reluctantly to the Hero’s side. There was no fun in being around the Hero if they couldn’t try to kill them.

The Villain nudged the Hero’s leg with their foot.

They curled in on themselves more, pulling their arms around their head.

“Move, I need to clean underneath you,” The Villain spoke in an annoyed monotone.

“If... ‘f your gon-gonna kill me... get on ‘th it,” The Hero’s speech was slurred and broken. Whatever drugs they were on weren’t enough to completely knock them out, but they were very close.

“I really wish I could. Really I do, but killing you will have to wait. Now move or I’m going to kick you,”

The Hero looked confused.

They weren’t the brightest in the first place but these drugs make them idiotic.

The Villain rolled their eyes for the umpteenth time.

“Well, I told you,” the Villain aimed a kick at the Hero’s side. It was a relatively soft blow, but the Hero yelped loudly.

“Move. I don’t wanna get my hands dirty dragging you, you’re all bloody.”

The Hero pushed their hands against the floor, trying to pick themselves up off the ground. They got a few inches off the ground before one of their arms gave out. The other slipped on the blood-slick concrete. The Hero fell on their face, groaning in pain.

“Jesus Christ fine,” the Villain stepped over the Hero, moving above their head to grab their under their arms. The Hero jumped at their touch but didn’t have the strength to fight them, even if they wanted to.

The Villain dragged the Hero over to the wall, resting them against it.

A pool of blood had collected beside the Hero from their nose. The Villain took one of the rags and began to sop up the puddle.

They glanced back over to the Hero, “Stop bleeding so much, I don’t want another puddle to clean up.”

The Villain chucked the blood-soaked rag next to the bucket. There wasn’t that much blood on the ground, and it cleaned up pretty easily. What the Villain didn’t want to do was clean up their drugged up nemesis over there, but they didn’t want to die more, so they grabbed another rag. They dipped the rag in the water, ringing it out before moving over to the Hero.

There wasn’t too much blood on the Hero’s shirt, most of it had run onto the floor.

The Villain ran the cloth over the Hero’s chin, stopping the latest wave of red from dripping down onto their chest.

The Hero looked... afraid. An emotion the Villain hadn’t seen on the Hero before. At least not naturally.

Perhaps the drugs stripped away the Hero’s ability to hide their true feelings, or maybe the vulnerability of their current state was getting to them.

The Villain’s mouth twitched with a small smile. The Hero would have never let the Villain get this close usually, because they knew what the Villain could do when they got close to someone.

Not in this place, where their powers were blocked, but out in the real world, the Villain could inflict pain with just a touch.

It worked from far away on the weaker-minded part of the population, but up close, touching, it was easy for the Villain’s power to cause its victim immense pain.

Depending on what the Villain wanted and how hard they were focusing they could make the Hero relive their most painful memories, access their deepest insecurities and worries, or they could simply light every nerve in the Hero’s body up with pain.

The Hero must logically know that the Villain can’t do that here, but the memory must still be scaring them.

The Hero had never been vulnerable before they met the Villain. No one had been able to stand a chance against them with their enhanced abilities.

But the Villain didn’t fight physically, or at least they didn’t need to. The Villain was actually quite skilled at martial arts but often used their powers instead to destroy their opponent without lifting a finger.

“Scared?” The Villain smirked, keeping their hand on the Hero’s chin.

The Hero blinked for a moment before they seemed to register the question.

“no..’m not,” the Hero slurred, tripping over their words. They sluggishly moved their arms up to push at the Villain’s hand holding their face.

“No, no, leave it. Wouldn’t want me to slip and...” the Villain pushed on the Hero’s broken nose, eliciting a curse from the Hero.

“I can’t kill you but there is a large space between not killing you and treating you nicely. If I were you I wouldn’t give me a reason to explore that space,” The Villain released the Hero’s chin with a jerk to the side.

The Hero looked at the Villain, most likely tried to glare at them, but their face was puffy from bruises and their eyes were unfocused from the sedative, so it didn’t have the intended threatening air.

The Villain pushed their hand into the Hero’s hair, it was ruffled from the guards' onslaught. Also damp, with blood or sweat the Villain didn’t know. They gripped the Hero’s hair to push their head back against the wall. With the other hand, they wiped at the blood on the Hero’s face.

Their nose was bleeding heavily, but small streams of blood also trickled from the cuts on their left eyebrow and the middle of their forehead.

The Hero breathed heavily, their eyes were shifted between a glassy confused look and one of anger and fear. They were clearly fighting hard against what the guards had given them, but it didn’t seem to be doing much. They could barely move their limbs, the Villain would have loved this back on the outside. It seemed a waste to only be able to experience it here.

“Alright,” the Villain moved the rag off the Hero’s face, “all done,” They dropped the rag and returned their hand to the Hero’s cheek.

The Hero flinched.

The Villain traversed the Hero’s face with their hand. Inspecting their enemy at such in such close quarters was fascinating.

The two stared at each other. Silently trying to figure out how their relationship would operate in this new situation.

The Villain finally pulled away, giving the Hero’s hair a playful tug before they released their grip.

The Hero breathed a sigh of relief as the Villain stepped away.

The Villain walked to the other side of the Hero’s cell and sat down opposite them. They watched as the Hero slowly succumbed to the drugs, falling to their side. The Hero’s breathing deepened and evened out signifying they had fallen unconscious.

Still, the Villain watched.

#whump #villain/hero #hero whump #superhero whump #experiment whump #medical whump #drugging #tw: drugging #pain #beating #manhandling #blood #reluctant caretaker #creepiness #asks answered

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guessimjoiningthespidermanfandom · 4 years ago

Text

No One Lives Forever Not Even God

Peter Parker x bisexual!reader

Peter Parker x fem!reader

Peter Parker x black!reader

Peter Parker x villain!reader

Warnings: Language, Insomnia, mentions of antidepressants, mentions of drugs, drug use, mentions of addiction, mentions of nazis, parental neglect, mentions of the dead, cemeteries, mentions of meltdowns, corrupt government, mentions of cancer, low self esteem, self destructive behavior, medical testing, thoughts of murder, mentions of injury, and mentions of knives,

Word Count: 6.1k

Songs: Mother- Pink Floyd, He Can Only Hold Her- Amy Whinehouse, A Pearl- Mitski, Me and My Husband- Mitski, Saint Bernard- Lincon, Why Didn't You Stop Me?- Mistki, Nuestro Planeta- Kali Uchis, You Know I'm No Good-Amy Whinehouse, and Love Is a Losing Game- Amy Whinehouse.

"I’ve been in a very poetic mood lately. I think it’s funny how anything could be considered poetry and something you relate too. Like Twitter or any other social media and the ongoing gag of people feeling the need to announce the fact that they’re making moves in silence. But that’s what I’m doing, making moves in silence. If anyone is in my business now I’m politely asking you to remove yourself from it before I make you.”

A/N: I only did one proofread so sorry if there are typos and this is just more of an infodump to set up other chapters so enjoy ig. I almost gonna start another series a social media AU let me know if you'd want to be tagged in either of these series.

Series Masterlist Previous Part Next Part

Nightmares come while I’m asleep but, when I’m awake the nightmares of the day just come for me then, so really I’m just stuck. I would like to say the antidepressants are working, it's just the insomnia that comes with them isn't working for me. I’m honestly starting to think mood stabilizers would do me better.

Mother, do you think they'll drop the bomb?

I’m not sure I could blame this all on the pills though. I’d have to give some of the credit to the massive bombshell that a certain ex Avenger had dropped on me.

It's almost like every five seconds a new giant secret about my mom is unveiled to me. Like sure I saw from the video that she’d left me that she had associations with some bad people like Kingpin but nazis?

SHIELD had apparently collapsed because it was infiltrated by Hydra but it was prevalent while my mom was still alive. Seems like she had worked for or with everyone who was anyone. I’m just gonna give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she didn’t know because up until two weeks ago I didn’t either.

Her and Natasha had been recruited at the same time and worked together but for someone who claims to have been so close to her you’d think she’d know that she was dead. “She went off the grid and that was the last I heard from her,” is all she gave me with a smile that even I could tell was fake and I’d just met the woman.

You know when grown folks come up to you and expect you to remember them because they met you once while you were like in the womb that’s kinda my relationship with Natasha. She knows so much about me and I know absolutely nothing about her save for the fact she's a spy meaning she’d be a great liar.

She used to babysit me sometimes if I could trust what she says that is. Apparently I called her “Auntie Nat”. For some reason no one ever thought it was a good idea to inform me that I had a godmother. Maybe they did and I just forgot.

I thought they were supposed to take care of you when something happened to your parents. And the one who’s alive is about as useless as the other. It might be fun to have another person that was considered family. Just maybe not a spy at least I’d know she’d walk out of my life so I won’t get attached.

Mother, do you think they'll like the song?

“Hey mom,” I sighed sitting down in the light dusting in front of her tombstone. “I know it’s been a while and I’ve got a lot to catch you up on,”

It took a bit of digging before I found what I was looking for in my bag. I ran my fingers along the cold surface of the small jewelry box. There was puffy white glue holding the larger pieces together.

I placed the box in the grass sitting next to the tombstone. I removed a purple coiled bracelet and sat it next to the box.

I tucked my legs under my body admiring the piece of jewelry.

“I brought you a bracelet,” I spoke. “It’s kinda like a friendship bracelet cause I have the other. I don’t know if I should leave it here in case someone steals it,” I laughed. “You’d have to be a real shitty person to steal from a cemetery though,”

I curse so often I didn’t realize I did it until I had already done it.

“Ah sorry! Excuse my French,” I chuckled.

“I met Natasha Romanoff and she said she knew you. She said she knew me too. I don’t remember her though…” I trailed off.

For someone who claimed to have a lot to say I sure was at a loss for words. I just didn’t know how to get any of them out.

“Oh! You’re not gonna believe me if I tell you but I got to meet some of the Avengers. Most of them were new though. You’d know some of them. Like Captain America I wanted his help but he couldn’t provide it,”

I had a bit of an episode when I was told no one knew where Thor was. I think it was justified though.

How the fuck do you lose two Avengers let alone the ones that can’t possibly be hidden. One is green and huge and the other leaves lightning bolts everywhere they go.

Mother, do you think they'll try to break my balls?

“The other is Natasha but I don’t think I really knew that yet. She went by Black Widow. I’m sure you knew that though. You probably know a lot,”

I wonder how many secrets she never told me about. I mean I could only imagine all the secrets working for the government would let you in on. Like she probably knew about big stuff like the Tesseract and aliens maybe she could’ve known about that.

“Okay I have a question. I have a lot actually but I think if you answer them I’m gonna get up and run out of here,” I joked.

“Number one is my middle name Natalia because of your SHIELD buddy? Like it might just be a coincidence but it could also be a godmother typa situation or something,”

It was a running theory. She would’ve known my mom before I was born. And if what I was told is true they’d be pretty close too and Natasha translates back to Natalia and I know she’s Russian. It makes sense.

Ooh

Mother, should I build the wall?

“Uh… there’s this boy,”

When was there not? It seems like there was always someone in my life. Carmen in therapist mode said it’s because I put my self worth into my relationship status.

“He’s really nice. Like really really nice. Nicer than anybody I’ve ever been associated with. It’s just he’s like…” I didn't know how to put the next part into words. “He’s just too nice. Too nice for me at least. Like he’s such a good person and I’m just me,”

“And it’s I feel bad,” I sighed. I was getting myself too worked up over this. “Like I keep playing like a game of tug a war with him where I let him in and kick him out again it’s tiring. I don’t even do it on purpose. I feel like we could be something maybe. But I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen. It’s a self defense mechanism. At least I think.”

I do it with everyone. I shut them out before they can get it. The less people you let into your life the less people that can walk out.

It’s a bulletproof tactic. At least I used to think it was. Never realized people could get hurt including myself.

“I saw dad,” I informed myself? I guess I’m not sure how healthy it is to have a conversation with someone you know can’t respond and isn't listening. “Like two days ago actually I didn’t say anything I freaked out and ran away. It made me think though,”

Mother, should I run for president?

Made me think about how I’d done so well on my own. Well I’m not gonna take all the credit, most of it was Carmen keeping my ass in line. I haven’t talked to her in a while. I haven’t talked to anyone in a while.

”I found a small studio apartment in Queens. It was the cheapest one I could find. I’m just renting it like an Airbnb right now. I need to find a permanent place and a job,”

I couldn’t find a permanent place at my age unless I had full autonomy which leads me to my next topic.

“So I was thinking about getting emancipated which everything would’ve been a lot easier if you were here then we could just go to court for custody cause you’d win for sure.”

Mother, should I trust the government?

“I know you never got to know how corrupt SHIELD was but do they like keep tabs on everyone who does anything to them or related to them? Because like I did a little snooping and I know they had files for all the Avengers and other people like Kingpin.”

I knew I was going to have to do more than sit here and ask a dead person what to do but ranting to someone who couldn’t spill my secrets was a start.

“I was just wondering how deep it went or if they had hidden stuff on me,”

Mother, will they put me in the firing line?

It’s probably common knowledge that if you mess with the government they’ll mess back. I’d like to think they were like bees. You leave them alone they’ll leave you alone. Only stinging when provoked.

But every branch of the government is like a wasp. They don’t die if they sting and they’ll sting you for no reason at all. They just like to see people in pain.

And I’m sure the energy research branch of SHIELD would probably be more than interested in a walking fire bomb that can move things without touching them.

I mean I’m not going to stop poking things around until I figure out what’s wrong with me. So might as well not complain.

“So I don’t have many things figured out right now and the whole you and SHIELD thing only confused me more so if you could just like come tell me what to do just this once that’d be great,” I laughed.

At first I was contemplating if this was weird or not but hearing me say that I now know this is pathetic. It always has been.

Ooh

Is it just a waste of time?

But I didn’t know if I should keep searching. Maybe I should just pretend like I’d never gotten introduced to the world of powers or mutations at all. For all I know Peter, Carmen, Felicia, Wade and I are just normal people who do normal people stuff.

Sure I wanted answers but I didn’t want to end up like those people who spend their whole life searching for an answer they won’t find any and end up never living at all.

Like a quote my mom used to say all the time “The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all,”

She really just used it so she didn’t have to listen to being put on bed rest but it obviously had a deeper meaning and she knew that.

I keep finding myself stuck on that phrase. That and the whole when the dust settles poem.

I’ve been in a very poetic mood lately. I think it’s funny how anything could be considered poetry and something you relate too.

Like Twitter or any other social media and the ongoing gag of people feeling the need to announce the fact that they’re making moves in silence.

But that’s what I’m doing, making moves in silence. If anyone is in my business now I’m politely asking you to remove yourself from it before I make you.

“Uh I don’t know if I should even tell you this cause you died before it was even a problem in the first place but…” I blew out a breath digging my feet deeper into the ground.

“I’ve been clean for like two weeks now. Which is actually a thing I’m pretty proud of right now.”

I’d stopped using everything except weed, nicotine because those weren’t drugs and even then I used it way less than before. Oh, and my antidepressants too but that’s obviously okay they’re prescribed.

I hated the word clean made me seem like an addict which I wasn’t. I’m many things but I wasn’t an addict. I just didn’t know of any other words to use.

I wasn’t an addict but I’d say the lines between recreational use and dependency were blurring just a bit. I had gotten it straight though. I’m good now. The antidepressants are helping.

Hush now baby, baby, don't you cry

“You have a superpower of just making people feel better immediately. I don’t know if it was the fact you were my mom or what but if you even just put a bandaid on a stab wound it’d probably stop hurting and disappear,”

I wasn’t even exaggerating there was this one time I got hurt at the zoo and she just kissed it and I forgot about the fact that I even fell.

I’m not sure how true that is though because I couldn’t actually recall the memory I was just told about it by my mom a few years after it happened. So I guess I remember not remembering then being reminded. Weird.

“I wanna see the giraffes!” Aaliyah cried, stomping her feet down on the concrete.

This was one of the only times mom didn’t have to work on the weekends and Liyah had to have her way like always.

“Mom!” I screamed “Tell her you said we could see the lions first,”

She just sighed. “Well since she’s the youngest do you think you could be nice and let her go first please?”

“Fine,” I huffed. I wasn’t doing it for Liyah, I was doing it for mom. Even a blind person could see how tired she’d been lately.

Liyah laughed at me sticking her tongue out. She’s such a brat.

“You’re so dumb.” I rolled my eyes at her.

“I know you are but what am I ?” She teased hitting my shoulder before running away.

I took off after her. She may have been fast but I knew I could catch up to her.

I almost had her when my foot got caught on something. It launched me towards the ground and I put my hands down to catch myself but I still hit my knee.

I slid on the concrete scuffing my leg. I didn’t scream because that would make me weak and it didn't hurt that bad. I just bit my lip and stood up.

I didn’t want to limp but it hurt too much to put pressure on my leg.

Liyah had beat me back to mom and when I reached them she was already apologizing.

Fake.

She was just scared to get in trouble. I wasn’t gonna snitch on her anyways.

“Let me see it,” Mom asked, grabbing my arm, pulling me to sit down on a stonehenge.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a first aid kit. She always had everything in her purse. It was kinda like a super power. The black Marry Poppins.

She wiped the scrape with an alcohol wipe and I just barely hissed. It didn’t even really hurt anymore.

She placed a bandaid on it, smoothing her hands on top of it before placing a kiss there.

“There,” She wiped her hands on her thighs before standing up “All better?”

I nodded my head and we went off to see the giraffes because I’m nice like that.

“In case you were wondering, Aaliyah still always gets her way even now. I’d say she’s got me beat on the manipulation game honestly,”

It’s fine though I taught her everything she knows not everything I know. I could still get one over on her if needed.

Mama's gonna make all of your nightmares come true

“I found your pendant, the SHIELD one. Which I guess makes all of this real no matter how much I want it to be fake. I just want this to be a poorly written book where I wake up and the past five years were all a dream,”

God knows how much I meant that. Well maybe I didn’t mean it too much because some people I’ve met in the past five years are people I don’t think I could survive very long without. Even though I kinda exploded on everyone so maybe I’m gonna have to test my theory on how long I can really survive.

“Hey Doc,” I greeted pushing up the door of the restaurant.

“Hey sweetheart, how ya been?” He queried.

“I’ve been better,”

“I hear ya,” He nodded.

Once we were in the back of the restaurant aka his office. I pulled out the diamond. Doc knew everything about everyone and anything. He could also make a duplicate of anything you gave him.

“Whatcha got for me?” He asked, rubbing his hands together.

“This, I’m not sure what it is,”

I placed the bird pendant on the desk. I found it in a shoe box filled with my mom's stuff.

“I was wondering if you knew,”

He lifted it up to his eye to get a better view, His eyesight so bad that his glasses were practically a magnifying glass.

“It’s a crest, I don’t think I’ve seen this before it’s most likely from a government branch,” He placed it back down on his messy desk. “I can do some more extensive research for you if you’d like,”

“Yes, that’d be great,”

“Stop by again tomorrow and I’ll fill you

I wish I never went back to Doc’s place or found out about flash drive, Vulture, SHIELD, any of it. Just when I thought my life couldn’t get anymore fucked up the devil came out the woodworks and spit in my face.

Mama's gonna put all of her fears into you

“I remember all that testing they did after I agreed to do whatever Stark needed me to do sooo badly. I still don’t really know what he did- or he’s doing with all that DNA and other stuff he’d gotten from me,”

Aren’t the Avengers and by default Tony Stark products of SHIELD so wouldn't that mean whoever’s behind all of that could’ve been the one to tell Tony about the fire thing in the first place.

That had been the main thing about the whole Stark situation that I still couldn’t figure out. Someone needs to tell me how he found out and they better tell me now.

“There are multiple lacerations 1-2 inches lining the upper and lower abdomen,” The doctor lady announced to her assistant. Before moving her cold hand away from my side pushing my shirt back down.

Okay that’s chill nothing I haven’t had before.

“We’re gonna have to do another X-ray is that okay?” Her assistant asked. I wasn’t going to bother to learn their names. I was planning to stay that long anyways.

What’s the point? They’re just going to come back and say the machine is broken and then do another blood test.

“Yeah sure,”

I was led into a much bigger room than the last. There was much more machinery too.

I was strapped down to a cold blue cushioned table by leather straps. Straps weren’t really necessary, not like I was planning on lashing out and mauling anyone.

I closed my eyes when the flashes of the machine went off. Apparently I had fractured three of my ribs and bruised my sternum.

You’d think they’d let me go now but noooo they need more blood and then when they were done drawing blood.

They had to hook me up to a machine to monitor- I don’t even fucking know what they were monitoring.

I just know I had all the pads with wires on my temples and chest and everywhere else. It reminded me of that one time I had to do a sleep study.

Except they didn’t have holographs to read off and fancy probably government funded tech then. They sure as hell didn’t have all this whispering either. Or maybe they did and I was just unconscious.

Still I didn’t even want to actually be here and I was cold for once.

“How much long do we have here?” I groaned.

“Not much longer. We just have and MRI left,”

Yeah right. I was gonna be in here for the rest of my life

“I could probably go back there if I wanted answers,” I spoke quietly.

“But I don’t want the government in my business like that well at least just not more than they probably are already at least and the tests are so invasive,”

Mama's gonna keep you right here under her wing

That’s not the only invasive thing in my life. Or should I say was in my life? I don’t fucking care really.

My dad was somehow the strictest and the most lenient person ever. I think he just wanted control.

I used to blame his alcoholism for everything he did but no really he’s just a shitty person. A shitty person who likes to beat on women and take doors off the hinges.

“You are so pathetic!” My mom screamed at my dad.

They had been at this all night. For so long that I’m seriously contemplating jumping out of this small window right now.

Sapphire had no qualms sleeping on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. Aaliyah and I however were still wide awake.

I’m not sure exactly what was going on in her head but I’m assuming we're still up for the same reason. To kill our dad if he even touches our mom.

I had a kitchen knife in hand as I sat on the bathroom sink. I always had a knife every time my dad started yelling a little too aggressively just in case but this time felt different. Like I was really prepared to stab him this time.

I didn’t know what it was but something felt off.

“Are they done?” Aaliyah asked, rubbing her eyes. The apartment had fallen silent.

“I don’t know. Stay here,” I hopped down off the sink.

I should’ve known she wasn’t gonna listen to me. The kitchen was empty which means they must’ve moved to their room.

The next moment was the sort straight out of a family sitcom except the family was falling apart and the kids were going crazy but otherwise it could’ve very well been an “oopsie” misunderstanding moment. Where the younger child asks “Are mommy and daddy getting a divorce?”

Then the oldest child pulls them into their body and whispers “I dunno kiddo,” or “No they’re just going through a rough patch,” anything like that.

Except it wasn’t that. That wasn’t what she said and that wasn’t what Aaliyah asked me.

God how I wish that was what she asked me.

I have a bad habit of acting before I think. I opened the door opening my mouth to let out the words in my brain.

“You’re dying? How are you dying?”

They both turned to look at me like they were just noticing they weren’t alone.

My mom sighed moving closer to me grabbing my arm.

“I’m- Im not no ones dying,”

The door creaked as Aaliyah pushed her way into the room.

“But you said ‘I need you to step up you need to know how to handle it when I’m dead’,” She paraphrased cleaning out the cuss words.

“It didn’t mean literally dying right now,”

Now I could see how this could be us just jumping to conclusions from like two sentences but she had been weird lately. Like she’s always traveled a lot and been secretive but lately she’s been extra secretive.

And I could tell the secret wasn’t to protect herself so whos to say it wasn’t the fact she was currently dying. It actually makes perfect sense.

I’m starting to wish I wasn’t always right. Stage 4 Lymphoma. Basically we should go coffin shopping pretty soon.

If only she wasn’t so selfish and would get treatment for it. She couldn’t leave me here by myself. Who’s gonna take care of us if she dies.

I’d thought about it before and I decided I’d take on the role of caregiver for my sisters but then it was only a what if situation.

Wade has cancer and he’s not dead but that’s only because he got pumped with like super drugs shit.

Now I just needed to find some super drugs and figure out how to get her to take them.

Fuck Cancer and fuck my dad. Why couldn’t he have gotten the diagnosis instead of my mom. A life for a life type beat.

I guess that wouldn’t have made for a good tragic backstory would it. And what fun is life without a tragic backstory.

My only question is when does the backstory end and when does the actual plot begin because clearly I’m not there yet. It’s only tragedy after tragedy.

Maybe that is my story, just pain and suffering. Someone has to be the butt of the joke.

She won't let you fly but she might let you sing

“You always told me to surround myself with people who you could block out the rest of the world with. Peter’s like that so was Olivia she was one of those people for me. When we weren’t yelling at each other or crying, I mean. Still wish you could’ve met her though,”

“AH YES!” I exclaimed, pumping my fist. “I found it,” I waved the joint in the air.

“Alright come sit down then,” Olivia laughed, patting the seat on the couch next to her.

“Shit,” I muttered. “Where’s the lighter?”

She just laughed at me again. Before reaching into my pocket and slipping it out. I couldn’t help but smile at how intimate that action felt for no reason at all.

I quickly and lightly pressed my lips to hers muttering a quick “thank you,”

About three minutes had passed and I could feel the weed taking course through my system.

My head was in her lap until I abruptly shot up gasping at the beginning of Super Rich Kids by Frank Ocean.

“Dance with me,” I pleaded it didn’t take much convincing because here we were twirling around. Although it was much more giggling than dancing.

I bumped my leg on the glass coffee table and immediately apologized making Liv and I laugh so hard I almost peed my pants.

I was laid out on the soft white fur rug with Olivia laying her chin on my chest. I ran my hands through her hair.

It was actually very easy there were no knots my fingers just glided smoothly through.

“I mean shit,” I breathed “I know I can’t run from the rest of the world forever but until then? Bitch you can call me Flash cause I’m zoomin’.”

She giggled at that before speaking up.

“You don’t have to run you can just stay here with me forever,”

Her words were so genuine it made me want to cry. She basically just said “I love you” in more or less words.

“You know what? I think I might,”

She gave me a tired smile, turning her head to place a kiss on the top of my breast.

I smiled back at her and how adorable she looked right now. I just want to kiss her for the rest of forever.

When I glanced back down at her I could hear her breathing slow and her eyes had fluttered shut. She was asleep.

I felt all warm and fuzzy and at peace and I couldn’t tell if it was the weed or if it was just being in Olivia’s presence.

I wasn’t ready to say these words to her when she was conscious yet maybe I’d never be ready but I’d say them now. Just to get them off my chest.

“I love you,” I whispered.

I never really felt comfortable saying that to anyone. Probably a result of not hearing it enough as a child or something. My family’s never been affectionate anyway. That’s fine because I wasn’t my family, I was my own person.

Stroking her hair gently before drifting off to the land of dreams myself.

So much for forever huh?

It’s funny to think how I took times like that for granted if only I knew those were some of the only moments of normalcy I’d get for a while. I’d spent too much time thinking about what could’ve been with almost everything.

So much so that I didn’t take much time to actually be. Now I feel like I’ve made it to the point of no return. Not mentally but like with everyone else around me. I think I pushed people too far away this time. Not so sure I could get them back.

“Uh I can't really remember what I’ve already told you so I’ll run through it all. This vigilante or superhero Spiderman started doing his thing then I got caught up in his mess.” That was most definitely an oversimplification but what do I look like telling my mom I was a well known thief. “Then his relation to Tony Stark got extended to me so now I kinda do stuff for him but I don’t work for him.”

I don't work for him he might think I do, but in reality he works for me. I had almost everyone at the compound wrapped around my finger.

“I don’t think I really wanna work for anyone. I was offered to be an Avenger in training but that isn’t really my style. I will use his gym though.” I rambled on.

It was kinda weird how easy it was to rant to my mom like this because not like she could voice her opinions about anything. I guess I hadn’t visited in so long that I forgot what it was like.

Mama's gonna keep baby cosy and warm

“Oh!” I exclaimed remembering a very important factor that I left out. “Then we have the whole Staten Island fiasco that I told you about. I remember telling you that. I’m still searching for answers on how I did that too,”

Like some real answers not that radiation BS.

“Your phone’s broken,” I pointed out the cracked screen sitting on the wood.

“Oh shit!” Peter cried “May’s gonna kill me this is the second phone I’ve broken this month,”

I came off way calmer than I was feeling. I’m surprised I wasn’t running around screaming right about now. I was probably just paralyzed in fear.

How do you react in a situation like this in the first place.

“Okay how long are we going to be sitting here? What are we waiting on?” We’d be up here looking down at the fire crackling underneath the pier for like 15 minutes now.

“I don’t know actually,” He sighed.

“Uh…”

How was I supposed to respond to that? That was the driest response to anything in the history of the world.

“Well since I’ve already pinky promised I won’t spill your secret can I ask some questions while we wait for you to figure it out?”

“Sure, go ahead,” He nodded, shaking his arms.

“Okay number one did you think I had died or something because if someone burst into flames in front of me I’d probably think Satan was coming for me. I’d cry too,” I laughed but had to stop myself as the stabbing in my ribs ran through me.

“No, I didn’t think you were dead, you had a pulse,” He pointed out “Maybe I could’ve thought you were dying though. And I wasn’t crying,”

Liar. He so was crying.

“Aw you don’t have to lie I think it’s cute,” I teased if I didn’t feel like my body was falling apart I might’ve poked his side.

“Alright, second question: do the webs like come out of you? Cause that’s kinda disgusting,”

“No, I make them with chemicals ‘n stuff. I’d explain the science to you but I’m not sure how much you’d care.”

I let out a small laugh knowing what feeling would come if I laughed too hard.

“I mean you could explain it ‘m just not sure how much of it I’d understand,”

We both laughed at that.

“On the topic of the webs what’s there integrity like how well do they hold up or like how long,”

“Uh…” He blew out a breath running his hands over his face “As far as I know they last up to two hours. That is unless someone cuts them or something,”

I couldn’t help but wonder if Thorn was one of those someone’s to cut the webs maybe I was the only someone. I didn’t really need to ask the question. Aaron had already answered the question for me when he told me about the deal at the ferry. I just wanted to see what Peter would tell me honestly.

I spent the rest of the night asking questions and cracking jokes. I was talking for so long I didn’t realize how late it’s gotten.

It should be a world record how fast I managed to fuck up 5 friendships. Well it’s my personal best at least. Only took like 4 minutes.

I feel like that’s all I do is just fuck up everything. I used to believe there was a difference between being fucked up and being a fuckup but the older I get the more I realize that there isn’t.

It’s like someone built a self destruct button in my head and every time something good happens to me I feel the need to run away.

Like Peter he’s literally perfect he's smart, respectful, adorable, and selfless. He’s literally a fucking superhero for godsake.

I was trying so hard not to fall asleep. I really was but all the Trigonometry chapter was doing was mixing with the sound of rain outside and triggering the urge to fall into a deep sleep.

“Okay,” Peter tapped his textbook with his pen. I wish I could be confident enough to do math with a pen.

“So sin is equal to the opposite of whatever angle you’re trying to find so first you have too…”

He droned on, I knew he was talking about the math problem lying on the bed in front of me but I wasn’t listening. Maybe if I sat at the desk I could actually be paying attention right now.

“Y/N?”

“Hmm?” I sat up on my elbows yawning.

“Are you tired?”

I just hummed again. Until I realized what the question was. I reached for my phone and it was already 9:03 that woke me up for sure.

“Oh shit! I gotta get back,”

Not like I’d get in trouble or anything but Carmen would get on my ass about the fact I didn’t come back when I said I would then she’d make something out of nothing.

I scrambled around trying to find all my things to put them back in my bag.

“Wait it’s raining though,” Peter pointed out.

“Yeah,” I chuckled “It’s New York it’s always raining,”

“Yeah but it’s cold and wet and dark so if you tried to skate you’d probably get hurt,”

I knew what he was doing and it was working because frankly all his excuses were shit because one I don’t get cold and two I could just walk and there are lights everywhere but I was gonna stay anyway. I was too tired to argue right now.

“May!” Peter shouted.

“Yes?” She called back.

“Can Y/N stay for the night?”

“Yeah if her parents are okay with it,”

That’s how I ended up wearing some shirt with some dumb science pun sitting on the couch watching Aladdin for like the millionth time ever. I was singing along to One jump ahead when I felt eyes on me.

I turned my head but before I could make eye contact with Peter he acted as if he was watching the movie the whole time.

“What?” I giggled. Fuck, I hadn’t like genuinely giggled in the longest time.

“Nothing,” He replied, turning back towards the TV again.

This time I was the one to stare at him wondering what was going on in his head. Not even the fourth song in and I was already yawning struggling to keep my head up.

This goes to show how much willpower I had because I couldn’t even stop my eyelids from falling shut. I deserved to sleep though I’d been exhausted lately.

There’s only like 6 people on this planet that I trust enough to fall asleep around and surprisingly Peter had become one with like 5 months of knowing me.

I would still trust him if given the chance I’m just not sure how much he trusts me right now. I understand though. I don’t deserve anyone’s trust.

Taglist:

@tomdiddlyumptious

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freddiesaysalright · 5 years ago

Text

Just Like a Woman - Part 10

A Roger Taylor x Reader Story

Summary: You and Roger were once in love when you were young. Only, he went on to be a rock star, and you went on to be a lawyer. Now, quite against your will, you’re representing him in his divorce.

Word Count: 4.3k

Tag List: @psychosupernatural, @someone-get-a-medic, @bensrhapsody, @deakyclicks, @crazylittlethingcalledobsession, @minigranger, @crazyweirdocalledfriday, @the-moving-finger-writes, @assembledherethevolunteers, @rose-writes-prose, @queenlover05, @26-7-49, @drowsebaby, @moon-stars-soul, @im-an-adult-ish, @ixchel-9275, @jennyggggrrr, @zyanmaik, @mypassionfortrash, @a19103, @madeinheavxn, @beepbeephardy, @rrogerchxrm, @qweenly, @blisshemmings, @seasidecrowbar, @internationalkpoplova, @ellystone, @takemetoneverland420, @coffeexcigarette, @lookuptotheskiesandsee, @thatpunkmaximoff, @angelkissys, @rocknroll-stolemyass, @simonedk, @anotheronewritesthedust1, @peterquillzblog, @mrfahrenhcit, @joseph-mozzerella, @theprettyandthereckless, @flick-ofthe-wrist, @johndeaconshands, @rogerandhiscar, @queenmaracasandlove, @sunflower-ben, @cubetriangle, @amy-brooklyn99, @scorpiogemini, @kiainspace, @itsabenthing, @bookandband, @makemeyourwife-loveofmylife, @grazessa, @borhapqueen92, @theonsasheart, @vektorivittu, @chanti-frn, @brianssixpence, @dancingcoolcat, @xviiarez, @irepookie, @lnnuend0, @rogerxmeddows If you’d like to be added, let me know!

A/N: Okay so I didn’t proofread the smutty part of this I’m sorry but I get lazy, y’know? I hope you still enjoy. Just ignore any typos lol

Warning(s): Smut in this chapter! It’s romantic and stuff ;)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9

Part 10 here we go!!!

Your jaw dropped as you watched Roger walk up to the stand and take his oath. When had he agreed to testify? And for the defense? Was he really so desperate to have his say that he would undermine the whole case? You shot daggers at him with your eyes.

“Mr. Taylor,” Glen began. “Can you tell us a bit about what your father was like?”

“Objection!” you interjected. “Relevance.”

Judge Walsh gave Glen an annoyed look.

“You’ll see what I’m getting at, your honor,” he said.

“Speed it up,” Judge Walsh instructed. “Or I will hold that objection sustained.”

Glen looked back at Roger.

“Mr. Taylor, your father was an abusive man, was he not?” Glen asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t see what that has to do with Dominique’s case,” Roger returned, frowning.

“I think it could have everything to do with her case,” Glen retorted. “You and your ex-wife, did you ever fight?”

“Sure we did,” Roger said. “Like any other couple, we had our moments.”

“Ever get physical?” Glen asked.

“What?!” Roger cried.

At the same time you stood up and repeated, “Objection! Move to strike!”

“Overruled,” Judge Walsh said emphatically. “Counsel, you can’t object to questions only because you don’t like them!”

“Your honor, I want it on record that I object to this witness, I object to this line of questioning, and I object to opposing counsel’s being a complete and unmitigated ass!”

“Counsel!” he scolded, banging his gavel. “Sit down and let Mr. Harrington finish! If you raise one more objection today I will hold you in contempt, do you understand me?”

Cheeks red with anger and hatred, you scowled at him. Bill forced you back to your seat. You folded your arms across your chest and once again glared at Roger, hoping he could feel the heat of your rage.

“To answer your question,” Roger began again. “No, any disagreements between Dominique and myself have always been resolved with words.”

“Until you had to bring lawyers in,” Glen remarked.

“That’s not fair,” Roger said. “When it comes to issues of money -”

“And the cheating?” Glen pointed out.

“I cheated,” Roger admitted. “Dominique was faithful until that day she went on this date. But at that point, our marriage was effectively over.”

“You didn’t like that, did you?” Glen asked. “The fact that she had a date?”

“Who would?” Roger replied. “It was a pretty harsh reminder that my marriage was done.”

“Did it make you angry?” Glen pressed.

“Yeah, a bit,” Roger said, rolling his eyes.

You squeezed yours shut. If the jury didn’t think Roger was taking this seriously, it would look bad. You saw where this was going, and you knew it would only make him angrier.

“Angry enough to behave like the late Mr. Taylor?” Glen asked.

Roger stiffened. His jaw clenched. You could hardly look at him. You saw the hurt and fury slowly overtake his body. But he was remaining impressively calm. He took a deep breath and then looked icily at Glen.

“No,” he said.

You could tell how much will power it was taking for him not to spit at Glen in that moment. You felt the same. Angry as you were with Roger for doing this, you hated Glen right now more than his client. He turned and looked at you, a slimy smile on his face.

“Your witness,” he said.

Bill looked at you questioningly. You composed yourself and nodded, letting him know you had this. You stood up.

“Mr. Taylor, have you ever once put your hands on your wife or any woman?”

“Never,” he said.

“No further questions.”

You sat back down.

After Roger’s testimony, you were released for lunch. The trial would continue the following day. You and Bill stormed out of the courtroom, each on one side of Dominique. You didn’t bother to wait for Roger, but he jogged up to you anyway. You retreated into a chamber down the corridor.

“I can’t believe you!” you shouted at Roger as you slammed the door behind the group. “I told you yesterday that you aren’t a relevant witness! Why would you agree to testify for the opposing side?!”

“I wanted an opportunity to stand up for Dom, I didn’t know he was going to ask me all that!” Roger shot back.

“Do you realize what you’ve done?!” you cried. “All the jury needs is a little bit of doubt to find him not guilty, and you’ve just given it to them!”

“Oh, please, my alibi is totally secure,” he returned.

“We wouldn’t have to even worry about it if you didn’t get your dumbass on that stand in the first place!” you almost shrieked, completely exasperated. “You’ve hurt us, Roger, you could at least be sorry for it!”

“You’re the one who wouldn’t let me testify on our side!” he yelled.

“Because I was doing my job, you daft -”

“HEEEEEEY!” Bill bellowed, banging his fist on the table.

You and Roger looked at him.

“Everybody calm the fuck down,” Bill said. “This was a setback, but we still have a strong case. What Glen did in there was a desperate, Hail Mary attempt to throw us off. We still have Dominique’s amazing testimony, Miss Thomas’s, and all the forensics. So both of you just relax, alright?”

You shot another harsh glare toward Roger and then took a seat. The shock of Roger’s testimony left you winded, but you were also terrified. If the jury now had a doubt that Nick was the culprit behind the attack on Dominique, you knew Roger would never forgive himself.

Just then, Glen burst into the room.

“What the fuck was with that witness?” he demanded. “Calling me ugly? Are you just trying to make me look stupid?”

“Hey, don’t you come in here making demands like that after what you did!” you retorted, jumping to your feet again. “You called Roger up just to try and frame him when you know that was rubbish!”

“God, you’re sexy when you’re angry,” he replied, tone softening. “Sure I can’t convince you to ditch blondie and grab a drink with me?”

“Alright!” Roger intervened, stepping closer.

“We are in the middle of a trial,” you said to Glen. “Could you act like a grown up?”

“Believe me, after seeing your legs in that skirt, my thoughts are entirely adult,” he said. “I actually started to get jealous of blondie since he gets to put his face between those gorgeous thighs every night.”

You opened your mouth to tell him that he’d gone too far, but Roger lunged past you, going for Glen. You and Bill each grabbed one of Roger’s arms, yanking him back.

“Roger!” you cried, incredulous.

“He crossed a line!” Roger bellowed. He glared fiercely at Glen. “Don’t you EVER talk about her like that!”

“HEY!” Bill interjected again. “Roger, settle down. Glen, get the fuck out.”

“I still want to know about that witness,” Glen said.

“She was the one who found Dominique, how could we not call her to the stand?” Bill argued. “Lucy Thomas is just a cold bitch by nature, we can’t help that.”

Roger was still glowering, breath heavy and chest heaving.

“Alright, I’ll go,” Glen. “But I’m not going to take any more of that nonsense.”

“Oh, but you expect us to tolerate yours?” you retorted.

“Y/N, that’s enough, we’re not doing this,” Bill said.

“Bloody ridiculous,” Glen muttered as he swept out of the room.

The door swung shut behind him. You rounded on Roger.

“What’s got into you?” you cried. “Are you trying to make this worse?”

“I was defending you!” he argued.

“OH MY GOD BOTH OF YOU SHUT IT!” Bill interrupted once again.

All eyes were on him.

“Emotions are running high right now,” he continued. “I’m going to get some lunch. Y/N, you’ve got the rest of the day off. Roger, do whatever the hell you want.”

You blinked. “You’re sending me home?”

“Yes,” he said. “You’re riled up and snappish and frankly, I don’t want to talk to you for the rest of the day.”

You flared up, offended, but he stopped you from speaking with a look. Then he turned to Dominique.

“Dom, can I get you some lunch?” he offered.

“Throw in a drink, and I’m there,” she said.

She took his arm and they left together. The door snapped closed once again and you looked at Roger.

“I appreciate you defending me, but after the argument he made in there, you can’t act like that, Rog,” you said, as calmly as you could. Inside, your emotions were swirling around like a hurricane.

“What I did was human,” Roger replied, voice also steadying. “All I want to do is defend the people I love.”

“Well, don’t,” you said sharply.

“Fine,” he snapped. “I won’t, then.”

From the look on his face, you knew you’d struck a nerve. Roger had never looked at you with so much disappointment and anger in his eyes. Not even during your worst fights. This was a new level. It made your heart sink. But when he went for the door, you didn’t try to stop him. You watched him go, feeling like a bad lawyer and an even worse girlfriend.

You walked home from the courthouse. All your frustration was gone by the time you opened the door. You half hoped that Roger would be there and you could both apologize and make up. But he wasn’t. Your flat was as empty as you felt. With a heavy sigh, you set down your work things and went to go change. Only, when you got to your bedroom, you had no energy to do so. You kicked off your shoes, flopped face down on your bed, and let out a sob. You cried yourself into a deep sleep.

You woke a couple hours later to a knock on your door. Brushing your fingers through your surely mussed up hair, you forced yourself from the bed and went to answer it. You knew who you hoped it was, but you couldn’t be sure Roger would be standing there. You left things so tense.

To your shock and pleasure, it was him. He looked rather like a dog with his tail between his legs as you opened the door. You felt the same. You had behaved no better, in your opinion.

“Hey,” he said awkwardly.

“Hey,” you returned.

A beat passed.

“I’m so sorry,” you said in unison, and you both chuckled a little bit.

“Come inside,” you offered. “We should talk.”

“Definitely,” he agreed.

He came in and you went to the kitchen. You made some tea and handed it him a cup before sitting down across from him.

“I’m sorry I testified for them,” he said. “Glen called me and asked me if I’d be willing to tell my side of the story. I had no idea he would go that direction.”

“You can’t trust opposing counsel,” you said. “Especially the likes of him.”

“Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson,” he conceded. “The last thing I want to do is hurt Dominique’s case, I just…”

“I know you want to protect people, Rog,” you said, reaching over to take his hand. “That’s your natural instinct. And I admire that about you. Few people are as selfless as you are. But you can’t always be the one in the ring, okay?”

“I know,” he said. “And again, I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you,” you returned. “And I’m sorry too. I just got scared because Dom means a lot to me too and I don’t want her to go through all this only to lose.”

“I get it, I feel the same way,” he said. “I think we both forgot ourselves today because we care so much.”

“I told you having me might backfire,” you joked.

He smiled. Another pause passed between you.

“About Glen,” he said. “I’m also sorry I exploded like that. But I won’t apologize for defending you, he -”

“No, I agree he crossed a line today,” you cut across him. “That was way too far. Especially since we haven’t….y’know…”

“I know,” he said. “And when he said that today...just talking about you like that - even him thinking of touching you - it made me absolutely mad with rage. Because that connection we had...even back in the day...it was practically sacred to me, Y/N. To hear him say that, and make a mockery of it….I just couldn’t take it.”

You looked down to hide your blush. The sex was that meaningful to you as well, but you never thought he was so sentimental about it.

“D’you remember when we used to?” he asked. “How you’d look me in the eyes?”

You shifted uncomfortably in your seat. The memory made heat stir in the pit of your belly.

“Yeah,” you said, finding the courage at last to look at him. “Of course I do.”

“No one else has ever looked in my eyes, y’know, during,” he said. “I felt like I could….I dunno, see your soul or something. I’ve had sex with plenty of women. But I’ve only really made love to one.”

You were certain your cheeks were redder than cherries at this point.

“Roger, I….” you trailed off. “I don’t know what to say. I had no idea it all meant so much to you. Especially with the way you left.”

He hung his head. “I know. But I hope you believe me.”

“I do,” you assured him. “I just wonder what made you think of all that?”

“Glen’s comments today were a part of it,” he said. “But also, a few weeks ago, you said we couldn’t because my divorce wasn’t final. But, it’s final now, and I’ve been thinking about being with you ever since I signed that paper.”

Your blush impossibly deepened.

“Plus, seeing you in that courtroom is incredibly sexy,” he added with a laugh.

You laughed too, relaxing you a bit.

“I’ve been thinking about it too,” you admitted. “I’m just nervous.”

“Why?” he wondered. “By my memory, we were very good.”

You smiled. “I think I’m just afraid that if we try, then what we had before might not be there. And then what?”

“Y/N, it’s gonna be there,” he said, squeezing your hand. “I love you and you love me. That passion is there. Which is especially clear after today.” He took a deep breath. “But if you’re not ready, we can wait.”

You didn’t reply right away. Honestly, seeing him leap to your defense the way he did had turned you on, though you didn’t want to admit it. And every time he kissed you, you remembered how good it felt to go further with him. But your fear was real. What if it wasn’t the same as it used to be? There was only one way to find out.

“Roger?”

“Yes, love?”

“Kiss me.”

He almost jumped out of his chair to come around the table to take you up in his arms. He lifted you to your feet and claimed your lips in a tender embrace. He moved slowly, giving you the opportunity to stop him if you wanted. But you wanted the opposite.

You opened your mouth against his, and he reacted immediately, slipping his tongue between your lips. The kiss was heavy with the pent up desire you had both been feeling. Your mind was fuzzy, like getting drunk, but you were acutely aware of his hands sliding up your sides. His thumbs brushed your ribcage, just barely touching the underside of your breasts.

You whimpered into his mouth and reached for the buttons of your blazer. He helped you shrug it off your shoulders and it fell to the floor. Beneath, you had just your plain white tank top and pencil skirt. He stopped kissing you to look over your body in the form fitting clothes. You saw the hungry look in his eyes and bit your lip.

Your lips already itched to feel his again. All of your skin was tingling with the desire for his touch. You watched him observe you, chest rising and falling with your deep, desperate breaths.

When he met your gaze again, you couldn’t contain it anymore. You crashed upon him. Pressing into him to be as close as possible. His arms snaked around your waist to hold you there, his eagerness to be close as evident as yours. Then his hands made their way south and he gripped handfuls of your ass.

You gasped and let out a husky breath, pushing even further into him. He groaned and you felt his hardness pressing into your lower stomach. You stopped kissing him to catch your breath and reach for the buttons of his shirt.

“Fuck that,” he panted, and he pulled it over his head while you giggled.

When his shirt had joined your jacket, you had your turn to admire him. You ran your fingers delicately down his torso. His skin was warm.

“I guess we should be matching,” you teased, and you tugged your tank top off as well.

Roger’s eyes on you as you reached back and unclasped your bra had you reeling. That was what you missed about making love to him. No one else had ever desired you so passionately.

With your breasts free, he took direct action. He cupped one in each hand and squeezed gently, massaging them before tweaking each nipple between his fingers. Your head fell back with a groan as the sensation sent more heat straight to your core. He attached his lips to your neck, whispering into your skin.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, love. God, I’ve missed you.”

You whined in returned, arching your back toward him. He pulled you close again. The heat of his body sent a chill up your spine.

“Wanna move to the bedroom, love?” he asked.

You nodded. He scooped you up and carried you in there as you giggled. You yelped with surprise when he tossed you on the bed and crawled up to join you. The next kisses were fervent and needy. You moaned again.

Roger’s fingers moved down your front and nimbly popped the buttons of your skirt before tugging the zipper down. You did not wear panty hose. You liked the way your legs looked without them, and you knew you could distract an opposing male lawyer if need be. You played dirty too sometimes.

You pushed your thong down your legs as Roger worked off his jeans. He groaned at the sight of you bare before him, sprawled out and breathless from his kisses. You smirked at him with cat like playfulness as you sat up. You gently pulled the waistband of his boxers down, slowly, watching his face as you went. Beads of sweat formed at his hairline from your torturous pace.

“Fuck, baby, I need you,” he sighed.

With a grin, you swiftly removed his boxers, and he kicked them off the bed. Then, you took hold of his hips, rubbing soft little circles into the slightly protruding bones. He hissed with anticipation.

Then, you gave him what he wanted. You licked a stripe up his cock. A loud groan came from his throat. You swirled your tongue around his tip before wrapping your lips around him and taking him down. He let out such a delicious moan your mouth watered around him.

You began with a slow pace. Dragging your mouth forward and back, teasing him. His short, eager breaths egged you on. You saw him trembling trying to maintain control, but after you hollowed out your cheeks and really sucked, his hips jerked forward. You almost gagged, but held back.

“Sorry,” he choked out. “God, it feels so good.”

He buried his fingers in your hair and pulled you off of him. That was typical. Roger preferred not to cum in your mouth, and he refused to finish before you had gotten one or two orgasms of your own. Usually more.

You licked your lips and looked expectantly at him. He took your shoulders and lay you back. Your legs fell open for him. He got onto his knees there, but didn’t settle on top of you. Instead, he kissed you again. He teased your lips with his tongue, and you opened up. He explored your mouth, getting you all hot again, before pulling away.

He nipped and sucked along your jawbone and down the soft skin of your neck. He trailed across your collarbones, down your chest - briefly stopping to suck on each of your nipples - and then made his way down your stomach. He slowed down the closer he got to your pelvis. Roger was not an explorer trekking out into new territory. He was coming home. He recalled every sensitive spot on your body. What made you moan, sigh, and giggle. He exploited this knowledge to the full extent as he made his way down. It made your whole body light up with excitement and need. Finally, you whined impatiently and pushed your hips up.

With a cocky chuckle, he took his tongue to your folds. You gasped sharply as your back arched. He wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked lightly, just how you liked it.

“Oh! Roger!” you cried, heels digging into the mattress.

He moaned into you, the vibrations sending an extra thrill all the way up your body. You’d almost forgotten how extraordinarily well he used his tongue and mouth. He was zeroed in on your clit, making you writhe around as you released pathetic whimpers and soft cries of his name.

The pressure was building inside you as he worked your core with his mouth. Your voice raised several octaves and your legs quivered as you hurtled toward the sweet release. When you were on the cusp, he sank a finger into you. You groaned so deeply you felt him smile against you. He curled his finger toward himself, pushing on your g-spot with expert precision.

“Rog - oh fuck!” you nearly sobbed.

He added a second finger, stretching you just slightly. Your walls clamped down around him as he drove you further toward the edge.

“Please, please,” you begged, panting.

He sped up, knowing just what you needed. Between the flicks of his tongue and the thrusts of his fingers, you were there. Your legs stiffened, your back arched high off the bed, a scream tore from your throat as it hit you. The wave of pleasure crashed over you, and Roger did not relent as you began to come down, shaking with the sensation of it all.

He eased you down, slowing his pace before removing the contact. Your body quivered. He smiled, pleased with himself, and he crawled back over you again to help with the shivering. Hot as you were during, you were always cold after an orgasm, so he held you a moment.

You were panting too hard for him to kiss you properly, so he peppered your face and neck with pecks. When you giggled, he knew you were okay.

His hips settled between your thighs, and you gasped as his cock brushed your entrance. Then you moaned.

“Ready for more, sweetheart?” he asked, running his finger along your jaw.

You nodded. “Please, more.”

You didn’t even worry about sounding pathetic. You could be anything with Roger - strong, weak, pathetic, needy, vulnerable, bitchy, sweet, sexy - all of it. Any side of yourself was accepted and loved by him.

He rested on his forearms, cupping your face between his hands, and he slid into you. It was like magic. He fit so perfectly inside you - with just enough stretch to make you whimper with need. You both took a moment to revel in being together again. Being completely united.

You locked eyes. You understood what he meant earlier. Your souls met behind your irises. You had never felt more connected to him. And from the soft look in his eyes, you knew he felt the same.

“I love you so much,” he sighed.

“I love you too,” you returned.

You turned your face and took his finger into your mouth, a weakness of his. His eyes fell closed and his hips rutted forward, deeper into you. You squeaked with surprise and then chuckled, moving to match him.

You fell easily into a rhythm together. It flowed as naturally as the tides. Roger filled you with each thrust, and you climbed slowly together back up to the edge. His name escaped your lips as he rocked into you. Delicate declarations of his love and your beauty swept off his breath. You didn’t hear them, but you felt them.

He sped up and it was like coming out of a fog. Each snap of his hips shook you and you clutched onto his shoulders for dear life. Your moans rose in volume and octave as you found yourself clenching around him again.

“Oh - Roger - Oh God -”

“I’m so close, baby,” he grunted. “Please, one more for me.”

He removed his hand from its proximity to your face and slid it between your bodies, finding your clit as if it were magnetized. He rubbed tight, fast circles on it, and your vision began to blur.

The second one hit you harder and more suddenly. White exploded behind your eyes as your walls fluttered around his cock. Roger cried your name once more and spilled into you, slowing down his thrusts as you peaked together. You twitched against him as he guided you back down steadily. He slowed to a stop and watched you panting beneath him.

He inched himself out of you. You still winced at the feeling. Once he was able, he rolled off you and you crawled into his arms. You needed his warmth.

“Mmm, Rog,” you hummed, pulling him closer.

“Good?” he asked.

“Incredible,” you replied.

“I don’t wanna speak too soon, but I think we’ve still got it,” he teased.

You smiled lazily. “We do.”

“What do you need now, love?”

“Sleep,” you said through a yawn.

He chuckled. “Of course you do.”

He kissed your forehead and you both drifted off. All worries about your relationship and the trial were forgotten. For now, you could just be.

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much-obliged-timothy · 4 years ago

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Dark Days (Rhys&Tim)

Okay so I wrote this one-shot of Timothy going to work for Atlas after being rescued from the casino and forming a friendship with Rhys, and I felt like dabbling in that AU a bit tonight. So here, have a non-proofread one-shot of Rhys being a good friend to Timothy!! (I’m functioning with half a brain cell tonight, pls excuse any typos)

Rhys had been a bit hesitant about hiring Jack’s doppelganger at first, but he had to admit, he was grateful the vault hunters brought Timothy here after rescuing him from the casino.

Even now, he gathered up the paperwork from his most recent presentation- paperwork Tim had put together for him at the cost of another all-nighter. All the information was thorough and well-researched though, and Rhys’ potential investors had been impressed.

Rhys would have to find some way to thank Tim. A day off, maybe? Though Tim never seemed to enjoy them, despite all his complaining about work.

Something else, then. Maybe it’d be better to just ask Tim what he wanted. He didn’t seem to care much for a pay raise or vacation time, so that always left Rhys a bit puzzled on how to reward him for his hard work at Atlas.

Rhys’ ECHO pinged with a new message. He finished putting his paperwork together before taking the ECHO and checking the message from Zer0.

Zer0: Went by your office/Timothy had your booze out/Better go stop him

Zer0: :(

Rhys’ heart sank at the message. Tim had struggled to adjust at first, always jumpy and on-edge after everything he’d been through. But over time, he’d settled in and even seemed to thrive a bit, becoming a good friend to Rhys.

Still, from time to time, he had his dark days. There were days, rare as they were becoming, where Rhys or Zer0 would find Tim drowning himself in whatever booze he could manage to pinch from Rhys’ office.

It was hard to catch him before he got too shitfaced. He knew their schedules well enough to sneak his way in with enough time to get through the majority of a bottle before he was found.

Zer0 must’ve gone off his schedule for the day to find him so early. Rhys hurried out of the meeting room, connecting a feed to his assistant.

“Hey, cancel my next meeting. Something came up,” he said. “Possibly the meetings for the rest of the day. And send the biggest bottle of ibuprofen you can find to my office.”

He thought he might need it more than Tim. Rather safe than sorry when it came to dealing with Tim’s dark days.

Rhys understood them, though. He’d been a Hyperion employee, after all. He knew the work environment even without Jack breathing down your neck. He couldn’t imagine working directly for Jack, being forced into non consensual surgeries to alter your body and personality, and then being locked in a casino for seven years with angry victims trying to kill you the whole time. No one was surprised that Tim’s mental health took sharp turns for the worst some days.

The worst part was that Rhys didn’t even know what triggered these moods in Tim. Once Tim sobered up, he didn’t like to talk about it, just laughing it off and assuring it wouldn’t happen again, the lie easy on his tongue every time.

Rhys reached his office, out of breath from hurrying along. He made a mental note to put exercise equipment in his office so this stopped happening, recalled how horrifyingly buff Vaughn had become after doing that, and scratched the idea.

He pushed on the door, but it was locked. Tim must’ve realized Zer0 saw him in here.

Rhys put in the passcode and the door opened. Tim didn’t look up from where he sat at Rhys’ desk, drink in hand.

“Well, at least you didn’t drink straight from the bottle this time. You know that grosses me out,” Rhys said, shutting the door.

“You’re out of breath. You should exercise more, Mr. CEO,” Tim said, staring down at the nearly empty glass of whiskey. He reached out and filled it back up.

Rhys put his hand over it as Tim started to lift it towards his mouth. He glanced at the bottle, relieved to see he’d gotten here before Tim got too deep into it.

“You have a meeting,” Tim said.

“I cancelled it,” Rhys said. He sat in the chair across from Tim. “What’s wrong, Timothy?”

“Nothing,” he said. “Just unwinding after a long day. We’ve done it before.”

Rhys usually tried to avoid having drinks with Tim when he could, not wanting to encourage this exact behavior. “Not often.”

“Go have your meeting, Rhys.” Tim sounded exhausted. “I’m fine. I’ll only have one or two, I promise.”

“Don’t lie,” Rhys said sharply. “Not to me, Timothy. Please.”

Tim looked pained for a moment. “Right. Sorry.”

“Is it because I overworked you?” Rhys said anxiously. Had he been pushing Tim too hard? Tim always insisted he didn’t mind the all-nighters so long as he got to take it easy the next day and break for a nap if he wanted to. But what if that was a lie? What if Rhys was taking advantage of Tim?

“What? No,” Tim said in surprise. “No, Rhys, I’m not overworked. I mean, yea, paperwork sucks. But it’s not…” He shook his head. “No, I’m not. I swear. Seriously, you’re the only boss I know who gives me the greenlight to nap whenever I feel like it.”

“Then...what?” Rhys said, feeling lost. For as close as he and Tim had gotten, he sometimes felt so distant from the other man.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Tim abandoned the drink, a bit reluctantly, and gestured to the door. “You want to grab lunch since you cancelled your meeting?”

“You’re deflecting,” Rhys said. He knew he shouldn’t push Tim, but he was worried about his friend. “Timothy, you can trust me. I just want to help.”

“I’m fine,” Tim said, smiling. It was so genuine looking that only the anxious twitch of his fingers gave him away.

“You don’t have to be fine,” Rhys said. “You can be upset. I’m your friend, Timothy. I’m not going to judge you for having hard days with what you went through.”

“Dammit, Rhys, I said I’m fine,” Tim snapped, his tone that gruff, angry one Jack got. His eyes widened at his own outburst and he raked a shaking hand through his hair. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to- I’m sorry.”

Rhys got up. Tim hung his head miserably.

Instead of leaving, though, Rhys went around the desk and put his arms around Tim. Tim jerked in surprise.

“Is this okay?” Rhys said nervously.

“It’s weird,” Tim said, but he was smiling weakly. “Definitely weird.”

“But not bad?”

“No, not bad. Awkward, but not bad.”

“Bring it in, big guy.”

“Sure, dad.”

Rhys rolled his eyes, but was relieved when Tim actually hugged him back. For as comfortable as he’d gotten around here, he was still very weird about physical contact. Rhys, who was a known hugger, always thought of it as a win when Tim let him get close like this.

He hugged him for a long moment before slowly pulling away. “Better?”

“Only if you ruffle my hair and call me sport,” Tim said, snickering when Rhys whacked him in the arm.

Rhys sat on the desk, facing Tim. “Timothy, I’m serious. I worry about you. I know you don’t do it often anymore, but it still worries me and Zer0 when you binge drink like this. It’s not a good way to deal with things. We’re your friends, and we just want to help you.”

“I’m dealing with it,” Tim said.

“Drinking yourself into a blackout isn’t a good way to deal with it,” Rhys said.

Tim pressed the heels of his palms to his forehead. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so goddamn weak. I’m sorry!”

Rhys grabbed his cybernetic hand, not wanting him to hurt himself with it. “You are not weak. I couldn’t even make it from my meeting to my office without running out of breath.”

Tim didn’t take the bait for a joke. Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut.

“They asked me to go with them. That’s all it took to make me- Oh, fuck, Rhys, every time I think I’m getting better, I end up here,” he said, his voice raw with pain.

Rhys put a hand on his shoulder. “Who asked you to go with them?”

Tim swallowed hard and opened his eyes, staring at his cybernetic hand. “The guys I was working on that prototype proposal with. They were going to a c-casino.” His breath hitched on the word and he curled his fingers against his palm, looking torn that he couldn’t actually feel any of it. “And it was like I was suddenly back there. I couldn’t escape the thoughts. I tried. I really did. But it gets too much and I can’t stop it. I don’t know how else to make it stop.”

Rhys pulled him close again. “You’re not weak for that. You were locked in there for seven years, constantly in fear for your life. You’ve done an incredible job healing yourself after everything. It’s okay if some wounds never go away.”

“I want to be better,” he whispered.

Rhys pushed his shoulders back and looked into Tim’s eyes. The milky white of his blind one was always disconcerting, and it reminded Rhys of just how much horror and pain he’d endured from Jack.

“Timothy, stop being so hard on yourself. You let me hug you twice just now. When you first came here, you wouldn’t even let me high-five you. You didn’t even shake my hand when the vault hunters introduced us. You couldn’t bear to let anyone touch you because you thought they’d hurt you. You are better. I see it, even if you don’t. I’m proud of how far you’ve come,” he said.

Tim wiped at his eyes. “I can’t decide if you sound like a dad or a therapist. I’ve never had either in my life, so I need a little more time to sort that one out.”

Rhys laughed a little. “I’m being serious, Timothy. Stop pushing yourself so hard. We can find other ways when it gets to be too much. But you have to let me help you. I want to help you. You’re my friend. You’re also my employee, and I owe you a thanks for all your hard work. So pick any reward you want and it’s yours.”

Tim glanced at the unfinished whiskey. But then he looked back to Rhys.

“Can we get pizza and watch a movie tonight? That’s all I want,” he said.

Rhys took out his ECHO and connected the feed to his secretary. “Cancel my meetings for the rest of the day.”

“I said tonight!” Tim said.

“You wanted to get lunch though, right? Let’s go have lunch and then take a walk around the city,” Rhys said. “I need the exercise and you need the air. Then pizza and movie it is.”

“Thank you, Rhys,” Tim said quietly. “I’m still debating on the whole dad or therapist thing, but you’re definitely my friend. Probably the best one I’ve ever had.”

“I’m...not entirely sure there was much competition,” Rhys said.

Tim grinned, just a little. “What, you don’t think my Elpis companions were tough to beat for that spot?”

“Not at all. Still, I’m glad to hear it,” Rhys said, getting up and holding a hand out to Tim.

Tim grabbed it and allowed Rhys to haul him to his feet. They left the whiskey on the desk, both knowing Zer0 would take care of it because he didn’t like to see Tim binge drink.

Rhys put a hand on Tim’s shoulder as they left the office. Tim didn’t even tease him or shrug him off; he found himself relieved at the contact, to be honest.

He was still struggling with adjusting after what he’d been through. But Rhys was always patient, and he meant it when he said Rhys was the best friend he’d ever had. He couldn’t be more grateful to have Rhys by his side, especially on his dark days.

#borderlands #timothy lawrence #borderlands rhys #rhys strongfork #borderlands fic #My writing

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comeoncomeout41 · 4 years ago

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I just watched the Elf episode of The Holiday Movies That Made Us on Netflix after remembering that I started writing an Elf supercorp AU for Christmas in 2018 (don’t judge me) and found my old notes app first draft so Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! MAYBE I’ll finish it this year... (she said as a lying liar who lies.)

*The fic in which Kara’s pod crash landed at the North Pole, 13 years later her adopted elf mother Eliza and her elf sister Alex tell her about her cousin Kal now Clark Kent and she decides to go to Metropolis to meet the only other person like her. She meets Lena “naughty list” Luthor. And Clark and Lois are Jewish.

🔥🎄🎄🎄🧝‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

Some elves are born to work in Santa’s workshop. Kara Zor-El, however, was not born an elf or even from this earth for that matter.

When her pod crash landed at the North Pole thirteen years ago, she had no memory of a lost planet, no recollection of a cousin she was sent to protect who had already grown up to become Superman, and no idea how to be an alien living with elves. Santa was perturbed as to what to do with a skittish teenaged alien who cringed at the sound of tiny hammers building toys.

The elf doctor, Eliza Danvers, having a daughter around Kara’s age, naturally stepped in to help raise her, teach her elf culture, and attempt to control her powers. There were several mishaps of course.

Kara’s eyes lit up the first time she saw a Christmas tree. Literally. The green pine was burned to a crisp with her heat vision. But she quickly uprooted another tree from outside the elf village and helped Alex redecorate the new tree. And spent several hours carefully placing the new lights and ornaments, after breaking several of the glowing strings of light and the ornate red and blue colored bulbs. When Alex had trouble reaching the top of the tree, Kara swooped her up under her arms to help her place the star on the tree. And she managed to only break one of Alex’s ribs in the process.

After years of being at the North Pole, Kara was actually a wonderful toy maker once she learned to control her strength. When other elves managed to meet their five hundred toy quotas, Kara would have five thousand toys completed. The workshop wouldn’t need any teddy bears for another century, but finding storage for all of the toys Kara built was becoming difficult.

So from there, Kara’s primary job became Elf Master of Letters. She spends several hours each day answering letters for Santa as Santa’s tight schedule and the millions of letters he received each year became too much for the old bearded man. And although she always needed a little proofreading as the different Earth languages were sometimes difficult and much different than her native alien tongue, she enjoyed writing and speaking to children all over the world, bringing them the joy of Christmas.

Alex read over the letter Kara had just finished typing. Her younger but much bigger sister looked to her with a twinkle in her eyes and waited patiently. When Kara saw the red ink marked all over Kara’s letter she cooed and gasped, “That red is so pretty Alex. I know Raymond in Denver will love it! He told me red was his favorite color. I wanted to tell him that’s Santa’s favorite color too! But I didn’t want to give all of the big man’s secrets away, you know?”

Alex sighed and rested her hand on her sister’s shoulder, “Kara, these are your typos. Look here.”

Alex pointed to the last line, “Beleiving isn’t singing. Singing is beleiving.”

“He asked if he could see what the North Pole looks like. I set him straight. Believing isn’t singing. Singing is believing. That was in that one Santa Claus movie you had me watch, which I know isn’t historically accurate or based on true events, but I still,”

“Kara, remember your English spellings. I before e except after c? And it’s seeing not singing.

“Except in some cases like neighbor and weigh. And I just thought! It’s a play on words because ‘the best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear!’”

Alex smiled at her then, “You’ll get the hang of it.“

“Yeah, okay so I can’t spell that great, but the writing was good right?” Kara looked hopeful.

Alex shoved her shoulder, “You know you have more Christmas spirit than any other elf. Now come on and fix these typos, so we can go drink hot chocolate with Mom.”

That night when Kara had gone to bed, belly full of twelve drumsticks, eleven pickled peppers, ten cups of hot chocolate, nine hams glazed, eight glasses of milk, seven strudel pastries, six white chocolate goose eggs, five onion rings, four carrot cakes, three French bagels, two turtle chocolates, and a chocolate pecan pie, she curled up on her elf sized bed. Eliza had knit a fourth blanket onto her elf quilt the previous month when her toes started peeking out at the bottom. Alex had tucked her in tonight, making certain she was snug as a bug in a rug in the tiny bed, wishing sweet dreams of sugarplums dancing in her head.

She was content, happy, home and tomorrow would be her thirteenth birthday at the North Pole. What more could her life possibly be, what could be more rewarding than being apart of the magic that brought Christmas to children all over the world? And still Kara thought of that world and all of the little lights that wrote those letters to Santa, the gleaming eyes of all who opened presents on Christmas morning, and she wondered if any of them were like her. If they could hear the faintest sounds of snow falling or reach up and touch the clouds. If they could roast chestnuts with their eyes or see through all those pretty presents wrapped neatly under the tree. If the people of this world could believe that Santa would come every year to bring them gifts, then she had to believe that somewhere out there, there was someone else who was just like her.

That night Kara dreamed of a beautiful red sunset and little baby boy named Kal. It all felt so real, seeing him jet across the sky in a similar pod to the one Kara had found in an abandoned workshop years ago, knowing it must have been how she found her home. She wrote a letter to Santa as soon as she woke up, asking him to find a home for Kal for Christmas.

_____

Kara had been in trouble a bit, always an accident, because really how was it her fault if Blitzen couldn’t keep up with her? He could have flown faster if he hadn’t eaten all of that maple syrup and maybe then he wouldn’t have been left behind! She carried him back the whole way anyway! After she found him three days later in the Swiss Alps.

But this time when she was called to Santa’s office and Eliza and Alex sat patiently waiting for the charges from the big boss, Kara didn’t know why she was here at all, or rather, now she was on the floor with wood debris around her rear because the little chair was a lot lower than she had anticipated. That was the tenth one this month.

Santa cleared his throat and rubbed his white bearded chin, “I read your letter, and I spoke to your mom and sister. I think they have something they’d like to tell you.”

Kara widened her eyes and looked to her mom, “Are we going to adopt Kal? Like you adopted me? Please say we can Eliza. I promise I’ll teach him myself how to control his powers, and I can build him a crib myself. I’ll even chop down the tree for the wood and we can,”

Eliza cupped Kara’s face and kissed her forehead, a tear prickling at the corner of her eye, “Do you remember Kal now sweetie? Do you remember Krypton?”

Kara blew out her breath in bewilderment, “Krypton? What’s that? Is that where I’m from? Is it in Canada? I’ve always felt I was probably a Canadian because I don’t get cold at the North Pole, and I make the best maple syrup every year during the elf Christmas party.”

Santa nodded, “Its true, you really do.”

Alex gasped, “you know you’re not an elf?”

Kara chewed at her fingernails, “Well I’m not, am I? I’m bigger than all of you and I can lift a Christmas tree over my head like it’s mistletoe and fly with reindeer and all sorts of stuff. I’ve known for awhile I’m not from here, but this is still my home. You two are still my family.”

Alex held back all her unshed tears, “But you have other family out there, and we can’t keep you from knowing about Kal anymore.”

So that day Kara cried when Santa showed her the picture of Kal, or Clark Kent as he was called on Earth, glasses askew and a beautiful woman on his arm. Clark without the glasses bearing what she was told was her family crest, the House of El, taking up the mantle of Earth’s greatest hero, Superman. She had crafted thousands of figurines of her only living blood relative, and yet she hadn’t the faintest idea that she had been sent to protect him for all of these years. He had grown up, not alone at least. He was raised in Kansas on a farm, and now he lived in Metropolis with his wife Lois Lane and their son Jonathan Kent.

“Does he even know I exist?”

_____

Kara changed into her best elf attire and her bright red boots that Eliza had made her for Christmas, letting her open one present before she left. Today was the day that she would fly to Metropolis and meet her cousin for the first time. She couldn’t wait, but the dread at leaving Alex and Eliza settled deep in the pit of her stomach. And all of the letters to Santa she still wanted to respond to sat neatly at her desk in her room.

She was leaving behind her entire life at the North Pole. She told herself she wasn’t losing her home, but it still felt like it. Santa’s workshop, Eliza and Alex, it was all she had ever known or could remember. Would it be the same when she came back? Would her room still smell like a gingerbread house and would her stocking still hang by their chimney with care? Would Kal come with her or would she split her time between Kal and Alex and Eliza like some children who get double presents when their parents divorce?

Alex knocked on her door and waltzed in, “Hey Kara, mom made you something to take to Kal. There’s a winter storm over Greenland, you should probably get going soon.”

Kara wiped the tears from her eyes and her sister rushed to hug her. She had to bend down a little and lift Alex off the ground, but no way was she leaving without giving her sister a proper hug.

“I’m going to miss you and mom so much, Alex. I’ve never been away from home for more than a few hours, how am I going to make it to Christmas without you both? Will you even still want me back?”

Alex nuzzled closer, “You better come back because I don’t want to imagine this place without you. Who’s going to lift the fridge so mom can sweep under it hmm? Who’s going to change all of the light bulbs in the workshop when they blow out? Who’s going to drink hot chocolate with me and watch Hallmark movies in July?”

Kara laughed, shaking her head and deposited Alex on the floor, “I thought you hated the Hallmark channel.”

Alex simply rolled her eyes, “But I love spending time with my sister, and I love you, you big sap. I swore I wasn’t going to cry.”

Feeling slightly better Kara shoves her sister’s shoulder, a little too hard and catches her before she falls, “I love you too, dork. Don’t open the present I got you until you get back, pinky swear?”

Alex locks pinkies with Kara and kisses her thumb, “I’ll miss you. Please be safe. No breaking the sound barrier, watch out for pigeons because there’s a lot in Metropolis or so I’ve read. And when you see Kal remember to call him Clark Kent.”

“Got it, and don’t eat anything I don’t buy myself or anything not given to me by Clark, Lois, or Jonathan because there’s a high chance it’s not candy.”

Kara hugged Eliza for thirty minutes after that, and then Alex for another ten minutes before waving goodbye to Santa and all of the elves at his workshop. Metropolis wasn’t so far for her to fly, and she’d be home in no time.

She coasted through the peppermint sparkled glaciers, touched the northern lights, sailed through the skies above the Arctic Ocean, grazed the top of the Daily Planet, and landed atop the small two bedroom apartment building on the rent controlled side of town. Inside the windows of the corner apartment on the top floor, Kara saw Kal with his family, lighting candles, looking happy and calm. She decided to wait until morning to meet Kal, Clark, alone.

She listened into the city around her, all of the heartbeats like a million tiny hammers beating together, all except one. Kara flew the city, pinpointing the sound, admiring all of the lights on all the trees in all of the buildings and all the shining multicolored bulbs lining the streets. And it was there, in the tallest tower of the tallest building, one light shone through the wall to wall window, a small desk lamp in the large office. At the desk a woman with jet black hair and skin as white and fair as snow sat, typing away at her computer, nibbling on the pen in her mouth. She strained her long elegant neck, and stretched her arms above her head before getting back to work.

Kara glanced below the balcony to the street corner, finding what she knew the young woman needed. She floated down to the alley and walked into a coffee shop, took some time figuring out how to pay for a cup of coffee with the paper and coin money that Santa had given her before she left. Smiled and thanked the cashier for helping her, put one of the bills in his tip jar (it was a hundred.) She quickly flew into the woman’s office, left the coffee on her desk, and flew out of sight, feeling a little like Santa herself in the moment.

The woman grabbed the coffee absentmindedly and sipped, not expecting it to be so hot Kara sees her fanning her mouth and frantically searching the room with her eyes. When she turns to peer out her balcony, Kara sees her face, hard jaw line, soft endearing green eyes. She smiles as the woman screams and locks her balcony door as the windows go pitch black.

#supercorp #elf au

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snowwhite-andtheknight · 4 years ago

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(This is mostly edited. It includes the original smaller list, added on to. Also, I’m a bit worried that I might have explained the Canon Divergent fic poorly. I’m sorry. I don’t mean anything bad by it.) (It’s better edited than my first submission for it, that had a bunch of typos, but since this is long, I may not have proofread and fixed up everything worded funny or spelled wrong.)

I’m going to preface this off with the fact that I’m a multishipper, and ship quite a variety of pairings, so this list might go all over the place. (Also, I’ve never written a fic rec before, though I have recommended fics and gushed about several often enough.) First of all, Above and Below Surface by Whitehorse102 immediately comes to mind. It’s probably my favorite AU fic that I’ve ever read for ZenYuki and possibly, my favorite I’ve ever read in general. It’s a Mer!AU; a type of AU that I’m always reading, but Whitehorse102 writes it so differently than any other Mer!AU, I’ve seen. The world building is insanely good, and the story reads a lot more like a published novel than a multichapter fanfic; there’s world building that even takes in parts of canon and plays around with them a bit. The ZenYuki is built up slowly. It’s a work in progress of the writer’s, and such a lovely read, that you absolutely would not regret reading it or rereading it. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12201172/1/Above-and-Below-Surface Apparently, the first fic I read was Of Assassins and Apples by Realm-Leaper, though since I sometimes accidentally refavorite stuff, changing the date that I favorited it or may have read stuff I didn’t favorite, I might not be accurate with this. It’s an Obi-centric oneshot collection with two oneshots, that I vaguely remember reading. (Eventually, I’ll share stuff that aren’t on Fanfiction.net, because I read all over the place.) I started rereading it, and it has almost all the amazing Obi headcanons that I also have. The first oneshot is an Obi and Zen friendship piece, and honestly, maybe this is where most of my Obi headcanons came from as far as backstory. This oneshot collection of two oneshots is well worth your time! I’d wondered if the Mukaze and Obi scene was canon, had convinced myself that the talk they had was canon and took place during the Tanbarun Arc, but it was this fanfic, the second oneshot has an absolutely incredible and in character scene where Obi and Mukaze talk a few things out. (Honestly, it’s on my mind whenever I read a story where the two of them talk or interact in any way, and it a hundred percent affects the way I remember canon.) So do check it out! It’s a lovely two oneshot collection centering on Obi. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12933248/1/Of-Assassins-and-Apples My favorite ANS OC right now is Setsuko/Vixen/fox, from Nostalgic Family by your1ocalpotato. I decided to read some of Potato’s work on a whim a few months back, once I realized that Potato wrote stories, and I absolutely adore Setsuko, especially within Nostalgic Family; I just love that universe, the added backstory for Obi, the found family dynamics, the way that Setsuko may be rough around the edges from the life she lived, but she cares deeply for her family, especially Obi. Just the sibling bond that Setsuko and Obi have in it is absolutely incredible, and in that particular universe, Setsuko has barely met Izana, so there’s a chance that that slow burn will eventually pick up, and Izana/Setsuko is such a lovely pair; they contrast very beautifully together, and it’s got to be my favorite Izana/OC pairing. Honestly, Potato’s stories are really good and more people need to read them. https://archiveofourown.org/works/22926751/chapters/54800950 (The Den Series is the name of the particular series I’m talking about, though there is a different story with Setsuko, where she has a different backstory, and it’s pretty much all slowburn Izana/Setsuko. Both are worth a read, though I haven’t finished the longer, slow burn fic yet.) As for An AU I Took A Chance On (And Now Love), it would be the Quarantine AU, that Muselover1901 wrote: Here With(out) You. I figured I’d read a Quarantine AU, and that one was really beautifully written. It’s one of my favorites by Muse. (I may throw in a few other stories that I recommend by Muse, because she’s a super talented ZenYuki writer.) I usually avoid writing any Quarantine AUs or Pandemic AUs unless I really feel like I need to. The same usually goes with reading them; I’ve found at least one good Quarantine AU in about four or so fandoms now. (I usually only read one per fandom, if it seems interesting.) Honestly, this is probably my favorite Quarantine AU ever. It’s longer, and the world is pretty well established. (And it’s a really lovely domestic ZenYuki oneshot.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13668279/1/Here-With-out-You I’m going to cheat a little on the next two, because I actually reviewed them (and reviewed them around the same time). First, I want to mention a fic that Made Me Laugh Out Loud; the first one that comes to mind is A Snowy Surprise by MuseLover1901. It’s the first one that pops into my head, though I know that I’ve laughed out loud at probably plenty of other stories. I actually was unsure before I read it whether it was a romantic story or not, and had been a bit nervous about jumping in and reading it, but once I started to read it, it was love at first sight. There’s a snowball fight in it, and I’ll have to say one particular hit made me laugh out loud. The story is mostly a friendship story. (The kind of story that I always long for more of in any fandom, because I love friendship stories as much as I love romance stories, and I also love family stories just as much.) But it’s lighthearted and doesn’t contain too many manga spoilers for me, since I’m terribly behind in the manga right now. (I haven’t read all of Muse’s work yet, because some of them have more manga spoilers than I’m ready to read. I’m biding my time for the day that I can just binge read them obsessively. It will happen.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13668260/1/A-Snowy-Surprise So, here’s the story, I’m cheating by mentioning instead of the above one. (I reviewed them around the same time, so it works, I think.) For A Fic That Made Me Friends With The Author, I’d have to say A Quick Library Visit; it’s a short, sweet read, and if you want quick ZenYuki fluff, it’s a go to. I read it around the same time as the above two Muse fics, and for some reason, some of Muse’s newest stories didn’t have reviews, so I figured I’d review. Shortly after, I reviewed A Quick Library Visit and A Snowy Surprise, Muse messaged me to thank me. (She’s really cool by the way.) And then, a little while later, I joined the old ZenYuki Week Server, and Muse invited me over to a ZenYuki Writing Collab Server, and we became fast friends after that. (She remembered me based off of the two reviews I’d left on her stories, which was pretty cool and definitely humbling.) (Also, heads up, I’ll post the fanfiction links to Muse’s stories, but she also posts them on AO3, so they’re there as well.) (I wish there was a reverse for this panel, because through the ZenYuki Writing Server; I met phenomenal writers and began reading their work as well!) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13668268/1/A-Quick-Library-Visit As for A Fic That Got Me Involved In The Fandom, I may be cheating by mentioning this too, since I starting writing fanfics for ANS practically right after I finished watching Season Two. The Mistress, the Plan, and the Secret by MisusedEllipses really made me long to write for Prince Raji/Shirayuki, and really kicked me off in that little rarepair haven, that Season Two won me over towards. This is an incredible fanfic, has absolutely amazing characterization throughout, and is incomplete on Fanfiction. (I’m hoping that somewhere online, it sits pretty and finished, waiting for me to rediscover it. I may be overly hopeful.) Okay, it ties in onesided!ObiYuki feelings, onesided!PrinceRajiYuki feelings, and wonderful characterization and sibling banter between Eugena and Rona! Honestly, Raji is written so well that it practically reads like canon: a very hard feat indeed for any writer to accomplish. Just, wow! I don’t know who to root for: Raji, Zen, or Obi! It diverges from canon right before the kidnapping, so Shirayuki never gets kidnapped, and eventually a rather interesting Raji and Obi friendship forms, though that’s right where the last current chapter is. It hasn’t been updated in four or five, I guess now or soon, years, but it’s well worth a read. I will recommend this to anyone if given a chance, regardless of whether the person is a multishipper or not. I love the friendship, the romance, the family, and humor that comes along with Raji’s siblings’ banter. It’s just a phenomenal canon divergent fic, and it’s what really made me realize there was a need for more Raji X Shirayuki fanfics, and it left me crazy about filling that gap. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12156186/1/The-Mistress-the-Plan-and-the-Secret I’m going to make a rather honest claim here, even though I’m not sure how often this writer will come up in what I gush about here, but this writer should: geneee is one of my favorite writers in the fandom. (I’m not sure if geneee is still active.) When I eventually thought of a fic with A Favorite Minor Character of mine, this particular story came up. history doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes is an absolutely amazing precanon story where it focuses entirely on Ryuu, gives him some backstory! (It’s an amazing read, and it follows his journey to becoming a Court Herbalist.) Honestly, the fandom needs a lot more Ryuu fics. (On a side note, a fic by a different writer also came to mind with this, but since that’s more romantic than this gen fic, I figured I’d stick with this one. The other one that comes to mind is the only fic where I could find Kai as a main character. It’s by a different writer, but if I can stick it into this recommendation, I will tell you more about it.) Geneee writes really good fics. I know geneee has a fanfiction account, but I think geneee might have an AO3 as well. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12687531/1/history-doesn-t-repeat-itself-but-it-often-rhymes For Pre-Canon, I want to mention a lovely story by an incredible (mostly?) MitsuKiki writer that may not actually be active anymore. (Unless the writer uses a different site now.) (This story is actually not a MitsuKiki fanfic, though it is still one of my all time favorite stories by fiesa.) Roses, Violets by fiesa. It’s a beautiful story that focuses on Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki during the years since Kiki came there. Zen develops a crush on an OC, who doesn’t like him like that, who actually likes Mitsuhide, interestingly enough. It’s not really a romance story, as it focuses on the way time passes and uses summer and flowers to express that. The perspectives shift, so some parts may need to be reread to understand who is feeling that way, but it’s all written so beautifully. You get to see Zen develop a crush and get heartbroken, Mitsuhide trying to be really nice, knowing Zen likes the woman and sort of trying to let something happen between Zen and the OC. Though, Zen feels that that’s hopeless, since she likes Mitsuhide. It’s more a story of the friendship between Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki, and what growing up entails. It’s Zen before Shirayuki, and it makes for a rather lovely read. (It’s a multichapter, though it’s not a super lengthy one as far as chapter count goes. It’s well worth a read though.) (fiesa and geneee I discovered around the same time, and I love what both of them write so much.) (So, if you like it, it’s always worth checking out the rest of fiesa’s work.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12864975/1/Roses-Violets I was just thinking over how to mention an incredible writer, that wrote two ZenYuki oneshot that I’ve read and fell in love with. (Spotted the oneshot section. If I have to refill part of the Bingo Board later, so be it.) The Art Of Watching Stars Fall by Zen Wisteria on Tumblr. The metaphors and images are just so pretty and beautiful and with gorgeous meanings. (The writer feels a bit like a poet, and since I love poetry, that’s a definite plus in my book.) It’s really fluffy and sweet and contains pretty much all of the wonderful reasons to ship ZenYuki. It’s a delight to read and to reread. It’s highly recommended by me. https://zen-wistaria.tumblr.com/post/117283326416/it-feels-like-years-since-shes-seen-his-face AU That Made Me Find The Source Material: Lyrias Station by Eclectic80. I’m cheating here too. Shh… I’ve been slowly getting into Star Trek over the years very deliberately, and I just loved this fic so much! I found it first on the ObiYuki Community, going through a lot older fics, and then fell in love with just the way that Eclectic80 wrote it! It’s an absolutely incredible Star Trek AU, and a lovely ObiYuki story. (I think I did start with reading Historical Fiction, and it surprised me by being a Star Trek AU.) (On the note of really great AUs, there’s a Star Wars AU for ObiYuki that’s incredible, that I’ll have to refind at some point, and an incredible Harry Potter AU. I actually asked a lot of questions to people who know Star Wars lore far better than I do, in order to work through how much of the Star Wars AU for ObiYuki could plausibly happen in canon. (I think it was all of it. It was a great and engaging read too!) The Harry Potter AU left me obsessed with it, and the accidental soul bonding spell, whoops. But, since I don’t remember their titles or who wrote them, I’ll have to recommend them some other day. (I think they are also far back on the community page. I haven’t finished exploring it, since I took a break a while ago.) Back to Lyrias Station, it’s an absolutely incredible read whether you know very little about Star Trek, nothing at all, or a lot. I fall somewhere in the middle, and honestly, it’s a fantastic read, whenever you want to dig in and explore. (I may have reread certain oneshots in it way too much for my own good, practically back to back. It’s a really wonderful reread as well.) https://archiveofourown.org/works/14414148/chapters/34487988 For A Fic That Gave Me A New OTP, though my OTP is hard to define, so I’m technically cheating here, but Let Me Be Bold by Kaedix. It’s an IzanaYuki story, and that is a pairing that I was curious about, but hadn’t really shipped until I read this oneshot collection. I absolutely need to read the third oneshot; it’s new, and bound to be incredible. But, the first oneshot had me sort of falling in love with Izana right alongside Shirayuki, and the second oneshot had me cheering for Shirayuki, and all in all, it’s an incredible read that is well worth your time, whether just to read something new or different or whether you are on the fence about this fabulous rarepair. (Since it did win me over to the ship, I’m including it here.) It’s incredible! Go read it! https://archiveofourown.org/works/20982494/chapters/49894448 I was trying to figure out a fic that I loved that was under a thousand words, and since I haven’t paid a huge amount of attention to the word count, I couldn’t think of one at first. So, I was going through one of the writers that I really like the writing of, and stumbled upon one that I immediately remembered. Importance by bountifulnuggets. I remembered it strictly as the wedding story where Zen and Shirayuki hugged Obi, who desperately needed a hug. I’ve never read anything like it before, and it’s saturated with friendship. (Nugget is a phenomenal writer, so basically anything by her is really good, so if you haven’t heard of her, go check out her writing. You won’t be disappointed.) (I got temporarily sidetracked before going through Nugget’s stories, by a story I hadn’t read by Eclectic80, a ZenYuki(!) story, that if for some reason, I extend and do more than a Bingo Board (or find another way to include), I’ll tell you the title of. Either way, the story by Nugget is a lovely hurt/comfort fic that is more comfort than hurt, and it’s definitely a beautiful read. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26433481 Finally, found it! Okay, the Missing Scene fic that is my favorite is Do something with this guy by Codango. It explores how Obi went from shooting at Shirayuki to being Zen’s retainer, and it does a lovely job of it! I absolutely adore this story, and the writing of it is beautiful. I took the time to reread it, and Obi’s perspective is spot on in it, and it gives amazing behind the scenes looks at what is happening, mostly over how he came to work for Zen. But, it also includes the scene where Obi catches Shirayuki for the first time, all told through Obi’s perspective, and his thought process is absolutely perfect. His thoughts read very much like the canon ones, that we are sometimes shown, and it feels like it really does contain the missing scene from canon. It’s an amazing read, and definitely worth your time. https://archiveofourown.org/works/4386368 I’m going to cheat again here. (Who knows? These times I feel like I’m cheating, may actually be fair.) But, I don’t know what tropes, I like or whether I’ve read Trope Reversals, but I was going back through ObiYukiFiteNite and ObiYukiMadness on the community, and stumbled upon a story that I read ages ago, that fits kind of well with my Mukaze headcanons, and is goofy enough that I could see him acting that way. It does turn a trope over on its head, too. For Favorite Trope Reversal, I’m going to mention Mukaze’s Gift (Only One Bed) by HideTheRemote. The debate over whether Mukaze supports ObiYuki in it is rather amusing, and the gift, itself, is rather funny as a wedding gift to his daughter and son-in-law. It’s a delightful read that certainly surprised me. (I’d also never seen the One Bed Trope with a married couple before, so that was an added bonus.) I imagine that when he has grandkids one day; he’ll realize that his gift wasn’t used as intended. (Poor delivery guy, who had to know what kind of bed he was delivering, based off of the sheer awkwardness of the situation.) https://hidetheremote.tumblr.com/post/172338198868/mukazes-gift-only-one-bed For Gen Fic, I’m going to go with Shirayuki’s Laugh by otomiya-tickles. This is a multichapter story, and not every chapter is actually gen. (There’s onesided ObiYuki and established ZenYuki at parts.) It’s literally a story where Shirayuki’s friends find out she’s ticklish slowly, and each one gets to tickle her. It takes place within various parts of canon, and is a really fun read. I’m pretty sure that I laughed every time she did. (Even though I probably shouldn’t admit that, since I wasn’t being tickled.) It’s a blast from start to finish, and I ended up reading all of the chapters in one go. Most of it’s just friendship. (Ooh, my favorite chapter is probably the Raji one. Shh…) Also, it gives a reason as to why Shirayuki chose not to ride on Mitsuhide’s horse, after her first time riding on a horse with him. (It’s just an absolute treat, and I never knew tickle fics could be this fun!) I highly recommend it. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11861915/1/Shirayuki-s-Laugh I’ve included so many stories already with some of my favorite headcanons and ones that feel canon, but I realized I still had a story to share with that category. So the story That Contains My Favorite Headcanon is Bittersweet Heart by DemonHeart42. It’s actually a new fic, and a onesided ObiYuki story. (Like canon, there’s established ZenYuki.) It’s sort of post canon, as it shows Obi and Shirayuki’s friendship after Shirayuki and Zen are married. It flows like canon, and the writing is beautiful. The headcanon bit that strikes me is earlier in the one shot, Obi’s reasons for never calling Shirayuki by her name are addressed, and it hits I’m pretty sure all of my Obi headcanons for that, but not only that, but there’s thought behind how long Obi’s loved her, which he can not trace back to a particular moment, since he feels that he’s always loved her, though he certainly knows he didn’t fall for her the first time he saw her. (It matches my headcanons for Obi’s feelings to a T, pretty much.) It’s a lovely read, and the only Akagami No Shirayuki-Hime story that DemonHeart42 has written. (It does make me long to read more stories by DemonHeart42, and I undoubtedly will, if another Akagami No Shirayuki-Hime fanfic gets posted online by this writer.) I’m just really happy that I found a spot to include this story; it’s one of the few new ObiYuki related fanfics on fanfiction, so I don’t think many people have read it. And it’s one of the best that I’ve read for them. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13687412/1/Bittersweet-Heart Since I am a major ZenYuki shipper as well as ObiYuki shipper, I don’t know if I should include this as the canon divergent fic, but I absolutely love so many scenes in it. Fragments by happybubbles is what I initially put for Canon Divergence, so most of the description will express that, but I’m going to say that it’s a story that that made me Weep Real Tears. As a quick explanation, I don’t care for ZenYuki breakup fics for the most part, but I love this one. (And I read way too many of them to complain too much, I guess. I still read them, because I love ObiYuki about as much as I love ZenYuki, and the breakup fics obviously can be incredible, like the part in Fragments where the breakup happens.) (I really hope that I explained this right, because I know obviously this type of canon divergence is popular and really well loved, so I know that those AUs are good in a lot of ways. I’ve read many of them, with varying levels of interest, and I don’t know how to explain it, because I’m not trying to knock an AU.) This is where shipping ZenYuki makes it hard sometimes to ship ObiYuki, plus my love of Zen often gets in the way, and it pains me pretty bad to read breakups for Zen and Shirayuki. So, this particular story is the breakup scene, I remember, where Shirayuki broke up with Zen, and she’s still dealing with the emotional fallout of it. She’s not numb, and though she feels correct in breaking up with Zen, it hurts like she wouldn’t believe. And seeing Shirayuki in so much pain, while dealing with a ZenYuki breakup to boot, really hurts me. I cried alongside her, and Obi takes the time to comfort her and spend time with her. Everyone else that day gives Obi the turnaround and won’t explain what happened to Shirayuki, because Obi hasn’t seen her. Just, this scene hurts me so much. (I love the ObiYuki developed in the story, and Zen was written pretty well from what I remember, so it’s definitely worth a read.) Also, I’m in the camp with people that only ship ZenYuki, as in I think if canon broke up ZenYuki, I’d be broken, even if it established ObiYuki or RajiYuki or something else I ship or am partial too. This is the only clarification that I have that makes me wonder if ZenYuki is my true OTP. I have a tendency of reading a ton of ObiYuki fanfics, because that’s my go to for ObiYuki, especially AUs. I love AUs a ton, regardless, but ObiYuki AUs hold an extra special place in my heart. (My favorite ObiYuki AU, is the Obi meets Shirayuki first ones; they are all so different and so, so good!) (Also, if anyone knows the name or author of the ObiYuki story, where Obi consumes poison and almost dies, that one made me cry as well and is also really good!) I remember so many of the scenes and often forget that they are all in the same story. (I loved the parents day chapter, where Ryuu cooked for Obi and Shirayuki. I adore the first chapter of the fic, where Obi’s caught napping.) (It diverges from canon through ZenYuki breaking up, by the way.) There are probably other scenes within it as well that I absolutely adore. I’ve either read all of the chapters or most of them, even though it goes way further through canon than I’m currently at. I just love the story, and all the beautiful scenes that Bubbles writes, that I couldn’t just not read more. https://archiveofourown.org/works/8031781/chapters/18392416 For Favorite Trope, even though it’s probably not my favorite trope, just a trope led fanfic that is really, really good, it’s the Harry Potter AU, I talked about up above! I finally found it, and realized I could stick it here! Welcome to Hogwarts, the School of Social Anxiety and Crushing Expectations (and also Highly Illegal Soul Bond Spells) by Hymn. I’ve never been a fan of Harry Potter, but somehow this story sucked me in from the get go, and I really love the kind of slow burn ObiYuki in it, the longing for the other that they are pretty sure is either from the spell or unrequited, despite being requited, and all of the trying to balance school life with being accidentally soul bonded together, and just even the background references to ZenYuki are really good. The scenes within the story are absolutely adorable to a bit awkward for Obi and Shirayuki, and I think I read this oneshot at least five times so far. Mostly from the original Tumblr post, before I discovered that it was on AO3. Since then, I’ve read it on AO3. I have no idea how this story has gripped me so much, but it has. It is a hundred percent worth your time. You really should read it. (It’s inspired off of the Accidental Soul Bond Trope, which led to the amazing Star Wars AU by someone else, a lovely Soul Bond focused AU that is also really good, and I can’t remember what else. Maybe I do have a soft spot for this particular trope that I never really knew about before discovering the older event that they were written for.) https://archiveofourown.org/works/18772360/chapters/44535142 I know this is technically not a fight scene, but for Action-Packed Fight Scene, I’m going to choose the car chase scene in At Her Not-So-Secret Service by infinitelystrangemachine_old. I don’t read a lot of action packed stories in general, but I definitely don’t read many action packed stories for ANS. (And I’m pretty sure if I named any myriad of Chuck fanfics, that wouldn’t count. Shh…) So, I’m sticking with this story, because it came to mind when I remember action packed scenes, and the writing here is brilliant. (I obviously love the car chase scene and the aftermath of that, where Obi’s sitting in the car with her.) There’s a touch of humor every now and again, and the writing style, itself, is very beautiful. I really, really hope that this story gets updated some time in the future. There’s something about a Modern AU, Bodyguard AU, for ObiYuki that is so good! (Or any Modern AU Bodyguard fics in general, because there’s one for Chuck that is so, so good. I know I should just talk about ANS here, but oh, my gosh, I seem to really like Bodyguard AUs lately. Shh…) So, even though there’s no fight scene here, and there’s no attack or even portrayal of her kidnapping prior, At Her Not-So-Secret Service is really, really good. (I really like how easily Obi seems to get along with everyone Shirayuki knows, the description in chapter one of the difference between Zen and Izana talking to Obi, the balister scene, which should sort of count as an action scene too. Either way, the writing here is really good and the scenes are very memorable.) (I think about the car chase the most, followed by the balister scene the second most.) (I had to look up this story just to find it again for this. It’s so good!) It’s a lovely story to read, with a lot of action-y tension, some complicated feelings, and a great mixture of emotion. Also, the humor is pretty great too! So, it’s well worth a read. https://archiveofourown.org/works/9837023/chapters/22080446 For my new Canon Divergent fic, I’m going to include Yours, Truly by Eclectic80. It’s canon divergent also due to a ZenYuki breakup, as well as a pen pal correspondence. I love the pen pal basis of it, Shirayuki and Obi not knowing who they are writing to, the whole slowly falling in love and coming to understand each other better through it. The picnic date thing, just the whole premise of the fic is so good. It’s an outstanding ObiYuki fic, and I’m absolutely in love with the idea of pen pals in fanfics, which this is the first that I’ve seen of pen pals within fanfics, I think, but it’s so good. The comfortable anonymity, that draws them closer, the hint of budding feelings, the advice Obi gives, or ideas he shares. The fact that they both know that the other is similar to someone they know, but are pretty positive that it can’t be the other. It’s a blast to read and so, so much fun! I highly recommend it. https://archiveofourown.org/works/21943480/chapters/52370371 Oh, my gosh! I found the poison story! It’s also the story with the kiss scene that comes to mind for me and so many others. Okay, for Steamiest Kiss, I’m going to go with And That’s The Reason We Need Lips So Much by Sabraeal. Okay, this story is absolutely amazing on so many levels. The almost death scene for Obi is so painful to read, and I cried pretty much from the very beginning of this fic, despite not knowing who several of the characters are, whoops. I’m still terribly behind in the manga, but the plot was so good, the writing was beautiful, and I loved it. Also, I loved the teasing and playfulness that goes on when Obi retells the story of Shirayuki saving his life, and of course, the way that Shirayuki gets him back for that. I love the silliness of the first time that he tells the story, where Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki are his main audience. It’s silly, and sounds so fairy tale-esque and romantic, that Obi’s surprised me, and it fits so well! Then, there’s the way Kiki joins in the banter. (She’s great in general!) The way Mitsuhide reacts and of course Zen’s silence. Then, there’s the later on, Shirayuki getting Obi back, Obi being unable to handle the teasing, and the loss of his good reputation, the way she gives in and finally asks him to kiss her. The way the whole kiss goes. Ryuu showing up, after having dealt with two other people refusing to work. (That decided kissing was better than work, much to Ryuu’s disappointment.) Ryuu’s support of Obi and Shirayuki; I feel so bad for Ryuu here, and yet, I’m pretty sure that when I finally get far enough in the manga to meet the other two characters caught kissing, I think I’ll ship them, though I’m not positive yet. The way they restore Obi’s reputation and the applause that they’re met with. It’s funny, full of banter, great characterization, and so much more! I just love this story, and I’m so glad that I managed to refind it. (I’d forgotten that all of these amazing moments were in one fic. Sabraeal wrote this absolutely amazingly!) Please do go read it! I’m positive that it’s one of my favorite oneshots. https://archiveofourown.org/works/8705884 I don’t know if MitsuKiki counts as enough of a rarepair, but there are not a lot of fics out there for them, so I’m including this here. For Rare Pair, The Five Stages Of Partnership by geneee. It was the first MitsuKiki story to come to mind for me by the way, and I love this side pairing so much. And this story does a very lovely job of expressing Kiki’s feelings and going through the years, starting with when she first met Mitsuhide and carrying on throughout all of the time getting to know him. (Aww, I could have counted it in Canon Compliant as well, but oh well.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12365055/1/The-Five-Stages-of-Partnership I probably should flip this and the Rare Pair slot, but I’m not going to. This one is a gem of a story as well; it’s a beautiful MitsuKiki story told from Mitsuhide’s perspective. (I was going to include a different MitsuKiki story by this same author, but I seen the summary for this one and remembered being blown away by it, so I took the time to reread it just now.) Silver by fiesa is the story I picked for Canon Compliant. It can take place in a few different spots in canon, but it really doesn’t sway the story into canon divergence. It’s a beautiful, very poetic MitsuKiki story, that captures Mitsuhide’s feelings beautifully, both towards Kiki and swordfighting in general. It’s an absolutely gorgeous fic. (It’s also just seven words over one thousand.) You really should read this story by fiesa; it’s one of my favorites by this particular writer and one of my favorite MitsuKiki stories. Also, check out more by fiesa; fiesa’s an absolutely incredible MitsuKiki writer! (Writes mostly MitsuKiki, but there are stories that fiesa’s written that aren’t MitsuKiki as well.) https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7801925/1/Silver Okay, I mentioned this story once before, but didn’t give you the title. (Also, on a quick side note, I will probably be posting a short fic rec right after this, with a few other fics, that I sort of teased by not listing the names of before up above and one additional one.) (Also, any writer I mentioned is worth reading as much of their work as you can, because they’re all so good!) Okay, so here is that Star Wars AU, I mentioned being absolutely in love with. Starlines by infinitelystrangemachine_old. So, this Star Wars AU absolutely blew me away, the first time that I stumbled upon it. It’s beautiful, and it ties back into the accidental soul bond trope, and I actually did ask people who know Star Wars way better than me, if this was possible within Star Wars, and yes, yes, it is! Shirayuki and Obi end up soul bonded and see each other randomly in places where technically the other one isn’t. Like a personalized hologram, I guess, since only they see each other. The first time they see each other is awkward for them both, and they don’t initially know what’s going on. (It’s great! Plus, they are on different sides of the war.) So, slowly they become friends and fall in love. It’s a premise I hadn’t seen before, and had me asking various Star Wars inspired questions, since it is so good! This I’m using for the Free Space on the board, the Apple. It’s an absolute delight to read. https://archiveofourown.org/works/14404602/chapters/33266145

#ansficbingo #fic rec #sctwilightvampwolfgal #submission

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