#I asked if I could decide if I wanted it on my own at home and they said absolutely. and I obviously decided to move forward

[brawberryz]

The mother of the ocean

Batfam Yan! × Batmom Selkie! Reader

Note: English is not my first language, sorry if there is any translation error

the ocean

That's where you belonged, you had arrived at the coast a few months ago everything was so new to you

It was the first time you left the sea on your own all you knew about this new world were relationships that the other selkies told you.

But you were brave and decided to go out.

This whole new world was too new for someone as inexperienced as you, you knew that selkies in their human form were too attractive for ordinary humans.

So it was not strange that no one could take their eyes off you, in the eyes of ordinary humans you were an angel fallen from heaven.

And then you met him

bruce wayne

He fell for you as soon as his eyes fell on you, you were the most beautiful and charming woman he had ever met

For you he was not Bruce Wayne, the multimillionaire playboy of Gotham

Just Bruce, the kind man who deep down cared for others, although he will not show it

Some time later he told you his big secret, he was Batman and he introduced you to Richard who was his adopted son and also Robin.

You were like a mother figure Richard at that time, it had been a short time since the death of the little boy's parents leaving a big mark on him

But since you arrived everything had changed, forming a family was not in Bruce's plans.

But he didn't regret having met you, you were the only thing he needed

And he wasn't going to let you leave his side

_

The waves were getting bigger and bigger, a big storm was about to start

It was time to go back to the ocean, to your home.

Even if you wanted to stay you couldn't, a part of you said you would stay with him but another part said you should leave.

That very day Bruce had proposed to you, he had only known you for a few months but he was sure you were the love of his life.

But all you did was give him a confused look and then you ran away.

He thought he had pushed you too hard, didn't you love him?

He chased you to the coast, a few weeks ago you had started to behave strangely

He asked you if something was happening to you and you just said it wasn't important, he knew you were lying.

"Bruce I...I haven't been completely honest with you"

"What do you mean?"

You asked Bruce confused, he didn't understand what you meant, was it something so serious that you weren't even able to tell him

"I...I'm not the person you think I am"

You said as you turned to look at him, at that moment you didn't know what to do, if you stayed with him you were betraying your home, your family and culture.

But if you were going to betray him, you loved him more than anything and you knew that he loved you too

At that moment you were too stupid and you didn't know what you wanted

"I love you Bruce, but you're not mine"

You said for the last time before a great wave consumed your body, Bruce tried to stop you but it was too late.

He watched as your presence disappeared among the waves of the sea

That day I felt like I had lost again what I loved the most

And again he couldn't do anything about it

For years he went to that beach looking for you, hoping that one day you would come back

But you never did, you disappeared from his life like dust.

But he swore that if one day you came back he wouldn't let you leave him again

Never again

_

After a year you went back out to the coast, the summer sun hitting your shiny skin

Your old skin fell off your shoulders

You had to get clothes as soon as possible, you weren't going to be naked on the beach, you had manners!

You just had to wait for your collaboration to peel off your body and you could finally walk again

You thought you were alone, you chose the most desolate place without people on the entire beach

You were so distracted that you didn't even notice the dark-skinned boy who looked at you in amazement

As soon as you looked up your eyes met his emerald eyes

At that moment you felt your body filled with nervousness

You greeted him awkwardly while giving him a nervous smile

"Are you a mermaid?"

The younger one asked, it was the first time Damian had seen a creature like you

"No, I'm a selkie" you quickly denied, it was the first time a human had seen you before you completely transformed "besides mermaids and salkies are different because-"

Before you could finish speaking you heard a distant voice calling the young man

"Damian! I was looking for you all over the beach, you can't-"

Bruce's eyes widened in surprise when he saw you, after so many years you had returned?

He had waited for you for more than 20 years and now he was back

"(Name)..."

Your name came out of Bruce's lips, you could barely react when you felt Bruce lunge at you to hug you

Damian frowned confused, because his father was hugging a strange woman

You felt like your body was about to break from the force of Bruce's hug

After so many years he had you in his arms again

And this time he wasn't going to let you leave his side

_

He had taken you to the mansion as soon as possible, he wasn't going to let you stay on that beach alone

Bruce had introduced you to all the members of the family, apparently he had adopted many more children than you imagined

You felt a little bad for having missed so many things

Your relationship with them was pretty good, well with almost everyone

Richard was still as sweet as when he was a child, when he saw you again he didn't know He took off from you

It seems that he was still a mommy's boy

With Jason it was a little difficult, you found out that he had died and then revived, leaving the poor guy with a lot of trauma and problems

You tried to understand him and show him that you were always going to support him, it was difficult but you managed to gain his trust

You knew that deep down he wanted that support that they could never give him when he was little

Sometimes you had your doubts about Tim, how is it possible that someone as young as him could survive with so few hours of sleep!?

The first time you found out you asked him to improve his sleep schedule, you couldn't let him stay up so late

It made you happy that he listened to you, well almost

He still had horrible sleep schedules but he tried to take some breaks

It was quite difficult to get along with Damian, maybe your first meeting with him was calm

But after he found out about your history with Bruce he completely hated you, so you were the one to blame for Bruce looking at the sea all the time in a melancholy way

You tried to have a good relationship with him but nothing worked, he ignored you or said that you could never be his mother

You understood that he was angry because his life had changed, it wasn't easy to get used to something

So you gave him his space and didn't pressure him, even so you were kind to him

Over time you started to get along better, you told him about your adventures in the sea and facts about marine animals that he had never heard

He would never admit but he liked spending time With you, something in him wanted you to never leave

Barbara was someone quite kind, you got along well since the first time you met her

You used to go out with her and the other girls to walk and talk

Cass was someone quite quiet but she still liked being with you, it was a little difficult to have a conversation with her but even so she was the sweetest girl you had ever met

Stehp was someone quite good, she spent most of her time with cass

You could tell they were good friends, and you used to bring cookies for them

In stehp's words your little streets were the best in the world

All this was so perfect, but you knew you shouldn't get attached

You knew it was wrong to abandon them but you couldn't stay

The day was approaching when you had to return to the coast

But what you didn't know is that none of them were going to allow you to leave

_

"You can't go (name)! After all this you're going to leave me again!?"

Bruce said trying to get you to see reason, you couldn't leave him again, didn't you love him enough?

"You don't understand Bruce..."

You tried to back away but he ended up grabbing your wrists and pulling you closer to him

"Understand that (name)!?"

His grip on your wrists tightened and made you let out a sound of pain, you were sure that would leave a mark there

"Let me go, it hurts!"

You tried to get out of his grip but it was impossible, in your human form you were too weak, maybe you should have listened to the other selkies and never returned to the surface

"I didn't want to do this, (name), but you leave me no other choice"

You could barely do anything when you felt something embedded in your neck

It was a sedative, your vision became blurry, and you could only feel Bruce's arms wrap around your almost unconscious body

You could see a cynical smile forming on his face

Who would have thought that at that moment your nightmare would begin

_

Every day was worse than the last, you spent all day locked up in the mansion

Bruce had told everyone your secret and from that moment on everyone had become more possessive

All the time you felt watched, plus the whole family had become more clingy with you, they were not going to allow their mother to abandon them

You should be happy that they are with you! They only want the best for you

Not only did you have to spend all fucking day with kids who wouldn't leave you alone

You also had to put up with a "husband" who wouldn't even let you go to the bathroom alone

Every day that passed you hated Bruce more, because he was the one who put those ideas in the heads of others

You were very stupid to trust a man like him

Bruce started to think that maybe he should get you pregnant, so you could never leave his side

But the first time he approached you with ulterior motives you hit him

And during that whole week you didn't say a word to him, maybe when he regains your trust he could get closer to you again

But you weren't going to allow it, you hated Bruce with all your being, sometimes you wanted to kill him but you knew that would only cause more problems

For now you will have to learn to live like this

Who knows, maybe at some point you'll get used to it!

Or maybe you'll live the rest of your life miserably locked up in a mansion.

You just hoped that this nightmare would end one day.

I finished this pretty quickly, I really liked the concept of this story

I was thinking of making it a bit romantic but I'm better at writing angst than romance

Request made by @writing-flower

I hope you like the result🙏

[ihavenointerestinreallife]

family relations | 18+ mdni

everyone knew that where fred went, george was right behind him; even if nobody could tell them apart half the time, two identical ginger boys always signaled trouble. 

when you showed up–someone with a stark difference in look to the two boys–it immediately raised an eyebrow. while not rare to see the two twins apart, it was a sight to see them accompanied by someone other than another member of their family, often at least. 

with the amount of nosy students at hogwarts it didn’t take long until someone got curious. 

“she’s just a part of the family,” george would say. 

“she’s like a sister to us, really,” fred would add not long after. 

— 

holidays with the weasley family were always chaotic to say the least. it seemed every year a new person stayed for christmas in the burrow, most notably in recent years harry and hermione joining their best friend ron–this year, the family home saw you as its new addition. 

the weasley family home had been filled to the brim since the birth of ginny, and the addition of companions only brightened it with more love. 

on christmas morning, everyone who didn’t own one already (or miraculously lost their original) received their first of molly’s many knitted sweaters, all personalized with their first initial. you’d never forget the first christmas you reunited with the twins wearing their own sweaters. 

“did mrs. weasley make those so she could remember which of you is which?” you asked. 

“mother says she could never forget who is who, which i guess is why i’m wearing his sweater, and he’s wearing mine,” fred would reply. 

when the day came for you to receive your own, the twins had visibly outgrown the jumpers you first saw them in, instead adorning new pairs to fit their growing builds. 

“molly, it’s beautiful! i dreamed of the day i’d get my own,” you said, running your fingers along the woollen fabric. 

“i’m glad you like it dear- and look, now you match freddie and georgie.” 

your head whipped in the direction of the two boys to confirm her words, and she was right. you matched fred and george from the overall blue color to the yellow letter. 

the way they looked at you then, you knew you could get used to matching sweaters. 

— 

you were purely friends with the twins up until your shared sixth year when they went to the yule ball with angelina johnson and katie bell. sure, the way they looked at you for the past year and a half had you questioning everything you felt for them. and sure, having them next to you at every given moment–closely, at that–made you think things friends wouldn’t dare say out loud- but this was a whole new level. 

molly had sent all the hogwarts attending weasley children outfits to wear to the ball; ginny a bright pink and mint gown, ron a very explicit hand me down likely of bill or percy’s, and the twins looked dashing in their matching suits. but you knew they could look even better, each hanging off one of your arms. 

instead you had the pleasure of watching both fred and george dance multiple rounds with their dates, while you sat next to harry and ron, also bummed out by how terrible the evening had gone. 

“they wanted to go with you, you know.” 

you jumped, turning your head to hermione who seemed to be itching to escape the crowd. 

“don’t be silly hermione, we’re just friends.” you muttered as you chewed on your lips, effectively removing them of any color you stained them with. “besides, you saw how eager they were when they asked angelina and katie in potions.” 

“or they were just trying to tease ron, you know how brothers are.” hermione looked at you with pity, as if there was someone she had hoped would ask her to the ball as well. 

the moment you decided to guess who she’d hoped would have asked her, your eyes scanned the crowd for either fred or george. it was futile for a second, until on either side of the floor you noticed both twins sneaking a glance back at you, both still occupied in dances with their dates. 

“hermione,” you began, tone laced with shyness despite how loud the music drowned your words out, “how would i know if my feelings surpassed friendly?” 

— 

it only took a day for feelings to be admitted by all three parties, only taking half of another for you to find yourself sandwiched in bed by both of the twins. robes had been discarded by the door, and you weren’t even sure you’d be able to find your scarf considering how long it had been gone. 

the boys sat knee to knee with you straddling both their laps, george to your front and fred to your back. they worked together to pull your hair off your neck, and then to unleash your tie from its collar, effectively exposing your bare skin to them. 

it didn’t feel real when the warmth of fred’s lips ghosted your skin, not even a semblance of it when they finally latched on. the amount of times you dreamt of them touching you intimately could not have prepared you for the feeling. 

“does it feel good when he kisses you like that?” george teased knowing you wouldn’t be able to catch your breath in time to reply. 

“yes georgie- fuck,” you moaned as fred bit down and sucked like a man tasked with marking you as his own. “freddie, people will see..” 

“let them love, they’d put the pieces together soon anyways.” he bit down again only a couple inches away from the first love bite, effectively securing the notion of nosy onlookers creating their own story to tell off. 

and tell off they would when every week new patches would show on your neck. the twins took turns marking you in places just indecent enough to turn heads, but not enough to solidify any real narrative about the three of you. 

a couple of weeks of people swearing they saw you snogging both twins at once in the gryffindor common room had at least one person becoming bold enough to ask you how you really felt about fred and george:

“they’re like my brothers, really.” 

— 

happy valentines day <3

[g4rvez-r3id]

spencer reid request: spencer and reader have been trying to get pregnant for a while, but lately reader's been stressed about how it's just not happening for her, and with valentine's day coming up, spencer decides to help reader de-stress and relax. you can make it as smutty or as purely fluffy as you like <3

you got it, rucha! thank you for being my first request <3 sorry if it’s not what you envisioned babe, i really tried for you (requests are ONLY OPEN to my MUTUALS rn until i get the hang of requests!)

Love Of My Life

Husband!Spencer Reid x Fem! Reader

Synopsis: You’re fully expecting to spend Valentine’s Day alone with year with your husband on a case. To your surprise, he comes home early and wants to help you destress, especially with you two trying for a baby. But little does he know, you have some news that’s going to change his world forever.

Category: Fluff, Smut

Warnings: 18+ MDNI established relationship, valentine’s day themed fic, surprises, mentions of pregnancy, mentions of trying for a baby, love love love, fluff fluff fluff, kissing, mentions of having a baby, smut warnings: soft dom!spencer reid, fingering, use of the word ‘ejaculate’, breast play/slight nipple play, unprotected sex, creampie (that should cover it)

Author’s Note: happy valentine’s day my lovelies! please enjoy a fluffy smut with spencer reid <3

Of course you had to work on Valentine’s Day. You were the one who wanted the demanding job and your own money spend, you were gonna take all the hours you could get.

And then you thought about it. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t happening for you. Maybe you weren’t relaxed enough, maybe a lot of stresses had to do with the reason you weren’t getting pregnant.

You and Spencer had been trying for a baby for six months now and so far, nothing was happening. And every time you hoped it was different and felt a flutter in your stomach as you took a pregnancy test, you were always disappointed when that stick came back negative. You were starting to believe that motherhood just wasn’t in the stars for you. Which was sad to think, since you knew Spencer would be an amazing father. You’d seen him with his godson, Henry. Spencer had assured to you time and time again that if it could happen, he was happy with or without kids as long as he was with you.

But then while he was gone on his case, you discovered something and you’d yet to tell him.

Today was Valentine’s Day, the most romantic day of the year and Spencer wasn’t able to spend the day with you because he’d gotten called into a case a few days prior. You told him it was okay, since you also had to work a long shift that day and that you could celebrate a day later if needed.

Now, your shift ended and you honestly kinda looked forward to going home to an empty apartment and stuffing your face with chocolate he’d sent you and watching romance movies. It wasn’t the Valentine’s Day you envisioned but it was something, at least.

You had finally gotten home and had been in the middle of removing your shoes and your coat and scarf when you noticed something on the ground. You bent down and picked up and examined a small rose petal on the ground and looked down and saw that the floor is covered in them and that they’re leading a trail into your kitchen. And that’s when you’d smelt something.

Cooked food? You frowned, wondering what that wonderful aroma was as you walked slowly towards your kitchen and your jaw drops when you see Spencer standing there, fixing the bouquet of flowers on the table and you notice that he hasn’t seen you yet.

“Spencer?” You ask, making his jump up at the sound of your voice and almost knocking over the flowers but luckily catching them before the vase full of water fell over.

Spencer then stands straight and pulls a strand of hair behind his ear in nervousness as he meets your eyes with a small smile. “Hi.” He greets and you look around.

He’d decorated the place nicely. Heart balloons, flowers, dinner waiting for you on your table and he’d gifted you a basket with a small teddy bear and your favorite snacks. A smile forms your face as you walk towards him.

“I thought you were gonna be gone.” You tell him. He shrugs simply, “We solved the case. And I wanted to get home to you as fast as I could.” You smile fondly at him, grateful that he can be home. “You couldn’t have waited until I got home and maybe washed this whole day off of me? I feel so ugh right now.” You chuckle as you move your hair out of your face and Spencer back up and smiles. “Don’t be ridiculous, you look beautiful no matter what.” How does he always know what to say?

“I know we’ve had a rough few months with—” He trails off and you know what he means. Since your issues with trying to get pregnant. “But tonight, I just want to help you relax and de-stress. And I don’t want your mind on anything.” You knew what that meant.

You bite your lip in anticipation and lean forward, tugging his face towards yours and you press your lips into a kiss and he leans further, passionately kissing you until breathing becomes a chore.

“Why don’t we take this into the bedroom, then?” You suggest seductively with a teasing smile. Spencer raises his brows in amusement as you take his hand, walking backwards towards your bedroom and pulling him to kiss your lips as you back towards the door.

You don’t even have time to open it, sandwiched in between the door and Spencer as his lips are on the column of your neck, kissing and no doubt leaving hickies behind. He get to your pulse point and you find yourself beginning to unbutton his shirt with your fingers but you can hardly focus when his mouth is all over you.

Finally, you manage to find the doorknob and open the door, flipping the both of you over as the back of his knees hit the bed and you crawl on top of him, kissing passionately and leaving lipstick marks all over his neck, reaching his pulse point and causing him to moan out as you smirk against his neck.

“Wait, wait, wait,” He stops you, pushing you off by your shoulders. “This is supposed to be about you.” You smile at his carefulness with you, how gentle he is, like he always was.

“Well, maybe I want to take care of you.” You tell him but Spencer shakes his head, “You take care of me plenty.” He moves a strand of loose hair from your face. “You’re so beautiful.”

You lean in, closing the gap between you two once more and he is quick to flip the both of you over and he interlinks your fingers together as he holds one of your hands above your head.

You feel as his hand drags down your body, from the column of your neck to your swelled breasts, down your stomach, all the way to his final destination. He sticks his hand to the waistband of your underwear and you feel as he sticks a finger into your slick folds.

You moan into his mouth as he groans, moving from your lips to whisper in your ear — “You’re so wet.” You lean your head over to his and mutter, “All for you.”

He moves his finger inside of you, pushing in and pulling out with a rhythm that’s enough to make you tug on his hair. “Oh, God…” You breathe, gasping as your back arches on the bed and trying to grind your hips into his hand as his thumb makes its’ way to your clit.

You bite your lip to stifle your moans. Hey, your walls were thin! Spencer notices this and shakes his head, “None of that, I want to hear you say my name. Okay, angel? Can you do that?” His motions with his fingers move faster as he waits for your answer. “Oh, Spencer…” You moan out and Spencer smirks against your neck.

“Can you cum like this? Just like this?” He breathes heavily and you whine as his motions grow faster and faster, thumb rubbing your clit and and fingers moving faster inside of you until the coil in your stomach breaks and you tighten your thighs around his hand.

Spencer moved up, looking into your eyes, so full of love and affection and you smile at him, so content in this moment — with him. Everything was always better with him.

“Do you still want to keep going? I’m fine with ending things here, if you don’t want to.” Spencer suggests and you fall in love with him all over again. He’s so tender with you, so loving and careful like you’re fragile glass hanging from the ceiling. He’d stare at you for so long, mesmerized with love for you.

“No, I want to keep going.” You tell, trailing your hand down from his stomach to his belt and then to his bulge underneath his slacks. He flinched a bit and gasped. “Careful there, angel. I might, um, ejaculate too early.”

You chuckle and shake your head, “You’re the only person that uses that word, you know.”

Spencer raises his brows. “Should I stop?”

“I actually find it very sexy, how intellectual you are.” You smirk, laying back as he looks over your dress and then his eyes gaze from your body to you. “May I?”

You nod, breathlessly and Spencer removes your underwear underneath your dress and flings then across the room and as he begins to undress himself, you help yourself out of your dress, only revealing you wearing a pastel bra underneath.

Spencer finally leans himself over you as he gawks at your breasts and can’t seem to take his eyes off of them. Spencer Reid was a boob man, through and through. No surprise there. “My eyes are up here, baby.” You joke and Spencer gives you that sheepish look, like he’d been caught and you swear you see his ears go pink. “S-Sorry.” He stutters. “Don’t worry, I don’t mind.” You smirk as you grab one of his hands and put it on the swell of your breast and you bite your lip in anticipation.

Spencer leans down as he kisses each of your breasts before going to suck on your right nipple and you dig your fingers into his hair and watch as his eyes are on you, blown with lust and you swear you see hearts in them.

Eventually, he relents and backs up to adjust himself on top of you. You look down between you two and you take him into your hand and guide him at your entrance.

Spencer smiles at you as he pushes himself inside of you and in this moment — you both are infinite. Every thrust, every moan, every loving moment between you two is just that. Like you’re the only people in the world right now. Nothing else matters except for this moment. And as you stare into his eyes, his love for you is written all over them. Years ago, you could never imagine yourself being loved the way you are now. And Spencer proved you wrong. Thank God. Because he loved you in any way a person can be loved.

He interlinks your fingers again as he goes slowly and surely, a pace that you’re both content with. Spencer always loved taking his time with you. You whisper in his ear to go a bit faster and your wish is his command so he speeds up just a bit, not too much, not too slow but just right.

Spencer feels as you clench around him and as you tighten around his cock, he gasps, quickly announcing that he’s cumming and tips his head back as he releases inside of you. You could watch him for eternity like this. You couldn’t help it, everything about him was sexy.

He’s there for a moment before he gently pulls out of you and makes his way down to your heat and you squirm once you his hot mouth closes around your bud and you almost want to push him away, due to the overstimulation. “Spence— too much.” You gasp as you writhe in his grasp.

Spencer holds your thighs down and he pulls his tongue away from your body and speaks up — “You can give me one more, angel. Please.” And who are you to say no to that?

You cum with a silent scream and you’re seeing stars. You shut your eyes and fall apart on the bed, the relief of him releasing his mouth off of you is enough to make you tired. Spencer pushes his hair away from his face as he goes to lay next to you.

“I’m sorry, angel. I didn’t mean to overstimulate you.” Easy for him to say. He never let you go to bed without you cumming at least twice. You open your eyes just enough to see him gazing at you and he reaches over, caressing your cheek lovingly. “It’s okay. It’s okay because it’s you.” You say and Spencer smiles to himself and he gives you a moment to rest before needing to go and clean you up, cuddling up to you and holding you in his arms.

“You know, there is some evidence in statistics that there is a slight increase in conceptions around Valentine's Day.” Spencer speaks. “Maybe that could’ve been the one.”

You open your eyes and forget about your news that you’ve needed to tell him. “Um… actually…” You speak, causing him to look down at you with furrowed brows and a confused expression on his face. He studied your facial expressions and sits up in disbelief, still staring at you in wonder. Where were you going with this?

“How do you feel about having an October baby?” You finally respond and Spencer’s eyes widen and his jaw drops and he’s quick to pepper your face with kisses in excitement like an excited golden retriever. You smile as he continues doing so for a moment.

“How long have you known?” Spencer asks. “A week or so now. Doctor said I was about a month in and things are good so far.” You assure to him.

“I love you,” Spencer says. “With or without this, I’d love you, no matter what. You’re the love of my life.” You smile at him as he glances at your stomach and leans down to give your belly a kiss as well and you blush at the motion. How lucky you were to have this man.

“Alright,” Spencer stands, grabbing your hands for you to sit up and he adds for you to get up gently. “Let’s get you cleaned up.“

Again, it’s the just the two of you against the world. And soon enough there will be another one. Fifty percent of him and fifty percent of you. And then it will be the three of you against the world.

This was a Valentine’s Day for the books.

[eu-nicola]

attraction part 2

summary: after your mother's death you marry Ward Cameron to have economic stability and you meet his son who hangs around you

warnings: age-gap, cheating (?), idk tell me

word counter: 8519

author’s note: english is not my first language, ofc i’m based on one of my favorite novels

You were at home, sitting in the living room with one of the house staff while she talked to you about organizing your birthday party. It was an important event. Everything had to be perfect, from the menu to the guest list.  

"The food has to be perfect, Mrs. Cameron," the woman said professionally. "Have you decided if you prefer seafood or something more traditional?"  

You took a moment to think, running your fingers along the rim of your glass of water.  

"Seafood sounds good," you finally replied. "But I also want some classic options. Not everyone likes strong flavors."  

She nodded and took notes, then asked you about the desserts, decorations, and other details. You spent a good while discussing every aspect of the party, making sure everything would be just right.  

And then, out of nowhere, Rafe showed up.  

He walked in with that relaxed, careless stride, like he owned the place. He seemed distracted or at least pretended to be because as he passed by you, his body brushed against yours.  

It was brief, but enough for you to feel it.  

"Sorry, Mrs. Cameron," he said in a neutral tone, but there was something in his eyes you couldn’t quite read.  

You didn’t respond.  

You just gave a slight nod, not interested in starting anything. It wasn’t worth it.  

He lingered a second longer than necessary before walking away, while you simply turned back to the staff member and resumed your conversation.  

Later, you were in Ward’s office, going over some party details with him.  

"It has to be an elegant event," your husband said, scanning a list. "I don’t want anything missing."  

"Everything will be well organized," you replied confidently.  

You were focused on the conversation when, suddenly, a familiar presence filled the room.  

Rafe.  

Like the most annoying person in the world, he walked up to you with an expression that promised nothing good.  

And before you could react, he leaned in and greeted you with a kiss on the cheek.  

He had never done that before.  

He had never shown the slightest courtesy or affection.  

But now, here he was.  

The brush of his lips against your skin was quick, almost innocent.  

But what wasn’t innocent was his hand.  

Because when he kissed your cheek, his fingers slid down your back, tracing a slow, deliberate path.  

A shiver ran through you instantly.  

It wasn’t fear.  

It wasn’t pleasure.  

It was confusion.  

A small act, but with a clear intention: to get under your skin.  

And the worst part? It worked.  

After that greeting, Rafe stayed in the room, casually talking to his father like nothing had happened.  

You, on the other hand, tried to stay composed.  

You could still feel the slight tingle on your skin where his lips had touched, the sensation of his hand moving down your back with that subtle, teasing touch. But you didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction.  

You stayed put, listening to the conversation between father and son without actually paying attention to the words.  

Rafe spoke confidently, as always, with that attitude of the golden boy who never quite fit the role. Ward, for his part, responded calmly.  

You just waited.  

When the conversation ended, you stood up gracefully and left the room without saying a word.  

You weren’t in the mood for more of Rafe’s games.  

But he didn’t seem too eager to leave you alone.  

Because just seconds later, you heard him follow you out.  

You didn’t look at him right away. You kept walking, head held high, but when you noticed he was keeping up with you, you stopped and turned to face him.  

You weren’t about to let him think he could mess with you.  

"Stop doing that," you said in a low, controlled, but firm tone.  

He raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence.  

"Doing what?"  

"Your games," you shot back without hesitation. "You’re too old for this."  

Rafe let out a short laugh, tilting his head with an amused expression, like he couldn’t care less about your reproach.  

"I have no idea what you’re talking about," he said with fake indifference. "I was just being polite. Not my fault if you’re not used to it."  

You stared at him coldly.  

"Don’t play with me, Rafe."  

He held your gaze for a few seconds, his lips curling into a half-smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.  

"Why? Are you scared to play with me?"  

You didn’t answer.  

You weren’t going to give him any more reasons to keep provoking you.  

So you simply turned around and kept walking, not bothering to look back.  

But as you walked away, you could still feel him there, watching you.  

You kept your pace steady, trying to shake off the conversation with Rafe and the unsettling feeling he left behind. But as soon as you turned down one of the hallways, you ran into Wheezie.  

"What’s wrong?" she asked.  

You didn’t hesitate for a second before stepping closer and gently grabbing her arm, pulling her toward you.  

"You’re the only good thing in this house," you murmured, feeling a momentary sense of relief at seeing her.  

Wheezie blinked, surprised by the sudden confession, but instead of pulling away, she gave you a knowing look and nodded.  

"I know," she said with a small smile. "Trust me, I’ve thought the same thing plenty of times."  

You couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. In a house where tension seemed to fill every corner, Wheezie was like a breath of fresh air.  

"How’s the birthday planning going?" she asked, casually changing the subject to lighten the mood.  

You sighed, slowly letting go of her.  

"Because of the wedding, I didn’t get to plan it properly," you admitted. "So now everything’s being rushed. It’s not what I had in mind, but I just hope Saturday goes well."  

Wheezie gave you a reassuring look, like she completely understood how you felt.  

"It will," she said with confidence. "Everything you plan always turns out amazing."  

You appreciated her faith in you with a smile.  

Saturday came way too fast for your liking.  

Between last-minute preparations, organizing the event, and the constant tension you’d been feeling since getting married, everything happened in the blink of an eye. There was no time for what you really wanted to do, but there wasn’t much you could do about it now.  

All that was left was making sure the night was perfect.  

The theme of the party was simple: an all-white celebration… except for your family, who would wear dark colors to stand out among the guests. A subtle but effective way to mark the difference.  

And you, as the hostess and the newly crowned Mrs. Cameron, would be the center of attention.  

Your dress was a masterpiece.  

An elegant, sophisticated design, entirely black. The top had a deep V neckline, covered by a fine sheer mesh with a pattern resembling a spider web. Tiny white and black pearls decorated the mesh, giving it an ethereal, delicate effect.  

The skirt flowed gracefully to the floor, hugging your figure perfectly before subtly flaring into a slight train. Every move you made made the dress seem like it was gliding through the crowd like a shadow.  

Ward was by your side in a perfectly tailored black suit, matching you. His presence was steady and confident, as always.  

The Cameron mansion had been completely transformed for the occasion.  

The garden was lit by hundreds of hanging white lights, creating an ethereal and sophisticated atmosphere. The tables were decorated with white floral centerpieces and tall candles flickering in the breeze. On the dance floor, a grand chandelier hung above the polished marble, reflecting light in all directions.  

There were about a hundred guests, businessmen, Ward’s associates, members of the Outer Banks high society, and some acquaintances you’d managed to invite despite the short notice. Everyone was dressed in white, like ghostly figures under the dim lighting.  

And among them, the Camerons stood out.  

Sarah wore a fitted black satin dress with thin straps and a slit up the leg. Her hair was down in soft waves, and even though she kept a neutral expression, she seemed to be enjoying the party.  

Wheezie had chosen a more modest navy-blue dress with long sleeves and lace details. Her excitement was obvious, this was a real celebration for her.  

And then, there was Rafe.  

Dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, his shirt unbuttoned at the top, no tie. His relaxed demeanor stood out against the seriousness of the rest of his family. He sipped from his glass with an indifferent air, but his gaze moved through the party like he was taking everything in.  

When your eyes met his, his expression didn’t change.  

But something in the way he looked at you sent a shiver down your spine.  

Ward’s hand gently pressed against your waist, pulling you closer with a smile before whispering, “You look stunning.”  

You forced a smile, thanking him.  

The night moved quickly, like every detail had been calculated down to the last second. The soft music of violins drifted through the air as guests sipped their drinks and chatted.  

The atmosphere was filled with murmurs, quiet laughter, and the clinking of crystal glasses in occasional toasts. From the terrace, you could see the dark ocean stretching beyond the glowing garden, a stark contrast to the whiteness of the party unfolding before you.  

You stayed close to Ward, his hand resting on the small of your back.  

The guests’ eyes lingered on you with curiosity. You weren’t just the youngest wife in the recent history of the Cameron family, you stood out.  

When the time came for the official celebration, everyone was led toward one of the large garden tables, where the enormous cake sat.  

It was a masterpiece, several tiers, covered in immaculate white frosting with gold details and floral decorations in cream tones. Tiny sugar pearls shimmered under the candlelight.  

The guests formed a circle around the table, and Ward stayed beside you, his arm firm around your waist.  

Wheezie was the first to start singing “Happy Birthday,” her youthful enthusiasm shining through. One by one, the others joined in until the song filled every corner of the garden.  

Sarah smiled softly, clapping politely.  

Rafe, on the other hand, leaned against one of the porch columns, glass in hand, his face unreadable. He didn’t sing, just watched.  

When the song ended, Ward raised his glass and spoke.  

“To my wife,” his voice rang with authority, with certainty. “The woman who has brought new light to this family. May this be the first of many celebrations together.”  

The guests lifted their glasses in a graceful unison and drank to you.  

You smiled and blew out the candles.  

After everyone had enjoyed the cake and the drinks kept flowing, the music changed.  

A soft waltz began playing, and Ward extended his hand toward you with a charming smile.  

“May I have this dance, Mrs. Cameron?”  

You knew it wasn’t really a question.  

And you couldn’t refuse.  

With practiced grace, you took his hand, and he led you to the center of the dance floor.  

The guests stepped aside, giving you space. The hanging lights above twinkled like artificial stars as Ward took your hand firmly and guided you into a flawless rhythm.  

“You’re the center of attention tonight,” he murmured as he spun you smoothly. “How does it feel?”  

You gave him a measured smile.  

“It’s... different.”  

Ward tilted his head slightly, still moving with you.  

“You’ll get used to it.”  

He said it with such certainty that you couldn’t tell if it was a promise or a warning.  

As you danced, you could feel certain gazes fixed on you.  

When the song ended, the guests clapped politely.  

Ward gave a small, elegant nod before kissing your hand and leading you off the dance floor.  

The soft music and the quiet hum of conversations created the perfect atmosphere, and for the first time in a while, you were actually enjoying the night.  

You walked through the guests with grace, exchanging words with each one, asking if everything was to their liking.  

Ward was engaged in conversation with some of his business partners, occasionally glancing at you with an approving smile.  

Wheezie moved around excitedly, while Sarah stayed close to her group of friends, enjoying the night in her own way.  

Rafe… well, Rafe was another story.  

You’d caught him watching you multiple times throughout the night. His eyes followed you from different spots in the garden, but every time you met his gaze, he looked away with a smirk.  

It was annoying.  

But you decided to ignore it.  

At some point, you felt the need to step away from the noise. Pulling your phone from your purse, you quietly slipped into a more secluded part of the garden, where the light was dim and the music was just a distant echo.  

You unlocked your phone, scrolling through your messages, enjoying a brief moment of quiet.  

It didn’t last long.  

“Don’t tell me you’re bored at your own party.”  

The sound of his voice made your blood run cold.  

Rafe.  

You took a deep breath and locked your phone, ready to walk away before he had the chance to start his little game.  

But when you tried to move, he stretched out an arm, resting his hand against the wall beside you, blocking your way.  

“Relax, Mrs. Cameron,” he said with a crooked smile. “I just came to say happy twenty birthday.”  

You looked at him warily.  

“Thanks.”  

You didn’t know what else to say.  

His closeness unsettled you, not out of fear, but because his presence had an effect on you, one you refused to acknowledge.  

“Great party,” he said casually. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting something this… elegant.”  

“What were you expecting?” you asked before you could stop yourself.  

Rafe shrugged.  

“I don’t know. Something less… sophisticated.”  

There was a teasing edge to his words, but you refused to take the bait.  

A brief silence settled between you, his eyes locked onto yours before he stepped in a little closer.  

Too close.  

A shiver ran down your spine as his scent wrapped around you, a mix of mint and tobacco you’d noticed before.  

“What are you doing?” you asked, your voice lower than you would have liked.  

He didn’t answer right away.  

Instead, his gaze dropped to your lips, then back to your eyes, and in one quick, unexpected movement, his mouth was on yours.  

You froze for a second, completely in shock.  

But then… you kissed him back.  

It was just a moment, barely a couple of seconds where you lost yourself in the feeling of his lips, warm and confident against yours.  

But then reality hit you like a bucket of cold water.  

You pulled away abruptly and, without thinking, raised your hand and slapped him.  

The sound echoed in the silent air.  

Rafe tilted his head at the impact, but when he looked back at you… he was smiling.  

A smug, amused smile, like he had gotten exactly what he wanted.  

“Don't ever do that again," you said through gritted teeth, still feeling the heat on your skin.  

“Why? Did it scare you how much you liked it?"

You glared at him.  

“It's disrespectful."

“To who?" he asked, his voice low, teasing.  

“To me," you answered without hesitation.  

Something flickered in his eyes, something you couldn’t quite figure out, but you didn’t stick around to find out.  

You turned around and walked away, feeling your heart pounding against your chest.  

No.  

This couldn’t happen again.  

You went back to the party, determined to act like nothing had happened.  

You blended in with the guests, smiling, accepting congratulations, toasting with those who approached you, and staying close to Ward.  

But you could feel Rafe’s gaze.  

You could sense it on your skin, following your every move, lingering and persistent.  

And even though your heart pounded every time you noticed, you refused to give it any importance.  

When the celebration finally ended, Ward and you said your goodbyes to the last guests, exchanging the final polite words. He wrapped an arm around your waist in a possessive, proud gesture, and you leaned into him.  

As you walked toward your room, you felt that gaze again.  

Instinctively, you turned your head, and there he was.  

Leaning against a wall, drink in hand, eyes locked on you.  

You didn’t do anything.  

You didn’t say anything.  

You just kept walking.  

The next morning, soft sunlight filtered through the windows.  

You woke up early, still carrying the emotional hangover from the night before, but determined to ignore it all. You got ready calmly and headed downstairs for breakfast, expecting to find only Ward, but to your misfortune, Rafe was already there.  

He looked relaxed, sitting with a cup of coffee in one hand, flipping through a newspaper like the world was perfectly normal.  

Like he hadn’t crossed a line last night.  

"Good morning, Mrs. Cameron," he said, in a tone that only you caught as a provocation.  

You didn’t give him the satisfaction of reacting.  

“Good morning," you replied neutrally.  

You sat at the far end of the table, where one of the housekeepers had already set your breakfast.  

Ward hadn’t come down yet.  

A heavy silence settled between you two.  

The only sound was Rafe’s coffee cup clinking against the saucer.  

“Did you sleep well?" he asked suddenly.  

You didn’t look at him.  

“Yes."

“Good," he replied, a slight hint of amusement in his voice sending a chill down your spine.  

You still didn’t look at him, focusing on your breakfast. But you could feel his presence in every fiber of your body.  

You knew he was watching you.  

You knew he was enjoying the discomfort you were trying to hide.  

Finally, you gathered your courage and looked up.  

Your eyes met his.  

Blue, cold, inquisitive.  

You couldn’t deny the obvious, Rafe was attractive. His face was the perfect mix of arrogance and danger, his posture always carried an air of overwhelming confidence, and the way he looked at you made your stomach twist… but not in disgust.  

You hated him, yeah.  

But that had nothing to do with his looks.  

It was his attitude, his way of provoking you, the way he moved with that maddening self-assurance, his insistence on making you react.  

A lazy smirk spread across his lips when he noticed you were staring.  

You immediately looked back at your plate.  

"Anything interesting in the paper?" you asked, trying to sound indifferent.  

“Not much," he replied casually. “But last night’s party was interesting, don’t you think?"

His words made your jaw tighten.  

You knew exactly what he meant.  

You didn’t answer.  

“Oh, come on," he said with a quiet chuckle. “Nothing to say about it?"

Finally, you set your fork down and looked at him with a neutral expression.  

“I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Rafe tilted his head, his smile never fading.  

“Sure you do."

A couple of seconds passed in silent tension between you.  

But just as you were about to respond, Ward walked into the dining room.  

“Good morning," he greeted, his usual authoritative tone filling the space.  

Both of you broke eye contact immediately.  

“Good morning, sweetheart," you said with a flawless smile, as if everything was perfectly normal.  

Rafe simply took a sip of his coffee, but before turning back to his newspaper, he murmured just low enough for only you to hear:  

“This is gonna be fun." 

After breakfast, you decided to take advantage of the sunny day and headed to the pool.  

Rafe had gone out with his girlfriend.  

Sarah wasn’t home.  

Wheezie was out with her friends.  

For the first time in a long while, the house felt like it was truly yours.  

You picked an elegant black bikini, put on your sunglasses, grabbed a book, and stretched out on one of the loungers by the pool.  

The warmth of the sun caressed your skin, the clear water shimmered with golden reflections, and for a moment, everything was peaceful.  

Just you, the sound of the water, and the soft rustling of the wind through the trees.  

Hours passed as you lost yourself between reading and moments where you simply closed your eyes to enjoy the calm.  

But that peace didn’t last long.  

You heard the sound of an engine approaching.  

Turning your head, you saw Rafe pulling into the driveway. He wasn’t alone.  

A brunette stepped out of the passenger seat with him.  

His girlfriend.  

You knew instantly.  

You’d heard her name before when someone mentioned Rafe’s girlfriend, but you’d never actually seen her. Until now.  

You shifted slightly on the lounger, dipping your feet into the water, pretending not to pay attention.  

But Rafe was paying attention.  

From the moment he stepped onto the property, his eyes had found you.  

You didn’t notice at first, too focused on acting indifferent, but every move you made had his full attention.  

The way your legs dipped into the water.  

The shimmer of droplets on your sun-kissed skin.  

The way the bikini hugged your body.  

For a few seconds, he completely forgot Sofía was next to him.  

“Rafe…" she called, snapping him out of it. He blinked, shaking his head and regaining his composure.  

With a charming smile, Sofía linked her arm through his as they walked toward you.  

“Stepmom," Rafe’s voice cut through your peace.  

You turned slowly, forcing yourself to stay calm.  

“Sofía," he said casually. “This is my dad’s wife."

There was something in his voice, a slight inflection only you caught.  

Sofía, however, didn’t seem to notice.  

“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you, ma’am," she said warmly, extending her hand. “I’ve heard so many great things about you."

You shook her hand politely, offering a pleasant smile.  

“Likewise. Welcome."

For a brief moment, Rafe’s eyes drifted from your face down your body, taking in every inch of you without the slightest subtlety.  

And this time, you noticed.  

There was something in his gaze.  

You didn’t know what it was.  

The air seemed to shift for a fraction of a second.  

Then, Rafe snapped out of it.  

“Let’s go inside," he told Sofía, placing a hand on her back and guiding her toward the house without looking back.  

You stayed where you were, watching them disappear through the door.  

Later, just as you were about to head inside, you saw him coming down the stairs with a bag over his shoulder.  

He stopped near the door, and for some reason, his eyes sought yours.  

“I’m leaving for a few days," he said simply.  

You didn’t understand why he was telling you.  

It wasn’t like he owed you an explanation.  

You weren’t close.  

You barely spoke when it was necessary.  

And yet, there he was, standing in front of you, with his bag and that look you still couldn’t figure out.  

You nodded without asking any more questions.  

You assumed he was leaving with Sofía, maybe on a trip or just to her place.  

And honestly, you didn’t care.  

"See you," was all you said before stepping inside and closing the door behind you.  

A few hours later, you decided to change clothes and go out.  

You wore a simple but elegant dress with comfortable sandals. You styled your hair naturally and grabbed your car keys.  

Your destination was one of Wheezie’s friends’ houses.  

You had agreed to pick her up after she texted you, asking for a ride.  

You drove calmly through the streets of Figure Eight, watching as the sun started painting the sky in shades of orange.  

When you parked and got out of the car, you barely knocked before the door swung open.  

"Wheezie! Your mom’s here!" one of the girls called from inside.  

You froze for a moment.  

But Wheezie reacted instantly, peeking out from the living room and rolling her eyes with a smile.  

"She’s not my mom," she corrected as she walked to the door. "She’s my dad’s wife."  

The other girls, who had been eyeing you with curiosity, smiled and came over to greet you.  

"Oh, sorry," said the girl’s mom, appearing beside them. "Wheezie told us you live with them, so we assumed you were her mother."  

"No problem," you replied with a polite smile. "It’s nice to meet you all."  

You greeted the girl’s parents and friends, exchanging a few words about their afternoon together.  

Wheezie, on the other hand, seemed completely comfortable with you being there.  

"See you tomorrow," she said to her friends, and after making sure she had all her stuff, she followed you to the car.  

As you drove back home, she leaned back in her seat, looking relaxed.  

"They thought you were my mom," she said suddenly, glancing at you.  

You let out a small laugh.  

"Yeah, I heard."  

"It didn’t bother me," she admitted with a small shrug. "It doesn’t bother me when it’s you."  

You turned slightly to look at her, surprised by her honesty.  

"Thanks, Wheez," you said with a genuine smile.  

She just nodded, like it wasn’t a big deal.  

But to you, it was.  

Weeks had passed with a deceptive calm after Rafe had left.  

Life went on, and though the house was quieter without him around, you didn’t spare a second thinking about it.  

But that all changed one afternoon when you got home after being out for a few hours.  

You walked in, planning to head straight to your room, but then you noticed the odd atmosphere in the house.  

There was murmuring among the staff, an unusual movement.  

"What’s going on?" you asked one of them, stopping in the hallway.  

The man hesitated before answering.  

"Mr. Rafe is back, ma’am," he finally said. "But he’s not well. He’s sick."  

You frowned.  

"Sick?"  

"Very sick," he confirmed. "He came with Miss Sofía, but she had to go home and said she’d be back later."  

You didn’t know why, but an uneasy feeling settled in your chest.  

Without thinking too much, you turned on your heel and quickly went upstairs.  

You headed straight for his room.  

The door was slightly open.  

You pushed it gently and stepped inside.  

The first thing you noticed was the heavy air and the dim lighting.  

The curtains were drawn, leaving the room in partial darkness, and the sound of Rafe’s labored breathing filled the space.  

He was lying in bed, shirtless, with the sheets tangled around him.  

His skin was pale but covered in sweat.  

You approached carefully.  

"Rafe," you called softly.  

He shifted slightly, blinking slowly.  

When his eyes landed on you, there was a moment of confusion before he managed to focus.  

"What… what are you doing here?" he asked, his voice rough like it hurt to even speak.  

"I heard you were sick," you said. "I wanted to check on you."  

Rafe squinted, a slight grimace appearing on his face.  

"Worried about me?" he muttered, sounding disbelieving, though weak.  

"Yeah," you answered honestly.  

He let out a rough chuckle, but immediately winced like it hurt.  

"I don’t believe you," he murmured.  

You sighed.  

You weren’t in the mood to argue with him when he barely had the strength to stay awake.  

You stood up, ready to leave, but then you felt his hand grab yours.  

His grip wasn’t strong, but it was enough to stop you.  

His skin was hot, too hot.  

You turned to look at him and saw that his eyes, still a bit glassy, were locked on you.  

"Don’t go," he whispered.  

Something in his voice, in his vulnerability, made you nod without even thinking.  

"I’m just going to make you some tea for the fever," you said softly.  

It took him a couple of seconds to let go of your hand, like his body was resisting it.  

When he finally did, you turned and walked out of the room with a strange knot in your stomach.  

You headed to the kitchen with determined steps.  

You didn’t know why you cared so much.  

Rafe was a grown man; he could take care of himself, and Sofía would probably be back soon to handle it.  

But still, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you had to do something.  

You walked into the kitchen and found one of the maids, who looked at you curiously.  

"Do you need anything, ma’am?"  

"I’m making some tea," you said, moving naturally around the cabinets.  

"I can do it for you."  

"No, I want to do it myself."  

She didn’t insist.  

You grabbed a pot and poured water into it, setting it to heat on low.  

As you waited, you carefully selected the herbs you needed.

You knew exactly what to do: a mix of mint and chamomile to ease the discomfort, a bit of ginger to help with the fever, and some lemon leaves for a good taste.  

When the water was ready, you added the ingredients and waited a few minutes, letting the herbs release their properties.  

Then, you poured the liquid into a cup and let it cool.  

There was no point in giving him something hot when his temperature was already too high.  

Once it was cool enough, you picked up the cup and left the kitchen, heading back to his room.  

When you got there, you carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside.  

Rafe was still in the same position you had left him in, eyes half-closed and breathing heavily.  

He looked completely exhausted.  

You walked over and placed the cup on the nightstand.  

"You need to sit up to drink this," you said softly.  

He groaned, clearly too drained to move.  

You rolled your eyes.  

"Come on, it’s not that hard," you insisted.  

Placing one hand on his arm and the other on his back, you helped him sit up.  

His skin burned under your touch.  

When he was finally upright, he took a shaky breath and rested his head against the headboard.  

"Here," you said, handing him the cup.  

He took it, staring at it with a confused expression.  

"What is it?"  

"Cold tea. It'll help with the fever."  

He looked at you like he was surprised you knew something like that.  

But he didn’t say anything.  

He took a sip and closed his eyes, as if the simple act of swallowing drained him.  

"Thanks," he murmured after a while.  

You weren’t sure if it surprised you that he said it or if you just didn’t expect it from him.  

"Just drink it," you replied, unsure how to react to his gratitude.  

As he did, you reached out to check his forehead, feeling the heat radiating from his skin.  

You frowned.  

"You’ve got a high fever, but it'll go down," you said calmly. "You’ll be fine soon."  

He didn’t respond, just took another sip before lying back down like even that had taken too much effort.  

You watched him for a few more seconds before deciding you had done enough.  

"Get some rest," you said quietly, turning toward the door.  

As you stepped out, you closed it softly behind you.  

And then, you let out a sigh.  

It had been a few hours since you left Rafe in his room, and the rest of the afternoon went by normally.  

The house was quiet, too quiet for your liking, leaving you with too much time to think about everything that had happened.  

When Ward got home later that night, you went to greet him and decided to mention Rafe, though you kept it casual.  

"Rafe came back today," you said as you walked with him toward his office.  

Ward nodded absentmindedly, not even looking at you.  

"Oh, yeah?"  

"Yeah. He was really sick, by the way. Had a high fever when he got here."  

Ward sighed, rubbing his temple.  

"He’ll get better. He always does."  

You frowned.  

"You don’t care at all, do you?"  

He gave you a tired smile.  

"If I had to worry every time Rafe got himself into trouble, I’d never have time for anything else."  

You didn’t know what to say to that.  

Ward just kept walking to his office, ending the conversation.  

It wasn’t the reaction you expected, but it didn’t really surprise you either.  

You sighed and went to bed, not thinking too much about it.  

The next morning, you woke up early and went downstairs to have breakfast alone.  

The dining room was completely silent, the only sound being the soft clink of porcelain as you poured tea into your cup.  

You took a sip, enjoying the quiet moment.  

But then, the door opened, and Rafe walked in.  

You looked at him in surprise.  

He looked better.  

The sickly, worn-out look from last night was gone, though he still seemed a little pale.  

"Morning," he said, his voice a bit rough.  

"Morning," you replied, setting your cup down. "How are you feeling?"  

He shrugged as he took a seat across from you.  

"Better."  

You were relieved to hear it, though you didn’t say it out loud.  

"Good."  

Rafe took a sip of his coffee before looking at you again.  

"Thanks for... yesterday."  

You tensed slightly.  

"It was nothing," you said flatly.  

He smirked a little, like he didn’t quite believe you, but he didn’t push it.  

There was a brief silence before you decided to ask,  

"Where’s Sofia? I didn’t see her when I got back yesterday."  

Rafe looked away, stirring his coffee.  

"She’s busy with her family and work."  

"Oh."  

You didn’t ask anything else.  

If there was something off about his response, you chose to ignore it.  

He didn’t seem eager to talk about it either because he changed the subject almost immediately.  

"And my dad?"  

"Working. As usual."  

He nodded, like that was no surprise.  

Another silence.  

Then, out of nowhere, Rafe looked at you with a hint of amusement in his eyes.  

"What are you doing today?"  

You raised an eyebrow, not understanding his sudden curiosity.  

"Not much."  

"Want to go for a walk?"  

His question caught you off guard.  

"I don’t think that’d be appropriate."  

"Why not?"  

You looked at him incredulously.  

"You know why."  

He smiled, tilting his head.  

"No, you tell me."  

You pursed your lips, realizing there was no point in continuing that conversation.  

So you just looked back at your cup of tea and took a sip.  

Rafe let out a small chuckle but didn’t push any further.  

After breakfast, Rafe left without saying much else.  

You stayed in the dining room a little longer, enjoying the quiet morning, but after a while, you decided you needed to get out.  

You didn’t want to spend the whole day stuck in the house, especially when you’d been feeling more restless than usual lately.  

So you grabbed your bag, left without telling anyone, and walked to the shopping district.  

You spent the afternoon going from store to store, enjoying the feeling of doing something for yourself.  

You bought a few new clothes, nothing too flashy, just enough to treat yourself a little.  

After a while, you sat down at a café, ordering a latte and a croissant.  

You looked out the window, taking small sips of your coffee, enjoying the quiet moment.  

By the time you got back home, it was already dark.  

You expected to find someone in the living room or at least hear some noise from somewhere, but the house was completely silent.  

There was no one there except Ward.  

You found him in his study, looking over some documents with a tired expression.  

"Where is everyone?" you asked, leaning against the doorframe.  

He barely glanced up before going back to his papers.  

"Sarah’s doing her thing. Wheezie’s at a friend’s house. And Rafe… who knows."  

You frowned.  

Something about his tone made you press your lips together.  

You hadn’t planned on saying anything else, but somehow, the conversation took a turn you didn’t expect.  

You weren’t even sure when it started, but suddenly, you were arguing with Ward.  

It was his indifferent tone, the way he acted like nothing mattered.  

Like he was always right.  

Like there was nothing you could say to change his mind.  

And that pissed you off.  

The words got sharper, the comments more cutting.  

You had never argued with him like this before.  

Sure, you’d had disagreements, but never like this.  

This time was different.  

More real.  

More intense.  

You didn’t even know how it got to this point, you just knew you didn’t want to be there anymore.  

And when Rafe showed up in the middle of the argument, you decided it was time to leave.  

You didn’t want him to hear any more than he already had.  

So without thinking much about it, you turned on your heels and walked out of the house.  

Ward just sighed, exhausted, and shut himself in his room.  

But Rafe didn’t let you leave alone.  

You heard his footsteps behind you, quick, following.  

You weren’t surprised.  

"Where are you going?" he asked, catching up to you and grabbing your arm to make you stop.  

You pulled away gently, but you didn’t keep walking.  

"Anywhere," you said without looking at him. "I just don’t want to be there."  

Rafe studied you in silence for a moment.  

And then, without much ceremony, he said, "I’m coming with you."  

You turned to look at him.  

"You don’t have to."  

"I know."  

You sighed, knowing there was no convincing him otherwise.  

"Fine," you said finally.  

He nodded, like he had expected that answer from the start.  

Rafe didn’t say anything when you got into the car with him, he just started the engine and pulled away from the main road.  

He drove surprisingly calmly, considering how impulsive he could be sometimes.  

The city lights faded behind you as he took a less-traveled road, surrounded by trees and darkness.  

You didn’t ask where you were going.  

You didn’t really care.  

You just wanted to be away.  

After a while, Rafe pulled up at a small abandoned dock by the lake.  

The water was calm, reflecting the dark sky with only a few stars visible.  

You got out of the car without waiting for instructions, hugging yourself when the cold night breeze brushed against your skin.

"Why here?" you asked as he closed the car door.  

"It's quiet," he answered simply.  

And it was.  

The only sound was the soft splashing of water against the old wooden dock.  

You walked together along the edge of the lake, no rush, no real destination.  

After a few minutes, you decided to break the silence.  

"Tell me the truth," you said, stopping and glancing at him.  

Rafe raised an eyebrow.  

"About what?"  

"About the first thing you thought of me when we met."  

He smiled, but it wasn’t a kind smile.  

"You want me to be honest?"  

You nodded.  

"I didn’t like you," he said bluntly.  

It wasn’t surprising, but it still stung a little to hear it out loud.  

"Why?" you asked, curious.  

"Because I thought you were an opportunist."  

You stared at him for a moment, processing his words.  

You didn’t give him the satisfaction of reacting.  

You just looked away and kept walking.  

Rafe kept up with you.  

"But I don’t think that anymore," he added after a few seconds.  

"You don’t?" you murmured skeptically.  

"You don’t seem like you’re trying to ruin my dad."  

You let out a dry laugh.  

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence."  

He gave a small smile but didn’t say anything else.  

You walked a little further before stopping.  

You didn’t know why, you just felt like you couldn’t keep going.  

You stood there, staring at the water, and without warning, tears started falling.  

Rafe frowned.  

"What’s wrong?"  

You shook your head, feeling ridiculous.  

"I don’t know," you admitted, your voice shaky. "I feel overwhelmed, but I don’t know why."  

Maybe it was the argument with Ward, the constant tension in the house, or just the fact that nothing lately felt under your control.  

Everything felt like too much.  

Rafe stepped closer and, without thinking much, pulled you into him.  

You didn’t push him away.  

You didn’t want to.  

You sank into his embrace, feeling the warmth of his body as his arms wrapped around you firmly.  

"You’re too beautiful to be crying," he murmured against your hair.  

You let out a soft laugh, wiping your tears with the back of your hand.  

"That was cheesy."  

"But it worked."  

You looked at him, your eyes still wet, and in that moment, he kissed you.  

You didn’t pull away.  

You didn’t want to.  

You didn’t know how long it lasted, but when you broke apart, he whispered something against your lips.  

You didn’t let him finish.  

You shook your head and took a step back.  

"We should head back."  

Rafe didn’t argue.  

He just looked at you for a moment before nodding and walking back to the car with you.  

The drive home was silent.  

Rafe drove with an unreadable expression, and you stared out the window, watching the city lights blur past.  

You didn’t speak.  

Neither did he.  

But the tension was there, thick in the air.  

When you got home, everything was calm.  

Ward was already asleep, which, in a way, was a relief.  

You didn’t have the energy for another difficult conversation.  

Without saying a word, you walked straight to your room, changed, and slipped into bed beside Ward.  

He didn’t even stir.  

His breathing was deep, lost in a heavy sleep.  

You stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, thinking about the kiss at the dock, the warmth of Rafe’s hands on your back, the sound of his voice murmuring against your lips...  

You squeezed your eyes shut and forced yourself to sleep.  

The next morning, you woke up early.  

Ward was already up and in the bathroom, so you got up, threw on a light robe, and went to the dining room.  

When you walked in, Rafe was already there, sitting at the table with Sofía next to him.  

They looked good together, or at least that’s what anyone would think at first glance.  

She was put together, her hair falling in soft waves over her shoulders, and her smile was calm.  

He, on the other hand, had the same unreadable expression from the night before.  

"Good morning," you greeted politely.  

Sofía returned the greeting warmly, and Rafe just nodded, watching you as you took a seat next to Ward, who arrived a few minutes later.  

Breakfast started off peaceful.  

The conversation was light, nothing too deep.  

Ward asked about business, Sofía talked about her family, and you kept your attention on your coffee and the plate in front of you.  

Until you saw it.  

Sofía slid her hand across the table and gently took Rafe’s, intertwining their fingers.  

You didn’t know why, but instinctively, you looked up.  

Rafe looked at you too.  

For a second, the world seemed to slow down.  

His blue eyes locked onto yours, and then, without looking away, he casually pulled his hand from Sofía’s.  

She didn’t seem to notice much, she just kept talking.  

You, on the other hand, lowered your gaze to your coffee, bringing it to your lips for a sip.  

And you smiled.  

You had always been a little possessive.  

Not in a crazy way, you didn’t like that, but there were certain things that belonged to you, and you didn’t tolerate someone else taking them.  

Seeing Rafe pull his hand away from Sofía after looking at you gave you a satisfaction you didn’t want to overanalyze.  

You took the last sip of your coffee and stood up calmly, sliding your chair back without making a sound.  

"I’m going to get ready," you said simply, not looking at anyone in particular.  

Ward nodded, focused on his conversation with Rafe. Sofía gave you a polite smile before turning back to her plate.

You went up to your room and opened the closet, scanning your options before settling on a navy blue dress, short and form-fitting.  

The neckline was elegant, just enough to highlight your figure without being too revealing.  

You paired it with nude high heels, which made your legs look longer and contrasted perfectly with the deep blue of the dress.  

You styled your hair, leaving it loose in soft waves that framed your face, and applied subtle but flattering makeup.  

When you walked downstairs, you felt a gaze slowly traveling over every inch of your body.  

Rafe.  

He was standing there, one hand in his pocket, his eyes tracing a slow path from your legs to your face.  

He didn’t say a word.  

But as you walked past him, he brushed his hand against yours in the slightest way.  

A barely-there touch, but enough to send a spark of electricity through your skin.  

You didn’t react. You just kept walking, head held high.  

Ward was sitting on the couch, looking through some documents when you approached him.  

"I’m going with Wheezie," you said casually.  

He barely lifted his eyes from his papers, nodding absentmindedly.  

"Alright, take care of her."  

"I always do."  

You gave him a small smile before turning toward the door.  

You didn’t need to look back to know that Rafe was still watching you.  

That day, you didn’t see Rafe again.  

After spending the day with Wheezie, you got back home and got ready to go out to dinner with Ward. You picked an elegant but simple dress, and the two of you went to an exclusive restaurant in the city.  

Dinner was calm, with Ward talking about business while you listened, nodding at the right moments. He asked if everything was okay, and you just smiled and told him it was.  

The next morning, breakfast was a little more crowded. Ward sat at the head of the table, Rafe and Sofia were next to each other, Sarah hadn’t come down yet, and Wheezie was busy on her phone while eating.  

That’s when you got the invitation from your sister.  

You weren’t close, barely talked, but her message said she wanted to see you.  

"We could go horseback riding together," she had written.  

You thought about it for a moment before replying that you’d go.  

Looking up from your phone, you glanced at the others at the table.  

"My sister invited us over."  

Ward nodded immediately, not thinking much about it.  

"We haven’t seen her since the wedding."  

"She said she wanted to see me," you clarified. "That we could go riding."  

You noticed the way Rafe looked at you for a second, but you looked away.  

"Are we all going?" Sofia asked curiously.  

"Yeah, if you want to," you replied.  

And just like that, it was settled. After breakfast, you all got ready for the visit.  

Your sister’s place was huge.  

The house had a classic style, with sprawling gardens and a pristine stable where they kept their horses.  

One of them was yours.  

Or at least, it had been.  

After your father passed away, you left it there. You distanced yourself from riding and hadn’t visited much since.  

Walking into the stable, the scent of hay and leather surrounded you.

Your sister was waiting for you with a measured smile on her face.  

"I thought you'd never accept my invitation."  

"I'm here," you simply said.  

She nodded and looked toward the horses.  

"Are you going to ride yours?"  

You looked at the animal that used to be yours, its coat shining and eyes alert.  

You didn’t answer right away.  

You carefully took the reins, approaching the horse with a mix of nostalgia and hesitation.  

You whispered its name softly, and the animal blinked before slightly lowering its head toward you, like it remembered you after all this time.  

A small flicker of emotion lit up in your chest, but you didn’t let it grow too much.  

You mounted easily, adjusting your posture while your sister did the same with her horse.  

You didn’t talk much as you rode around the property.  

Words between you two had always been measured, almost superficial, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t some familiarity in the silence.  

The sound of hooves on the grass set a steady rhythm until, in the distance, another horse approached.  

You turned your head and saw Rafe, riding with the confidence of someone who had done this many times before.  

"Mind if I join?" he asked with a light smile.  

Your sister nodded without objection, but not long after, she excused herself, saying she had things to do.  

So you were left alone with him.  

"Where's Sofía?" you asked, guiding your horse at a slow pace.  

"Inside. She doesn’t know how to ride."  

"I didn’t know you did."  

Rafe smirked.  

"I have a lot of surprises."  

You rolled your eyes lightly and kept riding.  

The cool afternoon air made the moment nice, even relaxing.  

But several times, you felt Rafe’s gaze on you.  

At first, you ignored it.  

But when you turned your head and caught him staring at you again, you decided to ask directly.  

"Why are you looking at me like that?"  

Rafe didn’t look away.  

"Because you're really beautiful."  

You weren’t expecting such a direct answer.  

But it didn’t make him uncomfortable to say it, either.  

You smiled, not giving it more importance than you wanted to.  

You rode for a while longer without the mood turning awkward.  

Until you decided you’d had enough.  

"We should head back."  

Rafe nodded and matched your pace, following you back.

@sweetgoldwoman @dudenhaaa27

[springgirlshowers]

Desktop Struggles

Summary: You think the worker at this internet cafe is cute, a little weird too, you’ve made multiple attempts to get his attention.

CW: kissing, oral (f receiving), fingering, p in v, biting kink?, overstim, multiple orgasms, smut galore!

WC: 3797

def inspired by this post ! tell me if u can spot my little hints at joosty being a vamp (•ᵥ_ᵥ•)

You didn’t really need to go to this place all this much. You had your own computer at home, and it definitely wasn’t as old as the ones in the cafe.

It wasn’t much of a cafe, you could get coffee. But it was bitter and disgusting. It was either that or water from the dispenser. Which you didn’t trust most of the time either.

You came across it when you had to complete an essay, but your laptop was getting fixed. So you had to stop by the Internet Cafe. Open 24/7. It was nearby and affordable.

But what kept drawing you back to that building was the cute receptionist. Actually. You weren't sure if he was a receptionist. More of a mix of receptionist/janitor/computer engineer. He was a worker. Probably the only one, it was always just him and sometimes the manager there.

Soft and slightly messy blond hair, faint black eyeshadow smudged on his eyes, numbers tattooed on his fingers, other tattoos littered his arms and peeked out from underneath his sleeves.

You knew his name. Joost. You saw it on his jacket. He had his own desk at the back, it was on the elevated part on the floor and next to the office door.

He spent most on the time typing on the keys, a cigarette hanging loose from his lips as he puffed even though there was a no smoking sign right next to him. Sometimes coming down from his desk to pick up trash people left behind.

Or he’d occasionally flip through the magazines he’d get from the metal display rack in the corner, next to the poorly taken care of chinese evergreen plant. He always picked up the medical ones, any that included anything about blood on them.

You figured out different ways to talk to him or get him over to where you were sitting.

You’d purposely mess up things on the computer, disconnecting it from the internet, unplugging the wires in the back of it, claiming that you had no idea how it happened, they must’ve been loose!

Or you’d pretend you didn’t know how to use certain features, hoping he’d teach you. Telling him that working with technology wasn’t your strong suit and other things like:

“Sorry, I can’t figure out how to insert a photo onto this document. Do you know how to?”

“Can you help me with the copier? I think it might be jammed just need to copy a few papers for one of my classes.”

“Could you show me how to print out documents? I need to print out an essay.”

Or asking him how much time you had left to keep using the computer.

Honestly, all these attempts sound quite pathetic. But what could you do? You had a silly crush on a worker at this cafe.

Though there was one incident. After you heard a little bit of arguing coming from behind that office door. You saw Joost come walking out angrily, black trash bag in one gloved hand and a cd in the other.

You watched him bend down and begin to look under the empty desks, scraping the old hardened gum off them. It was a bit funny watching him try to fit under and into the tiny space with how tall he was.

He stopped to look underneath the desk next to yours. You watched as he looked around underneath.

His hair looked so soft, you wanted to run your hands through it, you almost did actually, but you stopped yourself, putting your hand back onto the mouse instead.

You heard him scraping the CD against the wood, but then, you felt his fingers graze the skin of your leg. It was more than a graze honestly, more of him dragging his hand smoothly and slowly down your leg.

Your breath hitched as you felt his touch, his abnormally cold touch. You thanked the heavens you decided to wear shorts that day.

“Sorry, lost balance for a moment.” He said once he stood up.

Which was a complete and oblivious lie, especially with that small smile you saw on his lips.

Now it was particularly late tonight. You and a random old guy were the only ones left using the computers. You originally came here to study, but you ended up looking at clothes online and random intriguing articles.

You sighed quietly to yourself, it was late, nearly midnight. You could go back to your apartment, but you knew you’d be doing the same thing on your laptop there.

Eventually the man collected his things and left. Now it was only you and Joost in the building.

You opened up another tab and went into your documents, trying to figure out what you could mess up or play dumb about this time.

You decided to make a mock resume, you didn’t have the effort nor the energy to go through the process of making one tonight.

Then your next step was disconnecting the printer from that computer and disconnecting the internet, again.

You eyed Joost throughout your process, he was flipping through another magazine with a cigarette that was nearly a stub in between his lips.

You let out a dramatic scoff of disappointment as you slumped back in your chair to get his attention. It worked. Joost looked over with furrowed brows.

“Oh, sorry. I’m trying to print out a resume and the wifi disconnected so now I can’t connect to the printer either.” You shrugged and let your hands fall back onto the desk, a little frown on your lips.

Joost let out a small breath before crushing his cigarette into the overfilled ashtray before getting up and coming over. You had to hold back your smile.

He leant over behind you, he’d never done this before. Usually when he was helping someone, he’d just stand to the side and tell them what to click and what to type.

This time, he had his left hand splayed out on one side of the desk, his right doing the same. He had you caged in with his long arms, his face next to yours.

You tried to not let your breath stagger. But failed due to his next move.

He moved his hand onto the mouse, you’d hadn’t moved your house off the mouse yet. You couldn’t move it now. He moved the cursor around and clicked. Acting as if your hand wasn’t even under his at all.

“Even the old ladies here don’t have as many as issues as you do with the computers here.” Joost scoffed out a laugh, his other hand moving to type.

“I guess I just keep choosing the bad computers.” You joked, trying to mask your nervousness.

“Yeah. I guess you just keep thinking you can get away with disconnecting the internet on them too.” He said blankly, your eyes widened. He stopped typing and stopped moving around the mouse.

“You do realize I’m not that oblivious right? I know you’ve been doing this on purpose.” You saw him turn his face to you in your peripheral vision. You kept staring straight, too scared to meet his eyes.

“Come on, liefje. If you wanted my attention to me you could’ve just came up to my desk. You can’t keep messing up the computers, we worked hard to get these, you know?” He was scolding you, yet his tone of voice was soft. It almost sounded like he was trying to reassure you, comfort you.

“I can help you with other things instead of computers. You should’ve just told me what you wanted. A conversation, a smoke, a kiss?” There was no way he said that. He had to be joking.

You tried not to give any physical reaction to his last suggestion, but yet your body betrayed you with the smallest movement. Your eyes flickered down to his lips. Joost grinned.

“All you had to do was ask.” He teased, he brought his face closer, seeing if you’d take the leap of faith and move first. You did.

Your lips eloped around each other, you opened your mouth slightly, allowing his tongue to slip in. Continuing to kiss, you carefully stood up, shoving the chair away with your foot as you tangled your hands into his hair.

His hands moved to your waist, causing your shirt to rise slightly as he moved you back a bit to where the top of your thighs were pressing against the desk. You took one hand out of his hair to push the keyboard behind you, taking a seat on the edge of the desk.

It was embarrassing how quickly he was able to wipe away your bravery and get you flustered instead.

Joost pulled away, eyeing your body up and down. Without warning, he went for your neck. His lips kissing it all over, leaving trails of red spots all over the skin.

Then he pulled away. Stepping back. There was a long moment of confusion and embarrassment as he walked away, then relief as you watched him turn the light up sign that said ‘Open’ off, flip the sign on the door to the side that said ‘Closed! Be back soon!’ and drop the cheap white plastic blinds to cover the glass windows and locked door.

In seconds, his lips were back on you, his hands roaming madly all over your body. They cupped then squeezed your tits roughly, he smiled against your skin when he heard your breath hitch.

At one point he must’ve of taken his fingerless gloves off. You felt the skin of his palms once his hands slipped under the hem of your shirt, rubbing up and down on the smooth skin of your stomach. Waisting no time, he pulled your shirt up and off your body.

“Eager, are we?” You giggled at his rushed movements to unclip your bra next.

“You’ve been giving me those eyes for months.” He said through a breathy chuckle, he was right. You had been giving him fuck-me-eyes since you first saw him, he was pent up, and couldn’t wait any longer.

His large hands grasped your breasts again, he kissed all along your chest, soon taking one nipple in his mouth. Teasing it with his tongue and sucking on it as his hand squeezed the other.

His hand and mouth swapped places, giving your other boob the same treatment. His kisses trailed down and stopped just above the waistband of your sweatpants. You kicked off your shoes, knowing what was next to come. He quickly pulled down your pants, the urgency making you giggle.

You spread your legs farther apart, he pressed a kiss to your clothed cunt. It was oddly….romantic.

He peppered kisses along your thighs as his fingers hooked around your panties, removing them as well. He hooked his arms around your thighs, pulling you down but giving you enough space where you lay back on your elbows on the desk.

He trailed kisses along your thighs, occasionally nipping and biting them before finally bringing his attention to your pussy.

“Cute.” He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t even give you any time to think of what he meant before he dove in and worked his tongue like a madman. His tongue sloppily lapping at your opening as his nose brushed against your clit.

One hand tangled into his hair in response, your nails scratching his scalp. He moaned into your cunt at the feeling, the vibration of his noise adding more to the pleasure.

Your other hand had a white knuckle grasp on the edge of the desk. His mouth was bullying your bud, then his hands pressed against your thighs to prevent you trying to close them.

Worse, he gripped onto the back of your knees, pushing them up to where you could sit the heels on your feet onto the desk edge.

This new position felt lethal, the feeling making you let out a silent scream as your face contort as you mumbled out ‘Oh God’ multiple times.

He only dove deeper, mouth moving to suck on your cunt. You rolled your hips against his face and your hand gripped tighter at his hair as you came. Your head lolled back as you rode through your orgasm. You expected him to stop, to break away from you. But he continued.

He kept lapping at your cunt, his dick painfully hard against his pants due to the pathetic noises you were making. Your legs were already sore from tensing your muscles so much, already a sheen of sweat forming on your skin.

You whined and whimpered and squirmed, trying to close your thighs and push his head away. But nothing could stop him, he was on a fucking roll, drunk off your juices.

In an attempt to get your hand a more stable spot on the desk, you moved it back, accidentally your hand went onto the keyboard behind. The old plastic board slipping and hitting into the neck of the blocky computer. No damage was done, just a bit of a shock to both of you.

“Shit! Sorry!” You giggled nervously, embarrassed at your accident. Joost pulled back and let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head.

Honestly, he was already running out of air, but he had to get that second orgasm out of you. So, he got off his knees, moved his mouth to your tits, and his hand to your cunt.

He rubbed two fingers against your slick before easily slipping them inside you, immediately curling and moving at a quick pace. Your body trembled.

You were already so sensitive, already so close. You wrapped your arm around his neck. He chuckled at you hanging onto him, your nails dug into his shoulder while you tilted and laid on your own upper arm as you mewled and whined.

His eyes never left yours as your jaw hung open and you cried out. Your other hand grabbed onto his wrist as you came undone for the second time.

“Ohhh I know, I know.” He cooed, resting his forehead against your temple, slowing down the movements of his fingers, and whispering praises to you and peppering soft kisses to your cheek and the side of your lips, soon moving your head to kiss you properly.

His movements came to a stop and he pulled his tattooed fingers from you, kissing you firmly but slowly.

“Was that too much? You okay?” He said after breaking away, pressing his forehead to yours.

“No. I’m okay.” You gave him a breathy weak laugh, your eyelids droopy as you stared at him. “We can keep going.”

“You sure?”

“Please, I wanna keep going.” You begged. Joost only smiled before giving you another long passionate kiss before stepping back, taking off his tan jacket, and grabbing you by the hips to turn you around.

You giggled as he pressed a hand to your back, pushing your front to lay on top of the table. The noise of his belt unclipping and hitting the floor along with his pants added 10x more excitement flowing through your veins.

He teased the tip of his cock inside you, then he pulled out. Then he did it a few more times before showing you mercy, rubbing his cock in between your folds before finally sinking into your cunt.

You whined at the stretching sensation. Joost smoothed his hand over the side of your stomach, whispering little encouragements and praises.

“You’re doing perfect, schatje. I know you can take me.” He leaned down to press small pecks to your back.

He gave you a moment to get used to the stretch of him inside you, you nodded as your signal for him to go ahead.

His thrusts started off slow and pulling out slightly, gentle. Then he would pull out all the way and go all the way back in, giving slow deep strokes.

He stopped, then immediately began to thrust into you at a high pace. It caught you off guard and made you arch your back as you cried out.

The room was filled with the sound of skin slapping against skin, your moans and whimpers, and Joosts breathy groans.

Your hips were hitting into the wooden sides of the desk. You let out a small noise of discomfort at one point and Joost noticed.

“You okay?” He asked, his brows furrowing in concern, his pace slowed a bit.

“Mhm. Please don’t stop, don’t- please!” You cried out, your moans were getting much louder now. Your voice nearly echoing throughout the room, embarrassingly. This caused Joost to clamp his cold hand over your mouth and shushed you.

He pulled you up, your back against his chest as he continued to thrust into you, you let out a loud whine against his hand.

“Shhh, you can’t be too loud, liefje. We don’t want anyone outside hearing and knowing what’s going on in here, right?” He turned your head back slightly so you could see him.

You whined into his hand and nodded. Your moans were muffled by his hand, but still loud enough to drive him fucking crazy.

This angle of his cock hitting inside you was overpowering, you lifted your hand up to grab onto his forearm

“Aw schatje, you gonna cum?” He cooed, not even bothering to try and fight back the toothy grin on his face.

You scrunched your eyes shut, nodding frantically and whining.

As you clenched around him and cried out against his hand, he dug his teeth into your neck, not hard enough to pierce the skin, but a perfect amount of pressure where it was pleasing.

His thrusts slowed and came to a stop once you began to jerk and twitch. He took his hand off your mouth, moving to the center of your chest as his other was wrapped around your waist. Pressing small kisses to the side of your face and neck, occasionally nipping at it.

Surely you would’ve fallen over if it wasn’t for his large hands keeping you pressed against him. Your breath hitched repeatedly and your thighs were shaking against him as he kept himself buried inside you.

Carefully, he helped you lean back down, you kept yourself up using your tired arms.

Without warning, he began to pound into you again, and you began to moan and sob out loudly in pleasure.

His hand was quick to cover your mouth again, you could hear him chuckle behind you.

“Fuck, just a bit longer, liefje. You can hold on for a bit longer, yeah?”

“Mmph, mhm!” You nodded, his hand still covering your mouth. He chose to be evil as his other hand moved to your clit, two fingers rubbing quick circles. You let out an embarrassing squeal.

“Think you can give me one more while you wait?” You didn’t even have to try and give him your answer, you cried out into his hand as you hit your fourth and final orgasm of the night,

At this point, his hand was the only thing keeping your head up. Your lips were smushed against his palm and your eyes were rolling into the back of your head. Your arms were barely enough to keep yourself up.

You were putty in his hands, moaning mindlessly. It was beautiful.

He kept his hand on your mouth while he moved his other from your clit to hold onto your waist, holding onto so tight there’d be marks by morning. He was pulling you back as he thrusted into you.

His movements soon became sloppier and he removed his hand from your mouth so he could grasp onto your waist with both hands.

You clumsily let yourself lay onto the desk, hands tightening into fists, your nails digging into your palms.

Your loud mindless moans and walls squeezing around him pushed him over the edge.

He spilt inside you with an exasperated groan and a few harsh deep thrusts. Giving you one last hard thrust after he finished. Just to get a small yelp out of you. Bastard.

He pressed kisses to your back as you rested the side of your face against the table, laying himself against you but not putting all his weight on top of you. Your body was trembling against him as you both caught your breath.

“Fuck. Still okay?” He checked again after bringing his head up, looking at you sweetly as he smoothed back damp strands of hair away from your face.

“Absolutely. Are you okay?”

“Of course. A bit sweaty, but I feel amazing.” He scoffed playfully.

“I don’t understand how you’re still so cold though. I feel like I’ve been in a sauna.” You laughed, picking your head up.

“I don’t understand either. I’m always cold for some reason.” He lied. He knew the reason.

“You might have an iron deficiency, you should get that checked out.” You joked, a lazy grin on your face.

“Probably should.” He grinned back before leaning back up, pulling out slowly and apologizing quietly when he heard you wince.

You pushed yourself up using your hands, stabilizing yourself for a second then grabbing your shirt and bra that both had landed onto the privacy wall next to the computer.

By the time you turned around, Joost already had one glove back on (the hand that didn’t finger you), put back on his pants and tan jacket. He was holding your sweatpants and underwear.

Jesus Christ, he moved fast.

“Sit down, you’re too shaky. Let me help.” He suggested, you leaned back against the desk again.

He bent down, holding your ankle softly to help you step into your panties, sliding them up and doing the same with your sweatpants. And he put your shoes back on for you.

It was silly watching him be so gentle despite that a moment ago he was just pounding into you so hard that the entire row of computers were shaking.

He stood up and tucked away a few stray hairs that had fallen in front of your face. You wrapped your arms around his shoulder lazily, his hands moved to your waist, thumbs rubbing over the fabric. The gears were turning in his head, he was hesitant to speak.

“So…you’ll be back tomorrow? Cause- I mean- I don’t mind that you stay longer than most customers. I really don’t mind at all.” He nervously shrugged, looking away from your eyes and fidgeting with the hem of your shirt.

He was flustered. Cute.

“Maybe, will I get a discount?” You teased, tilting your head at him. Giving him a dramatic pout for extra measure.

“I’ll think about it.” He narrowed his eyes playfully and bit back a smile. It was definitely a yes.

[ozwriterchick]

Anaesthetic..

Summary: A bit of fun when you come out of anaesthesia after an operation.

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Reader

No warnings

Word count: approx 1400

A/N: I'm heading to hospital tomorrow for my 2nd cancer surgery - a liver resection - and I have been wathcing alot of Tiktoks about anaesthesia and came across the funny ones when people are coming out of it, and it inspired this in my brain.

I hope you enjoy!

I appreciate each and every one of you.

Not Beta'd so any mistakes are my own.

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Masterlist

It had been a long day for Bucky so far.  You’d had a 4am wake up call to be at the hospital by 6am.  He dropped you off like you asked and pretended to leave.  You had told him that you couldn’t see the need for him to hang around and suggested he go home and get some sleep while you were in surgery.

Bucky couldn’t imagine heboth you and’d be able to have any kind of restful sleep while you weren’t right next to him, so he bought a newspaper and sat in the hospital coffee shop reading and trying to concentrate on the crossword puzzle. 

Crosswords weren’t something he normally enjoyed but having sat beside you and helped you out with your daily “brain exercise” as you loved to call it, he found it now gave him some comfort.

You had listed him on your hospital admissions paperwork as next of kin so he knew they would call you as soon as the operation was done to let him know how you were.  He wanted to be close by, not because he could be of assistance if, god forbid, anything went wrong.  More so that he could see you as soon as you were able to have visitors.

Bucky had decided to take a walk, the crossword had frustrated him to no end because he didn’t have you beside him to answer the questions he always had when you both were trying to complete the puzzle.

There wasn’t much around this hospital but he found a couple of local shops where he picked up some things for you and then stumbled upon a park with a coffee cart, so he took the opportunity to relax with some nature and have a decent cup of coffee, not the stuff you normally get out of hospital vending machines.

He felt like he wasn’t there more than 15 minutes however, when his phone rang.  Looking down he saw it was a private number so he figured it was more than likely the hospital  It couldn’t have been anyone from the Avengers because he had their numbers saved, and he knew it wouldn’t be anyone calling from a landline at the tower because they all knew he was off today at the least for your surgery.

Picking up the phone and hitting the answer button, he braced himself for whatever was about to come next, good or bad.  “Hello?”

“Uh, good afternoon am I speaking to James Barnes?” the voice enquired.

“Yes, this is he, I mean that’s me, I mean yes, I’m James Barnes” he could hear the girl giggle quietly through the phone at his seeming inability to put together a coherent sentence.

“Well, I’m Sasha a nurse in the recover suite, we just wanted to let you know that Yn has come through the surgery perfectly, she is in recovery and you can come sit with her whenever you get here.”

“Oh that’s such a relief, thank you Sasha, I’m just down the street in a little park so I’ll be there in like 10 minutes or so” he confirmed for her.

“Oh, are you in Ventnor Park?  I love that place, sometimes if I can swing it I go there to eat my lunch.  Well, we’ll see you soon Mr Barnes” to which she hung up the phone before he could say any more.

He ditched his almost empty coffee cup in the nearby bin and started walking back to the hospital, eager to see you again, even though it had only been a few hours since he dropped you off.

As Bucky approached the recovery suite, he had to admit to himself that he was getting a little anxious about how you’d be after the anaesthesia and all, but he was very excited to see you again.

He pressed the button on the door to gain access and the nurse who came to open the door asked who he was here to see. 

“I’m James Barnes, I’m here for Yn Yln” he informed her quietly.

“Oh yes, Mr Barnes, come through, she’s in bed 7.  She’s still quite groggy but that’s totally normal.  I’ll grab a chair for beside her bed so you can sit there.”

“Thank you ma’am.  I appreciate that” he replied.

Moving down the row of beds he rounded the curtain towards you and stood at the end of your bed.  The nurse approached and quietly placed the chair beside your bed.  Bucky gave her a quick nod and sat himself down, reaching for your hand.

At the feeling of his hand in yours, you stirred.  Unfocused eyes roaming around the room, landing on him and widening dramatically in reaction.

“Oh, hi” you said to him.

“Hi Yn, how are you feeling?”

“Umm, ok.. I think, I’m not sure my brain is working properly yet.”

“No, you’ve only just woken up, it will take a while before you’re completely with it again.  They said the surgery went well so that’s a bonus”

“Oh, yeah, but you might have to tell me again later” she slurred a little when speaking but, again, it was totally understandable.

You drifted off again for a few minutes, opening your eyes and looking around again.  You noticed a handsome man sitting at your bedside.

“Oh my god! You are gorgeous” you say to him.

Bucky looks around, not realising you are talking to him at first.  “Umm, ok, well thanks, I’m glad you think so” he replied to you.

“No, I mean look at you, you look like a god” you exclaimed.

“Well, again, thank you, umm…” he stammered, blushing.  He looked for your nurse who just smiled and nodded that this was another normal thing for some people.

“I mean damn boy” you began. “If I didn’t have a boyfriend, I’d wife you up so quickly”

Bucky laughed “Well, that’s a shame that you have a boyfriend because I’d love to wife you up”

“Oh no, you can’t say those kind of things to me, I have a boyfriend!” you whisper yell the last part at him.

“Yes, I know you do, you told me that.  But can’t we have something as well?” he chucked again to himself, enjoying this side of you.

“Hmmm, I don’t think so.  You see, my boyfriend is very tall and muscly and very, very strong and I’d hate to see him mess up your pretty face.” You sighed.

“Well, we wouldn’t want that now, would we” he smiled.

“Nurse” you raised your voice.  Seeing her round the end of the curtain you asked “Did you call my boyfriend.  Do you know when he’ll be here?”

“Yes, I called him, in fact, he’s here already” the nurse replied.

You turn to Bucky “Oh no, you better go, he’s gonna get real mad if he comes in here and sees you holding my hand like this.”

Bucky just chuckled, this was hilarious and he knew if Sam were here he’d be filming this but he didn’t want you to be embarrassed later on if anyone saw it other than the 2 of you.

“Don't laugh, I mean it” you start crying.

“Oh baby” he said, concerned. “What’s wrong, why are you crying?” he couldn’t bear to see you upset and wanted to be able to fix it for you.

“No, it’s just my boyfriend is here and you’re here and I love him so much but you’re just so beautiful and I don’t want him to punch your face off.”

“Babe” Bucky began.

“No, you can’t call me babe, that’s what he calls me” you cry even harder.

“Yn, listen to me.  I am your boyfriend.  I’m James.”

“My boyfriends name is Bucky, you can’t be him because he’s coming here and you’re already here.”

“Trust me, my love, I am Bucky, I am also James, I am also your boyfriend and I think after this I have no choice but to wife you up like you said you’d do to me” he leaned forward and kissed your lips lightly and tenderly.

“Oh dear, now you’ve kissed me and… Wait, did you say you are my boyfriend?  How did I get so lucky to land someone like you?”

“Yes sugar, I am and we have forever to work out how I was so lucky to land you, not the other way around.  Now you lay your head back and relax so we can get the rest of this anaesthesia out of your system and back to reality.”

[natsaffection]

Ghosted by You. | N.R

Spy!Natasha x Innocent!Reader

Warnings: Kidnapping, stab wound

Word count: 3,7k

A/N: It’s based on this ask here! I tried to create the dynamics exactly like in the movie, but somehow also needed seriousness..🥸

You should’ve stayed home. You really should’ve stayed home..But no. Your brain, in its infinite wisdom, decided that after one amazing date, Natasha disappearing from your life had to mean something dramatic. That she was in trouble. That she needed you.

That she hadn’t just ghosted you because..oh, I don’t know, maybe she didn’t want to see you again. But did that logic stop you? No. Because instead of letting it go like a normal person, you tracked a random transaction on her credit card, hopped on a plane, and landed in London. And now? Now, you were tied to a goddamn chair in a dimly lit basement, with very angry men staring you down.

One of them paced in front of you, arms crossed. His accent was thick, British but rough, the kind that made you instinctively gulp. “Who sent you?”

You blinked. “What?”

“Who. Sent. You?” He leaned in, his breath hot against your face. “We know you work for the CIA.”

Your heart nearly stopped. “THE WHAT?!”

The second man sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes like you were personally wasting his time. “This one’s gonna be difficult.”

Your brain short-circuited. “Wait, wait- hold on a second, you think I’m in the CIA?!” You let out a weak, breathless laugh. “Oh my God. Wait, I think I’m gonna throw up..”

“Cut the act.” The first man grabbed the chair, tilting it back so that you were nearly falling. “We know you were following Romanoff. What were you planning?”

Your what now? “Natasha? Natasha Romanoff?” You nearly choked on your own breath. “She’s, she’s a spy?!” The two men exchanged glances before the first one grumbled, “Great. The kid doesn’t even know.”

“Wait, hold on.” Your breathing was turning erratic, panic rising in your throat. “She told me she was a florist..?” The second man pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jesus Christ.” You were spiraling. Your hands shook against the restraints, your brain struggling to process what the hell was happening.

“No! Wait, you don’t understand..” you stammered, words tumbling out too fast. “I literally just followed her because she ghosted me! I thought she wasn’t answering because she was in trouble! I-I thought I was being romantic!”

The first man just stared at you. “You followed a CIA agent across the world because she didn’t text you back?”

“…Yes?” For a second, neither man spoke. Then the first one turned to the other and said, “We should just kill her.”

“W-WHAT?! NO! No, that’s not necessary!” You wriggled against the ropes, full-on panicking. “I’m not a spy! I barely passed high school! I cried last week because my WiFi went out! Does that s-sound like someone who works for the CIA?!”

The second man pulled out a knife, twirling it between his fingers. “Too bad.” You squeezed your eyes shut. God, I’m gonna die. I’m actually gonna die because I followed a hot woman to London like a freaking idiot..

The door exploded inward. The first guy turned just in time for a bullet to tear straight through his shoulder. He collapsed with a scream. The second one lunged for his gun, but before he could even blink, Natasha stepped into the room, raised her pistol, and shot him twice in the chest.

Your brain short-circuited. Natasha didn’t hesitate. Didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink as she put a bullet between someone’s ribs. “Oh my God..” you whispered, eyes darting between the two men, one dead, one groaning in pain. “Oh my God, you!! You just killed-”

“Not now!” She stormed forward, cutting through your restraints with a huge-ass knife. “Are you hurt ?”

“YOU JUST SHOT TWO PEOPL-”She grabbed your wrist, yanking you to your feet. “I swear to God, Y/n, I will have this conversation later. Right now? Move.” She shoved you toward the door, and your legs felt like Jell-O. “I-I don’t think I can walk..” you stammered.

“Then crawl, I don’t care!” Gunfire erupted outside. Natasha grabbed your wrist and dragged you behind her as she stormed into the hallway, firing with precision. One man barely turned the corner before she put a bullet straight between his eyes. You screamed again. “Y/n, I will leave you here if you don’t MOVE!” she barked.

“What-” you whispered, watching people DROP like flies. “Don't look at them.” she snapped, grabbing your face and physically turning it away. “What the hell is happening?” Your breathing was getting worse, your chest tightening. “I—Natasha, I don’t- I don’t understand-”

She groaned. “Oh, for fu-”Before you could process, she picked you up. “N-Natasha!”

“Shut up!” She kicked a door open, carrying you like a sack of potatoes. “I can shoot faster when you’re not slowing me down!”

“I CAN RUN!”

“Clearly NOT!”

Gunfire shattered the walls behind you. Natasha spun, firing two bullets into the men chasing you. They collapsed instantly. Your breath hitched. “You’re killing them..” you whispered. Natasha didn’t hesitate. “And I’ll kill ten more if it gets us out of here alive!” Her coldness made your stomach drop.

You saw it now. The emptiness in her eyes, the precision, the way she fired without flinching. The woman you had been falling for, the one who had smiled at you over dinner, who had kissed you so softly..was a killer.

She caught your expression, saw the fear on your face and for a moment, her own softened. But there wasn’t time. She threw you into a stolen car, slammed the door, and sped into the streets. For a long time, you couldn’t speak.

“You’re scared of me now.” she said flatly, breaking the silence. Your mouth opened—closed. “You should be.” she muttered. Her hands were still covered in blood. You pressed yourself against the door, heartbeat pounding.

This wasn’t the Natasha you knew. This was someone else entirely. And you had no idea what you had just gotten yourself into. The car ride was dead silent. You sat rigidly in the passenger seat, hands curled into fists on your lap, still shaking.

Natasha gripped the steering wheel like she wanted to break it in half. Her knuckles were white, her jaw clenched, and her entire body radiated fury. But you didn’t say anything. Because you were terrified. Your brain replayed it all on an endless loop, the gunfire, the bodies dropping, the blood on her hands.

You had thought she was a florist. You had kissed her, flirted with her, trusted her, And she had just killed six people without flinching. Your stomach churned. “Say something.” Natasha finally snapped, eyes still locked on the road. You swallowed, voice weak. “Where are we going?”

“A safe house.” A safe house. Right. Because that’s a normal thing to have. You nodded slowly, gripping the door handle like you might have to jump out of the moving car. Natasha let out a harsh breath, running a hand through her hair. “You’re still scared of me.” You flinched. Her grip on the wheel tightened. “I just saved your life, Y/n.”

“You also ended six others.” you whispered. The air in the car shifted. Her eyes flicked to you, calculating, cold. “That’s how this works.” You swallowed hard. “This?”

She exhaled sharply, looking back at the road. “You’re in my world now. You don’t get to judge me for doing what I have to do.”

“I didn’t ask to be in your world!” She let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, really? Because flying across the world to follow me sure as hell says otherwise.”

Your face flushed with anger. “I followed you because I thought you were in danger! Not because I wanted to be thrown into some goddamn murder spree!” Her grip on the wheel tightened.

“You think I wanted this?” Her voice was eerily calm. You hesitated. “I don’t- I don’t know what to think, Natasha.” She went silent.

The weight of the situation pressed down on you. The reality that you had just witnessed multiple murders. That you had watched Natasha—the woman you had been falling for, kill like it was nothing. Your chest tightened. Natasha let out a long, exhausted sigh and muttered, “We’ll talk when we get there.”

She parked in a dark alleyway, leading you through a maze of backstreets until you reached an abandoned-looking building. The second she closed the door behind you, she turned, eyes blazing. “What the hell were you even thinking?!”

You jumped. “Excuse me?!”

“You followed me across an ocean. You got kidnapped. You almost died!”

“I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WERE A SPY!”

“THAT DOESN’T MAKE IT BETTER!”

She stalked forward, and for the first time, you actually backed away. Her face immediately fell. You weren’t just arguing.

You were afraid of her. Natasha inhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair. “Y/N…”

You pressed your back against the wall, shaking your head. “I don’t..” You swallowed hard, voice trembling. “I don’t know who you are.” Pain flickered across her face, but it was gone just as fast. She turned away from you, exhaling through her nose. “You shouldn’t have come.” she muttered.

“You could have just told me the truth!” She spun back, eyes flashing. “Are you out of your mind?! If I had told you- if you had known- you would’ve been in even more danger!”

Your stomach twisted. “Oh yeah? And what now?” You threw up your hands. “I know now, Natasha! I was just kidnapped and almost killed!” She winced. Just for a second.

Then, she stepped closer, voice dangerously low. “You want to know the truth?” she murmured. You swallowed. “No-”

“You would’ve been fine.” Her voice was cold, calculated. “If you had just stayed home. If you had just let me go. But now?” Her jaw clenched. “Now, you’re a target.”

Your stomach dropped. “Wait, what?” She sighed, rolling her shoulders. “They think you’re CIA. They think you know something. You don’t, but that doesn’t matter anymore.”

Your heartbeat thundered. “So- so what? What happens now?” She gave you a pointed look. “Now? I clean up your mess.” She grabbed a first aid kit and tossed it onto the table.

“Sit.”

“I’m fine-”

“Sit down.”

You gulped and sat. She grabbed your arm, not gentle but not rough and started cleaning the scrapes from where they had tied you up. The silence between you burned. You stared at her. At the red stains on her shirt. The blood on her hands. The way her shoulders were still tense from the fight.

She was different now. The Natasha who had laughed at your stupid jokes? The one who had kissed you in the rain? That Natasha was gone. Or maybe…maybe she was never real. She caught you staring. “What?” she muttered.

You hesitated. “Were you ever going to tell me?” Her hands froze. Then, she dropped the antiseptic, stood up, and turned away.

“…It was never supposed to go this far.” she admitted. Something inside you ached. Because deep down, you knew, this meant goodbye.

She exhaled sharply. “I’ll get you back to the States. I’ll make sure they lose your trail.” Your heart clenched. “You’re just sending me away?”

“Yes.”

“But I-” Your voice cracked. “What about you?” She looked away. “I’ll handle it.” Tears burned your eyes. “Natasha-”

“This isn’t your life, Y/n.” she said firmly. “It can’t be.” Your chest ached. You had risked everything to find her. And now, she was pushing you away. But deep down, you knew she was right. You weren’t built for this. For her. And it broke you. Natasha sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’ll get you home tomorrow. Get some rest.”

Well..You and Natasha had been on the run for three days. Three days of gunfire, stolen cars, dodging assassins, and sleeping in dingy safe houses with barely enough time to breathe. Somewhere between nearly dying for the second time, sneaking across borders, and sharing a stolen coat for warmth, something between you shifted.

You weren’t just running anymore. You were running together. Natasha was still infuriating. She still rolled her eyes at your bad decisions, still called you reckless, still snapped at you for asking stupid questions. But now? Now she also held your hand when you got too cold. She taught you how to fire a gun, not that you were good at it, but she didn’t make fun of you when you missed.

She touched you more. Small, quick touches, her hand on your back, her fingers brushing yours. And most of all? She looked at you differently. Like she actually cared. Like sending you away wasn’t an option anymore. “We’re almost there.” Natasha muttered, pressing her hand to her earpiece. You both crouched behind a pile of rubble in an abandoned city square, panting from the last disaster of a shootout.

“Tell me ‘almost’ means we’re five minutes away from hot showers and real food..” you whispered. She gave you a dry look. “Try ten minutes and two more obstacles.”

You groaned. “Of course.”

“Look.” She pointed toward the far end of the square. A black helicopter was parked near an old church, CIA agents waiting by the doors. Your chest lightened. The helicopter was right there. You could hear the roar of the blades, see the CIA agents waiting, their weapons ready. Safety was so close you could taste it.

But of course..It was never that easy. You heard footsteps. Too many. And then, before you could react, an arm wrapped around your neck. Cold steel pressed against your throat. Your breath hitched. Natasha whipped around, gun raised. But it was too late.

The man holding you was grinning. He was tall, strong, covered in tactical gear. His knife dug into your skin just enough to make your pulse spike. More men emerged from the surrounding buildings, mercenaries, armed to the teeth. Your stomach twisted. You had walked right into a trap.

“Drop your weapons!!” the man holding you barked. The CIA agents hesitated. Natasha didn’t move. She stood rigid, her gun aimed directly at the man’s head. Her eyes burned. “If you touch her..” she said, voice dangerously low, “I’ll put a bullet between your eyes before you even think about blinking.”

The man chuckled. “Oh, Agent Romanoff. You care about this one, don’t you?” Her jaw clenched. “Drop. Your. Guns.” he ordered again. The agents exchanged glances. Natasha’s finger hovered over the trigger. You could feel her rage. The barely controlled violence. She was waiting for the right moment.

“Natasha.” you whispered, trying not to move against the blade. “Just go.” Her eyes snapped to you. And the way she looked at you, it was the kind of look that said she would burn the entire world down before leaving you behind.

“Not happening.” she said. Your heart clenched. Chaos Breaks Loose And then, everything happened at once. Natasha moved first. The bullet hit its mark, straight through the mercenary’s shoulder. His grip loosened just for a second. And that was all she needed.

You ripped yourself free, stumbling forward as gunfire exploded around you. The CIA agents opened fire. Natasha was a blur, taking down enemies like they were nothing. You scrambled backward, searching for cover, but the mercenary wasn’t done. He lunged.

And before you could react, the knife sank into your stomach. The second the knife plunged into your stomach, the world snapped into sharp, unbearable agony. You gasped, choking on your own breath, as fire erupted through your entire body. The blade twisted.

A raw, animalistic scream ripped from your throat. You collapsed, your legs giving out, your body feeling like it had been set on fire from the inside. The mercenary smirked. “Oops.” A bullet tore through his skull before he could even take another breath. His body dropped.

Her hands immediately pressed against your stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. Her face was wild with panic, her breaths coming too fast, her usual iron control completely shattered. “No. No, no, no-” You couldn’t breathe. It felt like someone had shoved glass into your stomach, and every breath dragged shards deeper into you.

“Nat..” Your voice broke. “It- It hurts..”

“I know, I know..” she nearly screamed, pressing down harder. The pain spiked. You choked, nearly blacking out right there. “Stay awake, Y/N!” Her voice was frantic, almost desperate. “Do you hear me? Stay awake!”

Your ears rang. You barely registered the CIA agents rushing toward you. “We have to move-” one of them started. Natasha snarled. “Get a Stretcher on that helicopter NOW!”

Your vision blurred at the edges. Your limbs felt too heavy, your fingers tingling as the blood poured out of you. You could hear shouting. Gunfire? More soldiers? More fighting? You didn’t know. All you knew was that you were cold. And so fucking tired.

Natasha’s arms wrapped around you as she hauled you up. “I got you, I got you.” she kept muttering, her voice wavering. You let out a weak whimper as she lifted you. The pain was indescribable. Like your entire insides had been ripped apart, burning, splitting, bleeding. “I know, just hold on, okay?” Her voice cracked badly.

She ran with you, gun still raised, still firing behind her. You felt the cold metal ramp beneath you as Natasha threw herself onto the aircraft, clutching you close. “Get us out of here!” she roared. The helicopter lurched. You barely registered it. All you could feel was pain. Someone was grabbing at you, pressing too hard on the wound.

“S-Stop..” you whimpered, the pressure making you see stars. Natasha snapped. “Be careful!”

“We’re trying to stop the bleeding!” a medic barked back. Natasha was breathing too fast. “She’s losing too much blood-”

“We know!” Your fingers trembled, reaching out. You didn’t even realize what you were doing until Natasha grabbed your hand. Her grip was tight and desperate. You tried to squeeze back, but you were too weak. That was when you saw it. The look in her eyes. The pure, unfiltered fear. Natasha was scared. Not of the bullets. Not of the mercenaries.

But of losing you. “Nat…” You barely got the word out. “Shh, it’s okay..” she whispered, pressing her forehead against yours. “Don’t talk. Just stay with me.” Your breath hitched. Everything was spinning. The medic’s voice faded. Your eyes fluttered shut.

Your body felt heavy. Everything ached. The dull beeping of a heart monitor filled the room. The scent of disinfectant burned your nose. You blinked against the blinding white light, your brain foggy, sluggish. Then, you heard her. “You better wake up soon, because if I did all of that for nothing, I swear to God-”

Her voice shook. Your lips parted. “Nat..?” The chair beside your bed screeched as someone jumped up. Hovering over you, her eyes wide, raw, frantic. “Oh my God.” You barely registered the way her hand grabbed yours, gripping it like she was afraid you’d disappear. You blinked up at her, throat dry. “Where…?”

“You’re in a hospital.” she said, her voice hoarse. You could tell she’d been awake for a long time. Your brows furrowed. “How long?”

Natasha hesitated. “…Three days.” Your breath hitched. “Three..?”

“You almost died, Y/N.” Her jaw clenched. “Do you have any idea how stupid that was?!” Ah. There it was. The anger. The Romanoff rage. You offered a weak smile. “Saved your life, though.” Her eyes flashed. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t joke about this!” Her grip on your hand tightened. You swallowed, watching her. Because beneath the anger…She looked wrecked. Dark circles under her eyes. Hair a mess. Still wearing the same clothes from the extraction. “Have you even left this room?” you asked quietly. She exhaled sharply, avoiding your gaze.

You sighed, shifting slightly, then immediately regretted it. White-hot pain tore through your stomach, forcing a shaky breath from your lips. Natasha’s head snapped back toward you. “Hey, hey-” She reached out, pressing a hand against your shoulder to keep you from moving. “Don’t do that. Just..stay still.”

“…Natasha.” you murmured. “It’s not your fault.” Her jaw tightened. “Yes, it is.” Guilt..The Romanoff Way of Suffering She stood up, pacing.

“You were supposed to be safe. You were supposed to be on the helicopter. Not..Not bleeding out in my arms..” You watched her. “You saved me.” you pointed out.

She let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah? And look at you now.” You exhaled, trying to push through the pain. “You would have died.” you said softly. “That guy was gonna kill you, Nat.”

Her eyes snapped to you. And something cracked. “Then maybe I should have let him.” Your stomach dropped. “No.”

She shook her head, running a shaky hand through her hair. “I should have protected you. I should have been faster. I should have-”

“Stop.” She froze. You struggled to sit up, ignoring the way your body screamed in protest. “Natasha, look at me.”

She did. Her expression was so raw, so pained. “You think I regret saving you?” you whispered. She swallowed, lips pressed together. You reached out, grabbing her wrist. “You think I’d rather be lying in a grave than here?” She exhaled sharply. “…You almost were.”

“But I’m not.” you murmured. “Because of you.” She looked away. You squeezed her hand. “Nat.” Nothing.

“Natasha.” Her jaw tensed. Finally, after what felt like forever, she turned back. And the moment she met your gaze, something inside her broke. Because suddenly, her arms were around you. Holding you so tight it should have hurt, but you didn’t care. You felt her shudder.

“Hey..” you murmured, pressing your face against her shoulder. “I’m okay.” She shook her head. “You almost weren’t..”

“But I am.” She let out a shaky breath. Her grip didn’t loosen. You hesitated, then turned your head slightly, whispering against her skin. “I’d do it again.”

She stiffened. Then, she pulled back, her eyes burning. “If you ever do something that reckless again, I will personally kill you myself.”

You grinned. “I swear to God, Y/N-” You grabbed the front of her jacket and kissed her.

-

-

-

-

[madamedulac]

Betrayal.

Synopsis: A familiar set of purple eyes stared back into her own colored ones. But instead of happiness and joy crawling and bursting through her very core, all she felt was the utter and overwhelming feeling of complete betrayal.

Tags: sfw; ANGST; hurt; mild spoilers for homecoming wings ig?

Author’s Note: the mcs reaction to finding out caleb was still alive was lacking imo. so in order to appease my own annoying self, i decided to do my own take with that whole thing. this is my first fic after a LONG, LONG while so im sorry if it’s kinda ass lol. i’m also ESL so i apologize in advance if there’s any mistakes, i tried my best to proofread this.

Word count: 1.7k words

Ao3 / OST

There was a part of her that died that day. 

When that door closed in on her. When that explosion followed suit; its flame burned not only her skin, but so did the other half of her soul. She wished she also died in that fiery hell that consumed the only family she ever knew. 

But as fate liked to play a cruel joke on her, she was left to mourn and let the loneliness of surviving such tragedy comfort her in the nights their—his—memories haunted her dreams. 

The constant reminder of what she had lost laid consistently close to her heart. Its metal chains absorbed the heat from her skin, like it was alive, like it was his very heart that stayed close to her. 

『 When U Come Back. 』

Those were the words that are inscribed on its surface. It was a promise. A reminder that he will always return to their house, to their home, to her. He never broke his promise. She always reveled at that fact. He will always come back to her. That even if he was injured and crawling, he will do what it takes to return to his home.

In the sea of people that surrounded her on a day to day basis, he was the only one she could trust to keep his word. 

He was her only truth. 

“If you understand the situation, then let’s go ahead and have a nice chat.” 

The ringing in her ears was deafening but so did the loud hammering of her heart within her chest. Standing before her was a familiar face. Yet the warmth that was always flickering and present in his eyes was gone. Instead, what she saw in those purple irises was a coldness that she was unaccustomed to, at least when it came to him. 

“… Caleb?” His name left her lips before she could even comprehend it. 

Instead of giving her a reassuring smile like he always did, the man frowned. “Show some respect to the Farspace Fleet’s Colonel.” He said in a strict tone. 

Colonel. 

A title she had never expected to be bestowed upon him. It was so imposing. So daunting. So not him. This man in this intimidating uniform and glaring at her with a coldness she has never seen in his face could never be her Caleb.

There was no way. 

She wanted to say more. She wanted to ask him if he really was Caleb. To ask why he looked like her Caleb. But the words were stuck in her throat and the mixture of confusion and suddenly being hyper aware of where she was made her press her mouth in a thin line.

“There’s more than one pair of eyes observing you in this room, so I suggest you watch your mouth.” The man wearing her childhood friend’s face said. She immediately caught on to what he was implying and her eyes darted to the camera behind him. 

There was an ache that was slowly forming in her heart but she pushed it aside and opted to hide it behind a wall.

It was like a switch had been flipped. The distress that marred her face seconds ago was replaced with a blank one. She bravely stared back at the imposing figure before her. 

The doctor who examined her when she was small called it a coping mechanism of sorts. It is her own way of keeping everyone at arm's length when things get overwhelming. Even Josephine was not immune with how she quickly shuts her emotions down and hides away in her little corner.

But there was only one person who was an exception to this rule.

Someone who she could always confide in. Someone who she was not afraid to tell how she truly felt and never fear any judgement whatsoever. Someone who she knows would whollfully accept her, irregardless of her character flaw and her ever so changing moods. 

‘And that someone is already dead.’ The voice in her head whispered. 

The way the Colonel’s eyes twitched at her sudden change didn’t escape her but the woman merely overlooked such detail.

That is not him. That is not your Caleb. The voice reminded her. 

“Let’s get started then,” the man walked closer and grabbed the gun that was hanging on her hip. “This is both an interrogation and a thorough inspection. If you understand that then answer me.” He said as he threw the gun to the nearby table. 

“I understand, sir.” She replied, almost robotically. In a sense, this mission was indeed perfect for her. There were probably only a few within the hunter association who could turn off her emotions as quickly as she does. 

The expression on the Colonel’s face was unreadable as his fingers latched onto the necklace that was hanging around her neck. The frown was still there, but there was something else that was brewing behind his purple irises. 

“… it belonged to someone from my childhood.” She didn’t know what prompted her to talk but the words were flowing out of her mouth before she could realize. “He died in an explosion. Like the one in the Cascade District.” I miss him. She bit her tongue before she could utter those last three words. 

His eyes once again found hers and she saw a flash of emotion that almost made her believe this could be the same person who she gifted this necklace to.

But he was not.

She told herself he was not.

After all, he would be last person to ever betray her in that way. Her Caleb would never make her believe he was dead and let her suffer through that grief alone.

Never her Caleb.

The woman merely balled her hands in tight fists so that her resolve wouldn’t falter. 

That is not your Caleb. 

The succeeding interrogation came almost like a blur. She barely remembered the questions that he asked her. The ringing in her ears was loud and deafening and her answers were practiced and calculated. She had always been good with bullshitting her way out of things. It worked on most people. It worked on Josephine. It worked on her friends. 

But there was always an exception to that rule. 

That is not your Caleb. 

“This is your last chance.” He said threateningly, pointing the device closer to her throat. He called it a Mood Tracker but she wouldn’t be surprised if it was a device that could easily severe the artery on her neck.

The Colonel might kill her. That was such a frightening thought and she doesn’t doubt it. Not for a bit.

Steeling herself, the woman kept her eyes glued to the man. “… I don’t know anything.” She replied. She lied.

The device continued to beep loudly and seemed to reach its peak before it was subtly cut off the person holding it. His thumb pressed on the switch swiftly, practiced, and would’ve easily missed by anyone not standing close to them.

“You passed.” He declared.

Behind him, the camera made a clicking sound before it completely shut off.

The cold expression he wore melted away and suddenly she found herself looking at the familiar warmth that had surrounded her all throughout her life.

A breath escaped her mouth as the man straightened his posture and the restraint on her wrists was loosened. “… You.” Was all that she could utter.

Smiling, he tossed the Mood Tracker next her discarded gun. “Surprised?” He said, seemingly unaware of the emotion that was rising up her throat. Or perhaps he did saw it and was very much aware of it. Perhaps he was just refusing to acknowledge it. He was never the type to miss any emotion that she wore on her face. “Sure it’s been a while, but you already forgot about me?”

And suddenly, the mask that she wore all throughout that interrogation broke.

A pool of tears had quickly formed in her eyes and blurred his image, of this man, who she had been convincing herself to be not the same person she had mourned for the past year.

This man…

She heard him say her name, worry heavy on his tone. She almost wanted to laugh. But the tears were not stopping. “Did I scare you?” He asked as he held her face in his hands.

It felt rough. The leather gloves felt foreign in her skin, almost like it was mocking her. His touch as she remembered was warm and comforting. Like the touch of the summer sun after a heavy storm. That was what he was to her. Her summer.

That was the Caleb she remembered.

She wanted to laugh. To scream. To punch this man who wore that expression she was so familiar with. But no words were forming on her tongue.

All she felt was an indescribable anguish. Of pain. Of pity.

Pity for herself.

For that woman who stood by his grave and let the rain soak her entire form, hoping that it somehow gives her bleeding heart the comfort it so desperately needed. For that woman who clung onto his remaining set of clothing and held onto it until she fell asleep, hoping that it would be him cradling her the moment she wakes up.

Her cries echoed loudly inside the interrogation room but she no longer cared.

Perhaps, she thought, it would annoy him or his subordinates and they finally put a bullet through her skull. Perhaps that would’ve been ideal. Perhaps with death, it would finally end this nightmare.

She heard him say something but the sound of her broken heart and the heaviness of his betrayal made her deaf to his words. She wanted to push him off, to punch him, to spit on him.

But the reality of what he had done weighed heavy on her body, rendering her unable to form any coherent thought.

She didn’t protest when he hooked his arms under her knees and carry her off the chair. He swiftly maneuvered their position so that he would be the one sitting down and her being closely held on his arms. It was almost like an instinct when she curled closer into his touch, like she wanted to be one with his skin. To be one with him.

He smelled so familiar.

So like her Caleb.

“… you traitor.” Was all that she could managed to whisper in anger.

She felt his grip on her arms tighten but he didn’t say anything. Merely nuzzling into her hair and pulling him even closer into his chest, like he was scared to lose her.

“You traitor…” that was all that she could say.

———

a/n: happy valentines y’all. can’t believe lads and caleb managed to get me out of my retirement from writing. smh. sorry if this is lacking, it’s genuinely been a while since i wrote something. wwww

[causticsodaa]

Thank you, @lonelyzoneo! I’ve been meaning to write about Kaji for a while, so I’m happy to take this request.

To preface, I mainly think that Sakura and Kaji are cut from the same cloth, rather being two sides of the same coin (I believe Endo/Chika fits that idiom more). Their stories are quite literally direct parallels of each other, and their experiences/personalities aren’t so different lol.

Starting off with their backgrounds:

Initially, both boys were shunned due to ‘unsightly’ aspects of themselves; with Sakura and his appearance/unruly behavior while Kaji would regress into his beast mode. Kaji did manage to suppress it with the help of Hiiragi, however Sakura had nobody to rely on (though I won’t be surprised if he has a secret mysterious ‘savior’ like Ume and Kaji did).

Speaking of Hiiragi, he’s saved both Kaji and Sakura from dire situations in battle.

After they both started attending Furin, both Sakura and Kaji were unceremoniously elected as a class leader by their peers:

And their close friends (Enomoto + Kusumi and Nirei + Suo) elect themselves as vice captains.

During their first year [of leadership] however, they get into a drastic situation (being outnumbered by enemies) that manages to push them to a corner, ie. regress (Sakura blames himself for not being able to help the others in KEEL, Kaji turns back into the beast in his flashback)

These incidents causes them to be shrouded in doubt and insecurity, believing that they are not worthy enough to be a class leader.

They then visit their upperclassmen for advice (Sakura asks Kaji, while Kaji talked with Hiiragj the year before). Both give their underclassman different advice, but Hiiragi/Kaji ultimately reassure them that their negative perceptions on themselves does not mean that their friends share the same views. Coffee/green tea is also prevalent in these scenes but tumblr wont let me insert any more images so I can’t analyze them; just think of this tidbit as an honorable mention

When Sakura and Kaji finish talking with their upperclassmen, they return to their own classrooms and apologize to their friends.

Though, this apology garners different reactions from the two classes. 2-1 decided to shoulder Kaji’s burden with him:

But 1-1 drill it into Sakura that they genuinely like him as a person, which is something that Sakura needed to hear the most then.

This makes both Sakura and Kaji reflect on themselves. They then decide that they want to stay at Furin to protect and be with their friends despite their own setbacks in the end. Both these sequences have a dreamlike feel to them, too:

However, both boys also regress to their ‘original’ selves during Noroshi. When Banjo hits Enomoto and Kusumi, Kaji begins to LARP as a furry turn back into a beast, even though he tried his best to not let his feral instincts take over him. Endo also uses Sakura’s friends against him, convincing him that he’s merely a burden to them—this causes Sakura to revert back to his more ‘insecure’ self, believing that he has no place amongst his friends, even though he cares for them deeply.

Tumblr wont let me add any more images, so I’ll be skipping to the extras section. Feel free to add any other parallels between Sakura/Kaji in the reblogs (because I can’t)

Both Kusumi/Enomoto (and Hiragi) and Suo/Nirei visited their captains at their homes at one point

Both also vibrate when they’re freaked out, lol

Both Sakura and Kaji have sparred with Hiragi at one point too (I sure wish I could show this in my post so just take my word)

[nephilimeq]

Someday

Prompt: Babysitting

@bucktommyfluffebruary

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62721625/chapters/161651215

Tommy scrambled to get the house ready, wondering how the hell it had happened that he and Buck were hosting all of the 118’s kids that weekend.

He picked up the wedding ring quilt from the back of the couch, not wanting to risk anything happening to it, and folded it and decided to put it up in their room for the time being.

In less than an hour they would have Jee, Denny, Mara, Nia, and Christopher all there at the house because Howie, Maddie, Hen, Karen, and Eddie were all going to be gone for the next two days because of a medical conference and spa weekend in Palm Springs. Technically, three of them didn’t even have to go, but apparently there was a spa there that they had all been dying to try, and everything had lined up perfectly, so the team had asked Tommy and Evan if they could watch the kids.

Of course they could, why wouldn’t they? It’s not like they had any other plans that weekend.

…but now he was panicking.

His mind raced as he wondered how they were all going to be comfortable.

Chris would be sharing Tommy’s old office with Denny, while the girls would be put up in the guest room with their own bathroom, of course—but what about feeding them all? Sure, Evan was an amazing cook and regularly cooked more than they needed (they usually had leftovers for days), but they were dealing with kids and kids didn’t like the same things that adults like, so what the hell were they going to do about that? And what about keeping them entertained? And what about—

“Tommy, I can hear your brain short-circuiting from over here,” his boyfriend said, gently interrupting his racing thoughts. “Whatever you’re worrying about, stop. We’ll figure it out together. We’ve got this,” he added as he stepped towards him and rubbed his shoulders.

“Do we?” the airman quipped, gripping the forgotten quilt tightly in his hand.

Soft fingers gently pried his own fingers loose and Evan gave him a look.

“We do. It’s just for two nights and then we can give them back to their parents. I’m cooking up a large batch of my homemade macaroni and cheese, a special recipe that even the kids will love, and they can all eat it, I checked with their parents,” he said as he walked them up to their bedroom. “They also all like Disney and it turns out that the girls are all adrenaline junkies, so I’ve picked out a couple of kid safe action movies for them to watch. There’s lots of extra popcorn for the movies and I picked up two twelve packs of soda on the way home,” he said as he placed the quilt over the end of their bed.

Tommy finally nodded and let out a sigh, feeling some of the tension leave him, running a hand through the back of his hair as he said, “Yeah, okay. We’ve got this…oh, but what about showers and baths? How, how is that gonna work?”

Evan tilted his head.

“You know what, I dunno. But we’ll talk to them when they get here, and we’ll figure it out. I have a shower chair that Chris can use when it’s his turn, so don’t worry about that,” he added, patting his arm as he walked past him back into the hallway, and he stared after his boyfriend for a moment, appreciating his preparedness.

After a moment he followed after him, saying, “Okay, so we have some movies. But what about the rest of the time? We can’t just sit them in front a screen!” he argued, feeling the panic rise in the back of his throat once more—

—but yet again, his boyfriend had an answer.

“They all like soccer,” Evan said, opening the front hall closet and pulling out one of the soccer balls that he owned, “And we have a back yard. They’ll be fine, Tommy.”

Okay, yeah, sure. They’d be fine.

--

“Thanks, Uncle Tommy!” Mara called out as she sipped at the lemonade he’d given her, and he smiled and tried not to react to her calling him Uncle Tommy, simply waving at her from the back door as she went out and sat on the blanket on the grass next to Denny, Nia, and Christopher, the soccer ball just off to the side, while Jee sat on Evan’s lap coloring in some of his tattoos with a water-based marker.

She had tried the soccer ball for a little bit but had gotten tired, so Evan had grabbed the markers and told her to go to town on his arms.

Tommy stared at them for a moment, and then back at the rest of the kids, marveling at the fact that things had been going so well.

Maddie and Chimney had showed up first, of course, giving the two of them all of the instructions—and then Evan had cut his sister off with a friendly glare and had said, “Believe it or not, I do know her routine, you guys,” and then had summarily pushed them back out the door.

About fifteen minutes after them, Hen and Karen had arrived with their three kids, and their brood had all piled into the living room and quickly set up their various electronics to charge. Hen had rolled her eyes and said, “Just make sure they get up and move around at some point,” while Karen had been a bit more serious and had pulled Tommy to the side and practically begged him to make sure they spent as little time on their phones as possible, and he had reassured her that he would.

Another twenty minutes later Eddie and Christopher showed up, the teen looking annoyed at not being allowed to be left alone for a weekend, and Tommy could understand his frustration, which was why he was putting almost no pressure on him to do anything.

In fact, he had made a deal with Evan for over the next two days they would let Christopher have as much autonomy as possible.

“Dude, Iron Man would totally beat Green Lantern!” Tommy heard one of the kids say, and he swiveled his head and grinned when he heard Christopher reply, “Are you kidding me, Denny? Stark would…would not even…stand a chance! The ring is…all powerful!”

“Nano tech, dude! He would remove the ring and win!”

A friendly argument ensued, during which Evan looked up at Tommy and asked, “Who’s your favorite superhero?”

“Not really a superhero person, to be honest. I like the complex characters. Like Daredevil,” he admitted, and his boyfriend shook his head and said, “Why am I not surprised? I’m, uh…I’m a fan of of Hawkeye, myself. He keeps up with all those superheroes all on his own merit, you know? Can’t help but admire that.”

He smiled…

…and then he heard one of the kids shout a bit too loud for it just be a friendly argument or horseplay, and without even thinking about it, Tommy turned towards them and raised his voice and said, “Hey, what’s going on over there?” and they suddenly went silent…and then Mara called out, “Nothing! Never mind!” and he resettled against the doorjamb with his arms crossed over his chest, keeping a wary eye on them, hoping that it was genuinely nothing.

The sound of Evan chuckling reached his ears, and he looked down to see him smiling up at him, and asked, “What?”

“Nothing, just…you went all ‘dad’ voice there. You’re, uh…you’re kinda good at this…”

He flushed and ducked his head, suddenly feeling self-conscious—he then muttered, “Not really, just…you know. Observant,” but Evan continued to smile up at him, uncaring of the way Jee had moved from his left forearm to his right forearm, using a bright pink on one of his tattoos.

--

“Food is ready!”

The sound of four sets of feet stampeding down the hall, followed by a more sedate pace of another pair of feet, told him that they were on their way, and he grabbed the paper plates, Evan having told him that it was easier to deal with disposables when dealing with kids.

They came barreling around the corner and Tommy barely dodged, lifting the pan of cheesy goodness high above their heads.

“Whoa! This is a no running zone! I catch you running, you forfeit your dinner to me!” he said, and they all immediately stopped running and he grinned. It was a technique that his Nona had used with him when he was a kid and had visited her house during special occasions—it had always worked on him, and he was pleased to see that it still worked on the younger generations. He then ushered them towards the table and asked, “Did everyone wash their hands?” and was met with a chorus of ‘yes’.

“Good. Dinner is served,” he said, placing the food in front of them, catching a glimpse of Evan over his shoulder bringing over the drinks from the fridge, each one of them getting a water and a soda, so that they had the option, saying that it was better for them to be allowed to choose which they wanted.

“This looks good,” said Christopher, and Tommy nodded.

“Yeah, that’s ‘cause Evan made it,” he replied, reaching down and ruffling the teen’s hair, smiling as he pulled away from the affectionate gesture. Ah, teenagers.

His boyfriend then sat down at the end of the table with his own plate and the airman joined him, watching as Evan helped Jee with her own food—and then was taken off guard when Nia spoke up from her place on the other side of Mara, saying, “How come you’re the only one who calls Uncle Buck ‘Evan’?” as she stretched to grab the salt, and he gave her a look.

Tommy hesitated…but then honestly answered, “Well, that’s actually a funny story. Do you guys wanna hear it?”

And just like that, every eye at the table was on the firefighter pilot and he grinned.

Chuckling, he explained, “When I first met him, it was when the Captain was lost on the cruise at sea. They needed help to fly into the hurricane, so your dad,” he pointed at Jee, “And your dad,” he pointed at Christopher, “Came to me for my help, along with this guy, right here.” He jabbed his thumb at his boyfriend. “And when he introduced himself he told me his name was Evan Buckley, and so I just called him Evan and he never corrected me. I actually thought he was pulling my leg,” he confessed in a loud whisper, leaning in. “But then I found out later that he liked me and didn’t correct me because he liked me…”

At that, the girls giggled while the boys rolled their eyes and Tommy found himself staring fondly at his boyfriend, who looked embarrassed by the story, even though he found it utterly endearing and wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

“That’s romantic,” Nia said as she stirred her mac and cheese, and Maya agreed.

“It really is.”

Tommy nudged Evan’s shoulder with his own and gave him a look, and said, “Yeah, well, I like the romantic movies. I thought it was sweet,” and went back to eating dinner. The rest of the meal went by with relative ease, the kids being mostly good, with only a small argument here and there over who had eaten more.

By the time dessert rolled around, everyone was sprawled out through the living room, and Tommy smiled as Evan stood in front of the kids and said, “Okay, here are your options. We have MotoCrossed—a classic, How to Train Your Dragon—all three films, Where the Wild Things Are, and—of course—the Goonies. So…what’ll it be?” he asked, looking eager to watch absolutely any of them, and Tommy grinned, knowing that Evan had only seen most of those movies in the past two years because he hadn’t had the chance before.

Denny suddenly spoke up, saying, “How about we put it to a vote?” and all the other kids nodded, except for Jee who was focused on coloring a page of her coloring book.

The four older kids exchanged a look and then nodded, and Tommy watched with a fond smile as they figured it out among themselves, with How to Train Your Dragon winning out in a unanimous vote.

Eventually they all settled, and Tommy and Evan brought them popcorn to eat while they watched, and eventually around the middle of the second movie each one of them started to drift off, eyelids heavy with exhaustion, Jee curled up in the crook of the airman’s arm, one of her small hands gripping tightly to his henley, wrinkling the fabric, already completely asleep.

“I’m gonna go get the beds ready,” Evan whispered into his ear, and he nodded.

Tommy watched as he walked away, marveling at how easiy his boyfriend took to a parenting role, every part of it coming naturally to him, and Tommy knew that if he was physically capable of it, he would get his boyfriend pregnant in a heartbeat. God, he wanted to have kids with him so badly, and it honestly took him off guard how deep that ache went, all the way down to his bones, and he had the feeling that it would show up later in their bedroom in an interesting way.

Within the next half an hour they had managed to get everyone to bed, including Jee, even though she had been clinging to him like a limpet.

“God, she adores you, doesn’t she?” Evan said softly as Tommy pried her off and left her in bed.

He shook his head and joined him in the doorway, glancing back at the three girls, who were all fast asleep, looking perfectly content, and then whispered into his boyfriend’s ear, “She adores you, too, I was just the most recent target for the night. C’mon, let’s go clean up.”

They headed back downstairs and finished cleaning up and then collapsed on the couch.

“Night one, done.”

Tommy looked at Evan and smirked and said, “You sound tired, Evan. You sure you can make it another day?”

His boyfriend smiled back at him and quipped, “You bet your ass I can, old man. What about you? I mean, between the two of us, you’re the one that I would worry about,” he added with a sly grin, and the airman tilted his head and regarded him for a moment, debating how he should respond…

…and then said, “I think can handle it.”

They exchanged a soft look.

Tommy was taken off guard when Evan suddenly remarked, “You ever think about, you know…having kids?” and he hesitated a moment before answering—but then said, “Yeah, I guess I have. I’ve always thought that if I did have kids, then I would do it better than my dad did, at least…”

Evan curled up closer to him, nudging his shoulder up to his…and murmured just below a whisper, “I think you’d make a great dad,” and he felt his breath catch in his throat at his words, but didn’t know how to respond, and so said nothing, instead wrapping his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders and pulled him in closer. They sat there for a long time, basking in the silence that came from a well enjoyed day, and to Tommy the silence felt fuller knowing that there were five very happy and content kids upstairs. He traced his fingers over Evan’s tattoos, which still had faint shades of pinks and greens from where Jee had colored them in, and he smiled, amused at the sight.

They stayed that way for a while, taking in the moment—

—which was abruptly interrupted by a small voice on the stairs behind them saying, “Can I have a drink of water?”

Jee.

They exchanged a look.

“Rock, paper, scissors?” he suggested, and Evan snorted.

“Yeah, right.”

--

A day and a half later, they watched as the last of the kids were picked up by Hen and Karen, all three of them laughing and practically bouncing on their toes as they made their way to the car, while Hen and Karen thanked them for the weekend.

“Seriously, you have no idea how badly we needed this,” Hen said, and Karen nodded.

“We needed this,” she emphasized.

Tommy chuckled and said, “Hey, no need to explain. Your kids were great, and we had a good time,” and Evan said from his side, “We had a great time! Your kids are awesome,” and both women shook their heads and exchanged an amused glance.

“Yeah, they’re always good for strangers. Trust me, the instant we get home all hell will be unleashed,” Karen explained with a wry glance. “But still, we’re glad that they were good for you. How’d they do with Christopher and Jee?” she asked, looking genuinely curious, and Tommy grinned and answered, “They were great with them. In fact, I’m pretty sure that your kids are now trying to plan a movie night sometime in the next week. Be prepared.”

“Oh, great. Just what we need,” drawled Hen, casting a look back at her kids who were chatting away at a mile a minute as they strapped themselves into their seats.

Evan gave each of his friends a look.

“Hey, I think it’s great. Kids need friends like that…”

They nodded and then headed for their car, Hen saying over her shoulder, “Thanks again, guys,” and Tommy quickly shouted back, “Anytime!” just in time, and then they were pulling out o the driveway and he found that he was feeling rather bereft.

He let out a sigh and the two of them turned and headed back inside…and then Evan said from where he was in the kitchen, already cleaning up the remnants of their large breakfast, “You miss them already, don’t you?” and Tommy nodded.

“Yeah, I kinda do.”

He then walked over to the island, rested his hand on the edge, and softly admitted, “I think we should be dads someday,” and was thrilled when Evan gave him a slow, sweet smile in response, stopping in the middle of putting away dishes to move around the island and slip his arms around the airman’s waist, and then press a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. Tommy stared at his boyfriend for a second and then said, “So…you’re okay with that idea?”

Evan grinned.

“Like I said last night, I think you’ll be a great dad. And we could be great dads together…”

Tommy smiled.

Time to buy a goddamn ring.

[littlefankingdom]

I saw this page from the last (maybe?) Batman & Robin (maybe?) issue and I let it go, but actually, I have thoughts about it.

So, what's happening on this page I don't have for you and I'm not going to look for to add to this post? Well, Batman, Bruce, argues that Gotham needs Robin, and Jason answers that none of them give a fuck about Gotham, and they only were Robin to be loved by Bruce. And like, this is just wrong.

For Damian, this works. It is true that Damian did not care about Gotham, and he wanted to be Robin because he saw it as his birth right. After all, every son of Batman has been Robin, so Damian, as the blood son, he wanted that to strengthen his place in the family. Bruce did not want to make Damian Robin (remember that for later), as the boy wasn't fitting what Robin was, and Damian saw "becoming/being Robin" as the same as "being accepted" by his father. But this does not work for the other Robins.

Let's start with the most difficult one: Jason. The one they are making say shit like this every Tuesday and people take it as the truth. If we take the original way Jason became Robin, this is not true. In short, in the original version, after Jason literally borrowed some old Robin's costume behind everyone back, Dick explained how he is leaving Robin behind because he is too old now and becoming Nightwing, which leads him and Bruce to have an emotional moment, as Bruce got scared this meant Dick was cutting contact with him and Dick reassured him that it's not the case, he is just growing and becoming independent, but they will always be family. While his dad and brother are nearly crying over how much they love each other and yet cannot say it out loud, Jason, like the little sibling he is, decides that Dick, not being Robin anymore means it's free real estate for him to be Robin. So, he is celebrating becoming Robin, which neither Bruce or Dick asked him to be or told him he could. A lot of people love this version, it's very good. So, Jason didn't become Robin to be loved by Bruce here, but because that's the cool shit that his brother had and he is letting it behind, so that's his now. ANYWAY, I know y'all aren't going to accept this version, so let's go for the more official one, the next one (fuck any version after that, especially Nightwing: Year One, they just don't want to acknowledge that Bruce loves Jason and he was his son). In this one, Jason becomes Robin after a lil adventure. Batman makes a deal with him to go to Ma Gunn's school which is a front to train kids into becoming goons, so Jason tells Batman. Not certain that Batman believed him, he decided to take down Ma Gunn (who is doing a heist) ON HIS OWN, AT 12 YEARS OLD, AS A MALNOURISHED BOY. So Bruce decides that's his son now, he will die for him, and he's like "Wanna be Robin?" and the kid is like "Robin? Cool!". He didn't give a fuck if Batman loved him, Batman was, at this point, just a bit more trustworthy than everyone other adults. And Jason was refusing to go to the cops or social services, and he was like "I need nobody, I can take care of myself!", so Batman was using Robin to make the kid agree to come home with him and not live on the street (Jason is a feral kitten and Robin is some good old churu to get him to open up) And you can say that's my interpretation, but in the end, it's the 80s and this is a comic, the writers did not care about that shit, they just needed Batman to have a new Robin because Batman doesn't exist without Robin. Anyway, Bruce, at multiple moments through Jason's Robin era, did tell Jason he could stop being Robin if he wanted (remember that for later) and also tried to have Jason stop being Robin because he thought it wasn't good for him, WHICH JASON HEARD. Jason ran to Ethiopia after hearing Bruce talked about how he loved Jason and being Robin may be harming the kid, so he was going to stop him. People LOVES to say Jason did not want to be Robin, but y'all, if the boy did not care about justice, wtf is he trying to prove to Batman there's a better way to do it now? Why is he still being a vigilante as an adult? Nobody is forcing him to be doing this. He cares about Gotham, even if he is sometimes really bad at showing it or acting stupid (imo)

Now, about the others. Dick invented Robin after pursuing his parents' murder. Under Bob Kane, his creator, Bruce tells Dick that now that they brought justice to his parents, Dick can stop, and Dick is like "No, I want to help people, it's what my parents would have wanted." So, Dick may not care about Gotham itself, but he cares about people and that's why he becomes and stays Robin, to help, not to get Bruce to love him. And when Bruce fired him originally, he tells him that's because he loves him and can't watch him be hurt because of him, and Dick answers "I will just take another name and continue because I want to protect people". Don't insult Dick Grayson by implying he only did that for Bruce, how many times do they have to write him say it wasn't for it to enter their heads?!

Stephanie was already Spoiler, she was already trying to help Gotham, before becoming Robin. Being Robin was about proving her worth to Batman. She clearly gave a fuck about Gotham, or she would have stopped after all the attempts made by Bruce and Tim to make her stop. But I don't think she counts, as she was never Robin in the current main timeline.

Finally, Tim Drake. There's all the Robins from other universe, but also the "We are Robin" movement that was about Gotham, but it doesn't really matter for this. But Tim Drake, he is the one who said that Gotham needed Robin, Bruce disagreed. When this boy put on the suit of Batman’s dead son, we can all agree he did not think he was going to get loved by Batman for that. Tim became Robin because Gotham needed Robin, not to be loved.

So, in conclusion, what Jason is saying is pure bs. 100% blaming the writers, as even Bruce being like "Robin must exists, Gotham needs Robin" is bs, with his whole "being mad at Damian for not wanting to be a vigilante" they have been doing. I hope you remember what I told you to remember, because now is when it is useful. Not only he fought Tim on "Batman needs Robin", he also was against Damian being Robin and the kid was only made Robin by Alfred and Dick. And he has often tried to stop his kids from being Robin if he thought it was too dangerous for them. He also has told them multiple time they could stop. He is the guy giving them insane training because it is so dangerous, and they can give up if it's too much, it's okay, but they aren't going out if they can't follow the training. Bruce wished his kids did not want to be Robin. Bruce would NOT be against one of his kid dropping being a vigilante, it's a dream come true for him. A normal ass life where he doesn't have to worry about them fighting to death? Sign him up! (He still will worry like crazy, but they will not be fighting Deathstroke). What does Bruce want for his kids? To be better than him and go to college (the man just wants one of his kid to finish college, but they keep dropping out)

(Just some modern pages of Bruce learning Tim was accepted at Ivy when Tim "died". Tim was afraid Bruce would be hurt if he stopped being a vigilante to study, but the story shows Bruce would not have been. This is far from the only time or the first time the subject of Bruce's kids and college is brought up. In the 70/80s, Bruce and Dick argued about college, as Dick wanted to drop out and Bruce was against it. During the same era, Bruce also vocalized to others how he wanted Jason to go to college one day.)

There's this trend in DC comics lately to paint Robin as something Bruce forced his kids to be for himself, and I hate it. It is erasing the truth, the historical context (for Jason, it's a superhero comic from the 80s, what are you expecting?), and I don't think any other hero is being criticized like this for having sidekicks (Does Green Arrow is treated like this too or is it fine for him to have child sidekicks?) They need to stop with that bs.

[measuredingold]

with you, anywhere will be my home

author’s note: hiiiiiiiii. it’s been a minute, huh ? i’ve honestly been sitting on this for 2 weeks 😅 but happy i’m able to finally get this out for yall ! think of it as a v-day treat 🥰 i love this universe i built with folio and reader and have so many ideas for them lol as always, please enjoy and feedback is appreciated ! and requests are open btw, i’m in a rut and am not sure what people wanna read :) title a translated lyric from bts’ song home

pairing: nick folio x reader

word count: 2.2k

cross posted on ao3

cw/tw: miscommunication 🤥, fluff fluff fluffffff, first time saying i love you, nick is so smitten with reader it makes me sick, 18+ minors do not interact

It's almost a no brainer when Nick decides to ask you to move in.

It makes perfect sense. You're always together when he's home, switching between one place or the other, and it just makes a lot more sense than having your own separate spaces. He doesn't want to be separate anymore. He wants to know that when he's coming back from tour he's coming home to you, in a space you both share and make your own.

There's only one hiccup to this no brainer decision - he hasn’t even said I love you yet. Neither have you.

It's only been 9 months. Not a full year yet, but Nick thinks by month one he was fully in love with you. He might've been from the jump. You were the only person he thought about, the only person he yearned for. Which is crazy to think, because Nick's sure he's never yearned for a single person a day in his life. But it's different when it comes to you.

You're who he sees when he thinks about the future. When he plans out the rest of his life, coming up with every single possibility that could happen between now and then, you somehow manage to be in every single scenario. At first it was jarring, you popping up into his future daydreams, but now it's comforting.

If you asked him right now to spend the rest of his life with you, he'd say yes before you even finished your sentence.

So why hasn't he said it yet? Hell if he knows.

It's not that he doesn't think you love him because deep down he knows you do. Can see it in the way you look at him, in the way you smile, in the small gestures that you make. He stares at you just the same, smile way too big that it hurts his fucking face, and those same small gestures.

You love him the way he loves you.

Which is why he's decided that when he asks you to move in with him, he's just going to say it. No more silent looks and shared smiles when saying goodbye. Nick doesn't think he can go another day without telling you that he loves you. It's corny, but he needs you and just about everyone in a hundred mile radius to know immediately.

So, he'll tell you tomorrow. Easy.

...

Not easy.

Nick never thought he was much of the anxious type, yet here he was pacing outside your front door. He felt hot, hands clammy as he stared at the only thing separating the two of you. He has a key. He can let himself in. Yet, he can't seem to get himself to do it.

Because he knows once he goes in, there's no going back.

He isn't scared of your rejection because he knows that's not the likely outcome. He knows you love him. He thinks he may be a bit scared of what comes next. This is probably the most serious relationship he's ever been in, and he doesn't want to fuck that up. He doesn't think that he would, intentionally at least, but the what if of a hypothetical fuck up has been eating at him for hours.

His eyes flutter shut as he takes in a long deep breath before he finally braves unlocking your door.

His hand shakes as he twists the handle and he mentally swears at himself to fucking calm down, it’s just you, everything’s fine, but when he finally sees you, it’s like the world stops for just a moment. You look up at Nick from your couch, book in your lap, and the smile that spreads across your face makes Nick relax for maybe a split second.

"Hey baby."

"Hi."

He doesn't move, just stares at you from where he's standing, and your expression turns from happy to amused, arms crossing over your chest.

"Babe?"

He blinks. "Yeah?"

"...Whatcha' doin?"

"Um." His face burns at the sound of your giggle at his unusual behavior, but truthfully he doesn't know how to act right now. "Standin'."

"Oh yeah?" You arch a brow at him, more laughter escaping. "Why don't you quit standin' and come sit with me? I missed you."

He'd been gone a few days, out in California to put down some tracks for the new album. He'd just gotten home the day before when he decided he was going to ask you to move in with him because he couldn't stand coming back to an empty home. Nick blinks at you again before he smiles, warmth spreading across his chest as he looks at you seated on the couch.

This is what he wanted to come home to. He wanted to come home after a tour, or after a few weeks in California laying down some drums, to you reading your book on the couch.

"It was only a few days." He hums out and makes his way towards you, flopping himself down beside you.

"I always miss you when you're gone." You shrug before pouting at him. "Did you not miss me?"

His heart speeds up, pounding against his chest and he immediately shakes his head. "I wasn't saying that I didn't-"

"I was just messing with you," You cut him off with a laugh, face softening as you looked at him. "What's goin' on? You're acting weird."

Nick chews on his bottom lip before moving his gaze to the muted television, shoulders going up into a shrug. " 'm not acting weird."

"Yes, you are."

Okay. He is. He knows it and he knows you know it, but he just isn't sure what to say. How do people bring this up? Hey, I'm in love with you. Let's live together. It seems easy enough to say in his head but the second he gazes at you again, his words fall short.

So much for easy.

"I..." Nick starts and then sighs, sliding a hand down his face. "You ever have something to say, but just don't know how to say it? In my head it's so easy but every time I try to get the words out, I lose everything I even wanted to say."

Your face softens. "What happened?"

"What?"

"Something happened when you were gone." Your eyes narrow. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened." He mumbles out, eyeing you for a moment. "I just... realized something, but I don't know how to tell you."

"Oh."

For some reason, the detached tone in your voice makes his stomach turn. You shift on the couch, moving your eyes away from him as you look to the side. It's silent between the two of you now and Nick hates it. It's never felt this awkward before. Uncomfortable. He fucking hates it.

"Babe-"

You cut him off. "...Did I do something?"

"No." He's quick with his response, shaking his head quickly. "Fuck. No, you didn't do anything."

His stomach turns at the way you don't respond and wrap your arms around yourself, your arms being some form of protection. From him. Fuck. That's definitely not what he wanted to do. He shakes his head again, eyes pleading as he reaches out for you.

"You didn't do anything."

"Well, it sure feels like I did." You laugh, strained, and Nick swallows down whatever lump was building in his throat. "This feels awfully like a break-up, Nick."

"What?" His voice comes out a lot louder than he expected, and he hates the way his heart breaks beneath his chest at the sad look you finally give him. "I am not breaking up with you. That is not what's happening."

"Then what's happening, Nick?" You whine out, lips dipping into a frown. "You're being weird and saying you have something to tell me but don't know how to tell me. That sounds a lot like I want to break up with you, but I don't know how to tell you."

Nick pauses for a moment, eyes scanning over your face before he breathes out a quiet "Fuck," and shuts his eyes.

He messed up - majorly.

All he had to do was just fucking tell you that he loved you and this would've been all avoided, but instead he had to go and do whatever the fuck this was.

"Babe, listen to me." His eyes open to find you still staring at him, your frown somehow much deeper than it was moments ago. He hesitantly reaches out, silently asking if it was alright to touch you. You nod. He's gentle when he slips your arms away from yourself, finally able to slide his fingers in between yours. "This... I'm not breaking up with you, okay? I'd be fucking crazy to do that."

You don't say anything, just stare at him with that same sad look. He sighs.

"What I realized is that like," He pauses, searching his brain for the right words. "I like coming home to you. After a short tour, or a long one, it feels... good to know that once I'm off that plane, I'm coming back to you."

Your eyes soften momentarily. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He smiles, small and a bit timid, and continues. "Then it made me realize that I'd really love to have a place to call home, you know? Instead of doing all this back and forth. It's fine if that's what you want to keep doing, but I think I'd really like to have a home... with you."

The silence ringing between you two makes his stomach turn. You stare at him, wide eyed and mouth open and the nerves from before come back because he thinks he may have fucked up, but then your hand squeezes his. He can see the tears welling in your eyes now and he watches you blink them away.

"...With me?"

"Yeah?" He's nervous, not sure how to take your response. "If that's okay? Like I said, we can keep doing what we've been doing. Back and forth between here and my place if that's what you want, I don't mind-"

His words are cut off by your lips, a bruising kiss suffocating whatever he wanted to say. His eyes widen for a moment before they flutter shut and he finally kisses back, before chuckling softly against your lips. You sniffle.

"Are you telling me you want to move-in together?"

Nick notices the first tear that falls when he pulls back, reaching a hand up and brushing it away with his thumb. His timid smile grows at the feeling of you nuzzling into his touch.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm telling you."

"Are you sure?" You actually sound nervous, staring at him with wide eyes as you asked.

"Of course I'm sure," He doesn't have to think twice, words falling from his lips with ease, "I love you. I want this, if you do."

It takes him a second to realize he had said it, and feels slightly embarrassed at the butterflies filling his stomach at how easy it was to say. His face flushes as your eyes widen more, lips parting as the weight of his words dawn on you.

"...You love me?"

His stomach turns again, and he nods slowly. "Yeah?"

"How long?"

"I think I loved you from the start." He replies sheepishly, cheeks burning at the wide smile you give him.

You blink away your tears again, leaning more into his palm that's still rested against your cheek. "I think I have, too."

Your words are soft, almost inaudible, but he hears it. His stomach turns and he can feel his heart pounding against his chest. His entire face burns and his ears are probably red, too, but fuck it. He doesn't care.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm." Your wide smile falls into something softer, much smaller, and he swears your eyes twinkle as you hum out, "I love you."

Nick doesn't know what to say besides smile at you, cheeks immediately hurting at how wide it's stretched across his face. "I love you, too."

"And I really want to live with you." You rush out. "I've been thinking about that too but I was worried I was moving too fast. Didn't want to scare you."

"Honey," He starts with a chuckle, "I think you could've asked me two weeks in and I would've straight up said you know what? Hell yeah."

You laugh, all thick with emotion and fucking beautiful that Nick can't help but lean in and press his lips against yours again. Your arms raise to wrap around your shoulders to bring him closer to you and he can't help but make a noise, a happy sound, and deepen the kiss. You pull away first this time, forehead resting against his.

"So, we're doing this?"

"Yeah. I think we are."

The two of you smile at each other in silence and Nick wishes nothing more than to bask in this moment a little longer. He doesn't know if he's ever felt happier. Knowing that you love him right back makes him feel things he wasn't sure he's ever felt before. It's in that moment, with the way you're staring at him like he hangs up the fucking moon and the stars, that he's going to ask you to marry him someday.

And it makes him feel damn good knowing that you'll say yes.

[lambilegs]

happy valentines!! hope you have a good one 🖤 wanted to request if it's not much of an issue what spending your first valentines day with lee would be like? thank u!!

LOVERS' DAY WITH LEE HARKER

˖◛⁺⑅♡ note to anon: hiiiii love!! happy valentine's to you too, I hope you have a lovely day <33 omg so I was hoping to write something themed for today so this request is perfect hehe ˖◛⁺⑅♡ music: my girl - the temptations, it had to be you - frank sinatra, always be my baby - mariah carey, double take - dhruv, like I do - j.tajor (I so wish I could link my spotify's valentine's playlist for this, but alas, I can't so I'll just share which songs I enjoyed listening to when writing this hehe) ˖◛⁺⑅♡ contains: sfw, lee and reader being gay af and in love pretty much, not proofread. would absolutely love to hear what you guys think, it always makes me very happy and motivated to know mwah mwah ˖◛⁺⑅♡ divider by: @/fairytopea

okay so first off, I feel like lee would never be someone who cared much at all about valentine's day or saw it as a big deal, you know? she definitely is the kind of partner who feels she should consistently give you that support and care and doesn't really feel the need to designate a day to spoiling you

which is why if you're someone who likes valentine's day, you've gotta tell her so she knows exactly what your expectations are. otherwise, she's gonna feel at a loss to know what level of grandeur you're expecting on her end and she'll have nothing to go off of but her own research LMAO

if you tell her you just want her to do what she thinks is a nice gesture, and leave the planning to her for it, she'll just be a confused wreck for the first few days

eventually, though, through extensive research, she decides what'll be best is probably a gift and some kind of date, since that seems to be what most couples do and expect

her gift will either be something practical (like, if you've been having bad back pain, she'll get a back massager), or something she's observed you looking at in stores (she privately keeps a messy list of things she's seen you admiring in public so she can refer to it on your birthday or your guys' anniversary)

since she's a simp tho, she'll probably end up going with both kinds of gifts LOL

as for a date, she decides it'd just be most practical to decide on that together, so that both of you are comfortable with the idea

a lot of couples tend to do big outings, but you're well aware that lee isn't really comfortable with outings that put her in crowded spaces or take her out of her comfort zone. so, you guys settle on something simple, like going on a walk, then making dinner together and sharing it at home

which honestly still feels as intimate and special as going out. because, ofc, lee gets super busy with work, and this sometimes leads to an entire month of no pre-planned dates. time spent together, yes, but actual dates planned out are a different thing. so, reserving a slot of time just for you and her to talk, catch up and spend quality time means, like, a lot to her. honestly, I feel like quality time is probably one of her top love languages, since I think she'd need to spend a lot of time with someone to be comfortable enough to be romantically involved with them

like ACCKKKKK I'm getting butterflies thinking of it, but I can just imagine you two walking through a snowy trail, catching up, and when you're in the middle of rambling about something you're really passionate about, she's just gently smiling and feeling rejuvenated by the knowledge that, yes, this is exactly why she's so enamoured with you

if you catch her watching you and ask what's up, she'll just clear her throat and look away, mumbling, "nothing"

if you proceed to tease her, sidling to her side and nuzzling against her, she'll just roll her eyes and ignore you, but continue to keep her arm wrapped around you the entire time

when you guys cook together, you'll either play a tape or have some cheesy romance movie playing in the background, much to lee's cringing. but, it's just white noise, really, for the entire time, you two are bickering over how exact to be with the pasta recipe, with lee calling for exact precision and you insisting on a little flare to suit both your guys' tastes

as per usual, she gives into you

when you're stirring the sauce together, she leans on the counter, watching you with intense eyes, feeling her stomach clench at just how grateful she feels. to be this comfortable with someone, this at ease, is a rarity for her. she never really thought of herself as having a long-lasting relationship or partner, content with her solitude and reconciled with the idea that her discomfort with social situations would probably prevent her from finding someone who she truly feels loosened and relaxed with. so, the fact that you found her, and somehow, bore your way through her walls until you got to make a home in her chest, still makes her feel slightly astonished. and wholly grateful.

she hesitates, but pushes herself onward, knowing you'd like her to be open with her desire for affection, and walks over, giving you a back hug, chin perched on your shoulder. you laugh softly at the touch, your stomach rumbling under her arm.

"all okay?" you ask gently.

lee just breathes in your scent, quietly saying, "yeah, I'm okay"

you guys eat together on her couch, your legs tossed over hers as they stretch along the couch. she has one hand resting on your thigh, thumb smoothing over the fabric of your pants, while the other is feeding herself.

"you know, this is pretty good," you mutter wondrously when chewing. "maybe we should just run away and spend the rest of our days making pasta."

"that definitely sounds reasonable," she mutters with a faint smile, squeezing your knee. she hasn't admitted it to you, at least not yet, but she does think about that sometimes. well, a lot. how one day in the future, she'd like to retire and move with you to somewhere secluded, somewhere away from oregon. somewhere that's not tainted with her childhood, or that'll remind her of her work, no matter how proud she is of it. somewhere reserved only for the two of you. it's a big commitment, a huge one, really, but she wouldn't have ever gotten with you if she wasn't sure of her decision.

when you two swap gifts, she's biting her lip nervously, hands fidgeting on her lap as you eagerly pull a gift from the first paper brown bag she handed to you. when you find the body massager, you immediately laugh, your heart swelling with how considerate, and unorthodox, the present is.

lee, on the other hand, is watching you carefully, trying to understand why you're so amused, and if it's an indicator she did something wrong. when you notice this, your laugh falters and you lean in to kiss her cheek, mumbling, "I love it, baby. thank you."

she clears her throat, heat rising to her cheeks from the affectionate touch. inside, though, is a stirring of satisfaction and pride, the feeling only increasing by a tenfold when you pull out the plushie she got you and scream in delight.

"I, um..." she trails off, suddenly feeling a tad pathetic. "I sprayed my cologne on it. I heard some people like that."

and you definitely seem to, she observes, based on how you shove your nose into the plushie then immediately throw yourself into her lap, dotting kisses all over her face, which sends her beaming shyly.

she absolutely does not let you read the card in front of her. she just tells you to do it when she's not in the house and you're alone LMFAO

you get her some slacks, since she hates going to malls and stores and getting them herself, as well as some books and tapes she's been interested in. of course, it wouldn't be a proper gift from you without some romance involved to make her blush, hehe, so all of these are paired with something like a bouquet or flowers, or a letter with a lock of hair attached.

all of the gifts have her, like, insanely touched. again, she never thought she'd be be in this position before of having a partner who she's in a committed, devoted bond with, who she actually gets to spend this holiday with. feeling the familiarity and knowledge of her seeping in every gift you hand her, the consideration you put into all of them, has her nearly welling up. along with her mom, you're the sensitive point in her life, the one who has her shaken with fear over losing.

she does make a light joke over your romantic gift, brushing her thumb over it as her lips softly turn up. probably something along the lines of, "you're kind of a sap, aren't you?"

but, months later, when you borrow her jacket to take out the trash, stuffing your hands in her pocket, you freeze at the touch of something unfamiliar buried deep beneath her receipts. when you take it out, you nearly cry at the sight of a dried, crinkled flower from that february day.

you love her, and she loves you. what could be better than that?

+ bonus: her love letter one hundred percent has you bawling. she pours everything into it that she usually struggles to say. the part that has you downright sobbing is when she writes, "I always thought I'd be satisfied to live on my own, with nothing to account for but myself. But, I'd happily cling onto you like a shadow from now on, as long as you're okay with it. I'm yours, completely. And I promise to always keep you safe."

[wandering-submissivegirl]

If one of your ex' friends breaks up you should ask your ex to offer you up as a replacement hole. The friend decides how, with the covers over you, a paper bag over your head or clothed in a similar way to his ex. Just give him the chance to think of her again while fucking you, the replacement hole. Make sure to remind him he can call you by her name too.

Alternatively this works perfectly if one of their date nights get cancelled.

I told my ex about this. And he told me that one of his friends’ girlfriends was away for the week therefore he was not gonna be able to get any action on valentines night so therefore I should be a girlfriend replacement service. I was ordered to turn up in my own clothes and the. Strip and go into the bedroom where his friend will have selected an outfit belonging to his gf for me to change into. I got there and left my expensive clothes just inside the doorway and stepped into the bedroom. Where I was met with a light blue crop top with a heart on it, a micro mini skirt, 4 inch heels and hair bobbles with a note that said pigtails. I put the outfit on and realised I looked like such a slutty skank and walked out to him. He told me that I looked perfect and much better than he’d ever seen me in before. Then he gave me my panties I had worn there and told me to wear them because he wanted me to get them wet and keep them. As I put them on he gave me a pair of his gfs dirty panties and told me to put them in my mouth as punishment for being such a naughty slut. They tasted so sweaty and stale I gagged as I put them in. He then told me he wanted a lap dance as his gf would never give him one. So I danced on his lap, awkwardly with his gfs panties in my mouth. He groped my ass and grinded his cock on the skirt as I danced. He told me I was a very good replacement gf and I should get on my knees. I did and he took the panties out of my mouth and placed them down and told me to please him. I started by kissing and teasing his cock through his boxers. Making sure to keep eye contact. He told me to lower them and I did so and he moaned and grabbed my pigtails. Pulling my head down onto his hard cock. He spanked my ass as I sucked him and I could feel him getting bigger in my mouth as he held me close I felt his cum shoot out into my mouth but he didn’t let go, he held me there to take it all in my mouth. When he finally released me I was gagging for air and he looked very satisfied. Then he relaxed over and grabbed a vibe and told me to put it in my cunt. I did so and felt it immediately turn me on. He takes his gfs dirty panties back in my mouth and told me to get to cleaning his house. He said his gf was home on Saturday and if it was a mess she wouldn’t be happy with him. He said for every room that was satisfactory I would get an item of my clothing back to take home. So there were my £120 heels, my designer black jeans, my favourite t shirt and my Christian Dior jacket. I realised the vibe was controlled by him and he would get me as wet as possible as he had already laid claim to my underwear. It was unbearable. Cleaning for him while he toyed with the vibe inside me. Knowing I was doing a good job so his girlfriend would think he had done it, probably so that he would get another bj out of it. All while dressed as a slutty skank. I cleaned his kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom and he inspected it all and was satisfied. But he said he needed to give me one last gift before I went and told me to get changed into my own clothes. I did so and knelt before him. The vibe still making me so horny. He got his cock out and I sucked it like a good girl for him and he told me that he’d dreamt of doing this ever since he’d first met me. He said the fact I was such a stuck up bitch made him so hard and it was his dream to have me on my knees in front of him. He told me to beg for his cum and as I did so with his cock in my mouth he pulled out and cum all over my face. In my hair and over my top and jacket. He kept jerking and squeezing it out over my face as I knelt there. He told me to lick it up and used his gfs panties to wipe his cock clean, before shoving them in my mouth and telling me to remove my own and the vibe. I took them off and handed them to him. Soaking wet and he told me to keep his gfs in my mouth while I drove home. And that’s the story of how I served my asshole ex bfs 11th friend and tasted his cum and his gfs sweaty panties all the way home

[vickypersch]

Dallas Winston NYC Headcanon

Here's my little hc (this is actually an excerpt from a fanfic I've been writing 🙂‍↔️) on Dally's time in New York! (+ how he got there, why he left, etc) I honestly have no idea how close this is to being canonically accurate but this is what my brain decided. In this hc, the gang are childhood friends. Dally knows them before he takes off in this scenario (idk if that's canon, it is in my heart).

Anyway, I was told I should share (thank you @rinajjbp 🫡). Please lmk y'all think. 😙🫶🏻

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He thought back on his ten-year-old self. He’d had enough of his drunk of a father using him as a punching bag and decided to find his mom. She had run out on them when Dally was maybe four or five, so long ago he barely remembered her. He just had a picture, a name, and the knowledge that she lived in New York City. That was enough to make him believe he could find her. On the night he decided to leave, Dally waited until the old man was passed out next to the radio. He riffled through his wallet, taking all of the cash he could find, and swiped his last pack of cigarettes before walking right out the front door.

 If Dally was honest with himself, once he finally found her, he realized that she wasn’t much better than his dad. However, her rare moments of kindness were enough for Dally to stick around for a few years – even if she did knock him around a little here and there, especially when she drank too much. But she took him in with almost no questions asked. When she felt like being nice, she’d encourage him to go to school and tell him to stay out of trouble. He struggled with that last one and Dally somehow found himself in the most trouble of his short life. The first time he was arrested was shortly after he arrived at his mom’s apartment. Dally was used to being able to snatch whatever he wanted from the drugstore back in Tulsa and get away with it. He figured out quickly that the same rules did not apply in New York. 

So, instead of cleaning up his act, Dally just got better at stealing. He figured out new tactics and new ways to deceive people. By the time he was almost eleven, Dally was in and out of the county jail like it had a revolving door. Though, this was just the beginning of his mischief. After getting involved with a gang, he found out what real trouble was. For a while he just observed. He was the youngest of their group and wanted to figure out how to stake his claim as a real member. He watched the older boys pickpocket people out on the streets. He watched them jump kids in other gangs for no good reason. He practically took notes when the others would lie, cheat, and steal their way through everything. Once Dally figured out his role in the group, he joined in on any of the action he could. Soon enough, he was jumping people and pickpocketing easy targets. They’d get drunk and smoke dope when there was no fighting to be done. 

It was all fun and games until Dally witnessed a drug deal gone wrong. Shots were fired and he watched as one of his friends crumpled to the ground. It was a difficult sight to stomach at the age of just thirteen, and before Dally could be next, he left. He walked home in the November cold, and couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that he had just watched someone die. His friend. One of the older boys that had taken Dally under his wing. He showed him the ropes of the gang, and helped him out the first time Dally was jumped. Someone who had done so much for him was just gone now. 

When he got home that night, his mom was passed out on the couch. He didn’t notice the sleeping pills spilled out on the floor, or the empty bottle of vodka that had rolled underneath the couch. The only thing he could see was the image of his buddy, someone he knew in real life, collapsed to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. He had never felt such suffocating rage before. He’d experienced loss in the gang, but not like this. This was different. He wanted to scream, he wanted to beat the hell out of someone, he had even wanted to cry. Dally didn’t sleep that night. He stared at the ceiling, not being able to get that horrible image out of his head. The next morning when Dally emerged from his room, he found his mother still lying on the couch. When she didn’t yell at him to shut the hell up as he shuffled around the kitchen, he figured she was dead too. 

He didn’t feel the need to cry or scream the way he had the night before. He didn’t want to rage and use violence as a coping mechanism. He cleaned up the sleeping pills and vodka bottle, and sat down on the floor in front of her and took in her features one last time. Her eyes were closed, and her blonde hair covered half of her face. He never thought he looked a lick like her, until his eyes caught her pointed ears and instinctively he touched his own. It was the one thing they shared, and while he couldn’t find it in him to cry over his mother’s death, he’d hold this near to him for a while. He observed her a little bit longer, wishing he knew if she had done this on purpose or not. But it didn’t matter, she was dead either way, and the stillness of her body was beginning to creep him out. 

So, Dally gathered up what he would need to get back to Tulsa and headed out. He silently thanked his mother for the time they had together, even if she had been a drunk. At least she cared some of the time. He hoped that when he made it back to Tulsa, his old friends would still be there. And this was the one time that Dally felt like luck was on his side. It was just barely daylight still when he hopped off that Greyhound bus. It had been a few years, but he knew which side of town he belonged on as if it were engraved into his bones. He tracked his way back to the Curtis house.

He stopped for a moment, readying himself for the chaos that would ensue when they found out he was back. Mrs. Curtis greeted him first, she wrapped her comforting arms around him and held him tightly. Then Mr. Curtis gave him a firm clap on the shoulder before pulling him into a hug. All three brothers were next, engulfing him in the biggest hug Dally had ever experienced. He wasn’t one for physical touch, but it was nice to know he had been missed. He was thankful they hadn’t forgotten about him. 

Dally almost didn’t recognize any of the Curtis boys. They had all grown so much in the time he was away. Darry was sixteen now, learning how to drive. He had shot up about a foot and was playing football. Soda was still as happy-go-lucky as ever, and made sure to let Dally know that middle school is awful and gave him a long list of things he will hate about going to school there. Pony, meanwhile, had discovered a new hobby in the last three years; story writing. He showed Dally all of his journals with all kinds of different stories written in them. Most of the time Dally would tell him to buzz off, but he humored him just this once. He was certainly happy to be back where he knew he belonged.

[einaudis]

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