#I dunno it was midnight when I drew this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

djarindroid · 2 months

Text

Against All Odds

Pairing: Eric (AQPDO) x Reader

Summary: After meeting Eric and slowly growing closer to one another will you be able to get back to each other in this new silent world?

Word Count: 5,876

Warnings: Descriptions of violence, death and blood

Comments: I dunno why but I'm more nervous to post this than I have been about anything else I've written. Hope you enjoy!

The nights spent working at the NYU Law School library were peaceful. Where dimly lit aisles provided a sanctuary to any student burning the midnight oil. Your job was easy enough, re-shelve a few books and help the occasional student find something. Whilst night shifts weren’t ideal it was a sure way for you to save up to achieve your dream; going to art school. Besides, it gave you plenty of time to work on your sketches.

It was nearing 2am when someone burst through the doors, looking up from the returned books you were sorting though you saw a disheveled young man anxiously scanning the room until his eyes landed on you. Rushing over he blurted out, ‘Excuse me, I need a book on constitutional law. I have a paper due and my laptops just crashed on me.’

You smiled, hoping to ease his panicked state. ‘You’re gonna need to go up a floor to aisle 23, there should be some constitutional law books on the 2nd and 3rd shelf.’

‘Okay, perfect, aisle 23,’ he repeated as he began to walk away. ‘Thank you so much!’

You watched him go, slightly chuckling to yourself as he went to go downstairs instead of up, clearly too distracted to remember everything you said.

‘Hey,’ you softly called out. He halted, and turned to you. ‘Upstairs,’ you pointed up to emphasise where he went wrong.

‘Oh right, yeah of course, you said that. Thanks again,’ he stammered out as he quickly corrected himself, bounding up the stairs two at a time. You couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped you as you watched him go. Shaking your head you returned to sorting the books.

The next few hours passed uneventfully, a couple of other students came in and out but no one needed anything from you. As the clock ticked closer to dawn you decided to take a walk around the library, to check if any books had been left out.

As you made your way upstairs you wondered if the guy from earlier had found what he needed. Turning the corner at the top of the stairs you spotted him, working diligently in a sea of open books. The desk light bathed him a soft glow as he ran his hand through his already tousled hair. You don’t know what possessed you to go over to him, you only ever spoke to the students if they came up to you at the front desk, but you found yourself drawn over to him.

‘Hey,’ you said quietly, not wanting to break the serenity the library provided, ‘did you find what you were looking for?’

His deep brown eyes met yours with a hint of gratitude as they flicked up from his notes. Despite his frazzled appearance he had an undeniable charm. His slightly stubbled jaw line may have been tense with the stress he was under but there was a softness to his features that drew you in.

‘Oh hi, yeah I found everything,’ he gestured to the scattered books around him. ‘Thank you again for pointing me in the right direction, this place is still a bit of a maze to me.’

‘Not a problem, late night book adventures are all a part of the job,’ you joked, earning you a small chuckle from him.

‘I’m Eric, by the way,’ he said as his gaze lingered on you, causing a warmth to spread inside you. You hoped you weren’t blushing as you managed to reply with your own name.

He repeated it, his English accent making each syllable sound deliberate and thought out. ‘Thanks again. I should probably get back to it before the caffeine completely wears off.’

Understanding his situation, you nodded. ‘Good luck, if you need anything else let me know,’ with that you made your way back to the front desk. You tried to work on some of your sketches but your thoughts kept wandering back to Eric. You’d seen your fair share of late night students, but none had captured your attention quite like him.

Hours slipped by, the library remained quiet with only the occasional rustle or soft footsteps echoing in the stillness. Each sound drew your attention to the stairs, hoping to see Eric walking down.

But soon enough the first rays of sunlight began to filter through the windows, signalling the end of your shift. You packed your stuff, glancing over your shoulder every few seconds in the hope of seeing Eric one last time before you left. Feeling a bit foolish for lingering over a brief encounter you sighed and stepped outside.

The next night came around quickly and before you knew it you were back in the library, among a new shipment of books, in need of scanning and logging onto the system. The smell of fresh pages and the rhythmic beeping of the scanner offered a welcome distraction from the lingering thoughts about Eric. You’d scolded yourself for fixating on a man you’d only had a few interactions with, deciding you needed to get out more.

You settled into a steady rhythm of logging the books but time still seemed to drag. Just as you were about to take a break the main door creaked open. A smile unconsciously spread across your lips at the site of who walked in. Eric seemed calmer today but he still had a determined glint in his eye.

He spotted you and matched your smile. His steps towards you were more confident than the previous night, your heartbeat picked up the closer he got. ‘Hey Eric, need help finding something?’ you greeted him first.

His smile widened as he reached the desk ‘no not quite. I actually wanted to come back and thank you properly, you really saved me last night.’ He leant on your desk, resting on his forearms as he looked down at where you sat.

‘Oh you didn’t have to come back just for that,’ you flushed. Had he really just made the trip here in the middle of the night to thank you again? Maybe you’d affected him as much as he had you, you tried not to dwell on the thought.

‘Yeah I was actually planning on bringing you coffee but I wasn’t sure what you liked,’ he scratched the back of his head nervously. ‘Didn’t want to bring you the wrong thing you know? And a lot of people don’t like to drink caffeine at night so I didn’t know if you’d want it at all, and it might be a bit weird for me to just turn up with it…’

He was anxiously rambling and boy did you find it endearing. ‘I like coffee,’ you gently interrupted, once again hoping to put him at ease. ‘I usually stop on my way here for a latte.’ You nodded towards the empty takeaway cup you’d thrown out earlier.

His shoulders visibly relax, ‘good to know.’ His smile returned as he spoke, somehow warmer this time.

The subtle implication that he was remembering that information didn’t go amiss, filling you with pleasant anticipation. A comfortable silence fell over the two of you, you wanted to continue the conversation but had no idea what to say.

‘Well I guess I should leave you to it,’ he said as he straightened up again, tapping the desk as he did. You couldn’t stop the small pang of disappointment at him leaving so soon. Why had you expected more? After all, you barely knew each other.

Despite the urge to ask him to stay, you were technically working and were unsure of how appropriate that would actually be. You found yourself saying ‘okay, have a good night.’

You could’ve sworn you saw a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. He gave you a small nod and said ‘well, until next time.’ He flashed you one final smile before he turned and left as quickly as he’d arrived.

Watching him go, the echo of the closing door filled you with a mix of regret and anticipation. You wished you’d had the courage to ask him to stay but the moment had passed.

Sighing you got back to scanning the new books. You spent the remainder of your shift internally debating yourself. You’d only just met Eric, you felt crazy thinking about him so often but there was just something about him that lingered in your thoughts. And his parting words ‘until next time’ left you wondering if perhaps you weren’t crazy at all.

It was rare for you to speak to any of the other people that worked at the library, due to being on the night shift you always worked alone, offering polite hellos and goodbyes to the people you swapped shifts with. That's why it was odd that Jennifer, the girl you were taking over for, approached you as you arrived at work a few days later.

‘Hey, someone came in here looking for you about an hour ago,’ she began whilst rummaging through her bag for her keys. ‘Cute guy, kinda had a lost puppy vibe. Anyways I told him you started at 10.’ Without waiting for your response she triumphantly lifted her keys from her bag, said goodbye and all but skipped out of the building.

She had to be talking about Eric, right? You’d been doing your best not to think about him the past couple of days. He hadn’t been back in since his second visit and you figured he was probably just being polite. You took a seat and began trying to sort through the returned books you’d need to re-shelve but you couldn’t stop glancing at the doors knowing Eric could walk in at any moment.

Why were you so nervous? You attempted to distract yourself by focusing on the task at hand but your mind kept wandering. What if he didn’t show up? What if he did? Your stomach churned at the thought of both possibilities. The familiar quiet comfort of the library did nothing to calm you tonight.

You couldn’t help but over analyse every fleeting interaction you’d had with Eric. Was he really interested or were you reading too much into it? Maybe he wasn’t planning to come back after he’d left earlier. You told yourself it didn’t matter, that you didn’t care if you saw him today. But you did care, more than you wanted to admit and the uncertainty gnawed at you.

Just before you had the chance to truly spiral the door swung open and there he was, the man who had been occupying your mind, holding two coffee cups. Relief seemed to wash over him as he spotted you, a shy smile making its way onto his face.

‘Hi,’ he greeted, making his way over to you. ‘Hope I’m not bothering you.’

‘Not at all,’ you replied, your heart fluttering.

He placed one of the takeaway cups down in front of you, ‘one latte, like you mentioned.’

‘Thank you so much, you really didn’t need to,’ you flushed as you reached for the drink. Your fingers briefly brushing against his sending a tingling sensation to shoot up your arm.

His smile was calm and warm as he looked at you. ‘So… is working the night shift at a law library as glamorous as it seems?’ He joked as he took a swig from his own drink.

You laughed, ‘it’s not so bad, yeah it’s messed up my sleep schedule but it’s a pretty easy gig.’ Not taking the risk of him leaving again you continued the conversation, ‘what about you? Is being a law student as hectic as you made it seem?’

His laughter filled the air, a sound you could definitely get used to hearing. ‘Probably more stressful than I made it seem.’ he admitted before continuing, ‘so I take it you aren’t a student here then?’’

‘Oh, no. Law definitely isn’t for me,’ you replied, noticing his raised eyebrows prompting you to carry on. ‘I needed a job and it just so happens that not many people are rushing at the chance to work the night shifts here. I’m actually trying to save up to go to art school.’

His eyes lit up with interest, ‘art school? That’s amazing, are you planning to go to one here in the city?’

‘That’s the plan,’ you grinned up to him.

A slight tension buzzed between you both as silence fell. Neither of you were eager for the conversation to end but both nervous to take the next step. Eric finished his drink and attempted to throw the cup in the bin, missing spectacularly.

‘Oh shit,’ he scrambled to pick it up, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment. You couldn’t hold back the laugh at the failed attempt. In a playful gesture you picked up a crumpled piece of paper from your desk. Throwing it with a flick of your wrist you got it on the first try.

‘Oh I see how it is,’ Eric said, rounding the desk and pulling up a seat next to you. His arm brushed across your shoulder, the contact sending a shiver down your spine, as he reached around you to grab another piece of paper. ‘It’s on,’ he concentrated with mock seriousness, his tongue peaked out between his teeth. With one eye squinted he dramatically tossed the paper, landing it perfectly.

He threw his arms in the air and in a faux commentator voice exclaimed ‘And Eric makes the epic shot with only seconds left to spare! The crowd is going wild!’

You both dissolved into laughter, the moment completely breaking the ice between you. Any lingering awkwardness dissipated and you settled into a rhythm of throwing paper into the bin and sharing stories about your lives. It was easy, and the quiet of the library was the perfect backdrop to your flourishing connection.

After hours of uninterrupted conversation Eric glanced at the clock. ‘Woah I didn’t realise it had gotten so late,’ he stretched into a yawn as if to emphasise his point.

‘Yeah, I guess I’m just used to it at this point,’ you replied, trying to stop your eyes from drifting down to where his top had risen during the stretch.

‘As much as I would like to stay, I have an 8am class,’ he murmured, another yawn escaping him. He looked over to you, not yet making a move to stand up. ‘Maybe I could come back and see you sometime? If that’d be okay?’

His eyes locked with yours and your pulse quickened, his words were confirmation that you weren’t reading too into this connection.

‘I’d like that,’ you replied softly, feeling a light blush spread across your cheeks.

Eric’s smile widened, the tiredness in his eyes briefly fading. ‘Good, that’s great,’ he couldn’t hide his happiness at your reply. Standing up he added, ‘I’ll see you soon.’

‘See you soon Eric,’ your smile didn’t fade as you watched him leave.

Just as he reached the door he paused to turn back to you, ‘goodnight.’

‘Goodnight,’ you echoed with a small wave. He returned the gesture as he stepped out into the night, leaving you looking forward to your next shift with a warm feeling in your chest.

Over the following weeks Eric became a constant part of your life. He frequently turned up during your shifts, always bringing you a drink and staying with you to talk. What started as nervous small talk soon blossomed into something more. You found yourselves sharing stories, your dreams and even just being able to rant about your daily lives to one another. You’d even swapped numbers, occasionally sending each other random texts throughout the day.

So why had neither of you taken the step to suggest meeting up elsewhere? You wanted to, you really did, but the fact he hadn’t suggested it yet made you hesitate. Was he content with the way things were, or was he just as unsure as you about taking things further?

You found yourself lost in thought one evening, internally debating whether you should just take the next step and ask him out or keep things the way they are. A rubber band hitting your arm drew your attention back to the present, and the man sat in his now usual spot across from you.

‘Hey,’ he gently called. His eyes, soft as they met yours, showed genuine concern. ‘You were in your own little world over there, are you ok?’

‘Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about some stuff,’ you deflected, hoping he wouldn’t pry any further.

‘Hmm,’ Eric hummed as he raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. ‘Were you thinking about finally letting me see your sketchbook?’

Heat flooded your face, but you couldn’t suppress a smile. ‘Definitely not,’ you replied, placing a protective hand over the book.

‘Oh come on,’ he persisted. ‘I’ve seen you drawing for weeks now. They can’t be that bad!’

You shook your head, ‘they’re not bad, it's just… personal.’ If you were being completely honest you’d never show anyone your sketchbook and the thought of sharing yourself like that felt almost too intimate.

He offered you an exaggerated pout and his best puppy dog eyes, you’d be lying to yourself if you said it wasn’t working. ‘You wound me,’ he clutched his chest dramatically.

‘Wound you?’ you laughed ‘I’m sure you’ll survive if you don’t see my drawings.’

Eric let out a theatrical sigh ‘You never know, I might wither away from curiosity.’ He chuckled as he cast you a playful glance.

‘You’re so dramatic,’ you teased, rolling your eyes in an attempt to hide your amusement.

He leaned forward, ‘Dramatic? I’m just expressing my unfulfilled wish to see your artistic genius.’

You laughed at that, shaking your head. ‘Artistic genius? Now you’re just trying to butter me up.’

‘Is it working?’ he asked with a hopeful grin, his eyes sparkling as he leaned even closer.

Your heart almost skipped a beat at the way he was looking at you. You stuttered, trying to put a cohesive thought together. ‘Not a chance,’ you managed to say.

He laughed, leaning back in his chair ‘Okay, I’ll drop it,’ he turned back to his work. ‘For now.’

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you, the kind of silence that only comes when two people are genuinely at ease with each other. You were content, happy to spend your time in this little bubble the two of you had created. Eric apparently had other ideas as he broke the quiet after a few moments.

‘So, I’ve been thinking,’ he began, his tone had shifted to something more sincere. You turned to see him looking nervous, his eyes downcast. ‘I’ve, urm, I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you,’ your heart jumped up your throat, what was he about to say? ‘I was thinking we could, if you wanted, we could go out sometime. To dinner?’

His eyes finally met yours, showing his vulnerability. For a moment you froze, the weight of what he was asking sinking in. A smile spread across your face, ‘I’d love that.’

His face lit up as the words left your lips, relief evident in his eyes. ‘Great! How about this Friday? There’s a new Italian place I’d love to take you to.’

‘Perfect,’ you agreed, feeling a flutter of anticipation. Friday couldn’t come soon enough.

Friday arrived quickly and you could hardly contain your excitement. You spent the morning out running errands. You found yourself in the grocery store, mind buzzing with thoughts of your upcoming date. Whilst reaching for a carton of milk your phone buzzed in your pocket. Seeing Eric’s name made you smile like a schoolgirl that just found out her crush likes her back.

‘Can’t wait for tonight, see you later :)’

You felt a rush of warmth and quickly typed back a response, ‘Me too, see you soon!’

Before you could fully revel in the anticipation an ear splitting crash shook the world around you. The store windows shattered, sending shards flying causing you to duck down instinctively. All around you chaos broke out, people were screaming, car alarms blaring outside and another sound you couldn’t quite pinpoint.

Heart pounding, you stood and assessed the situation. Everything was in disarray, broken glass covered the floor and random produce was everywhere. Dust and debris clouded the air, obstructing your view of the outside. What the hell was happening?

Screams were still ringing out and you could hear car wheels screeching. Adrenaline surged through you and before you knew it you were rushing outside. You couldn’t believe the chaotic scene that unfolded before you the moment you stepped onto the street. Rubble rained from the sky, people ran in all directions, and a bus was flipped on its side in front of you.

Panic surged but you forced yourself to move. Moving where though, you had no idea. Would your home be safe? Should you even try to get there? Your legs began to push forward of their own accord, taking you away from whatever was going on here.

A screeching sound rang out and you whipped your head in the direction of the sound. A large shape rushed by the corner of your eye, its speed too high to fully comprehend what you had seen. Adrenaline took over again and you began running in the opposite direction.

An army truck roared into view, a speaker on the roof blaring out a message- ‘STAY INSIDE! TAKE COVER!’ Suddenly the truck was violently flipped into a nearby building. You skidded to the floor and looked to where the truck had previously been. Your mouth fell agape at the scene before you, a giant monster stood in the centre of the road.

You froze, taking in the unbelievable sight before you, as a woman ran past you shouting for help. The monster's head snapped towards her and it lunged, smashing her into the ground with one swift swipe.

A scream stuck in your throat and you scrambled backwards. What the hell just happened? What the hell was going on? You had to be dreaming, this was some manic nightmare and you prayed you’d wake up soon.

You continued to crawl backwards, your hands scraping against the rough ground. Whatever was left of the woman’s body laid a few feet away from you. The creature's head turned, snapping towards any sound that rang out. You held your breath, every instinct in you told you to stay silent.

A siren sounded out nearby and the creature bounded off towards it, Seizing the moment you scrambled to your feet and sprinted down a small alley. Hoping that the narrow passage would provide some sort of cover. You crouched low behind a bin, curling yourself into a ball and covering your head. You could still hear the sounds of the absolute havoc going on around you.

Tears began to stream down your face, you wrapped your shaking hand around your mouth to stifle any sobs that threatened to escape. You were, understandably, terrified. Nothing could prepare a person for this situation. Your body shook uncontrollably and your mind raced, trying to grasp at any logical explanation.

You shifted slightly and felt your phone digging into you from your back pocket. Your mind instantly fell to Eric, was he okay? You grabbed your phone, without thinking you tried to call him but the line was completely dead. You prayed he was okay, that he’d found a safe place to hide. You knew you couldn’t stay here forever, maybe you should make your way to where he was and try to find him.

A crashing sound echoed in the alleyway and you looked up just in time to see one of the creatures jumping from one roof to the other. Debris cascaded down and the last thing you remembered was raising your arms to shield yourself from some falling bricks before the world went black.

You regained consciousness hours later, it was dark and the chaos from before had fallen eerily quiet. Dust completely covered you and your head throbbed. You tried to focus and come up with a plan but the pain was making it difficult to think clearly.

You brought a shaky hand up to your forehead to try and alleviate some of the pressure. Your fingers met something warm and sticky, pulling your hand away you were sickened to see your fingers covered in blood. A groan threatened to escape but you quickly remembered the situation, remembering how quickly the monster had reacted to sound.

Despite the pain you knew you couldn’t stay here much longer. Deciding it would be safest to move once it was daylight you huddled closer into the small space you found yourself in.

The silence pressed down on you, making every breath you took sound far too loud. You put your hand in front of your mouth to dull the sound of your laboured breaths. Images of the creature's viscous attack flashed across your mind. As the hours drew on, the terrifying thought that there were probably more of them gnawed at your mind. The city was far too quiet for there to just be one.

As you hugged your knees to your chest, praying for time to move faster, your thoughts circled back to Eric. Had he managed to find safety? You didn’t let yourself think of the alternative. You hoped with every ounce of strength you had left that he was somewhere safe, and that you’d be able to see him again.

As a dim light began to rise, a rhythmic thumping noise began to grow louder and louder. As it drew closer you realised it was a helicopter and from it a message was blaring out.

‘BOAT EVACUATIONS ARE BEGINNING NOW AT SOUTH STREET SEAPORT. TRAVEL SOUTH WITH EXTREME CAUTION.’

You forced yourself to stand, taking small careful steps forward as you focused on the remainder of the message.

‘THIS IS A MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER. WE REMAIN UNDER ATTACK, SEEK SHELTER ON WATER, THE ATTACKERS CANNOT SWIM.’

Hope. If you could make it to the boats you stood a chance of escaping this living nightmare. You made your way to the alley's exit and tried to figure out the best way to go. The street that you would usually expect to see filled with people and cars was silent. The paths were now littered with rubble, cars were abandoned haphazardly, smoke billowed from a few of the buildings and people’s belongings were scattered everywhere you looked.

The once vibrant and bustling city had been turned into a war zone. You began to make your way south, walking as quickly as you dared to go. Every small sound had you on edge, terrified that one of those things was going to appear at any moment. Your head still throbbed though the blood covering your forehead seemed to have dried.

As you continued through the city, more people began to come into view. As everyone silently walked in the same direction you couldn’t help but look to the other faces around you, hoping to find a familiar one in the ever growing crowd. Dread filled every step you took, the more people that joined the silent march the more you lost hope. How would you find Eric in all of this?

You clenched your fists, determined to not let thoughts like that overwhelm you. Eric was okay, he had to be.

Before long at least a hundred people, maybe even more, had joined the crowd you were in. No matter how quiet everyone was trying to be a group that large couldn’t help but give off noise. You carefully made your way to the edge, thinking it would probably be best to find another way to get to the seaport, away from the bustling of the large group.

Just as you made it to the edge, loud screams tore through the air sending a chill down your spine. The monsters had found you all. Panic instantly erupted in the crowd, people tried to run, desperate to escape from the terror that had arrived.

Your heart raced as you dived into what had been a clothing shop. You ran to the back and crouched behind an overturned display, trying to steady your breathing. Peeking through a crack in the counter you could see the creature's terrifying forms moving wildly through the crowd.

You waited with bated breath, until the world had fallen silent again to emerge from your safe spot. Your whole body shook but the seaport was still your only chance to get out so you forced yourself to move. Slipping back onto the street you found it almost empty, a few survivors darted away, smoke billowed from buildings, more rubble had fallen and in the middle of it all stood a black and white cat.

The cat seemed to be looking at you. You tentatively took a step towards it, but it scampered off. Your eyes followed it, watching as it playfully chased a rat down the middle of the road, before it ran towards a subway entrance out of your eye line. For that brief moment, amidst the devastation the sight of the cat felt strangely grounding.

You let out a breath you didn’t realise you had been holding and turned away, refocusing yourself. You didn’t think you had too far to go now, though the imminent threat had you treading carefully, staying vigilant to not draw any attention to yourself.

As you continued the sun began to slowly set once again, how had a day passed already? And to make your journey even harder, it began to rain. Deciding it would be too dangerous to continue at night in the rain you opted to find shelter.

You found a small abandoned cafe nearby and slipped inside, grateful to be taking shelter from the hard rain. You tried to make yourself comfortable behind the main counter. The hours dragged on as you stayed hidden, listening to the thunder rolling overhead. Exhaustion tugged at your eyelids, though you fought to stay awake, fearful of what could happen if you let your guard down.

You found a small abandoned shop nearby and slipped inside, grateful to be taking shelter from the hard rain. You tried to make yourself comfortable behind the main counter. The hours dragged on as you stayed hidden, listening to the thunder rolling overhead. Exhaustion tugged at your eyelids, you fought to stay awake, fearful of what could happen if you let your guard down.

Dawn broke and thankfully the rain had stopped. You cautiously stepped out, determined to reach the seaport as fast as possible. You kept to the shadows, moving as swiftly as you dared. It wasn’t long before the faint sound of water lapping the docks reached your ears. Turning the corner you spotted a crowd waiting at the edge of the water, silently filling onto a boat. The sight spurred you on, safety was so close.

You stumbled onto the deck, your trembling legs almost giving out beneath you as relief flooded over you. A shuddering breath escaped you as you looked back to the city, now a desolate landscape. You found a spot near the back of the boat, watching as others boarded too, their faces a mix of exhaustion and desperation.

As you looked over the people boarding, a tousled head of brown hair caught your eye. You stood up on your tiptoes, your heart beating faster. Could it be him? It was like a scene from a movie, the crowd began to part, you held your breath as the man's face face was slowly revealed to you. Though your heart dropped as more of his face came into view. It wasn’t Eric. You felt foolish, believing that out of everyone in the city you’d actually make it onto the same boat as him.

Taking a seat you wrapped your arms around yourself. It all felt surreal, being caught between two worlds. The chaos you had escaped and your uncertain future that lay ahead. The boat pushed away from the city, finally putting the hell behind you. All that was left for you to do was to wait, and hope that everything would turn out ok.

‘Stop the boat…STOP THE BOAT!’ shouting jolted you from your thoughts. The urgency in the voice made everyone turn back to look at the city. Standing you followed the gazes of everyone on board and spotted a lone figure sprinting towards the water’s edge. The sight of the monsters chasing them made your blood run cold.

The entire boat seemed to hold its breath as the person ran with everything they had, the monsters closing in on them fast. Without hesitation they leapt into the water, narrowly escaping the creature's outstretched arms. People rushed to the side of the boat, lowering ropes as they shouted encouragement. You noticed a discarded blanket on the deck, and grabbed it, knowing they would need it.

As you pushed through the crowd you caught sight of a drenched cat being lifted from the man's hands. And then your breath caught in your throat. The man’s eyes met yours and time seemed to stop. It was Eric.

The shock hit you like a wave and before you could fully process what was happening you lunged forward, reaching out for him. ‘Eric!’ His name escaped your lips, a mixture of disbelief and overwhelming relief.

He looked equally as stunned as he whispered your name, his voice full of emotion. You fell to your knees in front of him and wrapped your arms around him tightly, afraid he might vanish if you let go. ‘You’re here,’ you heard him murmur as his arms closed around you. Tears welled in your eyes, blurring your vision as you held onto him. ‘I thought…I didn’t know if...’

You pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, not giving him a chance to finish that thought. ‘I’m here,’ you reached up and cupped his face gently. ‘We made it.’ You looked into his beautiful soft eyes, his tears mirroring your own. You wiped away a stray tear and smiled as he leaned into your touch.

And then, without another word, seeming more determined than you’d ever seen him, Eric closed the distance between you, capturing your lips in a desperate but tender kiss. The warmth of his touch grounded you in a way that nothing else could, washing away the horrors of the past few days.

Eric’s hand came up to cradle the back of your head, deepening the kiss as if he was pouring all his unspoken words into it. When you finally pulled away, breathless, his forehead rested against your own. ‘We made it,’ he echoed your words, his voice barely above a whisper as his lips brushed against yours.

Against all odds you’d found each other. The world around you seemed to fade away as you sat there, holding on to one another. The boat rocked gently beneath you as it resumed its journey away from the city. Despite everything that happened, despite the chaos of this new world, you were together, and for now, that was enough.

#eric a quiet place day one #a quiet place day one #eric aqpdo #eric x reader #eric aqpdo x reader #a quiet place #eric a quiet place #eric fanfic #eric x you #joseph quinn eric

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kakashixhatakesxwhore · 4 months

Note

i have nowhere to go w any character rly,, just being beaten down and SO done with everything that has gone down in ur life, ending up on someone’s doorstep in the rain, asking for a moment of peace with them🥲🥲🥲

it ain't raining cause i wanted the pathetic fallacy to provide a happier setting than our dear reader's apartment - anyway, this one was fun, and is written extremely vaguely, in terms of your chosen character.

Seeking Peace - Drabble

Written with Iruka, Kakashi, Shisui, Shikamaru, Naruto, Shino, Choji, Kiba, Sai, and Neji in mind, but could work for others.

Warnings: swearing, angst, symptoms of depression (not showering, not eating), this might suck lmk

W/c: 612

Masterlist💿

You know it's gotten bad again, when you haven't had a good cup of tea in so long, that you start to forget how a proper cup should taste.

You know it's gotten bad again, when you realize you haven't showered in over a week; you can almost see the layer of dirt that clings to your skin, matting every hue.

You know it's gotten bad again, when you can't even finish a dinner roll in one sitting, even after having forgotten to eat for two days - though your stomach whales and gurgles, if you eat one bite too much, it all comes up.

You know it's gotten bad again.

Will it get better on it's own?

Stirring your tea until you can hear not a single sugar granule on the bottom, you sip the carefully brewed mixture with purpose - only to find it tastes of... ugh.

Sitting in the shower, your arms scream with exertion while washing your hair, battling the heavy tendrils with too much shampoo to quantify - but, can you find the energy to scrub your body? Ugh.

Drawing to the fridge, you hesitate to open it.

Fuck this, I need help.

So, you pull your favourite jumper over your t-shirt, and cover your legs with black track pants. Argyle socks had always ticked you, so you thought, for shits and giggles, why not?

Shoes were all you needed, then you got your keys and your coat, ready to leave.

You know where to go.

To the kindest person you know.

He was a constant presence in your life, on the sunny days and the rainy days. His door was always open, and his shoulder was always good to cry on. With him, he brought a homely warmth. one that drew you in, one that you craved, now, more than ever.

The streets are empty, and you realize it to be the dead of night. The village was asleep, washed in a silver glow and cool breeze.

The Moon tells you that it's a little past midnight, so you'd better hurry up. You heed her gentle advice, and could feel a beam of her shine along your face as a reward.

The beautiful Moon was very kind. So kind, that there was only one kinder than she.

And now you stood at his doorstep, your muscles tired, your mouth dry, and your heart heavy. Despite your thoughts that told you to go back to your apartment, you reach up and knock gently against his door. Then, wait.

And wait.

You rest your forehead against the door. Maybe you could just sleep here, on his doorstep... at least you'd be out of your apartment.

Then the door slowly cracks open.

Standing up straight, you gathered up whatever you could, and smile at him. He smiles right back, giving you a little boost.

Rubbing his eyes, he yawns, "What's the word, hummingbird? I haven't seen you in a bit."

"I'm sorry about that, and this - y'know, given the time and all..."

"Agh, don't worry about it," he assures you with a sleep-laced voice. He holds the door open wider, and motions you in. "Do you wanna come in to have a tea and a chat, or... I dunno, we could cuddle up on the couch maybe?"

He would always understand you, he would never question you - and you couldn't have been more grateful for his mere existence in the present moment. It was like he lifted the invisible weight from your shoulders, and allowed you to draw a proper breath, for the first time in what felt like ages.

"Whatever you want to do," you reply with a small, but genuine, smile. "I just want a moment of peace... with you."

#iruka x reader #kakashi x reader #shisui x reader #naruto x reader #shikamaru x reader #shino x reader #choji x reader #kiba x reader #sai x reader #neji x reader #x reader #vagueposting #character x reader #2nd person pov #naruto fanfiction

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fatherentropy · 2 years

Text

Because my tES roster has gotten large and complicated I thought I should make this and ramble a bit. And then tumblr ate my post so let's try to do this AGAIN but quicker because I started writing this at midnight and it's now 6 am SO!!

warning for child endangerment/death

Winter, Summer, Autumn and Spring are names given to girls kidnapped by this one man. There have been multiples of them but the last four are here. Winter was murdered before she could reclaim her name, Summer forgot hers and Spring...I just haven't named her. She's not that important outside Lily's story aah.

Lily is not coping well with anything going on in her life but is doing remarkably well for a girl who was orphaned at 11 and raised herself on the road. Largely because she's being personally supported by Sheogorath because she's his "Grand niece." Dedicated her life on Nirn to hunting Thalmor and Stormcloaks, blaming them for her parents' death.

Lulueith was raised by her mom in Valenwood but left to look for her dad after she passed from illness out of curiosity and nothing holding her where she grew up. She was disappointed because he's largely just a drunk content to drinking himself to death in peace. Just here to vibe now.

Part of Lulu's dad's angst is from Summer trying to kill him before abandoning him altogether. She was a very bad mom but she tried because she tries a lot of things seeing if it'll make her feel anything significant since growing up in constant fear has kind of fucked her brain up. She meant to destroy Tuveri's life specifically but her plan was foiled by Martin's kindness giving Tuveri the power to push her away. Fled Cyrodiil after Martin died because part of that seperation was Tuveri warning her that the next time he saw her he was going to kill her.

(I also drew Summer's line too dark but I think I'll keep this. I like it more than what I've been rolling with.)

Tuveri!! Is an Ashlander actually. His dad got sick and died and Tuveri was in the middle of making him a cairn when he got too close to the road and was pinched by the man and brought to Cyrodiil. Would have returned to Morrowind after escaping with the other two surviving girls but he kept dreaming of Cyrodiil and took that as a sign he had to stay. Thus him becoming HoK and then Sheogorath after that.

I have a lot of thoughts about Tuveri as Sheogorath but that's another rambly essay. To put it simply he's kind and caring to those who are "his" and malicious to those who aren't because that's typically the role they cast him and his in. Thus him targeting Ulfric and his scheme resulting in his son named both Martin (by Tuveri) and Yngve (by Ulfric).

Have a lot on Yngve's emotional state but not a lot of anything else just 'cause Todd willing I might plop him in the next game whenever tf that happens. (Y'know providing we don't go back the timeline/they don't add a super specific opening ala Fallout 4.)

detour to talk about Laury

He's named after the witch his parents managed to take down before they were murdered by the other three while trying to protect him. He was then raised by them to be Hermaeus' champion. Though large parts of that time is lost because his memory is swiss cheese between the alchemical shit he was forced to imbibe (Fun fact! Laury has taste only in one small part of his mouth) and depression.

There's math somewhere in the blank space of me trying to figure out Winter/Autumn's ages during Morrowind because I realized I could go the full nine yards and pull Laury into this weird mix above by doing this:

Nerevarine as dad or grandad? I dunno yet but next time I try and play that game... yeehaw. That man is gonna have a bad time.

Also think it's very tragic of Winter's mom to look to Hermaeus for answers and become one of his biggest shill holes when he sponsored her daughter's kidnapper.

(technically still thinking about whether I should but I'll probably do it. You've heard rule of cool, have you heard of rule of sad?)

I have other ESO alts besides Yorick and Illya but I tend to delete them on a whim so! Hypothetically, Yorick is actually like 50ish% human so a(n indirect) descendant of his could be the man but that's a lot of centuries between. Do you know how many bretons you could fit in there? At what point does it stop mattering.

Illya is just a dragon priest that saw the writing on the wall and fucked off. Kept the mask and became a vampire because can you imagine dying? Couldn't be him. He is my Miraak expy and I love him even if I do nothing with him ever.

#the elder scrolls #dunmer #altmer #bosmer #argonian #CWart #Laury #Autumn tbn #Summer tbn #Laughing Lily #Lulueith #Yngve Stormcloak #tES Illya Voss #tES Yorick #Lily's face looks ridiculous. she's just stressed and tired from acting scary all the time

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cordycepsbian · 2 months

Note

i dunno if this is awkward to say, but i did see that one post you made, about struggling to feel like you exist to other people. i don't really feel confident asking off anon, but scrolling down further does suggest this was the prompt anyway, so...!

i see you a lot on my dash! i followed you for bugs since i'd just played bug fables, and i started playing in stars and time mostly because of you posting about it a lot, and that game has changed a lot about the way i think! and i have you to thank for that!

sometimes i reblog things and i'm like, hmm, maybe leif will enjoy this! and then i see you reblog it from me, and i smile. (oh, you also taught me how your name is actually pronounced!)

sometimes i vaguepost about "ohh, i'm not confident enough to talk to my mutuals who i met on here," and you're very much one of said mutuals to me.

so, i wanna say... thank you! for being a presence on my dash! you're a presence that is much appreciated! i've been thinking this for a while!

i... don't know how to end this! it's midnight, here. have a good night? dunno what time it'll be for you when you see this... but have a good!

its almost 11 pm so we dont have enoigh brain power to respond to this with words so we drew this:

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vitaminwaterreviews · 6 months

Text

ILLIT - Super Real Me

Not bad, I guess? Not great either. Very trendy, I’m sure it’ll be popular and all that. But what originally drew me into kpop is that groups weren’t always trying to be cool. Being weird and cute and exciting and dumb were all totally valid and popular concepts. But now everyone’s trying to be cool and it’s kinda frustrating, because that’s not what I got into kpop for!

I quite liked the sound design of the album, but if it had any more songs on it then I would’ve gotten bored. That’s what happened with the fromis_9 album. But they had the good sense to keep the EP short (nine and a half minutes!) which means that it didn’t overstay its welcome. I’ll add them all to my playlist, but I do not expect all of them to survive on my playlist. Average of 7.5.

- My World

BASS

I don’t know why but I’m getting real 2000’s vibes out of this bass specifically

Like … Scribblenauts maybe??

The melody in the second verse is fun

There’s so much variety in how they’re using the vocals, I like it

I dunno what to rate this

8/10

Magnetic

Woah, dreamy

Not sure if I buy the intro

This mix is Thick though like wow

That was a neat pause, I hope that’s in the song proper

It always annoys me when they lip sync extremely distorted vocals. Like c’mon, why even try to pretend?

It’s fun but it’s SO incredibly NewJeans like wow, this is definitely the most NewJeansified non-NewJeans song I’ve heard

Random punch

Lol okay you’ve got my attention

And it just goes nowhere with it? Really?

I do like the random notification sound

I guess I like it

8/10

Midnight Fiction

Actually, I kinda get fromis_9 vibes from this album for some reason

(The only formis I’ve ever listened to is Unlock My World)

Yeah, whatever you think about the song, the Sound, like the Timbre, is so pleasant to listen to

7/10, do something

Lucky Girl Syndrome

These titles though, they’re not “super real,” they’re dramatic af

Like the guitar

Like the vocals

Curious where it goes

Oh of course it goes here lmao

They had the chance to go rock or funk but ofc they went with the same dreamy sound, big sad

7/10

#album #kpop #Illit

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seafavoured · 6 months

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“ something’s made your eyes go cold. ” (blackjack, ooh, could be back in their cabin after that blackrose confrontation the night before ned’s death in happily ever after verse). @pyratezlife / jack.

𝐇𝐄'𝐃 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏, 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐒 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐌𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃, but he wasn't really there. not just yet. in their head, they were still in the bowels of the rose pink, across from ned with a drink in hand. it felt as though he had left as one man, and returned as another. not a wholly unfamiliar feeling, considering the other man's innate ability to tease them apart at the seams and reconstruct something unrecognizable from the tatters.

what's once more, for old time's sake?

they had expected jack to be sound asleep, still snoring away and ignorant to his husband's midnight wanderings, but should've guessed otherwise. he was a light sleeper when ed wasn't around, after all. hell, he'd probably woken up the moment the bed grew cold, and was sat up all this time awaiting him. lips pursed to a frown at the very thought, but he didn't say a damn word yet. not even when jack spoke from his seat at the edge of the bed. they approached the opposite side and sunk down heavy atop the mattress. it creaked in protest, like he was heavier, made of lead.

one by one, he disarmed. pulled the still bloodied knife from their belt and resisted the animal urge to lick it clean. then their cutlass and two pistols. he set them all atop the bedside table and bent to tug off his boots.

❛ i went to see him. ❜ they didn't say who. wouldn't need to. jack probably already knew, already guessed what had happened, could already read the torrent of thoughts roiling about ed's skull. there was no point in pretending, and he wouldn't have wanted to anyhow ; would never lie to jack again. boots off, he shucked his leather jacket to join them on the floor. they licked their lips and tasted ned, overwhelming, still clinging to them. ❛ i dunno why. ❜ not an avoidance, but the truth. there had been no rhyme or reason, beyond the sordid tether ( the leash ) that drew him in.

the only uncertain thing left was who held the lead. ned, or himself.

#pyratezlife #i know we aren't finished that related thread yet but this was too juicyyy akjsdf i had to #thread. ed.

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sheppyscribbles · 9 months

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Baby New Year

Story under the cut.

"Dude, this is amazeballs ... are you, like, actually pregnant? Lookit the way it moves when I touch it!"

"Hrrrgfh-- f--fucking contraction-- what is happening to me -- why is it fuCKING GLOWING--?!"

This was not how Levy had planned to spend the night of New Year's Eve. He just wanted to go to his pal Eddie's place, enjoy the block party, get fashionably drunk, and maybe get a kiss from someone random at midnight. Probably brunch on New Year's Day.

As it was, he woke up in his one-bedroom flat on the morning of 31 December feeling bloated and strangely jittery, like a bottle of soda shaken to its limit and left out for some unsuspecting schlemiel to open and spray half the room in Diet Pibb Xtra. Stretching didn't seem to help ... and when the lynx stumbled into the bathroom, he was only half surprised to find his wiry body graced with a rounded little potbelly that stretched out his abs.

"This is new," he muttered, prodding carefully at his sudden convexity. It didn't hurt, didn't feel uncomfortable ... if anything, the soft pressure of his broad paws on his tight middle was more pleasurable than he wanted to admit. In the end, he threw on some baggy clothes and went about his day as normal.

-----

By noon, however, Levy was getting nervous. That feeling of energetic pressure had been slowly building, and his jeans were riding low under the furry bowling ball he was carrying on his hips -- and he could swear they were getting wider too as he went about his errands. And yet no one he knew acted like they noticed anything weird! He decided to test this theory when he ran into Eddie at the grocery store.

"I ... dunno if I can make it to the party tonight," Levy stammered to the rotund bear. "I've been having some kind of swelling issue today, and I might have to go to urgent care if it gets too much worse ..."

"Aww, that's too bad, buddy! You know we'll miss you ... but you know you don't gotta feel embarrassed about your weight, right?" Eddie gave Levy an impish grin. "Not when I'm here to make everyone look skinny! Besides ... some women go for the 'dad bod' look, you know?" And without even asking, he gave the lynx's round belly a conspiratorial pat. Levy tried to protest, but ... that felt way too nice ... and he could swear it left him imperceptibly heavier ..?

-----

The day passed in a blur. A round, growing blur. Every time Levy tried to hide out at home, another surprise errand popped up to drag him halfway across town, hauling his bloated gut with him. And everywhere he went, familiar people completely glossed over his new addition like it wasn't even a thing. His boulder of a belly, wider hips, rounder backside drew as much attention as an extra throw pillow on a couch.

In fact, the only way people acted differently was how often their hands found his middle. It never seemed to be intentional, but Levy was no less perturbed by the relentless parade of pats, presses, wobbles, rubs, caresses ... did he look like a statue of Budai to them? Worse, why did every touch feel so good? At this rate, he was going to be craving tummy rubs like a common house cat. And it was still growing.

-----

By the time Lev arrived at Eddie's house, he was exhausted. Even his thicker thighs were having trouble hauling the tan beach ball everywhere, and he could swear he'd walked every inch of the city and talked to (and gotten felt up by) every person in it. The lynx gave up on dressing up nice for the evening, squeezing his massive body into the largest sweatpants he owned and hoping a sweater would cover at least his bloated chest.

And still he was the most popular person there! Neighbors he'd never even met found their way over to chat him up, wish him well, unconsciously pat his belly for luck ... at 10:30 exactly, Levy's sweatpants gave up the ghost and left him in his boxer briefs, and STILL no one seemed to notice or care. He wanted to panic, but all the belly rubs kept his mind swimming in a haze of too much pleasure.

By 11:45, Levy was pretty sure that literally every person in the city had touched his gut that day. It was the size of a yoga ball, heavy and tight and occasionally pulsing, shifting ... he was literally bare from the chest down, too big for any clothes he owned, and yet the other partygoers were completely oblivious. Was he going mad? Was he--*urk*--

The sudden jolt of squeezing pressure drove Levy to his knees. "H--holy shit, what now--hngrrreaouwrrh?!" He clutched as much of his belly as he could wrap his arms around. "... you've got to be kidding me ..!"

And suddenly Eddie's arm was around Levy's shoulders. "Hey, there you are." The plump bear gave an easy smile as he knelt next to the bloated lynx. "You doing all right, buddy?"

Suddenly Eddie's eyes widened, as though he saw Levy's condition for the first time. "Holy--" But then he grinned. "Dude, this is amazeballs ... are you, like, actually pregnant? Lookit the way it moves when I touch it!"

Levy was ... less than impressed, but his focus was on his heaving, flexing middle, which had started to glow on top of everything else. Worse, his body was reacting with even more pleasure, especially now that Eddie was rubbing over his belly in slow, steady circles ...

Time seemed to slow around him, people moving in a haze, an electric current running up and down his body and sending shudders through him. He was vaguely aware of other people in the room, but their attention was on the TV, chanting with a deep pulsing rhythm that seemed to match the throb of his own body ... fiiiiiive ... fooooouuur ... threeeeee ... twoooo ... wuuuuuuhhhhhh ...

Levy threw his head back in a screaming yowl, back arching hard and hips slamming forward as streams of pure energy erupted from him and bathed the room in every hue of light imaginable. The pyrotechnics on the TV screen were nothing compared to the fireworks blasting out of his body, sending a spectral shockwave across the city and bathing the people in a flood of hope and goodwill. By 12:01, Levy was out cold, utterly spent.

-----

"--right?"

"Znuhh?" Levy groaned and rubbed at his face. His paws felt heavier than usual ... all of him did, really.

"Sorry - I said, are you feeling all right?" Eddie was kneeling next to the lynx as he lay on the bear's couch. The bear had gotten a bit confused about how to help Levy recover and was dabbing the lynx's forehead with a handkerchief dipped in chicken soup.

"Never better, and that scares me." He gave a sheepish smile and sat up slowly. At least Eddie had covered Levy's lower half with a bedsheet ... even then, Levy was aware of some lingering bonus effects. "Did ... did all that really happen? I blew up like a party balloon and splooged good luck all over the city?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, dude." Eddie laughed, and his own soft belly bounced against the old football jersey he wore. "All I know is, the rest of the guests didn't even skip a beat. Just went right on partying till they all wandered home." After a moment, a wry smile crossed the bear's muzzle. "So do you do that every year?"

"I ... have no idea," Levy mumbled truthfully. "Had no idea what was going on there, got scared out of my mind ... Honestly, the way no one else noticed, I thought I'd gone insane." His expression softened a bit as he looked back to Eddie. "... thanks for helping me know it was real."

"Any time." Eddie gave Levy's hand a tender squeeze. "... hey, uh ... I know this is sudden and all, but ... you wanna come get New Year's brunch with me? You can borrow a pair of my pants, because hot damn, boy ..."

Levy doubled over cackling for a moment at Eddie's candor ... but when he sat up again, he was smiling warmly. "Y'know ... I think I'd like that."

#luprand art #furry art #fat furry #mpreg story #rapid pregnancy #metaphorical pregnancy #baby new year #male pregnancy #lynx #black bear

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zalaznyart · 2 years

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dunno (or don't remember) if you already told about it, but i was curious how did you come up with the plot of the comic twelvefifteen? like, did you know the whole or almost whole story at the beginning or was it changing during the process of a long journey while you were drawing/writing it? anyways, it's one of my fave stories ever and definitely my fave web comic ever and i'm so extremely happy you wrote this story ♥️♥️♥️

heyo!

There were certain parts of the story I had roughly planned out from the start, especially for the first part that followed the scenes of the music video. When I was first playing around with the idea of doing a comic based on Quarter Past Midnight, I went through the music video and jotted down all the different scenes/locations and figured out a sort of timeline that would work to include all of them. I also had an idea of where I wanted the comic to end (the idea of it ending on the note of Joy, with Dee facing the future with a bit more hope).

Beyond that, though, the grand majority of the story came to be as I wrote/drew it! The way the characters developed, their interactions and histories, even the central mystery of the ritual and why Dee was the chosen sacrifice were all things that I figured out as I went along. When it comes to writing, I'm definitely of the 'figure it out as I go along' variety. That's what I find to be really fun about it, though! :)

#twelvefifteencomic #twelvefifteenanswers #thank you for the ask!#in fact just the other day i had an idea for a potential sequel sort of notion while driving home from work #i'll have to mull over what to do with that hahaa

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casspurrjoybell-17 · 10 months

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Heart’s Choice - Chapter 31 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

I take the bus into town and walk the last four blocks to El Perro Gordo Bar and Grill.

The grill part stops serving food at nine but the bar stays open til midnight.

Unlike a lot of places in Spring Lakes, it caters to locals rather than to tourist tastes.

The fare is simple and affordable and there are no shot glasses, fridge magnets, keychains, t-shirts, tumblers or postcards to be had.

The atmosphere is laid back, the lighting warm and relaxed,and the clientele diverse.

It was a multipurpose establishment. a tired man could pop in for a drink at the end of the day and not be bothered, a horny one could get lucky and pick up a date.

That's what drew me here in the first place,and how I met Alejo at the bar.

He'd taken an obvious liking to me right away and because I'd been feeling especially lonely and dejected that night, I'd encouraged him.

I hadn't meant for it to be more than casual flirtation but pretty soon he was pouring me drinks on the house and my inhibitions were down the drain.

We ended up in the bathroom.

I sucked him off.

After that, things got fuzzy.

He'd brought me back to his place and I had a vague memory of painful, unsatisfying sex.

I woke up with a hangover.

Then I was basically thrown out with the trash, in which I was relieved to see a used condom.

I couldn't remember if I'd insisted on it or if Alejo just wasn't stupid enough to go bareback with a stranger but it had alleviated one fear, at least.

I hadn't expected to hear from Alejo again.

That kind of guy sees guys like me as a nock on his bedpost and nothing more, so I'd been surprised when he texted.

I didn't remember giving him my number.

Maybe it had been better for him than for me, maybe I'd been so out of it, I'd seemed into it, maybe he was telling the truth and it was me that had come onto him.

Then again, maybe I'd been too drunk to give proper consent.

If any of these same thoughts have troubled Alejo, he gives no sign of it as he waves to me from behind the bar, a grin stretching his face.

I slide onto a stool at the end and he winks at me as he serves a couple of college girls, flirting shamelessly with both.

They giggle and blush, clearly enjoying the attention.

Alejo is a popular guy behind the bar and I wonder which part is the lie, is it an act or did he play both teams after all?

He saunters over, towel flung over his shoulder and leans across the bar to tuck a strand of loose hair behind my ear.

"Hello, gorgeous. Knew you'd be back for more."

'Ugh. Cringe.'

I plaster on a smile and nod down the bar at the college girls, who are watching us curiously.

"Looks like you got your hands full already."

He laughs and winks.

"Nah. I'm just in it for the tips. What can I get you?"

I'd rather not drink at all but I don't want to rouse his suspicions, either.

"How 'bout something light."

"You got it."

He pours me a lager from a tap and sets the pint glass in front of me.

"So, where you been, cabrón? What happened to the cop? He get tired of you that fast?"

I lift my glass,but only let a little past my lips.

"Something like that. I heard you got picked up for questioning."

He barks a laugh.

"Fuck, you know how it is. They round up the usual suspects. Guys like me are always top of that list."

Shrugging, I say...

"Well, you did know Kyle."

His expression turns ugly.

"Fucking Kyle. You know his girlfriend tried to set the cops on me? Stupid whore."

He tilts his head to the side and cracks his neck, showing off the tattoos that stretch from collar bone to jaw.

None of them mean anything to me and they appear to have been chosen at random.

I take another sip of beer, trying to think of a way to bring up his alibi for the night of Sparks' death without being obvious.

"Did you know Kyle needed money?" I ask.

He snorts.

"Who doesn't?"

"I dunno. You seem to be doing alright."

My eyes go to the shiny gold watch on his wrist and I recall the flashy car he drove to Kyle's funeral.

"I made some good investments lately, is all," he says distractedly.

"Hang on."

The college girls are waving for his attention and a group of men have settled at the other end of the bar.

One of them looks really familiar but I can't tell where I've seen him before.

Another bar, maybe, given that Alejo switches back into flirt mode and serves up their drinks with admirable efficiency.

My cell-phone buzzes just as he turns back to me and I just have time to glimpse a text from John.

John: Hey. Where are you?

My heart skips a beat and warmth flares in my chest.

Not wanting to draw Alejo's attention to it in case he gets nosy, I pocket the device without making a reply.

"Now where were we?" he asks, reaching across the bar to rub his thumb across the back of my knuckles.

"You got pretty hands for such a hard-working guy, you know? Pretty mouth, too."

He brushes a fleck of beer foam from my upper lip.

Behind him, the college girls lean their heads together and giggle, apparently delighted to catch a glimpse of homo action in the wild.

"We were talking about Kyle's ex," I say, downing a large gulp of beer just to get him to stop touching me.

"Oh, yeah. That bitch. Guess Kyle told her some shit about me setting him up to take a fall."

He snorts.

"All I did was ask him to keep me out of it. He got caught, I didn't, he was fifteen, I was nineteen. He got a spate in juvie, I'd have been charged as an adult, ten years, minimum."

"You didn't promise him his share when he got out?"

Alejo laughs.

"Share? Share of what? We got caught. Well, Kyle got caught. I got away empty handed."

"So, he didn't come to you asking for help?"

"Sure he did. An' I helped him out, too. Or I offered to. Little punk turned me down. Hey, why you so interested anyway?"

I give my attention to my beer again.

To my surprise, the glass is almost empty.

Shrugging, I sprinkle some truth in the mix of lies, hoping it will lend me some much-needed believability.

"It's just, uh..." I laugh awkwardly and swirl the last bit of beer at the bottom of my glass. "I lent Kyle some money, myself. Good timing, huh? And now, well... I'm in the shit and I need a way out."

Smirking, Alejo leans across the bar, bringing his face uncomfortably close to mine.

"I got a better idea. Lemme finish up here and I'll show you what I have in mind. You in?"

"Yeah, I'm in."

"Good boy."

I barely manage not to gag as he licks my mouth and kisses me.

"I'll get you another drink. On the house."

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mychemicalimagines · 2 years

Text

The Non-Fan - Jensen Ackles - Part 2/2

Summary: Part 2 of 2. Your best friend Lexi talks you into going to a Supernatural convention despite never watching the show. While walking to your hotel room, you bump into a handsome green eyed man. What will come of it?

Warnings: Takes Place In 2006! Lots and Lots of Flirting! Fluff

Words: 4,539

Tag List: Reblogging

A/N: This was supposed to be a series but we never finished. Since we got two chapters completed, I decided to edited it to be One Shots. I hope you enjoyed!!

To Be Tagged In All Our Supernatural Stuff or Our Supernatural Canon ReWrite: Submit An Ask, Comment, Message Me, Or Tag Yourself In My Bio!

You wake up the next morning, opening your eyes when your alarm on my phone goes off. You groan and reach over toward your side table. You look at the time after snoozing the alarm. It’s 7:45 am. You sigh and roll over, closing your eyes again. You snuggle into the second pillow there. Your eyes snap open when the smell of Sandalwood fills your nose.

Jensen stayed the night!

His side of the bed is still warm, meaning he didn’t leave that long ago. You smile at the thought. You and he actually spent the night together, but didn’t do anything but sleep and watch movies. It was relaxing, and you know, by the scent still on the pillow that it wasn’t a dream. A thought crosses your mind, making you sigh and sit up.

He left without…

Black marker on your wrist catches your eye, cutting the thought off, as you get distracted by what’s there. You look down and smile widely when you read what’s inked in there. A smiley face with a phone number. You squeal and quickly text the number after adding him to your contacts.

‘You drew a smiley face on me?!’ You text the number.

You take a deep breath before you get up out of the bed and walk toward the bathroom. Your phone dings a few seconds later. You immediately turn around and jump back on the bed, landing on your stomach.

‘XD Good morning to you too! You explicitly said no mustaches or little dicks so I went with a smiley face instead.’ His text reads.

You smile widely before texting back.

‘I dunno if I wanna say good morning to a smartass...but….good morning. :)’

His reply comes a second later. ‘Lol. Thanks. But, I was just following your explicit instructions. And, once you told me not to do something, I just had to. ;P And, what better way for me to leave you my number. I had to make sure you’d see it. Didn’t want it getting lost and some random housekeeper finding it. XD’

You laugh hard as you shoot back your response. ‘Well thanks for that :D. When did you leave?’

You bite your lip softly waiting for his reply. A minute later your phone dings.

‘Maybe 15 minutes ago? Not very long. Why? Miss me already? :P’

You giggle and text.

‘Of course! Who else is gonna bug me while watching movies at midnight? :)’

‘I don’t know about you but I love bugging you at midnight :] I’ll see you at the panel later, smartass.’

‘I’ll see you then. :]’ You text before leaving your phone on the bed.

You quickly take a shower and change into a comfortable outfit which is just a pair of shorts and a Led Zeppelin shirt. As you slip on one of your shoes, someone knocks at your door. You quickly jump up and stumble over your other shoe, running over. You pull the door open quickly to see Lexi on the other side. The smile drops from your face like an atomic bomb from a fighter jet, but you quickly hide the frown.

“You ready for this?” She says, pushing into your room.

“Yeah. I just need to put on my other shoe and get my phone.” You answer, closing the door.

“Did you find a guy last night?” She asks, smirking at you.

“No.” You try to lie.

“I saw you leave with a tall man, Y/N. Don’t try and lie to me.” She crosses her arms.

You blush slightly as you slip on your other shoe.

“We just hung out. Nothing happened.” You tell her, honestly.

“Seriously?” She rolls her eyes. “You need to get laid, Y/N/N. You can’t just…”

You cut her off. “Lexi, I don’t need to do anything. I do what I want, and it turns out that happened to be what I needed last night. We watched a couple movies and went to bed. I don’t need to fuck some random dude from a bar. If I wanted to, I might’ve.”

“What was his name?”

I can’t tell her his name. Even though she’s my friend, she might try and steal him away. Wait...Why am I thinking this? I won’t see him again after this weekend so it doesn’t even matter.

“His name is Jay.” You answer, snagging your phone from the bed, sliding it in the pocket of your shorts.

“Jay? What kind of fake name is that?” She rolls her eyes.

You shrug lazily. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s get downstairs.”

You grab your wallet and leave your room. The whole walk to the elevator, she keeps asking about this ‘Jay’ and what he does for a living. You don’t want to tell her that Jensen is a Soap Opera TV Star. She might try and get with him for the money. You don’t care what Jensen does for a living. He’s handsome, very, very sweet, and absolutely funny.

The elevator doors finally open up and she pulls you to the shorter line leading the way to the conference room of the hotel. Lexi hands you your Gold Pass that’s attached to a lanyard which you hang around your neck. You wait in line for a while which causes the line to get longer. The line extends to the elevator and even past that.

The doors open a few minutes later and a man starts checking all the passes before letting people in. You hold up your passes before walking in. You glance around the room before walking toward the front. Sighing a little, You hide your disappointment at not seeing Jensen yet. Lexi looks for seats, and after a moment, squeals, and drags you to two empty ones in the front row.

You swallow deeply. “Lex...do...do we have to sit this close?”

She smirks as she sits down. “Duh! How else are we supposed to stare at the hot actors?!”

You sigh and then grunt a little as she tugs you down so you’re sitting on the chair next to her. Every so often, you look around the room, searching for your new friend. Lexi just assumes it’s your anxiety that’s making you look around the room.

“Relax, Y/N/N. It’ll be fun!” She giggles. “This is the best one of the day! We get to meet the main stars, the guys who play Sam and Dean!”

You sigh. “You’ll enjoy it.”

“You will too! And, maybe after this, I’ll finally be able to get you to watch Supernatural!”

You shrug. “Probably not. Don’t get your hopes up.”

She giggles and assures you she will, and looks down at her pass, taking a selfie with it in clear view. While she’s distracted with updating her MySpace profile, you glance around once more, and when you don’t see Jensen, you shoot him a quick text, hoping that he ain’t the kind of guy to say he’s going to do something and not follow through with it.

‘Hey! Where are you? I already got my seat at the panel! I don’t see you?’

Not even a minute later, you receive a text from him.

‘Don’t worry. You will. :) I’m about to walk up! See you in a sec!’

You glance over your shoulder once again looking for him, and grinning like a fool, excited about seeing your new friend again so soon. The announcer waits until the room is completely filled before speaking into his microphone.

“How is everyone?” He asks, causing everyone but you to scream excitedly. “Our special guests are ready to come out. Introducing Dean Winchester himself, Jensen Ackles!”

You raise your eyebrows at the name as everyone starts screaming even louder than before. Is...Is this him? You jerk your head around and your eyes nearly pop out of your head when you see him jog up onstage, one hand raised in a still wave, and a huge smile on his face. You giggle a little yourself as you see the bags under his eyes, showing how tired he is.

Your eyes widen a little as you realize why he’s tired.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT! I SLEPT WITH THIS MAN! I SLEPT WITH JENSEN ACKLES! I mean, all we did was joke around, watch movies, and then legitimately sleep together in each other’s arms. But! I STILL SLEPT WITH HIM!

He makes his way to his chair, which you just now notice is directly in front of you. He flashes you that adorable smile you saw last night and a discreet wink. Lexi practically squeals next to you as she slaps you shoulder.

“HE JUST WINKED AT YOU!” She whispers, excitedly, in your ear.

You blush and shrug it off. “It wasn’t at me.”

But, even you know that’s a lie. That wink was definitely directed at you. You pull your phone out and shoot him a text.

‘Didn’t tell me you were IN the panel, Mister. No more movies for you tonight. :P’

Sliding your phone back in my pocket, you sneak a glance at him, and see him still grinning, then watch as his brow raises and he sneaks a peek at his phone, making it look like he’s just placing it on the table in front of him. Since you're sitting in the front row, you hear his chuckle and see him playfully pout as his eyes meet yours.

“Introducing the younger, but taller Winchester brother, Sam...here’s Jared Padalecki!” The announcer says, causing everyone to scream once again.

Your eyes leave Jensen’s for a moment as he looks up at his friend and fellow co-star. Jared walks out from the same spot Jensen did a moment ago, his hand raised, like Jensen’s was, and takes his seat. Jensen leans over and whispers something to Jared, making the taller man’s gaze turn to you, a grin spreading across his face.

Keeping his eyes on me, Jared whispers something back to your new friend from last night. Jensen nods and flashes you another wink, making Lexi start squealing in your ear. You draw your shoulders up, blushing.

“They’re totally whispering about you, Y/N! What did you do?!” She squeals softly in your ear.

“Nothing! They’re not talking about me.”

“Then...Are they talking about me?” She whispers, excitedly.

“I don’t know. What did you do?” You put emphasis on the question before, raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing. I was with some green haired man and a bleach blonde chick. Never seen them. It has to be you!” She shakes your arm.

You shake your head and look back up at Jensen and Jared. They’re whispering to each other, with Jensen sneaking glances at you every so often. That smile on his face grows every time he does. At one point, your phone vibrates after Jensen sets his back on the table. You give it a moment before you look at it.

‘Please don’t take my movies away! *Pouts* That was fun last night. Oh, and Jared says hi. He approves of my new friend. Wanted to know if you’d be up for getting a burger after this is all said and done? That is, if your friend hasn’t made you deaf from squealing in your ear every time I wink at you. ;P.’

You giggle and roll your eyes as you slip your phone back in your pocket without sending a reply. You look back at Jensen and give him a nod, saying that ‘I’m ok with that.’ He grins from ear to ear and leans over to Jared. Jared chuckles, stands, and throws his hands up in the air, excitedly. As he does, his shirt rises up, which gets a loud, screaming response from the crowd.

Jensen laughs and says, loud enough for his microphone to pick it up. “Put your arms down, man. You’re flashing everyone.”

Jared laughs. “And that’s a bad thing?”

The crowd members all shout at the same time. “NOOOO!”

Jared chuckles and sits back down, tugging his shirt back into place. Jensen laughs and shakes his head. Lexi’s still cheering loudly from beside you at the sight of seeing Jared’s tummy. You tap your ear a couple times, and see Jensen smirk at you. His fingers dance across the table and a moment later your phone vibrates.

‘Sorry. Didn’t think Jared would do that. Your friend’s got quite the set of lungs. Want some earplugs?’

You laugh as you read it, shaking your head. Your phone buzzes again.

‘Why not? You might go deaf, and then who else will hear my cheesy, smartass jokes?’

You laugh again and look up at Jensen to see him smirking even more, his water bottle to his lips as he takes a sip. You roll your eyes and type out a reply.

‘Oh, please. I’m sure you’ll find someone else to tell your jokes to.’

‘What if I don’t want to tell them to someone else?’

You raise a brow, trying to keep your blush from becoming too visible. But, you can tell he still sees it because he chuckles and winks. You drop your head, looking at your phone, and text him.

‘Stop it. You’re not exactly being a Smooth Criminal here, Jay. XD I will go deaf when she finds out that I’m the one you’re flirting with and she squeals in my ear.’

When you hear his laugh, you know he’s read your response.

“Jared, am I a Smooth Criminal?” Jensen asks, looking at his friend, but talking into his mic.

Jared laughs. “Uh, maybe? It depends. What would you be a Smooth Criminal in?”

“Flirting.”

Jared laughs harder. “If you’re a Smooth Criminal when it comes to flirting then I’m a 2 foot tall Leprechaun dressed in green with a pot of gold in my hand.”

Everyone cracks up laughing at Jared’s response. You smirk and text Jensen.

‘See?! Even Jared agrees.’

Jensen laughs. “Alright. Alright. Maybe I’m not a Smooth Criminal. Can’t blame a guy for trying, can you?”

Jared chuckles. “If it’s you? Uh, yeah. We can blame a guy for trying.”

“Well, you ain’t exactly helping matters, Jared.” Jensen teases.

“Ooooo. So, you’re flirting right now? I’m flattered, Jensen, but you’re not my type.”

Jensen laughs. “Not with you, you big Moose. But, yes. With someone else, right now, I am.”

The announcer grabs his microphone again. “Alright everyone, it’s time for questions. You will raise your hand and one of the guys with the microphone will come over to you. You will ask your question and the boys will answer before we go to another one. Sound good?”

The crowd screams in agreement before a couple of men with microphones start walking around. Lexi immediately throws her hand into the air. You try to grab her arm but she moves and keeps it higher. The guy with the microphone goes to a lady in the row behind us. You let out a huge breath of relief. The woman stands up and leans toward the man with the microphone.

“Hi! This is for Jensen! Who are you trying to flirt with? Is it someone here?” She asks, hoping she might be the lucky one to get Jensen’s attention.

My eyes snap up toward Jensen and you bite your lip slightly. The whole room gets quiet waiting for his answer.

You quickly send Jensen a text. ‘So help me, Jay. You say it’s me, and I won’t watch movies with you ever again.’

You watch as his eyes drift down to his phone and widen as he swallows deeply before he answers the lady.

“Hi! Thanks for the question. She is here, but that’s all I’m going to say. If I say anymore, she’s already threatened to take away my perfect date.” He says, flashing his smile with a shrug of his shoulders.

“I don’t think our lovely audience here will take that answer, Jay.” Jared smirks over at him.

Lexi turns toward you with a huge smile.

“It is him...You bitch.” She whispers with humor in her voice.

You blush and look away when the guy walks around with a microphone again. Lexi throws her hand up once again. The guy stops to the left of her. You can still see Jensen and Jared perfectly when the guy puts the microphone to Lexi’s mouth.

“Hi! Once again, this is for Jensen.” She smirks, glancing at you. “Is the girl you're flirting with my friend right here?”

Jensen chuckles. “Well, now...I’d say we’re all friends here, correct?”

The crowd cheers and everyone nods fast.

Jensen grins. “So, by that, I’d say yes. It is one of your friends here in this room.”

“Well yeah. But is it my friend Y/N right here?” She points at you.

Jensen swallows deeply. “Well...I can’t confirm that...I don’t want to lose the perfect date.”

Jared grins, not making eye contact with you. “If you agreed to go get a burger with Jay and I later, please stand up!”

Everyone in the room looks around, clearly looking for the lucky person who’s getting food with Jensen and Jared. You sigh and drop your head, sending Jensen a text.

‘I’m gonna kill a Moose. XD’

Jensen snorts as he clearly reads your text and shows it to Jared, who laughs.

“If you don’t stand up, I will come down there and scoop you up! A Moose can carry almost anything!” He says, looking around, trying to be discreet.

You jerk your head up and glare at him, hoping he won’t do it. Everyone in the room laughs and cheers, urging Jared to do that. He smirks and raises a brow.

“What’s it gonna be?” He teases.

You send Jensen another text. ‘I hope you weren’t too attached to your Moose. He’s about to become stew if he comes and gets me!’

Jensen and Jared both laugh as Jensen shows him.

“I’ll just have to risk becoming stew then!” He teases, standing.

You discreetly shake your head causing him to smile widely. He starts walking to the side of the stage where the stairs lead down toward the crowd. You look toward Lexi with a death glare. She smirks at you.

“This will prove if it’s you.” She whispers, watching Jared.

The whole crowd watches Jared with curiosity, hoping he will be walking to someone near them. He turns toward the front row and starts walking toward you. With Jared being so tall, he’s gaining on you fast. You glance over at Jensen to see a small smirk on his lips and he shrugs slightly. My phone vibrates.

‘I’m sorry? Can we still have movies together?’

You go to respond, but before you can, you’re suddenly lifted 4 feet in the air into a pair of strong arms. You squeal and look up. Jared smirks as he looks at you.

“Definitely worth the risk of being turned into Moose stew.” He teases.

He moves you so you’re now in his arms bridal style. Your arms quickly wrap around his neck since you’re terrified of being dropped, even though you know Jared would never do that. Or, at least you don’t think he would since you just met him. The whole room screams out in excitement since Jensen’s Flirt has now been revealed. Your face immediately gets warm as you blush.

Lexi squeals. “I KNEW IT! YOU SNEAKY GIRL!”

Everyone in the room laughs. You blush harder, and if you weren't so embarrassed at the moment, you’d give her the deadliest glare. Jensen walks down and over to you.

“I’ll take it from here, Jared.” He says, grinning.

Jared laughs and sets you in Jensen’s arms. You gasp and quickly wrap your arms around his neck, holding onto him. He gives me a soft smile.

“Technically, I didn’t say it was you.” He whispers.

You giggle. “Smart ass. Maybe I’ll keep the movies to myself.”

“I’ll buy you 50 burgers and a dozen milkshakes if you share.”

You laugh, tilting your head back slightly. “Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

Jared laughs before bringing his microphone up. “They’re still flirting!”

The crowd cheers and you hear cameras go off as people take photos. You bury your face against Jensen’s neck.

“If you don’t get me outta here, right now, no amount of burgers and milkshakes will get you movies.” You whisper so only he can hear.

He chuckles, and you feel the vibrations of it in his chest. A moment later, you feel his lips by your ear as he whispers.

“I still have another half hour, sweetheart. But, stick by my side, and I’ll make it up to you?”

You playfully whine softly but nod against him. He’s really warm and, just like last night, you feel safe in his arms. You feel his lips turn up in a smile against the shell of your ear. You keep your face hidden against him, mainly since people are still taking photos, as he carries you up to his seat and settles down, still holding you in his arms.

He whispers. “I didn’t quite expect to have you back in my arms so soon, but I’m definitely not complaining.”

You giggle against him. “Ok. Maybe you are a Smooth Criminal when it comes to flirting.”

He laughs, the movement gently shaking you a little as he holds you.

“Is that gonna be our song now?” He teases softly.

You giggle and shrug. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

Jared comes back and sits in his seat, smirking. After a few minutes, you finally lift your head, bringing your face outta hiding but stay in Jensen’s arms as he and Jared continue answering the fans’ questions about the show, their friendship, and what can be expected in future episodes. The guys answer what they can, and make a few jokes in the process. To keep your nerves down, Jensen rubs your hip with his thumb. This makes you blush slightly.

Sure enough, after half an hour, the announcer comes back out and says there’s time for one last question before the panel ends. After it’s been asked, and answered by Jared, who happily took it over, one shy fan on the front row, a few seats down from mine, raises their hand.

You whisper to Jensen. “Let the poor girl ask her question. She’s shy, and I’m sure it took her the entire hour just to get the courage to ask.”

He smiles and nods before gesturing for the guy with the mic to hand it over to the young girl. She smiles a little as she takes it.

“Hi.” She says in a soft voice.

Jensen smiles. “Hi, sweetheart. You wanna ask us something?”

She nods fast. “I...um…this is for you, Mr. Ackles.”

Jensen smiles, his hand softly rubbing your lower back, hidden by the table. “You can just call me Jensen, ok?”

She smiles and nods. “O-o-okay, Mr. Ac-Jensen. Um...are...are you two dating?”

Jensen smiles. “That’s a very good question! While I would love to say yes, my response is only 50% true. Let’s see if it stays 50% or goes up to 100% true!”

You lift your head and glance at him as he turns his head to the side a little to look at you.

“What do you say, sweetheart? Am I only 50% correct? Or 100%?” He grins.

You smirk. “Well...as of right now, only 50%...”

The crowd gasps and his face falls a little bit.

“Only 50?” He asks.

You smirk. “Technically, you haven’t even asked me to be your girlfriend, Mister.”

Jensen chuckles while Jared laughs. You giggle and look at the young girl who asked if Jensen and you were dating.

“Until he asks me to be his girlfriend, he and I are just friends.” You say, smiling.

She giggles quietly into the microphone still in her hand. “That’s fair.”

The crowd starts chanting. “Ask her! Ask her!”

Jared starts chanting with them and starts smacking the arms of his chair.

Jensen laughs and raises one hand. “Alright. Alright.”

The crowd cheers and goes silent. The girl hands the microphone back to the convention attendant. You look back at Jensen, grinning.

“You don’t have to if you don’t wanna. Don’t have to give into peer pressure and all that.” You say.

He smirks. “Sweetheart, they never warned me about this type of peer pressure in school. And, it’s good they didn’t. They would have failed, epicly, ‘cause I’d give into it in a heartbeat. So...what do you say? Will you be my girlfriend?”

The crowd stays silent as everyone waits on bated breath for my response. Jared watches you, grinning, waiting. Jensen sucks in a deep breath as his shiny white teeth dig into his bottom lip. You lean your head back and bite your lip, pretending to think. The smile that you can’t stop from spreading across your face gives him your answer before you can get the words out.

He grins. “Yeah?”

You giggle. “Yeah! But! You still owe me 50 burgers and a dozen milkshakes!”

He, along with everyone else in the room, starts laughing. His arms tighten around you a little and he holds you closer.

“Yes, ma’am!” He smiles. “I’ll get you all the burgers and milkshakes your heart desires.”

You giggle. “Good. Then, yes. I’ll be your girlfriend. And, continue watching movies with you at midnight, Smooth Criminal.”

He laughs. “Hell yeah!”

Everyone in the crowd starts screaming excitedly and Jared stands up from his chair. He starts clapping loudly.

“Yes!” He says with a huge smile on his face. “This was definitely worth the risk of being turned into Moose Stew!”

You laugh and shake your head. “You’ll still pay for this, Jared! You’re buying the first round of 50 burgers and a dozen milkshakes!”

He laughs. “Deal!”

Lexi yells out. “KISS!! KISS!”

Pretty soon, the entire room is chanting it with her. You blush and look at Jensen.

“Are you ok with that? If not, we don’t have to-” He starts to say.

You cut him off by happily kissing him. You don’t know why you’re not nervous to do so, but you don’t complain. It just seems right. And, the moment you feel his lips against yours, and his words die off in the kiss, being replaced with a smile as he happily returns it, you know it was the right move to make. Oh, it was definitely right.

Everything in that moment just seems to slow down around you. Your eyes flutter close as your lips meet. The crowd’s cheers become almost silent. And, despite being in front of a large group of people with cameras flashing, suddenly, it’s like it’s only Jensen and you. Everything just falls into place. You never believed in kisses holding power like this...not until this moment.

You smile against his lips and a moment later, amidst a still loudly cheering crowd, you slowly pull back.

“Does that answer your question?” You tease.

He chuckles and nods fast. “It does. Now, let’s get outta here and do that again.”

“Woah woah woah...Wait till I leave you two alone. I wanna get food first.” Jared says, into his microphone causing everyone to laugh.

#jensen ackles #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles imagine #jensen ackles imagines #jensen ackles love story #jensen ackles fanfiction #jensen ackles x you

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daryl-dixon-daydreams · 4 years

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Words: 6,765 Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Era: Alexandria Warnings: Language, coerced marriage, gore, violence, sexuality, typical TWD stuff (recommended NC17+) A/N: This part is LONG! This is part of a series! Find the previous parts on the Masterlist! Summary: Safe in Hilltop, Daryl worries about Y/N and rushes her to the doctor.

Your name: submit What is this?

Daryl looked desperately at Maggie. You were completely limp in his arms, your head lolled toward his chest. “Where’s the doctor here?” he asked.

“This way.” Maggie, Sasha, and Enid hurriedly led the way to the medical trailer. Daryl glanced down at your face as he walked. You seemed to be breathing okay, but you were extremely pale.

Dr. Carson spun around as Daryl busted inside. He immediately dropped the papers in his hand and rushed over as Daryl rested you down as gently as he could on one of the beds. “What happened?”

Daryl shrugged. “Dunno. She just went pale and then she was out.”

Dr. Carson grabbed your wrist and felt for your pulse, keeping his eyes on the second hand of his watch. “Her pulse is a little elevated.” He looked at Daryl as well as the concerned faces of Maggie, Sasha, and Enid gathered around on the other side of your bed. He grabbed a blood pressure cuff and returned to your side.

Daryl’s expression was overwhelmed with concern. He brushed your hair off your face and anxiously chewed on his bottom lip.

“Do we have any guesses?” Dr. Carson asked, watching the dial on the cuff. He noticed that Daryl looked like he needed some treatment, too…

Daryl paused thoughtfully for a moment. “We just came from The Sanctuary,” he said darkly. “Escaped. If I had to guess, I’d say she ain’t been eatin’ or sleepin’.” He ran a hand back through his dirty hair. “And, uhh… she’s—probably some… some trauma. I dunno about injuries.” He realized that it was entirely possible you had lied to him about not being hurt. He shifted his weight anxiously, avoiding everyone’s eyes, and grabbed one of your hands gently in his. It felt small, fragile. You’d always seemed to be made of such strong stuff, Kevlar. This wasn’t right.

Dr. Carson nodded stoically. “Alright. Could be in shock. Why don’t the rest of you wait outside briefly? Enid, help me get her changed into a gown and checked over. We’ll hang an IV and get her hydrated, get some nutrients in her. Hopefully all she needs is rest.”

Daryl was hesitant to release your hand and stared at Enid and Dr. Carson as they rushed into action. Maggie noticed his unwillingness to leave and touched him gently on the arm. “Daryl. Come on. Let’s just wait outside a minute.” He shifted his weight back and forth, still staring down at your closed eyes and pale face. “Dr. Carson will take care of her. She’s gonna be just fine, but they need room to work. C’mon.”

He gave your hand a gentle squeeze and reluctantly rested it back down on your stomach, allowing Sasha and Maggie to lead him outside. When the trailer door closed behind him with a snap he flinched, and he immediately sunk down on the steps, hanging his head in his hands, elbows propped on his knees.

Sasha put a gentle hand on his shoulder. He tensed. “She’s gonna be fine, Daryl. Dr. Carson is really good. She probably just needs some fluids and rest.”

He showed no sign of having heard her. All he could think about was how this was his fault.

About fifteen agonizing minutes later, the creak of the trailer door behind him sent Daryl rocketing to his feet. He looked up to see Enid in the doorway. She stepped out as Sasha and Maggie, also waiting nearby, rose to their feet too.

“Her blood pressure and heart rate have stabilized but she’s still out. Dr. Carson says she’ll probably just wake up when her body is ready to.”

Daryl was pacing in front of the steps now, rubbing a hand over his mouth and the stubble on his face. “Is she, uhh—Did ya check her over? Is she—she hurt somehow?” he asked desperately.

Enid shook her head. “Nothing that we could see or detect. Everything looks fine. She’s probably just in shock and dehydrated.”

Maggie stepped forward as Daryl froze in place again, staring down at his boots. His face was dark. “Daryl—what happened? How’d you get out?”

His hands clenched into fists and he shut his eyes. He felt like he could be sick. “She, uhh—” There was a quiver in his voice. “She came there to get me out. She—before Alexandria—she was a prisoner there and, uhh—” He was having a hard time getting the words out through his emotion, his face screwing up and his jaw clenching. He looked up and met Sasha’s eyes. “She was one of his ‘wives’,” Daryl growled. “She did it to save her brother. But when I got taken, she went back.” He began pacing again, pressing a hand over his face. “She went back to him, to Negan. She went back in so she could get me out.”

That was all he could get out. He collapsed again on the steps and immediately began anxiously chewing his thumbnail again.

The gravity of what Daryl had just said was settling over Maggie, Sasha, and Enid. Maggie collapsed back against the planter behind her. “Oh my God,” she uttered. “I had no idea.”

Daryl shook his head and shrugged. “She didn’t tell anyone. She didn’t want anyone to know.”

Rage flashed in Sasha’s eyes. “That sick son of a bitch. Did he do something to her?” she asked Daryl.

Daryl shook his head, refusing to look at anyone, turmoil churning in his chest, guilt crushing him so much he felt like he couldn’t take in air. “Depends on what ya mean by ‘somethin’,” he growled.

“Oh my God,” Maggie said again, pressing a hand over her mouth.

Enid lightly touched Daryl’s shoulder. “Dr. Carson wants to look you over. At least the gunshot wound.”

“’M fine,” he barked back.

“Probably. But just let us check,” she said gently.

Daryl hesitated for a moment, but finally conceded and stood. “Fine. But I’m sittin’ right beside her ‘til she wakes up.” Enid nodded and Daryl followed her back into the trailer.

Outside, Maggie and Sasha exchanged another distraught look.

“I didn’t know. About her brother. About Negan—any of it,” Sasha said. “Did you?”

Maggie shook her head. “No. But she was always really private. Never talked about her past. I can see why. How do you even begin to explain somethin’ like that to someone?”

“Until she talked about The Saviors that day, here, I never—but even then she didn’t say—"

Maggie shook her head. “Goin’ back. To him. To that? Knowing what he’d done to our people. What he was capable of. I can’t imagine…”

Sasha nodded, wide-eyed. “Yeah… I mean, I knew she was a badass. I’ve fought walkers beside her but—” She shook her head again, her lips parting in disbelief.

“She did it for Daryl,” Maggie said quietly, smoothing a hand over her belly. _ _ _ _ _ _

Sometime later, Maggie went back over to the medical trailer to see how you were doing. When she got inside, Dr. Carson was taking inventory of the drugs in the cabinet and he nodded toward the far corner in response to her questioning look.

When she rounded the curtain divider, she saw Daryl sitting at your bedside, leaning forward in a chair, anxiously chewing his thumbnail. His gaze was fixated on your face, but his blue eyes seemed unfocused.

Maggie stepped forward and lightly rested a hand on your arm. “How is she?”

Daryl shook his head almost imperceptibly and shrugged.

“Has she woken up at all?” Maggie asked him.

He shook his head again and straightened up in his chair. “Nah. Not yet.”

Maggie took in the worn and exhausted look on Daryl’s face, the bruises, the layers of dirt on his skin. “You should go get cleaned up. I’ll sit with her. Enid can show you where you can stay.”

He shook his head, leaning forward onto the edge of your bed with his elbows. “Nah. I ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

“She’ll be okay,” Maggie said, but knowing better than to try to persuade Daryl to leave. Nothing short of sheer force would have moved him. “Are you alright?”

He shrugged vaguely. “Doc says I’m okay.”

“Good. That’s good. But not exactly what I meant.” She waited, but he didn’t respond. “I’ll bring you some food.” She rested her hand gently on Daryl’s shoulder and felt him stiffen beneath her touch, but he hardly acknowledged it. Once Maggie had disappeared around the curtain, he reached out and grasped your hand in his again. It felt a little cold, and he rubbed it gently between his palms. And he waited.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Dr. Carson came to check on your vitals again around midnight and found Daryl slumped over on the edge of your bed, his head resting on his arms. He jumped awake the sound of the doctor’s footsteps.

“Sorry,” Dr. Carson said softly.

Daryl rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced at your face. He rested his hand on yours again. “How is she?” he asked, his voice a gruff rasp.

The doctor finished listening to your pulse and your lungs, and reached for the blood pressure cuff. “All her vitals are good,” he said. “She went through a traumatic experience?” he asked, a glance at Daryl’s expression.

His brow drew down low over his eyes and his face darkened. He nodded.

“Then her mind and body probably just need time to be turned off for a while. And if she wasn’t sleeping or eating, she needs to recover the things her body’s missing.” He checked the level of the IV drip bag. “That’s what this is for.”

“Ya didn’t find—anything physical? She wasn’t beat up or—?”

Dr. Carson shook his head. “No. Nothing like that. Nothing like what you went through.” He paused, but Daryl showed no sign that he was going to respond. “You went through trauma too. Physical and otherwise. You should also get some rest,” he said kindly. “I promise she’s in good hands here.”

Daryl nodded. “I know. I just—she’d be here for me. So. I’m gonna be here for her.”

_ _ _ _ _ _

Daryl awoke to the sound of tweeting birds outside the next morning and slowly lifted his head off his arms, which were resting on the edge of your bed. He rubbed at his tired eyes and glanced over at you. He shot upright, his chair clattering back and squeaking on the floor. Your eyes were open. He grabbed your hand and you gave it a squeeze.

“Y/N,” he said, leaning over you. “Doc!”

You looked tired and a little groggy but you were awake, looking up at him. Your lips curved in a small smile at his reaction on realizing you were awake.

“Why the hell didn’t ya wake me up?” he asked you, studying your expression.

“Because you need sleep,” you said softly.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re the one in the damn hospital bed and you’re tryin’ to take care of me still? Stop,” he drawled. Dr. Carson arrived at your side and grinned down at you. “Good to see you awake,” he said, putting his stethoscope in his ears and listening to your heart and lungs. “How are you feeling?”

Daryl was standing anxiously at your side, rocking on his feet.

“Tired,” you said softly. “And a bit confused.” You looked back over at Daryl. “What happened? I remember getting here and then—nothing.”

He nodded, his nose nudging up slightly. “Ya just passed out all of a sudden.”

You frowned. “Oh. How long was I out?”

“Overnight,” Dr. Carson replied, letting the pressure out of the blood pressure cuff. “BP is normal.” He took in the color in your cheeks. “You look better. But I’d like you to stay here today and overnight again, just in case. We’ll keep giving you some more fluids and you need to eat and rest,” he emphasized. He put a hand kindly on your shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot. Take it easy.”

You looked back over at Daryl. His expression was disturbed and you felt a lump forming in your throat. You tried to swallow it but it didn’t budge.

“Are ya alright?” Daryl asked you. “Really?

You turned your eyes back up toward the ceiling and flashes of Negan surged forward in your mind. You could almost feel his hands on you, feel his lips on you. You shut your eyes tight and shrugged. “I don’t know,” you said softly. “But I will be.” You glanced back over at him. “Have you been here this whole time?”

He nudged his nose up twice in a nod. “Ya. And I ain’t leavin’. So dun even try.” He pulled his chair back over to your bedside again and sat down.

You studied his face, the bruises still glaring out at you. “You should go get cleaned up. And I hope you’ve been eating and—”

“I ain’t goin’ anywhere until you’re gettin’ out of here.” He held up a dirty plate though. “I’ve been eatin’. Sasha and Maggie keep shovin’ food on me.”

You nodded and sighed, feeling suddenly tired again. “Good. But you should shower, get some clean clothes that fit better…”

“Hey—” he said forcefully, grabbing your hand. You looked down at it in surprise. “I ain’t leavin’ ya in here alone.”

Your eyes flitted between his. “I’m okay. You can take care of you.”

He sighed heavily and shook his head. “Nah. ‘M good.”

Not too long after that, you drifted off to sleep again.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Daryl kept true to his word and slept slumped over at your bedside again despite your continued protests, waking every once and a while and studying your face, the relaxed pout of your lips. By the time you awoke the next morning and Dr. Carson came by, you were more than ready to get out of the medical trailer.

“You’re sure she’s alright,” Daryl asked, walking with Dr. Carson toward the door. You were changing into some clean clothes Maggie had brought by behind the curtain in the corner.

Dr. Carson nodded. “She is. She just needs to take it easy a while. Lots of rest and water. And you too,” he said, giving Daryl a sharp look. “You know where to find me if there’s anything you need.”

Daryl looked hesitant but he nodded. “Thanks,” he said gruffly. He pushed outside and found Enid waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey. Maggie sent me to show you where you and Y/N can stay.”

Daryl nodded, shrugging his hands into his pockets. “She’s just changin’,” he said. Enid nodded and they both patiently waited. The trailer door creaked open and you came down the steps looking like you were almost back to your old self.

“Good to see you up,” Enid said kindly, smiling at you. Enid showed you to a trailer that was sparsely furnished, but there was a bathroom and a couch and a large bed in one corner, along with a dining area and a little kitchenette. “We had other plans for this trailer but I think it will be better suited for you two for now, while you’re here. Unless you wanted to stay up in Barrington house,” she said.

“This is perfect.” You turned back to Enid. “Thank you.”

She nodded and smiled. “Maggie, Sasha, and I are just in the trailer right next door. It’s actually Jesus’ but he’s out on a run. But in case you need anything, that’s usually where you can find us.” She headed for the door but turned back with her hand on the doorknob. “I’m really glad you’re both here. And that you’re okay.”

You gave her a warm smile before she went out. The door snapped closed behind her and you suddenly felt completely lost, like you didn’t even know what to do with yourself.

You realized Daryl was standing close in front of you and you looked up, your eyes following up his broad chest, and landed on his face. He must have been able to read something in your expression.

He felt a constriction in his throat as you met his eyes and he finally realized how scared he actually had been when you had passed out. “Ya scared me,” he rasped.

You looked down toward your boots. “Sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

“I do,” he said. “Ya were so worried about me ya weren’t taking care of you.” His hands closed gently around your shoulders and as you looked up at him, into his blue eyes, you finally went to pieces, suddenly overwhelmed with everything that had happened. Tears poured down your cheeks and your shoulders shook as you tried to gasp in breaths, wanting to pull yourself together but feeling helpless to in that moment.

Daryl’s chest ached. He quickly pulled you against him and held you tight, feeling each hitch of your shuddered breaths. He just held you while you cried, squeezing his eyes shut against a few tears of his own born of rage and sadness and regret. And eventually your breathing evened out and smoothed beneath his hands, and you pulled gently back and wiped the tear streaks from your cheeks, looking up at him. He simply nodded.

You crossed the room and sank down on the couch, staring vaguely at the opposite wall, pressing a hand up to your forehead, leaning forward with your elbows on your knees for a long moment.

Daryl just stood a short distance away, chewing on his bottom lip… wishing he could read your mind.

At length you sat up again after rubbing both your hands down over your face. “I’m okay,” you whispered, seeing that he was still intent on you, his eyes narrowed. “Really.” You tilted your head in the direction of the bathroom. “You should go get cleaned up. I’ll be right here,” you said.

“Ya sure?”

You nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

Daryl grabbed some clean clothes and went into the bathroom and shut the door quietly behind him. He stared at himself in the mirror for a long moment. It’d been so long since he’d seen himself. He sighed heavily and stripped off his clothes. He turned on the shower and stepped into the hot stream of water, gasping at the sensation of it pouring over his skin, leaning his head back and letting it run over his face, soaking his sore and bruised body. He hastily washed his hair and scrubbed all the built-up dirt and grime from his skin, wincing a little as his hands moved roughly over bruises on his ribs and back from his last beating.

At length, Daryl came out of the bathroom. His wet hair was sending drops of water down to pepper his shirt. He looked so much better, just having gotten the dirt and grime rinsed off his skin and out of his hair and you couldn’t help smiling at him.

“Better?” you asked.

“Mhm,” he hummed.

You were waiting on the couch with a first aid kit and beckoned him over with a nod. He licked his bottom lip and huffed a little but wandered over and sat down next to you. You grabbed some alcohol pads and took his hand, the one with the split knuckles and swelling, pulling it over onto your lap. You cleaned it up and put some ointment on his knuckles. The whole time you felt nervous with his hand in yours and Daryl was feeling an obnoxious flutter in his chest as your fingers floated over his skin. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.

“You should have had Dr. Carson look at this—make sure it isn’t broken,” you said, pausing with the bandage in your hand.

“Nah. S’fine,” Daryl said.

You gave him a knowing look. “It could be a boxer’s break,” you said, starting to wrap the bandage gently over his knuckles and around his palm. “Happens when you punch a hard surface. Like a wall,” you said quietly. Your words suggested you knew exactly how he had injured his hand, that night after he had been forced to see you on Negan’s lap.

Daryl gulped and avoided your eyes. “Ain’t broken.”

You nodded. “Okay. There. Done.” You looked up at his face and realized he truly looked exhausted. “You need real rest,” you said. “Not locked in a cell rest or slumped over at my bedside rest.”

“’M fine,” he said, getting up and going over to the table to grab some food from the basket Maggie had left for you both.

Your brow furrowed and you gave him a look.

“What?”

“No,” you repeated, shaking your head. “You’ve been sleeping, or not sleeping, on a hard floor as long as they had you. And you haven’t slept properly since we got here.”

He stared at you with narrowed eyes, getting ready to argue.

“Daryl. I’m fine. And we’re safe. You can rest.” It was like your permission was the last thing he needed. You watched his shoulders visibly slump. He conceded. “Alright…” He walked over to the bed and laid down carefully. You could tell he was in pain when he moved and your brow furrowed.

He adjusted the pillow under his head. “Well, what are ya gonna do?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe go fill in Maggie. Tell her what happened.”

A shadow darkened his face. “I told her a little. After you were, ya know, with the doc. But not much.”

You nodded. “Okay.” You started toward the door and he sat back up halfway.

“Hey. Just—ya ain’t goin’ outside the walls, right?”

` ` You shook your head. “No.”

“Promise me,” he growled.

His concern was clear. You nodded. “I promise. Get some rest.”

Daryl watched the door close behind you and sighed, sinking back onto the bed and draping an arm over his eyes. Part of him wanted to ask you to stay… but what would he say? That he needed you nearby? Needed to know you were safe? That he wanted you right beside him… He wasn’t feeling brave enough for that yet no matter how badly he wanted it.

You walked to the next trailer over and the door was propped open, letting in the sunshine and a breeze. Maggie was sitting at the table eating a snack and looking over some papers. Enid was sitting nearby.

“Hey,” Maggie said, giving you a smile. “You look better. It’s good to see you out and about. Where’s Daryl?”

You nodded and shoved your hands into your pockets. “I convinced him to try and get some actual sleep.”

“Good. He needs it,” she said, her eyes turning a little sad. “Ya know, he completely refused to leave your side while you were out.” She gave you a pointed look and you felt your cheeks flush but you pretended you hadn’t heard her. “What’s up?”

“Umm, I just thought—maybe I’d fill you in on what happened. And I wondered if you knew anything about everyone back in Alexandria.”

She nodded. “To my knowledge everyone else back home is alright. Rick’s been scavenging for the Saviors. They’ve been making pick-ups so far for Negan. But supplies are getting scarce.”

You nodded.

“Come on and sit down,” Maggie said.

“Do you want me to go? I could—”

“It’s alright, Enid,” you said kindly. “No reason for you to leave. I don’t have anything left to hide at this point…” You heaved a deep breath and let it out. “I haven’t even told Rick any of this yet because before I could Daryl was gone. And I just went after him, to get him back. I didn’t want to wait another second.”

Maggie nodded and her brow furrowed as she listened intently. “He told us. Just a little bit. About what you did. You don’t have to tell us anything more if you don’t want to.”

“It’s okay. I—I think I’d rather just get it out, you know?” You related your story to her and Enid. You were grateful they didn’t interrupt you because you were afraid if you stopped you wouldn’t be able to start up again. You explained what you had done to get Daryl out, going back to Negan and being one of his ‘wives’ again. Maggie reached out and grabbed your hand, giving it a squeeze as her eyes filled with tears.

“My God. Y/N,” she said when you had finished. “He could have killed you on sight.”

You nodded. “He could have. But I had a feeling he wouldn’t. And he didn’t.” She squeezed your hand again.

Enid was looking at you with round eyes.

You felt your cheeks turning pink and shook your head. “I just did what needed to be done. To get him out.”

Maggie grabbed you suddenly into a tight hug, squeezing a little of the air from your lungs. “Thank you. For bringing him back to us. And you came back to us, too.” She pulled back and gave you a teary smile, which you returned. “I can’t imagine what you went through. But I’m just so grateful you’re both here.”

“Me too.” You got up and Enid stood to grab you in a tight hug too. You smiled at her a little awkwardly. “I think I’m just gonna take a walk around a bit. Get some air,” you said with a small smile.

“Alright. Take it easy, though,” she cautioned. “Doc’s orders.” You nodded and headed back outside.

You ended up in the stables, petting the horses and brushing them down just to pass the time. You were grateful for the distraction. Your mind wandered to Daryl frequently and you sincerely hoped that he was getting some peaceful rest. He needed it. He deserved it.

You noticed Sasha up on the wall, standing watch near the gate and you headed over toward her.

“Hey,” you said, nearing the top of the ladder. You were a little winded. You still felt weak. Daryl’s guesses to Dr. Carson had been correct. You had hardly eaten or slept while you were at The Sanctuary, and it had taken more of a toll on you than you realized.

Sasha turned and helped you climb to your feet. “What the hell are you doin’ up here? You’re supposed to be taking it easy!” she said.

“Yeah, I know,” you sighed. “I’m trying.” You looked out over the wall, leaning on the top of the logs. A few walkers were staggering in the field in the distance and Sasha raised her eye to the scope of her rifle to watch them. You glanced over at her. “How are you doing? After everything? And Maggie? Really?”

Sasha gulped and lowered the gun with a heavy sigh. She shrugged and you saw pain in her eyes when she glanced at you. “I’m alive,” she muttered, before turning her eyes back to the field in front of you. “Maggie is too.”

“Yeah,” you said quietly, catching her meaning exactly. “We just—have to keep going.”

She looked over at you. “Daryl told us what you did. I can’t imagine—”

You sniffled and averted your eyes with a shrug. “I just had to get him out of there,” you said.

She nodded and turned again to stare back out over the fields.

“Have you been getting any trouble from Gregory?” you asked. Sasha scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“That man is a useless weasel. But he’s stayed away from me. Maggie’s been dealing with him.”

You picked at a soft spot on top of the log in front of you with your index finger. “He struck me as a nutless slimeball,” you muttered. It actually elicited a laugh from Sasha and you joined her in a low chuckle, shaking your head.

“That’s accurate,” she said appreciatively.

“Hey!” A familiar, gruff voice down below. Daryl. “What the hell are ya doin’?” he yelled up at you.

“Uh oh. Busted,” you said in an undertone to Sasha. She laughed again. You went to the edge of the lookout stand and peered down at him. “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” you said.

He shrugged vaguely and continued looking up at you. You turned back to Sasha. “See you later,” you said. You climbed down the ladder and were met at the bottom by the archer’s intense stare.

“What the hell are ya doin’ up there?”

You shrugged. “Just talking to Sasha,” you said.

Daryl scowled at you and shook his head. “Ya shouldn’t be up there. What if some of them are out there watchin’? What if they see ya?”

“They aren’t out there,” you said.

“Ya don’t know that!” he said angrily.

You sighed and put your hands on your hips, staring down at your boots. “Okay. Alright. I get it. I won’t go up there again.”

“Good,” he spat back at you.

You raised your eyebrows at him. “Did you get any sleep?” you asked. He started pacing back toward the trailer and you fell in behind him. He only grunted over his shoulder which you interpreted as an answer similar to ‘not much’. “How come?”

“I just couldn’t, alright?” he said, irritation evident in his voice.

“Daryl,” you said, reaching out and grabbing his arm gently. “What’s wrong? Why do you sound… pissed?”

He stormed into the trailer and rounded on you suddenly. There was clearly something going on in his blue eyes, turmoil. He paced in front of the couch for a moment as you stared at him, trying to decode his sudden agitation. “How could ya—how could ya do what ya did?!” he demanded angrily. “How could ya go back to him? Ya let him—how could ya let him—put his hands on ya? Ya let him—how—” his voice broke and the anger that was there a moment before was gone, replaced by anguish.

You felt a sinking feeling in the middle of your chest, right between your lungs, as you suddenly understood that his anger wasn’t really anger.

He froze and chewed his bottom lip anxiously. There was a long pause where you could feel a bubble of tension growing between the two of you. He couldn’t meet your eyes. “M’sorry. ‘M so sorry,” he said gruffly. “You were right about going after them, after Denise. I should have listened to ya,” he said. “But I was so damn angry... And now… S’my fault you had to go back to him. S’my fault he—he had you to—” His jaw clenched and he looked away, forcing in a breath. “It’s my fault Glenn’s dead. There’s a whole goddamn pile of things that are my fault.”

“Hey—” You shook your head. “No. No, you don’t get to do that. Even if you hadn’t gone out there, Dwight might have come back and found us and Alexandria anyway. And Glenn—you weren’t holding the bat, Daryl.”

“Ya weren’t there,” he growled. “It was my fault. It was.”

“No.” Your voice was forceful. “It wasn’t. I might not have been at the line up with our people but I’ve been at one before and there is no way to know how many people would have died anyway. Negan’s like that. His men are like that. Could have been more or less regardless of whatever you did that you think got Glenn killed.”

Daryl turned away. He stood stock-still in the center of the room, his shoulders tense. “You can be pissed at me or at the universe or whatever you want,” you said. “I really don’t care at this point because I’m just so damn happy you’re not in there anymore. It doesn’t matter what it took. I was gonna get you out. Nobody deserves to be treated that way, especially you.” You sighed heavily and stared at his back and broad shoulders. “You have to know that. It was my choice to go back.”

Just then, at possibly the worst time, there was a knock on the door and you turned to answer it with a heavy sigh. The so-called “leader” of Hilltop, Gregory, was standing there on the doorstep. “Well, hello,” he said, nodding his head. You stepped back and peered at him with dislike. Daryl spun around to glare him down. “Aren’t—can I come in?” he asked.

You stepped back begrudgingly so he could take another step inside. He cleared his throat a bit awkwardly and then put his hands on his hips, looking around the inside of the trailer. You noticed that Daryl picked up a crossbow he must have gotten from the armory and started fiddling with one of the bolts, purposely fixing his icy blue eyes on Gregory. “Well, now, Margaret—”

“Maggie,” you corrected him.

“Right. Maggie,” he started again, seeming to quail a little under the tone of your voice, “has said that you two escaped from The Saviors compound. Is that true?”

“Why do ya care?” Daryl snapped, leaning back against the dining table.

“Well, I care because this is my place and I am hoping to continue to have a peaceful working relationship with The Saviors and—and—and I,” he stammered, “don’t think that is possible if I am harboring fugitives amongst my people. Not safe for—for my community, you see.”

Daryl stood up, his chin inclined. “And?”

“And,” he said, raising a finger, “and I came to tell you that—you’re welcome to stay the night but I want you gone tomorrow. I have to do what’s right for my people.”

Daryl stepped forward his chest puffed up. “Who’s gonna throw us out? You?” he growled. “Ain’t no peace with The Saviors. You’ll figure that out eventually. Or did ya forget ya made a deal with us to get rid of ‘em?”

Gregory leaned back away from Daryl, who was getting right up in his face. “We haven’t had any trouble until—until you people showed up,” he said.

“Really?” you asked, crossing your arms over your chest. “Remember Craig? Your man that they took? Who got him back? We did. You would have just let him die.” You scoffed.

Gregory glared at you and gestured vaguely with a hand. “Aren’t you his—his wife? Don’t you have some loyalty to—”

“Ya better fuckin’ watch what you’re about to say,” Daryl growled, poking a finger into Gregory’s chest and posturing at him. Gregory stepped back. “Ya don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about,” he growled.

“It’s alright, Daryl. He’s obviously an idiot,” you said.

Gregory looked affronted. “What? I don’t have to stand for this! I’m the leader here! This is my place,” he said, puffing his chest out now. “If you both aren’t gone tomorrow, I’ll—I’ll tell Simon about all of you when they come for their next pick-up!”

Daryl hauled a fist back and punched Gregory hard across the face. His head snapped back and to the side and he let out a moan and groan dramatically. “Kal!” he yelled, for one of the guards. “Kal!”

Maggie and Enid appeared in the doorway as you were holding Daryl back from hitting Gregory again, your hands on his chest as he yelled at him over you. “Ya threatenin’ us, ya son of a bitch!? Ya don’t know who the hell you’re messin’ with!”

“Daryl! Hey! Daryl! Stop!” It was taking all your strength to hold him back. You could feel every muscle in his strong chest tensed beneath your hands.

“What’s goin’ on?” Maggie asked, her eyes wide.

“This prick threatened us!” Daryl roared. “Threatened to tell The Saviors about all of us here unless Y/N and I leave tomorrow,” he spat.

“Daryl!” you yelled again. You finally clasped his face in your hands and made him look at you. “Enough.” He softened immediately, his chest heaving. He stopped trying to push through you and instead paced a short distance away after your hands slipped from him.

“You threatenin’ us now?” Maggie asked him. Gregory was a pitiful sight, clutching a hand to his face where Daryl had punched him. “Do I have to remind you who exactly is trying to solve your problem with The Saviors?” Maggie drew herself up to her full height again. “We aren’t goin’ anywhere. And you’re not tellin’ The Saviors a damn thing. Ya know why? Because you need us. Things are gonna go bad for you soon enough. And when the time comes, you’re gonna need us to save your ass. You’re gonna need us to save your community because we actually know how to fight.”

“Get the fuck outta here,” Daryl snapped at him.

Gregory gave everyone a parting glare and laid it on thick, actually limping down the stairs and moaning about going to see Dr. Carson. You rolled your eyes and exchanged a look with Maggie.

“Ya alright?” she asked you. You nodded.

“Fine.”

“Alright. We’ll talk tomorrow. Goodnight,” she said. You slammed the trailer door shut and turned to look at Daryl, who was still fuming.

“Ya shoulda let me hit him again,” he growled, grabbing his crossbow again.

“I think the one you got was good enough,” you said. You gulped at the lump in your throat. “Thanks for that. For standing up for me when he—”

“S’nothin’. That asshole dunno what the hell he’s talkin’ about.”

You nodded. “I’m tired,” you mused aloud.

Daryl nodded. “Ya. Ya need more rest. I’ll take the couch,” he said, setting his crossbow down and heading toward it.

“Seriously?”

His confused eyes snapped back at you. “What?”

You sighed. “Daryl, you’re not sleeping on the couch. Come over here,” you said, tilting your head. You walked over to the bed and pulled the covers back on one side, slipping underneath them. “I’ll take this side. You take the other.” You climbed into bed.

Daryl watched as you settled into the pillow, exhaustion settling over you. You could feel his eyes on you and you propped yourself up on your elbow. You anxiously chewed your bottom lip, wondering how much of what you were thinking that you should actually say.

“It’ll help me sleep… if you’re right here,” you said softly.

Daryl’s heart raced in his chest. How could he deny you that? And in truth, that was all he wanted, to be right there with you, knowing you were safe, asleep, beside him, out of the reach of Negan and his wandering hands. His mind wandered to what it would be like to have you fall asleep in his arms. He nudged his chin up a couple times. “Alright.”

“Thanks,” you murmured. You sighed and settled back into the pillow. You kept your eyes closed, but didn’t sleep yet, listening to Daryl softly moving about the room for a little while longer. Eventually you heard the soft rustling of fabric beside you and felt his weight on the other side of the bed.

He propped up the pillow and sat back against it on the headboard, his legs stretched out on top of the blankets, crossed at the ankles.

You smiled to yourself and finally allowed yourself to drift off.

#daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon twd #the walking dead #twd fanfics #daryl dixon drabbles #daryl imagines #daryl dixon x reader #fanfics #writers of tumblr #twd drabbles #sacrifice #daryl dixon series

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dw-writes · 3 years

Text

Midnight Marathons - Stiles Stlinski x Reader

ey, look, another depression fic. why? because i can.

I hope you guys enjoy this!

Stiles didn’t realize the time until his phone buzzed next to his laptop, drawing his attention to the screen, the time, and then your text.

‘Are you still up?’ you asked. His phone buzzed against shortly after he replied, not even giving him a chance to stretch out in his desk chair. ‘Open the window?’

“The window?” he muttered. He turned to it far too fast, almost launching himself out of the chair, then shoved the window open with a grunt. Your head popped up over the side, and he jumped. “Seriously? You couldn’t have told me you were here before you started to climb up here?” he asked as he stepped back.

You shifted on the roof outside, pushing your legs in and dropping down to the floor. “Nope,” you answered, “Mostly because I didn’t think of that.”

“Yeah.” He reached around you to shut the window, swatting at a mosquito that had followed you inside. “I noticed.” His hand gave your arm a squeeze when he was finished chasing the bug. “You okay?” he asked, “You’re never out this late.”

You shrugged, taking a moment to pulling off your shoes, then sat on the edge of his bed. He didn’t bother to close his laptop as he sat next to you, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “I dunno,” you sighed. You sat further back on his bed, pulling one leg up to your chest. “No?”

His hand dropped to his lap with an audible clap, then waved around as he asked, “Wanna talk about it?”

“About why I’m not okay?” you replied. He nodded. “Not really.”

“So, why are you here?” You arched an eyebrow at the blunt question. He stuttered, his hands coming up as he bounced slightly on the bed, adjusting his legs beneath him. “Not that I don’t like that you’re here! Especially now – I mean, do you know how many times I’ve had a dream that had you coming to my room this late at night? Like dozens, probably more, that’s not the point.” You rolled your lips together as a soft chuckle pushed through your nose, your cheeks burning as he continued. “People don’t normally show up to another person’s house at midnight to not talk, you know?” He shoved his hands through his hair again. “Unless its, like, a booty call. Is this? Is this a booty call?” he asked.

You rolled your eyes and shoved your foot against his knee, ignoring the burn that grew hotter in your face. “No, Stiles.”

His hands fluttered between you. “Then?”

You shrugged and fell back against his pillows, dropping your feet into his lap with a sigh. “I just didn’t wanna be alone. My mind keeps running away from me and my sister’s asleep and I didn’t wanna bother her, and I don’t like being alone when my mind gets like this,” you answered.

Your feet were shoved off his lap as he huffed and crawled up next to you, flopping on his side to watch your face. You rubbed at your cheeks to make sure it was free of any moisture that had been running down your face an hour ago. He waited, staying quiet as you composed yourself, wiggling until he was more comfortable. One of his hands slid under the pillow you rested on. Your rolled towards him once you were satisfied, shoving a hand under your pillow to tangle your fingers with his. He drew your interlaced hands from beneath your head into the space between you both. “What do you wanna talk about then?” he finally asked.

You gave him a weak, one shouldered shrug. “Anything?” you offered, “Anything but bullshit running through my mind right now.”

Stiles rolled his lips together as he thought, pushing himself up enough to look around his room. “You wanna watch the OG Star Trek? It’s on Hulu,” he offered. He flopped back down to watch you. “Or we can watch Star Trek: Beyond. I know how much you like that movie.”

You nodded. “You know what? I’d like that a lot,” you whispered, “But only if we watch I, Mudd first.”

He snorted, his head rocking back against the pillows. “What am I, an idiot? Of course we’ll start with I, Mudd, it’s the best episode ever.”

“Amok Time is a close one, too,” you argued.

Stiles shoved himself up, waving a hand in your direction as he shuffled towards the end of the bed. “You wanna borrow some clothes? My lacrosse sweatshirt is clean.”

You took your time sitting up. You dug through his closet for the aforementioned hoodie, taking an extra long minute to search for a pair of gym shorts as you shucked off your tee-shirt and jeans. The bedroom door creaked as you were changing, and when you turned back around, Stiles was gone. You peeked out into the hallway to see that a light downstairs was on, and the faint rummaging of him searching for something reached your ears.

You turned back around and pulled his laptop over to the bed, situating yourself under the blankets. He’d already pulled up the Hulu tab, with the episode ready to play. You swiped a finger under your eye as tears started to form, then balled the ends of the sleeves up in your fists and shoved them against your face.

There was a reason you always went to Stile when your mind ran a mile a minute. He’d always get you out of your head, be it with talking, or sitting with you, or watching something, or sharing the latest weird werewolf adventure with you. He really knew how to give you the time for your thoughts to settle, even when you didn’t realize that they needed to, so that you could sort through them when you were fully prepared to do so. He’d even listen when you were having the kind of day where you really needed someone to work through your thoughts with you.

The whole thing made you tear up again, something you’d been really wanting to avoid since you first started crying over an hour ago.

“Hey, so, I have chips, I have soda, I have water, I have cookies!” He bounded into the room, his arms ladened with snacks and drinks as he beamed. “I’m ready for a marathon. Are you?”

You sniffled and wiped your face. His grin faltered, shrinking in size as he took in your red eyes. You held out a hand and grabbed at the air. “Those look suspiciously like my favorite chips,” you muttered.

He looked down at the bag in the crook of his elbow, making his way over to you. “Yeah, obviously,” he replied, voice just as soft as yours. You took the bag as he sat down. He spread the snacks out around the computer, then grabbed a pillow to place it on so it was easier to see. He glanced at you as he made the episode full screen. “If you wanna talk about it,” he whispered. His voice trailed off with an unspoken statement.

You nodded. “I know,” you said. You looked up at him. He was close enough for you to see the shadows under his eyes. “Not right now, though,” you added.

He nodded. “Course.” He scooted closer to you under the blanket, offering you his shoulder to lean on as he pressed place. “Just lemme know,” you whispered.

“I will.”

#teen wolf #stiles stilinski x reader #stiles stilinski #stiles stilinski x gn reader

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hawksugarbaby · 4 years

Text

Todoroki x male reader- Caramel and Honey

Fluff + Au where todoroki rebelled and never became a hero

Todoroki hummed to himself laying out the ingredients in front of him with his mixing bowl in the centre of the counter top, the mix of ingredients in organised lines from first to last except he was missing one ingredient.

It was soon to be your birthday, and todoroki being the gentleman as always was desperate to make you a cake as his local supplier. You deserved it for the kind smile you wore dropping of his orders at the back of the shop and hovering around for a few minutes to talk before disappearing into the wind again driving away in your van with (y/ln) Produce, stamped on the side of the van in big, black cursive.

He took over the shop from his mothers side of the family before she fell ill and had to go to hospital. not wanting anything to do with his disgusting father he chose to stay and manage the store of light pinks and pure whites. He heard your tires pulling up outside on the gravelly path and he opened the door for you to drop off your produce inside on the counters by the door.

"Hey Roki! How's it hanging, making anything special today?" you asked hauling a crate of freshly picked fruit for the season in and dropping it onto the steel top, wiggling under the weight and scooting forward a millimeter. "What do you consider special?" he asked bluntly helping you carry the boxes into the kitchen and put the items in their respective places.

Finally you brought in the cardboard box layered in bubble wrap filled with decorative jars of golden honey pockets of air suspended in the viscous liquid and Todoroki nodded happily in receiving everything he asked for. Sometimes you'd forget the blueberries, or the tea leaves or the bananas grown specially by your quirk. You grabbed a glass of honey flicking the lid open and dipped your finger into the glossy amber tasting it yourself.

"Something special? I would love a rustic honey cake. Just the way mum used to make it with our honey. Not the dumb store bought stuff, the stuff we make ourselves. With the bee's we lovingly care for, for a reason!" you shout but it was muffled by you sucking the honey off of your finger.

Todoroki wiped his chin and cleared his throat "you've got some... there's uh... like a little" you looked up at him and touched your chin the sticky threads of honey clinging to your hand. "Shit" you tutted and wiped it away with the heel of your hand getting that just as sticky as the rest of you. "Well this is embarrassing" you sighed and todoroki exhaled quickly, which was close enough to a laugh to make you smile. "Here" he ran a tea towel under the warm tap and wiped it over your chin and pressed it into your hand for you to clean your hands yourself.

He felt his own face light up red and grabbed a cup of blueberries in preparation for the blueberry muffins he would bake today and you blinked a few time's rebooting your brain after the short interaction making you flustered.

You wiped your hands down and neatly folded the towel over the side of the sink and shook your head clearing the busy, buzzing thoughts from your head and drew your eye's away from him focusing on the calendar hanging next to the wall. Delivery, nothing, delivery, nothing, delivery + (y/n) Birthday. You grinned and pointed to the red circle around the familiar number on the calendar and twisted your neck to watch him stir ingredients together into a pale yellow batter.

"You remember my birthday?" you quizzed and he nodded furiously beating the whisked eggs into the mixture and poured in the cup of indigo berries fresh from the bush. "Hey are you busy right now?" Todoroki asked moving on from the topic of your birthday and lifted his eyes from your strong arms he'd seen carry so many boxes of fruit, to your joy filled (e/c) orbs sparkling happily at the prospect of him. HIM. remembering your birthday.

"I can be not busy?" you raise your palms to the popcorn roof and flick out your phone calling a coworker. "Hey Bro, could you perchance come get the van from the Todoroki Bakery and deliver the rest of the products?" you ask and pushed the phone to your ear with your shoulder and mouthed 'frozen fruit' to todoroki and you quirked an eyebrow. He nodded to the bottom drawer.

"No I dropped a crate on my foot carrying the peaches into the shop and It hurts to walk on it I dunno how driving would go" you chuckle nervously and wink to todoroki who just looked back down at his muffins filling the white, paper cases not quite understanding. "No, I know it's so unlike me! But it's okay, Todoroki said he'd give me a lift home but can you just do the rest of the rounds?"

Your brother agreed and you said your bye's on the phone. "I now have the entire day off" you said proudly and leaned your elbows on the counter admiring todoroki's fluffy hair straying further from the style it was originally in while he pushed the baking tray into the oven. "Wait but I should check your foot if you hurt it" he said crouching down and pressing his cold hands against your ankle making you flinch "no I didn't really hurt my foot I just needed to get out of work" you chuckle.

"Oh okay. Will your dad believe that, aren't you supposed to be the big strong son?" Todoroki craned his neck up to look at you still resting with one knee on the floor and the other pulled up like he was going to propose. You lost yourself in your thoughts again imagining that instead of his hand on your foot he was holding out a small grey box with a gleaming band tucked into the cushion.

"Hey what the fuck is this?" your brother laughed at the scene in the kitchen and you whipped your head up to see him leaning against the door frame uncaringly. "Uhh todoroki was checking if my foot was swollen or anything. No evidence of broken bones yet! So you should just get going with the van here are my keys!!" you said hopping over like a professional actor and shoved the keys into his hand. "Mhm i'm sure that's what it was. OUTSIDE!" he shouted at you pulling you round the corner clipping your arm on the wooden pallets leaning against the wall out back scraping up inside your elbow.

"Hey what the hell, that hurt!" you shouted lightly tapping the bleeding scratched that didn't seem to want to stop bleeding. "Look I know you like that todoroki kid but you can't just skip work to spend the day with him!" your brother turned around and looked at your face, mouth agape and eye's furrowed into annoyance and he shrugged "what i'm just being hon-" "ARE YOU BLIND OR STUPID!?" you shouted back thrusting your profusely bleeding forearm in his face.

"Oh shit what! are you feeling okay?" he panicked suddenly drawing Todoroki's attention and he poked his head out the back door. Being the observant boy he was, his eyes went wide and he jogged over to where you were standing and wiped the blood away with the already honey covered tea towel but the crimson immediately started pouring out again. "He needs an ambulance" the dual haired baker tightly wrapped the tea towel around your arm which was quickly soaked in red.

You moaned in pain and annoyance feeling your head spin. "What could he have cut his arm on?" your brother asked and you held your hand out in front of his face snapping your fingers closed against your thumb shutting him up. "There's a huge fucking rusty nail... on the pallet you dragged me past you dickhead" you huffed. The ground span and swayed around you and the brightness in your vision was turned down so you could barely see the outlines of the boys surrounding you.

And then you were on the floor.

And then you were in the hospital. Staring at the white plaster ceiling at midnight with no one by your side. "Huh" you hummed and checked your phone hissing at the brightness lashing the dark hospital room.

todoroki was in the shop with a bowl and cake pan next to him. The jar of honey you scooped from open and his phone laying open waiting for your answer to his text.

You replied to the questions he asked and Todoroki's phone buzzed on the steel countertop and he perked up immediately reaching for the electronic, slowly running out of battery.

Roki 💖🍰

Hey are you okay?

Fri 12:18

Do you like pistachios?

Oh also raisins, do you like raisins?

Probably not, no one likes raisins

I like raisins...

Anyway. Text me when you see this

Fri 18:35

Roki 💖🍰

I hope you wake up.

I wasn't supposed to get a delivery from you today

But I wish I was cause I like seeing you

You make my heart feel... weird.

Good weird

Sat 8:44

Still don't know if you like raisins and pistachios

Sat 12:27

Roki 💖🍰

It's your birthday tomorrow you know.

Sorry I didn't text yesterday but you were sleeping anyway

How can you catch tetanus so quickly

It's supposed to take 4 days dumbass.

You got it in like 1. You fainted because of the blood btw

Mon 13:21

Please just wake up for your birthday.

I have something special for you

But I need to know if you like pistachios and raisins

Mon 14:56

Roki 💖🍰

Happy Birthday (y/n)

Tue 00:00

You chuckled to yourself at the sweet messages todoroki sent you over the course of the days and glanced at the clock. "I wonder if he's still awake" you croaked and wiped your eyes from sleep then yawned filling your waterline with unnecessary tears.

Bumblebee 🍯

Hey Roki. I'm up

I like/don't like pistachios

And I like/don't like raisins

Sorry for worrying you. Promise I won't get anymore tetanus

I'm going back to sleep

Come visit tomorrow

today*

Sent

Tue 4:13

"You better not be awake dumbass" you mumbled and turned over on your pillow burying your face into the uncomfortable pancake for your head.

Seen

Tue 4:15

The baker smiled and finally started working on his surprise for you chopping his toppings and thinly slicing/ throwing away his toasted pistachios and crunching on a few raisins while working.

At 2pm he walked in and went to visit you with his surprise balancing carefully in your hand. He carefully tiptoed to your bedside and pushed your side slightly. You snorted and rolled over, opening your eye's to an amused todoroki settling himself into the chair next to your bed. "Something smells great" you muttered pushing your face back into the pillow and smiling. "Thank you for visiting" you muffled and todoroki chuckled nodding.

"Happy birthday" he smiled pulling the foil off of the top of your surprise. You peaked your eyes open and sat up smiling brightly. "I didn't know how your mum made it but I made my own recipe" he scratched the back of his head and moved to sit next to you on the mattress. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder and kissed your cheek lightly before you could take off the handheld slice you were slowly lifting to your mouth.

"My heart feels weird around you" he sighed and thumped his forehead against your shoulder and you snickered, taking a soft bite of the sticky, nostalgic cake in your grasp. "I know. Thank you for the little updates by the way, very sweet of you" you emphasised the sweet as a pun on the honey cake but of course, it flew over todoroki's head. "But yeah. Thank you for the cake it's delicious" you complimented and leaned your head on his. "Can I go back to sleep now?" you joked and he smiled and pressed you down by your hard chest and lay on top of you. "Just don't sleep for 4 days again" he mumbled nestling into your t'shirt.

You stared down at the parting in his hair with huge, round eye's and put your hands on his back, grasping them together in a hug-ish type thing. "Okay"

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nitrochiralfan · 3 years

Text

The Day is Dawning [Tokiakari]

All credit to the transualtion of the novel chapter belongs to memera and their hard work don’t repost without crediting them.

That day it had rained since morning. That’s why for the entire day, the sky had been so dark you could not tell if it was noon or night. Right now the time was 2am. Akira breathed out a sigh as he gazed out the window. Occasionally, a straight line of light from the east flashed through the rain.

Isn’t he kind of late?

As Motomi worked as a journalist, it wasn’t surprising that he often came home after midnight, but today’s case was supposed to be a simple one.

Akira’s eyes darted over and over to the clock hanging on the wall.

So slow.

In this room lighted by only a small lamp, Akira had lost count of how many times he had sighed as he looked at the empty road outside through his own reflection on the window. They had moved here for only a month, but it wouldn’t be long before they moved again.

What’s the next case? Your work seems to be going smoothly.

At first Akira had simply been cluelessly following along, but he had quickly become a proper assistant. It had been years since the happenings in Toshima. It wasn’t always peaceful, but their life had never had any serious problems.

Travelling around with Motomi had been quite exciting and fun.At one point he even thought he could do this forever.However, sometimes the little flickers of doubt would cross his mind.

There’s no such thing as forever. Surely someday, something bad would happen.

Usually Akira could erase those thoughts quickly, but today, he couldn’t even push them away. The thoughts were quickly piling up instead.

I hate this feeling, but what if something bad had really happened?

Unable to suppress the bad feelings, Akira clenched his teeth as he stood in the dark watching the rain fall outside.

It was then that it happened. A faint sound came from the front door. Was it the sound of footsteps? It seemed too uneven and irregular for that. Just as Akira was cautiously approaching the door, an unnatural sound thumped against the door.

“….!”

Akira tensed up. He pinned his eyes at the door instinctively. The door stood in the dimly lit hall way, as the sound of someone shaking the door repeatedly could be heard.

Is it a robber or a thug?

Akira held his breath and watched silently as the door unlocked and slowly opened. Akira concentrated hard, his body ready to pounce.

The silhouette that the dim lights were showing was——

Akira breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that face.

It was Motomi.

Was that unsteady gait because he’s drunk?

Motomi’s brows were furrowed as he tried to call out Akira’s name.

Motomi did not seem to enter the room. His posture was unnatural, and he leaned heavily against the door. A droplet dripped down from his right side. At first Akira had thought it was a raindrop, but as soon as the light in the room hit Motomi, Akira knew he was wrong.

——It was blood.

“Old man…!?”

“Akira… sorry but… could you lend me a hand?”

Motomi’s voice was slow and unconcerned, a tone completely opposite to the severity of the situation. Akira immediately went up and put Motomi’s outstretched arm around his shoulder. The dark orange shirt he wore under his coat had a huge black stain on it. Just that alone drew Akira’s attention to the blood.

Motomi leaned against Akira and they moved slowly, his face frowning and his one eye squeezed shut in pain. Motomi gave a bitter laugh.

“Ow…ouch ouch. They really did me in this time.”

“What in the world happened?”

“Mm, well, you know…”

The talk can wait. Right now the important thing was to tend to these wounds. Carefully supporting this body so much bigger than his, Akira led Motomi to the bedroom.

“Man, I’m beat.”

Motomi breathed out a large puff of smoke from the cigarette he had taken a deep puff from, and fell onto the bed he was leaning on. Akira took out some bandages from the first aid kit and sighed as he closed the lid. They had prepared this kit in case of any injuries on their travels.

The hospital was closed at this hour of night, but thankfully his injuries were not too serious.

Rest for now, we can go see a doctor tomorrow.

Motomi’s right torso had been slashed with a knife.

Akira had since wrapped it in bandages cleanly. Motomi had been bleeding so bad before the bandages, yet now after it was so nicely wrapped up in white, it almost looked like there hadn’t been a wound at all. But one look at the blood-soaked towel used to clean the wounds, and you would know that wasn’t true.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me.”

Akira glared at Motomi, who was lying on the bed acting like there wasn’t a problem. Even without using words, it was obvious Akira had a billion questions he was demanding answers to. Akira haphazardly left the first aid kit on the side table and sat down lightly on the bed.

“Mmm? Well yeah…” Motomi scratched his nose with the hand holding his cigarette and replied lazily, “Maybe it was just a random attacker or somethin’. I dunno.”

——Something must’ve definitely happened, Akira thought.

If Motomi was brushing it off like that, it must’ve been something he found hard to talk about. But that was also why the silence that Akira returned was filled with serious anger. He wasn’t mad that Motomi was pretending to make light of the situation, he was mad that it was something so bad that would make Motomi clamp up in silence. Motomi peaked at Akira, saw his glare, and quickly looked away.

Silence.

Akira held his glare steady, never looking away. The smoke from Motomi’s cigarette filled the space between them.

Motomi emptied his cigarette ashes into an empty can on the side table. Even a movement as light as this, sounded extremely loud in their silence. It was a brief minute, but it felt like an endless moment of tension and nerves.

“Geez, I just don’t know what to do with you.”

Motomi let out a laugh of defeat as he put out his cigarette on the brim of the empty can. His brows were furrowed as he tried to get up.

“Does it hurt?”

“…Sort of. But I’m fine.”

Motomi supported himself up with an elbow on the edge of the bed, and leaned against the wall. He looked straight into Akira’s eyes. “Well, the situation was like this. I was attacked suddenly. There was a back alley, away from the main road. It was dark and narrow. They hit me from the back when I was passing through.”

“Did you see their face?”

“It was too dark and too sudden. I didn’t. …But well my guess is…”

Motomi stopped there, rubbing his chin like he was thinking of something.

“Your guess is…?”

“Nah, it just feels like it was a face I had seen before somewhere. …My guess is it’s someone from Rabbit, maybe.”

“Rabbit…”

——The pharmaceutical company, Rabbit. A big-named company that everyone knew. In reality, it was a coverup for the research institute ENED, that was the cause of all the tragedies in Toshima.

“But why would they do that to you, old man?”

“Well, I can think of a million reasons why. After all, I am a journalist of the truth, ya know?”

Saying that, Motomi shrugged his shoulders in a joking way.

I want to bring to light the truths that were twisted or silenced —— That motto of his was what led Motomi to do this line of work even to this day. Of course, he had also tried to reveal as much as he could about what had happened in Toshima, even though that had put his life at risk. It was also the reason why they never stayed put in one place too long. But because they had never actually gotten seriously injured before, Akira had grown complacent and ignored all the occasional little worries that would appear in his head.

If only we could just keep on living like this peacefully and carefree, he had thought.

But of course…

“Well, this could also be considered a scoop! ‘Employee of a seemingly-good company, attacks a civilian!’ or something like that.”

“Is it really the time to be joking?”

“Mm?”

The words that escaped Akira’s lips sounded calm, but inside he was mad at how Motomi always acted like everything was a joke and nothing was serious to him. Like his wound just now. Even though it wasn’t a deep injury, he had lost a lot of blood.

So much blood.

…Blood…

“…Hey. Akira?”

The sight of Motomi’s bandages was wavering in Akira’s vision.

Motomi was frowning as he peaked at Akira’s face.

Under all that white bandage, was all red. The white hides the red; the color of emptiness. Suddenly, Akira’s anger evaporated and he felt absolutely nothing. He felt separated from his vision and from his consciousness, as if he had gone into someone else’s body. An image appeared, overlapping with what his eyes were actually seeing before him. A world covered in red. A reality that felt so far away. The scene that was flashing before his eyes was not that of the room he was in.

It was dark, and dirty; a scene of Toshima.

“Oi! What’s wrong?!”

Motomi’s voice was far, far away. Akira felt like his consciousness was being swallowed up. A nausea started to bubble up in him. It felt intolerable.

“Akira? Akira!”

When Akira’s eyes opened, the first thing he saw was the beige ceiling, dimly lit by the room lamp.

—— This isn’t Toshima.

When Akira realized this, he slowly let out the breath he had been holding.

Akira had covered his eyes with an arm. When he blocked his sight this way, he could feel his heartbeat was pounding faster than usual. On that same arm, Akira felt something dry and warm touch him.

“…Are you alright?”

When Akira uncovered his eyes, he was looking right into Motomi’s gentle eyes above him.

“…Old man, what about your wound?”

“Idiot. Worry about yourself right now, not me.”

Even though Motomi’s words sounded surprised, it was dipped with concern. Motomi lifted the hand he was holding Akira’s arm with, and touched his forehead.

“You don’t seem to have a fever. How are you feeling?”

“I’m ok.”

“Do you want to eat something?”

“No.”

“But let me guess, you haven’t eaten a thing since morning right? The contents of the fridge and the food stocked up haven’t changed since I left.” Motomi looked so brusque, yet because of his work he had a surprising eye for detail.

Weirdly touched by this thought, Akira shook his head.

Although Akira had always been this way, always having little to no appetite, it was especially so when he was left alone. He just simply did not feel like eating when he was alone, and he often went the whole day without food.

Although he was usually alright without food, today he just felt rather out of it. He was starting to feel like he might have a fever.

“Even if it’s just a bite, you have to eat something. Hang on.”

This time Motomi really sounded teasing. He got up as if to go to the kitchen, but he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around, looking surprised.

Confused, Akira followed Motomi’s eyes right down to…

Akira quickly let go of his hand.

Instinctively, he had grabbed Motomi’s shirt. Maybe it was the fever frying his brain, but he himself had not realized what he had done.

——He’s going to tease me…

Although Akira had braced himself, Motomi said nothing, but instead cracked a small smile. He lowered his big hand and patted Akira’s head.

“What’s wrong? Are you worried?”

“…….”

“Well we did have a smooth trip so far.”

Even though Akira did not say a word, Motomi probably knew what he was thinking. Motomi sat back down on the bed. The bed springs bounced lightly. Because he was wearing a shirt, the badges on his torso were not visible.

“Well, anyway, I kinda figured something like that would happen one day. …But really, relax! It’s nothing for you worry about at all!”

His rugged fingertips brushed against Akira’s cheek.

“I said I would bring you with me, even to my grave, right? A man never goes back on his words. Anyway you’re the dangerous one.”

“What the heck does that mean?”

“It means I can’t leave you alone. You’re always so freaking stubborn, yet also surprisingly frail.”

Akira opened his mouth to argue, but he could not find the words, so he averted his eyes instead. He could not disagree. After all, he had just passed out for no reason.

“I won’t die that easily even if I’m killed.” Motomi laughed.

Akira glared at him. “Stop that.”

“Hm?”

“Don’t talk about dying and stuff.”

Motomi might have been trying to be funny, but Akira thought it was extremely unpleasant. It was not something Akira thought one should be joking about. Motomi looked surprised for one second, then he quickly resumed his smile.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Two thick arms slid around Akira, and carefully pulled him into a huge hug.

Akira instinctively wanted to struggle against it, but his body went limp as it was engulfed in Motomi’s.

I almost forgot he was injured. Better not struggle.

But even if Motomi had not been injured, Akira somehow guessed that he would probably not have struggled either. Akira rested his chin on the strong shoulders before him. Usually at this point, Motomi would be teasing Akira, but instead of doing that, he was quietly and gently patting Akira’s back.

“Ok, how about this. I won’t die. You won’t die either. Until the day you tell us to go and die, we will keep living on for a hundred, no, a thousand years. Yeah?”

“I don’t want to live for that long.”

“Haha, I see.”

Akira could feel Motomi’s warmth from the arm he was resting his cheek on. He was wrapped in Motomi’s smell.

To be honest, Akira was surprised at himself. Despite that bad memory that had flooded his head just as he was about to pass out, Akira suddenly felt like everything was ok now. He felt like he could “exist together” with this memory. But it was just too vivid to think that way. Without losing its color, the pain would slowly but gradually overflow.

But was that alright? Akira thought. No, more like, it is alright. These wounds embedded deeply in him from all that he had lost, Akira had decided to accept and live with them from the day he left Toshima.

And thus, this pain and this fear, they were necessary. He must never forget them. They were the undeniable proof that right now, he was breathing and living.

And right now, he had someone who could share his pain and support him. Just this alone filled Akira with joy.

If Motomi said he was ok, then Akira wanted to accept that and wanted to believe in him.

Akira found it funny and a little strange that he was now able to to think this way. The large hand that was patting Akira’s back, moved up to caress his cheek. The distance between them shortened.

Akira waited for Motomi’s gentle eyes to close, then he too, did the same.

“…nn…”

They touched. Their lips met again and again. Slowly Akira got used to the prodding tongue that carefully pushed into his mouth. Motomi’s rugged fingers treated Akira like he was glass, occasionally a bit rough, but always gentle. These fingers ran through Akira’s hair, clasping. The occasional wet sounds made Akira feel embarrassed, but their intertwining, fluttering tongues quickly made that embarrassment disappear.

“…I can’t get enough of you, seriously.”

The words that Motomi had blurted out in the heat of their kiss lit a fire in the pits of Akira’s belly.

He’s always like that. He always says things that he knew would embarrass Akira. And worse, he always knew the worst time to do it.

“…That’s enough.”

Akira had pushed his arms out, trying to get away, but even his entire resistance was swallowed up in an embrace.

“Let go.”

“Sure, sure.”

“I’m telling you to let go.”

“Well that’s going to be a problem. ‘Cause I’m mad…”

“…Mad about what?”

“This old man. Is mad. About you.”

“…….”

Clearly Akira’s words were not getting into Motomi’s head. He was starting to feel super annoyed, and he let out a loud sigh. As if to scoop up all of Akira’s sighs, Motomi broke into a small smile as he pressed their lips together again.

As Akira slowly gave in, he thought, I don’t exactly hate this.

When did I start to feel comfortable with this feeling of excitement?

When did I start to feel relief whenever Motomi’s hands touched me?

This is how two people shared their feelings and accepted one another.

Since when did I start to realize this?

After a long kiss, Akira felt the springs of the bed on his back. He took in a deep breath.

———

“You know, I’ve always thought this.”

“Thought what?”

“That your cooking is really bad, you know….?”

“……”

Akira pouted and muttered unhappily to himself.

“Well fine, then don’t eat it.” Akira said, as he slammed the table with one hand and stood up.

Who was it that said they were busy so they wanted me to cook?

When they had just come back from the hospital, a work call had come in. Akira had tried to tell Motomi he should rest instead, but it was a major client so Motomi could not refuse. Akira narrowed his eyes at the gentle sunshine coming in from the window. The sky was so clear today that the dark rain from yesterday felt like a lie. Ever since he started living with Motomi, he had tried to do housework. Maybe it was because Akira never had a homely lifestyle before, but no matter how he tried he just could not get better at it.

Especially when it came to food.

Akira had always felt he was ok even if he didn’t eat. Needless to say, he did not care about the taste either.

Motomi raised a brow and seemed to want to say something but he couldn’t decide how to put it.

“Well I mean……, the person who marries you is gonna suffer.”

“Not really. It’s not confirmed that I’ll be the one doing the cooking.”

“Hey you never know. Housework and child raising is too hard for only one party. It’s important to share the workload, you know?”

After swallowing the ‘thing’ on his spoon, Motomi made a weird face. He then pressed his index finger to his wrinkled brow in a deliberate manner. It got on Akira’s nerves the way Motomi was talking him to like he was arguing with a child.

“In the first place, who would I even marry?”

“Hmm, who knows?”

“……”

Hearing that answer, Akira grew increasingly irritated.

When he said they would be together to the grave, didn’t he mean they’d be together till death do us part? Wasn’t it Motomi who said that?

But despite that, it’s not like Akira had ever gave any thought about their relationship or anything like that. It’s not like Akira had ever expected ‘Forever’ or other words like that. He just thought he wanted them to be together, for as long as possible. That was all. However, hearing such words and their vague meaning wasn’t pleasant at all.

Was it ok for the two of them to be together? Or was it actually not ok, but they just kind of ended up together? Such thoughts started to flood Akira’s head. Leaning with one elbow on the table, Motomi looked up at Akira, grinning.

“Ohh what a poor thing! I feel so sorry for the poor person who has to marry you.”

Listening to what was Motomi’s obvious teasing, Akira’s irritation turned into anger.

I was an idiot to think about our relationship so seriously!

“Old man.”

“Hm?”

“Are you done?”

“With what?”

“…Are you DONE—“

With a swoop, Motomi had suddenly stood up and slipped his arm under Akira’s thigh and arm. Akira was so shocked he forgot what he was about to say, letting his guard down. In a scoop, Motomi picked Akira right up.

“……oof, you’re really heavy.”

“Yeah no shit. PUT ME DOWN!”

Motomi grimaced and gave a bitter laugh.

He was injured just yesterday. It wouldn’t be a surprise if doing this was painful. “Ow ow ow. Don’t struggle, it makes my wound hurt more. Well anyway, don’t you think there’s at least one of these poor sobs in the world who would? Huh Akira?”

“…What?”

“I mean if it was me I’d even cook delicious food.”

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

Akira was so busy trying to figure out how to get down that he was not really getting what Motomi was talking about. In fact, Motomi’s words were going in his right ear and exiting right out the left.

Motomi happily squinted at Akira struggling in his arms and the corners of his mouth raised into a grin.

“In fact, how about we get married right now?”

“!?”

The words were so shocking that it snapped Akira right back into attention. He stared at Motomi’s face.

What the heck was this old man talking about?

…Was my cooking that bad that it had made him go strange?

While these thoughts were racing through Akira’s mind, Motomi’s grin got wider and wider. Akira suddenly got really mad, and ignoring Motomi’s injuries he struggled wildly to get out of Motomi’s grip.

Motomi watched Akira’s reaction but continue going on about how painful his wound was, as he quietly adjusted his balance and tightened his grip so that Akira could not get away.

“Idiot! Let go!”

“Hahaha!”

Motomi’s joyful laughter reverberated from the rampaging Akira under his chin, all the way out the open window, into the bright blue sky.

END

First Publication: Cool-B 2005 vol. 3 / 2005 August 4th

——

The Day is Dawning Explanation

This was a short story published in Cool-B. The theme was Motomi and Akira.

I was trying to write that Akira, who was completely indifferent to the warmth and connection to other people, gradually beginning to realize that it was ‘good thing” after being near Motomi. And once he slowly began to accept it, he would start to try approaching people on his own accord. Akira would also start to worry about how vague the future is, and I think this shows a change in how he thinks now.

I also did not plan for Motomi to say “Let’s get married” at all, but somehow Motomi just ended up saying it (LOL). When it comes to Motomi, he seems to write himself often, just like his “Bring you with me to the grave” words.

I chose this title (Tokiakari) after seeing the dictionary explanation: “As dawn breaks, the eastern sky becomes slightly brighter, or, when it’s raining, the clouds occasionally part, and the sky become brighter”.

—Fuchii Kabura

#togainu no chi #togainu no chi gaiden #togainu no chi novel #motomi tnc #akira tnc

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