#I searched through the last 2 months of asks before I realized it was still in my inbox.

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

hey, love your blog. is it okay if i request you delete an impulsive ask i made under the name the angel addiction anon, i believe? not enough context was provided, i want to remain fully anonymous, and its been bugging me for days pretty much nonstop to the point where ive dreaded seeing your posts pop up

sorry for the inconvenience

I deleted it, no worries.

[nicka-nell]

omg ur taking requests!

can you do some angst to fluff with Atsumu, Iwaizumi, Suna, Kuroo, Ushijima, and Sakusa (I’m sorry if they’re too many you can choose whoever you want to write about from these characters, I luv all of them soooo much)

Can you make it like really really Angsty in the start. Like the characters doing something they’ll regret a lot and then they spend a lot of efforts making up for it? Please make it fluffy in the end, I can’t handle sad endings 😭

Also please don’t include anything with infidelity or mentions of it. My boyfriend of 3 years cheated on me last month and I’m having such a hard time.

Thank you for considering my request. And there’s no pressure to accept, I don’t mind at all.

Hi! yes I am taking requests right now. 😇 First of all, I'm so sorry that you had such a negative experience. But tbh, you're better off this way. Nobody needs such an ass cheating on them! 😔😤 My ex did that too, with my ex-best friend btw. I also had a hard time but quickly felt better because I realised that it's a waste of time to cry over such a dick. I hope you don't lose hope in a healthy relationship based on trust. There really are good people out there and I hope you find someone who can appreciate you. Sending you a lot of hugs and kisses. 🤗💚❤️‍🩹

And for your request. I've written three stories for Tsumu, Iwa and Suna. Unfortunately they got a bit tooo long for my taste, so I only made these 3. I hope that's okay. I really had problems making it super angsty (urg, I need more practice for angsty stuff 😵‍💫). As you wished, I didn't include anything with cheating (even though I had a few ideas haha.) and I also added a trigger warning before each story. I think Iwa's and Suna's in particular might be a bit darker... so you can decide on your own if you want to continue reading it or not. Anyway, I hope you still like it, and thanks for your request. Stay healthy! 🥰💚

Regretting their actions

Pairing: Atsumu x, Iwaizumi x, Suna x reader

Warning: angst to fluff, break-up (Atsumu, Suna), mention of abuse/anger issues, mention of blood (Iwaizumi), mention of abortion, mention of drugs/pills (Suna)

Part 1 | Part 2 (End)

tw: mention of break-up

You met Atsumu when he came to his brother’s onigiri store for the housewarming.

The two of you got along well quickly. And it wasn’t long before he kissed you at a party, looked at you with his cheeky grin and said, “Tastes better than a victory.”

More things happened that night. Not just simple kisses and when you woke up next to him in bed, he asked you, still sleepy: “You’re my girlfriend now, aren’t you?”

You’ve been together for several years now and were thinking about moving in together soon when Atsumu’s career suddenly took off. He was traveling abroad more often and had less time for you or looking for an apartment.

And then it happened…

You scroll through the apartment search app for something suitable for the two of you, lying on the bed while missing him terribly. You close the app to go to your messenger, only to realize that you were the one who last texted Atsumu... two days ago… Two blue check marks indicate that he has read your messages but has not replied. Your fingers hover over the keypad of your phone and you think about writing to him. Maybe he read your message during training and didn’t have time to reply. Maybe he just forgot about it afterwards... maybe...

“Hey Tsumu... I know you’re busy but, I hope you’re doing well. Love you.” you type into your phone and send the message with a strange feeling in your stomach. It doesn’t take long before you see under his name that he is online. The gray check marks next to your message turn blue, but instead of replying, you see that he went offline again. You swallow a big lump down your throat, your heart feels heavy. Maybe he can’t answer you right now... you try to convince yourself again.

Several hours pass as you sink your head into your pillow and try to stifle your tears. Atsumu’s sports t-shirt is in your arms, which he had given you before his trip abroad. Time passes and suddenly you hear the ringtone of your phone as a message arrives. Your heart hits loud against your chest as you reach for your phone and see your boyfriend’s name. But your joy quickly disappears, the lump in your throat gets bigger and you can’t breathe. 

>> Hey... listen, I think it’s better if we end the relationship… break up. I don’t know, but I just don’t have time for it. I’ll see you around. <<

It feels like a slap in the face. As if this is a poor joke. You want to write to him, ask him what this is all about, but your tears blur your vision. The only thing you send is a “really?” but the message is no longer read. It remains on one gray check mark.

Two days go by and you still think it was all a bad joke, but every time you read his message, you feel like throwing up. Has he really dumped the whole relationship? By a shitty text message? You open your Instagram account and enter his name almost as if on autopilot.

Another slap in the face as your tears run down your cheeks again. His bio no longer says “Best setter and proud boyfriend” but simply “Setter MSBY Black Jackal”. All the pictures he had with you on his account have been deleted. Instead, you can only see advertising photos or private photos of him. The last eight pictures are of him, Hinata and Bokuto dancing and having fun with fans in different bars. Atsumu grins at the camera as if he doesn’t care about you at all. As if your relationship meant nothing to him.

You text him some more times, leave him voicemails because he never answers your calls. But after a few days, you let it go. It only frustrates you even more to see how little this relationship actually meant to him. For days, you cry yourself to sleep, what doesn’t go unnoticed by Osamu. After all, he sees you three times a week when you help him out in his store. When you tell him what has happened, he is also speechless, because Atsumu has really pissed him off with all his raving about you. So why would he break-up with you out of the blue? Osamu can’t see you as devastated as a heap of misery. So he also tries to find out the reason for the break-up between you and his silly brother. But when he calls him, Atsumu only faces him coldly on the phone. “Did she tell you to ask me? Leave it okay? I think I just realized that I don’t want a relationship.”

Two months go by and somehow you still can’t believe that your relationship just fell apart. Osamu tries to distract you somehow, but it doesn’t help because he reminds you too much of your idiot ex-boyfriend.

Nevertheless, you are grateful to Osamu for swapping your shift with his coworker’s shift so that you can open the store with him in the morning. That way, you avoid running into Atsumu, who is more likely to be in the restaurant in the evening as soon as he returns from his stay abroad. You’re not ready to face him at the moment.

Just as you’re about to finish work, you remember that you wanted to show Osamu a video on your phone. “Look, the new trailer for the second season of this soccer series is out. Shall we watch the first episode together on Saturday after work?” you ask Osamu as he approaches you and looks over your shoulder. He rests his hand on the counter next to you, his chest almost touching your back, but he keeps his distance from you respectfully. You are both focused on the trailer, not hearing the doorbell from the store.

Atsumu is tired. The flight was delayed, and he hasn’t been able to sleep properly for weeks. How could he sleep well with all the partying and Hinata as his roommate, who spent the night in the hotel calling his friends from Karasuno. At least that’s what he tells himself… that this is the reason for his sleepless nights. But this thought vanishes when he steps into his brother’s store hungry, actually only wanting to eat a few onigiris and then go home. Into his apartment. His empty, dreary apartment. But as he walks through the door of the store, it feels as if someone has hit his chest with full force, knocking the air out of him.

He sees Osamu leaning towards you with a sense of familiarity. What’s going on there? And why does it bother him so much that you giggle and look at Osamu, who returns your gaze with a nod and a smile before turning to the door? His brother winces when he sees Atsumu. As you turn around as well, your smile disappears.

You look at Atsumu as if you’ve just seen a corpse, before packing your bag and saying goodbye to Osamu with a “See you tomorrow.”, only to walk past Atsumu with quick steps. You don’t even give him a glance, knowing that if you locked eyes with him, your tears would run. You would want to ask him questions upon questions. Why did you break up with me? Why am I not enough for you? Why did you lie to me for so long? Why...

As you walk through the door, you accidentally bump into him. This nudge, which was actually rather gentle, felt so painful. Why does it bother Atsumu to see you standing so close to his brother? Why does it hurt him that you stared at him with those empty eyes, as if he were a stranger? No. Worse, as if he were someone who had hurt you. Why does he have the feeling that he couldn’t make a sound if he opened his mouth now? The answer is simple, and even Atsumu seems to understand it by now as he looks from the now closed door over to Osamu, who stares at him with an indifferent expression crossing his arms in front of his chest. “So this is what someone who has realized that he doesn’t want a relationship looks like? Ya look like shit.”

Oh, how Atsumu would love to punch Osamu in the face. “Why are ya touchin’ my girl?” is bitter on his tongue, but he has no right to say it out loud. After all, he was the one who turned you down. The blonde Miya suddenly realizes how incredibly stupid his action was.

Back then, Atsumu had not expected to be traveling abroad so often. At first, it was only temporary stays. Nothing that would damage a relationship.

But the last few times in particular, he was sometimes away for several months. You kept telling him on the phone that everything was okay, but every time he called Osamu, he said that your eyes were sometimes red when you came to work and that you looked tired and sad.

Atsumu knew he was the reason. That you’d probably be better off without him. After all, you’re a great woman, someone who would find a new partner quickly.

You didn’t deserve to be sad all the time when he was gone. You should be happy. After all, a smile suits you so much better than a sad expression.

Atsumu would concentrate on his career. It would be difficult for him at first, but he would manage without you. He had to… for your sake.

So his mind was made up when he read your unanswered, concerned messages. If he texts you now to say that it’s over, being an ass to you, you’ll be able to forget him quickly… That was what he thought. 

But it wasn’t that easy. Your puzzled messages, your crying voice on his voicemail, broke his heart. Yet he tried to cover it all up with parties and his dear fans. He convinced himself that he was fine. Only to arrive home, see you and realize what an idiot he was, how much he missed you.

And now it’s Atsumu who reaches for his phone and texts you message after message.

Atsumu 8:02 PM: Hey babe, no.. hey Y/n. I know I have no right to text you. But please… let’s talk. I fucked up. Damn, I fucked up so hard that I don’t even know how to start… shit…

Atsumu 8:12 PM: Please… please answer your phone, babe…

Atsumu 8:44 PM: I know I’ve fucked up. I know I hurt and disappointed you. Fuck, I know I was an ass. Yk, I thought I was doing the right thing. 

Atsumu 9:34 PM: Fuck… please answer me… I still… damnit. 

That was the last message you received from Atsumu before you put your phone away and tried to forget him. Why is he doing this to you? Why is he stirring up your feelings again?

But Atsumu doesn’t think about stopping now. He runs to your house, to the apartment building and rings your doorbell. Once, twice, he rings so often that you can’t ignore it. You are about to tell him to leave through the loudspeaker system, but he interrupts you.

“Fuck baby, please open the door. I’m… I still love ya, okay? I always loved ya. I - shit, can ya even hear me? Fuck…” he curses agitatedly and presses the bell next to your nameplate again several times.

But instead of letting him in, you go down to the entrance of the apartment building and open the door with an expression on your face that Atsumu has never seen before. What is it? Anger, sadness, despair? Everything somehow.

“Say... are you kidding me? Do you think that’s funny?” you ask him, bewildered, still standing in the open doorway. Of course, you wouldn’t just believe him. Atsumu could have guessed. Your reaction was completely understandable. But he has to do something to show you that he’s serious.

“No, no, I don’t. I’m dead serious. Please let me explain,” he says, and starts to tell you that he thought a break-up would be best for you because he’s not good enough for you. Since you were obviously so sad about him leaving so often and he didn’t want to be the reason. He tells you that he thought he could get over you, but that he had to realize that you are the most important thing to him. Something… someone he doesn’t want to lose. With shaky hands and a still agitated voice, Atsumu takes out his phone.

“I wanted ya to hate me so that it would be easier for ya. But believe me, I... I couldn’t forget ya. Look, you’re still my wallpaper. All the photos of the two of us are still on my phone, all the memories-“ he is about to unlock his screen when his phone falls out of his hand and drops to the floor. Atsumu seems to be completely overwhelmed right now, as if he doesn’t know what to do. Should he bend down, pick up the phone, should he keep talking to you or hug you? He doesn’t know.

”Baby, please, please, I’ll do anything. Please gimme a chance. I’ll talk to my agent about not takin’ so many jobs abroad. I will be with ya more often. Always write to ya and call ya in the evening when I’m not at home. Let’s look for an apartment so we can move in together. Please, please, I would do anything. Please believe me that I love ya. Please..." he begs in a voice that becomes more and more brittle with every word. His eyes are full of emotion and his hands, which have unconsciously reached for yours, are trembling terribly.

“Two months... two months you ignored me, treated me like a piece of trash.” You say in a low voice as you search for eye contact. Atsumu has never felt so scared. Only now does he realize that the love of his life is standing in front of him, and that this might be the last time he’ll see her again, the last time he’ll touch her skin. But then again… Atsumu was an ass, so why should you forgive him? No, he can’t think like that. After all, you loved him. And if you love him as much as he loves you, then maybe there’s still hope.

“I know, and I know I can never make it up to ya. I know it’s not done with an ‘I’m sorry’. I’m the dumbest, most idiotic ex-boyfriend you’ve ever had. But... I’m stubborn too. And if that means chasin’ after ya for 10 years, drivin’ to yer apartment every day to ring the doorbell and tell ya I still love ya, wishin’ ya a good night every day, nice dreams and telling ya how important you are to me... I’ll do it. Every damn day, if it means there’s still a little hope for us.” He answers you hoarsely, keeping eye contact, hoping that you see how honest his words are.

You sigh, bend down, and pick up his phone before handing it to him. Atsumu doesn’t know what to do with all this. His face grimaces as if he’s expecting the worst. “Then... you shouldn’t lose your phone... if you want to write to me every day,” you answer him, a weak smile on your lips. Atsumu’s sorrowful expression suddenly changes and you see him looking at you with hope.

“Does that mean ya...” the blonde Miya can no longer contain his emotions as he leaps forward and pulls you into his arms. His embrace is so tight that you can barely breathe, as if he’s afraid you’ll slip out of his hands. Firm, but quivering. His whole body is shaking and you’re sure you’ve just felt something wet on your skin. Tears? Is Atsumu crying? “I promise to be a pain in yer ass every day. To text ya, to call ya, to be there for ya. Even in yer sleep. Okay? I love ya... I love ya so much...”

tw: abuse, anger issues, mention of blood

You’ve been with Iwaizumi since your school days. Back then, as a little flirt at school, Oikawa and Matsukawa mainly teased Iwaizumi for having a crush on you.

But in the end, many were jealous of the perfect couple who waltzed together on the dance floor at the prom with loving looks on their faces.

You were inseparable. Even Iwaizumi’s stay in America for his university didn’t affect your relationship. So it was no wonder that you got married after his return and were the perfect happy couple.

At least for the first few years.

The stress of being a coach for the Japanese national team is weighing on Iwaizumi’s mind. He normally handles stressful situations well, but he is under pressure.

If the team fails to perform in the next few games, he will lose many sponsors and possibly even his job.

Iwaizumi is constantly on edge and you feel like you have to walk on eggshells around him so you don’t provoke him.

More often, he has sudden temper tantrums, shouting at you about things that aren’t worth mentioning. “Damn it, I told you I need this one shirt for today. Why isn’t it clean?”

And once, when you stumbled with your words and asked him whether it might not be better to take a break as a coach, he was so angry that he almost hit you. But he managed to hold back and just sighed before going out for a beer in a nearby bar.

You don’t want to admit it to yourself, but right now, you’re really scared of your own husband.

Today was another training match between the Japanese national team and the Indonesian team. The team’s performance was better, but nowhere near good enough to shine. You watched the game on TV and run through your imaginary list in your head already, of potential trigger points for Iwaizumi. You don’t want him to get upset. The laundry is done; the house is clean; the food is also ready and in the fridge. Did you take out the trash? You chew nervously on your lower lip as you walk to the kitchen and let out a relieved sigh. That’s done too.

You are just closing the lid of the garbage can when you hear the key in the lock of your front door and Iwaizumi comes home with a surprisingly normal, “I’m home, my love, smells good in here”. Your shoulders relax immediately, a smile is back on your lips as you walk cheerfully into the hallway to greet Iwaizumi.

“Hello darling! How was your day?” Iwaizumi hugs you and leans down so you can kiss his cheek. “Let me eat something first. My day has been really exhausting,” he sighs, watching you nod and turn around to warm up the food for him. Your husband hangs up his jacket, puts down his bag and is about to turn around to follow you when he stumbles against a nearby vase that you had placed as a decoration for the fall changeover. The vase swings, loses its balance and falls to the floor in pieces.

“Shit!” You hear Iwaizumi curse and immediately run to him, anxiously hoping that nothing has happened to him. But luckily, he is unharmed. “Wait, I’ll clean up the broken pieces, you eat-“ you’re about to say, but Iwaizumi interrupts you loudly. “Always this stupid bullshit you put up. Shit, I could have hurt myself. If I miss now, that’s it for my career!” he shouts and stomps past you. You turn around hastily and apologize. “That wasn’t my intention, really,” you say, before realizing that it was a mistake to talk back. Iwaizumi turns around, his eyes ferocious and angry like a wild animal as he takes a step towards you. Your heart is beating restlessly and you are suddenly afraid.

“Not your intention? Admit it, you’d be happy if I got rid of the job!” he shouts, noticing how you start to tremble and shake your head. But Iwaizumi doesn’t seem to be in his right mind as he takes another step towards you. “Go clean up the mess! Make yourself useful!” he says through gritted teeth as he looks at your anxious and puzzled face. You know you should move, but your body doesn’t seem to listen, too scared to move a finger. And then it happens.

Iwaizumi grabs you by the hair and pulls you towards him. You cry out, weeping bitterly as you hear his voice again. “Are you deaf?! Get going!” he shouts, before pushing you away with more force than necessary. You lose your balance, stumble over your own feet as you fall and hit your head on the edge of the stairs in the hallway next to the broken vase. Your head hurts terribly, something warm flows down your face, sticking to your hair and making your vision suddenly completely different. It gets smaller and smaller before everything goes black in front of your eyes and the sounds around you stop completely.

Iwaizumi is abruptly perfectly sober and only now understands what has just happened. What he has just done to you, the woman he loves more than anything.

His eyes are big as he stares at his hands, which start to tremble in front of him.

Panic spreads through him as he looks at you. At your motionless body, at all the blood under your head.

He doesn’t know how he did it. His memories are hazy, but he can still remember trying to wake you up, in vain.

He had taken off his shirt, pressed it on your head injury to stop the bleeding and somehow managed to call an ambulance. Iwaizumi can’t remember anything else, just the one question from the paramedic who put you on the ambulance stretcher and took you to the hospital. Since Iwaizumi was your husband, he was allowed to drive with you.

“How did this happen?” the paramedic asked, as Iwaizumi answered quietly, “I don’t know... I really don’t know.”

It’s now been some hours after the accident and your head had been stitched up. Thank God it wasn’t as bad as it looked at first.

You’re still in the recovery room, Iwaizumi next to your bed on a chair, his hands folded in his lap as he hangs his head in bewilderment, looking at his wedding ring shining on his ring finger.

What happened? What has become of him? He still can’t believe what he has done.

He looks at his hands again, opens them, starts to tremble, clenches them into fists and realises how he lets out a frustrated sigh, which he had been holding back, as warm tears roll down his cheeks, soaking the fabric of his trousers.

In his mind, there’s only your shaking body, that frightened look, your screaming, and then this unbearable silence.

When you open your eyes, your head throbs a little and you have to squint through the bright, clinical light. “Where... where am I?” you say quietly, looking around the room and noticing that you’re lying in a hospital room. Next to your bed is none other than Iwaizumi. But he looks different. Broken… He shrinks at your words and looks up at you. You see his red eyes and how he hesitates whether it’s okay to take your hand in his. Iwaizumi gets up from his chair, wants to close the distance to your bed but his legs collapse and he falls to his knees when he suddenly starts to... cry? 

“Haji- me...” you say, still feeling exhausted. “I’m... god I...” Iwaizumi doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know how to look you in the eye. He takes a deep breath, regains his courage before peering at you. Carefully, he grasps your hand, checking if you are afraid, but you don’t seem to pull it away. Maybe because you’re still too tired. Awkwardly, he strokes the back of your hand before resting his forehead on it and closing his eyes briefly.

“I’m a terrible husband. I’ve done everything I shouldn’t have done. Instead of carrying you on my hands, bringing a smile to your face and protecting you from everything that would harm you, I’ve done the exact opposite. Instead of being happy to see me, you’re just scared of me, aren’t you?” he says in a shaky voice and looks up at you again. You are calm. Just stare at him with a hurt look.

“I.... I can understand if you want a divorce. If you don’t want to be with a monster like me anymore. I really can’t even blame you. But... please let me tell you one thing. When I saw you lying on the floor like that, the world collapsed inside me. I was afraid of losing the most important thing in my life. And the most important thing is not my job, no, it’s you. And I’m ashamed that I’ve forgotten that. I am disgusted with myself and I know that is no excuse. What I have done is unforgivable. But please... if there is still a bit of hope, then I will try to do everything I can to be the man you fell in love with again. I want to be your Haji-bear again. Your place of peace, and your favorite person. I will go to anger issues therapy, behavioral therapy. If it’s better for our relationship, I’ll step down as a coach and see if I can find a job as a volleyball coach at a school. No matter what, I would do anything.” Your hand becomes wet as his tears land on it. His words move something inside you. You want to believe him, you don’t want the relationship to end either, but everything that has happened so far will not pass by without damage.

“I need time, Hajime... If you really mean it, please grant me the time...” you answer him and notice how your words seem to tear him apart. But at the same time he seems to want to make the best of the situation. He lets go of your hand and stands up just to sit back down on the chair next to your bed, looking at you determinedly, his eyes still red and swollen. “As much time as you need. If it means we still have a chance...”

A few months pass. Iwaizumi has passed on the house to you and moved into his parents’ house to give you the space you need. He goes to therapy three times a week and tells you about his progress. He is still coaching the national team, but his assistant coach is taking a lot of the work off his hands and the volleyball team seems to be playing better again.

Just like when you were at school, you’ll find a letter in your letterbox once a week. Back then, Iwaizumi always told you a bit about his week and wrote it down because, funnily enough, he was too shy to talk to you in person. Only that in his current letters he writes that he misses you, but hopes that you are doing well at the moment.

He meets you in public places, goes out with you, so that you gradually feel more comfortable with him again, that you can see his progress in therapy and don’t just think it’s empty words.

Six months have passed since the incident. You are standing in the bedroom, changing the sheets, when Iwaizumi comes through the front door of the house. “My love, I’m home,” you hear Iwaizumi’s calm voice. Coming home from his therapy session, he hangs up his jacket in the hallway as your voice lets him know where you are. 

Iwaizumi puts the flowers he bought for you on the kitchen table before he sneaks into the bedroom and sees you trying to unfold the sheets to put them on the blankets. With silent steps, he reaches around your waist to throw you onto the bed with him, wrapped in the covers that were in your hands earlier. Screaming, you laugh in unison with his chuckle as you look into each other’s eyes. “Hajime! Don’t scare me like that.” you laugh softly, while his hand gently tucks your hair behind your ear. Iwaizumi looks at your forehead, at the small scar that is left from your injury, before leaning forward and giving you a kiss on that spot.

“I’m sorry, but that was just so tempting,” he says, closing his eyes as he pulls you closer and just relaxes in bed with you. He strokes your back and kisses your forehead once more. “Hajime... what’s going on? Why are you so clingy suddenly?” you laugh, but Iwaizumi doesn’t join in the laughter, instead answering you seriously.

“Today, six months ago, I almost lost you. I’m just grateful that nothing happened to you. Thankful that you gave me another chance, even though I showed my worst side.” You can’t think of the right words to answer him, so you just smile, snuggle closer to him, and close your eyes. Safe in his arms, with his pulsating heart at your ear, you fall asleep.

tw: mention of abortion, mention of drugs/pills (without consent) 

Suna and you were just friends for a long time. Even if the others saw you more like a couple.

You were the only one Suna didn’t mind when you sat next to him and pulled out one of his earphones to listen to music with him.

You always had the same route to school and if one of you came to school alone, you knew immediately that the other one must be sick. 

With graduation, you mentioned that you might want to study abroad. That time, Suna had a weird feeling in his stomach for the first time. As if he was afraid of losing you.

That was the day he realised that he felt more for you than just friendship.

The same evening, he asked you to come over and watch a movie when he yawned in a very clichéd way to put his arm over your shoulder and pull you closer to him. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, but he just was.

A number of things went through his mind. What if you don’t feel the same way about him as he does about you? Will you still want to study abroad? Would you end your friendship with him if you didn’t feel the same way?

He tried to block out the questions and then, with his usual calmness, asked you if you could imagine anything more than a friendship. Luckily for him, you said yes.

From that moment on, everything was perfect. You had created your own little world over several years. You studied, and luckily not abroad. Suna was successful in volleyball, so you were both able to buy an apartment together quickly.

Just the two of you. Your friends were there from time to time, but in the evenings you were always alone at home, arm in arm, in the quiet flat without any noise or other people to disturb you.

Until one morning where you look at the little piece of plastic in the bathroom, stunned, when the two red stripes tell you that you are pregnant.

You hadn’t spoken to Suna about having children yet, but you’ve been together for so long now and everything is going well that you assume he would be just as happy as you are.

You thought…

When Suna comes home, you’ve already prepared a little surprise. There are a pair of baby shoes on the table in the living room, the pregnancy test in front of them and a little balloon with “Best Dad” written on it. You can’t help smiling as you see Suna walk into the room when you call out “surprise”, looking a little shy in his direction. But Suna’s reaction differed from what you expected.

Almost disgusted, he looks in your direction. “This better be one of those stupid TikTok pranks, right?” he says, and your smile disappears abruptly. Your stomach turns and you feel sick. And not because of the pregnancy. You stand there irritated, only able to utter a quiet “No... it’s not a joke”, confused by his negative reaction. “No? What week are you in? Tell me you can still have an abortion...” he says, annoyed, as he walks towards the table to see if there is any information about the week of pregnancy on the pregnancy test. 

“What?” you say in bewilderment, still looking at Suna, who throws the test on the table in frustration before starting to massage his temples. “We’ll go to the gynecologist tomorrow, okay? Get rid of it. A child means responsibility. You have to look after this thing all the time, you’re no longer flexible and it’s noisy too... I just don’t want that.” 

His words feel like a thousand stabs. Never have you seen Suna act like this before. You anticipated that he might be a bit taken by surprise and perhaps not be able to deal with the situation at first, but Suna seems to have a very clear opinion on the subject. He doesn’t even seem to be willing to talk. But abort a child? Let Suna’s and your baby die just like that? You can’t do that. You don’t want that. 

The two of argue. Suna’s look gets progressively angrier. Yours sadder until he decides to leave the house with a “Do what you want, maybe it’ll die anyway”. Now you’re home alone with his painful words. You stand rooted to the spot in the room for several more minutes until the strength in your legs finally gives way and you slump to the floor, crying bitterly. The night, you spend alone in your bed, without Suna. He doesn’t answer his phone and doesn’t reply to your messages. You don’t hear from him the next day either, and he hasn’t come home. Thank God you get a message from Osamu, who texts you that Suna is with him and that you have nothing to worry about. But how are you supposed to stay at home without worrying if your boyfriend doesn’t get in touch with you and you’ve been arguing for days? You are scared. Afraid for the baby, afraid for the relationship and everything you two have built up.

Another day passes. You lie in bed, tired and lacking in energy. Nevertheless, you pull yourself together and get up, go to the bathroom to get ready for the day and don’t notice when the front door opens and Suna walks in. “Baby doll, I’m at home... and... I’m sorry...” you hear Suna’s voice and walk out of the bathroom. Even though you had a fight, you are still happy to see the man you love so much again. With a somewhat sad smile, he stands there, a bouquet of flowers in his hand as he approaches you.

“I’m really sorry. I behaved like an ass. You took me by surprise with the news and somehow... I don’t know. What do you say you sit down now? I’ll make us a drink and we can talk about all this. About the baby, and what happens next?” You can hardly believe his words. What has Osamu done in the last few days to make Suna suddenly do a full turnaround and be willing to talk to you openly, without shouting about becoming a parent? You make a mental note to thank Osamu later, before nodding with a smile and sitting down on the sofa in the living room.

But what you don’t know is that Suna went to a friend, a doctor, who gave him two pills before he came home. Pills for an induction of abortion. You have to take one now and the other two to three days later.

Suna knows that you wouldn’t take these pills voluntarily.

So he makes sure that you are indeed sitting in the living room before he takes out a small bag containing a pill, puts it in the grinder and turns it into a fine powder before mixing it into your iced tea.

He takes a deep breath, putting his smile back on as he walks towards you in the living room, where you are already waiting for him with happy eyes.

Without saying much, he hands you the glass, sits down next to you and watches you.

“I know it’s all so sudden and I could have said it differently. I really took you completely by surprise with the news,” you say quietly, looking at the iced tea in your hand, unaware that an abortion pill is floating there.

Suna listens attentively as you talk about how you first had to understand what a pregnancy means, but that your overwhelm quickly turned into joy because you are looking forward to holding a mini version of the two of you in your arms in less than 9 months. You talk about all the beautiful things that are going through your head, while Suna continues to listen to you, his eyes constantly focus on the tea in your hands and you.

He keeps looking at you as you raise the glass and press it to your lips, ready to drink the poison cocktail, when he realizes what he was doing. What he’s trying to do here.

Panic strikes him. His green eyes widen as he literally knocks the cup out of your hand. It falls to the floor with a loud thud. “Don’t drink that!” he says in an unsteady voice and looks at you in horror.

But you don’t understand anything, only shake your head.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I... I think I just made the worst mistake of my life,” Suna says, looking back from you to the broken cup. You don’t understand what’s going on and tilt your head, asking him if everything is all right. But when Suna continues talking and tells you what was in your tea, your world collapses. You are shocked that your own boyfriend wanted to do this to you. “I was overwhelmed. I... I know that’s no excuse. But when I heard you talking, I realized that -“ Suna wanted to continue, but your voice cut him off, your words silenced him.

“Let’s break up,” you say, and unlike before, unlike when you argued a week ago, your voice is determined now, your eyes full of pain and betrayal. Those green eyes that used to mesmerize you are now looking at you desperately. “What?” Suna whispers softly, followed by a “No, wait”. But you interrupt him again.

“You just wanted to give me some drugs without my consent so I’d lose the baby?! No, Rintarou… I’m breaking up with you. That... no, I can’t do that.” Abruptly, you get up from the sofa, ignoring the hand that tries to grab you before quickly slipping into a jacket and a pair of shoes just to leave the apartment. Suna wants to run after you, but his legs won’t move. His mind and heart are screaming to run after you, to stop you and tell you he’s sorry, but his body just won’t obey him. When he finally manages to get up, you’re already gone.

Still wearing his slippers and without putting on a jacket, he eventually runs out to check out all the places you love, all your friends, to see if he can find you somewhere. But no matter where he looks, he can’t find you. You don’t reply to messages or phone calls. The mechanical voice of your voice mail greets him directly. “Shit, shit, shit!” he yells as he stands in the park where you two had your first official date. The surrounding people look at him. Some with an irritated look, some as if they were pitying him.

Without really knowing where to go, your legs automatically led you to the bus that goes to Kita’s home.

Kita was one of your best friends back then. And you knew that if you went to Kita and told him not to tell Suna that you were there, he wouldn’t tell his friend either. And that’s exactly what Kita did.

You were in Kita’s guest room when you heard Suna’s voice in the hallway.

He sounded shattered, broken, as he begged Kita to tell him where you were.

This went on for several weeks, until one evening Suna rang the doorbell again, trying to talk to Kita in a voice you had never heard before.

His voice was so thin, so fragile, as if a heap of misery was speaking out of him.

Kita tells him once again that he doesn’t know where you are when you hesitantly open the door, thinking about going downstairs and listening to what Suna has to say. But for now, you just listen to the conversation.

“Please, Shinsuke, I know you know her location. Please, just give her this. Please...” Kita sighs, followed by a soft “ok...” before the front door closes. Your best friend’s footsteps creak beneath the floor as he walks up the stairs, looks at you a little twisted and hands you a large package.

You know that you demand a lot from Kita. It’s not easy for him to lie to his friend either. Eventually you have to talk to Suna.

Alone in your guest room, you spend almost half an hour looking at the unopened package at the other end of the bed until you finally decide to open it. When you see what’s inside, surprise catches you. Multiple emotions flow through your body without you even noticing how your eyes suddenly turn glassy. Small letters and several items are in the box. You take out the letter that is on top of all the other items.

“My love, I don’t even know where to start. I can’t apologize for what I did. Nevertheless, I want to tell you that I’m sorry. I was confused and scared. Our relationship has always been perfect so far and I thought it was great that it was just the two of us and that no one else disturbed our privacy. I was afraid that when we had a child, we would argue, have no more time for each other, and grow apart. I was selfish and didn’t think about how you would feel. I wasn’t thinking about our baby. The thought that we were both going to be parents hadn’t crossed my mind at all. But every time I walked past those little shoes you had placed in the living room, I couldn’t think of anything else but seeing our child standing in them. How it tries to move around in it, sometimes falls down because it loses its balance and seeks shelter with its beloved mom. I regret every second of what I’ve done, every word I’ve said. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do, and yet I did it. I am sorry. I am so terribly sorry.

I did some research. Did you know that it is currently very difficult to find midwives? You should probably start looking very early on. My team colleague gave me the number of the midwife he and his wife had at the birth of their two children. I also have three other numbers. You might want to give them a call. There are also birth preparation classes in our town. I have also put a brochure in the package for you. You don’t necessarily have to go there with your partner. With me… So... if you want, you could also go there with Kita, even if I would be happy if we both did it together. But I can understand if you don’t want to.

Are you eating enough? You should pay particular attention to your diet during pregnancy. A lot of women suffer from a vitamin deficiency during pregnancy. But you have probably already discussed this with your gynecologist. Anyway, I’ve written down a few recipes for you that are rich in vitamins. I admit that Osamu helped me a little with this. Oh, and on the back are some things you shouldn’t eat during pregnancy. Raw eggs and products containing them such as ice cream, mayonnaise and so on... you should not eat them, because the risk of salmonella infection is high. Peanuts can contain aflatoxins, which can also harm the fetus... but as I said, I’ve put together a list for you. In case you didn’t already know all this already. There are a few other things in the box. Maybe you’d like to take a look.

I hope you are doing well. I hope the baby is doing well too. Have you thought of a name yet? Do you know whether it will be a boy or a girl? I’m sure there’s already a little bump on your belly. I... would really like to be with you right now. Would love to hold you in my arms and stroke your tummy. I know I made a mistake that can never be fixed. But if you’re willing, if that’s what you want, I’d really like to be by your side again. And if not as your boyfriend, then as the father of our baby. I would like to do couples’ therapy with you so that we can find our way back to each other… So that you can trust me again. Because in all of this, I was the problem and never you. But only if you want it too, of course. I know it may be hard to believe, but I love you. So much that a life without you scares me. I am sorry…”

You’re crying bitterly by now as your tears blur the ink on the letter before you put it aside and look in the box. Next to a small onesie for babies, there is a note with the telephone numbers of midwives, a small book with recipes, the brochure he had mentioned and another box containing photos and memories. Pictures that Suna had always secretly taken of you at times when he thought you looked extra pretty. You always found the photos embarrassing, but for him they were beautiful to look at. Because they were moments when you were just being you, not smiling for the camera or doing anything else to disguise yourself.

There was also a necklace with shells on it in the box. You made it for Suna when you were on vacation in Croatia. It turned out incredibly ugly, yet Suna wore it proudly during the whole vacation. You’re touched that he still has this ugly necklace. Little notes that you wrote to each other at school are also in there. So many more memories from the past. Where had Suna hidden this little box in your apartment so that you never noticed it?

You hastily get up, open the door and run down to the hallway as Kita comes out of the living room and looks at you questioningly. “Is everything all right? Do you need to see a doctor?” He asks concerned, but you just shake your head, wanting nothing more than to see Suna, talk to him again. He asks you if you are absolutely sure, but your determined nod is enough for an answer. So he grabs his jacket and car keys, driving you straight to your ex boyfriend, to your apartment. He doesn’t want you to take the bus in your current state.

Suna is sitting in the living room. In front of him on the coffee table are various reports on pregnancy, parenting and more. His head is leaning on his hands as he takes a deep breath. Have you opened his package yet? He wonders, unable to think clearly, when he hears the key in the door lock and runs into the hallway as if stung by a tarantula. His eyes are wide as he looks at you, standing rooted to the spot in the doorway, not knowing how to react.

“Shinsuke... Drove me here...” you say. “I opened your package.” You continue, watching Suna swallow hard, still not moving an inch from the doorframe. “How are you, the baby?” he asks quietly, almost absent-mindedly, as if he can’t believe you’re really standing in front of him. “Good... can... can we talk?” you ask and watch him nod, having trouble sorting out his feelings. You take a step towards him, clearly seeing the dark circles, the red eyes, the slightly thinner face, as if he has lost weight. And on closer look, you can see his whole body trembling.

“Is everything you wrote in your letter true?” you ask him, trying to keep your voice as calm as possible, even though you’re at your wits’ end. “Yes, yes all of it. I’m sorry for everything... I want nothing more than to see you happy. To see our baby happy. And if you want another partner by your side to be happy, if you don’t want me in your life, then I will accept that.” Suna whispers, knowing that if he were to speak even a little louder, his voice would fail and he would cry. You take another step towards him. “What if I want you? Want to give it another try?” You have barely spoken your sentence before you hear a bitter shuffle from Suna, which he seems to have been suppressing the whole time. His shaky hands carefully reach for your face before he presses his forehead against yours and says softly, “I would wish for nothing more than that.”

Although you hesitate for a second, you finally put your hands around his back and stand with him in the doorway for a while. Neither of you says a word. Both of you let your tears run until Suna releases you at some point and gives you a kiss on the forehead. “You shouldn’t stand for so long. You’d better get some rest,” he says in a somewhat steady voice before helping you out of your jacket and leading you into the bedroom, where he pushes the sheets aside so you can lie down. 

“Rin, but I’m not tired at all...” you say, even though you are exhausted, but Suna lies down right next to you, pulling you close while his free hand moves to your stomach. “I know... But... let’s just lie here like this for a moment, regain our strength before we talk... Talk about everything, our future, how I can make it up to you, our little baby… Agree, baby doll?” He whispers tiredly. Yet you also notice how all the crying is slowly making you a little tired. “Agree, Rin.” you smile weakly, snuggling closer to him as you both fall asleep arm in arm, his hand protectively on your baby bump, your hand on his.

[moonydustx]

Part 2 from this request (thank u again @cartoonykat )

Mihawk, Lucci and Crocodile x F!Reader.

In short: how they would react to F!Reader saying she was pregnant, how they would deal with the child.

(get ready to read, the stories are a little long)

PART 1 HERE - Luffy, Zoro and Ace x F! Reader

Warnings are placed individually in each history.

requests open | one piece masterlist

Mihawk

warnings: fluff. Mihawk and f!Reader are married and want to have children. Mentions of F! Reader be a cook. Very brief mention of abortion (but it was in the past). Content a little spicy, nothing detailed or explicit. Mihawk speaks Spanish a few times in this one (I just couldn't help it). Princesa: princess. Cariño: kind of "Sweetheart"

You had already arranged your sundress countless times, as well as your hair, as well as the entire dinner table. You couldn't sit still, anxious for your husband's arrival. Today you celebrated three years of marriage and you knew that after a long two months, he would return home. You knew his temperament well enough to know that there were high chances of finding him in a bad mood, he hated spending long periods away from the castle and this had been the longest time of all. Of course, your anxiety had nothing to do with the little box hidden in the kitchen.

"Cariño?" You heard his voice from downstairs and in a matter of minutes you already had him in your field of vision. His expression lit up when he saw you and lifted you into his arms. "How I missed you!"

"Me too darling." his hat fell back as you peppered kisses across his face. "My God, how can you stay away all this time?"

"Problems, cariño, a long list of problems." your feet touched the floor again after the long hug. "And what amazing smell is that?"

"Let's just say I used my free time to prepare something special for both of us."

"You should be resting. Last time we spoke, you weren't well." his smile faded, replaced by an alert tone.

"I promise I'm okay." You tried to make conversation just like the day he called you and said you didn't look well. You were talking through a den den mushi, how could he realize that?

"Just give me a few minutes and I'll meet you in the dining room." he asked and placed a quick kiss on your lips.

The minutes of waiting seemed like endless hours, just like dinner itself. You were willing to listen to him talk about how complicated the days at the Cross Guild were, about the news in the world outside your little dome or even how delicious the dough you had prepared was. Your fingers intertwined with his and despite the physical proximity, your mind wandered on how to get to the subject naturally. You had already tried a few times, you had already lost once without even knowing that you expected it, you wanted - and needed - this time to be special.

"Princesa?" he called you, looking towards the cup in front of you. "You didn't like the wine I chose?"

"It's one of my favorites actually."

"Yet it remains untouched." he observed, noticing your hands restlessly hitting the table. "Is something going on?"

"First, I'll get this." You took the wine cork. "Second, wait here for a while."

Twisting the small piece of cork between your fingers - the one you would make sure to keep, you reached for the small box in the kitchen and before long it was standing in front of Mihawk.

"To what do I owe the honor of being presented like this, out of nowhere?" he began to undo the bow, setting the wine glass aside and using both hands to undo the wrapping.

Inside, there were some pregnancy tests, in your desperation to know if it was correct, you took a much larger quantity than necessary. Next to them, a small hawk plush. You had searched the nearby town while picking up fresh items for dinner. At first your idea was to just talk to him, but the stuffed hawk with yellow eyes stole your attention.

"How could I not notice?" he murmured, as if a thought had been spoken aloud. "That means it worked…"

"If you talk about all sex without a condom, without any protection… Drac!"

He pulled you from the chair onto his lap. The hands on your back served as much support as your arms around his neck. Your laughter echoed throughout the castle while Mihawk almost sloppily distributed kisses to any part of your face that he could find.

"How long have you known?" he asked euphorically, a type of state that was rare to find in hawk-eyes.

"A few weeks ago. No, I would never tell you that on a phone call." you interrupted him before he could complain.

For a few minutes, the two of you remained there. Swears like "I love you" "You just made me the happiest man in the world" they were uttered and kisses spread across your face. His hands, accustomed to the weight and brutality of swords, touched you gently. Not like you were something about to break, but rather like something he valued so much. As if he wanted to record every moment of that moment in his memory through the drawings of his hands on your body. The yellowish eyes practically penetrated your soul as you watched Mihawk.

"May I know what's going on in your beautiful head, my princess?" Mihawk's nose caressed your neck, earning a smile from your lips.

"Now you know. It was a low blow to choose my favorite wine." you mumbled, adjusting yourself in his lap.

"No alcohol for you from now on."

"Not for a while now. God, I'd kill for a full glass right now."

"Maybe I have a little idea of ​​how to satisfy that desire of yours."

"What do you say, hawk eyes." Your attentive eyes followed him as he brought the glass of wine to his mouth and slowly drank the drink, in silent provocation. "Are you capable of being so mean to your pregnant wife? I thought it was to satisfy my desire."

"Don't put it like that." He returned the cup to the immense table, his agile hands slid across the bare skin of your thighs. "I just want you to taste it in a new way."

The taste of wine invaded your lips when Mihawk trapped you in a kiss. His tongue opened space in you, eliciting a moan from you when you felt the much-desired taste invade your palate. In an improvised juggling act, without taking your lips off his, you adjusted yourself in Mihawk's lap. Before now your legs dangled around his body, looking for some kind of friction.

"Babe, I need you." you murmured against his lips and his hands held you even tighter, feeling his intimacy harden against yours. "Please, it's on my craving list too."

"Who knew what a little of the taste would do to you." his hands slid over your skin, he could clearly see your skin crawl. "It also seems like you're more sensitive, this is interesting."

"Why don't you take it off and find out?" you pulled his hands down to the hem of your dress.

"Do you want to take this upstairs?" he asked and instead of using words, you just took off the dress you were wearing, throwing it across the kitchen.

You didn't need to shout the news from the rooftops, that night it was enough for Mihawk that you screamed his name, that he valued the body that would be home to your two long-awaited baby. After eliciting screams, nectar and sweat from you unlike many other times when you spent hours caressing each other and talking, you remained awake for a short time. Then Mihawk could notice the small difference in your belly, how it seemed firmer and pointier, different from the last time he had ventured across your body.

"Sorry about the time out." he first made sure you were asleep and then leaned down to whisper against your skin. "I promise to make it up to you. Both of you."

You could notice the different way Mihawk looked at you and not that he didn't do it often, but it became more and more common to hear him say "You look amazing." "You are so beautiful." Soon after the discovery, you also discovered how your husband could go into hyperfocus and the time was to find a perfect home for you. It still hurt you to leave the castle behind, even if for a brief time, but he knew he had tasks to fulfill with the Cross Guild and because of that, he would need to spend more time away from your island home.

The small arranged mansion was also isolated and was a result of Crocodile's help. Despite having little contact with the main part of the island, it was much less minutes away than the old house. At least you would have space to redecorate the entire room to your liking.

"Woman, you really want to spare me from living a long life." Before your protests, you felt his arms wrap around you and take you off the ladder that you were balancing on to finish painting the room. "If this child turns out to be half as stubborn as you, I will be in big trouble."

"Baby, don't listen to your father's nonsense." you mumbled to your belly bump. "And you, did you manage to assemble the crib?"

"No." he practically whispered and as a way of irritating him, you pretended not to hear. "I'm going back to the city, I'm sure there must be something already done."

"You men, with your little swords, can't handle a new toy." You stood on your tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. "Let's switch tasks."

"You women and your kitchen knives." he grumbled, watching you leave and then return only to look at him with judgement. "Okay, I've been an asshole now."

The light shade of yellow had just finished filling the walls when a bang took the eagle eyes' attention. Hearing you swear, it only took seconds for him to be on the doorstep, watching you contemplate the collapsed crib.

"What were you saying about swords?" he teased but your furious look made him change his mind - he swore he saw something red shine in your iris. "Tomorrow we'll go to town together and get one ready, what do you think my love?"

"A great idea."

"And for now, how about a hot bath, some music and grape juice." well, at least that was the way he had found to prevent you from drinking wine.

"Can we include a massage in the package?" you took advantage of the fact that he was behind your body to lean on him.

"Whatever my dear wife wants."

The house was already ready, toys, clothes and gifts from the most different friends were piling up and by a pure coincidence of fate, Luna arrived into the world on a full moon night. You would carry it in your soul when Mihawk's eyes - golden when they touched the moonlight - met the small pair of irises identical to his.

"My little Luna, you chose the right day to come." he whispered, pacing the sleeping girl from side to side. "You are so perfect."

"Just like her daddy." you answered.

In other situations you would end up in two camps: Mihawk would play the opposite and say that the most beautiful thing in the relationship is you or on days when he was really in a good mood, he would say how lucky you were to have him. That night, he just smiled at your comment. Not a provocative smile like most of the ones he had given his entire life. It was one of those that made the hawk's eyes become just a detail on his illuminated face.

"Thank you my love." he replied to you. "Thank you for bringing me a little piece of heaven, of all this infinity above us. Mi preciosa Luna."

When little Luna wasn't within your reach, you didn't need to make an effort to find her, she would be in her father's shadow. Whether in the moments he took to read or even in some Cross Guild meetings. The other two men didn't seem to mind the little girl's presence, who was always busy with something.

"I think we can… Hey, what's this?" Buggy screamed as he saw the girl climb over him. "Mihawk!"

"Let the girl have some fun. That's what clowns are for, aren't they?" Crocodile responded in a gentle tone while Mihawk kept his eyes on Luna, who without hesitation pulled one of Buggy's ears and sat on the couch next to him.

"You little brat!" the clown made to take the ear from her hand in an almost brutal way as he felt her digging the almost non-existent fingers into the cartilage of the ear. "That hurts."

"I wouldn't want to have to remove your other ear, permanently." Mihawk spoke calmly, as if he had just commented on an everyday fact.

"Sorry to interrupt." You walked into the room, attracting looks, especially from a certain little girl who realized that your ear wasn't that interesting anymore.

"Mami!" Luna immediately started throwing her little arms towards you and even though she tried to at least hide it in these situations it was impossible not to see Mihawk's eyes light up.

"She just took down a Yonkou, I'll be saving a spot on the team for her." Crocodile laughed when he saw your dissatisfied face. "Okay, I guess I'll have to settle for just a single hawk's eye."

On the same day, after a few long hours of meeting between them, you thought that at least your husband would want to rest, to remove any idea of ​​work from inside the house - despite his choice to have brought work into the house while the Luna was still small. Of all the places you expected to find yourself, you didn't expect to find Mihawk with little Luna on his lap, in front of them a large Cross Guild poster.

"Who's that?" Mihawk pointed at the figure.

"It's a crocodile." The word was slurred, but Luna said it anyway with a certain confidence. Again, the man asked, pointing to the next image. "The clown."

"And who is this?"

"Dada!" she cheered, making him laugh along and, consequently, you, happy with your little family.

Lucci

warnings: Lucci is a warning in itself. A lot of angst with a somewhat happy ending. F!Reader was also an agent, she had the fruit that transformed her into a kind of cat. Slightly troubled relationship between him and F!Reader. Completely based on the fact that Lucci is not a complete psychopath (I mean, egghead spoilers ahead: him asking for Kaku's life, how can we not love him? Besides the CP9 cover stories).

A few days had passed since the last time you and Lucci had seen each other in person. The voices demanding mission reports seemed distant as you watched him from the other side of the table and you had known him long enough to know that even though he seemed focused he was still able to see him glance casually in your direction and no one noticed.

You wished the brief meeting could have lasted longer, given you time to think more about what words to use, to fantasize that Lucci would be happy with the idea, but chills ran through your body just thinking about it.

"Hey, meow girl." Kaku nudged you with his shoulder, pulling you back to the real world. "I heard you got into trouble."

"You have no idea." You laughed heartily, pushing him back. "Call me meow girl again and I'll wring your huge neck."

"Hey, I'm just being nice."

"I bet you are, big guy." You pinched the tip of his nose, leaving him grumbling.

"Need to talk to you." Lucci's voice interrupted the two of you, stopping Kaku's laughter and complaints. The man just waved and walked away, leaving you and Lucci alone. "Not here."

He took the lead, his firm steps and serious posture didn't let anyone think anything other than that you - who followed him without the same grandeur - had gotten yourself into some kind of problem. The solid wooden door closed behind you as you noticed Rob Lucci walk through the space, filling two glasses of brandy and handing you one of them. The drink danced through your hands, but never reached your lips.

"You were restless today, pupils dilated, sweat on your face." He touched a temple, noticing the moisture. "What kind of problem did you encounter?"

"I'm pregnant." You ripped the band-aid off at once, with no time to let the thoughts flow through your mind.

The man took a few steps back, looking you up and down and then looking around the entire room. The small shot of brandy in his hand was downed in moments and he took the one you were holding from you, the liquid meeting the same fate.

"And what do I have to do with it?" you already knew his cold temper, but you didn't expect to hear such rude words.

"What do you have to do with this?" you snapped, approaching him. "What do you have to do with this? Use your fucking brain Lucci."

"What's wrong? How can you guarantee that this is my doing?" His tone dropped, becoming threatening. "I have nothing to do with this."

"I knew you could be an asshole, but after all this time?" you gave him a push Lucci didn't react, just letting his body move away.

"We had one night and that was it. This could be anyone's business."

The lie that came out of his lips hurt more than any blow you've ever taken in all these years fighting alongside him.

You threatened to push him, but this time he reacted by guiding your body to the wall and enclosing you in his arms. Your body contracted as you saw him punch the wall next to you and some pieces of concrete fall.

"Get out of here." his tone became a whisper and if it weren't for the argument you were already having, it was impossible to tell he was mad. "You get out of here and ask to leave Cipher Pol today. Ask or I'll throw you out."

How could you have been stupid to think that would lead anywhere? You thought Lucci could have changed something, all the times the two of you could have had some connection felt in vain.

Swallowing your tears and not giving any justification to anyone, a few days later you managed to free yourself from the organization. You knew they would keep an eye on you, but at least now you wouldn't be the target of Lucci's hatred.

A few months later you had already found a new home on your home island, a new spark of hope that everything would work out, even without him. That week you would be six months pregnant and you were already used to the affection and closeness of your neighbors and colleagues. What you weren't used to was strange noises in your house in the middle of the night.

Reluctantly - and against any recommendation from your doctor, you assumed the form that your devil fruit allowed. A completely black cat. You still remembered Kalifa's laugh when you two and Kaku acquired your fruits and she claimed it was curious that you also turned into a feline.

The image of the man you no longer imagined seeing in front of you was there, standing in your kitchen. You wanted to return to your human form and ask what it was about, you wanted to at least feel him again, but the hatred inside you spoke louder. Shooing away the pigeon that accompanied him, you jumped at Lucci, climbing up his suit with your fingernails.

"Stop this." Lucci tried to hold you back, but you kept throwing small kicks at him. Damn the time you trimmed your claws, the damage wouldn't be so great "Stop!"

Fatigue soon hit you and you returned to your human form, even so you continued attacking him, this time with weak slaps.

"You practically called me a bitch." you snapped, having your hands trapped by his. "You humiliated me and now you have the nerve to show up here."

"You need to calm down." you lunged at him, even though your hands were practically tied by his hands. "You're going to hurt yourself, sweetheart, please."

The calm tone of his words hit you before your brain even processed his arms trapping you in a tight hug. It took a few seconds before you actually gave up trying to free yourself.

"Calm down, please." he asked once again, pressing you against his body.

"You left me." hurt replaced the hatred in your voice, this time you were able to let go of him, now calmer.

Noticing that your clothes were gone with your transformation, you turned your back and went to your room, reaching for panties and a robe. Sitting on the edge of the bed, you closed your eyes, trying to regain the lost air and dealing with the weakness that took over your body.

"There are big differences between the anatomy of a cat and a human, even more so when they carry their kittens." Lucci leaned on the doorstep and realized that you still hadn't turned your attention to him. He soon bent down in front of you, taking one of your hands. "How can I help you?"

"You sent me away." the hurt was almost palpable in your voice. "My life was good here, I got a job even though I was pregnant, I started making friends. Why are you here after so long?"

"I couldn't stop thinking about you two." Lucci gave up and sat next to you. "That day I had to lie." he confessed and your attention quickly turned to Lucci. "I saw Yuro following us, him slightly pushing the door to hear us. He was interested in my position just like he was always interested in you. What do you think he would do when he connected the information?" The question remained in the air for some time, long enough for you to feel your heart soften a little. "That's why I asked you to leave, I didn't know how well the little act had worked."

"And how did you find me here?"

"I never lost sight of you." the answer was almost obvious to you, yet it was good to hear. "Besides, even if I wanted to, that annoying giraffe wouldn't leave me alone after I told him about the child." a light laugh dared to cross your lips. "I'm sorry for this."

"I know you meant well, Lucci, but it still hurts anyway." you made to touch his arm, but you flinched. "It doesn't mean that I don't miss you, that I don't want to see you."

"I figured that. As long as you accept me here, accept me in this child's life, I want to stay." he, contrary to what you had done, allowed his hand to touch your skin, turning your face towards him. "And what you want?"

"Can we just cuddle for a bit, please?"

Lucci opted to just pull you into his arms and drag you to the bed, laying down comfortably and allowing you to snuggle into him. Feeling a little wary of how you would react, his hand lightly touched the spot on the back of your neck that you loved being stroked. Surely your cat form would be purring. For a long time, it was the kind of physical contact you had.

The residents of the small village were initially surprised by the man's presence. He didn't stay for long and when he stayed on the island, he only left the house a few times and had a serious expression on his face, not allowing anyone to feel free to talk. And when it was extremely necessary, he preferred to use Hattori for that role.

The little child arrived into the world on a rainy night. Leo was an almost identical copy of his father, except for his eyes that were the same as yours. Lucci only returned to the island two days later and few things could surprise him more than finding you sitting on the bed with several blankets around your body, while you breastfed the little baby.

"Hey." you limited yourself to saying, not wanting to speak more or louder so as not to take away the child's peace.

"Are you cold?"

"I just need to keep the nest… the bed warm, make our little Leo comfortable." You looked at the little one, who was still focused on eating. "Want to see him?" You nodded to the space next to you on the bed.

Lucci got closer and could notice every feature of the baby it was like looking at a small version of him. Until the small eyes found the man's direction and he understood that everything bad that could exist in him, in Lucci, would be compensated by everything good he had in you. A strange feeling took over him, something like possession, like pride, something that if he needed to put into words he wouldn't be able to.

His hands first lowered the cover from your back and then lowered the strap of your shirt. Before you could complain, Lucci started distributing kisses and rubbing his face against your skin, in a strange affection that you gladly accepted. In anyone's eyes, it would be like seeing two cats taking care of their pup.

Lucci was right in his little mental gamble. Leo was a physical copy of him, but he had your personality. Cunning, agile, but kind, a soft heart that accepted anything. Well, almost anything.

"Daddy!" the boy shouted as soon as he saw Lucci enter the small yard after almost two months away. The man just bent down and allowed him to jump into his arms. When Leo was just a few centimeters away, Lucci watched the boy scream in horror and walk away. "Hattori!"

The pigeon landed on Lucci's shoulder and that was enough to explain the story. Ever since baby Leo woke up with the pigeon watching him, the now three-year-old boy was terrified of any bird and poor Hattori was included - and was the main reason.

"Son, I already told you. Hattori is good." you caught up to them, sitting on the floor so you were at Leo's level.

"No, it is not." he grumbled, hiding in the back of your neck. "Get him out of here."

"You need to get used to it." Lucci would once again try and knew he might fail. "Look at me."

"I don't want."

"Leo…" the warning tone caught the boy's attention, who just gave him space to see, not letting go of you. "Look, Hattori is a good friend."

Lucci let the pigeon land on his fingertips. Fulfilling the small unspoken agreement between the two, Hattori remained quiet, accepting Lucci to stroke his head.

"See? Your mom likes him too." Lucci passed the pigeon to your finger and more docilely you caught it.

"Come here." Lucci picked up the boy and whispered something in his ear, probably some promise to the boy. Leo, with his small trembling hand, stretched out his finger and let Hattori land. "See? He can be a great friend."

"He can?"

"Coo, yes sir Leo." As soon as the dove spoke, Leo screamed in fear again, letting the bird fly and throwing himself at you.

"Maybe that was too soon." Lucci commented, helping you stand with the boy on your lap.

That time, Lucci spent about a month with you and you were already suffering from the night he was leaving. Partly because of your longing, even if you hadn't gotten back into the relationship, you couldn't deny how you felt about him. In addition to suffering for little Leo. He admired his father, even though he didn't know what he actually did and even though he maintained a more serious behavior, you knew that Lucci adored the boy.

"Dad…" you watched Lucci put Leo to sleep, with the boy practically with his eyes closed. "You will return?"

"I promise you I will."

"What if I cry just this little bit." he pointed at the small space with his fingers. "Will you still love me?"

The question seemed to take him by surprise. You noticed that Lucci didn't respond immediately and you wondered how many memories were going through his head, of all the death, chaos and hatred that he had carried since childhood. You knew that it was difficult for Lucci to express - and even nurture feelings that were reserved for few people, the bond with you and Leo was unique.

"Absolutely," a rare light chuckle escaped him. "You're my best friend, remember?" Lucci finished covering the boy. "Now sleep."

You blew your little boy a kiss from a distance and closed the door to his room. Like something magnetic you followed Lucci to the small room of the house you two sort of shared.

"Need to talk to you."

"I'm listening." you crossed your arms, bracing yourself for something bad, something like "That was the last time I showed up."

"I'm leaving Cipher Pol." he took a small letter from his pocket. That seal was familiar and the last time you saw it was when you gave up.

"Explain this to me properly"

"Even on a mission in Water 7, being a shipwright wasn't that bad." as he spoke, you felt even more lost. "I've always had my goals. Little Leo wasn't one of them, but I can't ignore him."

"You know you don't have to do that. Our little arrangement has been working." you tried to argue, but Lucci was irreducible, as always.

"I don't really need it. I want it." he spoke firmly. "I'm just going to carry out this mission more."

"Something important?"

"I need to go to Egghead, deal with Vegapunk." he limited himself to speaking, not wanting to go into too many details. Despite asking, your mind was still stuck on the idea of ​​having Lucci always there.

"Promise to come back." the words came out like an order. "Promise now Lucci, please."

Lucci just hung his face, trying to understand where that plea had come from. You always warned him to make promises to Leo, after all, life as an agent and director of CP0 wasn't the safest. Those words didn't usually come out of your mouth.

Ignoring the mix of sensations that accumulated in your chest, you practically threw yourself towards Lucci, taking his lips for yourself. His lack of reaction only lasted a few seconds and you only had to press your body against his for his hands to find your legs and lock them around his waist.

"I promise." he said amidst sighs and footsteps towards your room. "As long as you promise to come back to me, to be mine again."

"I promise."

Crocodile

warnings: angst, but with a happy ending. Crocodile and F!Reader are married, there are mentions of blood but nothing much. Mentions of Cross Guild because I absolutely love the existence of this trio.

Long years, long disputes and problems ago, Crocodile found you lost in Alabasta. Fleeing from a crew that chose to only use you, you found yourself without any direction and when demonstrating your skills to escape some thieves, he saw something interesting in you.

This interest lasted through the years, even into the fall of his reign in Alabasta, even into the time he was trapped in Impel Down, he knew that once he found you again, he wouldn't let something so good slip through his hands like sand in the wind.

That's how the small ring with green details found your hand, which you passed from Miss Honeymoon to his wife. Very little time had passed before you had to face the countless positive tests that piled up in front of you.

You tried to go back to bed in silence, the goal was not to wake Crocodile and over time, find the courage to bring the news to him. However, you failed miserably. As soon as the bathroom door opened, you found Crocodile waiting for you.

"You've been out of bed for a while. Is everything okay?" he asked, leaning against the wall next to the door.

"Y-Yes." Your voice betrayed you, giving away that at least something had happened in there and you knew Crocodile enough to know that he would turn everything over and discover your little secret. "Can we talk?"

"It's a little early for that, isn't it, my little one?" The serious expression on your face told him that the matter couldn't wait. Without asking, he took your hand and guided you back to the bed, placing you in a sitting position. "What happened?"

"I h-guess. I mean." you took a deep breath, the huge room seemed to compress next to you. "I'm pregnant."

Silence prevailed for a few seconds - it seemed like ages between the two of you. You looked for any reaction, for anything, but Crocodile was far away. It was just a physical form in front of you.

"Rest, there's still a long way to go before dawn." he just said, turning his back and heading towards the bathroom.

It didn't take long for you to see him leave, hair wet, steam everywhere, no more words left his lips and the first rays of sun appeared on the horizon when he disappeared from your field of vision. Almost two weeks passed like this, only essential words were exchanged between the two of you, Crocodile spent most of his hours away from home or locked in his office. According to Daz, the boss had problems to solve.

That was it, this would end the relationship that you two had worked so hard to achieve. Without saying anything, you packed your bags, even so you couldn't leave without at least looking at his face. Opening the office door without any kind of ceremony, the first thing that caught your attention was the blood that was staining him, only then did you notice the cut that he was finishing stitching.

"Crocodile!" You got closer, trying to touch the wound, but he pushed your hand away. "Are you okay?"

"It was just a superficial cut." he simply responded, finishing the last stitch and using gauze to cover the wound.

Despite your concern, you would not let your recent decision shake you. Crocodile watched with surprised eyes as you took off the ring you were wearing and with shaking hands left it on the table.

"What is this about?"

"Given the distance, the way you've been treating me, I don't think you were happy with the existence of a baby." You started, trying to make your voice steady. "But I am and it's okay that you don't want to have a child, but I do. I just don't want to have to deal with this indifference, this distance. You don't talk to me, you don't sleep in our bed…"

"Calm down darling, please." he asked, his unshaken tone quite contrary to the worried expression on his features.

He took your hand and gently made you circle the table, standing next to him. Crocodile then took three brown folders from a drawer, each of which had a name and a photo of a guy.

"Do you remember them?" you still remembered the faces, before settling on the new island, the two of you evaluated how the entire system worked.

"The three main leaders here on this island. This one is responsible for the bandits." You pointed to the first photo and then to the second. "This one was a pirate too, as I remember."

"And this one works in the slave trade." Crocodile took a pen and crossed out his photo, just as the first man's photo was also crossed out.

"And what does this have to do with what I told you just now?" you tried to move away from the table, but the hand on your waist stopped you.

"As we once talked about, I planned to calmly find a place for my business, maybe some partnerships…" he put the folders aside, turning his attention completely to you. "Now with this. With our baby on the way. I can't allow there to be threats of this level around."

"What do you mean by that, my dear?" the endearing word involuntarily escaped your lips, a clear sign that you couldn't help but have love for Crocodile, even with the hurt.

"I needed to speed up my business, exclude some of these faces." He held your face and pressed his forehead to yours. "I can only be happy with this news when I know you two are safe."

"Crocodile…"

"I'm going to be the happiest man on this island when I can walk around showing off my beautiful, shiny, pregnant wife, carrying my little one. I don't want our children to have to see the terror we've both experienced throughout this life."

"I thought you didn't want me anymore." you let your hands wrap around him and his found a similar path around your body.

"I'm a man of my word and when I said I want you for the rest of my life, I really meant it." His lips traced their way across your face. "Please give me just a few more days and I will allow myself to be happy with this news."

It took another week before you woke up in the middle of the night, feeling something you hadn't felt in time. The icy contrast of his hook revealed that Crocodile had accidentally slept in that position. Head and one hand resting on your belly, in a protective mode. Apparently, the day had finally come for him to allow himself to be happy.

The months that followed were calmer, with the full-time man being your shadow, even on the tireless afternoons of shopping you did, Crocodile was there. At least he considered himself lucky and rewarded, since your raging hormones acted in a somewhat pleasant way for him - which made Daz find the two of you in a vulnerable way in the kitchen.

The best doctors from across the island gathered in the grand mansion when Ella was born. An identical copy for you, much to Crocodile's happiness. You knew that Crocodile would dedicate himself to being a father, even if it didn't work out, however, you couldn't be more wrong. On many nights, the girl was only able to stop crying when she found her father, or afternoons became calmer when, while the two of you talked and made plans, little Ella was distracted by the piles of sand that her father was. capable of producing. Apart from the fact that he had decided to give a baby Bananawani as soon as she turned her first birthday or when he made a replica of the hook he had for the little girl, everything was going well in the relationship between the three of you.

Despite being your copy in terms of features, her personality was much more similar to her father - and she was extremely close to him. With a cunning capable of convincing everyone, it didn't take long for Ella to be able to soften even Daz's heart. There wasn't a thing the girl asked for that Crocodile's faithful partner wouldn't go after. Cross Guild mates were also victims of Ella. In this case, just one of them. Mihawk thought it was funny for someone so small to have such an irreverent stance as Crocodile, despite almost getting him expelled from the Cross Guild when he was caught letting Ella play - or at least try - to manipulate Yoru. As for Buggy, Ella preferred to keep her distance. One of the few things the girl couldn't deal with easily was the existence of clowns.

The scream of horror that crossed the corridor invaded your ears, as well as those of the other two men who were next to you. Recognizing the voice, you and Crocodile jumped to your feet, quickly heading to where you thought the source was. Arriving in the kitchen, Crocodile barely had time to balance himself when he saw Ella hugging his legs, looking for some kind of help.

"A monster daddy, a big monster." Crocodile picked her up and felt the girl's heart racing even with all the fabrics separating him from her skin. "He's right there."

"It's okay, sweetie." your voice reached her ears, which were practically the only possible point of contact. Her eyes were sunk into her father's shoulder, her small hands almost pierced the fabric of his overcoat.

"I have my suspicions about what this monster is." Mihawk, who you hadn't noticed following the two of you, spoke up. "And I agree with you Ella, it's a pretty ugly monster." the cynicism was clear in his voice.

"Look at your father, my little one." Crocodile asked and found two orbs damp with tears. "Was it a monster with an ugly, red nose?"

"You lizard, you don't talk about my nose." Buggy practically rolled out of the pantry, eliciting another scream from the girl who went back into hiding. "She who appeared out of nowhere here."

"He's harmless, Ella." you tried to catch her, but the girl refused to let go of her own father.

"She's in her house, she has the freedom to do whatever she wants." Crocodile's threatening tone didn't go unnoticed. "You know what awaits you, don't you, clown?"

"Hey, I didn't do anything." he grumbled, approaching you already knowing that Crocodile would scalp him soon. "Look here, pretty girl, Uncle Buggy is your friend."

"Everything is fine." you interrupted the clown, who only scared your daughter more. You knew that the two of them probably just bumped into each other in the kitchen, but little Ella's fear spoke louder in these moments. "You are not going to do anything." you muttered to Crocodile and turned to the clown in question. "And can you stop this, you're only scaring little Ella more."

"Let's get out of here, my little baby." your husband grumbled, turning his back and going in front, you couldn't make out exactly what he was saying, but he seemed to be trying to reassure Ella, who was just sniffling now.

The sniffles were replaced by a small laugh, when you looked to the side the reason made you laugh too. Mihawk had turned the blunt side of the sword and hit Buggy a few times, who grunted back.

"We don't scare little girls here, we only scare bad mariners." Mihawk repeated the gesture and you knew he wasn't using any of the full strength he had. "Don't scare little Ella."

The hawk's eyes blinked at the girl, who continued laughing - much to the reassurance of Crocodile, who was already thinking of methods to torture his fellow Cross Guild member. No one scared his little girl.

[girlgenius1111]

you don't have to pretend with me

ona x reader -sickfic ish

from a request- the req was for r with chronic pain but i've never experienced that and i didn't want to write it incorrectly, so i changed it to something i have some history with :)

You hadn't had a real period in years, having been on birth control since you were a teenager. It really limited the effects of your horrible symptoms. It was simple- a shot in your ass every three months was something you could handle. However, you'd completely forgotten to get it this time. Normally you planned your next visit at the end of your appointments, but the secretary had been out, so you were supposed to call to schedule the next appointment. It had completely slipped your mind, and by the time your realized your mistake, it was too late, and they told you that you had to wait 3 months from when you were supposed to get it, in order to not mess up the cycle.

It didn't really make much sense to you, but you didn't have a choice. All you could hope was that it wouldn't be as bad as you remembered it. The first month wasn't bad, barely more than what you usually dealt with on the shot. The second month was worse, but still, manageable, especially considering it came during an off week. You were quickly approaching the third month, and you knew it wouldn't be as easy this time.

2 days before you were supposed to get it, you found yourself in a heinous mood. You'd been short with everyone, all day, even Ona. Ona, your girlfriend, who had literally no idea what was going on. It felt ridiculous to you, to complain about what was going on when every other woman dealt with it to. You'd never heard Ona complain about her period, and you didn't want her to think you were weak.

More than that, you weren't sure she'd believe you. In your last relationship, anytime you were sick or in pain, your girlfriend didn't believe you, or told you that you were being dramatic. You didn't really realize how this affected your relationship with Ona, but as you hadn't told her this, she didn't know you'd been hiding almost any sign of weakness from her.

So, you just mumbled something about having an off day when she asked why you were so grumpy. She pretty much left you alone the rest of the day, giving you the space she assumed you wanted. The only time she spoke to you was to come into the living room where you were curled up on the couch, and wish you a goodnight, leaving a soft kiss on your forehead.

-----

You woke up in the middle of the night to the sensation that someone was standing on your abdomen. It had been so long since you'd actually had cramps, you were almost alarmed, until you realized what was going on. You didn't want to get any blood on the bed, nor did you want to wake Ona up for something so trivial, so you quietly padded into the bathroom, changed your pajama shorts, and then headed out into the kitchen in search of some painkillers.

Every step was agony, and you were walking hunched over, as what you could only describe as lightning strikes of pain rippled through from your belly button down to your core whenever you tried to straighten up. You didn't make it to the cabinet you kept the medicine in, instead collapsing into a chair at the kitchen table. As soon as you sat, the zaps of pain were replaced by a continuous ache across your stomach, and around to your back.

You couldn't help the groan you let out, as you twisted uncomfortably in your seat to try to relieve the pain. It didn't work. You knew what would work, but you were absolutely sure you couldn't stand up again and make it to the medicine cabinet. Instead, you put your head in your hands, feeling tears slowly leak out of your eyes. That only made you more frustrated, which in turn made you cry harder, until you were trying to stifle sobs with your hands at the kitchen table, in the dark, at 1am.

-----

Meanwhile, Ona woke to an empty bed. She remembered you climbing in with her after she'd already gone to sleep, waking up just enough to roll into you and smush herself as close as she could. This time, though, your side of the bed was empty and cold, and Ona was disgruntled. Sleepy Ona was a grumpy Ona, something you knew very well, and she squinted her eyes open, looking over at the bathroom door, seeing if you'd just gotten up briefly. The light was off in there, though, and your side of the bed wasn't warm, indicating that you'd been up for at least a couple minutes. Sighing heavily, Ona sat up, intending to wait for you, arms crossed, to return to bed. When she saw no lights were on in the rest of the house, though, she decided to get up and find you.

The only thing she could think was that you'd gone to sleep on the couch, which didn't make any sense. You'd been grumpy yesterday, sure, but you'd gone to bed with her, and allowed her to snuggle up to you, which you wouldn't have done if you were angry. Walking down the hall, heading for the living room, she heard an odd noise in the kitchen.

She changed directions, turning right instead of left, and discovered you, slouched over at the table, crying softly into your hands. Ona was immediately distraught at the idea of you getting up in the middle of the night and leaving your bed to cry by yourself, no matter what the reason, and not waking her.

"Cariño, qué pasó?" she asked, voice raspy with sleep. At her words, your head snapped up, looking at Ona with pain etched clearly across your face. "Amor," she says sympathetically, moving forward to stand by your side.

"Oni, go back to bed," you try, attempting to sound firmer than you felt.

"Not until you tell me what is wrong." Ona replies, actually succeeding in being firm. She brushes a loose strand of hair off your face, then combs her fingers through you hair. You melt at her touch despite yourself, before you hunch over again, another wave of pain shooting through your abdomen; you'd straightened up to much. You whimper quietly, and Ona's hand pulls off of you, worried she'd done something to hurt you. That gets you talking, never wanting Ona to think she's the cause of your pain.

"It's just cramps, Ona, I'm fine," you insist, even as your face scrunches uncomfortably, and you grit your teeth through another jolt. Though confused, seeing as though she'd never known you to have bad cramps, Ona wraps her arms around you without another thought, lifting you easily to carry you back to bed. She may be short, but she prides herself on being strong enough to carry you easily, despite your many objections. "Oni," you whine, yet still, you clutch onto her tightly, resting your head on her shoulder.

"Shh, let's get you back to bed."

Once Ona gently places you back on your side of the bed, she stands back, looking at you with a determined expression. It's almost funny really, the girl standing in front of you, wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts, wavy hair wild around her head, trying to look stern. Ona couldn't look stern, she wasn't capable. She could only ever look adorable, at least to you.

"What will help you feel better?" She asks.

You bite your lip for a moment, before the pain wins out over your independence. "Paracetamol, please," you murmur.

She nods once. "Anything else?"

You're sure there's something you're forgetting, but it's been so long since you've had cramps like this, and it hurts too bad for you to think straight. "I don't know," you whisper finally, tears spilling over again.

"Okay amor, relax, I will take care of you," the brunette says gently, leaving you with a peck on your forehead. She's only gone for a few minutes, but when she returns, you've curled yourself into a little ball on the edge of the bed, as far from her side as you could get, obviously trying not to bother her. Ridiculous, considering she wasn't going back to sleep until after you did.

She gives you the medicine, handing you a new cold water which you accept gratefully. Then, before you can tell Ona to get back in bed, she leaves the room again. She returns fast this time, holding something in her hands you don't recognize.

The defender doesn't explain, either, even though she notices the questioning look on your face. Instead, she climbs onto the bed behind you, and nudges you out of your ball to lay in between her legs, head resting back on her chest. Still silent, she rolls your shirt up, massaging the skin of your abdomen lightly. Her warm hands feel so good, you let out a sound of relief. Smiling to herself, Ona places the heating pad she brought with her across your abdomen, clicking it on. You soften completely against her, letting out a long sigh.

"Thanks, Oni," you mumble, and she kisses the top of your head in response. She isn't done with you though, patting your arm lightly when your eyes flutter close.

"Do you normally have cramps this bad?" she asks, because the thought of you hiding this from her, like you'd been doing tonight, once a month for the entirety of the time you've been dating, makes her nauseous.

"No," you tell her sleepily, briefly explaining the situation you'd found yourself in. Ona is quiet for a few moments.

"Why didn't you tell me? And why didn't you wake me up tonight?" she wonders, not able to fully hide the hurt in her voice. You're fully awake now, almost reading her mind as you realize what she's worried about; that you don't trust her.

"I didn't think it was a big deal," you say quickly. "And I didn't want to bother you with it, with something that every woman deals with," you justify.

"Amor, you hurting will always be a big deal to me." Ona insists. "You should have woken me up. Do you... do you not trust me? Did I do something to make you thing I would not take your pain seriously?" the brunette asks, and you wince at the question. This was your problem, not Ona's. Could she not see that?

"No, Oni, of course I trust you. It's... it's not about you." You pause. "I didn't want you to think I was being dramatic or weak."

"Why would I think that? Why would I not believe you when you say you are hurting?"

All she gets is a shrug in response, and she feels you shutting down again. Unwilling to let that happen, she presses you further.

"No, amor, tell me. Did someone make you feel that way? Like you could not be honest about how you were feeling?"

You don't respond for so long that Ona thinks you've fallen asleep, or just aren't going to answer.

"My ex. She used to tell me I was being dramatic when I was sick. She was right though, I was," you rush to justify.

Ona's arms tighten around you slightly, and it reassures you. When she responds, you recognize an angry tone in her voice, but also a protective one.

"That is not what a good girlfriend does. I will never do that. You are allowed to be in pain, and be sick. You are not being dramatic for feeling things. It does not make me think any less of you, and it certainly does not make me think that you are weak." Ona declares.

"Are you sure? I'd understand if you thought I was exaggerating." you say quietly. At this, Ona tilts your chin up and to the side, so she can look into your eyes.

"I found you crying at the kitchen table, you were in so much pain. That is not dramatic, not to me. I am sure." Ona promises, and she feels you relax against her, if only slightly.

"I love you," you say quietly, voice cracking on the last word.

"Te amo mucho, cariño. Mucho mucho." Ona pairs her words with several gentle kisses pressed into the side of your head.

"Ona?"

"Sí?"

"Can I go to sleep or will this light on fire if I don't turn it off," you ask seriously, referring to the heating pad laying across your abdomen. You've never used one before, and you aren't sure what the safety requirements are. Apparently, this is a dumb question, because Ona bursts out laughing, disturbing the quiet murmur of voices you both had been keeping to.

"Sí amor, you can go to sleep. I'll put you out if you light on fire, te prometo," she tells you, still laughing. You roll your eyes slightly before allowing them to flutter shut, even though you know Ona can't see the gesture.

"Wake me up if it starts to hurt again?" she asks, seriousness returning.

"Te prometo," you say, echoing her words for just a second ago. A grin tugs at Ona's lips at your spanish use.

"Bueno. Goodnight my pretty girl," Ona whispers into your hair, her use of an english term of endearment making you blush.

With that, both of you allow yourselves to drift off. You're sure, now, that Ona will not care if you wake her up. Ona is sure that you will wake her up. Or, that she'll wake up if you do, seeing as though you're sprawled on top of her. She doesn't expect perfection, or for you to start coming to her with all your problems right away. She finds that she doesn't mind having to demonstrate her love to you, though. If there's anything she loves to do, it's remind you, everyday, that she loves you unconditionally.

-----

[ataliagold]

Sip The Sunlight From Your Eyes

For @astrangersummer week 2 prompt 'afternoon nap'. Title from Not Yet/Love Run (Reprise) by The Amazing Devil.

Pairing: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Rating: G

W/C: 705

Tags: Post Series 4 Volume 2, Everyone Lives, Established Eddie/Steve, Summer, Backyard BBQ, Afternoon Naps, Steve has Insomnia, Fluff

Summary: The whole gang has gathered at Steve's place for a summer BBQ. Part way through, Eddie realizes Steve is missing, and finds him fast asleep in the midday sun.

___

“Where does Steve keep his cups, hon?” Joyce was asking Eddie.

“Ah…they’re in the cupboard next to the fridge. On the right,” Eddie answered.

“Thanks, I had a look around for Steve to ask him but I couldn’t see him anywhere?”

Eddie frowned. He did a quick scan of the backyard, searching for his boyfriend. Robin, Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle were sprawled over the loungers by the pool. Hopper was at the grill, chatting away to Wayne and flipping patties. The kids were spread out in the grass, chatting intently about something, Max’s wheelchair parked up in the sun with El sitting close by.

But no Steve.

Eddie tried to think back to the last time he’d seen Steve this afternoon. He’d been there while Dustin had asked to use the pool, trying to mask the small wave of discomfort that had crossed his face at the request before nodding and waving the kid off towards it.

Dustin had been none the wiser, but Eddie was an expert at reading Steve Harrington by now. He knew the boy still hated that pool and got nervous whenever anyone was in it.

He’d been there when Max had arrived, pushing the girl to her requested spot and toeing on the brakes on the chair, holding a bag of candy out of the reach of the other kids and offering her first pick.

He’d been there to welcome Wayne in, to sheepishly accept the brief hug Wayne gave him, not yet accustomed to open affection from paternal figures in his life.

But then Eddie had lost track, had gotten stuck in a heated debate with Mike and Erica about their last campaign, and Steve had slipped out of his view.

“I’ll go take a look,” Eddie told Joyce.

She smiled and headed off in the direction of the kitchen. Eddie followed her inside but angled for the stairs, heading up towards Steve’s bedroom. He had a feeling that was where Steve would be, hoped he wasn’t coming down with yet another migraine…

He gently opened the door.

The sun was streaming in through the window and landing on the bed where Steve was sprawled out on his stomach, eyes closed and his lips slightly parted in sleep.

Eddie paused in the doorway. Just to take in the sight of his boyfriend, just to breathe for a moment because Steve Harrington was beautiful and till his dying day he’d never understand why Steve had chosen him.

But he had, and Eddie loved him.

Quietly, he approached the bed, one hand landing softly on the small of Steve’s back. The boy shifted under his touch, his eyebrows crinkling a little and a sigh leaving his lips.

“Hey, Stevie,” Eddie murmured. “You ok?”

“Mmm. Tired.”

“No migraine?”

“No.”

And that was good, at least. But Eddie knew Steve still wasn’t sleeping well at night, even months after the gates had closed for good and Vecna had been destroyed.

“Do you want to sleep for a little bit, sweetheart? I can wrap this up early, send everyone home after lunch.”

Steve frowned slightly and shook his head. “They’re having fun. Can hear them.”

Eddie listened for a moment, the sounds of the kids shrieking and laughing drifting in through the window with the warm breeze.

“S’nice,” Steve mumbled. “Sorry, I just came up to get some shorts for Dustin to swim in, he forgot his again. Didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s alright, Stevie. I’ll grab the shorts, you stay here and rest.” Eddie leaned over and kissed Steve’s cheek.

“Was meant to help Hopper with the food,” Steve said, voice still thick with sleep.

“I’m sure he’ll survive, baby. Wayne’s with him anyway, I’ve already heard the two of them debating over how long to leave the patties before flipping them. They’re fine.”

“Mmm.” Steve was half-asleep again already, but he leaned into Eddie’s hand when he gently brushed his fingers across his cheek.

“Sleep well, Stevie.”

“Eds?”

“Hmm?”

“Kiss me?”

Eddie smiled, leant over and kissed him, gentle and slow, his boyfriend’s lips warm from the sun.

“Save me a burger,” Steve mumbled into his mouth, and then his breathing evened out, and just like that he was asleep again.

___

[strawberrystepmom]

bnha ending fix it fic. healing!tomura who goes by tenko x f!reader. reader has a defined quirk (magnetism) and is referred to using the nickname sparkles. | word count: 2.3k reading time: 8 minutes

When a knock echoes through your small apartment, you’re up and running to the door before you are even oriented enough to figure out what’s going on.

You fell asleep at your desk. Again. Probably slumped over halfway through the last audit you vaguely remember working on which was for the Ingenium agency. It’s easy to lose track of time when you spend it stapled to your tablet and work bench, fretting over how to make the country you now call home safer. 

A second knock rings and you groan softly, stepping toward the door as fast as you can in a half awake and partially dressed state. Your tank top straps sag off of your shoulders, one of your socks has disappeared but there’s no time to search for it.

The door is in view. You twist the lock to unlatch it, pulling the door open. Blinking to adjust your eyes, they widen before you can think.

“Tenko?”

The dark haired man stands in front of you, clad in a hooded sweatshirt and dark colored sweatpants indicating he likely just got off patrol alongside Deku. There’s still around 6 months until he’s released from the fellow hero’s watchful eyes to act on his own though the prior 6 passed far more quickly than he expected. It turns out this hero stuff isn’t so bad.

He won’t meet your eyes, hands shoved into his pockets, obviously chewing the inside of his cheek. 

“Are you okay?” You ask in a rush, opening the door wider to invite him in. 

His eyes further avert their gaze toward something that must be very interesting on the corner of your building. He shifts his weight from foot to foot, awkwardly. 

“I, uh…is this a bad time?”

Shaking your head, you wave your hand over the space created so that he can enter the practical hovel you call home. He doesn’t look at you while he slips inside, careful not to touch you in any way as he passes, practically melding with the wall. 

“I hate to ask again since clearly you aren’t,” you begin once his back has turned and he’s slowly started making his way toward your workbench stationed in the living room. “But are you okay? Did something happen?”

There’s no response for a beat. The man clears his throat, looking over his shoulder before quickly averting his face forward again. 

“You’re…I thought maybe I interrupted something since you’re barely dressed.”

You look down to realize you’re wearing nothing on your lower half but your scandalously small underwear. There’s no sense in making a big deal out of it so you shrug although he can’t see it, padding back into the main living area to join him. 

“I mean, I was asleep but you didn’t interrupt that because I would have been up in a little bit anyway.”

Stopping, you take a moment to admire the outline of him illuminated by your desk lamp, the strenuous routine required by a hero clearly doing him some good as far as you can tell. His hair is healthy, his frame is broad, and he turns his face to look over his shoulder at you once again. 

“I’m alright though.”

Smiling at his confirmation that everything is as it should be, you pick your pace back up and slide into your stool while he leans against the side of your bench. You engage your quirk, Magnetism, as a reflex and a stray bolt sticks to your arm. 

The faintest hint of a smile comes across his face, now turned downward in your direction. You disengage your quirk with a sigh, the sound of metal dropping back down to metal accompanying it. The screen on your tablet lights up when you look down at it, the time across it in large white numbers. 

2:15 AM.

“I can see why you were worried you’d interrupted something, these are booty call hours after all.” 

You joke, twisting back and forth on the stool and looking up at him through your lashes. 

“So are you here for business or pleasure, Entropy?”

He’s too used to that look, full of appraisal and perhaps a bit of interest, but he never wants to read too much into it. Especially not right now while you’re scantily clad, an eyeful of what lies under your shirt no more than a simple shift in glance away, and indiscriminately running your mouth.

Tenko looks away, cheeks warming. Hands that were buried deep in his pockets are now tucked into the crook of the opposite arm where they’re folded over his chest. 

He has visited your apartment multiple times since the first night he formally met you at Izuku’s. The pair of heroes stop by when they’re in the neighborhood or come by to chat if they’re off patrol, usually being joined by Deku’s girlfriend if she can be pulled away from her clinical studies for long enough to come and giggle for a couple hours. 

“I had some issues with my gear tonight and wanted to have you look at it.”

It’s the worst excuse possible but it’s the best one he could come up with on the fly. 

“Oh. You should’ve just said so,” you continue to mutter to yourself while unlocking your tablet. 

Truthfully, he has no idea why he’s here. Some pull in his chest told him to go the opposite direction when walking home to clear his head so he followed it, landing right at your doorstep and standing outside of the door, too anxious to knock, for longer than he’d ever admit. 

Scrolling through the diagnostics app, you gnaw at your bottom lip and jiggle your sockless foot. You squint at the screen because he knows you need glasses and don’t have them on, probably due to the abruptness of his visit. There are all these little things about you that become impossible to ignore when it’s just the two of you.

“Ah! There you are. Let’s see.” You excitedly sing, while wiggling your fingers. He watches with a smile, so soft he may even just be imagining the feeling of it in his facial muscles.

Everything about you makes him feel…inexplicable. 

The unfortunate truth that he doesn’t know how to face is that your place has become one he associates with safety and warmth, something the grown man four years your senior fears he’ll always seek out no matter how distant Tomura becomes from who he is now. 

Tonight wasn’t a hard night but he didn’t want to be alone, pacing until adrenaline finally slowed down and let him sleep.

How unlike him. 

You hum and continue to orate to yourself, squinting at charts he couldn’t even pretend to get. How you manage to do all of this, accurately, safely, and without breaking a sweat, is truly amazing. 

“It says everything is fine. Can you tell me what issues you were having?” 

Sitting up, you fold your arms over your chest and swing back and forth on the stool. He watches you turn small half circles, realizing he may have been caught. Smiling up at him, you raise a brow. 

“My wrist cuffs felt tighter than usual I guess but that might not be an issue you can fix,” he mumbles, trying to explain himself in any way that he can to cover his lie. 

Rather than torture him by forcing him to dig this little hole he’s found himself in deeper, you change the subject. 

“Have you eaten tonight?” You ask, brow quirked. 

He shakes his head. It was a busy shift and he doesn’t have a lovely girlfriend at home to make bentos with him like Deku does and he managed all evening on the half assed late lunch he packed for himself that was mostly made up of the type of shit he used to eat when he was still Tomura. It’s hard to learn to take care of yourself. 

“Alright. Let me see what I can find to make.” 

You stand, walking into the kitchen. Glancing over your shoulder, it’s hard not to get caught up in how intimate this feels. Your face warms and so does your belly, floored by how handsome Tenko really is in that low light that envelops his profile. 

There’s no way your work would’ve failed him tonight. It means too much that it works well

“Next time, come up with a better excuse. Or just text me and tell me you wanna come over.”

You confirm that he has been caught, literally and figuratively. He debates showing himself the exit but instead follows you into the kitchen. There’s no point in backing away now. His heavy footsteps echo after yours while you dig through the fridge and continue to hum, bopping your head along to a completely made up song. 

“Can I ask you something?”

Glancing over your shoulder while pulling out a carton of tofu, you nod at his question. He keeps his eyes as averted as he can, floored by how exposed you are now that you’re not in a dimly lit room, and clears his throat.

“Why do they call you Sparkles? Is it a hero name or something?”

Snorting, you shake your head and shut the fridge. Making your way to the counter that he leans against, you look up at him and slowly start to get to work while contemplating how to best answer the question.

“I’m surprised the Midoriya’s haven’t told you that story,” you joke about Izuku and his girlfriend as one, despite the formality of marriage not yet being completed. 

“I’ve never really asked them.”

Tenko has asked Izuku many other questions about you, namely about the nature of your friendship with Lemillion and how close you two really are.

“They just like each other’s attention,” Deku comforted his unlikely friend with a pat on the back the last time the entire group of you went out and Tenko watched the blonde man hug you a little too tightly. 

But beyond that, he has managed to feel you out himself. Perhaps against his better judgment and here he is again, desperate to learn a little more. 

“Well when I was a third year my final project to graduate from the support course was a glitter bomb.” 

You finally start, finishing chopping one item and moving onto the next. 

Graduation came not long after the Meta War ended. The project was something you’d worked tirelessly on for months before that, a sophisticated piece of equipment with a state of the art fireless ignition. Safety has always been the reason you wanted to invent and this was a golden opportunity to invent something that had no possible chance of hurting its user. No backfiring, no risk. 

“Honestly, nobody really found the invention that funny except for me given, you know…” you wave your knifeless hand around and raise your eyebrows hoping he gets the message without being insulted. 

Tenko tilts his head to the side, unfolding his arms and bracing them on the edge of the countertop. He picks up what you mean and doesn’t wish to pull the thread, eyes darting from his feet to your hand and back.

“But long story short, Hatsume told me once that they are still cleaning glitter out of the 3A classroom carpets and now everyone calls me Sparkles. I ended up selling the schematics to the support item manufacturer that one of my other classmates works for so it worked out.”

The lack of response worries you although it’s a bit silly to care in the first place. You don’t want his presence to be impermanent but you know that once his time trailing Deku around like a puppy is through, it’s likely he’ll never stop by again. It’s something you’ve kind of resigned yourself to over the last several months after finding yourself a little too invested in what you can do to bring a smile to that handsome face that looks a little more lively every day.

That’s a concern for a few months from now. You’ve always prided yourself on the ability to live in the moment so here you are, choosing to ignore an uncertain future to embrace what’s right next to you.

With an exaggerated sigh, you gather up a pile of green onions with the back of your hand and look up at him with a wry half smile. “Why did you think they called me Sparkles?”

Shrugging, he smiles down at you.

“Guess I always thought it was because of your personality.” 

Biting back a smile, your cheeks warm while you drop the tofu and a bunch of sauces into a now hot pan. 

“You really think I sparkle?”

Chuckling, he lifts himself away from the counter and walks to your other side to gently shake the handle of the frying pan. 

“I think there’s no way you don’t already know that about yourself.”

No sense in arguing with a man who is right. Giggling, you reach for the frying pan handle and gently shove him with your shoulder.

“Hey, you’re my guest. Let me handle it.”

Side stepping, he finds himself looking downward at the slope of your back and once again at your very visible derrière. That same ache that led him to your front door returns, his mouth drying out as he realizes it. 

Why does he feel comfortable enough to stand here? Is progress, improvement even, supposed to feel this terrifying?

“Go sit down Ten,” you nod toward the living area with a smile. “I can handle it.”

Ten.

It has been a long time since someone he considered a friend called him that. He doesn’t recall anyone he’d ever considered more than saying it. 

“And what if I stay right here?” He asks, smiling when you look over your shoulder at him again. 

Is he flirting with you?

“Then I won’t stop you.”

[spencerfuckngreid]

Belayed kiss || Spencer Reid

· Pairing: Spencer Reid/Reader · Category: Fluff · Warning: None · Words: 1455 · Summary : Losing your favorite book was a real downer, but having Spencer there to help you search through the chaos of your apartment was a lifesaver. That book was your escape, your safe haven. A spontaneous remark from you shifted the mood,revealing the feelings we'd both been hiding. It was like finding a hidden treasure.

· Spanish on Wattpad. English isn’t my first language, be kind!

· Masterlist

You’d been friends for a couple of years. Well, he would say “2 years, 4 months, 9 days” exactly. And even though no boundaries had ever been crossed and neither of you had wanted to take things further, somehow you both knew there was something more. Without wanting to admit it, because it would imply a shift in dynamics, and that was just too complicated.

It was a quiet morning in your small apartment, but you were anything but calm. The mess of books, cushions, and a few scattered empty coffee cups across the living room was a testament to your frantic search. You had been looking for your favorite book for days, and the frustration was starting to consume you. Spencer, being the good friend he was, had offered to help because this really was a drama for you.

The reason why that book was so important to you was more than just its content. It was a beautiful edition you had bought years ago; with a binding that made you feel safe, the embossed texture of the cover. Opening it filled you with a comforting scent, and each word on its pages embraced you when you needed it most. It was your refuge, your little escape when the world got too loud or confusing.

Spencer was crouched down, inspecting the stack of boxes you had piled in a corner, while you checked a bookshelf for the fourth time, hoping the book would magically materialize. You couldn’t help but feel a knot in your stomach, fearing it was truly lost forever.

Then, suddenly, Spencer broke the silence.

“I found it, it was behind this box, it must have fallen. You should be more organized…”

You spun on your heels, seeing Spencer stand up with the book in his hands, as intact as the last time you had seen it. The mixture of relief and joy was so overwhelming that the words flew out of your mouth before you could stop yourself.

“Oh my God!! Thank you!! I could kiss you right now!!”

The silence that followed was palpable. Spencer stood still, his eyes wide as he looked at you, as if trying to decipher whether you had actually said what he thought you had said.

“R-really…?” he asked. The tone of his voice, full of a mix of surprise and disbelief, made you realize what you had just implied.

Your reaction was immediate, laughing a little to ease the tension you noticed in him, brushing it off.

“Well, it’s just a figure of speech, Spencer.”

He nodded slowly, but there was something in his eyes, something you hadn’t seen before, and for a moment, you seemed to see through his calm and rational facade.

“Oh, right, sure… Okay.” He responded, but his voice had a different tone, one that almost seemed… disappointed.

You’d been friends for a couple of years. Well, he would say “2 years, 4 months, 9 days,” exactly. And in all that time, you had built a friendship that was invaluable to you. You shared almost everything: long conversations about the most diverse topics, movie nights, and discussions about literature that stretched into the early hours of the morning. But there was a line, a line neither of you had crossed, and for some reason, the idea of crossing it had always seemed terrifying.

As you sat on the couch, holding the book you had finally recovered, you realized the room was wrapped in an uncomfortable silence. Spencer had sat down beside you, but he was staring at the floor, clearly lost in his thoughts.

Your heart began to race, and you silently cursed yourself for making such an impulsive comment. However, there was something in his reaction that you couldn’t ignore. That spark of vulnerability in his eyes, that tone in his voice… Could it be that Spencer had been waiting for this, maybe even wanting it? That realization made you aware of how much you wanted it too.

The tension between you was now palpable, and you knew that no matter how hard you tried to ignore it, something had changed in the air. There was something more between you, something neither of you had wanted to admit, but now seemed impossible to keep ignoring, and you didn’t know how to go back.

You decided to take a deep breath and break the silence, feeling that if you didn’t, the discomfort would keep growing. And without even realizing it, the words came out, you didn’t think.

“Spence…” you said, your voice nervous, almost inaudible. “I think… I could kiss you right now…”

He turned to look at you with those intense brown eyes. The silence stretched, but this time it wasn’t uncomfortable. You could feel time slowing down, each second filled with a tension so thick it felt almost tangible. He held your gaze, that gaze that had always been a refuge for you, full of intelligence and warmth.

“R-really…?” he whispered, as if afraid it was a joke or a mistake. As if he wanted to make sure this time you meant it.

Your head moved slowly up and down, confirming it, you could feel the heat rising from your neck to your cheeks. Your heart was beating so loudly you were sure he could hear it too. But you couldn’t back down now, you didn’t want to.

Spencer didn’t say anything else. There was no need. Slowly, as if afraid to break the spell that surrounded you both, he leaned in towards you in a careful movement, but his eyes never left yours, searching for any trace of doubt. There wasn’t any.

When his lips finally brushed against yours, it was as if everything else disappeared. The outside world ceased to exist; there was no time, no space, only that moment, only you and Spencer. The kiss was soft, almost like a question, seeking an answer you both already knew. It was a kiss that had been building for years, full of all the unspoken words and unadmitted feelings. And in that instant, you knew everything had changed, but for the better.

You found yourself moving closer, your hands finding their way to his neck, while he let the book fall, already forgotten, to tangle his fingers in your hair. The kiss deepened, becoming more sure, more urgent, as if both of you were trying to make up for lost time.

When you finally pulled apart, both of you were breathing heavily, but your foreheads remained together. A small smile formed on your lips, and you noticed Spencer smiling too, though with a touch of shyness that made him even more charming.

“I think… I should have kissed you a long time ago.” You murmured, not daring to break the closeness completely.

Spencer let out a soft laugh, his voice warm against your skin. “I’m not sure why we waited so long…”

You looked at him, and in his eyes, you found the same mixture of relief and joy.

“So… does this mean I get to kiss you every time I find a lost book?” he asked with a playful tone.

You playfully smacked his arm, laughing. “You don’t need me to lose a book to want to kiss me, Spencer.”

His eyes sparkled with a tenderness that made you melt. “Can I kiss you now, then?”

You nodded without a second thought, and when his lips found yours again, you knew that no matter how many times you kissed, it would always feel special, intense, like that first kiss. Suddenly, you didn’t feel the need to seek refuge in your book. You felt like you were exactly where you wanted to be. The uncertainty and doubts faded away, and you realized that, for the first time in a long time, you were exactly where you wanted to be, where all the pieces fit perfectly, in Spencer Reid’s · Requests via DM ·

[friendlybowlofsoup]

Another Update

Hello Friends,

I have a rather long (but optimistic!) update to share with you all today. As many of you are probably tired of reading these kind of posts, I have a TL;DR here, but I did want to share what has been on my mind in that past half-year that I haven't been here.

It has been rough, and busy as always, but I think I'm finally facing myself and my project for the first time in a very long time.

TL;DR (it's actually long, I have a lot to say (*_ _)人)

I soul-searched and decided to stop compromising on my own feelings with regards to this project. I gave in to everything I wanted to do.

Plot changes, which means some character changes, which means some of the demo is outdated.

GotRM will be switching over to Twine.

----

OH MAN DID I SUFFER THE LAST FEW MONTHS

After my previous update, I hunkered down and really analyzed how I wanted to proceed with GotRM as a project. Because even prior to that post, I had already been going through long periods of hiatuses (which you are all aware of), and while I didn't lie about school taking up my time, I was also harboring a growing dissatisfaction with my own writing that really killed my progress for a long time.

So after everything had settled, I sat down and forced myself to peel apart my work. I know I said I would answer asks, but I uninstalled all of my social media and put aside this blog to focus. I made a note of all the things I liked and didn't like, and I made a list of things I wanted to change or improve on. The biggest point was that I also looked at my efficiency during actual writing sessions: how much of my time was spent writing vs. fighting with code? How could I change that?

And after a lot of deliberation, I figured there were a few things I had to change from the ground up, summed up in four points:

My working style was super incompatible with grad school. I can't spend 20-30 minutes scrolling up and down CSIDE checking code or looking for narratives while also jumping between chapters to make sure events line up. As this story grows, the more difficult it becomes to keep track of all the branches, so I needed an alternative working method, which I am adhering to now, and it prioritizes efficiency.

I hated the way I was tracking and coding stats in-game. I have griped so much about coding stats, and I have adhered to such a rigid style that I really felt trapped whenever I was confronted with balancing them out. So I'm throwing that to the wind and redoing how I utilize and convey them. Player-side, this decision doesn't change much since I never fully utilized stats in the demo anyway, and the stats page with indicators will still exist, but I'm getting rid of stat bars and how I treat stat checks.

The story I want to write now is different from the one I started out with. I've known for a while that GotRM was becoming far more than the tiny, wishful novella that I wrote as a teenager. I held onto that old story for a long time, but there's just so much I want to change that I realized I'd been clinging to a story I no longer enjoyed writing. So I spent the majority of the last few months rewriting GotRM from scratch. I redid some worldbuilding, I changed a lot of plot points, and I fixed a lot of characters' backstories accordingly. This meant scrapping stuff from even the demo, but that turned out to not be the biggest issue because:

I wanted to branch away from ChoiceScript. Honestly, I never really cared about getting officially published, but the camaraderie in the forums and on Tumblr were why I committed to CS and CoG. However, ultimately, I really want the functionality that other tools can offer GotRM, and so after a long internal debate, I will be switching over to Twine. Fortunately, since I was rewriting everything anyways, this has been relatively painless, and passage mapping has made everything so much neater. I am trying my best to make it up to chapter 2 before I release the new demo, so please look forwards to that!

And so yes, I am still here, chugging along.

I love this game and this story: it's been my creative escape for as long as I could remember, and you can imagine how frustrated I was when I realized I was starting to dread working on it.

I am forever learning more about myself and my writing style, and this is simply more of that journey. Thank you everyone for sticking around, for joining the discord, and for checking up on me--that I have all of you has truly been a dream.

Hopefully more updates to come soon! I understand that there may be questions about these new changes, so please ask away! I will (try) to release some asks that I've been working on in the drafts too, but I will wait until at least tomorrow to release them so that this post doesn't get drowned out immediately.

And as always, with a lot of love,

FriendlyBowlofSoup (Mei)

[inwhosereverie]

afab!reader x kyle ‘gaz’ garrick | 1.9k words

description: you were in need of relief after your boyfriend broke up with you. your last ditch effort to go in a club was not wasted.

note: my first time writing smut, i felt like i lost my vocabulary.

warnings: 18+, mating press, p in v, drunk sex, unprotected intercourse.

you stood lost as the music blare into your eardrums through your head prohibiting you from hearing your logical opinions as to why you shouldn’t even be here in the first place.

it was not your place, far and opposing to what you usually are into. you didn’t even know how to enter the place, yes, a club.. the scent of vomit, alcohol, sweat, drunk mindless people screaming and dancing through bright colorful lights you could get blinded by.

you pull the hem of your pink silk dress, nervously brushing a strand of hair off your face, brushing it behind your ear with a shaky breath walking further into the very messy place.

your reasoning, very dumb, even for you. your boyfriend of 2 years just recently broke up with you about 2 months ago.. which was still fresh in your mind and one thing you very much miss about the relationship was the physical touch, in which at first you weren’t so fond of but now you searched for—

the way he’d hold you, nestle into you, breathe you, kiss you, fuck you, you missed that. and now to find the most saddest excuse to have it, a club, get drunk, get too out of your head and finally have the guts to pull a guy out the bar for some fun time.

a dangerous yet very endearing idea you’ve been thinking every night about, your fingers never satisfied you, your thoughts weren’t enough— and maybe tonight you can finally get him out your head, wish that somebody in here would knock the longing out of you via their dick.

despite how insanely nasty your thoughts were, how everything was just about getting laid.. the way you prep yourself, look all dolled up and ready to mingle, putting yourself in a dress that felt it revealed too much of you shouldn’t go to waste no matter how embarrassed you already felt.

in all honesty, if it weren’t for your personal needs you’d be bundled up in bed, on your phone in a cozy outfit throughout the whole day and night, relaxing, enjoying your free time before you go back to work. not this, be around loud social people who slurs their words.. but you were only comforted by the thought that maybe someone here has the same intentions as you.

first thing you went to was the bar, of course, where else? you weren’t going to dance sober because you’d be sober enough to get flustered and run as if everyone was laughing at you. you wearily asked for a shot of whiskey, the only alcohol you knew that was high on its level; probably just a few shots would get you drunk.

and that you were correct, you sat down on that bar stool no longer than 30 minutes with 4 shots and you have a spinning world, your brain foggy, eyes droopy, looking around made you want to puke. but no! you have a mission! clumsily hopping off the stool, snaking your way to the dance floor.. bumping into everyone that is.

“woah.. easy there, dove.” you’ve harshly bump your shoulder against a man’s chest, you were about to tip and fall over if not for his large hands catching you around your waist, the other held you forearm in place.. your eyes fluttered up immediately from the sound of his soothing voice, a tone that immediately got your veins to pump. not only was his voice charming, so was his appearance. you didn’t realize his own slurring of words, but be damn sure you were more drunk than he was.

tall male, chiseled jaw, pretty smile, a clean faded cut, properly shaven, strong arms, handsome… very.

“drinkin’ me up well?” he teased, pulling you forward, a cheeky smile plastered on his face. “mhm.. you got the looks.” you slur, though you try to hide it willingly stumbling ahead, watching as he would slide his hand from your forearm to your hand— calloused, rough and bigger than yours yet, he held you gently now that you’ve managed to balance yourself in his hold.

“you’re not too bad yourself.” your breath hitched when he twirled you around, tugging you closer, getting your back to press against his broad chest- tipping his head forward to whisper down your ear. you felt his breath caress your jaw and cheek, the smell of alcohol coming from him. something you never knew smelt so attractive until now. he whispered, the gravely tone in his voice tickled your ear “a gorgeous babe, in fact..” it was suggestive, without even looking over your shoulder you knew the man was smirking.

you felt a shiver ran down your spine, especially when his large hand slither down your abdomen, feeling the silky fabric of your cute pink dress.. a mischievous hand resting roughly over your pelvis pushing your ass to press on his crotch. you, stupid you, mindlessly started grinding for him. you heard him sigh, keeping his hand over you, the other repositioning to your hips— the subtle grinding while following along the music as if you were only dancing.

you feel him slowly get hard over his trousers, only from the feeling of his bulge against your ass, you bit your lip by how big he felt. you never knew you were this needy for something so quickly, you were always someone who stood by your words that sex means more when there’s strings tied. you’ll stumble upon those words when you spoke of it again, now that you’re doing something you once believed was stupid and useless.

but that is a thought that will not appear in your fucked out head now that you were prompted near the edge of his bed, smelling the fragrance he’d normally use, the soft cotton of his grey sheets underneath the dim light that his bedside lamp lit. legs pushed up your chest as he rammed his cock deep into you, your silky dress somewhere on his floor.. you two couldn’t wait, even in his car on the way to his place you were already sucking his veiny dick greedily..

yes, he was drunk driving but shit he had to get you home, he just had to.

it escalated so fast but if someone like you had to bump into him, such an eye-catcher, well-dressed, drunken eyes yet your eyes still held such innocence within such a place when you looked up at him, what would you expect a man would do? he swore his brown irises was covered by his blown pupils from the sight of you. you both quickly muttered your names in-between hungry lips when you two were stumbling to get inside his house, undoing the first strap of your dress.

he’s got you where you both wanted yourself to be, underneath him with the only sounds you knew how to make were moans, whimpers, and whines of his name. lips not once leaving yours or the skin you let him behold as he marks your insides with his pre, your tightness made him growl with every hard thrusts. “fuck, y’feel good..” he breathily moan out, trailing kisses down the sides of your lips to your jawline. his room echoes the sound of his creaking bed and the slapping of skins.

you cry out of ecstasy, a pleasure you haven’t been feeling for months, or maybe even years.. a whole stranger treating your pussy better than your boyfriend ever did. “Kyle..” you called his name in such a slutty tone that it caused him to push deeper, the tip of his fat cock bullying your cervix over and over. ruining your insides as if he wants your pussy to remember every veins of his cock. his size. “mmhh, fuck, lovely.. say that again. say my name.” he grunts, his dick twitching only from the sounds you were making, his balls hitting your ass with every hard shove. “K-Kyle!” you repeat, gasping it out this time.

clawing the bottoms of your thighs while he fucks you deep, the kisses and love bites he gives from around your neck down to your collarbone and breasts making you shiver underneath him. nipping your nipples, pulling at it roughly by his teeth continuously plunging his girth into your needy little hole.

you were seeing stars, every pistons of his hips felt like he’s sobering you up. watching him lick your hardened nipples, sucking like his life depended on it only for him to stop when you clamp down around him. leaving his mouth open yet remained pressed on your small plump breast, a loud moan erupting from his throat— you felt so fucking good it made him dizzier, like you were better than any alcohol or drugs he would ever take. both your thoughts were hazy, rutting into you like a horny animal.

the sight of your head tipped over the edge of Kyle’s bed, your body rocking along with the rhythm of his hips, you felt so full- looked so full.. your gummy walls leaking around his cock creating a creamy ring around his base, the wet sounds your pussy makes mixing with both of yours’ fluids, he was sure his sheets were soaked of your juices with the way you were leaking. “shit.” he mutters, movement slowing down only to lean back and watch you through half-lidded eyes.

so fucked and stretched out beneath him, like a wonderful.. pleasurable wet dream his drunk ass had created in his head, perfection. “fuckin’ gorgeous, you are..” he praised bending back down with a smile drawing on his lips, it’s not just his drunkenness talking ‘cause you are one hell of a pull. his hands leaving your thighs alone to bring your arms above your head, pinning you further down the soft mattress of his bed.

you squealed from the sudden jolt of Kyle’s hips, plunging his cock impossibly deeper down your bullied womb, the heels of your feet hooking around the back of his thighs to hold on to while he bounces his cock into your sopping pussy. your hips jumping at the sudden friction he gives your clit, a hand in-between your sweaty bodies swiping at it with his thumb. you felt your orgasm approaching, you started to spasm— your toes started to curl, with your eyes rolling back and you arching your back.

you’ve probably met the fucking lord by how good it felt, feeling heaven just above you, you squirt painting his pelvis and thighs with your sticky cream.. “mmhh, there you go.. there she is..” he caressed the tip of his nose over your jawline with a gentle chuckle. continuing to move inside you helping you ride out your high, overstimulation hitting you like electricity when he kept going on a rhythm. the last thrusts before he nestled his dick deeper inside your sensitive little cunt shooting thick ropes of cum inside you, filling your womb.

next early morning you’ve been greeted by a strong migraine and very sore muscles especially along your inner thighs. took you a whole minute to recall bits and pieces of what happened last night, you were reminded. a panic flowing through your blood but only for it to immediately falter when you took sight of a snoring man beside you.

his lips slightly open, half his gorgeous face buried into his fluffy pillow. you’ve sobered up, just a bit hung over but you know for damn sure your drunken mind didn’t fool you when you first looked at him back at the club, he was undoubtedly something to behold. to have him pressed against you like this, a hand draped over your midriff.. the faint looming smell of sex and alcohol still lingering in the air, maybe a little more rest would do fine.. choosing to cuddle yourself closer to his warm body, missing the way Kyle would subtly smile when you did.

[uhohwhathaveidone]

hiiii! I don’t know if you do song requests, if not ignore this <3 but if so, what if cardigan by taylor swift but it’s the reader and sebastian’s relationship! like they’re together having fun, but then anne gets worse and he falls deeper into the dark magic. the reader sees this and sides with ominis, so sebastian ignores the reader and essentially ends the relationship. maybe he comes back to them asking for forgiveness, maybe not idk up to, my dear! thank youuu!

"You drew stars around my scars" and now I'm sobbing.

Cardigan (S.S)

Hey Hey so this request seemed like the perfect match with "Here with Me" and I used that as the base of this fic, and made it a part 2! I hope you're okay with that! A rundown, reader and Sebastian are childhood bestfriends who eventually confess to each other, and the story continues here! And yes, this song makes me cry a bit it's so good. Anyway this is obviously another Hurt/Comfort fic, and there are mentions of blood and a near death for the dramatic flair. Anyway, I'm off to write another fic, I'll see you soon!

A few months after confessing to each other, and the lost hope that Reprifors would be the key to helping Anne, you and Sebastian were still searching for a cure, together now. You went through every charm and spell in the books available to you, and the weekends you used to share for bonding and hanging out had begun to turn into more research sessions, and you noticed how Sebastian had become more absorbed into helping Anne, and it felt like you were going back in time to when he would avoid you. But he wasn’t avoiding you to get away from you, he promised that he wouldn’t hide away from you. But Anne was only getting worse, and you were back to square one.

You sat with Ominis, going over the lessons you shared that day, when you brought up your concerns. Ominis had noticed that Sebastian was missing a lot, and that he wasn’t just avoiding you. You furrowed your brow as you turned the page, lost in thought as to what Sebastian was doing. Sebastian, on the other hand, was sneaking around the restricted section of the library, searching for a book he had seen the night before. He evaded the wandering ghosts and the librarian, reaching for the bookshelf. He breathed out a small breath, the book grasped in his hands. Quickly, he made his way out of the library, and headed to an abandoned room, closing the door quietly behind him. Opening the book, his eyes grew dark, tracing the words on the pages and muttering to himself, the pages seemingly oozing with dark magic.

Sebastian didn’t join you and Ominis for supper, which caused you to worry. You excused yourself and walked the halls, searching for any sign of the brunette. You came across Poppy, who had been walking opposite you with a book about Hippogriffs in her hand. “Hey, Poppy!” You greeted, walking over to her. Poppy smiled at you, closing the book. “Hey! What are you up to?” You explained to her that you were searching for Sebastian, who didn’t show up to supper. Poppy furrowed her brow as she thought back to when she last saw him, “I’m pretty sure I watched him walk into one of the forbidden room up the hall, but I’m not sure which one.” You thanked her and began walking down the hall, checking different rooms for Sebastian. When you made it to the third door, you creaked it open slowly, the sound of someone muttering on the other side making you cautious. You opened it wide enough to pass through and closed it quietly. Sebastian sat in the center of the room, book in one hand and wand in the other, talking to himself. You took a step forward, trying to figure out what it was you were looking at. The cover of the book looked like the ones from the restricted section of the library, and you could see a green haze faintly wrapped around the book and up Sebastian’s arm. Your eyes widened as you realized what the book was about, and quickly made your way to the center of the room with Sebastian.

“Sebastian, what on Earth are you doing?” You questioned, standing in front of him, horror painting your face. Sebastian broke from his trance, slightly confused as he looked up at you. “What are you doing here?” He asked, closing the book, and standing up, fixing his robes. You looked at him in disbelief, “What am I doing here? What are you doing?” You asked, trying to be calm. Sebastian looked down at the book and back up at you, still puzzled. “I might have found a way to actually help Anne. It’s our last hope!” He defended himself, slightly angry that you would even question his methods. You raised both eyebrows and frowned, “Our last hope? Sebastian, that’s Dark Magic!” Sebastian shook his head as he headed for the door, “Be quiet, no one was supposed to know. Now, come on, we have to go.” You stood there, shocked at his blatant disregard for the way he was going about things, staring at the back of his head. Sebastian stood at the door, waiting to hear you walk up behind him. “Let’s go.”

You spoke to Ominis about what you had witnessed, and Ominis’ face fell in concern and worry. “This isn’t good, does he know what could happen if he’s caught?” You shook your head, dropping into an empty chair in front of the fire. “What do we do?” You asked, rubbing your temples. Ominis thought hard, trying to find the best way to go about getting Sebastian to stop. “Bring him here, we need to talk to him.” You did just that, making your way to Sebastian, who just walked into the common room. “Sebastian,” You started. “We need to talk.”

“Sebastian, you know the dangers of Dark Magic! You could be expelled!” Ominis said, moving a chair to sit in front of Sebastian, who only scoffed in response. “You could go to Azkaban!” You chimed in, pleading with Sebastian to listen. He raised an eyebrow, glaring at the two of you. “It’s the only way. Nothing else works. You understand that, yeah?” Ominis shook his head, standing up and pacing. “I can’t stand by you in this situation. It’s wrong and dangerous.” Sebastian stared at you now, waiting for your response. You couldn’t speak, unsure what to say. Sebastian took your silence as an answer, and stood up, walking out of the commons. “I have to stop him, who knows what he’ll do.” You said, getting up from your seat and chasing after him.

You followed him to the lake and walked onto the dock. “Sebastian, you have to understand. We-“ “it’s like I don’t even know you! You were always ready to help Anne, but now you won’t?” He interrupted you, eyes dark as he paced around. You furrowed your brows, “I do! But this just isn’t the way to go!” Sebastian glared daggers at you, and you realized that what you said just placed you on Ominis’ side. “Do you even care anymore?” He shouted, gesturing around. You nodded, “I do care! But it’s wrong! Do you know what those kinds of spells could do to someone?” Sebastian scoffed, “Of course I do! I’ve been reading through them for weeks now!” You felt tears prick at your eyes, trying to fight them back, you continued. “I only want what’s best for you, Sebastian.” You said, quietly. Sebastian had his back to you, staring into the depths of the lake. He looked over his shoulder at you, before moving to leave. You tried to follow him, stopping in your tracks as you heard him mutter, “Maybe the best thing for me is for you to leave.”

You froze, watching Sebastian as he walked away, not turning back. You couldn’t stop the tears falling from your eyes as his words played in your head. You had just lost the person you cared for the most; you felt your body shake with sobs as you slowly dropped to the ground. Maybe you were wrong. Perhaps it was the only way to save Anne. But it was still wrong, right? You sat there for a long time, looking into the lakes as your tears dropped and made ripples on its surface. After all you went through, from meeting as kids to Anne being cursed, from finally expressing your feelings and still working on a way to help her, it was all over. The sky grew dark as time passed, your eyes stung from the cold that the night brought, and your cheeks were stained. Ominis had left the commons after an hour or so, noticing that only Sebastian had come back. He found you, arms wrapped around your legs as you sat at the edge of the dock, and sat next to you. You sobbed harder this time, trying to tell Ominis what had happened. He tried his best to comfort you, promising that the two of you would find a way to bring him back. He knew just how much you were going through, having been there the whole time you were battling those original feelings. After a while, the two of you walked back to the castle and back to your house, and you trudged up to your dorm.

Weeks had passed, and Sebastian didn’t even utter a word to you. You began to feel like you were the bad guy, the one who was in the wrong. You beat yourself up over it, silently. You refused to do anything that wasn’t on your schedule, and only ate a little before returning to your dorm to read through your schoolbooks. Ominis had begun to worry about you, seeing how you were becoming like a ghost in the castle. You didn’t participate in class anymore, sitting alone and quietly doing your work, distancing yourself away from everyone. You opened your charms book, flipping through the pages to reach the healing spells, taking out a quill to continue your study. You needed to find a way to help Anne, one that didn’t include dark magic, and had hoped that you could tweak the spells to have more of an impact.  You told yourself that everything you were doing was best for everyone, and began to believe that you were the cause of all of this.

That night when you woke up in the middle of the night, going downstairs to get a drink, the noises you heard. That was Mr. Sallow’s house being raided, and Anne being cursed. If you had done something then, instead of heading back to bed, Anne wouldn’t be in agony all the time. Maybe, instead, you would be the one cursed, and Sebastian would have his sister back. That mentality broke you even more, and you began to not care what you did as long as it got you closer to a safer cure, even if that meant spending the hours you should have been sleeping to study, skipping meals to grab a new book to look through, even not paying attention in most of your classes just to work on your own formula.

Ominis began to scold Sebastian, telling him that what he was doing was wrong, and how he was incredibly rude to you. Sebastian would only brush him off, muttering “It’s for Anne.” Ominis’ concern for you had begun to increase when he watched you in potions, barely grabbing the right ingredient for you potion and placing it into the cauldron. Some days, you wouldn’t even show up to the dining hall, and he had to sneak food out for you and try to get you to eat. He mentioned this to Sebastian, who stayed quiet about the matter. He kept looking into Dark Magic to find a way to help his sister, but he was met with one dead-end after the other. He began to believe that, maybe, the Dark Arts would not help him. But if that wasn’t the way to go, then what was?

Sebastian walked into the greenhouse, taking his seat next to Ominis. He looked around, noticing that you hadn’t shown up yet, and frowned. His gut was telling him that it was his fault that you had secluded yourself from everyone. It wasn’t his gut that old him that, of course, Ominis had made that fairly clear to Sebastian after the first week, but he was too absorbed in the Dark Arts to really care. But now, after he still hadn’t found what he was looking for, he slowly stopped looking at the books, and had put all but one back. It was as if a fog had been living in his mind, as he started to recognize faces and voices again.

Later that day, while Sebastian was walking down the dirt path to the creature pen, he was discussing with Ominis how he felt after the whole ordeal, breathing in the fresh air, and enjoying the breeze. Ominis shook his head, “We tried to tell you, Sebastian. It does things to people.” Sebastian looked down and furrowed his brows, while Ominis continued. “They were right, you know.” Sebastian looked up, confused. “They told you that it was dangerous. What would have happened if you were put away?” Sebastian thought hard about the question, Anne’s face appearing. “I wouldn’t be able to see Anne ever again.” He whispered. Ominis nodded, stepping over a rock. “Exactly, we only wanted you to be safe, and still able to see your sister. It was never about anything else.”

The two had made it to the pen, looking for the professor. Poppy’s small figure ran past them and to one of the gates, yelling at a group of students that had gathered around it. Sebastian couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, and moved closer. Poppy’s voice was stressed as she told the boys to leave the creatures alone; they were poking their wands in and prodding the small creatures in the head, aggravating them. “Stop it!” Poppy yelled, grabbing the sleeve of one of the boys. Another figure rushed by Sebastian, and he recognized it, you. You walked up behind Poppy, glaring at the boys. “You heard her, leave them alone.” You said, your face void of any emotion but anger and annoyance. The leader of the group scoffed, shoving his wand into the pen again. He looked up at you, grinning. “What are you going to do about it, hm?” You narrowed your gaze as you grabbed Poppy, moving her away from the pen and the boy and placed her behind you. In the corner of your eye, you saw the small creature grab hold of the wand with its sharp, needle like claws, and began to climb up it. The boy didn’t notice and pulled his wand back up and tried to point it at you. He was met with the angry chittering of the creature on the tip of his wand, ready to pounce on his face. Panicking, he threw his wand at you, and you tried to grab the little fellow before he hit the ground. Frightened and angry, not knowing that you didn’t mean it any harm, it lashed out and scratched at your neck and hands, leaving a bunch of thin, deep cuts all over. You hissed in pain but kept your composure as you held the creature gently, leaning over the pen to place it back on the ground to be with his group. You picked up the wand and handed it back to the boy, who stared in horror and guilt and blood started to soak your collar and sleeves. “Don’t do it again.” You said, glaring into his eyes. He nodded and ran off with his friends.

You heard Poppy gasp and move to stand in front of you, eyes wide as she saw all the cuts you had received. “You’re bleeding!” She shouted, snapping Sebastian out of his trance and rushing over with Ominis. The professor was already rushing over, walking over only to see the boy throw the creature at you. You shrugged in response, twitching slightly at the pain. “You need to go to the infirmary now! Those cuts on your neck look deep, you could bleed out.” The professor said, looking at the wounds to see just how bad they were. You nodded slightly, wincing as you began to walk up the hill again. The professor looked worried and looked over at Sebastian and Ominis. “I’m afraid they wont make it to the infirmary alone, can one of you go with them?” They asked, and Sebastian quickly nodded and raced after you.

“Wait! Let me help you.” Sebastian shouted as he hurried to your side. You shrugged him off and tried to walk faster, staggering a bit. You pressed a hand to your neck, noticing that it hadn’t stopped bleeding, nor did the cuts on your arms. Sebastian kept following you, desperate to get you to the infirmary as soon as possible. “I don’t need any help.” You said, narrowing your gaze at the castle, which began to get blurry. “But you do need help! You’re bleeding out!” Sebastian tried to reason, becoming frustrated at your stubbornness. Was he like this too, when you tried to talk him out of using the Dark Arts?  “I can help myself. Now go away.” You kept walking, blinking away at the blur that had begun to take over your vision. Sebastian ran ahead of you, unsure what to do. He couldn’t stop you; you would bleed out as he tried to explain himself, but if you kept refusing his help, who knows how far you’d get before dropping to the ground. “Look, I’m sorry, for everything.” He started, trying to grab your arm and drag you to the door. You kept your gaze narrowed, not responding. “You were right, I shouldn’t have looked into the books! I thought it was the only way to help Anne, but it wasn’t. I realized that you were looking out for me, and Ominis and Anne. I didn’t care what happened if I got caught, I wasn’t thinking. But you were!” He pleaded with you as he continued to pull you to the doors, your foot dragging behind you and your breathing becoming ragged. He had no choice but to pick you up, whether you wanted his help or not. Lifting you up, he began to quickly walk to the door. “I’m so sorry. You were right about the magic changing people, I have no idea what I was thinking. It was selfish of me to do something like that, and even more selfish of me to say those things to you.” He pushed his shoulder into the door, walking through and down the hall. “I never meant to hurt you, I swear. It was dumb of me to think that you didn’t want to help Anne, I’m sorry.” Tears swelled in his eyes as he hurried down another hall, the infirmary near the end. “I swear, I will make it up to you. I will never let you down again.”

He slammed open the door and shouted into the room for help. A nurse was by his side immediately, guiding him to a bed to put you in. She checked you over quickly, noting that you were still conscious, barely. Sebastian watched anxiously as she ran to grab bandages and ointments, placing them on a tray and grabbing her wand. She used a simple spell to stop the bleeding, but couldn’t close up your wounds. She grabbed the ointment and a cotton pad, dabbing the substances onto your cuts. You hissed in pain, the evident alcohol mixed in the solution burning like hot lava. She asked Sebastian to hold your arm still so she could do the same there, and he grabbed your forearm in one and hand in the other, holding your sleeve up and squeezing your hand. Once again you hissed in pain, watching as the magical ointment bubbled and snuck into the open cuts. Afterwards, she wrapped you up, giving you a final check and handing you some of the ointment and bandages for when you needed them. You thanked her and walked out with Sebastian.

“You’re going to need help dressing those wounds.” Sebastian said matter-of-factly. A small smile tugged at your lips as you scoffed. “I suppose they are. Guess I’ll ask Ominis to help me out.” “Oh, come on!” You turned to Sebastian, seriousness now taking over your smile. “Did you mean what you said?” Sebastian looked down, remembering how you had been conscious the whole time he was rambling. “Yes. Of course.” You nodded, grabbing his sleeve and walking off to the common room. “You’ll have to redeem yourself; you know.” Sebastian nodded and smiled as he walked with you.

With the help of Ominis, you helped Sebastian get over what hold the Dark Arts had on him, and he returned to being himself, the same one you had loved for lord knows how long. You showed him the theories you had come up with and how you wanted to try to tweak the spells to make them stronger, and Sebastian began to find hope again. Two weeks later, he brought you back to the lake where he left you, the bright sun shining down on the two of them. “I hope you can forgive me, for everything.” He said, looking out at the water. You hummed in response, leaning your head on his shoulder. “I love you too.” “I didn’t even get to say it!” “I knew what you meant.”

[tumbleweed-run]

The Reluctant Bride pt 2

(18+, explicit) Kinktober 2023 Day 6: Dub Con

Part One

Part Two

Astarion stood straighter, offense etched into his face. “I understand I don’t have the appeal of Tav but I thought-”

“That’s not what I meant,” Gale interrupted shaking his head. He had to pause and lean against the wall as the movement brought on a wave of dizziness. 

“I’m so sorry,” Tav sounded stricken. 

“It’s not your doing, darling,” Astarion threw over his shoulder but his eyes were still pinned to Gale. 

Gale sighed, heavily, the reality of the moment and its consequences crashed down on him. “I meant,” he began again, pinching the bridge of his nose, “that this isn’t how I wanted… this.”

And that was that. 

It wasn’t some statement of desperation, a lie pulled from his lips in a moment of panic. No, he wanted Astarion. He’d thought numerous times, especially in the last month, of how they’d bring their odd dynamic full circle. He’d never been sure of just how truthful Astarion’s flirtations were and wanted to be sure the vampire wouldn’t agree to it just to please Tav. Gale needed to be sure, for both their sakes, that they both wanted this. 

Truthfully, his odd attraction to Astarion had begun long before they culled the goblin camp. 

When Gale was finally brave enough to reopen his eyes, he found Astarion staring at him. His face was closed, mask that had been endearingly absent the last few weeks, back in place. Gale felt his stomach sink, perhaps he’d misread the situation all along. 

His eyes dropped to the floor because it didn’t matter. Astarion was right, if this was the only answer to their predicament, they would have to go through with it. The curse didn’t care whether either of them was a willing participant. In fact, judging by the name, that was the exact point. 

Astarion reached out and grabbed Gale’s arm. Gale stared at the point of contact. Without the fabric between the touch was both a balm and a stimulant. It felt almost as if his fever had begun breaking instantly. 

“It’s not,” Astarion began, drawing Gale’s eyes up to his face, “how I’d wanted things to happen either.”

Gale’s eyes roved over Astarion’s face, searching for an indication as to what he meant. He realized quickly that he was just going to have to ask. “I need you to be more specific.”

Astarion clicked his tongue and sighed. “I mean I would have been willing to try this,” he waved his hand wildly, “long ago. But seeing as you near exploded Halsin just for suggestion something similar, what hope did I have? But now that seems a bit out of our hands.”

Gale attempted to process this new information, his fever sluggish brain making it difficult. “So this, if we do this-”

“We are.”

“If we do this,” Gale repeated, “I’m not… you won’t be hurt?”

For a brief second Astarion’s eyes sparkled, remnants of his flirtatious nature clawing its way to the surface. But just as quickly as it was there, Gale watched it transform into something more earnest. 

“I can’t say I’m entirely thrilled given the ‘do it or die’ nature but,” Astarion said, “I guess this is certainly one way to get passed the awkward stage.”

Gale nodded, finally accepting their situation. When he glanced passed Astarion’s should he saw Tav watching them both, eyes wide. She was chewing on her lip. When her eye caught his, she smiled. It was a tired but hopeful thing and went a long way to buoy Gale’s spirits. 

He turned his attention back to Astarion. “How should we… continue?” He asked not liking how unsure he still sounded.

“Well, first things, I think we should lose this,” with that Astarion plucked the towel from around Gale’s waist, letting it crumple to the floor. 

It was truly a sign of how badly this curse was affecting him that Gale didn’t protest his sudden nakedness. 

“Then,” Astarion continued, “I think perhaps you should go and sit back on the bed and allow me to help with that.” He looked down very pointedly at Gale’s erection which hadn’t flagged in the least despite having had no attention paid to it for some time. 

He looked hungry in a way that had Gale briefly wondering if he would leave this night with all his blood intact. 

He cleared his throat. “Are you sure? I mean we don’t know if that will work and beside how will you… I mean I can also, I have, but…” Gale allowed himself to trail off as he realized he had no real end to his ramblings. 

Astarion raised an eyebrow at that revelation. “Are you saying you wish to just get to fucking me?” He challenged. 

Gale sagged against the wall again and dropped his head. “Actually it might be best the other way,” he admitted. 

“And why is that?” Astarion sounded unnervingly interested. 

Gale cleared his throat raising his head to risk a glance at Astarion before looking away again. “We tried…” he trailed off unable to finish. He wasn’t ashamed or really bother, but it was an odd thing to talk about with someone who hadn’t been involved. 

“Oh,” Astarion’s voiced pitched up and he was beginning to sound delighted. “Your fingers or a toy?” That question was thrown backward at Tav. 

“My fingers,” she answered quickly. 

“Aren’t you full of surprises,” Astarion drawled before grasping Gale’s chin, forcing him to look at him, “but my fingers and my cock are larger than anything she’s stuck in you. So while I’m not opposed, I need to make sure we won’t cause you any undue harm.”

Gale attempted to nod. 

“The easiest way to do that, and allow us to build an allusion that this is at all consensual, is if I do that while you are distracted,” the last word positively dripped from the vampire’s mouth. 

Gale swallowed harshly at the visuals being provided for him. He was beginning to realize the effects of Astarion’s words were not entirely to blame on the curse. 

“Gale,” Tav called. She’d shifted so she was sitting in the center of the bed, gesturing for him to come join her. 

Gale slid away from Astarion and went to the bed. Before sitting, he leaned over and kissed Tav who returned it enthusiastically despite how swollen her lips were. When he did sit he found that Astarion had pulled off his shirt and had made his way back across the room. 

“Lay back in her lap,” Astarion directed him. 

It’d been less than a minutes since they’d touched and Gale was already feeling the consequences. His head had begun spinning again, just enough that he was willing to follow Astarion’s demands without argument. As he laid back the top of his head brushed against something cool and wet. The guilt reared its head again when he realized it was the rag he’d given Tav in the hopes of calming some of the pain she’d surely been feeling. 

“I’m sorry,” he told her shifting until he was comfortable. 

Tav shook her head, hair falling loose about her shoulders. “Don’t be,” she insisted, “this is my fault.”

Gale reached up and took her chin in his hand, making sure she was looking at him. “This isn’t your fault,” he told her, “I was wrong to try and blame you.”

Tav’s eyes searched his and then she nodded, Gale could tell though, that her burden hadn’t lifted entirely. 

“We can assign blame later,” Astarion spoke up now, standing between Gale’s legs.

Gale looked up at him but whatever he meant to say died on his lips as Astarion gently rested one hand on his leg. The wave of relief was almost instant and Gale found he was irritated at it. 

With an alarming amount of grace given the predicament they were in, Astarion sunk to his knees. Gale tried to follow him down but the position became to awkward to track. Instead he rested his head back again into Tav’s lap, one of her hands coming up automatically to stroke his hair back from his face. 

He moaned when Astarion gripped his cock. The other man stroked him a few times and then without much prelude pulled Gale into his mouth. 

“Fuck,” Gale moaned as his cock almost immediately butted against the back of Astarion’s throat. 

Astarion was unlawfully skilled as he sucked Gale down. The lack of need for oxygen translated to no breaks or moments for Gale to catch his breath. He truly had to focus to keep his hips from bucking up into the vampire’s mouth. He wanted to, so badly it was bordering on delirium.

As if sensing this Astarion pulled off and stood again. Leaning over him Astarion maintained a grip on his thigh in order to keep the contact. 

“Before you forget how to speak,” he waved his fingers in front of Gale’s face. 

Gale muttered the spell to coat Astarion’s fingers in oil. Well it had been intended to be just in fingers but he was too tired, too done to truly focus and enough appeared that some of it dripped onto his chest. 

Gale did not miss the glance Astarion snuck up at Tav, something passing between them that he was also too tired to try and decipher. 

“There’s oil in the dresser,” Tav said softly, fingers carding through Gale’s hair even though she was speaking to Astarion, “if you need more.”

Astarion gave a short nod before disappearing from Gale’s vision once more. 

No warning this time when Astarion’s mouth found him. Gale’s hips bucked upwards, unable to maintain his composure any longer. 

Astarion’s forearm braced across his hips then and all but pinned him down to the bed. 

Gale almost didn’t notice the finger as it pressed into him, mind preoccupied with the pleasure he was receiving. Dimly though he realized Astarion was right, Tav’s fingers were decidedly smaller. 

As Astarion worked his finger inside, expertly finding the spot that left Gale shouting, he continued drawing his cock into his mouth. He was drinking Gale down as if trying to swallow all of it. Gale was certain he was down the other man’s throat and the thought left him moaning, feet desperately trying to find purchase. Astarion held him fast, not allowing Gale to get any leverage. 

Above Gale, Tav was hushing him, or perhaps that was the sound of his blood swiftly vacating his brain. He couldn’t be sure any longer. 

Astarion had breeched him with two fingers now, pistoning them in and out of Gale. Each time making contact until Gael’s vision was devolving into spots of stars. 

He desperately hoped he’d come like this. If he did, he would be more than willing to get on his knees for Astarion. His hopes seemed to be for naught though. It didn’t matter how close he felt he was, there seemed to be just something out of reach keeping him from tipping over. 

In the last coherent vestiges of his brain Gale began to panic, wondering if this wasn’t the solution. Worried that even if they fucked there would be no release and he would die this way. 

“Gale,” Astarion snapped pulling his mouth off of him, “you’ve got to relax.”

“Shhh,” Tav urged him leading Gale to realize he was near hyperventilating. “It’ll be okay,” she soothed running a hand down the side of his face, “we’ve got you.”

Astarion’s fingers pulled out of him and Gale would later deny the whimper that was ripped from him. 

“I’m going to fuck you now,” Astarion announced, once more leaning over him, eyes desperately trying to catch on to his. “I worry if we let this go any longer you might have a stroke,” Gale could no longer tell if that was hyperbole or the truth. 

Both Astarion and Tav shifted him backward just a little until he was able to brace his feet at the edge of the bed. Then there was a brief loss of contact as Astarion worked his trousers off and Gale burned so hot Tav’s hand felt like ice on his skin. 

Astarion crawled up onto the bed between Gale’s planted feet. With little warning, he began pressing into Gale. If it hurt he couldn’t tell, the wave of relief, of calm overrode any other sensation he might have been feeling. 

“Shit,” Astarion panted above him, clearly just as affected by the sensation as Gale. 

Astarion doubled over as he began thrusting in and out of him. His hands coming to rest on either side of Gale’s arms, head hanging down so his face was lost to him. When one particular thrust slammed into that spot again Gale’s back bowed up off the bed and he gripped Astarion’s arms trying to pull him impossibly closer. 

A few more thrusts and Astarion all but dropped onto Gale’s chest. One hand hooked around behind Gale’s thigh, attempting to find leverage again. His cock was now trapped between them, rutting against Astarion’s stomach with each thrust. 

There were teeth at his throat, specifically fangs. Gale arched his neck on instinct rather than some desire to be bitten, but Astarion took the motion as permission and bit. 

The pain was sharp as it pushed him over the edge.

Gale cried out, back once again arching, as he came coating both of their chests in his spend. His arms shifted their hold, body moving again on instinct, and all but trapped Astarion against him. The vampire groaned, a wet sound, as he drank and Gale could feel his cock pulsing inside of him. Astarion’s hips were still save for small shudders as he spilled inside of Gale. Still drinking all the while. 

Gale was only vaguely aware of Tav’s voice and then Astarion’s mouth leaving his neck. The removal of his fangs worse than the insertion.

The next time he blinked he realized Astarion had slipped out of him, but hadn’t managed to go far. Gale allowed his arms to drop, effectively freeing him, but Astarion stayed laying against his chest. It was then that he became vaguely aware that room seemed to be returning to a normal temperature and his heart was slowly working down to a more livable rhythm.

They remained that way, Tav’s hands gently carding through both of their hair, until the sticky feeling on Gale’s chest became uncomfortable. Only then did Astarion push off of Gale complete, dropping onto the bed next to him. When Gale was finally able to shift he saw a strange dazed look on the vampire’s face. 

He reached out a hand and gently touched Astarion’s cheek. Astarion started, eyes darting immediately up to his. 

“I’m sorry,” was what fell out of Gale’s mouth instead of any of the number of things that he had considered saying.

Astarion shook his head, not managing to dislodge Gale’s hand entirely. “You no longer taste like bile,” he said, deflecting. 

For now, Gale was left with nothing to do but allow it. 

[cupidddd-d]

always the fool with the slowest heart

in which james potter would do anything to get lily evans to fall in love with him, even if it means dating you for 2 years and breaking your heart.

pt. 1 pt. 2 pt. 3

you couldn't remember a time ever not being in love with james potter. for you, he was always the one. you had first seen him in your first year as you boarded the hogwarts express. it was only a glimpse through the window, but it was enough for you to realize that he was it. there was never going to be anyone else. he was laughing with his friends and radiating with happiness.

you wanted to make him smile. you wanted to be the one to make him throw his head back with uncontrollable laughter. and somehow, you made that happen. you were able to weasel your way into his heart, and being able to know him just made you fall even harder. and for a moment, it was almost as if he felt the same way about you.

he had gotten rejected by lily for the thousandth time when he declared in true teenage boy dramatics, "i'm over evans. i'm tired of asking her out when all she'll say is no. i'm all yours, mates. forget love!"

and for a year, that was true. until he professed his feelings for you in front of the entire great hall. without even questioning it, you accepted him gladly. sure, you noticed his eyes wandering across the gryffindor table, searching for lily, but you naively brushed it off. after all, he had you now. what need would he have for lily?

you had kept your optimism until you realized lily was jealous, and james was catching onto it like a shark with blood. you saw her long, yearning looks at james from across the table. you saw her shoulders slump when james smugly slung his long arms across you. and you definitely saw how james made direct eye contact with lily every time he kissed you.

it made you uncomfortable, but you continued to brush it off. james loved you. right? you didn't mind when he became distant. you didn't mind when he started blowing you off because lily needed him. and you certainly didn't mind when he would leave you in the library alone because lily needed his help with transfiguration. you didn't mind because at the end of the day, it was you he was coming back to. of course, that was until he didn't come back to you.

"sorry babe, lily needs my help with mcgonagall's homework!"

"i'm so sorry my love, i promised lily i'd go to hogsmeade with her,"

"i know, i know, but i have to go. i told lily i'd meet up with her before the test."

"god, y/n, i told you this already. i have to study with lily."

but you held strong because you both were still dating. never mind the fact that you barely saw each other anymore.

"please, james, i'm begging you! just one date! we've barely seen each other these last few months." you begged, tugging on his arm. but this time he didn't tolerate it with an easy smile.

"are you serious right now? you're being so clingy. i think we've seen each other quite enough. now if you'll excuse me, i have to meet lily at the black lake." james tugged his arm roughly out of your grip and walked away before you could respond.

you stood in the middle of the hall, shocked and hurt. shaking yourself out of your stupor, you ran to the black lake, trying to find james. and you found him, but he was with lily. kissing lily. smiling at lily in a way he never had with you.

oh. oh. no. tears didn't even form in your eyes as you numbly walked away and back into your dorm. it was only there that your thoughts began spiralling.

how long had this been going on? lily was your friend. why would she do this? why would james betray you like this? did anyone else know? why didn't anybody tell you? did james ever love you?

you had given him everything. your heart and your soul. he was your moon, your stars, and your sun. he was everything to you, but you clearly weren't to him.

[bluepandastarfish]

The Spirit Of Castle Dimitrescu.

Lady Dimitrescu X Ghost!Fem Reader

Lady Dimitrescu masterlist

Warnings: Mention of blood, nightmares, anxiety, potential scaries!

Sorry this took a while to get out, hope you enjoy and I may do a part 2 for more shipping potential but no promices!

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

Since her first days in the castle Bela can remember unexplainable and strange things happening. When she and her sisters first woke up all three of them seemed to notice peculiar occurrences. Her mother recounts to them, on nights she had drank perhaps too much, that when they were first reborn they acted much like human newborns.

‘Daniela could not support her own head for weeks after and Cassandra would constantly be mouthing at me for more food, although I'm sure that was down to your flies insatiable hunger’ Her mother had said fondly, she seemed to enjoy herself remembering her daughter's in their vulnerable states. ‘And you, Bela, you would babble and try to cling to things that were not there. Things none of us could see… it made me paranoid for a while until you seemed to stop one day.’ Apparently human babies exhibit lots of these traits and more which at first made Bela confused as to how they survived being so vulnerable for years as her and her sisters were only in that state for about half a year (although if you asked Cassandra she would tell you Daniela is still in that phase). 

The last thing her mother had told her made her very interested, why would she speak to someone that is not there? Bela was always the most mature and realistic of her sisters, so it did not make sense to her. Perhaps her mother simply had not noticed a maid that Bela was seeing? Or maybe it was simply that she was remembering it incorrectly.

Bela forgot about the topic completely until one night months later… 

–---------------------------------

She awoke to a peaceful humming on the other side of her bed, for a moment she passed it off as Daniela making noises in her sleep but she quickly realized the voice was too lightly toned to be her sisters. The revelation made her jolt up and snap her gaze to her sister's side of their shared bed to attack whatever intruder was near her loved ones. 

The humming stopped abruptly when she looked round, causing her to hold her breath and narrow her eyes- even more so when she saw no one besides her sisters still sleeping bodies. She blinked rapidly and moved her eyes to search rapidly in the darkness of the bedroom, still seeing no one. 

Ultimately she determined, unhappily, that her mind was playing tricks on her somehow, likely down to the fact she had just woken up. Just as she relaxed a cold chill danced along her neck, cold enough for her to feel a slight ache as one or two flies crumbled away from her. She froze in fear, finding herself unable to move even as she tried desperately. 

A gentle inhale was heard next to her ear before a softly spoke voice whispered to her:

“Your sister is adorable… may I have her?” 

She could hear a smile in the unseen woman's voice and she swallowed thickly as her eyes widened and she found herself still unable to turn around or even make a noise. For a moment a freezing, delicate and almost skeletal hand was felt on the shoulder opposite to where the voice was talking. 

Bela screamed and jumped toward to get away, subsequently landing on her now very awake sisters. Both jolted in a similar fashion to how she had, growling feraly at whatever threat had woken them. They both wrapped protective arms around whatever parts of their sister they could reach and scanned the room, stray flies buzzing around hecticlay. 

After a moment everything seemed to calm down and the flies returned to their respective sister. Danielas nimble hand began gently carding through Belas hair after she realised her sister was shaking in her hold.

“B-Bela? Did you have a nightmare?” Her sisters sad attempt at a whisper would have amused her if she were not so terrified. Both Cassandra and Daniela looked at eachother worridly at Bela did not respond, merely staring at the empty space next to her side of the bed… 

–---------------------------------

Bela was much more composed the next morning, although none of the three sisters managed to sleep after the event and so all three had dark tired marks under their eyes. She decided that she would find out what happened last night, and who was behind it. There was no way she had imagined something so vivid and after confirming that it was, in fact, real by seeing her dead flies on the sheet where she had been sat she lied to her sisters in telling them that she had simply had a nightmare like Daniela had suggested. 

After breakfast she went with her mother to her office and sat in silence for a while with her, deliberating how to bring up the matter at hand. 

The only sound that was heard in the office was the scribbling of Lady Dimitrescus pen against the letter she was writing to some unknown recipient. Bela budgeted slightly as she stared at her mother's hand as she wrote, taking the moment to think rational about what could've happened last night. 

Lady Dimitrescu glanced at her daughter after a moment, putting the pen down and leaning toward on her desk slightly to look kindly at her. She tilted her head slightly at Bela- silent still- and took the initiative to start the conversation. 

“what's troubling you, Bela?” She kept her tone gentle as she knew she would get nothing out of her daughter by being demanding. 

Bela sighed and leaned back in her chair. “something happened last night mother…” she kept he choice in a whisper, not sure who she didn't want hearing but simply deciding a whisper felt right. “some-something I'm not sure about-” she cut herself off as she tried to think of how to recount the events to her mother. 

She took a deep breath and just began talking. “I woke up, around 3 o'clock I believe, and I heard someone humming near Daniela’s side of the bed. Naturally I jumped into a action, thought maybe it was a maid or an intruder- just someone who wasn't supposed to be there” she took a shuddering breath and looked past her mother through the window at the snowy landscape outside. 

“there was no one there- and then the humming stopped, almost like when you pull the needle from a record player prematurely. Then, I froze.” She felt colder simply thinking about it. “I couldn't move, mother, I felt like I couldn't control my body! My flies couldn't separate from me and-and then i-” 

Her gaze snapped back to her mother desperately, her eyes widened in fear that she may not believe her next words. “you must believe me, mother! A woman's voice in my ear and a freezing cold all along my neck! A few flies crystallized- even! And then her hand- it grabbed my shoulder and it felt like a skeleton made of ice! I swear it was real mãma- i-i” 

Lady dimitrescu cut her rambling off by gently taking Belas hand in her much larger one and humming in agreement. “I believe you, my bug. You've always been the most level headed of you three” She chuckled slightly in hopes of distracting her daughter from her evident worry, it did not work. 

“if there were crystallized flies then it must have been real…” Lady Dimitrescu used her other hand to raise Bela chin slightly and turn her head, her brows furrowed. “is there any more damage? Your not injured anymore are you? Something touched your shoulder you said?” 

Bela shook her mothers hand off her and sighed frustratedly. “no-no it's all healed now… and my sheets were changed this morning so I doubt the evidence is there anymore” She mutters sadly. “I was thinking earlier… that the maids have always speculated about Ghosts in the castle- '' her mother cut her off with a tut. 

“you know very well there is no such thing. The staff may speculate all they want but the cause is likely the Moroaică roaming at night.” Lady Dimitrescu sighed. “I am certain that if there were, in fact, spitrits then there would be plenty more than just the one. And they would certainly want to do more damage to us then a tap on the shoulder and a whisper in your ear.” 

There's silence again for a moment before Bela speaks again “but mother… what she said was frightening too” Belas voice was quieter now, almost nervous. “she said ‘your sister is adorable, may I have her’ and I can only assume she was talking about Dani-” Bela almost shuddered as she felt cold just repeating it. Lady Dimitrescu inhaled sharply. 

“that is… frightening” she seemed to think for a moment. “in any case… Ghost or dream. Perhaps it is best you and your sisters stay in my room for a while, at least until this calms down” she sighed again, tirdley this time. 

“and if you are truly invested in this Ghsot nonsense… that are books in the library that detail the castles history. Before I came here, possibly even before Mother Miranda came to the village although I'm not sure.” She smiled at Bela. “you shall have to inform me on what you find”

–------------------------------

Lady Dimitrescu was no superstitious woman. The idea that something like that could be real negates every belief she has prided herself on. 

She and her daughter's are immortal and so are far superior to humans. The idea that there is something after death destroys that. 

Religion, aside from Mother Miranda and the black god both of which are scientifically driven, was created to give false comfort to humans. While no religion details becoming a spector after death, they all have some kind of afterlife and she is sure that a Ghost would fall into one of the portrayals. 

But, her daughter had become interested. Something she would've passed off as a nightmare to her other two children would be much harder to convince Bela of as she was almost as stubborn as her mother. Lady Dimitrescu may not believe a real Ghost had visited her daughter's but she much preferred helping Bela disprove her theory rather then she go try figure it out on her own and possibly get hurt. 

She admits to herself though, that if flies had really crystallized at the moment Belas nightmare commenced then perhaps it was safer the three of them slept with her for a while. The likelihood is that one of the windows in the girls room had somehow let a breeze of the winter air in- precisely enough to give Bela a fright but not to cause serious damage. She told herself one of the maids would see to it later. 

For now she was making her way to the Opera hall, although the piano was to small for her to play normally Alcina had discovered that she could play simple tunes with her smallest fingers. This looked quite strange apparently, as she had caught a few maids laughing about it after one of the staff had caught her the last time. Needless to say those wretches were not able to laugh once her darling Cassangra had taken their tongues from their mouths. 

Entering the room was peaceful, as was sitting on the piano stool. Alcina cared little for what she would play and luckily there was a sheet of music someone had left on the stand which, again, she did not bother to read the name of. She tilted her head to the side slightly and smiled as she began playing, unfortunatley having to conserntrate hard on hitting the correct keys. 

For moments she was content, stress and worry from the day drifting says from her along with the music. For a moment, at least. 

And then a voice. 

“that must be difficult” 

She furrowed her eyebrows and stopped playing, her hands brought up to her chest almost as if she'd been burnt by the piano. As she looked up from the piano to find the culprit of the whisper she saw a woman she did not recognise. 

The woman was leaning on the opposite end of the instrument, her elbows supporting her and pushing her chest toward slightly, not that it caused much to be revealed in the white nightgown she wore. Lady Dimitrescu narrowed her eyes as the woman smiled happily back at her, but the Lady decided to humour this stranger perhaps out of boredom but if you asked her she was sure she would not be able to say exactly why… 

“what… is difficult?” she asked the strange woman who blinked, and for a split second revealed piercing white eyes before they abruptly switched back to her normal eye coulor. The Lady leaned her head back from the woman after that moment, watching the strange girl careful from her seat. 

The girl sighed happily and kept smiling at Lady Dimitrescu as she spoke. “Being so georgous of course” The Lady was taken aback by the words, her face heating up slightly even as her lips flattened in contempt. The girl giggled at the Lady's reaction. 

“Such blatant disrespect is a thing I hardly tolerate” Again, Alcina did not know why she was allowing this to continue, if it were any other person she would have been gutted where she stood for such uncouth confidence. Perhaps she was enjoying being flirted with, even if this girl was strange and… soemone she had not seen before. 

Alcina blinked slightly at the revelation that she had not seen this woman before now, not as a maiden or visitor. The girl did not stop smiling even after the Lady's warning, her eyes shining in some way that Alcina could not place. “are you wondering who I am now, Beautiful lady?” she asked coyly, as if the idea of Alcina thinking about Her was something to be amazed by. 

Instead of a verbal response the Lady nodded firmly, her mouth set thin and her eyes slightly narrowed as she watched for any sudden moments from the strange woman. The girl blinked again, this time her appearance morphing into something inhuman. 

Her lips turning pale, fat and muscle seeming to retreat from her body as her bones became more prominent, her eyes going white and surrounding themselves in some kind of bruising and her outfit turning itself a wet sort of red- like blood. 

The Lady stood and gasped at the change, the piano stool flying away behind her and hitting something she did not care to check on. The woman smiled and did not change positions even as her appearance made such a dramatic switch. 

She seemed to mock Alcinas terror and gave a large frown. “Why are you scared, countess? I thought you'd like me this way” she stood straight then, and for a moment Alcina felt she could not move even as she tried her hardest. The woman somehow rose to Lady Dimitrescus' eye level, her feet no longer touching the ground and leaving behind her a small trail of blood droplets on the floor. 

“It's alright” she whispered as she floated closer to the countess, now directly in front of her face. Alcina caught the putrid smell of rotten flesh from the woman in front of her, she would've flinched away if she could only bring herself to move. “I am only a nightmare… after all” she giggled and played a chilling kiss to the countess cheek before disappearing entirely. 

Alcina fell back and caught herself with one arm, frozen as a giggle seemed to echo in her mind. The blood on the floor was not there, it was if it had never happened at all. 

The only evidence she had was the cold and bloody mark of withered lips on her cheek. 

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

I tried my very best to make sure the readers race was unstated! I want everyone to be abel to enjoy this if they wanna so please let me know and give some feedback if you can!

THANKS FOR READING! Sorry if the ending felt kinda rushed I realised how long it was taking for me to write and I really wanted to get it out! A part 2 is on the table I just will need time to figure out how it would work along with the fact that when I promice a part two I seem to be very good at procrastinating so...

[cillianmurpphy]

My Girl{T.S}

Part 2 of ?(UNEDITED)

Where a young, innocent woman moves to Small Heath unaware of the dangerous men lurking about the city.

The day after Adeline arrived she went out in search of a job in order to support herself. She had brought her life saving to Small Heath but she quickly realized that would only last about a month.

She arrived at a small shop called “Lesa’s Tailoring” before popping inside to see if she could find the owner of the establishment. Based on the name she assumed she should be looking for a woman when she spotted a middle aged man sorting through the racks of high end looking clothing.

“Excuse me sir, do you happen to know where the owner might be?” Adeline softly asked the man before he looked up at her.

“I own this place. What’ya need darling?” The man said in a thick Birmingham accent.

“Oh! I was just wondering if you were currently employing people, I just moved here and I’m really good at sewing all sorts of things I’ve gots lots of practice.” Adeline spoke not entirely properly due to not having schooling whilst growing up.

“Well you seem nice enough. I’ll let you work for a couple of days if I like what’cha do then I’ll hire ya” The man said as he studied her face for a reaction.

“Thank you! Oh thank you mister! My names Adeline Levine and I can really whenever you like.” The girl said white a bright smile that took up most her face.

“Tomorrow be here at 8. I’ll walk you through all the procedures of how to deal with the costumers and stuff. My names Fred Brown by the way.” The man said as he stood up from he’s kneeling position and then put his hand out for the girl to shake.

Adeline quickly put her much smaller hand onto his before shaking it and excusing herself out the shop.

Once on the street she began briskly walking back to her apartment with a Sargent smile still lingering on her face.

•••

The next day at the shop went well she learned how to take orders and measure customers for their clothes. She quickly learned that she enjoyed being around the man she worked for he was hard working and kind to her.

Fred and Adeline made small talk as he counted money and she swept the floors at closing time before he called her over and handed her a portion of the money from the register.

“I thought I wasn’t getting paid not till I was officially hired at least.” She said while glancing between him and the money in her hand with confusion.

“Well, I’ve decided you’re hired. You’ll work everyday but Wednesdays and Sundays- the shops closed on those days.” He said while holding the door open while she scurried out and watched him lock it.

“I’ll be here to work then.” The much shorter girl stated as she smiled up at him.

She wished him a good night before walking back to her apartment pridefully.

•••

The first official day of her working came quickly and she headed to the shop. As she was walking she took her time, having left early, observing her the city that somehow gave her hope at a change in life.

The walk was short to the shop and as she got there she noticed Fred was already in the shop getting ready to open.

“Morning Mr. Brown!” Adeline said to him before hanging up her coat and squatting down to get out the sewing material she would need for the day.

“Morning kid.” He said to her as he nodded his head to acknowledge her.

It was growing closer to closing time for the shop so Adeline began sweeping the floor as she hummed a song when the bell on the door rang, signaling that a customer walked in.

“Hello, what would you be needing today?” Adeline asked while still sweeping the floor not looking at the customer yet.

“Pickup for a suit.” The man stated in a monotone voice as she put the broom against the wall and dusted her hands on her skirt before glancing up at the distinguished man.

“Alright. What’s the name the suit is under and i find it for you.” Adeline said while sending a bright smile to the attractive man.

“The names Shelby.” The man told her as he glanced at his pocket watch before sighing and watching her walk to the corner and softly grabbing a suit from the crowded rack.

“Okay, Mr. Shelby that’ll be a pound for the tailoring.

He raised a questioning eyebrow at the gleaming girl due to him not used to being asked to pay for things because of his status in Small Heath.

“Do ya’ know who I am love?” He asked her as he continued to analyze her facial expressions.

“I know that you’re a Shelby as you told me that the name your suit is under. I am not sure exactly who you are I just moved here a week ago I’m not yet familiar with many people here.” The girl stated confused and upset with the tone he spoke to her in.

“Well that’s alright love, I’ll pay for the tailorings then.” He told her as he pulled out a wad of money from his coat pocket.

Just as the man was about to hand her a pound Fred walked in from the back of the store and rushed to the counter as soon as he noticed Thomas Shelby paying for his tailoring.

“Oi’ Mr. Shelby” Fred said as he swiftly pushed Adeline softly away from the counter.

“I apologize for the inconvenience you can keep your money she is new she doesn’t know people from the town yet.” Mr.Brown quickly spoke in a worried tone.

“Adeline anyone by the name Shelby doesn’t pay for tailorings remember that.” He softly scolded the girl behind him.

“It’s alright Mr. brown, the suit looks good she can keep the pound as a tip.” The Shelby man stated as he put the money on the counter and briskly walked away leaving Adeline slightly embarrassed and startled by the interaction.

•••

@mamawiggers1980 @perfectwinnermoon

[fandomnsfw]

Paris - Stefan Salvatore x Reader

Pairing: Stefan x Reader

Prompt: Request! – ‘Can I request a Stefan Salvatore x reader where he and the reader are really close and in a half ways relationship, it's clear that they both really love each other but they also just need a tiny shove to make it official. They could be traveling the world together and one of them realizes it in the heat of the moment and you can decide exactly how it ends :)’ (Also inspired by Paris - The Chainsmokers)

Warning: Smut….no hard-core stuff today sorry!

ENJOY!!

*****

You strolled onto the balcony staring at the sunrise as you sipped on your coffee. You heard Stefan enter the room but chose to keep looking at the beautiful view. Since you got to Paris things had been different between you two but you couldn’t quite figure out why. You knew he was behind you but he stayed silent. Suddenly you heard the click of the Polaroid camera you took everywhere. You turned round and saw a picture printing out. You shook your head chuckling as he smiled at you with his eyebrows raised playfully.

You sipped your coffee as you observed the people who were moving around the streets. It was still very quiet and because of this it was your favourite time of day to relax. Stefan stood behind you leaning down and hugging you without saying anything. You loved moments like this, because it meant you didn’t have to admit what was happening, you just got to live in the moment.

Paris was your last stop but you still had 3 weeks left there. It made you sad that your traveling was coming to an end but at the same time you missed your friends. You’d been traveling with Stefan for nearly 6 months and you enjoyed it, seeing all the different cultures. Stefan was your best guy friend and you couldn’t ask for better company.

You leaned against him as he played with the ends of your hair, his rough hand occasionally brushing against your exposed shoulder. Today the plan was to go shopping and just explore, you’d only been in Paris for 2 days and so far you hadn’t seen much because you’d been tired from all the traveling. So you and Stefan had just stayed in your hotel room.

“I’m gonna miss this.” Stefan’s voice finally cut through the silence. You nodded in agreement before standing up, his hands sliding away from you as you did. He looked at you with a soft smile which you returned before walking back into your shared room. It was a nice room it had two separate bedrooms and a small kitchen/dining room but it was cute and you loved it the moment you saw it.

You searched through your bag as soon as you arrived to your room. You and Stefan never took suitcases because wherever you went you could just buy the clothes you needed. That was one thing you couldn’t wait for, you’d told Stefan you wouldn’t bring any clothes home except when you went to Paris. You told him you would be sending everything home.

You picked out a pair of light orange hi-waist shorts, a black lace corset style crop top a thick gold statement bracelet with a matching statement necklace and a pair of plain white pointy toed heels. You smiled at the outfit choice before making your way out into the main area. Stefan was dress and looked up from his phone as soon as you came out. He scanned over your outfit as you slipped on your sunglasses and smiled softly before standing up and offering you his arm, you took it smiling to yourself.

You made your way through the now bustling streets, looking through shop windows until you came to one that had a pair of shoes that caught your eye. They were a texture champagne gold, you couldn’t stop staring they were absolutely gorgeous. You felt Stefan drag you into the shop before he stop at the first shop assistant he saw. You knew immediately what shop you were in and you couldn’t contained your smile, Christian Louboutin. You’d been in a few designer boutiques on your travels but you had yet to be in a Christian Louboutin store which is surprising because they’re everywhere. It’s not like you’d never seen a Louboutin boutique because with 900 years in this world you were there when the brand was created. As Stefan spoke to the assistant you gazed around with wide eyes, before being pulled over to some seats.

You sat down as the woman brought over the same shoes you had been looking at. You looked at Stefan as if asking if it was okay, he nodded so you took the shoes from her and looked at them. They were gorgeous but you wouldn’t expect anything less from Christian Louboutin. You slid off your shoes before carefully putting the gold shoes on. After they were on you stood up with ease and looked down at the gorgeous shoes, you glanced at Stefan who was smiling at you.

“We’ll take these please.” He told the assistant how nodded and accepted the card that Stefan had just handed her.

“Stefan I can buy it.” You groaned softly.

“So can I.” Stefan chuckled.

“Stefan I’m about 800 years older than you I think I can buy my own Louboutin’s.”

“I’m buying them so get over it.” He grunted as the assistant brought back his card giving you a shoe box for your old shoes.

After a few more hours your shopping bags had finally gotten too much to carry so you decided to go back to the hotel. Once you arrived back Stefan told you to go change, telling you that’s you’d be going out somewhere nice for dinner. You pulled out your Dior black off the shoulder gown and your new pair of red Louboutin’s. You curled your hair and put on simple makeup with red lipstick before exiting your room. Stefan was stood there in his new black Armani three piece suit, he looked amazing. You smiled as he stared at you in momentary shock before clearing his throat and offering his arm once again.

You made your way to the car that was waiting to take you to your destination, you looked out the window and stared at the pretty lights that lit everything up as you slowly pulled up to the restaurant. Stefan got out first before going round to your side and opening the door, holding his hand out dutifully. As you strolled into the restaurant you realised everyone’s eyes were on Stefan which made you smile and lean over, you lips almost brushing against his ear.

“Everyone’s staring at you.” You chuckled before pulling away and grinning at him.

“Actually they’re staring at you.” He whispered making you look up in disbelief. You looked around and realised he was telling the truth. You blushed and gripped Stefan’s arm tighter, trying to ignore the stares.

You were lead to your table, by a guy who looked like he was in his mid-twenties, he was very good looking but then you soon realised that most of the waiters and staff were just as if not more good looking. The waiter tried to pull out your chair but Stefan beat him to it which made you smile up at him. You felt your heart flutter slightly as his hand brushed against the exposed part of your back, you shivered slightly and turned to the view you had from the window seat. Stefan quickly took his seat before ordering a bottle of wine. You turned to look at him as soon as the waiter disappeared, his eyes were half closed as if he was thinking about something.

“You look really beautiful.” He glanced at you with something you couldn’t quite place but the stare only made you blush once again.

“Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.” You whispered back playfully, moving your hair to one side exposing more of your skin.

As you and Stefan joked and spoke about anything and everything you didn’t realised you’d got through a three course meal and 2 bottles of wine. Stefan decided that you’d had enough wine when you started giggling at almost everything he was saying.

As you walked through the quiet peaceful streets of Paris you clung to Stefan arm, your head resting against his shoulder. You stopped to take of your heels before stepping onto the grass right in front of the Eiffel Tower. You spun around, your arms spread wide as you felt the light breeze brush across your skin. Suddenly you were off the ground, Stefan had tackled you and thrown you over his shoulder as he started running around. You squealed clutching his back, giggling as he spun around before carefully placing you down.

He grabbed you waist and hand before he started dancing to non-existent music, you laughed along with him as he spun you round before dipping you. As he brought you back up you realised your noses were touching, his strong arms wrapped around your waist tightly. You glanced down at his lips before you looked into his eyes, they held the same look as in the restaurant but you still couldn’t place what it was.

Your head was spinning as his hand came up to brush your cheek gently, if you weren’t concentrating on his every move you wouldn’t of even known he’d touched you. His thumb slid down your cheek before brushing lightly against your bottom lip causing you mouth to open slightly. Your eyes flicked back to his lips before speaking.

“Kiss me.” You whispered so quietly if he wasn’t a vampire you were sure he wouldn’t have heard you. He didn’t respond with word but chose to obey your request. He leant in a little more you lips finally meeting in a sweet loving kiss. After a few seconds your courage grew, your hands now sliding up his chest to lock around neck as you deepened the kiss, your lips moving against his in perfect rhythm. One of his hands resting on your cheek as his other was gripping your hip. You pulled away reluctantly, opening your eyes to meet his.

“I can’t believe I didn’t realise it before.” Stefan whispered smiling slightly, his thumb making circles on your cheek, you looked at him with a questioning glance waiting for him to elaborate.

“I am in love with you.” You stared at him in shock as he started grinning for ear to ear. He pulled back slightly but not letting go of you, he slung his head back and screamed at the top of his lung.

“I AM IN LOVE WITH Y/N Y/L/N!!” You blushed as you saw a few people glance over at you but you couldn’t help but laugh at his antics.

“Do I not get to add my two cents?” You chuckled as his head came back down, his grin still firmly in place. He tilted his head as if waiting for my response to his very loud confession. You pulled him down for a chaste kiss before looking into his eyes once again.

“I love you too.” You whispered, your cheeks tinted with pink but you didn’t care because it felt like a weight had been lifted.

He raised one of his brows at you before he gripped you waist and spun you around making you squeal. You laughed as he finally put you down, his hand grabbing yours as you began walking. Stefan called the car to come and pick you up so you could go home.

As you got back into the apartment Stefan picked you up bridal style and made his way to his bedroom. He threw you on the bed before playfully flopping down next to you causing you to laugh. He leant up to rest on his left elbow as his hand brushed your curls away, his smile was soft and loving making you finally realise what that look he’d been giving you all night was. It was love, pure undeniable love.

You rolled over so you were straddling his waist, looking down at him with a loving smile. His hand reached up to cup your cheek before bring you down for a passion filled kissed, your hand resting on his chest as he kissed you with more passion than you’d ever felt in your life. You felt his hand move to the back of your dress, carefully unzipping the dress making it pool across Stefan’s suit covered torso. You reached down to start unbuttoning his waistcoat and shirt since his blazer had been discarded before her picked you up. He sat up so you could pull everything off, his lips placing soft kisses across your chest.

He flipped you both round before ridding you of your dress leaving you in no bra and a black lace thong. You flipped back over after your dress was gone, his hands slid down the sides of your waist before they reached you ass. He groaned when he realised you had a thong on which made you giggle softly, he looked up with a playful smirk on his face before he flipped you and pinned you to the bed jokingly growling and nipping at your neck, making you smile and giggle at his actions.

“Stefan?” His head snapping up at the sound of his name.

“Make love to me.” You whispered slightly out of breathe from laughing. He nodded before he leaned down kissing you shoulder, his lips trailing down your body causing shivers to erupt through your body. His hands roamed your body as if trying to memorize every inch of your skin. You ran you hand through his hair as he leaned down to kiss you, his lips being cautious with every move they took.

His hand slid down to your panties, looking up to check it was okay before sliding underneath them once he got approval. His index finger running across your entrance making him groan in approval. He slid in one finger with ease causing you to gasp of approval, your back hips bucking up in an attempt to feel fuller. Stefan took this as a hint and slid in another finger in, moving his thumb to circle your clit as he pushed his fingers in and out slowly.

“S-Stefan.” His name falling from you lips as you felt your orgasm nearing. You gripped his wrist and pulled him away which caused him to look up at you with confusion.

“I-I want to cum with you.” You stuttered quietly, looking at him shyly. He smiled at you tenderly before taking the initiative, slipping out of his Armani pants and Calvin Klein boxers. He then moved to slid down your black lace undies before he moved between your legs, wrapping them around his waist. His hand caressed your face as if asking you if it was okay. You nodded in response before wrapping your arms around his shoulders which made him lower so you were almost chest to chest.

He carefully aligned himself before he steadily entered your heat, he bit his lip groaning slightly. You whimpered against his neck, his hand running through your hair as he whispered sweet words into your ear. Once you’d adjusted he started thrusting into you slowly, his hands still touching your body sweetly. You quiet moans filled the room along with his soft pants, he moved back a little so he could see you, his thrusts becoming more firm but remaining loving. He leant down to kiss you as he gripped your hips tightly as if trying to control himself. You kissed him back running your hand through his hair as his thrust sped up a lightly.

You felt yourself start to build once more, your grip on his hair tightening which he apparently took as a hint because he moved one hand between you both and started circling your clit slowly. You bucked against him, your nails digging into his shoulders as if trying to ground yourself.

“M’Close…S-Stefan.” You moaned against his lips as he pulled away slightly, your lips still touching slightly.

“Me too.” He groaned as you whispered in his ear ‘Harder’. He sped up as you felt yourself near the edge.

“Cum for me Y/N.” He whispered against your lips before nibbling your lip slightly. That’s all it took for you to fall over the edge, your walls clenching around him caused him to follow you. You both rode out your orgasm until you were both worn out and sensitive. He pulled out, collapsing next to you. He pulled you into him, your head resting on his chest as your panting dissipated.

*****

The next 3 weeks were like a dream filled with love, morning sex and laughs but it was finally time to leave. You were sad but you knew you couldn’t ignore the fact you had friends and family at home. You turned to Stefan as he signed a piece of paper which was to confirm the location that the boxes of clothes were going. You smiled as he finished and made his way over to you then you remembered something.

“Oh yeah don’t forget we have to stop by New Orleans before we go home.” You stated happily as you walked to the car that was waiting for you.

“Ugh. Do we have to?” Stefan huffed childishly causing you to roll your eyes.

“Yes I promised ‘Lijah and Nik.” In the 900 years you’d known this family they had always been the only constant. You didn’t care for thing like love usually but with Stefan it was different, you felt like a human when you were with him.

“Fine. It’s a good job I love you.” Stefan groaned as we got into the sleek black car.

*****

“Niklaus Mikaelson! Put that bloody teenage girl down. NOW!” You roared as you entered the original mansion to see Nik’s hand around a petite brunet teen’s throat.

“Y/N! Your home!” Nik dropped the girl and came over to hug you but you avoided his arms as you went to check on the young girl.

“Are you okay sweetie?” You asked softly, her fearful nod made you turn to back to Niklaus with a glare. You stood up and stormed over to the nearest metal object picking it up before winding Niklaus with the metal bar.  He curled up in a ball as you smacked his spine it, before you kicked his chest so he was laying on his back. You dug your spikey black Louboutin’s into his chest bone making him wince.

“I suggest you apologise to her and have the cooks make her some bloody food! Do you hear me Niklaus!?” You screamed you heel digging into his chest causing him to start bleeding as it cut through the skin.

“Okay!” He screamed as he tried to pry your foot off him.

“Even I feel sorry for you right now. And I hate you.” You heard Stefan’s voice cut through your rage making you smile.

“Divina I am very sorry. Would you like to stay for dinner?” Klaus mumbled quietly, his embarrassment evident. She looked shocked but nodded carefully.

“Oh your Marcel’s daughter right? You should have him come too. I haven’t seen him in years.” You sighed before making your way into Stefan’s arms.

****

You all sat around the dinner table, you sat in between Stefan and Nik, with you at the end of the table. Divina sat quietly next to Marcel as if they would want to be anywhere else.

“So let me get this straight, Marcel didn’t die but instead of finding his family he stole your city and now you’re fighting over it?” You raised your left eyebrow at them as they nodded like scolded children.

“Oh he also summoned your father with the very blonde Bex and you also have a miracle baby.” You huffed as you pointed at the gorgeous little one year old who was chomping on some mashed potato.

“Marcellus Mikaelson.” He flinched as his names fell from your lips, his eyes widening slightly.

“Nik, ‘Lijah and I built this city! If you and ditz over there hadn’t of summoned their father we would be staying here! You had over this city and come live with your family before I kill every single minion you have! Do you understand me?” You snapped your voice one of an angry parent.

“Thank you!” Klaus exclaimed like he’d won which made you glance over at him with a raise brow.

“Don’t think you’ve won! Don’t pretend you were the king here! You were the prince! I was the Queen remember that Niklaus! I also do not appreciate the fact you tried to kill Marcel several times! He is family and if I see you bickering with each other again I will snap your necks repeatedly!”

“Well said Y/N.” Elijah huffed but you turned to him with an unamused look.

“Elijah do not think you are off the hook! You went along with Nik’s charade! You also accused your own brother of using his bloody child! You are the oldest! Act like it! And YOU!” You switched your attention to Bekah who was trying to escape the table.

“Next time you want to try and betray your brother remember this moment! Marcel you are free to be with Rebekah. No more betrayal! Understood!?” They all murmured ‘yes’ before going back to their food before Hayley finally spoke up.

“Well that was dramatic.” She sassed before feeding hope another mouthful. Before she could blink you dragged her away from the child, your hand around her throat as your pinned her against the wall.

“And you! Stop switching from Jackson to Elijah! They are not toys so don’t treat them as such! You have a child you should set an example! Not throw yourself at any man you can! So either stay away from Elijah or give Jackson up and be with Elijah!” You snarled as she choked against you grip, you heard Elijah snapping at you to let her go but you just stared into Hayley’s eyes. She nodded and you released her.

“Bex could you switch seats with Divina please.” You muttered as you sat back down.

“Why?” She questioned softly.

“Because I know you and my boyfriend have a past and I don’t want you in a 3 meter radius.” You deadpanned which caused Nik to start laughing as Elijah tried to cough to cover his smile up.

“Seriously!?”

“When did you turn into Caroline?” You snorted as she swapped seats with Divina. You nodded at Divina before digging your fork into a cut up piece of steak before holding it up to Stefan’s lips. He chuckled at you taking the steak, leaning over to give you a chaste kiss before moving back to chew his steak.

“What did I miss?” You heard a cheeky voice as from behind you which made you choke on your wine. There stood your old flame Kol Mikaelson.

“I don’t want you within 3 meters of Y/N.” Stefan joked which made everyone start laughing.

[2nd2ndalto]

what if there were two (side by side in orbit)

__

***NB there are two parts to this chapter since it was too big for one Tumblr post!!*** (first half of chapter 6 here)

__

Chapter 6 (part 2 of 2)

Nico returns to where his partner is peering into the microfiche. “No luck?” he asks. Will’s hunched over, nose inches from the screen, looking like he’s ready to become one with the bulky machine.

Will pulls his glasses off, leaning back and rubbing at his eyes. “Nope. Nothing in 1909.”

“Nothing in 1939 either,” Nico says. It’s a bit of a disappointment, but this is the way historical research goes sometimes. There’s a lot of nothing to dig through before you get to the good stuff.

“You know, I was thinking about that article I found at the office,” Will says, extracting the microfilm and flicking off the screen. “What do you think about doing an internet search for animal attacks – not just for the two years in question, but for the entire century?”

Nico nods, quickly on board. “That’s a great idea. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Will grins, rising. “The student has become the master,” he intones.

Nico huffs. He’s pretty sure that’s a line from one of the Star Wars movies Will’s been making him watch. “Cocky,” he says.

“They don’t have all the newspapers in the online database yet, but it’s still worth a look,” Will’s saying as they clatter down the stairs to the lower level.

“It’ll still be faster than wading through miles of microfiche,” Nico agrees. Besides, he’s queasy enough already.

Even with limited newspaper options, there are still a lot of articles on animal attacks to scan through before something finally catches Nico’s eye. He reads the little article again, then a third time, a prickle of recognition flashing over his skin, pieces falling into place. “Hey, look at this,” he murmurs.

Will scootches his chair over, a screech on the floor in the near-silent room. “Oops,” he mutters. He blinks at the screen, then leans closer, his shoulder bumping Nico’s and staying there, the lightest brush of warmth.

“Timothy Ly, age seventeen, found dead on the edge of his campsite, near Dumfries, VA,” Will reads under his breath, “localized trauma to his abdomen… Yeah.” Will sits back, taking his warm shoulder with him. “That definitely sounds like something. What year is that?”

Nico’s already forgotten. All the years are starting to blur together, honestly, numbers beginning to make less and less sense the longer they look. He scans back up to the top of the page. “1969.”

They’re both silent for a moment, then Will turns to Nico, wide-eyed, at the same moment that it dawns on Nico, too.

“That’s –” Will begins.

“Thirty years,” Nico breathes. “The murders are occurring every thirty years.”

Will’s blue eyes are bright with realization. “Maybe – maybe even to the month. Right?”

“Yes!” Nico says, too loud in the quiet room, eliciting a few dirty looks from patrons around them.

“It’s April now,” Will says, quieter.

“Yeah, and the – I’m sure the other murders took place around the same time,” Nico says, wracking his brain.

Will’s already nodding. “Yeah. That one report you showed me, it was from early May.”

It’s a breakthrough. Nico’s sure it is. They spend another two hours feverishly searching the newspaper archives, finally coming up with two other mentions of animal attacks in the same area, around the same time, the last article implying that forest rangers were on the lookout for whatever animal was responsible. And then from June 1969 onwards – nothing.

Nico’s riding the high of their discoveries as they walk back to the Bureau, positive they’re on the brink of solving this thing completely. It’s several blocks before he registers that he hasn’t actually stopped talking long enough for Will to do anything other than nod in agreement.

He gives his partner a once-over. Will’s not looking unhappy, exactly, but a little distant. Certainly not possessed of the same excitement that Nico is. It gives Nico pause.

“You okay?”

Will turns and smiles like he’s coming back to himself. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Just kinda tired. And hungry.”

“We’ll grab lunch, then see what else we can come up with,” Nico tells him

Will nods, seemingly satisfied with this, but he’s still quiet the rest of the way back to the Bureau. It tugs at something in Nico that he can’t quite put his finger on. But what else can he say, really? Will’s entitled to be hungry and tired. He already admitted to not sleeping well last night.

Lunch is fine, and Will seems to be in better spirits, teasing Nico about the lack of vegetables on his lunch tray and filling him in on Dawson’s Creek.

“I know we just came from the library,” Nico says as they head down the stairwell.

“But you want to go right back?” Will smiles.

“Yeah,” Nico admits. “I just have the feeling there’s something else there. A few more pieces and all of this is going to fall into place.”

“Yeah, I hope so,” Will says, only a little vague. “You know, I had a good talk with Annabeth yesterday – and she mentioned wanting to see our print evidence. How about if I go fill her in on what we’ve got so far, you go back to the library, and we’ll meet back here later?”

::

Will takes a moment to organize the case file before heading upstairs. He’s feeling slow and clumsy, distracted. He’s sure Nico’s halfway back to the library already, in his characteristic high-energy that comes with piecing a mystery together.

As much as that energy is usually contagious, inspiring – Will just can’t manage to get there this time. He misses it. He feels guilty that all he really wants right now is for this case to be over. But Luke’s threats cling to him like the sticky cobwebs in the coal cellar on Exeter.

Luke’s sneering dismissal is weighing on him, his immediate refusal to even consider the fingerprint evidence. In his heart, Will’s sure Luke is wrong. But whose side will Octavian take? And what could that mean for Nico, and for the job that Will gets up excited to go to every day?

Will closes his eyes for a moment. For now, he just has to get through this. He’s already told Annabeth about the print evidence. She was sincerely interested. And Will’s already told Nico that’s what he’ll be doing. He definitely can’t lock the door and hide in the basement all afternoon.

Will collects his things and heads upstairs.

He’s relieved, once again, to find Annabeth on her own. She’s fascinated by the fingerprints, and her expression fades to one of horror as Will describes the nest they found at the building on Exeter Street.

“And there’s more, actually,” Will says, finding he’s having trouble getting the words out. “It’s – I’m sure Luke would just write it off but –”

Annabeth frowns. “Don’t worry about Luke. He’s not being rational at the moment.”

“Well,” Will sighs, “I wouldn’t even blame him in this case.”

He tells Annabeth what they’ve found so far – evidence of fourteen similar deaths, spanning nearly a century. Matching prints over the decades. A collection of trophies, at least some of them lining up with items victims were wearing at the time of their demise.

Annabeth doesn’t speak immediately when Will’s finished talking, her brow furrowed, thoughtful. She’s got her heels kicked off, one leg tucked under her in her chair.

“That’s some really incredible evidence,” she says, finally. “I spoke to Luke about the elongated prints, after you and I talked yesterday. He wouldn’t even entertain the idea. I think he’s got – he’s being very proprietary about this case.” She grimaces.

“I know it’s not our case –” Will begins.

“Yeah, but this evidence is hard to ignore. I know Luke thinks the polygraph cleared Tooms beyond a shadow of a doubt…” Annabeth trails off, gazing for a moment at the notes Will’s laid on her desk. Then her gray eyes flick up to Will, focused, and Will recognizes the same intensity he sees across the office from him every single day. Something stirs in his chest.

“You said you found evidence of animal attacks when you were looking through the newspaper archives this morning,” Annabeth says.

“Yeah,” Will nods. “It was –” he flips through his notes. “One outside of Dumfries, VA… and the other two in a national park. Prince William Forest Park?”

“Give me one second,” Annabeth says, and she’s gone, not even bothering to put her shoes back on. Will blinks, turning to watch her dark head disappear down the aisle between the cubicles. He sits back with a sigh. He’s not sure he could follow her at that speed if he wanted to. His headache is creeping back in again, and he’s found his gaze repeatedly flicking over to Luke’s desk, hoping he can get this meeting over with before the other man reappears.

Annabeth’s back just minutes later, eyes bright, brandishing a pair of files. “I thought I remembered these,” she says, breathless. She drops back into her chair. “When you said Dumfries, that reminded me – there were these two murders, in Woodlea.”

“Is that nearby?”

Annabeth nods, scanning through a file. “Yes, only a couple of miles away. Look.” She turns the file towards Will. “April 1969. A husband and wife, found dead in a room locked from the inside. The medical examiner’s report even says that they appeared to be animal attacks, because there was no obvious use of cutting tools – but they couldn’t see any way for an animal to have entered the dwelling. The victims were found on the upper floor of a house. This makes sense. It fits.”

“And the livers?”

Annabeth passes the second file to Will. “I’m willing to bet the livers were gone. Check the autopsy report.”

Will flips through the file until he finds it. “Yeah – it says, ‘notable was absence of liver’... and ‘victim died from abdominal hemorrhage’.”

“Same here,” Annabeth says. She gazes at the file in her hands before flipping it shut. “This is incredible, Will.”

Will laughs. “Yeah, I agree. And it doesn’t make sense, I know –”

Annabeth shrugs. “But sometimes things don’t make sense. That doesn’t mean we disregard them, though. It means we keep exploring them until they do make sense.”

Will nods, feeling some of the tension melt from his shoulders. “That’s my take, yeah.”

Annabeth flips the file shut, placing it on her desk. “I know we cleared Tooms, but I don’t see how we can ignore this. I’ll –” She glances over her shoulder at the mostly empty office floor. “I’ll talk to Luke about it when he gets back.”

Will gives her a half-smile. “Good luck with that.”

::

The discussion with Annabeth is heartening. But Will has a nagging feeling Luke will disregard any evidence that originates with the X-Files, no matter how intractable. And where does that leave Will and Nico? To continue to pursue a suspect who’s been acquitted? To disregard protocol, put their department in jeopardy? And now, maybe take Annabeth down with them? Will’s heart feels heavier with each step he takes back down to the basement.

An hour later, Nico still not back from the library, Will leans back in his chair, closing his eyes. His head is spinning with case details, yet all he really wants to do is go home to bed. Rolling his chair across the linoleum, he reaches across Nico’s desk to flick off the radio, returning to his own desk and laying his head in his arms. Maybe he can catch a cat nap before Nico gets back.

Will’s just starting to drift when he hears the door open. He glances up, expecting Nico. It takes his tired mind a second to make sense of the taller man.

“Luke. Hey.” Will sits up straighter, steeling himself for whatever is coming.

“Hey,” Luke smiles. His eyes scan the office before he approaches Will’s desk, leaning back against it. Will automatically moves an inch or two away, trying for some space, and offers a polite smile.

“What’s up? Did Annabeth fill you in on our investigation?”

“Yeah, she did.” Luke grimaces. “It’s… definitely interesting information. Maybe something for you and di Angelo to check out later.” Will suppresses an eye roll as Luke continues, predictable. “I just don’t see how we can justify the resources, taking this in a completely different direction. We’re really close to catching the suspect, I’m sure of it. This Exeter site is just a red herring. And murders from sixty years ago? Come on, Will. You know that’s bullshit.”

Will frowns. “I really think you should check it out before you dismiss it entirely. I’ve got the write-up here if –”

Luke laughs. The throbbing in Will’s forehead intensifies. “Will, it’s me. You can drop the act. Are you seriously following this line of inquiry? This all hinges on a guy we’ve already cleared, not to mention the suspect being, what, immortal?”

“Luke, we’ve got matching prints from multiple crime scenes. Clusters of almost identical murders –”

“Will.” Luke hops up so he’s sitting on Will’s desk, facing him. Will rolls his chair back. Unfortunately, there’s not far to go. He glances towards the door, hoping Nico’s on his way back.

“You’re a good agent,” Luke says. “I heard you did amazing work on that case in Fairbrook – everyone’s been talking about it. Just think what you could do if you weren’t stuck in the fucking basement. You have to think about your future. How long do you think this department is going to be operational, anyway?”

Will huffs out a breath, frustrated, feeling more than a little trapped by the other man’s intense gaze, his unwelcome proximity. Over the months they’ve been partnered, Will has become very comfortable with Nico in his space, the two of them side by side in cars and police stations, climbing over each other in the cluttered office. Nico’s proximity has become a comfort. Will’s almost visceral response to Luke’s looming presence makes the stark difference between the two relationships blindingly obvious, if it wasn’t already.

The door opens and both men glance over. Nico looks up as he enters, taking them both in, his expression clouding with something raw for just a second before he looks away, features schooled back into careful nonchalance.

“Castellan. Solace,” he says, crossing to his desk. Will bristles at the use of his surname.

“Anyway. Think about it,” Luke says, sliding off the desk and stepping closer to squeeze Will’s shoulder, his hand lingering. “And hey – a bunch of us are going out to the Pint & Pitcher later.” Luke studies Will’s face. “You should join us. You know. If you’re not too busy down here with the vampires.”

“Oh. And you too, di Angelo,” he throws over his shoulder on his way out the door.

Will frowns to himself, rolling his shoulders and turning back to his desk.

::

There's a loaded silence after the door shuts. Nico hears the sound of Luke’s retreating footsteps in the hall, going then gone.

Will’s quiet, eyes on the papers in front of him. He shifts a moment later, wheels of his chair scraping the linoleum.

Nico wants to let it go. It doesn't matter. He should focus on the case. There’s work to be done, after all. Or he could just leave. Take a walk, cool down. That's nothing out of the ordinary. He could go grab them both coffee.

Instead, because he's an idiot, he leans into the burning in his chest, some cloying emotion he doesn't want to examine, and he asks, light, "you said you and Luke know each other from the academy?"

There's a pause, fizzing. "Yeah. We – you know. We had courses together."

Nico hums in assent. He already knows it’s something more. Even without the benefit of his background, his training – he knows. He watches Will too closely, reads him too readily, greedy with it.

Nico waits. Because he knows Will, and he knows how to get him to say more. He feels small. It feels wrong, manipulative. He does it anyway.

Will clears his throat. "We, um. We dated. Sort of. Briefly."

There it is.

And Nico hates the way those words make him feel. Angry. Hurt. It's so stupid. He has absolutely no right to it. Will is his partner. His friend. Nico knows better than to jeopardize that by being a dick.

He should stop. He should leave. But the thing is, he's just so good at making things worse.

"It's ancient history," Will says, after a long silence. "It's – it really was nothing. That's why I didn't say anything. It's not going to affect the case in any way.”

“Huh,” says Nico. It’s just a single syllable, breathed out knowing very well the effect it will have.

Will turns fully from his desk. “What?” he says, flat.

Nico shrugs. “Nothing.”

There’s a long pause, buzzing with tension. Will finally turns back to his desk, a shake of his head. “Yeah. Nothing,” he mutters.

Nico doesn’t want to fight. There have been plenty of disagreements in the months they’ve worked together, sure, but they’ve worked through it. They may not always agree, but there’s a respect there, an automatic consideration of the other’s point of view. It’s been better than Nico could ever have hoped. And that means it can’t last, right?

“It just seems that Luke doesn’t think it’s ancient history,” Nico says, light but loaded.

Will huffs out a breath, tense. “Luke can think whatever he wants. It doesn’t change anything.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

There’s a sharp shifting from across the room, Will tossing his papers to the desk and standing, his chair banging against the desk. Nico feels a stupid surge of satisfaction.

“What the fuck, Nico?”

Nico turns. Will’s face is screwed up, and he doesn’t just look angry, he looks as if he’s on the verge of tears. Nico’s breath catches in his chest.

“Why are you fixating on this? We’re trying to solve a case. My personal history with Luke has absolutely no impact on that. If I thought it did, I would have fucking mentioned it, okay?”

But instead of apologizing, instead of backing down, Nico just shrugs. “Yeah. Okay.” He turns back to his desk. There’s long silence – and Nico’s shoulders finally slump when he hears the door slam.

Nico’s not sure if he’s waiting or not, but the fact remains that he doesn’t leave at the end of the day, lingering longer than he normally would. He’s not even really working now, just stewing in his own misery.

The door to the office finally opens at quarter to six.

There’s the barest flicker of Will’s gaze to Nico’s before Will looks away. “You’re still here,” he says. He begins collecting his things, readying himself to leave for the day.

“Hey – I’m sorry,” Nico says. He wishes he felt it more than he does. But it’s the best he can do, and he knows he has to do something. “I was out of line.”

Will pauses like he’s considering his next words. “Okay,” he says, finally, pulling his coat on. He hesitates again, not quite meeting Nico’s eyes. Then, “see you tomorrow,” Will says, quiet.

With that, he’s gone. Nico, left in the silence, drops his head into his hands.

::

“Hey,” Nico says as the office door closes behind him the next morning.

Will glances up, almost surprised. “Hi.”

There’s silence for a beat as they gaze at each other, tentative and off-balance, the usual ease of their morning greetings marred by the sour memory of yesterday’s interaction. Will glances away, his attention returning back to the file on his desk, none of his usual evident pleasure at Nico’s appearance.

Nico’s heart sinks. He hangs his coat, then retrieves the cardboard tray from where he’d balanced it carefully on the shelf by the door. He approaches Will, nervous.

“Here. I – brought coffee.” He sets it at Will’s elbow, quickly turning back to his own desk, finding he’s not brave enough to take in whatever he might see on Will’s face.

“Oh – thanks, Nico.” Will’s voice softens a little. Then he turns back to his work, and there’s quiet except for the occasional flip of a page, a soft exhale.

“How was your evening?” Nico asks after what feels like a long, throbbing silence, growing thicker with every passing second. Nico is not going to ask Will if he accepted Luke’s invitation to go out for drinks last night. Will didn’t seem at all interested when Luke proposed the idea. But who’s to say? Will’s an adorable, giggly drunk. Maybe he likes Luke a lot more once he’s had a few beers. And if Nico was awake all night plagued by images of adorable, giggly Will falling into Luke’s bed, well. Nico’s definitely keeping that to himself.

“Oh.” Will glances up. “It was um – fine, I guess. Kayla and I watched SVU. Or – Kayla watched it, and I passed out on the couch.” Will gives Nico an almost-half-smile and the wave of relief that crashes over Nico pushes all the breath from his lungs.

“Sounds like fun.”

Will rolls his eyes, almost looking like his regular self. “Yeah. Another thrilling night in the life of Will. How about you?”

“Oh, you know.” Nico shrugs. For a moment he can’t actually recall what he did, aside from catastrophize, berate himself. Rinse and repeat. “I picked up my dry cleaning.”

Will nods, solemn. “Living the dream.”

They gaze at each other for a beat before Will turns back to his desk, and Nico to his.

Then there’s quiet, each of them focused on their work, the occasional brief exchange of conversation. Will seems tired. Nico would misinterpret it for simply still being angry about yesterday, but he knows Will well enough to tell that it’s more than that.

Will’s accent sneaks out more when he hasn’t had enough sleep. It’s stupid, the way Nico’s come to think of it as something private, something just for them. For movie nights and early morning drives. He associates Will’s almost-Southern-drawl with sleepy half-smiles, messy curls, Will’s eyes slowly falling closed no matter how much he swears to Nico that this time, he’ll stay awake for an entire movie. It makes Nico feel warm and a little protective. Sleepy Will is a little slower to respond, a little more forgetful. Soft in a way that makes Nico’s heart ache.

God, Will deserves better. He deserves a proper apology. He deserves a partner who’ll have his back unconditionally, one who isn’t an unbalanced, jealous mess. He deserves better than Nico.

Nico fucked up, there’s no question. For now, though, maybe he can just… smooth it over. Besides, hopefully this case will be solved soon and they can go back to it being just the two of them, the way Nico likes. Nico can go back to ignoring his feelings, pretending he’s not pining for the man across the office from him, that he’s not memorizing every little point of contact between them, warming at every touch.

::

“Any word from forensics on the evidence from Exeter?” Will thinks to ask some time later.

Nico shakes his head. “Not yet. I called earlier. They’re backed up.”

Will’s almost relieved to hear this. As much as they’re both sure that the Exeter evidence will point to Tooms, Nico seems amenable to not returning there before they have more solid proof.

The morning drags on, the mood in the office subdued. For his part, Will’s reluctant to say anything at all that might incite further conflict, everything feeling rather contentious at this point.

“You going for lunch?” Nico asks, quiet and hesitant some time later.

“Um. I’m not really hungry. You go ahead.” Will doesn’t turn, and there’s silence for a moment, but then he hears the door close softly.

Will keeps busy with mindless tasks for almost another hour before he feels his brain grind to a halt. He shoves aside a pile of autopsy reports he’s supposed to be reviewing, dropping his head into his hands and lingering there until he’s dangerously close to dozing off. He gets like this sometimes, bouts of relentless insomnia. He hates the way he feels bleary and slow in the daylight, the way time seems to drag until he can drop into bed again – and then the way sleep won’t come when he finally gets there.

The door to the office opens and Will quickly attempts to look as though he’s been hard at work. Normally it wouldn’t bother him, being so obviously slow and vulnerable, but there’s a tension in the basement office that less-than-heartfelt apologies haven’t quite shaken.

“Hey.” Nico sounds more restrained than usual, more cautious. It exhausts Will even further. “Violent Crimes wants to meet with us at two.”

Will checks his watch. It’s 1:30. “What for?”

“Not sure.” Nico drops a stack of files on his desk and moves to a cabinet in the corner, digging in the bottom shelf, his voice getting lost a bit. “Maybe they want to kick us off the case. Or me, anyway.”

Will sighs. “Could be. Do they really need a meeting for that, though?”

“Well, you know. Bureaucracy.”

There’s not much more conversation in the next half hour aside from “did you see –” and “can you pass me –”. Certainly less than they usually talk. No teasing, no jokes. Will’s nerves are stretched thin, cotton in his head.

They make their way upstairs just before two, taking seats at a conference room table with several other agents Will recognizes. They nod to each other, polite. Luke and Annabeth are the last to enter. Annabeth shoots Will and Nico a smile. Luke ignores them both entirely.

More stakeouts, is what the meeting is about, two agents at each of the previous murder scenes. Will and Nico are assigned to the park where a maintenance worker’s body was found in a shed. Will sees Nico roll his eyes, but he doesn’t offer any commentary until they’re in the stairwell.

“This is bullshit,” Nico mutters as they reach the basement. “I don’t even understand why we’re being seconded into their stakeouts. I thought Luke didn’t want us anywhere near his precious investigation.”

Will grimaces. “I know. I guess they need the extra bodies. But we can just… play along for now. We do the stakeout tonight and then –”

But Nico’s not listening, picking up his pace down the hall. Will sees why in an instant – there’s a yellow envelope sticking out of the mail slot on the office door. Will has an immediate sinking feeling, certain that things are about to get even more complicated. His own pace slows.

“Forensics,” Nico says, holding up the envelope, looking brighter now. Will just nods, honestly wishing he could drum up some excitement about it. He just feels dull, heavy enough to sink into the floor.

Nico tears the envelope open right there in the hallway, stepping back so Will can unlock the door.

“Yes,” Nico says, scanning over the report as they enter the office. “Yes. The prints from Exeter match Tooms’.” Nico looks up, triumphant.

Will nods. “That’s great. Amazing.”

There’s a beat, something flickering across Nico’s face like he’s only just realized they’re not entirely in the same headspace. “You don’t sound very happy about it.”

Will doesn’t respond right away, crossing the room to drop into his chair. God, he doesn’t want to argue about this. He wants to go home and curl up under a blanket and not emerge until this case is over.

“Will, this is the proof we need,” Nico says, certain, like he’s sure Will just hasn’t realized it yet. “This is all connected to Tooms. We’ve definitely got enough evidence to bring him in for questioning now.”

Will hesitates, trying to force his tired brain to parse the words properly. “Look, I just – I think we should toe the party line for now.”

This is followed by a long silence. Will finally looks up, stomach in knots. Nico’s expression is some combination of sour and disbelieving. It makes Will’s heart ache to see it directed at him.

“You think we should do what Luke wants?”

“It’s not just Luke,” Will says, halting. “It’s… I don’t think it would hurt. To stake out the other sites. That’s how we found Tooms last time, right?”

“It wouldn’t hurt?” Nico’s voice rises. “Will, we know he’s still on the hunt for more livers. This isn’t just about following protocol, it’s about preventing more deaths! It’s a complete fucking waste of time for any of us to be staking out other locations when we already know where this guy is!”

Will scrubs a hand over his face. “Nico – I know. But if we go rogue, we risk not being able to pursue this case at all.” Will’s stomach aches. He’s avoided the topic so far, reluctant to create even more animosity between Nico and Luke but – “Luke – he said something the other day. About reporting back to Octavian, if he didn’t think we were following protocol –”

Nico scoffs. “Luke’s just blowing hot air. Throwing out threats because he’s trying to get under your skin.”

Will lets out a breath. He’s so tired. “What do we do, then?”

“We blow off the stakeout and go back to Exeter,” Nico says, sure.

They regard each other for a long moment. Then something hardens in Nico’s expression at whatever he reads on Will’s face. “You know what? Fine. You go up to Violent Crimes. I’m sure Luke would appreciate the company.” Nico turns away to dig in his desk.

Will blinks, stung. “What? No, Nico, I want to go with you.”

“Well, I’m not going to Maple Gardens.” Nico is still turned away. “And you shouldn’t either.”

“So what, you’re going to stake out Exeter by yourself?”

Nico comes up with whatever he was looking for. “Not if you come with me.”

“I – don’t think I can.” Will stands, taking a few steps towards his partner and then stalling at the fierce expression on Nico’s face. This all feels stupid and impossible, and if he can just make Nico understand –

“Nico,” he says, half-pleadingly. “What if something goes wrong? What if we get in trouble and they decide to shut down this office for good?”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’d be really crushed if you had to go work upstairs instead.” Nico’s words come out bitter and raw in a way that leaves Will unsure whether he wants to burst into tears or pull Nico into his arms.

“Nico –”

“Enjoy your stakeout.”

With that, Nico’s gone, his bag and hastily gathered papers stuffed under his arm. Will feels tears prick at his eyes.

He pushes past it, glances through his notes from the meeting. Maple Gardens. It’s a park - a few treed acres, a pond, a playground. He’s been in the neighborhood before.

Will scrubs his hands over his face. He’s already been feeling off-balance all day. Now, with Nico’s sudden absence, he feels as if the ground’s been snatched right out from under him. One of the best parts about this job is that all their decisions are made together. And without that…

Okay, no. Will can do this on his own. It’ll be fine. He reaches for the phone. He’ll call Luke, or Annabeth, make some sort of excuse for Nico and request to be assigned with a different agent for tonight’s stakeout.

But Will’s only punched the first few numbers into the phone before he drops the handset back into the receiver. Will’s a terrible liar. What would he even say? And besides, it’ll just be more ammunition for Luke to use against Nico and the X-Files. If Nico gets in trouble over this…

Besides, the thought of spending hours with anyone right now, especially someone he doesn’t know, feels unbearable.

Will stands from his desk, grabbing his coat and turning out the lights before he locks the door.

::

It’s not a long drive to Exeter Street, but with every passing block, Nico feels more regret, thick in his chest. By the time he’s parked up the street from the derelict building, he’s formulating apologies in his head.

Fuck, what a mess.

Nico drops his head to the steering wheel, trying to twist his brain in a direction that fixes this. He’ll talk to Will first thing tomorrow, he decides. A real apology, sincere this time. And they can figure out where to take this investigation next. Together.

Nico tries to push all other thoughts aside as he makes his way towards the crumbling building in the twilight. He flicks on his flashlight, quickly scanning through the first floor for any signs of life, listening. There’s nothing but the occasional soft rustling inside the walls.

At the end of the hallway, there’s a staircase leading to the upper floors. A few steps up, though, and it’s clear that it’s crumbing even worse than the rest of the building. Nico gives it up as a bad job.

He carefully scans unit 103 before descending the ladder into the coal cellar. It’s quiet, rank. Empty. He floods each corner and crevice with light, just in case. Finally, he approaches the nest at the end of the cellar. It looks unchanged, as far as he’s able to tell, sticky and oozing with vile green gunk, but nothing new to see.

Sighing, Nico selects one of the more solid-looking walls to lean against, closing his eyes for a moment. But all he can think of is the flash of hurt on Will’s face as he left the office, the knowledge that he caused that. Will, who’s just trying to do his fucking job, trying to keep Nico out of hot water. And Nico has to go and make things difficult, make things personal. It’s unforgivable.

Nico pushes himself off the wall, frustrated. Should he abandon his stakeout entirely? Head to Maple Gardens and talk to Will right now? But the Bureau will have assigned Will another partner for the evening; he won’t be alone. No, Nico decides. He’ll focus on this tonight, then fix things tomorrow. Nico’s well aware that he’s terrible at fixing things. He’s so much better at burning bridges. But he’ll never be able to forgive himself if he does that this time.

He forces his mind back to the here and now. How often does Tooms come back here? He must, at least occasionally. The pocket watch matches the description of the one missing from the most recent victim.

Nico crouches down to survey the display of trinkets along the wall. It looks undisturbed since he and Will cataloged them yesterday. He casts the flashlight beam along the bottom of the wall, counting. Are the artifacts lined up in the order the victims were murdered? The pocket watch is furthest to the right. But now Nico notices a glint of metal, even further along the wall.

Damn it. Did they miss something? Nico shuffles closer, trying to get a better look. The little object is half-tilted into a crack in the floor, and he angles the flashlight to illuminate the spot.

It’s a cufflink. Silver, with a stylized sun. The same one he saw on Will’s wrist two days ago.

Nio’s stomach lurches. No. No, surely not. Will was here, after all. The cufflink must have fallen off while they were processing the scene. He plucks up the little piece of metal, bringing it closer to his face as if it will somehow morph into something else if he looks closer. It doesn’t.

It’s ridiculous. He’s being ridiculous. It’s just his guilt getting to him, offering up the most gruesome possibilities.

He shoves the cufflink into his pocket, pulls out his phone with shaking fingers. Fuck. No service. In less than a minute, Nico’s back out on the street outside, pacing as Will’s line rings and rings, finally transferring him to voicemail.

“Will, it’s me.” Nico’s voice is shaky. “Look, I – I need you to call me as soon as you can. It’s important. And – I’m really sorry for being such an ass earlier. I understand if you don’t want to talk to me right now, but I found something of yours. At the Exeter site. And I need to know that you’re okay.”

He snaps the phone shut, pocketing it. That should do it. No matter how furious Will might be, he won’t leave him hanging if he knows Nico’s worried about his well-being.

Nico hesitates on the sidewalk. The night air is cool, the street silent. Nico feels as if he’s about to crawl out of his skin.

Will could be busy. He’s on a stakeout, after all. Or he could have seen Nico’s name on the caller ID and been too angry to answer. Nico wouldn’t blame him in the least. He paces the few yards in front of the building, heart in his throat. What if Will doesn’t check the voicemail?

Or what if there’s something far worse going on?

He dials Will again, a reflex. No answer. Fuck. Now what? He’ll just… he’ll –

Nico sprints back to his car, fumbling for Annabeth’s number before he’s even really registered what he’s doing. He starts the car, peeling on to the road. It should be a ten-minute drive to Maple Gardens. Nico plans to make it in five.

The phone rings once. “Agent Chase,” Annabeth says, low.

“Annabeth, it’s Nico di Angelo. Do you know who Will was partnered with tonight?” Nico feels as if he can’t get the words out fast enough.

There’s a pause. When Annabeth speaks again, confusion seeps into her voice. “Are you not with Will at Maple Gardens?”

“No, we – I had a lead to follow up on elsewhere. Will would have requested reassignment for the evening.”

Wouldn’t he? Surely he wouldn’t have gone alone? Nico barely breathes, straining for the sound of Annabeth’s voice, low, then Luke’s.

Finally, Annabeth’s voice, back on the line: “Will didn’t request reassignment for this evening.”

Nico’s head spins, no air in his lungs. “Are you sure?”

Another pause, Luke’s voice in the background, irritated now, but Nico doesn’t have time to worry about that.

“Yes,” Annabeth says. “Luke was in charge of staffing for tonight. Will would have had to speak with him.”

Nico speeds right through a four-way stop, brakes squealing and a horn blaring behind him as a car veers out of his way. “Okay. I – I’m having trouble reaching Will. Do you mind trying him on the radio?”

There’s a brief pause, but then Annabeth says, “Of course.” Nico can hear her in the background of the call, paging position four. Nico’s whole chest aches to hear the sound of Will’s voice in response. There’s a long moment of silence. Annabeth tries again.

“I’m not getting a response,” Annabeth says finally. Nico can hear Luke’s voice and then Annabeth’s in quiet agreement. “Luke says we spoke to Will about twenty minutes ago and it was quiet at his location. Is everything okay?”

“I’m at Maple Gardens now,” Nico says, trying to keep his voice steady, a tiny trickle of relief at the sign outside the park. “Just arrived. I’m going to find out. I’ll call you right back.”

He ends the call without waiting for an answer, taking the dark drive through the park with his hands clenched on the wheel. There. There’s a vehicle parked in the trees at the location he and Will were assigned, and Nico’s out and across the grass faster than blinking.

But as he nears the car, he can see the driver’s side door hanging open, no one inside. The scanner buzzes intermittently on the dash. The radio crackles again, another page from Annabeth.

Fuck. Nico scrubs a hand over his face, trying to force himself to focus. It’s not going to help anyone to panic right now. He briefly scans the area around the car, seeing nothing amiss.

“Will?” Nico takes a few steps into the woods. He calls Will’s name again. He jogs further into the forest scanning the trees and god, the forest floor, praying he doesn’t trip over a body. He tries to force his brain to make sense of this, look at it logically, trying to ignore the way his heart’s trying to beat out of his chest. What other explanation could there be for this scenario? Did Will see something and leave the car to walk into the woods? But then surely he would have relayed that information to Luke. And why would he leave the car door open?

Nico has a horrible, crushing feeling that he’s hurtling towards something worse the longer he stands here, no turn-offs, no brakes. He pulls his phone out again, shaking so badly he misdials on the first try. “Annabeth? I’m at Maple Gardens, he’s not here. His car’s empty. I don’t see any sign of him. I – I have reason to believe he’s in danger.”

Annabeth’s tone barely changes, but she’s on the radio, fast, calling for backup. Nico feels ready to shatter into a million shards, sharp.

“We’re on the road,” Annabeth reports a moment later. “We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Yeah. Okay. I’m gonna – I’ll be nearby.”

Nico heads back into the woods again, a bit more structure to his search this time. It feels cruelly slow, his eyes fighting against the dark, the flashlight beam only illuminating meager sections at a time.

Without really thinking about it, his phone is out of his pocket again, fingers automatically dialing Will’s number. Nico jumps, startled, as he hears an answering ring somewhere nearby. Then he’s desperately stumbling through the trees, stomach in knots, pulse pounding in his throat. He can hardly stand to look, now fully expecting to find Will’s body, torn open.

A crunch underfoot and Nico’s heart clenches. He immediately takes a step back, casting his flashlight beam to the ground.

A pair of glasses.

Will’s glasses. The same glasses Nico placed on Will’s face just two days ago. Freckled cheeks just a breath away from Nico’s careful fingers, the way Will’s smile softened when he realized what Nico was doing.

Fuck.

He’s inches from scooping them up when he remembers these aren’t just Will’s glasses now, they’re evidence. Something breaks inside him, and Nico feels his eyes burn with tears.

Fuck. Fuck. He feels completely helpless, unable to do anything but stand there using his own body to mark the spot where the evidence has been found.

::

Annabeth gets to him first.

“I found his phone,” Nico tells her, hoarse, pointing to the little silver clamshell, just barely visible in the tall grass. It’s all he’s been able to focus on since he spotted it a few minutes ago, that and the crushed glasses at his feet, the only signs of Will that he has right now. Nico’s breath hitches and he sees Annabeth’s brow crease in sympathy. She opens her mouth to speak, but then Luke is approaching, a beeline through the trees

“What the fuck is going on?” Luke sounds livid. “Where the fuck is Solace?”

Nico’s got to keep it together for this part, because he’s the only one who knows. “He was doing the stakeout here on his own,” Nico says, ignoring Luke when it seems like he’s going to interrupt. He’s got to get the words out before he completely disintegrates, every little bit of him dispersed on the cool breeze, broken and useless. “I went back to the Exeter site.You remember the trophies we found there? From Tooms’ previous victims?”

“It’s not fucking Tooms!” Luke bursts out.

“Luke,” Annabeth says firmly, “let him finish.”

Nico continues doggedly, throat tight. “It is Tooms. We found your third victim’s pocket watch there with Tooms’ prints on it. And there was another trophy when I looked this evening. Something of – Will’s.” Nico has to pause for a couple of deep breaths now, just barely managing to stay upright, to stop from bursting into tears. Instead he digs in his pocket for the cufflink, holding it out in demonstration. With his own fingerprints all over it now, because he’s a fucking idiot.

Luke looks like he’s getting ready to argue again, but Nico pushes onward, because this is way too fucking important. This is everything. “We have to find him,” Nico says. “We have to find Will, and we have to find Tooms. We’ve got to move all our resources into searching, immediately. As far as we know, Tooms has never moved a victim to a second location before murdering them, if there’s any chance that Will is still alive –”

Nico’s voice cracks, but Luke barely seems to be listening.

“You know, I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking, asking for Will’s input on this case. You’ve clearly fed him the Kool-Aid. He could have been a good agent, di Angelo. A great one. But six months in the basement with you and he’s fucking spouting conspiracy theories, believing shit about vampires and immortal dog-catchers. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the two of you barely have your shit together! We leave you alone for a single evening and you go and disobey direct orders, fucking mishandle evidence, you lose your partner –”

“Okay, yeah, I might have fucked up,” Nico says, tight, a little anger seeping into his panic. It’s almost a relief. “But Tooms is our guy. You’re so fucking fixated on whatever trajectory you think this case is supposed to take that you can’t take off your blinders for five minutes to look at the evidence staring you in the face. But right now we have to find Will and –”

Luke throws his hands up. “We don’t even know that he’s missing! The way you two handle yourselves, he probably decided to go for a walk in the woods looking for Bigfoot, or – or take a piss. You fucking interrupt our stakeout for this shit –”

“With the car door hanging open?” Nico says, his voice going thin. “With his fucking – his phone and glasses abandoned in the woods – not to mention the cufflink –” All this argument is doing is wasting precious time. If Will is somehow still alive –

“What the fuck is that?” Luke asks, suddenly turning his attention back to the road. There’s a flash of headlights, then the slam of car doors.

“I called in the rest of the team. And the AD,” Annabeth says, quiet but determined.

“What?” Luke whirls back around. “What the fuck, Annabeth? I told you we didn’t need any more backup! I can handle this myself!”

Annabeth’s mouth is pressed into a thin line. “I’m not seeing a lot of evidence of that at the moment. And this is our case, Luke, not yours.”

Luke scowls at her before stalking towards the road.

Nico raises a shaking hand to his mouth, willing himself not to vomit. At least, not in front of Annabeth. The bleak reality of Will’s phone and glasses, still on the ground between them, is a painful reminder that they’re fucking doing nothing.

“Do – do you have an evidence bag?” Nico asks, barely able to get the words out. Annabeth, who’d been following Luke’s retreat with her brow furrowed, turns back to Nico.

“Oh –” she realizes in an instant. “Yes, of course. Can you give me a little light?”

And Nico casts his flashlight on Annabeth’s bag so she can find what she needs.

“I didn’t have anything with me,” Nico begins. His stomach convulses, and he can’t tell if he’s going to sob or vomit. “And I – I didn’t want to move in case we couldn’t find the site again –”

Annabeth’s gaze shoots back to Nico, serious. “We’re going to find him,” she says. “I know it looks bad, but we’re going to find him.”

“This is all my fault,” Nico whispers. It’s burning a hole in his chest and he feels like he has to say it to someone.”

“Of course it’s not your fault,” Annabeth says, immediate. “Why would you think that?”

Nico glances around, not especially wanting to be overheard by Luke. “After the meeting this afternoon Will and I had a – a difference of opinion. About the stakeout,” he admits, quiet. “That’s why he came on his own.”

Annabeth nods in understanding. “Those things happen. Case in point.” She nods in the direction Luke disappeared. “That doesn’t make this your fault. Will should have requested partner reassignment.”

Nico doesn’t trust his voice to answer, instead handing his flashlight to Annabeth so he can bag the phone and glasses. The glasses are crushed, broken beyond repair, and he collects as many bits as he’s able to under Annabeth’s steady flashlight beam, ignoring the tear that drips onto the bag as he seals it.

“Here, let me,” Annabeth says kindly. She crouches next to Nico, accepting the evidence bags from his shaking hands to label them. Nico takes a second to attempt to get some air into his lungs.

They both stand, and Annabeth drops her voice a bit. “Look, I’m pretty sure Ramirez-Arellano is about to take charge of this entire situation, but it’s still my call at this point. You know they’re going to want to go straight to Will’s residence –”

“Oh, fuck.” Nico presses a trembling hand to his face. This is all happening too fast. Except for everything that’s not happening fast enough.

“He lives with his sister, right? Kayla?” comes Annabeth’s voice.

“Yeah.” God. Nico’s hit with the memory of Kayla’s voice on the phone every time Nico calls Will at home, bright and teasing like her brother’s. He thinks of Naomi Solace, a grainy photo on a CD.

“Do you know Kayla?” Annabeth’s asking.

“Um.” Nico swallows. “We’ve spoken on the phone. A bunch of times. But no, we haven’t – met.”

“Do you want to go to her first, give her the heads-up before the cavalry shows up at her door?”

“Yeah. I – Yeah.” Nico glances at his watch. It’s just before eleven. Kayla might even still be up. When he looks back to Annabeth, her face is deadly serious, but kind.

“Go ahead,” Annabeth says. “I’ll make the report to the AD.”

“Yeah. Okay. Thank you,” Nico tells her, his voice rough. “Annabeth – someone needs to search the Exeter site. I was there, but I rushed over here the second I found the cufflink –”

Annabeth nods. “Of course. I’ll make sure someone’s sent someone over there immediately. We’ll keep you updated, okay? Stay safe.”

::

Nico’s dropped Will off at home quite a few times, but once he parks in front of the apartment building, he realizes he has no idea which unit Will actually lives in. He quickly dials the landline as he walks up the sidewalk.

Kayla answers on the second ring. “Hey, Nico. Will’s not home yet – wait, isn’t he with you?”

Nico clears his throat. “I’m here to talk to you, actually. Can I come up?”

There’s a pause and then, “Shit.” Kayla sounds a bit breathless. “Yeah. It’s 305. I’ll buzz you in.”

Kayla’s already got the door open when Nico steps off the elevator, and he immediately thinks he would have recognized her even if he hadn’t known she was Will’s sister. Red hair, round-faced, but that same clear gaze Nico’s so accustomed to seeing across the office, familiar freckles scattered over her nose and cheeks. She’s in pajamas but looks wide awake, lights on in the apartment and the sound of the TV carrying out into the hallway.

“What’s going on?” Kayla says without preamble. “Is Will okay?”

There’s no point in anything but the truth. “Will went missing during a stakeout earlier tonight.”

Kayla sways, holding onto the doorway. Nico reaches out a hand.

“I’m okay,” she breathes, waving him off. “Fuck. What happened?”

“Um –” Nico begins.

Kayla shakes her head. “Here. Come in.”

He stays for nearly an hour, tells Kayla everything he can. Which admittedly isn’t much. Other agents arrive to search the apartment just as Nico’s getting ready to leave.

Kayla watches the agents disappear into Will’s bedroom, arms wrapped around herself. The TV is still on in the background, a burst of canned laughter, painfully out of place.

“I can stay if you want,” Nico says. The guilt is heavy in his chest and he feels he barely has the right to suggest it. But it feels wrong to just leave.

Kayla lets out a long breath. “No. No, that’s okay. You want to get back to the search, right? That’s where you should be.”

Nico nods. He’s having trouble thinking of anything else, honestly, waiting on tenterhooks for his phone to ring with the news that a body has been found. Waiting for the ground to disappear from under him.

“Can I call someone for you?” Nico asks.

“I’ll – I think I’ll call my girlfriend,” Kayla says. “See if I can go over there for the night, if they’re done with me here.”

Nico nods. “That’s a good idea. Do you want a lift?”

Kayla smiles, tired. “No. I’ll be fine. Thanks, Nico.” She steps forward, pulling him into a hug. Nico feels a wash of guilt for taking comfort in the gesture, pries himself away before he starts to cling.

::

The search is in full swing when Nico gets back to Maple Gardens. Reyna is reportedly on site, but Nico doesn’t catch sight of her before he’s assigned a search area. The agents work in careful grids through the woods, the operation dragging on until the sky begins to lighten. Though Nico’s grateful for the light of dawn making the search somewhat easier, his stomach is in knots with the certain knowledge that if there is a body, and it’s been hidden under cover of darkness, well. It’s likely to be found soon.

There’s nothing, though. Exhausted, heart and body aching, Nico stumbles back to the checkpoint to report on his search. Reyna catches his eye as he walks back to his car and she follows, letting herself into the passenger side when Nico unlocks it.

Nico’s fully prepared for Reyna to tear a strip off him the second they’re alone. It’s so hard to even care right now. He feels numb, hollow.

“They found Tooms’ prints on Agent Solace’s car,” Reyna says without preamble.

“Fuck,” Nico says weakly, dropping his head into his hands. His eyes burn with exhaustion and unshed tears. Vaguely, he’s grateful that Reyna allowed him some privacy for the sharing of this information.

“Agreed,” Reyna says, her voice softening a bit. “But it means we’ve got enough evidence to hold Tooms once we find him.”

“Yeah. Great,” Nico says.

“We’re expanding the perimeter of the search,” Reyna’s saying. “If you plan to continue aiding with the search effort –”

“Yeah. Of course I do.” Nico’s voice is rough.

“Then we’ll be reconvening at the south entrance to the park in about twenty minutes.”

Nico nods. “Sure. Okay.”

There’s silence for a moment, and then Reyna reaches for the door handle. “This isn’t over yet, Nico,” she says. “There’s no body. We have to believe he’s still alive.”

They spend hours more searching, each one taking Nico further from the moment he last laid eyes on his partner. It’s just more nothing. No clues, no leads. Nothing. Like Will was plucked off the face of the earth. Word comes from Exteter – no sign of him there, either.

Back in his car, Nico pulls around the corner out of sight of his colleagues, makes sure the doors are locked, then presses his head into the top of the steering wheel.

He takes a moment to truly spiral, pulling himself back just before he falls completely to pieces. He’s gasping for air, outside of his body. True, heart-stopping panic. If he lets himself properly cry, though, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to stop.

Then, a buzz on the radio and his attention snaps to the transmission. They’ve found Tooms.

::

Half an hour later, Nico’s being shown into an observation room, Tooms sitting on the other side of the glass.

The young man looks the same as he did a few nights ago; placid, bland. But now, the sight of him makes Nico’s blood boil, an overwhelming wave of hatred and grief. He’s sitting right fucking there, six feet and a pane of glass between them, and Nico wants to murder him with his bare hands, right after Tooms tells him where Will is.

Deep breaths, Nico tries to remind himself. He doesn’t even know how to do this without Will. He keeps looking over his shoulder, expecting to see that familiar grin, the flash of blond curls. Only to be reminded again and again that he’s the reason Will isn’t here.

The doorknob behind him turns and Nico automatically thinks, Will before his heart contracts painfully yet again. But it’s the exact opposite.

The feeling seems fully mutual, Luke merely giving Nico a sour look before sinking into the other plastic chair, pointedly moving it a few inches further from Nico.

Nico rolls his eyes.

“Surprised they let you stay on this case,” Luke mutters after a moment. “If it was up to me, that would have been one fuck-up too many, losing your fucking partner.”

Anger bubbles, molten in Nico’s chest. He clenches his jaw, hard enough that it aches. If he punches Luke, he’ll definitely be pulled off the case.

A long silence, ringing.

“Why the fuck are you here anyway?” Nico asks when he thinks he can control his voice. “Tooms didn’t do it, right? Go find the guy who did.”

Quiet again, except for the blood pounding in his ears. Nico’s half-expecting to get decked himself. He thinks he’d almost welcome it right now. A sidelong glance tells Nico he’s probably right. Luke is tense like he’s ready to spring, a muscle jumping in his jaw.

“Wait, why aren’t you conducting the interrogation?” Nico says, realization seeping in. “AD didn’t think you could handle it? Isn’t this your case?”

For a second Nico’s positive Luke’s about to rise from his chair, pull back his fist. He’s actually bracing for the impact. But then the door to the interrogation room enters and Annabeth enters. For better or worse, both men turn their attention to the window.

They’ve all been up for at least twenty-four hours now, but Annabeth looks alert, immaculate. Her questioning is just as immaculate, pointed and probing, but it goes nowhere. Like every fucking other thing today. Nico can feel himself getting more and more frustrated the longer the interrogation goes on. Tooms is responding much the same way he did the last time; slow, monotone. No useful information at all.

“What can you tell me about this?” Annabeth asks. She places an evidence bag on the table between them; Will’s silver cufflink. Nico’s throat goes tight.

Nico’s gaze flicks to Tooms’ face and he’s sure he sees a spark of recognition there, a flicker of hunger. It’s gone just as quickly. It leaves Nico burning, every nerve alight, distilled desperation.

“I don’t know what that is,” Tooms says, slow and flat.

Nico’s drawn like it’s some other force propelling him, out of his seat and into the interrogation room.

Annabeth half-rises. “Agent di Angelo –”

“You know,” Nico bites out. “You know what this is.” He snatches the evidence bag off the table, shakes it in Tooms’ face. Tooms barely seems to register Nico’s presence, his gaze vague and faraway.

Then Nico’s hands are at Tooms’ collar, pulling him roughly out of his chair, shaking him. “Where the fuck is he? Where the fuck is Will?” His voice comes out hoarse and desperate, too loud in the little room.

But there’s still no answer, Tooms only blinking benignly at him, and in the next second Nico’s being restrained himself, pulled bodily from the room. He hasn’t even registered that it’s Annabeth until they’re out in the hallway. Annabeth shuts the door behind them, hard. Her face is uncharacteristically fierce.

“Di Angelo, you have got to keep it together,” she hisses. “They will pull you from the case and from the search.” She releases her hold on him and Nico sags against the wall, pressing shaking hands to his face.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Nico’s dizzy with anger and panic.

After a moment, Annabeth sighs, leaning against the wall beside Nico. Then she says, quieter, “The AD’s going to find out about this eventually. I’m willing to… not call her right now. But Nico, you have to promise me you can get a hold of yourself.”

He’s nodding before she’s done speaking. “Of course. I’m – thank you,” he manages.

“Okay. Okay.” Annabeth lets out a breath. “I’d tell you to go home for a few hours and rest, but –”

Nico shakes his head. “I can’t.” He finally lets himself meet Annabeth’s eyes. Her expression softens.

“I know,” she says.

::

Nico can’t bear to return to the observation room, to Luke. He leaves the building instead, lets himself into his car. He decides to stay there at least until he can catch his breath, until the sour spike of adrenaline starts to fade.

When his phone rings, he scrambles for it, heart rate ratcheting right back up again.

“Di Angelo.”

“It’s Annabeth.”

Nico presses the phone closer to his ear, desperate for anything.

“I’m sorry,” Annabeth’s saying. “I didn’t have any more luck after you left.”

“Okay.” A tiny spark of hope, extinguished. Not that there was much to begin with.

Annabeth sighs. “I know. I was really hoping for something more.”

Nico nods, throat suddenly too tight for speech.

“They’re holding him, anyway,” Annabeth says. She sounds tired.

“Thank god.” If there’s any possibility Will is still somewhere out there, alive… at least Tooms can’t get to him.

“We’re all over our hours quota,” Annabeth says, sounding apologetic now. “The AD wants us all to go home and get some rest. We’ll be allowed back in for the evening shift.”

“Okay,” Nico says. There’s no fucking way he’s going home. Not until Will is found, one way or another. Just the thought of returning to his apartment, of doing nothing... it makes his stomach turn, utterly repellent.

“Thanks for the update,” Nico tells Annabeth.

Nico spends the afternoon searching, anywhere he can think of, staying just outside the radar of the official search. He walks until his legs ache and his feet blister, an ever-widening perimeter outside Maple Gardens, then back to Exeter. Riverbanks and wooded areas and back alleys. He’s on auto-pilot now, running on fumes and overwhelming, gut-wrenching guilt. In the early evening he finally accepts that he needs to stop and take in some calories before he passes out. He drops onto a park bench, forces himself to choke down a sandwich and a pop in the sunset before dragging himself back to his car and returning to the Bureau for the evening shift. The minutes keep ticking by, relentless.

::

That evening, Reyna’s sitting at the head of a conference table full of somber-looking agents, the almost-24-hour mark palpable in the air. Several of his colleagues give Nico sympathetic looks. He does his best not to meet anyone’s eye. The sky outside the windows is fully dark, a painful reminder of the day’s passage. Nico’s only too aware of the implications of that, crushed under the weight of it.

Reyna looks tired, her face tight. “We unfortunately haven’t managed to extract any information from Mr. Tooms. We’ll continue to expand the search perimeter this evening. Agents will return to Exeter Street as well as Maple Gardens. The suspect has a history of returning to past crime scenes.”

An agent across the table from Nico clears her throat, a blonde woman he doesn’t recognize. “Ma’am may I ask how long this will remain a rescue operation? Agent Solace has been missing for nearly 24 hours.”

“At the present time, the intent is still to find Agent Solace alive,” Reyna says. “We’ll reconvene at the end of this shift if there’s a need to reevaluate.”

There’s a pause in which Nico feels too many gazes directed his way. His fault.

“Agents Chase and Castellan will provide you with your search assignments,” Reyna says, rising from the table.

The agents begin to gather their things, soft conversation as they gather around Annabeth and Luke. Nico rises.

“And you, di Angelo – you’re going home,” comes Reyna’s voice at his shoulder.

Nico turns, eyes wide in disbelief. “What? No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. You’ve been working this search for almost twenty four hours. At this point, you’re a danger to yourself and your colleagues.”

“I’m not going home.”

“Yes, you–”

“Reyna–”

“Agent di Angelo,” Reyna keeps her voice low, clearly aware of the others nearby, several of whom have turned their heads in Nico’s direction. “You assaulted a suspect. You’re lucky I haven’t put you on probation. I am ordering you to go home.”

Nico swallows. He’s exhausted, aching, a toxic swirl of emotions simmering right at the surface. He has to hold it together long enough to convince Reyna to let him stay.

“Reyna, please,” his voice comes out far more broken than he’d planned, but at least he has her attention. “I can’t go home. I can’t – please let me stay.”

Reyna sighs, deflating. “Nico –”

“It’s – it’s my fault he was out there in the first place.” It’s all Nico’s been thinking, the words playing on repeat in his head as the hours slip by. It didn’t help when he said them out loud to Annabeth. He’s not sure what he thinks he’s going to accomplish by confessing this to Reyna, too.

Reyna’s brow furrows, “Agent Solace was acting on his own reconnaissance. Your partner may have picked up a few bad habits from you, but that’s on him.”

Nico shakes his head, throat tight. “We were – we were arguing, and I –”

“This isn’t the time or the place for that conversation,” Reyna interrupts, low, a flick of her gaze towards the others in the room.

“I can’t go home until we find him,” Nico whispers. He can’t even look Reyna in the eye.

Reyna’s voice comes after a long pause, tired. “Fine.”

Nico looks up. Reyna’s expression is uncertain, but he’ll take it. Then something resolves in her eyes.

“Fine,” she says again. “There’s a couch in my office. Get a couple of hours of sleep –” her eyebrows rise as Nico opens his mouth, ready to argue.

“No. I will not compromise on this, di Angelo. You need rest. Go.” She points in the direction of her office. “Two hours. I’ll come and wake you. And then we’ll go together.”

::

Nico goes as far as forcing himself to lie down and close his eyes – and then he lets his mind spin and spiral for two excruciating hours.

Reyna arrives back at her office two hours later, down to the minute, a quick knock at the door before she enters. “No news,” she says immediately when Nico looks up.

Nico takes a breath, nods. He’d expected that Reyna would have alerted him sooner if anything had happened.

Nico follows Reyna to the parking garage. He thinks his body is aching a little less now, but he’s not sure he can feel anything at all, so who’s to say. Everything is beginning to feel floaty and strange, time passing in weird, unreliable chunks.

“We had a group trying to search the upper floors on Exeter Street,” Reyna’s saying. She sounds nearly as exhausted as Nico feels. “The entire structure is crumbling, though. We’re going to send a new crew in tomorrow. There are several other abandoned buildings nearby – we’re beginning to concentrate our efforts there.”

Nico nods dully.

“Have you already searched in the area around Exeter?” Reyna asks as they approach her vehicle.

“No. Yes,” Nico says. He shakes his head, trying to clear it. “I – did a ground search. This afternoon. I checked alleys and – dumpsters.” A deep breath. He manages to keep his voice from breaking. Sheer force of will, or what’s left of it. “There are a few condemned buildings on the same block, though. I didn’t go inside.”

Reyna’s quiet for a moment. “We’ll start there, then.”

Nico nods, leaning back in his seat and pressing a hand over his eyes.

A second later there’s a jab in his shoulder. Reyna, watching him in the dark of the parking garage. “Seatbelt, di Angelo,” she reminds him.

Right. Nico pulls it over his shoulder. It takes several tries before he’s able to connect it properly.

He feels Reyna’s attention on him intermittently as she pulls out her parking spot and then out onto the street.

Several blocks from the Bureau, Reyna eases the car to a stop for a red light. She takes a deep breath. “Nico,” she begins. All of her usual sternness is suddenly gone, her voice soft and human and sad.

Nico bites the inside of his cheek, hard. “No,” he says. He doesn’t want Reyna to be speaking to him in that tone of voice. He doesn’t want her to need to.

A moment of silence as the light turns green and the car moves forward. “I was just going to say, I can drop you off at home,” Reyna says. “There are two dozen other agents out on the streets tonight –”

“No.” Nico shakes his head. “I need to be here.”

Reyna nods, no further comment.

It was kind of Reyna to offer to go with him, for her to offer her couch and her sympathy. And Nico hadn’t thought much beyond that, but now, sitting here in the quiet car in the dark with one of the only people who’s ever taken care of him, tried to mother him, in her way, when there was no one else left to do it… it’s starting to feel like too much. Or maybe it’s just been too long. Too long awake, too long without Will, too many miles logged in his car and on his feet.

Nico closes his eyes, focuses everything he has on breathing, jaw clenched against all the fear and emotion that’s trying to claw its way out of his chest, all his defenses failing –

There’s a sudden burst of static on the radio and Nico jumps.

“Agent Solace has been located at 50th Street NE at Thompson Road,” says Annabeth’s voice, no-nonsense and staticky. “Now awaiting ambulance transport to Providence Hospital.”

Nico’s body flashes hot and then cold. Ambulance. Hospital. Could that possibly mean –

Reyna’s quick to reach for the call button. “This is unit 301,” she says. “What’s the status of Agent Solace?”

“Unit 301, Agent Solace is unconscious but appears otherwise unharmed,” comes the immediate reply.

A wave of relief, so powerful Nico thinks it might drown him. Reyna’s posture softens. She lets out a long breath.

There are some muted, crackly cheers on the radio, and Reyna’s face twitches into a relieved smile. “That’s excellent news. Thank you, Agent Chase. Well done, everyone.”

When Nico sobs into his hands for the duration of the drive to the hospital, Reyna kindly doesn’t mention it.

::

Nico’s nearly asleep on his feet in the hospital hallway when Kayla comes rushing in, looking panicked. Her eyes fix on Nico immediately. “He’s okay?”

Nico nods. “He’s okay.”

“Oh, thank god.” A moment later Nico finds himself with an armful of Solace, Kayla holding him tight around the waist. He squeezes back. It’s a bit of a relief to have someone else to help support his weight for a moment.

Kayla pulls away, wiping at her eyes. “Fuck. I was just thinking I really needed to call our mom when I got your message.”

“He’s fine,” Nico reassures her. “He’s still unconscious, but the doctors checked him out and he’s not hurt aside from a couple of bumps and bruises.”

Nico’s having trouble believing it himself. He’s only managed a brief glimpse of his partner so far, but aside from the bandage on his forehead, Will had looked very much the way he does after falling asleep on Nico’s couch; peaceful, pink-cheeked. Very much alive.

Nico’s been trying very hard not to think of the unknown sedative, though the doctors don’t seem concerned. Because what if Will doesn’t wake? Or what if there’s some kind of permanent damage no one knows about yet? Each time Nico’s mind veers in this direction he wrenches it back to the most important thing – Will is alive. Against all odds, he’s alive.

Annabeth approaches a moment later, Luke following. Annabeth is still managing to look alert, if a little worn. Nico’s pretty sure he looks like he’s been deceased for several days. He thinks he’s starting to smell that way, too.

“Hi, I’m Annabeth Chase,” Annabeth says to Kayla, “I don’t know if you remember me. We were working the case with Will –”

“Oh Annabeth, of course I remember you!” Kayla steps forward to wrap Annabeth in a hug, too. Annabeth looks surprised, but returns the embrace.

Luke, hovering a step behind, nods when Kayla glances at him. Kayla doesn’t offer him the same warm welcome, her eyes narrowing.

“Kayla,” Luke says in greeting. “It’s been a while.”

“Luke,” she says, curt.

The four make idle, somewhat tense conversation for a few minutes, all of them weary, the day stumbling towards midnight now. Most of Nico’s higher cognitive functions have abandoned him at this point, but he’s pretty sure he’s not imagining some simmering resentment from Kayla, aimed in Luke’s direction. Nico thinks he’s probably not doing a great job of hiding his own distaste for the other man. Annabeth must notice too, because after a minute, she suggests that she and Luke take a walk to the cafeteria.

“We’ll bring you something back,” Annabeth tells Nico, her gray eyes flitting over his face, concerned. “You look dead on your feet.”

It’s not like he can deny it. Nico nods in thanks.

Luke waits for Annabeth to take a few steps away, then turns back to Nico. “He’s not gonna suck your dick, di Angelo,” he sneers, his voice low.

For a second, Nico’s too shocked to react. Then there’s a surge of anger, white hot, all the grief and despair and helplessness of the last twenty four hours spilling over. Nico’s in motion, ready to swing at the other man, when Kayla steps neatly between them and slaps Luke, hard enough that he staggers.

“You fucking son of a bitch,” Kayla hisses, taking a step closer, her arm raised for another strike. “You asshole –”

Nico’s speechless, but he fumbles for Kayla’s arm, hauling her back as Luke stares at her, appalled, one hand to his reddening cheek.

Annabeth blinks, stunned, before grabbing Luke firmly by the elbow and dragging him off. “Cafeteria, Castellan.” she says, stern. She shoots Nico a look over her shoulder, wide-eyed. They’re both gone in a second, leaving Nico and Kayla alone.

“That motherfucker, I’m gonna –” Kayla seethes.

“Okay, it’s okay,” Nico murmurs, loosening his grip on her arm.

“He was a dick two years ago, and he’s a dick now. He can’t act like a human being for ten minutes, not even when Will almost died. I’m going to fucking kill him –”

Kayla’s eyes are blazing and the rage is radiating off her in waves. Nonetheless, Kayla’s even smaller than Nico is, and it’s almost a little funny. Or maybe that’s just the sleep deprivation warping his perspective.

“You probably shouldn’t kill him. Though he kind of deserves it. And I’d probably help you hide the body,” Nico says.

Kayla laughs, loud, then presses a hand to her mouth as a passing nurse gives her a disapproving look.

“Oh fuck, I just decked an FBI agent,” Kayla says suddenly, eyes wide. “Am I gonna be arrested?”

Nico snorts. “I think you might get a pass this time.” He’s still dizzy with adrenaline himself, heart pounding. Surely Luke wouldn’t try to press charges? At the very least Annabeth should be able to smooth the situation over. “But I wouldn’t make a habit of it.”

::

Two hours later, Nico and Kayla are side by side watching over a still-unconscious Will, both of them seated in flimsy, barely-padded plastic chairs. They’ve drifted in and out of conversation, but both are exhausted and mostly it’s just comforting to have Kayla’s company.

Nurses have been in and out of the room, friendly and efficient, then the doctor, all assuring Nico and Kayla that Will doesn’t seem to be in any danger – he’s simply still sleeping off whatever sedative Tooms must have used. There’s a knot of worry still twisting in Nico’s gut, but god it’s so good just to see Will at all, miraculously whole and alive. He can’t stop looking.

Will sighs in his sleep and both Nico and Kayla tense for a second, watching him, but he doesn’t wake, and they both sink back into their chairs.

Kayla glances over, something soft in her expression. “Will talks about you all the time, you know,” she says, quiet.

“Well.” Nico clears his throat. “We do spend all day together.” He knows Kayla means her words to be kind. They would have warmed him, even a little over a day ago. Now, it just presses the guilt further into his chest, a tangible weight on his sternum.

There’s a long pause broken only by the hum of machines, muted voices in the hallway.

“I’m gonna pass out and fall right out of this chair,” Kayla announces rather suddenly, pushing herself to stand and tilting her head from side to side. “I think I’ll go find a vending machine. I need caffeine. Or sugar. Maybe both.” She touches Nico’s shoulder, light. “Do you want anything?”

“No. Thanks.”

“Okay. Well, I might hang out in the waiting room for a while,” Kayla adds, beginning to dig in her purse, strands of red hair falling over her freckled face. “The chairs are a little more comfortable out there. You’ll come get me if he wakes up?”

Nico nods. “Yeah. Of course.” His voice comes out raspy, and he clears his throat.

Kayla gazes at him for a moment, too searching. “He’s okay, Nico,” she adds, softer.

Nico gives only a short nod, his eyes settling on his partner’s body once more. Behind him, he hears Kayla linger a moment longer, then sigh before the door shuts behind her.

::

Will surfaces slowly, his fuzzy brain trying to make sense of the sensations around him, slowly seeping into his consciousness. He’s lying on his back. That, in itself, is weird.

There’s beeping. Rhythmic and regular.

The pain registers more slowly, a dull ache in his head, a sharper pain in his side. His eyelids feel heavy, itchy. He takes in a deep breath, attempts a slow shift of arms and legs. Everything seems to be moving, at least. He opens his eyes.

A hospital room. The overhead lights are off, a soft light shining from somewhere behind him. There’s a glow from the city lights outside the window, from the digital displays on the machines beside the bed. He’s in a bed. That can’t be good. He turns his head, still processing, trying to collect enough information to make a judgment about what’s going on.

And Nico’s there, within arm’s reach, wide-eyed and anxious. The top couple of buttons of his shirt are open, the shirt itself smudged with dirt, a small rip at his shoulder.

Nico swallows. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Will manages, not sure if he’s capable of anything fancier than single syllables. His throat feels raw.

Nico’s voice comes out as a whisper. “How are you feeling?”

Will blinks at him for a long moment. Then, “oh. Shit.”

Nico’s brow creases and he leans forward, “are you okay? I mean - I know you’re not okay-okay, but are you – I can grab a nurse –” Nico makes to rise from his chair just as Will manages to find his voice.

“No, no, wait. I’m – I’m okay. What happened?”

Nico sinks back down, slow, something like pain flickering across his face. He looks beyond exhausted, Will realizes, more tired than Will’s ever seen him. “What do you remember?”

“I was…” Will begins, gazing into the middle distance. “Shit. I went to our stakeout assignment – Maple Gardens. Tooms was there and he…” Will’s eyes go wide. “Fuck.” He presses a hand to his midsection which feels, mercifully, exactly as it usually does. “I still have my liver,” he says with no small amount of relief, and he thinks it must be a testament to the seriousness of the situation that Nico doesn’t crack a smile. He just nods, jaw tight.

Will shakes his head, grasping for pieces that aren’t there. “I don’t – I can’t remember anything else.”

“We think he knocked you out,” Nico says, barely more than a whisper. “Some kind of sedative. Remember, the organic compound they found in the third victim?”

Will nods, slow. “Shit.”

“Yeah,” Nico breathes. “We um. We had the whole Bureau looking for you.” He closes his eyes for a second, then takes in a shaky breath. “We started searching at Maple Gardens, and at the Exeter site. We just kept expanding the perimeter. And then a couple of hours ago Annabeth and Luke found you in an alleyway halfway between the two sites. We believe Tooms was… transporting you. Our best guess is that he got spooked at some point and… dumped you. Before he could…” Nico presses his lips together, shakes his head.

“Jesus,” Will murmurs. His gaze blurs, drifting to the edge of the hospital room door. “How – how long?” He looks back to his partner’s face.

Nico’s expression is pained, pinched. “Just over twenty six hours.”

“Until they found me?”

Nico nods.

“Fuck.” Will lifts his hands to scrub them over his face. Mercifully, his face – and his hands – feel mostly unscathed. There’s a bandage on his forehead, a tender spot, and the IV taped to the back of his hand. His ribs feel bruised.

“You told me not to go,” Will says suddenly, the memories making their slow way back into his brain, drifting together like puzzle pieces. “You – you said I should –”

Nico is shaking his head. “No, Will, I should have –”

“I’m sorry,” Will cuts in. “I never should have gone on my own, I don’t – I don’t know what I was thinking. I was frustrated and I was angry with you. And then you – then everyone had to run all over town trying to find me before I – shit, I’m so sorry, Nico. You must be so mad at me.”

Nico’s face crumples, his eyes welling. “Furious,” he whispers.

Will feels tears spring to his own eyes, the reality of the whole situation crashing down around him.

“Hey. Come here,” he croaks, holding out his arms. Nico hesitates for just a second before folding himself into Will’s embrace. Will can feel every ounce of tension in Nico’s body, the way his breathing goes uneven.

Only a little hesitant, Will slides a hand up to cradle the back of Nico’s head, fingers winding in soft hair, and Nico lets out a quiet sob against Will’s neck, like he’s just barely managing to hold it in.

“It’s okay,” Will whispers, turning his face to the other man’s head.

Nico gulps, trying to steady his breathing. “I was such an ass,” he whispers. “Fuck. I’m so sorry Will. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how you can – you don’t deserve – I was awful. I was stupid and I put your life at risk and I was sure you were dead –” Nico’s voice breaks, fingers tightening in the fabric of Will’s hospital gown.

“Hey. No,” Will breathes, stroking the other man’s hair. “This was my fault too, okay? It’s okay. We’re both fine.”

Then he stills for a moment and pulls back as much as he’s able, his hands on Nico’s face, not wanting to allow him to move too far away just yet.

“I am okay, right?” Will asks. “There’s nothing – is there something I don’t know about?” Nico’s clear distress makes him need to ask, a sudden chill running through him.

Nico shakes his head immediately, as much as he can while it’s being cradled in Will’s hands. His eyes are red-rimmed, puffy. “No, you’re fine. You’re –” his gaze flicks over Will’s face, pained. “You’re a bit banged up, but you’re fine.”

“Okay,” Will breathes. A tear tracks down Nico’s cheek and he blinks against it. Will brushes it away with a thumb.

“And everyone else – Annabeth? Luke? You?”

Nico nods. “Fine, everyone’s okay.”

“Thank god.” Will traces his thumb across Nico’s cheek again, slower. He looks as if he hasn’t shaved or slept since the last time Will laid eyes on him.

He lets his gaze linger on Nico’s face, slow, savoring. The sharp, delicate line of his nose, the swell of his bottom lip. They’re so close now, sharing breath, and there’s a soft sort of heat that coils in Will’s stomach with the proximity. Will feels himself shift just a fraction closer, drawn like a tide. Nico’s lips part, his gaze dropping to Will’s mouth.

Losing his nerve at the last second, Will suddenly shifts closer, pressing a kiss to the corner of the other man’s mouth, his nose bumping Nico’s cheekbone. Nico’s face relaxes into a soft smile and he sags forward to bump their foreheads together. They breathe.

Nico swallows. Will can feel it, as close as they are. “I was sure I’d lost you,” Nico whispers, then stops, lips pressed together to keep the words in.

Will shakes his head, slight, the movement jostling them both. “You didn’t. You won’t.”

Nico’s eyes fall shut. “I’m so sorry,” he says again.

“Me too,” Will whispers, pulling him back in by the shoulders, this time no hesitation in pressing his nose to Nico’s hair, breathing him in.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for,” Nico whispers.

“Doesn’t matter. I still am,” Will murmurs against Nico’s hair. “I don’t like arguing with you.”

“Me either. Let’s not do it again.”

There’s a soft knock at the doorframe and then, “oh, you’re awake!” Will looks up to see Annabeth at the door, looking tired, but pleased. Nico draws back slowly. There’s the smallest shift in Annabeth’s expression as she seems to take them both in. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt –”

“No, no,” Will smiles. “You’re not interrupting. I hear thanks are in order. And an apology.”

Annabeth comes in for a hug, perfunctory, but her smile is warm. “No need for apologies, Solace. Happens to the best of us.”

Will huffs, a roll of his eyes. Then – “Kayla!” he says, pleased, looking over Annabeth’s shoulder to see her entering the room. Nico and Annabeth retreat a bit so Kayla can approach the bed. She squeezes Will, tight. “Glad you’re okay.”

“I’m sorry I made you worry,” Will says into her shoulder.

And then Reyna arrives, and then a nurse comes in to check Will’s vitals, and the next thing Will knows, the room is full of people and conversation. Will doesn’t think he’s quite made sense of all this yet, head still spinning with possibilities, with the weirdness of having completely missed a 24-hour period. For the moment, though, he’s very happy to be alive. It’s good to be reminded every so often.

“Hey.” A hand on Will’s shoulder, and he looks up to see Nico, looking calmer now. Nico’s hand lingers, a stroke of his thumb against bare skin where the neck of the hospital gown has shifted.

“I’m –” Will begins.

Nico frowns. “Don’t you dare apologize again.”

Will frowns back. “Fine.”

A twitch of a smile. “I just wanted to tell you – I’m gonna head home.”

Will nods. He reaches up to squeeze the hand still resting on his shoulder. “Good. Get some sleep.”

Nico clears his throat, his gaze dropping. “I’m really you’re alive,” he says, so soft that for a second Will’s not sure if he misheard.

Will’s throat goes tight. “Nico –”

“Call me if you need anything,” Nico says, his voice rough. He drops his hand to his side, takes a step back.

Will nods. And then Nico’s gone.

::

One week later

Will glances up to a sharp knock on the door.

“Yeah?” Nico calls from where he’s shuffling through papers across the room.

The door creaks open, Annabeth’s face appearing around the frame.

“Hey,” Will smiles.

“How are you feeling?” Annabeth asks.

“Much better,” Will assures her. “The AD made me take a couple of days off after they let me out of the hospital, but honestly I didn’t need them.”

Nico surfaces, a stack of files in his arms. He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, what kind of a loser would need time off to recover from being drugged and kidnapped?”

Will quirks an eyebrow at him. “Pot, meet kettle.”

Nico snorts. Will turns back to Annabeth, who’s regarding them both rather fondly.

“How are things above ground?” Will asks.

Annabeth sighs, her smile fading a bit. “I do have some news, actually.”

“Uh oh.” Nico crosses the room, dropping into his chair. “We heard the judge was reviewing Tooms’ case this morning.” Nico’s gaze flicks to Will, tight.

Will’s only been back at work for three days, but Nico’s been different. Quieter, closer. More careful with Will, more likely to offer to accompany him over to Dunkin’ or even upstairs to the cafeteria. He’s driven Will home three days in a row, first insisting that he was heading that way anyway, but abandoning all pretense by yesterday and simply telling Will he was going to give him a ride. It’s not that Will minds the company. And it doesn’t feel like an unreasonable shift in Nico’s behavior, considering all that’s happened. But Nico’s looked tired and tense, thousand-yard-staring across the office more often than usual, and Will’s found himself wishing he could just have his Nico back. That everything would just go back to normal.

Will had been required to meet with a counselor when he returned to work. She’d suggested that Will talk to Nico about the case, that the two of them spend some time debriefing. But Will honestly doesn’t know where to start. And if it’s at all possible, he thinks he’d prefer to forget the last week ever happened.

“They’re putting him on a psych hold, but they didn’t charge him with anything,” Annabeth sighs. “He’ll be at Druid Hill Sanitarium for the foreseeable future.”

“Fuck,” Nico says, shoulders slumping.

Annabeth nods. “I know. It’s disappointing. Not entirely surprising, though, considering Will doesn’t remember much aside from Tooms entering the car – not to mention the fact that they couldn’t identify the substance used to sedate him.” She shoots Will a sympathetic look.

“And they’re not going to try and charge him with any of the murders?” Nico asks. He doesn’t seem surprised, though. He and Will have already discussed the matter in detail, and neither was optimistic that Tooms would be held in jail.

Annabeth grimaces. “Not enough evidence.”

“Well,” Will says, “thanks for the update, anyway. We’ll just carry on, I guess.” He attempts a half-smile.

There’s silence in the office for a moment.

“So what’s next for you, after all this?” Nico asks Annabeth. “Anything interesting happening in Violent Crimes?”

Annabeth glances towards the door, quick about it. “Actually,” she says, lowering her voice a bit. “I haven’t told Luke yet - but I’m requesting reassignment.”

“Can’t imagine why you’d do that,” Nico says, dry. “He’s such a sweetheart.”

“He’s a good agent,” Annabeth says. “Or he has been, anyway. Just not one I want to trust with my life. Not anymore.”

Nico nods. “Wise choice, I’d say. And I’m sure he’ll take the news well.”

Annabeth sighs. “I’m about to go tell him now, actually. Wish me luck.”

She walks to the door, heels clicking on the linoleum. She turns, pausing with her hand on the doorknob. “You two make a good team, you know. You do good work.” Annabeth shoots a small smile at Will who returns it, his cheeks warming. “If the Bureau ever wants to fund a third agent down here, you know how to reach me.”

Just as Annabeth’s about to walk out the door, Nico stands, abrupt. “Annabeth – thank you,” he says. Nico’s voice is earnest and a little rough, and Will can’t help the thought that those few words mean a lot more than Nico’s putting voice to.

Annabeth nods like she understands. “Of course. Any time.” The door closes softly behind her.

There’s a stretching silence in the office. Until the last few days, Will’s never felt awkward in silence with Nico. Surely that will get better though. Right? Surely they both just need some time.

Will clears his throat. “I guess that’s that, then.”

“Yeah. Almost,” Nico says.

“Almost?”

A sigh, tired. “We um. We have to meet with Reyna. And Octavian.”

“Oh.” Will’s stomach twists unpleasantly.

“Yeah, it’s – tomorrow. At three.”

Will frowns. “When – when did you find out about that?”

“Reyna cornered me yesterday morning.” Nico’s not quite making eye contact, doesn’t seem to be doing anything purposeful with the papers in front of him, though they’re keeping his hands busy. “I – was going to tell you. Soon. I didn’t want to – I don’t know. I didn’t want to give you one more thing to worry about.”

When Will doesn’t immediately answer, Nico finally glances up, guilty.

“You don’t – Nico, you don’t have to try to protect me,” Will says slowly.

Nico turns back to his desk. “Yeah. Okay.”

::

Just over twenty-four hours later, they’re making their way back down the stairs, Nico seemingly lost in thought and lingering a few yards behind. Will reaches the basement door first, holding it open behind him.

“I think that went about as well as we could have expected,” Will says as he unlocks the office door. Octavian had seemed to enjoy telling them off for their multiple failures to follow protocol. But from what Will gathered, they would have been in more trouble if this had been an official X-Files case, rather than one on which they were acting as consultants. Will doesn’t think he imagined the fact that Octavian seemed rather disappointed by this.

“Yeah,” Nico agrees. “I’ve had worse meetings.”

There’s a pause. In his periphery, Will notices Nico glance toward him, then away again.

“What’s up?” Will says. Nico was quiet in the meeting. Subdued. Professional. Several times Will’s quite sure Octavian was hoping to get a reaction out of him – Will read it in the antagonism in Octavian’s gaze, the slight tightening of Reyna’s mouth. Nico didn’t rise, though. Maybe he’s about to. The basement office is a safe space for that sort of thing, after all.

“You lied to Reyna,” Nico says.

“I did?” It’s not at all what Will thought was weighing on Nico’s mind, and he takes a moment to make sense of it. “Oh – about us agreeing that you should stake out the Exeter site? I just figured it was simpler.” He’s not sure the AD believed him – he’s heard Nico refer to Reyna as a human lie detector. But Nico didn’t contradict Will, and the matter didn’t go any further.

Nico’s brow furrows. “No, I – I appreciate that. You were – covering for my bad behavior, and I –”

“It’s not a big deal. You’d do the same for me.”

Nico swallows. “Yeah. That’s not actually what I meant, though.”

Will blinks. “What else did I lie about?”

“When she asked you why you didn’t request partner reassignment, the night you were — kidnapped,” Nico says haltingly. “You said something like – you were tired, and stressed out. That the situation hadn’t arisen before and you – forgot what the protocol was.”

Oh.

“That’s what happened, Nico,” Will says, sincere enough that he almost believes it himself. Because there’s no reason for Nico to harbor any doubt. “It’d been a rough couple of days. I was tired and scattered, and I just didn’t think things through.”

Nico gestures in Will’s direction. “That, just now? That was a much better attempt than what you tried upstairs.” Nico’s voice is hushed in the quiet of the office. “But that’s not the truth. Or it’s not the whole truth.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Will says, gentle. “What matters is that we’re both safe. We’re alive, and we have our jobs, and now we can… we can move on to whatever’s next.”

The color seems to drain from Nico’s face in an instant. “You – you were trying to cover for me,” he whispers in sudden realization. “That’s why you went to the stakeout on your own.”

“Nico –”

“You thought I’d be in trouble. If you – if you had to explain to Luke why we weren’t going to Maple Gardens together. You covered for me, put yourself at risk, and then – then –”

Nico suddenly stands, shaky, and Will rises along with him. “Nico –”

“I – I just need a second.” And then Nico’s out the door. There’s the slam of the office door, quick footsteps receding, and then the slam of the bathroom door at the end of the hall.

Will scrubs a hand over his face. Hovering in the middle of the office for a good few minutes before finally dropping into his chair to wait. He almost rises to follow several times, then changes his mind.

It’s probably only fifteen minutes later when Nico returns, looking pale and clammy. It seems like much longer. Will watches him return to his desk, aching. Everything between them feels broken right now. How do they fix this? Part of Will desperately wishes they could return to that evening in the hospital, both of them relieved to be alive, together. They comforted each other. It almost felt like the beginning of something new. And now –

“I’m sorry,” Will says, leaning forward in his chair. His voice is rough. “I’m sorry I made a stupid decision. And that I didn’t tell you.”

Nico shakes his head, gaze on his lap. “No. No, you’re good, Will. It’s my fault –”

“I don’t want you to think that,” Will says, almost desperate.

Nico looks bleak, exhausted. “Even if I somehow spin it like it’s not entirely my fault, I still contributed way too much to a situation that almost got you killed.” Nico’s voice cracks on the last word and he shakes his head, scrubbing at his face.

“I did, too,” Will says. He so badly wants to go to Nico, touch him, comfort him. But it feels impossible right now, like there’s some gaping chasm in the few yards between them.

“Nico, what if you hadn’t gone to Exeter? If no one had known about the cufflink –”

Nico shakes his head, still not meeting Will’s eye. “If I hadn’t been at Exeter, I would have been with you. And none of this would have happened.”

“He had the cufflink before that night, though,” Will says. “He was going to come for me either way. If you’d been with me at Maple Gardens, he just would have waited until he could get me alone.”

“I don’t think I can –” Nico’s voice goes weak again and he shakes his head. “I don’t want to talk about all the ways you might have died,” he says. “Okay?” he adds, finally looking up when Will doesn’t answer. Nico looks wrecked, almost as bad as he did when Will woke at the hospital.

“Okay,” Will says quietly.

There’s a long pause in which Will desperately wishes he knew what to say to fix this. His whole chest aches with it.

“Okay,” Nico says, finally. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”

Notes:

1. This chapter has been a LOT of work. I thought it was in pretty good shape, but when I read it over, it felt really bare bones to me. I’d written it so long ago that it didn’t match up with all the character/relationship development in the previous chapters. I enjoyed fixing it up and I’m much happier with it now, but just in case anyone else is worrying about being a terribly slow writer - it took me many, many hours to beat this thing into shape. Like, I've been working on it daily since whenever I posted the last chapter. I just checked, out of curiosity - the original draft was 18k words, and this one is 31k :) One change I made was to the ending - the original version ended on a far more upbeat note. In the actual X-Files, the characters go through this kind of trauma - and worse - ALL the time, and then they just move on. But as I started writing Will & Nico in these roles, I came to realize that it wasn't actually true to character for them to bounce back so quickly. Other changes included Will being more invested and taking more initiative, and giving Annabeth a bigger role (yay!) 2. This chapter is based somewhat on an episode of X-Files called Squeeze which I found TERRIFYING the first time I watched it. But I am a chicken. 3. I definitely got a bit hand-wavey with toxicology reports. Such is life. Don’t try this at home, etc. 4. I realized on the millionth read-through that Nolan Campbell (the 1939 victim whose family Will called) could not actually have been drafted because there was no draft yet in the spring of 1939. Oops. 5. The murder math in this chapter was SO hard for me to keep track of - how many murders/which decade/who discovered which murder when. I will never be a mystery writer. 6. Thank you SO much to everyone who's read and commented and thought about this fic enough that they asked when the next chapter would be posted. I appreciate all of you so much. I was so worried no one would read this thing. 7. Thanks so much to @rosyredlipstick for beta-ing and rebeta-ing. Thanks to my discord peeps for knowing exactly what kind of crier Nico would be when I asked :) 8. Chapter 7 is really only outlined, but chapters 8 & 9 are mostly finished. So. Send me good November writing vibes! Thanks for reading <3