#I will get these three living under the same roof if it’s the last thing I do

[darkst4lker]

detention. // remus lupin

professor!lupin x fem!reader

plot: on your last day of sixth year, you get detention with professor lupin, developing a huge crush on him since then. two years later, you graduated from hogwarts and were invited to join the order of phoenix by the weasley twins, so you arrive at the black family house where you've been provided with a place to stay by the order after recently being kicked out of your home. is then when you discovered that you would have to live under the same roof not only with sirius, but also with your big crush from years ago, remus lupin.

tw: professor x ex-student, nothing inappropriate happened when y/n was a minor, like a huge age gap (reader is 19, almost 20), mostly romance/fluff i guess, a little angst, mentions of the reader being a slytherin, reader is friends with the twins but she's older than them by a year, mentions of smoking, sirius black being sirius black it's his own warning, low caps on purpose.

notes: english is not my first language, thank you for the support on the other one-shots!!! ALSO HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! ♡♡ xoxo.

ps: i wrote this listening to speak now (the whole album) by taylor swift and it was an INTENSE experience.

it was your last day of sixth year and you couldn't believe that your last hours before dinner and taking the train were going to be spent on remus lupin office. now you really regretted following the twin's ideas for once.

in your eyes it was an innocent last-day-of-school prank, but it ended up with you three accidentally setting the whopping willow aflame for like twenty seconds before the three of you managed to stop the fire. yet, professor snape was the one to see the whole sequence of events, meaning he was completely livid and not so forgiving as others professors could be so he sent you and the twins straight to detention.

and that's how you ended up in professor lupin empty classroom, in detention, for three hours. of course snape separated you from the twins, so not only you were going to be sitting in one of the classroom benches for a long time, you were also alone.

remus was finishing getting some papers in order as he supervised you, and you sat quietly in the front row, completely bored as you looked at what he was doing to entertain yourself. in one moment, his eyes went to you, noticing your clearly irritated face.

the moment snape appeared in his door grabbing you and made him take care of your detention time (only to put more work on him last minute, he believed) you made him remember the times he used to do the same stupid shit with sirius, james and peter.

so, for the sake of the old times and the fact this was the last day of school, he decided to make your detention a little bit more entertaining.

“miss (l/n).” he called you, his voice calm as always.

“professor lupin.” you answered, still irritated but with the energy to speak ironically.

“what were you trying to do with the twins?” remus asked you, a subtle smile on his lips. he was looking at his work while he talked to you.

“when?” you answered smiling, trying to play dumb because the fact that the prank went terribly wrong embarrassed the hell out of you.

remus stopped organizing his paperwork as he raised his eyes from his work to give you a serious “don't pretend you don't understand” look, making you sigh in redemption.

“okay, im sorry professor, stop looking at me like that. it frightens me a bit.” you admitted as you rolled your eyes. “we were trying to set fireworks that were meant to activate when everyone went outside to take the carriages.”

his eyes relaxed when he got and answer and he continued with his work. he seemed to be just minutes away to finishing with his paperwork, though.

“you know, when i was your age i did the same kind of things with my friends.” remus said, chuckling a bit.

“no way.” you answered, clearly in disbelief. remus looked at you smiling softly for a moment.

“i swear” he added, and you instantly laughed.

“for merlin's sake!” you exclaimed, enjoying his confession and now feeling less alone than before. “the mysterious and innocent looking professor lupin ended up being a troublemaker, who could have guessed it?” you said, laughing.

he smiled as you laughed, still working on his papers.

“mysterious?” remus asked, an eyebrow raising in curiosity.

“y'know, what the other girls always say about you.” you added, trying to reference the constant things you heard from your classmates. “that you're mysterious because of your-... y'know.” you pointed at your face to reference his scars with all the delicacy you had. being a slytherin didn't helped a lot with having much tact, but for remus you tried. remus on the other hand, was usually uncomfortable with his scars but it warmed his heart a little that his students didn't think his face was completely unpleasant, as he did.

“they also say that you appear to be sweet and kind” you kept enlisting what you always heard, things that you also thought. things, that you firmly believed he didn't needed to know you thought. “and of course what i consider a classic at this point: that you're beautiful.” you ended up, a little smile on your lips.

remus stayed silent for a second before answering. a yawn scaped your lips as you were really tired. the whole thing with snape scolding you and the twins into oblivion had left you exahusted, yet you guessed remus wouldn't let you sleep on detention.

“those are all the things they say about me?” he asked, calmly. his apparently soft lips giving you a warm smile. somehow inside your chest you knew he wasn't as pure as he appeared.

in your eyes, remus had the look of a wounded man who couldn't afford to be innocent because he was already rotting since long ago, his soul marked with the kiss of something beautiful enough to torture a man.

there had to be a reason for the way this man was always looking like he knew something you didn't.

“yes. i think all the girls have a crush on you.” you said, answering his question like if your mind wasn't lingering on the way his fingers moved while manipulating every paper in his desk. that's what finally made you realize that in some point you were included in the affirmation you said, because remus lupin was too kind with everything and everyone for you to not end up completely mesmerized.

yet, you thought it was natural for you to develop a crush when this man guided your hand with his in class and whispered sweet instructions in your ear when he picked you to make a demonstration. i mean, who would not feel butterflies around him was the right question.

“i never noticed.” he lied, because in fact he did noticed, but it was fun to have someone gossiping with him about the class rumours. not that remus specifically enjoyed them though, but sometimes he felt like a gossip when discussing with, for example, minerva about all the things other students commented about him.

and right now, you were the one making him feel like a gossip. he honestly believed that you were his funniest student but also the most oblivious one.

oblivious, because you truly believed he didn't noticed you were one of the girls crushing on him too.

you smiled at remus, looking at him for a moment. you were aware that he probably lied about not noticing what the girls commented of him. he had this delicate demeanor in his face features that you couldn't fully explain, even if his skin was full of scars.

and every single one of those scars felt like a whole mistery waiting for you to solve. what you didn't knew yet, was that his scars were a prophecy of his damnation.

“i thought every teacher noticed.” you stated, smiling tiredly at him. as your thoughts became a little cloudy, you could notice that you were about to fall asleep, so you felt like you had to ask remus if you could rest a moment, or at least warn him. “professor lupin” you called him.

“yes, (y/n)?” remus answered, using your name. a chuckle settled in his lips as he used the same ironic tone you used earlier when he called your name.

maybe it was the fact that you were sixteen at the time, and your hormones were crazy or the way you suddenly started struggling to stay awake, but something in the way your name came out of his lips made you feel like you had a cloud of furious butterflies inside your body, eager to come out of you. his voice made your name sound so elegant that every letter curled in your guts and twisted your heart like a siren call straight from the deepest ocean.

a subtle blush settled on your cheeks, and you took a deep breath as you noticed how his smell was all over the classroom: chocolate, parchment, coffee, old book pages. autumn.

being in sixth grade meant that the amortentia was on your class program, and after some time alone with professor lupin, you quickly connected the dots of what was exactly the scent you smelt that one time snape put a calderon full of amortentia in front of your class and asked what was it.

yet you were getting too sleepy to deal with the huge crush you just realized you had with remus lupin in that moment. « i'll handle it next year » you thought, like if he wasn't in your amortentia scent, before finally answering him.

“nothing, i was just going to ask if it would be possible for me to take a quick nap here” you asked him, smiling clearly tired. “please professor lupin, snape exahusted the hell out of me.” you added, as if the plea would do something to help your case.

remus looked at you clearly trying not to laugh at the things you said. if you only knew he detested him just as you did, and that he always got exahusted from dealing with severus too.

he let out a deep breath before answering.

“go ahead. you do seem tired.” he said, having a little mercy on you. “i'll wake you when detention it's over.” remus added, now having finished with his paperwork and opening a book he had in his desk. it was the last day of school, and he felt like you deserved a little of good will from him.

you rested your head on your arms against the bench, closing your eyes softly.

“thank you professor, that's why you're my favourite.” you said, finally letting the sleep trap you in his arms.

remus watched over your dreams with the affection only him could possess. the sweetness he lacked as a wolf, he had it as a human.

so, when you had sleep over almost all your detention time, remus stood up from his desk chair and walked over you to finally woke you from your well deserved nap, fifteen minutes before dinner.

“y/n” he said, calmly. “y/n” he repeated.

you opened your eyes, moved your head a bit and looked up at him, standing up in front of you.

“good evening, professor.” your answer came out sleepy, pieces of your dreams lingering on your body.

“good evening, y/n.” he smiled at you from above. “here, take this.” remus said, placing a piece of chocolate in your bench, next to your head. “it'll wake you up a little.”

you didn't answer, as you were still trying to keep your eyes open.

“i need to get all these papers to my office, please leave the classroom door closed when you go to the great hall” he added, ruffling your hair with kindness before grabbing a pile of papers on his desk and leaving you alone in the classroom with the piece of chocolate as his only remain.

when you were awake enough, in the solitude of the classroom, you ate the chocolate piece and left, too excited and flustered with what just happened to remember that you had to leave the class door closed.

after that day you went home, spent your vacations there until your seventh year started, and when you got to hogwarts and dumbledore announced that your new professor of defense against dark arts was going to be alastor moody, your stomach dropped to your feet in deception.

that was the exact moment you damned your sleepy ass and how you thought you could do something about your crush «next year». you couldn't. you wouldn't.

and the worst part is that you knew that even if remus were there, nothing would have ever happen. he was a good man, and you were just a stupid girl thinking you stood a single chance with him. or maybe not, but still you wanted to see him every day again if it was possible.

the first night of your seventh year you cried like a heartbroken girl in your bed because you thought you wouldn't see remus again, and none of your dorm mates knew what happened to you or how they could help.

the only ones who knew what was happening to you were fred and george, because they were your best friends, and even if they did everything to make you feel better you were still crying for weeks like if someone had died.

and, being aware that harry potter surely would know what happened with lupin, the twins borderline interrogated him for days until he spilled out what he knew. so fred and george came back to you with the whole story: lupin was a werewolf and he had to quit because snape sniched on him with the students parents. obviously, you scolded them because harry had enough to think about with someone slipping his name into the goblet of fire but you were extremely grateful, and now you had an excuse to murder snape.

yet, you also had an answer to all the questions you had about remus. why his face was full of scars, why he looked so emotionally wounded, why he always seemed to know something you didn't, why he disappeared once per month. he was a werewolf.

so, settling with the fact that you would probably never hear of him again you kept your broken heart and your silly little crush in a box, graduated from hogwarts and went home. until one day, an owl with a letter woke you up early in the morning crashing into your window. you recognized fred's messy calligraphy.

« dear (y/n):

well that sounded awful. anyways, how is it going? be kind enough to write us a letter one of these days, we've been missing you.

since you're sooo good doing crazy shit with your wand (almost like us) me and george fred george recommended you to our parents for a little organization that's starting to rise again. we cannot explain more since y'know, the ministry is intercepting owls like crazy.

please come on september 9th at night to 12 grimmauld place. don't use flu. or maybe just come to our house first and we can take you there. yes, that's it, come to our home and we'll go together to grimmauld place.

we expect a letter to confirm your answer. or maybe just a letter telling us about you. please write us we're desperate!! and we miss you!!

ps: lupin will be there ;) SO SAY YES!!

sincerely yours,

fred george george and fred fred and george weasley »

you laughed at the whole letter, and when you read about remus being there, you decided to do what they asked you. you quickly wrote an answer and sent the owl back to them saying yes, but your parents ended up finding their letter.

your parents weren't the most tolerant people, being wizards with an opulent life and purist ideas just like the malfoys, so of course they weren't happy about you receiving a letter not from one but two weasleys. and for once you stood up to fight them back, confessing you planned to go with your friends.

that was the last straw, and days before of what fred and george stated, you were in their front door because your parents kicked you out of home with promises of disinherit you. you were a blood traitor on their eyes now.

the weasleys kindly received you and finally explained for what organization they were trying to recruit you: the order of the phoenix.

you agreed to join gladly, out of rage for your parents ideals and out of impotence because you openly believed what harry said: voldemort was back.

and, just as fred and george promised, on september 9th everyone went to grimmauld place, you included. it was a shiny full moon night and when you and the weasleys stood in front of the door, for a second you wondered if remus was okay. if his transformations were painful, if he was going to be comforted after.

when you got inside the house, the weasleys revealed to you that the plan was for you to stay at grimmauld place, and keep sirius black (who you recently found out that was an innocent) company the most part of the year. you were told that everyone would pass from time to time and that remus was probably going to be staying there the most of the time too.

so, you met sirius, who guided you to his deseaced mother's room and told you to leave your things there since you were going to be living there full time. you settled up and after a lovely dinner that molly prepared, you officially joined the order.

it almost felt like a fever dream, days ago you were at your parents house, and now you were joining a resistance and just hours away from seeing remus lupin again. a part of you was excited and other was scared of falling in love with him, heartbeat going crazy just at the idea of sharing a home with him.

you went to bed in the middle of a haze, the sheets embraced you with tenderness as you closed your eyes and the fatigue of all the events clouding your life catched up with you. you had a dreamless sleep until a scream suddenly waked you.

you didn't found time to change as you got out of bed almost running, worried that something had happened. yet, the moment you went down the stairs you saw arthur, sirius, moody and molly (who was clearly agitated and you guessed she was also the one who screamed) looking at someone laying in the sofa of the living room.

it was late for you to go back unnoticed, as sirius instantly saw you.

“(y/n)” he said, tenderly. “i apologize if we woke you.”

you didn't answered because in the exact moment he talked to you, arthur moved from his place and you saw the face you never thought you would ever see again.

remus layed on the sofa, his face was extremely pale and full of scraches, he had a nasty wound on his chest and in general, he looked sick. molly was helping to treat the deep cut on his chest and you quickly realized that was probably what made her scream.

you looked at sirius, your expression soaked in concern for remus state. it was almost unrealistic seeing him like this but you finally understood the violence involved in being cursed by the moon.

it was the first time you saw him in two years but your eyes couldn't fully believe what they were seeing. the one you adored so much in deep secret, was injured and almost unconscious.

a part of you knew you didn't had to seem extremely worried if you intended to keep your secret, but it was hard for you to restrain your feelings.

“is he-...” you doubted before the words escaped your lips. “is he going to be alright?”

no one but sirius payed attention to your presence as they were focused on remus. he looked at you with reassurance as you stood on the doorframe.

“yes, yes. do not worry, he has been worse.” sirius answered, giving you a calm smile. “go back to sleep, tomorrow it's going to be a long day and we'll have a meeting.” he added, as his attention went back to remus.

your feet refused to move for a couple of seconds and just when you were about to turn back and go to bed, remus eyes met yours. his gaze subtly widened and you felt like a deer in lights, provoking you to almost run upstairs just the way you did a couple minutes ago.

but as you left, remus felt ashamed of himself. after not seeing you for so long, suddenly now you knew what he was, who he was. what the beast inside of him provoked every full moon.

at the same time everyone treated his wounds, trying to make him feel better, in his mind he cursed his lycanthropy. remus couldn't help but feel like a constant burden, a beast who had to be kept captive.

as a couple of days went by, you didn't saw remus at all. molly insisted on him resting some days in bed since he was injured and his transformation had been quite violent so you only heard the news that she or sirius brought back of remus state when they went to check on him.

until one night you couldn't sleep, and you decided to go downstairs for a cup of tea. you tried to be silent as you got out of your room in your pajamas and went to the kitchen.

but oblivious as you always were, you didn't noticed that as you prepared your tea, your back facing the doorframe, someone else was also getting into the kitchen but with the intention to get a coffee.

“good evening, miss (l/n)” you jumped back as the teasing voice of remus lupin scared you, making you drop a bit of tea over the counter.

“shit-... prof- sorry-...” you said, surprised and nervous. the words struggled to find an order while coming out of your lips but you realized in time that remus wasn't you professor anymore and that he was probably joking.

the way he said your last name scratched your brain in a oddly specific way. or well, everything he said had that effect on you.

“im sorry, i didn't meant to-...” remus started to say but you interrupted his words, turning to face him.

“don't worry it's okay, i didn't thought someone else would be awake.” you answered, smiling at him.

the moment you looked at him you noticed that remus had the same loving and sweet gaze he had two years ago. all this time you believed that you may had been delusional about your crush over him, that maybe you had set a extremely high standard or that this was all a product of the idealized remus you had on your brain, but no.

as you saw him standing there, a comfortable brown sweater on his body and his now healed scratches on his face you realized that the man you've been crushing on was as wounded and broken as you once remembered. the same tender look on his eyes being a constant reminder of the cruelty of his destiny at the hands of the moonlight.

“you can call me remus, by the way.” he clarified, smiling at you and you nodded.

“remus... sounds good. better than professor lupin.” your answer was a little bold but you felt relief when he chuckled. “so, what are you doing here this late?” you asked as the cup of tea went to your lips and you took a sip, testing the temperature.

“i could ask you the same, you know?” remus smiled as he walked closer to the counter, meaning he was closer to you too. “i was craving coffee, and since the days after the full moon i can never sleep, a night coffee it seemed like a good idea.” he added, as he started preparing one. “also this is the only place in the house where molly allows me to smoke.” he said whispering playful like if he was telling you a secret.

then you gave a quick look at the ceiling and noticed that had some stains. stains caused by the cigarette smoke, you guessed.

you smiled at him and took another sip of your tea.

“are you feeling better, then?” you finally asked him, curious and nervous. the question had been repressed in your chest for a couple of days.

“well, sirius and molly took good care of me.” remus said, still preparing his coffee. “i feel a little numb this time, though. it was more intense than usually.”

“i was a bit worried.” you admitted, looking at his hot coffee on the counter, and then directing your eyes to his.

“i know, i saw you. and i heard you.” he answered, now grabbing a cigarette he had tucked behind his ear. “i thought you were scared of me, by the way you ran upstairs when i looked at you.” remus smiled a bit while speaking, but it became a melancholic smile when he said those last sentences. then he put he cigarette on his lips like a tender death kiss.

you realized how he was probably insecure about his nature. for him, a death omen. but for you, it felt like the moon loved him so much she needed to have him for herself once a month. but it was a exhausting love, the kind of love that consumes you to the core of your being and hurts your soul.

yet you wondered what kind of love remus had to offer, and if he indeed had feelings for someone inside his chest, who would be the one blessed with remus love.

when remus lighted the cigarette, he took a deep drag and released the smoke with a certain elegance that you couldn't explain.

“no, i could never-...” you stopped yourself from saying something you would probably regret. “i wasn't scared, i was embarrassed. i thought i was being intrusive. it was one hell of a entrance after not seeing you for two years, though.”

he smiled at you, more relaxed than before as he leant against the kitchen counter. the hand that didn't held the cigarette was now grabbing his coffee and your eyes quickly made their way to his fingers against the cup. you felt like you were sixteen again, looking at his hands.

when he answered your gaze found his again.

“you're right, it's been a long time.” remus took a sip of his coffee. “i hope you didn't got in much trouble after i left.”

“i became a bit worse.” you admitted. then your lips kept moving, saying things you didn't thought you would ever admit. “i used to have a crush on you, back in hogwarts. i was sad when you left.”

remus smirked, the cigarette separating from his lips before he responded.

“i know, the twins told me some weeks ago, before one of the meetings.” he confessed, a soft laugh escaping his lips. “they said you cried.”

a deep blush crept into your cheeks, and a intense feeling of embarrassment settled in your stomach. you left the tea on the counter, and covered your face.

“oh for merlin's sake, i can't believe they told you.” your hands left your face and you stared at the floor for a second.

“if it makes you feel better, i already knew.” remus said, finishing his cigarette.

you stared at him in disbelief.

“since when?” you asked, feeling like you could die of embarrassment.

“since the day you had detention with me.” he answered, calmly. “it is true? you cried?” remus curiosity won over him.

you sighed, defeated.

“yes, i cried.” your words were shy, but then you became a little confident. “fred and george told me snape was the one that made you quit, so he became my pranks target and i got a lot of detention time.”

remus laughed, and that made you blush even more and your heartbeat raised to the ceiling. he finished his coffee and spoke.

“i pity him, i wouldn't dare to provoke the rage of a young woman.” remus answered. “even less yours.”

“why-...?” you were about to grab your cup of tea again as you responded but his hand moved to the kitchen counter counter in that exact moment, meeting your hand with his.

when your hands touched, it felt like a shock of electricity running through your whole body. you instantly pulled back from his contact, looking at the floor.

feeling like you had your heart stuck in your throat, an inevitable realization came to you like a rush of adrenaline. you were too far gone for this to be only a crush. you've spent two years loving him endlessly, and now that you were with him you could only wonder if you would've kept loving remus like this if the twins hadn't recruited you, and he weren't beside you in this exact moment.

the typical boldness that layed on your chest had left you for a moment and you needed to take a deep breath. when the words came to you, they were far more brave that you could ever imagine.

“what if this crush never faded?” your voice trembled for a second. “what if it became worse?”

remus sighed and took his hand to your chin and forced you to look a him in the eyes in a sweet gesture.

“we can't, i'm too old for you.” he said, almost in a whisper.

“i never cared about that.” you answered in a heartbeat.

“well, i do care. it's not only the age, it's-...” he made a brief pause. “i'm dangerous, (y/n). im not good for you at all.”

“i don't care, remus. i'm not scared of you.” you moved closer, you could be in front of him.

remus was taller than you, a detail that never failed to make you weak before him. you looked up at his eyes.

“you don't even know me properly.” his voice sounded a bit shaky.

“i never thought i did, yet i always had the desire to do so.” everything he had to said, you've already had thought an argument ages ago thinking of all the things he could say if this situation happened.

and you never thought it would, but luckily the gods or whatever above heard the constant plea of your heart.

“i can't keep a job because i'm a werewolf, (y/n) please think of what you're saying for a second-...” you interrupted him.

“you could say your face will turn green every night and i wouldn't care. please, just give me one chance.” you said, almost in a whisper. a sweet plea for him to spare your heart.

remus thought you were a beautiful woman, brave, ambitious and oddly astute. an intelligence made for chaos and not exactly for books, but he knew better than to ruin you and in his eyes just even trying to date you would feel like setting on fire to your promising life.

he was a monster, fearful that his lycanthropy could hurt you or affect you forever, not to mention he was frightened that his children could end up being cursed like him.

but then he looked at you, so willing to have him, so in love and he felt his heart melting.

maybe you could try, right? just a try.

“i-...” remus began to say. “i think we can try.”

you sighed in relief as you got closer to him, your chest almost touching his.

his smell clouded your mind the same way it did years ago and you knew in your insides that if you someone put amortentia in fron of you, you would feel his scent as you once did: chocolate, parchment, coffee, old book pages. the smell of autumn itself.

his eyes, his voice, his smell, all of him provoked your chest to feel like it was about to explode, enchanting your mind like if some sort of love spell was being casted on your soul.

and now, he was yours. all yours.

one of your wildest dreams came true, and you knew your heart needed to seal the moment the best way you could. there was a gift, an offering to be made at the altar of your love.

there was something you never dared to give anyone else before, because no man was like him.

“you know, i saved something special for a moment like this.” the confession came out of your lips as you grabbed his face to lure him like a beautiful nymph and make him lean into your direction.

and even if he didn't say anything. your words hit remus straight on the face, twisting his guts and he just couldn't believe how nervous he was.

when his eyes looked at you as you grabbed his face and got closer, to him you looked divine just as a superior being could be.

in the moment you kissed him, it was a sweet kiss that made remus shiver from head to toe and take his hands to your waist almost like if you were made of glass.

the first time you kissed someone and it was him. it felt like you were putting a blessing on his soul, fixing even if it was just fo a second, the damage of his eternal curse.

remus wondered if he was the one who would fell in love deeper, noticing the control you had over him just with a kiss, how he suddenly could fall to his knees if you asked.

the soft exchange between your lips ended when a voice interrupted you both.

“for merlin's beard, moony.” sirius voice spoke from the doorframe. as remus avoided his look ashamed, you looked at him a bit irritated for interrupting. “don't look at me like that, (y/n). i didn't expected to find people kissing inside my kitchen when i came here to drink water.” he smirked, mocking you both

after a couple of seconds you laughed at his words, and remus followed you. the first fifteen minutes into this uncommon thing you had and you were already laughing at sirius together.

remus felt relieved and for a moment he believed that any difficulties you could have, you'll both be able to work it out together.

maybe it didn't matter if he was a werewolf or if you were this younger, or if he was frightened to hurt you.

because maybe remus wasn't as cursed as he thought.

i hope you enjoyed this, i spent DAYS writing it and im glad i got to release it for halloween!!! xoxo.

[letorip]

Which of Jenna’s characters do you think would be the clingiest? (I loved your headcannons ❤️)

most clingy

this was a very wholesome one to think about, i had great fun. thank you the anon who submitted this. same deal as last time, if you're tl;dr my take is at the bottom

wednesday addams:

she likes to put up a tough front of needing nobody and desiring to be alone, but once she falls for you, it's as bad as morticia and gomez

you live in a room on the other side of campus, and she's made it a habit of sneaking to your room almost every night. she scales the fucking dangerous, rickety old roof to get there each time, but she'll do it, because she'll get to sleep with you

sometimes it's to sleep with you, if you catch my not-so-subtle drift, and then other times it's because she wants to sleep with you

of course, she'll disguise it as "my room has broken air conditioning" or "enid is snoring," and you just smile, nod, and lift the sheets for her to get in

she's not a huge cuddler in the sense that she wants to lay directly on you, but she wants to be around, in the same bed

you do this almost every night, and if you don't, she's knocking on your door right when people are let out of their rooms in the morning to hang out (or make out) before breakfast starts

she's virtually moved in with you, at this point. she has a toothbrush in your bathroom, several outfits in your dresser (in her own drawer), and she leaves dead animal skulls and occult books around to "liven up the place." they definitely don't match your pre-existing decor, but you don't mind because it's wednesday

she's not super fond of pda of any sort, but she'll definitely be right by your side when you're hanging with mutual friends. she'll hold hands under the table or kiss you when there's a private moment, but she's not all over you physically when other people are staring at you both

she does definitely get super jealous

she'll make little comments like "bianca seemed friendly" or "divina finds you awfully funny." if you're tutoring someone in the library, guess who will also miraculously be at the library at the same time? sitting in a chair with a perfect angle of the table you're at and peeking over the top of her book

wednesday is almost always with you, because you're one of the few people she trusts and longs to frequently be with

tara carpenter:

you live with tara and sam, so it makes sense that you and tara slowly grow closer and closer until you start dating

she absolutely loves to have at least one point of contact with you whenever she can. she'll lean against you, lean her head on your shoulder, wrap an arm around you, just let your shoulders touch, or when she really wants to, she'll leave a hand on your knee

when you’re both watching a movie, she’ll cuddle up against your chest and start to fall asleep there, especially if it’s one she’s seen before. you turn the movie off but don’t move, because if you do tara will wake up

during the events of scream vi or any time there’s a ghostface threat levied towards her or sam, she’s especially attached to you. she doesn’t sleep as well and refuses to leave your side, as she’s paranoid ghostface will come to take you from her

you assure her that you’re okay and she can sleep, grabbing her hand and squeezing it three times (i. love. you.). it calms tara down a bit, and though she’s still worried and makes sure the apartment is locked and you’re all safe, it helps her sleep

when things calm down again, she’s not super clingy in the sense that she’s always with you. you’re both in college and have your own classes, and though she wants you near, you both can function as separate people. it doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to be with you, but your work and school keeps you both a bit more apart during the day

you both text frequently though, not because she doesn’t trust you and wants to be on top of you, but because it’s just nice to hear from you and you both love talking to each other. she’ll send you photos of cute dogs she sees on instagram or a reel she finds funny with a little note at the bottom that says ‘hope your day is going well <3’

tara does get rather jealous at parties. it’s not your fault you’re hot, but when other people approach you to “talk,” 9 times out of 10 you’re too oblivious to realise you’re being hit on

she’ll walk right over to the conversation you’re having with someone random and duck under your arm to wrap it around her shoulders. if that doesn’t work, she also has the tactic of narrowing her eyes, or if she’s feeling especially bold, just grabbing your wrist and dragging you away to shove you down on some random bed

people know in general not to fuck with tara when it comes to you. in a way it makes you her weak spot, but she will absolutely raise hell and stab whoever she needs to, in order to make sure you’re okay

shes definitely a cuddler. she’ll drag you back into bed and wrap an arm around your torso and hold you there. sam always wrinkles her nose whenever she walks past you both cuddled up against each other on the couch after a long day

lorraine day:

you meet lorraine as an actor in the adult films, when she’s still with RJ. it causes a bit of drama when she leaves him for you, but once you and her are officially together she never ever wants to leave your side

it even means she starts acting in them herself, and the best part is that with you, it’s not even really acting. she loves every minute and how free you make her feel, and because she feels it strongest while in your presence, she chases after it all the time

she’s a giant hugger, wether it be side hugging, or wrapping her arms around your waist from behind, to rest her head on your shoulder and watch whatever thing you’re doing

lorraine is so in love, and with you it’s a sweetness that shoots up her veins like heroin. you both eat together, sleep together, work together, and travel together

you always travel together except for once, when you had to go check on your father as his health declined. it was two states away and you went alone, because lorraine was due to keep shooting with jackson, maxine, and bobby-lynne. the entire time you were away after the filming wrapped, she stared out the damn window over the hill, waiting for you to pull up in your truck

it wasn’t long enough a time that she could’ve written a letter, but she felt like a soldier’s wife craving your call

when you got back she ran out to meet you and jumped into your arms. you twirl her around with a laugh and she’s crying into your hands and kissing your palms and then kissing you.

you laugh and say “lorraine, it’s been three days,” but she shakes her head and kisses you again. she’s so happy you’re home you go AT it that night, to the point where wayne knocks on your door to tell you to quiet down

she’s wanted to marry you since the minute she met you, and she tells you as such, even though it’s been a bit over a year

she doesn’t get super jealous, just because she knows fucking other people is just what you do for work. it feels different for you both, when you’re alone and when you’re in front of the camera. you’re both comfortable with yourselves and your relationship, and it’s the comfort she’s always wanted

i’m thinking of hourglass by catfish and the bottlemen, i think that song describes it perfectly

you’re always together, in your own perfect little version of heaven, and while it’s not clinginess from jealousy, it’s clinginess from love and being happy

cairo sweet:

cairo is not clingy whatsoever

not in the sense that she couldn’t give a fuck about you— though she definitely attempted to push that narrative at first— but in the sense that she knows she’s the best and she knows you’re both so incredibly solid. if anything, being apart makes seeing each other even better

she’s a romantic and a rich romantic at that, so whose to say she won’t go on a vacation for a few weeks without warning and then reappear at school for you to ask her where she went

part of her enjoys creating a mystery for you, and making you chase her. she likes the thrill of it, and in a weird way it shows that you care about her enough to find out where she’s been or what she’s doing. it’s somewhat refreshing, considering her parents are so careless and you care so much

she does get jealous when she sees you with other kids. you’re just as intelligent as she is, and you give tutoring advice and run several clubs, so there are always kids who need to speak with you. she knows it’s just part of your role on campus, but it does irk her a bit when she sees you talking to pretty girls who are all too suddenly interested in correcting their math test

most nights between you both are spent at her home, tangled up. she likes to drink wine, but you stay away from alcohol. that doesn’t mean you won’t kiss it off her lips, though

you both are avid readers, so sometimes she’ll lean against you while you both read separate books and sit in silence. it’s peaceful, and cairo always thought she’d want some whirlwind forbidden romance, which is why she’s so surprised she likes the quiet domesticity

she’s definitely somewhat a fan of showy pda in certain situations. she’ll sit on your lap in between classes and wrap an arm around your shoulders, and who’s to say the girl who she caught staring at your lips yesterday wouldn’t come around the corner at the same time to see you there

she makes it perfectly clear she doesn’t depend on you, though. you both exist as separate people. she finds couples joined at the hip as “vapid” and “full of braggadocio.” of course, she’s proud of her relationship with you, but cairo also values her independence and separation

not that many people were even aware you were together officially, until a good three months in. you would argue (flirt) in class during socratic seminars, but most kids thought you both genuinely hated each other

for what it’s worth, you enjoy cairo for all her cairo-isms. it may be cringe to other people, but you do fundamentally understand her in a way no one else really does, just because of how open and honest she is with you. it was a struggle for her at first, but she does appreciate you for it

another one down. really tried to stick to clingy but it definitely branched out to other stuff too because i think there are definitely many ways to be clingy. clingiest, i would say would be lorraine, with tara not falling far behind

[mountttmase]

Just For Us

Note - happy valentines pookies 🩷 I’ve been sitting on this one for a while so I hope you like it 😘 thank you to @saltyheartnightmare for always providing me with ideas and letting me run with them 😂 feedback would be appreciated xoxo

Pairing - Mason Mount × Reader

Word count - 6k

Warnings - fluff and angst

Another week over you told yourself as you shut your laptop down. Sighing as your eyes fell to the window that overlooked the garden next to you but it was pitch back outside and all you could see was your own reflection staring back at you. A tired and grumpy version of you that you were starting to not recognise.

You hadn't heard anything going on in the house, the time just ticking past 5pm and you knew you were still all alone in here. The thought of walking out of your home office into a dark and empty home upset you more than it should have, but then again everything was upsetting you at the moment.

Mason had promised he’d be here, letting you know that training would be over around 3pm and he’d make sure to get home at a reasonable time so you could spend your first valentines living under the same roof together, but once again he was nowhere to be seen.

You got why he was always in late, he was almost done with his recovery and had been staying later most evenings in order to get himself into a good place but you missed him and with everything else going on in your life right now all you wanted to was to be wrapped up in the arms of the man you loved.

You hadn't lived with Mason long, moving in at the end of November so you were approaching the three month mark but you felt like everything had taken a downturn for you since then. It was nothing to do with Mason himself, he was a dream most of the time and was looking after you just like he’d promised but it was everything you’d left home that was bringing you down.

Manchester was so far from everything you knew, having grown up in London you never envisaged living so far away when you had everything you needed right there but there was one thing your favourite city didn’t have anymore, and that was the boy you were in love with.

It wasn’t often you thought back to how you first met Mason, but since it was valentines day and you were in your feels a bit you let your mind wander back to that cold but sunny morning. It was your favourite type of weather on your favourite day of the year, pumpkin picking with your best friend, and as you reached for the last wheelbarrow your hand brushed against someone else’s as they did the same.

‘Oh shit, sorry. You take it, I can wait’ you heard, turning to your right to see quite possibly the most beautiful smile you’d ever seen and the sight of him filled you with nerves.

‘Oh n-no please you have it’ you stuttered, your face warming as your heart threatened to beat out of your chest but you could see the tops of his cheeks turning pink too and you thought he looked adorable.

‘It’s fine’ he laughed, motioning for you to take it but you knew you’d mess up somehow now if you had to try and get it out in front of him and you weren’t up for embarrassing yourself whilst he watched on.

‘No please, I’m not even sure I know how to use this thing properly and I’ll just end up taking someone’s legs out’ you joked and as you both shared a giggle, a worker came with a new batch of clean ones.

‘Here let me grab you one, these look smaller’ he nodded as he walked over to get one for you and you used the time he was facing away from you to give him a once over. You most definitely liked what you saw and as he turned back to face you, you wondered if he’d caught you staring at his bum. You gave him a warm smile though as he placed it in front of you but you were trying to stall as you still felt awkward pushing it in front of him.

‘Thank you…’

‘I’m Mason’ he smiled, nodding his head shyly before he gave you a look as if to silently ask what your name was and you had to swallow a nervous lump before you told him.

‘Y/n’

‘Well y/n, if you see me running away from you please don’t take any offence, I’m just protecting my ankles’ he joked and you covered your mouth with your hand as you laughed at his silly joke.

‘I’ll keep that in mind’

‘Mase? You coming’ you heard, looking over to a woman with two kids in tow and you felt yourself deflate. Of course he wasn’t single, look at him, and as he called over that he wouldn’t be a second you kept your eyes on the floor.

‘Sorry I best get going, I don’t wanna upset the nieces’ he laughed and your eyes flashed up to meet his. Relief ripping through you at the knowledge that was presumably his sister. ‘See you out there?’

‘I hope so’ you whispered. Your answer taking him by surprise a bit as his blush deepened but you just just picked up your wheelbarrow and went in search of your bestie so you could crack on with your day.

It was like you couldn’t get away from each other, him joining the line behind you for food, your eyes constantly catching as you browsed the little pumpkins in the wooden crates and once you’d made it out into the main field it felt like he was following you. Always in the same section and your friend had seemingly picked up on the way you kept looking at each other and would steer your wheelbarrow in his direction.

It was fun watching him play with the two little girls, posing for pictures with them and helping them pick out ones for them to carve and he looked as though he was having as much fun as them. Not caring how goofy or silly he looked, he just wanted to make them smile and from the constant giggles it was clearly working.

‘You need a hand with that one?’ You suddenly heard from behind you. Mason's voice shocking you slightly but as he brushed up next to you and you could tell he was looking at the same pumpkin you were.

‘Do you think it’s too big?’ You asked and you knew it was a stupid question. It was one of the biggest ones in the whole field but it was perfect and you just needed one person to tell you it was okay to have.

‘Nah, you need to measure pumpkins with your heart’ he told sincerely. ‘If you want it, I’d say get it’

‘You know what, you’re right. I’m having it’

‘Here let me’ he offered. Picking it up effortlessly and placing it in your wheelbarrow for you before dusting himself off as he was now covered in dirt be he didn’t seem to mind.

He stayed with you for a bit as you spoke. His sister had taken the girls to the loo so he had a few minutes spare and he started off by asking if you’d taken anyone’s legs out yet. Seeming dissatisfied when you told him no but there was always time and you were lucky enough to see that heartbreaking smile of his again as he laughed before he caught sight of the girls coming back.

‘You’re really good with them’ you told him honestly and you could see him getting shy again as he laughed nervously.

‘I don’t live round this way anymore so I like to make it count when I’m here’ he told you and you wondered how far away he was now. You knew you wouldn’t get to ask or find out though, your bestie was standing like a lemon a few steps away as she pretended to look at the pumpkins and with his family coming back over you presumed you’d be torn apart again but before he returned to them he faced you a little more ‘Listen, at the risk of sounding like a crazy person, I took a picture of you earlier and I was wondering if I could send it you?’

‘You what?’ You laughed, watching his cheeks redden more than you’d ever seen to the point the bridge of his nose was also glowing.

‘Sorry, I saw you posing for some your friend was taking and I just thought you looked nice and wondered if you’d want a more candid one’ he mumbled shyly. ‘Shit, sorry I shouldn’t have said anything. I can’t delete it if you-‘

‘I guess I should give you my number then’ you whispered with a smile, holding your hand out for him to place his phone in and the look of relief that washed over his face made you chuckle.

As soon as you handed it back he had to go but you knew it was coming so you bid him a quick goodbye and not even five minutes later you felt your phone buzz in your pocket

It was a fairly brazen comment from you, but it seemed to do the trick and the pair of you were messaging for the rest of the day and well into the night. All tucked up in bed later as you giggled into your pillow and when you got onto the topic of where he lived now, since he’d mentioned not being here anymore, things took a bit of a turn.

You’d had no idea he was a footballer, you had never met one in your life and had no idea what it even all meant but he told you he didn’t want you to think of him as any different than you had done earlier. He was still the same guy, he just has a slightly strange job compared to the average person.

He was right though, coming across to you as just like any normal guy and as the weeks passed you could feel yourself starting to slip under his spell. It was never your intention to speak to someone who lived so far away and you knew that seeing him again would be difficult, even if he wanted to see you anyway, but you couldn’t help your feelings towards him no matter how much you told yourself nothing would amount to anything.

You didn’t expect him to go in fully and dress up exactly like him but when he showed you his onesie on face time his enthusiasm excited you. You’d never had a boy to do a couples costume with before and you weren’t even sure he that’s what he wanted when he was asking for costume ideas but you’d decided to shoot your shot and thankfully it had paid off.

He was staying with a friend but just as he promised, he came to get you from your house. You thought it might be awkward, the pair of you only seeing each other in person once but as soon as you saw him again it was like no time had passed. Him knocking on your door fully dressed up and you giggled as he gave you a kiss on the cheek after a big hug.

You didn’t live too far away thankfully and after 20 minutes or so in the car with him, he was pulling up to his friends house. It was unlike anything you’d seen and you tried not to let it show that you were that impressed so you just took his hand and let him lead you through. You felt awkward instantly though as you looked around as it was full of gorgeous girls in barely there outfits whilst you stood there in a big pink t-shirt and your hair in bunches. Mason picked up on you straight away though and pulled you closer to him by your waist.

‘You good?’

‘You could have told me it was that type of party’ you laughed, hiding your face in his neck but he just squeezed you and bumped the side of your head with his nose so you’d look at him.

‘What do you mean?’ He smiled, rubbing your back a little bit as he was confused and you were finding it hard to be mad at him.

‘Mason, there are girls here who look like they’ve just stepped off a runway and I look like… well this’

‘You look perfect’ he whispered, kissing your forehead gently. Your cheeks warming instantly as even though he was being pretty touchy this was the first proper bit of intimacy you’d had from him. ‘I’m not looking at what anyone else is wearing anyway’ he reassured you and you felt your face heat even more at how lovely he was being.

His hand very rarely left yours and if it did it was just so he could hold your waist or wrap his arm around you and considering it was his friends party filled with people he didn’t see too often you were surprised at how much he didn’t want to mingle. That every conversation you joined you wouldn’t stay in long as he’d ask you something and soon enough you’d be in your own world again and when you asked him why he just smiled brightly.

‘I know those boring bastards, but I don’t know you yet. Not as much as I’d like to anyway’ he teased as his eyes flickered all over you and you felt your knees go weak as he bit his lip.

He was the perfect gentleman, getting all your drinks for you and letting you know he’d look after you. Mason himself wasn’t drinking as he wasn’t allowed but you noticed all his friends were and you figured it was just because he’d promised to take you home and was making sure he could. Mason seemed like the type to have a great time without drink though however you were thankful you’d had a few to loosen you up a bit.

As the night came to an end, you both knew you didn’t want to part but as you still lived with your overbearing parents it made things difficult. It had taken you enough time to convince them to let you come here tonight so staying out all night was completely out of the question and when the house began to empty out you knew it was time.

‘I think I need the loo before we go’ you told Mason, and his sad smile told you all you needed to know.

‘I’ll show you where it is’ he smiled, taking you by the hand upstairs and when he pulled open a random door and flicked the light on you were met with a bright and airy guest bedroom. ‘Just through here. Everyone’s been using the main one so this should be cleaner’ he laughed and you popped a quick kiss on his cheek as you passed by.

Once you were out you waited for him whilst he popped in there. Having a look at yourself in the mirror to make sure you looked somewhat acceptable and he was out quicker than you thought he’d be so he caught you checking yourself out.

He was quick to come over and wrap his arms around you from behind whilst taking his phone out of his pocket to hand to you. Instructing that he wanted you to take a few photos of the pair of you together to commemorate your first Halloween but soon enough you stopped taking any pictures and he was just holding you.

‘Come on’ he huffed. Removing his arms from around your waist and you could tell he was deflated just from the sound of his voice.

‘What’s wrong?’ You asked as you turned to him and the playful pout on his face made you feel a little bit guilty.

‘I’ve been dreading this part all night’ he chuckled, pulling you into his chest now so he could hug you properly and when he tucked his head into your neck you couldn’t stop your smile. ‘Sulley doesn’t want to say goodbye to his Boo’

‘Oh Mase’

‘Stay with me tonight’ he whispered, pulling back to look at you pleadingly and you almost gave in then and there. ‘Please, boo’

‘Mase.. I can’t’ you breathed, shaking your head ever so slightly. ‘I’m sorry-‘

‘No I’m sorry, I’m being way too forward. It’s just I’m not here long and I want to spend as much time with you as I can’

‘I want that too’

‘But?’

‘My mum will kill me’ you laughed, realising how ridiculous you sounded but Mason seemed to understand and quickly popped a kiss on your cheek. ‘Maybe I could come up to Manchester soon and visit?’ You asked, shock taking over his face at what you were suggesting and you were certain yours looked the same as you hadn’t even thought about the words before they’d come out of your mouth.

‘Yeah? You’d want to’

‘Yeah of course. I’ve never been before’ you told him and the smile he sent you made your heart race. ‘I just think it might be a bit too soon for you know … all that. I’ve never-‘

‘No you’re right’ he laughed as he cut you off. ‘Sorry I’ve just been getting a bit ahead of myself I think. I don’t know if I’ve made it that obvious but I really like you’ he told you as his cheeks flushed and you knew yours were doing the exact same.

‘Really? I had no idea’ you teased but you knew you needed to be honest with him too. ‘I like you too’

It was the longest three seconds of your life. Watching his eyes flicker down to your lips as he moved closer to you and you were powerless to stop anything. Tilting your face up to meet his and before you knew it his lips were on yours.

This wasn’t like any kiss first you’d ever had before. It was slow and sexy and you both hummed into each other's mouths as his tongue brushed against yours playfully. Your heart racing in your chest as he ever so carefully moved his lips against yours and you knew you’d never be the same again after this.

‘Come on, I’ll get you home’ he whispered against your lips after you’d parted but you felt deflated instantly. You didn’t want to leave him now, not after the best first kiss you’d ever had but you knew it was the right thing to do.

‘Are you sure it’s okay? You know-‘

‘I can wait. You’re worth it’ he confirmed quietly and you didn’t realise how much you needed to hear those words. ‘I mean I got to kiss you, that's more than enough for me. I’m just being greedy really’ he winked and your heart felt lighter as you both giggled.

‘You’re right, you need to be cut off’ you joked but when he lent down to kiss you again you let him.

y/n

liked by masonmount, ems35, lilyp28 and others

y/n Happy spooky season 🧡

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masonmount wow whoever took that first one has got a great eye 👀

y/n thank you my sulley 🩵💜

Going to Manchester to see him was the beginning of the end for you. You loved it up there and you loved your time with Mason just as much to the point you’d just sob the whole way home each time you had to leave him and you knew he was always just as down as you were about it. Each time it getting harder and harder to say goodbye so when next Halloween came and Mason wanted to celebrate your first anniversary together you jumped at the chance to spend some quality time with him.

Moving to Manchester after just a year of dating was a risk, and you both definitely knew it, but when Mason brought up wanting you to move in with him at your anniversary dinner you wanted to jump at the chance. You knew in your heart you were going to be with Mason for a really long time and the thought of starting your lives together up there really excited you. Your mum took it pretty hard but she knew you’d have to leave home eventually but neither of you could have guessed it would have been so far away.

You mostly worked from home in London anyway, only needing to visit the office twice a month so after a quick chat with your manager about different options, she told you keeping you was more important and that working in Manchester would be no different than London so she was happy for you to make the move.

Mason seemed to be the most excited. Letting you pick out any spare room you wanted to turn into your office and you picked the one at the back that overlooked the garden. The main reason being that in the summer you knew you’d be able to watch him training out of the window, but you told him it was because it was near the kitchen and downstairs loo so you didn’t have that far to walk.

It was lonely sometimes, spending all day at home on your own and when work was finally done not having anyone to talk to. At home at least your mum would be there so you could talk about your days as you fought over what to cook, but the house being empty did nothing to cure the ache of loneliness that would settle in your tummy until Mason was with you.

You hadn't been here long enough to make friends of your own and the ones you’d left behind did nothing to help you feel less lonely. Carrying on like you didn’t even exist and going to all your favourite places without you as well as new places you’d always wanted to try. You tried not to take it to heart too much as you didn’t want them to stop living their lives but you thought it was funny how as soon as you were gone they suddenly had time for all the things you wanted to do when they never had before.

Not wanting to be a grump for too much longer you quickly glanced at your phone when you were finally ready to get up. No text or update from him to let you know he was going to be home later than planned and usually it wouldn't have mattered but you thought with it being Valentine's Day he would have made a touch more effort as you were meant to be having dinner together. Your tummy hurt as your sadness migrated into every fiber of your being and you knew it wouldn’t be disappearing anytime soon.

All the lights were off when you eventually made your way out of your office. Traipsing through the silent house to the front so you could look out onto the drive, however it only upset you more to see that his car wasn’t there and suddenly you weren’t hungry anymore. Wanting nothing more than to get into bed so you could sleep this awful mood away, but there was something that stopped you as soon as you made it upstairs.

You noticed the warm glow coming from the bathroom as soon as you reached the landing. The door was ever so slightly cracked open and you knew you hadn't left it like that so the light confused you. In the end you took a few cautious steps over so you could peek around the gap and the sight before you made your heart flutter.

There was Mason, hunched over the bath as he swirled his hand around the soapy water that was topped with rose petals. The scent of your favourite bubble bath filling the air as he checked the water temperature before he was standing back up and reaching for a lighter so he could continue to light the candles he’d set up in a row on the window. Watching and waiting until he’d grabbed a fresh towel to place on the warmer until you couldn’t help but open the door a little more and step inside.

You felt instant regret as soon as you did. This was clearly meant to be a surprise for you and you’d just marched in on him but the smile he gave you after the initial shock of seeing you made your eyes sting and as your face began to crumple, he was over to you in a flash.

‘What’s wrong, boo?’ He asked softly. Hands holding the tops of your arms as you tried to wipe your eyes but it was pointless as more tears came falling seconds after.

‘I didn’t know you were h-home’ you hiccuped, sounding completely ridiculous as you broke down into sobs, but just like always he took you as you came and listened intently. ‘I t-thought you’d be late a-again’

‘Well I’m a lot later than I wanted to be’ he told you softly. ‘I only got in about five minutes ago’

‘Where’s y-your car?’

‘I got a fucking flat tire, didn’t I’ he laughed but you could tell he was pissed off underneath. ‘Had to leave it at training cause I couldn’t get anyone out to fix it and then Luke dropped me home’ he explained before his face softened again and his voice came out in just a whisper. ‘Baby, tell me what’s wrong’

‘Sorry’ you blubbed. Covering your face with your hands again so you could hide yourself and thankfully he knew not to try and make you look at him. Simply wrapping his arms around your shaking body so he could pull you into his and when you felt his lips on your forehead shushing you gently you nearly lost it again.

He always knew what you needed, and right now all you needed was a big cry whilst he held you and whispered that everything would be okay until you found enough courage to take your hands away from your face and wrap them around his body.

‘You think I can’t tell that something’s been going on with you?’ He whispered, pulling back to look at you but when he realised you weren’t budging he just rested his cheek on the top of your head with a sigh. ‘I notice everything, boo’

‘I’m sorry’ you croaked, not even too sure what you were apologising for but it just felt like the right thing to say for hiding your emotions from him.

‘Don’t say that’ he told you as he squeezed you a bit tighter but you still weren’t ready to look at him. Holding him back just as tight as he rubbed your back and you could feel the love from him pour into you. ‘You gonna tell me what’s up?’

‘I don’t know, I just feel a bit down’ you mumbled, shrugging your shoulders as you wondered what you should say to him but you realised there was no point giving him half truths. ‘I've just been a bit homesick I think, it gets lonely in this house when you’re not here and I know you’ve been working really hard to get back into the team but I thought you’d forgotten about me tonight’

‘I’m sorry’ he breathed. ‘I know I haven’t been around as much lately and I know that hasn't helped with how you’re feeling. That’s why I wanted to get home early so I could do something nice for you and I couldn't even get that right’ he laughed. ‘And I know you miss your family, I miss mine too so I know how you feel and I know I’ve been a bit wrapped up in myself but I promise I’ll make it up to you. Starting tonight, yeah?’

‘What’s all this?’ You asked, finally pulling away as you could look at him and the sympathetic look on his face almost set you off again, but Mason was quick to kiss your forehead and look at you softly again.

‘Well I thought you deserved a bit of relaxation while I cooked for us’ he confirmed. ‘Happy valentines, boo’

‘Happy valentine’s, Masey’ you smiled, reaching up to give him a soft and sweet kiss. ‘What are you making?’

‘I’m not sure yet’ he laughed. ‘Any requests?’

‘Well I was hoping you would stay with me in here, I’ve missed you’ you told him shyly. ‘We can always order food’

‘Yeah? Okay let’s do that’ he nodded shyly. ‘C’mere, let’s get you in’

Mason helped to undress you so you were ready for your bath. Kissing your skin gently as he carefully removed each piece of clothing and helped you into the perfectly warm water as you felt all your troubles melt away into the bubbles.

He happily sat on the floor next to you as you chatted away and you finally opened up to him about how your friends had been acting with you lately as well as everything else you’d already mentioned. He sympathised with you as he sometimes felt that way himself and apologised for neglecting you for the last few weeks.

‘Come get in with me?’ You asked after 15 minutes or so, watching his eyebrows raise in shock as his cheeks turned pink but now you’d said it all you could think about was relaxing your body into his.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah why not’ you laughed. ‘I wanna feel close to you’ you pouted and you could see his blush deepening from a mile off. Watching him gently standing up so he could whip his clothes off and you shuffled down the tub a bit so he could slide in behind you.

You didn’t ask for it, but as he began to massage your shoulders you could have melted into the water. You didn’t realise how uptight and tense you were until his fingers began to work away at your knots and it felt so good a shiver ran up your spine. The warm water of your bath felt like a safe blanket lapping against you and you didn’t know what you’d done to deserve this type of treatment.

‘That okay?’ He murmured into the side of your head but it was like you could barely string a sentence together and your whole body felt like it was floating.

‘That’s perfect’ you mumbled, feeling more relaxed and loved than you had in weeks and you knew he was laughing at you as you felt his chest rumble against your back.

‘I’m not very good at this, but I’ve picked up a few tricks from having them done so often’ he laughed but soon enough his hands were traveling down your arms and holding you around your waist so he could hold you close and talk to you without any distractions. ‘So listen I need you to pack a bag tonight’ he mumbled in your ear and you turned your head to look up at him questioningly.

‘Are you kicking me out?’

‘No’ he laughed. ‘But I bet after that you could do with a proper massage, right? Well I’ve booked us into a spa for the weekend with a slightly delayed valentines dinner tomorrow night. It’s in London though so we’ll have a bit of an early start if that’s okay’’

‘I thought we weren’t making a fuss’ you whispered, your face breaking out into a smile so wide your cheeks hurt but he was looking back at you so lovingly it was like you could feel him coursing through your veins.

‘I know, but you deserve it’ he affirmed. Kissing your forehead softly as he stroked his thumbs over your skin ‘Then Sunday we’ve got lunch with your parents. I organised it the other day so I think that’s worked out pretty well’ he winked, feeling tears well in your eyes again for the millionth time that night but this time it was for a whole different reason.

‘What? Really’

‘Yes’ he nodded. ‘I knew you must have been missing them and since we’ll be down there I thought we could make the most of it’

‘Thank you’ you gulped. Reaching up to kiss him properly and it was like you were having your first kiss all over again, carefully kissing each other like you had all the time in the world.

When you were both ready to get out, Mason jumped out first to grab your towel from the heater before walking you back over to your shared bedroom to get changed. A huge bunch of red roses on the bed waiting for you and you had to tell yourself to hold it together as you’d you’d done tonight was cry.

Mason grabbed you a pair of shorts and one of his favourite comfy tops that you loved to wear for you to change into and while he was putting in your food order, you grabbed an overnight bag and began to pack.

‘Where are we going for dinner tomorrow night, Mase?’ You questioned as you fingered through some of your nicer things on your rack but you didn’t want to be overdressed if it was somewhere more casual.

‘It’s a surprise’

‘But I need to know what to pack’ you pouted, hoping you’d be able to get a little more from him than that but he seemingly didn’t want to give too much away.

‘Something nice’ he shrugged, locking his phone before standing up to join you and you placed your hands on his chest as he wrapped his arms around your waist.

‘Those new pjs you got me for Christmas are nice, maybe I’ll just wear those’ you teased, hoping you could taunt him into telling you and from the way he rolled his eyes you knew it was working.

‘Okay fine’ he laughed. ‘You should pack that black dress, you know the one you’ve been saving for a certain restaurant’

‘You didn’t’ you breathed, not knowing if he was just messing with you or if he’d actually got the pair of you into the restaurant you’d always wanted to try but from the nod of his head you knew he was making your dream come true. ‘Mase’

‘I know you were meant to go there with your girlfriends and I know I was meant to get you a table and never did cause I’m a rubbish boyfriend and I forgot’ he laughed, bumping his nose against yours as you both giggled before his face got serious ‘but I know they’ve been trying all the places you wanted without you so I thought we could keep this one just for us’

‘Thank you’ you pouted, reaching up to kiss him gently and he deepened it straight away. You hadn’t kissed each other like this in days and you could have quite easily taken it further but it was Mason who pulled away first much to your dismay.

‘Easy there, boo. We’ve got food on the way and there’s nowhere near enough time for me to do what I want with you’ he told you lowly, his voice thick and warm like honey and it made your insides quiver. ‘I’ll make it worth your while if you wait’

‘You always do’ you winked and you noticed how he blushed at your words.

‘Come on boo, we’ll go set the table yeah? Eat like proper humans for a change’ he laughed as he took your hand and you laughed along with him as he led you out of your room. Your mood a lot lighter than it was just over an hour ago and you couldn’t wait to finally spend your first Valentine’s Day under the same roof with the boy you loved most in the world.

y/n

liked by masonmount and others

y/n quick trip home for some well needed downtime and a visit to somewhere I’ve always wanted to go with my valentine ♥️

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masonmount anything for my girl ♥️

y/n love you sm 🥰 🤭

[sc0tters]

Littlest C | Alex Turcotte

summary: at the lake house is it finally time for you both to confront your feelings, or just remain roommates forever?

request: yes/no

trope: brothers best friend

warnings: minimal swearing

word count: 3.15k

authors note: I haven't written for Alex in a long time and I have to say out of all of the 500 celly pieces that were left needing to be writte, this was one of the ones I most looked forward to. Luke and Trevor in this might have been my favourite things to write.

You were always meant to just be Cole’s little sister. 

The one who tried so desperately to join in on those late night games of pool that the boys had in the basement. The one who remained Cole’s biggest supporter throughout his career and the events leading up to it. 

You were meant to be this untouchable entity that he had promised to protect with his life as you settled into LA. Now ten months in with you living down the hall in his apartment, Alex was ready to butcher that promise entirely. 

Not because he wanted to put you into harms way, but instead because he was craving your company in a way that would make Cole put him six feet under. Alex found you changing from his best friend’s little sister, who he remembered with braces and those godawful comebacks when Cole pushed your buttons. Now you were freshly twenty and in the thick of college, and a full on woman. Possibly not in the form of experiences but you had grown into your body and now had this fiery personality.  

You made Alex feel weak in the knees 9/10 times but as time went on, he knew he was fucked. Because for him, you were all that he wanted. 

So with the constant thought of Cole literally killing him, Alex started to pull away from you about three months ago. Sure he couldn’t make it too obvious as he still had to live under the same roof as you, but he started to realise that it was a lot easier if he spent nights away from you. Having a girl in his bed that wasn’t you, made it just bearable to push you out of his mind. And it helped that you were close to finishing your semester.

It was a plan that actually managed to work, or at least it did until the both of you ended up at the lake house, where the risks increased tenfold when you seemed to only pack swimsuits. This year Luke had invited you along as your brothers spent so much time together, it was only right that the two of you eventually became friends “Lukey!” Your cheered seeing the boy walk out of the house. 

His grin matched yours as he practically raced down the stairs, leaving his brother’s friends up on the porch “took you damn long enough.” He laughed pulling you into a hug “yeah don’t worry bout me, I’ll get all your damn bags.” Cole grumbled, breaking your hug as you tuned to look at your brother. 

There was a shit-eating look on your face “since you asked so nicely.” You joked taking your bag from the older boy. 

Alex stood on the porch as his eyes turned to a scowl watching the scene unfold in front of him. He was jealous of the fact that you seemed to be so free when you hugged Luke. The smile on your face as the boy nodded along to whatever you whispered in his ear “missed me Turcotte?” You teased now stood in front of your roommate. 

The familiar scent of your perfume was captured in his nostrils as he shook his head “please I get to now sit in silence.” His words were cheerful as you reached over to flick his arm with a scoff. 

It was masked by a grin that spread across your face “know ya missed me.” Your voice was soft as you pulled him into a hug, he knew it was wrong but he couldn’t help but want to moan at the smell of your familiar shampoo. 

The very same shampoo that he had used the last three weeks before he left the apartment because of how much he had missed you. Cole gagged at the sight “you want to let go of each other, or should we just stand out here all day?” His question made Trevor smirk as he saw how Alex’s cheeks turned red when he let his arms drop from around you as you rolled your eyes “don’t be jealous your friends like me more than you.” You were amused as Cole put his sweaty hat on your head which made you groan. 

That made the boy laugh “it’s good to be back!” Cole cheered as he walked into the house. 

Luke walked up and grabbed your bag from you “we are in a new room this time.” He was excited to show the girl the room as this year they weren’t fighting the other guys for the bathroom this year.

Trevor kept Alex on the porch as the rest of the group trickled inside. He had seen how Alex’s eyes didn’t seem to leave you until you turned to go upstairs “you sure you aren’t sleeping with her?” The question made the hairs on the back of Alex’s neck stand up. It was something that the Ducks player had joked about more than once after he had seen you in one of Alex’s old Kings hoodies when you all went to dinner. What he refused to believe was the fact that you were cold, and it was the only thing that was in Alex’s car.

But as Alex stayed silent it made the younger boy think that he was right “I don’t give a shit.” Trevor confessed as he was just more curious as to if he was indeed right or not “I just don’t think that it would be the best thing if Cole found out.” Alex felt his cheeks turn red at the idea of Cole finding out. Because if Trevor connected the wrong dots, then who was to say someone wouldn’t connect the right ones?

Alex shook his head “I am not sleeping with her.” He mumbled wishing that he could have been lying as he said that.

You were reminded of the joy of being with your best friend as he shut the door behind you both “you finally tell him?” Luke asked as he sat on his bed. 

He had known about the crush you had on Alex since you confessed to him about how you had a wet dream about the Kings player when he was thankfully on a roadie. Luke was able to remind you that it was a one-time thing, but then it became more like a weekly thing before you accepted that you definitely had feelings for him.

Luke had been convincing you that you needed to tell him about it before it was all too late, “I can’t,” you sighed, letting yourself drop onto the bed next to him “my friend found his profile on hinge, and he keeps on going on these dates.” You groaned, kicking your legs as Luke lay flat next to you.

The boy stared at the frown on your face “either tell him about how you want to rip his clothes off-“ his words were cut off when you grabbed the pillow from next to you and hit him with it. 

It made him laugh as he took the pillow and propped himself up with it “you didn’t have to say it verbatim.” He shot back, looking at your suitcase, “and if you don’t want to say it, then encourage him to be the one to do it.” Luke added, bending down to show you exactly what he had planned. 

It was day three of your time at the lake house and Alex hadn’t been able to interact with you much. Not out of choice though, because every time he wanted to talk to you Cole seemed to step in. And earlier that morning a boy from down the road seemed to pique your interest. 

His name might have been Brad, Chad, Thad or whatever, really. Alex just knew that he didn’t like the boy or how his eyes seemed to be stuck on your breasts. That part Alex couldn’t exactly blame him for because you knew how to pick a great bikini, but Alex at least knew you were so much more than just a good body. And that was something that this boy definitely didn’t appreciate.

The boys had finally left the house as they were going to a bar “you should come with.” The offer was sent with a smile but was cut short “sorry dude, we’re in the middle of a darts tournament.” Alex’s voice came from behind you. 

That was true, the last few evenings the guys had found that a game of darts was a great little competition “why don’t you just get Luke to stand in for you.” The boy in front of you ignored Alex “I’ve got bad aim.” Luke was definitely the worst out of all of you but you weren’t about to leave the boys.

When you let out a sigh Alex knew you were staying “maybe some other night?” You offered, which made the boy nod. Alex wanted to cheer as he saw ChadBrad, whom he now opted to refer to leave the house. 

Luke sent you a smile before he walked away from you both “you two seem to be close?” Alex was certain he knew the answer, but still he asked the question “he is a nice guy Al.” You shrugged as you placed your hands on your hips.

This felt like the longest you two had properly spoken since your arrival “you feeling neglected by me?” Alex wanted to scream, of course, but he opted to remain stoic “of some frat boy?” He forced out a laugh as he watched you lick your lips.

At that moment, he was so close to dropping his head to kiss that smirk off of your face “Turcs, you want a new beer?” Trevor called out as he walked into the room almost cutting himself off as he looked at the sight with a grin on his face “can get you something too if you want it.” His eyes locked with yours as you shook your head.

Your hand brushed against Alex’s side “I think Luke has my drink Z.” You nodded your head at him before you left the boys. 

It took him until you were no longer in earshot to turn back to Alex “if you’re not sleeping with her then you like her.” He finally connected the dots as his eyes lit up “shush!” Alex placed his hand on the younger boys mouth.

When it seemed that Trevor wasn’t going to talk anymore Trevor ran his tongue across his friend’s palm “ew!” Alex shrieked, almost jumping away when he wiped his hand on his shorts “you’re fucking disgusting.”  Alex grumbled as he shook his head. 

Trevor just smirked in response “take it she doesn’t know about it?” He asked as Alex scoffed “of course she doesn’t!” He went to hit him but when Cole walked into the lounge area making them both freeze.

Cole raised his eyebrows as he watched them both turn to him “you two are so weird.” Cole muttered to himself before he shook his head, turning back to go where he came from “you can’t tell anyone.” Alex warned Trevor knowing that all the boys could soon hear about it. 

He raised his hands in defence “my lips are sealed.” Trevor was honest as he said “all I ask is that if you end up dating her just let me be the godfather to your future babies.” The words made Alex groan as Trevor patted him on the back before he was left alone. 

The rest of that evening was calm, but by the next day Alex was ready to kill Trevor for the constant looks “how much are you putting in, sis?” Cole called out as you walked out of the sliding doors. 

You looked up from your phone as you smiled “for what?” You cocked your head seeing Quinn hold a notepad and pen “we are all betting on who is going to be the most drunk tonight.” He explained as you let out a soft laugh. 

The Fourth of July always seemed to be the day that everyone got flat-out drunk at the lakehouse. People played music till the early hours of the next morning, and drinking was a great partner to dancing till your feet hurt. 

Your fingers rubbed together “I’ll put twenty on Cole.’ You watched as your brother’s face dropped, acting as if you had just spoiled the ending of Game of Thrones again.

Quinn nodded, writing down your bet “let me get my wallet so I can cash in on this.” You grinned sending Cole a wink “I want to change my bet to be on her.” Was the last thing you heard before you went back into the house.

The place was empty with few reminders of last night’s dart game on the table as they had turned a shot glass into a miniature trophy for Quinn.

You walked out of the car wanting to grab your handbag “look dude I’m telling you I know what I am doing.” The boy you had been talking to was on the phone by his own car “I am gonna get her to fuck me by the end of the night, and then I’ll leave her.” His words made you freeze as you knew he was talking about you.

But it didn’t stop there “being around all those guys she has got to be easy.” You had finally had enough as you turned around to go back inside.

You walked straight into a chest that you recognised from many early mornings, rushing to get ready for lectures. Alex had been behind you after he saw you frozen on the porch when he went to grab his own wallet. Based on his reaction, he too, had heard the majority of what you had “sorry.” Your words were soft as you dropped the keys on the porch and pushed past him to go back into the house. 

Alex leaned down to pick them up as he knew what you needed to grab “what an asshole.” Sure, Alex loved being right, but at the point of you being hurt, he would have wished that maybe this time he was wrong.

You knew you were stupid for getting all upset about Micheal telling his friends that he thought he would get into your pants before the end of the night “there you are.” Alex let out a sigh as he saw you hidden between your bed and Luke’s “just wanted some quiet.” You confessed as you pursed your lips together making the boy frown when he placed your bag on your bed.

He could see the hurt that laced your face “he doesn’t know what he is talking about.” Alex mumbled making turn to look him in the eye. 

An irritated laugh escaped your lips “maybe he should have been.” You grumbled as you turned to finally face him “no any guy would be fucking lucky to have you.” He walked towards you but you still shook your head. 

The hockey player watched as you rubbed your face with your hands “you’re only saying that because you’re friends with Cole and are my roommate.” After all, it would have been a little weird if he agreed with the boy in front of you and with your brother steps away.

But still, he moved to sit in front of you “have you ever wondered why I started going on those dates when you broke up with your boyfriend?” Alex stood in front of you as you remained silent “cause it sure as hell wasn’t me trying to avoid you.” He laughed at the joke that you had created.

You crossed your arms still showing that you were irritated “you are on my mind all the damn time and it kills me.” The hockey player grabbed your hand and opened his legs to pull you closer to him “don’t say things you don’t mean Al.” Your voice was soft as your facial expressions softened. 

His head dropped to rest on the crook of your neck “I’m so fucking in love with you it makes me sick.” His words made your body squirm as you ran your fingers through his hair letting out a giggle. 

It made him look up at you with a confused look on his face “me telling you my feelings is funny?” He grumbled wanting to send you a glare. 

You brought your hand up to cup his cheek “thought you knew I broke up with him cause I started thinking bout you.” A smile formed on his face as he stood up straight ��damn my girl is already smitten.” He teased as you rolled your eyes. 

The sound of fireworks having started already echoed in your ears “don’t remember that happening Turcotte.” Your words made him click his tongue “so you didn’t want to rip all my clothes off?” He teased making you realise that he had heard that conversation with Luke.

His smirk made you scoff “careful because I can go find Micheal still.’ You warned making him furrow his eyebrows “who?” He asked as if he had never heard that name in his life.

Your jaw fell agape “the fucking dude who said I’d be a good fuck tonight!” Your words made his eyes go wide “thought his name was Brad.” You laughed as you shook your head “Idiot.” You mumbled, leaning back in to kiss him again.

Your cherry lipgloss was sweet on his tongue as he gripped at your sides “has anyone seen my sister?” Cole’s words echoed through an open window as the two of you were reminded that you weren’t alone. 

The older boy pulled away from you as he smiled “think we should get you out there.” Alex tapped your ass as you gasped, “but first let me enjoy the peace with my girl once more.” He pulled you back into his arms knew this wasn’t a sight he was going to get used to. 

But as time went on and the relationship grew, and of course Cole tried to kill Alex many times. Alex believed that your relationship was built on the moment when it all became official. 

You swore he was sickly cheesy each time he spoke of the story, but Alex saw your relationship as fireworks. You made him feel the joys of each high and low, and it helped that you kept him in check because you’ve got a damn fiery tongue. 

But Alex wouldn’t have had it any other way, because he was in love with you and he wouldn’t have believed in soulmates if he didn’t have you. Because in the puzzle that was his life, you made him feel complete.

And it wasn’t to say that he wasn’t just as in love with you as you were with him because Alex would have followed you to the ends of the earth if you asked him to.

[blushsturns]

✰ under one roof: housemate!chris x house!mate!reader ✰

part one ★ new roommate

master list ⋆ c.ai bot

word count: 2816

To be fair, this wasn’t something you wanted to agree to. You were totally against this— not sure how it would all play out, but here you were having a roommate you never even wanted to have in the first place. Even though you could be a little bitchy and rough around the edges, you knew you had a big heart, and you were doing your best friend a favor.

You looked around at the moving boxes scattered across the hardwood floor of your old vacant spare bedroom. The bedroom was practically collecting dust since moving into your brand-new apartment six months ago. Now the bedroom was being rented out by someone you used to have the biggest crush on in high school that you absolutely cannot stand now: Christopher Sturniolo. 

Four years have passed since you last saw him and the only thing you knew about him now was that he was a professional hockey player and your best friend’s fiancé’s brother. He was staying with them before moving in with you, sleeping on their couch, but apparently, he always felt like he was in the way. Reyna, your best friend, would never admit it to his face, but apparently it was getting hard to find time alone with her fiancé Matt when his brother was always around.

Now he’s apparently your problem. You were such a good friend, agreeing to let him move in. She would have to pay you back somehow because this was a big favor to ask.

“Come on, please.” Reyna had begged you one night on the phone, her whispered voice so close to the microphone because Chris was in the next room. “I can’t even be loud anymore because his damn brother is just making himself at home in our living room. Please think about it. He’s not the same jackass that he was in high school. He’d be able to fit right in with you.”

You remember groaning over the phone at her words that pulled at your heart strings. You understood completely. Chris had just gotten dumped from his ex-girlfriend and also had to move out of his apartment and needed a place to stay. Reyna and Matt were so gracious to let him stay with them, but after three months, they both needed him to leave the nest. Now he was your problem.

“Fine, but only because I love you and I’m such a nice person when I have to be.” You really tried your best to be a nice person to the people who deserve it, but you have been hurt so many times. After all the hurt, you had to start putting your walls up to protect yourself and your heart.

Here you are now, standing against the doorframe as you watch Christopher Sturniolo finish bringing in the last of his boxes, a soft huff of his lips, clearly exhausted from all of the shit he had. Most of it was in boxes, but some of his hockey gear was all in bags. 

You cleared your throat to get his attention; your arms crossed over your chest as you kept your eyes focused on him.

He looked up at you with a wicked grin on his lips, running his fingers through his tousled locks. “Oh, hey there roomie, didn’t even see you standing there.”

You roll your eyes at his words, a laugh emitting from your lips. “I’m just checking in to make sure you’re all good. Is that the last of your stuff?” Your eyes averted over to the last of his bags that filled his hockey gear.

Chris kept his eyes focused on you as he ran his fingers through his tousled locks. “Yeah, this is officially it.” He let out a deep huff, looking around at his brand-new room before back up at you, his ocean blue eyes gleaming. “Thanks for letting me move in, seriously. I appreciate it.”

You shrug your shoulders nonchalantly to his words. “I mean, I’m just doing Reyna and Matt a favor.” 

“And me.” He flashed you a playful wink at you, his lips curving up into a slight smirk. In all honesty, he was so much more attractive than he was in high school, if that were possible. You tried not to pay too much attention to it, considering you’ll be living with the guy. Sure, you had a crush on him in high school, but that’s all it was—a crush. Nothing came out of it and Chris was always so unserious half the time back then, you weren’t sure if he was the same way now.

He was right, though—you were doing him a favor and it’s not like he owes you his life or anything, but you were such a generous person for allowing him to move in when it wasn’t something you were practically on board for at first. 

“We need to set some ground rules, if that’s cool with you?” You looked over at him as your body leaned against the doorway, your arms crossed over your chest.

Chris nodded his head, his lips curved up into a more playful smirk. “I should’ve known there was going to be rules, but sure, hit me with them.”

You didn’t know what he meant by that, but you decided to ignore it. “Rule number one is absolutely no hookups. I don’t want to see or hear random bitches in here especially when I’m around. Is that a deal breaker or anything?” 

Chris’ lips curved into a wider smirk before pressing his lips together in a firm line. “Nope, not an issue. I guess I can handle that. That goes for you too, right? No random guys here?”

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion at his question. “I mean, it is my place, but since I now have a roomie, I guess not.” You didn’t tell him that you didn’t have random guys in your place before he even moved in, but you figured you would leave that part out and up to his imagination if that even happened or not.

“Our place now, sweet cheeks.” He flashed you a playful wink, that almost made your stomach flutter–almost.

‘Yeah, whatever.” You rolled your eyes at his words. At least he seemed fine with the first rule. He would have to be okay with the rules if he wanted to continue to live with you. “Okay, rule number two.” You could tell he was about to brace himself for the next rule you were about to announce to him. It was hard to keep your focus when he looked so damn good just standing there, staring at you so intently, almost like he was reading you and trying to get into your head. It made your cheeks feel warm and you hoped that he wasn’t able to tell how flustered you were getting just by having direct eye contact with him. 

Your body stayed pressed up against the doorway as you pressed your lips together in a firm line, before continuing your words. “Sometimes I walk around the house in just a t-shirt and panties. Yes, I own pants, and I don’t like wearing them sometimes when I’m lounging around in the comfort of my own home. Can you keep your eyes, and hands to yourself?”

His eyes widened at your words, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat, his eyes already scanning down your body from head to toe which made your cheeks feel warm again. “Y-you, without pants?” He asked, stammering on his words. 

You knew Chris was a flirt and always had a thing going on with random girls and hooking up with them back in high school and in college. All the stories Reyna has told you that she’d heard from Matt made you secretly wonder how good he was in bed, but you decided to keep that thought buried in your brain. It was best to keep it there and not allow it to resurface. This was your high school crush, the pain in your ass, your new roommate. Things had to stay platonic so that there isn’t any negativity or weird tension. 

That was possible, right? To live with someone, you used to have the biggest crush on, who was now an extremely attractive, flirty hockey player? It was going to have to be possible to keep your cool. You’d just have to continue to be bitter, distant, and keep it strictly professional. Even if it would be hard, considering he’s staring at you right now like he was trying to envision what your body looked like underneath your clothing.

You only had a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt, your hair up in a ponytail. Today was apparently the only day that Chris was available to move in–a Sunday; your day off and the day you usually relax and consider yourself dead to the world. 

“Yeah, is that a problem, Chistopher?” You asked him, completely nonchalant even though you could tell the thought of you around the house in just panties made him flustered and it was kind of cute to see him like this. Maybe it made you evil, but it was just your personality, especially around him. 

“N-not at all.” He stammered, his cheeks reddened as he scanned your body up and down before his eyes averted back to yours. “So, it wouldn’t bother you if I did the same thing?”

You thought about it for a moment. He was playing with fire now. The thought of him in nothing but his briefs made your own cheeks warm, and you didn’t want him to notice you were even thinking of this, let alone be affected by it by any means. Sure, you had a huge crush on him in high school, but nothing came out of it. You had to hang around him sometimes because his brother was dating your best friend, but he ended up becoming nothing but a pest. 

“Nah.” You say simply, your lips curving up into a slight smirk. “It doesn’t bother me in the slightest.” 

His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at you like he was studying you, trying to read right through you. He stepped closer to you, his moving boxes and items still all over the ground. His lips curved into a slight smirk as he continued to keep his eyes solely focused on you.

You watched him come closer as you continued to lean against the door, your heart plummeting in your chest. He now stood before you, his eyes averting down to your lips before back up into your eyes, licking over his lips slowly. “Are you sure about that? You seem a little…nervous.”

Your cheeks turn a dark shade of pink at his words, pulling your gaze away from him. His words and the way his body moved closer to you made you feel nervous. You didn’t want him to know that you were nervous, but he could already tell. You tried to be strong, to keep your rough around the edge's demeanor. There was no way Christoper Sturniolo still had an effect on you. You were so much stronger than that.

“N-no.” You stammered, biting gently onto your bottom lip as you two were now inches apart from each other. You could feel his body heat radiating against you, your cheeks warm and your heart beating rapidly in your chest so fast that he could probably hear it and feel it too. “I’m not nervous.” You tried to speak your words as confidently as possible, but he was reading right through you. 

He let out a soft chuckle, moving his hand up to place a strand of your hair over your ear which instantly sent a shiver down your spine. He was so close to you that you could feel his hot and heavy breath lingering against your lips. “I’m sorry, but I don’t quite believe you.” His lips curved into a wider smirk, his hand resting onto the side of your face. “I think you’re thinking about me without clothes on and how hard that may be for you to handle. It’s okay to admit it, sweetheart.”

Was he right? Absolutely yes. Were you going to tell him that? Hell no you weren’t. Your heart was beating so fast it felt like the only thing that you could hear and feel at this point. You looked down at his lips before back up into his pretty ocean blue eyes. You always thought he was so fucking adorable with his silly laugh and sparkling blue eyes and flirty personality until you realized what a nuisance he was to be around. He’d always tease you, tell the corniest jokes, and would nonstop talk your ear off. 

Did it hurt you when he still asked the most popular girl in school to senior prom? Heck yeah it did. You ended up going with some guy in your grade that Reyna set you up with, but the whole night you kept making eye contact with Chris. Every time you looked up at him, there he was smirking at you as he danced with his date and eyeing you like he couldn’t quite take his eyes off you. You ignored him, rolling your eyes and trying to focus on your own date. You weren’t for sure if Chris ever liked you back then, but if he did, he had a shitty way of showing it.

Just when you were about to respond, Chris’ phone went off making you both jump in surprise and pull away from each other. You could tell the disappointment all over his face–you had to admit you were disappointed too, but it was probably a good thing to have the moment interrupted. This was your new roommate. You had to act professional. 

“It’s Matt.” He mounted his words to you as he picked up the phone and turned his back to begin talking to him. 

You exhaled deeply and fully, pulling away from the wall to look around at his bedroom that was filled with moving boxes, hockey gear and tons of bags that you assumed were filled with his clothes. 

After a couple more seconds, Chris hung up the phone and slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Sorry, Matt just wanted to make sure I was alive or if you had killed me already for being such a shitty roommate, but he said that I’m your problem now.”

You shook your head in disbelief, rolling your eyes playfully. “Well, we still have to go over some more ground rules to make sure this works for both of us.” Your voice was more professional, stern, focused.

He straightened up his posture, nodding his head at your words. He was obviously taking this seriously now too, despite the little moment you two just had. “Lay it on me, roomie.”

You cleared your throat now that you had the floor, trying to act like everything is normal even though your heart was still racing rapidly in your chest. Luckily, you were good at masking how you felt no matter what. “No drugs, no being loud late at night, clean up after yourself, make sure not to leave messes everywhere-”

He cut you off, a laugh erupting from his throat. “Are you saying I’m messy or some shit?”

You shrug your shoulders nonchalantly, pressing your lips together in a firm line before speaking, “I’m just trying to think of rules that are common sense among other roommates. Do you have any for me?”

His lips curved into a slight smirk at your question, instantly nodding his head. “Actually, I do.” His smirk widened as he walked up to you again, not as close as before, but close enough to make you a little flustered. “Why don’t we go out for pizza and drinks to talk more? Kind of a…celebratory dinner for your new roomie finally getting his own place and catch up a little more since we will be living together and it’s been quite a while since we went out and did anything.” 

To be fair, it was the first time you’d actually be spending time with him and only him, without your best friend and Matt to follow suite. You didn’t want to live with a complete stranger so getting to know him more and who he was today would be better than not knowing who you were living with exactly. 

“Fine.” You replied back with confidence filling your tone. “But only because pizza sounds fucking amazing and I’m starving.”

He let out a laugh, almost like he didn’t believe you. He shook his head in disbelief, the smirk on his face only widening as he kept his eyes solely focused on you. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s the only reason.”

This was going to be an interesting experience living together, wasn’t it?

notes: thanks for reading! sorry this took me so long to write. if you have any ideas for me, send them to my inbox! miss and love you guys. -n

taglist: @strangelife122 @rina3476 @chrissturnioloslvt @sturns-mermaid @matthewsturnsgf @rinahasspots @222wall876 @chris-hallelujah @izzylovesmatt @strniloslvts @sophand4n4 @xclusivedesires @mattsplaything @mattsbunnyxx @pair-of-pantaloons @slutformatt17 @sturnl0ve @pasteldreams @h3arts4harry @marrykisskilled @wh0remikasas @camzeecorner @alesturniolos @emely9274 @2muchofaslvt @sturnslux3 @bowsandsturniolos @moustacherryismyhusband @rcameronlova1 @ivysturnss @headzgonewest @il0vey0um0st @violetstxrniolo777 @bigbeefybitch @courta13 @sofieeeeex @tylerthecreatorsglazr @kittyyyyykats @sturniszn @estellesdoll @freshsturnzx @ivyyyyyysposts @sturnberries @harls-sturn @whore4chris @slvtf0rchr1s @tits4matt @ikyoudreamofme @sophsturns @sturniszn

[the-oblivious-writer]

After the Storm |1|

Tara Carpenter x Spider-Women!Reader

Chapter One: Mutant Lizards & Kisses

(idk how many chapters I'll do for this series but I'm just winging it for now)

Summary: After your fight with The Lizard, you climb back with quite a few injuries. Luckily, Tara's there to tend to them

Warning(s): Swearing, Police!Sam 🤭, mentions of fighting & injuries

Notes: Based off of this scene in TASM (gotta be one of my favorite scenes). Wrote this while taking a break from writing chp 6 of LTLI. Motivation for this kinda just came to me and I've always wanted to do a spider!reader thing

Masterlist|Next Part

You limped, nearly collapsing on the roof as you held your side.Your trap for Dr. Connors did not work out how you planned, and your recklessness to get more photos than you needed ended you up with none.

You painfully crawled down, making your way to the fire escape outside the window you recognized. You knocked on it three times with your head, ignoring your pounding headache. You kept your head resting on the window as you heard clicking from the other side. Tara looked over to you and smiled before saying, “Come in,” then turning back to the assignment she was working on.

You push the window up, sliding through the opening as you exhale tiredly. 

“You should maybe, uh, consider coming in through the main entrance,” Tara jokes and you huff a laugh. 

You struggle to lift yourself until finally hopping into her room

“Also, my sister is under the impression that you require psychiatric attention….” Tara finally turns to you when she hears you grunt and her eyes slightly widen.

“Y/N.” She stood up from her chair and rushed over to you. You’re now leaning against the wall, when Tara comes up to you. 

“What the hell happened?” She asked quickly.

“You should see the other guy,” you say in a husky voice; you can still see Tara fretting over your injuries.

She carefully walks you to her bed, gently laying you down, not wanting to cause you any further pain. You tilt your head back as you continue to speak through deep breaths, “the other guy, in this instance being a giant mutant lizard.”

“You’re all bruised up–”

“Tara, I’m fi–”

“You’re not fine,” Tara interrupted in a sharp tone.

“Tara–”

You both stopped your movement when you heard Sam’s voice from the other side of the door.

“Hey, Tara, I have to run to the station. Do you want me to pick up some ice cream from that place you like, on the way back?” You and Tara shared a look before she got up and you rolled to the floor. 

Tara opened the door just a few inches to greet her older sister. “No, Sam. I do not want ice cream. I can’t afford any distractions right now. I have a bunch of exams to prepare for,” Tara said, trying to fake an aggravated tone.

“Okay, I just remember somebody saying last week that her fantasy was to live in an ice cream house,” Sam reminded Tara. 

“Well that's impractical,” she said, shutting the door. “And fattening,” she added after opening the door, now shutting it again.

She turned around to see you peeking from behind the bed, giving her a dopey smile. “An ice cream house?” You questioned, still wearing the same expression.

Tara rolled her eyes, nodding, still not saying a word before turning back around to open the door once again. 

“Sorry…” Tara apologized to Sam. 

“It’s really good ice cream.”

“It’s just I can’t, um, I'm doing this um—paper and I’m really focused on it. Didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“It’s okay, I get it. How about I bring you a some for later?” 

“Okay, sounds good. Thanks Sammy,” Tara said with a smile before shutting the door one more time.

As soon as she walked back in the room, she gave you no room to talk. Already giving you directions to follow as she got her medkit from her nightstand’s bottom drawer. 

“Roll down your suit.”

You sigh but comply. “I’m fine, just a little banged up. I almost got him though—Dr. Connors. I can feel it, Tar. I’m gonna get him next time.”

“I swear, Y/N, if you get yourself killed I will make sure you regret it,” the younger Carpenter threatened.

“Why? Gonna miss me?” You teased, looking at the other girl as her attention was on the rubbing alcohol she was preparing. 

“In your dreams, Y/L/N,” Tara replied, but you saw the tiny smile she gave you before looking back at what she was doing. 

“Ah…” You softly groaned, feeling the sting as the rubbing alcohol made contact with your open wound.

Tara gave you an apologetic look, “It’ll be done soon.” 

“And when that's done?”

“What do you mean?” Tara asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“After this, how about we do something?”

She lightly shook her head with a smile before replying. “And Sam comes home to an empty apartment? Yeah, no.”

“I’ll get you home in time before Sam is,” you reassure her. 

“You’re forgetting Sam’s a police captain,” Tara’s body betrays her as she melts into your touch, feeling your hand gently sneak up her arm.

“Unless she can track my web-shooters, I think we’re good.”

 “I don’t know…” she looks down, averting her attention to one of your other cuts she’s tending too.

You left hand lifts her head, her chin resting on your knuckles.

“Come on…” 

Your foreheads meet and the towel in her hand is long forgotten. You brush your thumb against her bottom lip, you both slightly lean in until your lips are only centimeters apart. 

“Easy bug girl…” You heard her whisper.

“What’d you just call me?” You asked as you both lightly laugh, faces never pulling from each other. 

“Let's get out of here,” you said as you comedically shook your head around, causing Tara to giggle. “Just for a minute, come on.”

Your noses rubbed together as Tara leaned into you. 

“No..”

“Yeah..”

“Noo..”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Noooo…” She hated how much she wanted to say yes to you.

“Yesss,” your smile never falters through this yes and no battle. You looked at how Tara looked away for a moment before looking back at you with a smile she was visibly fighting and in that moment you knew you won.

“...I better be home before Sam is.” 

—

When you land back on Tara’s fire escape, she’s clinging onto you for dear life while her face's buried in your chest. You smile down at her as you tell her, “We’re back by the way,” resisting the urge to place a kiss on her head.

“Yeah—yeah I knew that,” she replied, slowly pulling away from you.

You can’t help but chuckle at her shooken state. “Oh, you think this is funny? We were so high up—a drop that high is deadly, Y/N.”

“You think I’d drop ya?” 

“No, cause’ then Sam would bury you alive.”

“Speaking of Sam,” you’re both fully in the room now as you look at her bedroom door and then back at Tara, “Looks like she’s not here…”

“Y/N…”

“Tara…”

“I already let you swing me around while a billion feet in the air; you’re still needy for my attention?” She teased, slightly tilting her head.

“What, you don’t wanna hang out with me?” You teased back.

You’re now directly in front of her, Tara’s legs hit the back of the bed and you can feel her breath on yours. Your hands end up on her hips and her left hand lightly cups your jaw.

In a husky voice you begin, “Tara, you have no idea–" 

Suddenly the front door can be heard opening, the various locks twisting and turning. You and Tara looked at each other before Tara shoved you under the bed. Footsteps came closer and closer until Sam opened the door to find her sister sitting at her desk, headphones in, and pen in hand.

Tara turned to look at the door, pulling out her headphones when she made eye contact with Sam. “Oh, hey Sam. I was just finishing up this paper,” Tara said innocently, giving the paper a single tap with her pen.

Sam slightly nodded, looking around—Tara noticed this. “Did you need something?” Tara asked the older Carpenter.

“Uh, no—no, I just thought I heard something. Anyways,” Sam slightly shook her head, “got you that ice cream. It’s in the freezer when you want it.”

“Thanks, Sam. Love you,” Tara responded. “Love you too,” Sam said back with a smile before leaving the room but not without taking one more scan of the room.

You waited another minute before crawling out from under her bed. 

“That was a close one, bug girl.”

“Is that gonna be a permanent nickname?”

“You bet it is, bug girl."

You playfully rolled your eyes, a smile grazing your face when you see her dimples show. "You're lucky you're cute," you tell her.

"Oh? Would you rather me call you my savior?" Tara jokingly batted her eyelashes at you.

You bit lip in thought. "It's got a ring to it..."

"Yeah, no. 'Think I'm sticking with bug girl for now."

"Worth a shot," you shrugged before walking over to her,"Now...where were we?"

"You were leaving–"

"Mmm, no. That' not what I recall."

Before Tara could respond, you began placing kisses that travled to her jaw then neck, making her knees grow weak as you slowly lead her to the bed until her back softly hit the mattress.

You hovered above her while she gratefully accepted your touch, holding onto your biceps while you continued to kiss her.

"Y/N, my sister's right outside. And if you've forgotten; she has a warrant out for your 'wall crawling vigilante ass'—her words, not mine," Tara said, breath hitching as you continued to kiss her neck.

You stopped mid kiss, looking around the room then slightly frowned, furrowing your eyebrows as you looked back at her. "Is she here in the room with us...? Cause I don't see her."

"Y/N..."

"Tara..."

Tara let out a light sigh, raising one of her hands to cup your jaw. "Five. Minutes." She told you, holding your jaw with a gentle yet firm grip.

"Yes ma'am."

-----------

A/N: R because she didn't pack extra web fluid like Tara told her to:

[qu1cks1lversb1tch]

A Deal | Vox x Gen Z Reader

A/N— Decided to turn my little drabble into a little series of one-shots based off of ideas I come up with and any requests y'all may have for it 💅🏻 ALSO a huge thank you to @writteninlunarlight-years for the idea that inspired me to kickstart the series! It's very much 'enemies to lovers' core (kinda, I guess?), but I have no idea how far this will go lol. Hope everyone enjoys this — sorry it took so long :)

Warnings: Reader is implied female, Valentino existing, mentions of souls being owned, reader is close to being an overlord

Word Count: 1,724

Summary: You were a growing threat — and what better way to keep an eye on said threat, than to have you start living under the same roof as three of the most influential overlords in Hell? This is only the beginning. . .

Since your arrival to Hell, things had been nothing short of interesting — from your offers that couldn't be refused, all the way to the demon's that warily approached or backed off when you were near.

It was quite the spectacle.

You were quickly rising within the ranks of Hell, from a mere sinner to damn near an overlord — for all the souls you claimed in a few short months. It was noticeable — your social climbing.

What you hadn't expected was two overlords reaching out in the same day, both itching for some sort of deal.

You'd heard whispers of the feared Radio Demon and practically laughed at the thought of people being scared of him — sure his smile was off-putting, but other than that, you didn't really see the hype.

So when he approached you outside of the Café you'd began to frequent, striking up casual conversation as if you were old friends, you quickly understood what was going on.

He was powerful. You were becoming more powerful. He offered guidance and you knew there was a 'but' coming.

When it dropped, you sighed, before sipping on your warm beverage.

"I can offer you guidance, and in return, I want your soul as a pledge of undying loyalty, my dear!" He made a hand motion, as if he planned on writing your name in the stars — could you even see the stars from Hell?

"I'm sorry — but other than guidance, what do I get out of it? I've done well on my own for the last six months."

Protection. Respect. Free housing. It had almost been tempting — especially the free housing, especially in that economy. . . But in the end, you had told him that you'd think about it.

In reality, you wouldn't.

Giving up your freedom for half the shit you could get on your own? He had you fucked up.

Then there was Vox; the wide open rival of Alastor. You'd actually seen him around, having been in a couple clubs he was coincidentally visiting at the same time.

When he approached you, it was three hours later and you were actively sending a message to the group chat of demons whose souls you owned, over Sinstagram. You were simply reminding them of the consequences if they took the food that CLEARLY had your name written on it.

You didn't care that you were sitting in a restaurant — if any of them touched that leftover sub quarter, you'd kill them, and not in a funny or ironic way. You'd actually kill them double dead with no return. 

When you looked up, he questioned your business with 'the fossil' and was met with a blank stare rather than words.

He clarified that he meant Alastor.

"Oh. I don't have any." You replied simply, reading the few messages that popped up on screen.

At the revelation, he was pleased and began listing off all of the things he could provide that Alastor 'would fail miserably at'.

Money. Protection. Respect. A sounding board for ideas. Anything your heart desired. All at a small cost of being under his surveillance almost 24/7.

That snatched your attention away from the two demons who began arguing in their native languages. Did you understand them? Fuck no. Would you be translating that later? Abso-fuckin-lutely.

"And what's in it for you?" You asked the TV demon. You didn't like the thought of being under surveillance and having little to no privacy, but his deal had already been sweetened by Vox not wanting your soul.

"Power all the way around. With my influence, you can be a billion times better than that staticky prick. You'll practically have demons begging on their knees."

"Tempting." You admitted.

"What do you think?"

"Eh, fuck it. Why the hell not?"

From there it was a flurry of events — you remembered eating, but then you were leaving with Vox and then quickly found yourself in a meeting room with the other Vees and shit you had to sign, stating that you wouldn't spill any details of the inner workings of any of the three companies.

Who did he take you for?

Once you read each document thoroughly, making sure it wasn't a contract for your soul, you signed your name on the tablets screen and sat back in your seat, pulling out your phone to begin translating the argument from the beginning.

"Great! Ground rules — our private spaces are off limits unless we explicitly tell you otherwise, that includes bedrooms, offices, and basically everything that isn't a —"

"Uh-huh, got it." You mumbled — snorting at the beyond creative insults that began to flood the screen in English.

"Listen—"

"It's my nap time, TV boy. If you can put this conversation in a text, do it." You sighed, stretching your limbs. They popped as you stood — who showed these fuckers how to make gifs of each other?

Oh.

You did. HA!

"You know I can kill you, right?" Vox questioned, his claws digging into the table.

"So could a really motivated duck — or a Canadian goose. Those things are straight out of Hell, Box."

"It's Vox." He growled.

Ooh spicy. "Whatever —"

"Can you be serious for five minutes?"

"Ok boomer."

His screen glitched and his claws dug further into the desk as he stared at you.

Velvette barked a laugh and looked away from her phone long enough to see Vox on the verge of malfunctioning, a smirk slipping onto her face. "Can we keep her? I like this one."

"This one's more tolerable than the last." Valentino mused, blowing his smoke into the air. He leaned forward in his seat, uncrossing his legs. "And we don't even know her name."

"The name's Y/N. Don't wear it out." You winked before turning around and exiting the door you had been ushered through, however long ago. The moment the door closed, you heard Vox angrily talking with Velvette and Valentino, who were much calmer than the TV overlord.

Oh, this will be fun. A good idea, for sure.

Thirty minutes later, when you were in the room Vox had told you was yours, both Velvette and Valentino followed you on Sinstagram before adding you to the Vees official group chat.

Your first week living with the Vees went by rather quickly — of course, you respected their privacy as requested, spending most of your time in your room or the common areas which mostly consisted of the kitchen, living room, and game room.

Still, you'd managed to piss Vox off three more times, and got Velvette and Valentino to join in without trying.

Velvette quickly picked up your terminology, calling Vox a boomer at any given opportunity. It pissed him off to no end. Valentino had only done it twice, mostly because they both spent a lot of time working and only interacted with Vox when he had the time to.

Within the first seventy-two hours, you noticed the weird obsession Vox had with Alastor and you sarcastically quoted a scene from a movie at dinner that night.

"Is this love, Agent Romanoff?"

And he had looked at you weirdly, pausing mid rant. Later you had to explain to the other two that it was from a movie — and who Agent Romanoff was.

Vox avoided you mostly, which you chalked up to him thinking you were annoying. Good.

By the end of the first month, Velvette had you chilling with her while she worked, usually with you being the sounding board for her ideas.

More often than not, you had good ideas.

That little fact prompted her to throw you a sketch book, telling you to get to work.

You were getting paid to be there, so whatever.

When you weren't with Velvette, you were declining Valentino's countless invitations to sit with him while he worked — you wanted nothing to do with that. Porn wasn't really your thing, even when you were alive, but you had a bunch of friends who were super into it.

Instead you went out alone, claiming you were getting lunch for yourself. You'd get lunch, after making a few deals with wayward demons who would thrive under your influence.

That one particular day, you hadn't noticed either presence behind you, until a fight broke out, causing you to turn around to see Alastor and Vox going at each other's throats — and not in an interesting way.

You somehow broke it up just after Alastor cracked Vox's screen.

"Why the fuck are you here?" You bit out harshly, directed at the two overlords who now stood three feet apart like scolded children, neither pleased to be there.

"You left without saying anything." Vox crossed his arms.

"You hadn't reached out, my dear." Alastor hummed, distastefully glancing over at the TV demon.

You groaned, throwing your head back. "Listen, get the fuck over yourselves! At this rate, I answer to Velvette, not the two of you boomers. Got it?"

Alastors eyes began to twitch as static filled the air, whereas Vox's cracked screen glitched as you walked away.

Later, when Vox approached you, you noticed that his screen was fixed. That was good.

"Got a minute, [Y/N]?" He questioned.

You looked up from the sketch book in hand and nodded, mumbling 'sure' as you closed it. You were tired from the long day.

So his next question caught you off guard.

"Why do you do this to me?"

"Do what?"

"Why do you purposely piss me off? You get along with everyone else, yet you call me names and disrespect my entire existence. Why?"

You sighed, not really having a real answer. "That's just the way I am, how I've always been. . . And in my defense, I call everyone names. . . Not just you. So, don't think you're special, Box—"

"— Vox —"

"I'm a bitch to everyone, just most don't realize it because their bitch scale broke a long time ago. Now, go. I have shit to do that doesn't involve stroking your fragile ego."

Vox wasn't sure what it was, but he knew he was going to keep a closer eye on you. What was so different about you?

You were close enough in biological age to Velvette, yet while there were similarities, there were so many differences. . . He wasn't sure what to think about any of it. Especially with you climbing up the power ladder.

[billiedeansbitch]

𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞 (𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐰)-𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟐

(𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐱 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

<< PREVIOUS PART

Chapter summary: Two things came: Larissa's orgasm and her lab results.

Notes: Some plot is plottin' huh? *Smirks*

Tw: light mentions of depression and grief. Character death (not significant). Homophobia.

*Not beta read*

“Oi, kid, we’re goin’ out for drinks, you gonna come or what?”

“Nah, I can’t, sorry. I’m going home to Jericho.”

“A wife waitin’ on ya?”

“Uh, no,” a pause to shake your head, “but someone special.” You then added and nodded, agreeing with yourself as you thought of the other shapeshifter.

Your co-worker patted you on the shoulder with a resigned sigh, “All right, suit yourself.” he left the room, a toothpick hanging off his lips.

You beamed to yourself, shoving your stuff into your bag and turned off your monitor. It oddly felt nice to admit these things not only to yourself but to others, letting them know that you weren’t available in some way…

The office was almost empty, looking around you everyone had clocked out already leaving you and the janitor alone.

It had been a busy week, the last time you saw Larissa was Tuesday morning at five am, she was loosely wrapped in her kimono-style robe, softly gazing at you as you pulled your car off her driveway and before you could drive away she called out to bid you a goodbye kiss. It was something that had your head in the cloud for days, a parting gift that made your insides all tingly and warm and now, you couldn’t wait to go see her. 

These last few weeks had been surreal, you two had been spending more and more time together, more intimate than being casual but could you really blame yourself? Hell, anyone would kill to be in your position. Larissa was the dream, she was everything and to be able to do these things to her, hold her hand, kiss her, make her smile were your absolute fantasy all coming true.

You worry sometimes, yes, that maybe things weren’t as real to her as it was to you and try as you might to ignore it, it dampened your mood all the same, but hey, she said she liked spending time with you if that was anything to go by.

Your phone pinged once you were off the expressway turning to a smaller road leading to Jericho. The notification showed “Not your wife” and your grin couldn’t get any bigger, you quickly swiped the notification and it redirected you to messages. Of course she didn’t know that was what you saved as her contact name, she didn’t need to know that or the one you save before that “friends with consequences” 

Not your wife:

Will you be coming over tonight? 

(Larissa was biting her lip when she sent that text)

Then three dots appeared. She was typing. You were glancing from time to time waiting but she never sent another text then it disappeared. So you quickly typed a short reply, “omw” 

You received a cute emoji showing thumbs up and you giggled, finding it oddly charming of her before it was followed by: “Careful driving. Be safe and keep your eyes on the road.”

–

She kissed you first, or maybe you did, it didn’t matter as you two ended up on the couch in the living room with her underneath you, her fingers playing with the hem of your shirt while her lips pressed open mouthed kisses all over your neck.

“Missed me too much?”

Larissa responded by stealing the breath out of your lungs and kissed you hard, “I think that confirms it,”

She was needy, you could tell, by the way she groped your chest once your shirt flung off and as much as it excites you and made your libido sprung to the roof, you couldn’t help the nagging thought that there was at least something wrong.

“I need you,” she had her hand on your waist while the other was busy expertly undoing your belt, “Please,” the way she pleaded against the skin your neck, her breath hot, as she shoved her hand under your pants had you grinding your hips against her, anything that was in your head quickly faded. 

And if you thought she had already caught you off guard, then you were mistaken because when she uttered the next words right into your ear that was when you completely lost it.

“Are you going to be a good girl and fuck mommy hard?” 

It was your turn to bury your face into her neck as you sucked a breath, “Yes, mommy.” as shiver ran down your spine and before you knew it, you shifted yourself, holding just the tip against her centre. 

“Wait. I need you to use this from now on every time you shift. Is that okay?”

“A condom? But…okay. Yes, of course.”

“Good girl,” 

You could do nothing but obey like a pet.

–

“Thank you. I needed that.” You were still on top of her, skin to skin. You had a proud smile on your face, her delicate fingers combing through your damp roots.

“I needed it, too.” She leaned, kissing the tip of your nose.

“There’s a store bought rotisserie chicken in the fridge, you can heat that up and I made salad. You know your way around, right?” 

“We’re not eating together?” The disappointment was too thick in your voice and Larissa tried to soothe the visible frown on your face by gently caressing your brow bone with her thumb.

“I still have a lot of work to do. The sooner you let me work, the sooner I am finished and after that I will be all yours. You think you can be good and wait for me while I work?”

The idea of her being all yours did a little bit of magic, casting away the frown as your blush deepened. 

“Yeah but can I stay in your office? I’ll be quiet. I’ll just probably read a book or something, please?”

A small smile flourished on her face, “We can give it a try.” Because knowing you, and herself, neither of you would last that long without being distracted and she really needed to work.

“Okay.”

You both laid for five minutes more, basking in the comfort of each other’s warmth and silence that engulfed the room bringing peace into your minds.

–

You kept your words and stayed quiet as possible, even the shifting to a new page was ever so silent. You didn’t know what you were reading, the words weren’t really processing at all but you needed it to keep your hands physically occupied to sell your act not that you think she was buying it anyway.

From time to time your eyes stray from the page of the book to the woman behind the desk, observing how the lines on her face deepened when she was making a face or how she would scoff while she read an email or something that definitely pulled a reaction from her. Which then made you giggle behind the pages especially when she would squint so hard before eventually leaning on the screen of her laptop because she was too stubborn to put her glasses on or the way she dominantly used her index finger to navigate her phone screen like any middle-aged person you knew.

It was all something you had grown so fond of over the months, you didn’t know if it was the obvious gaps in your ages that had you so drawn to her but that certainly played a part behind these reasons of why you were feeling more and more entangled with her like you could really see her staying in your life for good this time.

When you thought there was nothing for you anymore after losing your family to an accident just merely a week later when your girlfriend dumped you for some guy. You were ready to succumb to these bad habits. You had already started in fact. Your tolerance for alcohol was getting stronger and your fixation to cigarettes was growing out of control. You were wallowing in your own loss and depression day by day until she came and saved you. It literally felt like being scooped into her arms and being cradled on her lap while she spread tiny kisses all over your face.

When she walked in your parents’ house after the funeral you just…your mind took your back from your seventeen year old self.

The others were blocked in your head, their voice vaguely registering. You watched the crowd part, erupting into curious whispers and measuring glances.

Earlier that day as the caskets were getting buried, you had caught a fleeting glimpse of her, you blinked it away, too occupied with overwhelming loss and grief but when you saw her in clear daylight as the sun shone brightly, basking the room in the first golden rays of the sun after a gloomy rain dressed and accessorised in black strutting her way in the middle of the parted crowd, you couldn’t rip your gaze off even if you tried.

Something ignited within you that day. This hopeless, massive crush you had for her came back like it hadn’t been a decade since you last saw her and maybe yes, it would have been an awful timing yet you found it as a perfect distraction and she gladly provided that.

You remembered her smile, the soft hand she put on your shoulder and the little squeeze. You remembered not breathing and just awkwardly staring at her while she told you the fondest memory she had of your parents.

When the reception was over and mostly everyone had bid you their goodbyes, she lingered offering you help to clean the place.

And after that, maybe weeks or a month later, you reached out to her (thank God you didn’t lose the card she gave you) asking her out for a drink.

To your surprise, she agreed.

Larissa wasn’t around much when your parents were still alive and you were living on the same roof as them. She came to visit once or twice and you never spent much time with her, always locked up in your room or out with your friends, though there was this one particular night when she came for dinner wearing red suited for her skin and that smile and radiant eyes just spoke to you, they were stealing your attention and for the rest of the evening you couldn’t help but blush whenever she glance your way that was when you knew you had a crush on her

You didn’t think of it as inappropriate then, it was after all, just a silly crush. Something utterly foolish but she grew in your mind. You couldn’t forget about her until you were in your senior year in college, she was all you could think about while you kissed your professor. You craved to see that woman again.

And now you found yourself sitting in her chair, dozing off, the book slipping from your hand and onto the floor, the thud jolted your body to wake and so when you looked up Larissa was done and fixing her table.

“Are you alright?” she asked, 

You smiled weakly, “Yeah, I just startled myself.”

You got up, picked the book from the floor and settled it down on the seat. You were on your way to the connecting bathroom, feeling your bladder full. 

Larissa’s face was suddenly pale for whatever reason when you entered the bathroom, her heart pounding in her chest until you opened the door and emerged with a pout on your face.

“Is there something wrong?”

“I feel betrayed.”

“Pardon?”

“You didn’t get the hand wash I suggested you, you said you were gonna get it.” The woman looked visibly relieved, you didn’t think much about it, too busy pouting.

“I was supposed to but they didn't have it in stock. I’ll make sure to get it next time when they do. Is that it?”

“No. I hate to inform you that you’re not gettin’ somethin’ tonight.” 

She lifted a brow in question,

“My period started just right about now. I can’t believe my body will betray me like this, like man, can’t it wait until I’m outta here? Stupid organs.”

Period meant no shifting. Larissa let out a laugh, shaking her head softly and tilting to the side, a hand on her hip, standing like the statuesque woman she was.

“Who says I’m scared of blood?”

“Don’t be nasty, Miss Weems.”

You laughed and walked toward her, “Come on, let’s get some food in your system, lady.”

“You go ahead. I need to use the bathroom. I’ll be quick. Do heat up the chicken, yes?”

“That chicken better be good.”

—

The chicken was good, surprisingly so that you inhaled the whole thigh like a goddamn cannibal starved for meat. She watched you in the corners of her eyes, smiling down on her food while she ate her portion with more grace and actually chewing.

You did take her advice when Larissa told you to slow down before you choke. After dinner, you insisted on washing the dishes while she sat there with her legs propped up on another chair and enjoying a good glass of wine.

It was the last plate when you felt her, heard her moving, until eventually she was pressed behind you with her lips on your shoulder, the scent of wine strong in her breath.

You nearly dropped the plate in the sink, fingers gone cold and stiff; heart pounding in your chest. One of these days she’d legit give you a heart attack.

“You’re being so good to me,” there was no lust in her voice, only the kind of warmth that pleasantly stirred your guts. You wished it was the wine talking, though you knew that a single glass of red wouldn’t induce these thoughts.

Maybe this was the scary part. It was easier when her desires were prominent in her touch, the way it dripped down in her voice because you directly knew what she wanted. But when she was like this? You were out of words, you didn’t know how she wanted you to react and it wasn’t as simple as taking your clothes off every time she’d give you a hungry gaze.

“Don’t tell me, that me, doing the dishes do it for you,” you giggled, tearing some paper towels to dry your hands.

“Don’t get all cocky now if you don’t want to spend a night sleeping on the couch, dear.”

She would never do that. You turned around in her arms, giving her a pout.

“I very much doubt that. You won’t last long without begging me to come back to your bed.” 

Your faces were now mere inches apart, “I ought to teach you a lesson one of these days.”

“Oh, is that true, Principal Weems? Or should I say, mommy?” The last word was mouthed against her lips, not quite touching but close enough that you felt her body tensed.

You thought you won this little game but the smile was quickly gone when you felt her wrapped her hand around your throat. You swore your brain short circuited. Your thoughts, reduced to nothing.

She leaned, making sure her lips touched yours before she whispered, “Careful, sweet girl.

Your lips parted, welcoming hers as they collided with force. Soon, you were sucking on her tongue and feeling every inch of her.

“The wine tastes better in your mouth.”

Larissa beamed, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear, “What should we do tomorrow?” She asked so sweetly as if her tongue hadn’t been shoved in your mouth moments ago.

“I wanna bake. It’s been long since I’ve kneaded something other than your ass or tits.” you hastily groped her ass.

Weems dramatically feigned a gasp, “Such a foul mouth, darling.” She tsked.

“Those words were not even one percent of the filthy things you’ve said to me.” 

It drew a smirk to her face, proving your words to be true. Her eyes narrowing down at you. 

“Should I remind you where my mouth has been lately?” You said, your fingers playing with the button of her blouse. The flirty lilt in your voice was easily matched with her eyes.

“Mhm.” It was all it took to get you down on your knees, one of her thighs prompted up to your shoulder.

“So wet already, huh? All of this is just for me, right?”

–

The bedroom lights were dimmed, Larissa was unpinning her hair, now in her robe as she sat in front of her vanity and you were laying with your stomach under on the bed, watching her. Her eyes met yours in the mirror, the expected blush creeped to your cheeks like the many times before.

“Tell me about your day, dear. Did Margie or Margaret—whatever her name is—make further advances on you?” 

“Her name’s actually Maggie, and yeah, kinda. She bought me another coffee and asked me if we could eat lunch together. I told her no, I kept the coffee though…”

“Mhmm, and what else?”

“Uh, she told me she’d wait? Like when I’m finally okay and all, which doesn’t make sense because I am okay—great even. And she said that I can come to her if I need a shoulder to cry on. She thinks I’m still grieving. She’s okay as a friend but past that? No thanks. I feel perfectly fine right here plus I’ve got more than a shoulder.”

The last sentence seemed to put a smile on her face so you smiled, too.

Once she was done and dressed, you scooted to your side of the bed to give her space. Larissa opened her arms, motioning for you to come closer so you did, wrapping your arms around her torso with your head nestled perfectly comfortable on her chest.

For months Larissa was firm on keeping things light, she never asked or demanded anything from you. She understood what she was, and where she stood. Your thoughts were your own for the longest, but as, whatever this was in between you, went on for longer than she was prepared for, she found herself caring for you enough to ask what she had been dying to since the beginning. 

“Do you miss them?”

Larissa felt the air grew heavy, not necessarily awkward, only it was hard for her to breathe when you went quiet like this. She could feel you thinking, so she held you tight, afraid you’d leapt out of her arms and bolt away.

Then you breathed the word out like a confession you had been keeping for so long that it’d break you if held it in for one more second, “Yes,”

“I’m sure they’re proud of the woman you have become.”

“I’m not so sure about that. They never approved of any of this. They viewed my happiness as a sin. So, no, I don’t think they are but it would have been nice if they did.”

There was so much hidden pain, well concealed by the smile that could have easily fooled her, but the long pauses and the way you avoided her gaze gave it away.

“Plus they didn’t want me pursuing my, you know, ability. They had always been appalled by the thought of having a freak daughter. They were a couple of hypocrites if you ask me. They celebrated others but they kept me in the dark. Always telling me to be normal. I never knew why they treated me like that.”

Larissa couldn’t believe this. Your parents were good people (now she doubted that) they attended charity events for the school and donated a fortune, they seemed enthralled by the outcast community so to hear this from you, she was heartbroken. To think that they did this to their own daughter… She hugged you closer, planting a soft kiss on the top of your head. Her heart was aching like it was a physical pinch.

“That's why I left the soonest I could. They were suffocating me.”

It was hell, that decision forced you to endure a heightened level of stress and struggles, it showed you what real exhaustion was like when you thought you had enough of it while sitting on your desk at two in the morning rushing to do your maths homework.

You wanted to laugh about it now until your belly hurts. You wanted your parents to see wherever on earth or beyond they were, that you were finally at peace, that you had somehow ended up with the decent life they said you could never have just because of you who were.

You caught yourself going too far with your thoughts when you felt Larissa gently squeezed you, wordlessly checking if you were okay.

“It’s fine. It was something I had to live with until I no longer needed to.”

Larissa chose the silence over further speaking out her thoughts. Your emotions were obviously high, she didn’t want it to reign over you although you were considerably calm but who knew what else was going on in your head right now and she’d rather not risk it.

Aside from holding you impossibly close, the shapeshifter sought for your hand and linked your fingers together making you grin like a fool against her. You weren’t big on physical intimacy before, thought of it as gross at some point, but that was because you didn’t have intimate relationships with anyone and seeing others do it without understanding what it really felt like made the idea so repulsive and overrated.

Now you craved it. You welcomed it as long as it was from her.

“Rissa?”

“Hm, yes?”

“I want blueberry pancakes for breakfast.”

The woman chuckled, the vibrations going straight to your ear, filling you with positive energy and so much happiness.

“Alright, we’ll have blueberry pancakes in the morning.”

“Thanks.”

–

Earlier that week…

“Larissa Weems?” She stood up from the waiting room as soon as she heard her name being called. 

The staff held out the brown envelope with a smile too pleasant for it to be true. It irked her. 

She had been on edge the second she came in, and so, Larissa didn’t return anything warmly, instead she was like a cat baring her teeth to anyone who’d dare to make small talk with her like the young couple who was sitting close to her talking her ears off.

She snatched the envelope too roughly with her gloved hand. She didn’t thank anyone or even offered a polite smile. As soon as she had it she went straight for exit leaving everyone stunned and exchanging looks. 

“Someone’s dick is getting cut off tonight.” Someone's husband joked, earning a jab on his ribs from his wife.

She heard that but she didn’t care.

Larissa sat in her car, it was still parked behind the clinic, she held the envelope and ripped it open. 

It was her copy of the results. HCG test results.

There were two pages, Larissa skimmed over the first part with her heart racing and her breath shaking.

Larissa was forced to hold her breath as she muttered the words aloud.

“hCG Level: 13 mUI/ml”

“An hCG level between 6 and 24 mIU/mL may require retesting or further evaluation.”

When she realized her period was delayed she pondered if this was what her Doctor debriefed from their last encounter as a premature menopause, however she lacked certain signs and symptoms to further support the idea.

That was how she knew she had to take the tests. So while you peacefully slept, Larissa took two from her cabinet and did it in her office bathroom.

They came out negative. Of course they were, she wanted to laugh at herself for thinking otherwise. It would have been impossible to conceive knowing you were biologically a female but at what extent did science draw the line? Especially if being an outcast affected it and some supernatural shit. 

She couldn’t be so sure so right after you left that morning, she drove to the next town and had it done there. 

She thought having it printed in papers with charts and numbers would make her feel better.

It didn’t.

-

Oooh so the results came and it's somehow tricky because it's not low enough to be negative but all not high enough to positive...

Hmmm and they're using condoms now 🫢

Anyway, thank you so much for everyone who had good things to say about this fic and to those who wanted another part :)) I appreciate it all :))

[drawingdroid]

That damn teal armor! I

A Din Djarin x Transmasc Mando Reader Story

Major spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 3 ahead!

Series summary: Din adopts not only Grogu but Ragnar too after the events on Mandalore. This is The Way. The three of them are living their little life in the cabin on Nevarro when you arrive, claiming the right to raise Ragnar because you are Paz’s younger sibling, who has been away for years, reuniting the other Mandalorians scattered around the galaxy. But there's something else: while you were apart from the tribe, you transitioned to be a man. Would Din recognize you? Could you get to an agreement and raise the boy together? Wrong! There's a problem: Din kriffing hates your guts.

Warnings: Reader is a trans man, goes by he/him pronouns, and had top surgery; angst, humor, and fluff; slow burn; pinch of enemies to lovers; eventual smut +18; grief and mourning; happy ending.

Series word count: 16k+

Chapter word count: 2087

Read it on Ao3

Author's note: Hello Din Djarin cult, I hope you're doing well. I'm still busy trying to stabilize my financial status, so I haven't been active. But I've been writing this for myself, and today I decided it was time to share it. There are very few Din Djarin x Male Reader fics out there, and even fewer for the transmasc folks. So in a moment of need, I had to write this to stay afloat. Currently, I have 8 finished chapters and drafted 18, so strap on for the trip!

Chapter I: The other Vizsla

“He had a warrior’s death.” You were sitting in the temporary forge, trying not to sob under the helmet. Paz was your big brother, and now, he was gone. The Armorer put a gloved hand in your teal pauldron. “You have done a great job reuniting the clans out there, you may rest for a while.” You nodded and got up from the crate you were sitting on.

“Wait, what about Ragnar, how’s…” You had been far away for years, but in one of your rare holocalls, Paz had spoken to you about the little boy with pride. And now he was all alone without his buir.

“Din Djarin has taken the youngling under his wing,” she declared, grabbing her tongs to start her work again. “You should talk to him, he’s trying to be strong, but he’s just a kid.”

Your jaw dropped under the helmet. Din kriffing Djarin had adopted your niece? Last time you checked, the guy was a laserbrain and a reckless, ruthless bounty hunter. And you were…a very differen person too. You felt how your blood started to boil inside you.

“I’ll do it, thank you, Armorer.” Tightening your fist, you stormed out of the forge, looking for the offending Mandalorian who had adopted Ragnar without checking with you.

After wandering for a while between the camp, you didn’t find a trace of him, so you decided to ask around. Reuniting the clans meant that a lot of Mandalorians from different backgrounds and customs were together under the same roof, so you could always find warriors wrestling here and there. It was chaos, but you liked it. The clans you had brought with you were starting to mix with the other ones and getting into fights: it was the first step towards blending. After asking some of the Mandalorians, a blonde Mandalorian woman, who didn’t cover her face as your clan, revealed to you the location of Djarin. She also warned you about the reserved nature of the man, who didn’t like to be bothered, especially at his own home, but if you wanted something, it was to annoy Din Djarin.

You borrowed a speeder bike and went to look for the little cabin the woman had described. The lava flats were barren but beautiful, and with the protection of your helmet, the dust didn’t get into your lungs, so you enjoyed the ride. It was recognisable even in the distance, the cabin stood on the horizon on the outskirts of Nevarro City. It was kind of cute, and a place you would never have imagined for Din. In the past, he didn’t look like the settling-up type. Maybe he had gotten old?

The first thing you noticed was the two little figures next to a pond. One of them was wearing a teal helmet like yours, shiny and new. You were aware that Ragnar had just sworn the creed when Paz died. It had to be pretty traumatic for the poor kid. Parking the speeder bike at a prudent distance, you approached the cabin, observing that Din was nowhere to be seen. But you forgot about him soon, because something else caught your eye. Ragnar was playing with another creature. You were aware of the foundling Din had adopted, but didn’t know a lot about them. The kid next to Ragnar was green and sported huge ears. Apparently, your niece was telling them something hilarious because their little teeth showed in a giggle. Weird, but kinda cute. You were ready to speak to the children when you felt our breath abandon you.

“Don’t dare to make another step.” A rough baritone voice, a strong forearm pressing your windpipe, and a blaster digging into your lower back. Did he not recognize you? Well, even if he did, he had his motives to aim a blaster at you.

“It’s good to see you too, Din Djarin,” you said just before kicking him on the shin and turning in your heels to disarm the bounty hunter. The surprise factor being on your side, it was easy to have him in his hands in a matter of seconds. After all, your voice was raspier, lower, and you could tell he was startled. 

“Vizsla,” he hissed like a reptile, feeling the venom of his stare through the visor. You stood nonchalantly, towering over him while you twirled his blaster in your hand.

“I may keep this.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked drily, getting on his feet, but without addressing the bantha in the room. You took a second to assess the novelties in his appearance. The shiny armour, the signet. The nerf herder looked even broader. 

“Looking smart, Djarin. Things have been working out for you?” He grabbed his blaster from your gloved hand and put it back in the holster.

“Why are you here?” He repeated, ignoring your question. Okay, straight to the point then.

“I came to speak to Ragnar.” You crossed your arms against your chest plate, trying to look intimidating.

“You’re a stranger to him.” 

“But he is my niece.” 

“That doesn’t give you any right over him,” he deadpanned. The man was as annoying as always. 

“Look, I know you were pissed about me leaving, but I just want to talk to him. He may not know who I am, but we both have lost the same person.” Your voice became a little strangled, and you could tell Did had noticed with how he tilted his head.

“About that…I’m-”

“Save it up, Djarin,” you respond, suddenly defensive before the prospect of being vulnerable in front of him. He changed his weight to the other leg, and you looked away, both uncomfortable. After all, it was the first time you had seen each other after you left the covert, except for that time that’s better left forgotten…Well, things weren’t going to be easy.

“I’ll speak to him,” he surrendered after a deep sigh. “Wait inside.”

You obeyed and walked towards the cabin while he went to the kids. Not wanting to admit it, but you felt nervous. You weren’t a stranger to taking care of kids. While reuniting the clans, you had to deal with a lot of foundlings and younglings running around your ship. Taking a liking to them, little mischievous creatures. 

The interior of the cabin was as barren as the lava flats, and you didn’t expect anything different from Din. However, toys were scattered here and there, and a nice fluffy carpet lay on the floor, giving the place the warmth his owner lacked. How had the covert confided in Din with two kids? You didn’t have a lot more time to think insulting stuff about him, because the hunter appeared at the door with his hand behind Ragnar’s back and the little green thing in the crook of his arm. This close, you noticed that the critter looked like a baby. You waved awkwardly, but Ragnar didn’t reciprocate. To your surprise, the green bean did, and you chuckled to yourself. What a curious kid.

“We’ll give you privacy, let’s go, Grogu,” Din said, and then he left the cabin with the little one, leaving Ragnar alone. So the kid’s name was Grogu.

“Hi, uhm… You don’t know me but…I’m your buir’s brother.” You gave him your name and then sat to look less menacing. “I’m so glad to meet you. Paz spoke a lot about you. He was so proud.” The kid lowered his helmet, and you felt so bad for him. “I just came here to tell you…you’re not alone.”

“I’m not alone. I have Din and Grogu.” Ragnar finally spoke, and it was like you were struck by lightning. You knew he didn’t mean bad, but you were feeling sensitive. And you may or may not have had some expectations about how this was going to be.

“Yeah, of course! I just wanted to tell you that you have more family, and I’ll be sticking around in case you need me.” Ragnar nodded politely, and you approached him with care, then you knelt to be closer to his height. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Ragnar. I loved Paz a great deal and I can tell you did too.” He nodded again, and you could tell he was trying not to cry. You put your hand on his shoulder, and he flinched for a moment before starting to sob. Your heart broke into a thousand pieces, and you wanted to hug him, but you just rubbed your thumb, caressing him.

“Your armour…is just like his,” he managed to say between hiccups. 

“Yeah, because we’re Clan Vizsla and one day you’ll have one identical,” you explained softly, on the verge of tears too. The kid nodded, and after a while, he calmed himself. “Let’s go find Din and Grogu, okay?

You found them not far from the pond. Din was crouching next to Grogu, and it looked like he was teaching his oldest son to balance rocks to make a little tower. 

“You have to choose the flat ones, you see?” The man demonstrated it by grabbing a flat volcanic rock and putting it on top of the construction. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Ah!” Grogu turned around and with his little claw he chose an interesting-shaped rock. Din sighed, and you had to restrain yourself to avoid laughing. The scene was both cute and hilarious. Your brain still couldn’t reconcile that the murderous man you met the last time was the same one you had in front of you. Din then noticed you and straightened from his crouching position.

“I’ll help you,” Ragnar said, and he left your side before locking his visor with you one more time. “Look, if you put this rock here, everything on top will fall…” The teal-helmeted kid explained, demonstrating how physical laws work to the small one.

“Ooooooh!” Grogu cooed, eyes huge with realization. He then picked a more suitable stone, and Ragnar nodded in acknowledgment.

“It looks like they get on well,” you commenced, hands on your hips, while he approached you on the porch.

“Well, you should see them at dinner time…” His voice was that of a tired dad, but there was a spark of affection and pride there that you didn’t miss. Din Djarin loved his kids.

“Haven’t you looked for…help?” 

Din tilted his head but said nothing. It was normal that you wanted to know about your niece, wasn’t it? “They train every day with the other kids…Greef Karga keeps an eye on Grogu if I’m off-planet, he knows how to manage him…and Ragnar stays with the covert.”

You changed your weight and crossed your arms over your chest plate. “I meant help from a riduur, Din.” 

His back straightened, and he locked his visor with yours, looking threatening. Now, this was more like the man you used to know.

“That’s not your business, Vizsla,” he practically hissed, obviously trying not to be heard by the boys.

“It is if you’re out of your depth in this,” you hissed back, adopting a defensive stance. By no means did you have the violent relationship Paz and Din shared, but you were as hot-blooded as your brother and knew Djarin was up for a fight too. He despised you, after all.

“After all, that’s what you want, taking him with you?”

“He should be with his clan.”

“He should be whenever he’s most comfortable! He’s suffered a great loss!” Your voices were becoming louder, and your fists were tight under the gloves. Your body was screaming: fight him. 

“We are Mandalorians, haven’t we all suffered great losses?” Din actually growled at this. He looked as on edge as you.

“Ragnar is not going with an inconstant, unstable, hothead uncle who can’t even take care of himself!” Okay, so maybe he was a bit remorseful about last time. But you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing you hurt by his venomous words.

“That’s not up to you to decide.” And with that, you turned around and returned to the camp, trying to walk as your insides weren’t churning.

Inconstant, unstable, hothead uncle?

Who can’t even take care of himself?

You stopped in your tracks for a second without turning. Din had used masculine pronouns with you. You tightened your fists.

Did someone tell him? Did he assume it? Or maybe he did know all along?

Confusion mixed up with anger, your armor weighing more than ever, one question drilling your skull.

Why didn’t he say something?

Next chapter

[stevie-petey]

I have a blurb idea!

A stug sleepover that wasn't set up by Dustin. Lets say Steve's parents are having a dinner party and instead of being degraded in front of his parents'friends he decides to leave and go to bugs house. He crawls up onto her roof and knocks on her window. She opens her curtains and when she sees Steve she just lights up! She scrambles to open the window and let him in. Steve's heart is so warmed because not only is bug elated to see him, but she's in her pajamas and Steve just thinks she looks perfect😭. Remember in the jealous Steve blurb how he said he wishes that one day he could come over and know he's going home, he's finally getting to feel it!!! Maybe bug even lets Steve lay in her bed BUT only for a little while soon he is demoted back to the bean bag. Still it was nice while it lasted.

steve vs windows ,,, he will never win. this isnt exaaaactly the prompt, but i kept the pjs and coming home <3

enjoy !

"im coming over."

"oh, alright." while you hadnt been upset by steves sudden insistence on coming over, the lack of warning had surprised you. normally he'll ask ahead of time, make a plan, but at almost ten at night he had called you saying he was coming over. "drive safe, please."

"always, angel."

that had been nearly fifteen minutes ago.

normally steve is at you house in under ten minutes, so his slight delay worries you. standing at your window, you wait anxiously for any sign of him. your view of where he normally parks is blocked by a house, so all you can do is stare out at the yard in front of you.

thats when you hear the thud, which is followed by a very pathetic "ow."

"hello?' you call out beneath you, squinting against the darkness of the night. you cant see anything, but you know you heard something.

"down here," someone says weakly, and you recognize the voice to be steves.

squinting even harder, you make out the faint outline of his body sprawled on the grass beneath your window. "oh my god." you start trying to climb out your window to go and help, but steve sees and stops you.

"dont come down," hes out of breath, pain still piercing his body.

"but-"

"im fine, just need to-" steve winces as he stands, his shoulder pops and his knees buckle. "god tonight sucks."

he stands before you now, a foot or so beneath you. for once, youre taller than steve, and you enjoy looking down at him. his eyes are almost black in the dim lighting, though the moon casts a soft glow on his tanned skin. summer has made him beautiful.

you reach your hand out and gently fix his hair. "what happened, honey?"

steves heart warms at the touch, he leans into it and closes his eyes. pain be damned, your fingers tug at his hair and steves heart skips a beat. "missed the jump."

"well, obviously."

"it hurt."

"you poor thing."

"can i come in now?"

you giggle and nod, stepping aside so that steve can climb the ledge and into your room. his arms strain, the outline of his biceps can be seen in the night. hes always been so delicate with how he climbs through the window, far from jonathans clunkiness that always alerted your mom of his arrival.

as you watch steve, you sit on your bed and make room for him to join. you havent forgotten about his unexpected call earlier. "is everything okay?"

"what do you mean?" steve takes his shoes off and places them against your wall. he undoes the first three buttons of his shirt, getting comfortable, before he slides into bed next to you with a tired sigh.

you wrap your arms around him, resting your head over his heart like you always do. "you never just randomly show up."

"i called."

"right before leaving."

"same thing."

"steve." you chastise him, place some annoyance in your voice. hes dodging.

steve sighs, knowing hes been caught. "my parents... theyre having some stupid dinner party tonight. needed to get away. they kept asking me about college and why i was still living at home. one women clutched her goddamn pearls."

"im sorry, honey." you hate that so much is expected of him, more than you know is fair. steve has his own job, he takes care of all the kids, he does the best he can with what hes given, and it infuriates you that his father refuses to see that.

"its whatever. figured id come here instead, see my girl."

my girl.

youre steves girl, and he came to you tonight.

"cute pajamas, by the way." steve adds absentmindedly. his fingers pluck at your spider-man shirt. its old and worn, the material thin now from years of use. "spidey looks good on you."

you blush at his words, innate reaction to being so loved by steve harrington, but you know hes also purposely changing he topic. he doesnt want to talk about what happened tonight. hes already opened up to you more than hes wanted to, so you go along with it.

"he does, doesnt he?" you hum, kissing steves ear. he hums at the sensation, arms tightening around you. hes relived youve seen through his ruse, though that doesnt stop you from reminding him of where he belongs. "welcome home, honey."

steves breath catches. his arms tighten even more. a wave of emotions wash over him. love, belonging, sanctity.

"you cant sleep in my bed, though." you break the silence, knowing steve has gotten lost in his thoughts. you want him to laugh, to see him smile. "the bean bag gets lonely at night."

it works. steve chuckles, kisses the tip of your nose. "well, we cant have that, now can we?"

“COME HOME” BLURB MASTERLIST

if you’d like to buy me a coffee ☕︎

[tevos]

it’s the fact that rob is carla’s last tie to her old life. the last surviving donovan (or as good as). he’s her last barely-intact thread to the life she escaped from (left him behind in). he’s the only other living person who knows what went on under the roof of their childhood home. and they may have come out with different scars, but their stink is the same (and it lingers beneath every bottle of expensive perfume or cologne). their survival instincts grew up side by side. their tenacity and stubbornness shared bathwater and a bed (until the council deemed them too old and finally put their mam in for a three bedroomed place on an estate). it’s the fact that carla has done everything within her power to distance herself from the scrawny little council estate kid that she was, the girl whose dad walked out on her (the girl who didn’t know who her dad was until she was grown), the girl who went to school in last week’s dirty uniform, the girl who left her house not knowing if she was coming back home that night to her mother or which version of her mother she was going to get. the girl who raised herself and her baby brother, until she was old enough, wily enough, loved enough to leave. probably with not a single possession but the clothes on her back (maybe with an alarm clock that she’ll keep hold of long after it stops working). she couldn’t even keep her name. it’s the fact that in the long history of children and teens that carla has played mother-figure to, she played it for rob, first, when she was barely old enough to take care of herself. and i have absolutely no point with this, i don’t have a singular, neat, conclusive statement to wrap this up in. i’m just bitter. i’m just sad. and i don’t know how this storyline is going to wrap up, and i’ll remain tentatively and stupidly hopeful because that’s who i am, but with the way things are going, i have little hope that we’ll ever see the donovan siblings wrinkled and greying and laughing at the same table as they talk about ‘that one cruddy caravan holiday’ with the bugs and the rain and the sticks of rock rotting their teeth, and how it was the highlight of their young lives because they were out of that house, together.

[mcu-fan-fics-blog]

Abstract Love ii

Part 1 Master List Natasha Romanoff x Fem! Shiled Agent Reader Word Count: 1693 aprrox A/N: Hello! I know this is not one of my bigger series update but this one was the one I was most exited to continue. I am currently working on the third part for this one as well. It should be done soon hopefully. (If I can keep the motivation.)

When you started seeing Natasha you realized something very quickly…She was a runner. It was sometimes harsh, but you married her at the end of the day. It became your thing early on, she would run, and you would let her. It was happening again, but there was something very different about this time. Marriage hadn’t kept you on the same side of the accords. “You’re leaving.” It wasn’t a question, just a statement. “Would it even make a difference?” Things had been turbulent and living under the same roof as her had become difficult. She let the question hang in the air. Her mind wondered if this was how you felt every time she left. Helpless and scared. “You know it would, I care for you.” Her voice was soft, but determined. You nodded. As much as you didn’t want to your emotions were starting to get the best of you. So you took a deep breath. “I’ve let you go…” (So many times) Natasha was reading between the lines. She gulped. “I’m asking you to do the same… I’ll be fine.” You said finally meeting her gaze. “You will be too…” 

Natasha couldn’t believe she’d put you in this position more times than she was willing to admit. You closed the duffle and moved to leave the room. “Please… Just wait.” She moved out of your way but her words stopped you. You waited a beat then two. “Are you coming back… to me?” Her voice trembled. She had no right to ask, you never had. You trusted she would, but she needed to hear it. And it killed her that she never did tell you she would come back. “If you let me leave…” She had unconsciously moved to stand between you and the door. Natasha's head tilted in frustration. That wasn’t the answer she was looking for. “Yes.” Your eyes met hers fully and she felt your determination. She stepped away from the door. As you were walking out the door she spoke up one last time. “Just remember I’ve always got your back.” She shut the door softly behind you. Tears had started rolling down her cheeks and she couldn’t let you see her like that. 

It had been three months. Three months in which everything had gone to hell with the team and with you. You weren’t present at the fight in Germany, her eyes searched for you when the showdown happened. Steve was the first to notice her questioning look. He just shook his head. That fight had been so grueling, not physically but mentally. Watching her closest friends fight pitted against each other by outside forces. It was only when she watched Tony close in on Steve and Bucky, that she realized you were right. It wasn’t worth the fight with each other. She let them escape and shortly after made her escape. She was finally going after you, it was embarrassing how she didn’t realize before. She had barely spent time in your shared home since you’d left if she had she’d have found you much, much sooner. It took her another month to find, the pregnancy test. You’d fallen off the radar leaving a small trail of breadcrumbs just for her to follow. 

It only gave her hope, you were waiting for her. You knew it was her the moment you heard the sequence being knocked on the door. The relief you felt was indescribable, it felt like breathing fresh air for the first time, after being underwater for so long. You couldn’t help but smile. You took your time to answer the door. “Why didn’t you tell me?” You didn’t answer the question. Instead, you let her in your new apartment, She couldn’t help but take the place in, the air it smelt like you, like home. “It took you long enough to find me, to come here.” You gestured and sat on a kitchen stool. Her eyes finally took you in. When her eyes landed on your bump she didn’t move them. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Her eyes bore into yours now. You sighed, taking her in as well. You looked down ashamed fidgeting with your hands, you managed to look back at her.  Like you didn’t just see at her, you saw her. You tilted your head. “Because you would’ve run…” You sighed softly taking a deep breath.

The words hit her like a ton of bricks. When she did find it in her to put together the words you cut her off again. “And I would’ve…” The tears in your eyes were building. You shook your head putting together the words. “I don’t think… No, I wouldn’t find it in me to forgive you.” She hated how coherent your argument was. And, How grateful she was that you’d given her a fighting chance, that you knew her like you did. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. Her eyes gravitating to your bump her whole body itching to touch you. “It’s a healthy baby, It’s our healthy baby.”She smiled her hands finally reaching for your bump.

Things had drastically shifted after that. Every following moment and every interaction after felt more precious. You seemed to share the sentiment you’d rarely spend time without her, you wanted her around you at all times. Even when she’d inevitably get on your last nerve you still wanted her next to you. She was enjoying the new dynamic, she wasn’t exactly a fan of being away from you. She’d come to realize that the hard way. She’d enjoy the clinging however long she got it, the pregnancy hormones were so far working in her favor. “I’m going to shower if you want to join or sit in.” She called out from the hallway. You stood up as quickly as your body would allow. “I already showered…” You said as you finally managed to stand. “I’ll keep you company.” Natasha smiled. It wasn’t just a partnership anymore. You wanted her company. Natasha loved it, she loves you. She took two more steps faltering at the third. She loves you? “Why’d you stop?” She heard you close the distance between the two of you. A big smile on her face when she turned to see you. “I was waiting for you.” She said simply. Your cheeks flushed a small smile gracing your face. “Cool…” 

 And now as she stands here, she can’t help the thought. She should’ve told you earlier. She should've told you the moment she realized. Now everything was moving so quickly, a flurry of people rushing you out the door. She couldn’t help but scoff at the irony, she was arguably one of the most adept people in and out of combat, but now in this moment, she was completely lost… Helpless. She could only watch the door you were just rushed out of. “They’re doing everything that they can. She’s in good hands.” Steve's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She watched as he walked into the now-empty room. (Empty because you weren’t there.) Natasha managed to get everyone together despite the tension everyone came together. And she can’t help but laugh at the irony, you’d told her before things when to complete shit. 

“Natasha we can’t keep having this argument!” You sighed tired of her jabs. “I’m not arguing with you, I’m right you’re wrong.” (She was arguing with you) “You’re impossible! This is not what I signed up for.” The sincerity of your words stopped her in her tracks. “You can’t walk away because of this!” Natasha piped up. “You don’t see me giving you shit because you signed the accords without talking to me, on national fucking television. Where you almost fucking died too.” She sighed. “I didn’t think you’d oppose.” She said truthfully. “Well, I do… Oppose.” She groaned. “Well, what would you have had me do?” You moved to stand in front of her. “Stay out of it. Now there's no coming back from that signature.” She was silent. “You just betrayed half of our closest friend’s people we consider family.” Natasha knew what she had done, she knew what that signature meant. She also knew your loyalties started and ended with Steve, his righteous moral compass similar to yours.

“I know what you're thinking. This has nothing to do with Steve not how you think it does.” Natasha would be surprised but she knew you, and you knew her. “They’ve all got their heads so far up their asses, that they can't see that this won't end well. They won't realize until one of them… Until it's too late.” You sighed. “They’re only going to realize until someone ends up dead.” Your words weighed on Natasha. The thought honestly was the furthest thing from her mind, but by the second becoming more plausible. “I’m not singing… You won't change my mind, I’m not sorry.” As much as she wanted to say she saw reason she couldn’t if anything it only further spurred her. You left a week after that conversation. 

“I’m scared.” She let out softly. What would happen if she lost you forever this time? Tony rushed into the room. “I’ve made sure Y/n’s got the best of the best in there with her.” What would she do with your daughter, You were the best thing she could give her. Natasha Romanoff was not a good mother, you were. “Don’t lose hope…” Tony said looking at Natasha's unresponsive state. Six hours, it had been six hours and they were still working on you. Natasha could swear her heart stopped when she saw the doctors walking out the swinging door. Everyone rushed to stand Natasha being the first one. Her ears were deaf to the lengthy explanations the doctors were giving. Too caught up with the fact they didn’t come out and say ‘Sorry for your loss we did everything we could.’ What she did manage to hear was the last part before they dispersed leaving only one doctor behind. “She’s out of danger for the time being.” 

The words flew out of her mouth interrupting the doctor. “Can I see her?”

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed it. I have a couple new series in the works I'm just not good with endings. Anyways I hope you all have a great amazing day <3

[milliesfishes]

౨ৎ꣑ৎSerendipitous (Part Three)౨ৎ꣑ৎ

[fem reader] contains: forced lack of eating, body image issues, verbal abuse, physical abuse, cheating pairing: billy the kid x fem reader summary: stuck in an arranged betrothal, you think you'll forever be trapped until you meet billy and your world is flipped upside down (part three) author’s note: thank you thank you for all the love on this series, I hope you enjoy the last part! <3 Pinterest Board Spotify Playlist (chapter starting at My Love Will Never Die)

Secrets are a curse between two people. Once they are known they either bring them together or tear them apart. You and Billy were now closer than ever.

The cabin became your sanctuary, and you escaped to it as often as you could, when you weren't under the watchful eye of those who'd raised you, or your husband-to-be.

Billy's arms were your happy place, and he happily opened them to you whenever you needed. He kissed your worries away, talking enthusiastically of the future. Of how you'd run away together, how you'd get a little place just like this one somewhere far off. You lived in those daydreams when you weren't with him, seeing for the first time ever a future you wanted to be a part of.

The good thing about Billy knowing was that you didn't have to be so on edge all the time. He shouldered the burden with you, gave you some much-needed relief. In time, he coaxed more out of you, about life in Atlanta and the reason your parents had pushed this marriage on you.

"Ain't nobody should be blamin' ya for wantin' to pick the best ya could," he assured you, tracing your cheek as you lay bare by the fireplace sandwiched between blankets and cocooned against him. You nuzzled your cheek against his bare chest so you could feel his heartbeat. "Society rules 'n all...they hardly have a place out here."

"That's why I love it so much," you smiled, and he returned it in a lazy, blissful way.

"That's the only reason ya love it?" he teased, his fingers scratching your arm gently in a soothing motion.

Pretending to think about it, you snuggled impossibly closer. "Maybe there's a couple others."

He dropped his lips to the part in your hair, inhaling your scent softly. "Lucky, lucky man I am."

"You're holding a girl who's engaged to someone else," you mumbled, looking up at him. "Doesn't sound so lucky."

"Ah, you're worth all 'f it," he stopped his scratching and used the same hand to tuck your hair behind your ear. "Any man'd do the same for the sweetest girl in the West."

You let him have that, smiling softly. Billy didn't know he was one of a kind. Having exhausted the resources in most of Atlanta society, you would know. He was special, he brought you back to life. In secret, he reignited the flame you had thought diminished.

But even Billy couldn't erase the turbulence of your family and fiancé, as much as he wanted to.

One day as you were getting dressed, being laced into your corset for the day by one of the maids, your mother poked her head in, looking over you like one would a specimen. She dismissed the maid and started to pull at the strings herself, making your body jolt. Her tactics were more aggressive.

"You've gained nearly an inch," she commented, and you lowered your eyes to the floor.

"I can get it off," you promised, and a scoff was heard from behind you.

"Indeed you will," your mother said distractedly, and you felt the corset tighten around you. "In fact, I think it best if we put you on a restricted diet until the wedding."

You turned to look at her. "What-"

"You want to be able to fit into your wedding dress," she said firmly, and you looked back at the wall so she wouldn't see you clench your jaw. "Honestly, I'm not always going to be around to do everything for you. After you're married it will be your job to remain an acceptable weight for your husband."

It stung. Everything she was saying hit your chest like rain in a thunderstorm hit the roof. But you were an obedient daughter. And you didn't want to make her angry. So reluctantly, you nodded and said in a small voice, "Yes, mother."

"Very good." She tied the knot on your corset and reached for your dress, helping you step into it. You felt numb as she buttoned the back.

Going down for breakfast, you sat at the table and reached for a slice of bread. But then you remembered her words and slowly pulled your hand back, folding it over your other one in your lap. She was watching. Your mother nodded approvingly.

The frustration you felt was awful. Why should you have to do something so demeaning for such an awful man, who in all honesty would hardly notice? But now you were looking at yourself in the mirror through your mother's eyes, pinching the side of your waist and wishing you could cut it off.

Even when you were with Billy you were more hesitant to sit on his lap or lie on top of him, the internal voices telling you that you were too heavy. Sometimes he would bring a little something to the cabin to eat, and you'd nibble at it delicately, letting him have most of it.

Because it was Billy though, after the first couple of times he noticed. "Everythin' okay, sweet?"

You looked up from where you'd been staring at the floor, lost in thought. Remembering where you were, you smiled unassumingly. "Yes."

"You've hardly eaten anything, sunshine, ya seem a little down," he said concernedly, brushing his hand over your cheek. "Ya feelin' alright?"

"I'm okay," you reached for his hand and squeezed it. "Really."

Billy didn't look convinced, but he knew not to push it, so instead he reached out for you. "C'mere."

You hesitated, thoughts of your weight at the forefront of your mind. So instead of going to his lap like you normally would have, you sat by him, still close.

He frowned, tugging on your waist. "Baby, ya missed."

Pursing your lips, you shook your head, drawing your knees to your chest. "No, I'm okay here."

The resignation in your tone was clear, and Billy settled a hand on your thigh, rubbing up and down. "Whatsa matter, honey?"

You looked up at him, at how concerned he was for you. One look into his blues and it all came pouring out of you. The diet, your mother's comments, your eating habits...everything.

When you finished, Billy was quiet for a moment. Then he cooed, reaching for you. "Baby...you come sit on m' lap. You ain't too heavy 'n ya never will be."

He held you there, your bottom on his thigh and your legs across his knees, nestled between them. Pressing a gentle kiss to the side of your ear, he murmured, "Don't give any 'f it a thought. You're so perfect. Pretty as a peach, thought so from the first time I saw ya."

Oh, he always knew exactly what to say. Every minute he was with you made everything all better. Billy wrapped his arms around your waist, under your arms, one hand reaching up to rest on your heart. You leaned back into him and quelled every thought about your body, letting it be buried in the bundle of love he had you wrapped in.

"Can't do much for when you're not with me," he kissed your cheek, letting his lips linger there. "But when you are, I'll have ya eatin'." Billy lifted a slice of one of the apples he'd brought to your lips expectantly. Obediently, you opened your mouth and he fed it to you. "Atta girl."

Every day he uncovered some previously unseen facet of him that made you love him more. And could hardly do anything more than love him, love him with all your heart, love him like you'd never loved anything else. It wasn't give and take. It wasn't one sided. It was golden, pure and hope-filled, all encapsulated by this spot in his arms.

Your mother had insisted on a visit with Henry, and you hadn’t had the energy to protest.

Because she was apparently the expert on all things high society men, she told you to pay him a visit at his office. He would be so happy to see you, she’d said. Especially if you went with a smile.

So, biting the bullet, you allowed yourself to be trussed up like a prized calf and sent on your way, a tight smile plastered on your face as if by glue.

You looked at the tall building with dread. It nearly seemed to loom tantalizingly over you. Henry worked on the second floor, you’d been told (by him, numerous times). Gathering both your skirts and your courage, you made your way up the steps and opened the door.

A friendly woman directed you to the exact location of Henry’s office, and you took deep breaths all the way there. The outcome of the visit depended entirely on what kind of mood he was in. You prayed he’d had a good work day.

It was a unique gift he had, how he could make any door he was behind seem intimidating. You paused and stared at it, gritting your teeth. It’s only an hour, it’s only an hour.

Wishing on every eyebrow hair, star, and eyelash, you grasped the handle and pushed the door open. The sight behind it caused your eyes to go as round as the center of a daisy.

Henry was there, yes, but he was with a woman of unknown identity, who was sitting on his desk with half her dress unbuttoned and pushed down around her waist. Your fiancé was kissing her sloppily, his hands pushing her skirt up to her thighs, exposing the end of her stocking.

Involuntarily, you let out a gasp, your hand flying to your heart. Henry’s head whipped around, and you were almost pleased at his shock, at the slight look of guilt.

Before he could say anything, you turned right on your heel, shutting the door firmly behind you and walking briskly out. Maybe you should have felt bad. Threatened, angry, jealous, even. But instead you felt joyful.

Finally you had an out. You had a real, legitimate reason to leave him and call off the engagement. In high society abuse was (regrettably) tolerated, but infidelity was an entirely different thing.

Inappropriately giddy, you skipped out to your horse, and as you rode home the world seemed brighter. The sun was warm, the grass was green…it was so rare for you to feel this way when you weren’t with Billy.

Oh Billy! You were so excited to tell him, to hold his hands and say sincerely that it was over. You didn’t have to kiss behind closed doors anymore. A torrential stream of daydreams flooded your mind, ranging from running away to getting married, but this time to a man you loved.

You left your horse in the stables, bounding up the steps and immediately facing your mother in the drawing room.

She set aside her sewing and stood, looking puzzled. “What are you doing back so soon?”

Unable to help your elation, you gushed, “I caught Henry with another woman.”

Your mother didn’t seem put off by your tone. “You did?”

Gathering yourself up, you said, “I won’t marry him.”

Striding over to you, looking around for listening ears, your mother grabbed your arm and said in a harsh whisper, “What are you talking about? Of course you’re going to marry him.”

All your hopes and dreams were swept off the table, shattering into a million shiny pieces at your feet. Your heart sank like a rock to the bottom of the river. “What?”

Looking around suspiciously still, your mother pulled you further into the room and shut the door. When she turned back around to face you, her expression was nearly furious.

“I don’t know what you think you saw, but whatever it is…” she paused, looking you up and down. “It doesn’t matter. If he wants to continue the engagement, you will go through with it.”

The energy you’d accumulated from catching your fiancé wasn’t diminished like it normally would have been. There was a fire inside you that could not be quelled. “Over the last few months, he has treated me in some of the worst ways anyone could treat someone. I don’t love him, and I don’t want to marry him. You cannot force me down that aisle.”

Your mother took you by the arms and forced you to sit on the couch, stiffly sitting by you. She folded her hands in her lap primly, but the cold look on her face was hardly ladylike. “We’re nearly out of money.”

A cold wave of shock washed over you. “What do you mean?”

“Your father insisted on coddling you by keeping you in the dark but I cannot stand it any longer,” she said sharply. “Do you really think we left Atlanta with you for the fun of it? That we wouldn’t have sent you off on a train with Mr. Merritt so you were someone else’s problem if we could?”

It was a slap in the face if there ever was one. You could only stare at her.

Your mother continued with only a slightly softened tone. “Mr. Merritt possesses a sizable fortune. And with a marriage your father would gain advantages in the business he’s invested in. But only if you marry. If you end it, we will be ruined.”

Shame warred your inner instincts. You wanted to scream at the fact that you’d been only a pawn this entire time. And cry because of the obligation you felt to your family. Of course you didn’t want them to be left desolate. Your kind heart and seemingly permanently guilty mindset won out. Because it always did. Still, you tried to fight it, tears welling up precariously. “Please. I’ll be miserable if I have to spend the rest of my life with him.”

The emotion in your words did not sway her. “And what do you think will make you happy? That cowboy who likes to sneak around the property?”

You paled as she mentioned Billy, opening your mouth to try and diffuse the situation, but she merely shook her head, leaving you silent. Even the sight of her disappointment was enough to send you spiraling, a tactic she’d used since you were a child.

“What kind of life could that man, an outlaw-“ she said the word like it was dirty. “-possibly give you? Mr. Merritt offers stability. Comfort. If he’s stepping out, you can either live with it or try harder, since you clearly aren’t satisfying him.” Your mother set an uncomfortable hand on one of yours. “Be smart for once, and do the right thing. Or you will be responsible for our misery.”

The irony of that statement was not lost on you as she promptly stood and left, the door slamming behind her.

It’d been days and you’d hardly stopped crying.

Maybe your cheeks would never cease to be rosy, your eyes would never be dry again. Here in the cabin that was once your haven, you stood up straight with your arms folded and your eyes trained on the cold fireplace. The ash was akin to how you felt- once burning bright, now strewn about.

When the door opened behind you, you didn’t turn around. Nor did you when Billy’s arms slid around you, his chin resting on your shoulder. He must’ve taken his hat off, because it wasn’t nudging against your head.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he murmured, turning his head slightly to peck your cheek. When he caught sight of your reddened eyes and somber expression, he turned you around gently and pushed your face to his shoulder. “Baby…”

“I can’t see you anymore,” you breathed, feeling another wave of tears coming on.

Billy shook his head, his nose in your hair, hand softly stroking the back of your head. “What for?”

“I have to marry Henry-“ you started, and he pressed his lips to your head, cutting you off.

“You ain’t marryin’ that bastard,” he murmured, rubbing your back. “You don’t gotta be with me, but no way in hell are ya gonna be with him.”

“I want to be with you,” you pulled back, looking up at him. He had a bittersweet look in his eye, like he’d seen this coming. “But I have to marry him. My family…they…” His azure eyes reminded you of the seaside when you were little, deep, comforting pools you wanted to drown in.

Thumbing your cheek, Billy shook his head. “What’s your family done for you that you gotta keep givin’? That you gotta stay with someone who hurts you?”

Your lips parted to respond, but you found you didn’t know what to say. Although they were family, they had manipulated, scorned, and starved you; both of food and attention. All you could manage was, “I owe them everything. They took care of me.”

“That’s just what family’s s’posed to do,” Billy tucked some of your hair behind your ear, smoothing it back and continually running his fingers through it. “Ain’t somethin’ to repay.”

A single tear slipped from your eye. “They’ll be ruined if I don’t. I can’t leave them desolate.”

“‘S not your burden.” Billy pulled you back in so you were snug against his chest. “You didn’t get ‘em into this, and you don’t gotta get ‘em out.”

“Billy-“ A slight sob cut you off, and you slumped against him, his arms the comfort you had always known them to be.

He was the softest thing in the world at that moment because he loved you, really loved you like nobody else had. You could have sunk into him, buried yourself deep into his depths until the sun burnt out.

But the cold, nagging feeling inside you had other plans.

It was like tearing two magnets apart, the way you drew back from him. You took a heavy step back, taking one last look at him with teary eyes. And then, with a whispered goodbye, you left, disappearing into the cold dark world without any promise of coming back to the light.

Somehow more tragic than losing someone to death is losing someone who still exists in the world, because there will always be that possibility. The what-if. A chasm of regret.

In the next few weeks, it swallowed you, tore you into pieces and put you back together, even though you begged it not to, because then the hurt would only restart.

Henry had come to your door with false apologies and promises, talking in circles in a way that told you he was lying. You supposed you should have been happy he wasn't hitting you.

It felt as though you were standing still, letting things happen to you as time marched on. Your mother was disturbingly cheery, dragging you through the wedding plans, saying things you didn't want to hear and chiding you playfully when you showed little enthusiasm.

"A woman only gets one wedding, you know!" she said enthusiastically as you sat at the dinner table one night, nothing on your plate. She was holding a paper with the guest list, writing and crossing out names.

Your stomach growled softly.

Billy was in the shadows and corners of your life, as a ghost and sometimes not. You would see him across town sometimes as your mother took you shopping. He never said anything, never approached you, just watched silently.

One day as your mother was in the post office arguing for a better arrival time for invitations, he did come to you, removing his hat as he stood quietly leaning on the wall with you.

"Hey," he said softly, looking over you concernedly,

You didn't turn to face him. "Hey."

Always in tune with you, he must have known you didn't want to talk. Instead of asking how you were, a fact obvious to the human eye, he took one of your hands, lifting it and gently pressing something hard and round into it. When you looked down, you saw a shiny red apple, juicy and firm.

Looking up at Billy, your eyes widened slightly, your lips parting. "I-"

"Don't gotta say anythin', sunshine," he promised, taking your other hand and closing it over the apple. Lifting one hand, he traced your cheekbone, the thinning, pale lines of your face. Then his eyes wandered to the way your dress seemed to big for your frame, your bony arms. "Just take it, alright?"

You could hear your mother's shrill voice getting closer to the door. Nodding, you slipped the apple into the discreet pocket of your dress, and Billy squeezed your hand once before he left, disappearing around the corner.

Later in secret, you ate the apple gratefully, savoring every bite. He still cared about you. Even after you'd hurt him, left him. All the love you'd been trying to suppress came rushing back full-fledged. And now you were looking back at that night at the cabin, wishing you had done everything completely differently.

He probably would have run away with you, you realized one night before closing your eyes to fall asleep. The last thought you had was one of hope. Maybe you could fix it. Your family be damned.

The next morning a renewed spirit ignited in you. Maybe if you could find him, confess your loneliness without him, the bright and shiny love you still possessed...you didn't want to get your hopes up, but the possibilities set your heart aflame.

Henry was there when you got downstairs, and he turned around, smiling pleasantly when you walked into the drawing room. Perfect.

"I need to tell you something," you said determinedly, striding toward him.

"So do I." Henry caught you by the arms. "You need to pack your things. We're leaving."

Your mind went blank. What did he mean, leaving? "Leaving."

"That's right." His hair was a little messy, his smile borderline manic. "We're going to go somewhere else and get married when we arrive."

"Wait, slow down," you shook your head, sure you'd misheard him. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you remember the young lady you...ah...caught me with?" he said in a whisper, eyes darting to the side suspiciously. "Her husband knows. He's got it out for me. So, we need to leave as soon as possible."

"What about my parents?" you asked, looking back at the door worriedly. He turned your chin to face him again and you sucked in a breath at the violation.

"They won't be told. Your father will take over my position and they'll be fine," he pulled on your hand. "Go upstairs and start packing. We'll be travelling light."

You pulled your hands back, casting your eyes to the side as you thought. If Henry was leaving and your father and mother would be taken care of... this time, there was truly nothing holding you back. No guilt or loose ends or anything left behind.

And now that you had a chance at freedom, there was only one person you were running to.

Slowly realizing this, you lifted your head to meet his eyes, your face changing. "No." Your voice was light, and you said the word as a realization.

Henry stared at you. "What do you mean, no?"

"No." You said it firmly this time, straightening up as you looked at him. "I...am not going anywhere with you."

"You're my fiancé-"

"And you've been awful to me," you continued, a new, unfamiliar determination taking over. Lifting your chin, you couldn't seem to stop the words from pouring out. "You hit me, you cheated on me. And now you're asking me to run away with you like nothing ever happened." Shaking your head, you turned, moving to walk away. "We're finished."

White hot pain blinded you, manifesting in a sting on your face. Your knees buckled, and the floor was not a forgiving landing space. As your brain registered what had happened, you waited for the flood of lament, the remorse for having pushed him this far. But it never came.

Henry grabbed you by the arms and pulled you up, sending you stumbling back. He shook you, his expression murderous. "You should be grateful I put up with you after all the grief you've given me."

Looking you over, he exhaled once through his nose, and you were reminded of a bull about to charge. He could have been thinking about killing you in that moment, and you would have no idea.

And that thought, that he could kill you, was viable in that moment. For a second you were sure he would. That he would beat you bloody until your own family wouldn't be able to recognize your mangled corpse.

Instead, he pulled you by the arm outside, barking an order to get on his horse. Your body moved without thinking, and before you knew it you were riding, hanging onto him for dear life.

Would he kill you somewhere remote? Where they wouldn't find your body?

Henry took you all the way to town, getting off the horse in front of the local bank. He gave you a firm glare, and you knew it was a silent order to stay there. You got off the horse, petting its mane and trying to calm yourself. He wasn't going to let you go back home. By all counts, he was kidnapping you, forcing you to go heaven knows where. Hot tears blinded your vision, and you couldn't help but let one slip. Maybe you were entitled to it.

There was a hand on your shoulder, and you jumped, eyes wide as you turned around.

Billy held up his hands in a show of peace, looking surprised. "Woah, sunshine, it's just me." He squinted at you, and you knew he'd noticed your tear. "Hey...'r ya-"

He was cut off by you barreling into him, body smashing against his, arms around his middle, face burrowed in his chest. Your chest heaved with panicked breaths, and you breathed in his scent, wishing you could meld yourself into him.

"Hey...hey, baby, whatsa matter?" Billy asked worriedly, smoothing your hair and trying to calm you down. "Easy, sweetheart. Easy. Breathe f' me, yeah? You're safe with me, I've gotcha. I've gotcha."

Your breaths slowed down as you held onto him. He pulled you into a spot under the shade of a building, getting you out of the sun. "I've got you, sweet." Billy looked at you sadly when you lifted your head, his hand finding what must have been a patch of redness on your cheek. His fingers were cool against the injury, and you leaned into it. "Oh my baby. Who'd ever hurt my sweet baby?"

There were footsteps to the side, and you lifted your head frantically, seeing Henry walk out of the bank and look around for you. Billy followed your gaze and his face hardened.

Not wasting a second, he took his hat off his head and shoved it onto yours, pulling you into a nearby alley. He leaned sideways against the wall, so he was blocking any passerby's view of you. Once you were there, right up against him, he whispered, "What's goin' on? Ya look scared half to death."

Body nearly shaking, you looked up into his eyes. Seaside. "Henry's leaving town. There's someone threatening him. And he's...he's making me come with him."

He looked shocked, shaking his head. "No... no no no, you're not leavin'. He's not takin' ya anywhere."

"Once I knew he was leaving I wanted to come to you," you said brokenly, tears forming rivers on your skin. "My parents are taken care of. There wouldn't be anything...it was selfish of me to think you'd still want me after I-"

Billy pulled you in, knocking his hat up on your head so he could kiss your forehead. "Don't think I'd ever stop wantin' ya. You've ruined me for anyone else, my love. That ain't the point." He looked at you, nodding and urging you to continue.

"He didn't like when I said I wasn't coming," you said softly, closing your eyes and leaning your face fully into his hand. "We rode out here, and he just went inside for a minute. He's probably looking for me, I should-"

"If ya think I'm lettin' ya go anywhere with him..." Billy's fingers stroked the afflicted area of your cheek. "...you've got another thing comin'."

Looking up at him, seeing how sincere he was, how intent he would be on protecting you...it made your eyes well up for another reason entirely. You buried your face into his chest again, holding on tight to him. He held you close, and you knew he wouldn't let go until you started to.

Someone cleared their throat, and you jolted, looking up. To your horror, Henry was standing there, glaring at the pair of you.

Billy turned, and his eyes narrowed when he saw who it was. He pushed you gently behind him, keeping one of his hands clasped in yours. "Can I help ya?"

"You can hand my fiancée back." Henry's words were threatening, but they didn't seem as scary with Billy in front of you.

He stood tall and firm. "I don't think so."

Henry laughed in a chilling way. "I see. You think you've got her, Kid? We're engaged. Bet she didn't tell you that."

"I'm fully aware," Billy said unwaveringly. "Believe me, I know everything."

That seemed to take the wind out of Henry's sails just slightly, and he moved forward as if to physically hurt Billy. But your man remained solid, standing and staring him down.

For all of Henry's talk, you knew there wasn't any was he wasn't at least a little afraid of Billy. The fastest draw in the West, a famed outlaw. your ex-fiancé didn't stand a chance against him.

Scoffing, Henry took a tiny step back. "You'd really go this far for her? She's nothing but a-"

In an instant, Billy had him against the wall, holding him by his shirt, his face right up close. "You don't wanna finish that." His voice was low and dangerously calm.

You almost felt bad for relishing Henry's visible fear. He was so used to being at the top of the food chain, and Billy had knocked him down to the bottom. Henry's eyes were wide, and he looked at you, as if you'd help him. "You won't let him hurt me...you..."

The dead look in your eyes stopped him from saying the rest.

Billy turned to look at you, and his eyes softened. He gave you a look, and you knew right then that he would do anything you wanted. This was the face of a man who would kill for you. The power that gave you was scary.

Turning your eyes to Henry, you saw how pathetic he was, how vulnerable. Now he felt how he'd made you feel every day since that first morning in the drawing room in Atlanta.

And that was enough for you.

You focused back on Billy, shaking your head just slightly. In his eyes it was clear he wanted to do more, wanted to make him pay for everything he'd done to you, everything he'd done to everyone. But he didn't, and it was a testament to how much he loved you.

Shoving Henry to the ground and letting go of him, Billy spat, "You're not even fit to look at 'er." Leaving him crumpled at his boots, Billy went to you, his hands finding your shoulders as he looked you over. "You okay? All good?" He waited until you nodded before pulling you into his arms.

For a moment, you were more than content. Billy had you safe, and he was going to keep you safe. But when you looked up, you saw Henry getting to his feet shakily, reaching his hand inside his jacket and pulling out something silver, pointing toward the two of you.

Your eyes widened. "Billy-!"

He was a step ahead, whipping around, pistol in hand. A shot echoed in the alleyway, and for a second, you weren't sure whose it was.

But then Billy was turning back to you, gun already tucked back against his hip. He looked over every inch of you, tucking your hair behind your ears and gently pressing one of his big hands to your head, settling the hat more firmly against your head. Now both hands were settled behind your head, holding you with his palms over your hair.

His body was blocking Henry's, and you knew he was trying to shield you. So, you let him. You looked up into his eyes, feeling the last tendrils of the engagement crumble from around you. He nudged his nose against yours. "M' brave girl..." he whispered. "Nobody's gonna hurt ya no more."

When he pulled you into his chest again, your belief in the statement multiplied tenfold.

You and Billy had left town by the time the sun rose on the next day. It felt metaphorical, the way you snuck back into your home to gather a few things, tiptoeing past your parents' rooms and taking a horse from the stables, riding side by side with your man over the hills and out of sight.

You never saw Henry's arrest. Never saw the judge proclaim him "unworthy of even a wink of decency".

You never saw your father regain his status as a businessman. He and your mother made the journey back to Atlanta, where he operated remotely, building his success back up.

You never saw anybody from your old life again,

Turning over in bed, you lazily looked up at Billy, snuggling up against his chest as sunlight spilled through the curtains, creating a warm patch on the sheets. You treasured every morning you got with him, remembering that first one where you'd left in such a hurry. You never had to do that again.

Billy nosed against your cheek, peppering gentle kisses over it. Oh, the way he looked at you. Eyes sleepy, smile bright even in the early hours, his arms tightened around you. He muttered against his skin, "I don't think I even know how much I love you."

Rubbing his chest contently, you sighed softly. Your smile seemed permanent these days. "My love."

"My sunshine." He pulled you so you were resting directly on top of him, his eyes warm as you folded your arms on his chest, your chin resting there.

Your liberty was his gift to you, and you chose to spend it on him. Billy took your heart and showed you how it beat.

"Every time," you breathed, and his lips brushed yours, his hand tangling in your hair. "I would choose you every time."

Previous Part

[itsnotgray]

We're living different lives

Heaven only knows

If we'll make it back with all our fingers and our toes

Five years, twenty years, come back

It will always be the same

For the first time since the end of August, all of the Fantilli siblings would be under one roof. Albeit, only for three days, but it was three days that they were determined to make count.

Luca was the first to fly home, following the conclusion of the first semester. About a week later, came the twins. First was Gianna, who left straight from the rink in Nashville (as Luca could tell by the wet hair she was sporting), nearly forgetting to even tell her teammates she was leaving, eager for whatever scraps of time she could get with her family.

The minute his baby sister stepped off that plane, it was as if someone had lifted the weight of the world off his shoulders. He threw his arms around her, smothering his face in her hair as he inhaled the scent of the shampoo she’d been using since she was 14. Gianna returned the sentiment, clinging onto her older brother as if he was the only thing keeping her afloat. “Lu,” she cried into his shoulder, the relief of being reunited with one of her brothers, one of the people whose presence had been so distinctly woven into her life force, that the past few months of separation has been akin to torture, making it’s way to the surface. “Gi,” he said soothingly, tilting her head back so he could wipe her tears, the same way he used to when she was learning to skate all those years ago. A watery smile made its way onto his face as he uttered the words he’d been rehearsing for the past week, “Welcome back sorella.”

At the familiar term of endearment only her family was privy to, she launched herself at Luca, her arms encircling his neck as she began crying again. At last, her tears dried up, and she unpried herself from her Luca, mostly at the insistence of her stomach. “Now, can I go grab a snack before Mo gets here? I’d wait, but I haven’t eaten since before the game yesterday,” Gianna questioned while quickly taking out her phone to make sure her face wasn’t too terribly swollen from the tears she’d just shed. “Sure Gi, go ahead,” he responded while glancing down at his phone to check for any updates from Adam. A few beats of silence passed, before Luca glanced up, confused as to why she hadn’t walked away. He locked eyes with Gianna, who stood there awkwardly, rocking back and forth on her heels. “Do you want anything?” She questioned, voice as earnest as it always had been. He shook his head softly, and she quickly pivoted on her feet and made her way to the nearest coffee shop. Luca stared after her, a small smile on his face- it was like the old days. As long as he ignored the looming feeling of dread, dread at the fact that their time was limited, that she and Adam (who wasn’t even here yet) both left in two (technically three) days, he could pretend it was just like the old days.

Around an hour later, the third piece of their puzzle was getting off of his flight. Luca shook Gianna awake, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder shortly after returning with her snack, and barely got out the words, “Mo’s flight just landed,” before she shot up out of her seat, as if pure caffeine had just been injected into her veins. Without haste, Gianna threw herself to her feet, before quickly turning around and yanking Luca to his. “C’mon Lu, be ready- wait, which direction will he be coming from?” She spoke, the words rolling off of her tongue, too fast for her brain to comprehend, excitement taking over her body at the prospect of finally being in the same place as both of her brothers. “Should come from the left, if I scoped out the place correctly,” he said while wrapping an arm around her shoulders, as if to hold the girl back from sprinting to Adam the second she saw him.

About twenty minutes pass, before finally, Gianna catches a glimpse of the “stupid and entirely unnecessary” beanie she forced Adam to wear, so they’d be able to spot the boy from a distance. “Lu I think see him,” Gianna expressed excitedly, the girl beginning to bounce up and down on her heels, Once Adam got within a few feet of the pair, both siblings took off towards Adam, wrapping him in what their parents (who had elected to stay home, both to give the siblings time to reunite, but also to get some sleep- which they knew would be hard to do having all of their babies under one roof again) would call a “Fantilli take-down,” mostly because, had Adam not planted his feet on the ground in preparation, he easily would've fallen straight to the airport ground, which he was not about to do. The moment he felt the arms of his siblings encase him, he dropped his bags to the floor and wove his arms around someone, though he wasn't sure who, because their three bodies were so intricately woven together in this moment, it was impossible to tell where Luca ended and Gianna began. He tried to force a few words out of his mouth, but the emotional shell shock at finally reuniting with his best friends had seemingly made his brain short circuit. Yet, there was no doubt that the silent sobs that wracked his shoulders, and the tears on his cheeks said all of the words he couldn’t.

For this one brief moment, it was like the world stopped. For the first time in about four months, the pieces of the tattered, kindred spirits that resided in the each of three siblings, were at peace. At that moment, they were one soul, split into three hearts.

[spadesolace]

childish antics: wil! minji x fem!reader

they say, you know they’re the one if they support your childish antics. minji just so happens to be the same person who wants to stay at home and build legos with you.

warning/s: none, established relationship, not proofread

spade speaks: you can read this as stand alone, no need to read what is love first

as childish as it may seem, you managed to persuade minji into buying lego sets.

college life has been hectic, within the first three months at Korea University, the amount of papers and experiments you and minji have done just led to burnout. providing a solution to it was playing with legos, at first minji was hesitant because shouldn’t you two be saving money to pay for your necessities?

“well… yeah but i have enough money saved up to at least buy two lego sets.”

“save it, yn. who knows when we might need those funds.”

hanni was right, you two do act like an old married couple. considering you now both live together, do weekly hangouts with your friends and treat them as your children, and discuss things that only married couples do. that’s probably due to the fact you’ve been friends since elementary.

“please, we can just get those small ones and not those big sets.” minji was already planning on buying a set for your 8th month anniversary but then again, this is one of the rare occurrences of your professors being chill.

“fine, we’ll just buy the small ones.”

“this is why i love you.”

looking around the big lego store that was near their place, minji slowly regretted agreeing to buying the small sets. the small ones were something you could finish on your own right away, while the big sets, specifically the one you’re eyeing, is perfect for the budget and an activity of you two. those puppy dog eyes that usually don’t work easily on minji suddenly paid off as she saw you holding the starry night set. she deeply regrets saying yes to the small sets, now that she sees the way you’re jumping up and down after paying.

before you could actually leave the store, you noticed the make your own character, pulling minji back in and telling her your genius plan of making one for the both of you and the last one being a complete mess of a character.

“I’ll pay for it, i promise.” you’ve always been true to your words and minji could only nod but explained she wanted to build you as a lego, while you make her character. simple, but not a lot of pieces have that specific wow factor that made you think of minji. 

after 10 minutes of making your own minifigure, deciding to surprise each other, only ended up with the two of you laughing.

“WHY’D YOU GIVE ME A RAT AS AN ACCESSORY?!”

“DON’T ACT ALL INNOCENT, YOU GAVE ME A COKE ZERO!”

you continued teasing her about that one song she wrote on the whim about coke zero, it was catchy but it felt out of place at the same time. the way minji just laughs at your antics catches you off guard on how you manage to be her girlfriend. you spent years pining for her and finally you’re together still acting like best friends who kiss each other and are staying under the same roof. as minji’s laugh died down, she could only stare back at you with confusion, a small smile on your face and seeing as your minifigures are holding each other’s hand.

“what?”

“nothing, i’m just- in awe.” you kissed minji on the cheek, pulling away you started looking for pieces for the last minifigure.

“don’t give it an afro.” as childish it may seem, when you’re with minji, you don’t care anymore. she’s definitely the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, someone who supports your childish antics and lets you have fun when things get rough.

“the last one surely looks like it got my style and your looks, darling.”

“maybe that’s something we’ll see in the near future.”

gosh, you really love kim minji.

[ivyyisbored22]

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭— 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐅

Note: Check Description and other chapters first to understand the story ^^♡

(This chapter contains both POVs)

Chapter 11

Warning: This chapter contains a heated argument. (I'm not sure if I should add a warning for it but I'll do it just in case). Use of strong language. Chan is a bit rough (almost violent but he doesn't harm her). It's part of the story.

Aria & Bang Chan

.

Aria

Growing hope for an ice glacier to thaw overnight was like expecting a desert to bloom with flowers after a sudden rainstorm.

Every time Chris was closer to being open, to try to communicate, he steps back refusing to have a hard conversation. His elusive behavior was becoming a pattern, each glimmer of openness quickly fading into silence or distraction.

It felt like he was stimulating emotions during sex. When we're outside of the bedroom, he almost treats me like a goddamn stranger living under his roof. It makes me want to pull my hair out.

I longed for him to open up, try to share his thoughts with me, but every attempt seemed to hit a wall. He kept shutting himself behind the door to his study or his room or other times asking for space because he spent his nights with his friends than with his wife.

It irritated me to the core.

As I was stacking a new pile of books and other ornaments on the huge shelf, I couldn't shake the feeling of frustration that had been building inside me.

I paused, tracing my hand on the spine, the title blurring and letters floating into a jumble before my eyes. Winter made it's way to the mansion and even though the heating was on, the house felt like walking in the Arctic whether or not Chris was home.

With a sigh, I decided to talk to him once more. And if this last bit of hope I have in me is meant to be broken, well, then at least I know I tried.

Walking through the quiet halls of the mansion, I found Chris in his study, a stack of papers spread out before him. His brow was furrowed in concentration, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk.

"Chris," I began softly, knocking the door leaning against the doorway. He looked up, his expression guarded yet curious. "Yes? Come in."

"Can we talk?" I swallowed hard, knowing he didn't like being disturbed when he worked from home but one conversation won't do any harm.

"If, if you're free—" I said quickly.

He glanced at the watch on his wrist and got up from his chair, approaching towards me standing near the doorway, his presence engulfing me like an impending storm.

"What's wrong?" I hated every time I went to him to talk, he always replied with a what's wrong as if he only wanted to save me out of trouble.

"I just wanted to talk to you about...about where we are going with this..." I vaguely gestured between us.

Chris rolled his eyes, scoffing and running a hand through his hair. That small thing clenched something in my chest, I kept hating him more, than trying to find a way or a reason to continue.

"We've had not one but two conversations about that Aria. Why do you want to talk about the same thing over and over again hmm?" His Australian accent was rough and thick as he spoke, we did converse about the agreement but this was killing me.

Three months into this marriage, and I was getting sick of the constant tension every day. One day he'll be lovable, we have three meals together and have a small talk and the next he'll be an arrogant bastard.

"You know why, Chris," I replied, my voice tinged with exasperation. "Because it matters to me. Because I want to understand where we stand."

He scoffed again, pacing a few steps away before turning back to face me. "What's there to understand? It's a contract, Aria. Clear and simple. We agreed, it ends in a year."

"But things change, Chris," I insisted, frustration boiling over. "I thought maybe we could discuss what happens while we're here. Right now."

Chris shook his head, his expression hardening. "There's nothing to discuss. This was a temporary arrangement."

I quietly but carefully walked towards him, his back was now facing me, I myself couldn't believe what I was about to say next.

"If it's temporary for you, why do you come seek pleasure from me?"

Chris turned back to me, his chest rose and fell with the force of his anger, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. His eyes burned with an intensity that could have ignited a wildfire.

His piercing gaze held me in place, but I refused to back down. I had to say it. I had to know.

"Answer me, Chris," I demanded, my voice trembling despite my attempt to stay strong. "If this marriage means so little to you, why do you keep coming back to me, seeking comfort, seeking...me?"

"Seek pleasure?" He retorted, his voice low and edged with fury, goosebumps pebbled up my skin as he spoke. "Is that all you think this is?"

I stood my ground, my own rage flaring. "What else is it? You come home late, you barely talk to me during the day, and when you do, it's like you're checking off a list. But in bed—"

"In bed, what?" Chris interrupted sharply, stepping closer until we were almost chest to chest. "You think that's all there is between us?"

"You tell me!" I shot back, frustration and hurt driving my words. "Because from where I'm standing, you only care about the contract, to have sex and nothing else. You'll be nice one day and the next you become cold and distant."

His jaw tightened. "You don't know what I'm dealing with, Aria. I have a company and my responsibilities—"

"And what about me?" I challenged, my voice rising, stopping him from finishing what he wanted to say.

"I agree that you have a company to lead but don't I matter at all? I'm human and I have feelings Chris! Unlike you who has buried them under a mountain of paperwork, deadlines and alcohol."

Chris grunted, shaking his head and touching his forehead, his eyes narrowing with irritation spread all over his face. "I'm not heartless Aria. And of course you matter. But you knew what you signed up for."

I couldn't speak a word or argue back at him. I did sign up for this. I sealed my fate away to this man 3 months ago, as temporary partner.

And fuck my life for even thinking I could change his heart.

His gaze turned icy, meeting mine with a fierce, unyielding glare. "We both know why we're here. Don't start twisting it into something it's not. Maybe you should have thought about that before agreeing."

"So until this ends are you going to treat me like I'm some—"

Before I could finish, Chris moved faster than I could react. His hand clasped around my neck, not hard enough to choke me but enough to shut my mouth from the words that was about to come out. His glare sent a shiver down my spine as he pinned me against the wall, with his hand still wrapped around my neck, my heart pounded in my ears.

"Don't you dare fucking say that." He growled, his voice low and dangerously controlled. His eyes bore into mine, sending a shiver down my spine. I’d never seen him this angry, this intense, and it terrified me.

He held me for second and released me, oxygen rushed into my lungs even though his grip wasn't that tight.

"You're confronting me as if I touched you without your consent!" he snarled, anger coating his voice like thick gravel.

"I never kept a hand on you without making sure you feel comfortable around me and now you go and speak of me as if I was only using you? How little do you think of me?"

I shivered at the tone of his voice. I’d never seen this side of him before, this raw, unfiltered anger. It was as if the mask he usually wore had slipped, revealing the storm that raged beneath the surface.

But before I could respond, before I could find the words to defend myself, Chris leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a menacing whisper. "But don't lie Aria, you liked it too"

The accusation hung in the air between us, heavy and suffocating. Guilt, fear, sadness, frustration, a tsunami of emotions rushed through me, I momenterily lost my voice. A thousand thoughts ran through my mind, each more overwhelming than the last.

Chris scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "What did you expect, Aria? This was never supposed to be a Disney movie. Princess finds her prince."

Tears welled up in my eyes, my hands trembling at my sides, curling into fists. Every word he said, every syllable that came out of his mouth pierced my chest like a knife twisting in my heart, each twist deepening the wound.

"I thought..." My voice cracked, I could feel the taste of pennies in my mouth as I spoke. "Maybe you could see beyond the contract," I managed to say, my voice wavering.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to lash out at him, to make him see what he was doing to me, to us. But the words were lodged in my throat, choked off by the whirlwind of emotions that I couldn’t seem to control.

"See that there's more to us than just an agreement." Every word I spoke, the crack just dug deeper and deeper.

He took a step closer, his eyes blazing with intensity. "And what if I can't?" he demanded, his voice low and harsh. "What if this is all I can give you?"

"Then maybe you shouldn't have married me!" I cried, the words escaping before I could stop them. Chris's expression darkened, his jaw clenched.

"Yeah. I really shouldn't have," he muttered, almost to himself.

"But I didn't have a damn choice! Fuck it! I should have shown you the contract the day my father introduced you to me. Or maybe I should have just walked away,"

He continued, his voice dripping with bitterness. "But I didn't, and now we're both stuck in this mess."

That was it. The final blow. Something inside me shattered like a bullet to a glass window. The venom in his tone was more painful than I could have imagined.

Cold, glistening streaks ran down my cheeks.

"Why..." Swallowing the lump in my throat felt like a jagged stone scraping its way down.

"Why are you so cold...?" I whispered, searching his face for any sign of the man who had held me so tenderly just last night.

The way he made me feel so good, wrapping me with his arms and protected me with his warmth. But it wasn't that man in front of me anymore. He was replaced by someone mean, arrogant and stubborn.

"Am I?" he replied harshly. "You wanted the truth, Aria. There it is."

He turned away, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Anger and sorrow twisted inside me, tightening my chest until each heartbeat felt like a bruise against my ribcage.

I stared at him, my vision blurring with tears. "You're right," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper.

"I wanted the truth. But I also wanted to believe that there was something more to us. That maybe, you felt might have something for me."

Chris kept running his hand through his hair, then his face frustration etched on as he spoke looking at me over his shoulder. "This isn't about feelings, Aria. This was never about feelings. This is about responsibility, about fulfilling a contract."

I sobbed uncontrollably, my eyes stung as the tears kept gushing out like a never ending waterfall, blurring my vision. I couldn't breath anymore. I needed air. The emotions were too heavy as they overwhelmed me, drowning in the vast ocean would have felt better than this.

"Do you even care?" I whispered again, not even understanding the point of my own question. He has said everything he had to say, what was the use anymore?

He slowly spun back around, his eyes locking onto mine. "I do care," he said fiercely. "But I can't give you what you want."

"And what is it that I want?" I challenged, the tears still streaming down my cheeks. I wanted to shake him and make him see how much he was hurting me, but I felt utterly powerless.

"Love? Affection? Something real?"

His eyes almost softened but a flicker of anger was still spread across his face. "I...I can't promise you..." he said quietly but before he finished his sentence, I wiped away my tears, feeling defeated and heartbroken and left his office, running upstairs to my room.

I fell on the bed and buried my face in the pillows, I cried till I was numb, till I felt like I had no more tears to cry out. Letting everything overwhelm and consume me till my vision slowly blacked out...

~

Bang Chan

CRASH!

The glass flew through the air, crashing against the wall with a violent force like a gunshot, reverberating through the room and shattering on impact, sending sharp shards exploding in every direction.

My chest rose and fell heavily as I sank onto my chair, sliding both my hands up my hair trying to put out the strands. Irritation, anger, rage crawled up my skin, a toxic mixture that felt like it was going to consume me. I pushed away the documents lying on my desk, watching as they scattered across the room, fluttering like defeated soldiers.

Defeated and lifeless.

"Why did it have to come to this?" I muttered under my breath, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. I had always prided myself on my control, on my ability to keep my emotions in check.

But with Aria, everything was different. She had a way of breaking through the walls I had built, had found a crack, slipped through the defenses I had carefully constructed.

I had told her what this was. I had made it clear from the beginning, hadn’t I? But the memory of her eyes—red-rimmed, filled with hurt—stabbed at me. The way she looked at me, her expression twisted with pain and accusation, as if I had taken something vital from her, something I didn’t even know how to give back.

A strong pang of guilt gnawed in my chest, her sunshine personality overtaken by hatred, neglect and despair. Everytime I wanted to speak to her, I backed off, refusing to let her overtake my mind, heart and soul.

I hated that I hated her for making me lose control. Some part buried in the depths of my chest hated that I had treated her in a way that made her question me for only using her. And I hated that I had hurt her.

Every part of my body burned in an inextinguishable fire, eating me alive.

Her words echoed in my mind, haunting me. The pain in her eyes cut deeper than any physical wound I had ever felt. I didn't go upstairs to find her nor to my room. Staying in my study with a chaotic mess surrounding me, I sighed in frustration, the weight of what happened settling heavily on my shoulders.

***

I had fallen asleep on the couch of my study. The morning sunglight shone directly at my face as I woke up, remembering the events from last night like a relentless waves crashing against the shore.

The floor was scattered with documents and shards of glass, I slowly got up and grabbed my phone from the desk, it was in the morning. I opened the camera app on the phone and saw my reflection, I looked HORRENDOUS.

Dark circles under my eyes, disheveled hair, and a faint stubble on my face hinting at a night of unrest. Last night replayed in my mind like a broken record, each moment etched with regret and frustration. I rubbed my temples, trying to ward off the pounding headache that accompanied my thoughts.

Carefully making my to the door, trying not to step on any glass pieces, I exited my study and went to the living room. It was hollow and empty, like walking into a graveyard. No sign of Aria or Deliah, before I turned around and spotted Daniel entering the mansion from the entrance to the pool in the back.

"Oh Mr. Bang, good morning" He said as he spotted me, nodding gently. "Morning, Daniel," I greeted, my voice rough from the night's turmoil.

I glanced around the somber room, noting the absence of life that had usually filled these halls for the past three months.

"Where is everyone?"

Daniel hesitated, his usually calm demeanor faltering slightly. "I believe Mrs. Bang is still in her room sir. She is usually down here during the morning" My heart sank for some reason, but I maintained my composure.

"And Deliah?"

"She's in the kitchen, sir. Would you like me to prepare breakfast?" Daniel offered, his expression sympathetic.

I nodded, ruffling my hair "Yes, please. Just coffee for now."

I pulled a chair from the dining table, waiting for Daniel to bring my coffee, when I heard the sound of soft footsteps descending the stairs.

A few seconds later, Aria entered the room, her eyes widening as she saw me. Her eyes fell on me, then the floor, she turned around to go back upstairs, probably wanting me to leave.

I got up my seat, pushing the chair against the wooden floor and strode towards her. "Aria, wait," I called her but she ignored like she didn't hear me.

I was too tired and sleep deprived to recieve her silent treatment, taking two steps at a time, I caught upto her as she made it upstairs.

"Aria." The tone of my voice made her stop, her hand hesitating on the glass railing.

She looked at me over her shoulder, I could feel her expression guarded yet vulnerable. The distance between us felt like an unspoken chasm, filled with unsaid words and emotions tangled in a web of misunderstanding.

I went up and stood in front of her, her eyes avoiding direct contact with mine. "What do you want, Chris?" Aria's voice was soft but edged with a hint of defiance.

I took a deep breath, the weight of last night's argument still heavy on my chest. "I want to talk," I said, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside.

Aria bit her lip, her eyes finally meeting mine, I finally saw her face up close. Swollen and puffy eyes with a hint of dark circles and flushed cheeks, her usually vibrant expression was replaced with a look of exhaustion and sadness.

Her fingers tightened on the railing. "There's nothing left to talk about," she replied, her voice wavering slightly. "You made yourself pretty clear last night."

"I didn't—"

She cut me off, raising a hand up infront of my face, her voice rising in frustration.

"You meant every word, so don't try to take it back. What do you want from me?"

A painful shot of guilt pierced through my chest again, leaving me with no room for defense. If only she knew how much I hated that I made her feel this way but I couldn't say it out loud. I leaned closer to her, reaching out instinctively to hold her hand, but she backed a step, another sharp sting of rejection slicing in my chest.

"I want..." My voice wavered, grappling with the chaos inside. Nothing I say would fix but I still said it. "I want to fix this."

"You can't fix empty words Chris. You made your stance clear." She shook her head slowly, her eyes filled with a mix of hurt and determination.

"Now please, if you can let me go". She turned and walked away from me, closing the door to her room, shutting behind her, leaving me regretting and grappling with the conflict in me.

I went back downstairs and grabbed my coffee, heading to my room to get ready for work. An hour later I drove to the headquarters, and as I arrived, Lee Know was outside my office room, looking up his phone as he saw me approaching.

"Hey," he greeted, his face remained neutral and emotionless like always.

"Morning. What brings you here?" I asked as I unlocked the door with the passcode, he followed me from closely behind, but my mind was racing with weight of the argument with Aria.

"Just checking in to see if your ass is doing anything useful instead of fuming all day" A knowing smug grin played across his face as I glared at him, tossing my keys on the desk.

"Fuck off." I shot him a glare, but there was no real heat behind it. I was too tired, too drained to muster any real anger.

He let out a deep chuckle, rolling his eyes. I could feel a tension between us but it was familiar. "Really. I'm just checking since I'm off today. You looked like shit yesterday, which you always are, and looks like today isn't better either"

I exhaled audibly, sinking into my chair and so did Lee Know taking a seat in front of me. "Aria and I had an argument last night." I said as he cocked an eyebrow.

"About what?" He replied unimpressed.

I let out a bitter laugh at his response, shaking my head as I recounted what had happened, the whole damn mess spilling out. Lee Know listened, his expression unreadable at first, but as I spoke, I could see the irritation growing in his eyes. When I finished, he rubbed his forehead, clearly exasperated.

"You're a real genius you know that?" he groaned, his tone laced with frustration.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

"It means," He said, leaning forward, "that you have the emotional intelligence of a brick. You really thought telling her she knew what she signed up for was a good idea?"

"What else was I supposed to say?" I shot back.

He snorted, giving me a look of disbelief. "Oh, I don't know? Maybe not remind her constantly that your marriage is just a one-year contract with no feelings involved? You could've thrown in a romantic 'I never loved you anyway' for good measure."

I glared at him. "Very helpful. Thanks." Annoyance coating in my voice.

He shrugged, unfazed. "I'm just saying, you managed to turn an already shitty situation into a full-blown disaster. Congratulations."

"I was trying to be honest," I muttered, frustration boiling over.

"Your honesty is stupidity." Lee Know retorted. "You're supposed to at least pretend to care about her feelings."

"I do care about her feelings," I insisted.

"Sure doesn't sound like it," He said dryly.

A few minutes of stretching silence passed, the air in my office felt thick and suffocating. It was so silent, I could hear my watch ticking.

"Start by apologising,"Lee Know broke the silence after God know's how many minutes passed, I looked at him cocking an eyebrow. "I don't know what the fuck you're gonna do or to tell you, so figure it out. Maybe get some flowers or something." He kept talking while he doodled something on my memo pad.

"Great advice Dr.Phil."

"You can't just treat people like chess pieces. She's not a pawn in your grand plan, Chris. She's your wife."

I rubbed a hand over my face as he looked up from his doodles, leaning back on the chair.

"And I don't need explain more."

"I'll figure something out," I grabbed the water bottle on my desk and glupped down the whole thing.

He looked up with a sly but irritated smirk. "Good. Fix it and try not to fuck up this time."

"Thanks," I huffed.

"Anytime," he replied, standing up. "You're lucky I can play a therapist. Or else you'll have to pay a good amount for someone to listen to your bullshit"

I let out a lazy laugh as Lee Know turned towards the exit, waving his hand over the shoulder, leaving me alone in my office. And as he left, I felt a strange mix of irritation and clarity. But for the first time, I kind of felt like I had a plan.

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

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