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ysljoon · 4 months ago

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Whirlwind | MYG

♡pairing: min yoongi x reader

♡wc: 3.1k

♡genre: smut, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, non-idol AU

♡ warnings: unprotected sex, degradation, oral sex (f receiving)

♡summary: with a hurricane coming your way towards your state, your roommate provides a safe haven to the man you’ve despised for as long as you can remember.

MINORS DNI (have your age in your bio or you're getting blocked)

The grocery store was bustling with people getting ready to prepare for the hurricane that was set to land in your state by the end of the week. You always knew once hurricane season started you needed to get supplies to keep you stocked, but since you’re plagued with the disease of procrastination you have no choice but to do last minute shopping. At least you had the company of Park Jimin to help you with your grocery run.

Park Jimin has been a close friend of yours since high school and have stayed roommates even after your college years. He has been the biggest support system for you throughout the years and you have been the same for him.

Once you were done checking out at the store you made your way to the car to pack all your groceries away. There was already a steady drizzle of rain falling down from the sky and you sighed already imagining the flooding that was bound to come with the storm. Jimin decided to take over the role of driving back home. You thanked him and quietly slid into the passenger seat. Jimin had refrained from any conversation throughout this trip and it made you a little concerned for him. He is never one to shy away from conversation or saying what he thinks so this behavior leads you to believe that something is wrong.

“Hey Chim, is everything alright?” You glanced his way to see if his expression will give anything away, but his face didn’t even twitch.

“Yeah I’m good bub, I just have some stuff on my mind. Don’t mind me.” He sent you a small smile to try and placate your worries.

“Okay well you know I’ll always be here to listen whenever you’re ready.” You gave him a small squeeze to his shoulder and dropped the topic the rest of the drive home. The soft hum of the radio filled up the silence of the car ride.

Once at home the groceries were unpacked and put into their respective places in the fridge and pantry and Jimin stored the cases of water bottles in the garage. Without glancing your way he called your name softly to get your attention once he was back in the kitchen. You peered at him waiting to hear what he was going to ask.

“Can we talk once I’m out of the shower?” You nodded and retreated to your room to give him the space he needed to do.

Your mind started to sift through memories of the past weeks to see if it could give you any kind of hint as to what this conversation could be about. Is he going to move out? Did you do something to upset him and didn’t realize? The cogs were turning and anxiety was starting to make you feel a little queasy. The time that Jimin took to shower and change felt like it was stretching on for too long. You were about to get up and check on him when you heard tow soft knocks against your door before he opened it to let himself in.

He was changed into an oversized sleep shirt and sweatpants and his bare cheeks were slightly flushed from the hot shower. You patted the middle of the bed for him to sit down and get comfortable.

“What’s going on Jimin? Are you sure everything is okay?” He was wringing his fingers together

And his eyes shifted around the room as he was preparing himself to speak. “With the hurricane coming up, is it okay if a friend comes and stays with us until it passes? His town is directly in the path of the storm and his area is prone to flooding.” You stared at him with widened eyes and nodded without hesitation. Why was he so nervous about this? This wasn’t nearly as bad as all the scenarios that you came up with in your mind.

“Of course that’s okay Chim! Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. Don’t scare me like though again I thought you were dying or going to move out!” You stretched to give him a hug and he rubbed your back gently. With that being the end of the discussion he bid you goodnight with a tight lipped smile that you gave no mind to and he took himself back into his bedroom.

Okay -scratch that- there is one friend of Jimin’s that is not a friend of yours. That person is the one and only Min Yoongi. He has been a thorn in your side since Jimin has entered your life. He has never done anything that was genuinely that awful to you but it’s the way he speaks and carries himself with such an arrogant attitude that aggravates you.

When you saw him walk through the threshold of your front door with his duffel bag you instantly felt your blood start to bubble from the boiling rage you had in your body. The glare you sent Jimin was deadly and you motioned him to follow you into your room so you can tear him a new one talk.

“Park Jimin I don’t know if you suddenly have amnesia for the past 10 years, but I don’t know where you got the idea that Min Yoongi is allowed into our home! If I had known it was him that you were offering a place to stay I would’ve just let the hurricane take him away.” You were livid. Jimin took your hands in his to stop the gesticulating you were doing. With the way your hands were moving wildly he was afraid you would hit him.

“ I didn’t tell you because of that reason Y/N. I know you don’t like him, but this is only temporary. I told him to be on his best behavior, but if he really acts out I’ll send him to a hotel nearby if the weather isn’t too bad.” You let out an exasperated sigh, but had nothing else to add to the conversation that would make it productive. You stomped back out into the living room and refused to acknowledge Yoongi’s presence. Maybe if you just ignore that he’s in your home you can keep your sanity intact.

“Hey princess, can you sit somewhere else? This is gonna be my bed for the next couple of days.” You gritted your teeth hearing that god awful nickname Yoongi called you. He always said it in such a condescending tone that would get under your skin in the perfect way. “In case you forgot Yoongi,” his name rolled off your tongue with a sharp bite. “This is my home that you are a guest in. You don’t get to boss me around on what I can and cannot do in my home and my couch.” You continued scrolling on your phone hoping he would get the hint to leave you alone. Needless to say you were wrong. Instead he decided to plop himself down on the couch without a care that jostled your body. You glared at him and he met your gaze with a stupid fucking smirk. On top of this he started to unpack his duffel bag noisily, tugging on the zipper with a strong force. You got up from the couch with a huff and locked yourself in your room with a slam of your door. This was going to be a strenuous couple of days.

The next day you woke up and found Jimin and Yoongi working outside to put shutters around the windows. This blowing wind was starting to pick up but the humidity was still high in the air. You stepped outside and greeted Jimin while he was busy holding the ladder to keep Yoongi stabilized. You retreated to get two cups of cold water to give the boys and when you came back outside Yoongi was wiping the sweat off his face with the front of his t-shirt. The way the fabric rode up to expose his pale skin and toned back had you staring without even realizing. Jimin was suddenly clearing his throat and when your eyes landed on his face he was staring at you with a raised eyebrow. You looked back at the cups and handed them both to Jimin and headed back inside without a word.

When they finished the project of the shutters the sliding door opened and when you walked in Min Yoongi’s shirt was off. You stared at his abs that were just as toned as his back. When the hell did he get so fit? Even his biceps were much bigger than you ever remember them. Why do you even remember the size of his biceps?

“You seem to have a staring problem princess, keep that up and I might do something about it.” His low voice took you out of your daze and you scoffed at his comment. “You come anywhere near me Min and I’ll punch you into next week. Watch yourself.” You slid your eyes back on the Netflix show that had lost your interest minutes ago. He just snickered and walked into Jimin’s room to take a shower.

Once the door was locked Jimin stood in front of the TV blocking your view with his hand on his hips. “What’s up with the sudden ogling you have for Yoongs? You wanna fuck him or something?” This made you burst out in sarcastic laughter. “Get real Jimin. I wouldn’t even touch him with a 10 foot pole.” you rolled your eyes at the thought of even getting touched by Yoongi. “Whatever you say, but your actions are contradicting the bullshit that you’re trying to convince me with.” And with that Jimin stalked off into to kitchen for a quick snack.

Later in the evening the thunderstorm was booming with thunder and you could see peeks of lightning through the shutters. The combination of these conditions with the howling wind has led the power to go out. Jimin searched for the lantern in the garage to bring back some light into the home. You were left with Yoongi in the living room and no words were said between the two of you. It's for the best. Yoongi felt like breaking the silence first.

“You know, I never understood why you can’t stand me princess. I don’t think I’ve done anything to wrong you.” He studied his nails as he talked. “First issue already is that dumbass nickname that you won’t stop calling me even though I told you endless times that I hate it.” “Aw, but I think it suits you and your stuck up behavior.” He sneered and this made you meet his eyes with a fiery glare. “Go fuck yourself Min. You’re one to talk about other people’s behaviors when you walk around like an arrogant ass. You have some fucking nerve.” The tension in the room was rising to levels that made it feel stuffy. Why the hell is it taking Jimin so long to find the lantern? “You think you know everything about me princess, but you don’t even know how wrong you are!” His voice was rising as he got up from the couch and he was now towering above your seated figure. “Well if I’m so wrong why don’t you prove it to me that you’re not some self-important prick.”

As soon as those words came out of your mouth his lips were colliding with your own and his fingers grasped your chin to keep you in place. You kissed back with the same amount of fervor and gripped the front of his sweatshirt. As soon as you let out a whimper of desperation, you heard the garage door open notifying you both of Jimin’s returning presence. Yoongi pulled away at light speed and took his seat back on the couch to keep the distance between you two. “What did I miss?” Jimin looked between the two of you with confusion spread on his face. You ignored his curiosity and retreated into your room before he could detect the flush spread across your face.

Since the power was lost the house became hotter as the night progressed and the sweatshirt you had was discarded for a cropped tank top and nothing more than panties for the bottoms. Your handheld fan lost power an hour ago since you decided to have it on full blast instead of trying to conserve the power to have it last longer. The sheen of sweat was building up on your skin and you went to the garage to get yourself a bottle of water to help cool down.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when you opened the door and saw Yoongi’s figure in the garage too. “Christ, you scared the hell out of me!” You clutched your hand over your heart trying to calm your heart rate. You’re too frazzled to realize that you’re standing in front of Min Yoongi in just your panties and that he’s shirtless and only boxers. He smirked and slowly approached you. You pedaled backwards until your back hit the wall and was cornered by him. His eyes roamed over your body and smirked. “You know you drive my crazy princess?” You turned your face to the side to avoid eye contact, but his breath fanned your neck in the right way to make your heart race. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You murmured through pouted lips.

He took a small step back with his arms crossed over his chest. “Really? Because the way you were whimpering for me hours ago just from a kiss says otherwise.” You flushed at his words and you were again cornered by him. He slit his leg between yours and his thigh was just ghosting the already damp spot you have in your panties.”Well I can give you a little reminder and more to jog your memory.” He raised his thigh and planted his hands on your waist to keep you place. The sudden sensation has you gasping and rutting your hips to get more friction.

“Look at you, you’re like a bitch in heat rutting against my thigh. You’re so desperate for me already and I haven’t even done a thing princess. I can’t wait to fuck your shitty attitude out of you.” His words were starting to anger you. “Shut the fuck up!” You were too busy chasing your high to even want to give him the time of day to his taunting. To this, he swiftly removed his thigh and went back to standing straight. You were distressed and looked at him with wide eyes. What is wrong with him? “Yoongi what the fuck?” He wrapped his long, slender fingers around the column of your throat. “You think you deserve to fucking cum? With the way you’ve talked to me all these years I could edge you all fucking week. Don’t tempt me.” You shivered at his words. His fingers slithered in between your legs and pushed your panties to the side to tease your clit. You released a breathy moan and threw your head on his shoulder. “Tell me no right now and I’ll stop right now sweetheart. We won’t even have to talk about it ever again.” You shook your head against his shoulder. “I need words, that isn’t enough.” “I want you to fuck me Yoongi. Now stop talking and do something.” The desperation was so evident in your words and that’s all he needed to hear.

His dexterous fingers got to work and slipped into your sloppy cunt. The way his fingers pumped into you had your eyes rolling into the back of your head. “F-fuck Yoon right there!” Your thighs were shaking and your pussy fluttered the closer you were to your orgasm. At the last second you were about to cum Yoongi slipped out his fingers and slapped your pussy. You were panting now with how worked up you were.

“Take the panties off. Now.” You obliged with his words and his dark eyes made you even wetter if that was even possible because you are the most soaked you’ve ever been before. Nobody has ever made you feel as good as Yoongi is right now. Once your panties were off he dropped to his knees and stuffed his head between your legs. You propped up one of your feet on his thigh and he grabbed the back of your thighs to bring you closer. His lips wrapped around your clit and started sucking on it. Your moans were rising in volume and in pitch. His tongue dipping into your hole and licking your cunt made you feral. You gripped on to his hair and that sensation had him moaning against your core. That was enough to send you over the edge. You let out a strangled moan as you came all over his mouth. “Fuck, you taste so fucking good on my tongue.”

You didn’t even get a chance to regain your bearings before Yoongi's lips were on yours. The taste of him mixed with you had you groaning. His cock was straining against his boxers and he was rutting against your thigh and he nibbled on your lip and kissed you fervently. “Now you’re the bitch in heat on my thigh.” You chuckled, but Yoongi wasn’t in the mood for jokes at the moment. He stripped off his boxers and the sight of his thick cock had you drooling. He tapped the back of your thigh twice and instructed you to jump up. You followed his instructions and his hands gripped your thighs as he pressed you against the wall. He angled his cock against your entrance and bottomed out in one go. This had you screaming out in pleasure and your nails dragged against his back.

He fucked into you mercilessly and reveled in the sounds you made. Knowing he was making you feel this good and scream out inflated his ego beyond the atmosphere. “Tell me you’re only fucking mine.” He growled into your ear. You were so fucked out you could barely process his words. “Tell. Me. Princess.” He punctuated each word with a deep thrust that had you seeing stars. “F-fuck I’m only y-yours Yoongi! Only yours!” He grinned hearing this. The coil in your stomach snapped and brought you to your second orgasm of the night. “Who would’ve thought the bitch with the most to say would be creaming all over my fucking cock.” Yoongi was groaning through his words and his thrusts were starting to get sloppy. After a few more strokes he pumped your pussy full of his cum.

You both were out of breath and panting and you winced when his softening cock slipped out of you. You both suddenly jumped at the sudden knock against the garage door. Jimins voice rang through the other side. “I’m glad you’ve been able to reconcile, but you two are fucking loud!” You heard his footsteps fade away and you and Yoongi snickered at each other. Maybe Min Yoongi isn’t as bad after all.

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cxrdycxps · 4 months ago

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Work Song • Joel Miller

No grave can hold me down, I’ll crawl home to her.

☢️ Canon typical violence • smut, unprotected p in v • angst • soft Joel (it needs a warning) • what might be classed as Tommy and Maria bashing • AFAB Reader ☢️

Main Masterlist • Joel Miller Masterlist

Stop. Breathe. Think.

There had to be a way out. There had to be something he hadn’t thought of. Muffled noise was hard to focus on when his heartbeat was louder. He could feel the pulsing pain in his side, his ribs were broken. His guns and his backpack were gone.

Stop. Breathe. Think.

Eugene shared a glance with Shane as they approached the gates of Jackson. There would be word spreading soon. Only two riders returned.

They hesitated in the tree line, waited with bated breath. Once they passed this line they would have to explain. Would have to find a way to break the news.

“We don’t know there’s anything wrong. He might have beaten us back here.” Shane told Eugene. Eugene nodded slightly but they both knew they were kidding themselves.

Joel would never leave a man behind. He would wait all night at an outpost and definitely wouldn’t head back to Jackson without a husband and a father.

“He wouldn’t have wanted us to wait. We know the rules.” Eugene sighed and Shane nodded shortly before he nudged his horse out of the tree line.

“Riders!” The tower patrol called and the gates were opened slowly as Eugene and Shane approached.

Jesse paused at the sight of only two returning patrol men and stared at them as they passed. Both men rode in with their heads down, avoiding the stare of everyone.

Maria stood at the stable talking patrol routes with a group of men due to head out for a long patrol in the next week.

She looked up when the surrounding area fell quiet and put a hand out to steady herself against the sudden dropping of her stomach when Eugene and Shane approached on horseback.

Without Joel.

“Where is he?”

Stop. Breathe. Think.

Joel clenched his jaw and tensed his whole body, readying himself for the impact. There was a burst of pain, bright light behind his eyes. But he didn’t make a noise.

Stop. Breathe. Think.

“Why do I need to know this?” Ellie sighed, her head leaning on her hand. You looked up from the pot you were stirring and found her chewing on the end of her pencil.

“Because a basic knowledge of biology will help in life. Do you know how many people probably wished they hadn’t slept through their bio classes in high school?” You asked her and she sighed heavily, letting her head fall on her notebook.

You only rolled your eyes as you pulled plates down out of the cabinet, eyes on the clock over the window. Joel would be home soon hopefully.

“Set the table?” You asked Ellie and she scrambled to comply, shoving her books into her book bag in an effort to get out of doing her homework in any way possible. “When Joel gets back he’ll help you finish up.”

She laughed and shook her head as she set out the cutlery how Joel had thought her. He still clung to the strangest of Southern traditions. One of the most obvious was his table manners which he was trying in vain to pass on to Ellie.

“Cause he’s gonna know it. Joel’s a high school drop out.” Ellie reminded you and you laughed.

“Joel dropped out of high school to be a dad. Not because he wasn’t smart.” You reminded her while you ruffled her hair when she got close enough, you laughed again when she grumbled about it.

“What’s your excuse?” She huffed, setting three glasses down and filling two with water, a finger of whiskey in the third.

“Gee Els, I don’t know? The end of the world, maybe.” You laughed with her and covered the simmering pot. “Go check the stables and see will they be much longer.”

You all preferred to eat dinner together most evenings. Sometimes home cooked, sometimes at the diner. But eating together was something you had always done with your family and you liked that they did their best to uphold that for you.

Ellie huffed and moved to pull on her converse, sitting on the bench by the front door. A bench Joel built specifically so she would sit down to put her shoes on instead of hopping around and knocking her head on the wall.

A knock sounded at the door just as she had tied the laces on her shoes and you leaned from your place at the sink to look down as she answered the door. Tommy appeared, his hat pressed against his chest and his mouth down turned.

Stop. Breathe. Think.

Joel was alone in the room. Maybe not a room but a shed or barn. There was a lot of creaking going on. The ground underneath him felt like bare concrete but he thought he could hear the rustle of hay when he moved.

Panic was biting at him as he took stock of his injuries. He had been left in a stress position which was murder on his already bad knees. His ribs were on fire, each breath like a brand to his lungs.

His hands were bound to something above his head. Something sturdy enough to hold his weight but it groaned when he pulled. A pipe maybe.

His stomach growled again and he sighed. It had only been a few hours. Regular eating in Jackson had stolen his edge and now he found himself hungry and tired.

He took a deep breath, ignoring the protest from his ribs and pulled, putting all his weight on whatever he was bound to. There was harsh groaning and then a screech.

And then he dropped, no longer suspended.

Stop. Breathe. Think.

You stared at Tommy as he stepped into the hallway past a frozen Ellie. You knew that look. You had seen him do it only once, having to tell Denise that her husband had passed away in the clinic.

A heart attack. That’s what they thought happened. You wondered if this is what it felt like. The pressure building in your chest, your breath catching, frozen stock still.

“He isn’t.” Ellie breathed, moving from the doorway to you. She wasn’t looking at Tommy, hand reached out for you. “It’s Joel. He isn’t. He can’t be.”

“He missed the meet point.” Tommy said with a wince and your eyes narrowed as part of you relaxed just slightly.

“It was a three man patrol.” You pulled Ellie closer by the hand she had reached for you with. You needed to keep her close, keep her safe. “There isn’t a meet point on a three man patrol.”

“Eugene and Jason-“

“You mean to tell me that my husband is missing because those two fucking stoners had to check their grow house?” You asked Tommy, voice low. “Because you know Joel wouldn’t fucking suggest splitting up. You fucking know that!”

“Now look, I’m just the messenger.” Tommy started and you clenched your jaw. “I’m just as mad as you about it and Maria-“

“Oh for fuck sake Tommy. When are you gonna grow a fucking pair and stop hiding in the shadows?” You snapped, a hand running through your hair. “Fucking letting Joel take the fall half your life and now Maria? You ever gonna stand on your own two feet?”

“Now hold on a second-“

“No, you hold on. You heard that those two fucking clowns didn’t wait for Joel and you left them standing? Joel might be dead so that Eugene could check on his fucking weed.” You tell Tommy as he stepped closer in anger. You met him half way, a finger pointed into his chest. “You better fucking hope he’s okay or I’ll make what both of you used to do look like child’s play.”

Stop. Breathe. Think.

Joel paused in place to see if the sound had alerted any one. His hands are still bound and the circulation returning to his legs caused a rush of pins and needles so strong he dropped to his knees.

He needs to get out. He needs to get home. Home to you and Ellie.

There’s no noise that Joel can detect when he raises his bound hands to push the blindfold off his face. The darkness blinds him a second time, his eyes slowly adjusting to his surroundings.

It’s a barn. Wide and barren, hasn’t been used in decades from the looks of things. There’s not much in way of weapons but there is a rusty scythe hanging on the wall. It looks dull but after a few minutes Joel gets his bindings cut and his hands free.

The pipe he had been detained to comes free with a yank and he swings it, testing the weight. It’s not much but it’ll do if he keeps the element of surprise on his side.

A quick turn over of the barn shows nothing else of importance and so he heads for the hayloft, trying to see if he can get a glance of his surroundings.

His arms ache as he climbs and his ribs are still on fire but he pulls himself up, rung by rung, until he’s able to drag himself to the top. He tried not to breathe heavily, leaning on his hands and knees so as not to hurt his ribs further.

There’s an old dilapidated farm house a couple hundred meters from the barn. There’s smoke coming from the chimney though which means whoever stole his pack is probably in there. He grips the metal pipe tighter in his hand and breathes slowly.

Just one more push. It’s always just one more push.

Joel heads for the ladder and finds climbing down is harder on his ribs than climbing up. He attempts to hurry it which results in him losing his footing and falling a couple of rungs, hitting the ground hard with a sickening crunch. Joel fights the urge to vomit, white hot pain bursting through his body.

Stop. Breathe. Think.

“Now I don’t think this is gonna help-“ Tommy yelled after you as you headed for the Tipsy Bison. Sure as anything you’d find Eugene and Shane at the bar.

For their sake they’d better have changed up their routine.

Ellie followed along side you, her face closed off, her eyes burning with anger. You still held the hand she had outstretched to you in the house. Both of you gripping tightly.

You swung the diner door open and traced your eyes across the occupants and sure as the sky was blue you found Eugene and Shane in the corner of the bar.

You ignored Tommy calling your name and finally released Ellie’s hand, making a beeline for both men who had their heads hung over their drinks. When Tommy called your name they looked up and Eugene stood from his stool.

In his defense he did look sorry. Until your hand cracked against his face. Then he just looked shocked. “You better fucking hope he gets home.”

“We waited for him.” Eugene tried to explain but you only shook your head at him, pointing a finger over his shoulder at Shane.

“You’re just fucking lucky he’s in my way.” You warned, sending Ellie pressing close behind you. “Where did you split up?”

“It was west of here, about three quarters the way through the route. Just after the last post.” Eugene explained and your hand cracked out again. He caught your wrist this time, squeezing roughly. “I let you away with one.”

“You split up with him so you could check your fucking grow house?” You spit at him, attempting to pull your wrist free. “You’re that fucking desperate you couldn’t wait another day till the group patrol headed out?”

“He was fine with it.” Shane attempted to argue. Almost silently Ellie slipped an arm in front of you, the tip of her knife pressed against Eugene’s zipper.

“Let her go or lose your fucking dick.” Ellie warned, voice cold. “And from what I can tell that’s your entire personality.”

Eugene released your wrist which you cradled to your chest, your free hand on Ellie’s shoulder. “Cmon Els, while we still have daylight.”

Stop. Breathe. Think.

Joel grunted, his arm cradled to his chest. His right arm. All he had was a metal pipe and he didn’t even have both hands to swing it.

His ribs, if possible, hurt worse. Every slight inhalation had him fighting back screams. The pain in his wrist made him want to vomit and he wondered what the fuck he was gonna do.

He didn’t have much time. He knew that. They would be back to check on him again in no time and he had to have a plan or he wouldn’t be going anywhere.

Voices.

He froze in place, the panic overwhelming him, they were coming from the farm house. Coming for him. He was going to die in this stupid barn if he didn’t think quickly.

The closer the voices drew the worse the panic gripped him. He stepped back into the shadows, his ragged breathing lighting his ribs on fire.

The door opened, the dark sky on his side as two men stepped into the room. They were too busy talking, a lantern held in one of their hands, too low to notice Joel wasn’t where he was supposed to be.

He swung out between the men, enough strength that the first dropped like a rag doll whose stings had been cut. The second had enough time to dodge, taking a bang to the ribs which made him hiss.

Joel swung again at him but he ducked, his hand freeing the gun on his hip. Joel dove at him, panic pumping adrenaline through his blood.

All he could hear was his breathing and the rhythmic pump of his blood.

He swung the pipe, slamming it down on the head of the man and watching his skull collapse with the force.

Joel didn’t hear the shot. He didn’t even feel the bullet make impact. What he did feel was the warmth of the blood on his trousers. The fabric sticking to his skin uncomfortably and then the burst of pain when he stepped forward, his leg buckling out from underneath him.

Stop. Breathe. Think.

“Pack both first aid kits and a vial of penicillin. Enough food for three days and bring me your gun.” Ellie’s feet pounded on the stairs as she climbed them swiftly. You weren’t far behind her, pulling your rifle from under the stairs and setting it on the table.

You checked it over, knowing it was fine as Joel had cleaned it the night before for you when he was doing his own. You grabbed a box of ammo and left it beside your gun. Ellie appeared by your side, setting her own pistol down before taking off again.

You went through the same checks, loading it for her and leaving her a box of ammo to pack for the journey too.

You left them both there and hurried up the stairs pulling your backpack out of the closet and filling it quickly with anything you thought you might need.

A quiet call of your name made you pause, inhaling deeply. You knew why she was here. What she would say but you wouldn’t be deterred. Not when he could be in danger.

Stop. Breathe. Think.

Through and through. The bullet had come out as it had gone in and Joel thanked god for small mercies. His whole body was on fire, the bullet wound in his thigh, his broken ribs and his shattered wrist were all throbbing in tandem.

He had a pistol now and a knife. It wasn’t much but it was something. He staggered his way to the farm house and took a minute to walk the outside of the house, ensuring he couldn’t hear anyone else.

His backpack was just inside the door but his rifle was nowhere to be seen. The farm house was just as dilapidated inside as it looked from the outside. It seemed everything had been lost to the elements besides the living room.

Joel stepped towards the fire, dragging his bad leg behind him. He could hear heavy breathing and wondered if it was his own before someone groaned and shifted on the sofa facing the fire.

Joel lifted the gun in his hand, his left arm shaking. He stepped slowly towards the sofa. The man sleeping only had time to open his eyes before Joel cracked the but of the gun down on his head.

When the man came through Joel had managed to tie him to a chair and was reasonably certain he wouldn’t get out of it. He had taken the time to wrap his leg with the first aid kit from his backpack.

A quick raid of the house offered Joel what he thought might have been painkillers. Three white pills in a bottle. He took his chances and swallowed one down with a shot of whiskey from another of the men’s backpacks. No water to be found.

A small groan alerted him that his new friend was waking up just as Joel managed to splint his wrist and construct a sling for support.

They stared at each other for a second and Joel waited patiently, dropping onto the sofa with a grunt of pain.

“Where’s the others?” His voice was quiet, timid.

“Which one are you?” Joel asked in return, looking him over as he struggled against the bindings.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Well, you’re either Billy or Tyson. Cause I know which one Mark is.” Joel told him and he winced. In truth Joel knew this was Tyson, he just wanted to leave the man with hope he hadn’t found Billyyet.

“We didn’t mean any harm, man.” Tyson muttered and Joel narrowed his eyes, tilting his head. “We just needed the supplies.

“So you beat the fuck out of me because it what? Felt nice for me? Toughened me up a little?” Joel asked, leaning forward and ignoring how his body protested. “Here’s what I’m gonna do Ty, can I call you Ty?”

“No-“

“I’m gonna ask a couple of questions and you’re going to answer them. It’s pretty easy, Ty. I got people I gotta get back to, you know?” Joel asked. Tyson spat at his feet.

Joel shot forward, ignoring the pain and stuck his knife into Tyson’s thigh, right where his own wound was.

Tyson screamed as Joel pulled the knife free, wiping it on his jeans and taking his seat again while the man yelled and bucked against the chair.

“Now. Let’s start again. How many of you are there, Tyson?”

“Four.” Joel’s goddamn bum ear let him down again. A gun loaded behind him. His rifle, he could hear it now he was actively listening. “Something you should’ve checked before you killed two of our brothers.”

Joel sighed heavily and inhaled. He stared at Tyson, counting the seconds. Tyson was sobbing now, either from the physical pain or the emotional pain. Joel didn’t know and didn’t care.

The rifle pressed against his neck and he swallowed again.

“Ben, I take it?” Joel asked, reaching up over his shoulder quickly and pulling the rifle forward. Ben jerked the trigger by accident and Joel yelled at the noise in his ear but he didn’t give up, pulling sharply again and knocking Ben off course.

Joel only has time to duck, his rifle in his arm before he scrambled from the couch and swung the rifle strap over his shoulder. He made sure to keep the sofa between then as he grabbed the gun in his waist band.

When he looked up Ben was frozen, staring over Joel’s shoulder. Joel chanced a quick look back and watched Tyson as he gasped for breath, the blood on his chest spreading, soaking through his t-shirt.

Ben had shot Tyson.

Joel didn’t hesitate, he lifted the gun and shot once at Ben and a second time at Tyson. Putting them both out of their misery.

He collapsed back onto the sofa, ears ringing and body burning. When the adrenaline fled his system he was shaking. One small touch against his leg let him know he needed to start worrying about blood loss.

Stop. Breathe. Think.

With his face tucked in your neck he couldn’t see your expression but he didn’t need to. He knew how you’d look, jaw hanging down, eyes rolled back in your head as you moaned quietly in his ear.

He continued the slow grind of his hips, pushing deeper with every slide of his body against yours. He made sure that each press abused your already swollen clit. He could still taste you on his lips, smell you on his beard.

He groaned again, sponging kisses to your neck before exposing his teeth to nibble against your skin. “Feel so fucking good.”

Your fingers were tangled in his hair, clenching tighter with every minute that passed. You were boneless, two orgasms deep and a third building slowly. “All yours.”

“Damn fucking right.” He groaned, hot breath against your neck causing you to shiver. “My pretty baby and her sweet fucking cunt.”

“Joel.” You whimpered, nails scratching against his scalp. “Make me come.”

“You’re in charge.” Joel groaned, pulling back so he could slam into you in earnest. “Anything for you.”

“Anything?” You ask, moaning loudly.

“You want it, I’ll make sure you get it, baby.” Joel told you through gritted teeth as he pushed into your tight, wet heat again and again.

“What if I asked you to burn Jackson down?” You asked teasingly and he rolled his eyes, bring his hand up to your mouth, presenting you with two fingers.

“If it was something you needed then baby, I’d burn the fucking world down. I’d kill every person in my fucking way to getting you want you need.” He told you earnestly as you sucked on his fingers.

He pulled them from your mouth and brought them down to rub against your clit, rendering you speechless as your orgasm hit you.

A few minutes later you lay across his chest as you both attempted to catch your breath. Joel’s fingers traced patterns up and down the line of your spine. You were tracing the same patterns into his chest hair.

“Burn the world, huh? Sounds dangerous.” You teased. Joel smiled, huffing a small laugh that made you bounce against his chest. “What if you get hurt doing it? What if you die? I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Baby, if you think there’s a grave that could keep me from you then you’re crazy. I’ll always come home, crawlin’ on my hands and knees if I’ve gotta.”

Stop. Stop. Stop.

Joel can’t move. His whole body is one big starburst of pain. He knows he needs to get moving, knows that he doesn’t have long. There could be more of the group and they could be back any second.

But he can’t move.

His head is spinning and he knows he lost too much blood. The spinning is compounded by the fact that breathing is a nightmare. He doesn’t know where he is or how to get back to Jackson.

He rolls off the sofa, landing on his knees which jolts just about every injury he has. He barely catches himself on his good hand and vomits up every thing in his system from the pain.

He uses the sofa for leverage to push himself up off his knees. He staggers slightly, catching himself in enough time that he doesn’t careen into Tyson’s body, still tied to the chair.

He grunts as he moves, his leg dragging behind him. Each step is torture, a life time of bad karma catching up with him.

He checks over Ben but doesn’t find anything besides another knife. He leaves it where it is and hobbles out the door Ben left open behind him.

Joel doesn’t expect much but the sight of his horse is enough to almost bring a tear to his eye. No crawling needed this time.

Stop. Stop. Stop.

“What do you mean you aren’t sending a search party?” You ask Maria. She stands at your kitchen table and refuses to meet your eyes. She had sat at this very table just last week for your birthday dinner. She had laughed and joked with your husband while he held her little girl in his arms.

“We aren’t ready. A route needs to be planned, quadrants divided among patrol men. Marching out without a plan will lose men.” She warned, slipping into her role as a council member, not a sister in law.

“Do you think he’d hesitate? Do you think he’d wait for routes and quadrants if it were anyone else out there? He wouldn’t have even come back without Eugene or Shane. Those cowards-“

“Followed the rules. Something Joel has never done. He flaunts it in our faces time after time and I’m not going to let everyone else get hurt just because he wouldn’t care if the shoe was on the other foot.” Maria interrupts and you stare at her, jaw dropped. Ellie mutters a curse from beside you and you reach out for her. “Joel will be able to survive on his own until we get a group together. Lord knows that anyone that takes him on is in more danger than he is.”

The chill in her voice makes you hold the rebuttal you had. Your mouth closes as you catch the silent distaste from her and your hand moves to Ellie’s back.

“Wait on the porch, Ellie.” You speak evenly and even short tempered Ellie can hear the rage boiling over your words. She looks up at you and over to Maria, her fingers reaching for your sleeve. “Just a few minutes. I promise.”

“My husband is missing. He’s god knows where with god knows who. Neither Eugene or Shane backtracked or attempted to see if he’d been injured. I don’t know if he’s fallen off his horse, if he’s been bitten and is currently trying to decide wether or not to blow his brains out or if raiders have him and are beating him to death because he’d rather die than betray Jackson.” You tell Maria once Ellie has cleared the room. “He has fought with everything he has for over twenty years and if you want to say something about that, well now’s your chance.”

“I’m just saying that maybe, if there’s karma out there, that-“ Joel’s glass smashes, the whiskey splashing you both when you sweep it off the table, leaning towards Maria.

“Your husband done everything that mine did. So if it’s karma that’s hurt Joel out there then you’d wanna wrap Tommy up tight.” You warn her and she bristles, her jaw clenched.

“You know damn well that Tommy-“

“Was a grown man? With two hands? He pressed every trigger, he planned every attack. Just like Joel. So that they could survive. So that they could be alive to love us. Joel never pointed a gun at Tommy of that I can be absolutely fucking sure.” You told Maria, cutting her off. “Tommy was in the fucking army before it all happened. You think he sat twiddling his thumbs there?”

“There’s a team heading out in the morning. You won’t be given a horse before then. Sundown is in an hour. You won’t make it. I won’t condone it. You need to think of Ellie.” Maria left without further comment.

Stop. Stop. Stop.

Joel didn’t know pain like this existed. Every movement of the horse jolted each of his injuries. He had tried everything, every speed to see which hurt the least and there was no answer that didn’t have him biting the reins so as not to scream out.

Night was closing in fast and he was still too far from the closest patrol safe house. He needed to stop for the night but there was nowhere safe to stash himself and the horse. He stuck to the trail when he could, hoping he wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention.

He had to stop twice to bandage his leg again. The blood had slowed but it hadn’t stopped and he knew that was dangerous. He just had to get home. Tommy and him shared a blood type. He’d be fine if he got home.

Something cut across the trail causing his horse to rear back. With only one hand Joel didn’t have a chance, falling back and rolling into a ball as the horse stampeded and took off.

Joel stared at what was visible of the sky through the trees and gasped, attempting to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him.

This was it.

He would have to break his promise.

Stop. Stop. Stop.

“You’re going to be late.” You laughed when he began sponging kisses over where your towel wrapped around you. He moved your wet hair over your shoulder and continued kissing a path up your spine.

You were sitting on the edge of the bed attempting to get dressed while he was having his twenty extra minutes. It seemed he didn’t want to waste them sleeping today.

“It’ll be fine. Eugene is always late. It’s my turn.” He whispered and you felt the bed shift behind you as he sat up. You laughed when he tugged on your towel and you let him have his way. “Fuck.”

“See something you like?” You asked with another light laugh. His hands cupped your hips and travelled up your sides which had you writhing away from him while giggling. “Stop it. I give in.”

“Yeah, you giving in?” Joel asked against your neck, sucking kisses drawing the blood to your skin. “Gonna let me have my way with you?”

“Mhmm, I should’ve expected this when I married a dirty, old pervert.” You teased, gasping when he used his teeth to bite down. “All those years in the wild has left you depraved.”

“Who could blame me? A hot young wife like you, walking around half naked and basically begging for it like a bitch in heat. Well any man would have trouble resisting you.” Joel’s hand slipped around your side while he spoke to cup your breast. He thumbed lightly at the nipple before pinching harshly.

You gasped, leaning back against him as your hips lifted of their own accord. His words only fueled the fire and you whimpered, your head falling back on his shoulder. “Ain’t so smart now, are you Mrs Miller?”

“Nuh uh, Mr Miller.” You whispered as his hand slipped down over your stomach. He ran a finger down your slit and groaned against your neck. “I ain’t even touched you yet, baby.”

“Was thinking about you in the shower.” You muttered. He laughed against your neck. “Was hoping you’d wake early enough for this.”

You breathing turned shaky as his finger ran over your clit, barely there pressure making you twitch. “Yeah, is that why you were making so much noise getting ready for the day? Need me to take you apart first?”

You groaned as Joel pulled you back to sit between his legs. He was leaning against the headboard, keeping you faced away on purpose. He knew you liked to look at him. “Mhmm.”

“Couldn’t let me lie in. I fucked you twice yesterday, Pretty Girl. That wasn’t enough?” Joel asked, adding pressure to the finger circling your clit.

“Never enough.” You told him honestly. It was true. You don’t know how either of you managed to get anything done. From the moment you had met Joel, scared and defenseless on the outskirts of Jackson, he had enchanted you.

You had thought that maybe you had been alone so long that the trip back with him, sharing a horse had been the closest you had to human contact in months, made it seem reasonable that it had an effect on you.

“Insatiable.” He whispered in your ear, sliding a deliciously thick finger into you. The angle was off and he knew it wouldn’t do anything but tease you. “That’s what I get. Hard to keep up in my old age. Shouldn’t have snatched you out of the cradle.”

“I’m thirty- thirty six.” Your words caught on a moan when the palm of his hand pressed against your clit. “Hardly cradle snatching at that point.”

“I’m pushing sixty sweetheart. If I had a couple million dollars I could be a more handsome Hugh Hefner.” He teased as he inserted a second finger.

“That what you want? For me to put on some lingerie and bunny ears. Jacked it to playboy back in the day, did you?” You asked and he groaned. “Well old man, if you can’t keep up then let me take over.”

He laughed and raised his hands as you shuffled around to straddle his lap. He pulled the sheet back to bare himself to you and held you steady as you slowly lowered yourself onto him. “Always so fucking tight.”

“Cause you’re so fucking big.” You whimpered, your nails digging into his shoulders. For a moment while you adjusted his hands were on your hips, thumbs stroking the skin softly.

“You ready, baby?” He asked softly as you started to shift your hips slowly. “Gonna take me?”

“Promise me.” You whispered, moving yourself slowly. The teasing was gone now, your hands cupping his face. “Make me the promise.”

“I’m coming home today.” He promised, his hands helping your hips in the slow grind, your clit rubbing against his happy trail. “If I have to crawl.”

“You’ll always come home, right?” You asked and Joel pressed a soft kiss to your lips, closing his eyes. “Promise.”

“There ain’t a force that could hold me down.” He promised quietly. “I’ll come home to you.”

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Joel wasn’t alone. He could tell as much from the sounds around him. He was still over an hour from the closest safe house and darkness had settled over the forest like a blanket.

His vision was impaired and with his already shit hearing it had taken him a while to hear it. A stalker.

He wasn’t sure if that was worse or better than another of the merry band of brothers. His rifle was shit to him in the dark and he barely had the strength to raise it anyway.

At this point it might be easier to crawl. He considers it, getting down on his knees and crawling along with his one good arm.

Lying down is tempting if he’s honest. He’s got the pistol. It could be quick, painless even. He wouldn’t miss this time. He would be sure of it.

He knew the sound of his daughters voice was most likely due to blood loss. But his brain couldn’t rationalize the look of her in the forest. She was wearing her soccer uniform and he hissed at her to keep it down.

“It’s not safe. It ain’t safe, baby girl.” He hushed as the noise drew closer. He had to catch her, keep her quiet. She didn’t know, she had never known this world. “Sarah, baby, please.”

She continued to skip ahead, that same grin on her face. The Miller grin, it only ever lead to trouble. He could go back to her.

He could spend every day kicking a soccer ball with her and watching terrible movies. It wouldn’t be so bad. He missed her. He missed her so much.

“Sarah, you gotta be quiet.” She stared at him in horror and Joel knew without knowing. He ducked and the stalker overshot him just slightly, hitting the ground and rolling back. Joel freed his knife and brought it down, flinching back from the smell of rotting flesh and the teeth inches from his face.

He stumbled over the body of the stalker and waited for the next one to appear. The forest was still. Joel couldn’t hear his daughters laughter or the shifting noise of a stalker in the trees.

He was alone. Again.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

Ellie had fallen into a fitful sleep. You had woken her twice from nightmares, your shirt damp from her tears. You had never seen her so scared but you had never seen her without Joel. Some days it was hard to remember she was only sixteen when she carried everything on her shoulders.

She was just a little girl and her dad was in trouble. He was missing and she couldn’t help him anymore.

You weren’t much better, replaying his promise to you that very morning. He had to be okay because if he wasn’t okay there was no way you would be.

You’d be strong for Ellie, you knew that much but you wouldn’t be able to stay in Jackson. Not when every turned corner would bring back his memory.

“You better be crawling, old man.”

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

“Come on, Dad. We’ll be late.” Sarah was laying in the grass next to Joel. She was trying to convince him to come to her.

“You’d like them. You know.” Joel told her quietly, his eyes shut against the onslaught of pain that came with every movement. He was so cold. “She’d have been a good step mom.”

“She’d have been a good older sister.” Sarah teased and Joel laughed. It was true, she was only a couple of years younger than you. “She’s good for you.”

“Ellie too. She’s not you. She’ll never be you.” Joel told the ghost of his daughter by his side. “But she helps when I miss you.”

“Good. You need that. It’s time you forgive yourself for me.” Sarah sighed and Joel opened his eyes, turning his head to the empty forest.

“You better be crawling.”

He huffed a laugh and winced, rolling over and shoving himself up to his feet. “I’m coming baby.”

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

First light finds you at the stables. Ellie is preparing Shimmer while you go through the bags one more. With Joel being lost the stables are down a horse and you consider sharing with Ellie.

The only downside is you don’t know how stable Joel will be and three people is just too much for Shimmer to carry, especially with Joel.

“A patrol will be leaving at midday.” Maria is standing behind you when you turn. She looks as if she’s gotten as much sleep as you have. “It’ll take a while to organize supplies for a patrol that may take up to a week.”

“Midday is too late. Ellie and I will head out now. We’ll follow the route. Leave markers if we have to leave it for any reason.” You told Maria, looking over her shoulder.

“I can’t let you do that.” Maria spoke evenly and you turned to find Tommy and Darren flanking her. “Those horses are property of Jackson. You’re erratic, you’ll make mistakes. Get yourself hurt.”

“Keep your horse then. We’ll go on foot.” You shrug, pulling your pack up on your shoulders. Ellie joined you at your side, leaving Shimmer at your words. “That’s not something you can stop me doing.”

“We need to look at the reality of the situation.” Darren spoke up and you raised your eyebrows at him before looking across to Maria’s other side at the very quiet Tommy Miller.

“What other reality is there? My husband is probably hurt and I’m going out to help him.” You shrugged and Maria shook her head. “Don’t.”

“You’ll get hurt. It’s not worth-“

Silence fell as Ellie raised her pistol slowly, pointing it at Tommy. You stared at her and tried to fight the smile. She couldn’t know you approved of what she was doing. “You were saying?”

“Ellie. Lower the gun.” Maria spoke quietly, inching towards Tommy who hadn’t moved a muscle. “Don’t joke around like this.”

“Who’s joking?” Ellie asked, her thumb knocking the safety off. “Cause either you got a problem with Joel, which you better not, or you got a problem with husbands. In that case I’ll help get rid of yours.”

You covered your mouth so that she wouldn’t see you smile but you didn’t say anything, watching Maria go through the thought process. “Maybe it’s father figures? Want your kid to grow up without one so she can be cool and edgy like me?”

“You’re being ridiculous.” Maria warned, her jaw tight with tension.

“So are you. Cause it sounded like you were gonna say Joel wasn’t worth it.” Ellie told her, coiled just as tight with tension. “If you feel that way about someone we care about then why the fuck shouldn’t we treat you the same?”

“You’re awful quiet for a man who don’t seem to give two fucks about his brother.” You spoke up finally, eyes on Tommy. He stood to attention but his rifle was still slung over his shoulder, relaxed.

“Y’all are gonna point that gun at me no matter what I say.” He shrugged idly. “Turns out I ain’t able to stay on everyone’s good side. Joel has been through some pretty bad things and I think that he’ll hold on somewhere until we can get to him.”

“He wouldn’t have this discussion. He’d have been out that gate before Eugene and Shane had finished explaining.” You told him and Tommy nodded, agreeing with you.

“I ain’t pretending to be Joel. I’ve got a baby and a wife to think of. He’d kill me if I got hurt on his honor.” Tommy explained. “Now you told me yesterday to grow a pair and I’m telling you I did. I’m praying my big brother is okay but I can’t let my little girl grow up without a daddy.”

“He’s protected you-“

“Since I was four years old and our daddy went to get the paper and never came home. Our momma wasn’t much good and so he stepped up. He bailed me out of jail more times than I count.” Tommy interrupted. “He made sure I stayed alive all through the end of the world. I ain’t forget every sacrifice he made. He woulda been happier just rolling over and dyin’ after Sarah but he stayed alive. For me.”

“Then why-“

“Seems a piss poor way to thank him for saving my life by putting it on the line like this. You two should think about that. I know he’s made his fair share of sacrifices for you both, too.” Tommy said and you sighed, lifting a hand to cover your face, eyes burning with tears.

“He’s all alone.” You whispered and Ellie clutched you. “He ain’t ever been all alone. What if he can’t find a reason to keep fighting?”

“He’s got two great reasons right here.” Tommy promised. “He wouldn’t dare forget that.”

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

You had only left the lamp on in your living room. The low light lended you a softness in its golden glow. It kept everything cozy and personal, gentle.

Gentle just like his hands that held you up. Your back pinned against the wall, your legs around his waist. He held you like you were precious, kissing you softly.

“You sure about this?” He whispered against your lips. “Don’t owe me anything, sweetheart.”

“I want everything.” You whispered back, your hands cupping his face. You ran your thumb over his bottom lip, feeling the heat of his breath. “I have since that first moment.”

“There’s better men out there. Younger, kinder.” He warned you and you rolled your eyes. “I mean it, you think I’m a good man because I helped you. A few years ago I might not have.”

“While I highly doubt any version of you would’ve been able to tamp down your noble spirit, how fortunate am I that got this version of you?” You asked him, your hand moving to the back of his neck. “I want you, Joel. Scars and all.”

“You might change your mind in the morning.” He sighed, his head tipping back into the fingers combing through the hair at the base of his neck. “What happens then?”

“Well in the extremely low chance that happens we act like two adults that had sex casually. We get over it.” You tell him and he shakes his head.

“I won’t be able to get over it. I haven’t been able to get over you since the first time I touched your skin. Getting this, getting everything, I won’t survive it not working out.” He muttered and you sighed against his lips, using the hand at the back of his neck to push him close enough to kiss.

“Then take me to bed and keep me forever. It’s the only way it can work.” You whisper when you separate. He huffs an incredulous laugh before his grip shifts and he’s supporting you entirely, heading for the stairs.

“Well if that’s the only option, I guess I’ll take it.”

Think. Think. Think.

You had stayed in the stables with Ellie while the discussion took place. Tommy led the team, a map spread out over a barrel as he divided up routes for each team to take.

Initially he hadn’t wanted you or Ellie to go but for the sake of peace he had given in, assigning you both the creek trails. It was as much of a peace offering as you were gonna get so you both taken it.

“We got a live one!” A call came from the tower, drawing everyone’s attention. It was almost casual how disinterested you were in an infected getting this close to Jackson.

It was rare it happened but that’s what tower patrols were for. To deal with a situation like this. There was a pause and then a yell.

“Don’t fucking shoot! For the love of god don’t shoot. It’s Joel!”

Everyone paused in place, not daring to move a muscle. Several long seconds passed before you ducked by Tommy, tearing out of the stables towards the gate that was opening slowly.

And there he was. He was down on his knees, one hand across his chest in a sling. He was covered in blood and bruises but he was there. You slipped out past Jesse and skidded along the mud on your knees to land in front of Joel.

“I promised.”

Think. Think. Think.

Joel’s breathing was labored and even in his sleep he grunted in pain on every exhale. The sheet was low on his waist, showing of the mottled expanse of his chest. It was easy to see which ribs had been broken by the deep purple coloring.

His wrist was wrapped in a hard shell cast which Ellie had already signed with a black sharpie she had been coveting.

Hidden by the blanket was the knife wound which hadn’t knicked any arteries but had led to the need for two transfusions from Tommy just to give Joel enough of a chance to fight through his injuries.

You had spent most waking seconds with him in the clinic. You slept curled up in the chair and the rest of time you held his uninjured hand. The swelling on his face was going down slowly and he was beginning to look like your Joel again.

Ellie dipped in and out between school and spending time with her friends. You had assured her that he was fine and that you’d come get her if she was needed.

Your finger traced over his scarred knuckles and you wiped a tear away. His hand twitched in yours, lifting to wipe your cheek clumsily.

“Those tears better not be for me.” He grunted.

“Nah, they’re for me. You’re such a pain to keep on bed rest.” You teased, throat tight against the onslaught of emotion. “How you feeling, old man?”

“Like shit. Do you know how I broke my wrist?” He asked, looking up at you, shifting against his pillows. You only shook your head silently, unable to say anything for fear it would just be a sob. “Fell down a fuckin’ ladder. Was a contractor all my fuckin’ life and I fell down a ladder.”

You laughed wetly, the tears falling freely now. He tried to shush you, his free hand pulling you closer until you were curled up on his good side. “I was so scared.”

“Made you a promise, didn’t I?” He asked, a lightness to his voice so you’d know he was teasing. “There ain’t a force in this world that could keep me from coming home to you.”

You press your face into his neck as you attempt to compose yourself. You sniffled quietly and he tightened the arm wrapped around you. “Don’t ever put me through that again. Ellie and I almost got us kicked out of Jackson.”

“Oh yeah?” Joel laughs like it’s funny. “You causing trouble baby?”

“Ellie held Tommy at gunpoint. Maria and I fought so bad I thought she’d shoot me herself.” You told him quietly and his shifted around until he could look you in the eye.

“Why?” He asked, his eyes wide in shock.

“They didn’t want us to go looking for you.” You told him and he sighed. “I also hit Eugene.”

“Baby, it wasn’t his fault.” Joel assured you, raising the hand covered in a cast to smooth a finger over your cheek.

“Everyone knows why you’d split up.” You argued and Joel only rolled his eyes. “And then Maria and Tommy wouldn’t let us go. They, well Maria, said some pretty nasty things about you.”

“Maria’s got her reasons. I don’t know how much I’d like me if I was in her position.” Joel sighed and you rolled your eyes this time. “I’ve done some bad things, baby.”

“Just as many as Tommy has!” You argued and he sighed, sick of the same argument. You knew Joel was no saint but that didn’t make Tommy much better. “Told him to grow a pair.”

Joel laughed before wincing at the pain in his ribs. You let the conversation go and pressed in closer to him, your hand running up and down his chest carefully.

His breathing steadied and you assumed he had gone back to sleep. You continued to lie next to him, touching him softly.

“If heaven is real, they ain’t ever gonna let me in. No god could forgive me for what I’ve done.” Joel spoke and you looked up at him, your hand resting over his stomach.

“I ain’t too worried about a god that let the world fall to ruins like this. He’s got more problems than what you did to survive when I get to him.” Joel laughed, groaning in pain again. “I don’t care. About any of it. You’re my husband, you’re Ellie’s father. That’s what I care about.”

Think. Think. Think.

Maria calls by when Joel has been back home for a few days. He’s allowed sit up in bed but that’s all. You’ve taken it upon yourself to enforce his bed rest and he’s decided the rewards are very much worth it.

He learned the hard way what happens when he ignores your ruling in favor of stumbling down the stairs and collapsing against the couch in the short time it takes you to head to the trading post in town.

He had hurt his ribs which had only made it worse when you took a seat on the rocking chair in your bedroom, the one he had built you.

He had watched as you had brought yourself to orgasm, in too much pain to even sit all the way up.

It was the first time he had seen you have an orgasm without his help and it hurt more than all of his injuries combined. He had learned his lesson quickly.

So when Maria knocked he didn’t even look up from the book he was reading and you kissed his cheek in reward before crawling out of bed and heading for the stairs.

You opened the door and felt your smile drop as Maria stood in place, her hands folded in front of her. “I owe you an apology.”

You knew that you should accept it, send her on her way, and get back to Joel. It was all water under the bridge. “Damn right you owe me an apology.”

“I’m not sorry that I didn’t let you leave.” She explained, shifting her weight. “I was right, I knew he would get back here on his own.”

“Just fucking barely!” You couldn’t help the explosion. “Do you know how close I got to never seeing him again?”

“I understand but-“

“You play God here. You choose who is worth your time and who isn’t. You ain’t got a problem with Joel’s past when it makes him the best for patrol. When it’s raiders and smugglers he’s killing.” You snapped and she sighed. “He’s not your little soldier, that’s what you hate. You can bend Tommy to your will but you can’t have him.”

“I came to apologise.” She ignored your point and it made you even angrier. “I want to apologise for judging how he kept himself alive.”

You paused at that, not expecting her to admit it. She took a deep breathe and clasped her hands in front of her. “You were right. The choices they made brought them here to us. Tommy is alive because Joel made sure of it. I owe him everything I have.”

“I’m glad we’re clear on that.” You muttered petulantly, unable to stop yourself pulling the same face Ellie did when she was proven right.

“He loves you so much.” Maria sighed softly. “He used every last reserve a person has to get back here. He’s a different man when it comes to you.

You sighed and shook your head. “You still don’t get it. He’s not a different man with me. He’s the exact same man he’s been for over fifty years. I love him in every phase of his life. Given the chance I wouldn’t change loving him.”

You stared at Maria for a long second before shaking your head again and shutting the door in her face. You climbed the stairs and found Joel with his book in his lap and a proud smile he was trying to hide.

“You shouldn’t be so hard on her. She ain’t wrong.” Joel sighed and you rolled your eyes.

“Course she is. That’s my husband she’s talking about. I wouldn’t swear myself to just anyone in this world. Only the best.”

Stop. Breathe. Think.

Joel had only just earned the right to tackle the stairs again after two weeks of bed rest. He was reveling in his new found freedom by sitting on the sofa rather than the bed.

You had begun returning to society, picking up a few shifts down at the Tipsy Bison and trusting him to behave. You knew he would, he was wrapped around your finger.

He had just found a position that didn’t irritate any of his still healing injuries when there was a pounding at the door. He sighed to himself got up from the sofa, staggering slightly on his bad leg.

An irate Eugene was at the the door, his face red and his eyes wild. He attempted to shove past Joel who wasn’t so injured that he allowed it. He shoved Eugene back over the threshold, his eyebrows furrowed.

“The fuck do you think you’re doing?” Joel asked, his hand raised to shove Eugene backwards again if needed. He was incoherent with rage so Joel just stared at him.

“Where the fuck is she?” He snapped at Joel who frowned at Eugene. “The fucking bitch of yours, where is she?”

“Now Eugene, I got two lovely ladies in my life and I know you ain’t referring to either of ‘em as a bitch. So let’s try again before I gotta bust my stitches and break my cast to teach you a lesson.” Joel warned and Eugene attempted to shove by again only for Joel to shove harder this time, knocking him back a step.

“She fucking done it. I know she did. She’s the only one who would’ve. That fucking wife of yours.” Eugene’s eyes flashed and Joel reached forward, his fist curling in Eugene’s shirt.

“You don’t talk about my wife like that. I ain’t said nothing about the bruises you left on her wrist cause I been in recovery and she did try to hit you a second time. But don’t think I didn’t notice. If I think you’re gonna hassle her further I’ll bury you in that back fucking yard and use you to fertilize her flowers.” Joel warned, voice low. He barely noticed Tommy opening the gate behind Eugene and making his way up towards the porch.

“It’s all gone. It had to have been her.” Joel took a guess at what was missing as Eugene stepped back. “Years of fucking work.”

“She ain’t been outside that wall without me since the day she came in it. So walk fucking away. And don’t let me hear you been hassling her.” Joel warned. Eugene turned with more drama than Ellie during a tantrum, stalking past Tommy and banging the garden gate behind him.

“Wild that. Someone moved every single plant he had. You know how much that is?” Tommy asked and Joel looked over at his brother’s smirk. “Enough to fill the basement of that mansion a few miles away. Heat lamps were tough to get up there but there was already a generator in place.”

“You son of a bitch.” Joel grinned.

“That’s your mama too you’re talking about.”

#joel miller #soft joel miller #ellie williams tlou #the last of us #ellie williams #joel miller tlou #joel miller x you #tlou #joel miller x reader #joel miller x afab!reader #joel miller smut #soft Joel miller smut

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dreamings-free · 4 months ago

Text

Louis about LT3

a summary UPDATED 6/10/24

Sep 2022 first time Louis mentions a 3rd album. Louis is quoted in Euphoria Magazine saying: “Ideally, I’d like to try and write the next record before I go on tour next year. I want to do something similar to what I’ve done this past year.” (but from what we know now it seems it didn't play out that way..)

Sep 14th 2022 Louis leaves a comment on Faith In The Future co-writer Nico Rebscher's instagram post about Out Of My System saying "Can’t wait to do more on the next album!"

Jan 2023 Louis is on holiday in Cabo, Mexico and is spotted travelling with his guitar - maybe in case inspiration strikes!?

Feb 22nd 2023 Louis is seen "a tiny village with a recording studio in it". A few days later both Louis and Matt Vines likes an instagram post by Faith In The Future co-writer David Sneddon captioned "Spent the week at @ angelicstudiouk with friends and heroes." Another FITF co-writer Theo Hutchcraft is seen in one of the photos.

May 11th 2023 Louis tweets: "Also probably shouldn’t mention this so early in the process but I’m feeling really confident creatively, just finished a week of writing and it was unbelievable. Exciting!"

May 13th 2023 When asked about the next album at the LA screening of All Of Those Voices, he answered: “I recently just started, yeah. The majority have been my own, but some of the lyrics is less direct, so it’s maybe not quite as specifically about me but,I felt really fulfilled, the last couple of writing sessions I’ve done have been really, really good.”

Nov 23rd 2023 Louis gets asked about album 3 at the Rolling Stone UK Awards and is quoted saying: “It’s funny, I wrote maybe 4 or 5 tunes in one of the breaks of the tour legs, and actually, I just wanna spend a bit of time. I’m really excited for those songs, but I don’t know when the next records gonna come and the thing about me is when I start writing, I’m just desperate to release things as soon as a possible, so I wanna take a bit of time on this record. So when that might be, who knows.” He also talks a bit about potential collaborators and mentions DMA'S.

Jan 20th 2024 Louis follows producer James Ellis Ford who has worked with Arctic Monkey, Gorillaz and many, many more.

Jan 24th 2024 When asked in a twitter Q&A if he has "a concept in mind already for the next album?" his answer was: "Started drawing the outline in my head". He also told fans asking at the meet 'n' greet in Jakarta that it would be "soon, in my context of the word" 😜

Mar 30th 2024 At the Tecate Pa'l Norte press conference he said: “At the moment, um— to be honest, I haven’t really— the question was what I listen to which is a slightly different thing but; I haven’t really given the next record real thought yet. Obviously it’s been on my mind. But in terms of conceptually, or even finding references, I’m not really at that point yet because I’ve done a lot of touring— just kind of getting that out of the way before I really start thinking about that proper.”

April 4th 2024 He told Chilean radio station Bio Bio: “I have written a couple of songs, but when I was writing them I wasn’t thinking about what they would be for a new album, they were just written to give me something to write and not put pressure on those songs. But I think I will start the work on a new album at the end of this year, maybe.” futher elaborating to Radio Disney Chile: “The good thing about this record is I’m gonna have plenty of time to experiment and with that it gives you plenty of room to just kind of find where the edges of the record live. So yeah I’m looking forward to getting into the process, but like I said I’ve been loving touring at the moment so just been kind of sticking to that.”.

He also told Paraguayan radio station HEI Now: “Of course there’ll be a new album. When? I’m not overly sure. I think I’ll probably start writing at the end of the year. I just wanna let as much life in first and then I can really start emoting and writing.”

June 2024 In the FITF tour LatAm recap video posted to Louis’ instagram 25/6 he says: “At some point I gotta think about the next record, but.. I’m a bit scared of that, truthfully right now, feel like I’ve been enjoying the success of Faith in The Future for.. quite a while. And yes, it’s been the pressure of the shows but I delivered what I think was a good record and a record that was successful. So now going into the next cycle it’s a little bit.. a little bit tentative going into it. I know that’ll change once I get off the road and really start thinking about the essence of the record and the concept of the record and stuff like that. But right now.. yeah, I’m just thinking about the festivals, I’m excited for those.” (he also talks - in past tense about playing in Mexico City and about the upcoming Away From Home Festival, so we can assume this interview was done somewhere in early June)

August 4th 2024 Responding to a fan sign at Santander Music Festival that said "How close R we to the next album 1-5?" showing three - possibly four? - fingers! meaning the album is 3/5 (or 4/5?) done!

Oct 4th 2024 curious activity across Louis' socials; on twitter the header image was changed from the Louis Tomlinson : Live album graphic to just the cover image and the Faith In The Futuretweet was unpinned (like it was on Louis' insta 9/9). on Louis' instagram the bio text was cleared and the link to louist.lnk.to/live was also removed.

Oct 6th 2024 Louis replies to a fan on twitter asking if new music is coming with "Only been off tour 2 minutes. The next record is going to be my best yet but need chance to let life in first!"

tbc...

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yourgentlegirlfriend · 2 years ago

Note

Saw your post about writing, I love older Leon with a younger more naive reader, could you maybe do something along those lines? 👉👈

YES! I’m so glad somebody requested more older Leon, im in love with writing it. I whipped something up as fast as i could but i ended it on a little teaseeee if you guys REALLY like it i’ll finish it!!:))

DISCLAIMER!! this is 18+ ONLY, please do not interact with my blog if you are underaged or don’t have age indicator in your bio!! thank you!!

f!reader x much older Vendetta/ID Leon. Mentions of size difference, slight angst if you squint literally, VERY little smut but it is there. mentions of choking, biting lip. use of pet names (sweetheart, angel, etc.) BIKER LEON HELLO. Leon is obsessed with you, and you’re dumb.

Word count: 1.4k it’s small

Leon always says you were his saving grace. The two of you met during a time in his life where he really needed you. You were bubbly, happy, much younger but he pushed that aside. The only reason you guys met was because you went to go get your brothers bike fixed for him, standing waiting before the mechanic had told you a list of reasons as to why it would cost you almost ten thousand dollars in repairs. You knew enough about cars but nothing about motorcycles, your jaw dropped staring at the man in front of you as you shook your head.

“The tire went out? That was it-“

You cut yourself off, pulling out your check book with a frustrated sigh, before you can even sign on the line a man stepped next to you, squinting at the numbers on the paper then to the mechanic in front of the both of you.

“This what this business is about? Lying to women for no reason?”

The man grabbed the check book scoffing at the astonishing price you were about to pay, the mechanic stuttered over his words before the man once again cut him off.

“Just bring the bike back up front”

You stared at the man in awe. You knew that you were being scammed but you are the one who fucked up the bike so as long as it was fixed you didn’t care. He handed you back your check book and nodded his head towards the workers bringing the bike back up front.

“I’ll fix it for you, no cost too. Well, unless you let me take you to dinner.”

His smile was gorgeous. He was gorgeous. You felt red spread across your face as you nodded, shoving your check book back in your purse as the two of you walked out the front door.

Leon Kennedy was his name, he told you while he propped the bike up, leaning down before swatting his hand signaling you to stand over him and watch him. And he taught you more than you knew, maybe more than you needed to know. You couldn’t help but smile as he stood up, wiping his hands on his pants before looking at you.

“All done.”

And before he could even speak again you pulled your wallet out, grabbing at the cash you had stored. Leon let out a chuckle as he covered your hand with his, shaking his head.

——————

Leon was adamant about taking you to dinner, at least twice a week. Since the two of you met he would pick you up every Monday and Friday, and take you these outrageously fancy and expensive restaurants. Leon stopped his bike, stepping off before grabbing your hand to help you keep your balance as you swung your leg over. The two of you began your walk up the stairs as you rambled on about the girls at your work and how one of them was stealing produce, your words interrupted by Leon’s hand gripping the back of your skirt, pulling it down slightly so it would cover you up more because apparently your skirt rode up on the ride here. Did he just do that? A part of you wanted to yell at him, but physically, your throat went dry and your thighs squeezed together. There was no label on you two, you weren’t girlfriend and boyfriend, but you did spend to much time together. You bit at your cheek as Leon checked you in for your reservations, turning back to you as the waiter walked the two of you to your table. Your hand reached out for the chair but Leon- as smooth as ever he was- brushed beside you, pulling out your chair. You sighed softly, looking up at the man with a smile as you sat down, your ankles crossing over each other. The air was thick between you two but it had been for about the past week. Leon always ordered for you two, mainly because he knew what he was doing. The two of you sat silent as you stared at the menu before you placed yours down, staring at Leon with your eyebrows slightly frowned. He was scanning the menu, his attention not on you of course. He had to have felt the gaze because his eyes flicked up to meet yours, causing him to place down the menu.

“What’s up sweetheart, you seem bothered.”

Bothered was an understatement. Your eyes rolled as before you stared at your glass of water.

“Is it our age gap? Or what? I mean jesus Leon i’m sitting here wondering why I’m not good enough for you..”

Instead of comforting you, Leon let out a chuckle, taking a sip from the wine in his glass. Leon shrugged as he leaned back against the chair with a smug smile on his face.

“Angel, if i didn’t value you and want you to be mine why would i spend almost a thousand a week just to see that pretty smile?”

——————

“He’s what?”

Damien, your brother yelled as you and Leon sat at the table with him, Leon’s hand gripping at your thigh under the table at your brothers outburst. You knew he would react this way when finding out about yours and Leon’s very much prominent age gap of 9 (and a half) years.

“Leon takes care of me Dami.. you don’t have to be mad-“

Damien interrupted you, ranting on about how disappointed mom and dad would be with how you decided to play out your life. Leon lifting you from your seat and basically dragging you out the door made the anger building in your stomach stop.

“We are leaving.”

Leons voice was stern as the two of you walked down the steps of your brothers porch, Damien following behind, arms crossed as he watched Leon carefully place the helmet on your head before he swung his leg over his bike, you following him like a stray puppy, laying the side of your covered head on his back as you watched your brother look at you in disgust.

Leon was silent, but the way he sped down the street told you everything you needed to know. When the two of you finally arrived back at the house, even in his anger he still held the door open for you, when you stepped in he slammed it. sighing as he pulled his jacket off.

“Leon, Im so sorry.”

Leon shook his head watching you play with your fingers, a groan leaving his lips as you folded his jacket for him.

“You are just so..”

Leon grumbled as he grabbed your hips, squeezing them in his much larger hands. You frowned up at him, your hands slowly rubbing up his chest and past his shoulders.

“I love you, it’s not fair.”

Leon nodded down at you, pecking your nose softly before one of his hands left your hip to gently grab at your chin, he took in a deep inhale, he loved the way you smelled. With your strawberry lipgloss and vanilla lotion, he was obsessed with you. The way you would do anything for him, you were his and you knew that too. His lips pressed into yours, his hand that was at your hip sliding to hold your back pulling you closer into him.

Your hands went to pull away from him but he was much stronger, tilting his head into yours causing a soft whimper to fall from your lips as his teeth nipped at your now puffy bottom lip. He pulled back, smirking at the sight of you with your hooded eyes, looking at him like he was the only person in the world. You went to whine something to him but he shushed you immediately, dragging you over to the couch.

“Just don’t talk.”

He mumbled as he sat himself down on his sofa, pulling you between his legs. He admired your outfits more than you knew, the way you always wear cute little skirts for him, or when you guys go out to dinner and you wear that red dress that he fucking adores. Everything hugs your body so perfectly. Your fingertips grazed over his shoulder, your body pushing forward with a gasp as Leon yanked your skirt down your legs, a hum leaving his throat as he gripped at your thighs.

“Leon be careful clothes are expensive!”

You whined with a giggle as Leon dragged you down to the couch, this made you realize just how much stronger and bigger Leon really was, the shyness washing over you as he hovered over you, his hand grabbing at your throat gently, he didn’t want to hurt you (yet).

“I told you not to talk, you act like I don’t buy you all those skimpy little skirts anyways..”

#leon kennedy #leon kennedy angst #leon kennedy x reader #leon kennedy imagine #leon kennedy smut #older leon kennedy #older leon plz #vendetta leon #Infinite darkness leon #thank you anon #leon kennedy fluff #resident evil x reader

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usmsgutterson · 2 years ago

Note

I want a love like the movies- give me a trope/character dynamic from this list, a song (or a specific lyric from a song that you want me to base it off of, or even a poem, anything that is seen as art is acceptable here) and a time of day. I’ll use that to write a fic with a minimum of 1k words.

kaz brekker with 29 (from the list) anddddd almost by hozier?? idk first song to pop into my head haha

Love- K.B x gn! reader

okay, this is the last of your requests and it's coming out on my official two year fic-iversary! I posted my first ever fic on maliciousbrekker two years ago to the day, and it's been a wonderfully wild ride in things ever since! No regrets with anything I've done here, honestly!

As for requests generally speaking, the goal is to have at least one more coming out over the weekend! My two year anniversary requests are taking precedent right now because I've been demotivated and haven't posted many of them, but after the two year anniversary requests are done, I'll go through my inbox and decide what I want to write vs what I don't and then I'll proceed and hopefully my requests will be open again by the date in my bio!

The prompt you chose was: reader/writer

Fic type- this is fluff!

Warnings-Kaz is probably a little ooc

"You and your books," Kaz observed as he came into your place. You lived in a flat not too far from the Barrel, one that was simultaneously within walking distance of the Crow Club and the Slat as well as Wylan and Jespers place.

You'd bought it to own it with a portion of your money from the ice court, spruced it up to your liking and saved a room to turn into a library. Bookshelves lined the walls, covered in every book you owned and organized to your preference.

You'd bought a desk for Kaz to use, and within it were countless heist plans, countless letters to Nina, Matthias, and Inej, and even a couple of the journals that Kaz had bought two years before but had only begun using in the weeks after the Ice Court job had been completed.

"I have my books and you have your heists, love," you said, shrugging as Kaz sat at the opposite end of the velvety couch you'd kept in the sitting room. "Everyone has their vices."

"How is it?" Kaz asked. You jabbed at each other for your hobbies occasionally, poked fun and delighted in the sounds of scoffs that eventually turned into barely amused laughter, but in the end, you cared about the other persons hobbies, too.

No matter how much you may have poked fun at Kaz and his love for unlined leatherback journals, for the expensive ink he purchased from a Fabrikator near the heart of the city, you always bought him the ink when you noticed he was running low before he did.

You bought him new leather journals when you saw one that he might've liked in a windowsil and bought him ones engraved as a gift on his birthday or during the holidays.

And, in turn, Kaz did the same. He bought you books from the authors you loved whenever he'd heard that a new one was releasing, took your most beloved books to a book binder when the covers were wearing out and the spines needed re-gluing.

He asked how you liked the books you were reading when he noticed you were reading a different one, bought you the books that your eyes lingered on whenever you'd see something in a bookshop window.

"It's good," you said. "How're the heist plans coming?"

"Decently enough," he responded. "A hundred thousand kruge per person on a seven person crew, if you're in?"

You grinned as you closed your book, looking at the cover for a moment.

"How convenient it is that you ask me to join you on a heist when the book I'm reading involves one."

"Is that your way of saying yes?"

You shot him a look, and he nodded. "Yeah. It's your way of saying yes."

You watched him stand, heading for your office, a pen, and one of his journals.

"Love you!" You called after him. You heard Kaz's amused laughter in response and smiled to yourself.

He didn't need to say it back for you to know he loved you in turn. If anything, he'd likely be the one to turn down the lamps and blow out the low-burning candles when he was done planning the heist he'd asked you in on.

He'd be the one to find you with a book in your lap, having told yourself "just one more chapter" even as your eyes were drooping and sleep was on its way

#kaz brekker #kaz brekker x reader #six of crows #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix

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serickswrites · 3 months ago

Text

Lonely Place of Longing III

Master list here (includes summaries and bios as well as chapter links)

Warnings: referenced wounds, referenced blood, referenced chest tube, healing, hurt/aftermath, hurt/recovery

Halle spent the next couple of days keeping a close eye on Dylan. While she was still afraid of the weapon, she also couldn’t let the weapon suffer. “You don’t have to keep checking on me, Halle,” Dylan said after the fifth day. “Really, I’ll be ok.”

“I want to make sure there aren’t any complications with your healing. Haven’t your previous keepers checked on you regularly?”

Dylan shook his head. “Most were too afraid to. Or didn’t care. I’m not very popular in case you haven’t noticed.”

Halle peeled back the bandage around where she had placed the chest tube. The skin had completely re-knitted. If Halle didn’t know any better, she would have said that Dylan was healing at an unusual rate. Perhaps she hadn’t cut as big as she had thought.

“I don’t know why,” Dylan went on, “I have read every book in our library, Bravo’s library, Delta’s library, and Hotel’s library, so I can always recommend a good book no matter what type of book you like. And I’ve also traveled all over the globe, so I have good travel tips. Not that I’ve done any sight seeing, mind you. And well, I’m a social pariah just because of what I am. That’s probably why I’m not very popular.”

Halle straightened and nodded towards the pile of books on Dylan’s end table. “It’s your terrible taste in books that makes you not popular, Dylan. Really, this book pile reads like every high schooler’s nightmare. You’ve been tortured. Very recently. Why mentally torture yourself now?”

Dylan gave a wry smile. “It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

A knock on the door had Halle jumping. Dylan tensed next to her. The door swung open before Dylan could even reply. Thomas marched in. “How’s the patient?” Thomas asked Halle.

“Healing well. Still needs time to heal, though.”

“I should be ready for whatever you’ve put on hold in four days,” Dylan said, staring directly at Thomas. “My open wound closed yesterday. I can walk. I should be ready to go by then, completely healed.”

Halle opened her mouth to protest. Dylan clearly had a death wish if he wanted to get back out so soon. “That is great news to hear. The Authority has been wondering how long you would be out of commission.”

“You can let them know I’ll be ready in four days. Five days tops.” Dylan shook his curls out of his face, and Halle could have sworn what bruising had remained was already beginning to fade. Surely it was just the way the sunlight was hitting his face now.

Halle opened her mouth again, but Thomas turned to her. “Halle, can I see you in my office, please?”

“Absolutely, Thomas. I’ll check on you again, tomorrow, Dylan.” Halle said as she turned to follow Thomas out the door.

“No need, Halle. You heard Dylan. He’s almost completely healed. All due to your ministrations, of course.” Dylan avoided making eye contact with Halle as he spoke. “Halle is a most dedicated healer, Thomas. I am very grateful to be under her care.”

“Come along, Halle. I do need to meet with the Authority to brief them on Dylan’s updated status.”

Halle half jogged along to keep up with Thomas. “What is it you wanted to discuss with me, Thomas? If I may be so bold, I really do think that Dylan won’t be healed in four days. That’s unheard of to be up and about that quickly. I really do think he needs at least another two weeks. I could assess—“

“That won’t be necessary, Halle. I think Dylan knows himself and what he is capable of quite well. No need to concern yourself with his current recovery.

“What I wanted to talk to you about is how you are settling in. How are things for you, Halle? You’ve been here a little over two weeks now and you’re certainly earning your keep. And for that, I am very grateful.”

Halle didn’t like that Thomas didn’t want her to re-assess Dylan’s injuries. She didn’t like that Dylan was so ready to throw himself out of the frying pan and into the fire. But she couldn’t control these things. And Dylan had clearly survived much worse and was still going on missions. “I’ve been adjusting. It’s certainly a different life than I am used to. But I am glad to do it.”

“Yeah, I can imagine your days when not healing Dylan could be dreadfully dull.”

“Not at all!” Halle said hurriedly. She couldn’t get fired. Not yet. “I help in the kitchen. And with the library. Really, it’s great.”

Thomas chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m only teasing you. We’re glad to have you, Halle. And we’re glad you’ve chosen to stay.”

“Thank you, Thomas.” Halle’s watch pinged. She was due in the gym to meet her new sparring instructor. While she didn’t think it was likely, Halle wanted to be ready to go into the field at a moment’s notice. A battlefield medic of sorts. It would help her keep better tabs on Dylan. “Apologies, Thomas, I have an appointment.”

“With the sparring instructor, I’m aware. Listen, Halle, I’m glad you are interested in potential field work, but,” Thomas held up a hand to silence Halle’s protests, “I am going to advise you to be very careful of what you are wanting. And to be very careful around Dylan.”

Halle froze. What did Thomas know about what she had been doing?

“Dylan is a living weapon. He is one of the most dangerous, if not most the dangerous, beings alive. He could kill you without a second thought, Halle. You need to be very careful. And under absolutely no circumstances should you ever let him out of his quarters or remove his cuffs, Halle. To do that would mean certain death for you.”

Halle swallowed. Dylan was a living weapon. He had powers Halle could only dream of. And he lived in a room with barred windows and doors. Thomas was right, she needed to be careful.

“Thank you, Thomas. I’ll keep that in mind."

Tags: @beomsstudio @mousepaw @keeper-of-all-the-random-things @eyehartart @corbytheking

@seysposts @cosmic-butterflys @wormjerky @godnessofmagic

@daddyslittlestgirlll

@thatlittlefirestarter @defire @jthecalmone @shook-skull @sagencrafts

@theforeverdyingperson @bilightningwhumper @cryptid-potato @fox-fox234 @deepfriedpan

@4-err0r-4 @half-duck @bigmiki @amberconnverse636 @penguin4473-blog

@abbyreader23 @lateuplight @firelan @octafi @paingoes

@xo7-parad0x @whumpandcomfort @kazekunai @pedro-pedro-pedro-pedro-pe @soul-of-a-local-bard

@dragonkales @kitarajy-kari @carosbee @celestialsoyeon @knightinbatteredarmor

@kay-kayxb177 @alwaysjaywalking @decayanddie @demetercabingreen-thumb @never-enough-novels

@whump-a-bear-workshop @sizzlingtigerwerewolf @urmum-11 @velcrostrip @rattypop

@lexiebiss-blog @whumplump @geozone430

#serickswrites #whump #whumpblr #whump community #whump writing #tw referenced wounds #tw referenced blood #tw referenced chest tube #healing #hurt/aftermath #hurt/recovery #living weapon whumpee #'lonely place of longing'#queue

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mrprettywhenhecries · 9 months ago

Text

don’t waste your time (on me) [g.t]

06. | 99 Problems

Gator Tillman ✘ Win Lewis (OC)

⇾ w.c. 4.1k words ⇾ tags/warning(s). canon x oc pairing, f!oc, misogynistic themes, mentions of injury, derogatory use of the word gay, blow jobs (m!receiving), hurt/comfort ⇾ a/n. Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated! 💚

Gator gets his arm broken and Win gets protective.

[ masterlist • win bio ]

The weeks following Win’s visit to the ranch slipped by and life almost fell into a semblance of normalcy. Despite the days growing shorter and the nights growing colder, not much of any real consequence happened to distinguish one day from another, and Gator began spending nearly every night at Win’s, even if all he did was crawl into bed next to her after a long shift to fall asleep in her arms.

The more time that passed, the less Win thought about Roy’s threat, but it was always there in the back of her mind, a lurking unease, as if she were just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Gator, on the other hand, was blissfully oblivious and Win envied him that.

The end of October was drawing closer, Halloween practically around the corner and Win’s house was already decked out for the occasion–she and Gator joining forces to decorate. It turned out the holiday was Gator’s favourite too.

Win was just adding some more fake spiderwebs to the drop down lights hanging over the kitchen island when her phone rang, Gator’s personal ringtone playing through the speakers.

Letting it ring for a second as she put up the finishing touches, it abruptly stopped and started again, Gator having called back almost instantly.

“Okay okay, I’m coming,” she huffed, climbing down from the counter to reach for her phone, bringing it to her ear.

“Y’ello?” she answered, half paying attention as she opened the fridge to reach for a pop.

“Win?” Gator’s voice sounded through the phone line, but there was an edge to it.

“Yeah, what’s up, babe?” she replied, bumping the fridge door shut with her hip, opening the can one handed.

“I don’t wantcha to freak out or anything, but… I’m in the hospital—“

“What?” Win yelped, nearly choking on her drink, panic flooding her for a moment, Roy’s words flashing through her head.

End things or there will be consequences.

“Win. Win! It’s okay, I’m okay!” Gator assured her hastily, his voice pulling her back to the moment, though her heart still felt lodged in her throat.

“I broke my wrist, that’s all,” he elaborated and Win let out a heavy breath.

“How? What happened?” she demanded, but a commotion on the other end of the line seemed to pull Gator’s attention and he answered a question she couldn’t quite hear.

“I gotta go, they’re gunna put the cast on now, but I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

“Wait, Gator—“

“I promise, I’ll be over as soon as I’m done. Don’t worry babe,” he assured her before the line clicked and Win frowned, fighting the urge to throw her phone across the cramped kitchen.

“Fuck that,” she hissed under her breath, grabbing her keys and rounding the counter to the door, not content to sit around and wait for him show up while her anxious mind ran laps.

“Hi, I’m here to see Gator Tillman,” Win exclaimed, approaching the front desk, drumming her fingers against the counter anxiously, looking around for anyone she might recognize in the waiting room, though she didn’t know whether he’d been hurt at work or at the ranch.

The woman behind the desk glanced up from her computer monitor and frowned. “You a family member, hon?”

“Oh, uh no,” Win faltered, chewing the inside of her lip. “But–”

“Then I’m sorry, but you’ll hafta wait. Only family can go back right now,” she explained, her eyes flicking back to her screen. “Although, it looks like he’ll be out soon, they’re almost finished setting his cast.”

Win nodded, pushing away from the counter to hover by the double doors to the emergency room entrance to wait for Gator, fighting not to pace while chewing her thumbnail.

When the doors opened with a clang, Win gave a jump and turned to see who had emerged, expecting her boyfriend, only to come face to face with his father, her expression souring further.

“What’re you doin’ here?” Roy grunted, fixing his coat collar before turning his full attention on her. “Thought the boy told you to wait at your place. You got a problem doin’ what you’re told?”

Win huffed incredulously, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t do well with orders, or have you forgotten that?”

Roy let out an unamused snort, looking her up and down. “Nope, you’ve made that more than clear,” he muttered, moving to step past her.

“Wait!” Win exclaimed, stepping in front of him to block his path. “What happened? How’d he break his arm?” she demanded and Roy rolled his eyes.

“Well, what can I say? The boy’s a little… inept sometimes when it comes to his job. Not my fault he got cocky and let his guard down at the wrong time. Maybe the pain’ll help him learn his lesson,” Roy muttered, shaking his head, his eyes meeting Win’s.

“He should count himself lucky it was only a broken wrist. After all, I’m sure neither of us would hate to see anything worse happen to him.”

Win held Roy’s gaze despite the chill that ran through her at his words. Maybe it was just her imagination, but it felt like there was a threat hidden within them. Surely the man wouldn’t hurt his own son just to get to her… He wasn’t that twisted, was he?

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.” Roy stepped around her, leaving her to ponder his words, her stomach churning.

Nearly as soon as he left, however, the emergency room doors swung open again to admit Gator, the sight of him sweeping Win’s worries aside for the moment, and she practically knocked the wind from him as she rushed to his arms.

“Win?” he exclaimed, wrapping her into a hug despite his surprise, his cast pressing awkwardly to her back. “I told you I’d meet you–”

“I know,” she huffed, pressing her face against his chest before pulling back to look up at him. “I couldn’t wait, I had to see that you were okay,” she insisted, her face warming at the smug grin that spread across Gator’s visage.

“You were that worried about me?” he teased, earning himself a poke in the side. “Ow! Hey, I’m injured, remember?” he whined, holding his arm up as a reminder, though he still wore a small smirk.

“Keep teasin’ me and you’ll end up worse,” Win warned, though her words held no heat. “C’mon, I’m takin’ you home,” she said decidedly, hooking her arm around his and leading him to the parking lot.

“Yes ma’am,” he murmured, knowing better than to argue. “You gunna take care of me?” he wondered hopefully, looking forward to a little pampering.

“That depends,” Win replied, opening the passenger door for him before rounding the Chevelle and slipping behind the wheel.

“On what?” Gator yelped, awkwardly trying to buckle his seatbelt until Win turned to help him.

“On whether or not you tell me how this happened,” she replied, glancing pointedly at the cast on his arm before fixing him with a level stare that he shied back from, chewing the inside of his cheek, as if deliberating on what to say, torn between his father’s need for secrecy and his desire for Win’s attention.

“This guy got the jump on me is all,” he muttered, reaching for his vape pen to take a long draw, puffing on it indignantly. “It coulda been worse, but it wasn’t, okay? The asshole killed a couple of our guys before he got away,” he huffed and Win wasn’t sure if he was angry with her for asking, or at himself for messing up.

“So he’s still out there?” she asked and Gator winced.

“Yeah, but the shitbird’s in the wind. I doubt we’ll be seein’ any more of him,” he exclaimed quickly.

“Why not?”

“Cause he knows I’ll be waitin’ for him if he ever shows his cowardly face again,” Gator scoffed.

Win looked doubtful, but didn’t say anything as she drove back to her place.

“C’mon, let’s get you comfortable,” she said, leading him inside and crouching at his feet to untie his boots.

As soon as she dropped to her knees, Gator’s brows raised and he had to clear his throat, awkwardly adjusting his cargo pants as the fabric at his crotch started to tighten.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting turned on like this,” Win teased, tilting her head back to look up at him, a knowing look on her face.

“What, you look nice on your knees,” Gator scoffed, warmth suffusing him.

“Mhmm,” Win hummed amusedly before straightening and helping him balance as he toed his loosened boots off. “You go sit down, I’ll get you a drink,” she said, pointing to the couch before heading to the fridge to grab him a cold Mtn Dew.

Gator obeyed, shrugging his Sheriff’s vest off and plopping down on the couch, kicking his feet up on the foot stool, groaning softly as a dull pain flared through him where Munch had kneed him.

“What’s wrong?” Win asked, noticing his discomfort as she set the glass of pop next to him on the end table.

“Fucker kneed me in the groin,” Gator mumbled, rubbing at the area with a wince.

“I’ll get some ice,” Win offered, not waiting for him to argue before heading back to the freezer for a bag of frozen peas. “Hope your junk still works,” she teased gently, dropping the peas on his crotch as she sat down next to him. “That’d be a real shame otherwise.”

“Don’t worry, Princess, it still works just fine,” Gator huffed, moving the peas up and over to the left side of his pelvis. “He didn’t hit my junk, just… nearby,” he muttered.

“Well, that’s a relief,” Win replied, her teasing grin melting to something softer as she watched his profile. “Do you need any pain meds?” she asked, glancing down at his blue gauze wrapped cast.

“Nah, I had some at the hospital. I can take some more later,” Gator answered, taking a sip from his glass and letting out a sigh.

Win nodded, fidgeting with the corded bracelet around her wrist for a moment before loosening the knot and slipping it off. “Here,” she murmured, reaching for his uninjured left arm and Gator frowned in confusion as she slipped the bracelet around his wrist and pulled the cords snug, nestling it next to his watch.

“The fuck’s that?” he asked, looking down at the little blue glass eye that stared back at him.

“It’s my evil eye bracelet. I want you to wear it,” Win mumbled, ducking her head and tucking her hair behind her ear. “It’ll protect you.”

Gator frowned, his brow furrowing. “Isn’t it kinda gay? The guys’ll never let me hear the end of it if they see me wearin’ this thing,” he scoffed, though he didn’t make a move to try to take it off and Win stiffened, her own brows pinching.

“Fine, I’ll take it back!” she huffed, trying to hide her hurt behind indignation as she reached across him for his arm. “See if I fuckin’ care!”

Noticing the hurt look that crossed her face, Gator’s stomach twisted and he pulled his arm back, keeping it just out of her reach.

“Wait, okay! I changed my mind, if it means that much to you, I’ll wear it, okay? M’sorry,” he exclaimed, waiting for her to stop reaching for it before he dropped his arm, giving the bracelet another once over.

“So what exactly is it? You called it… an evil eye? That sounds like a bad thing,” he said.

Win let out a heavy breath and sank back into the couch cushion.

“It’s supposed to ward off bad luck and keep you safe,” she explained. “I know it’s superstitious and shit, but… I dunno, if there’s any chance it’ll help, I’ll take it,” she muttered, avoiding his gaze as she picked at her chipped nail polish, and Gator softened.

“What’s gotten into you, huh? I’ve never seen you this worried before,” he pointed out.

Win chewed her lip, trying to decide if she should tell him about Roy’s threat or not.

“Yeah well, you haven’t been hurt like this on the job before,” she exclaimed instead. “As much as I hate to admit it… I care about you, and your job is fuckin’ dangerous. I mean, you got assaulted today, your arm is in a cast for Chrissakes! And you said several other guys ended up dead! I don’t want that to happen to you!” she cried, the words flying out of her in a rush.

Gator grinned, turning her face toward him. “Aww baby, you don’t gotta worry. I’m a badass. Fucker got the drop on me, is all. If it woulda been a fair fight, I’d have wiped the floor with him,” he assured her, running his thumb across her bottom lip.

“But it’s pretty cute you’re worried an’ all,” he drawled, making Win roll her eyes.

“Gator,” she groaned, trying to pull away, torn between being angry at him for making light of the situation and annoyed at his teasing, but he didn’t let her get away, leaning over her to steal a kiss, only to wince in pain when he put his weight on his bad arm, already having forgotten about it.

“Careful,” Win murmured, pushing him back gently, and he let out a petulant huff.

“M’ fine,” he grunted. “I told you, I’m tough. Besides,” he added, stroking her cheek with a calloused thumb, “you’re my girl, and that means it’s my job to protect ya. I gotta be tough to protect what’s mine,” he boasted.

“What’s yours?” Win repeated, knowing she should probably be offended by the statement, but couldn’t quite bring herself to be.

“Yeah, you’re all mine,” Gator drawled, holding her gaze possessively.

“I… kinda like the sound of that,” Win admitted reluctantly, surprised at the way her heart fluttered at his words before frowning. “But by that logic, that means it’s just as much my job to protect you,” she countered firmly, just daring for him to disagree.

Gator looked doubtful, and for a moment she thought he was about to argue when he suddenly sighed, the air rushing from his lips loudly. Even if he didn’t completely agree, he knew better than to voice that opinion. It went against everything his father had taught him about being a man, but then again, Win wasn’t like any woman he’d ever met–she was capable and fierce–and to be honest, the thought that someone cared enough about him to want to protect him made his chest feel tight in a way he wasn’t used to.

“Alright, I guess I can live with that,” he mumbled, hoping she wouldn’t notice the way his face warmed.

“Good,” Win countered, patting his cheek and wrinkling her nose. “Just promise me you’ll be careful, okay?”

Gator snorted, dropping his hand from her jaw. “I promise I’ll be careful and I won’t take off this stupid bracelet if it’ll make you feel better,” he said, flashing her a wry smile.

Win rolled her eyes, but smiled in relief, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. “Thank you for humouring me,” she murmured and Gator sighed, letting his eyes slide shut at the feel of her lips.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re lucky you’re so cute,” he muttered, earning a smug grin from Win as she pulled back.

“Can I draw on your cast?” she asked, eyeing the expanse of blank canvas and Gator snorted.

“You’re not gunna draw anything stupid, are ya?”

“Course not. Please? You’ll love it,” she insisted, tilting her head and pleading with her best puppy dog eyes til Gator softened, feigning exasperation.

“Yeah alright,” he relented, grinning to himself as Win jumped to her feet to fetch a sharpie from the desk.

“I’ll make it look pretty,” she teased, pulling his arm into her lap as she jumped back onto the couch, bending over his cast in concentration.

“If the guys give me shit about this–” Gator began only to be silenced with a sharp look.

“Don’t you trust me?”

Gator knew the question was a trap and he let out a huff, deciding better than to walk into that one, bringing his glass to his lips and taking several long gulps of the neon yellow soda.

Win wore a smug grin as she began to doodle, drawing a sheriff’s badge and rifle beneath a little alligator, adding a cheeky “property of Win xoxo” as her signature while Gator craned his head to watch.

“Really?” he asked, raising an unamused brow at her.

“What?” she replied coyly, glancing up at him, a mischievous light to her stormy eyes. “Thought you belonged to me now. Don’t you want everyone to know it?” she teased and Gator grunted, biting back a reluctant grin.

“So, there’s this Halloween party my friends and I are gunna be performing at this weekend, just some cover songs and shit, nothing major, but I was hopin’ you’d wanna come,” Win ventured, her gaze flicking to his for a moment before returning to her doodles. “Thought you could meet my friends and watch me play,” she murmured with a shrug, half worried he’d tell her he didn’t wanna go. “I mean, if you’re off duty that night…”

Gator watched her, affection washing over him, taking him aback.

She wanted him there.

“Yeah. Hell yeah I wanna go,” he insisted.

“Really?” Win asked, sitting up straighter and searching his face, finding only honesty in his expression.

“Great! It’s a costume party too, so I was thinking we could do a couple’s costume,” she added.

“Yeah? What’chu have in mind?” Gator asked, Win’s excitement rubbing off on him.

“I was thinking of going as Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas, so maybe you could be my Jack?”

Gator grinned. “That’s perfect! I’ll stop at that Halloween store at the old K-mart tomorrow and see if they have any Jack Skellington masks.”

“Awesome,” Win replied, finishing up her masterpiece on his cast and tossing the pen aside. “Is this your jerk off arm?” she asked after a moment, her lips curling in amusement. “Might make things difficult for you,” she teased.

A snort ripped through Gator’s nose and he pulled her into his lap, this time minding his injured wrist. “Why would I need to jerk off when I have you?” he scoffed, his brows raising as if he were just waiting for her to argue, a hungry light flashing in his eyes.

“Oh, I see how it is,” Win laughed, slipping her arms over his shoulders.

“Yeah, your hands are much nicer than mine,” he drawled, tilting his chin up to capture her lips in a slow delving kiss. “And don’t even get me started on that mouth of yours, or your sweet sweet pussy,” he breathed, his eyes flicking up to hers as he shared her breath, his lips barely brushing hers.

Win swallowed, admiring the needy look on his face, his large brown eyes blown wide with want.

“Hmm, I guess you have a point,” she hummed, tilting her head to kiss his jaw, her lips dragging down his neck while her teeth grazed his flushed skin and her hands dropped to his belt, deftly unbuckling the black leather strap. “Since you’ve been such a brave boy, I suppose you deserve a little treat,” she purred, playfully licking into his mouth before slipping from his lap to settle on the floor between his knees.

“You’re damn straight,” he groaned, leaning back against the cushions and letting his head loll back, though his eyes stayed trained on Win as she undid his cargo pants to free his throbbing length.

As soon as she wrapped her hand around him, Gator’s breath hitched and Win smiled at his reaction, stroking him slowly–enjoying the way his long lashes fluttered with each pump of her hand. Sitting up on her knees, she held his gaze as long as she could before pressing her plush lips to his pretty pink tip, her tongue peeking out to lap along his slit, catching the clear bead of pre-cum that had wept out.

Humming softly, she swirled her tongue around the ridge of his head before returning to his slit, teasing it with the tip of her tongue, and Gator groaned louder.

“Such a fuckin’ tease,” he growled, though his voice held a hint of a whine and Win huffed a laugh through her nose.

Instead of responding, she glanced up at him pointedly before tilting her head and licking a broad stripe up the thick vein on the underside of his length.

Gator swallowed, watching her intently, his mouth falling open when she finally wrapped her lips around him, taking him into her mouth.

“Oh fuck,” he gasped, his voice coming out breathy and hoarse, and Win hummed again in response, the vibrations sending a shudder through him, the spring in his gut constricting tighter. “Shit, feels so good, Winnie,” he groaned, stroking her hair before threading it through his fingers and resting his palm against the back of her neck, urging her deeper.

Win moaned, Gator’s praise and the thick weight of his cock against her tongue sent arousal pooling between her legs. Taking a deep breath through her nose, Win cracked her jaw wider, letting Gator push her head down farther. Swallowing nearly all of him, her nose buried in the coarse dark hair at his base she fought not to choke, tears springing to her eyes and gathering in her lashes.

Wrapping her hand around his base, she began to pump her fist over the length she couldn’t fit in her mouth in time with each bob of her head, saliva running down her chin to pool messily at his base and drip down his balls, but she didn’t care, focusing only on trying to breathe and not choke each time he rut his hips eagerly, bucking deeper down her throat.

“Oh fuck. F-fuck, Winnie–little cockslut, oh–!”

Gator’s praise soon turned to a babbled string of sharp curses interspersed with his sinful moans of her name.

“Shit baby, I’m gunna–” he whimpered, his fist tightening in her hair and Win squeezed his thigh, letting him know she was ready, moaning around him for extra stimulation.

With the loud keening cry, Gator tensed, his cock spasming in her mouth as he came, spilling his load down her throat, but Win didn’t stop, hollowing her cheeks to suck him clean, leaving him squirming and whimpering from overstimulation before she finally pulled his softening cock from her mouth.

Her eyes found his, as she opened her mouth to show him his mess before swallowing it down and wiping the drool from her chin.

“Oh fuck, I lo–love how good you are at that,” Gator groaned, going limp in his seat, his face flushed and his breaths heavy, hoping Win hadn’t caught his near slip up.

Win’s lips curved into a proud smirk and she pushed herself up, stealing a kiss as Gator tucked himself back into his boxers.

“I know,” she purred, plopping back down on the couch and reaching for the remote. “C’mere,” she said, patting her thighs as she got comfortable, propping her legs out on the foot stool in front of her and Gator obeyed, stretching out along the length of the couch and resting his head in her lap with a contented sigh.

“That better?” she asked, scratching her nails lightly through his hair as she settled on a movie.

“You have no idea,” Gator murmured, his eyelids already slipping shut at the calming way her fingers moved through his hair, working it loose of it’s stiff gel.

Win huffed a soft laugh.

“Yeah well, don’t get too used to it,” she teased, too busy watching the soft slope of his freckled cheek to pay much attention to the movie she’d picked, finally feeling at ease, knowing at least for the moment, he was safe in her arms.

Gator snorted, cracking an eyelid to peer up at her. “Dunno, seems like you don’t mind it that much,” he pointed out smugly and Win flicked his ear with her finger in return, laughing at his indignant yelp.

After a moment, however, he sobered, carefully keeping his gaze straight ahead.

“Thanks for taking care of me,” he murmured and Win softened, her breath hitching in her throat.

“I’ll always be here to take care of you,” she whispered, stroking his cheek. “Just don't make it a habit of getting banged up like this. I don’t think my heart could take it.”

Gator closed his eyes against the wave of emotion that threatened to choke him.

“I’ll do my best.”

⇾ taglist. @super-unpredictable98 @heartbreak-sandwich @b1tchywheeler @babydollbaron @girlwiththerubyslippers

#gator tillman x oc #gator tillman #gator tillman fanfic #fargo #fargo s5 #fargo fx #oc: win lewis #joz.fic #fic: don't waste your time on me #otp: wingator

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unhappytimeleaper · 2 years ago

Text

Word Count: 1,320+

Yes. This is self-indulgent because I already had half of it written on some Discord server from my 1 am ramblings, and I was thinking about it again.

I left the server I was in that initially kinda took up all my focus from writing; I don’t know if that means I’ll post more or not cause really, I’m just back to feeling lonely and not motivated. It means now I just don’t have people to talk to about games or other media I love, but oh well. I’ll force all of you to listen to that I was replaying Our Life and XOXO Droplets, and I love the characters. All I wanna do now is play those games on repeat.

Also, so like, platonic yandere’s aren’t always my favorite to write, but I love platonic yan Ortho. There is something so fun and scary about it. It is kinda ironic, but Ortho and Kalim are some of my favorite yandere in TWST; not really my favorite characters, but I think they are so scary in a fun way in a non-traditional way, but both kind of align in the same vein. Regardless I do plan on focusing on Ortho in this post, but one day maybe I’ll get to Kalim.

Ortho Shroud; Unedited. Gender Neutral Reader.

Warnings; yandere content, light manipulation and guilting if you’re sensitive to that. Incase you can’t read and need to see it again this is platonic; think more babysitter-siblings dynamic.

This blog is 17+ please have your age in your bio or tagged; any ageless blog and below the age asked for will be blocked at the end of the week.

What makes Ortho stand out is that he is a kid. In every sense, as fancy as his technology is, as much as it's hard to perceive him as just a kid under all that gear, that's what he is. It's easy to forget since he can come off as ‘beyond his years’ at time. Even more than that, it's easy to forget how needy kids are. In every aspect of what it means to help others grow into essentially good adults, although there is the problem, Ortho will never reach that stage, and no matter what positive approach you take to his overbearing habits, they end up blending back too much with the childish sentience he's adopted.

Ortho probably has learned a handful of his more harmful traits from Idia, although we can't say the negative aspects from other students probably haven't also caused some damage. However, where certain things might differ is that Ortho's actions never come from a place of wanting to harm you or even anger, unlike some of the others whose yandere traits are brought forward more when experiencing an influx of negative emotions they wish to also make your experience. Ortho takes all of these emotions and processes them through a childish lens— one who becomes horribly clingy and desperate for attention/validation. As much as technology can help download guides about emotions, the "proper" way to handle jealousy/fears/loneliness, and worse, access the opposite files of what should be done for immense feelings, none of it can be put to practical use. Reading about it doesn't solve the problem; instead, Ortho can only verbatim read out information rather than put it to use from what is left of his little kid brain. Much like any young person, just hearing about how to handle situations regarding emotions doesn't actually mean they can use those tools until taught. Ortho just lacks someone to teach him how to process these feelings and the ability to innately comprehend them.

It's not like anyone has an issue with Ortho, they always play nice, but Ortho can tell it's not the same as how they treat each other. He feels it in his... gears... and hears it in their voices, he may be unable to verbalize the differences, but it's something he is at least cognisant over. He knows his brother loves him, and he loves him too, but Idia is locked away so often it gets lonely. And it's hard for him to connect with others on campus other than when trying to help; most don't want to play babysitter [even if everyone is well aware that’s not what Ortho needs or wants but how else are you gonna have a friendship with a kid], and even then, knowing how to interact with a dead child-robot AI is more than a little… off-putting at times. The world is at his fingertips, and no one really has worked with Ortho on what is left of his human side, making everything personal hard to connect with.

So if Idia needs his… space… Ortho comes clinging to the next best person. You! The newbie; the person who seems to not really have a preset concept of his creation and works to mainly treat him for what he is. A kid. And for the most part, he's great to have around— he's kind, easily fascinated [thus easily entertained], and genuinely seems to want to help those around him without expecting anything in return. It's an enjoyment to what, in your terms, would be similar to babysitting the lil robo boy, even to the point you might go to Idia asking if it's okay to take him off his hands to do something. What once was an occasional thing slowly started becoming routine. While it's easy to treat him like any other kid, there are some benefits you get to reap having him being some sort of "friend," like him helping you with the bit of school work you might have [his searching functions are so much better than trying to use some textbooks that probably are growing something].

Well, it's all great until his little brother tendencies get out of hand. Overtly clingy and easily jealous of anything that can take your attention away. Trying to read? Sorry, Ortho wants to play; you'll help him with this techno thing he found. Right? He reaalllly wants to do it together, please? Your other dorm friends come to hang out? But you said you'd spend the day with him [even though you're pretty sure you didn't], and he has a hard time fitting in when you all hang out… didn't you say you'd take him to the amusement park after Idia got too nervous about going?

The grip he has with his arms around yours is starting to hurt, bone-crushing and cutting off the circulation to your hand… it's hard to not give in to him just to get him to loosen up. The grin he has when you agree, noting you'll let the others know you can make it results in a fractured smile. You know he doesn't mean any harm, and you are genuine with that sentiment. He doesn't know how crushing his grip can't get or that you don't want to play babysitter 25/8. That as much as you like spending time with Ortho, it's the same as others— you can't really be "friends" in a traditional way and sometimes want to connect with others your own age. It gets to the point though Ortho doesn't see this as a friendship. No, you're more like another sibling to him, right. One who can do all the others sibling things, Idia cannot deal with his own issues-- you aren't replacing Idia in his life but adding onto the experience. And now you have a family here, which makes it much less isolating than when you just have friends. There isn't a reason to try to find a way home now; you have one with your new brother. Ortho likely doesn't even know his actions are manipulative or isolating; he's just a very needy kid who lacks motivation beyond wanting a connection with someone. Anyone. But it's hard to bring up these issues with someone so young, who, when you do, barely can understand and, when pushed as you've been warned, can do severe damage from facing these "big emotions" like rejection. Being robotic and so powerful doesn't mix well with the feelings of a small child; these fears only experienced with Idia being in what was considered danger before but have grown to include you. More than just danger now, too; it's jealousy, it's rejection, it's anxieties.

Before you know it, you're pretty much completely isolated. Ortho is so, so happy to have a new friend, and over time, you've gotta pretty close with Idia as Ortho loves dragging you to spend the day with him too. It's gotten to the point where updates and equipment for Ortho can only be done if he knows your nearby as well. It's comforting to have his… psudeosibling… best friend there when he's done. And as you sit there weeping at how much of a mess it's become, Ortho will be there to comfort you— he doesn't understand why you're upset, but it's his duty to make you feel better, and he'll go as far as he can't to bring back those happy days spent with him. This time Idia can really be involved… don't cry anymore. You have the two of them to make it all better. Right?

Also, things get really bad; Ortho tries to play matchmaker with you and Idia. Make the sibling thing official. That creates a whole different mess. This could go two ways depending on if Idia is also Yandere, but I also think it's funny to explore an Idia who has no interest in you romantically, but little yan Ortho just wants you to be officially connected to him. Not just some weird babysitter-friend but family! Official family, then you really wouldn't be able to shake him from your life. Of course, all of that is suited to a different post.

#twst.leaps #yandere #yandere fanfiction #yandere x reader #yandere character #yandere writing #yandere twst #yandere twisted wonderland #yandere ortho #yandere ignihyde #tw: yandere #if I see even one person misinterpret that this is not platonic I am burning this site down #yandere headcanons

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underlandchronicleszine · 4 months ago

Note

Hi there! First off: this looks super cool and I’m very excited to follow the progress on it! I’m a mod in the bigger of the two TUC Discord servers (the two that I know of anyway?) and wanted to invite y’all to advertise there! I can send an invite link or pass a message on, whichever is your preference!

I’m also wondering roughly what you expect the workload/time commitment to be for mods. I’ve done some organization for fandom events in the past, but I’ve never worked on a zine. I think I’d likely be a good fit for the social media mod position, I use Canva ALL THE TIME and I’ve done some graphic design coursework in the past, but I have a full time job and I know I’ll be mostly unavailable for 2 weeks in October, so I want to have an idea of what I’m getting into before I apply for the position. Totally okay if the answer is “there’ll be more info when mod applications open”, I’ve just been thinking about this all morning.

🎉🎉🎉

Thanks for reaching out! We’re excited too, especially seeing the interest in a little over 24 hours. We are still in our planning phase, so things may change but I can give you an estimate.

I have been an intern mod and an assistant art mod for a couple of other zines. I have a fairly extensive checklist planned out with which mod tasks are assigned to, with their due dates. Some dates are very set in stone (heh) but some are flexible. If there’s a busier time of year for you, all you would need to do is communicate that with the team so someone can take over your role for a bit while you’re busy. That’s honestly the lovely part about modding for this kind of project, since there’s a timeline and a set end date. As far as expected amount of time per week, I think it may depend on the person and their availability. It will also depend on the number of contributors. For instance one of the Social Media Mod’s roles is to compile contributor bios and get those ready to post. If we have 5 contributors, it’s going to take a significant less amount of time than if we have 40. For the bigger zines, I think the expected hours/week is 5-10. Since this is a smaller first-time zine without the difficulties of navigating publishing, I am estimating a commitment of way less than 5 hours/week.

We are also very flexible as far as picking up tasks that aren’t technically under the Writer and Art mod heading. We were originally going to do all the modding ourselves, but we figured we could delegate if others wanted mod experience. We would LOVE to join the discord- I had no idea there even were any. If you don’t mind messaging or commenting a link, we’d be happy to be a part of that community. Thanks again for your question- you made us think :)

-Eridian and Jessi

#FAQ #the underland chronicles

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bwabys-scenarios · 1 year ago

Text

Fixer Upper

Part 2

Perv!Kurapika x Fem!Reader

part 1

part 3

taglist: @fabitheraven @tsukilover11 @ashdownunderscorebeloved @lemonslut @homeinmydreams @superweeniehutjrsblog

if you’d like to be ADDED to the taglist, please comment a red heart ❤️, make sure you’re able to be tagged/mentioned, and have your age in your bio(IF YOU ARE ALREADY ON THE TAGLIST, YOU DON’T NEED TO ASK TO BE ADDED AGAIN!!)

warnings: mentions of Kurapika injuring reader in the past

(Name) threw the last article of clothing into the washing machine before starting it. It was around 7:30 am, and the boys were in the kitchen eating breakfast as she did some last minute cleaning.

“Killua, will you put this load of laundry on when it’s done? Kurapika and I are going into town to run some errands.”

Killua nodded, his mouth full of some sugary cereal he’d picked out.

“Thank you. I’ll be sure to pick you up some more chocolate robots.”

His eyes widened and he nodded frantically, seemingly excited.

“I should get ready. We leave in 30 minutes!”

She turned on her heels and ran upstairs, tripping halfway up before running up the rest.

Killua snickered. “She always trips on the 6th step. I think it’s slightly taller than the others.”

Kurapika hummed in response. He wasn’t paying much attention, focused on his breakfast. Today it was a fluffy omelet with a side of mixed fruit.

Now that he wasn’t shoving the food into his mouth so fast he could choke, he had to admit it was pretty good.

Once he was finished, he left to get dressed. (Name) had laid out his tabard and his old shirt. The torn sleeve of his shirt had been messily sown up, but it would do until he could get another one today.

As he pulled the shirt over his head, he noticed how good his clothing smelled. Usually he would just wash it with scentless detergent, but now it smelt floral.

‘Mmm… I wonder what detergent she used.’

He pulled the tabard on and looked at himself in the mirror.

For the most part he looked… okay. His hair had grown out to graze his shoulders, in need of a trim. Kurapika rubbed a strand of his hair between his fingers.

The day before his hair had been dry, yet oily at the same time, but now it was soft and smooth. Her shampoo worked miracles for him, but it didn’t fix his hair entirely. There were still split ends, but overall he felt a lot… better. Slightly more put together than he had been in a while.

After quickly combing his hair, Kurapika left his room.

(Name) was waiting by the front door, and he had to admit, she looked awfully cute.

Today she wore a floral tank top and jean shorts. On her back was a hello kitty themed backpack, several keychains hanging from it.

He recognized one of the keychains, his chest tightening slightly.

“You ready?”

He gave a curt nod, (Name) opening the door. “Alright, let’s go!”

——————

Kurapika climbed into the passenger seat of (Name)’s car. The front seat was clean and tidy, but one look in the backseat told him Killua had been there.

There were chocolate robot boxes strewn across the car floor along with random toys and gadgets.

“… does killua ride along with you often?”

(Name) laughed. “Yeah, he does. I take him wherever he needs to go, that includes to the airport when we pick up Gon or Alluka.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Gon stays with you as well?”

“Yeah, unlike Killua he has a loving home to return to, so he’s here less, but he visits for at least a week or two every other month. You should see the car when HE’S here.”

“I assume it’s worse?”

“You assumption is correct.”

The two laugh, (Name) cranking up the car and backing out of the driveway.

“What’s our plan for the day?” Kurapika asked, staring out the window as they drove through the neighborhood.

“First, we’re stopping at the nearest men’s clothing store and getting you some clothes.”

“Then?”

“Then we’ll stop and get you your own soap and toiletries.”

He nodded.

“We’ll grab some groceries, and should be home before lunch.”

Kurapika pulled his satchel into his lap and looked around. He still had his wallet, thank god. While running the other night, he’d dropped several of his personal items, including a pair of sunglasses, his portable soap, and his spare change of clothes.

“We’re pulling up!”

Kurapika glanced up to see they’d pulled into a small parking lot, (Name) parking before getting out and stretching.

“Ugh, I hate shopping so early in the morning, but I hate the crowds even more.”

“I second that.”

Kurapika joined her, making sure his weapon had been left in the car. He didn’t want to make a scene in case it were to fall from his satchel.

The two walked in, (Name) picking up a basket at the door.

“Hmm, Kurapika, what are you looking for exactly?”

“A few pairs of pants, shirts. Maybe a set of pajamas. I won’t be staying with you long.”

She nodded, grabbing his hand and leading him to where he needed to go.

Her hands were always so soft and warm, a sharp contrast to his cold and calloused ones. He looked down to where their hands connected, his eyes softening.

“Oh, here it is!”

She let go and pointed. “You should be able find everything you need over here. I’m going to go look at the kids section. Killua’s grown out of his favorite pair of shorts, so I’m going to get him a bigger size. He’s pretty particular about what he’ll wear. Not as bad as Gon, though.”

She giggled to herself. Kurapika nodded, making a fist with the hand she’d held in an attempt to keep her warmth from escaping.

“Alright. I’ll meet you back at the car in 15 minutes.”

(Name) left the store with a shopping bag full of clothes, Kurapika raising an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you say he only needed a new pair of shorts?”

She purses her lips. “Well, the more I thought about it, the more I realized he’s grown out of his dress pants, and several shirts. Oh, and he’s always losing his socks.”

He smiled. ‘She’s like a mother. It’s… sweet.’

“I see. Well, if we want to get back before lunch we should get going.”

Her eyes widened before she unlocked the car. “Crap, you’re right! Let’s go!”

He almost laughed at how fast she slipped into her seat, following behind her.

—————

The next place they stopped at was a large grocery store. Kurapika and (Name) walked together to the hygiene care aisle.

“Mmm, are you okay with normal mint flavored tooth paste?”

“Yes. I’m not exactly picky.”

She nodded, placing a tube of toothpaste into the shopping cart, along with a red tooth brush and floss.

“Hmm.”

(Name) looked over the small selection of men’s hair and body wash. Between the 5in1 bottles to the soap that smelled too intense, (Name) was having trouble helping Kurapika pick.

“What do you usually use?”

“The scentless kind.”

She hummed in response. “Is there a specific scent you’re going for?”

“Not really, again I’m not picky.”

(Name) peeked at him, thinking of her next words carefully.

“So… you wouldn’t mind checking out the women’s selection then?”

He glanced at her. “I wouldn’t, but why do you ask?”

“Well…”

He knew exactly what she was thinking of.

While in York New together, the group of five had gone out to dinner. When the waiter stopped at their table, he hit on Kurapika, thinking he was a woman.

It was very awkward. Kurtapika didn’t hear the end of it the entire night, the other boys only stopping when (Name) put an end to it by saying they were jealous he was pretty enough to be hit on.

The memory of her words still made his heart flutter.

“No reason. The women’s section just has…”

She stared at the 5in1 bottle with a frown.

“Better options.”

He couldn’t argue with that.

The women’s section was something Kurapika had only ever looked at in passing, the man staring at all the options in shock.

“There’s more neutral scents down here. How about this one?”

She handed him a bottle, the man lifting the lid and taking a whiff.

It smelled tropical, like mango and coconuts. While smelling good, it wasn’t too intense.

“This is fine.”

She added it and a matching set of conditioner to the basket. “How about a body wash with a similar scent?”

He nodded, not paying much attention. Kurapika didn’t care too much about what she picked for him, knowing it would smell good and be good quality. She always worried about small details like that.

“Oh, wait.”

He blinked, staring down at her.

“I forgot, you had a bad reaction to this brand when we bought it in York New. Let’s try another one.”

Kurapika was surprised. He hadn’t even remembered that, how had she?

“Let’s do this brand instead. It’s a similar scent too!”

Kurapika grabbed the basket after she set the new set of hair wash in, the girl giving him a questioning look.

“… I’ll carry it for you.”

It was the least he could do.

She didn’t argue, only smiling up at him. “What a gentleman.”

His cheeks turned pink, the man quickly turning to walk toward the food section of the grocery store.

“Hehe, thank you sweetheart.”

That didn’t help his cheeks cool down at all.

(Name) walked along the aisles of food, tossing random items in.

“Mmm, we’re out of crackers… oh and Killua’s favorite cereal…”

She stopped suddenly, turning back to Kurapika with a grin. “If you see anything you like, just toss it in!”

The blonde nodded hesitantly, following behind her.

After a few minutes, he spotted the pretzels he would snack on the most often.

(Name) caught him looking, immediately grabbing the bag and dropping it into the cart.

“… thanks.”

She didn’t respond, but sent him a smile before throwing another item into the cart.

Kurapika began to notice that nothing she had gathered was for her. She’d say this or that was for Killua or Leorio, but not a single thing was just for her.

“Oh, I need to grab some more meat, used the last bit of chicken a few days ago.”

She was talking to herself, off in a different world as she left the snack aisle, leaving without something of her own.

“Ahh, finally.”

The two were back in her car, the girl groaning. “Grocery shopping is the worst.”

Kurapika buckled himself in, watching as she pulled out of the parking lot.

“We’ll get home just before lunch time. Anything you want?”

He shrugged. “I’m-“

“I get it, you’re not picky, but is there something you’d prefer?”

Kurapika thought for a moment. Was there a food he liked more than others? He knew there were, but nothing that she would be able to cook. They were all Kurtan recipes.

But one thing did come to mind.

“… sandwiches.”

She nodded. “Alright, we’ll have sandwiches for lunch!”

Kurapika stared out the window for the rest of the car ride. For the first time in a while, he was looking forward to lunch.

———————

They pulled into (Name)’s driveway about 15 minutes later. Before getting out, she sent a text to Killua.

“Why are you texting him?” Kurapika asked.

‘She’s about to to inside, can’t she just tell him whatever she needs to then?’

His question was answered when killua came sprinting out of the house, throwing open the door to the car and grabbing grocery bags quicker than a normal person would be able to process.

“Was… was that-“

“Killua? Yeah. He takes the groceries inside in exchange for chocolate robots.”

The two leave the car, Kurapika opening the front door for her.

“(Name)!”

Killua stopped mid bite of a freshly unwrapped chocolate robot to jump up and smile. “What’s for lunch?”

(Name) hummed as she walked into the kitchen, Kurapika following behind. “We’re having sandwiches today.”

“I want ham and cheese!”

“Coming up!”

Kurapika watched from behind the kitchen counter awkwardly.

“Are you going to help her put up groceries, or are you just going to stand there looking dumb?”

Kurapika turned to see Killua staring at him with an annoyed expression.

“I was going to.”

Kurapika brushed past the boy, picking up a random item and staring at it.

“(Name), where does this go?”

“Oh, in the cabinet on the left!”

Killua snickered from his seat, Kurapika shooting him a look before putting the item away.

This went on until they were finished, (Name) patting him on the back.

“Thanks for the help! Now I can get lunch done faster.”

He just nodded in response, lingering in the kitchen. Kurapika wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself when he wasn’t busy. Should he sit and watch TV? Help (Name) with lunch? Go rest in his room?

His decision was made for him when (Name) grabbed his hand.

“Kurapika, why don’t you go sit down and I’ll bring you some lunch? You’re still not fully recovered, some rest will do you some good.”

Kurapika let out a relieved sigh. “Alright.”

He sat down on the couch, trying to relax. Kurapika wanted to recover as soon as possible. The faster he recovered, the faster he could get back to finding the scarlet eyes.

Killua jumped slightly when his side vibrated, patting his pocket and then pulling out his phone.

He put in his password before answering.

“Gon? Hey.”

Kurapika perked up. It had been a while since he’d seen Gon. He’d felt guilty about not being there for him when he’d nearly died around a year ago, so he’d been avoiding him along with (Name).

“Yeah. I’m sure she won’t mind. Hey, (Name)?”

The woman in question hummed in response, placing a finished sandwich on a plate.

“Gon’s asking if he can come over this week and stay for a month while his family renovates their house.”

“That’s fine, make sure he tells Aunt Mito I appreciate that basket she sent me after…”

She trailed off. Killua seemed to know what she was talking about, glancing at Kurapika with a frown.

“I will. I’ll be right back.”

Killua walked out of the room, continuing to talk to Gon while he did.

This interaction troubled Kurapika. Were they keeping something from him?

‘I’ll ask a few questions, perhaps it’s just my imagination.’

“She sent you a basket? What kind?”

(Name) paused, a piece of ham falling onto the floor. Kurapika noticed this, his eyes narrowing.

“Oh, just a gift basket. Nothing special.”

“Uh huh…”

He began to ask her another question, but Killua walked in beaming.

“He’s catching a flight tonight and will be here in the morning!”

(Name) composed herself, giving him a smile back. “Oh dear, I may have to do another grocery run if Gon is coming. I’ll call Leorio and see if he wants to meet up as well. It’s been a while since we’ve all been in one place!”

Kurapika froze, another memory flooding back.

“No… no (Name), you can’t. I won’t let you.”

The girl wrenched her wrist away from the rage filled blonde, wincing at the pain blooming beneath her skin.

“I can, and I will. Why won’t you let me help you? You had no issue with Gon and Killua-“

“That’s because they aren’t fucking weak like you!”

Kurapika would never forget the look on her face when he yelled at her for the first time. Leorio had to step in to make sure she was okay, saying Kurapika had fractured her wrist.

The man glanced at the girls arm, seeing no injury. It had been two years, of course she wasn’t still hurt, but the memory of the pain he’d caused her would haunt him forever.

He was torn from his thoughts when (Name) called for him. How she still managed to smile at him after he’d hurt her didn’t make sense to him.

Kurapika was still that same man, willing to do anything to fulfill his mission. He knew, if he had to, he could bring himself to hurt her again.

And that’s why he couldn’t stay for long. It was better if he was gone, where he couldn’t hurt anyone he loved.

The sandwich he’d been looking forward to sat in front of him, the crust cut off the ends.

She’d remembered he didn’t like the crust.

He took a bite, letting himself enjoy a meal with his friends by his side. Kurapika knew this wouldn’t last forever, but just for a moment (Name) was sitting next to him, and Killua was laughing away at something random on TV.

It was peaceful, not quiet, but… calm.

—————

“Killua, I know you’re excited, but you should go to bed. We have to get up early to pick up Gon.”

Killua was currently pacing the hallways. He was in his new pajamas, staring up at the clock as it ticked away. (Name) flicked the light on and yawned, leading the boy into the kitchen.

“Let’s warm you up some milk. Should help you sleep.”

The sound of a door opening caused her to jump, the girl turning to see Kurapika rubbing his eyes from the doorway to his room.

“Is something the matter?”

(Name) tried not to react. The man was shirtless, only wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants.

“No, Killua is just having trouble sleeping.”

The boy pouted. “I can stay up for three days at a time you know.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you should.”

She ruffled his hair, the boy swatting at her hands, but Kurapika could tell he didn’t mind it at all by the way Killua was smiling.

“Sorry for waking you. Would you like some tea? I’ll be back down in a minute.”

Kurapika nodded, opening his door all the way and walking out into the living room. Killua raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you half naked? (Name) is right here.”

The man looked down then back up. “The clothing I bought today is still being dried.”

(Name) waved her hand dismissively. “I promise I don’t mind. Come on Killua, let’s get you to bed.”

She rushed off, dragging the boy behind her.

Kurapika watched in mild amusement, leaning against the counter.

He looked down at his torso again, frowning lightly.

Kurapika had lost weight again. When alone, he only ate just enough to fuel himself, rarely eating a full meal.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to eat, he was just way too busy to have the time to. He’d get cranky in the middle of the day just to remember he had yet to have eaten anything.

A sigh escaped his lips. He ran his fingers through his hair. Kurapika didn’t want to worry her, he’d seen the way her smile faltered when he said he hadn’t been eating right.

He stood up and began to rummage through her cabinets.

——————

“You’re too trusting of him.”

(Name) sighed, plopping down onto the rocking chair beside Killua’s bed. When he had trouble sleeping or the occasional nightmare, (Name) would stay by his side singing lullabies until he drifted off.

“He didn’t mean to hurt me, he just has trouble controlling his strength when he’s angry. He already apologized for that”

Killua scoffed. ‘Yeah, and for that only.’

“It could happen again. And if I did I would-“

“It won’t.”

She pushed back the hair on his forehead and planted a kiss. “He’s going through a lot, and I know that doesn’t excuse his actions, but let’s enjoy the time we have with him, alright?”

The boy sighed. “You’re too forgiving.”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t let you live here,” she teased as she ruffled his hair. “I’m glad I don’t rent, with the amount of damage you’ve caused.”

He pouted, obviously embarrassed from the trouble he’d caused.

“Try to be nice, alright? He’s our guest.”

“As long as he’s nice to you.”

(Name) groaned. “No, Killua, you should be nice to him regardless. Even if-“

“Even if people are unkind, you shouldn’t let it influence your actions, blah blah blah. You’re being hypocritical. Didn’t you chew Illumi a new one during the final phase of the Hunter Exam?”

She pursed her lips. “That’s different. Adults stand up for children, not the other way around.”

She stood up, leaning down to tuck him in.

“Now, sleep. I’ll come check on you in an hour, come knock on my door if you need me.”

She stood up, making sure his nightlight was on before leaving the room. “Goodnight Killua, sleep tight.”

“Goodnight…”

She closed the door behind her.

(Name) began the decent downstairs, humming to herself. She could smell something, but couldn’t quite place the scent.

“(Name)? Perfect timing, the tea is almost ready.

(Name) peeled into the kitchen, seeing a tea kettle on the stove.

“Oh, thanks! You didn’t have to.”

He shook his head, placing two cups on the counter and inserting a tea bag into each.

“It’s… the least I could do.”

It was hard to look her in the eye now. He’d only been able to do it once during his stay, quickly shying away after.

He missed seeing the pretty (e/c) color of her eyes.

Kurapika set the cup of tea in front of her, (Name) inhaling the scent with a happy sigh. “Mmm, it smells amazing.”

She smiled up at him, those eyes staring right into his.

He looked away immediately, moving to sit right beside her to make eye contact harder to achieve.

“Have trouble sleeping?”

Kurapika took a moment to answer. “Yes. I get nightmares sometimes.”

He’d told her about that before, during the Hunter Exam. She placed her hand on top of his, pretending to not notice him flinch.

“We can watch a movie until you’re ready to sleep.”

He nodded. “Alright.”

He wanted to say no, to go back to his room and suffer in silence, but he couldn’t. He needed to be with another human being right now, to feel their warmth next to him.

It helped that it was (Name), one of the only people he could tolerate.

The two carried their cups to the couch, (Name) offering him a throw blanket before grabbing one of her own.

“Let’s see what’s on…”

(Name) turned on the TV, the last channel on being the news.

“It’s been reported that a member of The Phantom Troupe has been spotted downtown, causing havoc. Citizens are warned to stay indoors-“

(Name) changed the channel quickly.

“That’s unfortunate but-“

She was interrupted by the sound of his cup crashing onto the floor, the man standing up and rushing to the laundry room.

When he returned, she could see his eyes flowing a bright red.

“I’m leaving to check out that report.”

(Name) stood, grabbing his sleeve. “Kurapika, you shouldn’t, it’s late and you’re not fully recovered y-“

Kurapika whipped his head around, his enraged face enough to make her let go and shrink away. It he wasn’t so angry, he’d feel awful that he could cause such a reaction in her. Calming himself enough to talk without screaming, he gave her a small smile.

“… I’ll be careful. Don’t wait up for me.”

He left without another word.

——————

Killua woke up to (Name) shaking him.

“Come on, get ready. We’ve got to be at the airport in 30 minutes.”

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, pausing.

“I don’t sense Kurapika. Did he leave or something?”

Killua finally got a good look at (Name). Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were red with dark bags decorating them.

“He… it was reported that a member of the Phantom Troupe was causing trouble down town, so he left to see if it was true.”

Killua jumped up. “When did he leave?”

(Name) sighed. “At around 1 am, so 6 hours ago. He…”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “He hasn’t answered my calls.”

“Did you get any sleep?”

(Name) shook her head. “No, but I just had a cup of coffee so I should be fine. I’m taking a nap after we pick up Gon, so don’t worry.”

Killua nodded, pulling out his phone to text Gon. The two may need to go searching for the blonde later.

The two got dressed, (Name) downing another cup of coffee before getting in her car.

“We’ll pick up some breakfast after getting Gon.”

“Alright. He said he’s getting his luggage now.”

The two sat in silence, the only sound a random pop song playing on the radio.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the airport. As they waited outside for Gon, (Name) attempted to call Kurapika again.

Killua frowned when she pocketed her phone.

“He’s still not answering?”

She shook her head. “No. He’s… he’s probably busy.”

This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Killua remembered the countless phone calls him and Leorio had made when Gon had been hospitalized.

If only Kurapika knew (Name) had been in critical condition too.

Killua hoped that if he had known, he would have come. That hope was the only reason he was able to allow Kurapika in (Name)’s home.

She’d begged them not to tell him, though she wouldn’t say why.

“Killua, (Name)!”

The two looked up to see Gon sprinting towards him, his luggage flying through the air behind him.

The boy jumped into the air, pulling them both into a hug so fast they all toppled over.

“Hey, careful! (Name) could of gotten hurt!” Killua scolded while squeezing Gon tight.

“I’m fine, Gon you’ve gotten taller!”

The three laughed, Gon pulling (Name) to her feet. “Aunt Mito says she’s going to put a brick on my head to keep me from getting taller than her.”

Killua stood as well, pausing when he stood in front of Gon.

“I have to agree with her. You’re taller than me now!”

It was true, Gon had grown to be an inch taller than his white haired friend.

“Aww he’s just having a growth spurt. You’ll have one too, maybe if you’d eat more of your vegetables-“

He smacked a hand over her mouth.

“(Name)! I eat plenty of vegetables.”

“Do chocolate robots count as vegetables?” Gon asked, giving him a sly grin.

“Shut up, both of you.”

—————

(Name) and the boys entered a small diner, Leorio waiting for them inside.

“(Name), Gon, Killua! It’s been forever!”

The man pulled them into another hug, Killua squirming free.

“It’s only been three months.”

“That’s way too long!”

(Name) laughed. “It’s going to be nice to finally have the whole gang back together!”

Killua and Leorio shared a look.

“I heard Kurapika was in town. Where’s he at now?”

Killua shot him a look, shaking his head.

“Ah. Did something happen?”

The three sat an a random booth, the boys sitting together on one side and the adults on the other.

“He… last night he saw the news reporting there was a member of the Phantom Troupe in town.”

Leorio groaned. “I saw that too, I was just hoping he wouldn’t. What, did he go to check it out?”

She nodded. “He left at around 1 am and hasn’t answered any of my calls.”

“I’m sure he’s fine, Kurapika is strong. We should try not to worry.”

Gon wasn’t wrong, but Leorio knew (Name) would worry anyways.

“Didn’t get much sleep last night?”

Leorio glanced from the dark circles under her eyes to her nails tapping against the table.

“Yeah. Was…”

“Waiting for him to get home?”

She nodded, picking up her menu. “I’m alright though. I’ll take a nap and be good as new.”

Gon noticed Killua frown. The boy nudged his friend.

“Is something up?”

“… no, just…”

He sighed. “Just worried about the current situation.”

Gon hummed, leaning his head against the table. “We can go look for him later if he doesn’t show up by lunch time.”

The waitress took their orders, leaving the group in silence.

“Hey, why don’t we have a get together to celebrate Kurapika being in town?”

Gon didn’t seem to get that the man was a sore subject right now.

“We can have a sleepover at (Name)’s! It’ll be just like the Hunter exam when we all slept together on the airship!”

(Name) grimaced. “Ugh, sleeping on the floor then made my back hurt so bad I thought I was going to die.”

“That’s because you’re a baby. We were fine.”

“Well I’m sorry I wasn’t raised to be an assassin that can sleep anywhere or a mountain boy that could sleep on a bed of nails and wake up refreshed.”

Killua snickered, Gon tilting his head. “I haven’t slept on a bed of nails, but I have slept on a bunch of rocks.”

“My point stands.”

The three laughed, Gon joining in their laughter after a moment.

“Alright, we’ll have a sleepover. How about tomorrow night?”

Leorio nodded. “That’s okay with me. I’m free the rest of the week.”

(Name) leaned against her seat, humming in thought. “I’ll have to go grocery shopping tomorrow morning, then. Everyone send me a list of what you want, including snacks and finger foods.”

———————

Leorio joined the group at (Name)’s, following behind her in his car.

The boys requested to ride with him, Leorio saying he needed to stop to get gas before coming home.

(Name) exited her car, carrying a takeout box she’d ordered for Kurapika. When she reached her door, she paused.

It was open.

And there was a trail of blood leading through the doorway.

(Name) stared at it for a split second, her eyes going wide.

She set the box down by the door and walked in, careful not to step in the blood.

She could sense someone was here, but their presence was faint. (Name) followed the trail, her heart thumping against her chest as she climbed up the stairs.

She already knew who would be at the end of the trail, all could she do was hope he would be alive.

(Name) stopped in front of the bathroom door, the sound of the shower turning off causing her to pause.

She could hear someone approach the door, then walk away again. (Name) waited a few minutes before the door finally opened.

“(Name), you’re home.”

Kurapika stood before her, his hair still wet from his shower. She stared up at him, tears falling from her eyes.

“You… all that blood…”

“None of it was mine, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

An instant relief washed over her, the grip she’d had on her shirt relaxing.

“I see. You’re okay, then?”

“Mostly. Just… tired.”

(Name) leaned her head against his chest, the man becoming stiff as a board. His hands stayed at his sides as his eyes bore into her.

He wanted to embrace her and apologize for making her worry. From just one look he could tell she hadn’t listened and had stayed up waiting for him.

“You wouldn’t answer me, I was so scared…”

She gripped the front of his shirt, tears soaking into the fabric.

“I… it was hard to answer with my hands covered in blood.”

(Name) sniffled before pulling back and rubbing the tears from her eyes. He’d done it, he’d made her cry again. Just how many tears would he make her cry over him?

“(Name) we’re- HOLY SHIT IS THAT BLOOD!?”

The sound of several sets of footsteps running inside made (Name) sigh. “It’s okay, I’m upstairs.”

Killua was the first one there, grabbing (Name)’s arms and looking over her. “You’re not hurt? Wait is that Kurapika?”

“Kurapika!!!”

Gon launched into the air and hugged the blonde, who laughed and patted his head. (Name) watched with a halfhearted smile. She wish he’d give her some affection too.

Kurapika explained the situation to the other three, the boys nodding along.

“So, was it really a member of the Phantom Troupe.”

“No, just a copycat.”

(Name) walked downstairs carrying the bathroom laundry hamper. His clothes had been completely soaked with blood, and would need to be hand washed before going in the washing machine.

Kurapika sighed, rubbing his temple. “I dealt with them as quickly as possible, but… I needed a moment to calm down.”

“(Name) didn’t sleep last night, you know. Could have at least called her.”

Kurapika frowned. “I left my phone at home.”

“That’s…”

(Name) looked at him with confusion. “That’s not what you said earlier…”

The four stared at him.

“Why didn’t you call us? Be honest.”

Leorio put a hand on the blonde’s shoulder, his eyebrows furrowed.

“I… I couldn’t. I didn’t want to admit I was tricked into thinking a Troupe member was actually here.”

(Name) sat down next to him and squeezed his hand. “It’s alright. Just don’t do it in the future, okay?”

Gon and Killua shared a look. Kurapika hasn’t been completely honest, and they could tell.

‘If she knew I didn’t call her because I couldn’t stand to hear her worry over me, she’d think I was an asshole. Who the fuck gets angry over their loved ones caring about them?’

Kurapika ate his takeout silently as the others chatted, only stopping when they mentioned something about a sleepover. He coughed on his food, (Name) patting his back.

“A what?”

“A sleepover! Since you’re in town, we wanted to celebrate! We’re going to have a sleepover like we did on the airship.”

“That wasn’t really a sleepover, also I got drooled on by (Name).”

She gasped and smacked Kurapika’s shoulder. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone!”

He tried to keep a neutral expression, but his eyes twinkled with amusement. “Did I? I don’t seem to remember that.”

She folded her arms to her chest and leaned against the couch with a huff.

The others laughed, even Kurapika joining in.

“Ugh. I’m going to take a nap, wake me up before 3 pm.”

She stood, leaving the four alone.

——————

The group of four sat in silence for a while, Kurapika staring down at his lap with tired eyes.

“You’ve been MIA for a while.”

Leorio was the one to break the silence.

“(Name) wasn’t sure why you hadn’t updated her. She had to call me to get any kind of update on your well being.” Leorio stated, running his hands through his hair.

“I… I’ve been busy. It’s dangerous for me to be contacting too many people.”

“Is that the excuse you’re using?”

“We’ve all been really worried…”

Killua and Gon sat together in front of the TV, having turned around to face Kurapika.

“I know. I’m… sorry.”

Killua looked him up and down. “You should be saying that to (Name). I haven’t forgot what you said to her.”

Kurapika froze.

He hadn’t forgotten either. Not for a single day since.

“… I can’t apologize for that. It would be dishonest.”

“You didn’t have any trouble lying to her earlier.”

The blondes eyes widened.

“What was the real reason you didn’t call her, huh?”

Kurapika shook his head. “It’s none of your business.”

“If it’s affecting (Name), I think it is.”

Killua and Kurapika had a stand off, the two glaring at each other. Gon stepped in between the two.

“Hey, let’s not fight! Maybe Kurapika has his own reasons for not sharing why he couldn’t call her. Let’s just get along, okay?”

Killua huffed and sat back down. “Whatever.”

Kurapika stood up. “Im going to nap as well. Talk to you all later.”

He left, closing his bedroom door behind him.

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penwieldingdreamer · 2 years ago

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Strike!

Thank you so much everyone for giving this a go, it's been a while since I had so much fun writing and working on new parts of the series. Let me know what you think about this. I'm going to update my taglist, so if you want to join just click on the link in my BIO and you'll be able to tag yourself

Summary: Date Night didn't go as planned [2.4k, some cursing, loopy Jake]

Previous Part | Masterlist | Next Part

(gif by @unicornships)

Taking a deep breath you glance around the chaos that was your bedroom. Every piece of clothes you owned was strewn across the floor and your bed. Allison lounged in the corner seat cackling like a madwoman as she listened to you cry on the phone with your mother.

“Honestly mom, I have no idea what to wear and Ally isn’t helpful at all. She’s making fun of me right now.” Pouting, you sat down on your messy bed. A huff leaving your lips as you tried to come up with any kind of ensemble for the upcoming date night with Jake.

“Oh darling, why are you so nervous?” Your mother’s calm voice flowed over you and you instantly felt your heart rate lower to a normal rhythm. “I thought you hated his guts.”

Sighing softly, you eyed the blonde typing away on her phone and giggling like a little school girl. What the hell was up with that? “I know I said that, but mom…He rescued puppies and kittens from the kill list at the shelter. His truck was literally full with them. I think he fucked up but I told him I’d give him a chance - one chance.”

“She’ll give him five.” The voice in the back called, earning a chuckle from your mother.

“Why don’t you wear that cute summer dress you bought on that trip to Paris last year, with the flowers?” Looking around, you finally spotted it under Ally’s foot. Sending a glare her way, you motioned her to pick it up so it wouldn't crumple more than it already was.

"Right, thanks for the help. I'll finish getting ready now." Again Allison interrupted your goodbyes with a giggle. “Goodbye Mom!” Swatting at your friend, you couldn’t help the grin that spread over your lips.

“Oh, he’s going to fall all over himself when he sees you in this dress.” The blonde wiggled her eyebrows holding up the dress. It was cute, classy and the top was accentuating your chest without making it look slutty. Although thinking back to how Jake had been trying to woo you the past weeks, you’d probably could wear a potato sack and he’d still fall all over himself. “I’m telling you, by the end of the month Lieutenant Jake Seresin will have a ring picked for you.”

Shaking your head you threw your phone onto the bed and made your way to the bathroom. You had about four hours to get ready before Jake would come and get you. Butterflies spread in your belly and you couldn’t help the smile that lifted the corners of your lips.

"So, Hangman, what did you plan for your date tonight?" Coyote called over the radio comms, a grin on his lips underneath the mask. They were just about done with their training for today and if he was honest with himself, he was definitely happy to get back to the locker rooms to have a nice shower. Javy was already sweating buckets from the heat in his cockpit right now and the maneuver they flew today wasn’t making it better.

“Oh, I’ll wine and dine her at that Italian we looked up and later, well we’ll see.” Shrugging Jake held his own mask to his mouth. He had taken it off after they finished their flights for the day and wanted to get hit off again, breathing easier while on their way back to the airfield.

A chuckle sounded through the comms, thoughts already circling his head how you’d look tonight. He had told you to keep it casual, nothing too fancy but no matter what, you’d always look amazing. Even back in Texas wearing a shirt and jeans, Jake couldn’t keep his eyes away from you. “Don’t tell me you already got a ring, I remember what you said about wanting to marry her, but don’t shock her like that.”

“Nah, I called my ma, she knows, but that ring is still back in Texas.”

“Thank god.” The sigh from Coyote was accompanied by a dull thud and focusing back on the sight in front of them, both could see the flock of birds they were flying through. “Shit! Bird strike! Bird strike!” he called, Javy pulling up to avoid them while multiple animals hit Jake’s plane.

Breaking left to get out of their way he saw the alarm for the engine on his right blinking and beeping at him. “Shit, right engine’s on fire! Climbing!” He put his mask back on and pulled the center stick close to him, getting the jet back up in the air. “Throttling back, shutting off fuel to right engine. Extinguishing fire.” Every step he took was communicated with control, if something went wrong he could at least make sure there was no mistake on his side. The engine shut off, but he got another alarm pop up for the second engine. He was close to being under the hard deck and the engine was still spinning so Jake was restarting it, something they had discussed while he still was a student at the NAS back in Texas.

“Hangman! It’s on fire, your engine’s on fire! Don’t throttle up!” His wingman called, panicked as he watched Jake lose control over the jet.

He extinguished the fires, but the beeping and blinking continued, warnings going off inside the cockpit. The jet was out of control and he heard Javy scream in his ear to punch out, yet he tried everything he had learned to avoid that. He was the best of the best, that 1% that made the difference between the average pilot and him.

“You gotta eject, Jake! Get out of there, you can’t save it.” Taking a deep breath, he reached down between his legs and pulled the lever to eject. The canopy was blown away and he felt his body shoot out of the jet, all his thoughts circling back to you, how he wasn’t going to see you tonight, maybe never if this fucked him over.

“Well, seems it wasn’t that important.” you mumbled, sitting outside on the porch steps of your home to wait for Jake.

“No message yet?” Allison sat down next to you, handing you a glass of water.

You shook your head, breathing out another sigh. Jake had sent you a message in the morning that he would get to you by six as they only had a short training day. It was half past seven now and no word from him.

“I asked Javy as well, but nothing yet. Maybe they had to extend training and he wasn’t able to get back to you.”

Leaning your head onto her shoulder, you shrugged your own. “Also why the hell are you talking to Javy?”

“Well,” she giggled, “I met him that one time I was in Lemoore for that article and the guys decided we’d head to a bar there. Jake wasn’t with him and well we talked about the two of you and he was the one asking about the shelter program.”

“He’s cute, I’ll give you that.” You joked with her, nudging your elbow softly into her side.

“And he’s a great dancer.” The blonde chuckled, putting her arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer into her side. “He’s going to show up, I know it.”

Just as she said it, a truck came around the corner, the wheels screeching to a stop in front of your house. You could make out the concerned and pained expression of Jake's friend and wingman as he stepped out of the car. Calling your name he zeroed in on you, running a hand over his short cropped hair, his flight suit tied around his waist. "Fuck, I'm so sorry. I should have called but I didn't know how you'd take the news."

"What news? Please don't tell me it was all a joke and he already got a family back in Texas and just wanted a fun roll in the hay."

Shaking his head, the pilot moved closer with his hands out in a calming manner. "No, there was a training accident and Jake is at the hospital on base. I forgot our phones when I raced here."

"Accident? Hospital?" Your voice sounded so far off when you sat up straight, Allison's hand calmly on your shoulder, but her posture betrayed her own calmness. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you on the way, they said he might need surgery for his leg and a tear in his lung but I'm not sure if they already did."

Swallowing the lump in your throat you got up from your perch on the front steps, sending a fearful loon towards your friend. "I got this, sweets, you get to your flyboy and I'll stay until you get back.” With a nod you sprinted towards the passenger side and got in, there was no knowing what you’d find once you arrived at the base in Lemoore, but it definitely made your stomach churn.

Nearly three hours later Javy pulled onto the parking lot of the hospital. Military personnel moved swiftly around at the entrance of the building and you felt your throat go dry. The pilot had given you a run down of what had happened to Jake, the bird strike and how the parachute got tangled up near the ground. Once inside he flagged down one of the doctors that had been on Jake’s immediate care team.

“Are you here for Lieutenant Seresin?” Nodding your heads, you gripped Javy’s arm. You weren't sure you really wanted to know, but already your brain was telling you that this was what was waiting for you if you decided to be in a relationship with a military guy, he'd get hurt, he might get killed and never come home to you. “Well, everything went as expected. We were able to repair the tear in his lung from a broken rib, the other two are only cracked. Hurts like hell, though. The break on his leg was clean, he’ll have to wear a cast for a while but it will heal well.”

Your tongue ran over your lower lip, wetting the dry skin there. “W-When can we see him?”

“Oh, they just brought him back to his room. Lt. Seresin will be a bit out of it and loopy from the anesthesia but otherwise it’s fine for you to go there now.”

He gave you the room number and sent you on your way, your hands still gripping Javy’s arm. “Jake’s tough. He grew up on a farm, he’ll be out of here and back in the cockpit in no time.”

“I hope not, he needs to heal first.”

Chuckling, Jake’s wingman stopped in front of the room. The door was open and you could see him lying in the bed, his leg propped up and wires and machines connected to him. A nurse was there, hanging his IV drip and painkillers, chuckling at the nonsense words that fell off his lips.

“You know, was s’posed to get ma’ girl for a date, but I got in that accident. But she’s ma girl, and ‘m goin’ to marry her. Make her happy, the way she d’serves.”

You couldn’t believe your ears. You knew he was out of it, but the way he said it, the sincerity coloring his words. Turning to look at Javy who just nodded his head, you took a deep breath. “He told me that night at the Hard Deck, when you threw your drink in his face. Said he was sure he’s going to make you Mrs. Seresin.”

Your mouth felt dry and it was hard to swallow the lump in your throat. “I’d rather we date first before I’m letting him put that ring on my finger.”

“Well, Jake definitely knows what he wants.”

Nodding your head, you looked back inside the room where the middle aged nurse was finished setting Jake up and sent a smile your way. The pilot nudged you inside and left before you could protest.

“Oh look, there’s ma’ girl.” he slurred, his eyes half lidded and his smile loopy from the drugs. “Isn’t she beatific, I saw her first back in Texas, t’was a vision, ‘m telling you.”

Moving over to his bed, you reached out your hand to hold the one that wasn’t set up with wires. “How are you, Jake?”

“Mhmm, tired, hurt.” Jake mumbled, leaning his head back on the pillow. “‘m sorry, I didn’ forget aboutchu. Them damn birds. Ruined the date.” His eyes turned glassy and you saw the pained expression on his face.

“It’s all good, I’m just glad you’re okay.” you reassured him, the hand that wasn’t clasped in his lightly stroking over his hair. Your fingers gliding through the soft strands, hushing him when he got too worked up about the date that wasn’t happening right now.

“I’m sorry ‘bout Texas, an’ the bar. ‘m an asshole ‘cause I wanna be better than Greg. You deserve a guy that’s better than him, like my Pa. But ‘m ‘fraid if I’m not Hangman, I’ll not be the best and be just like him.”

You hadn’t known Thomas wasn’t Jake’s real father because they definitely acted like they were, but him wanting to proof something and acting like that just to get back at his…no, you’d make him see that he was more than that facade he put up, Hangman, the asshole that wasn’t really a team player, well only if he could gain something or was flying with Coyote. No, Jake was so much more and those butterflies in your stomach returned with a vengeance. “As long as you keep Hangman away from me I don’t care if you’re the best or not. You deserved that spot on Top Gun and you’re really sweet when you wanna be. You should sleep some more, you’re going to be sore once the good stuff wears off.”

Humming, he closed his eyes, leaning into your caress. “Please, don’t go.”

“I’ll stay, now close those pretty eyes, yeah.”

“Pretty eyes.” He mumbled with a grin, before he drifted off.

Shaking your head, you pulled the chair next to the bed closer and leaned your own head onto the mattress, your hand never leaving his own.

#jake seresin x reader #jake seresin imagine #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin imagine #jake hangman seresin #top gun: maverick #top gun maverick imagine

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nothums-from-tj · 10 months ago

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Hi I’ve had this PPG Foster Care AU running in my head and I’m finally putting it out

(just notes/refs/background until I actually have the time/energy to go further)

I’d like to note first and foremost that I’m doing everything I can to research while making these details and I know I can always use more—I’ll come back and edit with any inaccuracies or plot holes another day! I’ve been inspired to just put the idea out even if it’s not a perfectly well-done fic or comic or whatever

Trigger/content warnings (no graphic details, all mentioned): domestic violence, incarceration, unstable parent, severe depression, suicidal ideation, mental hospital (ever so slight mention), family separation, parental death, child neglect, food instability

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to write this in past or present tense and I’m at work as I’m finishing this so. I’m sorry

Ok so the whole point of this is to say the girls are not biological sisters—they’re all foster sisters with varying different bio families (with no powers) and backgrounds (they’re all in the same grade/age group), and so different reasons they’re in the system. Professor looks into fostering for similar reasons to making them in canon: to give some kids a home where they might not have anywhere else, to provide some kind of safe space where it’s needed and he wants to do what he can to make the world a little better in that sense. Besides, he’s got 3 spare rooms he’s not using anyhow. For convenience’s sake, I’m gonna say he starts fostering in 2005, where his first foster kid also happens to be one of his only 3 “long term” kids

Blossom:

- age 5 when she meets Professor and is brought into his home

- comes from a home with domestic abuse, taught that there are extreme consequences if something is not done “perfectly”

- she herself has never been hit, she’s just seen it happen to her mom few too many times

- that said she develops a habit of doing everything “perfectly” especially under the mindset of “I haven’t been hit bc I’ve done everything right” and carries a small part of that with her throughout her life

- I want to say it’s OCD but is it really an intrusive thought when you’ve known it to happen

- maybe develops DID too which is to be explored at a later date

- even still, every time Professor would raise a hand a little too close or too quickly it’d send her into a fit of tears and he learned to be much slower and more cautious around her in the time being

- unfortunately for Blossom, she got some of the worst of his inexperience and got to witness and go through all of his mistakes given she was literally his first foster and he does everything he can to make up for it after he’s learned/been experienced enough

- she entered the system when her father was finally incarcerated, which also meant her mother wasn’t financially able to support the two of them as a housewife

- she’s also incredibly depressed and keeps having bouts of suicidality and they just can’t keep a child around that too much, not with the risk of her waking up to having no guardian

- as much as she loves and misses her mom, she’s incredibly grateful that someone was willing to take her in and take care of her before visits

- she bonds with Professor almost instantly when she gets curious about his science experiments and he shows her some child-safe ones and they end up doing that together, at least once a week

- after he learned about her interests in reading and when she really started getting interested in science with him he does what he can to introduce new reading suggestions for her age level and things of the sort

- after Blossom there was a few months period of kids only needing a place for a few nights to about 2 weeks before getting sent back home or with another family member, so she tried not to get attached to any other foster siblings until the second long-term kid

- she still wanted a playmate for the few times that she would pick up dolls or whatever, just didn’t really ask for the fear of being “needy” (issues with trauma) or rely on since it’s out of her control

- by the time she’s 12 her mother has been kind of in and out of a mental hospital, so visitation days are wary and sometimes it’s literally just sitting in the room(???? gotta look into how mental hospital visitations work) with her for a few hours

- the second long-term kid is introduced to her about 9 months after being taken in, around 3 months after her 6th birthday

Bubbles:

- had only just recently turned 6 when Professor takes her in

- cried more than any of the other kids Professor had worked with by that time and didn’t really know how to take it

- her parents died suddenly, horrifically, and only had her 16-year-old brother left to take care of her

- since he’s also a minor, he went into the system too, and they got separated along the way (he was placed first)

- she misses him every day, and Professor would often try to get in contact with her brother’s foster home/family to get him to reunite with her

- unfortunately, her brother isn’t as well off as Bubbles is, and there’d be either strict rules from the home or his foster family would refuse to meet

- the last time he tried calling, they had his number blocked, and Bubbles cried for 3 days straight

- she still absolutely adores Blossom, and was always more than happy to color/draw or play with her

- they’re an amazing support system for one another, especially during school

- Bubbles is later adopted providing there’s not much of anywhere else for her to go

- about a year after is when her brother is on his own and is finally able to make contact with Professor again, and he’s not financially able to support Bubbles and himself so he just stops by whenever he can or will babysit or bring the kids to/from school whenever possible

- he’s a good boy

- the period of kids still kinda coming in and out lessens significantly with one room now being filled

- she misses it, a little bit, since it meant she got to make a new friend

- she misses the way her life used to be, her parents and her brother, although she’s still incredibly happy to have Blossom and Professor and to still see her brother every so often

- a year or two after she’s adopted comes a third placed with them, and it takes them a little while to readapt and even longer with someone they don’t have a near-immediate connection with

Buttercup:

- introduced to the Utonium fam about a month after her 10th birthday

- expected to be like a mini adult by the age of like 6

- she’s sheltered and clothed so it took forever for the right people to find out she’s been neglected

- eventually her parents would kinda forget to bathe her or sometimes provide meals so that’s how she got removed from them (I guess like a less drastic/severe “Opal” situation???) (linked: short film by Jack Stauber)

- her mother’s voice is sweet like honey, somehow even more so when asking her to stop screaming for a need to be met (“The whole neighborhood’s going to think I’m a bad mother.”) (0:16) (linked: clip from “Moral Orel”)

- her father’s voice is stern and reflective, he could be a great speaker or narrator so long as no one listens to a word he says (“It’s your problem. I trust you know how to deal with it.” “I’m only 9!” “That’s no excuse.”) (0:43) (linked: same “Moral Orel” clip)

- poor volume control also gets her in a bit of trouble with Professor just of course not nearly as bad/much, even less so when he realizes she can’t control it

- some behavioral issues as well which kinda come with being neglected

- absolutely hates visitations, always comes back in a horrid mood and usually slams the door and won’t leave/allow anyone in for a day and a half if she can allow it

- it gets even worse after she starts getting used to/comfortable with the treatment she gets with Professor vs at home

- it takes a while for the other two to warm up to her, mostly with Bubbles pushing hardest to find ways they can all hang out together

- plus when her brother met her when picking them up from from school one day they got along almost instantly so she wanted to see that charm of her more often

- near constant arguments with Blossom bc negative attention is still attention

- especially when Blossom has to do everything “the right way” and Buttercup likes getting that blow-up reaction (again: negative attention is still attention) when she doesn’t follow her rules/patterns

- anyway after a few months she was looking for a volleyball opponent and so taught her how to play and ended up really liking it so their relationship started improving

- she’d also have some dance parties with Bubbles so their relationship improved too

- otherwise she’d draw/color with them once in a while and played some pretend games on the rare occasion so things started getting easier

- especially when Professor got them (1 to share) an Xbox or PlayStation or something for Buttercup’s first Christmas with them and they all started playing video games together

- her parents have also taught her that she’s just dumb since she struggles to read and quite literally gave up once she started kindergarten and her teachers have had very little say other than that they hope whatever is happening improves (gotta love the educational neglect /s)

- her grades/participation goes up while with rest and Professor actually gets her tested with dyslexia so she can get the help she needs

- it takes a while to learn that she can ask nicely for a need to be met, positive attention can be acquired, she’s not stupid, she can ask for help, and she’s allowed to feel her feelings

I’ve yet to decide if their names are as they are in canon or I might go with the names in the ep “Oops, I Did It Again!” (Bubbles as Bertha, Buttercup as Betty, I don’t remember Blossom’s) or if Blossom and Buttercup get adopted as well. I’ll have to look more into reunification and qualifications for that, and even then develop more of a storyline with each of their families to really get a good idea. Hope it’s ok so far though!! I’ll come back another day to edit/update with any other research or ideas to fill in any gaps

#ppg #powerpuff girls #the powerpuff girls #ppg au #powerpuff girls au #blossom ppg #bubbles ppg #buttercup ppg #blossom utonium #bubbles utonium #buttercup utonium #professor utonium #long post #fppg au

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lorna-d-m · 1 year ago

Text

Chapter Four: Assigned Reading

Pairing: Laszlo Kreizler x fem!OC (Alice Greene)

Summary: Professor Laszlo Kreizler is a workaholic. Between teaching university courses, running the Kreizler Institute, and minding Stevie -his ward-, he does not have time for relationships. That is until he meets Ms. Greene, Stevie's English teacher, at open house. Can he open his heart to the possibility of love?

Word Count: 2,050

W: mentions of drinking, bullying

A/N: In hindsight, I should have combined this chapter with the previous since they're both a touch short. However, they're both setting up for something important. I'm sorry this took almost my entire summer to write. It seems I'm more productive when I'm busy, and when I'm free I can't get anything done lol.

previous chapter

Late September, marked by the paling of green leaves to yellow and cooler temperatures, also marked three weeks of school. By this point, students and teachers alike fell into routines and began new projects. Ms. Greene assigned a variety of short stories to her students, and they completed several assignments in preparation for a class discussion.

Knowing her students as she did, she knew talking would be no difficulty for the discussion. Would they stay on topic? Of course not, but she could always guide them back to the matter at hand. Once or twice in the past week, she needed to nip conversations in the bud, and it troubled her.

Being a teacher meant picking and choosing her battles. Alice did not remark on every student conversation of questionable nature she overheard. If she did, she would never have any time to teach. However, when she heard rude comments about another student or anything to incite concern, Ms. Greene stepped in.

Twice she caught members of the football team picking on Stevie, and twice she intervened. As cliche, as it sounded, she spoke to her students about respecting their classmates. Additionally, she rearranged the seating to put Stevie as far from them as possible. The third time, she discreetly asked Stevie to stay a moment after class.

After a few weeks of school, Alice knew Dr. Kreizler’s assurances of Stevie weren’t just words. She saw how Stevie did the reading with her own eyes, knew the answer when called upon, and showed up prepared for class. True, Stevie kept to himself, but he behaved well and had yet to be spotted in silent lunch or detention. Stevie deserved to be in her class without fear of being ridiculed.

“Who do you have during sixth period?” She kept an eye on her incoming students in the hallway. They knew to wait at the door if she was talking to a student.

Stevie shifted his textbooks and binder from his left side to his right. “Bio with Ms. Sussman, why?”

Perfect! “If you finish your work early with Ms. Sussman,” Alice almost said Bitsy rather than her surname, “Ask her if she can write a pass for you to come to my room. We can talk more then.”

“Alright,” he shrugged, “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Don’t worry if you don’t have time today. I’m sure we can work something out by the end of the week.” She bit back a laugh at her good luck. Ms. Sussman. “Now go, before I make you late for your next class.”

“Uh, thanks, Ms. Greene.”

Stevie left, and Alice hoped he didn’t have to go across the school in a minute. She waved the rest of her students who stood awkwardly by the door in, and she rewinded her powerpoint for the day. At lunch, she could ask Bitsy what her students were doing in class to find out if Stevie would have time or not. If she was lecturing, no chance, but if they did individual practice, Stevie would likely finish before the end of class.

Stevie sat in Laszlo’s office at the Institute whenever he needed to focus on his work. More often than not, the good doctor himself was busy moving from student to student, room to room, to sit in his office. He urged Stevie to sit at his desk when he needed to work, but it weirded him out. Too stuffy and heavy.

He liked to sit by the window instead. Whenever he got bored and needed a break, he could look outside. Sometimes, he could see the kids laughing and screaming on the playground. Occasionally, Kreizler would stroll around or sit on a bench, watching how they played and taking notes. Seeing him served as a reminder to study.

Stevie propped his heavy English textbook against the windowsill and sighed. He finished his science work with some time left over, and Ms. Sussman wrote the note surprisingly quickly after he said it was for Ms. Greene. They spoke about the situation, but he didn’t know what else she could do. She spoke to them, she rearranged the seating, and Stevie really didn’t want her to go to the counselor or an administrator or anything.

Stevie didn’t want to cause or be involved in any problems. He knew he was labeled trouble from the beginning, and there was a chance no one but Ms. Greene would believe him. People were dicks, especially Coach Connor’s favorites on the football team. No one would take the word of a teenager with a rap sheet over the star quarterback.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, so he dog-eared the textbook page and closed it. He found a group to sit with at lunch, and they added him to their group chat. They liked video games, cars, and weirdly enough to Stevie, tabletop and board games. Some horror movie was supposed to come out this weekend, and they wanted to see the midnight premier.

He talked to Kreizler about it in the car. He’d never had friends or midnight plans before, or at least not while he had a guardian who gave a shit about him, and he felt weird asking for permission. But the good doctor encouraged the plans, even offering to drive them to the theater and drop them off. Stevie told him he didn’t have to and there was no reason for him to mess up his plans and be out that late when Mike’s mom already offered to drive.

Of course, Stevie wasn’t going to tell him that it wasn’t Mike’s mom driving but Mike with his brand new driver’s license, with a curfew and limits still imposed. However, Stevie knew Kreizler would be sound asleep and snoring well before he was due back home.

It was an unusual Saturday night; both Laszlo and Stevie had plans. Stevie left the house in a rush to grab dinner before a midnight movie premier, and Laszlo waved him off from the foyer. In his hurry out the door, he promised to text when they were on their way back. Laszlo was pleased Stevie made friends and plans. It sounded like despite a few troubles here and there, Stevie was settling into school.

Laszlo had a standing reservation on the last Saturday of every month for a party of three at Delmonico’s. John, Sara, and himself found if they didn’t put their plans in their calendar, it was difficult to ever see each other. Charlie Delmonico, owner and host, grew accustomed to Laszlo’s peculiarities. He knew to reserve a corner booth on the second floor, with blue walls rather than olive or crimson. Their conversations could take hours as each person discussed their busy lives at the university and the precinct, but they were fantastic tippers. Charlie never rushed them out of their table but instead made them feel welcome.

Laszlo arrived at the table first and took advantage of their absence, ordering his favorite lingonberry schnapps. He perused the menu in peace, mentally deciding which wine to pair with which course and what dessert to save room for until John and Sara arrived. After several tumultuous years, including John’s misguided engagement with Violet, John and Sara finally decided to be together. They moved in together a few months back, enlisting Laszlo and Stevie to help them, and Laszlo awaited the proposal. Privately, he suspected rather than John going down on one knee, it would be Sara taking the lead.

“Laszlo! Good to see you again.” John sat down across from him and grinned. “What a hectic month it’s been, so I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.”

“How are you and how are Stevie?” Sara left the menu folded in front of her. She never strayed from her standard order and hardly glanced at the menu anymore.

“Good and good, I suppose.” Laszlo refolded his napkin and set it in his lap. “Stevie seems to be settling well. He’s made friends, and he’s actually out with them tonight seeing some horror movie.”

“Exciting! Good of the kid. High school goes by much easier with friends, eh Laszlo?” John playfully nudged him, and Laszlo avoided the touch.

Sara, however, caught everything. “Seems to be, you said seems to be. So, why isn’t he?” She stirred her drink with her straw.

Laszlo sighed and leaned back in the booth. “Stevie’s teacher mentioned he’s being heckled by some boys on the football team. He hasn’t said anything to me about it, but then again, he wouldn’t. I’m hoping she and I can discuss it at the conferences in a few weeks.”

“Good,” Sara commended, “problems such as this should be dealt with quickly before they spiral out of control.”

“Don’t think I didn’t see that sly smile, you old dog.” John could be exceedingly astute when it suited him. “She?”

Perhaps it was the schnapps he drank before they arrived, but Laszlo was glad John pressed the subject. While he typically avoided discussions of feelings or romance since Mary’s passing, he wanted to talk about Alice with his friends. Laszlo was of two minds about her.

“She and I have had a few conversations, mostly over email, but some in person. Obviously, Stevie and school were our main talking points, but the conversation wandered a few times.” Sara noticed a blush creeping up on his cheeks. “I may have shown up a time or two in the afternoon with two coffees instead of one and discussed books with her, but I was waiting for Stevie to finish at his locker.”

“How scandalous,” Sara joked wryly.

“Well, it could be.” Laszlo set his fork aside. He adored Delmonico’s, but he could not enjoy his meal when he was at an impasse. “That is why I have not done anything more drastic. She is Stevie’s teacher, and if we were to pursue a romantic relationship it would pose a serious ethical dilemma. Not to mention, I am at least a decade older than her.”

“Oh, Laszlo, you’re thinking with your head again instead of your heart.” Laszlo rolled his eyes. John and his hopeless optimism when it came to love. “You should go for it, and that’s not the wine talking. It’s been a long time since you’ve been in a relationship, unless you’ve been hiding anything else from us?” he teased. “It sounds like this teacher is interested in you, so instead of conveniently bringing coffee to her, ask her if she wants to go get coffee.”

“As for the age difference,” Sara took a sip of her sparkling water, “some women find it appealing. You will never know if you don’t try.” Sara herself was several years younger than John, so she spoke from experience.

“If she says no, then you have your answer and can move on. No more emailing, no more talking, and it’ll only be awkward for the rest of the year.”

***

Laszlo checked the time and decided to call a cab rather than drive. He would still be home well before Stevie, and it was the safe decision given how much he drank at dinner. It would give him time to think, as well, about their advice.

Ms. Greene was young and bubbly. He did not want to misconstrue kindness as flirtation or politeness for eagerness. How embarrassing it would be to make that mistake, red-faced and ashamed. Laszlo would never be able to face her again.

No, Laszlo knew someone as lovely as her could not be interested in him. Not at his age, checking for gray hairs every time he trimmed his beard, or with his harsh reputation for terrifying students and dissecting minds. And, especially not with his baggage. Laszlo was not sure anyone interested in him would stay after learning more.

He rubbed his arm as if it were sore. It did not ache, but holding it brought him comfort. He yearned to be home, in his four-poster bed, with a bottle of Tylenol in hand. Laszlo knew he would be sound asleep before Stevie came home, but he knew he would be safe and smart. Or at least, he hoped. Stevie still vaped despite his best efforts to make him quit, but Laszlo couldn’t chastise him when he craved a cigarette.

Next chapter

Tag list: @scuttle-buttle @fictionlandslanddreams @livvyshmiv @somethingthatsaysbubbles @hardlyinteresting @sapphiredreamer26 @aedeluca @alycu1 @linkpk88 @rachreads @fandom-princess-forevermore @groovyponypatrollamp @to-fat-to-give-a-crap @kateris-world @eli-the-thinker

#daniel brühl fanfic #daniel brühl fanfiction #laszlo kreizler fanfic #laszlo kreizler fanfiction #the alienist fanfiction #the alienist fanfic

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