#I've got plans for the denied meeting requests though

[commissionsdarian]

"Temporal Overtime Limitation Decree": This law stipulates that employees cannot exceed a certain number of hours while conducting time-travel missions to prevent temporal fatigue and potential disruptions. However, a clever loophole allows the commission to employ "time dilation devices," artificially stretching mission durations, while technically keeping employees within the defined limits.

Haha yeah. This one.

[ashwhowrites]

Hi I sent in a request for prompts 43 and 25 for angst but forgot to and that I wanted it to be Eddie Munson x reader and I’m so sorry

"I’m not coming home, don’t look for me.”

“don’t make me choose” “why? Because you’d pick her?”

I hope this is what you wanted and you enjoy it. Thank you for requesting 🫶🏻

⚠️angst ( since I've been told my angst needs warnings ;)

Pick me, choose me, love me

Eddie and Y/N had been best friends since first grade. They grew up together and did everything together. Everyone in their life thought by the time they graduated they would have figured out they were in love with each other.

But that didn't happen. They were still best friends, oblivious to how they felt for one another. They lived in a small apartment, both needing a life outside the trailer park.

Y/N went to school, and worked at a bar for extra cash. Eddie worked with Wayne and spent his extra cash at said bar. He always kept her company while she worked, and kept an eye on how men were around her. He wouldn't dare let anyone touch her.

She was a little more aware than he was. She couldn't deny that Eddie grew into a very handsome man, with a sexy charm. His smile and sly winks could win over any girl, including her. She never believed Eddie saw her as anything more than a friend, so she kept her feelings to herself. No way was she going to lose Eddie.

But that meant she had to suffer when he flirted with girls during her shift. Ignore the pain in her heart when they snuck off to the bathrooms. Or the night he brought a girl home, as she turned up the living room TV when his door slammed.

He seemed to be good in bed, from the countless girls she was forced to listen to. She tried to ignore how jealous she was, hating the way girls left in the morning satisfied and bruised.

She thought the random hookups were bad, but it was so much worse when he got a girlfriend. Her name was Kathy, and she was a bitch. Not that Eddie noticed, he worshipped the ground she walked on. Kathy and Y/N never got along, but girls knowing they both wanted the same thing from Eddie. Kathy was smug since she was the winner.

Tensions got high when Y/N told Eddie she saw Kathy going into the bathroom with a guy during her shift. A huge fight broke out and Eddie left for a few days. Kathy said Y/N made it all up and Eddie fell for it. Even though Y/N wanted to kick him out, she called a truce. Both agree to leave it in the past.

Trouble didn't stop there, it seemed Kathy brought in new drama weekly. But Y/N tried her best to keep her friendship with Eddie alive. Even when he made it so damn hard.

~~~

"Alright, everything is set up. Don't you forget to show up!" Steve said, pointing a stern finger at Eddie.

Eddie rolled his eyes, "you think I'm going to skip out on my best friend's birthday?"

"I'm just saying." Steve said as he held his arms up.

Y/N was turning twenty two and Steve planned a huge surprise party for her. All their friends would be there, her family, and most importantly Eddie.

Steve was a good friend of Y/N's. And he could easily tell she was in love with the metal head. He knew Kathy was bad news but Eddie was never one to listen.

~

Y/N jumped as she opened the door, Steve sent her an address to meet him at for a birthday dinner. She wore her best dress, a little short and a perfect amount of tightness. Her hair was styled and she wore her best make-up. She was in awe as she took in the huge crowd of people.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" Steve screamed, along with everyone. But he was front and center, arms open as she raced into them. She crushed him in a bear hug and he spun her around.

He had to stop himself from sticking his nose in her neck. While Y/N pinned after Eddie, Steve pinned after her. But he knew her heart was with Eddie and he respected that. Still, his heart raced in the dress she wore.

"You look gorgeous," he whispered in her ear. She tried to push back tears, feeling so loved.

"Thank you for this!" She squealed. She took her time walking around the party, hugging everyone. She made sure to talk to every person for a good amount of time before moving on.

But as more time passed, she couldn't ignore that Eddie was nowhere to be found.

She hadn't seen him all day, and it broke her heart. She spent every birthday with him since she met him, and he was nowhere to be seen the whole day. But she tried to focus on the people who did show up.

After a few drinks, she let Eddie go, fully enjoying her party.

~

It was 11pm and Eddie still wasn't home. Her party ended about two hours ago, she played with her empty beer bottle at the counter as she waited for Eddie to walk in.

She perked up when she heard the door unlock and Eddie walked in.

"Hey," he said

"Hi," she said, her sadness was clear in her voice. Eddie sighed as he heard it.

"Look, sweetheart, I'm sorry." He whispered as he walked towards the table. His puppy eyes looked at her nervously.

"Just answer one question," she sighed. Eddie gulped when she looked up at him, her tear-stained face and red eyes told him she had been crying for a while. "Were you with Kathy?"

"Yes," Eddie said honestly

Y/N scoffed and stood up. She shook her head as she pushed in her stool.

"Y/N-"

"Eddie, don't," she snapped, Eddie stepped back. He never heard her sound so angry towards him. "Just stop"

Eddie watched as more tears fell down her face.

"Don't shut me out. Talk to me." Eddie pleaded. She sniffled as she looked up at his sorry face. His puppy eyes and the pout on his lips. But she couldn't push aside how she felt just because he looked like he got kicked.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said. She glared at him as she went to walk past him. But his arm shot out and stopped her.

"Well too bad because I want to talk to you," Eddie snapped. His temper was always short. "Look, I know I fucked up but let me apologize so we can move on."

Y/N yanked her arm away from him. Angirly standing face to face with him. Her fired eyes burned into his, challenging him.

"My best friend ditched me on my fucking birthday for some girl, and you think a shitty apology is going to fix that?"

"Girlfriend" Eddie corrected

Y/N let out a laugh, with no humor behind it. "I don't care what she is. You ditched me, you ignored me, and my heart shattered when I realized you weren't there and you wouldn't show up."

"I planned to be there, and I wanted to be. But Kathy needed-"

"I NEEDED YOU!" Y/N screamed. Eddie backed up as he clenched his jaw. "I bet she made up some fake lie to keep you occupied. She plays a game and you keep allowing yourself to be the pawn."

Eddie growled as she spoke. "I'm not a pawn and It's not a game. You don't know what she is going through."

"NOTHING!" she screamed again. "NOTHING IS WRONG WITH HER. SHE JUST WANTED TO KEEP YOU AWAY FROM ME"

This time Eddie laughed, scoffing as he angrily rubbed his chin.

"Get over yourself," he muttered

"Excuse me?" Y/N replied

"I said get over yourself. You're not a threat to her. She already told me about this little more than friend love you have for me. For your sake, I'll continue to act like I don't know. But you need to start respecting my fucking relationship." He demanded, his voice low and deep. He was pissed.

Y/N felt the color drain from her face. She gulped as she stared at him. He knew?

"How long?" Y/N whispered, her head down as she clenched her eyes in embarrassment. He knew and he never said a thing. He didn't like her back.

"What?" Eddie asked

"How long did you know?" she said through clenched teeth, looking up at him in the eye.

"Three months" Eddie whispered, feeling a twig of guilt as Y/N looked betrayed. He wasn't sure what heartbreak looked like but he swore he saw it on her face.

"What if I don't?" Y/N challenged, and she crossed her arms. Her eyes back to being heated as she stiffened out her jaw. "What if I don't want to respect your fucking relationship?"

This caused Eddie to back down

"You have to," He pleaded, "I want both of you in my life."

She ignored how the hurt puppy look came back. She was done allowing him to hurt her. He knew how she felt and never said a thing. He betrayed her and threw it at her in her weakest moment.

"I don't think that's possible" Y/N admitted

"No no," Eddie panicked, "It is. You've always been here, you have to be here." His voice cracked as he started drowning in his fear.

"You're right, I've always been here. But have you?" Her eyes watered as she felt more tears building. Eddie tried to close his eyes to avoid those eyes but it was all he could see. "I'm sorry, Eddie but I can't put myself through that. The decision is yours."

"Please don't make me have to choose." Eddie cried, his bottom lip trembling. He reached forward, desperately holding her face as he cried. "Please"

"Why? Because you'll pick her?" Y/N whimpered, she could see the answer in his eyes. He picked her a thousand times before, of course, he'd pick her now.

"I-I---I" Eddie stuttered. Almost like he didn't want to say it out loud. He didn't want to admit it.

Y/N bit her lip to try to hold back another sob. She grabbed his hands, pulled them off of her face, and dropped them at his sides. Eddie began to mumble no over and over, knowing what it meant. But she ignored his pleas and cries, just like he did hers.

She quietly moved passed him and walked out.

~

She made it to Steve's doorstep in seconds. Crashing into his arms as she sobbed. As Steve always did, he picked up her broken pieces.

After she calmed down, Steve moved her to his bedroom. He was downstairs, lying on the couch. The room was dark and silent, leaving Y/N stuck in her head.

"Darling?"

She jumped as Steve's voice came from behind her. She turned around and silently asked what he needed.

He didn't say anything as he passed the phone over.

Y/N sighed and took the phone. She already knew who it was. Without waiting for him to speak, she said "I’m not coming home, don’t wait for me.” And ended the call.

Steve reached forward and softly rubbed her shoulder for comfort. He pressed a small kiss to her forehead and pulled away. He started to walk out of the room, but right before he was gone she called out to him.

"Can I ask for a favor?" she asked, her voice dry and cracked from all the crying she did.

"Anything for you," Steve said, his voice so soft and silky. She could see so much emotion in his eyes. And she knew he meant his words.

"Can you hold me?"

Steve didn't waste a single breath as he walked over to the bed. He got in bed without another word, and Y/N turned around. Her back to his chest as he scooped her in his arms. He was cautious at first, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

But she backed further into him, no space left as their skin touched. He tightened his arms and she sighed in pleasure.

"Thank you" she whispered, feeling the need to sleep taking over her body. The touch of Steve instantly calmed her.

He smiled and placed his chin on her head. He closed his eyes and prayed he'd remember this feeling for the rest of his life.

Y/N silently cried as she stared ahead.

Where was she supposed to go when Eddie was the only home she ever had?

Tags!

@bmunson86 @mxcheese @ladymunsonmain @michaelfuckinglangdon @z0mbie-blah @biittersweet @mirrorsstuff @somethingvicked @micheledawn1975 @ago-godance @magnificantmermaid @tlclick73 @hargrovesswifee @cityofidek @silky-luxe @lokiofasgard616 @loving-and-dreaming @eddiemunsonsbitch69 @thegemaqua @ashlynnkennedy @strangerthingsstories5255 @harringt8ns @pleasinghellfire @whoscamila @stusdollface93 @gretavankleep37 @bellaisswagger @arlxt @ineedmentalhelp123

[jjkamochoso]

The Perfect Fit

Overview: Levi Ackerman begrudgingly finds himself falling in love with the Survey Corps’ seamstress. Will they be able to own up to their feelings for each other? Or is their love doomed to fail before they discover the truths of each other’s hearts? This slow burn reader insert story will be filled with angst, yearning, and a bit of mystery as we slowly unravel the truths behind Y/N’s past… and explore her and Levi’s future!

Chapter 11

Series Masterlist

Chapter 10 linked here

Chapter 12 linked here

Levi Ackerman x female reader

Warnings: cussing

You looked at Levi expectantly. "What do you say, Captain? Ready to run away with me?"

Levi couldn't deny that he was craving a change of scenery as well. With his injuries, he couldn't participate in training and the four bland walls of his office combined with never ending paperwork was enough to make even the most sane man mad. He also really liked the way those words sounded coming from your mouth. He knew he had a duty to humanity and could never drop his responsibilities to run away from it all and live a more peaceful life, but boy, he'd enjoy playing pretend with you for a little while, focusing on humanitarian duties rather than fighting for once.

"I'm ready to leave right now if you are."

You broke out in a smile, relieved that he still wanted to help you give away blankets and clothes to people in the unfortunate areas of the interior.

"Good. I am too, but the paperwork that allows us to take leave and horses isn't. I have to talk to Erwin and see when we can go. I'm thinking as long as you're cleared by the doctor, we can head out in 3 days' time. Is that alright?"

Levi nodded yes and you told him to get some rest before leaving to find your oldest friend, the commander. When you knocked on the door, he granted you entry and you closed the door behind you.

"How's my dearest friend been holding up lately?" Erwin asked you as you two shared a hug before taking a seat.

"Oh, I've been alright, nothing too crazy," you answered. "How about yourself? You've got a lot more going on than I ever have or hope to."

He took a sip of the drink on his desk and you wouldn't be surprised if it was some sort of alcohol.

"It's as much to be expected for the man in charge." His blue eyes danced around the room, not meeting your own. "It's nothing I can't handle. It's... a lot sometimes, though. I become afraid that no matter how much I try to do, it's all futile. I have so many goals that I can't-" He cut himself off as he swallowed another drink and you took notice of the deep eye bags he was sporting. You knew he had a lot riding on him, but he usually handled (or hid) it so well. You reached out to grip his hand as a sign of affection.

"I know you're in charge, but you're not the only one who should be held accountable for any failings, so stop blaming yourself. What you guys do is a thankless job but you're not without so many accomplishments. It seems like it's always one step forward, three steps back working here, but if there's anything I learned from you, it's that you have to keep walking. So, Erwin.” He looked up at you. "You have to keep moving forward. You're the heart of the Scouts. You're the only one whose faith has never wavered. We all believe in you."

Erwin let out a deep sigh and squeezed your hand back. "Thank you. I needed that. This is why I keep you around."

You chuckled, happy that you were able to lift his spirits a little bit.

"I know you didn't come here to see me wallow in pity, so what is it I can do to help?" he inquired.

"I'm planning on leaving for Wall Sina to do my charity work in a few days and I was wondering if I could borrow a cart and horse. I'd be gone about 10 days, 4 days traveling each way, 1 day passing everything out, and an extra in case something goes wrong. I was also coming to put in my request for leave, as well as Captain Levi's since he'll be accompanying me."

Erwin's eyebrows raised at the sound of his close friend's name. "Levi, huh? I've noticed that you two have gotten pretty close but he wouldn't leave work with just anybody, you know. He must think you're pretty special."

You felt embarrassment worm its way up your body as Erwin tried to contain his teasing smile. The commander's two closest friends couldn't fool him--Levi hadn't been this outwardly affectionate since he had shown up with Isabelle and Furlan all those years ago and you hadn't been this smiley with anyone, ever-- but he found the whole thing endearing.

"I'm not trying to embarrass you, y/n. I think it's nice that he's found something with you, whatever it is. I haven't seen either of you this happy in many years, or ever. This trip of yours will be good for the both of you to get out and do something for the betterment of humanity. It would bring some much needed positivity to you and the captain, I'm sure. I'll process the papers and send you on your way in no time."

You thanked him as you heard a knock at the door. Another soldier had told Erwin it was time for a meeting so you thanked him for his help and waved goodbye. You were held up at the door by the sound of his voice once more.

"Hey, y/n. Where exactly in Wall Sina are you going?"

You tilted your head in confusion. "There's the shelters in the capital that house citizens from the Underground until they can safely leave for Wall Rose. They're the same ones you and I usually go to. Why?"

He halted for a second, choosing his words carefully. "Well, with Levi there, I don't want... Just try to avoid the Underground. I don't want you two getting hurt."

You didn't understand what he was trying to get at, but you figured it wasn't the time for you to probe him. If the chance arrived, you would have to ask Levi exactly what Erwin meant. You thanked him for his warning and left, wracking your brain on what that enigma of a man was going on about.

Several days after your meeting with Erwin, he had told you everything got approved and Levi told you of his clearance from the doctor. You were to leave in a few hours so you began packing, your stomach fluttering with anxiety. You always got nervous before a trip but this one was stressful because of its unknowns. You had never traveled between walls without Erwin and his words hadn't left your mind. Why did he mention you getting hurt? You'd been there plenty of times prior with the blonde man, none of which had gone wrong, so why was he being cryptic about Levi? You tried to shake it from your head. Erwin had been under tons of stress lately so you chalked it up to him still reeling from the losses of the expedition. You had just thrown the last of your shirts in a bag when you heard a knock at your door. Levi was there, a duffel on his arm and a surprisingly pleasant look on his face.

"I'm ready if you are."

You were. You had already brought outside the bags of donation items so all that was left was your personal bag. You went to pick it up from the bed but Levi beat you to it.

"Aren't you still nursing broken ribs?" you asked, watching him in amusement as he shuffled down the hallway with both of your belongings.

"The doctor cleared me for all activity. I would be training shitty cadets to be less shitty right now if it weren't for you."

"Should I be saying you're welcome that you're not?"

Levi pondered for a second. "Four eyes is always saying I need a vacation."

"Their wish is now granted. So you're welcome," you replied, giggling a bit. When you stepped outside, you were expecting to be greeted by an open air cart, but instead, you were face to face with a fancy contained carriage. You thought maybe it was for someone else, but when Levi started loading your things inside, you knew it was for you.

"Did you know about this?" you asked him, flabbergasted. He put away the last of the bags as he answered you.

"The weather's supposed to be bad in a few days. I didn't want you catching a cold on our trip so I made Erwin reserve this instead."

Levi never failed to surprise you. He was so kind the way he thought about you and made your life so much easier. You nearly kissed him on the spot but didn't want him to keel over and die before you could get anywhere. The raven haired man wouldn't look you in the eye as you climbed inside the carriage, presumably shy about his caring so much about your wellbeing. The carriage driver took off and you two left the castle walls. You kept your eyes pointed out the window, not wanting to miss the opportunity to watch the foliage pass you by. It was your favorite part about riding in a cart or on a horse while holding onto someone else. Seeing the trees fly by you in this area almost reminded you of Levi taking you home that one day all those months ago. This carriage should have brought up that same feeling of freedom, but this time you were heading toward a place that had held you in its wretched confines for far too long. As you rode further and further away from your home and closer to your family in Mitras, you felt like you were starting to drown in a deep ocean of melancholy and stress. As you were lost in your own world, you didn't notice Levi staring at you from his bench across from yours. He was thankful that you were day dreaming because it meant he could observe you without hesitation. You normally looked very beautiful to him, but today, in your civilian clothes and more relaxed hairstyle than usual, you looked absolutely stunning. Even though this trip certainly wasn't just for pleasure, he was looking forward to a short break from the woes of every day life. He was hoping you were, too, but he saw your eyebrows furrow and you had a sad glint in your eye.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Levi's voice brought you out of your daze.

"Hmm? Oh. No, I just-- I get nervous on trips, that's all," you said. If Levi could tell you weren't giving him the whole truth, he didn't say anything.

You sighed, opting to speak your mind a bit more. "When I leave my home and head into the city, I get hit with this indescribable sadness. I think it's because I see people who have literally nothing and I can't help but think I'm not doing enough for them when I have so much."

"Don't be stupid. The fact that you're going out of your way to show kindness when others don't is a testament to your character. What you're doing will be appreciated by those who need it most. Trust me."

He spoke with such conviction that you wondered if he was ever one of those people who needed help. You didn't give it much thought since it was rude to make assumptions about someone's past.

"You always know exactly what to say to make me feel better, Levi. Thank you."

He scoffed. "I think you're the only person that's ever said that."

"That makes it all the more special then, doesn't it?" you asked, making him roll his eyes but you knew he agreed.

The carriage continued on its fast pace while you two sat in silence, both reading books. You kept peeking your eyes over the pages, taking the time to appreciate how Levi looked today. He never looked anything less than handsome to you, but him out of a uniform made your heart beat faster. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt with black pants and both items highlighted his frame perfectly. You loved the way he looked with the cravat but you were mesmerized with the graceful way his neck craned without something covering it up. He shifted in his seat and you quickly averted your eyes, hoping he hadn't seen you checking him out.

"Is your book that boring you'd rather look at me?" he asked, his gaze staying on his own unturned pages.

"Boring, no. Rather look at you, definitely," you said, taking the fact that you got caught in stride.

"Tch. Have some shame, brat," he chided, a faint blush showing up on his cheeks. You found it fun to tease Levi here and there. You wanted to keep showing him that you found him desirable so he wasn't left wondering if you still liked him romantically or not. Not that physical looks mattered to you two anyway, but you figured it didn't hurt to flirt with him every once in awhile to keep him on his toes. Afternoon turned to night and it got too dark to read, opting to leave the gas lamp off for now to conserve it in case of emergencies. The carriage slowed to a halt and the driver let you know that you were stopping for the night at a local inn. You and Levi exited the carriage, Levi taking your bag once again, and made a plan with the driver to meet up in the morning to set off. A room wasn't ready yet when you checked in so you and Levi went to the restaurant to partake in a nice warm meal. Conversation flowed easily between you two as you tore into the bread and meat you were served. When you finally got a key to your room, you opened the door and immediately frowned. You were supposed to get a room with two beds, but there was only one. You looked at Levi who didn't even seem to notice as he was already inside and discarded the bags in the corner of the room. You followed him in, confusion taking over you.

"There's only one bed," you said, stating the obvious.

"It's fine. I'll sleep on the floor," he replied, grabbing the extra blanket from the bed and laying it out. You stomped over to him, grabbing the soft textile.

"No way, especially not when you're still healing. I can go downstairs and talk to the owner, there has to be another room."

There wasn't. You and Levi had booked the last available room and the one with two beds that you had requested when you had gotten there was previously reserved. When you got back to your room, Levi had already laid down on the floor in an attempt to rest for a little while. You stood over him, your arms crossed.

"Get up, idiot. You're not sleeping on the floor."

"I don't sleep much anyway, idiot. Go to bed."

"If you don't get up, I'm sleeping on the ground, too."

That got Levi's attention, prompting him to sit up. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard and I'm around teenagers all day."

"Look," you said, defeated, "the bed is more than big enough for the two of us. You'll have your personal space and I promise I won't invade it on purpose."

Levi took his sweet time thinking about what he was going to do while you were loving life on the plush mattress, your pajamas on, and cozy under the covers. You heard the mattress creak as his body took up the spot next to yours.

"Finally decided to join me, loverboy?" You were joking with him to cover up the fact that you were nervous about sharing an entire sleeping space with the love of your life. Normally, sharing a bed with someone wouldn't be a huge deal, especially when that someone was a person who you trusted with your life, but Levi was a special case. You never wanted to push him into doing anything too fast or make him uncomfortable and you knew that relationship things like this could easily freak him out.

"I will not hesitate to snuff out your life with this pillow."

Well, at least he was acting like his normal self. He was, up until you heard shuffling under the sheets and felt the mattress dip down closer to you. It was nearly pitch black in the room so you couldn't see anything, but you felt your breath hitch in your throat as Levi scooted close enough to your face where you caught a glimpse of the faintest reflection of moonlight in his eyes. His breath was barely fanning over your arm that was lying next to your cheek on your pillow. All of a sudden you felt his hand on yours as he interlaced your fingers. It was a good thing that the room had no light because you were both flustered messes.

"Is this okay?" he whispered.

"Very," you whispered back, brushing your lips over the back of his hand like a kiss from a fleeting ghost. Even though Levi barely slept that night because of his ever present insomnia rearing its ugly head, lying next to you, with your bodies eventually intertwining, he found himself more rested than he ever knew could be possible.

Chapter 12

Taglist: @blueeclipsepaperstudent @raginginferno267 @come-away-with-me87

[yanderes-galore]

Could I perhaps request Kung Lao (mk11) when the time merger happens he learns of his child from that future could it be a one shot with prompt :

63.) "You're my everything!"

Btw Have an amazing day :)

I tried to see what I could do with this! Wasn't that bad yandere-wise compared to what I usually write, hope you still like it! I didn't have much to go off of.... I was also rusty on MK11's plot so this is pretty much mostly spoiler free.

Yandere! Platonic! Kung Lao Prompt 63

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Murder, Blood, Darling doesn't mind his lapse in judgement, Possible OOC Kung Lao, Darling just wants a father and accepts him, This could lead into a future fic but I'm out of ideas rn, Dubious companionship.

Kung Lao never thought he'd have a kid. That was the last thing he thought he'd see when the time merge happened. Yet here he is, his past self, meeting his future kid.

You too were confused. You never entirely met your dad before he became a revenant, only a few times. As a result, your encounters with him were only ever with the revenant form of your father.

While Kung Lao was shocked at the fact he even had a kid somewhere down the line, you're shocked at meeting your father alive. You didn't expect your father to be so… Arrogant at first. However, you didn't entirely blame him due to your bloodline.

Kung Lao was unsure how to warm up to you when he met you. He noted the fighting techniques you naturally shared with him and saw how well you've trained. Kung Lao actually… Pities you a bit considering his present counterpart's fate.

Due to the existence of his present counterpart and you, Kung Lao actually drops his arrogance. Instead he wants to focus on learning about you while fighting beside you. You deserve a good future, don't you?

While the events of Kronika's plan develops, you end up spending time getting to know Kung Lao and Liu Kang. You barely knew the two growing up but feel at ease with their younger counterparts. You feel a bit of resentment that you never got to have moments like this until now.

Liu Kang teases you and Kung Lao as you talk with one another. Usually it's something along the lines of how soft Kung Lao is with you instead of his usual arrogance. Kung Lao tries to brush him off, simply saying he's learned to appreciate other things than winning and proving himself.

Why does he have to prove himself when he has you right here?

It seems as though anything he talks about captivates you at times. The idea of that makes him a bit sad. You must've had a hard life, huh?

Kung Lao has a hard time denying the fact he's attached to you. He understands he doesn't belong in this timeline but he can't bring himself to just leave you alone. Is he really just supposed to leave you to the revenant version of himself?

No… He doesn't want that. He doesn't think you do either. 

As time passes Kung Lao finds himself unable to let you go. You'd be so alone without him, right? Clearly… He has to do something, right?

Kung Lao ignored the fact you were a mature adult. He still thought of you as a kid, his kid, that he's meant to protect. So for you… He'll make an exception to the pacifist rule.

You've been told your father was a reckless pacifist at heart. Which is why when Kung Lao returned to you after an attack… Covered in blood… You felt a pang of fear in your heart. This… This was still your father, right?

Kung Lao ignored your changed mindset towards him. Even when you asked why he changed his ways so suddenly afterwards… He gave you an eerily calm smile. One on any other bloodthirsty warrior would make sense… But not your father.

“I've learned sometimes more lethal violence is necessary to protect what you fight for…” Kung Lao hums, quickly pulling you into a hug. You remain stunned in his arms… It's the welcoming hug a parent would give… But felt wrong here. “Was I supposed to just let you get hurt?”

You pause your fear and think on his words. Kung Lao, even when he wasn't your Kung Lao, killed to protect you. You meant that much to him… The thought soon begins to soothe you more than scare you.

“You're my everything.” Kung Lao mumbles while holding you. This felt… Natural. This felt like it was meant to be. Why were you denied this before?

You felt the same, checking to make sure you were in private before huddling closer despite the blood.

Part of you yearned for this…

Even if you were unaware of the dark changes you stirred within this past version of your father.

[uselesssomebody]

thinking about joel obviously and i just

joel caught up in the moment, probably drunk (actually off alcohol or pu$$y Ima) and letting a fantasy of his slip out where he wants a MMF 3some just to fill reader up…... but denies it later when she brings it up..... but she tries to arrange it with some dude and they get pretty far into the process - - like meet up at a bar and hang out with plans on all going home together..... but jealous!joel changes his mind (shocker!) and keeps reader all to himself, probably fucking in the car before they make it home Imao

specific yes but.

you're a good writer. you can do it. please.

𝕚 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕪𝕠𝕦 - 𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕟𝕠𝕨 - joel miller x reader

complete masterlist | joel miller masterlist

words || 𝟟.𝟜𝕜

summary || in which the reader and joel do some experimenting?? (just look at the ask)

a/n || i am such a waffler man this was supposed to be a quick and easy response and now it's over 7k?? ➵ hey nonnie hope you enjoy i know it's long. i actually adored the request so much and it made me blush when i first read it on the bus. also, i realized like halfway through that you had likely wanted pre-outbreak but it is, in fact, post-outbreak and set in jackson. ➵ no ellie in this one though, guys, but there is like a male oc who the reader is kinda with for a bit - just look at the ask, honestly ➵ poe and thomas from tmr requests in my asks - i see you and you will be answered so soon! ➵ evidently i am now also a whore for oscar isaac so sen over lil moon knight, santiago or poe requests if you have 'em. planning on writing for leto from dune too - just too much of dilf to ignore, unfortunately. ➵ like very 18+/MDNI content, and heed warnings cuz by god is this one of the sluttiest, smuttiest things i've ever written ➵ not edited (yet) ➵ send me requests if you have ‘em. enjoy!

warnings || fluff/smut/smidge of angst ➵ unprotected p.i.v. ➵ sex after alcohol consumption (fully consensual though)➵ finger sucking + gagging➵ lotta threesome mentions and fantasizing➵ bitty bit of spit play➵ semi-public sex + exhibitionism➵ mirror sex➵ oral (m receiving) ➵ cum swallowing ➵ cum ig (tell me if i miss anything)

"are you feeling alright?" she blinked up at the man in front of her, broken out of her daydream.

"huh? yeah, yeah - i'm fine. why'dya ask?" he shrugs.

"looked like you'd fallen asleep over there. actually, you've got a little bit of drool-" all grogginess evaporates from her as she brings her sleeve up to wipe the corner of her mouth that he'd gestured to. he laughed at her bugged-out reaction, keeling over, when she realizes he'd been joking - and she hadn't, in fact, been drooling.

"fuck off, man." he wheezes through his laughs.

"you should have seen your face!"

they were the last two sat at the kitchen, serving dinner to the last few residents of jackson who had come in for a late meal. it'd been a long day for her, as she attempted to pick up shifts to help with the town's current shortage of workers - too many out with the flu at the moment.

it was a bit absurd, honestly, having so many afflicted by the common cold when there was a whole apocalyptic fungus about.

nevertheless, she'd finished cooking a few hours ago, and now, her and her coworker were finishing portioning the meals and wrapping the sliver of leftovers for the next day. with only a few people sat around the makeshift cafeteria, the both of them were sat in the cleaned kitchen, trying not to fall asleep.

she'd known him - jake - since she'd been in jackson: her first superior when she'd joined the food industry in the small town. he was nice and welcoming at first, but as they were put on more shifts together and had more silent hours to kill, she'd realized how dumb he was.

affectionately, of course.

he loved to make stupid jokes and laugh at stupid things. he liked to believe stupid things, and say even more stupid things to her.

she sat through them, laughing at his antics or willing away her annoyance at his childishness. nevertheless, he was one of her close friends, and - as much as she thought he was dumb - he was there enough of the time for her to accustom to him.

they're snapped out of their banter by the bell at the door ringing, signalling someone had walked in. they both walk out, ready to serve the very late townsman, until she realizes who it is as they near.

she slips out from behind the booth to greet him, placing a soft kiss to his cheek as he grips her side in a half-bear hug.

"hey, joel."

"how're ya, baby?" she nods, detaching.

"i'm - i'm okay."

"long day, ain't it?" she nods meekly at his assessment, smiling when his large hand presses over her shoulder, subtly massaging the tense muscles there as she turns back to jake.

"'lright, i should get back, joel -" she starts, but is cut off by her colleague's disagreement.

"no, you guys head home. i'll finish up here." she hesitates, immediately disagreeing.

"no - i shouldn't-"

"don't worry about it." jake's words hold a finality, and she salutes him as he laughs.

"alright - i'll see you tomorrow. okay?" he nods, waving them off as joel guides her out. he's moving a little fast - a little urgent - and it makes her laugh.

"are we in a rush?" she mumbles, taking in the cold of the night air as she sucks in a breath.

"hmm?" joel's voice is gruff, and, only when she glances at him under the streetlight does she notice the flush on his face.

"are - are you drunk?" he stays quiet, and she snakes her arm around him, smiling at the warmth he provided, "okay, how about 'how much have you had to drink'?" his lips don the ghost of a smile as they approach her place.

"just enough to remind me how much i miss you." he mumbles, crowding her back as she opens the door, quick to take her bag, and then her shoes, and then her jacket, and then her sweater off of her, leaving her goosebumped in the aftermath of the cold wind hitting her on her near bare front.

she was quick to realize that it was one of those nights - and she sure wasn't complaining, wrapping her fingers around joel's hair as his head dips to meet her neck, sighing contently at the action. his hands clasp - almost desperately - on her hips, pulling her straight into her bedroom, as he continued leaving a trail of wet kisses along her neck.

she grips at the collar of his flannel, tracing her hands over the top of it until she reaches the buttons at the front, eagerly slipping them off, and his deft fingers perform the same action over her jeans, the button almost as eager as she was, slipping undone swiftly.

she grips his cheeks, pushing his lips to connect with her own, wanting to taste the 'just enough' whiskey or beer he'd had while waiting for her.

and, fuck, did it taste good - a harsh taste that had clung to his teeth, which she eagerly licked off. it tasted aged, and rough around the edges - but that was probably just him.

she moaned into his mouth as he pulled her jeans just low enough to gain access to her cunt, swiping his fingers over the fabric of her soft underwear - where she'd practically soaked through the garment.

"fuck, baby - all for me?" his head dips into the small space between them as he moans, his mumble being confirmed by her vigorous nodding and the jolt of her hips when he applied just a hint of pressure. she pushes his shirt off as his fingers continue to explore the extent of her arousal, before he's pushing her down into a laying position over her bed.

he pulls her jeans off the rest of the way, and she rises just enough to grasp his belt, unbuckling it - but not taking it off. when she'd looked up at him, she'd realized that tonight was a i need you - right now night, and his trousers would probably only remain unzipped and lowered enough to take his cock out.

so, she does just that, pushing them down just enough to pull his cock out, stroking him lightly as he lets out another low groan.

"you want me-" though she can see the way he's aching for her, she knows he's still - as the gentleman he is - going to ask if she wants more satisfaction beforehand.

"inside. right now." it's supposed to be a cheeky command, but the desperation in her voice breaks the illusion. it's more than enough for joel, though, gripping his cock and slipping her underwear to the side, only taking a moment to run a finger over her soaked folds and exhaling deep and low.

his tip nudges against his clit, making her hips buck, catching him on her entrance, and allowing him to push inside her.

"oh, fuck-" it falls from his mouth - practically without permission - and his sentiment is shared by her, breaths shallow as he fills her.

"oh - god - that's so good, joel - 't's'good-" her words her garbled nonsense, and the desperate nature of them spur him on, letting out a gruff moan as he bottoms out.

he can feel her clenching around him - obviously trying to adjust to the size of him - and it's doing all sorts of things to his head. he allows her breath to even just slightly, before he pulls back and pushes inside her, watching her mouth fall open at the sharp action.

she was so fucking pretty - her eyes glazed over as she felt him repeat the action, his thrusts determined and rough, her mouth hung open, mind seemingly blank, as not even a word escapes her.

he slows down for a moment, and sees the moment of annoyance fall over her features, her brows scrunching as she goes to question his actions. he removes one of his hands from their grip on her waist, bringing it up to cup the side of her face. his thumb strokes her cheek for a second, making her relent and smile at the soft action, before he takes her by surprise, speeding up, and bringing his hand closer to her chin, his thumb ghosting her open lips.

"oh - oh, my god-" her moans are quiet, a whimper pressed under his finger, and as her mouth falls open again, he rests his thumb against her tongue, watching her features flash in confusion, before she succumbs, almost instinctively wrapping her lips over his thick finger.

it's a pretty sight - in a fucked way - and it makes his thrusts quicken, her eyes squeezing shut and her mouth humming around his thumb at the sensation. his eyes watch the hollow of her cheeks as she suckles him, the flick of her tongue against his nail, the slight rock of her head up and down. her moans sound garbled and mumbled against him, and that makes them sound more desperate - as though she was trying so hard to let him know how good he felt, but couldn't get it across while her mouth was occupied.

he pressed up closer against her, removing his thumb and replacing it with his index and middle fingers. it wasn't a challenge for her mouth, but she could feel herself gag when he pushed them down - and he found the sound fucking hot.

"christ - gonna have to fill you up like this every time." so distracted by his cock and his fingers, she nods without paying too much attention, until his next sentence: "want me to get someone else to do it? watch someone fill your mouth while i fuck you like this?" her eyes widen at the notion, but she knows that he can feel the way she clenches around him at the thought, and a grunt escapes him, his hips stuttering at the sensation, "fuck, you like that, don't you? so greedy, pretty baby, ain't i enough?" he can see the way her eyes widen at his words, as she was totally not saying that. he's sure her small movements around his fingers are the shake of her head, and it makes him laugh, "that's okay, baby, i wanna see it too. wanna see you get filled up-" his words swim in her head, and he's still talking, but she can't hear him anymore, her stomach clenching at the feeling of her orgasm.

she's sure she squeals around him or something, because his thrusts speed up just slightly: his hands are a bit rougher on her body, and his movements are a bit more intentioned.

"that's it, baby, d'ya wanna cum for me?" she nods, and he smiles, pulling his fingers out of her mouth, and trailing his spit slicked digits over her cunt, ghosting over her clit, making her moan come out loudly, "i didn't hear you, pretty girl," she looks up at him, gripping one of his biceps and the hand on her waist.

"please - please, joel, lemme cum - please?" it seemed to be the only word in her vocabulary, the way she was pleading, and he relented, nodding his head.

"go 'head, baby - cum, cum f'r'me." his accent becomes more pronounced as his own words become mumbled, his thrusts growing sloppy and less calculated. it's more than enough for her to oblige, feeling the growing knot in her stomach snap so hard her legs begin to shake, squealing at the sensation. his continued movements inside her are spurred by the clench of her cunt as he feels his own orgasm close, thrusting in a few more times, before pulling out and finishing over her.

they're both breathing deeply, trying to catch their breaths, and she's still twitching. he pulls off of her, allowing her some space to recover, before he walks into the bathroom of her place to clean up and find something for her.

when he comes back out, she already looks close to sleep, so he avoids saying all too much, focusing instead on slowly and gently cleaning her, pressing soft kisses to her crown or her fingertips. she lays down as he returns to the bathroom, seeing her practically passed out, her body curled against the side of the bed, and leaving a him-shaped spot by him.

he slides in beside her, feeling the warmth of her bare skin against his own, and lulling into an exhausted sleep of his own.

she woke up earlier than him the next day, knowing he preferred to sleep in late, especially since being in jackson. she rose to make herself - and him, when he decided to wake up - some breakfast, keeping her stove on low heat so that the sizzle of her eggs wouldn't cause too much noise.

she's in her own thoughts all morning, first adamant in getting ready so that she can go to work - before she remembers what he said last night.

'want me to get someone else to do it? watch someone fill your mouth while i fuck you like this?'

she didn't have a moment to process his words in her wrecked state last night, but her ability to mull over them this morning left her very confused.

sure, she didn't mind the idea of the fantasy - but that's under the precedent that she'd never thought about it before. joel had never said anything like that to her before - in fact, if anything, she thought joel hated the idea of her with someone else, always ready to pull her into him or grip her with purpose in the presence of other people who looked at her with too much interest.

so, his admission the previous night wasn't something she'd dismiss - but something she'd have to speak with him about after he'd woken up.

which, to her surprise, happened sooner than later, when she felt his arms wrap around her as she absentmindedly stirred her scrambled eggs, too focused on other things. she jolts against him, squeaking, but he takes the majority of the impact, still holding onto her tightly as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"jesus, joel - you scared the hell outta me." she catches her breath, tipping her head back onto his own shoulder, and smiling lightly at her reaction.

"good mornin' to ya too, sweetheart." he mumbles, good-naturedly. she laughs at his slightly monotone, unafflicted tone, before brushing him off and nudging him in the direction of the table, which he reluctantly obliges. she plates up their simple breakfast of toast and eggs, placing them on the table as he runs two glasses of water for them.

when they're both sat down and eating, she clears her throat.

"late today." it's a mumble, reminding him she'd be home late again, having been placed on another long shift.

"again?" he's curious - she'd pulled a lot of them recently, "if they're overworkin' ya, i'll talk to tommy-" she smiles, shaking her head at the suggestion.

"no, joel - everyone's sick, it's just temporary." he looks like he wants to argue, but he nods, shrugging. she smiles, trying to cheer him up, "you can put me to bed like you did yesterday, yeah?" she says it as she reaches for the fingers splayed beside him on his outstretched arm as he ate, ghosting her own over them. she can see the hint of a smile ghost over his face, not looking her in the eyes - as she knows the memory of the previous night is at the front of his mind.

"'f ya want that, i'll give it to ya, baby." it's a promise, and she smiles, feeling her own face redden at his casual tongue. then, her face falls for a moment, realizing what she still has to ask him.

"joel - actually, i need to ask you something." he looks up at her with questioning eyes. his mouth's full, but she knows he's gonna answer her, so she asks away: "were you being serious last night?" his expression turns more confused, his chews slowing as he processes her words. she continues, "you know, about bringing someone else in?" he chokes at her words, swallowing harshly and coughing before taking a sip of water.

she's a bit shocked by the reaction, but waits as he recuperates, before he answers.

"what? i dunno wha' yer talkin' about, sweetheart." his accent is heavy as he goes to sip his water again. her eyes widen at the response, unbelieving that, across the many ways he could have answered her, he chose to lie. and, she knows he's lying, because his cheeks and neck have reddened, and he's not looking her in the eyes. she shakes her head, mouth agape.

"i'm not - i'm not freaked out or anything, it's just something i thought we should talk about-" he shakes his head, picking up his now-empty plate, and placing it away without looking at her.

"there's nothin' to talk about." it's dismissive, and, frankly rude. she goes to say something, but, seeing his back still to her, she bites her tongue and rolls her eyes. having lost her appetite, she eat the rest of her meal with gritted teeth, leaving for work after with a noticeable frigidness.

at work, jake's quick to mention her heightened annoyance. first, he pokes a bit of fun at it, before he realizes the extent of it. he goes to ask what's wrong - but decides that she needs a good laugh more than a shoulder to cry on, so he does just that for the next few hours.

he watches as her shell cracks - first from her cracking just a hint of a smile at something stupidly funny he'd done, then accidentally letting out a chuckle and, finally, essentially belly laughing, to the point where he had to hold her up to make sure didn't fall into the large pot of chilli that she was making.

her mood positively lifted by her coworker, she walks around with just a slightly bigger pep in her step. jake had done a good job, he thinks.

by the end of the day, though, she's thinking about joel - and what he'd said last night, again. she can't help the thought of including another person proliferating her mind, especially not today, as she realized not only how damn sweet coworker, funny guy, friend jake is, but also how his smile's a bit toothy, but nice to look at, or how his hair actually looks really good when it's a bit fucked up from his hands running through it when he took a break, or had to push it away from his face.

it was fucking unholy, was what it was, thinking about the poor guy who was just trying to br a friend to her - especially right after an argument with her boyfriend that morning. jake seemed to notice her faraway stares again tonight, poking fun at it, without realizing that he was part of the reason for them.

by the last end of her night shift, she was sure he had realized the slight distance she was trying to put between them, but the man didn't mind, knowing she had a lot to think about from her behavior that morning.

he thinks he knows the reason for it, when he sees her boyfriend walk inside more timidly than he'd ever done, and the lack of a kiss that she'd usually immediately plant on him. in fact, he sits on a table in near them instead of saying hello to her - a distinct difference.

he ushers her out a little early once again, and she smiles, earnestly thanking him as she steps out of the kitchen - with promises of making it up to him sometime. he shrugged her off, waving her away, asking her not to worry about it.

she notices joel as soon as she leaves, watching him raise as she nears him.

"are you coming to mine?" she mumbles, not really looking at him as he opens to the door to let them both out.

"d'ya want me too?" she pauses for a moment, before smiling, as she can hear the hint of a plea in his voice. joel hated when they got like this, not liking the notion of making her unhappy, but knowing that he was uncharacteristically stubborn. she slides her hand into his own warm one, and sees the way his face lights up - well, to the extent that it can.

"you gonna keep your promise?" for a moment, he's confused, before realization dawns on him.

"f'course, sweetheart."

the previous night had left her just as satisfied and passed out as the last time. joel had fucked her with a purpose: letting her know how sorry he was for dismissing her out of embarrassment. nevertheless, he doesn't mention the idea he'd proposed two nights ago. she can tell it still intrigued him, though, as his fingers still exploratively entered her mouth, still hooked by the look of her trying to pleasure him in two different ways.

that morning, she felt more determined in surprising her boyfriend by fulfilling his fantasy. there wasn't too much opportunity to have these sexy surprises between each other in the advent of the apocalypse, so she figured this would at least be a memorable experience for the both of them.

and she knew just who the third would be.

that day, when she got to work, jake felt as though she was walking on eggshells around him. it always seemed as though a question was on the tip of her tongue, and she had this apprehensive, curious, and something-else look in her eyes whenever she'd catch his, and it was driving him mad. if there was one thing the man hated, it was not knowing.

finally, he corners her after the dinner rush.

"what's up with you, huh?" her eyes widen at his direct question.

"what? nothing, why do you ask?" he rolls his eyes, holding his head in his hands.

"you've been acting weird all day. did i do something?" she's quick to shake her head.

"no! no, not at all..." he immediately disspells his worried act, becoming annoyed.

"well, then, what is it?" she goes to argue, but he holds a hand up, "spare me the dramatics and just tell me, please. i've waited all day."

she opens her mouth. then closes it again. then repeats the action a few times. every time, it piques jake's interest. finally he can't take anymore, and lets out a frustrated sigh, causing her to finally blurt it out.

"joel wants a threesome!" as soon as it exits her mouth, she realizes how crude it is. jake's mouth falls open, before his shocked expression morphs into a laugh. she's shocked by the reaction.

"yeah? and you're worried? who's the lucky girl?" realizing his misunderstanding, she shakes her head.

"no, no - we kinda wanna introduce a guy." jake sobers up immediately, real confusion falling over his face.

"okay..." it's a slow response, and he suddenly feels as though the space between them is too small. seeing his expression, she panics.

"i'm - god, i'm stupid, sorry, i shouldn't have jumped out-" she's rambling in her panic, and he reaches to calm her.

"no, no, no, it's okay." they go silent for a moment, as he lets go of her hand, "you thought of someone else?" he finally asks. she swallows harshly.

"well - there's only one other guy i really trust in this town." it was true - everyone else was nice, but she didn't know anyone else, viable or not. he looks almost expectant in an answer, but when she looks up at him with a very suggestive glance, he realizes what she means.

"me?" he's shocked, as she slowly nods.

"only if you want to - i mean i totally get it if you don't..." realizing she'd start rambling again if she spoke, she bit her tongue, stopping herself. he shakes his head, taking a deep breath.

"no - god, no, it's not that. i mean, you're pretty, and - like, we're friends, i like you, it's just..." she watches his mouth expectantly, wanting his answer, "joel's scary" she wants to take him seriously, but she can't help but crack into a smile, causing his face to morph to indignance, "c'mon, i'm being serious." she nods.

"yeah, of course, of course. but he's not gonna do anything - he wants this." he looks contemplative, jaw clenching and unclenching.

"this is a stupid idea." her face falls a little, as she swallows, "but, i'll do it." shocked by the turn around, her breaks into a smile, reaching to give him a hug.

"seriously?" she mumbles into his shoulder.

"yeah, what the hell." she laughs at his casual nature, when the both of them hear the door open, knowing it could only be one person so late into the night.

she peeks out, smiling giddily at joel, and he follows her, waving at the man as well. joel's a bit confised - not having interacted much with jack? - jacob? - before, but he nods a hello to him as he hugs her.

she waves jake a quick goodbye, and he smiles at the couple, watching them walk away. as the door closes, he exhales deeply, wondering what he'd just gotten himself into.

over the next few days, her conversations with jake had this air of just slight awkwardness to them, and she was trying her best to subtly remind joel of his fantasy. she'd taken to sticking his own fingers in her mouth and mumbling about how she wanted to be filled up during their nights together.

she'd decided that the upcoming weekend maybe the best time for this experiment, and her and jake were about to be exempt from their duties for a well-deserved break, as some of the other kitchen staff had begun feeling better. she'd proposed the time to the man, and could practically see the heat that reached his ears.

"uh - yeah, shit - yeah. saturday?" she nods slowly, deciding it might be best to warm joel up to the surprise throughout the day, before the reveal at night.

on that friday, she walks out with a distinct pep in her step, excited to be doing this for her boyfriend. she had wrapped her friend in a quick hug - a thank you for his commitment to the idea - before returning to joel.

on that saturday, they practically woke up that morning fucking. she knew he'd never say no to sex before breakfast, so, as she goes down on him, she mumbles about the surprise she had for him later. thrown out of his pleasure by the surprise, he grips her hair, pulling her off of him and looking at her expectantly for elaboration.

"what - fuck-" her hand hadn't gotten the memo to pause, "what surprise?" she laughs against him.

"'f i tell you, it's not a surprise."

he doesn't bring it up again until after breakfast, though, once he does, he doesn't stop. he practically pesters her all day - on her off-day, no less - for an explanation, until, by about the evening, she relents.

"joel, alright." he finally stops, watching as she plops onto the couch next to him, finding a comfortable position as he watches her movements, an expectant expression on his face, "remember what you said a few days ago." his face suddenly hardens - immediately understanding, but not acknowledging her, "i know you were worried about what i thought, but i - i don't hate it." his mouth parts at her admission, and she averts her eyes, a shy smile creeping on her face, "go ahead, call me greedy again."

finally, his expression breaks, and a small laugh - more of an exhale - comes from him, remembering his reaction that night as well.

"i'm - i'm not gonna do that, sweetheart. but - i don't wanna pressure ya 'r anythin', 'lright?" she looks up at him earnestly and nods.

"you're not - i swear. i - well, it can't hurt to try, right?" he leans further back into the soft cushions, half shrugging, before his eyes narrow.

"what's yer su'prise then, baby?" she hesitates for a moment, unsure how to mention it.

"well, since you - y'know, we - wanted to, i thought i'd find a guy and arrange something..." she trails off, realizing the shock on joel's face. there's definitely an intrigue in his eyes, but something else - a little darker - hidden deeper in his gaze. she searches his face desperately, looking for disgust, or apprehension in his eyes.

"ya -" he swallows, lips parting again, tongue darting out to moisten them, going silent for a moment, "who'd ya find?" is the question he eventually settles on, averting his gaze from her for a moment.

"i - you know the guy i work with? jake?" joel immediately realizes - the man that always let his girl leave with him a little early. the guy who seemed decent enough, respectful enough. it made him swallow harshly, not sure how to process the thought, but being unable to ignore the slow, interested churn in his stomach, "did - should i have found someone else?" he can hear the light edge of panic in her voice, and he's quick to shake his head.

"no - no, darlin'. that's the surprise, then? we meetin' him tonight?" she nods slowly, still unsure of his reaction. he places an arm around her, pulling her close to him, and burying his nose in her hair. "re ya excited?" she stills for a moment, before nodding, a little sheepish.

"yup." his response is immediate.

"greedy girl."

the bar has a quiet lull to it, though it's a saturday. there are a few patrons milling about - in the booths, or by the bar. they step into the warm atmosphere after the cold of the night, and she can feel goosebumps rise - due to the weather change or the anticipation, she doesn't know.

joel's warm - as always - against her back, so close to her that she feels like she can scarcely breathe. his gripping her tightly by the waist, fingers tapping on her shirt - almost contemplatively. she sees jake by the bar, and he makes eye-contact with her over the rim of his glass of beer. she waves a hello, before guiding her boyfriend towards him.

she slides into the stool beside him, tentatively giving him a hug in greeting. she doesn't usually do it in front of joel, but she figured, by the end of the night, he'd be used to much, much more, so who cared? jake mumbles a quick hi to her, before leaning back.

"hey, joel." he also speaks hesitantly, nodding at the other man. she turns to watch his reaction, and sees that the stern expression that he always kept on his face hadn't exactly left. she watched him swallow, shuffling on his feet.

"yeah. hey." it's a gruff response, but it's, at least, a response. she rolls her shoulders, a small smile growing on her lips.

"well, i think it'd be best we have a little to drink?" it's not a question, but it's got the intonation of one, as she looks for support for the idea from her two companions. joel nods, and jake calls the bartender over, requesting 3 drinks.

she only planned on them staying about half or three-quarters of the hous, before heading back. now, it had progressed to be a few minutes past an hour and a half, and it didn't look like anyone was particularly ready. jake had been maintaining a respectful distance, talking to her, and trying to engage joel in conversation, but the other man was dismissive at best and just silent at worst.

thus, she'd been engaged in conversation with jake instead - boring stuff, such as the town's gossip, about work, or about something newly stupid the man had done. she'd laughed - in fact, she'd keeled over laughing at his story, a hand at the bar and the other at the man's arm to steady herself.

though, she felt herself lose that touch quickly, as joel's hands grip her waist to keep her grounded - maybe a little tighter than his normal hold.

nonetheless, through the conversation, she had tried to listen along to jake's stories, and include joel in their conversation, but it didn't seem to be working - and, after the third beer, her confidence was supremely dwindling.

when jake had been recognized by someone else that he knew, moving just a meter or two from the couple to greet the other person, joel had pulled her flush against him, his torso warm against hers as his mouth adjusted to be at her ear-level.

"i dunno 'bout this, sweetheart." he whispers it into her cheek, and it makes her features contort into confusion, but she doesn't turn to him.

"why not?" she whispers back, a bit confused by the change of pace from the afternoon. after a moment passed, and he hadn't answered, she turned to face him. there's a distinct discomfort on his face: a sour expression, his frown deeper than usual. he wasn't looking at her, though; his eyes instead trailed jake's quiet conversation with his friend. she felt a heaviness overcome her, along with realization, "if you don't want to - we can go..." she trails off, giving him space to respond, and she can feel his sharp inhale against her skin, contemplating the idea.

"baby, i you want to - i can, but-" she immediately shakes her head.

"'t's 'lright, we can go. i don't really mind." she gives him a small, almost reassuring smile, and, after another second, he nods. he pushes both of their empty drinks so that they're not teetering on the edge of the bar, and she quickly walks over to jake. he immediately takes notice of her.

"hey, you ready-" he begins, but, seeing the other person who was still speaking with jake, her eyes widen, quick to cut him off and turn him to face her, indicating a more private conversation.

"no! i mean - i dunno, jake - he's not up for it, i think." she tries to be as discreet as possible, but jake's worried expression as he glances over at her boyfriend forces her to suppress an eye-roll at his blatantness.

"i - is he alright, i mean - i'm-?" he's stammering a bit, and she smiles, knowing what he's actually stressed about.

"he's not gonna do anything, i swear." jake's eyes flickered over to joel's ever stern face, not really reassured. nevertheless, he nods.

"okay - you guys going, then?"

"yeah - early night, but whatever. i'll see you monday?" he's quick to agree, waving her off as she returned to joel, "'lright, we heading home?" joel's still looking at the other man, and she lightly presses against his forearm to get his attention. he finally switches his attention to her, a contemplative glaze in his eyes. he hums lightly, and she's about to repeat the question, before he's shaking his head.

"no. not yet, baby." she's a little confused, until he takes her hand in his own warm, large one, gently guiding her to him, "i've got an idea. d'ya trust me?" her eyes follow his movements: the slight fire in his eyes, the hidden smirk on his lips, the impatient tapping of his fingers on the back of her palm, and she's suddenly very intrigued. she nods slowly - of course she trusted him - and the smirk seems to grow.

they duck away from the crowd, towards the back of the bar, and into the bathrooms. now, she's even more confused, as she surveys the hints of the old jackson on the walls as joel ushers her inside - closing and locking the door behind her. there's scribbles on the walls - marker, pen, paint, nail marks - and she finds it a bit difficult to move too much between the space that her and her boyfriend were occupying in the small bathroom. it was quite bare-bones, but it was at least clean - she remembered thinking, distracted enough by the setting to not notice joel's wandering hands making their way to the front of her jeans.

when she does, she lets out a gasp, gripping them before they reach her button, stilling his movements.

"what're you doing?" it'd have been more shocked and indignant if they weren't still in decent earshot of some of the tables - she could hear music and people decently through the wooden door of the bathroom.

"i need you - right now, baby. you gonna let me make you feel good?" he mumbles it into her neck, not letting her confusing defer him as his lips trace over the side of her throat. she feels her hands grow a bit shakier, realizing why this sudden urge had overcome him, but that didn't stop her hesitance.

"i - joel, there're people outside - what if someone hears us?" he's pecking away at her resolve, though, as his hands travel up her body, pulling up the sweater she's wearing along with them.

"let 'em baby, let him hear how good i'm making ya feel." alright, this was a bit out of character for him - obviously spurred on by recent events - but the way he was moving definitely indicated his desperation. finally, she secedes, rolling her eyes as she tells him to be quiet nonetheless. cheekily, he responds, "remind yourself, sweetheart." he grasps the button of her jeans, taking it off with ease, as her own hands go to grip the edge of the sink in front of them, desperately trying not to see her own flushed appearance in the mirror, and focusing instead on the movements of his hands.

he's pulling her trousers down before she can even focus all that much, just far enough to rest under her ass, allowing his hand to snake around and find her cloth-covered clit, rubbing harshly before she has a chance to realize. it causes a squeak to emit from her, making her throw a hand over her mouth, forcing herself to bite down on her finger to avoid alerting the populace of the bar to the unsavory acts occurring.

her other hand reaches desperately to slow the wake of his hand's force, grasping uselessly against his forearm as his fingers continue their assault, feeling her hips involuntarily buck against his ministrations, her thighs hitting against the sink whenever she did. his other hand pulls her underwear down to join her jeans, his hand only relenting for half a moment before it immediately reconnected with her slit, collecting the evidence of her arousal on the tips of his fingers, before bringing the thick digits to his mouth. she follows the movement of his tongue across the slick on his fingers through the mirror, having to avert her gaze for fear of letting out a loud noise at the lewd action.

her bare ass begins rubbing against his clothed cock, begging for some renewed friction and - due to his kindness, or his own desperation - he obliges her immediately, unbuckling, unbuttoning and unwearing his trousers in swift, measured movements. even through her impatience, she can appreciate the speed with which she could feel the head of his cock against her cunt, pressing against her with a striking warmth, as she bit her tongue to little success - a small moan still slipping out from her teeth.

he places a hand to each of her own, placing them in an almost bracing position against the sides of the sink, before gripping her hip, and guiding his cock into her with the other. she can see her face change as she feels the movement inside her - and, better yet, she can see his: a pretty, flushed expression as he struggled to contain his own strength, as indicated by the grit of his teeth and the twitch of his fingers as they all come to rest on her waist.

she bites her lip, feeling his hips make contact with her ass - the feeling of fullness overtaking her senses as she desperately attempted to focus on not screaming.

though, when he began moving, she could feel that resolve crumbling: a large gasp escaping on the first thrust, then a small whimper on the second and - soon enough, full blown moans, echoing over the small room, accompanied by his own grunts and groans.

he lets out a sharp exhale, a ghost of a laugh, pulling her back to rest closer to him as his pace maintained - pushing and pulling inside her with a determination and dexterity.

"what happened, baby? though ya wanted to be quiet?" it takes a moment for her brain to even comprehend what he was saying, and only a garbled noise awaited him in response. she can see his smile against her skin - right next to her completely debauched face, which he also seems to notice, "look'it ya, yer so pretty, baby girl, my pretty girl, ain't ya?" she can hear how his own words are sloppy but unrelenting, as he gets lost in the feel of her. she immediately nods along, knowing that her stream of half-muffled moans didn't suffice an answer.

"joel - i - too loud-" through her mess, he could make out a hint of worry still present in her fucked-out nature, worried about the knowledge of their actions occurring to those outside the room. he finally relents - though he loves the idea of others hearing her noises for him, and only him.

"'lright, pretty, you just can't be quiet, huh?" there's a light hint of degradation in his tone, but not an actual lie in his words, and the events of the evening made it so she wasn't exactly shameful in that moment, so she simply nods. he obliges her untold request, taking a hand off her waist and pushing it over her mouth, muffling her moans to a much more effective degree. the action forces her head back a little, closer to him, and her back to arch. she glances into the mirror, and sees a smirk appear over joel's panting face.

suddenly, his thrusts are faster, harder, causing her eyes to widen as her fingers scramble to better hold onto the sink. he follows the actions in the mirror, smiling as he sees her reaction, trying to hold it together after his seeming measure of good-will, and subsequent surprise. he watches her eyes roll back into the back of her head, and chest heaving as she desperately tries to reduce her moans, feeling the consequence of her open mouth as her spit falls over his hand.

"that's it baby, take it for me, jus' like that, pretty. ya only get like this for me, don't ya, baby girl, jus' fer me." his pace is unrelenting, spearing into her like it was his last time, while all she could do was nod, mumbling yes's that all got captured in his hand. she can feel her impending orgasm, and she attempts to say something. she doesn't need to though - as he can feel it in the violent flutter of her cunt around him. thus, he doesn't allow his pace to falter, pushing into her that much harder and that much deeper, intently watching her expression in the mirror as all her muscles tense and still: her eyes rolling back, her inhale harsh against the top of his hand, the clench of her around him, the quiet sound that finally emits from her as she feels the orgasm wash over her intensely.

her body fully slumps against him, before she practically falls to her knees, hitting the tile of the bathroom as she grasps his cock and takes him in her mouth, lapping at his underside until her also releases in her mouth with a content groan. she swallows in a heartbeat, the musky taste washing over her tongue as she rises again, gripping the sink behind her to stabilize herself. joel's hands are on her jeans and underwear, helping her pull them up over her ass, before she buttons his jeans and buckles his belt as he checks their appearances, head dipping down to kiss her on the cheek as she caught her breath.

"did so good for me, baby. how're ya feelin'?" she deeply inhales, opening her eyes to look up at him.

"good - good, really good." a smile ghosts over his lips, before he opens the door of the bathroom, ushering her in front of him.

she can feel the eyes on them, and - though joel is a little less abashed - she keeps her gaze glued to the floor as they exit.

the one time she looks up is when joel cheerily waves goodbye to someone, and as she looks at the lucky recipient, she makes eye-contact with jake, who had a bit of a shocked, amused expression on his face. her face whips forwards once more, cheeks burning.

monday's gonna be fun.

[measuredingold]

to be in love and to be loved

chapter three: unexpected

authors note: finally able to post this chapter! it was a struggle for me to finish and this isn't even all that i've written, i've wrote so much that what i had originally planned for chapter three is going to be chapter four. however, even in the struggle, i'm excited for what i have planned for this series <3 as always please enjoy and feedback is appreciated! this is also entirely in naomi's pov :)

pairing: noah sebastian x ofc x nicholas ruffilo

masterlist / cross-posted on ao3

word count: 8.4k (another doozy)

cw: ~kissing~, lots of angst (your chest might hurt), sexual content (phone sex lol), feelings realization, 18+ (minors do not interact.)

Living in a van for a week was not all it was cracked up to be. This week included being crammed in a tiny space for days on end, getting to know her friends in more personal ways than she ever dreamed of, learning how to sleep sitting straight up and being comfortable, and eating more fast food than she ever had in life. Though, as her mind drifts off to her flight later this evening, she can't help but already miss it.

Yeah, it sounds fucking awful, especially being the only girl in the crew, but there was something about it that Mimi loved. She got to spend a whole week with some of her favorite people in the entire world, and the thought of going back home makes her sick. She’s never liked goodbyes. They've always left her feeling sad, almost empty. Depending on who it is she often feels like something is missing when leaving them, or when they leave her.

It was hard when Noah and Nicholas moved to Los Angeles. She was happy that they were chasing their dreams and doing what they wanted, but she couldn't deny the sadness that crept into her every time Noah brought up their move. The day they left was hard, but the first night was even harder. She truly felt like there were pieces of her missing. 

It’s starting to feel a lot like that right now.

She feels Noah squeeze her hand and looks up at him, but the boy is looking out the window, lips turned down into a frown. She sighs and leans her head against his shoulder. This morning had been... quiet. They all knew what was coming but no one dared to say anything. Even Folio was quieter than normal, giving her a sad smile when she greeted him that morning.

Noah has barely said a word to anyone today, and he hasn’t left her side for one second. He’s not usually this clingy, brief touches here and there at most, but ever since last night he’s been glued to her. He even helped her at the merch table with Nicholas, and when they weren’t busy, he had his hands on her. In retrospect it was nice, but she knew deep down the clinginess is coming from a place of sadness.

Before she knows it, Jolly’s pulling into the airport parking garage. She told them they didn’t have to park and follow her inside, just dropping her off at the door was fine, but they all insisted. It’s quiet when they make their way inside, Nicholas insisting that he carries her things while Noah’s hand clutches her own.

They waited until the last moment to drop her off, per Naomi’s request, because she wanted to spend every last moment with them. She had about an hour before her planed started boarding, and by time she got through TSA, she’d probably only have enough time to get a quick snack and get ready for boarding.

Jolly and Nick said their goodbyes first, pulling Naomi into their arms. She tries not to cry, swallowing down her tears when she lets them know she’ll miss them. They were good friends before her arrival, but after spending an entire week with them, she knows their friendship has strengthened. Jolly even kisses her forehead before he lets her go, giving her a gentle smile before pushing her towards Nicholas who was next.

She turns to meet Nicholas' gaze and she thought she could hold it in like she did with Jolly and Nick, but the second his lips turn into a sad smile she feels herself breaking.

“Come here.” 

She rushes into his arms, slipping hers around his waist as she pressed herself against him. She doesn’t stop the tears and instead lets them flow as she buries her face against his shoulder. He doesn’t say anything, just tucks his face against the crook of her neck and squeezes her to him.

“I’m gonna miss you.” She manages to get out, voice muffled by Nicholas’ jacket. He laughs, but it falls short.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Mimi.”

She pulls away from him to finally get a good look at his face, eyes scanning his features. This time feels different, good or bad she’s not sure, but she’s trying to savor every second she has left with her best friend.

Nicholas leans forward and brushes his lips against her forehead before whispering, “No more tears. We’ll be back before you know it, okay?”

Naomi sniffles before giving him a tiny nod and he smiles, but she doesn’t miss the way his eyes gloss over in his own tears. He pulls her back against him to give her one last hug.

“Take care of him.” She whispers, just low enough for Nicholas to hear. He stills in her hold. “You always do anyways, but I feel like I just needed to say it.”

“I will. I promise.” He whispers, voice sounding strained, and it almost sends her over the edge.

They hold each other for a few more moments before she finally pulls away, dreading to turn around to Noah. She already knows he’s trying to hold it together for her, but with how he’s acted the last 24 hours, she can already guess how hard that’s becoming. Nicholas gives her one last smile before she turns to Noah, her heart immediately crumbling beneath her chest.

He looks… well, fucking miserable. Eyes rimmed red and glossy, but no tears have yet to fall. He’s trying so fucking hard, she knows, and Naomi doesn’t stop herself from rushing towards him. He lets out a whine the second her arms around wrapped around his waist, a pitiful sound, and she feels fresh new tears slip from her eyes.

Leaving Noah was always hard, even when they were just friends, but now it was different. They were together. After her conversation with Nicholas in the van, she went to Noah the next morning and they both finally decided what this was. Noah was hers and she was his and thinking about going back to Virginia and her tiny little apartment she once called home without him has her feeling like her chest is about to rip into a million fucking pieces.

“Can I just come with you?” She hears Noah say from above her, voice muffled from the way his face is buried in her hair. She laughs, sad and wet, and presses herself closer to him.

“They’d kick my ass if I stole their lead singer.” She eventually gets out, swallowing down the sob that wants to escape. She pulls back to look up at Noah and catches the moment a single tear slips from his eyes. She’s quick to reach up and wipe it away, hands cupping his face. “Only a few more weeks and then we’ll figure it out. Okay? I’ll come to you, you can come to me, whatever you want.”

Noah nods and he sucks in a shaky breath, leaning down to press his forehead against hers. “I love you.”

She smiles up at him and leans up, lips brushing against his briefly. “I love you.”

An announcement over the airport speakers has them breaking from their moment, and Naomi pulls back to check her phone, seeing she had about 45 minutes until boarding starts.

“Text me when you get home.” Noah mumbles sadly, pulling her back against his chest. “Right when you land, right when you get to your car, right when you walk into your apartment…”

She laughs, a real one, and lets herself relax in his hold for a few more moments.

“Okay, dad.”

Noah rolls his eyes but laughs along with her anyways, and with one last kiss, she’s making her way towards the security line. They stay until she’s made it to the front, and she sends them a sad wave. She gets through TSA a lot quicker than she expected, which was a plus, and had enough time to get a few snacks and a drink to keep her satisfied on the plane.

The plane ride home wasn’t bad at all. She ended up eating her snacks and falling asleep halfway through, which was nice, because she had barely gotten any sleep the night before, but it was barely enough to satisfy her. She wakes up groggy and walks through the airport almost like a zombie, half asleep trying to find which way she needs to go. She forgets to text Noah when she lands, when she gets to her car, but doesn’t forget when she steps into her apartment. She fishes her phone out from her bag, thumbs dancing across the screen.

i’m home and am missing you already. facetime later? :(

Her thumb hovered over the screen, eyes staring down at her opened messages. Nicholas' name stares at her and without thinking she opens it, thumbs working over the screen.

wanted to let you know that i'm home❤️

Mimi isn't sure why she sent it and why she felt the need to even let him know because Noah would end up telling him, but her fingers move faster than her mind. She locks her phone and takes a deep breath, her eyes scanning over her apartment. Before this trip it had felt like home, and she made sure of it with all the clutter she's added to make it really feel like hers. Now, a deep ache is settling itself into her chest, these four walls feeling foreign to her.

She's starting to think that maybe home isn't a place, but a person.

Or maybe… people. 

…

Life went on how it had before, Naomi waking herself up every day to head off to work, maybe hang out with a few friends after she got off, and then settle herself onto her couch after a long day with one of her shows. Most nights she'd FaceTime with Noah, and sometimes with Nicholas when he would answer, and it was nice, but the ache in her chest grew each time they said goodbye.

Tonight was no different, her phone propped up in her hand as she curled up on the couch, Noah's name flashing across the screen. She smiled to herself before answering, waiting for the connection to kick in so she could see his face. It felt like she hadn't seen him in months, even though she had spoken to him the night before while getting ready for bed. 

"There she is."

Noah's voice instantly brings a smile to her face.

"Hi baby," She hums happily, shifting into a more comfortable position. "What's up?"

Naomi caught his eye through the screen, and he smiled, wide and bright, and leaned back against the couch he was sitting on, holding his phone up.

"Just chillin'." Noah says with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "We just finished setting up for tonight and now everyone's just... doing their own thing, I guess."

"Are you by yourself?" She can't help but frown.

"Nicky was here a second ago, but I have no idea where he went."

Just the mention of Nicholas has her chest feeling heavy, the thought of the boy plaguing her mind. It's not like she hasn't spoken to him since she's been home, actually FaceTimed him the other night when she couldn't sleep, and he just so happened to be awake. But it wasn't... like it normally was. Their conversations were short, Nicholas not saying much while Naomi told him about her day. Even his texts seem to be shorter. It feels almost as if he's pulling away from her, for what reason she's not sure. She thought whatever that was wrong with him the week she joined them on tour was over with, but it only seemed to get worse once she left.

"What's that face for?"

Noah's voice snaps her out of her thoughts, and she blinks at the screen, head tilting.

"What?"

"Your face." Noah squints at her through the screen, his own lips dipping into a frown. "You're pouting, and your foreheads doing that thing where you get lines when you think too hard."

"No, it's not." Naomi says, growing immensely defensive. She tries to relax her face, but Nicholas crosses her mind once again, and her frown returns.

"You're doing it again." Noah's tone softens. "What's up?"

“Is Nicky okay?” She blurts out after another moment of silence, worrying her bottom lip. 

Noah pauses. 

“What do you mean?”

Naomi shrugs, looking anywhere but the screen. “I don’t know, just.” Another pause. “He’s been a little weird with me recently.”

“Weird?”

She sighs. “I don’t know. We just don’t talk as often and when we do it’s… something’s off and I don't like it.”

Noah pauses again and she watches him chew on his bottom lip, brows furrowing. 

"Well, now that you mention it," Noah begins, shoulders deflating. "He has been acting a little weird. He..." His eyes shift to the side in thought. "It kinda seems like he's in his head a lot more recently? Like he's just... not here."

Naomi frowns once again. "Present but not present?"

Noah snaps his fingers, head nodding as his eyes focus back on his phone screen.

"Yes! Sometimes when I talk to him it's like he's not even there, but he's nodding along to whatever I say." It's Noah's turn to frown, and Naomi hates the way her heart drops, settling into her stomach with a heavy feeling. "You know, I didn't even realize it until you brought it up..."

His voice trails off, the sadness seeping through, and Naomi knows exactly what he's thinking.

"Don't feel bad." She's quick to add, head already shaking. "I didn't notice until a few days ago."

"But I do feel bad." Noah murmured. "He's my best friend, I'm supposed to know when he's going through something."

"Only if he tells you." Naomi says gently, the protective feeling she always gets when it came to Noah filling her veins. She squirms around on the couch to get comfortable again, fingers gripping her phone. "Nicky's a big boy, I'm sure he'll tell us what's wrong soon." 

"I guess..." His voice trails off again, unconvinced, and Naomi chews on her bottom lip again. 

She goes to say something else, not really sure what it could be, before Noah's head is snapping to the right, and she hears the door opening and muffled voices in the background - Jolly and Folio. No Nicholas. Her heart drops again, and she tries to swallow the lump in her throat that's been forming this entire phone call. 

"You hungry?" She hears Folio before she sees him. "Me and Jolly found a Denny's. Like a five-minute walk from here."

Noah's once sad demeanor changes in an instant at the mention of Denny's and she can't help but laugh, the worry slowly releasing itself from her body. She'll just tuck it in the back of her mind for now, bring it up again another time. Maybe she could even talk to Nicholas sometime this week and ask him what the fuck was up and finally put an end to whatever this was.

She just wanted her best friend back.

"Oh, fuck yes." Noah exhales happily before his gaze moves back to Mimi. "Do you know how long it's been since we had Denny's?"

"I'm guessing a while?"

"Too damn long." Folio's face finally comes into view, now sitting beside Noah on the couch. "Hey, Mimi. Is it okay if we steal your boy for dinner?"

"Hi, Nick. Of course, it's okay. I need to get up and eat, anyways."

"If you're awake, can I call you tonight?" Noah questions, staring at her with soft brown doe eyes. Mimi smiles.

"Sure. I'll turn on an alarm just in case I do fall asleep."

"Okay, cool. I'll text you." Noah smiles sweetly at the phone and her heart clenches beneath her chest, warmth spreading throughout her body. "Love you."

"Love you too." 

They exchange their goodbyes and Naomi lays against the couch for a moment, her phone laying on her chest. Her mind goes back to Nicholas and she wonders what he's doing. She reaches for her phone again and sorts through her messages, scrolling to find Nicholas' name. She frowns at the last conversation between the two of them, from a few days ago, and the one word replies from Nicholas staring back at her.

She sighs, thumbs sliding over the screen.

miss you and hope you're alright. talk soon? 

Not even thirty seconds later, the read receipt on her message appears and the texting bubble pops up. Her heart races as she waits, but a minute passes, and then another, and the bubble soon disappears, and her heart sinks.

…

A few days after her conversation with Noah, Naomi decided to call Nicholas. She waited a few days because they had back-to-back shows and didn't want to be annoying. It was just bothering her. What had she done? They were fine one day and then somehow the next they weren't. 

She's tried not to think too hard about it, but with how sad Noah had seemed upon his realization, she couldn't help it. Naomi has known Nicholas for over three years now. She knew him like the back of her goddamn hand, and she knew something was wrong. There's a reason why he was so distant, why he was pulling away. Not only from her but from Noah. 

The thought makes her sick, stomach twisting in a way that it's almost painful, and she has to swallow down whatever lump has decided to form in her throat. Naomi missed Nicholas - her Nicholas. The one she could talk to about whatever, the one she could call whenever, and he'd pick up. The one that didn't hide things from her. 

Naomi chewed on her thumb as she waited for her call to go through, hearing it ring three times before Nicholas picked up.

"Mimi?"

"Hi Nicky." She hummed softly. "Just checking in. Haven't heard from you in a few days."

"Oh, sorry. You know how it gets." He responds, almost sounding distracted. She frowns. "Everything's good, though. I'm sure Noah's told you."

"Well, yeah. He's told me." She grumbles. "But it would've been nice to hear from you every once in a while."

He pauses. "We literally talked like... four days ago."

"And it was a hi and bye at best." Naomi can't stop the sigh that slips from her. "We've barely spoken since I left. That's not like us, Nicky."

"I've been busy."

"Right. Yet Noah has enough time to talk to me… Hell, I’ve even heard from Jolly more than you.” She shifts in her seat, eyes narrowing at the wall ahead of her. “If there was something wrong, you’d tell me, right?”

“Of course.” His response comes quick, almost too quick, and Naomi nods to herself.

“Then why haven’t you told me there’s something obviously wrong?”

Nicholas is silent on the other end.

"Exactly.” Mimi spits out, annoyance already eating at her. "You've barely spoken to me. It's like I've done something to you and now you're avoiding me – you literally ignored my text the other day."

She doesn't hold back voicing her thoughts. She's never had to with Nicholas, he always being able to be someone she could always talk freely to, and even though they're in a weird spot she won't stop now. Another round of silence fills her ears, so quiet that all she can hear is Nicholas breathing on the other end. 

"Just..." Naomi sighs, bringing her free hand up to rub at her forehead. "If I did something to upset you then tell me, Nicky. I can't read your fucking mind. Especially when you're a hundred miles away."

"I'm not asking you to." His voice is sharp, and she can't help but flinch, even though she was just as sharp with him moments before. "I'm fine. Nothing happened. Tour is just a lot right now, promise."

"Remember when you said you could tell when I was lying?” He doesn’t respond. “Well, guess what? I can tell when you are too, Ruffilo."

"I'm not lying-"

"Nicholas." She cuts him off, an annoyed groan leaving her. "Can you please cut the bullshit? It's just the two of us. You can be honest and tell me what's got you so pissy."

"I'd rather not talk about it because it doesn't fucking matter, Naomi." Nicholas stops himself from continuing and he sighs. Mimi can already picture him running a frustrated hand through his hair and the image alone has something in her turning. "I know you didn’t call me just to argue so drop it, okay?”  

"No." She holds her ground, grinding her teeth together. "You're going to tell me what's wrong so we can fix this, alright?"

"Why are you so dead set on this?"

"Because you're my best friend!" She says exasperatedly, throwing her head back against the couch. "If there's something wrong, and something I may have caused, I would really like to fix it."

"Well, you can't." He laughs, and her stomach drops at how tired he sounds. Her lips dip into a frown. "I just need to suck it up and get over it."

It's Naomi's turn to be silent, chewing on her bottom lip as she racked her brain. Her mind goes back to the week she had spent on tour with the band and remembers the day Nicholas' whole demeanor changed one day, but she can't really pinpoint the exact reason why. He was fine one second and then not the next. 

What could have changed?

"I can literally hear your brain turning," Nicholas says softly. "I promise I'm fine, well, I'll be fine. I just need some time to sulk, think it over, and then I'll be good as new."

"I just wish I knew what was wrong so I could help." She mumbles, the sadness trickling through her voice. "I hate seeing you like this. I just want to take all that sadness away for you, Nicky."

He swallows. "I wish you could, too."

For some reason she feels nauseous. She hates that she can't help him when he needs someone, and she has to sit on the sidelines and watch while he suffers. Why can’t he just let her help?

"Can you at least let Noah know what’s going on? He's worried too."

"I know." A pause. "I'll talk to him."

"Thank you." She hums softly, and her gaze flicks towards the small clock she had on the wall. "I should probably go. It's late. You have a show tomorrow."

"That I do." He sounds tired and Mimi's chest twists with sadness.

"I'm sorry for being so upset." She quickly gets out before he could hang up. "I just... I care about you a lot."

"I know." Nicholas hums. "I care about you a lot, too. And Noah."

"We know."

Another moment of silence.

"Call me tomorrow?" Nicholas asks softly, hopeful. Naomi nods.

"Of course, as long as you answer.” She teases.

"Oh, fuck off.” There’s no malice behind his voice, and she can almost hear the smile in it. “Goodnight Mimi.”

"Goodnight Nicky."

That night as she laid in bed, trying to sleep, she did her best to ignore the heaviness in her heart as her mind drifted back to Nicholas.

...

The tension from her shoulders fell the second she stepped inside her apartment. A pleased noise escapes her, a sigh most likely, as she slipped her shoes off and left them by the door, padding her way through the apartment. It had been a long day filled with work at the new office, and an even longer night when her coworkers turned friends convinced her to go out with them. One drink turned into two, two drinks turned into three, and three drinks turned into her having to have someone drive her home.

Naomi didn't feel as drunk anymore, maybe a step above tipsy, and all she really wanted right now was to wash this makeup off and slip into something comfier. She'd been daydreaming about the oversized shirt in her closet on the ride home, almost being able to feel the soft fabric wrap itself around her body. She couldn't remember whose it was - maybe one she had bought, maybe one she stole from Noah, or maybe one she stole from Nicholas. Who knows, because she sure as hell doesn’t.

Her body falls into a routine the second she steps into her bathroom, comfy clothes on, and she pulls her curls up into a loose bun, diving straight into her skincare. She couldn't be bothered to do the whole step-by-step routine she liked to do, just a double cleanse to rinse the makeup and dirt from her face and then some moisturizer. 

Her phone ringing in her room has her pausing mid-cleanse, heart picking up from the surprise. 

"It's two in the fucking morning..." She grumbles to herself, rushing into her room to retrieve her phone.

Her heart rate slows down at the sight of Noah's name flashing across her screen, and she instantly relaxes. She forgot he had promised to call her after their show that night, but it might be later than usual. One of the headlining bands promised to take some of them out and treat them to some drinks. 

for being so fucking awesome🤘🏻, Noah had texted her earlier. 

She carefully picks the phone up and answers, immediately switching it to speaker phone.

"Hello?"

"Baby." 

Noah's voice fills her bathroom and the tone in which he used has a shiver running up her spine. She shakes it off, leaving it to the alcohol still coursing through her veins, and lays her phone down on the counter to finally wash off the cleanser still on her face.

"Hi, my love." She hums.

"What're you doing? You sound far away." There's a whine to his voice and she can't help but chuckle, smiling at herself through the mirror.

"You're on speaker phone, I'm taking my makeup off."

"Did you just get home?"

"Mhm." She bends over the sink, splashing water over her face before reaching for a washcloth, gently wiping her makeup off. "What're you doing? Did you guys end up going out?"

"Yeah." Noah hums in response. "I went out for a little bit, they're all still at the bar. I came back like five minutes ago."

She does another cleanse of her skin, just to make sure everything was completely off before dabbing a towel over her face. 

"Why'd you leave so early?"

"Missed you," Noah mumbled into the receiver, and she can hear the pout in his voice. She smiles to herself. "Wanted to hear your voice."

"Missed you too, sweetheart. How many more weeks of tour left?" She asks as if she didn't already know, counting down the damn days as they pass.

"Three weeks." He sounds relieved. "It's been incredible, but I miss my fucking bed. And you. I really fucking miss you."

Naomi laughs, a bit too loud for two in the morning, but she doesn't care. Hopefully her neighbors don't mind too much.

"These three weeks will fly by so quick, babe. I promise." 

Noah hums something in response but she doesn't quite catch it, only hearing the whine in his voice and the slight slur to his words. 

"What was that? I can’t hear you and your drunk rambling,” She teases with a laugh.

" ‘m not drunk. A little buzzed," She hears shifting on the other end and a shaky breath leaving Noah before he continues, "and maybe a little tired, but nothing too crazy. Are you drunk?"

"No. Just a little buzzed and tired like you."

"Can we switch to FaceTime? I wanna see you." There's a slight lilt to Noah's voice, a little more breathy than normal, and Naomi's skin prickles at the sound. 

"Of course, baby. Give me a second." She mumbles, quickly applying some moisturizer to her skin. 

She picks her phone up and presses the FaceTime option, watching her screen load. She props her phone up against the mirror in front of her and reaches for her toothbrush when she hears Noah let out a pleased sigh.

"Mimi." 

That breathy tone he used again has her pausing, fingers gripping around her brush as her eyes flickered back towards her phone.

“Oh.”

The look in Noah’s eyes has Mimi tensing, shoulders squaring as she stared at her phone screen. She knows that look – she’s seen it before, remembers it clearly. The way Noah stared down at her with his wide brown eyes, bottom lip pulled in between his teeth as he tried to hold in his noises in some empty venue hallway while her mouth moved along his cock, heavy and wet on her tongue. Her thighs press together at the memory.

"How long until they come back?" Is the first thing she asks, eyes narrowing at Noah through the screen. He pulls his bottom lip in between his teeth.

"They won't be back for a few more hours."  

There's shifting on the other side of the screen, and she sees Noah's face scrunch up, eyes squeeze shut for a moment. His mouth parts, a shaky breath leaving him. Her thighs pressed together again and heat pools in her stomach at the realization of what he's doing. The only thing she could see on the screen was his face, but she knew that if it was angled just a bit lower... Naomi has to take a deep breath to calm herself.

"What do you need from me, baby?" She keeps her voice soft, light, and she lays her toothbrush down on the counter. Noah makes a noise, almost like something got caught in his throat.

"Talk to me." He breathes out, a slight whine in his voice. "Tell me what to do, I don't know. I just like hearing your voice."

She feels her cheeks flush at the compliment, and also at the fact that in intimate moments like this all Noah wants is to hear her. She smiles to herself before reaching for her phone and quickly making her way back to her bedroom, crawling onto her bed.

"What's got you so worked up, pretty boy?" She questions while getting comfortable, pulling her blankets over her body. She's thankful she likes to keep her room cool, because she knows her body will surely be heating up soon.

He keens at her words. "Couldn't stop thinking about you, or that picture you sent me the other day."

She flushes at the memory of the… risqué picture she had sent him earlier that week. She was adorned in one of his shirts he had gave her before she left the tour, a band shirt she had been stealing from him for years, and a pair a red lace underwear. The shirt was bunched up, barely covering her breasts, and really the only thing you could see were the lace – which was a favorite of Noah’s.  

Nothing too crazy, but it was just enough to drive Noah mad and that’s why she sent it.

“Yeah?” She breathes out, the heat in her tummy already swirling. “I knew you’d like it.”

Noah whines at that, and she sees the muscles in his arms tense as he moves again, and her mouth waters just at the thought his hand – long, tattooed fingers – wrapped around his aching cock. She squirms, wishing nothing more for it to be her hand, or even her mouth.

“I fucking loved it.”

“Can I see what you’re doing, baby?” She questions, keeping her voice as level as she could.

Noah nods as another whine slipped from his parted lips and she watched as he shifted on the bed, bringing his phone lower. She couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of his cock – red, swollen tip on full display. His chest rose and fell as he gave the base a firm squeeze. She could only see the bottom half of his face but watched as he licked at his lips before biting down on his bottom lip roughly. He’s already almost to the edge and trying to hold himself together, just for her. Her thighs press together again. They’re still learning each other and figuring out what works, but she was quick to find out that Noah loved when she was direct with him, telling him what to do. He’d listen, no questions asked. Noah was someone that typically liked to be in control of almost every aspect of his life, not usually leaving it in the hands of someone else, and the fact he trusted her enough to do this made warmth spread throughout her chest.

“Oh, you poor thing… It looks like you don’t even need my help at all, baby.” She teases, lips tugging into a smirk. “How long have you been like this?”

“Since this morning.” He gasps out, squeezing his cock with every stroke. “I just – oh, fuck. I really couldn’t stop thinking about you. I fucking,” Noah whimpers, hips rolling into his fist. “I fucking can’t wait to touch you again.”

Naomi’s eyes flutter shut at his words, biting down on her bottom lip to try and keep her own noises at bay. She’s not even touching herself and yet his words have her going crazy already, warmth pooling into the pit of her stomach, and she knows there’s a wet patch in her underwear now. She squirms.

“God, I can’t wait.” She breathes out, eyes opening to stare at Noah. “Is that what you want? To touch me?”

“Yes.” He whimpers. “So bad.”

“You can soon enough, baby, just not right now.”

He whines at her words, and he tilts his phone up to where his full face is shown, and she tries her hardest to not gasp at the fucked-out expression on his face. He opens his mouth to speak, probably to say something about touching her, she just knows it, but she shushes him before he could even utter a word. His mouth clamps shut immediately.

“Soon.”

He nods, another whine ripping from deep in his chest and she watches his glossed over eyes focus on her, brows furrowing.

"Is... is that Nicky's shirt?" He pants out, staring at the screen with blown out eyes. Naomi freezes before quickly glancing down at her shirt and then back at the screen.

"Yeah. I think so." 

Something inside of her stirs, the admission raising some kind of panic in her, but Noah doesn't look angry. No, he looks far from angry. The flush in his cheeks deepens and her shoulders relax, releasing the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. He liked it – a lot.

"...You look really good in it."

His hand speeds up, working himself closer to the edge and the small, barely there gasping moans he’s letting out has Naomi’s thighs pressing together, cunt clenching around nothing. She wanted nothing more than to slide her hands down her sleep shorts, press against her aching clit and rub one out, but she stayed still. Her focus was solely on Noah and Noah alone, she’ll help herself out later.

“Thank you.” She hums out, her own cheeks slightly flushed. “You close, sweetheart?”

He nods before his head lolls to the side, another moan ripping out from him, from deep within his chest. She watches as his hips roll and stutter in his hand, chest rising and falling. It doesn’t take long until he’s choking out her name, followed by a high-pitched moan, spilling all over his hand and stomach. Naomi bites her lip to once again keep her own noises down, fingers twitching because she could easily slip two fingers into herself now with how wet she was, but she doesn’t. Instead, she waits for Noah to come down, the rise and fall of his chest slowing down. He blinks when he brings the phone back up to his face, eyes glossed over and her chest twists because she’d do anything to be there right now, but the best she could do is give him a gentle smile.

“Hi, baby.” The corners of his lips quirk up and her smile only grows. “You did so good, my love.”

Noah makes a noise, almost like a whine, and his eyes flutter shut. “Yeah?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” She rolls onto her back now, ignoring the wetness in her sleep shorts. “You’ll need to get up and clean yourself up, okay?”

Noah groans in response and it takes her a few more minutes of convincing him before he’s pushing himself up and off the bed, going to the bathroom to clean himself off. He takes the phone with him and she knows it’s only to know she’s still there while he’s getting ready for bed, because he doesn’t even say a word. He usually didn’t after he’s came down, brain fuzzy and tired, and the ache in Naomi’s chest on tightens even more.

She misses him so, so much.

Her own eyes are fluttering by the time he makes it back it back to bed, snuggling deep into his pillows. She does the same, curling her blanket close to her as she brought her phone closer to her face, seeing Noah’s eyes barely open.

“You should sleep.” She whispers, a yawn following her words.

“Will you stay on here with me?” He asks quietly, peaking one eye open at the phone before letting it slip shut again. “Until I fall asleep.”

“Baby, I’m not that far behind you. I’m one second away from falling asleep with this damn phone in my hand.”

Huffing out a sleepy laugh, he opens both eyes finally, “That’s fine. Just stay on here. It’ll be like I fell asleep next to you.”

She doesn’t stop the slight dip of her lips at his words, heart dropping to her stomach. Sure, the illusion is there, but Noah isn’t. Absentmindedly she stretches her hand out, fingers running over empty sheets.

“I miss you.”

Noah notices the frown, his own lips pursing into a pout. “I miss you, too. I’ll be home soon.”

“I know,” She mumbles, trying to swallow down the lump that’s found its way in her throat. “Just… miss you a lot.”

Noah doesn’t say anything, just gives her another pout before his eyes fall shut again. Silence washes over them and that stupid lump is still lodged somewhere deep in her throat, but she tries to will it away, settling her phone against the pillow beside her and shutting her eyes.

The last thing she remembers before falling asleep is Noah’s gentle voice whispering, “I love you.”

…

"What the fuck are you guys doing?"

Naomi can't help but laugh as both Noah and Nicholas give her a goofy grin from the other side of the screen. She can see Jolly in the back who just rolls his eyes, but his lips are curled so she knows he's not that annoyed by their antics. 

"We missed you." Noah says, laying his cheek against his arm. He's stretched out on his shared bed with Nicholas, laying on his front, and resting his phone on the pillows.

They're in some bum-fuck state in the middle of nowhere, Naomi can't be bothered to really remember where. They had a day off tomorrow, she remembers from a text Noah sent her earlier that morning, and she suspects they went out after the show and had only a few drinks with the other bands. At least, that's what Nicholas told her about an hour ago. She suspects Jolly may have had only a few, but with the Folio is knocked the fuck out on the other bed, and the dopey grins on both Nicholas and Noah's faces, she's gonna say they had more than a few.

"Yeah?" She hums, snuggling into her blanket. Nicholas nods, climbing his way on top of Noah.

The younger boy doesn't even budge as Nicholas practically clings to his back, his chin resting on Noah's shoulder.

"Of course." Nicholas' bottom lip juts out. "We always miss you."

She can't help but flush at that, her skin heating up at Nicholas' words. We always miss you. Such a simple statement has her tummy doing flips, and it should be concerning due to the fact it wasn't her boyfriend who said that. It was her best friend, and she should unpack that, but she won't. At least not now. 

"Cute." She mumbles, bringing her blanket up to hide her burning cheeks. "I always miss you guys, too. It's lonely without y'all here."

"One more week!" Noah exclaims and it's followed by a yelp, a pillow flying at him from the side of the screen.

"Shut the fuck up." She doesn't miss the groggy and very grumpy tone of Folio, and she covers her mouth to stifle her laughter when both Noah and Nicholas look at the screen with wide eyes.

"Sorry," Noah sheepishly says, grunting when he tries to scoot closer to the phone but Nicholas on top of him makes it hard, so he opts for grabbing it instead and whispering, "One more week. I can't wait to see you."

Even in his drunken state she can hear the sincerity in his tone, and her heart swells beneath her chest. One more week and she'll be with her boy again. She's been antsy for the last few days, knowing that soon enough Noah will be with her. He's staying for a week before he has to fly back out to Los Angeles, their upcoming debut album drop date slowly approaching. She hasn't told him yet, but there might be a plane ticket that's sitting in her mailbox that's departing from RIC to LAX during the second week of August. 

She'll sit on that for a few more weeks before surprising him with it. 

"I can't wait to see you too, baby." Her gaze softens at the smile Noah gives her and her eyes move from him to Nicholas. "And you, too. You're staying a few weeks, right?"

Nicholas nods, shifting a bit on top of Noah which causes the boy under him to groan. "Mhm. A few old clients hit me up, so I'm gonna be home for a while."

Home. Just the words falling from his lips has her grinning from ear to ear, chest fluttering with some sort of feeling that she can't explain, and her tummy doing those stupid flips again. Seriously, she should unpack whatever she keeps feeling whenever Nicholas looks at her, whenever he mentions coming home because she knows that it means he's coming back to her. She just missed him a lot, right? She just missed the comfort of not having both of her boys with her, always having one of them at her side. That's all this was. She had just grown used to the feeling of her best friend always being a call away, and since this is his first time back home in months, she's just excited. Right? That's all this is.

The growing pit in her stomach says otherwise, but she can't even dwell on the thought before she's speaking again.

"Think you got time to give me another tattoo? I've been itching for another one."

The words fall from her lips without much of a second thought and the look Nicholas gives her through the screen has her breath hitching. She had gotten a few other tattoos after the one Nicholas gave her, but the peonies on her thigh was the only one he did himself. Memories of that night in the shop fill her mind, and she knows Nicholas is thinking about it too, and she squirms against her bed.

"Of course," He clears his throat, as if he was shaking himself out of whatever trance he was just in before giving her a smile that doesn't quite meet his eyes. "I always have time for you."

She blushes.

"We should all get matching tattoos." Noah says suddenly, snapping both her and Nicholas out of whatever trance they were in. "When we get home."

"You wanna get matching tattoos?" She questions and Noah nods.

"Well, yeah." Noah shrugs - or well, tries to, because Nicholas is still draped over his back - and gives her a smile. "We all got matching band tattoos a few weeks ago, so it makes sense that we would get one, too."

Naomi feels warm all over, Noah's words making something clench beneath her chest. It shouldn't be too surprising, her and Noah are dating, and all three of them have been friends for so long. It was always the three of them, their tiny trio. 

"I'd like to get something to remember the two most important people in my life." Noah continues after a few beats of silence.

Nicholas hums. "I think we should. We could get Vince to do them for us." 

"See! We are so doing this when we get home."

"What would we even get?" Naomi asks, laughing quietly at her boyfriend's excitement.

"Now might be the wrong time to ask us that, Mimi." Nicholas mumbles, leaning his head against Noah's. "Asking two drunk people what they should get tattooed is just asking for trouble."

"What do you mean? My best ideas come to me when I'm drunk." Noah jokes, his laughter mixing with Nicholas'.

"Yeah... I'm sure they do.”

Both her and Nicholas are smiling, and she notices how fond the boy looks, eyes dropping to Noah before flicking to the screen to look at her. Her breath hitches the second their eyes meet but Nicholas' smile only widens, eyes crinkling at the ends. She clears her throat, gaze moving back towards Noah.

"We'll figure it out when y'all get home, okay?"

Both boys nod, agreeing with her that they should think on it and agree whenever they come back to Richmond. Mimi reaches up to cover her mouth with her hand, stifling the yawn that's been threatening to escape for the last few minutes.

"What time is it there?" Noah asks softly. He yawns just seconds later, and Nicholas laughs above him.

"Around 1." She mumbles, snuggling further into her bed. They were about an hour or two behind her, she thinks, maybe more.

"You should go to bed." Nicholas says to her. "We didn't mean to keep you up."

"Oh, hush." She huffs out a quiet laugh. "You didn't keep me up, I wanted to talk to you guys. I miss you."

Both boys flush at her words, sheepish grins tugging at her lips and she has to stop herself from cooing. 

"We miss you so much." Noah hums, trying to keep his voice low. Nicholas nods at his words, head knocking against Noah's. "And we can't wait to see you. One more week."

"One more week." She says back, lips curling. 

"Text me when you wake up?" Noah asks while Nicholas slowly rolls off of him, instead snuggling next to him. He throws an arm over Noah's back and Naomi doesn't miss the way Noah sinks into the feeling of Nicholas pressed against him.

"I always do, babe."

"I know," He whines, pouting at her through the screen. "Just felt like I should ask."

"You shouldn't have to ask." She hums, giving Noah a gentle smile. "I'll text you first thing in the morning, okay?"

Noah nods, cheeks stained red, and her gentle smile only widens as a comfortable silence falls over them. Naomi stifles yet another yawn, eyes fluttering closed, and when she opens them both Noah and Nicholas are already staring at her, softness swirling around their eyes. She brings the blanket up to hide part of her face.

"We love you." Noah murmurs, voice soft and quiet, like he only wanted her and Nicholas to hear.

Something shifts the exact moment her eyes met Nicholas' across the screen, her breath hitching.

She knew there was still something there for Nicholas, something that she pushed so far deep inside of her that she thought she could ignore. It's starting to surface again, her throat tightening up as if it's going to come up that way, and she swallows it down as Nicholas kept his gaze on her through the screen. Even in his drunken haze there's still a softness in his eyes that she knows is just for her... and Noah. He gives her a smile, a dopey one similar to Noah's, and then he's looking back down at the boy. His expression doesn't change, and she has to take a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, biting down on her lip to try and stop it from trembling.

"I love you," She manages to get out, saying it to no one in particular. Her eyes moved from Nicholas' back to Noah's, and she somehow was able to muster up a smile. "So much. I can't wait for you guys to come home."

They both smile, wide and bright and so fucking beautiful, Naomi feels like she can't breathe. it was starting to become overwhelming, this feeling itching farther and farther up into her chest and almost like she was being suffocated. They eventually say their goodbyes, and she even manages to say goodbye to Jolly, who she's forgotten was even there, hair wet from the shower he must've taken while her, Noah, and Nicholas fucked around on FaceTime.

"Goodnight Mimi." He smiles as Noah turns the camera towards him. "I'll make sure your boys are alright."

Your boys. She clears her throat, giving him a tight-lipped smile that he notices almost right away, brows furrowing. 

"You always take care of them for me. Thanks Jolly."

A few more goodbyes from Nicholas and Noah, who seem to not want to let her go yet before Jolly has to physically take the phone away from them and end the call himself, Naomi is met with silence. She lets her phone fall to lay beside her as she rolls over on her back, eyes glued to the ceiling.

That feeling she felt earlier? The one she couldn't explain? The same one she got whenever she looked at both Noah and Nicholas? It's clear as day to her now, slowly inching its way through her. It's in her bloodstream, flowing throughout her body. She can feel it in her toes, to the tips of her fingers, all the way to the top of her fucking head. 

There's no doubt in her mind she loves Noah - she has always loved him. From the second they met she knew it was him. But there was no denying the feelings that she had for Nicholas. They were always there too, and maybe in the beginning it wasn't as intense, but now... Now it feels like there's a ten-ton brick weighing on her chest because she knows that it's serious. 

Naomi was in love with Nicholas Ruffilo, and maybe she always had been, and it scared the absolute shit out of her.

[7ndipity]

Disneyland trips

Ot7 x Reader

Summary: what a trip to Disneyland would be like with them.

Warnings: brief mention of sickness

A/N: Full disclosure, I've never actually been to any of the parks, so this is all based off what I know from vlogs. This is just me indulging one of mine and @this-must-be-my-tardis current hyperfixations.

Masterlist

Requests are open

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Jin: Welcome to season 2 of Eat Jin! Fr tho, y'all would be one of those couples that visit every month for a different challenge, like trying/ranking all the different churros or smth. Matching ears, because this man is into couple outfits, idc what anyone says. Goes on a few rides, but screams the whole time and says "no more!" after each one(immediately turns around and gets in line for another one)

Yoongi: Knows all these random facts about the park. Like, did you know that the wedding ring stuck in the concrete outside the Huanted Mansion was originally just part of a pavilion post? Or that they use vegetable oil to grease the trolly tracks on Main Street so it won't leave residue on you shoes? Well, now you do! Actually laughs at the jokes on the jungle cruise, but will vehemently deny it unless you catch it on film.

Hobi: Night time visit because ((vibes)). So many mini photo shoots. Another that's into matching couple ears. Spends ages in Toontown going through the character houses. Gets motion sick after like two rides, and then just want to go to the gift shops and get dole whip. Might legit reuse the popcorn bag/bucket as a regular bag for a bit afterwards(acorn bags 2, disney boogaloo)

Namjoon: A bit embarrassed by the ears, but he'll wear them if it makes you happy. Another fan of going at night because it's a little calmer and y'all can take your time and just wander around. Has a surprising amount of fun on the rides in Fantasyland and even tries his hand at the sword in the stone, insisting he felt it wiggle(pls get him away from there before he breaks it).

Jimin: You might think he would be chill and more go-with-the-flow about your plans for the day, but no, he's got it all mapped out and is determined to do as much as possible. Like y'all are there from gates open to gates close. You work your way though the whole park, from one land to another. By the end of the day, you're both so exhausted you almost fall asleep during the fireworks show, but it was totally worth it.

Taehyung: Lowkey would be into disney-bounding(probably as someone like prince Naveen, so he can keep his aesthetic) but if you don't watch out, he's gonna get too immersed and start talking like the characters. Makes you go on the teacups with him, cause he thinks it'll be cute, but ends up getting motion sick. Soo excited to meet some of the cast members and get pictures. Is just a giant kid having the time of his life.

Jungkook: if you're not into rides, I'm so sorry, because he has to go on Every. Single. Ride. The Matterhorn, Huanted Mansion, Space Mountain(twice), even the Storybook Boat! He's skipping through the whole park, churro in one hand and pulling you along with the other. You're gonna feel so sick, but he's having such a good time, you almost don't have the heart to tell him you need a break. Almost.

[l6ndrys]

Uh, hi I have a request for melissa barrera x reader.

Reader isn't big on physical touch, meaning she freezes up and gets uncomfortable when people hug her. So when she comforts Melissa, because of the hate she's been getting, the other cast members are surprised. (She only lets Melissa hug/touch her.)

a/n : thank you for requesting anon!! hope you enjoy <3

this fic contains : cursing

lavender haze

melissa barrera x reader

everyone in the scream vi cast knew you didn't like physical touch. you avoided it at all costs. like when you first came to the set to visit melissa, mason tried to shake your hand, which you politely declined. you knew he was trying to be nice, but you didn't really know who he was.

that was a couple of weeks ago though, and now they understood that you weren't the biggest fan of any touch. however, there was one exception.

you had known about the hate online. you just so happened to find yourself scrolling through it late at night. you'd usually stop after the first few comments, it made you sick to read some of the stuff they said about your girlfriend.

that wasn't the case today. melissa was filming and you were waiting in her trailer, scrolling down the rabbit hole. she had told you not to worry about it, but how could you not? it was hard to read all of the shit people were saying online. you'd never know how she did it.

you could hear jasmin, whose trailer was next to meilssa's, and your girlfriend talking outside. you go over to the door, swinging it open to see her and the cast all talking to one another.

you run up to her, giving her a hug, "i missed you" you said, pulling away. you turned to see everyone, shocked looks on their faces. "i thought you didn't li–" mason started to say, getting cut off by jenna lightly smacking him in the stomach.

this makes you and your girlfriend laugh. "y/n doesn't like it from anyone, except for me." melissa says, wrapping an arm around you with a smile on her face.

not long after the encounter, everyone split their ways to go to their trailers. they planned on meeting up to go eat out somewhere for dinner. you were sitting, scolling through tiktok, "so what was that about earlier?"

you look up to your girlfriend, confused, "what do you mean?" she pulls her jacket, "i know you've been reading through the hate. and before you try and deny it, i just want to say that you shouldn't worry about it. i've learned to not care what people like them say." you nod, knowing she had a point, "it still hurts to see"

she sits down next to you, smiling, "i know it does, but don't worry about me. as long as i have you, i don't need to listen to what they say." you smile, hugging her again, "i love you" you say into her chest. "i love you too. now let's go eat i'm starving" she says, getting up and holding her hand out for you take. you put your hand in hers, putting your phone away. you wouldn't need it tonight.

--

a/n : tbh this is not the best i've written but i got kind of stuck while writing this so i'm sorry if this isn't what you were looking for!!

[inlovewiththefictionalcharacters]

HEY CAPTAIN

Chapter - 5 : Rekindling

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Eva Stark (OC)

Warning(s): MCU Spoilers (potentially); Language(?); Angst; Brief mentions of abduction and false portrayal of circumstances; Slowburn; Physical abuse; Any other required and additional warnings will be added in the upcoming chapters; Not gonna beat around the bush, this would probably portray the OC as the opposite of the strong, independent woman of the 21st century in the beginning. All I could say is see how far her character will grow; Fluff; Of course smut (👀); Physical abuse; Angst.

A/N: Hello lovely readers! I know I have been MIA for a while now and this series has been on hold for a long time now, but I plan on resuming updating the series that I've got on hold, starting with this series. I'm so sorry for not updating this sooner, but I'll try my best to work on it. (Also, I have to beat my self mentally for a long time to get inspiration for writing again, so sorry about that!)

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Series masterlist

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Steve sat at Eva’s bedside, his eyes watching her breathing slowly return to a peaceful rhythm. The nightmares had subsided, thanks to Wanda, and for the first time since she woke, Eva was resting without tension lining her face. Steve’s hand was still clasped gently in hers, and though she was asleep, her fingers curled protectively around his. His heart felt a pull—a mix of relief and something deeper he couldn't quite place.

Meanwhile, Tony stood outside the medical room, pacing in frustration. He couldn't shake the image of Eva’s nightmare, her cries of "Papa" still echoing in his head. He felt utterly helpless, something he hadn’t felt in years. Watching Steve's closeness with Eva only made it worse. Tony had spent years believing his daughter was gone, and now that she was back, she seemed closer to Steve than to him. His mind buzzed with questions—What if he had lost the chance to be the father she needed? What if Steve, with his perfect, noble charm, was becoming the one she depended on?

Natasha approached Tony with a look of sympathy, though her words were blunt as ever. "You're pushing too hard, Tony. You can't expect her to be comfortable with everything right away. Give her time."

Tony clenched his fists. "She’s my daughter, Nat. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines while Captain Perfect waltzes in and… I don’t know, becomes her hero."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "You might be projecting, Tony. It’s not a competition."

Inside the medical room, Eva stirred awake. Her eyes fluttered open, hazel orbs meeting Steve’s warm blue gaze. She felt the comfort of his hand in hers and didn’t want to let go. Steve smiled at her, softly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in that gentle tone she had grown to trust.

Eva gave a small nod, her voice hoarse. "Better... Thanks to you."

Steve shifted slightly in his seat, feeling a strange warmth at her gratitude. He couldn’t deny how protective he felt of her—not just as the man who rescued her, but something more. Her vulnerability called to something deeper inside him.

“I’m just glad you’re safe now,” he replied.

Eva smiled at him and Steve swore he felt something tug at his heart. He was not sure what exactly he was feeling, but he decided that he liked it. And he more than liked seeing Eva smile. Seeing her smile, a genuine smile spread across his face.

Eva's smile slowly shifted to that of wariness when the memories of what happened before she fainted, resurfaced. Her shaky fingers twiddled with each other while she gulped.

Steve noticed the subtle change in Eva’s expression, the wariness that replaced her brief smile. He frowned slightly, his grip on her hand loosening but still gentle.

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly, his blue eyes searching hers for any hint of what had suddenly shifted in her mood.

Eva lowered her gaze, her fingers nervously twiddling with each other. “I… I remember my father being here before I fainted,” she whispered, her voice shaky.

"Can I please see him?" she requested, her voice getting shaky with all the emotions that she was feeling and Steve could only smile in response.

*****

A very apprehensive Tony Stark was seen walking in the medical wing, towards the room where his daughter was getting treated. As he neared the room, he can see Pepper, Rhodey and Happy waiting just outside the room.

Pepper and Happy gave him an encouraging smile whereas Rhodey gave him a Don't fuck this up! look.

Rubbing his clammy hands against his pants, Tony slowly entered the room and his eyes immediately landed on Eva.

Eva, who was slowly talking to Steve and Wanda, paused and turned her head towards the entrance to find her father standing there, looking quite awkward.

Eva's heart skipped a beat when her eyes met Tony's. The awkwardness radiating from her father was palpable, and she could feel her own nerves tightening in response. The room, which had been filled with soft conversation between her, Steve, and Wanda, now seemed to grow tense with unspoken emotions.

For a moment, neither of them said a word. Tony stood there, hands at his sides, his usual bravado nowhere to be found. His eyes flicked nervously between Steve, Wanda, and his daughter, unsure how to start.

"Hey kiddo," Tony finally said, his voice unusually soft, almost tentative.

Steve had to double check if it was indeed Tony Stark himself who was standing there, sans the unwanted sarcasm and unappreciated humor.

Eva swallowed, her fingers gripping the blanket that covered her. She had been rehearsing this moment in her head, but now that it was happening, she found herself at a loss for words. Her father, the man she had always idolized, all her life, looked so… uncertain.

"Papa," she whispered, the word carrying years of lost time and buried feelings. Her eyes immediately pooled with unshed tears.

Tony’s heart clenched at the sound of that word. It had been so long since she had called him that. For a moment, he just stood there, taking in the sight of her, sitting up and looking better than she had in days. He wanted to rush forward, hug her, hold her, but something about the tension in her posture made him pause.

"You're not gonna faint on me again, are you?" gulping the knot in his throat, Tony tried to joke, but everyone there knew that he really meant what he said.

Eva tried her best to not cry, while shaking her head slowly.

"Can I—" Tony cleared his throat, trying to find his voice again. "Can I sit with you?"

Eva glanced briefly at Steve, as if searching for some reassurance. Steve gave her a small, encouraging nod before rising from his seat next to her.

“I’ll give you both some time,” he said softly.

Wanda, sensing the need for space, also stood and gave Eva’s hand a quick squeeze before leaving the room with Steve.

Now, it was just her and Tony.

The silence stretched for a few beats longer than was comfortable, but Tony slowly made his way to the chair Steve had vacated. He sat down, looking at Eva with eyes that held so much emotion—guilt, worry, love—all things he had a hard time expressing.

"I’m glad you’re awake," Tony said quietly, his voice tight with emotion. "You gave us quite a scare."

Eva nodded, her gaze flickering down to her lap. “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t know it would be this hard,” she murmured. "Being back, seeing you again."

Tony’s heart ached at her words. He reached out slowly, tentatively placing a hand over hers. It was the first real touch they'd shared since she returned, and the warmth of it sent a shock through both of them.

"I know, kid," Tony said, his voice thick with regret. "I don’t know what you’ve been through, and I won’t pretend to understand how you’re feeling right now. But I want to… if you’ll let me. I want to be here for you."

Eva smiled at him gratefully. Despite of everything that has happened, Eva knew that she could always rely on Tony, but things aren't the same anymore. A lot has changed over the years.

But as she looked into his eyes, that familiar warmth began to dissolve the walls she had built up, and the memories of the last few years flooded back. She wanted to be open with him, to let him in, but fear still clung to her like a shadow.

“Things feel different now,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m… not the same person I was before.”

Tony leaned closer, his expression earnest. “Neither am I, Bubba. We both have a lot to figure out. But I’m here. We can navigate this together.”

Eva felt a swell of emotion at his words. It felt like a lifeline, something she desperately needed in that moment. Yet, doubt crept in. “What if you don’t like who I’ve become?” she asked, her voice trembling. “What if I’m not the daughter you remember?”

“Hey,” Tony said firmly, lifting her chin gently with his fingers so she had to meet his gaze. “You’re my daughter. I love you, no matter what. That doesn’t change. You are still you, and that’s what matters most.”

Tears welled in Eva’s eyes, and she fought to keep them at bay, but they slipped down her cheeks anyway.

Instinctively, like he always did years before, Tony immediately wrapped his arms around shoulders and hugged her as the girl broke down.

"Sh... Everything's going to be okay now. You're going to be safe. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that alone, but I promise you, I'll not let anything bad ever happen to you again, bubba," Tony reassured her.

A few minutes later, Eva calmed down a bit.

“I’ve missed you so much, Papa,” she confessed, her voice breaking. “I thought I lost you forever. I thought you had forgotten about me.”

Tony shook his head vehemently, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Never. Not a single day went by without me thinking about you."

Tony slowly broke their hug and cupped her face, looking at her reassuringly.

"Papa can never forget his bubba. I'll never let anything happen to you again, okay? It is Papa and Bubba against the world, remember?"

Eva smiled at that and nodded, glad to have her father back.

[darthgloris]

The Artist (Alicia Sierra x fem!reader)

Summary: Y/N (a.k.a. Akita) is part fo the robbery and works backstage as negotiator. Even though her career in art didn't work out, she still loves it. When she meets the leader Inspector she feels immediately drawn to her and starts sketching...

Requested: yes

Warnings: mentions of violence, fluff, teasing, SPOILERS

A/N: sorry but I lost the request! I'm really really sorry, hope you can forgive me!! Here it is, this was really fun to write! 🥰🥰❤❤

...

Drawing was my greatest love when I was a teenager.

While other girls may have been into make-up, or drama, or gossip, or boys... I'd stay in and draw, paint, sketch. Name it, I've tried it at least once. I was an unusual girl growing up. Girls at that age were interested mostly in the hobbies listed above, while I loved the exact opposite: drawing, reading, listening to music, learning languages, playing with dogs, studying like there was no tomorrow.

At university, I chose Graphic Design. And I loved it. Learning about my favorite thing in the whole wide world, filling in the gaps of my abilities, picking up new skills... that felt like heaven. I got out of college with my head high, amazing grades and an even better graduation. Although I wasn't prepared for the world outside. Soon enough, I started struggling to pay rent, especially in a city like Madrid. And I had no choice but to give it up.

Then, I met the Professor. A man just as unusual as me, who just so happened to have saved my life right there and then. The first heist was a success. I worked well with the gang, and given my love for working behind the scenes, I was the negotiator. Raquel was a very interesting individual, but I didn't get to speak to her much, as the Professor was the leading voice of the heist. It didn't bother me at all when they got together, to be honest I was rooting for them. When it all ended, I took my share of the money and went to live in Japan. It was beautiful: the perfect balance of modernity and tradition, the amazing food, the beautiful views, the friendly people, the new language. Every little detail fascinated me.

A year later, I came to know that Rio got kidnapped. And there I was again, back into the heist business. Once again cast as negotiator, this time I had to take the upper hand, because the Professor and Lisboa had their own part of the plan to take care of.

...

Current day - during the heist

I rested my feet onto the table of my hideout as I watched the TV intently. The news channel finally gave me important information: Rio was in Spain, finally. The poor boy took a tumble down the plane, falling on the ground in handcuffs and dirty clothes. Poor thing, I thought. Behind him, a figure emerged, a red-haired pregnant woman in a white coat and black cap. Inspectora Alicia Sierra. I found myself unable to tear my eyes from her face, as if I was in a trance: she was a very attractive woman, there's no denying that.

I wanted to remember that face while talking to her, so I was quick to reach for a pencil and paper and start reproducing her face. I glanced at the TV once in a while to get an idea of what she was like, memorising her traits as I transferred them on the paper sheet.

...

I pulled on my headphones and lined up the microphone to the side of my face, trying to calm my nerves before talking to the woman I was pining for a few hours ago. I picked up the drawing I made earlier and used it as a reference to draw her from other angles.

"Professor." A female voice spoke. Calm, collected, confident.

"Inspectora Sierra, how lovely to hear you." I replied, mirroring her tone.

"Ah, señorita Akita. I wasn't expecting you." Alicia said. "Well? Aren't you going to ask me what I'm wearing? I'd say it runs in your gang to play games like this."

"I'm assuming maternity clothes. Tell me, is it a boy or a girl?" I tantalised, running the pencil on the paper to make a rough sketch of her face.

She chuckled. "My, my, nosy girl. I didn't remember the Professor being this curious, but between you and me, sweetheart, I like you better." She clicked her tongue, presumably paired with a wink.

"Touché, preciosa," I shook my head, laughing at her attempt at flirting. "That's enough niceties for now, you can flirt with me later. Let's cut to the chase."

There was a long pause after she laughed in shock at my bluntness. I smirked, almost too proudly for my first conversation with a pregnant woman I've seen once on the TV. During the pause, I kept my eyes trained on the rough piece of paper while my wrist made a flicking motion to draw her strands of hair.

"I'm assuming your dear sister is having the time of her life. I don't think you've escaped to Germany. We could find her in a heartbeat, you know. I could barely picture it, a 17 year old girl thrust in the midst of rapists, drug users, murderers in the jails of, say, Northeast Asia? Ah, the poor thing. So young and so naive, the spat image of you, she wouldn't last a beat." She chuckled humourlessly.

"And what's your point, Inspectora? Your empathy for my little sister doesn't add up to when you tortured Rio, does it?" I didn't even bother to look up from my work as her threat was no longer valid. My little sister died of cancer last month, and the news hadn't reached Spain. That offered us a very good advantage.

She ignored my comment. "Akita, listen to me very carefully. Turn the Professor and Raquel in, and your sister remains untouched. Think about it, sweetheart. And think quickly, I am a busy woman, as you know."

"I most certainly do, señora Sierra." I said innocently, in a stupid but successful attempt to tease her.

"It's señorita now, actually." Alicia corrected.

"Good to know," I mirrored her flirty attitude from before. "On second thought, you were right, how foolish of me. What are you wearing?"

"You're impossible, Akita," she replied, laughing. "Don't get any ideas, sweetheart. I'm way out of your league."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

I gasped in mock offense, making her laugh genuinely. "Well, am I mistaken or am I actually growing on you? I bet you wouldn't be upset about being out of my league if that was the case."

"Shut up, sweetheart." She said mischievously.

"Make me." I teased her.

Her playful scoff was interrupted silently as she suddenly hung up.

I was confused for a moment as my hand moved the pencil confidently on the paper. As I stroked the graphite onto the rough surface, my mind wandered. Alicia was flirting shamelessly with me, in front of all her colleagues, and in a recorded phone call, no less. So either she was really brave or really stupid. Maybe a mixture of both.

This woman was really mesmerising: she was incredibly intelligent, as I could tell, she was confident, sarcastic, dominant and gorgeous. She was brave for raising a child on her own, as she specified that she wasn't married.

If the circumstances were different, I'd even go after her. I wished I had met her differently, because this woman was far beyond average and just about the quickest crush I've ever gotten. She was certainly not someone you'd want to lose. I wanted to talk to her again, leaving out our positions in this makeshift war. It seemed like we were getting along perfectly, flirting with each other as if the call wasn't recorded.

I took my hand away from the drawing and looked at my finished product. I was extremely proud of it: it looked just like her, the lines were confident and creative and the shading in a cross-hatching technique was on point. I bet she'd like it, I thought. My eyes lifted from the paper as I got an idea. Maybe she would.

Aikido, my Akita Inu, looked at me quizzically and tilted his head, almost as if questioning my decision. "Who knows? Maybe this will be what wins her heart." He yawned in response. "Oh, shut up, Aikido."

...

It had been a few days since I sent the drawings to Sierra, and apparently it went over well. The next time we negotiated she asked everyone to leave the tent and didn't confront me about the drawing, but rather she got friendlier: she started to open up, telling me things about her, showing her soft side, laughing, being careless, even saying that we'd meet one day. Of course, she loved the sketch, but we were still enemies, enemies who were intensely pining for each other and instead of doing something about their attraction they played games from a phone call and flirted shamelessly. Because acting on things was the most difficult thing you could ever do in your life. It requires courage, determination, confidence, and given the circumstances, you needed double these qualities.

And I was getting brave these days. And also a little crazy.

So I started sending her a sketch every other day to tease her. One day it was a sketch of her, the next of Aikido, the next of the police tent, the next of her holding the teddy bear.

It continued like this until she sold out the Government and started working alone. First she stopped by Sergio, which ended up in the ultimate team-up as they were on their own and Raquel was finally out of custody and in the bank. Then she left the Professor alone for a while.

...

I heard a knock on my door and Aikido got up on his feet, startled. I carefully stepped closer and tried to take a peek. My eyes caught a flash of red that I'd recognise anywhere, I immediately knew that was Alicia. I quickly opened the door and she looked at me, almost fazed. After a few seconds, she smiled at me, and said, "I promised you we'd meet, one way or another." I chuckled, moved, and let her in immediately. The second hideout of the heist was none other than my own home, a detached house in the middle of nowhere that the Professor was able to get me. It suited me perfectly, there was room for me and Aikido, hell, it even had an atelier.

"Welcome to my home, Inspectora," I said as she took in her surroundings.

"You don’t have to call me that anymore. Just 'Alicia' will do, sweetheart," she replied, a smirk playing on her lips. I gazed at her sweetly, meanwhile surprised at how my attraction to her had grown from a small infatuation to a full-on crush, and realised she didn't have a baby bump anymore.

"You-you gave birth?"

"Yeah, I did. In the stormwater tank."

"That must have been... uncomfortable."

"Sweetie, I had to blow a Saint Bernard out my ass. It would have been uncomfortable even on a hospital bed."

I couldn’t help but laugh at her joke, and soon enough she joined in. "So, is it a baby boy or a baby girl?"

"Girl. I named her Victoria." She said.

"That's a lovely name." I smiled at her.

"Speaking of names," Alicia leaned back on the table and gazed at me, her tantalising green eyes twinkling with mischief. "What's your name?"

That question took me off guard, as I almost tripped over my own feet while holding a glass of water.

She chuckled at my antics. "Somebody got flustered."

I cleared my throat. "Keep telling yourself that, Alicia." I loved how her name rolled off my tongue so easily.

"So you're not answering?"

"Not for the time being, no," I clicked my tongue and winked at her, mocking her for the first time we met. "I like being called Akita."

"Like the dog?" She asked.

"Actually, like the city. But yeah, also like the dog."

As if on cue, Aikido trotted inside.

"Oh, yeah, this is Aikido." I said briefly as Alicia offered her hand for the dog to smell.

"How adorable, you even have an Akita Inu." She noticed, chuckling when Aikido rubbed himself on her legs for pets.

"Wow, he never does that with anyone," I said in surprise. "Maybe he has a good feeling about you."

"Well, I have the blessing of your dog now, so we can't go wrong, can we?" She joked, scratching his weak spot. Soon enough, she even got his leg going.

"He really must love you," I laughed. "Usually he's very cat-like, I'm surprised he's actually asking to be petted."

"Well, I tend to grow on people." She said charismatically.

"Yeah, you do." I mumbled. "Hey, why don't you get comfortable? I'll make dinner and we could watch something."

"Dinner sounds great, thanks," she sighed in relief and I led her to the couch.

"What do you feel like having?" I asked her.

"Whatever you want, sweetie. Your house, your rules." She replied.

"Okay." I hunted through my fridge, hoping to find something good. I found a few eggs, and enough stuff to make salad. "You must be tired after giving birth and running away from the police. I'll make you something to restore your energies."

"Yeah, it was quite the drama. I've barely had time to breathe," she rested her head on the back of the couch at an angle where she could look at me. "You know, you draw really well."

"Oh, thanks." I accepted the compliment.

"Where did you go to art school?" She asked.

"Madrid Academy of Art," I replied. "How did you know I went to art school?" I immediately felt stupid after asking that question.

"Well, a ton of things gave you away. First of all, your proportions in the sketch of me you sent me. Obviously, your choice of media and type of paper that go well together, and the fact that you used binder to keep the sketch's lightfastness in a quantity that was balanced as to avoid damaging it. Then the smaller things, like your posture, the way you sit, the way you hold things, your hands, your eye for observation, and of course, the unmistakable smell of paint coming from over there..." she pointed at a room on the other side of the house. "...which I assume is your atelier."

"Wow, you're good," I laughed in shock. "And yeah, that is my atelier."

Alicia hummed in satisfaction. I turned around to check on her and she was looking at me in a different way now: her pupils were dilated and she was making puppy eyes at me, batting her eyelashes while pouting. Her eyes asked the question.

"You want to see the atelier?" I asked her, surprised.

"Yeah, I'd love to," she replied.

"You have beautiful eyes," I blurted out, and immediately cringed internally. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

I heard her get up from the couch and silently step elsewhere. Since I couldn't hear her anymore, I turned around to check on her and found her in front of me in a heartbeat, hovering over me while my back hit the counter. I swallowed thickly and tried to hide my blush, but she noticed right away. Alicia grazed my face with her fingertips, starting at my cheekbone and trailing down my jawline. Her fingers brushed my neck for a split second, sending a shiver down my spine. Then her thumb slowly traced over my bottom lip, her eyes flickering to my eyes and back to my mouth. Her intelligent eyes asked for permission to kiss me, and I gave in without thinking twice.

In a second, Alicia brushed her lips against mine tentatively, with hesitation. She checked on me to see if I was okay, and that was all she needed. Without a second thought, she crashed her lips on mine more eagerly, her hand resting on the back of my head. I cupped her cheek and kissed her back with the same amount of desire.

She pulled away and leaned her forehead on mine, sighing in content. I licked my lips and gazed back at her, clearing my throat out of embarrassment. "That was, um... that was good."

"Good." She said.

The next few minutes were quiet. I cooked while she kept her eyes trained on my every motion, as if to make sure I didn't get hurt. When dinner was ready, I prepared our plates and took her to the couch. She sat down next to me, thanking me for the food. I put my feet up on the table and she followed suit. I turned on the TV, and she looked for a movie to watch together.

"This one?"

"This one."

The evening was quiet. We ate our food, which she really appreciated, by the look on her face, and Aikido stole a couple of pieces as well. About halfway through the movie, Alicia leaned her head on my shoulder, snuggling her body into mine. I froze in place, taken off guard by the action, but honestly I kind of like it.

"Is this okay?" She asked me, noticing the look on my face.

"Of course," I smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to me. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head and felt her melt into the embrace.

"Your hug is so amazing," she sighed. "It makes me feel safe."

My heart leaped out of my chest at that. "You are safe, honey," I kissed her temple lovingly. "I promise."

[axels-corner]

Meetings with Fintan

Notes: @gay-otlc I was your secret Santa! Thank you @song-tam for organizing this event!

characters: Marella, Fintan, Linh, Bronte

words: 1708

Fintan woke up slowly when he heard footsteps coming down the hallway of his icy prison. He listened for a moment before recognizing the footsteps of Bronte.

“So are you here to ask me more pointless questions about the Neverseen that I don't know?” Fintan asks without looking at Bronte, he clears his throat

“No, I'm here because the council has officially decided to grant your request to mentor Marella Redek. But the council will be monitoring your meetings and sending nobility members to question miss Redek after each session so don't get any ideas for recruiting her to the Neverseen, or teaching her to spark everblaze.” Fintan's eyebrows raise, he didn't expect them to come to a decision this quickly and if they did he thought it'd be denied. He puts his hand on his chest in mock offense

“Me? Recruit people or teach them everblaze, how preposterous. I've never done that in my life.”

“I don't believe that for a second considering what happened with Jolie Ruewen.” Fintan goes back to tracing patterns in the ice

“I assume that you voted against this?”

“I did, considering that when we had Sophie heal your mind you killed one of my colleagues, and friends-”

“Bronte has friends how shocking,” Bronte's voice cut off his sarcasm

“But the girl needs to learn proper control and restraint,” He heaves a sigh not looking at Fintan “and as much as I hate it you're the only pyrokinetic alive and willing, but that doesn't mean I won't be keeping a very close eye on you to make sure you're not doing anything like manipulating her.” and without waiting for his response he turns around and walks out of Fintan's prison. That didn't stop him from yelling back

“Oh, I would never my dear Bronte.”

He had his first ability session with the girl in about thirty minutes. Contrary to what Bronte probably thought considering his last words to him, he didn't have any plans to try to get the girl to spark everblaze or join the rebel group that failed him.

But the council wouldn't have to worry about the last one because thirty five minutes later the girl appeared outside his prison with a black swan necklace around her neck.

“So I see that you've sworn loyalty to the swan group miss,” he already knew the girls name but he would rather give her a chance to introduce herself.

“Marella Redek, and yeah, it's to assure Forkle that I won't be consumed by my craving for fire, plus it's probably smart to have them on my side if the council decides to come after me.” Fintan laughs a little

“Finten Pyren, though you already knew that. I would shake your hand but the ice wall prevents that.” He looks away from the ice wall meeting the girls eyes for the first time, the same blue as her mothers, “it appears that you and I have more in common then I thought, miss Redek.” and though he was a pyrokinetic he could feel how much colder the room got after that sentence, and how the goblin guards clutched the hilt of their swords, this was going to be interesting.

It was the day of Marella's weekly meetings, but instead of the usual hushed whispers between the guards he heard two voices, after a moment of listening he realized one belonged to his prodigy and the other to another girl. He didn't have to wait long for an answer. As they come into the view of his ice prison and the other girl had silver streaks in her hair, the girl of many floods. He coughs as he sits up

“Well if it isn't the girl of many floods, maybe Marella can melt the walls and you can flood this place.”

“My name is Linh Song.” She corrects him

“Yeah, and we would never help you escape.” Marella says

“And there's the council way of thinking, they and the blackswan have convinced you that I'm a bad guy.”

“Because you are,” Marella cuts him off before he can give them another speech, he waves his hands like he's fanning away the words.

“Never mind that, then why is she here?” He points at Linh with the last words.

“To make sure that no fire's get out of control, because you seem to have a history of that.” he scowls

“Fire and water can not work together they are opposites, like shades and flashers.”

“If that's true then why do elves need shades and flashers to work together to make illusions?” Linh asks

“Plus we're already working on combining our abilities.” Marella says crossing her arms with a smirk, Fintan rolls his eyes.

“Fine she can stay,”

“That's not your decision.” one of them interrupts.

“But,” He says ignoring them, pointing at Linh “do not interfere unless I tell you to.”

“she'll interfere if the flames get out of control.” Marella corrects, Fintan grit his teeth

“Fine, today we will be discussing balefire vs normal flames.” and the lesson began

“What would it take for me to convince you to open your cache?” Fintan sat up and stretched

“Hello miss Redek, how are you on this freezing day on the mountain.”

“Answer the question.”

“Freedom.” He told her tracing symbols shaped like fire into the frost on the floor

“That's not possible, and you know it.” She said crossing her arms, he rolled his eyes, she acted like he wanted to burn down the lost cities and dethrone the councilors for revenge of what they did to him. She was right but how dare she assume.

“Well it seems like my knowledge of how to open the cache is lost to my mind like my freedom is lost to this prison and your council.” He looked up at her hoping his eyes conveyed his hatred towards the council for keeping him here, for denying him his flames, his power. Branding him as a talentless.

“Even if I could get your freedom even though we both know the council will never agree especially after what happened to Kenric. I would never let you out because you would just burn everything to the ground.”

“And what ever gave you that idea?” he asks going back to the frost

“Uh, maybe because you caused the death of a councilor and burned a city.” he shrugged

“Sometimes things need to burn to come back better and stronger, like phoenixes, isn't the city much more beautiful now? Plus he was going to die eventually, after all the security there was murder.” He grins into the floor remembering saying the exact same thing at the peace summit to Oralie.

“How can you make jokes about the man you murdered?” Marella yells at him

“Because he ruined my life so I ruined his!” Marella shakes her head

“I would say I couldn't believe you but, this seems in character for you.” and without she walks out of the room

“Running back to your moonlark?” Fintan asks, the only response he got was her flipping him off.

“Would noxflares be enough to convince you to open your cache?” Marella asked in the middle of their ability session.

“Well that came out of left field.”

“That's not an answer.”

“No, it's not.” Fintan takes a breath “Do you have noxflares, better yet do you have my cache or the fake that the Sencen boy foolishly stole?”

“Yes to both your questions.” Marella says.

“Then I would except your deal.” Fintan tells her. After the noxflare was moved in Fintan held out his hand for the cache “I get to choose what memory I show you.”

“That wasn't part of the deal.” Fintan shrugged

“You also didn't say you got to choose which memory I showed you.”

“How do I know that you're not going to burn the cache the minute I give it to you?” She asks

“I guess you should've thought of that, you'll just have to trust me, clocks ticking.”

“What?” Marella asks

“Oh, I didn't tell you? This is a timed offer, fifty seconds left.” Fintan mimcks a ticking clock for about ten seconds when Marella gives him the cache

“Fine, but this better not be a waist of my time.”

“That depends on how much you pay attention.” Fintan tells her before whispering under his breath as he selects the memory “Here we go.”

“Hello Fintan.” Bronte's voice cuts through his sleep,

“What is it with you people and coming to talk when I'm finally asleep?” Fintan grumbles

“You opened your cache.” Fintan yawned

“Why is it your business?”

“Because I am a councilor and those where forbidden secrets, and you where supposed to open it for the council, not your prodigy.” Fintan sat up gathering his hair into a ponytail the motion muscle memory because he had done it so often.

“Why does it matter? She probably showed it to the moonlark and isn't she your regent? Or do you not trust her?” Bronte ran his fingers through his cropped hair, Fintan remembered when they where on the council together and Fintan would help him cut his hair despite the fact that Fintan would tell him that he looked good with curly hair.

“Fintan, are you even listening to me?” Bronte was snapping his fingers in front of Fintan's face, well as close to his face as he could get with the ice wall. “Did you even her what I just said? Sophie Foster, Keefe Sencen, Fitz Vacker, Maruca Chebota, and Marella Redek all went to Elysian with Vespera.” Fintan shrugs, and Bronte's mouth drops open “Do you not care?” Fintan sighs

“Bronte, those children have gotten me arrested multiple times, caused my mind to be broken once, and ensured that I will be stuck in this ice prison for the rest of my life. Plus there smart kids they'll get out of this alive, plus Vespera's with them which means they probably have an alliance I ensure you they will be fine. Relax, sit down do fancy paperwork, you're freaked out over nothing.” He heard Bronte's footsteps fade as he walks out, maybe Fintan will finally be able to get some sleep without people talking to him.

[ofstardustanddreaming]

I'M FREE TO COMMENT!!! My hidden love request is so good! Don't worry about the accent because I don't know much about accents either 😅 I love it especially it was a problem for them in the past 🥺, they were recruited by Charles to hone their skills 👍, they're better at controlling their power but not when they're startled though 😅, they're hoping to befriend more people which changed when Remy appeared in their life 🥹, they accidentally right into Remy when they first met him (Funny enough, I can be THAT clumsy 🤣), they were afraid that they would be in trouble 😫, they felt ashamed of both meeting a handsome man & spilling his coffee on him which I definitely agree 😣, he looked around while wondering where did they disappear too 🫥, they developed a crush on him which I'm the same ❤️, he's either new or been on a long mission which makes sense 🤔, they felt terrible if they did this to him after he returned home after a long time 😔, he saw them again when they're making coffee ☕, they're used to being seen through but not at them 👀, they fade in & out which I would be too 🫥😐, he talked to them first 🗣️, they're hanging onto his words which he smirked when he noticed but waited patiently for their reply 😏, they nodded which he looked at them even longer 👀, they made themselves & their cup disappear (⁠☉⁠｡⁠☉⁠)⁠!, they were confused but let him touch their shoulders ❓, he let them know how cool it is which they felt warm 🥹, both of them could open up to each other because of how accepting both of them are 💕, he helped to meet people after knowing about their wish to befriend more people 👥, they didn't think much when he flirts with them since he does with everyone & especially Rogue & they also have low esteem which I agree 💯, what they didn't know is that he's practicing with Rogue (⁠゜⁠o⁠゜⁠; it took a few months before both of them confessed 👍, they use their power according to the plans which they faded in to rescue a prisoner 🫥, an enemy saw them & shot them after taking an educated guess 😨, Remy saw & attacked the enemy before checking on them ♦️, others were helping so he could focus on their injury 🤕, they never seen him panic so much ⊙⁠.⁠☉, he held them gently as he confessed to them in french even calling them my heart (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠), they woke up in infirmary with Remy holding their hand ❤️, they smiled at the fact he's there with them ☺️, he woke up when they squeezed his hand 👍, he checked if they needed anything while holding their face 🤭, they confessed to him 💘, and they're thrilled to be with the man who sees them for them 🥹 Thank you so much for doing my request because I love it so much :) Are there any characters from Marvel you would accept requests for? Only if you don't mind of course!

I'm so glad you liked it! And yes, I do accept requests for a good majority of Marvel characters lol. I just haven't put it on my list cause I haven't felt inspired for Marvel in a few years. I'm slowly getting back into Marvel tho, I'll accept requests for pretty much any x-men character, I've got Daredevil and Moonknight on my main masterlist too, and I'll write for pretty much any MCU Marvel character. With most inspiration being Loki, Dr. Strange, Bucky, Carol, and Wanda from main MCU, then Matt Murdock, Elektra, and Karen from Daredevil, and pretty much any X-Men character lol.

If there's any character I won't write for, I'll probably deny the character in the request or something, I can't really think of any character off the top of my head.

[thedevilsdom]

Hi there! I hope you feel better, I really love your writing and you seem like such a cool and chill person. I was wondering, could I request something? I was thinking: What was the thing MC said off-handedly that accidentall made them cream their pants. Like, just, oops! Whether in the moment and touching on something they didn’t even know they were into, or hell, was there even a situation where they weren’t even in the bedroom, MC was just commanding some attention and respect in a meeting and their thoughts slipped. Let’s see, maybe for Lucifer, Satan, Diavolo, aaaand Simeon? What do you think, if that’d be okay?

Lucifer:

You weren't doing much, really. You were in his office, and it was late. He insisted on staying to do work, just as he insisted that you go back up to the room so you don't stay up as late is he is going to.

You deny that, taking a seat on his desk. He looks up at you, tired eyes tracking your movements. You reach down and take his chin in your fingers, forcing him to hold your gaze.

"Lucifer Morningstar, you are going to come to bed with me, and you're going to let me take care of you-"

You're cut off by Lucifer's eyes fluttering shut, brows pinched and lip bitten between his fangs while his whole body trembles. You know what's happening, and you softly release his chin and instead card your fingers through his silky hair.

"My Lucifer," You sigh, "You really are all tired and needy. Come on up to bed, and I'll take care of you like I promised."

He nods, body pliant and more than willing to give up control.

Satan:

You're too preoccupied with the book you're reading to notice the way he's squeezing his thighs together. You're reclined on his sofa, laying across it on your back while his head rests on your stomach, his body laid between your legs. You're absentmindedly playing with his hair with one hand, fingers combing through his blonde locks.

"It's like petting a cat," You muse with a light giggle, and he responds with a murmur that sounds suspiciously like a whine. You only pay him mind when your fingers catch a knot in his hair and give his hair a tug by mistake.

Satan mewls, back arching and hips twitching as he cums completely untouched in his pants. When he settles back to lay down once again, he can't help but try to hide his red face in his book, knowing that there was no way that slipped under your radar.

Diavolo:

"I want a turn," You say, standing up in front of the throne. Diavolo promised you'd get your turn a little while ago, and really it isn't that big of a deal if you don't get the chance, but sitting in the demon prince's throne would certainly be fun.

"You're so adorable, MC," He laughs. With his impressive stature, Diavolo found most things shorter than him to be adorable, and you were no exception. Regardless, nobody calls you cute like that and gets away with it.

"You think I'm cute?" You give him your best seductive look while you lean over him, putting a hand on the back of the throne and another on the arm of it.

"Cute, pretty, handsome," He closes the distance and gives you a peck on the lips, a sunshine smile on his face, not intimidated in the slightest. "I adore you."

"You're lucky I've got a weak spot for you," You say, standing back up and turning around. Diavolo thought you were just going to take a seat in the chair next to the throne, but instead you sit down right on his lap.

Even the normally peppy, rather controlled demon prince can't restrain his gasp as your ass presses against his cock. Completely ashamed, he spurts sticky, white cum into his boxers, with you so close he can't even squeeze his hands between the two of you to hide his face.

Simeon:

You're with him in the kitchen practicing a cake recipe that he's planning on teaching Luke later. You'd mixed up two devildom ingredients, and you'd had to throw out the first failed attempt, but so far the second one is going well even though it's a bit late into the night by now.

Simeon's cutting some berries and fruits to put in the cake while you mix the batter. The cake batter is a lovely fluffy white, and it folds easily under your rubber spatula. Simeon keeps getting distracted by looking over, simply to admire how you look in an apron, cooking with him as though this were some domestic slice of life movie.

He isn't sure whether or not you know that he's sneaking glances, but he watches as you look down at the batter. You move the spatula through it and decide that it's been mixed enough, so you take the spatula out and give it a long lick.

Simeon, smitten and inexperienced as he is, doesn't need much to make him orgasm, and just you doing that is enough to have him grabbing the edge of the counter and biting his lip to smother his moans while he cums in his pants.

Evidently, he wasn't as sneaky as he would've liked, as you then put the spatula in the sink and quickly close the distance between you two, boxing him in against the counter.

"Why don't we forget about the cake for a little bit, angel?"

[captains-simp]

Wanda Maximoff ~ Fake It Till You Make It

Wanda version of this fic as requested by @yeetus-thyself

7.7k words

Warnings: shitty family and homophobia

[ masterlist ]

Buy me a coffee ☕

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Pleeaasse, Wan" You pouted once again. You had been begging Wanda for the favour for an hour now; her stubborness was proving hard to overcome.

"I'm busy." Wanda said, her accent strong as she walked around her appartment to collect things for her next mission.

"But will you be busy on the 10th?" You asked from the couch where you watched her disappear into various rooms as she talked.

"I thought you said it was a few days." Wanda quipped, seemingly only giving you half her attention.

"It is." You confirmed with some hope.

"So I'd need to clear my schedule for more than just the 10th." You huffed and rested your head on the back of couch.

"Yes you would. I'm sure Natasha can manage without you for a few days."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." She muttered.

"Please, Wan." You tried. "I need a win." Wanda stopped by the kitchen counter and gave you a long, considering look. You had long given up on your puppy dog eyes and instead copied her expression as you chewed on your bottom lip.

"I'll think about it." Wanda finally said before grabbing something from the cupboard. It was the best response you had gotten all night and you knew you wouldn't get anything more. So you accepted it and hoped for the best.

Your parents had invited you to their cabin for a few days just like they did every year. It was a beautiful place. You could spend your whole visit in the forest along the back. Or swimming in the clear lake that was a short walk away. The cabin itself was the cosiest place you had ever been and had been where some of your best memories had happened as a kid.

As you got older things changed. Being around your family, especially your parents, wasn't as enjoyable. They had high expectations for their children, expectations that your siblings had met without a problem but ones that you had struggled with. You enjoyed your life. You had the kind of relationships you had always hoped for, you loved your job and you had the perfect balance of the two. But you could never shake the feeling that you had failed.

Your brother was a surgeon who always told you all stories of the lives he saved and the close calls he had swooped in to save people from. One of your sisters was some hot shot lawyer who had done great things like help people wrongly convicted but still put dangerous people back on the street. And your other sister was the CEO of an energy company that you never quite understood. They even all had equally successful partners who loved to talk about themselves as much as your siblings did. You didn't have any of that. But you did have Wanda.

Knowing the Avengers was the only thing about you your family took interest in. They were always subtly hinting at wanting to meet your friends. But you knew the Avengers had to endure enough fan service and didn't want to push your family onto them, especially with how annoying they all were.

However as your family's unrealistic expectations reached their all time high you were sure you wouldn't be able to handle another trip with them without a win, and you were far too petty to take the moral high ground and just not go. Not to mention that was a huge part of you that was dying to see what the Wanda girlfriend experience would entail. Yep, that was what you were asking of Wanda. To pretend to be your partner for the duration of the trip.

You knew it wasn't a smart choice. That if Wanda agreed your crush on her could get out of hand. You knew you would end up getting too caught up in the act. You could have, no - should have - asked Natasha or Yelena or even Carol if she was around. But your family knew you were the closest with Wanda and she would be the one it felt the most natural with, and the most believable. At least, that was what you told Wanda.

"When are you going?" You asked, changing the subject in hopes that Wanda wouldn't suddenly conclude she didn't want to do it (then you really would have to ask one of the others).

"Tomorrow." She answered, keeping her focused tone.

"When will you be back?" You attempted to keep the concern out of your voice but the glance the redhead gave you told you you hadn't done a good job.

"The day after." She said, softer this time. You nodded as you looked down at your lap and tried not to think about everything that could possibly go wrong on her mission.

"Be safe." Wanda strolled over to you and placed her hand gently ontop of yours and gave it a quick squeeze.

"Always."

*

"Got any plans Saturday night?" Natasha smirked knowingly at her friend as they preped for their mission.

"No." Wanda replied as she adjusted her earpiece.

"Nothing with y/n then?" Nat asked, partly genuinely but mostly knowing Wanda would still say no.

"Nope." She said again, biting the inside of her cheek in consideration before speaking again. "Not this Saturday."

Natasha raised an eyebrow in surprise and interest. Wanda rarely made any kind of special plans with you as you would always hang out casual and it was never anything fancy or different. She had always wanted to though.

"Plans for another time?" Nat continued as she double checked her pack.

"Maybe, I'm still thinking about it." The redhead turned fully to her friend at her words, confused at why Wanda was hesitant to spend time with you. "She wants me to go to the cabin with her and her family." Nat had heard all about the infamous cabin and your family.

"That sounds fun." Nat nodded. The cabin sounded fun. Your family did not.

"As her girlfriend." Nat's eyes widened excitedly but before she could speak Wanda clarified. "Her pretend girlfriend."

Nat paused and looked as though she was going to speak for several seconds until she stuck to just giving a confused look.

"Yeah." Wanda sighed. "Thinks it would seem impressive." Wanda had tried not to be hurt over that. She knew you weren't just friends with her to show her off to people, because you never did. But it hurt her to think the only time you could see her in a romantic way was when you were pretending.

"Well," Nat muttered as she adjusted the zip along the front of her catsuit. "Fake it till you make it." It was Wanda's turn to give Nat a questioning look. "Maybe it'll be an eye opener for her."

"You think I should do it?" She asked, fully open to hearing and accepting her friend and mentor's advice in that area.

"Definelty." Nat confirmed. She wasn't sure about it for the reasons she said though. Wanda's crush on you was obvious to everyone except you, just as it was vice versa.

*

You had been overjoyed when Wanda told you she would come with you to the cabin and play along as your girlfriend. She had told you when she came back from her mission, in fact it was the first thing she said after she had let herself into your appartment. It was never really brought up after that, but you couldn't deny you were incredibly anxious on the week leading up to the visit.

On the drive up to the cabin you and Wanda stayed in a comfortable silence most of the time, clearly both lost in thought. You had the radio on for background noise more than anything else, but you would occasionally lightly tap the steering wheel if there was a tune you recognised, oblivious to Wanda's acknowledging smiles.

"So what's the plan?" Wanda asked as she looked at you expectantly. Right, of course the Avenger wanted a strategy.

"Keep things simple, I guess. They know how we met already so we can just say at some point we took things a step further than friendship." Wanda didn't seem convinced at the simplicity of that. "Look they're not going to want to hear about us, not much at least. They prefer the sound of their own voices, they'll be trying to impress you is all."

"Impress me?" Wanda asked.

"Yeah, hope you warm up to them so one day they can invite you to their snobby parties." Wanda chuckled her heart warming laugh as she glanced out of the window, knowing there was a lot of truth to what you said.

"And what are those like?" She enquired curiously.

"I wouldn't know, I've never been invited." You said simply. You had gotten over that a long time ago, gotten used to being forgotten. Wanda clearly hadn't though.

"It will be an honour to turn them down." Wanda said. You shook your head and smiled at her. That did sound pretty nice.

When the cabin came into sight between the trees your nerves spiked. You figited in your seat and bit your lip when you saw some of your family gathered outside, their attention instantly on you. You shot Wanda a quick smile which she returned before you got out of the car.

"Y/n! So nice of you to come." You mum said as her eyes flickered to Wanda more than you. She opened her arms for the shortiest hug in human history before turning to Wanda. "You must be Wanda, we've heard so much." You mum insisted as she brought the redhead in for a hug too. She raised her eyebrows at you over your mum's shoulder and you bite back a laugh.

The others came over to greet you and mainly Wanda in a rush, overwhelming both of you.

"You two will be in the upstairs bedroom on the left." Your mum told you as you went to grab your bags. You did a double take, convinced you had heard her wrong. That was the best room in the house. A big difference from being in the small room in the basement every other time you had been there.

"First one on the left." Your dad confirmed. There was no way your parents were going to be in the basement so you wondered who else had been moved around but didn't ask, knowing whoever it was wasn't going to be happy.

You and Wanda made your way up to the room and you couldn't help but smile at the sight of the spacious room and the door you knew led to your en suite.

"That was...a lot." Wanda summarised as she said her bag under the bed.

"I would tell you it gets better but I don't want to get your hopes up." You sighed as you got a couple of things out.

"It's just a few days." Wanda said despite the fact you should have been assuring her.

"Yeah." You nodded and stared down at the floor. "Now c'mon." You suddenly said as you took ahold of Wanda's hand and laced your fingers together. You missed the startled blush that crept onto her cheeks when you turned around.

Your family were sat outside whispering amongst themselves when you returned. Their interested gaze fell to your entwined hands in an instant.

"So you work with the Avengers?" Your brother, Dalton, said as soon as you both sat down.

"I do, I'm one myself." Wanda said as she continued to hold onto your hand.

"Must be crazy, what are they like?" He enquired.

"They're good." Wanda said simply. Everyone clearly expected something more but Wanda pretended not to notice making you smile.

"I almost did business with Stark once, decided against it in the end." Claire announced proudly. You and Wanda exchanged knowing glances. Stark had told you all about his encounter with your sister, it definetly wasn't her turning him down.

"I was invited to one of his parties." Anna said quickly. "I was busy that night unfortunately."

Bull. Shit.

"Yes I remember working with Doctor Strange when he was still in the medical profession." You gave Wanda an I-told-you-so look as your family erupted into conversation over who had the most contact with the heroes. That had to be a new record of how quickly they started talking about themselves.

They continued like that until your mum called everyone in for dinner. The food smelt undeniably amazing as you took your place at the table next to Wanda and eyed the dishes infront of you. Your parents efforts to impress the redhead weren't all that bad.

Your family continued to catch up and and you and Wanda half listened as you ate. They were all doing as well for themselves as ever and still hadn't learnt any modesty.

Although you were proud of your siblings for what they had all achieved, Wanda had contained four potentially devastating bombs from going off in the space of half an hour a week before but she wasn't going to bring that up anytime soon. Eventually though, the attention turned to you to bring you out of your silence.

"And you're still working in that little café, y/n?" Your mum asked curiously.

"I own it, mum." You corrected quietly as you stabbed some pieces on your plate.

"Ah yes, quite the contrast though, isn't it. Between you two." She said as she pointed at you and Wanda with her fork. You didn't say anything to that because you felt there really wasn't anything to say in response. It wasn't like you hadn't thought that exact thing every now and then.

"The team loves it." Wanda said suddenly making everyone, including you, look at her in slight surprise from speaking up. It hadn't taken your family long to learn Wabda wasn't much of a talker, not to them anyway. You couldn't get her to shut up half the time. "At least one of us goes everyday. If we're lucky we all can. Nothing beats it." She defended simply before turning back to her food to show she wasn't going to say anymore. You smiled down at your plate at her words and the truth of them.

No one said anything in response, clearly shocked from this new information until Dalton spoke up.

"But doesn't Stark like fancy, top of the line, restaurants? I can't imagine him in some random coffee shop, no offence sis." He nodded towards you though you knew he didn't mean it. He couldn't let you have just one win.

"That random coffee shop has catered some of Stark's parties. Not that many though." A smug smile crept onto Dalton's face as he opened his mouth to make a snarky remark but Wanda cut him down again. "Because y/n's invited to the rest as a guest and a close friend." Your family stared at you with open mouths.

"You've been invited to Stark's parties?!" Anna exclaimed. In your defence, your family never wanted to hear about your life so you never got the chance to tell them anything.

"It's not really my crowd." You shrugged. "I just go to hang out with them after." Dalton's jaw clenched in annoyance and he didn't say anything for the rest of dinner. It was only really your mum who kept talking. Telling everyone about her latest travels that fell on death ears.

It was certainly a first for your family.

When everyone had finished their food you and Wanda excused yourselves and said goodnight before retiring to your room. Wanda shut the door gently as you collapsed onto the bed on your back and glared at the ceiling. The redhead shuffled around quietly to get her toothbrush and toothpaste and some other things you weren't really paying attention to and went into the bathroom.

When she came back out she was in her bedclothes and lifted your feet off the floor to turn you so you could fully lay on the bed. You smiled at her weakly.

"You should go get changed." Wanda said as she got her laptop out her bag. "Then you can pick a movie." She announced when she had gotten under the covers and started her laptop. You smiled more and nodded.

You tried not to think about your family and everything they had said at dinner as you got changed but it proved difficult. Everything they had said echoed around in your head but most of all you couldn't shake the disregarding ways they said it. It was as though you could do no right with them. Maybe they would never be proud no matter what you did.

You placed your toothbrush back I'm the holder and rinsed your mouth before heading back into the bedroom to an awaiting Wanda.

You got under the covers next to her and rested your head on her shoulder as you glanced at the Netflix screen and pointed to one of the comedy movies.

About ten minutes into the movie Wanda spoke. "You okay?" She whispered as she continued to look at the screen although that wasn't where her focus was.

"Yeah." You whispered back.

"You can talk to me." She said after a second." You moved your head away so you could see Wanda clearly.

"I'm so glad you're here." You said honestly. She smiled and nodded as her eyes searched yours.

"I'm glad I'm here too." You knew Wanda wasn't glad she had to spend the time with your family. She was glad that she could support you despite their efforts to bring you down. You were incredibly lucky to have her.

You rested your head back on her shoulder and neither of you spoke for the rest of the movie. Or the rest of the night. You must have fallen asleep about half an hour in.

*

Wanda was one of the most intimate people you had ever met. It was mainly something she aimed towards you and Natasha but didn't refrain from comforting others and giving hugs to anyone who would take one. She never held back at all with you, as far as you knew. But when you woke up and couldn't tell where your limbs started and Wanda's ended, you were still surprised to find yourselves like that. Butterflies flew around in your stomach in a way you knew was dangerous but couldn't help but love.

You were resting your head on her rising chest and had your arm slung across her stomach. Your legs were tangled together and her arms were holding onto your waist. A warmth spread through you and you decided to settle back into her hold and closed your eyes with a content smile.

You had about ten minutes to enjoy that before Wanda woke up. You could feel the moment she realized you were so close, she physically froze. You waited in anticipation for something for several moments until your friend very slowly unhooked her legs and guided your body to lay against the mattress and pillows as she slipped out of bed towards the bathroom.

You sighed when you heard the door close and rubbed your eyes slowly, knowing you should get up but wishing more than anything that you could return to how you woke up.

"Morning." Wanda croaked when she left the bathroom and saw you sitting up in bed.

"Morning." You said back with a smile and tried not to focus on how ridiculously attractive her voice sounded.

You gathered some random clothes into a bundle and went into the bathroom to change again and brush your teeth. When you came out Wanda was pulling her shirt over her head and gave you a generous view of her toned stomach. That training with Natasha really was paying off. Your face heated up when you saw it and you turned away to pretend you hadn't seen when Wanda noticed you.

"Don't make a sound." Wanda warned. You glanced up at her with some confusion. "I don't think your family's awake yet, that means we get the kitchen to ourselves." She grinned and you did too.

You and Wanda had gotten so used to getting up early for your jobs you forgot other people would still be sleeping. It was hard to break out of the habit but it proved useful.

The pair of you made a quick breakfast and ate it outside thanks to the warm weather even at that time. But soon enough your parents came downstairs and ruined the peaceful atmosphere with the clanging of pots and loud convosations.

You wandered around the side of the house and saw the old table tennis table that bad been folded away years ago and hadn't been set up since. You went over and started setting it up when Wanda joined you and eyed the table with a glimmer of mischief.

The redhead wasn't all that competitive, in fact you were pretty sure she let other people win games on the regular to make them feel better about themselves. But there was an undeniable spark of mischief in her eyes when she saw the table.

"You played this before?" You asked convosationally.

"I have." She said as you both automatically took up your positions of opposite ends of the table.

"Me too." You said confidently. "A lot." Wanda hummed in acknowledgment and swivelled her bat in her hand and stood ready. You smiled at her seriousness for the game.

You served surprisingly well for someone who hadn't played in a few years and Wanda was able to hit it back with ease. Once you had developed a steady pace you started hitting the ball more daringly to Wanda who was caught off guard before she started doing the same.

The moment you missed the ball a small smile tugged at the corner of Wanda's lips, her celebration was short lived when you suddenly sent the ball back her way until it was too late.

"That wasn't fair!" She exclaimed childishly.

"That was tables tennis." You said seriously but started smiling again.

Wanda huffed dramatically and flipped you off as she trudged back to the table and served the ball with force. You managed to send it back but took a step away from the table in caution.

You continued like that for a while. The competition tension rising as you picked up the pace, one of you occasionally getting a point before the other evened it out.

At one point you were vaguely aware of Dalton sauntering over to see what you were doing and arched his brow at the sight of the table.

"We still have this thing?" He questioned and you hummed quietly in response, too focused on the game.

"Hey Claire! Get over here, we're playing table tennis." You rolled your eyes at the intrusive and could sense Wanda refraining from doing the same until an idea popped into your head.

You caught the ball in your hand and smiled at Wanda's protests as you moved round to her side of the table just as your sister came out.

"I didn't even know we still had this." Claire laughed as she picked up another bat from the box.

"Maybe we should take it back with us." Wanda whispered to you and you bit your lip to contain your smile because yes, yes you should.

Inevitably, your siblings sucked at table tennis. You had suspected as much you just never thought they would be as bad as they were. They missed almost every hit and everytime they did they got increasingly angry, which meant they ended up flaring their arms around like idiots. It was a memory you would be sure to treasure.

"Stupid game" and "probably broken" kept echoing across the table until your siblings finally stormed off to throw a tantrum.

The rest of the day went by quietly. You and Wanda sat by the lake for most of the afternoon to enjoy the sun and heat. You reveled in the most recent memories of your siblings embarrassment and had to keep hushing down to childish whispered whenever one of them was nearby.

Surprisingly, dinner went by peacefully too.

You weren't asked anymore questions at the table. Instead, your family were content with talking about their upcoming plans between stealing glances at you and Wanda that the redhead never failed to notice.

The pair of you slipped off to your room the first moment you got and easily fell into bed besides one another. Wanda picked out a DVD from her bag of an old Sokovian show she used to watch as a child and had you hooked on as well as teaching you the language.

She settled down beside you and within the first few scenes she wrapped an arm around your shoulder so you could sink into her further like she did sometimes when you watched things together. You were barely paying attention to the series after that.

Despite trying to keep your focus on understanding what was happening in scenes of the show, you couldn't help but want to melt under the warmth of your best friend. You hoped it was something you got to experience more, you felt safer than you ever had in Wanda's arms.

Little did you know that having you in her arms was the most comforting feeling Wanda ever experienced and she always tried to do it as little as possible to refrain from falling for you more. It never worked.

*

You had thought waking up in Wanda's arms the morning before had been the best thing to awake to. But that day when you woke up not only were your legs tangled together again but the redhead was slowly stroking your hair while your head rested on her chest.

It was a gradual gesture that maintained a perfect rhythm and made you want to fall back asleep. But you were afraid you would mistake it for a dream later on. No, it was definitely real.

Luckily, your head was already tilted upwards slightly so when you secretly opened your eyes to risk a peek at your friend you saw her staring out the window as though she was in a trance. She was clearly so deep in thought she hadn't noticed you wake up, you had never seen her like it. But the feeling was too good to ignore, too compelling.

Soon enough, you found yourself drifting off back to sleep.

*

When you woke up again Wanda was gone. Her absence left an emptiness you knew wasn't good for you. As the days of your visit went on your fake relationship with Wanda was going to effect you even more when it was over.

Over...you couldn't think about that.

Once you got up and got changed you found Wanda in the kitchen looking at the news on her phone as she sipped her coffee.

"Morning, honey." You grinned. Wanda blushed slightly into her coffee, something you thought was undeniably adorable.

"Morning yourself." She tried to play off smoothly making you grin more.

You made breakfast for you both just as your mum came into the kitchen and greeted you both with an overplayed smile, already talking to Wanda about an upcoming party that she should go to. Wanda mumbled something about a busy schedule as you managed to whisp her away outside with your food.

Eventually, you and Wanda became bored with sitting around in the house when you had such amazing surroundings on your doorstep. You declared that you were going on a walk with the redhead and left before any of your family could invite themselves to go with you. Especially as you had told your friend to wear her swimwear underneath her clothing as you had a surprise for her.

You made a point of holding Wanda's hand as you left and once you were far away from the house went to take it back only for her to hold on tighter.

"You never know where they could be lurking." She joked as an excuse, so you starting swinging your arms playfully as to assure her you wanted your hands to stay linked together too.

You spent hours in those woods and was thankful for having a spy best friend who of course knew to pack the essentials like food and drinks so you could stay away from the house as long as you wanted.

The redhead brought so much you were able to have a small picnic on top of a hill that overlooked the large lake that stretched out all the way back to the house. You remembered thinking up stories as to explain the strange shape and curves to it as a child.

"It's beautiful here." Wanda said as she picked some grapes from the bunch between you.

"It is." You agreed with a fond smile.

"I used to want to live in a place like this." She muttered, sparking your interest.

"In the woods?" You asked curiously and she nodded.

"I thought I could retire to the woods and get a small cabin and I could grow my own food and that was all I needed." You hummed with a smile as you studied Wanda's features.

"Sounds lonely." You thought aloud.

"I'd have a cat." She said simply making you laugh. "I never used to think that but now when it crosses my mind and I picture that life... I picture someone else there with me." You knew she was imagining it as she spoke and you wished you could see exactly what it was she wanted.

"We could always downgrade the holiday house." You half joked as you nodded in the vague direction of the house. "Make it a simple cabin."

"We?" Wanda asked hopefully, the emotion clear before she had a chance to conceal it.

"There's no one I'd rather run away and live in the forest with." You joked although there was a lot of truth to your words. The redhead considered you for a while before smiling and nodded as though she had reached her own internal conclusion.

"Come on." You said suddenly as you stood up and dusted yourself off.

"You want to go back?" Wanda asked and you grinned.

"I'm going to show you that surprise." You declared and packed the remaining food away. Wanda did the same, eager to see the surprise you kept secret the whole way.

It was quite a way back to the house. The whole time Wanda kept asking more questions about it but you wouldn't say. She could only make guesses based on the swim wear which should have left only a few options, non of which she got right.

Finally, you arrived where you wanted to and grinned at Wabda before starting towards the edge. The redhead frowned as she watched you approach the ledge and became worried when she invisioned the steep slope that didn't always lead to water straight down. If you were to fall... your friend didn't have to wait long to see that. You slipped along the edge and disappeared from her view as she gave a startled cry and sprinted towards the edge and knelt over with wide eyes, expecting to see something that could haunt her forever but instead she saw you on a wide ledge but seven feet below her.

To your left was part of the ledge that had been dug into randomly and acted as perfect aid to get back into the woods above.

"Come down here." You beckoned as you starter to take your top off. Wanda's eyes widened more and quickly turned around and dropped down next to you steadily.

She glanced over the side of the small ledge to glance at the fifty foot drop into the water. There was nothing in the way to fall onto but there was no telling how deep that water was.

"You can't go in like that." You laughed as you kicked off your shorts and pushed them to the side.

Wanda's face heated up at the sight of you in your y/f/c bikini as you assessed the view. But even in her flustered state she was able to put it all together.

"You want to jump down there?" She exclaimed making you laugh.

"I've done it tones of times." You assured. "It's fun."

"It's a death wish! What if the waters not deep enough?" She questioned making you laugh more.

"Are you scared, Wan?" You teased as you took a step towards her making her avert her eyes from your form. She scoffed to play it off.

"Of course not." You hummed in faux belief.

"Well then I'll see you down there." You grinned and took a couple of steps back until your feet were no longer on the platform and you were plummeting down towards the water where you landed with a splash.

Wanda held her breath as she waited for you to resurface for a few agonising seconds. When you did with a gasp and started kicking around frantically to keep yourself afloat with your built up adrenaline the redhead sighed in relief and started taking off her own shorts and shirt and placed them next to your things.

You've jumped from higher. She told herself as she rocked on her feet. And you have powers! She argued back before she shoved those thoughts aside and threw herself off the ledge and into the water below. You laughed as she came back up and pushed her hair away from her way. You swam closer to her and saw her wide smile.

"Fuck." Wanda whispered with a laugh as she looked back up from where you had both come.

"Told you it was fun." You teased as you tried not to focus on the low cut on her bikini bra.

"Yeah yeah." She laughed and paused when she looked past you and saw you were surprisingly close to the house. She could see the outline of your family sat outside.

"They're looking." Wanda muttered. You could tell by the look on her face who she was talking about. It wasn't like there was anyone else around either.

"Do you think they've caught on?" You asked nervously as you stared at Wanda's brown eyes to stop you looking at your family.

"Maybe..." She considered and glanced around. "It's not like we've been acting like that much of a couple." You scoffed at that.

"At home everyone assumes we're dating and the one time we need it be believable it isn't." You rolled your eyes but couldn't help the smile.

"I know." Wanda laughed for a second but then paused. "Then let's give them something believable." She gently placed both her hands on your waist and pulled you slowly towards her. You let her guide you and took extra notice of the water droplets across her face. You almost trembled when your bare stomachs pressed together in the water lightly.

Wanda's soft hands left your waist and gripped your thighs to pull you up to wrap your legs around her own waist. You couldn't help but giggle at the gesture as you wrapped your arms around the redhead's neck and held onto her waist with your legs in a lock.

"Can I?" Wanda whispered when she lifted your chin with her finger and her other hand came round the back of your neck.

"Just shut up and kiss me." You demanded with a playful smile and leaned in to do it yourself.

You smiled into the kiss and felt Wanda do the same. It was everything you had ever imagined it to be. Her lips were soft and fell into place perfectly against your own as they moved together. Your mind was hazey and your stomach was doing flips at the realisation that you were actually kissing your long time crush. You forced yourself to remember that it was all a show. That Wanda didn't mean it. But she put on a believable act and kissed passionately, even slipping her tongue through your parter lips to explore your mouth further.

When she eventually pulled away you rested your foreheads together to catch your breath and grinned as you closed your eyes.

"You're a really good kisser." You blurted out making Wanda chuckle.

"Not too bad yourself." She teased.

"I hope not, we're gonna have to do that again." You smiled and instantly realized that sounded like a confession you desperetly wished you could claim. "You know because...Once probably wasn't enough to make it entirely believable." You rambled and Wanda nodded somewhat stiffly and let your legs drop back down. You wanted to say something to her, anything but it was all stuck on the tip of your tongue.

Just as you opened your mouth to speak, a small murmurarion of starlings flew across the lake, some of them skimming the water then gaining height again as they got closer to you and Wanda. You both ducked instinctively as they flew over your heads and off towards the forest again as you watched them in awe until they disappeared. You glanced up at the sky and noticed the sun had gone behind a cloud, ableing you to continue looking up at the other birds higher up.

You kicked your legs up slightly so you could lay on your back and outstretch your arms to keep you afloat in the water so you could stare up at the sky without hurting your neck.

You didn't realise Wanda mimicked you until her hands brushed against yours. She withdrew it as soon as you touched and went to murmmer an apology but you smiled and held onto her hand as you both lay watching the birds.

Neither of you had to say anything. It was a comfortable and peaceful silence that was occasionally filled with birds chirping or the sound of a calm breeze. Of all the things you expected to feel on that trip, relaxed was not one of them.

You stayed like that for a while until you were both snapped out of your daydreams by the distant yell that declared dinner. Well, you had to go back to them eventually.

Both of you took your time swimming back to dry land and only felt a shiver when you left the water and the breeze hit you. Wanda spotted and reached the towels before you and wrapped yours around you tightly. You thanked her with a small blush as you both sauntered up to the house where the mouthwatering smell of a barbecue greeted you. Your dad was leaning over it while shooing your brother away as he tried to offer his 'help'.

You and Wanda went inside to change swiftly and came back outside as the food was being placed on plates and your mum finished setting up the buffet. Everyone starter helping themselves and you piled as much food as you could onto the plate. You parents had asked what food Wanda liked and when you gave them a brief list you added in a few things you knew you both loved.

"You gonna eat all that?" Anna asked as she eyed all the food on your plate. Guilt and insecurities washed over you until Wanda purposefully grabbed a large handful of small sausage rolls and put them on her plate that was piled with a considerable amount more food than your own. You smiled at the reassuring gesture as she sat down with a satisfied grin on her face when she saw Anna close her mouth to stay quiet.

"Thanks." You whispered to her as you sat down.

"If you don't eat all that I will." She declared. You were pretty sure she went back for seconds.

Instead of disappearing back to your room like you did the previous nights, you and Wanda stayed with your family for a while after dinner. It wasn't to do with their company, more the mesmerising fire in the firepit you all sat around. You were cuddled up into Wanda's side with a blanket over both of you as you stared at the flames, smiling at their small flickers and dances.

"So Wanda," one of your sisters began, "are any of the other Avengers...you know." She nodded her head in the direction of you both.

Oh boy you though.

"I don't think it's my place to say." Wanda said because yes, a lot of the Avengers were queer.

"Oh come on, you can tell us." Anna encouraged as she sat forward eagerly.

"I could, but I'm not going to." Wanda continued to defy.

"Lay off it guys." You mumbled but was ignored. Your family took it in turns saying her teammates names in hopes of sparking a reaction, clearly forgetting they were facing someone who had been trained by Natasha Romanoff.

"Stark!" Claire said but was instantly shut down by the others.

"He's married!" Dalton objected.

"Could still be bi though." Claire tried but Dalton just scoffed.

"I suppose there's going to be more surprises."

"What does that mean?" Wanda asked with narrowed eyes, feeling protective of her teammates. Dalton met her gaze with his own challenging one.

"I just never thought one of the Avengers would be a dyke." You felt Wanda stiffen as you all held your breath. There was no way to tell what was going through the redhead's mind, especially as after all those years of friendship you still didn't even know what team she batted for. She was an ally at least, but would she see this as her battle to fight?

Upon getting no reaction, Dalton continued. "It makes sense why you'd hang out with y/n though, we always knew something was wrong with her but-"

"That's enough." Your mum snapped with a guilty expression she failed to mask. You swallowed hard and moved to get up, deciding you had heard enough.

"Then you're idiots." Wanda stated as she glared daggers at your brother while you sunk down.

"I'll have you know I have a doctorate-"

"Your idiots." She repeated. "There's nothing wrong with y/n, which is impressive considering she's grown up around you lot." You looked at your friend in awe as she continued.

"She's the most amazing person I've ever known, including any of the Avengers. She's everything that you're not and I'm lucky to call her my girlfriend. It doesn't matter what any of you think of her, I love her and I always will." She declared as shot daggers at each individual family member who had fallen silent. She took your hand and pulled you up from your seat to take you inside.

You couldn't get her saying she loved you out of your head. You reminded yourself over and over again on the way to your room that it was just an act. That the redhead was making her point. But God, how you wished it was real.

She was so gentle with you as she guided you through the house. When you got to your room and broke down sobbing she held you on the bed for a long time until your cries turned to sniffles. The thing was, you weren't sure what you were crying over. Sure, what Dalton had said had hurt. As did the confirmation that your whole family had always looked down on you. But you had known that was the case for a long time, you had moved on from it.

Instead, you may have being crying over what you didn't know and didn't have. How much of what Wanda said was true? It was all based off of something that wasn't real. What if she saw you the same way your family did?

When you stopped crying you became aware of Wanda gently stroking your hair as she rested her head on yours and held you close to her. You remembered the memories you had accumulated over the past few days with her. The kisses, the hand holding, the nights together, how she stood up for you like no one ever had. You loved her so much.

"I think we should go tomorrow." Wanda mumbled and you nodded into her shoulder.

"I'm not going to leave you though, you know that right? You can stay at mine and we'll watch more of those crappy American movies you like." She mocked lightly making you chuckle against her. "Whatever you want."

"I just want you." You said honestly. You knew you shouldn't have said that, but you were too emotionally drained to care.

"I just want you too, y/n." You pulled away from the redhead to look at her clearly.

"I don't think you know what I mean." You sniffed and she smiled at you fondly.

"I mean what I said earlier, around the fire." Your eyes widened slightly and you held your breath.

"It was all an act though." You whispered and Wanda chuckled as she exhaled sharply.

"No y/n." "I think I am inlove with you." She said as she took ahold of your hand and searched your face for any signs of a reaction to her confession.

"Me?" You questioned, not quite believing it.

"Yes you, idiot." You smiled and sighed in relief, not being able to find the words to express your overflowing happiness and numerous other emotions you couldn't quite pinpoint. You let go of Wanda's hand and brought them both up to cup her cheeks. You had done a lot more handholding than kissing in the previous few days. It needed to be evened out.

You closed the gap between you and kissed Wanda with just as much passion as you had in the lake, except all hesitation and questions were gone. Because you knew she loved you. Oh God she loved you. You grinned into the kiss at the thought and felt her hand fall to your hip while the other caressed the side of your neck in the most gentle manner you had ever seen from her.

When you eventually pulled away you rested your forehead against hers, a smile still playing on both your lips.

"Told you we'd have to do that again." You said and and laughed. "I love you too."

"Well I hoped that wasn't a pity kiss." She joked and you smacked her arm playfully.

"It definetly was not and I'll prove it to you by taking you on a date when we get back." You promised as you sat back to look at her clearly.

"Oh yeah?" She asked with a playful smirk and leaned over so her face was inches away from yours.

"Yeah." You said back.

"Well until then, my real girlfriend should definetly just keep kissing me." She said as she pushed you down gently and kissed you again. You smiled against her gleefully.

"Your girlfriend would love to."

[youbloodymadgenius]

Ivarello (Modern!Ivar x reader) Chapter 4

Moodboard by @quantumlocked310

Ivarello’s masterpost here

A/N: This is my entry for @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie 500 Followers Fairy Tale Challenge. It's a retelling of Cinderella. Congrats again, darling 💖

A huge thank you to @mrsalwayswrite , who's a great beta reader and an even greater cheerleader 😂

A massive thank you to @quantumlocked310 , @vikingstrash and @serasvictoria . Thank you for agreeing to collaborate and for sharing your talent with me. Your moodboards are beyond amazing 🤩

In this story, Sigurd is alive. Ragnar and Aslaug are dead, but Lagertha didn't kill her. I took a lot of liberties with the show, I hope you won't mind.

Unlike the tale, there will be no magic involved. Not everything will be realistic, however. It's a fayritale, after all!

Let me know if you want to be tagged 😊

Summary: Orphaned five years ago, Ivar and his brothers have been living with Lagertha ever since. Now 16 years old, he wants to attend Harald's traditional Midsummer party, but obstacles stand in his way.

Warnings: description of car crash; orphaned kids; Sigurd being Sigurd; OOC characters.

Words: 2877

Additional note: This is the final chapter. There'll be an epilogue, but you'll have to wait a bit because there are a lot of challenges I've signed up for and I'm way behind schedule.

Enjoy 🙂

🛡⚔️🛡

Devastated and angry at the world. That's how Ivar is feeling.

Holed up in his room since the night before, and despite Lagertha incessant requests, he doesn’t plan to come out, not now at least. Come to think of it, he might as well decide never to leave his room again.

He can't stand the idea of facing his brothers. He doesn't want to have to tell them about his failure. He doesn't want to endure Ubbe's pity and condescendence. He doesn't want to see the look of triumph on Sigurd's face. The thought makes his stomach lurch while at the same time a murderous urge creeps into his mind. No, he definitely can't see his brothers.

Surprisingly, and unlike Lagertha, his brothers have left him alone, as if sensing that entering his room would be as moving into a minefield. Only Hvitserk had taken a chance earlier, cautiously poking his head through the door. His disapproving look obvious when his eyes had taken in the scene before him, Ivar's belongings scattered on the floor, some of them smashed into pieces.

"I got you a chocolate muffin from the kitchen, baby bro," he had explained, putting it on a nearby shelf, and it had almost brought a smile to Ivar's face. To Hvitserk, there's no predicament that can't be improved with comfort food.

"Look, Ivar," scratching his neck, Hvitserk had then said, "I don't know what happened and I don't want to pressure you. You tell me when you're ready, if you are. But I'm here, okay? Whatever the time of day or night, you don't have to be alone if you don't want to. If I'm upstairs, just call me, okay?" With these words, he was gone, the door closed.

Ivar can't get the events of the previous evening out of his mind. Like a waking nightmare, they are playing over and over in his head: how he had freaked out when he heard the beeps; the confused and then so disappointed look you had given him when he sputtered his need to leave; finally, his shameful escape into the night.

What could he have done? What should he have done?

He does know the answer. He should have been more cautious. He should have checked the time, asked for your number and just walked away.

On the other hand, what difference would it have made? He would still have no future with you, right? He would still be a cripple, and you would still be... you... perfect... too good for him.

So yeah, he had run away like a coward. He lets out a bitter chuckle to himself. Run away? Who is he kidding? He hadn't run away, that would have been too easy. Cripples don't run away. Without his cane – why the fuck did he leave it behind?? – he had pathetically limped away, stumbling, his feet sinking into the sand. He had still been on the beach when the battery had died. He had had no other choice but to crawl like a worm the rest of the way, silently praying to the gods that the darkness of the night would prevent you from seeing him like this.

Tears of despair run down his cheeks for the umpteenth time. He's used to feeling humiliated, but feeling humiliated and heartbroken simultaneously is really too much to take. He feels like he's dying from the inside over and over again, cursing himself for wanting to attend the party, for wanting to see you again. He should never have let his walls down, he should never have dared to hope. What was he thinking? He may have walked, and even danced with you, but at the end of the day, he still is a pitiable cripple with stupid, crooked legs, in love with a girl way out of his league.

If he's being honest, that's what hurts the most. He now realizes how delusional he had been. Holding on to a dead dream for years, he had not forseen the painful yet unavoidable reality check. And now, it's like he's been hit by a train. Because there's no denying it, dreaming of a life with you is no longer an option, not after last night. And even though it's almost unbearable, he knows now he has to let go of you, of the idea of you and him being together. As much as this mere thought is devastating, he has no other choice. He has to stop fooling himself, for his own sanity, if nothing else.

Giving a guttural cry, much like that of a wounded animal, Ivar doesn't hear when the front doorbell rings. Not that he would have reacted even if he had heard it, too busy wallowing in self-pity.

***

"Thank you for having us here on such short notice, my dear." Your uncle states joyfully, his eyes sparkling, as Lagertha greets him with a handshake and a tight-lipped smile. Even though you don't know why, it's obvious that she's not his biggest fan.

Your uncle, who doesn't seem to notice – or doesn't care, you're not sure – keeps giving her a beaming smile. "My niece here," he turns his head toward you for a short moment, "has a weird request. She met a boy yesterday, during the party. He lost something and my sweet Y/N has been adamant since this morning that she wants to find him and personally return it to him. We were wondering," he turns his gaze in the direction of the couch, "if it could be one of your wards."

There are indeed three young men, half sprawled on the couch, who get up as one when Lagertha gives them a stern look. If you vaguely remember having seen them before, a single glance is enough for you to know that the one you're looking for is not among them.

You're on the verge of saying so but your uncle doesn't give you a chance to. "See boys," he unceremoniously grabs the cane you're holding behind your back, "here is the lost item. A cane! Fairly uncommon, if you ask me. Anyway... Does this... thing belong to any of you?"

Since you know it doesn't, you're surprised when two of the guys both take a step forward. "Actually, it's mine," they say in unison, each of them only then becoming aware that the other is speaking.

Dumbstruck, you look at one then the other successively. They've got a lot of nerve! You know they're lying, and you would have known it even if these two idiots hadn't spoken at the same time. They just look nothing like your handsome stranger – if he's a stranger.

"Sigurd, you know it's mine!"

"Don't play dumb, you never use a cane, Ubbe! Whereas me, I do sometimes. Everyone knows artists tend to be eccentric, right?"

The blondest one – Sigurd if you heard right – points his finger at a guitar leaning against the wall and then winks at you, "I'm a musician, you know?" You don't even have time to roll your eyes as the other one – Ubbe? – yells, his nostrils flaring.

"Shut up Sig, you're so full of shit! You know I've got a sprained ankle!"

"A sprained ankle, no kidding? Who did a ten-kilometer run today, huh? It's not me! So, you are the one going to shut up, you fucking douchebag!"

It's almost funny to watch them arguing back and forth. If you weren't so pissed off, you'd laugh. But right now, you're mostly mad at them. Their blatant lies make your blood boil with anger.

Are they really thinking you're a complete idiot? That you can be fooled so easily? Who do they think they are? Who do they think you are? Some stupid chick ready to fall for their good looks? If they think that, they're kidding themselves.

"You're the fucking douchebag, Sig!! Don’t forget I'm the oldest!"

"And what's the difference, huh? You can't have all the girls, Ubbe! Keep fucking Margrethe and just let me be! Stop being a controlling asshole!"

"STOP!!!! BOTH OF YOU!!!"

Lagertha's shout is deafening and if looks could kill, these two morons would be lying dead on the floor right here, right now.

"Y/N, my dear," Lagertha gives you an apologetic smile, "I'm so sorry for that. I swear they usually know how to behave, better than that at least. Guess they don't know how to handle your striking beauty. Now sweetheart, tell me, is one of these two knuckleheads the one you were with last night?"

The silence that falls on the room after her question is so complete that you could hear a pin drop. Acutely aware that all eyes are on you, you shyly lower your gaze, shaking your head slightly, as you clasp your hands over your belly. You eventually speak, your eyes meeting Lagertha's, and you can see she knows what you're going to say. "No, the guy I was with last night is not one of them."

"How can you be so sure?" Sigurd's voice is soft and tentative now, and Ubbe adds, seemingly for once in agreement with his younger brother, "yeah, how can you? It was pretty dark after all."

You give them a smile. "How can I be so sure? You mean beside the fact that you obviously don't need a cane? Neither of you?" The third brother, who still hasn't opened his mouth, chuckles, giving you a thumbs up. "Look, I appreciate your interest, I really do, but neither of you are the one I am looking for. Therefore," you look at your uncle, "we should leave, don't you think?" Checking the time on your watch, you shrug. "What about the Eyvindsson family? Didn't you tell me about three brothers? We may have time to go and see them tonight if we hurry."

Your uncle nods, handing you back the cane. "You're right, Y/N, we should leave." Taking two steps forward, he grabs Lagertha's hand. "Sorry dear, we will waste no more of your time."

You're about to thank her when one of the boys clears his throat. "Ahem..."

Turning your head, you're surprised to see the third brother, the silent one, raising his hand. "I think I might know who this cane belongs to." Frowning, he glances at his brothers. "And you both know it too."

"Shut up, Hvitserk!" Sigurd spits, clenching his hands into fists. "Don't bring the fucking cripple into the conversation."

"Sigurd! Keep your mouth shut!" Lagertha glares at him for several long seconds then her face softens as she looks at Hvitserk, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What are you trying to say, Hvitserk? Do you think this cane belongs to your baby brother?"

Hvitserk nods. "I know it does, actually."

"Come on, Hvit, you're talking nonsense. It cannot be, it just cannot. That guy was standing. It wasn't our brother. Our brother wasn't there last night." Ubbe stubbornly insists, but Hvitserk just shakes his head.

"Of course, he was. I saw him. And don't bullshit me, Ubbe, you saw him too. With Y/N." Hvitserk states. That's when you realize that your palms are sweating and your pulse is racing.

Hvitserk keeps going, now speaking to his guardian. "I know what I saw, Lagertha. It was him. I don't know how, but he was standing, Ubbe is right. He was even walking. It may sound weird but I swear, it was him."

Lagertha nods. "I believe you, Hvitserk." A beaming smile spreads across her lips and she tilts her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if Floki had something to do with such a miracle. Go get your brother, Hvitserk, please."

Your heart leaps at these words, you're barely able to contain your excitement and as you let out a nervous chuckle, you cannot help but jump for joy. Needless to say, Ubbe and Sigurd seem much less enthusiastic than you.

***

Reluctantly following his brother, Ivar mutters under his breath, "you're pissing me off, Hvit. I'm fucking not in the mood for whatever you have in mind."

Hvitserk pays him no mind though, a small smile dancing on his lips. "Trust me, baby bro, you'll be in the mood."

Ivar wants to protest, or maybe just turn around and wheel back to his room but all at once the sound of your voice reaches his ears and he stops, frozen in place, his eyes wide open. He may have stopped breathing.

Patting his shoulder reassuringly, Hvitserk whispers, "It's Y/N, baby bro, but I have a feeling you already know. She's here for you, she was looking for you, Ivar. Go..." before giving a single push to his brother's wheelchair, his right hand on the backrest.

Ivar honestly doesn't know how he manages to wheel himself into the living room. What he does know, however, is that you're suddenly standing right in front of him. The heart stopping smile you flash him blows all the air out of his lungs, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, and the outside world – Lagertha, his brothers, Harald – ceases to exist.

A little voice tells him he should be feeling self-conscious with his hair all messy and wearing worn sweatpants, but he can't bring himself to care, not when you kneel in front of him with stars in your eyes.

"Here you are, finally," you breathe, gently placing a hand on his knee. Ivar didn't know until now that one could die of happiness, but that's exactly what he's feeling and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

Swallowing, he blinks several times. When he speaks, his voice trembles, his bottom lip quivering. "Hello Y/N, you were... looking for... for me?" He has trouble getting the words out, his nervous fingers fidgeting on his lap.

Grabbing both his hands in yours, you nod, your thumbs stroking his knuckles tenderly. "I was, yes, and for a very long time."

Shyly lowering his head, Ivar, almost feeling dizzy, can't wrap his head around your words. They're just too good to be true. "But... why?"

"Why?" You giggle, your laughing eyes lighting up your face, and he's positive, you're even more beautiful like this. "Isn't it obvious? I want to know more about you, what's your favorite color, what you eat for breakfast, where you see yourself in ten years. I just want to spend time with you, Ivar."

'Ivar' You've just said his name and it's like the sweetest music to his ears. He can't believe it. Wow. "You... You recognized me?" There's so much hope and joy in his voice, he cringes.

You shrug, your smile never leaving your lips. "I wasn't sure at first. You've changed a lot." Your hand cups his cheek. The sensation on his skin is so overwhelming he has to hold back the tears threatening to gush. Yet, he can't help but think you're speaking about his legs.

He grits his teeth. "Yeah... Standing tall can change a man."

"No! no, no, no," you retort without missing a beat, "That's not what I meant. In my memory you still looked like you did when we were ten, but look at you now, all grown up! Your hair was so short back then." Reaching out, you brush a strand of hair back and tuck it behind his ear before letting your fingers run slowly down and up his bulging biceps, your hand finally lingering on his forearm, "Plus, you clearly work out a lot. So, yeah, I thought it was you, but I wasn't sure. When we were dancing last night, I thought I'd ask you right after, but then you left and... well... I didn't have a chance..."

Ivar wraps his fingers around yours, a frown creasing his forehead. "About that, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left like–"

You shush him, holding a finger to his lips. "It doesn't matter, Ivar. You don't have to explain. All that matters is that I found you." Standing up, you lean forward and gently kiss his cheek and he feels like he's floating. Intertwining his fingers with yours, you whisper in his ear, "I reckon we got some lost time to make up, you and me. Can we go stargazing now?"

Hearing this makes Ivar's insides turn to jelly. Barely able to think, he is on cloud nine and wishes with all his heart never to come back down to earth again. But despite the daze, despite the fog in his head, despite the blinding happiness, he knows one thing: no matter how many stars he sees, you'll be the brightest one.

"Yes, Y/N, you're right," bringing your hand to his mouth, he gives it a kiss, "let's go stargazing."

And as he leaves the room, you walking alongside him with your hand on his shoulder, his heart filled with joy and wonder, he doesn't miss the thumbs up Hvitserk gives him, nor the scowl on Ubbe's and Sigurd's faces.

For a fleeting second, he thinks he should – he could – taunt them. They deserve to be laughed at, don't they? But then, he realizes he doesn't have time for that. The time for happiness has come, and it's far more important.

Giving you a beaming smile, Ivar inhales deeply before releasing a sigh of satisfaction. Yeah. Happiness. Happiness sounds good.

🛡⚔️🛡

Ivar’s taglist: @waiting4inspiration @honestsycrets @lisinfleur @saldelys @gearhead66 @inforapound @readsalot73 @milkkygirls @xbellaxcarolinax @shannygoatgruff @zuxiezendler @hecohansen31 @lonewolf471 @fuckindiva @tgrrose @didiintheblog @peachyboneless @pieces-by-me @funmadnessandbadassvikings @ethereallysimple @destynelseclipsa @cocovikings23 @xceafh @mrsalwayswrite @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie @pomegranates-and-blood @jadelynlace @grimeundglow @quantumlocked310 @alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom @adrille88

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[cocosstories]

Sebastian Stan One Shot

Hi!! Newish follower here! I was wondering if you could do a Sebastian Stan story where the reader accidentally texts a wrong number and just happens to be his, and they meet up?:)

'I'm so bored, want to hang out? I really want to dress up and go dancing.'

You sigh as you send the text to your friend, entering the new number they had just gotten.

You had been stuck in the house for so long that you were beginning to feel like a recluse and needed some human interaction before you went totally crazy.

'I think you may have the wrong number.'

Your phone beeps and you look at the message, rolling your eyes.

'Come on Y/F/N, don't be like that. I know we haven't hung out in a while but I could really use a night out. And if you go, I promise to buy your drinks all night and even be your wing woman!'

It wasn't all that surprising that your friend had responded the way she did. She was quite the smartass and could hold a grudge with the best of them.

'No really. You have the wrong number.'

You sigh, she really wasn't going to let it go easily.

'Prove it. Facetime me.'

You smile to yourself knowing there was no way she could deny you over facetime.

A few minutes pass and a facetime request comes up on your phone.

As soon as you answer it you realize you had been completely wrong.

"Oh my God."

Your eyes go wide, jaw dropping when you see the one and only Sebastian Stan on the other end.

"No, Sebastian actually. And you are?"

He jokes.

"Y/N. I am so sorry! My friend got a new number. I must have out it in my phone wrong. I thought she was fucking with me."

You explain as Sebastian sweetly watches, obviously finding your nervous rambling adorable.

"It's ok, really. I've been feeling a little restless with my extended downtime as well so it was kind of entertaining."

He chuckles as you laugh with him, thinking how crazy he must have found the whole situation.

"Glad I could help."

You laugh, shaking your head at the whole situation.

"I should probably let you go though. I'm sure you have way better things to do then talk to the crazy girl who randomly texted you."

You were still so embarrassed by the whole situation and really didn't wnt to risk adding anymore to the mix.

"Actually, I am pretty free today. How would you feel about maybe grabbing coffee or even dinner?"

The voice in your head was happily screaming as you tried to keep your cool on the outside.

"You don't know me. I could be a crazy murderer or something. Maybe this was my plan all along. Text random numbers and the first one who answers, I use my charm to get them to meet me and I kill them."

You can't help but giggle as you finish your joke, Sebastian bursting out in laughter as well.

"I think I will take my chances. Besides, if it really comes down to it, I think I can take you."

He winks.

"Well, in that case, how about we meet at the Market Side Bistro on 42nd in an hour?"

You offer up your favorite restaurant as a meeting spot.

"Sure. I'll bee there. See you soon Y/N."

"See you soon, Sebastian."

You hang up and sit in silence for a moment going over the whole thing in your head.

'Is this really happening right now? How is this my life? Sebastian freaking Stan...what are the odds?'

You think to yourself before realizing you only have an hour to look presentable and get to the restaurant.

Running to your closet, you throw off the ratty sweatpants and tshirt, grabbing your favorite pair of jeans and a fancy but not over the top shirt, pairing it with some nice heeled boots.

'Don't want to look like I'm trying too hard.'

You tell yourself, running into the bathroom after getting dressed to fix the mop of hair that is sitting on the top of your head wrapped in a scrunchie.

"Thank God for dry shampoo"

You say as you finish a nice half up/half down do.

After throwing on some simple  makeup, you head out to hail a cab, luckily finding one easily.

"Market Side Bistro on 42nd please"

You tell the driver and settle in for the drive.

As soon as the cab pulls up to the bistro, you see him standing out front waiting for you.

Once you pay for the ride, you step out of the cab and shyly make your way up to Sebastian.

"Hi."

You say, tapping his shoulder.

"Hey."

He smiles as soon as he turns around and sees you then leans in for a hug.

"So, uh, should we head in and get a table?"

He asks, nervously and you nod with a smile.

Surprisingly the restaurant wasn't too busy yet and you got a table right away.

"So what do you do for a living?"

Sebastian asks once you are settled and have ordered drinks.

You tell him about your job, answering his questions as they came up.

"Do you have any new projects coming up?"

You ask him.

"A few, yeah. I'm only home for a few more days before I have to be on set in L.A."

He explains.

"Well lucky for me I decided to text my friend today and not this weekend then."

You joke.

"Lucky for me too."

He replies seriously, staring at you with a soft smile.

Dinner was amazing, as always with the added bonus of wonderful conversation, you and Sebastian getting to know each other.

"Look, I know we just met and my schedule is crazy but maybe we can hang out again before I leave and keep in touch while I'm gone."

Sebastian says after he pays and the two of you leave the restaurant.

"I would really like that, Sebastian."

You reply as you hail a cab to head home.

"Well, you have my number and I have yours now. I'll text you tomorrow."

He says, holding the cab door open for you.

"Oh yeah, I should probably change it from Y/F/N to yours."

You laugh, still in disbelief that your day had begun with you bored out of your mind, texting your friend to hang out and had ended with a date with Sebastian Stan.