#Like....i always pictured that would be a thing too....

[goatgoesmbe]

tw : sexual theme, stalking, 141 being a creep

A series : part 2 of Discord shenanigans

AO3

Word count: 2031

rated: E

Poly!141 x f!reader

The New Member

The server wasn’t meant for public in the first place.

It was just something quick Johnny made just to have a little corner to hang out when they were on leave.

They rarely used it at first, finding no reason to communicate outside of work, they were busy with their own life anyway.

That was, until Johnny started sending pictures of literally anything in his daily life. It started with scenery, dogs he saw during walks, and selfies. Soon enough, Simon joined in with his own blurry pictures, then Kyle’s award-worthy photography, and John who sent the most normal pictures of some nice views worth sharing.

Eventually, interacting through the server became so regular that they started using it when they got back on base too– They never talk about something confidential in it of course, they were still professionals after all.

The gaming session was Kyle’s idea (Well, actually it was Johnny but he couldn’t convince them to play among us), they started playing various FPS games before settling for the popular one.

Kyle played casually, Johnny played competitively (and sucked at it compared to the others), John played it rarely but was pretty decent at it, while Simon was effortlessly good at it (Which he was so smug about).

The members consisted of people they knew from their jobs, so imagine their surprise when there was a notification about a new member.

You.

They welcomed you in a friendly manner, showing no suspicion despite John telling Kyle to do a background check immediately. And oh do they like what they see.

Pretty thing that you are, messy hair, pouty lips, dark bags under your eyes that only made you look more adorable rather than off-putting, like a sleepy panda. You always wore comfortable clothes oversized shirts or hoodies on colder days while your legs were bare, sitting crosslegged in your gaming chair with a big plushie in your lap. Johnny wondered if you wore anything underneath which made them go silent. made them think.

Fuck.

It was illegal and immoral, but really– everything they had ever done was all of those things and more, so what’s a bit of hacking into the webcam of a bonnie thing like you? It was done for their own safety after all, keeping their secrets as members of a highly classified military task force. It was only normal for them to check for any individuals that got into their space. Just in case.

Sure, they could just drop it when they found out that you were just a harmless civilian, but they also learned that you were just a sweet thing.. they immediately took a liking to you, adored you, so of course they had to keep an eye on you because they wanted to make sure you were alright. Keeping a civilians safe was part of their job, right?

You live alone, which made sense as to why you have CCTVs around your place. Smart girl, looking after your security seriously. Adorable.

Was it creepy for them to have access to those CCTVs? They just cared about your safety is all, was it wrong?

Well, they didn’t really care if it was, they were in too deep already, addicted to watching you in your own world, from your pretty face looking adorable as you focused on the game you were playing, the chime of your giggle when Johnny sent something stupid, to the way those innocent eyes showed no suspicion when one of them slipped up.

“Not as bonnie as you ;)” Johnny sent one time.

“You don’t even know what i look like XD”

Fortunately, you were oblivious. But still, they need to be more careful in the future. Johnny had a limp the next day and his body was covered in marks that peeked from the t-shirt he wore. But from how he barely covered them and how he still had that smirk on his face, it looked like he would definitely do it again if it would have John sending Simon to punish him.

Watching you had become a group routine. When they weren’t in the same room, they just hopped on the hidden channel Johnny made just to ping each other whenever you were doing something that would pique their interest.

Kyle enjoyed watching you go about with your routine, waking up at noon, cooking up something simple for yourself before you lock into your PC to do your freelance job then hopped into video games. His favorite was when you did your skincare, hand went down to cup the bulge in his pants as he watched you putting on lotion all over your body. His eyes darkened at the thought of him doing it instead, sliding his hand up your legs, lathering them nicely, and perhaps sneaking an opportunity for a feel of your clothed pussy when he reached your inner thighs.

Johnny likes to watch your reaction whenever you two interact, relishing your flustered expression from his relentless flirting. He wondered if you would also be shy under him, squirming as you tried to hide your face while he took off your clothes. He would click his tongue as he pried your hands off your face and gripped both of your wrists in one hand before pinning them above your head, one knee lodged between your legs to prevent you from closing them.

John’s favorite part of your day was when you were working. Tongue peeking out slightly in concentration, your doe eyes shifted and looked sharper when you were focused. He was there when you were in an online meeting with your employer, even though noone noticed. As he watched you talk, he liked to imagine that you were working for him instead. Talking formally unlike how you usually were when you were talking to them, he imagined you calling him sir like how you called your current boss. The bastard that made you uncomfortable with the way he leered at you, making innuendos while you tried your best to keep the conversation professional. You poor thing, don’t worry, John will teach him a lesson or two about respecting you. And yes, he was a hypocrite since he was lazily pumping his shaft under the desk as he watched you doing your job.

Simon rarely said anything about it, but out of everyone in the server, he was a constant presence with how the view count never went below one. He wasn’t picky, he liked watching you doing anything, even when you were just sleeping, he’d fuck his fist messily at the view of you being so vulnerable and oblivious before shooting his cum all over the screen with your face displayed on it. He was the one who would ping the others to notify them when you were doing something he knew they would be interested in.

Like right now.

It had been a long week, you barely had time to do your hobby. Projects after project that got you awake until two am before a quick wink of rest until you had to wake up again at five. When you were looking forward to doing something fun but then finding yourself too tired to even play your favorite game. And then you’d feel bad for neglecting your hobby as you continued to be enslaved under capitalism.

You were tired, sleep-deprived, stressed, and pent-up. At times like this, you were glad that you worked from home. You couldn’t imagine yourself not snapping at people if you work in an office with coworkers. Couldn’t even find the energy to open the server these past few days since you didn’t want to interact with anyone.

So naturally, they would miss you. Naturally, they were very excited when Simon pinged all of them in the hidden channel.

The light in your room was dimmed, but they could see your figure just fine. Panting on the bed on your back, legs spread wide with your hand between them while your other hand was clutching a pillow which you use to hide your face. 

John growled, fingers twitching as he thought of taking it off you so he could see what kind of expression you were making. Instead, he gripped Kyle’s dick as the younger man rolled his hips with the Captain bottoming out in his ass as they were both settled on the couch.

Johnny pulled away from Simon’s cock with a lewd pop. “She could fit mair than that..” he panted before Simon shoved his dick back in the scot’s mouth, gloved hand gripping at his mohawk.

His words got them zeroed in on your cunt which was stuffed with your fingers deep to your knuckles. Wet squelching noises combined with your needy whines echoed around the rec room from the cheap speakers as the stream was displayed on the wall from the projector. Johnny was right, you could take more than that. And from the way you desperately bucked your hips as you moved your fingers that fast, they could tell that you wanted to take more either.

“Does she not have a fucking toy?” Kyle groaned as he jacked off with the same tempo as your fingers as he continued to move in John’s lap.

“No” Simon responded curtly. He would know, he was the one who always kept an eye on you more than anyone else after all.

He knew you didn’t have a partner and never brought anyone home. You rarely go out and when you do, you’ll be back soon enough. A quick trip to the grocery stores or some shops, as shown by the trackers he put in your phone. Low possibility of you seeking out to anyone. Perhaps it was odd for some people but he wasn’t complaining, because he was only willing to share you with the men he trusted his life with.

You rarely pleasure yourself either, which made a moment like this more special. At first, he expected you to whimper out someone’s name, a crush they didn’t know about perhaps. Fortunately, that never happened. You seem content with yourself like this, eyes closed as you focus on the way you curl your fingers and grind your palm against your clit.

But they could tell you wanted more. They agreed that you deserved more. They could give you more.

Your whole body tensed, a shudder rippled through your body as heat built in waves. Breath hitching as you gasped, soft at first before breaking into a moan, raw and unrestrained. Fingers clutching at your pillow, muscles tightening as pleasure peaked, your back arching instinctively.

A flush spread across your skin, a sheen of sweat caught the light. Eyes fluttered to a close, lips parted, as a final tremor coursed through your body before you melted into the afterglow, breathless and trembling.

Yet, your cunt still clenched around your fingers as you pulled them out, like it didn’t want to let them go, because you still wanted more. You whined, and they groaned at the expression on your face. Unsatisfied, but too tired to do anything about it.

After a moment of gathering your jumbled mind, you got up and headed to the bathroom for a shower. And while they knew it was impossible, they wished you had a camera there too.

As the men chased their own pleasures, they thought to themselves about how they could help. You were physically nowhere near them at the moment, and they didn’t want to scare you by being too upfront in the server. Didn’t want you to know what they had been doing behind your back.

The next day, an onslaught of sex toy ads kept popping up when you turned on your PC. It obviously pissed you off at first (especially with how one appeared when you share your screen during a work meeting), but eventually it made you consider getting one. And if you got a transfer to your bank account in the same amount you spent on it right after, if you received four dildos instead of one, they totally had nothing to do with it. Nope, they totally didn’t send you the exact copies of their cocks.

Next (soon)

A/N: I remember someone saying 'How are you gonna get a guy if you never leave your house' and this is my answer to that also, this series was supposed to be fun silly online friends story, so idk what happened here, I swear the story wrote itself I had nothing to do with it

open taglist : @partiallysame, @niazrzl, @iiriam, @sweetlike-sugarplum, @mordacioust, @boogeysmoth, @little-mini-me-world, @sxnshinebxcky, @lady-red-night-1234, @theycallmevalen, @z-wantstowrite, @c-moon20-12, @glitteryarcadefart, @purple-snowfox, @shylahstarzz

[luv-lock]

ㅤֹㅤ⊹ㅤ #ㅤSTALKERㅤ.ᐟ ֹ ₊ ꒱

☆⁠ PAIRING : Dick Grayson x Fem Reader

☆⁠ HEADCANON : How it's like having him as your stalker?

☆⁠ NOTES : English is not my first language. Hope you enjoy!

You never noticed him at first.

Which was strange, really. Because Dick was a presence—magnetic, charming, always the kind of guy who could steal attention in any room, even when he wasn’t trying.

But with you? He liked to stay hidden. Lurking in the shadows. Watching.

At first, it was innocent (or so he told himself). He noticed you at a coffee shop one day, lost in a book, chewing on the end of your pen as you scribbled something in a notebook. He found himself drawn to the little things—the way you furrowed your brows when concentrating, the way you smiled at something on your phone, the soft way you carried yourself. It was just curiosity at first. That’s all.

Then he saw you again. And again. And suddenly, he was seeing you everywhere.

It became a habit, a compulsion. He memorized your routine like it was a mission. When you got coffee. What time you left work. What stores you liked to browse in. He told himself he was just making sure you were safe—because Gotham was dangerous, right? A girl like you, alone? Vulnerable? It only made sense that he’d keep an eye on you.

Then he got closer.

It started small. Brushing past you on the subway, close enough to inhale the scent of your shampoo. Sitting near you in a cafe, pretending to be busy on his phone while he listened to the way you spoke. Learning your favorite drink, so he could leave it waiting for you at the counter when you arrived—anonymously, of course. You’d glance around, confused, but never knew it was him.

You weren’t even aware that he was already in your apartment.

Not when you were there, of course—he’d never scare you like that. But while you were out? He’d slip inside with an ease that almost disappointed him (you really needed better locks). He never took anything—he just… looked. Examined the little pieces of your life. The books stacked beside your bed. The jewelry you left on the dresser. The clothes draped over the chair, still carrying the ghost of your body’s warmth.

He touched them sometimes. Ran his fingers over the fabric. Just to feel close to you.

The obsession grew.

He started taking things—small things, things you wouldn’t notice were gone. A hair tie. A receipt you left on the counter. A half-used tube of lip balm. They were trophies, proof that he was part of your world even if you didn’t know it yet.

And the pictures. Oh, the pictures.

They covered his walls. You smiling. You asleep on the bus, head tucked against the window. You looking at a menu, deep in thought. Hundreds of them, from every angle, every moment of your life he could capture without you noticing.

And the best part?

You liked him.

You had no idea, of course, but Dick could see it. The way you glanced at him when he finally started talking to you, when he finally made himself known in your life. It was easy—he was charming, he was sweet, he was everything you’d want in a guy.

So he inserted himself into your life, seamlessly.

“Oh, hey, fancy seeing you here!” A bright smile. A friendly laugh. “What a coincidence, huh?”

It wasn’t a coincidence.

It was orchestrated, down to the second. Every “random” encounter, every meeting—it was all planned, deliberate. But you didn’t question it. Why would you? He was Dick Grayson. A gentleman. A hero.

You never realized the full weight of his devotion.

Never realized how deep it ran.

Never realized how much worse it could get.

Because the thought of losing you? The thought of someone else having you?

It made him sick.

It made him furious.

It made him violent.

You noticed the change after a while. The possessiveness in his touch, the way his grip lingered on your wrist, the way his blue eyes darkened when you so much as smiled at another man.

“I just don’t want you getting hurt,” he’d say, voice honey-sweet. “You’re too trusting, sweetheart. Not everyone has good intentions.”

Not like him.

So when your ex went missing, you didn’t think much of it.

When that guy at work—the one who flirted with you—got mugged and beaten within an inch of his life, you chalked it up to Gotham’s crime rate.

And when you started feeling like you were being watched, even in the safety of your own home—well.

Dick was always there to reassure you.

“It’s okay, babe,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to your hair. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

And he meant it.

Even if that meant keeping you all to himself.

— MASTERLIST ☆

— © luv-lock. Don't copy, repost or translate any of my works here or any other websites ☆

[starsinthesky5]

in you are in love

can we get a reader meets joes parents for the first time

that's my whole world || joe burrow x reader

description: ask sums it up! a flashback blurb to meeting joe's parents for the first time

a/n: she met his parents in febuary (7 months since the day they started dating). they knew there was a girl in the picture, and he had told them about her on numerous occasions. but they didn't meet until the time was right :)

word count: 3.4k

series: you are in love

warnings: none

───────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆───────

she was a complete mess. like she genuinely had never been so nervous for something in her life.

joe had been trying to reassure her all week that everything would be okay, but she couldn't help the nerves from twisting in her stomach at the mention of...the dinner. she wanted to believe him, but the voice inside her head told her a different story.

it was a constant tug of war in her mind between the side of her that thought this would be a complete disaster, whispering things like "i'm too much for them," or even, "they're going to hate me and everything i bring with me...all the attention, prying eyes, the drama. they seem so nice and normal, so calm. i can't do this...why did i think i could do this?".

and the side that was bringing ice to the searing anxiety in her chest, whispering, "joe loves you. he chooses you. they will too,".

but god, it was just so hard to believe that when she knew exactly how not normal her life was. she wasn't just any girl meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time. she was her. the woman whose entire existence and being was scrutinized by the world, whose biggest fails and fatal flaws were aired out like dirty laundry. she brought even more flashing cameras, headlines, rumors, and attention to joe's life, even more than he was already dealing with. that couldn't be appealing to the parents of any child, especially since they knew how much joe had already struggled to balance privacy since he came into the league.

and the burrows? they were so normal. warm, kind, small-town folks who lived a quiet life outside of the football world that engrossed every single one of their weekends since joe could walk. they were the embodiment of home, at least from everything joe had told her--from his mom’s famous snicker salads to his dad’s lengthy football spiels, always delivered from his signature reclining rocking chair whenever joe visited. it was an established routine that joe valued, because it was one of the few constants in his life. no matter how much his world changed--draft nights, contract extensions, playoff games, becoming the designated heartthrob of the NFL--the burrow household remained the same. his parents still sat on the porch in the evenings, still had their favorite local diner they went to every sunday morning for brunch, still called him joey like he was six years old running around in the backyard.

this was one aspect of his life that never changed...that couldn't change.

athens.

his family.

his home.

until she came into the picture.

he made space for her, not only in his heart, not only in his closet, but in his home. physically and metaphorically. he had never done that for a girl before, but he did for her. and that meant something.

even though she knew all that, she still had never felt this much self-doubt in months, but don't get it twisted, this wasn't caused by a person this time (previously, her self-doubt was often implanted within her from those around her). this time, she was just getting in her head, going over every possible scenario where she could embarrass herself or rub them the wrong way.

and joe did everything he could to calm her nerves, to ease her into his family by first introducing her to his brothers and wives (who absolutely adored her). but she was the biggest overthinker he knew, so he knew that it wouldn't be that easy to bring her back from the ledge.

"baby, my parents are going to love you. like immediately. just like i did," he laughed, rubbing his hand along her thigh in an attempt to calm her frayed nerves.

she stayed silent as she watched them pull up to his childhood home. the anxiety boiling under her skin, threatened to explode once she saw the first glimpse of their picture-perfect porch, the porch where joe said his mom and dad would spend hours watching him practice his little peewee throws with his older brothers when he was a kid.

his mom and dad.

his mom...and dad.

his mom.

oh right, this wasn't just meeting his parents. it was meeting robin burrow. joe's mom, his biggest supporter, the woman he adored more than anything in the world. the woman who moved mountains to make sure joe could get to where he needed to be. she had heard firsthand how much respect and love he had for her, how he spoke about her with so much admiration. she knew how close they were, how much her opinion mattered to him.

and that is precisely why this dinner felt like the most important test of her life.

it was honestly funny how nervous she was. i mean, she had met some of the most famous individuals on the planet, sold out stadiums and arenas, but somehow, this felt bigger than all of that. more intimate.

--

the second they stepped inside, everything shifted. the warm scent of home-cooked food lingered in the air, a mix of sweet and savory, and the cozy lighting cast a golden hue over the living room. numerous framed photos decorated the walls--baby joe photos, football related snapshots, family moments frozen in time. you know, the usual.

she had seen a glimpse of his childhood through his stories, but standing here, in the house that built him, made it all so real.

robin was the first to greet them, moving right past her baby boy to first hug the woman who had stolen his precious heart. "finally! we've heard so much about you, sweetheart," she squealed.

her breath hitched while she almost broke a sweat, her smile however, remaining as steady as her feet. (thank years and years of practice for the paparazzi for that). "all good things, i hope," she beamed.

robin chuckled, "oh, only the best," while giving her a warm squeeze. "it's about time we got to meet the woman that got joey to learn the difference between dark and light wash denim,".

jimmy snorted, shaking his head. "and got him to wear something other than sweats in public,".

she laughed at the silly jabs at joe, glancing up at him, whose face was already contorted in playful annoyance. "okay, we’re already starting with this?" he muttered, rolling his eyes.

robin gently let go of her before turning to face her son, "you know we love you joe, but she got you to give up the gray jeans and the sweats? screw being the best thing that happened to you," she smiled, then faced her again, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "she's the best thing to happen to us,".

she couldn't even process what was happening because it felt so...easy. easier than she had thought. off the bat, the banter and vibe that had been established for years in the burrow household was engraved into her system. and it literally had only been 5 minutes.

his mom was so...comforting? she just had this vibe about her that immediately calmed her nerves, no matter how loud the voice inside her head was. and you know what's funny? only one person could do that for her.

joe.

now she knows where he got that from ;)

jimmy, joe’s dad, was just as comforting, shaking her hand with a firm grip and an easy grin. "you must have some real patience if you’re dating my son,".

joe groaned, rolling his eyes. "thanks, dad,".

she laughed, already feeling the warmth of their family dynamic, the way they teased but loved fiercely. it was easy. effortless.

and then, suddenly, she wasn’t her. she wasn’t the woman who graced magazine covers, wasn’t the person whose lyrics echoed through sold-out stadiums, wasn’t the figure people screamed for in arenas. she was just joe’s girl, standing in the warmth of his childhood home, being welcomed into his family like she had always been there.

she couldn't even remember why she was so worried in the first place? it's not like they would come out with pitchforks and a lighter incase she said the wrong thing. this was joe's family. the ones who made the person she was so madly in love with, who he was.

--

his parents could see how infatuated he was with her right off the bat. they could tell she was special to him from the way he spoke about her, but actually seeing it was a different story.

joe barely let go of her the entire night too. at dinner, his arm rested along the back of her chair, fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns against her shoulder. every so often, he leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek, murmuring something soft in her ear that made her heart flutter and a giggle to come to her lips. he knew she was nervous, so he made sure to do anything and everything he could to remind her it was okay...and he was right here.

the conversation flowed easily--stories from joe’s childhood, football talk, the occasional embarrassing story from robin that made joe groan.

"mom, seriously?" he complained after she detailed an elaborate story about him dressing up as batman for nearly three years straight as a kid.

jimmy chuckled, shaking his head. "he’d even wear the cape to bed. wouldn’t go anywhere without it,".

she turned to joe, wide-eyed with happiness. "oh, this is gold,".

robin smirked, taking a sip of her drink. "oh, honey, i have plenty more where that came from,".

joe sighed dramatically, slumping against his chair. "i walked right into this,".

she reached under the table, giving his knee a reassuring squeeze. "it’s okay, babe. i still think you’re cool,".

his eyes narrowed playfully as his hand joined hers, fingers entwining under the table. then he have her three squeezes. "i don’t believe you. i just lost so much cred with that,".

joe was even clingier after dinner, practically attached to her as they settled onto the couch. his fingers still laced with hers, thumb brushing softly over her knuckles. every so often, he’d press a lingering kiss to her hair, like he couldn’t help himself.

oh, and then there was that moment--one she’d remember forever--when his parents started playing home videos of joe’s childhood. everyone was huddled around the TV, the warm glow flickering across their faces while joe, ever the gentleman, was finishing up the dishes.

her eyes were glued to the screen, completely transfixed, as if she were watching the most important film of her life. baby joe babbled at the camera, a toy football clutched in his tiny hands, making incoherent little sounds through a drool-covered grin. his dinosaur shirt was stained with whatever snack he’d been munching on, and his chubby cheeks were impossibly round. she felt something deep in her chest tighten at the sight--it was him, the boy who would grow up to become the man she loved.

she was so caught up in the moment, she didn’t even notice when joe snuck up behind her, his arms wrapping securely around her waist. he rested his chin on her shoulder, his breath warm against her skin, watching the screen from her perspective. for him, it was surreal--seeing these memories through her eyes, seeing her watch him at his most innocent, his most unguarded.

soft kisses pressed along her jaw, slow and affectionate, but she didn’t take her eyes off the screen. instead, she shifted one hand up, her fingers trailing over his jaw, nails scratching lightly in that way she knew he loved--a silent i feel you, i love you, i know you’re here.

his parents, however, fully noticed.

they turned to face joe and her, completely in awe of how touchy-feely he was being with her.

jimmy chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "well, would you look at that," he mused, nudging robin with his elbow. "our boy's turned into a big ol’ sap,".

robin grinned, her eyes twinkling as she took in the sight of her son clinging to his girlfriend like she was the only thing grounding him to earth. "i don’t think i’ve ever seen him like this," she said, her voice laced with warmth.

joe groaned against her shoulder but didn’t make a move to pull away. instead, he tightened his hold on her waist, pressing another soft kiss beneath her ear. "you guys act like i don’t have ears," he muttered, lips brushing against her skin.

she giggled, finally tearing her gaze away from the screen to look at him. "they’re just observing, baby,".

jimmy laughed. "oh, so baby is what we’re calling him now?".

joe shot his dad a deadpan look, but it was hard to look intimidating when he was literally nuzzling into her neck like some love-sick puppy. "you’re both insufferable,".

she laughed, turning her head just enough to kiss the corner of his mouth. "you’re kinda proving their point, joey,".

robin sighed dramatically, placing a hand over her heart. "oh, it’s just so nice to see him like this. all affectionate and soft. i mean, he’s always been sweet, but this? this is new,".

she wasn't wrong. everyone knew how joe was opposed to PDA and being so soft in front of other people. but with her, he didn't give two fucks. and that was beautiful.

"this is disgusting," joe grumbled, though it was completely contradicted by the way he was practically melting into her touch.

"oh, hush," robin scolded, waving a hand at him. "you love it,".

he didn’t argue. he just held her a little closer, completely unbothered by his parents' teasing, because deep down, he knew they were right.

and his parents shot each other knowing glances all throughout the night, their hearts overflowing with happiness and gratitude.

later in the evening, while joe was off showing jimmy something on his phone, robin gently touched her arm, "come help me with refills?".

she followed her into the kitchen, her nerves creeping back in like the first time she stepped on stage, the weight of the spotlight reaching down on her and the unsure hint of adrenaline in her chest. it was also like trying out a new song live for the first time, unsure how the crowd would react, only this time, the crowd was one very important person--joe's mom. but robin didn’t jump into anything serious right away. instead, she moved around the space like she had a hundred times before, topping off drinks, grabbing extra napkins. then, finally, she turned, leaning against the counter with an easy smile.

"i just want to tell you how happy i am that joe has you,".

she blinked, caught off guard. "oh."

robin’s smile softened. "he’s always been focused, always had big dreams that revolved around football. but there’s something different about him with you. i see it in the way he looks at you, the way he talks about you," she reached out, squeezing her hand. "you make him so happy, sweetheart. you make him dream of a future beyond football, and for that, we're forever grateful,".

her chest tightened--not with nerves, but something warmer, something deeper. she swallowed hard. "i love him a lot," she admitted, voice softer than before.

robin nodded, as if she already knew. "and he loves you. that’s all a mom could ever hope for. we were so worried he'd get so caught up in football, miss out on the other aspects of his life like love, a family," she said, reaching out to grab the 'j' initial necklace which sat around her neck. "but then you came around,".

she exhaled a small laugh, shaking her head. "i was really nervous to meet you,".

robin raised an eyebrow. "why? because of who i am? honey, you’re the famous one,".

she shrugged, chewing on her bottom lip. "because of how much joe loves you. how much he looks up to you. i didn’t want to mess this up, you know?".

robin’s expression melted into something even softer, her thumb running over the surface of the pendant. "the only way you could ever mess this up is by not being yourself. but from what i can tell, and mother's intuition is never wrong, you’re perfect for him,".

before she could stop herself, she wrapped robin in a hug, this one even more meaningful than the one at the door. and then, the damn of emotion flew open. "thank you. thank so much you for making him who he is. i don't know what i would do without joe,".

robin's arms tightened around her in response, holding her as if she was already family. "oh, sweetheart, you don't have to thank me for that. joe’s always had a big heart, and he’s always known what he wants--he just needed someone like you to bring out the best in him," her voice cracked slightly, emotion clear in her tone. "he's been so much more himself since you came into his life,". she pulled away slightly, but her hands stayed on her shoulders, a steady presence. "you complete him, and we all see it. no matter who you are, what your life is like, screw the cameras and the attention. you're you. and we all know that. he knows that." robin added, her voice dense with emotion.

one thing echoed deep within her throughout the night--her career was never brought up. her fame, her music, the whirlwind of headlines that followed her everywhere she went. not a single mention. not even a passing comment.

because here, she wasn’t a superstar.

she was just a girl in love, spending time with the people who loved him first.

robin’s lips curled into a smirk, mischief twinkling in her eyes. "but just so you know, if you ever need to gang up on him, i’m always available,".

she blinked, surprised at first, but then a laugh bubbled up from her chest, light and effortless. she wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater, warmth spreading through her like the glow of the kitchen light above them. "i might take you up on that," she admitted, voice laced with something softer--something that felt like relief.

robin squeezed her hand one last time, a silent reassurance, before stepping back to grab their drinks. and just like that, the last bit of nerves melted away, dissolving into the love that filled the room.

joe found her a few minutes later, his presence known before he even touched her. the faint scent of his cologne mixed with the lingering warmth from the oven, and then, suddenly, his arms were around her, strong and steady. he pulled her into his chest, pressing a slow, lingering kiss to her cheek. "what were you two talking about?{ he murmured against her skin, his voice thick with curiosity.

robin grinned, her gaze flicking between them, and then she smirked. "just how much we love you, joey,".

joe hummed, nuzzling into the crook of her neck like he belonged there. "you better not have been scaring her off, mom,".

robin gasped, placing a hand over her chest in mock offense. "me? never!".

she giggled, leaning further into joe’s embrace, feeling the way his hands instinctively tightened around her waist, as if he needed to anchor himself to her. he had been like this all night--touching her in soft, subtle ways, like he couldn’t quite believe she was here, with him, in the house he grew up in, surrounded by the people who had shaped him.

and then she realized that there was absolutely nothing to be so nervous about, now that she thought about it.

you know why?

because joe chose her. and they saw that. he chose her for a reason. and they knew that. he loved her, and that was everything they had ever wanted for him.

she felt it in the way robin had hugged her like she was already family, in the way jimmy had teased joe about being whipped, in the way they had welcomed her into their home without hesitation, without expectation--just love.

because at the end of the day, it wasn’t about who she was to the world. it wasn’t about the bright lights or the sold-out shows, the cameras flashing or the headlines screaming her name.

it was just about this.

the warmth of joe’s arms around her. robin’s knowing smile. jimmy’s easy laughter. the quiet hum of the house that had built the man she loved.

"it's you and me, that's my whole world,".

joe’s whole world was under this roof.

and somehow, she had become a part of it.

--the end--

[abyssyby]

messy spaces

— your boys try very, very hard to keep a secret…

ʕ ꈍᴥꈍʔ: rocket baby & shy baby's (also referred to in my head as sunlight (lucian/cian) & sun-warmth (kyros/kyro)) debut! a little self-indulgent, soft sylus family moment bc he'd be a great husband and a wonderful father of two sensory-seeking boys. i hope you enjoy! ❀ -urs

sylus x reader | fluff, domestic family stuff, twin boy dad!sylus, crafty-hobby-collector mom reader, keiran & luke are here too!

Sylus needs to get you out of the house. 

He watches you flit around the room like a bird, a twin on your hip, rambling in delight about how the boys had burped loud enough they could have scared away a wanderer. And you were beautiful, a picture of comforting grace— in one of his large shirts, your hair a mess (thanks to your son chewing on it) and bright and joyful eyes shining. 

But he needs you out of the house.

He hums appreciatively when you plop down beside him on the couch, his arm automatically wounding around your shoulders and pulling you to his side. The tip of his nose tickles you as it feathers from your neck to your cheek, where he presses his lips tenderly. 

You flush and clear your throat, because no matter how long you’ve been together, with him every moment always feels like the first time. “Cian, was looking for you earlier, wanted to show you something.” 

“Hm?” he mutters, kissing back down the trail he’d traced. “What was it?” 

You shrug. “He wouldn’t show me, said it was papa’s secret.” 

Sylus’s panic was undetectable if it weren’t for the stutter in his movement. The slight flex of one of his fingers in your shoulder, the soft exhale through his nose. Ever so in tune with your husband, you raise a brow. “What is it?” 

The look he gives you is cool and unassuming, and then he flashes you a charming smile. “It’s harder to keep secrets from you when you’ve gotten so sharp.” 

“I’ve always been sharp.” you frown.

He kisses you soundly on the lips, pleased with the little pout he coaxed out of you. “And beautiful.” 

He looks at the sleeping child in your arms and bends down to kiss his forehead too. Your heart melts at the sight. Then he stands, and your frown deepens. “Where are you going?” 

“To handle a whistleblower.” he says, straightening his clothes and shooting you a mischievous grin. “And to teach him how to keep secrets from mama properly.” 

𓇢𓆸 𓇢𓆸 𓇢𓆸 ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

For every corner, every nook and cranny of the base, Sylus had a mental replica of how it should be. One of the most surprising things you realized when you’d started to live together was how clean he was. He liked keeping things in a certain order, and because of this, he was good at leaving and moving without a trace. 

You’d abide to his rules when you moved in as much as you could, but you couldn’t keep up with his tidiness. It never bothered him though, instead, he delighted in it— to see some of his toiletries pushed to the side to make way for your own, how you sometimes accumulate glasses of water with lipstick stains by your bedside, your clothes at the foot of the bed when you’re rushing to get changed— knowing you are here, under the same roof, in the same space, with him. 

And just as he felt with your trail of breadcrumbs, he felt it tenfold with his boys. The post-hurricane-esque damage of toys and trinkets in his spotless living room, the mess of baby food on the dining table after a meal, crayon marks on his pristine walls, a stray stuffie in his office. A shock to find, of course, but it was never unwelcome. 

And so, he follows his son’s trail to the playroom (once an extra armory, flipped by you and the big twins while he was away). It wasn’t hard, it was literally a trail of animal crackers.

He pushes the already ajar door open. “Lucian—“

“—there’s too many of them, little boss—“

“—And another one—“ 

Three heads look up at him as he enters. One would argue three of his sons were caught red handed dealing illegally acquired animal crackers (it wasn’t snack time yet). But there they were, his loyal henchmen in party hats and his own three year old in a crown, arm very evidently elbow-deep into the cracker tin canister. 

“Papa!” Lucian smiles, crumbs all over his cheeks and chubby little fingers. 

“Boss.” Luke and Keiran greet as well, glancing down at the hands in their lap. 

Lucian doesn’t stay idle, instead he shakes off his crown and rushes to Sylus’s leg. He is picked up and balanced in the crook of his father’s elbow. Sylus’s eyes soften with a molten glow as he brings up gentle fingers to brush away the dirt on his boy’s cheeks. “What are you doing, little boss?” 

“Papa, I sharin’!” he grins proudly. Sylus raises a brow. 

He peeks over the child’s shoulder to Keiran and Luke with their masks half raised, already munching on the animal crackers on their plastic plates. He gives them a pointed look that makes them slow and turn away, knowing full well they weren’t supposed to succumb to snacks-during-not-snack-time. “With Luke and Keiran?” 

“Mhm!” Lucian is already trying to make his way up Sylus’s shoulders. Sylus lets him. 

“Mm, that’s kind of you.” 

A crumbly finger leaves an imprint just beside Sylus’s eye. “I good.” 

“Yes, angel.” Sylus looks up at him. Lucian’s face, a reflection of his own with your irises and your smile, hangs upside down to meet his gaze. “Did you find my surprise?” 

Lucian frowns for a moment. After the day he’s had, retrieving a memory after such a long business transaction must be a monumental feat for a clever little mind. The time today he found Luke and Keiran and was told to “shh!”. But it comes to him eventually, and when it does his face lights up like the sun. “Ah-huh!” 

“Did you show mama?” 

“No.” 

“Did you tell mama?” 

Lucian blinks. “I tell: no, mama! No go in!” 

Ah, yes. Of course. Sylus chuckles, pinching his cheeks. “Good job, angel.” 

He’ll clean the mess up later, not that he truly minds it, but he wouldn’t want ants festering in his children’s favorite room.

And that’s what it was: his need for you to have your own favorite room.

He never thought that setting up an old armory would bring this much joy to his children, having once thought the whole base was theirs to conquer, and yet seeing them return somewhere when they have no idea where to go, seeing them drift in and out of the playroom made him realize: that was their little safe space. 

And just as his little adventurers were half of him, who once in a lifetime ago, could never have enough space, enough lands, enough resources and things to dominate, they were also half you. Yearning for peace, a quiet little bubble to gather your thoughts, regulate your heart and breathe. 

He has his spaces. His boys have the base and the playroom. You… you need your bubble. 

Lucian hangs tight on his father’s head, both arms perfectly hugging the circumference as Sylus walks to the hidden room. Papa’s secret surprise.

Down the labyrinth halls, around the priceless statue of a dragon he bought at an auction (its pedestal desecrated with Bluey stickers), there lies the auspicious grey door Lucian had thought would be a good hiding spot. 

“Is book room.” Lucian says, one hand mindlessly drifting down to cover Sylus’s left eye.

Sylus doesn’t flinch, but nods. “It's mama’s room.” 

“Upstairs…” Lucian answers quietly, thinking it was a question. 

Sylus chuckles and pushes the door open. 

The incense marinates the room in the scent of fresh linens and citrus, and the sunlight shoots through the half-drawn curtains onto the soft plush carpet— the kind of texture you and Kyros particularly enjoyed. On the wall, a large shelf with lines of books and empty spaces for you to fill. A corner with an easel and paints; old paintings you’d stored away in the spare rooms to make way for your childrens’ needs dusted and placed on your old wooden art table. Your favorite weapons encased in glass, decorated the bare walls.

A desk with a laptop for your writings. A basket of yarn and needles and the other things you bring to your shared bed to poke and weave. A circular couch, closer to a cat-bed, by the window. A hammock by the wall. A beanbag in the corner. And more, so much more.

Everything Sylus had taken note of, committed to memory. Things you’ve said, “sorry for the mess” for. Things he’d thought of and said— she’d like this. All gathered, collected and stuffed— organized in this room. 

“Smell nice.” Lucian says, scrambling to get down his father’s shoulders. He does it too quickly, almost falling if it weren’t for Sylus’s foresight. He catches his toddler by the armpits with little fanfare and sets him down on his feet. Lucian, against his usual nature, walks carefully into the room, as if afraid to disrupt its peace. “Mama like books.” 

“She does.” Sylus nods, inspecting the work the bigger twins have done with the lighting. Silently regarding their good work, he looks down to his son eyeing the hammock. “Wanna try?” 

Lucian runs towards the hammock and grabs onto the tassels. But before he can tug the entire thing to come crashing down, Sylus lifts him up and places him in the giant seat. He pushes the swing and Lucian’s giggles bounce off the walls.  

Sylus beams at your smile on his son’s face. The sun setting through the western window bathing the room in a warm glow. He can’t wait to show you. He can’t wait to give it to you. He hopes, still, despite how long and how sure he’s known you, that you like it.

And that’s why he needed to get you out of the house. 

Sylus has a plan— he’s good at planning, and even better at executing those plans— and that involves gifting this to you as the big ta-da! The final pièce de résistance at the end of a good day. 

There is a traveling carnival in a few days, one he’d invited you to go see days before. You’d arm yourselves with baby carriers and strollers, extra diapers and snacks, hats and hand-held fans, and bring the boys to experience it. Then, he’d take you to a nice restaurant with air conditioning to cool down. You’d order your favorite meal, he’d pick the onions off of Kyros’s plate, and Lucain would be a mess of squash and cream. And after, you’d make it in time for the fireworks to set off across the river.

He’d drive home, hold your hand as he watches you in the corner of his eye fight back sleep, while the little snores in the back lull you to unconsciousness. You’d take the kids in from the car and set them down in the nursery, and before you head back to your own bedroom, he’d ask you if you’d like to see something he’s working on. Might even bring up Lucian’s term of— 

“Papa secret.” 

He freezes— this time, completely detectable. He has better instincts than this in other, more dire situations, like ambushes and break-ins.

But not for you. 

You, standing by the door with a smug little smirk on your pretty face. One hand guiding an already awake other twin to toddle in towards his brother. 

Lucian screams in surprise and delight, caught— because he wasn’t very good at secrets just yet. But although close, he wasn’t the one who pulled the pin on this grenade. 

Kyros. The quiet little thing. All whispers and contained excitement. The one Sylus had assumed to be safe. Wrongly.  

Now, happily chanting over and over, “Papa secret, papa secret…” 

Sylus sighs, running his fingers through his neatly done hair out of exasperation, and then turning to look at you with a defeated upturn of his lips. “Beloved.” 

You lunge. Arms embracing his shoulders and molding your lips to his. He catches you just a second later through the haze, and grins into your kiss. “You…” 

He asks, “Do you like it?”

You pull back and nod. Words cannot surmise how you feel. The stars bursting in your chest, the tears burning your eyes, the love— oh, the love the spills over and takes captive your entire soul. 

Sylus laughs, cupping your face in his large hands and kissing you again. “I’m glad.” 

You sniff, trying to keep the tears at bay. “Is this mine?” 

His thumb brushes the corner of your eye. “I don’t crochet.” 

Your fist lands on his chest with no real force. He catches it, spreads out your fingers over his heart. You stare at him thoughtfully, and it knocks the breath out of him how your eyes twinkle in the light. 

“I wanted to surprise you.” He says, tone almost apologetic. 

You smile. It dawns on you that he probably had planned this huge reveal. You consider him and brush his hair away from his eyes. “I am surprised.” 

He exhales, a scoff and an exasperated laugh. “I’m sure you’ve had your suspicions.” 

And you can’t hide the little smile you try to suppress— sure, the little twins were expected to blab one way or another, but you didn’t really need them when you have the big twins acting shifty and weird around you when you asked them what the light fixtures were for when they came in the mail. “Maybe a little.” 

“Please.” He taps your forehead with a teasing finger. “You’ve always been sharp.” 

Just before you can kiss him senseless again, his attention is called with a tug on his pant leg. Kyros stares up at him.

“Pa, up pease?” He says, pointing to his brother on the swinging hammock. 

He gives you an apologetic look which you return with a fond smile, as he pulls away from you and hauls Kyros up and places him beside his brother. 

“Papa, swing fast-fast!” Lucian howls, shaking the blanket and making the new hinges groan. 

Sylus secures Kyros with pillows and guides his hands to hold the corners of the blanket. “Tell me when it’s too fast, okay?” 

Kyros nods. And Sylus pushes. 

Quickly, the room’s once undisrupted peace is washed with a peaceful kind of chaos. Intended to be a space for you and all the things you love, now filled with the entire world. 

As Sylus pulls back to let the hammock swing from its own momentum, you wrap your arms around his torso from behind, pressing your face in the space between his shoulders. You mutter a muffled, “Thank you, my love.” 

Sylus takes your hands and brings them to his lips in reply. Needing you to know that your thanks is welcome but not needed. All he needs is this— you, your kids, and the wonderful mess you’ve made in his life.

⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆ more sylus thoughts ⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆

thank you for reading!

[starrdream]

Save a horse ride a cowboy

farmboy!Anakin x f!reader summary: Spending the summer at your grandparents' ranch doesn't seem so bad after meeting the boy who works for them. includes: SMUT!!, reverse cowgirl, kinda enemies to lovers, dirty talk

The first thing you notice when you step out of the car is the heat. Thick and heavy, like it's trying to press you into the dirt road beneath your shoes.

The second thing is the ranch itself, all picture-perfect under the sunset. White fences, rolling fields, the sound of horses snorting somewhere in the distance.

The house is way too perfect. Sunlight spills through lace-trimmed curtains, casting golden light over polished wooden floors.

“There’s my grandbaby!” Your grandmother fusses over you the second you step inside, pulling you into a hug before you can escape.

“Oh, sweetheart, you’re so much taller than the last time we saw you! Look at you!” She coos.

"Nice to see you too grandma" You laugh softly, putting your bag down.

"Oh we couldn't wait to have you!" She beamed as she walked further into the house.

You followed her and as you two approached the dining room you could hear muffled noises coming from the TV.

"Dear," She calls out. "Y/n's here!" She chuckles, walking inside.

You walk into the room a few seconds, expecting to see your granddad sitting around somewhere.

That's when you notice.

A young man in one of the other chairs. He couldn't be that much older than you. 3-4 years maybe?

His legs were spread slightly and he happened to be adjusting his hips as you walked in.

You weren't being honest with yourself but that with his looks made your stomach flip thourghly.

He had longer brownish hair that curled at the ends, his skin was tan and it contrasted his blue eyes that were staring right at you.

You couldn't deny the awkwardness that consumed you. You were wearing shorts and a short crop top, basically half naked in front of some random guy.

"Well, y/n," Your grandma started. "This is Anakin. Anakin, this is y/n" She nodded.

"Nice to finally meet you." Anakin gave you a shallow nod.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too.." You forced a smile.

"Anakin, darling, would you take her stuff up to the guest bedroom?" The elderly lad asked nicely.

Oh dear God.

"Of course." He smiled. A real smile. The kind that went all the way to his eyes.

"Thank you." Your grandma ran her hand over his cheek as he stood up. "Isn't he just so handsome?" She teased.

Handsome indeed.

"So..." You start as he takes your bags. "You're like a secret grandkid or something." Awful joke.

"Pft no" He huffed out a soft laugh "I help your grandparents out here during summer."

"So, a cowboy then?"

Anakin huffed at your stupid question. "No," He shook his head, annoyance starting to build up. "I just help around."

"Right, sorry.." You say, taking another step on the stairs.

"All you city girls are the same." He chuckled. "Annoying and out of touch." Anakin half joked.

You made a mocking face as you walked up the stairs, not saying anything to make your relationship with him worse.

The idea of having him hate you wasn't really appealing. Especially not when he was gonna be around every day.

"Enjoy your stay" He kicked open the door and lowered your bag down to the floor, leaving before you could thank him.

Over the next week you adjusted to the new environment. You also noticed Anakin was around the ranch all of the time. You also realized he, despite his looks, was a pain in the ass.

One evening, you were taking some pictures for your social media. An important detail was that you left the bathroom connected to your room a hot mess while doing your make up.

Considering you were done, you decided to clean it up.

Hurrying up the stairs to the bathroom, you open the door only to be met with a steamy room and...Anakin.

Thankfully, he had a towel that hung dangerously low on his hips. And his back was facing you.

"Oh, I'm sorry-" You mumbled, closing the door shut in your face.

It could always be worse. You convinced yourself as you paced up and down your room, waiting for him to finish.

The door opened and Anakin left the bathroom. He was stil very much shirtless, only wearing a pair of sweatpants.

In this weather?

"Knock next time." He shrugged, leaning on the wall next to the door.

"Yeah, right-sorry" You mumbled, walking into the bathroom and gathering some of your stuff.

"I hope you won't mind me borrowing this." He stated out from the door.

"What?" You mumble, turning your head.

There he was, standing casually at the door holding up a small metallic wrapper.

Oh hell no. How'd he even find that?

"Did you go through my stuff?" You immediately accuse him, ignoring the heat spreading through your face.

"Went through it?" He chuckles "It was all over the place." He gestures toward the sink.

True. But still.

"Whatever." You rolled your eyes. "Could've just asked." You shrug, trying to sound indifferent even though you were secretly seething with jealousy.

"Okay, I'm asking now. Can I have it?" He was surprisingly polite.

"What do you need it for?" No way you were letting him out of this room before finding out at least something about this mysterious hook up.

"What do I need a condom for? To make water balloons"

"Okay then, you can't have it" You reply back snarkyly.

He sighs heavily. "I'm having dinner with this girl tonight and I was hoping-" You interrupt him.

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. Just get out." You usher him out of the bathroom, closing the door.

"Well I owe you one!" He laughs and a few seconds later you hear the door of your room slam shut.

A knock interrupted your moping over Anakin. It was your grandma informing you that dinner was ready.

Your breath hitches as you reach the end of the stairs and see Anakin laughing with your grandfather.

Was he talking about me, or am I going crazy?

Dinner is even more awkward after your grandma announces that she and her husband are going to visit some neighboours.

The smile faded from your face the second you closed the door behind the elderly couple.

"I thought you'd at least look relieved."

"Get over yourself." You huff as you walk past him.

"Oh so you know exactly what I'm talking about. Good to know." He teases, grabbing your arm and pulling you back. He pushes you back against the counter.

"Oh my gosh" You roll your eyes.

"You desperately need an attitude fix, young lady."

You take a small step back, narrowing your eyes. “You’re full of yourself.”

He tilts his head, eyes flicking over you—lazily, like he has all the time in the world.

“And you’re in denial.”

You’re so close now that you can feel the warmth radiating from him, smell the faint traces of cologne on his skin.

It’s infuriating, intoxicating.

And when you move to turn away—he stops you with a hand at your waist. Firm and steady

You should shove him off, but you don’t.

Instead, you look up, meeting his gaze. And what's there? Want, need. Raw, unfiltered, overwhelming.

The next breath you take is shaky. And Anakin notices.

His hand slides down to your hip, fingers pressing just enough to make your stomach flutter.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmurs. "And I will."

You open your mouth but nothing comes out. Because you don’t want him to stop. And that’s all the confirmation he needs.

The second his lips crash against yours, it’s over.

"I knew I should.." He mumbles between sloppy kisses, chuckling softly. "..get my hopes up.."

Before long you're locked away in your room. Anakin's hands help you straddle him with your back to his chest. He spreads his legs slightly, erection pressing firmly against your ass.

His hands roam your curves, pulling down your jean shorts to reveal your red lacy panties.

"Dirty girl..all pretty and dressed up f'me.."

He takes those off with ease.

You desperately rub yourself against him, begging for any kind of friction.

"Easy pretty girl.." He murmurs against your neck, one hand holding your hips and the other one sliding to your front, toying with your clit.

"Please.." You breathe out.

He kisses your neck soothingly, hand pulling back and finding its way down too your hole. He pushes 2 fingers inside of you, moving them around skillfully and causing you to moan.

"Right there?" He coos.

"Right there." You confirm with a quick nod, voice shaky.

He pushes you forward slightly, fiddling with his own belt and pulling his pants down together with his black boxers and freeing his hard length.

He reaches for one of his pockets and pulls out the condom the took from you just hours earlier.

Not wasting a second, he slides it down with ease before pulling you down on his cock as well.

The movement draws a sharp breath from you.

"Shirt off baby.." He mumbles as he helps you ride him, guiding your hips up and down.

You comply, sliding your shirt and bra off at the same time,

"Oh yes.." You moan as his hands travel up your waist, massaging your breasts sensually.

Your hips keep working through the slight burn of Anakin's thick cock stretching you out.

"You can take it.." He prompts.

Both of you chase your high, wet noises and whimpers filling the room.

Anakin's hips start thrusting up into you, tip kissing your cervix with ease.

"Right there.." You encourage him. "Don't stop Anakin, please.."

He chuckles at your desperate pleas. "Don't worry angel, I'm not stopping until you cum on my cock."

"Right.." You gasp. Arching your back, you press him against your spot, drawing out a desperate whimper.

Anakin goes livid. "Keep making those pretty noises yeah?" He says as he rubs himself against your spot repeatedly.

Walls fluttering, face contorting in pleasure-you cum, the orgasm sending shivers down your spine.

Anakin is quick to notice.

"Oh" He chuckles. "That good huh?" His hands grip your hips tighter as you start grinding against him.

"Yeah.. y-yes" You moan.

He finishes too, wrapping his arms tightly against your waist and burying his face in your shoulder as you both ride out the high.

Holy shit I spent at least 3h writing this..Also why is it so unnecessarily long😭😭

Lmk if you guys want me to make a series out of this!!

[pinkyqily]

ONLY YOURS - JUJU WATKINS X READER

Summary: Because of recent speculation, online, it makes you rethink your relationship with juju.

Warning: cursing, angst to fluff, reader bluffing, miscommunication from r

Author's note: this fic was requested by @atditsitzjt and I hope you enjoy reading this, we love Otto in this house, I just needed someone who juju is close to build up fic tension.

feedbacks are always welcome and happy readings readers 💐

To be honest, you had no reason to think that juju would cheat on you.

But overthinking is a bitch and that how you and juju found yourself in this messy position in you're relationship.

It all started with when you saw a comment about how juju is always with Otto and doesn't she have a girlfriend to go to.

That comment didn't bother you at all until the sudden change of your algorithm.

You started seeing post of people shipping them together, pictures that looked way too intimate.

how they are always together from practice to hanging outside of campus together.

You felt like your heart got twisted and toyed with. You waited until she would come over to your place to try and bring it up, not wanting to jump into conclusion yet wanting to give her the benefit of doubt.

Juju came around, and she could tell something was wrong, but she didn't want to push your buttons after the long day she had.

You both enjoyed each other company, but the sense of lingering tension was obviously in the air and if anyone was to enter the room they would most likely feel suffocated.

You were laying on your girlfriend as she scrolled through her phone on Instagram.

But you couldn't keep quite anymore and got off her, she looked at you a confused.

you cleared your throat to speak.

"So you and Otto hang out with each other a lot." You started with.

"Yeah, she's my best friend, you know that." She said.

"You guys are really close for best friend".

"What point are you trying to make?". She said, looking irritated.

"I'm gonna be straight with you, Juju are you cheatin-. Before you could finish you heard her cut you off. "Don't you finish that sentence, what made you come to this." The way she reacted caught you off guard.

"Oh, I'm sorry that my supposed girlfriend loves hanging out with her best friend more than her actual gf, that it has the internet speculating if you guys are dating".

"You have to be serious, you're getting your claims from delusional people on the internet?". She said looking really hurt by the not so accusation you put against her.

"Yeah because they make more sense than whatever your fucking saying juju".

"What can't you understand she's my best friend just because we're always together, means nothing to me." You heard her say, she tired grabbing your hands but you simply moved back creating more space between the two of you.

"But it does to me do you ever think about how I would feel huh, you don't see me always hanging out with my best friend like that". You told her getting upset that she couldn't understand your point of view.

"One she's been with me since day one, she works with the team too, so of course we're always gonna be at the same place two just because we're always together means nothing to me". She explained to you. Grabbing both your hands as she continued speaking

"You're my girlfriend, not her, the person I love and adore you make me feel all sorts of things when we're together."

You felt a little shakend, she was someone who was always straight foward but doesn't to pushy with it. You had nothing to say to her they only thing you could do was leave the living room.

where you both we're staying so you could get some air.

You felt like a huge asshole for doubting her. What type of partner accuses there significant other, onto of that you use the internet as some type of excuses just because of your insecurities instead of communicating with her.

Oh you felt bad, after what felt likes hours but was only a few minutes you went back inside after staying outside. Juju was just how you left her, she was sitting on the arm of the couch fidgeting with her fingers.

You stood in front of her, but there was still the lack of distance between two of you.

You started by saying

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have accused you like that I don't know what wrong with me everything people were saying just got to me". You told her.

"I'm not gonna lie, your accusations hurt me, especially when you know I would never do you like that." She said, pulling you closer as she laid her head on your shoulder.

After your conversation with her that night, you expected her not to stay over like she normally does but she did.

You're both laying down in bed you couldn't fall asleep yet.

"Baby, I just wanted you to know I'm really sorry, and I feel so stupid thinking about it." You said, thinking she fell asleep.

"It okay, just go back to bed mhm". You heard her say as she pulled you closer by your waist.

"Goodnight, I love you." You said to her as you slowly able to fall asleep and be at peace without your mind playing tricks on you.

"I love you too." She said her arms stil wrapped around your body.

[damneddamsy]

falling | joel miller x fem!oc (part vi)

summary: Joel's summer is the picture of ease. Until it isn't. It's really just a fuckload of hard work, patience and control.

a/n: hi! here you gooooo! i was kind of going through a really bad writer's block, overthinking a lot, and now here I am - through with this chapter and onto the next! one chapter at a time, everyone! we've got this :)

Summertime rolled into Jackson like a long, slow breath, and with it, the winter blues lifted.

The snow was long gone now, melted into the earth, feeding the rivers, softening the soil. The air had lost its bite, and traded it for something warmer, sweeter. The trees stretched their limbs, green and full, and the town itself seemed to breathe easier.

And Joel, for one, found himself wishing, just this once, that nothing would change. That the warmth would linger. That the sun would keep rising over the valley, spilling golden light across rooftops and filling every corner of his life with a feeling he hadn't let himself believe in for a long time—peace.

He had always loved the heat. He’d spent most of his life in it, the thick Texas sun pressing into his skin, soaking into his bones, of summers thick with cicada songs and the dry crackle of grass underfoot. Jackson didn't have the swelter—not as humid, not as relentless—but damn if he didn’t appreciate the way it felt against his back, the way it painted the world in gold.

And without realizing it, he had started marking the passage of time by more than just the shift in seasons.

By the little things.

By Maya’s laughter, louder and brighter than any sun, when he took her to walk through the first sparkle of fireflies in the front yard. How she had clung to his guiding, balancing fingers, her tiny feet stumbling over the grass, feathery curls bouncing, but she hadn't cared—too caught up in the golden flickers floating in the dusk. Her chubby hands reached out, fingers opening and closing in wonder, taking a tumble into the grass.

“Watch it now. C’mere, baby girl,” Joel had murmured, crouching beside her, cupping her tiny hands in his. “Gotta be real gentle. Or you'll smush the poor basta—bugs. Sorry.”

He had to watch his filthy mouth nowadays, she'd gone into the stage of babbling. You can imagine both their surprise when Maya's first words were, 'ma'. Maybe because he'd said it so much around her, praising her mama, calling her a 'mama's girl'. Yeah, that was on him.

Maya had blinked up at him, her dark eyes wide with understanding, before she turned her attention back to the soft glow drifting in front of her. This time, she didn’t grab. She just watched, waiting, patient.

And when a firefly landed—just for a moment—on her little palm, fluttering its wings, buzzing and blinking, she gasped so hard it turned into a giggle.

Joel chuckled, warmth spreading through his chest. “There you are. See that?” He brushed a kiss against her temple. “Takes a little patience, huh, sweetheart?”

Maya hummed in that distracted way of hers, but Joel barely noticed—because when he glanced toward the house, his breath caught.

Leela was watching them. She sat on the front lawn, cross-legged on a blanket, the faint glow of her old digital camera screen flickering in the dim light. Her hair had grown even longer, softer, strands of it slipping free from behind her ears, catching the wind.

She lifted the camera slowly, tilting her head, and framing the shot. The soft click of the shutter broke the hush of the evening, but she didn’t lower it right away.

It was all in the way she looked at him now that he understood, not like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but like she was starting to believe he wasn’t going anywhere.

And Joel—he was starting to believe it too.

It had taken him long enough. He’d spent decades convincing himself he didn’t deserve something like this. That he was meant for suffering, for loss, for violence. Maybe it had been true once. Maybe there had been no way out of it back then. He'd seen so much—more than any man should. He’d seen summer mornings with Sarah, bright and full of promise. He’d seen endless nights of blood and fire when he was nothing but a raider clawing his way through the world. He’d seen the ragged edges of humanity as he crossed state lines with Ellie and watched life fade in too many eyes. And for years, all he’d done was survive.

A survivor. A raider. A smuggler. A man who had lost too much, done too much. A father again, when he never thought he would be.

But somehow—all of that had led him here.

To a town in the mountains. To a big, white house across the street, he was trying like hell to keep from crumbling. To this woman who grew up in it, who somehow trusted his twisted instinct more than anyone in this town. To a little girl who reached for him when she was sleepy, whose laughter had rooted itself so deep in him he didn’t think he could tear it out if he tried.

Maybe now, now, he finally deserved it.

Sure, there were days when the work was hard. When patience ran thin, old aches settled deep in his bones. That was among the realizations he'd earned before he hit sixty: life was going to come at him hard, and he was going to face it with a fuckload of—

Hard work. Patience. Control.

Hard work had never scared him. He’d spent weeks on this patch of land, Leel's garden, breaking his back, kneeling in the dirt, coaxing life out of the frozen ground. Jackson’s winter had been particularly cruel, leaving the soil brittle and unforgiving. He had planted and re-planted, tested the earth, and tried again. It was the kind of work that made his knees ache, that left his hands raw and sore, but he’d be damned if he let this motherfucker win.

Then Leela had shown up, as she always did, just when he was about to curse this thing to hell.

"This shit's fucked, darlin'," he grunted to her, scowl deep and tools flying behind him. "Just get your food from the store like everyone else."

"You're giving up?" she asked, surprised.

He pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Don't push me, I'm done in as is."

She stood at the edge of the garden, arms crossed, head tilted as she considered his struggle with what could only be mild amusement. Then, without preamble, she pulled something out from behind her legs—a strange-looking contraption, cobbled from old scrap parts, with wires and tubes snaking out of a small metal canister.

"The hell is that?" he asked.

"Your saving grace," she said, adjusting a knob on the side, as if that explained everything. "Condenses moisture from the air and converts it into usable water for the plants. It’ll keep the soil hydrated."

Joel wiped the sweat from his brow, eyeing the thing like it might explode. "Christ, it looks like it's gonna—"

"Fix the garden before you throw your back out again." She set it down, adjusting the tubes. "You're welcome."

He huffed, shaking his head, but there was no bite in it. "Oh, you think you're hot shit."

Leela just laughed, kneeling down to secure the device in place. "Incredible, actually," she admitted, surveying her work. "I should show this to Maria. Work it out on a larger scale for the greenhouses."

Joel exhaled, resting his hands on his hips, grinning down at her. He watched her work, the way her fingers moved deftly, the way she wrinkled her nose in concentration. It was a look he was starting to recognize—the one she got when she let herself care about something. Always thinking about making it work. Always fixing things. How she made everything feel a little less impossible.

Less afraid, is what he would say. Like the walls she'd built around herself weren’t quite so thick anymore. That was mostly Maya, he figured. That baby had knocked the breath out of her, giving her that tangible reality to anchor to.

But some part of him wondered if it was him, too. Hoped, more like. He genuinely hoped.

Now patience... that was another thing entirely. It was never his strong suit. Not before. Not with himself, not with the world. And definitely not with this.

Maya was closing on eight months, and she still hadn’t started to attempt to crawl. Joel had tried. Hard. For weeks, he sat on the floor with her, scattered the toys just out of reach, and made an absolute fool of himself coaxing her forward.

"Come on, baby girl," he'd mutter to me, stretching his hands out, and tapping the mat in front of her. "You got this, honey, it's all in the knees."

Nothing. She’d just blink up at him with those big, brown, knowing eyes, then drop her gaze to something far more interesting—her own fingers, a loose thread on her overalls, the tiny fabric ear of the stuffed rabbit in her lap.

And when she finally did react, it was to lift her arms toward him, her little hands opening and closing, silently demanding to be picked up. No movement.

Joel would sigh, rubbing a hand down his face. "You ain't even tryin’, Maya."

She'd giggle at him, that noise that would've made his whole day if it weren't for the cruelty of the situation.

Leela, of course, found the whole thing funny. “She’ll get there eventually,” she’d say, watching from the couch, one leg tucked beneath her. "You're making it a bigger deal than it is."

But he wanted her to get there. He wanted to see her move, explore, and chase after things the way the other kids did. It would be nice to not go find her in her crib every day, just have her come to greet him at the door. Maybe it was stupid, maybe it didn’t matter in the long run, but Joel wasn’t great at waiting. He never had been.

And then, one day, Maya just—skipped the whole damn thing.

It wasn’t even some big, dramatic moment. There was no warning, no coaxing, no slow buildup. One second, she was on the ground, surrounded by her stuffed animals, gnawing on her own fingers like usual. And the next...

Joel caught movement in the corner of his eye as he lazed back on the couch one afternoon. He almost didn’t believe it at first. His breath stalled, brow furrowing as he lowered the magazine in his hands. The fuck?

Maya was standing. Standing.

Maya was on her feet by the coffee table. Teetering, swaying—somehow balancing, her fingers flexing like she was bracing herself. Her eyes were locked on him, her mouth rounded to that curious 'o', and he swore he saw it—something click into place in that clever, tiny brain of hers.

Then, she moved.

One wobbly foot forward. Then another.

Joel barely had time to push off the couch before she stumbled, catching herself in a squat, then rocking forward, lunging with a squeal—straight into his arms.

His hands came up automatically, steadying her, lifting her up before she could fall. And Jesus Christ, he could hardly breathe.

Maya just grinned at him, eyes bright, cheeks flushed. Her legs still twisted off-balance, still getting the hang of it.

Joel let out a stunned breath, then laughed—actually laughed, loud and bright, chest tight with something so big, so full, he thought he might burst.

"You’re my little miracle, baby. Did you just walk?"

He lifted her higher, pressing quick, tiny kisses to the side of her head, barely able to stop himself, overwhelmed with pride, with love. She squealed, giggling, her legs kicking, completely unbothered by the fact that she’d just broken every rule in the parenting books.

Joel kept her close, his nose brushing against her soft curls as he swayed a little, still trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. His fingers spanned across her tiny back, feeling the rapid, excited little breaths against his chest.

"Look at you," he murmured, pressing another kiss to her temple, softer this time. "My beautiful, brilliant, big girl."

Maya made a triumphant little noise, wriggling in his arms like she wanted down, but he wasn't ready to let go yet. Not yet.

"You really went and did that, huh?" he said, pulling her back just enough to look at her. Her dark eyes were wide and full of mischief, her grin open and still gummy. She lifted her hands, smacking them against his cheeks before babbling something that sounded almost like words.

Joel huffed a laugh, shaking his head. "Yeah, I’m real proud of you, too, sweetheart."

She beamed like she understood. Like she knew what she did was something big. And maybe it was nothing to her. Maybe it was just another thing she figured out, just another step forward.

But for Joel—it was everything.

He tightened his hold, pressing his forehead to hers for a second, just breathing her in. "Ain't nothing gonna stop you now."

Maya just giggled, happy as anything. Then—before he could stop her—she suddenly launched herself backwards, her trust in him so complete that it nearly took him out.

Joel’s heart stopped. "Jesus—alright, okay, I gotcha," he said, catching her easily, pulling her back upright. "Goddamn, baby girl, maybe let’s work up to that, huh?"

Maya, completely unbothered, laughed that wild, open-mouthed laugh like she thought it was the funniest thing in the world.

Joel groaned, shifting her in his arms. "Yeah, you think you're real funny, don't ya?" He pressed another kiss to her cheek. "Gonna be the death of me."

Maya just patted his chest, her tiny fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, tucking her head beneath his chin, already winding down.

She was Leela's, alright. That genius baby shit, it was all her mama. And patience had actually paid off for the first time in his life.

And when it came to control, that wasn't exactly an issue to him. He was a pro. Control was something Joel had spent a lifetime learning, but damn if it wasn’t tested now.

As summer in Jackson deepened, it was hot, the kind of heat that slowed people down, and sent them ducking into the shade, fanning themselves on porches. The days stretched long, the sky burning orange before it faded into dusky purple.

But Leela, she didn’t soften for anything.

She didn’t even seem to notice how the heat changed things, how it made people shed layers, roll up sleeves, and loosen collars. She was practical and efficient. And oblivious.

Which is why she had no fucking idea what she was doing to him.

It was the afternoon he walked past the garage and caught sight of her. The Maranello was parked inside, the hood lifted, and tools scattered across the workbench. And there she was, elbow-deep in the engine, wielding a turnscrew with the ease of someone who'd done this a hundred times.

And fuck him, but this was hell.

The top she wore had no back. Just thin straps tied at her neck and a bow at the arch of her spine, flimsy printed material clinging to her like it was barely there at all. Her cutoffs were—Christ, barely shorts. She'd obviously grown out of it. Joel was willing to bet there was more fabric in Ellie’s bandanas than what she had on. The denim rode high on her hips, long legs bare, glistening with sweat, sun-warmed and golden in the sunlight.

Joel immediately looked away, eyes darting to the street, checking to see if anyone else was getting an eyeful of her. No one. Dead end, of course. Thank fuck.

And then, just to twist the knife, she called him over. "Joel, can you give me a hand here please?"

Oh, yeah. He could.

He shouldn’t.

But he would.

No matter how much he told himself to walk away, to not look, to not think—he still found himself moving, closing the space between them, bracing for the next hit to his self-control.

"The wrench. Half inch," she asked, absentminded, like she had no idea he was about two seconds away from losing his shit.

Joel blindly reached for the nearest tool—only to realize at the last second that it was a screwdriver.

"Joel," she called again, her brows lifted. "I said wrench."

"Right." He grabbed the wrench and didn't think to check the size before forcing it into her palm, awkwardly clearing his throat. "There you go. Wrench."

She hummed her approval, adjusting her stance, bracing a foot on the frame of the car. And then—

She stretched. Sweet mercy. Gleaming arms raised, body lengthening, the hem of her top lifting just enough to show off the faint line carved down her stomach, the soft, impossible dip above her navel, all that adorable pregnancy belly he'd adored gradually yielded to whatever tormenting hell this was.

Joel swore his vision blurred for a second. It had been too fucking long since he's seen a girl like this, felt what it would do to a man. Especially a girl like her, fine as hell, smart as shit, belonged on a Hustler mag—she was light years out of his league.

The wrench nearly slipped from his fingers, a sharp metal clang against the side of the car.

Leela startled, lowering her arms. "What's wrong?"

Joel cleared his throat again. "Nothin'. The heat is all."

She blinked at him, then glanced at the wrench in his hand. "Are you sure you don't want to lie down for a bit?"

"Peachy," he muttered.

She frowned but let it go, turning back to the engine, her fingers deftly working over the machinery. Joel exhaled, trying—really trying—to shake it off, to focus on anything but the way her top barely clung to her frame, the way the sunlight played in the stray wisps of hair sticking to her temple.

He wasn’t sixteen. Wasn’t some green kid who didn’t know how to keep his damn head straight. But right now? His thoughts weren’t running straight at all. They twisted, turned, caught on little details—the smooth expanse of her back, the dark freckles, the faint curve of her stomach, the way her thick braid draped over one shoulder into the engine, shifting every time she moved.

And then—something else hit him.

She was comfortable. Relaxed.

She was here, standing out in the open, close to him, wearing whatever the hell she wanted, no fear, no hesitance. Sure, it shouldn’t have been a big deal. But it was.

Because he knew what she had been through, just a vestige of it. Knew how easily this could’ve gone another way, how some people never stepped outside without layers of fabric shielding them, without constantly looking over their shoulders. But Leela—she stood here in nothing but a thin top, cut-off denim, and skin kissed golden by the summer sun. Focused. Happy. Unapologetic. Free. Finally.

She had every reason to hide. To shrink herself down, to be small, to disappear. But she hadn’t. And fuck, if he wasn’t proud of her for that. He was goddamned pleased of who she was standing as in front of him today. A fighter.

"Joel?"

His head snapped up. "Yeah."

She was watching him now, eyes questioning, adjusting the strings at her neck. "Is it grease? Where?"

He blinked, needing a second to catch up. There was a smudge—dark against the honeyed warmth of her skin, just by her temple.

"Uh—just there," he muttered, reaching for a rag off the workbench and holding it out.

She took it, swiping at the spot. "Gone?"

Joel let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. He stepped closer, reaching out before he could think better of it, catching the stubborn smear near her jaw. He pressed the cloth there, slow and careful, his fingers grazing along the soft curve of her face.

Leela stilled. His hand lingered.

He could feel the warmth of her skin beneath his fingertips, the faint pulse of her breath. Those parted lips, chapped yet tempting. There wasn't a moment when he was alone that he wasn't thinking about this, why patience and control were just two skank bitches in his life right now.

He pulled back. Cleared his throat. "Gone now."

Leela smiled—soft, effortless, damn near dangerous. Joel exhaled, forcing his focus anywhere but her mouth. That mouth just waiting for his. He was really losing it.

"You uh," he waved vaguely at her, at the whole situation, "you like this kinda stuff?"

She glanced down, playing with the hem of her top, twisting the delicate crochet between her fingers. Then she nodded at him with a carefree smile. Like she really, really had no clue. It was fucking painful now, how she'd truly grown up like a babe in the woods, guileless.

"My mom made a bunch of these for me from an old blanket," she told him, proud. "They're the best."

Joel swallowed hard, rubbing at the back of his neck. Goddamn it. "Yeah. I like 'em, too."

Leela arched a brow, smirking now. "I think you can pull it off."

He narrowed his eyes. "Ha-ha, I forgot how to laugh."

Still grinning, she wiped her hands down on the towel, then reached up and shut the hood with a satisfying clang. She patted it twice, dusting off her palms. "So. Your early birthday present is finally done."

Joel squinted at her. "You're about too many months ahead. And you can't just gift me a damn convertible."

She tapped the hood again, stepping back with that quiet, smug satisfaction he was quickly learning to recognize. "Too late to complain, it's yours. You can take her out for a spin whenever you like. I'll give her a few years until we call it."

He dragged his gaze from her to the car, then back again. Jesus. She really was something else.

He nodded toward her, feeling braver today. "D'you come with the car?"

Leela just laughed, tossing the towel onto the workbench. "More of a solo experience, right? You, the accelerator, and the whole of Jackson."

Joel huffed, shaking his head. He wasn't so sure about that.

And it was nothing, really, this overarching thing between them. That was what he told himself sometimes. It wasn't something they talked about, and gone above board. No you're-mine-I'm-yours-bullshit. It didn't have a name. But they both knew what it was.

Some passing moments. A habit. A reflex. A touch. The first time, she flinched. The second time, she tensed. That was as far as his confidence around her got.

One evening, Leela was in the kitchen, standing at the counter, tying up a bag of flour. A smudge of it dusted the curve of her wrist, stark white against her skin.

Joel had walked in for something—what, he couldn’t even remember now, she just seemed to rob him of sense—but his hand found her shoulder as he passed behind her.

Light. Barely even pressure. Just a touch to let her know he was there, that he was moving past.

His fingers skimmed warm skin, the edge of the bow on that backless top of hers.

She turned, just slightly, just enough that she caught the tail end of his touch as it slipped away.

And this time, she just let it happen. Let him happen. The third time's the charm.

Joel paused. Not for long—just a breath, feeling that rigidness in his muscles, before he kept moving, kept the moment from stretching until she noticed.

It had been months. Months of patient, careful inches. Of her giving just enough room, him taking just enough to not make her pull away. He never let himself ask for more than what she was willing to give, and for a long time, that had been next to nothing.

But lately—lately, it had been more.

A guiding press at her back when they crossed paths in the hall. The little brush of his fingers at her wrist when he handed her Maya. The curve of her waist, the fleeting press of his palm there, when he reached around her in the kitchen. A cheer-up pat on her cheek or gentle ruffle of her hair if she'd been feeling down the whole day. A small goodbye kiss on her forehead before he left for his place, although that had been a fairly recent advancement.

The way she seemed to grow into his touches made him feel like he was finally getting somewhere, like seeing a wound healing from the inside out—gradual and raw.

He turned back to her and watched as she dusted the flour off her hands, fingers dragging down her pants. Her hair was a little messy, a few strands falling loose against her cheek, and she exhaled through her nose, eyes on the counter, murmuring, “Did you need something, Joel? You hungry?”

He blinked. He didn’t, not really. He’d come in here for—hell, he still couldn’t remember. A drink, maybe. Or to check on Maya, who was napping in the other room.

Instead, he was standing here like an idiot, happier than a pig in shit over something as simple as touching her shoulder. And she didn’t even notice.

He cleared his throat. “Nah,” he muttered, eyes flicking away. “Just… came to see you.”

Leela breathed a small laugh. “You're checking my kitchen skills now?”

He huffed, crossing his arms. “More like makin’ sure I don't end up poisoned. Not a great way to go.”

She gasped in mock offence, swiping a bit of flour from the counter and flicking it toward him. Joel stepped back, lips twitching, but not before a dusting of white landed on the front of his shirt.

“Real mature, darlin',” he muttered.

Leela’s smirk deepened, her eyes dragging slow over him, lingering on the flour-streaked fabric. Then, like she meant to do it, she reached out—just a little—and brushed the specks off with the tips of her fingers. Soft. Barely there. Suddenly too aware of the lightest pressure of her touch.

"I promise it's edible," she teased. Then she took a step back, patting her hands together like nothing had happened. "Pecan sandies?"

"Jesus, you're killin' me," he breathed.

Joel shook his head as he forced himself to shift on his feet, to look away, to do something before he forgot how to fucking breathe. He wasn’t gonna make this a thing. Wasn’t gonna linger and make her see whatever was sitting heavy in his chest. But the moment stuck with him anyway.

He didn’t play down the past few months when it came to Leela's maternity either. To how things had changed.

She was different now—maybe not in the big, obvious ways, but in the calm, careful ones. The ones that mattered. She didn’t move like she was bracing for impact anymore, didn’t hesitate before touching Maya, like she was afraid she’d do it wrong or stain her. She held her like she was hers, her greatest effort and creation, and somewhat in love.

She was actually there.

One evening, he came up the stairs after patrol, shoulders aching, boots heavy against the old wood. He was expecting the usual—Maya fussing, Leela humming under her breath as she rocked her warily, quiet and restrained.

But when he reached the nursery, he paused in the doorway. And he listened.

Because, this time, Leela was talking to her daughter. Soft and pensive, her voice weaving through the dim glow of the room, smoothing over the walls like a balm.

Joel leaned against the frame, arms crossing over his chest, and just took it in.

She was sitting on the floor, legs crossed, back against the crib, holding Maya close. Her little fingers were curled into the fabric of her mother's top, dark curls sticking to her forehead.

Leela didn’t even notice him there.

“...I’m from,” he heard her halfway murmur, her thumb brushing absently along Maya’s back, “we had this beach.”

He’d never heard her talk about where she was from before. It was like he was piecing together a puzzle, filling in the blanks she’d never given him before.

“I don’t remember much,” she continued, almost to herself. “I was too young. But I remember the water. The smell of it. How the sand stuck to my skin. The tiny crabs.”

Maya yawned, pressing her face against Leela’s shoulder.

“I used to find seashells every time I went,” she went on, voice dropping to something almost fond. “And I’d poke a hole through them, string them together, and make these necklaces. Tourists used to buy them off me—sometimes for more than they were worth. Ten dirhams, twenty for some.” A small smile played at the edge of her lips. “I thought I was a genius.”

Joel swallowed.

This—this was new. Something she had never shared before.

He could almost see it. The version of her that existed back then, back before she'd come into this home of hers. A little girl on the shore, knees in the sand, sifting through bits of broken shells and sea glass, tucking the best ones into her pockets. That was the part that got him.

"I'll make you one someday," she promised, her lips brushing the crown of Maya’s head. "Just for you."

And Joel just stood there, his grip tightening around the doorframe, that satisfaction warm in him, in a way he didn’t have words for.

But then there were the other moments. The hard ones that came to bite the good ones in the ass.

The times when Maya got too fussy, too inconsolable, when the crying turned into something high-pitched and unrelenting, and Leela just froze up.

As if she didn’t know what to do. Or she wasn’t sure she should do anything. That kind of fear wasn’t what practice fixed. Wasn’t something that just went away with time.

So, Joel was always there to take over.

She’d pass Maya off to him, hands shaking just a little, eyes darting away like she was ashamed. Like she hadn’t spent months loving this little girl in the ways that mattered. Like she was resigning herself to failure.

And Joel would sigh, settling the baby against his chest, rocking her instinctively. He pressed a kiss to her temple, rubbing slow, steady circles against her back.

Maya would calm and Leela would turn away, busying herself elsewhere, relieving her tension with calming breaths.

"You’re doin’ good, mama," Joel would murmur to her, every time, without fail. More than a reassurance, it was a conviction, to remind her that she was still moving forward, right now she'd just hit pause.

Leela let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh, shaking her head. "You don’t have to keep saying that."

"Ain’t sayin’ it just to say it," he triumphed.

Joel didn’t push. Didn’t tell her she was wrong, didn’t try to fix it. Because later—when Maya was calm, warm and sleepy again—Leela would come back.

She always did. And she'd try again.

X

Safe to say, at this very moment, Joel was more than content. He could pass on happy, knowing he'd seen this.

That was a rare thing these days, fleeting, it was best to catch that moment before it was gone. But right now—right here—he was.

The night air was warm, laced with the scent of grilled meat and charred corn, the last remnants of the summer morning fading under a lazy evening breeze, the sound of laughter curling up into the sky. They were all sprawled out on the porch, boots propped on railings, chairs tipped back, the easy lull of conversation moving between them.

Tommy had brought out cold beers for everyone, and Ellie was half a bottle in, already on a roll, spilling some wild gossip about a couple in town at top speed.

Joel sat back in his chair, stretching his legs out in front of him, one ankle crossed over the other. His beer bottle was solid in his palm, condensation slipping down the dark glass.

It was nice, this. Real. Complete.

But, Joel wasn’t really listening to anything. Not with her sitting right there.

Leela had settled a little ways from him, close enough that the light from the porch lamp caught the curve of her shoulder, the way her skin gleamed faintly from the heat of the day. She kept to herself mostly, only chiming in when she needed to, but she was present, body and mind. She was showing up.

A while ago, she wouldn’t have. Would’ve found some excuse, some reason to keep to herself, to slip away before anyone got too close. Now she was right next to him, stealing bites of that spicy sausage off his plate. Tearing a piece apart with her fingers, chewing slowly, licking the oil from her thumb while listening to Ellie.

Without giving it much thought, he reached over, grabbing his plate and leaning forward. He loaded it up—more sausage, a good selection of meats, some of that grilled corn Ellie had raved about earlier—and set it onto her lap.

Leela blinked, looking down, then up at him.

He didn’t bother with anything more, he knew what a single glimpse of that smile would do to him. Just took a sip of his beer.

And for a second—just a second—he let himself think. If things were a little different, if she were more comfortable, if he were more transparent—he’d have her closer. Right up against him, stretched over his lap, arm hanging off his shoulder, laughing with everyone, his palm stroking against the bare skin of her back, brushing lazy kisses wherever he could. Just hose down and be with her. As his.

The thought was so real, that it almost hurt.

So, he pushed that away to focus on Ellie, leaning against the porch railing, who was already mid-story, voice high with amusement. “I’m serious, this guy’s been sneaking out past curfew every single night, and you won’t believe who he’s been meeting—”

“Y'know,” Tommy cut in, tipping his beer toward her, “for someone who breaks curfew at least once a week, you sure got a lot to say about other people doin' it.”

Ellie ignored him. “Anyway, rumour is, he’s been—”

He let her trail off in the background, his attention pulled elsewhere. His eyes were on Maya, who had flat-out refused to stay in anyone’s lap for more than a minute.

The moment they sat down to eat, she’d wriggled free, her little legs determined to carry her across the porch, across the room, across everywhere she could reach. It didn’t seem to matter that she still wobbled on her feet, still stumbled more than she walked. She was going.

Maria chuckled when Maya toddled over to the newspaper stand, babbling the same sound under her breath, gripping the edge before promptly yanking a few pages out. All that curiosity only made her more mischievous.

“Look at her go,” she said, shaking her head. “God, she really is amazing, Leela. I can't believe she’s walking so soon.”

"It's all Joel," Leela deflected easily, waving a hand. "He's been with her all along."

Joel nudged her ankle with his foot, light but firm.

Leela glanced at him, and he shot her a look. There she goes again. Diminishing herself. Like she hadn’t spent these few months, killing herself trying, rocking that girl to sleep, teaching her how to eat with her tiny fingers, soothing every cry, every nightmare.

Joel knew. So he gave her a look that said as much.

Leela rolled her eyes at him, but he caught the twitch of a smile at the corner of her lips before she turned away.

Across the porch, Tommy wiggled his fingers from his chair. “C’mere, sweetheart. Wanna come to Uncle Tommy?”

Maya, still clutching a crumpled newspaper, gave him that big, gummy grin, hands flapping excitedly as she stumbled forward, her legs moving before the rest of her could catch up. All excitement and cute, pink booties that Joel had picked out for her tonight.

Tommy caught her easily, scooping her up with one arm and blowing a loud raspberry against her belly. Her laughter rang out, bright and breathless, tiny hands grasping at his beard.

Maria leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs out in front of her. “You know, she’s gonna start running soon.”

Tommy groaned dramatically, still holding Maya on her hip. She squealed, wriggling against his hold. “Don’t say that, darlin', please. Let me enjoy this wobbly stage before I gotta see Joel huffin’ and puffin’ after her down the street.”

Maria smirked. “Might be good for him. He could use the exercise.”

Joel narrowed his eyes at her, pointing the mouth of his bottle at her. “You wanna say that again, ma'am?”

She threw up her hands, grinning, and mimed zipping her mouth.

Ellie, who had been leaning against the railing, picked at a splinter in the wood before glancing up with a smirk. “Yeah, keep complaining, but Maya’s got more stamina than you fogeys already.”

Tommy scoffed, bouncing Maya once to make her giggle. “I know how much trouble you were, and you were already, what, fourteen when we met you?”

Ellie gasped, clutching her chest dramatically. “I am a constant fuckin' delight.”

Maria snorted, shaking her head. “Mhm. A regular ray of sunshine.”

Ellie pointed at Maya. “She gets it. Baby girl's a menace already, I can tell. Future troublemaker in the making.”

Maya, as if proving Ellie’s point, grabbed a fistful of Tommy’s beard and yanked. Tommy let out a strangled noise, drawing out a laugh from everyone.

Joel just sat back, taking it all in. Yeah. This was good. That warmth. The one that came with nights like this. Family. A strange, messy, complicated kind of family. It was the end of the world anyway, even simple was difficult.

When Tommy abruptly stood up, Joel clocked it instantly.

The movement was purposeful, a hasty departure. Tommy adjusted Maya against his hip, bouncing her lightly as she tugged at his collar. But it wasn’t just him standing—it was why. He was obviously staying out of this; smart man.

Joel’s stiffened. Something was coming. Going to happen.

“You need a change, baby girl?” Tommy muttered, though his voice was casual. Too casual. He rubbed at Maya’s back, kissed the top of her dark curls, and then turned toward the house.

No one questioned it. And that was the part that put Joel even more on edge.

Ellie slid into Tommy’s empty seat, dragging her bottle with her. Maria reached over to rub aimless, soothing circles on her back, her expression set, unreadable.

Joel’s grip tightened around his beer. “Alright,” he muttered. “What?”

Maria exhaled. Slow. Then came out with it.

“The distillation system at the dam is busted.”

Joel leaned back in his chair, pressing the bottle to his lips. He took a slow, deliberate sip, letting the words settle, pretending he gave a damn about the cold burn of the beer down his throat.

Maria kept going. “Overheating. Something’s jammed up real bad, and we’re looking at maybe two weeks’ worth of fresh water before we run dry.”

Joel lowered his bottle, exhaling sharply through his nose.

“And?” he asked flatly.

Maria’s gaze flicked to Leela. Leela—who hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken, too intent on learning about this issue.

“This is her expertise,” Joel continued, waving a hand. “Get her over there, let her fix it. Problem solved.”

And sure enough, Leela was already straightening up, nodding, looking like she was ready to knuckle down and get to it.

But Maria wasn’t done.

She shifted. “It’s bad,” she admitted. “But—”

Joel set his beer down. There was always a ‘but.’

Maria glanced at Leela again. “That new system you mapped out a while back, the one we didn’t put into place ‘cause of the lightning battery project—”

Joel sighed, rubbing a hand over his jaw. He knew where this was going.

Maria looked at him now. Directly. She was shooting this point blank. “We need new parts,” she said. “And no one knows exactly what we need except for you.”

And there it was. The fucking catch.

Joel went completely still. Maria wasn’t asking him anything. She was telling him. And she knew exactly how he was going to react.

Ellie was the first to break the silence. “Yeah, no. That’s a stupid idea.”

Maria turned to her, brows lifting. “Is it?”

“I’m serious.” Ellie sat forward in her chair. “You want her to go out there? For what—some metal scraps? Jesse and I took down a bloater—a fucking bloater, Maria—five days ago, not too far from the lookout point. Jesus, we'll figure something out.”

“Ellie.” Joel’s voice was quiet, but firm.

Ellie clamped her mouth shut, eyes darting to him. But she waited a moment before she went on anyway.

“Then get the list of shit you need and send someone else over,” Ellie snapped. “Me and Joel and someone who—”

“There isn't anyone else,” Maria cut in.

Ellie’s mouth opened again, ready to strike. Then shut. Quietly looked away, jaw tight, seething.

Joel exhaled, finally moving from his stiff stance, elbows on his knees. He stared at the ground. At the dark wooden planks beneath his boots. His thoughts twisted, tangled. He knew one thing. He didn’t like this at all.

Maria sighed, rubbing her temple. “I get it. I do. But we don’t have time to waste. We need this up and running, and no one here has Leela’s knowledge.”

Leela finally spoke. “I'll do it. I can do it.”

That was the last straw. Joel snapped.

He pushed up from his chair, the scrape of his boot loud against the porch floor.

Everyone turned.

He ignored them, muttering, “Need a goddamn drink,” and turned for the house.

The screen door creaked as he pushed through, but he barely heard it slam over the pounding in his ears.

He knew himself. Knew his temper, knew the way it burned low and controlled until it wasn’t—until it came bursting out in a way that never did anyone any good. Knew what he was capable of when it came to this. When it came to her.

So he walked. Put distance between himself and the porch, between Maria’s careful wording, Tommy’s orchestrated retreat, Ellie’s immediate reaction, and Leela’s quiet resolve.

Because he knew exactly what the hell this meant. And he didn’t fucking like it.

"Joel, c'mon!" Ellie tried to call out to him. He wasn't ready for that just yet.

Inside, the house was dim, lantern lights flickering against the walls. The voices from the porch dulled to a murmur, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the words already hammering in his skull.

Joel barely registered Tommy leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching him like he’d expected this. Maya was at the coffee table amusing herself, small fingers pushing at a coaster, flipping it up, letting it fall.

Joel blew out a breath, stalked toward the shelf he'd frequented too many times, and grabbed the bottle.

Tommy's speech was coming, he could feel it. But he was in no mood to hear it.

“Joel—”

“No,” he cut in sharply. He yanked out the cork with his teeth and poured himself a glass. “You don’t get to stand there actin’ like this makes sense.”

Tommy sighed. “It does make sense. You just don’t wanna hear it.”

Joel scoffed, shaking his head. “You hear yourself? You really think this is a good idea?”

“We can handle it.”

“We—she’s got a kid. A baby.”

Tommy’s jaw tightened. “She’s survived on her own for years, man. She knows what she’s going up against.”

Joel slammed the bottle onto the counter. Maya who had wandered over from surface to surface, stood by Tommy's leg now, fist in her mouth, staring up at Joel. His anger faltered for a moment.

“You know that doesn't mean shit,” he whispered instead.

Tommy’s lips pressed into a line, like he wanted to say more, but he held back.

Joel let out a slow breath, shaking his head. “You were standin’ right there,” he muttered. “You heard her. She just up and agreed, no fuss. Like she doesn’t have somethin’ to lose. Fucking pisses me off.”

Tommy exhaled sharply, stepping away from the doorframe, closer. “And what—you think you’re the only one who gives a damn about that?”

Joel’s hand curled around his glass, grip tightening.

Tommy watched him, voice dropping lower. “I get it. You’re scared.”

Joel laughed—sharp, humourless. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

Tommy shook his head, rubbing a hand down his face. “She ain’t a prisoner, brother. You can’t keep her locked up just ‘cause it makes you feel better. She's contributing, and I appreciate it.”

Joel clenched his jaw, looking away, looking anywhere but at his sly fucking brother. He wasn't keeping her locked up. She's free to roam about Jackson to all her heart's content. Anywhere outside those gates was death.

Tommy let out a short breath. “One day, Joel. That’s all it is. A quick trip, in and out. Not even too far. Colten Bay, where the cars are at. We get the parts, we get out.” He pointed between them. “If anyone can pull this off safely, it's the two of us.”

Joel swallowed down a mouthful of whiskey, felt the burn tear through his chest, but it didn’t do a damn thing to loosen the tension gripping him. His first drink in weeks, so really—Maria and Tommy can burn in hell.

He didn’t fucking care that it was one day. Didn’t care that Maria had spun it like a need instead of a gamble. Didn’t care that everyone in Jackson seemed to forget that time had nothing to do with luck. That all it took was one second, one wrong move, one stray bullet, one clicker—

Joel’s fingers curled around the glass, his grip too tight, his knuckles white.

Tommy glanced toward the window while bending down to pick up Maya, and Joel’s eyes flicked there without thinking.

Leela was still on the porch, still sitting in that chair, but she wasn’t listening to Maria anymore.

She was watching him.

Her gaze was indistinct. She wasn’t pissed. Wasn’t waiting for him to come back out and start swinging words at her. He knew she was trying to figure him out, trying to make sense of the way he’d walked out, the way he always did when something didn’t sit right in his chest.

Joel turned away first, the whiskey still burning at the back of his throat.

Nothing fucking mattered. What mattered was that it was her, facing this head-on.

And he wasn’t convinced of a goddamn thing.

X

Joel and Leela walked on home in silence, and it wasn't the good kind.

The wind had died down some, the night settling thick and warm over Jackson. It was quiet this time of night—just the occasional rustling of leaves, and the distant bark of a dog.

Maya waddled ahead of them on the road, booted feet scuffing the pavement, hands out like she was steadying herself on air. She still stumbled, still tottered every few steps, but she always caught herself. Every so often, she’d stop short, crouch down with intense concentration, and pluck some tiny thing from the asphalt—a loose button, a round pebble, a twig stripped bare. Each discovery was met with a moment of serious inspection before she turned to Leela, holding out her closed fist.

Leela didn't rush her. She crouched every time, let Maya show her whatever treasure she found, murmured little words of encouragement as she carefully tucked them away in her fists.

Joel watched them, hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets.

Maya was still tireless, determined to walk herself out, and they let her. Better she exhausted herself and slept without waking through the night.

Joel let the silence hang between them a while longer, turning over the conversation from earlier, rolling it like a stone in his palm. It sat uneasy in his gut.

He hadn’t said a thing since she told them all. Since she made it clear that she was going on that supply run, no matter what he thought about it.

And maybe that was the problem. Maybe that was what had him feeling like his ribs were closing in on him, like he had no way out anymore.

Because she wasn’t asking. She wasn’t waiting for his approval, for his permission, for the fight he was expecting. She had made up her mind, and all he could do was either accept it or lose his goddamn mind over it.

Joel let out a slow breath through his nose, rubbing a hand along his neck. His gaze flicked to Leela, who walked beside him now, letting Maya waddle ahead, her little hands clutching another button and a leaf—all prizes from her slow road exploration.

He envied her, in a way. The simplicity of Maya. The way her world was still so small, so safe. She didn’t know what was waiting beyond Jackson’s gates. Didn’t know about the things that hunted in the dark. Didn’t know what it was like to lose the people you loved. Not just yet.

The silence stretched between them as they reached the end of the street. It wasn’t tense, not really, but there was something unspoken lingering between them, thick as the humid summer air around them. Maybe Leela thought he’d just walk away, and head back to his own place without another word. Hell, maybe he thought he would too.

But his feet didn’t turn.

Instead, he followed her up the steps of her house, moving in quiet tandem with her. The porch light flickered faintly above them, casting long shadows, and softening the sharp edges of the night.

Leela reached for the doorknob, hesitating for just a second, as if half-expecting him to stop. Then, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye—surprise flickered there, barely a spark before she smothered it, burying it deep where he wouldn’t see.

She didn’t ask why he was still here. Didn’t call him on it. Like she’d already made peace with the idea that he’d walk away. That he always did when things got too tangled in his head. When he got too pissed to think straight.

“Joel,” she tried anyway, quiet. Not pushing. Not pleading. Just saying his name, like she needed to acknowledge him still standing beside her.

He shook his head. Stepped inside after her. “We'll talk after, darlin'.”

Their playful baby girl was still awake, cradled in her mama's arms now, her chubby fingers curled around something—studying it with immense curiosity. Then she turned them up to him, holding out her tiny hand.

Joel exhaled, the tension in his shoulders easing just slightly as he knelt beside her. “Oh, for me? Thank you.”

She blinked up at him, solemn for half a second before breaking into a slow, gummy smile. He kissed her fingers, then pried the object from her grasp—a small, worn button, edges fraying. It's wonder how it hadn't found its way into her mouth. He pocketed it anyway.

“I want these though,” he murmured, touching the soft curls on her head before pressing another kiss to her hand.

Maya stared at him, absorbing his words with the kind of gravity only babies seemed to have. Then, consciously, she put a hand to her eyes and dragged it down in a peekaboo motion—an awkward, uncoordinated version of what Leela had been working on with her.

Joel huffed out a quiet laugh, repeating her motion with his own hand and eyes. “Yeah, sleep time. G'night, sweetheart.”

She grinned like she understood, letting her head flop to the side, little fingers curling into the skin on her mother's neck.

Joel lingered for a moment longer, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest, before finally straightening. Leela had already stepped away, slipping upstairs without another word. Not dismissing him—just giving him space. Maybe testing whether he’d still be here when she came back down.

He needed to get his head straight before that happened. The whiskey was settling in now, thickening his thoughts, and making everything feel heavier. He strolled into the kitchen, grabbed a glass, swallowed it down in slow gulps, and let his fingers rest against the cool rim of the sink. Tried to clear the haze.

His mind wouldn’t fucking settle.

He considered every possible thing that could go wrong once she stepped outside Jackson. About how exposed she’d be. About what she didn’t know, what she hadn’t prepared for. Or had she?

He glanced at the lights in the room. Did she even own a flashlight? A pack? His gaze shifted toward the shoe cupboard. Sturdy boots? Maybe she could take his. No, that’d be suicide—his shoes would slow her down. Maybe he could fix something for her, repurpose something—

He ran a hand over his face, pressing his fingers against the slow-forming ache between his brows.

His eyes drifted to the farthest end of the living room, past the record player and fireplace, where she kept the rifles on display. Two out of three hooks were filled. Good rifles. Sturdy make. Definitely not the US. The stocks had rough engravings on them—one, the bigger one, had a cowboy hat carved into it. The other, smaller but similar to the one he took on patrol, had a sunflower.

Joel never asked if he could try the big one. Never asked why she had them. He wasn’t sure if it was respect or something else holding him back.

Joel heard her before he saw her.

Soft footsteps against the wooden floor, hesitant but not uncertain. He didn’t turn. Kept his eyes on the empty space on the wall where the third rifle should’ve been.

“Hey,” he called to her. “Where’d the other one go?”

A pause. “Oh, um.”

The hesitation made him glance over his shoulder, just in time to catch the way her expression flickered—quick, close to distress—before she forced it smooth.

“I lost it. A while ago.”

Joel didn’t say anything. She was good at keeping her face unreadable when she wanted to be. Too good. But her hands gave her away—fingers twitching at her sides, body shifting like she was bracing for something. For him to push.

Instead, he turned fully, giving her a long, quiet look. “So you can use one?”

Leela lifted a shoulder in that casual way of hers. “You just aim and pull the trigger.”

Jesus Christ. Joel exhaled sharply through his nose. “More to it than that.”

That finally got a reaction. Not much, but he saw it—the way her back straightened, the way her gaze flickered toward the rifle hooks like she wasn’t sure if she should be embarrassed or pissed off.

Joel dragged a hand down his face, his patience thinning. The irritation burning in his chest wasn’t at her. Not really. It was the world that had left her this unprepared. At whoever had let her believe that knowing how to run was the same as knowing how to survive.

And then, softly—like she could hear every damn thing rattling around in his head—Leela said, “You don’t have to worry about me, Joel.”

His jaw locked. His hands curled into fists at his sides. That was easy for her to say.

“That right?” His voice was low, edged like a knife. “I don’t have to worry?” He let out a short, humourless laugh, shaking his head. “The hell kinda thing is that to say?”

Leela sighed, not looking away. “Because Tommy’s right,” she said simply. “I do know how to take care of myself.”

Joel scoffed, glancing away like that might help settle the heat crawling under his skin. “That ain’t the goddamn point.”

“I’ve been alone for years before you or Maya.” Her voice was calm, matter-of-fact. “You think I don’t know how to get out of a bad situation?” She shook her head, lips pressing together. “I know when to run. I know when to escape. I know how to survive.”

Joel clenched his teeth. His voice came rough, gravelly. “That doesn’t mean you should have to.”

“I won’t have to.”

Joel let out a sharp breath, shaking his head. “See, now you’re just tryin’ my patience—”

Leela scoffed. “And you’re not trying mine?”

His jaw ticked. She had that look again—stubborn, set in her ways. Like she’d already decided she was right and he was wrong. That this was just some argument she could win if she dug her heels in deep enough.

Joel felt his pulse in his temples. He took a slow breath, working to unclench his fists. “Darlin'—”

“No, I get it.” She threw up a hand, a sharpness flashing in her eyes. “You don’t trust me to handle myself.”

Joel’s stomach twisted. That wasn’t it. That wasn’t it.

“This ain’t about trust or confidence,” he bit out. “It’s about common damn sense. You head out there thinking it’s just about knowing when to run, you’re gonna wind up dead.”

Leela flinched—barely. But he saw it.

“Yeah, that scared you already?” he goaded.

She blinked, and her expression flickered for the first time in the conversation. It wasn’t much. Just a shift—like his words had hit somewhere deep.

His pulse pounded in his ears, and the heat of it was too much. He couldn’t breathe around it.

She didn’t get it. Didn’t get that he had to worry about her. The fact that he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about her. How it pissed him the fuck off that she was moving through the world like she didn’t expect anyone to look out for her.

Look, he’d seen what happens to people who think they know how to survive—people who get cocky, get comfortable, get trigger-happy and think they can handle the world outside these walls.

And then they don’t come back. Then they end up dead. Or worse.

He could still remember it so clearly. The way she’d disappeared inside herself after—days, maybe weeks, of silence.

She’d been hollow back then. Like someone had cracked her open and scooped out everything that made her her, leaving behind this void of a person. And even now—months later—she still shrank sometimes. Still tensed when someone moved too fast. Still got too deep in her own head, lost in the shadows of what had been done to her.

And now she wanted to act like she knew better than him? Like she could handle herself just fine? Like she could walk out there and face the world, and all its horrors? No fucking way.

Before he could stop himself before he could shove it back down where it belonged—

“Exactly,” His voice was low, rough. “I bet you didn't give that much thought the last time you stepped outta Jackson. Everything went just fine, ain't it?”

The second the words left his mouth, he felt them hit. Joel desperately wanted to take them back.

Leela didn’t move or even breathe. And for a second—one terrible, drawn-out second—Joel thought maybe she hadn’t heard him right. Maybe it hadn’t landed the way it shouldn’t have. Maybe she understood where he was coming from.

Then he saw it.

Saw the way her eyes widened—just a fraction—before she caught herself. The way her throat bobbed like she was swallowing down something jagged, that wouldn't go down. The way her fingers curled around her elbows, gripping tight, too tight.

She looked—

No.

Fuck.

She looked like she’d just been struck across the face.

Joel felt his stomach drop out from under him, cold and fast. His hands twitched uselessly at his sides.

He opened his mouth—to say what? What the hell was he supposed to say? That he hadn’t meant it? That it had just slipped? That it wasn’t meant to come out like that? That he loved her too much to see her turned into one of those monsters? That he'd have to be the one to end her life?

None of it would matter. The damage was done.

Leela blinked—slow, making sense of what he'd said in her head, like she was trying to reset herself, to push it all down before it could spill over.

Then, wordlessly, she took a step back.

It wasn’t a flinch. Just one slow, careful step, like she was putting distance between herself and a flame.

His throat felt tight, but he forced out, “Leela, I—”

Her dark eyes lifted to his, and whatever he was about to say—whatever useless, pathetic attempt he had at making this right—died in his throat.

He saw it then. The hurt rising inside her like a tide, like something too big for her body to hold. She fought to keep it contained, to keep herself from drowning in it.

She had spent months clawing her way back from the wreckage. Months forcing herself to breathe when breathing hurt. He had seen her battle it every goddamn day—watched her press forward even when it would’ve been easier to crumble.

And now—now—he had gone and ripped her right back to the place she had fought so fucking hard to escape.

The realization made him sick. His stomach twisted, bile burning at the back of his throat.

He took a step toward her, hands aching to reach out—he didn’t even know for what—but she moved first.

Another step back. Fear or hesitance would've been better. No, she was just done.

His chest caved in.

She pulled in a breath, slow and shaking, and turned away.

No words. No parting shot. And for the first time in a long time, Joel felt that patched-up thing inside him splinter once more.

He lingered, just long enough to watch her shoulders tense, just long enough to see the way she folded her arms around herself like she had to physically hold herself together, pressing the heel of her palm to her forehead.

Then he swallowed hard, fisted his useless hands at his sides, and turned for the door. He knew when he wasn't needed. Even if he wanted to stand there and fight, he knew he'd only make it worse.

And this time, she didn’t stop him, or even look his way. Like he wasn’t worth looking at anymore.

And that—more than anything—was what finally did him in.

X

Joel had gone over that conversation a hundred times that night. Maybe more. All the would've, could've, should've.

He rewound it. Paused it. Picked it apart with brutal precision, replaying every word, every pause, every flex in her expression, every goddamn moment where he could have said something else. Done something else.

He thought of all the ways he could’ve worked around it. How he could’ve found a way to talk her down without tearing her apart. How he could’ve swallowed his damn pride, fought back his temper, and let the moment pass instead of driving a blade straight through it.

That failure pressed into his chest like a dull, grinding ache. A constant, gnawing thing that wouldn't leave him alone. He could still see her face—see the way she’d gone still, like all the fight had been ripped out of her. See the way her fingers had curled, clinging to herself like he was something she needed to guard against.

And now—he was lying awake, staring at the ceiling, feeling like his own body was too goddamn tight around him.

Had he lost them both in less than a few words out of his angry skull?

The thought twisted inside him, sharp and ugly, sending him rolling onto his side, then onto his back again, unable to settle. He clenched his fists into the blanket and breathed through his nose. It was a mistake. A bad one.

But mistakes could be fixed.

By the time dawn started bleeding through the cracks in his window, he was already up. Already moving, feeling like a goddamn pushover despite the gnawing panic chewing at his gut.

He had ten different ways to apologize. A dozen ways to make it right. All those months—those careful, fragile months he’d spent trying to earn his place in her life—those hadn’t just disappeared overnight. Right? She had to know he hadn’t meant it. She had to know why he said it. She had to know that he—

All of them crumpled into nothing the second he clicked the handle of her door.

Locked.

His gut went cold, his hand flexing against the handle before he tried again. Tighter. Harder.

Still locked.

That was his first red light, and his pulse picked up.

He knocked once. Twice. No, she wasn't shutting him out like this. Then again, louder, the heel of his hand landing flat against the wood.

"Fuck!"

Silence. A silence that stretched too long and felt wrong. His pulse kicked up, a slow, insidious dread creeping under his skin.

He stepped back, his gaze flicking across the windows—the kitchen, dark. The living room, empty. His eyes dragged toward the nursery window on the far right-hand side—nothing.

No shadow shifting behind the curtain. No rustling, no sound—not even Maya.

The sick feeling in his gut twisted tighter.

He exhaled, a sharp, uneven thing, running a hand down the corners of his mouth. Think, dammit. Think.

She could be out. Could be at Tommy and Maria’s. Could be at the stables, or the gardens, or anywhere but here. Really early in the morning. Where—where—where—

His breath came shallow. His hands flexed at his sides. And then, like a slow, sick unravelling, the realization started to set in.

No, that wasn’t it.

It wasn’t just the locked door. It wasn’t just the empty house.

It was the details. The little things he hadn’t noticed before. The way the street was too still. The way the morning air carried no trace of her scent—woodsmoke and something soft, something clean. The way Maya’s cries hadn’t woken him up at the crack of dawn.

Because she was gone.

Because she’d already left.

With Tommy. Or Ellie. Or Maria. Sometime in the morning.

"Shit," he hissed.

And Joel was too fucking late.

His heart lurched as he broke into a sprint, boots pounding against the dirt road as he raced toward the stables. His breath came rough, shallow, burning his throat, but he didn’t slow.

Didn’t stop. He just couldn't.

Not when he already felt the loss clawing its way under his skin, tightening in his ribs, wrapping around his throat. He could picture, her, out there, alone with Tommy. He should be there, no matter how much she despised him at that moment.

This fucking girl. Stupid, dumb, impulsive girl. So what if she could fix everything, so what if she could solve Jackson's every problem? What about her? What was he then, chopped liver? What the fuck was he here for?

He shoved through the stables, pushing past a startled ranch hand, heading straight for the gun rack. His fingers curled around the first rifle in reach, yanking it loose with a sharp tug.

“Joel, Maria said—” Someone stepped forward, half a warning, half a question, but he wasn’t listening.

He held up a cautionary hand. “Son. Don't.”

And that was enough for him to back the hell away.

Joel's body moved on instinct. A force of will, of desperation, of that something clawing at the edges of his sanity, telling him to get the fuck on.

He threw himself onto the saddle, boots slamming hard into the stirrups, hands locking around the reins with a grip tight enough to turn his knuckles white. The horse beneath him shifted, sensing his urgency, muscles coiling beneath its hide. He yanked the reins, heels pressing in.

The gate loomed ahead.

"Open the goddamn gate," he barked.

No hesitation. No arguments. Damn straight. The heavy doors groaned, splitting apart just wide enough—and he was gone.

Bolting through, dirt and gravel kicking up in his wake, muggy wind cutting against his face. His pulse was hammering, his breath sharp, ragged. Riding like hell itself was behind him.

Out for her.

X

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[angelackless]

LOVER

Joaquin Torres x Stark!reader

"YOU KNOW WHAT,SAM?I CHANGED MY MIND" JOAQUIN STOPPED IN FRONT OF THE TOWER.

"what do you mean you changed your mind?I got you a date with the girl you wouldn't shut up about for months now" Sam stopped to look at him "you can't do this man, she was so excited!"

"she was?" Joaquin asked, his voice filled with hope

"she was, when I told her about you she really seemed interested, and if you bolt right now, Stark gonna beat my ass and then yours when he finds you, and you don't want that,right?"

"I guess no" he shaked his head "alright, i'm just gonna give her this flowers, say she looks pretty and have a fun night with her" Joaquin said, mainly to reassure himself "Yeah, I can do it"

"yes,you can, now get inside pretty boy because I don't want (y/n) to think I pranked her again"

"wait,again?" Joaquin asked as he followed Sam inside the huge tower.

As they arrived at the level where the living room was, he immadetly saw (y/n), and Joaquin felt like he is gonna faint right there, he saw and was with some beautiful woman in his life but, you?hell, he thought he saw a freaking goddess, how the dress that you picked hugged all your curves in all the right places,yeah, he wasn't sure he can keep his hands to himself.I mean, come on, everyone thought (y/n) Stark is gorgeous, and he sure as hell didn't felt ashamed anymore for begging Sam an entire month to set this up.

"Hi, you're Joaquin, right?" you stepped closer to the boy with a kind smile "Sam told me a lot about you"

"only good things I hope" he glanced at Sam for a minute

"just good things" you answered giggling and he had to stop himself from the huge grin that just wanted to appear on his face "really, don't worry, I trust Sam, I know he wouldn't set me up with a bad guy"

"Yeah,yeah, cause i'm not bad, i'm a great great guy" he nodded his head "uhm...you look beautiful by the way, and I got you tulips"

"it's my favorite, thank you" you said as you took the bouquet from him "how did you know?"

"I know a lot of-" then he felt a sharp pain in his side, which was because of Sam elbowing him there "I mean, I asked Sam,yeah, I asked him"

"how about you two get going?the restaurant is not gonna wait for you two all night" Sam interrupted

"Yeah, let's go" Joaquin said and glanced at you "ladies first"

After a thirty minute drive you two arrived at the restaurant, it wasn't that popular nor fancy, which meant the paparazzi wouldn't take pictures of you and your dad, who is on a vacation, won't find out about your date through the internet.

After the waiter led you two to your table, and even got your orders there were a few moment of very very awkward silence, which he decided to break "Sam said that you're in university, what are you studying?"

"Stem" you answered smiling "which is not as cool as your job"

"what?no, don't say that" he shaked his head "I would die in your place, you're much more cooler than me"

"because i'm Tony Stark's daughter?"

"no, because you're you" he answered "you're smart,pretty,you always stand up for what is right,did I mentioned that you're smart? because I think you're incredibly smart" at his words a faint blush appeared on your face accompanied with a giggle

"you barely know me"

"Yeah,well I'm serious about what I said still, besides, I like you"

"you know, I think I like you too, maybe it's weird because we just met, but I feel like i've known you for twenty years" you looked straight into his eyes

"which means I can take you out again?"

"Yeah, you can take me out again" you nodded "but we will go to my place and I cook for us then"

"sounds like a plan" Joaquin winked at you.

[thefreakandthehair]

a steddie fanfiction written for the @eddiemunsonbigbang with art by @kaspurrcat. 20k. rated e.

It’s just a little dive bar down the road from the studio, one where the bartender knows them and always squirrels them away into a darker corner for privacy. The drinks are strong, the music is loud, and the patrons could give a fuck less about the guys stuck at the high top near the bathroom. Sure, it’s not the best seat in the house, nor is it the best bar in town, but it’s removed enough that Eddie never needs to sign an autograph or take a picture. Maybe that’s why the silence feels so comfortable. Or maybe it’s just because it’s silence with Steve. “You know,” Steve starts, breaking the silence and swirling what’s left of his whiskey around the rocks glass in his hand, leaning back as Eddie resists the urge to chase him. “I was thinking about the writer's block… “Mmm,” Eddie hums, silently urging him to continue. “And I’ve heard that sometimes, creative people need a change in scenery to kickstart something new and get the juices like, flowing or whatever.”  “That sounds like something Robin would say,” Eddie grunts into his drink and sits back with a huff. “Because she’s the one who said it,” Steve shrugs. “But I don’t know man, maybe she’s right. Maybe you need to change up your environment for a while. Maybe you could like…” He trails off and Eddie stares, which isn’t a new thing for him by any means. More than once, he’s had to ask Steve to repeat himself because he was too busy staring at his mouth but this time, he stares with purpose. He stares with a purpose because Steve can’t possibly be suggesting what Eddie thinks he’s suggesting.  “Maybe you could go home.”

Or, With Steve at his side, Eddie faces his past to find so much more than inspiration for his next album.

↳ read the rest of country roads (take me home) here on ao3!

[greensagephase]

For Better Or Worse - Part Three

Pairings: CEO!Miguel O'Hara x Female!Reader Summary: After two weeks of no employment, you finally land a job, but it has a catch... Word Count: 8.5k Warnings: use of y/n and y/l/n; family nickname introduced for reader; still no name for your sister (I need to decide on a nickname); some cussing; alcohol consumption; some Spanish, but translations are provided in text; suggestive content, so MDNI; reader is fluent in Spanish; I think that's all? A/N: pls let me know if you'd like to continue to be tagged, or be added to the taglist! Masterlist | Spotify

Two weeks.

It has been two weeks…

Since Gabriel and your sister married.

Since Miguel and you were forced to take pictures together as the groom’s best man and bride’s maid of honor.

Since he found you in the wedding venue’s garden and stood beneath the garden lights alone.

Since Miguel questioned if your bad mood was due to the unsolicited comments from your pesky aunts and the conversation you overheard between Miguel and the wedding guest, who encouraged him to continue on with his bachelor life.

Most importantly, it has been two weeks since you nearly kissed and you later drove off into the night, leaving Miguel in the parking lot, irritated and confused.

Miguel takes a swig from a beer bottle, staring at everything except you. He swallows the liquid, his fingers tightly gripping the cold bottle while everyone chit-chats around him, completely unaware of his thoughts.

He scowls to himself as he takes another drink. These damn thoughts.

Damn you.

You drove off without a care.

It was a mistake, you said.

Mistakes do happen when under the influence, that is possible, but if it was a near mistake, then why does Miguel keep thinking about it? Why has the thought plagued his mind every single day since that night?

Miguel doesn’t know and that’s what pisses him off. “Mierda [shit],” Miguel mutters under his breath, his gaze flicking to you unwillingly. He spots you about thirty feet from him, sitting with your sister. Ever since you arrived to the small family gathering both sets of parents arranged for the newly married couple, who are back from their honeymoon, you’ve kept your distance and avoided him, but then again, that’s not new, is it? The thing is, you haven’t even spared him a glance. It’s as if he’s invisible to you alone. Realizing he’s still staring, Miguel finally tears his gaze away from you, upset with himself.

Miguel hasn’t seen you since the wedding night, but he’d be lying if he said that you haven’t crossed his mind over the last two weeks. Maybe a little too much, to his dismay. He’s been busy with work, as always, trying to find an assistant, a task that has proven to be rather a nightmare. You’d think that Nueva York would have a plethora of individuals more than qualified for the job, but it turns out that that task is much harder than he thought. It’s been bad candidate after bad candidate. Despite his busy schedule, Miguel has found himself thinking about you at random times, such as in the small pockets of free time at work and late at night when he should be sleeping.

Your face pops up in his mind, staring back at him with so much defiance. He sees your eyes with your defiance in them, framed by lovely eyelashes. There’s your lips, the type a man could easily lose himself in every night. He’s even recalled your scent, as if it’s printed into his very mind like a memory. Can he be blamed, though? You have the type of scent that will mess with a man’s head.

Miguel wills those thoughts away now, much like he has every time you’ve walked into his mind as if you own the space. You’re a vision; a seed that demands to take root and make a home in his head, but Miguel refuses to give you that satisfaction, even if you’re not aware of what you’ve done.

Taking another drink, Miguel’s cheeks flush when he recalls a specific moment on the wedding night. His grip on the bottle tightens as he remembers your defiant and bratty attitude, how it led to the thought of bending you over his knee and spanking you to tame that fiery attitude. He wondered then, would you continue with your attitude, or would you give another reaction?

Stupid alcohol, Miguel thinks to himself. Maybe he did drink too much that night, and maybe he’s not doing himself a favor by thinking about such things while drinking yet again, and especially not when you’re sitting thirty feet away from him with your respective families in the perimeter.

Unable to stop himself, Miguel gazes at you again. A drink is now in your hand and you’re still talking to your sister quietly, probably catching up.

“Hermano [brother].”

Miguel tears his eyes away from you once more as soon as he hears his younger brother’s voice, not wanting to be caught staring at a person he dislikes. Apparently.

“You seem distracted,” Gabriel comments, taking a seat next to Miguel. “You alright?”

“Yeah… Yeah,” Miguel starts with a sigh, the grip on his beer bottle loosening. “Just work, that’s all.” Miguel reassures his brother, obviously not willing to say anything else. Besides, it’s partly true.

“It’s the weekend, hermano [brother]. Work should be left at work,” Gabriel responds with a grin, placing a hand on his older brother’s broad shoulder. “Try to relax and enjoy your free time ��� time with family and friends, yes?”

“I’m trying, really.”

“Does this have to do with the fact that you haven’t found a personal assistant yet?”

Miguel nods, using that as an excuse. “Yeah, that’s part of it. It’s been tough,” Miguel replies, leaning back. “Every single candidate that’s been interviewed hasn’t met the requirements. You’d think that in such a big city I would’ve already found someone,” he continues with a roll of his eyes, that being true. HR and himself have interviewed candidate after candidate and yet, he remains without a personal assistant. At this rate, Miguel feels like he’ll be without one for another month, or so until the right person finds the job post. Unwillingly, he lifts his gaze towards you, only allowing himself to stare at you for a second or two before giving his attention to Gabriel again.

“I swear, you and Nena are so alike,” Gabriel says with a grin [translates to baby/babe; feminine noun].

“Nena?” Miguel asks, raising an eyebrow with confusion.

“Y/N. That’s her family nickname. Her parents and my wife call her that, and well, now that I’m part of their family, she’s allowed me to call her that, too,” Gabriel happily replies, pleased that he’s been given this privilege, and of course, taking the opportunity to state that he has a wife now, something Miguel very much lacks.

“I see. Nena…” Miguel trails off, thinking about your nickname and the fact that his brother is allowed to call you that. He pushes the thought aside, remembering Gabriel’s words. “I doubt we have anything in common, by the way.”

With a snort, Gabriel grins before it slowly fades. “According to my wife, la Nena has been very busy lately and seems stressed out [the baby]. We think it’s about work,” he continues, referring to himself and your sister.

At that, Miguel’s mind turns back to two weeks ago, but unfortunately, he’s briefly distracted by clips of that night at the garden. He recalls perfectly the way you gazed at him with such boldness, the tone of your voice, lips — it’s like a short movie. Slightly shaking his head, Miguel focuses on the conversation.

You’re stressed out and busy. He recalls, successfully pushing past what his mind wishes to focus on so badly, that you were in a bad mood when he joined you at the garden. He initially assumed that you were upset because of your aunts’ comments and the remarks and suggestion that had been made to him about enjoying his bachelor life and having ‘fun’.

Miguel remembers your words; you didn’t care, you weren’t mad for the reasons he was assuming. With this new information, Miguel silently wonders if you were upset because of work. Staring at you, he questions if it’s just work being work, or if there’s a far more delicate situation that has been unresolved even two weeks later. He tries to remember where you work at, but then again, he’s never been interested to know that information. What for? He dislikes you anyway.

Miguel grunts quietly, turning his attention back to his brother. “Perhaps it’s just work. You know how it gets sometimes,” Miguel finally says, deciding that it’s not his business. He silently wishes you luck with whatever is going on at work, though. “How did you like the hotel? Was everything alright?” Miguel asks, changing the subject to the honeymoon accommodations as an attempt to stop talking about you. He’s thought about you plenty, he doesn’t need to be talking about you now, too.

“Oof, nena, you should’ve seen how beautiful the resort was. The ocean…” your sister continues, eagerly sharing details of her honeymoon, and while it may seem like you’re fully paying attention to her, your thoughts are elsewhere.

Specifically, on that man sitting on the other side of the room. You sigh softly, your sister still going on about her honeymoon, bless her, while you’re distracted thinking about her now brother-in-law, who’s now something to you, too, and not in the way people would assume with your respective siblings’ union.

While your sister was off in her honeymoon, you spent every day looking and applying for jobs. It felt like you were in about a hundred interviews and applied for jobs twice the amount, but to no avail. You ran into obstacles, like a job no longer being available, or actually reaching the interview phase, only to be told that you weren’t what the company was looking for. Your prospects began to feel bleak as the days went on and on. Late at night, you laid on your bed thinking of ways to make your resume more appealing and improve your interview skills, wondering if you were simply rusty, or if your former boss’s promise was true.

He made the promise to make it hard for you to get a job, for every door to close in your face and even though you didn’t want to think about it, his promise seemed to hold truth as the days went on.

On the second week of being unemployed and with your former boss’s promise hanging over your head, you finally decided to consider other jobs, just in case.

“And then — oh my goodness — Gabriel and I went to a museum, and we were able to see…” your sister goes on, oblivious to the turmoil in your mind, to the entire situation of you becoming unemployed just before her wedding.

It was your decision to consider other careers on Tuesday night, just a few days ago, that led to your new and current employment status: employed.

After making a list of jobs to consider, you went down a rabbit hole in obnoxious job boards, filled with both real and fake job posts. It was nearly three in the morning when you decided to search for the last job position you had written on your notepad, that being a personal assistant.

Hours later after falling asleep, you reworded your resume so it would be catered to each position you were applying for. Of course, you got a few rejections right off the bat, but you did your best to remain positive.

It was finally on Wednesday evening that you received an email from a recruiter working in one of the largest companies in the country offering you an interview for the next day if possible. Of course, you accepted and the next day showed up for it.

The great news? You got the job, which you’ll start on Monday, as a personal assistant for some department head.

It was after you accepted the job, however, that you got an itch. Something prompted you to do further research about the company; to learn more than what you had already from the job’s post about the company and its background. To say that you experienced one of the biggest shocks in your life when you read the CEO’s name, which wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the three paragraphs of information in the job post, and saw their picture show up within the results, is an understatement.

You didn’t know there was a catch to your new job, but there is.

The man sitting on the other side of the room with your now brother-in-law — the same man you left standing alone in the wedding venue’s parking lot two weeks ago — is the CEO of said company.

Miguel freaking O’Hara.

After reading his name only about a hundred times to make sure your eyes were not deceiving you and playing a sick, diabolical, and twisted joke on you, you laughed in disbelief and at the irony of it all.

Miguel O’Hara is the CEO of Alchemax and in over forty-eight hours, you’ll be stepping foot in his building to work as a personal assistant to one of his department heads.

How wonderful!

You almost laugh again in disbelief in front of your sister as she continues to talk about her honeymoon, but you hold yourself back.

The thought of withdrawing your acceptance letter crossed your mind once Miguel’s eyes met yours through your laptop’s screen. You’d be lying if you said otherwise, but of course, rationality kicked in and you asked yourself if you’re truly that prideful — prideful enough to decline a job when you’re in no position to do so.

The answer was and continues to be no.

Besides, as you pondered the situation later that night, you realized that the probability of Miguel finding out is low. As CEO, you doubt Miguel even leaves his floor to check on other departments. It’s likely that those directing each department within the company go to him to report, like they’re visiting some tyrannical king demanding tithe from the people in his kingdom.

Okay, maybe that was too dramatic, but you were upset at the turn of events — at your luck.

After convincing yourself that Miguel will never discover your employment at Alchemax because you’ll likely won’t run into him, you came up with a game plan: you’ll work as a personal assistant for a few months before you begin applying for other jobs within your own field.

You figure that in a few months, if your boss’s promise is truly real, the whole thing might blow over by then.

At least, you hope so.

In the meantime, you’ll work at Alchemax and keep a low profile to support yourself until everything is back to normal.

Your plan, however, doesn’t include telling your family any time soon about your work changes. There were plenty of opportunities for you to share the situation with your parents over the last two weeks, but you were unable to do so. Even now, staring at your younger sister, you find the idea difficult. Just thinking about sharing the situation with them, or anyone, really, brings you feelings of discomfort and even shame.

You know your family cares for and loves you, but those feelings still come to you and take you to a negative mindset: What if your family has a seed of doubt regarding your actions, thinking you may have given your former boss a reason for his behavior? You know that’s not possible, but still. Your body freezes at the idea of telling them, or anyone for that matter, about what you experienced. So, for now, you’ll keep that information close to your heart until you’re ready to speak about it.

“That all sounds so lovely,” you answer when your sister finishes talking and stares at you expectantly. You realize you’ve been too distracted, so you refocus on your sister and the conversation, trying to push away everything that’s happened since the wedding. “I’m glad Gabriel and you had a great time.”

“Thank you, nena,” your sister responds with a smile, her eyes watching you with careful attention. “Talk to me?” she asks suddenly. “Something is bothering you.”

“I’ve told you. I’m alright. Just… Tired,” you answer with a sigh, which is not a lie. You’re mentally exhausted from this entire ordeal. “I just need to rest,” you assure your sister to maintain the strong image, as always.

You turn towards Gabriel and Miguel, finding them looking at the two of you. Gabriel gives you a cheeky grin, gesturing with his head towards his now wife before you quickly and subtly glance at Miguel. Your gazes lock for several seconds before you look away and back at your sister. “I think your husband is trying to get your attention,” you point out, which makes your sister giggle like a school girl.

“I don’t think I’ll get used to that any time soon. My husband,” your sister says with a sigh of contentment. With Gabriel in mind, she puts her thoughts and worries about you aside. Thankfully. She pats your arm before standing up. “I’ll be back.”

With a nod, you watch her walk away and meet Gabriel halfway to have a moment straight out of a romcom. You look away to give the couple privacy, but you end up locking gazes with Miguel again, which makes you cuss internally.

Miguel feels the same way. All he was trying to do was look away from the telenovela-worthy moment between the couple, but he ended up meeting your gaze. For some damn reason.

You scowl softly, not at Miguel, but at yourself before standing up and exiting the space in need of a moment to yourself, away from the man who’s now your boss.

Meanwhile, Miguel watches you leave, struggling with the fact that his legs moved by instinct, as if they have a mind of their own and wish to follow you. For what? Miguel doesn’t know. It’s not like he’s going to talk to you about what almost happened two weeks ago. You clearly wanted nothing to do with that. So, Miguel supposes… There’s nothing to talk about. It was alcohol. Period.

Miguel should focus on family and work, and not on that moment during the wedding. Or, about you being stressed out. It’s none of his business.

Still… Miguel watches you leave and silently wonders what’s happening in your life. Is what’s causing you problems now, the same thing that was bothering you two weeks ago? Is it the same thing that was affecting your mood that night, when you told him your world didn’t revolved around him.

It’s the truth, but God, did Miguel wish it did that night.

“¿Hermano [brother]?” Gabriel says.

Mierda [shit]. “¿Que paso [what happened?/what’s up?]?” Miguel answers abruptly, feeling as if his thoughts were on displayed somewhere and he’s been caught.

“Uh… You okay?” Gabriel asks with your sister at his side, both staring at him like he’s grown three heads.

“Yes, I’m fine. Just thinking, that’s all,” Miguel grumbles, standing up. “I’m sorry. I think I need some fresh air. Excuse me.” With that, Miguel walks out. “Fuck,” he mutters once outside, rubbing his eyes. What has gotten into him?

You.

You have defiantly pushed your way into his head and taken residence without his permission. Worst of all… Miguel can’t seem to evict you.

“Focus, Miguel,” he tells himself quietly. “Get a grip, por Dios [for God].” With a heavy sigh, he looks around, still trying to calm himself when his eyes find you in your family’s garden.

Garden.

He swallows, watching you observe the greenery, and wonders why God is testing him by making the two of you run into yet another garden. Yes, he went out the same door you did, but he wasn’t expecting a damn garden out here. Or, rather, he didn’t give himself enough time to think about what would be out here. Miguel steps back, ready to head back inside to avoid any awkwardness and other unwelcome feelings.

Sighing quietly yet again, Miguel shakes his head. He tells himself that now that the wedding is over and that the newlyweds are back from their honeymoon, it’s likely you and him won’t see much of each other. He’ll probably see you in about three months for some dinner, or something of the sorts and by then, Miguel reassures himself, you’ll be out of his mind and he won’t even remember you exist until then.

As the saying goes: out of sight, out of mind.

Right?

With that thought, Miguel quietly steps back inside, unaware of the fact that you’re now working at Alchemax.

_♡_

Typing away at your desk, you glance at the digital clock. It’s nearly lunch time and soon, you’ll be heading out to collect food for your boss.

It’s now Wednesday, meaning you’ve survived at least half of your first week at this new job. You didn’t think it would be too, too hard, but it’s certainly been a bit stressful at times with your boss asking you to bring things to him from establishments and running back. You sigh. At least, Mr. Parker is nice. From what you’ve learned, he’s a happily married man and a father of one, which he showed you photos of on Monday. Tuesday. And earlier, too… When he showed you photos of his daughter’s ‘thinking’ and ‘when she’s about to burp’ faces.

As you gazed at the photos of Mayday, Mr. Parker’s daughter, making the same face, you were reminded of your sister and Gabriel. For some reason, Mr. Parker’s energy for his child seems like something that would match them, too.

The sound of a notification tears your thoughts away from Mr. Parker and his enthusiasm about being a father to a reminder you made earlier. It’s time to go pick up his lunch from a nearby establishment, one of Mr. Parker’s favorites apparently.

You quickly head out without notifying Mr. Parker. He informed you on the first day that you can head out to retrieve what’s needed without notifying him since it’ll simply be a disruption for him. As long as you go to where you need to go and head straight back to the building, you’re good in his eyes.

The walk to the establishment is short, really. It probably takes you longer to reach the building’s lobby from the floor you work on than the walk from the lobby to the restaurant. It’s only your third day, but you’ve already learned that you hate elevator rides in this building, especially during lunch time, when the elevators are stuffed with people heading out to or coming back from lunch, on top of the people who are still clocked in traveling between floors.

It’s not so much the fact that there’s so many people, but more that some people seem to not be aware of the simple concept that is deodorant. That’s when it sucks.

You soon find yourself back in an elevator with Mr. Parker’s food, ready to have your own lunch while he has his. Unlike him, though, you’ve bought your own from home.

You’re not tight on money, but the significant less pay as an assistant means you need to be more careful about your money and besides, you’ve always preferred to bring your own lunch. Less time is wasted walking or driving around to food establishments and of course, in a city this large, there’s always the risk of long waiting times or things of the sort during lunch hour.

As the elevator ascends, you patiently wait, watching other people get on and off every time it stops. It’s all fine until you hear a voice during a stop, but not just any voice.

Miguel’s voice.

Your eyes widen when you take a peek and spot Miguel walking towards the elevator with another man, talking to each other. That’s all you manage to see before you move quickly.

“Sorry — Excuse me,” you awkwardly apologize to a man who’s been on the elevator from God knows what floor before hiding behind him because of his height.

Only a second later, Miguel’s voice reaches your ears, signaling that he’s inside the elevator now.

“The meeting is in an hour,” a man says, who you assume was walking with him just seconds ago.

“I know, I know,” Miguel answers quietly before he sighs, standing in the front. Or, at least you assume so since you’re hiding behind the man. “I truly need an assistant.”

“You still haven’t found one, even after the interviews from yesterday?” the man asks, earning himself a scoff from Miguel.

“No,” Miguel answers. “Still no assistant.”

“No pierdas la esperanza [don’t lose [the] faith]. I’m sure the perfect assistant will soon find their way to you,” the man answers with amusement. “I have a feeling… By the end of the week, there will be a candidate, who’s perfect for the role.”

“Ay, que Dios te escuche [ay, may God hear you],” Miguel replies with a hint of exhaustion. “Porque no puedo continuar así [because I can’t continue like this]. I nearly missed a video conference yesterday. Thankfully, I remembered it, but I definitely need someone to help me with my schedule. Hopefully, someone will occupy the position soon.”

“I’m certain someone will, don’t stress about it,” the man responds.

It’s a bad decision, but you dare take a peek after their short exchange. For a brief second, you gaze at the back of Miguel’s head before he begins to look over his shoulder, as if he senses someone’s gaze.

Of course, you quickly hide again behind the poor man, who’s not even aware of your shenanigans, and barely avoid being caught. With that, you play it safe and stick behind the man, deciding you’ll stay there until you reach your floor, but then…

You look up at the digital screen announcing the floor numbers and remember. Miguel has to be on the top floor of this building, meaning he’ll be the last person to get off the elevator.

The problem is, you need to get off before him and in order to do that, you must walk past him first.

Cursing internally, you look around both subtly and frantically as you try to think of a way to handle this. Here you were, thinking you’d make it through your first week without running into Miguel at all, but you seem to have overlooked the possibility of ending up on the same elevator ride.

The elevator stops, reminding you that you’re halfway to your designated floor and still without a solution. You note some people get off and only two get on. On the next floor, the man in front of you steps forward, making his exit. You immediately move behind a woman, lowering your face as best as possible just in case Miguel decides to glance back again.

The elevator continues to go past floors, heading for yours faster than you’d like. You silently hope that Miguel has business in one of the next few floors and that he’ll get off the elevator, but of course, your luck is not that great because Miguel stays put.

Your nerves increase as the elevator continues to ascend. This is it. You either get off in the next three floors where you’ll meet Mr. Parker with his lunch, or stay on the elevator until it’s just Miguel and you.

Your grip on the lunch bag tightens as the sound of the elevator rings in your ears once more. You straighten your shoulders, ready to walk out when it’s your turn and let whatever needs to happen, happen.

However… Your hope rises again when a delivery man enters the elevator, carrying a large gift basket and bouquet of flowers. He politely states what floor he needs to stop on, that being the next floor and one before yours.

Moving swiftly, you slide next to the delivery man, but on the opposite side of Miguel so you avoid walking directly past him. As soon as the delivery man begins to move when the elevator doors open on his floor, you move in sync with him, using the packages he’s carrying to hide yourself.

As soon as you’re out of the elevator, you dart to the side and walk down a hallway to distance yourself from the elevator. You only stop when you hear the elevator’s doors close and finally glance back, thankfully finding no one else in the lobby.

“Dios [God],” you whisper, sighing in relief. “Too close, too close.” Shaking your head, you head for the stairs to reach your floor, no longer wanting to be in an elevator after that. You silently wonder what’s the probability of that happening again during the few months you plan on working here and realize, it’s too high for your liking.

After successfully delivering lunch to Mr. Parker and having your own lunch, you continue to work. The day continues on with you performing your duties consisting of answering the phone, making and taking coffee to Mr. Parker, replying to emails, and so on.

It's four in the afternoon when you notice Parker step out of his office, adjusting his tie. “Hey, I have a meeting in ten minutes. Can you please make fresh coffee for two?” he asks, glancing at you.

“Of course, I'll have it ready, sir,” you reply, already knowing about the meeting since you have access to the schedule. You just don’t know who it’s with since there’s no such details listed.

“Thank you! I'll be back,” he answers, heading for the restrooms.

You answer one more email before you head to the break room to make the coffee, pondering life as you wait for it to be ready. Once it's done, you pour the coffee into two mugs and gather some napkins, sugar, and cream just in case the other person needs some.

At last, you head to Parker's office, carrying the mugs on a small tray you found laying around the break room. You'll be honest, you didn't expect to be doing this kind of work at this point in your career, but well, here you are. It's not that it's bad or beneath you, but it does bring you some anger. You worked so hard to reach your previous position and all for it to be taken away from you by a disgusting human who can't be faithful to his wife nor keep his hands to himself.

With a sigh, you tell yourself to stop thinking about it, to not let that man ruin your mood. At least, this job seems safe in that you won’t see yourself jobless due to a similar situation. Mr. Parker seems like a good man overall, deeply in love and happy with his family. You also haven’t heard a single negative comment about him from the other employees in this department, unlike your previous job where you had heard negative rumors, so that gives you hope.

When you finally reach Parker's office, you knock quietly to announce yourself before stepping inside. You make yourself as invisible as possible while your boss talks to the other person, who you briefly notice is a man. Still, you maintain your gaze focused on the task at hand, keeping to yourself and not being nosy about who the other person is.

“So, any fun plans for the weekend?” Parker asks the man, whose face is hidden behind some documents.

Once you reach the table, you place the first mug in front of the visitor and proceed to do the same for Mr. Parker. After gathering the thin packets of sugar and little tubs of creamer from the tray, you place them on the desk along with the napkins just as your boss looks up at you to acknowledge you.

“That will be all for now. Thank you, Y/N,” Parker states, politely dismissing you.

“Of course, Mr. Parker,” you answer, picking up the tray to take back with you. As you do so, you lift your gaze unwillingly and feel your heart sink when you meet a pair of all too familiar brown eyes.

Miguel’s.

You stare back, noting a mixture of recognition and bafflement in his eyes before you break out of whatever trance the two of you have fallen into.

“Excuse me,” you state quietly before you hurriedly walk away from the desk, hearing the scrape of a chair behind you.

“Is something wrong, Miguel?” Mr. Parker asks as you exit the office and quickly but quietly closing the door after you.

You lean back on the door, your heart pounding. “Shit,” you mutter to yourself. You didn't make it through the first week without being discovered by Miguel after all. Sighing heavily, you stay there for a few more seconds before pushing yourself off the door and reaching your desk. You attempt to shake off the emotions running through you while checking the digital calendar to see how long this meeting has been scheduled for.

“Thirty minutes,” you mumble, knowing that the meeting can either be cut short or go over by a few minutes. Huffing, you decide to pay extra attention. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to hear their voices grow closer as Parker and Miguel approach the door when the meeting is over. If you do, you can make a quick run for the restroom or the break room and avoid Miguel completely. At least, for today.

So, you keep track of time while doing your job, determined to avoid Miguel for today. As the thirty minutes come close to an end, you decide to go ahead and head to the break room and wait there. About three minutes later, you deem it safe to return to your station, especially when you don’t hear any talking or footsteps. Feeling safe, you walk out of the break room with confidence only to run into something hard, or rather someone.

“Woah! Are you okay?” you hear Parker’s voice, but it’s not him you've ran into.

“I’m sor-” you start, suddenly feeling large and warm hands taking hold of your arms to steady you. Looking up, you continue. ”-rry, I didn’t see you-” you continue, but pause when you realize who you’ve ran into.

Of course. It just had to be him. Miguel. The one person you were trying to avoid.

Meanwhile, Miguel gazes back at you, his eyes narrowing slightly as he continues to hold you.

Coming to your senses, you gently pull away and straighten yourself.

“You alright?” Parker asks again.

“Yes. I’m perfectly fine, thank you,” you answer, avoiding looking at the imposing CEO who’s sending daggers your way.

“You almost missed him,” Parker eagerly says when he hears you’re alright, not knowing that that’s precisely what you were trying to do. “This is our CEO. Meet Miguel O’Hara,” he says with a smile.

“We know ea -” Miguel starts at the same time you give him the most fake smile Miguel has ever seen before you offer a handshake.

“Oh! It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Mr. O’Hara,” you quickly interject with a smile before you introduce yourself — making it seem like you don’t know Miguel at all.

With a subtle frown, Miguel accepts and shakes your hand. He may not show it, but he’s filled with disbelief and something else he can’t pinpoint right now at the fact that you’re pretending not to know him. He can’t help but ask himself if you truly dislike him this much that you’re going so far as to pretend not to know him. “Nice to meet you,” Miguel answers a few seconds later, forcing himself to say those words when in reality, he wants to make it clear that you two are no strangers. He doesn’t, however. Miguel respects your decision, even if it upsets him, for now.

“She’s my new assistant,” Parker announces as Miguel feels you trying to withdraw your hand, which Miguel reluctantly allows. “Only three days on the job and already doing wonderfully!”

“That’s great,” Miguel answers, staring at you with a now blank expression despite everything. He forces himself not to say anything else, or he’ll end up pulling you away with him to his office to get answers. Inhaling sharply, he tears his gaze away from you to face Peter, knowing that if he sticks around for too long, it’ll raise Peter’s suspicions. He already had to make some weird explanation for his reaction from earlier when Miguel realized it was you dropping the coffee off. Peter, rightfully so, questioned once more if everything was alright once you exited the office because it was impossible to miss the way Miguel abruptly stood up, so fast and suddenly his chair scraped the floor.

Miguel ended up composing himself, even though it took everything in him to not follow you, and explained to Peter that he suddenly wondered if he had forgotten about a meeting. Thankfully, his current lack of assistant made his excuse believable and Peter brushed off the incident after that. Now, Miguel clears his throat. “I must get going. I have a call to make. We’ll stay in touch.”

“You got it, boss!” Peter says, totally unaware of the tension between Miguel and you.

Standing silently with your hands clasped in front of you, Miguel turns his gaze to you again. When your eyes meet, you see it clearly. A promise. Miguel will find out what’s happening, one way or another. Today, or tomorrow.

“Good afternoon, miss,” Miguel addresses you, still giving you a blank expression.

“Afternoon, sir,” you answer, causing a muscle in Miguel’s jawline to twitch.

Sir.

You’ve never addressed Miguel as such, and for some damn reason, hearing you call him that stirs something in him, something he quickly pushes aside. He gives you a curt nod before walking away, his steps determined.

“Well, work calls. We still have about half an hour,” Peter says, turning on his heel and heading back to his office.

You follow after Parker, returning to your own desk. However, you dare steal a glance, only to find Miguel at the elevator, waiting for the doors to open. He watches you from a far, a hint of a glare now present on his beautifully sculpted face. Despite your position, you stare back with a blank expression, holding eye contact until the elevator’s doors open.

Almost reluctantly, Miguel enters the surprisingly empty elevator from where he continues to stare at you, standing right in the middle.

Aware of his glare and stance, you’re tempted to wave goodbye out of spite, but quickly remember you can’t afford to be petty or anything of the sort, so you refrain. At last, the doors close with Miguel staring at you until the very last second.

It’s until then, that your figure relaxes and you realize you’ve been holding your breath.

As the elevator ascends to Miguel’s floor, a million thoughts run through his mind.

Mierda [shit].

What the hell is happening? Why are you here?

Miguel runs a hand through his hair, frustrated. Several seconds later, his head snaps up when he truly notes the elevator’s noise that announces each floor, suddenly reminded of something.

He leans back on an elevator wall, almost out of breath when he realizes. You were in the elevator when Fernando, his colleague, and him got on the elevator earlier today after they stopped at one of the other floors when they came back from lunch. He knows that because earlier, he thought himself a fool for thinking you were here in the building. Why?

Because as soon as he entered the elevator and the doors closed, Miguel caught whiff of your perfume. He recognized it, for some reason, and immediately thought of you, of that lovely scent. It nearly made his knees buckle to think you were there, but the rational side of him immediately reminded him that that was impossible — for you to be in the building.

Even after telling himself that, Miguel eventually glanced back. He didn’t know what he was expecting to find; you, standing there with a look of indifference towards him, or one of rebellion. Of course, he didn’t find you and chastised himself for being a fool for thinking you’d be there when you had no business in the Alchemax building, or so he believed.

Now, Miguel connects the dots. You were in the elevator at the same time as him, just feet from him. He recalls a tall gentleman behind Fernando and him, tall enough for someone of your height to hide behind.

“You brat,” Miguel mutters, as he realizes you were the woman that rushed out of the elevator with the delivery man. He found it odd earlier when he noticed that, but he dismissed it as an employee simply being in a rush from their lunch break. It’s clear to him now that you saw him and hid throughout the entire elevator ride until you found an escape, using the delivery man to successfully do so.

You had no plans of letting him discover you, that’s for certain, except you didn’t count on him having a meeting with Peter in his office and not Miguel’s.

Stepping out of the elevator and walking to his office, Miguel reflects on the moment he realized it was you who was dropping the coffee of. His attention was fully on the documents in front of him, but that changed as soon as he heard your name uttered by Peter’s mouth. Unwillingly, he lowered the documents to satisfy his curiosity. Miguel huffs as he enters his office. Yes, his curiosity because he needed to know if it was you, even if a part of his brain was telling him that that was impossible yet again. It had to be someone else with the same name. At least, that’s what Miguel told himself as he lowered the documents to satisfy his need to know.

And then, there you were, standing next to Peter’s desk and holding some tray.

It wasn’t in Miguel’s head and he wasn’t a fool after all.

You were actually there, as if you had left his head to manifest yourself in front of him. When you finally lifted your gaze to his and locked eyes, that only made the moment even more real.

In his office, Miguel paces back and forth out of frustration.

Does your family know? Miguel immediately realizes it’s likely that they don’t. If they did, your sister would’ve told Gabriel, and Gabriel would’ve surely mentioned it to him. Running a hand over his face, Miguel remembers Gabriel mentioned you were busy and stressed out because of work. The thing is, Miguel also recalls Peter’s words from earlier.

He mentioned you were only three days into your job and doing well, which means you were in between jobs at some point over the last week, but if Miguel thinks back to the wedding night and your behavior…

“¿Qué paso [what happened]?” Miguel asks himself, staring out from one of his windows now. “What happened that you’re now here?”

He doesn’t voice it out loud, but he also wonders, heavily, why you pretended not to know him.

That moment floods his mind, inciting that strange feeling he felt when you pretended not to know him again. It’s a bad feeling.

Hurt?

Rejection?

Both?

Miguel shakes his mind. It can’t be any of that because if it were, then that would mean that Miguel was bothered by your actions, and that would mean he cares, or something like that, which he doesn’t.

He doesn’t care at all. He doesn’t care about you. It’s whatever.

And yet…

“Focus,” Miguel mumbles, forcing himself to return to his desk to work, however, he can’t do so successfully. He needs to know what’s going on and he plans on finding out sooner than later. With that in mind, he finally finds a shred of concentration to complete his tasks.

At five o’clock, Miguel shuts everything down and heads down to the first floor. He patiently waits in the lobby, his gaze glued to the elevators to avoid missing you. As he waits, he can’t help but wonder about your previous job. Did something happen? He doesn’t know much, but he does know that your previous job wasn’t that of an assistant and while the job is an honest one, it’s still a drastic change of career, at least in his eyes. The fact that your family doesn’t seem to know either, raises alarms in his head.

Miguel’s thoughts come to a halt when he finally spots you exit an elevator, carrying your purse. He wastes no time and approaches, intercepting your path, which earns himself a glare from you.

“You,” you state simply, forgetting in the moment that Miguel is essentially your boss.

“Me,” Miguel grumbles. “What’s happening?”

“Nothing. Nothing is happening. Goodbye now,” you reply, trying to walk past Miguel, but he has other plans because he takes hold of your arm, firmly yet gently to avoid hurting you. “Hey — let go.”

“Not until you answer my questions,” Miguel continues, holding you. “What are you doing here working at Alchemax, as Peter’s assistant?”

“That’s not your concern,” you answer curtly. “Now, please let go… Sir.”

Sir.

There it is again. That stirring in Miguel. He pushes it away, however, and forces himself to focus on the important fact, which is that you’re working here. He also finds himself unsettled by your tone of respect. It’s not like you’ve ever been blatantly disrespectful towards him, but there’s certainly a shift in your attitude. In seconds, Miguel realizes that you’re aware of your position. You’re holding back with your defiance, keeping yourself respectful because of your positions — his position being one of power and yours of little to none. Miguel swallows at that, his grip loosening. “What happened?” Miguel asks again, less harshly. “Why are you working here?”

“That’s none of your concern,” you answer, giving the same response.

“Please, don’t give me that shit,” Miguel replies, truly trying to get answers.

Staring at him, you sense a far more gentle tone from Miguel, but still, you’re not about to tell him anything. You haven’t even told your family about it. “You’re my employer,” you respond, more collected. “You have no right to ask me those questions. That’s personal.”

Miguel sighs in disappointed when you hit him with that, knowing he can’t push too much. “Personal…”

“Yes, personal. And also, you have no right to mention this to my family,“ you remind him, looking straight at him.

“I see,” Miguel responds, humming. Your statement simply confirms his suspicions; your family doesn’t know.

“Have a great evening… Sir,” you mumble, pulling your arm free from his grip. This time, Miguel releases you.

For the second time, Miguel watches you leave him behind.

_♡_

The next day, you manage your way through the workload. Despite what happened yesterday, you do your best to focus on the duties since you don’t want to lose your job for being distracted. It all goes smoothly until after lunch when Mr. Parker calls you into his office. You walk in, expecting Parker to ask for a coffee or even a tea, however, he shocks you with his words.

“I was just notified that Mr. O’Hara would like to see you,” he says, tapping a finger on his desk.

“I — Yes, sir,” you answer, faltering for a second. With a heavy heart, you return to your desk with a single thought echoing in your head; you’ve been fired.

With that thought in mind, you pick up your purse and grab your few belongings. Certain you’ve been fired, you ride the elevator to Miguel’s floor.

The elevator ride is weird. On one side, it feels like the longest elevator ride and yet, it also feels short because you step out onto the lobby all too soon. With a sigh, you look around to locate Miguel’s office, but you don’t spot it right away since there’s various doors. And to be honest, you’re a bit distracted by the current situation. You’re going to be fired.

A few seconds later, a man comes out of from an office and approaches you with a smile. “Hey, you must be Miss Y/L/N. Mr. O’Hara is waiting for you,” he informs you. “Follow me.”

Following the man, you’re led down a long hallway that screams ‘CEO floor’ before a desk comes into view. It’s placed to the side, just outside a pair of mahogany doors. You note it’s empty, no sign of someone working there, but you quickly clear your thoughts of that. You have far more important things to worry about, like the fact that you’ve been fired and that Miguel has requested you to see you sign some kind of termination paper and rub it on your face.

The man finally opens one of the doors and steps aside, gesturing for you to enter. Once inside, the door closes and you find yourself in one of the most luxurious offices you’ve ever been in. Natural light seeps into the office from ceiling to floor windows. A comfortable-looking couch sits on one side of the room with a coffee table in front of it. Plants, whether artificial or real, decorate and bring life to the space. Bookcases filled with books and some photographs line one wall. In the middle, there’s a large mahogany desk, long enough for an individual to comfortably lay on. A set of chairs are in front of it, for visitors.

Most importantly, the most powerful man in the building sits behind the desk on his throne.

Watching you, Miguel lowers his hand from his face, looking every bit the part of a powerful CEO. “Take a seat.”

Previous Part ♡_♡_♡_♡_♡_♡_♡_♡ Next Part

A/N: Hiii... so it's been *checks last chapter and grimaces* five months since the last update. 😬 I was supposed to update this sooner, but ✨life✨ happens and I also have another Miguel fic that takes much of my writing time bc I be writing 12k--20k-ish word chapters for it (🙂‍↕️iykyk), so I kinda left this fic in the back burner. I also, long story short, took a break from social media for the entirety of January because I felt mentally low.

So... We're here now and I'm glad to have updated this fic, even after months! I'm trying to arrange a writing schedule, so I can rotate between fics successfully and that way I don't leave this fic without updates for so long, so we'll see how that goes!

Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it!

So... what did you guys think about Miguel? 🤭What about la Nena working at Alchemax now? lmk! Ok, another thing... Can you guys drop a nickname idea for Nena's sister? It's chapter 3 and I'm still using 'your sister' 'his wife' sjdkfjkdfjd I was going to call her Lily, but then, there's the issue of a reader potentially coming along and their name being exactly that, so it would ruin the experience for said reader(s). It doesn't have to be in Spanish, so drop any recs below, pls.

p.s. my pooks, @lauraolar14 , has drawn fanart from p1 and some sketches inspired by this current chapter from a two paragraph snippet I share a few days ago (she's always feeding us so well fr). Go check them out and show support to my lovely friend!

Thank you again for reading and for supporting my writing!

Alondra❤️

Quick note about reader's nickname: As stated in the in-text translations, 'nena' translates to 'baby' or 'babe' and can be used as an affectionate nickname without any romance involved (this is literally what my family has been calling me since I was born; my real name is used when I'm in trouble). It's like Baby from Dirty Dancing (the movie; and one of my favs; Patrick Swayze 😩) where she's called that by her family. In Spanish, I'll be using 'la Nena' sometimes because the language calls for me to use 'la' (the), which I know doesn't really make sense in English because in English you wouldn't say, "the Baby is in the office", unlike how in Spanish you'd say, "La Nena esta en la oficina". It would be, "Baby is in the office", but languages! So, I hope no one (non-Spanish speakers) is confused by that.

taglist: @scaleniusrm @sukunash0e @seeeuspaceecowboyyy

@smyfmj @prozacgooble @t4naiis @deputy-videogamer

@nina-from-317

[chokkzou]

PART. 1 ! the bllk boys discovering that they are your cute submissives (?

characters: isagi, reo, nagi, bachira, hiori, ness and kaiser.

tw?: top! male reader x sub! bllk. i speak spanish so sorry if there is any mistake or idk

link to part two !

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ꒰ Yoichi Isagi has always been someone who thrives on recognition and validation. He lives for those moments when his skills are acknowledged, when he feels like he’s making a difference, when someone tells him that he’s doing great. But it wasn’t until you came into the picture that he realized just how much your words affected him.

At first, he thought it was normal—after all, he liked being praised, right? But then you started doing it in ways that left him completely off guard. A simple "good job, yoichi," said in a low, smooth tone after a match, your fingers barely brushing his sweat-dampened hair? That had him completely losing focus for the next few minutes.

And you noticed. It didn’t take you long to realize that whenever you praised him directly, with intensity in your voice, isagi would react in the most adorably helpless way. His lips would part slightly, his eyes would flicker with something unspoken, and sometimes—if you were close enough—you could hear the way his breath hitched for just a second.

One day, you decided to take it a step further. After watching him score a goal, you pulled him aside, leaned in close, and murmured, "You looked so good out there." His face turned completely red. His hands clenched into fists, his body stiffened, and he stammered something incoherent before looking away, desperately trying to regain his composure.

That’s when you knew. Compliments were his kryptonite. And if you ever wanted to see him break, all you had to do was whisper something sweet with a bit too much confidence.

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ꒰ Reo Mikage is used to taking the lead. He’s confident, he knows what he wants, and he’s never had a problem going after it. But for some reason, when it’s you taking control, he absolutely melts.

It started with small things—placing your hand on the small of his back to guide him through a crowded space, casually hooking a finger under his chin to tilt his head up, pulling him by the wrist with just enough force to make it clear that you were in charge.

At first, he brushed it off, laughing it away like it was nothing. But you saw the way his breath faltered each time, the way his fingers twitched slightly, the way he swallowed a little too hard when you did it without warning.

The moment you realized how much he loved it? You had casually placed your hands on his hips to move him aside while saying, "let me through, reo." He froze.

It was barely a second, but you saw the way his pupils dilated slightly, the way his lips parted as if he was about to say something but completely forgot how to speak. And when he finally stepped aside, he did it almost robotically, like his brain was still catching up with what just happened.

After that, you made sure to test the limits—pulling him into you when he wasn’t expecting it, whispering "stay still" in his ear just to see if he could obey. Spoiler alert: he couldn’t.

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ꒰ Seishiro Nagi doesn’t care about a lot of things. He’s lazy, indifferent, and rarely puts effort into anything unless it’s truly worth his time. But for some reason, he cares so much when it comes to you.

It started out simple—he began noticing the small things you did for him. You’d grab his water bottle before he even asked, adjust his hoodie when it slid off his shoulder, remind him to eat when he got too distracted with his phone. And each time you did something for him, he’d just… stare.

Not in a creepy way. More like in complete awe.

One day, when you casually handed him a towel after practice, he took it but didn’t move. He just blinked at you, gripping the fabric a little too tightly, before mumbling, "…you’re spoiling me."

But he didn’t stop you.

And you noticed something else— nagi never initiated much, but when you did, he followed effortlessly. If you tugged on his sleeve, he’d move. If you tilted his chin up, he wouldn’t resist. If you told him to do something in that smooth, confident voice of yours, he’d do it without even thinking.

So, naturally, you started pushing the boundaries.

One evening, as he lazily lay on the couch, you ran your fingers through his hair and said, "sit up."

And without hesitation, without question, he did.

That’s when you knew— nagi wasn’t just being spoiled. He was waiting to be led.

[queenariesofnarnia]

the future mrs. torres part 2 {j.t}

gif not mine!

wc: 987

part 1🩵

part 2 because @lovely-foxes-exe asked so kindly🩵 hope you feel better soon hun!!

🩵🩵🩵🩵

Sam did let you move in, he missed having you around. Best believe that you and Joaquin made it your mission to annoy Sam at every moment you could. You met his mom and abuela on facetime, a few days after he claimed you’re his future wife. They were the sweetest ladies ever, you even gave his mom your number so she can send you some baby pictures of him that you absolutely gushed over. You even sent her some of your own baby pictures. You may have ended up in Joaquin’s bed a couple of times and he ended up in yours too. You’ve been on quite a few dates. Especially since the initial interaction between the two of you there was an instant connection. You spent weeks getting to know each other, finding out what made each other laugh, what things you each couldn’t stand, and what made you the most emotional. The first date you went on was to the aquarium, it was definitely because you quoted the little mermaid the day you met. From that point on you always had the best dates whether they were at home or on a little adventure. 

By six months into dating you’ve already visited his mom and abuela, and they adored having you visit. His mom started calling you her daughter and his abuela insisted that it was okay for you to call her that as well. You started having weekly facetime calls with them and it was one of the highlights of your week. Sam and Bucky gave Joaquin a serious ‘fatherly’ talk about being with you, they were happy for the two of you but fiercely protected you. There were times you even joked with Sam to address you as Mrs. Torres just to see Joaquin’s reaction and he would have the goofiest smile on his face every time he heard you say it. When it was coming up on the two of you being together for a year Joaquin asked Sam for permission to marry you. Sam of course said yes, after giving him a hard time of course. 

Joaquin was nervous planning the anniversary date, so he called his mom to help him plan everything out. He showed her the ring that he picked for you, and she gushed over it. 

“She’s going to love it” his mom reassured him. “Where are you taking her?” she asked. 

“To a fondue restaurant, she is obsessed with cheese” he said with a smile. His mom was really excited for him. 

“Go get ready and send pictures! Love you mijo!”

“Love you too ma” he says before hanging up getting ready, he went for a black button up and black pants tucking the ring in his pocket.

 You were in your room preparing for the date option for a little black dress moment with some tights and heels like Fran Fine. You double check yourself in the mirror before making your way to the living room. Joaquin was standing there looking scrumptious waiting for you. 

“You look good pretty boy” you compliment wrapping your arms around his neck. His hands immediately went to your waist.

“You look beautiful pretty girl” he smiles kissing your forehead. Sam came bursting in like a mom on prom day.

“Let me get some pictures kids” he says pulling his phone out to take pictures “Smile pretty so I can send these to Isaiah and Buck” you both laughed at his antics as he took multiple pictures. 

“Be safe kids” he calls out the door after you two. You shook your head laughing, tossing your car keys to Joaquin. He unlocks the car opening the door for you before getting in himself. During the drive he held your hand gently stroking the back of it with his thumb. When he pulled up to the fondue restaurant you were extremely excited.

“Should’ve worn something stretchy instead” you joked, making him laugh heartily. You two were led to a private table where there was a bouquet of red roses waiting for you. Thanking him profusely you set them to your side reaching across the table to hold his hand.

“Pretty girls deserve pretty flowers” he says smiling at you. When the waiter came by the two of you ordered the type of cheese you wanted to try first. As the dinner went on through each course the ring was burning a whole in his pocket as you waited for dessert to come. When it was finally time for dessert that’s when he became extra antsy. He planned with the restaurant for this dessert. He gave one waitress his phone to record it for them. The waiter brought out a plate of chocolate covered strawberries placing it in front of you. You planned on taking a picture first before you read what the chocolate writing said 

‘Will you be the future Mrs. Torres?’ gasping you look up to Joaquin who got down on one knee while you read the plate, the ring box held the most stunning ring you’ve seen. 

“So future Mrs. Torres now?” he asked smiling. You nod enthusiastically.

“Yes” you said your voice cracking a bit. He slid the ring on your finger, kissing your hand. 

You stand up kissing him quickly being mindful that you’re in a restaurant still. The wait staff applauded you both. The waitress with the phone ended the recording handing it back to Joaquin, wishing you both congratulations. He kept his phone out to take more pictures of you to send to his mom and abuela. Making sure there was one of you holding up the bouquet and your hand (his new lock screen). 

“I’m so glad I said you were going to be my future wife when I met you” he says eating a chocolate covered strawberry. 

“I’m glad you did too” I smile at him fondly. “I can’t wait to be Mrs. Torres”

[stellasdrafts]

Wanted/Woman (Arthur Morgan)

Summary: two stranger outlaws find themselves captured by bounty hunters (Arthur Morgan x outlaw!Reader)

Word Count: 3.8k

Content: female reader, capture and bindings, violence and death, light gore, mentions of infertility, forced proximity, manipulative reader, enemies? (not quite but they dislike each other) to tension, crude language, male slander

Notes: surpriseeee new hyperfixation (dw will still be writing for leon too!! just added a new fictional man to the roster yum). i imagine mid-honor Arthur for this :) (also idk shit about guns so bear with me thanks). this is kind of an amateurish attempt of mine at criticizing misogyny bc i’m pissed off about today’s political climate. cliché on purpose.

The last thing you remember before going dark is the stinging pain of being pistol-whipped in the face by some bounty hunter’s grimy revolver.

As your consciousness comes to, you see flickering firelight from behind your eyelids. Even before you open them, you mentally curse at yourself for even letting yourself get in this situation in the first place. You had always prided yourself on your talent of finding secluded areas to camp out in. As well hidden as they could be when your picture was plastered on fences and announcement boards across three states with a bold, capitalized WANTED above it, anyway. You suppose you had gotten comfortable – sloppy. You slipped up and somehow those bastards found the shitty abandoned house you were using as a hideout, ambushing you while you were stubbornly focused on patching up a hole in one of your boots.

It takes you a moment to gather your surroundings in the haze of post-unconsciousness. The tent you’re being held in is hot, despite it being dark outside. The air is thick – stuffy and incredibly unpleasant. The smell of animal carcass lingers on the canvas as if it had recently been used to hold some hunt. You hear the muffled sound of men discussing by the campfire roaring outside – something rather serious, you assume by the tone of their voices. It doesn’t sound like too many of them, only two by the clean back-and-forth flow of their conversation. Somehow, the most obvious detail of your capture is the one you register last – the burn of rope at your wrists and feet, and the warmth of another body at your back. You’re bound to someone.

Your heart rate picks up at the sudden realization and you tug, beads of blood drawing at your skin. You’d typically consider yourself a rational person, but with the fog of having just woken up, your brain jumps to the worst conclusions. There’s no way of knowing if the person behind you has been shot dead already, they’re completely still… That is until he speaks.

“Would you stop that? Rubbin’ your wrists raw won’t help either of us.”

Take a breath. You’re better than this. The bounty hunters outside are men, and now you know the person behind you is one as well. Maybe some good old feminine charm could be your ticket out of here. It wouldn’t be the first time your conniving passive woman act got you out of scrapes. They might kill the man first, anyway.

You look around, making sure to make him feel you squirm. Your breath quickens and you summon a more proper accent. You won’t go down. Not like this. “W-What the hell is happening?”

The man’s body shakes lightly behind you – the sonofabitch is chuckling. “Oh, quit playin’ dumb. I saw you when they brought you in. You got posters from here to Colter.”

You make sure to yank at your ropes the way a panicked woman would. He hisses at the pain and you’re glad you don’t have to hide your prideful grin. “No, I don’t know what’s going on! There must be some mistake!”

The hunters haven’t even checked in on the two of you yet, but by the timbre of their conversation outside when you awoke, they’ll get the gist of this one too, and you’ll be damned if this stuck-up man leads to your demise.

“There ain’t no mistake, woman.” Looks like there won’t be any fooling this guy. He must be in the business, you assume. “Tryin’ to play the damsel in distress won’t help you any, so quit your whinin’ and stop pulling at the damn ropes.

“I’m not!” You sniffle. “M’not who they think I am!”

You may as well feel his eyes roll. “Right. What’s your name then?” You give him your usual decoy as he attempts to sit up straighter. “And what’s got an innocent thing like you in this kind of trouble?”

“I don’t know!” you cry. “I was mending some clothes when they burst in my house and knocked me out!” you recite with ease. It wasn’t a total lie, after all.

The man listened to your sob story, wanting to get a read on you, you presume. “Is that right? You were… just sewin’ when they magically came out of the woodworks and took ya?”

The goddamn attitude on this man… “Yes!” You start crying again. “Oh god, this can’t be real!”

You hear your companion let out a heavy sigh. “Alright, cut the dramatics, darlin’,” he grumbles. Twigs snap outside and both your heads whip in the direction of the two hunters’ shadows near the flaps. He lowers his voice. “I know you’re puttin’ on that act and it’s getting’ real old. It’d only work on someone dumb as rocks so-” he’s interrupted as the two bounty hunters waltz in, surely having heard you wailing seconds prior.

You flinch hard and make yourself fall to the side. You’re a pathetic, blubbering mess – the complete opposite of what they’ve surely heard of the outlaw they were chasing. You will make them doubt themselves. Manipulation is your specialty, and men are so simple minded~

“Please! Please-”

The captors look a bit startled by your distress. One of them, the bulky one, kneels down at your side. Men just can’t help themselves, can they? They just have to save the pretty tormented girl. He tries to soothe you by placing a grubby hand on your knee. “Calm down, sweet thing.”

You try to hide your recoil. It’s not like you can scoot backward anyway, since you’re tied to the pessimistic wanted man. “P-Please, will you just tell me what’s going on?” You blink with tear-soaked lashes, being a convincing little housewife.

The hunters share a look, as if silently trying to contemplate the legitimacy of your cries. The bulky one returns his attention to you, seemingly placated. “We ain’t gonna hurtcha unless you give us a reason to, sweetheart. We’re just here to bring you down to the sheriff’s office.”

You hear the other wanted man scoff behind you. Surely, they weren’t actually falling for this?

The taller one hanging back grins cockily. “Gonna get us that nice little bounty on your head,” he adds.

It’s your turn to bite back a scoff. Little? There’s nothing little about a hard-worked two-thousand dollars on your head alone. You’d even been dubbed Bullseye.

For your own sake, your eyes go wide as saucers, as if you’re truly repulsed by the idea of having committed any crimes. “Bounty?! That’s impossible. I’ve never sinned in my life. Please, there must be a mistake-”

The tall one chuckles and you feel flames of anger licking at your insides. “Oh, there ain’t no mistake. You must’ve done some reeeeal bad things. Bounties like that ain’t given out for no reason.”

The bulky man nods to corroborate his friend’s words, but judging by its slowness, he seems a bit more apprehensive. “…You seem too soft to have a bounty of a couple grand on your head.”

Your new wanted companion whistles from behind you, impressed.

“Goddammit, Wilson!” curses the tall one.

There’s the crack you need. You keep pushing, sensing the foundation crumbling between the two. You shake your head feverishly. “I don’t know who you think I am! I’ve told you my name. I’m a housewife. M-My husband’s name is Elijah. Really, I barely ever go out. I don’t know what’s going on here.”

The two idiots glance at each other again, brows raised. Wilson tilts his head. “Roberts, maybe we fucked up. I mean, look at’er! The law has been after the girl for years. The… The posters are old. They’ve been up so long that they’re kinda faded… Maybe her and Bullseye really do just look alike.”

The tall one – Roberts – doesn’t answer right away. You’d venture to guess he’s more trigger-happy than his partner. “I didn’t see no husband inside the house.”

“He’s off on business in the next county at the moment.”

Again, they seem to communicate without speaking aloud. Wilson stands with a groan and nods in my direction with urgent eyes, evidently commanding Roberts. The latter steps forward with a sigh, his arms crossed. “Fine. I’ll bite. If that’s the truth, miss, how long you been married?”

You smile weakly, pretending to recall a memory. “Since my Elijah and I were nineteen.”

“All this time and no children?”

You drop your shoulders and strategically let your smile fade. You’ve been waiting a while to use this one. “No, sir, I been having… issues,” you admit shamefully. And you’re so proud of yourself that you hope even the non-believer tied to you is starting to wonder if he accused you of being a liar a little too quickly.

Both the hunters are taken aback at that. A woman shouldn’t be talking about private matters to strangers. The dumb bulky one breaks the silence first. “I-I’m sorry about that, ma’am…” he mumbles awkwardly.

You nod solemnly and wipe a skillful tear from your cheek with your shoulder. “I begged him not to go- begged him! A-And now I’m tied up-” You gasp and try to put some distance between yourself and the man you’re tied to, but it only yanks at both your binds. “Does that mean I’m tied to a killer?! Oh God!” you cry and squirm violently.

Wilson raises his hands the same way one would calm a horse. “Ma’am, calm down-” In an attempt to calm you down, he grabs a knife from his belt and cuts your wrists’ bindings while Roberts rushes to make sure the other outlaw doesn’t try to pull some stunt. Unlike yourself, he leaves him fully bound and secures him to one of the tent’s support posts.

Now that you aren’t back-to-back with him, you catch a glimpse of his face for the first time. Oh shit. You recognize him immediately – it’s impossible not to, not in your line of work. That’s Arthur Morgan, one of Van Der Linde’s men. One of his most feared men, actually. No doubt he has a pretty bounty on his head as well.

You don’t have time to dwell in your thoughts because that half-witted hunter speaks again. “I won’t untie your ankles, though. Can’t have you runnin’ off on us until we’re sure you ain’t it,” he says with a chuckle.

You want to punch that condescending little smirk right off his face… But you can do even better.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of running.”

“Well, that’s good ‘cau-”

He trips over his words when you snag the knife from his naively relaxed grip and jam it into his neck with all your might. As he topples over, you swiftly grab the revolver from his holster and shoot Roberts a couple of times in the chest before he can even react.

“Goddamn fools,” you mutter as you undo the rope around your ankles, seemingly unfazed by a tied-up Arthur Morgan some feet away from you.

Even writhing on the ground, Wilson disturbs your newfound peace, gargling on his own blood. You roll your eyes and put a bullet between his own. Standing, you stretch your limbs, rubbing where the rough rope had dug into your skin. You retract the bloody knife from the bounty hunter’s neck, giving it a twirl. It was a pretty knife, engraved with some intricate swirls. You earned it.

You finally look up at Arthur. “You were right, I s’pose.”

“Seems that way,” he replies, carefully watching every movement of yours. You’d seen that look in men before. He was trying to gauge if he was going to be the next recipient of your wrath.

You grin and lean back against some crates, enjoying seeing such an infamous man be so unsure. “Now, what to do with you?” you ask rhetorically.

You watch as his eyes go from the dead man at his feet to your calm figure. Evidently, you had managed to impress him. Pride swells in your chest. He nods toward his bound ankles. “Well, are you going to get these off? That would be greatly appreciated,” he inquires dryly, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

You hum, giving the knife a couple more twirls. “I bet, Van Der Linde.”

The outlaw raises a brow, otherwise utterly composed. “So you know who I am… Or at least who I run with.”

“Mhm.” You trace the edge of the bloody blade with your index. “You’re no small feat, Arthur Morgan.” You push off the crates and nod at the corpses on the dirt. “They would’ve lucked out.”

“I’d say the same for you,” he replies, his gaze unrelenting.

The two morons had spoken your alias, but it’s the fact that Morgan recognized it that sticks with you. A sick sense of satisfaction bubbles within you at the knowledge that your name has been spread to one of the country’s most notorious gangs.

“Well ain’t you sweet,” you quip sarcastically.

Arthur looks down at Roberts, mere inches away from him. “Your aim on him could’ve been a bit better, though. Too far right.”

You? Aiming anything other than perfect? You scoff, your eyes narrowing as you search through a sack on the crates for your confiscated guns. “I don’t have to let you free.”

“And I don’t have to be pleasant,” he retorts gruffly, and for a second, you’re reminded of who you’re talking to. The adrenaline from your victorious escape begins to simmer down and you realize that perhaps you shouldn’t be speaking to an accomplished killer this way.

…But you’re one yourself.

You look over your shoulder with a smile. “You’re tied up, hun.”

The man scowls. “Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.”

Amusing, this one. But perhaps you aren’t exactly in the position to have Dutch Van Der Linde and his boys on your tail for taking out their best man. You sling the bag full of your belongings over your shoulder and crouch before him, pushing Roberts out of the way with one foot. “I can’t see why we can’t be amicable, can you?”

One of his brows quirks up. “Depends on your definition of amicable, miss,” he dryly speaks your family name.

“Charming manners.” You tilt your head. “I reckon we ain’t that different, you and I. Two of the most notorious criminals. Everyone knows our names. We were, well-” you gesture to his bound current state. “-both tied up. On the same team, if you will. We live the same lifestyle. I don’t see the point in goin’ off and tattlin’ on each other.”

Arthur lets out a quiet huff. “So you’re suggestin’… What, an alliance?”

“I’m suggestin’ silence. You go off without worryin’ about me sending the law after you, and I do the same.”

“And how do I know I can trust you?” He’s skeptical, and you can’t quite blame him after he’s just witnessed how you swindled those men.

“It’s a two-way street, Mr. Morgan. I’m the same as you, it’d be hypocritical to turn you in. Plus, I don’t quite care to alert the law of my presence by going in to report you.”

You can practically see the gears turning in his head. “Fine. But I’m not forgettin’ this.”

But his mention of an alliance lingers in your head. You hold up a finger. “On second thought, I’ve got a better idea. More fool-proof terms, if you’re hesitant to trust me.”

He rolls his eyes, obviously not enjoying being at your mercy. “And what would those be?”

The corner of your mouth quirks up. “It’d be idiotic for members of the same gang to snitch on each other, wouldn’t it?”

A look of realization washes over his face. “It would,” his voice drops lower, not liking where this is headed.

“Then, I’ll be joining the Van Der Lindes. I’m tired of sleepin’’ with a pistol in my hand.”

His expression shifts, seemingly amused by your conviction. “Oh, are you?” he retorts with a chuckle. “What makes you think they’d even let you in?”

You grin. “You knew exactly who I was when you heard those twits call me Bullseye, that’s what.” You stand up straight. “And you’re going to give me a shining recommendation.”

“Am I, now?”

“Mhm… Or I could throw you on my horse out there and we could have ourselves a nice little ride to some sheriff’s office. I figure Saint-Denis would have the most intense security. You don’t think they’d recognize me if I just rode by and dropped you on the doorstep, do you?” You jeer as you rummage through the tent, looking for anything of value to take.

Despite your threats, a small smirk creeps onto Arthur’s face. He takes a moment to study you, weighing his options.

“Confident, ain’t ya?”

“With reason.”

A beat. You just stare at each other.

“Can you untie me already? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover to get back to camp.”

[shiningmystic]

"Why Are Things just Not Working Out for Me?" PAC

Pile 1: Cottage front I Pile 2: Shell

Pile 3: Pocket watch I Pile 4: Stress

Hello Stars, I hope this finds the people who are struggling. This pick a card provides practical advice and attempts at validation for your pain. We all are struggling so be kind to your neighbor and to yourself. Close your eyes and pick a number or a picture from your minds eye. Do not be afraid to pick more then one picture if you connect to it. Not every message in every pile is for you so take what resonates and leave what does not.

If you appreciate the reading and it resonated, drop a follow and a like, reblog this post or, if you want to take it a step further, support me on ko-fi.

Ko-fi I Shmfeedback I Get to know me

Thank you for your consideration and kindness, I truly hope this general pick a card reading helps you.

Pile 1: page of swords (rx), king of swords (rx), the hanged man, four of wands (rx), two of coins (rx) page of wands

Key phrases: missed opportunities, stuck in a uncomfortable place, no more room to grow, too much to take on, I must be free, lack of responsibility

So to begin your reading I would like to say a lot of our beliefs are not our own fault. Why am I mentioning this? Because you my pile one believe in something that you may not think you do. There are many beliefs here so I cannot pinpoint what is personally holding you but it is there. We learn a lot from the people around us as we grow older, friends and family alike even insignificant peoples opinions can influence our view of ourselves and the world. You may believe there is no way out when it takes a whole lot of work to change that perspective just as much as it takes to change this problem. You are in an environment (or once were) that held no growth or comfort for you. You were always put to work or walking on egg shells to get things done in your home.

This environment puts the belief in you that there is no better place to go or to be so manifestations and attempts to change have felt hopeless but you must recognize your contribution to this belief. For many their is a specific belief that was instilled in you that holds you to be right. That if you are wrong the people who are right deserve the opportunities more than you do. These thoughts hold a charge that only stops you from moving forward. Not everyone is always right. Even experts can be false.

I’m here to say that it is not helpless and the first thing to do is to move out of an environment that may be oppressing you, even if it is your own thought patterns. Always challenge those judgments even if they feel like you have a correct analysis of a situation, they aren’t fully right. Sometimes a familiar environment gives way to us repeating past actions that may not align with us now but we are wired to repeat patterns, our brains do this to preserve energy. Stop assuming the worst, stop judging yourself because you deserve space to grow and learn. You deserve grace, you deserve a space to keep learning even if you know better; it’s hard to shake off what we have always done.

If you can change your environment in some way this will help you get out of the need to repeat state; maybe even making it a routine to go to a friends house or just out. Then from there you need to surround yourself with the new belief you want to implement. Do you want to build more independence? Slowly make choices that align with that, small ones first and take your time until your belief in yourself shifts. It’s hard to notice but that’s why we have people around us to help. If you have only yourself it may be hard to gauge but you are changing with every step you take. You are not stuck to the tree like the hanged man, you can free yourself from the confines if we actively challenge those set beliefs. Keep challenging the norm and you and your subconscious will start catching on to this change. Things will start working out more as you begin this process. You are not your mistakes or judgments, you are the human being who is witnessing the judgments and having the choice to internalize them or challenge them.

Pile 2: the world (rx), six of cups (rx), page of coins (rx), the high priestess (rx), seven of cups

Key phrases: my comforts aren’t helping, I see no way forward, there are too many options that I’m frozen in place, my intuition isn’t working, the world is against me

I see pile 2 that you are stuck in a repeating cycle. This seems to be about the past and holding onto something from the past that does not serve the you that you are becoming. There is an aspect of bad luck as well so if you feel like things are against you I see why, you're so valid. I also get the feeling that many of you know exactly why things aren’t working out but it’s just nice to hear someone agree with you.

This transition you are going through is a big one that expands over a long period of time. For many this is about healing and feeling in control of your life when it has been controlled by others. Now that you have claimed your power back it’s like you are now fighting yourself and the world; that's very scary. Sometimes we can’t be in control of everything even our own emotions. So what do we do from here? The advice I see is to not overthink why this is happening (if you can try to catch yourself overthinking then it will help but I understand how overthinking can be involuntary sometimes) and ask what you can do now instead of what could happen or what could go wrong. The why may be clear but to some it is vague.

For others I see that being to analytical, logical and critical will not help you at this time. There seems to be so many issues in the world and so much stressors no wonder why things are not working out, you're putting all that burden and pressure on yourself when one person cannot take that all on. These past habits are being released weather you liked them or not and it WILL overall benefit you to be able to accept it but its ok if you can't right now.

Trust yourself in making choices even if it feels to risky and if things continue to not work out the world won’t end or stop moving; the scales always go back into balance. The possibilities are endless for you and it’s ok to pick the one option you feel less hostile towards. Cycles do have an end and you are getting out of it, I promise you. You are learning at your pace so give yourself some grace like I had said in the last pile. (I didn't mean to rhyme but there you go haha).

Pile 3: queen of swords, 9 of wands (rx), knight of pentacles, page of pentacles, queen of pentacles

Key phrases: I may be in control but I’m tired of it, I just want to lay around and do nothing, everything is so slow I want to give up, I love what I do but how do I stay motivated?

So for you pile 3 I see that things aren’t working out for you because there is impatience and judgment of the process. I see for some, you think you should be in a better place by now with all your knowledge and specialties. For others of you, there is this burnt out feeling and you hate that you keep getting burnt out when all you desire is to be stable; to be in a place where you feel secure in yourself and your work or school. You feel off balance and there are peoples opinions and conditioning swirling around your head and not realizing that this is what is holding you down.

You are the one living your life and if you must take it slower then listen to your body not your brain who always thinks it knows what is best for you. Listen to your feelings. I’m not saying to ignore your logic and I am also not saying to ignore deadlines especially if you have to work on projects but you need to be more understanding with your limits and how your limits may be pushed a lot with you own expectations and demands.

I think some of you know this and are trying to find the balance but most here are ignoring the fact that every part of you has to have a say. Your body, mind and emotions are all in need of balancing to reach a place of peace so things may start feeling like they are going your way again. These expectations of yourself should be motivation, not something to hold above your head and to use against you.

Just know that with patience and understanding things will get better, take this advice and find a good balance of rest and work which may not be favorable right now but when it can be done make the shift. You deserve kindness at this time and slowness. Finish what needs to get done now but after take some time to relax and gather yourself. Heal then get back up, life will start going your way again.

Pile 4: 7 of swords, 2 of wands, queen of cups, knight of pentacles, 4 of wands (rx), the fool

Key phrases: I want to pave my own way, ambitious but anxious, taking things slow makes me feel like I’m going no where, no room to grow where I am now, I want to take risks but is that the right choice?

I think for you pile 4 you may be knowingly sabotaging your plans in fear of losing your freedom. Wow that’s some heavy stuff but I understand where you are coming from. Right now you may be able to do what you want but the things you truly desire to cultivate may have to take a lot of time and effort to really build up; that takes sacrifice. For some of you, you don’t want to lose your freedom doing whatever you desire in the moment which make a lot of sense.

You guys follow your happiness but sometimes our true desires and happiness are actually aligned with working and discipline. It is hard my loves, to let go of what you have to get to what you really want but that’s why things aren’t working out for you (this kinda reminds me of pile 2 but you guys are way more specific). You don’t want to let go because you think you will lose it when really it will always be there its just acknowledging you need to sacrifice some of your free time for the future, not all of it but some.

Sometimes we have to work on a dream for it to come true. Some of us who have been through trauma or neglectful childhoods can’t find the motivation for future plans because our brains are wired to focus on “what can I do right now to make myself feel better?” Then the latter “what should I be working on so my future is better?” It’s ok if you don’t have that issue, some of us are just wired differently. You my pile 4 are just more wired to please yourself right now then to please your future self but oh golly will your future self appreciate your efforts.

The advice I see is at least doing one thing in your day that will contribute to your goals but then you can also have the benefits of your comforts as well so you don’t feel like you are bored all day working on something that is for the future. Who knows maybe you will feel amazing doing this work and find joy in it. Your future self and current self deserve a plan, don’t let your dreams be forgotten because you can’t find the time. Take 1 hour out of your day and that’s it, to dedicate it to your dreams. You deserve happiness now and in the future love.

[evelinesynastry]

Waldemath Lilith square ASC (h58) terrible, scary. girls have had intense reactions to me since primary school, carrying hatred, wanting to destroy me. I was bullied a lot in primary school, from the third grade onwards girls would take my things and break them. always been left out. never invited to birthday parties all the girls were invited except me. they hated me from the bottom of their hearts. I had to change schools, and at the next school the same thing happened again, the girls hated me, and I was never invited again. but I wanted so much to be friends with a girl, and she also with me, but that didn't go well either, I was immediately placed on the dark side, like someone who steals, she blamed me for example on her birthday that I had stolen her money and beat me up. the female teachers also hated me, for example they put me in front of the class and everyone had permission to say bad things about me. Did I have an opinion? I was threatened with a lighter by the group above. if a girl wore something like makeup it was okay? but if i did i was instantly a whore. the girls came around me and all started making a drama about it, "you do it for the attention" at school the boys, they hated me but at the same time they kept touching my body. In high school it all got 100x worse, for example a boy punched me in the face when I pushed him away when he wanted to touch me. a picture of me was being thrown around the whole school that had been tweeted by a girl. boys come to me with money asking for permission to use my body. I was called a whore, a slut, a stripper by the boys. a female friend of mine tried to use me for another boy for sex. I was beaten up by girls, from kicking me to dragging me along the ground. Boys calling me a ‘bitch’ but another time trying to hit on me. i was cleaning so i had to bend over so a guy said "she likes blowjobs" also I don’t go to school anymore since all this shit happens, I’m now in a daycare group, but still attracting a lot of hate from woman and slutshaming, and boys sexualising me or trying to touch me.

I know that Waldemath Lilith is the darkest Lilith. It’s not talked about, but Lilith stays Lilith, Waldemath Lilith is the darkest Lilith. I think it gives someone raw dark sexual energy, but in the most darkest way that people can’t handle it. And hate you for it. And the fact that I hide it, but people just feel it, or see it from your raw appearance, aura.

Since it’s not only that I’ve been extremely sexualised even SA by my brother too, and abused. And when I get a dress, he says like ‘your a who’re’. Also my mother slutshame me extremely. Like my first crush, I had freaking my first crush she was like ‘your a taxi’

Let me know your Waldemath Lilith! and tell me about it, you don’t have to share with details, just give some key words.

A little question to those who have Lilith-Ascendant aspects (especially the hard ones):

How do people react to you when you enter a room ? Have you ever been bullied and If yes, what was the reason ? What Type of people do you tend to attract in your Life ? 🧐🤔

[milessunflowers]

wag!franco and footballer!reader!!!!! :D

FOOTBALLER!READER MY BELOVED WITH FRANCO TOO VINVIN YOU SPOIL ME

wag!franco colapinto x footballer!male!reader

synopsis: franco loves his life as a football wag, especially because your uniform looks amazing on you

author's note: I LOVE FOOTBALLER!READER SO MUCH YOU GUYS DONT UNDERSTAND. like footballer!reader has a special place in my heart so if yall wanted to send in more i wouldn't be opposed to it (as long as it isn't american footballer bc i know nothing about american football). also, i just really like that picture of franco and will use it at any given chance. it also did get a bit suggestive because franco is franco and it felt like the vibe

starting off, i really don't think he could ever play football

hes good at racing but not field stuff at all

loves watching you so much though

especially because you get all sweaty and hot and he goes crazy

youve tried teaching the different positions (forwards, midfielders, defense, goal keeper) but he just cannot get the hang of actually playing them

you are multi-talented and could play basically anywhere on the field but for this purpose, you typically play midfield

so you're running wherever you are need at whatever given time

franco's attention is always trained on you

he is so loud when he cheers because he wants to stand out (even though everyone knows you are dating him)

lowkey feel like he would boo when you are benched/if the other team scores

except when it's the national teams for the world cup and stuff

then when you play against argentina (if you aren't from there) he's so rooting against you

still supports you but he loves argentina more

you understand though, because if the roles were reversed, you would cheer for your home country (unless it's argentina then it's self explanatory)

during the normal season you play for barcelona though (guys im sorry if you don't like barça but they're my favorite)

goes to every game he can and when he's working on his degree in engineering or business (idk why but i feel like those suit him?), he's streaming it on his phone/tele

curses a lot in spanish if you miss the goal or the other team scores

absolutely panics if you get hurt

like one time you fucked up your ankle that it ballooned and bruised so much you couldn't move it so you were out for a few games

you were so whiney about missing them but you were so happy to be at home with Franco

franco, at any chance, wears your jersey because he loves showing his support/showing off he's yours and vice versa

he would also look incredible in a barça jersey if i do say so myself

especially if you got him a size smaller and it just shows off his pecs and stuff

and when he wears your jersey you go absolutely insane because you find it so attractive

his legs absolutely are shaking after you guys are done

hes not complaining though because he loves it

you also have huge hickeys you have to cover up with makeup the best you can before the next game

you're so proud of them though and want to show them off

you cuddle with him all the time because you claim it's good luck

it kind of is because it puts you in a good mentality and happy mood so you perform better

next thing you know, you're teammates are ruffling their hair for some "buena suerte" as they all say

boom, you guys win that game

plus franco is just happy to be there

he loves supporting you just like you support his degree

and you go to his graduation and cheer just as loud as he does at your games

TAGS! (if you want to be added, lmk!)

@op-81-lvr-reblogs, @koalapastries, @justaf1girl, @ghostking4m, @spoonfulofmilo, @seonghwaexile, @alex-wotton, @raizelchrysanderoctavius