#None of these things are tickling my brain right!!! where is the. the- the SPARKLE!!

[keeps-ache]

[does a little spin] oh the troubles [does another little spin]

[ohmyeyesmyeyes]

Idk if you do one shots inspired in songs, but if so, Would you mind doing one with a Taylor Swift's song which is called "The 1"? With Mason Mount please

< i love taylor so much and i really hope i didn’t completely butcher this, but thanks for the challenge :) >

MASON MOUNT ONESHOT

the 1

( WARNING: little bit of angst and fluff?, swearing )

word count: 1.8k

Things don’t often go as we expect them to, and it’s often incredibly difficult to replan your life around that massive change and adapt your lifestyle so you can — in reality — live again.

It’s like trying to find your feet when you’re in the air — it feels impossible but you know with time you’ll eventually meet the ground again.

That’s what it felt like when you and Mason broke up four years ago.

You were fresh out of uni and at the time, you really thought he’d be it for you, and honestly, so did he. A break up thrown into the mix of having to navigate adult life just seemed to put a huge stopper on all your plans; the holiday you two had both booked for a weekend away in Ireland, the meals out with friends that you had to cancel, and the house showings you were set to attend.

Looking back on your relationship now, you realise it wouldn’t have been the worst thing to end up with Mason. All the years and effort and time put into loving him were — without a doubt — some of the best years of your life (at that stage in life), and did you regret it?

Not one single bit.

But four years is the perfect amount of time to heal, remove the salt from the wound and finish grieving.

But he was here. In real life.

You’d imagined running into him in the supermarket or on a night out with your friends, but a bus stop?

That one was weird. Mainly because you both hated catching the bus with a burning passion.

But it lead to a catch up over coffee.

It was a quiet place, out of the way of the usual lunchtime hustle and bustle in the city, and for that you were grateful. You could hear your own thoughts.

It was awkward at first, you couldn’t keep your eyes from fixating on his figure, his features, because four years can really change a person. He was much broader, his hair a little shorter, but he was still that same Mason you once loved.

You knew that because the first thing he did when he sat down was offer you that cheeky, charming smile that had you hooked from the second you met.

He’d asked how you were, and you answered honestly: you were living well, your best life, and to the fullest. And you knew and he knew that it wasn’t a lie.

He could tell by the smile on your face and the new, sparkling band on your wedding finger. He half expected that blow to sting a little — that you’d found someone and he hadn’t, but he was never one to be bitter whatsoever, at least, not when it came to you.

Instead, he offered his congratulations and the only inkling of regret he held was not being there when it happened.

I guess you never know, never know,

And if you wanted me, you really should’ve showed,

And if you never bleed, you’re never gonna grow,

And it’s alright now.

There was silence after that.

You had one thing on your mind, and you knew by the way he was looking at you that he was also thinking the same thing.

You took a sip of your coffee.

He mirrored your actions, seemingly startled when you placed your mug onto your saucer, the chink of porcelain against porcelain echoing around the small shop cutting through the previous quietness.

“I think I hated you for a while.” You murmured, and if Mason wasn’t leant over the table slightly, he would’ve missed the statement completely.

He nodded in understanding, his brown eyes shining with the faintest hint of guilt.

“I think I was so frustrated with the idea that we just…didn’t work, and I blamed it on you.” You paused, fingers twisting your rings.

He paused, mulling over his words, “And now? Still hate me now?”

You bit back a small smile and met his eyes, “No…I think it’d take a whole load of bad shit to get me to hate you.”

He smiled.

“That’s good to know.”

“I mean, I think it was a long time coming anyway, that break up.”

“It didn’t feel right for a while.”

“No,” you agreed, “as much as it hurt to admit, I think we just failed…as a couple. There was a point where we were just together for the sake of not giving up on the relationship, but with no real reason to continue.”

But we were something, don't you think so?

Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool,

And if my wishes came true,

It would've been you,

In my defense, I have none,

For never leaving well enough alone,

But it would've been fun,

If you would've been the one.

He seemed to ponder over your words, and although he never voiced it, he came to the conclusion that you’d just put into words — perfectly — the itch that had been tickling his brain for the past few years.

“Despite that, you can’t deny that we weren’t something…” he started, before breaking off and shaking his head, as if the mere thought was ridiculous.

“We were something special. I think, had things stayed like they were in the beginning, that…you and I…” you waved your hand, tilting your head, and he nodded in agreement, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Me too. I think…in another life we could have made each other happy. It would have been fun.”

The words ‘if you would’ve been the one’ echoed in your head, and despite the passive aggressiveness of your conscience, you found yourself holding back a smile.

“Water fights in winter and eggs with ketchup…perfect. I’d never have gotten tired of that.” You mused, and he spluttered slightly on his coffee, laughing along with you in what felt like a decade.

I have this dream you're doing cool shit,

Having adventures on your own,

You meet some woman on the internet and take her home,

We never painted by the numbers, baby,

But we were making it count,

You know the greatest loves of all time are over now.

“Then again, who knows? Maybe you’ll fall over in the airport and some lucky person will help you off the floor—”

“You’re about to say something cheesy, aren’t you?” Mason covered his mouth, scrunching his nose in anticipation as you nodded.

“All this nostalgic bullshit has me emotional! I swear, just this once…just this once, and I promise you can laugh about it afterwards.” You swore, holding out your pinkie for confirmation.

He didn’t hesitate, and linked your pinkie.

“You’ll find someone else. It’ll be love at first sight—hey, let me have this moment…maybe love at second sight, knowing you… you’ll go to some really magical place and have the most amount of fun you’re ever gonna have…hikes, skydiving, looking after animals I’m sanctuaries…you’re gonna have the time of your life — like Grey and Swayze.” You sniggered, unable to hold in your laughs at the ridiculous scenarios.

Mason pulled a face, unable to hide a smile.

“Okay, okay. End of story: they’ll be perfect. The Chandler to your Monica or the Robin to your Ted. But, you understand what I’m talking about, right?” You asked, sighing out of frustration.

“You’re saying I’ll find my person.” He concluded, sitting back in his chair.

“Yeah.”

We were something, don't you think so?

Rosé flowing with your chosen family,

And it would've been sweet,

If it could've been me,

In my defense, I have none,

For digging up the grave another time,

But it would've been fun,

If you would've been the one.

“Like…your grandma and grandad. I want what they have.” Mason smiled.

“They’ll be pleased to hear that,” you said, “I don’t think they’re quite over us yet. You were too…you at family meals. They fell in love with you too.”

This time Mason really laughed. Really laughed. He threw his head back and the people working at the counter turned to look at him, fighting their own smiles at his carefree nature.

What you’d said wasn’t even that funny.

“Too me? Thanks, I think?”

“Oh, that’s definitely a compliment. You’re too damn charming for your own good, it’s a problem. You should come with a warning label on your forehead: EASY TO LOVE.”

“That’ll solve a lot of problems.”

There was silence.

It was relieving to say the least.

“That whole conversation was about four years too late.” You said, pursing your lips.

“Better late than never.” Mason murmured, his eyes trained on you.

The pressure on your shoulders was lifted. All the things that needed to be said were said.

As time passes, the wound heals — sometimes, but in your case, that was true, as hard as it was to come to that conclusion — and it suddenly became easier to recall the loss of what might have been without bringing you back to wishing it would be again.

It was nice.

“Would it be totally inappropriate—”

“Not at all.” You interrupted, shrugging at his raised eyebrows.

“You didn’t know what I was going to say.” He chuckled.

“I’ll have you know that years of knowing you granted me the issue of knowing what you’re going to say,” You said, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction.

“What was I going to say?” He challenged, “If you get it right, I’ll get you tickets to the next game.”

You raised your brows.

“Confident, are we?”

He shrugged, a smug smirk on his lips.

“I don’t think it’s totally inappropriate to be friends.” At your words, he slumped in his chair, hands going to cover his face.

“No.” He groaned, repeating the word like a mantra as you pumped the air with your fist.

“Three tickets to the next game in the bag.” You bragged.

“Honestly.” He whined, peeling his hands away. “Why are you so difficult?”

“You offered the terms.”

“Why am I so dumb?” He rephrased.

“Ah, I'm afraid only you can answer that one.”

“The brain cells I have left don’t have enough energy to come up with an answer to a question as philosophical as that one—yes, it was philosophical to me, okay?”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” You promised, putting your hands in the air in surrender.

“Just remember who’s going to give you those tickets, yeah?” He teased, sitting up.

“Abusing your power, nice move.”

“Oh…shut up.”

“Weak.” You coughed, trying to disguise the fact you said anything.

He looked straight at you, highly unimpressed by your tactics.

“Very original.” Was all he said.

“Is it supposed to be this easy?” You blurted out, spitting out the words before you could rethink the consequences of them being thrown into the abyss between you and Mason.

He knitted his brows together in thought.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, “but we were friends way before, it’s not hard to fall back into old habits. I think that’s why it’s so easy.”

[plussizeappreciationfics]

Series: Just the assistant..?

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Plus sized reader

Summary: [Y/N], Tom's personal assistant knows that she shouldn't have fallen in love with her employer but she just couldn't help herself. When she thinks that her biggest wish is about to come true, a third party arrives and makes her question whether she'd ever have a chance to escape her situation and simply be loved back by the person she loves the most...

Warning(s): None, I think?

Word count: 5,2k

Picture(s) found on: Pinterest/Google

CHAPTER ONE: Ignition

"Just a few more minutes until they call, do you want something to drink?" (Y/N) asked Tom as she made her way to the kitchen, her heart fluttering nervously in her chest as the tension rose in his living room. 

He had been sitting on the couch, frozen on the spot while staring into space with his phone clutched tightly in his hand. He couldn’t voice the intense waves of anxiety and nervousness coursing through his body, time seemed to pass slowly. One of the producers of Harold Pinter's Play "Betrayal" was about to let him know whether he had gotten one of the main roles or not.

Tom had auditioned for the play a while ago and had desperately hoped that his performance was worthy enough to act the play out on the stage. He had always loved theatre, the interest had never decreased throughout the years. Harold Pinter was also a writer Tom had always looked up to as his plays always inspired and touched him on a deep level that not everyone was able to understand.

 "Tom" (Y/N) called out again.

He had never answered her question which had made her turn on her heel and focus her gaze on his tensed back and shoulders. He still hadn’t moved a muscle as his brain was clouded with too many thoughts at the same time. His assistant let out a soft sigh, her heart fluttering as she longed to gently place her hands on his back and give him a soothing massage. God...I just want to feel you relax under my touch. Whisper my name in a state of longing...

She bit back a craving hum as her eyes continued to appreciate his backside, he obviously needed some time to himself and wasn’t in need of any liquid refreshment. She turned back around and walked into the kitchen while hoping and praying that he’d get the role as he really deserved it. 

She empathised with his every emotion and felt anxious herself, a habit she had when loving someone. Once in the kitchen, [Y/N] quickly walked over to the fridge and took a bottle of water out of it, popped open the cap and let out a soft hum when the cool liquid made its way down her throat. It had been dry and itching for a little while but she didn’t want to leave Tom’s side. She was his biggest supporter, not just the assistant that had been loving him for three years now.

She couldn’t distinguish whether she ever crushed on him or just immediately found herself loving him. She had been a silent admirer of him and his work before she got the amazing (and well paying) opportunity to work as his personal assistant. But she was a professional and strictly made herself keep all the romantic feelings she had for Tom on the down low, she knew that both of their images were at stake if she’d dive into the cliché “employee messing with their boss” mess.  

It was easier said than done but she quickly developed some quality acting skills that prevented the British gentleman from even guessing her true feelings about him. She didn't want to jeopardise her job as it was something she really loved and appreciated doing.

"[Y/N]!" Tom called out in panic, causing her to place the water bottle on the kitchen counter and run back into the living room, where she found him standing in front of the coffee table with his phone still in his hand. The anxiety clouding his eyes quickly vanished the second he looked at his assistant, her presence immediately had calmed him down.

His loud ringtone echoed through the room.  “W-what should I do?” he questioned, feeling like he had lost all common sense while his heart beat harshly against his ribcage.

She chuckled and shook her head while pointing at his phone. “Accept the call!”.

He frantically nodded, letting his thumb slide across his screen before holding his phone to his ear. [Y/N] let out a shaky breath, this was finally the big moment and she was glad that she was the only one who got to witness it. He never put up a show in front of her during these types of moments and that was one of the many reasons why she loved him; he unconsciously made her feel so special on an almost day-to-day basis.

“Hello?” Tom spoke before a nervous laugh escaped his lips, “Gerald, how are you?”, his manners were impeccable while his facial expression turned serious. A big frown crept onto his face, he bit his lower lip and slowly nodded his head. The room got silent  and the assistant didn’t know what to do; she was silently contemplating whether to have a seat on the couch or stay on her feet, ready to walk away in case he wanted some privacy. 

A smile appeared on her face when the actor looked at her again, smiling brightly and motioning with his hand for her to take a seat on the couch. Her stomach fluttered in delight at the fact that he wanted her near and witness this exciting moment with him. 

She made her way over to the couch and was about to sit down when a loud gasp escaped his lips, a smile stretching across his handsome face. “Thank you so much! I-I can’t believe this! Thank you, thank you!” he happily spoke out and then chuckled. She stared wide eyed at him as she quickly caught onto what was happening.

He had gotten the role.

[Y/N] barely could hide her grin as she felt the anxiety disappear like a heavy weight being lifted off her shoulders. An overwhelming urge to reach out for Tom’s handsome face and press her lips against his overtook her senses. But she knew damn well that that was something didn't have the right to do. So, with a soft sigh she fought her inner voices and body parts to stay still and not do something she'd regret. 

Words couldn’t describe how proud she was of him, he was perfect for the role and she couldn’t wait to see the whole production come to life. Tom would have the time of his life and gain more experience in the industry which could lead to his next job, once the play would be over.

“I certainly will!” Tom laughed and nodded his head, snapping [Y/N] back to reality. They locked eyes and just grinned at each other.  “Thanks again, have a nice day. Bye!”, a loud laugh escaped his lips as he tossed his phone onto the couch and surprised his assistant by charging towards her and then quickly engulfing her in a tight embrace.

“I got the part! I can’t believe it!”

“Congrats, Tom! I knew you’d get it”. [Y/N]’s knees almost buckled as her arms were wrapped around his broad shoulders, his delicate scent filling her nostrils. Her body instantly relaxed and she felt lightheaded, she wished for this moment to last forever, this is where she felt to belong. In his arms. The actor gave her another squeeze and let out a relieved sigh, his body enjoying the intimate embrace, the sensation surprising him greatly. They had hugged countless times (which had always left [Y/N] a sensitive mess like in that current moment), but this time it felt different for him.

Her delicate scent mixed with her sweet perfume  made him close his eyes, his soul suddenly being at peace. The feeling of her soft and squishy body made him bury his head in the crook of her neck and gently sigh out in pleasure. She clenched her jaw in order to stop herself from gasping out loud as an intense shiver coursed down her spine. Tom had never hugged her this way, his beard tickled her sensitive skin and she loved every second of it. 

Her heart skipped a beat before playing a loud song against her ribcage, this felt like a dream. A delicate dream she hoped to never wake up from. The room was silent, their soft breathing being the only thing whispering through the atmosphere as the actor continued to enjoy the feeling of having his assistant so close to him.

 Pleasant tingles coursed through his body as he absentmindedly gave her another squeeze, her beautiful face appearing behind his now closed eyelids. No one spoke a word. Just two souls initiating their passionate connection.

 “Tom” [Y/N] whispered after a few minutes, needing to end the moment even if it made her heart ache. But she knew that if she wouldn’t speak up, he would and probably conclude that they’d been hugging for way too long and inappropriately. When he hummed softly and opened his eyes, he gave her one final squeeze before slowly pulling away and smiling at her. He didn’t regret anything.

 He drank in the sight of her beautiful face, his eyes sparkling suddenly. “We need to celebrate this!” the excitement was slowly bubbling up again in his stomach. The assistant let out a chuckle and pulled her out her phone from her jean pocket. “Sure, who do you want me to invite?” she questioned while trying to get down from the delicate high she still was on. His cologne mixed with his mesmerising scent still lingered in her nose and her heart even ached more now.

 Her fingers slightly trembled while typing in her passcode before she went on the message app, ready to send out a dinner invitation to Tom’s closest friend group. She cleared her throat and looked up again, her heart skipping another beat when she saw him smile brightly at her like she was the most delicate creature walking the earth...

 “How about I cook something just for the two of us and we can celebrate with Ben, Charlie and Idris tomorrow?”.

 [Y/N] let out a breathless chuckle and nodded her head, “Sounds great…”. Words couldn’t describe the euphoria pumping through her blood. Even though he hadn’t officially asked her out, she still felt happy and excited to spend some more time alone with him. She didn’t have high hopes of  something happening but just being in his presence was more than enough for her to soothe her cravings temporarily and that made her gladly accept every opportunity to be alone with him, work related or not.

 “Great! How about Chicken Fettucine Alfredo?”. She grinned, nodded and put her phone back into her pocket. She was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do next, a part of her wanted to throw herself back into his arms and another one to get back to her house and let the previous, intimate moment dawn onto her. 

She chose the latter.

 “I-I’ll go freshen up and finish some tasks for you. Let me know when you want me back” she smiled at him one last time before walking towards his front door, knowing that the actor was staring at her back. “Okay, I’ll send you a text message!” Tom gently called out and watched with a smile on his face how she waved her hand in the air to indicate that she had heard him. [Y/N] then had left his house seconds later.

 “Mhm…” the actor whispered to himself, suddenly feeling his stomach sink. The happiness and excitement simmered down while he sat down on his couch and leaned back. His eyes fell shut and he thought about what just had happened: He had gotten the role of one of his favourite plays and felt like he was dreaming. He couldn’t wait to start the project and try his best to captivate the people with his talent all over again. He was going to play Robert, a man whose wife was having an affair with his best friend of several years. 

 He was impatient to find out who was going to be casted as the other two characters: Emma and Jerry. He appreciated and loved his work so much, but knew that he wouldn’t have gotten this special part if it weren’t for his assistant who had strongly encouraged him to audition for the play. 

 [Y/N].

Tom could barely express how much she had changed his life for the better when he had hired her three years ago. He just had broken up with his famous ex-girlfriend and was being bullied by her fans so much that he disappeared from the spotlight once his work schedules were cleared. 

His friends didn’t see him often as he hid away in his house, trying to tune out the discomfort and regret he felt from letting the whole world focus on his relationship. He was known for keeping his private life private, but the love he had felt for her had made him disregard his own strict rule and boundary. To be publicly ridiculed was one of harshest lessons he had to learn.

That's when his agent suggested hiring a personal assistant to help him keep his profile on the down low until he’d feel better. 

[Y/N] was hired not too long after his hiatus from the public eye, her job had been to see what roles the entertainment company Tom was signed to had to offer and also fulfill personal tasks like going grocery shopping or sending out birthday gifts and so on. But with her already having caught serious feelings for him, she had a natural urge to also take care of him, not as her boss but as a confidant and comforter.

 It was her bright, charming and loving personality along with her soothing and encouraging ways that slowly brought Tom out of the protective bubble he had created around himself. A strong friendship was quickly formed while he felt himself change back into this natural self. A better self.

[Y/N] became his silent rock to lean on while continuing to work for him. When he was back to his naturally charming and funny self in public and private, she had become conscious about her feelings for him. She was surprised (but also very relieved) that no one had suspected anything. Benedict and his wife Sophie, Idris and his Wife Sabrina along with Charlie and his wife Samantha all had quickly grown to love her as a part of their friend group.

The assistant was way more loosened up with the actors wives as they had a very close and strong bond as women. Around the male actors, she was a tiny bit more reserved but just to keep up the professional “I am not hopelessly in love with my boss and don’t want you to know about it” act. 

But Tom was just as supportive of his assistant when life became difficult for her too. Often placing a comforting hand on her shoulder or back while fighting the urge to hold her close and promise to take care of whatever issue she was facing when she couldn’t keep the tears to herself anymore. Tom and [Y/N] had come a long way together, individually and as friends.

“Bloody hell” 

Tom muttered when realising that he had zoned out for a good ten minutes. His stomach was doing flips but he didn’t feel sick or nauseous. The overwhelming urge to feel [Y/N] so close to him again had left him craving for more ever since she had left his house. 

He bit down onto his lower lip when he remembered the delicate sensations tingling through his body, the intensity was something the actor hadn’t experienced in a long time. Or ever. He shook his head, snapping himself out of his little daydream and shot up from the couch. “I should go grocery shopping for tonight’s celebration” was what he muttered to himself before picking up his car keys from the small coffee table and saying his goodbye to Bobby who had waltzed into the living room with a wiggly tail. 

Tom chuckled, petted his beloved dog and then made his way towards the front door with a pleased smile resting on his handsome face.

~~~

“Fuck, why am I like this?” [Y/N] cried out in frustration as she was standing in her full length mirror, staring at her naked body wrapped in a towel. She just had gotten out of the shower, her skin was glistening and glowing from the lotion she had applied to her body, her hair moisturised . She was scanning her body from head to toe and slowly felt herself become insecure. She had this lingering feeling that the hug she had shared with Tom had a deeper meaning. 

 Her conscious refused to let go of the matter and she found herself wondering if he’d ever be interested in her. Her eyes continued to scan her body from head to toe, every thick bump and curve being intensely observed. “Stop it” she hissed at herself, shaking her head and trying to distract her craving heart from the fact that it might had found its perfect match. “I’m just the assistant” [Y/N] reminded herself before stepping away from the mirror and walking over to her closet.

 She didn’t want to overdress for a simple celebration dinner, and quickly decided on a simple and comfortable outfit for the private event; a pair of black jeans, a white, long sleeved shirt with not too much cleavage and a black jean jacket in case she'd get cold.  

It took her a few minutes to get dressed before she focused on her hair and light makeup. She chose to not wear many layers of makeup. Tonight she preferred a natural look that would also enable her skin to breathe easily. Once she was done, she gave herself a final look in the mirror and nodded her head in approval.

 She looked beautiful, as always.

 “Let’s do this then” she whispered to herself and then made her way out of her bedroom. Now all she needed was for Tom to let her know that he was to welcome her back into his house.  “Okay, it’s nothing special” the assistant muttered to herself while suddenly feeling her heart starting to beat faster in her chest.

 This was the usual habit she had whenever she was about to see the British actor: reminding herself that her deepest desire wouldn't become reality and to keep herself in check. [Y/N] had been in love and had loved a decent amount of people but never had she felt these intense emotions for someone. 

She had been with the most charming and loving or shitty and selfish people, the heartbreaks she had gone through were either very painful and long lasting or quick and rather painless. It always made her wonder how Tom had been able to sweep her off her feet in such a delicate yet simple manner, and why she loved him stronger with each passing day.

The plus sized beauty was now in her kitchen, eating a granola bar while sitting at the counter. The silence in the house smoothly encouraged her to relax for a little while and unwind. She had finished the few tasks she had to do for her boss; making sure that his stylist had the suits ready for his public appearances that were coming up in a few days.

A BAFTA event was just around the corner and Tom had gladly accepted their invitation as he was one of the many ambassadors. The organisation had planned a few games with delightful prices such as apprentices abroad for upcoming musicians, actors and artists or tickets to Tom’s upcoming play to encourage people to get in touch with their creative self. 

The actor was thrilled to meet new people and witness others from different backgrounds, to witness them earn amazing opportunities to either learn, travel or create themselves artistically.

[Y/N] wouldn’t join him to the event. She had a lengthy list of new things to work on for her boss. The final Avengers movie would be released in the theaters in a few months but Tom wouldn’t join the press tour as he’d be on stage here in London. But his own Loki series had gotten the green light so he’d have to start meeting up with the creative writers and producers to see how they’d bring the series to life. It was obvious that Tom would be booked and busy for at least a year.

[Y/N] got lost in her thoughts again, absentmindedly finishing her granola bar while planning her following weeks ahead, she knew that stressful days were ahead but she didn't mind that at all. At the end, she'd get her job done.

It took her a few minutes to snap out of her daze before her phone loudly notified her that she had received a message.

From: Tom

Finally, she thought to herself while unlocking her phone and reading Tom’s new message.

To: Me

I’m done cooking, waiting for your presence now 😊

From: Me

“Aw” the assistant cooed with a wide grin on her face, the message was so short and simple yet it made her feel like she was floating on cloud nine. Especially because Tom rarely used emojis, so to see that she was worthy enough for a smiley face filled her heart with joy.

To: Tom

Her thumb hit the sent button before she hopped off the kitchen stool, her heartbeat increasing again as she felt a rush of warmth and excitement ripple through her body. 

I’m on my way 😊

[Y/N] took her purse off the counter and placed her phone in it before taking out her keys. Her footsteps softly echoed through the air as she made her way to the front door with a gorgeous smile resting on her face. She couldn’t wait to see her love again.

“Wow” was the first thing Tom whispered once he swung the door open, his eyes immediately were blessed with the sight of [Y/N] standing right in front of him. Their eyes sparkled while staring deeply into one another. “Hi” [Y/N] whispered, her body relaxing instantly while waiting for the actor to welcome her back into his home.

~~~

“Hello” Tom finally spoke, his heart pounding so hard that he was afraid she’d be able to hear it.  He took a step aside and widened the door, “Please enter”. The assistant thanked him before walking into his house, not noticing how he closed the door while whispering a soft “You are so beautiful” into the air. 

“It smells amazing” she complimented while already having placed her purse on the small coffee table in front of his couch, now patiently waiting for the actor to turn around and interact with her.

Tom took a few seconds to lock his door before finally turning on his heel and biting back a grin when his eyes landed on [Y/N] again. Her beauty and presence were sucking him into a delicate whirl of endless contentment, but he didn’t fight it. “Thank you, I hope you’ll enjoy the meal. How about a drink first?” he suggested while walking over to her and playfully holding out his arm to her.

She chuckled and happily linked her arm with his, his cologne mixed with his scent filling her nostrils while they made their way into the kitchen where she could hear the soft sizzling filling the air. Tom led her over to the big counter where he already had set the table and everything else up, some candles included. It looked like a romantic dinner.

[Y/N] clenched her jaw to stop herself from voicing how pretty everything looked, it looked like a meal for lovers, not employer and employee. But she swallowed her thought, not wanting to risk saying anything that could ruin the smooth and delightful vibe. So with a soft sigh, she turned around and gently thanked Tom for preparing the celebration dinner.

“Don’t even mention it” he chuckled and made sure that she was comfortably seated before he rushed over to the pans and pots and started to serve her the celebration dinner. Her mouth watered at the delicious sight and she couldn’t wait to dig in. But she patiently waited until he was done with his own plate and was seated before she rose her glass filled with non-alcoholic Peach Moscato. [Y/N] wasn’t planning on getting drunk as the next day would be very hectic for her.

"To you” she gently spoke, her heart fluttering in her chest when Tom copied her actions and smiled brightly at her. “No, to us” he added and let his glass with the same drink clink against hers.

“I didn’t do anything” the assistant responded with a soft chuckle before taking a quick sip of her drink and humming in delight. It tasted delicious. “You’re the actor who went to the audition” she added before lifting her fork and smoothly digging it into a piece of diced and seasoned chicken.

Tom shook his head while following her motions, “You did a lot actually. I wasn’t sure whether I was good enough to even audition for the role. But you encouraged me and supported me from the beginning to the end, and I can’t thank you enough for that [Y/N].

Once his words left his mouth, the room fell silent. 

[Y/N] and Tom just looked at each other, so many unspoken emotions flashing past their eyes. The tension had shifted again but not to something awkward. It was like their souls were communication as the sparkles in their eyes never left. They only thought about each other and how grateful they were to be in that intimate moment with one another.

The actor couldn’t stop thinking about how he suddenly longed to be close to her again. Feel her warm and soft body pressed against him, have her scent make him forget about the world and just focus on her. His lips tingled, the urge to feel hers pressed against his overwhelming him.

[Y/N] was thinking the exact same thing, the attraction she had felt for him only became stronger with every passing moment. Her breathing became quicker when her mind started to picture how it would feel to kiss him…Hold him close while letting their lips melt together as one with nothing but love and passion.

“T-Thank you” was all she was able to say as she snapped back to reality and realised that she hadn’t responded to his kind words. Tom nodded his head and gave her a bright smile before both of them continued to enjoy the food together.

“This is scrumptious” the assistant praised with a hum before taking another bite, trying to play it cool while she felt the heat and warmth course through her body. Tom chuckled and bowed his head, blushing at the simple compliment, “I’m happy you’re enjoying it”. What he didn't voice was how he had spiced up the simple recipe, the need to impress [Y/N] driving him through the short time of preparing the meal.

The two of them then continued to eat while talking about their upcoming vacations, the production of the play wouldn't start until a few weeks and the Loki series was months away from being filmed.  [Y/N] didn’t want to just talk about their work and happily listened to Tom voicing his desire to travel to Asia again for two weeks. He then told her about filming Kong: Skull Island in Vietnam and Hawaii. Throughout the dinner, his hand found hers numerous times and he gave it a gentle squeeze before sliding it back and either taking a sip of his drink or finishing his plate.

"And so I had to explain to my boss's ex-girlfriend that he had wanted the engagement ring back but that he was too embarrassed to come and collect it himself! After he had been caught red handed cheating on her!" [Y/N] finished explaining the crazy story about her previous employer, clasping her hands against her cheeks and shaking her head at the awkward memories.

___

Tom was having a delightful laugh, his cackles echoing through the kitchen while trying to imagine how his assistant must've felt in that moment. "That is just crazy! I assure you [Y/N] that I won't ever ask you to do such a thing for me" he chuckled at the end and shook his head.

"Good, because that experience made me add lots of terms and conditions to my general contract. I've actually been rejected a few times because those who had been interested in hiring me didn't approve of my demands" the assistant chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Like I have no issues going grocery shopping for you but I won't do your dirty laundry or buy lube and condoms for you at 3 o'clock in the morning...". The last phrase made Tom almost choke on his spit before he burst out laughing again, his cheeks starting to hurt from all the smiles and laughter. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed or enjoyed someone's presence this much.

"Shit, Tom. it's almost midnight! We've been eating and goofing around for hours!" [Y/N] gasped in panic, not having realised how fast the time had rushed by. She quickly got up and took her now empty plate, strutted over to the sink and was about to wash it when Tom's voice stopped her.

"Don't even think about turning on the sink, [Y/N]. Let me do this" the soothing yet amused tone in his voice made the assistant roll her eyes and simply place her plate in the empty sink and turn around with a defeated look on her face. "Fine! But I better get going then, thanks again for the meal, it was delicious".

Tom grinned at her and joined her at the sink, both of them washing their hands before drying them and making their way out of the kitchen. "It was my utmost pleasure, [Y/N]". No words were spoken after that as the assistant collected her purse and made her way to his front door, feeling like she was floating on cloud nine.

"Let me know when you get home safely, okay?" Tom whispered while surprising her again with another gentle hug, his arms and hands welcoming her delicate body again. All poor [Y/N] could do was nod her head and close her eyes for a few seconds, no thoughts clouding her head as she lost herself into the embrace.

"Goodnight" she then whispered while pulling away, looking one last time at his handsome face before creating some space in between them, her heart feeling like it was about to combust into flames. "Goodnight beautiful, thank you for being you" Tom whispered, the sparks glistening in his eyes as he watched his assistant bite her lip to prevent herself from grinning like an idiot.

The two of them shared another gentle moment before [Y/N] turned around and left Tom's home. He watched her walk down the front porch and to the drive in where her car was parked. The man couldn't keep his eyes away from her, she was all he could think about and he couldn't stop whispering her name every few seconds while watching her drive off into the night... 

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-Emmanuelle 💋❤️

[troubatrain]

new year’s day - m.tkachuk

a/n: i wasn’t going to write a part two to tis the damn season, but i couldn’t help but feel like new year’s day was an excellent excuse to write one so here we are. i started this blog about a year ago sometime after new year’s and it’s been a little crazy but you guys are honestly awesome. i just wanted to thank you for constantly supporting my fics and chaotic ways i write and all of the people who i get to idea dump with. thank you & have a happy and safe new year’s!

Life was sweet.

Matthew had been blissed out since the moment you both arrived back in Calgary, like the last piece of his life had fallen back into place. You were the kind of peace he needed, someone who anchored him down before his ego got the best of him, and someone who could see past all of the bullshit to begin with. Matthew knew a storm was on the horizon, the talk about what any of this means after you left to go back to St. Louis. Matthew fucked up the first time, because he a dumb kid who wasn’t ready for anything life was about to throw at him. He got scared, all of the new pressure in his life got real and he ran away from the only thing that comforted him.

For the moment, none of that mattered. What was important to him right now was watching you laugh with a few of his teammates in a dress Matthew intended on taking off later.  A laugh he could have recognized anywhere. It was New Year’s Eve, and Matthew was hosting, something he never thought would happen. His teammates thought he was kidding when he asked if they wanted to go to his place for a New Year’s Party, but he was being serious. You outdid yourself, telling Matthew he couldn’t possibly have a party with any sort of decorations.

“You look good with a girlfriend Chucky,” Matthew’s stare was broken but Mark’s voice behind him. A hand lands on his back of his neck to cover the blush. You made him better, that’d been clear from the moment you walked in your freshman English and sat next to Matthew. He had a perfect grade in that class, because he spent a year trying to impress you before he finally just asked you.

“Trying not to fuck it up this time,” Matthew admits sheepishly, because he was so nervous about losing you again, “She’s always been it for me, but I can’t just ask her to stay here-”

“You don’t have to, just let her know she’s part of your plan,” Mark suggests, and it makes sense to Matthew. When you dated the first time, he had all these plans. His plan for where he’d go before he got drafted, his plan to play his first year, and none of them ever included you. Well they did, but Matthew wasn’t about to tell you he wanted to marry you at seventeen. You deserved to know that when he thought about his future, it was with you. 

It was here. It was watching you joke with Johnny and Sam like you’d known them for years. It was the first game you went to after you landed and Matthew got to skate out for warm ups and see you against the glass. It was the other morning when he caught you peeking out the windows of his condo while snow was falling, your eyes sparkling at the site. Matthew couldn’t think of anything else he wanted for the rest of his life besides you.

Matthew excuses himself from the conversation, catching a glimpse at the time. It was five minutes to midnight, a New Year was about to ring in and he got to spend it with you. He sneaks behind you, grabbing your waist and pulling into him, “Hi.”

“Matty,” You squirm, giggling while Matthew tickled at your sides. He didn’t care who heard you call him Matty because it was you. You look up at him, a smile on your face while you pressed a kiss to his cheek. Matthew scoffs, pointing to his lips, “At midnight bubs.”

“Yeah bubs,” Sam teases, Matthew lifting up his middle finger. You grab his hand, lacing your fingers with his.

“Just admit you’re a big baby Matthew, it’ll save us some time,” You smirk, Sam breaking out in laughter. Matthew was a big baby, constantly whining when he couldn’t pull you close in bed or pouting his way through something he didn’t want to do, “Now countdown to midnight with us…”

Five

Four

Three

Two

One

A chorus of cheers and New Year’s wishes filled Matthew’s place, but all of that was static with your lips pressed against his. His hand was splayed across your back, the bare skin peeking out of your dress was on fire from his touch alone. His other hand was tilting your chin up, holding you close to him.

“Happy New Year baby,” Matthew mutters, another quick kiss to your lips before he pulls away. Your eyes fluttered open, snapping back into reality.

By the time it was two in the morning, Matthew had managed to push his party guests out and his next task was you. You were spinning around his bedroom, and Matthew was waiting for you to trip over your own heels every second. You finally flop down on his bed, kicking your feet out, “Please?”

Matthew sighs, pausing from unbuttoning his own dress shirt and sitting next to you on the bed. He unbuckles your heels, “Have fun tonight?”

“I like it here,” You whisper, as if you’d been afraid to admit it. You snuggle into the bed, your eyelids getting heavier by the minute, “Because you’re here.”

“I like it here more when you’re here too pretty girl,” Matthew grins, his eyes soft when he looks down at you, “You need to get out of this dress.”

“Get me out of it,” You smirk, picking your head and giving Matthew a wink. If you weren’t five tequila shots deep he probably would have, but he knew you were far too drunk for that. He chuckles, shaking his head and tossing you one of his shirts and walking into the bathroom. He finally got back into his room, your head on his pillow while you waited for him.

He finally jumps into bed, throwing an arm over your waist and pressing a kiss to your shoulder, “Goodnight.”

“Matty?” You call out, whispering before he falls asleep on you. He hums, waiting for you to speak, “Don’t give up on me this time.”

And Matthew could have sworn he felt his heart break.

***

You woke up with a massive headache, only getting worse by Matthew’s snoring in your ear. The past week had been nothing short of perfect, Matthew pulling out all the stops to prove he really did want you back. You roll over in his arms, tracing the side of his face, he wasn’t going to wake up. Matthew hadn’t changed, and that meant he still slept like a rock. Your fingers moved along the stubble across his chin, a new addition with change you were starting to love.

You finally got out of bed, tossing on whatever hoodie Matthew had closest to the bed and padding down the hallway to turn up the heat. Calgary was cold, a bitter kind you were in a hate/love relationship with. Most of the love came from why you were here, and the weather was something you just needed to deal with. You walk through the living room, plastic cups from the night before were covering the place. Confetti and polaroid's thrown across the coffee table with intentions for them to be a problem for another time. You pick one up, of you sitting on Matthew’s lap. You were looking at the camera, a wide smile on your face while Matthew was just looking at you.

“I want that one,” Matthew’s raspy morning voice caused you to jump, his long arm reaching over and holding the picture in his hand, “For here.”

You give Matthew a small smile, watching him run his finger over the picture. He’s quiet for a minute, biting his lip like he’d been debating what to say, “Matty?”

“I see you in my future,” Matthew breathes out, his last and final confession he had to make to both of you, “When I think about all of the things I want, you’re always there.”

“What if it happens again?” You whisper, tears threatening to spill out of your eyes. The very real fear of this imploding on the two of you scared you like no other. You had to put those pieces back together alone, and you weren’t sure if you were prepared to do it again, “What if this is too much and-”

“It won’t be, I’m ready this time,” Matthew assures you, “I was ready then too, but I didn’t think you’d be. I had to give you up because you deserved better than following me around while I got myself settled. I am, I’m here and I’m ready for this.”

Matthew’s voice was raw, pleading with you that he was telling you the honest to god truth, “This isn’t going to be easy.”

“I’d rather do hard with you than easy with someone else Y/N,” Matthew smiles, his dimples poking out.

“Matthew I swear if you break my heart again,” You threaten, poking your finger into his chest, “I will let your brother kick the shit out of you.”

Matthew chuckles pressing kisses all over your face, the sound of your laugh flooding his place. You spent the rest of New Year’s cleaning the condo, picking up the empty champagne bottles left from the night before and spending the day on the couch before your flight left.

***

What Matthew didn’t know then, was that it would work. Long distance was rough, but you’d both made enormous sacrifices for each other. It took planes, trains, cars and a whole of patience, but by the time the next year rolled around- things still seemed to work. You walked through the lobby of Matthew’s place in Calgary, your suitcase felt heavier than it had been on any of your previous trips. You had a late Christmas present for him, one that if you didn’t give him in person it wasn’t going to be the same.

“You’re here!” Matthew hops off the couch when you let yourself in, he grabs your waist picking you up and spinning you around. Matthew presses a kiss to your lips, his tongue slipping into your mouth when you stopped him, “Babeeeee…”

“Quit your whining, I have something for you,” You stop him, opening up your suitcase and pulling out a folder. He furrowed his eyebrows, sliding it open. It was a job offer. One for your dream position. In Calgary.

Matthew was stunned, speechless while his eyes read over the offer four times. It was real and if it meant what his brain thought it did it meant that a year of long distance was about to be so fucking worth it. His finger ran across the paper, looking up at you. You had a grin on your face, happy with yourself for not telling him until this very moment.

“I’m going to take it, if that wasn’t obvious-” You start to explain, but Matthew had scooped you back into his arms before you could finish speaking. His arms were holding you tightly, muttering something into your shoulder, “What was that?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Matthew’s eyes were bulging out his head, and you narrowed your eyes at him. He was lying to you, you just gave him the best news of his life and he’s lying to you.

“Stop lying”, You demand, stepping out his arms, “Do you not want me here?”

“Fuck, no baby I do, I just-” Matthew sighs, running into his arm and rummaging through his drawers. You stood by the door, confused as to what had gotten into your boyfriend.

“I was going to do this tonight, I even flew out our families, because I got you back on New Year’s and,” Matthew steps back into the room, a blue box in his hand in a color you’d be damned if you didn’t recognize, “In all of my life, I’ve only ever known that I was supposed to be with one person, and that was you. You’re my soulmate, and the world has constantly tried to pry us apart but I swear it just made us stronger. We’re the best god damn team in the world Y/N, and I think we’d be even better if you married me?”

Your hand was over your mouth, tears spilling out while Matthew’s soft blue eyes were staring into yours. He was right, you were the best team in the world. You were two people who could look at each other in a crowded room and know what the other was thinking. You were in love, and the few years where you tried to convince yourself it wasn’t always going to be Matthew at the end were just a part of the story. You nod your head, watching Matthew put that ring on your left hand and you couldn’t help but think about the way you’d get to tell your children and grandchildren your most epic love story.

Because after all, you wanted his midnights, and everyday after that.

[sithsecrets]

five intimate moments | din djarin x reader

A chronicle of five moments that shaped the Mandalorian’s relationship with his one and only crew member.

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3.5 k words

Mentions: illness, hallucinations induced by a high fever, minor injury to the reader character, NO SMUT!

(This is my first attempt at a Mando fic so please have mercy!!!)

---

1.

When the Mandalorian says he wants to hire you as his first and only crew member, you’re taken aback to say the least. Your first impulse is to laugh and tell him that his joke is very funny, because what else could an offer like that be from a man like him? He’s entirely self-sufficient from the look of things, and it’s not like he doesn’t have the credits to buy services from others when he needs them. But one long look into the darkness of that visor tells you at once that what Mando’s said is no jest, tells you that he’s serious.

He tells you that he’ll cut you in ten percent if you help him out a little bit. It’s standard stuff, really, just ship repairs, navigation, and taking care of the baby. You’ve learned a lot under Peli over the last several years, you’ve definitely sat in the pilot’s chair a time or two, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t have a soft spot for Mando’s weird little baby— so why not? Working for him would get you off this planet, and it would be a change of pace for sure.

Doubt sets in the night before you’re set to go off with the Mandalorian, though Peli waves your feelings off pretty readily.

“You’re being stupid,” she tells you bluntly. “He’s a Mandalorian. Just do as you’re told, help him with the kid, and let him keep to himself if he wants to. Everything’ll be fine.”

Peli’s words are of some comfort, though anxiety is still fluttering in your gut the next morning. You say your goodbyes to your mentor and the droids, and then you’re flying off in the Razor Crest on the way to somewhere.

The first day is strange as you try to pick your way around your new home, and you spend much of your time feeling as though you’re snooping around in someone else’s space. The Mandalorian is just as quiet as you thought he’d be, clanging around in his armor doing this and that while you try to make yourself busy. You run out of tasks quickly, however, and it makes you skin itch to sit idle like this.

You watch for nearly an hour as Mando fiddles with the mechanics in one of his arm guards, cursing under his breath through the modulator as he picks at this and that. You think you know what the problem is, but you’re not sure you’re brave enough to tell him that. Finally, though, you can’t let him struggle anymore.

“Let me see,” you declare, cringing as you realize your tone was more commanding than you’d meant for it to be. But Mando says nothing to this, letting you take hold of his arm without uttering so much as a sound. Just as you thought, there’s an issue farther up the guard, one he’d overlooked. A little soldering here, a change of wires there, and then the thing’s good as new again.

“Thank you,” the Mandalorian says, and you can feel his eyes on you through the visor.

“It’s what you hired me for.” You laugh nervously then, suddenly shy under the attention. “Gotta show you I’m not completely useless somehow, right?”

The Mandalorian stands, headed for the ladder on the other side of the room.

“Don’t call yourself useless.”

This is said without so much as a glance over his shoulder, and you find yourself rushing to explain for no apparent reason.

“I didn’t—”

“Yes, you did.” The Mandalorian pauses with one foot on the first rung, finally turning to look at you now. “You’re not useless.”

 2.

The Razor Crest’s interior, in the grand tradition of spaces owned and maintained by single men, is in desperate need of a tune-up. There’s a bit of clutter here and there, and the walls and surfaces and well, everything else could do with a good scrubbing. It’s a big project to say the least, but you think you can tackle it given enough time and supplies.

The perfect window for such an undertaking opens up just a few days after the idea strikes you. Mando’s got another assignment, and it’s brought you to a relatively safe planet nearer to the Outer Core. He’ll be gone a few days, or so he says, and you know already that the market in town will be the perfect place to get what you need.

You set about your task the same day the Mandalorian leaves to set about his, the baby secured to your chest in a makeshift sling. It’s a good thing you brought him, too, because his charm helps you score several bargains along the way.

Organizing everything takes almost a whole day by itself, but after that, the cleaning is easy. You scrub and dust and mop until everything sparkles, and then it’s time to do laundry and see if you can make some functioning garments out of the scraps you find in Mando’s small closet. The clothes he wears aren’t rags by any means, but a little patching here and mending there gives him two more shirts and another pair of pants to work with.

It takes two more days for Mando to come home after you’re done, and he notes the changes immediately. He stops dead in the little hall between the main hull and the place where he keeps his carbonite-contained quarries, looking to the left and then to the right very slowly. You can’t tell if he likes what you’ve done at first, his expression obscured by that damn helmet like it always is.

“I didn’t touch your weapons,” you declare, holding up your hands as if to ward off whatever anger Mando’s about to level at you. But he doesn’t get upset, doesn’t cuss or ask you what the hell your were thinking, so you think it’s safe to go on.

“I scrubbed the whole interior, organized some of the stuff you had laying around, and made myself a better place to sleep.”

You gesture to the pallet you’ve made for yourself on the floor, proud of how you’ve managed to tuck it out of the way. That was the problem with your old spot— Mando had to step around you a lot, and it was becoming impractical. This new space comfortable, too, plush thanks to some cushions and blankets you managed to score in the market. You even have pillows now, but this is something you delight in privately.

The Mandalorian stands silently before you, and you prattle on, showing him this and that.

“I got the baby a couple of outfits to wear, one for colder weather and one for warmer weather. I mended some of your old clothes and washed everything that was here, so that’s done.” You shut the door to the little wardrobe and go to Mando’s bunk, pushing the button so he can see inside. “The woman that sells upholstered goods in the market really liked the Child, so she gave me a great deal. I managed to get you a decent mattress, or something close to it, and a couple of new pillows. She fixed up your old quilt for me too, so I hope it’s warmer now…”

You trail off, words escaping you under the intensity of Mando’s gaze. He’s staring you down properly now, the visor trained right on your face.

“Why did you do all of this?” he asks, gesturing to his bunk, the wardrobe. The thought crosses your mind that perhaps you should have asked before you messed with his things, his sleeping space, and a wave of something not unlike embarrassment sweeps over you.

“I— Mando, I’m sorry, I should have—”

But the Mandalorian still isn’t cross, cutting you off before you can finish apologizing. “Don’t apologize for anything. This is… This is…” He stares at his bed for a long moment, searching for his words. “Thank you.”

Something about the way he says it makes your stomach flutter, though you can’t decide if that’s good or bad.

 3.

The cough is innocuous enough when it starts, just a tickle in the back of your throat that comes on one afternoon. You brush it off as allergies, even telling Mando you’re fine when he asks about it that night.

Two days later, you’re bedridden.

Mando insists you’re absolutely burning up even as you shiver and shake beneath a virtual mountain of blankets, so cold that you think you’ll never be warm again. He forces you to sip on broth and water, though it all settles like sludge in your stomach. It must be bad, whatever you have— you must look bad— because the Mandalorian’s façade is slipping. He’s having full-blown conversations with the baby now, asking the little green infant if he thinks it’s a good idea to cut this hunt short, if he thinks you can be left alone for even just a few hours while he collects the last quarry. And though your body is aching, though you can practically feel the fever cooking your brain at this point, you tell him to finish the job. He made an agreement, and you know it’ll kill Mando not to honor it— you’ll be fine by yourself.

The two of you touch down on some planet in the Outer Rim, and then Mando’s practically running out of the ship. He promises to be back within the day, the sincerity in his voice managing to pierce the haze clouding your mind, and the ache in your bones makes you hope he means it.

Sometime later, you begin to hear a voice coming from the ‘fresher, one that taunts and teases you. It speaks nonsense on and off, but the clearer messages are frightening nonetheless. The voice says that Mando’s not coming back, that he’s left you here forever. Why else would he have taken the baby, hm? He doesn’t care for you, he’s not going to help you.

“Yes, he is,” you retort weakly, becoming more and more upset with each passing hour as this faceless thing continues to fill your head with words and threats. Somewhere in the very back of your fever-addled brain, you know that none of this is real, that all of this is a fever dream. But still, you weep and twist in your bed, scared that the Mandalorian really has abandoned you.

True to his word, though, Mando’s back in record time. You cry out for him the minute you hear footsteps inside the ship, and even the quarry grows quiet at the sound of your voice. Things are hazy after that, but you know that Mando comes to you after just a few minutes, promising over and over again that you’ll be better soon.

You and the Mandalorian and the baby fly somewhere together, this much you know, and Mando comes to sit on the floor with you once the Crest is in hyperspace.

“We’ll be there soon,” he tells you, voice tense and nervous through the modulator. He shushes you when you become upset all over again, emotions stirred by more taunting from the voice in the ‘fresher.

“Make it stop,” you cry, so very weak, “please make it stop. It’s so mean, Mando.”

“Hey, hey,” the Mandalorian cuts, pressing a gloved hand to your forehead. “Nothing can hurt you while I’m here, I won’t let it. I’ll stay right here until we get you to a doctor, I promise.”

And that’s enough to calm you for a few hours, it’s enough to help you fall asleep. You only wake again when you feel arms around your body, when the plushness of your mattress is no longer underneath you.

“Come on,” Mando says, talking to himself as much as he’s talking to you. “The medic will fix this. He’ll fix this, and everything will be fine.”

The medic the Mandalorian takes you to does fix this, but things are touch and go for a few hours there. Your fever breaks in just a couple of hours, thank the Maker, but you’re still very weak from being so sick for so long. You spend two days confined to a medbay bed before you’re deemed well enough to be discharged, and even then, it takes about a week before you’re truly feeling like yourself again.

It’s not until much later that you realize Mando never left your bedside once, and not for the first time do you find yourself wondering what something like that means coming from a man like him.

4.

Mando’s been gone nearly two weeks, and the baby’s beginning to lose it just the slightest bit. He doesn’t talk, of course, not in a way you can understand, but you know he misses his father. If the Child isn’t in a sour mood, he cries, and you’ve caught him playing in Mando’s clothes more than once. It’s stressful, taking care of the baby when he’s like this, but you understand how he feels. You feel strange and almost embarrassed to admit it, but you miss the Mandalorian too. The rational part of you knows it would be best to chalk it up to proximity, but you know in your heart that it’s a little more than that. But just because you know this doesn’t mean you accept it, and you tamp down the feeling at every turn, focusing instead on getting the Child through this rough period.

At the sixteen-day mark, the baby refuses to sleep in his pram entirely, insisting instead that Mando’s bunk will do much better. And you would be fine with that, all things considered, if he wasn’t insistent that you climb in there with him as well.

“Bug, I know you want Mando to come home, and I know you like sleeping with me when he’s not here, but I’m not getting in there with you.”

The baby makes a most discontent noise, pulling on your fingers so hard that he tumbles back onto Mando’s mattress when he lets go. You tell him once again that you won’t be invading his father’s space like that, and then the Child is crying, sobbing so hard his little shoulders shake beneath his baggy outfit. I’m too tired for this, you think to yourself, and you finally give the baby what he wants.

“Alright, alright,” you acquiesce, climbing up into the bunk with a sigh. “But we’re not telling him about this.”

The Child is soothed at once, snuggling down beside you in Mando’s blankets as if he was never upset in the first place. You lie beside him in the dark, eyes already growing heavy as you breathe in the scent of the covers around you, the scent of the pillow beneath your head. All at once, you realize that this is what Mando probably smells like under all the armor and the weapons. Something about that only serves to make this whole thing feel even more like a violation, but you force that thought out of your mind.

At some point, you do drift off, only the be woken hours later by the feeling of a hand on your ankle. And there the Mandalorian is, standing before you in the flesh (and beskar) after all those days away.

“You’re in my bed,” he says to you, though there’s no edge to the words. It’s a simple statement of fact, a plain observation.

“We missed you,” is all you have to say in explanation, though it takes you about three seconds too long to realize which pronoun you chose to throw out in the front there. Now properly awake, you go to cover the mistake, but Mando cuts you off as he is so wont to do.

“I missed you too,” he says slowly, voice dropping almost to a whisper. “Both of you.”

5.

You realize that Nevarro may not be as safe as you thought about three seconds after a man with a vibroblade demands you hand over all the credits you have. You try to flee on impulse, your mind focused on protecting the baby—

Right up until the man catches your shirt, using the natural momentum of the action to propel you right into his clenched fist. Searing hot pain blooms behind your eye, spreading across the entire side of your face and into your nose. You’re completely stunned, unable to so much as form a coherent thought as your attacker moves to hit you again.

It’s like everything happens in slow-motion after that. One minute, your assailant is bearing down on you with murder in his eyes— the next, he’s grimacing, falling to the ground with thud. Two voices urge you to follow them now, and there are hands on your shoulders, your back. You’re so disoriented that it takes you a moment to realize that there are two fucking Mandalorians in your face, but when you do, the urge to fight back leaves you immediately.

Neither Mando is your Mandalorian, but you follow them anyway. They usher you into a tunnel system beneath the city, telling you to turn this way and that, and you do as they say without question. For some reason, they know you— they know your name, and they certainly know the baby because they ask about him the moment the lot of you are concealed. About a thousand questions swim around in your mind as you follow the Mandalorians deeper and deeper into the tunnels, but you aren’t given a chance to ask a single one.

Finally, you’re allowed to stop in a smith of some sort, coming to stand before a Mandalorian woman sheathed in maroon and gold. She regards you for a long moment, pausing over her work to take in the sight of your face, the way you clutch the baby protectively against your chest.

“Fetch him,” is all that she says, speaking to one of your saviors, and they turn and leave without a word.

A period of time elapses before you hear movement in the hall, though you can’t be sure how long. What you are sure of, though, is that you hear Mando’s voice drawing near, and the wave of relief that washes over you is almost overwhelming. You’re safe here, of course— anyone would be, surrounded by this many Mandalorians— but… but they’re not him.

��What happened?”

It’s the first thing Mando says to you, picking up the pace once he lays eyes on your injuries. You’re taken aback by how he crowds you, how he lets his gloved hands linger on your cheek.

“She was attacked by a chakaar,” says the Armorer, speaking from workspace. “He will not be bothering anyone again, though.”

Mando is satisfied by this, thanking his brothers and sisters for protecting you and his child. You thank them as well, though it’s hard to tell if the sentiment lands with the Mandalorians. The Armorer is the only one who responds at all, saying, “You are our brother’s cyar’ika,” she explains, confusing you with a word you don’t recognize, “we as his brothers and sisters must protect you. This is the Way.”

“The is the Way,” intones the group, and then you’re being ushered from the room, tucked under Mando— your Mando’s— arm.

The walk back to the ship is a quiet one, though the Child coos happily. He seems largely unaffected by all of this, even dozing off in his pram as though he’s had an uneventful afternoon. You’re glad he’s asleep, knowing it’ll give you and Mando some time to talk. You want to ask him about what the Armorer said, what that word meant. Mando’s cyar… cyar’ika? Is that what she’d called you?

But you don’t get the chance to speak a word, because Mando crushes you against him the moment you get the baby settled. His arms are strong around your back, the sensation of being held by him effectively knocking the air from your lungs. When he finally lets you go, every question you had stuffed in your mind is gone.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” the Mandalorian says to you, sounding more distraught than you ever thought possible. You shake your head at that— how could he possibly have known?

“I’m fine, Mando,” you press. “Don’t worry about my face, it’s—”

“I should have been there.”

The both of you just look at one another after that, and the Mandalorian doesn’t flinch away when you lay your hand on the side of his helmet. You know at once that everything is different now, but you need to hear it just to be sure.

“That woman—”

“The Armorer,” Mando corrects.

“The Armorer,” you begin again, speaking slowly and deliberately. “What did she mean when she said what she said about me? What is a cyar… cyar’ika?”

Mando’s hand comes up, and his glove is cool on your uninjured cheek.

“’Beloved,’” he says softly, “’cyar’ika’ means ‘beloved.’”

You think your heart’s going to beat right out of your chest, but you force yourself not to be calm.

“If you’re going to call me your cyar’ika,” you whisper, afraid you’ll shout if you don’t, “then what should I call you?”

“Din. You can call me Din.”

[atinydise]

Ateez leaving their s/o for their exes

❦ Genre: Angst (yes it’s the mood these days! 😈)

❦ Pairing: OT8.

❦ Word count: 4k4.

❦ Background music: BlackPink - Lovesick Girls (Kdrama OST Version)

HONGJOONG

Once again, Hongjoong's voicemail asked you to leave a message. This week, he has been really busy. You couldn't see him at all. You tried to come to the studio, but he wasn't there, so you just gave up and waited for him to come. He didn't. For almost 2 weeks, you didn't receive a call or a text. The only way to see that everything was good for him, was his post on Ateez' social media. You were curious to know if he missed you, even a bit.

While you were scrolling on your Instagram Feed as a boring Friday night, you heard your entrance door opening. Your heart made a jump in your chest, he was finally free enough to come. "Hongjoong?" You asked, not moving a bit from the couch. In a short time, he appeared at the door frame. And honestly, you hated the look he had on his face. It was a mix of sadness and coldness. Something you never saw before. "Oh wow, are you okay? Because you look terrible." "Just tired." He replied, sitting on the seat, next to you but not really close as usual. "Do you want to go to sleep now? The bed is ready in any case-" "Y/N, I came here to break up with you."

A long and awkward silence settled in the room. Your brain wasn't processing the actual situation. It was so sudden. "Wait." You stopped him to say something else. "You can't come here after 2 whole weeks without talking to me, and just say 'let's break up'." "Y/N this is really not easy to do... can you please be more considering?" he sighed, running his hands through his blue hair. "Considerate? You don't even give me a reason. So, no, I won't be more considering." You said angrily. "It's just that I saw Jin at the bakery 1 month ago." He started. "We talked for 30 minutes or something and just with this short chat... I miss her. Like I can't stop thinking about her." You scoffed, not believing that he could do this to you. You stood up from the couch and went to the hallway to open the entrance door. "Where are you going?" He asked. "I'm staying there, but you... Get out." "Y/N, I don't want to-" "Hongjoong, get out. I can't even see you anymore." You stomped, pointing at the hallway. "You ghosted me for 2 weeks, not even asking me if I was okay or even alive. You should have told me that you were doubting about our relationship. But you decided to be selfish and to-" your voice crackhead. You knew sobs would come in a matter of time. "To ignore my feelings." Hongjoong was staring at you. He felt really ashamed of himself. "So, leave now. Please." You were practically begging him to go out of your apartment and obviously of your life. Hongjoong nodded and grabbed his jacket back. He stopped one last time in front of you. "I'm so sorry Y/N." He tried to grab your arm, but you stepped back, disgusted. You just pointed at the corridor once again and waited for him to leave. When he stepped out and that you closed the door, you couldn't hold your tears anymore. They stormed one by one on your face. You fell on your knees, your hand still holding the knob. For a second you freaked out because you couldn’t feel air going in your lung because of the emotion surrounding you. But it was not the worse pain today. You couldn't believe he chose her.

SEONGHWA

You were cooking for your boyfriend. He had a stressful week and you wanted him to relax a bit. Even with his ethic schedule, Seonghwa managed to spend some time with you. The only thing strange thing is that he was physically there but mentally, he was totally absent. It's like he wasn't listening to you anymore or that you needed to repeat every time the same question. "He might really be stressed," you concluded. So, as a good and kind girlfriend, you prepared him a good dish made with love.

The moment you heard the bell rings, you rushed to the door. "Hello beautiful soul," you greeted him. "Hi Y/N," he smiled at you. His smile was a bit sad, but you didn't mind, he was tired for sure. "I cooked a really good meal for you!" You said, entering back in the kitchen. He was following you, his big coat still covering his body. "Are you cold here?" You giggled, "I can turn on the heater if you-" "Y/N, can we talk a bit?" He asked, pointing at the table in the middle of the kitchen. "Sure." You sat down on the chair in front of him, glancing at your lasagna in the oven at the same time. "What's happening?" "You know how I hate lying to you or even hide something." He held your hand on the table. You just nodded, waiting for him to continue his speech. But you secretly enjoyed the warmness of his hands. "So, I will be frank." "You are making me anxious." You said, raising a brow. "I met my ex-girlfriend at the mall last week." He started. "I was about to ditch her, but a part of me wanted to talk to her." You puffed at his face, "you have really bad acting skills babe. I can't believe you." "I'm totally serious Y/N. I still have feelings for her." He finally said. "I'm not believing you." "I was distant a bit these days and I think you noticed it. I was constantly thinking about her." More and more Seonghwa was confessing his love for someone else, more he felt your hands removing the grip on his. "I don't think I stopped loving her honestly. I'm really sorry." You were speechless. You never thought that your night would end so badly. "Y/N, I really tried to convince myself that you were the one and only. But I just can't. I can't lie to myself. And I don't want to hurt you with a one-sided love. You deserve way more than that." He explained, trying to find the right way to make you understand the situation without hurting you. "I wish I didn't see her again, so we wouldn't be in this situ-" "I think I need some time alone," you said before going to the bedroom. Seonghwa was really tormented, he hated seeing you this way, but none of you will stay happy in this relationship, knowing that his heart was somewhere else.

YUNHO

"Oh, I didn't know you like black mushrooms! Hyena loved it too!" Giggled Yunho. You put down the pack of mushrooms you had in your hand. "Finally… I think I don't need it this week." "Hyena was indecisive too," he tickled your chin playfully. You smiled at him but inside of you, your whole soul was boiling. It's been almost a week that Yunho was non-stop talking, praising or even comparing you to his ex-girlfriend, Hyena. They dated for almost 2 years before you. Okay, it was one of his most important relationships, but why does he need to talk about her all the time? Everything started when they met at the supermarket. You saw the scene with your own eyes. You spotted the little sparkles in your boyfriend’s eyes when he was talking to her. You never thought she would be a danger since they broke up on bad terms. Seems like that you were wrong. She was a good threat for your couple. "What else do you need?" He asked, looking at the list. "I think I'm done for today to be honest." You replied, annoyed. "Really? Hyena is so stressed when she goes to the supermarket. She's like thinking she won't find anything anymore." He added. You turned around, to face him. "Can you stop talking about her?" Yunho blinked at you, looking like a puppy. "What do you mean?" "Hyena. You are nonstop talking about her! Hyena this, Hyena that!" "Ah really? I'm sorry, I didn't notice..." he apologized, biting his lip. "You kidding right? From the morning to the night, you have only her name in your mouth." "I'll stop talking about her, sorry." You were about to go back to your course list, but something was wrong. You faced your boyfriend again. "Why are you thinking about her so much? Do you miss being with her?" You asked, praying for him to say no. "I-I, no, of course no." He stuttered. "It's just because we saw her last week." "A part of me wants to believe the lie you just said." He bit his lip once again. He was definitely anxious. "Do you miss her? Yes or no?" You resumed, simply asking him to choose an answer. "This is complicated," he started. "I don't know." You scoffed, annoyed by this answer. You were usually comprehensive, but today it wasn't the case. You wanted to know if you were the only idiot since the beginning of this relationship. "This is not complicated Yunho. I think that you are in love with her." "I wouldn't say that, this is too strong." "Then tell me that you won't talk to her anymore and that I'm the only one you love." The long silence who settled between both of you was the best and shorter answer you could have. "I knew it." You whispered. "Y/N, it's just that we spent so many good memories together. I can't forget her like that." "I heard enough." You said, almost throwing back all of your vegetables in his arms. "Y/N wait, don't go." "I don't want to see you anymore. You obviously used me to forget your ex, but you failed." You said, before turning back again, but for the last time.

YEOSANG

You were in the subway, waiting for the train to stop at the right station. You needed to look at the board more than usual because your mind was somewhere else. You couldn't stop thinking of your boyfriend and his ex. He was meeting his ex-girlfriend every day for a whole week now. They needed to work together. They were the daily MC of a new idol program. At first, it didn't bother you. Yeosang was professional and they weren't even talking backstage. Until she starts to engage the conversation with him. When you went there to just say hi, you noticed a strong alchemy between these two. Useless to say that you didn't like it at all. Today, you went there with him again. You wanted to see their whole interactions. You were the first one to be there. Only a few staff were present to prepare the set. The first thing your boyfriend asked was "is Kira there?" He didn't even greet the staff. "No, she will be a little bit late today." "You want to see her so bad huh?" you asked. "Oh, come on don't start." He rolled his eyes. "Don't start what?" You asked, even if you knew exactly what he meant. "Your jealousy and stuff like that. We don't have enough time to argue right now." He said, before going to the hair stylist. "Well, that was cold." You muttered to yourself. You sat on the couch on the corner of the room. You were patiently waiting for Kira to arrive. You were about to fall asleep when, she entered, her hands full of chicken packs. "Yeosaaang! I got a surprise for you!" She yelled. "Oh, you scared me idiot!" He giggled at her. "Hello," you greeted her. "Oh hi, you are?" She smiled at you. "Yeosang's g-" "Friend! She's my friend." He cut you straight. You looked at him, completely horrified. Why was he lying on something so important? "Oh, nice to meet you," she handed her hand to you. You didn't care about her, you wanted to know why he acted this way. "Why did you tell her that I was your friend?" you asked Yeosang. "Y/N, it's not the moment." "I don't care if it's not the moment!" you replied back. "I'm your girlfriend. If you are ashamed of me then whatever I did, I'm sorry!" "Your girlfriend? I thought you were single Yeo." Added Kira. Your heart clenched, he literally told that he was single. "You told her that you were single?" Your voice cracked. "You are the worst person I know." "I wanted to tell you I swear. I would never do something like this." "Please give me a favor and erase me from your life. Because I'll do it." You said harshly before leaving, bumping into Kira which caused the packs of chicken to fall. You were sorry for not being polite enough, but the heartache you got right now was completely insane.

SAN

Your relationship with San was completely disastrous these days. He was barely talking to you and was completely out of mind. When you asked him what was going on, he was denying everything. Just saying that he was tired or even exhausted. You even asked his closest friend Wooyoung, but he couldn't help you. After a few days, you just gave up. You tried to cheer him as many times as you could, but it went worse day by day. When he was talking to you, he always had this sad smile on his face. You couldn't see this warm and kind presence in him anymore.

Tonight, you stayed at the dorm for the night. You had a movie night with the boys, and everything seemed pretty fine. San was laughing and talking like usual. He was just still a little bit distant with you, but it wasn't a matter anymore. At the end of the movie, everyone went to sleep. Only you and San were remaining in the living-room. "Should we go to sleep?" you yawned. "You can go if you want. I'll stay here for a bit." "You are not tired?" "Not really." "Then I will stay awake a bit too," you smiled at him. Touched by your actions, he smiled back at you. But you notice this sad look on his eyes again. "San," you called him quietly, "come and sit here." You patted the seat next to you. He nodded and executed. You didn't try to touch him in any kind of way, he seemed really tense. "What about you tell me what is going on babe?" You nicely asked. "What do you mean? Everything is fine." "I know you well, so I can spot when you're lying or not." You declared to dissuade him. Your boyfriend didn't reply. He simply stared at his feet. "Tell me." You insisted softly. "I won't judge you." "I think you will," he added. "I won't. Come on... I don't like seeing you like this." He hesitated again. But, seeing your face so worried about him made his heart clench. "Okay... It took at least a few weeks for me to consider the situation and try to find a solution." He glanced at you, looking if your attention was still on him. "I saw my ex-girlfriend 1 month ago." He gulped. "I know it's not a good thing at all. It was a coincidence. She was behind me at the queue." "And what's the matter?" You asked. San struggled to find his words. He knew that it would be hard no matter what he says. The whole situation was a torture for him. He kept this secret for so long that he was overwhelmed by it. "Babe, why are you crying?" you asked, terribly worried now. You tried to comfort him with a hug, but he moved back. "San, I just wanted to-" "I'm in love with her Y/N." He said, looking right at your eyes. He hated himself for doing this to you. The look on your face made his heart break in a dozen of pieces. "W-What do you mean by you love her?" You stuttered. "I can't stop thinking about her. I want to be with her again. No matter how hard I'm convinced you are my soulmate." He sobbed, wiping his tears. "San..." "I'm really sorry. I want to erase her from my mind, but I can't." He held your hands, keeping them on his cheek. "I don't want to lose you." "I need to go." You claimed, grabbing your shoes as fast as possible to leave the dorm. San tried to hold you back, but a part of him just convinced him to let you go. He wasn't sure about his final feelings for his ex-girlfriend. But he couldn't stay cold and distant with you.

MINGI

Yesterday, you talked about going to the amusement park together and he was so excited about this that you couldn't help but to buy 2 tickets the same night. Lucky for you, he had a whole day off. That's why you were surprised when he declined your offer. You didn't tell him that you bought tickets, it was supposed to be a surprise. And you were sure that today, your boyfriend and you, will have a really good day.

It didn't last long since you got to the dorm. You exited the taxi as fast as possible, your tickets right in your hand. You were holding them like if they would disappear. "Yes sure, I'll be glad to go there with you." You heard your boyfriend's voice in the hallway. You didn't focus too much on what he just said because you were glancing too much at the girl figure in front of him. He was smiling so much that it could hurt his jaw. "Mingi?" You called him with a quiet and shy voice. He stopped looking at this girl and focused on you. The smile on his face faded a little bit. But too much for your liking. "What are you doing here Y/N?" He asked, walking towards you. You shyly showed him the tickets for the amusement park that you were tightly holding since you hopped off the taxi. "You were so happy yesterday when he talked about that so I thought it would be a good idea to go today." You smiled at him. "Let's talk a second, please." He grabbed you by the shoulders to bring you in the staircase. "What's going on? And who's she?" "I can't come with you today. I'm sorry but Hyejin needs me for something." You raised a brow, "Hyejin? Like Hyejin, your ex-girlfriend?" He simply nodded, not daring to say 'yes' out loud. "You are seeing each other again? I mean it looks like you planned your day." "We saw each other last week and it was already planned." He said, biting his lip because he knows you will be upset. "Ah. So, you see each other a lot?" you asked. "These times yes, but strictly as a friend." "As a friend? Are you sure?" He was avoiding your stare. Since their first meeting after their break-up, he couldn't stop thinking about her. "Should I take this long silence for a no?" "I'm not sure." He finally replied. "Not sure?" you looked right at his eyes. "How is it possible to not be sure?" "I love you. But I love her too." His words felt like a ton of hammers hitting you right in your chest. Never you thought that these little words would be so painful. "How do you know you love her?" "I-I don't know, I just want to see-" "No wait. How do you know you loved me?" "Y/N, I love you. You should know that of course." "Then you should have been loving me and only me." You claimed, your mouth shaking a bit. "It's complicated..." he sighed. "It's not Mingi! You broke up with her because she cheated on you. Do you hear me? She cheated on you!" You talked enough louder for her to hear you. "I know that." "Are you really considering going back with someone who broke your heart?" You asked, completely disgusted. "She changed, she told-" "I can't." You cut him straight, bumping into him so you could exit this creepy staircase and stop seeing his face. Just before opening the entrance door, you saw her. With this arrogant smile on her face. You wanted to insult her, to punch her on this cold floor and yell that Mingi didn't deserve someone like her. But you just walked out and jumped in the first taxi. You were so disoriented that you couldn't even breathe anymore. The taxi driver didn’t have enough time to ask you where you were going, that you busted in tears on the back seat.

WOOYOUNG

“Hi guys”, you greeted the boys. “Hello Y/N,” said San, waving at you. “If you are looking for your boy, he’s choking at the cafeteria.” “What is he doing here? I thought he wanted to keep his diet.” “We don’t know but he seems pretty confused these days.” Added Yunho. “Alright... I go check on him.” You said, leaving the backstage room. As fast as you could remember, you went straight to the cafeteria. Exactly as the guys said, Wooyoung was there. He was bent over the balcony, his gaze lost on the city under him. His back was facing you, but you could feel a strange aura coming out from him. You opened the door slowly and joined him. “I think you are going to hurt yourself if you jump this high.” Wooyoung giggled lightly. “Even if my body is going to crush away, that wouldn’t be the painful thing right now.” “That’s not ready a mindset you should have before going up on stage.” You stated. “What’s going on?” Your boyfriend sighed once again. He was still looking right at the crown under the balcony. “Do you think you are going to forgive me?” “For what?” “For falling in love with someone else.” You looked straight at him. You could easily say when your boyfriend is joking but now, you saw that it wasn’t the case at all. “Are you...?” “Serious? Yeah. Sadly I am.” He ran his hands through his black hair. “I’ve met Soojin backstage and my dumb heart fell for her again.” Even if you were disappointed and sad about this unexpected confession, you couldn’t be mad at him. “It’s okay. We can’t control our feelings.” You tried to comfort him. “You are not mad at me?” You shook your head, “it’s better that you told me before doing stupid or regret it for the rest of your life. Right?” “You are so... perfect! Why I am so stupid!” He punched his forehead. You held his hand before he could hurt himself. “Don’t. Feel. Mad.” “If only I could turn off a button to erase these feelings about her!” “Maybe it’s just because you saw her...” Before Wooyoung could explain, Seonghwa interrupted both of you. “Lovebirds stop flirting! Wooyoung we need to go.” You were not lovebirds anymore. “I’m coming!” He yelled back. “Let’s go.” “I think it’s better if I don’t come with you.” “Y/N...” “Don’t worry about me! I’m a strong and grown girl!” You flexed your arm. “I really need to go but I don’t think I’m done with you.” He patted your back. You nodded enthusiastically just to make him leave. No way, he could be here to see the “strong and grown girl” busting in tears.

JONGHO

You had a day off today and decided to spend it by your own since Jongho was too busy to hang out with you. Despite the disappointment, you didn’t give up and motivated yourself to enjoy a solo shopping day. You bought everything you found cute. Your only thought was to wear it for your boyfriend. All the compliments he told about your look since the first day you met, gave you a big head.

When you claimed that you were done for today (or better to say when you receive a message from your bank account asking you if your credit card was stolen), you went back home. On the way, you heard your boyfriend’s laugh not far away from you. Even if you thought that it was impossible, you followed your instincts and turned around. You were absolutely right; he was there at the terrasse of this cafe. Laughing with this girl who was smiling widely at him. Instinctively, you hid behind the nearest bus stop. A bunch of people were looking at you weirdly, but your attention was right on the scene in front of you. This girl’s face was familiar to you. “Is she a staff member?” You whispered. Instinctively, you took your phone off your bag and texted Jongho. [“Where are you?”] [“Practice room. Busy.”] “Sure...” you grunted. He was lying to you and seemed to be perfectly fine with it. Before sending him another text, you kept listening to their conversation. You didn’t know what to expect from Jongho. He seemed so different. So fake. Exactly how the boys described him when this girl is around. [“Hope you are having fun because Sienna looks like she is.”] Sienna. His ex. You saw an old photo of both of them on Jongho social media before you started to date. When the boy read your message, you saw his facial expression being confused. [“Where are you? I can explain.”] You didn’t want to confront him by message. You got out of your hiding place and walked just in front of the table. “Hello lovebirds.” You greeted them sarcastically. “Y/N...” “Who is she?” “I’m Y/N. His current girlfriend.” You replied before he could. “But I don’t think I will stay it for long because I heard your conversation. Seems like he really wants to go back with you. Congratulations.” You clapped arrogantly. Jongho stood up, gripping your wrist, “Y/N stop. We will talk about that.” “I don’t want to talk about it with you. Wait.” You paused, pointing at him. “I don’t want to talk with you anymore.” “Y/N.” “If I didn’t cross the street randomly, I would never hear you saying that you missed to be with her and that you never stopped to love her.” “I can explain.” He repeated. Angrily, you grabbed the lemonade glass on the table and poured it on Jongho. “Too late for your miserable explanations Choi Jongho.” You throw the glass on the floor right between both of you and left them there. People would probably think that you did it to be dramatic, but no it was only to show Jongho how you felt. Broken inside.

[sweetchup]

💌Love/Hate💌

Type: Pariston Hill x Reader

Prompts: Soulmate Au (Colorblind) + 7– Innocent/Corruption Kink

Author Note: OMG I am so so so sorry this took so long. I’m not sure what it was but my brain couldn’t write for Pariston. Like it was if the zodiacs took over and put it into a total shut down mode. It was insane. (ALSO Small warning, this is Pariston and, as expected, he’s an abusive dick)

(Valentine’s Day Masterlist)

When you had first accepted the job of being randomly assigned someone’s secretary, you hadn’t expected to be assigned to the CEO of a high end tech company. You mean, who in the world would have known that by just calling a flyer on a street corner would have led to working with someone so prestigious.

It almost sounded too good to be true!

….And, you wished you hadn’t jinxed yourself in that moment. The CEO of that high end tech company actually turned out to be only 21, having inherited the company from his father. He was not only a spoiled brat and a player but, my god, was he lazy. You were sure that if you hadn’t spent hours on the phone discussing ideas with his father and done all the paperwork for him, that the company would be in ruins before someone could say “We’re broke!”.

Though, no matter how hard you worked your ass off these past couple months, nothing could prepare you for this moment.

“Dear god someone help me…”

You and his father had told him many times over this week. On February 14 at noon, you have an important meeting with the Hunter Association. You can’t miss it.

But, of course, that lazy ass was running late. By 45 minutes to be exact.

“Miss (y/n), is Mr Avoli going to be showing up any time soon? It isn’t like him to be late.”

… And it surely didn’t help that you were standing in the meeting room, waiting for him with the Hunters Association's very own Zodiacs.

Shamefully, you turn to the doglike woman who had introduced herself as ‘Cheadle’ earlier and give an apologetic bow, “I-I deeply apologize. You see Mr Avoli's son, Hunter Avoli, recently took over the company. I reminded him constantly this past week about the meeting but I’m afraid he may have forgotten...”

“Oh that guy.” You hear the monkey zodiac ‘Saiyu’ spit out in disgust, “He is almost as bad as that dirt bag, Ging.”

“It’s not a problem Miss (y/n). I’ve met Hunter many times before so I’ve seen first hand how unprofessional he acts. This is clearly not your fault.” Cheadle reassures, giving you enough confidence to lift your head up from bowing to look at her as some of the Zodiacs complain in the background.

As you stare at the grayish colored woman, you can’t help but wonder what color she was wearing. Due to you still not having found your soulmate, you can only see the color of your soulmate’s eye color. Which, in your case, was brown. A chocolate brown to be exact.

And, usually dogs were brownish in color so you kind of wondered what color Miss Chealde chose instea—

“We are still waiting on the chairman and two other zodiacs so why don’t you take the chance to try and give Hunter a call.” Mizaistom, the ox zodiac, suggests suddenly.  

“O-oh of course. Thank you very much Miss Cheadle, Mr Mizaistom. I’ll be very quick— Eep!”

Oh god why me?

Just as you made your way to the door to exit the room, someone on the other side had already swung it open. Making you, in pure surprise and shock, take a step backwards. Though, just like how your day is going so far, Luck truly didn’t seem to be on your side as you end up tripping on your own two feet and begin to fall backwards.

You expected to land hard on the cold tile floor in front of everyone, extremely embarrassing really, but instead you don’t. You still hit something firm and hard but… it was different. Actually, now that you think about it, you felt higher up than you were before…

“Ah, Ging this is why I said you shouldn’t barge into rooms so suddenly! You scared our poor guest!” A voice suddenly calls out from behind you, his breath slightly tickling the shell of your ear. Quickly, in surprise, you whip your head around to—

…Shit.

As your eyes lock with the male’s chocolate brown ones the room suddenly bursts into a flurry of color. Blues, reds, greens, maybe yellows? You honestly didn’t know the proper names for all the colors you were seeing for the first time. However, in all this chaos, you happened to know two things.

One, That you had just met your soulmate and Two,...

… it was none other than the Vice Chairman himself, Pariston Hill.

“Oh my! How unexpected!” Pariston chuckles out, causing what seems to be sparkles to pop out around him, “I never thought our guest here today would end up being my soulmate. Not at all!”

“I—“ “Shut up Rat!”

You freeze as something suddenly comes flying past your head. What the fuck...

“You have a soulmate? Not a Chance! Not a Chance! Not a Chance!”

“Quit joking.”

“I doubt the King Of Kickbacks would have an ordinary soulmate.”

It was as if a bomb had erupted in the room, everyone was in pure disbelief at what Pariston had just said, Suggested, he even had (Well everyone except Ging, of course). Hell, some of them haven’t even found their own soulmates yet. So, why did the heartless ass Rat get to have one?!

“I assure you, I’m speaking the truth. Why would I lie about something like this?”

We can think of many reasons…

“U-uh…” You suddenly speak out, slightly flinching as everyone’s attention turns to you, “He is telling the truth… I saw colors other than brown for the first time when we locked eyes.”

“See!” Pariston says happily, pulling you affectionately closer to him in his hold. As you are flustered by the act from the handsome man, he takes the chance to walk to what you believe is in the direction of an empty seat. However, you soon realize that wasn’t what he was intending as he walked right by it and leaves through the other door located in the room.

“Hey Rat!! Where do you think you are GOING!?!” The tigerlike man screeches out, storming through the door you two just left as well.

“Well, I’m going to spend time with my soulmate of course.” Pariston exclaims, his smile not even flinching as bloodlust from the other zodiacs creeps out from the room.

“As if I—“ Suddenly, a loud chuckle behind you rings out, cutting Kanzai off.

“C-Chairman Netero!” You squeak out in surprise at the older man. Oh god, what a disaster. As someone trying to make a deal to him, this looks bad. So bad.

“My, what a twist!” The Chairman rings out, stroking his beard as he thinks as he walks past you two. “Hmm… You and (y/n) can be excused from today’s meeting, Pariston.”

“B-But, Chairman!” Kanzai rebuts. Soon shutting up however as the chairman grabs onto the collar of his jersey.

“It only makes sense to give them alone time, Kanzai. We will just call Mr Aloisi for the meeting instead of having (y/n) give it to us.” Netero explains, giving you a small wink as he drags Kanzai as if he was some kitty cat back into the meeting room.

What a strange group…

As you sit there stunned at everything that has happened so far, you don’t realize Pariston has already begun walking again. It takes you a while to realize as well, precisely the loud sound of the door of his private office being closed. He must have walked pretty fast…

“A-ah. Umm you can put me down now.” You mumble out to the… Blonde man (unable to tell if that was the correct color).

“Hmm. What was that?” Pariston asks, as if he didn’t quite hear you from before.

“Oh. I was wondering if you could put me down.” You tell him again. Shit, the way you said that came out bad. “I-I mean I’m really appreciative of you saving me but you are likely getting tired of holding me and I can walk on my own.”

“Oh!”

You expected at that exclamation that Pariston would instantly put you down to the floor, but instead he walks over to his deck and places you down in front of that. Odd, but you don’t question the sparkly man.

Speaking of odd, as you looked around the room, you realized it was really cold in here. Much colder than the conference room and hallway. God, what a bad day to wear a skirt but no tights. Especially those insulated ones you recently bought.

“Are you Cold?” Pariston suddenly voices up, causing you to turn behind you to look at him. He still hadn’t moved from his spot right behind you.

“A-ah yes I am. I don’t want to be a bother but could you possibly turn it down a couple of notches?” You ask, taking a step back a little to give a little bit of space between you two.

“I’m afraid I can’t. My thermostat broke this morning.” Pariston exclaims, his smile turning into a bit of a frown. However, that didn’t last long as he soon had a full blown out smile again. “But, I do have my jacket that I wore to work this morning. It should be… Ah! There it is! Right on the seat of my chair if you want to grab it.”

“Oh.. thank you.” You give Pariston a small smile before leaning over the desk to grab the brown coat.

You couldn’t wrap your head around it but for some odd reason you didn’t feel fully comfortable around him. Which was even weirder because you didn’t understand what was causing it. Shouldn’t you naturally feel comfortable around your soulmate?

Perhaps, you just needed to get to know him better. That’s likely it. Your just nervous since he was supposed to be your clien—

“Ah!” You let out a yelp as you feel pressure and sharp pain in your lower regions. At first, you thought it was perhaps a weird cramp or something like that. However, once you fully grasped what you were feeling, you realized you were just trying to make yourself believe that.

“Oh whoops! Tight. Tight. That must have hurt.” Pariston chuckles out, rocking his hips back and forth as his eyes watched his cock disappear and reappear out of your hole. Harshly letting go of the strap of your panties that he had pulled aside to watch as an ever so slight bit of blood comes out in your slick. Delighted to see such results.

“P-Pariston. Please be gentle.” You gasp out, turning yourself by your waist to place a hand on the man’s chest. Ever so slightly fisting the fabric of his suit when he suddenly gave a really hard thrust. “Let’s slow down… too soon…”

“How come? I thought you said you were grateful to me right?” Pariston teased out, pulling your hand off his suit as well as pushing your front down against the desk. Making it so you were trapped underneath him.

“I-I am but—“ “Shh… I’m only taking my reward!”

However, even with your constant pleas for him to be slower, gentler, Pariston continued his actions. Watching you grow more and more wet as that uncomfortable burning sensation suddenly turned into pure ecstasy.

It was perfect…

Pressed down against the desk, unable to move as you were essentially being taken advantage of by him. Your very own soulmate.

It was embarrassing, agonizing and traumatizing.

Surely, you hated him. You despised him.

Having waited long enough, Pariston decided to finally pull out and flip you over so he could see you and the results of his hard work. “Now, Now my dear. It’s not so—“

Pariston feels himself blink a couple of times.

Oh… So, you were one of those types huh?

It was if you were some humanized version of a golden retriever. Your eyes that were supposed filled with terror or hatred were still as sparkly and innocent before you began. You were loyal to him to a fault and he honestly doubted you could bring it in your heart to even hate him.

It was annoying but it wasn’t that big of a problem. He could always break you in other ways.

However, that’s not exactly what was troubling him right now.

Fluttering? Or, Bubbles?

Whatever it was, he didn’t understand why he was feeling this sort of way. Especially seeing you look at him like that. With that love filled look…

“Pariston…” You mumble out, your voice slightly slurred. “Are you okay? Are you done?”

Are you okay?

Those three words ring in Pariston’s head. Eventually, causing him to break his composure and let out a light laugh.

“Aw. Did I leave you high and dry? Here I’ll fix that.” Pariston calls out. A slight shiver going up his spine as he hears you let out a small moan as he slips back into your dripping cunt.

You know what, he didn’t care how strange you were making him feeling.

Whether you looked at him with loved dazed eyes…

Or cried out how much you hated him with those kissable lips of yours.

Either way, he would enjoy every bit of playing with you. You had the rest of your miserable lives to try it out after all.

[legal-graffiti]

Happy One Year Hyperfixation to Me! ~~~

Catra can hear Adora pacing her room like mad when she enters. Adora stops when she hears the door closing.

"Catra!" She walks over to her instead, affection plain in her eyes. She takes Catra's hand, pulling it to her heart. Catra stares at it. Her fingertips brush the outline of the Failsafe, and Adora's heart races beneath her palm. Adora leans in close, pressing Catra into the doorway, and peppers Catra's face with kisses. Catra squeaks. Adora lets her go.

"Meeting with Entrapta ran a little late," Catra explains, breathless. "You okay?"

"Mhm. You're so warm," Adora murmurs in soft delight, nuzzling her cheek. At some point she stops moving, happy just to have Catra crushed beneath her. Catra taps her arm.

"We can cuddle, I just gotta get cleaned up first." Adora presses one more kiss to her lips. She lingers there, both of them still pressed chest to chest. "Adora," Catra chides playfully. Adora reluctantly pulls away.

"Be quick?" she asks. She's desperate, and Catra isn't sure why.

"So clingy today," Catra says, but her soft smile betrays her. Her fingers brush against Adora's arm as she slips out, and her tail curls against Adora's wrist. Catra grabs something comfortable to wear and heads into the bathroom. She leaves the door open. Adora bounces on her heels just outside, the steam from the shower tickling against her skin. As much as she likes seeing Catra without clothes on, she's even more impatient. Catra gives her a confused look when she gets out of the shower to brush her teeth. Adora is cowed into sitting on their bed to wait.

Catra walks to their bed and climbs onto her lap when she's done. She places her arms loose around Adora's neck, smirking. Adora takes Catra into her arms with a beaming smile.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Catra teases. Adora nuzzles into her shoulder, holding her tighter. She rolls onto her back and then her side. The motion hitches Catra up with her, making her yelp. They land with a soft poomf on their designated sides of the mattress.

Catra giggles. Adora's hair splays wild on the pillows. Catra's side has none of those; she just uses Adora. Adora admires the moonlight halo against her. She reaches her hand up, playing with the back of Catra's hair, making her purr. Then it drops down to her neck. Catra lets out a soft gasp when Adora touches the scar there. Her fingers trail down to her shoulder and follow the line of her arm until she clasps their hands together. Catra watches Adora take her hand and press it to her lips, enamored. She pulls it down, holding Catra's hand against her chest again, like she did earlier in the doorway. Catra's knuckles brush against the failsafe scar. She watches it- Catra hasn't been able to ask about that. Not yet, anyway. Adora releases her hand, and holds Catra's face with gentle fingers. She presses their heads together.

"You're real," Adora breathes in relief. Catra sits up and frowns.

"I'm what?" Adora tries to pull Catra back into her arms, but she isn't having any of that until she gets answers. Adora sits up so she can drape herself over Catra instead.

"At the Heart. I had a dream that you were here- in my room- and everything was perfect. And I guess this part wasn't really a dream- Prime took everything away from me." Catra shudders. She’s grateful that she never saw Prime face-to-face again- not after Adora had rescued her from the Velvet Glove. Adora blasting the ship with magic was probably the best thing that ever happened.

"I shouldn't have left you then-"

"No," Adora says, "It was when I was dying in the Heart. The virus." Catra lets out a soft breath. Adora crosses her legs so she can pull Catra on top of her. She buries her face into Catra's neck and clings to her. "I've been threatened before. That doesn't scare me. But sometimes I wonder if I'm still there. That you'll disappear if I even close my eyes. Your love is... It's wonderful, but if it's only a fantasy I'm having..." Catra runs her fingers through Adora's hair with shaking hands. She kisses her head.

"No. This is real," she assures.

"I can't take losing you."

"You don't have to die to have this." She can feel Adora crying on her shoulder, the way her whole body heaves with her stuttering breaths. Catra pets her hair. "I love you, Adora."

Adora pulls her head away from Catra's neck. She kisses Catra softly. Her lips taste like tears. She pulls them both back into the bed, laying Catra on top of her. She kisses her, again and again and again.

"I love you, Catra. I love you."

~~~

Before the Heart, Catra would pull away from Adora, afraid to let herself be vulnerable, afraid that she would only be pushed away in the end like always. Adora missed having something as simple as holding her hand, but she couldn't find the words to say anything.

After the Heart, Catra still hesitated. But they hesitated with a lot of things, so it wasn't unexpected. As wonderful as it was to have each other, it was still new, especially in the face of three years of being enemies.

After last night, Catra takes her hand every second of the day that they're together. Like a lot of things she does, Catra doesn't wait and she doesn't ask. She looks at Adora like she wants to put her in her heart, where nothing will ever hurt her again. It's not possessive- it's grounding for her, actually. Catra watches her with hope in her eyes, and she isn't going anywhere.

Adora never tells anyone else. She doesn't even tell Bow and Glimmer. So Glimmer doesn't understand it.

"I know you love her, Catra, but Adora doesn't need you to hold her hand to walk," Glimmer teases. Bow nudges Glimmer with his arm.

"Oh come on. It's cute!" Adora frowns. Catra does it because she knows the depth of her anxiety. It doesn't feel fair to her to brush it off.

Catra laughs.

"Are you sure, Sparkles? I'm kinda the brains of the operation." It's Catra's usual teasing, but it also lets Adora decide whether or not to say anything. She only grins and pulls Catra's hand to her lips.

"And the beauty too? Save something for me, Kitty." Catra lets out an indignant noise. Adora laughs and kisses her on the cheek.

~~~

When they go to bed that night, Adora wraps her arms around Catra. Catra purrs in amusement. Adora tugs a bit before taking a step back, so Catra knows to follow. She leads them towards the bed. They fall backwards into the big fluffy mess, Catra practically crushing Adora beneath her body. Adora only hums with delight. She appreciates Catra just being here with her, and she needs her to know it. Catra settles in, happy as long as Adora is happy.

"See? I'm right here," Catra whispers against her lips, "So close your eyes."

Adora does. She holds Catra tighter, feeling her chest rise and fall with her breath, the heat of her skin, the pulse of her heart like her own.

"I'll be here," Catra says, "Always."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

~~~

Catra has racked up an impressive collection of suits during her time in Bright Moon, and Adora has never tired of seeing her in them. A bold streak of silver stands out in her hair now. It's a warm grey against the dark of her hair, and Adora's heart catches in her chest. God, Catra looks more handsome every year, every day even.

Adora didn't think she'd get to marry her, much less be here. Today they're dressed for the anniversary of the day Prime was defeated and magic was released to Etheria. The end of the war.

Adora walks up to Catra as she fixes her lapel, a starry-eyed look on her face. She cups Catra's cheek in her hand. Catra pauses and gazes up at her, before covering Adora's hand with her own. There's an overwhelming fondness between them, in their comfortable silence, the soft smile at their lips, the way their fingers brush together. Adora's eyes flutter closed, and she takes a sharp breath.

"It was so long ago," Adora says. Catra turns her face into Adora's hand, kissing her palm. Adora makes a choked noise, and Catra notices tears falling down her cheeks. She squeezes Adora's hand.

"Adora, what's wrong?" There's soft concern in her voice. But Catra doesn't panic like she used to when Adora cried. She pulls Adora closer with her other arm, and just holds her. Adora shakes her head and laughs, even while she's still crying. She leans in and peppers Catra's cheek with messy kisses.

"Catra, you make me so happy," she whispers, "The last twenty years have been the best of my life." Catra goes breathless. She holds Adora a bit tighter.

"Idiot," she murmurs, "You don't have to cry over that." Adora knows she doesn't mean it, and she just laughs more. Catra lets go of her hand, only to wipe away Adora's tears with her thumb. She presses their heads together, nuzzles her nose against hers. "You make me happy too. I'm just... So lucky to have you." Adora beams. Her arm glides up Catra's back, and her fingers settle in Catra's mane.

"I love you," Adora promises her. There's no other words she can think of, that live up to everything Catra's been for her. Catra purrs. She tilts her head ever so slightly. Adora can taste her breath when they lean in to kiss, soft and sweet. They only pull away enough to breathe, and then Adora realizes that Catra is crying too. The good kind. She strokes her hand through Catra's long, wild hair.

"I love you too," Catra promises her, "Always." Adora sways a little, and Catra follows the motion. They hold each other close.

When they do have to pull away for real, it's slow and lazy. Adora presses one last kiss to Catra's lips. Catra fixes Adora's diadem on her head, then fusses with her hair a little, just to touch her. She takes Adora's hand.

"Come on, beautiful."

[noona-clock]

Traveling Love (Collab)

Genre: Fluffy/Romantic AU

Pairing: Nam Joo Hyuk x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: None

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, Masterlist | Words: 2,074

A/N: Welcome to the third series in the monthly Love In Fours Ways collab with myself, @jackiejacks923​ @prettywordsyouleft​ & @this-song-thats-only-for-you​ . We have all taken inspiration from 4 illustrations (linked below), and during the last week of the month, we will each be sharing a 4-part mini-series based on those drawings.

Credit to: Puuung - Love Is In The Small Things

Part 1: Talking About The Places You Want To Go

You always knew when Joo Hyuk had had a rough day at work. 

Well, I guess it’s more accurate to say that you always knew before he told you.

Without fail, at the end of a long and stressful day, Joo Hyuk would park himself out on the modest balcony of your shared apartment. Sometimes he would just be sitting there browsing on his phone. Sometimes he would be reading, sometimes drinking a cup of hot tea, and sometimes he would just be sitting in the chair with his head tilted back, examining the sky.

Tonight, it was a mix of two: he had a cup of hot tea sitting on the small side table next to the chair, and he also had his head tilted back so he could examine the darkening sky above him.

He was, apparently, too engrossed in pondering each star becoming gradually more visible because you were able to approach the balcony door without him noticing. Something must really be bothering him.

You took a breath before grasping the door handle and sliding it open, eyebrows raised as your boyfriend’s head jerked a little in surprise. But when he saw it was you, his expression softened -- his forehead smoothed out and the frown tugging at the corners of his lips transformed into a ghost of a smile.

“Hey,” you murmured quietly as you stepped out into the cool stone surface of the balcony. “What’s up?”

Instead of answering you verbally, Joo Hyuk simply held out one arm, his fingers stretching out toward you and beckoning you over you to him.

Once you took a few steps in his direction, you slid your fingers into his and bent down to greet him with a soft kiss on the lips.

“How was your day?” you mumbled, even though you knew -- basically -- what his answer would be.

Again, instead of answering you verbally, he scooched back in the chair and made room for you in-between his legs, patting the space with his free hand in a silent invitation.

You squeezed his hand gently before shuffling over to the chair and perching in front of him on the cushion. A content sigh escaped your lips when you leaned back against him, your eyes closing briefly when you felt Joo Hyuk press his cheek against the side of your head.

He wound his arms around you, lifting one leg up and resting his foot on the edge of the table as you pulled your knees up toward your chest.

As soon as you had settled into his embrace, you felt him take a breath.

“I think I just need a break,” he murmured, his lips ruffling your hair gently.

“I agree,” you replied with a tiny nod of your head. You weren’t sure what was going on at work, but he’d been out here on the balcony more often than usual lately -- whatever it was, you knew without a doubt he deserved a break from it.

Joo Hyuk waited a few moments before asking, “Can you take any time off?”

Your brow furrowed softly, and while you wanted to tilt your head to look at him, he was holding you just tightly enough that you couldn’t quite manage it. So, instead, you simply replied with a soft but slow, “Yeah... Why?”

“Let’s go somewhere.”

You almost let out a delighted gasp.

Of course! Why hadn’t you thought of that?

It had been almost a year since the two of you had gone on a trip together -- the last vacation you’d taken as a couple had been even before you’d moved in together, so it was absolutely time for another one.

“I would love that,” you replied, your lips curving into an excited grin as you nestled back even further into Joo Hyuk’s chest. “Where should we go?”

“That’s a good question,” he murmured. He was quiet for the next several moments, but you knew the gears in his brain were working away because he was playing mindlessly with your fingers. Then, he finally said, “Well, do we want a quiet vacation or a busy vacation?”

You pursed your lips slightly in thought before answering, “I think a bit of both. Busy days but quiet nights.”

“Do we want to go somewhere we’ve been and love or try somewhere new?”

“Definitely somewhere new,” you nodded.

“A city? The countryside? By the ocean?”

You had never planned a vacation like this, but you had to admit -- it was pretty fun. Especially since you were making all the decisions.

“How about... a city by the ocean?”

Joo Hyuk let out a breath of a laugh, linking his fingers through yours and squeezing your hands. “That sounds perfect.”

“I think,” you continued, leaning back even more and tilting your head up slightly to gaze at the stars. “That we should find a city by the ocean with lots of history and great architecture and delicious food.”

“That sounds even more perfect,” he murmured into your ear before pressing his lips to your earlobe. “Do you have a specific city by the ocean in mind?”

“Not yet,” you grinned. A shiver ran down your back as he kissed your ear again. “But I will find one.”

“I trust you,” he whispered. His lips then moved to your jaw, and you couldn’t hold back a soft giggle as he tickled your skin with kisses.

After he’d finally made his way to your lips, he settled back against the chair, tightening his hold on you and letting out a soft sigh.

You waited a few moments before speaking, partly wanting to give him some peace and quiet but also partly wanting him to answer your question without you having to ask -- but your boyfriend was too reserved for that, even after all this time.

“Do you want to talk about it?” you inquired gently. “You seem really stressed, and I don’t want you to let it build up or anything.”

“It’s just work,” he answered dismissively.

Your eyebrows lifted slightly, and when he didn’t continue, you nudged him a little with your elbow. “So? You can talk about it. Even if I won’t understand what you’re talking about, it’ll still feel good to get it all off your chest.”

With that, Joo Hyuk let out a very deep sigh, and your brow furrowed with worry.

“There’s just a lot going on, and two people left my department, so we’re short-staffed. We’re all doing the work of more than one person, and there are more projects than usual lately, so... it’s just a lot.”

A frown curved your lips, and you pressed your head back into his shoulder to try and comfort him. His love language wasn’t Physical Touch (it was Acts of Service), but you still wanted to let him know that you were here for him -- physically and emotionally.

“It’ll be all right,” he assured you even though he didn’t sound incredibly convincing. “We just have to get through these projects and hire a couple of people as soon as we can. It won’t last forever.”

“When do you think we’ll be able to take our trip?” you asked, figuring it wouldn’t be soon if he was that busy at work.

“How about next month? The weather should be nice,” he answered.

“Yeah? That soon?”

You felt Joo Hyuk nod, and then he replied in his quiet, deep voice, “I will do my best to get as much work done as I can --”

“Without burning yourself out,” you interrupted.

“Without burning myself out,” he promised. “And then we can enjoy our vacation together next month.”

You carefully untangled one of your arms from his embrace and held it out, extending your pinky finger toward him. “I will do all the planning, and I promise you it will be exactly the break you need.”

When you turned your head as much as you could to look up at him, you saw that familiar shy, astoundingly handsome smile on your boyfriend’s lips.

He lifted his own arm, hooking his pinky around yours before the two of you stamped your promise together with the pads of your thumbs.

“I can’t wait,” he murmured, now looking down at you with those warm, sparkling eyes of his.

“Me neither,” you beamed. And then you pushed yourself up just enough to capture his lips in a kiss.

After a few more kisses, you settled back against his chest and allowed him to simply hold you while the two of you looked up at the stars.

You weren’t sure how long you stayed out there, but when you realized the air was getting more of a chill to it, you figured it was time to call it a night and head inside.

As Joo Hyuk closed and locked the door to the balcony behind you, you shuffled into the kitchen toward your electric kettle.

“Would you like some tea?” you asked before taking the kettle over to the sink so you could fill it up.

You heard him hum in response, but you’d spent enough time with him by now to know that particular hum meant yes.

Just after you heard the hum, you heard the sound of his slippers scuffing across the floor. The sound got closer to you, so you quickly grabbed two mugs from the cabinet, setting them down on the counter just in time before he slid his arms around your shoulders and leaned over to press his cheek against yours.

You had just cuddled on the balcony for quite some time -- and now Joo Hyuk wanted more?

He really wasn’t the most affectionate person. He had no trouble telling and showing you he loved you in other ways, but he very rarely initiated cuddle sessions, and hand holding was about as far as he ever went out in public.

“I love you,” he murmured as he held you against his chest. “Thank you for being so amazing.”

Your cheeks warmed a little at his words. “I love you, too,” you replied through a shy grin.

And since the kettle was still working on bringing the water to a boil, you turned around to face him, winding your arms around his middle and tilting your head up to look at him.

“I love you, too,” you repeated. “And I just don’t want you to get burnt out. I want you to be able to talk to me about stuff that stresses you out so you can unload it all here at home.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said quietly, leaning forward to press his forehead against yours.

“I know it’s never been easy for you to talk about stuff like that --”

“But you make it a lot easier,” he interrupted.

Your grin reappeared, and you moved just enough so you could kiss him.

Joo Hyuk was really unlike anyone you’d ever met -- he had his flaws, of course, and your relationship wasn’t always beautiful rainbows and butterflies.

But, like he said, he made it a lot easier. You absolutely wouldn’t want to do life with anyone else.

“And, hey,” he murmured. “For this trip... since I know you’ll do all the planning, I want you to go all out.”

You raised your eyebrows a little and shot him a curious, surprised look.

“I’ve been working way too hard, and I want to treat us. Find the nicest place to stay, the best restaurants -- whatever.”

Of course, his request made you just a tad nervous. It was very unusual to spend that much money on a vacation... 

But you would be lying if you said it didn’t make you more excited to plan it.

“You got it,” you nodded.

Just before you placed your lips on his again, you heard the soft click of the kettle turning itself off.

Even though Joo Hyuk was so clearly stressed out from work and on his way to complete mental exhaustion, it had been a nice night.

A very nice night.

Sharing a chair on the balcony, looking at the stars, planning a vacation.

And ending it with a soothing cup of tea was the perfect touch. You wanted to snuggle in bed, sip your drinks, and worry about nothing -- not even planning the trip.

That you would do tomorrow. You could wait to start researching, but you couldn’t wait that long.

Part 2

[theresnosafeharbor4myships]

TITLE: Out of the Grave - Chapter 2: The Confession (Chapter 1 here)

Ichabod couldn't move, couldn't take his eyes off of the mirage before him, could barely breathe. How could she be standing here, days after she'd disintegrated into that confounded box that'd then combusted into nothing, looking none the worse for wear? Looking as gorgeous as the day he'd met her. Looking as real as the heartache clawing at his insides felt.

It had to be some monster's trick, a devil's devious ploy to destroy him. He raised his arm, his forefinger pointing to the sky. "Who are you?" he managed to demand harshly, though he felt none of the power the words conveyed. The creases of her smile deepened, her beautiful brown eyes sparkling at his confusion indulgently. "Crane." He longed to close his eyes and revel in her presence, let her voice wash over him and sluice the grief away, soothe the hurt in his heart like a healing balm. She hadn't answered his question, instead speaking his name as a statement, and he nearly gave in to his desire to accept this fake as the genuine article. He opened his mouth to speak, but she began before he could formulate any words. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions....and I'll do my best to answer them. I can't imagine what the past few days have been like for you," she lamented, her voice and expression dripping with sympathy. "And before you ask, it's really me." He squinted his eyes at her, doubtful and hesitant and simultaneously so damn afraid and desperate to believe her. "Prove it," he challenged. One side of her mouth quirked up as if she expected nothing less from him, and she held her fist out towards him. He eyed her hand skeptically, unable to reach out and touch her, even with a simple fist bump, until he knew for sure it was her. She waited a handful of seconds, but when he didn't reciprocate, she slowly dropped her hand. "I know this can't be easy. I know it doesn't make sense, not yet. I can't quite believe it myself. But it's me," she entreated him to believe her. "Prove it," he repeated, more heatedly this time. She thought for a moment, the intense look on her face willing him to trust her. "We were in Pandora’s lair, and the last thing I said to you was to never give up. The last thing I heard from you was...you calling my name." He nodded, the moment indelibly imprinted in his memory, a cursed experience his eidetic mind had relived a thousand times already in the past few days. "Before that, we sailed to the entrance to the catacombs. Found Betsy Ross in the hidden chamber inside the temple just before the essence of Pandora's box wrapped its ugly black tentacles around me. You carried me out, had..." she paused momentarily before continuing, "words with Betsy, and then she left. We followed not long after." The more she spoke the harder his heart beat against his ribs, the more heat flooded his body, returning warmth to him and the empty house he'd inhabited for over three days. "Abbie...?" he dared to believe. She smiled fully at him, and his heart broke itself back into place. "Oh, Abbie," he breathed in a broken whisper of relief, and she easily launched herself towards him as he moved to embrace her. 

They covered the several feet between them in a single heartbeat, and he snaked his arms around her, holding her fast, his knees nearly giving out at the feel of her alive, warm, breathing, the smell of her fragrant and clean, her arms cinched around him, a welcoming comfort he'd expected never to  experience again. "Abbie," he murmured again, nearly gasping out her name on a heaving cry, his eyes dropping closed. He knew it bordered on inappropriate to hold her so long, but he couldn't make himself let go for fear she'd fade away before his eyes again. He cupped her head, holding her against him, though by how tightly she held him she had no intention of letting him go either. He breathed her in, grateful for and reveling in every movement she made, inhaling, exhaling, her body pressed against him, her presence more powerful than any drug. Reining his emotions in, he slowly released her from his embrace, gripping her shoulders and peering at her like a vision from heaven. She still smiled gently at him, not overwhelmed or fearful of his desperation in the slightest. "Abbie, how...? It's been three and a half days. How are you here?" he marveled. "Miss Jenny and I searched for a way... Miss Jenny," he interrupted himself. "We must tell her! She needs to know." He patted his pockets searching for his phone but stopped when she pointed to it lying on the coffee table. He grabbed it up and scrolled through his recent calls. "Don't tell her over the phone; it’d be too cruel. Please, just ask her to come here. I want to tell her, show her in person." He nodded, sure Miss Jenny would think him drunk again anyhow if he told her Abbie had walked through the door and hugged him. He clicked on her name and stared at Abbie as the phone rang, unable to let her out of his sight for even a moment. Voicemail picked up after a handful of rings. "Miss Jenny, it's me, Ichabod. Please come by the house as soon as you're available. There's... something we must discuss. It's of the utmost importance, and I beg of you not to delay. I eagerly await your visit. Respectfully, Ichabod Crane." Abbie nearly smirked at him, and he wanted to query her about it, but he refrained, needing so much more than her wit and banter about his entirely too prim and proper voicemails. Without thinking, he sank to his seat, still staring at her in awe. "How is this possible?" "I don't exactly know," she admitted, moving the box of tissues from the couch to the coffee table, dropping to the cushion and angling towards him. "I emerged from the lake, much like I did—like we did—when we returned from the Catacombs. It's just down the way from the river cave where you were buried. All I can figure is that that body of water or that acreage of land is somehow linked to...whatever realms exist beyond." His brow furrowed in consternation, and she continued. "Anyway, I came out of the water a bit ago, without memory of where I've been or what happened after I felt myself slipping into the box. But I had this..." She fluttered her hand in a circle, trying to find the right word. "...this knowledge, like it'd been downloaded into my brain." "What knowledge?" he questioned warily. "You said it's been three and a half days?" He nodded, wondering what this count of 84 hours and—he looked at the clock—34 minutes had anything to do with anything other than being the exact count, nearly down to the minute, of how long he'd suffered in anguish without her. Her smile surprised him, and he waited, quite impatiently, for the punch line. "We've called ourselves Witnesses. Others, our enemies, have called us Witnesses. But we've never paid attention to the passage from Revelation that speaks of us. I woke up with this knowledge, this…unmarred understanding of our role, our destiny. And not even Pandora, her box, the Hidden One, or death can thwart that. As eternal souls, we’ve been given power against the antagonistic forces of evil. And this job of making things right, of justification, is never brought about by a single witness. There's always got to be two.”

He stared intently at her, in awe of both her and the information she relayed. Indeed, they’d never read much from the Scriptures about their role, instead merely settled in to their roles as warriors. This knowledge she now had seemed to grant her a lighter countenance, a more secure understanding of their place in this world. And it’d brought her back to him. He waited for her to continue. "See, Revelation chapter 11 describes the death of the two witnesses only after the testimony—our role to fight against evil—is done. We're only to die at the end of all trials, after all of the tribulation. And we're only to die together." "But you did die...didn't you?" "I don’t know,” she answered truthfully, visibly confounded. “All I know is Pandora, while she may have held more power than anyone we'd ever faced before, is no match for the biblical prophecy. You said it yourself once: the Bible foretells two witnesses. You and I must remain together if there is any hope of victory." He hung on to every word, trying to comprehend all she detailed, not to mention her presence here once again. "You’re saying...we're invincible?" "No, not as I understand it. We've been endowed with... fortitude and strength to fight these battles, the demons, the witches, the monsters, the ungodly. We can still die. And will. But not until our appointed time, and no one other than big-G God determines that. And even then, it's only for three and a half days." "Three and a half days," he muttered, the wheels in his brain trying to keep up with her revelation of their part in the cosmic war they fought. 84 hours. All this time he'd been calculating not how long she'd been gone but how long before she'd return. The notion filled him with a heavy dose of incredulity, and not a little fear.

Something tickled his brain, a conversation from long ago, and his fingers twitched as his tired mind drew up the memory. “Not long after we met, you told me about your encounter in the woods. You said you’d been missing for four days.”

“Four days,” she repeated quietly as her eyes went wide. “Closer to three and a half, if we’re being specific.”

“And Miss Jenny was spared too. Perhaps because of her relation to you. Or her proximity at the time.”

Eyebrows raised with uncertainty, Abbie nodded.

“You’re right,” he claimed in surprise. “Moloch couldn’t defeat you then, and Pandora and her hellish box couldn’t conquer you now. Three and a half days, and you’re revived.”

“Just as the prophecy says: we’re given power, able to overcome our enemies. And at the end…‘But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet,' Revelation 11:11," she quoted. "That's why you're here," he marveled. "The prophecy isn't complete, and He...He sent you back." She nodded resolutely. "We still have work to do." He couldn't respond, trying to take in all that she'd relayed, the weight of their destiny, the fact that she sat before him in perfect form, speaking to him of their future after he'd mourned the unspeakable loss of her for over three days. His heart's undulation from sorrow and despair to relief, wonder, awe, and astonishment left him reeling and emotionally spent, and he closed his eyes against the onslaught. "Crane?" The concern in her voice made his heart ache anew, and her hands settled on him like cool silk, one gripping his arm, the other clasping his fist.

God's wounds, how he'd missed her! Missed her quirks and foibles, her goodness and passion, her fierce spirit, persistence, and kindness. Her contagious laugh and beautiful smile, expressive brown eyes and teasing nature, the way she explained things when he felt confused and teased him when he became too academic. How she cared about people, held herself to the highest degree of integrity, defended him against any naysayers, made him feel valued in this time he was only beginning to truly settle in to. He missed hearing her putter around the house after he'd gone to bed, playing chess with her, discussing and solving cases with her, listening to her sharp mind delve into fine details, her surprises of confections or ethnic foods he'd never had the joy of experiencing before. Missed seeing her first thing in the mornings, bleary-eyed and coffee-deficient, bedhead hair wild and sexy, so excruciatingly adorable sometimes she stole the breath right out of his lungs. Missed the sound of her voice, her big brown-eyed stare, her petite frame next to him, how she'd always protected his back. Missed her flirtations and irritabilities, her soft touches and fierce hugs. Missed every single detail about her, flaws, favors, and features all. "Crane..." "Yes, I...I merely need a moment," he nearly begged. She started to pull her hands away, but he grasped them, gently but firmly. "Please," he murmured so softly he barely heard his own voice. "Don't go." She squeezed his hand in response, trying to comfort him, and the silence of the room filled with the knowledge of her presence. "I'm sorry. Crane, I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice full of sympathy. "You shouldn't be. You quite literally saved the world, Lieutenant." She turned her hands over in his until their palms met, and she clasped at him. "I mean... I'm sorry for the loss that you and Jenny have endured the last few days. Losing Joe and then...."

"And then you," he finished for her when she'd gone silent. "It must feel like whiplash, having me here." She almost sounded regretful, though he knew she merely sympathized with their suffering. He stared at her intensely. "Yes," he admitted honestly. "But I wouldn't trade you for a hundred battalions of soldiers to fight this war with me." A shy, appreciative smile eased over her face, and she looked down at their joined hands. His eyes followed, and he stared at the ying and yang of them, her hands so small and dark in contrast to his large, pale ones. Complete opposites in nearly every way, and perfectly complimentary because of it. The memories of all the things he'd wanted to say floated through his mind, the reasons he'd spent days mentally flagellating himself, how he thought he'd never have the chance to make up for all the times he'd swallowed down his affection for her, of the words of all those who'd seen that he loved her before he'd faced the realization, and too late it'd seemed.

Master Corbin knowingly prompting him to ‘talk to her.’ Miss Corinth blatantly denying his words. “I think you are ready for someone. I just don’t think it’s me.”

Master Mills’ words upon their first meeting. “Take good care of my daughter.” Betsy had spent less than an hour in their presence. "Only one truth matters: your heart belongs to Abigail Mills," she’d declared. “You love her, don’t you?” Pandora had stated. “She is your hope, your everything. I took her from you.” His mind flashed in picture-perfect fashion to his desperation for her, his need to rescue her from Purgatory and the utter desolation he'd felt at having left her there; the absolute despair that'd come over him when she'd become lost in the Catacombs, the numbness he'd forced upon himself to secret his emotions away in order to focus on finding her. The way he'd fluttered around her when she'd returned, ensuring she ate, making her laugh, keeping her company, wooing her with full candlelit dinners and rousing late-night games of chess. He had so much to make up for—he’d caused her such pain over the years when he'd only ever wanted her safe and cared for. He needed to tell her—now—what she'd come to mean to him. He watched his thumbs rub over her soft skin, the feel of her warm hands pouring liquid heat back into his frozen veins. "Having you back, I cannot begin to express my elation." He lifted his eyes to hers. "But I shall try." She lifted her eyebrows in innocent wonder. "Abbie, when I awoke in that cave four years nigh, I never could have comprehended this world and what my life would become. I felt lost. Defeated, and alone. And then you walked into the room. Despite our initial and mutual misgivings regarding one another, your compassion and integrity drove you. Your tenacity for the truth and your strength of character made me believe I could trust you. And I've never stopped. I know I've done things that've hurt you, things I regret and I'd go back to erase if I held that power. Please," he asked sincerely when she started shaking her head against his words. "Please, hear me out.” She nodded once, and he took a fortifying breath before continuing.

“So much of our time together has been me chasing an old life, one that’d become lost to me before I ever even crawled out of the ground. I tried to cleave to it…” He balled his hand tightly into a fist. “And the harder I held on, the further it slipped away from me.” He slowly opened his fist. “And through it all, there you were. You helped keep me grounded as everything I’d ever known and relied upon disintegrated. You spent more time trying to fix…the Crane family problems than you did grieving all you’d lost because I appeared in your life. And never did you complain. You’ve been the epitome of kindness, patience, virtue, and strength. And it’s more than I deserve.”

He threw a finger up in the air to halt her protests. “I’ve made some grave mistakes, the greatest of these being...  You’ll have to forgive me. In my day we weren’t quite so free with our sentiments. We were more…”

“Puritan?” she offered.

He smiled self-deprecatingly. “Indeed. Though I am striving to become a 21st century gentleman.” His expression turned serious again. “I’ve missed you gravely these past few days, Abbie. You’ve come to mean so much to me over the years, and when I thought you were gone before I ever took the chance to tell you how much I care, I…”

His trailed off, staring into her wide, trusting eyes. His heart beat wildly at this step he was about to take. He swallowed hard and plunged forward, her expectant look filling him with hope.

“You have been the greatest surprise and the most valuable treasure of my life. I love you, Abbie. I have for longer than what’s appropriate and more and more so every day. And I regretted it profoundly when I thought I’d never get the chance to tell you so. I love you. And there’s nothing in this world I desire less than to be without you. I want you with me always. That is...if you..." His words faded away, uncertainty replacing his resolve. She could reject him—dear God, he hoped not, but she could—and still he wouldn't regret letting her know she was loved. Not after the abject self-loathing of the past few days. In one smooth move, she tucked her legs beneath her, kneeling next to him on the couch, sitting back on her haunches. She reached for him then, one hand lacing through his hair and resting at his neck, the fingertips of the other settling against his scruffy jaw. She gazed at him from eye-level, tears flooding her eyes but not falling. He didn't know what they meant, but she'd moved so close, invaded his space in a way she'd never dared to before. He could only peer at her helplessly, not comprehending how he'd arrived at this moment after losing her. How her warm hands could be touching him, her ears hearing the words he thought he'd choke on for the rest of his lonely life, her eyes staring into his soul like the sun blazing onto the frozen tundra. She mesmerized him, his mind simultaneously reeling from and numbed by her presence. The trauma of the past few days and lack of sleep had him spent; he had nothing left to give at this moment and everything to lose. "Ichabod." She breathed his name, and his heart clenched in his chest, recalling the only other time she'd done so. Then, too, she'd left him speechless, though he should've spoken up; he couldn't now even if he wanted to. Her knees pressed against his thigh, and he felt the soft puffs of her exhales ghosting over his skin. Her fingers absently teased along his neck, and he felt tingles race down his body. It'd been so long since anyone had touched him so intimately, caused such sensations to course through him, and he stayed frozen in place, nearly overcome by sensory overload. He watched her, helpless, wondering what came next. Her eyes, filled with desire, flicked between his gaze and his mouth as she inched towards him. Strewth, he must be dreaming! Passed out on the couch after drinking heavily to try to numb the pain and grief. Hell of a job he'd done too, to conjure such a perfectly sensual fantasy. He let her close the distance between them, unable to think straight, unable to move, but prepared for the feel of her lips, the taste of her kiss, the heat from her flowing into his frozen limbs. Her expression, so soft and vulnerable, made his heart ache fiercely, the cavern inside his chest closing with each inch she moved closer. All he could do was watch her. Time had slowed, frozen just like he had, as if the heavens had pressed a pause button, and his blood pounded loudly in his ears. Then, without warning, it seemed to scramble forward, and he watched as her eyes dropped close. His did the same as her lips pressed against his. He was not prepared. Whether the torrential cocktail of the past days' emotions or the reality that his fantasy had come true deserved blame, he couldn't say, but he sat completely at her mercy. She moved slow, patiently, her kiss soft, tantalizing, hot, and he moaned out a soft breath in disbelief and wonder. She started to ease away from him, but he chased her lips, not ready to wake from this searing dream, and she easily fell into him, her arms looping around his neck as she pressed herself against him. He came alive then, blossoming under the scorch of her ministrations, and he turned towards her, one hand cupping her head gently, the other roaming her back, pulling her more urgently against him. "Abbie," he murmured heatedly against her lips, but she silenced him easily, her tongue teasing his, her mouth drawing another moan from him, even as she matched it with her own. She moved to straddle him, and he helped her, his hands steadying her hips as she slid one leg over his lap. His large hands nearly spanned her small waist, and he moved them over her petite frame, from her lower back to the curve of her...buns (that word didn't seem so offensive at the moment), up the line of her spine to her shoulders, then down again to her hips and up her sides until he felt her rib cage beneath his hands, his thumbs just below her breasts. He wanted so much more, but even as she allowed—encouraged—his handsy exploration of her and continued doing marvelous things with her mouth and tongue, his mind screamed at him to cease, the impropriety of their situation a haunting specter he couldn't shake. Before he could muster up the willpower to pause their fervor, his phone both vibrated and rang, and he reluctantly, regretfully eased away from her. He touched his forehead to hers, his eyes closed, self-conscious about his shortness of breath—though he immediately noted that Abbie suffered from the same affliction. His phone continued warbling loudly and sputtering across the coffee table, infernal thing it was, fraying his sensitive nerves. Clearing her throat, Abbie slid off of his lap and grabbed for the phone. He watched her, cheeks tinged pink, lips rosy from his kisses, contented look on her face, and wanted to pull her right back to the place she'd vacated. Instead, she glanced at the phone, then held it out to him. "It's Jenny," she intoned softly. He nodded, still not entirely convinced he wasn't dreaming, drunk or not, and took the phone from her. He swallowed hard before answering with a meek hello. "Crane, are you alright? I got your message." He peered at the petite woman in front of him, overwhelmed and grateful, exhausted and thrilled beyond reason she hadn't disappeared like a desert mirage, and wanted to weep at the realization that she was real. She stared back at him as if he'd hung the moon, eyes dilated, corners of her mouth upturned in a perpetually pleased smirk. His heart nearly gave out knowing he was the cause of such a wondrous look. "I am...alive." Miss Jenny wouldn't understand his dual meaning. Yes, his heart still beat, but more than that his body zinged with fervor, full of passion and longing, his lips hot from Abbie's kiss, his mind reeling with all the possibilities that lay before them. "Stay that way. Be there in five." And she hung up. Ichabod cupped the phone in both hands, drumming his fingertips on its back, trying to think of something to say, something to do that wouldn't find them back in a compromising position, especially with Miss Jenny on her way. He began twirling the phone in the palm of one hand, the fingertips of the other tapping out a beat against his knee. "Would you like to sit back down?" Abbie's eyebrows shot up, an amused smirk on her face, and he realized the unintended innuendo in his words. "Oh no, not... Of course, I didn't mean to imply... I meant..." His hand fluttered in a circle in the air, his tongue tripping over his words. God's wounds, he felt depleted. He needed sleep. But not just sleep. Rest. Still, he couldn't help thinking if he fell asleep he'd wake up to find this was an exquisite dream he'd never get back.

Focus, you imbecile. "I just thought you might want to sit a spell," he managed to explain, his hand indicating the other end of the couch, the large comfy chair. "Miss Jenny will be here soon and..." And he didn't know what. He could barely keep his thoughts in order after the past 20 minutes, let alone the past three and a half days. The look on Abbie's face turned to concern. "Jenny's not going to take this well," she surmised, beginning to pace. “Not at first.” He'd laid his heart out, spilled the words he'd thought would plague him to eternity, played all of his cards. And while she'd seared him with her passion, she was already moving on, unaffected. His heart sank, broken all over again for different reasons. What came next for them? For him? How could she feel so indifferent after branding his lips with hers? "We don't have nearly enough time for me to say all the things I want to say to you before she arrives."

He hadn't realized until this how many ways a heart could be devastated. Hearing her now... Wait, had she just...? He watched her pace in frustration for a moment, her words sinking in to his daft, sleep-deprived brain. His heart, lying in the pit of his stomach, fluttered to life, making him queasy and anxious to hear what came next.

"Abbie...?"

She stopped moving and faced him, the coffee table standing between them. Her hair, full around her face, sat perfectly, her wondrously pouty and kissable lips called to him, her eyes filled with compassion and—dare he think it?—love. He couldn’t stop staring at her.

"There's so much more I want to tell you, so many things we have to talk about." Her eyes pleaded with him. "This isn't over, Crane. Promise me this isn't over."

The desperation in her tone simultaneously ignited concern and anticipation. "It's not over, Lieutenant. It's only just beginning," he promised fervently, resolutely.

She opened her mouth to respond but was silenced by an urgent knock at the door.

Jenny had arrived.

[sirowsky]

The Flowers Always Know

Description: When a mad scientist uses you as an experiment while you’re on holiday, the Heroics only just manage to save you. And in your recovery you become very close to the leader of the group. (Slow burn)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Language, mentions of torture and murdered children. 

Link to Masterlist

Comment: Well, now, I seem to have gone a little overboard here, because this chapter is 6550 words! I’m sick with the flu and isolated and bored, and all I do is sleep, so I have no idea how this happened. The chapter is a bit heavy, lot’s of information to get across for future developments, but we meet some new characters that will be recurring! Also - next chapter is going to be the big 100K one, so please send me a word or phrase you’d like me to incorporate in it, I like a challenge! All my love to you, darlings!

Chapter 36

  The next morning, Marcus woke you up in an unconventional way. Normally, he’d just kiss you somewhere, or throw one or two limbs over you and pin you down so that he could try and pretend that he didn’t have to get up from the warm bed, and your soft skin.   While he didn’t have a bad morning mood, like you, he was lazy and languid and almost excessively soft the first half-hour of the day.   But on this day, he woke you by quite literally jumping on you.   You were lying on your side, with your back to him, and somewhere in the sluggishness of still-asleep-but-not-fully, you heard his phone beep. Since it wasn’t your alarm, your sleep-drunk brain ignored it, but you were aware of him turning to retrieve it from the floor next to his side of the bed. It was just a double mattress on the floor, but it was good enough to hold you over.   But then, he was suddenly bouncing into the air with a loud whoop coming from his lips, before he landed on top of you and started attacking you with wet kisses, tickling you with his patchy beard and giggling happily while he kept bouncing.

  “What’re you doin…?”

  You were groaning the words out in a garbled mumble against the pillow, but he ignored you. He kissed your nose, then bounced, then his moustache tickled your neck, and he bounced again, then he tugged the covers down and kissed your shoulder, bounce, his beard rubbed the top of your right breast, bounce, his lips smacked against yours, bounce…   He was being deliberately annoying in order to get you angry, because he knew that that was the fastest way to get you fully awake. But even though you knew that, it still really got on your nerves.

  “Fuck-off, Marcus…”

  He just giggled more, knowing he was starting to get to you. And then he stood on all fours over you, and just bounced like a gazelle, repeatedly, endlessly, while he kept chuckling like a giddy kid, until you had enough.   With a loud growl, you flung your eyes open and rushed at him, pushing him backwards until he fell over onto his back at the foot of the bed, still smirking and vibrating with light laughter even after you pinned him down and glared at him.

  “What the hell is so damned funny ahead of the fucking alarm clock?”

  “Ooh, I love it when you get all rough first thing in the morning.”

  You were technically straddling him, although there was no real contact between your sexes, and you were too tired and angry with him to feel the least bit horny.   That is, until he lunged his hips up and his hard morning glory bumped right at your opening. It was just enough of a reaction to cause you to lose focus, and he took the opportunity to use his superior strength to swap your positions, except he didn’t hover over you anymore. He nestled himself in between your thighs, grinding hard into your mound, knowing you needed a bit more force to coax your body into playing, while your brain was practically still asleep.

  “We got it, querida.”

  He smiled into the sweet kisses he peppered onto your neck while you tried not to let him persuade your body into morning sex. You weren’t in the mood, not really, and this was gonna be a hell of a day, even if everything went smoothly.   His voice dropped to that silky husk that you loved, as he whispered in your ear.

  “We got the house.”

  …What……?

  You flinched and stared at his eyes as he brought his face up to where you could see it. He was serious.   Suddenly you weren’t the least bit tired.

  “We got it? It’s ours? Don’t you dare joke with me right now, Marcus…”

  You already knew he wasn’t, but you needed him to confirm it. The whole house-hunt had been such a mess, and you’d fallen so madly in love with that place, with the big yard and the perfect kitchen, that when you thought you’d lost it, the whole hunt had sort of become irrelevant to you.

  “They backed out, at the last minute. The realtor just texted me to congratulate us. It’s ours, mi amor. We can move in next week.”

  His smile widened as he watched you absorb the news, and saw the joy spread through your features. Your body started responding to his, and he felt the heat rise in your skin, so he rolled you both again, to let you be the one to bounce this time.

  That led to the two of you somehow not getting out of bed until an hour after the alarm did go off, subsequently ruining your entire morning, but amazingly, not your good mood.   Your press-conference had been scheduled for noon, and you had some things to get done before then, but none of it bothered you all of a sudden.   All those things that would have normally stressed you out just passed by without so much as raising your pulse, and you had the singular pleasure of seriously wigging out Anita when you crossed paths with her in a hallway, on your way to legal.

  “Hey, Máma. What’s happening?”

  “Why would anything be happening?”

  “Um, because you’re here. You’re only here when something interesting is going on. So, spill.”

  “Fine. I’m interviewing candidates for your replacement today.”

  “Oooh… that means weird questions centred around flowers, right? Can I sit in?”

  “Absolutely not, loco.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t like having you around when I’m working, especially not when you’re… giddy…”

  “It doesn’t come around often, you know, you might wanna capitalize.”

  “And what exactly do you think I might need your good mood to get you to agree to?”

  “How about… a garden in our backyard? So, your magic flowers can keep tabs on us.”

  “I don’t need a garden to keep tabs on you, loco.”

  “But you do need flowers nearby, because of the pollen, right? That’s how it works, isn’t it?”

  Uuuhh… and just where did that come from?

  Anita stared at you with the most complex expression you’d ever seen, and at any other time, you would’ve been seriously disturbed by it, but this time, you just beamed a huge grin at her, and patted her shoulder affectionately as you passed her by.

  “I won’t tell. Promise!”

  Then you skipped away down the hall, happy as a cloud, having apparently worked out how at least one of Máma’s abilities worked, without even knowing it.

  After the meeting with legal, to officially sign on for all the duties and responsibilities of a Heroic, you headed down to the Batcave to put on your costume. Velma had tinkered a little bit with the detailing, but overall, it looked the same as before. You allowed her to style your hair into your preferred ‘up and away from your eyes’ manner, and do your modest and simple make-up, which she still managed to get twice as nice as anything you could do.   And then you were ready. With an hour to spare, no less.

  “How you doin with that sparkle, honey? Got a handle on it yet?”

  Right, you’d already forgotten about that.

  “Nope, I haven’t tried it again yet. But I have some time to spare.”

  “Ooh, yes, gimme more glitter, baby!”

  “Wait, don’t tell me you saved that stuff?”

  “See now, darling, that offends me. Do I look like the sort of person who would ever waste glitter?”

  “My apologies, my Queen, how utterly rude of me. Allow me to attempt to create some more for you.”

  Velma just nodded appreciatively and stepped back a little.

  You started picturing the same colourful images that had flooded your mind the day before, and tried to flood the air around you with them using your energy. But it was like it wasn’t there.   Whatever it was that had put you in such a splendidly good mood that morning, you were suddenly certain that it had something to do with the sudden emptiness inside you. As though the happiness had been some side-effect of your body no longer having to deal with that constant drain on your energy-reserves.   That strange feeling that lived in your chest and your gut, and that you had just started to become comfortable with, and used to, as it triggered and activated your powers, just wasn’t there anymore.   The giddiness vanished, replaced with a growing anxiety as you began to realise the potential consequences of this.   It might be temporary, or it might be permanent. Your powers weren’t natural, and thus, they couldn’t be judged by the same data as the other’s. But if it was a permanent loss, the contract you’d just signed would put you in a precarious situation, not to mention the fucking press-conference.   How the hell were you supposed to stand there and proclaim yourself a Heroic with no powers?

  “Sugar? What’s wrong?”

  “I… I can’t. My powers aren’t working.”

  “Oh, no. That doesn’t sound good. Go to research, honey, they’ll take care of you.”

  “No, I can’t. We don’t know who to trust, remember?”

  “Oh, dang it all to hell. Well, go find Marcus, then.”

  You sprinted out of the cave and went to find him, not even seeing the eyes popping on the people you passed in the corridors and stairwells, as they took in your outfit.   He wasn’t in his office, so you headed for the Control centre, and forced yourself to stop and calm down before you stepped inside.   He was there, by the centre console with his broad back to you, overseeing some transfer of equipment from overseas, and there was a kind of chatter in the room, as the operators and analysts kept feeding him information, and mumbling to and between themselves.   But, as you entered, all eyes fell on you, and everyone went quiet.   Marcus noticed the change and turned around to investigate. You watched his eyes go from seeing the people all staring in the same direction, to seeing you standing there in your outfit, and for a moment, that same predatory darkness filled his eyes. He was acutely aware of how everyone was staring at you, and while it made him proud to see others appreciate the beauty he so clearly saw in you, it also made him possessive. A need to declare to the whole world that you belonged to him flooded his system and made his adrenaline spike, and you could see it in his whole frame.   But it only lasted for a second, because then he saw your eyes, and realised that something was wrong, and his fear took over.   He handed the room over to one of the operators, and led you out, and he didn’t stop until you’d reached his office. He placed the little device that scrambled all forms of listening or recording of the room, on the desk, and turned it on before he spoke.

  “What is it?”

  “They’re gone… my powers, I can’t even feel them.”

  “What… how is that even possible?”

  “I was hoping you could tell me. Do you know if this has ever happened to any of the supers?”

  “No, it hasn’t. We all experience fluctuations, especially while we’re young, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually losing their powers. Are you sure they’re gone? Not just… on the fritz?”

  “They’re gone. I know that feeling so well, because it scared me for so long, and now it just isn’t there anymore. I can’t be a Heroic now. Which, technically doesn’t bother me, you know I never wanted to be, but we needed this.”

  “Okay, slow down, we don’t know if this is permanent yet.”

  “Marcus, the announcement is in half an hour! You expect me to stand there and proclaim myself a Heroic, when all I can do now is throw basic self-defence at any enemy?”

  He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “No, you can’t do that. We can’t let anyone see that you’ve been weakened. We have to call the conference off.”

  “Fuck. Allen is gonna have my head…”

  “He’ll have to go through me.”

  “I feel like such a hypocrite even wearing this thing now.”

  You tugged poignantly at the top of your costume, suddenly feeling even more uncomfortable in it than you had the first time you put it on. He grabbed your chin and lifted it to keep your eyes on his, so that you could see that he was dead serious.

  “Hey, don’t say that. Whatever else has happened, few people have earned a Hero’s costume more than you, and I don’t ever wanna see you wear it with anything but pride, you hear me, hermosa?”

  Your eyes teared up for some reason, and it sparked a torrent of emotions to flood your system. Suddenly you were shaking with fear, sadness and a growing feeling of vulnerability.

  “I know it’s irrational, I know I’m not any more fragile just because I can’t tear buildings apart anymore, but I just feel so breakable now.”

  He wrapped his arms around you and held you close, knowing that no words of comfort would be enough right now.   You tried to calm yourself, knowing that there was too much for you to get through in the immediate future to allow you the luxury of breaking down just yet.

  “We need to talk to Allen and Ms. Granada, before it’s too late to call it off.”

  “We also need to get you checked out, but by who?”

  “Fuck if I know. One problem at a time, please.”

  “Oh, shit! Norway…”

  “You got the green light?”

  “Yeah. For you and me, at 4 pm.”

  “Great, this just gets better and better. Now all we need is for our fucking house to burn down, too.”

  “Whoa, don’t jinx it!”

  “Honey, if that happened – we would have to finally accept that the universe has chosen us to bear a large percentage of all the crap in this world, so that someone else doesn’t have to. And then we can just give up on all dreams and ambitions and go live in an igloo in Antarctica.”

  “I have no idea how to respond to that, except - penguins.”

  “Wait… I think I have an idea about how we can steer past the press-conference.”

  “If you’re about to tell me it has something to do with flightless birds…”

  “What? No, of course not. We need to talk to Allen.”

  An hour later, you and Marcus where on the Heroics jet, heading for Norway, and Marcus was genuinely impressed with how easy your solution had ended up being. Granted, it only bought you a little bit of time, but perhaps that would be enough.   Basically, you’d just convinced Allen that your business in Norway had become urgent, and that you needed to go immediately, or lives might be in danger. It worked because it was technically true, which made it just real enough to persuade him.   Whatever shitstorm you’d be facing when you got back, was another matter entirely, and one you’d both chosen to ignore for now.

  “So, provided my intel is accurate, and we have to assume it is, we should start looking in a small community called Ersfjordbotn, just south of Tromso.”

  “What led you there?”

  “A twitter-post. Don’t ask.”

  “Okay.”

  “You told me that her power is discreet, and that that’s how she’s been so good at staying off the radar, but you never told me what it is?”

  “She can fiddle with temperatures, only in her immediate surroundings, and only a few degrees, but around people that’s all it takes to put you out.”

  “Neat. When did you last see her?”

  “Oh, god… probably around ten years ago now. She was really young and really scared of everything to do with Heroics and responsibilities and the spotlight, most of all. But her family was poor and her parents only saw the advantages of having their daughter become a famous person, so they ignored her protests, and as a result, she ended up running away.”

  “And they sent you to find her?”

  “Mhm. I caught up to her in Canada, but she was so desperate to be free, to not have to shoulder the burden of caring for her family, as well as the whole damned world, at a mere 16 years old, that I just couldn’t bring myself to take her back. I gave her all the cash I had on me, and the names of some people I knew would help her if she could find them. And that’s the last I ever saw of her.”

  “Poor kid. I’m sorry you have to do this, honey.”

  “I hope we can find her, because I’d love to know that she made it. That I didn’t send her to her death that day. But, if we do find her, we’re not gonna force her to do anything, which is why I’m fine with all this.”

  “Did you get the new location on Verity yet?”

  “Yeah. Mississippi this time.”

  “So, if Neune wants in, that’s our next stop.”

  “Let’s just find her first.”

  Airport, rental, getting lost twice, and swooning over absolutely every piece of scenery you drove past, later – you found Ersfjordbotn.   Your costumes were enough to draw all attention to you, so if Neune was there, she was bound to hear about it soon enough. So, you just parked the car and headed into a coffeeshop for an evening snack while you waited.   The shop closed about an hour later, but the midnight sun meant that you had full daylight all through the night, which was odd, but really amazing. The scenery was so dramatic with the steep mountains and hills dropping almost straight down into the fjord. The community was small and all the buildings ran along the waterline at the base of a mountain, and as you walked, you started thinking about the house that waited for you back home.

  “About the move.”

  “Hm?”

  “Honey, we’re gonna have to go on a serious shopping-spree as soon as possible. As if we have time for that, in the middle of all this… And you know what furniture stores are like. It takes five weeks to get anything delivered, and if you want something special or customised, it’s twice that.”

  “Don’t worry, in that regard, being famous has it’s perks. No store wants the bad press involved with disappointing a Heroic.”

  “It’s still gonna take time. Moves always do. I mean, for christs sake, we don’t even have cutlery.”

  “What happened to your cutlery? Someone eat it?”

  You stopped at the sound of a melodious voice to your right, and turned to find a woman sitting perched up on a rock a few metres up the hillside.   Her clothes were so perfectly toned to the colours around her, that if she hadn’t spoken, you’d have never seen her, even if you’d looked straight at her.   You felt Marcus relax next to you.

  “Hi, Neune. I’m happy to see you again, you look good.”

  She stood up and made her way down to you, moving with ease over the lose rocks and patches of unruly grass. She was a few inches taller than you, and heavyset. Strong, there was no doubt about that, and curvy to boot, but her warm dark skin was probably the most beautiful thing about her.   She looked like the kind of woman that wouldn’t hesitate to beat you senseless if you deserved it, but would also love you unconditionally if she decided that you were a good enough person.

  “So do you, Moreno. I was sorry to hear about your wife. But I’m glad to see you seem to have found your way.”

  “Thank you. Yes, this is my fiancé. Hermosa, this is Deema Neune.”

  You held out your hand and she took it. Her grip was firm and cool, but when her skin touched yours, she seemed to react to something, and kept holding onto your hand while she looked closer at you.

  “You’ve been damaged. Badly.”

  You were suddenly nervous. The intensity of her eyes was piercing.

  “Uh… which time are you talking about?”

  “There’s more than one?”

  “There’s like a dozen. I apparently have some self-sacrificial tendencies, and it’s landed me in some serious trouble a few times.”

  “Neune, how can you tell that she’s been hurt? You didn’t have that kind of ability the last time we met.”

  “My powers have evolved over time, Moreno. I can use my gift to reach into peoples’ bodies and trace their blood, their history, through their scars. And you, my dear, have a great many on the inside, though none on your skin.”

  “Yes. People keep wanting to hurt me, for some reason. I blame the balance of the universe.”

  “You have known power. I can trace the marks it’s made when you’ve ended up hurting yourself. It’s like your body was at war with your power, the damage is everywhere.”

  “That’s probably because it wasn’t natural. It was put inside me by a… mad man.”

  “That would explain it. But I’ve never heard of such a thing. How was it done?”

  “That’s a long story, and not a good one. It involved the torture and murder of dozens of children.”

  The younger woman flinched, and her eyes darted over to Marcus, looking for confirmation of these terrible news, before returning to stare at you. But your eyes had dropped to somewhere around her waist, but not seeing her. Your focus was on something inside your own mind, a thought that had occurred to you, hearing this woman detail what Prince’s experiments had actually done to you.

  “Oh, my god. Marcus, that’s why my powers are gone.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m protective by nature, that’s why I’m always ready and willing to sacrifice myself if that’s the only option I can see. But, the baby changes all that. I’m not willing to sacrifice that, not for anything. So, if my own powers have actually been hurting me, a little bit every time I use them, isn’t it possible that I somehow just forced my body to stop producing those cells?”

  Marcus frowned.

  “I wouldn’t put it past you, but it still sounds improbable. Those cells are incredibly strong, even if you stopped producing them, it would still take months for them to leave your system, and leave you completely powerless. It wouldn’t happen overnight.”

  Neune asked you to look at her again.

  “What I see inside of you, tells me that you’re stronger than any person I’ve met before. If your body decided that the stress it was under was too much to provide a safe place for your child, I do believe that you could and would’ve done whatever was necessary to change that. But I also believe that Marcus is right. Your body might have forced the powers to stop, but I don’t think they’re actually gone.”

  “But I can’t feel them at all.”

  “What exactly can you do?”

  “I can heal people, at great cost to myself, and I can reach into other dimensions, and the energy I find there I can use in several different ways. Like adding to the density of a room or specific area, until it breaks, or displaying images and memories around me, like tv-screens. And recently I created some sort of rainbow dust that seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever, except it was really pretty.”

  “Everything we create has purpose. Where you doing anything special when you produced this dust?”

  You glanced sheepishly at Marcus, and he smiled.

  “I might have… been less than gentlemanly with her at the time.”

  “Ah… that would do it, I suppose. How recently was this?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “Good, then the echo will still be there.”

  You blinked and refocused on her.

  “Echo?”

  “All powers leave an echo in your body as they pass through it, if I know what to look for, I can usually find it.”

  “Usually. What are you, the local supers-witch-doctor?”

  “I never stay anywhere for very long. No one here knows about my powers, but wherever I’ve been, I’ve helped people passing by, over the years. That’s probably how you ended up being able to find me. Now, stay still and let me concentrate.”

  You locked yourself to the spot and tried to relax. You couldn’t feel her probing through your blood at all, but after a minute, you felt a strange wave course through you.   It started somewhere in your gut, and worked its way through your body, and into your hands, where it suddenly left you – in the form of rainbow-coloured dust. It didn’t feel the same as your powers normally did, though.   It didn’t shoot out of you in a plume, but instead just accumulated in your upturned hands, as Neune released them. She picked up a pinch of it, and rolled it around between her fingers.

  “Hm. I have to say, you’re right; I really don’t see what the purpose of this might be. But I’m still certain there is one.”

  You felt ambivalent. On the one hand, you were relieved to know that you weren’t as helpless as you’d feared, but on the other, you sort of wanted the powers gone. You’d never wanted them in the first place, and if they really were permanently damaging you, they weren’t worth the price.   But, at the same time, being able to heal the ones you loved was something entirely invaluable to you.

  “So, if I’ve somehow supressed my abilities because of the pregnancy, does that mean they’ll come back once the baby is born?”

  “Probably. I suspect that if you really need them, for any reason, you’ll find that they’re right were you left them. Supers are complex beings. Our powers develop based on equal parts genetics and personality, and those two elements are sometimes in serious conflict with one another, creating chaotic results. Like a boy who’s terrified of hights, finding himself getting the ability to fly.”

  “But mine weren’t naturally generated, so my genetics had nothing to do with it. The cells came from dozens of different people.”

  “That would explain why you have several different abilities.”

  “The scientists at HQ don’t think that. They say that my powers developed exclusively from my personality and body-chemistry, because the introduced cells wouldn’t have been able to influence my DNA.”

  “I’m not a scientist, but I’ve spent the past 15 years trying to help other supers stay out of the spotlight, and I’ve learned that the genetics are always relevant. Even if they didn’t mess with your DNA, they most certainly influenced you.”

  This was getting a bit too heavy for you to absorb any more, so you changed the topic.

  “Thank you, for helping me figure out what’s going on with me, but that’s not why we came to find you.”

  “I suspected as much.”

  Marcus noticed you were struggling to focus, so he took over.

  “We’re here because of the crazy guy who did this to her, Dr. Prince. We think he created some sort of organisation, who’s goal it is to make all humans supers. We’ve found enough breadcrumbs to suggest that we’re dealing with a global network that may very well have solidified into a corporation by now, if they’ve been able to secure funding. And we’re trying to create one of our own, in order to have a chance at defeating them, if and when we manage to draw them out into the open.”

  “So, you’re here hoping to recruit me?”

  “Yes. I know you don’t want the spotlight, and that’s not what we’re asking of you. Our organisation is covert as well, for the time being, and we need our operatives to work in the shadows, and we need them to be available all over the world. We need intel and research, our own global network to spy on theirs.”

  “How many have you been able to recruit so far?”

  “Unless you agree to be audited, we can’t tell you any details.”

  “Audited?”

  “We have a way to know with absolute certainty, that you’re not an enemy, but it would require a bit of a trip.”

  “Where?”

  “Mississippi.”

  Marcus managed to persuade the pilot to take a detour on your return trip to the States, and you landed in Jackson-Ever airport the next morning.   You’d concealed your costumes under regular clothing now, and took precautions to ensure no one was following you to your destination of Bay Park Drive, and a not at all inconspicuous brick-house, probably the biggest property on that street, with a pool in the backyard, and a boat-house by the water. Most of the properties had boat-houses since they where practically sitting on the water, but this house was the only two-story house you could see. Why the man had picked this place was beyond you, but then, he was odd.   When the three of you walked in, Marcus sent a current through the house, to announce your presence, and a really uncomfortable surge of energy hit you in return. You must have felt that thing some 20 times by now, but it still felt just as unpleasant every time.   With the greeting done, you moved through the bottom floor to the living room, and found Verity waiting for you in a reclining chair, with a tall glass of ice-water on a small coffee-table next to him. Other than that, there was no evidence of his presence there. No clothes or shoes laying around, no suit-cases, not so much as a footprint on the tile floors.   He was thin to the point of looking almost hollow, but his warmly toned olive skin was radiant and his black hair and eyebrows made him look like some comic-book character, with those exaggerated features. All made even more poignant by his sharp and dark eyes.

  “Welcome, my intrepid colleagues. What have you brought me today?”

  You didn’t like speaking around Verity, for several reasons, but you did anyway, trying to train yourself to be less unsettled around him.

  “Neune, this is Verity, a super with the ability to tell the truth about anything and everything, and fair warning: he only ever speaks the truth too, and he has no filter and shows no sensitivity towards anyone for any reason.”

  The same uncomfortable energy surged around you, as Verity went to work.

  “Ah… an old friend, returned to the fold. I can see your reasons for leaving were a bit over-dramatized, but no matter. In the time since, you’ve been busy. Hopping from place to place, looking for a purpose. You’re a clever one, good at hiding, staying just out of view. But you’re unfulfilled. Unhappy and lonely. You’re not here because you want to help, but because you’re looking for belonging, a family. No matter, your helpfulness will be no less useful.”

  He paused, and turned to you.

  “She’s acceptable. But, now tell me what’s happened to you.”

  You felt his energy shift towards you, and it made you cringe away from him and close your eyes. Marcus took your hand, knowing how much you disliked Verity’s probing.

  “You’re scared. Not just for your baby, but for something bigger. Something… on the other side of your power. Something you fear will come for you, from the worlds beyond.”

  Your eyes flung open, and you stared at him while actually taking a few steps closer to him, still holding on to Marcus’ hand, as a daunting realisation hit you. You couldn’t put it into words, but you didn’t need to, because the truth-seeker always voiced his findings.

  “You’re afraid that the energy you take from over there, will eventually be claimed in return, and that everything you love will be sucked over there, into the coldness. You fear your own power, because you don’t understand why it allows you access to those places. Those dark, empty, dead worlds. You fear them more than anything in this reality. And the realisation that as a Heroic, you’d be expected to use your abilities much more than you’ve been doing, finally made you scared enough to break the connection. You’ve cut yourself off from those worlds, and now you’re powerless and weak, and you can’t help but wonder which fear will kill you faster.”

  You kept staring into his eyes while he drew the truth from your soul, desperate to hear it, and equally desperate not to.   Tears streamed down your face as his energy let go of you, but you kept staring at him, kept trying to make his words less true somehow.   Marcus finally tugged you back into his arms and held you as the tears started falling in earnest, and you could feel his current surround you while he tried to soothe you.   Neune suggested they go into the kitchen to have a glass of water and sit down, probably because she too wanted a little distance from Verity.   She handed you a glass after Marcus sat you down on a stool, and then the two of them started talking while you did what you could to calm yourself down.

  “Is he always that direct? It seems a bit… brutal.”

  “Yeah, he’s not really a people-person. He’s one of the best kept secrets in all of super’s history. Only a handful of people even know he exists.”

  “Why? Someone with that kind of power…”

  “Could rule the world. Or tear it apart.”

  She slumped a bit in her chair as he cut her off, her own train of thought disrupted.

  “I was gonna say he could help so many people.”

  “Verity’s power manifested unusually early. He was only three when he began being able to tell – not just when he was being lied to – but what the truth behind those lies was. Imagine being three years old and realising that your parents are absolutely sick of not getting any sleep because of you.”

  “Oh, god… parents lie to their kids all the time.”

  “Exactly. Mostly for good reasons, mostly just to protect them, but Verity didn’t have that. And it made him distrustful towards everyone, to the point where he walked away from his family to live on the streets when he was just ten years old. If he wanted to, he could become president, he could force the whole world to bend to his wishes just by holding their lies as his hostages, or calling them out to discredit them. But he doesn’t have that desire for power. All he wants is to be free of lies and dishonesty, which is kind of impossible, so he stays hidden and keeps to himself where nobody can hurt him, and he can’t hurt anyone in turn. He’s only helping us because I asked him.”

  “How do you know him?”

  “I met him almost 20 years ago, by accident. He was living in the streets, and he got attacked by a drunk. And while his powers work just as well on drunks as sober people, the drunks don’t respond to him trying to call them out. Usually, he can keep people from hurting him by jarring them into just not wanting to be around him, by throwing uncomfortable truths at them. But drunks just either don’t hear or don’t believe him, and they’re not really susceptible to the discomfort his ability normally causes. So, this guy just kept going at him, and he was just in his late teens back then, he didn’t know any self-defence or anything like that. He’d never needed it. I happened to be passing nearby, and I heard this kid scream for help, so I ran over and picked the guy up and made sure he knew that it was in his best interest to leave. And when he did, I kneeled down to check on this kid, not much younger than me, and he was so scared. He hurled truths about me at my face as though they were insults, even though I’d just helped him, and it made me realise that this boy was scared of everyone. So, I just sat down opposite him and let him talk until he had nothing more to say. And when he realised that my truths didn’t scare me away, he gave up and just cried.”

  “Poor kid. He must have had so much crap pent up inside after all that time alone.”

  “Yeah. I stayed with him all night, and the more I understood about him, the more I knew that he could never be allowed to become a pawn in the political scene, or the Heroic one, for that matter. So, I got him in touch with people I knew could help him learn what he’d need to survive under the radar, and as a result, he’s been free to live however he chooses. And that’s a gift he’s been trying to repay me for a long time. He was actually happy when I approached him with this.”

  “I feel like he might have gone easy on me.”

  “He doesn’t generally, but he also just doesn’t see the need to disclose every little detail he finds. For the most part, he just voices the relevant stuff. Unless he decides he doesn’t like you, then he’ll reduce you to a crying ball with childhood traumas and unresolved issues.”

  “Um… and… your fiancé? What was that about?”

  His arm tightened around your waist, where he sat next to you, and he sighed.

  “She’s had a difficult relationship with her powers from the start, and she was actually the first person that Verity’s had real trouble probing. Her fears are hidden incredibly deep, and she seems to be hard-wired to protect herself from them, to the point where even her powers have been shielding her from the truth. Now that that barrier has been lifted, Verity could finally see them clearly. It all makes so much more sense now.”

  You didn’t feel like taking part in their conversation, your thoughts and feelings were all over the place, so you just listened and sipped your water and did your best not to cry anymore.   After a few minutes of silence, Neune finally asked:

  “So, what happens now?”

  “If you still wanna be a part of this, we’ll send you back to Europe, to look for anything you can find about any covert organisation working on human/superhuman convergence. This is a marathon, Deema, and we need runners. Are you in?”

  “I am. So, can you tell me how many people you’ve been able to recruit, now?”

  “With you that makes 31 people across Europe, another 28 around Asia and Oceania, and 45 here in the Americas, including Canada.”

  “You’ve been busy…”

  “We don’t have a choice. These people have to be stopped. And because my querida is their first successful subject, they’ll keep coming for her. She’ll always be in danger as long as this threat exists. I can’t allow that, and I refuse to live like that. So, when I say that I’m truly grateful for your help, you can be certain I mean it. Thank you, Deema.”

Authors’ Note: I love criticism, please don’t be shy to let me know if there’s anything you like/don’t like/have questions about.

@allmyspideys​ @blueeyesatnight​ @hrk-fic-recs​ @strawberryperegrine @lucrezia-thoughts​ @computeringturtle​ @sarahjkl82-blog​ @giselatropicana​

[thisisthehardestthing]

The Gift - Small Might x Fem!Reader (Happy belated birthday)

Synopsis: Yagi frequents a coffee shop and falls in love, but there’s something beneath the surface of y/n.

Genre: Fluffy smut. I don’t write fluff so this was an experience.

an: I am extremely late posting this but happy belated birthday, Yagi. I would like to thank @evaesis​ for the request! This is the first time I’ve ever written for Small Might and it was a challenge! Thank you @heyybrittannia for your read through and kind words, and my wifey @joyousandverywarlike for beta reading even though you were on your last brain cell, i love you.

Warnings: Although none of my usual kinks are in here, I gotta tell you: unprotected sex, creampie, a bit of blood from his cough, catching feelings.

THE GIFT

It was Yagi’s favourite coffee shop: quiet, sandwiched between a bookstore and a flower-shop, small and cozy. In there, no one cared who he was, or used to be. He loved the smell of the gardenias mixing with the dark roast of his black coffee, no sugar, as he sat on a high top stool near the door, right in front of the window. He could watch passersby like this, imagine their daily routines, but also withdraw from his own day-to-day life.

Whenever the little bell above the door would ring, he’d pull out of his thoughts, to glance up. The other reason why it was his favourite was because it was the one you would frequent. Yagi’s always noticed you, working away on your laptop or reading a book in the corner of the cafe, a different one each week. Today, however, when the bell rang and you strolled in, you were empty handed. You walked right up to the cashier to order the seasonal special. Yagi’s deep, sunken eyes followed your figure, head turned slightly and chin resting on his palm. He could hear the bells in your voice make pleasant conversation with the person behind the counter; your laughter filled the air with music.

He snapped back to the front when he heard you say your ‘thank you, see you later,’ and walk back to the door. He expected you to leave and continue on with your day. He did not expect you to place a hand on the empty stool next to him.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” you asked, eyes closing with your smile. Yagi felt flustered, a slight blush tinged his cheeks at the thought of sitting so close to someone he only admired from afar. He shook his head, grateful that his blonde hair covered most of his face.

“Thanks!” There it was again, the sound of a bell as you sat down and enjoyed your drink, wordlessly staring out the window next to the ex Pro Hero.

He wanted to talk to you, to ask you on a date, somewhere a little dressier than a coffee shop. However, before he could muster up enough courage to do so, you closed the lid of your reusable mug and threw it in a tote bag.

“Well, see you around,” you said, before stepping around him and pulling open the door, leaving with his heart at the same time.

************************************************************************

The keys to Yagi’s apartment jingled in his door. It was already unlocked. His chest tightened, yet he steeled himself. Although basically quirkless, he was still a Hero. He pushed the door open slowly, allowing the soft light of the hallway to trickle into the room. With a single step in, the lights flashed on, faces and bodies jumped out from everywhere, all at once.

“SURPRISE! Happy Birthday!” A chorus of voices shouted as Yagi looked at his work colleagues and close friends. His heart raced a million beats per second, blood pumping in his ears, a cough tickling in his chest. He was touched, but also deeply annoyed at the intrusion when all he wanted to do was have a quiet night in with no one but the TV and a bottle of 1792 Bourbon to keep him company.

“Thanks everyone.” His voice was lost amongst the party chatter that started as he walked through the room, shaking hands. He made his way to his bedroom to quickly change into fresh clothes: a simple button up and slacks that hung loosely on his haggard figure.

A few drinks into the party, the tension he felt when he first walked in disappeared. He slung an arm around the sound hero known as Present Mic. Sober him would never have even considered doing that, despite how close they were.

“Hizashi, did we really have to make this a big deal?” he groaned, a cough suppressed as he looked around the decorated room, taking a large sip of his whiskey on the rocks. It burnt the back of his throat, numbing the tickle.

“Of course, man! It’s not everyday you turn thirty-seven!” Yamada’s voice was loud and grating, made slightly more tolerable by the alcohol coursing through Yagi’s veins, yet he sighed, content with the company.

It wasn’t a very large party, just a few of his closest friends were invited; Aizawa, Nemuri, Vlad and Ectoplasm. Strangely enough, none of his old students were there. He was in the middle of this thought when Hizashi pulled away from the loose grip on his shoulders to answer the doorbell, almost letting Yagi to fall to the floor without the sudden pillar of support.

It all happened so fast. One second he was leaning against his friend, the next, a chair was dragged beneath him so that his knees buckled and he fell back with a grunt. The cough he was biting down all night broke free and he covered his mouth, catching most of the blood droplets with the palm of his hand.

“What’s happening?” he managed to say as he wiped his hand on his black pants, trying to peer past the overbearing presenter and see who is at the door. He almost felt his other lung give out as he stared at the figure. He recognised you instantly, but none of the women behind you. You were every bit as confident as when he saw you earlier that day, but instead of a sweet smile on your lips, it was flirtatious and catty.

“Alright! Where’s the birthday boy?” you called out, eyes scanning the room to lock with the bright blue one’s staring at you, through you.

You faltered slightly, pulse quickening as you saw the cute guy from earlier. Out of everyone you could’ve danced for tonight, why did it have to be him? You had planned on asking him out this afternoon, having worked up the courage to finally sit next to him instead of sneaking peeks over the various books you brought to hide your gaze. Now, he would find out you were a burlesque dancer.

“Over here, ladies!” Nemuri sang, her voice called out to your group of girls that filled the living room. As they set up the music, you stood at formation, ready to begin the routine.

Your heart raced with more than performative adrenaline. Yagi’s eyes never left your body. Although all your friends were just as gorgeous, it seemed like they did not exist to him. As layers of clothing peeled away to reveal the sparkling costume beneath, loud whoops echoed through the apartment along with claps and hollers. It was tasteful, artistic, you were a professional, after all. The dance ended too soon, and with too many layers still on for the men in the room’s liking. However, as respectful heroes, they thanked you for your time and you left, taking one last look over your shoulder to see Yagi’s eyes still following your every movement. You couldn’t help but smile as the door closed behind you. Maybe you still had a chance the next time you bumped into him.

Yagi was unsure if it was the alcohol in his system, or the lust that coursed through his veins, but seeing you tonight, not nude, but neither fully dressed, snapped something in him. It was the push he was waiting for to make his move. He ignored the practical dronings of Aizawa and lurched out of his chair, sprinting to the door to catch you before you left the building.

“Hey!” he called, voice echoing in the empty lobby of the apartment block. You looked back, the group you were with pausing as well, but when they saw who it was, smiled coyly and bumped you with their elbows, whispering that they’ll be outside.

Yagi was out of breath when he reached you, stopping a metre short, breathing heavily.

“Hi.” He didn’t know what to say now that you were once again in front of him.

“Hello,” that voice of yours, back to being a melody that made his stomach flip. “Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh! Uh, no, it’s just,” Yagi trailed off, raising a hand to scratch the back of his neck, blonde hair standing up with the movement, “we’ve met before right? At the coffee shop.”

You couldn’t stop the smile that spread across your lips. Although embarrassing, he had recognized you, remembered you.

“Yeah! That’s right, I sat next to you today.” There was an awkward silence that stretched over the both of you as you thought of the next thing to say.

“Would you like to go have a coffee with me sometime?” he asked first. You couldn’t believe he asked you the question you wanted to this afternoon.

“I’d love to.” you gave him your phone number. He read your name, the sound of it like heaven from his lips and you wanted to hear it one more time.

It was close to midnight when Yagi called you, the party was already over. You waited three rings before answering and when you did, he wasted no time planning to see you the next day.

****************************************************************

You were running late, not even bothering with a jacket as you walked down the street to the coffee shop to meet with Yagi. Your first date. You had butterflies and the five minute walk took an eternity as well as an instant. You could see him through the windows, staring at his hands at a table near the back wall, a private corner that was meant for students during their exam week. With an inhale, you pushed open the door, hearing the familiar jingle above you. Your date’s eyes jumped up, eager and bright despite the shadows around them. You made your way to the table and he stood, towering over you, making  you wonder exactly how tall he was, and if everything hidden was proportional. The thought made you blush and you awkwardly gave him a wave. He pulled out your chair for you, waiting until you were seated before sinking into the seat opposite.

For lack of a better word, he was unbelievably sexy, exactly your type. The way his blonde hair was brushed back, with the stragglers framing his face, made your heart skip as you pictured your fingers running through it.

“How are you doing?” he asked, the question pulled you from your reverie. Could those piercing eyes read your mind?

“I’m fine, thank you… How are you doing? Hung over? It seemed like a fun party.” You saw his eyes darken slightly when you mentioned last night, but they shone again with his answer.

“Despite how I look, it takes a lot to get me drunk, so I’m good,” he laughed, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck, pushing his already spiky hair higher up.

“Good…” you replied, settling into an awkward silence. You had wanted this for so long, but now that you were finally in the moment, the thought of what to do and talk about eluded you. You needed something to break the ice.

“Oh, here,” he pushed a coffee cup towards you. You glanced down, only noticing that he had two cups when he brought it to your attention. “It’s the seasonal drink, I noticed you ordered it yesterday. I hope it’s not too forward.”

Those butterflies flew up into your chest as you wrapped a hand around the mug, fingers brushing his before he let go. A jolt of electricity bolted through you and down into your core. His hand was so warm, and even though it was for a brief second, you wanted nothing more to reach over and grab his entire palm.

“Oh! Thanks. No, it’s fine. This is my favourite, for now at least.”

He nodded his head in agreement.

“The coffee here is really good.” He glanced down at his cup, the plain, black liquid steaming and mixing with the sweet aroma of your own drink. His hands were so large, it was all you could do not to think about them on your body.

You uncrossed and re-crossed your legs, accidentally dragging your foot up his shin with the movement. The lightning in his eyes turned to thunder as they captivated your stare. His body stiffened under your touch, and you wondered if that is what you needed to get to know him better, crack through the tension and awkwardness. You brought the hot drink up to your lips, licking them after the sip, taking note of how Yagi’s eyes dropped down to follow the movement. You swallowed your nerves.

“Toshinori,” you whispered his name and you watched as he pressed his lips tightly together.

“Yagi, please, call me Yagi,” he interrupted you.

“Yagi,” you tested the name on your tongue, liking the way it dripped like honey. “Can I confess something to you?” He nodded, leaning forward expectantly to hear what you had to say with baited breath.

“I’ve wanted to talk to you for a long time now,” you shared, keeping your stare level, voice low. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my head and after last night…” You brought your foot back to his shin. Your sandal off so that your foot crawled underneath the entrance of his pant leg, trailing up slowly until you couldn’t lift it any higher. You caressed his leg in public, the arch of your foot perfectly pressed against the curve of his calf. “I’d like to give you a little birthday present.”

He bit back a moan when your foot dropped away, the depth of the ocean in his eyes as he searched your face for a hint of insincerity. Finding none, the smallest of smirks graced his lips and he stood up, his chair scraping back. He followed you out of the coffee shop, your drinks barely touched.

****************

Yagi only felt the slightest feeling of deja vu as he sat in the wooden dining chair in the middle of your apartment, the sundress you wore completely opposite to the dark expression in your eyes. The music in the background played softly as you swayed your hips, mimicking some of last night's routine.

You reached around to pull the zip down, keeping your eyes on the ex-Pro-Hero. When your back was open, you spun around, looking slyly over your shoulder as you pushed the shoulder straps along the length of your clavicle, feeling the fabric drop down your arms and fall to the floor, billowing in a circle around your feet. You heard Yagi’s sharp inhale more than saw it. Sure, he saw a lot of your body last night, the sequined hotpants number doing little to hide from his imagination. Now, your beautiful ass was on display and he almost stood up to take you to bed right there.

You continued to rock your hips to the beat, fingertips trailing up the sides of your waist, until it came to touch the fabric of your bra. You found the clasp and unhooked it, catching the cups against your breasts as you turned around to smile at the open mouthed man in your living room. You could basically see the words in his eyes, hungry, ‘drop it’. Your forearm came across your chest to cover your nipples as you peeled the bra away, gripping it loosely between your fingers, away from your body.

“Happy birthday, Yagi,” you drawled as the fabric dropped to the floor unceremoniously. Your palms cupped your breasts and he let out a whimper. You were always good at teasing.

The music, your skin, the way your body moved set him on edge. He lifted his hands and motioned for you to come closer. You obliged, strutting over to him. His eyes were right in front of your chest and he licked his lips as he stared at the mounds pressed tight to your body. You opened your fingers, letting the nipple poke through. You saw the way his eyes darkened and he grabbed your waist, pulling you down to straddle his hips. You let your breasts go to grip the top of the chair, arms caging him in. His eyes darted down. They traced over the soft skin and nipples, over your belly and the way your clothed groin perched just under the tent in his pants. His breath caught in his throat as you begun to grind down. He gazed into your eyes, your noses almost touching. You could feel his cold breath fanning over your lips.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

The hands on your waist traced up your sides, eliciting a shiver. Warm and large, they slipped around to your back, kneading the skin along your spin. You looked at each other, and for a few moments, time stood still. Then your lips connected and the universe exploded all at once. You could taste colour when your mouths joined. Your arms bent, fingers coming into contact with his blonde hair, and you threaded your fingers through it, tips massaging the scalp. His tongue swiped along your bottom lip and you readily parted them to let him in.

You explored each other's mouths, and when your chest pressed tightly against his, you were reminded just how clothed he was and how bare you were. A whine slipped from your lips and into his and you tugged the bottom of his shirt. His kiss faltered, and he pulled away. There was a swirl of emotions in his eyes before he lifted his shirt up over his head and threw it to the side. Your hands pressed against his chest as your lips connected once more. They trailed down and you felt his sinew and muscles beneath your finger tips from the years of hero work, until your right hand hit a texture different to the rest of his skin.

Yagi flinched into the kiss and you pulled away to glance briefly down, seeing the massive scar that bloomed over his left rib cage. His chest stopped rising as he held in his breath, so you closed your eyes and went back to his lips, letting your hands fall to his belt and shorts as you kissed him, opening the buttons but not taking them off.

“Bedroom?” he growled against your lips, hands moving to grab the bottom of your thighs. You mumbled affirmations against his lips as he stood and you wrapped your legs around his waist, surprised by how much stronger he was than he looked. The thought made your head spin, excited for what was to come. From the sudden loss of the floor, your sandals clattered to the ground loudly.

You whispered where the room was, pausing the kiss for a few moments to open the door, and then you were on your bed. Yagi stood back, admiring how you looked laid out on your sheets, topless with simple underwear covering the soaked skin between your legs. He kicked off his shoes and pulled his pants down, hooking his boxers at the same time so his cock sprung free all at once. Your jaw dropped at the sight of it, a girth unlike how lanky it’s owner was, and impossibly hard. He smiled at your reaction, glancing down.

“Like what you see?” he teased, fisting it with a few pumps.

You could only nod, mouth watering. You dipped your fingers beneath your underwear hem to peel them off but he shook his head. Climbing onto the bed, he caged on your body with his long arms, bending down to pepper kissing along your jaw and neck, trailing down your chest before it reached your lower stomach, right at the edge of the fabric. Two fingers rose to rub tentatively over your covered mound that was now drenched. He nudged your legs apart with his knees and settled between them. Kneeling on the bed, he tugged at the fabric as you lifted your ass to help him. A smirk danced on his lips, which turned into a moan when a sliver of slick broke apart.

“Damn, you’re really wet,” he mused, moving forward once more so that his chest was hovering over yours, two fingers expertly teasing your outer folds to make you keen in response.

“I’ve been waiting a long time,” you whined as the tip of his middle finger slipped inside. You instinctively arched your back in order to push more of the finger in and Yagi happily obliged.

“So have I.”

His fingers were longer, thicker than your own and he gave a few experimental thrusts as he leant down to place a soft kiss on your lips. Your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him deeper into yourself as he stroked your velveteen walls. The passion that had built up inside your body burst forth and poured into the kiss, lips parting in tandem and tongues dancing together. Yagi slipped in a second finger and you moaned, breaking the kiss to press the back of your head deeper into the mattress. You felt so warm, so wet, on his fingers that he couldn’t wait to feel you wrapped around his cock. He curved his fingers up, hitting that spot that curled your toes with each touch. You felt a finger on your lips and you opened your mouth to suck them, whining when they pulled out too soon before finding the pressure on your clit.

“Oh, fuck, yes Yagi.” His name rolled off your tongue so perfectly, sweet like honey, and he increased his efforts to wind up that coil in your gut. He felt your walls begin to squeeze rhythmically, pulling his fingers deeper in, his knuckles almost bruising your bones where they repeatedly slapped against your groin.

“That’s right, beautiful, cum on my fingers.” The pressure to your clit deepened, your slick creating a delicious friction with the movements. His words made your eyes roll to the back of your head, chin lifted as your hands flung out to the side to grab anything. He leaned forward, his height a strength as he scattered kisses to your neck. It was his warm breath fanning across your sensitive skin that pushed you over the edge, crying his name out as you convulsed beneath him. He weakened his touch, stroking you gently through your high, the hand on your clit reaching up to push hair out of your face so that he could watch you come undone around nothing but his fingers.

When you opened your eyes again to find him staring at you, you blushed, the heat on your cheeks rivaling the warmth in your belly. Yagi pulled out his fingers, and lifted them to his mouth, moaning at your taste. You whimpered at the sight, moving your hips so that they brushed against his thigh nestled between them, feeling empty without him inside you.

“Please fuck me, Yagi,” you asked, hands trailing down his back, purposefully skipping the scar that wrapped around his side, and traced circles into his sinewy skin.

The tip of his dick kissed your entrance, teasing up along your folds. Your heart pounded from the thought of his girth stretching you out, and your legs opened wider, knees bending acutely and hips slightly lifted. Then, he entered, and the feeling of you swallowing him in so readily made his pulse quicken. He had to bite back the tickle in his throat that would make him cough. He was moving slowly, relishing the way your tight walls wrapped around him, squeezing him, until he was fully sheathed.

“Fuck, beautiful, you’re so tight,” he wheezed, the tickle threatening to burst out. You could only mumble a response, feeling so full with him. An eternity passed, the pants from your body the only sounds in the room, before you dug your nails into his skin, his head snapping up to stare at your lust-filled eyes.

“Yagi, move.”

The simple words from your mouth spurred him to life. He dragged his hips back, agonizingly slow, before snapping it back. He set a fast pace, entranced by how you bounced with each thrust. A hand grabbed your breast, massaging the soft flesh between his calloused palms, relishing in how you responded so eagerly to his touch. Soft pleads filled his ears, asking for more, telling him how good he felt. He hooked a leg onto his shoulder, lifting your hips slightly as he connected against your skin. The hand on your breast snaked up, massaging the skin of your sternum, pressing to pin you in place. The other hand, the one that was inside you, found residence between your lips again. The taste of your arousal danced on your tongue and you sucked his fingers, eager to please him.

It had been so long since Yagi was with anyone. The life of a retired Pro-Hero that was no longer in the spotlight made it easy for him to slip away, looking so different from All-Might’s public figure. The way your tongue folded under his touch, massaged the grooves in his fingers, made some part of him lose control, thumb and pinky wrapping around your chin to pull your head down. It was almost bruising, the pressure delicious and real, eyes staring into each other.

He was completely in control of your body, the thought making you clench around him, wanting him to fall deeper into you so that he could never leave. The sheen on his forehead from sweat made you realise he was holding something back, so your hands reached up, tracing his jaw gently before trailing down the back of his neck and holding his shoulders. It was opposite to the rough pace he set himself in. You wanted to tell him not to hold back, but the fingers in your mouth restricted the words, so you pleaded with your gaze. The thing that kept him at bay snapped, and a deep guttural groan escaped from his chest, along with a cough.

The spurt of blood surprised you. It dripped down his chin, some falling on your chest, but his thrusts didn’t slow. His chin turned up, gazing at the ceiling as his thrusts became erratic, chasing a release. The palm pinning you down moved to wrap around your throat, squeezing only slightly in order to create that pressurized feeling of your blood flow being restricted. His fingers left your mouth, coming back to massage tight circles on your clit to build you up, willing you to find your release at the same time as him.

It didn’t take much coaxing, the bundle of nerves still sensitive from your previous orgasm, and your vision began to blur, however you did not take your eyes off his face, watching the blood leak from the corner of his mouth. It was primal, feral, and the clouded look in his eyes made you want to pull him close, into your skin. Your orgasm exploded, bursting at the seams as you clamped down on his cock, reeling him in close and you felt him release, his cum filling and warming you up.

He stilled, hands falling to beside your neck, caging you in, head dropped slightly so that his hair fell in front of his face, blocking his eyes. You shifted your hips, feeling his cock begin to soften inside you, but you didn’t let him pull out, locking your ankles behind his back to keep him close.

“Yagi, look at me,” you whispered. He hesitated, before lifting his chin and a reserved gaze caught your eye. “Kiss me,” you demanded, the blood on his skin not deterring your feelings of affection for him in the slightest.

The emotions in his eyes swirled before he gave in to your request, falling onto his elbows and pressing a desperate, sloppy kiss against your lips. It tasted metallic, warm and you moaned into it, legs falling open to relax. He collapsed down, rolling onto his right and pulling you tightly against his chest. You snuggled into his hold, nose pressed against his throat, fingers tracing up his sides carefully. You felt his cum slide out and down your thighs, onto your bed spread but you couldn’t care with how content you felt, floating on cloud nine with the man wrapped around you.

“Thank you,” his voice was hoarse, making you look up to figure out what he meant, “for not turning away.” The late afternoon sun peaked in between the blinds of your bedroom, littering paneled shadows on his skin. You pressed a kiss against his throat.

“Do you want to stay the night?” you asked, holding him tighter against your body. He nodded, nose burying into the top of your hair, a relieved sigh from his lips.

“I’d love that.”

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

@whats-her-quirk​​ @kamehamethot​​ @mmalfoydraco​​

[julietnterein]

•| Violacea I. chp. 4 |•

„So you won't tie me up to bed today?” I ask doctor Mahler as she is getting ready for my examination.

„Andreea, don't be rude.” My mother frowned at me.

„That's alright.” Smiles doctor Mahler. „I heard from Katherine you are having some troubles with nightmares lately.” She looks at my legs as she is trying to sound like it wasn't her the last time who tied me up to bed in some weird dark room. „Maybe I could write you some prescription for sleeping pills, what do you say?”

„No, I'm good.” I bark in her direction.

„I feel like that's a great idea.” Says my mom.

„Mom?!” I look at her surprised about her statement.

„Okay then.” Nods doctor and goes to one of many cabinets as she takes out the syringe as she sucks in some weird clear liquid. „Don't worry, Andreea, you are not the first and neither last that is a bit paranoid.” She walks back to me with the needle in one hand.

„Mom, you can't let her do that…” I look at her with tears in my eyes. „You can't!” I starts yelling and tries to defend myself from doctors hand. „Please mom! Say something… Mom!”

My mother just looks at the doctor as she pushes me back into the hospital bed.

„Say something!” I scream at her, tears streaming down my face. But she just plainly looks at me. I can feel the stress overwhelming me once again and my body feels like exploding at any second.

„Put her to sleep.” She whispers simply at the doctor as she notices how I clench my fists.

„No! Please don't!” I scream as a wave of energy blasts through me and throws back everyone from me. All glass in the cabinets shaders to the ground and a computer standing on a table starts smoking a little before it's screen cracks. Doctor Mahler is the first one to stand up with fearful eyes as she tries to get to me quickly. I tries to stand by myself, but my legs just can't do it on their own. Doctor catches me quickly and one of the assistants jumps to her side and helps her hold me. I tried to defend myself, crawling on their clothes, screaming at them to let me go before a small pain appeared on my neck. I can feel my muscles go limp and doctor Mahler is helping me to lie down on the bed as everything around me slowly goes dark. But before I close my eyes completely I turn my head towards my mother who lies lifelessly on the floor with a huge shard going through her neck.

„I killed her.” A woman's voice sounds through the speakers in common room.

Everyone jumps up, looking around. „Friday, what is that?” A man with weird beard asks first.

„I'm sorry, Mrs. Stark, that's none of my programmes that you uploaded.” Says AI's voice.

„Can you run the voice through databases?”

„Of course, sir.” She says again and everything goes silent for a minute before she speaks again: „No one with a voice like that is at any of the databases I have access to.”

Stark scratch his bear before he shrugs hopelessly and says it was probably just some malfunction in the system.

„Alright enough!” A red haired woman stands up and throws her hands in the air. „Are we really gonna act up like it's nothing? She killed someone! Wanda has these weird visions about someone suffering, then there is the blast of energy in Romania. And we will just leave it at that? Because last time, if my memory serves me right, you toys started talking, we were dealing with Ultron! Who tried to make world peace by killing the human race.” She points at Stark like even that was one of his things.

„We can send some agents to look into it. In Romania.” Says Stark surprised by her reaction.

„I will do it myself.” She barks at him.

„Natasha, wait…” Tries to catch up with her Wanda.

„What?” She turn at her still pissed.

„I will come with you.”

„Ne, Wanda… I will call Clint, you stay here, okay?” She smiles at her. „But maybe I could use someone really fast.” She turned her head towards me.

„Hey, Wanda…” Says a man's voice through my lips.

„Pietro, your eyes…” Says someone in the room.

„What is it, Pietro?” Wanda jumps to me quickly.

„I can feel someone looking through me.” He starts explaining.

„Okay, Romanoff, you are right.” Says Stark immediately. „I'm calling Clint to get ready and you will pick him on your way.” He starts pulling something out of his pocket and steps out of the room.

„W-what do you feel?” Wanda asks me quietly.

„She's mourning.”

A lot of voices are bringing me back to my consciousness.

„Look at the brain activity.” Says someone.

„Impossible.” Says someone else. „That's like brain activity of-... Of three people! Look at the curve.”

I can feel weird things being attached to my head.

„Look how it gets up.” Says someone.

„That's because she is awake.” I see what some of the doctors say.

„That's weird. Do you think that activity could have been from her dreams?” Asks one of them.

„Definitely not.” Says other. „But why won't we let her tell us?” He smiles down at me as he pushes a weird button in his hand.

But the place there was supposed to electroduce me just tickles slightly.

„Wh-what…? Why is it not working?”

But the more he lets the electricity go through the more awake and full of energy I feel.

But before anyone else speaks up, doctor Mahler runs through the door and as she sees the scenery she starts screaming at them: „You idiots! She literally gains her energy from electricity and all torture you can think of is electroducing! Give it to me!” She takes the button out of his hand.

I'm not completely sure where my brain started processing all this information, but all I could do was to focus all the energy I just headed right back through the cables with all the power I could find in myself. Everything that is powered by electricity starts flashing with sparkles, before it flames up or just goes black. I can see one of the doctors as he was holding onto something that was powered by electricity, screams out in agony as his hands go black and he falls to the ground. And after that a loud red alarm goes off.

Doctor Mahler takes out her walkie-talkie but it's not working, so she screams something at other doctors in language I know nothing about and they immediately runs out of the room.

„I have no idea how they found us, but you are going with me!” She starts untightening all the strips that hold me in place. With one swift move, she pulls me up to my legs but before she realizes I'm falling back to the ground. She takes one of my hands over her shoulders and starts taking her out of the room.

„I'm gonna shoot you if you say a word, clear? I'm not gonna die in here because of some failed experiment!” She hisses into my ear as I can feel a barrel of a gun pressed right to my side.

I can hear screams in the whole building and everywhere around me is chaos. I can hear a gunshots right in the hallway in front of us and we steps out behind our corner right for me to see one of the doctors holding a kid in front of him and when I realize that he is using him as human shield I can feel my urge to vomit. And as a three bullets goes right through the doctors body and even though the kid is unharmed I turn my head to the side throws right at the doctor Mahler.

„Are you kidding me?!” She screams out.

Doctor is pulling me through the hallway, away from all the gunshots. If she wasn't about to save her life I would be touched by her carrying me with her. We stand in front of a door that are secured with number code. She starts pushing the numbers with a shaky hand.

„Let go of the girl and hand surrender.” Speaks up a woman's voice behind us. Doctor Mahler pushes me away from her and I end up lying on the ground but the gun is still pointed at my head.

I can feel myself trembling but as I realize who is standing in front of me I feel a wave of calm coming over me.

„Natasha Romanoff.” I whisper, when I realize that is her name. But that is a mistake I shouldn't have done, because she turns her attention towards me and the doctor quickly points her gun at her and pulls the trigger. Natasha quickly jumps behind the corner, as her senses kick in quickly before the bullet is shot. She looks behind the corner, trying to analyze the situation but before she can do something an arrow is shot through the air and it ends in the doctor's chest. I can see the tip drill through her and coming out from her back and I have to hold myself to hold all my intestines in once again.

Natasha stands up in front of me and before I even say thank you a small dart ends up in my neck.

„Don't take this personally.” She says before my world goes dark.

Chp. 5

TAG LIST: 

@littlegasps

[anika-ann]

The Best Mistake of My Life - Pt.5

The A+ Day...

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader    Word count: 2320

Summary: A soulmate AU. They say having a soulmate is a blessing. Who wouldn’t love the idea of star-crossed lovers, right?

You get to spend the day with the Avengers. Should you be excited or scared? Well, Steve is by your side, so...

Warnings: swearing, FLUFF, Steve’s friends being Steve’s friends… go figure

Story masterlist

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You were very comfy and very warm. Maybe even too warm. Also, your covers were moving behind your back and that was a bit odd, but you blamed the sensation on the morning confusion. Your bed smelled nicer than usual too. You nuzzled closer into the moving warmth, content it stilled its movements.

Except that after that, it talked.

“Sorry to wake you,” the comforter whispered hoarsely and it was like a shot of adrenaline to your veins, making you jolt fully awake, sitting up straight, causing your head to pound with the swift movement.

That was Steve’s voice.

Because you were sleeping in Steve’s bed.  

“Are you okay?” he asked lowly, but you couldn’t respond right away. The memories came rushing back to you, messy but warmly fuzzy images of last night.

You had danced with Steve. Steve had kissed you. Steve had kissed you a lot.  

Your lips unwittingly curled up in a smile despite the abrupt wake-up process. You heard him moving at your side, sitting up as well, so you turned to him, still grinning in perfect contrast to his concerned face.

He looked adorable with his hair sticking in every direction, a bit sleepy expression on his face, and he was also still very much shirtless. You were sure you woke up to heaven.

“Sorry to freak out. I was just… ugh, confused for a bit,” you explained, keeping your voice on low level just like he did, worried you might disturb the peace. “Good morning, Steve.”

His face cleared of worried wrinkles and he charmed a smile for you. “Morning, doll. Slept well?”

“Very. You?”

“Yeah.”

You just stared at each other, grinning like fools, eyes sparkling. You must have looked ridiculous, but you didn’t care. Subconsciously, when he released you from the lock of his eyes, your gaze wandered over him, appreciating the lack of clothing. How could person have a body this marvellous? You knew it was probably the effect of the serum, but gosh. What a view.

Good morning indeed.

You noticed a blush spreading down his neck and quickly snapped your gaze back to where it was decent. But hey, when you were offered a view like this, you simply had to make the best of the opportunity!

Steve seemed a bit sheepish, but you couldn’t help but notice that a new glint appeared in his irises, something in the way he was watching you back that gave out that maybe, you weren’t the only person to enjoy the situation at hand. It took you a second to realize why that was – you were wearing his clothes.

You remembered Ryan telling you about what it felt like to him, seeing a girl – or a guy in his case – in his clothes. Like a flag on a flagpole, mark of ownership on a conquered land, he had told you.

No funny business had happened between you and Steve last night, but the thought still made your face hot all over. To cover your embarrassment, you ducked your head to Steve’s shoulder, resting your forehead on it.

Steve tensed at first, but quickly recovered and sank his fingers gently into your hair, very carefully caressing your scalp, wary of pulling at your hair and causing you pain. You hummed in appreciation, instinctively brushing the nearest patch of skin with your lips – an inked patch of skin. You smiled against your will at that. Your words. Your ridiculous first words to him.

His breath caught in his throat at your bold move, but a kiss landed at the top of our head, so you figured you didn’t overstep.

“How much do you hate morning breath?” he muttered, sounding a bit embarrassed.

“Not particularly…?” you answered, not sure where that headed.

Looking back, you really should have understood what he was asking. Then again, the pleasant surprise of his fingers gently finding your jaw and tilting your head so he could kiss you right on the lips, warm and soft and sweet, was worth the lack of your brain function. You melted, your palm finding a way to lie flat on his very bare chest, feeling every expansion of his ribcage, his skin burning. He deepened the kiss, his fingers tangling in your hair enough to make you notice and boy, did it do things to you. You sighed into his mouth, content and yet needy for more, a second from climbing into his lap, too fast development be damned.

Just as you were out of breath, he released you, his thumb drawing a soft circle on your cheek. It was cliché, but your fingertips were literally tingling with euphoria and excitement.

“Wow,” you breathed out, still feeling his breath tickling your lips as he had barely moved away. “Can I stay another night? Can I be woken up like this every morning?”

He gave a breathy laugh, making your eyes snap open, and you could see the blown black of his pupils, the gleam of wanting more now diluted with giddiness.

“Can’t say I’d complain,” he admitted with a lopsided smile radiant on his kiss-swollen lips.

God, he was so handsome. Had you mentally noted he was handsome before? You still couldn’t believe it.

“That an invitation?”

“I mean, if you convince Tony…”

“Oh god, I take it back,” you groaned, falling back to the sheets dramatically, rewarded with Steve’s light-hearted laugh.

He laid down on his side then, propped on his elbow, watching you with a soft smile. “Thank you for staying.”

You let out what surely was a very unattractive snort. “’Cause not having to go home and not having to hail a cab in the middle of the night was a real sacrifice…”

Steve was fully grinning now, dropping a playful kiss on your nose, which caused you to giggle.

“I know, my lady. Let me make up for the hardship you had suffered through with making you breakfast.”

“You sound like Thor. Also, offering breakfast to a girl? You are a dangerous man, Steve Rogers,” you stated, the stupid smile simply not disappearing from your face no matter how much you tried to get it under control; so you gave up on that. “You seem to know just the way to my heart.”

“I sure hope so. Are you coming with the adorable bed-hair or do you want a minute?”

You gasped at the cheeky comment, grabbing the pillow by his head to smack his stupidly perfect skull.

His laughter filled the room and you felt like the happiest person on Earth.

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When Steve led you to the communal kitchen and dining room ten minutes later, you were surprised to find three people already there. Clint was sitting at the bar, his head resting in his palm, a mug of coffee hazardously close in your opinion, just in case he would actually fell asleep and faceplanted on the counter; Bruce was sitting nearby, watching over him, while Natasha was standing at the cooker, making…

“Are those pancakes?” you gasped, your stomach instantly reacting to the smell, making you squirm in humiliation. Steve at your side chuckled, while Natasha grinned at you.

“Yep. There’s enough for you too. Unless Steve wants to impress you with his own cooking skills,” she teased and winked at him. He smiled bashfully in return.

“I mean… maybe next time? Since you already started…”

“Oh-ho, so there will be a next time?” Clint wolf-whistled, startling you with both the question and sudden sign of life.

“Let them be…. Coffee?” Bruce beckoned to the pot. You bit you lip bashfully. You didn’t want to be rude, but coffee… “Or maybe tea?”

You lighted up. “If it’s not too much trouble…”

“I’ll do it,” Steve hurried before the other man could rise from his seat. He pecked your temple. ”You go sit.”

“Yes, sir…”

Looking around, you weren’t sure where to. Between Bruce and Clint? Next to Clint since Bruce was at the bar stool at the end of the counter?

“You can sit next to Clint. It’s safe. This is his second mug of coffee,” Natasha supplied helpfully and you frowned in confusion. Perhaps an inside joke. “Yes, he is dangerous before he finishes his first.”

“Hey!” the man in question complained, but rolled his eyes for your benefit. “That’s actually accurate. You can sit here, I don’t bite.”

“He’s just a pain in everyone’s ass.”

“Morning to you too, Stark,” Clint saluted him and a mug of tea landed in front of you, soon followed by a stack of pancakes.

“You’re gonna spoil me. Thank you,” you said in earnest.

Natasha waved it off, while Steve let out a simple “Planning on it.”

“So you didn’t spoil her last night?” the billionaire hummed casually, pouring himself a coffee. Your eyes widened and you rather started eating to avoid an answer. Steve only sighed.

Neither of you replied, which earned you some raised eyebrows.

“She seems right at home in his clothes, huh?” Clint added and you shot him a look, mortified. Him too?

“She does, doesn’t she? Sign of a successful night?”

Steve grinded his teeth at Stark’s latest remark, turning a bit red in his face. You sipped your tea, figuring out a sassy response.

“Very successful. I slept like a baby. Sleeping duty fulfilled,” you announced and noticed that Bruce’s lips twitched as if he was holding back a smile. You continued. “That will be all, thank you for your questions. For further information, contact our PR department. ….Ouch, we don’t have one, looks like it’s none of your business then. Too bad…”

Tony’s mouth was theatrically hanging open, his hand clutching his chest and Clint’s eyes seemed rounder than a moment before; then again, that could just be because of the amount of caffeine in his system. Natasha chuckled, positioning a plate in front of Steve – his stack of pancakes was visibly taller and you wondered just how much he had to eat.

Speaking of Steve, he was smugly grinning into his mug. “I have nothing to add.”

“Still though. She’s like… shining or something. That’s released endorphins, I can tell. Good job, Cap.”

You internally whined.

If they keep that up, staying overnight is gonna start feeling like a sacrifice.

“Play nice, boys,” Natasha scolded them and you smiled at her gratefully. “Let the poor girl eat. She’s gotta make up for the calories Steve helped her burn…”

“You too?” you burst out simultaneously with Steve and Natasha raised her hands in a harmless gesture.

“I meant when you were dancing. What did you think I was talking about?” she asked innocently and everyone in the room but you two laughed.  

“I hate you,” Steve mouthed at her and she just winked in return, turning her attention back to her cooking.

You wished for the Earth to swallow you, but you liked the teasing air hovering above the group of friends. You smiled reassuringly at Steve, stroking him arm shortly.

“It’s okay, Steve. I still like you despite your annoying friends,” you emphasized the last words, which was followed by affective aww from Clint, Tony and Natasha.

Steve smiled at you, apologetic and kind. “Thanks, doll. You’re the best.”

To show his appreciation, he kissed your cheek, the innocent gesture drawing a wolf-whistle from Tony.

“Get a room!”

You just rolled your eyes and stole a quick peck from Steve’s lips for a good measure. He tasted like coffee; it seemed you might grow fond of that taste after all.

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Despite all the odds, everyone survived breakfast. They teased you once more after you asked about Thor, learning he had left in early morning because of an urgent matter on Asgard. After all, he was son of the King. And an Alien. And a demigod. Apparently, you knew those now. What an insanity your life became in such a short time.

The team went separate ways after the meddling over the most important meal of the day. Steve stayed with you, of course, showing you around the Tower. You marvelled at the view and despite having a tiny fear of heights, you agreed to Steve taking you outside at the top.

It was incredible. You found yourselves basically on the top of the world, steps slightly shaky, but with Steve’s firm reassurance. You trusted him not to let you fall. So trying to keep your mind of the potential life-ending fall, you busied your mind with how touchy-feely Steve quickly became after sharing the first kiss yesterday night. You loved it.

When you came to a stop, you were unable to resist the urge to spread your arms and let the gentle wind play with your hair and rather loose clothes; Steve’s hands found their way to your hips to steady you. Slowly, he moved further, his fingers running in a feather-light touch over your arms and threading his fingers with yours.

You giggled and dared to lean onto him with your back, testing the waters. His lips brushed your cheek and you couldn’t but turn your head, catching his mouth with yours in a searing kiss. He was so sweet. You trusted him with your life, knowing he would never allow you to even stumble, and yet you were falling, falling for him so hard. The realization was overwhelming.

How could you be… falling in love so fast?

Steve gently squeezed your fingers, brining your joined hands to your waist and you decided you didn’t care and let the kiss consume you.

When you finally parted, your eyes fluttered open to meet his gaze. You couldn’t stop smiling.

“Put Titanic on your list, huh?” you murmured, your brain turned into a useless mass of lovesick jello.

Laughter was twinkling in Steve’s eyes. “Not really. It’s a perk of the movie nights, we take turns in who’s picking.”

You frowned in confusion. “Who chose Titanic?”

For some reason, Natasha didn’t strike you the type. Clearly, you were right, because Steve chuckled.

“Clint.”

You burst out laughing, Steve soon joining you. You wondered if the whole Manhattan could hear you. Once again, you had no care in the world.

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Part 6

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Tags:

@cxptain​ @mermaidxatxheart @smilexcaptainx , @murdermornings​@irepostthingsiwanttoseelater , @polarcrystall​ @eliza5616​, @rayofdawnworld  @victor-criss-bish​ @skychild29​  @elysianecho​ @simmisblog​ @scentedsongrebel​ @orions-nebula​, @sergeantrosabellaswan​ @songofcosplay​, @ilovesupersoldiers​ @wxstedhexrt @silver-winter-wolf @nova3312​

Tags are open, you want in or out, let me know :))

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I actually had to split it into two parts, because it was waaay to much fluff in one go an that coming from me?  You better believe it!

Thank you for reading. Attempt at humour will come later, promise ;)

[penguinwithitsarseonfire]

Gave Me the Blues and then Purple-Pink Skies

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (the final stretch!)

Pairing: 13th Doctor x Reader

Word Count: 2,220

Warnings: None

Summary: You roll into the cavern, finding the origin of the music and the history behind it. The planet has one more surprise for you both though, a wonderful, delightful surprise.

You took in a deep breath and squeezed your eyes shut. Before you could psyche yourself out, you let go of the column that was holding you up. For a moment you felt weightless, suspended in empty space, then you plummeted.

Instinctively you curled inwards as you made contact with the soft dirt, and tumbled down. You couldn’t help but let out a delighted laugh as rolled down, it reminded you of when you used to do this as a kid, or that one scene in The Princess Bride.

When you reached the bottom you splayed outwards like a starfish, the stone below you cold against your back and cooling your pent up adrenaline. The Doctor skidded into your side, her arms lightly knocking against your hip as she stopped.

She poked her head out from under her arms, sporting a huge grin. “Oh mate, yeah, okay, that was fun.”

You laughed. “It was, wasn’t it.”

You pulled yourself up and peered around the cavern you’d found yourselves in. You gaped, in front of you was a wall made of the red dirt filled with intricate white paintings.

They glowed a soft yellow, the colour casting over the rest of the cave and causing the crystals to sparkle.

The crystals too, were unique and different to the rest of what you’d seen on this planet. They were pink, orange, purple, green, all the different colours and hues of the rainbow, and they wound a path towards an open archway to your left, which seemed to be the rest of the tunnel.

The crystals seemed to sing to you, their voices soft and guiding you to the wall. You pressed your fingers against the lining of one of the paintings, and it was rough under your touch.

It was only then you noticed that these weren’t just paintings, but they were carvings, and the deeper into the rock it went, the colour changed to match.

It was incredible.

“Oh,” the Doctor gasped, following you to the wall. “Is this the music you’ve been hearing?”

You nodded, not taking your eyes off your hand as you traced the grooves in the wall. “Yeah, it is.”

“It’s beautiful.”

You memorised the way the paintings felt under your hands, the way the coarse stone set little indentations against the beds of your fingers, and how warm it felt compared to the rest of the cavern.

The paintings stretched out across the wall, reminding you of cave paintings that dated back from the Stone Age, or the artworks of Aboriginal Australia, with their white ochre against red stone.

The Doctor took a step back and scanned the wall with her screwdriver. “Oh of course,” she scrutinised the screwdriver quickly before pocketing it, and came up to your side. She pointed to the painting on the top left corner. “Look at that one there, what’s it depicting?”

You squinted at it for a moment. “It looks like two people, but I’m not sure what the lines above them are supposed to be.”

“They’re the indigenous people of this region, look,” she used her hand to guide you through the paintings. “It’s a story, more than that, it’s the history of this tunnel. If you look, the tunnel opens itself up to help guide the native species out of the weather, the heat mustn’t be something that’s survivable.

“And these crystals,” she turned around, gesturing to the ones surrounding you, the ones that were pulsating bright pink, purple, and green lights. “They feed off of a particular energy you must give out, which must be the same as the people who normally come through.”

The Doctor scanned you quickly and you blinked against the orange light of the screwdriver. “Oh! It’s so obvious now!”

You took your hand from the wall so you could face her properly. “What is?”

“Humans, you’re brilliant, I swear!” She started throwing her hands about in the way she did when she was excited about a new discovery, or when she was explaining something when you were particularly clueless. “They feed off of the residual torsional energy that your endocrine systems produce-”

“My what energies?” You interrupted.

“-Oh, it’s not named until the 36th century. I think some people in your time describe it as an aura? It’s the energy that every human subconsciously produces - completely harmless, and these crystals here,” she spun around again. “Use that energy to keep you safe. It’s a migration chain! This tunnel exists so people can cross this desert safely.

“That’s why you could hear the music, and why I can only hear it now,” she continued, turning back to you with a delighted grin. “That music is them working, it’s them feeding off of that energy, which then connects back to you through a sympathetic resonance bonded on a quantum level.

“I can hear it now because we’re literally in the epicentre of it all. This is their battery, where they store up all their energy, and then they must disperse it throughout the tunnel.”

You turned around in a circle so you could fully take in your surroundings, looking at the crystals with a sense of newfound awe. No wonder it had felt so important, they had connected themselves to you.

Your gaze fell beyond the cavern, where the crystal wound down another path, one that looked brighter and more well used. You squinted, you were sure you could see the other side of the tunnel.

You let their energies thrum against yours, which was a peculiar sensation, and you silently wondered if you were just inventing it in your head. It was like the feeling of being really close to a base speaker, tickling your skin and your bones.

“So it’s safe?”

The Doctor nodded. “Completely. I reckon if we were to keep going, we’d be out in no time.”

You nodded, more to yourself than to her. “Right.”

The Doctor brushed her hand against a crystal and turned back to you. “Well then, shall we?”

You gave the wall behind you a final glance, and let the ambience of the cavern fall over you. “Yeah, let’s go.”

You weren’t exactly sure how to describe how you felt as you followed the Doctor through the remaining tunnel, but you were… lighter, somehow. Like some pieces inside your brain had slot themselves into place.

You weren’t even sure what exactly those pieces were, or why they had been out of place, but you definitely knew it was alright now.

The cool air nipped at your skin as you came to the mouth of the tunnel. You were surprised by the dramatic change of temperature, it had been so hot when you had landed, part of you had assumed it would remain so. It settled over your skin like a blanket, and you watched as the hairs on your arms stood on end.

It was odd, it wasn't uncomfortable like the cold could be back on Earth, there was personality to this coldness, like the light wind had a purpose as it wrapped itself around you.

Little white lights perforated the night sky, twinkling like they were putting on their own little show, just for you and the Doctor.

Under the dark sky, the sand lay forgotten and instead, dark, grassy, green hills swept in front of you. You had entered a valley, the sort that seemed to have been plucked straight out of a children’s fantasy book.

There was a glittering lake which reflected the sky and dozens of trees which you assumed provided shelter from the harsh sun during the day. You kicked your boot against some of the grass lightly, and watched as the dirt came away red, like the tunnel behind you.

Suddenly and all at once, a ripple of colour lit up the ground. When you looked up at the sky you saw a ribbon of coloured light, dancing like a carnival festival.

A brilliant pink road snaked into one of green, tangling itself into orange and a bright violet, blazing against the stars like a living organism. It took your breath away.

You gazed wide eyed at the most spectacular wonder you had seen in such a long time. It was so vibrant, with colours you couldn't even name tangling themselves into the atmosphere and stretching out toward the ground like the landing lights of some distant UFO.

You knew Earth had lights like these; the Aurora Borealis, but it wasn't anything like this. This was something different. It was almost as if the lights wanted to wrap themselves around you, to hold you, keep your grounded and safe. They swayed, flowed, changed shades and hues. It was magical.

"This is incredible," you spoke softly, not wanting to interrupt the way the colours danced.

You turned to see how The Doctor was reacting, only to see she was looking at you.

“Yeah,” she said, watching you like you were something wonderful. “It is.”

Oh –

The Doctor was looking at you the way she looks at a star being born, with that sort of delighted wonder she normally reserved for new and unique curiosities. She looked at you with reverence, like you were the only thing to bother focusing on, like you were the only thing worth it.

It made your heart stop.

You knew you were looking at her the same way, too.

In a stroke of boldness you reached for the Doctors hand, taking hers in your own. “Is this okay?”

The Doctor blinked, staring at your entwined hands and back at you. Your pulse hammered in your throat, and you tried to swallow it down. It wasn’t like you didn’t hold hands often, just, normally that was to navigate danger, and there was nothing dangerous about this moment right now.

Except for the fact that you were definitely wearing your heart on your sleeve.

“No, no, this is wonderful. Brilliant even,” the Doctor looked back up at you, grinning. “Absolutely brilliant.”

The lights danced over the Doctors face, you watched as the pink, orange, and emerald that lit up in the sky above you were reflected in her eyes.

You wondered if this was how the Doctor saw the universe, alight with colour, completely engulfed in brightness, each moment a love letter to time and space itself, a monument towards life itself, a kiss from the forces that be.

Or maybe you were just romanticising it because that’s how you thought of her.

“You’re brilliant y’know,” the Doctor said, softly. “Completely brilliant.”

You tried not to notice the heat you felt on your cheeks.

“No need to reply,” she added. “I just need you to know that.”

She still had sand plastered against her cheek, and her hair was frizzy, with a dusting of red dirt throughout it. Somehow, the Doctor had managed to get dirt stuck on her forehead too, and it was such a quaint addition to her face that you couldn’t help but smile.

Of course she’d managed to gather a collage of different dirt across her face. You could only assume you looked about the same.

You counted the freckles that dusted the bridge of her nose, mere inches from your face and – oh, wait. When had she gotten so close?

“Is this okay?” The Doctor asked, her breath tickling your lips.

For a moment, for one millisecond of a moment your brain short circuited, and before you could hastily nod or stutter out a more than eager response, the moment was broken.

The whirring, wheezing groan of the Tardis sounded beside you, and instinctively you both drew back to watch.

A laugh bubbled out of you as you watched that magnificent blue box with awful timing land itself next to you both, blocking your view of the tunnel behind it. “Of course she shows up now.”

The Doctor laughed along with you, and even though the moment was lost, it didn’t feel like it was gone. You were with her, standing on this strange planet, wearing your stuffy clothes, and surviving a formidable adventure through a tunnel, and feeling utterly elated that you got to have that all with The Doctor.

“I’ve got to be honest,” you said. “This was better than Erinda.”

The Doctor gave you a mirthful smile and snapped her fingers, the Tardis doors opening next to you. “Yeah, she knows how to do that sometimes. Still though, shall we go? Erinda? Pink snow?”

You screwed your face up. “After a day like today, I think I’m in need of a shower, Doc.”

“Ah yeah,” the Doctor ran a hand through her hair. “A shower sounds like a good idea.”

And with that you entered the Tardis, your hand still in hers, and an entire universe to explore.

A/N: Aaaand it’s done, over, finito, complete! Thank you so much absolutely everyone for all the comments and love you’ve given this, and a super special thank you to @kisstherainwriting for being so supportive and wonderful. I have had so much fun doing this, there’ll definitely be more fics in the future! ❤️❤️❤️

[chickensarentcheap]

Best Part of Me -Chapter 60

Warnings: none

Tagging: @innerpaperexpertcloud​, @c-a-v-a-l-r-y​, @alievans007​, @ocfairygodmother​

When she finally wakes, it's with sunshine streaming through the bedroom windows and the digital bedside clock advertising that it’s 10:35. The latter nearly sends her into a blind panic; bolting into a sitting position, eyes still blurry from sleep and her brain groggy as it tries to orientate itself with the unfamiliar surroundings. Momentarily oblivious to the fact that she isn’t at home. Briefly  not only forgetting that she’s actually thousands of miles away, but just WHY she is.

She’d spent the last nine hours in a deep and peaceful slumber; a feat she hasn’t managed to achieve once in the past six years.  Worn out not just from the lack of adequate rest over the course of the last month and a half or from  the gruelling twelve hour flight from Australia, but the hours after the conversation with Tyler that she’d spent dwelling over the pain and the worry that not only tinged his words, but dripped from his voice. He’d never admit just how things are; preferring to suffer in silence under the misconception that he's somehow a burden. It’s a hard habit to break someone of, if not entirely impossible. She’s been working at it for almost seven years now; attempting to not only break down that final barrier he’d long ago built up around himself, but convince him that the second they decided to have a life together, his issues and problems stopped belonging to JUST him. But he’s ferociously stubborn, and years of being raised in an abusive home by an extremely toxic and volatile man,  followed by military life,  has done a lot of damage.  The last effects and scars from physical injuries left behind, but the deepest and most painful wounds festering just under the surface.

She casts a furtive glance towards the cradle at the side of the bed; appreciative of the fully furnished and exquisitely decorated nursery that Anil had provided, but needing the baby as close as possible, at least for the few nights. And her eyes widen and her heart immediately begins thundering in her chest when she finds Addie’s bed empty; devoid of even the stuffed koala -which had once belonged to Millie when she was just newly born- that had been tucked into the corner of the cradle. And she’s ready to toss off the blankets and jump out of bed when a tiny voice pipes up from beside her and puts her worst fears to rest.

“She’s downstairs. With Prisha.”

Esme frowns. “Who’s Prisha?”

Tanner shrugs. “I dunno. I think she’s a nanny or something. But she’s old. Like grandma and Nana Bonnie. Why are there so many people living here? Why do they all do so much work? They clean, they cook, they watch kids. At home, you and daddy do all that stuff.”

“Because Anil has a lot more money than we do and he’s so busy, that he needs to have people taking care of things around the house. Which is bigger than ours. WAY bigger. And when you have a place that’s this big, you need help keeping up with it.”

“Our house is big.”

“By most peoples’ standards. But compared to THIS house, it’s tiny.”

Tanner shrugs. “I like our better, anyway.”

“You don’t like it here? I thought you’d find it pretty cool. TWO pools, a home theatre, all kinds of awesome animals…”

“I like home better. Because it’s home. Because all our stuff is there. I don’t want new stuff, I want OUR stuff. And the beach is there and the smell of the water and the sound of the waves and none of that is here.”

“And it will all still be there when we get back,” she assures him.

“What if we never go back? What if we have to stay here? I don’t wanna stay here. I wanna go back to our house. I wanna go back to our furniture and eating OUR food and sharing a room with TJ. I don’t like not sleeping with him. I’ve always shared a room with him. And I was with him in your tummy too.”

Esme lies back down and rolls onto her side, watching him. One his stomach beside her, knees bent and his bare feet slowly kicking back and forth. Brow furrowed in concentration as he uses a pencil to carefully circle things and fill in blank spaces in the workbook open in front of him. And she reaches out and pushes his hair out of his eyes and off his forehead, then runs a fingertip down the bridge of her nose and taps it against the tip.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re really cute?” she asks,

“There’s a couple girls in my class that say it all the time.”

"Really?"

He nods. “But I told them I can only be friends because I don’t like girls in THAT way yet. I told them I only love one girl, and that’s mommy.”

“No wonder you’re my favorite.  Sweet talking me like that. What are you doing?”

“Homework.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause I want to.”

“Let me see…” she pulls back the corner of the cover to read the title. “Where did you get this? It’s for kids in grade three.”

“Daddy bought it for me the last time we were in town. ‘Cause he said the stuff at school is way too easy for me”

“And you actually understand what you’re reading?”

“Ummm...yeah…” Tanner gives a heavy sigh and a roll of his eyes. “...of course I do! I’m not stupid. Besides, daddy made me read some to him and made me answer some of the questions before he’d buy it. He said I have a huge brain pan, whatever that means.”

“You honestly can read it and understand it?”

“Mommy, I’m smart like you. Just ‘cause Millie and TJ as dumb, doesn’t mean I am,”

“Okay first off, that’s a little harsh. You brother and sister are not dumb. Far from it. But you? You’re insanely smart. Scary smart. You’re also very grumpy this morning.”

“I’m not grumpy.”

“You ARE. And I have seen that exact frown and those lines in your forehead and those serious eyes a thousand times. You are sounding and looking more like your daddy every day. He gets that same look on his face when he’s grumpy. And what are you wearing?” She tugs at the sleeve of the black and gray Emery t-shirt he sports; miles too big on his slight frame.

“It’s daddy’s. I asked him if I could have one of his shirts before he left and he picked this one and packed it in my bag for me. I wanted something that smells like him ‘cause it helps not miss him so much.”

Tears sparkle in her eyes. That honesty; so pure and so innocent. A little boy that possesses such huge emotions and loves so fiercely. “Oh little nugget…” she tousles his hair. “...you have such a big, sensitive heart. Come here; let me make it so it fits better.”  

She gathers him into her arms and rolls onto her back, and he sits crossed legged on her stomach while she gathers the bottom of the shirt and draws it around his waist; securing it in a knot before doing the same with each shoulder. “We’ll have to buy daddy a new shirt. Something tells me you won’t give him this one back.”

“Imma keep it,” Tanner says, then wraps both arms around her neck and stretches his legs out; pressing himself tightly against her, face nestled against the side of her neck, feeling the soft tickle of those ridiculously long lashes against her skin when he closes his eyes.

Despite how much he hates hearing it, he IS still so very little. Four inches shorter than his brother and at least fifteen pounds lighter; limbs not as long and shoulders much more narrow. But it makes for good cuddles, and she can still pick him up relatively effortlessly and carry him if she has to. And his personality matches his appearance. Softer and more tender hearted than his twin; affection and loving and breathtakingly sensitive and heartbreakingly wise. An old soul in such a little boy. And while TJ is rough and wild and carefree, Tanner is more cautious. Wary, almost. Fiercely protective of his own self. And her own eyes close when she wraps both arms around his slender body and drops a kiss on the top of his head.

“I don’t want to be the little one,” he laments.

“Where did THAT come from?”

“I want to be the big one. I want to be tall and strong. Like daddy. How come I have to be the small one?”

“You’ve always been small, nugget. Even when you were a baby. There’s nothing wrong with being small. I’m small.”

“But you’re a girl. How come I had to be the sick one?”

“It’s just the way it worked out. Sometimes things go wrong when mommies are having babies. And we didn’t know you’d be sick; it just happened. You guys were born too early and you ended up being the much smaller one.”

“And why couldn’t I come out first? I wanna be named after daddy.”

“What does it matter?”

“‘Cause it does. I want daddy’s name. It’s a good name.”

“You don’t like being named Tanner?”

“I’d rather be named Tyler.”

“I have a secret to tell you,” Esme says. “But you have to promise to never tell your brother. Because it would hurt his feelings and we don’t want that, right?”

Tanner nods.

“When you were in my tummy? When daddy and I found out it was two babies and not just one? We decided that I’d pick one name and he’d picked the other. So when we found out we were  having two boys, I said I would name the first that came out and daddy would name the next one. And I decided that I wanted the first to be named Tyler.”

“It was your idea?”

“Yep.” She combs her fingers through his hair and presses a kiss to his forehead. “Daddy didn’t want either of you named after him, but I got my way. And he picked the name Tanner. So you know what that means? You have the name you do because that’s what daddy chose. He wanted you to be named Tanner.”

He raises his head to look at her. “Really?”

“Really. He picked your name. That’s how much he liked it. That’s what he wanted you to be named. And you know what else? You were so sick when you were born, that daddy was the only person allowed to hold you before they took you to take care of you. And he stayed with you for two whole days in the NICU. He slept in a chair beside your bed and he never left; he didn’t want you to be alone and I was too sick too and I wasn’t allowed to see you yet. So it was just you and daddy for a whole forty eight hours.”

“Just us?”

“Just the two of you. And you remember what the doctor told us to do with Addie? When you place her against bare skin? Do you remember? What animal is it named after?”

“A kangaroo. Kangaroo care.”

“That’s it. Well daddy got to that with you, too. Even though you were hooked up to all kinds of wires and tubes, he still got to hold you like that. And the nurses said that was the only time you were nice and calm and never cried.”

“Never?”

“Never. And daddy was really, really sad. Because he was so worried about you. But stayed there  with you the whole time because he already loved you THAT much, and he would have stayed even longer, but someone needed to take care of Millie and TJ and I wanted to spend time with you. But see? Daddy’s always loved you. IT doesn’t matter how small you are or what your name is. He still helped make you. And that’s what matters, right?”

Tanner nods.

“He loves you so much, nugget. Right from the beginning. Right back to when you were still in my tummy and he used to talk to you guys and you’d both kick like crazy whenever you heard his voice. And you were strong even then. You kicked HARD.”

“I did?”

“Daddy would always say that you were going to be a professional soccer player.  Or an MMA fighter. That’s how hard you kicked! And you’re still strong; even stronger than your brother. You’re small, but you’re mighty.”

“Like you. And Addie.”

“Well  maybe not THAT small. But you’re probably going to have a growth spurt when you’re fifteen and end up as tall as daddy. I want you to stay small, though. It’s easier to cuddle you. I LIKE cuddling you. What if you grow big and strong and you don’t want to cuddle me anymore?”

“I will always want to cuddle with you. You’re my mommy. No one gives better cuddles than mommy. No one.”

“So when you are six foot five and weight two hundred pounds and you ARE a bad ass MMA fighter, you’re still going to want to cuddle mommy?”

“Always,” he promises, and presses a kiss to her lips before settling his face against the side of her neck once more.

“Is everyone else downstairs too?” Esme asks.

Tanner nods.

“How come you’re not down there?”

“I was. But I left and came back upstairs.”

“Why?”

Because Anil is trying to be daddy and I don’t like it.”

She frowns. “Trying to be daddy? How…?”

“He made breakfast for us. But nowhere near as good as daddy’s. And he let us sit outside while we ate and he told us cool stories and talked all about the animals he has and told us we could go swimming later. All the stuff daddy does with us, but not as fun. With daddy it’s different. It’s more fun. We get to go surfing and we walk on the beach and collect rocks and shells and stuff. And he’s nice and all that, but he is NOT daddy and I don’t like that he’s trying to be.”

“I don’t think he…”

“I don’t want him taking daddy’s place. I don’t want him thinking he can steal you away from daddy. ‘Cause I like him and all that, I don’t want him to be my dad. I already have a dad and he’s the best dad ever, so…”

“Okay, you know what, nugget? You and I need to have a talk. Sit up. I want you to look at me when I talk to you, alright?”

Tanner nods, then sits up and settles himself between her splayed thighs when she does the same.

“Now listen to me, alright?” She pushes his hair off his forehead, then places her hands on his shoulders. “No one is taking daddy’s place. Because for that to happen, I’d have to be okay with it. And that’s something I will never…ever...be okay with. I don’t want anyone taking his place. Because you know what, your daddy is perfect the way he is. He’s perfect for me and you guys and...”

“But if he dies…”

“Tanner, listen to me. He is NOT going to die. And even if he did...and that’s a huge if...I still wouldn’t be okay with someone taking his place. No one could ever do that. If something happened to him, it would me and your brothers and sisters. That’s it. Understand?”

He nods.

“Your daddy is way more than just your daddy. He’s my husband AND he’s my best friend. And I love him more than I even love myself. And there’s no one earth that could take his place.”

“Ever?”

“Ever. Anil is NOT trying to be your dad. He’s not trying to take anyone’s place. He’s a friend of daddy’s and he promised daddy that he’d give us a nice, safe place to stay while he works. And it’s a really awesome place isn’t it.”

Tanner nods.

“Daddy trusts Anil to look after us because he can’t right now. Anil’s just trying to make this easier on your guys. Because he knows how sad you all are and how hard it is to be away from home and away from daddy. He’s just being nice and trying to make us feel comfortable and welcome. That’s it. Understand what I’m saying?”

“I understand.”

“So stop worrying so much about all this other stuff, okay? Daddy’s not going to die, no one is going to take his place, and eventually we’ll all get to go home. You believe me, right?”

“I believe you, mommy. But I still don’t want to go downstairs without you. It’s bad enough I can’t do things with daddy. I don’t want to do things with you EITHER.”

“Well can I least go pee and put on something other than pjs first?”

“I suppose.”

“You suppose, do you?”  She smothers his face with kisses until he’s shrieking and giggling, then tousles his hair. “You want to call daddy? I told him I’d call when I got up. You want to talk to him first?”

Tanner nods enthusiastically, then scrambles across the bed on his hands and knees to retrieve her phone from the night table. “Can I dial it?”

“You know his number?”

“Mom, I know how to get into your contacts. I’m five. I know this stuff.”

“You are way too smart for your own good,” she declares, then presses a kiss to his temple as he settles himself between her legs, back against her stomach.

****

Tyler excuses himself from the team briefing when his cell phone vibrates against the tabletop and his wife's name appears on the screen. When she’d promised to call when she woke up, he’d expected it to be a lot sooner; mornings come quick with five, especially with an infant. With the lingering uneasiness from last night’s confession and subsequent conversation, it had been easy to let his paranoia and worst fears get the better of him; growing more and more concerned with each passing minute, yet resisting the urge to call incessantly and left umpteen messages. He’d KNOW if something was wrong. Nik is there. Anil had even gone personally to make sure that everyone is settled and comfortable and being treated well and to  check that things are running smoothly. Had something gone down...IF they were in any danger...he’d be the first one to find out.

He snags his half full take out cup of coffee from the table before heading into the central courtyard;  blinking against the harsh, brilliant sun, and groaning inwardly when two of Anil’s people -heavily armed- followed closely behind. None of the rooms that overlook the area have balconies OR windows that open; the only real threat could come from the roof, and that’s sixteen floors above and Anil has even more guards stationed up there. And he grimaces as he takes a seat on one of the concrete benches; an ache across the small of his back and stiffness in his knee.

Nothing a couple of hours in the gym won’t solve; working up a sweat and getting all the kinks out.

“Hey,” he says as he answers the call. “You sleep in or something? ‘Cause…”

“Hi daddy!” Tanner cheerfully greets, and a smile immediately plays on his lips. Six months ago he would never have been able to tell the twins apart on the phone. Now it’s more than obvious who is who; Tanner’s accent coming in much thicker and more pronounced.

“Hey, mate. What’s going on? What’cha up to?”

“Mommy said I could  call you. Are you busy?”

“I’m never busy when it comes to you.”

“You’re not beating up any bad guys?”

“Not yet. Later. Once you go to bed. You okay? Sleep alright?”

“Not really,” Tanner admits. “I didn’t like sleeping without Teej. The room is nice and all that and the bed is huge, but I’ve been with Teej for forever. Even when we were in mommy’s tummy. I don’t like being without him. I can’t sleep proper.”

“Well maybe tonight, just go in and sleep with him in his bed,” Tyler suggests. “He won’t admit it. But he’s probably missing you too. He’s used to you always being around. You having fun? What’s the house like?”

“Alright, I suppose.”

“Just alright? Your mom made it sound pretty awesome. Lots of cool stuff to do there, yeah?”

“I guess. I don’t know. I miss home. I miss our stuff. I miss the beach. I miss you making breakfast and waiting for the school bus with us.”

“When this is all over, we can go back to all that stuff.”

“How long?” Tanner asks. “Until it’s over?”

“I don’t know, mate. Not too long I hope.”

“We don’t have to stay here forever, do we? I don’t want to stay here forever. It’s nice and all that not, but it’s not as nice as home. Everything I know is at home. I don’t know any of this stuff. And there’s too many people here.  I don’t like lots of people around.”

“I know it sucks to be away from home, but I need you to do me a favor. I need you to at least give the place a chance. I know you miss home. I miss it too. But this will all go a lot faster and easier if you try to enjoy it. Can you do that? For me? At least try?”

“Just for you,” Tanner promises. “And I don’t want another dad.”

Tyler laughs, coffee cup poised against his lips. “What?”

“I don’t want another dad,” his son repeats. “Anil’s a nice guy, but I don’t want him as my new dad.”

“Tanner,” Esme sighs in the background. “We talked about this. Stop.”

“I’m telling daddy about it. He should know if someone is trying to take his place.”

“No one is trying to take his place. We JUST talked about this.”

“Anil is trying to be you,” Tanner explains. “Not you, exactly. But a daddy. He’s trying to be a daddy. MY daddy. And I don’t like it. I already have a dad. I don’t need another one. Can I come stay with you wherever you are?”

“I don’t think he’s trying to do that,” Tyler says. “I think he’s just trying to be nice.”

“What if he tries to steal mommy from you?”

“Well if he wants her that bad…”

“I can hear you,” Esme pipes up. “He has you on speaker phone.”

“No one is going to steal your mom away,” Tyler assures his son. “Or even try. Especially if they know what’s good for them.””

“You’ll beat them up?”

“I was thinking they wouldn’t be able to handle her cooking. But if you rather I beat them up…”

“You’re both on my shit list,” Esme declares.

“Anil isn’t trying to be your dad,” Tyler says. “He’s trying to be dad like, but not A dad. Know what I mean?”

“Not really,” Tanner admits.

“He’s trying to do things for you guys that a dad would do. So you’ll be comfortable there. So you’ll be happy.  That’s all. He’s not trying to be your dad or take my place. And unless your mom is planning on getting rid of me, you’re kind of stuck with me.”

“But what if you die?”

“Tanner!” Esme scolds. “What’s wrong with you?”

“It’s a valid question, mom. What if daddy dies? Then what? Then I have no dad.”

“Well then your mom would have to find you a new one, I guess,” Tyler tells him.

“No frigging way! I’d rather no dad than a new one. I don’t want some shitty new dad.”

He can’t help but chuckle. “How about you stop worrying about this kind of stuff? You’re five. You’re way too young for gray hair and an ulcer.”

“I can’t help it,” Tanner laments. “It’s how my brain works. I worry. It’s what I do.”

“You sounded so much like your mom just then. Why don’t go and be a kid? Go swimming. Watch a movie.  Go see the animals. There’s all kinds of stuff to do there. Go do one of them.”

“Nothing’s fun without you, though. It’s boring. You do cool stuff with us and now it’s boring as shit!”

“What did I say about giving things a chance?”

Tanner sighs. “Fine. I’ll try. But I’ll hate every second.”

“You’ll be saying that same thing when you’re older and you have to work for a living.”

“Not if I do your job. I’d like to beat up bad people.”

“Well there’s more to it than that and I’d rather you NOT do it. For now, you’re only five. Be a five year old, yeah? Leave worrying about adult shit to actual adults, hear me?”

“I hear you. And I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. Let me talk to your mom, okay? You go be a  kid. I love you.”

“I love you, daddy. Will you call me later? Before you go beat up the bad guys?”

“I promise I’ll call you. Try and have fun. Please?”

“I’ll try. But it won’t happen…”

“Tanner…”

“I’m nothing if not honest.”

“You’re grumpy is what you are. I’m serious; be a kid. Leave adult stuff to adults. Try to have fun. I’ll see you in a few days, alright?”

“Can you stay when you come? Even just for a couple of days?”

“I can’t. I want to. But I can’t.”

“Just for ONE day?”

“Not even for one day,” he reluctantly admits.

“Can you stay overnight at least? Then you can make breakfast in the morning before you go?”

“I’ll see, okay? I’ll find out if I can. I’m not making any promises, though. But I’ll find it. Let me talk to mommy. And NOT on speaker phone.”

“She’s in trouble, isn’t she.���

“You’re trouble, you know that?”

“What are you talking about? I’m the good one.”

Tyler smirks. “Tell that to the fifteen bucks you scammed out of me.”

“Listen, I did that fair and square. Not my fault you fell for it.”  His giggling stops and he turns seriously once again. “I miss you, daddy. My heart is sad.”

“Mine is too, mate. But I’ll see you soon. I promise. Now let me talk to your mom and you go be a kid.”

“Fine.” Tanner huffs. “But I still don’t want another dad.”

“Go downstairs,” Esme gently orders. “And be nice. Quit being such a grump. And don’t give me that look because I don’t put up with it from your father and I sure as hell won’t put up with it from a five year old. Just go. I’ll be down in a minute. I swear…” she sighs into the phone. “...he is five going on fifteen. Hi, by the way. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. And what the hell is going on over there that he’s got it in his head that he’s getting a new dad?”

“Nothing. Nothing is going on. I haven’t even been downstairs yet. I don’t even know where downstairs is and if I can’t find it. I  need a map or a GPS to locate the kitchen. And you know what Tanner is like. He worries about things that aren’t even happening and probably never will. He IS going to give himself an ulcer. And you say he’s not like you?”

He sips his coffee. “What about the other ones?”

“They’re fine. I mean, as fine as they can be. They’re at least  embracing the whole thing and making the best of it. But I don’t know how much of this I can take. All these people around; maid and cooks and nannies and all that shit. I woke up this morning and Addie was gone. I almost had a stroke. I guess one of the nannies came in and got her.”

“It’s what he’s hired all these people to do,” Tyler reasons. “To take care of you guys.”

“She could have at least said she was taking her instead of just coming in and doing it. And I don’t need people watching my kids. This isn’t my first baby; I’ve taken care of four other ones, including two at once. It’s just weird. I don’t know how people live like this.”

“And you call Tanner grumpy?” he chides.

“I don’t like strangers just up and taking my children. I’m used to it being us. Not twenty different people I can’t even communicate with. And I’m sorry; I didn’t call to bitch at you, I swear.”

“I’m used to it. It’s been seven years. Nothing new to me.”

“You're such a smart ass,” she mutters, then turns serious. “Are you okay? Did the night get any better?”

“A little.”  He won’t tell her about the bottle of whisky he’d polished off, or how guilty he feels about it now. Some things are better left unsaid.

“Do you want me to come there?” Esme asks. “I could stay for a couple of days. Just to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” he insists.

“That’s horseshit and you know it. If you want me to come…”

“It’s not that I DON’T want you to. It's that I also want you to say with kids. Where I know you’re safe.”

“I’m safer with you. I trust you. These people are strangers and I can’t just blindly trust them. I at least know...one hundred percent...that I’m safe with you.”

“They’re not all strangers,” he argues. “Nik’s there.”

“Nik isn’t you. Seriously, if you want me there…”

“I do. You have no idea how much. But I want you to stay with the kids. MY kids. Bad enough I’m gone; they don’t need the two of us taking off.”

“And you’re going back out tonight?”

“Yeah,”

“Alone?”

“Don’t start.”

“How dangerous is it? Is it something you should be doing alone?”

“On a scale of one to ten? Maybe a three.”

“I don’t trust your scale. What you can handle and what a normal person can handle are two entirely different things. How many people this time?”

“Four.”

“Four? By yourself? Tyler, what the fuck?”

“It’s not hands on. Sniper work. It’ll be easy. Four shots and I’m done. Nothing to worry about.”

Esme sighs heavily. “I think you just gave me a hundred more gray hairs. This is insane. Four people? By yourself?”

“I just told you…”

“I know what you told me. I think it’s too much. Even for you. Take someone with you. Please? For my own peace of mind.”

“Esme…”

“Tyler…”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Now is NOT the time to be stubborn. I’m just worried. You know that.”

“I do know that.”

“And I know that you won’t take anyone with you. Just be careful, okay? These people are smart. And that makes them even more dangerous. Just be careful and be safe, okay?”

“I will,” he promises. “I gotta go. I walked out in the middle of a team meeting.”

“You could have just said that at the beginning and you could have called me back.”

“You’re more important than any meeting. And I needed to talk to you. To hear your voice.”

“I needed that too,” she admits. “Maybe later you can phone and I can hear it again. This time saying more ADULT stuff.”

Tyler grins. “I could do that.”

“Oh I know you can. I know the filth that is capable of coming out of your mouth. I better go; before Tanner starts planning my wedding to Anil.”

“Well he could give you a better wedding than I gave you” Tyler reasons.

“Ours was perfect. It was small and it was quaint and it was very us. I love you. We’ll talk later.”

“Yeah, we will. And I love you, too.”

“Be safe. Call me as soon as soon as it’s done. So I know you’re okay.”

“I will,” he promises. “Let me know where you’re registered so I can get you and your second husband  a wedding gift.”

“You’re not funny. In the slightest.

“That’s ‘cause I’m fucking hilarious.”

“In your own mind, maybe. Talk later.”

“For sure,” he says, then presses end on the phone. And he sits there for several minutes; eyes fixated on the blackened screen of the cell clutched tightly in his hand. Attempting to control the profound ache that settles deep in his chest.  That overwhelming loneliness. And impending sense of doom.