#Until. :) I've been trying to sleep from an hour and I keep getting stirred out of sleepy by

[mossistyping]

fighting god as soon as I wake up (if I can fall asleep)

[wintfleur]

ꔫ it’s alright mon trésor

°. — pairings ( Charles Leclerc x female! Reader )

°. — summary ( you find a way to comfort your boyfriend during a thunderstorm )

°. — details ( g; fluff, slightly suggestive. w; kissing and slightly suggestive. wc; 955 )

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( so I got this idea when I was watching that clip of him getting startled by the thunder, I’m supposed to be working on my Lando fics but Charles took over my brain for this one. also, i did write this in like an hour. I do hope you guys enjoy this! I enjoyed writing for Charles for the first time! also please let me know if I did the cute French nicknames properly )

You were sleeping peacefully to the sound of rain until the sound of the sheets ruffling and the bed shifting behind you, fully pulled you away from your sleep. Over the past 30 minutes you could feel your restless boyfriend stir around in bed, but then he would go still making you think that he went back to bed. But hearing his tired sigh you knew that your boyfriend didn't go back to sleep. 

You turn your body around to face your boyfriend, feeling his arm that was under your head adjust to your new position. Charles was laying on his back, so you placed your hand on his chest as you tilt your head that was now resting on his shoulder to look up at him. Charles looks down at you and smiles at the cute, tired pout you had on your lips, you notice that he looks like he barely slept. “You haven't slept?” 

“I've slept some” His tone matching yours, both tired. You frown and scoot closer to him, sitting up a little and leaning back on your elbow. You were a little worried, your boyfriend rarely had trouble sleeping and when he usually does it is because he has something on his mind. You look down at him, bringing your hand up to softly brush some of his hair back, his eyes closing at your touch. “What's wrong mon trésor?” 

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head about” Charles speaks softly in a promising tone, his heart filling with warmth at the sweet nickname you called him. He was a little embarrassed to tell you the real reason why he couldn't fall asleep, he knew you wouldn't tease him, but it was still a little embarrassing to admit. 

“Well too bad because I’m worried, you need your rest” you tried your best to sound stern, but it only made Charles giggle, finding it adorable. You pout and hide your face in Charles' chest, your complaints coming out muffled. Charles wraps his arms around you, holding you close. “I’m alright ma chérie” Charles whispers before he presses a kiss to the top of your head. A loud clap of thunder and lightning echoes through the room and Charles' reaction to the loud sound betrays his previous words. 

“Awe mon trésor it's just a little thunder” you try to comfort him, bringing your hand up to softly caress his cheek. You now realize what has been keeping him up, you have always been able to sleep through thunderstorms, so you never noticed his small fear until now. Charles sighs and closes his eyes, leaning into your touch, his voice coming out in an embarrassed whisper “Please don't baby me.” 

“Come on, we both know you like it when I baby you” You whisper teasingly into his ear, littering a soft trail of kisses down his neck and to his bare shoulder, feeling his muscle twitch under your touch. Charles felt his breath hitch and his leg rub against yours at the feeling of your soft and plump lips against him. 

“So responsive” you say between your giggles as you fully sit up, you sweetly smile down at him when he pouts at the loss feeling of your lips. You trail your hand down his bare chest, your eyes not leaving his as you feel the ridges of his abs and muscles, you could feel his chest rise and fall faster. All because of your touch. Charles eyes widen and he bites his lip when your finger dips into the waistband of his sweatpants, teasingly tracing the skin under. You were so close but so far at the same time, it was driving poor Charles crazy. 

“Chérie” Charles groaned, your poor boy was so desperate. You pull your hand away from his sweatpants and you instead swing your leg over his waist, now straddling his lap. Charles almost immediately brings his hands to your bare thighs, caressing the soft skin. This was not how he envisioned the night to go, but he surely wasn't complaining. 

“Cmon, let me distract you” you whispered seductively as you leaned down, you placed your hands on the side of his head, softly gripping onto the pillow he was laying on. Your hair fell down around you, hiding you and Charles away in your own world. Charles smiles big up at you and moves his hands up your side from your thighs to softly cup your cheeks and pull you down more, capturing your lips in a desperate kiss. 

You flutter your eyes close eagerly kissing him back, your lips moving perfectly against his taking the lead of the kiss and Charles was quick to follow. You gently nip his bottom lip, his mouth opening with a whine, and you take the chance to slip your tongue into his mouth. Charles breaks the kiss for a second to let out a loud moan, his hands moving to hold your hips, you were absentmindedly grinding your hips against his and it was starting to feel torturous for him in his now tight sweatpants. 

You let out a giggle when you now notice how hard he is under you, teasingly rubbing against him again, smirking when he lets out a throaty groan. Charles holds your hips still and looks up at you with a smile, both of you panting against each other's lips. You watch as your boyfriend looks down at your lips, his eyes focused on your wet lips as he rubs his thumb against your bottom lip.

“This is going to be a long night” Charles whispers when he sees the desire in your eyes and his words were confirmed by the smirk you gave him. 

“A pleasurable one” 

°. — taglist ( @iloveyou3000morgan )

[all-pacas]

i have been poking at this for ages and i hate it but i am BOUND AND DETERMINED to write fluff someday so here we go:

(you might recognize the first bit, i'm pretty sure i posted it before, i've been trying to make this story work for a LONG FUCKING TIME)

-

Chase buys the ring a few days before Valentine’s.

It’s the sort of expensive, impulsive purchase Cameron likes to tease him about: trust fund brat, she called him whenever he’d come home with a new TV or one of those new iPhones, and he likes to play into it, careless with money he really can’t afford to waste, all to make her laugh and tease him in the way she does: What would you do without me? she’d asked once, spotting him twenty bucks in the cafeteria.

Nothing, he thinks. And: nothing.

He’d gone to the jeweler’s looking for a Valentine’s Day present, so he buys a pair of earrings, too. Pearl, because Cameron has been hinting, and Chase finds it easier to do what she wants.

-

Valentine’s, Cameron gets stuck with a double shift. Chase has two appendixes and assists on a laminectomy and should spend the rest of his shift on transcriptions. Except House is sniffing around the OR via Kutner and Taub, and somehow it is crucially important House doesn’t so much as lay eyes on him: Chase knows, knows he’ll take one look and know about the ring, about all of it.

He does a couple extra hours in the clinic to avoid this. Has dinner with Cameron in the cafeteria at the end of his shift: she’s tired and quiet and only has fifteen minutes to wolf down her sandwich before she’s due back in the ER. He’s wondering if he should remind her of the day — Cameron can get weird about this sort of thing — but she has to go before he can really make up his mind. Gives him a tired smile and a quick kiss. “Don’t wait up for me,” she warns.

“Because you’ll wake me up when you get home?” he jokes, hopeful.

She laughs. “You wish.”

-

He’s asleep when she gets home, late that night. Stirs when he hears the shower, but wakes abruptly when she jumps him, almost literally: straddles him heavily and nips his jaw and kisses him until he rouses: she is slippery and damp from the shower, her hair wet and heavy and cold when it falls on his cheek, his shoulder.

They make love and he thinks about the ring after. He’s sleepy but Cameron is restless after a long shift, tired and simultaneously too wound up to sleep: he tries to stay awake to keep her company. She talks about her day, about running into Foreman in the locker room at one in the morning. House’s case and his team’s all nighter and Chase doesn’t like that much: not the lull and hum of her voice recounting symptoms and gossip but the way he can hear her smiling.

“Hey,” he interrupts, not opening his eyes — “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

She breaks off; considers. “It’s two in the morning,” she teases.

They had an argument last year about it. She’d first asked him out the day after Valentine’s, he maintains: Cameron insists their anniversary isn’t actually until April. One of those little things. It bothers him, but he tries not to let it. Doesn’t matter, he’d told her: of course it does, she’d said. Otherwise our anniversary would be - what. That first time?

Why not? he’d asked, half joking, enjoying the indignant flush on her face. He’d like that, sometimes. To go back through the calendar, to push back the start of their relationship and make it so: not two years but three, five, six. He hums, shifts in the bedding. “I love you,” he says, and holds his breath until she murmurs it sleepily back.

-

In the morning he remembers to give her the earrings, and Cameron is appreciative, admires them nicely. She has the day off and Chase very reluctantly gets dressed for work. Cameron has been known to raid his shirts and sweaters for herself so he’d hidden the ring in the drawer with his socks and underwear, where he doubts she’d go looking: he bumps up against it while looking for socks.

“What time are you off work?” Cameron asks when he emerges, stretched out on the sofa with a coffee and wearing one of his sweatshirts and her new earrings.

“Not too late if we don’t get drowned in add-ons,” he says absently, looking for his bag and finding it behind the sofa. And then, experimentally: “Happy anniversary.”

“Don’t start,” Cameron sighs, and he tries to parse if she is more annoyed or amused or just hasn’t had her coffee yet.

Smiling over at her takes no effort, is not a lie. “Start what?” he asks, leaning over to give her a kiss.

She hums and doesn’t otherwise answer the question, brushing her palm over his cheek, stopping to fold down his collar. “Let me know if you have to work late.”

“I will.” Straightening, he admires her a moment: Cameron’s hair is unbrushed, she is wearing pajama pants and his sweatshirt, in his apartment with no intention of leaving. “I like you,” he says, and not marry me.

She smiles. “I like you too.”

-

He leaves the ring in his sock drawer. According to Cameron, their anniversary is in April. He can wait, he thinks.

[ahgasegotarmy116]

Still With You | A Jeon Jungkook Series Chapter One

Summary: A stranger turns up at the store that catches your eye Pairing: Luna (reader) x Jungkook and Jimin, f2l love triangle Word Count: 4.7k~ Warnings: Explicit language but that's about it lol Start from the beginning

Two years prior

I stir awake to the sound of the birds chirping outside my window as they always do. "Fuck" I say under my breath, stretching and wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I roll over and check the notifications on my phone and widen my eyes in panic realizing I didn't set an alarm and was bombarded by texts from my boss and coworker two hours ago. 

"Shit!" I say jumping out of bed and rushing around my apartment trying to get ready. I throw on my shoes and jacket and run out the door making my way to the subway station as quickly as I possibly can. My job is only three stops away from my place but those stops seem to take twice if not three times as long as they usually do in my mind.

Bolting out of the station I make my way over to the convenience store I work at. "Fuck me, what took you so long? Your shift started 3 hours ago" my coworker says stating the obvious. "I know shut up I forgot to set an alarm last night" I say rushing past them and into the break room to throw my stuff into a locker. 

I tiptoe past my bosses office but he can't help but hear my lame attempt at being undetected. "y/n" I hear being said from inside, (he only ever calls me that when he's mad at me). I'm in trouble. 

"Yes?" I say rolling my eyes before taking another step. "Get in here. Now!" he says in a tone I can no longer ignore. 

"Hi" I say dragging out the last letter as I make my way in until I see his face become even more furious. "Sit" he barks. "Yes sir" I say under my breath just loud enough to be heard but not enough to merit a second glance.

"Three times, three times this month have you been late and we're barely past the second week" he spits at me "And let's not forget the amount of times you've been late since you started working here" he says taking a deep breath at the end and leaning back in his chair pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. 

"What am I gonna do with you?" he says rhetorically. "I-" I start. "I've had enough of your excuses y/n, I can't keep letting you break the rules like this. I've got a business to run and you working here hasn't made my job any easier" he breathes out. 

"I know I really do but I-" "Can you please just listen and stop trying to wiggle your way out of being held accountable. I would've fired your ass a long time ago if your father and I weren't brothers. I'm doing this not only for you but for the sake of your parents. Try to understand how your irresponsibility affects not only me but everyone around you. I'm not sure how much longer I can put up with your antics". "Please no! Uncle you know how much I need this job! If you were to cut me off then I know for a fact that I'm not gonna be able to make it in this city" I implore. 

"Maybe you weren't cut out to live in this city. There are a lot of hard workers out there, people who would kill to live here and you're just spitting in their face by wasting the days away sleeping in and daydreaming. You're not taking advantage of the opportunities that you could have if you worked a bit harder and just grew up" he says raising his voice and getting out of his chair to tower over me. 

I cower back inside myself taking my much deserved verbal beating and just be thankful that he isn't a violent person. 

He takes a deep breath and goes back to his seat and calms himself down. "Just please" he says in a softer tone "Start to get your shit together kid. You've got your whole life ahead of you and I would hate to see you end up like me, running a convenience store in the wrong part of town.

"But I thought you loved your job?" I question. "Ha! Yeah right, that's just what I tell people so I don't have to deal with their pity. Are there good days? Sure, but there sure as hell are more days that go to absolute shit that outweighs those good days". I nod my head in silent agreement, having a few stories of my own in my back pocket. 

"Listen up! You've got one more chance girl you hear me? One. More. I really shouldn't be doing this but I want to see if you can turn things around with this last push" he finishes. "Really? Thank you so much uncle I won't let you down!" I say going up to shake his hand furiously. 

"I'm pretty sure you will but hey, I've always been a gambling man" he says with a smile on his face. I go to tell him how bad that habit has become, but under the circumstances, I decide to let it go this time. After bowing to him a few times I quickly rush out of his office before he can change his mind and get to work.

I pass by my friend and coworker Grey at the counter on my way out and prepare myself for yet another lecture. "Old man gave you another chance huh?" she says blowing a bubble in her Polar Ice gum. It's one of her habits that annoys me the most but hey, she's a pretty good friend besides that so I can't really complain. 

Good friends are hard to come by these days so when I find one I tend to let them stick around. "Yeah thankfully, it pays to have connections sometimes" I say shrugging my shoulders as I put on the hideous green vest with the store's logo adorned on the top left side along with my name tag placed right below. 

I grab a box full of candy and head over to their designated spot in the store to get started. Straightening up the area before restocking the shelves I start from the bottom and make my way towards the top. I shake my head at the amount of open wrappers and half eaten candy bars I come across left by the many delinquents who occupy the store on a daily basis. 

"I'm surprised there are any left at this rate" I say under my breath. "I know right? Kids these days just aren't taught right from wrong anymore" I hear someone say in agreement. "The adults aren't any better" I retort hearing the voice laugh at my off the cuff comment.

I widen my eyes realizing I have no idea who I've spoken to and quickly stand up while keeping my face to the ground as I apologize to the unknown voice. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to- What I meant to say was- I'm sorry" I say tripping over my words in apology. I hear him let out a short scoff laughing at my attempt to repent for my honest criticism. 

"Hey it's okay. I appreciate your honesty. It's refreshing to say the least" he says, easing my nerves a bit. Feeling a little bit more comfortable I slowly stand up straight but as I do I realize I've been speaking to the most attractive man I have ever laid my eyes on. Pouty lips curved into a crooked smile, skin the color of sunlight, sharp catlike eyes that seem to see through my entire existence, and hair the darkest shade of midnight black I've ever seen. 

I freeze, mesmerized by his beauty balancing an air of androgyny with an adorable boyish charm. "Hey" he says while extending his hand towards me in greeting. "I'm Jimin" he finishes with a slight smile, giving me butterflies. 

"H-hey" I say taking his hand "I'm Luna" I say nervously in response."Luna? Huh, but your name tag says y/n though" he replies. "Oh well my real name is y/n but I go by Luna most of the time" I admit."Luna is a really pretty name. Did you grow up in Seoul?" he asks tilting his head a bit."Well I was born here but I grew up in America and came back when I was about 8 so yeah pretty much" I say, answering his question as calmly as I can.

"Oh wow that really cool! Was it hard for you to learn Korean at that age?"he inquires in pure curiosity."Well we always spoke Korean in the house so it was pretty easy for me to transition here. Although it did take a while to get rid of my American accent" I laugh. He smiles a bit at my openness which makes my heart flutter "I'm sure it was adorable". "I-" I start but am soon cut off by Grey. 

"Hey Luna can I get your help with something?" she questions. "Um yeah just a second. Sorry but I've really got to get back to work" I say picking up the box full of candy I have yet to put away and turn towards the front of the store. "Yeah sure no worries. Hey Luna" he says making me look back at him after turning to walk away. 

He comes towards me and reaches into the box to grab a chocolate bar. "Sorry I just wanted to grab one of these before you go" he says teasingly when there's clearly a whole shelf of that exact one right next to him. "Oh okay, um bye" I say and quickly scurry down the aisle towards Grey.

"You okay?" she says raising a brow at me. "I thought he might be bothering you since you guys had been talking for a while so I wanted to give you an escape just in case" she says, concern clearly her motive, none of which is written on her face or in her voice. She almost sounds uninterested if you didn't know better. "

Yeah no I'm fine don't worry. He was nice" I say clearly blushing. "He's cute huh?" she says looking me up and down, reading my body language. "What do you mean?" I ask, trying to play coy but I can't help but smile at the thought of our interaction. "Obviously he is if you're acting like that. What's his name?" she asks, intentionally getting louder and louder. Meanwhile looking around the store to gauge his distance, doing it loud enough to embarrass me but soft enough not to gain his attention.

"Is he single?" she asks, finally bringing her wandering gaze back to me but can't help but give me a slight smirk. "Shhhh" I say covering her mouth in an effort to keep our conversation away from him. 

"Okay yes, he's cute but can you save the teasing for later, or never? He's still in the store and I'm pretty sure I've already made a big enough fool of myself for the day as is" I say in a hushed tone keeping the conversation hopefully between the two of us this time.

"Alright I'll be quiet. Did you finish up over there?" she questions trying to mark off the various tasks on the nightly checklist. "No, not yet. I started to clean it up but then he started talking to me until you called me over" I admit. "Okay well once he leaves get back on it okay? Why don't you take a turn minding the counter while I start sweeping?" she suggests. 

"Yeah I can do that" I say getting nervous for the next interaction I have with him. "You'll be fine" she says dryly observing the way I start to fidget with hands. "You set me up didn't you?" I say coming to the realization of the predicament she's put me in. "Yup" she's says with a devious smile as she scurries off to the cleaning closet taking away my last hope of escaping. Well I guess in the meantime I'll take a second to calm down before he-

"Luna?" I hear Jimin say. "Yes" I reply whipping my head around towards the direction I heard him speaking from realizing he's just a few feet behind me. "Oh I just wanted to let you know that I'm ready to check out" he says smiling down at me. "Oh right yeah let me ring you up" I say while rushing over to the counter. He follows close behind me and meets me on the other side. 

"Okay that'll be $4.03" he nods and hands me a 10 dollar bill. I take it and can't help but feel a spark between us when his hand bushes against mine. I jerk back slightly and busy myself with finishing the transaction. "$5.97 is your change" I say going to give it back to him again making our hands touch yet again. 

"Thanks Luna" he says sliding his hand away from mine slower than necessary prolonging our touch. "See you later?" he says with a slight questioning tone behind it while turning to leave. "Yeah sure, see you later" I say while nervously reciprocating his goodbye. I hear the bells on the door jingling solidifying his departure and I can't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay that was adorable" Grey says sneaking up on me, another smirk accompanying her teasing tone. There are very few things that Grey takes pleasure in and one of those, unfortunately is teasing me mercilessly when it comes to guys. 

"Don't do that!" I say, clutching my chest in surprise, slapping her shoulder right after. "What? Come on dude don't act like you wouldn't do the same if the roles were reversed" she says laughing at my surprise. 

"Whatever" I pout. "That guy is pretty hot though not gonna lie, no wonder you're blushing" she says continuing to tease me. "Yeah he was" I say starting to daydream. "Oh girl you got it bad!" she says scoffing and shaking her head. "I do not! He was just really cute okay. Leave me alone" I whine starting to get fed up with her teasing. 

"Whatever you say dude. So what was his name again? Jaemin? Minji?" she questions, listing off names that she obviously knows are incorrect. "Jimin" I say glancing out the window. 

"Wait why?" I ask, whipping my face back to her in a panic. "I'm just gonna try to see if I can find him on sns or something. I wanna see if he's single before you start falling for him" she says switching between apps doing her best to find him. "I'm trying to protect you okay?" she explains while patting my head. "Are you sure you aren't just doing it because you're nosy?" I question, crossing my arms. "Same thing" she says waving me off as she continues to scourer the internet for our resident hottie of the week.

"Okay found him! Park Jimin, 21. Oooo he's younger than you" she teases. "Yeah yeah what else does it say?" I question leaning in closer to see what she's found. It's really true what they say about girls being FBI agents when it comes to social media. "Mmmm not much, he's into dancing and fashion, huh, that's interesting" she says looking puzzled. "What? What is it?" I ask, getting even closer feeling a bit anxious. 

"Oh nothing, there's a picture of a girl on here though but you can't see her face. He didn't tag her either" she says still preoccupied with finding more information. "So he has a girlfriend?" I conclude, feeling a bit dejected. "Well that's the interesting part. That picture was from a year ago but that's the only picture of her. In fact that's the only picture he has of any girl on his entire profile." she says. 

"So ex girlfriend? But why keep the picture up if she's his ex?" I question. "I don't know dude I think unfortunately the results come up as inconclusive" she lets out feeling deflated. "Oh well, I guess if he comes back we'll find out eventually" I say.

"If who comes back?" a voice says behind us. I turn around and immediately smile at the owner of the voice "Kook!" I say getting up and rushing over to give him a hug. "Oh just this hottie that was here earlier" Grey says. "Ooo scandalous! But aren't you guys supposed to be working and not stalking cute boys on the internet?" he says with a knowing smirk. 

"It's called multitasking" I say while he gives me a kiss on the crown of my head. "Ew gross please stop I don't want to have to bleach my eyes again" Grey whines, shielding her eyes with her hands, hiding us from her vision. "Don't hate just because you're not a fan of friendly affection" Jungkook says teasing. 

"More like any affection at all. Especially PDA. Come on guys get a room" she says in disgust. "How many times do I have to tell you Grey, we're just friends" I say, shaking my head at her and pulling away from Jungkook's embrace. Grey glances up at him with a knowing look and sees him shaking his head prompting her to change the subject.

"Anyways, Jungkook what are you doing here this time?" she asks sounding uninterested as always. "Damn Grey can't I stop in to see my favorite girls every once in a while?" he says, draping his arm around my shoulders. "Don't call me that" she says with a deadpan expression. 

"Okay fine. My favorite girl and her tagalong?" he corrects with a cheeky smile. "You know what? Why don't you just call me by my name okay?" she argues. "Not a fan of the pet names? Okay okay I get it" he chuckles. 

"Luna" he says in an effort to gain my attention. "Yeah?" I acknowledge, turning to face him. "What are you doing this weekend?" he asks with anticipation written all over his face. 

"Um nothing to my knowledge" I reply and quickly hear someone start to talk over us before anyone can speak again. "Good, because you're working two ten hour shifts this weekend" my uncle says while bringing out another box of assorted products to stock. 

"Uncle please" I say with painful annoyance. "No I don't wanna hear anything. You need to make up for the hours that you missed and Sunghoon has the weekend off so I need you to pick up the slack" "But sir I was just-" Jungkook starts trying to come to my aid but is cut off yet again. 

"Jungkook I don't need any lip from you either" he says authoritatively while walking away to busy himself with a task in another part of the store. "Yes sir" he mumbles, bringing his head down and slightly pouting. I swear if he was a bunny I would see his floppy little ears start to droop.

"Sorry Kook, but what was it you wanted to ask me? Maybe we can still do it after I get off?" I offer, giving him a soft smile. He looks at me, still a little sad but I can see a little glimmer of hope coming back. "Well I wanted to see if you wanted to have a picnic or something since our friendship anniversary is coming up" he says returning the soft smile I'm giving him. 

"Has it really been another year? How many does that make now?" I say in surprise. "Fifteen!" he answers, satisfied with the answer and feeling proud of how long we've known each other. "I can't believe it's been that long!" I say starting to reminisce about all the memories of our many adventures together. 

"Yeah but I guess having a picnic late at night isn't as fun as it would be during the day" he mumbles, drooping again. "I've got an idea!" I say with a mischievous smile. "Really? What is it?" he questions, interest peaked. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about any of it. I'll take care of everything! The only thing you need to make sure of is to bring a car. You think your brother would let you borrow his?" I question. "I think I could make that happen" he says with an inquisitive smile clearly suspicious of what I'm planning. 

"Don't give me that look!" I say, hitting him on the shoulder. "It'll be fun!" I say excitedly. "I'm sure it will be but usually when you get this excited about things they tend to be illegal" I widen my eyes at his sudden call out. "Shhhh pipe down. I don't need my uncle to catch onto the things I do in my free time" I say slightly panicked.

"I heard that!" my uncle says from the other side of the store. "Plus you're not slick Luna. I've known about your delinquent activities for a while now but it's never gotten serious enough to bring up. Just don't get caught, I'm not about to bail your ass out of jail. Got it?" he warns while coming over to talk to us again. 

"Yep got it" I say nodding my head in agreement. "And that goes for you as well" He says pointing at Grey. "Hey what did I do" she asks, slightly offended. "Don't play innocent with me. I know you're the mastermind behind these schemes half the time" he says nodding towards her. "How do you know that?" she says, crossing her arms over her chest trying to act cool but still visibly surprised at his knowledge of our delinquency. 

"You do realize that most of the time you're hatching your plans in my store? I know everything that goes on in here" he says mirroring her posture, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fair enough" she mumbles, admitting to her part in it.

"Why aren't you giving Jungkook a lecture about all of this too?" she pouts motioning towards him. "Because I know he's smart enough not to get caught and he's also the reason you guys don't get caught 95% of the time" he says clapping him on the shoulder. 

"He's got a point there" Jungkook admits. "Okay okay whatever. The point of this lecture is don't get caught and don't do anything too crazy. We got it. Anything else?" I say clearly ready for this conversation to be over. 

"Yeah, you get back to work! He says pointing a finger at me. "And Grey start paying for the gum you chew or I'm gonna start taking it out of your paycheck." he threatens pointing towards her as well. 

"Don't you already take it out of my paycheck?" she questions clearly done as well, grabbing another box of products to start restocking. "Ya! Don't get smart with me young lady!" he says following after her. "Yeah yeah" is the last thing we hear as they head further into the store.

"Sorry Kook I guess it's time for you to head out" I say giving him a shrug. "That's alright I should probably get going anyways. I've gotta get to class" he says while giving me another kiss on my head. "That's right, Mr. College Man can't be late to art class" I say smirking at him. He rolls his eyes "Love you loser" he yells as he towards the exit. "Love you too weirdo" I respond waving him off. I watch him leave but I can't help but feel disappointed by his departure.

Jungkook is going to the best Visual Arts school in Seoul and I'm so proud of him! He could've left us behind after high school and made friends with the rich kids in his classes but instead he still comes in and hangs out with us as often as he can. We all grew up together and I honestly don't know what I would do without these two. 

Grey on the other hand is trying her hand at producing music. It hasn't been taking off but she's gotten a few jobs here and there working for smaller artists that are just getting started as well. She's been building a portfolio and honestly she's really good! She just lacks the confidence to take the next step. I've been pushing her to try to apply at different schools to get proper training but she doesn't think she's good enough yet and needs to make sure she stands out so she can land a scholarship. Otherwise even if she did get accepted she wouldn't be able to afford it.

Me on the other hand? Well honestly I have no clue what I want to do. I've worked just about every part time job you could imagine just trying to stay afloat. I don't have time for dreams. At this point I feel like I'm just existing, which is a sucky way to live out your 20s but unfortunately that's the life I'm living. 

Growing up I had many different dream jobs that I had thought about. Fashion designer, Makeup artist, Dancer, but at the end of the day like Grey, I've gotta build up my portfolio to really stand out and I just haven't had the time to do any of that. 

Just like I've been encouraging her to take that next step, Jungkook has been the one in my corner. The one who's always had so much hope and confidence in me and my dreams. Whenever I needed someone he was always there for me. He even spent the night in the hallway outside of my apartment just because he still wanted to be there for me even though I didn't want him to. 

Jungkook is one of the only people in this world I know I can trust. Without him I don't think I'd be here today. 

I've gone through so much and when it got to the point where I felt like I didn't want to exist anymore he was the one that brought me back, nursed me back to health and made sure that I was never left alone. He is my safe place and he always will be. 

I don't know what I ever did to deserve someone as pure and loving as him. He's my best friend and my rock. Life wouldn't be as bright and colorful without him.

"Hey lady are you gonna ring me up or what?" I hear an old man say breaking me out of my daydream. "Sorry sir I didn't mean to make you wait, my apologies" I say while giving him a shallow bow. "Yeah whatever just get on with it" he grumbles, clearly not phased by my apology. I ring up his various items which include a couple bottles of soju, a few bags of snacks, a cup of ramen- "Oh and a pack of cigarets" he slurs. 

"Of course sir" I respond while turning my back to grab the ones he selected. "That'll be $20.35" he tosses the money onto the counter while I place all of his items into a bag. "Thank you sir have a good day" I say while he stumbles his way out of the store. 

"Are people always that rude?" the next woman in line says while placing her items on the counter, glaring daggers into the man's back. "Yeah but I'm used to it at this point. As long as they don't get nasty or angry it doesn't really bother me. It's to be expected working in this part of town" I finish off while scanning all of her items. 

"That doesn't make it right" she say counters, clearly upset for me. "It's alright, for the most part I kind of ignore it" I say before telling her her the total. She swipe her card and I hand her the bag with her items once the transaction goes through. "Well for your sake I hope they cut you some slack" she say before walking away from the counter and saying goodbye. "Thank you, have a nice day" I say to her, genuinely meaning it this time around.

"You too kiddo" she says before walking into the outside world. 'Why can't all customers be like that?' I think, having a warm feeling after the interaction. "Yah! Quit Ignoring me. I'm ready to leave" the next customer says sneaking up on me. This is gonna be a long day.

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[sixhours]

Chapter 26 - The Ghosts of Babylon

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | Complete

Rating: Explicit, 18+, here be smut and violence Series tags: Joel Miller x You, Joel Miller x Reader, Joel & Ellie, mostly follows canon, LGBTQ+ characters, y/n is bi/pan, y/n is ~45, violence, pregnancy, abortion, medical trauma, emotional trauma, panic attacks, sex work, suicide, smut, slow burn, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, romance, no use of y/n, reader has longish hair, Joel can lift you, smallish age gap (~11 years), I've probably forgotten some so please let me know <3

~*~

Jackson, Wyoming November 2026

“That’s great, Maria, you’re doing great. One more big push…”

“C’mon, baby,” you hear Tommy say from the head of the bed, where he’s holding Maria’s hand. “Hear that? You’re doin’ so good.”

“Fuck you, Tommy,” she spits, and you’re glad your mask hides your smile. It’s been a long night.

“I know you don’t mean that sugar,” he says.

Maria makes a feral growl as you press on her perineum, trying to ease the baby’s head out without tearing. Then she lets out a roar and bears down hard.

“Keep going, that’s it,” you murmur. Your hands are slippery around the crown of the baby’s head as it slowly emerges. You stabilize the neck and check for the cord; it’s clear. “Head’s out, one more push.”

The baby’s shoulders ease into your hands, and the rest follows, slick and covered in vernix, tiny arms flailing. A girl. You rub her back firmly, encouraging her to breathe, and she lets out an angry wail in response. Her skin warms under your touch, and you breathe a silent sigh of relief. This was an easy one.

“That’s my girl!” Tommy whoops over Maria’s tired panting as you lift the baby and place her on her mother’s abdomen. You cover the baby with a warmed blanket, encouraging Maria to keep rubbing her tiny back while Tommy cuts the cord.

~*~

You leave the Miller house once Maria and the baby are settled in, with promises to relay the good news. You walk to the end of the cul-de-sac in the faint gray glow of a late fall morning, wincing at the twinge in your ankle. You still walk with a limp. On cold days like this, you’d prefer the stability of your cane, but it’s back at the clinic.

Joel’s living room is littered with toys, board books, and an upturned sippy cup. There are sticky fingerprints on the coffee table and remnants of what looks like oatmeal in the sink.

Joel himself looks just as ragged as the house, lying flat on the couch with Gwen on his chest, both of them sound asleep.

You kneel next to them, planting a kiss on his forehead, gently stroking the toddler’s dark brown curls. “Hey, sleepyheads.”

Joel’s eyes blink open slowly.

“You have a niece,” you whisper into his hair. 

“Mmm,” he growls softly, rubbing Gwen’s back. “She wouldn’t sleep in the damn crib. Told Tommy he’s spoilin’ her.”

You smirk. “As if you wouldn’t do the same. And you have another niece.”

“Huh? Ohhh,” he says, grinning sleepily. “Hear that kid? You’ve got a little sister.”

Gwen doesn’t stir, unbothered by this new development for the time being. Joel’s eyes drift shut as he asks, “How’d it go?”

“Maria’s fine, baby’s fine…Tommy’s ecstatic.”

“Millers make good girls,” he murmurs. 

“Mmm. Ellie asleep?”

“At a friend’s. Thought she was gonna help me with this one,” he looks down at Gwen, “but she bailed on me.”

“Looks like you managed…barely,” you say, eyeing the room. It’s amazing how much damage one toddler can do in the span of a few hours. “You should get up,” you say, standing, nodding at the couch. “Your back is going to feel that.”

He shifts, sitting up with a muted groan. Gwen makes a soft whining sound at the disturbance, and he shushes her as he gets to his feet, gently rocking until she’s settled.

You follow them upstairs to his bedroom where the portable crib is set up in the corner. Joel nuzzles the crown of Gwen’s head before gently laying her on her tummy. She fusses a little, but his large hand rests across her back, rubbing up and down until she’s soothed back to sleep.

“Like defusing a damn bomb,” he mutters when he sees you watching, but his eyes are soft. He stands, stretching, wincing. You’re right; his back is going to feel it.

You take a shower in the bathroom down the hall so you don’t wake the baby, throwing one of Joel’s old tees on as a nightshirt before tiptoeing back to the bedroom. Joel is already under the covers. You slide in behind him, wrapping an arm around his torso, hand coming up to rest on his broad, naked chest.

“Mmm,” he rumbles, reaching behind you, giving your ass a light squeeze. “Missed you.”

“I have to be at the clinic in two hours,” you yawn, already drifting.

“I can do a lot in two hours,” he says, muffled by the pillow.

You smile, nuzzling against his back. “Not with the kid here, Miller. Go back to sleep.”

~*~

Your reentry was as smooth as it could be under the circumstances.

You were separated from Joel and debriefed for three days. It was not the relaxed process that welcomed you to Jackson the first time, but they didn’t kick you out on your ass, at least. You were reaccepted under probationary terms, to be guarded for six months and prohibited from working in the clinic without Eric or a nurse at your side.

You were allowed to keep your house, but it had been swept of all but the essentials–even the previous owner’s junk had been cleaned out of the attic, along with the radio. You were assigned a roommate who slept in the spare bedroom and made regular reports to the council.

The restrictions drudged up your shame, a thick cloak weighing heavy on your shoulders. You reminded yourself it was fair and temporary, and tried to focus on your work, but more than once you found yourself unable to get out of bed. On the worst days, Joel somehow found his way to your side–sometimes with Ellie and a movie, always with food–and gave you a reason to try to keep going.

Jackson had not fallen to FEDRA, but things had changed in the time you’d been gone. Throughout your probation, you learned FEDRA had sent swarms of infected to Wyoming, but the town was ready to defend itself. It turns out there were more former Fireflies in the community than you’d guessed–including Theresa and Tommy. And while they weren’t actively looking for trouble, they had connections that made it easier to stockpile weapons of the explosive variety. So that’s what they’d done, secretly hoarded enough firepower to take out a small city, enough to leave blackened trenches of undead and FEDRA soldiers in wide swaths of the surrounding countryside.

They’d taken the information you gave them and sent patrols to take out as many of FEDRA’s outposts as they could reach and put a couple of workers on round-the-clock radio monitoring. They also stopped accepting newcomers, blaming the change on the increased presence of infected outside the walls, but you secretly wondered if it was to keep out more people like you.

There had been losses, too. Half a dozen citizens had fallen to the infected during the weeks and months you were gone, a heartbreaking record. Jackson’s sense of safety was shaken, and it was obvious in the drawn looks on people’s faces, the haggardness in their eyes.

You still couldn’t help but blame yourself, even though you understood intellectually it was a thing that was bound to happen. They had gone soft in a world that had no use for gentleness; careless, almost reckless in their belief that isolation would protect them forever.

But the walls still stood, and its citizens moved about within them, and you made yourself a home again, even if you didn’t always feel like you deserved it.

~*~

You blink awake in Joel’s bed, fuzzy and dry-mouthed and strangely…rested. The sun is high in the sky and blazing through the bedroom’s big windows, which can only mean one thing.

Shit.

You bolt upright, looking at the clock; you should have been at work hours ago. You groan, grabbing the walkie from the bedside table and pressing the button to talk.

“Eric, you there?”

“Mornin’, sleeping beauty. Or, I guess it’s afternoon…”

A rich Texan accent, definitely not Eric’s. You feel a deep blush creeping up your neck.

“Christ, Miller, the whole town can hear you,” you mutter into the mic. “Get off the comms.”

A warm, honeyed chuckle through the speakers. “We’re at Tommy’s. Come over when you’re decent. Out.”

Dick, you think, but your lips curl in a smile.

Eric’s voice warbles in your ear a few seconds later. “I’ve got a handle on things over here. See you first thing tomorrow. Out.”

You dress, throwing on some of the clothes you’ve started keeping at Joel’s place for days like this. Downstairs, the house has been pieced back together, an overflowing basket of toys and books pushed to one side of the room, dishes drying next to the sink. Joel must have the day off, a special dispensation to welcome the new family member.

You flush a little when you realize you have the day off, too.

Tommy and Maria’s place is just across the street. You let yourself in and hear conversation upstairs, Ellie’s wry little cackle.

“It’s just me,” you call up the stairs.

“C’mon up!”

They’re all crowded in the bedroom, Maria sitting up against the headboard with little Gwen’s arms wrapped tightly around her neck, Tommy perched next to her on the edge of the bed.

“Hey, mom. How are we feeling?”

You can’t help it; you slip into doctor mode, eying her complexion, barely resisting the urge to reach out and feel her forehead for a temperature, alert for signs of postpartum infection.

“We’re good,” she murmurs, rubbing Gwen’s back. “Someone’s feeling a little clingy.”

“Yeah, it’s Joel,” Ellie chirps from the other side of the room. “He’s hogging the baby.”

Maria smiles up at you wryly and shrugs.

“How’s the bleedi–”

“You’re off duty, doc,” she says immediately, shooting you a look that says she won’t be discussing the state of her uterus with her brother-in-law in the room.

The brother-in-law in question is sitting in the rocker-glider holding the new addition. Ellie is perched on the arm of the chair next to him, poking at the baby’s tiny fist with her finger.

“Right, off duty,” you murmur, suddenly feeling out of place. Joel nudges an ottoman toward you with his foot.

“Come meet the new kid,” he says.

“Oh, we’ve met,” you say, taking a seat. “ Someone kept us up all night.”

Joel holds the newborn’s head in his cupped palms, her body cradled along the length of his forearms. She barely reaches his elbows this way, tiny legs and arms scrunched up like a frog’s. One little fist curls itself against her mouth, while the other wraps itself around Ellie’s index finger and holds tight.

“My turn, old man,” Ellie says, holding out her hands for the infant. Joel places the baby in her arms, muttering something about supporting her head, and Ellie sighs. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

His eyes soften as he watches his daughter.

“I forgot how small they are,” she says after a time, looking over at Gwen, who is babbling animatedly about something to her mom and dad.

“They grow fast,” Joel says. One big thumb reaches out to stroke the tiny shell of an ear, and for a moment, the new baby’s dark gray eyes blink open.

“There she is,” he whispers, and the smile on his face is so tender, it hurts. You wonder if he’s thinking of Sarah, and then you know he is because his eyes are shining.

“Not this again,” Ellie says good-naturedly, leaning in to prop her chin on Joel’s shoulder. “You’re such a fuckin’ sap.”

“Fuh-kinsap?” Gwen’s little voice pipes up.

“Ellie!” three voices sound in unison as the girl’s eyes widen. There’s a stunned silence, then the room bursts into laughter, startling the new baby with the noise. She lets out a breathy wail to complain, little limbs flailing, and Gwen, still attached to her mother like a barnacle, starts whimpering in sympathy.

You stand, quietly relieved to have a good reason to break up the party. “Let’s clear out. Mom and baby need to rest. Doctor’s orders.”

~*~

When the rest of the family has cleared the room, Tommy with Gwen and Joel with Ellie, you’re alone with Maria and the baby at her breast. She sags a bit, drawing into herself as she encourages the newborn to suckle. You busy yourself with taking vitals, fetching a glass of water, and sending a quiet message over the walkie letting the nurse on duty know she doesn’t have to check in this afternoon.

“Is she latching okay?” you ask, unwrapping the blood pressure cuff from Maria’s upper arm, taking notes on a pad of paper next to the bed.

“Yes.”

“Have you been able to urinate?”

“Yes.”

“Any cramping?”

“Yes,” Maria winces, rubbing at her lower abdomen.

“How about the bleeding? It might be heavy, but anything more than a pad every two hours and you need to–”

You stop when you glance up and find Maria looking at you with tired eyes, wan and half asleep.

“Sorry,” you breathe, smiling a little. “Force of habit. I know you’ve done this before.”

“It’s okay,” Maria says softly. “It’s different every time.” 

You take a seat next to the bed. “So…how are you feeling?” 

She meets your eyes, sizing you up before giving a tired sigh. “A little overwhelmed, to tell you the truth. Gwen is still so young…this one was a surprise.”

“Ahh.” There have been several “surprises” in Jackson since you returned, although you’re treating fewer pregnancies now. You take a small measure of pride in that. “Well, we can help prevent future surprises, if you want.”

“I know. I’ll take you up on that.”

“Does she have a name?”

“Not yet,” Maria says, gently tracing the little girl’s nose with one finger. “Tommy wants to…talk to Joel.”

“Oh?” You cock your head. Then as it dawns on you, “ Oh. ”

“For a middle name,” she clarifies. The baby has fallen asleep; Maria lifts her to her shoulder and rubs her back, watching as if searching for a clue in her tiny face. “But we’re thinking���maybe Isabel.”

Isabel Sarah Miller.

“That’s beautiful,” you murmur.

“Hmm,” Maria says, then yawns.

You take the hint. “I’ll let you get some rest. We’ll send a nurse over later tonight, but I have the walkie. Have Tommy call if you need anything.”

~*~

Downstairs, you peek into the living room and find Tommy sprawled on the couch, snoring, with Gwen sleeping on top of him, the spitting image of his older brother only a few hours ago.

You slowly back out of the room and make your way down the hall to the kitchen, following the sounds of running water, soft conversation, and the clink of dishes. Joel and Ellie are standing at the sink; he washes, she dries, and they’re laughing at something.

You watch their comfortable way with each other. You wonder if she’s forgiven him; you wonder if he’s forgiven himself. And you think maybe, maybe , because things seem easier, if not easy, between them.

Her nightmares are less frequent, and you know she and Joel have talked about turning the garage into a separate bedroom to give her more privacy. She’ll be 17 soon, and he’s getting better at letting her go.

Whether you can forgive yourself…that’s still an open question with fangs and claws. You wonder if you will ever feel like you fit here–in Jackson, with Joel and Ellie, with their family.

As if hearing your thoughts, Joel looks over his shoulder and sees you. “Hey, everything alright?”

“All good. Need help?”

“We’re almost done. There’s food in the fridge if you wanna put something in.”

You open the refrigerator to a rainbow of casserole dishes covered in foil; the community obviously rallied. The Millers won’t need to leave the house to eat for a month.

You pick out a square pan with what looks like lasagna and set it aside for dinner, then begin pulling out the rest of the dishes, investigating their contents, and roughly planning a schedule of meals. There’s too much food, but some can be frozen for later.

Too much food. What a concept.

When the lasagna is baking in the oven and Joel is wiping out the sink, Ellie says, “Shit, I gotta go. Told Dina I’d meet her after school and I’m like two hours late.”

“Alright,” Joel says. “Be back by curfew this time.”

“Maybe.”

“Ellie–I mean it. Eleven. Not 11:03, not midnight. Eleven .”

“I know, I know,” she frowns exaggeratedly and throws him a mock salute. “Eleven it is, captain.”

She moves to the door, then hesitates and turns back, catching Joel by the side in a rare and unexpected hug. You meet his eyes over the top of her head as they go wide with surprise, then soft.

“Later, kid.”

“G’bye.”

“She’s right,” he mutters when she’s gone, swiping at his eyes. “I’m a sap.”

“The sappiest sap,” you agree, but you’re talking past a lump in your throat. Today has been too much. You move in to take her place at his side and his grip on you is fierce.

~*~

You put together two dinner plates with the lasagna and some greens you find in the crisper, then cover them and put them in the fridge, deciding to let the new-again parents sleep while they can.

It’s dark when you and Joel creep out of the house. His arm locks around yours on your weak side to steady you, something he’s taken to doing any time you walk together.

“Ellie started cleaning out the garage. Going to move her out there in the spring, when it’s warmer. Should have the summer to get it insulated.”

“You’re going to have an empty nest,” you tease.

“Not if Tommy and Maria keep goin’ like they’re goin’,” he says gruffly. “Could open a damn daycare.”

“You love it.”

He scowls, but a smile peeks out from underneath.

You stop outside his house and follow his gaze upward to a clear black sky and a million stars. He swallows hard and looks at you with such longing, for one unbearable moment you think he’s going to say the words you never say–or do something even more preposterous, like propose.

“So, uh…I was thinkin’...since Ellie’s moving out…this place is too big for just me.”

“Oh, really?”

“Mmhmm. Put so much work into it an’ all…hate to just leave it…”

Relief billows and pools inside you, and you sag against him. “Sounds like you need a roommate.”

“I…thought about that. Might even have someone in mind.”

You cluck your tongue. “They’d have to be a very special kind of person to put up with you.”

He growls in the back of his throat, and gently pulls you around to face him.

“It’s further from the clinic,” you frown, trailing a finger down the front of his shirt.

Joel snorts. “Yeah, ‘cause that whole extra block’s a real bitch.”

“Sarcasm does not become you, Miller.”

“Hey,” his voice softens, and he tips your chin up in the crook of his finger. He’s searching your face, hoping to find it–the silent thing that says he is yours, and you are his, even if you are both too broken to say it.

“I think…we could make it work,” you say softly.

“Really?” he smiles, all relief and wonder and stars in his eyes. “You do?”

He’s looking at you with a tenderness you can hardly bear, but you don’t look away. He ducks his head until your warm breath mingles in soft white clouds between you.

“Nothing serious, right?” you whisper, before his mouth slants over yours and his words are lost to the softness of your lips.

“Nothin’ serious.”

~*~

The end. <3

If you made it this far, thank you for reading. Your comments/likes/kudos are EVERYTHING. :)

[alexusonfire]

How Loving

Lucifer Morningstar x fallen angel!Reader

A/n: Dedicated to @littledollll 🧡 Final part in the "How ___" series! Slight angst, mostly fluff. I apologize if it's Not Great, I have been staring at this for months and I think it's all just blurred together 🤣 They/them pronouns for Lucifer.

"Little angel? Where have you been hiding all day?"

Their voice, once a cause for dread and fear, now filled you with sweet longing. You looked up with a smile, holding your hand out for theirs in greeting. Never once could you have imagined the life you had now, where and with whom, being something you'd cherish so deeply; yet here you were, comfortable, content-

Happy.

"I wasn't feeling well earlier, figured I'd keep out of your way and get some rest."

Lucifer hummed in acknowledgment, sitting down next to you and pulling you close. You sighed as they gently carded their fingers through your hair, placing a soft kiss to your temple. As you sat in comfortable silence you briefly recalled the first time they'd ever held you; it was shortly after Choronzon had handed you over to Lucifer, and you were having a full-blown meltdown about your Fall. You'd been sobbing and thrashing, throwing lamps and pillows and whatever else you could reach against the black stone walls, trying to feel something, anything, other than the immense pain that filled your chest. Upon hearing your screams Lucifer was on you in an instant, crushing you to them and shielding you with their wings, holding you for hours until you finally cried yourself to sleep.

It was a pleasant surprise to find them still there in the morning, watching over you with what you could only describe as a sort of cold tenderness.

"You need never keep out of my way sweetling, you know that."

You chuckled, their voice bringing you back to the present, and you slowly you lift their other hand to your lips before relaxing back into their embrace. The cool breeze wafting through the curtains nearly lulled you to sleep before they spoke once more,

"My dear... I'm not certain if now is the time... perhaps it never will be, but... I've been wondering-"

"Why I fell?"

Your voice was quiet, too quiet, and Lucifer internally chided themselves for asking. Although the question had been nagging at them ever since they first laid eyes on you, they'd kept themselves from asking lest they upset you; your happiness, at a point they couldn't exactly pin down, had become paramount above all else to them.

"I knew one day you'd ask, and I can't blame you for it. Everyone knows of the Great Morningstar's Fall... I suppose it's only fair you know of mine."

"Sweetling you don't have to tell me."

You sighed, your gaze drifting to the dark clouds gathering around the castle, and laid your head on their chest, wondering at the sudden quickening beat.

"I know. You'd wait forever if I asked. And that's why I know I can trust you with it."

At your words, Lucifer felt something stir in them they hadn't felt in eons.

Trust.

You trusted them.

With this, your deepest and most closely guarded pain.

So they listened. They listened as you poured your heart out, wiping away any stray tears and stroking your now fully blackened wings to soothe you. Their chest filled with an anguished pride at your confession, knowing how both freeing and agonizing it was to Fall; the deep ache of disloyalty would knaw at you for many a year to come, accompanied by an overwhelming sensation of clarity that would provide comfort for the pain only some of the time.

"So anyways that... that was it. The final straw for Him."

You'd stiffened, attempting to pull away, but they simply pulled you tighter to them, burying their nose in your hair as they processed everything you'd just told them. You worried at their silence, afraid that perhaps your sins were too great for even the Morningstar to comprehend; just when the quiet stretched on for a moment too long, they finally spoke.

"He's a fool for ever letting you go."

It only took seconds for their words to process, then your lips crashed into theirs, meeting for the very first time. They responded instantly, their toungue twisting against yours, and it was as all-consuming as you'd imagined. Your entire body begged to be closer, and when you shifted to press into them further they obliged your request, pulling you by your thighs to straddle them. Despite being Ethereal Beings, the need for oxygen eventually became too great, and you were woefully forced to pull back, your forehead resting against theirs as your panting breaths met and mixed into one another.

"I love you, Lucifer Morningstar."

A grin that could only be described as devilish crossed their features.

"I love you too, little angel."

[my-writings-and-musings]

Hey there.... I'm been literally drowning on college projects and all that stuff, and I'm very stressed....like stressed and sleep deprived asf (and I look more like a vampire with how pale I got, even if I'm naturally fair skinned)

I need a emotional support firetruck hubby, who would remove me from that situation for a well deserved "me-time", and no.... I'm not talking about the lemony kind of, but more of a "I'm gonna draw you a bath and pamper you so much and make you take a nap of 8+ h... whatever you want it or not darling"

I need a purring firetruck hubby that runs like a furnace and dotes on me, cause I at the limit and I refuse to stop....either holo or mass displaced with fem s/o, pls....thanks you very much

I can definitely handle that, anon! I've never written mass displaced bots before but let's give it a try! I hope this helps you relax!!

For those who don't know: if you like my writing style, you can always commission me, and please reblog to help spread my work! Thank you!

Your perception had become little more than a blur of books, notes, and the blinding glow of your laptop, with the occasional sip of a highly caffeinated beverage to keep you conscious. There wasn't a force on Earth that could tear you away from your work, not even the biological need to sleep, no matter how loudly your body called out for it. Adjusting yourself on your uncomfortable desk chair, (which had been chosen specifically to keep sleep at bay), you tried to soothe your aching head with promises of a nap once this particular batch of work was finished. Whenever that would be...

Quite without warning, a solid pair of arms scooped you up like a cat, pulling you from your chair leaving you to flail against a metal frame until you were adjusted bridal style over two solid servos.

"Heatwave!" you cried as scattered papers fluttered about the room, clinging to his mass shifted form as adrenaline surged through your body. Getting more settled in his grasp and securing an arm behind his helm, you allowed your heart to slow it's hammering against your ribs with a sigh before your nonexistent patience snapped and you got quite huffy about the intrusion. "What are you doing?!"

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he asked, catching you off guard. Looking quite unaffected by your displeasure, he made no move to set you down, not that you had much of a will to fight him.

"No?" you answered honestly, vaguely recalling the clock showing some ridiculous late hour the last time you'd looked. "But it doesn't matter, I need to work-"

"You need to sleep, babe." he interrupted firmly, lifting you closer to his chassis as he maneuvered his pedes over the plentiful papers that had been scattered across the floor. The movement stirred up a weak burst of defiance in you, and you looked back towards your desk as he walked to the door, the sight of your ample remaining work summoning what little energy you had left to resist.

"I don't have time..." you protested weakly, hoping he would look past his stubborn, protective nature and just let you have this. There was simply so much you needed to get done, and the thought of going through the hoops required for an extension made you want to just deal with the lack of sleep. Being in his arms made it hard to care about much of anything, however, especially with the natural warmth of his armor soaking into your stiff muscles...

"I wasn't asking." Heatwave said with protective firmness, holding your head closer to his helm so he could speak in a soothing purr. Having your ear against his chest allowed you to hear the hum of his spark, and it was so unbelievably relaxing your traitorous eyes nearly drifted shut in an instant.

"I'll have to ask the board for more time, and there's no guarantee they'd give it to me." you said, offering one final token of resistance as he walked down the hallway and approached your bedroom. It was the one the two of you shared when he was mass displaced, and the thought of snuggling with your big, handsome fire truck all but eliminated your desire to resist his efforts. The world felt so far off and unimportant as he opened the door to your dark bedroom...

"Don't worry about that, I've got it handled." he said with a small chuckle, sounding quite proud of whatever he'd set up on your behalf. Brief musings as to what he planned on pulling faded when he laid you down on the massive, plush berth that had been designed to comfortably hold the both of you. Sinking face first into the bedding, you welcomed the calming touch of his hand on your back, smiling softly as he traced it up and down your aching spine. "Now; no more fussing..."

His voice faded as he slid his digits up to your shoulders, where he found the muscles rigid and sore from countless hours of stressful hunching.

"Pit, you're tense as a steel rod. How long were you bent over that desk?" he asked as he sat down on the berth with you. Blinking blearily, you tried to reply, but were cut off when his thick digits began to massage into all the places causing you pain. Having his warm, solid touch rubbing soothing circles over your back was all you needed to finally relax for real, and a soft sigh of satisfaction told him to continue.

"Take it easy now, babe." he soothed as unconsciousness came over you like a welcome blanket, your lips curling up in a smile as he pampered you to sleep. "I've got ya..."

[restwellsoon]

Hi there hey hello, I’m here for your event. Ya girl has been fighting a cold since Friday night and feels like crap so please bear with me – i have no fucks to give with punctuation rn. It’s a miracle you’re getting periods at the end of the sentences and any capital letters are because these were drafted in word and it was done automatically. Please stand by for three no pressure take as long as you need requests for your cute and fun event.

May I please have a sweet catnap with Jason Todd and Aphrodite? Thank you and please drink water and stay safe and take care of yourself and take breaks as needed ily

Not me forgetting to post this from my drafts 🙃Thanks for your patience, Onyx, and for all the lovely things you sent in for this event!

Pairing: Jason Todd x GN!Reader

Prompt: Aphrodite | I've been searching all my life for something that I won’t regret. Could it be that you're the one I'm looking for?

while you were sleeping

Gotham’s city glow hit all the right places that Jason’s shadow couldn’t hide, casting the curves of your eyes, your nose, your cheeks, your lips in neon. The occasional siren and zooming cars faded as he listened to each of your breaths, every exhale slowing as you fell into a deeper sleep. He used to stay up for hours past the sun and past the moon in anxious torment over the angel in his bed. 

No.

Angel wasn’t the right word. A deity or simply some kind of divine? No, that wasn’t it either.

You rolled over, your leg hitching over his slightly. The sheets rolled and crumpled with you. When you settled, your breath of content was his. 

Jason knew the word. 

His heart.

It was true. Your breath was his as was your rhythm, and the pace you set was steadfast and quiet. It was something true that he could keep in tune.

He used to pace anxiously as you slept in bed, counting down the hours and minutes when you would wake. Years of constant vigilance made it difficult to still of his own accord. If he laid in bed, he could hear the raucous tempo of his thoughts. They blended in with the city noise–the siren, the cars, and on bad nights, the crying, the screams, the gun shots.

His heart used to fall into a discordant rhythm as if something was trying to crawl out of his chest.

It was horrifying, really, and he’d seen some shit.

But like that, you’d strike a chord with your sleep-laced song. It was a hymn, a hum, a request. 

“Come back to bed.”

On the reverb, he’d follow your command. The heart wants what it wants, after all.

It took him a while–weeks, days, months. Some nights would be good, and Jason would stay in bed all night. Other nights were bad. Those were the nights when patrol was better than sitting with worries of a future that might not ever come. 

But still, he came whenever you asked.

Your bedtime routine was practically a military march, and eventually he fell into your cadence. You had one half of the bed but also his half too. Jason didn’t mind the closeness. His heart could keep up and match your chords until one day your song became his.

Jason didn’t pace as much, if even at all. He laid in bed on your angel cloud, his heart your heart, your song his song, and his love was yours to take.

Like most nights now, his eyes weighed down until they shut, and in the darkness, he drew you closer. His heart stirred from around his chest until finally you both were asleep.

A Token of Sleep | event / Jason Todd's Masterlist / Rest's Main M.list

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

The One I've Been Waiting For {Part 05 of 13}

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Older!reader

Word count: 2 K

Summary: Billy Hargrove is just one of the many students you're supposed to help. The last thing you expect from your interaction is that he'll start flirtt with you... Much less that Billy would stir up feelings you'd rather keep hidden. Despite the mutual sentiments that soon enough start to grow, there are a lot of reasons for whatever it is to be left alone, and one of them is your age...

<- Previous part (04)

Next Part (06) ->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

A/N: In this story, reader is 5 years older than Billy, who's 18.

•••

A Stolen Heart

The warm water helps you relax. The next project is almost over, which means you'll have some free time on the horizon. Your friends left half an hour ago, so your plans are to shower and go to sleep.

Once out of the water spray, you dry yourself and brush your hair before putting the pj's on, lycra shorts, and an old oversized shirt. You're tired as you climb onto the bed, fixing the blankets and getting comfortable, and sleep comes easy.

But a noise startles you awake, dragging you back into consciousness in half a second. You ignore it though, the bed is too warm and comfortable. But the noise gets louder, and a little too close for your taste. So you snap fully awake, immediately taking in the weird thud and sitting up, looking at the window.

All air leaves your lungs when you see a figure crawling through your window. In a fast move, you stand up, taking the lamp you have on the nightstand and raising it above your head. “Get the hell out of my house or I'll call the police!” You yell, walking backward until you hit the wall.

“Calm down.” An oddly familiar voice says, and you furrow your eyebrows, trying to think despite the heavy haze of sleep over your mind. “Where's the light switch?”

“Who are you?” You ask, the moment you recognize the silhouette, only lit up by the dim lights coming from outside. “Billy?”

“Yeah. Put that down.”

“What the hell-” Walking back to the nightstand, you put the lamp back in its place. “-are you doing here?”

“Just needed to see you.”

“Are you insane?” Walking to the door, you turn the lights on. “What do you think you're doing sneaking into my bedroom like that?” Billy definitely crossed a line now, and you can't just let it go.

“You're right I shouldn't have come.” Billy bursts out, suddenly angry, like you never saw before. You're about to ask why he's talking like that when you see it. When Billy turns around, heading to the window, you see a purple bruise on the apple of his cheek.

And it clicks, the pieces falling into place. You know about his father, about how difficult he is. How Billy hates him, and now you know why. Neil did that.

“Wait!” You shout, running to the window and standing in his way. “Wait. What's that on your cheek?”

“Do you even care?” He furrows his eyebrows, moving closer. “Get out of the way, I'm leaving.”

“No!” When he moves to push you away, you hold both his arms, forcing him to stop and look at you. “Billy, please.”

“I don't-”

“Please.” You see it in his eyes, the pain. And it breaks your heart. “Please, B, stay.”

His face changes, it... Drops. The fury is replaced by something far softer. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here like this, shouldn't scare you like this, I just...”

“It's alright.” You mutter, taking a better look at the bruise. “Let me get some ice, ok? Then we can talk.”

“Ok.”

“But please, don't leave.” You beg, a hand caressing his chin.

“I won't,” Billy promises and you nod, quickly moving.

Your mind is racing, and your heart is beating fast as you rush downstairs. As fast as you can, you search for a bowl, putting all the ice you have in it and grabbing a dishcloth before going back to your room. You're relieved to find Billy seated on the edge of your bed. Breathing out, you sit next to him, putting some cubes in the dishcloth and making an improvised ice bag.

“Can I?” You ask in a low voice and he nods. Gently, you put the ice on his bruise, trying not to hurt him. Billy's eyes don't leave you, but you try to focus on your task. “Did you get into a fight at the party?” You know the answer, but still, you have to ask.

“No.”

“It was Neil, wasn't it?” There's anger in your voice, and you don't want to dissimulate anymore. Billy nods, looking away from you. “I'm so sorry, B. I really wish I could do something for you, I-”

“You're doing enough.” He says, placing his hand on top of yours. His touch is warm, and part of you wants to shield him from all that. To protect him.

“How?” You whisper, now completely drowning in the blue of his eyes. Billy was never this close, and now you can feel the power he has over you.

“By just being here.” He whispers back, moving even closer.

Sighing, you take the ice off his face, throwing it in the bowl. “I didn't mean to send you away like that, I just... Got scared and thought you came here with other ideas in your head.”

“I just needed to see you. I was going to that stupid party but I found myself driving here instead.” His voice is barely a whisper, but you can hear it clearly because of the silence surrounding you.

“You can go if you want, and then come back here.” You decide to say, but you don't want him to go.

You don't want Billy to go. You want to hold him, close to your chest, until all the sadness leaves his heart.

“I don't wanna be anywhere else,” Billy says, and you close your eyes before wrapping your arms around his neck.

It's a strange sensation, and it takes a while until you even understand what you're doing. But it feels right, even better when he embraces you too, strong arms pulling you closer to his body. “I'm so sorry, B.”

Billy sighs, and you feel his breath on your neck when he does, tickling you a little. But holding him feels good. And being held by him is even better. You never thought you'd feel this way, not with him. But there's nothing else right now. No age, no bad boy reputation. Just Billy, in your arms, and you in his.

Silently, you pull away, taking the bowl and placing it on the nightstand before going to the door. “What are you doing?” He asks in a low voice.

“Turning the lights off so we can sleep.” You simply say before cutting the lights and going back to bed.

“Should I go?” Billy sounds... Vulnerable. And it's obvious that he doesn't show this side of him very often. So you feel honored to see this part of him.

“No.” Lying down, you move to the side. It's a double bed, so you're used to sleeping in the middle. “Won't Neil be angry if you don't go back home?”

“He doesn't care.”

“Then stay.” It doesn't take much time until he moves. Billy takes his shoes and leather jacket off before settling down on the right side of the bed.

Then, you fall silent. You're facing away from him, eyes open. And for some reason you know he's awake too.

“Could you come here?” He suddenly asks, his deep voice filling the room.

“What for?”

“Just come.”

Don't overthink it, you tell yourself. So you take a deep breath before moving, turning to face him and moving closer. And it happens naturally as if you've done it many times before. Billy pulls you until your head is on his chest, his arm around your waist. You're blushing, butterflies flying all around.

But this is peaceful. Calming. His breathing and heartbeat feel like a beautiful lullaby.

“Why did he hit you?” With a hand flat on his chest, you smile to feel the warmth irradiating from his skin.

“Max went out with the kids. I was supposed to go for her but she went back home earlier by herself.” His voice is low, a hand caressing your hair.

“You know this isn't her fault, right?”

“I know.” He sighs.

“Just a little while now. Soon enough High School will be over and you'll be free from Neil. And this town. And whatever else you want to be free from.” Taking a deep breath, you involuntary snuggle closer to him. Billy is warm. And you never had anyone to keep you warm during the night. To hold you.

“I know.” He breaths out. “Thank you, (Y/N).”

“For what?”

“For this.”

Biting your lip, you feel heat spreading through your cheeks. “I'm... I'm glad you came.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm.” Mumbling, you hold back a yawl. “It's a cold tonight and now I don't need so many blankets.”

“Oh, I see.” Billy pulls you closer, pressing you against his body. “A very good reason.”

Giggling, you caress his chest. “Let's get some sleep, Billy Hargrove.”

And you drift off to sleep, surrounded by a sensation you never felt before. Maybe this is a mistake. Maybe having Billy this close will end up in heartbreak. But right now, knowing he's alright after what we went through, is enough. You're happy for him. Even though it may hurt you later.

•••

When Billy wakes up, he can't believe what he feels. It's good, so damn good he wonders if he died on the road yesterday, crashed his car, and somehow went to Heaven.

He's so used to being surrounded by hate, anger, and all of those dark feelings from the moment he opens his eyes that this feels surreal.

During the night they moved a bit, and now they're face to face, sleeping way too tangled up for two friends just sharing a bed. The soft morning light makes her even more beautiful, if that's even possible. Billy looks at her as if she's an illusion, a dream, that will vanish if he moves too much. So, holding his breath, he only caresses her cheek, her warm skin. It startles him a little when a quick, small smile crosses her face. He wonders what she's dreaming of. Whatever it is, it's probably good.

Billy didn't want to fall in love. Ever. He didn't even want to like some girl. Or have someone in his mind that he couldn't shake away. He likes his freedom, he likes having someone new every week. A different face to hang out with, to sleep with. He's a man who has everything figured out. His feelings and wishes, his plans for the future. And not falling in love, ever, was a very important part of his plan.

What he doesn't want to admit is that one of the reasons for that, maybe the strongest reason, is because he fears he'll become like his father. His mother loved Neil, and he broke her heart. So Billy always thought it would be better to keep girls at a distance, only having one-night stands with those who are looking for the same quick relationship.

Billy Hargrove doesn't want to be another Neil.

But, right now, looking at her sleepy face, hair covering half of it before he pushes it away, Billy has an epiphany. It happens slowly at first, then all of a sudden.

He wants a girl after all. Even worse, he wants (Y/N), for more than just one night. Or one day. Or one week. He wants to get to know her, all of her.

And he also figures out he could never be like Neil. Not to (Y/N). For her, Billy wants to be more than a crazy teenager going to parties, staying up late for stupid reasons, and not giving a damn about school. For her, Billy wants to be a man.

It's not (Y/N)'s age that stands between them. It's Billy's maturity. Or the lack of it. It's not that he doesn't have plans for the future. Billy wants to go back home, become a Marine Biologist and find a good job, one he loves, in the place he loves. But he also knows some of his attitudes aren't... Appealing to her, as they are to other girls. They like the bad boy act he puts on, and he's quite good at it since all it takes is to express the rage he has trapped inside him.

But now, he wants her. And being the bad boy isn't enough.

He never thought he'd ever change for a girl. But Billy knows this isn't just about changing who he is, because if (Y/N) didn't like him, she wouldn't be here, in his arms. This is about growing up. And Billy would have to do that sooner or later. He was waiting until he finished High School, or until he finished college, if he ever gets there. But until then, he would party hard, live like there was no tomorrow, no consequences.

But now, there's her. And for her, and her only, he wants to make things different.

Billy Hargrove is falling in love. Fast, and hard. For a guy with his reputation, it couldn't be any different.

He, who stole many hearts, had his stolen. And there's nothing he could do now. It was in her possession, and so it would remain.

@aunicornmademedoit @alexa4040 @goth-cowgirl-03 @nyctophilic0vitnir @minispice-1

[samaraxmorgan]

HELLO IT'S ME, YAPPER

BEFORE I YAP HOW YOU FEELIN'? AND HOW IS LIQUIDKUNA(I'm so sorry)

OK OK! SO I'VE BEEN DRAWING FOR THE PAST 7 HOURS STRAIGTH DOING STUDIES AND STUFF AND I STARTED DRAWING ROOMIE SUKUNA JUST STUCK UNDER A PILE OF PLUSHIES SO I WAS THINKING WHAT IF ROOMIE SUKUNA GETS HOME FROM WORK ONE DAY LIKE SUPER SUPER TIRED AND WE'RE NOT HOME YET AND HE SOMEHOW STUMBLES INTO OUR ROOM AND FLOPS DOWN ONTO OUR BED AND BURIED HIMSELF IN OUR PLUSHIES BECAUSE THEY SMELL LIKE US AND HE LIKES US, SO WHEN WE GET HOME WE GO TO OUR ROOM TO SEE A PASSED OUT SUKUNA BURIED UNDER OUT PLUSHIES AND WE TAKE A QUICK PICTURE AND THEN WE WEEE, WE GO INTO HIS ROOM AND WE MAKE SURE IT'S NEAT SO THEN WE DO OUR BEST TO GET SUKUNA BACK INTO HIS ROOM AND INTO HIS BED BUT HE ONCE WE GET TO HIS BED HE FALLS ONTO US AND WE END UP STUCK UNDER HIM IN HIS BED AND SUKUNA ARMS SUBCONCOUSILY WRAP AROUND US SO NOW WE'RE STUCK STUCK CAUSE SUKUNA IS A PRETTY STRONG DUDE AND WHEN SUKUNA WAKES UP FINALLY WE ARE FULL ON PASSED OUT SNUGGLED INTO HIM, (cause you know how lovers even in sleep with try to get closer to one another >:}) SO SUKUNA BLUSHES AND SIGHS BEFORE PICKING US UP AND TAKING US TO OUR ROOM AND WHEN HE TRIES TO PUT US ON OUR BED WE DON'T LET GO THAT EASIER, AND WE STIR FROM OUR SLEEP BUT DON'T WAKE UP AND AND IF SUKUNA FEELS A BIT 𝓑𝓞𝓛𝓓 HE WILL BRUSH OUR HAIR OUT OF OUT EYES AND GIVE US A LITTLE PECK ON OUR FOREHEAD OR OUR CHEEK AKFI;RHFEKJHSGIEHNK;HSIUH (I am currently running on strawberry boba and a dream)

HAVE A GREAT DAY/NIGHT YOUR AWESOME REMEMBER THAT :DDDD

HELLO BABE!!! Me and Liquidkuna are thriving I have him in my water bottle (it’s clear so he can see thru, no cruelty here) !! ASAKAKAK

So first of all you’re gonna LOVE this fanart <3

Omg yes he like got NO sleep and then was slammed at work and is so out of it he just passes out in our room cause it’s closer ASKAKAAK!!! We come home like “boy u can’t be fr” and of COURSE we need the blackmail photo GOOD THINKING!!! I imagine him being like insanely tall so I like the idea that we’re grabbing him by the ankles and trying to pull him out of our bed SKSKSK we’re like HEAVING and he’s just “snnzzz mimimi” passed the FUCK out until he hits the floor

He’s SO out of it he’s half asleep just like “hUH” and we bring him to his own bed and he collapses onto us we’re like “oh god do I need to call the fire department” SKSKS HE’S SO HUGE THERES NO MOVING HIM!!! On one hand we’re worried we’re gonna suffocate but on the OTHER hand…. This shit kinda comfy fr… maybe we could… take a lil nap asakmsks

He wakes up like hours later and our face is buried in his chest and our arm is slung over his waist and he’s like…… “how did..? Nvm I’m not gonna question it” just lies there awake trying to stay as still as possible so that it doesn’t have to end 🥺 but he knowssss he should put us in our own bed even if he REALLY doesn’t want to (booooo) so he picks us up all carefully and carries us to our room princess style <3

Ugh and we are GRIPPING onto his shirt we don’t wanna let him gooooo!!!! He’s trying to lay us onto our bed and our arms are slung around the back of his neck, our faces are so CLOSE and he can feel our breath on his skin!!! He sits there and contemplates it for a second before quickly pecking a kiss onto our forehead and then BOLTING away ASAKKA!! We wake up a little later and assume the kiss was a dream 🥺 oh if only we knew

UGGGHHH HIM BEING SO CUTE AND HOPELESS I LOVE HIMMMMM!!!! I hope you enjoyed your strawberry boba that sounds SO GOOD ugh I’m jellyyyyy

I hope u have a wonderful dayy!!!!! Keep our liquid bf in your thoughts SKSKSKKA

[whereianonymouslypostfics]

The Flip Side Part 5

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~9k

Summary: Your motivation to continue working as a mobster in Chicago is dwindling after the birth of your daughter.

A/N: India is growing on me a little. The food is great and I've seen a bunch of animals already... Now if only I could sleep and car rides weren't so wild... this chapter gets a little more angsty and exciting! Enjoy.

Warnings: vaguely suggestive content, angst, panic attacks, fluff, references to murder

It’s over an hour later before you and Wanda leave the bedroom. After making your wife come twice more in the shower, you both get dressed and check on your children. Natalya is still asleep surprisingly so you leave her for a few minutes while you go check on the dogs and Wanda goes to get a bottle ready. You’re quiet as you walk into the main room for the dogs. It’s still a little early, and the younger ones don’t like to be startled. You smile as you walk into the room and see that the three are already up and waiting to be let out. They have access to the roof from here, but they can’t get to the rest of the house unless this door is opened. 

As soon as it’s opened wide enough, Milo, Rudy, and Sully all run out to see what’s going on in the other parts of the house. You walk further into the room and look around for your older boys. You leave the main room and head toward the next to find that your shepherds as still snoozing away on their favorite bed. Sometimes they liked to come in here to get some space of their own, and you creep into the room so you can kneel down next to them. It’s not until you’re practically on top of them that you see that they’re not alone. 

“Aww.” 

A giant mass of black fur is situated between them and you almost call for Wanda to come see them just because of how cute they look. You restrain yourself because Fat Louise has already started to wake up, and you’re careful not to startle the trio as you reach out for the cat.

“Hi there. Good morning.” 

You watch as Boone and Rogue start to stir as Fat Louise kicks them as she stretches and yawns. You chuckle under your breath as Rogue grumbles and Boone sits up quickly. He’s usually faster to rise and you smile as you scratch your dog behind the ears and kiss his nose. 

“Hi buddy. Were you a good pillow?” 

Boone just yawns before he climbs off the bed and shakes himself out. You’re covered in dog hair rather quickly and you stand up to wipe it off your shirt with a sigh. Rogue is sitting up at this point and the three of you are on your way to breakfast when you hear Wanda call you. She doesn’t sound panicked, but you hurry nonetheless so you’re not keeping her waiting. 

“Y/n? Can you come here, please?” 

When you arrive to the kitchen you find that Wanda’s already gotten Natalya up and she’d started to feed her. Keyword started because you see that there’s been a bit of an accident, and Wanda was now covered in spit up. It was mostly on her back and you cringe slightly as you reach out for your daughter. 

“Little Nat. Did you eat too fast? Do you want me to hold her so you can clean up?” 

Wanda nods gratefully and you take Natalya into your arms and rock her gently. You don’t want to upset her possibly pissed off stomach and you wait until Wanda returns before trying again. This time goes better, but slower and you watch as Wanda feeds the dogs and Fat Louise before daring to bring up breakfast. 

“My little one, you’re too cute to spit up, okay? You need to take after me, baby girl.” 

Wanda’s rolling her eyes as she finishes putting together some food for Natalya to pick at before bringing your plates to the table. 

“I thought we didn’t want her to spill all over herself, Y/n.”

Your response is to simply stick your tongue out at your wife which just makes her laugh in amusement. You get Natalya situated in her chair before heading for the kitchen to grab her tiny bowls that Wanda had left in there. Her appreciative look is met with a smile and one of your own as you sit down beside your daughter to eat. 

“Thank you for cooking, Wands.”

As usual, the two of you go between eating, feeding Natalya, and chatting about plans for the day. You’d be happy to just sit around before cooking dinner a little later, but Wanda had other plans. As much fun as yesterday was, she wanted to get out a little today and check on the restaurant. You are only a little disappointed that you’ll be left home by yourself, but this feeling only lasts for two seconds before Wanda clarifies her meaning. 

“Maybe we can all go together?” 

Natalya makes both of you smile as she takes her empty bowl and bangs it on her tray table. You reach out to take it from her before gently banging it on the table in response. The dogs are looking at you in confusion and Wanda’s just shaking her head in amusement. You hand the bowl back to your daughter and wait until she tugs on it before giving it back to her. 

“Do you like that idea, Little Nat? Do you want to go on a family trip to Mommy’s restaurant?” 

When Natalya only offers you a gleeful laugh you smile wider before nodding in understanding. You’ll all go to the restaurant later to confirm that it’s still up and running, and to give your wife her fix. Maybe you’ll hang out for a bit and let her cook some. 

The morning goes by quickly after breakfast, and you and Wanda are on your way to the restaurant with Natalya your arms. You’d already reached out to Bucky and Steve and they confirmed that they’d be tagging along for this trip. You decide to drive and you give Nat a kiss on her little forehead before handing her to Wanda with a sigh. 

“Do we have everything?” 

After spending almost an hour preparing for the trip this morning, you feel like you’re leaving for the night instead of just a few hours. Wanda’s packed a large diaper bag with blankets, bibs, baby wipes, and a change of clothes and diapers for Natalya. There’s also some toys and snacks Wanda wanted to bring just in case. The back seat is completely full with all of the bags and Nat who sat securely strapped into her car seat. She was sleeping for now, but you had a feeling she would perk up when she got to the restaurant. 

She’d been there maybe two times in her life. First, she went there only days after leaving the hospital. It had been after closing, but Wanda had wanted to show off her beautiful daughter, and everyone had fawned over her. The next time she’d gone it was to visit her mom on a day she was at the restaurant dealing with a problem. She’d been frustrated, tired, and just wanted to be home with her baby, but she’d been pleasantly surprised when Pietro had showed up. 

Now that Nat was slightly older, Wanda wanted her to go back to see where she worked. She wanted her to get used to the smells and sounds, and she wanted her to meet whoever was working today. If Stella was there, she was guaranteed to get distracted by Natalya. 

Wanda nods in confirmation as she turns around to face front as you put the car into reverse. She glances down at you and sees that you’ve packed as well. Whenever you leave the house, you take at least one gun to have on you at all times. She also knows that you have at least three others in the car, but she’s never seen you use those. One’s in the glove compartment, the other is under your seat, and the third is in the back hidden from view and a safe distance from Natalya. At home you’re a little more relaxed and despite having guns stashed around the penthouse, you don’t often carry one on you. 

Despite not liking the idea of having guns in the house, especially with Natalya, she knows that it’s a necessary evil that will keep her family safe. She looks away from the gun on your hip as she reaches out to grab one of your hands once you’ve turned onto the main road. 

“I’m so excited we’re doing this.” 

As you turn to make sure there are no cars coming before you cross the intersection, you sneak a quick peek at your wife and can’t help but find her excitement endearing. She loved her job and you hated that she had to take such a long break from it. It brought her so much joy and seeing how just the idea of going back so drastically changed her mood, you wanted to do this more often. You know that Wanda loved your daughter and that she didn’t want to miss out on the chance to raise her. However, you also knew that if Wanda could have it both ways and raise your daughter while working in her kitchen she would be in heaven. 

“Me too, Wands.” 

After kissing her hand with a smile, you think about this for the rest of the ride to the restaurant. Wanda should be able to have more freedom to do what she wants. You know that Pietro loves to help out, but you’re Natalya’s mother and you should be more available. Wanda notices you’re frowning as you pull into the parking lot of her restaurant and you’re quick to look for Steve and Bucky. The duo is already here watching the doors and you circle the building so you can go in the back. You squeeze Wanda’s hand as you park and she sees that your frown’s been replaced by a smile as you shoot her a curious look.

“Ready for this, loves?”

Bucky smiles as he watches you and Wanda get out of the car, the former hurrying to grab your daughter. Wanda tries to protest but you just shake your head and tell her to go on and head in. She had been vibrating in excitement for the entire ride, so you knew she was anxious to see everyone. 

“Go ahead, Wands. We’ll be right behind you.” 

After shooting you one more questioning look, Wanda relents and heads inside. She smiles at Bucky before walking through the door he held open. As he let it fall shut, he walks over to where you’re grabbing the diaper bag and throwing it over your shoulder. Natalya is already in your arms and she’s looking around curiously at the unfamiliar place.

“Hey, Y/n.”

Natalya’s squirming makes it difficult to hold her while shutting the door, but Bucky takes care of that as you adjust your daughter on your hip. You shoot him a grateful look before kissing Natalya’s cheek with a sigh. 

“Thanks, Bucky. How goes it?” 

Following his lead through the back door, you lock the car on your way in as you wait for him to answer your vague question. He shrugs before mentioning that nothing new has been found out since you last spoke. The investigation was still ongoing and there were apparently no suspects yet. You weren’t sure if you were annoyed or relieved to hear this. 

“Where is the little one? Did you not bring her?” 

The sound of one of Wanda’s coworkers, Maria, makes you smile widely. She’s an older woman in her early-sixties, but Wanda’s known her since she first came to the U.S with her brother. She’d been one of her first foster moms and despite the difficult siblings and the stressful situation, the woman had always been the only foster parent she viewed as a mother-figure. When she’d opened her restaurant, she’d reached out to her and asked if she’d be interested in helping out. She’d been working alongside her ever since. 

Wanda’s laugh makes you realize that she really did need this visit today, and you’re quick to follow the sound of her voice to the kitchen. 

“Good to see you too, Maria. Yes, I brought her, Y/n should be here with her any second.” 

You take this as your cue to come around the corner and walk into the bright open kitchen that you haven’t seen in a while. It’s busy as expected because the lunch rush is about to start, but that doesn’t stop everyone from turning toward you and Natalya. The first one to greet you is unsurprisingly the woman who was waiting anxiously for your daughter’s arrival and you smile before preparing to pass Natalya over. 

“Good to see you again, Maria. Here’s the little chonker.” 

Wanda is rolling her eyes as you shoot her a teasing smile that Maria just ignores in favor of reaching out for your daughter. She’s smiling brightly, and she coos at Little Nat who just smiles and reaches for her hair. You are going to be shocked if your daughter doesn’t have a thing for hair later in life. 

“Hi Y/n! How are you?” 

You smile before shrugging and saying that all’s been well, but you don’t really expect a response as Maria and another employee, Sophie start to fawn over your daughter.

“Oh, she has gotten bigger! She’s so adorable.” 

“She’s not too big, she’s perfect, isn’t that right? Oh, this hat is so cute."

Wanda watches happily as the duo kiss and squeeze on her giggling daughter. She looks to you before Bucky walks into the kitchen too with a sigh. Steve is up front talking to the hostess Stella, but the commotion from the back makes her realize that Wanda’s arrived. 

It wasn’t difficult to know when the brunette was here. It always went the same way since she’d been working here. The tall, built blonde named Steve would show up, sometimes with his friend Bucky, to make sure that nothing was amiss around or in the restaurant. Then Wanda would show up either by herself or with her daughter or brother. Occasionally you showed up as well, and as Stella walks into the kitchen she realizes which three of you are here. 

Wanda turns when she and Steve walk in, and she’s quickly pulled into a hug which she returns readily. 

“Stella, it’s good to see you. How have you been?” 

Wanda catches up with her friends and you and Steve talk as well, but about nothing specific. You’d already asked Bucky if there was anything of note with the investigation, but apparently they hadn’t found anything useful yet. You wonder how long it will take for the other shoe to drop, and you can’t help but feel anxious just at the thought. You try to distract yourself by focusing on Wanda and your daughter, but they’re still preoccupied at the moment. 

“Are you two coming over later for dinner?” 

You’d officially just invited Nat and Yelena, but you knew that Nat had told Bucky and Yelena would probably bring Kate. You weren’t opposed to more people coming. It would be nice to see everyone and a distraction from work would be nice too. 

Bucky brings your attention back to him when he shakes his head before claiming that he’ll be busy working. Given how much you’ve put on his plate you don’t doubt this and you shoot him an apologetic look before turning to Steve. He’s smiling as he watches Natalya get passed back to her mom. She’s still talking to Stella and Nat reaches out for the younger girl with a smile. 

“I can probably make it. I’ll see how some stuff goes later.” 

You’re nodding as you watch Wanda take your daughter to one of the stations near the back of the kitchen. She’s talking to some people before she gets this look that you know all too well. You’re already digging in the bag on your shoulder for Nat's carrier. You’re by Wanda’s side when she decides what she wants to make with Natalya. She’ll be doing all the work, but she loves to have her daughter with her as she enjoys being in her element. 

“Thanks, detka.” 

The kiss to your cheek makes you smile dopily and you help Wanda get Natalya situated on your wife’s back. She’s still a little restless, but you stand by watching Wanda get everything together to cook and you see that Natalya eventually just begins to watch. Wanda talks to her as if she can actually understand it as she describes her steps and cooks a meal that she hasn’t had in too long. She’s so passionate about what she’s doing that you feel yourself fall in love with her all over again. You just observe quietly and enjoy watching Wanda be carefree for a while. 

Natalya starts to pull on Wanda’s hair and she hears quiet whimpering in her ear that catches her attention. She turns slightly but can’t really see anything, but it catches your attention. 

“What’s wrong little one? Are you getting tired?”

Wanda hears you look in the diaper bag again for her pacifier and you whip it out with a smile before holding it up to your daughter. 

“Do you want this, little Nat? Want to take a nap?” 

A few minutes later, Natalya is asleep with her pacifier in her mouth, and Wanda sighs in content. She’s happy to be in her kitchen again, and she loves that you’re right by her side, holding her in your arms. You don’t say much as you just watch her cook, but your presence is enough to calm her and reaffirm her belief that you both needed this visit. 

“Are Bucky and Steve coming to dinner?” 

Your friends have wandered off at this point, but you knew they were nearby. Everyone else had to go back to work, but you and Wanda had all the time in the world to relax and just enjoy yourselves. You nod as you mention what Bucky and Steve told you while you play with your daughter’s fingers. 

“Yeah, Bucky can’t make it, but Steve wants his steak rare. Still kicking if we can manage it.” 

Wanda laughs out loud at this and rolls her eyes at the fact that she knows you’re only partially kidding. They were going to grill on the roof tonight, and Steve and Yelena’s favorite was steak while Wanda and Nat liked chicken and you preferred fish. You were excited to have your friends over to enjoy the last night you’ll have free for a while. Your schedule for the coming days was rough, but hopefully afterwards things would calm down for a while. You’ll be handing over more responsibilities soon and once you saw how they did you could see what else you could tweak. 

“You’re ridiculous. That’ll be your job, detka. I’m glad they can come though.” 

For the next hour Wanda finishes up what she’s cooking and you change Nat’s diaper in the office and feed her a bit before the three of you take off. You make the rounds and say goodbye to everyone before heading back home with Bucky and Steve as escorts. 

As you drive back home you steal glances at your wife who despite looking a little tired seems happy. She sighs as she relaxes into her seat and looks out the window. She brushes the back of your hand with her thumb and she hums when you ask her if she had a good time. You smile at how distracted she is, but you don’t bother to comment on it as you peek into the rearview mirror to see that Natalya is sleeping. 

“How about a quick nap and then I’ll start cooking?”

Once your family is back home and Wanda’s putting Natalya in the nursery for a nap, you realize that you could use one as well. It’s 4 now and you have a couple of hours before you need to start cooking for tonight. You’re mostly preparing sides since you’ll wait until everyone shows up to grill and have some drinks. You recall how you’ve already gone through one of your three bottles of sparkling cider that you keep in the house with a sigh. 

Wanda hasn’t kept alcohol in the house for years. She doesn’t drink much at all, and if she does, she buys just enough for her or their guests before pouring any remainder out. She’ll never keep alcohol around because she doesn’t want you to be tempted by it in any way. She knows that part of your recovery includes not being around people who drink, places where drinks are served, or anything of the sort. Most of the time when you have friends over, they bring non-alcoholic drinks, or Yelena just drinks some beforehand. That said, you still stick to your water or cider because even ‘non-alcoholic- beer and wine can have alcohol in it, and you’d been told to steer clear of that. 

“That sounds wonderful, but I’ll help too.” 

You’re too tired to argue and after confirming with your friends that they’ll come by around 6, you and Wanda retire to your bedroom with the baby monitor and a couple of dogs in tow. You’re yawning before you even see the bed, and you watch with a smile as Wanda sinks into it with a groan. She’d really done all of the work this afternoon. She’d cooked some side dishes for tonight that are still out on the counter, and then she’d made a dessert that is chilling. You had helped a little, but most of your focus had been on Natalya or watching Wanda. You knew that despite appreciating your assistance, Wanda could do all of this in her sleep and didn’t need your help. You mostly served as company and if you got a couple of samples while you were at it, you didn’t complain. 

“You already cooked a lot, so I get to do the heavy lifting.” 

Your wife just hums in acknowledgement, not really hearing what you’re saying as she curls up under the covers with a yawn. A hand reaches out for you and Wanda waits patiently as you take off your jacket and gun before sliding into bed next to her with a smile. 

You’re pulled into your wife’s arms and you just laugh as you indulge her and cuddle close to her with a smile. You kiss her forehead before stifling a yawn as you turn so your face is in her hair. She still smells like her shampoo and faintly of what she’d cooked earlier and you hum happily. 

“Night, Wands.” 

The response you get is an indiscernible mumble that just makes you smile widely as you close your eyes and try to sleep and mentally prepare for tonight. 

Detective Reese’s hope continues to dwindle as he watches his team search through the last dumpster on this block. After getting a call about the senator’s murder, he’d been working around the clock to try and find a suspect where there seemed to be no one. 

The entire thing was a brain buster. A few days ago, at the senator’s birthday party, they’d received a tip that someone was going to try to assassinate him. They’d upped his security and kept him under lockdown for nearly 36 hours before the threat was neutralized, or so they’d thought. 

When Logan Keen had turned up dead, they assumed that he was the one they were looking for. He’d been spotted at the party and after getting spooked he’d left. They’d found a rough sketch of his plan in the apartment along with a couple of rifles and they’d considered the case closed. They couldn’t tell if he’d been working for anyone, so they concluded he’d been acting alone and released a statement to the press. After hearing about this the senator had insisted on ending the lockdown, and short of forcing him into hiding there was nothing they could do. 

They should have known better.

Now he was facing threats of a demotion if he doesn’t figure out who did this within the next 12 hours. He isn’t super optimistic, but he still has a few things to do before he throws in the towel. He turns his head when he hears the commotion from down the alley. One of the two who had been dumpster diving are holding up something covered in coffee grounds and various fluids, but it’s easily recognizable. A few seconds later, the other holds up something else that had been wrapped in a plastic bag, and Reeves smiles in relief. 

A rifle and a silencer. 

“Let’s get this to the lab.” 

“Woah! Look out.”

Yelena laughs as she lets her dog Fanny run out of the elevator and into your house with very little warning. She and Nat had arrived and as expected they’d brought Fanny and food. You smile at your friends before pulling Yelena into a hug and taking one of her bags. She’s still carrying three more, but you don’t even bother trying to grab another one as Nat reaches out for you to mess up your already mussed hair. 

“Hey there kiddo, you look like you just got out of bed.” 

Despite the fact that Nat was right, you roll your eyes in annoyance before turning to lead her down the hall toward the kitchen. Steve was already here and he was helping you get the meat together as Wanda finishes up putting out the food onto the counter. You’d thought about putting it outside, but then you’d have to deal with the dogs trying to get to it and since there were now 6 here, that sounded like a headache. You were determined to relax, so you decided to keep everything but the meat that would be on the grill inside so you didn’t have to chase after one of your dogs for trying to steal food. Once was enough. 

“Thanks, Nat. Love you too.” 

Wanda looks up as you say this and the redhead just messes up your hair again before you swat her hand away with a scowl. She smiles at the scene before looking to Yelena who’s setting her bags on the counter and unloading the surprising amount of food she’d brought. 

“Hey, is Kate not coming?” 

Yelena rolls her eyes before stopping what she’s doing to shoot Wanda an unimpressed look. Nat’s already laughing as you sigh in defeat before greeting your dog who came to sniff out the new food. 

“What, are we not enough for you, Wanda?” 

Your wife to her credit just smiles before putting the last dish on the counter beside the others. There was so much food here that you were sure to be eating left-overs for days. Wanda glances to the shepherds at your feet before glancing back to an expectant Yelena. 

“More than enough, Yelena. I just wanted to make sure that Y/n’s threat of interrogation didn’t scare her off.” 

You chuckle at this as you stand up from petting your dogs to head over to see if Yelena wanted help unloading things. You try not to think too hard about how you would have asked Kate about when she and Yelena were going to get married. It was irrational and you mostly wanted your friends to be happy, but you would be lying if you said them being married wouldn’t make you feel better. Your brief and sordid history with Kate wasn’t something that you wanted Yelena to find out about ever, but for some reason you thought it would be a softer blow to both Yelena and your face, if it happened after the couple got married. 

“Nah, she’s catching up on some shelter paperwork tonight. She promised she’ll be by soon.” 

Wanda smiles glad to hear this, but you’re a little confused about what paperwork Kate should be working on. As part of your impending retirement, you were transitioning more toward your shelter work over anything truly illegal. You had told Kate about this, minus the retirement part, but she was smart and could figure this out. Either way, she was supposed to tell you if anything major happened. You remind yourself to check in with her later, but for now you just settle on looking to Yelena with a frown. 

“Is she working on anything interesting?” 

Wanda watches the exchange between you and Yelena in amusement until you start emptying the bag that is apparently all alcohol. You don’t even notice at first and you’re three bottles in before you realize it. You look to the four bottles of wine and then the remaining two in the bag before you smile teasingly at Yelena. 

“Thirsty, are we?” 

Yelena just smiles back as she slides the bottles towards her and grabs a couple to put in the fridge. She had meant to start with this bag, but supposed it couldn’t be helped now. She just steers your attention away from them and to something more important.

“It was a busy week; you know how it is. Now where is my niece?” 

A brief look around confirms that Natalya is still with Steve as he goes back and forth between the roof and the kitchen to set things up. Little Nat is strapped to his chest, and when Big Nat sees him, she’s quick to greet her. In fact, both of your friends abandon you to see your daughter. You pretend to be annoyed, but honestly you can’t blame them. She’s pretty stinking cute. 

“Steve hand her over!” 

“Let me see my niece.” 

Your friends continue to fight over your daughter as you and Wanda finish up. Wanda puts away the rest of the wine and you grab a bag of dog treats that Yelena had brought. She loves to spoil them and after getting permission to feed Fanny, you find yourself in a sea of dog fur. 

“Everyone sit down! Sit!” 

You toss five treats into the air and then hand one to Sully who is cute but has no mouth-eye coordination. You pet each of the dogs before they run outside to follow the trio that is fawning over their niece. You smile widely as you hear Steve’s voice among the pitter patter of dog feet heading down the hall. 

“Natalya, do you want to cook with your Uncle Steve?” 

“No, she wants to cook with me!”

Wanda rolls her eyes but she quickly smiles as you grab her hand and follow your friends outside. 

“That’s not how it went at all!” 

You’re resting in one of your chairs with Boone’s head in your lap as your friends start to argue. They were all getting ready to eat and with Steve now standing at the grill, he’d had to give Natalya to someone else. He wanted to hold onto her but the heat from the grill and the splattering made it unsafe, so he’d given Yelena her much needed Little Nat time. 

“Yes, it did, Yelena. We all saw you fall down the stairs.” 

You smile at the memory of what Nat was talking about. It was a pretty standard supply run for you but your friends had been available to help. After business was over you and Yelena had spent some time wandering around one of the older buildings that you owned. After moving everything that you needed you and your best friend unfortunately decided to play hide and seek. The building was new to you both so you hadn’t known how treacherous it was in places, but you’d found out quickly when your game turned into tag and Yelena tried to escape down a flight of stairs. 

“Yeah, you landed on your ass and everything.” 

Yelena just glares at you as you say this from where you’re sitting with your wife. Wanda is sipping her drink to hide her amused smile while petting Rogue where he sits at her feet. She remembers hearing this story because you and Yelena had fought about it for nearly a week afterwards. She was still under the assumption that she’d won the game apparently. 

“But I still won. “

“How could you win if I found you?”

“You found me but didn’t tag me!” 

Yelena gestures at you as if to make a point and your response is to roll your eyes and hold your glass up with a smirk. Your friend has been drinking her wine like water, and you’re studiously ignoring it as you finish up your fizzy drink. You could use something else and you stand up with a sigh causing Boone to start and stand up in anticipation. You look to Wanda to see that she that she still has most of her drink left, so you look to your friends instead. 

“Anyone want another drink?” 

When the trio shake their head you and Boone head to the kitchen for a refill. You weave around the other dogs that follow you before deciding that you need to check on Fat Louise. She didn’t come outside with everyone, and you want to make sure she’s not causing trouble. You haven’t gotten used to having a cat around, and luckily she couldn’t jump on the counter like most, but she did like to scavenge. You’d found her chewing on your shoe one morning, and then playing with a dead bug the next, so you tried to keep things tidier for her. You’d also bought her some more toys and a wheel that you had a feeling she’d never use just in case she was bored. 

The most she’d been willing to do was play with the feather toy that you flung around the room for her to chase. The dogs of course tried to eat it, so it was only something she could do when you were around, not that you thought she really liked it that much. 

“Fat Louise. Where are you?”

Silence settles around the group as soon as you leave and the only sound comes from the grill or the dogs wrestling. Wanda sighs as she hears someone come to sit next to her in your spot. She knows who it is without looking but she still turns to check as she offers the redhead a smile. 

“How are you, Wands? Getting any more sleep?” 

As Wanda catches Nat up on how Little Nat has been doing for the past couple of weeks, Yelena walks over to Steve to see how the cooking’s going. She sneaks a peek around him and sees that everything looks as well as smells delicious. She tries to sneak some of the vegetables that are on the edge of the grill but Steve bats her hand away with a scowl. 

“They’re almost finished. Patience.” 

Yelena just rolls her eyes before downing the rest of her drink. Without any alcohol in this, she could honestly drink all 6 bottles tonight. Honestly depending on the day, she could drink 6 normal bottles. She walks over to the cooler for another drink with a sigh. She has to open a new bottle and she brings it over to Steve with a questioning look. 

“Do you want to help me finish this?” 

Steve shakes his head, but Yelena pours him some anyway. She always has conflicting feelings about drinking, even this around you. She knows that you’re doing better, but she’s sure that seeing anyone drink can be triggering on the wrong day. She’d made sure to check with Wanda first to see if it would be okay tonight, and she’d told her that it was fine.

“Come on, Steve. Drink up, Captain. I’m hungry.” 

Nat’s laughing when you return after tracking down your wayward cat. She’d been sleeping under your bed and you’d just left her alone since she wasn’t doing anything harmful. You’d refilled your drink and snuck some food before coming back outside with Boone on your heels. You smile when you see that Wanda and Nat are smiling, and you’re about to ask when Yelena practically tackles you from behind. You luckily manage to hold onto you drink and stay upright despite your knees protest. You groan in annoyance that quickly become curiosity when you see what’s in Yelena’s hand. Well not her drink, but the small gift bag that you’d just noticed she had. 

“Hey Y/n! Let’s open this. We brought it for Little Natalya.” 

Steve’s finished cooking at this point and after covering the food to keep it warm, he comes over to where you’ve all gathered. You sit next to Wanda on her seat while Nat and Yelena share one. Steve just stands by watching as you pass the bag to Wanda as you take out something in wrapping paper. You squeeze on it a little and shake it in front of Natalya with a smile. 

“What is this, little one? Is this for you?”

Everyone smiles as Natalya reaches out for the gift from where she sits in Yelena’s lap. She giggles and you almost hand it to her, but you figure you’ll just wait and open the small squishy gift that is probably a toy yourself. This is quickly confirmed when you rip off the paper and see a black and purple…

“What is this? A bat?” 

Yelena grins so widely that you realize this was definitely her idea and you can’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. You really do appreciate how into the whole ‘auntie Yelena’ thing she is, and given Wanda’s smile you know she does too. 

“It’s a vampire bat. See the fangs?” 

You nod as you pretend to fly the little bat toward Natalya who grabs it immediately. She waves it around for a bit before putting it in her mouth. Nat smiles at her before deciding that it’s time for her turn. Wanda’s just smiles before reaching into the bag to see what’s Nat got. She pulls out a little grey fluffy onesie that has the words “I love my aunties (and uncles)” on it. 

“Nat this is so cute!” 

You look to see what Wanda’s talking about and you smile widely at the sight of her holding up Little Nat’s new outfit. It’s so adorable and you know the moment you get back inside you’re changing her into it and taking a picture. 

“That’s so sweet. Thank you both, I know she’ll love them.” 

A large crowd surrounds the table where everyone sits down to eat dinner. The dogs have all chosen a person to sit by, even Natalya. Your daughter was now in Nat’s lap as she ate with one hand. One arm was wrapped around her niece to make sure she didn’t fall whenever she decided to wiggle. Her little vampire bat was still clutched in her hands. Rogue would sniff it occasionally before turning his attention to Wanda who pet him every now and then. 

“Where’s Pietro tonight? Working at the restaurant?” 

You’re about to nod in confirmation but Wanda speaks up before you get a chance. You can’t help but laugh at what she says, and you see smiles all around.

“More like flirting at the restaurant. Maria told me that if he’s not helping in the kitchen, he’s harassing Stella.” 

This sounds more likely than not because you knew that Pietro had a crush on the hostess. As far as you know it hadn’t gone anywhere, but it was fun to tease him about it. 

“That poor girl.” 

“You went there today, right? How was it?

 You’re smiling as you turn to Wanda to take over as you continue to eat. She tells your friends about taking Nat to the restaurant and having everyone love on her. The group at the restaurant really was like a second family, and Wanda continued to take her there because she wanted her daughter to have that. You space out a little as Wanda talks to your friends, and your mind wanders to work. 

Wanda’s gaze shifts to you briefly when she realizes that you’re no longer paying attention. You’re smiling as you think of something she probably won’t be able to guess. She’s about to ask you what’s on your mind, but Nat standing up distracts her. 

You briefly imagine what your life would be like if you stopped working and were able to spend time with your friends like this more often. You could help Wanda at the restaurant or you could even try to find something else to do. It seemed unlikely, but the possibility of it still excited you and you couldn’t help but smile to yourself. 

“Ugh, sorry someone’s calling.” 

After excusing herself, but keeping Natalya on her hip she wanders away toward the grill to answer the phone. She sees that it’s Bucky and she can’t help but fear that he has bad news. He knows that she’s here tonight and he wouldn’t be bothering her unless it was urgent. 

"Hey Buck-"

“Nat are you at Y/n and Wanda’s right now?” 

The urgency she hears in his tone makes her stiffen and she has to resist the urge to look back toward the table to where everyone is laughing at a joke that you’re telling. 

“Yes, we are. Why, what’s wrong?” 

As Nat listens to Bucky explain what’s happened, she nearly drops her phone in shock. She holds onto Little Nat tighter as she realizes that their night of relaxation is over. Particularly for you. She curses under her breath before she decides to ask the only question she can really think of at this point. 

“Have you called her lawyer?”

Bucky confirms that this had been the first call he’d made after finding out what the police had found. He’d been working on something completely unrelated when one of your contacts from the police station had called him. Apparently, a gun had been found near Jacobs’ residence, and bullets from the magazine had been matched with the ones that were dug out of the senator’s body. The gun was analyzed for prints and despite being in a dumpster through the rain and various other fluids some had been found on the magazine. Specifically, your finger prints had been found on the murder weapon.

“He thinks that they’ll wait until tomorrow to do it, but they’re going to arrest her soon.” 

This time Nat can’t stop herself and she turns briefly to see that you’re still distracted talking to Yelena, but Wanda is looking at her curiously. She looks away quickly because she can’t tell her before you, and she sighs heavily as she thinks about what to do next. 

“Did you want me to tell her?” 

Bucky considers this because he thought it might be easier to talk about in person, but if you had questions, he’s more likely to be able to answer them. He also doesn’t want to pawn this off on Nat. He was the one who figured it out and despite how poorly you’re going to react, he knows he has to tell you. 

“It’s okay, I’ll do it. Is she free to talk now? “

Nat immediately thinks no because you’re with your friends and family and it is not the time to talk about this. That said, this isn’t exactly something that can wait. Bucky didn’t say for certain that the police would wait until tomorrow and if they showed up before you were told about what happened you’d be furious and caught off guard. 

Nat curses again under her breath, bouncing Natalya on her hip as she wonders how the hell this happened. 

“This is fucking crazy. I feel like I’m going to be sick.” 

Bucky doesn’t say anything because he feels the same way. He has no idea how this had happened considering that you hadn’t killed Jacobs. You’d given up on him as soon as Logan failed and you hadn’t mentioned revisiting this let alone killing him. Not to mention, if you had done this it wouldn’t have been this sloppy. Leaving the murder weapon with prints near the scene. That was an amateur move and even in your early years you knew better than that. 

“I know. It’s fucked up. “

Nat tries to keep her expression neutral as she returns to the table with her phone still in her hand. She hands Natalya to Yelena who despite being confused takes her happily. Nat’s hand goes to your shoulder as she holds her phone out. 

“Bucky wants to talk to you.”

The smile you’d been wearing drops immediately, but you nod as you stand up before grabbing her phone. You excuse yourself and as you turn you miss Nat looking to her sister, Steve, and then Wanda who immediately realizes something is off. She is about to ask what’s going on but she hears your voice cut through the silence like a knife. 

“Wait, what!?” 

You’re not sure if you’re having a fever dream or if your luck is just that shitty, but Bucky telling you that you’re going to be arrested for murder tomorrow makes your head spin. You listen to what he says about the weapon being found and the plan to come find you tomorrow morning most likely. You don’t get to ask if he’s contacted your lawyer before he covers that too. 

“I called Gavin and he’ll be ready as soon as you need him. He’s already compiling evidence in your defense. “

That makes you pause and you just take a moment to process what Bucky’s told you so far. Senator Jacobs was killed and they had no suspects up until this afternoon when the murder weapon was found in a dumpster nearby his house. The murder weapon with your fingerprints on it. You certainly hadn’t killed Jacobs, you’d been at home with your family, and if you had killed him, you wouldn’t be this sloppy. Someone was trying to frame you, but why? 

Why would someone want to send you to jail? 

You consider what it would be like in jail and how the evidence they have could keep you there. You can’t imagine being away from your family, and you can’t imagine being in jail with people who you might have fucked over. You tense at the thought of going down for this which would be terrifying whether you did it or not, but what really scared you was the unknown. 

Whoever had done this wanted something from you, or simply wanted you out of the way. You weren’t sure which was worse, but the thought of leaving your family under someone else’s protection scared you. You couldn’t leave them. You couldn’t go to jail for something you didn’t do. You don’t realize that Bucky’s talking to you because you’re focusing all of your energy on breathing. Suddenly your chest feels tight and you can’t get enough air in your lungs. Your hands are shaking and you nearly drop Nat’s phone as you shake your head to try to stave off the panic attack you feel coming on.

“Fuck. How--.” 

You stop short as your breath catches and you’re falling before you even realize you’ve lost your footing. It’s only due to Wanda and Nat’s foresight to come stand nearby that keeps you from hitting the ground. 

"Shit!"

"Y/n-"

Wanda grabs your arm to hold you up as Nat goes to your other side to help her. She realizes you’re panicking as soon as she sees your wide eyes and ragged breathing. You can’t focus on anything in front of you and you barely realize you’re being lowered to the ground. Wanda kneels down beside you as Nat quickly talks to Bucky before putting her phone in her pocket. 

“Y/n, detka can you look at me?”

She has no idea what’s going on, but given how worried Nat looked and how panicked you were she figured it was bad. She reaches out for you when you just continue to stare off into space, and she brings her hands to your face to try and get your attention. Nat looks to her sister and waves her over to see if your daughter’s presence will help. 

“Y/n breathe with me, okay? Just breathe.” 

When Wanda feels how warm your face is she’s quick to move her hands to your shoulders to push your jacket off. It’s a little chilly out, but she’s worried about you working yourself up even more, and the cold might snap you out of it. Wanda doesn’t notice Yelena appear over her shoulder with Natalya in her arms as she reaches for your hands. She watches you try to breathe deeply but you’re struggling and Wanda frowns as something occurs to her.

“Y/n, did you take your medications this morning?”

You are usually good about taking them given you’ve been on them for years, but sometimes it slipped your mind or you got busy. Sometimes you forgot to take both and other times you only took one. When she sees you try to think about it, she realizes that it doesn’t matter if you did or not, you should take at least one of them now to make you feel better. 

You’re shaking your head by the time Wanda turns to Nat and asks her to run and find them for her. She just nods and hurries inside, followed by a couple of dogs as Wanda turns back to you with a smile. She’s not sure what’s on your mind, but she can tell that you’re still running it over and over in your head so she tries another tactic. 

“Yelena, can I see, Natalya?” 

Her daughter is quickly put in her arms and Wanda smiles at her before kissing the top of her head. She looks to her before whispering under her breath. 

“We’re going to help your mom. Okay, little one?”

Natasha runs inside and immediately heads to her friends’ bedroom to look for your medications. She knew that you were on two, but she was pretty sure that you had a third that you took during situations like this. It had been a long time since she’d seen you have an attack like this and she was trying not to panic herself. Wanda was certainly worried too, but she was doing a good job of hiding it and being calm for you. Nat couldn’t help but wonder how many times she’d had to go through this with you. 

This entire thing was a mess and it would only get worse once Wanda realized what had triggered you. Nat tries not to think about that as she grabs the three bottles just in case she’s wrong about what Wanda wants and heads back outside. She nearly trips over one of the terriers that had followed her inside, and she curses before running out on the roof again. 

When she spots where you’re still sitting on the ground next to your wife, daughter, and favorite dog she can tell you’re doing a little better. 

“Now can you tell me three things that you hear, detka?” 

You’re breathing a lot better as you focus more on your wife than your intrusive panicky thoughts. You mutter some things under your breath that she doesn’t hear, but they make Wanda smile and she nods as she sets Natalya down in between the two of you. You notice her immediately and you reach out with a smile before Wanda asks another question. She sees you look behind her and she realizes that Nat is back and she turns as well to see what she brought. You’re doing better now, but it still wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to take at least the Ativan. 

“What about smell?” 

You’ve played this horrible game too many times you don’t need to ask for specifics. You just pick up your daughter who’s getting sleepy and hugging her tightly before kissing the top of her head. 

“Baby smell and my dinner.” 

Wanda holds her hand out for the bottles that Nat’s brought and she thanks her before looking them all over carefully. She sets two down before holding out the last one to you with a questioning look. You already know which bottle she’s handing you, but you look at it anyway with a sigh. Someone appears behind you and sets a glass of water next to you and you just smile appreciatively before looking back to your wife. 

“Now taste.” 

You open the bottle and take the chalky white pill with a grimace and a sip of water. You take a deep breath and try to push down your embarrassment at losing your shit in front of your friends. You’re not sure where they are, other than Nat standing behind Wanda, but you don’t bother looking. You shake your head before leaning toward your wife. 

“This bitter fucking pill.” 

Wanda smiles at you before meeting your lips for a quick kiss. You pull away with another sigh and look to Little Nat who’s starting to fall asleep in your arms, your wife who’s looking at you proudly, and then Big Nat who’s looking the part of a proud older sister. 

“Good job, detka.” 

As Wanda helps you stand up you realize that you’ve ruined dinner, or at least the mood. You don’t think that you will all be able to just sit back down and finish eating without talking about what threw you into a panic. Nat clearly knows and she’s on the same page as you despite wishing they could salvage this evening. She watches as you take a not-so-subtle glance at the last wine bottle in the cooler before you take a deep, steadying breath. You turn your attention to Wanda, but you’re really addressing everyone but Nat. 

“I guess I should tell you what all of this is about.” 

Masterlist

[elizabethfreyja]

Hey y'all, have this poem I wrote to help you feel better maybe? because It helped me.

I'm reminded of this story as I drag myself along the meadow, my body broken and bruised from the events of today.

In stories of old, there is a tale that's been forgotten by time. Of a calm, peaceful place, where many have come to lay their worries to rest.

I'm cold, tired and hope long since shattered.

My eyes are struggling to stay open, my body begging me for sleep, But I keep walking.

I don't even know why...

But something in me is telling me to keep going.

And I listen, unsure of where I'm heading.

My feet get heavier with each step,

"follow me..."

My lungs feel like they're about to burst,

"follow me..."

Eventually, I trip, I don't even try to stop or ease my fall,

"follow me..."

I lay there for awhile, questioning why I'm doing this...

What does it all lead to? Or amounts to in the end?

What's it all for..?

"Follow me..."

I push myself back up with some struggle, and I continue walking. It seemed like I've been walking for hours through and endless maze of trees, grass, shrubs, flowers and bugs. Leaves from the trees scattered the ground, it was autumn. The nip of the air made me shiver and I hug myself instinctively. Nevertheless, I keep going still.

I keep walking, and walking, and walking...

until....

I see a hill.

I stare at the hill for a small eternity. After, I take a deep breath and move closer to the hill. But no matter how close I get to the hill, I cannot see the other side of it. It's only when I'm standing on the edge that I realize, it's not a hill but a cliff. I stare into it's endless void wondering what brought me here... Maybe it was my intuition, or my instincts, or it could've been something else entirely. As I stand there staring down, trying to pinpoint what lead me here...

The ground gives in,

And I fall.

I fall,

and I fall.

I closed my eyes to brace myself for the impact, expecting a world of pain.

But it never came...

Slowly, I open them. As I open them, I am blinded by bright light. I use my hands to shield my eyes so they could adjust, then I lift myself off the ground observing my new surroundings. I'm left in awe as I stare into the endless field of beautiful flowers with a old willow tree in the distance.

The branches of the tree flown in the wind, as if calling to me.

I listen, and head towards the tree.

With each step, the lighter I feel.

With each step, Im able to breathe a little easier.

And with the final step, I look up at the tree.

As I watched it, it beckoned me to finally rest. I listened, and laid down near the base of the tree, looking back up at it. The leaves continued to dance happily, and I began to slow my breathing. Only then do I realize,

all my worries,

all my stress I had only moments before....

had disappeared,

as if by magic.

I smile more, and finally, I sleep.

I don't know how long I've been out, a few hours at best. But the wind gently stirs me awake. I protest, but only a little, I give in after a bit and stretch my arms out wide. The wind begins to push me softly back to where I started. It was then I knew, it was time to go home.

I rise to my feet feeling much livelier than before. I walk at a leisurely pase, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I leave.

As I arrive where I began, I hesitate.

I look back at the tree, the branches waving with the wind.

Something tells me that I'll always be welcomed here.

I smile for the last time as I walk away, emerging from the pit I had fallen in.

Now, whenever someone comes to ask how I always seem so happy,

I smile as I tell them about

The little garden over the hill.

Hey 👋, hope you all enjoyed this little word soup I made. I know it's not the best but I'm very proud of it. I originally made this to get an A in school, but I really liked it so I decided to post it here. I hope anyone reading this has a good day or night, wherever you're reading this.

[gabbagepatch]

Traveling~ 3-22-2024

I’m currently at home trying to unwind after my grandparent’s fiftieth anniversary party in SC!

I had gone back and forth about going because it’s a six hour drive, including a mountain that always makes my ears pop as we ascend and descend. With vestibular disfunction and a ruptured eardrum I honestly thought I couldn’t handle it.

It was definitely difficult. My vertigo was very bad and I got a migraine about three hours in, I even had a bag handy in case I needed to vomit! My vertigo and migraines have begun to be paired with pretty intense nerve pain as well. It felt like my head and neck were on fire while my head was being crushed. Very painful, and the ibuprofen I had preemptively taken wasn’t doing much to help. There was also a healthy dose of tingling and hot/cold sensations in my hands and feet, plus the classic leg twitches, but that’s not painful just uncomfortable. Despite all that I actually did a lot better than I expected!

During the ride I regretted coming along, I felt like I had doomed myself to 12 combined hours of torture for no reason. Obviously it was too late anyways, but that didn’t stop me from beating myself up for the situation I put myself in.

The entire ordeal came to a climax when we finally got to the hotel room. It’s hard to describe, but when you’ve been moving for a long time and then just stop? It screws everything up. My body threw a tantrum, to say the least. The nerve pain, twitching, nausea, tinnitus, everything kicked into overdrive for the first three hours after the ride.

So that's the negative, but the rest of the trip was super cute and fun! We got the best burgers we've ever had the night we arrived, mine was called the "Clint Beefwood" lol. Afterwards I slept so soundly it's like I was in a coma. Usually sleeping is pretty tough for me given the nerve pain and vertigo, but that night I was out almost immediately. Didn't dream or stir once until I was woken up.

The party had a couple hiccups but we got it set up in time and my grandparents seemed to really enjoy it! The kids (my niece and nephew, my cousins kids, the kids my grandparents adopted, etc) were such a joy. It was so cute watching them run around and play together. I even got to hold my cousins baby for a fair amount of time, couldn't get enough of her. We had attempted to set up a kid's activity table which included some tupper containers filled with rice, plus some spoons and toy trucks. The kids loved it but it was unceremoniously canceled about two hours in because my nephew, the little chaos agent, had discovered how fun it was to dump the rice onto the floor. Cut to me and my sis searching for vacuums and brooms in the venue because the rice was truly everywhere.

I also was unofficially the babysitter during clean-up. It wasn't asked of me but I think everyone appreciated having a break from screaming kids while trying to clean up a big party.

My little chaos agent got a bit upset with me though, after I scolded him for throwing sand at me. My guy chucked some sand right at my chest! I had to grab his little ravioli fist to keep him from launching another attack! I guess he's not used to his auntie being the one to fuss because (cross my heart) I did not even raise my voice and yet that scolding sent him tearily running back towards his momma.

His sister was equally rowdy although a bit more contained. She interrupted my grandparent's toast with a loud "Say happy birthday!!" to everyone's delight. She has gotten so outgoing, demanding everyone's name and hugging people without any hesitation. She used to despise situations like that, now she thrives in them.

The screaming and fluorescents would get overwhelming pretty quickly, but I fended off the vertigo by stepping outside every once in a while. Even with my head I couldn't feel anything but joy, it was so fun.

That evening we went over to my grandparent's house--it was some of the best fun I've had in ages. Just laughing together, it was so idyllic. After 1/3rd of a year marked by medical issues, losing my dog, worry, anxiety? That evening was like a refreshing bath. Full of love and surrounded by great company, I didn't regret coming at all when it was said and done.

[psylockexs]

New morning in a strange place

Quiet as it usually is, Ravenwood's wildlife has a knack of chirping loud enough to wake the residents 🤭. It was no different for the street that the gang were living on, but one peep had to get used to his new surroundings.

https://on.soundcloud.com/vzqZbDeEZwf3vyAW7

The chirping of the birds stirred Tae out of his dreamless sleep (or somewhat dreamless...). It was one thing to sleep so long, but it was another to wake up surrounded by different smells. Different sights. Different sounds, even, and this is piled on top of whatever jet lag he already had from his business almost 2 weeks ago.

'Rise and shine, newbie.'

Tae jumped out of his skin as he heard the painfully familiar voice.

He looked up to see a pair of crimson eyes staring at him. There was another detail about Mikhail that Tae hadn't noticed before; the weird markings on his neck. Were those tattoos or some kind of charm? But that didn't matter right now. Tae sprung to his feet, almost falling over as Mik eyed him like a panther waiting to pounce.

Tae: How the hell did you get here?!

Mik: I do live here, you know.

Tae: Wait...were you watching me?! That is way too creepy for my liking 😯.

Mik: Of course I was watching you, dumbass. I was keeping vigil all night!

Tae: Well, thanks but yikes.

Mik: I wouldn't need to if you weren't wanted. stands up

Tae: Wanted? What do you mean? And...where even am I?

Mik: Long story short, the motel you and Minho were staying at was compromised. There was someone we have been trying to avoid with every fiber of our being. If she knew you two were there, god knows what she would be doing to you right now.

Tae: That bad, huh?

Mik: Very bad and more. What makes all of this worse is that you...turns to him slightly...are an enigma. So, if you want me to help you get whoever this is off our collective backs, you are gonna have to be an open book.

Tae: About what? If it's about me, I know as much as you do, if not less. One thing I'm jetting home to my buddy, next thing I'm standing in front of a 300 year old-

Mik: grimaces 100...

Tae: Whatever. Point is, I don't know shit about whatever this is. If anything, I was hoping you would know more.

Mik: Then let's start at the bottom. You say you've heard legends of yokai since you were a child. I've known people who are brought up with the same legends, and nearly die of fright in their first encounter with a yokai. You, sir, are not one of those people.

Tae: If I'd heard about the supernatural, I don't see the need to be afraid. Is it surreal? Damn straight. But afraid? Last thing I'd be.

Mik: Color me impressed. You've never felt anything strange about yourself in life? Different shades of hair on your head, weird dreams, any of that shit?

Tae: Not at all.

Mik: You ever cut yourself in your life? Anything from a kitchen accident to a grazed knee or something.

Tae: He began to answer negatively, until he remembered something long ago I...I cut my hand when learning to cook once. The wound healed within hours. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but...now that you've mentioned it...

Mik: Interesting. What's your immune system like? You get sick often?

Tae: Except when I can't adjust to a climate, almost never.

Mikhail thought for a hard minute. He was sure he'd heard of these features somewhere 🤔. He needed some time to confirm his suspicions, but he could do that later on.

Tae: You look concerned. Should I be?

Mik: Nope. Just sit tight while I go check if my thoughts are correct. But! You've had a rough week and even rougher morning. nods to the door as he pats his shoulder Did you pack lightly?

Tae: Yeah, only like one change of clothes or something.

Mik: This way then.

Mikhail led him to the guest room that had spare clothes and a bathroom. Mik was keeping a cool face on the outside, but on the inside his mind was ringing. He knew he had heard of these traits a long time ago; he just couldn't place where he'd heard them. Thankfully, there was still one person that he could ask for help, both for Tae's situation and Morgyn's.

However, Mikhail's personal mission had to wait until after their little debrief session 🤔.

[ellatoone7]

Bus beginnings (Leah Williamson x Reader)

It had been a gruelling match. It always was when you played Spain but thankfully you clenched the win with a late winner scored by none other than you.

It had just been a friendly but there was a protectiveness over the unbeaten streak and that wasn't fading anytime soon.

Ella was currently knocked out on your shoulder while Alessia and Ellie slept across from you. The four of you have grown up together but you new Ella the longest, she was your partner in crime and you loved each other more than words could ever say.

For once the whole bus was silent almost everyone a sleep apart from you. You looked around the bus to see if you could find anyone else awake and to your delight you spotted Leah listening to music.

Gently, you moved Ella's head off you shoulder before placing her down onto a pillow. You smiled softly then leaned down to leave a kiss against her cheek, you watched as a small smile appeared on her face.

You made your way down the aisles while also snapping pictures of your sleepy friends until you found yourself in front of the blonde. You gently kicked her leg, laughing as her head snapped up. That smile you adored lit up her face.

"Hi.”

"Hey.”

"Why aren't you a sleep?" Your eyebrows quirked are her question before you echoed it, "I could ask you the same thing."

"Fair enough." Georgia let out a soft mumble at the intruding noise before slapping Leah's shoulder pathetically. You took pity on the midfielder and nodded your head in the direction of the back.

Leah caught on before getting up as quietly as she could, you both made your way to the empty row at the back before throwing yourselves down on the seats.

You got comfortable quickly before engaging in conversation, you loved how easy it was to talk to the blonde defender.

"You played great today." You watched as she lightly scoffed at your comment-you hated the way she brushed off compliments like they weren't true.

"You always play great." She softly whispered as she tried to hide the blush slowly taking over her face. You nudged her foot teasingly as she tried to hide her face from you.

"Why do you always do this?" She groans out while you giggle, "I'm not doing anything!" Leah joins your giggling as you both try to cover each others mouths to keep quiet.

You lunge over to swat her face but trip over the seat landing directly on her, she lets out a loud groan that has you immediately covering her mouth.

You both freeze waiting for one of your team mates to rip into you but they didn't even stir. You let out a breath of relief before looking down at Leah to find her already staring up at you.

"Sorry about that." You go to move off her but she grabs your waist keeping you where you are. "Leah?” She cuts you off by leaning up to kiss you. Your eyes widened in surprise as she moved her lips gently against yours.

Finally coming to your sense you cup her jaw and kiss her back as hard as you possibly could. Leah smiled against your lips while pulling you closer.

"I've wanted to do this…since the day…..I met you..” Leah mumbles against your lips as she runs her cool hands up your jumper. You gasp at the feeling of her hands against your skin but Leah just takes this as an invitation to deepen the kiss.

…

Your teammates snoozed gently while you and Leah laid cuddled up down the back, you had about 2 hours left until you were back home.

Your teammates snoozed gently while you and Leah laid cuddled up down the back, you had about 2 hours left until you were back home.

Leah had her arms wrapped around your stomach while you laid between her legs, she was carding her hands through her hair while you both giggled at something you said.

"We should compare hands," Leah throws you a confused look, "You know. Science." The blonde defender snorted loudly before bursting into another fit of giggle, "What?!" You shot her an obvious look before continuing, "What?! It's not like we haven't done anything worse."

Leah has to muffle her laugh again as she thinks about the breathtaking kiss to the two of you shared not even hours ago.

Nevertheless she held her hand up next to yours waiting to see where you would go with this. You move your hand to hover over hers before gently placing it against hers, humming at the feeling of warm skin against yours.

"You have such big hands." Leah swatted your hand gently while scoffing, "You'll never find out." It was your turn to be baffled as a furious blush spread rapidly up your face.

You ignored her chuckling by focusing on your hands, you hooked your pinky with hers smiling victoriously when you what the older girls breath hitches.

Carefully you slowly connect your fingers while focusing on how normal and right this all feels. Leah let out the breath she was holding, "That was really intimate for hand holding, right?"

"Yeah."

"Are you okay with that?" Leah nervously asked holding her breath again awaiting your answer, "I'm very okay with that."

You moved your gaze from you joined hands to her face before leaning in to softly kiss her. A low whistle jostled the both of you as you snapped your head in the direction of the sound.

You spotted Ella's mischievous face poking out over the seats. Your heart calmed a little at the sight of your best friend before you placed a finger to your lips while gesturing to your sleeping teammates.

"I better go keep her entertained before she wakes the whole bus." You say turning back to Leah as you lean in to give her one last kiss. "Coffee and lunch tomorrow?”

Leah nods with that charming smile, "Wouldn't miss it for the world." You bite back a smile giving her a small wave before making you way back down to Ella.

"You two looked cozy." Ella teases as she pokes your sides, you swat her hands away before collapsing into her lap, "Tell me all about it?”

You kiss your best friend cheek before cuddling into her beginning the story. Leah leans back into the seat you had both been previously occupying as a giddy smile graced her face.

[sw1mmingfoolz]

✨seventeen's reaction to : you having a nightmare✨

requested? Y/N - "heya! saw that your requests were open so thought i'd drop by for a reaction request: svt members reacting to you waking up from a nightmare in the middle of the night and wrapping yourself around them for comfort? been having some vivid nightmares, i could really use someone to hold at night - livvie (from @crimsoncauldron and @tiny-imagines )"

a/n: hi!! i love both of your blogs a ton; thank you so much for requesting and for your support! kinda losing my mind 🥺 it's been a while since i wrote a reaction hehe i hope you enjoy this one and that you feel better soon - i've been having them myself lately actually lol i got one hour of sleep the other night due to nightmares and immediately jumped on tumblr for seventeen related comfort! so maybe we are the same person 🤔 much love! 💞

seungcheol

he's known to be a light sleeper and is probably used to looking out for younger members like this so he's awake before you are, shaking you awake and pulling you to his chest all at once. he'd draw circles on your back and whisper soft things into your ear to help you fall back asleep. "it's okay, you're safe, i'm here". would not go back to sleep until he was certain you're okay. would also absolutely baby you the next day.

jeonghan

he feels you wrapping yourself around him and subconsciously takes you in his arms, figuring you were just cuddling up to him in your sleep - until he hears your sniffles and suddenly he's wide awake. "are you okay?" he asks as he turns on the light, and when you explain to him you had a nightmare he can't help but feel relieved it wasn't something worse. he kisses the top of your head and pulls you back against his chest, rocking you gently and trying to get you to fall back asleep with him. leaves the lil light next to the bed on to make you feel better :)

joshua

he also wakes up pretty much instantly, leaving to get you a glass of water and lacing his fingers with yours. he asks if you want to talk about it and listens intently while you tell him, agreeing that it sounds horrible and validating your feelings. he'd either sing you back to sleep or pull out his phone to watch random youtube videos to take your mind off things, probably just videos of baby animals being adorable, until you fall asleep again dreaming of having your own lil kitten family :')

jun

sleeps through it unless you wake him up but still wraps his arms around you when you curl into him. if you wake him up he'll just pull you on top of him and tell you you're safe because he can beat up anyone in your nightmares lmao. holds your hand and rubs the back of it with his thumb to ground you and keep you in reality.

soonyoung

another one who will wake up before you do. first thing he thinks of is to kiss all over your face and just be overall cute and silly to get you to laugh. probably starts doing aegyo as a distraction. he'll hear you out if you wanna talk about it but is more focused on taking your mind off it, which he's incredibly good at! very cute and gentle with you the whole day after too :')

wonwoo

he's mentioned before he can't sleep without watching videos first so he's probably still awake gaming or watching something when he hears you stirring and whining. super soft gentle voice, holds you to him and is a mix of joshua and cheol in that he has you watch whatever he was watching with him and whispers cute things so you can fall asleep easier. he's basically walking free asmr.

jihoon

sleepy boy, probably doesn't fully wake up, will ask in a slurred murmur "why are you awake?" and when you tell him you had a nightmare he will wrap his arms tight around you and reassure you that you're safe over and over again... and he doesn't really need to do much more because have you SEEN his arms of course you're safe he will crush anyone who looks at you weird and you're fully aware.

mingyu

has said he's an extremely heavy sleeper, absolutely will not wake up unless you wake him up. you will just end up leaving to get a glass of water or make some tea or something to clear your head instead, and when you get back into bed and huddle up to him he stirs extremely briefly to wrap an arm around your waist and start spooning you. would be sad when you tell him what happened the next morning and say that you can wake him up if you ever need to but... you know full well that's way easier said than done.

seokmin

hates seeing you upset, honestly gets just as sad - he's that empathetic. also takes the silly route like soonyoung, telling you to imagine whatever was haunting you in your nightmares was wearing rollerskates and falling over the place or something :') you end up laughing so much that you fall asleep again pretty much instantly after, face pressed into his shoulder. he would stay up for a bit to make sure you were okay and asleep again for sure!

minghao

doesn't really know what to say so just holds you and whispers sleepy words of endearment. he'd make you tea or warm milk to try and calm you and sit on the edge of the bed with you with the light on to help you feel better. would be happy to hear you out but would be more focused on comforting you. would also make a remark about fighting whatever was the subject of your nightmares and peppers you in kisses until you fall asleep again.

seungkwan

our last "wakes up instantly" member, alternates between soft gentle kisses and petting your hair and making jokes. tells you to just try to focus on him and probably sings you back to sleep, which is extremely effective! he was made for both high notes and lullabies! holds you tightly to him as you fall asleep again, drawing random patterns on your back.

vernon

wakes up when you curl into his side with a whine and pulls you onto his chest so you can listen to his heartbeat, which he knows will calm you instantly. another member who focuses on listening to you and whispering cute things to help you sleep, and if you were too spooked or really didn't want to he'd put on some calming music while holding you close.

chan

also a really heavy sleeper, is probably initially kinda pissy at being woken up but that immediately subsides and becomes concern when he notices you're trembling. cuddles you to his side and reminds you none of it was real, running his fingers through your hair and up your back to bring you back to reality. would stay up with you and watch something if you needed (has led to many midnight film sessions, which bear some very fond memories!)

a/n ii: as I said before it's been a while since i've written a reaction so feedback is appreciated, i just wanted to throw in another a/n to shoutout my dad cuz the dk thing is half based on him lmao - when i was a kid i'd get ill a fair bit and i have a huge phobia of spiders, so i'd have wild fever nightmares about huge spiders. and he'd come to my room if i was crying and be like "but imagine if the spider was wearing tiny rollerskates and falling all over" and i would find that incredibly funny and it did indeed help me sleep again lol :') thank you livvie for requesting! you are wonderful and i wish you many nights of peaceful sleep 💞