#adding this also because house of leaves is about trauma and it spoke about my own and it was like a shotgun | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mysterious-moonstruck-musings · 1 year ago

Text

Destiny & Deliverance: Chapter 18

Destiny & Deliverance Masterlist ||| Dieter Bravo X OFC Smut & Sensitive Topic Warning - Minors DNI New as of 8/25/2023

SUPPORT YOUR CREATORS. REBLOGGING & COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED.

Series Rating: Explicit (18+)

Series Summary: Natalia Cohen is experiencing major life changes, beginning with leaving an emotionally abusive husband. She is learning how to navigate life on her own while dealing with high functioning anxiety, depression, and mild PTSD. Everything is looking up for her. She is a highly respected consultant for a major LA firm, has her best friend, Lauren, by her side, and is on her path to healing. Everything changes when she meets a handsome and broken stranger on a work trip. He turns out to be a well-known actor, with a heart-breaking past. They quickly develop a connection that will forever alter their lives.

Warnings: Themes dealing with mental health, emotional trauma, alcohol use, and discussions about suicide. There will be fluff, tears, spicy language, and smut. This will be a slow burn type of story. Read at your own risk.

Chapter Quote: "You are enough."

A/N: This chapter contains discussions about suicide. It also contains a little angst, light smut, and fluff. More after the jump.

Since we don't get a POV from Dieter in this series, I thought it might be nice to pick a few songs from the master playlist to share. I will probably start doing this for the remaining chapters so that we can get inside his head a little bit. At this point, I feel like the entire No Name Face album by Lifehouse is Dieter's life. So, you will get a lot of songs from that, but I'll throw in some others too. 😊

Before you start reading, I recommend having some tissue and chocolate on hand. It gets heavy toward the end. It does get a little graphic and the topic of death is discussed. Consider that a final warning. Lastly, a quick thank you to @for-a-longlongtime for being my beta on this chapter. It was nice to have early feedback given the sensitive nature of the topics covered in this one. Enough rambling from me. Happy reading.

Dieter and I got up early the next morning to start preparing for our trip. He left to go get some things from his house while I packed. I was a little flustered because I didn’t know where we were going or what we were doing. When I asked him what to bring, he gave me a mischievous grin before telling me to pack for any possible situation. That only annoyed me further. I ended up packing two bags worth of stuff and I didn’t care how excessive it was. That’s what he got for not telling me things.

When he returned later in the morning, he brought in a duffle bag that he had packed and added his phone charger and clothing items that he kept at my house. By the way he moved, I could tell that his mood had started to shift over the past couple of hours. He seemed increasingly anxious and more fidgety than usual. I wasn't sure what was prompting the change - whether it was the idea of leaving town or the change in routine.

We left around midday. Dieter had let me know that we had nearly a seven-hour drive to get to wherever it was we were going. I texted Lauren to let her know we would be out of town for a few days. Unsurprisingly, she started rapidly firing off questions about the trip that I didn’t have answers to. She got more annoyed with every “I don’t know” response I sent. She finally gave up and told me to have fun.

Dieter took a minute to call Gabby, because apparently cell service wasn’t the greatest at our destination. When she answered, he was quick to let her know she was on speaker phone and that I was with him in the car, which seemed odd to me. He told her we were on our way to Sonoma, and she fell quiet for a moment. I watched the frown that fell over his face as he waited for a response. She inhaled sharply before she finally spoke.

“Good. I’m happy to hear you guys are gonna spend some time away together. Especially there. I think it's a good thing.”

“Yeah, I agree. I think it’s a good idea. I’ll, ugh, I’ll talk to you when we get back.”

There was an odd tone to both of their voices, which almost made me feel like they were talking in code. They said their goodbyes shortly after that.

The long drive seemed to be making Dieter restless. He was getting more and more keyed up with every mile that passed. He seemed very fidgety and on edge. When it got close to dinner time, we pulled off at a small diner that was fairly empty. He seemed distracted throughout the meal, occasionally staring off into the distance at nothing. I didn’t mention anything about it, but it definitely had my attention. We ate quickly and left without him being noticed by anyone, thankfully. I had hoped the stop would help him relax some, but that didn’t seem to be the case. As soon as we got back on the road, I grabbed his right hand and held it in both of mine, gently rubbing it the entire time. I tried to keep a light conversation going to distract him, which seemed to help some.

Around 9:30 pm, Dieter informed me that we were almost at our destination. As we turned down a small road, I started to notice large open fields full of rows of something I couldn’t make out in the darkness. We eventually came to a large Spanish Colonial style house. It was an older home, but still beautiful. Some parts of the aged and discolored stone walls were covered in vines that crept all the way to the top. Everywhere you looked you were met with brightly colored plants and foliage. I still had no clue where we were.

Dieter parked the car out front. When we exited the vehicle, we were met by two men and a woman. Dieter passed his keys off to the younger of the two men, who went to get our bags out of the car. The other two met us in front of the large wooden entry doors.

“Hola Lucia, Mateo.” Dieter gave the man a nod as Lucia came in for a tight hug. She seemed very excited to see him and somewhat emotional. They had a quick conversation in Spanish that I couldn’t follow. I heard Dieter mention my name as he gestured toward me. Lucia came over to hug me, which took me by surprise.

As she pulled away, her eyes sparkled, and she gave me a genuine smile.

“I’m so happy to meet you. It’s been too long since he’s been here. It’s wonderful to see you both.”

Lucia was a petite older woman with graying hair and kind eyes. She spoke with a slight Spanish accent. She seemed very sweet. She quickly introduced me to her husband, Mateo, who had the same distinguished accent. He seemed a little gruff, but nice. He was on the taller side and fit for someone his age. He had a wonderful head full of thick dark hair. I imagined he was probably quite the looker in his younger years.

We all walked in through the big wooden doors. On the other side was a courtyard full of plants and greenery. There was a large two-tiered fountain in the center. Lucia turned to let us know the master suite had been prepared for us and the kitchen was stocked if we needed anything to snack on. Then, they said their goodbyes and headed in for the night. They disappeared off to the left and entered what looked like a small apartment area attached to the main home. I turned to Dieter with a questioning look on my face. I still had no idea what was going on.

“Lucia and Mateo are the caretakers for this place. They live in the staff apartment over there with their grandson, Jose.”

I nodded. That didn’t really clear anything up for me.

“So, what is this place exactly?”

“It’s a vineyard.” I nodded my head, still not fully understanding how Dieter fit into this equation. He seemed hesitant to offer any further details, so I didn’t prod.

We walked toward the main entrance of the house, seeing the younger gentleman, who I assumed was Jose, exit and wish us a good evening.

The inside of the house was beautiful. It had an old-world charm to it. Antique furnishings could be seen everywhere you looked. The walls and ceiling were a soft cream color. Dark wooden beams accented the ceiling. All the doors were made of the same dark wood as were the door trim and baseboards. The floor was made with what appeared to be dark brick stones. There was a large bronze chandelier that hung over the dark wooden entryway table. In the center of the table sat a large vase full of white roses.

I slowly followed behind Dieter as he made his way toward the stairwell, stopping ever so often to look at different things. I was drawn to a small accent table at the foot of the stairs that had a lot of old framed photos sitting on it. They were all black and white and appeared to have been taken in this house based on the familiar furnishings in the background. A picture of a woman holding a small boy caught my eye. I don’t know why, but I picked it up for a closer look.

“Do you know who these people are?”

“Previous owners of this place,” he said from behind me.

I examined the picture further. The woman was smiling, but something in her eyes looked sad. It was stirring some sort of emotion in me that I couldn’t place.

“She’s beautiful,” I mumbled quietly.

Dieter grabbed my free hand as he cleared his throat.

“How about we head up and get ready for bed. We’re gonna have a long day tomorrow.”

I set the picture back down and nodded. We made our way upstairs. Our room was huge. It had a sitting area around a fireplace. There were large glass doors that opened out onto a terrace. The doors were framed with sheer flowy curtains, layered with thicker darker colored ones to block the sunlight. A large four poster king bed sat opposite of the sitting area. The dark wood of the frame had intricate carvings that matched the style of the house. A matching wardrobe set off to one side. One of the doors was open, revealing two fluffy robes and a basket full of travel sized items that we might need for our stay. Our bags had been placed on the floor next to the wardrobe.

“This place is amazing,” I said as I turned to Dieter. I realized he had been watching me take everything in with a smirk on his face.

He walked over to me and wrapped one arm around my waist, while putting the other hand on my cheek. He pulled me tightly against him, briefly rubbing his nose against mine before kissing me gently. I deepened the kiss, but he pulled away soon after, staring into my eyes. His anxiety was still clear, even though he began to relax into our embrace. I struggled to read the emotion on his face. I could tell he was thinking about something as he started to chew at his lip, but he didn’t say anything. He gave me another quick kiss before saying we should get ready for bed.

I dug through my bag for my nightshirt. It was the same racerback tank sleep shirt I had worn in New York the night we had watched the movie. My mind briefly wandered back to that night. That was the night both of our lives got upturned by each other. Now here we were. After grabbing my toothbrush and toothpaste from my luggage, I went to the bathroom.

The bathroom was in the same style as the rest of the house. All stone and dark wood. An old clawfoot bathtub sat in one corner. There was a glass walk-in shower in the other. The bathroom had clearly been updated at some point, but it still captured the old world charm the rest of the house had. I absolutely loved it.

Once I was down to brushing my teeth, I opened the door for Dieter. He had already changed into his shorts by the time he came in with his toothbrush. I noticed his eyes roaming over my bare skin, but he behaved himself, for the most part. He definitely had some wandering hands once we snuggled into bed, but eventually he settled down and dozed off after we tangled ourselves up together. I wasn’t far behind him.

The following morning, I was awakened by Dieter gently brushing my hair off my face. When my eyes fluttered open, he was propped up on his elbow staring at me with a hint of a smile on his face. I gave him a playful look before I turned over on my back, raising my arms above my head and pointing my toes for a full body stretch. His eyes very obviously roamed over my body as I did so. He reached over and put his hand around my midsection, pulling me in closer to bury his face in the crook of my neck.

“Good morning, mi estrella,” he huskily mumbled into my neck. The vibration from his voice and heat from his breath caused goosebumps to ripple right under my skin. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he moved up to kiss me deeply. His hand slowly moved up my thigh, dipping under my night shirt to rest on the bare skin of my waist. But before it could go any further, we were interrupted by a landline phone ringing next to the bed. He pulled away, resting his forehead against mine for a moment as he sighed heavily. Then he moved to answer the phone, speaking in Spanish as he did so. I heard him say Lucia’s name, possibly telling her good morning. He hung up and turned to me with an amused look on his face.

“You ready to get the day started?”

“That depends, what’s on the agenda?” I replied, slightly bemused. He flashed a toothy smile at me.

“First, breakfast. It’s waiting for us outside.”

He got out of bed and threw a robe at me to put on. He pulled back the curtains and opened the glass doors that led out to the terrace. Sure enough, breakfast was set up on a table for us.

I smirked, “Damn, I could get used to this.”

I threw on the robe and joined him outside to eat.

“Seriously, what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Have you ever ridden a horse?” He asked me with a dimpled grin. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, but it’s been a while. Why?”

“I thought we could take a ride around the grounds. It’s the best way to travel around here.” He winked at me.

I narrowed my eyes at him, “Well, I’m glad I did pack for every possible scenario. Horses were not on my bingo card though. If I would’ve known, I could’ve brought my riding crop, but I’m not sure it's made to be used on horses.” Dieter’s eyes widened and he nearly choked on the food he was chewing. I laughed.

“Are you making dirty jokes right now?” He looked a little shocked as I continued to chuckle.

“Yes. I do that sometimes.” He gave me a big smile as he shook his head at me.

We finished eating, then got dressed. Luckily, I had brought some jeans and outdoor shoes to wear. We made our way out back to a small horse stable. I watched as he saddled up two horses for us. I was surprised at how well he knew his way around the place and how good he was with the horses. I didn’t know this was a skill he had. It was kind of hot. The thought of him in a cowboy hat was suddenly doing things to me. He caught me staring at him, with what I’m sure was an inappropriate look on my face. He raised a brow at me with a flirty look on his face. That wasn’t helping my situation.

“You see something you like ma’am?” I huffed at him as I rolled my eyes. Turning away to look around at my surroundings. “Yes, the view here is amazing”. I could hear him chuckling behind me. He knew what he was doing.

Once he got the horses ready, we spent the entire morning riding across the grounds. The property was expansive and beautiful. There were rows of vines that seemed to go on for miles. On the north side of the property was a wooded area with trails that we rode on for a while. The trail opened to a small creek. It was very peaceful there.

As we made our way around, Dieter would point things out and explain how it related to viticulture, or the cultivation of grapevines. Anything from topographical features to the different blocks of soil types and how those things affected vine growth. I was honestly a little shocked he knew so much on the topic.

Overall, his mood seemed good throughout the morning. However, I could sense small shifts during moments of silence. I could tell he had something on his mind the whole time, even when he was engaged in conversation. He seemed to move between moments of melancholy and anxiety.

Once we realized it was getting close to lunch time, we headed back toward the house. He said we would be having a picnic on the hillside, but we needed to pick up the food from Lucia. I wondered how much of this trip he had planned himself and how much was Lucia. I couldn’t tell, but I loved how much thought had gone into it. If he hadn't already owned my body and soul, this trip definitely would have solidified things between us. I could feel the connection between us getting stronger just by being here together. Even though we hadn’t discussed it yet, it felt like his feelings were in the same place as mine at this point.

We made a quick stop at the house to grab our lunch and a large picnic blanket. Dieter quickly packed everything away in a saddle bag before we headed off to whatever spot he had picked out. He led me to a hilltop on the west side of the property that had an amazing view of all the surroundings. You could see the house, the fields, and the periphery of the wooded area. It was a perfect spot. As we ate, he continued to tell me about things on the property and the challenges of the wine making process. It was kind of adorable, as talking about it caused a small spark of excitement in his eyes.

While he spoke, I noticed a stone arch with steps near the edge of the wooded area. I could vaguely make out what looked like a lattice style fence under the growth out to the sides of it. I hadn't noticed it before since we didn’t ride down that far.

“What’s that over there?” I asked him. He was quiet for a minute. I noticed his brows knitted together.

“It’s the family cemetery.”

“Oh.” I replied solemnly. The question seemed to momentarily shift his mood again, but it didn’t last long. He changed the subject by pulling out a bottle of wine. He was about to pour it into a glass, but I took it from him and drank from the bottle. He gave me a surprised look.

“Glasses aren’t necessary,” I said with a chuckle, then passed him the bottle. We drank a good deal of it as we sat chatting. Both of us were clearly becoming more relaxed. The chatting somehow turned into a heated make out session, until he abruptly peeled himself away from me.

“I need to calm down before we both end up naked. They can probably see us up here.”

I laughed before giving him one last chaste kiss on the lips. He sat propped up on one arm, staring down at me for some time. Using his other hand to brush my hair back or to drape around my midsection. Occasionally bending to give me a brief kiss in varying places on my face. We sat in silence like that for a while. Just taking each other in and being together. It was strangely peaceful and intimate. The quiet moment ended when one of the horses wandered over and started nibbling at the leftover fruit, which sent us into a fit of laughter as Dieter tried to take it away from the horse, who was not having it. We took that as our cue to get going.

We spent several more hours riding and walking around in the fields. We were both filthy before all was said and done. We had a good time though and I had learned a lot from him. I was strangely very much into the topic of viticulture all of a sudden.

We made our way back to the stables. I went ahead to the house to shower and get ready for dinner while Dieter took care of the horses. Once he was finished, he too came to shower while I was getting dressed. We decided to be a little extra and dress up for the occasion. I wore a burgundy sundress and put my hair up in a messy curly updo. Dieter wore some dark slacks with a white button up dress shirt. He rolled up the sleeves and left the top few buttons open. The way the shirt fit across his shoulders and around his arms was distracting. All I could think about was ripping it off him. He caught me staring more than once and gave me a flirty smile every single time.

Once we were ready, he grabbed my hand and led me downstairs. Lucia had set up dinner for us on the patio outside of the sitting room. There was a large tree in the middle that had lit antique chandeliers in varying sizes hanging from it. The table was set beautifully with a tablecloth, a small vase of white roses, and a few small candles sitting in the middle of the tablescape. The sun was just starting to disappear behind the hills which made for a very romantic setting. I was surprised by it all and it made me a little emotional. I wasn’t used to such grand gestures. I took a deep breath to try and steady myself as I felt my eyes begin to water. Thankfully it passed before Dieter noticed…or maybe he did see it and just chose not to say anything.

We spent dinner talking about our day. There was a lot of laughing and intense gazes that eventually led into soft touches across the table and legs grazing underneath it. As the final bits of daylight disappeared and we indulged in the wine, I could feel the atmosphere shifting. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife. I knew exactly how this evening was going to end one way or another and it couldn't come soon enough. I had already caught myself clenching my thighs together all throughout dinner. It was maddening.

Once we finished eating, we wandered inside to the dimly lit sitting room. I was drawn to a small table near the window that had a bunch of old framed pictures on it. They were pictures of the same people from before. There was one in particular that caught my attention. It was the same woman from earlier, dancing with a handsome dark-haired man in what looked like this same room. I picked it up to look at it as Dieter walked up behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tightly against him as he looked at the picture over my shoulder. I could feel his jaw tightening. I set the picture down and started examining the antique gramophone that sat next to the pictures.

“I’ve never seen one of these in person. Does it work?” I turned to look at him. He gave me a sad smile.

“I’m not sure. It used to.”

He moved to turn it on. To our surprise a classical melody started playing almost immediately through the horn. I smiled up at Dieter. He smiled back at me as he grabbed my hands and pulled me toward the open space in front of the patio doors. He put one arm around my waist, pulling me in closely as he held the other and started to sway to the music. I couldn’t help the smile that broke across my face.

We danced in silence for several minutes, gazing deeply into each other's eyes. Eventually the pace of the music picked up speed. He responded by moving us around the room in practiced motions that I wasn’t expecting. Both of us giggling like children as we went. As the music came to a close, he twirled me around and ended it by dipping me backwards. Enthusiastic smiles were plastered across both of our faces as he leaned down and met me for a kiss. As he raised me back to a standing position, the kiss deepened. I reached up to run my hands through his hair while his hands gripped my hips.

I could feel his posture change as he slowed things down, eventually stopping to rest his head against mine with his eyes closed. When I pulled back to look at him, his brows were drawn tightly together, creating a deep crease between them. When he finally opened his eyes, they were watery and full of some emotion that I could not discern. He searched my face as he pushed some loose curls back from my forehead. He leaned in to kiss me, more urgently this time, but broke away after a moment to ask if I wanted to go upstairs. I gave him a quick nod while I continued to study his face. He seemed to be cycling through several different emotions all at once.

We quickly made our way back to our room and started undressing each other as soon as the door closed behind us. He scooted back onto the center of the bed, motioning for me to come to him. I crawled over and straddled his lap. I could already feel his hardness pressing against me as he kissed down my neck and breasts. I could feel his fingers running up the inside of my thigh before they met the bundle of nerves between my legs. I was already wet and ready for him when he inserted his fingers. I was in such a frenzy for him that it didn’t take long for me to be overcome by pleasure from his movements. Before I had a chance to recover, he was already placing himself at my entrance. I wasted no time in sinking down on him.

It was slow and sensual; the focus was on our connection to one another. The emotions were running deep this time. It was the most intense that it had ever been. We went on for some time, both of us sweaty and panting into each other's mouths. As I increased the speed of my rhythm, I could feel the build of a second release nearing. He too was close. When my muscles tightened around him, he spilled into me with a soft groan. We hugged each other tightly, burying our faces into one another as we both tensed through our releases.

We sat with him still inside me, unmoving for some time. We shared gazes, soft touches, and more kisses. Eventually my legs started to protest, worn out from the day's activities. I groaned as we moved to lay down under the covers where we continued our intimate embrace. We both drifted off to sleep soon after.

I later awoke to the feel of a soft breeze and morning dew creeping into the room from the open terrace doors. The sunlight was just beginning to peek over the horizon, giving the room a soft glow. The bed beside me was empty and cold with Dieter nowhere in sight. I grabbed one of the fluffy robes from the wardrobe and walked out onto the terrace to find him. He was sitting in a chair, staring off in the distance with red rimmed eyes and a half empty bottle of bourbon in his hand. His eyes met mine. He looked lost and broken in a way that I had never seen. Whatever it was that had been bothering him the last couple of days was finally breaking through the surface. I approached him and reached for the hand he had resting on his chest. He pulled me over to him and hugged me around the waist, resting his forehead against my stomach.

“I want to talk to you about something,” he said with a gravelly voice.

“It’s something that I’ve never fully told anyone, but I think it’s time I did. If I’m ever gonna get my shit together, I have to. I think you’re the only person I feel comfortable opening up to about it. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to bring you here.”

Dieter leaned back into the seat as I climbed up onto his lap, straddling his hips to sit face to face with him. He too was wearing one of the robes from our room. I could tell he hadn’t bothered to put anything else on underneath. Normally, that would have been distracting, but right now it was just an afterthought. I took the bourbon bottle from his left hand and set it on the ground. Then started rubbing the back of his neck. The fingers of my right hand were still entwined with his against his chest.

“I know I’ve never mentioned my parents. You might have caught on that they died when we were younger, but I’ve never told you the details. My mom’s death specifically is something that I’ve really struggled with. I haven’t even told my sister or brother everything that happened the day that she died.”

He took a deep breath and looked off into the distance where he had been staring earlier.

“This place belonged to my parents. It belongs to me now, but this is only like the fourth time I’ve been back here since my father died when I was twenty.”

He drew his brows down together before he continued. I could tell he was trying hard to control his emotions.

“Before that, I hadn’t been here since we buried my mom on the property when I was thirteen. I just couldn’t handle the memories.”

He briefly stopped speaking, seeming to think through his next words.

“The week that she died…my father was out of town on business. She had always struggled with depression and at the time I didn’t even really understand what that meant. That week she seemed worse than normal, and I thought she just really missed dad. She always had a harder time when he was gone.”

He paused, inhaling deeply again. He placed his right hand on my hip and knotted the fabric of my robe in his fist before he continued. He was still staring off in the distance, unblinking.

“She really loved flowers. White roses specifically. She said they symbolized love, loyalty, and a fresh start. She was always talking about the meaning and symbolism of things.” He gave a small laugh before briefly biting at his lip.

“That morning I woke up really early. I’d planned to go get some fresh flowers from her garden to help cheer her up when she got out of bed. It was an unusual thing for me to do. I mean, I would bring her flowers all the time, but never early in the morning like that. So, I’m sure it never crossed her mind that I would be the one to find her.”

My breath caught in my throat. This is the reason he is so broken. This is why he is so afraid of love and loss. This one incident had shaped his life of loveless solitude. Since the moment I had met him, he had a sadness behind his eyes that was unreadable. Even when he seemed to be at his happiest, I could sense it just underneath the surface. This is what he has been holding on to since the day he lost one of the most important people in his life and he was choosing to share it with me rather than anyone else.

I knew I had been feeling a shift in our relationship, but I wasn’t expecting this. He was trusting me with his biggest and most heartbreaking secret. I sat in silence, tears slowly starting to slide down my face as I understood what he was about to tell me. I didn’t know what to say, so I just continued to comfort him with physical touch as always. It had become our secret language to one another after all.

He looked down at our entwined hands with a stuttered breath as he continued. He talked slowly, stopping ever so often to manage his emotions.

“It was during sunrise. Kind of like it is now. I walked down to her garden. There used to be a huge apple tree that grew near that old fountain down there at the bottom of the hill. I saw her as soon as I got to the edge of the garden. I knew what I was seeing, but I couldn’t really process it. She was hanging from the tree. My automatic reaction was to run over and try to hold her up. To take the pressure off the rope. I just knew she would be fine if I could only hold her up. I don’t know how long I stood there trying to hold her and screaming for help before somebody heard me. It seemed like an eternity. Finally, one of the workers heard me and rushed over.”

His voice became very flat and void of emotion. He continued to stare at our hands blankly.

“Everything that happened after that is kind of a blur. I remember sitting on the ground and crying…while they cut the rope to bring her down. It was clear she’d been there for a while. She was blue and cold. At the time, I felt like I’d failed her. I should’ve gone out sooner or tried harder to hold her up. I know that’s ridiculous because they said she’d likely been there most of the night.”

He briefly shook his head from side to side before continuing, keeping his eyes focused on our hands.

“The next day… out of pure rage, I set the tree and the garden on fire. I stood there and watched it burn while everybody rushed to put it out. My father was so angry about it.”

His voice shook. He was starting to break. I could see it was taking everything in him to hold it back. He finally looked up at me and my heart shattered.

“Why wasn’t I enough for her to want to stay? Why couldn’t she stay for her kids? I literally worshiped the ground she walked on. She was my life and none of us were enough for her.”

Dieter started sobbing. I hugged him and cried with him. He continued with his head buried in my neck.

“I have so much anger toward her for leaving us like that and I hate myself for it. I feel like, if I wasn’t enough for my mother, how can I ever be enough for anyone else? Why do I deserve to find happiness when she couldn’t? I’m so afraid of finding someone I want in my life in every way and they’re going to leave me because I can’t get my shit together or something’s gonna happen to them and I’m not going to be able to handle it. I’m already on the edge as it is. What if I'm like her and I do what she did to someone else? I don’t want to put someone through that. I haven’t been able to bring myself to take that chance and I’ve lived a fucking miserable existence because of it. I don’t want that anymore.”

I raised his face with both of my hands to make him look at me. The look in his eye seemed different. Almost relieved.

“Dieter, you are enough.” He tried to look away from me, but I wouldn’t let him.

“You hear me. You really are enough. Don’t ever tell yourself otherwise. You’re such a selfless person, I know you would never do anything like she did. She was sick. Depression is a very consuming thing if it’s not treated properly. I mean, you’ll never really know what she was dealing with. It could have been more than that, you know? Honestly, you have every right to be angry with her. She hurt you and put you in a really painful situation. Don’t feel bad about that. But you also need to be able to forgive her and understand that what she was going through had nothing to do with you. Otherwise, I don’t think you’ll ever be able to move on. The fact that you’ve finally opened up to someone is amazing though. It’s a good first step and I’m proud of you for doing it. I know how hard it was for you. Thank you for trusting me with this part of yourself.”

Dieter shook his head in agreement, then took a deep stuttering breath. I could smell the thick scent of bourbon as he exhaled. He suddenly looked exhausted. I could tell this had taken a lot out of him. I kissed his forehead and hugged him again. I could feel all the tension leave his body as he melted into me.

I was falling hard for this beautiful, broken man. He was either going to be the best thing that ever happened to me or absolutely crush my soul. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could continue saying we were just friends if there was going to be this much emotion involved. I think he was starting to sense it too. This weekend was changing things between us in so many ways. This goes far beyond “just friends” and even the newly added “benefits”.

Dieter pulled away and wiped the tears off my face with each of his thumbs, letting his hands cup my face. He studied me, his brows drew down together. He looked as if he was trying to make some sort of decision. He pushed the hair back from my face and kissed me gently. Then he leaned his forehead against mine. “We should probably try to get a couple hours of sleep. I’ve kept you up most of the night.” I gave him a small smile as I agreed.

He stood up, lifting me up from his lap, then sat me on the ground. We went back inside. He closed the terrace doors behind us and pulled the blackout curtains shut. We crawled into bed together. He turned on his side, snuggled his head into the crook of my neck, and tangled his legs in with mine. He threw his arm across me, grabbed my hand that was resting just below my neck, and entwined our fingers there. I hadn’t even realized I was doing the thing with my hand, but he did. He always did and he always knew how to ease my anxiety. Never questioning the cause of it.

He quickly fell into a deep sleep. I laid there for a while just listening to him. He seemed less restless than he had been in recent weeks. I hoped that some of the weight had been lifted as he had shared his pain with me. I would take on all of his pain if I could. I wanted nothing more than to see this man truly happy and unburdened by his past. Eventually I also drifted off to sleep.

We were awakened a few hours later by the phone. Dieter rolled over to answer. Mateo called to let us know that breakfast was ready. He thanked him and hung up the phone. We both groaned and snuggled further into bed, facing each other with arms and legs wrapped around one another.

I could feel his eyes on me, and I slowly opened mine to look at him. There was a slight glow sneaking into the room from the sunlight. Just enough for me to make out the expression on his face. He looked almost giddy or hopeful? He smiled at me and kissed my forehead. He mumbled, “Good morning, mi luz en la oscuridad” into my hair then leaned down for a slow, sensual kiss. Which is not what I was expecting after the early morning events.

“Are you ever gonna tell me what that means?” I asked him with a smirk.

“One day I will. I promise,” he said through a smile as he leaned in for another quick kiss.

He broke away and suddenly got very serious. He raised up above me on his elbow. “Look, I…” he started, then froze for a minute. Trying to find his words. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I know that we agreed this whole thing between us is…that we…fuck. I don’t know how to say this.”

I had to admit, a flustered Dieter was pretty damn cute. I hadn’t had the pleasure of really seeing this version of him before. I raised my hand to rub the short hair at the nape of his neck and gave him an encouraging smile.

“I know we both said that we’re not doing the relationship thing, but I can’t deny how I feel anymore. I’ve been breaking all the fucking friend rules for weeks and you haven’t stopped me.”

He paused briefly, clearly working up the courage to continue. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

“So, I’m just gonna say it. I’m in love with you and I can’t help it. I don’t know what you wanna do with that, but if your feelings have changed about things, I’m willing to try to be with you as something more. I want to be with you. There’s something about you that draws me in and puts me at peace and I…” his voice broke a little.

He was actually getting emotional about this. There was none of the cocky jokes or usual confidence behind his words. He took a second to pull himself together.

“Ugh, I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I feel like I have to at least try because living with the what ifs may kill me before anything else does. And I know you have your own shit to work through… I wanna continue to support you through that, like you have me. I want you to know that I’ll never treat you like your ex-husband did. Actually, if I ever see him out in public again, I’ll make him eat his own fucking teeth for what he did to you.” His last statement gave me a good chuckle.

I think my silence began to make him a little uneasy. His newly returned confidence was fading slightly. I sat there for a moment, staring at him intently before I spoke. Trying to decide if this was a good idea. Especially after his emotional display from earlier. Was he really in a place to decide this is what he wanted? Or was this some sort of reaction to help himself feel better in the moment? He did say he had been thinking about it for a while. I also had to consider the things his sister had said to me previously. Could this really work between us? I knew from this point on, it had to be all or nothing because there was no going back, especially after everything that has happened over the last couple of weeks.

Dieter took a deep breath. “You’re kind of breaking my heart here with the silence,” he said as he let out a nervous laugh.

I gave him a big toothy smile as I pulled him down for a very enthusiastic kiss, then spoke against his lips.

“I honestly don’t know how I could say no. You’ve had me hooked since New York if I’m being honest.”

A big smile slowly spread across his face in return.

“I fucking knew it.”

A/N: There you have it folks. We now know what happened to our dear sweet Dieter. From this point on, we are going to start diving deep into some mental health stuff as our couple tries to navigate their relationship. It’s going to get a little dark at times, but there will be a happy ending. Hopefully you will stick with me till the end.

In case you missed the mood board from this week’s teaser, I’ve included it below.

Next Chapter

Tag List: @rhoorl @bitchwitch1981 @readingiskeepingmegoing @runningmom94 @for-a-longlongtime @hisandsnakes @chaoticfestninja @survivingandenduring @partyofone3413 @cakipy-blog @pedrostories @titlee78 @wannab-urs

Let me know in the comments below if you would like to be added to the tag list.

#dieter x ofc #dieter bravo fic #dieter bravo x oc #dieter bravo #pedro pascal #Destiny & Deliverance Series #pedrostories #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character fanfic #pedro pascal fanfiction #Pedro Pascal Fanfic #dieter bravo fluff #dieter bravo fanfiction #Spotify

84 notes · View notes

sirowsky-stories · 7 months ago

Text

The Flowers Always Know

Chapter 17 - The Inventor

Description: When a mission goes awry and none of the Heroics return, the organization chooses to keep you out of the loop, which due to your recent trauma, leads you to make a rash decision.

**Beware! Author chooses NOT to display warnings on the individual chapters of this story. Read at your own risk!**

Rating: Mature 18+ONLY Word Count: 7012 (3969 words added) Masterlist (this story)

Things had been good for a few weeks after that assorted, but lovable, mess of a day. You’d managed to find a solid and balanced routine of work, family time and you-time, and it felt like your life was finally on a positive track. You and Marcus had been able to work through and largely rebuild your broken trust, to the point where you’d even begun thinking about putting your own house up for sale. Although you hadn’t mentioned it to him yet.

You’d reconnected with your former nurses, Amanda and Claire, building a real friendship with them, and the three of you now regularly hung out, doing “female” things. Like getting a manicure or a wax, shopping or just sitting at a café and gossiping. They’d even invited you and the Moreno’s to dinner with their families, and you’d had the best time, watching your partner play with the kids, amazing them with little magnetic tricks which had had them bouncing with excitement.

Missy had long since outgrown his sorcery, but she’d been happy to play along for the enjoyment of the much younger children of the Amaire households. To them, seeing her father make things levitate, or bend in ways they shouldn’t be able to bend, meant he had to be a magic wizard, and it had made you laugh so much, thinking of him in a Gandalf-type outfit with a beard and a staff. When they got older, they’d realize that it had worked because all the things he’d manipulated had been made of metal, and the magic would disappear. But for that evening at least, he was a wizard.

The time you managed to carve out for yourself mostly consisted of exercise, and primarily running. And damned, how you’d missed it. It still felt the same. You still got that slightly euphoric feeling of being able to move freely, every time you put on your running shoes and set off down the street, and it still made you feel so grateful to be alive at all.

So, naturally, something had to go wrong. You couldn’t just be allowed to continue being happy and sailing smoothly across the ocean of existence. That was apparently too easy.

It all started with Marcus popping into your office one afternoon, to let you know he was going on a mission. He hadn’t been out there in a while, and every time he went, he felt guilty about leaving and wanted to explain himself. And perhaps get approval from his ladies before he was okay with going. He and Missy did have an understanding, which was that he wouldn’t go unless he really felt like he had to. But even though this was one of those times, it still made him feel like he was betraying her.

“I’ve called her a couple times, but she hasn’t answered or gotten back to me, so I guess she’s in class. Will you let her know for me?” he asked, and he sounded genuinely nervous about taking off without clearing it with her first.

Which made you nervous. Because anytime he got uneasy like this, it generally meant he knew he was going into something dangerous. He’d come to the side of your desk and was leaning his palms against it while he spoke to you, so you got up and went to put your arms around his waist, and he mirrored you.

“Of course. Will you keep safe for us?” you asked in return, rather than add to his concerns by questioning the wisdom of whatever he was doing.

Because again, if he was leaving, it was necessary. But you also knew Missy might not see it that way.

“You know I’ll do my best,” he replied, and there was a soft confidence to his voice then, which put you at ease.

Tugging you closer, he kissed you deeply, lingering on your lips even after the kiss ended.

“I already miss you,” he murmured, before kissing you again, just as deeply.

“Then get going so you can get that fine ass back here already,” you playfully shot back, wanting him to leave with a smile on his face, and not just because he was worried.

You knew that somewhere in the back of his mind, he was also terrified that you’d feel like he was abandoning you again, leaving so soon after your relationship had begun to heal. But this was different. It didn’t feel like he was leaving you, it was his job to help his team. And you’d feel awful if he stayed behind and then had to live with the guilt of not going, if something unthinkable happened to them.

“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded, and there was indeed a warm smile in his eyes as he turned and walked away, looking back over his shoulder once before he was out of sight.

But he didn’t get back. Not the first day, nor the second. The mission was top secret, and since you weren’t part of the Operations department, you weren’t involved in the missions at all, and no matter how many different people you asked, no one would tell you what was going on, or why they weren’t back yet. Anita might’ve known, but if she did, she chose to keep it to herself, probably to shield her granddaughter from whatever bad shit had happened.

All anyone would say on the matter was merely that they knew the team were alive. That was it. And by the fourth day you’d lost your patience with the entire Heroics organization. You’d kept up appearances for Missy’s sake, but when you dropped her off at school that morning, she knew something was going on with you, and she didn’t need to guess the reason.

“He’s in trouble, isn’t he?” she asked quietly once you’d stopped at the curb.

“I think so, yeah,” you answered honestly, because you weren’t gonna keep her in the dark when things had gone this far, it would only scare her worse.

“And what are you gonna do about it? Cause I know you’re about to do something.”

She was keeping her eyes away from you, looking out the window or down on her own hands, and you could think of any number of reasons why she wouldn’t wanna look at you, each one more upsetting than the next. But the worst one, and the one which most threatened to break your resolve, was the thought she might be afraid this could be the last time she ever saw you. And that by not looking at you, she could somehow change that fate.

“I’m gonna raise hell on these motherfuckers for keeping us in the dark, and then I’m gonna go find my fucking man. That’s what I’m gonna do,” you responded, and your tone was strong and sure, fuelled by pure rage at both HQ and whatever asshole was keeping her father out of her reach.

But then you remembered who was sitting next to you, and a twinge of regret at your choice of words made you frown, although it did nothing to deter you.

“And after I get him back, you’re not gonna tell him or your grandmother you heard me say that,” you cautioned, and she huffed a sarcastic laugh, probably hearing Anita’s disapproving voice in her head just as clearly as you did.

“Deal,” she said, but her voice broke on the one little word, and when she finally turned her head to meet your eyes, all you saw in hers was dread. “Please… stay safe.”

-=¤=-

You walked into HQ fifteen minutes later, and by then you were boiling with anger. Heading straight into Mission Control, for once thankful for your public relations responsibilities, since they meant you had access to all departments, without waiting for anyone to question your presence there, you grabbed the back of a chair and shoved an analyst out of the way to gain access to his computer.

“Hey! You can’t do that!” the man shouted at you, but you didn’t bother wasting energy on answering him.

Your focus was on determining the team’s location before anyone tried to forcibly remove you, and you’d just figure out which application would connect you to the correct system when two security officers walked into the room.

“Step away from the desk, or I will remove you, miss,” a grim voice sounded from behind you, but you were running on days of pent-up anger and frustration, so no matter who might be coming at you, there was no chance in hell you’d back off now.

“Try it,” you spat through tight jaws while your attention was still on the screen before you, having just triggered the locator beacon in Marcus’s suit, so all you needed was just a few more seconds to let the program determine his exact GPS position.

But in your periphery, you saw an officer move towards you and reach for your shoulder. Turning on a dime, you managed to punch him with full force right in his solar plexus, and he went down like a log, gasping for air and curling in on himself. Once he was out, you immediately returned your attention to the screen. You could already see which state he was in, just one more second and you’d have the closest town.

The other officer suddenly grabbed you and tried to pull you away from the station before you’d gotten your answer, and it made your anger graduate into red-hot fury. Something unfamiliar and frightening stirred inside you with your rage, but you were too desperate to care about what it might mean, as you thrashed against the strong arms which tried to restrain you.

You had to find Marcus. There was no other option, no other path available, he was too important, to you and to Missy. So, in that moment, all you cared about was that the fury narrowed your focus into a single straight line and seemed to double your strength. You shot an elbow up behind you, aiming for the man’s ribs, but he was just moving to change his grip on you, and you ended up connecting to his head instead.

He stumbled back and without hesitating, you turned and lifted your leg to kick your heel into his chest, and he staggered backwards and fell against the wall by the door. You didn’t stop to reflect on it, returning to the computer and the final result, now blinking to indicate the exact position, but you were a bit disheartened to realize it only said “Last known location” rather than “Current position”.

Just north of Suwannee, Florida, was the last place his beacon had pinged. It wasn’t what you’d hoped to find, but it was more than nothing, and it gave you a place to start. Turning to leave, you saw that both security officers were still on the floor, disoriented and fumbling to regain their bearings, and as you moved through the room, you noticed how every other person in there was backing away from you. Afraid of you.

You knew you’d feel bad about it later, but it wasn’t important right then. Sprinting through the building, you headed straight for the parking lot, completely focused and determined now that you at least had somewhere to go. As you reached the car and got in, you called Anita. You hadn’t wanted to beforehand since she would’ve definitely tried to talk you out of doing this, but now you had to.

“Hey,” you started the moment she picked up. “I know what you’re gonna say, but I’m going after Marcus, and I need you to look after Missy until we get back.”

There was a moment of silence on the line, and then she sighed deeply.

“Don’t do anything rash now, loco,” she admonished, and there was something in her tone which made you feel certain she did know more about this than what she’d told you.

“Rash, stupid, crazy, it doesn’t matter. I have to. I can’t just sit here and wait when I know something terrible is going on, and none of you are doing anything!” you almost shouted by the end, but despair was taking over and you were on the verge of tears when you continued. “I can’t lose him, Anita. I can’t.”

“And Missy can’t afford to lose you both,” she stated, simply but so poignantly, and for a moment you struggled to breathe.

She was just as important as he was, but how could you ever look her in the eyes again if you didn’t even try and save her father? Your gut was telling you to go. Something really was wrong, and somehow, you’d find a way to help him. You just had to get to him, and everything would work out.

“We will be back. I don’t care what it takes, I’ll get us both back to her,” you assured Anita, not giving her a chance to reply as you immediately ended the call and threw the phone on the passenger seat.

There was no reason to try and conceal where you were going, everyone in Mission Control already knew. So, you buckled up, turned the car on and started driving towards the airport.

-=¤=-

Landing in Florida before lunch, you rented a car to drive out to the west coast, having no idea what you expected to find. But your mind was making up all sorts of scenarios, each one more horrible than the next, so you tried your best to just not think about it. You could only tackle one problem at a time, and the first step was simply to find them. Whatever situation or condition they were in, would be the basis for step two, so there was no point in planning any further than that.

When you reached the small town of Suwannee, you rolled down the window and stopped the first person you saw, to ask if they’d seen any Heroics around, but the woman just shook her head and kept walking. Which wouldn’t have raised any red flags for you, if not for the fact that you drove around for an hour asking everyone you could find the same question, getting the exact same response from every one of them.

Something was very wrong here. Not only was everyone acting too evasive, too purposely ignorant about all things Heroic, but they were just so gloomy. Like they all had their own personal cloud of doom hanging over them. It was eerie and off-putting, to the point where you kinda wanted to get outta town. Which you supposed might be the very reason they acted this way. But you wouldn’t be chased away. Not when the man you loved might be here somewhere, unable to save himself.

So, you looked for a place where people seemed to gather and ended up parking the car at the Salt Creek restaurant. Stepping inside, you found it was packed with lunch guests, and since you were pressed for time and not at all interested in being gaslighted by a community which obviously had something they collectively wanted or needed to hide, you headed for the center of the room, jumped up on a table and shouted loud enough for the entire establishment to hear you.

“Okay, folks, listen up! Cause I’ve just about had it with your supposed ignorance! I work for the Heroics Organization,” you declared, holding up your company ID so they’d know you were telling the truth. “And I’m looking for the team who came to this town four days ago, and whom haven’t been seen since! Now, you’re either the stupidest fucking people in this whole country, or you’re deliberately hiding something! So, tell me where I can find them, or at least in which direction to look, or I’m gonna start making calls and putting this place under a magnifying glass!”

There was a tense silence following your outburst, while you patiently waited for someone to decide they didn’t want the scrutiny of authorities. You’d half expected them to laugh at you or try to suggest you couldn’t or wouldn’t follow through with a threat like that, in which case you’d happily prove them wrong. But instead, they just sort of shrunk deeper into their chairs, which told you they absolutely knew something bad was going on, but were too scared to speak up about it.

Fear was a powerful motivator, you knew that. But so was compassion. If you could get even one person to feel your pain, they might find the strength to see past their fear. Trying to still the rage in your chest and soften your voice, so they wouldn’t get stuck on the perspective of you as this raging bull coming stomping through their lunch, you let your own fear take over for a bit, showing them that the anger was just desperation.

“Please. Please, if there’s anything you can tell me... The man I love is among them, and I won’t stop until I find him. Please, just point me in the right direction,” you begged, and saying those words out loud, putting a voice to the dread which haunted your heart, instantly brought tears to your eyes.

You saw heads bow, probably trying to avoid having to see your pain, but still, no one spoke up.

“His name is Marcus Moreno. He has a ten-year-old daughter,” you continued, while heavy blobs of tears now ran freely down your cheeks. “They all have kids… What would you do if they were your family?”

It took another minute, but finally a voice sounded from the back of the room.

“Bumblebee island,” it said, and you turned towards the voice, finding an elderly man, properly dressed but looking weary and worn out, as though a mere gust of wind could blow his soul away from his body. “You’ll find them all there. But if you go out there… you won’t come back.”

You met his eyes and the gravity of his words hit you. Turning to look around the room, you saw the same expression on everyone there, and realized that this was the cause for the gloom they all suffered from. Something or someone out there on that island was putting these people through hell. But rather than deter you, this realization only stoked the fire inside you even more.

“Yes, I will. You’d better damned well believe I will. Thank you, sir,” you said, and there was no tremor or uncertainty in your voice.

-=¤=-

On the map, getting there seemed like it would require you to rent a boat. But once you got to the nearest mainland, you discovered it would actually be easier than that, since a prolonged drought had left the area between the mainland and the island completely dry. Getting out of the car, you stood on the bank for a moment and tried to think strategically about what you were going to do. You had no weapons, aside from a tire-iron in the trunk, which wouldn’t do you much good unless your target was an invalid, because with your limited fighting skills, anything other than a firearm would be of no help to you.

But what really did a number on your head was the knowledge that whoever had the team, had been able to subdue ten powered people. Whether they’d done it one by one or all at once, it didn’t mean great odds for you no matter what weapons you might’ve had. Still, you’d come too far to turn back now, so you walked out onto the dried ocean floor doing your best to look casual, like a tourist out on a stroll to explore the exposed seabed.

Despite your internal stress, you forced yourself to move slowly, stopping here and there to look at something, trying to make it seem like you weren’t heading straight for the island. Meanwhile, you were constantly at risk of going crazy with fear, as your stupid brain kept conjuring up images of dead bodies with familiar faces but which were otherwise broken and unrecognizable.

To remain sane, you told yourself they would’ve been found if they were already dead, since there was no reason to hold onto a lifeless body for this long. Unless, of course, it was to harvest parts of them. No, you couldn’t think like that. They were alive and if you could just find them, they’d be able to save themselves with their powers. That was as much of a plan as you had. As you rounded the south end of the island, you saw a structure up ahead, right on the edge of the shoreline and cleverly concealed by mangrove trees. It was just a small dome with a honeycomb-shaped pattern, painted to blend into the environment, and a steel door on one side. You walked up to it, since it seemed to you that a tourist would be curious about it, and when you couldn’t see any security cameras on or around it, you tried the handle.

It was open. A bad sign if ever there was one. But, in for a penny… in for a fucking pound. So, you stepped inside and discovered that the honeycomb plates were partly transparent, which meant most of the sunlight came through, unfortunately revealing nothing but a manhole in the ground and a ladder leading down. Another bad sign.

You climbed down the concrete cylinder, you estimated about twelve feet deep, and found yourself in a prison, for lack of a better word. Embedded light fixtures along the ceiling and walls created the same crisp white light you saw in hospital corridors, or examination rooms, and no wires were visible, so this structure had been built by someone who knew what they were doing.

There was no echo inside, despite the size of the room, but you suspected it had to do with the only interior design feature which were cages along each wall, in varying sizes and shapes, each one with a strange kind of padding on the tops, bottoms and back walls. Although whether it was to dampen sounds or just keep bodily fluids from splattering all over the place, you couldn’t have guessed.

Hurrying down the center aisle, you took a quick headcount and was both relieved and terrified to find that the entire team was trapped, each one in their own little enclosure. You assumed that these cages must’ve been designed specifically for each super’s abilities, since it would explain why they all looked different, and why none of the team had managed to break out. But they were more than just trapped.

They looked… hollow. Pale and clammy and weaker than you would’ve believed any of them capable of being. And when you located Marcus at the far end of the left-hand side, finding him passed out like the rest of them and with the look of someone who’d had a stomach-flu for about a month, the fury inside of you gave way to pure ice moving through your veins in an instant. He was barely breathing, and each little inhale sounded like it could’ve been his last.

“Marcus… Honey, can you hear me?” you asked, but he didn’t react at all.

Someone else did, though. A weak and crackling voice spoke from behind you, and you flung around to find Tech-No in the cage opposite.

“Go… he’ll kill you…”

“Tech,” you whispered, inching closer to him. “What’s happening? Who is he, what does he want?”

“No time,” he exhaled, struggling to find enough strength to say another word. “Sensors… the entrance… Go…”

You interpreted what he said to mean that their captor already knew you were there, which was good to know. But you still weren’t leaving without them. Turned back to Marcus, you reached for the lock to the cage to see if you might be able to break it open, but the moment you touched it, a massive electrical charge went through you. It was so powerful it threw you backwards into the front of Tech’s cage.

Trembling involuntarily as your body tried to recover from the shock, you tried to do a quick examination of your hand, unsurprisingly revealing it to be badly burnt. Thankfully however, it still hurt like hell, which meant the nerves were intact. While you tried to get your breathing back under control and wait for the trembling to ease up, you looked at Marcus and then his cage. His powers were a mix of metal manipulation and electromagnetism, and you’d just been electrocuted.

Also, you were leaned against Tech’s cage. His powers were completely restricted to the confines of his brain, able to understand and create technology other minds could only conceptually understand, and nothing was hurting you. Then you looked at Lavagirl and her cage, which was right next to Tech. Still trembling a bit, you crawled closer to her, and carefully held your undamaged hand out towards it to see if it was warm. And it was.

Somehow, their captor must’ve managed to construct cages which effectively sucked their abilities out of their bodies, accumulating and storing them in the frames of the cages themselves. It would explain why they were so weak if their enhanced cells were being drained, probably even from their very bone-marrow.

But by that logic, you should be able to get Tech out, and maybe once he was free, he’d begin to recover. Supers healed about five times faster than normal humans, so if you had enough time… Just as you’d begun to look at the lock on the cage, you heard the door open above, and someone starting to climb down the ladder, which meant your time was up.

There was only one way in or out, so with your enemy between you and the entrance, you were trapped down there. Not that you had any intention of leaving. You got back on your feet just before the unknown man reached the floor and turned around, and you hoped that the continued trembles running through you wouldn’t make him think you were a scared little hare, because you needed him to engage with you, not write you off as uninteresting.

He was tall, muscly but heavyset and broad-shouldered, with dark hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin, wearing simple black clothes he could’ve bought from anywhere. The moment he turned around, he eyed you up and down like he was appraising jewellery, and for whatever reason, he seemed bemused by what he found. Shoving his hands down the front pockets of his pants, he rocked back on his heels and smiled.

“Well, well, well. A surprise visitor. And here I thought all the Heroics were already accounted for. I must say it’s bold of Headquarters to try and trick me, when I still hold all the cards,” he mused, gesturing to his cages with a delighted glint in his eye.

“I’m not a Heroic, and nobody sent me,” you firmly countered, mostly trying to keep him talking so you could learn more about him.

“Oh, my. How intriguing. In that case, you must tell me which one of these special beings is your beloved?” he rebutted, clearly showing off his skills in reading people’s behaviour and intent, and since you had no intention of being toyed with, you merely glared back at him, which he seemed to find mostly amusing. “Or, I could hurt them one by one until you show me who it is.”

“…Moreno,” you finally admitted, since this guy was obviously good enough to catch a lie, and potentially screwed up enough to punish dishonesty with torture of some sort.

“The leader. Of course. Good choice.”

“It wasn’t a choice. And neither was coming here,” you argued, to which he huffed a humourless laugh.

“Everything is a choice.”

“Really? Then why don’t you tell me why you’re choosing to do this?”

“Ah, but that doesn’t concern you.”

“The fuck it doesn’t,” you spat, and he clearly didn’t like your tone, but he didn’t do anything about it, so you pressed on, searching for ways to get him talking. “Come on, you look like the bragging type. Let’s see if you can impress me.”

He raised an eyebrow at you, but then the smile returned.

“I like you. You’re a no bullshit type of person,” he grinned, to which you just cocked your head to the side and waited.

Probably trying to get you off balance, he stood there for at least a minute, meeting your eyes in uncomfortable silence, but when you showed no sign of backing down, he pulled his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest instead.

“Well, I suppose it’s really not that complicated. I’m an inventor. A gifted one, as you can see. And many years ago, I tried to earn my seat in the Heroics community, but I was rejected. They said my inventions were too violent and cruel, unfit for anything you might call heroic. And sure, looking around this room, most people would probably agree.”

He paused then, and the smile faded into a look of pensive reflection. If you hadn’t already judged him as being largely incapable of it, you might’ve even identified the look as concern.

“I tried to tell them sooner or later, powered people are gonna need an off switch,” he continued, and he sounded disappointed, of all things. “A way for the ordinaries to force them to comply, before someone comes along and decides to rule the world and make puppets of us all. I mean, do you realize how lucky we’ve been so far? That none of them have turned out to be heartless?”

Being someone who had always been sceptical of the supposed superiority of the superpowered people of the world, these thoughts had crossed your mind before. But to your way of looking at it, there was a very big difference between searching for a way to potentially supress individual abilities in order to prevent someone from becoming a dictator, and creating ways of completely stripping all super’s of their powers.

��Because imagine if someone like Crushing Low here,” he went on, gesturing towards the man in question, who was unconscious in his cell directly to his captors left, “who can barely even be stopped once he builds up momentum, decides to become the ruler of the world. Who’s gonna stop him? I don’t understand how anyone could ever think power like that shouldn’t be controlled?”

“Their powers are a result of natural evolution. It was nature who made them superior to the rest of us, we have no right to take that away from them,” you argued, knowing you didn’t have a chance in hell of changing his perspective, so you chose a comment likely to spark further debate instead.

But rather than get into the already much debated topic of whether supers really were naturally evolved, or the equally popular conspiracy theory of human made, he took the conversation in a completely unexpected direction.

“Them? Surely you meant to say: us,” he questioned, catching you off guard and leaving you standing there stunned into silence.

He couldn’t possibly know what Prince had done to you, or what the potential consequences might be, those details had never been publicized since it would’ve been like pouring gasoline on the entire super’s debate. And no matter how much the mad doctor had believed it, there was still no evidence to support you having any supernatural abilities.

“Yes, I can tell you have power. Lots of it, too. But I suppose it makes sense to hide it in an environment like this, where being special puts you in a cage. Alas, I’m afraid I’ll have to see it before I’ll know what type of extraction medium you’ll need. And you should know I always strive not to use violence if I can help it, but given your level of self-restraint, it seems I’ll have no choice in the matter today.”

You had no idea what damned restraint he was talking about, you’d felt like you’d been going off the rails all day. It wasn’t the most important question of the hour, though, as he started walking towards you, pulling out a large knife from somewhere behind his back. There was nowhere to run besides right past him, and there was no way in hell you’d manage that without either getting caught or seriously injured, so you just stood there.

He closed in on you, but you already knew he wasn’t gonna kill you, since that wouldn’t require him to find out your supposed powers first, and if there was one thing you knew about yourself, it was how much pain you could tolerate. You held your ground, convinced that no matter what he did to you, he wouldn’t find what he was looking for, which meant all you had to do was endure until you saw a chance to gain the upper hand.

When he was only six feet away, he raised the knife, preparing to strike at you, and you decided you didn’t wanna see it coming, choosing to look at Marcus instead, in the hopes it would give you the strength to find a way to defeat this evil. But then, just as your gaze fell on your partner’s pale and sickly features, he suddenly flinched and stirred, trying to open his eyes.

“…He-mos…” he wheezed, too weak to even speak, but somehow still finding just enough energy to let you know he’d heard you and knew you were there.

For one infinite moment, your heart faltered, and you wanted everything to stop, even if it meant having to die. Then the moment passed and the same fury you’d felt at Mission Control returned, only a hundred times worse. From one second to the next, every inch of your body was boiling again, fuelled relentlessly by the need to protect your love.

As though an entirely different being within you had emerged, your head seemed to turn on its own accord, so that your eyes could locate your enemy and fix him with a glare so filled with rage it should’ve killed him on contact. Instead, it seemed to amuse him, and he lunged forwards the final few feet, cleaving the air with the blade on its way down towards your shoulder.

But it never got there. About a foot from reaching your body, the knife hit a barrier which the inventor hadn’t expected. The force and weight of his attack was so strong that when the blade hit, it snapped off the handle with such a kick that he dropped it, and both pieces bounced away to other parts of the room. Surprised, he took a step back and raised a hand to examine what seemed to be an invisible wall some ten inches in front of you.

Instinctively, you knew it wasn’t as simple as a wall, but you also had no idea what it was. You still felt like something else had taken control of you. Some dormant twin spirit, come to life to protect you from the evils beyond your normal strength. And yet, when your focus narrowed until you could only see the enemy before you, it was your choice to push him away. There was no other voice inside your head. Just you and this new power.

It seemed to grow and expand at your will, effortlessly pushing the captor back towards the ladder. And as the energy filled more and more of the room, you noticed that without even thinking about it, you were enclosing the cages and the Heroics inside of it as well, trying to protect them. However, you were a bit distracted to find that you could feel them once they became embedded inside the shielding bubble.

They were so weak you could barely detect their heartbeats, but you could also sense their powers, trapped inside those metal rods. And it shocked you to realize how the energies were actually straining against their confines, fighting to get back to their bodies as though they had a sentience of their own. You were pretty sure they didn’t, though. That what you felt was simply the result of an unnatural separation, but there was no question it would kill them all if it continued.

You hadn’t moved from your position by Marcus’ cage, and there was something different about his current. As you became more aware it, it also seemed to recognize you. Like the familiar embrace of an old friend, it felt like it enveloped and welcomed your presence. With one eye trained on the enemy, you reached for the lock again, finding no electricity zapping you this time, so perhaps it had been a defensive reaction.

The lock was a strange kind of padlock unlike anything you’d seen before, and which you had no hope of undoing. But the energy your power released had a kind of weight to it, a heavier mass than the regular atmosphere, and the more you tested it, the more you convinced you became that it could be moulded to virtually whatever use you needed. So, you tried concentrating it around the lock, which was tricky when you were also aware of the Inventor and all the other Heroics at once, but after a few attempts, the lock finally imploded and fell to the ground in pieces.

The moment the cage’s frame was broken, whatever element made it capable of holding a person’s powers, was disrupted, and the stolen energy immediately began returning to its rightful place. But it wasn’t enough. The damage which had been done to your partner’s body as the powers had been drained, was too much for his system to manage. And you could sense that even though the cells were gradually being restored, their energy didn’t just meld back into his being.

It was as though the two entities were out of sync, or at different frequencies, leaving them incapable of communicating normally. And there was no indication this would sort itself out with time. If anything, it seemed more like the longer they were out of balance, the more disrupted they became. You reached a hand into the cage, not sure what you were gonna do, or even what you could do, simply desperate to feel him and know that he was alive.

But the moment your skin connected to his, something left you. Something strong and determined flowed from your hand to his, and was immediately absorbed into his body, which seemed to welcome it, starting a flurry of activity in him. His colour was almost instantly restored, and mere seconds later, he woke up with a start, just as you fell to your knees, severely weakened.

Suddenly fighting just to keep your eyes open, with a body as heavy as if you’d been dead asleep just now, you felt your energy-field collapse, losing contact with all the Heroics, and Marcus, while your enemy saw his chance and immediately rushed back towards you. Instinctively, you forced a barrier back up in front of you as the captor closed in, only just managing to stop him before he got to you, but you were so weak that even the pressure of his body against the energy field was enough to drain your reserves.

“Hermosa…?” you heard a familiar voice, back to its usual soft tone, although seared through with worry and confusion now, while he scrambled to get out of the small opening to the cage.

“I can’t hold him…” you said between tight jaws, doing everything you could to keep the barrier up until he could help you, but even though it only took him another moment, it was one moment too long.

Dropping it again, the Inventor practically crashed over you with the sudden lack of resistance, and a heavy fist hit you in the head before Marcus was able to engage him. Everything started spinning while your head pounded so harshly you couldn’t hear anything at all. Disoriented, you didn’t realize it had gone dark because you’d closed your eyes, and when you opened them, your vision was so blurred you could only just make out two figures moving together in your vicinity.

You didn’t know if your partner was doing alright, if he was able to use his abilities against his attacker at all, but it felt like the fighting went on for a long time, which would seem to suggest that he didn’t have much of an advantage. The days of worry and fear which had brought you to this point, abruptly hit you all at once, tapping into some hidden crevice of your primal self, digging up a fresh bout of strength so potent it felt like it set your skin on fire and made your blood boil.

It had to end. Right now. You couldn’t take any more of this shit. You couldn’t lose Marcus.

The sudden rush of fresh fuel turned your mind to a singular purpose, narrowing your focus so strictly, all you knew was that this would stop. Now. You pushed your energy out across the room again, finding all the half-dead Heroics at once and directing all your power at the cages to break their locks, and it worked. With a rustling clang, all nine of the padlocks hit the floor in pieces, and the various energies flooded back into their hosts.

But even though your strength was already fading, you knew it wasn’t enough. Crawling on your hands and knees you went from one cage to the next, healing them one by one, getting impossibly weaker with each touch, until you simply couldn’t will your body to move another muscle. You didn’t know how many you’d saved, you just hoped it would be enough. Darkness crowded in on you as you fell away, and for the first time in a very long time, you welcomed it.

#marcus moreno fanfiction #marcus moreno x female reader #marcus moreno x reader #we can be heroes fic #we can be heroes au #au fic #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal character fanfiction #sirowsky stories #superhero stories

8 notes · View notes

r0b0tb0y · 2 years ago

Note

directors cut for 1 rogue street?

fanfic writer director's cut meme

ROGUE STREET MY BELOVED

Here are scattered thoughts and a piece of 2 Scarif Street to see if posting part of the draft revs me into filling out the rest of the sequel:

One thing I've been really happy about is that three headcanons of mine came true in Andor: he lives in a vehicle, has a good relationship with his adoptive mother, and works in engineering.

Interestingly, I hadn't finished House of Leaves when I wrote Rogue Street, so the distorting staircase was a coincidence (but it was kind of clear that was where HoL was going)

Because the Yonder is shaped by human belief, Kay looks like a stereotypical demon because Cassian grew up with Doom and Gwar and D&D. This gets mentioned in 2 Scarif Street because exorcist Din Djarin thinks it's hilarious.

Krennic is Australian and I tried to show it by making him as annoying as possible

The choices of when they go to Tesco and Sainsburys were absolutely intentional and narratively significant

Maple pecan praline latte really is my favourite Starbucks order

The house's Fucked Locus that functions as a cylinder of negative energy from the basement to the top floor is based on a really unlucky spot in the construction site opposite my old apartment where multiple accidents such as fires, collapses, misapplication of concrete, and dropping stuff all happened in a 2m-diameter area on different levels.

Chewie is Han's watcher demon, but he's a dog, since the movie Chewie was based on Lucas' real dog.

Cassian's paramour in That Other Time is fancast in my head as José Maria Yazpik, since he and Luna have worked together lots and have great chemistry.

I once had someone say they wanted more description of the interior design, which I totally concur on but I don't have a huge design vocabulary. I grew up in a hideous Edwardian house (complete with shrieking creatures in the walls and doors that opened by themselves) so Rogue Street has some elements of that, like the crown moulding, ceiling roses, patterned glass, dark wood panels. I think Galen had the living areas painted and carpeted in cool grey Nordic fashion, since that's his palette in Rogue One.

HERE HAVE SOME EXPOSITIONY DIALOGUE SEQUEL DRAFT (also be warned it talks about religious homophobia):

‘You know, I had an exorcism once,’ Cassian said.

Din winced. ‘How’d that go?’

Cassian nodded in Kay’s direction. So, not very effective.

‘Catholics?’ Din asked.

‘Yeah,’ Cassian’s tone was mild.

‘Must have been a long time ago.’

‘You can see that through the beskar?’ Cassian raised an eyebrow.

’No, you’re just…’ Din waved a vague hand. ‘You seem okay. The way you talk about it.’

‘If you thought he’d be scarred by the experience, why did you ask?’ Kay spoke from further ahead.

‘He brought it up,’ Din pointed out.

‘It’s okay,’ Cassian shrugged, despite the skeptical look Kay gave him. ‘I mean, it’s okay now. I was thirteen.’

‘Your family realised you had a demon?’ Din guessed.

‘No, my family thought I had trauma,’ Cassian rolled his eyes.

‘Which you did,’ Kay added.

‘Yeah, but it was my teachers who called the priest.’

‘Which didn’t work,’ Kay said.

‘It worked on the other boy,’ Cassian muttered.

‘He wasn’t possessed,’ Kay said. ‘He was queer, and probably still is.’

There wasn’t room to get a word in between them—not that Din had much to add.

‘Does it ever work?’ Cassian directed this question at Din.

‘Not on queers: we’re immune,’ Din said, and Cassian laughed. Din frowned at himself: what was he trying to prove? Cassian was spoken for, and the Watcher was a dealbreaker. Maybe some way to assure them he wasn’t a total outsider.

‘On demons, it can work,’ Din kept his mouth talking. ‘What did it feel like to you?’

Kay tilted his head. ‘Like people shouting at my charge. The incense tickled.’

Din nodded. 'A lot of it is showmanship and browbeating the victim into compliance, but if there’s a sensitive priest and a real possession, it can work.’

‘So the Catholicism is auxiliary,’ Kay drawled.

Din sighed. ‘It’s a ritual. Religion amplifies the intent, some of the techniques… but a real professional can lorem ipsum their way through an exorcism.’

‘You’re not making a good case for yourself, you know,’ Cassian said.

‘We’ve been going down these stairs for ten minutes,’ Din muttered. ‘You notice how nothing has attacked us?’

Cassian looked at Kay: he did that a lot. There wasn’t an increase in psychic interference when they communicated this way: it seemed to be mundane codependence.

‘Beskar?’ Cassian asked Din.

‘And professionalism,’ Din quipped.

#ask memes #1 rogue street #2 scarif street

7 notes · View notes

teenmomcentral · 9 months ago

Text

The pressure is on for Cory Wharton to pop the question.

The Challenge and Teen Mom: The Next Chapter star’s girlfriend Taylor Selfridge recently told In Touch Weekly that she’s more than ready for an engagement.

“The clock is ticking,” Taylor told the outlet. “He’s only got so much time.

“He’s had enough time,” Taylor added.

Cory and Taylor met in 2017 on Ex on the Beach. The couple are parents to daughters Mila– whom they welcomed in 2020– and Maya, who was born in 2022. (Cory also shares daughter Ryder with ‘Teen Mom’ star Cheyenne Floyd.)

According to Taylor, stress from Maya’s health issues have had an impact on the couple’s relationship. (As ‘Teen Mom’ fans know, Maya was born with a congenital heart condition, resulting in the little one undergoing two open-heart surgeries.)

“I think a lot of our issues stem from trauma with our daughter and just not having a very romantic connection as much as we used to,” she said. “Just because we were going through so much stress with her that it’s hard to come back to each other.”

As The Ashley previously told you, Cory and Taylor will appear on the upcoming season of Teen Mom Family Reunion, premiering Wednesday on MTV. Taylor said appearing on the show allowed her and Cory some much-needed time together.

” … We wanted to have more alone time because we don’t really get that and we just wanted to have time without the kids around us, time without a lot of stress, and just get back to us,” she said. “Because we really haven’t felt like that in a while. So it was nice to get time by ourselves.”

Back in June, Cory spoke out about the harassment he receives from fans, asking him when he’s going to marry Taylor. After Cory posted photos and videos from a hot air balloon tour he and Taylor took, many of Cory’s Instagram followers thought that the post was actually an engagement announcement. Cory denied that he had proposed to Taylor on the balloon, prompting fans to leave comments on the post, urging him to finally make Taylor his wife.

“Cory, it’s time to propose! You got me all excited!” one person commented.

Others commented that Taylor was probably expecting a proposal on the romantic balloon ride.

“She probably lowkey crying because she thought it was going to be a proposal,” someone wrote.

Cory was not happy with his followers’ engagement suggestions. In a video posted to Instagram Stories that same day, Cory yelled at those who peppered him with questions about getting engaged.

“Oh propose, propose!” Cory said, mocking the comments. “Where’s the ring?”

“Shut up! This ain’t your life,” he said. “Let me live my life!”

The ‘Teen Mom OG’ couple has been questioned about their marriage plans before. During a June 2020 interview, Cory told Hollywood Life, “Marriage, if it happens down the road, it happens…We don’t really talk about it all that much.”

While Taylor is still waiting for an engagement ring four years after that interview, she and Cory did recently finish building their first home together, conveniently located about five minutes from where Cheyenne and husband Zach Davis reside.

“It was a very long process,” she said. “We’re still dealing with things. But it’s been really good. We love the house. It’s literally amazing … .”

#teen mom the next chapter #teen mom #mtv #news #taylor selfridge #cory wharton

0 notes

saintlike78 · 4 years ago

Text

Flinch [Poly Marauders]

A/N: I’ve been reading a lot of poly Marauders fics and I got inspired to write my own. It’s very different than what I’m used to, and I give 100% credit to @randomoutsiders for the inspiration; please go read their work, it’s so good!

Also, this fic tackles some trauma about domestic abuse, so if this is a trigger PLEASE DO NOT READ. If you are ever abused in a relationship, please remember it’s never your fault and there are so many ways to get help.

International woman’s house crisis hotline (770-413-5557). https://internationalwomenshouse.org/get-help

Pairing: Poly! Marauders X fem!reader

Words: 3.1k

Summary: poly Marauders. You aren’t a stranger to being spanked, but Sirius tries to slap you without talking it through first, him not knowing it brings back past trauma. You’re shocked, but the boys take it as you liking it, so you power through. But the next day you flinch under normal setting, alerting the boys to something being wrong.

Warnings: TW! Mention of past abuse!, NSFW 16+, vaginal sex, oral (male receiving), polyamorous relationship, spanking, face-slapping, mention of subsbace, Dom!Remus, Dom!Sirius, Soft-dom!James, Sub!reader, degradation, praise, mention of cum, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it).

NSFW starts just below the cut!

Tears were streaming down your face as you tried to take Sirius’ cock as far down your throat as possible. Your arms and legs were shaking with the effort of keeping yourself up on all fours, as Remus pounded into you from behind. James was sitting beside you stroking your back and fisting at his own cock trying to reach his own high by watching you get destroyed by his two boyfriends.

Remus landed a firm slap on your ass making you jolt forwards, making you gag around Sirius.

“Such a little cockslut, can’t even take my cock without gagging” Sirius taunts, making you whine around him.

That’s when Sirius decides to try something none of the boys had tried before, he landed a slap across your face, a sharp sting on your cheek, and a red mark starting to form. Your mind was fuzzy, but panic set in and distant memories made their way to the front of your mind.

Right as Sirius had slapped you, your walls clenched around Remus and your eyes widened with panic, but Sirius took this as a look of surprise and assumed you liked it and he was pulled deeper into that thought when Remus spoke “I think she liked that Pads, she’s squeezing me like a vice,” he landed another slap on your ass, “isn’t that right bunny?”

Your mind was so fuzzy with both pleasure and panic you couldn’t do anything but whimper around Sirius.

“Fuck, princess take it” Sirius groaned as he started to twitch in your mouth, his cum filling your mouth, which you swallowed dutifully.

Sirius moved aside and let James stand in front of you and slowly put his own member inside your mouth. He let out a low groan at the feeling of your warm mouth around him and he wasted no time as he started to fuck into your mouth.

Behind you, Remus was rutting faster into you, growing close to his own release.

James was stroking your hair, being the softest of the three doms and keeping you grounded.

Sirius snaked his hand underneath you and found your swollen clit and started drawing fast circles on it, making you moan loudly around James’ cock.

“There you go, cum for us,” Sirius said as he applied more pressure to the swollen nub.

Your whole body shook as you came, your arms almost failing you.

The feeling and sight of you cumming made Remus moan loudly and spill his seed into you. James reaching his own high seconds after. Both boys slowly pumped into you, riding out theirs and your high, and slowly pulled out. As soon as they were out, you collapsed on the bed, your legs twitching slightly as you tried to catch your breath.

James chuckled softly and got up from the bed to grab a washcloth to clean you up.

“Such a good girl, you did amazing for us,” Remus said as he slowly rubbed your back to calm you down. The fuzz in your brain slowly disappearing as James came back and started to clean you, trying to be as quick as possible to not make you uncomfortable because of the sensitivity.

As James was cleaning you, Sirius had gotten up and fetched the four of you some clothes to wear, and helped you put it on.

As the fuzz had completely lifted from your brain, it was replaced with slight panic again, you knew the boys wouldn’t hurt you, but what if they wanted to. You hadn’t discussed with them that they couldn’t slap or hit you, but you didn’t know you had to. The thoughts were swarming around your mind, but you tried to keep calm and collect yourself, you didn’t want them to be mad at you.

“Okay princess, do you want to sleep in my bed tonight?” Sirius asked, opening his arms for you.

“No,” you said way too fast, but quickly added, “I mean, it’s Jamie’s turn.”

Sirius let his arms drop and frowned, “fine, but then you owe me tomorrow night and the next time we nap,” he said.

You nodded and turned to crawl into James’ bed, but were interrupted by Remus clearing his throat.

“Aren’t you going to give us a goodnight kiss, bunny?” He asked with a lifted brow.

You quickly made your way over to the scarred boy and stood on your toes to reach his lips. “I’m sorry,” you whispered, “goodnight.”

Remus kissed you back and wrapped his arms around you, giving your body a squeeze.

“That’s okay, bunny... are you still a little fuzzy? Because we can’t go to bed yet if you are,” he asked, wanting to make sure you were completely back before you went to sleep.

You just shook your head, “I’m fine, I’m here.”

Remus nodded and let you go to Sirius.

Sirius leaned down and gave you a long kiss, you tried to reciprocate, but you stood awkwardly as the raven-haired boy kissed you.

“Goodnight, love you,” you said quietly and quickly.

“Love you too, princess,” Sirius said but was slightly confused as to why you seemed so off.

You quickly made your way back to James, who was now lying under his blanket waiting for you.

As you got under the covers you snuggled close to him and he draped his arm over your waist.

“Goodnight, darling,” James whispered.

“Goodnight, Jamsie,” you whispered back, your voice almost nonexistent due to fatigue.

————————————

You made your way towards the common room after your last class of the day. You had woken up that morning still a bit weird in the head, the panicked state not quite leaving because of you being constantly afraid. You knew that they wouldn’t hurt you, of course, you knew that... but that’s what you thought about him as well, but you had been wrong before.

The last class of the day you had had without any of your boyfriends, so you were now making your way back on your own.

You walked through the portrait hole and made your way up the stairs towards the dorms. Normally you would be heading towards the boy’s dorms, your room basically being with your three boys, but tonight you decided to head towards your own dorm.

Your dorm room was empty, and you were grateful for the opportunity to be alone for a while. You decided to skip dinner and instead opting to grabbing a book and reading it whilst lounging on your bed.

You were so engrossed in your book you hadn’t noticed the time and suddenly the door opened, making you look up from your book for the first time in what felt like forever.

Lily and Marlene walked through the door but following them were the three boys you had avoided (not intentionally).

“Hi,” you said, your voice small.

“Hi bunny, why weren’t you at dinner and why are you in here?” Remus asked, the three boys making their way over to you and sitting beside you on the bed.

“I was reading and forgot about the time, I wasn’t really hungry,” you said as you started to fiddle with your fingers.

“Okay, you know we don’t like it when you don’t eat, but it’s fine... let’s just go to our room,” Sirius said. You couldn’t make out the tone of his voice and it made you nervous, so you just nodded and got off of the bed.

You said bye and goodnight to the girls and followed the boys to their dorm.

You stood in the middle of the room and your heart jumped a little when the door closed.

You started to fiddle with your hands again, a nervous habit of yours.

Sirius stood in front of you with a concerned frown, but you mistook it as an angry frown and dipped your head in submission.

“Princess, you know not to fiddle, and please look me in the eyes when I’m speaking to you, it’s rude not to,” Sirius said.

You lifted your head and looked at his face, you then looked between him and the two boys sitting on Remus’ bed, both looking at the situation unfold.

“I’m sorry,” you said, your voice small.

Sirius just shook his head and lifted his hand to run it through his hair, but you didn’t get to see his hand reach his hair before panic surged through your body, and your flinched, turning your head to the side and closing your eyes waiting for the impact.

You whimpered and a quiet “no” left your mouth.

Both Remus and James stood from the bed, both completely taken aback by what just happened.

Sirius’ hand halted and he dropped it again, his heart dropping to the floor watching your figure crumble in front of him.

You backed away a little, eyes still closed. You had forgotten that you weren’t allowed to flinch remembering it would only be worse when you did.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you repeated, your whole body trembling.

The three boys looked at each other, none of them knowing how to approach this, not wanting to frighten you more than they had.

Sirius was the first to do anything as the guilt took over and controlled his actions before his brain could tell him to stop.

He took a step towards you and wrapped his arms around you, making you jump again and let out a frightened gasp.

“I’m so sorry baby, I wasn’t going to do anything, I would never, please, I’m so sorry,” Sirius spoke, panic clear in his voice.

You collapsed against him, tears streaming down your face as you sobbed into his chest.

Remus and James quickly made their way over to you and wrapped their arms around both you and Sirius, holding you up.

You just kept mumbling almost silent ‘I’m sorries’.

“Shhh shhh, don’t be sorry, what happened bunny?” Remus asked, slowly caressing your back in hopes of calming you down, but you couldn’t answer him just yet.

After a while, your sobs slowly died down and the only sounds to be heard were your soft sniffles.

You lifted your head slowly and looked into Sirius’ eyes, his eyes already staring at your face trying to decipher what had happened.

You didn’t know what to say, the panic you felt before slowly evaporating, instead, you wrapped your arms around Sirius’ waist and squeezed him.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered.

“Stop apologizing, my love, you have nothing to apologize for,” Sirius said quietly, still afraid that he would frighten you again.

“Can we sit down?” You asked, your legs starting to ache from trying to keep yourself up, even if most of your weight was being carried by your three boys.

“Of course, baby,” James answered, and they led you to Remus’ bed where you all sat. Remus sat with his back against the headboard and led you to sit between his legs with your back to his chest. James took a seat beside you with his body turned towards you and took one of your hands. Lastly, Sirius sat crossed-legged in front of you and took your other hand and intertwined your fingers with his, to both comfort you, but also himself as guilt still surged through him.

You caressed Sirius’ hand with your thumb and squeezed his hand, knowing that you scared him with your reaction.

“You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to, but we want to listen if you do want to tell us. We just want to help you and we’re not at all angry, we love you and just want you to feel safe with us, we never want you to be scared of us,” Remus started, his arms making their way around your middle to feel as close to you as possible and show you that he’s there.

You let out a long breath, trying to calm down because you did trust your boys and you wanted them to know that they did nothing wrong.

“So,” you started and cursed yourself for the shakiness of your voice, “you know that before I was with you three, I was with Thomas, you know before he moved to America?”

The three boys nodded but didn’t say anything, waiting for you to continue.

“Well.. uhm... we were together for a while, as you know, but he had slight issues with anger,” you continued, your breath still shaking and your voice breaking a couple of times.

Sirius, who was no stranger to people with anger issues, already had an inkling about where you were going. He could feel the anger start to fill his body but tried to keep his cool as you continued.

“He used to... h.h..hit me and he didn’t like it when I would flinch because he said he wouldn’t hurt me, b..but...” you were trying your hardest to get through your story, but your voice was breaking and fresh tears were weighing down your eyes.

“... he did, a lot and I know you guys never would, but it’s just always in the back of my mind.”

Sirius, James, and Remus were all shocked, they had all been friends with Thomas, not good friends, but friendly.

James was speechless, Remus's eyes filled with tears. Sirius was silently fuming with anger over anyone ever laying a hand on you and that’s when he realized he himself did, albeit during sex, but he still did. The anger was quickly replaced with guilt and sadness and all your weird behavior, especially towards him,

now made sense.

Before he had a chance to say anything the tears spilled from his eyes, catching the attention of yourself, James, and Remus.

“I’m so sorry, I would never have done it if I had known, I was so stupid, I should have talked to you about it first,” Sirius cried.

“No, you couldn’t have known! It was my fault for not telling you tha..” you tried to tell Sirius, but you were swiftly interrupted by the man himself. He grabbed your face in his hands and looked you in the eyes, “it was not your fault, never was, it was my fault for not asking you if it was alright before I did it and not even realizing that you weren’t enjoying it,” Sirius stated, making sure that his point came across.

You just nodded and leaned your head further into his touch, making Sirius’ heart skip a beat and he let out a shaky breath of relief.

“Thank you so much for telling us, our darling girl,” James said, stroking your cheek with his free hand.

Remus grabbed your waist and lifted you up, so you were situated on his lap, your side towards him. He kissed your temple and proceeded to say, “please tell us if we ever do anything to make you the least bit uncomfortable and we will stop immediately, we never want to hurt you or make you feel like you can’t talk to us or tell us when something is wrong.”

Sirius continued on from Remus, “we love you so much beautiful girl and again I’m so sorry for scaring you and laying a hand on you.”

“I forgive you; I know you didn’t do it with vicious intent, you only thought I would enjoy it and you couldn’t have known that I wouldn’t. I love you all so much, I’m so happy to have you all in my life,” you said as you leaned your head on Remus’ shoulder, your eyes growing heavy as fatigue took over your body because of all the emotions you felt in such a small amount of time.

“We’re the lucky ones, and lucky for you, you’re stuck with us forever,” James said with a huge grin, causing you all to let out a laugh, knowing that what he said was true. You couldn’t imagine yourself being with anyone else.

“You want to go to sleep, Bunny?” Remus asked, stroking your hair slowly, lulling you into a sleepy state, causing you to yawn.

“Mmhm,” you let out a sound of agreement.

“Okay let’s get ready for bed then,” James said as he got up to look for a shirt of theirs you could wear to sleep.

After having Remus help you get ready for bed and returning from the bathroom back into the room you stopped in the middle of the room, having to choose who to cuddle with that night.

Sirius didn’t want to push you, in your somewhat fragile state, but still very much in need of your comfort and reassurement.

You timidly made your way towards where Sirius was sitting shirtless on his bed and stood between his open legs, his hands instinctively finding placement on your hips.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” You asked, not knowing why you had gone all shy.

“Of course, you can, our sweet girl, you don’t ever have to ask,” Sirius said and gave your hips a squeeze. His stomach leaping with excitement and relief.

You leaned down and kissed his forehead and left his grasp to kiss both Remus and James goodnight.

Sirius was waiting for you to finish before making his own way over to the two boys to also say his goodnights.

“Don’t worry Sirius, she’s not mad or scared, she was just shocked,” Remus Whispered for only Sirius to hear before he made his way back to the bed where you were waiting for him.

Sirius got under the covers first and opened them so you could slip in.

You laid facing Sirius, his arms around you holding you as close to his body as possible, legs intertwined, one of your hands resting on his chest and the other resting on his cheek.

“I love you so much, I can’t even explain it. If I ever see that horrible excuse for a man I will hex him into oblivion,” Sirius whispered, the first part sweetly, but his whisper got more aggressive as the sentence progressed.

His statement made you giggle; you knew he was being serious (pun intended) and you felt your heart swell with love at how safe you felt with them.

“I love you; I hope we never do see him, but I know I can always count on you, I feel so safe with you.”

Sirius’ eyes filled with tears (again) at your words, it was all he ever wanted.

He gave your body a squeeze and pulled you even closer if that was even possible, and you buried your face in the crook of his neck breathing in his masculine scent.

Sirius’ soft breathing and steady heartbeat lulled you to sleep, and you knew you always would be safe with not only him, but all three of your boys.

#marauders #poly marauders #marauders smut #marauders fluff #marauders angst #remus lupin smut #sirius black smut #james potter smut #marauders x you #marauders x reader

4K notes · View notes

dreamifics · 3 years ago

Text

Steve Harrington x Reader

Casuality

Just some fluff, angst and smut

Warning: mentions of alcohol, mentions of sexual activity, a little cursing

How did me and Y/N ended making out in my pool? Bad decisions and booze, that's the answer. I wanted it to stop, but it was good.. Too damn good. I can taste in her mouth the bitterness of the alcohol we drank a while ago. The mix of beer and vodka was still lingering in her mouth.

My hands run in her legs, as her hands tug my hair. There were fire igniting inside us, it was burning with lust and adrenaline. A low moan escapes her mouth, this added fuel to the fire inside us. We both knew that we'd regret this in the morning, but we didn't stop.

Y/N Henderson..

I'm close to her brother, but not to her. We fought monster beside each other, she was close to Robin, Nancy and Jonathan. But not to me, that's why I'm surprised when she arrived in my doorsteps, alcohol in her hands.

"Hey, Steviee!Wanna run around town and get smashed?"

She caught me off guard but I agreed, I was always intrigued by her. I never noticed her in high school but she seems to know everything about me.

"Oh, come on!Steve!I'm not stupid!I know you use that shitty shampoo and conditioner!"

"It's not shitty!It's the real deal!"

"Whatever, let's go back to your house and take a dip in your fancy pool!"

My mind snapped back as we moved to my bed, Y/N's heavy breaths and low moans was all I could hear from her. We drop in my bed, we knew were going to spend all night here. The sheets wrapped around our naked bodies, legs entangled with each others. Moans filling the room, sweats dripping from our hot naked body. We were drunk and stupid. Sobriety and rational thinking was out the window. This night was filled with bad decisions and bad decisions only.

Days have passed since that night, we decided to continue the relationship but we're keeping it casual. We're now sitting in my car, music blasting on the stereo on a low volume. She was looking blankly on the window as I drive her to campus.

"What are you thinking about?" I questioned, snapping her out of her trance. She smiled at me as she relaxed into the passenger seat.

"Whatever your thinking about.."

"Dustin moaning really weird last night?" I joked causing her to glare at me.

"No, but now that's what I'm thinking.." I chuckled at her response as I paid attention to the road.

"Hey, do you want to have a sleep over tonight?"

"Sleepover?What are you ten?Do you also want to braid each other's hair and have a pillow fight?" Her witty remarks always get me laughing, that's one thing I like about you Y/N..

"Come on, we're not gonna be sleeping anyway.." I pleaded.

"Ooh, Stevie gonnna give me the lovey dovey!" She said in a baby voice. Gotta admit, that was weird as hell.

"Oh dear god.." I mumbled under my breath.

"What's that Harrington?" Her glares could literally kill someone, I just gave her an innocent smile, she just rolled her eyes.

"Nothing.."

"I'll see you tonight, then.."

A comfortable silence filled the ambiance of the car, if I know Y/N and I think I do, she'll try to rummage her brain for something to talk to--.

"What was Dustin moaning about?" There it is..

"Oh dear god.." I just shake my head in amusement.

The first time I had ever seen you cry was the day we got home from campus, snots and tears were everywhere. I never saw you cry, even when we almost died twice while trying to save the world. Not a one single tear, but now your here infront of me. Tears in your eyes, as you sobbed into my chest. I don't know what to do, should I comfort you?

"What happend?" I finally asked the lingering thought in my head.

"I saw Dad with his brand new family.."

Y/N's father..

I never really met him but to what I gather from Y/N and Dustin is that he's a coward. He left his family to be with another woman.. Putting the three of you to emotional trauma and abuse.

"I'm sorry.." That's all I could say..

"After all what he did to Mom and Dustin, he have the audacity to be happy while Mom cover up the pain with cats.."

"I hate my dad, I swear if he ever comes back, I'll feed him to the demogorgons.. Why does this always happen to me? Can everything be just fine again?"

I hate seeing her like this.. What should I say? I can't really relate to her, my parents still stood by me.

"I'd do whatever I could do, if you want to get wasted, I'll do it with you, If you want to burn your dad's house, I'll be down with that. Just don't cry, I can't stand seeing you like this."

A small laugh erupted from her, moving beside me, she lay her head into my shoulders.

"Thanks for the reassurance Harrington.."

"That's what I'm here for.."

"Come on Steve, let's make out in your pool.." Y/N stands up, and gave me her hand, I gladly accepted it.

"Why do you have to ruin the mood?"

"How's that ruining the mood?If anything, I'm building the mood." She said in a sultry and teasing voice. I rolled my eyes, does she think I'll get turned on by that. She was crying just a moment ago, she was releasing snots.

"I think you have daddy issues, love.." It was her turn to roll her eyes.

"We all have daddy issues.." I grab her cheeks and peck her lips.

"We both have daddy issues, then." She just gave me the most precious smile that ever existed.. Oh, God. How I love you.

The first fight we had was also our last, it was your birthday. We were hanging out in your room, laying in her bed as the television played Star Wars. The pale moon was dancing all throughout the room, I knew there was something bothering me, we've been doing this for months, keeping everything casual. I'm growing tired of the constant thought that someone will take her away from me.. Don't get me wrong, I love Y/N, I'm not sure how she feel about me though. Y/N's like a close book, hard to read. So many things that I wish I knew, but there's so many walls that I can't break through. ( Where the swifties at? )

"Are you okay?" Y/N soft voice pulled me out of my head.

Am I really okay?No, why? I want us to be in a committed relationship, where someone can't take you away from me. That's how much I love you..

"Nothing, just thinking about us.." A small smile tugged in her lips as she scoot closer.

"What about us?" She asked, her brows wiggling.

"Being casual and all.." The smile she had falter, she moved away from me, running her hands through her hair.

"You know I'm not ready yet.."

"You always say that."

"Steve!I can't have this exact same conversation with you over and over again!" And here we are, fighting.. The anger inside me flicked open, I know it won't do good but I still went ahead and got mad.

"Why can't you say it once?!" Our shouts echoed through the whole house, her Mom is probably worried about her.

"What can't I say?!" She asked confused and angry at the samw time.

"That you love me!" The whole room suddenly got quiet, the look in Y/N's face was hard to read. Are you shocked? Scared? Angry? What? Do you love me like I love you? Please, say the words that I want--no, what I need to hear.

"Steve, we both know that we agreed to keep things casual.." She finally spoke, but not the words that came out was not what I needed.

"Casual?We've been together for almost a year now, how much more casual do you want it to get?"

"I--Steve, I can't do this now.." She backs away from me, opening her door wide open for me to leave.

"Why?" That's all that exited my mouth..

"Because I need space!" She snaps, a involuntary scoff left my lips.

"Space from what?!We barely have a relationship!"

"Just get away!I can't believe your pressuring me!" She shouts, but I stayed to say the words I'll regret..

"Let's just end whatever the fuck this is!"

"Fine!" She screamed as she walks up to me and pushed me out of her room.. Reaching the end of her door, she pushed me. I stumbled but managed to bounce back, before I can even say another word she slammed the door. And there's that..

"Steve?" Dustin came out of his room, a worried expression painted in his face.

"Are you and Y/N okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a--" I stopped at the middle of the sentence, my mouth refused to let the words escape.

"A what?" He questioned.

A break up..

"Nothing, it's nothing.." I lied..

I didn't know why I couldn't say the words. I clearly never wanted this to happen, I didn't know what happend. And I can't take it back, what's done is done..

Life with Y/N was hard, but life without her is much harder. Was I in the wrong? I shouldn't have pressure her, all I wanted is to go up at her house. But Dustin told me, she was really busy with a lot of schoolworks. Where did it get so complicated?

I was walking home when I saw Y/N, just standing in my porch front step. She seems fidgety and nervous, those sweet eyes seem to notice me. Y/N was wearing one of my Van Halen shirts, with a short and just some sneakers. You always looked beautiful in my shirts..

"Steve.." I love how she says my name, but I love it more if she screams my name. Flashes of her naked body grinding on me suddenly appeared on my head. This was not the time but I couldn't help it. I miss her..

"Hey.." I greet..

"I just wanted to--"

"I should be the one apologizing, I shouldn't pressure you like that.." I cut her off, I'm right. There's no need to apologize, I was in the wrong. I pressured her when I agreed to keep it casual.

"Still, I'm sorry too.." Y/N was always nice, never letting her pride get in the way of her life.. An eerie silence once filled our conversation, I never wanted this but maybe..

"Maybe it's best if I give you the space you nee--"

"I love you.." She cuts me off..

"Huh?" My mind went blank, my eyes blink rapidly as I try to sink in the three words you just dropped.

"I don't need space, I love you Steve Harrington.." She confessed cheekily, a small smile appeared on our face.

"I love you too.." She just smiles at me, but she was waiting for something. What is it? A ring, maybe? But this is not a proposal..

"What are you waiting for?Kiss me."

Ohh, right.. The way I moved was slow, I think she grew impatient because you pulled me and our lips collided into one. The way your lips was covered in the strawberry chapstick I gave you, this was my favorite thing in the world. I slid my tongue, it danced with yours. I pushed you in my door, opening it in the process.

When it burst open, we celebrated by going into my bed. Pushing Y/N into the bed was pretty arousing. We didn't need words or foreplay, we're pretty straightforward. Our lips once connected again, heavy breaths and low moans was all I could hear.

We slowly undressed each other, our lips was still intact, rushing into things was never really your motto. I felt your skin made contact with mine, I felt the heat from your body. My hands were making their way to her tender breasts, I slowly massaged it until the nipples turned like tiny stones. A loud moan came out from her mouth, I couldn't resist and licked them, biting them playfully. Another moan came out from her sweet lips, I stopped as I took out my hard and mounting manhood, I rest it unto her thighs. Y/N sits up, looking at me with questions in those eyes.

"What happend?You got tired?" Y/N whisper in her sultry voice.

"Taunting me?Really?"

Before she can even respond I got on top of bed and smirked, your naked body was softly laying in my bed. This made me harder, you're so perfect in every way. My hands are already in your legs, spreading it wide and open. I can see you closing your eyes at my touch, I drove my two fingers inside her. She moans with the contact it made, eyes rolled in the back of her head. I ravish her breast with my mouth as my fingers interact inside her.

"Fuck, Steve!"

I was hitting the right places, she was twisting left and right, her hands were gripping my sheets, I pulled my fingers out and replaced it with my organ. A loud piercing moan escapes her lips as I pump into her, every thrust was in sync with her breathing. I slowly grunt as I pump harder and deeper into her, I yank her legs back, as my other hand gripped her ass. I dug myself further into her, setting off another shattering moan.

"Steve, faster."

I increasing the speed, she wrapped her arms around my back, her nails digging into my skin. Pain and Pleasure was a great mixture for me. I hit every possible spot inside her, the nails dug deeper as I thrust harder and much more deeper. The speed increased once again, as I feel both of our climax building up inside, it can explode any second now. Every thrust I make, every moan she screams, and every sweat that drips was a cherry on top.

"Fuck, I'm coming!"

With that we both exploded into each other, I felt a warm liquid flows between her legs and mine. A small smile appeared on her lips as we were both out of breath, her hair was all disheveled.

"Well, that was fun.." She whisper, her voice hoarsed from all the moaning she did.

"I can see.." I joked causing her cheeks to blush..

"Shut up!"

I pulled out, she shivered at that action. I laid next to her, she looks at me with love and compassion. She pecked a kiss in my lips, cuddling besides me as the moon peaked through my windows. Y/N deserves every love and adoration in the world, I'm going to marry you someday..

This is my first smut ever, I hope it was..nice? If there's anything wrong I did in the smut, you can tell me, I'll do anything to improve it! I also accept request, any characters! Marvels, DC, B99, FRIENDS, Criminal Minds, TBBT, Community, basically anything! I accept anything! You can leave a comment or give me an ask!

Taglist

@sydneekomspacekru

#steve harrington x you #imagines #steve harrington x reader #stranger things #smut #steve harrington smut #oneshot

156 notes · View notes

henryobsessed · 3 years ago

Text

The Veterinarian and the Werewolf - Chapter 8

Word Count: 1879

Warning: trigger - hunting, and demeaning verbal abuse.

A/N thanks again to my beautiful @sillyrabbit81 for your editing and @amberangel112 for your encouragement.

Chapter 8

Henry could not understand why Jessie was still considering going out with this jerk. He huffed at Joe’s words and was pleasantly surprised at Tom’s reaction. Pleased to have someone in his corner, he nuzzled into the young man’s arms. It felt nice, an odd feeling of loss and regret pulled at his soul. He hadn’t seen his nephew in five years, he would be fifteen years old now four years younger than Tom. Memories of their last time together flooded his mind, the feel of his hands running through his fur. Even then he had refused to change, sadly his nephew had never known him in Human form.

The packhouse was large, made of local stone it would be considered menacing to outsiders. But for those invited in, it was a house filled with love. They had found Henry and his nephew Adam just outside their forest line, half-starved, dehydrated and desperate for care. The pack doctor had tended to Henry whilst one of the pack's mothers had shared her milk with the little pup. Adam had captured the mother’s heart and at Henry’s approval had adopted him into the pack. Henry had grieved the loss of his only kin but been so grateful to them. He knew he could not look after the little one, not with his heartbroken in pieces.

Over the next ten years, he had come and gone from the house checking up on Adam, watched as he grew strong, not only physically, but emotionally he had developed into a beautiful soul. Their last time together they had sat just like he was now with Tom. He had curled up next to Adam, his head in his lap, Adams fingers running through his fur. “I wish you could change for me Uncle, I see all the other dads and sons playing together and I love the idea that when I change next year we can run together. Then I can finally talk to you and hear your voice back. But I want to know what you look like, to be able to hug you like I see that others hug their dads.” His face had added to Henry’s grief looking so heartbroken and longingly at him. He had tried at that moment, had attempted to honour his request but his human side was so lost, hidden in pain. He had left the house that day, knowing even if it broke his heart, he needed to let his nephew grow with his new pack and not be held back by him.

Now nestled against Tom he regretted that decision. He heard a chuckle soft and happy. “Well look at you two. I would never have guessed Wolfy could be so comfortable with another human. I haven’t seen him like that with anyone except with me. What’s your secret Tom?” Her bright eyes landed on Tom who had continued to scratch behind Henry’s ears.

“I don’t know Miss Jessie, but I have always loved wolves, well any kind of animal really but especially wolves.”

She seemed thoughtful as she eyed them both making Henry wonder what she had planned. “Tom, are you free tonight? I have a date and I really don’t want to leave Wolfy alone again.” Henry felt Tom stiffen. Wondering what was wrong with the request, he moved his head to look up at the boy.

A brief look of disapproval flashed in his eyes before they softened as he looked down and saw Henry watching him. “Yes, Miss Jessie. I would love to spend more time with this beautiful boy.” Internally he chuckled at Tom’s words, if only he knew he was twelve years older than him.

That afternoon Henry, Jessie and Tom spent out in the garden. Tom seemed to fit beautifully into their friendship group kneeling beside Jessie as they planted new flowers and shrubs where they had pulled up the weeds. Together, Henry dug the holes, Tom placed the plants and held them in place whilst Jessie filled the soil around them. Henry enjoyed hearing the light conversation between his Mate and his new friend until it became heavier. “So, Tom, when did you begin to love wolves? I know your father traps them, so I’m interested as to why you don’t follow his belief.”

Tom continued to work, as a gentle hum was heard working up from his throat. “I know why Dad does it, although I don’t think he is correct. He blames the wolves for his loss of cattle, but I haven’t seen that many around. The wild dogs are more to blame but he won't listen. They have a group that meet purely to discuss the wolf problem, but in my whole life, the only large group I have seen was back when I was four. It’s the first and last time Dad allowed me to come to a hunting party. Mom was horrified that he was taking me, but I wanted so much to be with Dad, and he wanted me to be just like him.”

Henry shuddered as the boy spoke as if by some force of nature, he knew that he was about to hear what had happened that day. He also sensed the grief radiating off the boy, wanting to calm him he pushed his body into Tom’s side. Nuzzling his head as if to say, “It's ok, I’m here for you.” Tom let out a heavy chuckle as if he had heard Henry’s voice.

He sat back looking down at Henry as he spoke, “Thanks Wolfy, you would think that I would not remember something that happened that long ago, but it's imprinted in my mind. They had been tracking a pack that had only just entered the area, convinced the rest of the ranchers that they were a risk to our lively hood, that we couldn’t let them nest here. So, the best of their marksman left, when we found them all, sitting around a tree, curled up sleeping, all I wanted to do was go play with the cuddly animals. Dad kept pulling me back holding me still and quiet. I didn’t understand until the loud bangs began.”

Tom’s voice wobbled at this point and Jessie who had been silent up till this time also came closer. She pulled him into her side, her arm encasing his thin body as his shoulders began to shake. “I started screaming as I saw a single wolf with a baby on its back running away, Dad aimed for it but I managed to push the barrel up making him miss. I got the thrashing of my life that night. I couldn’t sit for a week, but it was worth it. I was never allowed to come again after that, not that I wanted to. It took a while, but Dad eventually began to trust me enough to check the traps. I am glad too because it meant I could help this fella.”

Jessie held the boy as his sobs subsided. Henry was trying to hold his anger in, these were the people who had destroyed his family. And yet this one boy had not only saved him once but twice, his gratitude was the only thing stopping him from wanting to go rip the throats out of the group. Ignorance and fear were the driving forces that ended his family, if only they knew the wolves would only ever take a sick animal, and sometimes the young, never the strength of the herd. They would never kill without need. But the wild dogs he had seen were giving us a bad name.

Jessie's voice interrupted his thoughts, the softness not hiding the grief in her own. “Was that near here Tom?” How did Jessie know?

“Yes, Miss Jessie, by the tall tree in the middle of the forest.”

She silently picked up the tools, both animal and human watching her, wondering what she was thinking. Sighing she stood up, “Come, it’s getting dark and I need to get ready for this date.” She walked silently back into the house. The boy and the wolf looked at each other before both followed.

Jessie fixed dinner for Tom and Henry then left to dress, leaving the pair to their own devices. Tom seemed quiet after revealing his early childhood trauma and Henry was eager to help calm the boy. After eating, he plodded into the living room, jumped up on the couch and yipped in Tom’s direction. Chuckling, Tom responded, “You want to watch some TV boy?” Nuzzling the remote, he yipped eagerly hoping to distract the boy from his thoughts.

Tom settled next to him and picked up the remote, they settled on watching a rerun of M.A.S.H before they both heard the clicking of heels and the rapping of knuckles on the front door. Open-mouthed both Henry and Tom sat dumbstruck as Jessie walked down the stairs in a light yellow sundress her dark hair flowing softly twisted into waves. “Wow Miss Jessie, you look amazing” got in first before Henry followed with his eager Yip. Giggling Jessie smiled softly at them both, “Ok I won't be out late, but even so, don’t get up to any mischief”

This caused both Henry and Tom to laugh, one sounding more like a series of yips. The door opened and closed and Jessie was gone. Together the two sat, watched movies and shared some popcorn that Tom had found in the pantry. Just as the end of a Witcher episode finished they heard yelling coming from outside. “I don’t give a dam Boyd, you had no right to hit that poor man, It was an accident.” The front door opened as Jessie stormed inside, the front of her dress had a brown stain down the side of her skirt.

Next Boyd came crashing into the room his face red as he reached out to grab Jessie's arm, this caused Henry to jump into action his snarl reaching the ears of the big man before he saw the wolf racing towards him. Jumping back almost stumbling over the kitchen chair Boyd’s face grew hotter, “Keep that mutt controlled Jessie otherwise I’ll control him for you with my shot Gun.”

The air went still as Henry felt Jessies and Tom's hands on him, “That is enough Boyd Hatfield, you are no longer welcome in this home. Get. Out!” Surprise filled Boyd’s face as he not only recognised Tom but registered his marching orders. Menace replaced the look of surprise, “Listen here little girl, you better watch that attitude of yours. I’ll allow you to cool off but we are not finished talking, and if you value the life of that mutt you will do as your told.” Punctuating the statement with a nod of his head he turned and strolled out the door.

Heart pounding he turned looking up at Jessie who seemed to have lost her speech, her face pale and her hands shaking. Tom moved swiftly pulling her into his arms as she began to cry, frustrated that it wasn’t his arms holding her, Henry pushed his body against her to show he was there, but inside he was furious. That man had threatened not just himself but Jessie, but he had to focus on her right now, she was more important no matter how much he wanted to go after him.

Chapter 9

#the veterinarian and the werewolf #henry cavill #henry cavill x ofc #werewolf

97 notes · View notes

simpingfortheages · 3 years ago

Text

//Test it out//

You know what pineapple does...come on ;) you know...

Ally Mayfair x Fem reader

(FLUFF! SMUT But fluff too...is-is cute ngl)

Reader comes home and sees Ally in bed, one thing leads to another.

Source: mirandascroft (sorry :( idk how to add gifs on tumblr but i still gave credit :)

Long days at the office weighed down on you so much that your shoulders ached and sagged as you walked. The feeling of every muscle in your body screaming for you to lie down, to sit, to do something other than stand. You sloppily toed off your shoes that your wore for 9 hours, leaving them to clatter in a corner. Ally will understand. The cool board floor was heavenly on your sore feet , a cool reminder that Ally probably had the AC on a few hours ago. It seemed as though just by being home it was the remedy you needed.

Tossing the hefty bag from your pained shoulder onto the counter also added to your satisfaction. A smile crept its way upon your lips, just at the idea of not having to touch that laptop bag for the next two days. "Ally?" you called out for you girlfriend. Your girlfriend for 1 year and 10 months to be precise. The best decision you ever made was to walk into that restaurant,"Ally baby?" there was no answer to your reply the first time. The further you walked into the house and made your way into the living room, you already knew that she was passed out in bed. The glass that remained with 1 inch red wine left on the short side table gave you your answer.

With an extra happiness and pep in your step you skipped your way up the stairs, jumping past every 2 steps. If Ally were awake and saw that, she would scold you for setting a bad example for Oz, which luckily for you was away spending the night with one of his schoolmates. As you continued to make your way upstairs, the white door to yours and Ally's bedroom came into view. Trying to stay as quiet as possible you pushed open the door which gave a small creak, you always mentioned to Ally about fixing that, but the brunette refused to get it oiled because she liked hearing when you came home. It was a sweet gesture.

The sight of your girlfriend on the bed that you both shared made your heart swell with love. After all the trauma and terrible things she faced before she became the senator, you made it your number one priority to shower her with all the love and care that she deserved. The floor board groaned softly beneath your naked feet as you tip toed your way to the side of the queen sized bed. There she laid sprawled out on the sheets, wearing your button up flannel shirt, hugging your pillow with one leg hitched upon it. The pillow had a faded scent of the lavender perfume you famously wore. It was Ally's favourite, she said it 'made her feel safe'. You never questioned it so you continued to wear it every day.

The 2 empty bottles situated on your wooden dresser proved that point. Before you keeled down to bestow a kiss on her soft skin, you noticed a small plastic container...was it? noo, she wouldn't. She promised to share. The irresistible smell of the pineapple juice that collected at the bottom of the container was calling you. Without thinking you lifted the container to your lips and drank the remainder of the fruit you both promised to share. You eyes opened wide at the taste of how sweet the pineapple was, after you drank every drop, you rested the bowl back on the night stand.

Apparently the soft thud against the wooden table caused the sleeping senator in the bed to stir awake. As Ally shifted on the bed to turn and face you, the loose buttoned shirt that she wore began to ride up her thighs, allowing her pink underwear to peak through. Ally stopped hugging your pillow and fully rotated her body which made her shirt move even more to reveal that your girlfriend wore no bra. She was everything that you loved, the perfect woman and person whom you wish to spend the rest of your life with. Her brown eyes slowly began to open but it wasn't opened all the way, with eyes still filled with sleep Ally squinted at you as a small smile adorned her face.

"hi baby.." her voice was soft and raspy from now waking up but it was filled with glee. " hi baby" you replied with happiness in yours. Ally sat up on the bed and neatly folded her legs as she outstretched her hands for a hug. You didn't move, instead you shot her a toothy grin and narrowed your eyes at her in a joking manner. "Where's my share Al?" the adorable look of realization that dawned on Ally's face as she turned her head to look at the empty container. "OH baby, I am sorry, it was just really sweet. It was one of the sweetest ones you brought home" she pouted her bottom lip and gave you puppy eyes.

Of course you fell for it. You playfully rolled your eyes as you shrugged off your work jacket, and threw it on the chair that already had clothes from previous work days,"Well Ms Mayfair, your going to have to pay me back for that." Ally quirked an eyebrow at your sudden statement and flopped her hand down on the bed with a loud huff, "well y/n I can buy you back one tomorrow." you shook your head 'no' at her way to rectifying the situation. You knew she was a little salty now from the lack of attention she was receiving. Usually you'd shower her in kisses and take the hug that she offered when you came home, however you had another plan in store. Ally furrowed her eyebrows,"well how to make it back up to you?". You knew exactly how she could repay you.

After you removed most of your work clothes you were standing at the bedside in only your shirt with a cute fuming Ally in the bed."Don't look at me like that. You ate all the pineapple that YOU promised we'd share, I came home all excited to eat it." Ally scoffed loudly at your reply, her eyebrows went up in shock,"So that's ALLLLL you came home excited for y/n?" she threw her hands up in frustration."Yes Ally. I did" at this point the senator folded her arms tightly against her chest staring daggers at you with an annoyed look plastered on her face.

"omg Ally of course I am kidding, I came home for YOUUU toooo.." you jumped on the bed and lovingly wrapped your arms around her. To make up for rejecting her hug from before you showered her with kisses all over her pouted lips, and face. Ally's fake being angry demeanor broke when your lips trailed to her neck. She always giggled when you kissed there , she was ticklish. It was one of the things your adored and did quite often to get a reaction out of her. "Y/N Stopp!!" Ally laughed uncontrollably, she pressed the heels of her palm into your chest to try and push you off, but you were relentless."Are you ready to pay me back now?" you pulled away to allow her to catch her breathe.

"wa-wait so...so the tickle attack wasn't the payback?" Ally spoke through her struggle to regulate her breathing." NO way, you owe me big time sooo..." you stopped mid sentence to make sure she was listening to you."SOO what y/n? you know I don't like being left in suspense" you playfully rolled your eyes at her impatience,"SOooo.. you remembered that article that we read and thought was a lie?" you said watching the small gears turn in Ally's head. When she realized what you meant, a pink blush crept it's way onto her chest and face.

"I mean you do owe me baby."you continued to plant more kisses atop her flushed skin, however this time it was slow and filled with a sensual intent. Ally craned her neck to the side to expose more of her skin for you to place your lips upon,"I- i'd like to try that" the way that she stuttered her words were heavenly, you knew you had her where you wanted.When you reached her pulse point you bite down roughly and sucked at the area until you were sure that blood rushed to the surface. You usually weren't allowed to leave hickies on her since she had work, but due to her winning the last election she had gotten a lot more time off to relax and that meant staying home a little longer with you.

Ally laced her hands through your hair as you marked her beautiful skin, while she pulled at your roots for every bite you made. An almost silent whimper escaped Ally's lips, a small indication that she wanted more. Over the months of being together you learnt the little signs she gave when she wanted something. One of the ways being the way she would begin to chew on her nails when she is hungry or the way that she would start to clean when she is stressed, you learned Ally inside out and you loved every inch of her.

With every kiss you bestowed upon her soft skin, you whispered a small ' i love you'. It was soft but Ally was close enough to hear every word. She cherished these moments with you, the way you managed to make every second with her something special and memorable. It was something she held dearly to her heart. As you trailed your lips lower and lower, the coldness in the room made her skin pebbled, the hairs on her body stood up as well with the more kisses you left on her. Touching and caressing every freckle that beautified her body. She was a walking masterpiece indeed. And she was yours.

Watching at how cute and desperately her hips bucked for your attention, you adorned her inner thighs with more kisses, spitefully skipping past the area you knew she needed you the most."Please y/n, I needed you since before you came ho-home. I didn't even try anything" her words invoked a fire within you, a fire fueled with desire and passion to please your girlfriend. Especially since she held back for so long. Out of the kindness in your heart, you decided to skip the foreplay and get right to it. Immediately you wrapped your plump lips around her pink bundle of nerves, sucking in sharp bursts to invoke more pleasure. Your girlfriend threw her head back against the pillows below as she laced and entangled her hands into your hair.

Words mixed of profanity and your name were continuously being moaned and whimpered from Ally's mouth. Hearing her curse shot straight heat to your own core. It was sexy, Ally never used words like that even in anger when Ozzy was around. Thank God he wasn't, you silently thanked the universe."oh Yes Y/n Suck it suck it suck it.." her lewd comments caused the flaem inside of you to burn brighter. You softly kitten licked at her clit, bringing your tongue's attention to the dripping arousal that was caused by you. Slipping your tongue pain stalking slow through her swollen pink folds, to gather and collect the sweet arousal you've been waiting to taste for so long. Ally's nails scrapped along your scalp from the sensation of your tongue.

She was basically dripping honey. The aroma.The taste...all of it was addictive and you couldn't get enough. As you lapped at her cunt, the senator, whose legs you were currently between,were clamping down on your head.It'd really be the best way to go out. But you were far from finished."Ally...we seem to have a problem." you spoke from between her legs, your girlfriend parted her legs and looked at you with worry,"what's the problem?".

"It's just that you taste sweeter than the pineapple." the blood rushed to Ally's cheek making her blush."And why's that bad?" she questioned."It's just that I can't get enough.." you smirked in reply as you returned your head to her dripping core. Taking your middle and ring finger, you ran it up her slit to gather her arousal.As you did so, you toyed at her dripping entrance causing Ally to whimper once more, having teased her enough, you plunged your fingers into her pussy.

Immediately her back arched off the bed, the weak springs in the bed creaked as your woman moved in pleasure. Her head twisting and turning on the pillow. Never stopping from moving inside her, you curled your fingers, grazing and caressing her g spot. She was pulling you in, her warm tight muscles begging for more of you as her arousal dripped down your hand. You loved every moment of this."Faster y/n ...fas-" her second orgasm stopped her mid sentence overtaken by loud moans. Hands fisting and gathering your hair in her palms as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her head was empty of everything else but your name which she yelled till high heaven.

Your eyes locked onto her pussy, watching as her sensitive entrance fluttered trying to regain normalcy. You couldn't just lay between her legs watching her delicious essence drip onto the sex stained sheet. Ally was tired from her two highs that she had in a row, but she didn't know you intended to collect the rest of her."Ahh shit y/n baby please- please I can't" she felt you softly lick her, she was now pushing your head away from her center.

Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes as she pleaded, it was the most intense orgasm she has had in a while. Looking up at her you smiled and complied to the words of your girlfriend."Very well baby." You missed moments and times like this, just you and her. Usually after sex she would be off scurrying to finish off some work instead of laying beside you. "Next time you'll get to eat the pineapple. I wanna try it.." Ally spoke seductively yet there was a hint of sleepiness in her voice. You turned your head and took in her disheveled state. Only you got to see the pristine and up tight Ally Mayfair like this... you were lucky and grateful for her.

Your girlfriend shot you a small wink before getting off of the bed and making her way to the bathroom, giving you a full view of her plump naked ass. Swaying her hips as she walked away. That was all yours, and you planned to make it so. The diamond ring tucked away behind your clothes in your dresser held that promise...

#ally mayfair richards #ally mayfair x reader #fluff #pineappleee juice power #w/w #gae #american horror story #season 7 #cult #ally mayfair

89 notes · View notes

missyasf · 4 years ago

Text

Game Of Hearts

| 1 |

↳ Summary: Your life is in monotonous tones of grey, day in, day out. Nothing matters besides your sister, the only thing you remember is seeing fireworks before waking up to Tokyo abandoned . Soon enough you are properly introduced to the deadly Borderlands where you must fight for your life in Games to survive. When things can’t possibly get worse soon division arises and rivalries are made. No matter what though, you are constantly plagued by a blonde who, no matter how hard you try, just can’t seem to go too far without.

↳ Pairing: Chishiya/Reader

↳ Genre: Angst, smut, thriller

Word Count: 11k

___| Next

Trigger Warning: ⚠️ much like the manga/Netflix adaptation this will be a dark fic which includes mentions of prostitution, attempted murder, child ab*se, sexual harassment, heavy grief and attempted suic*de among other things. Additional warnings will be added for chapters when triggers are brought up. Please read with caution if these are triggers for you or just skip all together!

Side mention: This could be considered a prequel to the current Alice In Borderland. I’m writing based off the Manga bc I was a glutton and couldn’t wait no spoilers will be present as of...

Escapism

noun

the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy ♡

You had known all about this during your short lifespan, as a child you’d often play pretend with your sister that you were movie stars living in a five star hotel rather than the shitty busted up apartment on the wrong side of town. Escapism came in, many forms. It was often a way for people to cope psychologically, simply because sometimes, facing the reality of your situation can be too much for one person to handle mentally.

Or at least, that was the topic of your lecture today in class. The human mind always fascinated you. Even at the young tender age when your mom died and you watched your once cozy little family fall apart piece by piece until nothing was left in its wake.

It was your fascination that drove you now for most things, why? Why, why, why? You always wondered what the motive was behind someone’s actions, not only thing but you wanted to understand them better, to try and sympathize. You were already fairly intuitive in nature. It wasn’t difficult to read people. In fact your line of work made it easy, you’d watch a man who would be excited to be with you reach for his left finger as if used to touching something. A wedding band perhaps?

The lowlife cheater was fairly common in a whore house after all. Or the man who had been pissy this morning behind you in line because you had decided to try something new on the menu and you weren’t fast enough, obviously because he was tardy and woke up late, his shirt unbeknownst to him was button the wrong way and his tie loose and even the way his hair fell were all signs of being late to work.

It was the little things you noticed in people’s facial expressions, the way they moved and spoke. You could read people like a book, and sure sometimes it was useful. But you often wished you weren’t so perceptive. It drove you mad knowing when a potential love interest was no longer interested through a simple text or a friend not wanting to talk by their tone. Sometimes you wished you could just blot it all out, still, you lived like this day in and day out, you were used to this kind of thing and honestly. Friends? Love? Your gaze dropped a little to your feet, the pumps you were wearing a jet black and the heel too high for any respectable woman to ever wear.

...It wasn’t like you ever had any of those in your life and you had struggled to come to terms with the fact that you could survive without that kind of support. Still...it made you envious, the couple happily holding hands on the sidewalk. The group of friends all laughing at a table while they studied. Oftentimes these feelings are muted, but when you’re faced with something you’ve always craved, those muted feelings suddenly become hyperactive in your mind.

It’s pathetic, honestly.

“How dare you! You disgusting slut!”

In this moment however, you were brought back to reality at just what was happening, you squeaked loudly as you dodged the shoe the woman had thrown at you. This was all a regular occurrence, you had a lot of regulars who weren’t the most amazing people but hey, money was money. But along with them they also left a trail which their wives and girlfriends always followed. And then they always blamed you instead of their partner for leaving them for a prostitute despite you never having agreed to anything such as that.

It really wasn’t your fault, you were just trying to make a living while juggling with keeping up your own education, paying your fathers debts, rent and still somehow getting food on the table. What part time college job could provide that?

Prostitution wasn’t a job you would’ve gone into willingly but given the past and your trauma that was already laced in it you had been learning that sometimes because of the trauma we experience, sometimes people go back to that same trauma and actively participate in it as a way of feeling like they’re in control.

That whatever happened before, would never happen again if you were in control. You weren’t sure if you qualified under this category, trauma came in many forms but the one most used as an example in your class was that a study showed that women who were assaulted often develop a kink for consensual non consent as a way of coping with what happened, except this time, it’s in a controlled environment where it can end the moment they want it too.

Again, you weren’t sure you fell into this category, but you often wondered if your line of work was intertwined with your earlier memories when you were younger, if anything it brought comfort to you. Much of it, blotted out now simply because your mind couldn’t take it. Trauma expressed through amnesia was also much more common than many thought, and it’s so small, so easy to miss. After all how can you be aware of something if you have no memory of it anymore?

“Security!” Your manager screeched, two of the bodyguards were already between you and the feral woman who was ready to gut you clean as she screamed hysterically, her husband...your regular....at her side trying to get her to calm down only for her to come to her senses and slap him clean across the face. You didn’t condone violence, but he did have it coming...

You weren’t about to justify cheaters, you couldn’t imagine the hurt someone had to feel that not only did their partner cheat on them, but it was with someone...like you...You had been trying not to put down your job occupation, sex workers were just as valid as anyone else...you knew you would’ve thought this way if it was anyone but you in this position.

You sighed as you ran your hands through your hair, watching the couple get dragged out of the tight space of the brothel, “Jesus christ....didn’t you say you stopped using perfume because of this?” Miki, your manager sighed as she crossed her arms. You didn’t want to say your manager was your friend but she was the closest you had as you’d often complain to her about most of your problems. Sex work often attracted broken people, it wasn’t something she wasn’t used to.

“Yeah, but apparently he never got around to washing his clothes…” You wiped your mouth on the back of your hand, “Lipstick stain,” You glanced down at the ruby pink color that stained your skin now, “Fuck...that did hurt.” You rubbed your sore cheek that was still throbbing from where she had first slapped it when she ripped the door open of the room where she got to see with her own eyes you riding her husband.

It had happened so many times now you weren’t even embarrassed about someone walking in let alone a partner. Miki gave you a lopsided smile as she patted your shoulder, “Guess that just pays for being one of the best here. Did you at least get paid.”

You nodded, “Yeah, I always make them pay in advanced but I was hoping to get a tip afterwards...He was a lawyer so you know he had good money.” You sighed, crossing your arms, you were well aware of his partner because a lot of the time he didn’t even come in for sex anymore. It was funny how humans work.

He often felt his wife was overbearing and you had suspected some sort of verbal abuse by the way he talked about her constant screaming. Truthfully, you don’t think he ever intended on cheating with her. He just wanted someone to talk to without being judged, you could relate with sympathy to that, but he unfortunately chose to walk into a brothel instead of a therapy clinic and this truly was the only inevitable outcome. Still, you hope if for anyone’s sake, he gets that divorce for himself.

“Hey I think I’m gonna call it a day. I need to get back to Nanami, she was wanting to talk to me about college applications.” You sighed as you rubbed your neck, ever since she had graduated high school she had been chomping at the bit to start applying for college, maybe to just get out of the house and into a dorm. You couldn’t blame her and if she did that it would lighten your load a little.

Guilt washed over you at the thought as Miki chuckled, “They grow up pretty fast huh? My brother was the same way, except the moment he found out I was a sex worker was the moment he called me a whore and we haven’t talked since. That was probably about five years ago,” She crossed her arms as she sighed, “Crazy how the things we do for the ones we love, never appreciate our effort...I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“If I’m not bruising.” You offered a weak smile as you nodded at her before going back to your room to get changed. Truthfully, you much like anyone else, often wished you could go to a world where reality wasn’t a concept any longer. Where you could lay out in the sun for the whole day and just soak up it’s rays with no worries or trepidations.

But sooner then later everyone had to face their fears. Even you, you supposed. But no matter how hard you fought your demons, they always came back tenfold. Again, you supposed your story was no different from tens of thousands, and yet you all live on regardless. Maybe it’s you who should be the one seeking therapy. Pulling on your jeans and the cropped top over your head before pulling the jacket over your arms and grabbing your bag.

The walk home was as quiet as ever, your hood over your head and earbuds any unwanted attention, it wasn’t too late at night, only eleven PM and your work had just been getting started but that had ruined the night for you and besides, you had already failed a test today, you could use the sleep tonight.

Occasionally you’d hear the sirens of a cop car passing by or a bystander shout, nothing out of the ordinary in this neighborhood. Walking up to the apartment complex you pulled the key from your bag as you unlocked the door. Quietly stepping insides as you shut the door before locking it once more. Your nose wrinkled at the smell of stale air mixed with rotten...something…

If anything, you were always lacking in something, you had been so busy most of the day that you never had time to clean anything leaving the house in a horrible state. Not that you thought this was much of a house.

Walking down the narrow hallway you opened the rickety door with a missing lock as you gave a brief smile to the small clump of bedsheets. Your sister was curled up and on her phone, eyes darting to the door with a hint of fear before she jumped up, “Y/n! You’re home earlier from night shift already!?”

You offered a smile as you set down your bag and nodded, sitting down on the mattress that laid on the floor as you replied, “Yeah, a coworker needed the extra hours so I let them cover for me tonight. Besides, you wanted to talk about college applications?” Your sister was under the impression your late night job was bartending at some hole in the wall downtown, where in all actuality you just went there to drink a few days and talk to the loud and sometimes obnoxious, but good hearted bartender who loved talking about his nerdy underaged friends that couldn’t do anything beside stay and drink soda.

It wasn’t that you didn’t think your sister would accept you, if she knew what you were actually doing. Fear, most times came in many different forms and this was one of them. You simply didn’t want to be judged, even by her. So nobody in your life truly knew who you were, and therefore, how could you hold the expectation for people to accept you into society if you were already self sabotaging yourself?

All philosophy aside, you were simply a lost soul, looking for your way in the cruel reality called life.

“Yes!” Nanami was chipper as always as she squealed, clapping her hands, “I…! I was thinking about applying to the university you attend! Maybe I'll get a grant and move into the dorms there? I already applied for several jobs, I’m just waiting on a callback!”

You offered a small smile as you hugged your knees to your chest, “I think you’d like it there, there’s lots to do around campus. But what will you go in for? The only advice I can offer is be sure it’s what you want to do.”

Nanami’s face faltered a little as she hummed, “Well...I thought maybe working with animals? I’d love to be an assistant surgeon in veterinarian? I know it’s a pretty...sad job but...I really like the idea of being able to heal such innocent things.” Your smile tugged into a gentle one at your sister. She was too tender for this world.

It had been your goal sense the day your mother died that you took care of your sister, it didn’t matter what happened to you. You could rot for all you cared at the end of the day, all you wanted was to look up and see your sister's smile and her happiness in life blossom. She more than anyone deserved it.

“I think you’ll be great at it.” You encouraged as you rested your chin on your hand, always happy to see her bounce in excitement as you yawned, your body was used to your demanding schedule but it was always more than happy to welcome a few extra hours of sleep.”

Hearing the door loudly slam close caused you both to jump, Nanami hurriedly crawled back in bed, pretending to be asleep as you frowned. Your dad must’ve come back home from wherever he was.

“Y/n! Just stay here! Can’t you talk to him later?” Nanami looked scared, she always did when he was around. But you weren’t about to stand down to the bastard any day of the week, you offered a weak smile as you replied.

“It’s fine Nami, I’ll be just a few minutes.” You replied, you knew that she knew, that was probably a lie. But you’d try your best, for her sake at least. But somebody had to put this guy in his place occasionally and it was always you. It results in a lot of screaming sometimes, other times he’d break down in tears or on a bad occasion you’d get shoved to the ground, a few times hit. Nothing major.

Walking out of the room you leaned against the wall of the entrance of the hallway watching your father stumble around in the living room, “Did you finally talk to the loan company?” You called out as you asked, not in a forgiving mood tonight. He had said he’d do this for two weeks in a row. The company that sank your whole family into the ground. The reason your mother couldn’t take it anymore and put a blade to her wrist.

Your father stood up, looking a little wobbly, obviously drunk, “Now listen here little girl I don’t have shit to own to you or anyone else.” You sighed as you tucked your tongue into your cheek, annoyance flowing inside you as you straightened up. You weren’t going to be bullied into being scared of this guy.

“Actually you do,” Your smile twisted into something more sharp, more bitter and sinister as you walked forward, “See, if you hadn’t of gotten involved in something shady like loan sharks we wouldn’t be drowning in debt and mom wouldn’t have killed herself because of you and both your daughters wouldn’t hate you. I know you drink away all our money in some pathetic attempt to escape from the cold reality that you fucked up your whole life and watched your family slip from your fingers while not even trying to do anything other then put us in further shit,” You closed your eyes as you tilted your head, “But the least you could do, is admit that. You owe us at least that for being a total fuck up.”

You opened your eyes to find pure rage brewing in your fathers eyes as you smiled once more, this time a false sense of sickly sweet tone to it as you shrugged, “Or you could live in denial, at this point, there really isn’t anything you can do to get anyone back ♡ ”

You had turned around, planning to tell Nanami that maybe she should go sleep over at a friends house today but you never got the chance, suddenly being slammed into the wall and flecks of spit hitting your face, “I am your fucking father! I deserve respect from you and your worthless sister! Do you know how much I provide for you both?”

Anger splintered through your veins as you grabbed onto his wrists, his fingers digging into your neck as you squirmed, “Like fucking what!? A shitty broken down apartment that your vacant from because you’re too fucking ashamed of yourself to even look at us sober!?”

Much like years in the past you weren’t surprised to hear Nanami cry as she rushed out of the room at the sound of you both screaming, “Stop!” She cried out, trying to break you both up, “Stop! Don’t fight! Why…! Why can’t we all just get along!” She sobbed only for your dad to shove her down making her curl up in defeat.

Alarm bells were triggered in your head at the sight of Nanami on the ground, she had never actually gotten hurt while in your sight and it was triggering something deep inside you as you watched him stalk up to her. Your hands shaking and rage boiling in your mind as you grabbed the closet thing you could find. An empty beer bottle on the table.

Your vision blurred and you don’t quite remember what happened other than glass shattering over his head and the brute force of you shoving something before blood was stained on your hands.

How did you end up sitting against the wall? Why was there….blood on your hands…? Your fingers trembled at the metallic sticky substance. All you could hear were Nanami’s sobs and cries as she frantically pushed herself away from the body slumped on the ground.

“You…! He…!” Nanami’s eyes brimmed with tears as you heard a loud boom making you jump, your eyes darting to the open window where….fireworks, big and bold crashed and crackled before you felt like you were sucked into a vortex making your whole vision black out.

Your head felt fuzzy and there was ringing in your ears as you groaned, curling up into yourself as the darkness beckoned you closer before you forcibly opened your eyes. You were laying against the hardwood floor. Beams of light streaked through the window and you could see dust particles in the air against the shower of sunshine that streamed in.

...Wait...Light? The thought had perplexed your head enough to make you push up from the ground, memories pulling into your mind as your breath became shallow, suddenly looking to the side where...you slumped against the wall. It must’ve just been a bad dream….your eyes flickered to Nanami’s curled up figure...a really vivid dream…? Something wrenched in your gut as you rubbed your eyes. What happened? “Nami…!” You whispered, forcing your muscles to move despite their protest as she whined.

After another moment she reluctantly opened her eyes, flickering around before she suddenly scrambled up, taking a deep breath as if realizing what had happened before, looking towards where your dad once was she frowned, “...I...What…” She seemed just as perplexed as you and if her face was anything to go by, last night had obviously happened, “Is dad…” She looked at the absent place of the floor.

Leaning against the wall your eyes darted around the room, “I guess so…” You silently felt relief at knowing your dad was still very much alive as you leaned back as you closed your eyes, trying to remember what had happened before everything went dark...oh..! The fireworks...had it been a celebration last night? Your brows pinched together, something felt...off...getting up you opened the door to the apartment walking out.

“Y/n? Y/n! Hey! Where are you going!” Nanami called out, quickly chasing after you as you frowned, cars were parked odd and there was no one out on the street...as in...at all...Something was very wrong and you couldn’t figure out what.

“Wow...it..must be a slow day…” Nanami felt a sense of discomfort at the lack of life as you both walked down the side walk, it didn’t just feel like a slow day it felt, apocalyptic. As if humanity just left on it’s own leaving nothing but an empty city behind. Cars were parked on the curb and a few even left in the street.

“No, it’s like everyone vanished...This is really weird.” You wrapped your arms around yourself as you frowned, looking around as you came closer to where typically it would be a booming part of the downtown but it was empty, just as everything before.

“Well, maybe it’s a national holiday?” Nanami rubbed her head, trying to make sense of the situation just as much as you, surely everyone wasn’t...gone...right? She looked around as she bit her lip, second guessing herself at all the cars that were vacant, “Hey Y/n.”

You paused as you looked at your sister, curving an eyebrow as she offered a weak smile, “What if everyone got raptured away like they talk about in christanity?” Your expression flattened as she giggled, obviously getting a rise out of you as you crossed your arms.

Raptured? Where? To heaven? “Wouldn’t it be fire and brimstone then if that was the case?” Nanami pouted at your words as you shrugged, snickering yourself at her expression, the tables now turned as you sighed, “I don’t think there’s anyone left in Tokyo...I mean, it feels like...we’d have seen someone by now...right?”

“Well…” Nanami frowned once more, a little disturbed at your words as she spoke, “There’s no way everyone could be gone I mean, where would they go? And how could we miss something like that...Maybe the police found us and now we’re under some weird simulation.”

Chills spilled down your spine as you shoved her making her whine, “Don’t say that! That makes me feel all weird…! I didn’t…!” You cut yourself off, you didn’t what? Murder your own dad in cold blood...you looked down at your hands, they were free of any blood but it still felt like something like sin lingered. Like no matter where you went, it would always be stuck to you.

You didn’t like this, not one bit. Briefly you felt the urge to go hunt down your dad, he was a deadbeat but you would never...you’d never kill him....Right?

“Well…” Nanami hummed her eyes scanning ahead before they jumped to the mall that was up ahead, “Hey…! If nobody is here...maybe we could make use of it! Come on! Let's go!” You yelped at her grabbing your arm before dragging you ahead. Cars were all parked and yet not a single person exited through the mall's entrance. Something just felt off! You wrapped your arms around yourself as you warily looked around the empty mall, “Nanami I really don’t like this!” You looked around, concern bubbling inside you as she ran ahead into the store, digging through the section of clothes as she giggled.

“Relax! I doubt any of this is real and even so…! Who’s going to stop us!?” She shrugged as she bounced in excitement, “Oh my god! I had dreamed of something like this happening! Now we can do whatever we want! Go wherever we want! Y/n!” She gasped with a smile, “Now we don’t even have to worry about money!”

“We don’t even know if this is permanent.” You looked around warily, not partaking as she began plucking off the racks, “Regardless of what this is, I don’t like it. I want to go back home, our home. This just doesn’t…” You shook your head, “This just doesn’t feel right.”

“Well you can feel that way!” Nanami clacked her tongue as she gave a childish smile, “But I’m gonna go through this whole store and get a new wardrobe so feel free to sit on the bench and tell me what you think looks good!”

Looking away you sighed, unable to pinch the anxious feeling you had away as you sat down reluctantly as Nanami went into the changing room. Well...at least she was smiling and she was happy...With each outfit Nanami tried out and giggled, you giggled with her and maybe things weren’t so bad after all…

“What a perfect day.” Nanami hugged you close as she sighed, yawning as you looked up at the sky in awe, you had seen a single star while living in Tokyo before, but now it was filled with constellations and millions of stars that stretched for miles. You could stare at it for days and days. The sun had just set a little over half an hour ago and you were ready to retire and find something to eat at the apartment.

You and Nanami had tried going to the food court but much to your dismay everything had been...rotten...soiled and ruined, meaning there was no point in trying to find anything there and you were getting really hungry despite devouring bags of chips you had both got at the convenient store, another thing that stood out to you was that there was no electricity...at all..

Looking back up to the sidewalk something caught your eyes...was that…! Light!? “Hey! Nanami look!” You shook her making her squeak as she looked up ahead, “It’s the hospital! They have electricity there which means there’s other people! Of course! Why didn’t we think to check essential areas!? Come on! Lets go! I wanna figure out what happened.”

“Alright! It sucks that this is already over but at least I can finally charge my phone, the battery is pretty low.” Nanami nodded in agreement as you both made your way up the road.

The walk wasn’t too far and you felt excitement fill you at the sight of the hospital all lit up as you walked into the entrance, a frown slowly setting on your lips once more as you walked past the receptionist desk and…! Oh there’s other people!

You felt relief wash over your as you ran up, there were at least seven other other people here at least! “Hey! Guys oh my god. I thought everyone was gone! What’s going on?” You asked, smiling bright in relief that you and Nanami weren’t the only ones left behind. Was this some kind of evac point or…?

Silence ensued and you slowly began to frown as you felt everyone stare at you as if you were insane, “Um…” You wrapped a hand around your arm, suddenly feeling as if everyone knew something you didn’t, “What’s going on…?” You furrowed your brows as you tilted your head, unsure of why everyone was looking at you like this.

Somebody looked like they were going to talk to you, a guy relatively around your age but a woman stopped him- his girlfriend maybe? “Stop, the less that know the better chance we have.” She said quietly though you still heard just enough. Fear twisted inside you as you took a cautious step back...The...the less you knew?

“Wow, you guys are assholes,” A girl suddenly whistled out, she was sitting in a waiting chair, a cowboy hat on her head paired with distressed jeans and...a bikini top? Strange but you’d roll with it if it meant getting answers. She stood up as she offered a smile, “Akari, nice to meet ya’. You folk must be new to the Borderlands huh?” She jutted her bottom lip a little as you frowned.

“Um I’m Y/n and this is my sister Nanami...?” You introduced yourself despite feeling confused as you raised a brow, “Borderlands…?” You echoed, what was that supposed to be? Other than Tokyo?

Akari gave a nod as she let out a brief chuckle, as if amused by your confusion but you sensed she had no real ill will unlike....your eyes checked to the couple that stood off in the corner on their own, “That’s what they call it here,” She nodded in affirmation as your eyes darted back to her in confusion, “To be frank with ya’, I don’t have a damn clue what's going on. Nobody does. But ever since you crossed the threshold there’s no going back, so I’ll be brief. We’re all considered outsiders here and we participate in games at venues such as this to extend our stay.”

Nanami and you looked at one another confused as Akari waved you over to the table in front of a TV, “Here, you’ll wanna put these on, it’s for the game.” She explained as you carefully picked up the metal bracelet, something about it felt ominous as you reluctantly put it on, jumping at the way it latched together and there was no getting it off now, “Word of advice, just don’t panic and you probably won’t die.”

“What?!” You screeched as Akari smacked your back, panic evident in your voice as you turned around to face her making her laugh again, this girl was insane! She had to be! “You’re…! You’re joking!”

Akari wrinkled her nose as she tilted her head, “Ah shit, I wish I was- Oh…! There’s the last player!” Just on que everyone turned to look at who had arrived, someone heaving breaths with their hands on their knees as if they had sprinted. You were mildly worried at why he seemed so scared but you had a feeling that was the least of your problems right now.

“Y/n what’s going on…?” Nanami frightened grabbed your arm as she hid a little behind you due to all these immensing strangers that looked like they were ready to feed you to the sharks, literally.

The guy walked past you both as he put on his bracelet, your eyes sharp as you watched it latch together automatically, your gaze jumping to everyone's wrists to notice you were all now wearing one. The TV suddenly lit up.

Game

You squinted your eyes a little at the sight of the screen, just what were you about to unwillingly participate in…?

Difficulty: 5♣

“The game you will be participating in is, Monster under the bed.”

A playing card? Monster under the bed? Your brows furrowed as you looked at Nanami who shrugged a little despite her concerned expression, looking just as confused as you. You could’ve made a joke out of this, surely it would’ve been easier. Maybe everyone would bust out laughing and you’d be at the end of a poor joke but...somehow you felt that wasn’t the case. Thus paying very close attention to whatever was on this screen,

“Everyone will be sectioned off into pairs by the number chosen on your bracelet, when the doors to the ward open you will have three rounds ten minutes each to figure out who is the monster under the bed that must be returned to its own, once the ten minutes is up you must hide before you are found. If the selected pair that is the monster is chosen correctly it’s a Game Clear. If the monster is not found by the end of the third round or if the pair fails to hide it’s a Game Over.”

Rules:

Once the doors are open you and your partner must find a hiding spot by the time limit

Both partners must be hidden. If one is exposed to the monster it’s a Game Over for both partners

There will be an X marked on the ground to place the monster of your guess onto.

You will have three rounds of ten minutes each to find the monster.

Any attempt to remove bracelets results in a Game Over

If the monster is not found by the third round a Game Over.

The only Game Clear condition required is for the monster to be returned by the third round.

What…

What!?

“Now the game will commence, you have five minutes to figure out who you have been paired up with before the doors open.”

Your mind was blanking as you watched everyone look down at their bracelet, hurriedly you lifted your arm as your mind blanked 2 looking back at Nanami her lips were already quivering as she sniffled lifting her arm in defeat as your lips dropped open, 5.

“Hey! Guess you’re my partner!” Akari grinned as she wrapped an arm around Nanami who sniffled, “Oh…” She looked between you both, “Oh! Oh don’t worry! We’re not the monster so I’ll make sure your sister lives! You should go find your partner.”

Your hands trembled unsure of what to do before you went to hug Nanami, “Whatever happens just stay calm okay! I need to go find my partner now!” You whispered, kissing her cheek as she sniffled while nodding.

Everybody was shuffling around looking for their partner now, you passed by a few people, 4, 1, 3...did you even have a partner…? You scanned around, your throat tightening a little in panic, there had to be a mistake! There were only 8 people surrounding you- you yelped at the tight grip that suddenly held your arm forcing you to turn around to be met with a white hooded figure, a lollipop handle hanging and earbuds in before sighing, “So it appears I’m stuck with someone useless.” The man concluded as he stood up making you back away a little as your lips parted somewhat indignantly.

How...how rude! You looked up, unable to fully make out his face but you could tell you didn’t like him one bit, “I’ll…! First of all I’m not useless! I’m just trying to understand what's going on! This is insane! We aren’t actually going to die from this, are we!?” Pushing his hood down you were immediately met with a snide gaze and cat eyes that leered at you like you were nothing more then dirt beneath his feet, long blonde hair pushed behind his shoulders and his bangs hanging low, suddenly a viscous side smile appeared on his lips, “Apparently so, otherwise I wouldn’t have watched half my last game get their brains blown out and the other half hung.”

You reeled a little away from the blonde, your face dropped in semi horror, unsure if this was just a sick joke or he was serious. You searched his face a thousand times over, but for the first time in your life, you couldn’t figure out what his goal was. You couldn’t figure out anything about him, except he was exceptionally cold, “Well I don’t suppose I have much choice to doubt you,” He said with an annoying sing song tone as he rattled his wrist that showed the bracelet with a matching 2 on it, “My name is Chishiya, just stay out of my way and we’ll both live.”

How arrogant! You scoffed as he walked past you, not the least bit bothered at your offense as you whipped around, glaring at his back. How come out of everyone you got stuck with the most…! Pompous! Arrogant! Ugh! You crossed your arms as you followed behind him, stilling secretly sending daggers into his back with your eyes as everyone shuffled into the ward.

Hospital beds were scattered around the room, a few closets and one large vent at the bottom right corner of the room ahead.

“Wait, what is this?” The first person to speak was a fair thin older gentleman, he appeared friendly as he observed the room around him, everyone looked around in confusion as you noticed what he meant.

Any possible hiding spot was covered by either sheets of metal or locked tight...How were any of you supposed to hide if…!? The rules mentioned nothing about solving puzzles to gain access to a hiding spot!

“Forget that,” Another man said with a sneer he was broad and a bit older, well into his late twenties at least, perhaps a gym coach? Or maybe a wrestler of some sort? He looked like he could break you and nearly every other person in this room like a twig, “We need to figure out who’s the monster. “ He cracked his knuckles as you leered a little away and nobody spoke for a second.

Of course, who would out themselves as the monster, more importantly, how does one even know they’re the monster? You could immediately feel tension rise as the previous, more patient man spoke, a little more collected, “How about we just check one another's’ watches! If anywhere it would show us on that! One pair should work on solving these puzzles here so everyone has a place to hide”

“Unless the monster is among us and it sabotages us so we all die by the time limit.” The girlfriend crossed her arms as she darted her eyes around. Truthfully you didn’t know what to believe, the wording on the soundbox was rather confusing as to just what were you looking for. Was the monster supposed to be in the group or it’s own entity?

“If that were the case it would’ve showed up on our watches, which it didn’t. So that won’t work.” Chishiya spoke matter of fact, his tone cool as his eyes gazed across the room before he walked away from the group inspecting various hiding spots granted you didn’t think he was about to help anyone but himself, if anything you were at least lucky that him securing a hiding spot meant it was one for you as well.

You looked at everyone in confusion, some arguing while others scattered to look for a hiding spot as the clock ticked down. You breathed in relief at the sight of Nanami and Akari both going for a bed to hide under. Your gaze finally found Chishiya’s form before following him, unsure of what you were supposed to do, if anything outside trying to figure out just what the monster even was.

You glanced up at the digital clock that stood above the entrance you had just come in from, it was already a minute in before you searched the floor where you found a red X in the center of the room, that must’ve been the...what? Offering spot? You cringed a little at the idea. Looking forward you peered behind Chishiya’s shoulder deciding to not think about that, it seemed the metal sheet that had wrapped around the bed and was sealed to the ground was locked by some sort of metal device…? Contraption? Lock?

“Isn’t hiding under a bed a bit obvious…?” You frowned as you crossed your arms, unsure as you looked behind your shoulder once more to where accusations were already being thrown in the group.

“The vent is a decoy to make you waste time, I already checked,” Chishiya replied, his fingers nimble as they rattled the metal, “And even if someone were to accomplish it in the time limit it’s the most obvious spot the monster would first check. Next would be the closet given it’s at eye level and the first thing one is drawn too when they walk into a room.”

Your lips parted a little in surprise at his assessment...obviously he wasn’t just overconfident, “And why this spot?” If he had really thought about all this in less than a minute then...did he have a reason for this spot? You now found yourself, slightly less annoyed and a little more curious as to what was going on in his mind.

“If the monster were to check a bed it would be after his eyes are drawn to the closet. Next in that line of sight would be the vent directly across it, which would be his next place to look if not his first and vice versa. The beds are all staggered throughout the room making them less conspicuous compared to the other hiding places, the bed on the far end of the room would be no good.”

Your brows furrowed in curiosity at his assessment as you watched Chishiya blow a piece of hair from his face, wiggling out one piece of the knotted metal, “It’s too far from the entrance where as the one in the middle is by average the one most people would start with, where as the first? It’s almost too soon in the start to look there thus making it the safest.”

“It’s them! They’re over there conspiring!” You both twisted around to watch the broad man point an accusing finger at you both as your eyes darted from him to the clock on the wall, which read at six minutes. A few other pairs, relievingly so was your sister had started working on a hiding spot while a few others stood around and argued.

Your face coiled a little as you replied, not appreciating the accusation to such a baseless accusation, did they not realize the longer they argued the less time they had to secure a hiding spot? “Someone who’s terrible at playing the minority would often be the first to point fingers. There’s only six minutes left before the first round is over and we need to hide. But if you want to talk about this then sure,”

You stepped closer as you crossed your arms, scanning over him before continuing, “Let’s talk about the chances of you being the monster, ever since you first came in you’ve been all twitchy and acting like something is wrong. Even when we first got paired up, you seemed a little panicked. Anyways,” You turned around as you spoke, “How do we know one pair is a monster and not one single person?”

“Eh,” Akari sat on the bed that her and Nanami chose as Nanami fumbled to work out the puzzle, she had always been good at those! You felt assured as your heart beat frantically at the idea of them not being able to get a hiding spot in time, “Let’s all calm down,” She gave an awkward laugh, “This isn’t a hearts game, we shouldn’t divide our trust. This is a team building after all which means this game should be making us work together, the last thing we need to do is throw that away on our own accord.”

“...Team building?” You frowned as you murmured having not been aware that this was some sort of game category...Hearts? Clubs? The memory of the playing card flashing on the screen appeared in your mind again, right...was that to stand for some kind of game genre? If Clubs stood for team building then...there should be no reason that the monster is any of you. Why would they even suggest that to begin with?

Then...what was the monster?

“One minute remaining.”

The lights suddenly began flickering, “Got it.” Chishiya yanked the last piece of metal undone as he pulled the sheet of metal off, everyone was now scrambling and the few who had not done their puzzle were now panicking. Getting down you crawled under the bed, your back flat to the ground as you inhaled sharply as you noticed the lights beginning to dim, “This is...uncomfortable.” You mumbled, trying to ignore being pressed shoulder to shoulder with a man you didn’t even know besides him having a god complex, “We should’ve went with the vent.”

“By all means, if you want to try and get yourself killed already. Go for it.” You turned to look at him, dark endless cat eyes meeting you as you harshly glared at him, why was he so condescending!?

You were about to snap back something before you realized it was completely dark and the door slammed open causing you to jump. Was your heart always this loud? You could see the heavy boots step against the ground making you unsteadily inhale, swallowing as you closed your eyes. You could only place your trust that Chishiya hadn’t picked a horrible spot.

More importantly your mind was plagued with worry for your sister, you had been so caught up you hadn’t even tried to help her yet...did she even…! You heard a sudden loud scream from two people causing you to stiffen as you looked up at the bed frame lined with wooden planks. You could only cower back down at blood suddenly painting the floor.

Your stomach suddenly churned as you covered your mouth. So he wasn’t lying. Chishiya however looked just as nonpulsed as he did when he first told you himself, his eyes blankly staring up at the bed frame as if this was just a regular game of hide and seek as people screamed as they were torn apart.

Or that’s at least what you assumed it was.

After an agonizing few minutes the doors finally closed and the lights flickered back on making you breath in relief as you waited a moment, could you even bear to face what was waiting on the floor? You winced a little before something caught your eye. What was with all this extra wood stuck in the frame?

Chishiya had already gotten out from under the bed and before you suddenly heard a few girls scream, your sister among them making you puff and breath as you scrambled from beneath the bed.

Standing up your mouth agape at the horrid sight of the female and the broad male that had been too focused on accusing others, they didn’t have...enough time...it looked like they had been completely mutilated, blood pouring on the floor and the smell made you want to gag as you looked away.

“Well, now what do we do.” Akari scratched her head, also not looking phased that two people had just been brutally killed. Your eyes stayed placed on the bodies before they slowly trailed to your hands, the memory of blood staining them still fresh in your mind.

“Well we have to figure out where the monster is?” The girlfriend of the couple spoke up, she looked around somewhat suspiciously, “But I’m not sure where we could find it? Maybe it has to do with the bracelets? Maybe there’s a clue hidden.”

“Oh what about in the cabinets?” The collected man from before offered as he went to search the cabinets, your frown furthered as you glanced around. Everyone was now getting along, still on edge but along at least.

Chishiya only leaned against the wall, his hands in his pocket as he rolled the lollipop in his mouth, his gaze the same steely one it was before as if he had done his job in securing his temporary salvation and was now done.

Or maybe he just didn’t know what to do? It was obvious his strength didn’t lie in teamwork, clearly. But then again, you weren’t sure what was going on, you couldn’t get a read on him. Crossing your arms you stayed beside him, your eyes briefly washing over your sister who was working Akari to dig through a desk together.

“Cabinets and drawers are too obvious.”

Chishiya’s eyes flickered to your figure, his expression just as cold if not...a little smug maybe? He said nothing in return as you continued, “If we’re looking for a monster, it’s obvious it’s a metaphor for something. Inanimate most likely,” Your eyes flickered around the room, inhaling sharply, why did it feel like the answer was right in front of you?

Think…! You glanced at the clock, only six minutes left. The rounds were really short…! “It’d be something small and inconspicuous, something that’s in plain sight….but easy to miss...and the game said it was a pair which means there’s more than likely two.”

“Three,” You glanced at Chishiya as he spoke, pulling the lollipop from his mouth, that permanent smug look on his face as he answered, “Two is what they want you to think and if you spend a round searching for each like they hope it’s game over by three.”

You rubbed your neck as you frowned, “It’s already the second round and we haven’t even found one…” You glanced around before you suddenly perked up, “Wait…!” Getting back down on the floor you laid on your back as you pushed yourself under the bed, “Chishiya! Help me get this thing out!”

Within a moment the blonde appeared as well, his eye sharp and keen as they noticed straight away what you were tugging at, “You think this is the monster?”

You looked at him as you raised a brow, “We have less than four minutes left on our second round, you have a better idea?” Chishiya said no more but helped regardless, successfully with the both of you maneuvering it around from beneath the wooden boards you managed to get it out.

Holding it up you looked at it, “It’s a poppet doll.” You turned to face him as you smiled in accomplishment, “They’re typically used as curses to place upon people in folklore. If anything is a monster, this would be it.”

Excited at your first victory you pulled out from beneath the bed as you waved it up, “Hey guys! We need to start looking for something similar to this! If not a replica.” Everyone huddled around you examining the doll before the microphone sounded, “One minute remaining.”

Everyone had immediately scrambled back to their hiding place as you ran to the red X, placing the poppet on it, that's the reason that had to be there right!? You’d just have to see, hurriedly you ran back to your spot under the bed. Making it just in time as the lights flickered off.

The door slamming open once more as you slowly inhaled, it had to work right? If not...then you were at a loss for what to search for and you were utterly screwed.

The boots stomped against the floor past the bed as you closed your eyes, unable to calm yourself. After a moment you heard a screech and something rip open before screams followed making you jump. Chishiya’s eyes were on the feet that stood by the closet that had been obviously ripped open.

You heard the sound of something wet and a gurgle before a body slumped to the floor and you could hear begging before something got snapped in half causing you to close your eyes once more...Did you make it angry!? Was that not it? Fuck. You had never felt this stressed before as it roamed around, passing in front of your bed as you tensed.

Was this your last moment alive? Truly?

Much to your relief, the door closed once more before the lights followed, flickering on, relaxing a little you sighed as you reluctantly got out from underneath the bed with Chishiya to see what had happened. Much to your horror it was the man who had been so kind this whole game and his partner.

The monster didn’t check anywhere in the first round, yet he did this round? You tried to block out the bodies slumped in the corner as you glanced at the red X, the poppet doll gone.

“Why- why were they killed!” Nanami’s eyes began to water as she grabbed her head, “This makes no sense!”

“If it accepts the doll that means we only need two more. What happened to them is irrelevant.” Chishiya stuffed his hands back into his pocket as you glared at him sideways, not appreciating his careless tone. You could deal with it, but you didn’t want your sister dragged into it.

Grabbing your chin you thought about it for a moment, “Well...the game said to return the monster to its own and…” You glance down at the X, was there some kind of unsaid rule that if you didn’t get all three of them on the first try that it would start hunting down players? “How would a mother feel if they only returned one of its children?”

“This thing doesn’t have feelings,” The girlfriend of the partners replied coldly, her eyes like steel of her own as she clung to her boyfriend, “It’s as he said,” She waved to Chishiya, “It doesn’t matter, we’ll be like them if we don’t figure this out.”

You glanced around the room, “Tell me this, if it doesn’t matter, then why did they give us all these different hiding spots?” Everyone was silent, all eyes on you as if your question didn’t make any sense, your eyes flickered to the clock that was nearing eight minutes, you didn’t have time to monologue, “No think about it. The monster never intended to look for us- that was never stated in the rules. So why did they give us all of these choices if we only needed one per pair? My point being, if we found one poppet in our hiding spot then...You get where I’m going with this? Chishiya.”

He glanced up at you acknowledgement as you curved a brow, your lips threatening to tug into a smile as you tilted your head, “How confident are you in solving that vent?”

He glanced back down and for the first time, you watch a cocky wide smirk twist onto his lips, “You’re lucky to have someone as smart as me here to be able to open it.” You tucked your tongue into your cheek as in annoyance as he sauntered over to the vent already getting to work, “As for everyone else, we need to open up as many of these as possible to find the other two.”

Everyone immediately scrambled to get to work, with only seven minutes on the clock this was...going to be difficult. First Nanami and Akari searched all the opened spots as you worked on another bed. Rubbing your head as muttered, “Shit...I never was good with puzzles.” You awkwardly hung your head in defeat temporarily, briefly letting your eyes shift to Chishiya who was fiddling with several locks, his gaze sharp and you couldn’t even imagine all the calculations going on in his mind. You were somewhat envious of what it would be like to be that perceptive to anything adhering to logic and solution.

“Aha! Found one!” Akari yanked the poppet from the top of the closest as Nanami covered her mouth, looking like she was gonna throw up being so close to so many dead bodies. You ignored the grisly sight at the second victory of the poppet doll. Akari quickly placed it on the X as you began to work on the puzzle once more, looking up at the clock. Oh no...Oh no there was only three minutes left!

“Chishiya! Hows that puzzle coming along.” You called out, trying not to sound alarmed but you could see the clear cut annoyance on his face as he continued working through the locks, “If you’d like to help while struggling on a novice lock feel free.” He replied condescendingly, not appreciating the pressure.

You rolled your eyes with huff as you finally managed to get it undone, feeling triumphant as you searched under the bed but there was no luck, “There’s nothing here!”

“Or here!”

Several people called out as well as you rubbed your head, standing up, “If the only other place that hasn’t been searched is the vent then maybe there’s only two? It did say a pair.” You felt a lump of anxiety well in your chest at the sight of the clock ticking close to a minute and half.

“Should we really take the risk?” The boyfriend asked as he rubbed his neck, concern on his face as he looked around, “If we’re wrong then we’ll all…”

You hadn’t even thought of that…

“...! Hey.” You turned to Chishiya who seemed to be trying to get your attention making you immediately come over, if he was asking for you it’d have to be for something important given there was nearly less then two minute on the clock, “Hold this right here.” He immediately pushed your hand onto the lock right where he wanted it, “This is a two handle mechanism meaning that there needs to be two people unlocking it. Push down and out at the same time.”

“Hide! Everyone needs to hide now!”

The lights were beginning to flicker as everyone scrambled to hide, stress evidently put on your shoulders now more than ever. You could only hope he was right with your life on the line, “Now!” You pushed down on your side, the lock sliding as you pulled out, pulling a piece of metal holding up the lock directly out as Chishiya did the same with his side.

The lock fell off as well as the metal of the gate of the vent, you immediately with no hesitation leaned inside it was dark and hard to make it out anything besides the steep drop off. So he was right, this was a waste of time for a hiding place.

Looking down you caught sight of wood before laughing in relief, “It’s here! Wait shit! Chishiya! It’s too far down in the vent, you’re gonna have to lower me down to reach it. Time?”

“Forty five seconds.” You felt unfamiliar hands on your hips lifting you up as you were lowered down, “We have time.”

You squinted trying to see as you reached down, “Lower me further! I’m not quite in reach,” Your muscles began to ache in your shoulder as you reached harder, growling in frustration, “Time!?” You were lowered a little further, the wooden poppet brushing against your fingers.

“Thirty seconds! Could you go a little faster?”

“Could you lower me a little quicker- Ah! Hey did you almost let go!?” You snarled back, grabbing the poppet doll, giving a good yank as it lodged in between the crevice it was in, “Get me back up! I got it. Time!”

“Twenty seconds.” Chishiya called back, pulling you up as you gasped, pain from the metal jabbing into your stomach evident as you were met with a darkening room. Setting your feet firmly on the floor your eyes flew to the flock fifteen seconds and your spot was all the way across the room….!

“Where are we supposed to hide!? We can’t get all the way there in time!” You hissed out running to the X as you dropped the poppet down. The lights shut off as the final five seconds counted down and before you could do anything you were shoved to the floor as you squeaked. Your body throbbing in pain and your mouth immediately covered as you were met with the coverage of a bed but neither one of you were bold enough to try and scramble beneath it as the doors slammed open.

Fuck.

Your whole body was tense as your eyes squeezed shut, you were just a little ahead of the X here, if this is all the poppet dolls...they’d have no reason to go further into the room...unless...Your hand squeezed tight around the wrist of the hand that covered your mouth as you tried to calm yourself at the loud thudded footsteps.

It was quiet for a moment before you heard more walking before the doors closed.

“Game Cleared”

The lights turned on as you fell limp against the side of the bed, Chishiya’s hand removed from mouth as you pushed your hair from your face, closing your eyes as you breathed in relief, “Holy shit.” Was all you could mutter to yourself, you had never been more grateful to breathe air in your whole life.

“I guess you weren’t that useless after all huh.” Chishiya clacked his tongue as you turned your head to look at him, raising your brows as your face contorted into something between insult and amusement.

You’ve only known this man for a half an hour and yet...something about his words, if you dug down deep past that smug expression of his, was this a compliment? Looking away you pressed your tongue into your cheek, trying to keep from smiling, “Yeah, and you’re still conceited and arrogant but, I guess you have a good reason to be.” You glanced back at him again but you could hardly hold his gaze, something in that brief moment was electrified between you both as you laughed somewhat sheepishly, closing your eyes as you looked away once more.

What the fuck was even wrong with you? If this was back before today you would’ve totally kicked this guy in the balls and went about your day.

“Y/n!” You straightened up at the sound of Nanami’s voice, your expression brightening as you stood up, quickly running to her as you hugged her tight, “I can’t believe that just happened…” She whispered to you as she pressed her face into your neck. You couldn’t either but, you were thankful you had survived this game. Whatever it was.

“Come on, let's get out of this room.” You tugged on her arm, no longer wanting to be in this death room despite knowing it was all over. Pulling her out you paused at the sight of the TV and a...register…? You bracelet unlocked as you took it off, tossing it on the table as you tilted your head.

“Congratulations Game ''Clear ``.''

“...Now issuing visas to those who survived the game…?” You furrowed your brows as you glanced at Nanami who rubbed her head in confusion. You grabbed the receipt as you looked it over with a frown before picking up the 5 of clubs playing card along with it. Odd.

“It’s how many days you’re allowed to stay now! Almost a whole week, that's a good score for a first game!” Akari called out as she patted your back making you jump a little.

Almost a whole week…”Until we have to play again to...continue our stay?” You raised a brow, deciding not to ask what happens if you refused. While you had many questions, you had a feeling you knew the answer to that one.

A part of you couldn’t even believe this had happened, or was it all still a dream.

“Hey…! Sorry for all of that in there,” You turned to see...oh…! It was the boyfriend of the partner, the gifrlfriend stayed behind looking brooding, “I’m Ryu and that’s my girlfriend Hiroko I was...ah…” He faltered a little, rubbing the back of his neck as his gaze flittered to his girlfriend who was glaring him down, “You should stop by the Beach- I...I think you guys would make good additions! Bye!” He hurried not even finishing his original sentence before scurrying off making you furrow your brows at what he even meant.

“The hell?” Akari raised a brow as she watched the guy run off, “Seems to me he wanted to chat more…guess we know who's really pulling balls in that relationship.”

Nanami suddenly snickered, covering her mouth as she giggled, “Hey Akari! Why don’t we stay together! We did really well in the game together!”

“Awh shit, if you guys really want me too!” Akari offered a quirky smile as you laughed, you had no problems with someone staying behind with you. Looking past Akari your smile faded a little at the sight of a white hoodie exiting the entrance.

“Hey- I’ll be right back!” You pushed past the both of them who paid you no mind as you pushed out of the exit and down the stone steps, not sure why your feet were making you chase after such an egotistical man but…!

“Chishiya!” You called out, making the man pause, he turned around, pulling the earbuds out as he glanced up from his hoodie, raising his brows in acknowledgement, “Um…” Why did you even chase after him…? You stepped down the last step as you wrapped your arms around yourself.

It was silent for a moment as you berated yourself internally for why you seemed so speechless all of a sudden. Chishiya however didn’t seem to mind, his eyes absent now as he stared up at the hospital, “I used to do my clinical rotations here.”

You were broken out of your silent thrashing of internal humiliation as you raised your brows, lips parting in curiosity as you asked, “You were a doctor?”

“No,” Chishiya snorted, that amused calico look of his on his face once more as he looked down at you, “I was a medical student. Training to be a doctor but that obviously didn’t happen…” His lips curved into a frown, his eyes cold once more as they looked back up at the building, “I came here tonight to see if anyone I knew would be here.”

“Oh…” You looked away, feeling somewhat awkward and unsure of how to reply to him as silence took over once more beside the occasional rustling of the wind in the tree’s, the urge to speak overtaking you to the point you couldn't resist, “Chishiya...I…” You looked away, feeling somewhat bashful, “We...made a really good team back there.” You forced yourself to look up at him as you offered a bright yet subtly shy smile, “If you want...you could stay with us…?”

Chishiya pulled the lollipop stick from his mouth, letting it drop to the ground as he spoke, “No thanks.” You turned to him in surprise as you frowned a little, you shouldn’t have expected anything less…

“Oh...I understand.” You offered a weak smile as he turned his back on you and began to walk once more, “I just have one more question,” You called out causing him to pause, “...Do you by any chance know about a place called the Beach?”

Note: Whew...! As a lurker in the Alice in borderland fandom I saw a lot of people complaining about the lack of Chishiya fics so I decided to volunteer myself and take on for the team to write a series for this little blonde fucker so PLEASE let me know your thoughts and I hope you enjoy!! Also

#alice in borderland #aib #alice in borderland imagine #alice in borderland x reader #chishiya x reader #chishiya x reader smut #shuntaro chishiya #shuntaro chishiya x reader #aib imagine #aib x reader

730 notes · View notes

whump-a-la-mode · 3 years ago

Note

more comfort for magician assistant villain please? continuation of that one

Yeah! Of course. Thank you so much!

There’s comfort here just. You gotta squint. Also a dog so its comfort for you guys.

Continuation from here.

CW//Nightmare sequence, scopophobia, stagefright, dehumanization, pet whump, compared to an animal, trauma (soooo much trauma), regretting escape, positive thoughts towards whumper

The laughter of the audience cracked the air like thunder-- shaking the very oxygen with its cacophonous uproar.

Usually, Villain did not join in with the din of the audience, but now, they had no choice. The screams falling from their mouth were not of their own control.

At the very least, their terror made them feel as though there was no control to be had over their own desperate howling. Nor was there any control they could manifest over the quaking shivers that rippled through their body like a disturbed lake’s surface.

No. They had no control, no control at all. Because they were in their kennel.

Hero had found out. Villain knew not how, but they had found out. They knew the terror that the tiny steel box struck through them-- and they found it to be nothing but positively hilarious.

“We’ll just have to abandon our old act.” They’d smirked. “We have something much more entertaining, now.”

A new act. Being wheeled onto the stage in a covered crate, presented like a meal to be feasted upon. And, when the cover was torn away, the laughter began.

Their mitted hands slammed in desperation against the bars, but they did not so much as budge. The solid steel construction was as sturdy as it was minuscule. There was no room to turn around, hardly room to breathe. They couldn’t hide from the thousands of staring eyes, the blaring lights, the screams and the uproar. Even as they shrieked themself, pleaded, pleaded for their kennel to be covered once more, their words were treated as only the comedy act’s cherry on top.

And, beside the cage, Hero drank in the glory. They were speaking, words sizzling through the air as lightning strikes and eclairs, but their words were nothing but noise to their captive.

Because dogs did not speak.

They wanted so desperately to leave, to hide, to curl up in the corner of their cell and sob until the world fell away. But there was no cell. There never had been.

There was nothing. Nothing beyond the stage.

“Come here, buddy. Good boy, c’mere.”

Villain head swiveled on its axis, though the tight confines tried to prevent even as a movement so small. The noise, where was it coming from? It wasn’t Hero’s voice. And how could they be expected to come when they were kenneled?

Were they planning to punish them for failing an impossible task?

It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Good dog! Good dog.”

The words made Villain’s mouth grow dry, tongue sticking to the roof of it. Good dog, good dog, good dog...

“Good boy, Hydro!”

At once, the stage lights blinked out. The audience’s shouts too disappeared, though they clung on in the form of ringing in Villain’s ears.

They could breathe. The kennel was letting them breathe.

They couldn’t feel its walls. Where was the kennel? Where was the stage? Where were they?

A single blink, and the world of the show fell away, replaced by hues of blue and off-white, and the feeling of fleece on their skin.

Where were they? Their vision at last agreed to refocus, though it showed them little more than the remnants of a repaired popcorn ceiling. In an instant, however, that too was blocked out by the shadow of a human figure.

“Oh- Good morning. I didn’t realize you’d be waking up quite so soon.”

It wasn’t Hero. Hero would never say good morning. Not to a dog.

“Wh....” They managed, though the scratchiness of their throat made the noise come out as more of a grovel.

“Hey, hun, they’re waking up.”

“Oh, okay.”

With the trodding of footsteps, the owner of the second voice soon emerged. That voice was familiar, somehow, though it did not make them shake like the voices of most of the heroes did.

Villain blinked, once, then twice, until the figures above them became solid. Two people. Two strangers. Neither wore uniforms of any sort, nor any insignias. Not even nametags...

“It’s good to see you awake again.” The second stranger spoke, tone soft.

“How are you feeling?”

Who in the world were these people? They certainly weren’t heroes.

“Mmm... hurts.”

“You got thrown through a river for, like, two miles.” The first stranger commented. “I’m not surprised that it hurts. I have no idea how you didn’t drown.”

A river. The river. The fence. They’d fallen off, because of the gas, and-

Villain jolted upright, only then noticing that they had been lying down at all. Their head spun, but willpower kept them conscious.

A living room. A house, complete with DIY wall decor and an honest mess. It was small. Cozy.

Civilian.

And-

Bark!

The noise made them jump halfway out of their own skin, gaze swiveling to the source.

A dog, in the middle of the room. A real dog, fur and lolling tongue and all. Some kind of retriever, they thought, pelt woven with hues of cream and gold.

“Now, you are going to show me just how well you can obey-- or I will have your stay here extended until, when I take out that gag, you bark. Got that?”

A shiver tore through Villain’s spine.

“I guess we should probably introduce ourselves.” The second stranger began, casting a glance back at the golden-furred animal. “Um, this is our place, by the way.”

“Oh.” Villain murmured, struggling to focus their gaze on the person speaking.

“My name’s Spouse.”

“I’m, um-”

The two figures shared a glance.

“You can call me Civilian. It’s nice to meet you, even though I’m sure this is... a little weird.”

“Mmm.” Villain struggled to hum in agreement. “Where...”

“Well,” Spouse began. “I was just out walking Hydro, that’s the dog, and I kinda found you on the river bank? I don’t know if you remember that. Anyways, you said not to call emergency services, and I didn’t know what to do, so...”

“I’m a doctor. Kind of. I’m a resident. So we figured we could try to help.” Civilian added. “It’s not a lot, but... You’re alive.”

“Yea....”

“Spouse?” The figure looked to their partner. “I think Hydro is scaring them. Could you take him outside a sec?”

“Yeah, ‘course.” The other nodded, moving to another part of the building. With a click of their tongue, the animal followed them, tags dangling from its-

Collar.

"Good. Now, good dogs don't need to be dragged. Heel."

Villain’s hand jolted to their neck, feeling the cold of their mitts directly on their skin.

Their collar was gone.

But the mitts...

“I didn’t know if you wanted those off or not.” Civilian spoke, now that their partner had left. “Do you?”

Their gaze cast downwards. The leather was torn and pockmarked, now, but still holding up. Still restraining...

Villain scanned the room.

In the corner, a wire kennel sat. Larger than their own, with its base laden with blankets and plush toys. In another room, its floor made of tile, a pair of bowls sat. Near the couch, a hair-covered dog bed lay.

There was a dog here, too. But it behaved.

And, for that, it was adored.

A shiver ran through them, once more. But this one did not originate from fear.

They’d run from their owner. Their owner who cared about them!

Oh, god. They’d made a terrible mistake. And, why was their head so foggy?

“No. Um, they can... they can stay on.”

“Okay.” Civilian shrugged. “You sound like crap- no offense. Um, I think I’m gonna go grab some water. You want some water?”

“Please.”

“Alright. Just hold still for me, okay?”

“‘K.”

Yet, despite their promise of remaining in place, they could not manage it-- their bones were made of lead, and their head somehow wrought of something even heavier. Like a stone to a river, they fell back onto the couch, feeling as though they were melting into the plush.

But unconsciousness did not claim them. Not immediately.

Before it did, they heard the words of Civilian, as they moved towards the kitchen:

“Damn, I wish Hero would stop using those gas guns.”

#magicians assistant #hero villain whump #hero whumper #villain whumpee #whump #pet whump #pet whumpee

72 notes · View notes

princessfbi · 4 years ago

Note

#It’s the way that I can dissect this scene and the argument we don’t see but hear when Chimney leaves for hours

..... those tags tho, I’d happily read that dissection 👉🏻👈🏻

Oh man! I am more than happy to oblige.

SO... In order to talk about Buck and Maddie's fight during "Merry Ex-Mas" we have to talk about some people we don't like. Namely, Margaret Buckley and Doug Kendall.

Particularly about how Margaret essentially made Maddie into a mother figure for Buck and Doug point out to Maddie that she is in fact, his sister and not his parent.

Margaret and Philip, whether unintentionally or not, relied on Maddie to take care of Buck. They let her handle him; be his parent. A fine example is in Buck Begins after he fell off the bike. Buck calls out for his mother and she goes to him only to pull back when she sees the bike. It’s a rejection in its most complicated form. The bike, for Margaret, is a symbol of grief. But for Buck and Maddie it was a symbol of growth. Of Buck growing up and becoming a big kid. Of moving on.

Margaret allowing the bike, her grief, to be a kind of barrier to her kids essentially drew a wall between them where she was on one side and Buck and Maddie were on the other. Which can be devastatingly isolating for an about five year old. Five being old enough to realize when a cry for comfort has been ignored is also young enough to still be reliant on others. But their parents didn’t just block out Buck. They blocked out Maddie too. They left her with a kid.

So, Maddie took care of Buck. She raised him. She didn’t have a choice which doesn’t cheapen their relationship. It goes back to what I said in my Maddie character analysis. We would not have Buck without Maddie. The emotional neglect that Buck and Maddie went through could have wrecked them as people. Buck could’ve very easily been turned into a toxic masculine person with resentments that rivaled the size of Margaret’s towards her own children. But he didn’t because of Maddie. Because Maddie showed him what it was like to love and be loved in return.

Maddie saved Buck.

But Maddie was also a kid and because of that added responsibility, I don’t think Maddie had any real boundaries when it came to Buck. Anyone who had a hand in raising a sibling knows the feeling of ownership, if you will, over them. There's a very clear sense of agency you get when you had a hand in making someone into the way they are.

It's why Maddie didn't back down from Margaret when she threw out the accusation that she "didn't know what it was like" because Maddie "wasn't a mother yet." It's why Maddie from young age handed out discipline in a sense with her parents in how they spoke about Buck.

"Don't talk to him like that."

Maddie scolds her parents for the way they disrespect Buck and put him down. She calls them out on their complacency when it comes to their relationship with Buck. Maddie sees herself as a parent figure/protector/authority figure (if not the only one) in Buck's life.

Which leads me to Doug. I think Doug was the person who pointed that out. I think Doug was the person who showed Maddie that she needed live for herself just as much as she lived for Buck. I think Doug saw that lightbulb go off for Maddie and used that to manipulate her as well. Doug recognized and “respected” in his own way that Maddie’s relationship with Buck was something of great value in her life. It’s why he didn’t storm in on those nights where she was alone with Buck after he found her. It’s why he didn’t ask her questions about Buck. It’s why he didn’t demand she come home when she told him “I’m with Evan” on the phone in Buck Begins.

Doug recognized in his own way that Buck was a hard line for Maddie.

So, Doug gave Maddie boundaries for Buck and hoped that would bring her over to his side. And neither Buck or Maddie realized it because they were so used to emotional neglect/manipulation (which is a form of abuse) that they didn't even blink because in their minds', they still had each other.

By Maddie’s own admission, the only thing of value she had at the time, was her relationship with Buck and Doug knew that. So, rather than take it away, he pushed himself in between them as a way to put distance between them.

Boundaries with one another was something completely foreign to Buck because his own idea of a "boundary" was the extreme with his parents: to be shut out completely which Buck would then internalize as being his fault. So, Buck resents Doug not for giving Maddie boundaries with Buck but for not letting Buck be a part of creating those boundaries. He sees it as a way of being shut out again.

Let's take into consideration what Buck said in Buck Begins when he asked to go live with Maddie and Doug.

"It's Doug, isn't it? He hates me."

Buck recognized Doug as another wall in his life and the resentment Buck had wasn't aimed at Maddie but at Doug. He had complete faith that Maddie wasn't shutting him out because she didn't love him anymore. It was because he thought Doug never loved him to begin with. And it's at this point that I think Buck saw the similarities with Maddie in himself. After Maddie left, Buck found himself in the middle between his parents and her. Buck recognized that Maddie was now in the middle between Doug and himself. That's why he didn't confront her in the hospital about Maddie pretending everything was hunky dory. But Buck recognized, before Maddie did, that Doug was the one putting her in the middle.

"You don't have to pretend with me, all right? I know things aren't okay with Doug."

It wasn't until a new beginning, an opportunity for them to escape from their sadness that Buck finally addressed that distance and the reasoning behind it.

Let's skip back to "Merry Ex-Mas" now.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"So, you hate Christmas now. Something else I can thank Doug for, huh?"

This is something I think a lot of people who have been on the sounding board end of a loved one going through a break up where the loved one is still defending the ex can recognize. I think Buck expected a clean break because that's the way Maddie was presenting it. Because Maddie had no problems cutting off everyone else in her life such as her parents, her friends, and to an extent Buck in a very clean, compartmentalized process. So, to Buck this seemed like it should've been the same.

But it wasn't. Because Maddie's relationship with Doug was complicated and she didn't fully cut herself of from him (or at least, didn't stop making excuse for him which is an internalized form of victim blaming) until that moment in the car during "Fight or Flight".

Let's take a look though at the real meat of this argument.

"You can't come into my house, Buck, and act this way."

"'Come into my house?' I'm your brother. Typical old Maddie."

Here's the real kicker.

"Typical old Maddie."

Remember how I said that Buck doesn't resent Maddie, he resents Doug?

Here's what I think we sometimes forget because we, as the audience, view the show as a whole. We, the viewers, know the extent of the trauma Doug put Maddie through but Buck doesn't. All Buck sees is that his sister isn't acting like herself and the only reason he has for that is whatever happened with Doug. Buck doesn't know everything Doug put Maddie through because Maddie has been shielding him from it.

Remember in Buck Begins when Omar tried to get Maddie to tell Buck about what happened?

"Evan can never know."

Even with the events of Buck Begins, Buck is still learning the extent of the abuse Maddie suffered from Doug. He knew Doug beat Maddie and he knew it was pretty bad to the point that he almost killed her. But he didn't know until Chimney told him that the reason Maddie didn't leave with him was because Doug beat her brutally for picking a side; Buck's side. It's one thing to know the broad picture but an entirely different thing to know the details.

Because at some point along the way, Maddie's boundary with Buck became a protective shield for Buck. Maddie may have been in the middle between Doug and Buck but Maddie had put herself over the line in the sand beside Buck once again and neither Buck or Doug realized it.

Maddie doesn't want to explain to Buck why she doesn't want to celebrate Christmas because it's a painful truth for herself but for Buck as well. It's opening up that protective bubble and letting the risk of Buck and herself being hurt again. So, she's shutting down again which is something she'd done before to keep Buck out of that messy part of her life. Except, because Buck thinks Maddie has had this clean break from her life with Doug, he pushes her a little.

"Come on, you love Christmas."

And Maddie lashes out.

"And easy to lash out on the person that you know is always gonna forgive you."

It's a panic response, a knee jerk reaction, because she doesn't want to go through the painful process of unpacking that especially not with Buck because she was still continuing to shield him from it all. She lashed out because, subconsciously at least, she knew it would deflect him from it.

"Typical old Maddie."

And it worked.

#Maddie Buckley #Evan 'Buck' Buckley #The Buckley Siblings #TW Doug Kendall #TW Domestic Abuse #Buck Begins #Merry Ex-Mas #911 on Fox #TW Emotional Neglect #mellaithwen #ask #answered

125 notes · View notes

just-dreaming-marvel · 4 years ago

Text

Love and Medicine ~ 1

MASTERLIST

Word Count: 2,300ish

Summary: You begin your intern year at Avengers Medical Center

You let out a little groan as you turned around. You immediately knew you were naked as the cold wood floor sent chills down your bare body. Slowly opening your eyes, you took in your surroundings. You were home, in the house you had just inherited, boxes still pilled high around the living room you were laying in. Suddenly, someone else groaned beside you. You teased, clenching your eyes shut. The headache you had been ignoring since you woke finally broke free and you realized that your late night drunkenness must have caused you to bring a guy home.

You let out a long breath as you reopened your eyes and looked over at the hopefully-still-asleep man beside you. He wasn’t bad looking at all. You had really done well. He was blonde with a chiseled body. He had to have been at least six foot, which didn’t hurt. He was naked though, all out in the open on your living room floor. Cringing, you sat up, pulling one blanket from the couch to quickly cover yourself before standing and pulling one over him. You stood up silently, and began making your way out of the room. It was your first day of your intern year as a doctor, you couldn’t afford to be late.

You successfully made it to the doorway of the living room without a sound before the floorboard beneath you creaked. You should there, frozen, closing your eyes in hopes that the man sleeping behind you wouldn’t wake. You could hear him turn over, letting a small moan out of his mouth. Waiting a few more seconds, you started going again.

“You know…” the man started, clearly in his morning voice, “it’s usually rude to disappear on someone after spending a night with them.”

You quickly spun around to see him, still laying on his stomach, looking up at you with a sly grin.

“Well,” you cleared your throat, “it’s my house, so it’s not that rude.”

He stood up, not grabbing the blanket as quick as he should have, letting you have another look at him. When you met his eyes again, it was clear that you had been caught staring and that he was enjoying it.

“Why the rush to silently get out of here?” He asked, tucking the blanket around his waist. “Have a husband or a boyfriend you have to hurry and get ready for?”

“Neither,” you responded, tightening your hold on the blanket covering you. “I’m running late for my first day of work. So, if we’re done here, you should go.”

“We don’t have to be done here.”

“I think we do.” You kicked up his shirt, grabbing it, and throwing him at it. “You need to go.” He caught his shirt, slipping it on slowly over his clear cut abs. “So, um, goodbye… um…”

“Steve,” he reached his hand out.

“Steve. Right,” you shook his hand. “Y/N.”

“Y/N.” He smiled. It almost took your breath away, but you couldn’t let it show.

“Yeah.”

“Nice meeting you.”

“Yeah. Bye, Steve.”

You fled up the stairs, hoping that by the time you were done getting ready, Steve would be gone.

~~~

You made it to the Avengers Medical Center just in time to meet up with the other interns in your year. The Chief of Surgery, Dr. Nicholas J. Fury, was leading a small tour to the ORs. He started talking as the interns took in the OR.

“Each of you comes here hopeful. Wanting in on the game. A month ago you were in med school being taught by doctors. Today, you are the doctors,” Fury stated. “The seven years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and worst of your life. You will be pushed to the breaking point. Look around you. Say hello to your competition. Eight of you will switch to an easier specialty. Five of you will crack under the pressure. Two of you will be asked to leave. This is your starting line. This is your arena. How well you play? That's up to you.”

He then told each of the interns which resident they were assigned to. You got Dr. Gamora. All of the interns were then taken to the locker room, where each of you were assigned a locker and given scrubs to change into and start your long day.

“Only ten women out of thirty,” you muttered as you slipped your scrubs on.

“Yeah,” the woman with fiery red hair next to you responded. “I heard that one of them was a model. Seriously, like that’s going to help with the respect thing?”

“You’re Natasha, right?”

She nodded. “You’re Y/N?”

“Mhm,” you hummed.

“Which resident did you get assigned to? I got Gamora.”

“Me too.”

“You got Gamora?” A male intern repeated beside you. “So did I. At least we’ll all be tortured together, right? I’m Clint Barton, uh, we met at the mixer. You had a dress with a slit up the side, those shiny heels…” You and Natasha exchanged looks. “Now you think I’m gay.”

“Uh-huh,” Natasha hummed, heading out the door.

“No, I’m not gay! It’s, ah, it’s just that, you know, you were, I mean… You were very unforgettable,” Clint rambled as you both followed after Natasha. You shot him a sympathetic smile before hurrying to catch up with Natasha. “And I’m totally forgettable.”

“Barton, L/N, Romanoff, Valkyrie, Lang,” a doctor called at the door way.

“Gamora?” Natasha questioned that doctor that called you.

“End of the hall.”

The five of you that were called began walking. At the end of the hall, you saw a pretty woman working on paperwork. She didn’t look as threatening as you had heard she was.

“That’s Dr. Gamora?” Natasha wondered.

“From what I heard, I thought she’d look scarier,” the other male in your group of five said. You guessed it was Scott Lang.

“Yeah,” Clint agreed. “I thought she’d be… well, bigger.”

“Same,” you added.

“Maybe it’s professional jealousy,” a woman in your group suggested, Valkyrie, you presumed. “Maybe she’s brilliant, and they say things about her because they’re jealous. Maybe she’s really nice.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re the model,” Natasha said.

“Wait…” Clint said, looking at Nat. “I thought you were the model.”

Valkyrie shot Natasha a look before turning to Dr. Gamora with an extended hand. “Hi, I’m Valkyrie, but everyone calls me Val.”

Gamora looked her up and down, not even moving to shake Val’s hand. “I have five rules,” Gamora stated, clearly unimpressed already. “Rule number one, don’t bother sucking up, I already hate all of you, that’s not gonna change.” She turned and pointed to things on the counter. “Trauma protocol, phone lists, pagers. Nurses will page you, you answer every page at a run. A run, that's rule number two. Your first shift starts now and lasts forty-eight hours.”

Gamora began walking away with you and the others quickly following, after each of you have grabbed the things off the counter.

“You’re interns, grunts, nobodies, bottom of the surgical food chain, you run labs, write orders, work every second night till you drop and don’t complain!” She continued. Gamora led you to a door, opening it to reveal a room with bunk beds. “On call rooms. Attendings hog them, sleep when you can, where you can, which brings me to rule number three, if I'm sleeping, don't wake me, unless your patient is actually dying. Rule number four, the dying patient better not be dead when I get there, not only would you have killed someone, you would have also woke me for no good reason, we clear?” There was a brief pause before you nervously raised your hand. “Yes.”

“You said five rules,” you tried to hold back a cringe as you spoke up. “That was only four.”

Suddenly, Gamora’s pager beeped. “Rule number five. When I move, you move.” She ran down the corridor, followed by you and the other interns. “Get out of my way!” She yelled at a few doctor’s blocking the hallway.

You had the others followed Gamora to the ER. There was a bustling trauma room that the six of you entered. There was a young female on the stretcher, already being hooked to the machines.

“What’ve we got?” Gamora asked.

“Savannah Chase, fifteen year old female,” the paramedic still in the room stated. “New onset seizures, intermittent for the past week. ID lost en route. Started gran mal seizing when the ambulance pulled up.”

“Alright, get her on her side, Val, ten milligrams Diazepam.” Val started to do as she was directed while the rest of you watched. “No, no, the white lead is on the right, righty whitey, smoke over fire, a large bore IV. Don’t let the blood haemolyse, let’s go!”

Val injected the young woman with the diazepam and she stopped seizing. A new Doctor entered the room.

“So I heard we got a wet fish on dry land?” The man asked.

“Absolutely Dr. Banner,” Gamora responded.

“Dr. Gamora, I’m gonna shotgun her.”

“That means every test in the book, CT, CBC, chem seven, a tox screen,” Gamora clarified for the interns. “Natasha, you’re on labs, Clint, patient workups, Y/N, get Savannah for a CT, she’s your responsibility now.” Gamora began to walk away.

“Wait,” both Val and Lang called out. Gamora turned back around.

“What about us?” Val asked.

“You two—honey, you get to do rectal exams.”

~~~

You were currently in an elevator with Savannah, the patient, trying to find your way to CT. Since it was your first day at the medical center, you didn’t know where anything was and you were too stubborn to ask.

“You’re lost,” Savannah stated.

“I’m not lost,” you defended. “How are you feeling?”

“How do you think I’m feeling? I’m missing my pageant.”

“You’re missing your pageant.” You wheeled her out of the elevator and around a corner, still not knowing where you were headed.

“The Manhattan Teen Miss? I was in the top ten after the first two rounds. This is my year. I could’ve won.” Savannah sat up as she was wheeled back around the same way. “Hello? You’re so lost. What are you, like, new?”

“I’m— just tell me what happened.”

“I twisted my ankle. I do rhythmic gymnastics, which is like, really cool. Nobody else does it. And I tripped over my ribbon, and I didn't get stuck with someone this clueless. And that was like, a nurse.”

You gritted your teeth, trying not to be over-the-line rude to a patient on your first day. It took you almost another forty five minutes to find CT. You helped her with the scan before taking her back to a room. Before you knew it, it was lunch time. You grabbed some food from the cafeteria, finding your group of interns alone at a table.

“Savannah Chase is a pain in the ass,” you grumbled as you sat down with your tray. “If I hadn't taken the Hippocratic oath, I'd Kevorkian her with my bare hands.” The others around her just stared. “What?”

“Good afternoon interns,” a new doctor came up. “I’m Dr. Maria Hill. It’s posted, but I thought I’d share the good news personally. As you know, the honor of performing the first surgery is reserved for the intern that shows the most promise. As I’m running the OR today, I get to make that choice. I’ve been watching you all and I have to say, you’re all something. The intern I’ve chosen is, Scott Lang.”

Scott coughed up the drink he had been taking. “M-me?” He questioned.

“You’ll scrub in for an appendectomy this afternoon. Congratulations.” Then she left.

“Did she say me?”

“I can’t believe you were chosen over me,” Natasha grumbled. “It’s already clear that I’m a better surgeon that you.”

“Did she say… I’m sorry. What?”

~~~

After lunch, you went back to Savannah’s room to take care of her. As you did, a man and a woman, not doctors, came in.

“Savannah, honey, mom and dad are here,” the woman said, coming over to Savannah’s bedside.

“They gave her a sedative for the CT scan, so she’s a little groggy,” you informed them.

“Will she be alright?” The mother asked.

“Our doctor at home said she might need an operation, is that true?” The father wondered.

“What kind of operation?”

“She’s, um, well, you know what,” you tried your best to sound professional through your nervous stuttering, “I’m not, I’m not the doctor, uh. I am a doctor, but I’m not Savannah’s doctor, so I’ll go get him for you.”

You quickly left the room to go find Gamora. Thankfully, she was at the nurses desk just outside of the room. You hurried over but were too nervous to start speaking.

“What?” Gamora questioned, not looking up from the paperwork she was doing.

“Savannah’s parent’s have questions,” you responded. “Do you talk to them, or do I ask Banner?”

“No, Banner’s off of the case. Savannah belongs to the new attending now, Dr. Rogers, he’s over there.”

You follow in the direction that Gamora gestured to. You only made it a few steps before freezing. The man Gamora gestured to was talking to another doctor. But that wasn’t the reason you froze. Dr. Rogers was none other than your one night stand, Steve. Your eyes widened and you turned to go, but it was too late. Steve glanced your way, having to do a double take. You quickly left, feeling his eyes on the back of you.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.”

next chapter >

NOTES: Yes, this has been posted before, but I deleted it. I’m trying again. From now on the taglist when be added by a reblog. I will reblog it using my second account, @just-dreaming-marvel-2. Just so that my main page doesn’t get too cluttered.

If you want to be added to the tag list, please dm me or send in an ask.

#steve rogers x reader #the avengers x reader #avengers x reader #nick fury x reader #clint barton x reader #scott lang x reader #valkyrie x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #gamora x reader #marvel imagine #marvel imagines

253 notes · View notes

wlntrsldler · 4 years ago

Text

champagne problems (s.b one shot)

PROMPT: based on champagne problems by taylor swift. Y/N leaves to protect her family and Sirius waits for her.

WARNINGS: mentions of death, death, angst, fluff?

WC: 2.2K+

HARRY POTTER MASTERLIST

champagne problems (s.b one shot)

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Sirius whispered, scared of the situation in front of him. You’d been distant all day, as if something was bothering you. With Sirius, you were always so carefree and at ease because he knew exactly how to make you feel better, but this time, it seemed Sirius was at a loss.

You refused to look at him. He felt his heart shattering every time he called for you and he got no response. He tried to be patient and not push you, knowing your stubbornness rivaled his. So he sat quietly and let your mind wander off into new places as he watched you slip away from him— until finally, he could bear it no longer.

“Sirius,” you sighed, using all your power to push yourself further away from him. You held a hand up, keeping him at an arm’s distance as he tried to get closer, “I have to leave.”

His eyebrows furrowed, a look of genuine confusion etched on his face, “What?”

“I have to go,” your voice betrayed you, cracking in mid sentence as you tried to explain why you had to leave. “I’m muggleborn. After the McKinnons…. They’ll try to take my family next, I know it. Sirius, you have to understand.”

“I can help protect them,” he rebutted, eyes darting everywhere, as if trying to figure out how he would do that. “We can do this together, you know? I’m getting better and better everyday since Hogwarts, Y/N. We’ll put up protective charms a-and we can fight. Yeah, we’ll fight—”

“This isn’t your fight, Sirius,” you explained, wiping your tears, “You have your own family to protect. Moony, Peter, The Potters! James and Lily and young Harry! The Order needs you, Sirius. I can’t take you away from your duties.”

He shook his head, hair already messy from his constant tugging, “You’re my family, too! I don’t understand why I can’t help you.”

“I could never forgive myself if something happened to you because you were trying to protect me and my family.”

“And I could never forgive myself if something happened to you! Especially knowing I could’ve helped!” Sirius exclaimed, his calm demeanor long gone. He wasn’t yelling at you, but his voice significantly picked up volume as the conversation progressed. His eyes were red, lips severely bitten as he pleaded his case. “I don’t understand why you have to go! They’re okay, I’ll make sure of it.”

“Sirius, you’re not listening to me!”

“No, you’re not listening to me!” he replied, marching over to you. He held you by your shoulders, looking at you straight in the eyes, “You… You can’t leave, Y/N. Not right now, not ever. We already lost Marlene and the Prewetts and Godric, if I lost you— If I lost you, I wouldn’t know what to do. We’ll put your family under protective custody and we’ll make sure they don’t touch them, you hear me? But you are not going off by yourself.”

“Sirius, I can’t have you pulling strings for me. The Order needs people here. They need people to fight. I’m expendable, Sirius, don’t you understand? Nobody is going out there to protect muggles. No one.” You held his face in your hands, leaving soft kisses on his skin. He closed his eyes, crying brokenly. You continued, “I have to go, Sirius. You need to stay here. They need you, Sirius Black.”

“What about what I need?” he whispered, gripping your waist. He showed no signs of letting you go. In fact, his grip on your waist tightened, afraid that one falter in his movements, you’d walk away. He wasn’t ready. “I need you.”

You knew then that Sirius understood why you had to go. If the Potters were ever in danger, he’d drop everything to make sure they were safe. Although he wasn’t Euphemia’s and Fleamont’s son by blood, they treated him like he was. You grew up with a loving family— one that Sirius longed for and finally got after meeting young James Potter on the train in their first year, and Sirius knew you had to go. But it didn’t make it any easier on him.

He opened his heart to you, and there was not a day since that he regretted doing so. He was broken and bruised and for a while, he thought he was incapable of accepting love that didn’t come from the Marauders or the Potters. You came along in his fourth year, trailing behind Lily Evans who was asking Remus for some help on Transfigurations, and you beamed at him with that sunshine smile and he was done for.

Sirius fell for you, hard and quick. He was in love with you before you even entertained the idea of Sirius Black in your life. Growing up, he yearned to be loved by someone and he never thought that the mere idea of falling in love with someone like you would feel just as good as feeling that love he craved. You had such a big heart, Sirius knew that but a part of him still thought there was no space in there for him. As pathetic as it sounded (Remus’ words— though he said it with a small smile tugging on his lips), Sirius would’ve been okay with that because to him, it was an honor all on its own to love you, even if it wasn’t reciprocated.

The day you told him you loved him, all the heartache and pain that young Sirius Black endured all his years suddenly felt like nothing. Sure, the trauma and the hurt will always leave their mark on him, but now, once those words left your lips, Sirius Black knew that he would be okay. He had you.

Sirius spoke again, “Y/N, this is probably the worst time to do this but I never had good timing, did I?”

“Siri,” you whispered, gasping into your palms as he kneeled down on one knee.

“I don’t have a ring. Uh, the Black family has a ring we pass down every generation but obviously, I was not blessed with such,” he chuckled, playing with your fingers. “I may not have a ring but I have my love and I’m hoping that will suffice for now. Y/N Y/L/N, will you marry me?”

Nodding your head furiously, you mumbled a shaky, “Yes.”

Sirius laughed, getting up on his feet to twirl you around your living room. He buried his head in your hair, wanting to memorize your scent. He kissed your neck softly, muttering his undying love and affection. He spun you around until you were both too dizzy to stand and you collapsed on top of him on your couch.

You giggled, tucking a piece of his hair behind his ear. You rubbed your thumb across his cheekbone, kissing the tip of his nose, “I love you.”

“I love you,” he replied, “I promise when you get back, I will put a ring on your finger.”

When you get back.

“When I get back,” you confirmed.

James whistled, inspecting the ring in the box, “Blimey, Padfoot. This is beautiful!”

Sirius smiled proudly, eyes gleaming with excitement as his friend examined the ring he picked out for you. Since you left four months ago, he went on a hunt for the perfect ring, “Thanks, Prongs.”

“She’ll love it,” Remus added, putting down the newspaper that he was reading, “When is she coming back?”

“When it’s safe enough, I suppose. That’s why we have to win this war, gentlemen. I would like to see my fiance as soon as possible.”

Lily laughed, holding Harry by her heart, “I would also like to see my best friend soon. Harry also does miss his Godmother.”

“He babbles her name whenever he sees the stuffed lion she got him,” James added, getting up to wrap his arms around Lily. The picture perfect family looked so happy to be with each other. It almost made the other two boys in the room forget what was going on outside the doors of their home.

Sirius got up to take Harry from Lily, rocking the baby back and forth as he smiled fondly at his Godfather, “I miss her too, Bambi. We’ll see her soon, yeah?”

Harry made some baby noises, laughing with his chest as Sirius pulled funny faces. He couldn’t help but think about how nice it would be to have one with you. Remus popped his head over Sirius’ shoulder to watch the baby and Harry immediately made grabby hands at Remus. Sirius passed him over to his best friend and sat back down on the Potters’ couch. He picked up the box that James left on the table and stared at it lovingly.

Then, a bright light entered the room, startling all its occupants. A patronus.

It was a black dog, one that mirrored Padfoot, and it ran around the room before stopping right in front of Sirius. Lily ran to Remus and grabbed a hold of Harry, who buried his head into the crook of his mother’s neck. James rushed over to his family, wrapping a protective arm around the two. Remus stood there, stunned.

Sirius knew it was your patronus.

Before anyone could make another move, your voice rang in the room.

“Sirius,” you gasped, sounding out of breath. There was chaos in the background, he could hear it. His heart dropped to his stomach. No.

“Sirius,” your patronus said again. “They’re here. There’s too many of them and— Sirius…”

“No,” his eyes were wide. Remus placed a hand on his shoulder but he couldn’t feel it. Lily looked away, hiding into James’ chest. Harry began to hiccup.

“Sirius, I love you. I love you so much. So so much.”

Then the black dog disappeared. The silence was eerie, even young Harry stopped his noises. Sirius dropped the ring, falling to the ground right after it.

Remus kneeled down, holding him up, “Padfoot…”

“We have to go,” he breathed out, not looking at anyone in the eye. He faced straight ahead, his mind spinning too quickly for him to make sense of his thoughts. Sirius began to breathe unevenly, clutching his chest like it might burst.

“Okay, Pads,” James nodded. He looked at Lily for confirmation. She tipped her head, holding Harry even closer than before. She knew.

Without another word, the three boys apparated straight to your old home. Sirius promised to you that he would never try to visit you or check up on you until the war was finished, afraid for his safety and yours. But he had to break his promise.

When they arrived, the house seemed empty. Nothing seemed out of place until he walked into the kitchen and saw your parents on the floor, unmoving. Sirius paled as he looked up at the ceiling and saw the symbol of the Dark Lord and his followers etched upon it. He ran up the stairs, tripping over the steps and his feet, bracing himself for what he already knew.

The door to your bedroom was opened a tiny bit. It was large enough for Sirius to slide his foot in and open completely. He stood still.

Sirius could hear the rushed footsteps of his two best friends chasing after him up the stairs. When they reached the final one, they stood behind Sirius, a gasp leaving their lips. The two boys began to cry quietly.

James placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder, “I’m so sorry, Padfoot.”

Sirius knew his friends were crying. After years of living with them, he knew the tone of their voice when they cried. He learned that. He knew that he should’ve been crying too because it hurt so bad. It felt like his heart was ripped out of his body and discarded but Sirius decided that not even that would hurt as much as the image of you lying lifelessly on the floor in front of him. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t feel anything.

He walked closer to you, ignoring the howling of the wind coming from the broken window to his left. He stepped over the items knocked down by the fight. He was walking so slowly, afraid that if he were to come any closer, it would suddenly become too real. As much as he dreaded to get too close to you, he finally did.

Sirius clenched his jaw, a rush of cold air washing over his body. He stared at your face, remembering the color of your eyes and the happiness that once occupied it. He leaned over to shut your eyelids, not wanting the gray clouds in your irises to overtake the happy memories he had saved in his mind. His eyes trailed down to your left hand that rested on your chest, black, veiny lines growing on your skin. You used it to try to block the curse from hitting your heart. Sirius stared at your unmoving, bare ring finger.

It wasn’t until Sirius looked down at your stomach did he finally fall to his knees. He sobbed over your body, still warm from the impact, with a loving hand on top of your once growing belly.

**NO LONGER DOING GENERAL TAGS BUT THESE PEOPLE EXPRESSED INTEREST

@vereseg @teenagesublimefan @whoreforfredweasley

read the james version here

#frances writes #frances song fics #frances x taylor swift x harry potter #Harry Potter #harry potter fanfic #harry potter imagine #harry potter oneshot #Sirius Black #sirius black one shot #sirius black imagine #sirius black x reader #sirius black x yn #sirius black x y/n #James Potter #Remus Lupin #lily evans

267 notes · View notes