#again i really haven't seen the series and all i know is what i saw when i was a kid

[lyssafreyguy]

God . . . imagine thinking Laios is a bad person who doesn't care about people. actual insanity.

[demonstars]

Alrighty here we go

So, if we’re talking characteristics of the miraculous, between the ladybug miraculous and black cat miraculous, Dream is very ladybug. At surface level, Dream’s quite chaotic and rather scattered, but that kinda comes with the ADHD territory, yknow? Below that, Dream is one of the most creative people I’ve ever seen. He’s very clever and a quick thinker, finding the solutions to problems that seem impossible to solve in even the most minimal resources (refer to: basically every manhunt ever). He has so much love for and gives so much love to the world, and he loves to bring people together. Also, bro has insane luck

(+ a little on the sadder side: so many people place so much responsibility on his shoulders, it’s absurd)

Now, onto the characters Ladybug and Chat Noir! I’d say based on character personalities, Dream is still quite Ladybug, but he’s also incredibly fun loving and outwardly chaotic in most situations. He’s not one to get aggressive, and often keeps things a little more lighthearted, like Chat. Also, he’s a massive simp.

He tends to take his shortcomings pretty harshly, which both Ladybug and Chat Noir do. All in all, I think Dream is more Ladybug/ladybug than Chat Noir/black cat, but I wouldn’t be mad about putting him in Chat Noir’s role either. Maybe there’s an even more fitting miraculous out there for him, but atm my brain is too mush and I’ve been slacking a little on keeping up with all the miraculous’ characteristics

ACCOUNT MANIFESTO ASK. like the thing about ladybug is that most importantly they have to be kind, creative and willing to do what's right (employing 14 y/os will get you that) WHICH is what dream does. being a little impulsive and anger prone clearly isn't a restrictive characteristic becasue — again, marinette is a miraculous holder. nd i just think having him as a holder of any other miraculous just doesn't add up except the dog one because i think it'd be cute. excellent points, an A to this

[mrslestappen]

Disease : paranoid ✦ cl16

summary: The fact that you have to work as a Formula One driver's assistant for your final college grade is not the worst of your problems; the true issue is that no one told you that you would become a emotional support human for him.

pairing: charles leclerc x assistant!reader

tags: fluff + angst?, caring charles (tiny bit) + comfort, bad thoughts.

# part one - next part [ series masterlist ]

Everything feels unreal. You're watching the mechanics work in the garage, and the only thing you can think is: has red always been such a pretty color?

It was the first race of the season, and you didn't have much to do yet, they told you that you just needed to make sure that Charles did everything that they asked him to do, and that was easy, thanks to him.

“Have you seen my notebook?" Charles asks as he looks around to see if he can catch a glimpse of the tiny notebook somewhere, you let out a chuckle, grab your purse from the floor and give him what he needs. 

“How is it that you always have everything I need?” he took the notebook from your hands and opened it “I try my best” he gave you a knowing look.

Charles still remembers the first time he saw you at the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello, you had just signed your contract with them and he had just been told that he had a new assistant. 

You were quite awkward and a bit clumsy when he first struck up a conversation with you. He learned that this was your first job, and he made a mental note to make you feel welcome, and also he didn't want you to leave him like the others. 

He tried his best to make you feel as comfortable as possible before the season started, he was patient and generally nice, which was what you really needed at that moment. 

When you made your first mistake and didn't tell Charles that he was supposed to be in a meeting, he took the blame and told Fred that it was his fault. 

You thought he would be angry, but he just said "It's okay, everyone makes mistakes" and in that moment you thank the angels for making him such a nice person. 

"Thank you, Mr. Leclerc" 

"None of that, we are a team you and I, if you ever need help just come to me." 

That was a month ago when you were still new and walking on eggshells trying not to make any mistakes, luckily you got better after all your final grade depended on it. 

"Have you eaten today?" Charles asks, handing his notebook back to you, just needed to check something he thought he should comment on the car in the next meeting they will have. 

"I haven't, but I was about to do so," you told him as you walked out of the garage with him beside you, trying your best not to look at him to see his face, which probably had a disappointed look on it. 

"I thought you said you already ate." 

"I did." 

"What did you have?" 

"Coffee," you mumble softly as you enter the Ferrari hospitality, "that's not food y/n," he scolds you again, you already lose count of how many times he does this.

Charles grabs a plate and starts to put different kinds of fruit on it, "you already ate," he nods, "This is for you," you try to grab the plate out of his hands, but he stretches his arm as high as he can to make sure you don't have a chance to grab it. 

"It's my food, let me grab what I want," he ignores you, grabs your wrist, and walks over to one of the tables. 

He pulls out a chair for you and you sit down, he puts the plate in front of you and sits across from you, motioning for you to start eating, which you do, but not before giving him the meanest look you can.

You take out your phone and play a YouTube video while you eat, it is a bad habit and Charles has told you several times but he still watches with you. 

When you put the phone at the right angle so that you and Charles can see the video without any problems, you notice that he is not watching.

“Mr. Leclerc" you called him but he didn't answer, you sighed softly, you know he heard you. 

"Charlie?" 

"Yes?"

"You have to stop doing that," he tilted his head as if he didn't know what you were saying, "I shouldn't call you that," "Why not?" "Because you're my boss.”

"There's nothing wrong with calling me that, besides it makes me feel old when you call me Mr. Leclerc."

"You are old" 

"I'm twenty-six." 

The look you gave him was enough to make a dramatic gasp come out of his mouth, you were already used to his tactics so you didn't apologize for calling him old. 

When the alarm on your phone went off, you grabbed it and stopped it before it could keep ringing, "Time to go, you have a meeting," you said as you handed him his notebook that he needed for to take notes. 

He gave you a quick thanks, but you grabbed him and raised your hand, he gave you a pout, but you shook your head at that, he took his phone out of his pocket and placed it in your hand, "it was worth the try," he muttered to himself. 

✦ ✦ ✦

While you were waiting for Charles' meeting to end, you took out your laptop and started to finish the assignment you were supposed to send for this month. 

You were quite happy when your professor told you that all you had to do was to send in a report on what you had done, the experience you had gained, and what you had become better at, for your monthly assignment. 

It was a pretty easy assignment since you were traveling around the world and learning things that you didn't even know existed, and since this was your first job, it was easier for you because you were learning a lot of new things. 

“Y/n?" You took your eyes off the computer and looked at the person calling your name, you tilted your head as if to ask if they needed anything but they shook their head and motioned with their hand towards the hospitality door. 

You quickly grab your things and walk to the door to greet your friend, "Did you see what Professor Brown posted in the announcements?" You shake your head and ask, "Is it something important?" "Depends, he wants us to take pictures of what we have been doing lately." 

It didn't sound too bad, if the assignments continued to be like this, you were pretty sure you'd get an easy A. 

"Did you do it?" You ask her, "I did," she nods, "but I came here to tell you because I know sometimes you don't check the announcements," you give her an embarrassed smile, "I'm not that bad," you mutter softly, and she gives you a look, which you shrug off. 

"Well, I'm going back, I'm pretty sure Lando is already out of control again, see you, take care," she gave you a quick hug before walking quickly towards the McLaren hospitality. 

You watched her go and sighed, taking your phone out of your pocket, ready to take some pictures to send with the assignment, "Hey, have you seen Andrea?" You jump a little at the voice next to you, "Don't do that, and yes he’s in your driver's room, are you okay? You've been acting weird since yesterday" you ask him with concern evident in your voice, but he quickly shrugs it off and tells you that he is fine. 

You make a mental note to ask him later. "I'm going to exercise, go to my driver's room if you need anything, okay?" You nod, take his phone out of your purse and hand it to him. 

He quickly says goodbye and walks away before you can say anything else to him, you have noticed that Charles has been acting strange since you arrived in Bahrain. 

You have been meaning to ask him about it, but every time you get the chance he seems to run away, which is so unlike him. 

You snap out of your thoughts and head back into the hospitality area, ready to take some pictures and send off the assignment. 

✦ ✦ ✦

Practice one is about to start and everyone is running around making sure everything is perfect. The only thing that seems not to be here is the driver. 

"Y/n, where is Charles?" Fred asks, you want to shrug your shoulders but then you remember that this is your job, and you should know where he is, you look at him and tell him you're going to get Charles, and he gives you a thumbs up.

You look for Charles everywhere, including his driver's room and the hospitality area. Has he left? You were pretty sure you saw him a few minutes ago.  

How can a person disappear so quickly? you even ask people from other garages and they haven't seen him. 

You tried to call him, but his phone was dead, it didn't even send you to voicemail. 

"Y/n!" You hear someone yell your name and quickly turn your head towards Carlos, he seems out of breath, and you can see his chest rising and falling faster than normal.

"Charles is in my driver's room, I don't know what happened," he said, but that was enough for you to start running towards the Ferrari driver's room. You still shouted a thank you to Carlos and that seemed to have caught the attention of other people who looked at you strangely.

But you did not care about that, you needed it to find Charles and to make sure that he was ready to get into the car. 

You reach the driver's room trying to catch your breath as much as you can, you probably look terrible with hair sticking in your face from how much you've been sweating, you want to kill him for making you suffer like this.

You were now outside Carlos' driver's door and you could hear soft mumbling, was he talking to himself?

You knocked softly on the door and waited for an answer, when you got none you decided to open the door. 

"Charles how can-" you couldn't continue as Charles was lying on the floor with his hands on his head rocking back and forth as if trying to calm himself down, your thoughts of scolding him left you just by seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

You walked as slowly as you could and bent down to his level. You grabbed one of his hands, and that was enough for him to look at you quickly. 

"I'm sorry - I can't, it's going to be like last year," he said quickly, you know from what you heard that last year was not a good one for Charles, the car didn't seem to work for him at all, you didn't know he was that affected by it, and now looking at him you didn't want him to feel that way. 

He's such an amazing person and always so happy and joking with you, but he was hiding a lot of things that had hurt him and you couldn't let that happen.

"Hey, you can do this, okay?" both your hands grab his face and you give him a tiny smile, "I can't..." you shush him and try to get as close to him as you can, were you allowed to hug him? You did not know, but at that moment he probably needed it. 

"Hey, those bad days don't define you, you're amazing and such a talented driver, last year the car wasn't good, let's leave that in the past, okay? This is a new opportunity and you're going to show everyone who Charles is, you're going to make them eat their words, so go and destroy them, champ". 

That seems to make Charles' worries melt away a bit, you told him to take a deep breath with you, and when you felt that he was better you slowly let him go. But that seems to be a wrong move, because when you do, Charles seems to look at you as if you took something away from him, but you ignored it. 

"Okay champ get up, time to make jaws drop with your amazing driving" you joked and you were quite happy because you could see the corner of his mouth move up a bit. 

"Thank you, Mon ange" 

"None of that, we are a team, you and I, remember?" 

He nodded and in that moment he let himself look at you while you smiled at him, he felt as if your smile had the power to melt away his worries leaving behind a feeling of peace, in that moment he was grateful for you, he took a deep breath and let it out, there was nothing to worry about.

He's pretty sure this season will go well with you by his side because you wouldn't leave him, would you?

Scuderia :: @evie-119 @tempo-rary-fix @spookystitchery @boiohboii @halleest @itsjustkhaos @aphroditeisamilf @vicurious28 @lozzamez3 @doofenshmirtzevil-inc @heyheyheyggg @teamnovalak @fakeplastiqtree @michelleyw81 @lillyssh-tposts @these-books-are-ruining-my-life @kqliie @deliciousfestsalad @biitch-with-wifi @xohollie01 @charlesleclerc2003 @loloekie @elliegrey2803 @steamy-smoker @doesnt-care @delululeclerc @vip-access @theseerbetweenus @haikyuen @arian-directioner @marvelfangirl04 @melagem02 @rach3164 @zucchinimalfoy @scopeiguess @landoslutmeout @reiofsuns2001 @badussybumper @nixily @forevercaffeinated-lee @i-wish-this-was-me @gabys-gabs @entr4p3 @trouble-sistar @thef1diary @puttyly @solo2leo @f1and1d4eva @liliummz

Team radio: I hope you like! it I feel I could have done better but English is not my first language but I will do my best to improve, I will keep practicing and improving my writing every day.

[navybrat817]

Hold You Tight: Part 4

Pairing: Club Owner!Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Fic Summary: The owner of The 107th wants you to be his girl whether you like it or not.

Part 3 | Series Masterlist | Part 5

Chapter Summary: You try to continue the date like "normal" after Bucky's promise.

Chapter Word Count: Almost 3.4k

Chapter Warnings: DARK AU, unease, tension, possessiveness, mental and emotional whiplash, reader is trying to stay calm, Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?), more warnings to come.

A/N: More Hold You Tight! Hope you lovelies enjoy and thank you again for the feedback so far! Bucky edit by the beautiful @nixakimbo. ❤️ Beta read by the lovely @whisperlullaby , but any and all mistakes are my own. Divider by the talented @firefly-graphics . I no longer do taglists, so please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

“You’ll be out of your apartment before the end of the month.”

The statement played on a morbid loop in your mind as Bucky pulled you up from your chair. The guard gave you two plenty of room to enter the penthouse again. You looked at him, trying to convey in your expression that you needed him to do something. Anything. The man gave you nothing in return. It was pointless to try. He worked for Bucky, not you. He wouldn't care.

“Did you mean what you just said? Your promise?” You asked as you followed Bucky to the dining room table. You wanted him to take it back, to tell you it was a joke. He couldn't make you leave your home by the end of the month. He had no right.

“I think you know the answer,” he said, pausing when you yanked your hand away and crossed your arms.

“And I think you have a lot of nerve,” you uttered as he pulled out your chair. “Where the hell do you get off? And how do you even plan to get me out of my home? It’s not like you own the building.”

You had no idea how deep Bucky’s pockets ran. There was a chance he could buy the building tomorrow or bribe someone into evicting you. Would he stoop that low?

“I adore you, Kotyonok, but I’m not going to tell you and ruin the surprise,” he smiled, gesturing for you to take a seat. “And you haven't seen me get off yet.”

You ignored his comment as you sat down and stared into the flame of the candlelight. The familiar scent of the meal drifting from the kitchen put you at ease for the most part, but your stomach turned. Would this really be where you'd spend your meals from now on? It didn't matter that the penthouse was beautiful. You had a home. Maybe it wasn't as nice as this, but it was still yours.

Did Bucky care about your distress at all?

You blinked when you saw your wine glass on the table. The guard had grabbed both of your glasses from the balcony. For a man of his size, he sure as hell moved quietly. “Thanks,” you whispered, taking another swig to help calm your flaring nerves.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

“You know, I was so excited to have you in our home I don’t think I introduced the two of you,” Bucky said as the man stood tall. “This is Raymond, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you call him Ray since you’ll be seeing a lot of him.”

You bit the inside of your cheek. Bucky said “our” again. Not “his”. You wanted to go back to bed and hide under your covers. “It’s nice to meet you. Is it okay if I call you Ray?” You asked, not wanting his boss to speak for him.

How and why did he work for him anyway?

His eyes were a brighter shade of blue than Bucky’s, but still had a touch of coldness. Though his expression did soften a fraction as he considered your question. “You may. And it’s nice to meet you, too,” he replied, nodding toward the kitchen before he stepped back.

The chef walked over seconds later with plates in hand, a large smile on his face. “Here we are. We have the…” You tuned him out as the dish was set in front of you, your eyes on Bucky across the table. He didn’t look at the chef either, your gazes locked in a silent battle. Your hand began to ache before you realized you were gripping the handle of your knife. You released it and looked away, but you caught his smirk anyway.

He won.

“Enjoy!” The chef finished, clasping his hands together.

Bucky shot him a look before he could walk away. “I’ll enjoy it once I know she does,” he said, his smile soft as he turned his attention back to you. “Dig in.”

A beat passed and all eyes were on you, waiting for you to have the first taste. It was unsettling to say the least as you blindly grabbed a piece of flatware to take a bite. You slowly chewed the food and wished you could've appreciated the additional flavors the chef added to make your favorite meal that much better, but being under the scrutiny of the entire room took away the delight.

“It’s delicious,” you announced, bringing another piece to your mouth. The chef’s audible sigh made it hard to swallow. What would Bucky have done if you didn’t like the food? “Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you,” Bucky added, still gazing at you like you were the center of his world. “Ray, would you show him out please?”

The chef didn’t have to be told twice as Ray wordlessly led him away.

You didn't miss the way Bucky's eyes followed your motions as you continued to eat. They told you he’d rather have you for the meal. That he’d reach under the table at any moment and part your thighs to gather the taste of you on his fingers. You firmly pulled your legs together.

“Are you not hungry?” You asked. He hadn't touched anything on his plate. Too busy staring at you. Why was he so fascinated with watching you do something as mundane as eating?

“I wanted to make sure you ate enough before I dug in,” he answered, finally taking a bite. He groaned as his eyes slipped shut, the sound making you press your legs even closer together. Being handsome didn't excuse a thing and you refused to let him get to you. “You're right. This is delicious.”

You averted your eyes when he ran his tongue over his lips. “Well, you hired him, so I imagine he's an amazing chef.”

“He is. I’m not a bad cook, but I don’t cook as often as I'd like.”

You nodded. Running a club likely kept him busy, but he could've used his free time cooking or doing something else instead of looking into your life. You ranted about that already though.

“Maybe we can have a day of the week where we make a meal together. We’ll take turns picking different meals to try, like pizza. We’ll have to make a pizza together,” he said, leaning forward as his eyes lit up. “I could even set up a projector on the balcony if you wanted to cuddle outside and watch a movie. Or we could do something indoors.”

“What if I don't want pizza? Or a movie night?” You asked, trying to gauge his reaction since you actually enjoyed pizza and movies.

“If that isn't what you're in the mood for, we can figure it out together,” he offered.

“Can we?” You asked, pushing a bit of the food around with your fork. “Or will you just make the decisions for me?”

You were speaking as if you planned to continue with his delusion. That you would actually have dinner dates and movie nights and cuddle. Things you always wanted with the right partner. The one you chose.

He twirled the knife in his hand before he pointed it at you. “I told you I don’t want to control you.”

“Yet you’re putting me in a cage.”

“You have a lot of freedom,” he retorted, taking another bite. “It’s not like I’m telling you to stop spending time with your friends or not have hobbies. I just want you close by. And about your job-”

Your eyes flashed. “If you’re about to tell me I have to quit, I will throw wine on you.”

“Thought you said it was too delicious to waste.”

“I’ll throw your glass on you and enjoy the rest of mine,” you said, warmth creeping up your neck when he chuckled. “Don’t laugh. I’m serious, Bucky. I’m not going to quit my job. I don’t care how much money you have. I love what I do.”

He laughed still, but held a hand up on surrender. “Kotyonok, I won’t make you quit your job. I know you love being a florist and I’m not about to take something away that makes you happy.”

You reigned your inner claws in. “So, I can keep working like normal? And why are you calling me Kotyonok? What happened to doll?”

“Doll, Kotyonok, you suit them both.” He reached up and ran a hand through his hair, looking every bit like the king of his castle. “And you can.”

“Oh. Well. Thank you,” you said, wishing you didn’t feel the need to thank him when it shouldn’t be his decision to begin with.

The two of you ate in semi-comfortable silence after that. You wanted to trust that he wouldn’t mess with your job, but he was interfering in the rest of your life. Maybe it wasn’t a cage he had you in after all, but he did have you on a leash.

Either way, you were his pet.

“Dance with me,” he stated once your plates were clear.

“There’s no music,” you said before a soft melody began to play in the room. You glanced around and tried to find where the speakers were. Ray must’ve turned it on.

You allowed him to help you up from your seat to hold you close. You bit back a protest when he guided your hands to rest at the base of his neck. There was hardly any room between you as he rested his hands on your hips and helped you sway to the slow beat. It contrasted with how your heart raced and you had to close your eyes to escape his gaze.

“I felt like I’d been asleep for a long time until you came along. You woke me up. Made me feel,” he whispered, his lips brushing against your forehead. “We’ll be happy together.”

His words had you catching your breath. He wasn’t the kind of predator who went right for the kill or the kind that merely stayed in the grass to bide his time. This was a cat and mouse of sorts. He caught and released you. The scary part was you didn’t know how long he’d hold onto you before he sank his teeth in or how long he’d let you run before he caught you again.

“I really want to kiss you,” he murmured, your heart thudding more as he rested a hand on your cheek.

“Not on the first date,” you said, hoping it sounded more like a tease than a complete refusal.

He chuckled and brought his lips to your ear. “What does our second date get me?”

You didn’t want to say the wrong thing, especially since he was playing along. But how long would you be able to fight off his want for you? “I guess we’ll play it by ear,” you answered.

“Making me work for it. I respect that,” he said, checking his watch as the song changed. “Speaking of being respectful, I should probably get you back to your place.”

As eager as you were to leave, you still asked, “No dessert?”

His heated eyes swept over you as he traced the diamond necklace with his finger. “I want you for dessert, but I’m trying to be good,” he replied, his voice husky as you held your breath. “I also made sure we’d have dessert to share in the car. Why don’t you go get your clutch and we can go?”

“Sure,” you said, taking one last look around the place as you went to get it. Bucky went to Ray and whispered something you couldn’t make out, but you went to the door instead of trying to eavesdrop. You didn’t want to know what the conversation was about. If it didn’t involve you, well, it wasn’t your business to begin with. And if it involved you, you were bound to find out anyway and you were too tired and mentally drained to deal with it.

A bath and more wine wouldn’t even help.

“I hope you like it,” Bucky smiled, holding up a small container as he joined you with Ray right behind him.

“Let me guess,” you said, taking the container from his hand. “It’s my favorite.”

“Of course,” he said, opening the door and putting an arm back around you.

You looked back when Ray didn’t follow you into the elevator, wishing he’d join you so you wouldn’t be alone with Bucky in there. You supposed it didn’t matter. Would he stop his boss if he tried anything or just look the other way?

It was surreal to leave the penthouse. You half expected him to go back on his word and not let you go. You glanced at him as the elevator went back down to the garage. Besides being a walking red flag, he was still a mystery.

“You said your mom would’ve loved me. Past tense,” you said, seeing his jaw clench. “Did something happen to her?”

He tightened his arm around you as the elevator stopped. “She’s gone and that’s a topic for another day,” he said, pausing to give you a tender smile. “But thank you for asking.”

The man had issues, but you hadn’t meant to touch on a sore topic. Why were you asking personal questions about him anyway? You weren’t his girl. He wasn’t going to be your guy. This wasn’t a fairytale. If it was, he would be the villain disguised as a king.

Bucky helped you back into the car, once again not waiting for the driver, and got in beside you. He barely had the door closed before you pulled you into his lap, the container almost falling from your hand as the other went to his chest. “Bucky, what are you-”

“I said you could sit in my lap after dinner,” he smirked, running a hand along your thigh. Your body went rigid as his hand trailed higher. “I won’t do anything except feed you.”

You stayed perfectly still as he moved his hand away and opened the container. He promised he wouldn't force anything tonight, but you didn't want to throw fuel on the fire by shifting and inadvertently teasing him. It would be fine. A short drive and you’d be back at your apartment.

“Open,” he ordered. You obeyed, your mouth opening up for him to place a piece of the dessert on your tongue. He swore under his breath as you closed your mouth to chew and his hand found its way back to your thigh. “Swallow it, Kotyonok.”

You were lucky you didn’t choke, the normally sweet treat sliding bitterly down your throat. He probably imagined saying those exact words to you in a very different sort of scenario. Feeling his hips move slightly beneath yours, he was likely imagining it right this second.

“Good girl,” he sighed, feeding you another piece before he buried his face in your neck. “I can't wait until you're really home.” His breath tickled your skin. “I won't have to say goodnight and watch you walk away. You’ll be beside me and fall asleep in my arms.”

“In your home,” you whispered, tilting your head to give you some space, but he followed.

“Our home,” he corrected you. “End of the month.”

Your chest ached, but you breathed evenly. You were almost home and could panic once you were alone. “It’s too soon. You understand that, right?”

“I went too long without having you by my side. You understand that, right?” He asked, cupping your cheek to make you look at him. “You went too long without me, too.”

It wasn’t fair that he was trying again to prey on your loneliness. “Bucky, you have to give me some leeway here.”

“We can figure it out together,” he said, the same thing he said during dinner. Dismissive. He thought he was going to get his way. And he would, wouldn't he?

“Well, we aren’t figuring that out tonight,” you said, pushing off his lap when the car came to a stop and fixing your dress since it rode up. “Good night.”

He stopped you from getting out. “I have to walk you to your door.”

“I’m not letting you in,” you warned. You needed your space.

“You do remember that I can get in your place without you opening the door for me, right?” He cupped your cheek again when your eyes rounded. “But I won’t do that tonight. I’m just making sure you get in safely.”

“That’s ironic coming from you,” you mumbled.

He chuckled and helped you out. Your building normally looked like a safe haven, but it was like there was a clock overhead counting down the moment until it was no longer yours. “I really do love how sweet you are, but I love your claws when they come out.”

“Careful. I just might scratch you.”

He groaned, leading you inside. “You know, you’re welcome to scratch up my back. Leave your mark on me and I’ll leave one on you.” He winked when you caught his eye. “And in you.”

He caught you when you stumbled. “Stop saying stuff like that, please,” you begged, straightening yourself out. You weren’t sure how much more you could take tonight.

“I can’t help myself,” he said, taking your phone from his pocket once you got to your door. “I had a really nice time tonight.”

His fingers touched yours as you took your phone back. “I had a nice time, too,” you said. Under normal circumstances, a romantic dinner and diamond necklace would’ve been a dream come true. “Good night, Bucky.”

He lingered as you unlocked your door. You turned to remind him that you weren’t inviting him, but you couldn’t speak when he leaned in. His lips brushed the corner of yours, all too gentle and intimate.

“Sweet dreams, Kotyonok.”

You ducked inside without another word and locked the door, listening for his footsteps. It took a moment, but you heard him walk away before you slid to the floor. It felt like you could finally breathe again since you were home and he wasn’t going to bother you again tonight.

Your heart sank though when you checked your phone and saw a message from Addison.

“Change of plans for tomorrow and I’m so sorry, but Brady somehow got us a reservation at The Terrace. Can you believe it?! Maybe we can hang out the day after?”

Tears burned your eyes. You were looking forward to seeing her. It would've been nice to pretend that everything was normal. Or maybe you would've told her at least something about your situation.

Your mind drifted to Bucky. The Terrace was one of the best restaurants around and usually booked a couple of months in advance minimum. Was it a coincidence that Brady somehow got them reservations on the day you were supposed to hang out with Addison or did your new suitor have something to do with it?

Speak of the devil, you received a new message from the man himself.

“Thank you again for the wonderful date. Are you free tomorrow night? I’d love to introduce you to some of my friends.”

Your eyes narrowed. The second you see that your plans are broken, he messages you? If you didn't think he meddled before, you certainly did now.

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

He messaged back seconds later. “Yes, you do. I can have it sent over or have it ready for you here.”

You huffed out a laugh before a couple of tears fell. Meeting Bucky’s friends would be another step in his plan to make you his. If they didn’t like you, maybe they’d sway him into forgetting about you. It was wishful thinking. Because you knew in your heart that Bucky wasn’t going to let you go.

But if he was going to play, maybe you could find a way to throw him off his game.

“I actually have plans. Maybe another time.”

You didn't bother looking to see if read the message or if he responded. Your life was your own. Bucky would have to deal with it. But knowing how he handled things so far, he’d find a way to have you on his arm tomorrow night.

Yay to @targaryenvampireslayer for guessing who the guard is! And what's Bucky going to do since you declined meeting his friends? Love and thanks for reading! ❤️

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

[theyluvkarolina]

౨ৎ LOSS ౨ৎ

masterlist / rules / requests & talks with me!

SUMMARY౨ৎ it was a rough weekend to say the least. sadie's first tennis tournament didn't exactly go as planned in her mind. how does oscar handle his little girl being to down with herself?

PAIRING ౨ৎ Not really a pairing, but reader makes multiple apperances 🩵

WARNINGS ౨ৎ sadie being a perfectionist :( (me tbh)

A/N ౨ৎ I HAVEN'T SEEN IT FULLY BUT I SAW SNIPPET OF IT 🥹 i can see this happening 100% 🩵 (minus the karting! little sadie is a tennis player in the future 😋) small little imagine for today before i do school notes!! (sadie is about 7 here!)

Part of the Dad Oscar mini-series 🩵

Two sets. Two sets was all it took to get eliminated from her first tournament final.

Sadie sat in the backseat of the car, arms crossed and gaze fixed out the window as the ride remained quiet, with Oscar glancing at her in the rearview mirror, noticing the way her lips pressed together tightly.

She wasn’t one to cry easily. If anything, she hates crying. But at this point, the lump in her throat was undeniable.

Oscar gave a sigh before speaking, “Sadie, you did great. You know that? Getting second in your first ever tournament is amazing.” he smiled softly.

“If i did great then I wouldn’t have lost.” Sadie replied bluntly.

He took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. God, how he wished you were here right now. You’d know what to do. “Sadie, you didn’t lose, you came second. And that’s something to be proud of.”

“Second is first to lose.” Sadie replied, rather quickly as she fiddled with her fingers while looking out the window.

Oscar gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, the weight of Sadie’s words hanging in the air. He understood her frustration all too well, but it was hard to see his little girl already feeling the pressure of expectations.

“I get why you're upset, Sadie,” Oscar started, glancing at her in the mirror. “I really do. But you know what? I didn’t win all the time either, especially not at the beginning of karting. It takes time, and every time you play, you’re learning something new.”

Sadie didn’t respond right away, her eyes still fixed out the window, but Oscar could see the slight frown on her face.

“And you know, you always keep the memories with you,” Oscar added softly, remembering what he had said in that interview not long ago. “Every match, every race, every time you give it your all—it stays with you. It’s not about always being the best. It’s about getting better and enjoying what you do.”

“Do you always remember the times you lost?” Sadie asked quietly, her voice breaking the silence as she turned to look at him.

“…Some more than others.” Oscar replied.

“What about wins?”

“Everyone remembers when they win.”

“Even your first win in Hungary that the team messed up the pit stops making the whole race behind Lando and when lando didn’t change positions until the very end?” Sadie asked, tilting her head slightly with her blunt tone.

“…You know, you’re making this really hard for me to comfort you now.” Oscar blanked.

“I know,” Sadie replied, the corners of her lips twitching up ever so slightly, despite her sadness. “That’s why I said it.”

Oscar couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, “Well, thank you for that, Sadie… but seriously,” Oscar said, his voice softening again, “I know it’s tough, but you should be proud of yourself. It’s not about comparing yourself to me, or anyone else for that matter. Tennis is your thing. It’s your journey. You love playing, right?”

Sadie’s frown deepened. “…mhm.”

Oscar noticed Sadie’s eyes wandering to the tennis bag in the backseat, her small fingers tracing the strap. Her thoughts were clearly elsewhere, but he took the opportunity to continue. “Nothing comes from nothing, Sadie. It’s okay to be sad and want to do better, but don’t ignore the amount of effort you put into it.

Sadie was quiet for a moment, her little fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt as she mulled over Oscar's words. "But it’s not enough," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

Oscar's heart squeezed at the sight of his daughter, so young and already feeling the weight of expectation. “Sadie, you don’t have to be the best at everything right away," he said gently, “and you don’t have to be as good as me, either… besides, I’m barely any good at padel, let alone tennis.”

Sadie finally turned to look at him, her expression serious. “But you’re always good, Daddy. Everyone always says how great you are.”

Oscar bit his lip, trying to think of how to explain it in a way she would understand. “That’s because I’ve been doing this for a long time. Sadie, you’re young. You have time to grow.”

Sadie stayed quiet, though her frown softened just a bit. Oscar smiled softly, taking that as a sign to keep going. “You love tennis, right? That’s what matters. If you enjoy it, you’ll keep getting better. And guess what? I’ll be there to watch every match.”

“You really think I did good?” Sadie asked hesitantly, her voice smaller now, as though she was afraid to believe it.

Oscar nodded, catching her gaze in the rearview mirror. “I know you did. I was watching, remember? Every single serve, every single shot. You didn’t give up, even when it was tough. That’s what makes you great.”

Sadie finally met his eyes in the mirror. “But I wanted to win.”

“I know you did. But you’ll have more matches, more chances. It’s okay to be sad now, but you should also be proud of what you did today.” Oscar paused before adding, “Plus, second place means you’re already better than most people on the court.”

That earned him a tiny smile from Sadie. "I guess.” she mumbled, her hand resting on her tennis bag.

“Now… ready to show your Mum your trophy?”

`· . ୨୧⭒๋࣭ ⭑

“Second place? …In your first tournament?” You asked, stopping what you were doing to look at the pair that just returned home.

Sadie stood next to Oscar, her tennis bag slung over her shoulder and the silver trophy cradled in her arms. Her gaze was still shy, as though unsure whether her result was something to be proud of.

Oscar gave you a small, knowing smile, as if to say, Please help me here.

You knelt down, meeting Sadie’s eyes as she shifted on her feet. “That’s amazing, Sadie!” you exclaimed, your voice full of pride. “Second place in your first ever tournament? That’s incredible!”

Sadie blinked, as if she hadn’t expected your reaction to be so positive, her lips parting in surprise at the compliment, making her cheeks slightly redden. She looked at you for a long moment before glancing at Oscar, who place a hand on her shoulder. "But I wanted to be first…" she whispered, her voice trailing off.

"I know," you replied softly, nodding in understanding. "And that’s okay. It’s good to want to win, but it's also okay not to win every time. What's important is that you did your best, and look—" you pointed to the trophy in her hands, "you still achieved something incredible. Second place out of all those players? That’s huge."

Sadie’s eyes finally lifted to meet yours, and you could see the tension in her shoulders ease a little, though she still looked unsure. "You really think so?" she asked, her voice small.

“It’s not just me.. we know so.”

Oscar watched the exchange, his heart swelling as he saw the tension ease from Sadie’s small frame. You always knew exactly what to say.

“Now,” you said, pulling back slightly and smiling at her with a playful glint in your eyes, “how about we put that beautiful trophy somewhere special? I think it deserves a place on the self, don’t you?”

Sadie nodded, her earlier disappointment fading away bit by bit. “Yeah… I think so.”

Besides, there was still more that the future holds.

[fizzie-frog]

You know, the Stolitz scene was a trainwreck as a whole (they usually are), but what honestly got me most was the way Blitz started pleading when he thought his livelihood was going to be taken away.

THIS IS NOT A STOLAS SLANDER POST. I'm coming from a place where I've seen Blitz being mostly, if not entirely blamed for their lack of communication most of the time.

Moving on...

People keep going like "Well if imps are so low in the hierarchy..." - Let's take a break to think. Blitz isn't rich, he's just getting by really. And how is he getting by?

By prostituting himself. To the upper class.

That's what it is, he's a certified whxre. Things may have evolved in the meantime, but that's how it started. Blitz got asked for the deal while being chased by a crazy lady and him, wanting to keep his business and livelihood, said yes, obviously.

Now Stolas was suddenly taking the book back with no apparent explanation (until they got to the crystal), so of course Blitz thought he was doomed. On a side note, why couldn't Stolas say "You won't need the book, I have an alternative" instead of the ominous "I'll need the book back, permanently. I have made up my mind." I would be scared out of my mind.

He teared up immediately and started pleading, you could already see what was going through his head. He won't have the means to support his business anymore, to pay his employees, to afford a home, he'll be homeless and have no means to take care of Loona. Everyone will leave him again and he will starve on the streets all alone.

He'd do anything to be able to live a life a bit better than miserable, of course he would.

And this brings me to Stolas's treatment of Blitz. I see that everything tends to fall on Blitz, and I'm not saying he has no fault (in fact I didn't even like him at the beginning of the series too much), but Stolas treated him like a peasant. Just the episode before Ozzie's he's called him his "impish little plaything" and asked for a reward for the rescue. He put out cigarettes on his horns, he ignored his "stop" most times, he addressed him in this little baby voice with babying diminutives. "Itty bitty" imp.

And I am sure Stolas is socially clueless. He was brought up alone and sheltered, taught to be a prince first and foremost.

Stolas probably saw this as playful banter, as something that is inoffensive, silly. It was only in the Ozzie's episode that he finally saw that actually, his silly play served to make Blitz feel smaller.

And of course in this scenario, Blitz would see this coming out of the nether. He reacted quite badly, but why would this prince be actually in love with him? As he said, he needed to have a minute (or several) to think about everything. They needed to talk this out, and Blitz was about to apologize when Stolas cast him out.

They were both emotionally charged. They fucked up. But I can see Blitz's side. And the power imbalance is so evident, that hierarchy that everyone keeps saying is irrelevant - in a moment's notice, he could have his life swept from underneath him. Just like he thought it happened in that split moment; it worried him so much that he cried and pleaded (and that's not in Blitz's character to do).

And then he was so scared of not being enough too, ugh, his little "I can always do better!". He's so used to everyone just seeing him as a lost cause, better to be discarded. With this amalgamation of things, no wonder he can't believe Stolas would have feelings for him.

So uh, I don't know what the conclusion to this is. Normalize getting imps some actual comfort? So far the only really privileged imp in Helluva Boss is Fizz after getting rid of Mammon. And when I say priviledged, I'm referring to wealth and upper class, not taking into account personal issues such as disability and so forth.

Anyway, this was my two cents on Stolitz. I honestly haven't thought too much on them, I'm riding on the Fizzarolli high. I'm chill over here in my Fizzmodeus bubble, but doesn't mean I have no thoughts on Stolitz.

[neptuneiris]

Cruel Summer (02/10)

Paradise Beach

pairing: modern!aemond × fem!reader

summary: after a bad day at work, you head to the beach of your dreams, where an unexpected encounter occurs with a person who is too well known in the city and very rich.

words: 7.7k

previous part • next chapter • series masterlist

omg i can't believe how much you guys liked the first part! i really thought the story wouldn't get so much support (especially since i haven't finished CYPTBIL👀) but you guys again surprised me🤗 i'm very inspired with this story so i'm very happy for all the support, so enjoy this new chapter and look forward to the others!🙌🏻

thank you for reading!

warnings: none in this chapter.

You hate to see the beach dirty.

You've always had a problem with people who leave all their trash on the beach without any remorse and in full view of everyone. Many people will be embarrassed to confront them and create a fuss, but you... you defend the beach.

The first community program you see that brings people together to clean up the beach to better help the ecosystem, you're the first to sign up.

And that's the bad thing about living in Black Waves.

The beaches are not the best kept. There is dirt everywhere, the smell is horrible and really very few people make an effort to keep the beaches on this side clean.

The complete opposite on the beaches of Crown's.

This is mainly why you want to make a difference, to have clean and beautiful beaches despite the 'status' that the rich label you in the worst way.

You've seen their beaches and they are very well kept, that's true. It was clear to you when you went to that party last night and saw the white sand.

Obviously the rich people pay people for maintenance, whether they are poor people or whatever, but your people can't afford that, so they either clean it themselves or they just don't do it.

Pretty much the same goes for restaurants and venues of any kind.

Certainly the restaurant you work for is on a beachfront terrace in a luxurious and exclusive part of Crown's, the same goes for most of the restaurants in this area.

But in Black Waves the restaurants are less sophisticated, the food is fast, some are wood-framed, and there are no more than four people working there.

The places to buy clothes or basic necessities are the same, even a grocery store is inside the same house of the owners, while the rich have a huge shopping mall with brand name clothing stores, accessories, libraries, coffee shops and more refined restaurants.

They also have on their side of town large supermarkets where every fruit, vegetable or meat is triple the price of what they sell it on your side of town.

The prices are also different, clearly.

In Black Waves the dishes sold in the restaurants are affordable, while here a seafood dish costs fifty dollars.

And today especially your boss is in a bad mood, like every day, but today more so.

"Hey."

Alysanne whispers to you from the other side of the bar as you finish cleaning one of the tables and watch her almost instantly, where she takes care that your boss doesn't see you both talking.

"Daniel has texted me, he says Cregan is taking us to another one of his parties tonight," she lets you know with the clear excitement all over her contained face, "They say it's going to be great and maybe Cregan can take us up on his parents' yacht."

You let out a sigh and like her, you check to make sure Mr. Frey doesn't catch you talking in mid-shift.

"Tonight?"

"Yes," she says without removing her excitement.

"We're working double shifts today, Anne," you tell her without encouragement.

"Oh come on. We can't miss the opportunity to spend the party on a fucking yacht," she whispers excitedly to you.

"My feet are already hurting and it's not even four in the afternoon," you point out to her.

She gives you a bad look.

"Y/N," she tells you reproachfully.

"Depends on how the day goes."

"Are you serious? We must—

"You two!"

Mr. Frey's voice immediately catches your attention and Alysanne's, where you notice him already watching you both with a scowl on his face and clearly furious.

"Did I pay you to chat or to work!?"

The two of you exchange a glance and immediately turn away from each other, each returning to their respective tasks. But of course, it not only draws the attention of the two of you, but also that of some customers, and the two of you endure the humiliation of being scolded in public.

"You'd better move and I'd better not see you two chatting again or I'll pay you exactly what you deserve or send you back to your side of town."

You almost want to laugh in his face, but like any educated woman and again out of necessity, you keep quiet, as does Alysanne, but the looks you both exchange say it all.

You would like to tell him that because of the mistreatment and this kind of humiliation in public, the two of you and the other workers should be paid more, especially because you have to deal with a boss like him, but neither you nor anyone else says anything and continue working.

And precisely because you were talking to Alysanne for only a brief moment, Mr. Frey takes advantage and overloads you both with too much work for the remainder of the shift.

And that's why you definitely decide not to go to any party.

Your feet hurt, you are urged to take a bath, eat and lie in your bed, however, you are surprised to see how Alysanne has way too much energy for the hell you both had to go through and as she talk to the guys by text, the more excited she gets about going to Cregan's party.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Alysanne asks you as she finishes getting ready, looking at you through the full-length mirror.

"Honestly I'd rather go to the beach to relax instead of being surrounded with music, the smell of beer, weed and teenagers getting drunk."

She gives you an amused look.

"And why don't you do that?"

"I don't have a ride and it's too late to walk."

"Cregan is coming to pick me up in his car along with the others, I'm sure he can give you a ride if you ask him."

You give her a curious and unsure look.

"Do you think he'll accept?"

"We're going to the same side of town, he'll be passing through," she nods with a nonchalant gesture.

At least you don't have to get too dressed up and you won't get tired, so you trust Alysanne and start getting ready too. Not too much like her but to look presentable.

As time goes by Cregan finally arrives with the boys making a huge fuss, excited about the party tonight. Alysanne tells them to shut up and they are lucky that your uncle and aunt haven't complained about them yet.

You give Cregan directions after asking him to please give you a ride and pretty soon everyone is inside of Crown's.

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Sam asks you confused.

You shake your head.

"Why not?"

"I'm too tired for a party."

Chase gives you a knowing look.

"I can't believe in all this time you haven't been caught."

"It's not like I'm doing anything wrong either," you shrug.

"But the rich hate us and I bet you they'll make a huge fuss if they catch you."

"Yeah, who knows, maybe a trespass sue," Daniel agrees.

"Even knowing you don't have the money to pay for it," Chase tells you.

"Trespassing?" you repeat between amused and incredulous, "Going to sit on the edge of the beach is trespassing? Do you even know what trespassing is?"

"In any case, the rich won't like it if you get caught," Sam says making a nonchalant gesture.

You decide not to take it any further and finally arrive at your destination point, where you get out and walk over to the side of the pilot's window to see Cregan.

"Thanks for the ride."

"No problem," he smiles at you, "But the guys are right. If the owners find out about you, you can get in big trouble."

"I've been doing this for almost a year," you let him know, "I'm very sneaky."

He shakes his head with an amused smile.

"Just be careful. We'll come get you when you tell us."

"Okay," you nod, "Thanks, Cregan."

"Take care," Alysanne says to you from the passenger seat.

"Sure."

"And if the rich see you, get in the ocean and swim to the party, we'll help you there," Daniel tells you too.

You give him a look and and a not entirely convinced smile.

"Yeah, sure, very helpful."

You finally start to walk away from them as they continue to yell at you to take care of yourself, to call them in case of anything and so on, until Cregan starts up and his car begins to disappear into the distance.

And then you take action.

You look around, quickly assessing the area, making sure there are no people nearby to see you, but surprisingly this whole luxurious area of Crown's is quiet.

The only movement you notice is several cars passing by, but other than that, there are no monkeys on the shore.

There is a wall in front of you that marks the line between this private neighborhood and the houses in the same neighborhood that are even more private, since they have a huge front yard and a huge part of the beach exclusively for them.

The wall is not high, fortunately, you think it should be, but this is compensated by security guards who patrol this area and the beach from time to time.

So stealthily and in a calculated manner, once you make sure that there are no people nearby, you hide among the bushes and trees that are planted in the corner of the sidewalk to put your foot on a specific crack that you know of the wall and push yourself upward taking the edge of the wall with both hands to be able to observe the other side.

You quickly scan the entire area, making sure there are no guards patrolling nearby nor any of the people who live in the houses before jumping.

The meters of distance are considerable between the huge houses or rather mansions. There is pavement between the divisions and those divisions are exactly the way to the beach.

You put on the cap of the sweatshirt you are wearing to cover your hair and your face, since you know that all the houses must have security cameras outside, so this way you protect yourself in case of anything.

And once you make sure that there is no one outside or nearby, you gain impulse again with more strength and as fast as your feet allow you but still being careful, you place your hands on the rough edge of the wall and start to climb.

You adjust your grip more firmly on the edge and in one agile motion, you propel yourself upwards, where you feel the effort as you pull your own weight and more as you try to be fast.

Luckily you've done this many times before and when you reach the top, wasting no time and making sure no one is watching you, you quickly slide down the other side and you fall on your feet with a dry sound.

You don't take the time to rest and looking around, with adrenaline running through your veins and your heart beating too fast, you quickly advance towards the beach.

And once you are far enough away from where you managed to cross and indeed you confirm that no one saw you and everything is fine, again, you can relax.

You remove the cap from your head and let your hair free again, slowly feeling how the breeze and the wind with the salty air envelop you completely as you approach the seashore.

Easily anyone who lives here if they see you could tell that you live here too, besides the night also helps you because without so much light they can't recognize you right away.

And it is as if you are also a rich person, daughter of rich parents, being inside a private section of the beach in Crown's most exclusive area.

And as you go along, this is precisely why you take the risk of coming to this place when it is forbidden to you; the place and the view.

The sand here is perfect, clean as if no one had ever walked on it, the air is salty with no smell of anything unpleasant in specific, there are no people that could be dangerous around you and the surroundings are absolutely beautiful and clean.

Also this section has a cliff a bit secluded from all the houses, where its huge rocky wall looks absolutely beautiful and ethereal when illuminated by the night light.

You have come here many, many times and you always head to the same place, that specific pier.

The pier stretches out in front of you like a polished wooden path, leading into the deep waters of the night ocean.

Discreetly placed lights along the pier illuminate it with a soft golden glow, creating a contrast to the darkness surrounding the horizon.

The reflection of the small lamps trembles on the surface of the water, giving the place a magical and mysterious air.

The structure is impeccable, made of dark, sturdy wood, maintained with a care that only the rich can afford. There is not a single splinter out of place, not even an ill-fitting clove.

Every detail is taken care of, right down to the polished wooden benches at the end of the pier, ideal for sitting and admiring the sea in silence.

As you approach, the wooden planks creak softly under your feet, but the sound mixes with the gentle murmur of the waves, making it almost imperceptible.

And when you reach the end, you can see a large yacht moored at the side of the dock, with it's deluxe cover and it's name painted in gold and silver lettering.

You have no idea which rich family it might belong to, but you know this is just one of many they must have. It wasn't here the last time you came here and fortunately it doesn't obstruct the view.

You take a seat on the wooden bench and letting out a big breath, you watch as the full moon reflects off the ocean, it's silvery sparkles dancing on the water in hypnotic movements.

This is why you love coming here, even in this way, because the fresh, salty night air fills your lungs with every inhalation.

And just for an instant, you feel freer than ever in this space that is not supposed to belong to you.

Besides you not only enjoy seeing the moon, but also the stars, shining brightly and adorning the entire night sky. And you can rest easy, because there is no danger on this side of town.

You've been enduring a lot at work lately, taking a lot of strain on your shoulders from double shifts and stressing over the slightest thing, but coming here and being here gives you that much needed quiet time.

And only this place can offer you that; peace and tranquility.

You don't know exactly how much time passes but you find yourself in the same position, not getting bored and enjoying the view, wishing time would freeze so you could continue to enjoy this without worries.

You think that Alysanne and the guys must be having fun too, but for tonight this is all the fun you need.

Suddenly your phone vibrates next to you and the screen lights up as a new notification comes in. You casually pick it up and see a new message, and it's from Alysanne.

It's a selfie of her with the guys, all happy, laughing, smiling, beer bottles in hand and with the sea and yachts in the background completing the scene.

You let out a small laugh as you see Sam's euphoric face, Daniel and Chase's funny faces, and Cregan and Alysanne's smiling faces.

"Excuse me?"

Your whole body reacts and jumps instantly from shock and you look quickly and sharply behind you with all the panic on your face, definitely not expecting what you see.

Aemond Targaryen.

Shit.

It's the first thing that comes to your mind as you quickly jump to your feet, your heart beating too fast and your hands starting to shake.

That's when you know that the moment has finally come where you're caught and you're in big trouble.

Aemond watches you with a serious and attentive face, analyzing you completely. And you feel completely small when his eyes look at you with confusion and distrust, but challenging.

He clearly has no idea what are you doing here and maintains a defensive posture.

And you definitely feel like a thief who's just been caught in the act.

"What are you doing here?"

Oh God.

You think in terror.

How come you didn't hear him coming? The boards creak with the weight when someone walks and you couldn't hear anything?

You think that you should have been more attentive, that you shouldn't have let your guard down, because it's not possible that you really were so distracted and in your own world that you didn't hear him coming. 

But with him already here, watching you in a bad way, looking cold and suspicious, that you don't have time to scold yourself or think about it.

"I-I..." you stammer, in a shaky voice, not having the slightest idea what to say, very nervous and scared.

All you can feel is a lump in your throat, an irregular throbbing in your chest and the overwhelming weight of his gaze on you.

He doesn't look away and his serious face doesn't change, clearly waiting for an answer.

As you watch him examine you, you watch as he runs his gaze up and down you, trying to decipher who you are. And it doesn't take him long to come to an obvious conclusion, because he instantly knows that you are not like him.  

By your clothes and your old sandals, everything about you gives away that you don't belong here. Besides, he doesn't recognize you from among the other Crown's families to be able to say that you belong to one of them.

He knows you're not from around here.

"I asked you a question," he demands you in a bad way and with a harsher tone, walking towards you, "What are you doing here?"

You feel a shiver run down your back as you swallow hard, but the words just won't come out.

You're paralyzed, terrified, stuck, because you have no idea what to say and you're still processing that this is really happening. 

You know you don't have any good excuses and he's impatient, waiting for an answer that really won't be convincing to be the truth.

"I will call security for invasion of private property," he warns you firmly, clearly beginning to lose patience.

The danger in his words makes the fear hit you even harder and you finally react in panic.       

"No, no, please," you finally manage to say, worried and raising one of your hands to him in supplication, "I-I… I'm not doing anything wrong, I swear," you raise both hands in surrender, trembling.

He inspects you more closely with a piercing gaze, trying to find something, anything, to tell him what you are really doing here or what you are trying to do, watching between you and his family's yacht anchored to the dock.

His posture remains tense, ready to act if he finds anything out of place. 

He thinks that maybe you are doing something with the yacht, but he sees it in perfect condition, with nothing strange and nothing out of the ordinary, as the rope that ties it to the dock is without problems.

But he still continues to watch you seriously, defensively and suspiciously.

"Shit," you mutter under your breath, lowering your gaze, embarrassed and terrified, "This has never happened before," you say, reproaching yourself for the mess you've gotten yourself into.

But he hears you perfectly, and his frown deepens.

"Before?" he queries you.      

You close your eyes tightly, cursing yourself internally for having said that, to again look at him pleadingly and in desperation wanting to prove to him that you really aren't doing anything wrong.

"I swear I—

"Hello!?"

The unexpected voice makes you jump again from surprise and you watch with your eyes wide open behind Aemond as one of the security guards enters the dock, his flashlight illuminating the way.

Your heart beats with such force that it seems to thunder in your ears, as panic engulfs you completely. 

And without thinking too much, you move quickly, hiding behind a huge wooden box, taking advantage of the pole supporting the roof at the end of the pier and some scattered chairs. 

You crouch down, trying to make yourself as small as possible, but desperation gives you away with every move.

This definitely ends up completely confusing Aemond, not expecting that reaction and movement from you at all.      

And you watch him from your hiding place with all the pleading and forgiveness in your eyes, silently begging him not to say anything, not to give you away.

But he turns his gaze to the guard who ends up coming closer.

"Are you all right son?"

Your heart stops momentarily and you watch him in terrified silence, simply waiting for the worst. 

But even to have his whole look serious and not showing much reaction, you watch as hesitation appears for a moment and he falters in his words, as if he doesn't know exactly what to say, until he does.

"Yes," he finally says, "I'm all right."

The guard, seemingly satisfied with the answer, nods, but doesn't leave.     

"The Baratheon's reported a break-in in their backyard a few days ago," he says and you listen carefully, still waiting for the moment with fear and concern, "Nothing serious, apparently just clothes and some decorations. I'm just patrolling to make sure everything is in order."

Your breathing quickens as you listen to every word and Aemond continues to watch the guard, when suddenly he shoots you a quick glance, his eyes reflecting a mixture of seriousness and indecision. 

"Yes, so I hear," he says.

"Are you alone, son? I thought I saw someone else here."

Fuck.

Your stomach sinks and you close your eyes tightly, then watch in terror for the moment when Aemond will finally speak and give you away.

But you see the hesitation in his gaze again, you also watch intently as he opens and closes his mouth a few times, failing to say anything.    

When suddenly you see him let out a long breath and slyly give you a look with his serious face, then lick his lips and press them together in resignation.

"Yes, I'm alone."

As soon as Aemond utters those words, a wave of relief sweeps through your body. But almost instantly you stare at him in complete shock, unable to believe it. 

He really just covered you in front of the guard. He didn't really give you away even when he had every reason to do so.

Your hands are still shaking, but you slowly feel the adrenaline and anguish start to subside. 

"Well, we'll be around if you need anything. Good night, son." 

Aemond nods in his direction.

"Yes, thank you. Good night."  

You stand still for a few more moments, listening to his footsteps fade into the distance until finally there is no more noise. Just the sound of the water against the dock and the night wind on the waves.

You take a deep breath and slowly, you sit up, emerging from your hiding place with your hands still shaking. 

Your eyes meet those of Aemond, who is still standing, watching you with that penetrating gaze that seems to be able to read all your deepest thoughts. 

You don't know exactly what to say to him, you're still surprised and don't understand why he saved you, but the words come out on their own, grateful and fearful.

"Thank you," you murmur apologetically but with all the sincerity in your gaze, "Thank you for not saying anything."

He doesn't say anything to you, which confuses you even more, he just keeps standing there watching you, with his usual hard-to-read expression.     

“I-I..." you stammer, biting your lips and lowering your gaze for a moment, still feeling nervous, "I really wasn't doing anything wrong. I wasn't stealing or harming or anything like that, truly," you tell him honestly.

Again, he says nothing. He doesn't move either. He just stands there, with both hands tucked inside his front pockets of his shorts and still watching you with utmost attention that makes you feel incredibly nervous, even more so due to the circumstances.

You are also surprised that he is not kicking you out and threatening not to come back here. 

You honestly don't understand his behavior and the fact that he saved you from the guard, but for whatever reason, you thank him or you would have been in big trouble.

So cautiously, you take a step towards the entrance and exit of the pier.        

"And I'm sorry. You won't see me around here again. I really don't want to cause trouble," you add, watching him warily and wanting to make clear the promise in your words, "I'll leave now," you say quietly.

And having nothing more to say, you turn around, ready to run away if necessary, but you barely take two steps when surprisingly his voice stops you.

"What were you doing here?" he asks for the fifth time all night, his tone just as accusing but now with a curious tone. 

You stand still, not knowing exactly how to respond. 

But you know you have two choices: lie or tell the truth. And for some reason, you feel you can't lie to him; Aemond Targaryen.

Aside from belonging to the wealthiest, most prestigious and powerful family in Sunset's and the entire country, with his father being Viserys Targaryen himself and being one of the heirs to his entire fortune, he seems to be someone who seems to have the innate ability to detect falsehood.

That's why you don't understand why he saved you, a poor girl who doesn't belong to his world and probably never will, but still, you decide to be honest.       

Anyway, you're already stuck here and as crazy as it sounds, you owe Aemond Targaryen one.

"I was just... looking for some peace and quiet," you confess, turning your body to once again look at him, "I had a bad day and coming here..." you look around with a wistful look, "It helps me."

Aemond tilts his head, frowning slightly and biting the inside of his cheek, inspecting you. 

"And you can't do that on the beach on your side of town?" he asks you with a tone of disbelief.

You sigh, feeling a twinge of frustration as you think about the answer. It's a reasonable question, but the answer is not so simple. 

"Not really," you reply, lowering your gaze for a moment and biting your lips in nervousness, "Surely you know it's not the same at Black Waves."

He shakes his head slightly.

"I've never been there."

You almost look at him with an obvious look, almost, but you end up nodding, since of course he's never been to your side of town when he lives here.   

"The smell of the beach there is not so nice. They are not as clean as these, there is dirt and being there alone in the middle of the night is dangerous," you explain.

And everything you say is true, which is why you decide to come here.

And he looks at you, clearly digesting your words, saying nothing for a few moments, as is becoming usual between the two of you.

You think that maybe for him, someone who has lived surrounded by luxury all his life, it is somewhat difficult to imagine such a different reality. But it is also no secret how the people of Black Waves live.

So you don't understand his silence or even his behavior, but what you do see in him, surprisingly... is that he doesn't judge you.

You would have expected the face of disgust instantly like any spoiled child of rich parents and also that he would tell you to leave now with that posture and superficial look.

But nothing.       

Aemond Targaryen doesn't really reflect anything with his eyes. Unless he's judging you and giving you those looks of disgust in his mind.

But, strangely, he doesn't make you feel any less.

"And coming here... it's like my paradise, for the peace and quiet," you conclude in a low murmur.

Again... he doesn't say anything.

And that begins to frustrate you.

He just watches you, as if he's evaluating every word, every gesture and every detail in you. 

And you silently think to yourself that he probably doesn't say anything because he really wants you to leave, to leave him alone and never come back here.

So you try to leave again, because you've caused enough trouble and you can't risk staying.   

However, just as you prepare to say goodbye and apologize, again, he interrupts you.

"Since when do you come here?" he asks with a tone that reveals a mild interest you weren't expecting.

Inevitably your nerves run through you again and you swallow hard, having no idea whether this interrogation is good or bad, but you still decide to be honest to avoid as much trouble as you can.

"Last year," you confess apologetically.

He raises his eyebrows slightly.

"And no one had caught you until now?"

"It's just that I don't come here much, I promise," you say instantly, sincere, "Like I told you I only come when I really need to... when I want peace and quiet. And I don't do anything but sit around and watch the ocean, that's all."

He nods slowly, again processing your words. 

And you don't know it but to Aemond... there seems to be something about you, something about the way you talk or maybe that you're a Black Waves girl, that keeps him interested.

His blue eyes, cold but curious, fix on yours, as if he wants to see beyond the words, as if he's looking for some kind of hidden truth.    

The silence that follows feels interminable and finally, he with his relaxed but dominant posture, takes his hands out of his pockets and turns around, resting his arms on one of the railings of the pier. 

He stares off into the horizon with that serious look that tells you nothing and you just stand there, wondering if you should still leave or what you should do, since you don't understand anything.

"You can stay," he says suddenly, his voice low but firm.

You frown and stare at him completely confused, having no idea if you heard right or not.

"What?"

"You can stay," he repeats, not watching you.

You blink, watching him in shock, now being the one processing his words, not really understanding anything but feeling completely surprised by his offer.      

You didn't expect this. Not at all.

And at that moment comes the distrust in you, as it can't be too good to be real.

"Are you sure? I mean..." you watch him uncertainly, "Maybe you want to be alone," you shrug.

You watch as he sits up and starts pulling something out of his pockets, which ends up being a lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

And without looking at you, he shakes his head.

"I'm fine," he tells you carelessly, taking a cigarette and starting to light it.

You watch him curiously, not understanding why he's being this way with you... so strangely kind. And that without knowing where it comes from, you begin to like him.

"And you're really not going to give me away? This isn't... I don't know," you shrug, "Like some kind of trap?"    

You watch as he takes a drag and blows out the smoke, putting the lighter and the pack back in his pocket.

"No," he says serious and almost annoyed, so you decide not to question him anymore, as strange as this is, "If you want to stay that's fine, if not you can leave too. Just do what you want, if I wanted to give you away, I would have done it already."

You remain silent, processing his words. You frown and watch him as he takes another drag and then the smoke rising to dissipate in the cool night air.

There is something about his posture, the casual way he holds his cigarette, that disconcerts you and catches your attention.

He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would let someone like you just hang around, much less in a place that is clearly his, or at least his family's.

So you feel unsure how to interpret all of this.

So you continue to stand, still waiting for some sign that you should leave, but he gives you none. Instead, he just looks off into the horizon, where the water meets the dark sky, lit only by the moon and stars.

And the truth is, you don't know what to do.

The prospect of staying there, with him, someone you barely really know and who could give you away at any moment, still makes you nervous.

However, you are also intrigued by this strange friendliness he is showing.

So you decide to stay, so you again take a seat on the edge of the wood with carefree movements, your feet dipping into the shimmering water beyond.

You give him a brief glance, unsure if he'll sit down too or if he'll just leave. But to your surprise, he stands beside you, silently smoking and not watching you.

It's not warm or comforting company, but somehow, the stillness you both share is more soothing than uncomfortable.

And so the minutes pass and the sound of the water, soft and rhythmic, begins to soothe you again. The cool night air makes the anxiety in your chest slowly dissipate, as does the tension in your shoulders.

And with each passing of time, you realize that nothing bad will really happen by being here with him. And you also realize that Aemond Targaryen is maybe not arrogant and shallow like the others.

He hasn't even been mean to you and hasn't judged you, so that's why you decide to start a conversation.

"Why are you here?" you decide to ask, without looking him and simply moving the waters gently with your feet, focusing on that.

The question floats in the air between you, and for a moment, you think he won't answer you, since maybe he told you that you can stay but it doesn't mean you should talk to him.

But then you hear him move, his weight making a slight creak in the wood.

"Same as you," he finally replies, though his tone is less curt this time, "Looking for peace and quiet."

You're instantly taken aback by his honesty and also by his response, definitely not expecting that, so you frown and look at him confused.

"Really?"

He watches you and his gaze instantly paralyzes you, watching as he watches you just as confused but this time defensively at your reaction.

"Why is that so incredible to believe?"

You bite your lips and avert your gaze, thinking very hard about your next words, as you shrug and watch him again.

"Well... I'm just thinking why a person who has everything and certainly lacks nothing would come here... looking for peace and quiet," you explain with genuine curiosity.

He lets out a snort, with a bitter look on his face as he brings the cigarette back to his lips.

"Neither you nor anyone else knows everything about me and my family," he says with an unexpected harshness in his tone.

You remain silent, surprised by the frankness of his response and avert your gaze to the horizon.

You feel a slight discomfort that you didn't expect and it's not because of what he said, but how he said it, so serious and distant.

But maybe he's right.

All families at Crown's are characterized by more than just money, power and status, and that's appearance.

The rich probably think they know everything among themselves, but your people see a little more reality and you know that behind that perfect facade there are secrets, tensions and burdens.

And the Targaryen's are no exception. Even Cregan has hinted at it many times, with his wry, half-joking comments about the lives of wealthy families.

The moment between the two and the conversation seems on the verge of becoming awkward again.

And just when you think the talk is over, Aemond takes another drag and, surprising you, looks sideways at you with a cool but questioning expression.

"And what happened to you?" he asks you suddenly, changing the subject.

"Hm?" you observe him attentively and confused.

"Why did you have a bad day?" he repeats just as calmly, but this time, with a casual, carefree tone.

"Oh," you murmur, turning your eyes back to the horizon.

You didn't expect him to be interested in something so personal. But since he asked, you decide to be honest.

"Well, apparently my boss hates me and made me work double shifts today," you explain, letting out a sigh. "It's stressful enough to put up with his bad treatment and workload, but I also had to deal with a lot of rude customers."

His gaze remains fixed on you, as if processing what you just said. Then he goes back to staring at the horizon with a disinterested look and takes another drag on his cigarette.

"Sounds like shit," he finally says, his tone dry but without a hint of empathy.

"Yeah, it is," you reply, letting out a bitter little laugh, "But it is what it is."

He nods slightly and suddenly, the distance you felt between the two of you seems to diminish a bit.

Aemond isn't as unapproachable as you thought, and though you still don't quite understand why he's acting this way, you begin to see that maybe, just maybe, there's more to him than meets the eye.

You stare out at the water in silence, the sound of the waves lapping gently against the pier pilings filling the air.

And you are surprised by how normal this situation is.

You mean, who would have thought? You, a poor girl from Black Waves and him, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the region, sharing a night on the dock as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

You don't understand anything but... you like him.

"I've never seen you before," he murmurs after a while, his eyes focused on the horizon, "Nor do I know your name."

You stare at him incredulously and let out a small chuckle under your breath.

"I think we both know why," you say knowingly, "It's not like our paths cross very often. And my name is Y/N, Y/N Blackwood," you introduce yourself in a soft tone.

He falls silent, seemingly memorizing your name and within a few seconds, however, he doesn't seem convinced of the other.

"I don't know. I know everyone in town, even if not directly."

You frown slightly.

"That sounds... exhausting."

"It's part of the family, knowing everyone. Knowing who's around you, even if you don't deal with them," he explains, "But I had never seen you."

"Well... I've lived at Sunset's for a year now with my aunt, uncle and my cousin," you explain, relaxing a little more as you see the conversation flowing smoothly, "And before the summer started, I started working at Mr. Frey's restaurant to save up for college in a few more months."

He turns his whole body toward you, still standing and leaning against the pole holding up the roof at the end of the pier, glancing at you from time to time but keeping more of his focus on the horizon.

"Your aunt and uncle?" he asks, "Why don't you live with your parents?"

That question takes you by surprise, and for a moment you don't know what to say. It's obviously a personal question and you weren't expecting it at all.

Then you look at him, where his eyes are serious and inquisitive towards you, although you don't perceive any bad intentions, just a curiosity.

"I guess I don't know if I should tell you that," you say with a small smile and amused tone, trying to downplay it and not make the moment awkward, "You know... trusting one of your kind."

He lets out a slight chuckle, making you smile a little wider.

"My kind?"

You shrug.

"Yeah, you know... a rich one."

"And what makes you think you can't trust me? I didn't give you away a while ago, did I?"

"And why did you?" you ask, unable to contain your curiosity seizing on the comment, "Why didn't you give me away?"

He lets out a long breath and takes another drag before answering, his voice low but steady.

"I don't know, maybe because you were honest."

"But you're not like that, no one in your class is empathetic and forgiving."

"Do you really think you know everything about me and my family?" he questions you again.

You look at him obviously and incredulously.

"Please, everyone in this place knows everything about you and your family. Even the poor people. You're like the royalty of the city, after all."

You see the slight annoyance on his face, making it clear that he's in total disagreement with you, and you make up your mind to prove your point.

"I mean..." you sigh, "You are known as your father's son who has a perfect life just like your siblings, heirs to a wealthy and powerful family. The Targaryen's are known for that, work, money, power and status... or am I wrong?"

He doesn't respond right away, just watches you with an intensity that makes you feel a little vulnerable.

And just when you think he'll finally let his true self out and he's exactly like the other rich kids, he surprisingly lets out a sigh and looks down at the water, with an almost resigned look on his face.

"Yeah, but it's not all as simple and wonderful as it seems. It's not the whole truth either."

Those words leave you thinking. And they also leave you watching... him.

At the previous party, you couldn't see much of him from afar, let alone being on the second floor of a huge yacht. But he is... captivating.

You trace the shape of his nose and the structures of his cheeks with your gaze, watching as if it were a slow-motion movie as he lifts his cigarette to his lips and raises his gaze to the sky to expel the smoke, marking the bone in his neck.

His silver hair shimmers slightly in the moonlight and makes him look like some sort of ancient Greek God, where you silently admire the handsome features of his face.

You can't see his eyes in detail because of the light, but you know they are blue, characteristic of the Targaryen along with the platinum hair.

And then you wonder, what else is behind that facade his family has so meticulously constructed for him?

Who is Aemond Targaryen truly?

The night continues as the two of you stand there, sharing the space, the air, the silence. There is no need for more words for now, it's just enjoying the little shelter in this corner with him.

And after a while, you decide that maybe it's time to leave.

"Well... I guess I should be going," you mutter, starting to get up, then looking around the perimeter one last time, etching the image in your memory, "I'm going to miss this place."

He turns with slow, nonchalant movements toward you, dropping what little is left of the cigarette to crush it with the sole of his tennis shoe.

"What do you mean?" he asks, with that calmness that always seems to surround him.

You look at him in confusion, then shrug, letting out a small, resigned laugh.

"Obviously I can't come back here now that you've caught me," you tell him with a sad little smile, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear from the wind, turning around, "Oh and..." you look back at him, "Thanks for not give me away, truly."

You give him a look and a small grateful smile, as he keeps his expression hard to read, as usual, but totally focused on you.

Neither of you say anything else and assuming this is the final goodbye, you start walking towards the dock exit. But then you hear his voice behind you.

"Wait."

And that's what you do.

Confused, you turn to watch him again, watching as he takes a step forward.

"You can come back if you want," he says to you suddenly, in a tone of voice that is soft, but also mixes indifference and something else that you don't quite manage to identify, "Just... make sure no one else catches you."

That definitely takes you by surprise, since you weren't expecting it. And you watch him silently for a moment, trying to read his expression, but he remains as enigmatic as ever.

However, there is an unexpected sincerity in his words that makes you smile, this time with more warmth.

"Really?" you ask, unable to hide the disbelief and excitement in your voice.

He nods, folding his arms, saying nothing.

"Thank you," you reply, and this time you say it more firmly and with happiness in your eyes.

You lower your gaze and resist the urge to smile big, feeling a strange sensation in your stomach, to again watch him.

"Bye, Aemond."

You take a step back and turn around, when again he stops you as he speaks.

"You're going home alone?" he asks, this time with a little more interest in his voice.

You laugh softly, surprised that he cares, not really understanding anything but liking it.

"You know? We poor people have a good thing after all... survival style."

He doesn't say anything to you, just watches you with his piercing colored eyes as he licks his lips and then simply gives you a small nod.

You don't say anything else either and finally turn to leave, beginning to leave the tranquility of the dock and him behind, under the dim lights of the night.

And as you walk away, you feel the sea breeze on your face and wonder how a night that began with tension and fear ended with something as unexpected as a truce with Aemond Targaryen.

series taglist:

@zenka69 @strangersunghoon @deliaseastar @thefireblaze @kythefangirl25 @p45510n4f4shi0n @saturnssrings @bellaisasleep @primroseluna @tinykryptonitewerewolf @barnes70stark @tssf-imagines

[nonranghaes]

heads up: reader didn't have a great childhood (implications of being poor, implications of reader no longer having contact with their parents).

sometimes you think seokmin is... really, really good for you. he's the kind of person who listens, who holds you (both when you need it and just to be close to you), who doesn't seem to let little things stop him. he's funny, and charismatic, and he feels like he's everything you just aren't. but above all else, seokmin is your biggest supporter.

and it becomes glaringly obvious just how true that is when he sees you staring in at a toy store, his jacket now hugged against your chest (he'd draped it over your shoulders when he saw you shiver), longing for something long lost. he slowly came back to your side, peering in as well as he followed your gaze to a winnie the pooh plushie, sitting happily among the others. he glances at the doors, just to make sure the store is still open... and then he turns to you again.

"i'll buy it for you," he says, smiling. he tucks his hands into his pockets, rocking on his heels. "we can keep him in my car while we eat dinner, if you're worried about that--"

you shake your head. "it's silly," you say, letting out a sigh. "i just remembered how badly i wanted one as a kid. that's all."

it isn't the first time seokmin has seen that longing look in your eyes, either. sometimes, you'll be walking through the mall, and he'll see the way you stop and see children's decor before frowning to yourself, mumbling about how you wish you could have decorated your room like that as a kid. books in stores that you sigh and sometimes say you wish you could have read when you were a kid--like that series about the kid who's the son of a greek god or something. every time, you answer with the same thing: money was tight. space was tight. you didn't exactly get to decorate your room since it wasn't exactly your room then. you haven't said much more, but seokmin knows he'll be right there to listen when you're ready to tell him more.

"so? you can still get one." seokmin chuckles a little as he takes your face into his hands, pressing a kiss against your forehead. "do you want it?"

shyly, you nod.

"then wait here."

you watch as he heads into the store, already making a beeline for the silly little bear that you have a soft spot for. he reaches up, pulling one down before he looks at you through the window, raising the plush's paw to wave at you. it makes you smile (seokmin's really good at that, you think), and you watch as he carries him over to the checkout.

is this what it's like to be loved...? it still feels new to you sometimes, no matter how much your friends love you. but you think if life can be this sweet, you never want to stop feeling it now as you choose your loved ones, none of them bound to you by blood.

you think you like it better that way anyway.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

David Tennant at This Morning show with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary talking about Good Omens Season 2, 11.07.2023 :) ❤

DO: And David joins us now. I mean, this looks like a great show.

David: Oh, yeah.

DO: So, I mean, It's pure Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, isn't it?

David: It is, yeah.

DO: The whole thing. So tell us, so if people haven't seen the first series and they want to go back, set the whole scene.

David: So I'm Hell's representative on Earth, Michael Sheen is Heaven's representative on Earth, put there to do the biding of our respective Head Offices. But we found out that if we became mates and sort of helped each other out, it kind of cut out the workload, cancelled each other out. So we're best mates. But in Series One we end up having to avert the apocalypse, which we managed to do, but as a result of that, we get cut off. So we're now living on Earth as independent individuals.

AH: So do you still need each other, then?

David: We still need each other. We've only got each other now because we don't have Heaven and Hell anymore.

DO: Because you both love earth so much, you both like.

David: Oh, we much prefer living on Earth because Heaven's a bit stuffy and Hell's awful.

DO: So you conspire to thwart the Armageddon. Exactly.

David: We thwart the Armageddon. That's fine. But Series Two begins when the angel Gabriel, Jon Hamm, who you just saw there, shows up at Aziraphale, Michael Sheen's bookshop, naked with no memory, holding a cardboard box. So suddenly we're locked into the politics of Heaven and Hell again. We don't know what's going on. We've got a mystery to solve. Why is the angel Gabriel here? The angel Gabriel tried to kill us both at the end of the last series, so we've got to...

DO: But now he's kind of got amnesia and...

David: Yes. So he becomes like our weird child, in this sort of weird sort of eternal marriage that Michael and I are locked in.

DO: So many shows now use a book as their base and then they do really well and you can see the company and the writers go, better come up some new ideas, I suppose. So the book's obviously Terry Pratchett and then Neil Gaiman, correct?

David: That's right. They wrote that together years and years and years ago. Much beloved. And that's what the first series was. But Neil and Terry had always talked about possibilities of this sequel that they never got around to making. Terry's no longer with us. But when the possibility came up, Neil thought, well, listen, I've got some ideas. Let's spin it forward. Let's see if we can tell the story we were always going to tell. So we get to come back.

AH: Should we have a little sneak look at the new series? Let's have a look. So good. Did you ever think it was going to be this successful? Did you even know that you were going to go into a second series

David: Oh, no, not at all. No. There was only one novel, so we just thought we were coming together to do that. And I didn't realise how beloved this book was. I first read a script. But it means a lot to a lot of people.

AH: And the look of you is so striking. Did you have any input into that? A bit, yeah, we sort of all found it together, myself and makeup and costume and Neil Gaiman, who ran the show. So, yeah, we kind of arrived... in the book he's a bit more - because obviously the book was sort of early ninetues, so he was a bit more sharp-suited and a bit more Wolf of Wall Street. So we've kind of had to find the kind of modern equivalent of that.

DO: Is he... obviously you're playing a demon. Has he got any humanity in him or is he purely self-centered?

David: Well, he's not a very good demon. He's good at sort of the snarl and the swagger and pretending that he's terribly cynical, but actually his problem is that he's a bit too...  there’s a bit too much heart, really.

DO: He's alright

David: Yeah, yeah.

DO: Must be wonderful playing a baddie.

David: Oh, it's great fun, but he's not a baddie, is not really a baddie.

DO: Yeah, yeah.

David: And just like Aziraphale angel is not always as goody goody as he likes it, so they meet very beautifully in the middle.

DO: You and Michael Sheen. I mean, you've worked together a fair bit, don't you. I loved Staged. That was such fun.

David: Yeah!

AH: Have you ever not worked together?

David: Now we only work together.

AH: All the time.

David: Yeah. I mean, He's not sitting on this sofa, but he is backstage. We can't be apart.

DO: He's speaking in his ear right now.

David: Exactly, yeah.

AH: But you are... you have got a genuine friendship. You're growing old together gracefully.

David: We're growing old together?!

AH: You look good for it, I'm not going to lie. What's the secret, babe?

David: A lot of makeup. It's very thick.

AH: We've got to talk about the fact that you are returning to Doctor Who.

David: Ah, yes.

AH: I can't believe this. And can you tell us anything at all?

David: I mean, beyond that I'm doing it? I think...

AH: No.

David: Really. Because that's the fun of it, isn't it? Hopefully tt was a bit of a surprise when I showed up. When Jodie Whittaker regenerated into me.

AH: We were shocked.

David: It was a bit of a surprise, so we wanted to sort of keep some shocks, but Catherine Tate's back, so it's a bit like 15 years never happened, to be honest.

DO: Know about it for a while. Like... did Russell T get in touch and say...

David: Yeah, it sort of gradually kind of evolved as an idea and we thought maybe they'd let us do a one off for old time's sake. And then suddenly it became a bit more than that and we were back for a bit of a run.

AH: So how many episodes did you get to do?

David: We did three.

AH: Wow. That's incredible. What's it like to be back? Did he just slot straight back in?

David: I mean, sort of. It felt weirdly familiar. Yeah. And you think, 'Oh, will I still able to run as fast? Can I still kind of...?' But it was like we'd never been away. It was joyous. Yeah.

DO: And could we talk about your son? Because is your son in Good Omens with you?

David: Ty's in... has a part in Episode Two of Good Omens.

AH: Is he?

DO: And I loved him in House of the Dragon.

David: I know. He's very good. He's very good.

DO: What a relief.

David: There he is. I know, what a relief. Exactly. No, I mean...

AH: Imagine if he was bad.

David: Imagine if he was rubbish. How would we tell him? Sit down, listen...I know it's sort of the family business, but maybe joinery? So... no, he's really good. And he's annoyingly good looking. You know, he's just got it all. So it's lovely and great to get to work together. Brilliant.

[poetglasses]

In Defense of Jacks in ACFTL

I do have spoilers, so this is your warning not to venture further if you haven't finished reading.

First off, I love how the story was told and how it ended. Could we have gotten more of the other characters? Yes. Did we really need to? Maybe, but I certainly didn't mind the absence. I didn't think we needed to address every character that we've met. We saw Castor and Lala, and I was happy about it, but I was strictly here for Evajacks story, and that's what I got.

I think Eva and Jacks had character development in this novel.

Eva isn't as trusting and hopeful as she was in the previous two books, and I was happy about it! Girl was getting murder attempted on her, and her husband is a narcissistic, manipulative psychopath. The only people she could trust were 1) being kept away from her or 2) avoiding her because they thought they were doing the best thing for her if they did so *cough* jacks

Jacks watched the girl he loved die! He blamed himself for what happened to Eva, and then continued staying away because he felt guilty and thought he was keeping her safe in doing so. He didn't know Apollo took Eva's memories away. He was too busy making sure Castor didn't go within 10 feet of Eva because Castor did attack Jacks after he went back in time to save her! He was still around Eva, he was just hiding in the shadows or out in the balcony peering through the windows. He genuinely thought Apollo was the better choice for Eva because at least Apollo hadn't done anything to her (as far as he knew).

Jacks apologized to her under the phoenix tree, saying that when he went back in time, he thought the stones would have taken something from him, not Eva, or are we all ignoring that because of that beautiful love confession Eva gave? He wanted our girl to live! When Eva met Castor in the Cursed Forest, Jacks literally put a knife through his best friend's chest in fear of having a repeat of the first timeline! Castor wasn't even doing anything, he was just trying to have a conversation with her.

Jacks was the tortured lover we all knew him to be. He wasn't Jacks, Prince of Hearts, with a trail of deadly kisses in search of true love in this novel. He was Jacks of the Hollow, a man who loved his girl so much he wanted her to live instead of dying at his kiss. We all know how badly Eva wanted to kiss him, and we all know Jacks can hear her thoughts. Can we blame him for staying away? He literally said that if she died again, he could not bring her back. The idea of that was terrifying to him. He already used the stones, and going to Honora would have the possibility of turning her into a vampire, maybe worse.

Jacks felt different in this novel because he finally admitted how much he loves Eva. We've seen him do so many things for her throughout the series. Was he holding back in the other two books? I'd argue not really, but he certainly wasn't going to let her be with him. He didn't want to admit he was in love with her. Dude literally held her like a grudge in the first novel, a secret in the second novel, and then a promise in the third. The hints were there for us. He would literally do anything for her. He just didn't want to admit to himself he loved her because if he allowed himself to there was the possibility that she could die.

Does Eva die in this book? No, thank god. But don't act like you read their kiss scene and didn't fucking break a little when Jacks went "No! Not again".

[vivwritesfics]

No Need To Ask

Chapter Ten - Leaning Spanish

The Norris' were a notorious crime family in the UK. One of many. With Norris, the head of the family, running operations with his son, Lando, they work to keep Y/N Norris, Norris' daughter protected. Life in a crime family wasn't something they wanted for her.

But with tension with one of the Spanish crime families rise, Norris and his now deceased wife come up with only one plan, offer their daughter to the Sainz's or risk an all out war.

A/N: I feel like I haven't made this very clear so far in the series, but when there are parts in Spanish with no translation by them, it is because the reader is not meant to know Spanish yet. If a translation is included (as I have in this part), it is because the reader still can't understand it but it needs to be known for the storyline

1.3K words

Series Masterlist

Married life wasn’t what Y/N had expected it to be. She didn’t get a honeymoon, didn’t spend time with a loving husband, didn’t sleep in his bed or really ever seen him. It was almost the same those two weeks before she was married.

Almost.

There was one rather significant difference.

Oscar hadn’t been seen since the wedding. She searched for him, going from room to room, calling his name. Y/N did most of her exploring when she searched for Oscar.

She wanted to ask Carlos, wanted to walk into his office and simply ask whether he’d seen Oscar or knew where he was. But the men guarding the office terrified her. She could see their guns in the waistband of their trousers, each men having at least two.

So, Y/N sat in the library, playing a game of chess against herself. She sat at one side of the table, moving a single piece. Moving to the opposite side of the table, Y/N moved a piece from the other side of the board, playing an impossible game against herself.

She’d never felt so lonely. Even after her mother died, Y/N hadn’t felt this lonely. For her entire life she’d had Lando to lean on, and for the past week she had Oscar. And now, she had loneliness.

The first time Y/N saw her husband after the night of their wedding was at dinner. The family had congregated at Carlos’ house, sitting at the table which had been placed back on the patio.

It was a family dinner, one that Y/N had to attend now that she was Carlos’ wife.

One of Carlos’ men came to get her. He’d run all over the house looking for her before finding her sat in the library, seemingly playing a game of chess against nobody. When the man burst in, Y/N stared up at him from her seat, midway through moving the black knight on her chess board.

He said something in Spanish and Y/N continued to stare at him. So, he cleared his throat and tried again, this time in English. “You are expected for dinner with la familia,” he said and marched out of the library.

Y/N placed the chess piece down, moving the white queen from the board as the knight took its place. She left it there and rushed out of the library, through the kitchen and out the back door to the table.

She took her seat beside Carlos, keeping her gaze down. The rest of the family was already around the table, the conversation halted as Y/N took her seat. Sainz, sat at the head of the table, said something. It was something directed at her, something said in Spanish.

When she didn’t respond, Sainz turned his attention to his son. “Tu esposa es impertinente,” he said (Your wife is impertinent). Carlos didn’t respond. “Le has iniciado a aprender español?” (Have you started her on learning Spanish?)

Carlos shook his head. Soon his mother joined in, berating her son for the state of his wife, but Y/N couldn’t understand any of it. She sat there quietly and ate the food placed in front of her.

The dinner continued on in this manner. Carlos’ sisters were silent, listening to the argument. Whenever they got a moment, they whispered to each other, giggling to themselves as they looked at Y/N. Y/N didn’t think she’d ever get used to this, ever get used to being in this family. This dinner, her first dinner as Carlos’ wife, solidified this for her.

The next day Y/N had done her search of the house for Oscar. Still, there was no sign of him. She couldn’t find him in any room in the house (with the door to the bedroom he had been given being locked shut), Y/N tried to explore outside.

There was nothing stopping her from heading out into the back garden. The patio tiles were warm under her shoes as she desperately searched for any sign of the man who had become her best friend. But there was no sign of him out the back, so Y/N tried to explore the front of the house.

Unlike the three separate doors leading to the back garden, there was a single doorway that led to the front garden. And they were guarded. Y/N thought nothing of it as she went to walk past Carlos’ men, heading towards the front door. They held out their arms, halting her in her tracks. They spoke to her in Spanish, explaining that she wasn’t allowed to leave without Carlos or an immediate member of the Sainz family. But Y/N couldn’t understand any of it.

So, Y/N turned on her heel and walked away from the men. She stared at the floor as she walked through the hall, heading towards the library.

Once again she found herself playing a game of chess on her own. Oscar wasn’t there to play against her and Y/N didn’t want to be around Carlos. She was pretty sure that sweet man she met back in England didn’t exist. He wasn’t real, just an illusion.

There was a knock on the library door.

Nobody knocked on the library door, especially not when Y/N was in there. So far Carlos’ men just burst into the room, startling her. But this person knocked. Y/N looked at the door, waiting for the person on the other side to enter.

Her husband walked into the room. He strode over, taking the empty seat opposite Y/N. “Who is your opponent?” He asked, looking across the chess pieces.

Y/N moved one of her pawns forward. “Myself,” she answered and sat back, waiting for Carlos to make the next move for her.

When he did, Y/N scrunched up her face. It wasn’t the move she would have made, wasn’t the way she wanted to take the game, but she ignored it. Once Carlos left she’d just reset and start again.

“One day I will be the head of this family,” he said and waited for Y/N to make her move. But she didn’t leaving the pieces where they were. “And when I am the head of this family, you will be by my side.”

Y/N knew this. She knew she was to be by Carlos’ side while he ruled.

“To do this effectively, You will need to learn Spanish,” he said.

“Oh.”

It wasn’t like she hadn’t expected this. She really had. Especially with how the rest of the family kept their conversation to Spanish during dinner.

“I have arranged for you to have a tutor,” said Carlos as he stood up. “She will meet you in here every day and two o’clock,” he said and turned on his heel.

Suddenly the library was no longer her sanctuary. It was where Y/N had been going to escape the Sainz family, but now, with the addition of a tutor, the library no longer felt safe. Y/N hadn’t met the tutor yet, she couldn’t pass any judgement on them, but she was still afraid. This would bring her one step close to the Sainz family.

“Carlos!” She called, but he was already gone, striding out of the library and heading back to his office.

If she was going to have a tutor, she was going to do it with Oscar at her side. But Carlos had gone, stopping her small attempt at asking.

She reset her game and began playing with herself once again. At two o’clock on the dot the library door was thrown open and in walked Y/N’s new Spanish tutor. She was a stern looking woman, black hair pulled back into a tight bun and a black pinstripe suit on her body. A pair of glasses sat on her sharp, prominent nose, yet she looked at Y/N over the top of them. “Buenas tardes Señora Sainz,” said the tutor.

Y/N just looked at her.

“Not even that, eh? Dios mío, tengo mucho trabajo por delante,” the tutor mumbled and took a seat opposite Y/N. She pushed the chess pieces off the board and placed her bag down in their place.  

Taglist (open): @multi-universe21 @formulas-bitch @gills-lounge @weasleyswizarding-wheezes @carlossainzwho @f1lov3r @samaib11 @charli123456789 @queenofmanydreams @ironmaiden1313 @vellicora @glitterf1 @80sloverry @lightdragonrayne @moonayu @bellsalabanccini @topguncultleader @handsupforamiracle @cmleitora @ashy-kit @jenniferrvsesi @barcelonaloverf1life @sbella13 @nicolettecallednikki @darleneslane @thehufflepuffavenger1 @champagneproblems17 @aespie @yukheizcigarettes

[sturnsdc]

Scared to death

pair: Carl Grimes x fem!YN Dixon

synopsis: a lot of shit is going on in Alexandria, and Yn is about to face one of her biggest fears again when Carl gets hurt.

warnings: angst, typical TWD scenes, fools in love, violence, mentions of death, comfort, fluff, slight smut, character death, brief description of a near-panic attack.

era: (S6)

words: 9,8k

A/N: this one shot is part of a series called “feel special” !!

btw, Yn and Carl are 18 here

'm sorry if u see some grammatical mistakes!! ♡♡

dividers from: @cafekitsune ! ♡

main masterlist carl masterlist

YN'S POV

everything had gone pretty shitty recently, after Rick killed Ron's dad, much of the group, including my brother, went on a mission led by Rick.

that meant that a lot of us had to stay in Alexandria to protect the place.

honestly, that didn't make me at all happy, since i prefer to be there with them fighting, than walking through the almost empty streets of this place, completely alone.

i haven't seen Carl since the morning, and i've been trying to find him for a while but it seems like the earth has swallowed him. However, when i was about to give up and go back to my house, i managed to see Enid between the trees, 'she seems to be crying.'

i decided to get closer, trying not to scare her.

“hey” i greeted her, seeing that my attempts were in vain as she got scared anyway. She tried to wipe away her tears, but we both know it's too late. “Ya' wanna talk about it?”

she remained silent for a few seconds, but then sighed and nodded, that being my cue to sit next to her.

“i just talked to Ron… we broke up, but also… i feel that anger in him. And i try to understand him, because i know he's going through a lot but… that's not Ron, you know what i mean?” i thought about it for a second, trying to remember the interactions i've had with him after what happened with his dad. I nodded as i remembered some of his erratic, angry behaviors.

“yeah, i know what you mean, but did he do somethin' to you?” i asked, worried.

“no, i mean, he got angry, tried to blame all of you, and said that your people had ruined everything... and then he started yelling…” Enid stopped talking, and i saw some tears coming out of her eyes again, so i hugged her, feeling how she trembled

“i'm scared of what he's becoming, i don't want him to hurt any of you” she finally confessed, between sighs and in a low tone. I tensed at the idea, especially thinking about who Ron's focus could be.

“he won't do anythin' to us, Enid, we won't let him, i promise ya” as soon as i finished speaking we heard screams coming from the streets. They were desperate and heartbreaking. A chill ran down my spine.

that sound... is the sound of death.

“run” i whispered to her. Then i stood up, taking her hand to help her do the same.

we started running, and i really thought we would be lucky, but we weren't.

one of the intruders caught up with us, and tried to attack Enid, causing her to let go of my hand and fall hard to the ground. I quickly took out my knife, burying it in his head without a second thought, however, before it fell on her i threw it to the side, looking at his lifeless body with pity.

i, again, took Enid's hand, helping her up. But apparently this attack had attracted attention, as i saw several of his companions coming towards us, armed to the teeth.

“Enid, i need ya to run to Carl's house without lookin back, i'll try to go after ya all the time but if ya don't listen to me anymore, ya keep runnin and if ya see him there let him know that i'm fine and that i'll be there soon, 'kay?" i saw in her face that she was going to protest, so i interrupted her before she could. “Come on, Enid!”

at my scream she started running, and i tried to go after her as much as i could, but they're fast, too fast, so i let go of her hand and started moving slower. She turned to look at me, full of panic.

“Yn…”

“keep runnin, Enid, please!” i saw that she hesitated, but decided to listen to me, making me feel some relief.

it was then that i stopped completely, being surrounded by all of them within seconds. However, those around me don't seem to have guns, only knives and machetes.

“well… shit” i said, and then the first of them tried to attack me. His movements were erratic, even senseless, so i was able to dodge his attempts to kill me, although i didn't escape all of his blows. It was then that i firmly grabbed my knife, burying it in his throat and feeling his blood fall on my face and arms. Then another of them came, who seemed very upset by the death of his friend, but it was precisely that that made him more clumsy, helping me to bury the knife in one of his eyes, which was what killed him.

i continued like this with two more, noticing how now my body (and my clothes) were soaked in the blood of these people.

however, one person is still missing, and he seems to have been biding his time.

i felt the first blow reach my jaw, it was so fast that i couldn't dodge it, and i almost fell from the strong impact, but i managed to stay upright, hitting him in the stomach. My blow seemed to leave him unable to breathe, but when i was about to stab him he straightened up and hit me in the eye, this time making me fall.

he quickly got on top of me, hitting me in the ribs, right where one of his friends had already hit me, making me scream in pain. However i did my best, hitting his balls with my knee, making him get off of me, falling next to me as he screamed in pain. Then i took advantage of the moment, burying my knife in his head.

desperation began to consume me, so i stabbed his head again and again and then i felt myself slowly losing strength in my arms.

then i saw one approaching me, fast.

but he didn't make it, since someone who seemed to be from the same group attacked him, killing him instantly. Then that person turned to see me and ran towards me. I tensed, but soon calmed down when i recognized Carol's eyes among that disguise.

"are you okay?" she asked me, agitated and revealing her face.

“yeah, i am, thanks Carol” i tried to catch my breath “ya look weird with that costume on, holy shit” i joked, watching her roll her eyes and smile.

“you should go to Carl's house, he's with Judith” that made me feel enormous relief, so i quickly nodded, standing up without remembering the hits i had received. It was then that i whimpered in pain, earning the attention of the adult, who looked at me with concern.

“it's nothin… i just got a little beatin here” i shook my head, trying to concentrate to forget the pain for a moment and reach my goal “thanks again, be careful”

i started walking as fast as i could to Carl's house, seeing how right in front of it there was a body lying there. It was one of them, apparently someone had shot him... twice.

i sighed at this, listening as a door opened near me.

“Yn!” it was him, he was shouting to get my attention, so i walked towards him as best i could, almost falling when i was in front of him.

Carl grabbed me in his arms, trying to be careful when he heard me whimper.

“wha-what's wrong? did they hurt you?” his voice was filled with concern as he helped me inside, closing the door behind us.

“there were five of them chasin' us… i had to get rid of them to protect…” then i stopped, looking around for the girl. “Where's Enid?”

“she left, i don't know where and i don't know when, i only know it was after i went out to help Ron.”

“ya kill that man in the street?” i asked in a lower tone

"he tried to attack Ron, so i shot him in the leg but then he tried to take my gun and i... i... shot." i felt his voice shake as he said that, so i hugged him tightly, trying to ignore the horrible pain i felt in the body when doing that.

we stayed like this for a few seconds, in silence, feeling the warmth emanating from each other's bodies until an alarming noise scared us. Carl, who had his face hidden in my neck, soon began to laugh a little, then separating himself from my body to look at me.

“want some cookies?” he asked me, turning to look at the kitchen so that i would understand that the alarm was due to that.

“you're a goof.” i laughed too, then i approached him to give him a short kiss, which was instantly reciprocated.

a couple of hours later, Alexandria seemed to fall silent again. But this time the silence was not accompanied by tranquility, by people enjoying time in their homes, or doing their jobs.

no, this silence was devastating, the kind of silence that exists after a catastrophe. I know this because it's the same silence that has accompanied us from the beginning, since the walkers arrived. Then in the fall of the camp, or at the end of the farm, also in the fall of the prison, and in every shit we've experienced after that.

i tried to ignore it, so as not to get depressed now when it's those here who will need our support to recover from this.

“i almost didn't see you today, i missed you and i was so worried when all this started happening,” Carl said, with his right arm hugging my waist and his left arm stretching out so he could take out one of the last cookies that remained.

we have been standing in the kitchen next to the oven since i arrived, eating cookies and trying to get rid of all the anxiety and adrenaline that this situation brought us.

“i missed ya too…” i was interrupted by the sudden commotion outside. Through the window we saw people running towards the entrance of Alexandria, most of them with worried faces. I turned to look at Carl, frowning just like him.

“i'll go see, you're very hurt.” when he saw that i was going to protest, he interrupted me. “Can you take care of Jude for me?” i stayed silent for a few seconds and then growled in response, watching as he smiled and gave me a little peck on the lips before leaving.

even in this situation i could feel the heat rising in my cheeks and my heart pounding.

fucking Grimes.  

Rick had brought with him half of the horde they had tried to divert on that mission they went on.

Glenn, Nicholas, Sasha, Abraham and Daryl were lost, where no one could find them, and without communication.

the people of Alexandria, in a desperate attempt, try to reinforce the walls, but a voice in my head can only remember the prison, and how that same strategy didn't really work for long.

but i can understand them, so i decided to keep quiet and watch with Carl, who had warned me about this whole situation.

Judith's safe, luckily, but i felt that pang in my chest that made me understand that something was about to go wrong. That's why i haven't let go of Carl, hugging him from his side, feeling his right arm hug my shoulders and his head rest on mine.

i tried everything to distract myself, but nothing seemed to help, so i preferred to stay still, feeling Carl's scent against my body, impregnating my clothes as always and making me feel protected.

we heard footsteps behind us, and suddenly Rick was in front of all of us, being quickly surrounded by the people of Alexandria and our team members. I could only look at him from my position in his son's arms.

“you can hear it, some of you saw it. They got back here, half of them” he started to say “Still, they're enough to surround us and kill us” i saw the faces of the people of Alexandria transform into grimaces of deep fear and worry “i know you're scared, you haven't seen anything like this, you haven't been through anything like this. But we're safe, for now” he was silent for a moment, as if analyzing his next words “The panel that the truck hit seems intact, we already reinforced it, just in case. Either way, the wall is gonna hold together… Can you?” he looked at them all quickly. “The others, they're gonna be back.”

“they're gonna be back,” Rosita reaffirmed, nodding.

“Daryl, Abraham, Sasha, they have vehicles, they're gonna lead them away, just like the others. And Glenn and Nicholas are gonna walk back through the front gate after.” Rick looked at Maggie after saying that, seeing her nod hopefully. “They know what they're doing, and we know what we need to do. We keep noise to a minimum, put up our blinds at night, even better, we keep the lights out." Not far from us i saw Ron, he was staring at Rick, and there was something in his eyes that made me unconsciously tighten my grip on Carl's body, catching his attention.

"you okay?" he asked me in a whisper. I looked at him, taking a few seconds to respond, but finally nodding, returning my gaze to Rick.

“we'll try to make this place as quiet as a graveyard, we'll see if they move on…”

“this place is a graveyard” it was then that someone interrupted him. I saw that soon after Aaron spoke, but i couldn't pay attention, until he mentioned him, Daryl.

“i was out there recruiting with Daryl, and i wanted to… try to get into a cannery and scavenge. Daryl wanted to keep looking for people.” Aaron looked at me, it was a look of guilt “We did what i wanted, and we ended up in a trap set by those people” He looked back at the others “And i lost my pack, they must have followed our tracks. Those people who attacked us… they found a way back here because of me”

Rick said something to him, and i know more things happened, but i could only hide my face in Carl's neck, feeling his caresses on my back in a way of comforting me while i just sighed.

i'm not mad at Aaron for this, i'm just… tired. And i need to find Enid, i'm worried she's out there. I know what she's capable of, but i also know what people and walkers are capable of.

i also worry about others, i worry about the walls of this place.

but there's something that scares me, and it's Ron. The look i saw in him was so cold, indecisive, but dark. That wasn't the Ron who greeted us when we arrived, who made bets with Carl, or who showed us around.

without realizing it we had arrived at Carl's house again. I guess he helped me walk here, noticing my lack of attention.

“Carl…” i sighed, entering and walking with his help until i reached the sofa, where i sat down with difficulty due to the pain in my ribs.

“what's wrong, babe?” he was still standing, now stroking my hair.

“we have to find Enid, she's out there, alone, with all that danger…” i started to panic while i was talking, getting Carl to put his hands on my shoulders, getting my attention.

"i'll go, i'm not gonna let you go in this state, it will be more dangerous for you than for me or her." when he saw that i wanted to say something he stopped me "no, baby, there are no other options, you're hurt." he kissed me to prevent me from speaking. I just responded to his kiss, relaxing my body by having my mouth against his. He knew that would happen, because i felt him smile against my lips, and then he separated and kissed me on the forehead. “i'll be fine, and i'll come back without any problems.”

however, Carl returned just a couple of minutes later, angry and agitated, with his clothes somewhat disarrayed as well as his hair.

“what the hell happened to you?” i stood up and walked over to him carefully, fixing his hair as i heard him sigh.

“i saw Ron, i asked him if he knew anything, but we ended up arguing, he pushed me, i pushed him, whatever, he said he would tell my dad, then he would go out and look for me, people would go with him and someone would die.” He sighed again, angrily “He said something about saving me, i'm sorry i couldn't get any further but i can still try…”

“no, babe. 's okay. Let's wait for this to calm down a bit. Let's trust what Rick said and then we can both go look for her, 'kay? i'm sorry for gettin' ya in trouble.” he shook his head, denying.

“you don't have to be sorry.” he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling my body closer to his in the process.

i hid my face in his neck, leaving a few kisses there, knowing that it would take away some of his anger, and distract him from this whole situation.

he may know me perfectly, but i have my tricks too.

today Rick and Carl were teaching Ron how to shoot. I didn't want to be present, because i know that my entire body will be on alert if i spend a second next to him, so i preferred to take a walk through Alexandria, like the last time.

i still have that feeling in my chest, like something's about to go horribly wrong. I don't know what it is, and i really hope it doesn't have to do with Daryl, but i feel like it's getting worse with every passing second.

last night i stayed at Carl's house, but even in his arms i couldn't sleep. The pain was so overwhelming that i felt like i couldn't breathe, but i didn't want to wake him up for that. I don't want to take away his rest just because of a feeling i'm having. 's not worth it.

but now, as i walk through the streets, accompanied by silence, i can only think about the things that have happened and that can happen. And the pain gets worse, so i bring my hand to my chest, wrinkling my shirt as i squeeze it tightly. I can't breathe. I can't.

my vision became blurry, i feel like my throat was burning from my desperate attempts to breathe. I had to stop, standing in the middle of the street. My legs are shaking, hell my whole body 's shaking.

i feel so cold, but i'm sweating. The knot in my chest is getting bigger, more intense, i don't even remember where i was going, what i was doing before this.

i feel dizzy, my eyes open wide from the panic that consumes me, my legs feel numb, my fingers hurt, i wanna throw up, i feel my heart beating so fast.

'am i having a heart attack?'

i can't move, i feel frozen.

'is this how i'm going to die?'

'i don't wanna die, not now'

‘'n-no, i don't want to, it can't be happening, it can't...'

'I DON'T WANNA DIE'

“Yn!” Carl's voice brought me out of my thoughts. I saw his face, he's worried. He put his hands on my arms, trying to get my eyes to meet his. “Yn, baby, it's me, it's Carl.”

i tried to look at him, to focus my sight on him, but i feel like i can't, my vision is blurry, i can only think about how much my throat burns, how much my body hurts.

“Yn, babe” his hands went up to my face and i could finally feel his warmth.

i sighed, shaky, but i was finally able to focus my eyes on him. His hands wiped my face, and it was then that i noticed i was crying. My tears were hot, completely different from how i feel right now.

i sobbed when i saw his eyes, feeling stupid and strange.

“ 'm sorry, i'm so sorry” i sobbed again, feeling how he hugged me.

“it's okay, you're safe, i'm here,” he said, in a low, sweet, charming tone.

my head was resting on his chest, so i could hear his heart beating. That's what i heard last night when i was trying to calm myself down, but now it finally seems to work. My heart started to beat slower, but my body started to feel heavy, like i had pushed my body to the limit.

“i... i don' know what happened, i thought i was goin' to die, Carl, i thought...” i whispered, feeling his caresses in my hair.

“you're not going to die, i'm not going to let that happen,” he said firmly.

i'm still shaking, i still feel that huge pain in my chest, but my tears have stopped, and i don't feel so dazed anymore. I just want to go home with Carl.

but apparently life doesn't want that, since as soon as it seemed like i could calm down, people ran towards the gate again. Between their conversations i understood that Spencer had tried to leave, but clearly his plan went wrong and they had to save him.

i just sighed, staying still in Carl's arms.

“do you wanna walk for a while? then we can go to my house. Carol must be taking care of Judith right now, so we'll be alone.” i nodded, separating myself from his body so i could take his hand, following him wherever he wanted to take me.

his thumb caressed my hand, making me smile a little. He always does that, he knows perfectly well the little details that make me feel better.

'i don't know where he learned it from, but damn it works.'

we finally arrive at an incomplete construction that we sometimes use to distance ourselves from the rest. Almost no one goes there because it's a pile of wood with nothing “attractive”, but for us it is a good place to feel some peace, to get out of the house.

“we should find a place like this out there when everything is safe again, don't you think?” he said, leaning his body on a railing as he put his hands on my waist, moving me so i was facing him, just the way he likes it.

“i would like that, it would be like... our place, fer dates and to hang out” i saw him smile.

“i'd love that.” he brought his face closer to mine, but before kissing me he looked behind me, stopping his actions. I saw the sudden fear on his face, so i quickly looked back.

the tower…the tower is falling.

shit happens so fast.

when the walkers came in, Carl and i ran, tried to defend, and ended up in the same group as Rick, Deanna, Michonne, Ron, and Gabriel. There are quite a few of us, but i don't know if we're enough to get to a safe place soon.

we found ourselves surrounded by walkers, i had my knife in hand, and the others seemed terrified but ready to defend themselves. But before we could do anything, the walkers in front of us fell as a result of gunshots. Soon Jessie, Ron's mom appeared in front of us.

“come on, i have Judith!” she said and we followed her until we entered her house which was right across the street.

Judith quickly ended up in my arms, while Michonne and Rick carried the injured Deanna to the second floor so they could lay her down. On the other hand, i heard Jessie yelling at her youngest son, Sam, to turn off the music and draw the blinds.

'this whole thing 's a disaster.'

i walked for a moment with Jude in my arms, trying to stop her crying until i finally succeeded. When i did, i took her to the second floor, where the crib that Jessie uses when taking care of her is and i decided to leave her there, receiving a look of approval from part of Rick.

“they bit Deanna, i need you to tell them while we stay here taking care of her and covering everything, okay?” he told me, trying to seem as calm as possible. I nodded and went down, not knowing exactly what to say about it.

when i got downstairs, Gabriel, Ron, and Carl approached me, all with panicked expressions, and i guess my face isn't much better.

“Deanna…” i cleared my throat “she got bitten, so the others will stay upstairs to take care of her and finish covering the windows”

“oh God” Gabriel covered his face with his hands, walking away from us. Ron seemed to go blank, and Carl looked at me sadly.

i couldn't keep looking at them, not now, so i ignored the pain in my ribs and the pain in my face, quickly going to try to cover the first floor windows. Carl was the first to help me, and then the other two did the same.

'we need to protect this place, 'cause it may be all that's left for us after this.'

“let me help you, you're still hurt despite the medication Denise gave you,” Carl said, helping me place a dark blanket on one of the windows.

i try to forget it. It's not the first beating i've received, and i definitely can't remain useless and do nothing, not now.

i heard Judith crying again, so i looked at Carl, who nodded, letting me know that they'll take care of the first floor.

i took the steps two at a time and walked quickly down the hallway until i reached her. I sat next to her crib, on a chair in the room. I sat her on my lap, but i didn't know what to do, i didn't know how to calm her down, and that's when an idea came to my mind and i cleared my throat, trying to abandon my shame so i could help her.

i tried, i tried to sing softly the first song that came into my head, so with my sweetest voice i began:

“you are my sunshine, my only sunshine

you make me happy when skies are gray

you'll never know , dear, how much i love you

please, don't take my sunshine away”

i learned that song from Carl, and it always seemed to help Jude, so i tried my best, and she seemed to recognize the song, because immediately her crying calmed down, and her eyes began to slowly close. I could only watch her, unconsciously smiling at the purity of that girl.

'as long as i'm alive i'll do my best to maintain as much of that purity in ya as i can, Jude. Ya deserve a better life than this.'

i sang to her some more, making sure she was completely asleep before i could put her back in her crib. And when i did, i returned to the reality that was being experienced, because Rick and Jessie ran down the stairs, and i understood that it was because of a loud noise coming from the first floor.

'Carl'.

trying not to wake Judith, i left the room and ran down the stairs, reaching where the adults were gathered.

“Carl!” Rick yelled, and Jessie did the same with her son's name.

from the noises we can all guess that they're fighting, 'but why the hell?'

“Ron!”, “Carl!”

“Carl open the door!”

they continued yelling, until Rick decided to use his axe, breaking the lock on the door so he could open it. When he managed to do so, he entered the place, yelling at them to get out while the walkers entered through the windows. Then with difficulty i helped Jessie and the boys keep the door as closed as possible, until Rick and Gabriel brought a couch to help, although it didn't seem to be of much use.

“we need more, and we need to be quiet,” Rick said.

Michonne, who had just come down, offered to find more things.

“me too” Ron said, agitated.

“i'll help,” Carl said, to which i looked at Rick, who looked back at me with the same expression of distrust.

“hey, what happened in there?” he asked Carl as we continued to hold the couch.

“we were looking for tools and a shelf fell over,” he said, but none of us seemed to believe him.

“we heard yelling,” Jessie said in an accusatory tone.

“yeah, Ron saw them break the gates, we had to move. That's what happened”

“there are uh… nightstands in my mom's room, they can help with the couch” Ron said, approaching Carl. I looked at him with a frown, feeling my body on alert.

'if he touches Carl...'

“hey, it sounded like you were fighting,” Jessie told her son.

“yeah, we were fighting them!” Ron replied, going upstairs to avoid more questions.

Carl let go of the couch, ready to go after Ron.

“Carl, 's everythin' okay?” i asked him this time, searching his eyes so i could more easily tell if he was lying.

“yeah, everything okay” he barely looked at me as he said it, instead he walked up the stairs to follow Ron.

at this i looked at Rick again, tilting my head to the side, with an expression that let him know that i don't believe them.

“do you wanna go with them?” he asked me.

i thought about it for a moment, but i know Carl can handle it, even better than me, so i shook my head, denying.

“no, 's okay, he can handle it” i finally answered.

when we finally close that door we started to worry about the main entrance, because all the noise called out a large part of the horde, causing many of the walkers to try to destroy the other door.

this time we put in a mattress, and for a moment it seemed to work, but that's when Judith started crying.

“i'll go,” Rick said, noticing that i was about to go look for her. He looked at me for an answer, so i nodded, watching him leave.

the bad thing is that Jude's crying only attracted more walkers, complicating things even more, so Carl and Ron had to bring a table when the door gave way, breaking completely.

“Rick!” Jessie called out to him, noticing that our efforts didn't seem to be enough.

Michonne noticed the moment when another of the doors broke, allowing the walkers to enter the house.

“everyone get upstairs, now!” she ordered us, trying to give us time while she killed some with her sword.

“back off!” Rick motioned to us, so we all dropped our things and ran towards the stairs.

i watched as he and Michonne blocked the stairs with the couch, giving us a little more time to think.

i looked at the walkers, there were too many of them and they might catch up with us eventually. We can't stay in this house for long, especially knowing that Judith and Deanna are here. But we can't jump out of the windows either, because there would be more of them below, because we could fall badly, because Judith could get hurt.

'but what are the options?'

it was then that my head lit up, remembering a disgusting technique that we had already used in the past, and that maybe could save us now.

“Rick!” i called out to him, making everyone turn to look at me “we can use 'hem, take out sheets and use them. Ya know it works, it can help us” i saw him consider the idea for a moment, and then he nodded, looking at Michonne.

“i'll take care of this one, i'll leave you the one in the back,” he told her.

“Gabriel, go get sheets, we need one for each of us” i indicated to the man, seeing him nod and walk towards the rooms.

“i'll help him,” Jessie told me, to which i nodded, watching her leave after him.

"what are we gonna do?" Ron asked me, somewhat desperate.

“we're gonna use the walkers to smell like them,” Carl explained briefly, but he didn't seem to understand.

“wh-what?”

they already had the two walkers, so we couldn't answer his question, instead i helped carry the walkers, while Rick told Carl to stay guard the stairs and Ron followed us.

“i need the sheets,” i told them, watching Jessie come over with one.

"what are we gonna do?" she asked, watching how i made a hole in the sheet.

“we'll go to the armory,” Rick responded, somewhat agitated by the effort.

"how?" she asked again.

“we're gonna cut these things” Rick told her, in a rather simple way to tell the truth.

“we're gonna cover ourselves with the insides.” i told them this time, watching their faces transform into grimaces of horror. “that will mask our smell, we'll make them think we're like them.”

for a moment they were silent, looking at me in horror.

“we've done it before, 'kay? 's gonna work and 's our only viable option right now, so just bring the damn sheets,” i snapped.

“we'll stay calm, we don't draw attention, and we can move right through them,” Rick said more calmly, watching Gabriel arrive with more sheets.

“they're in the house, they're making noise. More are coming” Michonne told them this time.

soon the two of them opened the bodies of the walkers while i was in charge of making holes in the sheets. Once that part was done i passed three sheets to Ron and Jessie.

“everyone needs to put the sheets on, even Sam, then we'll cover ya. Whoever stays here will die.” i explained, watching them silently take the sheets.

a few minutes later we all had the sheets on us, including Carl and Sam. We were just finishing putting the guts in them so there's no doubt it's going to work.

“ya smell horrible,” i told Carl jokingly, helping him cover himself. He laughed and raised an eyebrow, looking at me mockingly.

“you smell worse” i smiled at his words.

"shut up"

Rick went to look for Judith, and when he returned i lifted Carl's sheet. We had agreed that he would have her hidden there. She had a scared expression on her face, so before lowering the sheet i gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“we'll be fine, Jude. We won't let anythin happen to you” i whispered to her, making only Rick, Carl and her hear me. She looked at me, and reached for my hand, so i gave it to her for a moment, squeezing hers gently. That seemed to comfort Judith, so she let go of my hand and let me lower the sheet. Carl watched me throughout the entire process, which made me a little nervous. “wh-what?” He just shook his head, smiling.

"nothing".

Rick then stepped forward, moving the couch silently, revealing the house full of walkers. Then Carl went after him, and i after Carl. We all walked in a kind of line, passing unnoticed among the dead until we reached the main entrance.

once outside we stopped for a moment to observe the streets full of walkers.

'that's where we'll be walking now. We just have to hold on a little longer.'

Rick took Carl's hand, he took mine, and i took Jessie's. We all held our hands in the order we left the house, and so we would have to continue.

i think i heard Sam call Jessie, but I really hope that's not the case. I know he's scared, but if he keep talking he can get us all killed.

'please, Sam, just shut up.'

we had been walking for a few minutes, now we could only hear the grunts of the walkers. My hand occasionally squeezed Carl's hand, receiving a light caress in response. It was his way of telling me to be calm.

suddenly Rick stopped behind a bush, making us all stop walking, drop our hands and look at him.

“alright, new plan” he whispered. “flares from a few guns aren't enough. Too many walkers, too spread out. We're not going to the armory. We need our vehicles back at the quarry” He explained, while Carl and i looked around, watching for no walkers to approach. “All of us drive, we need around them up, we leave, we come back.”

“okay,” Jessie said. “But Judith, to the quarry and back…”

hearing this, Carl and i turned to look at Rick, noticing that he was looking at Gabriel.

"i'll take her. I'll keep her safe in my church until you all lead the walkers away,” Gabriel said.

"can you do this?" Michonne asked him.

“i'm supposed to. I have to.” he replied.

Carl carefully handed Judith to Gabriel, and when she looked at me before lowering Gabriel's sheet i nodded.

“you'll be okay, Jude,” i whispered, pulling down the sheet.

then Jessie took Sam's arm and looked at Gabriel. “Take Sam,” she told him, but the boy immediately refused, scared. “Yes, Sam, it'll be safer.”

“i'm not leaving you,” Sam answered, and when Jessie was going to protest he spoke again, “Mom, i'm not. I can keep going” his gaze seemed to harden, making the woman sigh. “Please.”

after that, Gabriel said goodbye to us, assuring us that he would do what was necessary to keep her safe, and then he headed towards the church.

we had to leave again, so we held hands again, although this time in a different order. Now Rick held Sam's hand, the boy held his mother's, she held mine, i held Carl's, he held Ron's, and Ron held Michonne's.

we started walking, but soon the day began to go away, and with it the light. We were bathed in darkness, trying to guide ourselves with the light of the moon and stars, without making noise so as not to attract the attention of walkers. Although it had been a long time, i didn't feel tired, and i try at all costs to ignore that pain in my chest that keeps me on alert.

'i'm not going to fuck this up, not me.'

i wonder if the smell is still as strong as when we left, but the answer is probably no, because the blood eventually started to dry a little, and that's probably what made some walkers watch us for a few seconds longer than normal. But they continued on their way, and that's what made me feel most relieved.

but apparently not everyone thought the same, since without realizing it, Sam was also thinking about the looks, about the possibilities, and he began to be filled with a panic that soon exploded.

Sam let go of Rick's hand and started to back away.

“S-Sam?” Jessie tried to gently pull his hand to bring him back to reality, unconsciously also squeezing my hand. “Come on, come on, sweetheart? Sam? you can do it,” the woman told him, in a low but desperate tone, refusing to let go of her son's hand.

“Sam, come on,” she said

“come on, come on, Sam” Rick tried too.

“Sam, you can do this, look at mom,” Ron said this time, almost whispering, but desperate.

“Sam, honey, i need you to come with me” but Jessie's words didn't seem to have any effect, as the boy soon began to cry, sobbing loudly, beginning to attract the attention of the walkers.

“i want to,” Sam said, but he was still frozen, crying.

“i need you to be strong,” Jessie said.

but it was all in vain when suddenly a walker jumped on Sam, biting his cheek and making him scream, calling for his mother. The scene was horrible, and i started to feel nauseous just watching it. The walkers kept coming, biting Sam and covering his face with blood and bites.

Jessie couldn't let go of her son's hand, and instead she also seemed to freeze, crying loudly at the loss of her son, she even started screaming, and that was what made me try to let go of her hand. But i couldn't, she squeezed me too hard.

“Je-Jessie, Jessie” i tried to call her, but she kept screaming, drawing the attention of more walkers “Jessie please, come with us” i begged her, but she wasn't listening, she was just screaming and holding my hand tightly.

the inevitable happened. The walkers attacked the blonde, who didn't even let go of my hand at that moment, making me panic. I couldn't let go without attracting their attention.

Carl tried to help me, but that caused us to attract the attention of a walker.

“dad!” he called to Rick, who silently took his ax and walked towards us, repeatedly hitting the wrist of the person who used to be his lover with it. When he finally cut her hand, the force made me fall, bringing Carl with me.

what we didn't notice is that the gun Carl was carrying fell in the process.

well... apparently someone did, and quickly took it while we were getting up.

the sound of the gun safety was what caught our attention. We looked back, seeing Ron holding it, pointing it at Rick.

“you…” he said, and again there was that cold, broken look in his eyes.

a chill ran down my spine, and then Michonne's sword pierced Ron's body, killing him in the process. But despite his death, he had his finger on the trigger... and he clumsily fired just as the life was escaping his body. I closed my eyes for a moment, startled by the sound, but when i opened them, i felt my blood freeze, i thought i was dying.

Carl slowly raised his head, then showing that the shot had hit one of his eyes, leaving a hole of blood, blood that ran down his face as he tried to look at us.

"dad?" i heard him say before he fell. I tried to grab him as best i could, and panic came over me as i received Rick's help to lift him up.

“Rick, we have to… we have to take him to Denise, please” i sobbed, watching as the man carried his son in his arms. He didn't respond, but he started running in that direction, so Michonne and i passed him, clearing the path of walkers.

'Carl…please, you have to be okay, you have to be'

then i understood the panic i had felt these days, the horrible feeling that haunted me.

'i can't lose him, not him. Not him.'

memories of the farm came to my mind, when they shot him and i had to see him in that bed, not knowing if he would survive that.

i buried my knife in every walker that tried to get close, without even thinking about it, just doing it.

'i need him to get to Denise, i need her to help him.'

right now the beating doesn't matter, my ribs don't matter, none of that matters. All i care about is getting him help.

'he's everything to me, i can't do it without him.'

we saw the door to the infirmary open, Denise had seen us, she was ready. We let Rick enter with Carl, and after him i entered with Michonne.

ny face was wet from the amount of tears i didn't even realize i had shed, Aaron looked at me, worried and trying to understand, but i couldn't look at him, only at Carl.

“please save him” i begged Denise, almost in a whisper, and at my side Rick did the same.

Denise turned on the light, and although Spencer tried to complain she quickly silenced him. It was then that i looked at Rick, who seemed to be in a trance as Michonne removed the sheet from him.

as soon as i handed my sheet to Michonne, Rick seemed to make a decision, as he grabbed his ax and left the infirmary. Michonne yelled for him to come back, but he didn't listen.

i don't know exactly what it was, but something told me to go with him, to follow him, so that's what i did. With my knife in hand i left, closing the door and beginning to kill each walker that crossed my path.

i couldn't feel or think. My ears were blocked and my hands were numb.

there was blood, and more blood, and more blood. My body seemed to float. Nothing hurt me, nothing weighed me down.

every head of those walkers had the mark of my knife.

i don't even know when Michonne and the others joined us, i could only continue killing.

Aaron, Heath, Spencer, hell, even people came out of their houses, out of their hiding places.

Eric, Olivia, Rosita, Morgan, Eugene, Tobin, Carol, Tara, hell, even Gabriel were here fighting. There were so many people around us, when suddenly a fire started on the lake, catching our attention. In the distance i saw a truck, but i couldn't see who had caused it.

many of the walkers started heading towards the fire, but Rick yelled at us to not let our guard down, as some were still trying to attack us.

we gave it our all, we pushed our bodies to the limit to protect this place and kill every one of those damn walkers.

we ended up covered in blood, but we were all still alive.

'Carl'

then it dawned on me and i ran towards the infirmary again, without looking back, without paying attention to the screams. I don't even know how long we were outside, but it seemed like an eternity until we were finally able to finish them off, so i wasn't that surprised to walk in and see that Denise was putting a bandage around Carl's head.

" 's he alive?" Rick walked in when i asked the question, just as agitated as i was.

"he's alive, but he lost a lot of blood. It's gonna be a long recovery... and he'll need a lot of support from everyone. Things will be very different and difficult for him when he wakes up.” she told us, then looked behind us. “I need to move Carl to another room, but is anyone else hurt?”

“i-i don't know,” Rick replied.

we both moved Carl to the nearest room, putting some chairs near him so we could wait for him to wake up.

“i'll go thank her,” i said to Rick in a low tone, to which he nodded, still quite disoriented.

“hey, Denise, thank ya so much for savin' him…” i stopped in my tracks and my eyes opened wide. Daryl was entering through the door of the infirmary, and after him the others came with small smiles, looking at me attentively. “Dar…” i blinked a couple of times, and then i ran into his arms, being instantly reciprocated, although i heard him complain a little.

“i was so scared, i missed ya so so much” i mumbled, trying not to let the others hear us. My voice broke as i spoke.

“i'm here now, girl. Ya don' have to be scared, ya know i'll always come back” he told me, in the same low tone, caressing my back.

“i need to heal your brother, Yn, can i?” Denise interrupted us with a guilty expression, to which i nodded, separating myself from him and wiping the tears from my face . “Do you need me to adjust the bandages on your ribs again?” this time she asked me, making Daryl look at me with a frown.

“i'll tell ya later,” i said, then looked at Denise. “i'm fine, now i'll go back to see Carl. I wanna stay until he wakes up. Thank ya... again” She nodded, now forcing my brother to sit on another stretcher.

when i came back, Rick was talking to Carl, so i decided to give them a moment, but when he finished, he noticed me at the door, so he got up from his chair and walked over to me.

“i think... i think he's conscious, i don't really know.” and after saying that he left for a moment, leaving me alone with him.

i went straight to sit down, gently taking his hand.

“hey…uhm, i hope ya can hear me or i'll really feel like a fool.” i tried to joke, but my voice betrayed my nervousness. “i hate seeing ya hurt. I really thought i was going to lose ya this time, ya scared me to death” i sighed, bringing his hand to my lips, leaving a small kiss on the back of his hand “i don't know what would happen to me if ya weren't here, Carl, and i know that ya would say that i can continue, that i'm strong, but the truth is... that it would destroy me not to have ya anymore. Hell, ya can break up with me, hate me, but at least ya'd still be here. If that weren't so… i couldn't, Carl, i really couldn't.”

i felt his hand squeeze mine gently.

“if ya can really hear me, i want you to understand that i love you too much, Carl. And i don't care if i have to help you all the time now; i also don't care about the scar left on yer face. You're still you, you're still the boy i fell in love with, you're still the boy who makes me feel at home." i felt the lump form in my throat again, but i tried to ignore it. "In my eyes ya have always been and ya'll always be the prettiest boy, so don't try to walk away when ya fully wake up. Don't even try to tell me anythin bad about yerself, 'cause God, Carl, if i have to tell ya on repeat every part of ya that i like and why, i will do it even if it takes me a long time to do it, and ya'll have to sit there listenin' to every word" i moved in my seat so i could kiss his cheek. “ 'm gonna be here in every step ya have to take, in every advance and in every retreat. On good days and bad days. I don' care about anythin else. I'll be here for ya just as ya are fer me.”

i heard a noise coming from the door, and i noticed that Rick, Michonne, and Judith in her arms were standing at the door. All three of them were smiling, and i felt my face heat up when i noticed that Rick looked like he wanted to cry.

it's been a few weeks since the last incidents in Alexandria, and everyone's recovery has been a complicated process, especially for Carl, who's still trying to get used to calculating distances or following a fixed point with only one eye.

when he woke up the day after the event, he was crying with anguish, and the first time he tried to walk and hit himself on a chair, he didn't want me to see him, and i had to spend the entire day without being able to see him.

now things are different, he doesn't feel so embarrassed by things like that anymore, but he hasn't even let me see him without the bandage. I just give him the time he needs, and try to remind him how valuable he is.

yesterday i came back from a run with Daryl, and as a gift i brought him some comics i found in a store. I haven't seen him smile as much as yesterday in a long time. My heart was beating so fast, i even felt like i was blushing to see him smile like that!

today i promised to go see him early at his house, so now that's what i do, walk through the front door of Carl's house, going straight to his room, where a loud melody was coming from.

of course, since he found a player he spends his time listening to music in his room. Today's song was “More Than a Feeling,” accompanied by the hitting of a tennis ball that Carl uses for his pt, as Denise instructed him.

“hey” i stuck my head out the half-open door, watching as he quickly turned to see me, smiling.

“hey! come in.” and that's what i did, closing the door behind my back and then walking up to him while he threw his tennis ball on the ground.

his arms surrounded my waist, and mine surrounded his neck. Soon his lips met mine, and i sighed with joy as i felt his warmth merge with mine. I brought my body as close to his as i could, also tilting my head to deepen the kiss, hearing him grunt in the process as he did the same.

his lips are so soft, fluffy. God, i could kiss him all the time. His hands caressed my waist, squeezing it gently. Shortly afterward he separated a little. I could still feel his breathing, so i whimpered in discontent, wanting to continue what we were doing, but he just laughed lightly.

“calm down, babe.” he kissed my forehead. “Actually, i wanted to ask you something.”

“uh? sure, babe. What do ya need?”

“could you help me change my bandage?” he asked me, but before i could answer he interrupted me “you don't have to if you don't want to, i can ask Michonne, i just…”

“Carl, babe, i'd love to help ya, come on.” with my head i pointed in the direction of his bed, so he nodded, sitting on it.

"are you sure?" he looked at me intently, and i could see the fear, which made my heart ache.

“of course i'm sure, every time ya want me to help ya, ya can ask me, that's fine” i told him firmly.

“thank you,” he said in a lower tone. I know this is a big step for him, and from the way i see him playing with his hands i can tell he's very nervous, so i hurried to find the box on his nightstand that has the bandages, and the disinfectants.

after that i settled between his legs.

“can ya hold this fer me?” he nodded, so i handed him the new bandage and the alcohol. “Now i'm gonna remove the bandage you're wearing. If ya want me to stop at some point, just tell me.” and that is what i did. I carefully untied the knot of his bandage, removing it gently in case something hurts him or if any part of the fabric is stuck to his skin. Once that step was ready, i used a bow that i had on my right wrist to prevent his hair from covering the wound and complicating my work.

for a second i admired his face, and felt the heat rise to my cheeks. Carl is beautiful, not only on the inside, but on the outside as well. I'm always looking at him, but this time it feels different, more intimate.

“you're perfect,” i whispered, almost to myself, but i knew he heard me when his cheeks flushed. Even over the music he was able to hear me, which made me a little nervous, so i cleared my throat.

i began to clean the wound, disinfecting it and putting all my concentration into not hurting it or doing anything wrong.

“ya can tell me if ya feel like it's too tight. 's my first time putting a bandage on someone other than a Dixon, and we're not the best reference to practice somethin like that." i tried to joke while putting the new bandage on him, hearing him laugh at my comment.

“it's perfect, thank you.” i took off the bow and he took care of putting the things on his nightstand quickly, returning to the position we were in, although this time he took me by the waist and made me sit down on his lap “Thank you for everything you do for me.”

“i'd do anythin fer ya, Carl.” i confessed, watching the smile form on his face once again.

“i'd do anything for you too, Yn, never forget that” i nodded, feeling happy.

it was then that he suddenly kissed me, making me gasp. The kiss was intense like the one a few minutes ago, but this new position made me feel different. The heat little by little went down to the inside of my panties, making me whimper and move my hips, rubbing against Carl's crotch.

it wasn't long until i felt something getting hard, and then i knew he felt the same way i did. His hands helped me move, now messier. Small moans came out of me, and he took advantage of that moment to put his tongue in my mouth, making the kiss deeper, more desperate. One of his hands moved to my ass, squeezing it. But it was when i was going to unbutton his pants that we heard a voice.

“Carl!” Rick called him from his room. We barely hear it over the music. Carl pulled away from me, grunting and his dick aching.

"what!? i’m doing pt!” He lied, making me laugh lightly as i moved from the position we were in, sitting next to him, still somewhat agitated and feeling my panties wet.

“i can't hear you, come here!” Rick replied, so Carl looked at me, and i laughed when i saw the anger and frustration on his face, as well as his lips red and swollen from the kiss.

“go on, or he'll come for ya.” he sighed, getting up from the bed with resignation, and moving his shirt so that it covered the bulge in his crotch.

“when i come back you're gonna have to take care of what you caused,” he said, making me clench my legs as the heat returned to me. He seemed to notice this, as he smiled, and before leaving the room he gave me a kiss “be a good girl and wait here. Don't do anything” he said, and then went out to see what Rick wanted.

i sighed, flustered by what he said and my face as red as a tomato.

oh…and now feeling uncomfortable because of my soaked panties.

[pinkyqil]

Step by step | a.Putellas x j.Hermoso

Hidden secrets series

Warning: a lil angst,comfort,acl mention not really but yea

It was around midnight when jenni had received alexia messages. the moments she saw pictures of the ultrasound and pregnancy test. she went through five stages of different emotions.

She and the blonde woman had been trying for ages but had recently taken a break from ivf and each other for a while now.

But right now jenni knew alexia needed her more than ever even though she would never admit to it.

Jenni found herself staring down on her phone to reply too alexia message wanting to know if she was alright.

mi amor 💕 : ale ¿Estás bien? ¿Está todo bien?

A while later that she had sent her messages to alexia stil wanting for the other woman's reply. panic started to fuel her body as it been a few long hours since she's sent her messages at that moment.

And that how she found herself booking a 10 hour flight from mexico to spain. She needed to know that alexia was alright especially when her plate seems too be filled with a lot of stuff going on for her at the moment. Once she booked her flight she started to pack stuff that'll she probably would need. has her flight was in a few hours.

Finally arriving at the airport she checked her phone one last time to see if alexia had reply but was met with nothing.

The flight from mexico to spain was very hectic but jenni was able to manage through it.

Alexia on the other hand hadn't seen jenni's messages yet,has she refused to look at her phone one bit. Her heart wouldn't be able to handle whatever jenni wrote she thought.

But what she hasn't expected would be the knock on her front door. alexia wasn't expecting anyone and if she was,she would have known plus her mom and sister had spare keys to her place. She wasn't in the mood to get up and open the door but definitely had no choice as the knocking became louder and aggressive.

Jenni who was on the other side of the door honestly had no idea why she infront of alexia place this late.

she could've headed to her hotel but her mind wonder differ.

The moment alexia opened the door it was closed faster than she could make a goal. Her mind was all over the place,it couldn't be her head just playing random games with her or it was the hormones. Jenni was definitely not outside her house she was living in mexico for heaven sake alexia thought to herself.

Jen on the other side started speaking."Alexia please open the door all I want to do is talk you haven't been answering my messages".

oh she was an idiot alexia thought to herself again why couldn't she answer her. now she had to deal with this jenni was always some who worried a lot and went beyond doing things.

After giving herself a moment she finally opened the door inviting jenni in. they both sat in awkward silence.

Before one of them spoke up getting interrupted by the other trying to also get a word out.

both women found themselves laughing at their situation.

This time it was alexia who finally spoke up." I'm sorry for not responding or calling and instead letting it all on you expecting you to figure it out yourself i just needed a moment to myself cause the day I found out would also be the day i had let you know it was all too much for me to handle".

"oh ale it all alright i don't think would probably be able to deal with all that in one day you are definitely one strong woman". jenni said embracing the other woman into a hug.

"So what are you doing all the way in spain aren't you meant to be somewhere in mexico". she asked with a grin on her face.

"Do you really think I would have your hothead deal with all this alone you had me very worried when you didn't answer and i did the most logical thing anyone could think of".

"So traveling all the way too spain is the most logically thing you could think of instead of calling me". Jenni gave the woman across her the most unamused face when she had finished her sentence.

"Matter of fact don't answer that". alexia said with a smile on her face.

The couple found themselves embracing each other for some sort of comfort. jenni found herself cuddling into alexia from waist down getting a warm buzzing feeling.

"So where having a baby" jenni asked while looking up at alexia.

Alexia could only nod her head at the other woman's word. Too busy to say anything else jenni and alexia found themselves looking each other in the eyes, before she knows it she felt another pair of lips on hers. pulling her into a deep kiss.

Finally done they both pulled away too busy blushing like those rom com movies.

"Wanna go for a drive and get some food you must be really hungry after your flight". alexia asked jenni who quickly nodded.

The couple once again found themselves in the car enjoying a Pa amb tomàquet sandwiches one of alexia favorite also something she had been craving for.

"So does anybody else know".jenni found herself asking alexia a question that been on her mind all day.

"Nope only mi mamí".alexia said before taking another bite out of her sandwich.jenni nodded understanding what alexia meant.

"You know that your always welcomed to stay at my place that if you want too".

"What made you think that I would leave your stubborn head alone". jenni said snickering at alexia before they both busted out laughing knowing jenni was right. She would never leave alexia nor let her get loose.

After finishing eating up the remaining of their food.they both found themselves entwine their hands together and letting in the moment before going home.

They were going to figure out everything together step by step or would they ?

A/n: chap 2 finally done hope you all enjoy it has much has I did writing it,honestly proud of this bit ale and jen have it all figure out or there's more to it all. and as always opinion ideas,asks or anything you would like to see happen in the serie are always welcome 🫶

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

One For The Road [2]

Cecil Dennis x afab!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals •Masterlist• ao3• want to be tagged? | requestinfo• ko-fi •

Series Masterlist

Summary: You haven't spoken to Cecil since what happened last week.

A/N: Another huge thank you to @thexsanctuaryx for beta reading again and putting up with my nonsense! <3

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, reader has been drinking - but not enough to affect them, mentions of weed, catching feelings and self denial of catching feelings, fingering, oral sex (afab!receiving), jerking off, cumming on someone, please let me know if I've missed a warning!

Word Count: 2186

I Saw This Coming From The Start

It had been a week. A full week since you’d seen him. Since you’d practically run out of the front door when Harry had come in, making up some excuse to leave that you can’t even remember now.

He’d messaged the next day. Gentle, and kind. Apologising without explicitly saying what he was apologising for. Which had made you feel bad because it wasn’t like he had tried something with you and gotten pissy when you’d rejected him. 

No, you’d wanted it, still want it. And that was the problem really. 

You hadn’t messaged back, trying to push it all to the back of your mind and further still. Tonight you’d gone out on a shit date. So boring and dull that you’d made a hasty exit and drowned your sorrows in a local bar. 

It wasn’t like you were flat out drunk, just a little buzzed. Two drinks more than you normally would in that short timeframe. And all you could do was think about stupid Cecil and his stupid curls and stupidly thick fingers. 

You’d sent him a message before you could think twice. 

Are you busy?

He’d messaged back almost instantly. No. You okay?

Where are you?

Home.

Alone?

You’d been in the Uber before he even replied yes. 

The smile he’d given you when he’d opened the front door to your knock had almost broken your heart. 

“Hey!” He’d hugged you with one arm, purposefully not getting too close as he ushered you into the living room. “I’m so glad you texted.” He smelt very obviously of weed. “I was getting worried, I mean,” he pulls a face. “Not worried. You’re an adult, you can do what you want, of course you can, I mean,” he rubs the back of his head, “I mean, I mean, I upset you didn’t I? I was a jerk, I’m so sorry, I-”

You turn quickly and kiss him, pressing your lips to his demandingly.

He groans, his eyes fluttering closed as you lick into his mouth. He tastes the alcohol on your tongue. “Wait,” he swallows, moving back a step. “You’re drunk.”

“No.” 

He gives you those soft eyes that can absolutely destroy your resolve in less than ten seconds, the UN should class that look as a war crime. 

“I just had a few drinks.” You glare at him. 

He lightly brushes your arm and you shrug him away, frowning. 

The soft look he gives you stings. 

“Don’t look at me like that.” You snarl. 

“Like what?” 

“All puppy dog eyes and shit, it’s not fair.” 

He pauses, “Puppy dog eyes?”

“Yeah,” you motion to him, “you know the look, makes you all sweet and soft and cute, and makes it really fucking hard to not do what you want.”

He smiles ever so slightly. “You think it’s cute?” 

“I think you’re cute.” You say grumpily. 

His smile widens. “I think you’re cute too.” He steps closer, running his hands on your biceps.

“So kiss me.”

“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll get you a glass of water, okay? A clean glass?” He gives you a jokey smile, trying to make you laugh.

You do your best to resist and shrug. “I don’t want a glass of water, I’m…” 

“You’re?”

You sigh deeply, fighting down your embarrassment as you half mumble. “Can we… can we do what we did… last time?”

He watches you softly, giving you time to make it clear what you really want.

You sigh again, practically a groan. And when you speak you purposefully look at the wall and not his stupidly handsome face. “Can we watch some porn and mess around?”

He smiles and nods. “You sure?” 

You give him a look. 

“Okay,” he giggles, “if you’re sure.” 

.

He brings you a glass of water in the promised clean glass anyway, and a packet of cookies. He places them in your hands before dragging over the small coffee table and putting it to your side of the sofa, then taking the packet and glass and putting them on there for you. 

Cecil grins when he’s finished, beaming like he’s worked out a partially difficult mental puzzle. You don’t want to find it as endearing as you do. 

He sits down next to you, grabbing his phone. “Anything you wanna watch?” 

You shrug, not quite expecting this direction. “Um, what would you recommend?” You want to smack yourself in the face, who the fuck asks someone what porn they would recommend? Like this was some fancy restaurant with a waiter giving you the wine list. ‘Oh yes, with the water and cookies, I’d recommend a nice fuck with a cum shot.’

“Well,” he shifts in his seat excitedly, “Actually, I watched some of this the other day, I thought it was good.”

Okay, maybe this was the place you came to to get porno recommendations.

“It’s a glory hole video, is that okay?”  He looks up at you sweetly, the earnestness in his eyes is bewitching.

You nod and swallow and his grin widens.

“Awesome.” He clicks the video, casting it to the TV. “Harry’s gonna be out until really late, so don’t worry about interruptions this time.”

You wiggle a little and nod again. This was a bad idea actually, wasn’t it? Now that you were thinking about it, it was a really bad idea. A really, really, really, really bad idea. You could forgive last week, that had been… that was an accident. This was… intentional. Fool me once, and all that. This was you going out of your way to-

“You’re wearing jeans, can I…?” He gave you those stupidly large puppy eyes, you could feel the yearning rolling off him in waves.

You nod, undoing your buttons and fly as he scrambles off the sofa onto his knees. He loops his fingers under your waistband and tugs when you raise your hips. 

He pulls your jeans down eagerly to your thighs, then grabs your panties, yanking them down as well and pulling both off your legs, leaving you completely bare from the waist down. 

You swallow, heat rising to your face. You hadn’t expected him to take everything off straight away. 

On the television a naked woman deepthroats a large cock that is pressing through a taped hole in a bathroom wall. She’s whining and slurping, her free hand between her legs. 

“Oh fuck,” Cecil breathes deeply, lightly pressing on your knees to spread your legs. “I was so right,” he bites his lip, groaning. “Such a pretty pussy, oh god.” He squeezes his cock through his sweats and gulps, closing his eyes for a second. “Prettiest I’ve ever seen, fuck.”

You swallow, holding your breath as he inches closer on his knees. 

He brushes the edge of his calloused thumb against your clit, seeming mesmerised as your muscles jump and twitch under his touch. 

“God, yeah.” He groans under his breath and presses firmer, lightly tracing the outline of the bundles of nerves before he rubs up and down and side to side.

You let out a little moan, your fingers digging into the cushions beside you.

Cecil lets out a long whine, “Oh, you’re so wet, I can see it.” He looks up at you from under his long eyelashes for a second before going back to your dripping cunt. “Looks amazing.”

He rubs his thumb constantly, oohing and ahhing softly at every minuscule movement.

Your breathing hitches, heat running along your skin and tightening in your belly. 

Ever so slowly he runs the fingers of his other hand up your leg and presses them to your aching slit, rubbing your lips and smearing your wetness all over your pussy. He groans when you twitch and moan softly, his eyes darkening rapidly second by second.

“Mmmmm,” he hums loudly, inching his fingers forward as his thumb rubs you, pushing them in a few centimetres before pulling them out and whining at the slick coating his skin. He pushes in deeper, firmly sheathing them all the way in one long move and curling them until your thighs jump and you gasp.

“Oh fuck, yes, yes, yes,” he groans, watching intently and then, “fuck, sorry, I gotta,” he darts forward, removing his thumb from your clit and kissing your folds.

You moan, back arching from the sofa, your hand flying to the back of his head to pull him closer and he whimpers, sucking your clit into his mouth and flicking the tip of his tongue back and forth.

“Cecil,” your whine harmonises with his as pleasure curls and spreads with every heavy pump and plunge of his fingers, with every caress of his tongue and lips. “Shit, that’s,” your words leave you breathlessly, your voice sounding completely wrecked already. “That’s really good, fuck, please,” you buck against his mouth, grinding up to his fingers as he works you over eagerly, rapidly bringing you closer and closer to your peak. 

Pleasure sings along every nerve, making your thighs shake and your eyes roll back as he groans and licks and sucks like you’re his only source of oxygen. 

You dig your fingers into his hair, scraping your nails lightly across his scalp, making him shiver and moan louder. 

Your mind is turning into mush, dissolving into nothing as your body races after your orgasm, demanding more and more and more from his sinful mouth. 

Part of you can’t work out how he got so good at this, how many pussys has he buried his face in? How could his ex dump him when he was this good? Fuck, even if you were tired of his shit you could just tie him to the bed and sit on his face for a few hours each day and that would more than make up for it. 

Cecil’s cock throbs, each moan that leaves your lips making him harder, needier. He can feel his precum soaking into his boxers as your slick drenches his chin. 

He shudders, so close to coming in his pants again and not giving one flying fuck.

“Cec,” Your grip on the back of his head tightens, your thighs shaking and tensing, your body rising up and against him. You’re so close, hanging right on the edge with his tongue flicking kitten licks in time with how his fingers rub against your walls, playing you perfectly to his will.

He hums against you, swirling his tongue and you scream, clenching around him as you come so hard. It washes over you, piercing your limbs and shocking every muscle with bliss. You shake, grinding against his mouth as he groans greedily. 

He pulls his fingers from your fluttering pussy, grabbing hold of the back of your thighs and just buries his face in your cunt. He laps and sinks his tongue deep inside, pressing the bridge of his nose against your clit and shaking his head from side to side ever so slightly as he drinks down every single drop of your release. Needing everything. 

He loosens his grip on you when you start to relax, your muscles untensing. He lets go, struggling with his waistband and pulling his sweatpants and boxers down just enough so that his thick cock springs free with a dull thud. He wipes his mouth and chin with the palm of his right hand before he grabs hold of his dick, using your cum as lubricant as he rapidly jerks himself off, his eyes rolling back.

His cock is so pretty, thick and long and ruddy red at the leaking, needy tip.

“Cecil,” you whine and his eyes snap open instantly, his hips jerking as he nears his peak. You bite your lip, fuck he looks so beautiful, sweaty and wanting and desperate. “Come on me.” You whisper. 

He groans, “On you?”

You spread your legs wider, pulling your legs up to your chest and holding them there. “Come on my pussy.” 

He sobs, standing so quickly he almost falls and has to grab hold of the back of the sofa with his free hand to stop himself from falling. He jerks once, twice, moaning so loudly as his hips move on autopilot and pleasure runs down his spine and explodes. He comes with a cry, shooting his load all over your pussy and the back of your thighs. 

He keeps coming, unable to stop as he spurts and splatters, painting your skin with his seed. 

He gasps, slumping forward for a second and breathing hard, “fuuuuuuucccck.” He whines, shivering with the aftershocks. 

You watch him with large eyes, mesmerised with how his lips are parted, how flushed his skin looks. Like some ancient painting of a god. 

Suddenly he drops to his knees again, pressing his palms to your legs to keep you folded over. 

“Cecil-” You yelp in surprise, about to ask what he’s doing when he shoves his tongue back into your core, slurping up the mess he made between your legs and sucking once more on your clit until you moan.

“Just cleaning up.” He mumbles, his voice thick with lust before he dives back in. 

Thank you for reading!

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[raviollies]

I had a lot of things to say but I've seen the same points re-iterated so I don't see the need to throw my hat into that ring BUT a point I haven't seen talked about that profoundly bugs me! Spoilers ahoy

The Varric reveal and how it's a symptom of the writings, in my opinion, greatest flaw.

The writing of Veilguard expects you to care about characters without giving the CHARACTER a reason to care. The game assumes you the player care, which is usually the case, so they just skip the necessary build up for it to work in character.

Varric and Rook have no introduction to each other. We start the game, launched into "they're friends". Rook cares about Varric but I don't know why. I didn't get to see them be friends. It's like i got launched into Inquisition at Skyhold, with my character already knowing these characters and having developed a relationship with them.

I love RP, you guys know this, so I engage with the RP elements to the best of my ability, making a character and trying to approach from different angles. I just didn't feel like I got that opportunity. Rook was already there, they already have a task, an end goal. They're already part of the greater plot without me. Other characters remark on their personality and deeds.

Other games in the series have done this but at least you got a little grace period to get to know them or shortcuts regarding establishing their relationship like them being a sibling ; and the game didn't hinge so much on them. DAO didn't hinge on Shani. DA2 didn't hinge on the lost sibling. They were aspects of the story but they are a small fragment of the plot as a hole. Varric ends up being a MAJOR cog in the story that our character grapples with and it rings hollow because I never saw them show why they care for one another.

If anyone should be mad it should be the inquisitor! Or Isabella! Or Dorian! They KNEW varric, we were THERE for that. We SAW that! But none acknowledge it. No one says anything about how this impacted them. Varric and Dorian have LETTERS back and forth. MAEVARIS IS HIS COUSIN.

Characters that SHOULD care don't. Characters that should care less, care a lot. It feels like the game assumes that the player loves Varric, and moves on. And it does this with a lot of Characters. You don't get to talk to the characters as much in this game, ask their opinion, get to know them, become friends. It's implied this all happened off screen. The characters are nice to you at the start and they're nice to you at the end. I barely saw any disapproval. Rook is one of 3 flavors of nice, and thus the characters are never challenged. I know people are quite critical of DAI but you could get to know the characters views - you could ask everyone on how they view the circles, the templars etc. I feel like I don't know this about Veilguard characters. I don't know where they stand on really anything, outside of being "good people". My Inquisitor didn't end up being friends with everyone but the game left room for that. Some companions did NOT like each other at all and the game accepted that, every game did - the conflict was PART of it. But in Veilguard, everyone is holding hands by the power of friendship.

The game just assumes you all care for one another without earning it, and it feels sad to me, as an RPer. After everything is done I can't even go talk to them and ask what they're going to do now. How they're faring. It's fade to black, and once again, the development is off screen and I am not part of it.

[sarahsmi13s]

Duckie

Chapter 9

pairing: jake ‘hangman’ seresin x bradshaw!reader; bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw x twin sister!reader

characters: y/n bradshaw, nick bradshaw, jake seresin, penny benjamin, serenity hart, denver miller

word count: ~10.7k (don't kill me i know the chapter lengths are all over the place, i'm sorry)

warnings: language, parental doubts, canon character deaths mentioned, drinking, thunderstorms, jake being an absolute sweetheart

a/n: i want to apologize that is has been 8 months since i have last updated the main story, i really didn't think it would take that long... but i just wanted to make sure i was proud of the chapter and i really do think i am proud of it. so thank you for your patience and i hope you enjoy 💜

series summary: daughter of goose and carole and twin sister to bradley ‘rooster’ bradshaw, y/n bradshaw also got her papers pulled when she tried to enlist in the Navy. which turned out to not be as bad as she thought.

chapter summary: a week after duckie and jake went on their "not-date" she is seriously regretting not getting jake's number before he left -- considering they haven't seen each other since. though, as fate would have it, that weekend they see each other at the beach and as duckie is walking away jake gets a push from his friends to get her number. little does he know he'll be getting much more than that from her

'duckie' universe

previous chapter || next chapter

It had been a hectic week since your ‘not date’ date with Jake and honestly… you were missing him. Nick was missing him too, hugging the cowboy manta ray every afternoon when he napped. You were really kicking yourself for not getting his number, you had no way of talking to him. And you both were busy, you with school stuff and softball practices and Jake with his Top Gun classes. So you just had to bet on the off chance of running into him again.

Late that Saturday morning, you and Nick were walking the beach, occasionally splashing in the surf. You wanted to tire him out so when Serenity came over later to babysit, he wasn’t too much trouble.

At some point when you had been distracted, Nick had run off without you noticing, most likely seeing something he liked or wanted.

When you do notice his absence, it’s because you don’t hear giggling and splashing. You look down next to you and panic shoots through you when you see that your son isn’t right at your feet. 

“Nick? Nick! Nicky!”

Your chest heaved with your panicked breathing, thoughts running through your mind a mile and a half a minute as you shouted and ran across the beach like a mad woman – shouting for your son.

How could this happen? How could you not notice that your toddler wasn’t right next to you? What kind of mother gets that distracted that she doesn’t even hear her child run off? How did you not notice? Why didn’t you hear him? Why did you let something else pull your attention away that fast and for that long?

Maybe those middle aged mothers in the store were right? Maybe you were too young to be a decent mom… Maybe you shouldn’t–

“Han’man!” 

The small, but excited voice shut your thoughts off in an instant, relief flooding your entire body as you ran in the direction you heard your son – nearly tripping over your own feet in the panic. 

You spotted the classic beach volleyball court and saw Jake pick him up, looking equally as confused as he was happy. 

“Nick where’s your-” 

“Nicholas Jacob!” You called, adrenaline still pumping through your body.

Your son yelped a little and turned into Jake’s neck upon hearing you shout as the pilot cringed. The first and middle name? Never a good sign. 

“Oooh, someone’s in trouble,” he mumbled, instinctively rubbing the child’s back in order to keep him calm. 

The other aviators noticed this and gave Hangman a confused look. They were in the middle of a volleyball match and then boom a toddler’s running into the pilot's legs. And now he was comforting said child, not something they would expect from him usually.

Nick threw his arms around Jake’s neck, not turning to look at you as you ran over, sliding a little as the sand shifted under your heavy steps. “You can’t just run off like that! Do you know how worried I was?!”

The other pilots probably should have looked away, minded their own business. But now they were very intrigued as you came up to Jake as he held your son. 

And by the time you got in arms reach you had calmed down slightly, trying to channel your mother to help you handle this situation.

“Nicky,” you coaxed, as you got closer and reached out to rub his back. He just buried his face into Jake’s shoulder, a small cry coming from his lips as he hugged the pilot tighter. He hates yelling, he doesn’t like it when people are mad at him. You played with his curls, knowing that he thought you were angry, “Baby, I’m not mad… You just worry me when you run off like that. You are too much like your Uncle.” 

Nick looked at you finally, but still rested his head on Jake’s shoulder. His eyes were red and you sighed, knowing that he still thought you were mad. “I’m sorry I shouted, Nicky. Mama’s not mad at you. I promise.” He sniffled and reached out for you. You smiled softly and took him into your arms, then he promptly buried his face into your shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, guys,” you apologized, looking around at all the pilots. “I don’t know how he got away from me.” Jake shook his head, waving it off with a flick of his wrist, “It’s okay. I was winnin’ anyway.” You laughed, bouncing Nick instinctively, “Alright, well, we’ll leave you to it.” You adjusted Nick on your hip, smiling at the men before walking away.

Jake watched you walk away before turning back to his classmates, clapping his hands together and ready to start the next match. But he was met with crossed arms and expecting looks. “Okay let’s – What?” 

“You’re in so deep, Hangman,” Denver, also known as ‘Ransom’, said with a teasing scoff. “Have you gotten her number yet?” 

The blond shook his head, “No but I figured she’d offer it when she was ready.” The other pilot rolled his eyes. “Seresin, since when have you ever waited for her to make the move?” Jake huffed, “She’s different. I don’t want to move too fast. I want her to know that I’m all in first.” 

Denver crossed his arms, “Hangman, go ask her. Show her you’re all in. She won’t know if you don’t tell her. And I’m pretty sure she’s a little nervous to ask you. You know… given that she doesn’t know!” 

Jake’s eyes widened in realization, making the brunette laugh as Jake jogged after you, “Hey, Y/N, wait up!”

You turned as he called out to you, Nicky looking up as well from his spot on your shoulder. Looking up at him as he slowed down to a stop in front of you, you tilted your head a little, “Yeah?”

He took a few deep breaths, talking with one hand as the other rested on his hip, “First I want to preface, it’s totally cool if you say no. But we’ve been getting to know each other, and I was wondering if I could get your number?” 

You looked at Nick then back at Jake, thinking about your response carefully. “I’ll be at the bar tonight. Come by and we’ll talk about it.” 

Jake nodded, and smirked, “I look forward to it.” He ruffled Nick’s hair before going back to the group.

You smiled, eyeing him as he walked away – a little more confidence in his step as he walked up to his friend. 

You know you were kicking yourself before for not getting his number, but now that he’s asked you… you were hesitant, you felt like you had a lot you needed to tell him before you took this step. Sighing a little, you adjusted Nick on your hip again and made your way back to your car.

During the drive home, Nicky was quiet and played with the shells he had found on the beach.

You knew he was still upset from when you yelled, and you knew that he didn’t quite understand why you were so worried. He was only three after all, and he had so much wonder that it was a miracle he didn’t run off to squash his curiosities more often.

He did need to understand why you had shouted and why you were so worried, it was important that he knew that.

But neither of you were ready to give nor receive that conversation. You were still thrumming with that anxiety from the 90 second eternity it took to find him and he was still upset from when you yelled at him. You just needed to wait for when you got home after you both calmed down.

When you got home, you gave Nicky his bath in near silence as you made sure all the sand was gone and he was clean of salt water.

You had thought through your side of the conversation and decided on how you were going to talk to him.

After getting him bathed and getting some comfy clothes picked out, you knelt in front of him as you helped him dry off.

“Nicky? Can we talk about what happened at the beach?” 

He sniffed, nodding his head under the little shark hood of his towel. 

You smiled softly at him and gave a gentle squeeze to his arms. “You know Mama isn’t angry right?” “You yelled… people yell when they’re angy…” His voice was soft and timid, he was trying not to cry again. 

“Oh baby…” You tilted his head up and cupped his cheek. “Sometimes people yell when they’re angry or mad. But not all the time.” Confusion flashed over his tearfilled eyes and you sighed. 

You sat back on your heels, wiping his tears away with your thumb. “People can yell for a lot of different reasons, Nick. Sometimes we yell or shout because we’re excited, we’ve done that before haven’t we? Like when you saw Hangman and shouted because you were so excited to see him.” 

He nodded, using the towel to wipe his other eye as you gave him an encouraging smile.

“It all comes down to how we say something, and I know that might not make sense just yet, because you’re three, but it will and we’ll talk more about it then. But I know you don’t like yelling when people sound angry or mean, it’s loud and it can be scary, right?” He nodded again, sniffling a little, “Yeah…” 

You nodded, dipping your head a little to look him in the eye. “And Mama’s sorry if she sounded angry or mean, that wasn’t my intention. But you running off like that scared me, it really really scared me. I didn’t know if you were hurt or lost.” 

“But I was safe with Han’man… I was okay Mama…” 

“I know that now. But in the moment I was really worried about you and I didn’t know where you had run off too. That’s why I shouted.” 

You rubbed his arms, making sure to hold eye contact. “You can’t just run off like that without telling me. It makes me worried for your safety.” 

The dam finally broke and Nick started sobbing. “I’m sorry Mama… I-I jus’ saw Han’man an-and wa-wanted to s-say hi…” 

“I know, I know baby,” you cooed, wiping his tears as they fell. “And Mama forgives you, I know you didn’t mean to. And I know there will be times where you’re really really curious and you want to explore, but you have to tell me so I, or someone else, can make sure you’re safe. And there will be times I’m gonna yell, but I still love you okay? And I will do better to control my tone in the future.” 

He sniffled and hugged you tightly, his little arms wrapping around your neck in a grip that rivaled a grown man. You smiled and adjusted your legs, crossing them before wrapping him tighter in his towel and pulling him into your lap.

You sat on his floor for a while, holding him close and rocking back and forth as you pressed kisses to the side of his head.

It wasn’t too long after that conversation that Serenity was using her spare key to come in, finding you and Nick giggling in the living room as you watched Kung Fu Panda.

“Looks like I’m missing all the fun,” she laughed, sitting her backpack down on the bar. 

Nick sat up, a wide smile on his face, “Ren!” She smiled and walked over, her arms out wide for a hug, “Nicky J!” He got off the couch quickly and ran to her, hugging her with a high pitched giggle. 

You smiled as you stood up, “Oh I don’t know about missing the fun, just a little late to the party.” 

“Well, I guess I have some fun to catch up on,” she said as she ruffled Nicky’s curls. “And Mama can relax a little bit.” 

You nodded because now that she was here you could take a shower and get ready to go to the bar. You needed the moment of solitude to collect yourself after your mild panic attack on the beach. Needed to take a second alone to let the parental mask slip and just let yourself feel.

“Yes, and I will be showering and getting ready to go to the bar. You both can finish the movie and give me the rundown when I come back.” 

Serenity nodded, “You got it, we’ll take notes. Won’t we buddy?” Nicky nodded, “And we can act it out for you too!” You smiled and played with his hair, “Yes you can, and I look forward to it.” Nick giggled, running back over to climb on the couch and continue watching the movie.

You looked at the college student, brows raised as you let out a breath. She arched her eyebrow inquisitively, “Mama need me time?” You nodded, rubbing your hands on your thighs. “She needs so much me time. Had a bit of a scare at the beach and I need a minute to process it, without him two feet away… God, that sounds so bad doesn’t it?”

She shook her head, grabbing your wrist gently, “Not at all. You need space to breathe, that’s why I’m here – well, and cause I love that little man over there.” You both laughed, glancing over at the couch where Nick was zeroed in on the TV. 

Her grip tightened momentarily to gain your attention again. “And you’re doing great, Y/N. Don’t ever question that.” 

A rush of tears filled your eyes, a weight you hadn’t realized was sitting on your chest lifting ever so slightly and allowing you to actually breathe again. Biting your lip to keep from crying in front of your son, you hugged Serenity letting out a heavy exhale that released the obsessive thoughts that rattled in your head. 

“Thank you…” 

Your voice was no louder than a whisper, but your gratitude was nothing short of a scream. 

Serenity rubbed your back, “And I will fight anyone that says otherwise. Even you. Understand?” She pulled back only when you did as you nodded and wiped your face. “Good,” she nodded towards your bedroom with a smile. “Now go shower.”��

You nodded, squeezing her shoulder in thanks before jogging towards your room.

She smiled after you before turning to your son, clapping her hands as she walked over, “Okay Nicky, let’s make sure we get all the details for Mama.” 

After your much needed shower, taking the solitary moment to breathe and let more tears fall to just release the stress, you got dressed in a pair of jeans and an old band t-shirt you had held onto from when you went through your mom’s things. And you added a black jacket because it had clouded over while you were in the shower. 

And of course, Nicky gave you the rundown of what you missed of Kung Fu Panda while you got ready before going back to let you finish up.

You took a deep breath as you clasped the guitar pick necklace behind your neck, letting the engraved gold rest against your sternum. Kendall had gotten it for you for graduation, having your favorite lyric of Great Balls of Fire engraved on the front – because he indeed drove you crazy and vice versa. For Christmas, Penny went and had Kendall’s initials engraved on the back, knowing that you’d be giving the necklace to Nicky once he was old enough.

Letting the breath out and calming yourself down, you stepped out of your room and slipped your jacket on as you walked to the door. “Okay, I’m heading out. It looks like it might rain, so just call me if anything happens or you need me to come home, okay?” 

Serenity nodded from her spot on the couch, popping a goldfish cracker into her mouth “Got it, go have fun.” 

You squatted down and Nicky ran over to give you a hug. “Bye Mama, have fun with Han’man.” You smiled and rubbed his back, “I will. Be good for Ren okay? I won’t be back until after you go to bed, so I love you baby.” You gave him kisses all over his face, “Mwah, I love you sooo much.” He giggled and kissed your temple, “I love you too Mama.” 

You shared a smile and he ran back to the couch to curl up in his corner.

“Okay, you know all the numbers Ren. If I don’t answer, call Penny or the bar. Okay, I’m gonna head out now, see if I can beat the rush of pilots that are gonna get grounded soon. I love you both, bye.”

They both waved at you as you grabbed your purse and walked out the door.

About 90 minutes and one Amarello after you arrived, you watched Jake stroll into the bar, his green eyes finding you leaning on the bar immediately despite the crowd in front of him. 

“Howdy,” you greeted with a smile as he walked over and leaned on the bar next to you. “Hi, Darlin’,” he replied, grinning down at you.

You glanced around, the bar wasn’t as packed as you thought it would be, but it was still full of pilots since the surprise showers grounded their classes for the rest of the day. 

You looked back at Jake, remembering his question from earlier today on the beach. As you drove over and the hour and half you had to yourself at the bar, you had tried your best to prepare your speech, get everything you needed to say in order so you didn’t fuck anything up and miscommunicate your feelings.

Sighing, you closed your eyes, recalling everything you had lined up to tell him. You didn’t look in his eyes, keeping your gaze centered on his chest, knowing his green irises would wipe your memory. 

“I’m gonna be honest here Jake…” 

He held up his hand, gently interrupting you, “I get it, Y/N. If you still aren’t ready for a relationship, I understand. But I still want to be a friend that you can call, whether it be just to talk to me or if you need help.” 

You sighed, relief filling your chest knowing that he was willing to wait, but you still wanted, no needed, to tell him how you were feeling. 

You finally looked up in his eyes, swallowing the word vomit of emotions that wanted to escape, “Jake, you have done a lot these past few weeks. You’ve taken the time not only to get to know me but to get to know Nick. That means so much to me, more than you know. And I can tell that Nick already likes you, so I can’t just let you out of our life easily.” 

Jake smiled, bashfully looking down at the bar as a chuckle broke through his lips, “I try my best. And I’m a little offended that you thought getting rid of me would ever be easy.” 

You rolled your eyes before continuing. 

“And I do like you, Jake. I like you a lot. While you are cocky as hell, you’re sweet and a gentleman. It’s just…” You rocked on your feet, thinking of everything you needed to say but couldn’t put into words – your rehearsed lines disappearing into thin air now that Jake was here. Damn those eyes.

You hung your head, trying to see if looking away from him would help re-materialize the pre-coordinated words. 

But Jake ducked his head to meet your eyes, showing you he was listening and chasing away your coherent thoughts, “It’s just what, Y/N?” 

You glanced at Penny, receiving a reassuring nod from her and sending a short one back. “I’m gonna step outside really quick Pen, watch my drink?” She nodded and gave you a small, encouraging smile. 

“Follow me,” you patted Jake's shoulder, and slid your hand down his arm to grab his hand. 

You pulled him outside to the covered deck and leaned on the railing, taking a deep breath to inhale the scent of the rain – trying to reign in your racing thoughts.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Jake’s whiskey smooth voice asked as he leaned on the railing as well, his back facing the clouds.

You cleared your throat, dropping your head to look at the damp sand as you pieced together the puzzle of emotions and words in your head. 

“My dad died when I was 4… He left my mom alone to raise 2 kids that were too much like their father. I told myself that I need to stay away from service men, definitely pilots. But you, and your perfect teeth and perfect hair, those damn green eyes…” 

Jake was flattered but he could feel how this was going to end. You’d build up his ego to cushion his fall when you turned him down.  

“You have become an exception to my one rule.” Okay… Jake certainly wasn’t expecting that. “A rule that I gave myself on my own. I’m just scared, Jake. Nick and I have grown so… close to you and I’m afraid–” 

Jake lifted your chin, cutting you off, and quietly spoke to you, noting the thin line of tears in your water line. “Hey… I understand. But I’m a damn good pilot, I ain’t goin’ down easy.” You laughed, shaking your head fondly before smiling up at him, “There’s that ego.” 

He chuckled softly, his trademark half-smile flashing a canine, “What can I say? But seriously, I will do whatever it takes to get back to you both safe. If that’s what you want.” 

You nodded, stepping closer, unconsciously straightening your back to be closer to him, “I want it, I do.” You bit your lip, a shuddering breath escaping your lips. 

His soft gaze hardened slightly, reading your body language, but it softened again as he tilted your chin up. “Then why are you hesitating?” You shrugged, shaking your head subtly, “I don’t know.” 

You knew why, deep down you knew why you were holding back. Why you wanted to spray the butterflies in your stomach with vinegar. Your brain knew why. But your heart was pounding on your ribcage, trying to get to your brain to tell you it was okay. That you could love again, and it would all be okay.

Jake leaned down, seeing the fight in your eyes. “Is this okay?” You nodded, your breath mixing with his as you looked from his eyes to his lips and back again.

There was a soft eagerness, a puppy in those green eyes waiting to run around, bouncing as he waited for his command – a command only you could give. It was familiar but completely new at the same time. But it felt safe.

Instead of giving him the words he was looking for, you rested your hand on the side of his neck and pressed your lips to his – letting your heart take the wheel.

The kiss was soft, but it didn’t change the fact that butterflies went wild in both of your stomachs. Jake couldn’t help but smile against your lips as he cupped your jaw and tasted the hint of Amaretto on them.

You pulled away, needing to get air into your lungs but Jake chased your lips, catching them in their minty trap. It was clear he came prepared for anything, not that you minded. 

Your free hand fisted in his jacket, wafting his cologne into the air – an all consuming, but not overwhelming scent.

You both finally pulled away from the chaste kiss, light headed and breathless. You stayed close, your noses brushing against each other. 

“What’s gonna happen when you leave?” 

Jake smirked, his breath still tickling your lips as he pulled out his phone, “Well, I’m not sure, but it’d be a hell of a lot easier with your number.” You laughed and finally looked up at him, stepping back a little to take his phone, “Smooth Lieutenant. Very smooth.”

As you and Jake held eye contact a smile settled across your face before you looked down at his phone, typing in your number and sending a text to yourself.

Jake couldn’t help the blush that darked his tanned cheeks at the sparkle of your smile that not even the rain could dim. 

You weren’t like anything he’s ever seen before; a strong, single mother that did everything for the sake of her child and someone that had gone through so much at such a young age.

“You’re amazing…” 

Jake hadn’t realized what he said out loud until you giggled and looked down at the deck with pink tinted cheeks. 

“I said that out loud, didn't I?” He laughed at the end of his question. You nodded, “You did. But I’m flattered, so thank you.” 

You messed with his jacket, “And you’re good, Lieutenant. Maybe too good to be true.” 

“You’re stroking my ego, Darlin’.” You giggled and gave him a quick kiss, “I better head back in.” He grabbed your waist, “Do you have to?” “Do you want to have fun or not?” He bit his lip and you patted his chest and walked in. 

He watched you walk in and shook his head. Laughing to himself he adjusted his posture and went in and straight to the pool table.

You and Jake hung out at the bar for hours after that, having the time of your life. 

You danced to the music that came from the jukebox, played darts and you watched him play pool. You drank and ate, Penny keeping an eye on you both because you had to drive back home to your son and Jake did not need a hangover in the morning.

But you didn’t need the drinks to have a good time. Like right now. Jake had suggested another round of darts, but this time, you added a few spins before your throw. Almost like kids getting ready to hit a pinata at a party.

Jake grinned as he spun you around a few times. “Okay, now that you’re properly dizzy, why don’t you try and get a bullseye?” 

“You’re kidding me,” you giggled as you swayed a little on your feet. “I doubt I’m gonna hit the target. I can’t hit it when I’m standing straight, what makes you think I can hit it when I’m dizzy?”

He shook his head and turned you by your shoulders to square up to the board. “Who knows, maybe you’ll be better?” You snorted as you raised the dart, “I highly doubt that.” He scoffed playfully, “Just throw the dart, Y/N.”

You giggled, “Okay okay.” 

Your tongue poked out of the seam of your lips as your vision swam a bit and you lined up your shot. 

Taking a few balk throws, you finally get ready to actually throw it when there is a harsh crack, followed by a loud, booming sound – loud enough to rattle the windows.

“Oh shit!”

Any attempt you had made to actually aim the dart didn’t matter, because when you jumped at the harsh thunder the dart was sent on its own journey.

You laughed at your reaction to the sudden thunder and leaned back against Jake, “I can blame that horrible throw on the thunder, right?” He looked over your shoulder, seeing the dart about a foot and a half under the board in the wall.

“You sure it was thunder?” 

Your jaw dropped and you smacked his chest with the back of your hand, “That was uncalled for Seresin. But I walked into that one.” You both laughed as Jake nodded, “Yeah, I guess I can give you another shot Bradshaw.”

“Well, thank you oh so gracious Hangman,” you sassed a little as you readied another dart. “I’m actually gonna try this time.”

He chuckled and crossed his arms as he watched you repeat your process, his eyes drawn to your lips as your tongue once again pokes out. 

You managed to throw the dart just as the lights flickered out. 

“Are you fucking serious? The weather really doesn’t want me to hit this board,” you grumbled as you pulled your phone out to use your flashlight. 

Jake did the same, him immediately shining it at the dart board.

“Look at what we have here, you actually hit the board,” he teased as he walked up to the board. “Not a bullseye, but you hit it.” You flipped your hair, “Look at me go. Mama’s still got it.” 

Jake gave you a look, his face deadpanned and his brow low. You held his eyes, yours playfully squinting. 

It was a standoff for about 20 seconds before you both started laughing.

“C’mon Mother Goose, let’s go to the bar,” he chuckled as he grabbed your hand gently.

You froze for a second, confused as to where he got that nickname from – forgetting it was just a nursery rhyme to everyone else at that moment. 

He looked at you, frowning in concern, “Hey, sweetheart, you okay?” 

You shook it off, swallowing as you nodded, “Yeah, yeah… I’m okay.” 

With a furrowed brow, he stepped closer, tilting your chin up with a crooked finger, “You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?” 

His light tease pulled you back fully. 

“N-No, I’m fine, it’s okay,” you said softly as you shook your head. He cupped your cheek, “Are you sure?” You nodded, “Yeah, yeah, just thought of Nicky… He’s not the best with storms sometimes.” 

“Do you wanna check in on him? Make sure he’s doing okay? Especially now that the power’s out.” 

You chewed on your lip, your thumb and pinky tapping rhythmically on your thigh. “Are you sure it’s okay?” 

Jake nodded, “Of course it is! That’s your baby, do not question if it’s okay. It’s always okay.” You immediately open your contacts, “Thank you.” 

He smiled, squeezing your hand, “I’ll be at the bar when you’re ready, if you gotta go home, that’s okay.”

You gave him a smile and mouthed a ‘thank you’ as your phone rang, waiting for Serenity to pick up. 

Jake nodded again before going over to the bar.

Penny and Jimmy were turning on battery powered lanterns and setting them up around the bar. 

“You guys need some help?” Jake offered as he leaned on the bar.

She looked up at him as she sat a lantern down on the bar, “You don’t think you could get the power back on, could ya?” 

Jake laughed lightly, “If my call sign was Sparky, I might be able to give it a shot. Unfortunately, it’s not.” Penny shook her head with a laugh, “It’s alright Hangman, once we get these set up, we’ll hopefully get the generator up and running.” 

He nodded, “In the meantime, I’ll take two waters, if you can spare them.” She nodded with a smile, “Coming right up.”

As she got the bottles out of the ice bucket she prepped after looking at the forecast, you came over after finishing up your call.

You sighed a little as you sat down. 

“Hey,” Jake greeted as he rubbed your knee. “How’s the little man holdin’ up? He alright?” You nodded, smiling as you rested your hand on his, “Yeah, Serenity said he was snuggled up on the couch with his turtle and his manta ray, watching movies with plenty of goldfish crackers.”

Penny popped up, “You have power?” 

“Nope,” you laughed a little awkwardly. “He’s watching it on Serenity’s laptop. Which I told her she didn’t have to let him do that. She’s got stuff to do for summer classes but mine was dead. I just hope she doesn’t get behind.”

She gave you your water, “She’s a good kid, I’m sure she’ll be okay for one night.” You nodded and sipped your drink, “Yeah.”

You looked around noticing that everyone started to mellow out since the place was practically pitch black – save for the lanterns.

“Man… seems the lights weren’t the only thing the storm took out. How long until the generator is up and running?” You asked, leaning on the bar. 

Penny shrugged, “I don’t know. It depends, we haven’t used it in a few years. It shouldn’t take too long, I think Jimmy checked on it after the clouds rolled in and the forecast changed.”

You nodded and looked around, “Well, maybe some live music can hold everyone over until then.” Penny and Jake furrowed their brows as you grabbed a lantern and went over to the piano.

“What? Did you seriously think that Bradley was the only one of my father’s kids that could play? C’mon now Penny, you should know better than that,” you teased with a playful wink over your shoulder.

Jake furrowed his brow, “Have you been holding out on me Mother Goose?” His tone was entirely playful as he came over to piano with his phone flashlight on as a fresh toothpick hung from his lips.

Penny blinked and looked up, a rush of nostalgia hitting her, “Wait did you just call her ‘Mother Goose’?” Jake looked up at her and nodded as he rolled the toothpick to the other side of his mouth, “Yes ma’am I did.” She nodded and glanced at you as she wiped down the bar, “And um… w-where did that nickname come from?” 

He shrugged, “She’s got a little duck on her keychain and she’s a mama. Just kinda makes sense, I guess. Why do you ask?” 

You couldn’t help but smile a little as you tapped the keys. 

“Oh I was just-” Penny started but you cut her off gently.

“Goose was my dad’s call sign, Jake. A lot of his friends from the Academy and flight school called him ‘Mother Goose’,” you said, emotion present in your voice but you weren’t sad.

Jake stumbled over his words a little, “Oh I-I had no idea. I can stop if you w-want me too.” 

You shook your head, a smile gracing your features as you looked up at him, “No no, it’s okay Jake. It definitely shocked me when you called me that earlier, but it’s… nice.”

He smiled back at you and sat down, “I’ll call you whatever you want, Darlin’.” 

A giggle slipped past your lips and you were now thankful that the poor lighting hid the blush on your cheeks as you tested more keys.

You took a breath and readied your fingers on the right keys, “Okay okay, let’s get these people fired up.”

Jake arched his brow but then you played the opening notes to a song he heard non-stop in flight school when the class went out to a bar.

“Jerry Lee Lewis? You really are Bradshaw’s sister,” he laughed, gently nudging your shoulder but not so much as to mess you up.

You just rolled your eyes before jumping into the song. “~You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain!~”

Jake chuckled as people in the bar began to cheer, a few patrons jumping in to sing with you. He looked around, seeing that the flashlights on phones had been turned on and everyone’s moods seemed to flip on dime.

“~You broke my will! Oh what a thrill!~”

“~Goodness gracious great balls of fire!~”

His eyes landed back on you, watching you play the piano like he had only ever seen your brother play. It was lively, bringing an energy to the bar that got zapped out with the electricity. Almost as if the lightning hit you and you soaked up all the energy in the bar, and now you were returning it when it was needed.

He felt himself singing along, unable to escape the way that your infectious voice seemed to latch on to everyone that heard it. 

Jake had always fought the urge to ‘feel the music’ when it was your brother. Be the one person in the bar unaffected by him. But here with you, he didn’t fight. He didn’t want to fight it. And he was unashamed to be sitting next to you on that piano bench, singing a song that you were sure your brother had played to death. 

He saw you smile at him when you noticed it, feeding off of his energy just as much as he was feeding off of yours.

You found yourself looking only at him to see if he was enjoying himself, using him as a reference point for how the rest of the bar was feeling. That your attempt at entertainment was working.

It felt good to see everyone having fun because of you.

Now you could understand why your dad and Bradley did this so often.

Your smile never left your face as you continued to sing, though you hated how the song was coming to an end so soon.

Jake met your eyes as you started the last verse, his smiling matching yours. 

“~I chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbs!~”

“~Real nervous but it sure is fun!~”

He watched your eyes light up as he sang the words back to you and the blush crawled up your neck. You clearly weren’t expecting him to sing that line to you – telling you how you made him feel through the song.

So, he continued to look at you, holding eye contact as he sang through a wide, infectious smile, using the lyrics to convey what he had trouble putting into words once again. 

“~Come on, baby! You’re drivin’ me crazy!~”

His heart fluttered when you seemed like you were at a loss for words, despite them already being written for you – all you could do was smile as your muscle memory continued to play.

“~Goodness, gracious! Great balls of fire!~”

You played the last string of notes, your face dangerously close to Jake’s as the soft glow of the lanterns and phone flashlights illuminated his features almost angelically, the lights creating a halo around him and blurring the crowd like a camera focusing in on the subject of its image. His green eyes, though casted in a shadow, twinkled softly as he looked your face over like you were the only thing in the room – and to him, you were.

He was seeing the same thing. The blues of LEDs and the yellow of the lanterns created a harsh but gorgeous contrast on your face as your chest heaved when you attempted to catch your breath and the light sheen of sweat made your skin shine in a way he never thought about before. Your eyes were illuminated, but they held a shine of their own when you looked him over.

The cheers behind him all melded into one sound, one that Jake could confuse for his own heartbeat if it wasn’t pounding against his ribcage.

There was no hesitation this time as he pulled you close by the nape of your neck and pressed his lips to yours with breathless passion.

Your outside hand fisted in his Henley shirt, the fabric warm but a little rough under your fingertips. His heart was thumping rhythmically against your knuckles, giving the butterflies in your stomach a beat to dance to.

His hand moved down to the side of your neck, his thumb finding your pulse point. The sensation of your heartbeat under his fingertips was mesmerizing.

The kiss felt both like an eternity and not long enough when you finally pulled away, both of your lips damp and as your breath mixed as your foreheads rested against each other.

Around you, the crowd was still buzzing with energy, talking to each other as they started mingling again. 

But you and Jake couldn’t hear them, not when you're so consumed with one another right there on the piano bench. You were in your own little world, a small sanctuary in the middle of the bar. Just you and him.

Smiling, you can’t stop the giggle from escaping as you try to smooth out where you had gripped his shirt. “That was um…”

“Electrifying?” Jake offered, his dimple appearing as he smirked playfully.

“That’s one way to put it, yeah,”  you said with a light, slightly breathless laugh.

He chuckled and opened his mouth to say something else, but the overhead lights flickered for a split second before they stayed steady and the sound of the jukebox started up again.

You both sat up straight, looking around the bar as the patrons started back up in their games they abandoned.

“Would you look at that – one song and you managed to light up the whole bar, literally,” Jake said as he looked from his surroundings and then back to you, taking in how you smiled at everyone having fun again.

You hummed, turning your head with a playful glint in your eye, “Well, thank goodness it was only one song. I don’t know if I could’ve played another one. Unless Twinkle Twinkle Little Star counts.” 

Jake laughed as he stood up, offering you a hand to pull you to your feet. “Well, if Nick was here, I’m pretty sure he would have a blast if you played that.” 

“Oh, yeah, he definitely would,” you said with a laugh as you pushed some hair out of your face. “Another drink?”

He nodded, fluffing his shirt a little. “I can go for another.”

You grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bar, “Penny!”

After you got your drinks, you and Jake went to a booth by the windows.

“That was really impressive, Y/N. I knew Rooster was good, but he’s not that good,” Jake complimented as he sipped his fresh beer. The bitter liquid soothed his throat, his voice a little raw after singing.

You shrugged and sipped your Amaretto, the warm liquid warming you up from the chill of the rain outside. “I don’t know about that. He’s been playing since he was little. I started getting into piano in, like, middle school. And then in college I um.. I picked up a little guitar.”

Jake watched you bite your lip, your nails tapping against the glass of your drink. He wasn’t entirely sure what caused that far off look to appear in your eyes, a fogginess he wasn’t familiar with. But one thing he did recognize was that flicker of love, a shine of longing and admiration peaking through the fog – like a lighthouse on the shore.

He didn’t know much about Kendall, just what you had told him. He knew that you had met in college, you had been friends before you began dating, and that Kendall played the guitar – his favorite one tucked into the corner of Nick’s bedroom.

You cleared your throat, blinking the fogginess away and pulling Jake out of his thoughts. 

You rubbed your hands on your jeans before resting your elbows on the table to talk with your hands, desperate to keep the conversation flowing.

“But like I was saying, Brad and I are very different when it comes to singing and playing the piano. He definitely channels our dad a little more than I do.”

He chuckled and leaned forward, resting his upper body on his forearms, “Well, I think I’m a little biased when it comes to that. But don’t sell yourself short, Darlin’, you put on quite the performance.” He added an unnecessary wink, but it didn’t stop you from smiling and looking at the table to hide your blush.

You lifted your head and smiled at him, sniffling just a little. “Thank you, Jake. That means a lot.”

Jake reached over and squeezed your hand, “Anytime.” He cleared his throat, “If you don’t mind me asking, that song clearly means a lot to you and Rooster, why-why is that?”

Tears stung your eyes a bit, again, but your smile didn’t falter. “Our dad, he um… he played it all the time. And I mean all the time. I’m surprised our mother stayed sane.” Jake reached up and wiped a tear that slipped through. You leaned into his warm palm slightly, as you continued.

“One of our last memories with him was sitting at the piano as he sang that song. Our mom in his lap singing with him without a care in the world about who was watching…” Your voice was a little heavier as you neared the end of your sentence, the memory making you a little emotional.

He smiled and squeezed your hand again, his thumb rubbing your knuckles, “That’s beautiful.” You gave him a soft smile and squeezed his hand back. 

“Can I show you something?” He asked softly, not wanting to disturb the moment too much.

You nodded and sat up a little straighter, wiping your eyes as you spoke, “Of course.” 

Jake nodded his head towards the window and your eyes followed the direction. 

The glass was a little foggy, sweating as the cold temperature of the rain was meeting the warm air of the bar and the glass acting like a mediator between the two.

Your brow furrowed in immediate confusion though you weren’t going to question Jake just yet. There was certainly much more to it.

And he proved your suspicions by bringing his finger up to draw in the condensation.

It was a quick drawing, a simple sun with a smiley face and a little heart next to it. But the look on Jake’s face told you it was so much more than just a little doodle on a window.

“That’s really cute Jake,” you said softly, as you smile at him.

His grin widened and he shifted in his seat. “When I was little, I was never good with storms. My sister was even worse. She was scared and I was upset because I couldn’t go play in the rain.” 

You couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up when he said that, the picture of a young Jake pouting in his room as he watched the rain out of his window in your head – he definitely picked out two droplets to race against each other, maybe even him and his sister picked one and had a competition.

He just smiled at you before continuing.

“My grandma and my mom had this routine with us where they would have us by the bay window in the living room and we would draw in the condensation. And I, of course, rubbed my wet hand on my sister’s face,” he said with a small chuckle.

“That I’m definitely not surprised by. Bradley pestered me too, still does, it’s a brother thing.”

Jake nodded, “Oh yeah, for sure. But aside from that, there was a purpose to why my mom and grandma had us do this. Because as you can see now-” He pointed to the drawing, seeing that it was already dripping and disappearing, more condensation taking its place. “-it’s already going away.”

Your brow furrowed in confusion. You still weren’t exactly sure where Jake was going, but it was clear this was something he held onto and cherished. Especially for him to bring it up now, years later. Plus, he had you roped in now, you were invested in this little smiling sun. 

“The whole point of drawing in the fog was because it doesn’t last forever, and neither would the storm outside. Or any storm, really. As I got older, we stopped the window drawings, but my mom kept it up with us for little things. Like when my sister was going through a break up, she drew a sun with a little heart on a note and put it in her backpack. I can bet you that she still has every note, because I know I do.”

Tears pricked your eyes a little bit, “That’s really really beautiful, Jake. Your mom and grandma sound like very wise women.”

Jake nodded, a proud smile pulling at his lips, “They are, I’m lucky to have them.”

You mirrored his smile and you both went back to conversing with each other, planning out ideas for your next ‘not’ date.

“There’s so much to do here, so much it’s like there’s nothing,” you said, laughing as you sipped your drink.

You had listed off a lot of places to go nearby and all the things you could do together, but it all sounded so fun that you were having trouble deciding.

Jake nodded, rubbing his face a little as he laughed, “Yeah, seems like it.” He glanced around, noticing a pool table nearby. “Hey, how about we think on it some more later and just play a game of pool?”

You hummed a little and glanced over your shoulder at the pool table. 

A sly smile came over your face as an idea popped into your mind. 

You turned back to face him, biting your lip a little, “I um… wow this is embarrassing, I haven’t really ever played pool before.”

Jake squinted at you, almost analyzing you to see if you were just fucking with him. But you just played it up by hiding your face in your hands, hiding the grin that you knew would give you away if he spotted it.

“You’re serious? You’ve never played pool before?”

His tone was inquisitive, but it also had a laugh behind it that he was hiding as best he could and it almost had you laughing.

“No no, I have played before. But it’s just been too long. Last time I played it was maybe 10 years ago when I was in high school, and I was awful.”

Jake’s laugh finally broke through at that.

“Hey! Don’t laugh!” You whined, holding back giggles of your own.

He nodded, trying to stop himself by clearing his throat. “You’re right, you’re right. It’s not funny. It’s… it’s kinda sad actually.”

You dropped your jaw and reached over the table to swat at his shoulder. “Oh shut up!” 

He chuckled as he dodged your hand, and you couldn’t help but smile as the corners of his eyes crinkled and his dimples poked through. “Okay okay, I’m sorry. But c'mon let’s play at least one game,” he proposed as he slid out of the booth and stood. He offered you his hand, a wink accompanying his next words, “And I promise I’ll go easy on you.”

You rolled your eyes and took his hand, “Fine, one game.”

A victorious grin crossed Jake’s face as he pulled you to your feet, squeezing your hand as he turned and pulled you to the table. Your lips pulled up in a similar fashion as you stumbled a little when he drug you behind him. 

“Okay,” he said as he came to stop at the pool table. “I don’t have to explain the rules, do I?” His brow arched with his question, only using it to further his teasing. You rolled your eyes, hand going on your hip, “No, I know that much, Seresin.” The sass in your tone made Jake laugh, “Alright, Bradshaw, let’s play.”

You nodded and grabbed the two pool cues, “Let’s.”

He chuckled and shook his head playfully as he quickly racked the pool balls. Once they were all in order, he took the triangle off and tossed it on a table as he walked over to you.

His fingers wrapped around the taller cue, his warm hand encapsulating yours. 

How had you not realized how large his hand was until now?

“Y/N?”

You shook your head, not having realized that you froze, “Oh um, sorry, sorry.”  You let go of the pool cue, clearing your throat as you pushed some hair behind your ear. He chuckled at your sudden shyness, “It’s alright, darlin’. It’s cute when you get all blushy.” You huffed, though a smile pulled at your lips as you shoved his shoulder. 

Jake laughed and held his hands up in defense, only slightly jostled by your shove. He gestured to the table and grabbed the cue ball, “Okay, okay, you wanna break?” He punctuated his question by putting the ball on the table with a *clack*.

You bit your lip, still feigning nervousness as best you could. You nodded and walked around to the end of the table beside him. 

Tossing the cue up and catching it lower, you leaned over and nearly fell into muscle memory – letting the end come down and rest easy in the dip between your thumb and pointer finger.

You rolled your shoulders a little bit, moving your hand much lower on the stick so you would have less control of the cue. You relaxed your shoulders, letting them drop as your right hand tightened its grip. The maple cue rested on the walnut of the table, using it as the support for the middle of the stick. 

Jake tilted his head, taking in your posture. It was… unconventional, and maybe a little awkward. But he wasn’t going to step in just yet, because maybe that stance just worked for you. And the look of concentration on your face was just too cute for him to interrupt.

Much like earlier at the dart board, your brow furrowed and your tongue poked out from between your lips. Jake grinned at the sight, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Nick made the same face when he focused on something. Like if his nose crinkled like yours did when he colored or if he stuck his tongue out when he did a puzzle. 

Then his mind wandered a little further. 

The image of a little girl appeared in his head, basically a clone of you in your lap as you sat at the piano. You guiding her hand along the keys, then having her repeat the order on her own. Her tongue sticking out as she tries to remember. 

But before he can fantasize any longer, he shakes himself out of it once you take your shot.

He watched the tip of the cue whiff the ball as the butt nearly became perpendicular to the floor. “Woah there!” 

You covered your mouth with your hand, doing your best to feign embarrassment at your ‘failure’. “Oh.. my.. gosh.. I can’t believe that just happened,” you snorted, laughing at yourself as you looked up at the ceiling, hoping that a blush was covering your cheeks to really sell it. 

Jake came over to stand next to you, chuckling just a little. “So um… is that how you held it in high school?” He leaned against the table, the cue snug against his side as he crossed his arms, looking down at his boots as he crossed his ankles before looking up at your profile.

You swallowed as you kept your eyes on the ceiling, and Jake couldn’t help but watch the column of your throat move with the action. 

Sighing, you looked at him, “I mean, kinda, like I said, it’s been awhile. But that felt so wrong.” You looked away from him and focused on your cue. “And now I’m embarrassed… because you just saw that.” 

He sighed gently, a smile pulling at his lips. While you were embarrassed, he couldn’t help but admire the blush on your skin. He didn’t like the reason, because you shouldn’t be embarrassed, but you looked cute.

He reached out and turned your head to face him, smiling softly at you. “Hey, you don’t have to be embarrassed. It happens, and I guarantee that is not the worst shot I’ve seen.” 

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” 

He sighed and propped his cue against the wall, “C’mere.” He adjusted the cue ball again and gently pulled you to him when you hesitated to move closer. “I don’t bite, unless you ask,” he whispered the last half of that in your ear, his accent slightly thicker as you felt his lips curl into a smile against the lobe of your ear.

His warm breath raised goosebumps on the skin of your neck, a shiver going down the nerves of your spine. He chuckled, his chest rumbling against your shoulder and making you giggle as a genuine flush covered your face and neck.

“Okay,” Jake said, turning you gently so your back settled against his chest. His hand rested on your hip and everything just felt right. Both of you slotted together like a puzzle piece, it was comfortable.

He looked down at you, “Am I too close?” 

Your head shook almost embarrassingly quickly. If anything he wasn’t close enough.

“No no, you’re okay.”

He nodded, smiling at you, “Alright, just let me know, okay?” You swallowed, nodding back, “I will.”

“Alright, now, I’m gonna show you how to properly hold a pool stick. Do what you were doing before.”

You nodded, bending back over and mimicking the stance you had done previously.

Jake looked at you gaging what to adjust. “Okay, so one issue is, your back hand is too low. Don’t shake hands with the bumper.” He took your wrist and tried to slide your hand up but it barely moved. “And you don’t need a death grip on it, it’s not going anywhere unless you move it.” You nodded and relaxed your grip to let him adjust your hand placement. 

He moved it to about the middle of the weight and watched your guiding hand adjust itself to a bit more of a natural position.

Smiling, he glanced down at you, “There we go, how does that feel?” You nodded, “A lot better, definitely more comfortable.”

“Perfect, and that’s how you know you’re doing it right. Before you were uncomfortable and it threw off your control. You guide the cue, it doesn’t guide you.”

You snorted a little, hanging your head as you laughed, “You sound like a therapist, or a yoga instructor.” Jake laughed along with you, “Unfortunately I’m neither of those. Not qualified nor flexible enough.”

You arched a brow and looked at him over your shoulder, a cheeky smile on your lips, “Not flexible enough? Oh, that’s a shame.” His eyebrows raised, almost as if he was sizing up a challenge, “Oh is it now? I mean, I’m sure with enough stretching, I’ll be good to go.”

You laughed before shaking your head, “Okay okay, let’s stay on task, Lieutenant, yeah?”

“Right, right, of course.” 

Jake cleared his throat as his fingers wrapped around your shoulders, “Okay, being relaxed is fine. But you’re too loose and that makes it awkward.” He slowly pulled them out from their slouched position, straightening your back a little in the process. “That’s better.” 

You swallowed a little, the heat of his chest against your back making you both nervous and excited.

“Do you feel more in control?” You nodded at his question, not trusting your voice to be steady. “Good, now, let’s test this.”

Worry shot through you for a moment, afraid he might step back and let you do this on your own – squashing the mini fantasy that you created.

But your worry was smothered when Jake adjusted his own stance, his knees nudging the backs of your thighs. His right hand encased your own as his left hand acted as a stand for yours – keeping your guiding hand steady.

“Loosen your grip, Duckie. It’s not gonna change your power. In pool, the speed determines the power.”

Jake’s voice was steady, but it was raspy as he spoke in your ear again. His breath fanned along your ear lobe and your jaw, raising goosebumps once again.

He felt your wrist and hand relax a little, and he just hoped you couldn’t feel his heart beating against your back. 

“Alright, there we go. Now, all you gotta do is bring it back and–”

His sentence fell short as the felt tip collided with the cue ball and he felt a vibrating sensation against his hip.

“See? So much better. And now, if that’s your phone in your pocket, I think you’re getting a call.”

He stepped back and let you stand straight as you pulled your phone out.

Your heart dropped slightly when you saw Serenity’s contact flash across your screen. 

Did something happen to Nick? Was he okay? Did something happen to the house? What went wrong?

Jake must have noticed that your face changed on dime, because his face fell into one of concern. “Y/N? What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” 

Was it Serenity? Was it Bradley? Was it a chaplain? Or hell an NCIS agent?

“It’s Serenity,” you said as you pressed the green answer button and brought the phone to your ear. “Hey Ren, what’s up?”

Jake sighed in relief, his worst thoughts going off to the wayside in favor of just worried thoughts.

You brought your hand up, chewing on the edges of your nails as she spoke.

“Hey, Y/N, everything’s okay–”

Jake watched your body visibly relax, your hand rubbing at your mouth much like he’d seen Bradley do when he was stressed.

“Nicky’s okay? Nothing’s on fire?” 

“No, nothing’s on fire. But Nicky is not wanting to go to bed without you here. I think it's the rain, the storm I should say. He doesn’t want to go to his room. Won’t even get up off the couch.”

You sighed but nodded, “Okay, I’ll be there in a little bit. Get his turtle and his manta ray, then get my body spray and lightly spritz a blanket and let him curl up on the couch until I get there.”

“I’m so sorry Y/N, I know you wanted to have a fun night out… I just didn’t know what to do.”

“Don’t apologize, I’m glad you called. I’ll be home in a little bit.” 

You hung up and looked at Jake, “I’m so sorry, Jake. Nicky is–”

He held his hand up, “Nope, no apologies, go be with your baby. We can meet up later. Tell Nicky I said ‘hi’.”

Your heart skipped a few beats as you smiled at him. He smiled back and nodded towards the front door, “Now go Mother Goose, you got a duckling waiting on you.” 

The look in his eyes was nothing short of fond, the yellow overhead lighting making his eyes a comforting shade of green. 

He wasn’t upset at all, no disdain for your sudden departure on his features. Was he disappointed? Yeah, but you were always going to be a mother first. He couldn’t and would never get in the way of that, or try to change it.

You hugged him, and he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around your waist in reciprocation. 

“Thank you,” you kissed his cheek in thanks as you pulled away from the hug. “You don’t have to thank me, Darlin’. Just text me or call me when you get home safe, okay?” He said with a smile, gently squeezing your shoulders.

You nodded, matching his smile, “Of course, as long as you do the same?” He winked, “You got it.” 

He grabbed your purse for you, “Drive safe, Sweetheart.” You nodded, “I will. Bye Jake.” “Bye Y/N.”

You smiled at him again before going over to the bar, patting the top with the palm of your hand. You opened your mouth to get Penny’s attention but she was already smiling at you. “Heading out?” Your head tilted as you nodded, “Yeah, how’d you know?” She shrugged, nodding down to the bag hanging off your shoulder, “Lucky guess.” 

Chuckling, you pulled your wallet out, “Nicky won’t go to bed, the storm is keeping him up.” You pulled out a fifty, “For my drinks and Jake’s, the rest is your tip.” Penny shook her head, pushing the money back towards you, “That’s way too much, Duckie. 25 is plenty. Plus, Jake’s tab is open and your drinks are on it.” 

“Penny Benjamin–”

“Y/N Bradshaw, don’t argue and go home to your son,” Penny pointed to the door to punctuate her order, the damp towel swaying slightly from her movement.

Huffing out a ‘fine’, you put the fifty away and put a ten on the bar, “I’m still tipping you, because I love you. Not as much as you deserve, but you’re gonna fight me on it.” She smiled gratefully at you, taking the bill, “Thank you, now go home. Text me when you get there.” 

You patted the bar again, “Yes, ma’am. I’ll see you later, don’t let Jake get too drunk.” 

With that you walked to the door, though Penny stopped you with a shout. 

“That was an Oscar worthy performance by the way!” 

You rolled your eyes, waving to her as you slipped your jacket on, “Bye Penny!”

phew!

that was a long one huh? but hey, we finally got a kiss! they kissed!! and before hand we got a little peak into duckie's insecurities as a mom. though we can all agree she's pretty great right?

i hope you guys liked this chapter and are ready to see where the next chapter takes duckie, nicky, and jake!

hi darlings i know it's been a long time, too long, but like i said before -- i wanted to make sure this was a chapter i was proud of and lately my creative battery just wouldn't behave and it's been hard to write and like what i write. but i think... i think i did it here.

my ducklings <33:

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