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the-cosmic-teapot · 4 months ago

Text

To Be Loved By Nanami Kento

Nanami x reader

WC: 10,705

TW: Slight age gap (4 years), Canon-compliant, fluff, angst, canon-typical gore, big emotions, Nanami is such a gentleman, drinking, reader gets very drunk (Shoko), kinda steamy but no smut, marriage, family, Not a happy ending (ANGST!!!)

*Not proofread (my husband said his word limit is 5,000)

Summary: The story of how you and Nanami fall in love.

A/N: Hi pals, it's been a minute (like a couple months, oops)! This has been in the works for the majority of that time, but I couldn't bring myself to finish it until now. Let me know if you all like the longer fics or if I should break them up into parts instead. Also, I am looking for more proofreaders, if you are interested message me. As always, feedback is welcome!

P.S- The reader has a cursed technique that is using electrical energy and the gloves are what is used to conduct the energy.

~Cosmic

June 2012

High school graduates are left with difficult decisions to make upon the end of their education. Differing from a typical student, graduating from Jujutsu High in Tokyo meant alternate career options; choosing to become a sorcerer, or leaving the world of Jujutsu for a mundane job. As you pack up your home of the past three years, you ponder this quandary as boxes of memories are put away one by one. On one hand, you were trained alongside some of the best sorcerers in generations, and, if we’re being honest, you’re one of them. Now on the other lives a normal life, and a normal job. One where you don’t face nearly as high a mortality rate. You could find love, have a normal family, and you could live in ignorance of your fellow sorcerers’ sacrifices.

Moving out of the dorms at Jujutsu High was bittersweet, you have a lot of memories with your friends, and even a sparse few with Gojo– as annoying as he can be. You found a nice apartment right outside of the business district in Tokyo and you were even up to get promoted to a grade one sorcerer. Things are looking up for you and your new independent life.

Before you were able to fully get the rank of grade one sorcerer you needed to do a few missions with current grade one sorcerers, which is now what you were being sent to do. Usually, you worked with Mei Mei because your personalities meshed well, unlike your fighting styles, but this time was different. Before you stood a tall, well-built man with blonde hair in a suit. The tan suit was a bit plain, but his bright blue button-down and patterned tie really stands out. Ijichi explained what grade-one curse this man and you needed to eradicate in an abandoned nursing home in Osaka. The man, Nanami, is to pick you up at the crack of dawn to catch a flight as opposed to driving through the night to get there.

As you packed a small bag with a few necessities– the return flight was the following afternoon– you wondered why it took so long to meet Nanami. By the end of your second year, you had met most all of the grade one sorcerers from one gathering or another, but not Nanami. You had a few options now, you could look him up on social media or ask Gojo about the very muscular man. You decided on the former because Gojo would endlessly tease you for asking, plus you could stalk him online from the comfort of your bed. From your extensive research, you learned that there was not a trace of Nanami online other than a post from Gojo a year ago that tagged a deactivated account. Now you either have to ask Gojo or the even more embarrassing option of trying to make small talk with Nanami tomorrow. You were at a loss, was teasing from Gojo worth learning more about the undeniably attractive man? Nanami seems the type to not talk much, so small talk may not even tell you more about him.

Your phone dings as the latest episode of a trashy show’s credits roll. You didn’t have the number saved, but you could quickly tell it was Nanami because of the overly formal language and punctuation of the message. He asked about where he should pick you up and if you wanted him to grab coffee before getting you. As you respond you also internally scream as this man keeps getting more attractive and you’ve met him once. Is it weird to be this attracted to a man you’ve just met? You suppose it doesn’t matter much, it was just a superficial attraction at best now.

The following morning you wake up and get ready as usual, skincare, a little makeup, and finally getting dressed. You grab the overnight bag and your backpack for the trip there and head down to the lobby to wait for Nanami. After doing one final look over to make sure you weren't forgetting anything you finally leave and lock up your apartment. When you get to the lobby Nanami is already there holding his phone, probably about to call you.

“Ah, good. You’re punctual, do you have all of your equipment ready to go?” You give a quick nod knowing you placed your sleek black gloves in the front pouch of your backpack. “Good, let’s go then,” Nanami said. He was in another suit, not a hair out of place. Without another word, he took the overnight bag and began to walk out to his car.

He placed your stuff in the trunk of the modern black car and got the passenger side door for you. God, he truly is a gentleman. The interior of his car is clean and smells like a new car scent. You noticed a pastry on the middle console and two coffees in the cup holder after getting comfy for the quick trip to the airport.

“I got you a strawberry Danish, as well as the coffee, I hope you like it,” Nanami says as he buckles in and starts the car. He adjusts his glasses, and checks before backing out of the 20-minute parking spot.

“Actually, I’m allergic to strawberries… but thank you for the coffee and thinking of me!” You said with an awkward, tight-lipped smile, feeling bad that he wasted his money on you. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Nanami spoke. “I’ll keep that in mind next time” You give him a small ‘hump’ as acknowledgement.

The drive to the airport is quick, the bright lights of Tokyo pass by in a blur together in a rainbow of color. You wonder what this mission will entail, this was a grade-one curse, so Nanami could handle this alone if needed; theoretically, you should be able to do the same. Being this close to Nanami was strange, it felt almost intimate in the dark morning. You could smell the cologne he was wearing and the heat coming off of his body. He smelled amazing, woody and smokey, with notes of whisky.

Soon enough you notice Nanami pulling into a parking garage and getting a ticket and finding a parking space. Getting out you go to grab your overnight bag but Nanami already has it in hand with his.

“I can get my bag if you want.” You said quickly. “You really don’t need to.” You say to the back of the tall man as he walks away.

“It’s fine, it’s not heavy.” He said plainly, walking towards the walkway to the check-in desks. His steps are quick and driven by efficiency. You could tell he will be much more professional than Mei Mei, and way harder to get a read on.

As the plane lands you listen to the flight attendant about the typical unloading procedures, you worry about the mission and whether you will make a fool out of yourself in front of a grade-one sorcerer, especially one as attractive as Nanami. You remember this feeling when working with Mei Mei for the first time too. After you get your backpack from the floor you reach into the overhead compartment for your other bag but Nanami already has it in hand.

“I told you I’ve got your bag, '' Nanami says, bending down to get his bag on the floor. You shivered at the thought of him being so close to you.

“Okay, if you really don’t mind,” you say blushing slightly, moving to get off of the plane trailing after Nanami.

When you leave the airport the sun is shining and there is a small breeze. It ruffles Nanami’s hair making him look even more divine than he already does. He hails a cab to go to the hotel so you can check in and go over what intel you have on the cursed spirit. The cab ride was uneventful at best, but your anxiety was through the roof. You could feel your heartbeat in your throat and the sweat covering your palms.

You zone out sitting on one of the chairs with your and Nanami’s things while he checks into your rooms. Suddenly, he appears in front of you with a disgruntled look across his sharp, perfect features. He explains that the hotel screwed up and only has one room (and one bed) available at the moment, he runs a hand through his pristine hair and sighs.

“We can look for other hotels in the area if you are uncomfortable sharing a room, or I can sleep on the couch,” Nanami says in his usual tone. “The woman at the desk said that the former may be unlikely because there are a few conventions in town.” He runs a hand through his hair again, staring down at you through his glasses.

“I don’t mind staying here, but I can take the couch.” You say it is not fair that he has already done so much for you. “I can sleep almost anywhere.” You say, which was a little lie, but it’s one night. Plus, you are considerably smaller than Nanami, he towers over you and he is broader than you because of the bulk of his muscles.

“We can talk about sleeping arrangements when we get settled tonight.” He says after a moment of silence. Nanami walks away back to the desk and finishes checking in.

He comes back with two keys in hand and moves to get your bags. You look up at him and take the cards so he has his hands free for the bags. The walk to the room was silent, as was moving around to get settled into the nice room. There is a sort of living room then a small hallway with the bathroom on one side and a closet on the other and finally, the bedroom section was at the back. The bed is massive, most likely a king, and there is a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the foot of the bed. You stand at the window taking in the view of the city and ponder how this mission will go. Taking a few deep breaths to calm your nerves you move back to the living room area with Nanami sitting on a comically small couch.

“So, the nursing home isn’t far from here, we can walk there,” Nanami said, looking at the packet with all of the information gathered for this mission. He moved over and motioned for you to join him on the couch. As you sit next to him you realize how small the couch really is, it’s more of an oversized armchair. “The curse shouldn’t take too long to exercise, but there are bound to be more, lower grade curses.” He adjusts his glasses and hands the packet to you as he moves to get up.

You look over the packet and see that the building has been abandoned for a few years after the owners were convicted of selling deceased residents organs without the families’ knowledge or approval. The building has recently been the site of the disappearance of teens, which has made more teens want to break in and do whatever teens do when they break into buildings. The local police have put locks on the doors and tape up to discourage more teens from entering, but this did little to dissuade them. This is why Nanami and you were called here, the 10 missing teens were concerning and the confirmed presence of a curse made this case a top priority for the higher-ups in Jujutsu society.

Nanami lowered the veil over the condemned building and you slipped your gloves on, as you both took in the large structure. It was at least three stories high and there was mention of a basement for laundry from the packet. The smell of mold and mildew hit you in the face as soon as Nanami opened the door. There was graffiti all over the place and vines and weeds sprouting up from the cracked concrete and broken windows.

You mention splitting up to make the search go quicker, Nanami told you to focus on looking for the missing kids while he looks for the grade one curse. Of course, this is not how the mission goes, you run into a horde of grade three and lower curses in the basement hallway. As you fight them off you begin to hear the sobs of a few girls. You make your way to a locked door where you very clearly hear crying, knocking on it, and saying you were here to help. When the door opens about five girls no older than fifteen are trembling and latching on to you for dear life.

You introduce yourself to them and tell them that your partner and you will try your best to get them out safely. They all mention seeing some of the others they were with being dragged away but not killed in front of them. You shoot a text to Nanami about the girls you found and begin to lead the shaking, but not crying, girls out of the basement and to the outside of the building. Nanami joins you a few minutes after getting the girls out and mentions how you did well.

Going back into the buildings after talking to the girls a bit more to gather more information about the groups they came from. After another hour of searching you find the bodies of three of the boys, all drained of blood leaned up against a wall on the ground floor. It was shocking to see that a curse did not mutilate the young boys. You move on to the next floor where you run into Nanami and he mentions finding two boys on the verge of death that he brought outside and tended to their wounds.

Wandering around a bit more you finally come across the grade one curse, its cursed energy was intense. The spirit looks like its melting bodies together, one pile of flesh with multiple eyes and appendages. The largest of their eyes is brown and vertical in the center of the mass and quickly takes notice of Nanami and you and begins to attack, flailing arms and legs towards you and Nanami. You were first to strike the curse with a zap of your cursed technique directly to the center eye. Nanami, quick to follow, slashed a few limbs off with his blunt sword. Flowing through the motions of a fight, zaps, a few punches, and maybe a kick to the curse was the easy part. The more difficult part was knowing if you were doing enough to impress Nanami or at least not look like a complete idiot in front of him. With a final right hook into the curse imbued with your technique, the curse jolted back and collapsed into a disintegrating heap on the dirty floor.

“Good, you did well,” Nanami says calmly while swiftly dispelling the blood from his blade in a singular smooth motion.

The walk back to the hotel is significantly less awkward for you mostly because you were actually talking now, and not weird small talk. This was an actual conversation, about what you enjoy, what books you like, and so forth. You had a lot in common with the stoic man, you both enjoyed cooking and reading, much preferred over going out. You were beginning to toe the line between a schoolgirl crush based on superficial attraction into a full-blown crush, born from knowing his brain. There are a few outcomes, all but one of which will fragment your heart into millions of pieces. This is dangerous territory you are beginning to tread.

Back at the hotel you shower and take time to get the sweat and blood off of you. The hot shower felt like heaven on your sore muscles and the steam began to fog the mirror. You wash your hair with your shampoo and conditioner while you think about the day. The thoughts quickly drift from the nursing home and the teenagers you saved to the dashing man sitting outside. He is hard to not fall for, he’s charming and his looks could rival that of a man sculpted by the gods. In addition to his stunning looks his personality seems to be a perfect fit for your own. The list of Nanami’s attributes just seems to grow with the amount of time you spend with him.

Meanwhile, the blonde man sitting outside on the couch begins working on the report for the case. He begins recounting the day’s events, typing it all out in the correct format. All of the events from what was known to the final death count of the curse. Once again, Nanami’s life became mundane; getting sent on missions, exercising the cursed spirit, typing up a report, and repeating. When he got off of work he would make dinner, maybe try a new wine, most nights were the same for him. Being sent away from Tokyo was a nice change, but not much of one, now he would just have dinner out. However, now there was someone else with him. Someone who he wants to get to know, someone who he can see as a friend.

He has thought of dating, but with his re-entrance into the world of Jujutsu that will be difficult. There is no way for him to have a “normal” life when he faces death every day. He cannot put someone he loves in a position to mourn him, he has been down this road before and it hurts. Honestly, part of the reason Nanami left after graduation was because he didn’t want to see more of his colleagues fall; moreover, he did not want to see his juniors fall even more so. Despite this, he found himself back in the world of Jujutsu; sitting here with you in the shower.

When Nanami was told he would be paired with a semi-grade one sorcerer he thought the person would look more intimidating, not the small, cute form he met the day prior. He was pleasantly surprised this morning when you were right on time when he came to pick you up. In the car, he could smell your hair products– vanilla and jasmine– as well as notice how you anxiously fidget with your hands. You were efficient in the airport, which he admired very much, as opposed to Gojo, who would stroll in an hour before his flight with little care about missing it entirely.

Nanami finishes the report and he hears you step out of the shower. He stands, stretches, and then heads for his bag to gather his clothes to get ready to shower. As he makes sure he has grabbed all of his necessities– underwear, pants, and a top– his phone dings. Sitting back on the bed with his stuff sitting neatly on the dresser he reads a text from Gojo asking about how you both were getting along. Nanami opted to send a short, nondescript text on how you performed today.

When you finally leave the warm, steamy bathroom you see Nanami sitting on the bed tapping away at his phone, presumably texting. You move your stuff into your bag as your stomach growls very loudly. In your squatting position, you make eye contact with Nanami who now has his clothing in hand to shower and clean up for dinner.

“I’m going to excuse myself, I’d suggest looking up where you want to eat,” Nanami says standing to his full height, making you feel smaller as he has to tilt his head further down as he does.

“Okay, I can do that,” you say, zipping up your bag and grabbing socks and your bag with your wallet and other necessities to go out.

As Nanami stepped into the still-warm and steamy bathroom he could smell your lotion and perfume. Everything smelled like you, even the other towels that are folded under the sink; it’s a smell that is just as intoxicating as the most expensive bottle of wine he’s sampled. He peeled his blue shirt off his body and began the shower, the hot water and steam fogging up the mirror again. Slipping out of his trousers and underwear he steps into the shower with a sigh. He could smell you even more in the shower, the hot steam lifting the remnants of your hair products to his nose directly.

Nanami thought about the day and Gojo’s text. As with most things, Gojo most likely had another intention than the one Nanami initially interpreted. Nanami could not let himself wonder what it would be like to pursue you in any capacity other than friendship; not even for a moment. There is no denying you are attractive and he could tell that you shared a lot of his interests. He pushes these thoughts of what can never be out of his mind so he can finish his shower and get to dinner.

You go with a small sushi place with good reviews online and Nanami truly did not mind you picking. Initially, you had given him three options and he was indifferent to all of them. This was new to you because when you went with Gojo he would insist on going to his pick, given he always paid so you had no qualms.

Walking alongside Nanami was strange, his muscular frame towered over yours and looked ten times more intimidating than you with just his resting face unobscured by the armless glasses he wore. The evening air was cooling down from the high temperatures of the day and a soft breeze flowing and it made Nanami’s hair flow slightly from its perfect position atop his head. He was in a light green sweater and light-wash jeans, which was such a change from his typical suit and tie. Casual suited him, as well as his scent without cologne, it was fresh and kind of minty.

Getting to the restaurant you seat yourself at a nice table near the window. A server stops by to give you menus and welcome you to the establishment. As you look over the menu you fail to notice how Nanami looks at you. Your hair was pulled back with a few strands falling out around your face, framing it nicely. He thought about what a normal life would be like, how it would be to be in a relationship without the threat of death, and most of all what it would be like to be loved by someone. He once again found himself pushing these thoughts out of his mind.

The night flows seamlessly from dinner to a little cafe for coffee and dessert. Conversation hardly stopped from when you sat down for dinner to now, in this cute little cafe with cat-themed decor adorning the walls. You were the last two in the cafe with the barista cleaning the counter and display case. This is a night you didn’t want to end, everything has been amazing, from conversation to food, and finally Nanami. The more time you spent with Nanami the more you wanted to spend with him. His presence is intoxicating.

As you walk back to your hotel there is a light air between you both. The moon is bright and shines on the pair of you. He is close, very close, his arm is close to brushing with yours. To an unsuspecting eye, you looked like a beautiful young couple.

Getting back to the hotel room faced you with the dilemma of the one bed. Nanami initially said he could sleep on the couch, but seeing how large he is compared to the overgrown armchair that had to be out of the question. You could take the couch, but something told you he would never let that happen.

Nanami once again let you take the bathroom first. You dug through your bag for your shorts and oversized tee shirt to get changed into. When you open the bathroom door you see Nanami’s toiletries on the counter opposite your own. What would Nanami be like to live with, being able to see your things with his? He seems like the type of person who has a solid routine and rarely deviates from that. After washing your face and undressing you fold your pants and top neatly to put on for the trip home. The silky shorts felt nice after your legs had been confined all day and the tee shirt fell over the hem of them perfectly.

Nanami is waiting on the bed with his sleepwear folded neatly beside him. When he looks up at you his hair falls away from his face, most likely from the lack of product. He is so handsome in the dim lighting of the hotel room. You both begin to speak only to stop when you realize the other wants to say something. You smile slightly at the usually awkward situation.

“You can go first,” Nanami said, standing to his full height. His hair shifting subtly with his change in position.

“Oh, um, I’m all done in the bathroom,” you said, fidgeting with your clothing you still have in hand.

“Ah, I was going to say that you can take the bed because I really don’t mind,” He said in that deep voice. The voice that could make angels weep.

“That couch is too small for you, if anything I can actually fit on it to sleep,” you say as you move to place your clothing on the dresser opposite the bed. “We could also share the bed if you really won’t let me take the couch,” you say without thinking of the implications of what this fully means.

The air seems to stand still as you both process what you just said. Nanami is a man you just met no more than twenty-four hours prior, and you mentioned you could share a bed. If this were anyone else you would call them crazy for how risky that is with a strange man. Given, Nanami is not entirely strange, he seems to have some set of moral compass given how he is dead set on taking the couch. Your face is completely flushed red and Nanami is sporting a light pink blush as well. Why did you have to say that?

“I, um,” he paused, coughing a little, “I don’t mind taking the couch,” Nanami says, slightly blushing at the thought of sleeping next to you. The smell of your soap and lotion still stuck in his nose and mind, the sweet notes of vanilla and the floral ones of the jasmine would keep him up all night. Nanami also knew he would be too stressed trying to be respectful of your space that he would not sleep at all if he had to share a bed with you. “The couch will be okay for one night, I promise I will be okay there.” He finishes still sporting a faint blush across his sharp cheeks.

You take a breath trying to calm down. “Are you sure?” You asked for a final time, still feeling guilty he will probably not get any sleep on the couch.

“Yes, I would not have said so if I didn’t mean it,” Nanami says firmly, looking at you directly.

You both hold eye contact for a moment, the air thick between your bodies. It feels like you both want to say something, but words don’t come to either of you. His hazel eyes are intense as they still don’t leave your face. You feel your heart rate spike from being under his gaze. Your face could rival a prize-winning tomato for how red you are; Nanami is faring better, at least on the surface. All of his thoughts from earlier, all of the thoughts of a normal life were flooding back into his mind and he couldn’t shove them away fast enough. You are dangerous because there is something about you that makes Nanami feel like he could be with you in that way.

The moment is ruined by the phone ringing in the other room, flashing with the extension from the front desk. Nanami takes another second, keeping your gaze before he answers. You are not paying attention to who is on the other end because you are trying your hardest to calm down. It feels like you’ve just run a mile without prep with how you need to catch your breath.

“That was the front desk,” Nanami cuts through your thoughts with his clear, stern voice. “Another group canceled their reservation, so a room on the second floor is now available,” he continues, clearing his throat. “I need to go to the front desk to sort everything out, but now we both have a bed,” he says walking to put his shoes on.

Nanami is gone for twenty minutes, but it feels like an instant. You try to resume your nighttime routine while he is gone, but you keep getting distracted by your thoughts of that moment. Your flushed cheeks and his intense stare seared into your mind as if it were branded there with a hot iron.

When Nanami comes back into your room he silently packs his things to move into his own room. You observe him, being as still as you can, scared to move too quickly as if he will disappear like a stray cat. Once all his things are packed he stands tall in front of your seated position on the bed. His posture is impeccable, as he tells you his room number and how the hotel comped one of the rooms because of the inconvenience. As you look up at him his hot gaze is already on you, as if he were studying for an exam. You quietly respond with a soft ‘okay’ and ‘Good night’.

When you wake the next morning you feel calmer, more at ease than the prior night. You were so warm up last night that you took another shower just to try and calm your buzzing body and mind, not that it did much. Nanami was not much better, he was thankful to whatever deity granted him a room away from you. His thoughts were muddled and the clarity he was used to was gone. As he finally drifted to sleep he thought of how the atmosphere shifted in that instant before the phone call.

Nanami let you know he would meet you in the lobby around 8 to catch your 11 o’clock flight. As you leave for the airport you do a swift look over of the room to make sure you didn’t forget anything. The room felt so much more empty sans Nanami, his large frame taking up physical space, but his aura taking up infinitely more. His presence is warm and calm, much unlike your own anxious one.

The morning trip to the airport, as well as the airport itself, passes by in an instant. Now you sit at the gate waiting for your flight home; Nanami is on the hunt for coffee, as the hotel only had drip coffee. You are wasting time staring at the pages of a book you weren’t reading, too lost in thought. As a hand with a take-out coffee cup impedes your view and the smell of fresh pastry hits your nose.

“I got peach this time,” Nanami says with a small smile, handing you a bag along with your coffee. He is back in his jeans and sweater from last night, much as you are in the same outfit.

You take the coffee and bag and give thanks to the man now eating his own. The rest of the morning goes much like this, quiet and at ease. There is no tension between you, and you wonder if this is what it is like to date Nanami. Are all of his mornings quiet and tranquil?

Nanami drops you off at your apartment and, as the true gentleman he is, gets your stuff out to hand to you. As you walk away from him you can feel his warmth leave you. This trip was a whirlwind. Nanami is attractive and his personality is unmatched by anyone you’ve met, but he is a coworker now. Plus, he gave no indication that he is interested in you, outside of that moment. That moment could have been anything and he is hard to read so you chose to match his level of professionalism. At this point, the best you can do is friends, which is okay.

April 2014

So much has changed in the past two years after graduating high school. You’ve gotten to know yourself more, honed your fighting techniques, and become better friends with former classmates and coworkers. Soon after your mission with Nanami, you were promoted to a full-fledged grade one sorcerer, you gathered from Gojo that Nanami’s recommendation was glowing.

Currently, you are sitting opposite Gojo in a cafe as you both talk about your plans for your upcoming birthday. The lanky man sitting across from you suggested going all out, after all, you are now an actual adult who can drink. Your speed was more like a small group of people and dinner, not the rager Gojo was already planning. Try as you might Gojo is truly an unstoppable force, and his party planning is quickly getting away from you.

“Gojo, I am not having a massive party, my apartment is only large enough for a few people,” you sigh. “I’ll have dinner with a few friends, but nothing more,” you sternly say to the white-haired man.

“But that’s so boring, we did that last year,” he whined as if your birthday was supposed to entertain him.

Most of your afternoon went on like this because Gojo is, well, Gojo. On the bright side, he did pay for your coffee and treats. You have some paperwork to finish, but other than that you are free for the weekend. Gojo drops you off at your office muttering something about leaving it for Monday.

As you quickly work through the sparse papers on your desk you hear a firm knock, clearly Nanami. Gojo would just burst in and Shoko’s knocks are short and quiet. In the nearly two years you’ve known Nanami, and in that time he has become one of your closest friends. He is the one you go to new museum exhibits with and the one you try new cafes with after said museum outings.

“Come in,” you say, not looking up from the last form you needed to fill out. You sigh for a moment as Nanami’s footsteps enter your office.

“Hey, I saw you were still here and I wanted to see if you wanted to leave together,” Nanami says, looking down at you with a peacoat draped over his arm. “That is if you are almost done.”

“Oh, umm, yeah,” you say, still not looking at him. “I just need to sign off on this and submit it,” you say sighing as you stand to get your stuff. “Where were you wanting to go?” You ask, finally meeting his eyes.

“I was thinking of that new ramen place near yours,” He says holding his hand out to take your bag, “but I am up to suggestions.”

“Great, I just need to run by Yaga’s office to turn these in,” you say smiling at him as you turn off the lights and close your door.

The walk to Yaga’s office is the same as it always is, hallways blurring together. You are looking through the papers making sure everything is in order and Nanami is lost in his own mind. In the time Nanami has known you, you’ve nestled yourself into his life seamlessly. After that first mission in Osaka, the pair of you worked on a few more local missions until you were a full-fledged grade-one sorcerer. Even after that, you made a point to spend time with Nanami, to be his friend. That is something he admires about you, you put so much effort into everything you do; sometimes to your own detriment.

You have an aura to you that draws him in, something that makes Nanami want to know everything about you; not just the superficial things anyone can figure out, but the more intimate things like what your nighttime routine is and how you look when you first wake up. These things are small, but he wants them; he wants you in your entirety, mind, body, and soul.

Nanami came to these conclusions one night after drinking with you, Gojo, and Shoko. He initially turned down Gojo, but when you asked he couldn’t find it in him to decline when he looked into your bright, beautiful eyes. While going out is not his preferred way to spend a night, especially on a Thursday, he thought your presence made it bearable. Especially when you would join in on teasing Gojo with Shoko after a few drinks. After that night Nanami vowed to keep his feelings to himself because you didn’t deserve him, he is a broken man who cannot promise you tomorrow. In his mind, being your friend was better than not being in your life at all.

You were finally able to talk Gojo out of a big party at a club in exchange for dinner at your favorite place and a few drinks afterward. Music is loudly blaring from your phone as you get ready in the bathroom, hot water running over your figure. You think of what to wear, taking into consideration the temperature and the cute-to-comfy ratio of your outfit. When you step out of the shower, you go through your normal routine, taking more time on makeup and hair. Now you stand in front of your closet wondering what to wear. You could go with jeans and a sweater, but that’s what you wear when you normally go out; this is a special night, so maybe a little discomfort is okay. You pick out a short, light pink dress with poofy mesh sleeves and a flowy skirt. You also opt to put stockings with a criss-cross pattern on them under your dress. As you situate the stockings at the top of your thighs your phone dings and lights up.

‘Hey, I was thinking we could head over to the restaurant together so you don’t have to walk alone’ read the text from Nanami. It is not unusual for Nanami to pick you up to go somewhere, but it doesn’t happen as much as you’d like.

After that first mission with Nanami, you were thankful he seemed to want to be friends too, but never anything more. In the past two years, you’ve only grown to like the tall blonde more. He makes sure that you don’t overwork yourself, but rather that you get paid for the work you complete. When he can he also delivers coffee and a pastry. With every coffee delivery, you felt yourself fall a few more meters, you have yet to hit the ground.

You shoot a short ‘yes’ and go about finishing your look for the night. Thinking of Nanami makes you heat up, more than usual that is. There are a few reasons for this, but the main reason being you’ll look like you’re going on a date walking to the restaurant together. That thought alone made you squeal like a schoolgirl.

A curt knock rings through your apartment, signaling Nanami’s arrival, and pulling you out of your head. As you answer your door you notice Nanami has a gift bag in hand, presumably for you. You signal for him to come in and greet him, mentioning something about not being quite ready yet. Digging through your jewelry box for a necklace you ramble about your day to Nanami, who responds with grunts and nods, not that you could see him as he is in the living room.

Nanami fills you in on how his day has been as you walk side-by-side to the restaurant. He is self-conscious, something he has not been since high school, because you look amazing, and he just has a dark grey sweater on with nice pants. The dress is just short enough to see the upper parts of your thighs, but not so short that it is immodest. Nanami tries to not stare too much, but he really can’t given how well the stockings hug your things. The plush fat of them bludged slightly from the restriction from the stockings. This outfit is driving him insane– you are driving him insane. Just for a moment, Nanami allows him to wonder what it would be like to have you look this good for him, and him alone.

As you reach the restaurant you stop Nanami just shy of the entry, so as to not obscure the entry. He gives you a questioning look, and you just stare back at him with wide eyes. Words fail to escape your mouth as you look into his dreamy eyes. You try to start a sentence multiple times, but nothing ever reaches your mouth. Of course, he looks amazing, the sweater with the collar from a button down underneath. As you finally find the words to say Gojo begins yelling from down the block. You break away from the moment with Nanami and turn just in time for Gojo to pull you into a hug. Shoko is not far behind the lanky man as she holds two gifts, one hers and the other probably Gojo’s.

The host seats you all at a booth in the corner of the restaurant, and lights dim for the atmosphere. You slide into the space next to the wall and Nanami follows suit, sitting close to you at the smallish table. Gojo is directly across from you and Shoko is across from Nanami. Conversation flows, as do some drinks with dinner, and the food comes and goes. You feel a light buzz from the two drinks– one from Gojo and one from Shoko– as you prepare to pay your bill. The waiter comes back to divide up the bill and you all hand in your cards and discuss where to go next, as the drink portion is to appease Gojo.

The bar Gojo chooses has soft music playing and comfy sitting areas, the best for conversation. Nanami offers to get you a vodka cranberry, your drink of choice, while you find somewhere to sit. Shoko, being the woman she is, kept getting round after round of drinks. You are certain that you are mostly alcohol now, you cannot see straight and you didn’t want to try walking, in fear that your choice of platform boots will make you fall over.

Nanami can tell you are out of it, your eyes are not focused on anything in particular, and you are no longer talking in more than one-word answers. He closed out at the bar and told Gojo and Shoko he was taking you home, so as to not cause you more harm in the morning.

As you focus on Shoko complaining about some of the new changes to her duties from the higher ups you feel Nanami’s warm hand on your back. He looks down at you with concern, not that you can particularly tell right now. His deep voice is calming and rich, like the most decadent chocolate as he bids Gojo and Shoko goodbye. He makes sure you have everything, including the new mug from Gojo and the two wine glasses from Shoko.

When you step outside with Nanami still holding on to you the cool April air hits your face, causing you to shiver slightly. Nanami opts to hail a cab, mostly because he is not sure how far you can walk. As one pulls to the side Nanami puts you in the back and walks around to the other side for himself. You cling to him as soon as he sits, and you are not wanting to let go. He tells the driver your address and just lets you cling to him as if he is your lifeline.

This is nice, your hair smells just how it did when he first met you. Nanami once again lets himself think of what it would be like to have this all the time; you pressed against his body while you go to a shared home. He thinks back to what you were trying to say before dinner, before Gojo ruined it– typical.

The ride to your building is quick. Nanami pays and tips the driver and practically hoists you to stand. He can tell you are close to crashing, your body heavy, and your movements lethargic. At this point, he thinks about carrying you, as it may be easier than standing at an awkward angle holding you up, but decides against it so as to not cross any boundaries.

When he opens your door you struggle to take off your shoes and leave them in a pile on the floor, a problem for later you. You drunkenly stumble through your apartment with Nanami in tow as you try to undress. The zipper on the back of your dress seems infinitely further than when you zipped yourself into the dress. You break down and ask Nanami, who is standing outside as you change, to help you because you just want to go to bed. As he opens the door he sees you sitting on your bed swaying slightly. He unzips your dress and turns around to give you more privacy, but your perky butt and back are displayed in the full-length mirror he is now facing. You stand still for a minute, in your stockings and lacy pink panties with a matching bra before stumbling into the bathroom. A red-hot blush expands across Nanami’s face as he tries to not stare like a pervert, but there is something about how your ass looks in the lace panties that makes him insane.

Nanami leaves to sit on the couch, so as to not invade your space, trying to calm down from seeing you in such a state of undress, after all, he is just a man. For a third time tonight, he finds his mind wondering what it would be like to see you like this for him. What would it be like to undress you and feel how your soft body would squirm under his touch? What noises could he pull from you? How would you sound moaning his name? He shakes his thoughts away and busies himself with getting aspirin and water for you in hopes of getting rid of his little (massive) problem.

As you reemerge from the bathroom you have no more makeup on and are now in an oversized sweatshirt that reaches the tops of your thighs. You move to lie down and get comfy as Nanami has water and some aspirin in hand for you in the doorway. He gives you the pills first, then the water and you mutter a thanks while yawning. Making sure you don’t need anything more from him, Nanami heads for the door when he hears you, in such a soft voice, ask him to stay. In his tipsy state, he almost misses it, but not quite.

“What was that?” He asks, making sure his ears are in working order. His eyes intently search yours as you answer.

“Can you please stay with me?” you ask again, this time a little louder. “You don’t ha–” He cuts you off with a very quick acceptance and begins to make his way to the other side of your bed.

The next morning you wake up with a pounding headache and unbelievably dry throat. You reach for the water on your nightstand and gulp what’s left down in a hurry. Taking a breath, you take in your room, and the large man still asleep next to you. He shed his sweater and button down and is now in a form-fitting white undershirt. Sitting up next to this god among men you take a moment or two to admire Nanami’s form; his massive arms holding one of the cutesy stuffed animals you keep on your bed. Oh to be that stuffed cat.

You get up to get more water and scrounge something to eat from your sparse pantry as your memories trickle back. Your face heats up when you set the tea kettle on the stove as you remember practically begging poor Nanami to stay with you. Given, he wouldn’t have done something unless he wanted to, that much you knew. Does this mean he sees you in a romantic way? Or was this more of him wanting to make sure you don’t choke on your own vomit?

Nanami wakes up and quickly realizes he is not in his home, but rather your home. He also realizes you are not in bed with him, but your spot is still lukewarm. The smell of toast and tea wafts into the room as he sits up in bed. As he looks around he sees the stuffed animals strewn about the room, most likely his doing as he slept, as well as the cute white cat he currently holds. You consume his thoughts, millions of them racing in. Why did you ask him to stay? Why did he stay? Could this mean you wanted him too?

Sitting at your small table you have tea and toast, with a cup and plate on the counter waiting for Nanami. You have to talk about last night, but more so how you feel about the typically stoic man. There is no going back to before he slept in your bed, his warm body feeling like the missing puzzle piece in your life. He looked so peaceful sleeping with the sun peeking through the curtains of your room and landing on his sharp features.

Nanami walks into your main living space in his light blue boxers, looking like a Calvin Klein ad. You offer the tea and toast on the counter to the god of a man standing in your home. He takes the seat opposite yours and just looks at you. Your hair is pulled back with a clip with a few pieces near the front falling out, framing you in such a beautiful way. The sun softly shining into your home makes you look ethereal, your beauty outshining Aphrodite.

“I’m sorry,” you say as he takes a sip of the tea. “For last night that is,” you finish avoiding his eyes. You take a deep breath before continuing, “You should know, I like you,” another breath, “in a more than friendly way,” you say, feeling the sting of tears in the corners of your eyes. The weight of your words and emotions sit on you like a stone as you await Nanami’s rejection.

“Can you at least look at me when you tell me you love me?” Nanami asks with a small smirk on his pink lips. His eyes meet yours, which are full of sorrow.

“What,” you respond, taken by surprise at his comment. Your brow furrows as you ponder what he could mean. Your sorrow is replaced by confusion.

“For such a smart woman you’re quite dense, aren’t you?” He said still teasing you. “I want your mornings, afternoons, and evenings.” Nanami stands and moves to stand in front of you, his large body looming over you. “I want to be the man you look for in a crowded room, the one you get all dressed up for. I want you– all of you.”

You stare up at him, confused at his sudden burst of affection. His usual stoic demeanor was gone, now replaced by a soft expression on his sharp features. He holds your eyes, waiting for your response.

“Nan-” you stop yourself, now would be the time to use his first name, “Kento, I do look for you in every crowded room, you’re the one I want to give all of my time to.” You stand, still dwarfed by Kento’s massive frame.

Neither of you says anything for a moment, rather just processing what just happened. He leans closer to you and you meet him halfway, having to stand on your toes. The kiss is tentative as if you are both scared that this is some form of a cruel dream. Once your lips touch his everything feels at peace, you have no thoughts other than Kento and his soft lips on yours. As you pull away from the short, but sweet, kiss you both cannot stop the smiles that threaten to break your faces.

He goes in for another kiss, this time with more assurance and passion. His lips are hot and needy as his hands begin to roam your body. Kento’s kisses get more needy and his hands pull at you more and more. Large hands grab at your plush ass as he lifts you to his hips, instinctively, you wrap your legs around his muscular waist. You continue to make out while Kento carefully moves the both of you to your bedroom.

The next few weeks are filled with getting to know Kento in a deeper, more romantic way. As time passes with him you fall even deeper in love, as does he; the only difference now is that you are not scared to hit the ground because he’s there to catch you. You get to see him, who he is at his core, what makes him tick and it is a true honor. There are so many things that are uncertain in your life, but you know Kento will be a constant.

Kento does not believe in soulmates, there is no reason this cruel world would give people that luxury, but you are the closest thing to his. He never thought he would be allowed to have you in the ways he wanted you, but here you are in his arms. The Morning sun shines through his blinds causing you to snuggle closer to his chest. Kento debates getting up and making you breakfast, but decides against it in favor of holding your naked form against his own, just for a little longer.

August 2016

Kento finishes tying his bow tie and does a final look in the bathroom mirror before turning off the lights and leaving to find you. You are in the bedroom sitting at your vanity in a pretty white dress, something shorter because of the less-than-traditional wedding celebration. The dress has short sleeves with lace detailing at the ends that match the lace on the rest of the dress. You look up at Kento as you finish putting your makeup on and smile at your soon-to-be husband.

“The car is almost here darling,” Kento tells you, offering you a hand, a smile matching yours. “You look stunning,” He says, leaning down for a quick kiss.

“So do you my dear,” you say drinking him in, his white form-fitting shirt and light gray suit make you drool at the thought of taking it off of him later tonight. “Ready?”

“More than anything else,” Kento says, the smile still not leaving his perfect features.

The ceremony is short and intimate, just what you and Kento wanted. Nothing too extravagant, but still filled with love. After the ceremony, you and Kento go to a late lunch at your favorite restaurant and just enjoy the day as a married couple. You both sit in a cute little cafe with coffee and dessert. Every once and a while there is the soft clink on Kento’s mug from his ring, the one that matches yours. With each clink, your stomach does flips because you actually got to marry this man.

The rest of the evening is something out of an old film, the couple strolls through the city streets, lit by the moonlight and shop lights. Kento’s hand in yours, you talk about something while he looks like a lovesick puppy. He has an uncharacteristic soft smile across his features because of you. The walk back to your shared apartment is serene and feels right. Nights like this are what you live for, they are simple, but it’s the small moments that make you fall even more in love with Kento. The way he makes sure you have at least two meals a day that are nutritious or the way he makes you feel like you are the most important person in the world– because to him you are.

November 2017

Nights with Kento are quiet and beautiful. On this particular night you lie on his bare chest post-coitus as he strokes your hair gently. You fidget with his wedding band that matches yours, just content to be with him at this moment.

“Hey” Kento says in a soft voice to grab your attention, “how would you feel about having kids?” He asks, looking down at you. “Mine specifically” he clarifies.

“I would love to have your kids, but do you really think we’re ready?” you ask not knowing if you were ready for such a big change to your life. “I mean, we would need to get a bigger place and work seems to never stop.” You ramble on for a little about your anxieties of parenthood and Kento just looks at you with admiration.

“We have enough to buy a townhouse or condo if that is the biggest concern,” Kento says, softly petting your hair.

October 30th 2018

You are abruptly awoken by a loud cry from down the hall of your pristine townhouse. The noise is not foreign to you, as it once was, but more of a routine, a signal to get up and prepare to feed or change the small girl, Yukie, lying in her crib. Kento usually handles the random 3 AM cries, but he has been so worn out recently because he has been training another student, as per Gojo’s request. As you get out of the warm embrace of your husband he grunts and moves to his stomach.

Just a few doors from your own is your daughter’s, who is in the cutest pink and green flower onesie. You pull her from her crib and get situated to feed her in the comfy chair in the corner of the obscenely pink room— Kento’s doing. The monotony of feeding pulls you into your own thoughts now that your bundle of sunshine has quieted down.

Having a kid with Kento has made you want more because of the attentive husband he was during your pregnancy and how amazing of a father he is. He never complains about getting up in the middle of the night or having to do his errands with her strapped to his chest (seeing him in the baby bjorn for the first time almost made you jump him in the middle of the kitchen). Kento is truly the ideal man to have your children with because of his evercalm disposition, which you saw crack when he held your daughter for the first time in the harsh lighting in the hospital room.

In the morning you feel light and airy, as if you are floating a few centimeters off the ground as you are making eggs and toast. Kento and your daughter having tummy time in the living room; her bright laugh and babbles are followed by Kento’s soft chuckles and coos encouraging her. Mornings like this are the ones you live for, even if you are exhausted and have bags the size of checked luggage under your eyes. The quiet mundane life is all you need to feel complete, to feel at peace with yourself and the world.

Kento’s voice breaks through your thoughts, “Love, I have to work tomorrow night.” He says strapping your daughter into her high chair. “I know you had some cute costumes and plans for Yukie’s first Halloween, but this is unavoidable.” Disappointment evident in his voice as he runs his hand through his hair.

“Is everything okay?...” You trail off wondering what is so important that they would call Kento in when he’s supposed to work less because of his daughter. “I mean, I know there are more curses active around holidays, but do you really have to go in?”

“Yaga said almost everyone active is needed, not much else though.” He says looking at you while Yukie plays with his fingers. You can’t help but feel anxiety creep up in the back of your mind.

Thoughts are coming in from all over the place, what’s going on that Kento needs to work? Of course Kento is one of the best sorcerers, but is this a mission he needs to be on? What is going on?

The following evening you make a quick dinner so Kento has something on his stomach for what will probably be a long night ahead of him. As the rice noodles are finishing Kento walks into the room with his suit and tie on. He looks as good as the day you met him all those years ago. Kento gets two plates down with utensils and glasses for himself and you, as well as mashed peas and carrots for Yukie.

This domestic bliss will return after this mission, at least until the next year, when Kento needs to go back full time. Yukie is giggling as Kento is tickling her on the floor before getting her into her chair for dinner. He is her favorite person in the entire world, she will always reach for him when he comes home, drop everything the second he comes into her line of sight.

As you set the plates down on the small dining room table Kento comes with Yukie’s bib and food in hand. The rest of dinner is filled with babbles from Yukie and light conversation as you and Kento dance around the elephant in the room. Kento brings up wanting to take the last two weeks in December off to finally travel to Malaysia; which you fully agree with because you could both use a change in scenery.

Kento starts to gather his equipment and leave after Yukie is put down for bed. The house is silent, and you are stuck in your head again. It is highly improbable that Kento will get seriously injured or killed, but that is always a fear you have given your shared line of work.

“I should be home by tomorrow morning, dear.” Kento says, bringing you back to Earth in his calming smooth voice. He pulls you into his chest as he holds you close for a little while, planting kisses to the top of your head occasionally.

“Just come home to me Nanami Kento.” you say looking up at him with a small smile playing on the corners of your mouth.

“I love you.” He says before letting you go.

You fill the rest of your night trying to not stress over the mission Kento is on, but most of your attempts of trying to relax are futile. The one thing you find does help is propping up with your laptop in Yukies room with a small lamp giving off a soft yellow light and looking up Malaysia hotels and tickets to surprise Kento with when he gets home.

As the hour shifts to around 3 in the morning you feed Yukie one more time before heading to bed. Knowing Kento he will be upset if you screwed up your sleep schedule just for him. You quickly shower and change into a silk pajama set before lying down and falling into a dreamless slumber quickly.

You wake up around 9 to the sound of your doorbell ringing. Kento is still not home, but maybe he is getting ahead on his paperwork so he can spend the rest of his time with you and Yukie today. The house is cold, as you slip a robe on to answer the door. When you get down the bell rings again as you open the door to Ijichi, who is already fully bowed down.

“I’m very sorry to inform you…”

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punkshort · 1 year ago

Text

Chapter warnings: language, descriptions of violence, death, graphic description of dead bodies, angst, smut (m masturbation), sexual tension x a million

A/N: please tell me if I should use any additional tags/warnings on this story. Also this is the longest chapter yet, I knew when I wanted it to end but I kept adding more detail and more scenes as I wrote and it just got away from me oops

Chapter Eleven

Pairing: Joel x F!Reader, pre-outbreak and post outbreak

AU (the only thing I kept was the outbreak, Joel, and Tommy's characters. Joel's backstory is different, and the way he finds Jackson is different. I may include Ellie one day, I just haven't planned that far)

Fic Summary: You worked for Joel and Tommy a few months before the outbreak. The outbreak happens, and you and Joel get stuck traveling the country and keeping each other safe. Neither of you spoke about the feelings you had for one another pre-outbreak, and in a post-apocalyptic world, it seems like survival should be your only focus. But feelings can't be ignored forever.

Fic tags: Explicit Smut (18+ MDNI), Smut, Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use, Age Difference (Reader is 10 years younger than Joel), slow burn, mutual pining, angst, trauma, SA referencing later but I will put a big warning on those chapters

December 2003

Chicago, IL

The cold, bitter wind blew off the lake as you trudged through the snow. You had three layers underneath your thick jacket, but you were still freezing. You had forgotten just how cold it felt this close to the lake, but you kept eagerly pushing forward.

"I think I know where we are," you said excitedly to Joel, who had been unusually silent the past few miles. "There's this golf course a couple miles from my house, I think this is it."

"Can hardly see a thing out here," was all Joel said in response. You frowned, annoyed that he was bringing you down when you were finally starting to feel hopeful.

"What's wrong?" you asked, putting an arm out to stop him. He sighed and you watched as a puff of air leave his mouth then dance away on the wind before he turned to look at you.

"I'm just -" he stopped, rethinking his words. "I'm worried. If they ain't there, we need to go to the QZ, and I don't know if it'll be as easy to get out once we're in, like it was before." He paused before adding, "And I'm worried about you... if we don't find what you're expectin'."

"Don't be worried, I know it's a long shot. But I have to try. What else do I have?" You looked up at him through your eyelashes, dusted with snowflakes. You looked so beautiful that it took his breath away. He had to jam his fist into his pocket to keep himself from reaching out and cupping your face.

"You got me," he said, looking at you softly with his heart hammering in his chest. You inhaled sharply. He didn't mean it like it sounded. "We can go out west, see if we can find Tommy. It'll be warmer out there, too," he added nervously.

You could tell he was really trying, he looked anxious as he shifted his gaze to your surroundings, his hands fidgeting deeply in the pockets of his coat. You weren't even sure where you would even begin to look for Tommy, if that plan was even possible, but if he was willing to take you all this way to find your family, the least you could do is agree to try to find his.

"Yeah, okay," you said quietly. His fidgeting stopped, and he made eye contact with you again. "If I can't find my parents, that's a good plan. We can do that." You smiled reassuringly at him now, trying to ease his mind. He gave you a small smile in return and a quick nod, then looked back down at the snow, brushing his nose with the back of his gloved hand.

"Can we get moving, now? I'd like to get out of this cold soon," you said, stomping your feet lightly, trying to get more blood to circulate in your legs.

"Yeah, sure, let's get goin'," he said, and you headed across the golf course towards a wooded area in the distance. If this was the golf course you thought it was, then your neighborhood was just on the other side of those woods.

You made it to the outskirts of your neighborhood just before dusk. The familiar tree lined streets just a few blocks away from your house made your heart flutter in anticipation. You knew you shouldn’t get excited; you knew it was unlikely they would be there, or even leave any type of note telling you where they went, but you couldn’t help it. This was where you grew up, this was your home. Your memories were etched in these streets: learning how to ride a bike, falling out of the tree and breaking your arm in your best friend’s backyard, trolling the streets at night as teenagers thinking you were tough and cool. A part of you was excited to show your home to Joel, but you quickly stopped that line of thought. He was not your boyfriend you were bringing home to meet your parents. He was your boss who agreed to help keep each other safe these past few months.

You both approached your street as darkness wrapped around you. Joel insisted you survey the street for a while to see if there was any movement before giving away your position. You reluctantly agreed, ducking behind a house on the corner, until you saw light moving inside a house. Your house.

“Oh my god,” you said breathily, “that’s my house. Joel!” you latched onto his forearm, dragging his attention onto you, “My parents!” you gasped.

You lurched forward, but Joel’s hand yanked you back. You angrily spun around to face him.

“I know you’re excited,” he began, clenching both his hands on your shoulders, “but we don’t know if that’s them, it’s been a long time. I think we should wait- “

You cut him off, saying, “It’s got to be them, what are the chances? C’mon, Joel, please!” you begged, clutching his wrist. His gaze bore into yours as you held onto him, and again you whispered, “please,”.

He groaned, unable to deny you when you looked so sweet and adamant. “Alright, just give me a few minutes, let me think of a plan,” he replied, at which your face broke out in a huge smile, still grasping his hand in yours as you bounced on your heels.

“Sure, whatever, I just want to see them,” you replied, looking back at the lights moving around your living room. You couldn’t believe it; your parents were alive! Joel had tried to curb your expectations, but it wasn’t even necessary, they were there. They were right there!

You approached your house in the darkness, unable to keep the smile from your face as Joel led you quietly across the street. He rapped his knuckles three times on the door and pulled out his revolver as he stepped to the side, ready for hostility. When the door cracked open, it was not what either of you expected.

A man you didn't recognize peered out from around the corner. All you could see was his eye, but he looked terrified as he feverishly looked back and forth between you and Joel.

"Who are you?" he asked, the door still cracked.

"Who am I? Who are you?" you replied before thinking, "this is my house, what are you doing?"

The man faltered a moment and Joel stiffened on the other side of the door. "Are you armed?" the man asked nervously, unable to see Joel's revolver at his side.

"Goddamn right we are," Joel spoke up, his grip on the gun tightening, "you better start explain' yourself."

The man went to slam the door shut but Joel was anticipating it, shoving his boot in the doorway to stop him.

"Alright, alright, I don't mean any harm," the stranger said, opening the door up more and walking backwards with his hands in the air, "come in, I'm not armed, but please don't hurt us."

Us. You entered your living room. It looked the same, except some pieces of furniture were pushed closer together. You glanced up at the wall above the fireplace by habit, seeing your high school graduation photo still prominently displayed, then your eyes settled on a woman cowering in the corner of the room. She was taller than you and blonde, with wide blue eyes and bangs that brushed her eyebrows, and she was shaking with fear. You held your hand out to Joel and pushed his revolver gently towards the floor. He resisted until his gaze met the girl in the corner, and his arms went limp.

The man who answered the door stepped forward, and you noticed now he seemed much younger, maybe around you age. He kept his arms up in front of him as he stood in front of the woman, his eyes pleading.

"Please, we don't mean any harm, we are just looking for a safe place to stay." He repeated, his brown eyes anxiously shifting back and forth between you and Joel.

Joel met your eyeline, and you sighed. Obviously, your parents had moved on, which left you distraught, but these people were harmless.

"It's fine," Joel said, tucking the gun in the back of his jeans. "This is her house," he gestured towards you, "we're lookin' for her parents, you know anythin' about that?"

The man lowered his hands now that Joel put his gun away, and drifted backwards to stand next to the woman, who still looked shaken.

"No, I'm sorry, I don't know who used to live here. We just needed someplace safe to stay for the winter, and this neighborhood was abandoned. We just picked your house randomly, I'm so sorry." the man apologized again, truly looking upset he couldn't help you more. "I'm Tim, this is Lucy," Tim rubbed Lucy's back affectionately, trying to ease her nerves.

You both introduced yourselves and they relaxed a bit, sitting down on the sofa and chairs surrounding the crackling fireplace.

"You think havin' a fire is a good idea? What if someone sees the smoke?" Joel asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Hasn't been a problem yet," Tim replied, "until you two."

You shook your head. "We didn't notice the smoke, but we saw your flashlights."

Tim smacked his palm against his forehead. "The one day I forget to pull the curtains closed, dang it!"

Joel shook his head and learned toward to Tim, "You need to be more careful. You're lucky it was just us," he said, swinging his thumb between the two of you. "You need to be better prepared, you gotta protect her," now motioning towards the Lucy.

Tim's face paled and he gulped nervously, reaching out and clutching Lucy's hand. "Can you give us some pointers? We just left the QZ two weeks ago, we are doing our best out here but," Tim gave Lucy a tight smile, "we could use all the help we could get."

Joel's eyes shifted between Lucy and Tim, then back to you. He didn't want to waste his time helping some kids who clearly were in over their heads, but the look on your face when you turned to meet his gaze changed his mind. He was finding it impossible to say no to you.

"Yeah, alright. For starters, close the damn curtains and put out the fire," he told Tim gruffly.

"How will we stay warm?" Lucy spoke up for the first time, nervously casting her gaze between you and Joel.

"Blankets. Keep your bedroom door closed. Body heat. Set up tents to sleep in inside when the temperatures really drop," you replied curtly. "Only when absolutely necessary should you risk a fire. It's still November, there's a long winter ahead of you."

Joel smiled at you proudly as you spoke, Lucy catching his look. You had been picking up tidbits from him over the past few months, and he was happy to see you've been paying attention.

Tim got up to close the curtains as Joel began to put the fire out. Lucy turned to you, shooting you a nervous smile.

"Tim and I are already in the master bedroom, do you and your boyfriend mind taking the other one?"

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend," you replied quickly. Too quickly. Joel's shoulders tensed over the fireplace. "But no, that's fine, we're used to sharing a bed, and that's my old room anyway."

Lucy smiled at you politely before shifting her eyes between you and Joel curiously, her eyebrows scrunched together as if she was trying to figure something out, then relaxed her brow when Tim returned to her side.

"Alright then, we're going to get some sleep. Obviously, help yourselves to whatever's in the cupboards. It is your house, after all." Tim said, glancing at you with a quick smile.

You nodded and wished them good night as they headed towards your parents’ room. It was just as well: it would have been weird to sleep with Joel in their bed.

The door shut behind them and you got to work rummaging through the familiar cupboards, pulling out some canned food you could eat and without having to think, pulled open the drawer that housed the can opener, and then the silverware. Joel eyed you warily as he sat down at the kitchen table. He knew he wasn't your boyfriend, but the way you quickly corrected Lucy still bothered him.

You ate in silence, leaving one flashlight on between you. Joel looked around your kitchen, trying to imagine you growing up here. His eyes landed on the fridge that had some pictures stuck to it with magnets. Once you were finished eating, he picked up the flashlight and went to take a closer look.

"Oh, those were taken so long ago, I hardly even look the same," you said, noticing where his attention was drawn.

Joel tsk'ed, zeroing in on a picture of you when you were little and drawing with chalk on the sidewalk, then another where you were on a field trip with your 8th grade class, and a third picture where you were in a sparkly red dress for a homecoming dance with some boy's arm around your waist.

"As I said, those were taken a long time ago," you whispered, suddenly appearing beside him. He turned to look at you, really look at you: he could still see the similarities from the pictures in the way you smiled, the shape of your eyes, and the curve of your mouth.

You yawned and reached out to grab your backpack. "Follow me," you said quietly, not wanting to disturb Tim and Lucy.

You led Joel down the hall towards your bedroom and pushed the door open. You were pleasantly surprised that your parents left it exactly the same. You still had posters hung on your wall of the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Destiny's Child. The pictures that decorated your dresser mirror were the same ones you shoved in the frame from high school: pictures of you and your friends at dances, at a restaurant, the mall, and a couple with the same boy who was on the fridge.

"Who's the guy?" Joel couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, that's Matt. He was my first boyfriend. We broke up right before college," you said coolly as you pulled out some more comfortable clothes from your backpack and left to go change in the bathroom down the hall.

Joel took the opportunity to look casually through the items on your dresser, sniffing a few different half used perfume bottles and flipping through some CDs. It was strange to be here in your bedroom. He had never considered actually being here before, too focused on the journey and not really thinking about the destination. You returned to the bedroom with a couple of extra blankets in your arms.

"My parents kept these in the hall closet, I already made sure Tim and Lucy had enough," you explained, spreading the blankets over your twin bed. You swallowed nervously, realizing this bed was smaller than the beds you've previously shared. Joel excused himself to go clean up and change as you slid into the sheets, your eyes closing in relief at the familiarity of the room. You didn't realize you had nearly fallen asleep until the mattress shifted, and your eyes snapped open. Joel's leg and arm brushed up against yours as you tried to keep your body from going rigid at the contact. It was unavoidable, your bed was too small, so you forced your body to relax and tried not to overthink it.

"Tomorrow, I'll ask ‘em about the QZ. If they can share any details about the place, then I think we can go there lookin' for your folks," he whispered in the dark.

"Mhmm, sounds good," you whispered back, still struggling to control your reaction from being so close to him. Your whole body felt hot. You told yourself it was just the extra blankets, but you knew better. Whenever he had been this close before, it was in your sleep, your mind was unable to process his touch until he was already pulling away from you. You squirmed a little, trying to get more comfortable.

"You need more room?" he asked, about to move before you stopped him.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," you said quickly, and turned to your side, finally getting a few more inches between you.

Joel stared at your back longingly. It seemed like every day something reminded him of what he would never have. The way you shirked away from his touch and how you made it perfectly clear you were nothing more than companions to Lucy felt like a punch in the gut. It's been months, and he still couldn't get his mind off you. You were becoming a burning need and it was driving him crazy. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing sleep to come so he could find some peace.

You woke up the next morning feeling well rested and warm. Really warm. With your eyes still shut, you burrowed into your bedsheets deeper to enjoy the warmth a little longer before having to wake up and face the frigid Midwest. You nuzzled your face forward and froze when your nose and lips met skin instead of a blanket. You slowly opened your eyes and found yourself face to face with Joel’s chest. You must have shifted around and ended up facing him at some point overnight. You stared at the exposed skin of his neck, taking in the little details of his tanned and pebbled skin, examining every birthmark you could lay your eyes on, then leisurely allowed your gaze to travel upwards where his prickly beard scattered over his neck, jaw, and upper lip. You inspected the patchy spots in his beard, seeing a few grey hairs sprouting up on the corners of his jaw. You noticed one bald spot resembled a heart, making you ache with the desire to press your lips there. His lips looked soft and plush, and you remembered how good they felt pushed against your own as they maneuvered your mouth open. His nose was sharp and angular, your favorite feature after his eyes. You were caught up in examining the wrinkles developing around his face when he woke up suddenly and his gaze immediately fixated on you.

You now realized you had your arms tangled around each other. Even your leg was wedged in between his under the blankets. You both lay on your sides, faces inches away, as you continued to stare at one another silently. Joel's eyes flicked down your face, examining you the same way you had just done to him. You felt your cheeks flush under the scrutiny, and you parted your lips to take in more air as your heart thumped wildly in your chest. Joel noticed the movement, his gaze fixed on your lips before flicking back up to your eyes. He exhaled softly through his nose, the puff of air blowing gently over your face. The air around you was thick with tension, causing you to shiver involuntarily. Joel lifted his hand from your hip to cup your face, his thumb brushing against your lips. You sighed and your eyes fluttered shut, unable to resist leaning into his touch this time. He took a moment to appreciate the gentle features of your face while your eyes were closed. He ran his thumb over your lips again, marveling at how soft they were. He swallowed nervously, moving his thumb from your lips to rest on your cheek, then leaned forward, closing his eyes when his nose tenderly nudged your own.

A sharp knock on the door made you gasp and jump away. You sat up in bed, clutching the blanket to your chest and Joel laid back with a frustrated groan, roughly running his hands up and down his face.

"Yes!" you yelped; your voice high pitched. Lucy's quiet voice on the other side of the door answered.

"Just checking on you, we have breakfast and coffee whenever you're ready!"

"Be right out!" you replied, voice still too high, no doubt the result of your nerves short circuiting. You stared down at your hands, unsure what to say.

"Did you sleep alright?" you finally asked, a question he usually was asking you. You fidgeted with the edge of the blanket and turned to look at him, anxiously waiting for his answer. He dragged his hands down from his face and let them rest on his stomach, then shot you a grin.

"Slept fuckin' great," he said, grinning wider as he watched your face heat up from embarrassment, and you bit your lip to hold back a smile of your own. It took everything he had to not grab you and pull you back into his arms as you stood up and walked to the door.

"I'll see you in a minute," you said shyly, and closed the door behind you. You headed to the bathroom first, giving yourself a moment to catch your breath. You hovered over the sink and stared at your reflection in the mirror. Your hair was a mess, and your face was flushed. You looked completely wrecked. What were you thinking? The tension was beginning to be too much, and maybe if you just had sex and got it out of your system, just one time, it would help clear your head. It doesn't have to mean anything. If that was all he was willing to offer you, would that be so bad? You could separate the physical from the emotional, right? You sighed, raking your fingers through your hair to tame it, and went to meet Tim and Lucy in the kitchen.

"Fuck," Joel whispered out loud to himself after you left. He palmed his erection over his sweatpants, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. It had been so long since he last jerked off. It was risky, you could come back in here at any moment, but he was convinced he would be hard half the day if he didn't take care of himself.

He pushed his sweatpants down just enough to pull out his cock, squeezing his eyes shut as he gripped himself firmly, setting a fast pace right away, knowing it wouldn't take him long. He let out short, quick gasps as he replayed the events from that morning: the way he caught you looking at him when he woke up, the sound you made when you sighed into his hand, your soft lips. "Shit," he groaned through clenched teeth, his hips thrusting into his fist as he imagined those lips wrapped around his cock, looking up at him through your eyelashes, your face all flushed as you brought him into your mouth as far as you could before stifling a gag.

He frantically reached out to the bedside table where he saw a few scarves piled near the lamp, snatching one and catching his release just in time before he made a mess all over your bed. He laid there for a few minutes catching his breath and then tucked himself back into his pants, shoving the scarf deep under your bed. He reluctantly stood up to change his clothes and ran his fingers through his hair before heading towards the kitchen.

"Oh my goodness, that sounds awful!" Joel heard you saying as he walked into the room. The three of you sat around the table with mugs of coffee, some oatmeal and pop-tarts. He sat down in a chair next to you and poured himself coffee before digging into the food.

"It got really bad there, we just couldn't risk sticking around. From what others were saying, it was just as bad in any other city," Tim had finished saying. You turned to Joel, faltering for a split second when your eyes met, before explaining.

"They just told me the QZ is a shitshow. People are having their food rationed, they're doing grunt work for hardly anything in return, and some people are being attacked for their supplies and the soldiers don't do anything to stop it," you said, listing each item off on your fingers as you spoke.

"Well, it could have been worse. We heard stories about soldiers going to neighborhoods and filling up trucks with people, telling them they'll go to the QZ, but the trucks never arrived," said Lucy, eyes wide. "Rumor has it, there wasn't enough room, so the soldiers shot everyone and left them on the side of the road."

"Why would they do that?" you gasped, a hand over your mouth.

"Dead people can't turn into infected," said Tim sadly, "that's why we stuck it out in the QZ as long as we could."

"How long were you there for?" Joel asked, pausing to take a sip of the piping hot coffee. He looked around, frowning, wondering for the first time how they heated up food, and then he saw the fireplace roaring. His eyes flicked back to Tim angrily.

"I know, I know, we're gonna put it out, we just wanted to warm up a bit and make something to eat," he waved off Joel's glare with a chuckle, "besides, you couldn't even see the smoke last night."

"We were distracted, anyone else walkin' up this street will see it. I'm warnin' you right now," Joel scowled and pointed his finger menacingly at Tim, "if you get her hurt 'cause you ain't listenin' to me, I'm gonna make the QZ look like a fuckin' playground." The whole table was silent while Joel stared daggers into Tim's paling face. You were confused why Joel was so protective over Lucy, a stranger by all accounts, until the coffee kicked in and it clicked: Joel wasn't referring to Lucy. He was talking about you. You could feel the tips of your ears getting red.

You cleared your throat, trying to break the tension at the table. Then a thought occurred to you. You got up quickly and snatched a picture off the mantle over the fireplace, bringing it back to the table and slid it between Lucy and Tim.

"Did you ever see those two people in the QZ?" you asked desperately, your gaze bouncing between them as they examined the photo carefully. They frowned as they stared into the faces of your smiling parents, then slowly shook their heads.

"I'm sorry, I don't think so. But it was a big place," said Lucy, "it's possible they could be there, and we just never saw or noticed them!"

You sighed, thanking them anyway, and pulled the picture back towards you. Joel could see the disappointment in your eyes, and he wanted to take your mind off it. His gaze traveled to a corner of the kitchen where he saw a bow leaning up against the wall with a quiver of arrows. He nodded towards it.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked, standing up to inspect it. You looked up and gasped.

"That's mine! Oh my god, I had no idea my parents kept it."

"Yeah, we found it in the basement. We didn't have any weapons, so we figured it was better than nothing. I've never even used a bow before," Tim said. Joel picked it up and pulled on the strings a few times, then picked up a couple arrows and flicked the tips to test their sharpness.

"You mind if we borrow it? I wanna try to get us something substantial to eat. Looks like it's gonna be a nice day," Joel said, peeking out the window up at the sun, watching the icicles on the gutters drip.

Tim agreed, since it wasn't really his to begin with. You insisted on leaving your pistol on the counter with them, in case of an emergency. Lucy shuddered when she saw the gun, and Tim picked it up to put it in the cupboard next to the sink.

"She hates guns," he explained quietly to you as you and Joel got ready to head out to hunt. "After seeing so much brutality in the QZ, she can't stand them. I'm just trying to keep her calm and happy, so I do as she says." He smiled at you both as you walked through the front door. Before you walked away, Joel turned back to Tim and just simply said "Fire," in a forceful tone, to which Tim nodded and gave a thumbs up, closing the door behind you.

The two of you walked silently down the street back towards the woods you came from, your heads swiveling every so often to make sure no one else was around. The sun was bright, and it was bouncing off the white snow, making you wince. You could tell as you walked that the few inches of snow that was on the ground was breaking up under the warmth. It would probably mostly be gone by nighttime, leaving muddy and dead grass to admire.

Once you reached the woods, Joel did his best to track any animal prints that looked fresh. He wasn't exactly an expert, but he knew enough. You followed closely behind him and kept your eyes on the trees for any movement. You had been walking around the woods for almost an hour before you stopped to rest. You found a fallen tree trunk elevated a bit from the ground that you could both comfortably sit on. You took a sip from your canteen as you glanced around. The forest was so still and quiet, it felt peaceful. You closed your eyes for a moment to savor it, unaware Joel was watching you closely.

Neither of you had mentioned anything about this morning. Joel felt a glimmer of hope inside him that maybe not all was lost, that maybe you could feel the same way he did. He wanted to talk about it, but he didn't want to scare you off and ruin the progress he had made. He cleared his throat, the noise grabbing your attention and making you open your eyes to look at him.

"So," he began, fiddling with the bow in his hands, his eyes cast downward, "I guess when we get back, we oughta ask 'em how they escaped from the QZ, then we can make a plan, get in and see if we can find your folks."

"Mhm, that sounds good," you said, watching him pick at the bow. "Maybe we should stay one more night, then leave early tomorrow."

He looked up at you now, unable to hide the shock from his face. He expected you would want to leave right away, eager to find your family. He scanned your face, seeing a small, playful smile, and he swallowed roughly. You wanted to stay another night for a reason.

His breath caught in his throat, and he could feel the warmth spreading across his cheeks. He hoped you would think the cold air was to blame as he shifted his weight on the log, dragging his gaze from you and onto the trees.

"Yeah," he finally squeezed out, "that's fine, we can leave tomorrow."

You bit your lip and turned your head away from him so he wouldn't see the smile that threatened to spill across your face.

You heard a snap of a twig nearby, drawing both of your attention as you fixated on the location of the noise. You froze when you saw a fat rabbit about 10 yards away, happily munching on some grass that had been exposed by the sun. Joel slowly reached down for the bow, but without looking you reached your hand out to place on top of his, stopping him. You motioned with your fingers to hand over the bow. You were more familiar with it, but it had been a long time. It was like riding a bike, right?

You loaded an arrow slowly into the bow, and drew back the string silently, closing one eye and aiming straight ahead. You let out a slow breath, then held it for half a second before letting go of the string. You cried out in happiness when the arrow made contact, killing the rabbit instantly. Joel swiveled his head towards you with a huge grin plastered on his face, beaming with pride.

You held the rabbit by the feet as you made your way back to the house, explaining you used to shoot archery in middle school but lost interest. The adrenaline from the kill combined with the excitement of what lied ahead for you and Joel was making you dizzy with happiness. You should have known something was going to ruin it.

You were a few doors down from your house, still smiling and teasing Joel about how much of a better hunter you were when his eyes fell on the front door of your house, and he froze. You stopped automatically, following his gaze to the front door of the house that was wide open. You both stood there for a minute, waiting to see if Tim was going to appear walking back inside with a bucket of snow to melt, but he never did. You turned to Joel, your eyes filled with worry.

"Did he leave the door open?" you asked shakily, hoping there was a reasonable explanation. Joel slowly shook his head, eyes still trained on the house. You looked around you now, trying to make out any footprints in the snow that may have been foreign, and Joel looked around at the houses on the street for movement. When it appeared to be quiet and still, you both begrudgingly approached your home, afraid of what you would find.

Joel stepped through the door first, his face immediately contorting in a grimace. He held his arm out to keep you back, but you refused, dropping the rabbit and pushing past him, gasping at the sight before you. Tim and Lucy were slaughtered, laying lifeless on your living room floor. Blood seeped into the beige carpet, making it spongy and red. Their eyes were open and staring up at the ceiling, their mouths agape as blood slowly trickled from their multiple stab wounds.

You bit back a sob, turning away to focus on literally anything except them. Joel desperately wanted to comfort you, but he first needed to know the bandits were gone, so he advanced into the small house, clearing each room before returning to find you standing in the kitchen, tears streaming down your face.

He briefly noticed the cupboards were left wide open, all the food taken, as well as the pistol you left for Tim, before he reached out to envelop you in his arms. You sank into his embrace, sobbing quietly into his shoulder. His eyes flicked back to the scene in the living room.

“That fuckin’ fire, I told him to put it out,” he said, staring at the small flames still licking at the embers.

You tried to argue with Joel about burying them, but he didn’t want to risk it. He wanted to get back into the forest behind the shelter of the pine trees. You had packed up your things quickly while Joel draped a couple sheets over their bodies. He made sure to grab the rabbit you killed before hurrying you out the front door and back towards the forest, not stopping until you were miles away and you begged him to take a break. He relented only when he found a secluded spot where he felt safe making a small fire to cook the rabbit. As you ate, he examined his map, trying to figure out where you were in relation to the QZ. He was fairly certain you were heading in the right direction, his eyes lifting up towards the sun and then turned the map around in his hands.

“I think we’re here,” he told you, pointing to a green area on the map. “If we hook up with this road here,” he dragged his finger over to a thick line on the page, “then that will take us right into the city, and we can find the QZ.” You nodded, cleaning off your plates in what little snow remained on the ground. “You doin’ ok?” he asked you hesitantly. You stopped cleaning the plates to look up at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you assured him, “just… that could’ve been us. It scared me.” You held his gaze for a moment, trying to express how much he meant to you with a look. Joel shook his head and leaned forward to grip your hand.

“It ain’t gonna be us, we don’t make stupid mistakes like that, you understand me?” You nodded, your eyes raking over his face, wondering if your luck will eventually run out. He gave your hand one more squeeze before standing up, urging you to pack up so you could make it to the QZ before nightfall.

The road Joel had pointed out to you on the map was deserted, surrounded only by thick forests and a few abandoned cars as you made your way slowly towards the city. You kept your gaze on the ground in front of you, absentmindedly kicking a stone here or there as you walked beside Joel, who was on high alert for raiders and gripping his rifle tightly in his hands. The road curved and steered you towards an open field, where you could now see buildings not too far off in the distance. Suddenly, Joel stretched his arm out across your chest, stopping you both. You looked up at him, confused, then followed his gaze. Not far ahead, you could see a pile of bodies on the side of the road, just like Lucy had warned. You held your breath, unable to fathom how evil those soldiers must be to execute all those innocent people. He looked down at you, and you nodded to him, telling him you were ok, to keep walking.

You continued down the road, both of you unable to keep your eyes off the bodies as you got closer. You couldn’t tell how long they had been there, the harsh winter had likely preserved their bodies, but with the snow melting today, you could make out most of their exposed faces and clothes. Your eyes scanned over a few of the bodies on top and that’s when you saw them: their bodies twisted and lifeless, laid next to one another on the side of the pile.

You dropped to your knees in the middle of the street, not even registering the pain from the impact. Then your vision went blurry before blackness creeped along the edges. You forced out a choked cry, unable to control the volume of your voice as sobs shook your body. Joel’s arms were around you instantly, cutting off your view from your parents, and kneeled down in the street with you, holding you to his chest to muffle your screams, rocking you back and forth until your breathing slowed and you ran out of tears.

Chapter Twelve

Taglist: @chiogarza, sparklejumpropequeen-777

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melanieph321 · 2 years ago

Note

Hiya, love your work so far and the other Ruben pregnancy piece. Could I please request one with Ruben where reader is pregnant and maybe someone has made a comment about her appearance and Ruben picks up on her mood and helps her through it, with some bump fluff? Thank you 🩷

I got you boo! ❤️ However it turned out more explicit than I intended. Oops🙈

Ruben Dias x Reader - Believe me

+18

Enjoy!

It was subtle and they thought you couldn't hear them.

"She's just with him for the money. I mean didn't she get pregnant after three months of knowing him?"

"I think just two months. I remember when Ruben started posting her on Instagram."

"Wow, in that case what a gold digger."

"And that dress she wore, like what was she thinking?"

"Right. I would never wear a dress that revealing if I was carrying a child, so unclassy."

It was funny how these fancy events sometimes worked, you thought. People would come up to you and Ruben, congratulating Ruben on his success with Manchester and you on your six months pregnancy. People would smile and be polite but as soon as you turned your back on them the whispers began. This time whilst you occupied yourself in the ladies restroom.

"Anyway it is a matter of time before Ruben will leave her."

"Right, he hasn't even proposed to her yet and she's carrying his child for god sakes."

You kept quiet whilst eavesdropping from your toilet booth. Once the two girls, complete strangers to you, left the restroom, you spilled out of the toiletbooth with tears in your eyes. You were quick to wipe them away though, knowing Ruben was waiting for you to return.

"There you are." He said as you returned from the restroom, make up in tact. "Ready to go?"

"Yes let's go home." You lead the way to the car.

"Should we pick up some McDonald's on the way?" Ruben said, whilst helping you fastened your seatbelt over your swollen belly.

You frowned "You don't eat McDonald's Ruben."

"I know." He chuckled. "But you do and you didn't seem to like the dinner they were serving tonight, so I thought..."

"I'm good Ruben. Let's just go home."

Silence fell in the car. Ruben looked to you with furrowed brows, but made the choice to ignore your foul mood. Perhaps he thought you were just tired from the long night. At least he was.

"Home it is." He said and put the car into drive.

Too bad for Ruben that your foul mood followed you home. You took forever in the bathroom removing your make up. But also shifting in the mirror yet to remove your, apparently, too revealing dress.

"Y/N?"

Ruben suprised you in the doorframe. He was already dress for bed, wearing his gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

"Yes?" You didn’t turn away from the mirror to look at him.

"I made you some sandwiches downstairs, if you'd like to have them before bed?"

You turned your head in suprise. "But I said I wasn't hungry?"

"I know what you said." He smiled. "But I also know that what you said wasn't the truth."

"Ruben." Somthing came over you, a warm feeling spreading warmth all over your body. Ruben knew you better than you knew yourself sometimes.

He stepped into the bathroom, leaning against the wall behind you, meeting your gaze in the mirror.

"Why are still wearing that dress?" He frowned.

You lowered your head and shrugged your shoulders.

"Y/N" He said, pushing himself off the wall. "What's wrong?"

You shook your head. "Nothing."

"You sure?" He railed you in with his arm around your waist, pinning your back against his front, this way forcing you to meet your reflection in the mirror.

"I feel so out of place." You whispered.

"What?" Ruben tilted his head.

You wiped your nose that had begun to run. "I just wish it was just you and me sometimes. Just you and me, without the worlds judging eyes on us."

"Y/N, did somthing happen earlier tonight?" He truned you over to face him, your back now resting against the bathroom sink.

"I don't want to talk about it." You sighed.

"It would be better if you did." He said, wrapping his arms around you, bringing you in for a tight hug.

"I know, but I just don't want to. At least not now, not tonight."

"Okay." He whispered, lips caressing your ear. He pulled you back a little, letting his eyes drop below your chin.

"What?" You said, feeling a bit exposed with the big cleavage on your dress.

"Did I tell you how gorgeous you looked tonight?" He frowned.

"Yes." You nodded. "About a hundred times before we left the house and a hundred more times a the event."

"But did you believe me?" He raised a brow.

You bit your lip and shook your head.

"Well why not?" He frowned.

"Because..." You opened your mouth to say something more. Perhaps tell him about what those girls in the bathroom said about you. However you decided not to, closing you mouth to Rubens disapointment. He went back to wrapping his arms around you, almost smothering you with his tight hug.

"What must I do for you to believe me when I tell you that you look gorgeous?"

"I dunno?" You buried your face in the crease of his neck. "I don't think I'll ever feel gorgeous or sexy being the same size as a full grown seal."

Rubens shoulders shrugged as he chuckled. His hands went to rest on top of your belly, with his forhead brushing against yours.

"So that's what were having then. Not a girl, not a boy. A baby seal?"

"Yes, a baby seal" You smiled.

Ruben looked at you with alot of love in his eyes and suddenly whatever had caused you to be in such a foul mood tonight seemed to vanish in an instant, just like that.

"Does that make me a Papa seal?" He said, bending down to kiss your lips.

"Yes, a Papi seal." You pulled at his neck to bring him down for another kiss. You gasped as his hands suddenly went from your belly to your thighs, lifting you up to sit on the bathroom sink.

"Ruben." You groaned, chest rising with the sudden excitement.

"How would mama seal like to have here Papi seal?" He said, voice horase as his lips brushed against your neck.

"I would like to have him right here." You nodded. "Between my legs, in the bathroom.

"As you wish." He jerked your body forwards, his full fledged erection crashed into your center.

"Fuck Ruben." You moaned.

"Trust me, I'll fuck you." He said, raising his hips a little to tease you with his wood.

"Ruben please." You squinted your eyes and desperatly clinged onto his neck. Rubens hands disappeared underneath your dress to pull your panties down your legs.

"I want you in my mouth." He said, kissing your knee.

"Yes. Oh God please." You felt a throbbing between your thighs. It was getting worser with Ruben kneeling down to be eyelevel with the sink.

"Fuck."

He buried his face between your thighs without warning, causing your back to slumped down against the mirror.

"Oh Ruben."

You felt his warm tounge lick you in the right places, causing your legs to tremble. It was a bit embarrassing, but with Ruben you weren't able to contain yourself as you were with your previous boyfriends. With Ruben between your legs, the stars came over you quicker than you wanted to.

"Was it good for you babe?" He asked, wiping his mouth as he came up for air.

You dress had rolled down your body with all the tossing and turning that you did. And now you sat on the sink with a glistering pussy and swollen tits spillning out of your cleavage.

"God, you're a sexy seal." Ruben groaned.

"Shut up and fuck me." You said, pulling him by the t-shirt, helping him remove it over his head. Ruben grabbed your jaw and pulled you in for a sloppy kiss. Everything was getting sloppier by the minute. Once he got to pulling himself out of his sweatpants, his cock was already leaking for you.

"Please Ruben, harder." You moaned as he slapped his palms against the bathroom sink, thrusting his hips against you with a force that shook the mirror behind you. Your hands trembled as they tangled themselves up in Ruben's hair, holding on to whatever strand that would hold you down. Once it came to the climax you both arrived together, relaxing against each other as you came down from the high of what you just did.

"Fuck, you're so sexy. So fucking sexy." He siad breathless. But it was nonsense you thought, excusing his words for the ecstasy of post love making. But then he brought you arms length just so he could utter the words again, this time meeting your eyes.

"You believe me don't you?" Rubens hair was tousled up like the twigs on a tree and his lips were plump red from kisses, however he had never looked more beautiful, you thought.

"Yes." You nodded. "I believe you."

#fanfiction #ruben dias x reader #manchester city #man city #love and desire #football x reader #football angst #football imagine #ruben dias imagine #footballer x reader

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gabessquishytum · 1 year ago

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Hey, I think my ask got eaten by tumblr so I'm gonna resend it. If you had it deleted on purpose, just ignore this.

With everyone going wild about the centaurs, I wanna offer you a thought :

Nomad centaur Hob passing through night-mare Dream's territory every two years on his journey (it's a kind of round trip). At first Dream is sceptical, but then he warms up with each visit, and eventually they start fucking.

It's so good, Hob taking Dream under the stars until he is drooling and his eyes are rolling back in his skull. He loves how warm Hob is, how big and protective, loves listening to the stories from his travels, admires his scars, loves sleeping against Hob when he is there.

But this time, a few months after he's gone, Dream notices that Hob has left him something—he's pregnant, oops!

Hob is too far away by this point for Dream to catch up to him (and even more so taking his new condition into consideration) and so he decides to tough it out and just show Hob his beautiful baby when he gets there next time.

Caveat: Hob is a big draft Horse type of centaur and Dream is... very much not. He gets huge, and he's fairly certain the kid is enormous.

So it's no surprise that when the time comes, Dream struggles a bit, and that it takes a bit longer than it should. What is a surprise is that the baby gets stuck. So Dream's in a bit of a conundrum, mid labour and constantly getting up and down and rolling to get the foal unstuck and into position.

Then he notices something, someone, approaching and has a bit of a fright, because this is REALLY not the time, but it turns out it's just Hob. He's turned around and come back to ask Dream to come with him because obviously they belong together.

Of course Hob helps when he walks in on Dream struggling to get his baby out, even if it is quite a surprise. He gently shoves his big hand into Dream, adjusts the foals position and even helps pulling it out with every contraction.

It all goes well, and Hob adjust marvelously quick to his sudden fatherhood.

They do eventually journey together, a couple of weeks later. Just not the two, as Hob thought, but the three of them :D

OOO yes!!! I've loved the little sojourn into centaur au we've been having lately!! It's fab. I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this!

I'm absolutely LOVING this particular take on it. Very Big Hob accidentally knocking up lil dainty Dream is my new favourite image. He's thinking it'll be such a nice surprise for Hob to come back eventually and find a mini little version of himself waiting! How cute!

Eventually Dream lumbers on to the end of his pregnancy. He's cross and heavy and possibly going to kick Hob in the nuts when he comes back but. He got there in the end! The baby is... coming. Slowly. Very very slowly. He's also maybe panicking a bit because he's never done this before and how dare Hob leave him like this?!

Fortunately Hob comes back and fixes everything by more or less hauling the baby out of Dream’s poor suffering body. They dry the new edition to the family off, make sure the little one gets their first feed. The baby is just like a little mini Hob, all cute and chunky!! But they have Dream’s bright blue eyes and messy black hair.

Hob is the happiest new father on the planet, despite the whole thing being a complete surprise. He cuddles up with Dream and the baby, keeping them safe and warm through the night, softly whispering stories when either of them wake up. In the morning he's there to make sure that Dream gets a proper breakfast and he even massages some of the sore spots that have developed during his pregnancy. Dream can't be mad at Hob for being so big anymore, not when he's so dutiful and protective. Plus Dream wouldn't exchange their big, clumsy baby for anything in the world. He's already thinking that maybe adding to the family wouldn't be so bad... in any case, he can't wait to start his journey with Hob and show their little one all the wonders of the world <3

#the sandman #dreamling #nsft #centaur au #cw pregnancy #cw birth

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edensbuttercups · 1 year ago

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Back by [redacted] demand and because I'm living through The Horrors™ id like to request yet another Fanboy fic if that's okay!

It would be #41 "you need to get some sleep" (please double check).

Thank you and I love you 🩷

I always love getting your requests and you know it, so shhhh, but also, and this is on me for being the slowest sloth writer in the world, I hope The Horrors™ have somehow chilled a little, Halloween is still a good few months away and those are the only horrors we allow in this house. Anyway, here is what I came up with! Is it good? Who knows! (I might also have to read this again tomorrow to check for mistakes, oops) Is there sleep? Very little of it! But there's Mickey Garcia and a tired reader and maybe that's all I can offer 😌 I love you and I hope you like this!!

It was early in the morning when Mickey opened his eyes, his hand smoothing over the sheets while he searched for your body.

He frowned softly when he was met with only the fresh cold sheets, sighing slightly as he turned to find his phone. Knowing you had probably left for the day already, he decided to send a good morning text, hoping it would put you in a good mood. But deep down, he couldn't help but miss waking up by your side.

The past weeks had slowly taken a toll on both of you, and there was nothing he hated more than seeing you stressed and exhausted from all that life was throwing your way. Mickey: Hey! Morning beautiful! I hope your day goes well, I’ll see you later :)

He sent the text with a smile, laying in bed a little longer before untangling himself from the mess of sheets, going through the small routine of airing out the window, making the bed, stretching, then preparing coffee, sleepiness still evident in his eyes. If being on leave did anything for him, it was leaving him relaxed, sleep always being a comfort he enjoyed the most when he was by your side, as well as the walks you’d go on, the simple moments spent chatting in front of a homemade meal and a good film.

You replied an hour later, letting him know that you’d call him when you were finished, and that you hoped he had a good day. He knew you were busy, but still, he missed you.

-----

You: “i wanna go home :(“

Mickey: “want me to come over? Let me know when you finish and we can walk back together 🙈”

You: “I still have a lot to do :( I’ll try to leave a little earlier but I’ll head home, no need for you to come pick me up. But thank you either way!”

Mickey smiled when he read your message, hoping you’d get home a little sooner, but also happy to have heard from you, his worries about your tiredness soothing a little bit.

You were clearly overworking yourself, even if you didn’t seem to notice that, and as much as he was worried, he’d wait a little longer, ready to catch you when you needed.

-----

The rest of the day went by somewhat uneventfully on his side, preparing some small appetizers for the evening, chilling and going on a walk while he waited for you. Yet on your side? That was a whole other story. You wanted peace and quiet, yet none of colleagues seemed to realize that, plus today had already been challenging enough, with documents and files you weren’t exactly sure how to deal with.

Not even the ride back home was peaceful, everyone rushing to get back to their loved ones, ignoring anyone that stood in the way, including you.

And so, when you got home, you couldn’t help the loud sigh that escaped your lips, even if a smile soon took the place of the frown, instantly relaxing when you heard Mickey’s singing coming from the kitchen, pots and pans and spoons and drawers clattering while he cooked. You knew what you’d see if you chose to sneak closer to the kitchen, waiting by the door. You’d find him, probably half-dancing, most likely using your wooden spoon as a microphone, while he cooked whatever delicious meal he had settled on. It was simple, and silly, but you couldn’t help but be mesmerized by it, be mesmerized by him, by his habits, by his way to show love. You glanced around the living room, smiling at the table, already set up, more than one candle bathing the room in a warm glow as you walked over to the few appetizers already on the table, stealing one and taking a bite, humming at the taste. “Aha!” He called from the kitchen, making you jump, his smile big while he pointed his (microphone) wooden spoon your way, “I’ve caught a thief.” “Mickey,” You chuckled, walking over to him and wrapping your arms around his neck, pulling him into a soft kiss, yawning softly when your head rested on his shoulder.

“Tired?” He asked, taking a breadstick from the table and biting it, the crunch of it breaking the silence.

“That’s an understatement” you chuckled, yawning again, “I’m glad tomorrow I can sleep.” You hummed, looking to your side as you wondered if that was the case.

Was there something you were forgetting?

Ah. Yes. Plans. 8:30am. Tomorrow.

Nothing that would take too long though-

“So?” He asked, grinning.

“Oh. You might have to repeat that.” You blushed, feeling sorry for your lack of listening.

Mickey chuckled, shaking his head and waving his hand, “you’re tired, it’s fine. I was telling you about the new exposition that’s opening in a week? Would be nice to go see it.” he said again, smiling softly. “Ah, absolutely, yeah! Sounds great” You nodded, resting your head on his shoulder and closing your eyes, smiling. “Thank you.” You whispered. “No need to thank me, love.” He whispered back, hand smoothing over your arm, “Now, go sit down, you need food, then sleep” he chuckled, walking back to the kitchen, the clattering of plates picking back up while he served his meal.

-----

It was on the third day in a row of waking up alone that he decided that it was enough. He could forgive week days, considering that you couldn’t exactly miss work, but now it was Saturday, and he had seen how tired you had been the night before, barely making it through dinner without yawning, then falling asleep on the couch while he was talking. He knew his voice was soothing, but this was more.

And so he waited, hands crossed over his chest and the most dramatically annoyed face he could put on when your key turned in the lock, tired steps carrying you into your home.

It was 10am, early enough to still have the day to yourselves, but still, his morning cuddles had been sorely missed.

“Hi!” You called, not noticing he was right there until you glanced to the side, letting out a quiet yelp. “Okay, that’s very serial killer vibes of you, Mickey.” You teased, pushing past him and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek as you did, heading to the kitchen to pour yourself a glass of water. Mickey couldn’t help the smile on his face when you kissed him, nor the chuckle at your comment, so he just followed, arms wrapped around you while you drank, soft kisses pressed to your shoulder. “Miss you” he mumbled softly. You sighed, leaning into him and humming, “I miss you too.”

He smiled at your words, placing another kiss to your shoulder. “So, Miss Busy Bee, any other plans for the weekend?” he asked, bracing himself for what he knew was to come. “Tomorrow at two I technically have to head out.” You mumbled, chuckling when his hold tightened. "Nope," he hummed playfully, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.

"Mickey," you laughed, trying to wriggle in his arms to face him. His embrace tightened around you, caging you against the counter, and one of his hands found its place on your hip.

"You need sleep," he insisted, his eyes soft yet determined, as if he could see through every layer of exhaustion you were trying to hide. He cherished every detail of your face, savoring the memory of each moment spent together.

"I think at 2 pm I'll be done with sleep," you playfully retorted, your voice tinged with tiredness. "I'm tired, but—"

"But what, love?" he asked, his tone teasing, raising an eyebrow with a smile dancing on his lips. He leaned closer, placing a tender kiss on your forehead. "You need to get some sleep," he repeated, letting his words hang in the air for a moment. After a beat, he took a step back and reached for your hand, gently pulling you towards the inviting comfort of the couch.

"Now?" you teased, well aware that you were tired enough to fall asleep right there, but part of you also longed to spend time with him, to unwind and relax in his arms.

"Well, later," he chuckled, his smile making his eyes crinkle with affection. "We can have breakfast in bed, followed by cuddles, kisses, and maybe a movie." He raised his eyebrows with a pleased smirk, knowing well how tempting his offer was.

"Breakfast in bed, cuddles and kisses?” You asked, laughing, “I think I can cancel those plans for tomorrow," you muttered, leaning into his body, feeling his arms instantly wrap around you, soft touches trailing along your arms.

"Yeah?" he asked, grinning, gently swaying with you before he stopped, smirking again. "Change of plans," he declared playfully, pulling you away from the couch and back into his chest.

He moved with a sense of purpose, guiding you to the bed and pushing you down onto it.

He leaned in to kiss your lips, starting with a gentle peck that soon deepened into a passionate embrace, leaving you completely enamored. Mickey's hand found its way to cradle your cheek, his touch gentle yet filled with a fiery passion that sent shivers down your spine. His fingers traced a path along your jawline, his touch eliciting soft sighs from your lips, surrendering to the blissful sensation that swept over you.

With every passing moment, the kiss deepened, becoming an unspoken promise of love and devotion.

Your fingers entwined with his, holding onto him as if he were your anchor.

As the kiss finally broke, a trail of soft breaths lingered between you.

Mickey's gaze locked with yours, his eyes reflecting a love so profound it left you breathless.

"I love you," he whispered, his voice carrying a world of emotions.

“I love you too.” You said back easily, unable to hide your smile.

"I'll make coffee," he whispered, his voice a sweet melody. "Get comfortable, and I'll be back." He hummed, standing up, holding your hand until it reluctantly fell from his grasp.

He walked to the kitchen, his footsteps quietly pattering on the floor. As he walked, you couldn't help but watch him with adoration. The way he moved, the grace in his steps. Once he was out of sight, you settled into a more comfortable position on the bed, letting out a contented sigh. The room felt warmer now, and not just from the candles and the cozy setup.

True to his word, he came back with a tray of steaming coffee cups, and the sweet aroma filled the room. He set the tray down on the bedside table before sitting beside you, his eyes locked on yours once more.

"Here you go," he said softly, handing you a cup, his fingers brushing gently against yours.

"Thank you," you replied, taking a sip and relishing the warmth that spread through you, both from the coffee and from his touch. "I think you make the best coffee," you said, smiling at him gratefully.

Mickey chuckled, his eyes shining with affection. "Well, coffee has magical powers, but it's nothing compared to the power of your smile."

Your heart fluttered at his words, chuckling, "Flattery will get you everywhere," you teased, playfully nudging his shoulder.

He raised an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Oh, I plan on going everywhere with you," he replied, his voice low and filled with a mixture of tenderness and playfulness.

"Smooth talker," you teased, trying to hide the blush that crept up your cheeks.

Mickey leaned closer, his lips brushing against your ear as he whispered, "Only for you."

His fingers traced gentle patterns on your hand, lips kissing your cheek as he settled back by your side.

"We're so lucky, you know," he said softly, breaking the silence.

"Lucky?" you repeated, meeting his gaze curiously.

“Lucky, yeah. I mean, to spend a Saturday morning in bed, with someone incredibly hot, yet cool and charming by their side, sipping coffee and with the promise of cuddles, maybe more” he added playfully, “I think that’s lucky.” He laughed. You couldn't help but laugh, his playful words causing your heart to dance with joy.

"Oh, I definitely agree," you replied, teasingly raising an eyebrow. "It's not every day you get to wake up to such a perfect combination of hotness, charm, and sweetness."

Mickey grinned, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Ah, so you think I'm perfect, huh?"

"I was talking about me, actually," you said teasingly, leaning in to place a soft kiss on his cheek, “but you’re pretty great as well”

He laughed, his arm wrapped around you, pulling you even closer. "Well, I agree with you. You’re perfect," he whispered, his lips brushing against your ear, sending delightful shivers down your spine.

#my beloved toothurtyam #mickey garcia fluff #mickey garcia imagine #mickey fanboy garcia x reader #top gun fanfic #fanboy x reader #fanboy fluff

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spektre-writes · 1 year ago

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A Hungarian point of view of that infamous F1 throphy incident (no, I refuse to make THAT joke, this is supposed to be a serious post, yeah?):

So, home grand prix, right? Exciting shit, even when you’re not too immersed in this sport. A hot summer weekend, what better to do than turning on the tv and checking out the race (and being super jealous of all the YouTubers that got invited into the Paddock Club – it doesn’t matter if you don’t know shit about F1, it’s “for the clicks” as Max Verstappen would say). And this is how I was witness to the winner’s throphy get destroyed by the papaya team’s one and only Lando Norris. It should be fun and games and friendly banters and memories to keep forever – too bad there’s also a hand-crafted throphy that took approximately six months(!!) to make, and it also costs about 40K in euros. But this isn’t the main point here. People sharing my viewpoint are making it seem like this is what it’s all about, and I love you all for speaking out, but let me offer a bit of correction here.

If it was a generic, mass produced throphy, I’d laugh along with everyone involved. I mean, it is such a lovely sight – seeing two drivers having friendly banters and showing so much respect towards each other and making an otherwise lacking race memorable.

BUT. And here’s the most important part: this throphy was made by Hungary’s biggest porcelain manufactory. It’s design, the whole process of making it – it’s all part of our cultural heritage. Throphies are usually just objects, right? It isn’t important what they are made of but what they represent. But with this special throphy? It isn’t just something that represents a win – it also represents a country and its culture. The first three won’t just take home points and an object to represent it, they also take home with them a piece of Hungary. A piece of a foreign culture. An art piece, not just another generic throphy to add to their collection. And this is the part people ignore because let’s be honest. We are talking about a sport that moves millions on a single day, paying 40K for a porcelain vase isn’t going to slap them in the face. This isn’t about the money, nor about compensating the people (the artists!) working on these beauties. And don’t come at me with the argument that that throphy is now worth more broken because it isn’t about how much it is worth either.

Breaking that throphy — hell, it’s not even the “oops I broke it” part that is making me see red, it’s the JOKES the respective teams and the audience keep posting — means you’re ignorant and lowkey (lowkey??) disrespectful towards a culture.

Who to blame here? I don’t want to point fingers because I have no idea if anyone on the podium was aware how proud we are that aside from getting to house a race here, we also give a piece of our culture to the winners to take home with them. BUT I’m proposing everyone involved should be educated on this matter.

#formula 1 #f1blr #hungarian grand prix 2023 #lando norris #max verstappen #i’m not involved in the f1 space so i’m not sure this will reach the right people #but it is worth a try #people seem so ignorant and insensitive and i felt the burning need to adress that #opinions are welcome #but this is something that hits home (literally) so i won’t budge

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jasperhaleobsessed · 8 months ago

Text

Mending What's been Broken

Summary: Edward and Bella have a different conversation after New Moon than in canon.

Notes: Constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome! :) Hope you all enjoy the story and let me know what you think! Also when I started writing this was only a few hours after the second chapter which is super cool I’ve never written this fast before! Edit: It’s been like 3 months since I’ve touched this oops. I was originally intending for the Cullens and Bella to talk this chapter but I’m going to be doing the discussion or big conversation next chapter!

Characters: Edward Cullen, Alice Cullen, Carlisle Cullen, (mentioned) Esme Cullen, (mentioned) Rosalie Hale, Jasper Hale, Emmett Cullen, Charlie Swan, and Bella Swan

Warnings: Talks lighting about how Bella felt when Edward Left her.

…

Bella's POV

She caught me. I was dreading this. I hate to say that. I don’t want to dread a moment with my best friend. But I don't know what to think. She left me, they all did. Did they leave willingly? Did they hate the idea but did it to protect me? Hmm I guess I do need answers. And I do miss them…especially Alice. I don’t know what to think. I ran my hand through my hair, I felt stressed over the prospect of this conversation. Yes I could get more answers, different points of views and perspectives on this…situation. But I’m scared. I’m not scared of Alice or the Cullen’s I never really have been but it’s what the conversations entails that I’m scared of. She tapped my shoulder, I was deep in thought. I hadn't realized I seemed to have walked away, and that I seemed like I was ignoring her.

I apologized, “I’m sorry! I was thinking and was deep in thought and didn’t notice.”

“It’s okay Bella.” She said, patiently. “Bella…can I talk to you?” Alice asked. And for once in all the time I had known her she was very patient. Perhaps she saw that she would need patience with me. She was always bouncing with anticipation and excitement.

I sucked in my breath and said, “Yeah, sure. What about?”

She sighed, “My family was wondering if after school you would meet us. We need to talk.” She had this look in her eye of desperation and hope. I think…she was desperate for me to come, for us to talk. But hopeful that I would. “Please, Bella?” She almost begged.

She sighed again and took a deep breath, “We won’t force you into anything but please think about this.” She paused, biting her lip but then continued, “If you change your mind or something like that come around to our house after school.” She started to walk off. But then I I blurted out, “You know… I never said no.” I could not believe I just said that. I covered my mouth for a split second but then lowered it. She turned back and smiled at me kindly, “I know but I can see the future, I have seen the future and the fact that you aren’t hard to read.” She gave me one last look, the bell rang and skipped to her next class. I stood there for a few more seconds before other students started to pour into the hallway. I headed to my next class. English. He was in that class with me. I wonder if he will be there? Or is he out hunting or with his family? What will I do? The other day I felt like I knew what to do or sort of knew how to react. I knew what had to be done but now as it all is happening I don’t know what I should do. Or how to react or how to feel. I wish this was easier, I wish I had all the answers. Maybe I should go. At least I’d get closure.

Once I arrived I realized he wasn’t there. I felt almost relieved he wasn’t there. Maybe it was the fact that I was scared. Or the fact I didn’t know how to act around him anymore. He told me he’d give me some space but how long will that be? How long do I need? What do I need to do? I felt frustrated because I don’t know what to do anymore. Why can’t this be easier? I yelled in my head. I stepped into the classroom and took a deep breath. It’ll be fine, just breathe. I chanted to myself over and over again hoping it’s true. Because I need it to be.

It was hard to pay attention but I managed. Luckily Mr.Berty didn’t call on me, I was very grateful for that. Once the bell rang I headed out of the classroom as fast as I could. I did trip but managed to catch myself for once.

…

Lunch finally arrived. I sat with Angela, Eric, Mike, Jessica, Tyler, and Lauren. As usual Jessica and Lauren were chatting about the latest gossip floating around the school. I had some small talk with Angela which was pleasant and nice as usual. She was a good friend, perhaps we should hang out more. After a few minutes she turned her attention to Eric and I played with my food. I wasn’t really interested in eating today. I had no appetite. I scooted it away. Mike started to blabber to me about hanging out this weekend. I politely declined which caught Jessica’s attention. “What are you doing this weekend Bella? Hanging out with the Cullen’s now that they’re back?”

I froze. I wasn't exactly sure what to say. I didn’t exactly say no but I was still undecided. I took a deep breath and uttered the words, “Yes, yes I am.”

She looked confused, her smile faded and she said, “Why?”

“Because I wanted to…?” It sounded like a question but I was just as confused as she was. What was she getting at? Lauren and Mike didn’t look very pleased as Jessica did either.

“W-well I thought since you and Cullen weren’t a thing I’d shoot my shot.”

“What?” All I could think was, is she serious? Like is she that shallow and uncompassionate for her friends?

Laruren looked me up and down like she was disgusted or something like that. And said, “I mean it’s not like you two are still even dating right?”

They’re both the most insensitive people I have ever met. I felt like I was gonna snap at any moment. I was furious. Who do they think they are, seriously? All I saw was red. I was so ready to slap them. Usually I tried to stay calm and collected but not today. I was ready to yell at them and tell them how insensitive and disrespectful that is to say to someone but suddenly I felt a cool hand on my shoulder. I turned around and met Edward’s gaze. What was he doing here? I thought he was at home?

“Hey love, I was wondering if you would like to come sit with me and my siblings?”

I stared at him shocked, “Well?” he asked.

“Umm sure why not.” I think he wants to help me but I also think he doesn’t want Jessica or Lauren trying to hit on him or ask him out…again.

As we moved away from Jessica and Lauren I asked, “What are you doing?” I whispered yelled. I couldn’t help but ask that since yes I’m probably right but still I can’t help but feel confused by all of this.

“Getting you out of there before you did something you'd regret. “ He then continued, “I’m not trying to upset you but we can’t have you getting expelled or anything.” He joked.

“Haha.” I said sarcastically. He brushed my shoulder as he led me to our usual spot. “But next time I’m going to stand up for myself I can’t keep letting them get under my skin. I'm so sick of it.”

“I know but for now let's not worry about them, okay?” I nodded agreeing I’d rather not anyways Charlie probably ground me even more than he already has. Wait, how am I supposed to go talk to the Cullens tonight if I’m not supposed to go out unless it’s for school or work?

I sat down next to Alice. I wasn't sure just how comfortable I was with sitting next to Edward yet. I didn’t want to make things awkward with him or anyone or myself for that matter. But what I do know is I think he’d understand, I think they all might.

Surprisingly Emmett was the first to speak up, “So little sis have you decided yet?” He joked. Rosalie elbowed him in the stomach.

I couldn’t help but laugh with him. He always knew how to relieve the tension.

“Go on Bella, take your time.” She said patiently. I was surprised Rosalie was being nice to me? I couldn’t help but feel a bit shocked. Jasper smiled at my shocked expression.

“Go on Darlin’ you can do it we won’t be mad either way don't worry.” He gave me a reassuring smile and sent me a wave of calmness.

I thought about what Emmett said. It was a good question. What was I gonna do? I mean I had already thought it would be a good idea to get some answers and different perspectives so should I say yes? I think I’ll just have to bite the bullet.

“My answer is yes.”

“Really?” Alice questioned. She looked ecstatic. I gave her a small smile.

“But I need you all to answer some of my questions, alright?”

“Of course.” Edward said, softly.

“I’m going to wait to ask until tonight and I’ll let you all explain your side first okay?” They nodded. “But I want you all to promise to be quiet and listen to what I have to say carefully. Because what I’m going to talk about isn’t easy.”

“We understand, don’t worry Bella.” Alice kindly said.

“Thank You.” I appreciated that they were actually listening and being patient with me.

“And one more thing?”

“Yes?” They all asked.

“What are we going to do about Charlie?”

“Esme will talk to him, don’t worry Bella.” Alice said, reassuringly. I sighed thankful that she saw my question coming. I didn’t want to make Charlie more angry than he already was.

The bell rang and I stated, “I’ll see you all tonight.” They all said their goodbyes and I walked carefully to my next period hoping I wouldn’t trip this time.

To Be Continued…

#twilight #twilight saga #the twilight saga #bella swan #edward cullen #alice cullen #jasper hale #emmett cullen #rosalie hale #twilight fanfiction #my fanfiction #my fanfic

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justanotherpersonsuniverse · 9 months ago

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SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 70 PN BELOW Lets fucking go cap! ok it’s the weekend, I have my own writing block and I finally finished my fucking assignments and handed them in, I’m practically free forever!! (exams loom in the distance, i willfully ignore their shadow)

I’ve started by reading from chapter 67 just to bring myself back into the mindset (and because they are hype as all hell chapters), this is faster than starting my like 7th re-read.

I even made myself a cuppa to really settle in, the vibes are immaculate, I played Bizet Carmen while reading this time

The dichotomy of Juleka:

I don't want to hurt anyone!

Extreme violence is efficient.

The fact that we didn’t get ladybug trying to kiss rena when she was shot by dark cupid is tragic

This time i listened to shoot to thrill by ACDC, and Burn it down by awolnation for the badass parts

Anyway finally onto Fei, that only took me two hours (i briefly wrote shit so yknow, a good time!)

Fei’s tragic backstory be upsetting frfr, Like damn brother you watched your dad die in front of you? Do you need a blanket and a hug?

The tone change from “My life ended when my dad died.” to “summer was awesome!!” made me snort horrible it’s not funny- but it kind of is-

Oh my god Juleka got a break for weeks AND WE DIDN’T GET TO SEE IT??? Tragedy. (i’m kidding, so happy that she got a break <33)

Rose thirsting over Panthera in a crop top is too funny- you just know if it was anyone else Juleka would be pouting like “damn what do they have that I don’t?”

Oop her hands still kinda fucked, curiouser and curiouser. I wonder if she has tried to practice her secondary power. Which rq, it was SUCH bullshit that LB gets two and the cat miraculous gets one in canon, so happy you retconned it

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD OK CAP I AM SO HYPE HYPE SHE GOT A MODELING INTERNSHIP?????? Like sure cause nepotism but i’ve been wanting to see Juleka try out modeling in a real environment for ages cause like thats something she is interested in yknow and i just-

Augh, hype as hell. And an excellent reason for her to be going to Shanghai, I applaud your problem solving to fit Juleka into the show's narrative! I applaud it always, but this one was more difficult than usual methinks

I have pizza now it is 8pm

Anyways; NOO GABEY BABY DON’T BE EVIL VIBES TO JULEKA SHE’S JUST A LITTLE THING

Oh my poor awkward Juleka… Gabriel wasn’t helping but this is so funny, dude you vowed to kill this girl like a month ago open your eyes

I NEED juleka’s modeling arc to be a thing. Idk how into detail you went but i’m hoping for some i’m rabid i’ve been waiting for this for like 3 years

Oh airports SUCK i feel her anxiety so much, poor thing… i forced my friend to share her location with me one time so we could stalk each other, we never turned it off its kinda funny

… why is Anarka banned from airports?? Being “a living weapon” is so vague.

Killing myself rose and juleka are so cute- and obsessed with each other- every hour is insane

I love Juleka instantly becoming a disaster on baby’s first flight

Juleka instantly being on high alert around gabriel is so real.

“Right,” Mr Agreste’s face didn’t twitch nor soften much in response, just nodded in understanding and turned back to stare forward. “The opening of this store is essential to the future of the Agreste Brand, you two. Opening it much sooner is very good news. There will be other fun times with your friends.”

Hardass, fuck off!!

Poker with literal chips made me laugh- adrien would be terrible at poker

Spiderman far from home? Nah, Panthera Noir far from home.

“Oh that building looked fun to climb.” please Juleka unhinged parkour arc when?? Like people turn away from her and then look back and she’s up a tree.

HELP “bye bye bag” is so real-

She’s so scary, but I wanna ask what her hair dye is. Do it. Please. I think you would factory reset Nathalie and she would answer on autopilot

Awkwardly playing chess is so real, also; yippee!! Adrien and Juleka bonding even more after the acting debacle!!

“Knights were cute. Little pony’s. Rose always wanted to move her knights cause they reminded her of unicorns.” please this is literally my strategy in chess, i just move them around and sometimes i win because i confuse people so badly

LB overthinking chess is hilarious.

Adrien POV???

YOU CAN LEARN MANY THINGS FROM JULEKA SUCH; HOW TO BE A CAT. sorry i just had the mad idea that Adrien might find out this chapter… i would go insane if that turned out to be right

“Knowing info about me is pretty easy when your Wikipedia is super detailed” that’s fucking depressing. Adrien baby that’s a terrible way to get to know someone and not the same experience at all-

Gaelic is a real language!! And a bitch to learn- I briefly tried with my dad and we both gave up, we’ll just stick with scots english

“Where do you disappear during akumas?” hard hitting question Adrien, ten points!

And is also making me high key suspicious about him finding out, the vibes are there

Nah, nah evil. Gabriel spend time with your son goddamnit

GET HIS ASS JULEKA YES GIRL I LOVE YOU

The fact that she thinks she isn’t brave sometimes infuriates me, like babe i get your insecure but your brave as hell.

QUEEN SHIT JUST WENT DOWN THERE

Juleka ripped him to shreds hell fucking yeah.

Wait. why did she give him the king? Hawkmoth called himself a king… cue the x-files music

Who the fuck is this asshole? Fei. Kick his ass, i command thee.

Oh curious, she has burn scars from the fire, i like this detail.

I feel like Fei and Juleka will get along, based on the ever present rage against one guy

She is being used augh

“Your father deserves to be avanged.”

“He does.” UMM GIRL YOUR DAD WOULD HATE THAT WEREN’T YOU THERE FOR THE FLASHBACK??

I want Cash to gtbnrvice this asshole is just using her desperation for information-

I want Juleka to scare him into telling them, as Panthera, i think she would be quite good at that.

Juleka is a feral beast who needs her outside time (i like how she wants to run on rooftops a lot its cute)

LORE LORE LORE LORE

Excited. The prodigious?? Tell me more silly cheese guy

Ummm. i need the prodigious to show up, i can’t remember if thats what Fei has or if this is future future foreshadowing, this is exciting

New arc unlocked: freeing the Kwami from their jewelery or the curse.

Also; yes sadistic plagg in the face of the guardians temple being destroyed, you go girl

Guardian temple? Swallowed whole? Sounds frightening. What a feast. HA

Model Juleka yippee!

Help- adrien your advice is trash-

Ok existential conversation, yes girl let me spiral-

No sick girl Nathalie let adrien speak i want to know what he thinks of the best girlies-

Plagg wanting to take him under his wing- Juleka saying he wants to replace her with Adrien- ITS ALL COMING TOGETHER.

Nah if you actually do have a reveal to Adrien i am going to go buckwild- cause either the vibes of the chapter got me but i think I guessed before any of the concrete foreshadowing

Ok sick girl nathalie actually has some sound advice and is being lovely to Juleka

Yes Juleka use your strength

FEI STEALING CAMERAS??

Get her ass Juleka, or- politely bite her arm juleka?!?

Juleka is just brawling in an alleyway- like damn sister- watch out for bruises you might not be allowed to model-

Oh god what if she took plagg during some of their scrapping- actually, that would be fine. Juleka would just go insane and fight her

Juleka; desperately grasping for something familiar and bantering with Fei

Fei: what the fuck is wrong with her?

Nicest mugger I’ve ever met real and true

Wait

NOO JULEKA THEY WON’T LET YOU MODEL LIKE THIS

YEAH KICK. HER. ASS.

Plagg stays with Juleka yippeee!!

Help their dynamic is so funny- exactly what i was wanting.

Juleka would want to learn how to disappear even better than she already does wouldn’t she

Nah not Fei thinking “well that was fucking weird” while juleka is like “Oh that was cool” Juleka is so weirdgirl core i love her

Oh shit she stole marinettes stuff Tiki is there-

Kick the asshole in the balls Fei, i command thee.

I am so happy Nathalie and Juleka have some sort of alliance, in my as to be written huge tragedy based on Nathalie Gabriel and Emily (which is extensively planned), I think Nathalie is more similar to Juleka as a teenager.

Adrien and Nathalie interaction- “yes we- we did it” agyuhtvrinjfeok love her.

Marinette blinked vacantly, standing in the back alley streets of Shanghai with a paling expression on her face and her entire inventory ghosted from her person.

WHERE THE HELL AM I!?

HELP SHE’S SO FUNNY- i love disaster marinette please-

and thats a wrap for Fei! i started this before five and it is now ten pm- i did other things though.

this was awesome cap, I look forward to the next chapters and I shall review them tomorrow!!!!!!

I hope you enjoyed <3

GLAD YOU ENJOYED!!!!!!

#panthera noire au #sneak a cat

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bleue-flora · 1 month ago

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/tobi-smp/765541010649530368/tobi-ctommy-lore-in-2024?source=share

I can't decide what you want me to say... I mean I think I covered all the points of why this doesn't work already... in fact I’d say half of that roleplay seems like there like literal feelings as ccJack expresses when he first logs on, and the other half seems to be ccTommy trying to retcon stuff to please his fans in with ccJack actually outright disagreeing with him. Mind you I planned on watching it but honestly Tommy’s comment about op pissed me off to the point that I didn’t care, however given that comment and Jack logging on as a joke to begin with that sets the tone for this to take place and that context is important. Also, Jack literally spawns in the prison so let’s say we are retconning shit, what are we retconning? Because the bench was in prison, Jack was in prison with his first statement being basically ‘bet you didn’t expect to see me be here again’ framing things as we’d expect taking place right after the finale for Jack. And if he’s in the prison then that lore took place, meaning Jack set off the nukes like he says so in the messages. So, we can’t retcon the finale it happened and that’s why Jack is where he is, what you are changing is the potential aftermath. However that still doesn’t make sense to me. If the Incident stopped the nukes and the Egg, then if they have their memories and are wandering around as if things never restarted then presumably the Incident didn’t happen, but if that didn’t happen, then the nuke and Egg wouldn’t have been stopped so they’d be dead… right?… unless we gotta recon allll that lore — oops but wait we can’t because Jack literally spawned next to the bench Tubbo placed in the prison so that lore has to be canon to make sense… so then we are back to the Incident Had to happen to stop the nuke and if it did happen then we do some speculation and such and say everyone left and Tommy and Jack stayed, which again more work than accepting the actual lore.

Also - who is Tubbo selling honey to if everyone is gone? - and if people could leave this whole time why didn’t they before? (Unless we just mean leave the area aka the start at their Incident houses?)… which in that case everyone didn’t leave, Tommy left and went back to the dsmp area and presumably not many followed… like I just it doesn’t make sense, I want to be on your side innitors I really do, I want to understand you, in the same way I want to understand why retconning the staged finale makes sense to people, but this finale just doesn’t work. It’s closer to George’s whole stream that turned out to be a dream… like it’s this same thing like staged finale, where people take the part of the lore that aligns with their narrative, not taking all the truth just the bits they like. And that’s just a headcanon/fanfiction at that point. Just because you took lore doesn’t make it true, you took some of the facts but not all of them to use it to fit your idea but that doesn’t mean it actuality fits your idea. And spreading posts with screenshots with no links to videos or clips or full context just - OMG Jack and Tommy did lore and retconned the finale - which is not what happened. Context is important, in the same way reading someone’s posts without the connecting ones or months later can become harmful to people. It’s taking things out of context and then cutting off the edges to make it say what you want. Like it’s a huge part of the political problems right now because people can’t even agree on the damn facts.

Why? Because this right here. This grabbing things that align with your beliefs and ignoring the other facts and logic that contradicts it. It’s the picking and choosing - oh I like this lore so that’s canon but I don’t like this so that’s not canon - It’s shaping the truth to fit your narrative and claiming it’s still truth even when it no longer fits. Tommy burning down Tubbo’s house doesn’t align with how you view Tommy as this golden boy -> oh it’s not canon. Dream pretending to be evil to get put in prison -> yea that’s not canon. The finale where Tommy and Dream see eye to eye for the first time -> yeah that’s not canon. But this short convo a year later after the dsmp has officially ended, where Jack is literally disagreeing with him -> yea of course that’s the real canon.

It’s like taking a book and ripping out pages you don’t like and then glueing pages over the other ones in the end and trying to sell it as an original copy...

#and honestly I try to understand your scrape book copy of the dsmp but it doesn’t work… you aren’t telling a more coherent story…#dsmp #hello there #dream smp #discourse?#it’s like the people doing the Witcher tv and changing the all the like it’s just fanfiction at that point which is fine but call it like it #is it becomes no longer canon the moment you start picking and choosing what to keep and what to not keep… and honestly it sad to me because #I see this complex and fascinating and beautiful story contorted into a narrative strictly about healing from abuse and while that is a #theme - for Tommy- it isnt The Theme for the dsmp as other characters faced their own challenges and story arcs and such #just because you watching everything through his pov and streams doesn’t make him the main character… just because he himself believes the #world revolves around him doesnt make it reality…#anyways I should stop… I’m gonna answer one more ask in my inbox and then let’s talk about something else… let the people who hate the #finale believe what they want to believe… we know it’s bs just like we know the staged finale is canon

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idrawtoomuch-gw2 · 1 year ago

Text

Okay so 3 things-

1- Several attempts at drawing Edmund and Dagda interacting just don't want to work so this just turned into a ramble instead. (That kinda went off-topic but still vaguely related I guess? oops)

2- This did become a tniy bit of overthinking everything related to the Gunnar Siblings (or at least the main 3- Kai, Edmund, and Morgan), their places in the world and in the grand scheme of things, and the Wizards.

3- I have no idea if this even sufficiently answers any questions but it's where the rambling ended up so IDK

• The fact Edmund is not Commander means there would be at least some differences with interactions, etc. So a lot of the opinion of and reaction to Edmund from any of the npcs in SotO would mainly be his relation to Kai (who is Commander) but also Morgan (a powerful necromancer), and the uncertainty around what he'd be capable of based on the two of them.

• So Kai I don't really need to dig into his importance because (with few exceptions) anything the Canon Commander accomplishes he does. Morgan is the one in need of a little explaining though- short version is she's very powerful and very likely to one day 'corrupt' with said power.

• I did mention the concept of Fractal Morgan a couple months ago, basically a version of her in a Wizard Fractal that was given some kind of artifact or access to more magic just to see what would happen. A Lich was the result. She's not allowed near the Wizard Tower (nor is Real Morgan for fear of the same happening to her) but is allowed in Amnytas since sometime before the start of SotO she did figure out what she is and somehow made her way there and is now helping fight off Kryptis despite not being allowed any further. (She may or may not be aiming to steal more artifacts or sneak into the tower shhhh don't tell anyone).

• Edmund I do imagine was kind of… 'ignored' by the Wizards. Any interest in him before SotO would have been immediately shut down because 'We already made a Power-Hungry Lich we don't need whatever a powerful mesmer from that family could become.' Because mesmers are scary and they already have Kai as the Commander and both versions of Morgan to keep a close eye on they don't need another Gunnar Sibling to watch.

• So yeah Dagda's feelings of Edmund? 'We (the Wizards) don't know what he can do. We don't know what his brother (the Commander) will do if anything happens to him. And we don't have time or resources to deal with the answer to either.'

• As for Edmund's feelings/opinion on the Wizards in general it's a lot of feeling intimidated by, inferior to, and varying levels of respect. For Dagda specifically I would say he would have high respect because of how powerful she is while at least somewhat understanding her lack of trust (though being frustrated that it's more to do with his siblings rather than himself, like 'if you're not gonna trust me at least let it be because of ME'). Also at least some fear of her early on because first meeting was literally a fight. Took him at least a little bit to get comfortable enough to really talk to her and ask more questions about magic stuff.

#chara; edmund gunnar #gw2 spoilers #soto spoilers

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everythingcounts2007remaster · 8 months ago

Note

I have a challenge prompt: Kevin Flynn/Tron but in the universe of Black Mirror DURING the story

...I removed so much homoerotic tension from that story ahaha

Won’t lie, I’ve been letting this fic bob around in my skull for months because I love it so much. Furious and unshackled Tron + terrified but horny Flynn??? Fuck yeah.

This is set as an addition to the end of Ch 3 (after the pawnshop incident), I did my best to include all relevant information for those who haven’t read Black Mirror or for whom it’s been a while alike. :D

CW for some abusive behavior and sexual assault oops (also this isn't nearly as carefully edited as Black Mirror itself, like all these prompts)

---

“Is there anything else we need before we go to the sea?” Tron asked from up ahead, his back to Flynn and the decaying Purgos. He was eerily nonchalant, as if he hadn’t just threatened Flynn and his program’s lives—and delighted in it.

The blank disc shook in Flynn’s hands as he tried hard to not think of where it came from and the lengths Tron descended to to get it. He needed only to keep in mind the lesson learned: to stay the hell out of Tron’s way. “Uh. No, I don’t think so.”

“Good.” Tron detached his light-cycle baton from his thigh, preparing to take off again, then paused. His head canted ever so slightly toward Flynn. His voice was low, deceptively conversational. “It occurs to me that I’ve told you so much, again and again, but you have yet to tell me the one thing I’d very much like to know.”

Flynn froze ahead of the question they’d been dancing around since this whole clusterfuck started.

“Why didn’t you install her?” Tron asked, turning to face him. His eyes were dark, dead set on getting an answer this time.

But it caught in Flynn’s throat, too big and painful and nebulous to go any further. They were going through hell to get her now, how was that not enough?

“I dunno, man,” Flynn said. The blank disc hung from his fingertips, his shoulders slack with exhaustion.

“I think you do.” Something wicked raked across Tron’s face as he faced Flynn directly. “I’ve been thinking. About Users and their fallibility, things I never dared to consider before. That, perhaps, you never had my best interests in mind.”

Flynn took a staggering step back to negate Tron’s slow advance. He didn’t like the look in the program’s eye, the angle of his shoulders. With all those safety permissions revoked, Tron was capable of anything—and was testing the edges of these new parameters.

“Though, given how your program operates, I suppose that was obvious, wasn’t it?” Tron’s smile was joyless and sharp. “It makes sense now, the way you look at me.”

Flynn bumped into the alley wall. Shit. “What?”

“More than that, it’s in the data. I have access to your ‘heart rate,’ did you know that? ‘Respiratory rate, temperature,’ I can even see your eye dilation from here. I’ve been reviewing the data, trying to understand it. User bodies are so different from programs, you know… But I think I finally do.”

Flynn pressed his back further into the wall, hands flat against cold simulated brick, his mouth open but wordless. This was a different sort of trap he’d stepped in this time, something he’d spent years and years ignoring for both their sakes.

“Say it out loud, Flynn.” Tron came closer, ever closer, and planted a hand on either side of Flynn’s head to pen him in; a scenario Flynn never imagined being nightmarish. “Tell me why you look at me the way you do. Why you denied me my counterpart.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, man.” Flynn flattened himself against the wall to get any amount of space between them—and desires he’d thought long buried with everything else. “You… you don’t know what I’ve lost.”

“Yori is at the bottom of the sea by your hand,” Tron ground out through clenched teeth, “and you want to talk to me about loss.”

Flynn was far too agitated to keep tiptoeing through this. “You’re just a program, you have no concept of the world out there, what it’s like. How fucking horrible it can be.” How the only thing that might begin to fill the hole left behind by another could be so agonizingly out of reach.

“Maybe I am just a program, but I’m no longer the only one trapped ‘in here.’” Tron’s voice dripped with contempt. “Remember, I followed you here, Flynn. Because you wanted me here.”

Flynn had no interest in revisiting ancient history any longer; he was ready to skip to the end where he’d wind up with another fist to his gut or perhaps get kicked to the floor. To be the target of Tron’s aggression until he was left to limp to the sea by himself.

So, with as much acid as he could muster, Flynn said, “Yeah, well, you’re not exactly good at saying no to Users, are you.”

Tron slammed his hand against the wall, making Flynn flinch. His jaw worked in thought as he stared Flynn down, his logic processors whirring to an inevitable, horrible conclusion. “You used me. Because that’s what I was made for.”

“Now—”

“But it wasn’t enough for you, was it? Is it ever enough?” Tron pressed himself closer, nearly flush against Flynn’s chest. Heat came off him in waves; he was overworking himself. “What would it take for it to be enough, Flynn?”

There was pressure, gradual, alarming in its intimacy; Tron’s thigh pressed to Flynn’s groin, coaxing his legs apart.

“Please don’t,” gasped Flynn, eyes shut tight.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Tron hissed in his ear, his thigh both threat and temptation. “Or is this not how you pictured it.”

Flynn bit back a curse and winced. Part of him—an obvious part of him, provided Tron knew as much about human anatomy as his encroaching thigh suggested—found the danger he was in rather thrilling.

In any other universe, Flynn would agree.

“Hm. I guess that’s my answer.” Tron pulled back just enough to take Flynn’s chin in his hand, its firmness indistinguishable between fury and fervor. His laugh was caustic, cruel. “I want you to know: all you had to do was ask. I’d have leapt at the chance.”

Everything in Flynn twisted at that, his hands sweating despite feeling so cold and light, like a balloon far out of reach. The instant Tron started to back off, Flynn shoved him the rest of the way. His cheeks burned as Tron laughed.

“Fuck you, man,” Flynn spat, uselessly swatting the unshackled program away. “Fuck you.”

With a final glance to confirm his victory, Tron unholstered his baton and rezzed his light-cycle. A few seconds later he was gone, and Flynn was left alone in the dank alley, resentment and longing mixing bitterly in his chest.

Tron wasn’t wrong, was he? There was more than one reason Flynn had cast Yori to the sea floor uninstalled, and why he’d delayed in porting her over in the first place. It was an ugly truth, one so petty and selfish that acknowledging it too long risked shattering his sense of self completely. Because he wasn’t like that, not really, not overall, not with real people.

But now this knowledge was in Tron’s hands, same as any other weapon—and Flynn, at his mercy.

#tron #asks #my writing #ahh i really loved working on this one :D

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siderealmaven · 11 months ago

Text

✨ 2024 Vibe Check ✨

My Dearest Reader,

I would like to sincerely thank you for your attention, time and support of my work in 2023. Whether you are a free reader or paid Patreon subscriber, your generosity has made a huge impact on Sidereal Maven, the type of content that has been possible this year, and me, the author. I greatly appreciate every single one of you, every like and comment, and everyone who has engaged in the discord server. I love talking about sidereal astrology and divination with you guys and I hope it leaves you feeling just as fulfilled as it does me. I also hope you’ll join me for what is looking to be an exciting 2024!

Today I offer you a 2024 “Vibe Check.” I feel like the words vibe check have been overused to the point of cringe for me, but I can’t resist the temptation to use them ironically. Especially because that’s exactly what you’re getting here today. I want to look at: What is the energy of 2024? What do we have to look forward to? How do we step into the new year with a sense of motivation that doesn’t fade as the months go on?

The cards I pulled for 2024 are the Nine of Pentacles and The Empress from The Tarot Of The Owls by Pamela Chen. Aren’t they just beautiful? I think I could stare at them forever. These cards bring us a message of abundance, wealth and prosperity, but not the kind that just falls into your lap. It’s the kind you have to work very hard for over a long period of time, the kind that takes a lot of patience and dedication. These cards ask us to consider our personal goals for the new year.

The Nine of Pentacles speaks to us about reaping the rewards of your own efforts. Take some time to consider what you have been working towards in 2023 and how much progress you have made. It’s okay to feel disappointed if you didn’t make as much progress as you wanted to, but make sure to not let that diminish the progress you have.

It can be too easy to get caught up over analyzing all of your mistakes, set backs and failures to the point of completely ignoring your successes. The truth is that success is impossible without first failing at least half a dozen times. So if you feel like you messed up this year, that’s a good thing. You are on your way to success! (And much further along than all of the people who are so afraid to fail, they never take the first step at all.)

Count every “oops!” as a valuable lesson learned and focus on how you’re going to apply those lessons going forward. The true wealth in this card is having the ability to reinvest in yourself because you didn’t give up. Not when the 5 of Pentacles made the future seem bleak or when the 7 of Pentacles whispered that you would never finish what you started. Now you’re here, at the 9 and picking fruit from the tree you planted.

You have options! Will you sit and complain that it took longer than you wanted, that it was harder than you expected, or that the fruit doesn’t look picture perfect? Or will you use the seeds to plant more trees? Will you feed yourself so you have the energy to do so? Will you set the table for your friends and family? It’s up to you.

The Empress echos and strengthens the sentiment of being able to reap the rewards of previous work done and reinvest in yourself. This is an owl who sits in the lap of luxury, whatever “luxury” means to you. The Empress says that you already have everything you need, so it’s time to consider what it is that you want. And of course, how to use the resources already available to you in order to get it.

Now stop and really consider this: You already have everything you need to be successful in 2024. You’re now allowed to focus on using what you already have to get what you want. How does that change your strategy?

This is a good time reassess what you have. Not just materially and financially, but also in terms of your relationships, spirituality, skill set, and knowledge. Be open to looking at these with a fresh perspective and utilizing them in ways you may not have considered before. Perhaps there are tools in your belt that were not appropriate before but have become so now. Look for ways in which your past experiences can benefit you as you work towards your goals in 2024. Look at your life as a series of stepping stones to the present moment and you’ll see how each one was vital. (And perhaps some of these upcoming stones look similar to previous ones.)

Now, being the Empress isn’t just about sitting by the pool and filling in your new planner in a frenzy of color coded pens and stickers. It also comes with a lot of responsibility. Having wealth of any sort, materially, spiritually, relationally, etc, means you have to learn how to be responsible with it. You can’t just blow your entire paycheck on one pair of shoes. And you can’t just ignore the people next to you that might be in real need of what you have.

Being the Empress means you have to be wary of using your resources wisely. Think about how you can use your resources to reinvest in yourself so that you can assure yourself another future harvest. Think about the ways you can use what you have and what you have learned to help the people around you. Especially the people who have helped you on your journey to this high position in the first place. I’m not saying deplete yourself for anybody, as that would make reinvestment impossible. But make sure to invest back into the community that first invested in you. Take some joy and pride in the position you are in.

2024 is a year of profound growth. There will always be growing pains, but the best part is you’re already past the most difficult part: getting started. Your muscles are stronger than they used to be and your mind is sharper. You’ve been around the block a few times and you’re not as afraid or naive as you were before. Hold your head high and walk into the new year with confidence and an open mind.

And when you start to doubt yourself, remember. The Empress is on your side! 💜

Xoxo,

Sidereal Maven

Originally published on Sidereal Maven’s Patreon

#tarot #free tarot #2024 vibe check #2024 #tarot community #the empress #9 of pentacles

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riahlynn101 · 1 year ago

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Please may I have a Black Butler scenario of when Edward Midford clearly worries about you (Elizabeth Midford's older twin brother and everything *he is the Queen's British Knight because he works in the underworld.*) because you worked in the underworld as the Queen's British Knight and it was a dangerous world for a 14 year old boy..you had more blood on your hands than your cousin in some ways..it was your job..if you were given a duty to complete with your cousin..you will do it. You were not rumoured that you are better than your sister at being a swordsman for nothing. You made sure to reassure your older brother when he voiced his concerns to you about you being in danger more times than he could count..when Edward made an excuse to talk to you after a fencing match in the Midford Manor..Edward was understandably worried because you often came back home with injuries. You were honestly too sweet for this world..it was hard to believe that you are the Queen's British Knight..you remind Edward a lot of Finny.

Once again, very sorry to be answering this a whole month later (oops). And of course, I would be obliged :D!! Also, as a side note, I would like to point out how creative you are.

-x-x-x- is a new snippet for the prompt.

It's fairly short, so I apologize in advance.

Hope you enjoy ^w^

–

“James, if you would just listen to me,” Edward said, following his brother into the manor’s library.

“There’s nothing else to discuss. I told you what happened, and now you won’t let it go.” He has fought men twice his size, stared down the worst society has to offer, and somehow….

Somehow his older brother’s piercing stare will forever top them all. It’s harder when it’s someone he cares about, and it doesn’t help that Edward used to be able to read him like an openbook.

“I’m fine. I took a tumble down the stairs. You remember when you were growing, don’t you? Mother said you practically had two left feet, always tripping over air.”

Edward laughs, but it comes out sounding a bit forced. “Yes, I remember. Just….I worry.”

James stands a little straighter, ignoring the way his sides seem to scream at him, muscles straining. The doctor had advised him to take a day of bedrest, but James refused. He had homework and training to do. Besides, it’s just a couple bruises.

He smiles at his older brother. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

-x-x-x-

It takes Edward awhile to place who his little cousin’s gardener reminds him of. Finnian-the name Ciel introduces him as-has hair the color of gold with a sunny disposition to match.

His little brother is much the same.

And what solidifies it for him is the creeping suspicion that something is ‘off’ about them. Like a deep, dark secret lies underneath their bright smiles. That and their steadfast loyalty.

Of course, the Midfords and Phantomhives are trained from birth to have loyalty. It’s practically ingrained into their being, woven into their soul that her highness, Queen Victoria, is someone that they should lay their lives down for.

Auntie and Uncle had done so, though none of them can prove it.

His brother seems to take that devotion to the queen to his too-caring heart. And Finnian-while not loyal to the queen-has taken to his Young Master. He’s heard nothing but kind things come from his mouth, and he’s heard how Finnian tried to comfort Ciel a number of times.

#black butler #answered #request #the-horror-letter-lover #queue

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cervidaedalus · 3 months ago

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In the end, I was told that I was the reason people felt dismissed, but I cannot *count* how many times I felt so dismissed and defeated that I was ready to jump ship. Like, I spoke to two people about how I'd spoken multiple times about my plans to do dance raffles on these dates, even during a meeting, even in a pin, and oops! We forgot and planned all our raffles several months in advance! I took it to the chin and rescheduled for January. I know people can be forgetful and I don't fault them for that, but it's things like that I'm thinking about when I try to do more scheduling and planning. Honestly myself, Odgerel, and Astra were like, Apollo holding the FC up on event management, with Viri of course handling workshop stuff for the raffles. See, when you go into things with a set expectation, like using the example of the side Discord again, if you expect that raising your concerns will mean the idea will be tossed, you're going to feel "dismissed" when that doesn't happen. When I felt dismissed, it was in cases where even addressing concerns with an acknowledgement that I'd already thought long about that exact issue and here's my plan to address it. It was a case of being dismissed because people would become entrenched in their own (valid!) anxieties over something, to a point where I could offer nothing to really help ease those anxieties. It was "this makes me anxious so I want it to go away." And that was also a HUGE part of the problem with the Onion situation. Do you know how many times after I moved out I thought of him and his friends fondly? Or when I first moved into the place with the garden, how I thought of having him and his friends over because I knew he'd enjoy it? I have seen real, genuine MONSTERS in my life. Gail the white saviour child hoarder, that one childhood friend who put me through 5mo of hell and starvation and SA. I do NOT have room in my heart for hate of Some Guy who did some ableist things but who I didn't think was a bad person because we are all unlearning the ableism that growing up in capitalism and spending our formative years through the Dubya presidency. And it's like. I don't know, the fact that I latched onto any possible hint of reconciliation and thought of him or his friends and got sad thinking about how things went. While he had been basically stewing in resentment, latching onto and feeding this idea of me as some sort of dangerous person or monster, ignoring anything that might dismantle that narrative and latching onto any sliver that might fuel it. This is why I said I do not respect him as a person anymore. Because despite the fact that I can actually PROVE his claims are bullshit and that I was mistreated, I forgave him and moved on and he held nothing but malice in his heart and went on to make multiple people question their perceptions of me. I do not, and will not -ever- respect people who do that to each other. You can try to paint me as a violent person because of my strong opinions or being outspoken and willing to go against the grain but truthfully? I'm not the one who has spread enough shit on a person that I can whip up a 33pg PDF in less than a week. Work on that. Which is another thing I'm disappointed about and feel the ball was absolutely fumbled, and hey if you're reading this, hi! That PDF should have been sent to me the second you got it, not at some point later when it was requested in leadership chat.

Idk maybe talking about my FC running apprehensions here will help me so I'm gonna stream of consciousness but I 'aint holding anything back re: my previous FC so I'm readmore'ing this

I think I have some lingering trauma not just the inevitable kind from how things ended, but from being a part of that in general. I was one of the veteran leaders who had been with that FC since early ShB. The original owner was very very good at what he does, but with the caveat that he believed he was the only one who could do it right. In the beginning he didn't have any officers. The only two people on leadership were just his two closest confidants and one was a total jackass. He had his flaws, and he gradually worked on them, but not without taking extended breaks from the game and leaving the FC to fend for itself during that time. Eventually, he passed leadership to Kaiza and one other person. This was sort of done on a whim like. Congrats this is your FC now okay by, and the two people in charge didn't really mesh well. This lead to a break-off, and the FC eventually reforming with him, his now girlfriend (and hopefully fiance honestly), and Kaiza. Kaiza was often too afraid to put her foot forward and very insecure and self-doubting, and was pushed along by the former owner and his partner and encouraged to do more, but sometimes she'd have the rug pulled out from under her which lead to the eventual fraying of hairs and the both of them leaving. A stronger leadership team was formed by Kaiza including myself, the current FC lead, and one other guy who I got really close with at the end of last year only to learn that he had some catastrophic empathy problems. Promotions were done similarly to how Kaiza herself was promoted. This ended up putting a lot of people in positions of """power""" who would have been better off simply getting a recognition or event planner role, which was added later. After Kaiza left, Amelia was put in power because he has a burning need for control and could not fucking stay in his land and ended up basically giving Kaiza more trauma just to tear everyone apart and no. I do not give a fuck if people think he's such a nice guy. He isn't. Hes a manipulative control freak. This was one of my issues after he left. I saw *everything* he was but I couldn't ever speak up on it because we did have one other person on leadership who would defend him up and down. We can't make waves. We can't ever make waves, and that's the end of PRIME as we know it on Crystal. And no- I'm not talking about the namechange that was forced upon us while I smiled and nodded like yes Amelia sure Amelia everything you say is the whole truth Amelia and certainly not purposefully spin-doctored or butchered to put you in the best light even if it means tossing others under the bus Amelia. I'm talking about the FC as it was, because PRIME did not become DAWN, PRIME went to Marilith with Xander, while DAWN and any other offshoots attempted to recreate what it had but ultimately couldn't and, for better (DAWN) or worse (TIDES) became its own thing.

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doomed-syko · 3 years ago

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Beg for Your Hand In Marriage | Robert Keating x Fem!reader

summary: It’s May, it will be Inhalers last show for a while and your boyfriend just asked you to marry him…

word count: 5.3k

warnings: the usual, swearing, a lot of fluff like a shit ton of fluff, mention of alcohol, mention of drugs, more fluff… honestly it’s fluff galore oh and yes uncle!rob is making a comeback (everyone cheered!), also like always my bad writing

request: anonymous; Hey!! Idk if you are doing requests but I was wondering if you can please do a Rob imagine where maybe he’s at band practice and stuff and they are singing a song that he wrote for you and half way he leaves and goes home to you and is like “let’s get married like right now” or something like that and you’re like “what” and he gives you like this whole speech but he doesn’t even have a ring but say yes anyways and you guys have like a shotgun wedding and it’s cute and the rest of the guys are there. Idk why lol but I imagine Robert have a Vegas wedding lmao

author’s note: rejoice rejoice i am back, sorry i took me so long but i’ve had the worst writers' block oops kinda changed the request i hope that’s fine :) (also we’re gonna ignore that you need to give a three months notice, at a civil registration service, if you wanna get married in ireland; this is fiction so i decide the rules lol)

Today was the last day of tour. It was a Wednesday in May - May fourth to be exact – and today Inhaler would play their last show for a while, at home in Dublin.

There weren't any tours, or even gigs for that matter, planned besides a few Festival appearances in the UK and Europe, spread out over June and July. After touring their debut album for almost two whole years - with little breaks in between of course, which they used to record their second album - the lads had decided that they all could use a bit of time off before said second album would come out in early September.

Today was the last of three back to back shows in The Academy and you were sure that the band would put their all into it. If this night would be anything like the two before they would blow the roof off the place without a doubt. Figuratively speaking of course.

The snapping of Robert's fingers pulled you out of your thoughts: “When did Gary say we'd have to be at the venue again?”

“Uhhh,” you looked at your phone. It was 12:10. “Jesus love, shouldn't you know that? I mean I'm not the one in the band.” You sighed, desperately trying to remember what their manager had told you yesterday. “Doors open at seven, Soundcheck's probably gonna be sometime between five-thirty and six again, so we should turn up at four at the very latest!”

“Okay.” Rob hummed, turning his attention to Neo, one of the two cats you owned, that was happily purring now that your boyfriend had decided to tickle her behind her ears. “You like that huh?”

Neo was pitch black from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail. The colour of her eyes fluctuated, depending on how the light hit them, from black like her fur to a light grey with a hue of blue.

Ziggy, on the other hand, was as white as snow — aside from the few grey stripes that were lining her tummy — and had green eyes.

You turned your attention away from the two and looked down at your phone again. You'd hadn't even checked your messages at all today, so you quickly opened WhatsApp. The chat at the top was between you and Ciara who'd apparently sent you another message sometime last night while you were already fast asleep.

'Tomorrow at 3 no later than 4, oh and give Neo and Zig a good head scratch from me'

You chuckled to yourself, your best friend knew you better than you'd like to admit sometimes. You quickly answered her ('thank you and of course, give tobert and harley a kiss from me') before moving on to the other messages that had accumulated since last night on several sites.

“Ciara said and I quote: “Tomorrow at 3 no later than 4, oh and give Neo and Zig a good head scratch from me”, so there's your answer.” You laughed turning your attention to the black furball that was comfortably laying on Bobby's lap. Reaching forward you quickly scratched her head, smiling at the way she leaned into the touch. “When do you wanna leave?”

“If we leave at 14:25, so in...” now it was Rob who pulled out his phone to check the time. “Two hours and fifteen minutes, we'll be at The Academy just before three, so we'd be on time for once.”

“Sounds good,” you yawned, a reminder that you hadn't slept more than twelve hours over the last two days combined. “I still reek of sweat, beer and smoke,” you grimaced, remembering the beer that most of your body had been showered in during the lads' set, before getting up from the sofa you were both sprawled out on. “I'm gonna go and hop under the shower real quick.”

“Okay, but don't take too long,” Rob mumbled, his eyes closed. “I was too tired to shower this morning.”

“We could safe time and water and just shower together,” you shrugged, walking toward the bathroom. “Nothing you haven't seen before!”

You purposefully stopped right in front of the door, craning your neck to try to see if your boyfriend was following you.

“I like the way you're thinking Y/N!" Bobby grinned when he had finally caught up with you, before wrapping his arms around your waist and picking you up. “Let's go, woman,” he laughed at the screech coming from your mouth the second as you lost contact with the floor.

“We don't have all day!”

You left your flat on time — at 14:23 to be exact — checking if you had everything you needed on you for the third time and making sure that Robert hadn't left any hickeys on your neck (your boyfriend telling you “Stop worrying, I made sure to spare your neck and concentrated on your boobs”) you locked the door behind you and made your way to the Luas station nearest to your place.

The walk to the station took you about ten minutes, the journey on the tram only sixteen and before you knew it you were standing at the back entrance to The Academy.

You both quickly showed your AAA passes to the guard at the door. Gary — their tour manager — had given them to you after last nights gig and you had stashed them away securely in one of the deep pockets of your leather jacket, afraid that if you'd given them to your lover he would have just lost them.

You felt Roberts fingers intertwining with yours as you walked down the narrow corridor towards the bands green room. The familiarity of the place making you feel... almost at home.

For years now the lads had been playing gigs at The Academy. Starting by playing the Academy 2 — which could hold 230 people — and working their way up to The Academy 1 with a capacity of over 830. The most memorable probably were the four back to back gigs they played in December of 2021, which had been sold out for months in advance. They could sell our bigger venues, they had done it plenty of times before, but for their last shows of this album cycle they wanted to play to a smaller crowd and there was no place better than The Academy for that.

For once, you weren't the last ones to arrive (Eli was the last one, with his phone pressed to one ear and a half-eaten chocolate cookie in his other hand) so you decided to lean back and make yourself comfortable on the worn-out leather sofas, waiting for everyone to gather in the semi spacious room.

You were talking to Ciara who was sitting beside you when Gary finally stopped talking with the venue staff and turned his attention to everyone in the room.

“Okay, listen up everyone,” his voice boomed through the green room. “Soundcheck is at five-thirty, after that you're free to roam around backstage and outside. Just try to draw as little attention to yourselves and remember to stay close and keep your passes on you at all times, the venue staff will ask you to identify yourself and check for your pass!” He looked at Elijah, his left eyebrow raised, probably thinking back to the show around three weeks ago when Eli had gone for a smoke five minutes before the show was supposed to start and wasn't let back in.

You chuckled quietly. You were there when it happened, you were the one he had called cursing and grumbling asking you to come to the back door with his pass and show the security that he was in fact allowed backstage because he was the singer of the band that was about to play to 1600 people. You hadn’t even tried to stop laughing when you showed the guard at the door yours and then Elis Pass before you were both sprinting through the corridor to reach the stage in time.

Gary’s speech was short and sweet and before you realized he was already out of the door again following one of the roadies, who had some questions for him.

“Hey, Y/N.” Eli smiled pulling you into a hug, as best as he could with you on the sofa and him standing in front of said sofa. “I hate to ask this of you, believe me, I do, but Akiras flight from Amsterdam has been delayed so she couldn’t make it here with me…” he trailed off. “Could you maybe make sure that she gets her pass?”

“Yeah sure,” you smiled at your friend, who was visibly relaxing at your assurance. “What times she gonna be here?”

“If everything goes right, she should be here at five forty, if you could just make sure she gets let in and give her the pass…” he pulled the pass out of his jacket, giving it to you. “That would be amazing!”

“Of course Eli,” you smiled, putting the pass down beside your phone on the little table that was cramped into the corner beside the sofa. “Im gonna send her a text to let her know that I'll wait outside for her!”

“Thank you so much, Y/N/N,” Eli grinned. “I owe you one!”

Time moves fast when you’re talking with your friends. Over the last hour and a half, more people had arrived, including your brother, his wife and their daughter — Lennon — who was sitting on your lap and pulling faces at Ryan from across the room. You were sitting on the armrest of the sofa, leaning against Rob's chest, his arm slung over your shoulders and his fingers playing with your hair.

You were laughing at something Josh had said when Gary came back and ushered the band out of the green room towards the stage so they could do their soundcheck. Lennon insisted to watch “uncle Robby and his friends” soundcheck, so you hoisted her up on your hip and followed them with Ciara and Gayle.

Lennon was wearing a pair of those big black headphones made for toddlers to protect their ears and was happily jumping around in front of the barrier, looking back to you every once in a while, as if she wanted to make sure that you were still there with her.

You were still there. Ciara, Gayle and you were standing right beside the front of house (sound and light) techs, making sure you weren’t in the way and keeping an eye out for your niece, who was smiling brightly at Eli, who was quickly waving at her before turning his attention back to the song they were currently playing.

Over the years you had the pleasure to experience your fair share of Inhalers sound checks. Having been friends for ages before dating Bobby even became an option – you had fancied him for a while before you finally worked up the courage to ask him out – and along the way, you'd seen them soundcheck for shows in the tiniest of clubs, slowly working their way up to play sold-out shows to hundred yes even thousands of fans.

You had accompanied the band on the first half of their UK tour — which was dating back two and a half months now — and then also joined them for the entirety of their European tour, which had ended a week ago, so your sound check experience had grown even more during that time.

The lads were five minutes into soundcheck when you felt your phone buzz in the pocket of your black jeans. It was a message from Akira, telling you that she was about to reach the Academy. You put your phone back, grabbed the Pass that was stuffed into the other pocket and asked the girls if they could keep an eye out for Lennon, before making your way down the corridor that would lead to the same back entrance Bobby and you had used earlier.

“Y/N!” you were promptly engulfed in a big hug. “Oh my god, I haven’t seen you in ages. How have you been darling?”

“Good to see you to Akira,” you giggled into the blonde girl’s neck, still swaying side to side. “I’ve been brilliant, how are you, babe?”

She finally let go of you, pushing her sunglasses up and exposing her brown eyes. It was true though, you hadn’t seen each other in a while, not in real life at least.

“Great,” she smiled. “Busy and tired but very happy to have some time off now. Honestly, I haven’t slept properly in weeks.”

“Well, I don’t think I need to tell you this, but you won’t get much sleep tonight I reckon.” you chuckled, pulling the Pass out of your back pocket. “Here’s the Pass, by the way, the lads are still soundchecking but they should be done soon.”

“You’re an angel Y/N/N!” Akira said, pulling you into another hug. “I owe you one!”

“You would not believe it, but your boyfriend said the same exact thing to me.”

“Of course he did.”

Time between soundcheck and the actual show flew by fast. Akira and you had headed straight for the green room, where she put her bags down and sat down beside your sister in law, striking up a conversation with her immediately. You grabbed a water bottle and popped some grapes into your mouth, before sitting down beside Sam and throwing your legs over his lap.

You were laughing at something your brother had said when the door to the green room was opened again, Josh being the first to enter the room his arm swung over Gayle’s shoulder, the others following them.

Robert was carrying Lennon in his arms, throwing his head back, laughing at something Ciara had said who was a step ahead of him and giggling at his reaction. Rob took a swift look around the room, crouching down slightly when Lennon started squirming in his arms, watching her take off and run towards her parents before he wandered towards the sofa Sam and you were sitting on and practically throwing himself down beside you.

You were about to jokingly scold him when but decided against it in favour of watching Elijahs and Akiras reunion.

The blonde girl had jumped up from her place on the leather couch and practically leapt into the arms of her boyfriend who quickly wrapped his arms around her and was now swaying them from side to side. It was a lovely and sweet scene.

Deciding to let the reunited lovers have some little privacy, you turned your attention to your boyfriend pressing a kiss to one of his dimples before cuddling into his chest and listening to his and Sams conversation, interjecting every now and again.

You had been to a lot, a lot of Inhaler shows in the last few years but this one was, without a doubt, the best one yet. The atmosphere was through the roof, from your place on the balcony you had a perfect view of both the stage and the crowd and yeah you were sure this was their best show yet.

The gig flew by quick — to be honest, you hadn’t even paid that much attention, rather dancing with your friends and your niece who was happily clapping and laughing along in your arms — and before you knew they were playing Cheer Up Baby, their second last song, so you all slowly made your way down the balcony and backstage again to greet the band when they would come off stage.

While Akira and you waited for them, the rest went back to the green room. Lennon, you could tell, was on the brink of falling asleep in her father's arms. You were sure that they would leave as soon as they could.

“You guys played amazing tonight!” You were beaming. You quickly hugged Louis and Josh — they were the first to come off stage — being careful with the guitar still hanging from Josh’s shoulders.

“The crowd was amazing!” Josh smiled back, saying a quick ‘thank you when Tom took his guitar from him. “Definitely one of the best shows from this tour.”

Lou, hummed in agreement, opening his water bottle and taking a big gulp.

You welcomed both Eli and Ryan with hugs as well, congratulating them on the good show, making some small talk with Ryan while you watched Eli embrace his girlfriend in a hug and waited for your boyfriend, who stepped down the little stairs a few moments later, engulfing you in a big sweaty hug.

“Hey you,” you mumbled into his neck, completely ignoring the sweat that was glistening on his skin. "You did amazing darling!"

“Thank you, love,” Rob said, pressing a kiss to your temple. “I assume you had fun?”

“Of course,” you looked up at him, moving your hands, from where they were linked behind his back, up to rest them in between his shoulder blades. “Had a blast dancing with Ciara, Akira and Gayle.”

“Yeah, I saw that,” he smiled down at you before pecking your lips. “Common,” he gently tapped your leg. “Let’s head back, so I can properly say goodnight to my niece!”

Hand in hand you walked back to the green room, where Rob grabbed a bottle of water and a towel before he went over to your brother. Lennon — who looked like she would pass out any second now — got a sudden rush of energy as soon as she saw your boyfriend; a big smile replacing the tired expression that was on her face just seconds earlier.

You chuckled quietly at the two. She really had him wrapped around her tiny little fingers, it was adorable.

“Goodnight Lovebug.” You smiled down at your niece after you joined the little group. “See you on Friday, okay?” You kissed her nose. “Oh, and be good for your Ma and Dad!”

You turned around to your lover.

“I’m in desperate need of a tab,” you sighed. “You in?”

“Of course,” Rob hummed. “Let me just get my jacket real quick okay?��

You watched him as he crossed the room to grab his leather jacket, exchanging some words with Josh, Ryan and Garry on the way back before he came back, holding his hand out for you to hold.

“Let’s go.”

The air outside was cool and you were glad that you had your jacket on you, cause there was no way in hell you would have taken Bobbys. Not when he was still wearing his sweaty clothes; you didn’t wanna have to nurse your boyfriend back to health because he got a cold from not wearing his jacket.

You were leaning against the cold brick wall right beside the back entrance of The Academy, Robert just a few feet in front of you. He was oddly quiet.

Having a post-gig smoke had become part of your routine a long time ago. It calmed both of you immensely and after doing it a few times it just stuck. But usually, Robert would crack some jokes or talk about the show with you, today he didn’t.

“Everything okay?” You asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Hmm?” He looked down at you. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked you if everything’s okay!” You repeated yourself, slightly rolling your eyes. “Usually you would have told me a shitty joke by now.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine don’t worry,” he grinned, taking his hand that wasn’t occupied with holding a cigarette and cupping your face; his thumb gently stroking your cheek. “I’m just a bit tired that’s all darling, no need to worry!”

The two of you stood in silence again. Your cigarette was long smoked and you were only waiting on Rob to finish his. Maybe that’s why you didn’t expect what he said next.

“Marry me.”

“What?”

“Marry me.”

“Robert, what the fuck?!”

“Im serious, I want to marry you. I think I have for a while now, but tonight, seeing you so carefree and genuinely happy, dancing with the girls and with Lennon on your arms made it all click. I never want to be without you, I don’t think I can be without you actually.” He smiled down at you. It was the most sincere smile he had ever smiled. “You mean everything to me Y/N and I would love to get to call you my wife… only if you want to of course!”

You thought your eyes were about to fall out of your head. Oh my god was this really happening right now?

“Bu- but we don’t have rings…”

“We’ll actually…” Robert grinned, quickly looking down at his shoes. “Smo might, perhaps has two very simple silver rings stashed away, that fit us two perfectly.”

And that’s when you learned that drunk Rob's ideas were things sober Sam forced him to go through with and that’s why he apparently had wedding bands for you two, stashed away in his kitchen drawer.

The next twenty-four hours went by fast. After telling your friends — who’d all hugged and congratulated the two of you — and your families, you went straight to planning.

Ryan and Josh, bless their hearts, had somehow managed to get you a date at the registry office, Ciara and Gayle had decided to bake a cake and Akira had agreed to help decorate your parents garden for the party after the ceremony (they had offered their house and garden months ago for the ‘end of tour party’), while Eli and Sam would come and pick you up from your flat to drive you to the registry office, where the rest of your friends and family would be waiting.

You would get married to the love of your life. On Friday. Which was today.

Since the whole planning of the wedding was rather… last minute, you had opted to wear a long and flowy dress, which ended right above your ankles. It was a simple summer dress you had worn maybe once or twice before and now it would be the dress you would be married in.

Besides the fact that Rob and you would get married this noon, nothing was different. Like always you had a slow and lazy start into the morning; you woke up first, got up and prepared breakfast, only to be joined by your boyfriend a few minutes later who would hug you from behind and press a kiss to your neck before helping you get everything ready. You would eat outside, on your little balcony, Neo and Ziggy joining you to lay in the sun before you would jump into the shower and get ready.

Just today you wouldn’t just throw on one of Bobby's shirts you had stolen ages ago and a pair of jeans, but the aforementioned Summer dress while Robert put on one of the suits he had worn at a photoshoot a few years back. It wasn’t exactly the same one, since it was only a loan or the photoshoot but after constant begging from you, he had gone and bought an identical one. He had never worn it, always saying he wanted to wait and wear it for a special occasion. Today was that special occasion.

At 10 am sharp your doorbell rang. Outside stood were Eli and Smo, both also wearing simple suits, big grins on their faces.

“Miss Y/L/N,” Eli winked at you, taking your hand a pressing a light kiss on it making you chuckle and roll your eyes. “Mr Keating,” he bowed in front of Robert, whose reaction was similar to yours. “Your carriage is ready for you!”

The carriage was Sam's fifteen-year-old dark blue Audi, which for once looked like it had been thoroughly cleaned, both inside and out.

“Mlady,” Eli grinned, holding the car door open for you. Which was followed by a “Stop fucking flirting with my fiancé, Eli.” from Robert.

“Boys,” you raised your eyebrows. “Behave okay?”

“Yes, Maam!” Eli said, closing the car door after you had slid into the backseat. “Let's get going,” he hummed. “Don’t want you guys to be late for your own wedding!”

The drive was about twenty minutes and before you knew it, Eli was opening the car door again and helping you out of the car. Your friends and family were already waiting, your parents welcoming both you and Bobby with big smiles and long hugs; Roberts parents doing the same.

Since the wedding was planned in just about twenty-four hours, only Roberts and your parents and siblings, and your closest friends – aka the band, their girlfriends and Sam – would be present for the official ceremony… oh and Lewis, to take the pictures.

“You look fucking gorgeous Y/N!” Gayle gushed, hugging you tight. “I can't believe this is actually happening, like what?”

“Hmm neither can I,” you chuckled nervously. “Im kinda sweating right now!”

“That’s totally normal,” the brunette smiled at you before taking your hands in hers, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “You are doing the right thing don’t worry!”

“We actually had a bet going,” Ciara chipped in. “Josh, Gayle, Ryan and I: Who would get married first; between Bob and you and Eli and Akira.” She clarified. “Gayle and I said Bobby and You would tie the knot first, Josh and Ryan said Eli and Akira – so I guess that means our boyfriends owe us twenty-five euros each.”

“Mhmm,” Gayle smirked. “We should defo remind them of that again!”

“You two are something else!” You chuckled, looking down as you felt someone tug on your dress. “Hiya Lovebug,” You crouched down to your niece. “Is that for me?”

Lennon was wearing a blue dress, her usually wild blonde locks were braided into two perfect little fishtail braids, while she was proudly pressing a bouquet of wildflowers in various colours to her chest.

“Yuppp,” she smiled up at you. “Picked them out on my own!”

“Oh wow, Lennon they are beautiful!” You booped the five-year-olds nose, before taking the bouquet. “Thank you so much, Angel.”

You watched as she ran off again, towards your brother who promptly picked her up while continuing to speak with Elijah and Sam.

“Are you ready?” Rob mumbled, pressing a light kiss to your neck, as he wrapped his arms around your waist, startling you slightly. “Am sorry if I scared you.”

“No no, don’t worry you didn’t scare me, I was just a bit surprised that’s all.” You hummed, leaning back in his embrace. “Im ready!” You answered his question. “Are you?”

“Never been more ready!” You felt his chest vibrate slightly. “Let's fucking do this!”

Your family and friends were already seated, when Robert and you walked down the aisle together, they were all happily smiling at you two and you were sure that some of them had tears in their eyes.

The ceremony was quick – it was 'only' a Civil Marriage after all – and since all you were feeling was glee and pure ecstasy it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. The solemniser lead through the wedding beautifully; it was simple and straight to the point but you wouldn’t have wanted any other way. You happily signed the Marriage Registration Form, leaning against Robert as you watched Josh and Ciara – your two official witnesses – do the same.

And just like that, it was done. You were married. Wife and Husband. Robert and Y/N Keating.

As soon as you stepped outside of the registry office, your mother pulled you flush against her body. You felt like you were being handed from person to person before you finally stood in front of Rob again. Your husband.

“Hi,” you breathed, looking up at him. “We really did that huh?”

“Yeah,” He smiled. He gently grabbed your left hand, looking at the silver ring sitting on your ring finger before pressing a sweet kiss to it. “I love you so much Y/N, so so fucking much!”

“I love you!” You repeated the words to him. “More than you know.”

The smile on his face was probably the happiest you had ever seen him wear. It was bright and big and you could see his dimples, which was a rare occurrence. You were sure that your smile was probably just as big and bright; you hadn’t stopped smiling since the ceremony had started.

Bobby's hands moved up to cradle your face pulling it closer before pressing a sweet and long kiss to your mouth. Like routine, you moved your arms up, so they could lay on his shoulders and cross them at your wrists.

The two of you had shared a lot of different kisses over the years. Shy kisses, slow and sweet kisses, angry kisses, sad kisses, hopeful kisses… but non had been so full of love and happiness like this one was.

You took a few pictures in front of the steps of the registry office before all piling into the cars you had come in, to drive to your parent's house where the “end of tour / Bobbys and Y/N/N's Wedding” party would be held.

Your parents garden looked, to put it simply, fucking beautiful. Lanterns were hanging in the big old tree, the same big old tree your friends and you would sit under in summer and get drunk and high when your parents weren’t at home. Wrapped around the smaller apple and cherry trees were fairy lights. The same fairy lights were also wrapped around the strange mix of garden furniture, your parents had accumulated over the years. It simply looked heavenly.

It was several hours later, the sun slowly starting to set, your makeup smudged and hair far wilder than it had been that morning, your shoes had been discarded long ago and you were somewhere in between buzzed and drunk when Sam and Ryan came over to you and sat down beside you, one on either side.

The three of you sat in silence for a while before you said something.

“I heard you owe your girlfriend twenty-five euros,” you chuckled as you turned your head towards Ryan. “Better pay up before she makes it fifty!”

“Thank you for reminding me.” Ryan shook his head, not able to hide the smile on his face. “How are you doing?”

“Im doing fantastic!” You smiled, then turned your attention to Sam. “Thank you.”

“Your welcome,” he grinned. “But for what exactly are you thanking me?”

“Oh, just,” you trailed off, your attention landing on Lennon who was dancing with Rob and now manically waving at you. You waved back, grinning before turning your attention back on Sam. “I heard you played a huge role in Rob getting the rings in the first place. So without you, we wouldn’t be here now!”

“Oh yeah that,” he smirked. “Of course. I mean that’s kinda my duty as his best friend, to make him go through with the ideas he gets when he's drunk and missing you!”

The three of you all laughed before you fell silent again.

“Yknow, Sam is a great name for a baby… and it's unisex!” Sam said. Ryan snorted before chipping in. “Well, the same goes for Ryan.”

“Huh?” You looked at your two best friends, “What the fuck are yous two on about now?”

Ryan nudged you before pointing at Bobby and Lennon. “Look.”

Your husband was swaying gently with his niece in his arms. Her head was resting on his chest and she looked like her eyes would fall shut any second now.

Oh… ohhhhh

“Ya reckon that’s the next step for you two?” Ryan asked, his eyes fixed on his best friend who was now gently passing the little girl in his arms to her mother, before turning around, his eyes finding yours instantly a warm smile on his lips.

You mirrored his smile. “Maybe.”

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