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romanarose · 15 days ago

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The Ghost of You

Banner by my dear @commonmisery

Ghost!Joel Miller x fem!reader

TLOU 2 SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU"VE BEEN WARNED!

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Summary: After moving into Jackson, you're put up in a house that hasn't been lived in for years. Soon, you realize you aren't alone. Can you help Joel move on to the next life to be with his daughter? Or will you keep him here selfishly with you?

Warnings: TLOU 2 SPOILERS, ghost!sex, mentions of violence and the things Joels done and what happened to him. bittersweet ending. Body marking and blood but it v consensual. It's loving.

A/N: This is my goodbye to writing Joel. I've made a few statements on thi before and if you've followed me for a while you know why. I won't rehash it. But I wanted to write this idea I had talking to @multiversed-daydreamer as my goodbye. i won't say it my last joel forever but it is for along time. all other series are cancelled. I am also just largely essening my writing for p-boys but I'll still be around witing frankie and javi and marcus sometimes. You never know. My main focus rn is logan howlett, triple frontier, and my original content

This is my love letter to the Joel fandom that has given me so much love and friendship

Looking for something similar? Brother by @macfrog is Tommy saying goodbye, and The Devil's Wife is devil!Joel, similar theme of halloween by @noxturnalnymph

8.5 words

It was cold. That was annoying. How you’d wandered your fucking way out to Wyoming, you’ll never understand. One minute you were in Florida complaining about the heat, now you were being treated for frostbite in your toes.

You’d arrived in Jackson last afternoon, nearly frozen to death and had been crashing in the clinic bed ever since. The doctor, a nice older man, took care of you and a few nurses checked in overnight, and today you were cleared to get settled. Word of mouth had told you Jackson was the place to go, a safe haven, a community where people actually take care of each other. Maria Miller, the town founder, had just left your room saying she’d be outside doing paperwork whenever you were ready for the short tour. You’d get the full spiel eventually, but right now the frostbite made walking a little hard. She'd just show you her office, the mess hall, a few quick essentials and then take your to your new home.

That was when you heard shouting outside the door. One voice was Maria, the other you didn’t recognize. It was hard to hear, but you listened in with your ear pressed to the door.

“It’s been 3 years Tommy. I know this is difficult for you but-”

“You don’t know shit!”

“Excuse me? Who was there for you when you drowned your feelings in moonshine for years? Who took care of Walker while you went off on pointless revenge missions!”

“Don’t you bring him into this. Don’t fucking do that shit, Maria, you know I had too.”

A beat of silence. “You had to do whatever you had to do to deal with what happened. We forgive you, we took you back here and the whole town in glad for it. But Tommy… Jackson is growing. We need the space-”

“You never fucking liked him! You never wanted him around! I bet you’re glad-”

The shouting began to overlap each other, voices raising until you were uncomfortable enough with the man’s temper you grabbed your gun and opened the door, pointing it at him.

“Settle down there, cowboy. Ain’t nice to yell at a lady.”

The next few minutes were embarrassing, to say the least. Maria explained that Tommy was her ex-husband. She didn’t go into the argument, but she assured you, not without gratitude, that firstly she could handle herself, and second that Tommy wasn’t a threat.

After Tommy left with a pointed ‘fuck you’ in your direction, you turn back to find Maria rolling her eyes.

“He’s a good man. I promise. Good dad, works hard, takes care of his people. He just gets… well, there’s some sore spots. C’mon let’s get you home. I bet you’re tired.”

Settled into the house that felt way too big for just you, your thoughts drift to the man. He was older, 50’s maybe? Dark brown hair with a few streaks of gray and tired lines around his eyes, but handsome. He was so angry, and angry at you. What the hell did you do? You hadn’t even been here a day! Fucking unreal. Men were men no matter where you went, but their temper tantrums never ceased to amaze you.

The house was pretty empty. You’d been given a few furnishings, but the house was stripped of all character, certainly taking apart everything the previous owner had. Had the place been occupied since the world fell apart? Or had someone who lived here died? You wondered how. You wondered if they had family, or if the town was their family.

The kitchen had kindly been stocked up pretty well, and you’d been given some toiletries so after eating, you enjoyed your first warm bath in a long time. Running water, and it was warm? Fantestic. You boiled a pan of water and tossed it into the tub for some extra heat just how you liked it.

In bed that night, that’s when things got weird. You felt a coldness wash over your body, a shiver you didn’t expect under the warm blankets. Then the window unlatched and flew open. You gasp, fearful at first, but then justify that since it’s on springs, the latch must’ve been not done right and just sprung open. No big deal. But then you felt a hand on your cheek and you froze.

It didn’t linger more than a second. The touch was fluid, but not wind, not air. There was a roughness to it, the distinct feeling of a large hand cupping your face… but you weren’t scared. Instead, you felt calmed. Relaxed.

It became routine, after a few weeks, you refused to go to sleep until you felt it, the touch of warmth on your face, and you felt safe. It didn’t take long for you to believe you had a ghost; after the cordyceps, ghosts were never far from disbelief, something you’d always been open to, but the question was who.

That would be answered soon enough. You could just ask, yeah, but you wanted to find out, in their own words. As the days progressed, you’d been given time to recover and adjust before working, so you spent a lot of time settling into your house. This was not without its encounters with the ghost. More and more, they seemed to get stronger, able to do more, communicate more. There were items shuffled around, bigger and bigger until the couch was moved.

“I don’t like it there.” You said out loud, pushing it back a few feet.

They moved it again.

“Come on, you’re being annoying.” You move, just for it to get moved back again.

You throw your hands up in the air. “Fine! At least be useful and carry the chair upstairs.” No response, no movement. “Dick.” A gust of wind through your hair and you giggle.

You scribble together a make-shift ouija board, a circle tied from some guitar string you found in a box the ghost knocked off a shelf that must’ve not been cleaned.

Candles lit, you cross legged on the floor, you try to get information. Requests for the name came up empty, but the string moved to “yes” when asked if they were a man.

“How old are you? Or- were you?”

5. 6.

“Old man.” You chuckle when wind brushes your hair. You’d learned this was his way of teasing.

“How did you die?”

D-o-n-t-g-o-g-o-l-f-i-n-g

“Don’t go golfing? What does that mean?”

No response.

“Was that a joke?”

Yes.

“Well, I don’t get it. You know that, right?”

Yes.

“Fine, don’t wanna talk about death I see. Fair enough, never been there myself but I heard it’s not fun. Uhhhhhh got any kids?”

“Go on.”

2 g-i-r-l-s. 1 d-e-a-d.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that… where is the other?”

I-d-o-n-t-k-n-o-w

“Shit, i’m sorry about that too. Must be confusing.” Not knowing where your daughter is must be hard. “Is your other daughter with you? In the afterlife I mean?”

e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g-i-s-d-a-r-k

That broke your heart. “Must be scary.”

Yes

Then, the string moved again.

N-e-w-t-o-p-i-c

a-b-o-u-t-y-o-u

For whatever reason, this makes you blush. You spend the evening telling him about yourself, sharing details and asking him the same. He didn’t like talking about his family, refused to answer any more questions. Wouldn’t say his name.

But it was the first time you’d been called beautiful over ouija board, you knew that much.

Even after you began working, every evening you’d run home to spend time with this ghost of a man. The most people saw of you outside your day labor was a pop into the mess hall to take food home or the clinic as they checked you were recovering okay.

“Don’t see much of you.” The doctor commented. “You adjusting okay? I know it’s a lot to get used to.”

You blink in confusion. You were fine. Happy, even. Sure, you didn’t get to know anyone… but why would you? You did your part for the community, then you went home. Hell, you volunteered extra hours sometimes, picking up more than your fair share. You just didn’t want to get close, that’s all. People died, you’d learned that hard lesson early in life, and learned it over and over and over again. There was no point in making friends, falling in love. Not when it was all so fragile.

But you had your ghost man. He had already crossed that barrier, so there was nothing to fear. Nothing to lose.That night, you talked out loud to him about your day as you always did, he made little sounds knocking cabinets together or brushing a breeze on your skin to let you know he was listening. Sometimes winds rustled your hair when he thought you were funny. Then, the wind turned into a gust, and two firm hands pressed you down the hall, the message clear.

“Jesus! I’m going I’m going!” You follow the breeze bushing you. Fuck he was getting more powerful every day. Pushed to the kitchen, you’re face to face with the fridge.

“If this is a fat joke- hey!” Two distinct fingers pinched your cheek and you laughed. “Okay, tell me what you want!” A breeze, and you hear a fluttering between the fridge. When you bend down and dig around the dust bunnies, you find a piece of distinct photograph paper, and pull it out. On it was a picture of a man, 30’s, maybe 40’s if you were pushing it, his arm wrapped around a hung girl holding a trophy. They looked happy.

“Is this you?”

The picture ruffled in your hand.

“And the girl, that your daughter?”

The pictures motion was repeated. This looked like it was from before, from long ago… you assumed the girl was the daughter that died.

“It’s so cute…” You traced the picture of your ghost, having a face but no name still. Your feel warm, a blush creeping around your skin and a deep heat settling in your stomach. He was handsome. You’d never really pictured him,, besides a few wandering thoughts here and there, but nothing stuck. You put his picture on your fridge.

At night, the image of his face danced in your head, unable to sleep. It was weird, this friendship you had with the ghost in your house, but you didn’t really care. There were worse things in this world, darker ways to cope. So what if a dead man made you happy, made you blush and grin and giggle. So what if he was the reason your hand was currently being shoved into your PJ’s.

You’d be lying if you hadn’t touched yourself that first night, but this was the first night you pictured his body on your, his face, that beard…

“Are you watching me?” You asked, panting. That was a first too. You knew there was a possibility he watched, but you didn’t really care. Never had. Now, you hoped he did.

A pause.

Then, the liquid touch of a hand on your face. He was here. He was watching.

“Good.” You assure him, hoping he stays. “Want you to watch.” Your fingers begin to pump in your cunt, and you kick off the covers. So what if it was cold, you wanted him to see you. You thought about what it would be like to feel his face buried between your legs, what his voice sounds like, how he’d touch you-

“You can touch me, if you want. Not just my face.” It was a bold statement. Things with you and him had been friendly, close, a little flirty… but nothing so far had suggested more. For a moment, you thought he wouldn’t. Maybe he just watched to watch. Maybe you embarrassed him and he left.

Then his touch landed on your face, slowly trailing down, down, until you could feel hands on your breasts. The slightest brush on lips ghost the shell of your ear, your cheek, and your heart swells. He wants to kiss you.

“You can kiss me. It’s okay.” It wasn’t as strong a touch a his hands, but he ridgid texture of chapped lips touch yours, and ripples of pleasure flow throughout the erogenous zones on your body, far ore reach than two hands ever could. It tickles, and it feels fucking good.

“Wish you were here….” You mumble, still fucking yourself as hips bucked against yoru fingers, sopping wet sounds fill the quiet bedroom. “Never connected to anyone the way I have you.” A squeeze on your leg reassured you, and soon your tits were being messaged in a way clumsy human hands couldn’t do. It was like the rolling ocean crashing and waving and peaking on the tender flesh, a surreal experience to your touch-starved body.

“I’m gonna cum, I’m f-fuck, you’re gonna make me cum-”

Then you hear it, clear as day, sharp and quick against your ear.

“Joel.”

His name. You cry it out as your pussy clenches down on your fingers.

After that, ghost sex was something you and Joel regularly engaged in. He couldn’t really speak much still, usually only getting out one word. Generally it was ordering you to cum, sometimes a single word compliment slipped through with a southern accent.

“Beautiful.” He whispered as you lay in bed, satiated and panting.

He thought you were beautiful when you came.

There was never another reason to go anywhere outside of your home other than to work or get food, and more and more you just got groceries and worked with what you had. You liked cooking with him ,you didn’t want to be away.

Today, as you tried to make soup, you couldn’t help laugh as he managed to speak “More seasoning” and lift a fuck ton of herbs up and into the pot. At least he was a helpful ghost.

“You can just make it next time!”

You expect to feel your hair rustle, but instead his voice speaks.

“Tommy.”

Then a knock on the door. You were so startled (people never visited you) you almost didn’t answer. No one outside that door could be worth time away from Joel, but he pushed you to answer, a desperation in his actions that matched the tone he spoke the name.

When you answered, you would have shut the door if you weren’t curious about Joel’s reaction.

There stood the man who got in a shouting match with Maria. Oh, yeah, Tommy, that’s right. But why was he here? Tommy was tall, but his posture at the moment was sunken, sheepish. When he looked at you, pink dusted his tan skin. “Can I talk t’yuh?”

You narrow your eyes. “Sorry, but the last time we spoke you weren’t exactly polite enough for me to feel like welcoming you inside, and every time I’ve seen you, you give me dirty looks.”

He nods. “I understand, that’s why I uh… wanted t’explain myself. I shouldn’t’ve done that, but I was angry. Ain’t right, still…”

“What could I have possibly done to you?”

His eyes were large, brown, and wet. “This was uh… my brother’s house. He died 3 years ago.”

5 Minutes later, Tommy was sitting on the couch with you, cup of soup in hand. You hadn’t felt or heard Joel, but this was your chance. Some answers.

“Funny.” He pats the couch. “This was his. Was right here for years, never moved it.”

“It’s uh… a good spot. Now, I think you had some explaining to do?”

“Right…“ Tommy rubbed the back of his neck. “The house has been empty since he died. My wi- ex wife, I guess, kept it empty out of courtesy but she was right. It was time to move on.”

“Did he die in here?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Tommy explained it to you. The revenge that was enacted on his brother for saving the girl, Ellie. You wondered if that was his daughter he mentioned, but Tommy just referred to her as his kid. How the woman and their group killed him, Tommy saw his brother's head bashed in, brain matter on the walls.

The golf joke still didn’t make sense, but you’d figure it out. You learned more about Joel too, that he was from Texas, that his daughter, Tommy niece, died on outbreak day. Joel’s birthday. Joel played the guitar, he liked to swim, was an overbearing brother and loving dad. He was married once. He learned to cook to get Sarah to eat veggies so he was pretty good at it. Was a good man. The best, the way Tommy spoke.

“I know it ain’t right the way I’ve treat’n yuh. And I know it’s not your fault. I just hadn’t been handling his death well, you know? Lost my wife, almost lost my son… I ain’t been the man he raised me to be. I now you don’t… do anything. In town. That’s probably my fault and I’m so-”

“You think I stay home because I’m avoiding you?” You nearly bark out a laugh, his eyes growing in confusion. “Brother, I ain’t scared of no man, if I wanted to go to the movie nights I would have!”

Tommy processes this information, sipping on the last of the soup broth. “Oh… I guess I just assumed...”

“Well, you know what they say about assuming. Make’s an ass out of you and me. Here, gimmie.” You take his mug, walking to the kitchen to rinse it and still giggling.

Tommy follows you. “Well I’m sorry! I guess I just figured, the time’n ‘n all.”

You throw a look over your shoulder. “I stay home because I like it here. Because I’ve been alone for years, so I’m fine with it.”

“But why not-” He stops in his tracks. “Where did you get that?”

You follow his line of view and realize your mistake. “Uh. I uh. I found that while cleaning the kitchen, by the fridge. I guess I thought it was nice, so I hung it up… why? Who is it?”

You knew the answer before he even spoke Joel’s name. You had to pretend to be surprised, but even worse, you knew what you needed to do.

“Keep it.” You say, pushing the picture closer to him, breaking you a bit. You had to hide every emotion, because there was no reason for you to have any attachment to it. He didn’t know what you and Joel shared with each other. Who he was to you. It didn’t matter, because Joel was his brother. The girl was his niece. He deserved the picture.

“That’s her. That’s Sarah.” Tommy continued, confirming your suspicions as his finger trailed over the girl.

“She’s adorable.”

“Yeah… she was. Great kid too.”

Tommy helped you wash up the dishes from making soup, you and him talking more. He was nice when he wasn’t yelling. You could understand why he was so upset at the time, and you forgave it.

You told as much as he stood in your doorway. “I don’t hold it against you. I promise.”

He nods, smiling and looking more at ease. “Promise you’ll come to the next movie night, it’s tomorrow. It’ll be good for you, I promise.”

“What’s playing?‘

“Scream 2!”

You roll your eyes. “Not the first one?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Tommy says with a tease. “Is fucking scream 2 at the end of the world not enough for you?”

You shove him out of your door, laughing. “Fine! I’ll fucking come. But only to see Timothy Olyphant.”

You shut the door, and turn around still laughing. But what you see shocks you so bad, you’d have screamed if you didn’t cover your mouth.

It was Joel. Faint. Barely there. A dead eyed stare. Much older than the picture and his hair was longer. But it was him.

“Joel?” You say, tentatively walking towards him. He wasn’t looking at you, instead, he was looking at the door, unmoving, unblinking, unbreathing. Your hand passes through him and when his form dissipates, you fall to the ground and cry.

“Are you mad at me?” You ask. He was strangely quiet the rest of the day, only a few little touches here and there. No ghost sex that night. When you are getting out of work clothes and putting something warm on for the movie, you bring it up.

“No.”

“Well, you’ve hardly talked to me. Is it because I asked Tommy as those questions about you? I’m sorry, it’s just easier that way and I wanted to know what happened to you-”

“I miss him.”

Three whole words.

“You’re getting stronger. Did you mean to appear to me yesterday?”

“You saw me?”

“Yeah, and I hear you really good now.” You grin. “I can’t believe you’re talking this much. Maybe I’ll skip the movie, I don’t wanna lose-”

“No. Go.” a brief pause. “Please.”

“Joel Miller,” You tease him. “Are you having me check on your baby brother?” He rustles your hair.

So, you started hanging around Tommy more. It started as filling Joel in on his life, but really, you liked being around Tommy. He was easy to talk to.

You lay on your side in bed, trying to picture his face as you’d done every night for months as you talk to him. Joel’s voice was clear, fully communicating with you now. Every now and then you could see a glimpse of him in a mirror or the faint frozen picture of him standing somewhere, usually after Tommy was over.

“Walker is doing really well.” You tell him about his nephew you’ve met a few times. For a few years, Tommy was barely around after Joel’s death, most of the time he was drunk. There was an incident several months ago where Tommy passed out of the couch and Walker tried to start the stove, resulting in a small kitchen fire, and Tommy effectively lost custody of his son. Not that family court existed here, but Tommy knew he couldn’t be there. This was shortly after you moved in, and was the reason Tommy finally got sober. Things were going better now, and he’s repairing that relationship.

“You met him?”

“Yeah, he’s quiet. But he’s very polite.” Tommy said he takes after Joel. Walker and Joel had been very close before he died, Tommy adored the little boy. The little boy in question was now 8, growing up.

He sighs. “Yeah, he was a good kid. I never had a son, figured raise’n Tommy was close enough. But when I was with him… Sometimes I think back to when Sarah died, how hard Tommy fought to keep her alive… yuh know, after she died I was just, I was drowning in my sadness. There was no room for Tommy’s grief, I guess. He’s stronger than I gave him credit for, because he was always there for me. If I had lost Walker… I dunno if I could have been that strong.”

A few days later, you invite Tommy and his son over for dinner, and as you stare at Walker eating his food and laughing you can see Joel. He’s no longer a still picture, he’s moving, and smiling, and laughing too. No one else can see or hear him.

But he looks right at you.

You can see him now, laying on the pillow beside you as the pair of you talk. Sometimes he’s tangible, hands touching your face and you can see his tan skin through your peripheral. Sometimes it’s more faint, like he’s using all his strength to be see and he can’t materialize his touch. You don’t know how it works, but you’re happy to see his face. Joel has kind eyes, a softness in a world of blood and violence.

“You're beautiful.” And it’s your voice whispering it to him, because he is. Every line on his face, the scar on his forehead, the tired darkness under his eyes as if an eternity to sleep wasn’t enough. Every little freckle you could map on his face on days he was more clear. It was perfect. It was him.

A sadness crosses over those pools of brown. “I really don’t deserve you…” When you open your mouth to protest, he continues. “I’ve killed people.”

That wasn’t a shock. Who hasn’t? “I have too.”

But Joel shakes his head, curls staying in place as if gravity is now inconsequential, as if he’s frozen in time with a single lock on his forehead. “No, I’ve killed innocents. A lot. Me ‘n Tommy, before… and protect’n Ellie…”

You thought about this for a while, a chill of cold reminiscent of when he first came to you makes you shiver, but when you look at him, you don’t feel the repulsion you know he expects. “You kill children?”

“No.” He says firmly, a glimmer of sadness crossing his eyes. You didn’t think so, knowing he knew what that loss was. “But that don’t make it much better.”

“Did rape anyone? Kill people for fun? Get off on it?”

Disgust mares his features. “No, never.”

You nod. “You kill any innocent people since coming to Jackson? Settling here?”

Again, a shake of his head doesn’t knock loose a single hair. “No, but before-”

“I’m not worried about before.” You voice is soft, and you tentatively reach a hand out to caress his face. His skin was soft, softer than a man in his 50’s would be, but that’s what happens when you aren’t fully there. “I don’t care about that. Really, I don’t. You deserve a second chance just as much as anyone does. The world out there-” You vaguely whisk your hand around. “Does things to us. As far as I’m concerned, as long as you’re not a rapist, didn’t kill kids, not one of those really, really bad people… I think you deserve to leave that all outside the gates of Jackson.”

His eyes soften, affection pooling with something more. “Thank you, darl’n I mean it. I wasn’t always forgiven in that life. Nice to know someone does in this one,”

Your heart aches for him, so you try to ease his pain. “Tommy forgives you, I know it. You heard how he talks about you.”

But he’s still distant. “Maybe. But maybe he just misses me. That’s different. Besides, there’s someone I know hasn’t.”

“Ellie?”

He nods. “She…. well, we just started talk’n, right before I died. Didn’t have the chance to find out if she ever would, you know? Now I never will.”

“She does, Joel. It’s been years, I know she does.”

But he didn’t believe you.

Joel’s words stuck with you, simmering in your head like the soups he helps you make. Today you were on patrol with a fairly quiet partner, so you had nothing left to do but think, think, think. Why did his words affect you so much? He was so stuck on forgiveness, even though he’d never know-

Oh.

That’s why he was trapped here, wasn’t it? Joel’s ghost remained behind because he didn’t have the closure he needed. Tommy and him had made up, but Joel died not knowing if Ellie ever did. Years of estrangement for taking her from the hospital, for saving her, for lying, and he wasn’t sorry, he told you himself. But he needed Ellie’s forgiveness. He needed to know Tommy didn’y hold resentment. He needed to know they were safe, that they were okay.

Joel couldn’t talk to Tommy. For some reason, you could hear him speak when Tommy was around, see him, but Tommy never reacted. Joel couldn’t even move things or create a breeze when he was around…

If Joel got what he needed, the forgiveness, the resolution he longed for, he could move on. You knew it. He was getting stronger every day, his appearance crystal clear, his touch more and more solid, less fluid than before. You wanted little more than to have him like that, as close to a real person as he could get, at your home you shared with him every single day, every hour, sleeping next to him, cooking with him, fucking him… part of your mind told you that you could do it.

But that wasn’t right. He’d be little more than a housewife, a sex doll, a captive. You could keep him there, to be your only friend outside of occasionally seeing his brother, the person who knew you best, someone always there to talk because what other options did he have?

That wasn’t you. The rational part won out, and your knew what you had to do.

Tommy’s face was one of worry when you told him you’d seen the ghost of his brother. You’d spilled it all out, sparing the ghost sex details, but instead of shock, he just asked you if you ere okay.

“Yes! Tommy I’m fine-”

“I dunno, you’re kinda a weird person to begin with, see’n shit wouldn’t be that new-”

“Tommy!” You stand abruptly from his couch, pulling at your hair. “I’m not seeing- I’m not hallucinating him! You don’t understand, I see him, I see him every fucking day that’s why I don’t go anywhere!”

A sympathetic look crossed his face. “Honey, maybe you’re seeing him because you’re alone every day.”

“I’M NOT CRAZY!!” You shout at him, and he softens.

“I know, I know.” Tommy stands. “Maybe… maybe you should stay here a few days, maybe this is a yellow wallpaper situation, you gotta get fresh air, a new environment-” he reaches for your arm but you yank it away.

“Does the term ‘don’t go golf’n mean anything to you?”

Confusion crosses his face. “Not really, why?”

A deep breath. “He… I asked how he died, with a ouija board i made and he just said don’t go golfing. Never explained.”

Tommy’s skin paled, the freckles on his face a stark contrast against him. His face a deadly calm. “How did you know that.”

You can’t help but groan. “I told you, he-”

“ENOUGH GAMES!” The sudden shout shocks you, and you step back. Tommy must’ve realized he was scaring you, so he calmed down just a bit. “I’m serious. This isn’t fucking funny.”

Tears of frustration and sadness filled your heart, begging him to believe you. You didn’t think Tommy would hurt you, but the distress he was in was clear. “I wouldn’t joke about this… he- he said it was a joke I wouldn’t get, and I don’t. Tommy please, I’m being serious…”

Then, the realization dawned on him, clear as day. He believed you. “Holy shit. You’re telling the truth…”

“I am.” You sob. “Tommy I swear I’m telling the truth. He needs help, he’s trapped here… we need to help him…”

He was shaking. “C-can I see him?”

It broke your heart to say no. He can only appear to me, I think…He’s tired when you are over…“

Dizzy, Tommy sits down. “He was round… whenever I was over, wasn’t he? That’s why I always feel so calm there…”

You nod. “He calms me too. I don’t know how.” You join him on the couch again. “Tommy, what does don't go golfing mean?”

His face is buried in his hands, and you think he’s crying. It’s a lot, you know, it’ a lot to spring on someone, especially that he can’t hear or see him still, his own brother so close and yet so far. But you were doing this for him, so that he could move on, so that he could see his Sarah in the afterlife.

When Tommy finally looked up, his face and hands were soaking wet.

“He was killed with a golf club. We never told anyone about that.”

Joel stood behind you, clear and crystalline, his body practically human. He was cold, but he brought you comfort. “Something on your mind, darl’n?”

You don’t wanna lie to him, but you can’t tell him what’s happening, not yet. You want a few more days without this hanging over you both.

“Tommy left for a few weeks. Just worried.” You didn’t tell him he went to find Ellie, to go back to the farmhouse she lived in with Dina and see if she’s there, if Dina knows where she lives kows anything. To try and convince Ellie that this woman she’s never met his eeing her dad as a ghost and they need to help him move on. But hes gonna try.

A week later, the town was in a ruckus, Tommy returning to Jackson with the prodigal daughter, her girlfriend, and a little boy.

Turns out Ellie went back to Dina, begged for her back on hands and knees, and they’d been living alone out in the country for years raising JJ. They all looked good, healthy, happy… Ellie was skeptical but she agreed to come as a favor to Tommy. Everything was planned for tomorrow, but as you lay in bed with Joel for the last time, you can’t bring yourself to tell him.

You wanted one last night.

Joel kissed you, languid and soft, his hands roamed your naked and prone body and for the first time, you noticed something. A tent in his pants. A ghost had gotten an erection for you.

“Joel…” You moan, feeling him rutt against you.

“I know, I feel it too.” His voice is husky against your ear, and chills flow throughout your body as you realize what this means. Joel was firm, his body fully here and he was hard. Joel could fuck you.

He went feral after that, yanking down your PJ shorts so fast your barely had time to lift your hips, but it didn’t matter. You spread your legs to welcome to fingers the plumged into your body, absolutly dripping for the man laid beside you. Joel’s breath was hot, growling and grunting as e finger fucks you open, preparing you to take his cock for the first time.

“You’re always s’fucking wet.” He says between sucking kisses on your neck. You didn’t care if he left hickies on you, you were just beyond ecstatic that he was strong enough to leave marks. You wanted him to be with you in some way permanently. “Been wish’n I could feel you since that first day, so sweet, so beautiful, always so ready for my touch.”

You paw at him, groping his body and trying to just get his massive form on top of you. “Need you.” You beg like a needy young thing, like you’d never been fucked properly before, like you needed to be filled and taken and ravaged.

“I got yuh, darl’n…” Joel murmur, rolling over on top of you, his cock heavy- when had his clothes come off?

Knelt before your body, Joel was magnificent. His body was broad, thick, not quick as barrel chested as his brother, he held it more in the shoulders. Down his chest and stomach held scares, fat, and a trail of hair leading down, down, down to where his cock hung thick and leaking and cut. You forgot he was a ghost; he didn’t feel like one, he felt real. He felt here. Tears filled up in your eyes, and Joel leans over, his body covering yours in his cool skin.

“What’s wrong, baby?” He asks in a gentle voice, thumbing away a stray tear. “I hope yuh ain’t scared’a me? Are yuh?”

You’ve never been more sure of saying no in your life. “Ain’t scared.” You whisper. “I just… I love you so much…” It wasn’t necessarily a lie. You did love him. But that wasn’t why you were crying, not really anyway. No, you cried because this was goodbye.

Joel’s eyes, black pupils swallowing the beautiful brown with lust, grew wet themselves as he smiles down at you. “I love you too. So damn much.”

Your nails did into his back, relishing in the firm, solid feel of him. This was real. He was real. “Fuck me, please. Make love to me. I want to feel you, really feel you…”

Plush lips kissed you as he slid inside, a wave of calm relaxed your body, allowing you to take his considerable length inside you. He was big, stretching you open slowly while you accommodate him.

“Fuck, it’s like you’re made for me…” He moans in your ear, desperate like he’s falling apart at one stroke. But he doesn’t. When he fucks you, it’s with more vigor, more energy than you’ve ever felt from a living person, a slap of skin from his hips meeting your thighs, his balls heavy and slapping against your ass, his fingers digging, digging digging so deep inside as you wished he’d bruise you, wished he’d cut you open and crawl inside so he could never leave you, two souls as one. To know and to be known at the deepest level. Souls and bodies barred to each other. Nothing left to hide.

He couldn’t do that, so as Joel slammed his cock into you, you begged for something else. “Mark me.” You whimper, getting a reaction of confusion from your lover, so you take his hand and dig his nails into your tender hips. “I need to know this is real. All of it.” The tears come again when you can see him want to deny you. “This isn’t forever, you know this can’t before but I- Joel I need something to be forever! We can’t get married, you can’t leave me pictures or presents or- or kids, Joel, I need to be able to remember you.”

His movements slow. “Oh, pretty baby…” He murmurs lowly. “I’ll give anything if it means you can’t forget me.” he kisses you deeply, sucking in your tongue and before he pulls away he nips your lip. “Tell me to stop if it’s too much.”

But nothing of Joel could be too much.

A shape gasp as he dug into you, left hand bracing himself on the bed as he never stopped fucking you, rolls of pleasure coured your body like it had tha first night, swirling over your clit and dragging you screaming to the edge. And screaming you were.

“Don’t stop! Don’t stop!” You shout so loud you don’t care who hears you. Half the town thinks you’re fucking Tommy anyway. Don’t stop fucking you, don’t stop marking you, don’t, don’t, don’t go.

You could keep him to yourself. Tell Ellie and Tommy you lied, or that he went away and you can’t see him any more. Anything so that he doesn’t get what he needs, that he stays with you forever.

He’s impossibly deep inside, but in your leaking, dripping channel and into your hip. The cut of his nails goes further than they should go, but you don’t question it. Instead, you focus on the feeling of him marking your flesh, of him making your insides as his as he cums deep in your stomach. Your cunt pulses around him as your draw out whatever he’s filling you with, you don’t care. It’s him.

“More, more” You cry into his shoulder, but he’s already slowing his thrusts.

“I’m as deep as I can go, baby…” He stays bottomed out inside you, but his hands withdrawal from your side as you come down. His bloody hand cups your face, dripping with your own warmth.

You sob against his cold skin, Joel wrapping you into a hug as the overwhelming emotion of what happened floods you, and it’s too much. You need more, but it’s not him deeper, not him scaring you, and not him filling you up.

It’s more time.

You wake up with blood on your face and your wounds cleaned and bandaged, with Joel’s body gone, as it usually is in the morning. It took until the afternoon for him to appear again.

“Sorry baby.” He apoligized, hugging you. “I dunno why I can’t control coming better.” He poked your side, and you knew he meant a double entendre but you didn’t have it in you to laugh.

“It’s okay. Last night used a lot. You probably needed to rest.”

“Yeah…” He touched the bandage he’d put on your hip with soft intent. “How you feel’n bout this?”

You smile. “Great. But Joel…” You turn around to face him, his face frowning with worry. “I gotta tell you something… I told Tommy about you…” Before he has a chance to ask questions, you spill it out. “And he went and found Ellie, she’s hear. I think… I think if you reconcile with her, with Tommy, once the air is cleared… you can move on.”

For a long moment, he stares at you, unmoving, unblinking, frozen as the picture that used to hang on your door. Then he speaks. “You know… that means I can’t see you again, right.”

Damn the tears the spring forth, damn the well of emotions overflowing your body, a trickle of a leak in the damn, then it cracks, and it all breaks. You begin to sob in his arms. “I know, I know… but it’s not right for me to keep you here! You- you said it’s dark, and you’re scared.”

“I ain’t scared when I’m with you…”

“But you won’t always be with me! I need to help you move on! It’s unnatural, it’s wrong, you need to be with Sarah, you need to be at peace knowing Sarah and Tommy love you, that they forgive you!”

He lets you cry, holding you close in strong arms as he realized what was happening. He’d see Ellie again. You were willing to give him up just so he could get his happy end.

His voice in your ear.

“Ellie.”

She was skeptical, understandingly. Pretty, short, in her 20’s with brown hair cropped into a pixie and looking annoyed. She sat next to Tommy with her arms crossed and practically glaring at you.

“I’m gonna need more proof than some golf joke.”

“It was enough to get you here, wasn’t it?”

She rolled her eyes. “I owed Tommy for every fucking time he saved my damn life, that’s why I’m here.” She turned to her uncle. “We’re even, by the way.”

“Sure as shit are.” He sighs, then looks at you. “He here?”

You gesture to the couch. “Yeah he’s sitting right- hey!”

Ellie swung her hand over where you said Joel was sitting, doing nothing but annoying Joel who tried in vein to smack her away, telling her to cut the shit.

“I don’t fucking feel anything.”

“That’s not how it works Ellie!” Tommy flicked her arm. “Relax.”

With a huff, she crossed her arms again. “Fine.”

Tommy looked to you, then to Joel, then back to you. “Tell her something only Joel would know.”

When you turn to Joel, he’s looking at Ellie with sadness. She looks different, a lot older, yet she’s still Ellie to him. He doesn’t turn to you. ‘David.’ He instructs, and you turn to her.

“Do you know a David?” And suddenly her skin blanches. Ever so slightly, she’s shaking, but then she turns to Tommy. “Did Joel fucking telling you that!?”

From beyond Tommy’s protests that he doesn’t know who Daivid is, did she mean David Turner, who was a local here, or David Sanchez, who died last month in a raid? Joel insists he’d never tell that to anyone, but Ellie can’t hear him.

You try to calm them. “He says he was someone you met after leaving Jackson the first time, that you did the right thing by killing him.”

“Yeah! I fucking did!”

“He says if he goes to hell, David is the first person he’s finding.”

She stops, information processing in her head that there was no way Joel wold have told whoever David was to Tommy. “David tried to rape me when I was 14.” She grits out. “I stabbed him to death and let his body burn up.”

Tommy turns to her, horrified but doesn’t speak.

You nod. “Good.”

And then, she sinks into the couch. “Whenever I had nightmares… Joel always told me David was the first person he’d find in hell. He was convinced he was going there.”

You chuckle. Yeah that sounds like Joel. “He loves you both very, very much… and the uncertainty is what’s keeping him here. I need to help him move on.”

“So what? You’re some sort of fucking medium?”

“No, I’ve never had anything like this happen before but… He started appearing to me. Little touches, cold spots, breezes… then he started moving things, hearing his voice…. Now I can see him, he’s as clear as you are, honestly.”

Tommy speaks now. “He’s gotta know-” He tries to turn to where you said Joel was, but you can tell he’s struggling to talk to a brown cushion. “You gotta know we love you, don’t know? How can you doubt that?”

‘Tell him I do. But tell him… I don’t know if he forgives me.’

“Joel knows you both love him, but that’s not why he’s stuck. He needs to know you forgive him.”

Ellie is staring sone faced at a wall, but Tommy is looking down at his hands now, this seems easier. “Joel… those things we did… it’s been a long time. I was angry, yeah, I fucking hated you for a while but…” He shakes his head, silver streaks shimmering in the deep brown of his hair. “I got Walker now and… after he was born man, I think I got it. The things we did to survive… you were willing to do some of the worst shit out there, damning your own soul to save me. I’d do the same for my kid, if I needed to.”

‘But I shouldn’t have made you do any of it, Tommy.’

“Joel feels bad that he made you participate.”

“You didn’t make me do fuck’n shit, brother. I was a grown ass man, even if you still thought of me as a reckless teenager. I made my choices, and I understand why you made yours. You lost your baby, I know damn well you couldn’t take lose’n your brother either. I forgive you, but you also gotta forgive yourself, brother.”

Ellie pipes up. “I get it too, Joel. I told you that night, I didn’t know if I could forgive you… telling you I couldn’t… but… UUGHHHH!” She slumps down, covering her face. “Joel I was angry! I was angry and I was stupid but I was a teenager! I was just- just a kid who had these grand schemes of changing the world! But we don’t know if it could’ve worked. But I forgive you, Joel. I was always gonna forgive you, even before you went and fucking left me! I don’t know why I had to do that, why i treated you the way I did-”

‘You were a teenager, that’s normal-’

“But I think about it, every single day I think about it and what I should've said and done better but I get it now. I don’t know what you’ve been told but I got my kid now. I know you’re old man brain is probably trying to work out how two women had a baby-”

Joel laughs, and so does Ellie.

“But it’s Jesse’s. Dina got pregnant before Jesse and her broke up and he… he died. But I’ve been raising him with her the last few years… She took me back… You ask me on the porch that night if she treats me good and Joel…” Ellie sighs, smiling. “She really does.”

‘Tell ‘er I’m glad. That I always liked her, and I wanna know the kids name.’

“Joel says he doesn’t blame you for being mad at him, or how you talked to him. He says he’s glad Dina and you are happy. What’s the babies name?”

Ellie grins, pride in her eyes. “The baby is almost 4 now. His name is JJ. Jesse Joel.”

Tear fill up Joel’s eyes, fatherly love overwhelming him and for a moment, you think how sweet this is, how nice. Then you notice he’s not as clear as he was before.

“Joel!” You rush to his side and take his hand, kneeling at the couch. “Joel, I think it worked… you’re fading…” You try to grip his hand, as if holding on tighter would keep him here with you, keep him ground in this world. Without him, you weren’t sure what you’d do with your life, who you’d talk to or confide in…. But you knew, you knew above all you’d miss him. There would never be another Joel.

‘Please-’ He sounds desperate now, scared even. ‘One more time, tell them I love them, I just- I love them so much fucking much.’

Through your sobs, you relay the message. “He needs you to know how much he loves you guys. He talks about you all the time, he- you’re everything to him.” You see Ellie and Tommy holding hands, Ellie crying and Tommy looking close.

“We love you, Joel. All of us.” Ellie says, to nowhere in particular.

‘And the kids. Walker and- fuck I ain’t never met JJ but I love him too. If, if there’s a heaven I’m gonna…’ His words start to fade, but you know what he’s saying. His strength is going fast, Joel letting go and passing on, but even still his body shook. He was scared. If there was a heaven, Joel was going, but he wasn’t sure about that.

“He says he loves Walker and JJ, he’s gonna watch over them in heaven”

That breaks Tommy, who lets the tears come now as he takes your hand too, squeezing it tight.

You look up at your lover. “I love you, Joel. I’m always gonna love you, always gonna remember you. It’s gonna be okay, I promise you. We’re gonna be alright, we’re doing okay. You can let go now. It’s okay to let go. There’s no one left you need to protect.. we’re safe.”

Even though he’s fading away Joel looks into your eyes. He can’t speak, his strength fading, but it’s all communicated through those eyes that say so much. One last time, he cups your cheek, and the hand that isn’t holding Tommy’s brushes over the cold fingers, feeling liquid and unstable again. There’s fear in his eyes, mixed with that tender love, but then something changes in him.

Joel looks forward, past you, Tommy and Ellie and onto something else, something more. He smiles. ‘I see her’

All his fear his gone, and his face is peaceful.

For the final time, a breeze rustles your hair, and Tommy and Ellie see it.

Joel is gone, and all you can do is sob into his couch.

When it finally subsides you feel numb. Ellie and Tommy have joined you on the floor, the three of you talking about the experience you shared together, something no one will ever believe.

“His last words were, ‘’I see her’....”

Tommy whispers Sarah’s name, and you nod.

“He’s with her now. He’s a peace. I know a better place is a cliche, but…” Ellie wipes her tears. “We all know how much he missed her.”

Everyone nods solemnly, and for a while, you stay there, talking about Joel, memories and his jokes and his cooking. It was nice to share this secret with other, and suddenly you felt less alone in it. They believed your stories of the ghost in your walls, and they liked hearing the knew things he told you. You liked learning more of his past.

Eventually, everyone had to get back to their families. You were alone, but you didn’t feel lovely. Something had shifted, a closeness to Ellie and Tommy that didn’t scare you the way human connection used to. Maybe you would go to the mess hall, see some movies. Your patrol partner was quiet, but nice. Tommy was still around, and Ellie and Dina decided to pack up their things and return, wanting JJ to have friends. It was going to be okay, and as the sun set on the day, somehow you felt it rise on your life. A new, beautiful world of opportunities for friendship and love was out there.

You stared in the mirror, butt naked, feeling strangely open and vulnerable despite being alone for the first time in months.

It all felt surreal, something that seemed impossible, that went against every logical explanation.

But when you took off the bandage on your hip to change it, there they were, clear as day. 4 crescent fingernail cuts deep into your skin, something that would scar forever.

No matter what happened, you’d always carry these with you, proof that Joel and your love for him was real.

I cried pretty good writing tht end, knowing its my goodbye. I want yall to know I love each and every reader so so so so much. You mean the world to me. every kind word lives on in me forever. I hope you'll stay for my other writing, but if not, thats okay! I wih all of you the best.

Please be kinder to each other. the fanfic writers do this for free, they do not deserve the things they've experienced here. It is a beautiful world out there.

Trust me, it feels way better to send anon love rather than anon hate. I wont be writing tlou for a minute but ill return with a tommy series !!!!

follow @romana-after-dark for dark content and @riley-blue-byron for upcoming original works!

So long, and thanks for all the fish <3

reblogs are greatly appriciated, would make a nice send off <3

@princessanglophile @missladym1981 @goodwithcheese @dancinglotusbud @glitterymanboy @koshkaj-blog @sixhours @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @fandxmslxt69 @miraclesabound

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bubblegump-1-nk · 7 months ago

Text

Shall I Write It in a Letter

pairing: Gryffindor!Reader x Theodore Nott

summary: In which Theo wakes up one morning and realizes he can no longer not have you, so he writes you a letter. But when that letter gets lost, things become complicated. - inspired by Anne with an E; song: Bloom by The Paper Kites.

Warnings: angst that could be fixed by simple communication 😒, hints of cheating

P.S: I super duper highly recommend to listen to the songs either before, during, or after you read my fics . Not only do they encapsulate what the fic is about, but they’re also just super good songs!! <33d

~~~

Christmas break had been in session for about a week and a half, and Theo was spending his time off at home. Although he was sad to be away from his friends, he was happy for the much needed alone time.

The sun was shining brightly through the dark velvet curtains in his room, and he slowly woke up from his dreams. As his eyes fluttered open, he felt a pang of pain in his heart. His dream had been of you, specifically of kissing your soft lips on a warm summers day by the Black Lake. He’s found that more recently than ever, his head is full of you, as is his heart. As he’s laying in his bed, he closes his eyes once more, trying to hold onto the bits of you he won’t ever experience. In this moment, thoughts of you more prevalent than ever before, he realizes he doesn’t have to not have you. Quickly, becoming fully awake, he springs out of his bed and walks quickly to his desk.

He pushes all the papers and miscellaneous items off the surface, and pulls out a paper and quill. He’s become fully aware of just how much he longs for you, and why should he not be able to tell his best friend that he’s in love with her? He’s been yearning for your love for as long as he can remember, and it has finally transformed him into a fool, giving him the confidence to express his love for you.

My dearest y/n,

I’ve found that you’ve been circling my thoughts more than usual lately, so much so that I can hardly call them my own anymore. I think about you all the time, yet I’ve been too much of a coward to say anything. But I’ve realized that I don’t want to wake up one day, either in the near future or in the years to come, and regret not trying, because of pride, or embarrassment, or just simple fear. I need to escape this torture chamber I’ve made for myself, where I must hold you at arms length though I know I wish for nothing more than to be wrapped in your embrace at all hours of the day. So I need you to tell me if it’s all in my head. That the lingering touches and longing stares are just simple delusions I’ve created in my mind. But if they’re not, and Merlin how I hope they’re not, I’m telling you here and now that I am in love with you y/n l/n, and I don’t think I can bear to be apart from you any longer. I also want to go ahead and apologize for telling others I loved you, that they knew before you did, but to be fair I think everyone knew before I did, too. You are my breath of fresh air, the light in all my darkness, my proof that life is pure and good and that happiness is achievable. I may not be a religious person, but if worshipping you was a religion I’d be its most devoted follower. And if my feelings are not reciprocated, please find a way to put this past you because I could not endure losing you as my best friend as well.

Yours Forever, Theo.

After pouring his heart out onto the page, he carefully placed it into an envelope, wrote your name on it, and walked to give it to owl. After sending it away, he walked back to his room, his anxiety suddenly crashing through. Thoughts swarmed his head: She doesn’t love me, I’ve ruined everything, I should stop it from reaching her. But his heart quickly stopped his brain from doing too much damage. You needed to know or else Theo would live in agony for the rest of his life. Upon reaching his room, he sat back at his desk and sent letters to each of the Slytherin boys, confessing what he’s done. He even slipped a copy of the letter to Mattheo, the only one he felt he could truly trust with that piece of his heart.

~~~

It had been two days since the letter had been sent. Had his owl reached you by now? Had you seen it? What were you thinking?

He was an utter mess, his mind swarming with questions and his body teeming with anxieties.

Soon it was 4 days, then 6, then a week, and then the last day of break rolled around the corner. Still he had received no response from you, perhaps you wished to talk in person? His heart hoped that that was the answer, and that the lack of a letter was not your rejection

~~~

You got onto the train just as it was about to take off, thanks to your missing jumper. The train was packed with kids saying their hellos and catching up, and with much effort you finally found Harry, Hermione, and Ron and got inside the compartment.

“Is it just me or is it crazier than usual?” You ask as you sit down.

“Definitely crazier, apparently Lavendar and Parvati got into a huge fight over break so everyone’s running around to hear about it.” Hermione explains as she hands you some candy she bought for you.

You say your thanks and continue talking with your friends when there’s a knock on your compartment.

“Hi Dean!” You say as you get up to slide open the door. You step out quickly to talk with the tall Gryffindor boy.

You have a friendly conversation, lasting about 10 minutes before entering the compartment again.

“What was that about.” Ron asks, before anyone else has the chance to.

“I saw him at Diagon Alley over the break and he asked me out. We hung out a couple times over the break.” You explain.

“Never would have expected that one.” Says Harry.

You raise you eyebrow at him, “and why would that be?”

“Just always assumed it would be Nott.” Harry says.

“I can’t just sit around like a fool waiting for him. He’s shown he just sees me as his best friend and the quicker I get over him the better.” You explain.

“But, he hasn’t shown you that he feels that way.” Explains Hermione, who is team Theo and y/n.

“He hasn’t shown me any differently. Wake me up when we get there I’m taking a nap.” You say, tired of constantly being reminded of your inability to be with Theo.

~~~

You arrive at the castle, and you make your way through the crowds to find your Slytherin friends. Just as you spot their group, Dean Thomas stops you.

“Hey, I’ve saved you a seat next to me, ok?” He asks, while his hands snaked around your waist.

“Thanks, I’ll be right there.” You say to him, giving him a small smile before turning your attention back to the group

“Merlin.” Theo says, causing the group to turn their heads. He had seen you walking around the crowd, and had turned away quickly when you had finally spotted them. He hadn’t seen you on the train and obviously hadn’t received your letter, so a part of him still hoped that you just wanted to talk to him in person. His anxiety began to take over him when he saw you walking towards him - would you tell him to fuck off? That he’s some sort of creep best friend? Or would you tell him that your heart beat for him? - that’s when he saw it. Dean Thomas gripping your waist and you sending him that sweet, tooth rotting smile his way.

“Oh shit.” Said Mattheo, who had been the first to spot the pair.

“Fuck that’s messed up.” Said Draco.

“I’m sorry mate.” Enzo said, patting Theo’s shoulder.

“How’d that even happen?” Asked Blaise, confused because he had never really seen you interact with Dean.

Mattheo sent him a look, warning him to drop it.

“Let’s just get out of here.” Mattheo said, gently grabbing Theo’s arm, pulling him away towards the dining room.

Theo could still feel his heart breaking, each shard falling to the pits of his stomach and stabbing him. He got his answer at least, not only did you not love him, you clearly didn’t care enough about him to even write back to him. And now, his God-sent Angel, was flaunting around with another man. How could the sweet girl he grew up with, the one that showed him that even salt could be beautiful, break his heart and crumble its pieces in your fist?

You were confused when you suddenly saw the group leave, making their way into the dining hall. You tried to get to them, but the crowds of people pushed you back until finally, you realized it was fruitless when the crowd began pushing you back towards the Gryffindor side of the Great Hall. You decided to just sit down, and that you would try to find the group, Theo specifically because you missed him deeply, after dinner.

Dinner passed quickly after the tedious sorting ceremony. You talked with your friends and caught up with those around you, sneaking glances towards the Slytherin table as often as possible. Finally, Dumbledore dismissed the students and you all made your way towards your common rooms. Since it was the first day back, teachers were making sure students went directly to their rooms, leaving you no time to find the Slytherins. You decided it would be best for you to just wait until tomorrow, though you thought you might implode if you spent one more second away from Theo. A thought that made you feel instantly guilty when Dean appeared at your side.

The next day rolled around, and still you hadn’t been able to get ahold of the Slytherins. If you hadn’t known any better, you would have assumed they had been avoiding you. Finally, right before lunch you entered the library to grab some books when you saw the boys congregated in the back. You made your way over to them, carefully stepping around the stacks of books Madame Pince was reorganizing.

Once you finally reached the group, you went to announce your presence before Theo looked away from Draco (who was telling some boring anecdote) and looked down at you. Before you had any time to give him a smile or say your hello’s, he detached himself from the group and stormed right past you, through the stacks of books, and out the door. You stood shocked, facing the doors before finally turning back around to face the group. Your face was painted with an expression of confusion, which only deepened you received a nasty look from Enzo.

“We’ll be on our way now.” Said Enzo, walking past you with Blaise following close behind.

What..?” You finally managed to get out in your state of shock.

“Listen, y/n, just do us all a favor and leave us alone, especially Theo.” Mattheo said, in quite a rude tone before walking passed you. You stood confused and shocked at the interaction that had just unfolded. What had you done? Why were the boys mad at you? What had you done to Theo?

~~~

“I just have no idea what it could possibly be.” You said to Hermione, as you paced around your dorm room, recounting the story from earlier.

“Maybe it’s Dean. Maybe he’s just jealous.” Hermione offered.

“No, but I’ve had flings with guys before, and it’s not like he hasn’t been with girls before. It’s some thing deeper than that I know it.” You state, picking at your fingernails.

“And your sure you haven’t done anything? I mean you can’t think of one thing that could possibly have led to this?” Hermione asks, just as confused about the situation as you.

“Yes, I mean I literally cannot think of one thing that could have led to this. I would never hurt Theo, ever.” You say, plopping down on you bed, exasperated by the days events.

“I’m sorry y/n but I have absolutely no idea why they’re acting like this.” Hermione said, sad she couldn’t be of more help.

“It’s fine Hermione, it’s not your fault. I’m just going to go to bed.” You say, wanting this nightmare to end.

Could you really be losing your best friend to a reason unknown to you? Not only can you not be with the man that you love because he doesn’t reciprocate your feelings, but now you may have just lost him completely. You fall asleep after hours of rolling back and forth contemplating your complicated relationship with Theo, and even in your unconscious state you cannot escape him because he peeps into your dreams.

~~~

The following week is agony. Your best friend won’t talk to you, let alone allow himself to be in the same room as you, the boys you’ve known since childhood give you nasty looks every chance they get, you have to entertain a relationship with Dean your not even sure you want to get into and your teachers are stuffing you with assignments. All you need is a good party with lots and lots of alcohol. Once Friday afternoon finally rolls around, you can feel a slight weight lift from your shoulders.

~~~

You walked into the Slytherin common room with Dean. Pansy, Daphne and some other Slytherin girls hosted the first party since break and seeing as you’ve been close with them since 1st year, you were clearly invited. You decided you were going to look your absolute best for this party: you’re makeup was flawless, your hair done to perfection, and the corset and low-waisted mini skirt you were wearing was doing your figure perfect justice.

“Fuck me.” Said Theo as he saw you walk in with Dean. “I’m going for a smoke outside.” He says.

“Need company?” Mattheo asks, not wanting to leave his vulnerable friend alone.

“Nah mate, thanks though.” He says, before walking outside quickly, before he can see anymore of you.

It had only been a few minutes, and you had already downed about 3 drinks. Once the alcohol started to hit, you detached yourself from Dean’s grip making up some excuse, before finding your way towards the Slytherin boys.

You spotted Mattheo sitting on the arm rest of a couch, sipping out of a plastic cup. You walked up to him, hips still swaying to the music.

“Where’s Theo?” You stated, once you reached him, your confidence booming.

“What do you want?” Mattheo asks, looking up at you with contempt.

“I need to find Theodore Nott. Where is he?” You state.

“You have some serious nerve.”

“What?” You ask, taken aback.

“Listen, y/n, you’re once of my closest friends, but Theo’s my best mate. And what you did, that shit’s just fucked up. Like seriously, I didn’t even know you were capable of that.” He says, disgust leaking out of his words.

“I’m sorry?” You say, confused by his words.

“Merlin y/n, I mean how dull can you be? You just expect everything to be all right after you not only completely ignore his letter where he fucking tells you he fucking loved you, but you turn up with some Levski (famous quidditch chaser) wannabe? I mean that’s some next level shit.” Mattheo says, getting up as he presents his rage induced speech.

“What letter?” You say, unaware of what he’s talking about.

Mattheo just stares at you, stuttering to get some words out.

“I said: what letter, Mattheo?” You say, much more sternly.

“Wait, so you’re telling me you never received it?” Mattheo asks, in shock.

“I don’t even know what I didn’t receive.” You say, exasperated.

“Just, wait right here, I’ll be right back!” Mattheo says, before running up the stairs towards the dorms.

You stand there in shock, your adrenaline pumping. Had you heard him right? Theo had sent you a letter confessing his love to you? How had you missed it?

“Here! Here! I have it!” Mattheo yelled, running towards you, waving a piece of parchment around in his hand.

“This. One.” Mattheo says, between breaths as he reaches you, handing you the parchment.

You rip it from his hands, reading it quickly yet thoroughly. Tears brim at your eyes, did he really feel this way? Merlin you felt so stupid, how could this have gotten lost?

“I-I…” you stuttered, unaware of what to say.

“Outside. He’s outside. Go!” Mattheo said, stilling catching his break.

“I- ok, thank you!” You say, before quickly running out the door, finding your way outside.

You see Theo sitting outside, smoking a cigarette. His face is illuminated by the moonlight and you swear in that moment that you’ve never seen anything more beautiful.

“Theo! Theodore!” You yell to him, as you run towards his figure. The grass was still wet from the rain that had fallen earlier that day, and the blades of grass began to stick to your calfs.

Theo looks at you, before getting up and attempting to escape you.

“Theo, wait, please! Mattheo just showed me the letter! I never got it!”

He stopped in his tracks, and slowly turned around.

“What?”

You finally catch up to him, breathing heavily.

“I never got your letter, I didn’t know about it until just now.” You explain, showing him the letter Mattheo had given you.

“What?” He said again, bewildered by what was going on.

“I wasn’t ignoring you, or your feelings. I just never got to read about them until tonight.”

“So, you’re telling me you never received it, at all?”

“No. I never got a letter.” You explain, your eyes searching his for some hint of how he was feeling.

“Did you read it?” Theo asked slowly.

“Yes, just now I did.”

“And…” Theo asked, hope returning to him and hitting him like a truck. He was filled with anxieties and he felts his stomach doing flips waiting for you to answer.

“Of course I’m in love with you, I thought I made it so obvious!”

“I thought I made it obvious!” Theo said with a laugh, all negative feelings and thoughts leaving his body and head at your confession.

“My heart quite literally beats for you, Teddy. I’ve never been so scared then when I thought I was losing you.”

“Really?” He asks. His eyes are lit up and he can barely contain his smile

“Yes you idiot!” You say, smiling wildly

“What about Dean?” He asks, afraid.

“Fuck Dean! It’s only ever been you, Teddy. It’ll always be you.” You say, staring up at him with nothing but love and devotion.

“Does this mean that you’ll have me?” He asks, grabbing your hands.

You nod vigorously, unable to get any words out as tears of happiness are threatening to spill if you utter a single word.

And with that, Theo dips down and kisses you. The kiss is deep and passionate. You two explore each others mouths, and your hands explore each others body. You taste every bit of each other, and feel each others hair, faces, arms, waists, chests, in ways that you’ve never felt before. You take this chance to make up for all the lost time you’ve spent pining for each other in secret. The kiss is hungry, yet gentle and Theo holds you close, as if if he doesn’t hold you as tightly as possible you’ll slip away from him. After a few minutes he pulls away, touching your forehead to his and holding your face in his hands.

“I’m so so sorry for believing the worst in you. I was just in so much pain. Ignoring you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done” He states, referring to the week prior.

“It’s ok, Teddy. Let’s not worry about that now.” You say, causing his lips to come crashing down on yours again.

#slytherin boys #hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry #theodore nott #jealousyfic #harry potter #theodore nott x y/n #angst #theodore nott angst #theodore nott x you #theodore nott fluff #lost letters #the paper kites #anne of green gables #anne with an e #theo nott

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whateverisbeautiful · 9 months ago

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♥️ Ranking Richonne

#6: Cuz I'm Okay Too (S4E16)

Such a heartfelt and important moment in the making of Richonne. 🥹 The scene is brief but still manages to communicate something so important about Rick and Michonne's profound connection. That You're Okay/I'm Okay interconnectedness between them is one of those deep and consistent qualities that make Richonne one of a kind. By this season 4 moment, I really and truly believe Rick and Michonne had fallen in love and I cherish that this beautiful scene is a part of their love story. The scene is a true Richonne classic...

Richonne's love story has so much life to it because it was able to breathe as it evolved each season. And as much as the world was screaming at them - when it came to Rick and Michonne's pre-canon build-up there were these small quiet moments like the one in this s4 finale that still really helped to lay their foundation steadily and naturally.

I appreciate that Richonne's journey was a slow burn (the most fiery slow burn, might I add 🔥) and that we got to see their love story play out from the moment they first laid eyes on each other all the way to now as a husband and wife determined to find each other again. The build-up was as great as the payoff in the making of Richonne and this season 4 pre-canon moment between them is one of the foundational staples in building their relationship.

As I’ve stated before, I consider this 4.16 ep quite monumental to Richonne as I feel its by this point these two have fallen in love. And this scene just really backs that up to me and gives us our first insight into the unique interconnection they have.

The reason why I so confidently refer to these two characters as soulmates is because absolutely every time Rick and Michonne were together it was clear they had a deep mind-body-soul connection and a magnetic draw that showed they were tethered to each other and meant to be.

They were so kismet that even in the beginning of their relationship they seemed to be strongly emotionally connected to each other.

In the early stages of their growing bond, Rick and Michonne really would often look at each other like they were both something special and inexplicably familiar, like a missing piece of themselves that they yearned for and felt innate trust and safety with. And, to me, this scene illustrates all of that.

I also noticed that since I've gotten so used to seeing team family in the 'stability' of ASZ for half the series, whenever I see scenes of them in these earlier seasons where they had no home base it makes me a little emotional because it makes you realize just how little they had, and how much they were being held together by their resilience and their family alone. It's really a testament to their strength and the family they built that fueled them to keep going.

I love the way this 4.16 scene is shot, the fall vibes are just nice with all the leaves as they walk. Also the show did a good job of always making it feel like there was some added weight to when Rick and Michonne were around each other. The two together on screen are just always electric as this scene solidifies.

(Side note: watching this show back, I love how quiet the ambiance was in the earlier seasons, it really made the world feel immersive and lived in.)

When Rick protectively sat outside of that car in the previous scene with Carl asleep in Michonne's lap, Michonne heard Rick talk to Daryl about who he is and why he’s here, and her expression as she listens was telling. I know R&M both were more aware of how much they mean to each other from here on out. And then that love only grows stronger, even as soon as their next scene.

So this #6 scene starts with Rick walking ahead, and I love how Michonne is looking at him as she walks closer to him. I’d love to know exactly what she’s thinking at this moment cuz she clearly has some thoughts. 😊

As she studies him in this scene I really do feel like it’s her seeing the resilient man he is and feeling a lot of genuine love and respect for him. Especially after seeing Rick go to an incredibly intense place to save her, Carl, and Daryl the night before.

Rick went to lengths not many would even think to go...but that level of fight in him is one Michonne knows well. It's in her too. And I think at this moment she knows truly that they are cut from the same cloth.

She silently observes him and, before she even speaks, Rick senses her and asks if she’s okay. I love that he checks in on her after what they went through.

When Rick and Michonne found each other after the prison fell, they became a package deal and went through most things side by side from then on. And I love that through all the wild things they experienced together, they had each other to check in with and make sure they were okay because they got to be fully human with each other.

Michonne nods and says a reassuring 'yeah' and then again has those little glances at him that, to me, suggest sis has caught feelings.

Then I always love that Rick proceeds to offer up that he’s okay. He initiates saying that because he wants her to know this and he knows this would matter to her. Ever since reuniting after the prison, Michonne has often brought up the importance of Rick healing and resting, so he knows she cares about his wellbeing and that he’s okay.

And it’s also like by offering up, "I'm okay" he wants her to know he’s still okay as a person even after showing that he’s capable of some pretty intense stuff. I’ve always loved this, especially because as a woman traveling alone with men, it means a lot to have a man want you to know he’s still okay and safe to be around.

But then what is so lovely about this scene is that Rick gets to see that he doesn’t need to do any convincing with Michonne because she has always seen and understood him on a deeper level.

(It makes me think of when Michonne talks with Merle during season 3 inside the prison. She defends Rick and Carl and notes that they're both killers but she doesn't say it as a condemning thing because even as strangers she understood that Rick and Carl are still good people despite what they've had to do to survive)

And as much as Rick is grappling with all that he’s capable of here at the end of season 4, it’s so refreshing that Michonne is right there to let him know he’s not a monster to her. So when he says he’s okay, she says without any doubt, "I know." 😊

Then I so love that Rick asks, "How?" It’s an interesting thing to ask because he could have just left it at her saying she knows, but I love that he’s curious to know this. Almost as if deep down wanting to know that she really does see and understand him as clearly as he sees and understands her.

And when he can’t help but ask, I adore the way she looks at him and so effortlessly tells him, “Cuz I’m okay too.” 🥹

Another classic line in Richonne's journey. 🥰 And a line that is as powerful as it is pretty.

I know I've said a lot of their scenes are giving romantic but this one is 1000% giving romantic. I mean this dialogue between them could be seamlessly inserted into a romance movie and I'd be like...

And it is just such a sweet sentiment - "Cuz I'm okay too." Similar to Rick's "Must've been something else then," line, I'd love to know exactly what Michonne was aware of regarding her attraction and feelings for Rick at this time.

It’s significant for Michonne to vocalize this and let Rick know that she has developed enough feelings for him that his well-being impacts her own. He’s okay, so she’s okay. And we see that 'you're okay then I'm okay' thing that they have play out in so many moments between them in this series.

One that comes to mind is an honorable mention scene in s5 at Alexandria when Michonne can’t sleep, and then we see that Rick has also been up and unable to sleep. It’s almost like Rick's restlessness played a part in what was affecting Michonne's ability to rest.

And Rick even vocalizes as much when he asked why they're both awake before touching her shoulder and her reacting in a way that further proves their magnets. Something innate within them is so often on the same wavelength, even when they have some different outlooks.

I love these TWD reactors who noted how Rick’s mind silently racing was still so loud to Michonne and keeping her up in that s5 scene, whereas if Rick would sleep she probably would be able to fall asleep too.

Rick and Michonne are just one like that and they have always been so emotionally intertwined. They don't just understand what the other is going through, they feel what the other is going through. #TetheredSoulmates

So I love and appreciate this s4 finale scene for fully establishing Rick and Michonne's unique and heartfelt interconnection - both that they have it, and that they deep down know they have it too.

Rick nods after Michonne says this, and this subtle moment just feels like he gets what she means. She doesn’t even have to explain further cuz I think he knows he feels the same - You're okay, I'm okay.

And then the way Michonne is looking at that man at the end of this scene...Cupid got her, y’all. Just like Cupid got Rick lol. 😊

Richonne really was inevitable because right here in s4, seasons before their canon ep, these two loved each other and had at least some awareness that the connection between them runs deep.

Am I smiling from ear to ear rewatching this? Best believe. They just go together and it’s so clear here. And I love looking at this scene and knowing this is a husband and wife in the making who will bring a beautiful baby into this world. Won't He do it! 🙌🏾 It's scenes like these that confirm to me why Richonne’s pre-canon and post-canon moments are both top-notch.

As Michonne will tell Carl in a beautiful bonding moment later in the s4 finale, she knows the Grimes boys brought her back. They helped make her okay again. And the way Michonne brought so much good to Rick and Carl's lives, she brought them back too.

So I’ll forever love that in this quiet scene between Michonne and Rick, we see so clearly how they help make each other feel more than okay. 😌

#richonne #top 30 #top 10 #number 6 #rick x michonne #reveling in richonne #twd 4.16 #twd towl #the ones who live

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aconstantmonologue · 1 month ago

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I just saw Wild Robot in theaters and I am absolutely enamored by every aspect of it.

[YAP SESSION WITH SPOILERS AHEAD]

There were so many beautiful lessons and themes in the whole film that it’s hard to just pick out and label them because doing so would disservice the film in its entirety.

-Roz: From the very start I felt such a strong connection to her. She never really ‘fits in’ anywhere, and faces isolation from those she wants so desperately to form a connection with. It takes her awhile to adapt and understand things outside of her ‘program’, and even then it’s a learning curve for her, change is difficult to process and understand. But eventually she gets to a point where she’s stuck at a crossroads, she still isn’t quite synchronous with the community around her, but they’ve begun to understand and accept her, and she knows that she would be out of place if she returned to her maker. Her love and care for Brightbill and Fink are difficult for her to express verbally, but she expresses through her actions, eventually getting the vocabulary she needs and yearned for. She took her programming, and used it to create a life she truly wanted, not just a husk of a being.

-Brightbill: I saw this film with my dad and my stepmom. My stepmom raised me, she is just Mom for me, but there was a moment where I didn’t understand why I never really got to spend time with my biological mother, and I held a lot of animosity surrounding that for a long time. Eventually I grew to understand that she wasn’t to blame, the situation was out of her control, she simply adjusted her sails to save me, becoming my Mom without hesitation even if it was difficult as first. She was the Roz to my Brightbill, and sacrificed so much of her time to learn and adapt to raise me, and now she has to watch me grow up and live a life of my own.

-Fink: I wasn’t expecting to like him as much as I did, I feel like fox characters tend to fall into a very specific mold and seem flat and under developed. But seeing his growth through the film was lovely. They made it clear that it wasn’t an instantaneous change. He went through lapses where he would self isolate his honest thoughts again, not even sharing them with Roz. But as he spends more time with Roz and Brightbill, he starts to grasp the fact that there are people who WILL care about him with no strings attached. And that he is allowed to get close to others and love them without the fear of it being transactional.

Disability Representation: I was not expecting this at all, and it may not have even been entirely intentional, but elements of this story spoke a truth that rang into my bones as a disabled person. When Roz loses a foot she adapts her surroundings to suit her needs so she can still navigate while training Brightbill to fly. Paddler even makes her a prosthesis to replace the section of the leg she lost. The isolation all three face from their peers for being different and out of place hit so close to home. Being isolated from others because you were “too odd” is something my family and I, and so many other neurodivergent people have experienced, and sometimes you start to lose hope on finding a community that will accept you, until you find them in the most unexpected places.

Going off of that, Brightbill being significantly smaller than the other geese and the criticism he faces for something out of his control was written so well. There are people who will write you, and your capabilities, off without question once they realize that you are disabled and ‘not normal’. He has to do considerably more work and put in more effort to be seen in an equal standing as his able bodied peers. That’s why I think the lesson he learns (along the lines) of “you can do anything I can do, even if it has to look different to fit you” was so important. Disabled people CAN and SHOULD be given the same respect and consideration as able bodied people, and the end result should be the object of value- not the accommodation it took to get there.

I have so many more thoughts but I will contain myself, I do want to see it again sometime soon though :]

#wild robot #wild robot movie #rozzum unit 7134 #brightbill #fink the fox #my post #wild robot spoilers #disability representation #film review

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bigdsgirl · 2 months ago

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Thoughts on LND Episode 8

spoilers ahead! and screams! because ya know. this damn show.

"do you really not know? from morning until night, from child hood until now, it's been my fate and my task" - bye, i am going to combust now

the piano music has me rolling, i'm sorry lol

love that he is giving her time, especially after just shocking her with that announcement lol

the birthday card with no note. jfc. and the REPEAT GIFT??? omfg. i have so many feelings. and he goes back to the hospital!! oh it hurts!

the flashback at the pool -- oh she liked him first. "the feelings are still so vivid" - hate to say it but i think they never left babe.

his panic has me fucking cackling. "it was good, I did great" YES YOU DID BABY!!!!!!

alright the knife to head transition was kind of sick. i loved it.

throw the rock queen i dare you. NO YOU GO DO IT!!!!

I am just going feral waiting for them to open them at the same time - PUHLEAAASE! ugh boo.

aw momma & son moment - oh shit you are pretending to FORGET. SIR. oh this some bullshit. just communicate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE TIE! THE TIE! AHHHHHHHHH. no don't give it back, just keep it <3 let's start our shrine to him.

oh god mom thinks it's the ex but you would be WRONG!

HE WANTED TOI BE BURIED IN IT?????????????? WITH THE BLOOD??? BYEALKDKJAGKDFGJALFKGJAG

this girl just does not know how to respond, she is flustered as fuck and i love it

pick an expiration date to decide how much time she has lol and he is like PERISHABLE GOODS PLEASE I WANT YOU NOW!

hearts thumping let's gooooooooooooooo (and of course she bolts)

bahah this man gets sassed by the staff (i love it! you tell him!)

okay sir let's do the special! lets go! and of course we gotta start with his fave paramedic <3

the push ups oh girl, I am the same, we are just poor girls weak for our man

not the showing how they met please nooooooooo (or how mama imagines it?? lol)

i want this ex to GO AWAY PLEASE. idc what's happening, leave them alone! now!

her dad just standing right in front the CLEAR DOOR, in front of her and she doesn't see, god i love kdramas

ONLY 11 DAYS???? Girl, it's 11 days too many, just kiss him, <3

oh goodness, mom and dad got things to say. and i am sat for it!

"I don't want her to be a failure and live like me" well fuck that's a sucker punch. yikes.

these two men are hilarious i love that they are just such a mess together <3

"soaked in my feelings of inferiority" well holy fuck sir. "well mine is bone dry" OP--

dad acting like a 3-year old with his "why"

awww shit, i was hoping to see him be drunk with her. ugh instead we just got hung over.

teeeheee flash back of the drunk daddios! hehe!!

the mountain stfu, this is the humor i need in life -- phenomenal, oscar worthy performance

the way this son rolls is just like my middle brother lol, the amount of times he has tried to get family members to try crypto, oh sirrr. i am with you seok-ryu!

oh the hole in the heart, the babying. my goodness. "see if you can treat your sick child that way" --> look i know what's coming and fuck that hurts.

seung-hyo you DOG, "there are 10 days left"

also sir, where do you get your work bag from? I need it <3

tae-hui!!!! baby girl!!! ily.

ugh ruined. freaking ex-poophead is here.

look i get it, they were cute its all cute. but it's the wrong person, so I don't care.

okay they be laying it on thick with the digestive health shit - i know what's happening and i do not like it.

omfg her shock that he told her! he told seok-ryu how he felt!

okay look sir, the way your hands be clasped? the suit? the watch? it is a felony and you need to be taken to jail. it looks too damn good.

tae-hui, her outfit. ma'am the woman you are.

wait shit. i just realized -- she said she doesn't drink if I remember right? or am I wrong.

oh babe while are you pulling out so much cash. oh no oh no. mom is finding out about the cooking class. i am not excited for this.

WAIT BABE DONT TRASH EM!!! give them to me. no don't waste them!

omg the bag, not the bag. oh no. not mom.

omg yay! they are interacting <3 i love it! NO WAIT NO ITS A RUSE WHY IS MOM DOING THIS.

the eldest daughter in me is fucking quaking. I hated this growing up. the expectations. the disappointment for finding out something she loves that isn't what they want. omg.

oh i am so glad he is here stepping up for her. thank god.

this fucking hurts. oh lord. my heart is shattering for her.

he immediately goes after her, my heart, my heart. oh it's breaking.

he has a spot to comfort someone in case something happened. STOP IT WAS FOR HER.

I am having worries. every time he is a few steps behind, i worry that he has to follow her in death too (i don't want this to happen but fuck the gut is so sure)

he offered his kitchen for her!!!! ah!!!!!! hell yeah hell yeah!

he just cannot take his eyes off of her. and the nine days left, you TURD I LOVE IT.

it's observation day!!! me when I see them together like this:

oh my man look good in the uniform! <3 and they gave him a locker too??? how nice of them!!!

i freaking love the alarm music they use. the best thing ever.

oh wait. oh wait girl you gonna eat the side dishes??? hehe i love that. ope moment over. wait. he is being nice ish..... ish............ the joys of marriage lol.

oh no, oh no. is he asking for a divorce???? oh NO.

oh goodie, i hope the man is not allergic to bees. HAHAHAHAHAHAH. oh he might be. oh he is lol.

paramedics are the backbone, i always have such immense respect for them.

i also need to get this off my chest working in healthcare/public health -- never in a MILLION YEARS would a hospital actually allow the possible legal risk of having the man help with these calls. okay, now im back to la la land.

love the posters in the background of all the dramas 😭

the popcorn -- omfg. no no sir don't you dare. i will combust.

fuck he did.

girl why you pause. why you be like this what is happening. oh god it's him. and of course he is a new client. of course!

the way my man seung-hyo be acting like a child with the ex here. i am eating this shit up.

LOL of course he needs to leave leaving the two together.

THAT'S RIGHT YOU TELL HIM THAT HE HAS COMPETITION!!!!

lol me - both get out, leave my girl to cook. these two are too much, i'm cackling.

THE POPCORN YES GIRL. he is so happy about this, he is just lapping it up. and same king. same. "have some" you MENACE.

lol this man is gonna faint it's so much work. YAY CELEBRATORY DINNER! lol the bladder infection, brother TMI!!!!

"we end up dating each other" man is gonna become a paramedic to make sure he and mo-eum are gonna be together forever and no one can come between them 🤭🤭🤭

BAHAHAHAHA THE MUDFLATS MAN RETURNS!!!!!!!! I am SCREAMING!!!!!! they both just panic. wait no hold hands down there, pls <3

wait shit girl, you don't look good. girly no.

oh damn oh damn. seok-ryu. i get it but oh. oh it hurts so bad.

oh sweetie no. oh i get it, my hear hurts for you.

the WAY I KNEW - his and her secret. oh my.

now i must wait FOR MY BABIES TO RETURN.

and i will be sobbing <3

#kdrama #heidi watches #love next door #lnd #lnd live blog #lnd lb #love next door spoilers

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littlefankingdom · 1 year ago

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I watched the One Piece live action and here are some notes I took.

I'm a huge One Piece fan since I was like 10-ish? And so, I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about it. It had a lot of impact on my personality (Nico Robin is my role model). This live action adaptation matters to me and I'm going to rant. Spoilers ahead.

The director is a woman, and one of the two writers is a woman. Manga and anime are male dominated hobby (and the comic's world is sexist), so the live action of the most popular shōnen being run by women is so great, imo. Also, it's pretty successful, in contrary to other attempts, so it's a win for women.

Garp's actor is a very handsome man. Wtf, they made Garp hot. He also has a beautiful Welsh accent, which is great because it's an accent that gives a "tough guy" impression. At least, it does for me.

Luffy's actor is perfect. This Luffy is slightly different from the original one, but he's perfect in his own way. I will die and kill for him. Also, him being brown with a white grandpa is so good, it had a racial gap between the two of them, where there are already a generational one and a moral one. Like, the white grandpa in the army do not understand how his brown grandson do not like the gov, because he doesn't see it from where he is when the kid does.

Alvida's actress is so beautiful, she's so pretty. I suddenly support women's wrongs.

Damn, the violence is going up a notch (Roger executed on screen, Mr 7's body cut in half, MERRY IS FUCKING KILLED,...)

The actors for Koby and Helmeppo are queer (They/Them pals) Oda is, once again, showing his support to the trans community.

I do not like the colors. It's too dark for One Piece, imo. Look at how saturated the colored pages are, I would have preferred it to be more saturated. I know, this is because of the CGI (issues are less perceptible this way), I'm going to need to make some edits. But, they didn't have to do it to the costumes too. Like, Buggy, except from his hat, his outfit is not flashy like it should be. Would help with the colored hair if it was more colorful and flashy.

Young Luffy wear the same shirt as in the manga is a nice touch.

THERE'S A CAVENDISH'S WANTED POSTER IN SHELLS TOWN!

Dead bodies smell strongly, and Zoro is bringing half of one in a bar???

Episode 2 is pure art. I love it so much.

Buggy is attractive, wtf. I find him more pretty than Shanks.

Bogard is so cool looking. I'm gonna die if Hina is introduced one day (she's going to be so cool)

They changed the "If you’re gonna point your gun toward someone, you better use it" scene. The new one is cool, but the original is iconic.

THE MUSIC WHEN LUFFY REALIZES THAT SHANKS LOST HIS ARM! It's like the orchestra is interrupted, incredible, love it.

Nami and Zoro's siblings' energy is so strong.

Kaya and Nami interraction about the dress "it belonged to my mother" is so good, Nami gets uncomfortable because she also lost her mother and knows how it is to cherish her memory. But Kaya is nice and share it with her, which break her view of rich folks.

The decor's department must have had the time of their life for this show. It's a great job.

Zoro wanting to wear black and drink wine in the 3 episode, he's already embodying being Mihawk's adopted brat.

Kaya makes the oof roblox sounds when she slapped Usopp.

Usopp x Kaya let's gooooooooooo my boy deserves the best (Oda confirming a romance with one of his protagonists is huge)

Zoro IMMEDIATELY trying to look at something else the moment Kaya kisses Usopp.

Luffy sitting on Going Merry with "We Are" playing... Art.

Without a cook, they are eating pasta, with some fruit and drink (just like me, fr).

Garp is wrecking a brand new ship!

Episode 5 Title Card, my beloved.

Mihawk music, and voice, and character: beautiful.

"Oh, I do like your hat." Mihawk to Luffy upon meeting him, great.

Sanji needs to stop talking about food, I'm getting hungry but I'm broke and a terrible cook.

"Oregano is for savages!" 😂 ok kiddo.

Me watching Zoro nap for a whole episode because of 1 cut: "Bro, you’re going to go through so much worse, you better stop whining rn"

The "YES, YES WE DO" after Sanji says "heard you guys need a cook" is so good.

Sanji is, like, the only one after Nami to have the most experience sailing, they fucking need him.

Buggy coming back all the time is perfect. Love him.

Having Bell-Mere slaps Nami was not ok. Y'all are ruining a character I loved.

Sanji knows a man that can cook well is attractive.

Usopp and Luffy are 17 and drinking, and Koby is 16. Underage drinking baby 🍻

Garp is already having the crisis he has during Marine Fort Arc, it’s going to be difficult for him.

Buggy be swinging being carried by Sanji, who's fighting.

Luffy breaking Arlong's sword axe thingy is badass.

The fishmen are so ugly and weird looking

Buggy saying "I'm gonna get out of here" with 🖕🤡🖕(If we ever get young Ace, I expect so much vulgarity from his little shit mouth)

Usopp exploding star was badass.

Sanji's ass after Mouton Shot.

Zoro "Yeah, you're gonna fit in just fine" means you're as crazy as all of us

Sanji opening is arms for Nami and Nami ignoring him to hug her bros, lol.

Arlong Park destruction be crazy.

Sanji little laugh.

Luffy is a true bestie to Usopp.

It’s the confrontation from after Seven Arc

It's Logue town after right? Like, where Luffy's father is introduced? With the comparison to Roger? But they just compared them, are they going to do it again?

The wanted poster is the exact same, with usopp in the background.

Employee of the month lol.

Alvida and Buggy meeting, the bad bitches.

Mihawk and Shanks!!! (Shanks gave him the "ableist pos" look, lol)

Smoker introduced -> Logue Town

#one piece #opla #opla spoilers #my ramblings #it's not understandable and I don't care

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reggies-eyeliner · 1 year ago

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THE CLASSIC MATCHUP - @nickeverdeen!

-> THE "MEET ME IN THE POURING RAIN" COUPLE<3

#now playing ... "darling i'd wait for you" by delaney bailey!

gwen stacy's hugs are rare, so when they do happen, they mean something. the first time she hugs you is after a long day at the spider society, both of you are exhausted and just about ready to fall asleep. her hand is in yours as she walks you home, the moon shining brightly in the night sky, turning bits and pieces of the puddle-covered sidewalk white. the rain begins to pour harder, and soon enough, your synchronized walks turn into a pitter-patter of sprints as fast as the rain, and both of you are laughing hard barely seeing two steps ahead of you. when she finally does make it to your house, she wraps her arms around you, holding you tightly. at first, you're not exactly sure why she's hugging you, because she usually needs a reason to, but you roll along with it anyway. with hair dripping and clothes soaked, she pulls away and waves goodbye. you discover a few years later that the hug came from her realizing for the first time that she was in love you.

she absolutely loves that she's not the only one that gets louder the closer she gets to someone! knowing that you're there to ramble and talk just as much as she wants to is a feeling of comfort, so the conversations are limitless. she'll be there to listen to your favorite memories, and even if some are more painful than others, she'll be the one holding you and nodding encouragingly as you speak. she's also completely fine with you getting distracted or easily lost, because she really doesn't see that as much of a problem, knowing she was the same growing up. she's there to guide you through every obstacle of your life if you let her.

while she might not know the names of your favorite games or books or interests, she can and she totally will get onboard with them!! in regards to krav maga, if she doesn't know what it is at first, she'll ask you countless questions about it, and then go on a youtube binge to further study what it is.

when you face difficulties, whether it be dysphoria (i hc gwen as trans because yes obviously she would be so supportive) or familial issues or whatever it is, she'll keep her voice low and calm. the moment she sees you back away or even a flash of sadness on your face, she'll take the hint. gwen will make sure that you feel safe around her if it's the last thing she does. she'll hold you and press gentle kisses to your forehead, because she wants you to know that you're deserving of love just as you are.

RANDOMIZED TROPE:

" climbing in through the window in the pouring rain "

-> it comes to a shock to the spider society that you two never argue, despite gwen's occasional sarcastic comments. when you two do happen to disagree on something, she will never ever give you the silent treatment, and does eveyrthing she can to communicate what she has to say. but as always, some things become difficult, and gwen stacy eventually has to find a way to apologize to you (falling asleep angry is her number one aBSOLUTELY NOT rule in her book !!), and she'll text you at like . two in the morning and be like "hi can you open your window it's cold",, and she'll come in and genuinely apologize. she'll let you say what's on your mind. she'll hold you if you need it and she'll nod understandingly and UAGSH she loves you sm <33acaschhc

-> THE COUPLE THAT HONESTLY FORGETS THEY'RE TOGETHER SOMETIMES

#now playing ... " old with you " by grent perez!

"korra has an incredibly rare, never before seen soft spot for you," is what bolin marvels at after the first interaction between you two.

and oh man it is so true. korra will admit it proudly after a few weeks of dating, no doubt about it !!

korra loves loudly. she makes it clear just how much she loves you, but she also loves casually, which speaks volumes. she'll make sure that your hair stays out of your face, and will notice from the slightest twitches when you're ready to head back home to recharge, or you need to be alone. she loves proudly, too, and makes sure that you know just how much she cares for you

her job as the avatar is taxing, but being with you makes it worth it. she doesn't mind when you stutter at all, and will defend you to the end of the world if she needs to. she doesn't yell as often around you, either, and if she does, it's because she's passionate about something. she will never yell in anger around you.

memory problems? no worries! korra knows what it's like all too well, and will make sure that you feel comfortable enough around her to ask for help to find something. she'll make sure that your apologies aren't needed for making mistakes, and will guide you through the most difficult of times.

lots and lots of arms slinging around shoulders. wherever she walks, she walks so casually with you because she feels safe and comfortable around you, so much so that it gets her wondering why relationships are so stressful for others. your conversations mimic those of being awake at sleepovers when one should be fast asleep, with suppressed giggles and barking laughter.

a/n: thank you so so much for the request!! i'm so so sorry this took me so long!!! hopefully this will suffice! if i missed anything please don't hesitate to let me know >:D!! have a great day and take good care of yourself ^^

#ellie's.matchups<3!#AHSHCJHS THANK YOU FOR REQUETSSING #requet #REQUESTING #gwen stacy atsv #across the spiderverse #gwen stacy x reader #spiderverse matchups #scheduled.posts<3!#lotk x reader #korra

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whereianonymouslypostfics · 2 years ago

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Silver Springs Part 3

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~14k

Summary: Wanda tries to leave her mob life behind to start a family with you

A/N: Sorry about the typos, but here’s the next chapter! Crack incoming.

Chapter Warnings: stalking, jealousy, mentions of blood

You in fact did not end up driving. You were with Wanda who decided to drive since she knew exactly where to go. Whenever anyone in the family gets sent to the hospital, she’s arranged for them to be isolated and kept as incognito as possible. It was too much of a risk for them to go through the ER like the rest of the public did. Wanda had a surprising number of people on her payroll at the hospital. In fact, when you first heard about this it started the very long conversation of how much money Wanda really had.

You knew early on what Wanda did, but you didn’t quite understand how lucrative it was until you’d witnessed it first-hand. You hadn’t meant to watch her drug deal happen, but you’d just happened to be visiting a certain bar when Wanda had claimed to be busy one night. You’d been surprised to see her and she’d noticed you almost immediately after you’d taken a seat at the bar. Your thoughts are cut off when you feel the car stop and you realize you’ve arrived. Wanda doesn’t hurry to get out, so you realize she’s waiting for Bucky and you stay put with a sigh.

“How worried are you?”

The question catches Wanda off guard and she’s quick to turn to you in confusion. She’d already told you that Nat was going to be fine, and as soon as she remembers this, she realizes what you’re getting at. You’re staring ahead at the building in front of you as you squeeze your wife’s hands and wait for her answer. You can tell she wasn’t expecting you to ask, but honestly you want to know what’s going on. You’d thought about it a little and you realize how rare it was for this to happen. Since you’d known Wanda, she’d only gotten hurt a few times, and everyone else had somehow avoided being sent to the hospital. Wanda had worked hard to make sure that her people would be kept safe. She had a lot of precautions in place and it was rare that there was a breakdown in communication like this. Since she’d woken up, she’d already received names of everyone who was involved in last night’s deal, and after scheduling a call with Pietro you knew that she’d figure it out. You weren’t sure how she’d do it, but you’d yet to see Wanda fail when she put her mind to something.

Wanda runs a hand through her hair before she shakes her head. She’s frowning as she tries to figure out how to tell you this. She knows you’re smart and you have your suspicions, but having suspicions and her verifying them are two different things. She doesn’t want you to worry.

“I’m more annoyed than worried. Someone set them up, but we’re going to find out who it was.”

On your way into the hospital, you’re silent as you think about Wanda had told you in the car. You’re not really paying attention to where you’re going, but since Wanda is holding your hand and guiding you through the halls that’s okay. You think about the endless list of enemies your wife has made over the years, and you just hope she has a way of narrowing it down.

“We’re here,”

You come to a stop beside Wanda and look into the room you’ve arrived to. You see Nat first. She’s lying in bed with a scowl on her face, and she’s certainly looking more annoyed than anything else. Next you realize who she’s scowling at and you see Yelena sitting next to her glaring back. They have a brief conversation in Russian before the sisters realize you’re there.

You don’t realize that you’re mad until you start speaking, and Wanda, Steve and Bucky just watch as you glare at Natasha who just sits in silence.

“Oh hey, Y/n. Wanda.”

“Yo.”

“Hey? That’s all you have to say to me?? What the hell, Nat?”

You step into the room leaving your wife behind as you eye the redhead critically. She’s mostly covered by blankets, but you can tell by how she’s sitting where she was shot and you hate how your heart starts to race.

“How are you feeling?”

Nat just shrugs and mentions that she’s feeling alright. Just a little sore and very pissed. You don’t blame her but you figure the first part is because of all of the pain meds she’s on. You eye her fluid bag for a moment before realizing that you’ve completely ignored Yelena.

“Hi Yelena.”

You hug her tightly enough for her groan in annoyance before you pull away and shoot her a questioning look.

“Has this one been giving you too much trouble?”

The blonde immediately smiles before she nods in confirmation. As suspected, Nat is a horrible patient and has only asked and tried to leave half a dozen times since she woke up an hour ago.

“The worst. She’s such a pain in the ass.”

Nat scoffs before muttering something that you don’t catch, not that you’d understand it either. Yelena just rolls her eyes before she stands up and heads toward the trio still at the door. She claims that she needs to talk to them, and you watch as Steve and Bucky follow her out. Wanda spares Nat a glance before smiling teasingly.

“Glad to see you’re feeling fine.”

Nat rolls her eyes before attempting to sit up. She groans in pain and you’re quick to stop her before she rips out her stitches.

“I’m feeling great thanks. You’re not leaving me with Y/n though, are you?”

Wanda doesn’t respond with words. She just laughs at the idea of the actual assassin being afraid of her wife’s wrath. She could relate but in this instance she’s not sure she’d fare better.

You sit in the seat that Yelena abandoned before you move closer to the bed. You reach out for the redhead’s hand, worried when you realize how cold it is. Despite her quips about being Russian and never being cold, you still worry.

“I’m still mad at you, you know? This was a really shitty way of getting out of training with me on Saturday.”

Nat rolls her eyes before she pulls you up from your chair with little more than a grunt of effort. You frown in confusion until she pats the side of her bed that she’s not occupying. You’re hesitant to sit next to her, but the teasing look she shoots you eases some of your worry.

“Don’t worry, dorogoy, I’ll still be able to kick your ass.”

You mutter under your breath as you carefully settle down next to Nat. She’s laughing at you as you roll towards her so you’re tucked into her side.

“You wish.”

Nat wraps her arm around you while you rest against her with a sigh. You carefully place your arm across her hips. You can tell by the way she stiffens that you were right about where her injury was. You want to ask about it, but you’d rather not have to think too much about it. Not to mention, you’re sure she doesn’t want to relive it right now either. You close your eyes and just bask in the redhead’s presence. You remind yourself as you hear her breathe beside you, that she’s alive and – well she’ll be better soon. You sigh again before turning your face so all you can smell is her hair that reeks of blood and gunpowder.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Nat. I was really worried.”

You relax when you feel the arm around you tighten and pull you closer. You know that Nat wasn’t always the best with expressing herself or responding to strong emotions. It had taken time for the two of you to really be comfortable enough to be open with your affection for each other. Now Nat was only cold to you if she was in work-mode or she was truly pissed at you. Yelena was a different story. She still mostly balked at signs of affection, but you were getting her to come around.

“I’m sorry I worried you. This wasn’t exactly expected.”

You scoff at this because you hope that it wasn’t planned. You know that Nat and Yelena used to do some bat-shit crazy stuff back in the day, but from what you’ve been told, they’d mellowed out. This however was making you doubt that.

“I would hope not.”

You both sit in silence as you get lost in your thoughts. Nat is of course thinking about what happened and how things had all gone wrong. Everything was routine and it had gone according to plan until the cops showed up and started shooting them. No one had warned her they were coming and she had been blindsided along with everyone else. At least most everyone.

“How can you be sure?”

Of course, this is what Wanda had suspected, but she wanted to know why Yelena thought that they had a mole. She trusted the blonde’s judgment, and since this concerned her sister, she knew Yelena was even more motivated to figure this out.

She’d brought them all out to an empty on-call room where they could get some privacy and talk about one how Nat was doing, and two what exactly had happened last night.

Steve and Bucky were sitting on one of the cots while Yelena paced back and forth clearly agitated. Wanda stood with her back to the door, arms crossed as she tried to figure out who to put on her shit list.

Yelena shook her head as she recounted what Nat has told her as soon as she’d woken up. How everything had been going well but then all of a sudden it wasn’t.

“The two on watch hadn’t tipped them off meaning one of two things. They’re in on it, or they were taken by surprise as well.”

“Which could only happen if they’d had help from the inside?”

This came from Steve, but Bucky and Yelena were already nodding. The way that deals worked were pretty standardized. Only essential people needed to be present, but there were at least two extra who stood watch or served as security. The two from last night were seasoned employees and Wanda wouldn’t expect something like this from them. That said, people could surprise her, which is why she needed to get a complete report from her brother later.

“I’ll see what Pietro has to say about this. If he has any leads.”

Everyone seems to think this is a good idea and after discussing a little bit of other business, Wanda decides it’s time to head back. She hadn’t really said much to Nat yet, but she did want to talk to her before she left. If the other redhead was even still here. She would probably try to bounce at the next opportunity.

“I’m going to see what Nat thinks.”

Yelena finally stopped pacing and nods in agreement. She had only talked briefly with her sister before she’d had to make some calls. She’d like to be present to hear what Nat had to say.

“Good idea. Let’s go talk to her.”

When the group returned to Nat’s room, they were surprised to see that you were both asleep in bed. You were curled up next to Nat with your face hidden in her neck and an arm slung over her front as you slept peacefully. Nat was lying on her back with an arm around your shoulders to pull you close. Steve and Bucky hesitated to enter the room and opted to wait outside while Wanda and Yelena ventured in quietly.

Wanda can’t help but smile at how adorable you look cuddled up next to Natasha. Despite the rocky start to your relationship and then the surprise of meeting again, the two of you had grown incredibly close. You were close to both of the sisters, but you often migrated to Nat who was surprisingly the more affectionate one.

“Aw they’re so cute.”

Yelena says this quietly, but Wanda sees Nat’s breathing pattern shift and quickly realizes she’s awake. She holds you a little tighter and Wanda does her best to push down the jealously she feels towards Nat in that moment.

“Ah, sestra you’re back. Time to get out of here.”

Nat’s eyes open as she eyes her sister and Wanda who looks like she wants to say something. Nat glances to you before she turns back to Wanda who is of course staring at you too. She glances to her sister who just nods and moves to sit on the window sill while Wanda sits in the chair beside the bed.

“I’m sorry that I worried you both. I hope you didn’t lose any sleep.”

Wanda scoffs at the ridiculous statement because of course they did. It wasn’t Nat’s fault, but she couldn’t help but give her a bit of a hard time.

“We almost drove here at 3am. You’re not one to end up in the hospital, Nat.”

The other redhead nods with a groan before she shifts slightly to accommodate you as you move yet again. She’d forgotten how restless of a sleeper you are. It had been way too long since their last movie night/sleepover.

“I know, I know. Someone fucking narc’d.”

Wanda frowns at Nat confirming her suspicion, and all three of them get too wrapped up in their conversation about it to notice that you’re awake. You had a nightmare about killing and more of your family getting hurt when you’d managed to fall asleep beside Nat. You hated yourself for it, but when you awoke with a start, you realized that your wife was back and that she, Nat, and Yelena were talking about last night.

You make the mistake of turning slightly so your face is hidden in Nat’s hair, but you’d forgotten how it still smelled like smoke. You scrunch up your nose and since she was watching you, Wanda realizes that you’re awake. She stands up and rounds the bed to your side and reaches out for you.

“Who do you think it was?”

“Someone would have to know Lyle and Marks were posted.”

“Who other than you, Pietro, and everyone else in attendance would know that?”

“Alright, I get it. It’s not going to be easy.”

“Y/n are you awake?”

There’s a pause as you don’t move or even breathe before you mutter a ‘no’ into Nat’s neck. You have to hold back a whine when the redhead loosens her hold on you and you flop onto your back on the mattress. You’re pouting but seeing Wanda standing over you makes waking up a little easier.

“Morning Wands. Is it that dreaded time already?”

Wanda looks to her watch before nodding in confirmation. You need to head to work soon and Wanda needs to go talk to her brother. You sigh in defeat when she says this, but you don’t hesitate to grab her offered hand as she helps you get off of the bed. You shoot Nat another look before hugging her with a cheeky smile.

“You better not let this happen again, Nat. Our kid needs their aunt to spoil them.”

Nat smiles at this with a minute nod before she looks over to Yelena who immediately protests. She’s looking shocked and offended as she glares at you with her arms crossed.

“What about me?? I will spoil them too.”

You and Wanda both smile at the thought of the sisters’ influence on your child before you try to appease the irate blonde.

“I know you will, but you’ll also for sure scare them straight with your horror stories.”

Yelena rolls her eyes and mutters ‘сука’ under her breath to which you just laugh. You hug her goodbye before promising to see her soon, and you head out of the room to talk to Bucky and Steve. Wanda stays back to talk to Nat while you look to the duo with a tired smile.

“Thanks for scaring me shitless this morning. I hope to see you two soon. Maybe at a more reasonable hour? “

They both nod in agreement, and Bucky looks between you and Wanda quickly to make sure the redhead isn’t listening.

“For sure, Y/n. When you come train on Saturday, we could all have dinner?”

You nod eagerly before you hug both of them goodbye. You start to head down the hall slowly when you feel someone grab your hand. You turn to see Wanda smiling at you as she points over her shoulder.

“It’s this way, Y/n.”

You just nod with a smile before you squeeze your wife’s hand and follow her lead. You stifle a yawn as you walk through the halls back toward your car. You assume that Wanda’s just walking your there because she can’t leave Bucky and Steve stranded. Honestly, they were probably leaving with Nat if the redhead had anything to say about it.

“What are you doing for the rest of the day?”

Wanda sighs as she thinks about how she has to make the drive to talk to her brother today, but its unavoidable. They need to figure out what happened last night and they need to do their best to make sure that it can’t happen again. She squeezes your hand before releasing it as she opens the door leading to where they’d parked the car. She doesn’t miss how you turn back to shoot her a knowing look. You have a pretty good idea of what your wife is about to say.

“I need to talk to Pietro, and then hopefully we’ll figure out what happened to Nat.”

You just nod as you motion for Wanda who was still lingering on the steps to come closer. She does as you ask with a sigh as you pull her into a hug. You’re only a little worried about what today will bring, but you’ve been through this enough to know that you can trust Wanda. You trust her with your life, and you’ve learned to trust her with her own as well. She’ll be careful. Like always.

“Okay, love. Good luck, and let me know if you find anything out?”

When Wanda returns to Nat’s room, the redhead is unsurprisingly up and arguing with her sister. The duo was standing in the middle of the room and Yelena is holding Nat back, wait no, pushing her back toward the bed. Nat of course was resisting as she glared at her sister and argued in slightly intelligible Russian.

“You should stay here at least the rest of the day, sestra.”

Nat rolls her eyes before shaking her head and looking toward where Wanda stood behind Steve and Bucky in the doorway.

“What’s the point. I feel fine, and I’ll just be at the compound today anyway.”

Wanda frowns slightly at this because she’s certain that Nat is telling the truth about being at the compound. However, if she plans on being involved in figuring out what happened, she would be about as likely to sit back, as Wanda would be to if she’d been the one injured. She considers how to deal with this before eventually sighing in defeat. She wouldn’t mind Nat helping, but she’s not going to do any of the heavy lifting if she had anything to do with it.

“Alright, Nat. I’m headed there anyway, so why don’t you ride with me?”

If Nat was at all suspicious, she didn’t show it and she merely shot her sister a smug look before grabbing her things from the blonde’s hand.

“So are you going to tell me why you were so willing to let me leave the hospital?”

Wanda didn’t answer immediately, instead choosing to pretend like she had to focus on what she was doing. She’d made this drive many times before and could do it in her sleep, and she was certain that Nat knew it too. Still, she needed the time to figure out how to answer Nat’s question in a way that didn’t make her too paranoid, or rather any more paranoid than she already was.

“You’ll certainly be more comfortable at the compound.”

And easier to keep an eye on her there.

Wanda didn’t think Nat was in danger, per se. At least not in any more danger than usual. They both knew that their jobs, Nat’s now, was risky. There was no getting away from it in their line of work. However, it had been a while since either of them had been hurt. Wanda tried not to recall the last time she’d been shot because no part of the experience had been enjoyable. Sure, it hurt like a bitch and that was no fun, but she almost preferred that to having to endure what she’d faced at home.

Her thoughts are cut off when she hears Nat scoff, and she glances over to see the other redhead shooting her a skeptical look.

“For sure, but what’s really on your mind Wands?”

Wanda just shakes her head with a smile as she turns to Nat briefly before changing lanes.

“I want to make sure you’re home if and when shit hits the fan.”

This is true and even Nat can’t argue with this. Things always go better when they are all together. They’re a great team and they rarely lose when they all stand together. That said, since Wanda’s moved and Steve and Bucky have followed, things have been less predictable and cohesive. Nat doesn’t want to say this because she doesn’t want Wanda to feel guilty. She also has a feeling that the redhead already knows.

“I also need to be home by Saturday for Y/n’s training.”

Wanda rolls her eyes at this and shoots Nat a look that she responds to with her own eye roll. They’ve been through this dance before, and it always ends the same way.

“Be careful not to hurt her, Nat.”

Wanda was still struggling with the fact that you still wanted to train with Nat despite moving from the compound. She had assumed that the training sessions you two had would be enough for you, but you clearly still wanted to see your friend. This isn’t what Wanda was worried about. She just knew how you could get with Yelena at times, and she didn’t want you coming home hurt again.

“I know Wands. I’m not Yelena. I won’t train with her if she’s high.”

Wanda turns sharply toward Nat with a confused look. She hadn’t realized that this was the reason why you’d come home with a sprained ankle. You had told her that you had landed wrong. She’s assumed you meant a kick or jump, but now she wasn’t sure.

“She was high?”

Nat nods as she relays the story of how you and Yelena had gone from watching a movie and smoking a little to competing in the living room. You’d been trying to see who could jump the farthest off the couch and neither of you had thought it necessary to move the table in front of it.

Wanda sighs in defeat before she pulls into the driveway of the compound.

“Sometimes I worry about her.”

Nat just laughs before she shrugs and smiles cheekily at Wanda who’s too busy pulling into the garage to glare at her.

“It’s not always bad. Y/n getting high can be fun sometimes, right?”

Wanda doesn’t bother responding as she thinks of the times that weed has made you slightly less inhibited and much more eager to drag her to bed. Clearly Nat knows about this and she’s not even going to bother asking how right now. She’s got more important things to worry about that don’t involve her wife gossiping.

“I’m going to talk to Pietro. Are you okay to get to your room. I assume you’re going to rest for the day?”

The challenging look Wanda shoots her is ignored as Nat shrugs again before pretending to consider it. She’s going to wait and see what Wanda learns from her brother, but by lunch time she’s going to find answers on her own if there aren’t any.

“We’ll see.”

You arrive at work with enough time to make a cup of coffee before your first appointment. You yawned almost a half dozen times on the ride over, and you know that you’ll be useless without a little caffeine to get your through the day. You smile at the people behind the front desk before you head toward the back and upstairs to the doctors’ offices.

You sit down at your desk and turn on your computer with another yawn. It’s barely 9 and you already want to take a nap, but you do your best to stay awake as you chug your coffee and bounce annoyingly in your chair. Once the computer finally is up and running, you check your schedule for today and get to work. As usual you have a busy day, and when you see that you have a puppy coming in first thing you can’t help but smile widely.

There are few things better than getting to see a happy, healthy puppy.

Pietro was already talking to Kate when Wanda arrives to his office. He looks up as the door opens and despite being stressed and sleep-deprived his first words out of his mouth are genuine concern.

“How’s Nat doing?”

Wanda just walks into the room and closes the door behind her as she spares Kate a nod. She’s not sure how aware everyone is of what happened last night, but she wants to do her best to keep rumors from spreading and things getting out of hand.

“She’s fine, but you can ask her when she visits around lunch time for an update.”

Pietro sighs as he runs a hand through his hair in frustration. He looks to Kate who’s still a little miffed about Pietro’s reaction to her news, but she nods in agreement to what he says.

“That’s good. Kate was just telling me more about what happened to the two on watch.”

Kate, despite being relatively new to the team, was in charge of hiring people to put on their payroll. She was a very good judge of character, and of course the fact that she’s proven herself countless times allowed her to move up the ranks quickly. That and Yelena vouched for her from the very beginning.

“They were tranq-ed. Someone took them out so they couldn’t alert anyone about the cops.”

This is what Wanda had feared and unfortunately it raised more questions than it answered. Who could have done this? Who had the intel and the courage to pull something like this with both Clint and Nat present. They certainly had to know what would happen to them when they got caught.

“I know what you’re thinking, sestra, and I agree with you.”

Wanda looked to her brother who was sitting down in his chair with a scowl. He had gone over every bit of it last night, and after reading the file countless times he had concluded that someone had sold them out. He didn’t know who and he didn’t know why, but he was going to find out before this happened again.

He says this and Wanda merely sighs as she sits down next to Kate who’s clearly considering this as well. There were too many people involved last night to investigate them all. They needed to narrow down their options and luckily she had an excellent judge of character at her disposal. She turns to the brunette who’s obviously expecting her question, and she can’t help but smile as she watches her sit up in anticipation.

“Who do you think is responsible for this, Bishop?”

It’s almost the end of the day when the assistant you’d been working with today came to find you. She looked slightly worried, but you didn’t get a chance to ask why before she was speaking.

“Dr. Y/L/N? Do you have time to see a walk in?”

You’re a little surprised by this because honestly you rarely got walk-ins where you worked, and if you did they weren’t like this. You listened to Amina tell you about the dog – a stray, and how the person bringing him in had found him and decided to keep him. This part wasn’t weird because this happened all of the time. What you weren’t expecting was that he was insisting on having his dog seen today, and he was specifically requesting you.

“What did you say his name was again?”

Amina scrambles to look at the piece of scrap paper that she’d written most of the information down on before she frowns. She didn’t get a name, but you’re certain you don’t know this person either way. You eventually nod because the clinic is technically open for another 30 minutes, and this hopefully won’t take too long. It sounds like a simple establish care visit, and hopefully it wouldn’t take too long.

“Okay. Can you put him in an exam room? I’ll talk to him.”

You had been right to be a little on edge when you went into the exam room to meet the client. You confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his dog, other than having fleas, and that you didn’t recognize the slightly older man. He was taller than you and looked a little scruffy with his 5 o’clock shadow and his unkempt hair. He had brown hair and eyes and you definitely felt your skin crawl whenever he complimented you.

“You’re really good at this. He hasn’t taken to anyone else like he does you.”

As you pet his skittish dog you wonder how many other people this supposed stray has met. Instead of asking this you simply smile before offering him- Melvin another treat. He’s mostly finished with his visit, you just have to talk to his dad about the basics since he hasn’t ever had a dog before.

“Thank you, but I think he mostly just likes the treats.”

You brush the crumbs off your hands as you start to stand up. You open your mouth to start your spiel about being a responsible pet owner when the brunette speaks up.

“No, I think it’s you. You’re obvious very special, he’s a good judge of character.”

You can’t help but feel your face heat up in embarrassment. You’re not used to being complimented so directly by anyone that you don’t know well. Rather a complete stranger. You try to just smile gratefully as you scratch Melvin’s ears.

“You’re sweet, and so are you, Melvin.”

You’re not sure how to respond at this point, so you’re grateful that your assistant has returned with Melvin’s medications. The rest of the visit after that is a blur and you only realize how late it is when you come out of the exam room to find that there are no other clients in the building. You wait until you hear the front door close and lock before you head upstairs to your office. You hesitate in the doorway when you see a large vase full of flowers sitting on your desk. They’re beautiful and you wonder how long they’ve been here as you move to get a closer look. You look for a card among the petals and watch too many of them fall to your desk before you give up. You clean them up and reach for your phone in your coat pocket with a small smile.

You snap a picture of them and then text your wife before you sit down. You have a few records to finish up before you can go home, but seeing these flowers makes you want to just leave them for tomorrow. You look at the clock and see that it’s 6:15. If you aren’t done in half an hour, you’ll save the rest for tomorrow.

The rest of Wanda’s day was fairly uneventful. She’s spent most of it at the compound unfortunately, and it wasn’t until nearly 4 that she realized she’d forgotten about Boone. She’d talked to the two men from last night that has been on watch. They’d barely had anything useful to say and Wanda was left more frustrated than anything else after speaking with them. She had hung around and caught up with her brother and what he had going on before visiting with Nat again. She talked to the other redhead for almost two hours before she realized she needed to head home.

She finds Boone sitting on the couch downstairs when she returns and she quickly lets him out before she starts to plan dinner. She’s thinking about how long it’s been since she’s made her favorite, and she’s digging around the refrigerator to see if she has the ingredients when her phone rings. She ends up talking for almost half an hour before she gets a chance to return to dinner. She’s almost done cutting everything up and she’s about to throw it into the pot when her phone goes off again.

Wanda considers ignoring it, but then she checks the time and realizes you should be home soon. She opens your message and immediately frowns when she sees the picture and the accompanying text.

Did you send these?

The beautiful floral arrangement was one that she would have personally chosen to send you. She’d learned your favorite over the years and the fact that someone else had sent you these made her jealous beyond belief. Not to mention a little suspicious as well. She puts down the knife she’s holding so she can text you back. She has to delete the first two messages she types that practically demand to know who delivered the flowers to you. Eventually she settles on something that is as nonthreatening as possible.

No. It seems that I have competition.

You laugh out loud when you sees this message a little while later. You roll your eyes before typing out a quick response and returning to your records. You almost finish up the one you’re working on when you get a response.

Yeah right. I’m yours, silly.

Wanda stops what she’s doing when she reads this, and she realizes just how long when she starts to smell something burning. She curses under her breath before turning off the stove and rereading your message with a smile. Although the rings on their fingers say as much, Wanda does appreciate the words of affirmation that you give her. She wishes you were home right now, but she figures you’re finishing up so she leaves you be for now. She sends one last text before returning to dinner. She shoots Boone an amused look as she turns to see him licking Fletcher’s head. The cat just holds her head up closer to the shepherd and Wanda leaves them be with a roll of her eyes.

You are finally finished with your work and it’s dark by the time you leave the office.

You just sigh in defeat because you wanted to be home sooner, but some days you just couldn’t manage it. You quickly get into and start the car before looking in the rearview mirror out of habit. You’re too shocked to react immediately when you realize someone is standing behind your car. You can barely see them in the headlights given that they’re dressed all in black, but it doesn’t matter anyway. You have no chance of identifying them as they take off down the street and disappear into the night.

You frown in confusion and try to shake your nerves as you pull your phone out of your pocket and dial a familiar number.

“Hey, what’s up?”

You put your phone down in your lap as you start to back out and head for the street.

“You’re not stalking me tonight, are you?”

Bucky frowns at your upfront question. Usually, you don’t want to know whatever it is that Wanda’s asked him to do, so he doesn’t tell you. That said, there were some times when you wanted him to back you up, and this thought has Bucky answering immediately.

“Not currently no, why?”

This was technically the truth. He was watching you as always, but he’d run down the street to grab something a few minutes ago. Last he’d checked, you were still inside the clinic working. You frown at this answer before turning onto the street to head home.

“Well, I just got into my car and someone was waiting behind it. They took off pretty quickly though.”

Bucky doesn’t wait to hear the second sentence and he’s starting his car and heading back toward you. You’re too distracted looking on all sides for the mysterious person to notice immediately.

“Where are you now?”

You tell him that you’re already on your way home as you get on the highway. Bucky mutters a curse under his breath as he does an illegal, precarious U-turn before heading your way. He doesn’t see anything obviously suspicious, and he’s more concerned about locating you right now than some random stalker at the moment. He’s speeding to catch up with you and he breathes a sigh of relief when he finally recognizes your license plate a ways in front of him.

“Good, I’ll just follow you, I’m on my way home anyway.”

You just roll your eyes before muttering an ‘ok’ and hanging up. You’re blissfully unaware of the fact that Bucky immediately calls Wanda until you arrive home to a near-frantic wife.

You barely have time to open your car door before Wanda and Boone rush out into the garage to meet you. You’re only confused for a second before it clicks as Wanda’s pulling you into a tight hug and Boone is jumping into guard dog mode.

“Thank god, you’re home. Bucky called.”

You sigh in defeat and realization as Wanda’s anxiety starts to make sense. You hug the redhead back and kiss the top of her head before offering her a smile she can’t see while clinging to you.

“Of course, he did. It’s fine, Wands.”

You know what she’s going to say before the words have even left your mouth, but you’re not prepared for how upset she is. She pulls away from you quickly as she shoots you an angry look.

“It’s not fine at all. Someone was stalking you, and someone sent you flowers. They could be the same person. Who knows what they could want!”

You don’t have a good response to this so you just hold up your hands in surrender. You’re about to come up with another argument that’s doomed to fail when Boone jumps out of your car. You jump in surprise, not even realizing that he’d gotten in, and you frown when you realize he has something in his mouth.

“Boone, come here.”

He ignores you much to your chagrin, and takes whatever he has to Wanda who frowns deeply. You watch in confusion as Boone drops something you don’t recognize into your wife’s hands. It’s a doll that you’ve never seen before in your life. It’s of a doctor with a white coat that vaguely resembles you, and if that’s not creepy enough, the head is dangling by a few threads from the neck.

“Well, that’s not subtle.”

You realize belatedly that you’re too tired to read your wife correctly in this situation. Your humor is certainly not appreciated by Wanda who shoots you a glare and ushers you inside the house without a word. You’re still putting together the events of today when Wanda slams the door behind you two, locking it immediately.

“This isn’t funny, Y/n! Someone is threatening you!”

You’d like to argue with her, you really would, but the more you think about it, you realize you can’t. It didn’t make a lot of sense to have flowers sent to you without a card, and it certainly wasn’t normal to have someone break into your car to put a mutilated doll in your backseat.

You look to Boone who is rubbing his head on your hand and you start to pet him absentmindedly as you try to address Wanda’s concerns.

“I don’t know why anyone would, Wanda. I don’t think I’ve pissed anyone off recently.”

As soon as you say this you realize this probably isn’t about you. As much as you would be creeped out by the fact that someone was stalking you to get your attention, you know it’s much more likely that they’re trying to get Wanda’s. They have certainly succeeded.

You watch as Wanda shakes her head with a scowl, completely ignoring Fletcher who is meowing as she circles her.

“It’s me who’s pissed someone off. I think Strucker is upset with me.”

You’re not sure what to make of this statement because last time you checked, your wife didn’t talk to the other mobster. She hadn’t since she’d left Pietro in charge. Wanda realizes her mistake a few seconds after you do, and she sighs in defeat as she tries to prepare for how you’ll react to what she’s about to say.

“Strucker? Why would he be upset with you right now?”

Wanda doesn’t answer immediately and that tells you all you need to know. As you wait for your wife to come clean, you notice a couple of things that you’d initially missed as you’d been practically pushed into the house.

Something smelled wonderful and it reminded you of how hungry you were. You considered venturing into the kitchen to see what your wife cooked, but you figured that you needed to have this conversation as distraction free as possible. You turn to Boone who is sniffing you furiously and you tap him on the nose before scratching him behind his ears. He must have gotten a bath today because he smells like his favorite shampoo, and upon further inspection you notice that Wanda has switched out his regular collar. You smile at how handsome he looks before turning back to Wanda who’s watching you worriedly.

She had been considering how likely it was for Strucker to pull something like this, and she realizes this is tame for him. He’s done much more drastic, violent things to get people to comply in the past, but the fact that she was more than just an employee- she liked to think this explained why he was being less aggressive. Either way, she didn’t appreciate it and she had a few choice words for him first thing tomorrow.

Wanda watches you love on your dog for a minute before turning your attention back to her. You watch as she sighs again before motioning you toward the kitchen. She knows you’ve noticed dinner is ready, and she’d rather have this conversation while you were both sitting down.

“I’ll tell you while we eat.”

You and Wanda sit down for dinner and only manage about 30 seconds of silence before you speak up. She’s expecting this so she just cuts to the chase because the longer she drags it out, the worse off she’ll be. Wanda tells you about how Strucker sent flowers to Pietro and requested a meeting with her. She’d called him and told him to talk to her brother about any business he wanted to discuss and that was the end of it.

“Or so I thought.”

You frown when Wanda says this because yes it certainly sounds like Strucker could be behind what happened today; however, you’d learned not to go with the easy answer for a reason. There were a lot of people that hated Wanda, and this wasn’t even the fifth time someone considered using you against her.

Wanda watches as you consider what she’s said, and it’s not hard for her to see that you’re doubting things. She wasn’t the only one who could be deeply paranoid. That said, you were never this paranoid before you’d met her.

“I don’t suppose talking to him tomorrow would give you an answer?”

You both were aware that Strucker could just lie and say he wasn’t involved, but hopefully Wanda would be able to tell if she talks to him face to face. She hates the idea of this, of giving him what he wants with a meeting, but she doesn’t have a choice. When you’re concerned, she’s going to do whatever she has to, even if it means groveling. She tries not to scowl at the thought as she nods in agreement. This is where she was going to start tomorrow as soon as she talks to Pietro to make sure Strucker hasn’t reached out to him.

“I’ll talk to him, and hopefully we’ll have our answer. If not, we’ll figure it out.”

You nod absentmindedly as you continue to eat your dinner. You pat your leg as you look at Boone out of the corner of your eye and you smile when he obeys and rests his head on you. You scratch his head with a small smile before you look back to Wanda who’s watching you carefully.

“I know we will. I’m not worried.”

Despite being worried enough for the both of you, Wanda was touched by the faith that you had in her to figure this out. You rarely worried when you had Wanda to take care of you. You’d been with her for years and it took you very little time to realize how competent your wife was. You also weren’t particularly afraid of Strucker. Sure, he could do his worst and try to have you killed, but you knew that your friends—your family had your back. This reminds you of your plans this Saturday and you can’t help but smile a little at the thought of how overprotective everyone is going to be.

“What’s that smile for?”

You look up from your dog to see Wanda smiling at you. You can see that some of the tension has left her, but she’s still, understandably anxious, so you do your best to take her mind off of it. You get up from your seat, jostling Boone who is immediately standing and ready to follow you, and you grab your plate. Wanda opens her mouth to ask what you’re doing, but you just circle the table and settle into the chair beside your wife with a smile. You reach out for her hand before shrugging slightly.

“I was just thinking about dinner this Saturday, and how hectic that will be. Especially if your brother shows up.”

Wanda’s already groaning at the thought of Pietro attending this week’s dinner. He had been insufferable last time because they’d shared that they were trying to have kids, and he’d shared that he would happily volunteer his services. Wanda had been disgusted by what that would entail while you couldn’t help but laugh hysterically at the look on your wife’s face. The two siblings had argued in Sokovian for a few minutes before Pietro was chased out of the room for saying something undoubtedly distasteful.

You can tell that Wanda is clearly thinking of this, and you laugh before kissing her hand that’s still in yours with an amused look.

“Don’t worry, Wands. There is no way he can be any worse than he was last time.”

Once you and Wanda are finished with dinner, you’re in the kitchen cleaning with Boone resting at your feet while Wanda starts to make coffee. You frown when you realize what she’s doing, and you open your mouth to question it as you check the time. It’s late and it’s been a long time since Wanda’s had to make coffee to stay awake. Rather, it’s been a long time since Wanda’s had a reason to do so. You shoot her a questioning look as she sighs in anticipation. She’d neglected to tell you this for a reason.

“Why are you making coffee?”

Wanda’s pressing the start button when she turns to answer you with a slightly sheepish expression.

“It’s for Bucky and Steve.”

You don’t get a chance to question this before the doorbell rings, and Boone is the first one to react. He’s running to the door to greet your friends as you just shoot your wife a look.

“You didn’t tell me they were coming over.”

You don’t mind seeing your friends, but it’s late, and knowing Wanda like you did you knew this wasn’t a social call. You figure you were just being watched a little more closely until Wanda can figure out what happened tonight.

You dry your hands and head to the front door with Wanda on your heels.

“They’re sticking close tonight, just in case.”

You simply nod at this before you open the door for your friends that are dressed warmly, and Steve’s holding a case that you know has at least two guns in it. You choose to ignore this for now as you step aside and motion for the duo to come inside. You let Boone greet them before you speak up and you’re impressed by how sympathetic you sound. You would be lying if you said having the men around didn’t make you feel a little safer.

“I feel like I should apologize for this.”

Bucky laughs first as he steps away from Boone to pat you on the back. You roll your eyes as you hug Steve as Wanda closes the door behind them.

“Nahh, it’s not your fault you’re very stalkable.”

You don’t even know what that means, and seeing Wanda frown just tells you to move on. The fact that she’s asked your friends to hang out here for the night tells you more than Wanda would be willing to. She’s worried.

You force a smile watching as Boone sniffs Steve and then his case with a whine. You have a feeling that he’s going to be on alert tonight as well.

“Don’t listen to him, Y/n. We’re glad to be here.”

“Well let’s get you set up then, shall we?”

It turns out that they were both dressed warmly because they hadn’t decided who was going to be on the roof yet. They had coffee and space heaters, but they weren’t too worried. Bucky ended up being the one to hang out up there with Boone who would go in and out to check on him frequently. You watched as Wanda led Steve to a room that you rarely went into. Honestly, you’d probably only seen it once, and that was to see what Wanda had done to it. She’d set up the monitors for their many, many cameras around the property in there. There were at least 20 screens, and you’d immediately gotten a headache trying to watch them all. You figured that Steve would spend the night in there, and after leaving your friends with coffee and a hug, you and Wanda head to your bedroom.

“Wanda?”

The redhead looks over to you from where she’s standing in front of the closet changing into her pajamas. You are looking down at your hands instead of her so she speaks up to get your attention.

“Yes, detka?”

You look up and for once don’t take the time to appreciate the sight of your wife half-dressed as you figure out how to share the theory you’d been spinning since you got home. When you don’t answer immediately, Wanda hurries to put on her clothes before she sits down on the bed beside you. She’s frowning as she takes in your worried expression, and you reach out for her before she can offer her hand.

“Do you think that whoever followed me tonight was involved with Nat getting shot?”

Wanda’s eyes widen slightly because she hadn’t expected you to ask this. Sure it was a possibility, but Wanda thought of them as two separate, isolated events, but maybe that wasn’t the case. She briefly thought about how they could be connected, and who was responsible but she didn’t get far before her phone beeped. She took a few seconds to read the message from Steve before she put her phone down and focused on her wife again.

“I’m not sure, Y/n. I’m hoping we’ll know more tomorrow after I speak with Strucker.”

You nod at this before yawning in exhaustion. You had almost forgotten how long of a day you’d had after everything that had happened, and you wanted to sleep despite it barely being 9:30. You stand up and stretch as you turn toward the bathroom.

“I’m going to shower before taking Boone out again.”

Wanda shakes her head before insisting that she’ll do it while you’re gone. You had known better to ask her to join you and despite knowing it would have helped her relax, she’s too distracted and frankly on edge to give into you tonight. You just nod before thanking her and disappearing into the bathroom. Wanda waits until she hears the water start before she leaves to search for Boone. It’s too cold to linger outside too long, but she still grabs a coat from downstairs when she spots Boone waiting at the front door. She sighs as she types out a quick text to the duo on watch before she grabs Boone’s leash.

“Let’s go, Boone.”

Unsurprisingly Boone seems reluctant to leave his post. He’s smart enough to pick up on the fact that something isn’t right. Steve and Bucky rarely come over like this and Boone whines as he lays back down in protest. Wanda sighs in defeat because short of dragging him outside, she’s not sure how to get him to leave.

Wanda tests her theory by opening the front door and walking down the stairs to see if he’ll follow. He does, but he won’t go outside which makes Wanda sigh once again before she gives up and heads back inside. She walks back up the stairs and heads to where one safe is in the closet. She opens it quickly and grabs a gun that she loads and takes with her back downstairs. Boone is still waiting in the foyer and Wanda sits in the living room until you finish your shower.

You’re only a little surprised to find that your wife isn’t back yet, and you get dressed quickly to meet her downstairs. You find her sitting on the couch with Boone at the front door and you frown in confusion.

“Wands?”

Wanda turns towards you with a frown and you can’t help but laugh at what she says next.

“Your dog is very stubborn and he won’t go outside for me.”

You shake your head before shooting Boone a look that he doesn’t seem to notice as he tries to jump up on you in excitement. You push him down before you head toward the hall closet to find a coat. You return to find Wanda standing as well, and you notice the gun tucked into her coat pocket as she zips it up.

“Is that really necessary?”

You know that sometimes you can convince Wanda to be a little more relaxed. You’ve learned to find ways to help her find calm and see reason, but tonight is not going to be one of those nights. She just responds with a nod as she reaches out for your hand before snapping her fingers at Boone.

“Come on Boone. Make this quick, I want to go to bed.”

You smile at this and Boone as he hurries to the door and sits patiently for you to open it. He’s out in a flash and you let him disappear past the lights illuminating the porch as you let the cold air wash over you. You can’t suppress a violent shiver that runs through you. You’re barely out of the shower, so the chill affects you more than usual. Before your shivering can intensify, you’re pulled into your wife’s side as she wraps an arm around you.

You sigh as you feel her warm breath hit your skin before she’s kissing your cheek.

“I love you.”

You turn to face Wanda so you can meet her lips with a smile. You hear Boone coming back but you don’t pay him any mind yet as you hide you face in her hair as another gust of wind hits you.

“You never told me how your day was.”

“I love you more.”

Boone rushes past you into the house and you and Wanda follow him inside. Wanda locks the door but leaves the lights on as she leads you back upstairs. You watch as Boone camps out in the living room before you start up the stairs. You stifle a yawn as you groan at the thought of how crazy this day has been. You follow Wanda into the bedroom with a small smile.

Wanda smiles as she sheds her coat and runs a hand through her hair before putting it up.

“Nothing too eventful today. This was the most exciting part of my day.”

You nod in understanding before you throw your coat on top of Wanda’s with another yawn. You pull the covers back on the bed before crawling in with a tired groan. This is one of your favorite parts of the day. You love sleeping, and you smile widely at Wanda’s knowing look as she joins you.

“What about you, detka?”

You assume that your wife means besides this fiasco that was the end of your day. You’re about to say nothing when you remember the odd walk-in client from this afternoon. You roll over so you’re facing Wanda before shrugging your shoulders.

“I had a new client today who had a really cute dog. He on the other hand was very flirty.”

Wanda’s smile disappears as you say this and she asks before she can stop herself.

“What was his name?”

You shake your head with a content sigh as you move so you’re closer to your wife. You mutter the answer into her hair and unsurprisingly she tries to pull away from you.

“His name was Melvin and he had fleas. Super cute though.”

You groan in annoyance when Wanda tries to move away, and you just reach out and cling to her in protest.

“Y/n…”

You shake your head because you don’t want to feed Wanda’s jealousy any more than you already have. You need to remind her that you’re here with her, and you’ll only ever be in bed with her. Unless of course you got wasted again and ended up passing out with Nat. That only happened once though, and you still weren’t sure if you passed out from being drunk, or from hitting your head on the ceiling as you and the redhead competed to see who could jump the highest on the bed.

“Wands, remember what I told you earlier today? I’m yours, okay?”

Wanda couldn’t help but smile at your insistence, and she kissed your hair with a small nod that you couldn’t see. She wasn’t going to lose her mind over the idea of someone else wanting you because honestly it was unavoidable. There were so many things that Wanda loved about you, and it would be foolish of her to think that no one else would see you for these things. You were kind, smart, passionate and beautiful., but what you said was true. You were hers.

She’s about to say something similar to you but you cut her off as you speak up.

“And to be completely honest, I don’t even remember his name. I dissociated a bit and thought about how terribly awkward you were when we first met.”

Wanda just scoffs at this and you smile against her neck as you realize she’s taken the bait. You are lying of course because when you had first met your wife, you were the one who had been an awkward mess. She holds you closer as she rolls her eyes and allows herself to be distracted as she thinks back to the early days of your relationship. You’d been studying to become a vet, and Wanda had taken a liking to you immediately. She’d been a little creepy and followed you around for a while before she risked talking to you.

You’d been reluctant to open up to her because she hadn’t been a student and you had no idea what she wanted from you.

“If I remember correctly, detka. You were an adorable skittish little thing.”

You laugh under your breath because you can’t even deny it, and Wanda knows it. You move so your body is flush against Wanda’s before settling back down. She tightens her hold on you and begins to run her fingers through your hair.

“Thanks babe. Love you too.”

Wanda just chuckles at this and the two of you fall into a comfortable silence. You’re almost asleep when Wanda pulls away from you to leave the bed. You whine, refusing to open your eyes so close to sleep. You don’t have time to ask where Wanda’s going before she’s back. You hear her set something heavy down on the bedside table, but you’re too tired to be bothered by it right now.

“Sorry, detka. Go back to sleep.”

You don’t realize that you’d fallen asleep until a loud noise wakes you up. Your eyes fly open, and despite it still being dark out you’re wide awake. This might have something to do with the fact that almost simultaneous to being woken up, Wanda was rolling out of bed. You didn’t know how she did that, but as you watch her your sleep-addled brain realizes she’s grabbing something from the bedside table.

“Stay here, Y/n. Lock the door behind me.”

You’re only just getting out of bed as Wanda disappears out the door, gun in hand. You try not to panic as you do as she says and hurry to grab your phone when it rings. You see it’s Bucky and you answer it quickly.

“Bucky? What’s happened?”

Wanda hurries down the stairs as quickly as possible in the dark. She knows that there’s no one in the house, but she’s cautious as she turns the corner into the living room to find Boone standing in the middle of the room on high alert. His yelp was the first thing she’d registered when she woke up, and a few seconds later she remembered the crash she’d heard just before. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but she’s relieved to see Boone alive, but he’s staring toward the front door in a way that immediately makes her tense up.

“There’s not anyone in the house, but someone shot through the front window.”

You frown in confusion as you hurry to grab a jacket to throw on. You barely have it zipped before you unlock the bedroom door and dare to venture downstairs.

“Have you told Wanda that? Is there anyone outside the house?”

You don’t have time to hear Bucky’s response before you spot Boone and Wanda both head toward the front door. You fly down the stairs two at a time as you glance around quickly to make sure that there definitely isn’t anyone lurking in the shadows. You’re mostly just appeasing your paranoia because you know that your security system is both high tech and reliable. You’d asked Wanda once how much it cost and she’d refused to tell you.

“Wanda?”

Wanda is almost to where the broken glass had spread across the carpet when she hears your voice. She spins around and despite herself grips the gun in her hand a little tighter. When she realizes it’s just you and no one else, she sighs in relief, but this quickly turns to irritation at the fact you left the bedroom.

“Y/n, what are you doing? I thought you w--.”

You trail off as you take in the scene in front of you. There’s broken glass on the floor that’s littering the carpet. Luckily Boone’s not in the middle of it, but he is looking at the small hole in the floor that you hadn’t noticed. You follow its trajectory from the broken window and then turn to your door who is now licking his side.

Wanda’s cut off by the sound of your phone ringing again. You see it’s Steve and you hand it over to your wife as you move around her to check on your dog.

“Hey buddy. What happened...?”

“What the--.”

You barely hear Wanda talking to Steve on the phone as you drop to your knees beside Boone who seems more agitated than you’d expect. You can’t really blame him if what you think happened is correct.

“Boone, sit. Let me look.”

It takes telling him to sit again for you to get him to cooperate. You move his muzzle away as he tries to lick his side again, and at first glance it looks like he’s got a hot spot, but it only takes a few seconds for the area to start bleeding again and you curse.

Did someone really try to shoot your dog through the window?

You don’t realize you say this out loud until Wanda kneels down next to you and Boone. She’s frowning as she watches blood flow from a pretty substantial cut on Boone’s side. She berates herself for not noticing it earlier, and she’s quick to stand as she speaks with Steve.

“I’ll get the first aid kit. Steve, if Bucky says it’s clear he can come in. I need to talk to him.”

You move Boone away from the front door and into the living room so you can get a better look at him. You turn on the lights before meeting Wanda who’s grabbed a little kit you’d made for the occasional accident that Boone has around the house or out hiking.

“Thanks.”

With the lights on now, Wanda can see a clear trail of blood leading from the rug up front to where Boone stands now on the hardwood. She watches as you grab some gauze and hold it to his wound, and Boone, despite being well behaved yelps a little in pain. You shoot him a sympathetic look as you pet his head and mutter something to him that Wanda can’t hear. Rather she’s distracted by the sound of footsteps on the floor above them. She figures it’s Bucky and she pockets her gun before turning to you briefly.

“Do you need help?”

You turn away from the supplies you’d been gathering before shaking your head with a small smile. Boone is usually pretty good with things like this and you can tell Wanda’s itching to figure out what the hell happened. You are too, so you set her loose to talk to your friend who’s coming down the stairs.

“No thanks. Go ahead and talk to Bucky and Steve. We’ll be fine.”

Wanda nods before leaving you with your dog as she goes to greet Bucky. You’re half listening to them and you swear you hear him say that it came out of nowhere and not only do you hate to hear that, but now you’re even more worried. You give Boone a treat once you’re done stitching him up, and he licks you gratefully before following you to where Bucky is standing.

“Steve saw a blip on the monitor and then I heard the shot and Boone yelp. There was no one anywhere close to the house.”

You don’t know if you believe this, and since you’re not as familiar with it as Wanda you doubt what Bucky says. Wanda however starts to consider exactly how something like this was pulled off and she’s quick to drag you and Boone to where Steve is still hunkered down.

You don’t have time to object before Wanda speaks up, and you realize how on edge she is. You try not to worry as she ushers you into the room where Steve is sitting in front of an obscene number of monitors and shuts the door behind the three of you.

“Steve, can you show me what you found, please?”

You squeeze your wife’s hand as you watch Steve turn around and a few seconds later you see it. He’s frozen a frame from one of the cameras that was apparently a ways off from the house.

“He appeared and disappeared in about 30 seconds flat. He showed up, shot through the window and then left before we could even look for him.”

You can’t help but stiffen at the thought and the sight of someone on your property in the dead of night. He’s bundled up because of the cold and you can see him wearing goggles that must have helped him aim his rather intimidating gun. You don’t know much about guns, but you didn’t doubt that something that big could shoot from far away. Bucky crosses his arms as he looks at the picture and then the recording that Steve has playing on a different monitor with a frown. Your eyes widen as you watch a replay of the shooter firing a shot through your window and grazing Boone. Your first thought is how lucky you are that he was a lousy shot and that your dog is okay.

“Good thing the wind picked --.” You cut Bucky off before he could finish his thought, not that you didn’t appreciate the sentiment. Wanda and Steve both look to you, and Wanda’s eyes widen when she realizes you skipped right past fearful and landed on anger.

“I’m sorry, but did some guy creep through the woods to shoot my dog?! Why the hell would he do that?”

Wanda tries to figure out how to answer your question without actually answering it. She has a pretty good idea of why someone would try to take out Boone, and although she hates it, she knows that Steve and Bucky have come to the same conclusion. She looks to your dog who’s whining and rubbing his head against your leg in distress, but you’re far too pissed to notice.

“Does that make any sense to any of you?”

You sigh in exasperation as you’re met with silence, and you turn to your wife who’s frowning. She squeezes your hand before she spares a look at Bucky and Steve that says ‘back me up.’

“Y/n, it’s possible that whoever was following you last night, and whoever is after you wanted to try and get Boone…out of the way.”

You don’t say anything immediately as you consider her words. You know your dog is loyal and that he’d protect you and Wanda at all costs, but did other people know that? Other than your immediately family, not many people interacted with Boone. Sure he went to work with you sometimes, but he didn’t act like a guard dog there. Was it really that obvious to whoever was stalking you, that Boone would keep them from hurting you? This thought makes you feel even more love for your fur child and you kneel down next to him to finally give him the attention he’d wanted.

You grab his head and he licks your face as you kiss the top of his head with a sigh.

“That’s fucked up, Boone. People are fucked up.”

Everyone nods in agreement, and Steve speaks up to address the issue that Wanda’s sure to have considered even before this happened.

“It is, and it seems like whoever’s after you is a little more persistent that we originally thought.”

You hate the sound of this because you know that it means your life is going to be disrupted. If Wanda got her way, she’d barricade you inside the house in a safe room somewhere that no one could find you. That said, you had a job, you had friends, and you didn’t want to hide away from the world.

You looked to Wanda at the exact same time that she looked at you, and you shook your head before she could even open her mouth.

“No, Wanda.”

“Y/n, we don’t know if he’s given up. He might come back.”

You think about this and you’re still shaking your head as you try to figure out how to get yourself out of becoming a prisoner in your own home.

“Isn’t that what the security system is for? He can’t get close.”

You realize how poor your argument is as Wanda shoots you an incredulous look, and your two friends suddenly decide that the blood stains Boone left need to be cleaned. They leave you with your wife who just shakes her head and glances back to the front door.

“Clearly if he can get close enough to shoot Boone, he can get close enough to shoot you.”

You don’t have a good response for this so you back track because honestly you hadn’t really let the idea of getting shot in your own home set in until now. You try not to think too much about that right now and you sigh in irritation as you reach out to pet Boone in an attempt to calm your nerves.

“Well, what if we had someone actually monitor the system while we’re here?”

Wanda doesn’t shut this down immediately which you take as a good sign. However, she’s not jumping on the idea so there has to be a reason for her hesitation. You know it’s not the money, she doesn’t care about that. If you had to guess it had to do with people being in her home whenever either of you were there. You didn’t think that it would be so bad to have Bucky and Steve around more.

“True, but I don’t know who I would trust enough to do so, detka.”

You stop scratching Boone’s ear and look to Wanda in confusion. It takes you a moment to realize what she’s getting at and your frown deepens as you and sigh in defeat. You glance over to your friends that are kind enough to pretend like they’re not listening as they scrub the blood off of the floor.

“Right.”

You sit down next to Boone and sulk at the thought of having strangers come into the house to stand watch. You’d briefly forgotten that your friends have their own lives and you wouldn’t want them to sacrifice them for your sake. You think about how paranoid your wife is and how unlikely she is to let someone she doesn’t trust completely into your home to protect you. You know that the odds of you not being carted off to the compound are becoming slimmer by the minute, and Wanda seems to pick up on this. She gets down on the rug next to you and holds out her hands to you. You know what she’s asking and you’re quick to shift so you’re sitting in her lap.

You sigh and relax immediately when her arms wrap around you and you lie back against her and close your eyes. You’re suddenly overwhelmed by fatigue as your body seems to remember that you’d been in deep sleep just minutes ago. You turn when Wanda rests her head on your shoulder with a thoughtful look.

“Can you give me a couple of days to make it safer here?”

You frown at the thought of running and having a longer commute to work. You then think about how you’d be back with Nat and Yelena and you realize it might not be all bad. It’s only for a couple of days. You don’t want to give in too easily but you’re too tired to try and bargain with your wife right now. Instead, you ask about what the redhead has planned.

“What does that entail exactly?”

Wanda’s still thinking about who she’ll call to make everything that she’s thinking about happen, so she’s not entirely prepared to answer you. However, she knows that you won’t tolerate being waved off on this and she’s already worrying about being able to get this together in two days.

Wanda smiles at you as she watches Boone lay his head on your leg and look at you with big sad eyes. You practically melt as you reach out for him and Wanda kisses your cheek before shrugging.

“Let’s start with getting the window fixed.”

Miraculously, Wanda lets you sleep the last few hours of the night in your bedroom upstairs instead of forcing you to leave. Steve and Bucky are still on watch when you wake up, and you set out to the kitchen quickly to make them breakfast as a thank you. You stifle a yawn as you walk to the kitchen with Boone in tow.

You’d forced him upstairs with you, and despite the night’s events it was not an easy task. You’d tried to just lead him upstairs, but he flailed and dug in his heels in an attempt to stay downstairs. You had hoped that he’d jump at the chance to get away from the cold downstairs, but you’d had to carry him all the way upstairs.

You’d checked on his wound this morning and it looked like it was still closed so that was good at least. You were still shocked that someone had tried to kill your dog, and you were so deep in thought as you gathered the ingredients for breakfast that you didn’t notice that you’re no longer alone.

“Hey that looks great! Can--.?”

You scream so loudly in surprise that Boone’s immediately by your side and your wife appears at the top of the stairs in a panic. She’s only half dressed, but once she sees you slapping Steve in annoyance, she rolls her eyes and retreats back into the bedroom.

“Jesus Steve! You scared me!”

She hears you yell this as she closes the door behind her with a sigh. She’s exhausted and she knows that she’s not going to get any rest anytime soon. She’s trying to figure out how to make the house bulletproof when her phone rings. She grabs the first pair of pants she finds and starts to put them on as she answers. Wanda balances on one leg and holds the device against her ear with her shoulder.

“Hello?”

“Wands, Bucky told me what happened. Are you and Y/n okay?”

Wanda finishes pulling up her pants with a huff before she looks to the clock. She’s wondering at what time Bucky told Nat about what was going on.

“We’re fine, but Y/n’s pissed. What did Buck tell you?”

Wanda listens as Nat reminds her of what happened last night. She hates the idea of how she’d tried so hard to make this house safe for the two of you, but something like this still happened. Granted it could have been much worse, but if whoever had targeted Boone decided they’d wanted you instead, she’s terrified that she could have lost you. She doesn’t realize she’s lost in thought until she hears Nat call her name twice.

“Wanda you there?”

Wanda curses under her breath as she sits down on the bed with a sigh.

“I’m sorry what did you say?”

Nat frowns as she thinks about what else Bucky told her, and she has a feeling the couple’s visit is going to be more stressful than their house getting shot up.

“What’s Y/n think about staying at the compound?”

“No, Wanda I’m not. I’m going to work. Come on Boone.”

They’d just finished breakfast when Wanda told her that you couldn’t go to work today. You hadn’t even considered it because you had a full schedule today and you had to see your patients. You couldn’t just sit inside a fortress all day twiddling your thumbs while your wife worked on her master plan. However, clearly this was not what Wanda wanted to hear because the two of you started to argue with your friends awkwardly waiting by the mudroom door. They’d been briefed about Wanda’s plan, but of course it hadn’t been run by you yet and now you were changing things. They couldn’t say they were surprised that you weren’t on board, but they couldn’t say for certain who would win this fight. Usually when things were dire and the situation called for Wanda to handle things, you went along with it.

Usually.

“Y/n you can’t go to work. You’ll be easily found there.”

You shake your head because despite the fact this is true, you don’t believe that anything will happen while you’re at work.

“Okay, let’s assume that’s true. Who would be idiotic enough to try anything in broad daylight?”

Wanda’s scowling as she thinks about how reckless, how determined this person is to get to you. She doesn’t think they’ll care about witnesses. She doesn’t say this exactly, but the way you roll your eyes at her and grab your keys which catches Boone’s attention, makes her want to say something that will sway you. Boone’s just been lying on the floor between you and Wanda waiting patiently as you argued. Now he’s jumping to his feet ready to go to work with you despite Wanda’s protests.

“I’m not missing work today, Wanda, so either have someone other than Bucky tail me or just let it go. I agreed to go to the compound for a couple of nights, but I’m not going to stop working.”

You wait for your wife’s protest but Wanda just sighs in defeat as she looks between you and her friends that are waiting in uncomfortable silence. The redhead concedes before she shoots you a serious look that you just nod at.

“Fine, but you don’t leave the clinic until you leave to for the compound, deal?”

You want to be annoyed, but you know you’re getting off easy. You’re surprised Wanda’s not pushing harder for you to stay home, and you know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth so you just leave it.

“Deal. See you tonight?”

You lean in for a kiss and despite being annoyed, Wanda meets your lips with a smile before she nods.

“I will see you tonight.”

Part 4

#wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda x you #pietro maximoff #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff & reader #yelena belova & reader #yelena belova #mob au #marvel fic

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