#and long story short i just stood in the shower and blew my nose for like thirty minutes

[watchthekittycatcher]

holy MERCY the amount of garbage I just removed from my head

[fvrxdrm]

5 Times

Pairing: Damnation!Leon Kennedy x Reader

Warning(s): None

*****

4 times Leon didn't confess his love and 1 time he did.

One

It was the giggles that sailed upon your boat, the laughter, the smiles. You both saw the funny in everything and that was your bond. You could be serious too; you loved deeply of others more than what was generally accepted. So you guessed the humor was how you let out the tension that kind of love brings. In those silly moments you were perfect, and they were the sweetness you needed in rough times. That's what friends do, right? It's the love that makes doors in emotional brick walls, the love that makes everything possible.

That's what Leon always thought. It was so cordial and unique in a way that he felt like what he valued so much was somehow outlandish and alien. He couldn't distinguish what comes out of him whenever you were with him and every tingle that raises hills on his skin was a puzzle he was unable to solve.

"I'll see you around," you mumbled against his chest.

"Yep." Leon unwrapped his arms around you albeit slowly, reluctant for some reason, and smiled through his pursed lips. "I'll see you around."

He watched as you wended your way from his house and into your home, a teasing tug pulling his lips at the ghost of your own against his cheek.

Two

Under the dim lights and the colorful ornamentations, your raiment sparkled against the gleam, catching the eye of many guests, predominantly Leon. You looked like a princess wearing a headband that imitated a crown, a top and a pair of pants embellished with a winking glint that could be mistaken as diamonds from afar, and heeled leather boots that comically made you look tall. Your hair was in a loose and messy braid with a few strands hanging just beside your face and a light chain that twisted along your H/L H/C locks.

Leon was in awe, no doubt. His focus was glued to your appearance. Even when his friends were making random conversations with him, he found it unbearably hard to keep his icy blues away from you.

"You should just ask her out, you know. You've been staring at her with heart eyes the entire night," Chris spoke as he followed the trail of Leon's gaze towards you.

Leon broke away from his stupor and shook his head at the man's voice, his blood rushing towards his neck and face.

"What? No, no. You're mistaken. I-I don't like her like that."

"You sure? Last time we were drunk you were yelling about how much you love her right into my ear."

"We were drunk, Chris."

"And? What's that saying again? A drunk man's words are a sober man's thoughts?" Chris simpered as Leon's eyes widened in surprise.

"What? Th-that's not true!" He denied.

"Mhm, sure. Anyway, my girlfriend's probably looking for me now," the taller and bulkier man said. "At least ask her to dance."

As Chris' footsteps faded away into the beat of the music, Leon thought about what he had said.

Did he actually like her, or was it just something he was confusing himself with? Either way, you were still a treasured dear to him and whether or not his heart was romantically beating for you, he would still value you the same, although he would probably be a bit clingier if you did end up together.

For now, he'll just ask you for a dance, go with the flow, and see what happens.

Three

The night rode in on a horse of pure midnight velvet, beckoned by the stars under the glow of a full moon. As the colors of the day rested, perhaps dreamt of the morrow, the forest became its monochrome beauty, darkened greens and golds that made an ever-changing, ever-present puzzle, question and answer united.

Fire danced beside you as you and Leon laid against under the constellation of stars and talked the night away, smiling and laughing at every jest that was told.

It felt pleasant to be in his arms and he felt warmth as a wild heart beat in his bars.

"This one," you began, leading his fingers towards a raised and silvery part of your skin, "I got this when I was younger. I got stabbed by a pencil."

"A pencil?"

"Yeah. My friend and I got into a fight and it was buried, like, 3-fucking-inches inside of me. And holy shit, my teacher didn't fucking notice it while I was bleeding profusely. I was leaking hamburger helper!"

Leon busted a gut and pulled you towards him even more as he shook in laughter.

You went on and on about the most absurd things that had happen during your childhood until you lost all energy and eventually fell asleep in Leon's arms.

You looked peaceful, he thought. Your face was so serene as if nothing had really affected you in any way. The world was cruel, but you only sought for the brighter side and stood along it with your back turned to the hell it truly bore. Your lips were parted lightly, and hair just a tad bit messy from all the exaggerated movements you'd done while telling your stories and tossing your head back while laughing. A part of your skin was showing as your top rode up, and he couldn't the blush that crawled up to his face when realized his hand was rested on that patch of skin.

He smiled.

Maybe he did like you, or love you. If his admiration wasn't enough, then his heart reassured him.

Four

"Oh, fuck!"

You swam away from Leon as fast as your arms and legs could fight against the water as he chased you, muscles and quads aiding him. Compared to you, he was more skilled in this type of stuff while you had chicken legs with barely anything of assistance. So it was no surprise when he caught up to you with spider hands and wrapped his arms around your waist. He tickled your stomach, the bareness of it making the stimulation all the more patent and making you guffaw while squirming in his arms.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" You cried in between laughter. You turned around to face him when you felt his hands making a stop against the side of torso and looked at the wonders of his eyes steadily and intensely.

You didn't notice it, but Leon's breath hitched at the proximity of your faces, the hot air that flew out of your nose hitting the droplets on his face. You were in a daze. Both of you. It felt so intimate and bona fide that for a second that was your only reality.

Your fingers trailed up his chest, neck, and finally his cheek, and for a moment, your hand was still on his face with only your thumb moving to stroke the scar that was stripped away from his hair. Leon furrowed his brows. The inside of your lip was lightly bitten as you thought about your next action for a moment. But decided that fuck it, life is short. If he felt the same way than congrats! But if he didn't, well, it's either he'll pull away or kiss back with no purpose. And hey, what's the matter with making out with your best friend?

And so, you drew a bit closer, albeit rather slowly in case Leon wanted to pull away. But seeing as he was copying your motions, you saw his intention and pressed your lips against his in a shy lip-lock.

Five

Leon tugged on his tie as he looked at the people dancing around inside of the venue, his heart doing a little dance of its own when he saw you smiling with the crowd.

He blew a sigh, the breeze intertwining with the air. He could see the party from the balcony: flashes of different color schemes, the swaying of dresses as the women moved, the chattering of people as they drank the glasses of champagne. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe this was all about you and him; two souls entwined by love.

"I see you didn't invite me," a sultry and velvety voice said from beside him. He knew who it was and it didn't faze him anymore to see her appearing uninvited as she always did.

"What are you doing here, Ada?"

"What, I can't go see two of my favorite people anymore?"

"Well, it always ended in a mess, anyway, so what's the point." Ada chuckled in response and leaned back against the railing, the smile her giggling left still ghosting on her face. It was all jokes, fun, and games to her for a moment until she turned serious and gazed at you from a distance where you couldn't notice.

"Take care of each other, Leon. You both are worth more than what you give yourselves credit for," she muttered. "I wish I could've given her the life you're giving to her now. But I can't, and I'll remain like this until I die."

In the depths of her mind, Ada reminisced on the time when she was in Leon's position. She gave the love you needed and wanted, and cared for you in so many ways. But she was a mercenary, a wanted one at that, and she knew that one day, everything would be thrown into a void or burned until it turned to ashes. So, she broke what you had off and handed you to Leon where he could give you a better life.

Leon couldn't say anything. It seemed rude and odd but he remembered when you knocked on his door, drenched in rain water and sobbing everything from your chest. It hurt to see you like that. And so, he promised. He promised to be the best husband he could ever be and shower you with everything he could give you.

"Leon!" Your voice rang out as you ran towards him with a wide smile on your face, startling the both of them.

Leon turned towards where Ada stood but saw that she was gone as if she was nothing but an apparition that was made by his mind.

He was befuddled for a moment, pondering about his encounter with the woman, but found his heart racing as you came closer to him.

What transpired was long forgotten and all the world could see how Leon mimicked the smile that defined the joy you brought to him. He was just happy to share such a beautiful moment with you and he optimistically wondered about what was ahead of you.

He pulled you towards him and spun you around as he battered your face with kisses, whispering 'I love you's and so many more sweet nothings against your cheeks while you laughed in his arms.

Hidden within the shadows was the raven-haired woman, imitating their smiles as she watched the intimacy from afar. She felt like her mission was done and although it hurt, she was thankful for what she'd done. Leon was going to give you the life you deserved and he was going to fill the holes she'd left.

*****

This was rushed. Lol. And I'm using my phone. How was it tho?

This was the outfit I had in mind. Feel free to change it though.

[theladyofdeath]

Life As We Know It {Chapter 6}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays and Thursdays. Chapters will be posted on both my and Shelb’s blogs! >> @snelbz​

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

The week had passed by in a blur and by the time Saturday came, all Nesta wanted to do was sleep in. 

But she couldn’t.

Sleeping in wasn’t possible anymore. 

Her alarm had been set for seven, but she woke up with the sun peeking through her curtains at 6:45. She looked at the baby monitor on the nightstand. Nyx was still sound asleep in his crib.

With a groan, she covered her head with her pillow and tried to shut out the light, but it was no use. 

She was wide awake. 

May as well enjoy a cup of coffee before Nyx wakes up. Nesta tossed her legs over the side of the bed and tossed her robe over her pajama shorts and tank top. After pulling her long, golden-brown hair back, she was tiptoeing through the hall and down the stairs.

Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she could hear noise coming from the kitchen.

The sizzling of bacon being dropped into a skillet.

She had expected it to be Cassian, of course, but what she wasn’t expecting was what he was wearing.

Or, she supposed, what he wasn’t wearing. 

She wasn’t sure if she should go back upstairs, to give him privacy. But he was the one who had chosen to come downstairs like this, in one of the common areas of the house, so Nesta went ahead and walked into the kitchen. She aimed straight for the coffee pot, grateful to see a fresh pot already in the carafe. “Good morning.”

He turned towards her, that broad, muscular chest on full display, thanks to the white towel wrapped around his hips being the only thing he had on. “Morning, Nes. Hope you want breakfast.”

She continued to make her coffee, which was usually easy, considering it was one spoonful of sugar in black coffee, but she was having a distinctly hard time focusing on what she was doing.

She had seen Cassian without a shirt in before, at the few times they’d both been over to swim in Feyre and Rhysand’s pool, but there was something distinctly different about seeing him wearing a pair of swimming trunks and that towel. That towel that was sitting so low on his hips, she knew there could be nothing underneath it.

He didn’t even seem to notice, didn’t even seem to think about her reaction to him standing nearly nude in the kitchen, making breakfast. His hair was still wet, although the ends seemed to be drying. 

She wondered if this is what he looked like in a towel, what he would look like in the shower.

She quickly shook the thought away, even though it couldn’t help but linger in the back of her mind.

“I’ve got eggs, bacon, and toast,” he said, his back to her. She watched his muscles expand as he moved pans around and turned off the burners. “Simple, but it’ll fill you up. We’ll need all the energy we can this morning.”

Nesta cleared her throat and gave him a nod as he turned to face her. It was true, and Nesta was unexcited about it. The two of them would spend their day trying to find a part-time nanny for Nyx for the days that the two of them were both at work at the same time.

They’d had plenty of applicants, some of whom seemed promising. 

Nesta had her fingers crossed.

A plate was set down in front of Nesta, and for a moment, all she could do was stare at it. There was a smiley face made out of a bacon mouth and egg-eyes. Another plate was set in the middle of the table, piled high with toast and jam. 

“What am I, two?” she asked, gesturing to the breakfast face in front of her.

Cassian chuckled. His plate was piled high with bacon and eggs. No room for faces. He sat across from her and leaned on the table with his elbows. “A little smiley face never hurt anybody.”

She said nothing, just picked up her fork and cut into the eggs. She hadn’t even told him she liked her eggs over-medium, but she was glad she did as the semi-runny yolk spilled out onto her plate. Nesta thought about starting something about it, about asking about food preferences before he assumed something, but it was too early and she hadn’t gotten to enjoy nearly enough of her cup of coffee. It was too early to fight. So instead she picked up a crispy piece of bacon and used it to pick up some of the egg, before popping it into her mouth.

Her eyes slipped closed and she tried not to moan.

How could a simple breakfast taste so damn good?

When she opened her eyes again, she assumed she hadn’t been completely successful in stopping her appreciative noises, because he was smirking at her as he brought his own coffee to his lips.

“Told you I make a mean breakfast,” he said, reaching for a piece of toast and slathering it in blackberry jam.

Clearing her throat, she ignored him and continued eating until her plate was completely empty. Just as she was about to get up to rinse it off, he stood, adjusting that damn towel to fit more snuggly around his hips, and picked up both of their plates. She tried her best not to watch the muscles shift in his back as he rinsed the plates and loaded them into the dishwasher. Tried her best, but found herself staring as she sipped from her coffee cup, but snapped herself out of it and got up as well, making Nyx a bottle for when he woke up.

As she shook the formula up, she asked, “Will you be putting clothes on before the applicants get here, or should I warn them this is going to be a clothes-optional interview?”

He glanced at her over a shoulder, as he began to clean the pan he’d cooked the bacon and eggs in, but turned right back to the sink. “Does my nakedness bother you, Nes?”

Damn him, she could hear the smirk in his voice.

“No,” she snapped. “And stop calling me that.”

“So, you like me in a towel, then?” he went on, turning the sink off as he put the final plate in the drain rack.

“You’re exhausting, you know that?” she asked, turning to face him full on.

He turned to her then, one brow raised as he ran a hand through his nearly-dried hair. “I’m just saying, if it bothers you, I’ll be sure to dress before I come down to slave away for you over the stove. But, if it doesn’t bother you, I have to admit that I like to completely dry before I put on clothes.”

No, it didn’t bother her.

No, she didn’t mind having her breakfast with a view.

No, she wouldn’t mind reaching out and feeling just how hard and defined his abs really were.

No, she would never admit to that.

Instead, she raised her chin and said, “I should wake Nyx up so he’s ready before the first applicant arrives.”

“So formal,” he grinned. “And here I thought we were having a nice, pleasant morning.”

A soft cry came from upstairs and she was immediately in motion, all thoughts of those abs and whether or not water from his shower would well in the defined divots of them gone. Snatching up the bottle she’d set on the counter, she turned and headed for the living room and the stairs beyond. “Put some clothes on,” was all

she called back to him as she hurried for Nyx’s nursery.

*

Nesta shut the front door, falling back against the wood, listening as the final interview made her way down the cobblestone walkway.

She sighed and made her way into the kitchen. She needed a glass of wine.

A bottle of wine was more like it, but a glass would do for now.

She found Cassian already standing behind a chair at the kitchen table, the resumes of each applicant spread out before him. “So,” she said, reaching into the fridge for the bottle of chilled, white wine. “What did you think?”

He blew out an equally exhausted breath, before shaking his head. “There was…a lot of variety.”

He was right. There was a woman who had to be in her seventies, who had brought an entire notebook of lesson plans, with her goal to have the one-year-old fluent in French before his third birthday. Then there was the thirteen-year-old who had lied about her age on the application, but promised she could ride her bike the mile and a half from her house every day they needed her. Just not until after three on school days.

“Too much variety,” she agreed. “That last woman was so boring she literally put Nyx to sleep.”

It was true. Nyx was currently sound asleep in the middle of his playmat in the living room, surrounded by his toys. 

“I didn’t mind the retired librarian,” Nesta said, filling her wine glass to the brim. 

Cassian scrunched his nose. “She smelled weird.”

Nesta scoffed. “I don’t think Nyx will be minding her smell. She was smart and was obviously good with him.”

“So was Viviane,” Cassian said, picking up an application off the table.

Nesta blinked. “Viviane?”

“Yeah, Viviane,” he said, showing her the application. “Smart. Bachelors in early childhood education. Lives three miles down the road.”

“Young, blonde, hot,” Nesta added, taking a drink.

Cassian raised an eyebrow. “So you do remember her.”

“I remember that she didn’t have near enough experience and she only listed one reference,” Nesta replied, taking the application and resume from him. She looked it over again. “She can’t be more than twenty-two years old.”

“What does her age have to do with it?” He asked, leaning down on the chair and looking at her. “She’s got good qualifications and Nyx loved her. She was one of the few he actually laughed and wanted to play with.”

It was true, he’d been extremely uncomfortable around most of the applicants. He cried the second a couple of them looked at him and had even spit up on one of them. But he had giggled with Viviane and genuinely seemed to like her.

“She hasn’t worked at a legit daycare or anything, but she’s been a one-on-one nanny before,” Cassian pointed out, as Nesta was reading the same thing on her copy of the resume. “And she said she could get us the numbers of her previous families. She just didn’t want to give them out without asking permission.” He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sounds like she’d respect our privacy, too. But go ahead, keep thinking of reasons she’s not a good candidate.”

Aside from her perky tits and ass, I can’t think of any. The words almost came from her lips, but Nesta ground her teeth.

“We have to agree on someone, and Viviane can start immediately,” Cassian continued. 

Nesta stared at him for a moment.

He stared back, watching as she sipped from her glass. “I swear to the Mother, Cassian, if you fuck the nanny-.”

Cassian barked an unamused laugh. “You think I have absolutely no self control, don’t you?”

“I think you’re basing this choice off of what you want, not what Nyx needs,” she said, not breaking their eye contact.

“She may be hot, but fucking her would be a lot more trouble than it’s worth,” he admitted. “And Nyx is half Rhys. Don’t forget that. He liked to appreciate pretty things just as much as I do, and I’m sure Nyx will, too.”

Scoffing, Nesta set her glass down and went into the living room to get Nyx. “He’s a baby, not a grown man, with raging hormones. You’re disgusting.” She picked him up, still fast asleep from hearing about the nuances of the differences in a sitter and nanny from the old crone they’d spoken with last. “Call Viviane, let her know she starts tomorrow at eight.”

Cassian met her on the stairs. “I don’t work tomorrow, I can watch him.”

Nesta shrugged, but continued up, carrying a drooling Nyx to his nursery. She hadn’t noticed how close to his nap time it had gotten. “Think of it as an exercise in self-control then, and a test run. See how she does with Nyx and see if you can keep your dick to yourself.”

“I’ve kept it from you pretty easily, haven’t I?” 

Nesta refrained from responding as she carried Nyx into the nursery and laid him down, cracking the door open behind her as she left. Walking back downstairs, she retrieved her wine, purposefully ignoring him, though she felt his eyes on her the whole time. She wouldn’t answer his question, was doing her best not to think about it, especially compounded with memories of him this morning.

She had no idea the muscles leading down by the hips could really be so defined. She thought the illustrious V that dragged your eye downwards on most male models was photoshopped in. Cassian, though, very much proved it not only existed, but that it was as distracting as she’d imagined it could be.

“I’m taking a bath,” she announced, heading back for the stairs. “Let Viviane know she got the job, but she can start whenever you want. If you’ll be off tomorrow, we don’t need to pay her to be here.”

She didn’t wait for his reply, and was in her room with the door shut a few seconds later. She took her time filling the bathtub with the things she found under the counter. There were oils and salts and bubbles and soaps, and by the time Nesta settled into the bubbly, warm water, the entire bathroom smelled like a spa. She sipped her wine, refusing to let her mind wander back to Cassian that morning, but by the time her glass was empty, her head was swimming and the water had begun to go cold.

She got out of the tub, watching as the water swirled down the drain and began toweling off.

And then, she had an idea, to give Cassian a taste of his own medicine.

She grabbed a clean, fluffy, white towel and wrapped it around her chest. And then she headed down to the kitchen for a refill.

Cassian was lying on the couch, one arm tossed behind his head, the other using the remote to flip through the stations on the TV.

He caught Nesta the moment her feet appeared at the top of the stairs.

Nesta’s heartbeat a little bit faster with every step she took.

“This is a new look for you,” Cassian said, simply, even though his voice had lowered an octave since the last conversation they had. “Especially considering you took the master bedroom so that you had your own private bathroom to avoid such run-ins with me.”

Nesta tossed her long, wet hair over her shoulder. “I figured it was okay since you’ve made it perfectly clear that you have no desire to crawl into bed with me. I deemed it safe territory.”

The glass still dangled between her fingers and she heard the couch creak as she turned the corner into the kitchen. She may have grabbed a towel that wasn’t quite as wide as the rest of them, one that didn’t quite come as far down her thighs. But if he wanted to prance around in nothing but his skin, she could do the same.

They were both adults. She had no interest in sleeping with him - so she told herself, at least - and he’d said he had no interest in her.

She poured what was left of the bottle in her glass and threw it into the trash with a clunk. She hadn’t realized she had so little left, but was fairly sure another bottle was in the wine cabinet.

Which was in the living room.

When she re-entered the living room, the volume on the TV was nearly silent and Cassian was sitting up, rather than laying down. One arm was draped across the back of the couch and the other still clutched the remote.

She could feel his eyes on her and she took another drink before reaching around the back of the cabinet for the key and unlocking it.

Not only did she grab another bottle of her favorite wine, but also a good bottle of whiskey, too.

“Planning on getting wasted?” He asked, quietly. 

“Just stocking up,” she replied, locking the cabinet behind her. “Care for a glass?”

Cassian looked around the room, as if she would be talking to anyone else other than her. “Sure.”

“Whiskey, I assume?” she asked, going back into the kitchen for another glass. 

The television was a little bit louder when she returned, but not by much.

She sat on the opposite end of the couch, and set the glasses on the coffee table in front of them. After retrieving the glass bottles, she poured.

Cassian remained perfectly quiet as she did so. 

“Is this a truce?” he asked, as Nesta held the glass out toward him.

“This is a celebratory drink to commemorate finding a nanny today,” Nesta said, although her voice held no warmth. “No matter how young and inexperienced and doomed-to-fail she is.”

She held up her wine glass.

Cassian snorted as he clinked his glass against hers.

She wasn’t paying any attention to whatever he had playing on the TV, and she had a feeling he didn’t either, not as she could feel his stare burning into her. Enough so that she crossed her legs, unintentionally causing the towel to raise even higher attention on the outside of her thigh. It almost exposed her entire hip, which she wasn’t anticipating, but she had made the decision to come down here, to tease him by showing him what he had done to her. She wouldn’t let him see how much his gaze was affecting her.

Even if it was just the wine.

Or so she told herself.

She was just about to stand, to make some excuse for going upstairs when he set his glass down on the coffee table and cleared his throat.

“New house rule. Clothes are required in the common areas. Kitchen, living room, dining room,” he said, ticking them off one by one. “Bedrooms and bathrooms are the only places where this is allowed.”

He gestured towards her, without looking, to make sure his point was understood.

“Why?” She asked innocently, and then she threw his own words back into his face. “Does my nakedness bother you, Cass?”

“Quite the opposite,” he admitted, adjusting himself.

Nesta pretended she didn’t notice.

“I thought you had no issue keeping yourself in check with me,” Nesta said, her voice low. “I thought you weren’t some untamed male with raging hormones.”

“I’m not,” he said, reaching to refill his glass. “At least, not until a beautiful woman is sitting a foot away from me, soaked, in a towel, pouring me whiskey.”

“I’m not soaked,” she said, without thinking it through. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

When Cassian looked at her, he grinned, but his eyes were dark. “I meant your hair.”

Nesta knew her plan had immediately backfired, either that or she’d had far too much to drink, so she simply nodded and stood heading back for the staircase.

“Nes?”

She turned back to look at him, halfway up the staircase.

He was smirking, that glass of whiskey resting on the arm of the couch. “If you ever do find yourself soaked, you know where to find me.”

She was up the stairs and slamming her door in a flash, trying to ignore his quiet laughter.

[1engele]

daybreak | sal fisher x fem!reader - 3. frogger

Previous | Next

[warnings: cursing, smoking, light violence, blood]

"i don't want to be friends. i want all of you."

—

"Can I get your number?"

You and Larry both whip around to face Sal, the person who'd spoken that sentence. You're stood at the foot of Addison's Apartments.

"What?" You blink. "Me? My what?"

You assume Sal mirrors your nonplussed expression because he bats his eyes just as startled as you did. "Uh- your phone number. So we can be in touch easier. You know, for school and stuff."

Eager anxiousness in the form of butterflies batted their wings in your gut and your ribs. You reached into your back pocket, flipped your flip-phone open, and handed it toward the blue-haired boy. "Here," you blurted. "Put it in there." You gloss your eyes toward Larry. For some apparent reason, he's wearing a wide, shit-eating grin.

"You can put yours in too if you want."

He waves a tan hand. Your attention is on Larry, but it somehow drifts and you're glancing toward Sal. His veiny hands are jerking which each movement of his thumbs as he presses numbers on the keypad.

"No, that's okay," Larry replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'll get it off of Sal."

"Here," Sal holds the flip phone out to you. It's small in his hand.

He has long fingers, you thought.

"Oh, thanks." Your fingers brush his as you reclaim your phone and return it to it's place in your back pocket.

Your heart is beating unnecessarily loud by the time they've walked you to your apartment. Your hands are in your coat pockets to conceal the mild trembling in your hands. You're almost nervous that they can hear the rushing of your blood as your heart rapidly pumps it through your body—because you know you certainly can.

"I had fun today," you smiled, your expression nothing but sincerity. "Thanks for everything. I appreciate it."

Larry grins. "That's cute. No need to thank us, alright?"

You twitch the corner of your lips upward and nod towards him.

Sal tucks a strand of blue hair behind his ear—you'll never get used to the color. In a good way. You could look at it for hours—and fiddles with his backpack strap. "See you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah," you respond, your teeth making an appearance. "Goodnight, you guys."

With that, you're inside of your apartment and shutting the door behind you. You hear their muffled voices and unintelligible words through the wall as they retreat from your door and towards the elevator.

You drop your bag at the door and make haste to your room. You sit on the side of your bed and hurriedly open your phone.

The first phone number you'd ever had—save your mother, which doesn't count— was "c you tomorrow :)", sitting right beneath "Mom" on the contact list. After changing his name to "Sal :)" you breathed out shakily, and slowly pushed enter on his contact.

Should you send him something? Isn't that a bit weird? You'd just seen him a few minutes ago. Should you wait a little longer? What if he's still with Larry, and they see what you'd sent a message so quickly and make fun of you?

You shake your head. That was unlikely. All they'd been was great to you.

"c you tmrw."

You inwardly linger over the thought of pressing the send button.

Why the fuck were you so nervous, anyway? Because a boy with nice hands and a pretty laugh said he'd see you tomorrow?

Yeah.. okay, maybe that was it.

"c you tmrw." The message was sent.

You slapped a hand over your face. Should you have said something else? Should you just have not texted him at all? You fell back into the mattress, draping your arm over your face and blinking into your wrist. The feeling of exhilarated dread churned in your gut.

A subtle vibration reverberated on the comforter. It buzzed in your ears momentarily. You paused, before lurching upward and snatching the phone back into your grasp.

"you too. let's try not to rouse mrs. packerton's suspicions tomorrow like we did today lol."

You grinned, and replied before you could stop yourself. "might not be possible. you may need to answer another math question for me."

Sal replied after a pause. "can't say no to that. goodnight, y/n"

You breathed out slowly, typed out a goodnight message, and slowly dropped your hands back down to the comforter.

Your fingers shook and your heart was beating itself against your rib cage. Not long after, you dozed off into sleep thinking of the way your body felt when the warmth of his palm was flush against the nape of your neck.

Getting up the next day is a bit harder than getting up the previous one. You couldn't seem to rub the sleep away from your eyes, and, for some reason or another—you'd waken up in a cold sweat, and your sheets stuck to your body. Not only that, when you'd went to shower, the water was freezing, for no apparent reason. You'd come to terms with the fact that this building had multiple personalities.

Standing beneath the shower head felt like being pricked with itty-bitty pitchforks. Topped with miniature ice cubes.

You'd gotten dressed in an oversized black sweater (over a long-sleeved, black top for added warmth), along with an a-lined plaid emerald green and blue skirt on top of your sheer black tights. The skirt was not short—not amongst your standards, it was mid-thigh—but nowadays teachers were weird about how girls dressed so you'd have to keep an eye out about that.

Also, surprisingly—instead of the usual beat up and raggedy sneakers you usually wore you decided on some of your chunky Mary Janes you'd thrifted not long back. You'd never given them a go outside before. The only time they'd been worn was in your room and by yourself.

When you were fully dressed, you let yourself examine your outfit in the mirror. While doing so, your phone chimes in your hand. You snap it open hastily and read the notification.

"it's larry. sal gave me your number :P meet us outside when ur ready"

You grinned and walked out of your room. You grabbed your bag and made for the door. When you'd gotten outside, what greeted you there was not exactly what you'd expected.

"Oh! Ashley, is this yours?" You inquired, gazing over the pale silver Ford Fiesta that sat in the driveway. It was a cute car. Ash sat in the driver's seat with the window down and her forest green eyes attentive and on you.

"Yeah! My little brother had an allergic reaction while eating out at some big corporate food chain and we got it in compensation. We already have a family car so it was given to me."

What a nice story, you thought, making sure you maintained your pleasant expression.

"Oh," you passed your gaze over the vehicle again. "Cool!"

You noted Todd's place in the passenger seat. You met his eye and gently waved. He returned the wave, with that neutral look on his face he always seemed to have.

"You're going to be cold," a voice behind you says rather abruptly. You jump, whirling around.

"You scared me," you laughed, your face burning as you made eye contact with none other than Sal Fisher. "What do you mean?"

"Your skirt," he replies, glancing away momentarily. Your eyebrows raise comically.

"You don't like it?"

"No-" he rushes out, a bit too fast. "Uh, no. It's g- it's nice. I meant you're going to be cold in it."

He was right. It was nearing the end of August.

You pass your eyes over your legs, from the a-lined skirt, the sheer black tights, and the chunky Mary Janes. You return your gaze to his—not before catching a glinting glimpse of what seemed to be rings adorning his fingers—and shrugged.

"Oh well. All I'm worried about is being dress coded," you look to Larry, who's near Sal. "Good morning."

"You too," he grins. "Let's get in the car. It's chilly."

You all clamber into the backseat. You're in between Sal and Larry. Hot air blew from the car vents and hit you in the face as Ashley turned the temperature up further. While doing that, she turns on the radio and channel surfs until she's found some sort of soft rock station. She turns it up to a moderate volume.

A car freshener in the shape of a red tree dangled from the rearview mirror and swayed as Ashley put the car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway. It had a charming illustration of what resembled two strawberries on the front.

The car smelled nostalgic—like the smell of the hair on one of those Strawberry Shortcake dolls you owned as a child.

The wistful scent is abruptly overpowered by the smell of smoke and the autumn air. Larry had rolled a window down and had just lit a cigarette to your left. On your right, Sal has pulled out his flip phone and is playing some sort of shit quality version of Frogger.

Interested, you lean over.

"How'd you get that on there?"

He looks over at you. He's close. You can hear him slowly inhaling and exhaling through his nose. "Todd did it for me," Sal replies. He gestures toward you with the phone. The phone makes a sound. The digital frog had fallen into the water. "Wanna play?"

"Oh," you pause, and smile. "I like watching you."

His eyes flicker over your face. "Okay."

He returned to the game. Finally, you had an excuse to stare down at his hands. Multiple silver and black rings adorned his hands. They fit him perfectly—snug on his pretty fingers and accenting his veiny hands perfectly.

During your examination, you hadn't exactly realized it but your cheek was now flush against his shoulder and your hair was tickling his neck.

No, you weren't smelling him, but it was hard not to scent it when you inhaled through your nose. He smelled of delicate laundry detergent—fresh, clean—and of minty vanilla. Breathing that in made you feel what was probably the most at home you'd felt in months.

You glanced up from his hands, to his Adam's apple, to his prosthetic face—his gaze remained attentive on the flip phone, dark lashes moving along to accommodate his flickering eyes. You looked away before he'd noticed, and paid attention to the game.

"You're good," you commented.

He didn't reply immediately, almost as if he'd looked over at you. The side of your face remained on his shoulder and your hair still brushed against the skin on his neck.

"Well, it's only Frogger," he remarked. "I bet you're better. Try it."

The sudden scent of ashy smoke consumed your senses. Larry must have exhaled halfway inside of the car. The vapor floated for a moment before dissipating into nothing.

You took the phone from Sal's hands and shifted in your seat to sit straight up. You pressed play on the game, and within seconds your frog had fallen into the water.

"I suck."

"No, you don't. You're just not trying hard enough."

"Potato, Potahto," you reply, shortly laughing at yourself and pressing play again nonetheless.

Suddenly, the vehicle slammed to a halt. You held onto the phone tight in one hand and steadied yourself on the passenger seat in front of you with your other one.

Sal seemed to have the same idea, except he seemed to panic and had braced yourself on your knee instead. You could have sworn you saw white for a split second, your insides jumping and chills fluttering down your spine. He quickly retracted his touch, catching your eye immediately.

"Sorry," Sal uttered.

"That's okay," you'd done a fine job gathering yourself together. "Perfectly fine."

"Jesus Christ, Ash! What the hell was that?" Larry calls from your left, the cigarette between his pointer and middle fingers. He was halfway through exhaling his smoke when he spoke again. Vapor spilled from his lips as he stared at the front of the vehicle. "Trying to kill us?"

"Whoops! Sorry guys, I almost missed the red light."

"That wasn't very wise," Todd remarked from the passenger seat, turning his head to look at Ash. You couldn't help but shortly giggle, looking back down at Sal's phone.

You heard Sal slowly exhale a breath of relief beside you.

"Yeah, anything but fucking wise," Larry scoffed. "Thought I was about to die, dude."

"I said I was sorry," you could hear the roll of Ashley's eyes in her voice. "My parents would kill me if I got a ticket. Also, who told you that you could smoke in my car?"

"I did." In your peripheral vision, he was staring blankly. "What're you going to do about it?"

In the rearview mirror, Ashley squinted her eyes but said nothing.

"This is a shit show," Sal murmured, looking back to his phone in your hands. You'd returned to the game, still attempting at getting past the first level. The digital frog continuously leaped over lily pads and logs. It was almost therapeutic.

"Sorry you don't want me back here, Sal." Larry's tone had transformed from mildly annoyed to slightly bitter. His cigarette had been held unattended for a decent amount of time so it had begun to burn out. "I didn't ask to third wheel."

You blinked and convinced yourself you'd heard him wrong.

You weren't looking at Sal's face. He was silent for a few seconds.

"Just chill out, alright?"

"I'll say what I want."

"It's too early for this, Larry," Sal bit out. "Cut it the fuck out."

Your heart pumped furiously.

"Where do you want to take this, Sal?"

Ashley jumped in incredibly quick, the car jerking as she turned the wheel abruptly, pulling the vehicle into the school's parking lot. "Fuck no. What the fuck are you thinking, Larry? Going to fight Sal because you're in a pissy mood?"

"I'm not going to fucking fight him, Ashley," He shook his head. "It's just- apparently he's got some kind of vendetta against me today so I guess we could talk somewhere else-"

"That's in your head, Larry," Sal said honestly. "I don't know what makes you think I have something against you today, but I don't. I don't know how you want me to prove that to you."

Larry settles into silence as Ashley pulls the Ford Fiesta into a parking space.

"Just- put the cigarette out and calm down, okay?"

It didn't look like the smoke had much left in it, but Larry still drew one last hit out of it before he stepped out of the car and crushed it beneath his shoe. He throws his bag over his shoulder and slams the car door behind him.

You look over at Sal, who was reaching for the door handle. Ashley and Todd had already exited the vehicle, and Ashley was standing by and waiting for you both to get out so she could lock the car.

"Hey," you murmured before he could leave. The blue-haired boy turned his head and inquired you with raised eyebrows. "Try to be patient with him, when you two talk it out. I haven't known him long—but I can tell he's the sort of person that wouldn't act like that unless something's bothering him."

Sal looks down at you thoughtfully, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. You hear him swallow thickly. "Yeah," he muttered. "He is that type of person. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

With that, you both exit the vehicle and Ashley locks the car. Todd and Larry had already walked up a measured distance ahead of the three of you.

"Do you know what that might have been about?" Ashley asks, directing the question toward Sal by holding eye contact with him. You walk to Sal's left, looking ahead as to not be intrusive on the conversation.

"Uh.." he trails off. A cool breeze filters past your face and legs and it makes you shiver. "Not really. Usually, it's about his mom. Whenever they've argued about something, it puts him in a bad mood."

Ashley seems to give herself a moment to reply.

"Anything else?"

Sal does the same.

"Not that I know of."

Your eyebrows twitch downward.

Ashley walks slightly ahead of the two of you. She calls your name, and you look up from the ground, startled. "How are you liking the apartments? Anytime I've been there, they're kind of creepy."

You giggle. "Yeah. You could say that. I'd say they're alright—it gets kind of cold. The water was fucking ice cold today. Could barely shower."

Ashley mirrors your laughter. "Anything else?"

You pause. "Larry has this really great treehouse. I don't know if you've been, but it's honestly pretty cool. It's homey."

She looks up to Sal in surprise. "She's already been? When did you guys show her?"

He tucks a strand of hair behind his ear. "Uh, well, we didn't necessarily show her.."

Ashley looks at you curiously. You sarcastically pout towards Sal, finding his eyes to be twinkling with amusement. "I may have broken into it."

"Oh, you didn't break into it," Sal protests, exhaling sharply through his nose in a gentle chuckle. "You just didn't realize it was inhabited."

You look towards Ashley. "Long story short—I found a cool treehouse. Thought it was abandoned. Climbed into it. Coincidentally, Sal and Larry climbed into the treehouse while I was in it. It was embarrassing."

"It wasn't. It was funny," You could hear Sal's grin. "She smoked for the first time that day."

Ashley's jaw dropped in faux-astonishment. "You've tainted her innocence."

You smile. "It was honestly kind of horrible at first."

Before you knew it, the three of you had entered the school. After a few more minutes of banter and friendly conversation, you and Sal parted ways from Ashley to head towards your first class of the day: math.

Once again, Mrs. Packerton had given the class a math sheet. For god knows why she expected you to know all of these things off of the bat and get all of the questions right with barely any assistance. You were stuck on one problem like it always went.

Someone nudged your arm. You looked to your left and smiled at who was looking at you. He glanced down at your paper. "The answer's-"

"Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Mr. Fisher?"

Fuck, you thought, slowly looking up to your elderly teacher. Glancing over to Sal, his eyebrows were raised and he peered up at the woman at the front of the classroom with something akin to surprise in his eyes. "Uh-"

Before he could explain himself, Mrs. Packerton's entire facade did a 180 and her eyebrows were suddenly furrowed and her frown was deep-set. It was almost comical, and you strained to keep the laugh in. You weren't looking to break a rib, so you unfortunately giggled beneath your breath.

Her dark brown eyes slid over to you. After a moment of being examined and feeling extremely uncomfortable, she sighed.

"I'm administering detention for both of you, after school. I will let you finish the test, but next time this happens it'll be an immediate fail for both of you. Understood?”

You and Sal exchange both equally supposed expressions, before nodding together.

Before class is over, you see Travis giving Sal another sour look. Oh my god, you thought, twirling your pencil around in between your fingers. Is this going to have to be another talk, Travis?

The bell rang. You and Sal jumped up and fled the class as quickly as you could.

"Oh my god," he breathed, as you both stepped into the hallway and began maneuvering through the countless amount of students flooding the halls. "She's super fucking scary. I was so wrong."

You abruptly laugh. "Yeah. She's got that look in her eye." You pause. "I'm sorry, Sal. You wouldn't be getting a detention if it wasn't for me."

Sal tilts his head just slightly. "It's no big deal. It was my fault, anyway. It's not like you asked for my help either times I helped you out. It's not like my dad's going to be mad, anyway—he'll probably be relieved. I've never really got detention for anything, especially involving talking to another person. Probably'll be glad I'm being more social, haha."

You frown. "I'm still sorry."

"I appreciate it, but you don't have to be-"

"If only your friend wasn't so dumb, Sally Face. It's a shame that your perfect record is all tarnished."

Sal appears as though he knew who was talking a few words in. He inhales, turns around to face the blond boy behind him, and backs up a step. "What do you want, Travis?"

Your fingernails sink into your palms. It stings. You told him yesterday!

"Nothing. Just wanna know why she's so stupid."

Sal's eyes flicker. "Mm, think you're forgetting about how close you were to failing mid-terms last year. You're not very bright yourself."

Travis grows a bit red but he looks as though he's trying to ignore his growing frustration. It boggled you—the fact he was so easy to anger because of the fact Sal was defending himself. Defending.. you?

"Whatever. Why am I fucking arguing with a fucking satan worshipper, anyway?"

That genuinely surprised you. What kind of insult was that? And where did it come from?

"Whatever, Travis. God doesn't like bullies, either. I hope you don't kiss your daddy with that mouth-"

You're glad the hall is relatively empty because the crack you hear when Travis' fist meets Sal's prosthetic face is loud and startling. Your heart is in your throat. You place your hands on Travis' chest and push him into the lockers. The metal cages rattle beneath the sudden weight.

"What the FUCK is wrong with you?" You shout, red hot anger coursing through your body and pumping through your veins. "Get the fuck away. I swear to god, I'll-"

Sal murmurs your name, gripping your wrist. "Stop. Don't push him."

You give Travis the bitchiest expression you can muster. He scoffs and walks away. You're surprised he didn't throw one last insult into the air—but he instead walked down the hall with heavy footing, turned around the corner, and disappeared.

As soon as you're done watching him down the hall, you whip around to Sal with wide eyes. He was cupping the place where the mask cut off, collecting blood that dripped down.

"He's got a mean right hook," Sal breathily laughed.

The rage you currently felt made your head hurt. You quickly grabbed him by the wrist and hurried him towards the restrooms at the opposite side of the hall. On your way, the bell rings. You couldn't care less whether or not you were going to miss your class—it's not like you didn't have detention already.

"Hey, what're you-"

You pull him into the girl's bathroom, which was empty. You make sure to turn him away from the entrance. His eyes are as wide as two dinner plates.

"Huh. Smells nice in here," he comments. The fact that's the first thing he says tells you he's clearly in shock from being clocked in the face.

You grab some paper towels and look him in the eye.

"I'm going to clean you up now,"

You reach around his head.

"Hey, I- wait, you don't-"

You unbuckle the clasps at the back of his prosthetic and pull the prosthetic off of his face. You set it aside, and set it on the edge of the sink.

He slowly meets your gaze. The amount of internal fear that's held inside of those eyes—fear you know that's been held in for so long—is astonishing to you. Your eyes soften. You slide your gaze over his face, and all you can feel is an unbelievable amount of happiness and satisfaction.

Butterflies swarm your insides and beat against your ribs at the sight of his mouth.

It's just as kissable as you'd imagined.

Shut the fuck up, you snap back at yourself. Not the time.

You're unable to hold in the large smile that grows on your lips as you bring the paper towels toward his face and wipe away the blood that dripped from his nose, down his mouth, and fell down his chin—there was so much of it that it had made its way down to the collar of his shirt, staining the material scarlet red.

"You can give that to me later," you uttered. "I know a thing or two about getting blood out of clothes, haha."

His lips twitched, but he remained silent and let you do your thing.

After thoroughly cleaning his face off, you return the prosthetic to him, handling it with care.

"Here you go."

After he'd put it on, you met his eyes.

"Hey, Sal, I'm-"

"It's okay." He peered at you sincerely. "That went.. better than I thought it would. I just hope you don't think of me differently."

The thought appalled you.

"No!" You exclaimed, a bit too forceful. You gathered your composure and tried it again. "No. Um- I could never. Seriously. Your face doesn't change who you are, Sal. It doesn't make me think of you any different. You're still you. Besides, I- um... I liked it."

His eyebrows jump and he jerks his head upward. "What?"

"I liked it. I liked your face."

He was silent like it was taking him a little bit to process that. Your eyes wandered during this time, and they landed on the collar of his shirt, again. You cursed.

"Shit. Hold on."

Suddenly, you'd crossed your arms around your midriff and began pulling the sweater upward. The noise Sal made was almost comical.

"No, uh, you don't have to! It's fine, I can-"

Before he could stop you, the shirt was up and over your chest and it was off of your head. Thank god that you'd remembered the black top beneath, or else you'd feel really bad that you couldn't give him the sweater—it wasn't like you could walk around in just a bra (as much as you'd like to sometimes.)

He grabbed the article of clothing from you, hesitant. "You're sure?"

"Yep!"

"Alright," he murmured, cautious, pulling your sweater over his head and pulling it down his torso. Once he'd done so, he looked back to your eyes and inquired you with his own. "So? What do you think?"

Heart beating so loudly it thrummed in your ears, you replied: "You've never looked better," and grinned wider than you ever have before.

[rebelbyrdie]

Ficlet Day #3 (OUAT)

I think this was supposed to be a OUAT-Witcher Crossover Fic with a very jealous Emma.

What Does She Have (That I Don't)

Another portal opened, which shouldn't be a surprise anymore.  It was, like, a weekly occurance.  Storybrooke was as busy as O'Hare these days.  People came and went.  

Just two months ago half of the cast of Frozen had decided to spend their royal vacation in Storybrooke.  It wasn't that Emma had been happy to see Anna and Elsa, but the whole reindeer and snowman thing had been a bit much.

So here they were, yet again, on a wild portal hunt. It wouldn't be so bad, but since Storybrooke wasn't on Google Maps, she couldn't even play Pokemon Go while trecking miles through the woods.

Maybe it would be something nice and easy.  Like maybe the cats from Aristocats.  Cute, cuddly and low matinence.  If it was ogres again, Emma was going to lose her shit.

"So are you picking up anything on your magical radar?"

Regina didn't say anything but did turn her head and glared at her.  They were still on shaky ground since the whole Robin-Marian situation.   Emma didn't know why.  Robin was a giant dickhead.  He might be Regina's so-called soulmate but he had also been Zelena's partner in crime.  Yeah he'd been doing to get back his dead wife, but that didn't mean he wasn't a dick head.  

Emma did not understand what Regina saw in him.

Probably the same thing she'd seen in Hook, a warm body that didn't hate her.  Lonliness made women (even super smart and magical ones) make dumb decisions.  Not that she would ever say that to Regina.  Emma didn't want to be set on fire, thank you very much.

"Seriously, you know I'm not good at this sensing magic stuff.  Are we even close?"

Regina blew a huff out of her nose.  "I think we need to go closer to the town line.  Back towards the road."

They were at least twenty minutes away the road.  Emma sighed.  This was going to be a long ass day.

When they finally arrived at the town line, Emma was ready for a burger, a shower, a burger, a beer and a nap.  Maybe a few beers.

"There we are."

The first thing Emma noticed was that the town sign had been destroyed.  As Regina had made her pay to repair it, Emma took that as a personal attack.  There was a person-shaped lump on the road.  Their portal trip must have been rough.

Emma put her hand on the butt of her pistol.  The lump didn't look familar and Emma had to be prepared for the worst.

Regina didn't seem very worried.  She just twister her left hand.  The person-lup was coated in shiny purple blanket.  They jerked in response and let out a long and painful groan.  They started to push themselves up.  

"Hey."  Emma kept her eyes focused on the stranger.  "Welcome to Storybrooke."

The lump looked up.  It was a woman in heavy leather armor.  She had short blonde hair, wierd eyes and a sour expression on her face.  She stood up and only wobbled a little bit.

"Oh!"  Regina's eyebrows winged up and then she held out her hand.  "Well Met, Ser." 

What the fuck?  Did Regina know this person?  Also did she know something about their pronouns that Emma didn't?

"I am Queen Regina, leader of Storybrooke."  

Well that was mostly accurate.

"And this is my law keeper, Lady Emma Swan.  We welcome you and offer any and all assitance."

What the ever-loving fuck was Regina talking about?

"Regina."  Emma hissed only half under her breath.  "What the Hell?"

Regina's eyes flashed and she scowled.  "Miss Swan.  Look at her sigil.  She is a Knight of Andrezej."

The sigil Regina mentioned must mean her necklace. Emma thought it looked like a wierd circle with something inside it.  It meant absolutly nothing to her.  More fairy tale crap.  Also Emma wasn't even sure that last part was a real word.  

"Gesundheit to you too."  She snarked at Regina.  Then she turned her attention back to the stranger.  "So what's your name and story?"

She didn't care how nice Regina was to this lady.  She wasn't from Storybrooke and that made her suspicious.  Not to mention that she had busted the "historic" sign into about a million pieces.

"I am."  Her voice had some sort of accent that Emma had never heard before.  "Ser Thera of Andrezej and I am here on a mission."  She pulled a scroll out of chest armor thing and held it out to Regina.  "I am hunting down a fugitive of justince from the Kingdom of King Ercole."

Wait.  Wait just a damn second.  This chick wasn't some fancy knight.  She was just a bounty hunter.  A freaking fairy tale bounty hunter.  Which was not nearly as cool as someone like Boba Fett or Stephanie Plum.  

"Well that's great.  How are you going to fix the town's historic sign, Lady?"

Regina scowled at her.  "Honestly, Miss Swan."  She flicked her hand around in a circle and poof the sign re-assembled itself magically.  "Don't be rude.  Ser Thera is our esteemed guest."

The woman tapped her wierd pendant and in a flash of orange her clothes changed.  The leather armor was now darkwash jeans, a  black button up shirt and a fitted bomber jacket.  The apparently magical necklace still hung off her neck.  

"Thank you, Your Majesty."  

It sounded so polite and proper when the bounty hunter said it.  Regina practically beamed when the woman offered her arm.  Regina, the super-independent and hard-assed mayor, linked her arm through the other woman's like a teenager on her first date.

"I'll show you our town.  If this mark of yours is here then Granny's is the best place to start looking.

They walked past Emma arm in arm.

Emma didn't like the smirk on the Thera's face or the spark in her wierd pumpkin orange eyes.  

What was Regina's deal?  She'd had Emma arrested for busting the sign and that hadn't even been her fault!  Not to mention she'd tried to run her out of town for months.  Now she was just throwing up the ye old castle gate and rolling out the freaking red carpet.  For a freaking bounty hunter.

Emma had been a bounty hunter too.  A damn good one.  They just didn't get to pretend to be knights in the good ol' US of A.  She didn't trust this woman.  What kind of name was Thera anyway?

When they got to Granny's, it only got worse.  Everyone, even Granny, fell all over themselves over her.  They all thought being a Knight of Achoo (or whatever) was the best thing in the damn universe.  Even Snow and David seemed impressed.  Henry wanted to hear stories about her adventures.

Apparently being The Savior was old news.  Whatever.  

"Sheriff Swan?"

Thera stood in front of her otherwise empty table.

"Her Majesty has offered me lodging for the night.  I was hoping we could speak on the morrow about my manhunt."

Emma wanted to tell the woman to crawl up her own butt and die, but that was probably not something a cop was supposed to say.  Besides that, the quicker this glorified bail jockey got her man, the quicker she would get out of town.

Wait.  Lodgings?

"Regina's paying to put you up in the Inn?"

Emma shot a look over at Ruby and her girlfriend.  They had both been drooling over tall, blonde and full of herself.

"No.  She is hosting me at her manor."

What!  Emma didn't even have a damn key to the place.  She had never even seen most of the second floor.  Suddenly Regina was just thowing open her doors.  To a stranger?  With their Kid right down the hall?

[namjoonchronicles]

late | th

↳ genre fluff, established relationship, dad Taehyung

↳ words 4k

↳ summary a trip back to hometown for a friend turned into something memorable which embarked something deep in Taehyung’s heart. 

↳ notes i discussed the premise of this story with my good friend @hellotherehoneybee​ and based on her ideas, i prolonged the length and added some plots to push a heavy turn so appropriately, the summary here is thanks to her. 

↳ warning mentions of childbirth, vivid descriptions of the scene, major character death

↳ song taylor swift ‘gold rush’, imagine dragons ‘levitate’, taio cruz ‘telling the world’, taylor swift ‘ you’re in love’

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.

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“Taehyung… tea?”

Sand cuffed the shore. Half painted coast on the canvas. The wind blew rather harshly and every strike of wind, Taehyung’s wild mane of hair ruffled against themselves. They were long enough to cover his eyes but it didn’t stop him from painting the colours on his canvas. He blinks at the view of the sea and how it doesn’t change despite the years passed by. He wore slippers with an open toe, a baggy shirt and baggy trousers. His eyes looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Sunken cheeks and empty eyes, his jaw was immaculate and his face was crafted by God. He is beautiful in this light. So beautiful. 

“What are you drawing so seriously?” you asked. But no answers from him. As it should.

Six, maybe ten years back, this caravan was parked here. Pair of hands raised to the ceiling. The sunlight sieved through the blinds. The pair laced themselves, and toyed around. The make out of the knuckles under this light, showed how veiny his hands were than yours. Small chuckles and soft whispers accommodate the serene and tranquil moment. The caravan was parked by the sea. His easel leaned against the kitchen counter next to the sink. His whole body covered yours as you snuggled in bed. You thumbed his supple cheeks and traced the shape of his lips as he lay half-awake. You ran your index finger down the slope of his pretty nose and counted his eyelashes, you lined the edges of his brows and ran your hand through the locks of his brown hair that looked lighter in the sun. He moans sweetly at your touch. 

You proceed to trace your fingers down the helix of his ears, his excellent jaw lines and chin. There's prickling hair ends at the chin and you thought that he might need a shave. You remembered how bad he was at shaving. You even suggested that he should stop shaving all the way. The smile he had on when you said it was priceless. Then he remembered that society wouldn’t have allowed him to live. Taehyung’s eyes half-opened at the stimulating touch. He breaks a smile in his sleepy state and he crunches his nose at the view of you. You swore, you had never seen anyone that beautiful. He nuzzles into your face and neck, planting kisses where he can and he spoke, in his drowsiness, “I’m so sleepy.”

He gets on top of you and buries his face in your neck. Through lighthearted giggles, you say, “You’re heavy, big bear…” While making no effort to push him away. He feels like a weighted blanket you always wanted when you’re younger. Warm and snuggly. Gentle and tender. He smells like a pillow and his hair is soft. He loves it when your fingers thread through his hair, just caressing the glorious length, he’ll make sounds that are so lovely. You brushed your lips on top of his head and one arm around him. They never meet the total length of his shoulders because they were too broad. So you end up scratching the fabric of his thin shirt. Had the weather been warm enough, he would have rather slept in his skins. You whispered softly, as you felt him drifting back to sleep in his new found comfort, “If you don’t get up now, we are going to be very late…” 

And we won’t be able to help around like we planned.

Jeju’s beaches are breathtakingly beautiful. Especially in Handam. Where the waters are brilliant blue and the skies azure. The black rocks, rubbles, kissing the shore. It would make a fine painting, this scenery. Taehyung poked his head out the caravan door at you, 

“I thought you said we’re late?” 

You glanced over your shoulder and gave him a sheepish smile. Jogging lightly back into the caravan, you pinched his sides as you walked in. 

In fact, you weren’t late. You were not late at all. Taehyung’s eyes had always been inviting. Beautiful brown irises so encapsulating they almost felt unreal. It was those eyes that your friends recognised. They quickly adopted him once he carried in all the groceries like he is one of them. The crowd roars as they see you because they know it will shrink you. You were never good at crowds, so you covered your ears and physically shrunk while laughing till your eyes turned to crescents on their own. Quickly, the host came to the rescue, gathering you in her arms and calling off those people that are bothering you. At once, Taehyung had disappeared to make new friends and greet the old ones. 

“A baby shower, this late?” you stared at your friend, Junhee quizzically. She pursed her lips and stared off to the corner of the room while tucking your arm in hers.

“I wanted an excuse to see my good friend,” she said with a cunning grin, then she cowers, falls silent in a sudden, her palm rubbing over her swollen belly. Nine months in, any day now. You knew in your heart that it was a bad idea, but still, her husband, Jimin, felt like it was okay to hold these gatherings for her. Jimin would do anything to make her happy. Then, she hisses. And you start to cower over her, pulling the chair closer for her to sit. 

“Is it the contraction? Has any contraction happened today?” 

“No, this is the first…” 

Junhee seemed to have calmed down after she rested. You still wanted to talk to Jimin if you had the time, asking why he’d think it was a good idea to hold the party anyways. You had your answer when he walked in, snapping the fridge door open for a cold drink refill.

“She looked so miserable these past few days, I just wanted to see her smile,” Jimin carried two bottles of fruit punch as he brushed shoulders with you. Then, a toddler came crawling in, on all fours, stopping just by your feet and falling onto her bum and sat. Her twinkling eyes ushers you to carry her up. 

“Where did you come from, little one?” You cooed. She curls up to your neck, and starts babbling. Then you suddenly felt her little hand roaming around your clothed boobs, and when she felt she found the tip, she began suckling. And you laughed out loud. Loud enough to have everyone's attention on you, including Taehyung’s. The baby’s mother rushed to you in her loose ponytail, handling another two slightly older children that were at her feet. One is tugging at her blouse and the other wailing so loud, you became concerned. You helped her into a nursing room, Jimin’s wife had prepared. It was a short tattling walk away from where you were. The baby was hungry. She’s four months old and today was her first day out since she was born and was brought home. You were glad that the number of guests didn’t scare one bit. 

Taehyung had distributed the barbecued sausages to the kids around. He had the sharp sticks taken out and was helping to blow the heat from the sausages from one of the kids. He looks pretty much at home with everything. It’s probably been awhile because he finally saw you out the room carrying the baby, her little stodgy fingers curled around your thumb and she is gurgling. What a beautiful sight it was. It seemed you might have heard his thoughts when you looked up to the side and had the baby waved to Taehyung. He chuckles through his nose and crinkles his eyes at the little one, making a funny face. The little toddler extended her short petite arms and grabbed air repeatedly at Taehyung’s presence. Then you motioned her closer to Taehyung.

“I think she wants you to carry her…” 

“Me?” He sounded unsure, uncertain, but, he brushed invisible dust off his palm on his butt and, “It’s been awhile but. Okay.” Arms open, collecting the toddler in.

The pinkish hue of her skin, her soft supple cheek, her little angel hairband, and twinkling, gleaming smile. Taehyung memorised her scent like a wolf would to a pup, with his eyes shut, his nose nudging on her softness. His arms held her gently but firmly. It felt like there was only him and the baby, he shut every other sound. When he held that baby, there’s stillness in the air, the noises ceased to exist, the visions clouded and the heaven’s hinted; it was his calling. It felt very much like sinking and flying at the same time. It was as if the world stood still, the time stopped and the anticipation grew. A lifetime in a second. Gold rush, a dam broke and first rain in the desert. Taehyung eyes fluttered open to the view of the baby’s rosy cheeks and immediately searched for you. Any semblance of you. 

But you were kneeling by Jimin’s wife laying body on the floor. 

Taehyung padding over the wooden balcony into the living room. In daze, Taehyung passed the baby over to her mother and closed into you. Your mouth was moving but for some reason, his brain couldn’t string the words. You were screaming but he heard nothing until seconds after.

“Call 911!” You ordered. There was a puddle of water where she once stood. 

Meanwhile, you’re massaging her tummy. Jimin’s at the other end, and people pooling in to watch. The men are asked to wait outside with the kids for the ambulance. Taehyung had his hand on the house phone, and as he tried to arrange his words, his attention flew to you and your alarmed eyes. Your lips read, 

“Speak slowly… clearly.”

The dial tone ended and, “We need. Ambulance. Birth. A woman is giving birth, please send in an ambulance.” He turns to you again and right now, you have all the ladies lined up. 

“Okay, listen. Towels, all of it, blankets, pillows, sterile gloves, plastic bags, and Jimin,” you listed. Everyone spreads around to get everything. Towels from upstairs, blankets from the laundry room, pillows from the guest room and plastic bags from the kitchen drawers. Even Jimin who was outside waiting for the ambulance is being carried in by Jungkook. Taehyung handed a plastic cup of water. Jimin has his wife’s head cradled in his lap, padded with pillows and she’s holding her hand.

“I told you this was a good idea…” she joked, “I only trust her around…”

“I have only delivered a baby once in my life and that was in nursing school, that does not mean this was a correct choice, Junhee…” you half scolded her.

“I wouldn’t have it in any other way,” she said with a big smile before she hisses in pain and clenching around Jimin’s fingers. Then she groaned till veins were popping on her forehead. Jimin kept on peppering kisses and wiping her sweat with warm water. She continues to wretch and shiver. She felt cramps in her abdomens, churning. So she retched. What a relief she had her husband on the side. Jimin’s whispering words of affirmations and it really helped her calm down. Although she is really not far from giving birth. She is 9 centimetres dilated. 

“Where is the ambulance?” You asked in a rushed tone. 

“Any minute now!” Someone at the door informed. 

That’s not good enough. She will be 10 centimetres in no time and if the ambulance isn’t here by then, the baby will drown. She is perfectly ready for vaginal delivery, you grab a towel, place it underneath her openings and tell her to push until she feels the contraction. Work with the contraction and push as hard as she could. You also massaged to make sure the baby’s head was out first. From the physical examinations, the baby’s head is visible. All that’s left to do is for Junhee to push. You thought her the breathing method, and counted with her. Even Jimin’s following suit. 

“Deep breaths, sweetheart. You can do this…” you reminded her, “And then we’re gonna go again, okay?”

“I think I’m going to vomit…” Jimin fetches the bag from the side and vomits. Taehyung gulped, watching the fiasco from the side. He watches his wife carefully guiding, and assuring and giving space towards the mother to feel as comfortable as she can. 

Junhee was obedient and she was cooperating. She was entirely under your care. You can see from her eyes that she trusted you with her life. She had been, ever since you knew her. And now, she entrusted you with her life and her baby’s life. Junhee delivers a big push and this time the baby slides out into your arm along with it’s placenta. The detachment is healthy, and you quickly glance to the time, on the grandpa’s clock on the corner, 

“Someone note the time!”

“3:47PM!”

You placed the baby on his mother’s arm, a healthy baby boy. Another warm towel on his tiny body and his mom’s tired laugh. He is red and warm and crying, lungs are not congested. But still you need to wait for the ambulance. You placed the placenta into the bag Taehyung opened and told Jimin to hold them up. You refused to cut the umbilical cord without proper tools. It’s not sterile here to do so and there’s no medical back-up should anything go wrong. You told everyone to stay put until the ambulance arrived. Taehyung caught your eyes from across the room and slowly, you drew a smile on your face, contradicting his worried one. And again, in this lifetime, even when he was most concerned about you, you told him with your eyes that you’re okay. Even at this distance. 

“Who delivered the baby?” the ambulance personnel yelled, his voice seeped in, through the windows to you, while you were cleaning up the living room. 

Taehyung rushed to the door with a panicked look on his face and you sprinted out.

They gave you the scissors.

“The ma’am wanted you to cut the umbilical cord instead of the father, will you do the honors?” The man in medical assistant uniform smiled at you. You took the scissors in your hand and you glanced up at her, tears welling up in your eyes and you cried, “Yes, of course, yes…”

“She’s a retired nurse, I never once worried about my life when she’s around,” Park Junhee boasted as she was carried into the ambulance. Jimin climbed in, too. You followed the ambulance close while Taehyung drove Jimin’s car. It’s to help them later, if Jimin needs to return home. Taehyung left the car parked in the hospital parking area and climbed into your shared caravan. He offered to drive. And as he was driving, and talking about how cool you were as the night fell, he heard nothing from your side. You had already fallen asleep. Defeated by the tiredness. He stops at the same spot this morning and lowered your chair. He fetches a blanket from the bed and tucked you in warm. You moaned and switched to your side. He leans over you and plants a firm kiss on your head. As you swam deeper in your slumber, the stars twinkling in the sapphire blue sky, the moon stood witness to the feeling Taehyung had over you. He lowered his own chair to watch you sleep with a smile and fondness in his eyes. 

His soft curls fall over the hood of his eyes, touching the bridge of his nose as he clamors in renewed emotions he felt for you. Such pure love, the kind that authors would write about in novels, many years ago. He is so in love, his feet are levitating from the ground it seemed. One of those wishes thrown at the shooting skies had come true. Broken pieces of him, finally held together, and the last piece was in a form of a person. He extended his arm to reach yours, and you took them in like a soft toy. He gladly cuffed himself to you, it's been his fate. Lips, body and soul, is yours. The bell resonated from the far back of his mind, of when soulmates found each other. His heart thumping so loudly he feared you might have heard them. You have stirred something inside him he doesn’t quite understand yet. Rain or snow, storms or deserts, it's your hand he wanted to hold. He wants to create a home so comfy for you and maybe, in between you two, a baby that’s both his and yours. Someone to carry his name. Symphonies of violin when he watches you sleep. Like an orchestra coming together. 

Walking down the street in the morning, you wore beige knitted cardigan, hands intertwined. He swings your hand with a big toothy grin on his face. His soft curls flying in the wind, his deep chuckle sparking your insides with excitement. You wanted to choose a gift for Jimin and Junhee’s baby boy who is now at the hospital. With this man’s hand who made your heart ascend in the small of your back, it felt like you could do anything. An older woman who was also a customer in the small shop gave you both a big smile. 

“Newly weds?” She asked.

“Why? Do we seem like so?” You asked her warmly.

“We've been married for almost 2 years now…” Taehyung corrected her.

The older woman chuckled, and then her smile faltered, crestfallen on a vision it seemed, “Such soulmates are rare… You looked so good together, such a beautiful couple…” Taehyung wanted to buy a small necklace for the older women. He grabbed one that caught his eyes and dashed out the shop’s door, but the old woman had disappeared. 

“She walked really fast for someone her age…” Taehyung spoke to himself, squinting hard at the distance in both directions. To see if there’s any semblance of the friendly old woman anywhere. It’s like she vanished. When he returned to the shop, you asked him to buy you a glass ball with a bear reading and confettis inside. It was nothing special for Taehyung but you wanted it so he bought them without much thought. In the caravan, it was placed on the dashboard with a double tape, securely glued. 

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we have our own little one?” Taehyung stared at his friend Jimin, cooing his little baby.

“Could we?” Your smile faded as you bore into the view of the glass. You turned to him with a broken smile, “At my age?”

“You’re not as old as you think you are…” Taehyung said. And did he prove them well. Nine months later, you were holding his arm as you walked out of the apartment door with Jimin’s wife on the phone, telling you that she had arrived. Unlike her, you wanted to be at the hospital when the water broke. The same beige cardigan you wore on her child’s birthday,you wore today. It’s already old and strings were coming out at the ends but you insisted. Taehyung carried you bridal style into the car, towels ready. His arms were yours to clench on and while you were groaning, he was biting his lips at the same force. You clawed into his flesh as he calmed you down. Jimin was driving and his wife was teaching you the same breathing method you taught her. You plastered your face into Taehyung’s neck. Hair stuck into your forehead as you sweat profusely, fighting through the incessant pain. 

“Please hurry Jimin, please hurry…” Taehyung begged.

“I have the hazard lights on, we will make it on time, don’t worry bud…” Jimin said in a rushed tone. 

In the delivery room, Taehyung was dressed in all blue, masks and gloves, just like the doctors and nurses. There’s only his eyes, but you recognise them so well. One look, in that delivery room, meant only for you. Light hearted jokes and hand held tight. He pressed his lips on your whitened knuckles the whole time. His tears fell like diamonds as he watches you push with all your strength, a baby that is his. No words exchanged, but you saw enough. He was in love, so direly in love. Memories flash in the back of your mind, under clenched eyes, kisses on the sidewalks, love declarations under the heavy rain. The way he lifts you to the sky in that storm, slowly sliding you down his body, enough for you to place your forehead on his. His wide gaping smile, drenched in the night under the lamp post, warm wafts of breaths escaped his lips. You cupped his face in your hands and kissed him hard. You couldn’t hear what the midwives are saying, but you know one thing, this is the ultimate gift you could give the man that has given you everything. 

One last push, and a shrilling tiny cry accompanied. Taehyung looked at you and linked his forehead on yours. You’ve gone pale. So pale. Your lips were blue and your eyes were drooping. You are coming in and out of consciousness. The doctors had to lead Taehyung out of the delivery room, they had to perform operations. You were too tired to continue pushing. But before he leaves, you brushed your lips on his left cheek, and you tell him in your last bits of strength, 

“I-I love you. So-so much...Thank you…” 

Taehyung’s hand was separated from yours. He was grabbing air just as yours were holding out. 

.

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Today. 

“Taehyung, tea?” His mother greeted him. He and his easel in use. He shook his head. And from inside the caravan. Small pair of hands curled on the handles, to push the door open. Carrying a beige cardigan. Four feets putting on shoes and padded to their father. With brown irises twinkling at Taehyung’s back, no older than four years old, Taehyung glanced over his shoulder and spread his arms. One in each arm. 

You watched them from the caravan, and it felt like you were right there. You could almost touch him, his hair, the slope of his nose. The babies. The babies are all grown. You could almost smell the sea. The breeze you knew so well. But you can’t. 

Six years ago.

Taehyung returned home with the babies. Dressed in all black, he has to head back out again, to send his wife. When he returned, he saw the babies sleeping on their side, covered by the beige cardigan. He rushes outside to where the caravan’s were. His mother caught him just in time as he fell to the ground, shivering and calling out your name repeatedly. His mother cradles him in her lap.

“Release, my child. Release your agony…” Taehyung’s mother cradled her baby boy in her arms and Taehyung let out a cry, heart-thumping, guttural screaming cry as he let out the grief he had kept in the silent since he saw your casket lowered, six-feet underground, a baby in his arms, sleeping, coddled in her late mother’s knitted cardigan she wore when she was at the hospital, trying to have her. Taehyung looked up at the sky that strangely bright day, and a single drop of rain fell to the left side of his cheek where his wife had kissed before she went away. 

God is neither late nor early. 

God took one of His angels back home to Him. Left two behind in Taehyung’s care.

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Copyright © January 9th, 2021 namjoonchronicles do not repost, leave feedback :’) please

[noladyme]

La Cuervo - Chapter 11

She is used to the biker-life, having grown into a woman in the familiar embrace of SAMCRO. A bad decision and a gun-shot later, she gets whisked off to Santo Padre, and put under the protection of another club. What is supposed to be a short stint in the Mayan headquarters just north of the border to Mexico, turns into something more; when la quervo begins to develop feelings for el angel - and he seems to return them in kind...

TW: violence, blood, drug use, alcohol, smut, fluff, angst

In the spirit of "The Crown Princess of Charming", this is a story about O.C. Nina and Angel Reyes. It is obviously non-canon, as characters who have passed on on Mayans M.C. are present in it, and others have been excluded completely. Nina is written as a cis-female, but I have tried to keep her race and looks as ambigous as possible. Should you find any of this story offensive, please let me know.

Nina was seated at the table in Felipe’s small kitchen, having been brought there by EZ a few hours earlier. The sun was setting outside, and she was looking at the orange sky, becoming red, and then dark blue.

“You haven’t touched your food…”.

“Huh?”. She was deep in thought, and almost knocked her glass of lemonade over, when Felipe spoke. Managing to stop it from falling, she took a sip. “Sorry”.

Felipe got up, and walked over to the fridge, grabbing a can of beer. He opened it, and set it down in front of her.

“Looks like you need this”, he smiled. Nina took a welcome sip of the beer, and smiled at Felipe.

“Thanks…”.

She went back to poking at her food. It smelled delicious, and she forced herself to take a bite.

“EZ wouldn’t tell me what’s going on, but I’m guessing it’s not good”, Felipe said. Nina tentatively met his eyes. “Are you in trouble?”.

“I’m… I don’t know”, she replied.

“Pregnant?”.

Nina’s eyes widened.

“What? Fuck no!”. She took a big gulp of the beer. “Sorry…”, she added, embarrassed at using profanities in front of the man.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked”, Felipe said, looking down at his hands.

There was a long moment of silence.

“You seem almost disappointed at my answer”, Nina muttered. Felipe blew out a short laugh.

“Maybe it would get my son to settle down… And you’re not the worst choice of nuera…”.

“I don’t think we’re quite there yet”, Nina replied. Felipe shrugged.

“I don’t know… I saw how Angel looked at you yesterday. He cares about you”.

“Yeah…”, Nina breathed. She knew Angel cared; but she knew how the life was. His club came first, and she was quite sure that same club was getting ready to ship her back home to Charming.

EZ stepped into the kitchen with his phone in hand.

“They finished at the table. Angel’s on his way”. Felipe got up to get a plate from one of the cabinets; obviously aware of the state of the fridge in his eldest son’s house. EZ placed a gentle hand on Nina’s shoulder. “Are you ok?”.

“I guess I don’t know yet”, she said. “Do you think they’ll make me leave?”, she added, almost in a whisper.

EZ didn’t reply, seemingly unsure what to answer. He sighed, and went to grab a beer for himself.

Unable to stomach even a bite more of the food, Nina pushed away her plate.

“Do you mind if I smoke?”, she asked Felipe.

“Yeah, he doesn’t…”, EZ began, but stopped when Felipe placed an ashtray in front of her.

“Go ahead”, the elder Reyes said with a soft smile. EZ looked confusedly between the two, but ultimately shook his head, and settled in a chair.

Nina took deep draws of her cigarette, and stared straight ahead of her. If the Mayans wanted her gone, she still had a home in Charming; but as it was, the thought of leaving was extremely painful. Whatever Angel and she had, was something real and beyond what she’d felt for any other person. She didn’t want to go, but at the same time the thought of Angel backing the MC in the decision made her think it might be for the best.

She wiped away a stray tear, and Felipe handed her a napkin.

“Like I said, I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I think it requires something stronger than beer”, he said, and moved into the living room.

“Oh no. Pap is bringing out the mezcal”, EZ said.

“Why oh no?”, Nina asked.

“If you thought the Ferris wheel story was bad…”. EZ looked terrified. Nina finally let a smile reach her lips.

“Can’t wait”, she said.

A short while later, they were on their third shot of mezcal and laughing, when Angel walked into the kitchen. He took one look at Nina’s cigarette and the liquor, and frowned in confusion.

“Is this a party?”, he asked. Felipe got up and gave his son a half hug.

“Let me get your plate”, he said.

“Sorry, pap. We gotta go”, Angel replied. The mezcal had gone a bit to Nina’s head, and she scowled at the biker.

“Sit your ass down and eat your father’s cooking. Taking me back to Charming can wait 20 minutes”, she grumbled.

Angel looked at her confusedly, and took the plate Felipe handed him, before pulling up a chair to the small table. EZ poured him a shot.

Felipe sat down again.

“Where was I…? Oh, right. So, we’d let Angel be in charge of filling the piñata for EZ’s birthday, but he’d gone into the wrong section of the drug-store…”. Angel groaned.

“Nah… Not this, pap. Please…”, he pleaded.

“You think I want to hear this story again?”, EZ said. Felipe waved their objections away with a dismissive gesture, and continued.

“He picked the most colorfully wrapped things he could find, and filled it before Marisol and I could see what he’d gotten. I got this, pap; he insisted… Come the party, Ezekiel is banging away at the poor piñata, and breaks it open…”. He halted to laugh to himself for a moment. “And a shower of condoms rains over him”. Nina had to hold her belly from laughing.

“I thought it was candy!”, Angel exclaimed.

“Sure you did”, EZ said disbelievingly.

“I was 12…”, Angel said. Felipe chuckled at his sons bantering.

Angel downed his shot, and began shoveling food into his mouth, while Felipe and EZ went to do the dishes. Felipe resolutely declined Nina’s help, and poured her another drink to keep her seated.

While the eldest and the youngest Reyes got on with getting the kitchen back in order, Angel finished his meal; his eyes on Nina the whole time. She did her best to avoid meeting his gaze, once again feeling the pain of their impending goodbye. He handed his plate to EZ, and got up; reaching out his hand to her.

“Let’s go…”, he said. She took it, and sighed deeply.

Felipe wiped his hands, and came over to her, pulling her in to a tight hug.

“Take care, mija”, he said, and kissed her cheek. He patted Angel’s shoulder, and Angel nodded at EZ, before he led Nina out of the house, towards his bike in the driveway.

“I just need my stuff at your place”, she rasped.

“Why?”, Angel asked.

“Because I’m not going back north without my shit”, she hissed.

Angel frowned at her, once again sporting the deep furrow between his eyebrows.

“Nina…”.

She let out a flustered groan and stomped over to the bike.

“Let’s go!”, she said. When Angel didn’t move, she walked back towards him, and pulled at his cut. “Take me the fuck back to SAMCRO. Let’s get this over with!”.

“You’re drunk, cuervo”, he sighed.

“Yeah… So?”, Nina said.

“Ma’, the only place you’re going is home to sleep it off”, Angel said calmly.

“Yeah, like I said. Take me back to Charming”.

“No. Back home to mine”. Nina tilted her head confusedly. He grabbed her arm and led her over to the bike. “Can you ride?”.

“Yeah…?”, she muttered. “But…”.

“Not here”. He grabbed her helmet from EZ’s bike, and put it on her head, snapping it shut under her chin, before getting on the bike. Nina simply stood, open mouthed and wide-eyed. “Come on! Jesus… Look, I’m not taking you back north; but we do have something we need to talk about. When you’re sober”.

Nina clambered on behind him, and Angel drove them off into the night.

---

The smell of coffee woke her up. She opened her eyes and saw Angel setting down a mug on the bedside table, next to a glass of water and a bottle of Advil. He was topless and sweating, and it looked like he’d been working out. Turning her head, she found she was right in thinking so, when she saw that his barbells had been moved around.

“How’s the head, cuervo?”, he muttered, and sat down on the edge of the bed. He pushed a lock of hair out of her face, and stroked her cheek.

“Fine…”, she lied. Angel took two pills from the bottle, and held them out to her.

“Here…”. Nina frowned and shook her head. Angel scowled at her, and straddled her waist; sitting over her hips. He picked up the glass, and held the pills to her lips. “Open… Don’t make me hold your nose, little miss lightweight”. Nina sighed, and held out her tongue to accept the pills, before taking the glass, and chugging it.

“Happy?”, she grunted.

Angel took the glass, set it back on the table, and kissed her forehead.

“Good girl. Now are you gonna tell me what that was about last night?”.

Nina shifted underneath him.

“Are you going to get off me? Maybe put on a shirt?”.

“Nah. It’s easier to talk to you like this. It makes you less smart”, Angel grinned, and flexed his pectorals.

“Yeah. Your sexy body makes me stupid…”, Nina scoffed, and pushed at his chest; trying her best not to show how stupid she was in fact feeling. “I gotta pee”.

Angel got off her, and let her get out of the bed. She walked into the bathroom without looking at him.

While she was washing her hands, she noticed Angel had set up her toothbrush next to his own. An overwhelming sensation of warm joy and ice-cold embarrassment washed over her. She picked up the toothbrush, and stormed out of the bathroom; straight into the arms of Angel, who’d been waiting for her by the door. She threw her arms around his neck, and buried her face in his chest.

“I’m sorry”, she whispered.

“For what?”, he chuckled.

“For being an idiot… and drunk… and throwing up in the bushes before we made it inside last night”.

Angel laughed, his chest rumbling against her ear.

“Yeah, that was a different kind of fertilizer than I usually use”.

Nina tilted her face to look at him.

“I thought you were… that the club would vote to send me away”. Angel grinned and stroked her temple.

“You think I’d let them do that? Fuck no. You’re mine, and you belong here”. Nina smiled, and went to kiss him, when Angel pulled back, grabbed the hand she was holding the toothbrush in, and held it in front of her. “Your breath stinks, ma’. Use this, and then I’ll kiss you all you want”.

She almost ran into the bathroom, and thoroughly brushed her teeth, before putting the toothbrush back next to Angel’s. Once back in the bedroom, Angel smilingly pulled her into his arms, and kissed her greedily. They were all tongues and groping hands, when suddenly he pulled back, and looked somber.

“We need to talk”, he said. Nina sighed.

“I have a feeling I‘m gonna need that coffee now”.

Angel put on a beater, grabbed her mug for her, and led her into the living room to sit on the couch.

“There’s a snitch in the clubhouse…”, he began.

In spite of not being surprised, Nina let out an exasperated sigh.

“Do you know who it is?”, she asked. Angel nodded.

“We think it’s Daniella. You saw how she was all over Sala at the party. She was there when they were talking about the inhaler, and EZ told Bish that she saw you use it in the trailer. Then Creeper had Camille in there…”.

“So it was my fault…”, Nina croaked. Angel grabbed her hand.

“No, Nina. That’s not on you”. He kissed her knuckles. “But we need to find out how deep in with them she is. What she’s been telling them. You know I can't tell you too much about club business; but... this isn't the first time Palo has made moves on our territory”.

“She only just met them that night…”, Nina began.

“Did she though? What about that stuff in the alley? That’s what brought the Vatos to San Pad”.

“She wasn’t there, Angel…”.

“No, but someone might have told her. This isn’t a big town, word travels…”, he said. “And why are you defending her? That bitch is…”.

“Someone you used to sleep with”, Nina said. Angel looked down and didn’t reply. “You did, and you don’t have to pretend you didn’t… Look, I don’t like her, but…”.

“You’re gonna like her even less in a minute”, Angel cut her off.

Nina took a deep sip of her coffee, and lit a cigarette.

“Tell me”.

Angel got on his feet, and began pacing the floor.

“This wasn’t my idea, you gotta know that, querida”.

Nina was growing more and more anxious.

“Just… talk”, she demanded.

Angel sighed.

“We gotta split up…”.

Nina shook her head, and blinked in confusion.

“We… what?”, she snarled. “One second you’re telling me you’re not letting me go. The next…”.

“It’s not for real, though. Just like an act”, Angel said. “I need to let Daniella think we’re done”.

Nina scoffed, and stubbed her cigarette angrily.

“With your dick”, she growled, and got up to stand. Angel looked almost desperate, trying to explain himself.

“No, I just gotta let her think I want to hang with her again. Spend some time with her; get her to talk. We need to know how much she’s been sharing with the Vatos…”.

“Fuck that! I’m not gonna sit in this house, while you let her rub her infected cunt all over the back of your bike!”.

Angel cleared his throat, and looked away; seemingly very uncomfortable at meeting her eyes.

“You won’t be here… You gotta go back to the trailer”. It felt like a, explosion in Nina’s head, and white, hot rage spread through her body. “You need to go back on lockdown, so the club can protect you. And, so it looks like we’re really over”.

Nina stormed into the bedroom, trying to get away from him.

“Shove it up your ass, Angel!”, she roared. She picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it at him as he stood in the doorway. “You want me to stay at that clubhouse and watch you two… hang? Fuck you!”.

Not thinking, she kicked at a barbell. A burning, blunt pain spread through her toes, and she instantly fell to the floor; holding her foot. Angel rushed over to look at the damage.

“Querida…”.

“Don’t!”, Nina hissed, tears streaming from her eyes. “Don’t fucking queridame… Fuck that hurt…”.

Angel sighed, and scooped her into his arms, to place her on the bed; before leaving the room. He came back a moment later, with a bag of frozen peas covered in a dishtowel. She tried to push it away, but he manhandled her hands away, and put the pack on her foot. He checked her toes.

“You didn’t break anything…”, he muttered.

Nina watched him gently put the pillow she’d thrown at him under her foot, to elevate it.

“I hate you right now”, she croaked. He met her eyes with a sad expression.

“I know… I might even deserve it”, he said. “Maybe I could have said or done something; come up with a better plan… But I’m not that smart. This was the only plan that made sense when we were at the table. I don’t know how else to get Daniella to talk”.

“Whose idea was it?”, Nina sniveled. He frowned slightly.

“I don’t think…”.

“Was it Bishop?”. Angel’s silence confirmed her suspicion. “Shit… Of course, it was. And here I thought he was beginning to like me”.

Angel gently began moving her toes back and forth. It tickled a bit, but Nina didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her smile.

“He does… This is for you as well”, he said. Nina scoffed and shook her head. “We need to find out if the Vatos are coming for you, and maybe…”. He didn’t finish his sentence.

“Maybe, what?”, Nina said. He looked at her reluctantly.

“Maybe, if I keep her happy, she’ll lose interest in hurting you, and she won’t tell them who you are”.

Nina scoffed, and drew her lips back in a sneer.

“Maybe you should just take me back to Charming. Keep me out of sight”, she said.

“We have to make her think we don’t know we’ve been made, by hiding you away”, Angel said.

He scooted closer to her, and lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles.

“I hate this as much as you do. I don’t want you sleeping anywhere else than next to me… This…”. He pointed between them. “This is right. I don’t want no one else”.

Nina let him put his forehead against hers.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Angel…”, she said.

Angel pulled back and stared deep into her eyes; and seemed to make a decision.

“Te amo, cuervo… I know it’s still early, but I fucking do”. Nina gasped, and parted her lips to speak, but couldn’t find the words. “You don’t gotta say anything. But I needed you to know that”.

She wanted to reply, but couldn’t find the words to describe what she felt about him in that moment. She was hurt, and so very angry; but her heart also fluttered at his words.

In the end she sighed, and closed her eyes.

“When are you gonna…”. She couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Tonight…”, Angel said. “I just gotta make a call. Get her to the clubhouse”. Nina nodded.

“Do it… Just, please go into the kitchen. I don’t wanna hear it”. He nodded shortly, and left the room.

She went to pack her bag. The house wasn’t so big that she couldn’t hear Angel on the phone; and she clenched her fists as she listened to him speak.

“Hey, baby… Yeah, I know… Look, I was thinking you could come by the clubhouse tonight. We could catch up… Nah, that’s over… I’m telling her tonight…”. He laughed a little. The sound made Nina want to break something, but she stayed quiet. “You looked hot yesterday… Yes, really. Fuck, Dani; you got me all worked up, when you… Yeah, ok. See you then”.

He moved back through the living room, and Nina pretended to ignore him as he entered the bedroom. She had to wipe away a tear, when Angel handed her her toothbrush.

“I’m sorry”, he muttered. Without another word, he pressed his lips against hers. Knowing she would probably regret it, she didn’t reciprocate the kiss; she simply didn’t have it in her.

They drove back to the clubhouse, Nina holding on to him harder than necessary. Angel didn’t once complain.

---

As plans went, Nina knew that Bishop’s was probably the best for their situation. That didn’t change the fact that she felt the urge to slap him across his face when she saw him on the porch of the clubhouse. He looked grave, but didn’t speak.

Angel squeezed her hand after she got off his bike, but she avoided being pulled into his arms; just turned her back to him, and walked back to the trailer.

She picked the .38 out of her bag, and sat for a long time on the cot; just holding it in her hand and looking at it. She was drained emotionally and physically, and so very tired. After a while, she put it down on the table, put her inhaler next to it, and laid down; falling into an almost comatose sleep.

It was dark outside, when a gentle hand shook her awake. EZ was standing over her with a solemn expression.

“Bishop told me to… Daniella is arriving in a few”.

Nina nodded, and sat up. She rubbed her eyes, and blew out a deep breath.

“Do you know what we have to do?”, she asked. EZ nodded.

“Angel filled me in. He’s not happy about it… There’s a dent in the table at his seat in templo, from where he stuck his knife in it”. A smile ghosted his face. Nina shrugged, and got up to stand. “This is going to suck, but if you need to talk to someone…”, EZ said.

“I know… Thank you”. She tried, and failed, to smile at him; then left the trailer, to get dumped by the man who claimed her loved her.

Angel was seated by the bar, drinking a beer with Gilly. He met her eyes for a short moment, but looked down at his drink quickly. The rest of the charter was spread throughout the room, chatting to hangarounds and each other; and doing their best to avoid eye-contact with her. Only Bishop came up to her as she entered.

“Nina, I know this is…”.

“Don’t… talk to me right now”, Nina said, trying to keep her voice even. “I can’t promise I won’t attack you with a broken beer bottle if you do”.

“That fair”, Bishop said. “But when you’re ready, I’ll be here to let you slap me around… I’d prefer without the broken beer bottle”.

Nina nodded shortly, and went behind the bar. She picked up a rag, and began wiping down the counter.

A few moments later, Coco came through the back door, and nodded at Angel. Nina watched as his face fell, and he met her eyes. His were pained, probably reflecting her own; and it was all she could do to keep from throwing herself into his arms.

Nina blew out a deep breath, as the door opened, and Daniella walked in. Angel’s face immediately grew indifferent.

“Sorry, I got other plans, ma’”, he said to Nina. He turned around and looked at Daniella. “And here they are now. How are you doing, baby?”. He smirked, and went over to hug the blonde tightly. Daniella gave Nina a smug smile over Angel’s shoulder.

Nina couldn’t help but gasp at the sight.

“Angel…”, she croaked. Angel led Daniella over to the bar, and looked at Nina like she was a complete stranger.

“Yeah, we’re gonna need a… screwdriver, right?”, he said.

“With ice”, Daniella gloated. Angel chuckled, and brushed his lips against her ear.

“You’re bad…”.

Bile rose in Nina’s throat, and she couldn’t contain it anymore. She dropped the rag, and ran out the door; only making it down from the porch and over to a trashcan, before she threw up. Even when she had nothing left in her stomach, she gagged, and it felt like the muscles in her belly tried to push out her very intestines.

EZ came running out after her, and held back her hair. He rubbed circles on her back to try to get her to calm down.

“It’s ok… It’s just an act, Nina… You’ll be ok”, he whispered. The sound of laughter from inside made Nina retch one last time, before she fell to her knees. EZ crouched down next to her, and pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry…”.

Nina was heaving for breath, and was finding it hard to get any oxygen into her lungs.

“Inhaler… trailer”, she rasped.

EZ got her to her feet, and dragged her with him to the trailer. Once inside, she took a hit from her inhaler, and collapsed on the cot.

“Can I get you anything?”, EZ asked.

Nina looked up at him, and began sobbing. He sat down next to her, and pulled her into his arms; just holding her close and stroking her hair.

The last few months, years even – everything that had brought her up to this point – rushed through her head, as if what she’d just witnessed turned on a faucet of memories that had shaped her. It was overwhelming.

… Throwing up behind a dumpster, when a pair of white sneakers comes in to view. “Are you ok, darlin’?”…

… Picked up at school by the coolest guy in town, and speeding down bumpy roads; laughing and squealing in glee…

… Crying in a smelly cell, before being let out, and enveloped in Jackson’s arms. The scent of leather, cigarettes and mint chewing-gum. “You’re better than this, Nina"…

… Walking in to the clubhouse with his hands covering her eyes. “Surprise!”. Filip kissing her cheek, and handing her a lit cigarette. “Congrats on not being knocked up, luv’”. Tig nabbing the smoke from her lips. “She’s got asthma, you idiot. Get her a pack of condoms instead”…

… “You’re not my fucking dad, Jax!”. “No, but I am your brother. Dropping out is a shit idea”…

… “Hi. I’m Juice". He’s almost too cute to handle. Jackson grabs the collar of his cut, and starts dragging him away. “No". “But Jax…”. “Just no"…

… Holding Jackson tightly, as he crumbles in her arms. “He's so tiny, Nina… I don’t think he’s gonna make it”. She strokes his hair, and forces him to look at her. “Abel is your kid, Jax. If anyone can survive something like this, it's him”…

… Holding Thomas for the first time, hours after his birth. “Your daddy loves you. He’s gonna be out real soon”…

… “Thank you for being there for Tara, while I was inside”. “It’s what family does. You taught me that”…

… “This is how it has to be… I have to give my boys a shot at a life away from this”. “You can’t do this to them. To me!”. He kisses her forehead, and holds her close as she sobs, before pressing a leatherbound journal into her hands. “Give this to them when they’re old enough. I love you, little sister. So much. You gotta live for me; be happy”…

… His cut on the casket. No more tears to cry. Filip’s arm around her, unable to tell who is supporting who…

… Too much alcohol. Too many cigarettes. Too many makeout-sessions in dark corners of parties, before a strong hand belonging to Happy, Tig, Filip, or someone else pulls the guy away; and makes her get on the back of a bike. “We promised we’d take care of you, ‘luv”…

… Wendy’s excited voice over the phone. “Abel got an A on his book-report”…

… Stumbling out of the car, Gael at her heels. “You gotta follow through now”. “I don’t want to”. His ice-cold smile, as he presses her against the wall, and lets his hands wander up and down her body. It’s too much. She can’t push him away; he’s too strong. “What would Teller say, if he knew I was about to fuck his little sister?”. Her shaking hand as she manages to pull out the gun, and he takes a step back. “You’re not gonna shot me”. He rushes forward, and she pulls the trigger. It’s like a red cloud behind his head, and she gasps, dropping the gun on the ground…

… “Nina?”. Footsteps running down the alley. Filip looks down at her disheveled state, and then at the dead body on the ground; and his face drops. “She’s here”. “Shit, muffin. What happened?”. “Chibs, do you know who that is?”. “Not now, Hap’. Let’s just get her out of here. Get the gun”. One of them scoops her into their arms, she’s to rattled to notice who…

… A long ass ride south. A pair of dark and intense eyes. Butterflies in her stomach as he removes his hands from the handlebars. His warm and devouring kiss. “I want you to trust me”. Wanting and needing him. Him wanting and needing her. This is real. “Te amo, cuervo”…

Her breathing calmed, and she managed to pull out of EZ’s grasp.

“I need to be alone right now”, she croaked. The prospect nodded.

“Bishop said you need to stay on the lot”, he said.

“I know. I won’t go anywhere. I just need… quiet”.

EZ got up and went for the door.

“Breakfast tomorrow?”. She wiped her eyes, and nodded. He smiled sadly, and left the trailer; closing the door behind him.

Nina dug through her bag, and pulled out the journal. She hadn’t opened it since the night of her fight with Angel in the cage. Opening the page of her favorite and at the same time most hated paragraph, she sat back with her legs folded under her.

“I know you’ll face pain, suffering, hard choices; but you can’t let the weight of it choke the joy out of your life. No matter what, you have to find the things that love you. Run to them…

There’s an old saying. That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I don’t believe that. I think the things that try to kill you make you angry and sad. Strength comes from the good things… your family, your friends, the satisfaction of hard work. Those are the things that will keep you whole. Those are the things to hold on to when you’re broken…”.

He’d been in such pain, and at the same time so optimistic. He’d trusted her with these words; maybe even meant them as much for her, as he had for his boys. It felt like everything she’d done since the moment of his death, had been like a big fuck you to his legacy. She felt ashamed and heartbroken.

“I’m sorry, Jax…”, she whispered.

Laying back on the cot, clutching the journal in her arms, she made a decision. She had to follow through with this plan Bishop had laid out.

They were going to get the truth about Palo’s plans. Both her families would be safe. Angel loved her.

Those were the things she was going to hold on to.

---

[kenobis-kyber]

From The Stars

Ok we are back with another installment of this story. Once again thank you to those who have liked, commented and reblogged this labor of love. 

Rating: M for swearing, mentions of abuse, and smut in later chapters

Chapter 5

As weeks went by, Obi got even more used to this new life. Almost forgetting his former life, but he still meditated and practiced his lightsaber forms. He learned a wide variety of new things including cooking, driving a car, and small house repairs. It was enjoyable doing work with his own 2 hands though he did cheat with the force once in awhile. He shook his head and wondered what his master would say if he saw him now. Looking to the woman outside playing with her dog he also wondered how Qui Gon would think about the recent developments and her in general. He was sure he would tell him to mind his feelings and focus on the present. But she was in the current reality, he let out a sigh.

She played outside with Hershey, enjoying the sunshine and sweet wind. The brown dog came bounding back after retrieving a stick that she threw. He dropped it then tackled hair. She landed in the grass with a slight ‘oof’ She laughed as he began licking her face.

“You're such a goober boy.” she said wrestling around with him. He was the best companion the last few years, coming into her life at one of the darkest times. Her thoughts turned to the man in the house. The stranger from the stars, who had become one of her best friends. He was so full of warm and kindness. She felt bad that he couldn't find a way home, so she tried her best to make him at home. He took life on Earth pretty well, you would think he was a native. So many times did his ocean blue eyes haunt her dreams, in a good way of course. She loved his hugs and enjoyed the small touches she would give her. She often wondered what his lips would feel like against hers, but she shook her head of those thoughts, it was forbidden to him after all.

“Cmon boy lets go see what Obi is up to.” giving him a pat on the side.

Dusting herself off they both headed inside. When they opened up the door a delicious smell wafted into her nose. She walked into the kitchen and saw him in front of the stove.

“Mmmm that smells amazing. Whatcha cookin?” while washing her hands.

He turned to her and smiled a toothy grin.

“Nothing special just some pasta. Would you like to taste sauce?”

“Sure!”

He scooped some up on the spoon and held it out to her. She blew on it and he slowly brought it to her lips but before she could take a bite he bopped the spoon on her nose getting a bit of sauce on there.

“HEY!!!” she yelled “You ass!”

His gut erupted with laughter. Blue eyes twinkling with mirth. Grabbing his towel of his shoulder he reached over and wiped the sauce off.

“Sorry couldn't help myself. Here.” He was still laughing.

“I don't think I can trust you,” she said while grabbing the spoon and popping it into her mouth. Her eyes rolled back at the deliciousness of the sauce.

“Damn Obi you're becoming an amazing cook. This is so delicious.”

“Thank you very much. Now get off my kitchen so I can finish.” he said while shooing her away with the towel.

“Yeah..yeah.” she said giving him a rude gesture while walking out.

He laughed and shook his head returning to the task at hand, shaking his head with a small chuckle. She brought out a playful and mischievous side of him he hadn't tapped in since his youngling days. He served up dishes and called her to the table. They sat at the table enjoying the meal and talking about embarrassing stories. As the meal came to a close, Vanessa cleared the her throat.

“So I was thinking...summer is at an end, and we haven't really done any outside activities.”

“Oh? What is on your mind?” he said while wiping his mouth and looking at her curiously

“I was thinking you, Hershey and I should head out to the lake. Spend the day swimming, tubing and just hanging out, just you know... enjoy the weather.”

He reached over and put his hand on top of hers, “That sounds amazing. When?” he said with a little excitement in his voice.

“How about tomorrow. We can leave early….after your meditation of course.”

“Lets do it.”

“Alright. Sounds great! Ill start gathering things for tomorrow.”

“I cooked, now you clean up.” He said while leaning back with his hands behind his head with a smirk.

“Okay okay I am going” she said while grabbing some plates. “You're becoming such a smart ass. Been hanging around on Earth too long.”

Letting out a chuckle he got up and sat on the couch to watch TV. Hershey hopped up on the couch with him and put his head on his lap. Obi stroked his head. He had grown attached to the big dog, came to see it as his own. He never had any pets as it was forbidden to have attachments. He sighed thinking about it. He got accustomed to this life here. Well no matter, he was looking forward to tomorrow. A few minutes later Vanessa came into the room and they picked out a movie to watch and enjoyed the rest of the evening together.

The Next Day…

They both awoke early to pack the car for the day, looking forward to the day ahead. Hershey excitedly jumped in the car because he knew they were going for a car ride.

Loading in they headed to the lake. As they were driving the played music and Obi even sung along to the ones he had grown familiar with.

They finally arrived at their destination and Obi cheated and unloading everything with the force.

“Sometimes I forget you can do that. I thought the force wasn't a play thing, dear Jedi.”

“As long you don't tell on me.” he said bopping her nose.

“No promises.” She said with a chuckle.

Hershey settled him self on a blanket watching the pair. He knew he had to wait to go jumping in the lake for Vanessa. She started to strip off her shirt and shorts revealing a purple bikini. Obi stole a glance over to her not wanting to make it obvious. He swallowed taking in all of her curves and seeing a few scars littering her otherwise smooth skin. He groaned to himself as he imagined his hands running down every curve and paying special attention to the scars. He cleared his throat and looked away before she could see him.

She knew he was looking but didn't make a big deal out of it because she didn't want him to get embarrassed and part of her wanted him to. She knew she was far from perfect especially with the scars she has. She sighed trying not remember the cause of those scars. Reaching down she scratched her dog causing his tail to wag rapidly.

“Cmon boy!”

They started walking down to the lake.

“Hurry up Obi!!” yelling over shoulder.

“Yeah yeah.” He said while removing his pants and shirt. Now it was her time to watch. She hadn't seen him this exposed since finding him but didn't get a chance to really

appreciate the view. He was lean and cut, and had some dusting of chestnut hair down his chest leading down below his waistband. She licked her lips but quickly turned around before he could catch her. To cool her thoughts, she jumped in to the lake with her dog.  The water was cold but super refreshing. Soon Obi joined them with a splash. They playfully splashed around before he disappeared under the water. It had been awhile and she began to worry. Next thing she knew he appeared behind her scaring her.

“Jesus you asshole!” she exclaimed while he laughed. She reached over and dunked him and laughed at his misfortune. He sputtered as he came up for air.

“You're gonna pay for that.” he said with a devilish grin. He used the force to make a huge splash of water hit her from behind. The momentum pushed her right into him.

“No fair! You’re using the force again!,” she said mocking anger. All he could do is laugh like an idiot. Laying out on towels they enjoyed their small meal. She turned to him with a smile.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Yes I am,” he said and took a bite of his sandwich. “I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun.”

“Oh yeah? Well I am glad you have. I figure you should enjoy yourself while you are here.”

“I really am. Thank you Vanessa.” he said with a smirk and moved a piece of her hair from her face.

They enjoyed the day swimming, joking around and just plain enjoying the atmosphere. The drive home was uneventful as both were pretty wiped out from their day. Getting home they showered and met on the porch for their nightly ritual of drinking tea and relaxing.

They joked and talked like any other evening. She let out a yawn as she was getting tired. Her and Obi stood up at the same time to wish each other goodnight. Something was different, he felt a ripple in the force. When he felt that he looked down to stare into her eyes and was soon entranced. She licked her lips and leaned up and feeling bold, she she softly pressed her lips to his own. It was soft at first and quickly became more passionate and heated. He ran his hands up her arms but a sudden reality hit him. No attachments. He gently pushed at her biceps as much as he regretted it. Sensing the disappointment that rolled off of her, he took a deep breath. He couldn't look at her and instead looked to the ground. He swallowed.

“I am sorry. I cant. Its forbidden.” he whispered.

She felt as if her heart would shatter and held back tears. Unsure of what to do she also looked at the floor trying her best to keep the tears from falling.

“Its fine I understand.” She took a breath “Goodnight.” She turned and left suddenly, walking to get to her room before the tears fell. He dint touch her and let her be. She couldn't believe she made a fool of herself. He was untouchable, a monk so to speak. But she grew to care for him deeply. He was kind, funny, courteous and a beautiful soul inside and out. She laid in her bed silently crying before she fell asleep.

When she left he felt so much guilt. He didn't mean to hurt her. Walking into the house he sat on the couch and thought over what happened. She has been nothing but kind to him, and took care of him. She brought out his playful side and gave him a sense of peace. The last 6 months had been some of the best of his life. He did feel something for her but his vows wouldn't allow it. He couldn't understand why something that felt so right could be so wrong. Dropping his face in his hands, he tried to calm himself. And felt himself so lost as he felt a few tears roll down.

Tagging: @princessxkenobi @supermoschi @blondekel77 @ayamenimthiriel

[bush-viper-cutie]

“Easter Holiday Break” || YEAR 3 – Ch.31 (HP au)

                              Chapter List

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Day posted: 11/10/2020

Word count: 3, 260

Relationship: EVENTUAL severus X oc (slow burn)

Rating: E for everyone

Warnings: none

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A/N: This is my first fan fic I’m writing mainly as a way to practice. This is a retelling of the hp books with an inserted character. Although most every character will be written about, this is mostly for the pro snape fandom. Please do not fear, although this is a severus x oc story, it is an incredibly slow burn as I do not intend for them to get together at all until after the final book events. Chapters will be posted twice a week.

This derivative work follows the events of the Harry Potter books by Jk Rowling and is intended as a fun way to practice my writing. Thank you for reading :D

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~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

Heather was deep asleep early morning when her whole bed started shaking violently. Someone was banging on the girl’s dormitory door yelling her name. She sat up and groaned, remembering what Draco had said the night before. She leapt out of bed and dug in her trunk for her Quidditch uniform, hugging everything to her chest ready to run to the bathroom when she saw her stolen library books had become dislodged and fallen to the floor.

She picked them up quickly and shoved them in her trunk, locking it closed. No one else was awake, the violently shaking bed hardly made nose thumping around in its spot, and so she figured it was safe to continue getting dressed. Ten minutes later she was out in the common room with half the team waiting with Marcus as everyone else slowly came out.

“Hurry up! This is practice time you’re cutting into!” Marcus yelled into the boy’s dormitories and slammed the door.

Heather had never seen him so unraveled. He was pacing the common room, shoving furniture and pillows out of his way as his pacing circle widened. Finally, Draco and the Keeper, Miles Bletchley, came out with messy hair and half-lidded eyes, ready to leave.

They walked down to the Quidditch pitch and Heather and Draco broke off from the rest to get their brooms out of the shed. By the time they walked in, Marcus, the Keeper, and the two beaters were doing pull ups on their brooms which stayed suspended in the air, unmoving, as they raised themselves.

“What is this?” Draco motioned at the sweaty faces of Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole. “I’m a Seeker. I don’t need to do this, do I?”

Marcus jumped down from his perfect pull up and pointed at the empty spot next to him. “Both of you.”

“B-b-but – ”

Heather groaned and pulled a stuttering Draco along beside her. She placed her broom on the ground and held up her hand. “Up.” The broom lifted, following the motion of her hand and let her guide it up above her head until her outstretched arm could no longer guide it and it froze in place. She jumped and grabbed onto the broom, dangling from it and looked over at Draco who had done the same.

“One.” She nodded at Draco and together they heaved up. She closed her eyes and groaned, willing her tired arms to pull her up as high as they could. She felt the top of her head hit her broom and opened her eyes. “Just a bit more!” she whispered, trying to get her chin over the handle. Her arms shook and she glanced over at Draco, who was still dangling, arms fully extended, with a face as red as a tomato. She dropped down and covered her smile so Draco wouldn’t see in case he ever stopped squeezing his eyes so hard.

The cold blue morning turned warmer and pink as the sun started to rise just beyond the trees. Her arms were pounding and sore and her uniform was already soaked with sweat when Marcus started drills. They hopped on their brooms and practiced double the amounts they normally did. They went through play after play and every possible situation they could get into.

Heather was rolling, flipping, twirling, and diving all over the place until Marcus was assured she wouldn’t mess up any moves with the Quaffle under her arm. Peregrine and Lucian, whose drills normally consisted of aiming the Bludgers at apples and oranges that Marcus got from the kitchens, was now them aiming the Bludgers at each other and occasionally at Heather and Graham.

After Marcus blew the whistle, Heather touched down hard on the ground and fell off her broom landing on the wet grass like a dead fly swatted out of the sky. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t even feel her arms. At one point her braids had gone loose, probably during the diving roll where she dodged Lucian’s Bludger and almost lost her head and joined Nearly Headless nick.

“Careful!” She screamed as Draco fell down beside her and almost smacked her head with his broom.

“If it weren’t for your brother, we’d still be asleep!” He winced and groaned as he sat up. “You should have taken the broom and thrown it into the fire.” His hair dangled over his eyes as he glared at her. Whatever slicking gel he used for his hair had come off completely with his sweat.

“Practice tonight after Gryffindor’s. After dinner meet in the locker room and DON’T be late.” Marcus looked at everyone, making sure they all heard, and headed out.

Heather sat up now that she could feel her arms again and stretched as best she could. “So how’re you going to even up with Harry? The drills you were doing only help you fly steady and cut corners faster… You have to anticipate where he goes – ”

“Flint and I have it under control.” Draco pushed his hair back and looked up at Peregrine who had made his way over.

“I heard McGonagall suspended one of her Prefects from competing in the National Gobstone Championship last year for getting into a fight over what color the nose plugs should be.” Peregrine stared at Draco and raised his brow. “It’d be a shame if… Potter ended up not playing this match.”

“A real shame.” A wicked grin spread across Draco’s face. He turned to her and raised his brow. “Wouldn’t it, Potter?”

Heather looked at Peregrine to Draco and nodded reluctantly. She stood and left the Quidditch pitch, put away her broom and headed to breakfast. Her spoon shook, spilling half its contents of milk and granola oats before reaching her mouth. It took twice as long to eat and by the time she was done, Harry, Ron, and for a brief second Hermione, had arrived for breakfast.

“We’ll be at the Library,” Ron told her as she left the great hall.

She peeled off her uniform and threw it in her dorm room’s assigned hamper and took as fast a shower as possible, remembering all the essays they had been assigned over Easter break. She had one from Divination, one from Care of Magical creatures – about dragons even though all term they’d only been caring for Salamanders; two half ones from Herbology about two different sentient carnivorous plants, one long one from Transfigurations with tie-ins to Charms – Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick had decided to team up to ruin their break this time; three four-inch ones from History of Magic about the three most controversial laws the Ministry had threatened to pass should the Puddlemere United Quidditch team not change their colors from moss green to mud brown in the late eighteen-hundreds, and one from Potions. The only teacher who hadn’t assigned anything was Professor Lupin.

She should be glad that she didn’t have an essay on cursed socks or hexed pet collars to complete on top of all the other assignments, but now that she had decided Defense Against the Dark Arts was her favorite class and that Professor Lupin was her new favorite teacher, she really wished he’d give out more work than just ‘read the next chapter if you’d like’. How could she improve if all that was normally required was reading ahead and writing short essays on creatures they should be learning about in Care of Magical Creatures?

She picked up her bag and headed down the main corridor towards the library when Neville came running down at full speed towards her.

“It’s happening!” he yelled, his arms flailing behind him as he pointed and ran. “H-hurry!”

“Already? But it’s only been two months!” Heather stopped Neville in his tracks by bracing herself as best she could for Neville to knock into her. She caught his shoulders and steadied him.

“Thanks. I thought I’d keep running until I tripped or something.” Neville’s eyes brightened and he pulled out a green leaf that was slowly turning purple in his hands. “Professor Sprout says it must have been a good batch!”

“Let’s go!” Heather took Neville arm and forced him back into a run towards the third green house.

As they ran they were joined by five other students of different years who had all also heard the great news. Two months ago Professor Sprout had let several eager students help plant several chilled seeds of various living death plants from the same family. They didn’t know which seeds they had gotten to plant, but Heather guessed she had gotten the Freezing Shudder plant by the feint spidery grey veins it had. If she guessed correctly, she’d earn five more points for Slytherin, putting them one-hundred and sixty points in the lead above Gryffindors for the House Cup.

They arrived at the green house and entered to see ten different large plants ready to bloom all lined up against the windows. At the center, sitting at the tables, were twenty or so other students. She stopped Neville from sitting at the first table and pulled him along to the last where Fred and George sat whispering to themselves.

“Why are you two here?” Heather sat across from them, suspicious and amused.

Fred and George smiled at her and crossed their arms.

“We like Herbology like everyone else here.” Fred poked at the table with his finger several times, “and you can’t prove otherwise.”

George leaned in. “And we especially love that plant right there.”

Heather turned to see the one she had planted. “The Frozen Shudder?”

It had the shortest of all the stems but the thickest by a good one or two inches. The green was slowly draining from its leaves and trunk-y stem as it died, replaced by a dark velvety purple. The buds on the very top looked swollen and ready to explode with all the other buds, like a balloon stretched to the max.

“Yeah. And you’re not the only one with a charmed pot.” George wiggled his eyebrows. “Hermione told us.”

Neville turned to her surprised. “Oh! What d’you have growing! Which charms does it have? I tried making one myself with an old pot from home, but everything I plant in it catches fire or grows a single grape.”

“I haven’t grown anything yet,” she lied. “I’m waiting for something good. What’s the point in growing grass or squirting Astrophytum Asterias if it’d be just as easy in a normal pot?” She avoided looking at Fred and George who were holding back smiles as Neville nodded.

Fred mouthed ‘for shame’ at her. “What a marvelous point you have. Which is why we’re going to grow our very own Frozen Shudder.”

Heather tilted her head at them. She was curious as to why they wanted it. It isn’t deadly, it’s most common as a show plant for winning ribbons and medals, and it wasn’t used for any potions she knew of. In fact, to use it at all, a saw is needed to cut off any part of the stem which is completely frozen.

“Oh my! So many here. Alright, I have the list here of everyone’s guesses. I hope you’re all ready – and cover your eyes when it happens!” Professor Sprout shut the green house door and took her seat, taking out a ceramic plate from under her desk and held it up like a shield.

Almost on cue, a feint whistling noise started from all the buds. They harmonized for about a minute, and just as everyone eagerly looked around at the plants, the buds exploded thick juicy petals, pelting everyone in the face and back. Everyone cheered as the last petals fell off the plants and Fred and George dove under the table to collect as many Freezing Shudder petals as they could. Heather looked down at them as they stuffed them into their robe pockets and took a few extra petals at random.

“There’s nothing to be worried about technically, but I am.” Neville looked around the room again as if double checking that the only plants to have exploded were only the non-deadly ones. “I mean its Fred and George isn’t it?”

Heather laughed and shrugged.

“Well. That seems to be the last of them.” Professor Sprout went by checking the plants and awarded five points to Slytherin for Heather’s correct guess and almost forty to Hufflepuff for all of their correct guesses as well.

Professor Sprout made everyone leave so she could clean up and Heather walked back to the castle with Neville, Fred, and George. Neville guessed why they’d want to grow Frozen Shudders the whole way but he either never guessed correctly or they refused to let them in on it.

Heather yawned as she pulled the library door open and quickly found Harry and Ron at a table in the back talking to a large pile of books. She approached and sat down. “Hello Hermione, how’s the studying?”

“Will everyone PLEASE stop distracting me?”

Ron shook his head. “She’s been like this since we got here. Harry, help me make another pile of books over here, they might be friendlier than this one.”

Heather laughed and took out all her sheets of parchment and her potions book. She stared at it and frowned, shoving it back in her bag and took out her transfigurations and charms ones.

“Oh can we copy!” Ron shuffled his papers around and flattened out his started essay with one sentence on it. He had his quill ready to write as he leaned over to see what she’d already written.

“I HOPE you’re joking, Ron.”

Harry rolled his eyes and moved Heather’s started essay for him and Ron to read.

“I’m not hearing a yes.”

Ron groaned. “Oh quiet, ‘Ancient Runes Made Easy’. And tell ‘Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles’ to mind her own business.”

“Humph.”

Heather wiped the smile off her face with the back of her wrist and turned to Harry. “You have practice today, don’t you? You should tell Wood that Derrick and Malfoy are planning to get you kicked off Quidditch.”

“Kicked off?”

“At least for just this match.”

Harry looked to Ron amused. “And how would they?”

“McGonagall would sooner set fire to her office than kick Harry off and lose the Quidditch Cup.” Ron leaned in. “I think she’ll lose her mind this year. Heard Snape mention it’d be seven years of winning and she almost hexed his pants off. He burst out of the staff room with singed robes.”

Heather snorted. “Well then, when we win I hope she does.” There was a pang of uneasiness in her chest but she ignored it. It was weird to hear that kind of talk come from her own lips and not Harry’s. It made it worse that Ron and Harry were looking at her slightly shocked. “Anyways. They think she’ll kick you out if they can get you in a fight. She let the Gobstone club lose their best player over a dumb fight.”

“Yeah but… That’s Gobstones…” Harry drummed his fingers and shrugged. “No one cares about Gobstones.”

Ron nodded. “Not even McGonagall. So you’ll be fine. I’ll be your second and there’s no way you’ll lose whatever fight – ”

Hermione stood over her stack of books and glared down at Ron. “Ronald! The point is for Harry NOT to get into a fight. Not to win it! Harry if you lose to Slytherin I’ll – I’ll – I don’t know WHAT I’ll do! I’ll get expelled for hexing Malfoy’s stupid face so DON’T get in a fight!”

“Alright!” Harry put up his hands. “I never said I would. Can we all go back to studying and not talk about how at any moment between now and the match I could get cornered by a pack of giant Slytherins?”

They all nodded and Hermione sat back down behind her books. They studied and wrote all day – although Ron and Harry left several times to use the ‘bathroom’ and they always came back half an hour later with smeared chocolate on their lips – and ate lunch in the courtyard on a stone bench just to breath in fresh air.

“How’s Hermione doing it? She hasn’t eaten all day since breakfast.” Harry motioned at the empty seat next to them. “I’d be starving but she says she’ll keep this up all break.”

“Maybe I should bring her a muffin or something. If she passes out and messes up her schedule, we’ll never hear the end of it.” Ron stood and left in the direction of the great hall.

Harry pinched off muffin crumbs and popped them into his mouth. “What would you do… If Sirius Black was knocked out on the ground in front of you? Wandless.”

What would she do? She’d tell a teacher of course… But that wasn’t really Harry’s question. “I wouldn’t kill him… If that’s what you’re wondering. He deserves to go back to prison. A more suitable prison for him. One that won’t lose their most dangerous prisoner.”

Harry nodded.

She looked at him, staring at his muffin, and wondered what Harry would do. He’d say he’d kill him… and she wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t.

“He betrayed them,” Harry whispered. “He took them from us. He took our lives from us. We could have lived as wizards. Already known… EVERYTHING. We wouldn’t be staring at our friends dumbly every time they say something we didn’t already know.”

She thought about what it would have been like to live in a village like Hogsmeade somewhere. Already immersed in wizard culture and learning about muggles from their mother… She felt a hole rip open in her heart and fill with sadness. She wasn’t hungry anymore, and yet she felt starved.

“I’d make him pay.” Harry finished his muffin and stood.

Heather nodded and stood with him, punching his shoulder lightly. “And like always, I’ll stop you from doing something stupid.”

They headed back into the library and after several more hours – and at least three finished essays later – Harry left for his Quidditch practice. Ron had copied several of Hermione’s essays that she kept stacking on top of her pile of books and Ron kept sneaking and by the time it was dinner, Ron had finished two more essays.

Heather sat with her team and ate a roasted chicken leg, mashed peas, a bowl of potato soup, and left early to nap in her dorm until it was time for Quidditch practice again. She met everyone by the lockers and noticed Draco whispering to Peregrine. Marcus didn’t make them do anymore pull ups but they had to sit for at least an hour and listen to Marcus go over strategies again – which revolved around brute strength for Peregrine, Lucian, and Graham, and borderline cheating-but-not-quite from Heather and Draco. Miles Bletchley’s younger brother was there too, who had agreed to help signal Draco if he spotted the Snitch since it wasn’t cheating for the crowd to yell if they saw it before the players.

After practice, Heather dragged her feet down to the girl’s bathrooms and got ready for bed, throwing her uniform in the hamper again and didn’t bother showering. In the common room she had seen Marcus get all of Slytherin’s attention about something but she didn’t have the energy to stay and listen. She fell into bed and closed her eyes, ready to open them up soon to start the day practically all over again until Easter break ended.

~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

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Like Magnets

Clyde x Sherri (Non-Linear Series) Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV Content Warning: Scars/Scarring The saga concludes...

A commercial played on the radio as Clyde chomped on a spoonful of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. He didn’t bother opening his curtains or blinds. Suddenly, his phone started to buzz. He’d left it on the counter. He rose from the table with an annoyed grunt and looked down at the small screen.  “Babygirl” Clyde slow-blinked to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. Then, he answered the call. “Hello?” “Hey, Clyde...” she hesitated. “Hey, Sherri...how are you?” he asked. “I’m fine. How about yourself?” Clyde leaned against the counter. “I’m good. I’m good.” He took in Sherri’s silence. Even her soft breaths sent butterflies to his stomach.  “Your brother came by to see me last night,” she said. Clyde scowled. “Say what?”

“Don’t get upset. He came by my job to talk to me. To talk about...the thing.” Clyde inhaled and blew the air through his nose. “I wish he hadn’a done that.” “Well. I I’m kinda glad he did,” Sherri said. She inhaled, too. “Can I come see you?” Clyde’s eyebrows lifted. “Uh...yeah. Yeah, that’s fine.” ____________________ Like a puppy sitting in the window waiting for its owner to get home, Clyde sat on his sofa, getting glances out the window. Every time a car came down the street, his head cranked around. Eventually, he opened his front door for a wider view. He’d showered like someone was timing him, put on some jeans and a short-sleeved button-up, and sprayed on some of that Versace cologne Sherri had bought him for Valentine’s Day. He’d lifted every blind and every curtain, and he waited. Finally, Sherri’s little blue car pulled up in front of his house. 

He struggled with what to do. Meet Sherri outside like he used to? Wait on the porch? Stay on the couch and pretend like he wasn’t waiting? Finally, he just stood in the door way, and opened the screen door as soon as she stepped on the stony walkway. And damn, did she look good - wearing a black sundress and a light denim jacket over it; gold jewelry and gold sandals - curly hair in two large braids. She smiled up at him. “Good morning.” “Good mornin’. You look nice,” he responded. Sherri walked up the steps. “Thank you.” He pushed the door open wider and let her in.  “Have a seat,” he said.  They both sat on the couch, waiting for the other to say something.  “How’ve you--” “How’s it--” They chuckled, then surveyed each other. Finally, Clyde held out his hand. Sherri took it, scooted close, then kissed him on the lips. He let his hand fall down to her waist and pulled her in closer. They pulled apart, stared into each other’s eyes and smiled. Sherri ran her fingers through Clyde’s hair. “I’m sorry,” she said.  “What you apologizin’ for?” “I got scared, and I just--” Clyde tilted her chin up and kissed her on the lips again. “It’s alright.” Sherri rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat. A whole month, almost, since she’d heard that beautiful sound. She noticed he was wearing that cologne she’d bought him, too. Clyde started rubbing her waist, and she reached down to his other hand and interlocked her fingers with his. “I missed you so much,” she said.  “Me too, Babygirl.” “Next time I start actin’ foolish, I want you to pay me no mind.” Clyde chuckled. The rattle in his chest hitting her ear made her heart flutter. It filled her with the unmistakable warmth of “home”.  “You sure you okay with all this?” he asked. Sherri sat up and traced the outline of his bottom lip. “I’m sure, baby.” She gave him another peck on the lips. Then another. And another. They gazed at each other--drinking in the faces they’d gone so long without seeing.Their lips pulled back together like magnets. Clyde slipped his tongue into Sherri’s mouth, and she let him in. Then, she sat up and straddled him.  Clyde ran his hands up and down her waist, then, let them slide down to her hips, and onto her ass. He gave her cheeks a squeeze, and Sherri moaned in his mouth. Suddenly, she felt a sting against her left cheek. “Ooh!” She blushed and rubbed her burning flesh. “I’ve been wantin’ to do that for so long,” Clyde said. Sherri threw her head back and laughed. Then, she bit her bottom lip and looked back at Clyde. “Do it again.” Clyde gave her bottom another smack, then squeezed it. Sherri reached for the first button on his button-up, then abruptly stopped.

“Sorry,” she said.

Clyde took a deep breath and nodded. “It’s alright. G’on.”

As Clyde massaged her ass, Sherri unbuttoned his shirt, then pushed the fabric back. He always wore something under his tops--sweaters, button ups, polos; long sleeves or shorts—something was more than likely going to be under it. Today it was a tank.

Clyde tilted Sherri over so that she could lie on the sofa, and he took off his button-up and let it fall to the floor. Then, he pulled his tank over his head. The left side of his body--from his waist and seemingly on down was dimpled and crinkled with scarring. Suddenly, his comfort disappeared. Sherri saw his Adam’s apple move up and down, and heard him swallow. She stood up, wrapped her arms around his waist, and stood on her tip-toes to kiss him again. 

“Take me to your bedroom,” she said, rubbing his cheek. 

Clyde scanned her face for certainty, then took her hand. And he led her to his bedroom.

THREE HOURS LATER

Feather touches planted themselves on Sherri’s shoulder. Her eyes opened to the sight of dark waves near her. She moved her waist a bit, hoping to get some kinks out, and Clyde’s dark eyes lined up with hers.

“I got to start gettin’ ready for work,” he said.

Sherri turned onto her side, revealing her breasts, belly, and thighs to him. His hand immediately shot out to rub her thigh. “I guess I should head back home and do the same.”

“You wanna take a shower?” he asked, biting his lip.

“Mhm,” Sherri said while stretching her arms to the headboard. Then, she covered herself again. A mischievous grin slipped onto Clyde’s face.

“You want somethin’ to eat, too?” he asked, slowly pulling the cover back down.

Sherri chuckled and put her arm over her breasts. Then, her eyebrows raised. “You want somethin’ to eat?”

“Mhm,” Clyde grunted, yanking the covers completely off. Just as he got between Sherri’s legs, there was a banging on his door.

“What the hell?” he mumbled. Sherri’s heart began to pound as Clyde climbed out of the bed, stepped into his boxers and walked out of the room. She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. Then, she listened to his door creak open. It felt like it took hours to open.

“Why you bangin’ on my door like that?” she heard Clyde ask.

“Cause me and Mellie been callin’ you all mornin’ and you ain’t answerin’ the phone!”

Jimmy.

“I’m ‘bout sick of this little attitude of yours, now. Now look, I went and talked to Sherri last night, and—”

“I know,” Clyde said.

Sherri lied back down in the bed and smiled.

“Oh. So you talked to her? Did—man, can I come in the house?”

Sherri heard Clyde’s door squeak open more, and heavy footsteps clomped in.

“I’m ‘bout to get ready for work,” Clyde said.

“I know, I ain’t tryna stay long. Just wanted to check on you.”

“Well, I’m fine; everything is alright; thank you for talkin’ to her...” Clyde said like he was going down a checklist.

Sherri could hear the agitation in his voice. The impatience. Clyde wanted to be face deep in some Sherri Pie, not talking to his big headed brother!

“So, are y’all back together?” Jimmy asked. There was hope in his voice, and it warmed her heart a little.

But then, there was a beat of silence. Suddenly, Clyde’s bedroom door opened. Sherri squealed and pulled the covers close to her chin. He peeked his head in.

“Are we back together?” he asked with a smirk. She heard the hardwood creak in the distance.

Sherri giggled like a mischievous child.

“Yes,” she said, eyes softening and voice warm. Clyde smiled and looked over his shoulder.

“Yes, we’re back together.”

Jimmy laughed and Clyde closed the door again.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it. That’s why you ain’t been answerin’ the phone, huh?” Jimmy asked, his voice muffled.

“Hush up, Jimmy.”

Sherri heard the thump and rustle of feet again.

“Mhm. Now I need you to gon’ from ‘roun’ her. Come on to Duck Tape later, if you want.”

“Bye Sherri!” Jimmy yelled.

Sherri wasn’t sure he’d hear her, but she shouted back. “Bye, Jimmy!”

She covered her hot face and grinned from ear to ear. The door closed, and she heard Clyde shuffling through his living room.  ____________________ Clyde walked into his kitchen and stared at the “Home” hanger with all his keys. On the “H” hung his everyday keychain - it held his car key; house key; library keychain card; grocery card. On the “O” hung a loop with his spare car key. On the “M”, his spare house key. Nothing on the “E”. He stared at the “M” and swallowed. Then, he grabbed the key and took it to the bedroom...

____________________ Tag List: Thanks to everyone who asked to be on a tag list! I’m considering working out various lists, but for now, if you’d like to be on a permanent/everything tag list, just leave a comment! Sorry if I overlooked anyone! Just let me know in the comments!

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@lovelyyandtired Special shoutout to @a-true-janian-reply​ for sharing her headcanon for why Clyde “wears shirts under his shirts” in the “Thirst and Chill” chat—and for allowing me to apply that to Clyde x Sherri’s story :)

[inkedstarlight]

Bittersweet: Chapter Four

Summary: In which Nesta and Elain are introduced to the Inner Circle. Note: Read it on AO3 here! Warnings: mention of eating disorder, weight loss Bittersweet Masterlist

September

Nesta was staring at her reflection when Elain knocked on her bedroom door.

“Feyre’s here!”

“I’ll be right out,” she called back.

Nesta directed her gaze back to the mirror. She didn’t know what to make of what she saw.

Her face was jaunt, the shadows under her eyes resembling purple bruises. Her face had always been angular, but never so bony. Her thick golden hair now hung limply, greasy strands falling into her face. Nesta hadn’t showered in days, and her breath reeked thanks to a lack of nutrients. She was the color of a ghost, nearly blending into her surroundings with her tiny presence. Nesta was shrinking into herself little by little. Until nothing remained.

She had never been so underweight, not even when their mom forgot to cook most nights. At Nesta’s normal weight, her toned thighs touched each other. Rolls formed on her stomach when she bent over. She looked like a woman.

But as she stared at the mirror, Nesta looked like a girl.

It wasn’t intentional. Gods, she’d seen what that sort of thing did to people. Elain struggled with an eating disorder since she was thirteen.

Those couple years were brutal. Their dad was emotionally absent, their mother gone. Feyre was working every day. Nesta did as much as she could, but… there’s only so much she could do. Their family couldn’t afford a therapist or nutritionist. Elain didn’t want to get better.

Then, Elain passed out walking home from school. That’s when Nesta had enough. She couldn’t stand to watch her sister completely disappear right in front of her eyes. So, she talked to Elain’s guidance counselor, Alis, who was the only qualified person there. The other counselors did shit. All they cared about was academics and nothing more. Alis gave Nesta pamphlets for free group therapy. Nesta marched home and told Elain about it.

She refused for a month.

Nesta had never seen Elain so angry and hopeless during those few weeks. Angry at Nesta for getting into her business. Hopeless in the way that she didn’t particularly care what happened to her.

Then, one day, Elain found Nesta sobbing on the floor of their bedroom. When Elain took a step closer, Nesta snapped. She screamed. Gods, did she scream. She begged – begged – Elain to stop killing herself. Nesta was desperate, and she knew the only way Elain would agree to get help was if Nesta asked her to do it for her. And so Elain agreed.

It took a long time; recovery isn’t a linear process in the slightest. But with time, Elain healed. She healed until she was doing it for herself, not just for Nesta. And now… now, Elain cherished her body. She’d once told Nesta that the intrusive thoughts still surfaced, but they weren’t nearly as loud as they used to be.

Nesta’s sudden weight loss… it wasn’t the same. It was the depression that was gnawing at her very flesh, the guilt that was eating her away until it hit bone. She didn’t care to eat. She didn’t care to do anything.

Elain had been trying to get her to eat every day. Three meals a day. She had always been a fabulous cook, baking and cooking until the sun set. Nesta wished she could stomach Elain’s food, but she felt as if she would throw up if she consumed anything more than a piece of fruit.

Nesta sighed with resignation. Turning her back to the mirror, she walked out of her room to find Feyre and Elain lounging in the kitchen. Elain’s profile was backlit by the window above the sink, highlighting her light hair.

“What do you want?” Nesta asked as she approached them, taking a seat on the stool. She’d completely lost energy during the past few weeks, and any semblance of patience was easily lost on her.

Feyre ignored her brash tone. “How are classes going?”

“Fine.” She didn’t bother elaborating. There wasn’t much to tell anyway.

“You look thin,” Feyre commented, running her eyes over Nesta’s barely visible body.

“Are you here to criticize my appearance or can I retreat back into my room?”

“It was just an observation, Nesta,” Feyre told her. Then, she addressed both of them. “My friends and I are having a dinner party tomorrow night at my house. It’s a small tradition that we do every other week. Do you guys want to come?”

“Yes!” Elain jumped up excitedly. She gripped Feyre’s shoulders, the latter smiling widely. “I finally have a reason to dress up!”

Feyre unraveled herself from Elain’s grip and turned to Nesta. “Are you in?”

“I’m invited?” She couldn’t help but ask. Feyre hadn’t exactly gone out of her way to spend time with Nesta. It wasn’t like Feyre was cruel to her; they’d simply become strangers after years of no communication. Feyre had shown Elain around town, but that courtesy didn’t extend to Nesta.

Feyre blew out a breath of air and nodded. “I want to try to fix… this.” She gestured between them.

Nesta would have laughed if it weren’t for the nervousness in Feyre’s eyes. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I’m ready to meet your friends quite yet.”

I know I'm not ready.

Nesta had been doing better since the semester started; that much was true. Even so, she rarely talked to anyone, save the obligatory conversations with professors as well as her T.A.’s. She only left the apartment for classes and never lingered on campus to study or socialize. Considering it was a challenge to talk with her peers, Nesta was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to make conversation with her estranged sister’s friends.

“It would mean so much to me if you met them, especially Rhysand.”

“I said another time.” Nesta’s voice was hard.

Feyre squeezed the bridge of her nose as she tried to reign in her temper. “Please, Nesta? It would be good to get out of the apartment.” She looked resigned, as if she knew Nesta would refuse. “You don’t even have to say anything. No one there will question your silence, I promise. They’re all easygoing.”

She wasn’t asking much of Nesta. In fact, Feyre was asking for the bare minimum. And as much as Nesta dreaded the idea of being surrounded by a group of complete strangers…

You need them as much as they need you. Her father’s words echoed in her head.

Nesta nodded. “Okay.”

And with that, the tether between them began to mend.

------------------------

Feyre and Rhysand’s house lay at the edge of the city, the stars brighter without the light pollution of the city. Elain marveled at the mountainous backdrop as she and Nesta pulled up to their spacious home in Elain’s old Beetle. Nesta’s stomach twisted when she noticed several cars parked in the driveway. She should turn around and return home, she wasn’t ready for –

“Let’s go inside!” Elain sang as she unbuckled her seatbelt. She wore an off-the-shoulder pink dress, the pastel color complimenting her fair skin. The soft fabric fell just below her knees, a gentle breeze caressing the skirt of the dress. She was stunning. Nesta had told her as much when Elain emerged from her room.

Nesta, on the other hand, had chosen to wear ripped jeans and a black hoodie. How she and Elain were related, Nesta had no idea.

They strolled to the front door, Elain bouncing with each step. She’d gushed throughout the entire car ride about the stories Feyre had told her about Rhysand, which somehow led to Elain rambling for ten minutes about her dream wedding.

Gods, Nesta had never met a bigger hopeless romantic.

Sounds of laughter could be heard from inside as they stepped onto the front porch. Elain didn’t hesitate as she knocked three times.

Feyre answered the door just seconds later. Her golden hair tumbled to her shoulders, an easy smile on her face. Nesta had never seen her sister look so happy. She was glowing, and it wasn’t because of the warm lights behind her.

“You made it!” Feyre exclaimed happily, opening the door wider to let them inside. She noticed the dish in Elain’s hands as they walked past her. “You didn’t have to bring anything, El.”

Elain only scoffed as Feyre closed the door behind them. “Like you would have been able to stop me.”

Just as Feyre was about to address Nesta, a few people – her friends, Nesta presumed – entered the foyer.

“Everyone, these are my sisters, Elain and Nesta.” Feyre gestured to them as they stood awkwardly in the doorway. “Elain and Nesta, this is everyone.”

A tall, dark haired man approached them, sliding his hand onto Feyre’s lower back.

Nesta knew who it was before he spoke.

His violet eyes sparkled. “I’m Rhysand,” he reached in to shake their hands. “I’ve heard a lot about you both.”

Elain really wasn’t lying about his eyes.

 He directed a blindingly white smile at Elain to which she returned. But when his gaze slid to Nesta, his grin slipped slightly, eyes narrowing.

What the hell?

“Well, isn’t this lovely,” a seductive voice drawled. Nesta’s attention was grabbed by the tiny girl who’d spoken, her hair sleek and short. She was standing at the kitchen table with her arms crossed over her chest, staring at Rhysand, and a raised brow that seemed to say, Really?

“I’m Amren.” She flashed Elain and Nesta a wicked grin. “Excuse Rhys’s poor manners.”

Nesta liked her already.

“This is Azriel,” she pointed to the brooding man behind her. He nearly blended into the shadows, his presence calm and quiet. Nesta couldn’t help but notice the scarring on his hands. She instinctively pulled her sweater over her wrists.

The man – Azriel – gave them an awkward wave, his gaze hovering on Elain who returned his greeting with an equally awkward wave of her own.

“I’m Morrigan,” a raspy voice sounded from the kitchen counter. A woman sat at the breakfast bar with a wine glass in hand. Her lips were painted the same crimson color of the drink she held. “But you can call me Mor.”

Another woman stood behind her, hands playing with Mor’s blonde hair. Her skin was a dark hazelnut, waves of thick, black hair framing her face. She wore a bright smile. Together they were regal, the picture of beauty. “This is my girlfriend, Aurra.”

Aurra murmured a greeting, to which Elain reciprocated with a bubbly enthusiasm.

“There’s one more of us, Cassian, but he’s in the Marines. He’s stationed in Turkey right now,” Rhysand explained. He directed the statement towards Elain. He didn’t seem to care to acknowledge Nesta’s presence. “He’ll be back in December.”

“Oh, I completely forgot!” Feyre jumped in. She looked at both Nesta and Elain. “I meant to mention this to you guys when I visited you the other day. Cassian actually lives in the same apartment complex as y’all. I think his place is just a floor above you, so you guys will get the chance to meet each other. It’s hard, though, because he never knows when he’s going to be deployed.”

Nesta nodded absentmindedly, uninterested in these people’s lives. She doubted she would see them again, much less the friend who lived near them.

After the introductions, everyone got settled. Feyre gestured Nesta and Elain to follow her into the living room.

“Dinner isn’t ready quite yet,” she explained, sending a pointed glare where Rhysand stood. He lifted his hands up in surrender. “So, I figured we can just drink and chat until Rhys can cook us something edible.”

Mor snorted from the kitchen at Feyre’s jab. She grabbed Aurra’s hand and they waltzed to the armchair that sat next to the vast fireplace. Aurra pulled Mor onto her lap, Mor giggling as she took a sip of her wine.

Feyre offered them wine. Nesta took hers and followed everyone to the living room. Luckily, she found a seat that distanced her slightly. Feyre sat atop a stool, Rhysand behind her to keep an eye on dinner. Amren lounged on a plush floor cushion, leaving Elain and Azriel on the loveseat.

The conversation came easy. Rhysand and Mor fired question after question at Elain, to which she answered happily. Feyre kept her word; everyone respected Nesta’s space. She was faced only with the occasional, “More wine?” or “The bathroom is over there.” It gave Nesta the opportunity to sit back unbothered and listen to the conversation.

“So how do you all know each other?” Elain asked curiously, gesturing to Feyre’s friends.

Rhysand smiled with fond memories. “I lived across the street from Azriel as a kid. Cassian is my adopted brother, so we all grew up with each other. Mor over here is my cousin. We all went to the same university. Amren…” Rhysand got silent. A small, contemplative smile grew on his face. “I don’t really know how she joined us. I’m pretty sure she approached us and told us that we were now friends with her.”

Amren nodded to confirm as everyone laughed. Her smile resembled the Cheshire Cat.

“And Feyre darling,” Rhysand looked at his girlfriend lovingly. “She stumbled upon us in our sophomore year. That’s a story for another night though.”

Nesta couldn’t help but snort at his nickname for her. Feyre shot her a glare.

After dinner, which ended up being soup thanks to Rhysand’s lack of cooking skills, they all retreated back to the living area. Feyre popped open yet another bottle of wine to top everyone off, and Elain brought out the cupcakes she’d made.

As they were enjoying her sister’s dessert, which was droolworthy like every dish in the past, Elain and Azriel caught Nesta’s attention from the loveseat. She’d noticed they hadn’t spoken much beyond “Hello” and “How are you?” Nesta attributed that to Elain’s innately nervous nature, so she was surprised when she struck up a conversation with him.

“Do you go to school?” Elain asked Azriel timidly, taking a sip of wine.

His head dipped down, tufts of black hair falling into his eyes. “I, uh, work at an animal shelter.”

Elain gasped loudly. She clutched his leg and looked at him with wide eyes. “I love animals! I want to rescue a dog.” Elain began rambling about the bunnies who lived in her garden, the many strays she’d found on the street back in high school, the bird she tended to when she noticed his broken wing.

Nesta watched Azriel smile for the first time tonight. Where most men would cringe from Elain’s incessant chatter, he leaned forward with interest. Nesta could tell he was hanging on to every word that left Elain’s mouth.

As the night went on, Nesta watched the dynamic between everyone. Where Azriel was timid, Mor was booming. She was always laughing at something (usually her own joke), and she made her opinions known. Nesta respected that.

Amren, though? Amren was a creature of her own. She was snarky to her friends, but the love could easily be seen in her eyes. Nesta immediately took to her.

And Rhysand? Nesta was unnerved by how… domestic Feyre and her boyfriend were. They acted like they were a married couple, for gods’ sake. She got second hand commitment phobia just by looking at them.

When it was time for them to leave, Feyre’s friends demanded they join again next week. Elain promised they’d be back again with a giggle, and Nesta swore she saw the light in Azriel’s eyes flare.

So, once a week, the lot of them got together to hang out. Feyre and Rhysand hosted most dinners thanks to their spacious house but occasionally, Mor and Aurra offered their place which was equally gorgeous.

As the weeks passed, Nesta slowly became more comfortable with everyone – though Rhysand typically avoided her, and she did the same. Though she remained near silent during the nights, Nesta found herself looking forward to the dinner gatherings.

And perhaps, perhaps she could find a home here.

[fangirl-imagines]

Summer of ‘85//Steve Harrington x Reader

Warnings: There is some physical violence in this story against the reader. 

Prompt: Bill Hargrove had been a violent jerk for as long as you’ve known him. Spending your summer working with him at the Hawkins’ Community Pool had not been your idea of a fun summer. But you never expected him to take things this far. 

You were tired, soaked, and shaking when you got home. It was quiet in the house; your mom was at work and your little brother Dustin was out with his friends. Usually you loved any rare chance to have the house to yourself but now your small house felt huge with an emptiness that could swallow you. You locked the door behind you and pushed your damp hair out of your face. Your Hawkins pool red swimsuit was almost dry but the denim shorts and over-sized white shirt you'd thrown over it were still sticking to your skin. You shook your head when you realized you were still wearing your lifeguard whistle and pulled it off over your head, wincing slightly when the cord brushed the bruises forming on your throat. You swallowed hard but that hurt too. Your skin prickled angrily and you tossed the whistle at the wall, hard, watching it bounce off and land safety in the floor. 

"Easy tiger!" A hand touched your shoulder.

You jumped, turning and shoving against Steve's chest hard with a small scream, sending him stumbling back and almost into the floor. 

"Oh my God, Steve!" You yelled when you realized who was in your house. You rushed to his side, grabbing his hand and shaking your head. "I'm so sorry! You scared me!" You let out a flustered breath. "What are you even doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be at work?" 

He was still wearing his sailor suit, minus the hat and his shoes. You almost smiled thinking of how he always remembered your mom didn't like shoes on in the house. But if you let yourself relax enough to smile you might start to cry again. Steve looked offended but you weren't sure if it was playful or because you pushed him. 

"A guy can't come see his girlfriend? I traded shift with Robin so I could surprise you." 

His expression turned to a gentle and playful one. He reached his hand up to your face and stroked your cheek gently and grinned softly. You shuddered, a cold chill running down your spine. 

"Steve," you spoke softly, "I need to tell you something." 

“Was work that bad, baby?” His hand brushed your hair away from your fave, tucking it behind your ear. You closed your eyes and felt his hand still. "What the hell is that?!" 

You opened your eyes and meet Steve's wide, angry, pained ones. "Billy was late to work today." You began in a fluster. Steve's brows furrowed but he let his hand slide down from behind your ear to the base of your throat where his thumb gently stroked the dark purple bruise forming there in slow, small circles. 

Earlier 

This summer was really beginning to suck. While, your boyfriend was stuck working at the mall slinging ice cream, you were life guarding at the community pool. Meaning not only did you not get to see Steve at all some days, you were also stuck working with Hawkins’ resistant jackass Billy Hargrove. The guy who thought hitting on you was a game, bullied Dustin and his friends, and almost beat Steve to death last November. And here you were having to hang around with him in a swimsuit all summer. You didn’t even really want this job but with the new mall in town it would be nice to have a little extra money. Besides with Steve working you wouldn’t get too see him much anyway and the same went for Jonathan and Nancy. Either way you were sick and tired of yelling at kids not to run by the pool and were ready to go home. 

If only Billy wasn’t running almost thirty minutes late. You sighed and blew your whistle at a boy running by the side of the pool when you caught sight of Hargrove finally walking, or stumbling really, into the pool area. ‘Finally’ you thought. You watched him disappear into the showers and shook your head. No, he was already late. Climbing down from the watch stand you called out to Heather standing nearby to cover for you for a few minutes and made your way into the showers. 

“Hargrove?” You called out, wandering in. You stopped when you saw Billy hunched over, leaning against the wall. He was shaking and the closer you got you could see beads of sweat pouring off of him. 

“Billy? Look you’re late. What, are you sick or something?”

 He didn’t look up at you. You weren’t even really sure he heard you. 

“Billy?” 

You laid your hand gently on his shoulder but as quick as you touched him you were thrown back into the hard, tile wall, his hand wrapped around your throat. 

“Don’t touch me.” He growled in a low voice that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. 

You knew he was crazy but you didn’t think he would ever actually take it this far. You could feel the blood rushing to your face as he squeezed his hand and your throat burned at the sudden lack of oxygen. This was all so much quieter than when he attacked Steve, it almost didn’t feel real. You brought your hands up to grip his, clawing at it desperately. Your eyes began to water as his grip tightened but through the tears you saw the veins on his arm bulging and black like sludge, like- Oh my God. 

You brought your leg up and kicked him between his as hard as you could, finally getting his hand to let go of your throat when Billy dropped to the floor. Lightheaded and heart racing you slid down the tile wall and into the floor beside Billy. You moved quick to grab his arm and inspect the black trail you found there not like any infection you had ever scene except for on your little brother’s friend Will last fall. Billy tried to pull back against your grip and in your shock you let him go. Repeating to yourself over and over “Oh my God.” Billy started to get up and you shoved yourself backwards, further into the wall, not sure what to expect next. He looked up at you and into your eyes, a sick feeling overcoming you. Neither of you moved before-,

“What on Earth?” 

Mrs. Wheeler stood in the doorway suddenly, her hands placed on her hips in her neon blue and pink swimsuit. You looked up at her wide eyed, then down at Billy. He smirked lazily at her before climbing to his feet. 

“Nothing to worry about Karen.” He looked at you and winked, sending a cold chill down your spine. “Just a friendly disagreement among coworkers. See you around Y/N.” 

He smiled and brushed by Mrs. Wheeler out the door. You let out a breath that had been stuck in your chest, reaching up to gently touch the sore ring around your neck where Billy had squeezed. You knew there would be a bruise there later. Your mind was racing a mile a minute. You needed to call the chief and the Party. And Steve. Maybe you were just imagining things. The gates were closed there was no way anything from the Upside Down was still in Hawkins, was there? You felt more tears welling in your eyes and suddenly realized how cold you were inside wearing your swimsuit. You were so caught up in your thoughts you didn’t even realize Mrs. Wheeler was talking to you until she was standing next to you, her hand resting gently on your shoulder, making you jump. 

“Y/N are you alright? What did I just walk in on?” 

You shook your head. “Nothing Mrs. Wheeler. I’ve-uh, I’ve got to go.” 

“Do you want a ride home? You shouldn’t be driving so shaken up.” 

You forced a weak smile. “Thank you Mrs. Wheeler but I’m okay. It’s just been a long day.” 

You could tell she didn’t believe you but you were thankful that she didn’t push the matter. She pursed her lips and then offered you a small, comforting smile. 

“Don’t worry about Billy. I’ll talk to him for you if you want.” 

“No!” You almost shouted at her, stuttering when you saw her look at you in surprise. “No, no that’s okay Mrs. Wheeler. I’ve got to go.” 

You rushed by her, leaving her standing there in confusion.

Now

By the end of your story you could feel yourself beginning to shake again. You were painfully aware of how close you came to dying and not for the first time. Memories of last November, trying and failing to pull Billy off of Steve's battered body, getting your own bloody nose and bruised face for it, of following your little brother and his friends into the tunnels under Hawkins and getting chased by demidogs. Those feelings you'd tried so hard to forget from that night were creeping back up your body. You wondered if Billy would have killed you if Mrs. Wheeler hadn't walked in on the two of you? Steve was staring at you now, his eyes wide and hard. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his fluffy hair anxiously, beginning to pace. A small. choked sob caught in your throat as you watched him. As soon as he heard you cry Steve pulled you to him and wrapped his arms around your shoulders tight. 

“Oh God, I’m sorry Y/N. I’m so sorry. I’m gonna kill him. I swear to God, I’m going to kill him!” 

Steve squeezed you tighter, before pulling back to run his fingers delicately over the bruise again. 

“Do you need to go to the hospital? Or I can call your mom at work? Dustin’s going to be pissed!” He took a deep breath and shook his head, calming down slightly. “I’m going to kill Hargrove this time.”

“Steve,” You sighed, “I don’t think it was him.”

Steve looked at you funny, before his hands flew up to either side of your head and turned it side to side. “Did that asshole give you a concussion?”

“No! No, Steve!” You broke free from his gentle grip. “I mean it was Billy’s body but I don’t think it was him in there. I think...I could be wrong I mean it was kind of dark in the showers and I was about to pass out at one point but...I think the mindflare is back.” 

Steve was quiet for a long pause then backed away from you to lower himself down onto the couch. 

“Steve?”

His yell surprised you and you jumped back when he flew up from the couch and kicked your mom’s recliner angrily. He kicked it twice then ran his hands down his face angrily. 

“Steve?!” You stepped forward and touched his shoulder carefully. The tears in his eyes when he looked back at you did not come as a surprise. 

“We need to call a party meeting.” 

[justthehiddleswrites]

Bah Hiddleston | Tom Hiddleston x OFC (Tamra Harmon) | Chapter 3 | Not What I Expected

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x OFC (Tamra Harmon)

Summary:  Tamra Harmon has no mind to mess with Christmas. All that talk about Christmas magic and the joy of the holidays is just a bunch of mumbo jumbo. But will a chance encounter with perennial Christmas lover Tom Hiddleston change all that?

This chapter:   Luke is not pleased with Tom’s scheme but Tom is relentless in his pursuit to find Tamra’s Christmas spirit. Perhaps a bit of Christmas shopping will do the trick.

Warnings for story: smut, oral sex, implied smut, vaginal sex, light angst

-

“What on earth do you need to tell me at 10 at night two weeks before Christmas?” Luke’s voice boomed through the phone as Tom walked up the stairs to his home.

“Listen Luke, I thought I should be the first to tell you… for once,” Tom muttered those last words.

“Tell me what, Tom.” Luke spat back.

“Over the next few days you might see pictures of me with a mystery blonde woman. Nothing is going on between us. We are just friends.” Tom blurted out before he realized what he had said.

Silence. “Luke?” Tom asked.

“Sorry, mate. I’m marking down the date as the STUPIDEST FUCKING THING EVER!!”

Tom held the phone away from his ear. “Did you really need to shout, Luke?!” Tom replied, anger growing. “For once, I call you ahead of time to tell you about some upcoming potential problem and I am rewarded with you bellowing in my ear. Now I appreciate why they say it’s better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.”

“I might have overreacted.”

“Might?!”

“I overreacted. Apologies. Now pray tell why you are hanging around with a mystery blonde woman?”

“None of your business.” Tom snapped as he flicked the light on in his bedroom, Bobby nipping at his heels.

“In your fucking dreams, Thomas!” Tom overheard a loud thud in the background.

“How’s your hand?”

“Hurts.”

“Next time don’t bang it against the counter. Now if you can keep calm, I will explain that it is none of your business because there is not nothing to manage. She is a friend in town for the next two weeks and she is keeping me company through the holidays.”

“When do I get to meet her?”

“If everything goes to plan, never. Luke, trust me. I got this under control.”

Luke sighed heavy into the phone. “The last time I trusted you, I didn’t sleep for three days.”

“I’m not living that down, am I?”

“Not in the foreseeable future.” Luke grunted. “Okay, Tom, I won’t push you for information for now. But if things get crazy, you will force my hand.”

“Fair enough. You are a good friend and a great publicist.”

“I won’t argue with you on that point. Goodnight Tom.”

“Night Luke.”

Tom hung up the phone and changed into pajamas before sliding underneath the blankets of his inviting bed. But sleep did not come. His mind raced at the possibilities for tomorrow. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and pulled up the web browser. Before long, he found himself engrossed in the website for the British Museum.

“I really need to get out more.” he muttered to himself as he scrolled the site.

“Oh, this is perfect!” he exclaimed as something came across the screen. He tapped the screen a few times to purchase tickets before setting the phone back down. He drifted off to sleep with a smug smile on his face.

-

Tamra awoke the next morning to a loud pounding. At first, she thought she was dreaming, but the pounding became more insistent and more frantic. She popped open one eye to view light streaming through the window next to the bed.

“Go away!” Tamara yelled at the unknown knocker as she rose to answer the door, wrapping a robe around her frame.

“What do you—” Tamra groaned as she opened the door. Tom bursted through running hard into her shoulder.

“I have been ringing you for an hour! I almost called the police! Did you not hear your phone?”

Tamra rubbed her shoulder, still sore from the first encounter with Tom.

“Are you made from marble? That hurts.” Tom gave a withering glance towards her. Tamra rolled her eyes. “Sorry! Heard of jet lag?”

“You worried me. Now get dressed so we can get breakfast.”

“Now?”

“No, tomorrow. Yes now! We are burning daylight as we speak.”

“Oh god.” Tamra groaned as she turned away from Tom still standing in her kitchen.

“Oh god what? What have I done now to earn a Tamra Harmon groan?”

“It’s… you’re a morning person aren’t you?” she rifled through the drawers to find clothes for the day.

“You say that like being a morning person a bad thing.”

“It is. I’m going to take a shower.”

Tom moved as if to follow her before stopping in his tracks when she shot daggers at him.

“I’m joking. I am the consummate gentleman. Lighten up.”

“I’ll lighten up once I get coffee.” Tamra yelled as she disappeared into the bathroom.

“That can be arranged.” Tom whispered to himself as he surveyed the small flat.

The whole place was small but well appointed. A small kitchen and living area with the bed tucked into one corner. Tom settled onto the small couch as he waited for Tamra to finish getting ready. He spied a well worn folded piece of paper on a nearby table. He glanced to check if Tamra was ready yet and then rose to pick it up.

“What are you doing?” Tamra’s voice rang out as Tom unfolded the sheet of paper.

“Looking at your…” Tom turned his head to the side to read the paper as he righted it. “… itinerary. My, you have planned things out haven’t you?”

“Give that back!” Tamra snapped as she moved to rip the paper from Tom’s hand but he moved too quick, holding the paper high above his head. Tamra took two jumps before retrieving the paper. She folded the paper back up before tucking the whole thing into her wallet.

“Now what is the plan today?” Tamra asked as she grabbed her coat, impatient to get Tom out of her flat.

“We can discuss that over breakfast because I promised you coffee. I found a place down the road that serves the best French pastries.”

“Color me intrigued. Lead the way, tour guide.” Tamra opened the door and Tom stepped through.

They took the short walk to La Gauloise and Tom held the door for Tamra. The small cafe smelled of warm bread and coffee. Tamra took a deep breath. Tom looked over and smiled at the sight of her taking in the smells, eyes closed.

“Shall we?” Tamra nodded. Tom ordered two coffees and two pain au chocolats. The cashier turned to fixed the coffee.

“Pain chocolate?” Tamra wrinkled her nose.

“Pain au chocolat.” Tom repeated with a French flair. “It’s a croissant with chocolate in the middle.”

Tamra grabbed the bag of pastries while Tom sat a nearby table. “Do you eat any meals without chocolate in them?”

“Usually yes, but it is the holidays. I like to indulge.” he raised his hands.

“Fair enough.” Tamra took a bite with the pastry shattering against her face. “So we should go to Victoria and Albert—”

“I already made the plans for the day.” Tom fished an envelope from his jacket. “Here.”

Tamra opened the envelope to find a printout for tickets to a lecture at the British Museum. “You bought tickets to a lecture?”

“I did.”

“But the lecture isn’t until 5:30.”

Tom leaned over to glance and what he already knew. “So it is. I guess we will need to do something else to fill the day.” Tom’s pulled into a smug expression.

“That’s not part of our deal.” Tom held up a finger to shush her.

“Our deal is that you get to go to one museum a day and I get to show you the wonders of Christmas.”

“But…”

“No buts, I have fulfilled by part of the bargain. Now…” Tom leaned in close to Tamra. “How do you feel about Christmas shopping?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

-

“When you said Christmas shopping, I did not expect this.” Tamra yelled after Tom down the aisle.

Tom popped his head around as he jogged back. “Did you expect Harrod’s? Personal shoppers? Glitz and glamour?”

“Kind of.”

Tom moved in close to whisper in her ear. “I’m not that kind of celebrity.” And he took off down another aisle.

“But a bookstore?”

“Foyle’s is perfect. Books are the perfect present.”

“For a nerd.”

“Are you insulting my people?” Tom said in mock hurt.

“Not at all. I am your people.” She said with a smile.

“Excellent. Now help me find a book suitable for my younger sister?”

Tamra laughed before taking off towards the fiction section. The two of them spent the better part of the morning roaming the store, picking out books as both presents and a few for themselves. Tom insisted on paying for everything and even arranged for the store hold the purchases until tomorrow when someone would pick them up. While they shopped, a light dusting of snow collected on the ground and a brisk wind blew as they stepped outside. Tamra pulled her jacket tight around her but it did little to keep the wind from chilling her bones.

“We must do something about your jacket.” Tom commented as he buttoned his own wool coat up.

“I’m fine.”

“Your teeth are chattering. You’re not fine. Just let me help you.”

Tom grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her inside a clothing store. He didn’t let go until they stood in front of a confused sales associate.

“She needs a warm coat for the inclement weather. Preferably wool.”

The sales associate looked Tamra up and down. She raised an eyebrow at Tamra’s thin jacket.

“I’m from Florida.” Tamra offered.

“I see.” the sale associate replied, a smile growing across her face. “We have the thing.” She led Tamra off to a far wall by the arm, while Tom chuckled from behind.

By the time Tom reached the two women, Tamra wore a grey wool pea coat, very similar to Tom’s.

“And you can match your boyfriend.” the sales associate said, out of earshot from Tom.

“Not my boyfriend.” Tamra hissed.

“Could have fooled me.”

“How are the two of you getting along?” Tom popped in. Tamra jumped. “You look smashing.”

“Thanks. I will wear it out of the store.”

The associate snipped the tag and Tom again insisted on paying.

“I can pay my own way, Tom.”

“I respect your wishes, but I want to pay. Consider it my gentlemanly duty.”

Tamra rolled her eyes.

“Let him pay, darling.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Tom finished the transaction, and they headed out of the store. The snow fell more steady as they stepped back out.

“Warmer?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Tom’s stomach growled. “We skipped lunch.”

Tamra’s stomach growled in response. “We did.”

“Let’s walk until we find a place to eat.”

Tamra nodded in agreement. As they walked, they passed by the Donmar Warehouse. Tom tugged on Tamra’s sleeve.

“That’s the Donmar Warehouse. I played Coriolanus there.”

Tamra noticed how Tom’s eyes twinkled as he talked about his time performing. Tamra looked at him in wonder.

“You really love Shakespeare.”

“I feel the most alive when I perform the Bard’s work.” Tom responded. He grabbed her hand for a moment and squeezed. “But right now, I may not go on living if we don’t get sustenance soon.”

“Agreed.”

They found a restaurant and sat down for a bite to eat. They continued to talk about work as they ate. Tom asked about Tamra’s job at the museum.

“I love being a curator!” she exclaimed. “Putting the exhibits together and imparting all the knowledge to our visitors. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Tom leaned onto his elbows. Not once since he met her, Tamra never spoke with such passion as she did about her job. Tom found himself hanging on her words.

“I can tell you care about your work. It is rare to come across that sort dedication and passion these days.”

Tamra blushed. “Thank you, you’re making me blush. You seemed to be passionate as well. While I don’t share your enthusiasm for Christmas, I appreciate your passion for your work and life. More people could do with a healthy dose of passion.”

“Now it’s my turn to blush.”

They finished their meal and headed off to the British Museum. The lecture was titled “A Tudor Christmas”. Not a particularly interesting topic for Tom but he figured Tamra would appreciate the history aspect. He was not wrong.

Tamra hung on every word of the lecturer. She didn’t notice Tom sneaking glances at her throughout the lecture, smiling the entire time. When the lecture ended, Tamra jumped up to move to the front. Tom waited for the room to empty before heading to meet Tamra. Tom saw here towering over the diminutive lecturer, gesturing wildly.

“Lovely talk.” Tom shook the hand of the lecture. “My friend here really enjoyed it.”

Tamra nodded. They continued to talk for a few more minutes before leaving the now empty lecture room.

-

“Did you enjoy the talk about Christmas?” Tom asked outside of Tamra’s flat.

“I enjoyed the talk about history. Christmas happened to be the topic of that lecture.”

“I bet you are a hit at cocktail parties with that winning conversational style.”

Tamra did a little curtsy and twirl. “You should see me in a dress.���

“Another time. I will pick you up tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Tom.”

“Wake up in the morning this time.”

“I make no promises.”

Tamra smiled as she extended her hand to Tom. He took it and then pulled her into an embrace.

“Just so you know, I’m not above breaking and entering.” Tom whispered into her ear.

Tamra pulled away laughing. “Goodnight, psycho.” She closed the door behind her.

Tom pulled his phone from his pocket.

“Ben. Yes I’m aware of the time. I’m sorry if I woke the kids. Yes, get Sophie on the line.”

Tom tapped his foot.

“I need a favor.”

[texthemess]

hey! I hope you feel better soon! can I request something with Steve x reader? maybe reader is Steve's boyfriend and has no idea of what's happening at the mall and somehow they got involved and they have no idea what's going on? I don't know, I just really hope you feel better

thank you so very very much for your kind words. getting this message this morning seriously made me feel so good.

i did my best with this, i hope you like it! i don’t usually write/ship steve with guys, its usually girls, but i went out of my writing comfort zone to try something new so i hope it worked! 

——————————————————————–

Steve, can you hear me?

( gif credit: joeskeery )

A groan rolled from tired throat as hands reached up above head pushing the mound of pillows forward in order to stretch. Leg fell from the side of the bed as another groan escaped the comforter. Rising from the dead, at least as Steve called it, Y/N sat up straight and stared hazily towards the other side of the room.

————

The room was a mess, god was it in need of a deep clean. If only he had the time of day to make that happen. He was a heavy sleeper and sometimes found himself sleeping most of the morning away. Part of it was partly due to a night shift taking most of his work life; on the other hand, he simply wasn’t a morning guy. It did sadly lead to undesirable mornings when there was no Harrington in the bed beside him. God was it cold without him. Even with the heat raising to the triple digits, it was so cold without him there.

Reaching towards the bed side table he lifted a cigarette, clicked his lighter a few times, and lit the stick. Inhaling deeply, fingers curled the tobacco before he exhaled the smoke into the air around him, “Shit..” he had to change shifts. One would go crazy with hours such as his.

Y/N hadn’t seen Steve much that week come to think about it. He was always at work, which again was opposite shift of his own, and then Henderson came back from his month long camp. Y/N understood seeing a friend again after that length of time. It’s not like you could just pick up the phone and call at anytime. And though he was still just a kid, and Steve being graduated high school and all, Steve and those kids had been through it all it seemed. What with Will going missing when he did and everything that came after that. To be honest, Y/N was still trying to wrap his head around it all and it was a miracle these kids came out of it, semi normally. If you could call them normal. But they meant the world to Steve which means they meant a lot to Y/N as well. Even if he still had to constantly ask about everything that happened.

Glancing to the clock, “ SHIT! “ cigarette was put out in the empty tray on the table, free hand flung the comforter to the other side of the bed as he sprung to his feet. One foot into a pant leg as he hopped around the room cursing under his breath. A second foot into the other leg and up they went. Fumbling with his belt he blew out a puff of air pushing curls from his line of vision. One might take a look at him and think him a total mess, which was only partially correct considering he was now late to his date with Steve. He had been rambling on the last couple days about something Russian. How robin and Dustin had translated and figured out some code? To be honest y/n had been far too tired to comprehend whatever his boyfriend had been rambling about.

Rushing towards the full body mirror that looked as if any second it was going to fall off the closet door; Y/N pushed hair from his face, brushed out some wrinkles in his shirt, and sprayed some deodorant to mask the lack of a shower. He was a mess, but at least he was Steve’s mess. Thank god he loved him. Knowing the two, the night would probably end in a shower as it was. So he wasn’t exactly complaining.

Cursing under his breath one last time he grabbed his wallet, house keys and made a b-line for the front door. As soon as he turned the nob and flung the door open, there stood a whole gaggle of teenagers with Nancy wheeler at the front. They looked like they had run through hell and back, “ Nancy? Wh-what the hell.. “

“ Y/N no questions! We need help NOW! El is hurt, bad. “ with that the group shuffled a groaning, half dead looking Eleven to the front of the group. Her pant leg torn and soaked in blood. Crimson dripping from her nose and tears streaming her face as Mike held her up as any second her legs would give from under her, “ wh—“ “ NO QUESTIONS HELP! “ Mike snapped at Y/N as tears threatened his eyesight. He was obviously on edge, as they all were, but Y/N was going to need some answers at some point. But that point was clearly not now.

He stood staring at the group trying to gather his thoughts, eyes glancing from each face of each teenager. Everyone looked tired, defeated. Faces no one in their right mind would say no to. And why would he? Steve of all people would understand why he was late. Unaware that Steve was even apart of this and what he had just gone through in the past few hours.

He shook his head clearing his throat and motioned them to come inside. But before they all shoved through the door El paused, “ mike…the mall..we need to…go.. “ Y/N stopped and looked at her, “ what is she talking about? “ with a bounce of his whole frame mike considered all options gaze jumping from El to Y/N only to growl in defeat, “ Alright can you grab whatever you can to help? Everyone back to the car we have to go! “

At this point what did he really have to lose? Sighing with no questions asked, he rushed back to his room and dug into a spare bag at the foot of the bed. There was a pretty good reason one would have a weird night shift like Y/N, he was a paramedic. How Steve hooked that one the world will never know. For christ sake the boy works at an ice cream parlor.

Flinging the bag over his shoulder he made his way back to the front. There Nancy stood in the door waiting while the others had packed themselves back into her station wagon. Without a word Y/N pushed past Nancy telling her to close the door behind her. It was fairly obvious why Y/N wasn’t super fond of Nancy. Yet at the same time, he had her to thank. If she didn’t break up with Steve, he probably wouldn’t have met him. At least, been able to date him as long as she were still in the picture. Still, he couldn’t forgive her for how she treated Steve in the end of their relationship.

Steve crossed his mind while they piled into the car and drove off. Being shoved into the back of the wagon digging through the bag to take a look at Els leg, it was all too familiar to work. That’s how he met Steve funny enough. His track record of getting the snot beat out of him, it was no wonder he ended up with a paramedic patching him up. He wasn’t very good at winning fist fights. That was for sure. And that night that Hargrove boy put a pretty good ding in Steve the Hair Harrington. Y/N was still thankful for how it all played out. Even though Steve is far more good looking without a massive black eye and blood dripping from his nose and scattered cuts.

Though he didn’t know how he could truly help here in this situation other than patch El up. He had no experience with these Demagorgon things. The upside down? Hell he didn’t even know what they all looked like. It’s not like the party had a photo or something. Course he did listen to all the stories Dustin had of that pet Dart. Whatever it was. If only he knew what they all were about to experience.

“ This is gonna hurt, “ he whispered to El who hesitantly nodded. All he could really do in this situation was clean the wound and patch it up. Which is exactly what he did. Whatever botch clean up job the teens did at the grocery store, as they told him the story, it wasn’t enough. But to be honest, neither was what he was about to do. She needed stitches that was for sure and they weren’t going to be able to give her that.

What seemed an eternity later the group arrived at the mall and were alerted as Nancy slammed on the brakes almost sending everyone through the windshield, “ god DAMN NANCY! “ max blurted out, “ you’re worse of a driver than I am, “ Nancy sneered at the red head as everyone piled out of the car.

Rushing into the mall it was throwing Y/N completely off. It was dead. Completely dead. But there had to be movies still playing at the theater, Steve only would have just gotten off his shift a short time ago, “ where is..wh… “ his question cut off by the sound of El shushing them. They followed and watched as El began to mess with a car alarm downstairs in the food court. Y/N titled his head as he watched her, more crimson streaming from her nose. He had never really watched her use her powers to a bigger case. Slamming a door, messing with something outside her vision, moving small things here and there. It was all pretty small stuff. But then, in that moment, this small teenage girl lifted a full car with her mind and flung it across the food court. He was pretty sure his mouth was hanging wide open.

They all rushed to the edge of the balcony and watched the aftermath of the ‘crash’. Several bodies were strung about the laminate floor. Blood pooling next to a few. They were dead. He could see that from even this distance. Suddenly, a group of people rose from behind a food vendor counter. Both groups eyes met and suddenly his whole body was on fire. Steve. How on earth did he get roped into this mess now. There next to him Robin, Dustin, and…Erica? What was Lucas’s little sister doing with them? There were so many questions he needed answered.

Without any more time passing by, the two groups ran to meet in the middle. Friends embraced and laughed together. Though the groups were happy to see each other and reconnecting to go over what all had happened in those last few days. Y/N crashed into Steves body arms flung around his neck while he took him in completely. Tears knocking on the lids of his closed eyes. He didn’t even know what all had happened but, he had a sense something was definitely wrong with this whole picture.

It seems they both were late to their date. As he pulled away to embrace lips, he finally saw his face in full. Hands crashed against the sides of Harrington’s head as he turned him and inspected every inch of his injuries. Brows furrowed with frustration as voice was loving but serious, “ Steve Harrington what the FUCK have you done this time?! “

Behind all the interlocked friends, Will Byers stood hand wrapped along the back of his neck. Swallowing hard he spoke loud but softly, “ Guys! He’s here… “

Y/Ns attention was pulled as he watched Will with curious eyes, “ Who’s here… “

————————————

Hi wow sorry it has been a super long time since I wrote anything. Apologies grammar can be bad and I have a weird way of writing. I don’t really ship Steve with guys, that’s just my preference of him, but I hope those who do ship him with the same sex like this little piece. Idk why but as I was writing it all out today it’s just how I imagined this would go.

If people like it enough I could always do a second piece.

My fics will get longer as I go. This was essentially a warm up piece. Thanks for requesting! I had fun with it

[talltalesandbedtimestories]

A View To A Winchester (Part 17)

Series Page

Summary: Julie’s starting a new life after divorce in a home with a very nice view.

A Dean X OFC story. I got this idea staring out the view of my home office window and thinking how nice it would be to have Dean Winchester to ogle.

Section Word Count: 5,800    

Section Content: fluff, flirting, angst, nightmare, PTSD, smut, R-rated language, all the sex

~~~~~

Dean had been merciful to her - or mean, depending on how you look at it - and kept his t-shirt and boxer briefs on when they prepped to share his bed. “Should grab you something in case you don’t want to sleep naked.” He offered. “I won’t talk you out of it, though.” Her heart almost exploded when he dug the red plaid flannel out of his closet. He remembered me mentioning that one. She could tell by the smirk on his face when their fingers glided over each other for the exchange.

She’d tugged off the skirt and kept on her panties. Once the shirt was buttoned over her chest she performed that age old magic trick and extracted her bra from the sleeve. He smiled, dipped into what was obviously his preferred side of the bed, and tapped the mattress. A stretched arm readied to cradle her. She curled in, careful not to hit him with a faceful of her hair which she’d normally have in a ponytail to sleep. I’ll give him this tonight, since he likes it down. He was the big spoon in this particular scenario, the other arm draped around her waist, locking her into position. She sighed. Just the right amount of warmth.

Her heart sped at the closeness. Anticipation built, expecting the inevitable exploration of her skin, curves, folds, wetness. She waited, trying to regulate the stilted breath. That’s when it happened.

Dean snored.

His heavy, steady breathing blew near her ear.  

Hero, yes. Superhero? Eh. Still falls asleep pretty quickly after an orgasm. Poor guy. It certainly took a lot out of him. A smile crept over her lips. God, his face was absolute perfection when he came. If a look can trigger ovulation, that did it.

She closed her eyes and took in the scents of the room along with sounds of Dean slumbering. The underlying spice and mix of whatever pheromone Dean gave off sleeping next to her was heady and made it hard to smell much else. Even his sweat is a turn-on. She focused to pick out the other odors layered beneath. Bourbon, leather, something metallic, and maybe gunpowder?

The desk lamp had been left on, forgotten. Her gaze returned to the tiny pictures on top of the simple oak dresser. She wanted to get a better look at his family in the morning. Wanted to ask why he never mentioned his mom. Nothing recent. Old pictures. Old memories. Old heartaches? Maybe she left a long time ago? Died? The thought made her heart ache for the little boy who looked so happy in his mom’s embrace.

She was on edge from having given him head, expecting Dean to finish what they’d started quite soon after. She was slippery and swollen between her legs. Julie always enjoyed that particular act; especially with Steve, who’d been fairly well-endowed himself. But, not as big or pretty as Dean’s. Never thought I’d call a penis pretty.

Dean adjusted, curled up even tighter against her. His dead weight leaned into her. The sounds of his breathing; the promise of him being inside her; they all made it difficult to drift off to sleep. But she did. Eventually.

Julie shifted the car into Park once she found a good spot in the shopping center lot. Ina had pointed out her own car down the row. Her forlorn expression from the passenger seat stared out the windshield. “He’s such a friendly boy. He’ll run to just about anyone willing to show him a lick of affection.”

“Don’t assume the worst. There could be a good samaritan who’s taking great care of him right now.”

Ina sighed. She was such a tiny, slim little thing, even shorter than Julie’s mom. The compact car seat she occupied appeared massive in comparison. “You’re right. And, it hasn’t even been a day yet since he got out of the yard.”

Julie unbuckled her belt. “Where did you say you live again?”

Ina wrapped a few strands of her long and shiny, raven-colored hair behind an ear. Her mocha brown complexion was flawless, ageless. Julie was curious as to how old she actually was. “Um, just down the road in Fairwind.”

“Nice neighborhood. I couldn’t find anything available when I was looking months ago.”

Ina only nodded.

Julie waited, expecting a dump of information. She’d only met this woman three times, but she’d been a flood of words the other two instances. When there was none, Julie cleared her throat. She had a busy day ahead. And a man she was dying to see later. “Well, how about you grab me some flyers so I can drop them off at a few places?”  

“Yep, I’ve got ‘em in the back seat.” Julie nodded, expecting her to exit, retrieve, and bring them back. All of a sudden, Ina burst into tears. Her narrow shoulders dropped forward and hands covered her face. “My Cocoa Bear.”

God, she was taking it really hard. Julie patted her on the shoulder. “It’s going to be alright, Ina. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car. Sooner we get them posted, the sooner you get him back home.”

She sniffled, stared at Julie, and nodded. “Okay.”

The day was sunny, warm and a tad humid. Julie shut her car door and followed Ina to her spot. A good workout would focus the tension and excitement she was battling within her mind. The night before had been restless. All she’d thought about was Dean, his hands, mouth, and that voice encouraging her to let go and whispering filthy promises before Cas showed up.

The chirp as Ina unlocked the car door melted Dean’s green eyes from Julie’s vision. Ina opened the back door and motioned to the seat. “Got a whole box full. Spent most of the morning at the copy store.” She was still sniffling. “Take as many as you want.”  

Julie smiled and leaned in. A strong whiff of incense hit her nose. The back seat was not the tidiest. She drifted back to being in Dean’s immaculate Baby the night before. She lifted the lid off the folder box and grabbed a handful. The black lab’s smiling, panting face stared back from the papers. “Cocoa certainly has a great mom.” The offhand comment left Julie’s lips as she pulled out of the car and turned back to face Ina.

“I’ll be sure to tell him that.” Ina smiled and grabbed Julie’s wrist. The touch was strong and quite unexpected from the petite woman. A flash of blue filled in the black irises of Ina’s eyes. Julie shook her head. Maybe she was more exhausted than she thought. Her mouth opened at the strange henna colored markings emerging, pushing through Ina’s skin. She felt cold. A stinging. Like bees. “Such a help you’ve been, Julie.” Her eyes flashed electric again. “Hm. You’re going to taste so sweet.”

Julie woke, gasping for air in the low light. The arms wrapped tight around her were huge. Her heart pumped. She heard the snort behind her and slowly recognized the space.

Dean.

He stirred and grunted, pulled her closer. “Hm.” It was not a moan of concern. He sounded content.

What the hell was that shit?

“Jules?” His lips were by her ear now. “Okay?” His deep voice scratched out the question.

She nodded into the pillow, feeling his biceps clench under her neck. “Yeah. I’m good. This-this is nice.” She brushed the hairs along his forearm. “I’m... just going to go use the bathroom.”

He pecked at her neck. His head dropped back. “This is nice.” He affirmed in a far away voice. She slithered out from under his embrace and stood by the side of the bed, inspecting his relaxed face. Closed eyes, slightly parted lips. “Coming back?”

“Of course.” She whispered, frowning at the question. “Go back to sleep, Dean.”

“K.” He nudged his nose into the pillow. The sight made her heart ache. He looked peaceful, younger, cares washed away if only for a short while. She wondered how soft and still his cheeks and lips would feel then, not clenched in heated anticipation or want. He floated into his own dreamland. She wondered as she spotted his eyes tracking something under his lids. But she didn’t dare disturb. Something tells me you deserve all the good dreams, Dean Winchester.

Julie tiptoed out of the room, grabbing her phone off the desk before she left, and headed into the bathroom. She clicked on the overhead light, shut the door and sat on the toilet seat. Cool porcelain against the back of her thighs was reminiscent of Ina’s frigid grasp in her dream. Nightmare? Memory? What the hell was that? A shiver started at her shoulders and trickled down her spine. She sat up straight.

One of the way too long sleeves drooped over Julie’s hand. Bringing the fabric up to her nose, she inhaled the embedded Dean scent under the detergent. The inhales and exhales dragged out slow.

Her eyes took in the functional, clean surroundings of his nicely updated bathroom. Modern, smokey grey subway tiles, lined with a lighter grey grout, had been installed with care on the floor. Her toes dug into the cushioned powder blue rug that ran the length of the walk-in shower and ended in front of the throne. Actually a pretty comfy seat.

There were fancy chrome faucets and sprayers behind clear, pristine glass doors. Those doors were a pain to clean at the old house. I was always lazy about that. Got dull and filmy. But, these? Not a water spot to be spotted. Impressive. A veined grey and white marble shower interior looked sleek and expensive. A pedestal sink and rather large mirror resided next to a repurposed bookcase storing rows of plushy grey and white towels, toiletries and male necessities. She made a mental note of the cologne he wore. The robe on the door hook produced a grin. He’d look like Hugh Hefner in that.

I wonder if he did all these updates. If not, he paid someone a decent amount of cash to renovate and make it really nice. Was it in horrible condition when he moved in or is this a really important space for him? File that question away for later.  

The nosey inventorying of Dean’s bathroom had distracted her. She then realized she should probably pee and dropped her panties and situated for the task. Her hands grabbed the forgotten phone lying nearby on the tile. She rifled through messages. There had been a handful from Cat, who’d been checking up on her daily since finding out about the ordeal.

How you holdin’ up? Let me know if you want me to bring Sal and Pep by to run amok in your backyard.

I’m not sure if this is going to help… found something, I think, related to Dean.

Check in with me soon, K?

I think it’s important for you to have all the details.

Ciao Bella.

Her stomach flipped at the one line she read over and over. I’m not sure if this is going to help… found something, I think, related to Dean.

“No.” She whispered. “Shit.” She wanted to remain ignorant. Live in this fantasy space with him for a little longer. Reality was only going to complicate things and make her question everything.

Maybe, though… maybe this is fate intervening.

She groaned.

But, he’s hot and sweet and even makes grumpy sexy. Makes me laugh. Makes me feel safe. What details are going to change all of those inherently authentic things about him?

Maybe it’s something about his family. His mom. Could fit some pieces together.

A low rap on the door shot her head up. “Jules? You okay in there?”

“Y-yeah.” She squeaked out. “Why?”

“Been gone twenty minutes.”

Shit. She frowned, stood, and pulled her panties up. A quick flush and washing of hands followed.

Upon opening the door, a wary smile met her in the dark hallway. Dean leaned into the door frame and inspected her. “Your side of the bed was getting cold.”

She waved her phone, identifying it as the culprit. “Lost track of time.”

“Can’t sleep?” He stepped closer, hesitant. He’s feeling me out. Waiting to see if I’ll hit the panic button. “Do you want me to take you home, sweetheart? Maybe you’ll sleep better. This bed’s not the comfiest.” He sighed. “I miss my memory foam.”

“Do you want me to go home?” she asked.

“God, no.” His still not quite awake features frowned. “I haven’t slept that solid in forever.”

She grinned. “That’s not because of me. That’s because you waited weeks to do what you should have been doing.”

His face lit up at her lightened attitude. “You had a little something to do with it.” He tugged at the hem of his shirt right above Julie’s knees. “Come back to bed, baby.”

Julie swallowed down a moan. Reality can wait until tomorrow. She nodded.

That smile flashed. The one that gave her a front seat to all his pearly whites. He led the way back down the hall. Low light from the open bedroom door split right between his bowlegs. He was a bulk, wholesale package of muscles and strength. She laughed when he spun and flung his body on the bed, making the headboard creak and the mattress bounce. It took some seconds for the motion to subside.

“Are you trying to break it?”

He shrugged and smirked. “Just prepping it for the workout it’s going to get soon.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You really haven’t…”

He shook his head. “No one else’s been in this bed except for me… until now. And, you’ve got me fully believin’ there’s a lot more in store. Italians do do it better. At least this full-blooded Italian sex kitten standing right here in front of me does.” He waggled his eyebrows.

Even with the comical expression on his face, she managed to feel heat rush to her cheeks. “How do you know I’m full…” She shook her head and strolled to the bed, dropping onto the mattress with as much grace as she could muster. A suggestive scoot closer had him do the same. She leaned her head upon an elbow to match his positioning. “You’ve investigated my ancestry, too? What did you do, grab a DNA sample?”

His free hand cupped her jaw. He leaned in and licked her mouth open. “Both parents from Italy. That’s as far as I went. This is as close to banging Sophia Loren in her heyday as I’m gonna get.” Peridot eyes sparkled in the dim light. “Say something in Italian.”

She groaned. “I don’t speak it well. I mean, I’ve listened to my mom and dad speak it a ton growing up. But, it never really stuck up here.” She tapped the side of her forehead. “And, Sophia Loren, really?”

Dean shrugged. “Lots of Sunday afternoons in front of the television growing up. Plus, she was smokin’ hot.” The hand skirted over her neck and shoulder, along the curves and dips of her back to rest on an ass cheek. “Try. For me.” He pushed her body in to meet his, fingers squeezing the globe. “Please.”

She sighed and shut her lids. Electric pulses flowed at the feel of him everywhere they connected. He was tight and rigid. Hot and hard. Her eyes opened, drowning into those beautiful eyes, and then she whispered, “Che cosa vuoi?”

She watched his smile double in size. “What the hell does that mean?” An innocent wonder filled his face, in direct opposition of the clothed erection he rubbed into the slit of her thighs. “And say it again.”

She giggled and moaned at the same time. “It means what do you want? Che cosa vuoi?”

“Che cosa vuoi?” He repeated. The deep throttle in his voice strummed into her core. She bit her lip at how sexy the foreign words, though stilted and choppy, dripped from that luxurious mouth. Dean’s eyes narrowed in focus. A thumb swiped over her bottom lip. “How do you say ‘kiss you’?”

The apples of her cheeks rose. “Ti bacio.”

“Ti bacio.” He repeated that as well, planting a delicate kiss, cradling her jaw. “How about ‘be inside you’?” His brows did a quick double rise.

She moaned, flustered at the request. “I don’t know. Inside is ‘dentro’. I’ll work on my translations for next time.”

Using his bodyweight, Dean collapsed Julie onto her back in a second. Air whooshed out of her lungs. He’d tucked his forearms under her armpits, the crook of his elbows wedging in place. Strong hands emerged alongside and caged her face and forced her back to arch into him.  “Hm.�� He licked her mouth. Her jaw dropped open at the way he manipulated and immobilized her head with those meaty fingers. The tongue swirled and dipped in the wetness of her mouth. “Dentro.” He mumbled. His ability to dominate and overpower ignited her skin. Lumberjack thighs parted her comparatively smaller ones. The boxer briefed cock rutted against her damp panties, wiggling into position and only increasing her fluid production.

“Dean…” She whispered.

Lips moved to her neck. His scruff burned like sandpaper against the skin. “Say my name again, sweetheart.” The words poured out hot and impatient.

“Dean.”

Dean groaned. He bit into the flesh along her collar bone. Julie gasped. Then, he sucked and worried at the same spot of skin with pursed lips and the tip of his tongue. All the while sliding his erection into the material along the folds of her pussy. He leaned up and locked eyes with her. Whatever air left in her lungs released at the raw, worn beauty of this man. “Really wanna be inside you, Jules.”

Hands she realized she’d been using to grip onto his back clenched the rippling muscles.

His lips parted, breath even. “Can we? Will you be alright?” He searched her face, she knew, for some hint of hesitance. “If it’s too soon after all of it…”

“Dean…”

His lids closed at hearing his name. “I don’t only mean what's happened recently. I mean, that’s its own bag of crap that no one, especially you, should have ever had to go through.” Eyes opened as he continued to dry hump her in the most amazing way, unhurried yet purposeful. “But, all of it… after Steve…” He sighed, relishing the feel as much as she was. “We could just keep it fun, simple, easy… just like this.”

“Surface level?” Julie questioned, gauging him now.

He smirked. “That’s your guaranteed best experience with me. No muss, no fuss.” In an instant, the carefree gesture washed away. “You want me to be honest with you. There’s a lot, Jules…”

Her lids pressed tight together. “I did say that, didn’t I? Can you be honest with me, then, in this moment, right here and now?”

His arms untangled from his stronghold. She felt the shift of his body, him pull away, leaning into the crook of her side now. Shit, why did I ask him that? “Yes.” The word came out sure, laced with heavy conviction.

Julie took a deep breath and opened her eyes. When his eyes met hers, he didn’t waver, waiting, hovering.

“Any plans on hurting me?” He raised a brow. She shook her head and tried not to laugh. “Besides kinky plans.”

A curl of a smile. “No. Of course not.”

“Are you scared about being honest with me?”

Dean shifted on his elbow, his eyes breaking contact.

That was an answer in and of itself, but Julie tried again. You don’t ask a man like Dean Winchester if he’s scared. “Worried?”

Dean’s finger played with one of her curls. He breathed in, then spoke on the release of air.  “My life was… is, still complicated. Not many people would be able to understand. Or, want to.”

She nodded, took the words time to settle around them. “Why’d you put your life at risk to search for me?”

“Aside from it being in my DNA?” His eyes drifted back and stared at her mouth. “I didn’t want to lose you. I just found you.”

She smiled. A stinging in her eyes threatened to release tears. But she batted them away with quick blinks. “That’s all the honesty I need for tonight, then.” Dean smiled. His eyes were glassy, too, and that made Julie’s heart stop for some seconds. Fingers reached up and stroked his jaw. “Maybe another question.”

Dean’s head dropped in a dramatic fashion. His brows crinkled and his eyes narrowed, accompanied by a hard stare. “One more, sweetheart.” The authoritative tone was back and Julie’s arousal returned.

“Who’s made you feel safe?” She asked, her voice trembling.

His head tilted at the question. A foreign mix of wonder and confusion spread over his face. “What do you mean?”

“Who, in your life, made you feel really safe?” She rephrased.

Dean did that mental rolodex thing she’d come to enjoy witnessing. His eyes darted away and his lips did a slight tuck back into his mouth. Julie’s stomach twisted at how long it took him to find an answer. But, she saw him come up with one. His lips popped back out. The right side of his mouth angled up. When he turned to her he stated, “Baby.”

At first, Julie thought he was calling her another term of endearment. The word finally connected in her brain to the subject matter. “Your car?”

He smiled.

Julie could feel the frown form on her lips. “What about your parents?”

“No, sweetheart.” His smile remained, though it appeared forced. “They tried. I know they did. And, maybe I felt safe before I could really remember what that was... when I was really little.” He shrugged. “Baby’s always been there. Made me feel safe. Made me feel like I had a home. Somewhere I could hide, ride.” Dean collapsed onto the mattress, on his back.

Julie shot up, leaned on an elbow to study his face. The moment was awkward, clumsy now. I’ve fucked it all up.

Dean shook his head and chuckled.

“What?”

“Sweetheart, no one’s ever asked me that before.” His lips tightened. He reached up and grasped the side of her neck. Fingers threaded into her hair, leading her face so he could study her again. “Why would you ask me that?”

Her mouth opened, then closed. “I-”

“Why would you care?” Dean interrupted. No malice in the tone. Only genuine curiosity.

That triggered a response. “Why wouldn’t I? You make me feel safe. I wanted to know a little about the person that made you feel the same way. Figure out how-” she bit her lip and tore away from his eyes.

“What?” He prodded, tilting his head on the mattress to catch her expression under the waves of cascading hair.

She struggled with the words. “Figure out how I can make you feel safe.”

His brows knit together.

“When I left this bed earlier, you asked me if I was coming back.”

That distant, unsure look flooded his face again. “That didn’t mean anything.”

She smiled. And pushed. “I’ll always come back, Dean. If that’s what you want, what will make you feel safe. You deserve that, same as everyone else.”

His green eyes widened.

Her whole body was on fire, staring back at him. It wasn’t arousal or want. She felt exposed, emotions laid out to be either scooped up or tossed away. It had not been in any way how she expected this night to turn. But, now, in the moment, it felt necessary, needed. “I’m sorry.”

Dean’s face hardened. His mouth opened a fraction. That tongue swiped the back of his bottom row of white teeth. “We done with the questions?” The hold on her neck released.

She sat up straight and tucked some hair behind an ear. Confusion flooded her brain. “Yeah.” He hopped off the bed and wandered around the mattress to his dresser. All she could stare at was the back of him, which in any other circumstance would be quite pleasant. But she wanted to garner something, anything from his expression.

A loud sigh left his mouth. “You really are something.” His head shook. The profile presented itself as he bent at the knees to rifle through his record collection. “I don’t get anything out of you for weeks and then you hit me like a ton of bricks with everything in less than a day.” Dean didn’t look over, kept his eyes on the albums. His jaw clenched when he found something, slid out the sleeve from its confines and pulled out a record. A confident twirl of the album between his hands as he rose, the sleeve forgotten on the floor.

The record rested on the turntable. A flip switched. There was crackle and static. The record spun. The speaker waited for the track to play. Dean turned and stared at Julie. He flipped her heart the way he had the album. “I was hoping to make this last. But, you’ve made that impossible now, Jules.” Arms rose over his head. Fingers tugged at the collar and he pulled the t-shirt off in an elegant peel. “I was thinking, maybe, I could hold out for a few songs. But, it’s probably only gonna be one. And, if it’s only gonna be one...” He pointed at the flannel she wore. “Take off my shirt.”

“What?”

His right eyebrow cocked. “You said you were done with questions.”

Her mouth dried up.

Finally, a smile returned. “And, don’t say you’re sorry to me. Not again.” He shook his head. “Not ever.” A stride filled with that Dean confidence made its way to the nightstand. Two fingers pulled open the drawer. He bent down and rummaged. The tap of a foil package hit the table’s surface. A knee closed the drawer.

Julie knew this was coming tonight. Had been hoping, praying even, that nothing else would prevent this from happening. The nerves, the fright, the reality of it had made her hesitate with a pool of muddy, emotional thoughts instead of pure passion and action. Then, when she thought she had fucked it all up, with the words and the estrogen induced interrogation, this complication of a beautiful man had gotten the train back on track. But even scarier, he now seemed to be all aboard with the idea of making this night mean so much more.

“Come over here, baby.” He patted the mattress in front of his standing figure.

Julie gulped and crawled over the mess of sheets and sat on the edge of the bed. Her head tilted up. He grabbed her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “So very pretty.” She thought he must have been commenting on how he looked, perfection in light and shadow. “Take it off.” The command was soft.    

Her hands found the buttons and did not spare any time to strip herself of the shirt.

His smile widened along with his eyes. “Eager, too, huh?”

She smiled.

“Good. I won’t feel so bad when this is over in minutes.” He tore the foil package open and put it back on the table. His fingertips delved into the hair at the top of her head, combed down through to end at the swell of her left breast. He pressed his warm palm right over her heart. “You know how you hear a song and you connect it to a specific memory?”

She nodded.

Dean licked his lips and catalogued every inch of her breasts with a stare that melted her insides. “I have lots of memories with this one song. All good, maybe even great. Someone might even say this song makes me feel safe.”

Julie swallowed.

“Wanna make me feel safe, sweetheart?” He grinned.

“Yes, Dean.” She didn’t hesitate in her response.

“Alright, then.” Dean broke eye contact and walked back to the record player. He cocked his head and smiled at Julie. “We’re gonna work on our night moves, baby.”

Dean could have said they were going to work on their taxes and Julie knew it would sound just as fucking sexy.

He dropped the needle in place and made a beeline toward her. A guitar strummed and filled the room. He dipped down, caught her lips with his open mouth. His arms wrapped her up, laid her down on the bed. Once again, the weight of him pressed against her side. She moaned when he rose up to his knees on the mattress, disconnecting. He hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties, and pulled them down past her hips. She brought her own knees up to assist. His lips mouthed to the lyrics as he removed the last of her clothing. Her lips tugged up at the show.

She was a black-haired beauty with big dark eyes ***

And points all her own sitting way up high

He tossed the panties to the floor and ran his hands up the length of her body, stopping to massage her breasts and give her nipples a slight twist. He mouthed the next line.

Way up firm and high

Julie giggled. He flopped down on his back, flesh of their arms rubbing, and without pomp or circumstance, pulled off his boxer briefs, singing along this time.

Out past the cornfields where the woods got heavy

Out in the back seat of my '60 Chevy

Workin' on mysteries without any clues

He fell silent now. Turned to stare at Julie. He held the open condom wrapper between two fingers and raised his brows again. She nodded. A low growl bubbled up from his throat. Her eyes dipped down to watch him work his cock. She knew it wouldn’t take long. She wanted to speak, say something. Every other time he’d wanted to hear her voice. But this time is different.

And we'd steal away every chance we could

To the backroom, to the alley or the trusty woods

I used her, she used me

But neither one cared

We were gettin' our share

He rolled the condom over his erection. His body rolled between her waiting thighs. The dominance and power was gone from the way he hovered. He kissed her lips, slow and easy. His fingers slipped into her wetness. He moaned into her mouth and lubed up his sheathed erection with her want. Every cell sparked under her skin. The tip of him poking with insistence at her entrance.

Tryin' to lose the awkward teenage blues

Workin' on our night moves

And it was summertime

Sweet summertime summertime

All of the instruments stopped for a second, then resumed their rhythm. Dean searched Julie’s face again. It was all there in those apple green eyes. The request, the need, the want. He wanted to speak, too, she could sense it. But this time is different. He pushed inside her, slow and easy, letting her accept, adjust, and respond to him as Mr. Seger sang.

And oh the wonder

We felt the lightning

And we waited on the thunder

Waited on the thunder

He didn’t ask if she was ready. He didn’t need to. Because this time is different.

He pulled back, eased inside again. His forearms held his body up for part of the sway. But when he tunnelled back, nice and slow at first, the delicious friction of his chest ran along her hard nipples. This wasn’t going to take long. Because this time is different. His pace increased, breath fumed out of his nose, jaw clenched every time he bottomed into her fully.

Dean’s rhythm was quick and steady now, firm and prodding, as the song did the exact opposite and slowed in its reminiscence. Heat rose in her core. He grabbed one of her legs, propped it up to hook onto his hip. His eyes never left hers through any of it. He found that spot deep inside. And worked. Hard. She gasped at how he lit her up from within. Grabbed his shoulders and held on. While he worked.

I awoke last night to the sound of thunder

How far off I sat and wondered

Started humming a song from 1962

She wrapped her calf tight, draped it over the curve of his tight ass muscles. He was using all of himself, drilling into her now. The sound of wood creaking, mattress springs straining. Moans toppled and stacked atop each other.

Ain't it funny how the night moves

When you just don't seem to have as much to lose

Strange how the night moves

With autumn closing in

The music stopped again. Dean stilled, froze. His forehead leaned against hers. “Baby?” He whispered.

“Yes, Dean.”

“You feel so safe.”

He pulled back and she got lost in his eyes. Her heart lodged up into her throat. He nodded with a smile and exhaled, sharp and low, as the guitar started up again. His fingers snuck between their bodies, strummed her clit. And he worked. All of him. With her. This is different.

She studied every movement of his face. The vertical line that formed between his brow, deep in concentration. The little craters that appeared above either side of his top lip, embedding into laugh lines, when he quirked up his mouth. The flare of his nostrils. The look she tried to define in his crystal green eyes boring into her, shining like glass. He brought her to release and rode the wave. His moans enveloped hers. She clenched her walls, tightening around him.

The end of the song was near and so was Dean. His mouth opened, he struggled out a strangled groan, body rigid in her embrace. And he came. Hard. His body shivered. He grinned, kissed her lips, and rolled them both to their sides. Still. Connected. This is different.

The song ended. Quiet for a few moments before the next track began. Dean swiped at her cheek. Julie felt the wetness under the pad of his thumb. She was crying. Oh, no.

Dean smiled. Pulled her in close and held her. He kissed her forehead. She forced away the tears, slowed her breathing. “Tell me those are good tears, sweetheart.” He whispered in her ear.

She nodded along the scruff of his jaw.

Kisses dabbed at her damp cheeks. “Good. Because we just made one hell of an awesome memory.”

She smiled. He kissed the apple of her cheek.

He moaned, pulled out of her, then stood up. Naked and glorious. He rolled off the condom as he spoke and tied it up. “Gotta use the bathroom. Coming back.” He wandered to the doorway, then turned back to look at her with a wide grin. “Always coming back.”

*** Lyrics from Night Moves by Bob Seger

~~~~~

Part 18

Series Page

[xserpentlife]

Forgotten - Part 1

Requested: @motionlessinblackbutler - sweets x reader where everyone forgets her birthday and she gets extremely upset and like disappears for a couple days to calm down. Sweets gets mad at everyone. She can be already dating sweet pea. And they aren't surprising her they all just get busy I guess and literally forget.

A/N: Wow this story turned into a two-parter. So here is the first part and then the next part is coming out on my next upload. Thankyou to @wayward-river​ for always being my beta. Check out her stories too.

Warnings: Cursing. I think that’s it.

Summary: Everyone forgets your birthday except sweet pea and he gets very angry at the friend group.

Word Count: 2991

Y/N POV

Throughout your entire life, your birthday was never important until you became a Serpent. When you became a Serpent you gained a family that actually cared, and your birthday finally was filled with joy rather than sadness.

Life had been hard for you until you met the Serpents, they were like a family that you never truly had. You have been in a relationship with Sweet Pea for a few years now and he had always made you feel wanted. The family you had before the Serpents wasn’t really a family and they basically tossed you out like trash.

You were beyond excited tomorrow was your birthday and every single year since you met the Serpents it was tradition to go to the river and swim. You didn’t want anything big on your birthday you just wanted the company of your friends and that’s what you were looking forward too.

You woke up to the warmth of the body that was often next to you gone. As you sat up the smell of pancakes and bacon came to your nose coming from your kitchen. You walked out and peered around the corner seeing Sweet Pea in his jeans and tank top cooking away at the stove. You went to walk out before you watched bacon grease pop up and hit him and he yelped. You tried to hold back the laugh that was forming but couldn’t.

“Ugh Y/N why are you awake I was gonna bring you breakfast in bed”

“Sorry Sweets”

‘What’s all this for” You said as you went and sat on the counter across from the stove

“It’s your birthday duh”

“You know y-”

“Yes Y/N I know I didn’t have to but I wanted to and it’s good” He turned around gesturing a piece of bacon towards you. You took it between your teeth from his fingers.

“Well if you do that we may not be going swimming today we may just be staying here”

“I didn’t do anything”

“Oh shut it” He turned off the stove plating the food and turned to place it next to you on the counter and landing a kiss on your lips. He leaned against the stove eating his food as you ate yours, the conversation going about school, the Serpent's really anything.

“Baby are you okay?”

“Yeah Pea I’m good”

“Okay well I have your first present”

“Pea… “

“It’s just something small” He reached to the top of the cabinets grabbing down a box

“That's rude, how long has that been hiding there?”

“A few weeks. It was the only place I knew you wouldn’t find it since you can't see it from the ground.” You slapped him playfully. “Hey don’t hit me, where else was I gonna hide it. Last year a week for your birthday you decided to clean the closet and the year before that you decided to tune up my bike and opened my toolbox. Nowhere is safe from you”

“Good point” You pecked him on the lips before taking the box that he was gesturing towards you. You opened it to reveal a simple black cross back swimsuit.

“Pea I love this”

“I know it’s nothing special, but I saw that your bathing suit was getting a hole in it and I knew you hadn’t bought one in a while so I don’t know I hope you like it”

“Pea I love it, and it is special because you pay attention and you care, come here” He walked in between your legs as you set the box next to you. You wrapped your arms around his neck and hugged him. “You know your always the best part of my birthdays”

“I love you Y/N”

“I love you too” You stood there for a while just wrapped in each other's arms

“Pea I think we should get dressed to go soon”

“It’s your day we can do whatever you want”

“Everyone is meeting us there right?”

“Yeah when we talked last week that’s what they said”

“Do we need to bring anything?”

“Not really, Fangs said he would bring some blankets, Toni said she has the S'mores like always”

“Alright then I am going to get dressed and we can go” You pecked him on the lips before running to the bedroom with the new suit he bought you. You threw your hair in a bun and grabbed the sunscreen and two towels stuffing them into a bag. Pea came in as you were putting the suit on.

“Y/N that suits looks… incredible”

“Thanks, you picked a good one” He went over to the drawer talking off his jeans and slipping into his swim shorts. You wanted to tease him so you walked over lacing your fingers under the hem of his shirt. 

“I don’t think you need this since we will be swimming”

“You want me naked in public?” he wore a shocked facial expression which made you laugh.

“No, but maybe later… in here?”

“Oh I like the sound of that now let's go before I try and take off your shirt”

“Oh so now your the one teasing huh big guy?” He leaned down throwing you over his shoulder and walking to his truck.

“Sweets put me down!”

“Fine, but I’m putting you in not down because we are leaving, now” He placed you in pecking your cheek with a kiss.

“You’re an actual dork”

He got in starting up the truck and driving to the river, once you arrived you realized that no one was there yet which was odd considering usually everyone showed up before you did. You hopped out of the truck grabbing the bag and Sweet Peas hand when he came around. You stripped off your shorts right away jumping into the water.

“Sweets come on” you watched as he cannonballed right night to you and swam up holding his nose.

“That may have been a bad idea I feel the water in my head” you laughed splashing him. You swam and messed around jumping on his back him holding you like a baby because he thought it was funny and so much more. You got tired of swimming so you got out of the water and sat on the ground grabbing your phone to see if you got texts from anyone. You looked at the time and realized you had been swimming with Pea for almost two and a half hours. He came up behind you leaning over to look at the time. He grabbed his phone out too to see if there were any messages. To stop the thoughts racing through your brain you spoke trying to give yourself a sense of hope.

“Maybe they got busy I’m sure they will be here soon”

“Of course they will baby I am gonna go get some wood for the fire tonight you wanna come?”

“Yeah” You walked around with Pea grabbing the wood and the kindling that you would need for the fire and hoped that when you came back everyone would be there. They may have forgotten to come earlier and they won’t be able to swim but the bonfire would be fun. Your heart broke though when you came back and no one had shown. Pea tried talking to you but you weren't responding, you told him you were gonna go sit on the dock as he started getting the fire ready. It was weird usually they were there before you so for them not to show up was really unusual. You heard a motorcycle and turned around hoping it would be one of them but it was just someone driving by. Pea got the fire started so you went and sat down next to him. It was nice for a while staring at the fire and just being with him but then all you could think of was the fact that your friends hadn’t shown up. It was dark now and there was no point of waiting longer they weren’t gonna show you didn’t want to be there anymore.

“Pea, can we go home?”

“You sure you don’t want to stay?”

“Yeah it isn’t worth it”

“If you wanna leave we can. Go wait in the truck, I’ll grab the stuff and put out the fire” You stood up dusting off your shorts and hopped into the truck. You didn’t even acknowledge Pea when he got in. You felt his hand on your thigh as he began to drive away. You got back to the trailer and walked right inside. You stepped into the shower before Pea could even say a word to you. When you got out and walked to the bedroom you saw he left clothes on the bed. One of his sweatshirts and a pair of your shorts. You got dressed while hearing the shower run from him being inside. You sat in bed with your knees curled to your chest and staring at the wall. You soon heard the water turn off and you felt two arms wrap around you. You turned around to see Pea with a candle in a muffin, he knew you hated cake. The little things that he always remembered making you smile.

“Pea”

“Look you didn’t get to blow it out at the river so you're blowing it out here. You have to.” He was such a dork but even when you were sad he could make you smile. You blew out the candle with the wish that you hadn’t been forgotten. You split the muffin in half giving a side to him as you ate the other. He took the candle tossing it in the trash can before coming and sitting in front of the bed.

“I know this wasn’t a perfect birthday, but I still have one more gift I want to give you” he handed you a black box. You opened it to reveal a circular necklace with a Sweet Pea flower in it.

“Pea I love this”

“You always say you wish you had a part of me with you at all times so I figured in a way this could be that. I know it’s cheesy it’s just a nickname-”

“It’s perfect” you sat up on your knees kissing him and then hugging him. “I love it, really”  Sweet Pea pulled away looking at you with a sad expression “You didn’t get your birthday smores why don’t we go make some”

“It’s fine”

“No, it is a tradition you need a S'more”

“We don’t have the stuff”

“I ran to the store while you were in the shower, and we can use the stove if you want” You nodded your head and he dragged you to the kitchen. You talked with him as he made the smores, he always made them perfectly. After you were both done you went and laid in bed. Your head on his chest while his hand stroked your hair.

“Thank you”

“For what princess?”

“Being you, making this birthday incredible even though it was sad” you looked up at him pecking his lips

“You know I would do anything for you. You don’t need to thank me” you laid in silence not being able to sleep with the thoughts coming into your mind.

“Pea, why do you think they didn’t show up”

“I don’t know baby, I wish I did. I wish that I had an answer cause it makes no sense to me.” A tear rolled down your cheek and onto his chest. He sat the both of you up wiping another tear off your cheek.

“Y/N don’t cry”

“Pea you’re the only one that didn’t forget about me they all did. They all forgot me like trash just like my parents did. Your the only one who cares. How could they forget my birthday? It’s not even that they didn’t show it wasn’t a text or anything they literally forgot. I thought they were family” He held you tighter as you cried knowing that what he said wouldn’t help. He held you until you fell asleep. You woke up the next morning to arms wrapped around you. You looked up to see Sweet Pea looking at you.

“How long have you been up Pea?”

“Only like 10 mins”

“Why didn’t you get out of bed?”

“You were warm and I was your pillow and I liked it” he blushed digging his head into your shoulder.

“You're cute when you blush” You planted a kiss to his cheek before he sat up giving you a kiss on the lips.

“Y/N do you wanna go and swim today? If you don’t want to we don’t have to I just thought it might be fun”

“I'd love to go with you” You both got out of bed and got dressed heading to the River. Once you got there you laid out two blankets onto the dock and both Pea and yourself laid down. Your hands intertwined and you just laid there together enjoying being in each others company. Well, that is what was happening before you both got water sprayed on you. You sat up ripping your sunglasses off to see Fangs in front of you and Toni walking down the dock.

“Hey Y/N, Hey Sweets” That’s all they had to say. They forgot your birthday and that was it, did they even know.

“What’s up guys how was your day yesterday?” You had to know, did they forget.

“Mine was good went to Kevin’s and hung out”

“It was good Cheryl and I lounged all day” You felt Pea squeeze your hand. He knew full well what was going through your mind.

“Y/N let’s go back to the trailer”

“Wait why are you guys leaving?” You watched Fangs climb up onto the dock

“Yeah don’t leave we just got here” you didn’t say a thing but you knew Sweet Pea was about to. You looked up at him tugging on his arm.

Sweet Pea’s POV

I had to say something she did not deserve to feel how they made her feel. She looked up at me pleading “Pea don’t”.

“I’m sorry Y/N I have to say something. You want to know why we are leaving? We are leaving because of both of you. I can’t fucking believe what you did” Toni and Fangs looked confused. “Oh, and you can’t even fucking remember what you did either. Do you know what yesterday was? No? Well, let me tell you that you both should have been here. You both were supposed to be here for Y/N’s birthday but you fucking forgot. I can’t fucking believe you would forget. You know how much it means to her and you forgot���

“Y/N I'm so sorry”

“Oh my god Y/N” Toni reached to grab Y/N’s hand but I tucked her into my side before she could.

“Don’t Toni. You both didn’t even remember so don’t act like you're sorry now”

“Me too Y/N I should have remembered I can’t believe I didn’t even think about having anything to do yesterday when I went over Kev’s. You forgive us though right”

“But I am sorry we’ve all just been so busy I mean I’ve been at the speakeasy working it just slipped my mind” I looked to her but knew she wouldn’t say anything.

“You both know full well how much her birthday means to her and you just forgot. You didn’t even send a text. If you couldn’t show up that would've been fine, but you didn’t even care enough to remember. I was the one there last night. I was the one trying to help her forget and help her still have a good birthday, and she did until she realized her best friends forgot and she cried herself to sleep. So we’re leaving I don’t care what you say or what you do but you need to make this right” I grabbed her hand and the bag and started walking to the truck.

Y/N POV

Sweet Pea grabbed the bag holding onto your hand and walking to the truck with you. You heard Toni and Fangs screaming how sorry they were but honestly, you still didn’t know how to feel. If they really cared could they honestly have forgotten? Pea started driving away and you noticed how tight his grip was on the wheel. He soon pulled into the trailer lot and just sat there. You put your hand on top of his.

“Thank you, Pea. You didn’t have to do that, they are your friends too and what if they are mad at you”

“I don’t care they did something really shitty to you. You may not say it but I know and they know how much your birthday means to you, I don’t give a shit if they were busy or not they shouldn’t have forgotten. The could have at least sent a text message saying they couldn’t show” he pulled you into a hug, but you were tired of being sad.

“Can we just forget about it and watch a movie or something?”

“Of course you go in and pick I'll grab the bag out of the back”

You walked in putting on Y/F/M. Sweet Pea then came in and went to the bedroom changing into basketball shorts and a t-shirt. When he came back out he threw you one of his flannels and his shorts and you went and got changed. You came back out to him laying on the couch holding the blanket up and waiting for you to come and sit with him. You did, you watched the movie and cuddled with him. He was all you needed, he would always be there even if other people wouldn’t be. You wished you could forgive Fangs and Toni but truly you didn’t know how.