#and since then i had to stop seeing my therapist since she moved away

[captainchokchok]

Lol I'm very lonely fuck

[denwritesandcries]

Fall(ing for You) – S.C

Pairing: sam carpenter x soft goth!reader

Summary: Sam is certain that Tara's new quiet friend may turn out to be Ghostface, unfortunately – or not –, that friend is you.

or, it takes the help of tara and a dog for sam to finally come to her senses.

Word count: 6,0k.

Content: scream 6 but without the killing, r's 23, cursing, wingman tara ft. yr dog, jokes abt r being ghostface, fluff, pining, sam falling first AND harder, silly movie references.

Note: hey guys, It's been a while since I've written for scream but I rewatched it recently and finally got some inspiration again! I describe the reader a little more in this but it won't really affect anything if you choose to ignore it.

English is not my first language.

Tara made a new friend.

Sam still isn't sure exactly, but the only plausible explanation for the way Tara has been acting lately is that her sister met someone interesting enough to keep her attention so that she gave everyone a break from her tantrums and reckless behavior since their new start outside of Woodsboro.

Now, that could be a good thing, it had been months since the kids started college and they were all doing relatively well. Mindy had Anika, Chad had Ethan and also there was Quinn, even though she wasn't very close to anyone. Tara should have someone too.

The problem is that Sam has no idea who this person is. Tara just won't tell her.

You see, Sam understands that she might have been a little too protective of her sister and that this made Tara's behavior become defensive towards her. Her new therapist – after she got rid of that quack – is helping her work through that, okay? But curiosity and worry were eating away at her insides. The curfews, the tasers and pepper sprays, and especially the ID checks were all important to keep them safe, dammit! Mindy and Chad had no problem with it, and it was only after all the appropriate measures were in place that Sam could breathe and let these new people be a part of their lives. Not knowing this so-called friend, let alone who they were, was driving her to the brink of a breakdown.

She was trying to give her some space, probing with subtle questions here and there and the most she got was an eye roll and ‘It’s just a sophomore I met at the film club, haven't you said I should try to be part of something that didn’t involve frat parties?’

Well, at least it wasn’t a boyfriend, given the lack of dreamy sighs, giggles into the phone and late-night escapades. That was good. They already had enough problems to deal with and a new relationship so quickly was the same as asking for a ghostface to go for them again and Sam hadn’t been back in Tara’s life long enough to know how to deal with this part of being a big sister yet.

Sam had understood that she wouldn’t meet this mysterious person for a while, at least until her sister’s tantrum had passed, and between two shitty jobs and trying to keep a structured life being responsible for a bunch of teenagers in the big city, she couldn’t find it in herself to insist on the subject any further and get the risk of causing a fight. She thought it would be forgotten.

Now just imagine Sam's surprise when she came home one night after a long, exhausting shift, expecting to eat the leftover pizza she had hidden in the fridge and fall into a deep sleep, only to be knocked over by an noisy and strange dog with a piece of pizza in its mouth as soon as she opened the apartment door. Her pizza.

“Koda!” Someone called. Someone unfamiliar. It wasn’t just the dog, there was a stranger in her house.

Sam’s hand instinctively moves to reach for the taser hidden in her jacket when a pair of black-clad legs show up in her vision. Does Ghostface work with dogs now? She wonders in confusion for a moment, and has given up on the voice changer?

The only thing stopping her from tasing this potential killer in front of her is the pure bewilderment and Tara’s laughter filling the room.

“Oh my god,” the figure bends down, picking up the dog who turns out to be a very excited puppy, the pizza falling from its mouth and onto her shirt, getting it all over her, “I’m so sorry.”

It’s a girl, a face she’s never seen before, looking completely mortified.

“Hey, Sam,” Tara stops beside her, a barely hidden tone of satisfaction in her voice, “This is my friend. I thought you’d like to meet her.”

It's safe to say that Sam didn't like Tara's new friend at all.

“You didn’t think about telling me you were bringing someone?” Sam exclaimed, rubbing her temples wearily, “Especially that Lydia Deetz project right there? I almost shocked her in the middle of the hallway!”

Quinn shifted from where she was leaning against the counter in the small impromptu meeting and didn’t bother to hold back her laugh, “Nah, I think Tara would fit that role better.”

“Quinn,” Sam groaned exasperatedly.

“If I had told you you would have said no,” Tara shrugged.

“Yes! Because we don’t know her!”

It was quite awkward sitting on the couch in their living room less than five feet away from the kitchen and being able to hear every word spoken as if you weren't right there, with your messy dog ​​happily chewing on the sock on your ankle.

This wasn't the turn you expected your night to take when you decided to accept Tara's sudden invitation for a movie night, visiting her off-campus for the first time since you became friends.

You met her at the start of the school year, the day she showed up for a film club meeting before anyone else arrived, well, anyone except you. She seemed completely lost and suspicious, even though she was clearly struggling not to show it, which made you like her right away.

Getting attention and starting conversations was never really your thing, this whole club thing wasn't either, honestly, but you ended up being one of the last older members to join with most of the others having recently graduated and the responsibility of looking after the new freshmans gradually fell on you. Most of the time you kept to yourself, preferring the behind-the-scenes side of things to participating in the long-winded debates of high school teens obsessed with slashers and making Stab parodies, but you noticed the way Tara seemed desperate for any sense of normalcy beneath her laid-back facade and the whispers of murder that haunted her.

You took what seemed like a rabid kitten under your wing and ended up cornered by the personification of a Doberman because of it. Talk about doing good deeds and stepping out of your comfort zone. What a joke.

Tara’s older sister, Sam, if you got it right, stared at you with narrowed, suspicious eyes – just like Tara when you first approached her – towering over your figure that tried to look smaller than it actually was on the couch, as if she was trying to learn every little hidden detail about you.

“So…” you began hesitantly, wanting to break the awkward silence that had ensued, “you have such a beautiful house.”

“Aren’t you too old to hangout with a freshmen?" Sam cut in coldly, one eyebrow perfectly arched in distrust.

You sighed, this conversation sure started off very well, “I’m 23,” you cleared your throat, “Tara’s in the same club as me, and I’ve just been helping her with some classes I used to take when I first started here.”

You hear Tara’s distinct chuckle, clearly amused by your frustration, which doesn’t help your situation much. What a wonderful friend, indeed.

Sam hummed with fake indifference and the other two housemates watched the exchange intently, eyes darting between you like they were at a tennis match, amused by the sight of Sam trying to intimidate the poor unsuspecting twit that you were.

A great friend, for sure. Ugh, this is why you don’t sponsor obviously troubled kids.

It’s not like Sam Carpenter is really intimidating or scaring you out the way she seems to want to, she has bags under her eyes and a greasy pizza stain on her shirt and you’re a grown woman, for God’s sake! It’s just that it was extremely embarrassing to cause a scene like that, especially with someone who you really wanted to make a good first impression.

Interacting so much socially lately was becoming relatively exhausting and you expected it wouldn't become a thing, as you were feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything. You hoped this would be the last big meeting you had for a while. Tara had told you a lot about her sister, mainly about how it was a pain in the ass to always have someone hovering over her, but it was something you never took seriously because of the way she sounded when she talked about it, too loving for someone who hated the situation so much. No, Sam was important and Tara had insisted that you meet her after doing the same with the twins just a few days ago. You had carefully planned how it would happen, what clothes you would wear and what you would say and now your chance to make things right was ruined, the words seeming to have escaped you in a flash. You were reserved, quiet, small in the midst of so much hustle and bustle, used to watching everything go by from the safety of the shadows. Being a mouse was easy.

“Is that all you have to say?”

Less easy when caged with a lion.

“Look,” you tried again, silently squirming as your pup start sniffing Sam’s combat boots furiously as you stood to pick him up, “I really didn’t want to cause any trouble or misunderstanding, Tara called me earlier while I was walking this little guy and insisted it would be okay if I came over for a movie. I can leave now if you want to, I’m really sorry for… well, all of this.”

You noticed Sam's expression became conflicted, as if she didn't know exactly what to make of you standing in the middle of her living room without showing any threat and wasn't used to people actually listening to her on sight. Still, she wasn't going to give up that easily.

“Great,” Sam nodded, her voice sounding less firm, “go then.” She pointed directly at your dog, now sitting at her feet with its fluffy head tilted to the side in a guiltily innocent manner, “And make sure to take that pizza thief with you.”

(You swear he looked personally offended.)

“What? No!” Tara seemed to realize that her little game could backfire and came out from behind the counter in your defense.

“Tara—”

“Come on, Sam, it's movie night!” She stomped her foot loudly, “I refused the invite to Jason's party for that, we were marathoning all the Texas Chainsaw Massacres!”

You don’t even have to be good at reading people to know that Sam had lost that fight the moment Tara looked at her with pleading eyes, knowing that there was no way to blame her for simply doing what she asked.

That didn’t stop Sam from rolling her eyes and huffing in irritation.

“Fine,” she practically growled, shifting her attention back to you, “But I’m gonna keep an eye on you, so you better not act all smart and keep that fleabag away from me.”

“His name’s Koda.” You pointed out, before softening, “And thank you, I promise I’m not gonna—”

“Shush.”

Sam was sure this was all part of an act of yours, just the first step to infiltrate their lives and pull the rug out like others have done before, because no one in their right mind would sit quietly next to someone who nearly shocked and threatened them in many ways just a few minutes ago.

Especially if that someone is burning holes in your head with their eyes, like she's doing now.

Sam watches shamelessly and intrigued, shooting daggers at your figure as you lean back with Tara babbling enthusiastically between you, your puppy completely knocked out on her lap, oblivious to the sounds of death and fake blood spurting from the TV. She notices the way you effectively ignore her, responding to Tara’s remarks with genuine interest, even if your voice doesn’t match her enthusiasm.

You remained quiet beyond those moments and the tiredness along with your lack of sudden movements made Sam feel secure enough to leave the room and finally take a shower – because along with everything she never saw much fun in these movies like Tara –, warning you that it was better for everyone to finish the night when the movie ended.

(She also forced Quinn to take her place on the couch and promise to scream if anything happened. You didn't comment on that either.)

Sam only falls asleep when she hears the sounds of goodbyes coming from the living room and the door house being closed, finally relaxing after all the interaction, deciding that it was enough. You could have been at her house, but that doesn't mean she would let you come over again.

You come back, because of course Tara doesn’t give a damn about Sam’s warnings about being careful around strangers – incessantly claiming that you’re not a stranger – and there you are at the next game night that Chad insisted on making a tradition.

At least there’s no sign of the shirt-destroying furball this time and there are pizzas smelling good on the kitchen counter.

“‘Sup, Sam!” Chad greeted loudly as she walked through the door, waving excitedly from the couch, “We’re playin’ uno!”

Her eyes landed on you, who waved at her with a small, tight smile, awkwardly sandwiched between Anika and Ethan, the way you stood out among them so comical that Sam suppressed a snort. She decided to join in without much protest, someone responsible still had to watch you, after all.

Sam wouldn’t admit to anyone, absolutely anyone, that she was enjoying the evening, listening to the heated exchanges as everyone got competitive. Strangely, she noticed that you didn’t try to engage much in the conversation, just like the other night, seeming happy to just be there. She thought you had been withdrawn then because of her behavior towards you, but maybe you were just shy.

That made her raise an eyebrow, Tara didn’t usually embrace introverts. Actually, she had always been pretty popular even before Sam left, if she remembered correctly, so this was new. She felt a small piece of curiosity spark inside her instead of more mistrust as she expected and it disconcerted her.

“The whole point of the 7 card is that you're not supposed to talk, man!” Mindy throwing chips at Ethan interrupted Sam's flow of thoughts.

“This rule is stupid! The manual doesn't even mention it, read it for yourself!” Ethan shuffled the cards wildly – ​​everyone at the table had seen his hand – pointing, “And you’re talking too!”

“Whatever! Nobody reads the fuckin manual to play uno, Ethan!”

Tara groaned, “Guys, just shut up and everybody buys a card.”

“But that’s not how you play!”

She decided to abandon the game and all the fuss in favor of getting some air and a slice of pizza and was surprised to find that her favorite was still untouched, which was a miracle in such a crowded house.

“Tara said that you liked this flavor,” your voice coming from nearby startled her and Sam saw you gesture to the box in front of her, “My treat, for the other day.”

She cleared her throat hesitantly, “You didn’t have to.”

“I did,” you dismissed with a wider smile, “My dog ​​left you without dinner.”

Sam didn’t respond, but you leaned against the counter next to her anyway, picking at the dark polish on your nails casually, listening to your friends arguing in the background.

“Get tired of the crowd?” Sam asked, deciding that ignoring you wasn’t an option since you clearly weren’t leaving.

“Yeah,” you agreed, shrugging with an odd laugh, “I guess I’ve had enough socializing for one day.”

Sam wasn’t sure why she didn’t just send you away then, seizing the perfect chance to dismiss you like she’d wanted all along and avail everyone's presence to remind that you weren’t welcome, but that strange spark flared in her and made her smile unconsciously, more sincere than the previous tense ones.

“Oh, I know what you mean,” she agreed slowly.

Your expression brightens in surprise, as if you expected a cold, blunt rejection or maybe a slap (probably both) and Sam feels a bit guilty by it. Sighing, she waves you towards the apartment’s tiny balcony, silently inviting you to join her, to which you respond with a firm nod as you watch her unwind the chain on the sliding door – they keep everything locked up tight now – and follow her.

Sam swears she’s not doing this to be nice or anything, all she wants is to repay you for your politeness, that’s all.

The night breeze is refreshing and sends pleasant shivers down your arms and shoulders as Sam leans against the railing and the two of you fall silent. It’s pleasant, actually.

Sam takes a moment to look at you, like, really look at you for the first time since you met and her breath hitches.

Your relaxed features look cheerful and are well-emphasized by the makeup you’re wearing – she tries to search her memory and gets frustrated when she can’t remember if it’s the same style as the night you met – your hair blows a little in the wind and your clothes just fit. Every single thing about you seems to have been specially made to be this way, charming, beautiful.

Your elbow brushes hers in the small space as you lean in to better contemplate the dreary, empty New York sky and Sam’s skin is burning and she doesn’t understand why.

Sam didn’t realize, through all the haze of anger and suspicion and tantrum, until she was touching a pretty girl, that you were, in fact, a pretty girl.

Shit.

“You’re trying so hard not to like her that I’m getting embarrassed for you.”

It’s late. Everyone has already left, including you, who went early claiming you had to work the next morning. Tara should be in bed by now, but she’d be upset if Sam told her to do that, so she doesn’t say anything.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sam dismisses, packing up the last of the leftover pizza to put in the fridge.

“But you do,” Tara hums smugly, stifling a yawn, “Just admit that you were wrong and that I’ve made a friend who’s not a potential serial killer. And that you might have a crush on her. I saw you two on the balcony.”

“It wasn’t like that,” she grumbles, “And I wasn’t wrong for being worried that you brought home a stranger without telling me, even if she’s not dangerous.”

“Ha!” Tara points out, “So you admit she’s no danger.”

Sam sighs tiredly, bringing a hand up to massage her temple, “She can keep coming over for movie nights or whatever if that’s what you're asking me.”

Tara cheered, jumping up from where she was sitting on the counter to finally go to sleep. She stopped just before turning the corner to her room.

“Seriously though,” she caught Sam’s attention, “You guys have more in common then you might think, that’s why I like her. I think you could too, if you get to know her better.”

“That’s impossible, Tar,” Sam says weary, looking at her sister with the most done expression, “I don’t ‘get to know’ anyone, I already have all the people I need in my life.”

“Maybe you’ll be surprised,” she shrugged, “It would be good for you anyway.”

Sam's approval was all Tara needed to make you a regular fixture in their lives and make movie nights an official thing. Sam usually walks in when they're in full swing, with the two of you deep in conversation about the completely random movie you decided to watch that day, and now she greets you back instead of ignoring like she did before and you look happier every time she does it openly.

She finds excuses to wander around the living room and kitchen when she hears Tara pause the tv for whatever reason, just so she doesn't leave you unsupervised in their house – it was still too early to rule out all the care, after all. It ends up making her feel kind of ridiculous, because, hell, she shouldn't have to make excuses to wander around her own house! But you guys talk during these moments, sometimes.

Sam learns more about you as time goes on, and she tells herself that it's just gathering information, that you're not friends at all, but she finds herself soaking up every bit of detail. What are you majoring in, how long have you been in town, if you live close to campus like most students or if you have roommates like them.

(Actually, when she thinks about it now, Sam probably sounded more like a maniac trying to find out where you live, but at least you didn’t call her out on it.)

Then movie nights are joined by study sessions that Tara insists on having as her first week of finals approaches, and you manage to convince Sam to let you bring your puppy too so he won’t be alone for so many hours and she can act a little more normal around you and have a conversation that doesn’t sound like a job interview. You tell her about the movies you like – which consist of more than just an extensive list of slashers like she initially assumed – in a loud and excited tone instead of your usual repressed one, and it stirs something inside her, which leads to several other facts. Your favorite color, what kind of music you like, what you do when her sister isn't dragging you somewhere, and why you decided to adopt a dog so young when you already had so many other responsibilities.

“He helps me not feel alone,” you replied, looking deep into her eyes, “my roommate graduated last year and moved out. I guess I couldn’t stand coming home to empty houses, you know? And he’s my guard dog, he takes care of me and I take care of him. The little guy might be small but knows how to do damage.”

She could relate to that, in part.

And then you start asking too, suddenly and Sam finds herself with a dilemma after so long avoiding your attempts to get to know her. She’d rather remain closed off.

But a trade isn’t a fair trade unless she gives you something back, is it? And you’ve been quenching her thirst for knowledge for a long time now, you gave her a lot.

So, during one night when you insist on helping her make dinner, she confides in you – somewhat reluctantly – that she really enjoys cooking, especially healthier meals. She doesn't look at you, nor does she say it clearly but still, you listen and Sam is surprised when she finds herself speaking.

“You really should ask her out.”

And of course, Tara is always close enough to raise an eyebrow with a knowing look at her on practically every occasion.

“I've told you already, it's not like that.”

“You're cuddling her dog right now.”

“Just so he stays quiet and doesn't disturb you two! Shouldn't you be studying, by the way?”

“Ugh, you’re so annoying.”

Sam can almost, almost admit that you're her friend too.

(Though she kinda wished it were a little more than that.)

Movie nights evolve into sleepovers, because Sam argues that it’s simply too late and dangerous for you to come back alone and she feels embarrassed – and guilty as much – when Quinn brings up that it has always been dangerous and she didn’t mind letting you go before, when she didn’t care about you.

Now there are some of your clothes in a drawer Tara set aside for you just like a colorful food bowl in the living room for your dog – Mindy jokes that it's theirs now – and there’s rarely a day that goes by where she doesn’t see you.

And when you don’t come over, Tara makes sure to remind her of how anxious she looks waiting for a knock on the door and how she lights up when you greet her first when you finally arrive.

“I swear that now she comes here more to see you than me.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“Yeah, sure,” she huffs, “And when are you gonna make a move again?”

“Never, Tara.”

Sam hasn't heard a thing about you in days. Tara said yesterday that you ended up getting really busy with a college project, preparing a presentation that, her sister quotes, 'needs to be perfect because public speaking is horrible and there's a big chance I'll embarrass myself.'

It's not that Sam asked, it's just that she doesn't text you often and Tara thought it would be convenient to talk about it out loud when she was on the phone with Mindy.

Anyway, it doesn't really matter, it's not like you two are close. You are Tara's friend. If it weren't for her, you two wouldn't even have a reason to see each other. There's no reason to be so stressed.

But she misses you anyway. She's having a shitty day at her shitty job and everything seems to go by even slower because Sam knows that when she gets home at night you probably won't be on the couch waiting with the soft smile she's grown accustomed to looking forward and if she has to deal with another group of rude teenagers she'll freak out.

The sound of the bell ringing at the entrance draws Sam’s attention back to the counter and she ends up face to face with the person who has been on her mind all day.

“Sam!” you approached with a tired smile, your dog wagging his tail happily on a leash in one hand and a paper bag in the other, “I was looking for you.”

You'd never visited her at work before, she didn't even know you knew where it was, having only mentioned it in passing, but there you were, with the smile she wanted to see and bags under your eyes.

“Hi,” she cleared her throat, feeling her face heat up. Damn, she looked like a teen girl with a crush, “I didn't expect to see you here, what, uhm, what do you need?”

You snorted at her flustered attending voice. Seeing her show any kind of nervousness was very unusual.

“Tara called me today demanding I get out of the house for a bit and ‘touch some grass’, so I decided to bring this buddy along, he was begging me for a proper walk,” you shrugged, “And she asked me to bring your lunch.”

Sam paused at that, Tara definitely didn't make lunches for her, much less go to the trouble of delivering them like that.

“...Thank you,” she accepted the paper bag you held out delicately, eyeing the package suspiciously. You held back a giggle when she looked at you again, “Anything else?”

“Oh, um,” you shifted your weight from one foot to the other, obviously nervous, “I’m taking Koda to the park nearby and I thought maybe you’d like to come with us. If you can, of course.”

Sam couldn’t really, it was still a few hours before her shift ended at the coffee shop, but she didn’t want you to leave without the promise of seeing you again.

“Of course,” she found herself replying instead, “I can meet you there in a few minutes.”

She knew she’d made the right decision when you gifted her with one of your warm smiles.

“Okay! Nice,” you nod, absently twirling your dog’s leash around your fingers, startled by the sudden, loud bark he lets out at the delay, breaking the oblivious bubble you were in, “Alright, I should go before he starts trying to jump over the counter.”

Sam barely hears the sound of the bell announcing your departure over how loudly her heart pounds in her ears.

It takes a lot of willpower and her last pack of good cigarettes to convince her insufferable coworker — who’d watched the whole thing with a bored expression and loudly chewing gum while cleaning the coffee machine — to cover the rest of her shift. He ended up ordering her lunch too, thinking it might be something special, only to complain when he was met with a sad peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a carton of warm apple juice. Tara really didn’t cook… but then why had she done that?

(She laughed at him anyway.)

“You owe me, Carpenter,” he grumbled, taping a note to her arm that had fallen out of the package.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

Sam was out the door before he could change his mind.

Taking a deep breath of the damp autumn air, she picked up the yellow post-it note curiously, recognizing her sister’s handwriting immediately.

‘u looked so depressed lately that I

decided to send u a gift

DO something this time

good luck!!’

She knew. She fucking knew that smartass had set her up. Sam should have guessed it before. Tara would never let her get away with this without doing something with her own hands. At least she hadn’t brought Mindy into the scheme this time.

The park you had mentioned was more like a small square and with the rainy cold weather of the last few days, it was pretty empty. Sam could spot you without difficulty, sitting on one of the few benches watching the scenery and she made her presence known when she got close enough.

“Can he even sit still sometimes?” Sam asked, hands in her bomber jacket pockets, pointing with her chin at the dog playing alone on the grass. You moved a little so she could sit next to you and subtly moved closer when she did.

“It rained last night and he's a big fan of puddles,” you chuckled, “I guess he's just excited, we haven't been out much lately.”

He wasn't the puppy he'd been when Sam had first seen him a few months ago and the sight of him running around the trees chasing flowers and stray twigs was actually quite funny.

“He's so covered in mud that it looks like a bear.”

“Well, his name's Koda,” you pointed out amusedly, “I would have called him Pongo but he always looked more like a small bear than a dalmatian anyway.”

She snorted, “If you say so.”

Sam couldn't remember a time when she felt so relaxed, with the weight of your shoulder resting against hers, enjoying the weather of the early season, the ground covered in orange and yellow leaves framing your surroundings.

She couldn't stop the restlessness she felt inside her chest, watching your profile. Feeling warm inside, but also shivering with a terrible fear of ruining everything. Do something, do something, do something echoing like a mantra in her head.

Sam took a deep breath. She'd faced murderers before, for God's sake! She could be braver than that.

"So..." She coughed, "Tara set this up, you know? The lunch stuff and everything."

You turned your attention to Sam, raising an eyebrow with a confused look.

"She did?" You asked, "Why would she do that?"

It's now or never, Carpenter. Focus.

“She did it so I could see you,” she looked away, “Because I missed you. Because I…” She felt your hand reach for hers and noticed a fallen leaf on your shoulder.

“Because you…?” your voice echoed anxious. She could do this. She's going to do this.

“I—”

A loud howl scared the two of you and you turned to see Koda behind a pile of leaves, pupils dilated and jumping up and down.

“Oh no.”

“What?” She stammered.

“He saw a pigeon.”

You see, Sam is not a pet person. She has only had one guinea pig her entire life and only before her father left and a 6-year-old Tara let it escape from its cage never to be seen again – poor Darwin would always be remembered – she does not know how to handle dogs, much less big, excitable ones like yours.

Yet she grabs the leash from your hands when you finally reach your dog who won't stop barking at a tree and ignores your warnings that he is heavy and strong, Sam, it will end up dragging you away and tries to gently pull him to convince him to let go so you can get out of there. Because she is big and strong and she wants to show you that she can handle a mere happy dog.

He acknowledges her like she wanted and also drags her like you said he would.

This manages to surprise her more than the first stab wound she took, how one minute she’s standing still, telling your silly dog ​​to walk in a confident condescending tone, and the next she’s running at full speed through the trees and puddles of the park, your worried voice ringing behind her, as does your laughter.

“Sam!” you exclaimed from a distance, hands cupped around your mouth and dark red scarf falling from your neck, “You need to stop!”

She does stop, yes, but only after your dog has already circled her and Sam must be a ridiculous sight with a colorful leash wrapped around her legs and a dog panting with its tongue out next to her.

“Oh my god,” you lean in closer, unable to hide the amusement in your voice, “Are you okay?”

Sam huffed, feeling a strand of hair fall across her face: “A little help would be appreciated.”

“Sure,” you laughed, reaching out to carefully untangle it, “Maybe I should call him Pongo after all.”

She rolled her eyes: “Don’t mock me.”

“I’m not mocking you, it’s just cute.”

Sam opened her mouth to retort, only to realize how close you two were, with your hands resting on her shoulders to steady her and your faces just inches apart, your breath tickling her skin. You seemed to realize the same thing, tongue coming out to wet your lips, your gaze fixed on her mouth.

Do something. Do something. Do something.

She finally does something. She kisses you.

It's all a mix of sensations, she feels when you sigh, breathing through your nose in surprise and satisfaction, she feels where your hands tighten on the fabric of her jacket and tastes you, warm lips contrasting with the cold skin of your cheeks, with traces of coffee, lipstick and something else so undeniably you that Sam swears her heart might stop.

You pull apart hesitantly, breathing fast, noses touching, eyes shining, and she feels herself falling, literally. Your dog jumps on your waist, demanding to be petted, and you fall, taking Sam with you.

Landing in a pile of leaves is more uncomfortable than the movies make it out to be, but Sam can’t find it in herself to protest when you’re the one on top of her. She smiles and you laugh out loud. She didn’t mess up.

“You’re covered in leaves,” you say, running your fingers through her hair, “And your face is smeared with black lipstick.”

She scoffs, “I wonder who’s responsible for that.”

“He is,” you point innocently at the dog standing next to you.

Sam rolls her eyes, but cups your face with her cold hands to pull you close again, and the second kiss she gives you is just as magical as the first.

Tara doesn’t expect to find a dog taking up the entire couch for the first time in days when she comes back from Chad’s dorm after sending you off on a fake mission to find her sister. Yet, hours later, there it is, with one of the sneakers she forgot to put away when she got home from class stuck in his mouth and trails of mud and leaves across the room.

“C’mon, man, that’s not a toy!”

She hears a laugh and finds herself face to face with Sam, looking completely filthy despite the sound of the shower running in the hallway and Tara knows Quinn isn’t home yet. Oh.

“So, you finally did something?”

Sam nods solemnly, pointing to the dark kiss etched into her jaw.

“I did.”

[sugarushwriting]

bed chem

“who's the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent?”

frat boy jakey won the poll 🙂‍↕️

smut coming forewarning

please reblog, like, comment, share!! do not translate or repost as your own.

₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ₊˚⊹���

“do i really need to be here?” you questioned.

winter crossed her arms at you with a straight face.

you huffed. it’s not that you weren’t a fan of going out to frat parties, house parties or dancing with sweaty boys, but this was the last thing on your mind. you were worried about a paper you needed to work on.

“would you relax? the paper is due next week!”

“i know but you know i like to start ahead!”

“but you work best under pressure?”

“yeah but my therapist told me to stop that.”

winter laughed, agreeing with your therapist. you surveyed the room of the house party that was being hosted by a few members of a frat that winter was familiar with. you two currently stood at in the corner of the room. you had a bottle in one hand, your phone in the other mindlessly scrolling.

“can you try to have fun tonight? you need to drink more! i hate seeing you pout.” winter begged.

you chugged the rest of the bottle, holding it up to winter who had a big smile on her face.

you pulled down the sheer dress you wore, which kept rising up higher on your thigh than you would like. you borrowed it from winter, who you didn’t exactly share the same body type with, but she said it would fit you and look great on you.

she didn’t lie, it just sat higher on your thighs than it did for her.

“come on, let’s see if we can mingle with any of the fraternity members.” winter pulled you by your hand to the other side of the house, where 3 men were gathered in the kitchen talking amongst themselves holding drinks.

one caught your eye with his full lips and white jacket.

“what’s up winter!” one of them greeted.

“hi sunghoon!” winter smiled back. “have you all met my roommate and friend? she’s been here a few times with me, but she’s only met jay!”

and jay wasn’t there sadly. you felt comfortable around jay. not only was he cute to look at, but he was funny and charming.

winter introduced you to the boys first. “and this is, sunghoon, heeseung, and jake.” she pointed to each boy to put a name to a face.

that’s when jakes eyes lit up and a smiled crept on his face. “hey! i think i know you!” he pointed to you.

you were confused, then remembered his face looked familiar, followed by his thick accent.

then your eyes went wide. “i—uh,”

“i accidentally kicked the soccer ball over the goal and it hit you!” jake recalled.

yep, you went to a soccer game with your other friend, lia, and ended up leaving the game with an ice pack over your eye.

the boys stared at you, and winter laughed. “even when you’re not moving, you’re getting hurt!”

heeseung smiled, “don’t worry, ever since that day, he’s been worried about you.”

jakes neck started to redden and scratched the back of his his head.

“you’ve been worried for a week?” you asked shocked. “i’m okay, i promise. no permanent injuries.” you eased his mind, getting closer to him so he could check your face out.

and the closer he got, the more he saw how pretty you were up close. the way your eyes sparkled, and your lips turned up in a smile.

suddenly, jake felt his chest tighten. his eyes took in your body, your short dress, eyes lingering on your thighs, then up to your chest.

he wanted you. he wanted to corrupt you. you seemed innocent for him, and he liked that.

he thought about the bed chemistry you both could have.

“wanna dance?” he suddenly asked you. you were taken back, but nodded.

walking away hand in hand, you heard one of the guys talking from behind you both.

“he shoots and he will score.”

an upbeat, reggaeton song came on, and jake pulled your back flush against his front. in no time, his arms wrapped around your waist, his face tucked into your neck.

his breath tickled on your skin, as he made sure to pull your backside as close as possible to his frontside. you felt his body start to melt more into you.

and his bulge grow in his pants. and it only turned you on more than you were.

when another song came on, the rhythm between you all didn’t change, but the air felt thicker, hotter.

you wrapped your hands behind you and around his neck, leaning your head back, and jake kissed your neck, causing a moan to leave your lips drowned by the music.

one of his hands moved down your waist to your thigh, then one of his finger tips glided up your bare thigh, to the hem of your dress.

then it ghosted to behind you, in between your lower halves, and two finger tips glided their way up your back thigh, just below your ass.

jake could only think about getting you to a bed or anywhere private right away.

you imagined his thick accent sweet talking you in bed while absolutely doing bad things to you. with you.

jake lifted his head from your neck, “my bedroom is upstairs, wanna come?” jake whispered into your ear.

you nodded. to both questions. even though technically it was only one question.

jake led you in front him by both hands on your waist, up the stairs.

thankfully you knew the men of this frat house kept things clean, keeping everyone in the main area downstairs on the first floor.

jake led you quickly to his room, the atmosphere only getting thicker with every second, your heart thumping excitedly in your chest.

you were not necessarily innocent, but preferred your toys or books to get you off more than men.

but you kind of knew jakes reputation when it came to pleasing women. and it was a good one.

he took out a key from his pocket to open his bedroom door.

smart for them to lock their doors when random strangers were in their home.

he opened the door wide for you, inviting you in, you smiled stepping inside the dimly lit room, eyeing everything in its place. the shoes, leggos, artwork.

when you turned around to face him after he clicked the door lock, you noticed his eyes. that look. the way he was looking at you, you knew what that meant.

and you were obsessed with that hungry look for you in his eyes.

jake stepped forward, and took your chin in his hand. “i am about to have so much fun with you.”

his lips met yours in a hurried and desperate kiss. both of you just so desperate for each others lips. your hands and arms wrapped around jake’s neck, his own wrapped around your waist.

his tongue found yours, and both of you groaned at the taste of one another. sloppy sounds of the kiss with occasional groaning was the only sound to be heard in the room, with a light fade of the music below.

jakes hands went to below each ass cheek to lift you up and your legs instantly wrapped around his lower half. not once did the kiss depart.

he groped your ass with his delicious hands, not delicate with it, causing you to grind your lower half.

one of his hands moved to the hem of the dress and lifted it up, bunching it around your waist to show your underwear. thank goodness it was your cute pair with the matching bra.

still in a desperate kiss, you only broke apart when his finger traced the top lace, your forehead resting against his, both of you chasing your breaths.

you looked him in the eye, hoping he could read that you were giving him permission. he kissed you quickly, as he laid you on your back on his bed.

his two fingers hooked on your underwear, and slowly pulled them down your legs, making sure his remaining free fingers traced every inch of your bare thigh and legs.

when your lower half was bare in front of him, he licked his lips, nearly drooling at the sight. “looks so good, baby.”

oh sweet lanta.

“actually, i want you to ride my face.” jake said, quickly taking off his white jacket and the shirt underneath revealing his toned abs.

he laid on the bed beside you, taking your hand in his, to tug you up and position you over his face.

his head towards the headboard, you were basically faced reverse cowgirl so you faced the door.

slowly hovering over his lips, you guided your way down meeting his awaiting tongue.

jake hummed in satisfaction, sending vibrations straight through your core. you moaned at the feeling of his tongue flattening against your folds.

you leaned forward, as jake sucked, nipped and licked at your wet core, between your lips, fucking you with his tongue.

he appreciated how wet you were for him. licking up every drop you gave him, he continued to hum and groan in pleasure, his hand snaking around your front to pull your dress down the best of his ability to grab onto one of your breasts, to pinch a nipple.

this caused you to grind lower and harder against his mouth, as you placed a hand on each of his thighs to brace yourself.

you bit your lip, suddenly wanting to busy your mouth. you looked down to the growing bulge in his pants and bent down as far as you could to not disturb him eating you out.

jake was so focused on you, he didn’t realize you were slowly unzipping his jeans and unbuttoning them.

it wasn’t until he felt your hand wrap against his dick, that he groaned even more and slapped one of your ass cheeks.

“yes baby, suck me off while i eat you out.”

you licked his tip, then slowly wrapped your mouth around him, taking him as far as you could in this position.

and sadly, you did have a gag reflex.

jake had thickness to him more than he had length, but you knew that he could still pleasure you with what he had.

you continued sucking him off, using your lips and tongue, and occasionally scraping your teeth causing him to hiss at the good pleasure.

jake continued to eat you out exceptionally, and he took two fingers of his and guided them inside your wetness to prepare you for him. not once did he lose a beat using his tongue on you.

jakes teeth and lips wrapped around your clit, as his fingers continued to rut in and out of you, unable to control your moans and suck him off at once.

“mhm so close jakey.” you whined.

you took your mouth off from him, but replaced it with your hand so he wasn’t left unattended.

you picked up your pace with your hand, it barely able to wrap fully around him. you took your thumb to rub his tip where his precum was leaking.

this was even better than you ever imagined in your head.

“oh baby, i’m close too.” jake sighed against your lips of below.

it didn’t take much longer for you two to orgasm at the same time.

his come messy all over your hand, you licked your hand and the rest of him clean. thankfully he must take care of himself well, because it didn’t taste too bad.

you came all over jakes face, him smiling at the way you leaked all over him, and he licked you clean. causing you to go into sensitive overdrive.

you removed yourself from your position, rolling over so you laid beside him, your dress askew, cunt still bare and glistening.

his dick was limp, but was quickly getting harder once again, by just looking at your post orgasm face.

jake leaned over to kiss you on the lips, your tongues immediately finding each other to mix and swap spit of each other. it only turned you both on more.

jake went to hover over you, ready to fuck you into oblivion. your legs wrapped around his waist, as his tip teased your clit and entrance.

“i can’t wait to feel you. to fill you up and having you moan my name over and over until you go speechless.” jake said kissing your lips, face, neck, and top of your chest.

his hand went to grab a condom from his night stand, but his hand froze when he found it empty,

fucking heeseung must have took the last of his condoms because he had at least seven left.

“fuck, i am out of condoms.” jake sighed.

you pouted. jake looked cute and hot at once.

“are you free next week?” jake smirked lazily.

₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ₊˚⊹♡

mhm part two maybe?

the house in this scenario

[bruciemilf]

Something something, Bruce accidentally keeps adopting his friends' wards. It doesn't sit well with his kids.

Diana's been training Yara for a little over a year. She's scrappy, brave, and unafraid to stand up for herself against the world. She reminds Bruce of a dearly beloved Ghost, and even dearer son.

" Oh wow. You're, uh. You're Batman. Love your work. I mean, Princess Di says you should take it easier since mortals don't fight gods, but it's so cool to me that you do. My mom died too! ...Sorry. Can you sign my pegasus?"

"...For?"

" Jerry. I mean, -- Yara! Sorry."

" Meeting new people isn't exactly my forte. It's fine. Is my training plan working for you? We can adjust it together."

"Oh! Well, I have some cool ideas,-"

For some, emotion gets lost when it comes to Batman. They see a wall of stone and tragedy, nothing beyond a twitch of lips reminding them there's a man wearing the cowl, not the other way around.

Dick's mouth is hanging open as he watches the blank expression on Bruce's face, patient with the excitable rambling in front of him. He rarely looks so happy on patrol.

"He smiled at her!"

Damian is very stubborn. He just won't accept it. Not even with the evidence of Diana's student taking a stream of selfies with his Baba, where he even smiles in one of them!

" Don't be ridiculous, Grayson. That's reaching a new low of stupid, even for you."

" Okay, one. I'm a very capable detective who thought YOU the robin ways. If I'm an idiot, you're an idiot."

" ...TT."

" Second... It wouldn't hurt to be home more often. I think he's lonely."

Damian frowns, " Baba deserves better than pity scraps. And you deserve better than forcing yourself to be here when you're not ready. It's unfair to you both."

"...Maybe I'm not an idiot after all."

The real challenge? The superboys.

"It's not that serious, Dames."

" Not that serious?!" Damian hisses when he's sad, it's a well known fact, " He put MY stickers on your bandages. You don't even NEED bandages!"

Jon shrugs, maybe, perhaps, intentionally flaunting the pink dragon stickers on his wrist. Accepting to arm wrestle Cass had been a bad idea, " It's a nice gesture."

Damian points a finger at him, then calms himself with a hollow breath, " I'm going to walk away. My therapist would be extremely proud of me."

But the bets were off when Jason visited.

"...What's your boy toy doing in my room?"

Tim drags a hand over his face as Kon whistles a marry tune, lounged comfortably on Jason's bed like a spoiled cat, " Dad Invited him over for dinner."

" I just figured it'd be nice to settle in! Since I'll be moving in soon and all," Kon smiles very smugly, " Bruce needs someone around since you just hate being here so much. You don't mind, right?"

" You know," Tim figures he should at least try to stop the slaughter, " I think Alfred's cookies are done. Let's go check."

Jason's radiating murder, " I think it's time for you to go home."

" Oh, I'd really love to see you make me."

Tim discovers Kon is immune to bullets, but not to being crashed through a wall.

[amarmoria]

Sempiternal 111

Yao x Reader

Synopsis: 10 days in some spa center with your family wouldn't be too bad right...?

Notes: to the person who gave me an idea for the 3rd part, i luv u sm, i didn't reply to your ask since i didn't want to spoil it, ill probs answer it after I post this🤭

Previous | Next

Ugh fuck.

Fuck you and your imagination. This is why you stopped watching documentaries. You can't face him like this, no way, you should just jump off the balcony and run away, you ran your mouth over something so, so childish— you sound like one, now he probably thinks you're weird, if he heard you that is, no.. he def did, he def did..

You groaned and clenched your fists as your family neared the circular, brown hut. The staff had reminded the guests earlier when they arrived to rendezvous to the meeting place to officially start this experience, and familiarize yourselves with the other occupants which your mom didn't appreciate very much.

Though on the other hand, you yourself were really happy to commune with other people aside from your family, it felt suffocating around your parents, they're always bickering, blaming, the tension was always there even if you didn't hear it, so the mention of other people makes your tummy flutter in a good way.

Meeting new people was good, your family's therapist says, it's another way to cope with everything lately. You trudged your way as you hear chatter from inside, your eyes immediately centering on a curly haired woman, she shoots you a smile in which you return, the chatter kinda died down when you went in, now the atmosphere was awkward because everyone was looking at you, the walk to your family's circles felt like ages, you were thankful to the lady who resumed talking to the person beside her, you remember her from earlier when you guys went in, the first guest you met, you wonder if you've seen her somewhere, she looked so familiar.

You didn't pay attention to the adult's conversation, talking about how long this was going to start, or if this was reverse psychology in making the guests commune with each other to familiarize themselves with their fellow patients, you heard your mom complain once again although you didn't care enough to answer, the sun was already starting to die down, light orange hues traverse the hut when the blonde haired woman entered. Everyone was already quiet, your eyes landed on the person you thought you could escape.

"Welcome to Tranquillum House." She pauses, scanning the faces of her new subjects. "Right now, you're at the foot of a mountain."

Her voice blurs in your ears when your focus centers on Yao, gosh, I wonder what would happen if he were to catch you looking. You gulp a big fat saliva and accidentally let out a cough, fuck, you let your eyes wander to the floor when the hut stills, out of anywhere you really had to cough in here, are they looking at you? No maybe it's something else, no, they are, they're looking at you.

You clear your throat, adjusting your crooked top that you kept fiddling with earlier.

"— as I was saying.."

You let out a deep breath, quietly this time, one more event and you're out of here, this place has brought out everything within you than ever in all the years you've been living.

Your eyes fluttered forward once again, regaining the little bit of confidence you tried to muster, that's when you realized Yao was already looking at you.

You stilled, your breath stuck in your throat.

Why is he smirking..

He tilted his head slightly, seemingly teasing you, your eyebrows furrowed as you reciprocated, you mouth a small 'what', although you didn't get to see his response when Masha suddenly blocked your vision from him.

"Isn't that right, my little bee?"

You shook your head and focused on Masha, she was right in front of you, you can see your mom on your far left trying to move close to you but your dad quickly stops her.

"Huh, wha, I," and your back to fiddling with your top, you heard Masha chuckle, gently placing her hand on your shoulder. "W-what, what was the question..?"

"Silly bee, I didn't ask a question"

"Then what is, I mean, you—"

"You're a nervous little thing are you?"

"I-I'm not, it's.."

"Don't worry, I'm not here to lecture you," her laugh is warm, honey, like the place, she looks like the place, maybe you're biased because she does own it.

"I was a little girl,"

"And I was riding my bicycle"

"Reconnecting with joy," she finally lets go of you after staring into your soul, your eyes flicker back to the man, but his eyes were somewhere else, good, you hope you won't ever talk or be near him after this. "and innocence—"

"Excuse me!" Your mom takes a step forward. "This is not appropriate"

"I decide what is appropriate"

"You know our story"

"Mom—" you try and stop her, but she raises a finger at you, immediately shutting you up. "Death will not be your story"

You felt your sister freeze beside you, you looked back at her worriedly, her eyes were full, brimming of tears.

"Zo.."

"I'm sorry."

You watch her bump your shoulder as she runs outside the tent, you were about to run after her when the woman your mother had an argument during your arrival gently held your shoulder and nodded at you, you let her, maybe it's better for her to take a break from your god forsaken family for once.

The dispute behind you was deaf to your ears, it hasn't even been a day and your mom had already fucked up the first impressions, so great for wanting to heal then.

You feel your throat closing in, ugh not again. You bit your tongue and hurriedly left the tent, your ears were alarmingly ringing too loud than before, you wonder what caused it to react like this, you hastily try to fish for something in your pockets, please please please, you search your body, even tapping your butt if it was there.

Fuck, where did you put it?

The longer you try to find it, the more blurred your eyes were, the ringing was already more than deafening, ear-splitting is the right word, you took a big left earlier to avoid Zoe seeing you like this, you didn't want her to worry, she just has to think about herself, so your surrounded by tall bamboo trees in the middle of nowhere, great, but you don't know that, because you're hear tryna breath, see, hear, everything, tryna make everything normal again.

That's when you hear a crunch of leaves behind you.

"Miss Marconi..?"

Ugh, not him..

"Y-you left this.."

You don't turn around, only hiding your face, he holds out a white container you knew too well. Your eyes widen and quickly grab it, he stays behind as you try to pry the annoying cap off, why was this twice as harder to open than it is?!

One of your nails accidentally breaks from the pressure, though it didn't hurt because it was the long one, you didn't pay attention to it, just busy trying to open the goddamn medicine.

A hand suddenly shoots out to grab the container. "Let me."

It wasn't a question, the words in your mouth die on your tongue as he easily broke off the lid, handing you a couple, you wonder how he knew how many pills you took, you didn't add them to your registration in fear of your parents, but that was the least of your concerns, your threw them in your mouth like your life depended on it, it did.

A few seconds pass and you let out a deep breath, and inhaled a bigger one too, the ringing of your ears stopped, and your eyesight was back to normal, you would've sported a little smile after that, patting yourself on the back like a crazy person if not for the warm body still next to you.

That's when you realize he's still there, Yao, had he not been there, your parents would have gotten two reasons for coming here.

You gulp and fix your hair, your face heats up at the thought of him seeing you run around like a mental patient, but you assume he's already seen this many times, maybe that's why he knew how much to give you.

"I—"

"Are you—"

You pause, biting your lip, gosh how many more embarrassing things should you check off your list?

No one spoke for the next few seconds, but you could feel him staring you down. Oh so now you're branded as crazy, weirdo who just had an episode in the middle of nowhere during a retreat, you scratch your head at the thought.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm, it's.. I'm sorry," you pinch your arm, your eyes focusing on the dirt than looking at him.

"Don't be sorry, Bee" you frown at the nickname, why do they even call you that. "It's, you didn't have to, to see that I—"

"If i wasn't there would you have even opened this? Or even find it in the first place?"

You shut your mouth, he's right, you owe him your life, but you don't tell him, he might use it as leverage somewhere.

"I'm sorry," he quickly mumbled, fiddling with the container, the cap was now abandoned on the floor, the half empty pills exposed to the world.

"Will.." you pause, biting the inside of your cheek. "Will you tell my family? About, about what happened?"

He furrowed his eyebrows, maybe trying to read you.

"Do you want me to?"

You thought for a moment, you didn't want to burden him, but you also didn't want this as blackmail, anything can happen, but when you look up, eyes catching his, it's not filled with malice, or anything.. of sorts.

"No, don't, don't tell them.. please"

You don't see the twitch on the corners of his eyes.

"Yes," You frown at the lack of noise, then you see him reaching over to his small beige cloth bag, he pulls out a smaller drawstring pouch, color beige obvi, he dumps your pills in it, throwing the hospital colored container and handing you the new one.

"Here, an apology for breaking the old one"

"You didn't have to—"

"We do, we have to take care of our guests like family, so you don't have to worry about it."

You held onto the pouch and looked up at him, and like before, he was already looking at you. "Thank you, Yao"

"Anything for the guest"

The more chapters i make, the longer every chapter gets. ANYWAYS, two chapters posted this weeknd?! Miracle😧

[veronicaphoenix]

zutto — chapter three | wc: 6.5k | series masterpost | prev. chapter

chapter summary: lia goes back to therapy. When Noah takes her back home after her session, lia's withdrawal symptoms worsen.

tags and trigger warnings: best friends to lovers, angst, conflicted feelings, wet dreams that turn into nightmares, lia goes back to therapy, mentions of couples therapy, mentions of medication and use of it, descriptions of both physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms, heated argument between lia and noah, passionate kiss under the rain.

author's note: this is a hard one that might feel uncomfortable to some, so read with caution. It's rewarding at the end, though 💕

general trigger warnings: This work addresses and depicts issues related to addiction, abuse, & violence, contains explicit sexual content, and explores themes of childhood trauma. Reader discretion is advised. +18

“Would you consider my suggestion? It would be very helpful if Noah could join our sessions.”

Lia nodded, still scratching her fingers. She’d been locked in her therapist office for the last hour, and she felt exhausted. With the woman’s unexpected suggestion, her nerves shot up, adding to her distress.

The idea of Noah dealing with her therapist didn’t seem very appealing. He had his own and Lia didn’t want to drag him into this. But again, he was already shit deep into her problems, wasn’t he? 

So, she didn’t lie when she told Dr. Reynolds that she would consider it.

Outside, Noah’s car was parked right at the door, and he waited inside.  

It was the first time since returning to L.A. that they’d been apart for longer than an hour. Matt had picked them up from Lia’s apartment, spending about two minutes hugging her tightly after seeing her. Lia didn’t cry, and although she looked happy to be in Matt’s arms, she assured him she was on the mend and wouldn’t put them through something like this ever again.        After dropping her at the therapist’s office, Noah got out of the car and walked her to the door, squeezing her hand and promising he’d be there to pick her up in an hour. Just as the door of the building opened, Noah called Lia’s name. When she turned back to him one last time, he pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her hair. That was the boost Lia needed to face the next sixty minutes. 

As soon as Noah was alone with Matt in the car, the questions began to pour out. 

“How is she doing? And I mean, for real.”

“What have the doctors said?”

“Is she still taking meds? When can she quit? Why isn’t it that easy?”

“And what about you? How are you coping?”

“Have you talked to her? Have you guys talked about you and… her? About…?”

Noah stopped him there, his face a mixture of fatigue and frustration. 

“I’m dealing with this just like Lia is,” he admitted, his voice strained. He was conflicted, torn between telling her he couldn’t live without her touch, that he needed her in ways he had never thought possible, and keeping quiet and giving her the space she needed. 

Noah looked out of the window; his eyes distant. He was still having nightmares. In fact, it felt they were just getting started. He was worried sick that they would follow him for days, weeks. Months, even. 

Last night, he had dreamt that Lia was straddling him, that his hands were tangled in her hair, pulling her down to him. His grip intensified, perhaps to the point of hurting her, but Lia didn’t complain. Her moans told exactly the opposite. Noah continued devouring her mouth, her lips perfect against his, her tongue slippery against his own. He swallowed her little sounds, hardening against her. When he pressed her down onto his erection, his left hand gripped her waist, marking her. Abruptly, Lia moved away, startled, fear in her eyes. Standing, she lifted the hem of her t-shirt to reveal the marks his fingers had left. With a broken voice, eyes teary, she said, “Noah, you hurt me.” 

Noah woke up in panic, accidentally waking Lia, who was sleeping beside him. She immediately turned on the light, threw the covers away, and reached for him. Her hand softly landed on his arm to steady him, her voice calling out his name gently. He didn’t relax until her hands cupped his face. When his eyes, filled with terror, met hers, he began to ground himself in her presence. He had never been held so tenderly. Only Lia had ever been so caring with him, so sweet and soft.

“Noah, it’s okay.” Her voice was hushed, delicate; her heart broke a little more at the sight of him suffering from nightmares. “I’m here. I’m okay. We’re okay.”  

His breathing slowed. He closed his eyes, tilting his head a little to feel the warmth emanating from her right hand. Needing her, he grabbed her wrist gently and pulled her closer until he was kissing the skin where her veins pulsed. Her fingers caressed his cheek. 

“It’s okay,” she whispered again. 

If she said that, while they were in bed together, in the middle of the night, her hands on him, he would believe her. 

He would have kissed her and laid her back on the bed, this time closing the gap between their bodies, not letting her stray a single inch away. He was tired of pretending this was like any other time, when they were just best friends sharing a bed. But he was scared. What if he really hurt her?

“Noah?” She noticed him straying away, his mind wandering far again. She needed to bring him back. “We’re in my apartment. We were sleeping. We’re in my bed. It’s ok. We’re all right.” 

“Are we?” He couldn’t help and ask.

At the sight of the furrow between his brows, Lia reached her other hand and moved some hair away from his face. 

“We will be,” she replied without hesitation. She wasn’t sure, truth be told, but she trusted that they were on the path to mending, both of them, and being there with him in the middle of the night, sharing a bed, sharing covers and warmth, was a sign of that. “Will you—? Will you let me hold you?”

Was he worthy of the sweetness she looked at him with when she asked that question? Maybe. He knew he was good for her. He’d always been. But he was still not entirely convinced he was exactly what she needed.  

For now, he would let her hold him until all his doubts faded away. 

He fell back asleep with Lia spooning him, her petite frame pressing against his wide back, her breathing caressing the skin at the back of his neck. 

Matt took Noah to his house so that he could pick up his car and some clothes. Jolly and Jesse were home, taking the time to catch up on missed hours of sleep. Noah didn’t want to stay long. He updated them on Lia’s condition, drawing a line whenever the boys tried to get too sweet with him. It felt weird to have Jesse wrapped around him, so when he hugged Noah, Noah simply patted him on the back, thanked him for his concern, and assured him that Lia would drop by soon.

After a cup of coffee and a trivial talk with the boys, Matt inquired about the upcoming tour in Japan. Noah didn’t blame him for his insistence. Organizing a tour overseas had required a big budget and a lot of time, so it was natural for everyone to be concerned. 

“I don’t know,” Noah replied sternly when Matt asked if they would have to cancel the trip. “I can’t think about that yet. I just need her to get through today’s therapy session.”

Matt nodded as if he understood, but in truth, he was getting restless. If the tour had to be canceled, they needed to start making changes and rescheduling flights and hotel bookings before it was too late.  

“Have you talked to her about it?”

Noah lifted his head and shot Matt an almost angry look. “No, I haven’t” he replied sharply. “But I know what she’ll say. She won’t let us cancel the tour, and I’m not ready to have that argument with her. So please, just— Just don’t ask me about Japan for at least a couple of weeks. I know what we have to prepare, but I can’t focus on that right now.” 

“Okay. Sure. We still have time,” Matt said, trying to sound reassuring, “and Lia’s well-being is the main concern now.” 

“She’ll get through this,” Jolly added, a hint of pride in his voice despite his stern expression, still pained by recent events. 

“I’m not giving her any other choice,” Noah concluded. He finished his coffee. 

Fifteen minutes later, he was seated in his car, watching Lia fasten her seatbelt beside him. She hadn’t looked at him when she got in, and the distress on her face was evident. 

“How did it go?” Noah asked, starting the car.  

Lia sighed deeply, letting her head fall back to the headrest for a moment. At her reaction, Noah tried to smile to lift her spirits. “Not so good?”

“No, it was okay,” she admitted, still hesitating to look at him. “She wants to meet you,” she said finally. Her brown eyes met his and Noah’s smile faltered. She didn’t look thrilled about it. “I mean, she wants you to have a session with her, thirty minutes or so, and then she wants us to have a couple of sessions together as…” She struggled to say the words, the feeling evident in the way she drifted her gaze to some focal point on the road ahead. “You know,” she tried, a sigh following her words, her cheeks flushing, “couples therapy.” 

When she uttered those words, Noah noticed her shoulders slumping, as if she had just released a weight she’d been carrying on her shoulders. 

“Only if you want, of course,” she hurried to add. 

“I’d love to.”

Lia’s head turned abruptly towards him, her expression one of surprise. “You would?” 

“Of course,” he affirmed. His own previous therapy sessions had probably been far different from Lia’s, but he was aware it would require patience and courage to do this with her. He was willing to do anything, though. For her, he would. “If it means this will helps us get better and strengthen our bond, I’m up for anything.” The sincerity in his words warmed her. She felt exhausted and sleepy, slightly upset about the things she’d had to recall and mention during her session. She had been scared about asking Noah if he would like to attend sessions with her, as a couple. But now that he seemed so willing, so predisposed, her heart fluttered in her chest. 

“Thank you”, she whispered. “It means a lot.”

Noah took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “So, one thing’s sorted. Now onto the next. Where would you like to go for lunch today?”

She wasn’t keen on going out, nor did she feel like cooking or letting Noah handle everything, so she let him drive them to the outskirts of the city. They found a cozy restaurant where they could enjoy a healthy meal outside. It reminded her of the times when Noah used to pick her up from school at sixteen. He already had his driver’s license and would collect her every Friday to go somewhere to eat. Back then, he didn’t have his own car, so he borrowed Mike’s, which always smelled weird. Noah would tease her, saying Mike had sex with girls in the backseat, which made her clutch her backpack tightly, worried the stench might cling to her bag.

Sitting at a table outside by the road, Lia tied her hair into a bun while Noah quickly checked his phone before starting to eat. Lia didn’t have much of an appetite, but she made an effort, even reaching for the slices of beetroot in Noah’s salad. Her action earned an offended, playful look from him that managed to coax an honest smile from her. However, after the fourth or fifth bite, her stomach started acting funny. As she tried to understand why, she also noticed it was getting harder to stay present in the moment, her mind wandering away from where it should be. Suddenly, she couldn’t focus on the food. Staring at it for a long minute, she started feeling nauseous and hot. There was a gentle breeze outside, a sign that it was going to rain, but she felt her body’s temperature increasing, her face flushing, which only added to her overall discomfort.

Noah didn’t push her to eat when she told him she her stomach felt weird. Once she confirmed she couldn’t eat anymore, Noah asked for the remainder of her food to be packed away, and they took it home.  As she stood up, she felt a wave of nausea rise. Her legs felt unsteady for a couple of seconds, so she clutched Noah’s arm for support.

Her queasiness only increased by the time they made it back to her apartment. When they door closed behind them, Lia’s head was throbbing with a pounding headache, making it almost unbearable to stand the light coming in from the balcony doors and the windows. 

“I’m fine,” she told Noah as his worried expression deepened. “I’m just having a horrible headache. It started right after I left from therapy. It’s… really bad now.”  

She made her way to the sofa, taking off her jacket, feeling fatigue take over her. She ran the back of her hand across her forehead and noticed sweat beads covering it. She sighed; her vision was getting blurry. She couldn’t focus her eyes—or mind— on anything. 

She didn’t notice Noah’s footsteps and was unaware he had retrieved a cloth from the kitchen and dampened it. He knelt in front of her and placed it on her forehead. Lia shivered, her body temperature fluctuating wildly between hot and cold. 

“We should check if you have a fever.”

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by his attention and his closeness. “Thank you. I’ll go get changed.” She stood up and moved past him.

“Why don’t you take a shower?” He suggested. “It might help.”

Truthfully, she felt too tired to shower. She wanted to lie down anywhere and sleep, conveniently in an open space, but she feared sleep wouldn’t come easily with the headache and nausea.

Telling Noah she would go to her room to change into something comfortable, he let her go, rising from his crouching position and watching her disappear down the hallway. 

It made him feel slightly frustrated, not being able to do anything more to help. 

With a heavy sigh, Noah tried to smooth out the lines on his forehead, his frustration growing palpable.  

He took off his jacket, dropping it onto the sofa, and grabbed his duffel bag to also change into comfier clothes: shorts and a hoodie. Returning from the bathroom to the living room, he waited for Lia, lounging on the sofa with his MacBook open. There were no plans for the rest of the day. Lia needed slow and he would give her slow. If she wanted to spend hours binge-watching a TV show or baking, he was ready to do so with her. But despite what he’d told Matt earlier, Noah couldn’t resist the urge to check his emails. 

Unbeknownst to him, a storm was brewing in Lia’s room; inside of her. 

Oblivious to her escalating affliction, Noah hunched over the screen, typing a reply to an email. Meanwhile, Lia paced inside her room, feeling the walls closing in as withdrawal symptoms tightened their grip. She knew what it was, but couldn’t stop it, which only fueled her panic. Her thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. Unable to focus, she started to rifle through drawers, tossing clothes aside in a frantic search for something to calm her nerves, her pain. Though Noah kept the bottle of prescribed pills from the hospital, she needed something stronger. The current medication clearly wasn’t enough if she felt this restless, desperate, weak, and anxious.    

There had to be something, somewhere. A forgotten blister hidden under her clothes or at the back of her drawers.  

With no luck, she left her room and entered the small space she liked to call her studio: a cozy corner furnished with a proper desk, a bookshelf, a guitar that Noah and the boys gifted her one Christmas and that she never played, and walls adorned with her paintings, framed dried flowers, and artworks by other artists.

In a frenzy, she bent down, opening one drawer after another, sweat layering her skin. Dizziness added to her throbbing headache threatened to incapacitate her, but she was determined to find one fucking pill because she needed it. Fuck the doctors. Fuck the therapist. She needed a single damn pill to calm her nerves, quiet the voices, and ease the pain coursing through every inch of her body and soul.  

Closing a drawer with a loud noise and muttering curses, she moved to the next one, finding only used notebooks and scattered pens and crayons.  

From the living room, Noah raised his head. 

“Lia?” He called out, his concern mounting. “What’s going on?”

There was no response. Noah set his MacBook aside and strode towards the studio room. He found Lia crouched on the floor, barefoot, still in her clothes, her bun a tangled mess. Her movements were frantic, hands shaking as she ransacked her space.

“Lia, what are you doing?” he asked softly.

He knew. 

Lia avoided his gaze as she stood up, swaying, things moving around her. Ignoring Noah’s extended arm, she moved urgently towards the living room, her eyes wild.

He trailed behind her, his own heart racing at the sight of Lia in that distressed state. He felt a deep sense of fear, a fear not too unfamiliar. 

“Lia—”

“What?” She snapped, but her attention was elsewhere. She opened every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen, then moved on to the furniture in the living room when she couldn’t find any blister pack or scattered pill. 

Noah stood in the midst of her chaos, watching her with growing panic coursing through his veins. He tried to approach her, reaching out to grab her arm and stop her, to make her focus on him, but she shook him off.

“I need a pill. Just one. And I’ll be fine.” 

Noah couldn’t discern if she was talking to him or to herself. She’d already taken her allotted dose for the day; taking more was out of the question. The doctor had warned them about this, explained that withdrawal symptoms would eventually come, varying in severity, and offered advice and coping strategies. 

But facing it now, Noah felt utterly powerless. Lia wore an expression he didn’t recognize—a dangerous determination that had nothing to do with the resilient woman she was. This wasn’t her. It was the distorted craving of her addicted system demanding what wasn’t necessary.  

“Lia, remember what the doctor said,” he began, knowing his words would likely fall on deaf ears. “If you exceed your dose, if you just have one more…”

“Who cares? Just—Fuck. There has to be a blister pack somewhere,” she muttered, moving away from him and checking behind sofa cushions. 

She was losing it. 

“I need to find one. Just one. I need to fucking have it. I can’t deal with this.” Her voice was tinged with desperation, rising. Moments later, seeming defeated, she collapsed onto the sofa, bending forward, her hands clutching her head as if she could physically squeeze the pain away, a vein throbbing on her neck. “Where the fuck are they?!” 

“Not here,” Noah said firmly, not taking his preoccupied gaze from her. “You’re allowed one pill a day. You had it. You have to go through tonight without it, and you will. I know you can do it—”

“For fuck’s sake,” she busted, looking up at him, her eyes red and watery, “cut the bullshit, Noah.” She stood abruptly. “I can’t. I can’t! Can’t you see me?!” she gestured towards herself, frantic. Her face was covered in tears, her cheeks reddened, her chest rising heavily due to her disturbed breathing.

Noah’s heart cracked a little bit more. He swallowed hard. He could see her, yes, but he wished he couldn’t. 

“Where’s your bag?” She demanded, her lips pursed, her nostrils flaring. She was barely blinking. She was shaking.

“You don’t need my bag.”

“I do need it because you’re keeping the bottle I was given at the pharmacy!”

“I’m keeping the bottle for this very reason.”

“Noah,” she took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. The rational part of her that hadn’t yet been swallowed by desperation reminded her of Noah’s care and determination. The man in front of her would do anything to keep her from harm’s way. However, the darker part of her urged her to convince him, to play nice to get him to cave in, to give her what she wanted.  “Please, just one. I beg you. Give it to me. Just today. I promise it won’t be like this tomorrow.”

A nightmare was unfolding right before Noah’s eyes. No, it wasn’t a nightmare; it was a memory: He was fourteen years old. His mother was at his grandparents’ house, desperate and erratic, asking for money to feed her addiction. That had been the first and only time Lia had meet Noah’s mother. Neither of them; not him, not her, nor his grandparents, could have imagined that years later, Noah would be reliving a similar scene, the fear even more intense this time. 

No matter how much this hurt him, he wouldn’t let Lia become like his mother. 

When Lia attempted to move past him towards the room where Noah kept his bag, he blocked her way. Lia looked up at him with wide eyes, as if unable to believe he was denying her something so vital, denying this to her. 

“You don’t need it,” he said.

“But I do, to calm myself, to make everything go away,” she pleaded with a sweet broken voice. “I need it, Noah, please.”

“No. You heard the doctor. You agreed on committing to this. You wanted to get better, remember?” 

“Yes, but you don’t know how it feels—how I’m feeling. Noah, please, I—.”

“No. That’s the end of it, Lia.”

It took a moment for her expression to shift again, her frustration boiling over, evident on her face, in her beautiful, big brown eyes. She tried to maneuver around Noah again, her eyes blazing, but he stood his ground, for hersake. 

“Let me through.”

“No. Sit down. We’ll talk.”

“I don’t want to fucking sit down,” her voice had grown rougher. Where was his sweet Lia? “Move or I’ll move you.”

In another circumstance, Noah might have snorted, raised an eyebrow, or chuckled. But that day, he didn’t flinch.

“Try,” he simply said. 

And try she did. 

Noah maintained his position, blocking her path. She wrestled with him briefly, shouting, until she stumbled back, tripping over her own feet and knocking over a small ceramic figurine on a low shelf next to the TV, which shattered into pieces on the floor. The sound startled Lia, and the fear in her own eyes transferred to Noah. She was hypersensitive, a sign of an impending emotional tsunami that threatened to engulf them both. 

For a moment, Lia stood motionless, staring at the broken figurine as if it had sparked something new inside her. Then, in a sudden shift, she turned back to Noah, her eyes wide open, an ocean of emotion swirling within them. Her anger quickly dissolved into more tears, bigger ones this time. Her desperation remained present; it impregnated the walls of her own home, seeped into Noah’s very soul and heart. 

Then, she shouted at him. 

“Why are you doing this?!” 

She had never raised her voice at him like that before. 

“I’m trying to help you,” he replied, his voice strained with effort as he kept it low. Outside, rain began to pour, as if the universe were mirroring the turmoil inside of the apartment, the chaos in their hearts. 

“You’re not helping me! You’re making it worse!” Lia knew the weight of her words even as she spoke them, but she couldn’t stop herself. She felt lost, as if drowning, unable to reach the surface. Noah’s steady gaze bore down on her, his presence looming large, making her feel small and trapped. Yet, a voice inside her, a remnant of a younger self, insisted that Noah was her anchor, that everything he did was for her sake, for her well-being. This only added to her frustration. 

Why did it have to be this way?

Her tears fell freely, splashing onto the floor. Noah’s heart ached and ached.  

“If you didn’t love me, you wouldn’t care about this and would let me have a fucking pill!” she yelled, tears cascading down her face, her sobs intensifying. She looked utterly miserable, on the brink of collapsing under the weight of everything. 

Noah’s jaw clenched, pain and determination flickering in his eyes. “Exactly. It’s because of what I feel for you that I’m not letting you give up,” he shouted back, stepping closer.

“You can’t save me, Noah. Just—. Stop playing hero. Give me a pill and let me get this over with,” she extended her trembling hand toward him. He moved closer. She moved back. Irony hung heavy in the air. 

Her bare feet were dangerously close to the shattered pieces of the figurine. Noah swiftly grabbed her wrist to prevent her from stepping on them, but it only fueled her anger. She wrenched herself free, determined to continue her search, with or without Noah’s help. 

“Lia, for God’s sake!” Noah voice rose as he made attempt to grab her again. “Will you stop? Look at your feet!”

But she paid him no heed, only shouted back at him to leave her alone as her bare feet navigated through the broken pieces, her focus solely on finding the pills. 

Noah’s frustration reached its peak. He shouted her name, trying to break through her hysteria.

Outside, the rain intensified, as if prompted by their shouting, a torrential downpour that matched the intensity contained in the apartment. Noah knew he had to do something. He strode over to Lia, who was too consumed by her hopeless idea of finding a fucking pill to notice him approaching. In one swift motion, he lifted her, wrapping his arms around her as she struggled against his hold, her back against his chest. Lia’s heart pounded wildly as his embrace caged her in, her protests falling on deaf ears as she kicked and hit him, demanding to be released. 

“What are you doing?! Noah—”

“I’m done with this.”

“Noah, put me down! Put me down, I said!”

Noah held her tighter, his own emotions bubbling over. He pushed open the balcony door, stepping outside with Lia still fighting in his arms. The rain immediately drenched them both, the cold water shocking Lia into stillness.

“Let me go!”

“No!” He shouted at her, the water dripping from his face, drenching his clothes. “You want to scream? Scream now!” Noah said roughly, the rain pouring down, washing over them.

He put Lia on the ground, freeing her only for a moment to force her to turn around and face him. Then, he caged her again against him, forcing her to lift her head to look at him, to see what she did to him, to acknowledge his pain and desperation in the darkness that was starting to shroud the city. 

Lia fought against him, but when she realized it was futile, that she could do nothing against Noah’s strong hold, her sobs mixed with the sound of the rain, her resistance gradually weakening. He kept on holding her close, his voice trembling with emotion as the rain flowed, soaking them both in its chill embrace.  

“I hate seeing you like this, Lia. But I can’t let you do this to yourself. I won’t,” Noah said. His voice dropped, but the pain persisted.

Lia, drenched and pathetic, looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with despair, pushing Noah to his own edge. He tightened his hold on her, their faces inches apart. The eye contact intensified as their heartbeats tried to subside, to sync, struggling to find a rhythm amidst the chaos. 

Just when he thought he had heard everything, her next question caught him off guard. Her voice was weak, sad. So sad. Even the rain could feel it. 

“Why did you fall in love with me?”

Her anger was gone, but now there seemed to be a void that Noah longed to fill. He didn’t want her feeling like this, feeling like she wasn’t worthy.  

No matter how many mistakes she’d committed, how much wrong she’d done; she was worthy. Worthy of entire universes and galaxies.

He couldn’t answer in that moment, though a thousand reasons flooded his mind. 

“Your life would be much easier without me,” she continued, her voice a fragile whisper barely audible over the rain. 

Agony etched Noah’s features as he fought to maintain his composure.  

“Lia… Shut up, please,” he pleaded, exhausted. “Just shut up.”

“Why?” she persisted, her body caged in Noah’s arms, her chest pressed against his. Tears mingling with raindrops streaming down her face. Despite her misery, she looked breathtakingly beautiful to Noah. Her long hair flowed loosely, sticking to her chest and back, framing her face. Her eyelashes held droplets, her lips red and moist, her cheeks flushed. “I’m not worthy of you.” 

No, he wouldn’t have that. 

“I’ll never be worthy of you.”

“Lia, stop.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

She let her head fall on Noah’s chest, weeping like a child, her arms limps at her side, her knees barely supporting her.  

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t have to deal with this. I should have let them take me and keep me away for as long as necessary.”

“No. You’re right where you’re supposed to be, and so am I—” His words came out through clenched teeth, desperate to make her understand, to dispel those thoughts from her mind. 

“There’s so much good for you out there, away from me.”

A vein throbbed in Noah’s neck, her words like knives piercing his heart.  

“I can’t keep hearing you say these things. Everything you’re saying is wrong. You’re wrong, Lia.”

“I’m not! Why do you keep trying to see the good in me? What good is it doing to you?”

If he had to show her the good in her, the beauty and all her magic, her light, he would. But now, he needed her silence. 

“For God’s sake, Lia.”

“I’ve been nothing but a thorn in your side for the last two years. Don’t you even try to say otherw—”

“Lia, I said stop.”

“Why? I’m just telling the truth. Someone has to because you keep glossing over every one of my mistakes. All because you love me!”

Exactly.

He loved her. More than life itself.  

“Lia,” his voice was a warning. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to shut you up.” 

“You can’t. I’m stating the facts that you won’t—”

“I can,” he cut her off. With resolve hardening his features, he said, “I’m going to kiss you.”

She froze, her eyes widening, a crease forming between her brows. Her lips parted slightly, raindrops causing her to blink as they trailed down her face. 

Noah thought that, with all her sorrow and misery, she looked like a nymph, a goddess.  

“Noah,” her voice softened, as if the threat of being kissed stirred something within her. She tried to read his intent in the depths of his warm October eyes. “What if… What if you’re just infatuated with me?”

It was the voice of doubt speaking out, the same one that kept telling her a pill was the solution to all her problems. Deep down, Lia knew Noah wasn’t infatuated with her. He had seen the best and the worst in her. He was dealing with her worst, and yet, here he was, dying to kiss her, to ease her pain. 

“You’re crazy if you think that,” he retorted. Then, after a pause, “And I’m crazy in love with you. I’m going to kiss you now. If you don’t want me to, say it,” he demanded, his voice a blend of softness and intensity. “Right now.” 

Lia’s breath hitched, her words stumbling. But she didn’t refuse him. Noah’s heart raced, overwhelming need to connect with her, driving him forward. With one hand cradling her jaw, the other arm securely holding her close, he lowered his lips to hers. 

“Tell me you don’t want this,” he urged, his breath caressing her face. 

“I—”

“Say it, Lia. No hesitating.”

One intake of breath.  

“Kiss me,” she pleaded, giving in, surrendering. 

His mouth descended on her.

One moment she was hopeless. The next one, she was fighting against Noah’s hold, desperate to free her arms and tangle her fingers in the wet, silky strands of his hair. The kiss stole her breath away from the very start. Noah’s grip tightened as her hands finally found their way around his neck, her body arching towards him, rising onto her tiptoes. She let Noah devour her. 

Despite the cold and the chill of the raindrops on their bodies, Noah’s mouth was warm and inviting as it claimed Lia’s lips. The kiss was fierce and passionate, a tumultuous blend of anger, desperation, and love. Their lips collided repeatedly, caressing, their saliva mingling with the sweet rainwater. 

Under his touch and hold, Lia softened, the storm inside her beginning to calm, all need for a substance that would surely damage her slowly dissipating. All of it was replaced by Noah’s intoxicating kiss. His hunger was evident in the way he kissed her, held her face, and pressed her closer, as if he had been starved for days. Lia clung to him, inadvertently pulling at his hair, eliciting a growl from him that sent a shiver down her spine. He nibbled at her lower lip, igniting a fire within her. 

Their mingling breaths created a rhythm, a dance of longing and need. Lia’s hands explored Noah’s back, tracing the contours of his muscles as they tensed and relaxed under her touch. Each moment forged a connection that surpassed mere physical desire, a connection that had always existed between them. The world around them blurred into obscurity; nothing else mattered but the intensity of their moment.

And as Lia gave in to her desires, to her need of him, to this consuming passion, she felt a pang of fear.

It clawed at her, a dark whisper at the back of her mind. What if this wasn’t real? What if it was all just a fleeting escape from her troubles? The intensity of their connection scared her, the depth of her emotions for Noah something she hadn’t fully understood until now, as his for her. What if he didn’t really feel all these things? What if he was confused? What if this love was mistaken by his role as her protector since childhood?  

She wanted to lose herself in him, but the remnants of doubt lingered, casting a shadow over her euphoria.

She took a moment to breath, her eyes closed, her hands releasing Noah’s hair but remaining at his neck, Noah’s lips lingering on hers, caressing her mouth. 

“What if you regret this?” she whispered. He almost didn’t hear her, but when her words did register, he didn’t react. Instead, he moved the arm around her waist to cup her face in both hands. With a slight shake of his head, his lips brushed against hers as he said softly, “Shut up, Lia. Stop talking nonsense and let me keep kissing you.” 

After a brief kiss, with her upper lip captured between Noah’s, he sensed her hesitation. 

Noah paused, his breath warm against her lips. His eyes, dark and intense, searched hers for any sign of regret. The vulnerability in his gaze mirrored her own, a silent plea for trust and acceptance. Each beat of his racing heart emphasized how much he needed her; how afraid he was of losing this fragile connection.  

“Unless you want to stop.” 

She didn’t answer.  

“Do you want to stop?” he insisted, his fear evident.  

“No,” she said, her eyes full of newfound determination, of love and lust, and Noah felt a rush of warmth, like honey spreading through him, “I don’t want to stop.”

Her affirmation washed over him, soothing the anxiety that had gripped his heart. He could see the sincerity in her eyes, the unspoken promise that she was his as much as he was hers. As he kissed her again, the world could wait. For now, nothing mattered but the two of them, entangled in each other’s arms.

Gradually, their surroundings came back into focus—the chill of the evening air, the distant sounds of traffic and rustling leaves reminding them of the outside world. It was a gentle reminder that life continued around them, indifferent to their shared moment of passionate chaos.  

Reluctantly, Noah rested his forehead against hers with a sigh, immediately missing the taste of her. 

Lia opened her eyes, realizing her panic had subsided. She shivered. 

“We should go inside,” he suggested, “before we catch a cold.” 

“You brought us out here,” she pointed out. There was a hint of teasing in her tone.

Noah’s heart threatened to burst. “Yeah, because it was getting suffocating inside. But I don’t intend for either of us to catch a cold.”

Grabbing her hand, he led them inside, touching his hair as droplets fell onto the floor.

“Shit,” he muttered, freeing her, and noticing the puddles him and Lia created as they moved into the apartment. Lia swallowed, looking around, suddenly feeling lost without Noah’s touch, without his arms around her, with the broken pieces of the figurine on the floor staring back at her. 

Slowly, the realization of everything she had done and said to him in the last fifteen minutes threatened to overwhelm her again. But Noah wouldn’t let that happen. 

“Go shower,” he insisted, “I’ll wait until you’re done and mop the floor in the meantime.”

She hesitated, searching his eyes like a lost puppy. When he didn’t immediately notice, she nodded and started walking to her bedroom. 

Two seconds later, his hand grasped hers, halting her movements and claiming her attention back to him.  

“Lia,” he said. His rain-soaked face was mesmerizing as his eyes gazed at her with utter adoration. “I told you; you could get through this. You’re stronger than you think.”

She shook her head. “I’m strong because of you.” 

“You’re wrong.”

Tilting her head, she sent a heartwarming smile his way. 

“Are you going to kiss me again, then?” 

He let out a soft chuckle.  

“Every time you’re wrong,” he replied.  

“And when I’m right?” 

“Same.”

“And when I’m better?”

“More.”

They stood there, exchanging satisfied smiles, feeling as though the rain had worked some kind of magic. In truth, it had just been their kiss, that press of lips they’d been both longing for, a kiss that grounded Lia and brought her back to the person she was and to where she belonged.

“Go,” he urged tenderly, letting go of her hand, “we’ll talk after.” 

As he watched his girl disappear into the hallway, giving him one last sweetened smile that said, ‘thank you for healing me’, Noah blinked, feeling a relief and ecstasy he hadn’t experienced in over a year.

— prev. chapter | chapter four 🌶️

[ultralightpoe]

Mini Me - Bucky Barnes

Authors Note: HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Word Count: 956

Warnings: none

Description: Small halloween blurb. - reader is a single mother

This is apart of my Halloween event, stay tuned for a new story every hour!

Happy Halloween!

Being normal was hard. 

Not that Bucky had ever thought any of this would be easy, leaving the history of the winter soldier behind was going to be impossible, but he was going to give it a shot. 

He got an apartment and a nice bedframe………that he kept empty and chose to sleep on the floor since it seemed to help with the anxiety of it all. It’s what he knew. 

He got a therapist……. That he often lied to. 

But as much as he panicked about not being able to blend in and not being able to catch up, there were some things that Bucky found he liked about his new life. 

The absolute biggest being the wonderful woman that lived across the hall from him with her small daughter. The two people in this building that had actually made him feel like a human being after years of torture and misery. 

He remembers the first day he met you both, when he had first moved in and you had welcomed him with a welcome basket that your daughter refused to let you hold. It was too heavy for her to carry and she obviously struggled to hold it up, the smile on her face more of a grimace that showed her missing tooth. When you went to help her she cried out and moved away which made you pull back quickly and look at him with an apologizing look. 

You had invited him to breakfast, he had not gone until a couple months later when you both invited him again and the beating in his heart absolutely demanded he go. 

Now he was here, pacing back and forth in his apartment dressed and ready to go as he waits until he hears you two leave your apartment. 

This would be his first halloween he would see in the new world, and you had both done him the honor of inviting him to go trick or treating with you. And he was so excited, though it was too late to come up with a really cool costume he had managed to snag a pirate costume from a place called Spirit Halloween at the last moment and he was really hoping you both liked it. 

He finally hears y/d rustling about out in the hall and takes a deep breath in, trying to calm himself down before he opens his front door slowly and finds you both standing in the middle of the hall waiting with big smiles on your faces. 

His eyes meet your own, dressed as an old witch, and he can’t fight the blush that fills his cheeks before he looks down to the young one and his heart completely stops. 

She is barely containing her own excitement, your hands on her shoulders the only thing keeping her still as Bucky looks at the winter soldier costume she had made. The silver arm made him smile. 

“She wanted to go as her hero.” You smile and he can do nothing but nod with a large smile on his face. 

“I am completely honored.”

“LETS GO LETS GO LETS GO!” Y/d screams, escaping your hands and dashing to him where he easily catches her with his flesh arm. 

“Trick or treating?” He asks, looking to you as you shake your head. 

“Too early. Dinner first.” 

- 

Multiple people had stopped by your table at dinner to compliment the family costumes, and by the time you had all eaten and it was time to trick or treat y/d had a firm hold on his hand, allowing him to lift her every so often to make sure she didn’t trip as you both took him door to door. 

He was having the absolute time of his life. 

But finally the night was coming to an end and he held two fulls bags of candy in his metal arm and carried Y/d in his other arm from where she fell asleep in his arms. Her cheek smushed against his shoulder, some of the eyeliner from the winter soldier swiping on the fabric of his own costume. 

“I can carry something-” You offer once more before he shakes his head. 

“I’ve got it.” You nod at his answer, walking beside him. Truth was he was so incredibly happy that you let him hold your daughter, that you trusted him enough to carry her. And his heart practically melted when he realized your daughter trusted him enough to fall asleep on his shoulder. “Thank you for inviting me, by the way.”

“Oh, thank you for coming with us. We both had a wonderful time.” 

“So did I.” You were both getting to the entrance of the building and Bucky cringes as a loud horn blasts and he can only hope it doesn’t wake his mini me up. “Would you…. Maybe ever consider getting dinner sometime?” 

His voice is tight and he feels like he is about to melt at how hot his skin is. You smile sweetly as you watch him before tilting your head. 

“We have dinner and breakfast every week, Buck.” 

He can’t stop the nerves, cringing at his own awkwardness. “I…. well I meant like a- okay well- It’s just-”

“I would love to go on a date.” You whisper, leaning forward to plant a small kiss on the corner of his lips and he can’t help but smile. “Y/d has been trying to convince me to marry you for weeks now.”

“I knew I loved her for a reason.” Bucky laughs, looking down to where the girl is actively snoring. 

Overall his first halloween with you guys was a great one, and he could not wait for next year as well.

[lonelym00n]

The Road to Recovery

An epilogue for The Devil Likes the Pirate Series

Tara Carpenter x Reader

Word Count: 3.2k

Summary: Is it worth the effort to repair your relationships, or should you just let your friends go?

Warnings: Talk about injuries, nothing super gory

A/N: The epilogue is here (finally)! I hope it wraps up the series nicely. Thank you all so much for reading <3

The road to recovery, as it’s often said to be, is going to be a long one. You are confined to your hospital bed for a minimum of two weeks, set to undergo observation and a multitude of x-rays until your body has recovered enough for a laparoscopy to ensure that your wounded organs have properly healed. 

You internally groan when the nurse informs you of your long stay. The next two weeks are going to be extremely boring, especially because you've been instructed not to move unless you’re being visited by your physical therapist or it is absolutely necessary to do so.

If it’s not bad enough that you can’t move, as with every other hospital, your only form of entertainment is watching the crappy TV shows provided by the hospital’s very limited cable subscription. 

As much as you want to grumble and complain, all the effort that it’s going to take for you to heal is worth it because it means that you’re still alive. If your traumatic near death experience has taught you anything, it’s that you have to be thankful for life and its hardships even when you are desperately wishing for things to be easier.

In an effort to uplift your mood, you switch on the TV, dig into a cup of jello, and carefully shift into a comfortable position.

***

The two cups of jello that you ate must’ve had the same effects on you as a Thanksgiving feast, because your eyes droop shut during the second episode of Property Brothers. 

It’s darker when you awake, and after blinking away the sleep in your eyes, you notice that you have a visitor.

“Kirby?” 

The FBI Agent turns her head in your direction with a grin, “Hey kid!”

You both take a second to scan the other’s injuries. There’s an array of bandages on her face and you can just barely make out the thick gauze hiding underneath her loose shirt. 

Kirby’s lips curve into a frown at your pale and weak form, “He really did a number on you huh?”

You nod, “But the doctors say I’ll be okay.”

She shuffles over to stand right beside your bed, “I’m glad.”

There’s so much you want to say to Kirby that it takes a good few moments to gather your thoughts together. Ever since Tara told you that Kirby had survived, you haven’t stopped thinking about how grateful you are for the older woman. She trusted you when no one else did. 

“Kirby, I- I really can’t even begin to say how much I appreciate you having my back. I don’t think I would be here if it weren’t for you.”

She shakes her head, “I only did what was right, no need to thank me.”

Tears prick your eyes, “But I do need to thank you. You didn’t even know me but you were still there for me. None of my friends can say the same.”

Kirby sighs and gently grabs your hand. “I’m sorry. Have you talked to any of them about it yet?”

A shakily exhale leaves your chest. Though you’d seen Tara a few times, the two of you still hadn’t talked things through. You were terrified that it would break the honeymoon phase you and she were living in if you approached the topic, so you refused to bring it up. You knew from Tara that Mindy had been released from the hospital, but the Meeks-Martin girl had still made no effort to come see you. You tried your best not to hold it against her, but deep down it made you even more sad to know she was avoiding you all together.

A few tears trail down your cheeks, “No. Mindy’s treating me like I’m the plague and I’m too scared to talk to Tara about it.”

The agent squeezes your hand in an attempt to bring you comfort. “Mindy will come around, to be honest I’m betting that she just feels really bad. And Tara, well, I’ve heard the way that girl talks about you. It’ll make both of you feel better to talk things through and get that extra weight off your chests.”

“You’re right,” your heart feels heavy in your chest. You’ve been doing your best to avoid thinking about your time spent treated like a suspect, the hurt that it brings you is too overwhelming when coupled with the burning stab wounds littered around your abdomen. But now that it’s been breached, you know your feelings are going to come flying out like the contents of Pandora’s Box. 

“God Kirby, it just hurts so much to think that no one even gave me a chance. There was nothing I could say or do. How am I ever supposed to trust them again when they so clearly didn’t trust me?”

A deep frown stretches across Kirby’s face and she moves to carefully wrap her arms around your shoulders in a hug. “You don’t have to trust them. You don’t owe any of them a single thing.” She pulls back to get a better view of your face, “But, I know you still care about your friends even though they hurt you. Just talk to them, and after that, make them earn your trust back. Your relationships are damaged but with time, they’ll heal.”

“Okay,” you nod and lean back in the bed. “That sounds good, thank you Kirby.”

“Anytime. I’m here for you from here on out kid.”

***

Tara comes by two days later, with yet another bouquet of flowers. She’s accompanied by Sam, the older girl refusing to let Tara leave her side.

Under normal circumstances Tara would throw a fit but since they had almost died just last week, she lets her sister’s behavior slide.

The younger girl greets you with a kiss on the forehead and moves to replace the old flowers with the new ones. Sam offers you a smile and a wave before making her way towards the empty bed next to your own.

You scooch yourself over to make room for Tara on the bed with you. Your abdomen screams at you for the small movements, but feeling Tara’s warmth next to you will more than make up for it.

When she’s finished with the flowers, she slides into your bed. Her hands instantly start sweeping across your form, a new habit she picked up to reassure herself that you were still alive and breathing. You melt into the contact, occasionally humming in content. 

You let yourself enjoy the peace for a moment. It’s nice being cared for by Tara, letting her fiddle with your blankets and your hair as she quietly fusses over you. 

But as much as you want to continue living in this heaven with her, the gnaw of leftover hurt and dejection in your chest has grown incessant since your talk with Kirby. You’ve been avoiding rehashing the nightmarish events with Tara because you’re terrified to lose her again, like you have every other time the two of you have had emotional talks. 

Hesitantly, you grab one of her hands to stop its movement and draw her attention to you. Those big brown eyes of hers immediately look up at you, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly. The sight of her has you nervous and bumbling. Whatever you were going to say to approach the topic is stuck in your throat in favor of admiring her.

She tilts her head cutely and entangles the fingers of her trapped hand in yours. “Is everything okay?”

You close your eyes for a second and take a deep breath. When you reopen them, Tara’s eyes are filled with concern.

You swallow thickly, “We um,” you pause briefly, working up the courage, “We need to talk Tara.”

She freezes for a second but quickly finds herself again, “Okay. Yeah, yeah we can talk.”

Sam slides out of her place on the other bed swiftly. She squeezes Tara's uninjured shoulder as she passes by, “I’ll be just outside if you need me.”

The younger Carpenter nods to her sister in thanks. Sam sees the apprehension in Tara’s eyes and offers the girl a small reassuring smile. 

The tension in the room increases when the door closes behind Sam. You and Tara blink at each other for a few long seconds.

You shift your gaze to your waist and pick at the thin scratchy blanket. When you start worrying your bottom lip between your teeth, Tara reaches up with her free hand to cup your check.

“Hey, it’s okay, you can talk to me.”

You look up to meet her eyes and see nothing but care and reassurance. It gives you the push you need to open up to her. “Well, I wanted to talk about everything from last week, and uh, how it made me feel.”

Her eyes widen a bit but she nods quickly, “Okay. I’m listening, go ahead.”

“When I saw you in the police station, god I felt so betrayed Tara. I know that since I was the only one who hadn’t stayed over it made me look bad, but no one even gave me a chance to explain myself. I get why you might’ve given them my name, but it still hurt to know it was you because it meant that you didn’t trust me enough to talk to me yourself.”

Her eyes shine with unshed tears and she slowly trails her thumb down your cheek, “I’m so sorry, about that and about everything. Me and Sam were just so scared and shaken up, and Detective Bailey was asking for everyone’s alibis, and Sam mentioned that you hadn’t stayed over. I tried to tell her not to, but she had to tell him. He was the one who decided to bring you in for questioning, not either of us. I know that doesn’t make anything better, but maybe it helps you to know.”

It did make you feel slightly better. It’s not like she threw him your name and told him to question you. “It does help. When I got to the park, I just felt so judged and alone, like I was some sort of outsider. And then Mindy said all that stuff and it just broke me. It upset me so much that she called me out like that and turned everything I told her in private into a stupid motive.”

The memory of Mindy’s words is particularly painful for you to relive. You’d never felt so exposed and let down. Quietly, a few tears begin to slip down your face.

Tara’s bottom lip trembles with the effort it takes to hold back her own tears, “I hate that we made you feel like that. We’re your friends and that’s never how you should feel around us. And Mindy, god, I was so mad at her for what she said to you. I tried to chase after you when you left but Sam wouldn’t let me.”

The timid look that you give her nearly breaks her heart. “You did?”

A tear escapes her eyes, “Yeah. I didn’t want you to be alone, not when you looked so upset.”

“I was so scared that you were going to hate me, or reject me, and that you thought I was the killer. I had to get away.”

“I could never hate you. And I wouldn’t have rejected you, I really really like you. When I told you I only wanted to be friends, it’s because everything that happened with Amber hurt me so much. I was scared that I could get hurt again, so I pushed my feelings away. And that pushed you away, and I’m so fucking sorry. All the Ghostface stuff happened so fast, and I never got a chance to apologize or to explain myself.”

You’re both crying now. You tug Tara closer to you and she positions herself so her head lays on your shoulder, moving carefully so as not to jostle you or lay on top of any wires.

She looks up at you from her position, “I didn’t think it was you, Y/N. I was just trying to be cautious about trusting anyone. The only person I was sure it wasn’t was Sam. When Wayne had you, I hesitated because of everything Ethan and Quinn were saying. And I was so, so scared that all the Amber stuff was happening again, but I believed what you said. You’re nothing like Amber, you wouldn’t have done something like that. I’m sorry it took me that long to be sure of it.”

You wrap your free arm around her waist and bury your teary face in her hair. You feel infinitely lighter having gotten your feelings out into the open. Part of you has healed from hearing things from her perspective. 

“It makes me feel so much better knowing all of that, thank you Tara.”

“Of course, I’m sorry about how I made you feel.” She looks down at your wrapped abdomen, “And I hate that you got so hurt because of me.”

You tighten your grip on her, “It’s okay.” Then, a bit playfully you add, “And don’t blame yourself, it wasn’t you who stabbed me 17 different times.”

She lifts her head and slaps your shoulder lightly, gasping. “Stop that you know what I mean.”

You laugh heartily and Tara swears she could stay here with you forever. She traces her eyes along your features and finds herself in awe of your soft beauty, as she is everytime she looks at you.

Her hand reaches up to cup your chin and her fingers splay out across your jaw. You’re utterly lovestruck as you stare into her pretty eyes.

She leans forward and gently captures your lips with hers, sighing softly into the kiss. When she pulls back, she smiles sweetly up at you.

“I feel the same way, you know. I really love you too.”

***

Tara, and by extension Sam, visit you practically everyday after that. The younger sister brings her laptop with her so that you three actually have a good selection of movies to watch. 

One night after Tara fell asleep, tucked into your side, Sam offered you an apology too. You forgave her immediately, though she hadn’t really done anything other than be her usual protective self, you appreciate the sentiment all the same.

It’s a quiet day when Mindy finally walks into your room. Sam had to sort out some work stuff, so the two sisters would be heading over a bit later.

“Hey,” she offers shyly. 

“Hi Mindy.”

“Is it okay if I come in and sit?”

“Of course yeah, sit anywhere you like.”

Seeing her here is shocking, but not unwelcome. Tara had informed you that she was trying to convince Mindy to come visit you so that she and you could talk. According to Tara, the short-haired girl was entirely sure that you hated her and would never want to speak to her again.

Mindy shifts around a little and her leg hasn’t stopped bouncing since she’s sat down.

Deciding to reprieve her from her fidgeting, you give her a small smile. “I don’t hate you Mindy.”

Her eyes are wide and they snap up to meet yours, “You don’t?”

“I don’t.”

She breathes out a sigh of relief, but still looks a little apprehensive. “I’m surprised you don’t. I would hate me if I were you.

You had thought long and hard about how you felt about Mindy, and while you were deeply hurt by her words, you could never bring yourself to hate her. You considered her your best friend for a brief moment in time and she was the only person that was there to comfort and support you when you were wallowing in your feelings for Tara.

“I thought about hating you, but I really care about you, Mins. I know that you feel some pressure to follow in your uncle’s footsteps. I just wish that you listened to me, and that you didn’t go so deep on the motive stuff.”

She cringes at the reminder, “I feel, so so stupid about that.” Her hands come up to cover her face for a moment as she groans. “I’m sorry, it was extremely shitty of me.”

“It was pretty shitty of you,” you chuckle, “but it’s okay. I’d probably be more mad if things didn’t end up working out between me and Tara.”

She smiles, “I’m happy for you both.” Her face turns more serious and she leans forward to softly place her hand on your thigh. “Genuinely though, I feel terrible. I was just so sure it was you and I guess it kind of scared me. I’m sorry, I know that’s no excuse. Is there any way I can make it up to you?”

You ponder it for a minute. Bingo. Your face twists into a smirk, “I have an idea.”

***

It’s a few hours later when Sam and Tara arrive. They’re wrapped up in a conversation as they enter, so they don’t notice the current state of your room.

Sam notices first, “What the-”

“Surprise!” you cheer.

Your hospital room has been completely rearranged. The two beds have been pushed together to form a makeshift couch, and the chairs are positioned beside each bed. Fairy lights have been strung around the room and a white sheet hangs across from the sitting area, placed perfectly in the center.

You, Mindy, and Chad (who’d been wheeled in by his sister) grin at the dumbfounded Carpenter sisters.

Sam, ever the mom of the group, raises a singular eyebrow, “What did you three do?”

Your smile stretches even wider. “We’re recreating movie night! Hope you Carpenters don’t mind not hosting for once.”

Sam rolls her eyes good naturedly at your comment. 

Tara walks over and hops up on the bed next to you. You greet her with a kiss to her cheek and she beams at you, pleased. “Baby this is such a nice surprise. But how’d you manage to put all this together?”

You share a secret little glance with Mindy, “I called in a favor from a friend.”

After a good few minutes of cheerful banter, the group settles in to watch the movie. You and Tara are pressed so close together that she’s practically sitting on your lap. 

After a week full of misery, things finally feel right. Your wounds are steadily repairing themselves and your relationships have been mended. Slowly but surely, you are healing.

Tara, the girl who started it all, who stole your heart away with her teasing smiles alone, leans over to whisper in your ear, “When you’re finally out of this hospital, I’m taking you on a date. Just me and you.”

Your eyes shine with the same love that you see reflected in hers. “I’d love nothing more.”

“It’s a date.” She kisses you chastly and quickly pulls back. Her hand reaches towards your face and when she boops your nose softly, you know you’ll be in love with Tara Carpenter for the rest of your life.

Taglist: @thenextdawn @dreifhraniquo29 @fanboy7794 @thelonewriter247 @cartierdreamx @btay3115 @friedryes @bananasplits-world @alexkolax @ordelixx @adaydreamaway08 @youralphawolf72

Note: The last installment for the series will be the alternate ending, which I hope to have finished by the end of this week. I won't be including the series taglist, so leave a comment or send in an ask if you want to be tagged in the alternate ending! Thanks for reading, the angst awaits!

[newtonsheffield]

The first chapter of Head on the Pillow was the perfect way to start that story off! And now I just want more. Is there any way we could get a snippet of something like when Ant gets out of the hospital and Kate is suddenly pushing photogs away from her new companion? Cos I feel like she’d bust someone’s camera lens the second they get to her close to her man.

I think Kate definitely feels protective of Anthony at first. He nearly just died for one. And sure, her therapist is probably thrilled because it’s given them a fresh new stress dream to wade through but it also means that she nearly lost the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with. And that doesn’t feel great.

“We don’t have to do this.”

Anthony huffed as they waited out the front of the hospital for the car to be pulled round, “It was specifically requested. I was given this outfit.”

Kate rolled her eyes, “Well right now I don’t care what the palace wants.”

It had been such an understated announcement at first. The palace describing Anthony as her Protection Agent and Companion in their official statement about his recovery and it had spiraled from there. Just as they’d known it would. The palace’s more official statement about their relationship printed and reprinted with every photo of her that had ever been taken, Anthony in the front, trying to shield her. And now there were hundreds of people waiting for them outside. Waiting to catch their first glimpse of the first official royal couple since her parents had walked out with her between them, holding both their hands.

“You do care. We have to leave through the front door. It’s what Royals do when they leave hospital according to your team.” Anthony sighed, trying to smile and Kate squeezed his hand while she ran her fingers through his hair and under the dark shadows under his eyes.

“I care about you. If this is too much we’ll sneak out the back. I don’t care. My parents won’t either. I’ll tell them it was gusty and I wasn’t wearing underwear.”

Anthony’s eyes narrowed as though she’d caught his attention. “Are you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Car out front, your highness.” Ronald said from his respectful distance away. “Exiting?”

Anthony nodded,taking a deep breath and gripping her hand tightly, his other arm in a sling. “Exiting.”

Th crows roared as Ronald pushed the doors open and Kate squared her shoulders waving with her free hand as the cameras flashed.

“Kate! Anthony!”

“Anthony! How’d you pull it off?”

“Kate! Any cold feet?!”

“Is it true you’re engaged?!”

“Is it true you married secretly in france last year?!”

Kept kept them moving forward towards the car and Anthony fingers gripped hers in panic as the photographers tried to bustle forward against the security.

She could see the panic in his eyes, not used to being on this side of the attention, people no longer letting their gaze pass through him and she cleared her throat.

“Boys, can you do me a favour?”

“What’s in it for us?!” A photographer called out and Kate laughed playing along.

“I’ll answer all of your questions in a press conference tomorrow. Every sordid detail. I’ll even do an interview for the television.” She could feel the anticipation in them, rising by the second, “But you need to leave Anthony alone while he recovers. I’ve put him through enough and I don’t need you boys scaring him off.”

They stopped pushing, staying in place, the flashes lessening.

“When’s this conference?”

“The palace will be in touch.”

The car door opened and Kate nudged Anthony inside before she followed him, his shoulders relaxing as he squeezed her hand again.

“That was very neatly done.”

Kate shrugged. “Well as attractive as I found you bodying Ken out of the way for me, I can’t do the same thing for you. I have to give a little to get a little.”

“You hate TV interviews.”

Kate shrugged, “I’ll pick someone good. Someone fun.”

“Thank you.” His voice was tiny, as the people flew by outside the window. “I’ll get better at this. I’ll get better and then I can support-”

“You’re perfect.” She leaned over to kiss his temple. “Just like this. I don’t want you to get better at that. That’s the last thing I want.”

“The palace might disagree.”

“I don’t care what the palace wants.”

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

hiii i’m thinking you do 1/4/25 with rafe!!

maybe rafe and y/n broke up but rafe really didn’t have a say bc the reader broke up with bc he was toxic and or bc of drugs and he rlly misses her and constantly try’s to get her back, and then maybe the story can end in soft smut.?

if you don’t choose to do that it’s ok!! ❤️❤️

 ‘’I don’t care we broke up, I still love you.’’ + ‘’Tell me this love is worth the fight.’’ + ‘’Don’t push me away.’’

I sort of forgot about the smut part, I'm sorry anon

—

Spring was coming up, so you were helping your parents getting the country club ready for the new golfing season.

You spend the whole afternoon at the golf shop and the adjacent stock room, tidying the rental equipment and ensuring nothing was missing or broken. The person who put everything away last fall did a terrible job and now you were the one fixing their job.

After sundown, there was a knock on the glass door of the golf shop. You turned around, expecting your dad, but instead your gaze fell on a pair of blue eyes you hadn’t seen in a long time. Your throat went dry, unable to look away from him as he walked in.

‘’W-what are you doing here?’’

Your question could come off as rude, but you were genuinely confused to see him at the country club. His whereabouts of the past months were unknown to you, but you knew he had left the island since he didn’t attend Ward’s birthday dinner event or the annual golf tournament.

‘’I'm visiting for Wheezie's birthday.’’

Visiting. That confirmed he had moved out.

‘’How are you doing?’’ you asked. He looked more posed and clear-headed than the last time you saw him.

A soft smile curled on his face. ‘’Better than I ever was.’’ His smile fell and he pulled his eyebrows together while biting his lip. ‘’I…I’ve been to rehab in Charleston. I haven't touched any drugs in six months.’’

The last time you and Rafe spoke was about his addiction. That conversation — and the bag of cocaine you found in his jacket — had been the final nail to the coffin for your relationship. Addiction changes a person and cocaine had turned Rafe into a completely man; the person you called your boyfriend was no longer the man you fell for. You put up with it for a while, knowing the real Rafe was underneath, but the mood swings, the irritability, the constant lying and the violent behaviors had led to your and Rafe's end.

Now, he was standing before you, sober.

‘’That’s great, Rafe,’’ you said, proud of him. Recovering from addiction must not be easy.

‘’Yeah.’’ He fidgeted with the sleeve of his gray zip up, seeming a bit nervous. ‘’I'm seeing a therapist now. She's good.’’

‘’That’s great.’’

‘’It's strange to be home. To see all that I left behind, all that I ruined.’’ His eyes shifted to you. ‘’In rehab, we’re encouraged to apologize to the ones we hurt during our addiction. My mind would always go to you.’’ He stepped forward, closer to you, and took your hands in his. ‘’I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.’’

You glanced down at your hands together. You missed the physical contact.

‘’I need to stop trying to please my dad and go live my life. So, here I am, trying to gain back what I’ve sabotaged.’’ He brought your intertwined hands up to his mouth and kissed them. ‘’Give me — us — a second chance.’’

‘’I don’t know, Rafe…’’ You stepped away, but Rafe didn’t let you.

‘’Don’t push me away. I get why you did it the last time and it was a valid reason, but what drove us apart is no longer part of my life.’’

It would be so easy to fold and give him a second chance, but you had given Rafe so many second chances that you weren’t sure if you wanted to take the risk again. He was sober now, but a lot of addicts fall back into their old demons.

‘’I don’t care we broke up, I still love you. And I know you do too. If you didn’t, you would’ve told me to go away when I showed up at the door.’’

You sighed, torn between listening to your heart or protecting yourself from another possible-coming wave of pain. ‘’Of course I still love you, but—’’ 

 ‘’Then give us a second chance. Tell me this love is worth the fight.’’

—

OBX taglist: @moralina @eudximoniakr @toylewestinnyc @rottenstyx  @sweeterheartxamerica  @jordierama @viridwityy @izzy-laufeyson @kenzi-woycehoski @lilaconner @Katsukis1Wife  @hawkegfs @mommyruuetrue  @acornacreacure

All and more taglist: @spiokybirdstarfish @kenqki @liidiaaag @hawkegfs  @gillybear17  @areaderinlove @acornacreacure @black-rose-29 @fudge13

[cloveroctobers]

FAMILIAR — Guero [September Prompts] 🩶

A/N: because I kinda miss him + idk what’s going on in the Mayans tag since I haven’t checked it in awhile and this song appeared on my shuffle—that I forgot that I loved lol—and I don’t think I’ve written anything messy surrounding Guero so here you go…don’t tell my therapist 🤪

S/N: Gave Guero a government name like in one my other fics for him but switched the first name this time—I think I saw this name drop from another writer before as well so if you’re reading this please let me know lol! Also let me know which one you’re feeling better for him, Javier or Gustavo?

PROMPT ADDED FROM HERE & I’m using: ²⁸⁾ dark lipstick smeared on a cheek.

WARNINGS: language ofc + underlining innuendos?

ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟﾟ ⋆ ﾟ

Doing a double take a few spaces away from the front desk, lets you know that your eyes were in fact not deceiving you. It was like the buzzing in your ear overshadowed the low sad 80s track that belonged to Dionne Warwick. The overdone ringing on the bell snapped you out of it, hands tightening onto the set of papers that were already in your hands. The obnoxious ringing of the bell, made you quickly close your eyes and take a deep inhale before you put on your professional face.

You step closer to the front desk, placing the papers down and shot your hand out to rest on top of the man’s to stop his assault on the bell. “Good afternoon,” you gave your award winning smile that would make anyone weak in the knees, “welcome to The Monolith, are we checking in?”

Guero’s face abruptly pulled away from the woman that was nuzzling the tip of her button nose right against his. Once his eyes settled on your hand on his and then attached it to your face, you watched him gulp and flicked your eyes back to the girl who looked awfully familiar.

Like looking in the mirror really.

“Uh yeah, it should be under—

“Bardales or Guero?” You quizzed, almost snatching your hand back from on top of his and shifting to find his reservation on the computer down below.

He clears his throat, “Guero.”

You nod, a smirk playing on your lips as you went to work wanting this to be over and fast. He’s awkwardly glancing back at your mini you, who’s also staring at him oddly with his sudden change in moods; with her hand still intertwined with his before she turns her attention back to you.

“Excuse me, I know this is a long shot but did you ever live in Tucson?” The woman asks you as you move your eyes back to her.

She really did look like she could be related to you with just a few minor physical changes…which almost made you want to laugh. It was really funny because the bitch—sorry—the girl was some type of influencer. How did you know that? Well let’s just say she’s liked a lot of your pictures on the gram when you and Guero were either going through your disagreements and even when you both officially called it quits! The other version of you even liked a tiktok of yours before you put it right on private. After that? She later filmed a tiktok of herself getting her hair done just like yours!

It was borderline creepy once you had the time to connect the dots.

“You know what?” You place a hand on your hip, “I actually did. Even grew up there!”

Guero exhaled, just waiting for you to expose your history but you were playing right along. There was no way this woman was that much of airhead and didn’t recognize you. You had suspicions whenever you and Guero had your disagreements, he was always venturing off to some party to get wasted until he was ready to have a solid conversation that didn’t involve yelling. Staying out all night was his answers to coping and he knew how much it irritated you because the last thing you wanted was if something bad happened to the other, you didn’t want the last memory to be a shitty one you know?

“Wooow! See I knew it, babe! She just gives that vibe you know?” She grinned up at Guero who just hummed and forced a smile on his face.

You laugh with a shake of your head before turning your attention back to the computer to finish the process of checking the two in. They were staying for the weekend and unfortunately you were working this entire weekend, filling in for a co-worker who was a brand new dad and the other who normally worked weekends was down with the flu. Being understaffed was the norm these days but you really had to give props to the restaurant workers and bartenders in this hotel, the locals were a different breed that’s for sure. And not many people came out here to this copper mining town so you often had to take in the strange like a shot of tequila.

“Why Jerome?” Guero wonders.

Jerome, Arizona wasn’t your first choice—your friends tried to talk you out of it—nearly begged— but honestly you didn’t have a first choice yet you knew you wanted to stay in Arizona and thanks to a generator brought you here permanently.

You sigh, “I got tired of a lot of things in Tucson …the scorpions started to almost be infested where I lived and I didn’t want another scare but that’s a story for another time!” You winked at the tatted man before continuing, “Also I dropped out of school and living off savings wasn’t cutting it anymore so I got a job…far enough away where the job opportunities are somewhat better. That’s all I wanted, change and I got it.”

Guero didn’t have to read very hard between the lines to get where you were coming from. It wasn’t easy by any means, he loved a good chase and you happened to be his best one, yet not every relationship was going to be a walk in the park. Your father didn’t like him whereas his mother loved you. Guero or as you knew him—Gustavo—always felt like something was missing from his life so when he reconnected with his father, that’s unfortunately where your relationship started to falter even more.

Yes you had disagreements before Guero began to rebuild his relationship with his father. You wouldn’t point the finger at just that, you actually got along with his dad well. He always said you’re the one that would take Guero’s (yes he joked that once Guero had his eyes set on anything and decided to stick with it, he turned into the exorcist) spinning head and keep it on straight. Mostly your fights were over stupid little petty things, Guero was more independent when it came to financials being a stable tattoo artist before he got sworn into the Tucson charter whereas you always had backup from your own parent(s). Guero felt like you picked his mother’s side in his decision to be part of the club but his confidence in the club and his father made him boastful. Guero loved a good argument but once you weren’t trying to hear anymore, he was definitely going out to party with or without you.

He’s never cheated on you regardless of how it looked right now, he absolutely believed in a faithful union and although you said you needed a change…you weren’t exactly thrilled for him to be part of this brotherhood. With his new girl, who was very flashy online but sickeningly sweet in personality she wasn’t down his neck about what he did because she had her own shit to focus on. Not that you didn’t, considering you’ve been in school for what felt like forever but he wasn’t down to hear your disapproval.

It felt controlling at times.

“So…you’ll be staying with us for two nights and checking out on Sunday. You’ll be staying in the king guest room number five which is located on the upper floor. Here are some brochures that explain a little bit of the history of this hotel and town along with things to do.” You hold out the pamphlet which the woman happily takes and begins flipping through like it’s a vogue magazine, “I’ll just need your ID since we already have your payment on file and then I’ll send you two lovebirds off to enjoy the romantic getaway you booked.”

The woman sighs dramatically as she loops her arm with Guero’s as he digs through his back jeans pocket for said ID, “it’s her birthday and I thought it would be a nice change of scenery.”

“Yeah everyone’s looking for that lately.” You pluck the ID from Guero’s fingertips to input into the computer.

Guero huffs, “can’t be mad at that right?”

“Course not,” you mutter before putting your famous smile back on as you hand him back his card, “You two are all set, we hope you enjoy your stay here with us at the monolith. If there’s anything else we can do to make your stay more comfortable, please don’t hesitate to ask any of our staff.”

He notices how you didn’t mention them asking you for help but he bites back saying that out loud.

Guero’s new girl bounces on her toes, “oh this is going to be so cutie! Thanks girlie!”

You try not to cringe and manage to keep that smile on your face, even when Guero burns his dark eyes into your frame. Once they turn to leave with Guero’s duffel bag and her handful of bags that he’s mostly carrying, you let the smile drop with a roll of your eyes. Putting your back to the front desk you turn to see your manager peeking out from the back office ajar door.

He asks just based on the expression on your face, “Everything okay?”

“Peachy.” You say but thanks to having a good work relationship with your manager, who surprisingly wasn’t an asshole—although he looked like it with his magician mustache, waves you in to talk about it if you wanted.

It had to be about thirty minutes when you’re hearing the bell ring obnoxiously again. You knew you should have went out to enjoy your lunch because when your manager came back in to tell you that Guero wanted your, “assistance,” no matter which way he tried to persuade that you were busy and wouldn’t deal with him hounding his staff, you picked up on Guero’s irritation quickly once he let this drop from his mouth:

“What’re you her fucken sugar daddy or something? I wouldn’t think so with that shitty mustache. Trust me, she prefers facial hair much lower.”

That’s when you pushed the rolling chair back, the chair slammed against the wall as you dusted off the crumbs from your fingertips. The noise caught Guero’s attention as he craned his neck to try to see you.

“I knew she was back there, fucken bozo.”

You stepped out, running your tongue over your teeth as you gently placed a hand on your manager’s shoulder, “Mr. Bardales, I’d really appreciate it as much as my manager would, if you would refrain from making a scene.”

“I wouldn’t have to if this motherfucker wouldn’t have lied to my face.” Guero points at your manager who just sighs.

Your older manager already deemed Guero as being one of those difficult customers after learning just a little of what you shared.

You pat his shoulder, meeting his eyes to let him know you were fine and would handle this but that didn’t stop him from glaring at Guero on his way by, which made Guero raise his middle finger at him in response.

“Are you finished?” You clip, “you don’t think I get a break here?”

“Clearly you need a break dealing with a whack place like this.” Guero shrugs while he moves to rest his elbows on the counter.

Yet he picked this whack place to bring his new fling for the weekend? Make it make sense!

You roll your fingers around, “so what? What can I do for you since you’re down here showing your ass? Want to upgrade to the penthouse suite, which is on the adjacent building—

“No,” Guero interrupts with a shake of his head as he picked up a pen to rack against the counter, “I came down here to see what’s up with you?”

“Pardon?”

“Cut the shit,” Guero says your name with a scowl, “what’re you really doing out here?”

You start to feel your blood simmer, “where do you get off questioning me? You want to start shit, well let me talk my shit. How long did it take you to find my look alike, huh?”

“What?” Guero sucks his teeth, “she doesn’t look anything like you.”

“That bitch looks like she could be my half sister, stop it.”

You tried to cut back on using that word but sometimes old habits die hard.

Guero laughs with a drop of his head, “listen to yourself, sounding like you’re jealous that I’ve moved on.”

Did he though?

“Please, I doubt you’re truly happy. I never thought you would have gone for an influencer type of chick but…to each their own.” You start shuffling some papers.

Guero glared at you now, “that would make you happy huh? Me being fucking miserable.”

Your eyes burn into his now, slightly turning to see the dark lipstick that’s smeared on his cheek, “I meant what I said when we last saw each other, that I hope you get whatever you’re looking for and I thought that wasn’t me.”

“Are you serious? Once we finally got together…I never pictured anyone else. I wanted you, only you and I had you but I guess it just wasn’t enough then.” Guero shrugged, his shoulders then slumping just a bit but his jaw was still set.

Puffing out a breath you respond, “well now you got it…for however long this time. If there’s nothing else I can help you with in this moment then…I wish you both well.”

“Wait,” Guero grips your wrist, which your eyes peek down at before meeting his face once more, “…I just need to let you know…it’s probably always going to be you but in order for me to get that out of my head—

“You need to accept the things you can’t change?”

Just like you did. You think to yourself.

“Who says I can’t?” Guero argues with a furrow of his thick brows.

You pull out his first name with a scrunch of your nose, “I’m not fucking you Gustavo, uh uh that’s out.”

He laughs, running his thumb over your skin, “as much as I love your enthusiasm about spending a hot steamy afternoon with me that you’ll never forget…I just needed to be honest and ask…is there someone else for you?”

You blink but lean forward with Guero letting his eyes trail to your lips for a split second, “There could be. Maybe he’s in this whack town somewhere, who knows? Do you want me to let you know when I find them?”

“Fuck you, didn’t you block my number?”

“I did.”

“…why am I feeling like we’re not gonna cool?”

You tilt your head to the side, “I’ll say this, fuck you too and this will be the last time I think it or say it. You want to take up so much space in my mind but the thing is…you haven’t since I left. Clearly I’m still on yours rent free and forever got your heart according to you, so maybe I should be flattered?”

Guero’s eyes tighten at your words but he can’t lie and say his boy below wasn’t feeling something. You step back but Guero yanks on your wrist so that you’re almost bending towards him, “say what you want but I know you miss me.”

Cackling with your head thrown back, you wipe at the dampness by the corner of your eye, “What’s there for me to miss? It’s over. Oh and tell my twin that she needs to aim behind your ear next time, that was always your favorite spot right?”

Guero let’s go of your wrist and you move to fix your blazer just as he’s jumping over the counter to grip both sides of your face to smash his soft plump lips right against yours. His hips dig into yours as he shoved you back against the wall, mouth battling against yours followed by moans.

That’s what he thought about doing but by your words and body language, he knows if he pulled that, he would probably have to catch your hands first. So he’s stuck watching you walk away this time, that professional smile on your lips was deadly but he didn’t just watch you leave without chunking the pen at the wall once you’re no longer in his view.

Leaving a mark that contrasted against the paint and matched what he felt in his chest.

ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ ﾟﾟ ⋆ ﾟ

(Possibly) continue with my September anthology prompts here.

[just-dreaming-marvel]

Caught In A Web ~ 26

CAUGHT IN A WEB MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 2,165ish

Summary: Tony and you work on yourselves while apart.

Notes: This chapter is a little bit of a filler chapter... hope you guys still enjoy it!

When you woke up from Wanda’s spell, you were alone in your room. It surprised you to find yourself alone, especially since the whole Team was concerned. You got up and slowly made your way into the hall. Without even thinking, you found your way to Tony’s room. His familiar scent filled your nostrils as you opened the door. It was woody, yet metal. You couldn’t understand how he made that happen, but he did.

You walked in and noted how unorganized it was. Papers, Stark tablets, shirts, and mugs littered the room. You called it unorganized because you felt that it was neater than messy. Flopping onto his bed, you grabbed his pillow and fully inhaled his scent. Tears filled your eyes.

Tony wasn’t dead. He was in Malibu. He had left… he had left though he had promised not to leave your side. How were you supposed to feel safe without him?

Sitting up, you let go of the pillow and grabbed a t-shirt from the floor. You slipped it on before leaving the room. You couldn’t tell how you truly felt about Tony leaving, but you knew that you needed to take care of some things before seeing him again. Your feet led you to the door of your therapist. She opened soon after you knocked.

“Can we talk?”

~~~

“Have you talked to anyone at the Compound?” Rhodey asked as he and Steve stopped their work to eat some food.

“Natasha has been in touch,” Steve replied. “Y/N has been seeing her therapist daily and training with the others.”

“What have you told her about here?”

“Well, that we could start a construction company, first off.”

“That’s true. Has Y/N asked about Tony at all?”

“No, at least not to Nat. Have you heard anything about her from Tony?”

Rhodey sighed. “He only talks about this project and only this project in the week and a half that we’ve been here.”

Muttering under his breath, Bucky came over to the other two men.

“What’s going on, Buck?” Steve asked.

“Mr. Perfectionist said I’m not allowed to touch any of the electric tools anymore,” Bucky responded. “He said my old ways are ruining the house.”

“He’s getting worse,” Rhodey said. “Not solving any issues by distracting himself with projects is Tony’s M.O. Maybe we bring Y/N into this.”

“She may be the only one able to help,” Steve added.

“Ask Natasha for her opinion,” Bucky told Steve. “Y/N may not be ready herself.”

~~~

The tablet resting on the table in front of you gave you a view of all the perimeter cameras. Fury’s additional military aid had successfully scared some of the press away and had pushed back the others. Wanda had used her powers to enchant the trees across the river and along the electric fence line, hurting anyone with poor intentions.

You stared out the window and to the trees in the direction you knew the training grounds Tony made for you were. Your palms were getting sweatier with each passing second as if your powers were itching to be used. You hadn’t left the inside of the Compound since arriving there with Tony almost two weeks ago. It never felt safe enough. 

You had been working with your therapist on feeling safe, what you can control, and what to do when you can’t control it. She had challenged you to get out of the building and do something. You told her about what Tony made you, and she thought that heading out there would be a good idea. It had been five hours since that conversation, and you had been sitting at the table staring out the window ever since.

Natasha and Bruce had been watching you for the past thirty minutes, getting worried. They kept eyeing each other, wanting the other person to figure out a plan.

“I can feel you staring,” you stated quietly. The two moved into the room and sat on either side of you. “I’m trying to get the courage to go out and train.”

“Do you want one of us to come with you?” Natasha asked.

You gave yourself a moment to think before nodding.

“I’ll go with you,” offered Bruce. Natasha was a bit surprised, as he often opted out of training, but she rolled with it.

“Thanks,” you whispered. “I’ll get my bag and meet you at the door.”

You got up and went to the room attached to the training rooms that held the suits and other needed items. You took a duffle bag and threw some items in there before pausing in front of your suit. It was the first time you’d seen it since the mission weeks prior. It didn’t take long for you to notice that the suit was new. You reached out and brushed the fabric. It was different than your first suit, sturdier if possible. 

Tears filled your eyes as you thought about Tony making this after the mission. After the two of you had struggled and barely got out of there. Tony seemed to put your safety first in every way, so why did he run away?

Clearing your throat, you grabbed the suit and headed to where you said you’d meet Bruce. He was already there, a bag of his own slung over his shoulder.

“You ready?” He asked, trying to gauge your emotions before you answered.

You nodded with a swallow. Bruce opened the door and waited for you to make the first step out. Taking a deep breath, you walked out of the door. Bruce made sure to keep in step with you, just in case. He could tell that you were starting to stress but pushed it down. You looked like you were going to pass out by the time you reached the training area.

“You should sit,” Bruce recommended. 

“Yeah, okay,” you nodded, sitting near a large tree that you could lean against.

Bruce studied what Tony had made. “I’ve seen these plans in drawings. Tony did good.”

“Yeah… he did.” You opened your bag and took out your suit. “He always does good.”

“Is that the new one?”

“I think so.” 

You stood up and slipped it on over your training clothes. As soon as the mask was over your head, memories came flooding through your mind.

Your first time meeting Tony…

Letting out a sigh of relief, you went to pull off your mask, but you stopped yourself when you felt like you were being watched. Looking to the side you realized that Iron Man was staring right at you.

“Impressive,” he complimented through the suit.

“Thanks,” you responded, swallowing nervously. “What brings you around these parts, Iron Man? A little far from your glamorous tower, aren’t you?”

“You are actually the reason I’m out and about tonight.”

When Tony came up with the deal…

“What if I make you a deal?” You stopped walking backward and waited for him to continue. “Meet me on top of this building every Saturday evening, and I won’t force you to come to the tower for the eval.”

“Why?”

The shoulders of the Iron Man suit barely moved up as he shrugged. “Why not?”

You couldn’t tell what he wanted from you exactly, but you sensed he needed a friend. “Okay,” you nodded. “Yeah. I can do that… I guess I’ll see you next week, tin man.”

“I’m looking forward to it, spidey girl.”

When he offered to make you a suit…

“Did you sew this suit yourself?”

“I did.”

“You’re clearly not a professional seamstress.”

“Hey!” You playfully swatted at him. “Like you could do better.”

“Actually, I could. A lot better.”

“Are you offering to make me a suit?”

“Only if you want it.”

You shrugged. “I’ll think about it.”

“You’ll think about it? Tony Stark is offering to personally make you a suit and you’re just going to think about it?”

“Oh yeah.” You were smirking under the mask.

“You can’t be serious?”

“Completely.”

He shook his head. “You’re unbelievable, spidey girl.”

“I know.”

“Y/N?” Bruce’s voice pulled you from the memories.

“Hmm?” You hummed, looking at him through the mask.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Just… thinking.” 

You then broke into a sprint before leaping. You threw your arm out and shot a web onto one of the higher beams. Using the web, you swung yourself up and over the bars. Bruce watched as you swung and flipped around the training area. He smiled as he noted how your body seemed to realize more than it had in weeks. He even heard to let out a few laughs as you let yourself be free. Bruce pulled out a tablet to work as you let yourself swing. 

It felt so great for you to be using your powers and swinging again. But it truly made you miss the days when you and Tony would fly around the city. When you were just spidey-girl, and he was just tin man. It was somehow so much simpler.

You flipped to the ground, landing with a satisfying thud. You ripped your mask off with a smile. Bruce stood to meet you.

“How was it?” He asked.

“It was good,” you answered, panting slightly. “Very much needed.”

“That’s good. How are you feeling?”

“Okay… I’m feeling okay.”

“Okay is still good.”

“I know… would you come out here with me again tomorrow?”

“Of course.” The two of you began the walk back to the Compound. “Have you talked to Tony?” You shook your head, opting to remain silent. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah,” you mumbled. 

You would hope that Tony would come running back, but you were doubting it. Half the Team had been called to Malibu to be with Tony, and you didn’t know the exact reason why. You could only hope that being apart would get yourselves to a good enough place to work the rest of it out together.

~~~

Tony had personal trailers brought in for those helping him, even a few extras. Steve, Rhodey, Bucky, and Sam were all meeting in Steve’s trailer while Tony was still out there working in the middle of the night.

“He’s running on fumes,” Rhodey stated.

“It’s Stark,” Sam said. “He’s always running on fumes.”

“This is different, Sam. This is… a love-stricken fool.” 

“I think we need to call Y/N and get her here,” Steve suggested.

“No,” Bucky quickly responded. “We need to allow Y/N the time she deserves to heal. She’s making strides there; I talked to Nat and Bruce tonight. We can’t do something that will ruin this for her.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to see if she’s up for it.”

“It could hurt. It could hurt Y/N and Tony. They are the ones who have the make the first moves. We can’t force this on them.”

A loud crash suddenly sounded from outside the trailer. The men rushed out of the trailer to see that part of the wall had fallen down. Tony was standing to the side with an Iron Man gauntlet on, staring at the fallen wall.

“What the hell happened?” Bucky asked, rushing up to the man.

Tony shrugged, walking towards his trailer, which sat opposite everyone else’s. “I hated the wall. Need to go back to the drawing board.”

“He’s lost it,” Sam stated as Tony disappeared into his trailer.

Rhodey closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “Why couldn’t he have just hired someone out for this?” He asked.

In Tony’s trailer, he was staring at ten different drafts of the house. He wanted it similar to his old place but new and designed with you in mind. Nothing was turning out the way he wanted it to be—perfect. You deserved nothing less than perfect.

Mindlessly, Tony used a tablet to get the day’s security feed of the Compound. He watched as you went to training with Nat and therapy. Then he watched you eat lunch and stare out the window. Tony was silently killing himself over the way he simply disappeared. But he wasn’t brave enough to return unless he had something to show that the time apart was worth it. He was really questioning his own thought process.

As the video footage from the Compound continued, Tony noticed you and Bruce training out on the equipment Tony had built. He let himself smile for a moment as he watched you train in the new suit he had made you, noting more improvements that could be made. You were so amazing. Despite everything, you weren’t holed up in your room but chose to keep going. You hadn’t even chosen to leave the Compound, to officially leave Tony. He had to take that as a good thing.

Tony grew sad as he continued to think about you and miss you. He needed to make this right, more than he was already trying to. Because Tony Stark never thought he was doing enough.

next chapter >

[l0ves1ckf0ol]

ISSUES. . . . xavier thorpe x gn!reader

"after that night he knew it was you all along."

genre: hurt/comfort

part 1

tags: @gutterrataesthetic

semestral break begins, students went home. well, most of them. you however decided to stay behind, after all the events that happened with wednesday you didn't want to go home to your family annoying you with questions about her. it's also because if you go home you would see xavier more since your father was close friends with mr. thorpe it wouldn't help you because your cause was to ignore him to get rid of the feelings that you felt for him. yes, he's a nice guy, and yes he probably is worth the wait- you just didn't want any distractions, or so you would call him.

you couldn't shake the memory of the night where you visited xavier in prison. you were sure you were going insane, but after that meeting you pretty much avoided xavier.

truth be told, he really is a good guy. you just worry for him because wednesday treats him like shit and he still seems to chase her around. you also thought of his trust issues towards bianca, he definitely did not have a great childhood. you didn't want to do something wrong and he'd go along with it, you were scared of hurting him unintentionally.

but thus, the universe ignored your prayers and there he was, sitting at one of the picnic tables at the quad, waiting out the laze of the semestral break.

it was nighttime thankfully, more places to hide within the shadows, though you could move and travel in shadows, your figure ought to be seen, kind of like how peter pan has his own shadow.

you weren't so lucky that evening.

xavier lowers his sketchbook to his lap and stared at the cobbled wall that you were hiding in, the warm candlelight illuminating your shadow. you held your breath, did he see you? "y/n?"

you cursed mentally and walked out the walls, as if it was a portal.

"didn't know you stayed behind for sembreak." you muttered, approaching him. you couldn't walk away now. do you even want to?

xavier closed his sketchbook and placed it on the table along with his pencil. "my dad's busy anyways." he sighs, sadly. you almost felt bad. "well you know, i'm supposed to be going home now, they gave me an earful earlier this afternoon rambling on and on about addams and how she must be making her parents proud and bla bla bla" you told him with a laugh, he chuckled.

he kept giving you this look, as if he was waiting for something- expecting from the lazy poltergeist.

"i haven't been talking to you lately after you got bailed out. you okay?" xavier scoffed, "don't give me that. you were the one ignoring me, why should you ask." he muttered bitterly. you sighed through your nose, "because i'm your friend, thorpe. believe it or not." you told him stiffly, crossing your arms. xavier stood up, towering over you.

"you're one to talk about being friends, you just pop up in my life when i'm in doubt, whenever i'm feeling low. you're like my personal therapist." he told you and you chuckled sarcastically, "oh i'm sorry, for trying to cheer you up. should i stop? i gladly will." you slightly raise your voice and he notices this, he has never heard you yell before. "it doesn't feel like we're even friends anymore, y/n." he clarifies. you stare at him, raising a brow.

"we used to meet up at the art studio, copy off of each other's homework, literally skipping class together- you never talk to me anymore. it's like i don't exist unless you feel the need to comfort me, i'm not a child." xavier argues, you wanted to shove him and run away right now but you had to face him somehow. you swallowed harshly, trying to restrain yourself from saying something stupid, but you did.

"you're one to talk about my own flaws when you can't even see what's happening right in front of you." you shot back, breathing heavily, you felt provoked by him. xavier's face scrunched up in confusion, "what do you mean??" he demands.

"hello! i get that you're head over heels for wednesday, and by seeing how she treats you? you can't even fucking see that, xavier." you told him, practically yelling at him now. he was stunned, he always saw you- carefree, wild spirited and funny. now you were an angry grenade about to go off. "your daddy issues are fucking showing xavier. i just want you to feel i'll be right here whenever a certain someome treats you wrong. because frankly, for some reason i can't get enough of you." you went off, stammering between your words as you're not used to arguing someone so tall and intimidating. xavier scoffed, picking up his materials and walked away.

you scowled, in disbelief "you're seriously walking away?" you tested him, he didn't turn around, your heart falls to the pit of your stomach, a feeling you loathed. "i don't even know why i like you!" you yell after him and ran straight to the shadows.

did he hear that right? xavier stopped in his tracks, looking behind him. you were gone. he didn't know why you said that, he didn't want to like wednesday, after that night- he knew it was you all along. you were there whenever wednesday wasn't, you were there when bianca couldn't make it. it was all you. he needed to find you. more or less in your dorm, that'd be creepy he thinks. whatever you said was the truth, he had issues. you were there to stick around and see how that unfold. you don't like racing, you didn't like pursuit, which is why xavier begins to theorize that you don't want to be some sort of an option to him. you just wanted to be there for him.

he didn't want to be a creep really, so he sat outside your door, sketching away into the night, hoping to catch you, sooner or later fell asleep.

you open the door, you couldn't sleep and figured might as well go do something. then you saw him. layed down on the floor, using his sketchbook as a pillow and his pencil right beside him. he looked ridiculous you could've laughed. he looked so at peace, lately its always been a sour face or a forced smile, now he's slightly drooling but at peace.

you knelt by him and traced your index finger on his nose, his cheekbones, his jaw, hearing him breathe gently caused you to feel more regret.

"y/n?" he slowly opens his eyes to see you, blinking twice to process what you were doing as you pulled back your hand so quickly. "you have a dorm, idiot. good night." you mumbled towards him, making him pout as you felt an arm reach out to you and a hand grasping yours, not letting you go. not this time.

"'m sorry." he hums softly, getting up as he's yet again tugging your sweater sleeve like a little boy, inviting you to sit next to him. so you did, he was only looking at you now, a look with dreadful longing. "i've loved you since forever. did you know that?" he told you, his words slurring due to being a little bit tired than usual. "i mean i did like bianca, but at first it was just for you to stop avoiding me." he huffs out, childishly frustrated, leaning his head against your shoulder. "don't talk about wednesday anymore, she was just another lookalike. you both dress the same, you used to braid my hair when we were kids- she reminded me of you." xavier whispers to your ear. "admit it, you were pretty dang attracted to wednesday too." you chuckled, thinking the same.

"i had a feeling you liked me back, i just thought you didn't want to be friends with me anymore." xavier muttered, you hum in thought. "hey please. talk to me, don't leave me hanging..." he huffs.

"prove it, that you like me." you told him, xavier gave you his sketchbook. "here."

you flutter through the pages, it was either you or your shadows, a drawing caught your eye though. it was when you were coming out of a wall, at the rave'n dance, wearing a flawless white suit, your hair styled in a different way. "want more proof?"

you looked at him as he was 3 inches closer to your face. "sure." xavier held your cheek and caressed it with his thumb, pressing your lips against his. finally, a moment you waited and loathed for.

[glitteredrry]

ghost of you

summary: their lives have changed so much in the past 6 months. what has been going on in the two lovers lives months after their affair ended?

warnings: angst, smut (if you squint), and exs. this will be the last part of the series. if this is your first time reading this please read part one and part two for background.

wc: 4.8k

How do you mourn a person that isn’t dead?

Especially when you are surrounded by memories that always linger around you. 

It had been six months since Harry was last in her apartment. It was almost torture being in the one place the both of them created the most memories. Her home had almost become like a sanctuary for them both. A place where they could touch each other without a care in the world. Intimate moments that the two of them would only know about.

For these past months, Y/N began to see a therapist. She needed a listening ear that her friends couldn’t be for her. These months have been a reflection of her time with Harry. There were days where she felt as if she had defeated the feelings she had lingering for her ex lover. Then she had days like today.

Today was a rough day for Y/N. She was going through one of her moments of sadness. Her eyes were on the painting that Harry had first approached her at. Yes, Harry actually found a way to buy the painting behind her back, and surprised her with it on their anniversary. 

“Open your eyes, my heart.” 

Y/N’s face immediately dropped at the colorful canvas infront of her eyes. Her hand reached out to touch and see if this was true. 

Harry watched her with bright eyes trying to gauge her reaction. He thought that he was doing too much, but the past six months he had spent with her were magical. He needed to have some way to express that. 

“It’s the original one for the night we met. There were some strings that I had to pull but it was worth it.” Harry said as he began to get nervous the more she wouldn’t say anything. 

“I love it. I love you.” Y/N’s mind had slipped up because she was so entranced with the painting that she had forgotten that they had never said those sacred words to each other. ‘

“Y-you love me?” When Harry repeated the question to her it finally snapped for her. Y/N had always been a confident woman. One who would stand her ground no matter what. At this moment. She felt the need to cower and retract her words. Harry had studied her for these few months and he saw an emotion he never did before. She was terrified. 

“I- I don’t-,” she couldn’t even get her words out right.

“If you meant that. Truly meant that. I love you too.” 

Y/N rushed to connect their lips together. The pair spent that night on her living room floor making love infront of the fireplace. Where above hung the painting that brought the two lovers together.

She was pulled out of the memory when her phone began to ring. Honestly, she was suffering from a little bit of PTSD from her cellphone ringtone. Harry had called her phone over thirty times before she blocked him permanently. She had voicemails from him on her phone that she had yet listened to. Looking down to find her device, the name on the screen happened to be a childhood friend. Picking up the phone, she had to move it away from her ear as Jonathan called out to her.

“Wake the hell up,” this was something that he would say to her no matter the time of day. 

“Not today, I have no desire to.”

“That is the issue right there. We need to get you out of the house. You’re coming with me.”

“To where?” She asked nipping at her skin.

“A bar. It’s going to be very casual. Only a few friends coming. If it gets too much I’ll let you retreat to your fortress.”

“I’ll stop by for one drink. Send me the location.” 

…

Being out for the first time in months felt a little strange. She put on a brave while set with her friends. Her second drink was finally starting to settle in her stomach as she started to nurse on the third drink her friend had for her. 

Y/N wasn’t ready to fully lead a conversation yet, but she was fully engaged. Each time a joke was shared amongst the group she would throw her head back in laughter. 

What Y/N didn’t know was that her ex-lover was staring at her across the room. Harry had been watching her for about ten minutes. He couldn’t believe the sight in front of him. 

Six months without seeing her, feeling her touch, taking in her beauty. When his eyes landed on her, he felt as if someone hit him in the chest with a ball. His breath was taken away. 

Then the rage came. 

A reminder of how his life had been going for the past months. It all started with the email.

Harry’s wife didn’t get the chance to read it the night that she sent it, but by morning disaster knocked on the front door of his home. 

Once Harry stepped back inside the house after dropping his daughter at school his wife confronted him immediately. He couldn’t even get a word in. He was called every name under the book. He was grasping at straws because he didn’t understand how she found out. Harry already knew that he was a liar, cheater, and disgusting. 

One thing about him that was certain, is that he was a perfectionist.

 A perfectionist in everything in his life. This one trait caused him to climb higher at his job than the average person. When he began this affair he spent his time planning and organizing everything to the smallest detail. 

He had a credit card on the side that his wife had no clue about so he could use it freely with Y/N. If they planned a trip away he had a solid excuse for it, and if his wife happened to catch on he had an excuse for that. Any time that he spent away from home he made sure there was an excuse to match it. He never brought Y/N to his home, so there would never be a trace of her lingering. He was in control of the whole situation. So how could he possibly have lost control of everything? 

“The audacity of her. T-that fucking video. You’re a coward. Your mistress had to tell me before you could.” You would have thought at the moment he would have cared about consoling his wife. His pregnant wife was clearly in distress, but all he could think about is Y/N. He couldn’t describe it as anything else but betrayal. 

“S-she told you? Where?” He moved around the house frantically away from his wife pacing toward his office as his wife followed. 

“My email. How long did this go on? Why did she make it sound like you had a full-blown relationship with her, Harry?

Because it was.

He loved her. To anyone on the outside this possibly couldn’t be love. It was complicated for him. His body was placed with his family while his heart rested in the hands of someone else. He didn’t answer her as he sat down in his office going immediately to look at what she said. 

“All you care about is what she said. What about me?”

“What do you want me to say? I’m sorry? I don’t know if I am. I didn’t intend on falling in love with another woman, but it happened. Grace we need to be truthful, we both fell out of love with each other years ago. The arguing, then the fertility. There was a point in time when what we had was love. Now all you look at me as is some sort of sperm donor. We don’t have love.” He unleashed all the feelings that he had been keeping hidden inside of him. His affair with Y/N surely wasn’t the start of the downfall of his marriage. There was no love long before, Y/N came into the picture. 

“She didn’t ruin our marriage. We- I did.” He moved from the computer needing a moment. Hearing the words out of his own mouth he couldn’t help but feel a bit of emotion coming to him. Maybe they could have worked out their issues with enough counseling. He would never know because he never gave it the chance to. Instead, he searched for the love that he had before in another home. A temporary cushion of relief from the tension in his marriage would end up shifting his life.

“I’m taking Isabella and leaving. You don’t deserve to see her or this child.” This is when Harry lost it momentarily. He was a shit husband there was no denying that, but he was always a good father. Grace knew this. She wanted to hurt Harry in the worst possible way, and one of the only ways she knew to do this was through the kids. 

“How fucking low are you to threaten me with not seeing my children?” He said shooting up from the desk to stand. He didn’t want to get anywhere near her while feeling this angry. He would never hurt her, but he also didn’t want to scream in her face. 

“You won’t keep me away from my girls no matter how angry you might be feeling. Isabella is not leaving this home. I’ll leave. She’s staying right here where I know she will be safe. Where I know how to get to her.” Grace couldn’t even stand to see him anymore. She was disgusted by him. 

“Right now, I’m going to leave. When Bella is out of school I’m picking her up, and I don’t want you here. I can’t stand to look at you.” With that said she walked out leaving the house. 

Harry sat down in his seat and began to cry in his hands. He loved his daughter with everything in him. Every morning was their time together. From breakfast until he walked her into class. Right now, he knew that it was possibly about to be taken away from him. He would never be able to explain to her why he ruined the foundation of their home. 

His little girl that was growing in his wife’s belly was going to be born into something that was broken. He collected himself because he knew that he would have to in order to make it through this rough area in his life. His eyes trailed from the keyboard, and he knew by looking at the black screen he needed to search for the email.

He immediately scrambled to go search for it. Once he reached it he couldn’t help but be full of fury. 

Dear Mrs. Styles,

There is no easy way for me to put this and I hate that it has to be done in this cruel way. I’ve been having an affair with your husband. Harry and I have had a relationship since last year. I knew that he was married and I’m sure that you’re asking “why didn’t I care? Why now?” The truth is that I just simply cannot answer that in a way that could provide you some comfort. I thought what Harry and I had was love in the purest form. Real, raw, and passionate. I’ve slowly realized today that it wasn’t that at all. There was never any love between us. Harry has told me lies and many empty promises. Today our relationship ended but I wanted you to hear it from me. This is my side of the truth that he more than likely will never choose to disclose to you. I’m sure that you will think that I’m some crazed person making up allegations. All the attachments below are him and I. There is no way that he could spin or lie about this. I’m sorry.

Three Attachments

He went over the email once more, and the waves of anger in him that he just would never be able to understand. He was so upset that she would question his love for her. He didn’t know what to do or how to handle a situation like this. Then he looked at the attachments that hadn’t loaded. 

Taking a deep breath he stared at the first which was a picture. 

The first one was them together last spring. A simple selfie of the lovers infront of a wall of flowers. Harry’s head was tucked into her neck breathing in her scent and if he closed his eyes he swore he could be taken back to the exact moment. Harry knew that right here he was in love with her and you could see it all over his face. 

He moved to the second attachment which was a bit more sentimental to him. He hated that even though he couldn’t be angrier at her right now, he smiled once the photo came onto the screen. Harry and Y/N had been away just for the weekend. 

During the trip, every single thing possible could have gone wrong. Harry caught a flat while going up to their destination. Once the roadside assistance finally showed up. They both were so tired. They decided instead of continuing the drive they would just look for a hotel in the area and continue tomorrow. 

All of the decent hotels in the area were booked. This made the two lovers show up at a rundown motel. Once they hit the bed they couldn’t do anything but laugh. Y/N climbed on top of him to take a picture of him on top of the outdated comforter.

You could see that Harry’s hands were placed on her thighs. Soon after the picture was over they both whispered how much they loved each other. In the same outdated room, they made love for the first time before they even told each other verbally.

The last attachment made him physically sick. He was sick that Y/N sent this because she knew that he would see. The fact that his wife even had to see this also made him sick. This night was in her apartment. It was a rough spot in their relationship. 

Truthfully, it was a reunion after not seeing each other for two weeks. Harry wasn’t finding a way to fit her into his free time, and she asked him about her place in his life. Which led to a huge argument. After a week of no talking, Harry started to miss his lover. 

The second week was considered forgiveness week. He started off strong, he would send flowers to her job begging to talk. Then he would send her favorite desserts to her house. On the exact fourteenth day, he called her and she happened to finally answer. He said that he was five minutes away from her home.

Y/N couldn’t help but feel special. 

He was coming to her after he got out of work, so to her, she felt like he chose her. One of the things he didn’t do is come to her house straight after work. Especially during a weekday. For one of the first times, she felt more important than his wife. Once she answered the door for him, the lovers spent the rest of the time reconciling. 

They talked, they cuddled, and they fucked.

One thing about them, they expressed themselves best in this way. If their minds weren't connected their bodies always could be. Before Harry had to leave, she had offered him to take a bath together. Harry didn’t care what lie he had to make he was going to join that bath. Y/N sat everything up when he agreed to it. There were candles set up all around the bathroom. It was romantic just like she wanted for her lover.

 Before they got in the tub, Y/N turned to Harry. “I want to record us. Just to remember this moment. That we can get through anything thrown our way. I love you, H. I want to record our love.” 

Harry felt like a deer in headlight. He was so in love with her, he never wanted to record before. For some reason, he wanted to see it. See their love.

“I love you. I want to record us.” 

Sometimes they had to be separated from each other longer than both of them would have liked. He also wanted to have something just for them. In case they had that feeling of missing each other. As they went into the bathroom bare of any clothes they climbed into the tub together. Before Y/N went o go lay on his chest, she sat the phone in the corner of the tub. They just wanted it to be authentic.

As he watched it back, you couldn’t really see their faces due to the dim lighting. Anyone in the world could identify that it was Harry due to his recognizable tattoos. 

The video first started with just some light touching. Y/N relaxed as Harry began to rub his hands across her stomach under the water. He went to kiss her neck and Y/N gave him clear access to it. As his hands lowered he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. 

Of course, you couldn’t see what Harry’s hand started doing, but it was a clear indication of what it was when Y/N let out a long moan. His fingers slipped in between her cunt finding her clit. Y/N’s grip on the tub tightened as Harry’s unoccupied hand grabbed her thigh to try and keep them apart. He can now hear everything he is saying on video since he stopped talking in her ear. 

“Let me see that pretty cunt, don’t hide from me.” 

“You like how that feels? Talk to me, darling.” 

“Just let me take care of you.”

He remembered how long that exact foreplay lasted so he decided to skip the video when it was near the end. He stopped at the part where Y/N was now riding him screaming out his name. You can hear and see Harry’s ecstasy. His moans could be heard from even the lowest volume on his computer. While he is being vocal his hands are scratching across Y/N’s lower back. 

“I’m going to come, Harry. I can’t control it. Come with me please.” She said crying out as the water was nearly spilling out of the tub. 

“Let me feel you, I’m right here.” As soon as she clamped down on him she collapsed into his arms slightly shaking from her orgasm. Harry released inside of her tightening his arms around her body and screaming out “I love you, you’re so good to me.” As he hugged her to his body, that's the only thing that repeated from his mouth until he felt her coming down. 

The rest of the video is them cuddling while he is still inside of him until the screen cuts off for some reason. Y/N edited the video. He would never forget what he said at the end of that. 

“One day, this will be us every day. You’ll be my wife. I have to make you my wife.”

Harry immediately deleted the email from his wife’s account for good. He let out a deep sigh leaning back in his office chair. There were just so many thoughts going through him. He needed to get the fuck out. So, he did exactly that. He had collected anything that he would be able to fit inside his car. He walked out of the home for the last time leaving memories behind that he never thought he would. Harry truthfully didn’t know where to go, so when he knocked on one of his close friend's door. He made his place in a spare room and was there until he found a temporary penthouse where he had been staying since.

…

These past months had flashed through his mind while he continued to watch her across the bar. Every emotion. He had never planned to see her again, well maybe again but not this soon. Once Y/N got up and excused herself from the group, Harry felt as if that was a green light. He trailed her close enough for him to see her, but not to alert her that someone was following her. 

Once she pushed out the back door, she let out a heavy breath finally feeling free from having to be social. By now she had too many drinks, and was ready to head home. When she heard the back door open her head turned at the sound. Harry swore that he had never seen a person’s face turn into a deep scowl this fast. As the door shut, Y/N let out a loud scoff. 

“What are you doing here, Harry?”

He kept his mouth shut for a while taking in her beauty. As if it was the first time he met her. He took in her grace. Only this time it wasn’t a curious stranger, it was a scorned lover. Who looked at him with so much hatred it made Harry want to run.

“I’m just here to talk.” He finally spoke and walked toward her. She backed away as if she feared him. 

“Y-you followed me here?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, I happened to be here too. You would think that after fucking me for a year you would know I come here with my friends.” Harry hated the bitterness laced his tone. He knew that it was about to get nasty. 

“After a year of fucking,” she said under her breath. Laughing at his choice of words. 

“I’m just saying what you’ve clearly felt. You didn’t feel any love from me, right? We were just fucking around for a year.” He was poking the bear on purpose. Over their time together, they both knew how to press each other's buttons in a way no one ever could. 

“You’re fucking unbelievable.” 

“Just quoting you, sweetheart. I actually saw everything that you had to say during your little email.” Y/N felt her face drop a little at the mention of the email. In her defense, she spent the time trying to bury Harry in a deep pocket in her brain. She recalled sending the email, but once she sent it she never reread what she said exactly. She didn’t want to. Whatever she typed first is exactly what she wanted to say. 

“I-I forgot about the email.” She said breathlessly.

“You forgot about the email? Y-you fucking forgot about the email that turned my life upside down? The email that has me seeing my babies just for the weekend. Everything between us must really be shit if this is all so forgettable for you” She couldn’t believe the words falling out of his mouth. 

“If that’s what you believe then why should I waste my time talking to you?”

“How the fuck do I know what to believe? You know for the first month I read that email over and over. Not understanding how you felt. You’re talking in that email with so much hate” Tears began to hit her eyes. Everything was starting to feel overwhelming. Feelings that she was trying to recover from. 

“Then I start thinking about the soft touches, you kissing me, or even the night in that bathtub; I start to think to myself how a person could be so delicate with me and then send an email like that.” His voice was soft. She could remember the things that she said to him. She can remember the touches that her fingers felt. Looking at him was hurtful. Not only mentally grueling but physically. She could still feel his lingering touches on her skin after all this time. 

“Was I some kind of thrill to you?” He asked provoking her. He just wanted her to talk to him. Even if she was screaming at him he wanted it. He wanted anything she would give him. “Fucking a married man and being able to get away with it? Did you ever even have one ounce of love for me? For us? Tell me!” He screamed out in the empty alleyway.

“You’re so blinded by one thing that I did, you can’t even see your own shit. You drove me to write that email. You can blame me for falling in love with you, sure. Then I’m going to need you to look in the mirror and recognize your own faults. Maybe on how this situation is all on you.” 

Harry shook his head at her words, it wasn’t the fact that he didn’t already know this; He didn’t desire to hear it from the woman he still loved. 

“You approached me first, even with the hotel you were the one who came to me.” He knew that he did, but he wouldn't be able to explain to anyone other than himself how he felt as if he had no choice. It felt that everything was fate. He let her talk because he had no idea if this was going to be the last time that they did. It was pathetic how he didn’t want this conversation to ever end. “So, don’t you ever stand here, and blame me for you getting less time with your kids. This happened because of your actions.”

“I know.”

“If you know why would you say that shit to me.”

“I-I don’t know.” Harry was at a loss for words now. Anything that they ever had died as soon as he walked out her door six months ago. Y/N stepped closer to Harry. It was too far for Harry’s liking, but if he wanted to he could reach out to her. 

“You broke my heart, Harry.” She said weakly. A tear began to roll down her face and almost as if was in his nature Harry reached out to wipe it away. She whimpered at his touch. Harry savored this moment knowing that this would more than likely be the last time. 

“I know, my heart. I didn't intend to, but it happened this way.”

“Why did you get her pregnant?” She knew that she sounded insane for the question, but it was the one thing that happened been circling in her head for months. This was the betrayal that hurt her the most. Y/N broke down thinking about it.

She had been filling up her head for months with this idea of her having a future with him. She imagined them together with kids one day. She had imagined them married. Even if she said now that she never thought about it even after they broke up, she would be lying to herself.

At night, she would often sit in her bed staring at the high ceiling, and think about what could have been. Harry hated to see the hurt that was across her face. Harry didn’t care if she hated him. He brought his arms around her letting her fall into his chest as she cried. She didn’t protest because his touch was her kryptonite. It felt so good to have him in this way even if it was only for a while. 

“Shh, I never lied to you. I wasn’t trying to have another child with her. There must have been a slip-up. I’m sorry. I’m not moving either, not anymore. I’m staying here. I didn't mean for things to go this way. I didn’t know what to do.” He whispered out to her. Maybe if he said these things six months ago, then it would have turned out differently for the two lovers.

He didn’t know if his words consoled her. All he could hope for was that she heard him. “What I said about the email was true. I forgot about it because I’ve been trying to erase you from my memory. How could I erase you if you’re the first person I’ve ever loved like this? It doesn’t make it easier if I see you, Harry.” She stepped back away from him.

Harry was surprised when he felt her lips on his. He immediately brought his hands to her hips keeping her close to him. Feeling her sweet touch after this long, was something he never knew he needed. As she broke away a little too soon for his liking. She stared into his emerald eyes which held so much joy. She knew Harry was more than likely hoping that this would be their reunion. 

“You need to let me recover from you. If you see me in public ignore me. Avoid places that we both like. I don’t know what the hell you will have to do.” Harry’s mouth dropped in shock. He felt as if his heart was beating more rapidly with each sentence. 

“We are now ghosts to each other. My heart can’t take any more damage from you. You will let me go. For good, Harry. Forget me. There is no other option for us.” 

“What happened to we can get through anything thrown our way? You said that. They’re your words.” 

“Things change, Harry.” She tore her eyes off of him and stormed past him back inside.

As she passed by, he closed his eyes basking in her scent that trialed a few seconds behind her. It was gone by that time he heard the door slam, signaling her being gone for good. There was no trace of her. Harry knew that it would be too painful to knowingly be in the same room after everything. 

He walked down the alley not caring about the darkness until he called a cab. She had asked him to forget her. No matter how painful it was for him to do, he followed the one request that his lover asked. No matter how many years would pass that’s always what she would be to him. He’s broken more than enough promises to her. He needed to do something right, and that’s exactly what he was going to do. 

Forget her. 

A/N: Ahh! The end of cheater H! Thank you for being here and reading along. There were so many different ways I could have gone, but this for me feels the most right. I went back and forth if I should reunite them or show them a few years later. As much as I loved both ideas this ending felt the most real to me. Also, it leaves me an opening if I ever feel inspired to add an ending to them. Maybe in the future or if someone requested I can write a few blurbs about different parts of their relationship. Time will tell. Thank you so much once again. I love you. <3

(tagged @harrysficreblog @bxbyysstuff @devilsqueen722)

[princessb4mbi]

MESSAGES I CAN’T SEND

꩜ tags black!reader, therapist!eren, college setting, age gap (reader in 20s, eren in 30s), power dynamic, not so protective sex? mentions of death [not proofread]

꩜ synopsis isn’t it obvious to hide your private life better? or was it not obvious when a video of you dry-humping a pillow was sent to your therapist.

@ word count 3.6k

story below the cut !!

ever since you’ve lost your mother to old age, your mental health has spiraled downwards a little bit. you’ve had the privilege of knowing when she WOULD die and at-least died in a proper place rather than somewhere shitty, so that’s cheered your spirits up a little bit. she was your best friend though, and losing your best friend is painful. you went to her whenever you could, talked on the phone for hours, and slept in her bed every night as if you were still five years old. 

you weren’t the only one suffering though, your childhood friend sasha couldn’t stand watching you wither away. even though she did everything she could, she knew she was capable of oh so much. 

you weren’t the only one suffering though, your childhood friend sasha couldn’t stand watching you wither away. even though she did everything she could, she knew she was capable of oh so much. 

“do you want me to hook you up with my therapist? he’ll seriously help you clear all cloudy thoughts away y/n,” sasha says caressing your cheeks

you move your face away from her hand, “they aren’t cloudy thoughts sas, im just grieving my mother..” 

“i know baby, i know.. but i don’t want to grieve YOU if you die of a heartbreak. i want you to get better, physically and mentally.” sasha looks at me emphatically.

she pulls out her phone and scrolls through her contacts until stopping at a card called “dr.jaeger”. “listen, give him a call please. his prices are cheap and his place is nice. it’s not like those dull white offices with an ugly long chair and a monotone person.” 

you sighed, reluctantly agreeing to her copying and pasting the number to your phone. “okey, i gotta go now babe, but PROMISE me you’ll give him a call, he’ll help you, and if he doesn’t i’ll play for any of your bills ok?” sasha says packing up her stuff. she kisses your cheek before leaving the quiet study area, leaving you alone to your own thoughts. 

you stare at the contact card, pulling dr. jaeger’s name up on your laptop and scrolling through his website. sasha was right about one thing, his prices WERE cheap. about $65 an hour and he also had packages where two weeks of therapy would be about $350 in total.   

the prices however, weren’t enough to convince you fully, as your scroll down to see the reviews.  

“dr. jaeger saved me. after the loss of my wife, i never felt like so lonely, but my daughter told me about him and he’s helped me heal properly and not turn to anything crazy. he’s an amazing person with amazing talents as such a young age. 5 stars” 

ok.. that was something. not that you were going to invalidate them, but that seemed just.. fake. you decided to read another one.

“oh my gosh. no one would believe how amazing someone is at listening and understanding a person’s thoughts. dr. jaeger was nothing like those terrible therapists who make you pay $100 for an shitty hour call. oh how i wished i can say more, but the character limit is fu” 

you giggled at that one. maybe i should give him a call. with a deep breath, you called the number. 

“hello? my name is y/n, i’d like to speak to dr. jaeger please.” 

— 

it’s been about a month since you’ve scheduled a session with dr. jaeger, only having to wait that long due to “heavy traffic”. sasha is currently driving you to the building. 

“you know, i’m really proud of you for calling. i was scared you were going to stay depressed forever.” sasha says over her 80s radio playing. 

“let’s not get too happy yet, he could still be shit at his job..” you say cutting down any happy thoughts. 

“you’re STILL doubting him y/n? i get that some people are money hungry, but i promise you he’s not. if he was, do you think ME of all people would be recommending you to him? i mean c’mon, have some faith please.” 

“i’m sorry, i just nervous ok. my stomach is doing backflips at the moment.” 

“hey man, if you feel like farting, ill park somewhere and you can walk the rest of the way.”

you two pull up to the parking lot, fancy with a modern style front. the office itself if very modern and 2 floored. 

“k, i’m gonna drop you off here, call me when you’re done ok?” 

you walk out of sasha’s car, waving her goodbye while she drives away. you walk into the sleek office, with painting from what you the assume were from the last two centuries. 

the receptionist greets you with a nice smile “welcome, how may i help you today?” you give her your name. “ah i see, you right on time then, ill have this guard guide you to dr. jaeger’s office.” just then, a semi tall man with a black uniform from comes in-front of me. “right this way.” 

he leads me into the elevator, where he then leads me into a hallway with lots of rooms. there’s multiple therapists in this building, all with different ways. as i look through the glass windows, i see pet therapy, group therapy and even massage therapy. the guard finally stops at a door, with a name tag having “DR. JAEGER” on it. “here’s your room, have a nice day.” he says as he’s walking away. you give him a quick thank you and knock on the door. 

a deep “come in.” follows shortly after, and you enter the room. first impression of when you enter the room was that sasha was right. the room was anything from boring, and didn’t have white walls but instead had a mix of brown and auburn. there was lots of old-style decor too. a record player, cd’s and even the tv was kinda old. 

however you were greeted with the most shocking thing of all, dr. jaeger himself. he looked away from his papers, to look at you and gave you a warm smile. his visuals was… something you didn’t expect. most therapist are middle-aged men and women, that are sort-of not the most attractive. but that was ok, because they wanted to help you, not seduce you. dr. jaeger on the other hand was extremely beautiful. he has dark brown hair, put up in a semi-messy bun, the most luscious green eyes, and very kissable pink lips. 

i guess you were admiring his facial features for too long to notice dr. jaeger looking at you weirdly. “maybe un-responsive.” he mutters to himself, typing down on his laptop. upon hearing his words, you apologize and scurried to the seat in-front of him. 

“or not. . . my name is dr. jaeger, if you’ve haven’t gotten a chance to see on the door.” 

“i did, sorry for not responding earlier.” 

“it’s ok, its common for most genders to be shocked at how i look.” dr. jaeger said in a non-concerned voice. you were took aback a little by his comment, most genders to be shocked at how he looked? you were wondering if he was just annoyed at the common occurrence or just knew that he was an attractive man. “pushing that aside,” he sighed “sasha has told me a lot about you.” he says looking up at you. 

“she did?” you question.

“mhm, she cares for you ms….” he looks at the paper look for your last name. 

“y/l/n.” 

“ah, thank you. sasha cares for you ms. y/l/n. she talks about your recovery, and wants you to best happy for her.” he says maintaining eye contact. you can’t respond to such kindness. all you can do is nod your head and smile. 

“but as a therapist view-point, the death of a loved one is one of the hardest battle we have to overcome as a human being. no matter how emotionless a person may be, the death of anything else to them will always cause someone to break. that’s just how we are, we humans . . . after all.” he says empathically. 

“my job isn’t to make you forget your mother, or forget the pain you feel about her. you always feel pain lingering about her, and that’s ok. i’m just here to help you reduce that pain.” 

you were shocked. cheap prices, handsome therapist AND a good one at that? maybe it’s good to stay faithful after all. 

— 

it’s been about 3 weeks since you’ve had daily therapy sessions with mr. jaeger and he’s honestly been helping you a lot. you had different kinds of sessions, like walking around and even some pet therapy. today was for a usual one-on-one walk around the building beautiful outside landscape.

as you and dr. jaeger walk around, you wave to the other clients with their own therapists. “see how social you’ve gotten? when we first came here, you were begging to stay back inside due to all the people,” he jokes around. “now, you’re friendly with them. it’s good progress.” he smiles to himself. 

“it was only because of you, dr. jaeger. i don’t think i’d be the way i am without your help.” 

“ah. . . don’t flatter me too much. let’s sit right here yea?” he says pointing towards the swinging wood benches. “it’s beautiful outside, isn’t it ms. y/l/n?” he turns to look at you. 

“yea, it really is.” you turn back to stare at him. god, you can stare into his eyes for hours. it’s something that about that were so addicting, that you couldn’t look away if you wanted to. to break the silence, you decided to follow up with a cheeky comment. “say dr. jaeger, you really know how to keep a client.” he moves his head to the side, confused. “i like to believe that my clients stay with my due to how i help them and not my looks.” ah fuck. it was not received well at all, and you just profusely apologized to him. 

“but, if my looks did make people stay, that wouldn’t be all too bad huh,” he says giving a hearty laugh. “but tell me now, ms y/l/n. does my looks make you stay?” you were at a loss for words. one part of you wanted to say “fuck yes” while another part of you wanted to say “absolutely not”. and you of course went with the latter. 

“whatever your answer is, it doesn’t bother me either way. . . but it looks like our time is up ms. y/l/n.” you look down at your phone for the time. it was up after he exclaimed. the two of you head back to his office to pick you up your stuff. 

that night later, you were chilling in your bed, getting ready to dose off. you however, couldn’t sleep without thinking about a fantasy. it didn’t matter what type, other than it having to be something interesting. you close your eyes, your mind shifting to dr. jaeger, and the moments between you two that drove you insane. like that one time he wore a turtle neck, showing off his clothed six-pack abs. you imagined yourself touching them, feeling the rock-hardness of them. you open your eyes again, looking around the room. to be honest, you haven’t.. you know what, in a while and you thought it might be time to do it again. 

you move your bedsheets closer to the edge to give you more space. and moved all your pillows away except for one. you pulled your phone out and started to record. it might seem weird to other people, but you like to record yourself, in the time that you couldn’t find anything good on twitter or reddit. 

you start to rock your hips back n forth on the pillow, assuming it the body of a male. maybe it was dr. jaeger body you could’ve been assuming it off. either way, it turned you on, seeing how you started to move faster on your pillow. one of your hands grip the pillow, as the other hand massages your boob. you move faster, enjoying the friction your clit is getting between the pillow and your soaked panties. you close your eyes, imagining dr. jaeger guiding your body with his big, veiny hands. as you’re about to climax, you can’t help but subtly whimper his name. 

once you’ve finished, you end the video. while you’re cleaning up, sasha enters the room. “hey girlie, i was thinking of getting some drinks tomorrow night? wanna come?” she says exciting. “i would but i have a session with dr. jaeger tomorrow.” 

“boo, you’re boring.” 

“whatever, i’m going to the shower, so let me know if anything happens ok?” 

“yea yea boring y/n.” 

you go to the bathroom and take off your clothes, hopping inside the shower. you turn on the water, letting the lukewarm water hit your skin. you are alone with your thoughts until sasha comes inside the bathroom. 

“not to be nosey, but dr. jaeger texted you.” she says. 

“mhm really? what did he say?” 

“i didn’t look at it properly, but something about a daily wellness video?” you knew right away. dr. jaeger usual makes his clients make videos of themselves with positive affirmations, then with their consent, he’ll use it on his website for future clientele. 

“ahh ok! just send him the most recent video.” you photo gallery takes forever to update, so there’s a chance it’ll take forever to show the video of your “naughty time”. 

“ok, sending right now… and it’s sent. if he wants a further conversation, i’ll let you know.” 

“thanks sash.” 

as you walk out the steamy bathroom, and get ready for bed, you check your notifications for any new ones. you go into the chat between you and dr. jaeger, seeing if theres anything new. you took a look at the video of your affirmation, seeing the shirt you wore today as the thumbnail. you clicked on it, expecting your face to zoom out, as you were testing the camera quality always. to your shock, you camera didn’t zoom out. but instead was your body moving back and forth on something. your heart dropped. it couldn’t be. you’re praying it wasn’t. you skip some of the video to see if it was truly what you think it was, but the video suddenly changed to a more in-depth shot of you humping the pillow with your panties being in view. 

your heart start to beat faster than usual. you click off the video to delete it right away. dr. jaeger didn’t respond to it, and it said it was ‘delivered.’ you wanted to tell yourself that he hasn’t seen it, and probably watches those videos early in the morning. you weren’t going to stress yourself out though, you were just gonna go to his office per usual, and get counseling per usual.

— 

you take a deep breath and knock at his door, hoping it all ends well. you hear his “come in” but it sounds different from before. his voice went an octave lower. you walk into the room, seeing a more “messy” side of dr. jaeger. at-least he didn’t look at cleaned up as he usually does. his bun was a lot more frizzy from before and he had two buttons undone on his button up shirt. 

maybe he had a rough morning. you think to yourself. “good morning ms. y/l/n. how was your night?” you stopped for a second. such a simple question was something so dangerous to you. “it was fine, dr. jaeger. how about yours?” 

“oh. one of the best i’ve had in a while.” 

“ah. mine was the worst i’ve had in a while.” you mumbled. 

“really? i would’ve assumed you’ve had a very nice night ms. y/l/n.” 

you stare at him confused. what could he mean by that? yea, you fixed your hair a little better than usual, and your eye bags have gone away overtime, but you truly did have a sleepless night yesterday. dr. jaeger gets up from his chair, to lean on his desk, standing in-front of you. he stared down at you with his usually lighter colored eyes now displayed a dark-green. and his pupils were more extended. 

“i don’t know what gives you the impression that i’ve had a nice night dr. jaeger.” 

he bends to to match the height of the chair, and put both of his hands on the rest, restricting me from mounting off of it easily. “let’s cut the crap, y/n. i saw what you sent me.” at this moment, it felt like 100 daggers were suddenly lodged into your chest. 

“i wondered why you asked what you did yesterday. i thought to myself ‘maybe she thought i was attractive’, but i see it was more than that i see,” he says not breaking eye contact. “you see, as a human, we see something we like, and have many kinds of thoughts about it. and i see the thoughts you have towards me are stronger than what i expected.” 

“i’m truly sorry dr. jaeg-“ 

“call me eren, seeing as that is what you called me in the video.” 

“i’m sorry eren, truly. i don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable or hurt this relationship between us.” i say holding back my tears. 

“hurt? uncomfortable? those words are out of the park right now,” he says standing up. “to be honest, tell me why you came today y/n.” 

“to have a therapy session with you.” you meekly say.

“is my looks standing in the way of you healing with the death of your mother?” he says standing behind me. 

“not at all, dr. jae- eren.” 

“so then what provoked you to send me a five minute long video of you fucking yourself to a pillow in the imagination that it’s me?” you were at a loss for words. he was right. your heart sank as his word dug deeper into you. and you couldn’t hold back your tears anymore. you started to quietly sob, feeling large hands down your shoulders. you feel a hot breath near your eyes chill down your spine. “don’t cry, not in this manner at least,” he says in your ear. 

“cry because you can’t handle it, y/n.” 

you stopped and turned to look at him. he had a devilish grin on his face. “handle what?” you say, not catching his gist. 

“you’ll find out soon enough.”

eren lifts you up by the arm and spins you around to face him completely. you didn’t know what was going on, but you didn’t want to push away. your faces was a mere 4 inches away from each other. “can i? y/n. . . can i give you what you want?” 

you look at his eyes then his lips then his eyes again. fuck it, you nod your head and eren kisses you passionately. he stops kissing you for a moment to push the chairs aside. you look at his desk to see his usually messy papers cleaned up to the side. he planned this probably . . . eren picks you up and places you on his desk. 

he places a hand on your chin, rubbing it gently. “open it baby,” he says as his kisses you again, but placing his tongue all over the inside of your mouth. his hands tug on the bottom of your shirt, signaling for it to be removed. in between each kiss, you both take off a piece of clothing until you up to your undergarments. eren slips his large hand under your breast, fondling with it while he leaves wet hickeys on your neck. with the other hand he unclasps the bra, throwing it the ground. he kisses you again, muttering “nice tits”.

you pull at the band of his underwear, “want you in me ren’.” you whine. “patience baby.” eren says sliding your panties off to the floor. 

“are you on any pills by any chance?”, he says rubbing ur slick all over your cunt. “m-mhm ren.’”

“good. so i don’t have to hold back.” 

eren slips his underwear off, revealing his long, veiny and girthy dick. you want to guess it’s around 6-7 inches, but it was gonna tear you up regardless. he strokes his dick, ‘lubing’ it up with his pre-cum. he inches closer to you, having his dick and your hole just one insert away from each other. you open your legs wider and lay down on his desk, giving him more access to yourself. “didn’t even have to ask.” eren said.

he teases the tip of his dick on your clit. your whole body tingles in response, arching your back off the cold desk. “please ren’…” you beg, desperately wanting his dick buried into you. “please fuck me eren.” 

“as you wish.” with that, eren aligns himself with your entrance, slowly pushing himself in. the both of you moan simultaneously from the pleasure you both felt. eren starts to push his hips back and forth into you, keeping a firm grip on your waist. eren keeps a nice pace, making sure to satisfy both sides. suddenly, eren lifts your legs, wrapping them around his waist. you jolted from the tingle he gave you. you were trying to conceal your moans, but every time it was getting louder than usual, eren made sure put his hand over your mouth.

eren’s pace starts to unstable, moving fast at times and then slowing down to grind himself on you. you can tell he was close to his climax, seeing how desperate and shaky thrusts were. 

“‘m so close baby. . .” he grunts. 

“‘ren please! mhm.” you whine, begging him to release. 

“at the same time? what a good girl..” he barely breathes out. 

eren picks you up by the waist to pull you closer to him. there wasn’t enough space between you too, but he didn’t care. eren grinds his dick into you, feeling his dick throb in your walls. then, you feel a warm liquid pour inside of you, while at the same time cry out from your orgasm. 

[lyrenminth]

Quiet love 3/?

The things went down from there. You avoided him more than ever while your grieved your friendship and your unrequited love. It was a big loss, so much that you asked money from your parents for a deposit. You contacted the external friend Lydia told you about, and she was looking for a roommate. Her name was Grace and she sounded kind by the phone. You didn't thought it was so bad. Since Justin was preparing for the games he was busy but you could tell he was avoiding you too and that hurt you even more. You stopped having dinner together and it was more like you hiding in your room or arriving late.

When you saw him, you were polite and distant.

The dynamic was killing you inside.

You started packing your things when Grace told you the previous roomate was leaving. You signed the lease to secure your exit. It was time to put your big girl pants.

One day your mom video called you, and she was worried.

"You don't feel comfortable in his house?" she asked.

"It's not that...I need my space. I can't be living in his house forever, mom" you explained. She bite her lip. "Please, respect my decisions"

"That's ok, but I don't want you to go homeless"

You laughed. "Don't worry about that"

"Holly wanted to talk to you" she lowered his voice. "She is worried about Justin"

You felt as if someone was throwing a bucket of cold water on you.

"Why?"

"Justin hasn't answer any calls or messages from anyone since a week ago. She didn't want to panic because the NFL is rough but that's a lot of time. And since you are living with him she wanted you to check on him" your mom explained. "Maybe the stress of the game is taking a toll on him"

You blinked. The Chargers weren't exactly winning but it wasn't that bad. They had a good record.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm going to check on him"

"And how you are doing, darling?"

You smiled through the pain.

"Good I like my new job" you started "And California is great, I meet..."

You told your mom everything about the courses and your discoveries, but you mind was on Justin.

When you finished the call, you sent him a message. He was traveling for an away game so it was less likely to answer you but you tried anyway.

Hello

Your mom is worried bout you.

Be a good son and send her a message pls

For your suprise, he replied within minutes. It was ten pm.

I'll do

Thank you

The three dots appeared, and you looked at the screen expecting something but after a couple of seconds it stopped. And you heart broke more.

Losing a friend fucking sucks.

***

On Sunday, Justin got injured during the game. So you were worried about him and decided to stay a couple of days just to see how he was doing. You told Grace and Lydia about delaying moving in.

You were doing a favor to Holly and Mark while they arrived to L.A. His manager, Ashley was in the house at times too. You met a lot of people from his world. Coaches, therapists and assistants.

You realize how important he was for the team.

They always looked at you in surprise then look at Justin like saying "Who's this chick?" it was uncomfortable, but he never told them you were his friend or his lover either. You were just Y/N.

You made him breakfast often. The doctor was optimistic about the injury, he could move and do many things, but he was grumpy most of the time. Being out of the game was one of the things he hated the most. You helped him to stand up and drive him to the facility for his therapy.

"If you need something send me a message" you said, he was in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"Thank you"

"You welcome"

His eyes were speaking but you couldn't decipher the words.

"The boxes...are you leaving?" he struggled to say.

Did he checked your room? Why? Why does he always act like he cares?

"Yeah, I found a nice aparment"

"I- well, were you comfortable here?" his expression was unreadable.

"Yes, thank you for letting me stay" you grabbed your bag and looked at the clock. "Ashley must be here at anytime. I should go to work, you can change your diaper yourself, right?" you joked.

The truth was the injury made you feel less angry with him. It didn't matter that he didn't want you back, you didn't like to see him suffer. He was still an important person in your life, no matter how painful was to look at him now.

And you promise in middle school to have each other's backs.

"Yes, I'm an expert now" he replied, following the joke. You lingered in your place for a couple of seconds, just to see if he said something, but nope. So you said goodbye and left the house.

When you arrive at noon, Holly and Mark were there. You were so happy to see them too.

"Oh, it is so nice to see you again" you hugged them, feeling relieved.

"Look at you" said Holly at your attire. A pencil skirt and a blazer, both in purple color "You look stunning"

That night you put your best act. Nobody could tell Justin and you weren't speaking to each other days ago. And you were glad to have more familiar faces around.

You were talking about your impressions of California, and Justin didn't speak so much. Maybe he wanted to rest since he looked tired.

"She found an apartment too" Justin added, and he sounded so bitter it made you frown.

Holly and Mark looked at you.

"Wow, it is expensive?" Mark asked.

"Not that expensive"

"Did Justin told you something?" Holly asked, looking at his son.

"Not, not at all. It was just time"

"I bet"

Justin was glaring at you, and you didn't understood why he was mad. Maybe he was feeling pain again. You didn't want to deal with his mood swings.

"You should go to sleep a little bit" you suggested, in a cold tone.

The rubbed his eyes and nodded.

"I'm tired" he sighed.

The mood shifted. You felt the tension in your spine and tried to rescue the night.

"Everyone must be tired" you said, standing up and picking up the plates. "You come from a long travel from Oregon" you said to Justin's parents "You better sleep a little bit"

His parents imitated you, but you noticed Mark side-eyed Justin with disapproval.

****

In the morning, you were preparing in your room for work when someone knocked your door.

It was Justin in all his splendor. Looking grumpy as ever.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure" you said without looking at him.

He got inside and closed the door.

"Are you parents up?" you asked, putting lipstick on in front of the mirror.

That morning you were feeling better. Justin's parents always put you in a good mood.

The boxes were still sealed in the corner of your room. When he didn't replied you turned around to look at him. He was fidgeting with the hem of his Nike shirt.

"Is everything alright?" you prompted.

"Yeah...no, no really" You tilted your head to one side, looking at him up and down. "I'm sorry"

The apology landed in a sore spot.

"For what?" you were using the profesional voice you use for clients. His behavior last night was unacceptable. Ridiculous.

"For lying to you" you frowned "I know, I've always know but I was scared and I'm so sorry for being a coward. And for last night too, I was a douche"

"W-what are you talking about?" you asked, referring to the first part of his speech.

"I like you...I like you since highschool or even before, I don't know" he admitted, quickly.

You stopped breathing for a second, your organs melting inside your body.

"Why did you tell me you weren't sure?" you were cautious. At first you didn't believe him, you needed to prevent any type of miscommunication.

"Because I was scared" he explained, walking three steps toward you only to stop suddenly. You didn't move an inch "I...my lifestyle makes me feel like I can't be in a relationship, I'm busy all the time. I don't want you to feel neglected. It's just that...I wasn't ready for the change"

You studied his words and expression, he sounded and looked sincere.

He got closer again, reaching for you like a giant lost kid.

"Are you ready for the change now?" you asked, not processing completely what was happening.

"Yes, yes I am" he touched your shoulder, and you noticed he was shaking slightly. Poor Justin.

You grinned, standing on your tiptoes to hug him carefully. He hug you back, hiding his face on the curve of your neck.

"Justin, do-do you like me?" you wanted to hear him once again. Only to know you weren't dreaming. You looked at him "Is this happening?"

"Yes, I like you"

"Why do you decide to tell me now?"

"My dad sensed something was off and talked to me" he said "I just needed to hear it from someone I trust"

"Hear what?"

"What I'm losing by letting you go"

"I'm going to say thank you to him" he laughed. His expression morphed into something serious, desire. His pretty green eyes scanned your face for a sign, his eyes lingered on your lips. A silent plea. You leaned forward, and he tilt his head only to brush his lips against yours. The warm of his lips sent a shiver down your spine, and you put your hand on his chest to steady yourself. You could feel how fast his heart was beating. The butterflies in your stomach fluttered aggressively.

He did it again, only to make sure you weren't running away. In the third, his pretty mouth landed on yours, and you opened your lips. Kissing Justin felt right all the way. He was careful at the beginning, but as the time pass you needed more. You tongue search for his, and he gave you all you wanted. You fist his shirt, dragging him down to your height.

"Oh my god!" Holly's voice startled you both. You separate, your cheeks burning red. You glance at Justin who was looking the same. "I-I made breakfast, guys" she said, hiding a smile.

"Thanks, mom" Justin said in the most causal tone he could gather.

"I'll wait for you in the kitchen"

When she was gone, you touched your lips. Justin had lipstick on his lips too. You laughed and he looked at you confused.

"You look good with that tone" you said, looking for a wipe. He looked in your mirror and frowned. You gave him the wipe so he could clean himself.

The breakfast was kinda uncomfortable. Holly was trying to act cool, but you were nervous.

"Are you guys dating?" Mark asked, by looking at your face.

"Yes" Justin said, eating bacon.

His answer made you happy. Was this really happening? He sounded so confident about it.

"About time! I'm calling your mom!' announced Holly only to be stopped by Mark.

You knew your mom made some gestures toward Justin indicating her likeness for him as your partner, but you never expect Holly to like you too.

It was heart-warming.

"Once Justin is recovered you should go to the games, using his number and everything" Holly suggested. You were at some games before, wearing the colors of the team, but never official merchandise (you weren't the most fan) but the idea of being there as his partner was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

Justin looked at you with warmness in his eyes. And you swore he was the most beautiful man in the world.

The idea of dating him was the best.