#because shes from a 'lower' family and because what right does she ever have over his siblings who have bullied him his whole life
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emulation-0 · 1 year ago
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my mom is the best person in this household and she is the best person in this whole fucking family and im sick of people acting like its otherwise
#ive never met a person who has made more sacrifices than her#my aunts and my grandma made her life absolute hell and my dad never believed her and blamed her for ripping our family apart#he only believed her when he heard it straight from his sister in laws' mouth. HIS SISTER IN LAW. NOT HIS WIFE.#my dad's sisters are constantly shitting on her. constantly constantly constantly and he never thinks theres anything wrong with it#because shes from a 'lower' family and because what right does she ever have over his siblings who have bullied him his whole life#it makes no fucking sense how he can side with these people over his own wife. what kind of husband are you#and my mom has done infinitely more for my brother than my dad but somehow my brother finds blame for her for every single thing#if there is a problem like the lights going out EVEN IF MY MOM ISNT FUCKING HOME my brother will find a way to blame her for it#because everything is a womans fault. if she makes him late to school once he wont talk to her for weeks disregarding all the times he made#her late for work and made her work until 9 in the fucking night to make up for it#and if my dad ever does the same thing? oh its not his fault 😐#these people are all the worst hypocrites#everybody has their flaws. my mom surely has flaws too. but who are you people to act this way to your wife. to your mother.#someone who has sacrificed for you over and over and over again and continues to suffer because of you but still does things for you without#complaint#my mom's mother is sick and was so close to dying these past few weeks. alhamdullilah shes doing better now#but my dad did not call my nani or my mom's siblings once. NOT ONCE. never asked about her. never did anything#and then when my mom had enough and called him out on not being there for family he yelled at her for being crazy and unreasonable#but if this were any of my dad's siblings and my mom didnt call hed throw an absolute fit 'oh youre horrible you dont even think of family?'#my mom is somehow always the scapegoat for every single problem. if my dad drives recklessly and breaks smth in the car#and then my brother drives the car he will blame my mom for breaking the car because women are always horrible drivers#if my dad leaves the lights on and the bulbs stop working my brother will blame my mom#if my brother does something horrible my dad will say my mom is the reason hes grown up this way#DISREGARDING THAT HE HIMSELF ENABLES MY BROTHERS BEHAVIOR.#im so sick of this family im sick of their hypocrisy. my mom is the best person theyll ever meet AND THEY KNOW IT#if i could be even half the person my mom is i would not have the problems i do now#aricouldyounot
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firelilyfox · 8 months ago
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Deadly Eyes
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Dune: Paul Atreides x female reader
Warnings: se&ual harassment / angst / curses / hateful words / comfort
If someone means harm to the girl he loves, Paul won't hesitate
Words: 1k
_______________________________
You stare at the men and women right in front of you. All of them were looking at you with the same emotions pictured in their faces. Disgust. Outrage. 
Today was the first day after Paul announced your relationship to his people. The Fremen welcomed you with open arms… well some of them at least. Your roots lies with none of the big houses. All you know about your family is, that they were travelers who never lived at the same place for more than a couple of years. You are one of the Lost Ones. But when Paul rescued you from being tortured by the brutal Harkonen a couple months ago, you never thought about traveling somewhere else again. Your people always praised that the soul is a free from wich never settles and never find the one and only home. Paul changed your way of thinking. With him you felt at home for the first time ever. 
„The Mahdi can’t be with someone who is lost“, one of the believers growled as you were passing by. All you wanted to do was taking a walk and exploring the hallways of the Sietch, one of the rocky formations what the Fremen call their home. And now you are standing in front of a hand full of believers who are talking bad about you. 
A old, wrinkly woman hisses. „You don’t belong here, Lost One.“ 
You look at her fully blue eyes. The same color your eyes have turned as an outcome to the effects of spice everywhere. „Please let me through. I don’t wish for trouble.“ 
Now a young man steps right in front of you. Too close to be comfortable with. You try to move and bring some distance between the two of you, but your back almost immediately hits the wall. Your chest tightens up. This feels like a cage. A cage of people who hate you. 
„But you are trouble, whore.“ He couldn’t have been more than five years older than you, but he was so intimidating that you wanted to flee before he would hurt you. You still are one of the Lost Ones. Their are no fighters. Your people staying alive because they run for dear life when problems appear. That’s why the Fremen always looked down on your kind. 
„All your people do, is stealing and living in the shadows. You are not worthy to be here. Your are not worthy to be with Muad’Dib“, he grabbed your neck with a tight grib. „But I’ll find some use for u, don’t you worry.“ 
The others looked away while he is dragging you to a shallow corner at the end of the hallway. Your screams got muffled by his greasy hand and silent tears filled your eyes. The back of your head hit the wall hard and your vision flickers for a moment. Fear crawling all over your body, followed by the tip of his knife. You’re trying to beg for him to stop, but all he does is giggling at your helplessness. 
„I will show you your worth and after that I will give your body to the desert. I will…“ 
A voice is shouting at the near distance. „Where is she?!“ The man fearlessly let’s go of you and hiding his knife. You fall down on your knees as Paul rushes around the corner. Gentle hands pulling you up and you begin to sob, hiding your face at his chest. 
„How dare you to touch her!“ Paul growls at the man who is now lowering his head in respect for his Duke. 
„I did not want to bring any disrespect to you, Mahdi. But this woman damages you reputation. She is not worthy to be …“ but Paul cuts him off. 
„She is equal to me. I am who I am today, because of her. How dare you to speak about her like that?“ His voice became dangerously silent and you could feel under your palms how tense his muscles were. As you look around you discover that people have stopped and watching the scene with wide eyes. 
You reach up to gently touch his cheek, so Paul would look at you. „I’m okay, Paul. Nothing happened. I’m unharmed.“ 
For a moment the coldness in his eyes vanished, but as he looked down at your neck and saw the bruises … he was ready to kill someone. Paul kisses your forehead and it feels like that he needed to do it just to calm himself down, before he would actually cut a throat. His grip around your waist thightens but not in a hurtful way. You never felt more protected as right here in is arms. 
Paul turns his head slowly. A deadly look on his face. The man kneeled down in fear of his punishment. „I will only say this once and for all. Who ever touches this woman and mean harm to her, will be sentenced to death. Without exceptions.“ He looks around, making eye contact with everyone who is watching. „Spread the word. I will personally kill everyone no matter if man or woman.“ 
The Fremen quickly leaving the place murmuring and chattering. The message was clear. If you break this rule, death by Muad’Dip will find you. 
„And for you“, Paul looked down at the man who tried to do unspeakable things to you. His voice full of dark rage. „If you ever come near her again or look at her even from afar, I’ll break your neck.“ He gave two other men a sign to carry him away. 
„I should have known that something like that might would happen“, Paul curses. „I’m so sorry. I should have never left you go alone.“ His eyes meet yours and the deep sorrow in them breaks your heart a little. 
„You couldn’t ever have guessed that. This isn’t your fault and it’s not your job to see something like that before it happens.“ 
Paul pulls you closer now that the two of you are alone. „But is is my job to protect you.“ 
„And you did.“ 
He leans his forehead against yours, taking a deep breath. His body is still tense but his touch is so gently. „I don’t want to imagine what could’ve happened if I weren’t be here on time … I couldn’t…“ his voice breaks. This is the side of him no one ever sees. The softness and the vulnerability. To everyone he is the fearless Muad’Dib. But to you he is Paul Atreides. The man who owns your heart. 
„Then don’t. You saved me. I am right here.“ To prove your point you get on your tiptoes and kiss him softly. Paul cups your face with his hands, holding you so close to him that nothing would have room in between. 
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading! Comments, ideas & reposts are very welcome <3
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ackermonie · 1 year ago
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“listen. i’m telling you again. we’re NOT telling her i got you that lego set for winning that fight, am i clear?”
megumi nods with a roll of his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. “i don’t think she’s gonna be as mad as you think she will be. this isnt the first time this happens, you know?”
“regardless, the lego set remains unmentioned,” satoru points at megumi with a serious index finger, to which megumi rolls his eyes again as he resumes setting the dining table. “the tone of her voice on the phone said she’s coming for blood. i don’t wanna be on her bad side.”
“oh? so you set me up instead?!” megumi lets go of the plates to cross his arms over his chest. “is the strongest really such a scaredy-cat, now?”
“i’m not scared!” satoru is offended, even though he’s about to piss his pants. “and I wasn’t the one that decided that beating up 8 fucking kids on one go was the brightest idea ever, was i?”
“but you rewarded me for it!”
“he did what?”
the two of them freeze in their place, eyes widening as they hold each other’s gazes, too scared to look at the source of the voice coming from the kitchen entrance.
they stay quiet for a solid amount of seconds, and you remain unmoving. gojo gestures for megumi to look at you first, to which megumi replies with a subtle shake of his head, a thin sheet of sweat breaking on his forehead.
“i asked a question.”
thunder is rumbling, and when gojo decides to, very slowly, shift his gaze to you, it’s a scene right out of a horror movie when lightening strikes and thunder rolls on cue. you’re standing at the entrance, drenched from head to toe, a cut or two fresh on your face. your uniform remains unscathed, save for the water dripping to make a little damp pool beneath your feet.
“you’re home early, sweets,” gojo tries to approach, but you pin him in place with a glare. his nervous grin gradually falls from his face. “how was the mission?”
he hears footsteps approaching quickly, and when tsumiki comes to a halt behind you, seeing the state you’re in, she begins to slowly retreat despite satoru’s look of despair at her.
“you rewarded him.” you echo megumi’s words. the 14 year old swallows hard, eyes sliding from you to the suddenly more interesting kitchen sink. “he almost gets expelled, and you reward him.”
“but he didn’t get expelled!” satoru chuckles cheerfully. “he apologized, and all! didn’t you, megumi?” he nudges the teenager’s shoulder pushing him a bit forwards so he can take some of the impact himself. he lowers himself a bit to mumble to him through his teeth. “who’s the scaredy -cat now, huh?”
“I-i—“
“i leave the house for a couple of days— not even a couple, this was a day and a half, and i have to wrap my mission up quickly because my son’s being turned into a delinquent with his dad’s support?”
it takes satoru a couple of seconds to register the words that just came out fo his partner's mouth. he immediately looks at the flustered teenager by his side, to find a light blush on his cheeks and neck.
something warm settles behind gojo's ribcage. it was never addressed, that they're practically family. the only d word megumi calls gojo is dick, but fuck, by the look on megumi's face, the way his skin is painted pink, he knows that the seemingly stoic kid feels the same.
satoru doesn't even think you realize the way you addressed them.
tsumiki peeks her head from behind you. there's a sweet smile growing on her sweet face that he catches. he tries not to smile, he really does, but something in his demeanor is shattering right before his eyes.
"satoru!" you raise your voice, a frustrated frown painting your features, but all satoru feels is the love spreading through his body, his fingertips buzzing with it and all. "this is not rewardable behavior!"
"don't be mad at him..." megumi mumbled, finally taking a step forward. your gaze shifts to him, but he's looking anywhere but you. "he only wanted to cheer me up. this is my fault."
your eyes can't help but soften. gojo watches the change of expression in awe.
"if it helps, they were bullies." satoru chimes in a much softer voice, matching the look on your face. he ruffles the boy's hair, who doesn't push his hand away for the first time in a while. "it's just that megumi here has his own way of doing good. peculiar," gojo pauses with a little laugh when the teenager finally pushes his hand away grumpily. "but he's still doing good."
you finally spot the scar on his cheekbone, one that's already been tended to by satoru it seems, but you still walk across and hold his cheeks in your hands to check it out. its really not that deep, but something still tugs at your heart.
and satoru is still watching the changes of your expression, taking note of every little one. he knows you all too well, you see, and he knows that you're about to start tearing up any second now.
"why don't you guys go fetch angry mom here a towel or two?" he addresses the children, grabbing your wrist to let go of megumi, who looks too guilty for his own good right now. he brings you closer to him instead. "I'm afraid she'll only be grumpier if she catches a cold."
megumi hesitates, but tsumiki calls for him, understanding the cue better than her younger brother.
once they were both out of sight, gojo chuckles in endearment when you shove your face in his chest, uncontrollable tears escaping past your heavy lids. he grabs your head with one hand while the other holds you to him, soaked and all.
"oh baby," he sighs. he doesn't think he's ever been happier than this moment right here. "you just called him my son."
you punch him right in the gut. he groans out in pain, but his hold never wavers on you. "he is your son."
"i think we both prefer the name long-term pain in the ass, but that will do." he raises your head to look at him, and when he sees that red nose and tears down your cheeks, he can't help but giggle some more. "god, you're literally the best thing to ever happen to me."
"shut up." your cheeks burn in his hands, and you're unable to look away. "I was so scared something had happened to him. i would've never forgiven myself."
"the fuck do you take me for?" satoru fakes offense, raising an eyebrow down at you. you roll your eyes at him, from which he takes even more offense, letting you go with a scoff of disbelief. he dramatically removes his sunglasses and crosses his fingers in front of him. "I'll hollow purple your ass so hard right now and you'll never live to tell the tale."
"sure, honey," you pat him on the chest with one hand and wipe away your tears with the other, beginning to turn away from him with a, now more subtle, eye-roll. "whatever you say."
he grabs you and pulls you flush to him again, this time capturing your lips in a sweet, chaste kiss that has your whole body letting loose right there in his arms. your arms wrap around his neck like a reflex, and he squeezes you into him, a dull ache beating in him to just merge your bodies into one,, to have you in his very bones, and maybe even then it wouldn't be quite enough.
"i would rather be torn in two than let something happen to any of you," he breaks away from the kiss to peck your nose. you look into his eyes, and it worries you just how true his statement is. "what else do I have to fight for?"
=====================================
more?
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warmilikeit · 30 days ago
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Yandere Batfam x Camp half-blood (Neglected reader)
DC x Pjo
Part 3
___________________
"Missing: If found dead or alive, please contact the authorities"
Dick feels like he's about to puke, every time he sees that fucking poster, every time it's played in the news
He feels like he failed, not just as Nightwing, but as a brother, he was supposed to be a protector, projecting you as a vigilante and as a hero
Everything keeps replaying in his head, how you were always out of theme in family photos because Damian keeps telling you the wrong one, but no one bothers to tell you the real one
How in a single day, everything you've ever built was abandoned, your room, your school, your friends (he wasn't sure if you had any) (ps: you didn't, Damian wouldn't let it happen)
How no one was there to help
And he saw another poster "bring back dead or alive"
He wasn't sure how he's going to accept if you're actually dead
Because if you're alive, there could be a chance, he'd apologize to you, and he knows you're kind enough to accept it, he'll spend lost time with you, and everything will be fine
But with every minute that passes, it feels like slowly you are pulling away further from him (if it's still possible that you could be pulled further than you are now)
________________________
2 years ago
"How long are you gonna keep disappointing me like this...?" Bruce sighed deeply
He got your report card, funny enough, the only time he sees you is when you do something wrong
And it wasn't like you failed either, it's just that it's lower than what your siblings got, it's lower than his standards
Well sorry you're not Tony Stark level, am I right? Ahaha-
You weren't stupid, you just weren't as smart as your siblings, in your defense you were smarter than them at some other stuff, it's just that it's the stuff your father didn't care about
"Dad are you finally throwing out the anchor?" Damian snickered
You huff at the insult, knowing if you insult him back you'll get in trouble "it's not even that bad-"
Jason furrows his brows "yeah, but it's not good enough, I hope you realize how lucky you are compared to the other kids in Gotham, you should repay it by being outstanding"
"And not to mention as the first born biological child you should uphold yourself to the standards given to you, if you can't do that then stand down" Tim scoffs at you
That comment may or may not be from an insecurity that he isn't Bruce's real kid (despite being more loved than you)
"don't you think you're being too dramatic? I don't even want that stupid company" you grit your teeth
"that stupid company is what keeps a roof over your head, stop being so ungrateful"
Damian's face has that shit-eating grin once again "throw it out the streets maybe then it'll know"
It's always that fucking suggestion that throws you off, every fight, they call you a burden in this house, they want you out
You feel like if it weren't going to be a legal problem Bruce would have done it
"you guys are so full of yourselves, I don't know where you pull the 'i'll fix Gotham' mentality when you can't even fix your own issues" you grab your grades and leave
"You fucking-" you hear Damian say but you ran to your room, to the far corner of the Manor, a guest bedroom (you were kicked out of your master bedroom when Damian came, his reason was "it's too stressful seeing it everyday", so they moved you)
______________________
Present
"Diana...?" Bruce calls
"Diana!, what is it!?" Bruce yells "What do you see?"
Diana looks like she's about to cry, as she examines the footage in front of her
another demigod dead
She thinks, her hands shaking at the sight of another child, like she once was, dying at the hands of those monsters who hunt them down
Does Bruce know? It didn't seem like he did, if he knew- he would have protected the kid right?
Then she sees light, she sees the little kid run into the garden, and meet nymphs, she sees the kid escape
"oh thank the gods..." She whispered
Without saying another word, she left the tower, leaving the others confused, she knew where the kid was
(Name) was safe at camp
_______________________
I just finished an exam and the entire time I was taking it, the edit of "dynamic duo", starring Nightwing and Redhood kept playing in my head
Also this series is gonna have multiple parts, I wanna make things easier for you guys :3 , how do you make a masterlist?
I hope you enjoy the chapter!
@bat1212 @vanessa-boo @sweetconnoisseurgardener
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goldsbitch · 4 months ago
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Hello hello! I am still absolutely obsessed with the "Fire" fic you wrote. You are such a talented writer omg, the storytelling, the humour, everything!
So I thought, I have an idea for a funny fic and I'm just gonna send it in LOL I remember Lando saying in an interview that he's really scared when he's the passenger. So what if his GF is speeding all the time and Lando is just internally freaking out and sweating while trying to keep his cool next to her?
Just an idea, if you don't wanna write it that's fine too (:
omg omg omg thank you so much! i'm blushing and i'm scared - hopefully you'll like this one! i added a detail that might be little over the top - but who knows? not me anymore.
I'll drive
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"You have a car?!" Lando uttered, forgetting any table manners, the food he had been chewing nearly falling out of his mouth.
Y/N was dead silent, the look on her face strongly resembling a child who lied about cleaning their room and just blushed every toy under their bed.
Her boyfriend gave her a cheeky questioning look, and when it finally set in - the fact she had been hiding the existence of her car from him - he was truly stunned and somewhat amused.
"So, wait. You know how to drive?! Why am I always taking you places?" he asked rhetorically, never actually being bothered by that, but still.
"I don't know how to drive-" she tried before getting interrupted by her father.
"Of course she does, I taught her myself," the jolly man said and patted her on her back with a proud smile. Y/N's face got washed with crocked smile, as if she swallowed something truly detestable.
"No, I do not know how to drive-"
"Nonsense, she's alway been so hard on herself," he father continued. Y/N just sighed.
The young couple came to visit her hometown for the first time. It was lot of reminescing of old times and her school days - a context that Lando very much appreaciated. He had met her as a grown up woman, but that weekend, he witnessed many amusing moments and heard lots of stories that only childhood small towns hold. What did he love the most about this experience? The fact there was nothing for her to do to stop it, no matter how much she frowned. Influx of surprising moments, but this discovery topping all of them.
She saw Lando's perplexed face and tried to save the situation. "I never lied to you, technically you never asked...I just figured you like driving so much, why bother, especially if I am so bad at it..."
Lando was not having it. "Oh, you're not getting easily out of this one," he replied, biting his lower lip, actively having to remind himself of the fact her family was right there. There was something innately attractive about her being so raw and pushed into a corner. Just pure cuteness. "I'm sure you're not half as bad as majority of the people out there," he said, new plans forming in his head. "I think you and I should take her for a spin," he said, referring to the car, and hid his smile behind a glass. Her eyes were piercing his with an energy so intense, it was electrifying.
"No, Lando, I am not driving while you're in the same car," she stated firmly, not breaking the eye contact.
"Come one, sweetheart, it'll be fun," he said, honey dripping out of his mouth.
"It will be anything but that," she said, but Lando ignored that, turning into her father for more information.
"So what kind of a car it?"
The rest of the conversation continued in description of a car Y/N herself could only describe as red, her father telling a story about how he got it for his daughter and how she actually barely ever drove it, which apparently broke his heart.
//
Let's not forget, this was Lando - of course he had ulterior motives. While it was great, spending few wholesome days in the company of his girlfriends family, his frustration grew, because for some reason, she refused to have any intimate activities in her family's house. Why, he had no idea. But of course, he respected that.
She never mentioned anything about not having some nice outdoor sex in a car. He wanted to see her drive and also ride. His perfect afternoon.
Lando is not the best of passengers, often uneasy about the common mistakes casual drivers made. Taking over the wheel is a natural thing for him to do. But, this was an exception he was excited to make - how bad could it be, right? He learned the hard way not to ask that question again.
//
"You sure you don't want to switch places?" she asked, once again, doing everything she could to get out of this.
"Nope babe, passenger seat is the vibe for me today," he smirked, making himself overly comfortable sitting next to her.
She raised her eyebrows. "Here goes nothing, I guess," she murmured and put the keys into ignition.
Lando found it amusing, seeing her so hyper-focused, as if she was launching a rocket ship. To be fair, it was a manual car - so it was close.
Three deep breaths - I fucking hate this, she thought, turned the key and released the clutch. When the car immediately jumped, Lando regretted sitting in his usual obscure way, his head hitting the door with quite a loud bump.
"Told ya," she said and started the car again. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't possibly sell her mistake as an intention.
"You released the clutch too soon," he said while assessing the bump forming on his head.
"Do not give me advice when I drive, makes me angry," she announced and this time actually managed to start the car in a semi-ok way.
Lando watched his bubbly, happy-go-lucky, girlfriend turn into a monster and there was nothing for him to do to stop it.
Everything was somewhat fine when they were still on the quiet roads surrounding her neighborhood. She stopped on the way to the main road, watching two cars that were comically far away and letting them pass. They didn't have to say anything, both knew what the other one was thinking. Y/N knew there was plenty of time for her to join the road before those cars, but the lack of trust in her own abilities was making her wait stubbornly. Lando watched the scenery, amused and starting to understand that in this relationship, his place as the driver was more than secure. She didn't want to be in this position, in fact she was increasingly more mad, that Lando and her father teamed up on her. But since she was where fate got her, she was absolutely not accepting Lando smirking at her.
"I know what you think, we have plenty of time, so I will not be doing some stupid moves to get us both killed," she said and gripped the steering wheel even more.
To prove his point, Lando leaned over her and squirted his eyes and watched the slowly approaching cars. He gave her a sarcastic nod. She rolled her eyes.
"I'm joking, I'm joking," he said, putting his hands in defense.
"You better be, otherwise I'll just yeet us into the ditch."
"Feisty..."
And that was when the line got crossed.
"Fine!" she said, having no control over her emotions, and pressed the gas with new found energy. She turned, almost into a drift, and joined the main road, nearly having the two cars crash into her.
Lando gripped the handle, not expecting her to speed so much. His eyes went wide with realizations - she was the kind of driver operating on emotions. Had this been a racing track and an F1 car, he'd be having more fun, knowing the cars were epitome of safety. He was not so sure about this vehicle.
She had the "Tsunoda" energy and absolute lack of skill to go about it. Weaving, wrong gear almost constantly and not bothered by the sound her car was making.
"You're driving quite close to the lane, baby," he commented, getting more and more worried about their safety.
"Shut up, don't be all smart about it," she said, lips locked in a line. She was focused - not that it helped.
Another hard turn where she missed the right moment to go into it. Lando took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second, trying to stay calm.
After few hundred metres, he couldn't take it again.
"I think you're way over the speeding limit," he mentioned.
"That's not what this says," he nodded to her speedometer. Lando leaned over and had to laugh.
"Yeah, that's definitely not correct. Honey, I'm sorry, but the lane - you are too close to it," he said in the calmest tone he could gather.
"My brain does not work like that, I see it more in an abstract way..."
His eyes nearly popped out. "You see the road in an abstract way? Oh dear god."
She sighed, not understanding what was the big deal was. "No like, it's a concept. It's not real, if there is nobody on the road, you can be anywhere."
"I'm pretty sure that's not the case, sweetheart," he said and thought for himself that it could be the case if she knew how to drive, but not like that. "Change the gear, you're burning your clutch."
She slapped the steering wheel. "I. Do not. Accept. Advice. At the moment. Thank you!" she said slowly before going on a rampage. "We both know you're exceptionally good at this, it was your idea, I tried to stop you, so now face the situation and do not tell me what to do because I might panic even more!"
"Ok, ok, calm down," he said, putting his hands up in defense and turning his head away to avoid watching her inventing a new way how to turn the steering wheel.
This sent her over the edge, truly giving up on any rules. She was mad, scared, uncomfortable and kind of hungry to be honest.
Lando stayed silent, worried for his life, regretting his decision and making a mental note to listen to her if she says she can't do something - if they survive this.
A huge bump and a loud noise. She barely managed to keep the car on the road.
"What is that?" she screamed, not knowing what to do.
"Front left tire puncture, retire the car! I mean, shit, stop, over there," he gestured, to the sideline of the road.
//
"Ok, so what now?" she said once it seemed like a decent amount of time for him to stop observing the wheel.
"It's just the tire, I'm sure you've got a spare at the back, right?" he asked and like the gentleman he was, got up and looked in the back for a replacement. When he got it out, he proudly put it in front of her, considering his part of the job done. She stared at him, not moving. "There you go," he said, encouraging her. "They taught you how to do this at driving school."
"Um, yeah. I missed that lesson. Can you do it?"
"How could you miss that lesson?" he asked in desperation. Both of them stood there, waiting for the other to take the lead. It was very unusual for Y/N to see him this passive around a car. "Come on, you must have had a question about this on your test," he pleaded.
And then it clicked. "Lando?" she asked, having a very strange feeling about his behavior. "Do you know how to change a tire?"
He stayed silent, pretending to ignore her question. Y/N's eyes went wide. "Oh my god, you don't know how to change a tire?!" she asked once again, unable to believe that could even be the case. "Isn't that like half of your job?"
"Well no, actually, my job is to drive. There is a whole team dedicated for changing my tires," he said matter-o-factly.
"You're a racing driver. Spend more time in a car than in a bed. And you don't know how to change a tire," she stated and started to laugh. "That's so rich."
He let out a heavy sigh. "I've never actually done it myself. Plus these are normal tires, different system."
"Oh my god," she said, unable to process.
The way how much this whole thing has backfired had Lando stuck. He was suppose to be engaging in inappropriate activities with his girlfriend at this moment. In his understanding of that, it did not include getting his phone out and searching for an online tutorial for bloody tire change. But, there he was. Y/N was suddenly having so much fun, coming off a high that was the adrenaline her body produced during driving. She was free and driving was impossible now. Bliss. In her opinion, this was all Lando's fault - she told him she couldn't drive. Payback time - hopefully Oscar would pick up.
She was dialing her phone, while he was trying to understand how to go about this.
Yes, he picked up! "Hi, this is Y/N," she said in a very serious tone. "Who are you calling?" Lando mouthed, his biggest worry that she dialed up her father and he is now going to have a reputation until the end of time. "Help," she mouthed back silently.
"Hi Y/N," was Oscar's response, the driver being somewhat confused as to why she was calling him. "What's up?"
"Glad you ask. Me and my boyfriend got into a serious situation."
"You and Lando?"
Lando frowned. "Are you calling assistance? We don't need them..."
She ignored him."Yes, I was forced to drive-"
"He let you drive?"
"Forced-"
"What kind of assistance is it?" Lando asked, doubting the whole phone call.
Y/N continued without pausing. "And we managed to get a flat tire, which I don't know how to fix and to surprise of the whole universe, he can't fix as well."
There was only laughter on the other end of the call.
"Y/N, who are you calling?"
Y/N pretended not the hear Lando. "Do you know how to change a tire?"
Oscar was more than amused, knowing he just gained a wild card to use on Lando anytime he would want. "Yes, of course I do. Put me on Facetime with him."
Y/N smirked at her boyfriend, who was still confused and with sparkles in her eyes handed him her phone.
"Oscar says hi!"
Lando blinked, several times. "What? No!...Shit. Hey Oscar," he waved at his teammate awkwardly.
"I have been summoned," Oscar announced, finding this all very amusing.
"Yes," Lando replied, defeated.
Oscar did not wait and took the situation in charge. "First step to do is make yourself seen, guys. You got a triangle?"
"Where's the bloody bucket hat when you need it the most..." Y/N mumbled, having Lando roll his eyes in reaction.
"I'll go and find it and you guys figure this out, ok?" she said handing over the phone to Lando and giving him a little peck on the cheek.
"I hate you," he said with a smile.
"I hate you more," she replied and skipped over to the trunk.
//
After series of creative curse words, one pair of ruined jeans and a celebratory high five, the pair stood once again in front of her car, staring at each other.
"I guess I'll drive us back," Lando decided loudly and waited for her approval.
"Agree. Let's not disturb the gods anymore. You're such a bad passenger princess anyway."
The past hour was filled with lot of conflicting emotions, but the only one that stayed was the love the two shared just by looking at each other.
"I'm sorry I forced you into this," Lando apologized softly. "It was not fair. I see that now."
Her lips turned into a weak smile. "Thank you. And sorry for calling Oscar. I'm sure he won't let you forget this."
He see right though her. "No, you're not sorry about that - I can see the devil in your eyes."
She bit her tongue. "Yup."
It was hard for Lando not to kiss her in that moment. It was impossible for her to resist.
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pedge-page · 9 days ago
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Joel Dealing with Preggo Wife: From Party of Two, to Family of Three
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Sunday Surprise takes place right before this, but not necessary for this part
notes: you guys already know this is my favorite little crackhead family. While we've been enjoying Sarah's adventures out of order for a while, lot of people have been asking when we'll meet Ellie. Which I didn't feel it was right until we actually see Sarah's birth! So here she is. Please enjoy!
warnings: childbirth (not too graphic), a shit ton of language, comedy and fuff
- - - -
They say childbirth is a miracle. It's the single greatest, most amazing, most heavenly, life giving, breath of fresh air day of any parent’s life.
What they don't say (almost as if conveniently forgetting to even mention it) is that the moments leading up to the birth are the single most excruciating, marathon through the worst hell of a nightmare.
"YOUUU. YOUUUUUU MOTHER FUCKING--FUUCCKKEERRRR!!" The banshee (his wife, you) next to him in the car screeches directly into his ear, a death grip on his forearm.
He’s one handing these turns, blowing more red lights than he's ever yelled at Tommy for, while ready to lose his right hand to your talons and his hearing to your incessant wails.
"fuck YOU!OOOOWWAHAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
You squeeze your eyes shut, head crouched down while another wave of contractions splinters your insides apart. Every muscle known and unknown in your body is engaged. 
"We're almost there, you’re gonna make it--"
"YouFUCKINGfuckSTICkofaFuCkFuckshitheadfuckingbastard mothershitstainfrigginFUCK!"
You'd bash his head against his window repeatedly if your other hand wasn't already occupied cupping your rupturing belly.
Joel’s never been simultaneously in control and losing it inside all at once. He’s got one goal right now: get you to the hospital in one piece.
 That goes for driver safety but also to ensure the baby does NOT come out prior that because lord help him he would not know what comes next.
The truck screeches to a halt at the parking lot in 3 spaces. Joel tumbles out of the seat, missing a step and stumbling clumsily to his hands and knees on the pavement. He doesn’t even brush off the bruises and dirt as he’s running to you. You’ve nearly thrown him over again by how fast you swing the door open.
Both his sturdy, reliable, big hands are there for you when you take them, hoisting yourself with an agonizing yelp.
“You’re gonna be okay, you’re gonna be okay, baby momma, you’re—“
“FUCK!!!!!”
You’re clutching your belly, now way lower than it ever has been. Each step feels like fire, with Joel cradling your back and trying to get you to the front door with quick steps.
“Baby! Baby now!” Joel shouts, pointing to you with wild and pleading eyes.
You let out a horrendous scream, stopping in your tracks. Your spine, your bones, your head, and especially your stomach, is all being hit by a truck right fucking now. And you’re crying, you’ve never cried like this. It’s not the fake shit he’s gotten so accustomed to when you want a cookie or milkshake or pussy eating. This is real.
They get you in a chair and wheel you off to the delivery unit, your hand squeezing the shit out of Joel’s but he’s never once let go. He’s gone so pale, running and running alongside you, trying to answer their questions about when it started, how long, what was due date, etc. 
He’s doing a million things at once, and you’re just fighting to stay alive.
Oh, you also would forget everything you were saying at this moment. But thankfully, Joel, and the entire fucking hospital, wouldn’t.
“YOU FUCKING, COCK—FUCKER—SHIT FUCKCUnt cunt CUNT! FUCK-OHM Y MOTHERFUCKING GOD FUCK.”
They manage to get you stripped to the papery gown, push your ass onto the bed, spread you wide so the doctor can take a look.
They’re all so calm, walking around and nodding, hooking you up like you’re just here for a checkup, like they’ve done this a thousand times before.
Joel feels the worst stabbing pain along his skull as your nails dig into his hair and yank him down to your face.
“MILLER,” you seethe, venom and sweat breaking through your clenched teeth and slitted eyes. 
“Y-yes?”
You force out harsh pants, groaning, but making sure he understands you clearly right fucking now. “Give me. A fucking. Epidural.”
“I-“
“NOW!!!!”
He looks around for some assistance. “Ep—is there an--”
“WHERES THE FUCKING EPIDURAL.”
Joel makes contact with the nurse, who checks below your legs again before resurfacing with the look Joel feared above all else. While you’re heaving and and moaning in pain, Joel receives the nonverbal confirmation she passes to him:
It’s too fucking late for an epidural.
Both Joel and the nurse also pass a clear, mutual understanding about how to pass that info on to you:
“ITS COMING!” He nods reassuringly to you, exceedingly over the top acting. “Right nurse? See she said it’s coming!”
“Any second now, we’ll get that epidural—“ she agrees, nodding and nodding with a thumbs up to you extra confidence.
“FUUUUCCCCKCKKKKKK,” you sink lower, back falling and head tossed as wave of new pain ripples through you.
“FUUCCKKING —Fuck J-Joel. Joel Miller—“
“yes baby, I’m here.”
“Im getting a fucking epidural.”
“Yes you fucking are.”
“You fuckers aren’t lying to me?”
Joel glances at the nurse again, who quickly shakes her head at you with her calm, straightforward, trusting voice of reason: “No ma’am we would never.”
Praise this woman, he thinks. “That’s right baby she’s telling ya, its coming—“
“I’ll FUCKING kill you, Joel Miller. Do you know that?”
“Yes-“
“I fucking HATE you right now.”
“Yes—“
“You shit—fuck bag motherfucker, I HATE you—you—you—“ and you start sobbing “—did this to me!”
“I did—“
“YOU!”
“ME.”
Back again to an angered, snarling beast, you growl, “I’ll rip your fucking cock off. I’m fucking you up so fucking bad when we get home, you can never FUCKIN’ do this fucking shit to me again. Balls in the fucking blender.”
“Balls in the blender,” he repeats with absolute conviction, not an ounce of protest in him.
“The FUCkING blender—you hear me fucker?”
“The fucking blender, for sure baby, anything you want right after this.”
“Ugh--oh dfuck Joel its coming!”
“Yeah?” He asks, and its the first time he hears his own voice waver. Holy fuck this is it. This is the moment for the last 9 months its actually here—
“Just another contraction,” the doctor confirms casually.
FUCK DOC HOW LONG DOES THIS TAKE I can’t feel my skull!
“CUNT SUCKER!” You scream, holding Joel’s head hostage as you chant through your breathing pants.
“Any where’s my MOTHERFUCKING epidural!”
“It’s coming! It’s coming!” Joel nods to his now best friend nurse, who’s also nodding dramatically to keep you distracted from the epidural that is absolutely not on its way.
“Miller,” you growl, shoving his nose right against yours. You stare into his very soul, like Death herself ripping his life choices out of his body and spilling them under your eyes. “I think that Bitch is lying to me. There’s no fucking epidural coming, is there.”
“There is, baby, she said it herself, I checked…”
“Are you fucking lying to me Miller?”
“Never baby, we’d never lie to you, right?” He gestures to the nurse again, who nods diligently again. “See baby, no lying, we’d never lie.”
He watches your jaw drop, voice disappear as another roar is ripped from your chest..
“I can’t do this.”
“You can, you can and will. I’ll give you anything you want, right after you do this.”
“I want you fucking DEAD.”
“Sure thing. Want a divorce too?”
“I’m CONSIDERING IT,” you bark a baritone lower like the devil. “FuuuUUUCCCKKKK!!!!!”
“I’ll get the papers printed right up. Favorite pen signed an’ all. But only after you have this baby tonight—“
The doctor checks the monitor again just as you let out a piercing scream. 
“Ma’am it’s time to push.”
“YOU PUSH!” You shout, waving your arm at him but unable to put a curse to the end of it. Your pains are coming through quicker, no longer waves but an unyielding rumbling as the baby kicks and punches and squirms and—
Joel is by your side, taking your hand in his. He’s prepped this speech in his head a million times, every night, every time he felt that baby kick or watched you struggle to tie your shoes, every single second, he’s perfected it:
“It’s here. Its happening. You’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do this together, you and me, right now—“
“Nope.”
“We—what?”
Your voice is calm and face plain. “Changed my mind. Not having this baby.”
“Yes you for fucking sure are.”
“Nope no. I’m returning it. Got the receipt.”
“There—there IS NO RECEIPT.”
“Yes—I got it—90 day warranty—“ your face tightens, clenching out the last word as if you’re mentally willing this baby to not pop out right now. But by god this baby is not taking your bullshit any longer.
“We are way past the 90 day warranty, honey, you’re having this baby, TODAY, Right NOW!”
“Nope, nope I’m gonna suck it back in!” 
It seems all ability to ‘suck it back in’ has failed, as the nurse shouts clearly “I see a head!”
Your voice breaks in the most heart wrenching “I CAN’T—“ you sob, terror in your voice.
You scream again, and it’s the worst thing Joel’s ever heard. He feels like a kid again, for the first time in a long while, when his parents fought, and the sounds of their voices carried upstairs to his and Tommy’s bedroom. He wanted to run, hide in the closet, cover his ears, cradling himself and rock back and forth, shut his eyes and his mind out, drain everything away. Instead, he held Tommy, he watched Tommy, he calmed Tommy. He bared the brunt of it, and the fear, he learned to control it.
The control is gone. He’s fearing again. And it’s not his parents having an argument over watermelon seeds, but his wife experiencing the most unimaginable pain right now, and it’s because of him, it really is, just like you said. Worse than nails on a chalkboard, glass in his eyes, fire on his feet. He’s so scared, everything he had tried to train for, for you, for this moment, is collapsing before him, and he’s not gonna make it—
Every fiber in his body grips your hand more tightly than possible. “You can,” he says, sturdy yet trembling. He’s scared.
He’s always known what to do, what comes next, how to make your pain and sadness and tears go away. He’s perfected it, knowing what to get you or what to say to make it all better, but now?  He doesn’t know what comes next. Doesn’t know how to make it stop, help you through it, take your worries and griefs—you’re on your own and he’s just next to you, and its not enough, and he can’t help, and he doesn’t know what to do—He doesn’t know what to do-Hedoesntknowwhattodo!
“Hey.”
He feels a gentle hand on his shoulder; the nurse who’s holding all the pieces of his heart and sanity together. She looks at him, focused, locked in from the moment your wailing, miserable self was wheeled in here, and has been doing everything he can’t.
“We’re right there. I need you to ground her,” she says. “Can you do that?”
He nods, tightening his lips. He remembers your hand in his now, remembers where he is, in this moment, and its all the matters.
He’s here. And he wants—needs you to know he’s not going anywhere.
He calls your name. “It’s time, okay baby?” Steady. Reassuring. Level headed. Strong. Rock. Crutch. Love. Everything he’s good at. Everything you know him by. “I need you to push.”
You shake your head again, eyes squeezed shut and teeth clenching hard. But he nods, because he’s gonna do the nodding, and the yes’ing, and he’s gonna take everything that’s ever caused you wrong or pain or sadness away because it’s what he does.
It’s what makes him keep going.
“FUCK! MOTHER———MOTHERFUCKER!!!!AHHHHHHHHH!!”
“Keep going!” The nurse encourages. “Dad, you’re doing great, keep getting her to focus—“
“I’M NOT GETTING MY FUCKING EPIDURAL!!!!!!!!!!!!” You sob in finality, the truth seeping into your bones. “YOU FUCKING—MOTHERFUCKING CUNNT SHIT STICK LITTLE BI—“ 
“For Christ’s sake, SHUT THE FUCK UP!” The nurse howls, and the entire room goes silent, even you. Joel stares at her dumbfounded. 
‘“The baby. Is HERE,” she huffs definitively. 
“Now fucking—PUSH!”
 - 
Joel’s heart has stopped. 
He doesn’t know where it is, but he knows it’s no longer in his body. 
Its not until he hears the first, most beautifully devastating croak of an angelic cry that he’s felt his heartbeat resume again, and its being cradled gently by the nurse as she pulls the tiniest, wrinkliest, most precious thing on this planet from between your legs.
“Congratulations, mom and dad. A healthy, happy baby girl.”
There’s no way this little—thing—this… bean—can be a baby. It’s the size of both his hands together, and so incredibly delicate, my god, weighing almost nothing and yet the sheer weight of who she is has him nearly capsizing at this very moment.
She’s wrapped delicately in cloth, face and nostrils wiped of fluids before landing gracefully in your outstretched arms. And it’s like the cosmos has realigned in harmony.
No amount of sweat, tears, crazy hair and braised skin, torn clothing and achy muscles could possibly deter the absolute love bursting from your chest as you hold the tiny baby in your grasp. “Hi,” you whimper with a big smile, eyes floating in a shiny haze pf exhaustion and happiness, looking down upon her. “Hi baby girl.” you laugh, tears falling freely as you shake your head and hold her closer, as close as possible, reabsorbing her into your bare chest, and you feel it. Her skin on yours. You’ve carried her this entire time, and yet it’s like you’re feeling her for the first time in your life.
Joel curls next to you, his big palm splayed over top her whole body, touching her. And it’s the first time, the first time he’s felt his daughter. He had been separated by the membrane of your belly, anxiously, excitedly waiting all this time to meet her, and now she’s here. She’s here. Neither one of you can believe it.
Your little baby wiggles, cooing noise stuck in her throat as she settles from her cries. she’s so wrinkly, skin still absorbing all that fresh air, working color into those cheeks and hands, fingers and toes. Her eyes are too swollen, not yet ready to say hi to this world. But that’s okay. Because her mom and dad are still going to be right here when she wakes up, the first people who will introduce her to the world around her. Because she is their world.
“Joel,” you whisper softly. He hears you. He’s here. He hasn’t left your side once. You know he’s here, you’re grateful. He’s here. He loves you. 
“Joel,” you hum again. “She’s beautiful.”
You tremble against him. Shaken from love and joy, more than your entire achy body can contain as you bring her little head to your lips and press the most fulfilling kiss to her.
Joel cups her little head. He wants to hold her, but he’s gotta wait. Fuck after all this time, he’s gotta wait. And it’s enough. He can handle it because he’s so fucking overwhelmed that she’s finally here.
“She’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen,” he rasps into your hair, kissing you tenderly.
Joel steps outside the room, softly closing the door behind him. He watches from the glass window pane, with you perfectly framed in the center as its only subject. Just the way he’s seen the world every day since he met you. 
Only this time, you hold another part of you, and him, in your arms.  The two of you, together. Like the only things that will ever matter to him.
And suddenly, Joel lets himself feel it all.
He clutches his mouth with the entirety of his palm, his yelp buzzing in his hoarse throat. He feels his knees give way, tumbling to the ground, one hand holding the wall while the other grips his face to keep the cries at bay. And he cries. He cries harder than he’s ever cried, and they’re wonderful. They hurt like kisses, burn like candy, ache like love. 
He wants to go back in there.
Quickly wiping his face clean, he stands up, straightening himself.
“Hey.”
The nurse who had delivered his baby stands next to him.
“She did fantastic. You both did.”
Joel tries to clear his throat, but his face is so obviously still red, swollen and barely holding it together. She doesn’t question nor judge the tough guy facade, yet completely speaks to his soul, telling him everything he didn’t know he needed to hear. “She’s 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Ten fingers and toes. Brown eyes. Hearing is great, so is—“
“Thank you,” he interrupts.
She goes quiet but offers a gentle smile. 
As he stares at her, the literal saint that got you and his baby through this, from point A to B, he realizes  nothing is coming to his head.
“I’m sorry, I … I don’t even know your name.”
She laughs. “I would not expect you to. You had way more to worry about.”
“Well, I just … really, really wanted to say…. Thank you…”
“Sarah,” she responds.
“Sarah,” he repeats. He repeats it over and over again in his mind, as if its going to stick, and he doesn’t quite know why yet.
“I’ll give you two—three, some time together,” she says, gathering the checkerboard hanging by the wall. “Then I’ll be back to help get her ready to take home, and let your wife sleep some more.”
He nods, looking down then back up, just as she’s patting his shoulder reassuringly and turning away to attend her other duties.
-
When he steps back inside, you look up to him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he whispers back. Now that the dust has settled, he can finally see just how exhausted you are. The absolute train wreck that has battered your body this last hour really settling in, and it makes his chest sore to see you like that. Your gown pulled halfway down to your ribcage, tousled hair sticking awkwardly to your forehead and back from all the dried sweat. And yet none of it, absolutely nothing, is getting in the way of that smile that hasn’t left your cheeks since the moment you heard her cry.
“She’s sleeping,” you hum, looking back down at your daughter, who’s coddled up in a wrap and little cap.
“You thinking about putting the baby down, getting some sleep too?”
“Never.”
He smirks, looking down at her again.
“You think about any names yet?” You ask, stroking over her little forehead.
The two of you had thought about it. A lot. You didn’t want it to be random, but you didn’t want it to be weird. It had to have meaning, but not so closely related to a family member that you’d always mess them up at thanksgiving. It had to remind you of someone strong, unique, purposeful but distant enough that she could to grow and make it her own. 
And this was a girl, after all, so it had to be someone that could put momma AND papa in their place whenever shit got too crazy. 
“I’ve got…one.”
-
Joel helps dress the baby from her swaddled blanket into clothes.
“They’re gonna be a little bit big at first—“ you say, giggling as the two of you realize that the smallest clothes in the world are still a little too baggy on your little—so fucking little—girl.
Joel doesn’t waver, helping put her bitty legs through the loose pant legs…
You see him wipe his lips quickly, swallowing a lump to clear his throat.
“Joel, are you crying?”
“No,” he rasps like a whimper. “M’just sweatin’ through my eyes.”
You let out a chuckle, and Joel tries to do the same, but then he looks down at his little angel again, who’s stretching herself out in the new cloth that’s practically a giant coat on her. Joel starts to tremble. “She’s so perfect,” he weeps, and the shine in his eyes are clear as day.
“Oh baby, it’s okay to cry! I’m gonna cry too—“ you bawl, and now the two of you cry over this little girl who’s just trying to figure out why this blanket is stuck to her.
Not a great first impression from mom and dad but she’ll just have to deal with it.
And just like that, the Miller family went from party of two, to family of three.
-
6 weeks later…
The baby monitor crackles to life, and Joel is already tossing the blanket aside before the baby utters her first cry. He’s already up, kissing your forehead with “I’ll get her," almost excitedly through the heavy lull of sleep. You barely get a noise out of your throat, already snoring away into the pillow. He’s exhausted too, but his feet carry him onward with droopy eyes as if on their own.
He’s still not happy about the pink paint color of her bedroom, but that hardly matters right now. Terribly dramatic cries echo from the crib ahead. He scoops his little bean—since that’s what she looks like all curly in her onesie—supporting her head carefully and tucking her into one elbow. 
He rocks her squirming, agitated body back and forth in one arm as he shakes the now warmed bottle in his other hand. Joel tries to get her screaming mouth to take the cap, but she shakes her head, avoiding him at all costs to her own detriment.
 "Oh you’re such a squiggly girly for daddy. I got ya bubbas right here, quick ya cryin’. You’re gonna wake up mommy." 
As if she understands how she wouldn’t want to cause YOU any problems, his baby stops crying and accepts the bottle between her lips. Once she finally has her snacking, she peacefully looks back up to him, studies him. 
"There she is.  Told ya." He grins, swaying back and forth as she stares back at him with those big beautiful brown eyes. You definitely got one of your wishes: Joel’s eyes. The rest of her, is yours.
He’s hypnotized, so in love with her he didn’t think it was possible to love something as much as you. He already knows he’s gonna get her the dog, the kitty, the pony, the car, credit card, dress, house, anything she points to really; he’s never going to be able to say no to those enchanting eyes.
All of her bitty fingers fist around Joel’s pointer, as if to anchor her, and she doesn't let go as she drinks safely.  
She’s only 10 pounds now, but he feels like Atlas, carrying the entire weight of the world all curled up in his arms right now. Ans he'd carry this weight forever if he could, would pump iron and concrete slabs and oceans just to stay in shape and keep his girl in his arms for eternity, never to tire.
“My babygirl,” he whispers with a grin, pursing his lips close to her. “My little baby Sarah.”
- - - -
taglist:
@harriedandharassed @lola8888673 @its-nebuleuse @zliteraturehoe @merz-8 @joeldjarin @pascalscoffin @pedroshotwifey @ghostslillady @innerpersonunknown @missladym1981 @mrsoharaxx @survivingandenduring @milla-frenchy @cockykookiee @fairytale07 @daddy-din @pedropascalsbbg @spookyxsam @somehopeatlast @millercontracting @pedrostories @mishala005 @theoraekenslover @animez96 @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog @puduvallee @cassiecasluciluce @loohoop @himboelover @callsignwidow @wintersquirrel @fluffygoffpanda @picketniffler @bbyanarchist @jeewrites
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mydarlingclaudia · 26 days ago
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she’s demonic and bloody, but she holds me tight
note : divider is from @/cafekitsune. this fix does have dark content in it if you don’t wanna read I understand <3 I also wrote this based off the song In My Room by Insane Clown Posse. I also got kinda in the flow when I was writing this idk if it really fits the song but I like how this turned out but the end is like really really rushed bc I didn’t know what to do :)
wc : 2.9k
tags : @withonly-sweetheart @rigorwhoring @cigarett3wif3 @bonesnplywood
desc : a college kid with a social life that's almost non-existent figures the dead girl that comes to his room every night is his girlfriend, some say that's a bad thing, he says it's everything he could wish for. who cares, anyway? it's not hurting anyone! well, not yet, at least. there's an endless list of things he'd do for you, you don't even have to ask. but why won't you come back after he takes care of a problem that would have torn you away from him? you love him, right? not-really established relationship (idk how to explain it), a bit suggestive, Leon is kinda gross, necrophilia, gore, au, fem!reader, re2r!Leon
back to the party <3
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“You gonna let me in…?” Your voice is muffled from the glass pane of Leon’s window, chipped fingernails tapping against the surface. Of course he’s gonna let you in, when was the last time he had ignored you? You’ve completely fucked over his sleep schedule, you’re too good to turn down.
He’s lucky that he has the whole house to himself, it’s been like this since he started college, even if anyone is there, you’re always quiet. Leon was lucky enough to have some rich uncle that pitied him after the death of his parents and gifted his summer house to Leon so he could stay there for college. He doesn’t talk to a lot of people, he’s got a few friends around campus and he tutors the kid next door, but outside of that he’s alone, no one comes over outside of family.
You came along about halfway through his sophomore year of college, he was scared of you at first, who wouldn’t be scared when you wake up to a corpse knocking on your window? But he gave you a chance, best decision he’s made in years.
You… were something special. Not a zombie, Leon’s sure you would’ve cracked his skull open and torn his brain apart with your teeth by now if you were, he would’ve let you.
You poor thing, your boyfriend killed you when you tried to break up with him in your senior year of college, Leon must’ve been seventeen when it happened, it had been all over the news. Leon’s not sure why you came to him, you never told him, there are a lot of things you don’t tell him, he’s not sure where you go when the sun rises, either. But you’re the best part of his days, the lamp in his room is always on at night just so you know he’s home. He hasn’t even gone out to any parties because he doesn’t want to miss a visit from you, hardly even stays out past ten if he ever does manage to get out of the house.
“Leon, I can see you.” Your voice is a bit harsher, your palm comes down against his window and Leon finally tears himself from his homework, spinning around in his chair to smile at you.
He stands from his chair and takes a few steps to his window, it’s never locked, it doesn’t even have the screen anymore, he just has to open it for you.
“Hey, sweetheart.” The smile that immediately blooms on your face makes his whole month, Leon offers his hand out to you to help you climb into his room, your rough, cold palm slides against his, you stumble slightly. Leon’s hands soon find their way to your sides, his face almost hurts from how much he’s grinning.
“Hey,” Your voice is always raspy, it’s prettier than any song he’s ever heard. You always wrap your arms around him when he welcomes you in, this time is no different, one of his hands take place on your lower back, the other on the back of your neck over your matted hair.
“It’s cold out, do you want a sweatshirt?” He knows you don’t need one, but he’s been dying to see you in one of his favorite hoodies, he doesn’t even care if you get dirt all over it. You just shake your head and bury your face in the crook of his neck, he chuckles. “I gotta do some homework, do you want to sit with me?” You nod again and unravel your arms from around him, he pulls up his chair again to sit and pull you down onto his lap.
You love this, you crave this, found a way to weasel your way into this life even after death. You really weren’t trying to go for Leon, the night you emerged from your grave you just stumbled down the street, looking for a light in the window, you don’t know why. The only light on had been Leon’s, he was pretty enough, at least he didn’t call the cops when you climbed up the tree in front of his window and started knocking.
He loves you, you know it. You don’t know how or why, but God, do you love this feeling. You’re able to pretend for a few hours that you’re back to being a normal college girl, that your blood still runs through your veins and your boyfriend didn’t go nuts and stab you. You love him too, you guess.
You even help him with homework and projects sometimes since you took those same classes, you always hated it when you were in school, but you had a cheat sheet for half the shit Leon brings back from class in the back of you brain, why are you even able to remember that? Leon always holds you as close as possible, you're not really sure how he can stomach having you so close all the time, you knew he'd have you naked more often than not if you would let him see you like that, the closest he's even gotten to seeing you like that is when you took off your dress so he could stitch up the re-opening stab wounds that were scattered across your abdomen.
But he loves it, for some reason. He doesn't mind how rough your skin feels and how tight it is against your rotting muscles, doesn't get weirded out when he plucks a bug from your hair, somehow Leon loves when the two of you make out.
It’s a win-win, Leon gets you, you get Leon. He buys you cute things, short skirts, pretty tops, you play dress up for a few hours before you pull the blue dress you were buried in back on and leave for the day, just to come back and do it again the next night. He’s got a dresser drawer full of girly clothes that you only wear sometimes, he’s lucky he never has friends over.
Don’t even mentions the hickeys he lets you leave on his neck, those are the things his friends see and tease him about, interrogating him about who his secret girlfriend is. You don’t think he minds, he’s never complained when you sink your teeth into his throat and suck and bite until the blood vessels under his skin start to pop. Leon does the same to you, anyway, it’s only fair.
Leon doesn’t like when you’re in the house but not with him, if you get up to go wash the dirt off your skin in the shower, he trails after you and sits on the sinks countertop until you’re done. He’d join you if you let him.
Leon will never tell you this or even ask, but he wonders if you died a virgin. I mean, there’s no way, right? You were so pretty, alive or dead, he’d be lying if he said that he never thought about having sex with you. Who wouldn’t think about that? Theres no judgement from him if you’re a virgin or not, but maybe one day you’ll take his virginity. Maybe? He’ll take the dry humping for now and keep his hopes up.
Outside of wanting to have sex with you, Leon loves to hold you. You fit on his lap perfectly and your face always finds a way to the nape of his neck, you always cling to him like your limbs are still stiff and tight from rigor mortis and you’ll take him back to your grave with you.
You’re back again, shocking. Leon’s got you on his lap with your chest pressed to his, his fingers dig into the cold flesh of your thighs to slowly rock you against him as you nip at his lips whenever you pull away from one of your heated kisses, barely giving him time to breathe.
You have to leave soon and Leon has to start his day, the most sleep he gets is four or five hours the second he gets back from school, you come around midnight, who needs sunlight? He doesn’t spend most of his days out and you never do, Leon could live in total darkness and be fine with it so long as you stay.
Leon’s shaking a tiny bit underneath you, it’s always like this when you slip your tongue a bit further past his lips, you can’t taste anything but Leon loves the way you taste, good thing he’s not vegan. Though, Leon can’t really focus on kissing you back, you feel more tense than normal, your voice sounds choked when you talk now.
Reluctantly, he pulls away from you and you huff. Leon’s hands instead move up to your hips, stopping his rocking.
“You okay?” You nod.
You’re not really okay, you were trying to avoid Leon asking you this because you knew he’d react badly. The kid he tutors next door saw you walk down the street, you even fucking made eye contact with the kid and kept walking until you were at the tree in Leon’s yard. You didn’t know if he was gonna tell anyone or just try to ignore you, play it off as a drunk girl not knowing what she’s doing. But you knew he’d tell Leon the next day, Leon always told you the kid liked to gossip. Even if the kid didn’t talk, you probably shouldn’t come back, at least for a little while.
“Sweetheart,” His hands squeeze your hips, you sigh and sit up straight. “What’s wrong?”
“I- that uhm, the kid next door… H-he saw me.” Leon’s eyes widen and his hands grip you harder, it doesn’t hurt but you feel his fingernails dig into your skin.
“What?” You’ve never heard his voice so flat, you chew on your bottom lip and look away from him. “He saw you?”
“Leon, he knows.”
“What? He can’t know, it’s not like… It’s not like it’s obvious that you’re dead.”
“Leon, be serious, it’s weird enough to see someone stumbling into your neighbors yard in the dark, but when they look like they’re fucking dead then that’s something else.”
“Baby-“
“He’s gonna tell someone.”
“He won’t,” A dry, humorless chuckle comes from his mouth, he shakes his head. “He’s not gonna care, the worst that’s gonna happen is he’s gonna tease me.”
“Yeah? What if he tells his parents? What if he tells his friends? Then what? He’s like, what, twenty? He doesn’t care if you ask him not to talk about it.”
“We’re gonna be fine,” His hand comes up to your face, brushing over your bottom lip and pulling you back down to his slowly. “Why would he give a shit?”
“I’m not gonna come back for while.” You announce, stopping a few inches from his face. You don’t want to talk about this anymore, you just need to do your own thing, you have all the time in the world to wait and let this simmer down. If Leon loves you, then he’ll wait, too.
“What?!” Leon bolts up, pushing you up with him. “No, no, no, no, you don’t gotta like, leave leave, okay? I’ll- I’ll take care of it, I’ll talk to him. Baby, please.”
“I don’t know, Leon.”
“We’re gonna be alright, I promise.” He kisses you again and your shoulders tense. “Okay?”
“… The sun will be up soon.” You mumble, leaning back from him.
“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” He sighs and runs his hands along your arms, looking over your face to try and determine what you’re thinking. “I love you.”
“Love you,” You mumble again before you stand from his bed and make your way back out his bedroom window, you glance back at him, he’s smiling, somehow.
Once you’re gone, though, Leon flops back against his bed, his hands coming to his hair to pull at the soft strands, he's never been so nervous in his life.
“Fuck.”
Leon’s not proud of what he’s done, but he did it for you, so it’s not bad, right?
He really did mean to just talk things out, tell his neighbor that you’re his girlfriend and that you come up through the tree in front of his room because it’s faster.
But the kid had already told his parents, thankfully none of his friends, though. Leon didn’t know what to do, because soon the neighbors would tell his uncle and then he’d start asking questions, and then eventually his neighbor would tell his friends and then Leon’s friends would find out and- he panicked. What else could he say?
Leon came back to his neighbors later that night, maybe ten, ten thirty? Who cares? The thing about his neighbors is that the parents loved him because he was willing to spend two hours of his day tutoring their son who got into school mostly due to his parents, why wouldn’t they give him a spare key to the house?
He didn’t use a gun and he didn't go bare-handed, he’s not completely stupid. Leon just... came in through the back door with one of the knives from his kitchen and got to work. Leon hadn't thought a whole lot through besides his alibi, he'd just say he was sleeping, he's a college student, aren't you supposed to get sleep when given the chance?
But now his hands were covered in blood as well as his clothes, he made sure not to get any on his shoes, he'll just wash whatever became bloodied. And if he couldn't wash the blood out, he could just feed it to the fire pit, maybe a tie dye shirt wouldn't look too bad on him, he's thinking red and black.
He's not used to the feeling of someone else's blood coating his skin, did you know what that felt like? No, that blood had been your own, but still, maybe you could've told him it would be warm. And God, the fucking stench of it, he's gonna scrub his skin raw when he gets back home.
Leon doesn't expect you to come back to him that night, though he still really hopes that you do. But while he waited, he cleaned. Did his laundry, washed the knife, looked for any splotches of blood left in his yard that would be seen as an immediate red flag, he even kicked in the glass back door of his neighbors house for good measure! He probably wouldn't have slept, anyway, the adrenaline of puncturing a soft body with something he uses to cook is still running through his veins. He wasn't too worried about the other neighbors, most of them were old, it was well past their bed time.
Was Leon disappointed when you didn't show that night? Of course. But if you needed a night to try to gather your thoughts then what kind of boyfriend would he be to not allow you that space?
And it was no surprise when the cops showed up at his door the next morning, Leon had gone through this situation over and over in his head the whole night, he just needs to play dumb and be polite.
"No, officer, I didn't hear anything last night, what's the matter?"
"I don't know anyone who would do something like that to that family! That's just awful!"
"They've never upset me, and even if they did, I wouldn't kill them over it!"
"Damn, do I need to get security cameras or something, officer?"
Of course the police told him to get the security cameras, it’s no big problem for him, no one has to protect him, he’s just waiting for you to come back. Maybe you’ll even stay longer once you do finally come back to him, there’d be no one to worry about, so what’s the problem?
Leon doesn't get it, it's been almost a month now and you're still not back. Why is that? Did you just not know what he had done for you and decided to wait a bit longer? Maybe he should've known that the girl who got fucking stabbed to death wouldn't like him killing a family for her, God, did he scare you off?
He went to your grave, it looks normal. He'd never gone now because he had no reason to, but the soil wasn't loose or anything. Should he try to dig you up? No, that would get him thrown in jail in a matter of minutes. You weren’t even showing up on the security cameras the cops advised him to get,
Leon can't stand it. He misses you, is that really so bad?
How long were you planning to stay away? Did you just break up with him without even really saying it? Was killing his neighbors worth it? It's like you've just vanished! What does he have to do to get you to come back?
The pictures he has of you - from when you were alive, newspaper clippings of your obituary and your memorial service after the funeral - don't sit right with him anymore. He's had them since you started coming over, he just wanted to know more about you, but seeing you smiling at him through the black and white paper doesn't sit well in his stomach.
What's he supposed to do with your clothes? He misses you, why can't you just leave him a note explaining things? And he can't even tell anyone. He's worried about you, what if something happened to you?
But he waits, like he does every night.
And he waits, then waits a bit longer, then waits even more, and a month turns into four way too fast.
Where are you?
Leon swears he can hear the tap tap on his window, but when he looks, you're never there. Now he has to deal with the weight of murder on his shoulders while the cops are still out looking for the killer. Were the cops why you weren't coming back?
This is unbelievable, didn't you love him? If you don't come to him, he might have to come to you... somehow. He'll figure it out, he's pretty sure you're meant to be together.
Come on, don’t you know he’d die for you? Leon can’t wait for forever.
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missmeinyourbones · 1 year ago
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DRANK DRY THE RIVER LETHE
"These days I think I owe my life
To flowers that were left here by my mother,
Ain't that like them, gifting life to you again?
- First Time, Hozier
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a/n: trying baby daddy touya, brief mentions of pregnancy, reader is exhausted and dealing w some parental impostor syndrome, reader and baby are referred to as touya's girls
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Touya comes home to a crying baby, something that has slowly become the new norm for him.
The fall breeze is uncomfortably chilly now that the sun has long gone down, and he can hear the familiar shrieks and hiccups before he's able to unlock and open the apartment door.
You don't hear him enter over the whines of the baby you cradle and caress in your hold. Touya's met with the back of your head and the sound of your desperate coos as he kicks off his shoes and shrugs off his jacket, making his way over to his girls. His family.
"Hey," he makes it a point to speak before letting his hand come to rest on your lower back. You'd think he'd have mastered how jumpy you are after all this time, but you flinch all the same at the sound of his voice.
He lets the warmth of his touch press up against your skin in an attempt to comfort you, but the second he's able to catch your eye, he knows it'll require a lot more than that to soothe your worries.
From your gaze alone, he can sense your panic almost immediately.
"She won't stop crying," is the first thing you say to him.
It comes out rushed and nervous, like you've been waiting for him to return home for hours. You have been, he knows to be true even though you don't say it.
He winces a bit as he takes in your appearance. You look smaller than he's ever remembered, and perhaps there's a truth to that old saying about not noticing something as it happens right before you, until it's already too late.
Your eyes are dark with exhaustion, his t-shirt swallowing you whole is covered with what he knows to be stains of vomit and spit-up. Your body doesn't stop moving, heels don't stop bouncing softly back and forth as you attempt to soothe your daughter in any way possible.
He doesn't ask how long you've been at this.
The haste returns when you continue, "She's not hungry, I've changed her three times, her temperature is normal, and I hate that I even checked her temperature more than once because she fucking hates it and--"
A calloused palm finds your head, gently brushing the tousled hair behind your ear and trying to rub the tension from behind your neck.
"Hey, hey. Easy."
He tries to console you. His tone is a bit cautious, like he's trying to slowly approach a wild and contaminated animal, but it comforts you all the same.
His heart hurts as he watches you take a shaky inhale, holding it for a brief moment before exhaling it just as uneasily. You're drained.
If this was three months ago, he'd instantly grab your wrist--force you to lay on top of him in bed until you inevitably pass out and succumb to your own exhaustion.
But things are different now, and he's not just in charge of you anymore. He has two girls to take care of, one being a lot more helpless than the other who needs him just as badly right now.
"I don't know what I'm doing wrong," you weakly admit through the tears that sit heavy in the back of your throat.
Nothing, Touya wants to say. He doesn't even think you're capable of doing something that isn't right, but he's self-aware enough to bite his tongue and focus on the task at hand.
His eyes fall to where the bundle of baby still shrieks and sobs against your arms. He slowly reaches to rub a soft finger against her puffy cheek before sighing to himself.
"Don't babies cry for no reason sometimes?" he mumbles.
"She doesn't cry like this for you."
He knows it's the fatigue behind your bite, so he chooses to ignore the harsh comparison.
"Yeah, she does, baby," he calmly breathes. "You're just tired."
Wordlessly, he motions for you to hand your daughter to him, and the pass happens naturally for all three of you. She leaves your arms and enters his without so much of a struggle. And you can't shake the failure that weighs heavy on your shoulders as you watch him gently bounce the baby on his hip, her cries almost immediately softening by being in his mere presence.
It takes all of thirty seconds before she's practically silent, resting on his chest and babbling herself into a calm drowsiness. His hand cradles the back of her head gently, mimicking how it did yours mere moments ago.
The scene before you is all you've ever wanted, and it's finally yours. And you absolutely hate that you feel a sob of exhaustion wrack through your chest, ruining a moment you never thought you'd have.
Touya watches you shrink before him, your eyes on the peaceful scene before you as you choke out a teary, "She hates me."
"Bullshit, c'mere."
He readjusts your baby so she's comfortably supported with one arm, using the other to snake around your shoulders and pull you in with them. You feel his hand flat against your sore back, rubbing gentle circles and pressing you into his warmth.
The three of you stand huddled together, all clinging onto one another in one way or the other. The baby in Touya's hold rests her sock-covered foot on the flat of your arm. You lean into Touya's chest, head right next to your daughter's as he whispers sweet reassurances. You don't need to ask to know they're meant for the both of you.
After a few minutes, Touya pulls away a bit, but only to use both hands to place the baby back in her crib. The transition is easy and she's out cold as she sinks into the tiny mattress pad and sprawls out.
The two of you lean on one another, hovering over the wood to watch her sleep. Her eyelids flicker with movement, her chubby fingers squeezing around nothing every now and then.
Eventually, Touya tiredly whispers into your hair, “I learned all this from you, y'know."
Sniffling with heavy eyes and a confused pout, you weakly turn your head up to look at him in confusion.
Assuming he's talking about parenthood, his words don't make any sense in your fatigued and spiraling mind.
You learned together. He was there in the hospital when the midwives walked you through swaddling and latching and burping. When you'd discovered that your daughter preferred to eat after napping because nursing before made her sick. Watching online tutorials on which bassinet is safest for newborns---Touya was there, for all of it. He didn't learn anything about this from you.
But when he looks down into your watery eyes, through the dark of the nursery and against the shallow breaths of your sleeping daughter, you realize he's not talking about that.
His voice is a mere whisper when he confesses, “Like, how to love her right.”
Sniffling and swollen, you open your mouth to protest, but no words come out. Utterly speechless, you just stare at him a bit dumbly.
Touya fights off a smirk at your uncharacteristic silence, directing his attention back to the sleeping baby once more.
"Wouldn't know how to do this if it wasn't for you, letting me learn how to love you," he admits.
He reaches down into the crib to where she sleeps on her back, arms spread out and upward like she's stretching her tiny limbs. He takes the tips off his fingers and gently rubs her onesie-covered tummy.
“So, when she feels it from me," he whispers, not taking his eyes off of the annoyingly perfect baby before him, "it’s really just an extension of you.”
A moment of silence passes. In the heaviness of the moment, he almost thinks you didn't hear him. But he's proven wrong--something he's learned is often the case with you--when he turns his head to where you wait. Touya sees your eyes and cheeks glistening with newly shed tears, no longer the dried ones from your weariness and anxiety, gleaming up back at him.
He can't help but shake his head and laugh at the soft sight before him, withdrawing his hand from the baby's tummy and wrapping it around your shoulder.
He ushers your head into his chest, muttering a loving, “Alright crybaby, c'mon.”
He lets you sniffle and close your eyes against the cheap cotton of his shirt, letting his own eyes shut and resting his chin atop your head.
Slowly, but all the same, you feel that gentle sting of guilt eventually fade from your lungs with each gentle exhale. With heavy eyes and bad posture, you ground yourself through the senses around you. Touya's skin against yours, the sounds of gentle sighs and sniffles. The baby, the one that you had together, safe in her crib with the sole responsibility of innocently existing.
You don't want to ever forget this, or maybe you do. Half of you wishes you could forget it, just to receive the blessing of experiencing it for the first time all over again.
“Also use my quirk sometimes,” you think you hear muffled into the crown of your skull.
You open your puffy eyes to look up at him, confused.
"What?"
You watch Touya smugly shrug as he brushes the stray and sticky hairs from your clammy forehead. A sly blush creeps up his neck and jaw when he fights off a smile.
"Warm my hand up and put it on her stomach," he admits casually, caressing your soggy cheek, "shuts her right up."
You laugh, wet and pathetic and absolutely enamored by him, "That's cheating, you asshole."
You don't blame her, you think, considering the countless times you've requested the same thing from him. From period cramps to pregnancy pain to just wanting to feel him--maybe it's genetic, having your DNA and craving his warmth simultaneously.
You decide that Touya must be thinking the same thing, because he simply chuckles with you, rubbing your back as you feel the familiar heat of his fingers begin to tingle.
"Yeah, yeah," he kisses your head, "wonder where she learned that from."
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princessbrunette · 9 months ago
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thinking ab their pretty little gf w a not so stellar home life comin back to the chateau in tears, tryin to explain what happened but she's simply just a blubbering mess. the duology of jayj who's ready to give your old man a taste of his medicine vs daddy!john bee who's a little more levelheaded n thinking rationally. saying smth like 'just wanna forget' would have those two jumping to your aid - 🍓
₊˚⊹♡𐙚♡𓆪ֶָ֢
“yup, i’m gonna kill him. murder him in cold blood.”
“you are not going to kill her dad, jj.”
whilst the blonde paces, developing a routine of yanking his cap off his head, running a hand through matted tresses before placing it back on— john b, the more level headed of the two kneels by your side, a gentle hand on your back.
you’d been crying, infact — you cried all the way to the chateau after an explosive spat with your terrifying father. it just didn’t feel fair, how can some people have the privilege of feeling totally safe and welcomed in their own home, by their own family — but you had to suffer? you felt in despair, just wanting everything happening outside of the chateau to stop.
“dude i’m tired of this asshole actin’ like — like he can just mess her around and scare her, look at her john b she’s scared!” jj rages, trying to bring his voice into a whisper-yell despite you being right there, stopping his pacing to direct his anger at the brunette by your side.
“i know, but right now you just need to calm it down. i doubt she wants you to go all john wick on her dad. sit down.” your face is in your hands as you weep, so you miss the way john b’s eyes widen in warning to jj, a silent message for him to quit acting out. the blonde licks his lips, shaking his head feeling like he was totally justified, but he does as he says regardless, lowering himself to sit at your other side.
“how ya holding up, princess?” he finally speaks, scratching the back of your head like a puppy. you remove your clammy hands from your face, staring down at them once they hang in your lap.
“s’just not fair.” you rasp, and you feel john b nodding at your side. you daren’t look at him, his large concerned puppy dog eyes sure to set off your waterworks once again so you look at jj instead, almost looking for solidarity. if anyone understood your home life situation, it was him.
his brows are all creased up sorrowfully and he presses his lips together, thumbing the freshest tear that dares to race down your cheek. you feel john b rest his chin on your shoulder, wanting you to feel his presence even when you didn’t face him.
“what can we do?” his warm voice rumbles right in your ear.
at first, you don’t know — and that look of hopelessness in your eyes almost cracks jj’s heart in two. he knew from experience how shitty it felt— but seeing it from the third person perspective was almost worse. he would take a million beatings from his dad if it meant no one was to ever lay a hand or throw a venomous word in your direction. “anything, babydoll.” he reiterates.
as fucked up as it is, having two male figures at your side— two who you’d like to think held a comfortable amount of authority over you, a small slither of the hole that was left in your heart from your daddy issues was filled with a warm honey-like feeling. maybe your emotions were all fucked up and out of whack, or maybe you just really appreciated the comfort — because you felt that warmth spread lower at the way they coddled you.
“i just wanna forget. wanna forget it all happened.” you whisper, and at first they don’t get it. well, they do— but not in the way you mean. john b’s hand creeps up to massage at the back of your neck, trying to relax you as he nods, frowning as he tries to piece together what he can do. always the fixer.
“okay, we can do that. what… specifically do you—”
“i need you.” you turn to look at him now, faces close, breath mingling. “i need you both to… make me forget. just don’t wanna think.” your whisper holds a tinge of an oncoming mewl to it and their faces melt in understanding.
“oh, baby.” john b coo’s, catching on and you feel yourself physically already starting to melt at the tone.
“that mean what i think it means?” jj’s breath is at your neck, fingers sliding up your arm to the strap of your tank top. slowly, carefully.
“please jus’ make me feel better.” you slur like the effects of a drug are finally kicking in, the two boys seeming to close in on you more by the minute.
“alright baby. daddies gonna help, okay? gonna make it feel better.” john b cups your cheek and you wring weakly at his wrist, pulling his palm to your wet mouth where you press kisses to the warm coarse skin, a silent plea to follow through.
jj’s mouth follows his touch next, a kiss on the junction between your neck and shoulder, wisps of blonde hair sticking out the front of his cap tickling your cheekbone. “i should’a known that’s what you were after, you want that head all empty don’t you mama?”
like that, you’re putty in their hands.
₊˚⊹♡𐙚♡𓆪ֶָ֢
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wosohermoso · 11 months ago
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Lucy Bronze
Mi Casa Es Su Casa
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Warnings: Implied homophobia, FLUFF, none?
Lucy shows a level of affection that she has been holding back on for a while
_
“You ready?” I give Lucy a light tipped smile as she does the zipper up on her coat.
“Mhm” She nods, picking up the leash as my family dog Bessie follows her out of our home.
Lucy had been staying with my family for the past few days. It was the first time in a good while that we had been able to spend some quality time together. Despite having been together for over a year, the time we spent together in person was always hindered by however many days Lucy had away from training, which wasn’t as many as we liked, so we’d soak up as much time together when we could - for however long we could.
My family adored Lucy. My parents treated her like their own as soon as she stepped foot in our home for the first time, just as Lucy’s family did with me, and it was such a breath of fresh air knowing that our families adored us just the same. Being completely openly affectionate in front of them, though - was something Lucy struggled with - having been in past relationships in which her partners family were not okay with their daughter dating another girl.
-
Winter had hit with a vengeance, the misty air making the end of the walkways almost indecipherable. It was safe to say the pair of us were freezing.
I pull my scarf over my nose and mouth as we walk along the frosted path of the woodland park, Lucy’s hand intertwines with mine.
“I think I’m gonna help your mum prepare the roast when we get back” She states, her thumb brushing delicately over mine.
“Yeah?” I grin behind my scarf.
“M-yeah.” She nods. “Gotta show her I care, right?” She chuckles.
I giggle at the gesture, giving her hand a small squeeze as we continue on our walk.
Bessie trotted beside Lucy, still attached to her leash, while she sniffed around in the leaves.
“Alsooo-” Lucy drags out, stopping us in her tracks as she very carefully pulls me towards her.
“What?” I giggle as my hand glides effortlessly around my girlfriends waist.
Lucy pulls down my scarf as she leans down ever so slightly, placing her lips delicately against mine.
“I feel like I haven’t actually given you a proper kiss since being home” She breathes out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
In that moment - I realised that although Lucy had been staying with us for just under a week, we hadn’t really shown each other that much affection away from my closed bedroom door. I hadn’t really thought about it, because I respected Lucy’s wishes of taking things slow while family were around, it’s something she was wary about and for valid reasons. With the both of us being one of, if not, the only members of our families that considered ourselves to be part of the lgbtq+ community, it was always going to be complex to navigate, even if our families didn’t care. Having people pretend that they don’t mind, but then bringing it up in unnecessary situations was something the both of us had had to deal with in the past. It was just something that played on her mind quite a bit, and that was completely okay.
“Home?” I tilt my head, admiring how the faint white hue of the crisp air made her eyes look all the more greener. I was in absolute awe of her.
“My home is your home” She tilts her head to mimic me.
“Mi casa es su casa” I state, before her lips once again, press against mine.
The kiss was deeper, all the more meaningful, as she brings my chin closer with her thumb and finger, before her hand slips behind my neck.
Her head tilts slightly as I feel her tongue brush against my lower lip, a small giggle leaving my mouth as I feel her grin against me. The brisk air against my face was very quickly masked by Lucy’s lips, as well as her embrace. Not only did she make me warm on the outside, but so warm inside without even realising.
I open my mouth just a little wider, allowing Lucy to deepen the kiss, our tongues slowly brushing against each other in passion and unison.
This kiss meant more to us than any other. It was soft, slow, and it felt like we were the only two people in the entire world.
That was until I felt Lucy jolt against me.
“M- what the fuck” She gasps as her lips leave mine.
Bessie jumps up at Lucy repeatedly, her muddy paws leaving almost perfect prints on her grey joggers.
Lucy cackles, giving me a short peck on the lips.
“Okay Bessie!” She laughs at my extra impatient dog. “Come on!” She grins as she begins to be dragged along by Bessie, her hand latching on to mine as we are unwilling lead away from our intimate situation.
“Wait.” Lucy turns to me. “One more” She pleads, giving me a soft peck on the lips.
“One more” She kisses me again, chuckling as Bessie drags her further and further away from me.
“Wait!” She pouts, attempting to give me one last peck before reluctantly continuing to walk.
“She’s a jealous lady, aren’t you Bess!” I laugh as I watch Bessie pull Lucy along the crystallised path.
“She doesn’t like her mama showing affection to others, she’s the one you have to watch out for!” I snort.
Lucy flashes me a playful eye roll.
“Mama? Sounds good” Lucy glances at me, a soft smile sweeping across her face before her eyes avert down to her feet.
The thought of - one day - having children with Lucy made my heart burst, and I could tell by the way that Lucy looked at me in that moment, that that was what was going through her mind.
“One day, Lucia” I give her hand a soft, reassuring squeeze.
“One day” She nods.
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taytrashmouth · 1 year ago
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OMG OMG LISTEN POOKIE IF YOUR UP FOR IT OFC what do you think of a jeramiah fisher x reader thing right but it’s like comforting him cause that boy doesn’t deserve what he’s gone through ☹️ and nobody ever tries to comfort him if your up for it ofc
He really does deserve better! Sorry for the wait! I wrote this whole thing and then the WiFi died as I posted it and I lost the whole thing 🤦‍♀️
Hope you enjoy this ❤️
Jeremiah x fem reader.
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You sat by the pool, drowning in the puffy white deb ball dress all by yourself.
You thought about the events of this evening.
It started at the deb ball, Jeremiah as your escort, Conrad as belly’s.
Jere invited you to cousins this summer, there was space in the house and you were his best friend, since the second grade. The fishers were like family.
He had offered to take you to the ball, even though he’d sworn off dances…he said you were the only girl he’d take, the only girl he’d dance with.
You were so happy, a small part of you thought this was the summer it would happen for you. You finally felt like he might like you back, but this perfect night was ruined.
When it was time for the main dance Jeremiah was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was staring at you, standing alone. Tears spread to your eyes when the music started and he still wasn’t there, people started whispering and pointing. Anxiety found its way into your chest and you ran off the dance floor as the music started.
You opened the doors to the pool and stopped dead when you saw jere, crying on one of the lounge chairs.
“Jere?” You asked.
He only sobbed harder. You sat down next to him and held him tightly, he cried into your shoulder. You’d never seen him this upset.
After a few minutes you pulled away to look at him. You brushed a curl from his forehead and wiped his tears with your gloved fingers.
You held his face. “What’s wrong?” You asked, you’d completely forgotten about the dance, you were worried about him.
“It’s back…” he choked, and showed you an email on Susannah’s phone.
Her cancer was back…….
You didn’t speak, you didn’t tell him it was okay because it wasn’t, you didn’t try to be strong because you weren’t, you held him tighter than before and cried with him.
“I’m here for you, okay?” You choked and stroked his hair and rubbed circles into his back to try calm him down.
He sat up after a while and wiped his face, his eyes were puffy and his cheeks were stained.
“I have to tell Conrad.” He spoke.
“No, no, tell him when we’re home, he’s having such a nice time with belly and-“
He was already walking towards the hall.
You got up as fast as you could in your puffy dress and ran after him, losing your shoes along the way.
“You knew?” Was all you heard as you ran over and before you could even register Jeremiah was punching Conrad and they were both on the floor.
“Jere! Stop!” You screamed along with belly, you leaned forward to try pull them apart but ended up falling to the floor with an elbow to the face.
“What is going on here?” Susannah yelled.
Here you were, sitting by the pool with your gloves and shoes in your lap, crying softly. You heard the Conklin’s crying upstairs through the open window, and the Fisher boys crying in the living room with Susannah, begging her to try.
After what felt like forever, after the house went quiet, Jeremiah came outside with a bag of frozen peas.
“A peace offering.” He sighed.
He sat down next to you crisscrossed, you turned to face him doing the same. He brought the bag up to your eye and you flinched at the cold.
“Sorry.” But you shook him off.
It was quiet for a while, nothing to say.
You lowered his arm and put the peas on the deck.
“You okay?” You knew the answer.
He shook his head, tears filling his water line.
You hugged him again.
“She said she would do the trial.” His voice broke.
You held his shoulders.
“That’s great.” You smiled, tears building in your eyes too. “Is that it?” You asked, knowing there was something else bothering him.
He loved and hated that you knew him so well.
He was quiet for a long time. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to-“
“No-.” He sighed. “It’s just, this summer was supposed to be fun, you know? But Stephen was always with Shayla and Conrad was being a dick, he has been for a while….and belly-“
You squeezed his hand.
“Belly she was giving me these mixed signals and she kissed me-“
Your heart broke but you didn’t let him see, your throat burned and your heart ached.
“Oh…” you let out. He looked at you.
“But I didn’t want to kiss her- she, she’s always liked Conrad and I don’t want to be her second option you know, and it’s like, she’s one of my closest friends and I don’t like her like that, and I don’t want her to get hurt or the girl I actually like to get hurt-“ he stopped himself.
Your heart was beating faster, you felt silly for hoping it was you, he could get any girl he wanted.
You could see he was anxious too. “I brought her here this summer to tell her how I felt, but I just can’t imagine life without her and I’m worried she’ll hate me forever if I mess things up.” He spoke slowly and deeply.
Your heart fluttered.
“You have one less thing you need to worry about, she wouldn’t let this amazing friendship become ruined.”
“Really?” He asked, tears filled his eyes, he was so emotional and anxious it made you sick.
“Yeah…and I think she likes you too.” You whispered. It was your secret, the two of you.
“Good.” He almost smiled, almost.
He leaned in and placed a kiss on your lips, it was gentle and quick, but it lasted long enough to mean something.
You both smiled and cried, overwhelmed with emotion. 
“I’ve waited 7 years for that.” He smiled. You choked a laugh. “I’ve waited 8.” You added.
“Is that so?” He smirked and kissed you again the same way.
He leaned his head on your shoulder and you watched the sun start to peek over the ocean.
You held him tightly.
“All those things you were worried about are all good reasons to be sad you know? Stephen will come around, and so will Conrad, he’s been dealing with this all by himself. And your moms a fighter….all we can do is hope the trial works.” You whispered.
“It’s okay to be sad, you don’t ever have to hide that from me, okay?”
Another tear fell from his eye, and he whispered a thank you. You held him some more.
After a while you stood up and he looked up at you.
“Where are you going?” He asked, sounding so tired.
“We’ve been crying for hours and I’m going to cheer you up.” You shrugged.
He frowned with a smile.
“We’re gonna play that zombie game you love so much and eat junk food and slurpees on the couch, then we’re gonna fall asleep watching avengers for the 100th time, only we’ll cuddle because it’s not against the platonic rules anymore but first…you owe me a dance mister.” You smiled and so did he.
He stood up and put his hands on your waist, yours around his neck.
“Hey Alexa! Play lover by Taylor swift!” He yelled and soon enough music filled the air and you both swayed. It wasn’t a deb ball and it wasn’t perfect, his tie was loose and your hair was a mess but you were both at home.
He deserved the world and you were prepared to give it to him or die trying.
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coquettelipglossdarling · 4 months ago
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Okay stay with me routledge reader (john bs older sister by like a year) who used to date rafe, but Rafes a fucking crazy coke addict with unresolved daddy issues and some seriously weird fetish for the fact reader is so much “lower” than him. So after a good while of Rafe telling reader she’s being crazy and she shouldn’t leave him, she finally does leave.
Now it’s mid season 1 when Ward took John b in and now readers forced to live with Rafe; her psychotic ex. And guess what, Rafe never moved on he’s been trying to get her back forever and now this is his chance. She’s staying under his roof so now she has to live by his rules. And at first he try’s to be nice in a condescending Rafe way, making her feel like she owes him a second chance because he took her a “a helpless pogue running from dcs” into his home despite the fact she’s over the age of 18 and doesn’t need his or his family’s help and she’s just there because she felt pressured with the fact John b was living there.
When the “being nice” act doesn’t work he gets meaner and meaner and don’t get it twisted reader misses him too; the angry sex, the soft makeup sex, the way he would be so loving when he wasn’t three sheets to the wind, the way he would cuddle her , the way he’d always draw the most perfect bath, the way he was always there for after her dad disappeared.
They really were In love it’s just Rafe’s constant flaws outweighed the good moments he’d have every now and then.
The thing is Rafe is Rafe, he will stop at nothing to get her back. Ruin every date she tries to go on, isolate her from the pogues, ruin any friendships she has outside the pogues. Literally anything to get her back.
Once she loses all her friends, and now her own brother is starting to turn on her and the isolation starts getting to her, she starts to think maybe Rafe isn’t that bad. Maybe she really should give him another chance all her friends and her brother are gone but Rafe is still there for her. Maybe she was the stupid one the whole time breaking up with someone who was always there when she needed him. They should get back together.
Rafe got his way; he got reader back and this time he’s not letting her go. Keeping her in the house, keeping her away from Sarah and her brother. Anytime reader would ask to leave tanneyhill, Rafe wouldn’t let her go alone he was always right there with her, and when reader starts to realize this was rafes plan all along, and he’s been isolating her, he’s the one who turned her brother against her, he’s the one who ruined her life, she tries to escape. Pack all her things in the night and go to the chateau in the hopes that John B is there, and that maybe she can explain all of Rafe’s bullshit.
But oh how that doesn’t work. She thinks that Rafe is asleep so she slowly gets out of bed and grabs her stuff that she packed earlier in the day. But the thing is she doesn’t have a car, so she’s walking from the figure 8 to the cut in her pajamas with all her belongings. She gets less than half way to the chateau when Rafe pulls up in his truck to say he was pissed the fuck off would be the biggest understatement ever. Reader tries to run but Rafe in his truck is faster, she turns a random corner trying to get away but he finds her and forces her in the truck. Fuck Fuck Fuck. What’s going to happen now this is the angriest she’s ever seen Rafe.
Once they get back to tanneyhill. Shit hits the fan. Rafe’s throwing stuff, expensive stuff that she couldn’t buy even if she saved up her entire life. He’s yelling his lungs out. “Don’t you love me” “how could you do this to me” “your just some fucking pogue, your lucky that I’ve given you all the chances I’ve given and then you just abandon me.” Great now Ward and Rose are awake.
The thing with Ward is that he doesn’t care about the reader and John B, he only cares about himself and the Cameron name. Taking in the two of them was just a way to make the family look kind and charitable. And when reader finally took Rafe back Rafe stopped being so Rafe-ish to the rest of the Cameron’s and Ward was so thankful. So reader trying to leave Rafe again was a no way in his books. He can’t take Rafe anymore. So he joins into the argument. He tries to make seem like he’s simply a mediator and is on no one’s side, but he’s on Rafe’s side. Trying to make reader seem like a terrible person for just up and abandoning such a patient and kind man in the middle of the night with no explanation. Trying to convince her that her friends and brother are the problem and Rafe is really a saint who’s been with her through everything.
Maybe John b and the pogues are the problem. Maybe Sarah’s lying about how crazy her brother is. Maybe readers paranoid. Maybe she’s the crazy one.
Rafe really does love her and she’s just a loser pogue who’s not deserving of such a lovely and patient man, perhaps every problem they’ve had in their relationship is her fault.
She won’t leave Rafe again and she’ll try to be a better girlfriend, maybe they’ll get married one day and go from a Routledge to a Cameron. Yeah that’s nice. She needs to stop being so crazy and treat Rafe right.
It’s time to go back to bed they can figure everything out in the morning.
And oh how Ward is so thankful that reader came to her senses, and how grateful Rafe is for his father having his back for once.
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First post ever hope it’s good. Idk how many words, I made this on my phone at 1 am. CREDITS TO GIF OWNER
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anakinmybelovedboy · 4 months ago
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balls in your court - r.c.
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a/n: rafe cameron brain rot is back + tennis brain rot + 24/7 sadness = wtv this is. enjoy!!!!! (also i plan on expanding this universe???)
tw: angst and ooc rafe 😀
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the front gate looms over him, his eyes burning from the late afternoon sun. rafe’s in his own personal hell. he hasn’t been to the tennis courts since his injury. since the two of you separated. the courts just a painful reminder of the game he lost and the girl that left with it. but here he is anyways.
one more tentative step forward and he’d be at the gate that separated the bar part of the country club.
he unlatched the hook, momentarily stunned by the harsh glare of the sun off the green and blue painted concrete. and he’s stunned. there you are. in all of your glory, just how he remembers you. as beautiful as the day you left him. your tennis skirt blinding and fluttering in the midday breeze, the loose athletic tank that clings to your figure, your grip on your tennis racket firm, but gentle. he watches as you volley the ball back over the net and it rolls to a stop after bouncing off of the metal cage.
if you notice him, you don’t say anything (he really wishes you would just see him, all of him one last time) he breathes in one more harsh breathe before fully emerging into the tennis court cage. and he’s instantly regretting it (he really wishes you didn’t see him now) your eyes flicker over to him and the recognition that shows in your eyes makes him more sad than if you didn’t even recognize him to begin with. (he thinks it’s better to be known but a stranger than it would to be nobody to you) you’re lips quiver into a small smile and your grip falters on the handle of the racket and he thinks for a minute that maybe he meant half as much to you as you did to him. you were his everything, so for him to at least mean part of that to you was more than anyone had ever felt for him (the only person to love him that much as his loving mother but she hasn’t been around in a while since the cameron family lowered her 6 feet under ground on their family plot)
he tries to smile back but he can’t tell what face he makes, and he doesn’t really have enough in him to care how it comes off.
“come back for your rematch cameron?” you yell. he thinks that’s the closest to heaven he’s ever been, hearing your voice for the first time in months causes almost the same amount of pain as the fateful day where the ball was in his court, bouncing over the net, and due to his absent mindedness, instead of the ball coming in contact with his racket, it hits the ground the same time and in the same spot as his foot does. (all he remembers is waking up being in the physical therapists room, and a phone with 9 missed calls from you. the last time you called him. oh, and the throbbing pain in his right ankle)
“nah.” he manages to get out loud enough for you to hear, but not in the same obnoxious tone as he previously held on court or anywhere near you.
he wishes he knew why he came today (maybe it’s because he still remembers your practice schedule and that today was a day where he knew he could catch you on the court) he wishes he could look at you and not feel immense dread inside his stomach.
“well… you know where to reach me when you are.” and suddenly he thinks for a moment that maybe seeing won’t always feel this bad. and maybe one day he’ll be able to look back at this and laugh at how stupid he was. but not yet, but today was a start.
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orangeflavoryawp · 4 months ago
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Jonsa - "Nodology", Part 2
Just a reminder that I'm not stressing too much about this story making sense within the canon plot. Think of canon less like a straight line and more like one of those inkblot pictures in a Rorschach test.
Also, this is a very relationship-focused piece. Politics plays a hand, because how could it not? But I'm not trying to rewrite the whole set of books here and tackle larger issues than the immediate present. The heart of this is Jon and Sansa. Hopefully that answers some of your questions about the larger plotlines or political ramifications of the current setting. (On a side note, I fucking LOVE that you guys are so invested in this AU that you're asking such questions. It's incredibly humbling and encouraging all at once. I just don't have the energy to make it that deep right now, lol.)
Much love. Stay frosty, fam.
Nodology
Chapter Two: The Salt of It (And the Wound)
"The knot fastens ever tighter." - Jon and Sansa. After rescuing her from King's Landing and bringing her to Riverrun, the two try to navigate a love they never intended to start, especially with so many watching eyes.
Read it on Ao3 here.
Part 1 | 2
* * *
"How's the shoulder?"
Jon turns from the practice dummy he'd been raging at all morning, his chest heaving, knuckles white where they grip his training sword. His tunic clings to his sweat-dampened skin, his hair pulled back in a knot at the base of his neck.
The Blackfish watches him from his lean against one of the courtyard's pillars, arms crossed loosely over his chest, awaiting an answer to his question.
Jon tries to steady his breathing, lowering the sword in his grip as he turns to the older man. He rolls his shoulder gingerly, a tender ache still lingering from his wound. "Not as much mobility as before, but it's getting there."
Brynden nods, pushing off from his lean and walking toward him. "I hear you wounded it on the road here. With Sansa."
Jon nods quietly, his sword now held limply in his hand, his breathing steadier. He doesn't know what the Blackfish wants to hear, so he says nothing.
Brynden glances at the roughed-up practice dummy beside him, frowning. "That supposed to be Joffrey Baratheon? Or Theon Greyjoy?"
Jon works his jaw, a heavy sigh leaving him. "Both, probably."
He hadn't a person in mind when he entered the training yard earlier that morning. Just a feeling. Just a rage.
The thought of Bran and Rickon's tiny bodies strung up in Winterfell's main courtyard, their flesh burned from them – or maybe flayed – hadn't left him all night. Nor had the thought of Sansa's scar-lined back, or her tremors as she choked out an apology. An apology! For keeping him from rescuing their brothers – keeping him too busy with her, as she said.
But he won't let her take on that kind of guilt. And he won't let himself, either. Because if he does...
If he puts that on his own soul, then there's no going back. There's no climbing out of that hole. And he's no good to anyone at that point. Not to the North, not to Robb. Not to Sansa.
And he can't afford to be useless.
So, he puts that sorrow and bitterness in a box, and sets it aside. Buries it deep. Packs the dirt around it tightly, so it can't crawl back out. He smothers it beneath the earth. And beneath duty.
And then he comes to the training yard every morning and swings and swings and swings until he's breathless. Until there is nothing left to bury. Until it is drained from him completely.
This is how he grieves his family.
Brynden Tully heaves a weighted sigh, eyes still fixed to the dummy. "With the young ones gone, Catelyn is..." He stops, a sound brewing in his throat. He turns back to Jon. "Well, she's a mess."
Jon keeps his silence, his eyes never leaving the Blackfish.
Brynden clears his throat, crossing his arms over his chest once more. "But she'd be truly inconsolable if both her daughters were lost to her, too. And they're not. Arya is somewhere in the Riverlands. And Sansa – Sansa is with her now, here in her family's home, because of you."
Jon's throat tightens, any words failing him. He simply watches Brynden, simply keeps his gaze.
The other man's face hardens somewhat, his jaw squaring. "She won't thank you," he says surely.
Jon feels the lance of it in his chest, his lungs aching at the words. It's not a truth he hadn't known before, but to hear it aloud – to know it so plainly, and from another's mouth –
It hurts more than he thought it would.
Brynden grumbles at Jon's silence, taking a step toward him, his hands falling from their cross over his chest. "You're her husband's bastard, you understand. The one stain upon their marriage. The biggest threat to her children's future and security."
Jon's gaze falls to the floor, fixed on the Blackfish's boots, his tongue pressed to the roof of his mouth.
He knows this. Has always known this.
A moment of heavy silence passes between them, before the Blackfish plants a hand on Jon's shoulder, and he looks up to meet the warrior's gaze.
"But that is not your failing. It's Ned Stark's."
Jon blinks up at him, his teeth clenching at the words.
"And she is grateful, son. More grateful than you could ever understand. Though she may never be able to voice it, I know this in my bones. I know this better than anything."
Jon's lips part, a shallow breath stealing out between them.
"You saved her child, Jon Snow. She will never forget that. Nor will I." His hand slips from Jon's shoulder, a last, solitary look passing between them, before he's turning from him, walking back the way he came.
Jon is overcome suddenly, the words bubbling up inside him, until they make it to air. "Everything left that I care about in this world is here," he calls out to his back, stopping him.
Brynden turns to look at him over his shoulder.
Jon heaves a steadying breath, his grip tightening over his sword. He levels the Blackfish with a determined look. "I'm not going anywhere," he assures him, the words equally needful and confident.
The faint edge of a smile curls at the corner of Brynden's lip, before he offers a silent nod and turns back to leave.
Jon stands in the training yard for several long moments, just breathing.
No, he's not going anywhere.
* * *
When Sansa answers the knock on her chamber door, she doesn't expect it to be Robb. He gives her a stilted smile and a nod in greeting. "Sansa," he says.
She stands with her hand still on the door, blinking quietly at him. "Your Grace," she says finally.
Robb briefly frowns at the formality of the address, but then he sweeps his hand out toward the hallway. "Walk with me, please."
Sansa steps out of her chamber at the invitation, taking his arm obediently.
They make it all the way to the gardens before either of them speak, and Sansa's anxiety is practically thrumming beneath her skin.
Robb clears his throat.
The sound is jarring after so many minutes of silence and her attention swings sharply to him, her fingers clenching over his arm.
"We haven't... well, we haven't really spoken much since your return," he begins.
Sansa watches him quietly, content to let him find his way through the words.
(She remembers the warmth of his chest as he'd carried her back inside the keep the other day, after her grief had overtaken her on the riverbank.)
Robb stops their stroll, his eyes focused on some unnamable flower bush, his brow furrowed in thought.
Sansa sets her other hand along his arm now as well – tender and encouraging. "No, we haven't," she says softly.
He glances up at her. "It's my fault, isn't it?"
Sansa sighs, her gaze drifting away. "It's not about fault."
"Except it is." Robb turns to look at her more fully. "You won't say it, but it is."
Sansa presses her tongue to the roof of her mouth, not meeting his eyes.
Robb wipes a hand down his mouth, a heavy breath leaving him. "You won't admit to the resentment my inaction has stirred in you."
Sansa meets his gaze again. "What do you want me to say, Robb?"
He frowns again, a quiver arching through his brow. "I don't know."
It's the truth, at least, it must be. This, she's sure of. Because she doesn't know what she wants to say either.
She's gone over it in her head a thousand times and yet, the words still never seem quite right.
She loves her brother. She needs her brother. She misses her brother.
But there's a bitterness now that sits sour in her gut, and she doesn't know how to calm it. She doesn't know how to not hurt when she looks at him.
"I think I... I never asked you," he begins again, the words tight in his throat, "because... I couldn't." Robb licks his lips, his eyes hesitant on hers. "I couldn't ask you what they'd done to you because then... then it meant I let it happen."
Sansa pulls a shallow breath through her teeth, the remembrance bright and sharp behind her eyes – the lash, and the gauntleted hand, and the terrible, terrible sound of her own cries.
(Her only companion, most days.)
Robb settles a hand over hers along his arm. "But I shouldn't have let that stop me. I should have – I should have come to you, and talked to you, and... and given you comfort."
Sansa feels wetness dotting her eyes.
"I didn't," he says tightly, his gaze falling to his feet. "And after leaving you to the Lannisters..." He chuckles darkly, his hand slipping from hers to press over his eyes. "I'm not surprised that you hate me, Sansa."
"I don't hate you," she says immediately, the words not even a question.
Robb glances back up at her, his hand falling from his face.
There's no doubt in her at the statement. There's bitterness, yes. There's the sting of abandonment. There's disappointment. The kind that leaves you gazing up at the ceiling most nights, sleepless and aching.
But not hate.
Never hate.
Not for him.
The tears are hot on her lids now, and she reaches up to brush at them. "Come," she urges him, leading them to a bench in the garden. "Sit with me, and I'll... I'll tell you. I'll tell you all that you couldn't ask."
And she does. She tells him of the beatings and the humiliation she suffered before the court. She tells him of her ripped dresses and her bruised body, and her silent, unanswered tears. She tells him of dinners spent at the receiving end of Cersei's constant insults and taunts. She tells him of the endless threats against his and their mother's lives if she didn't keep her place. She tells him of Joffrey's sinister laughter at every slap she received. She tells him of Tyrion's wandering eye and the way he'd touched her on their wedding night. She tells him of her captor husband's overtures dressed up in the guise of kindness. She tells him of the jeers and the scars and the ever-present threat of death hanging over her head. And she tells him of the loneliness.
The nauseating, bone-deep, lung-scraping loneliness.
(She tells him of how she thought once to fling herself from the terrace. To end it then and there.)
"And the one thought – the only thing that kept me breathing, was knowing my family would come for me," she gets out raggedly, the breath raking from her, the sob clenching behind her teeth. She blinks up at him through tears.
He's staring at their joined hands resting over her knee, his jaw clenched, his mouth a tight line.
She takes a shaky breath in, her voice breaking as she tells him, "But you didn't."
Robb looks up at her, pain etching across his face. "Sansa..." His voice catches, his throat flexing tightly.
"You didn't come for me, Robb," she cries out, the sob breaking free. She reaches a hand to her mouth, tries to stifle the wave of anguish clawing up her throat. She blinks back the hot tears, her lungs clenching in her chest. "And I needed you to. I needed you to come for me – just once." She squeezes her eyes closed, her hand pressed over her mouth, muffling the cries as she breathes deep. In and out. In and out.
"Every time – a thousand times – I'd come for you."
In the end, she hadn't been left to that hell. But it wasn't the brother she'd prayed for that rescued her.
She wanted Robb. But she had needed Jon. She understands this now.
Even when it hurts no less.
Robb releases her hands to reach up and cup her face. "I'm so sorry, Sansa. I'm so sorry you ever had to endure that."
She tries to rein in her breathing, her hand slipping from her mouth, her sniffles growing quieter as she watches him, the warmth of his palms cradling her cheeks.
"I'm sorry I left you there. That wasn't... that wasn't kingly of me." And then he stops, his brow furrowing, a look of regret passing over his features at the word choice. He hangs his head, his hands slipping from her face as he sighs heavily. "That wasn't... good of me," he corrects.
Sansa blinks at him, at the way his shoulders slump – at the terrible, unfathomable weight he carries across them.
It's unbearable to see him like this. To see her big brother so small, so crushed beneath duty, so at odds with love.
And it's unbearable to be the thing that weighs on him so.
Sansa pulls a trembling breath through her lungs, a hand going to wipe at her cheeks. She blinks back the salt-sting of tears. "Robb," she murmurs, reaching for his hands again.
"I've already begun the process of annulling your marriage," he tells her.
Sansa stills, her mouth tipping open, her hands trembling as they grip his.
Robb finally meets her gaze, his thumb arching over the taut skin of her knuckles. "Jon is right. You're not a Lannister bride. You're Sansa Stark of Winterfell. And after my unborn child, you're the heir to the North."
Her lip quakes, the breath tight in her chest. She thinks of Bran and Rickon. She thinks of their poor, mangled bodies. She thinks of never again smelling their hair or hearing their laughs or singing them to sleep.
And she knows he's thinking of them, too. She knows it's the loss of them that brings him to her door.
(No more scars, she'd promised herself once, and perhaps, it's the kind of promise Robb needs as well.)
He clutches her hands in his, his jaw tightening. "I won't forget it again," he tells her.
She wants to believe him.
She wants it dearly.
So, she believes.
* * *
"You spoke to Robb," Jon says quietly at her side, walking her to her chambers after she begged away from dinner with a headache, and Robb had asked him to escort her back, before returning to his conversation with Edmure.
Sansa keeps her arm linked with Jon's, orange light flickering over her face as they pass the torches in their sconces along the wall.
"Yes," she answers, not expanding further.
They each stay quiet past that, their steps echoing along the stone as they walk.
Jon looks at her beside him. "He was distressed about what you told him. About your time in King's Landing."
"I'm sure he was." There's a tenderness to her voice now, where once there was resentment.
Jon frowns at her, stopping them not far from her door. "Sansa, look at me."
She does, and it makes his chest ache.
He reaches up to cup her cheek. "What is it?" he asks her gently.
She pulls her lip between her teeth, a furrow to her brow. She glances down the hall to make sure no one is witness, and then she tugs him after her into her chambers, closing the door behind them. She turns to face him fully now, taking his hands in hers. "My marriage to Tyrion is to be annulled."
Jon lets out a short breath at the man's mention, a curl to his lip. "As it should be."
"Yes, but..."
Jon blinks at her. "You don't want to remain married to him." He meant it to come out as a question, considering her hesitance on the subject, but he knows her well enough now to know it shouldn't even be a question.
"Of course, I don't," she answers him on a sigh. "That's not what worries me."
Jon unlinks his hands to grasp at her arms instead, rubbing up and down slowly, comfortingly. "Then what is it?"
"I'll be... eligible again – to cement any other alliance through marriage."
Jon's eyes narrow on her, his nostrils flaring. "I won't let it happen."
Sansa purses her lips. "It doesn't work like that, Jon. You won't have a say."
"Robb won't let it happen," he tries to reassure her, his hands sliding down her arms to settle along her hips now, keeping her anchored to him. "Not after we lost Bran and Rickon." The words make his jaw ache, the names of their siblings lodging in his throat like tar. He clears his throat, shakes away the grief.
(Bury it deep. Put it away. Be useful, be present.)
"Not after... after everything you endured in King's Landing. He won't do that. I promise you."
Sansa's mouth presses into a thin line, her eyes shifting between his. "I hope you're right."
"I am," he assures her, leaning in to press a swift kiss along her lips. "You won't ever be a pawn in someone's game again, I swear." His fingers curl around her hips – steady and sure.
She blinks up at him, her eyes roving his face in quiet contemplation.
He opens his mouth to question her but then she links her arms around his neck, pressing her chest to his. "I don't think I could ever be anyone's again," she whispers at his mouth. "Anyone's but yours," she tells him.
Jon sucks a breath through his lips, his chest rising and falling steadily, his gaze dropping to her mouth. "Sansa," he begins, before he clears his throat, licking his lips. "I should go."
It isn't half as firm as he means it to sound.
Her nails scrape the nape of his neck, slinking into his hair, and it drags his attention back to her gaze. Her eyes are dark in the candlelight, a sheen of wetness over them. "Could you do it? Could you let another man take me to wife?" There's a thread of desperation in her voice that scares him.
Jon braces his forehead to hers, their breaths mingling in the scarce space between them. He slips a hand up her back, bracing against her spine as he holds her closer. "You know I can't," he murmurs at her mouth, the closeness of her making him light-headed.
She lets out a ragged breath against him, her eyes slipping shut, her arms tightening around his neck. "Could you let another man hold me like this? Touch me? Kiss me?" Her voice breaks, her chest heaving now, the threat of tears lining her words. "Could you – "
He doesn't let her finish the question, because his answer would be the same regardless.
Jon kisses her hard, almost angrily, pressing into her so forcefully that she arches back beneath his hands, bending to his need. He opens her mouth with a fervent tongue, tasting her sigh with his own answering groan, his hands bracing her to his chest, keeping her fixed to him, unrelenting.
Ever since that night in his chamber, when she'd approached him after the news of Bran and Rickon – ever since she offered that ridiculous apology, ever since he'd silenced her needless guilt with his desperate mouth –
His desire for her has grown nearly unmanageable.
She's all that occupies his thoughts. When he wakes and when he lays his head to sleep. When he meets with Robb's war council, and when he trains in the yard, and when he breaks his fast with his unwitting family.
When he takes himself in hand – urgently and nightly.
She's all he thinks about these days. Her fine-boned hands, and her perfect, pink mouth, and the sweep of her hair over her neck, and the dip of her collar bones, and the fine arch of her wrist, and her lingering stares, and the open neck of her dress, and her smiles and her touches and her breathy sighs, the shape of her waist beneath his hands, and her chest heaving against his, and the way she arches into him so sweetly, the way she curls her hands into his hair, the way she sucks on his tongue when he kisses her, and the scent of her, the taste, the taste, the taste –
He's nearly delirious in his want.
Jon breaks from her, panting, one hand still digging into her hip, the other braced between her shoulder blades, the material of her dress bunched in his fist as he holds her to him. "The thought alone," he growls out, nipping at her lips – that heady desire flooding him, sending him reeling. "The thought alone drives me mad," he finishes tightly, taking her mouth again, reveling in the low moan that carries up her throat.
Sansa sighs breathlessly against his mouth when they break apart, her hands tightening in his hair. "I'm scared," she murmurs at his lips, eyes still wet, surging forward to kiss him again.
Jon groans at her urgency, his hand sliding over her shoulder to brace at her neck, his thumb pressed to the underside of her jaw, his breath flooding her mouth as she whimpers beneath him.
"Sansa," he bites out when he gasps for air.
She grabs at his hand still fixed to her hip, drags it up to her chest, presses his palm over her breast, curling his fingers beneath hers in the collar of her dress.
Jon bucks against her instinctively, the breath raking from him, his pants hot against her mouth. He palms at her breast immediately, never even questioning the motion, his growing hardness digging into her thigh as he walks her back, until she hits the bed and falls over, taking him with her.
"Jon," she moans out, hands raking over his back, drawing him into her, before wrapping a hand around the back of his neck and dragging his mouth back to hers.
Jon braces his weight above her, his hips digging into hers, his hand gripping her breast almost painfully, his other dug into her hair, his elbow planted along the bed to steady him. He tugs at her dress, dragging the material over her breast impatiently, groaning into her mouth as he rolls his hips into hers, unable to stop himself, unable to contain the heat spreading through his gut.
Sansa drags a knee up along his side, her skirts pulling uncomfortably along her thigh.
Jon breaks from her, dragging his hand from her hair to bunch along the skirts at her thigh instead, rucking them up as he buries his face in the crook of her shoulder, his lips planting along her pale throat. "Gods, Sansa, you feel so good," he groans out, his growl lost in her hair.
Sansa grips at his head, fingers tangled in his curls. "I want it to be you," she gasps at his ear.
Jon stills, blinking away the haze of desire beneath a singular moment of clarity.
He closes his eyes at her words, his chest heaving against hers, his hand gripping at her thigh hard enough to leave bruises, but he won't go further, won't drag her skirts up higher, won't snake his hand up to her smallclothes and tear them away, won't sink his fingers into her wet, waiting cunt like he longs to, like he's aching to.
"Sansa," he warns her, his teeth at her throat, his other hand still firm at her breast, fingers still curved over the collar of her dress, dragged partially down her chest, her laces taut at the seams.
His knuckles are white beneath the force of his struggling willpower.
"I need it to be you," she whines at his ear.
Jon pulls back just enough to look at her, his face pained. "Sansa, I – I can't..." The realization of what he's only moments away from doing to her hits him like a gale of wind from atop the Wall.
And yet he doesn't pull his touch away, doesn't relinquish his hold of her.
She blinks the wetness back from her eyes, her fingers curling tighter along the back of his neck. "Jon, I won't go to anyone else. I can't. Not after – " She stops, swallows tightly. Her eyes shift back and forth between his. "I can't."
Jon drops his forehead to hers, a ragged sigh leaving him. He drags his hands from her breast and thigh, cradling her face instead, elbows keeping him braced above her on the bed. "I know," he murmurs in frustration, his eyes slipping closed at her pained sob.
It was easy, at the start. Easy to pretend that their secret kisses and hidden glances were a game. It was easy to pretend it could never end.
But it isn't easy anymore.
Not when he wants what he wants. Not when he knows there is no stopping it, even when he knows it's wrong.
He's not ever going to fall out of love with Sansa Stark, he knows this now.
And that's the rub. That's the salt of it.
He's just a bastard boy in love with his sister.
And such a tale never ended in anything but blood and heartache.
Jon brushes a thumb across her soft cheek, his mouth a trembling line. "Sansa, listen to me. What we're doing – "
A sharp knock sounds at the door.
Sansa's eyes go wide and Jon nearly throws himself from her, stumbling away from the bed on a sharp intake of breath.
Sansa rises to her elbows, mouth parted in surprise.
"Sansa, it's me," her mother says from the other side of the door.
The panic rises in Jon's throat, and he looks around the room quickly, bounding as quietly as he can behind her armoire, pressing his back up against the wood as Sansa pushes from the bed, smoothing down her skirts and her hair, clearing her throat.
"Just a moment, Mother," she calls out, voice wavering somewhat.
Jon curses beneath his breath, glancing around the armoire one last time to catch Sansa's identically frantic eyes, before he turns away, closing his eyes on a tight inhale, the breath halted in his chest.
He hears the door unlatch a moment later, but no footsteps carrying into the room.
"Yes, Mother?" Sansa asks, clearly keeping her from entering by staying in the threshold.
"I came to check on you. Has your headache worsened?"
Jon works his jaw, adjusting his breeches as gently and quietly as he can over his still-throbbing erection, wincing slightly at the discomfort.
"I'll be fine with rest, not to worry," Sansa placates her mother.
A moment of silence passes, before Catelyn's voice comes from the door again, a lance of worry threading through her words. "You're flushed, dear girl. Are you unwell? Should I call the maester?"
Jon bites his lip, eyes turned skyward, watching the flickering shadows from the candlelight cast about the ceiling. His heart hammers in his chest.
"No, no, don't trouble yourself, Mother." Sansa's voice is just a touch breathless, just enough to have Jon's stomach sinking.
"Sansa, you're clearly – "
"It's just a chill. Nothing a good night's rest won't fix, I promise," Sansa assures her, voice tight. "In fact, I should finish readying for bed. Goodnight, Mother."
The slight creak of the door sounds before it stops abruptly, and Jon imagines Lady Catelyn's hand on the door, halting it, that familiar frown gracing her features.
"You're certain?"
Jon's stomach twists at the concern in her tone, remembering that this is a woman who just lost her two youngest boys.
The grief is still ripe in her voice.
It makes the bile rise at the back of Jon's throat, knowing how he'd been dishonoring her sweet, highborn daughter only moments ago, and in her own childhood home, no less. How he'd been touching her like no brother had a right to touch their sister. How he craved the feel of her still, even now.
The guilt is dizzying, enough to calm any remaining desire in him.
Sansa's voice is softer this time, a gentleness to it that tells Jon she hears the grief in Lady Stark's voice just as loudly. "I'm certain. But thank you for checking on me, Mother."
"Alright, then," Catelyn answers reluctantly, a sigh at the end of her words.
Jon imagines the brush of her hand against her daughter's cheek – the same cheek he'd held in his own sinful touch.
Gods, if she only knew how he's already shamed her daughter, how near he'd been to shaming her further –
She'd kill him where he stood.
Jon bunches his hands into fists, his head braced back against the wood of the armoire, his tongue pressed to the roof of his mouth in his taut silence.
"Come to me anytime you need."
"I will, Mother."
"Goodnight, then."
"Goodnight."
The door shuts with a hollow clang.
Jon breathes in the silence that follows, his chest rising and falling steadily. His hands flex, fists bunching and unbunching at his sides. His lungs ache.
"Jon?" The whisper is tentative as it leaves her.
Jon scrubs his hands over his face.
What are they doing? What are they doing?
"Jon."
He steps from around the armoire, a shadow falling over his face as he meets her gaze.
She stands in the middle of the room, her fingers worrying themselves. She opens her mouth, closes it. "I..."
Jon sighs, his jaw tightening.
That bile – it stains the back of his tongue.
Sansa looks to the floor.
His own shame keeps him rooted, his feet heavy where they stand.
"You should wait a while... before you go," she says tentatively. "To be sure."
Jon closes his eyes, a heavy breath leaving him. "Aye."
When he opens his eyes, she's looking at him again, but she keeps her distance – keeps this distance between them.
He stays planted where he stands. She stays with her hands wringing themselves before her.
He looks at her.
She looks at him.
No, there is no falling out of love with Sansa Stark.
And that's the salt of it.
(He is the wound.)
* * *
"Read it again," Catelyn demands in a tight voice.
Robb sighs as he drops the missive from the Freys to the tabletop between them. "Mother..."
"Read it again," she repeats, her voice shaking.
Sansa stands rigid beside her mother, her eyes fixed to the unfurled scroll atop the table. She can feel Jon's gaze upon her.
"Seven hells," Edmure curses, a hand wiping over his mouth as he stalks from the war table, and then stalks back. "Are you actually considering this?" His gaze shifts heatedly to Robb.
Brynden puts a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Calm yourself, Edmure."
"And how am I supposed to calm myself? They demand a marriage between myself and a Frey girl as reparations for Robb's – " Edmure bites his tongue, a sharp glance sent around the table, before he meets the Blackfish's eyes once more. "His indiscretion," he finishes tightly.
Jeyne settles a hand low on her swollen stomach, her gaze flitting quietly to the floor.
"Edmure," Brynden censures in a low voice, squeezing his nephew's shoulder meaningfully.
"And their other demand?" Catelyn bites out, her chest rising with her indignation. "Are we going to simply ignore that?" she asks shrilly.
Sansa's mind goes blank, her breaths coming shallow and short. Everything is static in her mind, her eyes blinking furiously as she tries to process the contents of the letter. Her mouth parts, but no words follow. She closes her mouth tightly, her throat flexing. Her eyes water without her bidding.
Robb looks at her, leaning over to brace his hands along the table. "Sansa."
She blinks up at him.
"Tell them no," Jon says lowly from across the table, his words cutting through the fog in her mind.
Sansa sucks a sharp breath through her teeth.
In the spirit of common goals and renewing our alliance, His Grace, King Robb of House Stark, is asked to grant the marriages of Lord Edmure Tully of Riverrun to a Frey daughter of our choosing, and Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell to Lord Perwyn of House Frey.
Sansa starts to shake.
"How do they even know you've written to the High Septon of Sansa's annulment?" Catelyn asks sharply, her eyes shifting around the table to meet every person present.
"Tell them no," Jon growls again, his hands bunching into fists at his sides.
Sansa's chest feels tight.
"And if His Grace rejects another marriage alliance? What then?" Brynden asks gruffly, his hand slipping from Edmure's shoulder.
"No one told him to get a whelp on the girl!" Edmure cries.
"Uncle," Robb bites out, his anger flashing briefly across his eyes, his hand going to Jeyne's elbow at his side. "You will address my queen with the proper respect she deserves."
Catelyn purses her mouth, collecting herself with her hands smoothed over her skirts. "You're not helping, brother," she says tightly.
Edmure bites his tongue, inclining his head in quiet acquiescence, his anxious energy thrumming throughout his body.
Sansa feels sick.
"Why are we even discussing this?" Jon nearly bellows, drawing everyone's attention then. "Tell them no," he demands for the last time.
Robb squares his jaw. "It's not that simple."
Sansa's eyes flutter shut, her lip beginning to tremble.
"Robb, we just got her back," Catelyn begs.
"I know!" Robb huffs, a hand held to the bridge of his nose. "I don't want to send Sansa away either but – "
"Is no one concerned about my marriage?" Edmure interrupts, frazzled at the inattention to his situation, eyes glancing about the room.
"Edmure, please," Catelyn moans, turning a pained look his way.
He silences at his sister's distress, his mouth tipping into a frown.
Brynden crosses his arms as he considers the missive laying innocently atop the table. "Walder Frey is a sorry excuse for a man, and a scheming, self-serving mongrel, but you'll need his family's support if you want to meet the Lannisters south of the Neck, especially since you've sent forces back north to retake Winterfell."
A sound catches in Catelyn's throat at the reminder of the recent loss.
"Then we do it another way," Jon grits out.
"And if there is no other way?" Robb asks sharply, his gaze turned toward Jon. They stare each other down for several moments, before Jeyne rests her hand along Robb's arm and he turns from his half-brother, running a hand through his hair roughly.
Sansa blows a slow, shallow breath through her lips, eyes shifting back open to watch the room. Her gut twists painfully when her eyes fall on Robb.
Brynden shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "We can consider other options, Your Grace, but they'll want an answer soon."
"I'll need to speak with the other lords," Robb says on a defeated sigh.
"This is a family matter," Catelyn says, her voice less firm than she'd begun the meeting with.
"It is not," Robb says surely, a dark look sent her way. His shoulders sag, his frown pinching tight. "It is a Northern matter, and thus requires careful deliberation."
A wave of nausea overtakes Sansa.
Jon steps toward his brother. "Robb, you can't – "
"You're dismissed." He glances around the room, his gaze softening on Sansa when he makes his way to her. "All of you," he says quietly, turning away from her swiftly. Jeyne reaches for his hand then, looking up into his face with reassurance.
Sansa feels the bile rising instantly. She glances to Jon and finds him staring at her, his jaw locked in his ire, his whole bearing stiff and rigid. She can see the whites of his knuckles from across the table.
"Come," Catelyn says, ushering her gently from the room.
She follows her mother's direction mindlessly, her limbs numb.
Sansa finds herself standing in the courtyard after many minutes, her mother's hand on her arm as she speaks in quiet tones to her.
She doesn't recognize the words.
"I need..." Sansa begins, her voice a croak, and she licks her lips, glances over to meet her mother's gaze. "I need some air. Please excuse me." She gathers her skirts in her hands and walks away.
She finds herself at the edge of the riverbank many minutes later, past the gate and past the bridge and past the suffocating air that had lodged in her throat ever since Robb read Walder Frey's letter aloud.
She sucks deep gulps of air into her lungs, eyes raking over the river, blinking against the sun. Her hands bunch in her skirts. Her chin rises, her shoulders pulling taut.
And then she bends over and retches. It empties from her instantly – all the rage and despair and helplessness. Her sick hits the green riverbank and her knees buckle on reflex, her hand going out to a nearby branch to catch herself, a cough raking up her throat, the blood bursting red across her cheeks from the force of it. When she's finished, she wipes the back of her hand across her mouth, eyes wet as she grips the tree beside her.
She steadies herself, breathes deep, wipes her hand along her skirt.
I want it to be you, she'd told him.
Tears bead at the corners of her eyes, her breath hitched on a sob.
It doesn't really seem to matter anymore.
* * *
"How can you even consider it? You know what she went through," Jon growls out, cornering Robb when his meeting with the lords is ended.
Robb stops short as he exits the chamber, eyeing Jon. "Have you been waiting here the whole time?"
"Of course," he bites out.
Robb frowns, before pushing past him toward his own chambers. Jon follows without thought.
"Jon, believe me, I'm the last person that wants to put Sansa through another traumatizing marriage," he huffs out, never slowing.
Jon keeps his pace, stalking the corridor alongside him. "Then you should be telling that to the Freys."
"And what would you have me tell the Northern lords, hmm?"
"That our sister is not a bargaining chip," he growls out.
Robb shoots a dark look his way. "Are you saying that's how I'm treating her?"
"Aren't you?"
Robb stops short, turning swiftly to Jon, his nostrils flaring. "I never said I'd agree to the Freys' terms." His voice is clipped, but there's a thunder beneath it that stops Jon in his tracks.
He stares at his brother, his king, trying to will his anger down, but his chest is heaving with it, his throat rife with it.
He is no help to Sansa like this – antagonizing their brother further.
Jon sets his jaw, his gaze flicking low in deference, not meeting Robb's eyes as he steadies his anxious breathing. "Then what are you saying, Your Grace?" he gets out roughly, swallowing back the ire, leaving only civility in his tone.
Robb sighs, taking a moment to consider, and then he rests a hand on Jon's shoulder.
It makes him look up at his brother again.
Robb offers him a shared look of frustration, his brows furrowed over his Tully blue eyes. "I understand your resistance to the idea. But you cannot ask me to refuse their terms if you won't even offer an alternative," he says dismally.
Jon nods, his throat tight. "You're right, of course," he says hoarsely.
It pains him to admit it.
His anger had been instant, thoughtless. His only concern had been Sansa – is Sansa. But this is not how she needs him – raging and demanding and reckless.
He clears his throat, lifting his head to meet Robb's gaze fully. "Have the lords any suggestions?"
Robb's face darkens, his hand dropping from Jon's shoulder. "Most of them don't see any reason not to agree."
"Robb," Jon growls.
"I know, I know," Robb answers swiftly, turning to walk back down the corridor.
Jon follows suit, quiet for many moments, before he asks him, "What do you plan to do?"
"I'll speak with Mother. She may have some ideas."
Jon remembers coming upon Lady Stark only moments before she'd attempted to free Jaime Lannister all those months ago. He remembers how his rescue of Sansa began in the first place.
No, Lady Stark would not give her daughter up for anything. She'd choose treason first.
(And almost did.)
He doesn't know whether to be relieved or not at Robb's going to her for advice. But at least, it means that Robb is searching for a way out.
It will have to be enough.
They stop at Robb's chambers. He gives him a nod of farewell, but Jon grabs for his elbow and stops him, his touch uneasy.
Robb glances down at the hand on his arm, and then back up into Jon's face. "What is it?"
"Why won't you tell Sansa that you're trying to find another way?"
Robb quiets a moment, his mouth tipping into a frown. He looks down the empty corridor, his throat flexing as he swallows. "I don't... I don't want to give her false hope." He looks back at Jon. "If there is no other way."
Jon releases Robb's elbow, a single tight breath filling his lungs. He shakes his head, his voice stricken in his throat. "Robb, we can't –"
"Sansa knows her duty," Robb says surely, his eyes betraying his apprehension. "When push comes to shove..." He clears his throat, blinks away the disquiet. "As the daughter of Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Stark, Sansa knows what may be asked of her."
Jon bites his cheek, that simmering rage curling in his gut again. "And a bastard wouldn't understand that, is that it?"
Robb huffs. "I never said that."
"Well, I'll tell you what I do know," Jon grinds out, the words a struggle as he steps toward him, his own distress bubbling up his throat. "I know the sound of her cries, brother, and I know the shape of her scars, and I know what nightmares she suffers from in the night because I was there, Robb. I was fucking there – when she asked if you were the one who sent me, if you were the one who came to her rescue. I was there when she finally broke down, when the weight of King's Landing finally fell from her shoulders and she was free, she was free, Robb, and still – still – more wounded than I'd ever seen her. Because she needed us. She needed her family. And we weren't there. So, I can't –" He stops, his chest heaving with it, his voice breaking as he corrects himself, tries to steady the throbbing between his ribs. "We can't abandon her again."
Robb stares at him, his brow furrowed sharply down, his mouth a thin, tight line. "Jon."
"She – she needs us to put her first this time." He pulls a heavy breath through his lungs.
Robb reaches out and plants both hands along Jon's shoulders. "You know, that as king, I could never simply put her first, Jon," he says painfully.
Jon drops his head, blinking away the wetness at the corners of his eyes. His skull aches from clenching his teeth.
"You know that," Robb murmurs, a squeeze to his shoulders.
"Aye," Jon croaks out, looking back up again.
(The salt of it.)
Helplessness tears at his gut.
"But I will do my best," Robb assures him, though it rings hollow now. "That's all I can promise."
Jon nods wordlessly, working his jaw.
Robb gives him one last squeeze along his shoulder, before turning from him and entering his chambers.
Jon is left to watch the closed door, the following silence blaring in the empty hall.
* * *
Many days pass, and Sansa prays. She eats, and she sleeps, and she takes turns in the garden. She sits and embroiders with her mother. She takes tea with Jeyne.
And she prays.
Robb hasn't spoken to her since the reading of Walder Frey's letter. She knows he is struggling to find an answer that may suit them all. But she's afraid there isn't one.
It's what brings her to the Sept this night, long after everyone is asleep, a robe hastily thrown over her shift in her restlessness. She lights a candle and watches the wax slip down the pillar, her hands folded before her.
And she prays.
But gods, she doesn't even know what for anymore.
"Sansa?"
His voice should be soothing but it's only a wretched reminder now.
Sansa plasters a faint smile along her lips when she turns to meet Jon's gaze over her shoulder.
He closes the door behind him, his face pained as he watches her where she kneels. He makes his way to her slowly.
"I couldn't sleep," she says in answer to his unvoiced question, rising and brushing the dirt from her knees.
"Neither could I," he tells her.
Their stolen kisses have ceased since the letter, and she doesn't precisely know why. Or maybe she does.
She can't seem to bring herself to be anything other than cordial to him these days.
(Anything more and she thinks she might break.)
But oh, how she misses him.
Her traitorous heart yearns for him even now, even when she is trying to teach herself to live without him.
(Even when she is failing.)
"I didn't mean to... to interrupt your prayers," he says finally, a hand going to the back of his neck and rubbing awkwardly.
Sansa looks up into the stone face of the Mother. "It's no matter." She sighs, glancing back down to him. "I don't think they were heard, anyway." She presses a nervous thumb into her opposite palm.
"Oh, Sansa." He steps toward her, his hands lighting upon her arms. "Why have you... why don't you talk to me about it?"
"And what is there to say?"
He swallows tightly, looking away a moment, before turning back. "I just want to – I don't know, to... to comfort you, somehow, but I just – I don't know how."
Sansa softens at his anguish, stepping into him to place her hands upon his chest. "I know."
"Tell me what you want,"
She shakes her head.
"Tell me and I'll do it."
"I know you will, but it's too late."
Jon frowns at her words, his hands tightening over her arms. "Please don't say that."
"I suppose the only thing to save me know is if the High Septon rejects my annulment." She chuckles darkly at the thought. "I can't be bartered for a marriage alliance if I'm still married, can I?"
"Don't say that," he grinds out, leaning toward her, closing the space between them with his lips pressed to her forehead.
That dark chuckle returns, though it's tinged with desperation now – a reckless sorrow. "It's true, though," she murmurs, closing her eyes on a sigh and leaning into him.
"We'll run away," he says against her temple.
She actually laughs this time, pulling back to look at him. "Run away?"
"Aye," he swears, eyes fervent on hers. He releases her arms to cup her face instead. "Just like you said we should, the morning before we made it to Riverrun. You knew it then. You told me then. That this would happen. And I – I didn't think – " He stops, swallowing thickly. He squares his jaw, his thumbs running tenderly over her cheeks. He sighs, and it seems to take all of him, as he hangs his head, words choked back. "Sansa, I didn't..."
Her lungs ache on the sob she's bottling up, her hands going around his wrists as he holds her. Tears prick the corners of her eyes.
She thinks back to their journey here – riding across green fields in his arms, the warmth of him beside her as they slept, splashing in the river as they fished. She thinks of peace and safety and joy. She thinks of things she only knows from songs. Things she used to dream of and hadn't even known how close they were.
But then she thinks of her mother's embrace, and Robb's tired shoulders, and Arya all alone in the wilderness.
She thinks of Edmure and Brynden and the home they've made for her here.
She thinks of Bran and Rickon.
She thinks of her lord father and how she doesn't even remember the last words she shared with him.
Sansa sucks a trembling breath through her lips, hands gripping his wrists needfully. "Do you regret it? Not running away then?" she manages through quaking breaths.
Jon lifts his head to look at her, the answer splashed across his face in ruin.
And oh, how it cuts.
"Aye," he croaks out, a sheen of wetness over his eyes. "I regret it." And then he bares his teeth, his brow furrowing, a wretched groan leaving him as the tears gather in his eyes, and he shakes his head, the remorse plain upon his face. "I truly, truly regret it now."
She smothers the sob along her tongue, releasing his wrists to cup his face now, pressing into him so that their chests are but a whisper apart. "Don't," she tells him, her breath painting his lips.
His eyes flick between hers, confused.
"You did the right thing, by bringing me back."
"Sansa – "
"I needed my family. And they needed me."
Jon's hands drift down to her neck, his chest rising and falling with his shallow breaths, the words lodged in his throat as he watches her.
"You should never regret bringing me back to them," she urges with a confidence that surprises her.
Yes, she would have run away with him. Yes, she would have been free to love him then. But it would be the only freedom she'd know in a life of chains. And she would grow to resent him for it. She would grow to resent herself.
There are no good choices. Only impossible ones.
"I'm sorry," he sobs at her lips.
Her eyes flutter closed, an exhaustion filling her that seems endless and endless and endless. "I'm so tired, Jon," she breathes into him, and then he's kissing her, and she wraps her arms around his neck, and thinks of the candle she lit. She thinks of the lone flame, and the slow burning. She thinks of the afterimage it leaves in the dark, when it's inevitably snuffed.
"I'm sorry," he mumbles against her lips, one hand dug into her hair, the other braced along her back.
She swallows up his sobs, and floods his mouth with her own, her hands grasping and needful and aimless.
Just the feel of him. Just the feel of him is enough in this moment.
Jon presses her back until she hits the wall with a low thud, the jostle breaking their mouths apart momentarily.
"I'm sorry," he pants into her mouth again.
Sansa digs her nails into the nape of his neck. "I know," she gasps along his tongue, trying not to break.
He fumbles for the tie on her robe and she helps him, tearing the material from her shoulders so only her shift remains. His hands are everywhere – rucking up her shift and dragging her mouth back to his by the back of her neck. His teeth sink into her bottom lip and she moans, her hands fisting in the thin material of his tunic, tugging at it impatiently as he grabs for one of her exposed thighs, hefting it up as he braces his hips to hers, the length of him hard and pressed to her center.
Sansa gasps, gripping his shoulders, tearing her mouth from his to press her head back against the stone wall, her lip caught between her teeth. "Jon," she whimpers, rolling her hips to meet his.
He pants into her neck, nipping slightly, laving his tongue over her pulse, his hand dragging her thigh higher up his hip, fingers digging into her flesh as he bucks into her, his breeches and her smallclothes the only thing separating them now.
"I'm sorry," he groans into her neck, over and over.
Sansa sobs at the words, lost to him. So lost she never hears the door as it creaks open.
So lost she doesn't even recognize the gaze she meets across the room when she opens her eyes.
Like looking into a mirror. That Tully blue.
Sansa stills at the sudden realization, eyes blown wide.
The heat of Jon's mouth is still at her throat when she finds her voice.
"Robb," she chokes out, a new anguish blanketing her tongue.
This is the salt of it.
(And they are the wound.)
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klbwriting · 10 months ago
Text
Surface Tension
Chapter 8: Shot at the Night
Fandom: Aquaman
Pairing: Ormxfemale!Reader
Warnings: none
Summary: Orm can't do much to help Y/N but he does find someone who can
Note: song is 'Shot at the Night' by the Killers
Taglist: @hyperagitatedcydonian13 @gabrieleskywalker @philiasoul @duchcess
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We’re breaking all the rules To find that our home Has long been outgrown Throw me a lifeline Cause honey I’ve got nothing to lose Once in a lifetime
“Why did you settle by the ocean if you’re so afraid of water?” Orm asked, sitting on the back porch with Y/N, watching the waves under the moonlight. She was strumming, singing one of her songs. He was starting to recognize them by now and he knew she sang this one because he liked it. She looked at him and shrugged.
“I used to love the water, felt free and happy in it,” she said. “I told you I was accused of something that I didn’t do. I do bare some responsibility for it though, even though it was an accident. Ever since then, I don’t want to go back into the water, but I can’t let myself forget that day. Part of me wonders if it was my fault.” She stopped strumming and set the guitar aside, wrapping a blanket around herself.
“Did you want someone to get hurt?” he asked. She shook her head. “Not your fault, you shouldn’t stay here feeling guilty. What I did…I wanted to hurt people, all of the pain I caused was because I was angry. You didn’t have that malice.” He looked at the water before looking down at his hands. She reached out and put her hand on his arm, instantly calming him.
“Do you remember feeling like that?” she asked. “Do you ever feel like that now?” He shook his head. “Have you tried to make things right?”
“Yes, I’m trying,” he whispered. She smiled at him and squeezed his arm.
“You’ll get there, let the guilt go, but keep becoming better. I’ll help you, we are better together,” she said.
Orm startled awake, the memory fading from his dream to his waking nightmare. He didn’t know when he had fallen asleep, sometime right before dawn. Last he remembered his mother and Arthur were still there making plans on finding some kind of proof of who tried to kill Orm. The footage was enough to clear Y/N of active treason, but she still could be held for conspiracy. Conspiracy to commit treason was a capital offense in Atlantis and she could still be executed if they didn’t find and get a confession from the culprit.
He was alone now with a note from Arthur that they had left to find proof in Atlantis. Arthur planned to talk to Hendrix and Atlanna was going to talk to Y/N. Orm went over to Y/N’s place. He hated to invade her privacy but maybe she had something. He started searching, trying to ignore that her bed was still unmade from where they had been together, her same clothes from her birthday on the floor around it.
“There has to be something,” he muttered to himself as he went through her closet. He moved some boxes out of the bottom and saw a small door, probably another small storage area behind the wall. He was able to pry it open and inside was a bag. He pulled it out and sat on the floor, looking through it slowly. He pulled out the mosaic of her and her father. It was cheap but well made, a product of the lower city where technology to film wasn’t as widely available. He set it aside carefully. Next came out a flyer for Atlantis for All, listing their goals as equal status, better living conditions, and fairness in the workforce. Orm remembered his father telling him that all those below the nobility were lazy, they just wanted people to hand them money and food without doing anything for it. At the time he had agreed, but this notice listed things that anyone would need to survive and thrive, which is what he thought his father wanted for all Atlantians. He set it aside also and pulled out a stack of papers. This was what he needed, letters to and from different people in AfA.
I work from morning until night, I never see my family, yet they still starve…
My mother died because we couldn’t get her a proper doctor, the nobility never have to worry…
My father died of the sickness King Orvax released when I was a child. King Orvax made me an orphan…
We can fix this. There is a way. King Orm’s coronation is on the first day of the Great Migration…
Here is what he needed. He read through the letter, it laid out a plan to protest, nothing else. They were to have Y/N sing, and Hendrix volunteered to bring the cracker. This was almost enough, but Orm needed something else. Aria was mentioned as one of the leaders of the group. He had to find her; she might have more proof.
Orm wasn’t sure where else to go so he went to the café. It was empty except for Y/N’s friends when he arrived. They were all glaring at him. When he walked in Dean came up and punched him in the face. It didn’t hurt, but Orm wasn’t expecting it and stumbled back a step. Dean was shaking his hand, wincing. He had probably broken a couple fingers. Aria pushed past him.
“Get out tyrant,” she demanded. Orm stood his ground. “We know you did something to her, no one can find her.”
“I didn’t do anything, but Hendrix took her back to Atlantis to face trial for treason,” he said. Aria froze.
“You’re lying, you gave her up,” she said, but her voice lacked conviction.
“If I gave her up I would be on my way to trial too. I’m a fugitive just as much as the two of you,” he said. “We need proof that Hendrix was the one who tried to kill me. I found a letter in her things with the plan for the coronation day, it says Hendrix was to get the cracker, but we need more than that, anything that makes it sound like he alone planned the attempt.” Aria was breathing deep, trying to remain calm.
“How do we know you won’t just take the evidence and destroy it?” Vincent called out. “What if you want to use her to get yourself pardoned?” Orm didn’t have time for this bullshit.
“Because I love her!” he yelled. “Because she is everything to me and I won’t stand by while they execute her. I can’t go back, no one will believe me if I say she is innocent, I’ll just get thrown in a cell next to her, but my brother is king. If I am able to get proof to him he can set this right.”
Aria watched his speech and nodded before motioning for him to come with her. She lived only a few houses down from the café and she also had a bag full of letters. She kept meticulous records and correspondence, including from Hendrix. Hours later she jumped up.
“I found something,” she said, setting the letter down in front of Orm at her kitchen table. By then everyone had joined them, watching. “This is from Hendrix, the day before the coronation. I think I received it by mistake. I never read it because well, I hated Hendrix and anything he had to say was worthless to me.” She pointed to a spot that clearly incriminated him.
“These people are idiots. They’re going to give me the crown and not even realize it. Tomorrow Orm will be dead and I’ll be king,” Orm read. This was perfect.
“Bless that asshole’s giant ego,” muttered Amanda from the couch. Orm stood and hugged Aria.
“I know you hate me but thank you,” he said. He looked between her and Dean. “I am sorry for the tidal wave, for everything. I was wrong and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for it.” He left it at that, hurrying out of the house and calling Arthur to tell him he had proof.
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jqmalikhsgib · 10 months ago
Text
quest
nine
tik tok tik tok
the clock was definitely mocking you. waiting patiently for aaron to arrived while you sat across from the woman that was about to listen to you about your marriage, divorce, family, and more.
she just smiles at you. soon enough you sigh in relief when aaron walks into the room.
he clears his throat as he sits right beside you. “sorry im late.”
“that’s okay. shall we get started?”
aaron hums. “what brings you two in today?
the two of you look at one another. aaron was the first one to speak. telling the doctor your story. it made you uneasy when she just nods and writes down the information.
“how does that make you feel mister hotchner? finding out you have three other children that you didn’t know about?”
“in the beginning i was livid. knowing that she took two years away from knowing my children, our children! it made me angry. but i realized i was just angry at myself. i did this to us. i ruined that relationship.”
“how do you feel yn?”
“i feel guilty. maybe if i just—maybe if i just stayed and listen to reason none of this would have happened. i blame everything that happened in the last two years on myself. maybe then he wouldn’t have died.”
your biological father. aaron didn’t know you felt this way. you took all that blame. all that heartbreak that should have fallen on your dad. it wasn’t your fault. he needed you to know that this wasn’t your fault.
“darling, this isn’t your fault. none of this is on you. im sorry if i have ever made you feel like this was on you.”
“but you haven’t.”
“but i have though. ive been so short with you since you’ve been home. im not use to talking about how i feel.”
“why is that aaron?”
aaron turns to look at the doctor. he sighs. rubbing his hands onto his face.
“i would say it’s my job. that with what i do we always have to stay alert and keep how we personally feel aside. that may be the case but i think it’s deeper than that.”
“what do you mean?”
“growing up, my father, he wasn’t exactly a nice man. he would come home after working a case and he’d shut us down. verbally abusing us until we felt small and weak. he would call us that too if i recall. my mother was never really around. she didn’t really want children. my father was a traditional man though. marriage, kids, you name it. the physical abuse didn’t happen until he was sick. cancer. my mom would come back home just to take care of him. i assumed he felt emasculated. having his wife take care of him because he was getting weak by the day. so he took his anger out on sean and i. i took the most of it. not wanting my brother to suffer like that. if i showed any sighs of weakness while he hit me it’ll just make him angrier and hit harder. over time i became emotionless to his rage. that angered him even more. over time he—he was too weak to hurt a fly. my mother continued to take care of him while i took care of my brother. eventually my father died. we didn’t even have a proper funeral. just buried him next to my grandfather who beat him before because despite everything, that’s what he wanted. he still loved him. and in a way, i still loved my father. he was still my dad despite everything. but i showed no emotions. it’s not what he would have wanted. my brother on the other hand cried.”
“what about your mother?”
aaron scoffs. “she fell out of love with him the moment she married him. my father was known for cheating on my mom. she didn’t care much. she was different from my father. she grew up wealthy. only marrying my father because she got pregnant with me. her father forced them into marriage so she wouldn’t be labeled as the town whore and ruin their reputation. my father worked hard for his money. growing up lower middle class he had to. in a way my relationship with my mom was far worse than my father. at least my father showed some kind of affection. my mom was emotionless. only caring about her reputation and how she was perceived. i believe that’s why she took care of my father in the first place. instead of hiring someone to do it. so she could brag to her posh friends about how much of a great wife and mother she was.”
“is she still living today?”
aaron hums. “haven’t spoken to her since she met my late wife, haley. she didn’t like haley. never wanted me to marry her.”
“why’s that?”
“because—because she wasn’t as wealthy as us. she was middle class, haley. because of that my mother didn’t find her worthy. she didn’t want me to have a loveless marriage like hers. her words exactly. she doesn’t know a thing about my life. she doesn’t know about jack, haley’s passing, me getting remarried. nothing!”
“do you think she’d like yn?”
aaron avoids your eyes. he wanted to avoid the question altogether. he knew she wouldn’t. why is what pissed him off and made him feel ashamed.
“aaron?”
he clears his throat. “no.”
“and why not?”
“because—my mom wasn’t racist. not in the sense you would think. she never called anyone who was of color a slur. but she was raised to believe that you should marry your own kind of people. that mixing up your ‘values’ with others would only confuse your children in the end.”
you had no idea aarons mother was that way. only knowing the details he explained about his father. he never talked about his mom. now you understand why.
“aaron, i had no idea. why didn’t you tell me?”
“because i felt ashamed. ashamed of having her as a mother.”
“you shouldn’t feel that way though aaron. she doesn’t speak for you or for our kids.”
aaron holds your hand.
“listening to you both and hearing your family history, i think it’s safe to say that you, yn, you have a hard time listening to others. you’re so afraid to find out the truth because it could potentially hurt you. it’s why you stopped talking to your siblings in the end. you knew they knew something about your father. it’s why you ran when your biological father told you the truth. and it’s why you left aaron. you were afraid if he came home that night and you pressed him on the issue he would admit his feelings for his ex wife and leave you. it’s why you left first. you didn’t wanna face the reality that the one good thing in your life for the longest time would end.”
you look at aaron. knowing what she was saying was absolutely true.
“and you aaron, you’re afraid of being yourself. showing any emotion is a sign of weakness all because of your father. you also don’t wanna end up like him. to raise your kids that way. it’s why you most likely teach them it’s okay to express themselves. showing them that having emotions and feelings is part of being human. you have this fear that your marriage could fail again and maybe your mother was right. maybe mixing classes and culture could ruin a marriage. but it makes you feel guilty. one of the reasons why you pushed your first marriage away and tried to push your second marriage away.”
aaron grabs your hand. he gently rubs it. feeling all kinds of guilt with what the doctor states.
“but neither of you are seeing the reality of it all. you both willingly came to therapy because you want to fix this marriage. you want this to work out. not only for the kids. but also for yourselves. i noticed that the moment the both of you spoke. have you ever stopped to notice you’re both still wearing your wedding bands? and you still call each other husband and wife, despite being divorced for the last few years? it’s because a piece of paper doesn’t determine your love for one another. you two are still married and have been even with the separation.”
the two of you look at one another lovingly. you loved each other. despite the past, despite your childhood, despite the divorce, the drama! you loved him and he loved you.
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i changed the story title and also made a playlist! each part will have a new song added to it. it will be titled the same as the song
anyway there is a tiny bit of a foreshadowing here so 👀
hoped you enjoyed
if you wanna be added or unadded to the taglist please let me know
taglist:
@ivebeenthearchersstuff @shergoretzxx @slut4ethan @rosiehale23 @madesavage05 @whotfskai @vodkori @zaddyhotch @14buddy22
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