#because we’ll get to see what happened to that horrible blonde lady

[mirroredmemoriez]

Crack AU type idea-

Cecilia Pederson as an apprentice, but she’s just used as a “cash pig.” This woman is not there by her own free will, its 100% blackmail.

They let her keep the money in theory, but it has some terms- Such as the fact she will be funding into Jigsaw’s back pocket as compensation! She’s basically had to get into stock and maybe even real estate to actually acquire money that isn’t through a scam.

She has enough to live off of, but it’s not as luxurious. Amanda is basically in charge of watching her banking and they’re always two seconds away from a fist fight. John would never want Cecilia being involved in the trap process, lest someone get the Gabriela treatment. He full well knows that testing this horrible woman didn’t do shit, she’s just loco and thirsty for cash- So he might as well isolate her from society and take her money! Amanda is already becoming progressively more unhinged, so outright admitting to her Cecilia’s test didn’t help her whatsoever likely wouldn’t be a good move.

However, unlike Mark where she can constantly ask, “When’s your test detective?” Amanda was literally physically there whilst Cecilia was tested…. She still hates that Norwegian lady though and constantly attempts to make her life a living hell anytime they have to be around one another for any amount of time. Cecilia makes fun of Amanda’s haircuts and acts as though she cannot see her because of how short she is.

And don’t even get it twisted- Cecilia is constantly trying to think of ways to get out of being blackmailed…. It’s just a matter of getting that freaky somehow a hacker lesbian off of her case. They’ve basically said hey! If we go down? You go down with us, we recorded your game!

How this ever ends? No clue- Someone dead most likely, it’s still Saw after all. But in the mean time, they’re all constantly bickering, fighting and trying to find ways to fuck the other over. John is tired but letting some God take the wheel when it comes to Amanda not putting shit like cyanide in Cecilia’s coffee.

I think the funniest thing within this idea, is for whatever reason them having to try get Cecilia to be fine to wear the pig mask….

[booppooo]

I would like to request prompt 2, the reader's pronouns are gonna be she/her, and the whole plot of this oneshot is gonna be where Manny and Mel are on the supply run and Abby is left with reader in the car. They want to relieve themselves so reader eats Abby out in the car. Abby squirts a lot, please and thank you🥰

Gotta Make This Quick

AN: Ask and you shall receive....eventually.

Warnings: unestablished relationship, semi-public sex, lesbian sex, oral, squirting

Word Count: 1743

-

Third POV:

It was just another simple supply run, nothing special to it. Only this time Y/n had been assigned to tag along in lieu of Abby's favorite girl - Alice. An extra set of hands were always nice in this world considering every horrible possibility could happen at any moment. So the solider didn't mind seeing Y/n hop in that back seat with her, if anything she was looking forward to this supply run, however the other two passengers couldn't say the same.

Mel always tried to brush off the fact that she hated how much she made Abby smile - purely because she hated to see Abby so happy in the first place. "I don't have an opinion on her, she's just a good fighter," she'd shrug and turn her nose up. Manny (surprisingly) was on Mel's team in terms of Y/n as well. Though it brought him great joy to see Abby laugh and carry on, Y/n was Abby's greatest distraction and therefore there were a lot more mistakes made than there needed to be. They were a better duo when they were safe inside the stadium, but more of a disaster in terms of a combat. Needless to say, the job always got done and that's all that mattered at the end of the day.

The terrain was rocky and bumpy as always as Manny sped down what was left of the roads. He slowed to a stop at an old warehouse that had yet to be picked through since the Seraphites always patrolled it so heavily, but after finding out their schedule the WLF was able to find a time to squeeze in and sweep the place. And since that time window was so small, Mel urged the two giggling friends to stay behind and keep watch.

"What the hell Mel?" Abby protested while tugging on the door handle.

Mel stepped over to Y/n's window, "Stay here, we'll only be a few minutes."

"Yeah but you didn't have to lock - fuck." Abby scoffed and turned to her friend, "What if there's an emergency and they get ambushed?!"

Y/n slumped in her seat and rolled her head toward Abby, "Obviously they're betting on no one showing up. Just relax."

Abby rolled her eyes, "You're fucking kidding me right?"

"Couldn't be more serious babe."

And at that Abby's pretty freckled cheeks burned a soft crimson. Her mind fell fuzzy while her palms began to sweat against her rifle. She broke the tense eye contact and darted her gaze around the vehicle.

"They're... they're not doing this very smart." she continued, but Y/n had tuned it out and was completed infatuated with the way she had made Abby crumble.

Daringly she took a step further by inching closer and nonchalantly resting an palm over Abby's gorgeously massive thigh. It wasn't hard to miss the way the blonde's breath got caught in her throat - adorable. She lazily drew circles on the rough fabric and gazed up to Abby.

"You're so tense, what's got your panties in a bunch all the sudden?" Y/n teased and didn't bother to suppress the shit eating grin on her face.

Abby swallowed the spit pooling in her mouth. Though she was a blushing, sweating mess, she was absolutely loving every moment of this. Should she entertain it?

Abby softly shook her head and forced herself to stare out the window. This was surely just Y/n being her flirtatious, silly self.

Then her hand came up and squeezed softly on Abby's exposed bicep. It was like she was holding a flame against the hard muscle and lit Abby's entire body on fire. Her thighs pressed together and Y/n's nails dug into her pants. This was overwhelming in all the right ways, but Abby still wasn't sure her intentions.

Her warm breath fanned across the soldier's neck, "I know a thing or two about how to de-stress."

This woman who was known for being the strongest and sturdiest solider quickly felt her heart and mind melting at her friend's words. Just like a flip was switched and she completely folded over. Y/n was nearly foaming at the mouth; it was now or never.

With that she guided Abby's beautiful features to face her and they shared the most lustful kiss. Of course with the ticking time bomb Abby had been she soaked up every bit of touch Y/n offered her and found herself grabbing and feeling along her body. She had built her up and broke her down to the point where she was nearly feral. Abby loved the way she hated all the teasing.

Of course the strongest tried to settle her place over Y/n, but she wouldn't go down so quickly, after all it was Y/n's idea. She pulled away from the intense making out to smirk at her freckled companion and shove her shoulders down against the old leather seats. Again Abby's breathing failed her and left her abruptly while her heart hammered against her chest (not to mention the heat and slick accumulating in her pants).

But before the fun could continue Abby was struck with reality, "We're really gonna fuck here? What if someone sees?"

What a ridiculously question, Y/n thought.

"All the better."

Before Abby's rational could put up a resistance Y/n was earnestly working to remove Abby's cargo pants. Time was of the essence and both of them were well aware of that, but the desire swirling inside the car was just too overpowering to be ignored or interrupted.

The fighter laughed mockingly seeing the wet spot that had shamelessly formed on Abby's panties, "You're so fucking perfect." As expected the praise went straight to the blonde's core before even reaching her brain.

Y/n was ravenous and hasty in her approach. She nipped and licked and kissed all along those thighs she had dreamed to be between for an embarrassingly long time - it really was a dream come true. Then the underwear were ripped down her legs, thighs pressed open and against her strong torso, and Y/n's tongue went to work.

"Ah!" Abby cried out and smacked a hand over her mouth. All Y/n could do was laugh.

The goal: do whatever it took to make her cum as quickly as possible. Mel and Manny could be sprinting out those doors any second and there wouldn't be time to redress.

"Mmm fuck.." Y/n groaned and continued her ministrations.

Abby found herself trying not to shoot up to cloud nine, reaching and grabbing at whatever she could to give her a sense of reality. It was like she had the wind knocked out of her and each time Y/n's swirled her tongue deliciously over her clit a spell was casted on her. It was hopeless, Abby was hopeless, there was no way she was lasting very long.

And she didn't last very long, because in an instant that hot coil in Abby's abdomen snapped, her eyes rolled back into her head and she was crying into her hand. Y/n was elated when her lips, chin, neck, and chest were gushed on and drenched, in turn fueling her to work more fervently until Abby couldn't take it.

Those famous thighs began to tremble and Abby breathlessly begged Y/n to stop and tried squirmed away. How she wanted to continue to feast on her until she was an absolute mess of a person, but their circumstances were not in their favor and Abby was incredibly embarrassed at the fact she had squirted for her first time. Needless to say it was one of the most intense orgasms she had experienced to date but she never knew that would be the result.

Of course Y/n being the lady she was, cleaned up the mess she had made on Abby with her tongue, not missing a spot. The taste was unforgettable and her next mission was to get this wonder of a woman in her bunk. But for now they needed to get her dressed and Y/n's shirt changed.

Almost as if on cue, Y/n finished tugging a new shirt over her torso as Mel and Manny came darting from the warehouse, tossing the supplies in the trunk and throwing themselves into their seats.

"Everything okay?" Y/n wondered as Manny began to tear out of the scene.

"One of 'em saw us so we're leaving before we get ambushed. How were things out here?" Mel turned in her seat.

Abby instantly became flustered and her gaze retired to the window.

"Couldn't have been better." Y/n smirked.

[utilitycaster]

Wizard Breakdown Tracker, #135

Each week I think “man it would have been cool if I had thought of this idea, in which I make jokes about how stressed out the wizard NPCs are, during, you know, the Vergesson heist or something when we were interacting with more than one wizard NPC instead of during a dungeon crawl with only one wizard NPC, emphasis on crawl” but you know what, I persevere, because where else am I going to put song parodies about the death of Vess Derogna that are literally only funny to me? Twitter?

Anyway while I am personally team Jester, in that the faster Lucien is simultaneously disintegrated, run through in the chest with both a vestige and a holy avenger, shot through the heart (and Veth’s to blame), beheaded with a hand axe, banished, punched in the face, and sent into a black hole the better, the party has other plans. Thanks to the long rest though it has been about 12 hours, plus the 4-ish from last week, so I guess we’ll check in with a few of our other wizard friends as well.

As a reminder Caleb Widogast is a PC and thus excluded from this list.

Currently sidelined

Presumably having a good day: Pumat Sol (blissfully unaware of all of this); Allura Vyesoren (saint-like patience and a wealth of experience with disaster adventuring parties; at least this one has a cleric at more than 0.33 FTE, a wizard, and some lesbians), Ludinus Da’leth (this miserable pile of power plays wakes up every morning and is like Isn’t it Grand to be head of the evil wizard council and no one realizes I probably destroyed the first non-drow elven civilization on the continent to arise after the calamity! Fetch me more pastries!).

No idea but here’s hoping he found the cat portion of ScryTube: Oremid Hass

Lady DeRogna, taken off the scene, sorry that your murder happened while off-screen.

Trent Ikithon: I’ve established that I think the only real things that can damage Trent emotionally are Caleb paying too much attention to him so as to destroy his standing within the empire, or else Caleb ignoring him. Honestly if Trent would not continue to torture students and spread propaganda if left unchecked I think he could be slowly murdered solely through Caleb expressing apathy. So despite the amulets of nondetection I like to imagine that somehow, somewhere, Trent felt Caleb reaffirm to Essek that his top priority is still stopping the city from returning, not Trent, and it necrotized just a little bit more of his liver.

Conclusion: 7/10. I went to the OG evil mageocracy and no one knew who you were.

Essek Thelyss: Well on the one hand he’s still flirting but on the other imagine spending a literal century being like “what if we’re wrong about how we approach the fundamental basis for our society” and he just got proved right. I have to imagine he’s got that kind of stress where suddenly everything becomes dead calm and also this explains why he unnecessarily cast a 3rd level spell, which he knows could in theory cause him to lose all his hair, to impress a boy. I didn’t even get into the conversations he had with Caleb, the bad dreams and eyeballs, Fjord teasing him, Yasha being like “ALRIGHT ALREADY”, the horrible Aeorian creatures, the fact that robots might be back(?) or his ongoing terror that the Assembly is after him!

Conclusion: 8/10 but he’s like, kind of having a good time. Essek is in all ways but physical in a Hawaiian shirt right now drinking a Mai Tai and going Nothing Matters; I presume he will have a full breakdown following the boss battle and honestly he deserves it.

Astrid Beck: Others have already established the parallels between Essek and Astrid but honestly I want to highlight it because really, on the one hand we have Essek, whose world is crashing around him because he was right all along and is in terrible immediate danger but surrounded by friends, and on the other we have Astrid, whose world is crashing around her because she was wrong all along and she’s probably not in immediate danger but Eadwulf is the only person she can trust and we don’t know all the details about that either.

Conclusion: 8/10 but in the bad way, not Essek’s kind of fun way.

Wulfpupy:

Conclusion: 3/10. You know that tiktok with the blonde woman with glasses who has a lot of highlighter on her nose who talks about how sometimes if you have guy friends they will say something deeply fucked up and you’ll be like “oh my god do we unpack this right now” and then you look over at them and the only thing in their mind are the lyrics to Kokomo? That’s Wulf. He will activate the second Caleb comes back in town or Astrid actually falls apart but until then he is on Island Time.

Yussa Errenis: I wonder if there’s a small part of Yussa that is part of the city’s awareness and, moreover, can see what Beau and Caleb at least are doing, and he’s like “I’m so simultaneously proud and impatient, also we live in a world that does not have IV fluids so like, hopefully my body still exists in some kind of functioning state when I am rescued” (note: did I google “how were coma patients kept alive in olden times” for this? Perhaps.) Anyway if he is aware he’s also just like, watching all this like “I WILL GET YOU SO MUCH PAPER OH MY GOD CAN YOU JUST KISS THE OTHER WIZARD SAVE ME FROM THE EVIL HIVEMIND CITY.”

Conclusion: I mean still infinity/10, he is still trapped in the city of madness and also if he does have a small part of his mind that is sane and able to observe the material plane he also is aware that Trent and the Volstruckers broke into his tower.

Known Gem Wizard Hotsauce Lutefisk: I know, I know, weird that I brought him up. However consider: Yussa’s wizard tower now contains two wizards in suspended animation, their consciousnesses trapped in eldritch astral sea-related spaces. This is incredibly funny to me. We’re in a real Old Lady who swallowed a fly scenario except it’s centuries-old wizards getting sucked into traps because of their own hubris. The reason why mageocracies no longer exist isn’t the lack of magical knowledge or even because power corrupts absolutely, it’s because literally just put some lightly fried forbidden knowledge under a box with a stick propping it up, add your parody of Long-Term Nuclear Waste Warnings above it, and a wizard will be like “that sign won’t stop me because I CAN read and what’s more I’m better at reading than you are!” And then they get trapped in a box.

Conclusion: what is a breakdown tracker to a man whose mind has been stuck in a gem for, from his perspective, at minimum about 35 years?

[cinnamonrusts]

i’ll see you in the village -- 3

parts: 1 2

Chris closes in on your location and he prays to see that you’re alive and well. However, you’re on the opposite side of the secluded village and come face to face with the big honcho herself, plus some of her troublesome “children”. (chris redfield x f!reader)

                                                    ✧.* ✧.* ✧.* ✧.*

Chris's heart pounded in his chest as the squad’s van got closer and closer to the blip on the laptop’s map. He hoped that you would be okay - maybe staying in a home or met a friendly local... Your smile was all he could picture when he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in to calm down. However, when he opened them, the van veered off away from the main road where the rinky-dink cottages were scattered about and headed into the woods. “Where are you going?” he asked as he leaned into the cab. Night Howl was behind the wheel, “Following the ping, sir.” Chris swallowed hard, if you were alone in these dark woods -- something could’ve went wrong.

The vehicle bounced around on the uneven ground and Chris held on to the back of the seat to keep himself upright. His eyes never moved from the windshield and his keen senses were on alert for any sign of you. Lobo spoke up just as the ping reached its loudest pitch, “Says we’re here.” Chris opened the door with one quick yank and he jumped out of the van. He pulled out his flashlight and his gun from his belt as he observed his surroundings. The area was as quiet as death and there were no signs that you even there. Chris walked around the area for quite sometime as his team watched him from within the vehicle, they exchanged brief words in regard to if they should help or stop him. But decided to let him do this unless he was met with danger.

His desperation reached an all time high and he started to shout your name into the dark. “[Y/N]!” Chris continued to walk and shout until his boot kicked something that was laying on the road. He kneeled down and shined his flashlight at the item that caught his attention. Chris picked it up and realized that the crumbled pile in his palm was once a cell phone. Technology seemed to stay at a standstill in this area and was mostly untouched by the outside world -- so why was there a cellphone here? The only explanation was that it was your phone. His tired faced drained itself of color and his heartbeat quickened to an unmeasurable rate. He was silent but his mind was loud. If anything were to happen to you, he would tear this entire place apart and tear through anyone just to get to you. His fist closed around the broken phone and crushed it more. As he came to a stand, he breathed out through his nostrils loudly and let the plastic crumble from his fingers.

Lobo stepped out from the van to approach Chris with concern, “Everything alright, Alpha?” Redfield’s eyes were fixated on the trees before him and he was silent - not even a twinge in his face, he was blank. “They took her,” he finally spoke after an awkward amount of silence. His head turned toward Lobo, “I’m gonna get her back.” Lobo nodded, “But Alpha, don’t forget about the main objective... with Winters.” Chris grit his teeth before he barked, “YOU DON’T THINK I KNOW THAT?!” He instantly felt regret and apologized for his outburst. His team was completely faithful to the man and followed him to the ends of the Earth. But, he was scared to lose anyone else... he’s lost too much already and if he lost you... he was unsure if he could handle that. Lobo patted his shoulder a couple times, “Don’t worry, Alpha. We got your back and we’ll find [Y/N].”

                                                    ✧.* ✧.* ✧.* ✧.*

The Duke listened to your story intently and when you finished, he erupted in laughter. Your face crinkled in surprise at his reaction, “Did I say something -- funny?” you ask, offended. The Duke continued to chuckle before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, “If you’re going to tell me a tale, my lady, at least make it believable.” You scoff and thought briefly about how good you thought your story was but -- it didn’t fool this large man that sat before you. “Now, why don’t we start again, American?” The jig was up and you might as well just tell the truth. “How could you tell?” you ask and he chuckled once more. “Gypsies haven’t been around this area for nearly fifty years! And also, you lack of an accent from the area you claim to be from... it is rather funny, if you ask me!”

Your ego felt somewhat hurt by this stranger but that was besides the point. If he could easily see through your ruse, then maybe so would Miranda... “So...” you start to say before the wagon got slammed into from the side. You tumble around inside the cart as it flipped several times before it landed upside down. The Duke had been separated from you as the back part of the wagon broke free from the front part he was in, and the horse carried him away to safety but left you behind

.

You groan loudly as you roll to your side and try to push yourself up but couldn’t because of an excruciating pain in your leg. It is hard to focus because of the trauma that your head had taken from the crash plus the trip down the hill earlier. Once your vision cleared, you could see a rather large piece of wood protruding from your upper thigh. “Shit!” you curse as your shaky hands hesitated to pull it out. But it was too painful to even touch and your training kicked in, if you took it out, you would more than likely bleed out due to where it was located and you were far from help.

Loud noises shuffled around from outside of the wagon and you began to panic. Your hands shuffled through the broken pieces of wood that were scattered around in an attempt to find your pistol. The curtain at the back of the wagon lifted slowly just as you found your weapon, and you proceeded to shoot a warning shot. The curtain dropped and it was silent for a moment but your aim was still up. Suddenly, a large, black root slinked up under the curtain and yanked you out from your cover. You screamed loudly and desperately tried to aim for something to shoot at but you found yourself being held upside down. Stupidly, you emptied your clip into the air as you hoped it would hit the root. 

✧.*

A woman stepped out from the shadows to slap your pistol out of your hand and you instantly recognized her face once she stepped into the moonlight. Her blonde hair and attractive features... they-they matched Mother Miranda! It was Miranda! Shit. Now you were deep in it... You followed the root that had a tight grip around your ankle up to the hem of her dress. It was apparent that she had abilities similar to that of the mold and BOWs, even better. “There was word of a rat in our nest,” she hissed, her voice feminine and powerful. Miranda’s stare was cold as she walked closer to you; her face closes in on yours and you could feel her warm breath on your sweat stained skin. “And the snakes don’t care much for rats. American agent rats to be exact.”

The root lifted you higher into the air and you were dangled above her head. Miranda looked up to you, “I think I will let the others help me decide what to do with you.” she smiled before the root slammed you down into the ground and your vision faded black.

Miranda lifted you from the ground and held your unconscious body in her arms. Black feathers spread from her back and wrapped around the two of you, then disappeared in a swirl of black.

✧.*

An unknown amount of time passed before you came to. The sound of a few people talking caused you to stir, their loud voices rang in your ear and irritated the horrible headache you had. “I say we strip her down, cover her in honey, and throw her to the rats! A rat for a rat!” a man’s voice boomed with excitement and it was the first sentence you could make out while coming to. “Let me have her! She’ll be turned into the finest of wine!” a woman’s voice that was not Miranda’s yelled over the man’s.

When your eyes opened fully, three faces turned toward you. “Well, well, good morning, sleepy head!” the male grinned and lowered his sunglasses to get a better look at you. A dark haired woman across from him stood from her chair and her insane height towered over you, “She looks healthy and plump enough to craft an excellent bottle.” The man stood from his chair and pushed her a bit, “You always want to turn the women into wine. Boring!” 

The two of them began to bicker back and forth for several minutes until one of Miranda’s roots grabbed hold of your throat and reeled you in. “You two can fight over the child’s father. She - she will be mine to toy with, I’ve made up my mind,” the leader smiled a menacing grin which caused your blood to run cold. Inside you hoped that Chris would punch  through the door and save you from your predicament, but that chance was slim to none. “Begone my children, I have work to do.” They obeyed her wishes and left.

  ✧.*

She wrapped her wings around you once again and kept you restrained while she forced you into her laboratory that was beneath the village’s grounds. “I could kill you but that would be a waste.” she spoke as she strapped you to a table in the middle of the room. You wiggled violently as you tried to free yourself from your imprisonment but cried in pain at the open wound in your leg. “A strong American agent like yourself could be an interesting addition to our family... think of it as an eye for an eye.” she walked away to a shelf and reached for a large glass jar which had a sort of creature inside. “You’ll be the first outsider to receive a Cadou implant. And I am oh so curious to see how you adapt...” She reached into the jar, pulled out the pulsating parasite, and slowly approached you. 

Screams escaped your mouth as you thrashed around in another attempt to break loose but your restraints were so tight that they dug into your flesh. Miranda pushed your head down with force and pressed her palm into your forehead. The “Cadou” writhed around and long tentacles sprouted from within its fleshy mass and grabbed onto either side of your chest . Your last breath was a shriek of terror as it attached itself to your body and burrowed into your torso.

[study-coffee-chicago]

Country College (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister Imagine; Part of AU-gust)

A/N: Thank you for reading! Remember to like/reblog and comment! I'm also donating all the proceeds that from my buy me a coffee account to Save The Children to help the children of Afghanistan. Buy me a coffee link here.

Also, here's the playlist of songs I listened to while writing this and some of these songs are actually mentioned in the imagine in case you guys wanted to listen while reading: Country College AU playlist.

I went on vacation and I swear, this entire imagine was based on stuff I did in Tennessee and country songs I listened to while there.

Anyway, enjoy!

"You got everything?" Jay asked you at six in the morning.

"For the last damn time, Jay, yes, I have everything," you answered as you jumped in the passenger seat of his truck and put your backpack at your feet and your tumbler of coffee in a cup holder.

"Jesus. I was just asking because I will not be turning this truck around," he said as he moved around the basket of snacks in the backseat so that the two of you could reach them easier. "Someone's cranky."

"Yes. When I finally got to sleep at 12:30 last night and had to wake up at 4:30, I'm gonna be cranky. Please tell me we're stopping for coffee."

"You already have coffee," Will said as he walked up to the truck. "Why do you need more?"

"Shut up. I know for a fact you drink way more coffee than I do, Mr. Med Student."

"Jesus, Jay. You sure you're gonna be able to put up with her for eight and a half hours?" Will asked.

"I dunno, man. Maybe I'll make her ride with you," he joked.

"Yeah, no way in hell that's happening," Will said.

"In all seriousness," Jay started, "stop for coffee in about an hour and a half?"

"Sounds good to me," you agreed.

"Same here. I only have to ditch you guys when we get like eight hours in," Will said.

"Gonna be weird not having you on the drive down, man," Jay mused.

"Yeah, but at least we can meet up at the rest stops and we'll  be in the same state."

"Are we gonna go?" you asked. "If you two were just gonna talk, I could've slept for an extra ten minutes."

"Holy shit," Jay muttered. He turned to Will. "Guess we should get going then."

"Yeah, see you in an hour and a half. Don't piss off the driver too much, Y/N."

You rolled your eyes. "Goodbye, Will."

Will got in his car and Jay got in the driver's side of his truck.

"Eight and a half hour drive plus traffic," Jay started as you both pulled out of the driveway, "so how do want to split it up?"

"I'm tired and I wanna sleep and I don't want to drive through Knoxville because I have no idea where to go," you answered as you pulled your headphones out of your backpack.

"Okay, Miss Sassy Pants. You can drive in the middle, through Kentucky. Might hit traffic, but we'll hit traffic in Tennessee, too, so we'll both have to drive through it. Just please, do not crash my truck."

"Relax. I know how to drive. Just make sure Will stays on your ass the entire time so we don't lose each other."

***

"And, we're officially in Kentucky!" Jay announced. "Time to change the music. At the next rest stop, we'll pull over and go to the bathroom and grab some lunch."

"Jay! You can't be on your phone while you're driving!" you yelled as he reached for his phone in the cup holder, which was also acting as the GPS...even though Jay claimed he could get there without it.

"Y/N, I'm fine. I've done this for three years now. I think I know what I'm doing."

"If you say so."

He turned on a song you didn't know.

"Got a truck, get it lifted," Jay started to sing.

"The hell is this?" you asked.

"Country music. Gets changed from pop to country the second we cross the border into Kentucky. Now, shh. This is a good song. You'll like it. It's upbeat."

Jay drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and sang quietly to Redneck Be Like by Thomas Rhett as he drove while you listened. He was right. It was a pretty good song.

"All day in the sun, always havin' fun, always gettin' stuck in that muddy river. Always got a buzz, always double cup..."

"You'll know the next one," Jay promised.

"And you know this how?" you asked.

"Because it's on Tiktok. When we get there, Adam and Hailey are gonna have to teach you some southern culture."

"So, I'm gonna need a definition of southern culture."

"You'll see when you get there. Now listen. I know you know this part."

Yeah we fancy like Applebee's...

Jay was right: you did know this song. It was Fancy Like by Walker Hayes.

"On a date night," you sang along. "Got that Bourbon street steak..." Jay joined in. "With the Oreo shake. Get some whipped cream on the top, too. Two straws, one check, girl I got you. Yeah we Bougie like Natty in the styrofoam..."

Five minutes later, you pulled off to a rest stop with a McDonald's nearby. Jay and Will filled up their vehicles while you ran inside to go to the bathroom. Once you were inside McDonald's and at a table eating, you asked Will if it was true that he and Jay always changed it to country music when they crossed the border into Kentucky. Will said yes, so you knew you were in for a long car ride. Then, you and Jay switched so that you were now the one driving and you were off again.

***

Hours later, Will took a different exit to get to Nashville and gave you and Jay a salute to tell you goodbye when he changed lanes and then took the exit.

"Not long now," Jay told you. "You excited?"

"Yeah, but a little nervous," you replied.

"Oh, don't be nervous. They're all really nice. And you've already met Hailey, so that helps."

"Yeah, she was nice. She had a cute little southern accent, too."

"One of the many reasons I fell in love with her in the first place."

Before Jay left for a weekend last summer to meet Hailey halfway and then stay in a hotel for a weekend to spend time with her, he finally told you the story of how he and Hailey met.

"Hey, we're goin' to the marketplace," Adam said on the first weekend of their junior year. "You and Will up for it?"

"Uh, Will's studying like normal. I'm up for it. Kim coming, too?" Jay asked.

"I promised her ice cream, so yeah, she's comin'. Baby, you ready?" he yelled down the hall.

"I'm coming, Adam!" Kim yelled back and then walked out of the bathroom.

"Let's go and make some bad decisions," Adam stated, causing Jay and Kim to laugh.

"We can't even buy alcohol yet, you dummy," Kim said.

"I may be a dummy, but you love me." Then, Adam gave Kim a kiss on the cheek.

"Please stop before I puke," Jay said and made a gagging face.

Adam rolled his eyes. "Let's get outta here."

***

Kim was laughing at a horrible joke Adam made while he had his arm slung around him. He had taken off his signature cowboy hat and had let Kim wear it because she forgot her sunglasses. Adam said he felt naked without it on.

They were walking towards Kilwin's when Jay spotted it: a homeless guy next to a blonde who couldn't be more than college age.

"Man, look," Jay pointed.

The three walked faster.

"No, this is for my friend back at the dorm," the girl explained.

"Lady, I'm hungry. Can I please just have your leftovers?" the guy asked.

"I'm sorry you're hungry, but this is for my friend."

The guy reached for the food.

"Hey, that girl sits behind me in my women and the law class," Kim stated.

Jay, Adam, and Kim took off on a run.

"Hey, baby," Jay said and slung an arm around the girl. He leaned in close to her. "Just go with it," he whispered in her ear. "You got Anna's food?"

"Yeah," the girl said hesitantly. But then, she realized that this guy was trying to help her out. And, he was pretty sure that the girl with him sat in front of her in her women and the law class. "Yeah, I've got her food."

Jay raised an eyebrow at the guy and then looked at Adam as if asking the man to try the two of them.

"Alright, well y'all have a good night now," he said and then turned around and walked away.

Once the man was a few shops down, Jay took his arm off of her. "Sorry about that. Just thought you might need some help," he said.

"Was greatly appreciated, thank you, uh..."

"Jay."

"Jay, well I'm Hailey. Nice to meet you."

He didn't miss her cute little southern accent and he loved it.

"You getting ice cream?" he asked.

"No, I uh was just textin' my roommate to tell her I'd be back soon."

"Well, I-- we'd feel much better if you came into Kilwin's with us. Just so that creeper doesn't come back."

Hailey smiled and agreed.

Kim and Hailey started talking about their class while Adam and Jay ordered their ice cream. Then Kim ordered.

"You want anything, Hailey?" Jay asked.

"Oh no, I'm fine, thank you, though."

Jay nodded, but then turned to the worker. "And can I also get a single scoop of chocolate in a waffle cone, please?"

"Sure thing." As she scooped it out, Hailey looked at Jay and he just shrugged.

When they got to the cashier, Hailey pulled out some money and tried to hand it to Jay.

"I've got it," he said.

"But--"

"Hailey, it's fine. I can pay for a little ice cream."

She loved the way her name rolled off his tongue.

"Okay." She took her ice cream cone.

"Hey, Hailey," Kim began when they walked out of Kilwin's. "Do you have friends you need to meet up with?"

"No, I was just gonna head back to my dorm," she replied.

"Oh, did you drive?"

"No, I walked. It's only like a twenty-minute walk from the sophomore dorms."

"Well, after all that, I'm pretty sure we'd all feel more comfortable if you rode home with us."

"I don't know..." Hailey trailed off.

"Those dorms are only like five minutes away from the house we stay at. And, it's on our way there anyway. Please, just come with us."

Hailey sighed. It would be a lot faster than walking. "Okay."

Then, they finished their walk to Adam's truck and the two girls got in the backseat and the two boys got in the front.

And that is how Jay Halstead met the sweet Georgia peach that is Hailey Anne Upton.

***

Jay, Adam, Will, Kim, and Hailey were all at a sports bar one Saturday night in October. It was loud, it was rowdy, everyone was going crazy over the football game on tv, and Hailey was totally over it. And Jay noticed.

"Hey," Jay whispered from his seat next to her. "You wanna get outta here?"

She turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "You'd wanna leave and not finish the game?"

In the past two months, Hailey had been spending a lot of time with Kim, and by default, she had been spending a lot of time with Adam, Jay, and Will. She will admit going over to their three-bedroom house they all rented together was a lot better than being stuck in her small dorm with her roommate. So, she went over there quite a bit to study with Kim. And, turns out she and Jay were both law studies majors, so they had a lot of the same classes, but they were in different sections, so they did a lot of studying together, too. And, she knew like most college boys, Jay loved his football. Not as much as Adam, but he watched it whenever one of his teams were playing. Which, was Chicago or Tennessee.

"Yeah," Jay started, "it's kinda loud in here anyway. And, it's just Tennessee playing. I'd be more likely to stay if the Bears were playing."

"Okay, let's get outta here. I know a great little diner we can go to for milkshakes. Pretty sure they're open until 11 and it's only 10, so we should be able to make it."

"Adam," Jay said over the game. Adam turned to face Jay. "Me and Hailey are gonna get out of here. I'll see you back at home."

"See you," Adam said and then turned back to his game.

"Guess we know where his loyalties lie," Hailey laughed.

The two of them stood up from their chairs at the table.

"You better get my friend home safe, Halstead!" Kim yelled.

"Yes ma'am," he said, borrowing a line from Adam. "You've got nothing to worry about."

Then, the two of them made their way out of the local sports bar and to Jay's truck.

***

"You've gotta be kiddin' me," Hailey said as the two of them walked up to the diner. "They're closed. Closed at 10 and not at 11. I'm really sorry, Jay."

"That's okay. Got anywhere else you wanna go? Or I can just take you back to your dorm if you want?" Jay suggested.

She sighed. "Just take me back I guess."

The two of them walked back to Jay's truck and got in. Hailey gasped at the song that was on the radio.

"What?" Jay asked, quickly turning to look at Hailey.

"This is my favorite song!"

Lights go down, wheels go around. I'm taking you home. Hoping for a slow song to come on the radio now.

Slow Dance in a Parking Lot by Jordan Davis continued to play through the speakers of Jay's truck.

"What's it about?" Jay asked.

"Slow dancing in a parking lot."

Jay listened to a few more lines and then decided to turn up the radio and jump out of the car.

"Jay, what are you--"

But he was already at her side of the car and pulled her door open.

"Dance with me?" he asked, sticking his hand out for her to take.

"What?" she laughed as a huge smile grew on her face.

"You said the song's about slow dancing in a parking lot and we're in an empty parking lot, so, why not recreate the song?"

Hailey laughed once more and shook her head and then grabbed Jay's hand. He helped her out of his truck and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist and they swayed to the music.

"Slow dance with you. Spinning you round by the Walmart sign and moving our feet over the painted white lines. Getting close to you. Making the most of whatever we got, even if it's just slow dance in a parking lot," Hailey sang quietly.

"Spin," Jay said as he held his hand up.

"What?"

"Spinning you round just like the song says."

Hailey laughed and reached for his hand and did a spin.

"Beautiful," Jay complimented.

"Yeah, right. That's was probably the messiest spin known to man."

"Well, um, it was beautiful. You're beautiful, Hailey."

She was glad it was dark so that Jay couldn't see the heat that rose to her cheeks.

"You're somethin' else, but thank you." She rested her head on his chest as they swayed to the rhythm of the rest of the song.

The song ended and the broadcaster started talking.

"Can I kiss you?" Jay asked.

"What?" she pulled away from his chest.

"I asked if I could kiss you. Was that too much? You know what, just forget--"

"Yes, Jay, kiss me," Hailey smiled and then she and Jay both leaned in.

It was just a peck, but it was their first kiss and despite it being in a dark parking lot late at night, it was still magical.

"You know," Jay began once the quick kiss was over, "there's a Walmart across the street. What do you say we go grab pints of ice cream from there and then you can show me your favorite country songs?"

"I'd like that. Adam didn't show you enough?" she asked.

"I've only got like thirty I like. I need to expand my horizons."

"Okay, let's go."

They held hands in Walmart and then picked out their respective pints of ice cream. Then, they went back to the parking lot of the closed diner and Jay plugged in the aux, allowing Hailey to show him her favorite country songs while they ate their ice cream from the pint and even shared with each other.

Hailey knew nobody would have a first kiss story like that.

Then, at the beginning of the winter semester, Hailey's roommate decided not to live in the dorms anymore. Hailey couldn't afford to pay for a dorm all by herself, so Kim offered to let her stay with her, Jay, Adam, and Will. So, that's how she ended up living with her boyfriend and sharing a room with her best friend, Kim Burgess.

"We're here," Jay announced. "Well, actually, we're a few streets away, but that's one of the lecture halls on your right."

You looked out the window to see a big red and brown brick building with white pillars on the steps. There was also a white sign telling you what building this was.

"Wow," you said in awe. "It's like those old-fashioned colleges. I love it."

"Well, we'll give you a tour and help you find your classes sometime this weekend before classes start on Tuesday. That way, you aren't getting lost on the first day. But, we'll head to the house for now and get all unpacked."

"Sounds good to me."

Five minutes and a few back roads later, you pulled up to a simple two-story brick house.

"Alright, let's get our stuff out and get inside," Jay said.

You stepped out of the truck and started grabbing some stuff out of the back seat.

"I'll jump in the truck and hand you the suitcases. Think you can grab them when I hand them to you?"

You nodded.

"Halstead!" you heard someone shout and you and Jay both whipped your heads around to see Hailey and Adam walking out of the garage and toward the two of you. Adam, well who you assumed was Adam, was carrying two cowboy hats and he and Hailey each had one on themselves.

"Catch!" Adam said and threw one to Jay where he was standing in the box of the truck. Jay easily caught it and placed it on his head.

Adam walked over to you.  "And one for you, darlin'," he said as he placed the hat on your head.

"Thank you," you said. "But I thought Kim was darlin'," you said. It'd make sense because if this guy was in fact Adam, then he and Kim were dating.

"You didn't tell her?" Hailey asked Jay.

"Didn't think there'd be a need to." Jay shrugged.

"Tell me what?" you asked.

"Well, Adam calls every girl darlin'," Jay explained. "It's just normal for him. And, down here, you're gonna get a lot of huns, sweeties, and sweethearts. A lot of waiters and waitresses do that here."

"And what do they call you two?" you asked, motioning to Jay and Adam.

"Sir," they said in unison.

"Oh, and you'll occasionally get a ma'am," Hailey added. "But, that one's rare because we don't look old enough to be called ma'am."

"Okay. And, uh, not to be rude, but what's with the cowboy hats?" you asked.

"It's a tradition we just started last year," Adam explained. "We unpack, wear cowboy hats, and drink moonshine. Oh, I'm Adam by the way, darlin'."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Y/N."

Jay handed you a suitcase and you set it on the ground. Then, you did the same thing with two more suitcases.

You grabbed your backpack from the front seat, your duffle bag from the back, and your two suitcases.

"Here, I can take those two for you," Adam said.

"Oh, okay," you said and then allowed him to take the two suitcases from you. So this is what Jay meant by southern hospitality since Adam was from Tennessee and all.

"Jay, lemme take your suitcase," Hailey said.

"Baby, I've got it," Jay argued as he jumped out of the box of his truck and closed the tailgate.

"The hell you do," she argued. "I see all your other stuff in the backseat and that basket of snacks you gotta carry in, too. Just lemme take your one suitcase."

"Let 'er take the suitcase, Halstead. Best to listen to your lady," Adam said.

"I like Adam already," you laughed.

He let go of one of the suitcases and tipped his hat. "Thank you, darlin'."

This caused all four of you to laugh and then you all went inside carrying both yours and Jay's stuff in one trip between the four of you.

***

"Shine in the fridge?" Jay asked after you and he had brought all your stuff to your room.

"Shine, Jay? How southern do you get when you're here?" you asked.

"Oh, he gets pretty southern, hun," Hailey said.

"See?" Jay asked as he pointed to Hailey. "Told you you'd get called hun."

"So, Adam's thing is darlin' and Hailey's is hun?" Hailey nodded. "And it's because you're from Georgia and he's from Tennessee?"

"That's right, darlin'," Adam confirmed and then turned back to Jay. "Yeah, shine's in the fridge. And Kim just texted and said she's on the way back with pizza."

"You got apple pie flavored shine?" Jay asked.

"Hang on. I'm just gonna grab 'em."

The three of you sat down on the bar stools at the counter and waited for Adam to pull them out.

"Alright," Adam started after he put the bottles of moonshine with sip lids on the counter. "We have peach for Miss Georgia Peach." He passed the peach bottle of moonshine to Hailey. "We've got apple pie shine for me and Jay. We've got strawberries and creme for Kim because that's her favorite." He turned to you. "And for you, I got you blackberry because it's not that high of a proof, so it's not that strong." He slid the jar to you.

"Nuh uh," Jay said quickly and grabbed the bottle.

"What the hell, Jay? Give it back! Adam said it's for me, not you!" you argued.

"Last I checked, you're only eighteen."

"Last I checked, Dad's not here. And I know for a fact you drank before you were 21, so pass me the blackberry shine, please."

"I'll take the first sip and then you can have it." He made sure the straw part was open and then he took a sip. "Adam, that shit's like a chaser compared to the apple pie one."

"I know. That's why I got 'er that one," Adam said.

You heard a door shut.

"Pizza's here!" Kim announced.

She walked into the kitchen with three boxes of pizza.

"I got us three pies," she said as she set them down on the counter. "We got one pepperoni and green olive, one supreme, and one meat lovers." She turned to you. "And you must be Y/N. I'm Kim. I see Adam already got you started on that Tennessee moonshine."

"Nice to meet you," you said. "You're from New York, right?"

"Yup, not New York City, though. More upstate."

"Of course she's from New York, Y/N!" Jay exclaimed. "Who else would call pizza a pie except for a true New Yorker?"

"I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks, Jay."

Jay raised his bottle of apple pie moonshine in a fake cheers and then took a sip.

"Now that's the strong shit I need to start off this semester right," he announced and then set the bottle down.

"Oh, and if your brother didn't tell you yet, he turns into a borderline alcoholic when he's at school," Kim told you.

You laughed. "He didn't tell me that, no."

"Better than being a caffeine addict like Kim and Hailey here," Jay argued.

"Shut up," Hailey said. "You know you're a caffeine addict during finals week just the rest of us."

"I was a caffeine addict in high school, so we'll see what happens," you shrugged.

Kim grabbed a stack of paper plates and set them on one of the pizza boxes. "Dig in. Oh, Y/N, did Adam get you the blackberry flavored moonshine?"

"He did. Haven't tried it yet because Jay has yet to give it back to me."

Kim quickly reached down and grabbed the jar of moonshine.

"Hey, Kim! She's only 18!" Jay protested.

"So? I know you drank an insane amount during your freshman year. So shut it." Kim popped open the sipping lid. "Taste."

You took a sip. It did taste like blackberry, but it was also sort of strong, but it didn't burn your throat that bad like you had read in books that alcohol did.

"This is actually pretty good."

"I know, right? And, me and Hailey will let you try ours when we help you unpack," Kim said. "But, do not try the kind the boys have because it's nasty."

"Baby, I don't know what you have against apple pie moonshine, but it's good," Adam said and then took a sip of his moonshine. Kim rolled her eyes. Adam leaned across the counter. "The New York in her is coming out, darlin'."

"Oh, shut up," Kim said and reached over to steal Adam's cowboy hat off his head.

"Baby, now I feel naked without it," Adam argued and tried to reach for the hat.

"Sucks for you. Now eat your pizza before it gets cold."

***

"Morning," Jay said when you walked into the kitchen the next morning. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good. it's nice not having to share a room with anyone like you and Adam, and then Hailey and Kim have to. It was fun having them help me unpack last night, though," you said.

Last night, Kim and Hailey had helped you unpack and when you mentioned that you didn't really know any country music, Hailey pulled up all of her favorite country songs to play for you. You especially liked Girl in a Country Song by Maddie and Tae. They showed you the music video for that song and it was about how, in most country music videos, girls had to dress up in little skimpy outfits and have the boys just stare at them all day. So, in their music video, they changed the roles, and the guys had to dress in skimpy clothing in the music video. It was pretty funny and the song was catchy.

"Let me guess," Jay began, "Hailey showed you some good country music?"

"Yup. The songs she showed me were pretty good, pretty upbeat. Didn't sound like a cat being put in a blender like old-fashioned country, so I guess that's good."

"What do you have against old-fashioned country, darlin'?" Adam asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"I dunno." You shrugged. "Too slow for me and I just don't like the voices I guess."

"You know what we ought to do, Jay?" Adam asked and Jay raised his eyebrows, silently telling adam to continue. "We should show her all the songs that are mentioned in What's Your Country Song."

"Wait, wait. I think I know that one. I think Hailey played it for me last night. Is it the one that mentions Chatta- Chatta..."

"Chattahoochee?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, that funny word. What even is that anyway?"

"It's a river that runs through Georgia," Jay answered. "Pretty sure Hailey used to go tubing down it like we're gonna do today."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "We're going tubing? Like behind a boat?"

Adam laughed. "Christ, Jay! Do you tell her anything?"

"He doesn't," you answered. "So, explain, one of you."

"Alright, I'll do it," Jay said as he poured milk on top of a bowl of Raisin Bran. You looked at him intently. "What we do is, the first Saturday that we're all together before school starts, we go on tubes and float down the Tennessee River. We bring a cooler full of snacks, sandwiches, booze, and water, and a waterproof speaker and we just have a fun time. Oh, and this year, you're the DD."

"Me?" you asked as you pointed to yourself. Jay nodded. "But I don't know where to go! I haven't even been in Tennessee for a full 24 hours yet!"

"Kim's like the mom of the group," Adam supplied. "So she'll still be pretty lucid and could probably drive if she needs to. But, she'll at least be able to give you directions on how to get back here."

You sighed. "Good. That makes me feel a lot better."

"Where are the other two girls anyway?" Adam asked. "They're usually up a lot earlier than we are when we go on the river."

"I think they were a little buzzed last night," you said. "Might still be sleeping."

While you were unpacking, you took a few sips of your jar of blackberry moonshine, but not a lot. You'd never really drank before, much less drank moonshine and you didn't really feel like puking from being drunk or having a killer headache from a hangover...at least, that's what you thought happened from what you had read in books and seen in movies and tv shows. But, Kim and Hailey had each finished like a quarter of their jar, so they had been buzzed last night. They weren't drunk because they could still walk in a straight line and knew what they were talking about, but they did have little dopey smiles on their faces while they helped you unpack.

"She's right," Kim said as she and Hailey walked into the kitchen. Hailey's hair was wrapped in a towel, alerting you that she had just taken a shower. "Adam, can you grab me an Advil?" She took a seat on a stool and put her head in her hands. "My head is fucking killing me. I didn't even think I drank that much."

Adam laughed. "You do this every semester, baby. First shine of the year and you always drink a little too much." He handed her the pills and a cup of water and Kim quickly washed the pills down.

"I just need some coffee," Hailey announced.

"We know, you don't get hangover headaches," Kim groaned.

"Yeah, but I feel exhausted all day. Everyone goin' for coffee? I'll make a bigger pot if that's the case."

Everyone said yes and Hailey started on the coffee.

***

"Okay, we got the tubes, the speaker, swimsuits are on, we have the towels, cooler," Jay rattled off as the five of you sat in his truck. "Anyone double-check the cooler?"

"I did," Hailey said. "We got water, the same shine from last night, some white claws, the sandwiches me and Kim made for everyone, chips, and a few other snacks."

"And I threw in a little first aid kit with bandaids, alcohol swabs, Neosporin, and other stuff. And I've got the sunscreen, too," Kim said.

"See, what'd I tell you, darlin'?" Adam asked as he turned around from his spot in the passenger seat. "Kim's the mom of the group."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kim said. "It means I'm responsible and prepared."

"Those two would get so damn sunburned and dehydrated if it weren't for Kim," Hailey said as she pointed to Jay and Adam in the two front seats.

"Thanks, Hails," Jay replied sarcastically. "Real nice."

"You're welcome," she said with a smile.

You leaned your head against the window. You were supposed to get stuck in the middle, but seeing as you got car sick easily, Kim said she'd switch spots with you.

"You okay?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, just, Jay really needs to turn on the AC before I throw up from motion sickness and how damn hot it is in here."

"Least you got that cowboy hat to puke in if you need to," Jay laughed as he reached for the AC. "You better not puke in my tuck or you will be walking home."

Adam smacked him upside the head.

"Ow!" Jay exclaimed and took one hand off the wheel and rubbed the back of his head. "The hell was that for?"

"Dude, be nice! Look at her!" Adam exclaimed.

Jay looked in the rearview mirror and saw you leaning your head against the window with your eyes closed and pinching your nose. You groaned.

"Here," Jay said and tossed you a blue bottle of Gatorade from his cup holder. "Drink this. Get you some hydration and electrolytes."

You took a few sips and then handed the bottle back to him. "Thanks."

"Mhm."

Kim moved the vents so that the AC was blowing on you more. "That help?"

"Little bit, thanks."

"Think you'll be good to go down the river?" Jay asked.

"Yeah, because then I won't be trapped in a hot box going sixty down the road!"

"She's right about that," Adam agreed. "You'll be lucky if you go five miles per hour, darlin'."

"Alright, so the motion sickness should stop. Thank God."

"Just rest your head against the window and listen to some country music," Jay said. "Speaking of that, who's controlling the music on the river?"

"I got it," Adam volunteered. "Everyone give me a song and I'll get the queue started."

***

You had been going down the river for about half an hour now and had finished a bottle of water and eaten a banana, too. You felt fine now. Adam was right, you were going slow enough that you didn't get sick, and you also weren't in the backseat of a truck.

"Hey, Kim," you started, "can you pass me my moonshine?"

"Mhm," she said. You guys had tied a cooler to a tube, which was then tied to Kim's tube. Because, the boys figured that between the five of you, she was the most responsible. They toyed with tying it to your tube because you probably wouldn't get shitfaced (like the boys most likely would) since you were underage, but you had never gone tubing down the Tennessee River before, so they decided on Kim. "Here, Hailey, hold my white claw."

She passed Hailey her drink and then maneuvered the cooler towards her, opened it, and handed you your moonshine.

"Thank you," you said and popped open the sip lid and took a sip. "Ahhh."

"Hey, drink it slow," Adam warned, turning towards you and practically yelling over the music. He and Jay were in front of the three of you girls so they could tell you if there were a ton of rocks coming or if it was super shallow coming up. "Heat makes getting drunk a lot easier because you keep drinking it because you're so thirsty."

"I don't think that's how it works, man, but whatever you say," Jay laughed.

Another song started.

"Hey!" you yelled. "I know this song!"

"Yeah, because it's old as hell," Jay laughed.

"Shut up! I like it!"

Baby you a song you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise. Down a back road, blowin' stop signs through the middle every little farm town with you.

"And this brand new Chevy with a lift kit, would look a hell of a lot better with you up in it. Baby you a song, you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise," the five of you sang Cruise by Florida Georgia Line while holding your drinks in pure happiness.

Because of this, you didn't notice Jay drifting off to the side toward the trees.

Jay let out a sinister laugh as he got closer. "C'mere, buddy, c'mere." The black snake stuck his tongue out and hissed. "Yeah, I know, you wanna scare Y/N, too." Jay held his hand out toward the snake. "I'm nice, I promise." The snake slithered and went up on Jay's hand and started up his arm. He turned once most of the snake was on him. He started using his other hand to paddle himself back toward the group. "Y/N!"

You turned and looked at him. You saw the snake on his arm and tears pricked your eyes. "No! No!" you shouted.

Snakes were your biggest fear and knowing that they were in the river that you were in right now was absolutely terrifying to you. And, with each paddle, Jay and the snake were coming closer and closer to you.

"Jay, please, please!"

Adam turned and looked at Jay and then back to you. "She scared of snakes?" You quickly nodded as tears ran down your face. "Jay! Stop! She's terrified!"

Jay laughed. "No!"

He was coming closer and closer to you.

Adam quickly paddled over to you and went in front of you. "I won't let it go near you, darlin', don't you worry."

"Uh huh," you said and grabbed onto Adam's arm in complete and utter terror.

Unknown to Jay, Hailey was making her way to him. But, she was behind him, so Jay couldn't see his girlfriend coming up behind him with her empty bottle of white claw raised high in the air.

He felt it before he heard her.

"Don't." Smack on the head with the empty can. "You." Another smack on the head with the empty can. "Do." Another smack on the head with the empty can. "That." Last smack on the head with the empty can.

"Ow!" Jay yelled. "Hails, stop!"

"Put the fuckin' snake back and stop scarin' the daylights outta your little sister or I will keep smackin' you, Jay!" Hailey told him.

"Fine, I'll put it back," he groaned.

"Hailey, keep that can raised above his head. If he tries to come back here, hit 'im again!" Adam yelled.

"You got it!" Hailey said. "Hear that baby? Your head is gonna come in contact with this 'ere empty white claw can again if you don't get a move on."

"I'm going, I'm going," Jay grumbled.

"Good, then you won't get smacked again."

"Just for all that," Adam started, "you wanna pick the next song, darlin'?"

"Can you play Better Dig Two by The Band Perry?" you asked. "That counts as country right?"

"Sure does, darlin'." He started messing with his phone. "Comin' right up."

"I told you on the day we wed, I was gonna love you 'til I's dead," you started to sing. "Made you wait 'til our weddin' night, that's the first and the last time I wear white."

"Snake's gone! Made sure he put it down and I even watched it slither away!" Hailey announced. "Put me in the ground, put me six foot down," Hailey joined in after she had finished yelling over part of the first verse.

"And, as for you, Jay," Adam started over the music and all of you singing. "You don't get to pick a song for the next hour."

"Son of a bitch," Jay muttered.

"Hey, you brought this one on yourself, buddy. So just sit back, relax, listen to our music choices, and enjoy your shine."

***

One week later

"And we're here!" Adam announced as the five of you pulled onto a long dirt driveway. "You ready to ride some horses, Y/N?"

"I dunno," you said. "I've never ridden a horse before."

"Oh, Adam'll make sure you're super safe," Kim reassured you.

"Okay, so whatever horse I ride won't buck me off?"

"Oh no," Adam said quickly, "we'll put Jay on Buck."

"Like hell you will!" Jay argued from the backseat.

Despite the studying the five of you had to do, you were at Adam's childhood home. Adam's parents had rented a cabin in North Carolina for the weekend since it was Labor Day weekend and needed someone to watch the five horses they owned.

His parents used to own a riding place with multiple horses, but since their kids got older, they stopped doing it because they were getting older and couldn't give the tours anymore. So, they sold most of their horses, left five so that their kids could ride them with their friends, but still kept the house and the land. Whenever Adam's parents went out of town, either he or his sister would come and stay over at their childhood home and take care of the horses. Seeing as his sister was married and just gave birth to a daughter, this left Adam. And, luckily for him, his parents were fine with some friends coming over to help Adam out.

"Relax, man," Adam began, "I'll ride Buck."

"Wait, is he called Buck because he bucks people off?" you asked.

"You would be completely right, darlin'. Which, would be the reason I'm riding him and neither of you four will be doing that."

Adam put the truck in park and you got out of the passenger seat. Yes, you had ridden in the front because Adam said you could because of your motion sickness. Jay wasn't too happy, but it was Adam's car, so therefore it was Adam's rules.

You got inside the house and it had two extra bedrooms, one of which was Adam's childhood room and had an extra twin bed in it for when his friends wanted to sleepover (Because, in Adam's words, it was only girls who shared beds at sleepovers and he said guys didn't do that, so that's why there was the extra bed). In his older sister's childhood room, there was a full-sized bed, so Hailey and Kim would share the bed and the boys said they'd move a couch into that same room for you to sleep on.

Adam opened the fridge once all of you had put your stuff in the rooms that would be yours for the weekend. "Ooooh, y'all, my mama left us some food!"

"Oh, he southern southern now," Kim laughed and walked over to the fridge. "What'd she make?"

"Let's see. We got fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cornbread, gravy, biscuits, grits, tater salad, peaches that she canned herself, and apple pie. She must really miss me if she cooked this much!" Adam laughed after he rattled off the food his mom made for all of you.

"Mama's cookin', paper plate, and tater tater salad," you said, quoting a song Jay had played on the way down here that you had taken a liking to and had added it to a playlist and been listening to it a lot the past week.

"Did you just..." Adam trailed off.

"She did!" Jay exclaimed.

"Is it that hard to believe that I know more than two country songs, y'all?" you asked.

All four of them gasped.

"She's southern! She's southern, y'all!" Hailey yelled.

"What?" you asked as you looked around at your brother, his girlfriend, and his two friends in confusion.

"That was yer first y'all, hun!" Hailey told you and pulled you into a hug. "Yer a regular southern belle now."

"Next thing you know, girl's gonna be fallin' for cowboys," Adam said.

"Aw, hell nah," Jay said. "Ain't no way she's datin' a cowboy. No way."

"Shit, Jay just went southern southern, too," Adam laughed.

"What can I say, when my girl goes hella Georgia, I go hella Tennessee," Jay said.

"That made zero sense, baby, but okay," Hailey said. She turned to Adam. "When we ridin'?"

"We can go right now if you want. Everyone good with that?"

You all nodded and then Adam told all of you to put on your cowboy hats.

***

"This 'ere's Maddy," Adam said before he helped you onto the horse. You put your feet in the stirrups. "They feel good? You can reach 'em well?" he asked.

"Yeah," you told him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, darlin'." He turned to Jay, Hailey, and Kim. "You three remember how to get on the horses since we rode so much last year?"

"We're good," Jay said.

"Hey, baby?" Hailey asked and turned to Jay. He turned to look at her. "You think you can help me on 'im? Pretty sure Diablo's gotten a lot bigger since I rode 'im last."

"Yeah, sweetheart, I got that."

"Did he just..." you trailed off and looked at Kim.

"He did," she confirmed. "She turns into sweetheart around this time every year. Jay gets really southern after only being here a week. Might also have something to do with Adam calling me sweetheart sometimes and he just picks up on it."

Jay helped Hailey onto the huge horse named Diablo and then got on his horse. You were riding Maddy, Adam was riding Buck, Jay was riding Sinbad, Hailey was riding Diablo, and Kim was riding Atta'Boy.

"All y'all need to watch me now," Adam announced from the front. All four of you gave Adam all your attention. "Well, mostly Y/N because she's never ridden before." He paused. "To make your horse stop, just give the reins a little tug. To turn, hold the reins on your right side, and pull towards your right hip, like this." He demonstrated and pulled the reins like he told you and Buck's head turned to the right. "And turn left, do the same thing on the left side. To make them go, just flick the reins a little bit, but they're pretty well-trained, so you shouldn't need to do that. But, if they still won't go, give 'em a little kick. I promise you won't hurt 'em. But, most of all, keep at least one hand on the reins at all times. Oh, and they will try to eat on the trails, but they ain't supposed to, so try and get them to stop by pulling up on the reins if you can.

"Any questions? Everyone sure their stirrups and saddles are good?" Adam finished.

Everyone answered with a chorus of "yeses" and then the five of you were off...that was until Maddy decided she was hungry about a quarter-mile (400 meters) in.

And, to make matters worse, you were in the mountains (because everyone is in the mountains here) and Maddy was bringing you closer and closer to a small ravine.

You did not want to have the experience of trying to control your horse and deciding whether or not to jump off or not and possibly being rushed to the hospital.

"Maddy!" you yelled and tugged up on the reins. Nothing. "Maddy!"

"Pull hard!" Jay yelled from behind you.

"I am pulling, Jay!" you yelled back. "Come on, Maddy!"

Shit, she was still moving towards the edge and trying to eat more.

"Pull to the left!" Jay yelled. You pulled. Nothing. "All the way around! To your left hip!"

You did so and she moved. Finally.

"Now straighten out the reins," Jay told you. You did. "And give her a kick to move."

You did and she continued walking...this time with a huge branch and leaves hanging out of her mouth because she had gotten herself a nice little snack.

"What's with all the yellin'?" Adam asked as he turned his head around and had Buck slow down a little bit. Then, he saw Maddy. "Maddy stop to eat? She acts likes she's starvin', but I promise you she's not."

You kept going and then you started going down a hill.

"Lean forward when going down a hill," Adam yelled back to all of you, "and lean back when going up a hill."

You started going down the hill and kept trying to maneuver yourself so you were in the middle of the saddle. You felt like you were leaning too much to the right, so you kept trying to fix it, but with Maddy still walking, it was kind of hard.

You clenched your stomach muscles to try and pull yourself back to center, but it wasn't working. You tried to push up with your left foot because you were leaning to the right, but that wouldn't work either.

"Just hold on tight, Y/N," Jay told you. "Adam!" Jay yelled as you kept leaning to the right and pulled the reins a little harder to make sure that Maddy would stop.

"What?" Adam yelled back.

"We need a little help back here!"

Adam turned Buck around and he got halfway to you and stopped next to Hailey and Diablo.

"She's fallin' off, you big dummy! You gotta go!" Adam yelled. He flicked his reins. "C'mon, go!"

It was like Buck knew what was going on because the minute he lifted his head up and saw you trying to stay in the saddle, he started coming towards you.

"Buck, stay," Adam said sternly and jumped off him. He walked to your right side. "Now, I'm gonna push your saddle to the left and I need you to lean the same way, okay?"

"Lean to the left?" you asked.

"Yup," he confirmed. "One...two...three."

He pushed up and you leaned to the left, which allowed the saddle and you to be re-centered.

"Can you reach the stirrups okay, darlin'?" he asked. "Or do you need 'em a bit higher?"

"I think I need them a bit higher," you answered. "I thought they were fine, but I guess not."

"That's okay. That's what I'm here for. Take your right foot out."

You did as he said and then he adjusted the stirrups and helped you get your foot back in. Then, he did the same for the left foot.

While Adam was adjusting your left stirrup, Maddy was curious about what was in his first aid bag that was attached to Buck's saddle.

"I ain't got no treats in there, you fatty." He put his hand on Maddy's head. "There's nothin' in there for you. Get out." She started chewing on a drawstring that was on the bag. "Okay, I guess you can chew on that."

"So, to get her to turn, do I just pull like this?" you asked and showed Adam.

"Yes, but put your hand further down the reins when you do that. Works better like that."

"Okay, thanks."

"And, if she keeps tryin' to eat, pull up hard--but not too hard and far that you make her walk backward--and if that doesn't work, give her a quick kick. I promise you won't hurt this little fatty right here."

"Okay, awesome."

"You good?"

"I'm good," you confirmed.

"Okay, so if you ever need to adjust yourself, just grab this 'ere saddle horn." He put his hand on the stub on the front of the saddle. "And put two hands on it...unlike me, and then just push down with your foot on which side you want the saddle to go. Pretty simple."

"Okay, got it," you said.

Then, Adam jumped back on Buck and you were off again.

***

You and Kim were sitting up on the bed in Adam's older sister's childhood room that you were staying in and watching a dumb comedy when Adam poked his head into the room.

"Both you up?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kim answered. "Why?"

"Well, I want to go to the rope swing, and Jay and Hailey both fell asleep spooning while watching some shitty movie in the living room, so do you two wanna go? I'm bringing alcohol."

"Adam, it's like 11 o'clock at night!" Kim laughed. "We won't even be able to see the water!"

"Honey," Adam laughed. "I'll leave the headlights of my truck on! I'm not that stupid to have us jump in blind!" He paused. "You two in?"

"Sure," Kim agreed and then turned to you. "Y/N?"

"Why the hell not? I'm in college, let's go!"

"Alright, I'll let you two get changed and I'll grab the towels and the booze," Adam said.

"Adam, if you're the one driving, you cannot drink a ton!" Kim told him.

"I know! I'll just take like two shots and use moonshine as a chaser."

"You got more moonshine?" you asked.

"Holy hell, Adam," Kim agreed.

"Where do you two think I was the past hour? I went into town and grabbed a few flavors. and, I got both your flavors, too. So, y'all can't yell at me. Now, get changed so we can go before Jay and Hailey wake up and decide they want in on this, too."

***

"You good to sit in the back, Miss Car Sick?" Adam asked you.

"Yeah, you said it's only like a five minute drive, so I'll be fine. Thanks for asking, though," you answered.

"No problem, darlin'."

Then, the three of you were off to this rope swing to jump into a river in the middle of the night.

Five minutes later, Adam threw his car in park and left the radio and headlights on. The three of you got out and Adam grabbed the booze and shot glasses and then you followed him around to the back of his truck. He handed the stuff off to you and Kim to hold while he flipped his tailgate down. Then, he used the flashlight app of his phone to see as he poured each of you a shot of gummy bear flavored vodka.

"Cheers to late night decisions and possibly bad decisions!" Adam toasted.

The three of you clinked your shot glasses together and then took the shots.

"Shit. That was strong," you coughed.

"Chaser, chaser," Adam said as he flipped open the sip cap on the blackberry moonshine.

He handed it to you and you took a few sips.

"Compared to that shot, this moonshine tastes like nothin'," you said.

"See? Told you it had a low proof!" Adam exclaimed. "Now, do you two want me to go first so I can show you how it's done?"

"That might be a good idea, yeah," Kim agreed. "You've only brought me here during the day and it's been over a year, so yeah, you go first, cowboy."

"Oh, that reminds me." He took his signature cowboy hat off. "Hold this for me, will you, sweetheart?" He held the hat out to Kim and she took it from him. "Thank you. Now, watch and learn, ladies, watch and learn."

Kim laughed. "Whatever you say, babe, whatever you say."

Adam walked up to the edge of the river and waded in the water to grab the rope. You and Kim stood on the edge of the river and watched as Adam dragged the rope with him as he stood on a rock, which was right below the tree that the rope was tied to. Then, he cinched the rope between his feet and jumped up and swung forward.

"Yeehaw!" Adam yelled.

Then, after a few seconds, he let go of the rope and fell into the river.

The rope dangled back and forth until Adam grabbed it and dragged it in with him.

"Who's next?" he asked as he held the rope out.

"You wanna go, Kim?" you asked.

"You sure you don't wanna go before me?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Go ahead," you said.

"You nervous, darlin'?" Adam asked you as he took his hat back from Kim and placed it on his head.

"A bit." You looked down at your feet. "Are there snakes in there?" you practically mumbled.

"Oh, darlin'," Adam said with a wave of his hand. "I can promise you that there's no snakes in there. You've never seen a snake in there have you, baby?" he asked Kim.

"Nope, no snakes. I promise. Now, I'll go, and then you gotta go because it's so much fun!"

Kim grabbed the rope and then made her way up onto the rock. She did the same thing that Adam did and soon it was your turn.

"I'm stealing your aux, babe," Kim said as she walked toward Adam's truck.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "I don't know why you can't just listen to the radio like we've been doing, but go ahead, baby."

Kim walked over to the truck and changed the input to aux and then quickly pulled up Spotify. From there, she pulled up the song Like A Lady by Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum. She turned the volume all the way up on her phone, plugged it into the aux, and hit play.

"Lady!" came out of the speakers as well as the opening chords.

You gasped as Kim came running back to you and Adam.

"How'd you know this one of my favorite songs?" you asked.

Ever since Hailey had played it for you on your first night in Tennessee when you were unpacking and sippin' on moonshine, you loved this song. It was all about feeling like a lady while wearing jeans and drinking and being comfortable with yourself and not needing a man.

"Y/N, I follow you on Spotify. I can see what you listen to. Now, go get to it, lady!" Kim cheered.

You smiled and turned around. You walked to the rock and climbed up on it just before the chorus. You grabbed onto the rope.

"'Cause I feel like a lady," you sang loudly to the music. "Sippin' on tequila with my Levis on."

You clamped your feet around the rope and jumped.

You felt weightless for just about one second and then you let go of the rope and fell into the water with a splash.

The water wasn't freezing, it was a little cold, but it was still decently comfortable. You started swimming back to the shore and grabbed the rope when it swung back toward you.

"Hell yeah!" Adam yelled as he ran up to you and took the rope so you could pull yourself up onto the river bank. "You did awesome! Did you like it?"

"I loved it! Let's do it again!" you yelled.

"See?" Kim said. "I told you that you'd love it!"

"I propose a celebratory shot for Y/N's first time jumping off the rope swing!" Adam said and the three of you headed back to his truck to have more booze.

And that is how you learned that you didn't get hangover headaches like Kim, but got hella tired the next day just like Hailey. But, a little hangover (despite not being old enough to legally drink) was all worth it because of how much fun you, Kim, and Adam had.

***

Months later

"Welcome to Chocolate Moose, everybody!" Adam announced and fumbled with the lockbox to get the key.

Since it was exam season, there was a tradition that started during the winter semester of their sophomore year that was where they'd all go up to a cabin (each cabin had a name and yours was Chocolate Moose) in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, which was an hour away from school, to go study without the temptation of parties and the libraries that were packed as hell and barely had any seats open because everyone and their mama had decided to study there.

He unlocked the door and opened it.

You walked in and were in awe. When you walked in, you saw a small kitchen complete with a stove, oven, microwave, and pots, pans, plates, bowls, cups, mugs, and silverware stored in cabinets and drawers. There was also a small pantry to your right the minute you walked inside.

Off of the small kitchen were the living room and the dining area. There was a circular wooden table with six chairs and there was a tv and a couch that folded out into a bed. Right next to that was a bedroom with a bathroom, which also had its own tv in it.

And, if you walked to the end of the living room, there was a door that led to the first-floor deck that overlooked the Smoky Mountains. On the deck was a wooden table that matched the wood of the deck and six stools, so it would be a nice place to study or eat breakfast or sip coffee in the morning.

The stairs to go to the second floor were above the table (so the table was tucked beneath the second set of stairs). When you got up there, there was a pool table, a bubble hockey table, another couch that folded out into a bed, and a coffee table in front of said couch.

To the right of the couch and coffee table was a California king-sized bed with a trunk in front of it which held the bedding for the pull-out couches. Then, there was a dresser with a mirror to the side of the bed and a closet. There was also a full bathroom with a washer and dryer and a dressing table (so tons of counter space and two mirrors) upstairs as well.

And, there was another deck on the second floor. This one didn't have a full-sized table, but it did have two chairs with a small table between, and a small couch complete with a bunch of throw pillows on one end of the deck. This deck too overlooked the beauty that was the Smoky Mountains.

"Who's that?" you asked fifteen minutes later after you had finished touring the cabin and figuring out sleeping arrangements.

It had been decided that Adam and Kim would take the first-floor bedroom and that you'd take the pull-out couch on their floor. Hailey and Jay would sleep upstairs and you wondered why you couldn't take the upstairs couch like you wanted to because Jay was quick to tell you no.

You knew they weren't gonna try to do the nasty up there since there was no door shutting the upstairs off from the downstairs, so you had no idea why he wouldn't let you sleep on the pull-out couch upstairs.

"Who's that?" you asked again while looking out the kitchen window.

Then, you saw a head of red hair in the driver's seat and rushed out the door to where the person parked their car.

"Will!" you shouted as he got out of the car. "I missed you!" You wrinkled your nose at what he was wearing: a pair of blue scrubs.

"I drove here right after I got off a twelve-hour ED rotation," Will told you. "Hence the scrubs."

"I would give you a hug, but who knows what kinda bodily fluids have been on those."

"Good choice. We'll postpone the hug until after I take a quick shower and change."

Adam, Kim, and Jay came outside and said their hellos to Will, and Jay took Will's backpack, making a joke saying that it felt like he stuffed a ton of rocks in there.

So, now you knew why you couldn't sleep on the pull-out couch upstairs: Will was sleeping there.

***

"Fuck!" you yelled as you felt a bee sting you on the upper part of your left inner thigh.

"What?" Adam asked.

You, Adam, and Kim were outside at the table on the first-floor deck studying while Will was upstairs studying and Jay and Hailey were studying one of their law studies classes at the kitchen table together.

"The fuckin' bee stung me!"

"Well, you were swattin' at him, darlin'," Adam said, which earned him a smack to the arm from Kim.

"Because he was between my legs!" you argued. "What was I supposed to do? Let him fly up my shorts and sting me there? Oh hell no!"

You got up and walked inside.

"Will!" you shouted the minute you closed the door to the deck.

"Y/N! Keep it down!" Jay scolded. "We're trying to study!"

You had made it up the first set of stairs and leaned over the railing. "Well, I just strung by fuckin' bee, so I think I can yell a bit, Jay! Will!"

"What?" he said and ripped out his headphones when you got all the way upstairs. "Med school's no joke, you know!"

"Well, what do I put on a bee sting?" you huffed.

Will sighed. "Hold on. They asked me to be the one who brought the first aid kit and I'm glad I did."

He got up and then came back with a bottle of lotion.

"Put this on it. Should cool down the stinging. Tell me if it gets worse or starts itching."

"Okay, thanks."

You put it on and hoped it would be better soon.

***

Okay, so this bee sting wasn't getting better. It was actually getting worse.

It had been itchy all day and you were currently shaving your legs in your shower. You felt the place where the bee had stung you and it was swollen as if someone had shoved a disk the size of an Oreo in your leg at the place the bee had stung you.

You got out of the shower, got changed, and walked out of the bathroom where country music was blasting and Jay and Adam were playing a friendly (okay, so maybe not so friendly) game of pool.

"Hailey, is my bee sting supposed to be super itchy?" you asked as you sat down on the couch next to her.

She and everyone else was drinking one of their two allotted white claws. Yes, during finals week you had all decided there needed to be a daily cut-off for alcohol so that you could all get your shit done. And, it helped keep everyone accountable since everyone in the cabin was only having two per day...and you weren't spending a ton of money this weekend on alcohol.

"Um, none of mine have ever been," she said. "Will!" He turned to look at her from where he was sitting and intently watching the pool game...mostly to make sure neither Adam nor Jay cheated. "Her bee sting supposed to itch?"

"Not unless she's allergic to bees...and she's not." He stood up. "Go lay on the bed and let me take a look."

"Oh, fuck no! I am not letting my brother look there!"

"Y/N, I'm a med student. I've seen a helluva lot more than a bee sting on your inner thigh. You can even go put on some short spandex if that would make you more comfortable."

You currently had on loose-fitting shorts that you knew would fall back to expose what underwear you were wearing if you let Will take a look. "Actually, I think I'll go do that," you said.

You quickly grabbed a pair of spandex from your suitcase and went back into the bathroom and changed into them.

"Y'all check for a stinger?" Adam asked.

Will must've filled him in when you were changing your shorts.

"Shit," Will cursed. "I knew there was something I forgot to do."

"What kinda fuckin' doctor are you if you forget to check something like that?" you asked Will rhetorically. "Hailey, I'm gonna need that empty white claw bottle to smack Will over the head with like you did to Jay on the river."

"Sorry, hun," Hailey apologized. "I ain't finished with this 'ere can yet."

"I'll hit him!" Jay yelled, putting down his pool stick and grabbing his empty can.

He hit Will on the arm with the empty white claw can as hard as he possibly could.

"The fuck?" Will yelled. "Why'd you do that?"

"I dunno." Jay turned to Adam. "Why were we hitting Will, again?"

"Holy shit," Adam muttered to himself. "Because he forgot to check Y/N's bee sting to see if the stinger was still there."

"Oh, okay. That was stupid, Will."

You laid on the bed and let Will look at the spot the bee stung you. Then, he put on a pair of gloves and pulled out a pair of tweezers.

"Hailey?" he called. She looked up expectantly. "Can you come over here and hold up a flashlight? I think I found the stinger."

Hailey got up and turned on the flashlight on her phone and crouched down next to Will.

"That good?" she asked as she finished positioning the phone so the phone's flashlight was pointing directly at your bee sting.

"Yup." He looked up at you. "Now, I'm gonna put one of my hands above the bee sting, that way you won't be able to see the tweezers go in. Sound good?"

"Mhm. At least this is better than when Jay tried to attack me with a snake!"

Will laughed. "I bet."

Five minutes later, the stinger was out and Will told you to put Neosporin and a bandaid over it just so you didn't keep itching it because he told you the itchiness wouldn't go away immediately.

"I need a drink," you said after you were all done.

Hailey handed you a raspberry white claw from the mini-fridge next to the couch and you popped it open.

"Thanks," you said.

"You're welcome."

"Everyone shut up!" Adam yelled. "This is Jay and Hailey's song...well, they didn't exactly meet at a bar and Hailey wasn't drinking a white claw, but it was a Saturday and those two did ditch us. So, dance you two!"

They tried to object, but Adam dragged Jay over to Hailey and Kim pushed Hailey up off the couch and towards Jay.

"Sittin' over there in the corner, baby, I saw pretty red lips workin' on a white claw," you all sang along to Single Saturday Night by Cole Swindell. And, you'd be lying if you said that this song didn't remind you of the story that Jay had told you about the first time he took Hailey out when she was bored one Saturday night in a sports bar. "Shakin' to a little Shook Me All Night Long. And I thought, man, what a beautiful sight."

You smiled. Four months ago, there'd be no way you'd know this song. But, thanks to your brother's friends and his girlfriend, you knew so many more country songs. But, most of all, if your first semester of freshman year was any indication, you were going to have the time of your life going to college here in Tennessee.

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading! Again, please remember to like/reblog and comment because I love reading all your comments and seeing that you voted because that means you enjoyed reading the imagine! As always, if you want to be added to my taglist, just tell me and I’ll add you! Again, I am donating all my proceeds on buy me a coffee until the end of AU-gust to Save The Children to help the children in Afghanistan. Buy me a coffee here.

Taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl@dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e @i-like-sparkly-things @herecomesthewriterwitch @liampayne88

[andie01writing]

Found You

“You know the best way for you to get over a man is to get under a new one,” Charlotte grins

I roll my eyes at the tall blonde. “It’s been a month.”

“That just means it’s time.”

“We all don’t work on the same timetables, Sis,” I smirk. “I’ll get under a man when I feel like being under a man.”

“Or woman,” she smiles. “I don’t judge.”

“Nor should you,” I chuckle.

“Come out with me tonight.”

“Ummm…No. I have a date with a bubble bath.”

“You are so boring.”

“That’s how I like it.”

“Well I don’t.”

“No one cares,” I grin.

“Xandra,” she whines. “Come out with me.”

“No,” I mimic. “Don’t you have a date with Becky tonight anyway?”

“House party. Everyone is going to be there. Your dream boy might even be there.”

“What dream boy?” My face heats up.

“You’re horrible at playing dumb.”

“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Six foot two, dark hair, slightly balding,” she recites. “Usually covered in face paint. Drools over you on a daily basis.”

“No one has ever drooled over me standing next to you and Megan or you and Becky.”

“Except for him.”

I’m silent, concentrating on shining my ring boots.

“You’re beautiful Xandy,” she sighs, nudging me with her knee. “I’m amazed more of the guys aren’t drooling over you.”

I snort softly not looking up from my boots.

“You know if you weren’t my sister…”

“Don’t finish that sentence.”

“All I’m saying is you shouldn’t waste yourself on someone who doesn’t appreciate you.”

“I’m not. I left him.”

“I don’t want to see you waste away alone in a hotel room either.”

“So, you want me to throw myself at a man I don’t even think has any interest in me.”

“Not throw yourself at him. Put yourself out there. Maybe bring your sis and sis-in-law breakfast on your way back from his hotel afterwards.”

“Char…”

“Just come out,” she whispers.

“Fine,” I sigh.

“Thank you,” she squeals. “You can borrow…”

“I’m not wearing your clothes. I keep telling you I don’t have your legs.”

“No, you don’t but we’ll find you something.”

X

“Go,” I sigh as Charlotte approaches. She has been hovering ever since I rooted myself near the drink table shortly after arriving. “Spend time with your girlfriend. Socialize like the butterfly that you are. Stop worrying about me.”

“Just wanted to tell you that your man is here,” she smirks, filling her cup with spiked punch.

“Good to know.”

“Are you going to at least talk to him.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Xandy.”

“I’ll think about it,” I restate.

She opens her mouth to reply.

“You wanted me to come out. I came out. Now please let me handle my night at my own pace.”

“You know I just want you to be happy,” she sighs.

“I know.”

“You’ve always been happiest in a relationship.”

“I can’t force one though. I will find one when the time is right.”

“But…”

“If I promise to talk to him at some point will you…”

“Hello Ladies,” a voice interrupts.

“Konnor,” I nod, dropping my eyes.

“Is there any way I could talk to you in private, Xandra?”

“Sure,” I smile, raising my head. “Scram Sis. Find your girl.”

“I’ll check on you later.”

“What can I do for you, Big Guy,” I ask as Charlotte disappears in the crowd.

“This isn’t really my scene,” he sighs glancing around.

“Join the club. I have a social butterfly for a sister who doesn’t know what the word no means.”

“I was dragged out by Vik. Strangely this isn’t his scene either.”

“Huh,” I huff taking a sip of my drink.

“He’s here because he heard you would be here.”

“Are you going somewhere with this convo?”

“He’s pining away for you. If he doesn’t have a chance you need to let him know.”

“And if he has a chance?”

“Tell him,” he winks.

“Not you too,” I mutter. “Listen, what happened to the old fashion notion of a guy approaching a girl. I’m all for equal opportunity but I feel like it’s all on me.”

“You’re a Flair…”

“No, I’m not. I wasn’t raised a Flair. I don’t have the Flair name.”

“Your father is Ric Flair.”

“So?”

“It’s intimidating.”

“Do you find me intimidating?”

“I don’t want to date you,” he smirks. “Just let the man know where he stands. Go on,” he shoves me gently towards an open doorway across the empty kitchen.

Peeking around the doorframe, I find Viktor leaning over a pool table. Straightening, I square my shoulders before stepping into the room. “Hey,” I breathe.

“Hey,” he grunts.

“So, it’s been brought to my attention that I need to have a conversation with you.”

“Fucking Konnor,” he breathes.

“And Charlotte,” I chuckle. “So, is this disinterest your feelings or are you trying to play it cool?”

His shoulders drop slightly as he turns to eye me. “You play,” he asks motioning to the table.

“Some.”

“Cues are over there,” he points.

“Want to make it interesting?”

“Hmmmm,” he hums as I close the door behind myself. “How do we do that?”

“Strip Pool?”

“W…Wh…What,” he sputters.

“What? Are you that bad of a player?”

“Do you really want to be naked in the middle of this party,” he smirks.

“We’ll see.”

X

“You’re horrible at this,” Viktor chuckles.

The game allowing us to talk although most of the conversations involved flirting.

“You’re only up a couple games,” I smirk, leaning a hip against the table.

“Three to one,” he returns the smirk. “Take something off, Cutie.”

“You already got me out of my underwear,” I smile remembering the look on the man’s face both times I dragged the garments from beneath my clothing. “So, are you a boob,” I ask my hand dropping to the hem of my shirt, “or a butt man?” My hand slides to my skirt.

“Both,” he grins, his hands covering mine. “But I think we should start right here,” he slowly peels my top up my torso.

“One thing first,” I state stopping his hands. Icy blue jumps to my face. “Want to take me out to dinner tomorrow night?”

“Going about everything a little backwards don’t you think? Get you naked then go on a date.”

“You can say no.”

“Now why would I want to do that,” he smiles, removing my top completely.

“Is that a yes,” I grin as his eyes sweep down my body. “I’ve been told I’m intimidating.”

“It’s kinda hard to be intimidated of you right now. Other feelings, yes. Intimidated, no.”

“Then answer the question,” I smirk moving around the table to face the man again.

“I would absolutely love to take you out.”

“So, my sister was right when she said you drooled over me daily?”

“Not daily,” he chuckles softly. “But…”

“But?”

“I won’t deny it has happened.”

“Mmmm,” I hum as I rearrange the pool balls on the table. “Winner breaks,” I motion to the table.

“I think I’ll let the loser go first.”

“You just want to see me bent over in front of you,” I smirk taking my cue from the man.

“If I wanted that,” he whispers as a hand wraps around the back of my neck pressing me down towards the table. “I would do this.”

“And then what?”

My skirt is yanked up over my hips. “What would you like for me to do,” he purrs against my ear as he palms my ass. “Hmmm?”

I try to press myself back against him but he holds me firmly in place with one hand.

“Uh uh,” he chuckles, his hand coming down in a sharp smack across my bare skin.

I moan in response.

“You like that?” His next smack is harder.

I nod.

“Use your words.” Another smack.

“Yes,” I whimper.

“Yes what?” Smack.

“I love it,” I moan, pushing against his grip.

“Wanna know something,” he growls allowing me to press against him. The hard ridge of his erection sliding along my ass. “I did too.”

“What do you want to do about that,” I groan, grinding my ass against him.

“I’m more interested in what you want to do about it.”

“Fuck me.”

“You kiss your daddy with that mouth,” he nips the shell of my ear.

“No,” I growl reaching back to wrap my fingers through his hair dragging him forward. “But I will kiss you with it.”

He groans into my mouth pressing me tighter against himself, one hand drifting down to tease along my slit. “Is this all from me,” he questions as we break apart, fingers sliding across my clit.

“Yes,” I pant. “Please.”

“Please what, Sweetheart?”

“I want…I need you,” I whimper. “Please. Fuck me.”

He spins me, lifting me onto the table in one move. His mouth attacking my neck and chest. My hands slip between us to work on his belt and the button of his jeans.

“Take these off.”

He ignores me, lips circling my nipple. I allow my head to lull back and enjoy the sensation of his hot mouth on me for a couple of minutes before pressing him back.

“I said take your damn pants off, Tease.”

“Yes Ma’am,” he smiles, dropping the denim and boxer briefs from his hips. “Birth Control?”

“I’m covered,” I state wrapping my legs over his hips pulling him forward again. He immediately slides into me. His forehead presses against mine as he stills, allowing me to adjust to him. “Fuck,” he breathes as he starts to move slowly. His hands gripping my hips tightly. “You ready?”

“Yes,” I nod wrapping my fingers around the edge of the table as his thrusts slowly become harder and faster.

I lean back allowing him to slide me up and down his cock.

“Beautiful,” he grits watching my breasts bounce with each meeting of our hips.

“Vik,” I groan, arching up as he hits exquisitely deep. My muscles tighten around him as my orgasm edges closer with each thrust.

“Not yet, Sweetheart,” he growls pulling from me. “Flip back over.”

“Wha…”

“Flip over,” he growls, rolling me. My feet barely touch the floor before he is pounding into me again, one hand guiding my hips as the other comes down to smack my ass again.

“Fuck,” I groan.

“Are you getting close again?”

“If you stop again, I’ll never fucking forgive you,” I growl pressing back to meet his thrusts eagerly.

“What am I gonna do about that mouth,” he chuckles, his fingers leaving my hip to toy with my clit again.

“I’ll show just how dirty it can be. After our date tomor…Fuck, Vik, right there. Don’t stop.”

“Are you going to scream for me, my beautiful Xandra?”

“I’ll do anything you…Fuck yes,” I screech as he pounds into me. “Vik, don’t stop. Please,” I beg. “Don’t…Viktor,” I scream as my orgasm washes over me in a tidal wave.

A guttural groan follows as his hips slow. Finally, he collapses forward onto my back. “Damn,” he pants.

“Yeah,” I agree. “So what happens now? I mean do I just gather my stuff and go or…I don’t know. I’ve never really done anything like this before.”

“If you think I’m done with you, Sweetheart, you are sorely mistaken,” he chuckles, his lips trailing across my shoulders. “I have so much more planned for you tonight. Plus, we have a date we need to plan.”

“I’m so glad I found you here,” I smile over my shoulder at him.

'Cause I'd never found you

At that random house party that I didn't even wanna go to

The way you move

Had me first time feelin' in a while I should make one, too

Sometimes the finish line is just the start of something new

[ilovefandoms102]

Part 11- Shape of My Heart

Pairing: Rudy Pankow x Plus Size Reader

Summary: Falling in love with someone you can never have is the worst feeling in the world...

Taglist:

@jeyramarie @drewswannabegirl @sexualparkour @teamnick @jiaraendgame @agirlwholovescoffee @outerbongs @jaxxandcomet @velyssaraptor @baby-pogue @they-write-once-in-a-blue-moon @must-be-a-weasley-92 @kaitieskidmore1 @ma10427 @ifilwtmfc @lasnaro @justcallmesams​ @judayyyw​ @lonely-kermit​ @gviosca​ @iamaunicorn4704​ @jellyfishbeansontoast​ @fernweh-fangirl​ @runway-to-my-aid​ @eb15​ @hurricane-abigail​ @tangledinsparkles​ @fandom-phaser​ @sunwardsss​ @http-cherries​ @bibliophilewednesday​ @evaporatedrosepetals​ @thetomatosaucee​ @tomatosauceagent​ @redosmo​ @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch​ @obx-direction-sos​ @mxltifandoms06​ @kindahavefeelingskindaheartless​

Part 10 Part 12

Note: After crying over the last chapter, I was finally able to muster up this one. Also just in case anyone was wondering, we’re pretending COVID19 is nonexistent in this story because it would just ruin everything and I’m not about it!

=============================

It’s been a month and a half since Rudy told me about his short film, our conversations became less frequent which worried me deeply...

I didn’t want to drift apart from him, and that’s exactly what I feared was happening now. I tried to indulge into my school work, but it became harder to focus when I kept checking to see if I had a text or at least a SnapChat from him. I didn’t want to bother him by blowing up his phone either, becoming an annoyance he’d soon grow tired of. I expressed my concerns to both Maddie’s on our daily FaceTime call, hoping to get some reassurance for my MIA boyfriend.

“We’ve been in a lot of meetings with Jonas and Netflix to try and get season 2 of OBX approved, I don’t even know why we have to be there because they don’t really talk to us.” Maddi B commented.

“Plus Rudy has that short film on top of everything, so I imagine all of this is taking up his time. Don’t fret though, he said in our last meeting how horrible he felt that you all couldn’t talk as much with the both of you being so busy. He talks about you to everyone and how much he misses you.” Maddie C inputed.

“Awww, he’s so sweet. Maybe I am overthinking things, when I go to work tomorrow I’m demanding a week paid vacation because I need a break. Midterms are coming up and I’ve barely had any time to study.” I sighed.

“You need to focus on school, that’s the most important thing right now. You know Rudy would say the same, you need to take that week to relax and get everything in order.” Maddie B pointed out. 

“Yeah you’re right, jesus I forgot I have to fucking close at work tonight. I’m going to start applying to different places that actually care about their employees, and will work with school schedules.” I huffed, swinging my legs off of my bed.

“We’ll let you go then babe, love you!” Maddie B called, waving in the camera.

“Love you y/n!” Maddie C said, blowing a kiss in the camera.

“I love and miss you guys, I’ll see you later.” I smiled, hanging up.

=================================

Work was awful, being a shift manager was not all it was out to be. I hated dealing with difficult people and sometimes the other employees. I had just finished have a shouting match with this lady who was down right insulting both me and the other cashier working. I was so glad to be locking up once we closed, practically sprinting to my car, I was stopped by the cashier I had worked with tonight.

“Hey y/n, I-I was wondering you know if um..” he said.

Shit, I knew where this was going...

“Maybe we could hang out some time, I think you’re really pretty and uh...yeah I think we should get together more.” he spoke.

“That’s nice and all pal, but she has a boyfriend.” was heard from behind us.

I froze in my spot, tears coming to my eyes. I whipped around to see Rudy leaning against my car, his blue eyes zeroing in on the guy. He scurried off, leaving just Rudy and I.

“Hi baby,” Rudy spoke, a smile so wide on his face.

He looked different, having grown a mustache and slight beard. His hair was longer too, but still handsome as ever. I let out a watery laugh once I was out of my trance, blinking to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. I dropped my stuff in front of my car, throwing myself in his arms.

“Oh my god, are you real? Are you really here?” I blubbered, pulling back to hold his face. He held me tight against him, combing some stray hair from my face.

“I’m here, you’re even more beautiful than I remember.” he gushed, beaming as he laid his forehead to mine.

“I look like shit Ru, I don’t even have makeup on.” I giggled, feeling his facial hair under my fingertips.

“You don’t need it, fuck I’m so happy to see you. I’m sorry we haven’t talked much, I’ve been so busy in meetings and filming.” he sighed, shaking his head.

“You came just at the right time, I have a whole week off of work.” I said, both of us grinning wide.

“Plenty of time for you to show me around then.” he smiled.

Rudy gripped my face in his hands, crushing his lips to mine. I had craved them for so long, having been deprived of the feeling. My heart went soaring, the feel of his facial hair tickling my skin. He moaned into my mouth, his hands moving to hold my hips to bring me closer. My fingers weaved their way into his now long blonde hair, tugging at the roots slightly. 

I pulled away once I became dizzy, pulling my hands back to caress his face. He gave me little kisses all over my face, fully caging me against him so I couldn’t move away. Rudy laughed along with me, pulling back fully now.

“Guess you’ll be my chauffeur for the week babe.” he smirked, opening my door for me.

I chuckled as I got in my car, Rudy jogging to the passenger side. He held my hand for the drive to my apartment, pulling it to his lips to kiss the back of it. We jammed out to some of our favorite songs, dancing crazy. I had the windows down so we could blast my speakers, probably waking everyone in the neighborhood up. Rudy even pulled out his phone to record us rapping Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice, he got embarrassed after the first chorus though because that was the only part he knew and I was still going.

“Ok show off, trying to outshine me on my own Insta story.” he scoffed teasingly.

“Not my fault you don’t know the lyrical poet Ru,” I joked, sticking my tongue out at him. 

===================================

I threw my bag on the end table as soon as we walked into the apartment, Rudy taking a walk around. He picked up pictures, looked at my bookcase, and even pulled out some of the books I had to skim through. I sat on my couch to flip through some movies for us to watch, not wanting to miss a single moment spending time with him. Rudy walked into my kitchen, opening my cabinets, and my fridge. 

“Baby, why don’t you have anything to like eat or drink?” he called from the kitchen.

“I uh...I couldn’t afford to go to the store this payday. I had to pay my rent and my car payment which is basically my whole check, and the rest is for gas to school and work.” I murmured, knowing he was going to be upset with me.

“So like...what do you eat then?” he asked, peaking his head around to look at me.

I stared at the floor, chewing on the inside of my cheek. I could feel his anger radiating off of him, the tension in the room becoming nerve wracking. I was a poor college student ok, I didn’t have the luxury of my parents buying my way through it. I was lucky some nights to even have stuff to make a fucking cheese sandwich.

“I...I don’t.” I confessed, hearing a sharp scoff come from Rudy.

“Get your shoes back on.” he demanded, snatching my keys.

“Wha-...Where are we going?” I questioned.

“This shit isn’t going to continue, not on my watch. I am seriously pissed you didn’t tell me this.” he snapped, taking me aback for a moment.

“It’s not that big of a deal, you’re being over dramatic! It makes me lose weight so what’s the fucking problem?!” I yelled, Rudy whipped his head around, his mouth hanging open.

“The fucking problem is that I’m not going to sit here and watch my girlfriend struggle when I can help. Let me help you and stop being so stubborn. If you want to lose weight for you then that’s fine, but I don’t want you to have it in your head that you need to do it for me. You’re perfect to me.” he stated, earning an eye roll from me. 

“Alright Ru, let’s get this over with.” I sighed, secretly melting at how sweet and thoughtful he is. 

===============================

Goofing off in the store was all fun in games until I saw him..

Nick.

The guy that shredded my heart, still yet to be fixed. The guy that messed me up so bad I never thought I was deserving of love until Rudy came into my life. Rudy was in the middle of talking to me when I abruptly spun around and high tailed it out of the aisle. 

“What’s wrong?” Rudy asked as soon as he caught up to me. 

“We need to leave.” I declared.

“Babe, we haven’t even made it through half the store I-” he spoke.

“Hey y/n, long time no see.” someone said, my blood turning to ice. I turned around to see Nick with some of his friends, smirking at me. 

“Um..” I stuttered.

“Who’s blondie?” Nick scoffed, pointing at Rudy. 

“I’m her boyfriend.” Rudy said, glancing between the two of you. He must have put the pieces together from the very uncomfortable expression on my face.

“Boyfriend? Really y/n? You’re so desperate you hired someone to be your boyfriend? Pathetic really...” he laughed, his friends joining. I just wanted to ground to swallow me whole, I had to turn my head so they didn’t get the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

“You’re Nick, the piece of shit who thinks he can just toy with women how he pleases.” Rudy concluded.

“Guilty, y/n and I had a good run didn’t we?” Nick commented, going to touch my shoulder.

“You lay one finger on her and I swear to god you’ll regret it.” Rudy said, his voice going an octave lower. 

“Oh please man, you seriously don’t have to keep your act up. How much is she paying you?” Nick asked, tilting his head.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but this isn’t an act.” Rudy hissed.

“Guys that look like us man don’t go for fat chicks.” Nick chuckled.

“The fuck did you just say?” Rudy bellowed, getting in Nick’s face. I had to intervene now, I couldn’t risk a fight in the middle of the store.

“Rudy please, he’s not worth it.” I said, tugging on his sleeve.

“Nice seeing you again y/n, remember what I said last time we spoke.” Nick cackled, leaving with his posse.

“What did that fucker say to you?” Rudy inquired, his chest heaving with anger.

“I’ll tell you when we get back, let’s just go to a different store.” I offered, checking out whatever we had in hand before heading to the car.

================================

Rudy spent way more than I told him he could, but I wasn’t surprised he didn’t listen to me. It took us four trips to carry in all the stuff we bought, I’m sure I’d be stocked up for a year now. I was seriously exhausted, and my mood hadn’t gotten any better since our run in with Nick. Rudy had tried to cheer me up, but I think he knew that my mood wouldn’t be saved tonight.

I planned on taking a quick shower, but I couldn’t stop my mind running through my past. My chest started to burn, my hand came over my mouth to conceal my sobs. I had hoped the water would drown out my cries, but Rudy still heard them. He shed his clothes and jumped in the shower, taking me in his arms. I leaned my head on his chest as I sobbed, his lips moving to kiss my wet hair. 

“I don’t understand! What did I ever do to deserve that!? I did everything for him! I was some sick game our whole relationship, how fucked up is that?” I laughed humorlessly.

“What did he say to you?” he inquired.

“He told me that I would never find someone to love me, that I was undeserving of love, and that I was the ugliest being on this Earth who was stupid to think I ever stood a chance with him.” I recalled.

“That’s fucked up, you should have let me beat his ass.” Rudy muttered, switching places with me so he could wash his hair.

“He’ll get his karma one day, someone will shred his heart beyond repair just like he did mine.” I whispered.

“I’ll have the best time repairing it then,” Rudy shrugged, leaning to plant a sweet kiss to my lips.

“Are you sure you want to go through that Rudy, I-I’m not...I’m not as happy go lucky as everyone thinks I am, I’m broken deep on the inside.” I said, shaking my head as I looked down to the tile.

“I wouldn’t of chased after you if I didn’t want all of you.” he spoke, tilting my chin up.

“Well I guess so but-” I started.

“It’s you and me against the world, no one will ever compare to you y/n.” he inputted. 

I kissed him hard, a moan leaving his lips. He pinned me against the wall, showing me exactly what I meant to him....

[rhmg-au]

The sequel to the first one, only in the Toppats’ POV.

More will come for these two stories, but beware of major angst ;)

This AU belongs to @rhmg-au . Please follow them, reblog their art, give them fanart, support them in any way possible, etc.

TW: Killing, blood, gore, implied torture

———

Ellie was panicking.

She was extremely scared at the moment, scared that something could go wrong, scared that they could be wiped out from existence, scared that the government had already did something to Henry.

A few days ago, the leader of the Toppats orchestrated a plan to rescue the captured members. Of course, it came with risks, risks that they could be killed or taken along with them, and there’s the matter of that killer…but Henry wanted to save them, and he’ll be willing to take the fall if it meant that they were safe.

So, they went along with the plan, and it was mostly successful…mostly.

They were able to come and collect who they came for, but Henry…wasn’t so lucky.

He was captured.

Since she is his right hand lady, Ellie took the responsibility as temporary leader until they were able to bust him out, or even be permanent if…she doesn’t want to think what would happen to him now that he’s in their grasp.

If only she had gone back for him, despite his claims that he’ll be alright. God, she felt like such a failure for letting him be taken.

After what he had done for her, helping her out of the Wall, she failed to return the favour.

Her mental state wasn’t as bad as Reginald’s though…anyone would be doing better than him. Ask anyone on this space station and they’ll say the same thing as her thoughts.

What happened during the launch sequence made something inside of him snap.

And she couldn’t blame him, anyone who had to see their close friend be taken away by your enemies and you couldn’t do anything about it would be enough to shatter someone’s confidence.

She’s growing very concerned for him as the days past though…especially after Henry was captured.

She was sitting in the office, the one where the leader’s got. Stacks of papers were filling her desk, most were finished but there’s still uncompleted paperwork she has to do, and she felt like she was having a headache from them. Great power comes with great responsibility, and that quote literally defines what being the leader of the Toppat Clan is like.

She’d seen bags under Henry’s eyes from time to time, and now she’s probably going to have them too at this rate.

There was a knock on the door, causing Ellie to look away from her work. “Please come in.”

The door opened up, giving in light into the room. Sabine Setorion entered, her sky blue hair swaying despite there wasn’t any wind inside the space station, the face that contained that unhealed third-degree burn and stitched scar as well as a purple earpiece used for communications is recognizable to anyone. Another thing that made her stand out from the rest was that she had all of her limbs replaced by cybernetics, well almost all of them. The only one left is her right arm. Her spine, left arm, and legs were reconstructed with metal, similar to Right.

“I’m not bothering you, am I?”

Ellie shook her head, swinging her chair around to face her. “You aren’t, really. What is it you want to talk about?”

Sabine shut the door behind her, blocking the light out and leaving them in near darkness again, had there not be a lampshade on the desk, or the blinds opened to showcase the stars. “About your proposal of going down to earth and saving Henry. The executives agreed on it.”

The red haired perked up at this, the meeting ended around 3 hours ago, when she proposed the idea of raiding the government to get their leader back. Not that she just wanted to not be leader anymore, she wanted Henry back safe and sound.

“This can have terrible consequences, but bringing home our family is worth the risk.”

“But we’re also gambling the lives of the rest for the others. I do want Henry back as much as you do, him being my childhood friend and all, but I don’t feel comfortable with endangering the lives of the other Toppats.” Sabine adjusted her blue top hat with a metallic band around it, feeling like it would fall off at any given moment.

“I understand your concern, but as long as we’re well prepared and everything goes smoothly, we should be able to go through without anyone falling.” Ellie stood up from her seat and placed a hand on her shoulder, in attempt at comfort.

“Well, if you’re really sure. I’m just worried is all.” Sabine smiled a little at the gesture.

“We’re in this together, no matter what comes our way.” Ellie mirrored her smile.

“We should prepare ourselves for tomorrow then, huh?”

“Alright, alright. It’s nighttime from what the clock said, so let’s head to bed.”

———

The day arrived.

Screams were heard, bullets were fired, blood was shed.

The raid began approximately ten minutes ago, when the Toppats gathered around the government base, readying their weapons and the signal Ellie would give for them to attack.

As soon as it was, the stage was set.

“The cells are there, come on!” Ellie urged the two Toppats following her, Reginald and Earrings, to where the holding cells are located.

Obviously, Reginald was onboard with the plan, it was mostly for Right rather than Henry, it was understandable. He wanted his right hand man back after weeks of separation. Ellie was feeling the exact same, except that Henry wasn’t gone for the same time period as Right was, she’s still determined to get them both back regardless of time differences. Earrings was there because of her battle functions with her earrings, she’d be a great distraction provider should the need arise.

A few soldiers stood in their way, preparing their guns to shoot at them. Earrings was quick to react as she shined her diamond earrings at them, blinding them and causing them to drop their weapons, prompting an easy victory as they overpowered the disorientated soldiers.

“I swear if they done something to Righty…” Reginald mumbled to himself, the pistol tight in his grasp as he shot the last bullet into one of the soldier’s head.

“If they did, we’ll tear this place down. I can guarantee that, isn’t that correct El?” Earrings turned to Ellie, who finished off the last military person with a kick to the gut. 

“How could I pass up that opportunity for what they did to us? Our family?” She asked, her red hair flying against the wind that came up.

“Let’s get going, before more soldiers come.” The former leader of the clan mentioned, overlooking the chaos that came with their attack.

It was horrifying to watch, to say the least. Many Toppats and soldiers charging into the fray and either getting severely hurt, killed or apprehended, that last one only applying to the clan members. It felt painful to watch, as their family get slaughtered for the sake of everyone else in the clan, or they get captured. Either of them doesn’t sit right with them.

What they’d give to stop this endless cycle of hurt.

But they weren’t going to make senseless wishes as if they would come true. They need to take matters into their own hands, things aren’t going to resolve on their own. Miracles are just myths that aren’t true and are only told to children.

Ellie and Earrings nodded quickly, the three of them going into the cells, rushing down the halls with metal bars speeding past them as they try to find their acquaintances, while also shooting down guards on their way.

They stopped at one particular cell, sitting inside was a familiar individual.

“Henry!” Said male perked up from where he’s sitting on the bed, rushing over to the bars, a smile crossing his face at the sight of seeing the clan still well.

“Ellie? Reginald? Earrings?” He questioned, as if he thought this was a dream or his mind decided to torment him with a fake promise of getting out of this enclosed space of a cell.

By the time that sentence was spoken, the door was opened by the blonde Toppat, having picklocked it while he was talking. “It is, we’ve come to bust you out.”

“Where’s Right? Is he here somewhere? Is he hurt?” Reginald immediately asked, still not relived, he’ll only be once he finds where Right is and brings him back with him safely.

Henry looked away for a moment, a face full of guilt. That didn’t mean any good. “He’s not in the cells-”

“Then where is he?!”

“He’s…been rewired.”

“What?”

“Rewired, they turned him to their side. I tried to snap him out of it, but I wasn’t able to.”

A moment of silence initiated between the four, everyone but Henry speechless. Reginald was easily the one to be the most devastated, Right working for the enemy by force…he knew the government wasn’t kind but this was insane.

“Those…heartless bastards!” He shouted suddenly, his grip on his pistol and his fist clenched so tight it made his knuckles underneath his black gloves turn to a stark white. “I can’t believe they had the will to do this! This is torture!”

“Reg, we need to keep our heads calm, being rash isn’t going to-” Ellie knew how dangerous it was to go headfirst into trouble out of sheer rage, despite she herself doing that a lot.

“We’re going to save him, take this whole place down and get the clan back to the orbital station.” Reginald’s tone of voice changed to that of commanding, stern, full of rage. At the moment, he didn’t care about anything other than Right, the clan, and taking down the government, too blinded by anger to think clearly like he usually was.

“We need one other person before we go.” Henry’s voice spoke up, getting out of the cell with the three, a revolver tossed into his hand by Ellie. “He may work for the government, but it’s clear that he’s seen just how horrible their general is.”

“But are we really going to make it out if we save him?” Reginald questioned, getting some of his composure back, but it wasn’t enough to quell his rage.

“He genuinely tried to help, I saw it all. He’s worth saving just like him.”

Before an answer could be made, a bullet shot through the air, barely missing Earrings’ arm.

The four of them turned to the guard who fired at them, and he was about to pull the trigger again when he was stabbed from behind, by a sword it seemed. The body was discarded off from the blade, revealing a bloodied faced Sabine standing there, breathing heavily.

“You need any help?”

“Nice timing there.” Earrings muttered, a sigh of relief leaving her.

“Actually, I have a proposal. You and Earrings can go find Right while the rest of us can find whoever Henry needs to look for.” Ellie suggested, looking around to see if anymore guards are coming to arrest them.

It doesn’t seem like the worst of ideas, yet it does has it downfalls.

But if that guy is really important…and if he wants to focus on his goal of finding Right…

“Very well. Come along, Earrings.” Reginald took her arm and ran down the hallway, back to where they first got into the cells.

“Who is this person you say is important?” Sabine asked, once the two are out of sight and Ellie made sure no more guards are coming in to arrest their asses.

“He is actively trying to help Right, he now sees just how horrible the general is. We need to help him, just like how he’s helping us taking back our friend.” Henry explained, gesturing with his hand for the two to follow him.

“Wait, is he out on the battlefield?” Ellie asked, running down the hall.

Henry shook his head, his expression now showcasing guilt. “No, before you guys came, I saw that bastard hit him on the head, knocking him unconscious, and dragged him away from me.” His face contorted into rage. “He’s doing something to him, I know of it.”

“We’ll get him back, and when we do, are you going to have him join the clan?” Sabine questioned, all of them now outside of the cells as they continued to follow where Henry’s heading.

“He’ll be much better off with us than that bastard, that’s for sure.” Henry responded, already having made up his mind about it. He would more than likely accept, since the experience with such an abusive asshole had an impact on him.

They soon reached a building, it was stark white on the outside, it had glass doors, revealing a white hallway behind them. It didn’t look as bright as it could have been, since the sky was a dark grey, it didn’t quite captured the full beauty of the construction as the clear day and sunlight did.

“This is the place where he’s taken to?” Ellie questioned, shooting a soldier who tried to attack them.

“Yeah, he told me about this yesterday, a lab. I believe this is where he is.” Henry answered, pushing open the glass doors to allow them to enter.

“And if it’s not?”

“Then we keep searching until we find him.”

They ran down the white hallway, stopping at two other doors that are made of plastic, or some other material. The windows giving them a little sneak peak inside, an operating table was there, multiple types of equipment were there, and something looked like it was raising above the floor as if it was being consumed but it got stuck halfway through the ground.

Soon, they were treated to the full version. It wasn’t too different to an average lab, but the technology there and the lifted up piece in the floor was different than a regular lab.

The group looked at one another, nodding in unison. There was only one way to settle their suspicions, well more of Henry’s but you get the point.

They quickly headed down the stairs, an opened door at the end.

When they got to the bottom of the stairs, they saw who was in the room.

General Galeforce, Dr. V and two other people in chairs, seemingly strapped down to them, dried blood, cuts, bruises, and a torn uniform were seen.

Immediately, Henry held up his revolver, a dark glare on his face now. “Let them go, now.”

Sabine let her eyes wander to the blonde woman, hers and Dr. V’s eyes widening when they recognize who the other was.

“Sabine?”

“Mother?”

[yamithediaperdork]

It’s a small world after all (Harry potter)

It's a small world after all

Not for the first time since hooking up with potter, Malfoy found himself wondering if the brunette's deep pockets and wonderful vigor under the covers really was worth some of the messed up things he was into. because really, Draco handled the first few kinks with ease. who didn't like a good paddling now and then? and a nice big enema could be fun and do wonders for your bowels! But then it started to get odder and odder and what should of been giant red flags were just ignored when they realllly shouldn't of been. Hence why today Draco found himself shrunk down to the size of a shrimpy 8 year old..and dressed like a 1 year old. He was in black and green light up sneakers, with green socks and then a SHORT pair of black shorts with green trim on the waist and legs,that puffed out from padding Draco was wearing under them, and the shorts had a teddy bear with a green Mohawk on either side. The t-shirt had the same bear on it, but the T-shirt was green with black trim on the waist, neck and sleeves and had the bear saying 'rock on all my little buddies!' as it was apparently a charter from some local baby show called teddy rocks. His blond hair had been grown the cut and fashioned into a mushroom cut and all and all he was less the happy.

"Your a git, you know that right?" Draco asked harry as they walked from the parking lot towards the green grass of the park. "I know I know..but a lovable git who's going to spoil you SO much..as long as your a good boy today." Harry said as now on the green, they headed for the play structures. "oh why wouldn't I be a good boy? I'm only a 24 year old man the size of a 8 year old and dressed like a 2 year old. why would I be in a mood to cause chaos and torment?" Draco huffed and chuckled, having some veryyyy evil plans. step one, find a group of preschooler and tell them the truth about saint nick. step two would be tel- "Right about that. if your a total pain in the ass BRAT, We'll be coming back here tomorrow, with you normal sized and WISHING you had something as mature and cool as that outfit on." Harry said, interrupting Draco's train of thought. '..DAMN IT!' Draco whined mentally. "I was never really gonna do anything." Draco lied out loud and Harry just smirked. "well I suppose it's not a lie if you behave." He said, picking out a picnic table for him to sit at and read, and before taking his book out of the diaper bag he'd brought, he took out a plastic pail and shovel and pointed over to where he wanted Draco to play first: the sandbox. Draco rolled his eyes but his was not to argue in this case, at least till Harry whistled and got the attention of all the other parents and kids around and waved Draco back over. before with everyone all distracted, ignoring him he hadn't worried so much about how much his diaper showed/crinkled, but now with all eyes on him.. Draco was red faced and whining as he got over to Harry. "Now now, none of that. this is what YOU'VE been begging ME for for a month.. no take backies little man. and you almost forgot your paci." Harry said and then clipped a green and black paci to Draco's chest and then popped the nipple in Draco's mouth, kissing red faced boys burning forehead. "Love you little guy." Harry said and then turned Draco around and with a firm pat or too on the tush sent the blond towards the sandbox.

Naturally the other parents wanted to know what was going on, why was Harry's son in diapers and all that jazz. Making use of the fact that there were all muggles and a charm to enhance well..his charms, Harry had them buying every line of the bullshit story he was coming up with on the spot. "So yeah, about month and a half ago I come home and there's my so called big boy who whined to be allowed to stay home without a baby sitter..and he's wearing a homemade diaper made out of towels safety pins and a prayer." Harry was saying.  "Little Draco looks up at me and squeaks out 'daddy!' and then the laxatives he'd taken combined with the shock..welll yeah. " the other parents chuckled and nodded. "So getting him all cleaned up, we have a talk and he says he misses being treated like a little guy and wanted the full experience..which included this trip to the park..Among a few other things." Harry said.

Draco glared over at Potter and while he couldn't make out what was being said, he was positive 90 percent of it was bullshit. His own reception at the sandbox had not been as fun, with two 5 year olds that at his current size looked semi fordable, blocked his entrance. "Sorry, ya gotta be potty trained ta get in here." Said the left boy, with dirty blond hair. "mmmfffh mm fffmmm." Draco protested around his paci. he knew from experience that removing it on his own was a bigggg nay nay. "pffft, what are you trying to say diaper boy?" the other kid asked, a brown haired boy who reached and tugged the paci out of Draco's mouth. "Phleg..I said I AM potty trained!" Draco huffed. "Right..mister massive pampers and a dummy is potty trained. Blond said, rolling his eyes. "I-I'm not diapered!" Draco lied. for some reason suddenly it felt super important to get into the sand box. "I-I just have a MASSIVE butt!" the younger boys exchanged a look, but just because they were young that didn't mean they were stupid. "Alright dummy boy, we'll give you a chance to prove your claim. drop your shorts." Brown said. "I..What!?!" Draco yelped, wetting himself a little. "You heard him. if your NOT a diaper wearing baby then you'll be in undies. So drop your shorts and show us!" the Blond said and then moved in. "or we could take'em ourselfs." "N-No! wait It's ok! I don't need to play in th-" Draco yelped and turned away to waddle back to Harry when he felt the waistline on his shorts being grabbed by two sets surprisingly strong hands.One pair went to the left and one pair to the right and the poor shorts that had been struggling to maintain the bulk of Draco's diaper ripped wide open. Now everyone on the playground could see the sesame street print diapers Draco was wearing, and watch as Big bird, cookie monster and others faded from the front. "Bobby Micheal Landrew!" Roared a blond lady. Ike James Jone!" Added in a brunette. the five year olds  went from looking happy and high fiving, having been about to torment the diaper baby but then heard their mothers voices. "run?" Bobby asked. "Run."  Ike agreed and so they did, though were caught in short order. All of this was a back round blur to Draco as with his nappy on display and the laughs and giggles coming up he could feel his bowels kicking into over drive. 'N-Not here..not now....' Draco thought, seeing people come into focus as he henched over and let out a loud fart. "Is he going to.." Came a girls voice. "Bwhahahaha what a loser!" "gross big baby." "Poor kid, " all this and more filled Draco's head and as a large load started to fill the back of his diapers he threw back his head to bawl for daddy, but harry was already there, hugging him.

"Shhh it's ok." Harry coo'ed. He was still waiting on Draco to finish loading his diaper., be a little more stable before he moved him for for his diaper change. "I'm pooping my diapie." Draco whimpered and whined, hugging Harry and burying his face in Harry's shoulder. "well I didn't think you smelled like this all the time." Harry joked and got a small chuckle out of Draco. "your not funny." Draco said and sniffled and rubbed a eye, looking like any other upset little boy coming around, trying to keep a pouty face but flashing toothy grins instead. "Well Humor is tricky like that. Ready for me to move you little guy?" Harry asked. Draco bit his lip and looked over his shoulder at the massive load he'd made, the diaper was sagging big time, and gulped. "Is it even gonna stay ON till we get back to the car?" Draco asked. "welll good news and bad news on that front." Harry said, having already figured out what was just dawning on Draco. "Bad news, no it won't hold up till the car. Good news: it'll hold up till we get to the picnic table." He went quiet to let that sink in and watched Draco's face. confusion played on it at first, then slowly a dawning, ..there we go he figured it out and then a even worse all face red blush took over and Draco yelled. "YOU ARE -NOT- CHANGING ME IN PUBLIC,ON THAT TABLE! YOUR JUST NOT!" As he yelled and huff, stomping a foot Harry had to bite his touge to keep from laughing. the other adults and kids didn't have to be that polite so the park filled with the sound of laughter again as Draco glare and huffed, stomping his feet as he screamed at everyone to stop laughing at him. harry noticed one of Draco's shoelaces had come undone and went to yell out a warning but it was too late. tripping forward Draco showed a amazing amount of agility to turn it into a roll of sorts and ended up sitting on his squishy butt, mouth open and eye twitching. "I-I shoulda..taken..the blow to the noggin." He whined and conked out from humiliation overload.

Draco woke up and rubbed his eyes, then slowly opened them. "Man, Ron you would not believe the nightmare i-" Was what Draco was trying to say but as he got his eyes opened he realized he was looking up at the sky..at the park. which meant that his horrible humiliating nightmare wasn't a nightmare, it had really happened!!! Looking around he noticed there were a lot of the other parents semi surrounding the table though some of the older kids were there too. 'what are they..' Draco wondered then it dawned on him. 'Of course, they're making a human wall so no one can just walk by and see my junk..' with that grim reminder Draco sat up some to look down, realizing he had his paci in his mouth. "Hey sleep head, we're just about done. I was starting to think you were gonna waste the rest of the day in sleepy town." Harry coo'ed. "mmmffh mmk."Was Draco's witty reply. with Draco all cleaned up and the two boys who had made him basically mess forced to carry the dirty diaper to the furthest away trash can,It was time for Draco's next diaper. His junk had been on display for a little longer then he was comfortable with (and that was a clock that only went at micro seconds) and as a breeze blew over the lunch table Draco's little nub twitched once..twice.. then a spurt of pee came out and Harry BARELY ducked out of the way. "Knew I should of brought the pee guard." Harry chuckled and Draco whined and wiggled. spotting a stuffie not that far away Draco snagged the stuffed bear and put it over his face to hide. "Aww it's ok little guy. happens to big babies like you. at least you didn't hit anyone." Harry coo'ed and rubed Draco's tummy. 'not helping!' Draco thought though that was somewhat of a lie. the tummy rubs felt nice.

With Draco re-diapered and it being somewhat MORE bulky then the las, He was forced to full on toddle like a 1 year old while trying to go anywhere in the park. This meant he'd take all of 7-10 steps, slowly, arms out for balance and ended up plopping on his butt while the crowd watched and chuckled. ALSO super not helping was the fact that harry had decided since everyone had seen Draco's diapers, why bother with the spare shorts to cover them up? when Draco when to polity (Read: Have a fit) over this and demanded cover, Harry had held up a skirt and Draco shut up fast. After falling on his butt for the 20th time Draco just stayed there, sitting on the grass and arms crossed while Harry and the parents laughed..and the other kids didn't exactly hold back either. "Awww what's wrong buddy?" "Done falling on my butt!" Draco huffed and pouted, then pointed to the sand box. "Carry me!" this, while meant to show everyone Draco wasn't a roll over and Harry was his bitch..instead got MORE laughter as Harry signed. "Well I suppose." he teased and lifted Draco up and carried him over. After setting him down in the sandbox and making sure Draco was good, Harry decided to stay with him to make sure that no more bullies came over.

Draco was blushing, fuming and mad, but as he played in the sandbox he felt all of that just drifting away as he lost himself in the fun. Making sand castles and showing them off to harry he really did feel like a little boy more then once. Including when anther boy, a 6 year old who had a pull up sticking out of the top of his shorts asked if he could join in. For the next few hours the pair of not quite potty trained boys took over the sandbox with Harry and the boys dad hitting it off and the only break being for juice boxes and cookies.

The only downside for Harry as Draco made a big baby buddy was while Tyler and his dad were nice, there was a whollle park he had wanted Draco to explore. Still with Draco in a natural little mode Harry couldn't break himself to break it up and there WAS always tomorrow anyhow. "Draco buddy, time to go." Harry called as the sky was turning orange in the evening. Draco naturally, pretended not to hear him and kept playing with the dino's that Tyler had brought to the sandbox. "Draco Malfoy Potter, I'm speaking to you." Harry said again. in the sandbox Tyler was trying to get Draco's attention, apparently it going over the kids head Draco was ignoring him on purpose. Tyler's dad was watching in amusement. "Draco unless you wanna be my little baby girl for the rest of the summer, out of that sand box now." Harry said and fought back a laugh at how Draco froze hearing that and then there was a puff of loose sand going up from a muffled fart. "Uhhh Tyler it was nice meeting you, I think it's time for me and daddy to go home." Draco said quickly and turned to waddle out of the sand box only to plop back on his butt. between the girth of it before, multiple wetting and the sand that had ended up in the diaper, Draco was helpless! "D-Daddy! Help!" Draco whined. '...that's in, I'm never letting him be big again. too damn cute.' Harry thought and came over, picking Draco up hands under his shoulders and eyes flashing. Just like that Draco's face scrunched up and his bowels went into over drive as he was there in Harry's arms. "A-Ah Daddy daddy I'm gonna-" Draco tried to yell out a warning but instead let out a massive loud fart that echoed and then with Tyler and his dad getting a good view, filled his diaper with massive lumps, crying out and gasping as they made their way out. "You're gonna what?" Harry asked, laughing and pulling the smelly boy in. Draco glared and went to answer but his paci was popped back into his mouth. "I know what your doing silly. too bad I got to bring any changes with me beyond that first one." Harry lied. "You'll just have to ride home stinky..of do you wanna stop for a happy meal on the way home?" Harry was asking now, heading for the car and bouncing Draco on his hip now. "...Want nuggets n fries." Draco mewed. "Good boy~"

The end

[whatcouldgowrong-ohthat]

Between the Ink and Papers Ch. 3

Summary: Steve and Peggy have been divorced for a year and Sarah is still starting to find her groove in it. However, it becomes a lot easier when she and Typhanie realize it might be time for her dad to start dating again.

Pairings: tattooartist!dad!Steve x Reader, Typhanie x Sarah, Peggy x Logan, Bucky x Natasha

Word Count: 1592 words

Warnings: Mentions of past self harm, there might be cussing?

Between the Ink and Papers Masterlist - Masterlist to Other Works

Previous Chapter

--

Y/N had seen a lot of smiles in her life. Working as a counselor, they ranged, but the one Sarah gave her now was absolutely terrifying. She knew, in this moment, she would never be able to live it down. “Uh…Sarah? What are you doing here?”

The grin never wavered. Sarah intertwined her fingers, resting her chin on top of her hands. “Oh, just working. What about you, Miss Y/L/N?”

If Y/N could crawl into a hole, she would. This wasn’t exactly a setting she would have ever expected to cross with one of her clients. “I – “ Before she could stutter out an answer, a rhyme or reason for being in a tattoo parlor with her tipsy friends, someone came from the back.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, surprised to see someone that looked like that working at a tattoo shop. He looked like he should have been a model. His blonde hair was swept back and those bright blue eyes surveyed the room as if he owned the place.

And maybe he did.

“Hi. I take it you ladies are the ones Bucky told me about?”

“That’s right,” Y/N heard Wanda say, walking past her and to the counter he now stood behind. “All five of us wanted to get something.”

Y/N was hardly paying attention to the conversation. She was far more focused on trying to figure out why this guy looked so familiar. He held out a hand to Wanda. She promptly shook it, her grip lingering a little too long before he shook hands with Hope, Carol, and Val as well. They introduced their names before he looked at Y/N.

She noticed the dark circles under his eyes, but refused to let herself think too much about the cause of them. Instead, she took his hand. “I’m Y/N.”

“Steve Rogers. This is my place.”

Rogers. Y/N looked at Sarah. She was still watching, that amusement never wavering from her eyes. He was her – Oh boy.

As Steve took their IDs and handed them to Sarah, he explained how they would most likely have to divvy the women up between himself and Bucky. It would keep them from spending too much time here at least. Y/N also had a feeling it was something to do with getting Sarah home at a reasonable hour, but there was no way she could be sure. For all she knew, Sarah had a bed here that she slept in.

Oh, dear god, that was a horrible thought. Why would she put that idea in her head?

“Hey.” Y/N blinked, looking at the hand touching her arm. Hope was watching her curiously, clearly concerned but not willing to voice it. “You okay? You’re not already regretting this, are you?”

“No, of course not. It’s…” Y/N glanced at Sarah. Her back was to them, copying their IDs to the paper each woman would need to sign. “Complicated.” She remembered all the sessions she had with the young girl. How she was struggling. Was it because she was spending nights like this? How much of Sarah’s life was being kept out of their sessions? And what sort of stability did she really have?

“You comin’?”

Y/N jerked, looking towards the back. Steve was waiting there, and her friends were already putting down their pens. Sheepishly, she scribbled her signature on the paper. It wasn’t her first tattoo. She knew the drill. Sarah took the papers, straitening and filing them away as Steve led them down the hall. “Have fun,” she called just as Typhanie came out of the bathroom.

Seeing the smirk and glimmer in her girlfriend’s eyes, Typhanie frowned. “What? What’d I miss?”

--

“Hey, Buck!’ Steve’s fist collided with the doorframe, making the brunette inside jump a foot in the air. He grinned before jerking a thumb over his shoulder. “Got some customers for you if you’re interested.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, rising to his feet as Carol and Val stepped in. “Hi.” He was sheepish, obviously feeling bad for not noticing they were ready for him. “Um…come on in and we’ll talk about what you guys are lookin’ for.”

Across the hall was Steve’s room. He opened the door, propping it against the wall. “There’s two chairs there. If you want to wait and watch, you can. If not, you’re more than welcome to hang out up front and us come and get you.”

There was an awkwardness in the air. None of them really knew who wanted to go first and it seemed none were interested in making the first move. Y/N chuckled and said, “I’ll go first. You two want to wait up front?”

“Yeah! I saw the records and wanted to check those out, if you don’t mind,” Wanda said, already hightailing it out of the room.

--

Hope was quick to follow her. It had nothing to do with her wanting to be out of the room, Y/N knew that. It had everything to do with the fact that Wanda was the wild card of the group. Leaving her alone with two teenagers up front… No, Y/N definitely appreciated Hope going with her.

“Uh…guess that settles that.”

Y/N squeaked. She turned back to Steve, unable to fathom how she had forgotten that he had been in the room with her. “Sorry, it’s been a weird night.”

Steve chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t have to tell me twice. I’ve heard some weird stories.” He gestured to the table as he sat on his stool, rolling to her side. “So – is this a group tattoo? Or each is getting their own thing?”

“A bit of both actually,” she explained, voice a little softer than before. “We’re all getting the semi-colon symbol.”

Steve had been reaching for his sketch book, faltering when he heard that. A lot of people got that symbol. He knew the reason behind it. Sparing a glance at her, Steve understood why she was so quiet. Instead of grabbing his sketchbook, he rolled the stool so he sat in front of her. On the table, she easily towered over him, but that was normal. Gnawing at the corner of his lip, Steve wasn’t sure what to say so he simply started with, “Hey.”

She looked up, meeting those pretty baby blues of his as he offered a small smile. “Hi.”

“You don’t have to go into detail if you don’t want, okay? This is about your comfort.” He noticed the way her shoulders dropped and smiled. There. That was what he wanted to see. “Do you just want the black ink or something else?”

Y/N shrugged. “I don’t know. I figured the black ink was sort of party of it.”

Steve grabbed his sketch book. “It doesn’t have to be.” He took one of the pencils off the table and flipped to a spare page, tracing quick, rough strokes.

Y/N was amazed by the way he so easily moved the pencil, as if he knew exactly what stroke needed to go where. Her brain didn’t work like that. She wasn’t that creative when it came to artistic things. She tucked her hair behind her ear, sparing a small glance his way. Steve was concentrating, putting as much focus into this as if he were creating something completely extraordinary instead of a little tattoo. His brow was furrowed, pinched in the middle, and his teeth were worrying his lip.

He really wanted to make this right.

“We could do something like this.”

Y/N straightened, making herself focus on the paper as he turned it her way. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling when she saw the design. It was simple. Needing only a little bit of color. And it wasn’t so big or over the top that she couldn’t hide it for her job.

“I love it.” She turned back to him. The smile on her face made Steve proud of the creation even though it wasn’t anything fancy. It meant something to her. And that made him happy for her.

She shrugged off her jacket, setting it aside and turning her body back towards him. It wasn’t Steve’s first time seeing scars, nor would it be his last, but seeing those faint, risen lines on the inside of her wrist...it hurt. He could never imagine what had happened in her life to cause such a reaction, but he wanted to help her move forward now.

It was the least he could do.

“We’ll start with the black and then go to the watercolor,” he told her, spinning back towards his inks. He put a tray of them together, lining them up. “Sound good?”

“Uh…yeah.”

Steve chuckled. “Not having doubts, are you?”

Y/N shook her head. No, there were no doubts. She absolutely wanted this. “Not doubts,” she told him as he tested the pressure on the tattoo-gun. Setting it down, Steve turned back to her and started cleaning her wrist. “It’s just…I feel like I should make sure you’re properly informed.”

He laughed, running the razor over her skin and shaving away any little baby hairs that would get in the way. “Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”

“Well, yeah,” Y/N admitted, knowing she was probably being silly. Still, honesty was important to Y/N. It always had been. “But I still think you should know.”

Steve raised a brow, finally meeting her gaze. “What?”

“I’m…” Y/N sighed, reminding herself that it wasn’t that big of a deal. It shouldn’t be, right? Glancing down at the sketch between them, she admitted, “I’m your daughter’s counselor.”

--

Tag List:

@fullofmultitudesfullofshit​

@abundanceofcarolines​

@patzammit​

@peaches-roses-sins​

@thisartemisnevermisses​

@works-of-fanfiction​

@coldmuffinbanditshoe​

[twoidiotwriters1]

Pure Blood 30 (Sirius Black x F!Oc)

A/N: okay, this is the thing, the school is killing me and that's why it took me so long to upload chapter, but here we are. I may also be late for the next one, but this story continues.

Words: 2,081

Masterlist:

Chapter 29 // Chapter 31

"You screwed up,” says Juno leaning against my door frame.

I groan as I put more things in my suitcase.

“I've had enough of you.”

"I don't think so,” She smiles and walks up to my side. "It's never enough, little sister.”

I shiver, she reminds me of Isis a little, when she still lived in the house.

“You've always had that… talent, to get in trouble. Especially with Sirius. Our parents saw it as funny and innocent. They never punished you, I thought it was silly because you’re the youngest,” She didn't even bother to help me, she just stared at my suitcase. "But it's all over…” She claps once. "And now neither of our parents can stand you.”

"And that's why you smile like you've never done in your life?”

“Come on, it's not that bad, after all. What if your parents hate you? Sirius has been through it as well, now you’re the same,” She jokes.

I grit my teeth, putting my things in the suitcase and then turning and facing her.

"You can say what you want about me, I don't care, but don't you dare take it out on Sirius.”

"Oh, now you defend him? After what he did to you?" She raises an eyebrow.

"You are standing on very thin ice, Juno.”

"Please, little sister, stop this cheesy nonsense, it’s useless.”

“Not because you didn't have the courage to even speak to Remus, does it mean that we should all be cowards."

My words hurt her, but she recovers quickly and returns to her bitch face.

“It doesn't matter anymore, I don't need that school-kids nonsense. I deserve a good man. Mother has found me an excellent suitor.”

She expects some reaction from me, she wants me to ask her everything about it, but I go back to packing. I don't want to know anything about her commitment or someone else's. Never again. I'm sick of all that circus.

Juno sighs and like a little girl, she huffs and then leaves my room. I roll my eyes. I really need to go back to my true home.

***

My spirits haven't changed, not even while at the station. Somehow, thinking about my friends is not enough to be happy.

It's my last year, and after this, what's next?

My mother is the only one accompanying me to the platform this year, and says goodbye coldly, barely nodding. I get on the train and quickly enter a compartment with unknown people. Two girls from second grade with another boy from third grade, all three excited for their new year, they don't even bother about acknowledging my presence, which I appreciate.

I take the opportunity to get some sleep and prepare for what my new school year has in store.

Upon reaching a new wave of punishment, I take my time to reach the large dining room. Just when I get to the doors I feel a body crash against mine, but instead of falling, her arms go around my neck and she pulls me against her in a big hug. It takes me a few seconds to react, but I recognize my best friend's blonde hair and I circle her waist, feeling the warmth of her hug.

“Hi, Jenna”

"Never in my short life had I felt so much concern," She says when we part. "I'm already sounding like my mother and it's all because of you!”

I smile at her drama.

"Why weren't you on the train with us? I looked for you, but in the end Marlene said that maybe you wanted your space. Since when do you need to have space without me?” She puts her hands on her waist.

“I knew you would be upset, but your girlfriend is right. I just needed time…”

She looks at me worried.

"I'm fine now... I think. Can we have something for dinner?"

"Sure, let's go to the table, you've been alone for some time, now it's your turn to be with your best friend!”

“Okay,” I smile.

We both sat and ate dinner after the sorting ceremony.

"I find it very strange that you didn't even turn to the other table," says Jenna, pointing to the table behind me.

My body tenses.

“I-I… I just want to be with you," I stutter.

I don't understand very well why I don't want to hear from the others, I just don't want to face everything at once.

"Honey, bad excuse. Are you sure you’re alright?"

"I don't know, Jenna, everything that's happened is- it's too much and I don't want to deal with questions or more worried people…”

"Okay, relax. Anyway, the marauders are not there.”

"What?" I ask turning to see the table to realize that it’s true. "Where are they? They’re fine? Is it Remus? Is anyone hurt? Where’s Sirius?"

"Ok, that was my fault,” She sighs. "I shouldn't have said it so lightly…”

“Jenna!"

“Everyone's fine, P. Don’t panic, we’ll take you to them,” She says grabbing her things. "At least it lasted until I finished dinner…”

Jenna guides me through the hallways and I recognize the path.

"Why are we going to the infirmary?" I ask, my heart races.

"I told you they’re all fine, but maybe one of them needs a routine checkup…” She says with a grimace.

We arrive at the infirmary at the same time that James, Remus and Peter leave, almost colliding with us.

"Boys? What's going on?"

"Hello, Persephone,” says James.

"Is Sirius inside? What happened?" He frowns and looks at Remus for help.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" He asks. Remus shakes his head and takes my hand, pulling me away from the others.

"Just tell me, Remus,” I say on the verge of crying.

"Breathe and relax, Percy. I just found out that the letters we all tried to send you weren't read. This…” He scratches the back of his neck. “This is complicated, but I think Sirius has to explain it to you. Madame Pomfrey is changing the bandages…”

"Bandages?" I screech.

Before he could get into the infirmary, the door opens and Sirius comes out as he adjusts his sweater.

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey!" He yells and shuts the door. "Remus, can you help me out–? Oh…” He stops when he sees me.

He has some bruises on his neck and a cut that seems to be healing. But that's not what surprises me the most. His damn smile is what breaks me.

"Hey, pretty lady,” He says, but I stretch out my arm to stop him. "What's going on?"

I frown.

"What's going on?" I repeat angry.

"We'd better go…” James says.

"I'm in trouble?" Sirius asks when everyone leaves, scratching the back of his neck.

I can't help but hit his shoulder and he complains.

“I barely get to school and I don't see you at the Gryffindor table, then they bring me to the infirmary because YOU are hurt and now that I'm in front of you, you just- you just smile!?”

My reaction makes him more nervous.

"Okay, I can explain everything, but first you have to relax–”

My hands clench into fists, I walk towards him causing him to recoil until he hits the wall.

“Tell me again to relax and I swear I'll leave another bruise on your eye, Sirius Orion Black!"

"I'm scared," He replies barely above a whisper.

***

"Did I tell you today how beautiful you are?" Sirius says as we sit on the bench in front of the gardens.

"You have ten seconds if you don't want to end up bald.”

"Beautiful inside and out,” He smiles like a little boy, but then sighs and shakes his head. “It's not simple and uh… already had a good time, sorry, maybe I forgot that you did not know…”

I feel a pressure on my chest, and the anger fades a bit. Maybe I was not in his thoughts during the holidays as I thought.

"You forgot?"

“It's not that I didn't think of you, of course I did! But, uh- this is harder than I thought…” He wipes his hands on his pants. “After Avery, when my mother took us home, everything was chaos, more than usual,” His expression makes me nervous. “She cursed, she blamed me for everything. My parents completely lost their minds. I tried to defend myself, but this time I had no other way out, Percy…”

"What happened?" I hold his hand.

“I ran away from home,” He looks down and focuses on our hands. “I took my things and ran away from that stupid mansion. My mother was quite clear in saying that I am no longer her son.”

“But…” he raises his head. "Where have you been all this time?"

His smile returns.

“With the Potters,” Sirius’ gaze softens. “They’ve always been there in every holiday that I’ve been able to share with James,” He gets closer to me. “They treat me as if I were their son, and when I left home, they didn’t hesitate to help me again.”

We were silent for a few minutes. I process everything. I know that Walburga is a woman of character, but I also know that family is something important to her, even though she has horrible parenting methods. She cares what others in her lineage say, as does my family. But is her heart so cold that she didn't care that her first child no longer with them?

“Are you safe? Didn't your parents try to do something?"

"I haven't heard from them since I left, not even from Regulus.”

I try to understand him, he was never happy in the Black mansion, a part of me wants to make him go back, but the other part stops me. The Potters, James has taken care of him, while I couldn't even leave my house. Sirius was hurt and I wasn't with him. My eyes water at the thought.

"I-" The lump in my throat won't let me speak. “They hurt you and I- I couldn't do anything to help you Sirius, I'm sorry…”

"Hey, no, no, no…” His hands cup my face. "It's not your fault, love. Don't cry!” His thumb wipes a tear. “We tried to tell you, but we never got a reply.”

"My family burned all my letters,” I wipe my nose with the sleeve of my sweater.

"I know, my uncle warned us,” He takes a lock of my hair and plays with it. "Everything went very fast. Euphemia, James's mother, helped me with my injuries. The Potters have helped me a lot and I’m sorry that I reacted like this when I left the infirmary, it's just that, I don't know, I think that by not having the pressure of the wedding or even my family, everything has calmed down. I'm sorry…” His arms go around my waist and he draws me to him in a hug.

I hide my face in his neck. Having him so close relaxes me and it is as if I finally breathe again.

"I missed you…” I whisper.

"Me too, Percy.”

I look at his beautiful grey eyes and I notice something different, a small flash, something that had not been there before.

“Alphard told me that you didn't go out at all, are you okay? Shit, sorry, surely you had hell at home and I was an idiot just thinking about my own things. I'm the worst boyfriend in the world. Say it, it's fine, I accept it.”

My eyes widen when I hear one word in particular.

"Boyfriend?"

"Uh, yeah? I am, aren’t I? I thought… you know, after everything that's happened… You don't want to? I don’t know how this works…”

I laugh at his rambling.

“I didn't think we had any labels, I just thought we were… together. But…” I smile feeling my cheeks blush. "Being my boyfriend doesn't sound so bad, does it?”

He laughs and leans down to bring his lips against mine in a tender kiss. He puts his hand on the back of my neck to deepen it. It feels so good to kiss him after so long…

"I don't want to ruin this moment, but…” He says when we part. "Do you want to talk about what happened at your house? You know you can tell me anything.”

I shake my head.

“I just want to be with you and our friends. I want peace."

“Agree."

Taglist

@treestarrrrrrrr @siriuslysirius1107      @thagreenmoon @madmaiden2890    @ren-ela   @avipshamitra   @auroraawrites @findzelda  @lizlil @siriusmuch   @chloe-geoghegan1 @reverse-hxlland  @may-rapp @the-specific-oceans @eveft

@xkonpinkx​

@bloodorangemoonlight

@littledeadgirlwalking​

@yunloyal

[korra-the-red-lion]

Unnatural Affairs. Chapter 2: Let the Good Times Roll.

When I woke up the next morning, my eyes were achy and itchy. Falling asleep after spending most of the evening crying might have had something to do with that. I groaned as I reached for my glasses, deciding that I definitely needed a shower. I grabbed my soaps, shampoo and conditioner, flip flops, towels, and headed towards the communal shower area.

Luckily for me, there was no one here when I got there. I turned on the water, letting it heat up as I set up my things. I pulled the curtain across and got to washing all the eye boogies off my face. The warmth of the shower was very much needed as it ran down my body. I started feeling more like myself again as I scrubbed all the night grime off. I spent a few extra minutes, just enjoying the feeling of the warm water against my skin. If I closed my eyes, I could convince my mind that I felt great about this whole thing.

Then my stomach rumbled. I realized that I really didn’t have much of an appetite after my chat with dad and emotional break down with mom. I hadn’t eaten much of anything since lunchtime yesterday. The allure of food was more than enough to convince me to leave the comfort of the shower. I quickly wrapped a towel around both my body and hair. I gathered everything up and shuffled out of there. I peeked my head around the corner, feeling self-conscious of the fact that I had to go back to my room practically naked. I dashed back to my room and closed the door as quickly and quietly as possible. Sarah was still sleeping, thank God.

I got dressed and towel dried my hair the best I could. I didn’t bother with anything fancy today, since I was going to be spending most of my day standing in line to get my textbooks. I wasn’t going to wait around and end up spending hours of my school time there, so I planned to do it today.

I checked myself in the mirror before leaving. Just plain black leggings and a over large t-shirt that read ‘how-to pick-up chicks’ with a picture of a stick figure picking up a baby chicken. I adjusted my glasses to make sure they were straight, and I tossed my hair over to one side, trying to give it some style. I said I wasn’t going to be fancy, but I’m also not going to go out looking like I woke up from a rager.

I grabbed my purse, student card and my phone, and left the room. The sun was shining brightly overhead once I got outside, trying to squeeze out those last few days of summer. It felt good on my skin, and I thought about maybe eating outside. That would be nice.

Yawning as I made my way to the meal hall, my thoughts of my new classes and the new people I would meet wormed its way into my head. I knew I would do well in most of my classes, except for maybe some of the science ones. The issue was making friends. It’s not like I had hard a terrible time making them or anything, but my disposition ended up pushing away a lot of people. Then of course, the conversation I had with my dad popped up like an unwanted house guest. Dammit, he really knew how to get in my head.

I was practically storming as I walked into the meal hall. It was actually nicer than I thought it would be. There was quite bit of space, with nice large tables. It was also clean, which was a huge plus. Of course, move in day was literally yesterday. Maybe give it a week or so, and it would change. I walked down the stairs, letting the smell of food knock me out of my foul mood.

I loaded my plate up with hash browns, two fried eggs, bacon, and toast. I was starving and couldn’t wait to eat. I was about to head outside when I saw familiar strawberry blonde hair and I found myself walking towards it.

Shyly I approached the table where Lyn sat by herself. She was nearly dozing off in her seat, her plate empty in front of her. I tapped her shoulder, causing her to jolt awake.

“Wha’?” she blinked a few times and looked over her shoulder, smiling when she saw me. “Oh, hey Ally, wassup?”

“I was hoping I could sit with you?”

“Be my guest,” she said with a yawn. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun today, instead of that tight ponytail she had yesterday, and she wasn’t wearing the paint either, revealing all her freckles that were splashed across her nose and cheeks, like I suspected.

“How’d you sleep on your first night? Any crazy parties for you, or was the noise enough?”

I shook my head. “I’m not really a party girl, honestly. And I mean, the noise was definitely something I need to get used to. But my roommate seems really cool and at least that’s something. I was worried I was going to have a horrible roommate, like some of the horror stories I read about.”

Lyn cupped her chin and was leaning against the table as she listened to me. I wonder if anyone ever told her she had an intense stare. Even in her sleepy state, I know her focus was entirely on me as I spoke. It wasn’t uncomfortable or anything like that, more like an observation. She smirked into her hand and said, “I had one of those in first year.”

“What? Really?”

She nodded, still not taking her eyes off me. “Oh, hell yeah. She was so strange. She ironed all her shit in the room, told me I wasn’t allowed to cross the line she taped to the floor unless it was a necessity, and legit told me that I couldn’t listen to my music too loudly with my headphones in. Like, this girl was on something, I swear. Eventually, I broke down and requested to be switched out. Thank God, they moved her into a single dorm, and I got to stay. That’s when Nura moved in, and she’s awesome. We get along like PB and J, you know? I’m rarely in there anyhow, with practice and work, but still. Gotta feel welcome in your own home, you know?”

She ends with that a lot, I noted. It was endearing. I nodded in agreement. “I get that. Sometimes it was hard to um…go home after school. I don’t always get along with my dad, so it was awkward to go home.”

Lyn winced. “Shit, sorry. That’s crappy, not feeling like home is a safe place.” She sat up and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. “Dammit, Hart, you ruined the mood.”

“No, no! You didn’t do that at all,” I said quickly. “I was the one who brought it up in the first place!”

“I was the one who was all like ‘feel welcome in your home’,” she groaned. “Listen, I’ll make it up to you, yeah? You can ask me one thing, anything you want.”

“That seems really extreme…”

She shrugged. “I’m pretty much an open book.”

I bit my lip in thought, not really sure what to ask her. I didn’t know her all that well, but the offer to get to know her better was intriguing. Still, nothing really came to mind, and I ended up shaking my head. “Can I cash it in later?”

Lyn laughed, “Sure thing, Ally.”

We ended up talking for awhile longer about general things, like what majors we were taking and our favourite bands. Just simple stuff. Talking to Lyn was really easy. She laughed for no reason and had an infectious smile. When she was excited about something, she ended up bouncing her leg under the table. I’m not sure what it was about her that calmed me down, honestly. But she did. Maybe it truly was just her easy-going nature, but she seemed like a genuine person. Eventually, I had to get going to grab my books, much to my disappointment. I knew that once school started for real, I wasn’t going to be able to hang around her as much. It sounded like she had a lot more on her plate than I did.

As we both stood, I worked up the courage to ask for her number. That way, I could at least keep in touch with her by text. When I did, her eyes narrowed as a smirk appeared on her face.

“Sure, totally, Ally,” she took my phone from me, her fingers brushing against my hand as she did. “I don’t usually give my number out to anyone, but I will for you, since you’re cute and all,” she handed my phone back with her smirk still firmly in place.

Damn, that something I wasn’t expecting. I know I was blushing, but I tried to play it cool. I got the feeling yesterday that Lyn was a flirty kind of person, but I’m not entirely sure what her whole situation is.

“Thanks. I just know once school starts, we’ll both be pretty busy,” I said, looking away. Yeah, play it cool.

“Totally, just playing, you know?”

“Ha, totally.”

She pulled out her own phone and checked the time. “Yikes, gotta head out for real, though. Let’s try and hang before classes start, yeah? I’ll see you around, Ally!” With that, she left. But not before giving me her signature wink on the way out.

I tried to stop myself from smiling, but it was so hard. She really did have an infectious nature to her.

XXX

As I had hoped, there weren’t that many people at the bookstore. The line was a little long, but not so crazy that I would regret my choice in footwear. The bookstore itself was small, with not a lot of room to navigate. The lady behind the counter seemingly was 100 years old and was certainly moving like one. The only reason why this was taking a long time was literally because of her.

I tapped my foot along to the song I was listening to. I have to say, while I don’t love the lyrics, drivers license was a pretty catchy song. I missed the days of women writing songs telling men who did wrong by them to eff off. There was something cathartic about it all. Still, can’t deny a good song when I heard it. I was pretty content to stand there idly until someone tapped my shoulder.

I looked over, but there was no one there. Maybe the guy behind just hit me by accident? Shaking my head, I went back listening to the music when I felt the tap again. Again, there was no one there. Slowly, I take one earphone out and can hear the sounds of someone whispering around me. My eyes widened in understanding horror of what was happening.

There’s a freaking ghost trying to get my attention.

Inwardly I groaned, but I kept a neutral face on the outside. Well, except for the frantic look around I did with my eyes. There, in the corner. I turned slowly, trying not to draw too much attention to me as I did.

There is a ghost, looking no older than me, with some fancy hair cut and a nice suit on. He’s got a wicked grin on his face as we made eye contact. He floated over to stand directly in front of me.

“So, you can see me after all,” he said. All ghosts have this tinny tone to their voice, as if they’re talking through a bad phone call or something.

I nodded slowly but don’t dare say a word. There are way too many people around right now.

He tilted his head in a mostly human way, until it creeps a little bit past his shoulder, like his neck was broken. “Can’t you speak? You’re not one of those mutes, are you? Not that that’s an issue, but I was hoping to get someone who could share my story.”

Sighing through my nose, I pulled out my phone and typed out a message. I can talk, just not here. Too many people. Can it wait?

The ghost squinted at the screen, clearly able to read what I wrote. He frowned as we make eye contact again.

Oh Christ. I didn’t like the look in his eyes. He looked like he didn’t agree with me one bit. Some ghosts understood that most people can’t see them and that it makes a person look insane if they just start talking to thin air, while others just didn’t care. I had a bad feeling that this one fell in the second category.

He reached over, his hand going through my face. I felt the cold sliminess as he pulled his hand back through, and it takes my entire will power to not shudder or vomit on the spot. I really hated when they did that.

I wasn’t sure if it was normal for them to be able to touch people. I honestly never looked into too deeply, as it was best to avoid talking about it at all. But not for the first time do I regret that decision from 14-year-old me. I should have just used public library sources and at least had a better understanding of these things. But nope, I didn’t want to do anything out of the ordinary. Stupid.

“Human, all I want is for someone to listen to me and tell them what happened,” he said snootily. He reminded me of some popular guy who was used to people doing what he wanted on the drop of a hat.

I shuffled forward in the line a little. There were only three people ahead of me. I turned my head slightly, pulling my earphones up, hoping to God it looked like I was talking into the mic. “Listen, buddy. I am very happy to listen to you, but after I get out of here!” I hissed as quietly as possible.

Now he looked pissed off. Once again, he reached for me, as if that would make a difference. Except this time, it does. I can’t help but violently shudder as I stumbled back, reeling from the sudden shock of falling to my death. I don’t know if it was murder or suicide, but regardless, I feel the impact as my body hits the ground. My books tumbled out of my arms as I began to hyperventilate.

Oh my God, breathe Ally, BREATHE!

How could I breathe when I feel my neck snapping, but I don’t die right away? How can I breathe when I feel my skull leaking my brains all over the pavement? My vision is getting narrow as I trembled on the floor.

Okayyoujustneedtotakeadeepbreathlikemomtaughtyouinandoutinandoutcountto7holdfor7right?

My thoughts were racing and jumbled, my breathing definitely not slowing down in the slightest. We make eye contact one last time, me and the stupid selfish ghost. He was looking down at me with absolutely no pity or guilt at all. The look he was giving me suggested that if I had just done what he wanted, everything would have been fine.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a deep breath, but it didn’t work. I was still hyperventilating, my vision getting spotty. There is someone next to me, maybe another student. Quite frankly, I don’t really know much at this point. I felt someone, someone alive that is, take my hand and help me towards the door.

Yup, this is exactly how I expected my trip to the bookstore to be.

XXX

I woke up in my own bed, my mouth dry. I remember going outside and telling them to give me my purse. I took my Ativan and got back to my residence with the help of someone. I seriously can’t tell you who. Judging from how dark it was, it must be nighttime. Groggily, I sat up and reached for my glass of water instinctively. Except, it’s not there. Because I’m in a dorm, not my house. So, there is no night table with my water. I forced myself to get up and head towards the bathroom.

I washed my face and mouth, taking sips of water as I do. When I looked into the mirror, all I saw was my own pathetically pale face staring back at me. Day 2 and already I failed dad. Goddammit, the school might call my parents to tell them I had a panic attack at the bookstore. How humiliating. Not even a day away from home and I fall apart.

I can’t stop the tears as they fall down my face. I feel like garbage and I know I look like it too. I break down, using the sink as support. I feel like such an idiot. My mom wanted me to take a year off, maybe do some traveling. She probably knew that the stress of being away from home wasn’t going to be great for my stupid anxiety. As the sobs rack my body, someone’s timid knock draws my attention.

Sarah pokes her head into the bathroom, a look of worry on her face. She walked right in and pulled me away from the sink, embracing me.

“I’m here for you, Ally.” That’s all she said, but it strikes me deeply. This girl barely knows me but is here in this stupid bathroom, holding me tightly. Goddamn, how were some people just that good?

So there we stood, in the bathroom. She just held on to me, whispering into my ear and rubbing my back. I couldn’t say or do anything, so I just rested my head on her shoulder until I finally felt okay enough to head back to our room together.

XXX

As expected, I had a voicemail from mom when I bothered to check my phone in the morning. Well, more like afternoon. I stayed in bed all day, wearing my sloth covered PJ bottoms and my favourite hoodie. I basically watched one movie after another, just to keep my mind off things. Sometimes you really needed to take a ‘me day’.

Sarah left after checking to make sure I was feeling better. She said something about getting some good food and better desserts to cheer me up. I gotta do something nice for her after I was feeling better.

I stared at the screen, wondering if I should listen to the voicemail when a text appeared there. I was confused for a minute until I saw it was from Lyn. Then shame filled me, stopping me from opening it. She probably thought it was so lame that I had a panic attack in the stupid bookstore.

So, I ignored it. I didn’t want the only other person on this campus who I knew to think I was some pathetic loser.

Well, that only worked until my phone lit up again, this time with a phone call. I really didn’t want to answer it, so I declined the call.

Sarah walked into the room, holding two huge bags. “Okay, so like, I got some super yum food to help you feel better.”

“You really didn’t have to do that,” I mumbled into my hoodie.

“Sorry? Can’t hear you when mumble like that,” said Sarah. She plopped down on the bed and opened the first bag, pulling out a bunch of Taco Bell. The second bag had cupcakes and mini cheesecakes in it. I couldn’t believe that she did all this just for me.

She handed me a handful of Taco Bell things. I wasn’t even sure what most of it was, since my parents and I rarely ate fast food like this. But my God, it smelled amazing. I opened one up and took a tentative bite. It was so good right now. It was like Sarah knew I just needed some junk, just salty goodness.

“Yas! I like, was hoping that would work,” she said triumphantly. She noticed my phone was vibrating and picked it up, staring curiously at the screen. “Who’s Lyn? She’s called you like, 3 times. Is she your sister?”

I shook my head, stuffing more in my face. With some difficulty, I swallowed and took my phone back from her. “I just met her the other day. I guess she heard about the whole bookstore incident and wanted to check in…”

“But?”

“But I don’t want her to think less of me…”

Sarah made a disgusted face. “Ally, if someone thinks less of someone because they have anxiety, then they need to like, check themselves. So many people have mental health stuff going on. Like, seriously girl. I think she honestly just wants to make sure you’re okay.”

I stared at my phone, knowing that Sarah was probably right. Still, I wasn’t sure I was ready for that conversation. What was I going to say anyway? Hey, everything is totes fine now. Just had a panic attack because some jerkass ghost demanded I see how he gruesomely died, except didn’t bother to tell me who I was supposed to tell. So yeah, basically went through something extremely traumatic for absolutely no reason at this time. How was your day?

Yeah, that wasn’t going to fly. Instead, I fired off a text that just said, I’m doing okay now. Thanks for checking in. I don’t really feel like talking about it right now.

There. Straightforward and easy. When I got a message from Lyn, this time I opened it. Ok, let me know if u do wanna talk. I’ll be here.

“I guess I should call my mom, huh?” I said, looking over at Sarah, who was attempting to stick a whole mini cheesecake in her mouth.

She smiled unabashedly at me and swallowed. “Oh, I think you like, should, but no pressure. If you need to take time, then like, take your time.”

I gave a little laugh as I handed her a napkin for her face. It felt good to laugh. Sarah laughed too, as she wiped whipped cream off her lips. She handed me a mini cheesecake and we both attempted to shove the whole thing in without making a mess of ourselves. I giggled as I tried very hard not to make a mess, only to end up smearing a whole streak of chocolate sauce on my face somehow.

Sarah wasn’t much better off, with whipped cream on her nose this time. We ended up taking silly photos of each other and drank a ton of the pop she brought from Taco Bell. We ate and joked around for the next little while, until I finally worked up enough courage to listen to my mom’s voicemail. I excused myself and told her I was going to make the call.

I sat outside, the afternoon sun warm on my face. I don’t love the idea of making this call out in the open, but I didn’t want to kick Sarah out of her room either. It is what it is, I guess. I opened up my voicemail and listened to mom’s message.

“Hey, baby. How are you doing? Dad and I got the call and I just wanted to make sure that you’re doing better? Was there something that triggered it? Or did it just happen out of the blue? Either way, just call me back so I know you’re doing better now. Love you, Alexandra. Bye-bye.”

I scrolled to my mom’s name on the call list and hit call, listening to my phone ring in my ear. She picked up after the third ring. “Hello? Alexandra, is that you, baby?”

“It’s me, mom.”

“Thank goodness! Are you okay?” I could hear the concern dripping from her tone.

“I’m doing fine, yeah.”

“Okay, I’m glad to hear it. Can you tell me what happened?”

This was the part I wanted to avoid but knew I couldn’t. I shifted to get more comfortable and told my mom everything that happened. I wanted her to understand that everything about the whole situation was basically non-consensual. If I had the choice, I never would have spoken to that stupid preppy ghost in the first place. I wondered if my dad was listening in as I explained it all. I honestly hoped he wasn’t.

There was silence at the other end while I waited for mom to take it all in. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until mom said, “Okay.”

I sighed in relief.

“It sounds like that was…different? They’ve never done that to you before, right?”

Kind of think of it, no. That was different. Of course, when I was younger, I would just speak to them normally anyway. But that? I’ve never had a ghost do that to me, ever. I’ve never felt so violated before. It was strange…

After talking to mom a bit longer, I finally hung up and laid in the grass, looking up at the clouds. Was there something about this area that made them stronger, maybe? I really shouldn’t be thinking too much about it, but I also didn’t want that to happen again. Maybe I could walk down to the store tomorrow and see if they had anything that warded off spirits. I might also do some research, just to make sure.

So much for being ‘ordinary’, huh?

[whitewater-writing]

The Arrival

It was raining the night the child first came to Whitewater Manor. Thunder cracked loudly as they waited, slouching on a plush couch and tear tracks covering their face. The click of heels grew louder as someone approached the door, the child's anxiety growing with each of the Duchess's footfalls. They stared hard at the floor, counting the tiles and trying their best to disappear before she should see them. 

The doors opened, and despite their efforts, the child couldn't help but look up at the woman before them. The duchess was an intimidating,yet beautiful, woman. She reached over six feet in her heels and towered over the child. She was dressed in all black, with a sword hung at her side. Odd for the late hour that she should be fully dressed. 

Despite her otherwise frightening appearance, her gaze was gentle as she crouched before them, gently taking their face into her hands. "Oh Petty... What a horrible thing to have happened to you..." She sighed, brushing a stray tear from their cheek. 

"I'm sorry Aunt Bomby, I tried to help I-" They immediately tried to explain but were cut off by a heated glare. 

"Hush child, it wasn't your fault. There's nothing you could have done.." She stood and offered her hand. "Come along. I've had your rooms prepared, and you need some rest." She smiled at them gently. Or perhaps it would have appeared gentle if lightning hadn't stuck outside the house, illuminating the room and giving her a threatening aura. 

A whimper escaped Petty's lips but they took her hand without protest, following her down the halls of Whitewater in silence for several moments before she spoke again. 

"You'll be staying with me from now on. I'll ensure your success as a noble my dear, as should be expected of my ward..." Her grip tightened on their hand almost painfully and a twisted smile tugged at her lips. "This is a blessing for us both Petty. I'm sure you'll realize this eventually. " She stopped at a large door and ushered them inside the dark room once the door was opened by a servant. "Get some rest. Your maid will wake you and prepare you for tomorrow," she told them before the door shut once again, leaving them alone with only the light of a candle illuminating the room. 

____________________________

The duchess made her way back to her rooms, the only sounds the clicking of her heels on marble tile and the rain beating hard against stained glass windows. She entered her chambers silently, a maid jumping to help her undress and prepare for bed. 

"Such a shame what happened to the rest of them," she said absently, with a small smirk, setting her sword on the bed. 

"What's that ma'am?" the servant asked softly, looking perplexed. 

"Petty's relatives. The rest of the family. I didn't think he'd slaughter all of them, including the children," She laughed evilly as she climbed into bed. "Oh what will the queen think of this? No matter. I got what I wanted. The child is under my rule now, they'll make quite the effective pawn when they're of marrying age." She stretched and relaxed in bed. "You’re dismissed," she instructed, and the maid bowed before extinguishing the lights. 

"Goodnight, my lady," she said to the darkness before leaving the room. 

Minutes passed before anything but rain was heard. A sloshing noise like someone getting out of a bath came from the washroom, then moments after the door creaked open. Lightning struck again, casting shadows and lighting up the room for a few seconds where a blond man was stalking across the room with a sword black as tar. 

He raised the blade over the sleeping woman, intending to strike. As his sword fell, the sound of metal clashing together filled the room and the lights lit once again. The duchess held her sword above her, smirking. "Really Basty? As if I wasn't expecting your visit." 

The man only rolled his eyes, the sword disappearing into a viscous liquid that seemed to be absorbed by his body. "I'll kill you one of these days."

"We'll see about that." She laughed and got out of bed again. "Would you join me for a cup of tea? I'll have them bring it here so you don't have to hold your form," she suggested, not waiting for an answer before alerting the servants of her manor to bring them tea and a selection of sweets. 

"If it weren't for the information I know you have, I'd refuse." Bast sighed before the two of them went back to the bathroom where the man's physical form melted into a thick, black liquid.

She hummed and shrugged, "I'm well aware Basty. What's this information worth to you?"

"A trade. If my theory is correct, I have information you might find…" He hesitated as a servant entered the room, handing the Duchess a tea cup and doing her best to avoid looking at him, "useful." 

"Deal," she immediately agreed, "what's this information?"

"And why should I be the one to share first?" he asked, reaching out and dripping a bit of his tar-like liquid into her cup and earning a glare in response. 

"Because one of us keeps our promises, and we both know that isn't always you." She huffed and dumped the contaminated tea into the bath. The Bastard of the bathtub cringed slightly as it mixed into his liquid form. 

"As much as I like tea, kindly don't pour things into me," he huffed, "You nobility types are so disrespectful."

"'Us nobility types'?" She mused, setting the empty cup aside, "You act as if you weren't once one of us… your majesty."

"Don't call me that," he snapped at her, "I never wanted my title. Royal is a better ruler than I ever would have been. " 

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. The kingdom has dissolved mostly into chaos since she started associating with the Marquis." 

"Indeed…  but Dumbass has their own motivations. They may align for now but how long that lasts is still yet to be seen. "

"Right," she sighed before sitting up straight and clapping her hands together, "Now, your information for me?"

"The Count of Caspen’s family has been killed, or, rather, assassinated, as I'm sure you already know."

She nodded. "Of course I already know that."

"There's a survivor." He smirked at her, leaning over the edge of the bath. 

She sighed in disappointment, "I'm aware of that as well. Petty, the youngest, has become my ward."

The liquid mass looked amused as he sunk back into the bathtub, making no indication to deny or confirm that that's what he meant. 

"Is that all you have?" she asked, a scowl pulling her lips downward. 

"All I'm currently willing to tell." He shrugged. 

"Fine… I suppose you kept your end, it isn't necessarily your fault I already knew. What do you want to know?"

"You're responsible, aren't you? You hired the assassins?"

A smirk pulled at her lips and she nodded, "I did."

"Why?"

"I needed a child. I'm still young, sure, but…" She bit her lip and shrugged, "It's unlikely that l will marry. I need to have someone to inherit my estate. Unlike some of you, I wasn't blessed with magic or immortality."

"You could just make them legally your heir, why would you need to kill their family?"

"I need to shape them into my successor! And this gives me a wonderful political advantage. I'm already making arrangements with a noble of the neighboring country to arrange their marriage. Once they're of marrying age, my plans will come to fruition."

"...You're insane, my lady." He laughed softly, a horrifying sound, like a person drowning. 

"I'm doing what I think is best for myself. I don't need nor want your judgement." She stood. "It's late. I need my beauty sleep." 

"You could sleep for centuries and it would do nothing to help," he teased her.

"Go to hell." She laughed softly, rolling her eyes. 

"Oh, and my lady?"

"What is it now, Bastard?" She sighed, yelping in surprise as black fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her down toward the bath with inhuman strength. 

"For crimes committed to earn an heir,

Beware when giving up your hand,

By forces not sent up above,

The last shall be the last to stand." 

"God, not another one of you prophetic riddles," she groaned and jerked her arm away, hissing in pain and rubbing at the bruising skin, "When do you come up with this stuff?"

"I have a lot of time on my hands." He shrugged in response, liquid moving around the bath as she moved to leave again. 

"Right, well… I'll be going. Goodnight Bastard."

The man didn't reply, having drained himself back into the pipes and left the manor.

She groaned softly as she put her sword in its sheath, hanging it up before putting out the lights once again and climbing into bed. What an exhausting day. 

[danijimenezv]

I Know My Worth

Prompt: “If there’s one thing I’m willing to bet on, it’s myself.”

Pairing: Clint Barton x reader

Warnings: Sexism, misogyny, slight abuse of power, low self-esteem, confidence problems, insults and mean remarks, medical emergencies, a few gross descriptions, swear words.

Word Count: 7968 words (oops, I got a bit carried away, sorry!)

A/N: Happy late International Women’s Day to all my fellow females out there! This was my entry for @captain-kelli’s Strong Women-themed 500 Fam Writing Challenge. It’s set prior to the first Avengers movie, when S.H.I.E.L.D. was still a thing. This turned out to be personal for me because it shows my own experience at becoming a veterinary doctor, most of them are examples I had to live myself, so please be kind with it. Also, everything in here is from what I know about medicine in animals, but I can’t be completely sure it also applies to people, so excuse my mistakes!

Being a medical student wasn’t easy, that was something you learned the hard way. It was late nights, crappy eating habits and stressful situations; your time stops being your own, having to prioritize most of your life, and most times you have to give up a lot. It was a marathon, not a sprint. All of that added to the fact that the whole environment was toxic, where egos clashed constantly, everything turned into a competition and asking for help was seen as a weakness. Now, as if that didn’t sound awful enough, being a medical student as a female was even harder. In a man’s world, medicine was no exception to sexism. Male students were praised, while female students were constantly doubted and made fun of, with remarks that ranged from their physical appearance to their capacities. For instance, girls were usually questioned about being able to take critical decisions in the ER when required, while no one ever implied that a guy was incapable of that.

Things didn’t change much once you graduated. It was difficult for most doctors to gain visibility and recognition once out of medical school, but it was even harder and more complex for women. Male doctors were constantly recognized worldwide for their feats, while female doctors mostly remained in the dark. Even as doctors, women have been known to have to fight for everyone around to take them seriously, having to work extra hard, go the extra mile, to be heard and recognized as they should.

Y/N Y/L/N was one of them. She had a love for medicine and a passion for helping people that made her great for a doctor. She had worked really hard throughout college and afterwards, which landed her a great position at the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, as one of their field medics. The problem? She was the only woman in the medical team, and the head doctor didn’t take well to that change.

Her nightmare began the very first moment she arrived at the facility. She had just gotten there when she saw a man on the floor, and she hurried to get to his side, immediately getting into doctor mode. She dropped her bag open by her side in case she needed her instruments, and proceeded to determine what was wrong with him.

“What’s going on here?” another doctor rushed forward, ignoring the small group of people already gathering around them.

“I don’t know, he was already on the floor when I arrived.” she explained, “Pulse is weak, he’s hypotensive. He also shows signs of low blood oxygen saturation, cyanosis and acute dyspnea.”

“What else, newbie?” he demanded in a harsh tone.

Y/N examined the man one more time to see if she had overlooked an important detail, before deciding to take out her stethoscope to auscultate, “No lung expansion on his left side.”

“Bring me the bag mask.” he ordered to someone else and they rushed away.

“Could be a hemothorax.” Y/N responded confidently, “He could have an internal hemorrhage in the pleural cavity. He needs a thoracentesis right now to drain the thorax or he’ll suffocate.”

“Then get out of the way and let the real doctors do the work.”

“I have what I need here with me, you can’t afford to wait until they bring you a scalpel and a chest tube, it has to be now.”

“If you fail, this agent’s life is on you.” the doctor barked angrily.

Y/N took a scalpel out of her bag and exposed the man’s side of his ribcage. She made a clean incision and pushed the tube inside. A second later, the liquid started to drain out of the man’s chest. Slowly, the agent’s respiration began to normalize, allowing him to breathe and get some much needed oxygen into his lungs.

“Doctor Rivera, Doctor Tate, get Agent Hall ready for surgery. He won’t be stable for long.”

“Yes, boss.” the other two responded and sprung into action.

The senior doctor then turned to Y/N, “Clear liquid, obviously not a hemothorax.”

“Pleural effusion. But it was still liquid compressing the lungs and he still needed the thoracentesis, whether the liquid was bloody, purulent or clear.”

“I still don’t trust your examination because I wasn’t there to see it, but your incision was horrible. You do know you have to make the incision at the fifth intercostal space anterior to the mid axillary line, right? Not the sixth nor the fourth. And you have to make a clean cut, not slice every layer individually.”

“Wait, I’m pretty sure I did make the single cut at the fifth space.” she defended herself.

“And to top it all, you seem to have a knack for talking back to your new boss.”

That made her freeze in her place, as Y/N finally realize who she was talking to, “You’re Doctor Blaine Fowler. I’m so sorry, sir.”

“I knew we shouldn’t have admitted you in here, a girl straight out of med school, but Fury insisted. Your recommendation letters were remarkable.”

“Thank you, sir-”

“It wasn’t a compliment, those mean nothing to me. See, you might’ve been a decent enough student, but let’s get something clear, you are not a decent doctor, got it?”

It was the first low blow in a long line of insults to come, to which she simply hung her head low and muttered a soft “Sorry, sir…”

“Listen here, newbie, you have been here all of half an hour, I’ve been in charge here for longer than you’ve been studying, so don’t get any ideas. Things here are done the way I deem it correctly. And I won’t have a young, barely-doctor girl disrupting my work, okay? You work under my mandate now, be sure to behave as such.”

“Yes, sir…”

That first day was the start of a complicated work relationship that only seemed to worsen for her.

*****

A couple of months into the job, things hadn’t changed much. When she was on duty alone, things weren’t as difficult. Y/N could make the decisions she thought right with no one criticizing her every move, without her boss breathing down her neck, waiting for her to make a mistake. However, Fowler was still her boss, which meant he controlled what procedures she could be included in, which weren’t many. He preferred to pick any of the other male doctors before her, and he usually had her do easy tasks, as if she wasn’t capable of doing more than that.

It happened when Fowler wasn’t around, which considerably lessened her anxiety levels. It was while she was processing a few blood samples that she heard a commotion approaching. She exited the lab just in time to see two agents practically dragging a third one. They left a blood trail on the floor while they looked around desperately.

“What happened?” Y/N made her way to them.

“Where are the real doctors?” the one on the left spoke harshly.

Translation: the male doctors.

“Shut up, asshole. She’s a real doctor.” the one in the middle, the injured one, groaned out, focusing his blue eyes on her.

Y/N had seen him around, but she had never really interacted with him before until that moment. His remark, while quite simple, still surprised her. After all, she didn’t only fight for her boss and colleagues to take her seriously, but also with some of the patients that for some reason felt safer with other doctors. She smiled at him gratefully, before examining him slowly. His dirty blonde hair was glued to his sweaty forehead, his breathing hard and labored as he clearly tried to ignore the pain, while one of his hands was pressing on his bloodied torso.

“He was near an explosion, and some of the shards hit him.” the man on the right informed, casting her an uncertain look but not quite as against her as the first man had been.

“We have to get you to a room. I’ll have to pull out the shards with tweezers and then evaluate if you need stitches and then bandage.”

“Where’s Dr. Fowler?”

“Not here. I’m the doctor on call today.”

“Think you can help me, Doc?” the guy smirked cheekily despite being in obvious pain.

“Come on.” she tried him from the other two agents, to get him to a room quickly, but the other two took a few steps away, “Agents, I need to take him in order to fix him up.”

“We’ll take him and go with you.”

“With all due respect, I work better without an audience.”

“Why? Otherwise you can’t concentrate? A few stitches that hard for you?”

“No, but just so I don’t have to listen to your idiotic comments.” Y/N snapped, getting irritated, “Agent…?”

“Barton.” the dirty blonde man offered.

“Agent Barton has to be treated quickly, and you’re not letting me do my job.”

“You heard the lady, Rodríguez.” Agent Barton said, “I’m going with her.”

“Barton, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Get your head out of your ass, Carson.” he let out a growl, “She’s the doctor here, she’s the boss. What she says, goes. It’s not that hard to understand, idiots.”

“Don’t you want to wait until another doctor arrives? Another one must be around.”

“No, I’m fine with her. And honestly, you’re lucky I’m bleeding out here on the floor, because I’d be a few seconds away from kicking your ass.”

The two agents left him with Y/N hesitantly, and it was clear they still didn’t trust she was capable of stitching him up, but Y/N didn’t stay to fight with them any longer. She wasn’t going to be able to change their minds anyway, and she was losing important seconds that she could use on her patient, so she turned around and lead Barton to the consultory. As soon as he laid down on the cot, she got to work, putting gloves on and getting everything she needed.

“Please tell me you have your tetanus vaccine up to date.”

“I think so.” Clint shrugged.

“Okay, good.”

Barton reclined back, letting his head rest tiredly, and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain, but opened them once again when he felt her looming over him. Y/N worked silently but efficiently, having everything ready in barely a minute. She proceeded to create a tourniquet above his wound with a belt, trying to lessen the bleeding.

“Agent Barton, this might hurt.” she warned him kindly, holding the antiseptic up so he could see what she meant.

“You can call me Clint.” he tried to smile at her, but probably ended up wincing, judging by her answer.

“It’s okay, you’ll be alright soon, I promise.”

Clint hissed as soon as he felt the stinging sensation on his torso and clenched his jaw a few times. The doctor cleaned the wound, gently so she wouldn’t get any of the shards deeper than they already were, and wiped away the blood so she could see what she was dealing with.

“How much does it hurt?” she asked gently as she took the injection of lidocaine in her hand.

“A lot. I might die.”

“You won’t die, Agent Barton.” she rolled her eyes in amusement, “It doesn’t look like any of the shrapnel hit anything vital. It looks superficial. Though, I’ll conduct an ultrasound afterwards to make sure.”

“I told you, you can call me Clint.”

“Clint.” Y/N tried out the nickname and changed the subject, trying to distract him from what she was about to do, “Um, thank you, for standing up for me.”

“I shouldn’t have to. I’ve seen the way they treat you, and it’s unfair.”

“You’ve seen it? How?”

“I’m just really observant.” Clint shrugged in dismissal and looked at her seriously, “Why don’t you say anything?”

“Because it’s pointless. And if I talk back to Fowler, he’ll have me on cleaning duty instead of doing medical procedures.”

“You’ll have to face him eventually.”

“I can’t, Clint. Even if I want to, I can’t. My job is on the line.”

Y/N took the tweezers and began taking out piece by piece, starting with the smallest ones so there wouldn't be additional blood covering her view. She tugged at the shards with precise movements, trying to be as gentle as possible with him. Clint closed his eyes and waited for her to be done, prepared for the pain, though it never came.

“Fury wouldn’t let that happen.”

“Fury isn’t my boss, Fowler is. And I know Fowler answers to Fury, but Fury doesn’t usually get involved in the medical area.” she sighed, working the needle through the wounds, stitching him up, “Believe me, if there was something I could do, I already would’ve.”

“It’s not right.” he mumbled, “Doc, don’t let them walk all over you.”

“Y/N.”

“What?”

“My name is Y/N.” she smiled at him, bandaging him quickly, “Ready.”

“You’re done?!” Clint opened his blue eyes and looked at her in bewilderment, and then down at his bandaged torso, “I didn’t even feel anything.”

“Because I gave you a local anesthetic.”

“Well, that’s new.” he commented, “They usually don’t use that on us.”

“The point of an anesthetic is to reduce the patient’s pain.” Y/N said obviously, “If I can help with that, then I’m sure as hell going to use it. I really don’t get why they wouldn’t.”

“And that alone makes you a graeter doctor than all of them together.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“You are. Not because you used the anesthetic on me, but because you care about the patient above anything else.”

Y/N didn’t answer him, but instead smiled at him gratefully. He had just met her, and still, Clint had been about the only one who had trusted her, who had believed in her.

*****

Since then, a beautiful friendship started to form between Y/N and Clint. He didn’t come back as a patient, but as a friend instead. When he wasn’t busy on missions, he dropped by the medical bay constantly, either to check up on her or simply to keep her company. He made sure she was eating at the right hours, drinking the necessary amount of water and taking breaks so she wouldn’t bury herself in work. He also was a welcoming distraction from the nightmare that was having to deal with her boss and colleagues.

That day, though, Clint hadn’t dropped by. She was in her office alone, catching up on some reading she needed to do, when another emergency hit. She rushed out of her office and ran through the place until she found her colleagues, who were rolling a gurney and probably heading to the OR for an emergency surgery.

“Out of the way, Y/L/N.” Fowler snapped, pushing her aside.

“What happened to her?”

“Acute liver failure, she needs to be admitted into surgery.” another doctor informed.

“Wait a second, you can’t operate on her!”

Fowler and the rest of the doctors stopped the gurney and stared at her mockingly, causing her to look down with her cheeks heating up.

“And why on Earth do you think we shouldn’t operate on her?”

“She’s decompensated-”

“Because of the liver failure, keep up, Doctor Y/L/N.”

“I get that, but did you stop to look at her medical records?”

“That’s the last thing you should be thinking in such a critical-”

“She’s hemophiliac!” Y/N shouted in frustration, “If you operate on her right now, in her state, she’ll bleed out on your operations table.”

“And if we don’t operate on her she’ll die anyway.”

“Fowler, think about it.” Y/N begged him, “You’re operating for a liver failure. If you by proximity happen to touch her spleen, you can cause an erythrocyte sequestration, and with her hemophilia, it could be critical and she’ll end up dead in record time.”

“Y/L/N, are you that incapable of making critical decisions that you even question our decisions?”

“That’s not it…” she sighed softly.

“I have a team of very capable doctors with me, we can handle it.”

“Her body can’t.”

“I want you out of here, Y/L/N. I won’t let you interfere with this.”

With a frown but firm determination, she stormed out of there and ran through the whole division, looking for that specific person. Y/N found him in the middle of training with Natasha Romanoff, but she didn’t care, she still barged into the room, making both of them stop and look up at her.

“Agent Romanoff.” she nodded respectfully before turning to Clint, “Clint, I need you.”

“What’s up, sweetheart?”

“You’re an O negative, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“It’s an emergency. Agent Levi is being rolled into surgery right now for acute liver failure. But she’s hemophiliac, she’s an O negative as well, and she can only receive blood from another O negative. Fowler is just focusing on the emergency surgery, not the critical cares he needs to have for her condition.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Can you donate blood to her?”

“Lead the way.” Clint nodded decisively.

“I’m so sorry for the interruption, Agent Romanoff.” Y/N started to say, but Natasha raised a hand in dismissal.

“Don’t sweat it, Doctor Y/L/N. Go save lives.”

Y/N urged Clint into her office, getting the bags for the blood and the needle. She made a tourniquet on his arms and touched his arm gently, assessing his vein.

“I’m really sorry, I wouldn’t be asking this of you if I didn’t think it was an emergency.”

“Y/N, you’re the doctor here.” he reassured her, “You do what you have to do.”

“Okay.” she took a deep breath, trying to calm her shaking hands, “Agent Barton, have you eaten something in the last four hours?”

“No.”

“Do you have a disease of any kind?”

“No.”

“Have you suffered from Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV-AIDS, Syphilis or another chronic illness that should be taken into account?”

“Nope.”

“Do you have multiple sexual partners?”

“Why do you want to know, sweetheart?” he smirked at her, and Y/N’s cheeks heated up in betraying as she finally realized what she had just asked him, “If you wanted a piece of this, you only had to ask.”

“I swear, it’s a routinary question for blood donors.” Y/N defended, looking around awkwardly as her heart raced with the incredibly pleasing image he had just put in her mind.

“The answer is no, in case you also wanted to know for yourself.” he chuckled, seeing her fluster, “I already have my eye on a single someone.”

However, Y/N tried to not let herself dwell on that bit of information. She already attributed her crush on him to the fact that Clint seemed to be the only one around who believed in her, who didn’t try to diminish her. She didn’t want to make it worse by focusing on it.

“Okay…” she drawled out, trying to place her attention again on the matter at hand instead of her feelings, “Have you received any organ transplants?” he shook his head, “Suffered from epilepsy, tuberculosis, severe cardiac disease or cancer?” he signalled no again, “Have you consumed alcoholic beverages, narcotics, or any intravenous or inhaled drugs in the last 12 hours?”

“Also no.” Clint raised an eyebrow, “Did I pass your test?”

“Yes, you can officially be a blood donor.”

Y/N extracted his blood as quickly and efficiently as possible, and once done, placed the bags in a small icebox. Then she went to the storage room and got all the medications she thought were needed. After telling Clint to wait for her in her office, she headed to the operating room. Fowler had already gone inside, but another doctor was just outside getting ready to assist him.

“Rivera.” Y/N called for his attention.

“What do you want, Y/L/N? I thought Fowler told you to get lost.” she pushed the icebox in his face, “What is this?”

“Agent Barton’s O negative blood. Agent Levi will need a continuous blood transfusion during the surgery. I also took, from another sample, adequate quantities of clotting factor concentrates, it should also be enough for the post-operative coverage.” she then took a few syringes from her pocket, “This is desmopressin, it can raise the coagulation factors levels to control the bleeding in case you need it. Only use it if Agent Levi gets hypotensive. If you decide to use the desmopressin, do not give her any NSAIDS or opioids. The pain should be managed with celecoxib or meloxicam, or you can use a combination of paracetamol with codeine or tramadol.”

“Why are you giving me the credit for this?”

“I don’t care about the credit.” Y/N huffed indignantly, “The patient’s life is more important than being right, even if I want to rub it in Fowler’s face.”

And it was true. Even if she later had to bear with Fowler praising Rivera for his quick thinking and precaution, if the patient was okay, she didn’t care much.

Rivera chuckled softly, “That’s impressive, Y/L/N.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “Just make sure Fowler doesn’t kill Agent Levi, make sure she survives.”

Doctor Rivera nodded respectfully at her for the first time and headed into the OR. Y/N smiled in relief and finally slowed down her pace as she made it back to her office, where Clint was patiently waiting for her.

“Why aren’t you in surgery?”

“Because Fowler wasn’t gonna let me inside, even if I were the only doctor available.”

“Then who is giving Agent Levi my blood?”

“Doctor Rivera.”

“Why did you give him the credit for your quick thinking?” Clint huffed in annoyance.

“Because no matter who assisted Fowler in that surgery, Agent Levi needed the blood. I know I was right, I know I did the right thing. But as long as Agent Levi gets well, that’s all that matters.”

“Y/N, sweetheart, I get that. But they won’t see you for the doctor you are unless you let them know.”

“You know I can’t do that.” she sighed, plopping down on the chair next to him, “I could find the cure for cancer, and they would never see it.”

Clint extended his arm to take her hand in his, squeezing it gently and rubbing soft circles on her skin, “They all will see it soon, I promise. You deserve that.”

“Clint.” Y/N calmed him, squeezing his hand back, “As long as the patients are getting what they need, I don’t need it. Yeah, it would be nice, but I care more about the patients. And if I have to let another doctor take credit for a win, then I will, as long as the patient is okay.”

Clint stared at her in pure amazement, his chest blooming with pride.

“Come on, Barton. Let’s get some glucose into your body.” she winked at him, “Doctor’s orders.”

He was definitely in trouble; he was falling for her, and he was falling hard and fast.

*****

Another day, another commotion. They were simply eating sushi in her office, hanging out, when they heard it outside. Y/N immediately sprung from her seat, offering Clint an apologetic smile, before heading out, and Clint followed after her, but they didn’t get too far, before they came face to face with two agents. Instead, they cleared the path for them and lead them into her office.

“What happened?” she asked as one agent dragged another one into the room. Both of them looked like hell; the more stable one had a few cuts down his arms and dried blood on his uniform, while the other one seemed to be in a worse condition, barely responsive.

“He was poisoned.” the agent dropped his partner on the cot, letting Y/N examine him as quickly as possible.

“He’s got dyspnea, mydriasis and ptyalism. I don’t see any visible rash or irritation around the mouth. Was it injected or ingested?”

“Either way, be prepared to induce vomiting.” Fowler walked into the room, focusing his piercing gaze on her, “Quick, Y/L/N, which emetic would you use for that purpose?”

“Apomorphine or emetine, but I wouldn’t use an emetic, sir.” she was quick to say.

“Why not?”

“We don’t know which poison was, it could be caustic and with an emetic it could burn down his anterior digestive tract. Also, he hasn’t displayed tremors nor seizures, so I think it’d be better to proceed with a gastric lavage.”

“And I suppose you have the exact antidote, don’t you?” he mocked.

“Well, no, but-”

“Get the emetic ready, Doctor Tate.”

“But sir, the induction of vomiting could be counterproductive.” Y/N added, “It could cause seizures, hypoxia, and severe depression or even induce coma.”

“Y/L/N!” Fowler yelled in anger, making her jump startled, “I don’t need you here to recite the textbook. Practicing medicine isn’t just evaluating symptoms, it’s a whole.”

“I know, but it could be more dangerous-”

“Don’t interrupt me. It’s very rare that the actual cases align perfectly with what you have memorized. And no matter how much time you spent preparing to become a doctor, you’re likely to encounter some things you never anticipated on the job. That’s what being a doctor is. If you’re not ready for that, the door is right there.”

Y/N was left standing there, opening and closing her mouth like a gaping fish.

“Fowler.” Clint growled in warning.

“No, he’s right.” Y/N mumbled like an scolded child.

She retreated to the back of the room, letting the other doctors conduct the procedures Fowler ordered. Clint immediately went after her and pulled her in a huge hug. He felt a few tears soaking through his shirt, but he knew better than to comment on it.

Clint hated everything about her situation. He had been close to shooting Fowler every time he had seen him bring her down like that, and he felt compelled to do it right at that moment. But Fowler could be dealt with, the other doctors could be dealt with. The worst part was that Y/N had started to believe what they told her. She tried not to let it show, but it was obvious it affected her.

“Maybe I’m not cut out for this…”

“Like hell you aren’t.” Clint pulled back so he could stare into her eyes, “Not all doctors can agree on a single course of action. You had your reasoning behind your suggestion, and it sounded damn good to me.” she didn’t seem to be listening to his words, “Y/N, you’re a fucking amazing doctor. I’m proof of that. I’m still here, aren’t I? And that’s thanks to you.”

“I don’t know, Clint…”

“Well, I do know.” he insisted.

“Thanks…” she whispered shyly, before hastily wiping away the few tears that had managed to escape from her eyes, “I hope you’re right…”

*****

Much to Clint’s anger, it kept happening more frequently. He watched as her voice got silenced time and time again, how her intellect was downplayed, how her confidence in her abilities was burned to the ground.

“Y/N?” he called yet again; he had been looking for her for the previous half an hour, not having found her in her office or around, “Where are you?”

Another half an hour passed before he finally found her. She was seating on the floor, in the less known part of the Division, probably so she wouldn’t be bothered, as not many people were around there.

“There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you.” he started, before noticing that she didn’t move an inch, not even when she heard him, “Sweetheart?”

Clint crouched in front of her, placing two fingers below her chin and raising her face so he could look at her. Her cheeks were tear-stained, and her usually bright eyes were red and puffy, with more fresh tears making her way down her face.

She took in a shaky breath as she turned her head to free herself of his grip, “Go away, Clint.”

He knew what she was doing; she was pushing him away because she felt vulnerable, but he wasn’t going to allow her to do that, he wanted to be there, and he sure as hell was going to stay there with her.

“That’s not an option.” he took a seat by her side, “What happened?”

She stayed quiet for several seconds, ignoring his question. Or maybe pondering whether to tell him or not. Either way, Clint felt the need to repeat it. He hated seeing her like that, and he wanted to do everything in his power to make it better for her. Just as he opened his mouth, she beat him to it.

“A patient died. They couldn’t save him.”

Clint shut his eyes and winced, finally understanding. Every death was hard, he knew that, he had dealt with that ugly aspect of being a part of S.H.I.E.L.D., but he had never really stopped to think how it was for a doctor. They knew their patients, they saw everything happening, they had human lives on their hands. Losing them had to be like losing a part of themselves, Clint thought.

“He died of anaphylaxis.” she scoffed as if she couldn’t believe the situation, “He said he was allergic to diclofenac. I tried to suggest the use of a glucocorticoid like beclometasone, but Fowler said to administer instead a combination of indomethacin and ketorolac at the right doses.”

“Sweetheart, I wish I could understand what you’re saying…” he wiped a few tears away delicately and pressed a kiss on the top of her head.

“All of them are NSAIDs.” she explained bitterly, “The patient was allergic to NSAIDs in general, not only diclofenac.”

“But that’s not your fault.”

“I got the injection ready for them to administer it, Clint. I should’ve changed the medications, but I didn’t. And because of that, he died of an anaphylactic shock.”

“You can’t save everyone, Y/N.”

“You know, everybody keeps repeating that to me, ever since medical school; I’ve had enough of that. I have to at least try to save everyone. But here, they’re not even letting me try.” she complained, “I can’t do anything here. I feel so impotent…”

Clint didn’t know what else to say. Probably because he knew that there was nothing he could say to make it better. That situation was hard enough, and it added to the fact that Fowler already had her doubting if she was cut out to be a doctor. So instead of talking, he just held her for what felt like hours, he held her while she sobbed for as long as she needed. He kept whispering sweet nothings and encouraging words in her ear, holding her close to him. When she finally managed to calm herself down, she snuggled even closer to Clint, feeling clingy, but knowing he wouldn’t mind.

“Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me.” Clint said seriously, cupping her cheeks gently, “I know you don’t feel like you’re cut out for this, but you’re so wrong. You always feel the need to justify why you’re here and how you got here, and you don’t have to. You just need to learn how to own up to your talent. You need to see yourself for the doctor you are, not the doctor Fowler is making you out to be.”

“I just…”

“I know it’s gonna be hard.” Clint added, “But please, do it for me. I need you to see yourself the way I see you.”

Y/N nodded timidly, first with hesitation and then more firmly, though before she could say anything, she found herself getting lost in his blue eyes. Words got stuck in her throat as he returned her stare with the same electric energy, looking down from her eyes to her lips and back again. They had no idea who leaned in first, but it was obvious both of them felt the exact same pull towards the other. Y/N felt Clint’s breath over her lips, causing shivers to run down her spine in anticipation. Clint wasn’t as unaffected as he later tried to tell Natasha, feeling goosebumps all over his skin at her closeness. Though, before either of them could make the decisive move, they heard a clattering noise somewhere nearby, causing them to jump apart from each other. Clint groaned in frustration while Y/N smiled with blazing cheeks, chuckling to ease the tension.

“We better get going, before we both get in trouble for not being at work.”

“Technically we’re still at work.” he answered cheekily.

“At work but not working.” Y/N pointed out.

“Fine.” he drawled out dramatically, “Let’s go.”

“Thank you.”

“But first, let’s get some food in you. Doctor’s orders.” he teased.

“You’re not a doctor.” she complained playfully, smacking his arm but still following after him.

*****

Y/N finally snapped a few months later.

It was long overdue, and yet, most of them didn’t see it coming; she had let them walk all over her so much that they never expected her to explode like that. But this time, it was personal.

She was late, which usually wasn’t a big deal for her since her involvement in the medical procedures was limited to whatever her boss wanted at the moment. Though, instead of being welcomed by the usually empty halls, the place was swarmed with people. Frowning, she picked up her pace and followed the sounds until she saw her colleagues arguing with someone else, while the rest of people limited themselves to watch the conflict. As she got closer and made her way through the crowd she noticed it was Natasha. For any stranger, it would’ve looked as if she was keeping her calm, but all of them knew better; she wasn’t yelling but she had that dangerous glint in her eyes.

“Miss Romanoff, with all due respect, you should let the experts make that decision. What you’re asking for, we simply can’t indulge you in that. It wouldn’t be right.”

Their statement showed the truth of the situation; it wasn’t really respect, it was fear. They were afraid of her, and with good reason, but they still didn’t take what she was saying into consideration. Natasha noticed all of that, and she was close to losing it.

“Fowler, I told you. I won’t hand over my best friend unless it is to Doctor Y/L/N, and only her.”

“Then you’re letting your best friend bleed out.”

“What’s going on here?” Y/N asked cautiously, looking between Natasha and her boss.

“Finally.” she muttered.

“Ah, Doctor Y/L/N, nice of you to finally join us.” Fowler scoffed, “Maybe you could deal with Romanoff’s wound while we do the heavy work.”

“Nat, you’re hurt.” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows as her eyes posed on her bleeding shoulder, but the redhead stopped her before she could get to her.

“Clint’s worse.” Natasha informed, “He needs you.”

She felt a sickening, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach at those words, “Where is he?”

“Still in the Quinjet.”

“What happened?”

“We were ambushed. He got two shots to his abdomen, but they were too deep, so I couldn’t get the bullets out. He���s unconscious, he’s lost a lot of blood. It’s not good, Y/N.”

“Then why the hell hasn’t he been admitted into surgery?!”

“Because it has to be you.” Natasha looked at her seriously, “I only trust you to do it, and Clint asked for you. It has to be you.”

Y/N squared her shoulders, pushing aside her own panic and desperation. For the moment, she needed her focus. Clint couldn’t be her Clint, he had to be just another patient for her to follow through as she needed.

“You.” she pointed to a few nurses who had been watching everything, “Get the operating room and everything else ready.”

“Yes, Doctor Y/L/N.”

“Natasha, bring him in.”

Natasha nodded, smirking arrogantly over at Fowler before leaving to get Clint. Y/N started walking decisively towards the OR, trusting Natasha to bring Clint along soon. The crowd dispersed to let her through, not being used to see her in command. Fowler and a few others followed her.

“I hope you only said that to get rid of her.” Fowler scoffed.

“I didn’t.” she stated firmly.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“You don’t have permission to perform surgery on a high-level agent like Barton.”

“Watch me.” she stopped to look at him defiantly, making him take a step back in surprise, “You heard what Natasha said. It’s a critical condition that requires immediate action, and yet you stood there arguing with her like the five-year old you are, Fowler, when the patient was dying.”

“You’re not operating on Barton, and that’s final.”

“Yes, I am.”

“I haven’t given you the clearance for that, and I won’t do it, so you simply can’t.”

“I don’t need your permission. The patient gave his oral consent, and so did the agent responding for him.”

“You’re not qualified for this.”

“The hell I’m not.” she raised her voice, getting agitated, “Fowler, I’ve had it with you, it’s been enough. I’ve caved in every time you criticize me, I’ve stood back every time you’ve decided something that has been less than ideal for the patient; I even had to watch impotently as a patient died because of your poor decisions. But I’m done with this, I’m done bearing with your stupid ego, thinking that you’re the only one that knows any shit around here, when you don’t. Enough is enough, Fowler. I won’t stand by your incompetence any longer. So either help the nurses prepare the OR or stay out of my way.”

She’d had it. Not only was she tired of everything that had been happening for months, but at that moment, Fowler had struck a nerve: Clint, who was one of the most important people for her. He had overstepped into a sensitive topic. She had seen the way he was with his patients, she wasn’t going to leave Clint in his hands, even if it was the last thing she did at S.H.I.E.L.D. before she got fired.

“A laparotomy is a complicated procedure.” it took him a few moments to overcome the shock of her talking back to him, but after he had recovered, Fowler mocked with a sneer, “And you think you can do it?”

“I know I can.” Y/N replied calmly, “If there’s one thing I’m willing to bet on, it’s myself.”

When Natasha finally arrived with Clint, Fowler put a hand on the gurney, effectively stopping it. Nat glared at him, and she was about to knock him off his ass, but Y/N raised a single hand to appease her, silently telling her friend to let her deal with him.

“Just who do you think you are?!” he barked angrily, “I’m only going to say this once, Y/L/N: step out of the way before you inevitably fuck it up and kill Barton.”

“And I’m only going to say this once: no, I’ll conduct this surgery. You’re wasting my time, and precious time for the patient, so make yourself useful and disappear.” she snapped, “I won’t let you operate on him, and if I have a say, on any other patient here.”

“Well, you don’t have a say.”

“We’ll see about that.” she promised dangerously.

“You’ll regret this!”

“I regret letting you get this far.”

“You’ll be out of a job first thing tomorrow morning.” Fowler threatened her, “And you think anyone’s gonna take you any seriously without a recommendation from your previous boss? You’ll be no one.”

“That’s it.” Natasha hissed in outrage.

“You speak as if you were the greatest mentor ever, as if working for you hasn’t been a nightmare. But guess what, Fowler? I don’t need to rely on you or anyone else. I know the doctor I am, and the doctor I can be, and none of them have anything to do with you. So, go ahead, do your worst. I don’t need your approval, and I definitely don’t need your validation. I don’t need a man to help me achieve anything. I know what I can do. I’m amazing, and I should’ve seen it sooner.” Fowler opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to come up with a reply, “So get lost, Fowler. I have a surgical procedure to perform.”

“What’s going on here?” a deeper voice interrupted, and everyone around stepped back out of respect, letting Nick Fury walk forward.

Y/N hadn’t interacted much with Fury, so she bowed her head respectfully and stayed quiet, letting someone else explain the situation but ready to jump at the chance to explain herself in case anyone decided to lie.

However, Natasha trusted Fury enough to let out just about anything that had been said and done, not only that day, but also before. Though, she recognized that roasting had to wait. The vital thing right then was getting Clint into surgery.

“Clint is in a critical condition, and Doctor Fowler here won’t let Doctor Y/L/N operate on him, when Clint clearly asked for her.”

“And you trust her?”

“I do, Nick.” she nodded solemnly, “So does Clint.”

“And can you do it?” he asked Y/N.

“I can.” she replied with certainty, earning a glare from Fowler.

“Then get to it, Doctor.” Fury ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

“Go, I’ll inform him of everything.” Natasha promised.

With a last nod in their direction, Y/N turned and took the gurney with her, taking an unconscious and barely alive Clint towards the operating room the nurses had gotten ready.

*****

The first thing that Clint recognized as he started regaining consciousness was the brightness behind his eyelids. He kept his eyes closed for a few more seconds, not ready for the intense light. Once he did, he blinked several times to get adjusted to his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be an internment room, connected to multiple machines.

“You’re awake, finally.” a voice called, and he chuckled as he noticed his best friend perked on a seat in front of his bed, “About time.”

“How’s your shoulder?” he asked, his throat feeling the soreness of not being used for who knew how long.

“Better than most of your body, I’d say.” she smirked, “You gave us quite the scare.”

“‘Us’?” Clint frowned, and Natasha signalled to his side, prompting him to turn as well.

That’s when he noticed the other person on the room. Y/N was on the other chair, fast asleep, with her hand entwined delicately with his, as if she had been afraid to even touch him.

“She hasn’t left your side.” Natasha informed him, “And not exactly as your doctor.”

“Did she-”

“Perform the surgery? Yes.” she said triumphantly, “You should’ve seen it, it was epic.”

“I should’ve seen it.” he agreed with her.

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Don’t do that to me again.” Natasha smiled at him, “But I think I better leave you two alone.”

As the great spy she was, she slipped out of the room practically without a sound, and just in time for Y/N to stir awake.

“Clint?” she gasped as her brain processed what she was seeing, “You’re awake.”

Y/N hastily turned to check at the screens, to make sure everything was as it should be, eliciting a soft laugh out of him.

“How are you feeling? Are you in pain? Are you comfortable?”

“Doc.” Clint stopped her, “I’m fine, and I learned it was thanks to you.”

“Don’t thank me, you could’ve died.” her expression darkened, “You were on the table for six hours. It was pretty touch and go for a while. I was so scared I was losing you.”

“You’re gonna need more than a couple of bullets to get rid of me.” he promised light-heartedly.

They talked about everything and nothing at all for a while, just sharing and enjoying their time together. Clint couldn’t help but notice just how right it felt. Being with her came easy to him.

“Fury fired Fowler.” she suddenly said, making him perk up in interest.

“Did he now?”

“Fowler kinda jeopardized your life by not letting me do the surgery. All because the patient was too stubborn and expressed that I was the only one to do it.” she teased, smiling at him.

“I wouldn’t say stubborn.” Clint smiled, “At least it worked. I knew you could do it.”

“And that’s how I knew too.” Y/N stated confidently, “Because you believed in me. You’ve always believed in me, even when no one else did, even when I didn’t believe in myself.”

“And I’ll always be around to believe in you, even if I have to remind you any other time.” he promised, entwining her hand with his and pulling her closer to the bed, “But tell me more about how it happened.”

“I gave him a piece of my mind.”

“Did you, now?”

“Yeah.” she breathed out a laugh, “Full theatrics and all, you would’ve been proud. Maybe I overstepped just a little bit, but I can’t find it in me to regret it. And Nat filled Fury in about everything else that had already happened.”

“It was about time you stood up for yourself, Y/N. And for you to truly believe it, only you could do that.”

“And I have to thank you for that.” Y/N nodded, “You helped me realize that I’m not someone’s puppet, that I’m great on my own. Though, I would’ve preferred if you hadn’t put your life on the line for that.”

“I’d say it was worth it.”

“Not to me. I can’t lose you.”

“And you won’t. But please don’t let anyone else walk all over you. You don’t deserve that.”

“I won’t, never again.” she promised, sounding the more confident he had heard her ever since he met her, “I know my worth now.”

At those words, Clint couldn’t contain himself and pulled her towards him, finally crashing his lips to hers. He had been containing himself for months, but now he didn’t see why. Y/N smiled over his lips before returning the gesture and kissing him back just as fervently. Though, she stopped him before they could get carried away.

“You still have stitches, mister.” she scolded him, “I don’t want you to bust them open.”

“I have you to take care of me for that.” Clint joked, earning a roll of her eyes.

“At least buy me a coffee first.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing for months?” he huffed, “Coffee, burgers, sushi. I’ve tried everything.”

“Well, you’re not very good at asking out on an actual date, then.” Y/N remarked, “I would’ve said yes, you know.”

“You would’ve?”

“Yes. If it wasn’t painfully obvious already, I like you, Clint. I’ve had these feelings for you for a while now.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why didn’t you, Hawk?”

“Because I didn’t think you returned my feelings, woman.”

“Well, I do, and now you know.”

“Is that an insinuation that I have to ask you out?”

“It would be a good start, yes.” then her voice turned shy, uncertain, “If that’s what you want.”

“If that’s what I-” he scoffed, “Of course it’s what I want.”

“Okay.” she smiled widely, taking his hand in hers, loving the feeling of it.

“What happens now?” Clint changed the subject, “Without Fowler around, I mean. I hated the guy and I hated what he put you through, but he was still the head doctor here.”

“I don’t know, I still have to talk to Fury about what’s to come, but for now, I really don’t care about that. I just want to spend some time with you.”

“Aw, you were worried.” he teased.

“And you’re an idiot.” she rolled her eyes, “But I guess you’re my idiot.”

“Always.” Clint grinned before pulling her to him once again.

*****

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[hermankopusortizorsumshite]

WARNING: Mentions of sexual assault, blood, gore.

If any of those are a trigger warning, please don’t read this. I’ll get some fluffy Kozik up soon ❤️

💕Kozik’s Girl. Tig’s Baby.⭐️

You were a Trager, but you only met your pops once or twice, never really connected, but now in Charming on business; your father was unavoidable. Though he didn’t know, nor would you tell him, that while you lived in Tacoma you had slept with— on multiple occasions— a fellow brother named Herman Kozik, or Hermie as you dubbed him in bed.

“Hi, I’m Stella Trager. Here to see my pops,” you state as you head into the shop.

“Hey! Lady you can’t be here without car troubles, you can’t be back there.”

“I’m the daughter of Trager, you can go ahead and tell him his baby is out here getting a sunburn waiting for you to approve it or I can go in.” You snip at the Mexican boy chasing you down.

“He’s busy, but I can take a message for him.” You saunter passed him and shout into the garage over the tools and chatter.

“Daddy! I’m here.” You call, eyes scanning for his curls. You didn’t see them, but you did recognize the puff of blond hair coming towards you with a smile. When Trager and Kozik both stand in front of you, both looking confused.

“Baby—“

“Don’t you dare finish that motherfucking sentence. Stellar, you have ten seconds before I rip his balls off and stuff them down his throat. Why the hell is he responding to ‘daddy’?” He growls, eyes meeting yours.

“Well, I’m not sure what he’s even doing here. But, anyway, that’s what I came to talk about. I’m sleeping around with a Son.”

“That one? It had to be that fucking MORON? One in another COUNTRY would’ve been better than this fuckhead!” He swings on him, fist connecting with Kozik’s face.

“I’m sorry, pops. I didn’t know how else to tell you! I was thinking about moving back to Charming, but Kozik would have to be patched in here,and you’d have to agree.” You try to reason with him, but he barely hears you, as his fists pound relentlessly into Kozik’s face.

“And you expect me to patch you in after you got my dog killed and my daughter calls you daddy?” He screams, grabbing Kozik’s throat with both hands.

“Sir, I love your daughter.” He chokes out.

“She’s not just some lay, she’s my daughter.” He growls, his blue eyes like the deepest ocean.

“I know that, sir. That’s why I want patched in, man. I wanna marry her and I want our kids to know you. I want them to know we got over this decades-old shit and got passed it. I wanna tell em that your daughter is the prettiest woman alive. I wanna grow old with he—-“ He’s cut off with another hit, but a truck whips into the lot while everyone’s gathered around the ring, and a man jumps out and grabs you, hand covering your mouth and dragging you into the truck before whipping out of the parking lot, gunshots sounding off behind you. You were now blindfolded, bound, and gagged.

Kozik and Tig’s swings are stopped when Jax’s gun shoots off. They both turn their attention to the Vice President, his face pale.

“What, man? What’s goin on? Where’s Stellar? She alright?” His questions are met with a few looks of disgust and a few of pale ghastliness.

“She was just kidnapped man. Found this on the ground.” Jax murmurs, eyes averted to the ground as he hands off the note.

“Kidnapped? They just TOOK HER?” He pulls his gun out and hops on his bike, squealing out of the parking lot and flooring it down the road.

“Blue Chevy! Green passenger door! Crew cab! 2004!” Eyes watching for the description Jax shouted behind him.

“Son of a bitch!” He shouts, ducking just in time to miss the string across the alley he zoomed down. “Fuck!” He yells as he flies back out into the main road, hugging tight to his handle bars as he revs up between to cars at the intersection. He’s finally stopped by a police car, parked directly in the road, stopping him. He skids to a stop, lying his bike out, the hot tar ripping up his exposed forearms as he tumbles, landing at the cops feet.

“Mister Kozik, speeding, endangering the lives of civilians, failing to follow traffic signs, you’re looking at a hefty fine mister.” She taps the toe of her boot on the ground.

“I don’t care. They took her. They took her. They took my wife!” He screams at the top of his lungs, his heart burning as he starts to cry. “They took my baby.” He whispers, starting to get dizzy from the sun and the blood loss.

When you awoke, you knew where you were. You were in Tacoma, the smell of the air and the sound around you, it was Tacoma.

“Easy princess.” She knew that voice. “I’m gonna give you back to Kozik, but he’s not leaving Tacoma, you got that? I give you back, ALIVE, and you and Kozik move back to Tacoma, we put this behind us.” It was Reverend Wheeler, from the Tacoma charter.

“I—I’ll tell him that you did this!” You shriek, grabbing the ropes that held you down.

“Now, listen to me. I really want Kozik as the next President of this club, and he can’t be that from Redwood. Now, I’ve got some business calls to make. Keep quiet.”

“Kozik! How are things going down in Redwood?” Reverend Wheeler asks, listening as Kozik heaves a sigh.

“Somebody took Stellar.” He chokes, eyes watering.

“Oh shit, man. I’m sorry. I told you those Redwood Originals can’t keep anybody safe.” He offers, eyes flicking over to you.

“Yeah, guess you’re right. I gotta find her, man.” He whispers, hanging up. Pulling a burner phone from his breast pocket and dialing the same number.

“Hello?” His soft, confused voice broke your heart. He was being played the men who were supposed to love him.

“Herman. Kozik? Is it? I have someone who would like to speak with you. Remember darling, a wrong word, and I’ll kill ya.” He murmurs to you.

“You got my baby? You got her?” He shrieks, jumping to his feet and pacing the club. “I want her back, man. Listen, I don’t know why ya took her, but that’s my baby. That’s my girl. My best friend. My one and only, man. I just want her back. Please dawg, tell me what you want. I’ll make it happen.” He pleads, eyes begging one of his club members to help him. He was going crazy without you.

“We need ten thousand dollars, by tomorrow or your girl dies. And my god, I’d hate to see something happen to this little lady’s pretty face, Herman.” The man said, something about his voice stuck in the back of Kozik’s brain, eating away at him. He knew that voice.

“Lemme talk to her. I just wanna hear her voice, man. Please.”

“He-hello?” You ask, throat sore and dry.

“Holy shit, hey baby. I got you okay? I’m gonna kill these bastards. Don’t you worry! Just hold on, baby! I love you!” Tig watched Kozik fall apart in front of them, and he felt horrible. Tig was so distracted and angry with Kozik that he let his own daughter get kidnapped. The tears on the blondie’s face made him feel awful. First, Abel was stolen, but they found him. Now Tig’s daughter and Kozik’s babygirl. That shit was wrong. He knew, at that moment— Kozik in the clubhouse begging on his knees just to speak with you— that the blond moron was the best thing for you.

“I love you, Hermie.” She whispers, breaking what little piece of his heart was left. He staggered to his feet and his fist hit the wall.

“Baby!” He shrieks as the line goes dead. Nothing but dial tone filling his ears.

“We’re gonna get her, man.” Opie assures, his hand resting on Kozik’s back.

“I hope so. I know them. I don’t know how, but I know who it is. There was somethin’ about the way this guy said Herman, man.”

“It’s alright, dude. We’ll get her back. What’s the ransom?” Jax asked.

“Ten thousand. I got that shit, it’s chump change in Tacoma.” He stepped away from Opie for only a moment, but then his eyes were the size of saucers. “Tacoma. They’ve got her in Tacoma!” He barks, heading to his room to get the cash and sprinting for his bike.

“Woah! Woah! What do you mean they’ve got her in Tacoma? Why would anyone in Tacoma take her? Was it the Nomad charter? Why?” Tig asks, chasing after him.

“Because they didn’t want me leaving. So they took her, gonna use her as a bargaining chip for me to go back to Tacoma. Rev wanted me to be the next president, but when I told him I was probably moving, he came unhinged, man. Told me I’d regret not staying in Tacoma.” He explains as he packs his saddlebag before mounting his bike, taking a deep breath from his helmet, and smelling the sweetness of your coconut shampoo.

“Why would he do that?” He asks.

“Because Tacoma’s gettin’ desperate, man.” He takes off, leaving Tig and the crew to follow behind him as he headed for Tacoma. They arrived at the clubhouse and he busted through the door. Dropping the bag on the table, he grabs the prospect up and presses a gun to his head. “You’re gonna take me to the girl. Or I’m gonna spill your brains across the clubhouse table. You got me?” He growls, jamming the boy in the back as they headed outside. “You don’t take me to her, you alert any of these motherfuckers. I’ll goddamn kill you.”

“I got it, dude. Man, this club isn’t what it used to be dude. I want out.” He grumbles as he storms towards the shed.

“Tell you what, since you don’t seem to know anything, talk to Jax. Become part of the Redwoods. There’s other charts, kid. Don’t stay with these assholes. You wanna come back with us?” He asks, as the kid swings the door open. There you were, his sweet angel, duct taped to a support in the middle of the shed. “Baby, oh hunny. Look at you. Beautiful, sweetheart. Just beautiful. Always.” He whispers, hugging you against him. You let out a soft whine, the pain in your ribs twinging and stabbing. “What’s the matter baby?” He whispers, scooping you up.

“My ribs, they kicked me a lot. Sorry, hun. I’m okay. Just happy to see ya, daddy.” You laugh, sucking in a sharp breath and gritting your teeth.

“Easy, hunny. I got ya. Let’s go. You got any guff about sparky over there joining SAMCRO?” He asks, directing your attention to the sweet boy who was bringing you water and food when the club left.

“Nah, he’s a good kid. He deserves a good club.” You whisper, letting the kid hug you awkwardly, showing the rest of them he was good.

“We gotta get outta here they should be back any minute. Get the fuck outta here. I’ll take care of em.” The guy barks, heading into the clubhouse.

“Kid! Get your kutte on, let’s go. You ride with SAMCRO. Let’s go.”

“You guys aren’t gonna kill me right? Rev says if anyone found out about it, I’d get killed. No other charter would take a nark man.”

“Kid, you listen to me. You were the only one who brought my wife food and water while your president held her hostage. You deserve to be in a good club, you got a good heart. Now, let’s get outta here, before they come back.” Kozik was ready to zoom away, but he heard the bikes coming up the street. Digging through his bag, he tossed his second bulletvest to the kid.

“Put it on and stick with us, you’re crow now.” He calls to the kid. Rev pulls into the lot, seeing the Redwood MC his eyes widen for just a moment, scared out of his mind. How had he known?

“Crows.” Someone whispers. Kozik swings a leg over his bike and stands in front of Rev.

“You. You son of a bitch. You took my girl from me, make a ransom call from a burner, and think I wouldn’t remember when you threatened me? I’m gonna kill you. You’re fucking dead, Rev.”

“That right? Go ahead and shoot me, my boys will back me up, well except you, I guess.” He chuckles darkly, walking towards the bike you were currently perched on. “You tell him how I touched you? How you loved it? How you begged me to keep going? That Herman here, couldn’t get it up for ya anymore!” His maniacal laughter and shrieking is cut short when Kozik grabs him by the throat.

“You touched her?” He asks, eyes dark with hatred. Some MC wash up was now playing god with you.

“Hey man, if you ask her, she fuckin’ loved it.”

“Don’t. Don’t say another fucking word. Jax! Tig!” He shouts, you watching on as Jax and your dad each grab an arm.

“What? You gonna execute me in front of my men?” He chuckles.

“Yeah, I sure the fuck am, on your knees!”

“I believe the chap said,” Chibs’ boots kicked Rev in the back of the knees. “ON YOUR FUCKING KNEES!”

“Now, look at this. You here on the ground. You wanna suck my dick? Huh? You wouldn’t like that? I’m sorry, I don’t really remember asking. That’s my daughter that you just admitted to raping.”

“Huh, don’t that just suck man? I should let him do that doggie shit to ya, let him do what he wants and leave you here like the crying bitch that you are. But hey, I’ve got better plans. Take off his shirt.” Kozik slicked the blade across this man’s back, carving whatever he was carving into his skin, Rev crying out. “Lastly,” his sunk the knife into the front of Rev’s chest, cutting what appeared to be a circle, then proceeded to stuff his big hand into the opening and yank out Rev’s still beating heart.

“Kozik, man. I’ve never seen this Viking shit before. I didn’t know you had it in ya!” Jax cheers as Rev falls to the pavement. Kozik turns to you, your eyes wide and your face pale.

“Baby,” he starts towards you. He’d forgotten you were right there, witnessing the monster rearing it’s ugly head.

“Don’t. Don’t touch me.” You whispered. You held gently to him the whole ride back to Charming. No words were spoken between you two. Hell, you were scared out of your mind. You couldn’t believe what you saw. That was your man, the one who built you shelves for your workspace at home. The man whose strong arms made you feel so safe. You’d never witnessed this crusader of a barbarian, and it scared you.

“Baby, can I talk to you?” He murmurs, his heart breaking over again. You wouldn’t get any closer than four feet, scared of him.

“No! You ripped out some guy’s heart!” You shriek, grabbing a chair and putting it between you two.

“Keep your fucking voice down. Don’t be out here yelling that shit!” He hushes, stepping toward you.

“Jesus, what would stop you from doing that to me? What would stop you? Huh? What would stop you from killing me?” You shriek, arms wrapped around your small frame as you quake.

“What?” He asks. “You think I could do that shit to you? Baby, baby listen, I know I’m a little messed up, but he raped you and was gonna kill you. Chec, the kid from Tacoma, said they planned on killing you and dropping you off at our front door. As a warning. And I wasn’t gonna just let that shit happen!” He shouts, and you shriek, covering your head with the blanket that was wrapped around you.

“I’m sorry, Kozik. I just need some time. This shit that went down, I’m still a little fuzzy, but you ripping out someone’s heart, that’s clear. I saw you. What did you carve into his back?” You coo, eyes still on the floor.

“Your name.” He steps a step closer to you, you take one backwards.

“I need time. It’s over, Kozik. I’m sorry. I can’t be with someone who can live two separate lives, because like today, those two became one.” You head out the door, limping and dragging your blanket behind you. You spent the night in Kozik’s room at the clubhouse, avoiding eye contact with everyone who watched on confused. Eyes turned to the door as Kozik walked in, his eyes directed towards the barkeep.

“Gimme a couple shots of something strong. It’s gonna be a long night.” He grumbles, putting himself on a barstool.

“What’s going on man?”

“Nothing, apparently women aren’t as keen to that barbarian shit.” He chuckles dryly. “Hey, I’m gonna stay in the guest room across the hall from her, do you guys mind? I just, I don’t wanna leave her alone, guys.” He murmurs, eyes fogging with tears, only to blink them away.

“Hey there, Conan. You wanna throw me over your shoulder and have your way with me?” A crow eater wandered up to him, smooth talking and sexy, she was hard to resist. “Oh come on, baby. You and I both know you did that to protect her. That’s hot.”

“Yeah. I did.”

“And all she did was think you were a monster. You sexy, beautiful beast. Lemme show you what a real man should feel.” He downed three more shots, feeling buzzed enough to go through with it. She leads him to his dorm, pushing him back onto the bed, letting him wrap a denim clad leg across her soft skin, the rough denim exciting her.

“She doesn’t deserve me.” He whispers, letting her ravage his body.

“That’s right, baby. Let me show you what you deserve.” She whispers, sending fire chasing her lips down his chest.

The next morning, she’d figured it was time to talk to Kozik. She was sorry for overreacting the night before. As you step into the clubhouse after heading out for a coffee, you tiptoe over the women and men on the floor, heading back to Kozik’s room. As you reach for the handle, you hear your dad from behind you.

“Hey, he’s not in there. He already went to the shower and said he was headed back to your house.”

“Well he’s not there. I’ll just wait for him in here. can you call him?” You ask, twisting the knob and swinging open the door.

“I won’t need to.” He mutters, eyes dark with fear. As you stepped into his dorm you knew why. The stench of sex hung in the air, and your eyes fall onto the scene before you. Some blond, hair flowing over Kozik’s arm, his big arms holding her tight to his body the way he held you.

“What in the mother fuck is going on in here!?” You rage, ripping his blanket from them, revealing naked bodies. “Kozik, you better be pranking me, you fuck.” You growl, watching his eyes flutter open and land on you.

“Awe shit, baby. I—“

“I dare you to try and save it. Go ahead.” You grind through clenched teeth, tears falling down your face.

“Babe, I—“

“He just wanted to feel good about what he did. You made him feel like shit for killing a man who raped you and hurt you. I was a comfort, if you will.” You grabbed the closest weapon, a baseball bat and stretched it back above your head.

“You have ten seconds, doctor Phil.”

“Is she serious?”

“Babe, just leave. I’ll handle this shit, just go.”

“Ok.” You turn, but he calls to you. “Hey. I was talking to her.” Your heart stops in your throat.

“What?” You whisper, watching that bitch saunter out of the room. You can’t help it, you lunge on her, grabbing a handful of hair and slamming her face into the door jam. “Don’t ever, and I do mean ever, touch my man again.” You bark, still holding a handful of her hair.

“Jesus Christ hunny! Let her go!”

“Well someone needed to comfort him.” She croons, a sick grin on her bloody face.

“You bitch!” You drag her through the whole clubhouse, fury pulsing through you. Throwing her onto the hot pavement, you straddle her back, slamming her face into the concrete.

“Grab her before she kills someone!” Jax shouts, hooking his arms through yours and dragging you away from her.

“No! I’m not done!”

“Kozik! You need to keep you girl in check, man. She’s out here bashing some chick’s face into the asphalt.” Jax chuckles a little.

“Don’t fucking bother. I’m gone.” You storm over to his Dyna, kicking it over onto the ground, scratching your initials into the gas tank, and getting into your car.

“Wow, she doesn’t play around man.” Tig chuckles a little, but dry. “You really pissed off my baby, man. She’s my little star, I love her. Don’t make her regret moving home.”

“I won’t man, I just need a minute to process. Shit, bro. What do I do? What do I say? I gotta get her back, for fuck’s sake, she almost killed another woman.” He was back to square one, his heart pounding, head throbbing, as if he’d never found her.

“I don’t know kid, you’ll have to beg.”

“I gotta go, if that bike even rides still.” He chuckles, tipping his bike up and jumping on, heading for home.

“Baby?” He calls into the house, eyes searching the kitchen. “Babe? Ya in here?” He opens the garage door to find you on the garage floor, bound and gagged, shirt ripped open. “Holy fuck. Who?” He screams, grabbing you up, checking for a pulse.

“Tacoma.” You hush, tears falling down your cheeks.

“Why? I killed him!” He cries, examining your body to find something carved into your chest. “I’m gonna get you to Tara, you’re gonna be okay baby.”

“I hate you.” You whisper, eyes narrowed on him before they drift shut.

“I’m sorry, hunny.” He whispers, grabbing you up and carrying you to your truck. Once at the clubhouse, he carries you gingerly inside, placing you on the pool table before grabbing Tara from Jax. “Someone attacked her in our fucking garage, dude. Hoping you could patch her up, see what they carved into her.” She hesitantly agrees, patching up your chest. When Tara lets out a gasp, Kozik dashes to her side. ‘BITCH’ was etched into your chest from shoulder to shoulder.

“Who knew that she was done with me? Who saw her little tiff?” He yells, realizing who probably did this.

“I mean, she did bash that girl’s face into every solid thing she could find. I wouldn’t be surprised if she hired someone. That’s kind of brutal for a comeback though, man.” Jax calls from the table. As if on cue, that red-headed crow eater comes sauntering in, eyes both puffed and purple. Kozik rushes her, eyes dark.

“Did you do this?”

“No, but it’s karma.” She laughs, continuing past him.

“Listen, if you did this I need to know. Like, ya I slept with you, but that doesn’t mean anything. And that also means you can’t just attack my old lady. You know that, right? And even if you were gonna, a little scare would’ve been plenty. This is too much.” She puts her hands up and laughs.

“I didn’t do it, but it’s fucking karma. That bitch said she was done with you, then dragged my ass through the fuckin’ dirt. I could be your girl, Kozik. I could be twice—“ He covers her mouth with his hand.

“Don’t. She’s always gonna be mine. I swear to god, I’ll follow her to the ends of the earth. Okay? You don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. We fucked. It was nothing more than that.” He growls, stalking away before he did something he’d regret.

“Hey, how you doin?” He murmurs to you, perching on the edge of the bed.

“Fine. Listen, Hermie, I can’t do this. At least not until I heal a little better. Just, I need some time. I’m not leaving you, I just. Need a break. Okay? Can you give me that?” You ask, eyes meeting his. Tears fill his sweet, sad eyes, but he nods.

“Yeah, of course. I love you, baby.” He whispers, stepping away from you. He wanders away, leaving you alone.

A month went by, the angry marks turning to scars. You went to a tattoo shop, Happy’s, and had the scar tattooed over and had ‘that’ put above it. You start into the clubhouse to show off your new ink. Sauntering in the place like that bitch that you are, you shove aside that tart who banged your man. Standing in front of him, grinning.

“Just thought you’d like to see this.” You whisper, pulling off Kozik’s SAMCRO sweatshirt to reveal only a black lacy bra and the new tattoo.

“What an attention whore.” That tart laughs, but she’s cut short by your fist. You drop her on the ground, spinning in a slow, tantalizing circle eyes only leaving Kozik long enough to finish your twirl. His eyes catch a glimpse of a crow under your boobs, wings outstretched to cup your perky breasts; it’s beak an arrow to that slender neck. His name never looked so good, scribed on her skin.

“I found confidence. I found peace. I found my love of crazy-filled days. I found a lot out about myself being alone. And being alone I learned that I don’t need a man to control me; but goddamn it, I didn’t find contentment. I didn’t find love. I didn’t find anything close to you. I love you, Herman Kozik.” You huff, spinning and starting to walk out.

“Baby! Where you going?” He calls, shock on his lips. “Baby! I love you! That crow, it means more than you’ll ever know to me, and what a badass tattoo to cover a scar. I’m sorry for sleeping with her. I’m sorry for showing the brutal, barbaric side of me. I lost control. I did what I did because he deserved it. He used what I love the most, and he tried to destroy you. When he took you, he ripped out my whole heart and when I found him, I shared that feeling. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean any of this shit to happen to you. I love you so much.” He whispers, wrapping his arms around you and hugging against his big warm body. Home. You were finally home.

[julessworldd]

Troubled Kids Duff x fem!reader

  Summary: Duff and the reader were married for awhile until their love was just late night screaming, bottles thrown as their baby slept. They got divorce and Duff moved on for what the guys and the reader thought. Warnings: mentions of alcohol, drunken fights, cussing, maybe implied smut if you look closely. Author’s note, I got my medical info off google and something I dealt with when little. NO HATE towards Linda, 92-93 Duff is who I seen in this, Izzy didn’t leave the band in my story neither did Steven, he’s not mentioned but wanted it to be said. Hope ya’ll enjoy! 

 I was cleaning the kitchen counter when the door swung open and Duff walked in with a smile. I threw my rag and walked over to him as he picked me up.

“Hi Baby, how’s my girl?” Duff spun around.

“Better that you’re back, I missed you. I didn’t get a kiss this morning” I fake pouted.

Duff smirked, “I kissed your forehead,but here” He kissed me taking me by surprise, making me smile

A shrill cry brought me out of that dreamland state, it was mine and Duff’s daughter, Frankie.  “Mama’s coming baby!” I yelled as I ran upstairs.

Frankie’s cries stopped soon I walked in, “Hi you little hell raiser” I smiled as I picked her up. She grabbed a strand of my hair as I walked over to her changing table. She smiled at me with a gummy mouth.

Frankie is a happy girl even through me and her father fighting and ending our marriage. Speaking of him, he was suppose be on his way to get her for the week. Just hope he’s not drunk. Duff’s drinking had got worse according to Izzy, the guys were doing too many drugs to count. Izzy was clean for the most part, he’s Frankie’s Godfather so he got to see her a lot. 

I got Frankie dressed and laid her on her play mat on the living room floor

The phone rang, “Hello”

“I just wanted to tell that Linda and I are on our way to get Frankie” Duff said

He sounded sober, “Okay, she’s up so you can come on then” 

“Okay be there soon” Duff hung up before I could say anything.

I was folding Frankie an extra sleeper as the doorbell rung

Frankie squealed seeing Duff, I opened the door for him. 

“Uh Hey” He gave a small smile before going to see Frankie

I was gonna shut the door but Linda’s smile stopped me, “Hi Y/n” 

“Hey Linda” I said shutting the door for her to come in. She walked behind Duff and rubbed his back, “Hi Frankie”. Linda was a sweet girl, Frankie liked her real well. I’m happy cause I was worried when Duff brought her here to meet me before he took Franks. We get along, its not her fault her boyfriend has a two year old and custody week visits. 

She turned around as Duff was blowing kisses on Frankie’s back, “Uh, I found these baby snacks at the store for Frankie. I didn’t know if she was allowed to eat those or you know” She handed me a bottle of baby puff snacks from Gerber. I took the bottle from her.

“Yeah that fine, hopefully she likes them. Hey, Duff?” I smiled

Duff turned around with Frankie in his arms he raised his eyebrows

“I just wanted to let you know, she uh had a upset stomach last night” I said. This is just weird, we shouldn’t have to tell each other this stuff. He’s not home anymore what can I do.

“Aw poor babe, I’ll keep my eye on her” Duff rubbed her belly

“Hey Duff, its almost 2″ Linda shuffled on her feet

“Oh yeah, studio” He nodded and grabbed Frankie’s bags.

He let me hold her, “Now, be a good girl for Daddy and Linda okay? I’m gonna miss you puddin, also don’t pull on Daddy’s nose ring that hurts. Guess that’s it besides that I love you baby” I kissed her cheek and hugged her as Linda stood at the door and smiled.

“What time you want her back Monday?’ Linda asked as I handed Frankie to her.

“Guess now, have Duff call me if he wants to do anything with her so I can know” I shrugged. Linda nodded, “Okay, say bye Mommy” She was smiling

“Bye precious, I love you” I smiled as she handed her to Duff at the car

Duff walked over to me and bent down to hug me, “You look like you need one” I wrapped my arm around his back and shoulders. What fresh hell is this? He still wears the cologne when I met him almost 8 years ago. 

4 DAYS LATER......

Frankie was almost gonna be home soon and I can’t wait to see her

The phone rang scaring me a little

“Hello”

“Y/n! It’s Frankie! She got hurt” Duff said with panic in his voice

“What the hell happen? What ER so I can kill you?” I jumped out of bed

“Just get to UCLA, I’ll explain okay? Be careful” 

I threw some jeans and an old shirt grabbed my jean jacket before heading out the door.

I could kill Duff Mckagan about now

............

“I’m not drunk, Y/n! Just quit bitching at me for fuck sake” Duff yelled dropping his beer bottle.

“You are drunk that’s why I’m yelling at you, fuck head!” I screamed

That had been our 10th fight that week, right before I came back with papers to leave him. Duff was the love of my life and he was spending his nights with another woman and it killed me.

I ran into the E.R searching for Duff and Frankie

“Can I help you?’

“Yes! My ex husband called me about our daughter, Frankie McKagan. Where is she?” I asked starting to panic more

“They running test on her, he’s down here’ The old lady showed me Frankie’s room was. I walked in and Duff was sitting with his hands on his face

“Duff, what’s going?” I rubbed his shoulder blade

“I’m so fucking sorry, she was fine a couple days ago and to-day Linda woke her up and she threw up. It had some blood in so Izzy and I brought her. Please don’t take her away from me, please” Duff cried bringing me into his arms.

“Shh, it’s okay Duff. Breathe, Frankie is okay just breathe its okay” I rubbed his dirty blonde hair.

“You’re not mad? You should be cussing me out for this, she’s a baby and I let her get sick” Duff sniffled.

I grabbed his face and held it, “Duff, you were smart and brought her here. I’m not mad at you, I thought she got hurt but she’s just sick. I’m not gonna kill you, Mckagan.” I rubbed behind his ears as he smiled.

Damn, I’ve not helped with his panic attacks in forever, and held his face while getting lost in those gorgeous green/hazel eyes. I smiled and let him have his face back. He rubbed his hand down my hip. 

A nurse had Frankie in her arms and Duff jumped up

Then the doctor walked in, “I’m Doctor Bailey, your daughter is okay. Her stomach acid decided to bother today. How long she been sick?”

“You said she was sick the night before I got her” Duff looked at me

“Yeah, it was an upset stomach. I thought it was just her getting a stomach ache. Frankie had colic when she was just born.” I started freaking out

“Looks like she just had an acid reflux moment, she’s good to go home. Here’s something for her stomach. If she vomits again bring her in don’t wait.” Dr. Bailey smiled and the nurse handed me Frankie.

Frankie stirred, “Mama?”

“Yeah, baby its me. You feeling better?” I smiled rubbing her back

she yawned and went back to sleep

Duff grinned

“Told you, she was okay” I nudged his arm

He nodded, “She scared me so bad, I think I blacked out for half the ride.”

We got to the parking lot, “Uh, can I have a ride? Izzy dropped me off and had something going on”

“Yeah come on” I smiled 

I got Frankie settled and climbed into the driver’s seat

“Can we talk?” Duff asked

“Sure, what’s up?” I asked turning on a road 

Duff looked out the window and sucked his breathe in, “I miss you a lot. Not because Frankie got sick today, I’ve missed you since you made me sign the papers. I thought I moved on, but every time I come over to get Frankie and dropping her off, I fall in love with you all over again. I understand, if you think I’m bat shit crazy and just a drunk trying for nothing.” 

I pulled up to his gate and parked the car, I looked at him: His face had got puffy and more scars on his face, nose ring sticking out, lips pink as when I met him.

“Then why did get with Linda if you still loved me? Do you realize I have been going to bed every night for almost 2 years crying my eyes outs? I know about the drugs and drinking getting worse, I fucking miss you. But you’re not the same kid I fell in love with, married, had a kid with. I miss the old you, go back to that Duff. When we were happy sick in love twenty year olds, not fussing at each other what cartoon show Frankie likes to watch during the day. You want me back then you’re getting help with your shit, I’m not raising my child around a drunk parent. My mom was a horrible drunk, Frankie is not getting that” I said

Duff just looked at me, “I knew I was blowing this in your ear and out the other. Forget what I said okay? You’re home” I threw my head back on the head rest.

“Okay, I’ll go to rehab and leave her. I can finally have what I’ve always wanted and I’m not losing that again” Duff said laying his hand on my thigh

He read that message 

“Duff, you had a panic attack your mind is still fuzzy. Just bring Frankie by yourself and we’ll talk. We both need to think about what was said, I still love you, but I’m not sure about it either.” I said

“You’re letting me keep her? Even though she spent her afternoon at the ER”

“Yes, you are her father. It’s your week, she has 3 days with you.” I  grabbed his hand and rubbed my thumb over his knuckle. 

“Okay see you Monday. Be safe going home” Duff reached over and grabbed Frankie and her stuffed Dino, Axl got her.

“Alright, be good you two” I giggled as he shut the door and smiled at me

MONDAY AFTERNOON....

Frankie was suppose to be back anytime and I was mopping the floor. Praying it would be dry when she got here, like her father she tracks it. 

There was a knock the door tearing me from my task, I opened the door to have Frankie and Duff standing. I let them in, “Don’t put her down, I mopped”

“She didn’t take her nap, can I set her in bed?” Duff asked rubbing her back and holding her Dino. I nodded and went to the cabinet I had my Tequila. 

I needed that shot before Duff wanted to talk

“Hi” I looked at him as he walked down the stairs

“Hey” He wiped his hand on his jeans

“So, did you think it over?” Duff asked

“Yeah I did and I’ve came to this. You’re Frankie’s father, she loves, I love you too and need you back, but. I wasn’t kidding about the shit you need to lay off, it didn’t bother me when we’re married and didn’t have Frankie running around. Hell, I partied just as much as you and the guys, but Frankie doesn’t need that around her. So if you wanna start over much as possible, I’m all for it after you get clean. 100% clean, you’re not gonna be like my brother, Johnny,and keep going in and out. I’ll make sure you won’t see Frankie again.” I said

Duff nodded, “Okay, I’ll go to rehab and get clean for you and Frankie”

“Good but you need to get clean for yourself, Franks and I just reasons why you need to get better.” I smiled

“You’re right again, I’ve not drank in 3 days by the way”

“Good for you, I’m proud Duff” I grinned 

Duff walked over to me, I was against the counter when he fully got to me

I could feel his breathe and forehead against mine, “Can I kiss you?” 

I grabbed the back of his head and stood on my tippy toes and kissed him. Duff’s hands laid on my back and hips as he kissed me back. The feeling of butterflies came back like when it was happier times for us. 

“I love you” Duff’s hand held my face and rubbed my cheek

“I love you too, Duff” I smiled

His eyebrows threaded together

“I never stopped” I whispered

Duff smiled..